Dirty gets back to basics - Cop an eyefull, pg254

DELTS

Standing BB Press: 77.5 for 3x7 w/90 secs rest..... the big story here was I could clean the weight again. Suprised I got the lot for 7s (altho the last rep wasn't without a little pause for breath). Good sets tho. 
Machine Press: 40+ bar for 15, 15, 15, 13 w/45 secs rest..... simith was being used so went on the machine I had been using before. Only this time I sat the opposite way round as some had been preaching it's virtues... certainly intense on the delts with no over-reaching. Good sets, as I did the 1st 3 well I threw in a 4th set 
Seated DB Cleans: 17.5s for 3x15 w/45 secs rest..... matched this, delts were already baked so I was happy with just like for like on the week here..... had to rest a while before attempting tris tho 

TRIS

Close Grip Bench: 115 for 8, 8, 6 w/90 secs rest..... was going wekk here but on the last set I could feel my back just crampng a bit so stopped at 6 on the last to be safe 
Dips: Bodyweight + 30kg for 15, 15, 11 w/45 secs rest..... well at least I got the lost rep back here, but boy have I gone off dips now LOL
DB roll over exts: 15s for 15, 15, 15, 13 w/45 secs rest....  nailed these well again, managed all 15 on the 3rd so threw in a 4th set for fun

Usual roller and stretch to close

I really need to rethink about doing this session then trying to shave afterwards as I have no ROM in my arms or delts to reach my head or chin . Solid session today tho with no pain of note and felt strong. I still suspect no more than speed work again on DLs tomorrow but hopefully the rest will be good to go.

Note: I did play bball last night, had a blinder playing 3on3 with no pain so was fairly confident todays session would be alright

good sessin mate!!
good reps for the dips too..

The high rep dips hurt... I used to love dipping, strapping a shed load of weight on and banging out half a dozen. It's now a far more acquired taste.

30kg for 58 reps is a bit crazy!!! If you can manage 3 sets of 15's with such a short rest, does that mean the first few sets are very comfortable or do you struggle near the end of any set other than the last?

The 1st set is generally OK altho sometimes you can start to feel it by the end, the 2nd you start to feel the pump bedding itself in and even if it does start to get tough it isn't time for failure yet so I stop where appropriate and then the 3rd and optional 4th are in the lap of the gods - sometimes you just cannot squeeze anything out, then the next week you do, only just, but you do it so you have to throw in another set on principle

When I (finally!) rejoin the gym my reps are going to be in the 10-15 range, rest times will be 45-60 seconds. That's you and Daz-Ball to thank for giving me the idea to give this high rep lark a whirl.

mate im right there with ya on the dips!!
ive dropped them for a bit!!
great for strength increases i reckon, helps with lower chest but i think imo they are to be cycled...
im stickin with CGBP and skulls, pushdowns for now

LM... I don't think I'm ready for DBs overall volume yet tho LOL That delt session is just OTT for me right now I think

mrm... I'm kinda nodding to you here. I'll give it a bit but may bank them ready to switch with CGBP when needed and find an alternative if progression continues to staul

thats the thing mate, i kinda hit BW+45-50k for about 6-8 reps and wasnt budgin from there much, so ive dropped them, gonna concentrate on gettin my CGBP nice and heavy and some skulls and reverse pushdowns etc.. will go back to the them in 8 wks or so

No snow was gonna stop me today...

BACK

Chin ups: bodyweight for 10, 9, 8 w/60 secs rest..... OK, no improvement on 2 weeks ago but after not being able to these last week I was pleased to have held ground. Just some discomfort 
Barbell Bent over rows: 70 for 15, 15, 15, 12 w/45 secs rest..... nice going here. Was able to do these fine and as I got a good 3 sets I chucked in a 4th - which was tough work 
Seated V Bar Rows: 72.5 for 3x15 w/45 secs rest..... altho I yanked the last couple a bit I still got all 3 for 15. Good sets but no good enough to warrent a 4th LOL 

Deadlift: 200 for 3x2 w/90 secs rest..... well fcuk me, you are reading that right. After all the problems of the last week with this strain, not being able to SLDL 100 etc I pissed all the warm up weights so much so that I thought I'd finally go for 200 as my work weight. Grip wasn't my best today and it was tough work so I played safe and did doubles. This was really one out of the bag today tho.

DB hammer: 12.5s for 15, 15, 15, 13 w/45 secs rest..... arm strain was worse on these today and after the DLs I'm not suprised. Decent sets tho

Roller and stretching to finish.

Obviously I'm delighted with that session. As my DL got heavier the side felt easier. 170 warm up was piss easy so thought WTF and went for the 200. Heaviest I've done for about 7 years I reckon, maybe longer. Wasn't easy tho (DOH BTW). The rest of the session was pretty solid too.... I'm liking longer cycles

Well done on the deads mate.

Cheers, fella... TBH I should be more than capable of lifting this considering but that's not the hand I've been dealt LOL. Chuffed to finally have 200 as a genuine work weight again rather than a 1 off single here and there. Fingers crossed it will stay that way now

Do you think that only 6 reps of deads will yield any meaningful gains? Obviously 3 sets is better than none but are you planning on increasing the volume at any stage?

LM:....

I am tending to steer away from higher reps on DLs. For a few reasons really. Primarily, I don't want to be using volume where I could fatigue and lose form, I have too many past issues with my back etc to want to risk that so I prefere I have a weight I can either lift or I can't, avoiding the 'grey' area.

Despite my general increase in volume/intensity I still have one exercise per session that is a bit heavier. So I have something where I am trying to generate some strength and/or power and the rest to complement by hormonal stimulation (if that makes sense)... on back day DLs are the obvious one for power, they are the better choice over any other option.
 
For now I am happy with building up to 3x3, However, as and when things staul I will look at other options but these will likely centre around multiple singles or doubles rather than upping the reps that much.

CHEST

Bench Press: 130 for 6, 6, 5+fail each w/90 secs rest..... came in feeling good so got brave and upped it, too brave. Happy to have done solid sets which certainly enters PB territory but I shouldn't have tried the last 6 . Still happy tho.
Incline Press, DBs: 37.5s for 13, 13, 14 w/45 secs rest..... decent rep increase on the week here. felt strong.
Decline BB: 82.5 for 14, 13, 13 w/45 secs rest..... I think I have recalled these right, again, good rep gain. 


BICEPS 

EZ Bar Curls: 25kg for 13, 13, 12 w/45 secs rest..... hmmm, I think I 13'ed the 1st 2 LOL. Good sets tho and heavier weight.
Laying Cable Curls: 25 for 3x12 w/45 secs rest..... went up here too. I believe I stuck with 12s here, which was hurting by the end.

Usual roller and stretch work to finish.

Great session today, despite bombing out on my 3rd set of flat bench. I felt up for trying it tho and 130 for reps and sets I am certain is somewhere I haven't been before (never had a good bench TBH).

Weight just came in at 16'13 so finally knocking back on 17s door again which was my anticipated unreal;istic goal for this cycle considering I have also beentrying to maintain conditioning. So with 6 weeks left (+ perhaps a 2-4 week taper down too) I'm looking good for breaking the barrier. Altho I've been here before (and 2st heavier) this is certainly the best I've looked at this size. Lets just hope I don't crash coming off

Interesting, Im def going to do a small taper before PCT as wll, everything Ive read seems to point towards this being sensible protocol.

It one of those things that for all intense and purpose is not required as the drugs administer their own taper, however, many are reporting easier PCT when doing so so as it's not exactly harmful then why not. I've also been on a long time with a dose higher than I have done before so a few weeks on a lower dose and then let the drug run it's course may not be a bad thing for me.

dirtyvest


It one of those things that for all intense and purpose is not required as the drugs administer their own taper, however, many are reporting easier PCT when doing so so as it's not exactly harmful then why not. I've also been on a long time with a dose higher than I have done before so a few weeks on a lower dose and then let the drug run it's course may not be a bad thing for me.

Makes perfect sense to me, why not come down a gradual hill before dropping down the rest of the way, rather than jump off the cliff.
 
Gives the body a chance to start realigning the Homeostasis point surely.

I dunno, shut down is shut down (hence the arguement against the taper) but I guess it would help start to reduce some of the workload you have to counter during PCT if you only have say 500g working and converting rather than 1g and as you allude to, give your body something of a more relaxed come down. I'll probably add a week in the off period prior to PCT also

Yes I totally agree, shut down is shut down by Rightyho posted some very interesting stuff a while back about the Homeostasis point.

As we know, the body loves equilibrium and gains slow as the body adjusts raising catabolic hormones to get equilibrium.

The "crash" comes as with the withdrawl of the AAS, the level of catabolic hormones is much higher for a time, hence PCT and kickstarting the body back to natural production whilst minimising loss.

To my mind a taper to a maintenance dose allows a beginning of that process and also helps with the reliance one builds up on such a high level of assistance.