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MalachiMcMullen

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Nice job with the #2.5. Do you feel like you could CCS it? My new #2.5 was delivered today and I decided to give it a try (no set). I was only able to get it to 1/4". It's quite a bit more difficult than the other #2.5 I have. I'm still confident I'll have both closed before Christmas.

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Nice job with the #2.5. Do you feel like you could CCS it? My new #2.5 was delivered today and I decided to give it a try (no set). I was only able to get it to 1/4". It's quite a bit more difficult than the other #2.5 I have. I'm still confident I'll have both closed before Christmas.

Not sure, I don't know about CCSing it yet but I've definitely gotten stronger on the close. It'll be fun and interesting figuring out how to train for that 2.5 CCS while training for the grippers in chokers event at Gripmas!

Had a PR kind of day today :)

Bench day today

Flat bench

135x10

175x5

205x3

215x3

225x3

235x0

225x0(both this and the 235 were close though, got them to the top of my sticking point and stalled there

205x3

CGBP

175x5

175x5

195x1

155x6

155x8

155x10

also did 135x10 with reverse grip and 135x10 with super duper wide grip

OHDBP

75x3

70x4

Cable rows(I use a 1" rubber ball as a handle)

100x10

150x10

150x10

150x10

Dabbled with a bunch of other stuff but nothing really worth mentioning.

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Your crush is really coming along. :rock I am still struggling to close my #2 on a consistent basis. :( My left is starting to catch up with my right. Your deadlifting looks good also. What do you weigh?

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Your crush is really coming along. :rock I am still struggling to close my #2 on a consistent basis. :( My left is starting to catch up with my right. Your deadlifting looks good also. What do you weigh?

Thanks! I've really changed my gripper routine, I used to have some good volume workouts and I'll go back to them later but for now doing very low volume with hard grippers is working pretty well for me :) Don't worry though, I was stuck on my #2 for quite awhile, it seemed that no matter how I trained(I kept using high volume and a decent # of reps) my #2 was still 80-90% for me, until I layed off for 2 or so weeks(not by choice mind you) and started doing some random squeezes on my #2 and 2.5 throughout the day, it's helped so far :)

I'm 178 on a good day but when I pulled 380x2 singles I was 176 before a poop and after lunch :D

A note on the DL's as well, instead of doing mostly assistance work and rack pulls I will still pull just like I do and then add in assistance and squats. Instead of going for a 2 rep max every week like I do now I'll be alternating between 1 and 2 rep max's. It seems that right now I can pull a weight one week, my body knows how to pull that from the floor then and the next week I can get at least 2. So this thursday I'll be going for 390x1, I'll try for 2 however :) and next week I'll try for 390x2 unless I get it this week in which case next week 400 will be the goal.

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I love having self-confidence and self-assurance when I want it!!!! Today of course was DEADLIFT!!! day and I finally pulled 400lbs. I walked in having convinced myself that 390 would go up without incident and since I was so sure I wouldn't have much trouble with it I decided I'd go for 400 instead. Low and behold the son of a bitch went up! And went up with decent haste to boot!

DEADLIFTS!!!

315x1

345x1

400x1(truth be told I went for 2 reps and the second one hovered)

415x0(400 I promise you isn't my max, 415 hovered 1" or so off the floor before it fell back)

380x0

365x0

SLDL

315x5

335x4

315x5

315x5

Clean pulls

225x5

245x5

225x5

DB rows

75x10

75x10

I did abit more than this on some machines and some DB snatches but I can't quite remember what I did :( Oh well. That's 2 goals I've achieved befor years end, TNS #2 and pull 400. I'm getting close to closing my #2 with my index/middle and very close on closing my 1.5 with my ring/pinky, from wider than parallel I get both to around 3/8-1/4" near everytime.

This means that in less than 3 months I've upped my DL max by 45lbs and I'm 100% sure that I have more pulling power in me. 400 went up easier than expected, let's see if I can't break 60lbs and pull 415+ next week, perhaps at least 400x2. If I can keep this momentum going I wonder if 435 could fall by years end? Or 450 before the end of January? I've added roughly 20lbs a month and I'm sure had I went for 415 it would've gone up. Look out Nockowt1, your 425 max is in danger of being eclipsed! I know I'll slow down eventually but until that happens I will be maxing every week/ going for a 2 rep max like I have been, then I'll switch to the routine I mentioned awhile ago.

Edited by MalachiMcMullen
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Thanks guys! How are you doing on the Inch Bob? I'm still having trouble breaking my baby DB from the floor :(

Edited by MalachiMcMullen
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Congrats on the deadlift. I'm sure you'll reach 425 before I do. I still think I'll beat you on the CCS close of the #2.5 though. We shall see.

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Well I surprised myself abit today! I figured it should be about time I learned the groove in reverse bending since Gripmas is coming up fast so I gave it a go today. I was using a piece of FBBC 1/4x7 just trying to show my dad hand placing for Reverse style and decided I'd just give it an effort quick. Well much to my surprise it went decently easy, I hadn't warmed up before this either so it probably wasn't the smartest thing I could've done but I did it anyway. Tried a 60d from my FBBC beginners bag, unfortunately that thing was hard something awful :( I warped it, that's about it. WAY harder than the 60d Scott gave me at the BBB3. Up next was a 1/4x6 G5, just to see if I could move it and that I did! No way was it near 40 degrees, it'd be a stretch to say 5 degrees but the fact is I moved it and I was perty dern happy bout dat! I did all this with my pathetic excuses for pads as well! I actually measured my pads too, they're 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" and are thin compared to the ones that Brad M. lent me at the BBB3.

On a side note my grippers have been progressing slightly to, I can NS my #2 with decent consistancy now and nearly CCS it LH. Will have to get my beastly #3 into a choker and get that thing closed before Gripmas. I'll be glad to know what it cals at as well, my guess is ~3.2-3.3. If Scott's was a Hard #3 and the other two medium and semi-medium 3's then my #3 is definitly a good bit harder. I could get Scott's to 3/16ish with a good parallel set but my #3 stays at parallel to 3/8. I managed a 1/4 attempt on it braced though :happy

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Well it seems two things have happened, I have somehow forgotten DO form and my reverse is much stronger than I thought. 1/4x6 G2's and 1/4x6 CRS go really easy but I'm having trouble figuring out why I can't get into proper DO postion. I get it high under my chin, my arms and wrists are straight but I just can't kink anything! So once again I'm back to square 1 form-wise :(

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Felt great today, it was arms today. I've deciced that my weak point on the bench is my chest, so over the next few bench workouts I'll focus on my chest vs. my arms. I do alot of sets and high reps every so often but I can't recall leaving a bench workout in recent months with a sore chest despite several PR's and some higher rep and dynamic stuff. Did some reverse bending as well, bent a 1/4x2 G2 to around 70 degrees in 5 seconds, FBBC 1/4x7 to about 50-60 degrees in about 14 seconds. Switched it up too because I'm OCD(j/k) and have to have the same feeling in both arms or I think they'll be worked unevenly, so instead of using my RH to hold the steel while the LH pulled down I used the RH to pull down. Not sure if it was within 30 seconds but I bent some FBBC 1/4x7.

OHDBP

75x5

Flat Bench(paused for 1 second)

135x8

155x8

175x8

Speed Bench

175x10

155x10

135x10

Flat bench

205x5

225x1(would count the 2nd but stalled at 8" and the spotter touched the bar so not sure)

Decline Bench

205x5

and I threw in a set of 185x9(wanted 12 :( somewhere during the rest of the workout

Reverse Curls

70x8

80x5

90x0

90x3 negatives

70x8

Hammer curls(#'s for each arm)

45x5

40x5

40x10

DB Concentration curls(~2-3 seconds on the way up and on the way down, #'s for each arm)

30x8

Overhead DB tricep extensions

60x8

75x6

Wide Grip Chins

BWx10

BWx10

Decline DB flys

40x8

(I've had a nagging pain in my RH shoulder, right by the front deltoid and end of the clavicle, for the past few weeks. I can bench alright after a good warmup and declines don't really hurt at all but inclines are murder, I mean they hurt BAD so I wont be doing those for alittle while. These flys seemed to feel good for the first few reps then the pain came in and I stopped, felt light though)

Close Grip chins

BWx9

Hope I feel this great thursday!!!

Edited by MalachiMcMullen
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Messed around abit today with some more reverse curls, hammer curls, pullups, some rows and some pinching. Forearms are really nice and sore after all the reverse bending I've been doing the past few days. I think a nice big ice bath for my forearms is in order.

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Zach, you're doing so much benching that you might actually be losing shoulder flexibility, and that might be the reason why your DO is nonexistent right now.

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Zach, you're doing so much benching that you might actually be losing shoulder flexibility, and that might be the reason why your DO is nonexistent right now.

Hadn't thought of that! Damn and I thought I was good at problem solving :angry: I was going to lay off the benching alittle with my shoulder the way it is anyway and just stretch the shoulders everyday for maybe a week or two(the way I am that means about a week and a half with some cheating). Thanks Ben!

Do you know how bolts match up to Ironmind nails? Are there any bolts that are the equivalent of Ironmind nails?

Not sure how the bolts match up to any stock, not much a bender but I do know that my 1/4x6 G2's of several brands are WAY easier than my FBBC 1/4x7 and 1/4x6 but shorter steel seems to be easier for me right now, 5-6 seems to be my "butter zone" for now and anything that size "feels" easier for me. Take all this with a grain of salt as I hadn't bent anything before 10/13(BBB3) and just started bending again ~3 weeks ago.

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Well, of course my RH forearm still hasn't fully healed from the reverse bending I have been doing but I pushed through. Today was, yes, DEADLIFT!!! day.

Clean Pulls

225x5

DEADLIFTS!!!

315x1

365x1

420x1(Yep, 20lb's better than last week and I believe it's 5lbs better than your best isn't nockowt1 :fear

SLDL's

385x2

365x3

335x5

335x5

315x5

Clean pulls(For each rep I went from standing straight, dove down, grip and ripped it up then stopped and stood up straight again for the next rep)

225x8

275x2(just too heavy :(

245x5

235x5

Then a 3 second Wide grip chin hold at the top

Good Mornings

125x5

155x5

Rack pulls from the knees

340x3

390x0

340x3

Shrugs(for fun)

270x10

340x5

Today was not the best day for form I regret to admit, I thought too much about the lift and ended up making myself nervous that I wouldn't pull 420 and it would kill the rest of my workout, I hadn't eaten in about 5 hours and I was cold... but it went up. Didn't necessarily feel strong today either but I really wanted that 420 which slowed and stalled at mid thigh. Oh yeah, I never hitch, I don't want to get into that habit so if it stays in that position too long I just drop it but luckily today it didn't! I'm happy though that I finally was able to get all the volume in that I wanted. Virtually no one was in the weight room except for some high schoolers I know who were AWESOME! They cheered me on and as cheesey as it sounds it made me more eager to impress and the nervousness went away. On the docket for next week is 420x2.

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DEADLIFTS!!!

420x1(Yep, 20lb's better than last week and I believe it's 5lbs better than your best isn't nockowt1 :fear

Zach, wow, you're doing great! You're going to kill me in most of the Gripmas events, but next year I will get you <evil laugh>.

You asked about my Inch training, here is a pic (put as my profile pic). I may have gotten some higher pulls but the video turned out too dark even after editing. I also put some more training details in this thread.

Edited by odin
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I see you're going to leave me no choice, but to get in the gym and start deadlifting again. Great job on doing 420. Your volume is impressive. My lower back would be fried after the deadlifts and you managed to do several more taxing exercises. Keep up the good work.

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DEADLIFTS!!!

420x1(Yep, 20lb's better than last week and I believe it's 5lbs better than your best isn't nockowt1 :fear

Zach, wow, you're doing great! You're going to kill me in most of the Gripmas events, but next year I will get you <evil laugh>.

You asked about my Inch training, here is a pic (put as my profile pic). I may have gotten some higher pulls but the video turned out too dark even after editing. I also put some more training details in this thread.

Thanks guys! I've actually added 85lbs total to my max DL in the past 3 months, I'm not entirely sure how to explain it. I guess my body was ready and was strong enough already but the muscles just have to feel the weight before they'll "unlock"(for lack of a better word) strength they have always had. I don't think I'm starting to slow even alittle bit, if you want to call it momentum then I've pretty much been a freight train moving forward in the DEADLIFT!!! If I pull 420x2 next week then I'll be ready for that wonderful 200kg/440 DEADLIFT!!! I've had my eye on for awhile!!!

I have a feeling that your going to own my short arse in anything requiring strong thumbs... oh wait like 4 out of 6 events require strong thumbs... :unsure It'll be fun. You've really been moving fast on that Inch!!! I'd like to see what you could do with mine however :devil all things considered it should be just hard enough to lift that once it happens the real Inch will be no problem.

BTW, my dad and I decided that he's not going to compete at Gripmas :dry BUT he is going to compete at MGC '08. He said he'd rather learn and have experience with what he's doing before he goes in unprepared to a contest that's less than 3 weeks away... that and a fluid filled knee that he's worried about.

I am 100% now about the Deep South Grip War, I'm going. My brother is going to drive down with me partly because he wants to see me compete, partly because my dad can't and partly because it intrigues him abit.

Edited by MalachiMcMullen
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I'm really hoping I can make it to the grip comp. I'll probably come in dead last, but the chance to see what I really have will be worth it. I also think it's a great opportunity to meet some of the really cool people from the board.

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I'm really hoping I can make it to the grip comp. I'll probably come in dead last, but the chance to see what I really have will be worth it. I also think it's a great opportunity to meet some of the really cool people from the board.

Oh yeah it's definitely worth it! Even if only to learn and you will learn especially considering the caliber of the competition. Besides, it's not much of a drive for you, I have to drive 16hrs!

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congrats on another deadlift pr, they are some strong numbers

Thanks egg! I've never gained fast enough in an exercise to be as impressed with my lifts as someone else(not that it happens often though), but since before September my max was 335 I am amazed by how well I'm doing.

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I feel ontop of the world right now! My deadlift has increased 85lbs in less than 3 months, I've closed a #3, I've closed an RB210 and an RB240 just today and I bent 3 St. Croix shoes into hearts, two size 0's and one size 2. Although I'm going to have to get more Size 2 shoes now :blush

Edited by MalachiMcMullen
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