Monday 14 October 2013

So, for some reason, i finally realized that just taking a picture of my workout notebook is absurdly easier than retyping it all, so there it is. Couple things...
-the dot next to the number means i did it, and the hash marks denote sets
-ab / lb = abs and low back on the GHD + 25# plates
-GM = good mornings
-if there's a number in parenthesis, its either the reps or the percentage.

I've been pretty lazy recently and didn't post the last maxes or the last week or so of training, but to summarize, i remaxed and these are the numbers.

Squat - 420#
Deadlift - 500#
Bench - 270#
Press - 190#

I'm fairly pleased with these. Its a 10# jump in squat, 95# in deadlift, 15# in bench, and 5# in press. The deadlift jump was huge because i pulled sumo and arbitrarily low balled my max. So looking for a 30# jump in squat, a 25# jump in deadlift, and a 45# jump in bench. These are some stout jumps, but i have about 7 training weeks and 2 deloads, plus any extra i can squeeze out being fresh at the meet. Again, best case scenario numbers. Anything over a 415# squat, 485# pull, and a 245# bench is progress at a lighter weight class.

Today was an odd day in the gym. I was ready to train, a little apprehensive about my numbers, but nonetheless excited to start a new cycle. I felt lethargic but hit everything easily. I went 3 sets beltless on my sumo deads and it looked solid on tape. I'm starting to hammer weighted low back and abs. I'm thinking it could be the weak link stopping deadlifts / cleans / squats from going up more than they could, so im gonna hammer that the next few weeks until the meet to hopefully bring it up to speed.

So i'm pretty sure matt is coming with me to San Antonio to do the meet with me. He wants to qualify for a national powerlifting meet, national weightlifting meet, and national highland games all in one year. So hes casually going to walk into my meet and go 600 / 400 / 600 to total enough to go to nationals. Goddamn savage. BUT i'm excited to compete WITH him, i think its going to be a blast having someone there who's not only going to support me, but with more knowledge and experience than i have in that environment.

That's it, day one of week 1 of month 5 of prep. Yea, 5 months. Holy shit.

Wednesday 18 September - Thursday 19 September 2013

Wednesday
Close Neutral Grip Row / Barbell Curl / Wide Neutral Grip Row (2:1:2:0)

• 90# / 50# / 90#
• 4 Sets

Neck Extension / Neck Flexion / Trap Bar Shrugs

• 25# / 20# / 90K
• 4 Sets

Thursday
Deadlift (85%)

• 135# x 5
• 225# x 5
• 275# x 5
• 310# x 4 x 5

Squat (75%)

• 135# x 5
• 225# x 5
• 280# x 4 x 5

Good Mornings

• 155# x 4 x 7

Deficit Pulls (60%)

• 220# x 4 x 5

Wednesday was ok, just really a day to get in some extra work i usually don't feel like doing on one of the big 4 days. Straight hypertrophy and controlled tempo reps. The idea is just to add functional mass to help the big 3, nothing else.

Today i felt like crap for some reason. Energy levels were low, and i didn't have much drive to get it in and get it done today. But, that's the beauty of a training max. Everything was manageable weight wise and i did exactly what i needed to do without missing reps. Get in, get out, go home and eat.

One thing i've been starting to mess with is some low intensity cardio recently. Again, i do not give 2 flying shits what people think about it. I understand the benefits of HIIT, and the time efficiency, etc, yada yada; but if you're tired, smashed in, and trying to recover, HIIT IS NOT THE BEST OPTION. In fact, its about the worst. If you've got gas in the tank and you can hit it 3 times a week, you're probably not lifting heavy enough. I'm going to try to make an effort to do HIIT 2 times a week and some long slow stuff 2 times, for a total of 4 conditioning sessions. Not only does LSD cardio help facilitate recovery, its not intense enough to interfere with training. I'm not trying to be the most conditioned powerlifter, i'm trying to be the strongest pound for pound powerlifter, WITHIN MY WEIGHT CLASS. Therefore, if im tired and sore from training, im not going to load up a sled and smash my face in for 20 minutes. I'll hop on a bike, or an elliptical, and bang out 30 minutes, facilitate recovery via increased blood flow, and work at a low enough heart rate to preferentially burn fat. It's a real thing. 60% HR burns fat, and this is not a contestable opinion, its a statement of fact.

This said, 30 minutes later tonight, get some quality food and sleep, and hopefully close it out this week tomorrow nice and strong.

Tuesday 17 September 2013

Pause Bench (85%)

• 95# x 5
• 135# x 5
• 155# x 5
• 195# x 4 x 5

Press (75%)

• 125# x 4 x 5

Sling Shot Bench

• 245# x 7
• 255# x 7
• 260# x 7
• 265# x 5

Meadows Row

• 120# x 7
• 125# x 7
• 130# x 2 x 7

Dips

• 50# x 3 x 7
• 45# x 7

Upper body always feels a lot less like death than lower body days as i get further into the strength blocks. The pause on the bench is going to be clutch going into the meet. I'm working on keeping tension across my entire body when the bar is on my chest and thinking of the speed of the commands as i go. This is the biggest adjustment as far as timing when the meet comes around because its hard to be cognizant and in the moment when you're working with heavy weights, much less competing. I figure make it muscle memory, and train like its game day every single day.

Slingshot felt awesome today, mostly because i had a solid spotter to give me hand offs and i could keep my position somewhat better on the bench. I checked some video and saw i have some stinky butt on the bench but im not too concerned. This was like 12 working sets into the workout and pretty heavy for me. It starts off ok, but gets worse. Luckily i wont be benching a 5 or 7rm, so ill be ok.

Wednesday is mobility, pre hab, and bodybuilding work, then 2 more heavy days and then its off to the LSU game.

Monday 16 September 2013

Squat (85%)

• 135# x 5
• 225# x 5
• 275# x 3
• 305# x 2
• 315# x 4 x 5

Deadlift (75%)

• 135# x 5
• 225# x 5
• 275# x 4 x 5

Good Mornings

• 155# x 4 x 7

Deficit Pulls (60%)

• 220# x 4 x 5

 Sled Drags

• 135# x 20 Yards x 10 @ :30r

Day one of week 2 in the books. Squats felt good until 315# got on the bar, then it didnt feel good anymore. Took some video of 2 sets of skwats and it looks like im getting stinky butt out of the hole (butt is rising too fast) so im going to have to try to fix that as i go. I think a lot of it is me rushing into the hole to try and finish the set rather than slotting the bar and settling the weight. Fixable so i'm not too concerned. I threw the belt on today for the first time in a while. I wanted to take 315# for all 20 reps without it, but it wasn't in the cards. Sumo was noticeably harder after the squats, but obviously so. Videos still look solid and my back is looking flat and strong. I need to remember little things like taking the slack out the bar, dropping my hips before i start driving, tucking my chin, and squeezing the glutes rather than hyperextending at the top, but at least im aware of it and i can actively fix it. When i went to do good mornings it felt like someone beat the shit out of me with a pipe for the previous 45 minutes. I'm REALLY trying to make a point to condition this week, cause i've been a lazy douche about it recently. I figure 10 minutes a day, just HIIT, sled work and done. The less i have to think about it the more likely ill do it.

I'm going to try and add in some bodybuilding days on Wednesday and Saturday. I say bodybuilding, but i could appease people and say "repetition effort like westside" but either way its the same shit, and if you think it has no place in a program your stupid. Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy to bring up lagging muscles, not myofibrillar hypertrophy like the other 4 days of training. Layman's terms, high reps low stress bigger muscles. Upper back, low back / ab supersets, neck and trap supersets, and some extra foam rolling and mobility will be on tap. Ideally nothing to mess with recovery, but enough to elicit some adaptation.

Otherwise, i'm feeling ok. I'm a little banged up but nothing that will mess with my training, so far at least. My left lat area has had some sort of nagging knot in it for a while and i felt it start tensing up when i was pulling today. It isnt anything that i cant work through obviously, just a dull and distracting pain. The other thing is my left shoulder sounds like rice krispy treats. Again, no pain yet, but that shit cant be good. Until i see a Doc, who will most likely recommend rest and a high dose of being a pussy, i'm just going to mobilize, roll out, take my fish url, and do the best i can.

Times like these bring me back to the dichotomy that exists in what i do. I'm an aspiring strength coach with a 4 year degree in exercise science from a major university, with some of the most prestigious certifications in the industry. I'm the guy who should know how to do it, and how to do it right. But on the other side of that coin, part of me doesn't care. I'm chasing numbers and performance, not aesthetics, and god damn it i want to set some records before i hang it up for good. You can't train how we train forever. At some point, you will break, and it will be very very bad. I'm not talking a minor injury- im talking torn shoulders, torn hamstring, herniated discs, inguinal hernias, intestines poking through your abdominal wall, things that are catastrophic and life altering. But this is the toll we pay i suppose. Every time you walk up to a loaded bar close to the most your body is literally capable of doing, you're playing with fire and you're risking your health. It's a choice we make and we have to accept the consequences. I'm not sure how long we're meant to handle this type of stress, but i'm thankful for every day i get to push and fight to add some weight to that bar. I'll end this little story with a video that puts it in better terms than i can by someone who's done it far longer than i have.

Thursday 12 September - Friday 13 September 2013

Thursday
Deadlift (75%)

• 135# x 5
• 225# x 5
• 275# x 4 x 5

Squat (75%)

• 135# x 5
• 225# x 5
• 280# x 4 x 5

 Good Mornings

• 150# x 7
• 155# x 7
• 160# x 2 x 7

 Deficit Pulls (55%)

• 200# x 4 x 5

Friday

Press (75%)

• 65# x 5
• 95# x 5
• 125# x 4 x 5

Pause Bench (75%)

• 135# x 5
• 175# x 4 x 5

Slingshot Bench

• 235# x 7
• 245# x 7
• 250# x 7
• 255# x 7

Pullups

• 20# x 7
• 25# x 7
• 30# x 7
• 25# x 7

CG Incline Bench

• 95# x 7
• 115# x 7
• 135# x 7
• 135# x 7
• 125# x 7

Tuesday 10 September 2013

Pause Bench - 75%

• 95# x 5
• 135# x 5
• 155# x 5
• 175# x 4 x 5

Press - 75%

• 125# x 4 x 5

Slingshot

• 235# x 7
• 240# x 7
• 245# x 2 x 7

Meadows Row

• 100# x 7
• 110# x 7
• 120# x 7
• 125# x 2 x 7

Dips

• 50# x 7
• 60# x 7
• 55# x 2 x 7

Pretty quick lift. The 75% feels lighter on upper body always vs. lower body days. Since the Velocity only has 100# dumbbells, i decided to switch it out for a meadows row. Basically, you shove a barbell into a corner, or use a landmine if you've got one, then load up one side with 25#s and party. The row uses a pronated grip vs. a neutral grip, so its only slightly different than a DB row. I figure this way i can constantly add weight for the assistant as i get stronger, and the grip change / direction the barbell arcs away from your body as you pull will help build my mid / upper back more, which i need. I'm going to keep the assistant exercises at 7 reps the first 2 weeks of the cycle when im doing 5s on main lifts then drop to triples on the main lift and 5s on the assistants the next 2 weeks. I'm going to taper the assistant reps to allow myself to use higher weights but not at the expense of extending rests much longer than 1-2 minutes. Heavier weight, stronger lifts. Strength is never a weakness.

Body weight is at 181 this morning so ill keep the food where it is right now.

Monday 9 September 2013

Squat (75%)

• 135# x 5
• 225# x 5
• 260# x 5
• 280# x 4 x 5

Deadlift (75%)

• 135# x 5
• 225# x 5
• 275# x 4 x 5

Good Mornings

• 145# x 7
• 150# x 7
• 155# x 7
• 160# x 7

Deficit Pulls (55%)

• 200# x 4 x 5

Neck Extension / Flexion / Shrugs

• 25# x 20 / 20# x 20 / 80K x 20 (2 Sets)
• 25# x 20 / 15# x 20 / 80K x 20 (2 Sets

SWEET JESUS IT FEELS GOOD TO LIFT REAL WEIGHTS AGAIN! 2 months of high volume, transition and max week, so 3 months of prep work, now 3 months of training prior to the meet. Everything felt appropriate as per the 75%. Sumos all looked really good on tape as well as the deficit pulls. I honestly feel like the combo of sumo + heavier good mornings + deficit pulls at a low percent to really work on leg drive plus a completely neutral back is going to pay huge dividends not only in the meet, but in the olympic lifting block i have after my meet. So skwats, tugs, assistance work, in for the day. Feeling healthy, bodyweight is a little under 180 so i have some wiggle room up to the top end of 185 going into the strength block which i like. This will give me some play with my food and allow me to eat a little more to accommodate recovery. Real pumped up to see where the next few months goal. I said it once, ill say it again, dreams are a god damned waste of time. I have a goal, and i'm going to attack it every single day until this meet, and if i don't hit what i want, you bet your ass i'll leave every ounce of effort in the gym and on that platform trying.