My training History: I trained less than one year before competing in my first powerlifting meet as a teenager back in 1983. Before leaving the sport partially due to injuries in 2005 I achieved my elitefts status in the 198,220,242,275 & 308 weight class. Throughout these years I did have a 3 year run in the bodybuilding world. I have  degenerative joint disease, have had two shoulder surgeries (right shoulder now needs replaced), one full hip replacement, knee surgery, and herniation's in all three regions of my spine, Bone spurs (all joints). I can't even begin to list the number of muscle tears I have had, surgical and non surgical.  I am "The Mashed Up Meathead" and this is my story. 

You can find my training log archives HERE and my most current training log posts HERE. 

My best lifts are behind be but my best training is yet to come. 

* Unless otherwise noted the tempo of the work sets is about 1/2 of what most would consider normal. In most cases, if I did the set with normal temp what I fail at with 8-10 reps in training I could do for 20 reps with a normal tempo. This is to keep the joint stress down while increase the stress on the muscle. I have found this to work best for me provided the conditions listed in my training history above.

 

Saturday, back day.

 

Seated dead lifts
135, for 5 sets of 8. The was this exercise is performed, is exactly as it sounds. You sit on a chair, keep your ass on a seat, put a bar in front of your shins, like a dead lift, grab the bar, just arch your back up. You're going to finish with the bar at about mid-shin, or knee level. You do not stand up with this exercise. It's just from the ground to your knee, with your ass down the whole time.

 

 

Angle grip, pull down bar.
* Close grip pull downs, for 5 sets of 10 minutes.

* Then, 4 sets using the wider grip with the reverse grip, 4 more sets of 10-12 reps, with each of these sets to failure.

 

 

4 inch grenade ball, straight arm pull-overs.
4 sets of 15. These were done with the cable machine. The ball's starting just about head level, a slight bend at the waist. That way you can get more of a lower lat contraction at the bottom, and a stretch in the lower lats at the top.

 

 

Prone bench, kettlebell rows.
With this exercise, your chest is supported on a prone bench. I have a bench in the gym that's basically designed just for this purpose. Then, pull the elbows as high as you possibly can. The cattle-bells provide an advantage with this over a barbell, and even the dumbbells, because you can keep your hand in a thumbs facing each other position, and pull your elbows really high, actually higher than you could a barbell, because a barbell would end up hitting the bench, as would the dumbbells. The cattle-bells offer a greater range of motion. 4 sets, 10-12 repetitions. All sets to failure.

 

Hise Shrug
Using the standing calf machine. 5 sets, 15-20 repetitions.

Neckwork using the band.
All 4 position, sets of 15-20 reps. That's it.