The Quest For 500, Part 5

373 views

After getting home from a delicious meal with @marc_david today, I was greeted by the TSLA news, and I don’t really know what to say about that. I don’t think it’s all that bad, or all that great, so I must ponder it some more. Today was big bench day, so I had to get my mind right.

The lady picked me up, and I was determined to get at least 440lbs. I still do not have a spotter, or training and partner, and today I found out that I am going to need one. I may also need to buy my own bench, or something. The geniuses at 24 decided to anchor all the benches in the rubber protecting the floor. Thus, when a “big boss,” uses some leg drive, or even just has a violent rep or too, the benches rip out of the ground. Not even close to being somewhat safe.

This is pure idiocy, but you have to understand this is San Francisco, were dudes come to the gym in all their designer workout gear, to stare at chicks in tight spandex, or other dudes. Thus, why would they care if there’s only two guys in the entire gym that handle over 250lbs? They don’t. So now I am left with only the Smith Machine, that I have to strap Velcro around the “stops,” otherwise they fall.

There’s no other feasible gyms, almost all the other ones are part of a chain called “Crunch,” no thanks. Trying to work with what you have can only go so far, when you have no spotter, and you only have a Smith Machine that sticks on the right side going up.  I got– in just plate weight –410 lbs for 3 by myself, then moved up 40 lbs to 450 lbs– 5 x 45 lb plates on each side. I psyched myself out a little bit, and I think I got a little scared, but if you had that much weight hanging over you with no help, would you not be too?

I tried to shake it off and handle it myself, but as I un-racked it and started lowering it, halfway down I pushed it back up, it just wasn’t worth it. I was pretty disgusted with myself, but how disgusted would I have been if I hurt myself? After taking one plate off  per side, I swapped them each with 35’s, effectively making the plate weight 430 lbs, with my buddy spotting me I did this for 5 reps.

The biggest thing wasn’t the help, it was being able to focus on all the fundamentals of the lift– getting, and staying, dialed in. My buddy was actually impressed, and had recently given me hell for using the Smith. I’m afraid I have reached the point that I will have to start the search for a spotter. A necessity, it seems, just like making magnificent returns in the Stocked Market.

Which reminds me, I am working on some new picks. Are you ready?

 

The Quest for 500, Part 3

512 views

I basically did this workout today. There were a few differences:

  1. I hit 405 lbs for 1.5 reps (needed a finger slap), and my spotter had to pull with both index fingers on the way up right in the middle. This was wearing my SlingShot and “multi-purpose wraps,” from Mark Bell’s Site, adn my crappy ass thick leather belt from Amazon. I plan on getting this one from Rogue Fitness soon.  I don’t really need– and hate wearing –a belt while hitting the bench, but I do use a huge powerlifter’s arch.
  2. In the last part I think I hit 250 for ~8-10, 225 for 8, 135 for 12, then the 60lb band for 30 reps. Smoke-Fest. All with no rest in between.
  3. My wrists were beat at this point, and just not strong enough to handle the 70’s for the preacher curls, so I did 60, 50, 60, 60.
  4. I had to do the tricep extensions on a flat bench with no back support, so I did 120 for 8, 110 for 10, and 100 for 15.
  5. Stopped at 155 for 6, only 3 sets, because it began to get busy and I was using a flat bench.
  6. So the preset cambered bars only go up to 100lbs, and both of the other free cambered bars were being used, so I was limited to 100lbs. I had forgotten– never new?– that reverse skull crushers are so hard on your thumbs. I only did one set reverse for 8 with the 100, then did normal grip and repped it out for 12-15 for three more sets.
  7. The cable work went just as planned

There were quite a bit of “Snap City” residents in there, looking at me like I was crazy, for lifting that much weight or working that hard. You’re probably thinking, “why did he do that crazy strip set from 250 lbs?” This is the best way to train the 225 lb combine bench test, I don’t just want to be a fat guy that can bench 500 lbs, I want to be an athlete that can do so.

The quest continues, as I will be doing ridiculous “deficit” deadlifts on Thursday, and rowing until my back can’t row anymore. Next bench session will be pause sets with heavy weight on floor presses, and speed bench. I might actually use the “Smith Machine,” to only work the middle of the movement that is my sticking point.

 

The Quest For 500, Part 2

1,888 views

This is how I am going to do it. It may shock you, but hard work and research often do that to normal people.

At the current time, my one rep max stands at 425 lbs.

Four areas are bringing me down

  1. I lost the drive. I was going into the gym, pumping out some decent weight, but just going through the motions.
  2. I was neglecting heavy rows, and volume on rows and deadlifts.
  3. I was not working my biceps or forearms, they are some of my weakest parts.
  4. I don’t have a spotter or a training partner.

I don’t think I am going to fix number four anytime soon. I have a few possible candidates, but they are nothing compared to my Army Boys, “MCPJ,” “What’s a Short?,” etc. There are three kinds of people who motivate me, someone who is better than me at almost everything, someone like “MCPJ” that can compete with me on just about anything, or “What’s a Short?” who laughs in my face, even though he is lifting half of me, but he does it with more heart and determination. That’s a tough screen to run.

Today I did my first heavy “leg day” in awhile. You must know, I am know for my brutal leg workouts. I was really good at BMX racing, and BMX freestyle. This led to riding all over and building my legs up. I squatted 315 lbs, and leg pressed the entire stack in my crappy high school gym, when I was a sophomore in high school. In a place notoriously know for not valuing/developing athletic talent.

This leg work comes at a price. I have HUGE legs, today measured at over 32 inches. This may seem really “cool” to you, but it is a PAIN IN THE ASS, to find pants. I usually have to buy 40-42 inch pants, that are tight around the thighs, but then really loose at the waist. I then have to cinch them at the waist with a belt, which is also super uncomfortable, because it’s all about “low rise pants.” So I really don’t want them to grow anymore, but there is a hormonal response.

Most of the male hormones– that tell the body to build muscles –are stimulated, created, and released below the waist. Conversely, the body likes to stay in a state of equilibrium. Thus, if you want maximal hormone release, and you want your body to grow, you have to hit everything equally– or make the mind think you are doing so– to some extent. I only need to hit legs hard once a week, then maybe some speed squats, box jumps, Romanian Deadlifts, sprints, and lunges, on “speed deadlift” day.

When it comes to my biceps, forearms, and back, I NEED to hit them hard 3-4 times a week. Even if it is only one hard superset on the back of a shoulder and speed workout. That’s just how my genetics work. The way I broke through the 300 and 400 lb bench plateaus, was to crush my back to no end, and to bench weights heavier than I could lift.

Why? Because your back “pulls” the weight down and stabilizes it, and if you can hit different parts of your bench with a weight that you can handle AT THAT POINT, but not during a full rep, then it makes the other parts learn to handle it too. The body is pretty crazy, we put all these limitations on it, but the only real imitations are within the mind. I am a horrible runner, but I did multiple ten mile runs while in the 82nd Airborne Division, there were times where my mind was saying GO, but my body just quit, and I literally shut down and fell out.

Often it’s the opposite, and I’ve felt it too– the difference is, I HATE that feeling. How can you live with yourself if you just quit? If you can convince your mind that something is possible, than your body will follow, TRUST ME. Don’t be the little bitch that says, “I can never get big, I can never be strong.” That’s a defeatist mentality, take it elsewhere.

I’m going to bench 500 lbs, CT explains my motivation.

 

The Quest For 500, Part 1

645 views

I’m not talking about my followers on twitter, but it would be cool to get 6 more.

I’m talking about benching five hundred SOLID ASS POUNDS. That’s my current goal in the gym. Yes, I am going to tell you how I’m going to do it, but first, I need to answer this question: “Why would you want to do that?”

Without goals, men are purely animals wandering through the wilderness looking for their subsistence. I need something to drive me. Life isn’t like school, son. In life, tests aren’t about memorizing some bullshit, they’re about making decisions. You don’t have to make any decisions in school, they’re all made for you. The only decision you have to make in school, is to buy into their bullshit– to jump through their hoops.

That’s always been hard for me to do. It’s like telling me I have to workout one way, within one rep scheme, and all my exercises are constricted to one set form. That’s not how nature works, dicks. Wouldn’t it be great if there was a person with a book, that knew exactly what was in it, and also knew exactly what to do in every situation?

These are the guys that tell you the only equities to buy are GLD and SPY, the guys that make you feel stupid because you couldn’t come up with an ethical way to write off some complex debt and accelerated depreciation, the guys that tell you the only way to get big and strong is steroids, the guys that tell you you can’t be big and fast. These guys are idiots. They’re scared and they have no heart, they got their degrees and went out into the world, but having to make all of those decisions sent them to “Snap City.” (See the video in this post).

These cowards– much like military personnel at MEPS –tell you what decisions you will have to make when it’s important. The problem is, they’ve never been there, and have never had to make those decisions. Conversely, these are the same type of clowns who are in the gym everyday, but make no gains, play ball on the team every season, but don’t get any better, are “trainers/gurus,” but couldn’t be athletic if their life depended on it.

By the way, @a_bh_a is a professor, but he is one of the good guys, not one of the aforementioned clowns.

These gurus can kiss my ass. I’m going to make money MY WAY, and I’m GOING TO BENCH 500 LBS. Not with their stupid ass form, I’m trying to move the weight, at all costs, not worrying about my form and getting hurt. If you worry about getting hurt on every decision in life, then you are scared and will always err on the side of caution.

I’m going to bench 500 lbs, and I am going to film it. What’s your goal?

The Quest For 500, Part 5

373 views

After getting home from a delicious meal with @marc_david today, I was greeted by the TSLA news, and I don’t really know what to say about that. I don’t think it’s all that bad, or all that great, so I must ponder it some more. Today was big bench day, so I had to get my mind right.

The lady picked me up, and I was determined to get at least 440lbs. I still do not have a spotter, or training and partner, and today I found out that I am going to need one. I may also need to buy my own bench, or something. The geniuses at 24 decided to anchor all the benches in the rubber protecting the floor. Thus, when a “big boss,” uses some leg drive, or even just has a violent rep or too, the benches rip out of the ground. Not even close to being somewhat safe.

This is pure idiocy, but you have to understand this is San Francisco, were dudes come to the gym in all their designer workout gear, to stare at chicks in tight spandex, or other dudes. Thus, why would they care if there’s only two guys in the entire gym that handle over 250lbs? They don’t. So now I am left with only the Smith Machine, that I have to strap Velcro around the “stops,” otherwise they fall.

There’s no other feasible gyms, almost all the other ones are part of a chain called “Crunch,” no thanks. Trying to work with what you have can only go so far, when you have no spotter, and you only have a Smith Machine that sticks on the right side going up.  I got– in just plate weight –410 lbs for 3 by myself, then moved up 40 lbs to 450 lbs– 5 x 45 lb plates on each side. I psyched myself out a little bit, and I think I got a little scared, but if you had that much weight hanging over you with no help, would you not be too?

I tried to shake it off and handle it myself, but as I un-racked it and started lowering it, halfway down I pushed it back up, it just wasn’t worth it. I was pretty disgusted with myself, but how disgusted would I have been if I hurt myself? After taking one plate off  per side, I swapped them each with 35’s, effectively making the plate weight 430 lbs, with my buddy spotting me I did this for 5 reps.

The biggest thing wasn’t the help, it was being able to focus on all the fundamentals of the lift– getting, and staying, dialed in. My buddy was actually impressed, and had recently given me hell for using the Smith. I’m afraid I have reached the point that I will have to start the search for a spotter. A necessity, it seems, just like making magnificent returns in the Stocked Market.

Which reminds me, I am working on some new picks. Are you ready?

 

The Quest for 500, Part 3

512 views

I basically did this workout today. There were a few differences:

  1. I hit 405 lbs for 1.5 reps (needed a finger slap), and my spotter had to pull with both index fingers on the way up right in the middle. This was wearing my SlingShot and “multi-purpose wraps,” from Mark Bell’s Site, adn my crappy ass thick leather belt from Amazon. I plan on getting this one from Rogue Fitness soon.  I don’t really need– and hate wearing –a belt while hitting the bench, but I do use a huge powerlifter’s arch.
  2. In the last part I think I hit 250 for ~8-10, 225 for 8, 135 for 12, then the 60lb band for 30 reps. Smoke-Fest. All with no rest in between.
  3. My wrists were beat at this point, and just not strong enough to handle the 70’s for the preacher curls, so I did 60, 50, 60, 60.
  4. I had to do the tricep extensions on a flat bench with no back support, so I did 120 for 8, 110 for 10, and 100 for 15.
  5. Stopped at 155 for 6, only 3 sets, because it began to get busy and I was using a flat bench.
  6. So the preset cambered bars only go up to 100lbs, and both of the other free cambered bars were being used, so I was limited to 100lbs. I had forgotten– never new?– that reverse skull crushers are so hard on your thumbs. I only did one set reverse for 8 with the 100, then did normal grip and repped it out for 12-15 for three more sets.
  7. The cable work went just as planned

There were quite a bit of “Snap City” residents in there, looking at me like I was crazy, for lifting that much weight or working that hard. You’re probably thinking, “why did he do that crazy strip set from 250 lbs?” This is the best way to train the 225 lb combine bench test, I don’t just want to be a fat guy that can bench 500 lbs, I want to be an athlete that can do so.

The quest continues, as I will be doing ridiculous “deficit” deadlifts on Thursday, and rowing until my back can’t row anymore. Next bench session will be pause sets with heavy weight on floor presses, and speed bench. I might actually use the “Smith Machine,” to only work the middle of the movement that is my sticking point.

 

The Quest For 500, Part 2

1,888 views

This is how I am going to do it. It may shock you, but hard work and research often do that to normal people.

At the current time, my one rep max stands at 425 lbs.

Four areas are bringing me down

  1. I lost the drive. I was going into the gym, pumping out some decent weight, but just going through the motions.
  2. I was neglecting heavy rows, and volume on rows and deadlifts.
  3. I was not working my biceps or forearms, they are some of my weakest parts.
  4. I don’t have a spotter or a training partner.

I don’t think I am going to fix number four anytime soon. I have a few possible candidates, but they are nothing compared to my Army Boys, “MCPJ,” “What’s a Short?,” etc. There are three kinds of people who motivate me, someone who is better than me at almost everything, someone like “MCPJ” that can compete with me on just about anything, or “What’s a Short?” who laughs in my face, even though he is lifting half of me, but he does it with more heart and determination. That’s a tough screen to run.

Today I did my first heavy “leg day” in awhile. You must know, I am know for my brutal leg workouts. I was really good at BMX racing, and BMX freestyle. This led to riding all over and building my legs up. I squatted 315 lbs, and leg pressed the entire stack in my crappy high school gym, when I was a sophomore in high school. In a place notoriously know for not valuing/developing athletic talent.

This leg work comes at a price. I have HUGE legs, today measured at over 32 inches. This may seem really “cool” to you, but it is a PAIN IN THE ASS, to find pants. I usually have to buy 40-42 inch pants, that are tight around the thighs, but then really loose at the waist. I then have to cinch them at the waist with a belt, which is also super uncomfortable, because it’s all about “low rise pants.” So I really don’t want them to grow anymore, but there is a hormonal response.

Most of the male hormones– that tell the body to build muscles –are stimulated, created, and released below the waist. Conversely, the body likes to stay in a state of equilibrium. Thus, if you want maximal hormone release, and you want your body to grow, you have to hit everything equally– or make the mind think you are doing so– to some extent. I only need to hit legs hard once a week, then maybe some speed squats, box jumps, Romanian Deadlifts, sprints, and lunges, on “speed deadlift” day.

When it comes to my biceps, forearms, and back, I NEED to hit them hard 3-4 times a week. Even if it is only one hard superset on the back of a shoulder and speed workout. That’s just how my genetics work. The way I broke through the 300 and 400 lb bench plateaus, was to crush my back to no end, and to bench weights heavier than I could lift.

Why? Because your back “pulls” the weight down and stabilizes it, and if you can hit different parts of your bench with a weight that you can handle AT THAT POINT, but not during a full rep, then it makes the other parts learn to handle it too. The body is pretty crazy, we put all these limitations on it, but the only real imitations are within the mind. I am a horrible runner, but I did multiple ten mile runs while in the 82nd Airborne Division, there were times where my mind was saying GO, but my body just quit, and I literally shut down and fell out.

Often it’s the opposite, and I’ve felt it too– the difference is, I HATE that feeling. How can you live with yourself if you just quit? If you can convince your mind that something is possible, than your body will follow, TRUST ME. Don’t be the little bitch that says, “I can never get big, I can never be strong.” That’s a defeatist mentality, take it elsewhere.

I’m going to bench 500 lbs, CT explains my motivation.

 

The Quest For 500, Part 1

645 views

I’m not talking about my followers on twitter, but it would be cool to get 6 more.

I’m talking about benching five hundred SOLID ASS POUNDS. That’s my current goal in the gym. Yes, I am going to tell you how I’m going to do it, but first, I need to answer this question: “Why would you want to do that?”

Without goals, men are purely animals wandering through the wilderness looking for their subsistence. I need something to drive me. Life isn’t like school, son. In life, tests aren’t about memorizing some bullshit, they’re about making decisions. You don’t have to make any decisions in school, they’re all made for you. The only decision you have to make in school, is to buy into their bullshit– to jump through their hoops.

That’s always been hard for me to do. It’s like telling me I have to workout one way, within one rep scheme, and all my exercises are constricted to one set form. That’s not how nature works, dicks. Wouldn’t it be great if there was a person with a book, that knew exactly what was in it, and also knew exactly what to do in every situation?

These are the guys that tell you the only equities to buy are GLD and SPY, the guys that make you feel stupid because you couldn’t come up with an ethical way to write off some complex debt and accelerated depreciation, the guys that tell you the only way to get big and strong is steroids, the guys that tell you you can’t be big and fast. These guys are idiots. They’re scared and they have no heart, they got their degrees and went out into the world, but having to make all of those decisions sent them to “Snap City.” (See the video in this post).

These cowards– much like military personnel at MEPS –tell you what decisions you will have to make when it’s important. The problem is, they’ve never been there, and have never had to make those decisions. Conversely, these are the same type of clowns who are in the gym everyday, but make no gains, play ball on the team every season, but don’t get any better, are “trainers/gurus,” but couldn’t be athletic if their life depended on it.

By the way, @a_bh_a is a professor, but he is one of the good guys, not one of the aforementioned clowns.

These gurus can kiss my ass. I’m going to make money MY WAY, and I’m GOING TO BENCH 500 LBS. Not with their stupid ass form, I’m trying to move the weight, at all costs, not worrying about my form and getting hurt. If you worry about getting hurt on every decision in life, then you are scared and will always err on the side of caution.

I’m going to bench 500 lbs, and I am going to film it. What’s your goal?

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