Grant Voshell's Log

Brometheus wrote:

Chris Anderson wrote:

I really only saw the back of her head, but yes.

Mating not only for squat genetic purposes just so KevinAlvy knows

So... you guys are already mating/breeding?

I am just happy you are happy

Wait, Grant is gonna be a daddy?

11 December 2013

Bench: 4x8, 10 180

Banded Lat Pullover: 3x12
Banded Tri Pushdown: 2x25



Bench was pretty solid today. I felt well and definitely was not gassed after the set of 10. I decided to cap it at 10 reps just to keep the intensity down a bit since rest and recovery will be down this week because of a boatload of papers and exams (4 assigned and due within 1 week). Over break, hopefully I will rest up and get back into the AMRAPs and accessories.

Related note: during the middle of my third set, I had this jarring feeling in my elbows on the concentric portion of the lift. It felt like I had been funny boned or shocked by a pranking electric pen. It did not hurt but I definitely did not like the feeling. As I progressed through the sets, the feeling spread to my shoulders and eventually my lower back on my very last rep. I have absolutely no idea what this feeling is or what causes it but if it continues, I will probably seek medical advice and an alternative benching style. For now, I will continue to bench like I am and see how things go on sunday and next wednesday. As always, I will stay safe

13 December 2013

Deadlift: 4x 370; 2, 2, 3x 390

Speed Pulls: 3x6 300 w/ 3 min rest

SLDL: 2x10 185 (1 set conventional stance; 1 set wide stance)



I was pretty mentally fatigued going into the CRWC on this day. I had to work at 5:15am, had a test, and wrote 5 pages of a paper due at 5pm so my mind was mentally checked out. Fortunately, my body was ready to go and picked up some of the slack. Since I was a little out of the norm, I decided to keep my warm-ups down and just get into the sets as soon as I could. I normally do not skimp on the warm-ups but this was deemed necessary to have a productive day.

The 370-set felt decent but not the best. I noticed I used my lower back a little more than I should so I made small adjustments. During the 390-sets, things were better but still not up to par. I was supposed to do 3-doubles but my last set felt well enough so I decided to go for a third. I figured if I can push things just a bit but not killing myself, then this should have positive long-term effects. On the speed pulls, Poage just happened to be watching and reminded me to straighten my lower back. Keough told me this last week, Poage told me this day, and I have noticed it too so I will have to be more diligent about keeping it straight when I pull. For SLDLs, I decided to do one set for each stance and see which was weaker and no surprise, conventional felt weaker and this is the stance I will be using this cycle for SLDLs.

you look like you are crowding the bar a bit too much and it is causing a correction when you break the floor

If you are having trouble keeping your lumbar neutral I think it helps to 1. put your belt on your ribcage 2. keep your head neutral until lockout 3. Set up a little further awhey

Keeping my head somewhat neutral and setting up a little further awhey is what i need to remember

15 December 2013

Front Squat: 1x 225, 3x3 255 beltless

ATG Back Squat: 1x 225, 275, 3x3 315 beltleess

I had work and studied most of the day so I wanted to go in and move around a bit. I decided to work up to a heavy-ish range and do some rep work. I would alternate back and forth between FS and BS and this felt pretty good and I think this helped me keep rest times short. For FS, 255 was a steep 85% and if I hit the groove correctly, the weight moved well. I failed the first rep on the 3rd set but the bar started to slide forward off my shoulders so I dumped it. BS was not too shabby because I really increased the speed on the eccentric portion. Funny story, on the 3rd set I really tried to sink it as deep as I could and after the first rep I literally thought "try to touch your ass to the floor" however, once I was down there I became stuck. While down there contemplating how I would get unstuck, my mind said "OH SHIT!! DUMP IT!! DUMP IT!!" at which time my legs and back interrupted and said "Nah man, we're just f***in with you! We got this" and I shot out of the hole swimmingly. I was probably in the hole for around 2-3 seconds which I believe is a paused squat PR... maybe? No video so I cannot be sure of the details.

15 December 2013

Bench: 4x8, 13 180

Incline Narrow Grip: 5x 95, 135, 160, 185

Tricep Extension: 1x A Lot
Face Pulls: 3x A Few
Hammer Shoulder Press: 1x A Couple



This session moved pretty slow today. Rest between sets was around 10 minutes and towards the end it was closer to 13-14. However, seeing how this is a volume day I do not feel guilty for taking long rest periods because I want to approach each set feeling refreshed and ready to do maximum damage. Anyways, today's session went pretty well. The weight was moving a tad slow but I felt like I could bench for days. My set up was just a bit flatter than normal during the first 4 sets which allowed me to have a better leg drive. The 5th set I noticed this flatness and and made adjustments to set up like normal. However, this caused my elbows, shoulders, and back to feel that jolting pain from Wednesday. It must just be the angle of the bench at this point so it looks like I will be using this flatter stance since it does not give me issues and is close to my norm. Lastly, I think 13 reps is a rep PR for 180lbs. I believe I did it for a set of 11 or 12 a couple of weeks ago and it was a struggle whereas this set was maybe an RPE 8.5-9 so signs of progress apparent.

16 December 2013

Squat: 3x 255, 3x 285, 8x 295, 8x 305, 10x 315 (PR at this weight; RPE 8.5-9)



I am not sure what the hell got into me today but it was a beast ready to be unleashed. The 255-set was probably the worst set because my eccentric was slow as fawk but I quickly changed that. I was supposed to do 3x8 310 but I decided to work my way into it. I found out 295 was the lowest I could go so I started there. I think it was in that set or the 305-set where a voice came to mind "tuck your elbows under the bar" and I did which helped the weight feel much better on my back. It allowed me to stay more upright and it was easier to stay upright. On the last set, I thought I had to do 315 (oops) and I felt that 8-9 reps would be it and it would not come easily. I originally hoped for 10 but before the set I threw it out because I did not think it would be there. About rep 7, I knew I was going to get my 9 and after the 9th I went for the 10th. I ended up finishing with at least 2 reps in the tank but I decided to call it at 10 because I knew if I continued it would interfere with deadlift on Friday and squatting next week.

Your stance looks narrower than usual.

Yeah ive noticed that too but it feels so comfortable and strong. My heels are about shoulder width, maybe a shade in and my toes are more forward

18 December 2013

Bench: 3x 135, 185; 2x8, 10 190



Finals week started taking a toll on me. I was at the library for most of the day slowly chipping away at a paper. On the walk to the CRWC, I could tell it was going to be a rough session. The weight felt heavier than normal and thus moved a little slower than normal. Anyways, I found out I wrote down the wrong weight thus did the wrong sets. It was supposed to be 3x 160, 180 but the sets of 8 were correct. Form felt pretty solid today and I believe I misgrooved maybe a couple of times over the top sets. Before the last set, I was determined and focused to give it all I had and it went well. After the last set, it took such so much out of me so I decided to shut her down. I weighed in at 183 post-workout which is about 1-2lbs under normal. I finished up the paper and got about 8.5-9 hours of sleep which should help bring back some energy. Update on the elbow twinge, it was completely absent until the last 2 reps on the last set. I am not sure what brought it on but that was the only time it appeared.

Those looked good, especially for being tired. Pauses were all solid.

Just going to do a very quick update on training:

Sunday was volume bench and i did 185 4x8, 10 and i have no comments for this. It went well

Monday i squatted with poage and did 9x340 without wraps RPE 9.13. I was a bit nervous going into this set because it seemed so heavy. As i was warming up, i felt slower than i would have liked but i continued onward. I got under the bar and just decided to get it done. The weight felt heavy but i kept trucking through it. Poage and Beau Moore said they looked deep enough so i will take their word. My phone was serving as DJ at the time so no video. This was a big PR though; possibly 20-25lbs

Wednesday i benched and did 11x210 and i felt nervous like the squat. Warming up felt decent until i got to the single at 195 which felt heavy but moved fast. I had jacob spot me for the 210-set and i motored right through it. Most were paused but a few were TnG but i felt like i had one more good one left in the tank. I did it for 11 but i will call it 10 for JTS and that moves up to 270. This was also a PR for this weight. Once again the phone served as DJ so no video.

I do not have videos of these squats or benches but form felt consistent and solid. I felt like i mostly just ran out of gas on these and did not break down much. I will film next week and see how things look as i move into the 5 wave

RPE 9.13 is oddly specific

27 December 2013

Today marks the 12th year i have had die-of-betes so i celebrated by death liftin

DL: 5x 355, 3x4 380, 3x8 300 w/ 3 min rest

Underhand Lat Pulldown: 3x10

I was not fully primed for this session. I had to close last night which meant cleaning the entire weight room so i was a little sore. The speed was a little slow but all were strong. I really focused on pushing my butt back so as not to crowd the bar and this helped. I still need to work on this a bit more to prevent rounding over. For the times sets, i was completely gassed and my hands were ground beef at this point so i borrowed montys straps to finish. This session was okay but definitely exhausting. I would give the last 380 set an RPE of 8.74 because i felt i had another rep and 2 would have been tough and possibly broken down form.

28 December 2013

ATG Paused Squat: 3x 225, 275, 275, 315

ATG Paused Front Squat: 3x 185, 225, 225

CAT Back Squat: 3x3 275

CAT Front Squat: 2x3 185

The session went pretty well today. I was not sure what kind of squat I wanted to do today but ATG came to mind and felt solid so I went with it. The pauses were pretty long today; minimum 3 seconds and 5 seconds on the last rep. I focused on accelerating hard from the bottom through lockout. The 315 was when the weight really started to slow down so I made that my top set. The CAT sets i just went with it and gradually increased my upward acceleration as the rep progressed. On a side note, I moved my belt an inch lower and got it a notch tighter. I felt like I was able to suck more pounds out of the belt this way.

29 December 2013

Comp Bench: 190 4x8, 11

CAT Bench w/ heels down: 5x3 135, 2x3 155

I woke up on the wrong side of the bed today and it continued on throughout the day. I felt like i was dehydrated so i tried to drink a little more than normal before going in today. However, i still felt a little sluggish going into the session today. Anyways, warm ups were slow and felt slightly fatigued so i conserved energy and jumped into it from 135 to 190. First set was kind of how i expected but each set progressively became better. The last set, the reps were not paused per se but not TnG; somewhere in between. The last set was an RPE 9+ as in i think i had another rep but it would have been tough. Video to come soon. The CAT bench was more of a "bro bench" set up but still slightly arched and using leg drive. I started around the 55-60% range and went by feel. Once 135 started moving well i bumped it up a bit to 155 and that still moved well.

29 December 2013

Squat: 5x5, 8 325 w/ wraps (RPE 8.54; 1-2 reps left just low on gas)

During warm ups, the reps were just not good. My posterior chain felt fried going in today. Also, i am not proud to admit this but it is necessary... I could not get my legs, glutes, and hips to fire so i walked on the treadmill  but it did help. On the 275 set, i put on the wraps not super tight but firm however reps were still crappy. The first 325 set i really cranked on those wraps; they were so tight my quads rolled over onto the wraps and my feet fell asleep. Needless to say, the wraps really hurt and threw me out of my groove a bit. Poage and i noticed i needed to put more weight on my toes. The next 5 sets, i put on the wraps firmly but not as tight. All of the sets felt awful but on the last one, i was determined to make it a great set of 5. On the last set, i really increased the speed on the eccentric and this worked wonders. The wraps were still hurting but the form was great and the reps were moving well so i pushed it despite the pain and i was glad i did.

1 january 2014

Bench:  5x5, 11 190

Feet up Narrow grip:  5x 135, 155, 175

Reverse grip bench: 5x light weight

This session was not so great. It was snowing all day which makes me sleepy, ii had not moved much, and im pretty certain i was hyperglycemic throughout the session so all in all, i did not put myself into a good position to train. While setting up, i could tell i was not in the norm but i could not figure what was wrong. Looking back, I want to say it had something to do with my footing because my arch and butt were opposite of the norm; flat arch and butt kind of coming off. Throughout the sets, i was misgrooving left and right and was all over the place. On the last set, i just figured do the amrap as best as you can and as cleanly as you can. I managed to get 11 and form was a little better but still not great.

3 january 2014

Deadlift: 3x 380, 2x2, 3 405

More deadlift:  3x6 325 w/ 3 min rest

Arched GM: 8x 135 (too light), 165 (too heavy), 155 (just right)

Strict EZ bar curl: 5x 75, 85, 95; 3x 115; 1x125 failed second (PR)

Everything just went well today and i was pleased. Before going in today, i tried being more mobile throughout the day instead of being sedentary. Just simple things like doing laundry and picking things around the apartment to keep me moving my hams, glutes, and quads. I could tell from the warm ups that i was fast and explosive which is a good sign. I progressed through warm ups a little faster and heavier than normal which gave me less reps but it still felt good so i went with it. As i approaching the work sets, i tried to think back to some things i read in supple leopard to keep my midline straight, shoulders locked, and hips secure. Simple things like rotating my feet inward just a bit to create more torque and this difficult to explain movement with my hips. Doing these before each rep gave me a good rhythm as well as a solid set up. I felt in the zone after the second rep on the third set so i decided to position push it and do a third which was a good clean rep. Im hoping to carry this over to the coming weeks' pulling sessions.

4 January 2014

Sumo Pulls: worked up to a PR of 465 (RPE 9.25)

I just kind of wanted to play around with different sumo stances on this day so that was my purpose. Once I found one that I liked and felt strong AND fast, I decided to do some work with it. I started at 135 for a triple and just kept adding quarters and did triples up to 335 at which point i began doing singles. It was at 385 that, in my mind, would determine if I stopped or kept going. After that moved well, i went to 435 and since that moved well i decided to go for it and pull a PR. My stance is significantly narrower; about 8 inches per side and my feet are pointed forward more. A narrower stance allows me to go lower whereas a wide-stance hindered my depth and the straighter feet allowed me create more torque out of the hole as well as regain my balance back. I am not sure if I am going to finish out this training cycle by pulling conventional or switch over now. I am certain that after February, I will go back to pulling sumo but I would like to train my conventional as well so that i can keep a strong back.



5 January 2014

Bench: 4x8, 10 195

Narrow Incline: 3x 135, 160, 185; 2x 210

Benching was mehh this day. Nothing great but nothing too terrible either. There was some misgrooving at the beginning but as always, things became better. My back was cramping and having a fit this day and a couple of times i had to stop. take a minute or two, then set up again. With about 5 weeks left, i will need to be more diligent about my pauses so i may ask for "press" commands to keep myself honest. This could also help solidify my groove since every pause will be the same (more or less).



6 January 2014

Squat: 2x 300, 335; 3x5, 6 355 all w/ wraps

Squatting was better this week. I am becoming a little more accustomed to wraps but there is still some work to be done. I wrapped the wraps a little tighter this week; about 5-6 inches more slack than last week. One thing I am noticing is how tighter wraps prevent knee flexion and for me, it is as if i cannot push my knees forward but instead push myself backwards and causes me to be all sorts of wobbly so this is something I hope to dial in by the time the meet rolls around. I am starting to get the hang of wrapping to minimize the amount of grinding/sliding pain caused by the wraps and this is simply done by keeping the amount of tension the same throughout. By doing this, it helps eliminate tight and weak spots that cause the wraps to shift in order to be more evenly distributed. I will attempt to apply this knowledge next week when I wrap a bit tighter.



7 January 2014

ATG CAT Squat: 5x3 225 w/o belt and wraps

My calves are extremely sore; undoubtedly from the wraps. I started off by doing some serious foam rolling and mobility work for about 20-30 minutes just to loosen up my hip flexors, low back, calves, and chest. All of it went pretty well except for my calves. Since the calves were still sore after rolling, I decided to do some CAT squats in order to build speed and work out some pain in my calves. However, this did not work and my calves feel worse than before. The pain is in the heads of my calves and obviously hurts when push off of my toes/ball of my foot. Since movement did not work, i am isolating the muscle by walking as little as i can. I will keep an eye on it and keep everyone posted

8 January 2014

Bench: 2x 180, 200; 3x5, 8 210

CAT Bench: 5x3 185

Speed Bench: 5x3 w/ 30 seconds rest



Benching was not too bad on this day. I was skeptical about whether I could bench since my calves were still sore from squatting with wraps. On my first warm up, I got in a normal set up and they did not bother me so I proceeded as normal and did not look back. The first set, the reps were pretty close but not quite right on but they became better in the next sets. I particularly emphasized squeezing the bar in order to stay tight. I felt like I could have used my lats a little more to prevent elbow flare so I will have to make sure of that next time. I had Anderson give me press commands to keep me honest about pauses and to begin practicing for the meet. I found out the rhythm changes just a bit at the bottom so by doing this, I become accustomed to that rhythm.

10 January 2014

Conv Deadlift:
2x 380, 405
1x, 2x 430
3x5 350 w/ 3 min rest

Power Shrugs: 3x5 315



The session was not too bad today; i worked up to around 93-94% today so I was able to see some slight breakdown in technique. The weight felt good, speed felt good, and the reps felt good. I was supposed to do 2x1 @430 but on the second set, I felt good and did another. My first reps looked pretty decent and the second ones were not as great; maybe from fatigue but I am not sure. I watched the videos in slow-motion to see where I was breaking down and I noticed 2 things: first, my hips come up just a bit at the start and second, my legs lock out a little early. I have a feeling the first is what causes the second. After reflecting on the lift, I realized I was not leading with my head/shoulders which might be the culprit. Just a cue I will have to remember for next weeks session. The timed sets were an absolute *word for female dog* and they particularly broke my form down undoubtedly from fatigue.

11 January 2014

Squats w/ Wraps:
275x a couple singles w/ firm wraps
315x a couple of singles w/ "holy mother of God!" tight wraps

The purpose of this sessions was to get some low-percentage reps in with the Sling-Shot knee wraps and Power Belly's Misdemeanor knee wraps. Going into the session, keosawa said he would wrap me once so i can see what it is supposed to feel like followed by "I will fuck him up" so that made me excited. the 275 sets, I put them on firm enough to know they were there. on the 315 set, keosawa wrapped those Sling-Shots about as tight as one could get (my legs were numb). I knew the wraps were going to hurt quite a bit so i mentally prepared myself as best as i could. I got to the bottom which was a little high but the wraps were so tight that I could not sink any further despite me trying. With heavier weight, I could probably sink to depth a little easier. The next set, I wrapped the Misdemeanors as tight as I could which was pretty tight (also went a little numb). I was fatigued by this point so I waited a minute before mounting the bar. I knew this rep would hurt too so I prepared mentally as best as I could and I was able to hit depth pretty easier while managing to get some rebound. I am still not sure if I want to get the Sling-Shot wraps or the Misdemeanors but will think about it.

Other notes: While wrapping, i noticed that i have some tissue on the inside of my knee and if i tuck it back under/dont let it become pulled over then it reduces pain significantly. If i forget then my skin around my knees is crying.

12 January 2014

Bench: 4x8, 10 200 w/ press commands

CAT Bench: 3x 135, 160, 185, 175, 175 w/ pauses

Lat Pulldown: 2x10



Benching went well this day and the only thing i would have wanted differently was more speed. The speed felt fast and but i just wanted a little more. With 5 weeks out, i had keosawa give me press commands for every single rep which in total was 42 reps. That is quite a few commands so I would like to give many thanks to keosawa for that. On my fifth set which is an 8+ set, i asked if he could "be a bastard on the 9th, 10th, and so on" and make me hold it just a bit longer.

For CAT bench, i just started with something light and worked my way up. I did 185 and that felt just a tad slower than i wanted (possibly from fatigue) so i dropped down to 175 which felt excellent.