Home gym chronicles, Part II; mind over fatter

[BendtheBar]

Great 5x5 backoff work. Very strong.

[Soldier]

The plan was to do legs tonight, since I normally get off early on Thursdays. Unforunately the Army had different ideas, and I had to work late. BUT, I'm supposed to have most of tomorrow off, so I'm going to train early tomorrow. It's probably for the best, since we have a big run in the morning. It was going to suck to do it after my high volume leg day.

[SecondsOut]

yeah man, some videos on using chains would be great. how did your wife feel about the 10x10? was she gung-ho about it or was she like "10x10?! you're crazy."
nice sets with 275! i see 345 being broken in the near future. slingshot + chains of destruction powering the win

[Soldier]

Originally Posted by SecondsOut

yeah man, some videos on using chains would be great. how did your wife feel about the 10x10? was she gung-ho about it or was she like "10x10?! you're crazy."
nice sets with 275! i see 345 being broken in the near future. slingshot + chains of destruction powering the win

After a little more time and experience with the chains I'll do just that. After looking around online I think there's a lot of confusion out there about accomodating resistance, specifically chains.

As for my wife, there were parts of her new program she liked. Before with her I was emphasizing frequency, but that didn't motivate her. She didn't like having to find time to train almost every day, and the shorter sessions didn't make her push herself. Longer sessions make her focus more, and the lower frequency means she has 4 days of no training per week, another thing she likes.

Actually, she was down with 10x10 until I mentioned that it's 100 reps. She said "Shit, that IS 100 reps. I didn't think about it!" Hilarious. But she needs it. I've never seen someone get so tired or lose strength so quickly. Her between set recovery is TERRIBLE. After 2 or 3 sets of higher intensity work her body just gives out, which is something I wasn't anticipating. GVT is going to kick her ass, for sure, but it's what she needs. Once she builds a little more size and increases her work capacity and GPP, we can switch her back to frequency with verying intensity to really start getting her strong.

[Soldier]

Yes! Legs complete! GVT is quite the experience. I wasn't able to go very heavy, but it was still a challenge. Here's the breakdown-

High bar incline squats-
135x10x10

SLDL-
135x10x10

Calf press-
185x10x10

The squats were very different for me. To go from low bar powerlifting squats done in low reps to what I did today is a HUGE change. I tried to push my knees forward and out as much as possible, then use my legs to push myself up. The pump in the muscles directly above my knee was huge.

That being said, I'm not sure if I'm going to continue this route, doing quad focussed squats followed by glute and ham focussed SLDL's, or if I may just switch to normal squats. I'll see how I feel tomorrow. If I get nice and sore then I'll stick with this.

I need to find some way to do GHR's at home. Those are SO much better than SLDL's or leg curls for the hams and glutes. I have some ideas. I just need to make a plan and get it together.

[BendtheBar]

Sore just reading this.

[Soldier]

Again, the muscles directly above my knees are screaming today. The rest of my lower body feels tight, but the soreness is extremely acute.

I think I need to go heavier on my SLDL's during this workout, until I get my home GHR set up. But I'm definitely going to keep doing the incline squats for at least the next few weeks. I'm going to kick up the weights though, and push myself hard. Lots of food, lots of volume, lots of muscle growth, all leading up to my coming cut/PH cycle.

This is supposed to be my upper body high volume day, but I've got some Army stuff to do. But I'm getting Monday off, so I'll just push back my whole weekend schedule one day. So, upper body volume tomorrow, then lower body strength Monday.

[SecondsOut]

that last workout sounds brutal!
it's funny, but the closer stance you describe is most comfortable for me, and i've felt the same way when i've tried wide-stance. it doesn't just feel like variation, it feels like a completely different exercise.
that would be sweet if you could find a way to do GHRs. could you imagine GHRs + chains? i bet it could work, and you'd look badass with chains hanging over your neck haha.

Originally Posted by Soldier

she was down with 10x10 until I mentioned that it's 100 reps. She said "Shit, that IS 100 reps. I didn't think about it!"

lol!

[Soldier]

Well however bad ass it may look, it's not going to make me look like Branch Warren, unfortunately! I've been milling this home GHR idea around in my head, and I have a plan. All I have to do is make a semi-circular pad with a flat pad on one side for my knees, then find a place to hold my feet. It shouldn't be hard to build at all.

I wish I had more tools to use. My selection is very limited at the moment, but I'm pretty resourceful when it comes to engineering and building things.

[Soldier]

Awesome upper body session tonight. I'm starting to get my stride with this 10x10 thing. Also, more creativity with the chains to report.

BTN overhead press-
45+30x10
45+50x10x10

Dumbell rows-
50x10x10

Weighted situps-
25x10x4 (Not enough weight)
45x10x6

Supersetted with curls-
55x10x10

Dumbell rows were fun. I took one of my handles and hooked it up to all of my chains, 30lbs worth. Then I hooked 2 10lb plates on as well. Of course, this would have hung down too much if I was just standing on the ground, so I put my bench under my racked bar like I was setting up for bench press, then stould on the bench and held onto the bar with my free hand. The weights hung over the side of the bench, and I got to rowing. It worked VERY well, and towards the end I got a great pump across my back.

Everything else went well too, including the beef burritos I made after training. In fact, I think I'm going to go have a couple more.

Leg strength tomorrow. It's not going to be easy. My legs are still really sore above the knee. I'm going to work up to a heavy double or triple on squats, then back off to 5x5, then a little speed work with box squats before ending with calf press. It should be a blast.