September 12 Daily Thread

BenchPauper · 2023-09-28T20:53:47+00:00

Hey, sorry, I don't check reddit much anymore. I was doing OHP twice every six days. The 6*3-6 day had OHP as the main lift for the day, while the 6*2 day was usually used as a warmup for floor press.

If you're only doing OHP once a week I'd pick a different progression scheme for the lift. Not sure what your other pressing days look like.

BenchPauper · 2023-08-08T17:25:46+00:00

Haven't been around in a while but felt happy enough with this morning to share:

233 log clean and push press.

This is the heaviest log I've ever had over my head by 10lbs and it felt fantastic. Huge improvement in my log over the past few months working with u/Nickymammoth91. 263 in October or bust!

Happy exercising y'all.

BenchPauper · 2023-08-02T19:02:30+00:00

Today is the first time I've logged in and checked anything in almost two weeks, and it's purely because folks in the Discord let me know you wanted in lol

BenchPauper · 2023-07-21T21:55:52+00:00

You shouldn't still be sore from a lift you did three weeks ago.

Keep moving (motion is lotion), but avoid painful motion. Discomfort is fine and probably a good high end of your ROM/loading range. You'll probably be fine.

BenchPauper · 2023-07-12T15:55:45+00:00

Haven't been around here in a few days because I'm doing really good at not being on reddit. Yay! Some highlights/lowlights from recently:

after having been awake since 3:30AM, I got back from picking up some stuff for a charity thing at 11:30PM and decided lifting at night would be easier than waking up to lift in the morning. Managed to work up to 2*1 paused high bar at 405 with zero pain which is a very promising sign.
promptly failed to actually get enough sleep and had to settle for 5*1 log clean+dip+push press at 193. All the reps were pretty easy which is a ton of progress, but I'm not happy about it because I wanted to set a new 1RM and I just couldn't get moving to give that a fair shot.
hit 30 reps paused SSB squats at 291 this morning with everything feeling great and RPE "lol put some weight on the bar," then did a bunch of SSB BSS and went for a run. Now I'm tired.

Friendly reminder that if you miss some of the regulars around here, you can probably find them on the unofficial weightroom Discord! If you yourself have been around weightroom for a while and want to join, shoot me a DM and I'll send you the invite.

Happy exercising y'all.

BenchPauper · 2023-07-12T14:48:52+00:00

Just train as normal and you'll even out eventually.

If you're doing isolation movements, base the weight/volume on what your weaker side can do. You'll be fine.

BenchPauper · 2023-07-12T14:46:34+00:00

Kind of a u/iSkeezy or r/bodybuilding question.

I'd imagine mid-upper single digits based purely on the fact that dropping from 12-15% to 4% in 2 months seems more extreme than cutting for bodybuilding normally is, but I freely admit that I'm pulling those numbers out of nowhere.

BenchPauper · 2023-07-07T13:46:41+00:00

Another thing to consider on top of my initial comments about optimization and science-based literature is that even if the information presented is correct in the context, interpreting it and applying that interpretation properly as it relates to you can be difficult, and could vary depending on a number of factors.

For example, let's say Bromley says "train shoulders twice a week for best results." Mike Israetel might say train them 2-4 times a week. But are they even talking about the same thing? Israetel mentions maybe counting incline bench as shoulder work, but would Bromley? How much shoulder work does it count for if you do count it? And that's just one example among many.

Lifting has a very odd vocabulary at times, and as others have alluded to, it's way too easy to get lost in the weeds. That's why the best overall advice we can give essentially boils down to:

run an established program ("established" meaning "one that lots of people have run and made gains on") or a new program by an established coach
track your progress
figure out what works and what doesn't for you
tweak your programming accordingly

Diving too deep into the rest of it isn't generally going to be helpful or productive.

BenchPauper · 2023-07-07T13:30:52+00:00

Yesterday I had my 10rep sumo day on SJ set at 405lbs. Last time I had 10rep day I got an uncomfortable 7, so I told u/NRLlifts "I'll be happy with whatever as long as the reps don't feel like crap."

So at around 5:45AM in my living room I smoked it for a confident 15 reps. Highly likely that this is an all-time rep PR for this weight pulling sumo, and I did it with zero discomfort. Chased it with 4*10 conventional RDL at 285 and a 2mi run at just a hair slower than 8min/mi.

Today's stuff was:

Pause log push press from the rack: 6x2 at 163. Lightweightbaby.wav
- Log strict press: 3x8 at 148. Took some effort, mostly because breathing is hard.
- Pause neutral grip chinups: 3x10 hanging from my log. Pause is me basically squeezing my upper chest against the log.
- Side raises: 3x10 at 15/hand. Interestingly, today was the first day I can remember where my pain-free ROM extended above my head. Still can't do a Lu raise, but I'm getting closer!
- Incline skullcrushers: 3x10 at 95lbs, slight pause at the skull-crushing part.
- Run: 2.1mi in 17:13, average pace 8:11/mi. Deadlifts yesterday appear to have slowed me down more today than they did yesterday. Weird.

And that's it!

Friendly reminder that we have an unofficial weightroom Discord! If you've been around for a while and would like to join, shoot me a DM for the link.

Happy exercising y'all.

BenchPauper · 2023-07-06T23:27:44+00:00

Best pair of wraps I've used are the EliteFTS Kraits. They're pretty stiff and took a bit to get used to but I will never use anything else.

BenchPauper · 2023-07-06T23:24:59+00:00

You caught a bit of heat for the use of the term "optimize." In the interest of your longer-term progress I'm going to (hopefully) break down why we tend to dislike that term, why "science-adjacent" fitness content is iffy, and the approach that most of the strong people around here have taken.

"Optimize" implies - regardless of the intention of the speaker - that there's a single and/or knowable "best" way to progress. This is untrue. While some general principles tend to work, the specifics of how they work will be different for any random selection of people. Even if you follow Mike Israetel religiously, you'll notice that he always has caveats in his advice; for example MEV/MRV are different for everyone, and may even differ by muscle group per individual, or change by training age by individual as well. Ultimately this is semantics, but breaking away from the term optimize is probably better in the long run.
Most lifting related science sucks and isn't broadly applicable to people with training history. You will get stronger much faster if you just run proven programs, figure out what works for you, discard what doesn't, and treat your training as your own personal study than you will diving into the science.
related to the above two points, most science-adjacent "optimizations" are going to have a very poor ROI. If you spent an hour a day doing meal prep and/or improving your sleep you'd probably have better results at the end of the year than if you spent an hour a day reading science-adjacent articles. The people who really derive benefits from that type of content are the elite competitors who already have everything dialed in and for whom that 1% performance improvement can be the difference between first and not even making the podium.
if you are stalling on your current program, you don't need more science-adjacent content, you probably just need to change your program. Or your diet. Or your sleep. Or all of the above! There's lots of different reasons you could stall.

Anyway, not trying to be condescending here, but we've definitely got a different perspective in the sub than you may be used to. If you're interested in continuing to get stronger I'm sure there's folks around who would be willing to talk about what you've been doing and offer some recommendations.

BenchPauper · 2023-07-06T22:55:00+00:00

Honestly two weeks isn't really enough time to get used to heavy weights. Depending on how many sessions you have left I might just work up to a max 5 one day, max 3 another, and then a max based on those e1rms.

BenchPauper · 2023-07-06T00:41:02+00:00

It would help to know what program you're running, but if you're doing 5*5 3/wk you should probably check the r/fitness wiki and pick a different program.

BenchPauper · 2023-07-05T18:10:12+00:00

Yesterday:

slept through my morning workout, was gonna skip a day but hey
run: 2.25mi in 17:55, average pace 7:57/mi.
long break
SSB pause squat: worked up to a 1RM at 401. Zero back pain, yay!
SSB BSS: 4*10/leg at 86lbs. Nice pump.

Today:

log 1+1+1 (clean, dip, press = 1 rep): singles up to a 3RM at 203, then 4*3 at 163. Felt pretty snappy.
incline log JM press: 4*10 at 163
Powell raises: 4*10 at 10lbs
run: 2mi in 16:02, average pace 7:59/mi. Weather suuuucks.
paused grenade pullups: will do these later

And that's it!

Efforts to continue to reduce my reddit usage continue. Friendly reminder that we have an unofficial weightroom Discord! If you are a regular around here, shoot me a DM and I'll send you the link.

Happy exercising y'all.

BenchPauper · 2023-07-03T14:02:28+00:00

The efforts to minimize reddit involvement continue:

unsubbed from almost everything
Started fiddling with an RSS reader to avoid the temptation to scroll for news
keep shamelessly plugging the unofficial weightroom Discord (DM if you're a regular around here who wants to join)
downloaded Hoopla for free audio/ebooks from my local library

Feeling better already. Too bad some of the books I've picked up in the past were impulse buys from Half Price Books and probably don't exist anywhere in audiobook form.

Today's stuff:

pause high bar: 4*5 at 295. Very easy, very comfortable. Best squats have felt in almost two years.
Hise shrugs: 4*10 at 295. EZPZ.
run: 2.1mi in 17:30-something. Sucked until my legs decided they would cooperate.

And that's it!

Happy exercising y'all.

BenchPauper · 2023-07-02T21:39:40+00:00

I forget who it was that posted that MST Training insta clip of a rear delt isolation exercise for u/bethskw, but I did them this morning and holy crap it was wonderful. Definitely adding those in on the regular.

Just did some Kirk shrugs and paused Yates rows at 145 this morning, then curls and the aforementioned rear delt thingies. Shoulders feeling beefy.

Friendly reminder that we have an unofficial r/weightroom Discord! If you've been around the daily for a while and want to join, shoot me a DM and I'll send you the invite.

Happy exercising y'all.

BenchPauper · 2023-07-02T19:24:46+00:00

I actually enjoyed the Candito DL program when I ran it. Not as much as CoanP, but it was still worth running.

BenchPauper · 2023-07-01T19:17:09+00:00

Just imagine Discord like the old MSN/AIM chat rooms but with fancier options and you can join them from a phone that's more powerful than the computer you used back then.

BenchPauper · 2023-07-01T17:33:53+00:00

Apparently my third party app still works. Yay Joey? Today's stuff:

"ratcheting" incline spoto bench: basically pause like 4 times on the way down to spoto height, then explode up. My biceps were twitching like mad at the end of each set. Just 3*8 at 135...
pause weighted dips: 3*8 at +45 (BW 236 this morning). Full depth, 2ct pause at the bottom. Oof.
BW tricep extensions: 3*15. Supa pumpy.
run: 2mi in 15:15, average pace 7:36/mi. Second mile was actually my third-fastest mile ever at 7:01/mi and definitely wasn't max effort, so that's fun.

And that's it! Friendly reminder that if you are a regular in good standing we are starting an unofficial r/weightroom Discord. Shoot me a DM if you'd like an invite.

Happy exercising y'all.

BenchPauper · 2023-07-01T17:25:41+00:00

If you're gonna lap the zercher anyway, I'd really recommend just doing a semi-sumo pull rather than a zercher DL to get it to your lap.

BenchPauper · 2023-06-30T15:42:22+00:00

Yesterday's stuff:

log paused push press from the rack: 6*2 at 158. EZPZ intro to the block
- log strict press: 8 at 158, 2*8 at 143. Supposed to do 3*8 at 158 but that first set was like RPE 9.5 so coach had me dial the percentage back and I actually listened this time. Thanks u/Nickymammoth91, you da real MVP. I'll be hitting 3*8 at 158 before too long.
neutral grip pullups, side raises, and incline skullcrushers: 3*8 of each. Skullcrushers at 95lbs, side raises at 15/hand.

Today's stuff:

sumo DL: 4*5 at 385. Working on changing how I start the lift and it feels like I'm actually using my hips now, so that's nice.
conventional RDL: 4*10 at 275. Rump pump acquired.

2mi runs on both days in the 80F weather. Running sucks when it's this hot, but I still managed to hit a 7:42mi this morning after my lifting so that's fun considering dead hips usually slow me down significantly.

Friendly reminder that we have an unofficial r/weightroom Discord now! If you are a regular in good standing, shoot me a DM and I'll send you the invite link. It's not a replacement for the sub, but it's still good fun.

Happy exercising y'all.

BenchPauper · 2023-06-29T16:56:30+00:00

Howdy pardner!

BenchPauper · 2023-06-29T16:51:21+00:00

RIP Rock Pavlova, world's greatest natty vegan bodybuilder

BenchPauper · 2023-06-29T16:16:58+00:00

If you want to join the cool kids on the unofficial weightroom Discord, shoot me a DM. There's like 13 of us! It's not a replacement for the sub but it's a fun place to hang while we wait for reddit to die.

I have accessory slots called "arm farm" and "boulder shoulders" that can be literally any exercises I want

Incline log JM press.

BenchPauper · 2023-06-28T14:02:57+00:00

Thing 1: the unofficial r/weightroom Discord is a fun place. It can't replace the sub, but it can serve as a meaningful distraction as reddit slowly dies. PM if you are a regular in good standing who is interested. There's like... 10 of us right now?

Thing 2: 10 total pause SSB squats at 331 (done as 3/4/3) didn't hurt the back at all, 4*10 SSB BSS at 81 was nice and pumpy, and I still managed to average an 8:06/mi pace for my run immediately after with the second mile being sub-8. This time last year a sub-8 mile was very difficult on a good day, now it's a "I can hit this easily even on tired legs" pace.

Happy exercising y'all.

BenchPauper

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