Maximum max bench day

Had to help people move, so I did a quick bench workout at 8:30am.

Bench:
275 x 5
285 x 5
295 x 5

4-board Bench:
365 x 5
405 x 5
455 x 0-2? I might have gotten these up. Or the spotter touched them. Or i pushed the board up. They went up, but they were sloowwwo and sloppy. I was out of my groove on them.

2-board Bench:
315 x 5
335 x fail (totally out of the groove, lost my breath, etc.)
335 x 5 (success!)

Lessons learner: groove is important on board presses. Also, trying to really spread my pecs wide has helped me engage them more at the bottom and gives me a quicker transition to triceps. I think I feel the thing that Phil has always mentioned about shrugging and engaging the traps, except I'm not trying to do that. Instead i feel them just get bunched up when I try to bring the bar down with a bunch of stress on the pecs (in a good way). Perhaps it's the same thing? Either way, I'm learning a lot about my bench by trying these heavier weights. The fact that after after 4 heavy sets, I can get 5 reps for 20lbs better thanmy raw max off a 2-board says something about where my weakness is, hahaha.

Then I did a quick finish with 4 supersets of flyes and front raises. Tried to go heavy on the flyes still to work those pecs.

Cardio:

So after the gym I helped two people move. The first person had the idea moving experience. Everything was boxed up and ready to go. Two quick trips. Nothing awkward like a couch or a giant desk. Took maybe 90 minutes of moving, and 60 minutes of travel, so not bad.

Then I helped a second person move. Oh man, the exact opposite. I show up and find out that I'm helping my friend and her roommate move out. Also, they just started packing. Also, I'm the only one there. So basically they packed while I moved everything in their apt. down from the third floor by myself. I think this is karma from what I put Phil through this year, haha. Oh man, my friends were packrats to the nth degree: huge filing cabnets full of every paper they had ever written, giant blue foam sleeper mattresses, two broken bikes, a my little pony doll from when one was young. Srsly. It was two trips for 3 cars. And they didn't even have any couches. Just an apartment of infinite stuff. I think it took around 8 hours for the move. At the end, there were 5 of us moving stuff out the cars and vans into storage. Cardio is awesome.

Also, the broken rib is at 90%. I'll try to do some form of squatting with it tomorrow and see how it goes. It hurts only when stretch it now, but not when I'm picking things up, so I think it's healing up fairly well.

KNEE REHAB

So my knee felt really bad after all of the shit earlier today. The pinch I had earlier had grown to an overall ache. But there was this cruise of Boston Harbor tonight that I wasn't going to miss, so I went anyway. To get there, we had to take the subway (standing) and walk the rest. This really aggravated the knee and it didn't feel good at all.

Then the cruise started and I started drinking. By my third beer, I noticed that the knee didn't seem to be bothering me. By the fourth, my knee seemed completely healed. Mission accomplished.

Also, Vladimir Putin saves a TV Crew by shooting a Siberian tiger.

Light day, thankfully

Snatch 72/2 82/2 x 3
Snatch pull with pause at knee 92/2 95/2 x 2
Jerks 100/2 x2 102/2 x2
Back squat 105/4 115/4 x 3
Behind the neck press + OHS 52/(3+1) 54/(3+1) x 2


Glutes and hamstrings still tired and sore but I got everything today. Jerks were the hardest because I've been doing a lot of jerking since Ita left. Lats get really tired and don't recover when I'm jerking and jerking every single day, and especially from the high intensity jerking.

SHEIKO WEEK #4; #1

Everything felt pretty heavy today, even the flies. Going in the morning on one day less rest than usual because of labor day.
- Squat 205x4 (50%), 245x3 (60%), 285x3x2 (70%), 325x3 (80%), 345x2x2 (85%)
Form definitely wasn't great on the heavy sets. I feel solid with 70%, and 80% wasn't bad either.
- Bench 135x3 (50%), 165x3 (60%), 195x3 (70%), 220x3x4 (80%)
- Flies 30x10x5 (10%)
- Dips Bodyweight x8x5
- Squat 205x4 (50%), 245x3 (60%), 285x3 (70%),
325x2x4 (80%)
All of these felt heavier than the first group. The first of the final four sets felt very heavy. Then I decided to stop being a pussy and get some rebound, the rest went better. (Just like everything today, still felt heavy.)
- Good mornings 165x5x5 (40%)
Back must been tired because these hurt a lot.

Not the greatest day ever, but I'll take it. Still didn't miss a rep, probably was good for another one at the end of any of these sets. Should be recovered by Wednesday, I hope. But maybe the volume is finally catching up to me. That's what's supposed to happen with this...

Only other thing of note is I felt a pinch in my right knee that stayed with me after the workout. This usually happens when I play basketball, so I don't know whats up. I'm icing my knees right now, which should help tremendously.

UPDATE: So we have a really cold freezer. The ice packs are rock-solid when they come out of it, so usually I will put some cloth between the ice pack and my knee. Today I was like, "My knee hurts, so I'll give it the full treatment." I put the ice pack on my knee and it stung like hell, but I winced through it, and it eventually went away. I let like 5 minutes pass and I took the thing off, and my knee had a pattern of deep wrinkles where it had been deformed by the ice pack. The problem was, my knee was also white and nearly solid to the touch. So at this point I freak the fuck out and go to the shower. I'm in all my clothes, so I don't want to turn on the shower, so I turn on the bath. But I also didn't want to bend my knees (I guess I was afraid they would shatter?!? Dunno...), so I'm left staring like an idiot while my knees stay frozen. Eventually I stripped and showered, and my knees seem fine. But lesson learned.

Yesterday and today

So sore from the 85% /3 x5 that I couldn't squat and could barely clean I had to split the workout up. Ironically, I did the squats as written instead of increasing them.

Yesterday
Power snatch 72/2x2 82/1 x 3
power clean 90/3 x 2
Clean and Jerk 100/(2+1) 115/1 x 4 (90%, still got them all with the soreness)


Today
Clean pull 126/2 x 2 140/1 x 3
Had to skip squats and good mornings, but was supposed to be:
Back squat 142/5 x 4
Good morning 3x3

I feel pretty good about getting all the cleans since I could hardly use my glutes or hamstrings to squat the weight up. My leg strength is above my clean and jerk, proportionally, so I don't feel too bad about skipping the squats because I need to up the main lifts anyway.

Weightlifters can bench too:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbJxt1ukv-U

FLEXIBILITY/BOREDOM

- Stretching
- Walking ~1 hr

So this post might not be very interesting. I'm bored out of my mind, so deal with it.

Today there was supposed to be this "Orientation Olympics" event -- basically randomly formed teams playing randomly selected sports to determine a champion. I was going to spectate, since I have to workout tomorrow on less-than-normal rest. But when I got there, it hadn't started, so instead I went to the gym and stretched for a while.

After I got back, I wasted time playing DotA until I couldn't stand it any more. That, and I ate constantly. So today was good for joining Phil in 220's *242 cough cough*. Anywho, I eventually realized that I needed to get out, so I decided to go to the mall. I figured since I didn't have a bike helmet and I don't know Cambridge very well and it's night, I would bike over to the far side of campus and walk the rest. It turns out that 1.5 inches on a map is a lot further than it seems. Took me about a half hour each way.

When I got there, I looked at TVs at best buy, but they are all $300. This sucks because it would have been awesome to watch football tomorrow. Then I went to Borders to see if they had Starting Strength. They didn't but I got to reading Strength Training Anatomy instead. I learned some nifty things about squats -- apparently, Dave and I have long femurs. Thats why our squat form is so bent over. I also learned about various ways to tear tendons and herniate discs.

Then I bought some random sci fi book and went to the register. The girl at the register was basically the worst employee ever. When the customer in front of me went up to check out her book, the first thing the cashier said was "Welcome to the insane asylum". (Wtf?!) Then when I went up, she was chatting on a mic with another employee, and she was talking about killing people.

So then I went to the food court and bought a 12'' pastrami sandwich. It was good.

Then I checked in at a sports store to see if they had chalk. They didn't.

Then I walked back. Then I biked back. Then I wrote this post.

I can't wait for classes to start.

This Is Strong

John Kuc

Sheiko Week 3, Friday

BENCH
120x1x4
145x1x4
170x2x3
195x3x3

SQUAT
135x1x5
165x1x5
195x1x5
210x4x4

BENCH
135x1x5
155x2x6
170x5x4

FLIES
25x5x10

Goodmorns.
115x5x5


I feel like I say the same thing every time...anyways, everything felt pretty good. The elbow wasn't hurting as much and didn't start hurting till midway through the second set. My adjustment of a slightly narrower grip and focusing on keeping the elbows in (more than I normaly do, anyways) will hopefully allow my elbows to get used to the set up when shirted.

I will be going Tues, Thurs, Sat this upcoming week. Phil if you want to come work out at Wooden on Saturday let me know.

Ronnie Coleman

These have to be the best clips of Ronnie on the interwebs.

Part 1
Part 2

Squat Day

Back Squat -
Instead of going with the usual close stance, tried wide stance. I think I might just stick with it.
wu
295x5
335x5
365x4 - wrapped
405x2 (PR!) wrapped

Front squat
135x10
185x8
225x8
245x6

Power Cleans
135x4
135x4

Hams were pretty tight from cleaning yesterday. called it
Need to invest in some bands to mix things up

Squat Day

Back Squats:
warm up
295x5
315x5
wrapped knees for next 2 sets
355x3 (spot on 3rd one)
365x2

Front Squats:
135x8
185x8
225x5
235x5
245x5

Power Cleans:
135x5
135x4
155x4
175x4 for 3 sets

Pause Squats (4 seconds in the hole):
225x4
255x4
275x3
295x3 (failed on 3rd one)

OH NOES!! IT'S THE PROWWWLER® SZOMSG@!!!2TWO

The rib is feeling better, but not 100%. Did some light deadlift warm ups, but stopped when I decided pushing it would likely re injure the muscle.

Instead I tried to make the most of a leg workout and pushed the prowler around. I think I underestimated that thing. The first time, the course was just short enough that I could sprint through it. This time, I tried pushing it around 160 meters. NOT AT EASY. Once you get slow, that thing turns to lead. There is no walking. Walking with it is more exhausting than running. I ended up doing 6 trips down and back. The last 5 trips were around 100 meters round trip.

The other guys had talked about how the prowler makes you want to puke. I didn't believe it at first, but after around the 4th trip, I was panting constantly. By the end, you really do feel like puking. I thought I was in pretty good shape from all the frisbee and 20-30 mile bike rides, but the prowler is intense.

QED™.

SHEIKO WEEK #3; #3

- Bench 135x4 (50%), 165x4 (60%), 195x3x2 (70%), 220x3x3 (80%)
Found a place to put pins that really forces me to arch.
- Squat 205x5 (50%), 245x5 (60%), 285x5 (70%), 305x4x4 (75%)
Third time squatting this week, felt fairly difficult. Also blood pressure seemed high (??).
- Bench 150x5 (55%), 180x6x2 (65%), 195x4x5 (70%)
- Flies 25x10x5 (10%)
- Good mornings 165x5x5 (40%)

Week #3 done. By far highest intensity & volume...week 4 should be similar (I think higher). Squats weren't difficult in an absolute sense -- I still got all the reps pretty easily. But harder than I expected. I also seemed to push my blood pressure up really easily. I started getting veins standing out on my forehead, which I can't remember ever happening before. Don't know what in hell this means, though.

Some girl was doing sumo deadlifts today. I think things are going to continue getting more ridiculous until I come in a few weeks from now and see a 80 year-old female professor doing board presses in a Katana.

ME Upper Body

Reverse Green-Band Flat Bench:
The Cardio Fit power rack doesn't have pins that go as high as UCLA's, so the bands were completely hanging off the bar. What this means is that it was less support than last week, and completely deloaded about where a one-board is.

Work sets:
335 x 1
345 x 1
355 x 1 (a bit of grind)
365 x 1 (easy, no grind)

Rippetoe-Style* Bent-Over Rows:
*This means: lower back is almost parallel with ground, set the weight on the ground after each rep so it's a concentric exercise.

185 x 1 x 5
205 x 3 x 5 (3 sets of 5)

Close-grip Incline Bench:
185, 3 x 8
205, 1 x 2

Standing Ab Pull:
160, 1 x 7
180, 1 x FAIL

That jump to 180 is brutal, need to just use the chains.

Chest and Cleans kinda

Chest 8-27
Bench
w/u
275x3
315x3
335x3 (2 forced)
355x3 (3 forced)

Floor Press
135x5
225x5
275x5
315x4

Weighted Dips
BW x 10
BW + 90 x10
BW + 135 x10
BW + 150 x 10
BW + 175 x 5

8-28
Legs were still feeling pretty tight from Sumo Day, so did some light cleans to loosen up a bit.

Hang Clean - Below Knee
135x4
135x4
135x4
135x4

Power Clean
135x4
185x4
205x4
225x3

Meant to stay light on the power cleans but it was too much fun! I was never able to pull 225 off the ground before. Felt goooood

Barbell Shrugs
315x10
405x10
505x10

8-28

Power snatch 67/4 77/2 x 3
Snatch 82/2 x 2 92/1, 95/1 x 4 (missed one), 97/1
Snatch pull 102/2 x 4
Jerk 95/2 107/2 x 2 110/2
Back Squat 125/5 162/3 x 5 (failed on the very last rep)


Good workout. Snatch felt light and jerking that weight for doubles was pretty good. Perfect weight on back squats since I failed on the last rep.

Deadlift: The Final Frontier (ME Lower Body)

No gear, since I forgot my belt at home like a genius and I hate the belts at Cardio Fit.

Non-Chocked Reverse Green-band Conventional Deadlifts:
Too many prefixes.

Working Sets:
445 x 1
455 x 1
465 x 1
475 x 1
485 x 1 (10 lbs PR)

The 485 wasn't horrible either, I just sort of stayed with the weight and extended the hips when it got slow. Felt like I could have done a little more, but decided to keep it in the tank.

Olympic-Style* Front Squats:
*This means you hold the bar in the crook of your fingers with your elbows up, like so. This is awesome on your fingers the first couple times.

Worked up to:
245 x 3

Not even close to a PR (295 x 3), but still decent with no belt and no front squat harness. I suck at front squats, I need to do them every rotation.

Straight-Bar Good Mornings:
185, 3 x 8

Stretch:
Gettin' better

Also, for the first time evar my lower back doesn't feel annihilated from doing heavy DLs. Yay!

FLEXIBILITY/UPPER BACK

- Stretching
- Dumbell row 75x8, 100x8, 120x8
Felt like doing these so I did. Doesn't stress lower back or hamstrings, so I think it's a good choice with Sheiko. Also works grip really well. (Grip slipped on 120, requiring reset.)

The mystery continues. I saw some guy doing sumo deadlifts with 2 plates. I think this is the first time I've seen a random doing sumo deadlifts.

I sent a suggestion e-mail to the Z-center (gym) general manager suggesting all kinds of equipment. He thanked me for the suggestion, forwarded it to his team, and I will probably never hear anything again. I might go ahead and fork out $350 for a deadlift bar. I can't deadlift on a smooth bar, that shit is ridiculous.

Finally, I sent an e-mail to the trainer Phil found. He got back saying there's no powerlifting club, but he was interested in starting one. I told him that might work, but I was going to wait until the semester had started to commit to anything.

Book Club: Improving the Sumo Deadlift

Brian Schwab's Tips

Advanced Sumo Deadlifting

Chicken Sacrifice

Accessory Work

More Stuff

Steve, here's some more articles about sumo that should help you.

Yesterday

Power Snatch 72/3, 82/1 x 3
P. cl. + Pu. J 90/2 100/1 x 3
Clean and Jerk 105/1 x 3
Jerks 105/2 115/1 x 2 117/1 x 3
Back Squat 105/5 125/5 142.5/3 x 4

Best power snatches ever, 82 has never felt so light before. I'm finally starting to recover from that volume so I think my numbers will start climbing. I'm going to be more liberal with the weight now (the weight never goes over 90%, so I'm going to do let the weight climb on subsequent sets instead of keeping it at exactly 90 like I did on jerks).

Sheiko Week 3, Wednesday

deadlift (to knees): 200x1x4
230x1x3
265x1x4
290x3x4
bench: 120x1x4
145x1x4
170x2x4
190x2x2
205x2x1
190x2x2
180x2x3
170x1x4
155x1x6
135x1x6
flies: 25x5x10
deadlift (from knees): 230x1x4
265x2x3
305x3x4
lunges: 115x5x5
abs: 3 rounds of pesto smash
(a circuit...ab pull downs, hanging leg raisesx20, leg lifts while laying on swiss ball x20)


i was tempted to do full deadlifts for the first set...but Nathan convinced me otherwise. if i'm doing this, i might as well do it correctly, right?

also, i saw a guy doing legit cleans on Monday. talked to him today and he competes in a gym called Chikara or something? apparently he goes to USC but they're gym succccks...no bars or other equipment for olmypic lifting. he stuttered a lot, but he was a nice guy.

icing the elbows will continue.

failed bench day

While playing ultimate today, I dove for the disc and landed on my ribs. It felt fine until I got to the gym and when I was warming up on the bench I noticed that if I breathed out and flexed by abs, my ribs hurt.

Speed bench:
135 + 120lbs of chains
3 sets of 3

After the third set, I was spotting and helped my partner move the bar back into the rack. I immediately felt something twinge. Now my one of my lower left ribs hurts constantly, and especially if take a deep breath or exhale completely. I don't think it's the rib itself, but one of the muscles between them. Hopefully this heals up soon. Ice + ibuprofen tonight. Maybe a hot bath too.

SHEIKO WEEK #3; #2

- Deadlift to knees 265x4 (50%), 315x3 (60%), 370x4 (70%), 395x4x3 (75%)
- Bench 135x4 (50%), 165x4 (60%), 195x4x2
(70%), 205x3x2 (75%), 220x2x2 (80%), 235x1x2 (85%), 220x2x2 (80%), 205x3x2 (75%), 195x4 (70%), 180x6 (65%), 150x6 (55%)
x Flies 25x10x5
Was supposed to do these, didn't see them in the program, so I didn't.
- Deadlift from knees 315x4 (60%), 370x3x2 (70%), 420x4x3 (80%)
Sumo stance, as always.
- Lunge 135x5x5
- Decline abs 25x10, 45x10, 70x10
Not sure how much to do for this, maybe 70x10x3 or 90x10x3.

OK today was interesting in a few ways.

I discovered my first signs that MIT's gym (the Z-center) isn't the Eutopia I thought it to be. First, they have no deadlift bars (none of their bars have knurling in the middle where you grip for sumo). Since I also didn't have chalk, this made today pretty awesome. Especially on the rack pulls, because I had to pull slowly at the start in order to keep my grip. Good news is they allow chalk, once I get some. (Dave??? <3 <3 <3)

I also tried talking to the front desk guys about getting some equipment -- deadlift bar, SS bar, glute ham. When I got to the glute ham, things went way off track. I was trying to explain it to the pretzy at the counter, and he started telling me they had hack squat machines. So I tried again. Then I showed him it on his computer on elitefts. He tried explaining how I could do hyperextensions on the machine they had. So I tried explaining to him that you don't bend your hips. At which point he told me it was bad for your knees, or something. So I told him it was a good exercise and exited the conversation as friendly as possible. Because of this talk and other shit, I ended up have huge pauses in between sets.

I also noticed that the average MIT person seems to know more about exercising (three different groups doing box squats in 3 visits?!), but is much weaker than average. I think I've seen two people other than myself benching more than one plate. I haven't seen anyone attempt 2 plates. The strongest guy is easily the German guy Rene, who was maxing out squats at 295.

I guess that sums it up. I probably forgot something, today was pretty fucked up.

I also need to get more consistent in my bench groove. I seem to change it every rep.

Is that a banana in your protein or are you just happy to work out?

I was running low, and with only 4 weeks left out here, I had to get a small thing of protein. So since the time was short, I thought I'd try a new flavor: Optimum Nutrition banana-flavored protein. After all, the banana is a very manly fruit. I was skeptical of the flavor at first, but after trying it, I can officially say it's delicious. If you've ever had a banana Laffy Taffy, it's that exact banana flavor. I may switch to this normally, as ON's strawberry is kind of bland.

Chest supported rows:
3 plates x 10
4 plates x 8
4 plates + 25 x 5
4 plates + 25 x 5
4 plates 8

Ultra-wide grip lat pull down:
stack x 12
stack x 10
stack x 8

My elbows started hurting during this exercise, so I stopped early. Later on while I was stretching, I realized that pulling on the arms really aggravates my elbows when they're sore.

Rear-delt flies + scap-pulls:
(scap-pulls superset after each rear-delt set)
20 lb dumbbels x 15
25 x 12
30 x 12
35 x 10

At this point my elbows started really hurting. So much that I felt like I was losing strength in my hands and forearms to the point that gripping the dumbbells was awkward. When they start hurting like this, my mind goes numb and for some reason I feel like I should immediately go to sleep. I don't think it's the same feeling as wanting to pass out, but it's uncomfortable to say the least. I called it quits at this point and went home. When I get back to LA, I will go see a doctor to make sure I'm not tearing apart my elbows somehow. It's stretching the joint that seems to hurt it, so that may be some ligament/tendon issue.

DE Upper Body IV: A New Hope

I felt pretty sore going into this, so it was nice to hit everything. Deload next week, mos def

Speed Bench:
185 + 60 lbs chain, 8 x 3
205 + 60 lbs chain, 1 x 3

Speed is improving, especially the close-grip

Rippetoe-Style* Standing Overhead Press:
*This means: no leaning back, no pushing with the legs, pausing the bar at the bottom to make each rep a concentric contraction, ending the movement with the bar over the head.

185, 3 x 5 (3 sets of 5 reps)
205, 1 x 2

The 205 was an indicator for a weight increase, so hitting is is good!

Pull-Ups:
Bodyweight + 16 lbs chain, 5/5/4/4/3 (21)

Hanging Leg Raises:
Bodyweight, 4 x 5

FLEXIBILITY/UPPER BACK

- Bike around MIT/Boston ~2 hrs
- Stretching, emphasis on calves
- Pull-ups Bodyweight x12, x10, x12
- Bent rows 154x8, 220x6
These were a stupid idea since I'm deadlifting tomorrow, so I stopped after the second set.
- Hammer curls 30x10, 40x8x2
- Ice knees

Today was kinda random. I really just wanted to stretch a bit because I'm pretty sore from yesterday. I ended up throwing in some upper back work because Sheiko doesn't do much of it.

I got a bike today, a hybrid-commuter-type. I was tooling around Boston looking for Trader Joe's (there are no street signs in Boston, apparently), when my back tire decided to turn 5 degrees to the left. This means the chain popped off and it now hit the fender, making it hit the brakes. I don't know jack shit about bikes, so I sat on the sidewalk staring at my broken bike for a while before I could finally get the chain back on. Then I started pedaling towards the bike shop, except the wheel scraped along the fender making a high-pitched squeal. Everyone was looking at me while I pedaled past at like 5 mph (it was really hard to push the thing along). So I basically looked like as much of an asshole as possible. Good news is once I got it to the bike shop, they fixed in like 2 minutes and I was on my way.

Nothing else really happened today.

Sumo Deadlift

Last nights deadlifting session went a lot better than my first attempt at it. Hips definitely felt stronger and tighter. Form stayed pretty tight until my last 2 reps. I felt like I could have definitely pulled more.

Deadlift (Sumo)
w/u
225x5
275x5
315x5
365x5
415x5
445x5

Stiff-legged Deadlift (Close Stance)
135x10
225x10
275x10
315x10

Adductors / Abductors (Superset)
4x10 each

Sheiko Week 3, Monday

Squat: 135x1x4
165x1x4
195x3x3
225x4x3
Bench: 120x1x3
145x1x3
170x2x3
190x3x3
Flies: 25x5x10
Dips: 5x14
Squat: 135x1x4
165x1x4
195x4x5
Goodmorns. 115x5x5


Everything felt good today, but the workout is definitely getting tougher. I slightly narrowed my grip on bench and tried to work on keeping my elbows in a little better for benching with the shirt. Felt fine.

For flies, I went Beckmann style and used the quarters since Wooden was PACKED and there were no dumbells left. As for dips, I'll start doing the sets with a plate and stick to the 8 reps we are supposed to be doing.

Elbows are definitely feeling better...didn't start hurting until I went climbing after the workout.


Oh, and Jake...if I remember correctly it's a 9 week cycle, so we will be testing or whatever at the beginning of October...
However, I'm not entirely sure...I just do the workouts as Nathan gives them to me each week...

Frist day of Competition Phase

Press behind the neck, sntach grip + overhead squat 52/(3+2) x 3
Power Clean 90/4 105/2 x 3
Snatch pull 90/4 95/2 105/2 x 2

Feels good not to feel like shit afterward.

DE Lower Body

No gear.

Box Squats:
275 + 100 lbs chain, 7 x 2
315 + 100 lbs chain, 1 x 2

A lot slower than last week. My hips were tired. This confirms my guess that I should be operating on a 2 Week High/1 Week Low cycle. I got pissed off about the slowness, so I went to 315 base weight on the last set. I won't back squat on Thursday, will deadlift and front squat.

Power Cleans:
205, 5 x 3 (that's 5 sets of 3, Dave)

Easy, but still need to train myself to actively let go of the bar and open the hand so the bar rests on the fingertips in the rack position. I'm getting the elbows up, but years of not letting go of shit in the gym has left me with this mental block.

Box Jumps:
Added about 3 inches to the height
5 x 5

Standing Ab Pull:
Worked up to 160 + 5 lbs chain, 1 x 5

45" Back Raise:
Bodyweight + 35 lbs bar, 2 x 10-12

Stretch:
Gettin' better

I think I'm going to set up my ME cycles like this:
Week 1: ME Squat/3-5RM Block Pull/RE Good Mornings
Week 2: ME Deadlift/3RM Front Squat/RE Good Mornings
Week 3: Deload

2 weeks is about all I can do well in a row.

SHEIKO WEEK #3; #1

Highest volume squat workout yet.

- Squat 205x3 (50%), 245x3 (60%), 285x3x3
(70%), 325x3x4 (80%)
First time at 80%.
- Bench 135x3 (50%), 165x3 (60%), 195x3x2
(70%), 220x3x3 (80%)
First triples at 80%. As always, done with a full pause and competition set-up.
- Flies 25x10x5 (10%)
- Dips Bodyweight x8x5
- Squat 205x4 (50%), 245x4 (60%), 285x5x4 (70%)
First work sets of 5.
- Good mornings 165x5x5 (40%)

MIT seems to have a lot of ppl who have some clue what they are doing. I've met two pretzies doing box squats who knew a lot about proper technique (but not everything--they still had knees caving in).

Today I met a potential training partner, some german guy named Renee (isn't that French?!?). He was doing box squats with perfect form up to 295 for a single. He also guessed I was doing a Sheiko routine without me telling him anything. So he obviously knows what he's doing. He's finishing his thesis though, so he's really busy -- we'll see if it works out schedule-wise.

ALSO -- today I walked probably 15 miles all around Boston in 80-degree, humid weather. My squat shoes also have no padding. What this means is my feet feel awesome.

max volume for max effort squat

[backstory] I gave a powerlifting clinic to a few guys in a bodybuilding team program. The guys had been exposed to a lot of different workout styles, so they were really receptive to how powerlifters did things and asked some good questions. I included my contact info and offered to train with any of them if they wanted to see what powerlifting training was like. [end backstory]

So today, one of the guys from the workshop shows up for another one of my epic squat days. I had actually told him ahead of time that it was the most grueling, but he showed up anyway. Actually, he was really into it. When we started, I asked him what his max squat was, and he guessed around 315. I didn't tell him how much the chains were, but he was able to get 235 + 160lbs of chains for 5 on his 5th set, which is pretty good. (He even said the chains were fun!) So it was a pretty good workout. Having someone new always pushes me a bit, and I think it was a good experience for him.

on with the workout...

Squat:
385 x 5
385 + 40 lbs of chains x 5
385 + 80 lbs of chains x 5
385 + 120 lbs of chains x 5
385 + 160 lbs of chains x 5 (545 at the top, w00t!)

The last set was pretty brutal. I only got 2 on it last week due the bar slipping and my back is/was still exhausted from those deadlifts. My regular workout partner started intentionally trying to piss me off to fire me up and it worked. Things like "you are so weak. you won't even get a single rep." Rep 5 was sloooow. Had I not been in pissed-off mode, I doubt I would have made it. I'll have to deload next week to recover from all this work

SS-Bar Pause Squats:
275 x 3 @ 3 seconds (I was still exhausted from the squats)
275 x 3 @ 5 seconds
275 x 5 @ 5 seconds
315 x 5 @ 4 seconds

Had to work my way up on this. I was so burnt on the last set i was actually pulling the SS-bar into my neck. I pulled on it so hard that my right tricep tendon actually got sore afterwards!

Box Squats:
135 x 4 w/ greens
135 x 4 w/ 2 greens
135 x 4 w/ 2 greens
135 x 4 w/ 2 greens

Tried Jake's suggestion of 4 x 4 instead of 8 x 2. Seemed to work alright. Tried to keep the weight a little ligher and add more bands because I was exhausted.

Cleans:
135 x 5
185 x 5 (really, two back-to-back sets of 3, then 2 reps (i got tired))
155 x 5
155 x 5

Finished with some decline, band-resisted abs. I love those things.

USPF National Pics

http://www.pictage.com/client/eventPhotos.do?event=518007&category=5&page=0

finally. It only took them 2 months, haha. Who knows where the videos are for that thing too. You have to log into their special site to view the pictures. I grabbed a screen capture of the 672 for those who don't feel like logging in:

bench day

Apparently, it was max effort day today.

Bench:
275 x 3
295 x 1
315 x 1 (PR)

5-board Press:
365 x 5
405 x 5
455 x 5

This is somewhat retarded. The guy who does 405 raw only hit 455 x 3 on the 5-board press. I need to get a stronger chest.

Dumbbell Bench:
100 x 10
110 x 8
120 x 4
110 x 4

Flies:
no weights labeled on the weigh stack?
5 weight x 10
6 weight x 10
6 weight x 15
5 weight x 20

A good chest workout. The lower back was still fried from those near-maximal deadlifts on Friday. I even slept too. Hopefully, it will loosen up in time for squatting tomorrow.

Where to get Bands

Dean was asking where to get the flex bands that Dave & I have. I would personally recommend two sites:

Iron Woody Fitness:
I didn't order my band set from here, but I ordered my set of chains from them. Good stuff. Plus, they're cheaper.

EliteFts:
I order tons of stuff from them and it's all great. They are more expensive, but have nifty sales like every week. I ordered my full band set from them.

I'd recommend getting the following:
- 2 purple (light) bands
- 2 red (mini) bands

That way you can pair the purples and minis to get tension just slightly less than the green bands (as needed). They're awesome for stretching, and adding resistance to all sorts of stuff (dips, roman chairs, whatever).

Test day

Snatched 98, missed 102 4 times
Missed 122 on clean and jerk

Really felt the volume on clean and jerks, snatches were ok but just out of position. The much lower volume competition phase starts this week so the lifts should start going up soon.

The Eternal Truth

There are few things graven in stone, except that you have to squat or you're a pussy.
--Mark Rippetoe

More

ME Upper Body: 90%

Went with Dean-o to Wooden, he did upper back stuff and spotted me. Thanks again, Dean!

Non-choked Reverse Green Band Bench:
Complete deload at lockout
~45 off bottom (me & Dean checked)

Worked up to:
335 x 1 x 3 (one set of 3)

That felt pretty good, so did an extra set with a close grip:
295 x 1 x 5

So next week I'll go for 4 total lifts >= 335 (90%), ending in 365 x 1.

Chest-Supported Row
4 plates + nickel, 3 x 5
4 plates + quarter, 1 x 2

Weighted Dips
2 plates, 3 x 8
2 plates + quarter, 1 x 3

I told Dean about the Secret Plan for Ab-domination (haha, get it?), so we did:

Roman Chair Sit-ups
Bodyweight + purple band resisting, 1 x 5
Bodyweight + green band resisting, 2 x 5

Dean-o got stapled by the green band, so he went back to the purple. Those bands are no joke!

Great session, thanks to Dean!

SHEIKO WEEK #2; #3

- Squat 205x4 (50%), 245x4 (60%), 285x3 (70%),
305x3x5 (75%)
- Bench 135x5 (50%), 165x4 (60%), 195x4 (70%),
205x3x3 (75%), 220x2 (80%), 235x1x2
(85%), 220x2 (80%), 205x4 (75%), 195x5
(70%), 165x5 (60%), 150x6 (55%)
- Flies 25x10x5 (10%)
- Dips Bodyweight x8x5
- Squat 225x3 (55%), 265x3 (65%), 305x2x3 (75%)
- Good morning 165x5x5 (40%)
- Sub-scap pull-up Bodyweight x12x3
- Stretching

This was a really good day in a lot of ways. I came into the gym still feeling pretty tired from yesterday's shit storm. But I got all the reps, and they all felt easy. My form wasn't perfect, but using a belt helps a lot. I used a belt for the second round of squats.

First day training at MIT's gym. It's pretty fucking sweet. They have tons of bumper plates, and platform/squat rack combos. They have all kinds of bars (thin, fat, normal, hex bar, etc. -- no safety squat that I've seen though). They have benches with built-in pins. My arch must have improved, because I'm able to set the pins two notches above chest level (although notches are smaller on these).

Otherwise, the gym has: two basketball courts, a 50m pool, a 25m pool, squash courts, a full indoor track, two floors of cardio/weight room (although not necessary for me really), and a fucking ice rink.

In the larger sense, I spent today picking up shit for my empty apartment. I met my first roommate today and he's pretty tight. He bought me a Taiwanese pineapple cake. I will be eating this for breakfast tomorrow. Dave and I were going to meet and eat cannoli and drink coffee, but I'm way too tired.

Boston is really beautiful and my room has an awesome view of MIT + the Charles river. I'm on the 19th floor, so you can see everything. I'm going to get a bike, so there's tons of shit within my range. Only things left are : (1) figure out what the hell is going on with grad school, and (2) make friends all over again.

Also, I posted about the last two days but they are back-dated. Read them if you want.

@Dean: I will be sending you the next week of Sheiko hopefully tomorrow. You should work out w/ Basil!

Deadlift Day

When I showed up to the gym, they guys were all in training mode doing band-resisted deadlifts with the quad minis. They main guy Steve was saying that Dan, who was currently up, had been talking smack about my deadlift ability. Dan started laughing so he obviously had not been, but Steve was just trying to goad me to see if I could pull Dan's weight, so I gave it a shot after Dan got a single. I ended up pulling 400 + quaded minis with no belt. It wasn't too bad but the guys thought I was retarded for being able to do that without any warmup. I guess it sort of set the stage for them goading me on my actual main exercise, haha.

Band-assisted deadlifts:
did these with the greens. I think they were slack at the top.
515 x 5 (no belt)
605 x 5 (no belt)

At this point the guys were like "might as well go 700 since you did that first rep so easy," so I said ok, provided I could use a belt...

700 x utter fail, not even off the floor

I got pissed at this, as it's been like 3 years since i've failed on the floor. So then in pissed off mode:
700 x 3" from lockout
700 x 3" from lockout
700 x 3" from lockout

I did all these in about 30 seconds, where I would fail at lockout, get pissed staring at the bar, and try it again. Really, I should have gotten at least one of these. The guys said I was close but that's not really good enough. Possible reasons for my sluggishness:

1. 25 mile bike ride the day before
2. 80 minutes of ultimate frisbee at lunch today
3. That gin martini I had with the guys from work right before I went to the gym

I will get that 700 next week for sure

Good mornings:
235 x 8
325 x 8
415 x 5

The lower back was kind of tired from those raw deadlifts.

Belt Squats:
Hadn't ever tried these. Wanted to work the legs without the lower back so they seemed like a good option.
100 x 10
145 x 10
200 x 2

These are awkward. Getting on the box is hard, and the belt throws off your form a little bit, so if you lean back like you want, you actually fall backwards.

I was pretty burnt at this point so I finished with a few sets of banded hamstring curls with the blue bands this time, and scap pulls.

where, oh where has my beckmann gone?

first day training without beck. luckily, sheiko training means i have a set workout. however, the guy i worked out with can't really help me with form. nor is it as fun as training with beck.

anyways, Sheiko Week 2, Friday:

Squat: 1x5 135 50%
1x4 165 60%d
1x3 195 70%
5x3 205 75%
Bench: 1x5 120 50%
1x4 145 60%
1x4 170 70%
3x3 180 75%
1x2 190 80%
2x1 205 85%
1x2 190 80%
1x4 180 75%
1x5 170 70%
1x5 145 60%
1x6 135 55%
Flies: 5x10 25
Dips: 5x10
Squat: 1x3 150 55%
1x3 180 65%
3x2 205 75%
Goodmorns. 5x5 115


My elbow started hurting a lot during the massive bench pyramid...it's still destroyed from stretching out the Katana. I'm icing right now. Everything else felt good.

Wide Grip Bench

Tried a wide grip (~31 inches between index fingers) for bench today. Results were good. This wide of a grip is legal right???

Flat Bench Press:
135x7
185x5
205x5
225x5
245x5 (PR! last week only got 245x3)
185x15

Incline Bench Press (pause at bottom):
135x5
155x5
175x5
195x4

Incline Skullcrusher:
bar+25s x10
bar+35s x10
bar+45s x10

at this point elbows started hurting like crazy (possibly from squat last night) so called it

Squat Training / Chest Training

Last night was a leg day for Brent and I. My hams were sore/tight from finishing a deadlift workout 2 days prior, but it was an overall good lift. My glutes are killing me today.

8-21
Backsquat-
w/u
275x5
295x5
315x5
335x5
365x3 (knees lightly wrapped)

Lunges
135x6 (each leg)
185x6 (each leg)

Backsquat- Pause 3 secs
205x5
225x5
245x5

Powercleans
135x4
135x4
185x4
185x4

Chest Training 8-22
Bench- wide grip
225x5
275x5
295x5
315x3 (1 forced- butt came off)

Incline - Pause at chest
135x5
185x5
205x5
225x5

Incline Tri-ext 10x4

Brent was setting PRs like a mad man today, almost every working set was a PR for him. The change in his grip definately boosted his bench.

Start a Club Sport

Start a Club

The club sports program is continually adapting to the interests of UCLA students, including the addition of new clubs. Historically, the program has added two new clubs each of the past couple of years. To begin the application process, click here to download and print an application. Complete instructions are included in the application packet. Please be aware that completed applications are accepted throughout the year, however, completed applications are only reviewed once a year, typically towards the end of the winter quarter. Clubs receiving approval during the spring quarter may begin operating as a condition club the following academic year.

Generally, the following criteria must be met to be considered for approval:

· A minimum of ten UCLA students must provide their name and contact information indicating they are interested in participating in the activity.

· A minimum of two UCLA students must be willing to initially serve as club officers, meeting with the club sports staff and completing required paperwork.

· The activity must provide an avenue for organized collegiate competition via a local, regional, or national governing body. Although not required, it is preferable that collegiate competition is available within a 300 mile radius of Los Angeles.

· The activity must be able to safely occur at a CRA-managed location, or at an acceptable off-campus location within the Greater Los Angeles area.

· The participants must be able to be safely instructed or coached by club members or a coach. If a coach will be needed, it must be demonstrated that finding a qualified coach or instructor is likely to occur.

Clubs that receive approval shall be considered “conditional clubs” their first year of operation and shall conform to the criteria listed in the current club sports tier system. Examples of criteria may include:

· No access to funding from the general allocation.

· Limited to one on-campus practice per week during the preseason and post-season, and two practices per week while in-season.

· Limited approval to host on-campus or off-campus events, including games, tournaments, and other events.

ucla club powerlifting?

Dave, I just wanted to know what's been talked about with Adam in terms of getting powerlifting approved as a club sport. The Competitive Sports Jamboree is on September 23rd, which is when all the club sports will be recruiting on the IM field.

I was thinking about contacting Adam next week to see what we need to get together. I know that we need members for the team first and foremost. In order to get members, however, figuring out the logistical things would help. Having a plan and basic structure of the program would surely make it easier to recruit members...they're going to have questions, and we should have answers. Of course, a lot of things we'll be figuring out along the way, but we should for the most part know where this is all going.

In terms of recruiting members, Facebook and fliering are options that can be a pain in the adductor but can definitely pay off. Fliers at the Wooden Center would be effective if they let us. Also, in person recruiting a-la-Dave talking to everyone is another great way to get members.

Starting this thing from the ground up will be no easy task but we can do it.

Light day

Power snatch 72/2 x 4
Power clean + Push jerk 90/2 x 3 (missed the very last jerk)
Front squat 120/6

Was supposed to do 3x6 front squats but just didn't have it in me since I'm testing Saturday.

FLY TO BOSTON

1 am - Go to sleep
4 am - Wake up
5 am - Arrive @ LAX
6 am - Our flight is delayed 3 hrs, missing the connection in Salt Lake.
8 am - Finally speak to customer service and switch to a 10 am flight -- through fucking Orlando.
10 am - Fly to Orlando.
6 pm (local time) - Land in Orlando in the midst of Tropical Storm Faye.
7 pm - Take off from Orlando in the midst of Tropical Storm Faye.
11 pm - Land in Boston.
12:30 am - Check into hotel.

I had three meals today. Two of them were airport food (read: shitty). I drank basically no water by my standards. All of this on 3 hrs of sleep.

I was supposed to arrive at 4:30 pm and check into my room, unpack, etc.. Instead I missed the check-in cutoff and my parents had to buy another room at the hotel.

Fuck airlines.

Teh Healings

Mike W. recommends chiropractic, which makes a lot of sense. We beat the crap out of ourselves, so it would be good to fix stuff as well

Check Er' Out

The doctor (Dave Foster) is a powerlifter, plus there's TEAM DISCOUNTS

Hint-hint

ME Lower Body

Non-Choked Reverse Green Band Squats
Gear: groove briefs, belt, knee sleeves
Worked up to:
522.5 (237.5 kg), 2 x 1 (two singles)
533.5 (242.5 kg), 1 x 1

3 lifts >= 90% 1RM

Conventional 8" Block Pulls
With belt
Worked up to 365 x 5. Same as last week, just faster on the snap at the top.

Cambered Bar Good Mornings
No belt
155 x 3 x 8

Squat Day

Back Squats with belt:
warm up
295x5
315x5
325x5
345x3 (horrible form on second rep, good morning the crap out of it. 3rd rep needed a spot)

Hips still shooting out once weight gets heavy for me. Trying to improve it by not dropping down so fast.

Lunges:
135x12
185x12
205x12
225x12
(all these were 6 lunges with each leg, 12 total)

Pause Squats (3 seconds in the hole):
185x5
205x5
225x5
245x5

Power Cleans:
135x5 (2 sets)
155x5 (2 sets)
175x4
185x4

Overtrained

Power snatch above knees 67/4 x 2, 77/2 x 4
Clean and jerk 102/2 x 4
Jerks 102/3 (was supposed to get 4 sets but just couldn't bring myself to do it)

Skipped clean pulls and squats

Yesterday
Basketball with Nathan for 2 hours. Sweated like a gallon of water.
Rock Band. Also with Nathan. Played the drums. Felt the burn.

Back feels 100% better and surprisingly quads feel great. Glutes and hamstrings feel like hell and will barely let me pull the bar off the ground or squat deep. I'm going to cut tomorrow's volume too so I don't make a fool of myself Saturday when I test my lifts.

Not a big deal about missing/cutting volume because I feel like the last few weeks have setup a pretty strong base for the next cycle.

SHEIKO WEEK #2; #2

- Deadlift to knees 285x4 (55%), 315x4 (60%), 370x4x3 (70%)
This is a way better exercise than I thought it would be.
- Bench 150x4 (55%), 180x5 (65%), 195x4x3 (70%)
- Flies 27.5x10x5 (10%)
- Deadlift 265x4 (50%), 315x4 (60%), 370x3x2
(70%), 395x3x4 (75%)
- Lunges 135x5x5
First set at 155, dropped weight because this supposed to be active recovery.

Last workout @ UCLA. Afterwards, I packed up my last few things and said good-bye to Dean, the other Pi Kapps, the house, and the campus. This was fucking depressing.

speed bench

Felt like death today from the squat workout and not sleeping. I played ultimate frisbee at lunch to work out the stiffness but it was still there.

Speed bench w/ quadded minis:
9 sets of 3 w / 205 + 90lbs of bands at the top

Log Presses:
We used some iron log that looked like this. The guy that used it said it weighed 225. It was a beast just to get into position.

just the log - 6 reps
just the log - 10 reps (figured out how to use the legs)
log + 50lbs - fail.
log - 6 reps (forgot to use the legs)
log - 10 reps (remembered how to use the legs)

Chest-suppored rows with quadded purples:
90 + bands x 10
90 + bands x 12
115 + bands x 10
115 + bands x 10

Lateral raises:
30 x 12
35 x 12
Massive super set:
45 x 3, 40 x 3, 35 x 3, 30 x 3, 25 x 3, 20 x 3, 15 x 3, 10 x 3, 5 x 10

I wasn't actually going for 3 reps on those last few, but it was harder than i expected

5-board press:
275 x 15 (got bored)
315 x 15 (chest started twinging)
365 x 10

On the last set, my hips actually cramped up. I'd never had that happen, but the double-green banded box squats on monday really tore me up.

Finished with some hanging scapula retractions and band-resisted sit ups.

DE Upper Body

Speed Bench
185 + 60 lbs chain, 8 x 3
Same weight as last week, just concentrated on pressing it faster

Standing Overhead Press (no push)
185, 4 x 4 (16)

Pull-ups
Bodyweight + 16 lbs chain, 5/5/4/3/3 (20)

Standing Oblique Pull
100 x 2 x 5 (each side)

CARDIO

- Basketball for ~2 hrs.
- Ice knees.
- Stretch.

I had a good game of basketball. It's the last time I'm playing so, this makes me happy. One more day in LA.

Katana...

Squat   138x4  165x4  193x2x3  220x4x2

Bench   120x3  144x3  168x3  192x4x2

Flies  25x5x10

Dips  5x12

Squat  152x3  179x3  207x3x3

Goodmorns.  115x5x5

Same workout as Beck, but a lot less weight.  

My squats are feeling great...switched to a narrow stance with feet no wider than shoulder width.  Since switching, I don't feel any pain in  my adductors, hitting depth is not a problem, and I can actually feel the "bounce" at the bottom.

Putting on the Katana was exhausting and painful.  I also felt like my head was going to explode when stretching it out.  These are good signs- I think this shirt will actually allow me to hit more weight, which my other shirt didn't seem to do all that well.  But it definitely needs some more stretching.  Also, I do need to learn proper form with a real shirt.

Oh, and Beck, here is the back workout I did last Tuesday and Thursday:

Pull-ups (w/plate)  2x8  2x7  4x6     Used each grip on the squat rack twice

Rows  170x3x10

Reverse Deltoid machine   115x3x8

Reverse flies  20x3x10

Lat. pull downs (leaning over, behind neck)  90x3x8

Lat. pull ins 90x3x8  (arms start up in wide Y position, then you pull elbows to back of ribs..I use the cable machine and put both arm thingies at 4 position)

Then finished with abs:

Decline bench:     one armed twist with medicine ball  -2 sets

(5 low, 5 high, 5 full)x3 super set  -2 sets

offset medicine ball toss   -2 sets

Yoga ball:      sit-ups 2x60

plank hold w/random movement (ie. someone kicks the ball)

I'm pretty worn out from the whole Katana ordeal, so tonight's back workout will probably be pretty light.

One last thing.  The Katana I got was RED.  It was blue on the site.  Since it was only $100 I can't really complain that much, but just thought I'd share my annoyance.  Red won't look so nice if we do eventually get UCLA singlets...

Dave's Long Lost Brother

Caffiene & Volume FTW

SHEIKO WEEK #2; #1 & KATANA!

- Squat 205x4 (50%), 245x4 (60%), 285x3x2 (70%), 325x2x4 (80%)
Form feels much improved, although hips still shoot up with 80%. Hips were extremely tired to start today. No knee pain at all.
- Bench 135x3 (50%), 165x3 (60%), 195x3 (70%), 220x2x4 (80%)
All bench presses done with full pause.
- Flies 27.5x10x5 (10%)
- Dips Bodyweight x8x5
- Squat 225x3 (55%), 265x3 (65%), 305x3x3 (75%)
- Good mornings 165x5x5 (40%)
- Shirt work
- Put Dean in his Katana and stretch it

Ok, today was pretty awesome. As mentioned, I overdid my rehab and my hips were totally fried to start today. Yet my form was improved from before with 75%. It started to break down under 80%, but I still feel that I'm headed in the right direction. This is the highest intensity so far in the cycle (it should continue from here).

And for the big news.... We put on Dean's Katana for the first time today! It is pretty much a perfect fit. It took us 30-40 minutes to get it on him. Baby powder was essential. He has all kinds of awesome bruises from me grabbing his skin/nipples and the shirt digging into him. We then did negatives, working up to one negative with 315 to stretch it out.

I'm pretty happy with how the shirt fits in the videos. It might have another .5-1 inch to sink in the armpits, but for the first day it's pretty good. If you watch the video of 315 closely, it looks like Dean is going to pass out/shit himself. Pretty awesome. Now Dean just needs to learn how to use it. His technique isn't quite textbook in the video...

VIDEOS!

DE Lower Body

No gear.

Box Squats (Below Parallel)
275 + 100 lbs chain, 8 x 2

Power Cleans
205, 7 x 2 (that's 7 sets of 2, Dave)

Box Jumps
5 x 5
What's interesting is that I have to actively will myself to jump this high. My safety mechanisms don't want to let me jump, then I just do it once and plow through them.

Standing Ab Pull
Worked up to 160 x 2 x 5

RE 45' Back Raises
Bodyweight + 35 lb bar
1 x 15
1 x 11

I need to start bringing more fruit juices. I bought some RTD juice from TJ's and it's great in the middle of a session.

More volume

Snatch 72/2, 82/2x2, 92/1x5 (only made 1 of them)
Snatch pull 92/2x3, 100/2x3
Power clean below knee 90/4x3, 100/2x3
Front squat 85/6, 105/5x3
Press behind the neck + overhead squat (3+2) 40, 45, 50, 52
Good mornings 4x5 60, 70, 80, 90

Yet another volume filled workout, but easier than before. Going to Hungary threw off my workouts a little so I haven't had a day of rest since Friday. Definitely would've got all the snatches if I did, but I feel alright since I survived the marathon workouts. I'm just glad I get a full day's rest now. Back feels better.

The competition scheduled for the end of this week in the program is "without special preparation" and they mean it, since my next workout has about the same number of lifts.

Uncle Benchy's Good Times Dungeon

Thought I might post a not about where I'm working out at here in Boston. I've been training at the Olympia Barbell Club out it Wakefield, MA. The website mentions strength sports, but makes it look like a fun place. Make no mistakes, this place should be called "Uncle Benchy's Good Times Dungeon." And it's awesome. The gym is below ground under this civic center type building. It's maybe a third of the size of one of those 3 workout sections in Wooden. Yet it packs 10,000 lbs of weight and a ludicrous amount of specialty equipment. It's entirely key club based; you sign up, they give you a key, you promise not to steal all their stuff. The owner is a veteran powerlifter and really knows his stuff. There's several regular groups that meet and most people get together on Sunday morning for benching, so it's pretty fun. (except for being 9am.)

The place is pretty dirty too. You come out looking like you just battled a bear made of rubber trapped in a bamboo box:
That shirt was white when I went in. I've included a white sheet of paper for reference. You can also tell I've been squatting.

Squat day is for lovers <3

Belted it for squats, then took the belt off for the rest. Baby steps.

Squats:
385 x 5
385 x 5 + 40 lbs of chains
385 x 5 + 80 lbs of chains

On the third rep of this set, i felt forward and basically good morning the damned thing up. I corrected my form for the last two, and they were easier. After this my spotter was like "wtf, you just good-morning 385 + 80lbs of chains." Good-mornings, ftw.

385 x 5 + 120 lbs of chains
385 x 2.5 + 160 lbs of chains

At this set the bar was really bending. When I took it off the rack, it rolled and i had to roll it back up after every rep. On the third rep, the bar rolled lower and i pitched forward and once again had to good morning it up. I was pretty pissed so I just set it down. I need to use a different bar next week because I could've had all 5 reps if the bar hadn't been moving so much.

Box squats w/ bands:
started w/ green bands on a slightly lower-than-parallel box.
135 x 5
225 x 5

This was a little too easy on the resistance because of all the chain work I did right before, so we put another green band on.
225 x 5
275 x 2 (heeeeavvvyyy)
225 x 5

Front Squats:
135 x 8
185 x 8
225 x 8
275 x 5

I was wasted at this point, so i did a bunch of random sets of:
glute-ham raise, reverse hyper, leg extensions.

Finished with three sets of sub-scap pull ups. (thanks Jake!)

Deadlift Programming Example

Steve, Brent, Dean-o:

Here's an example template of how to program ME training over a month. The goal is to break a record on the raw deadlift. I'll assume that you have a reasonable 1RM goal in mind. If not, divide your 5RM by 0.82 to come up with a theoretical 1RM (I recommend low-balling the 1RM weight).

WEEK1:
Conventional DL
50% of 1RM x 5 (1 set of 5)
60% x 3
70% x 1
80% x 5

Front Squats
Work up to a 5RM.

Good Mornings
3 x 8 (3 sets of 8 reps)

WEEK2:
Conventional DL
50% x 5
60% x 3
70% x 1
80% x 1
90% x 3

Front Squats
Work up to a 5RM (same weight as last week)

Good Mornings
3 x 8 (same weight as last week)

WEEK3:
Conventional DL
50% x 5
60% x 3
70% x 1
80% x 1
90% x 1
95% x 1
100% x 1 (new 1RM)

Front Squats
Work up to a 3RM

Good Mornings
3 x 8

WEEK4:
Conventinal DL
50% x 5
60% x 3
70% x 1
80% x 1

That's it. Week 4 is a deload week that lowers the volume to enable recovery.

Deadlift workout

Conventional Deadlift:
Warm-ups up to 315
365x5
405x5

Then Kevin messed up his back and vommited in our buddy's gym bag.

Returned 5 hours later to finish the workout.

Conventional deadlift:
455x3

Good mornings:
135x5
225x5
275x5
325x5
355x3

Sumo style rack pulls:
225x5
315x5
405x5
495x3

Hanging leg raises:
15lbs x 7 then bodyweight x 8 (2 sets)
bodyweight x 8 (3 sets)

Longest workout ever.

Clean and Jerk 90/2 x 2, 100/2 x 3, 115/1 x 5
Jerk 100/2 x 3, 115/2 x 2 (only got the first rep on these) 126/1 x 4 (missed all)
Clean pull below knee 100/4 x 4, 115/3 x 3
Clean pull from ground 126/2 x 6
Power snatches 72/2 x 6
Front squat 95/3, 110/3, 127/3 x 3
Back squat 105/3, 125/3, 142/3 x 3

115 is 90% of my max but I'm 100% sure I could've completed all of the jerks if I was fresh for them. I was so exhausted by the end of the front squats that I couldn't hold 142 on my back for the back squats. I ended up driving home (about 30 minutes) and finished the last 3 sets at the UCI rec center. After that I ate a meal consisting of 1/3 bag of pasta, chicken breast, rice, and chicken curry until I could barely stand from exhaustion and the bulge of food in my stomach.

This workout lasted about 3 hours, but is the longest and most grueling I'll have to do for a long time. Today concluded the week with the highest volume of the year, so I'm really glad it's over.

Doing workouts of this volume are not typical and I'm actually really happy with my results since I only missed the highest intensity reps. I test my maxes next Saturday and I'm confident I can hit a 105 snatch and a 130 clean and jerk.

Deadlift w/o kinda.

So todays workout out went alright I guess. Some douche was giving us crap for slamming the weights, kinda pissed me off. Then Kevin effed his back deadlifting so we cut our workout short. Anyway, it went sorta like this.

Deadlift ( Conventional )
Belted
w/u - starting with 135 working up to 225ish
315x5
405x 5
465x5

.. then kev got hurt. So we called it. Ill probably try to pick it up tomorrow after work.

What would you guys suggest as far as exercises to supplement Deadlift days?
I know like rack pulls, good mornings, zercher rack pulls (if thats what you call them), Back extentions. Keep in mind I'm in a normal gym with limited equipment. no bands chains etc.
Also what would you suggest as far as reps and sets to try to strengthen my deadlift? low reps heavy weight yeah? pyramiding maybe? I can probably take a look at your last deadlifting day workouts. just throwing it out there to see what you guys were working at.
also maybe some glitches in my technique as well could using some tweaking... you guys notice anything from the meet I could work at? Thanks guys. keep up the good work!

ME Bench

Woke up at 9:15 when I was supposed to be at the gym at 9. I made it by 9:30 but I was half awake for a while.

Bench Press w/ shirt:
275 x 1
315 x 1
365 x 1
375 x 1 (PR)

I felt so asleep for this, haha. 375 wasn't too bad but I think my butt may have come up a little. I'll need to practice for not doing that.

Floor Press:
225 x 5
275 x 3
315 x fail
305 x 1

Perhaps my floor press max is about the same as my raw bench max. That's kind of sad :[

ultra-wide bench press w/ the fat bar:
225 x 5
275 x 5

This felt horrible on my wrists. I thought the fat bar would be easier (as it is normally), but the wide grip made my hand position much more awkward.

parallel-grip dumbbell bench press:

90 x 8
100 x 6
100 x 5
100 x 4


Finished with 4 supersets of preacher curls and those hanging reverse shrug for posture.

Powerlifting at the olympics

OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG at 1:24 AM EST, the commentators mentioned powerlifting during the women's SHW weight lifting finals:

bob costas: "just to talk about the difference between weightlifting and powerlifting..."
bob costas: "weight lifters don't bench"
shane hamman: "i used to be a powerlifter when I first started"

... yup!

ME Upper Body: 82%-ish

I was supposed to do the chocked-band bench variation, but decided to hang the bands on the highest pin instead from the supports. So complete deload at lockout, which is how I do squats and deadlifts. Nathans can comment on this setup.

Green-Band Lightened (non-choked) Flat Bench:
Worked up to:
315 x 4

So for the purposes of calculation, I'll treat 305 as 82% (something I could have gotten 5 reps with). 305 / 0.82 ~= 371. So 371 will be the theoretical target for this wave. Next week I'll go for 0.9 * 371 ~= 335 x 3.

Chest-Supported Row:
4 plates + nickel: 3 x 5

Dips w/ Belt:
2 plates: 3 x 8

8/16/08

Power snatch, below knee 67/5, 77/2 x 3
Power clean+push jerk+ overhead squat 90/2 x 3
Power clean 100/2 x 5
Good mornings 20/15, 30/10, 40/10, 50/10, 60/10

Weights were light on good mornings because I hurt my lower back a couple weeks ago squatting. It only hurts when I bent forward at the waist and doesn't really effect my lifting. It hurts most when I drive, actually.


This is my first post so I'll explain my training.
I'm using the Program from "A Program of Multi-Year Training in Weightlifting" which lays out the training of a weightlifter for the first 6 years of training. If you need a reference for how the training goes, it is the basis for Sheiko training because the authors of my program first laid out the system for distributing loading throughout the training cycle.

FLEXIBILITY/REHAB

- Flexibility
- Maintenance
- Quadriceps
- Lying adductor magnus stretch
- Seated glute stretch
- Hamstring stretch: bent knee and straight
- Focus
- Hip flexors
- Adductors; standing, seated
- Calf stretch: bent knee and straight
- Foot arch stretch
- Rehab
- Squats with bands around knees 45, 45+red band, 135+red band, 135+purple band, 135
These felt good. I felt a huge rebound on the last set without the band. Purples might be a little
too much for warm-ups for actual work sets.
- Pull-ups Bodyweight x3x12

I added Jake as a contributor. We'll now see some oly posts. So I guess it's the "UCLA & Friends Strength Training Blog".

CARDIO

- Basketball ~1 hr.
- Ice knees.
- Stretch calves.

The usual drill. I'm playing much less physical than usual. I can't handle hard basketball and weight training at the same time. I'm hoping by cutting back the playing time and playing a little differently I can avoid this.

Mammoth Chest Training

On vacation and found a small hole in the wall gym to get a chest/tri workout in.
The high elevation definately kicked my butt. Freakin huffin' after 1st set.

Bench Press
w/u -
225x5
275x5
295x5
315x5 (1 force rep)

Incline DB Press
90x10
100x10
110x10

Board Press (~6in. foam roller)
315x5
335x4
365x3

Dont really remember the weight for tri's but the exercises were as follows
Incline Tri-exts 10x4
Weighted Dips 10x4
Cable Push Downs 10x3

Deadlift Day

My hamstrings have been feeling like death for the past few weeks. I think it may be those heavy pause squats. My squat day workout buddy worked in on them with me on Monday and said his hamstrings were really sore as well. I thought I would avoid heavy deadlifts today in case they were about to sprain.

Also, the lower back felt fine so it was back to raw, no belt training for me today.

Chain-suspended cambered bar good mornings: (close stance, feet on fire)
225 x 10
275 x 4
315 x 3 (felt tired on 3rd)
365 x 4
405 x fail x 2
405 x fail
405 x 1

I got stuffed on the first 405, then reset and tried to go again, only to get stuffed a second time. I took a minute break and one the guys in the gym yelled at me to get it done, so I tried again. Got stuffed. Then i got pissed off and made it. Way to go pissed-off me <3. style="font-weight: bold;">stiff-legged deadlifts:
I can't remember what we used to do on these for work sets so I just went with it

315 x 8
365 x 8
405 x 8
455 x 2

The last was was pretty retarded. I immediately knew the lower back was going to have fun with it, and after the second rep, I tried to force more on the hamstrings and just had to stop.

Green-band hamstring curls:
4 sets til failure.
worked in some jurgens-raises and facepulls out of boredom while resting.

Superset:
Hypertensions w/ purple band
band-resisted decline abs
3 sets each til failure.

I was pretty gassed at the end of this workout, but I don't feel like I did a lot. I need to start sleeping more.

SHEIKO WEEK #1; #3

- Bench 135x5 (50%), 165x4 (60%), 195x4 (70%), 205x3 (75%), 220x2x2 (80%), 235x1x2 (85%), 220x2x2 (80%), 205x3 (75%), 180x5 (65%), 150x5 (55%)
- Flies 25x10x5 (10%)
- Squat 205x5 (50%), 245x3x2 (60%), 285x3x2 (70%), 305x3x4 (75%)
- Dips Bodyweight x8x5
- Good morning 165x5x5 (40%)

37 sets today. 13 of bench and 9 of squats (including warm ups).

Today is the awesome bench pyramid and heavy squats.

Dean is leaving for Vegas so we trained at 10:30 am. This is right after I wake up, which is no good for me.

With my new squat form, I force my knees out really hard (like I'm supposed to). This works great for keeping me healthy, but weights above 70% (like the four sets today) really stress my glute's ability to keep the knees out. The result is my hips shooting up, just like old times. I will need to really hammer the glutes on rehab days while avoiding overtraining. Fun times.

Keep an eye out for Monday's log + videos. Dean will be using his katana for the first time.

BOOK CLUB: Practical Programming

I'm starting a "book club" to discuss PL books, articles, etc..

Today I'm reviewing Practical Programming by Rippetoe & Kilgore. This book was loaned to me by Phil.

This book tries to cover all of the training bases from both academic and practical perspectives. It explains in the introduction how current academic treatments are totally impractical, and that practical knowledge is obviously lacking well-formed studies to support it.

The book covers all types of weight training: for power sports, endurance sports, and strength sports. It explains the basic physiology behind lifting, such as why different types of training accomplish different metabolic goals, and how to program reps correctly for your goals.

It also develops a comprehensive theory for how weight training makes you stronger. It is a three-stage progress: (1) overload, (2) recovery, and (3) supercompensation. This explains why programming rest periods correctly into training is essential for proper gains.

The book then covers training for three stages of lifter: novice, intermediate, and advanced. Elite lifters are left out because their training is too specialized to the athlete. The major difference between each of these groups is the volume/intensity needed for overload, and thus the recovery ability from this load. Novices are able to recover from overload in 24-72 hrs, so linear progression works well. Intermediates need a full week of recovery, so weekly programming is effective. Advanced trainees require even further recovery, requiring more complicated periodization schemes.

This book advocates a few basic movements for all levels trainees: back squat, deadlift, press, bench press, pull-up, clean, and snatch. The exercise emphasis for advanced trainees, as well as set/rep scheme, depends on the sport. It contains detailed programs at each level (except novices, which all should train the same way). It also advocates full-body work outs, as they are more effective at achieving overload.

I think this book is a great starting point for anyone who wants to learn the basics of programming. I knew a lot of the material going in, but it filled out the details in a logical, consistent manner. When taken seriously, the emphasis on overload/recovery/supercompenstation gives a new perspective on training. (For example, why Chad Aichs only does one heavy workout every two weeks.) It also explains the structure of programs like Sheiko and Westside, where volume and intensity are varied within each week and between weeks.

Question: Has anyone read Starting Strength by Rippetoe? After reading this, I am interested in what that contains.

ME Lower Body

Reverse-Green Band Regular Squats (90 lbs off bottom; we measured):
Worked up to 495 x 3, groove briefs + belt. I was supposed to go for 5, but wasn't happening today.

Conventional DL off 8'' blocks:
Worked up to 365 x 5 (belt)

Cambered Bar Good Mornings (no belt):
155 x 3 x 8

CARDIO

- Basketball for 1.5 hrs.
- Ice knees.
- Stretch calves.

One of the guys decided to push me after he got annoyed during the game. I really don't tolerate anyone pushing me around. I am ready to kick the shit out of someone/something right now. I probably should have stopped playing because the only thing I cared about was hurting someone after that. Fortunately, I avoided this.

DE Upper Body

Speed Bench:
185 + 60 lbs chain, 8 x 3 (24)

Standing Overhead Press (no push):
185, 5 x 3 (15)

Pull/chin-ups:
Bodyweight, 5 x 5 (25)

Standing Ab Pull:
160 x 5
160 x 3

Stretch:
I'm not flexible :'(

SHEIKO WEEK #1; #2

- Deadlift, sumo stance 265x3 (50%), 315x5x2 (60%), 370x3x2 (70%), 395x3x3 (75%)
- Bench 150x5 (55%), 180x5 (65%), 195x4x4 (70%)
- Dips Bodyweight x8x5
- Deadlift off pins, sumo stance, below knee 265x3 (50%), 315x4x2 (60%), 370x3x2 (70%), 420x3x3 (70%)
- Lunge 135x5x5 (~30%)

32 sets today. Nothing really to say about them except it was long, but not too difficult. Later weeks should get heavier.

We met these two british guys in the gym today. They want to work with us some time. One of them is named "Basil". Pretty awesome.

volume bench

Got stuck in traffic due to some accident so I missed the speed portion of the group's bench workout. Hadn't done much bench volume, so I thought I'd give that a shot.

Bench:
275 x 5
285 x 5 (PR)
295 x 5 (PRWTFBBQ¹)

2-Board Bench:
295 x 5
305 x 5
315 x 5

I was watching Never Enough Bench last night and the first accessory exercise they showed was benching with band-suspended kettle bettles for stability work. Hadn't done that in months, so I thought I'd give it a try again.

Stability Bench: (for lack of a better title)
55 dumbbells w/ green bands, no weight - 4 sets

This was about right. First rep is shaky, then 2-7 are smooth, then things start to get tired and you have to force yourself to keep form. My workout buddy hadn't tried these before, so he jumped in for two sets. He was amazed at how unstable it feels. He's a metal militia-style bencher and brings the weight low and then throws it back into the tracks, so there was a lot of dumbbell swinging for him. We're going experiment with this next week and see how the blues + heavier weight feel.

Misc:
4 supersets of light flyes + heavy tricep pushdowns
3 supersets of abwheel + jurgens raises<sup>2

1</sup> I'm not sure what happened with my bench. Back in May and June, I was hitting 275 for 3 sets and sometimes able to make one of those sets 280, but not consistently. I realized last week that I hit 275 for 6 with an ultra-wide grip so something must have gotten stronger. 295 x 5 was sort of unreal since I'd never done anything close to that. It also reinforces that the miss on the bench at 302 at Raw Nationals was more of a fluke. I checked my weight after the work out, and I'm only 186, so it's not like I'm pushing into the 220s like last summer... Now if I can only get 100 lbs out of my shirt, I can start competing with Phil for bench champion, hahaha!

² Someone srsly needs to tell me what these things are called because I know they have a name but i've been unable to find it (I've looked too).

ME Movie Watching

Me & the lil' lady (aka Brittany) went on a Tuesday date, which are AWESOME (there's no one out on Tuesday). We ate at Fuddrucker's (guess what we started calling it) and saw the Dark Knight. Then we had ice cream from Trader Joe's. GRUELING

FLEXIBILITY/REHAB

- Flexibility
-- Maintenance
--- Quadriceps
--- Adductor magnus stretch
--- Seated glute stretch
--- Hamstring stretch: standing, seated, good morning
Doing a good morning (holding bottom position) with just the bar is a great hamstring stretch.
-- Focus
--- Hip flexors
Right hip flexor is tight. This might be key to reducing knee pain.
--- Adductors; standing, seated
--- Calf stretch: bent knee and straight
--- Foot arch stretch
-- Squats with the bar
--- Overhead squats
Used heeled shoes.
--- Squats: with heels and without
I might be putting more weight on my right foot, contributing to adductor and knee issues.
- Rehab
-- Squats with band around knees
Dave and I had talked about these, so I figured what the hell and tried them. They force you to keep your knees out against resistance.
-- Multi-hip machine 130x12x3
-- Pull ups Bodyweight x12x3
-- Cable rows 150x10x2
With articulating lower back, big stretch at bottom of movement.
-- Ice knees

USPS = bad. They have no way of redirecting packages except for sending in a form at a local post office, which is then forwarded to the post office where your package is...except by that time, the package is gone, obviously. So Dean's shirt is going to my parent's house. Hopefully we'll be able to try it by Friday. If not, then Monday.

Good news is that my adductor feels fine today. I'm doing something right, so I'll just not change anything. Both Dean and my hamstrings are sore. I think that light weight good mornings (40% squat 1RM) are an interesting change of pace. Because the weight isn't too heavy, it lets you really load up the hamstrings in a stretched position. It's gotten me sore the last two weeks.

Upper back and other useful knowledge

My upper-back days have been sucking lately due to me having to train by myself, alone in the gym. Also I seem to be working out at 11pm-12, which make the gym ultra-creepy since it's inside this larger, creepier building. I will post pictures of this setting at some point.

Originally, I was planning on pushing the prowler around, but it started pouring at 7pm just as I was about to leave, so I took a nap instead and did upper-back later. I can't really push the prowler after 10pm, as it makes some noise grinding way the parking lot.

ultra-wide grip lat pulldowns:
10 x entire track (4 sets)
The stack only goes to "25". I guess that means I'm lifting 25 weights?

Dumbbell rows:
85 x 10 (what was I thinking?)
125 x 10 (3 sets)

ultra awesome superset of:
1) dumbbell side raises
2) hammer curls
3) jurgens raises¹

I did this for like 6 sets. Then I got bored and went home.

¹ Okay, I have no idea what these are really called. (someone help please (Gary, I'm guessing you know)). I hang from a bar with my hands slightly inside my bench grip width, then I rotate the scapula back hard while rotating the chest up. Then I release and go back to a stretched, hanging position. It's not quite a serratus pull since I do more of a strict rotation of the chest instead of pulling straight up. When I do it right, I feel my entire upper back get really tight, and even my triceps too.

This is designed to mimic the bench arch set up. Also, (more importantly for me) it really emphasizes the muscle that improve posture. I've been really working on my posture for the past year, and after six months of improving those band exercises from the physical therapist, I needed a harder exercise to keep my progress going.


Useful Knowledge:
1) Only gently shake the cans of protein you get from trader joe's. Unlike most protein drinks, these are carbonated, and will explode when open if shaken prior.

2) TJ's sells mutant fruit. I've been trying to eat healthier so I snack on fruit at work. However, when shopping I have a tendency to buy what I think is normal fruit without looking at the label. This means I have accidentally bought pluots, angelcots, grapples, plumcots, and apriums. All that's left for my to accidentally sample is the mythical peacotum. NEEDZ MOAR FROOT.

CARDIO

- Basketball for ~1.5 hrs.
- Ice knees.
- Ibuprofen for knee and ankle swelling.
- Calf stretching, misc. other stretching.

You'll notice that I'm working on calf flexibility a lot in PT and rehab these days. What you want is 15 degrees of ankle dorsiflexion for normal day-to-day stuff. My PT theorizes I should have 20 for optimal squatting. Normally, I have 10 or so, but after playing basketball this goes to 5. So I have to do a lot of calf stretches.