SoxFan11's Modified Westside Log

[SoxFan11]

So, you may remember me from my 5/3/1 log, or my generally abrasive posts in other areas of this board (The Pit, RIP), or my time as a forum leader. Whatever... now I am back. I had disk decompression surgery on August 2. Staples were removed on August 18 and I was back to training on August 19. My squat and deadlift are pretty close to normal, but my bench is still a work in progress. (The decompression was for C6/C7, the herniation caused damage/impingement/whatever to the nerve that feeds left triceps. So I have to recover the nerve while also recovering the strength in my left triceps. Thus, sucky bench.)

Anyway... I am going to be competing on December 12 (day after my 40th birthday, be sure to send presents) and feel that switching over to a Westside (albeit modified) template is best for getting my bench back and for preparing me for the platform. I've already done a couple of weeks of training, but I won't bore you with a long post recounting all that.

I will be doing DE squat/DL tomorrow. So will start the actual log then.

[Diabetic Muscle]

Looking forward to this. Are you going to focus on some uni lateral movements to up bring up the lagging tricep?

[tjoe]

what's your current bench at?
raw meet or equipped?
good luck bro!

[SoxFan11]

what's your current bench at?
raw meet or equipped?
good luck bro!

I'm going raw. Last time I did a full range bench was prior to surgery and I was able to get 205. I've been doing floor presses and worked up to about 250 the other night. But I am replacing them on my ME day with DB presses.


Looking forward to this. Are you going to focus on some uni lateral movements to up bring up the lagging tricep?

Yeah. I have been doing a lot of single arm rope pressdowns and DB extensions. they are starting to feel closer in strength.

[SoxFan11]

Friday- DE sq/dl

Parallel box squats- 205- 8x2
Sumo deadlifts- 275- 8x2
Goodmornings- 135- 4x8
Ab progression (I can send Youtube link if anyone wants it. Not of me, just of the progression.)
Sled pulls- two round trips (about 25 yards each way)

So, some of my modifications probably jump right out-
(1) No bands or chains. For a couple of reasons: it is near impossible to rig them up at my gym, and I am not sold on their importance for an unequipped lifter. Once I get into gear, next year maybe, I will add bands and chains.
(2) I do both a squat and a deadlift variation on my SQ/DL days. I feel doing both is important for a novice, unequipped lifter. (On my ME days, as you'll soon see, I work squat then rack pulls.)

[SoxFan11]

Saturday- DE bench
Bench press (competition grip)- 155- 8x3
Close grip bench (pinkies on ring)- 135- 4x8
Cable row (V, neutral grip)- 160- 4x10 (still don't like pulling anything heavy, as it pulls the incision scar)
DB lateral raises- 25- 1x10; 30- 1x8; 35- 1x8
DB curls- 30- 1x10; 35- 1x10; 40- 1x8
Dizenzo rows- 70- 1x10; 85- 1x10; 100- 1x10
Unilateral rope press downs- 25- 1x25; 40- 1x10
DB press on Swiss ball- 40- 3x10

[SoxFan11]

Tuesday- ME SQ/DL
7 minutes on bike, DeFranco's agile 8.
Squat- 135- 2x10; 225- 1x5; 275- 1x5; 315- 1x3; 345- 1; 365- 1; 395- 1
Rack pulls- 315- 1x5; 405- 1x5; 495- 6 singles, 30 seconds between reps.
Ab progression 2x

395 went up easily, despite fucking up my foot placement. I almost racked the weight, and kind of wish I had. I had 405 or 415 in me, but wanted to leave some in the tank. I don't want to blow my load so far before my meet. I will take the 10 pound gain each week, with pleasure.

[Diabetic Muscle]

Damn nice squats. How wide would you say your foot placement is?

[SoxFan11]

Damn nice squats. How wide would you say your foot placement is?

Thanks!

I was wondering the same thing the other day, so I just now measured. I am about 36-38 from big toe to big toe. I think that is relatively wide. I found that my long torso almost forces me into a fairly wide stance. Plus, I figure already knowing that stance will be beneficial for when I make the move into gear.

[SoxFan11]

ME Bench (the bitch workout)
DB bench- 50- 2x10; 60- 1x5; 70- 1x5; 80-1x3; 90- left side failed.
Decline bench- 135- 4x8
Key press- 40- 3x10
DB skull crushers- 15- 3x12
Pulldown (wide D handles)- 160- 1x8; 175- 1x8; 190- 1x8; 205- 1x8
Face pulls- 100- 4x10

Two notes-
(1) I switched to DB presses for my ME work because I need unilateral movements to help build the left side back up. Also, it provides me with a better sense of progress in that I will know the left triceps is getting stronger/more functional, as opposed to just building the overcompensating right side.

(2) The toughest part of the road back for me is mental. I've not really had any pain from this injury or from surgery (just some minor pulling/tightness at the site of the incision). But feeling like a weak little bitch at least once per week (ME bench) can really play tricks with your mind. I spend so much time wondering if the left triceps is getting better or if it's not coming along fast enough, etc. It's incredibly mentally draining.

[Diabetic Muscle]

I'm on the long side torso wise as well. I will have to measure, I know I'm pretty wide as well but always curious about another raw lifter.

I can't imagine what that would be like. Good luck man and I'm sure you'll bounce back.

[SoxFan11]

I can't imagine what that would be like. Good luck man and I'm sure you'll bounce back.

Thanks, I really appreciate it!

[SoxFan11]

DE SQ/DL
6 minutes on bike, DeFranco's agile 8
Parallel box squat- warm up 135- 10; 185- 10; 225- 8x2
DL- warm up 225- 2x2; 315- 8x2
Good mornings- warm up 135- 10; 155- 4x8
Reverse hyper off high box- bodyweight- 4x10

I would have liked to get some sled and ab work in, but I was sidetracked a bit as everyone found out about my new job and wanted to talk about it. I can't complain, though, as I had a good session and it's nice that people care enough to ask.

[Diabetic Muscle]

Good training. What percentage do you use for your speed work?

[SoxFan11]

Good training. What percentage do you use for your speed work?

I started at around 50% for my squats and deads, but have altered them somewhat. And my bench speed work is way higher than 50% because I am busting my ass to get this damn triceps working again. Actually, now that I think about it, my squat speed word last week was probably around 60% (so not too high) and my deads were in the same vicinity. At some point I will work up to some heavy singles for deads to get a sense of where I'm at. But I was able to pull 315 very quickly, so I stuck with it.

[SoxFan11]

DE Bench (was Saturday, but my lazy ass didn't get around to posting it)
Warm up is combination of DeFranco's upper body and Diesel Crew's shoulder warm up.
Bench- bar- 2x10; 135- 2x5; 155- 1x3; 175- 8x3
Close grip (pinkies on rings)- 135- 4x8
Cable row (v grip)- 160- 3x10

A pretty lame workout overall. I got to gym late and I felt weak from the get-go.

[SoxFan11]

ME SQ/DL
Free squat- bar- 10; 135-5; 225-5; 275-3; singles- 315, 365, 395, 405
Rack pulls- 315-8; 405-5; 495-3; 545-1
Reverse hyper (using 45 degree back raise) bodyweight- 3x12
Sled pulls- I RT with 1 plate, 2 plates and 3 plates.

Notes- Excited about breaking 400 for the first time since high school! Wish my gym had a sumo power rack so I could do my rack pulls wider. Need to add some tension to the reverse hypers, but I was still playing around with the best way to set them up without a reverse hyper machine. I like going backwards on the 45 degree better than using a high box. I also wish my gym's composite floor was not so damn sticky.

[Diabetic Muscle]

I use a high decline bench to do my reverse hypers. I'm jealous of the 405, looks like my rm would be the same as my bench right now.

[tjoe]

good work bro!
keep at it!

[SoxFan11]

I use a high decline bench to do my reverse hypers. I'm jealous of the 405, looks like my rm would be the same as my bench right now.
No reason to be jealous. You'll get there!


good work bro!
keep at it!
Thanks!

[SoxFan11]

ME bench (Wednesday)
DB presses- 50-10; 60-8; 70-5; 80-3; 90- left side got about 2/3 of the way up. PROGRESS!; 60-10, 8, 6
Decline bench- 135-8; 155- 8, 8, 6
Key press- 45- 10, 10, 9
DB skull crushers- 17.5- 8, 8, 8
Pull down (d grip)- 160-10; 175-8; 190-8
Face pulls- 100- 4x12
Tire flips- 2x10 (tire is about 350 pounds)

[SoxFan11]

DE squat/DL (Friday)
Parallel box (with red minis)- Warm Up-->bar- 2x5, 135- 5; 185-3/// Working sets- 205- 8x2
Deficit deadlift (off plates)- Warm Up--> 135-5, 225-2/// Working sets- 275- 8x2
Good mornings- Warm Up--> 135-8/// Working sets- 185- 4x8

[SoxFan11]

I've been slacking off with updates. Will hit you with three all at once. And say that this will be last update until next week. I move in to new place on Friday and hope to get over to Bay State Gym on Saturday or Sunday to set up my membership, etc. I am deloading this week- once for upper and once for lower- and having a massage and resting. Next week begins about 10 weeks of prep before my meet.

DE bench (Saturday)
bench w/ doubled red bands- bar- 10; 95- 5; 115- 3; 135- 8x3
close grip bench (pinkies on ring)- 135- 4x8
lateral raises- 25- 10; 27.5- 10; 30- 10
plate loaded row- 90 (per side)- 12; 135- 10; 180- 8; 225- 8
db curls- 25- 2x15
tate press- 15- 15; 20- 12
dizenzo rows- 85- 2x10



Deload SQ/DL (Monday)
SSB- bar- 10; 135- 5; 185- 5; 225- 3x5
rack pull 315- 3x5
abductor machine- 115- 3x15
ab progression 3x
reverse hyper- bodyweight- 3x15


Deload bench (Tuesday)
bar- 10; 135- 5x5 (really playing with my set up b/c AAU requires flat feet)
incline- bar- 10; 95- 10; 115- 10; 135- 10
decline key press- 30- 3x10
pulldown (d handle)- 135- 3x10
face pills- 70- 3x15
unilateral rope pressdowns- 25- 3x15 (left felt same as right; maybe progress?)
standing DB preacher curls- 30- bunch (I lost count, as I was having a conversation while doing them)

[Diabetic Muscle]

Good training man. Good luck with the move.

[SoxFan11]

Thanks, bro. It should go easy. Just wish I didn't have to lift any of the boxes and could a full deload week. lol

[old man dave]

I see you did bench with bands and was wondering what your thoughts are on using them. I think they are great every other week to help you build stabilizers that you normally would not use. When you have a load greater than gravity something positive should happen. I also really like chains even more than bands.

[SoxFan11]

I see you did bench with bands and was wondering what your thoughts are on using them. I think they are great every other week to help you build stabilizers that you normally would not use. When you have a load greater than gravity something positive should happen. I also really like chains even more than bands.

I like using them, even though I will compete unequipped. It's just another way to overload a muscle, but more importantly they allow you to accelerate throughout the entire range of motion.

[SoxFan11]

Ok, bitches. I am back. The move went fairly well. But I've been tied up with trying to buy a car and all sorts of other crap. Finally got back to the gym (Bay State, FTW!) yesterday. After three weeks off, I wasn't as weak as I feared. But holy crap am I sore. Here's the rundown.

Sunday- ME sq/dl
squat- warm up--> 135, 185, 225 (all sets of 5)
working sets--> 275x3, 315x3, 335x1, 355x1 (I HATE the floor here. It's painted plywood and slippery as hell. Plus the way the racks are situated it's almost impossible to squat outside of them (floor drops off), which means I can't get out as wide as I'd like. May have to use the monolift next time, just to get my stance right.)
rack pulls- warm up--> 315x5
working sets--> 495 3x3
Tried to use the reverse hyper machine, which seems to be made for a 8 foot tall person. Gave up on that and opted for GHR instead.

Monday- ME bench
DB press- warm up--> 50, 60 (sets of 10)
working sets--> 70, 80 (sets of 3); 85, 90 (singles) and I almost for the 95 locked out. This is the first time I have locked out the 90 with my left arm since the surgery. And I can damn close to hitting the 95 as well. Very excited to be making progress.

Hammer press (flat)--> 1 plate x10, 1 + a quarter x7, 2 plates x 3, drop to 1 plate x 10
Key press--> 40- 3x10
Unilateral rope press down--> 30- 3x10
Face pulls--> 100- 3x12
Fat bar wide pull downs--> 175- 3x8

[Diabetic Muscle]

Training is looking good. At least you have a monolift.

[SoxFan11]

Training is looking good. At least you have a monolift.

True, but I feel like a bitch using it for the weight I squat. lol

[Diabetic Muscle]

I would use the shit out it. Especially since I'll start in the gear next week.

[SoxFan11]

DE sq/dl
Parallel box--> warm up- 135, 155 (5); working sets- 185 8x2
Deads--> warm up- 225 (5); working sets- 225 + chains (~50-80 pounds, not sure) 8x2
GM--> 135- 4x8
Rev hyper--> bodyweight- 3x10

[Mr.Bones]

Very nice.

[SoxFan11]

DE bench
bench--> warm up- 95- 2x10; 135 (5); working sets- 155- 8x3
log press--> smaller of two logs, no clue about weight, but added 25 to each end- 8, 8, 7
fat bar close grip bench--> no clue weight of bar, but added 25s here, too- 3x10
kb laterals--> 15 (not sure if kg or pounds)- 2x15
Hammer Strength plate loaded seated row--> 2 plates per side- 3x8
hammer curls--> 30- 3x10

[SoxFan11]

Very nice.

Thanks, I'm not doing too bad for three weeks off. Just hope to keep making progress until my meet. Speaking of which, I was working on my bench set up tonight because the AAU makes you have flat feet. What a freaking nightmare. My already unimpressive arch was even more horrible. Ugh.

[SoxFan11]

My training on Sunday (ME sq/dl) was so abysmal that I almost gave up lifting weights. First of all, I could not get loose. No matter how much I foam rolled and warmed up, my left hip was just not going to work right. I'm not even going to do a log entry for it, as I'd like to pretend it never happened. I will say that the most discouraging part was 355 feeling heavy as shit for squats. Yeah, it was that bad.

[SoxFan11]

DE sq/dl (Wed)
parallel box- warm up--> barx10, 95x5; 135x5; 185x5; working--> 225 8x2
deadlift- warm up--> 225x5; working--> 315 8x2
good morning- 135 3x10I was amazed at how well everything went last night. I was sick, and out of work, on Monday. And had a couple nights of little rest. But I dragged my ass into the gym last night and probably had the best training I have had since the move. I actually felt like I could have done my squat work with 275 or so.

[SoxFan11]

ME bench(Thu)
bench- warm up--> barx10; 95 2x5; 135x5; working--> 155x3; 175x3; 185x3; 205x1; 215x1
swiss bar neutral close- warm up--> barx10; working 95x10; 115- 9, 7
incline hammer strength- 1 plate per side- 3x10
chest supported row- 90- 3x10

So another great night. 215 is the most I have pressed since the injury way back in February and at least 10 pounds more than I have done post-surgery. Maybe I am making progress, after what felt like an eternity. I actually think that I may have had 225 in me, but didn't want to fail.

[Diabetic Muscle]

That's great news man. I'm glad to see the tri is coming back strong.

[SoxFan11]

Once again, I have been lax in updating my log. Sorry, bros, but I have been balancing multiple women, who seem to take up all my time. God damn hormones!

So here is a long update---

ME sq/dl
squat
warm up--> barx10; 135- 2x5; 185x5; 225x5
work--> 273x3; 315x3; 335x1; 365x1
block pulls
warm up--> 225x5; 315x5
work--> 405- 3x3

(got to gym late and had no time for assistance; ugh)

ME bench
db press
warm up--> 45x10; 60x10; 70x7
work--> 80x5; 85x1; 90x1; 95x1 (PR since injury!)
fat bar close grip
barx10; 100- 3x10
fat bar pulldowns
150x10; 170x10; 190x8
face pulls
100- 3x10
single arm rope pressdown
30-3x10

DE sq/dl
parallel box
warm up--> barx10; 135x5; 185x5; 225x5
work--> 275- 8x2
deads
warm up--> 225x5
work--> 335- 8x2
good mornings
185- 3x8
leg press
3 plates/side- 3x10

DE bench
warm up--> barx10; 95x10; 135x5
work--> 155- 8x3
swiss bar
95x10; 115x10; 135x7
decline press
135- 3x10
rear delt machine
70x12; 90- 3x10
db row
100- 3x8


ME q/dl
warm up--> 135, 185, 225, 275 all sets of 5
work--> 315, 335 (sets of 3); 355, 375x 1
rack pulls
warm up--> 225, 315 x5
work--> 405x3; 455x1

actually got to gym early so I could get in assistance work, but they fucking closed 15 minutes early. So no reverse hypers or ab work. Ugh. Then I managed to get sick and missed my ME bench on Monday. Probably going to drop DE bench this week and do ME on DE day just to get back on schedule, as I am still sick today and couldn't train tonight.

[SoxFan11]

My meet is a little over 4 weeks away and I need to figure out how I am going to handle last three weeks of training. Know that I'll take week before meet off, or else just do some light assistance work and stretching/dynamic stuff.

[Mr.Bones]

Opening numbers for your meet are?