Burly Decides to Pull Again...

[weekend]

Sorry, what I meant was does it foster weakness like straps.

[burlyman30]

Sorry, what I meant was does it foster weakness like straps.

Even straps don't weaken your grip if you only use them on the sets where your grip would normally give out. They just don't help you strengthen your grip. When I do bent over rows, my grip gives out at anything past 275, but I can use straps in order to add another 50 lbs and give my back a proper workout. But I only use them for the heaviest sets.

[olddawg]

Burly, been fighting the urge to make a funny here, but I can't last any longer. The thread title Burly Decides to Pull again, and the announcement of your new wood, just sayin, it paints a funny picture every time I read the thread

[burlyman30]

Burly, been fighting the urge to make a funny here, but I can't last any longer. The thread title Burly Decides to Pull again, and the announcement of your new wood, just sayin, it paints a funny picture every time I read the thread

I nearly made a joke about it in my initial post of the thread, actually, and have been surprised no one else did... so it's about time.

[olddawg]

I've been sick and off a little lol

[burlyman30]

I was looking in the mirror today and noticed a muscular effect already taking place from the DLs... my traps are growing taller and thicker. Upper traps are something that do seem to grow pretty easily with me, so I think it's muscle memory responding to its old friend, the deadlift. However, it's been ages since I was holding 400+ pounds in my hands (no remarks about fat girls, please. lol). I think it's the body's response to the heavy weight that is forcing the traps to grow so noticeably in a short time.

[burlyman30]

So it seems that my original intent was not to pull weekly, yet I get to the gym and I get lured in. I pulled again today, though not for a 1 RM. I had a pretty rough day at work and had a terrible time concentrating on the weights. I have the customer from hell, and I am a subcontractor on this project, so I don't hear a complaint from the customer (even though I talked with him for several minutes before I left the jobsite). He's passive aggressive and then calls the general contractor who then wants to know what is going on and why there are problems. I got to the gym and I was livid. Wanted to go punch the customer for stressing my crew out to the point that they were making critical errors in their work and then costing me more money and time to fix. And I still have to go back and face this idiot for another trip or two to his house to deal with "issues".

/venting over

Anyway, concentration was very difficult. I didn't have the mentality for a 1 RM and I hadn't necessarily planned to do one anyway unless I felt "unstoppable". I followed my plan from last week, which was to work up to heavy sets of 5 reps.

Here's how it went:

135 x 12 back felt tight. helping someone move last night, I think I have a vertebrae out of alignment in my lower lumbar. Tried to adjust it myself, but no go. Ended up getting a pretty good pump from this set, though.
225 x 5 back still feels "out", try to adjust it again. I get a couple "pops" but not low enough.
315 x 3 Goes up easy. back is warmed up enough that I think it'll go heavier without issue, even though it's still "out".
365 x 5 definitely a work set for me. Had to re-grip on rep 5, as sweaty hands and no chalk make it tough to keep hold of the bar.
365 x 5 Again, definitely had to work for this. All went up fine, and I was surprised that this set I got 5, since the last set was heavy. Got my heart rate way up and was breathing hard and heavy for a while prior to the next set.
365 x 5 I really didn't expect to get more than 3. I even told myself to pull 3 good ones, but after 3, I went for 4 and 5 and both went up for me.

Form seemed rock solid on all heavy reps. No glaring weaknesses in certain points of the lift at this point. Everything moves together well. I anticipate some things coming to light more as I add another hundred pounds, but we will wait and see how things progress.

I was wiped out after these sets... heart rate very high and breathing fast and heavy for several minutes afterward. This has to be considered aerobic, right? Or at least as some form of interval training.

Before I had a chance to catch my breath 100%, I was back over at the pullup bar, doing parallel grip pullups and did about 6 sets.

Last week I finished with heavy (for me) overhead DB presses, so this week, I just did isolation/high rep delt work, tri-setting, rear delt flyes, front delt raises, and lateral raises with light weight and high reps. I think I did about 5 or 6 tri-sets. I stopped when I was feeling an ache.. almost a feeling of something being torn, but it was just the intensity of the pump that was so painful. I thought this was a good place to stop.

In the last 3 weeks of pulling (followed by pullups) I am noticing more thickness in my traps across my back (which has been a weak point for me) and my mid to lower lats are growing noticeably (to me) thicker and wider. Also, I am noticing my forearms are thickening in the mid-belly of the muscle (inside or bottom side of forearm, depending on how you are holding the arm).

Assuming I pull next week, I will probably try 385 for sets of 5. I will also try to bring some chalk. It's getting to that point, now. Weekend... bro... I have you in my crosshairs... lol.

[burlyman30]

Later at night, I got home and stretched forward, grabbed my toes, and pulled down and finally the vertebrae popped back into place. Thank goodness!

I got up from my recliner a moment ago to get some FOOD and it was at that time I really felt my hams, glutes, and my spinal erectors. Not painful, just very very well worked. I may have to slow my monkey moves tomorrow.

[burlyman30]

Today, my hams and erectors are stiff and mildly sore, as are my traps and glutes. What did surprise me today was the sore biceps. It takes a lot to get them sore, and it's sore from the tendon in the forearm all the way into the muscle belly. It is more prominently sore on the left arm where my palm faces forward during the lift.

[weekend]

Later at night, I got home and stretched forward, grabbed my toes, and pulled down and finally the vertebrae popped back into place. Thank goodness!

I got up from my recliner a moment ago to get some FOOD and it was at that time I really felt my hams, glutes, and my spinal erectors. Not painful, just very very well worked. I may have to slow my monkey moves tomorrow.

Wait what? Your spine is messed up?

I'm thinking ill try for 385 for 3 sets of 8-10 on my next deadlift workout.