To Infinity.... and Beyond!

[Resolve10]

FWIW there is some amento in pump gel and alpha gel.

I do like its use in the caps as well tho for certain scenarios.

 

[Dustin07]

FWIW there is some amento in pump gel and alpha gel.

I do like its use in the caps as well tho for certain scenarios.

ah you're right, I see it now. I always just really focused on the quality of the tongkat and the resveratrol.
I'm not sure I have noticed any pumps or muscular changes from the Alpha Gel, but I'm usually using it in conjunction with my other SNS staples.

I keep forgetting about pump gel... need to try that one still.

 

[Dustin07]

Now you taper a little, staying training but ultimately doing easy and specific sessions that keep you technically sharp but shed fatigue because you stay under your abilities. Do a few doubles with 275 next session, 2nd session do some fast band work, 3rd session light and low volume straight weight, like some practice triples with 225 as final practice, then a few days later you take 305.

I have 3 total pressing sessions (reasonably) before I fly out of town for a week. I had mapped out 4th, with the first one in my example being earlier this week and already done. What do you think about this?

Wednesday
session 1 - fast banded work
(what accessory work/how much volume? I normally reach a bit, then drop back to bands)

Sunday
session 2 - triples at 225 / normal accessories.

Wednesday (I could move this to Thursday)
session 3 - PR attempt

 

[Hyde]

I like it.

Wednesday with bands, focus on speed and quality of technique - NOT total volume. This is not about building; it is about practice and tapering. So cut some sets off everything you normally do. You cannot get meaningfully stronger in just one week, but you can get better & faster.

The Sunday session with the 225 triples, this is really just a final touch/practice. Don’t rush them - put all your concentration into every rep and treat them all like 305 is on the bar. Then just some very light, fast pumpy accessories and get out of there - you could do it all with a Miniband or 20lb dbs or cables, that light. You are there to practice one thing, mobilize, and get some blood into things to keep from getting stiff. That’s it.

It’s up to you if you think Wednesday or Thursday will be better for you. If stress levels are higher this week, push it out. If sleep and life is very accommodating you can do it sooner - choose the time/setting that likely gives you the best chance of success.

Eat a shitload of carbs and sodium the day prior to benching 305, and drink extra water & creatine. Day of, when in doubt take a little extra caffeine & Epiandro prior. Do whatever you need to get the body warmed with bands, cables, tiny plates or dbs - minimize warmup reps with the barbell, and make them all as perfect and fast as possible.

 

[Dustin07]

Eat a shitload of carbs and sodium the day prior to benching 305, and drink extra water & creatine. Day of, when in doubt take a little extra caffeine & Epiandro prior. Do whatever you need to get the body warmed with bands, cables, tiny plates or dbs - minimize warmup reps with the barbell, and make them all as perfect and fast as possible.

will do, I'll treat my lower work between now and then as if it's fatigue shedding/deloading as well since I'm focused on the one attempt at the moment.

 

[SkRaw85]

that will be a sunday session with my boy, so the amount of volume I can fit in depends on his teenage mood and blood sugar level, but he's always good for chasing a top rep + sling shot work. so I guess my goal would be at least 295 raw, 300 would be ideal and / or 320-330 in the sling shot.

as far as accessory work, I'm open to suggestions!

normally we would hit basics that I know he's comfortable with. tricep push downs, dips, etc and then I usually hit the pec deck while he hits leg press, and machine press while he hits leg extensions and leg curls because those machines are all close to each other and I can make sure he doesn't die with the 500lbs he inevitably will put on the leg press (little **** with his monster legs)

Two heavy days within that short of time frame might be too much to manage in the 90% plus range. I like a week between if going that route.

 

[SkRaw85]

If you are going for 305, you have all the heavy stimulus you need already done by what you just did (295 and 315 for slingshot singles). Now you taper a little, staying training but ultimately doing easy and specific sessions that keep you technically sharp but shed fatigue because you stay under your abilities. Do a few doubles with 275 next session, 2nd session do some fast band work, 3rd session light and low volume straight weight, like some practice triples with 225 as final practice, then a few days later you take 305.

This

 

[Dustin07]

If you are going for 305, you have all the heavy stimulus you need already done by what you just did (295 and 315 for slingshot singles).

This

I'm going to set up and go for it with the advice y'all have given me here. The only thought I have in contradiction to this is that I was sling shotting 325-330 (I can't remember which one was my top PR weight with SS) when I cleared 300lbs so in my head it just feels like I should be hitting 330-335 sling shot easily when I'm also able to hit 305 raw. it always seemed like the slingshot gave me about 10% overload fairly accurately

If I had those micro plates I keep talking about I'd just try to clear a 301lb PR next week lol

 

[Hyde]

I'm going to set up and go for it with the advice y'all have given me here. The only thought I have in contradiction to this is that I was sling shotting 325-330 (I can't remember which one was my top PR weight with SS) when I cleared 300lbs so in my head it just feels like I should be hitting 330-335 sling shot easily when I'm also able to hit 305 raw. it always seemed like the slingshot gave me about 10% overload fairly accurately

If I had those micro plates I keep talking about I'd just try to clear a 301lb PR next week lol

There is general correlation, but there’s going to be variation based on your current strength at different points in the lift.

If your chest/delt/starting power or general speed through the total lift has gone up, you could still lift more raw without increasing your lockout/overload strength proportionally. But you already know your triceps can handle locking out 315+, so that’s not a limiting factor for you now.

 

[Dustin07]

Bench
20 x bar
10 x 95

+ Green bands
3 x 95
1 x 135, 155, 175, 195

+ Just red bands
10 x 3 x 135
EMOTM

CGBP
2 x 10 x 135

EZ skull crushers
2 x 15 x 40lb

Cable push downs
2 x 15

Lateral raises
2 x 10

Superset with
Seated dips, reverse
2 x 10

Pec deck
2 x 12-15

Kb arm bars
3 sets


Notes
Tried to keep volume lower by running only two sets of variety movements, no top bench, no slingshot, fast speed work on bands, no drop sets. Banded work felt hella fast.

The cerebus wraps are ten x stiffer than my old reapers. Had to adjust a bit and learn to wrap a little different.

Buddies face blurred out to protect the innocent 500lb squatter.

 

[Dustin07]

that looks like a lot of work but I assure you it was light weight. an hour later I feel like I had a light yoga session or something but definitely felt like a deload.

 

[Hyde]

that looks like a lot of work but I assure you it was light weight. an hour later I feel like I had a light yoga session or something but definitely felt like a deload.

That’s perfect, exactly what you want. You are not building any more strength - you are now perfecting final touches, keeping force production, technique, & GPP up enough while shedding some fatigue to smash it soon.

 

[Dustin07]

You are not building any more strength - you are now perfecting final touches, keeping force production, technique, & GPP up enough while shedding some fatigue to smash it soon.

it was fun to really throw the bar for speed once I was warm, it felt like it was moving great. my buddy's shoulder was bugging him half way through so doing KB armbars in the end for his benefit actually felt like a great way to finish this type of session for myself. fingers crossed. I still ate as though I was training to failure today

having to put my foot on the brake a little bit does build the mental desire to smash tho

 

[SkRaw85]

I’ve got a good feeling about this.

 

[akboom87]

If you need some inspirational music to get you going

 

[Dustin07]

man, been crazy fatigued lately. looking forward to a relaxing weekend with a lot of fun in the forecast! I was lucky enough to golf with a supplier yesterday and even though we were in carts (not walking), I was shocked at how tired I was halfway through.

If you need some inspirational music to get you going View attachment 242074

LOL if I'm going that route I might run something more like this:

 

[Hyde]

man, been crazy fatigued lately. looking forward to a relaxing weekend with a lot of fun in the forecast! I was lucky enough to golf with a supplier yesterday and even though we were in carts (not walking), I was shocked at how tired I was halfway through.




LOL if I'm going that route I might run something more like this:

View attachment 242087

I gotchu:

If you ain’t ready after We Ready, you didn’t listen to the man!

 

[Dustin07]

Warm up
With 10lb plates
Laterals, forwards, snatch

Bench
15 x bar
10 x 65
3 x 135, 175
1 x 205
3 x 3 x 225

CGBP
8 x 165

Wide grip
8 x 135

Incline
2 x 12 x 65

Laterals
2 x 10 x 22.5s

EZ bar skull crushers
2 x 15 x 30

Rope push downs
2 x 15 x 30lbs

Pec deck
2 x 12


Notes
197lbs
Dosed epi, carbs, etc like it was a big day. Was really hard to put the brakes on. Everything was sub 50% except the 225 of course. Took those three sets with varied grip to try to decide on my preferred width.

Even with low tonnage and low volume was able to eek out a pretty fun little pump.

 

[Dustin07]

A lot of my weight choices like the 65lb and 165lb CGBP were because that was the weight my boy was moving and I figured it was safe for me to add in my reps there. He did PR bench today at 165 though

 

[Dustin07]

One thing I'm really bad at after all these years is effective warm ups. I don't think I could have walked in cold and slammed out 10+ at 225 today.

But if I throw around 315+ on the slingshot then drop to 225 it feels half as heavy.

How can I improve my neurological firing without sacrificing top end capacity when making a run at a new PR etc? I have liked the banded work but I feel like it's the same. Throw down 225 banded, then 135 for 50 reps lol. But 225 banded into 300 raw isn't the same stimulus.

I feel like I need a very mild sweat in warmup without sacrificing energy.

 

[Hyde]

One thing I'm really bad at after all these years is effective warm ups. I don't think I could have walked in cold and slammed out 10+ at 225 today.

But if I throw around 315+ on the slingshot then drop to 225 it feels half as heavy.

How can I improve my neurological firing without sacrificing top end capacity when making a run at a new PR etc? I have liked the banded work but I feel like it's the same. Throw down 225 banded, then 135 for 50 reps lol. But 225 banded into 300 raw isn't the same stimulus.

I feel like I need a very mild sweat in warmup without sacrificing energy.

Post-activation potentiation is useful for executing greater volume at a given weight (so dropping weight off after a heavier set/single to make it feel lighter on the next set, or doing repeat sets of 2-3 reps at a weight before an all-out AMRAP with same weight). But it’s not really useful for 1RM enhancement.

Even a heavy walkout or static hold is ultimately not useful enough to enhancing 1RM to offset the neurological cost it demands. You can got to 100 meets and you will probably never see that done in the warmup area, not by anyone with an elite total or coefficient certainly.

You should try to break a little sweat in your warmup. Just don’t waste energy. And the more caffeine you take, the easier you will sweat, btw. It usually doesn’t take as much on a test day, because your nerves will be up higher too.

Don’t overthink it! You’re not warming up for the Olympics here; you just need to do enough to get ready to press one single rep as hard as you can - that’s it.

 

[Dustin07]

Don’t overthink it! You’re not warming up for the Olympics here; you just need to do enough to get ready to press one single rep as hard as you can - that’s it.

you know what the funny thing is, whether I hit my goal or not I'm getting to where I'm excited to put this effort behind me so I can go balls to the wall again with some train to failure days lol

 

[Hyde]

you know what the funny thing is, whether I hit my goal or not I'm getting to where I'm excited to put this effort behind me so I can go balls to the wall again with some train to failure days lol

Yep! It can be a very hard part of meet prep - the need for delayed gratification. You have to miss out on the normal rewards of training, all the extra control of efforts focused on a single task: to do something greater than you’ve ever done it before.

Remember, they say train & eat for the bench you want - not the bench you have! You can do this

 

[Dustin07]

Remember, they say train & eat for the bench you want - not the bench you have! You can do this

I food prepped this week as though I'm lifting every day. although I plan to lift light today (lower), then complete day off tomorrow, then hard again finally on weds.

last night wife and I grilled her some surf and turf for mothers day with a nice fat helping of potatoes, a little charcuterie, and she pulled out some ribeyes from a cow we butchered 2 seasons ago and said "hey why don't you grill these up for food at work this week since you like ribeye and I don't" LOL

seems like a waste of good ribeye, but I'm not complaining.
I will double carbs night before and morning of bench session though as well-

 

[Dustin07]

Waiting for rack....

DB curls
2 x 10-12 x 30s

DB RDLs
2 x 10 x 50s

Double DB front squats
2 x 10 x 35s (70lb total)

Deadlifts (DOH)
5 x 135, 225, 275

Squats
5 x 135, 185

BB rows
2 x 10 x 135

Leg press
2 x 10 x +180lbs

Lat pull downs
2 x 10 x 100lbs


Notes

Light lower + back day.
Felt so lazy, but was also nice to get ROM in so many movements since everything was light and low volume.

That whole workout was like... 30minutes. I did break a sweat though.

Body dysmorphia is a funny thing. Anyone who knows me would tell you I'm overly confident bordering on egotistical. Yet I always feel my arms are my weak point. In the last week I had two random people comment on the size of my guns

 

[Dustin07]

OMG I'm so ready to go ham tomorrow. miss training to failure lol

 

[Hyde]

OMG I'm so ready to go ham tomorrow. miss training to failure lol

Visualize your success.

Then go eat something again!

 

[Dustin07]

Warm up
DB laterals, forwards, curls with 10lb plates.

Bench
2 x 12 x 95
5 x 135
3 x 175
1 x 200, 225, 255, 275, 290
0 x 305 (about half)

Sling shot
3 x 305
1 x 315

Static hold
10 seconds x 335

Raw
11 x 225
15 x 185

EZ bar skull crushers
15 x 40
2 x 12 x 60

SS with laterals
3 x 12 x 30s

Reverse seated dips
3 sets

SS with pec deck
3 sets

Notes
Someone jacked the 2.5lb plates while I was doing a rep to run inclines at 50lbs lol. So it screwed up my progression a bit
Hammered food, felt so full.
Had some triton still in stock so lubed up an hour preWO
Grabbed my emergency stash of pump addict and gave it hell.

Weight 197
This session has given me a lot to think about.

 

[Dustin07]

Looked back on my August log when I hit my 300lb raw PR.

To Infinity.... and Beyond! - AnabolicMinds.com

We do not speak of squats here

anabolicminds.com

weight was about the same (195 ish).
I do wonder if I carbed up better that time, although felt like was gorging myself this week.

But one thing I don't understand, is that for me, I feel like I do better with heavy frequency vs breaks. When I hit my last PR I was basically peaking a strength cycle. every session prior was add weight add weight add weight. 280 for a double, next session 295 for a single, next session 300lb PR.

VS this attempt, I had a great session, then tapered to prep for a hard effort and fell flat on my face.

Today light weights felt light. where it started to feel heavy was at like 275/290. By the time I finished my 305 attempt I was so pissed that I wasn't going to settle for 10 at 225, I grinded that last one out no matter what.

I feel like my best odds of the next couple PRs are going to be doing what I did last summer, with linear progression until I plateau. I also think getting heavier pause sets in needs to be brought back.

3hrs later: I will say there was no lack of leg drive. I can feel todays session from my beltline basically down into my feet lol.

 

[Hyde]

I almost warned you last night that your last warmup should only be 280-285. Not sure if that extra energy would have helped of course, but you just need to get close enough to make the move.

Good on you for trying. Something to consider is you didn’t have that long to set up a taper - real longterm delayed training effect takes weeks to fully manifest.

If you feel confident pause benches would help, it means you need more starting power. So you should do more of them and less banded stuff for a while - you want stronger delts & pecs to cash this paycheck.

 

[Dustin07]

If you feel confident pause benches would help, it means you need more starting power. So you should do more of them and less banded stuff for a while - you want stronger delts & pecs to cash this paycheck.

I think you're right here. I need more power with heavy weight in the bottom position. I am also thinking blocks might be smart. I didn't mention it in my log but we put a couple 5lb plates on my chest and I took another 305 attempt and finished it no problem with about 1/2 ROM. My issue isn't lockout, but the brute strength off the chest for sure.

I have 25 years of experience, science, and different modalities constantly muddled in my head, so I have to frequently reassess what I know and what is real. But the VIBE I get, is that my recovery is very very high, and my losses come very very quick. Maybe it's because I'm smaller than some of you guys. My lifting buddy has known me for over a decade and today we discussed it in depth. his 1rm is about 270-275 (with a 500lb squat), but todays back off he hit 225 for 3s and I hit 11. He hit 185 for 6 and I hit 15. probably had 20.

First time I hit a 315 squat, I had a 290 x 10 in me already.

I feel like generally, I have to move very heavy weight (for me) as frequently as possible, and that generally (for me) I recovery very very fast, as long as I'm not doing daily xfit style HIIT work. I'd almost be curious to hit it again tomorrow and see if I hit the same numbers.

 

[Dustin07]

the other thing could simply be mentality. I love this **** so much I just want to go ham every day. Not going hard the last 11 days was far harder on my mentality than going hard every day lol

 

[akboom87]

Warm up
DB laterals, forwards, curls with 10lb plates.

Bench
2 x 12 x 95
5 x 135
3 x 175
1 x 200, 225, 255, 275, 290
0 x 305 (about half)

Sling shot
3 x 305
1 x 315

Static hold
10 seconds x 335

Raw
11 x 225
15 x 185

EZ bar skull crushers
15 x 40
2 x 12 x 60

SS with laterals
3 x 12 x 30s

Reverse seated dips
3 sets

SS with pec deck
3 sets

Notes
Someone jacked the 2.5lb plates while I was doing a rep to run inclines at 50lbs lol. So it screwed up my progression a bit
Hammered food, felt so full.
Had some triton still in stock so lubed up an hour preWO
Grabbed my emergency stash of pump addict and gave it hell.

Weight 197
This session has given me a lot to think about.

Hey you gave it hell! Looks like a great session and dang close!