piperdown44 Member

Tenacity and clear realistic short, medium and long terms goals.

^^^ Great job NDG! Your story is similar to mine and the struggle is real. I happy the injuries have never been overly serious but it is frustrating to have to spend weeks/months rehabbing back up.

Exactly. I don't care how good a "mind to muscle" connection you have, you're still using some biceps to work back lifts. If your biceps are a limiting factor why not spend some time increasing their strength with some iso stuff....

Which I've never understood. I increased my lifts by using isolation work to bring up weak areas. Skullcrushers and CGBP helped my triceps get stronger and got me past a sticking point on bench. Same with legs and needing to bring the hamstrings up. Hammy curls and RDL's helped.

Well, at most I do maybe a total of 4 sets of any bicep isolation since I've already hit them with compounds. I'll do 2 sets of hammer curls and then pick a variation of standard curls. I will say when I do DB curls on an incline bench where I'm leaned back a bit, arms at my side, then curl up, it stretches them quite a…

Good for you! I'm 46 and started back up about 3 years ago at 43. I started with SL 5x5 and followed the program exactly as written, meaning I started with just the bar. It let my ligaments, tendons and muscles get used to lifting again with, at the beginning, weights that were not a challenge but allowed me to relearn…

I've lost track of how many times I've ran SL 5x5. Stick with the program fully for at least the first cycle and assess after that. Even when I run it now, the only assistant movement I add in is pullups, or if my elbow tendons are acting up, lat pulldowns.

Before: Greek yogurt During: Water After: Lunch

Is this like "Wonder Twins activate"? lol Lifter here.

Yep. 2 tablespoons, which is a small amount really, is 190 cals. Have that 3x/day and you've easily taken in 570 cals.

Versa grips. One of the best darn equipment purchases I made.

I wouldn't cut any further. Go on into a small surplus and have some fun lifting.

Nothing wrong with the front pics. You've added some solid LBM as part of your bulk. Good job!!

I prefer pendlay rows over traditional rows. Gotta make sure the knees are bent slightly and you pull with the upper back. For other upper back work I routinely use: Lat pulldowns Single arm DB rows T-bar rows Cable rows - both single arm and both arms Machine rows - both single arm and both arms Pullups - only when I get…

I look at protein and fats as the minimum, not the maximum when I bulk. Once it hit those, or even go over, it doesn't matter to me what fills the remaining calories.

Lifts I do or would consider in a smith machine: Seated OHP Shrugs Rows Calf raises That's about it. If I'm traveling and a smith machine is the only thing available at the hotel (and a real gym is either too far away or expensive for just a few days) I would do bench in it.

This is the one my family has. It's great because you can set how many cups you want and the strength and it grinds just enough beans for that amount. We've had this going on 4 years now without any issues. Easily programmable too, so in the evening before bed I add the water and set the program. Boom, fresh coffee when I…

The only people I know that do this are very advanced lifters. Most of them, if they do this, just buy smarties from the store. Even these advanced lifters are unsure if it makes a difference, but as one guy said "hey I get to have candy after my workout".

No way to really assess your form since the smith machine has you locked in a specific range of motion. There are only a few lifts I'd consider using a smith machine for and deadlifts or squats are not one of them.

I am not "fit" at least from a cardiovascular point of view and I sweat just looking at the weights…lol Comment from one of the guys I know that lifts at the same time "we can track where Eric's been just by the sweat drops on the floor". Not kidding. Wish I didn't sweat as much as I do. I chalk it up to my Scandinavian…

Squat - nope Bench - nothing Deadz - not one in sight Snatch - can't see one CJ - zip Why was this even……………..

Am impressed with form and weight. Great job! But I'm absolutely amazed you can deal with a fixed pin bench press. Gawd, I hate those with the fixed pins.

Crazy! Congrats! That's serious + weight for dip..... Wish my elbows would let me do them anymore. Worked up to BW+45 early last year then the tendons started squawking something fierce.

^^^ nice job Dana!

Since I run 531 it's: Tues 6 sets deadz, 5x10 squats Frid 6 sets squats, 5x10 deadz I usually throw in some RDL on Tues and leg presses on Fri even though it's not called out for the program.

I mentioned you need to read the book to understand but....you really need the book to understand! Wendler talks about leaving room for progression. Yes, the first couple of cycles should be easy(ish) but that leaves plenty of room to continue to improve. That's why I'm on my 10th cycle and am still progressing. Slowly,…

Never used the app. I use the online calculator blackironbeast.com for my 531. For the 5+ day, if I just did the main lift and 1 set of 5 reps of an assistance I'd probably be done in about 15-20 mins too, maybe 30 mins on deadz. How many reps did you get on the AMRAP? Since I'm following the BBB template (gotta read the…

That was great!! Very smooth!

Got 305 for my 3rd and final attempt at a local challenge today. Touch and go was the rule so not as impressive as a pause but I'm happy with it. https://youtu.be/gJujwP2RrzQ