Hey Mike, I've been busy buying a house, so my Internet time has been significantly reduced up till now. Uk deadlifts are something Mike Bartos showed me. I wish I could find a video of it, but if I can't I'll just tape it myself. Basically you stand on two benches, with one foot on each bench, and you pull weight off the floor using a short handle attached to a loading pin that is loaded with weight. I use the loading pin that you can get on Ironmind, and a standard push down handle that you usually find on any cable machine. It's more or less like pulling a sumo deadlift if you were standing on a box, except that the weight swings more, which really forces you to stay tight and in control. Mike usually does them for sets of 15 or 20 reps. I've been doing them for sets of 5 with more weight, and it's been working pretty well. If you squat the weight up, you'll really feel it in your hips and glutes. If you use more of a stiff leg, you'll really feel it in your back.
Yes, I named an exercise after myself. My life is complete. In all fairness, this is probably one of the best idea's that I've had in the gym... ever. We wanted to do Zerchers, but even with the fat bar it still hurts your arms like a mother. Maybe I'm just a pussy. To solve this problem, I came up with the poor man's front squat harness. We have these big straps that we use to pull the sled that Wade got from work. They are about 2-3 inches wide, and about 6 feet long, with loops at the end. So I took one of the straps, doubled it up, and hooked it to the bar. Presto, instant front squat harness. The strap rests on your upper back, and the bar hangs from the strap right at the same level that it would if you were doing Zerchers. We agreed that it works even better than Zerchers because the weight is pulling you down, so you have to work even harder to keep your back from rounding, and it kills your abs. I looked it up when I got home:
Incline bench with Bamboo bar. Worked up to eight 25lb plates hanging from 8 mini bands for 5 reps. (~200lbs)
Side raises. 25s for 3 sets of 10 reps.
Band pull downs. Blue band for 3 sets of 20 reps.
Prowler. 2 plates for 5 trips.
I can't believe Jump Stretch got one of these bars allready, but I had to try it out. Wow. Imagine trying to bench press a jackhammer. My entire body was shot after doing these. Good times.
First time doing some supramaximal weights in a long time. Everything over 450 felt like a million pounds, and I was shaking like a trailer in a hurricane. Still, the bands only took off 135 at the bottom, so I was fairly happy with the outcome.
10/12/2008
Prowler 2 plates for 5 trips.
DB bench Worked up to 110s for 5 reps.
3 Board Worked up to 365 for 3 reps.
Band push downs. 2 light bands for 3 sets of 20 reps.
Side raises. 30s for 3 sets of 10 reps.
Chin ups. bw for 1 set of 25 reps.
Band pull downs. Blue band for 3 sets of 20 reps.
Chin up PR and 3-board PR today. BW was a solid 198. Feeling good.
Squat + 120lbs chain. Worked up to 400 for 1 set of 3 reps.
Godsen squats. Worked up to 275 for 1 set of 5 reps.
Reverse Hyper. 6 plates for 3 sets of 10 reps.
Band pull downs. Blue band for 3 sets of 20 reps.
Doubled the chains up in the squat so it fully deloaded half way down. Allowed me to keep more weight on the bar, while still providing 120 lbs of top end overload.