Comp #13

P. Sn. 80/3 x 2 90/1 x 4
The first two at 90 were a little deep for power snatches, but they were ok.

P. Cl. + Pu. J. 95/1+2 110 - (1+1+miss) (1+2) (1+2) (1+1+miss)
These were hard... My legs felt like jell-o today. Probably a combination of the long stretching I did last night and the fact that I lifted 2 days in a row.

Cl. Pu. Bel. Kn. 125/3 x 3
BTN Press 50,55,57 x 3
Seated Good Morning 60 2 x 3
My groin felt a tiny bit tender so I stopped after the second set. No need to risk pulling it/making sore like I so often do.

The reason I worked out two days in a row is because Fridays we have lab meeting at 930, so I can't lift those mornings. Luckily these two workouts were light so I could lump them and keep the next two workouts separate because they have 90% snatches and 100% clean and jerks, repectively. No lab meeting for the next two weeks (starting with next week) so I can go precisely every other day.

I did some lats. Also, lats

Wide-grip pull ups:
(bw = 187?)
bw + 45 x 10
bw + 70 x 6
bw + 80 x 4 + 1 fail + 1 after rest
bw + 70 x 6

Cable Rows:
stack x 9, 8, 10, 9

lower back was the limiting factor in this. once it felt tired, I stopped to prevent injury.

(supersetta)
Pull-overs
270 x 10
315 x 10
360 x 10

Reverse Flyes:
190 x 9
205 x 8
220 x 7

Standing Cambered bar Curls:
80 x 10
120 x 4 (ughhh)
90 x 8
90 x 10 (after some rest)

Finished with cable abs. Hadn't done these in a while so they felt good. Everyone was sore from the ab wheel too. I think having people step on the wheel while you use it really makes a big difference. It's almost like ME every rep.

Unrelated: I am switching to eating chicken + rice for every lunch. This is a very scientific test of how what I eat for lunch affects my lifting and weight. but mostly weight.

Upper Back

Pullups (wide grip)
BW+25 x 5
BW+35 x 5
BW+45 x 5
BW+55 x 4

Dumbbell rows
90 x 10, 10, 10, 10 per arm

Pullovers
4 plates x 8, 8, 7
supersetted with 3 sets of rear delt flyes

EZ bar curls
70 x 10, 10, 8
80 x 7

Standing ab pulldowns

Upper Back

3/31/09

Neutral Grip Pull Ups

BW warm-up

BW + 20lbs x 7

BW + 25lbs x 6

BW + 30lbs x 6

BW + 35lbs x 6

Bent Over Rows

55lbs x 8

65lbs x 8

75lbs x 8

90lbs x 6

Cable Rows

120lbs x 8

140lbs x 8

160lbs x 7

180lbs x 6

Pullovers

4 plates x 8

6 plates x 3 & 5 plates x 5

Core

LAST THREE DAYS

▼ 1. 4/1/09 - Tue - SHEIKO #4

Weight: 210. Time: 2:00.

  Need to get weight back under control. This week is a repeat of last week (see last week for reason).

• Bench 150x5 (50), 180x4 (60), 210x3x2 (70), 225x3x4 (75)

• Squat 230x5 (50), 275x5x2 (60), 320x5x5 (70)

• Bench 165x5 (55), 195x4x2 (65), 210x4x5 (70)

• A: Dumbell bench 50x10x5

• A: Good mornings 185x5x5

▼ 2. 3/30/09 - Mon - MISC/CARDIO/FLEXIBILITY

Weight: 209. Time: 2:30.

• Cardio - bike ?? bpm x 30 mins

• Hyperextension BWx20x3

• Pull-ups BWx10x3

• Abs decline 90x10x2

• Stretching - gastroc, soleus, hamstrings, adductor on machine, seated groin, hip flexors

▼ 3. 3/29/09 - Sun - MISC/CARDIO/FLEXIBILITY

Weight: ??. Time: 1:00.

• Hyperextension BWx20x2

• Single-arm cable row 80x10x2

• Cardio - bike ?? bpm x 20 mins

• Stretching - usual? I forget

ME Lower

Conventional Rack Pulls (just below the knee): 355x3
365x1
375x1
385x1
405x1 PR

GM's: 225x5, 5, 5

Abs

A kinda short session, but it was good. A big PR with the Rack pulls (when I last tested my conventional rack pull from that height it was 355). I also saw that we have a bunch of new people, which is pretty cool.

Dave was wondering this yesterday, but the reasons that I have been going conventional more often with deadlifts are multiple:

1 - Doing box squats and Sumo dl in the same week makes my hips feel like crap
2 - Box squats are my main exercise to bring up my Sumo DL, and I have been getting stronger on them
3 - Conventional deadlifts will strengthen my hamstrings, glutes, and back to the same degree as sumo without destroying my hips
4 - With anything out of the rack, I cannot do sumo in Wooden, as my feet can't get far enough out and I tweak my knee every time I try

Squats

3/30/09

Squats

135 x 8

185 x 5

195 x 3

145 x 8

185 x 5

225 x 3 (PR)

275 x 1 (PR, an inch or so high)

Box Squats

135 x 5

145 x 5

155 x 5

Pause Squats

165 x 5 seconds

175 x 5 seconds

Ab Wheel

Squat

Decided to hit a heavy single to test out my raw squat strength.

Squat:
345 X 1
365 X 1
385 X 1 (Felt okay but not as fast as I wanted it.)
315 X 6

Front Squat:
235 X 5
235 X 5

Light Lunges
Calves
Hamstring Curls
Shrugs
Abs

USPF Los Alamitos Meet

Results for the 3 guys from 4 Star who competed. They were all single ply. Some videos from the meet are here. Also Dave Muro is on PLwatch.

Arthur Fu (55 yrs old, 178lb)

Squat:

446 (miss, didn't wait for squat command)

473 (miss)

473* (good)

Almost bombed!

Bench:
396 (miss)

396* (good)

407 (miss)

Off day on the bench for him.

Deadlift:

501 (good)

523 (good)

540* (good)

Not his best lifting, but still a 1409 total at 55yrs old! He also won best Masters Lifter.

Edwin Lewis (60 yrs old, 196lb)

Squat:

473 (good)

501* (good)

529 (miss)

Very capable of squatting 529, but had a bad walkout and setup.

Bench:
253 (good)

275* (good)

303 (miss)

Called for a hitch on the 303.

Deadlift:

479 (good)

501 (good)

534* (good)

1310 total at 60 years old!

Dave Muro (40 something yrs old, 217lb)

Squat:
606 (miss)
606 (miss on depth)

606* (good)

Very close to bombing but the veteran pulled it off. He had a bad day squatting.

Bench:
462 (miss)
462* (good)
501 (miss)

Deadlift:
694 (good)
727* (good)
733 (miss...almost)
1795 total. Easily won the 220lb weight class.

Comp # 14

Snatch 80/2 90/2 x 3
Sn. Pull Bel. kn. 100/3 x 3
Jerk 110/2 x 4
Jerk support 120/1 130/1 137/2 x 3
Set these one peg lower on the power rack. They were surprizingly easy. Good to know my back is finally getting stronger.
Back squat 100/4 120/4 x 3
Both of my knees were tender during these. interesting...

Squat

Squats
155 x 8
185 x 5
205 x 3
155 x 8
185 x 5
195 x 3

Box squats
4x5 with 135, 145, 155, 165

Pause squats (5 second pause)
165 x 3 - came up early on the second rep so I did one more
165 x 2

Ab wheel
3 sets

Squat (Bleh)

Last saturday, i tried to deadlift, but my back felt so nasty, i couldn't get 405 off the floor... So today I decided to squat :D

Squat:
315 x 8
365 x 5
405 x 3
335 x 8
385 x 5
425 x 2

This rep scheme was according to plan, but the weights were lighter than I would have liked. Around my 225 warm-up set, I could tell my back was not 100%. At 315, I could tell it was around 60%... It hurt so bad on the 425, I had to have someone help me unrack the bar. Squatting felt ok, but putting direct pressure on it felt nasty.

Box Squat

225 x 1

Terrence kept suggesting that I stop. After 1 rep on box squatting, I agreed. At this point it hurt to move and even to undo the belt. After a few minutes I could walk without pain though. That's good, right?

Leg Extensions:
stack x 20
stack x 17
stack x 23
stack x 15
stack x 10
stack x 7

Finished with some ab wheel.

Off to the doctor tomorrow to get this business checked out.

Week C #1

Gear:
None / no belt

Man I love C week.

Shoulder-Stance Back Squat:
365 x 3
315 x 8

Medium-Grip Bench Press:
320 x 3
275 x 8

Stiff-Leg Deadlifts w/ Quarter Plates:
335 x 7 (nuts)

Also, the USPF meet on Saturday was ridonculously long. I got there at 10:30 am, and apparently they didn't hand out trophies till 11:00 pm or so. Thand God Gary and I got the hell out at 3:00.

Bench Assistance

Close grip bench press
135 x 8, 8
145 x 7, 6

Incline dumbbell press
55s x 7, 7, 7

One arm tricep extensions
25 x 7, 6, 6 (per arm)

Lateral raises
20s x 15, 15, 15

stuff to help the bench

Me and Spencer trained after the USPF Los Alamitos meet. We were at the meet from 9:30am to 10:00pm which was stoopid but well worth it. I'll post results of how the 4 star guys did a bit later.

Close Grip Bench:
205 X 5
205 X 5

Phil Style Overhead Press:
135 X 3
185 X 1 (PR!)
155 X 5

Weighted Dips:
45lb X 6
90lb X 5
135lb X 13 (PR!)

Standing Dumbbell Overhead Press
Plate Raises
Seated Side Lateral Raises
Barbell Curls
Hammer Curls

LAST TWO DAYS

▼ 1. 3/28/09 - Sat - SHEIKO #3

Weight: 207. Time: 2:45.

  I was pretty destroyed by Thursday and I haven't been sleeping well. Today I felt like ass and took long rest breaks. Adductor also was still a little sore (I messed it up bad on Tues), hopefully I didn't do anything to aggravate it today.

• Bench 150x5 (50), 180x5 (60), 210x4x2 (70), 225x3x2 (75), 240x2x2 (80), 

255x1x2 (85), 240x2x2 (80), 225x3x2 (75), 195x5 (65), 165x7 (55)

This took 1:30 by itself.

• Dumbell bench 55x10x5

• Squat 230x5 (50), 275x4x2 (60), 320x3x2 (70), 345x3x5 (75)

Back felt like ass, so I belted after first 275 set. First 2 sets at 345 were high, but I think I got the rest to depth.

• A: Dips BWx8x5

• A: Good mornings 185x5x5

▼ 2. 3/27/09 - Fri - CARDIO/FLEXIBILITY

• Cardio - bike ?? bpm x 20 mins

• Stretching - hamstrings, seated groin, hip flexors

Comp # 15

P. Snatch 79/2 90/1 x 3
P. Cl. 95/3 x 2
C&J 110/2+1 125/1 x 4
Got all of these, which is more than I got at my last test day. My jerk is finally improving.

Cl. Pull 137/2 x 2 150/1 x 3 These were really heavy...My deadlift probably still sucks.

Jerk 95/3 x 2 105/1 110/1 x 2
I added these to the workout when I wrote my workouts out a week ago, probably thinking I would need the extra volume after having shitty jerks on the C&J, but they were fine. Still good to keep working the jerk though since it is by far by biggest weakness.

Back Squat 110/4 150/5 x 4
So I'm using 200kg as my projected squat max, placing this at 75%. I'm 100% certain that I cannot do 200kg, but increasing the projected max is the only way to keep increasing training weights. Surprisingly, it is working fine since I'm making most of my squat reps and still improving on c&J and snatch (in training of course...).

On a final note, my toilet is broken and slightly leaking. In order to flush I need to reach into the top part and pull up the rubber stopper. And this had to happen yesterday, on a holiday, on a Friday, where I can't get it fixed until monday. Yay.

Week B #3

Gear:
Belt (squat and pull)

Shoulder-Stance Back Squat:
385 x 1
415 x 1
395 x 2/2/2
370 x 2 (wtf?)

Medium-Grip Bench Press:
320 x 1
290 x 4
280 x 4
265 x 5/5

Conventional Rack Pulls (Mid-Shin):
435 x 3
455 x 3
475 x 2
495 x 2

LAST TWO DAYS

▼ 1. 3/26/09 - Thu - SHEIKO #2

Time: 1:30. Came into today with an extremely sore adductor. Deadllifting sumo wasn't fun. To add to all the fun, I only had 1:30 to do the workout (I couldn't finish it), and this was my first day getting into the suit. I don't think I could handle suited Sheiko in general, using a suit gives me headaches and is massively uncomfortable. Putting suits and shirts on 3 days a week would be horrible.

• Deadlift 135x5x2, 225x3, 275x5 (50), 330x5x2 (60), 385x4 (70), *SUIT*, 420x4 

(70), 450x3x4 (75)

Had to take a very slow warm up for the adductor with lots of stretching.

  Suit was much looser than the test day. This kind of worries me, but I'm giving it another week because today I put it on fairly cold. Last time was after the full test day. I think my legs might have been a little swole because today, getting it off was HARD, but putting it on was easy.

• A: Bench 165x5 (55), 195x5 (65), 210x4x5 (70)

Because of time constraints, all of the rest was done with suit on (straps down generally). I don't think suit with no straps affects my rack pull or bench much. Especially since I did straps up for anything heavy on the rack pulls.

• A: Deadlift from knees 275x5 (50), 330x5x2 (60), 385x4 (70), *SUIT*, 420x4 (70), 480x3x4 

(80)

• Dips BWx8x3

Supposed to be 8x5.

• Lunges none

Suppoed to be 5x5.

▼ 2. 3/25/09 - Wed - CARDIO/FLEXIBILITY

Another day where I didn't give myself enough time. Had time to finish cardio and do minimal stretching. Adductors hurt a little.

• Cardio - bike ?? x 20 mins

• Stretching - hamstrings, seated groin

LE Bench

Went to wash u's gym today. They have nice bars with sharp grip. Also there were like 6 people there (granted, it was noon...). But mostly 4 squat racks and 4 platforms.

Bench:
275 x 5, 2 sets (unpaused)
225 x 11 (paused)

The spotter for the first two sets started helping whenever I paused on my chest, so I ended up giving up and just doing touch and go. I got a different spotter for the last set and paused those.

Incline Dumbbell Bench:
90 x 4 (had incline too high)
80 x 8
85 x 7
90 x 6

Wash U's dumbbells go up to 125. Too bad I wasn't man enough to use them.

Cable Bench:
there was this weird cable bench machine that was like a cross between a fly and a bench. Lots of pecs.

26 weights(?) x 10
24 weights x 8, 10, 11

One arm tricep extension:
db x arm
35 x 10
40 x 10
45 x 10
50 x 10

Finished with two sets of bodyweight dips til failure + scap pulls

Comp. # 16

P. Sn 72/4 85/2 x 3 (missed first one)
Snatch 90/2 x 2 95/1 100-miss,miss 95/1 100-miss 95/1 x 3, miss
Sn. Pull 112/2 x 2 115/2 x 2
Jerk 102/2 115/2 x 3 (missed last one)
Back squat 130/5 170-2+miss
Going back tonight to finish the squats - they were supposed to be 5x3 at 170, so I'll go for 4x3 to finish things up tonight.

*UPDATE*
Got 170 for 3,3,3,2 Pretty happy with this. I'm still always surprised how much easier squats are when they're first instead of last in the workout...

Deads

Deadlift
235 x 3
265 x 3
295 x 3
315 x 4 PR - Apparently that week taken off for finals helped.

Cut it short because I had to be somewhere at noon.

Yesterday (3/24) Comp. # 17

P. Sn. 77/3 90/1 x 3
P. Cl. + Pu. J. 95/1+2 110/1 x 3
C&J 110/1 x 3
Jerk 110/2 117,120,120,120-miss, 100/2 x 2
Jerk support 125/1 135/1 140/1 x 3
B. Sq. 110/5 130/5 150/3 x 4

Week B #2

Gear:
None / no belt

Power Clean:
205 x 1
240 x 1
230 x 2/2/1/1/1 (ran out of steam)
210 x 3

Standing Overhead Press:
205 x 1
240 x 1
230 x 1
210 x 4/3/3/3
190 x 5

Olympic-Style Front Squats:
245 x 3
270 x 2/2/2

Alpine Lifting

As I am in Tahoe, my main leg workout for the past few days has been skiing. Suffice to say that my calves, quads, and glutes are torched and I have one more day of hitting the slopes left.

I had about 35 minutes to spare, so I went to the crappy gym they have at the place we're staying at. Some dude was taking the only barbell, so I had to improvise. I rest-paused everything b/c of time constraints.

Incline DB Press (palms facing): 65x8-3-2

Ez-Bar Bent Over Row: 45's x 20
45+25x10-5-5

Reverse Grip Smith Bench: 45+25x10-4-4

Rear Delts: 45x15/15

And some abs/biceps to finish

The reverse grip smith was just for kicks, but it positively murdered my triceps. I'd say on par with the skullcrushers, but without the elbow strain. I think I will be using these a bit more often as a tricep movement.

Bench

Bench (paused reps)
155 x 5, 5
165 x 3, 3, 2

Dips
BW x 5
BW+25 x 5
BW+35 x 5
BW+45 x 5

Inline skull crushers
65 x 10, 10, 10, 10

Front raises
20s x 12
25s x 12, 12

Upper Back

Barbell rows (off the ground AKA Pendlay rows?)
175 x 6
185 x 3 x 6

Dumbbell rows
85 x 8
95 x 8
105 x 8

Barbell shrugs
225 x 20
275 x 12, 10, 8

Hammer curls
35s x 3 x 10

supersetted with
Bent over rear delt flyes
15s x 3 x 12

SHEIKO #1

I faced an interesting decision today. If I just counted weeks, I should jump into the program at week 4. But week 4 is the culmination of weeks 1-3 and starts off with heavy doubles at 85%. So I decided that I will repeat week 5 twice and then go on as normal.

  Gym closes early during spring break and I lost track of time, so I had to sprint through all of this.

• Bench 150x5 (50), 180x4 (60), 210x3x2 (70), 225x3x4 (75)

• Squat 230x5 (50), 275x5x2 (60), 320x5x5 (70)

• Bench 165x5 (55), 195x4x2 (65), 210x5x4 (70)

• A: Dumbell bench 55x10x5

• A: Good mornings 185x5x5

Duke Remmington von Hassleback

Chest-supported Rows:

135 x 8
180 x 7
150 x 7
150 x 8
150 x 8

Lat Pull Down:
250 x 8, 2 sets
250 x 10
250 x 8

Rear-delts:
machine was broken, so we tried Kyle's one-arm monkey business

35 x 10, each arm
45 x 8, each arm

The motion when doing the left arm made my lower back feel irritated. I am still in let-it-recover mode, so I stopped there

Preacher Curls:
70 x 10
90 x 8
80 x 7
80 x 8

My work capacity is still low, which is frustrating. The weight feels so easy the first reps and then exhaustion sets in. I need to keep going steady to get it back. I had a bad caffeine hang-over headache today, which didn't help though...

Week B #3

Gear:
None / no belt

Shoulder-Stance Back Squat:
335 x 1
365 x 1
335 x 4/4/4/4
285 x 8

Almost put the belt on for the 335 sets, then I grew a pair and just went for it.

Medium-Grip Bench Press:
325 x 1
340 x 1
320 x 2/2/2
300 x 5

The 300 set was the hardest.

Stiff-Leg Deadlifts w/ Quarter Plates:
295 x 1
345 x 4/5/4

Gue3ss lower back as tired, but still almost got 3x5.

Also, I *officially* challenged Dave to post the first 500+ contest raw squat. My plan is to do it on June 28 at the AAU Worlds. Then again, Gary is probably lifting there, so we're screwed.

Squat

Squat
185 x 5
195 x 5
205 x 3
(belt on)
225 x 3 PR - last rep was a good morning

Pause squats (3 second pause at bottom)
175 x 3 x 2

GHR
BW x 15
BW+25 x 2 x 8

Ab pulldowns
2 sets

Quick bench

ok, so didn't have time for the full DE bench workout, so i just did the accessory stuff

Close Grip bench: 155x5
165x5
185x5, 5, 5

Hammer Strength Iso-lateral Row: 2 plates/side x 10 x 4

DB Rows: 80x8/8
100x8/8
120x8/8

And Abs

I am feeling much stronger on the bench as of late. My weight is still a little low for where it should be right now, but I think I am getting a much better setup or something. Now I just need for my squat to climb too.

LAST FOUR WORKOUTS

▼ 1. 3/22/09 - Sun- MISC/CARDIO/FLEXIBILITY

Weight: 208.

• Pull-ups BW x 21, 10, 10

21 would be a PR if the reps weren't so terrible, so I'm not counting it.

• Abs on pulldown 110x10, 130x10x2

• Cardio - bike 135 bpm x 20 mins

• Flexibility - gastroc, hamstrings, hip flexors, seated groin, seated glut, IT band

▼ 2. 3/21/09 - Sat - CONDITIONING WEEK #3

Weight: 206. Today felt much better than the first day.

• Bench 150x5 (50), 180x4x2 (60), 210x3x3 (70)

• Squat 230x5 (50), 275x4x2 (60), 320x3x3 (70)

• Dips BWx8x3

• Good mornings 185x5x3

▼ 3. 3/19/09- Thu - CONDITIONING WEEK #2

Easy deadlifts, incline bench hard as always.

• Deadlift 275x5 (50), 330x4x2 (60), 385x3x3 (70)

• Incline bench 210x4x3 (70)

Based on flat bench 1RM ... why? I don't know.

• Dips BWx8x3

• Lunges 135x5x3

▼ 4. 3/18/09 - Wed - CARDIO/FLEXIBILITY

Don't exactly remember what happened, this is close.

• Cardio - bike 130 bpm x 20 mins

• Flexibility - usual

Busy week, didn't get a chance to post or follow the blog until now.

Block #4, still competition phase

Power clean 95/4 110/2 x 3
Sn. Pull. Bel Kn. 90/4 102/2 112/2 x 2
BTN Press + OHS 3+2 52,57,61

Slept from 1230-10am today... Last week must have just messed up my body. I feel better today than I did yesterday, so hopefully my crappy performance was just due to it being a long week.

RE Bench

1-board press:
all reps paused.

275 x 5
285 x 5
295 x 4 + 1 fail
305 x 2 + 1 fail

Felt pretty good on this. The difference between a 1-board and off the chest is apparently a lot for me. I may try alternating 1-board with regular bench to see if it will help my off-the-chest transition

Close-grip Bench:
pause reps still

225 x 5
225 x 5 (easier)
235 x 4 + 1 fail
225 x 5

I'm feeling much faster in the transition on these. Pausing still kills me though.

Standing Press:
135 x 7
135 x 8
135 x 7
135 x 7

Cable Triceps:
70 x 10
80 x 10
100 x 10
70(?) x 15

single-pulley so the weight was honest <3

Finished with some bicepz. I measured my unpumped arms at 17.25" a few days ago. rawk.

Bench

Close grip bench
135 x 4 x 8

Dumbbell flat bench
60s x 7, 6
55s x 8

Close grip chinups
BW x 10, 10, 10, 8

Rope pushdowns
115 x 3 x 10

Like Kyle, I took this past week off because of finals except I wasn't eating right so I lost another 5 pounds. So over the course of winter quarter I lost about 10 pounds, but my squat and my deadlift have gotten a little stronger so I'm not complaining.

300lb Bench Club

Close Grip Bench:
255 X 1
285 X 1
295 X 1
300 X 1 (PR!)
245 X 7

Standing Press:
135 X 6
155 X 4
135 X 6
135 X 6

Weighted Dips:
45lb X 9
90lb X 20
90lb X 15

Triceps
Biceps

Long time, No post

Well, hey guys. It's been a while since I have posted, so I figured I would be posting again for spring.

Yesterday was the first time I had worked out in a week (finals), and the week before I only got 2 days in, so I felt kinda lazy

Box squat: 185x2x8
205x2
225x2
245x1
255x1

SLDL: 275x8, 8
295x8

Abs

I only had an hour to do this, so it was all kinda rushed. This was all done at my old gym, not Diablo (don't have the time or moolah). On the bright side, these were fairly heavy poundages for me to be moving on the box squat, so things are looking up.

Also, weight is stuck at 211. Girl scout cookies will fix this. I need to be 235 by the end of this quarter.

Comp 2,1, and humiliating test day

#2
P. Sn. ab. kn. 77/2 x 3
C&J 95/2 x 3
Cl. Pu. 122/2 x 2
B. Sq. 100/3 140/3 x 3

#1
P. Sn. 66/2 x 2
Cl. Sn. 77/2 x 3
P. Cl. + J 95/1+2 x 3
B. Sq. 100/4 120/3 x 3



Test Day:
Snatch - 102 after missing it like 8 times
Clean and jerk 120, missed 125 and stopped
Back squat - 160 (I can't back squat after cleans anyway, I just wanted to see what I could do)

Hot happy about this, but interestingly my muscles felt like they could handle the weight, but my mind just wasn't in it. I was at 90% strength today. Hopefully this is because this week was finals week and I was up late and up early, stressed out about the take-home final I was doing, plus lab. Otherwise, I just suck.

Yeah, Brah!

Now I can haz Bicepz Curl!. Thanks, douche-bag

RE Deadlift

Deadlift:
405 x 8
455 x 8
495 x 10

The last set felt the easiest. My lower back tweaked a bit during the second set. I think I have a sprain in some other muscle layer in my lumbar other than the erectors. I feel solid pulling, but it feels awkward walking. what's with that?

Good mornings:
225 x 10
275 x 10
365 x 10

Forgot my wrist wraps. My left wrist is still mildly sprained, so I was trying to see how much weight I could put on it. I had to stop after 365 because it started throbbing.

Front Squats:
135 x 10
185 x 10
225 x 10

My lumbar doesn't feel too good when it rounds at all, so the bottom of the squat feels nasty until it loosens up. I feel great after about the 3rd rep, but then it's back to Painville after the set ends.

Finished with machine crunches so my lower back was supported. Did some stretching too, which helped.

Week A #3

Gear:
Belt (squat + pull)

Shoulder Stance Back Squat:
385 x 1
405 x 1
385 x 3/2/2 (argh)
365 x 4

Dumbbell Bench Press:
135s x 5/5/4/4

Conventional Rack Pulls (Mid-Shin):
425 x 3
445 x 3
465 x 3
475 x 3

bENCH

RAW Bench Press:
245 X 8

Shirted Bench Press:
Busted out the 42 Katana to break it in some more.
275 X 1 off 3 board
305 X 1 off 3 board
340 X 1 off 2 board (smoke)
350 X 1 off 1 board (felt fast)

Floor Press:
265 X 5

Skull Crushers
Tricep Pushdowns
Barbell Curls
Preacher Curls

DAVE!
isn't this your coach, Bull Stewart?!?!

HILARIOUS study

Read the first sentence and laugh your ass off:

http://yilab.bio.uci.edu/teach/BioSci2B/NEJM.pdf


Remember, no one knows if steroids work.

Book Club: East German Steroids

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=4226712&cl=12558250&src=news

My triceps are more than just horseshoe models

Bench:
275 x 5
275 x 3 (wtf?)
245 x 8

Bench felt weak sauce today for some reason. That heavy tricep workout on saturday made my triceps sore even today.

Close-grip:
banded w/ purples
185 x 5
185 x 5
195 x 5
185 x 5

Standing Press:
135 x 8
135 x 7
135 x 6
115 x 7.9

Dips:
bw x 20
bw x 20
bw + 45 x 20
bw + 70 x 14
bw + 90 x 5

Kevin kept goading me to add more weight and I caved. Then my triceps caved on the last set, haha.

Finished with some bridges.

Time off + cardio has sapped my strength. I need to get back to the gym more now. I am fired up.

Week A #2

Gear:
None / no belt

Power Clean:
205 x 1
235 x 1
215 x 3/3/3/3/3
205 x 1/1/1/1

Standing Overhead Press:
205 x 1
235 x 1
215 x 3
205 x 4/4/4/4

Olympic-Style Front Squats:
245 x 3
265 x 2/3/3/3

Direct info from Ivan Abadzhiev

http://www.americanweightlifting.org/askivan.htm

This was a bit of an experiment and business venture that Abadzhiev did up in northern California. It didn't last very long, probably because no one cares enough about weightlifting in the US to commit to it. But, in the Ask Ivan section he does answer some questions.

SHEIKO #1/CONDITIONING WEEK

Weight: 210. This week always feels heavy after maxing and week off.

• Bench 150x5 (50), 180x4x2 (60), 210x3x3 (70)

• Squat 230x5 (50), 275x4x2 (60), 320x3x3 (70)

• Dumbell bench (hands in) 60x10x3

• Good mornings 185x5x3

I also did some cardio days on Mon and Sat that I didn't post. Shout out to Spencer getting some love from powerlifting watch.  :)

Interesting Article

On Mark Henry and Steroids in the Olympics.

Spencer WR 650lb Deadlift...rrawwww

it's on Powerliftingwatch! ...courtesy of big PHILLY

Comp #3

Power Snatch 77/2 x 2 88 - 1+miss

Snatch 88/2 x 2 95/1 100/1 105/miss
No big deal on the misses, snatch felt really good.

Sn. Pull 110/2 x 4

P Cl. + Pu. Jerk 95/1+2 108/1+2
Best these have ever felt with 108.

Jerk Support 120/1 130/1 135/1 x 3

Back Squat 130/3 150/3 x 3
Using an estimated max of 200, this is 75% the week of the meet (test day). This is what I'm talking about Phil, although I understand if you don't want to go quite this heavy.

deep knee bends

Squats:
336 X 5
336 X 5
336 X 5
Slower than I wanted, but still got all the reps.

Front Squat:
185 X 8
225 X 5
245 X 5

Hack Squat:
3 sets

Calves on Leg Press
Abs

Week A #1

Gear:
None / no belt

Holy crap was I tired for all this.

Shoulder-Stance Back Squat:
345 x 3
325 x 4 (ugh)
315 x 5/5/5 (UGH)
280 x 8

REally need my squat workload tolerance back...

Medium-Grip Bench Press:
305 x 3 (ugh)
285 x 3 (UGH)
275 x 5/5/4 (!@(@#$)
255 x 8

Triceps are sore as hell (in a good way).

Stiff-Leg Deadlifts w/ Quarter Plates:
325 x 8/8/6 (+10 PR)

At least the SLDLQs went up. Weird, my pull has been going up and everything else has been feeling shitty. Also, big congrats to Spencer for that pull, Dave needs to catch up!

Comp. #4

P. Sn. Ab Kn. 80/2 x 5
Snatch 90/2 x 5
Sn. Pull Ab. Kn. 90/4 x 4
C&J 95/1 110/1 x 4
Cl. Pu. Ab. Kn 110/3 122/3 135/2 x 2
Fr. Squat 105/4 131/3 x 4

b.e.n.c.h.

Spencer from 4 Star, who is 20 years old, hit a 650lb deadlift today at 179lbs... RAWWWWW. He did it at a meet in Virginia in the 100% RAW Federation.

Close Grip Bench Press:
265 X 5 (?!PR)
275 X 2 (failed 3rd rep)
275 X 2

Incline Bench Press:
195 X 7
205 X 7
205 X 7

Skull Crushers
Triceps

Bench

3/14/09

Bench

195 x 7 (PR, but I'm sick so I'm not sure if it counts)

205 x 2 + 1 fail

195 x 3 + 1 fail

185 x 4

185 x 4

Tricep Pulldown

sets of 110, 120, 130, 140, 150

Seated Chest Press

Core

ZE Bench

Did the tricep-death thing with a wide grip.
Bench Death:
185 x all six boards
205 x all six boards

Tricep Death:
185 x 4 board, 1 rep
135 x 4 board, 0 rep

hit a major wall there at the end

Skull Krusherz
120 x 10
140 x 8
160 x 6
180 x fail + 130 x 5

again with the wall...

Reverse Flyes:
(triceps too tired to support my arms...)
130 x 15
145 x 13
160 x 12
175 x 10

Supersetted with some decline reverse shrugs (for fun (and pecs)) and close grip lat pull down

Week C #3

Gear:
None / no belt

Shoulder-Stance Back Squat:
365 x 1
385 x 1 (not bad)
355 x 1
335 x 3
315 x 5

Medium-Grip Bench Press:
275 x 1
325 x 2
305 x 3
295 x 5

Haha, guess I maxed out on bench 3x this week

Bench/Upper Back

Bench
155 x 2 x 5 (paused)
165 x 4 (unpaused)
My bench has not really gone up so far this year...though I did lose 7 or 8 pounds this quarter, maybe that's why?

Dumbbell rows
95 x 3 x 8

Dips (to failure)
BW x 20, 9, 8

Chinups
wide grip BW x 10, neutral grip BW x 8, close grip BW x 8

Comp. #5

BTN Jerk 100/3 108/2 115/2 117 - 1+miss
Jerk 95/3 100/2 x 2 105/1 x 2
Jerk support 120/3 135/3 x 2
Cl. Pull to St. leg 108/3 122/3 135/2 148/2 x 2
Sn. Sq. Press 50 - 3x3

Upper body was pretty tired after this

CARDIO/FLEXIBILITY

• Cardio - bike 120-127 bpm x 20 mins

• Flexibility - gastroc, hamstrings, seated groin, hip flexors

BENCH

Bench Press:
Decided to end this 275 for a triple bullshit once and for all.
275 X 3 (PR son)

Shirted Bench Press:
Busted out the brand new 42 Katana. It was so tight that I had to use a close grip for my first 3 sets because I couldn't get my fingers to touch the rings.
275 X 1 (off 3 board)
300 X 1 (off 3 board)
315 X 1 (off 3 board)
330 X 1 (off 2 board)
Got some good pop on that last rep, hopefully it will transfer over when I eventually touch.

Floor Press:
225 X 5
245 X 5
265 X 5
245 X 8

Weighted Dips:
45lb X 20 (3 sets)

Cable Triceps

RE Bench

Ultra-wide grip Bench:
used an illegally wide grip; still paused; still taking my time to perfect the beat

225 x 8
245 x 8
255 x 7
265 x 5 + 1 fail

My sticking point feels much better the wider I go. It seems like I am able to power through it much more easily. I'm not sure if this is due to the shortened ROM (which shortens the sticking range), of it has something to do with the the change in muscle emphasis. I might try doing more of these later to see.

Closed grip:
paused; i can join the party too

225 x 5
225 x 5
235 x 4
235 x 4 + 1 fail

I need to do more of these. I get stuck so easily, so it really is a good way for me to address my strength imbalance.

Seated Military Press:
135 x 10
155 x 8
155 x 5 + 1 fail
135 x 7 + 1 fail

exhaustion sets in...

Seated Flyes:
90 x 10
100 x 10
110 x 8
120 x 6, (strip set) 90/60/40

Felt pretty good today. Lower back is still mildly sprained. My left wrist also hurts badly. It hurt to even pick up just the bar at first. Wrist wraps fixed it, but it has me a little concerned. Not sure what I did to tweak it.

Week C #2

Gear:
None / no belt

Power Clean + Standing Overhead Press:
205 x (1,1) //1 clean + 1 press
225 x (1,0)
240 x (1,1)
250 x (0,0) //FAIL
235 x (1,1)
210 x (1,5)
210 x (3,0)

Olympic-Style Front Squats:
245 x 3
265 x 3/3/3 //Man I've lost strength on these...

Sled Drag:
225 x 5 laps
225 x 3 laps //Damn thing flipped over, done

Medium-Grip Bench Press:
Decided to join the bench party

295 x 1
340 x 1

Comp #6

Power snatch 77/2 x 4
Snatch 88/2 x 5
These were really easy. I am much better at snatch than clean and jerk.

Clean and jerk 95/2+1 95/1+2 108/1 120/1 122/1 125 - 2 x miss 120/miss 115/miss
Actually feel pretty good about these, considering I got up to 122, which is what I got at the last test day.... Still extremely disappointed that my jerk just isn't going up.

Clean pull 135/2 x 4


I'm going back to the ARC to do front squats because I can't squat heavy after doing heavy cleans.

*UPDATE*

Went back to the ARC and did:

Front squat 148/1 136 - 4,4,4,3+fail
Not happy about this: This was supposed to be at 80%, which means my projected max was WAY off (I guess that makes sense). But it also means that 136 is probably higher than 80%, and that's annoying. I just hope my damn clean and jerk goes up next Saturday. I'm going to be adding in more front squats to my training (replacing some back squats) because my main weakness isn't my legs, it's my back and staying upright, which front squats work more. My back cramps when I front squat.

Squat/Dead

Squat
185 x 3 x 5
195 x 3
(belt on)
205 x 5

Deadlift
243 x 5
(belt on)
263 x 5
283 x 3
303 x 2

Comp. #7

Power clean 95/2 108/2 x 3

BTN Jerk 108/2 x 2 120/1 122/1 125/1 127 - 2 x miss 120/1 not too happy about this. Even though I've never been great at these I feel like I should be able to hit my max on them....You're supposed to be stronger from behind the neck than in front.

BTN Press 50 - 3 x 3

Tomorrow I have heavy clean and jerks. If that goes well I'll be much happier.

Upper Back

3/10/09

Wide Grip Lat Pulldown

120 x 10

130 x 8

140 x 6

150 x 4

Chest Supported Rows

90 x 5

115 x 5

135 x 3

Close/Neutral Grip Lat Pulldown

120 x 10

130 x 10

150 x 6

180 x 4

Rows

120 x 10

130 x 8

140 x 6

160 x 4

Reverse Flyes

90 x 10

115 x 8

130 x 6

145 x 4

Curls w/ EZ Bar

80 x 8

80 x 4

80 x 4

Abs

MISC/CARDIO/FLEXIBLITY

Weight: 208. Time: 1:00. This week is off for recovery. Cardio and flexibility are both better than I was expecting from the small layoff.

▼ Misc

• A: Strict cable rows 110x15, 130x15

• A: Hyperextensions BW x 30 x2

• A: Dumbell press 40 x 12 x 2

• Lunges BW x 50 steps

• Cardio - bike 120 bpm x 20 mins

• Flexibility - gastroc, soleus, hamstrings, seated groin, hip flexors

Squats

3/9/09

Squats

115 x 10

135 x 10

155 x 10

165 x 10

195 x 3

Pause Squats

1 rep x 6 Trey seconds

165

175

185

Hang Cleans

111lbs x 5

133lbs x 5

155lbs x 1 + 1 fail x 2 + 1 fail

Abs

sqhot

Squat (belt only):
336 X 5
341 X 5

Tried on Art's 36 Titan Centurion (in red). It didn't fit him because it was too small but it seems to fit me pretty well. What size is yours Dave?

Straps up, no wraps:
385 X 1
429 X 1 (felt pretty easy)

Hack Squat:
4 sets

Calves on the Leg Press:
4 sets

Barbell Shrugs
Abs

Comp. #8

Power snatch 77/3 x 3

Snatch 88/2 90/2 95/1 100- 3 x miss - just wasn't feeling the heavy ones....

Sn. Pull 110/2 x 5

Sn. Pull to Straight leg 120/2 x 4

Back Squat 120/3 140/1 160 - 4,4,2 - Didn't feel like failing on the back squats so I stopped the last set early.

Week C #1

Gear:
None / no belt

Shoulder-Stance Back Squat:
365 x 2
335 x 4 (meh)
295 x 8

Medium-Grip Bench Press:
315 x 3 (hard)
295 x 3 (wtf?)
275 x 7

Stiff-Leg DL's w/ Quarter Plates:
I used the Gimp Bar at 4 Star for this shit. It's so old that none of the collars (even the spring ones) will fit it.

315 x 8 (EAZYOMGZERS)

Nice that the SLDLQs were easy, bodes well for Power Cleans on Wed.

A/B/C Program: C week tweak (holla!)

Based on Jake's comments about more volume and the order of lifts, I've tweaked the C week (Deload). Below is an example of the new outline:

WEEK C (DELOAD):

C #1
BS 365x2 + 335x5 + 285x8
BP 315x3 + 295x5 + 255x8
SLDLQ 315x8

C #2
PC 245x1 + 235x1 + 215x5
OP 235x1 + 215x5 + 175x8
FS 275x2x3

C #3
BS 385x1 + 365x3 + 325x5
DBBP 140sx2x5
CHIN BWx3x8

It's still greatly reduced volume with high intensity, which is the goal. Also, no Rack Pulls to give the back a break.

Gabi's Training

I have a friend who I recently brought to the gym and introduced to powerlifting-style training. She's been bugging me a lot to give her a real plan.

She wants to do 3 days a week with the sole goal of getting stronger. She is fairly new to heavy lifting, particularly, she has trouble with squatting to parallel without losing balance and strength. She is also a beginner so I didn't think that a Sheiko plan was appropriate (maxes would increase much faster than the 3 month training cycle accounts for). I wanted something simpler, so I Frankenstein'ed Sheiko, 5x5, and 5/3/1 into the following ... Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated.

Day one:

Bench (a)

Squat (b)

Bench (b)

Bench assistance (c)

Deadlift assistance (c)

Day two:

Deadlift (a)

Bench (b)

Bench assistance (c)

Deadlift (b)

Squat assistance (c)

Day three:

Squat (a)

Bench (b)

Bench assistance (c)

Squat (b)

Deadlift assistance (c)

I've grouped the exercises into a/b/c, which means...

(a) - Following a 5/3/1 plan. Go for a 5rm, 3rm, or 1rm in successive weeks. I'm thinking these should be staggered so that on week one, day one goes for 5rm, day two goes for 3rm, and day three goes for 1rm; week two, one goes for 3rm, two goes for 1rm, three goes for 5rm; etc. I'm not completely convinced about that, though. I'm thinking that as a beginner, recovery time won't be paramount and this will keep thinks more interesting ... and it's intuitive to me somehow.

(b) - The main lifts done after the 5/3/1 lifts. These are just done 5x5 style. Jake suggested the following weights, based on the most recent max done in that lift: 90% of 5m, 80% of 3rm, or 70% of 1rm. The goal is to stay around 70% of current 1rm for the 5x5.

(c) - Exercises selected from a "menu" of possible assistance. These are generally done around 4x8. So far I have the following "menus" ...

Squat assistance menu:

Leg press, lunges, front squats

Bench assistance menu:

Dumbell bench, skull crushers, dumbell military press, close-grip bench

Deadlift assistance:

Rack pull (high or low), good mornings, pull-throughs, cable rows, bentover rows

The exercises are spread over the days to achieve roughly equal work load...

# squats - 3

# benches - 4

# deadlifts - 2

# squat assist - 1

# bench assist - 3

# deadlift assist - 2

So the deadlift has slightly lower volume just because its a deadlift, but this is compensated for by extra assistance. Also, the squat + deadlift volume is roughly the same as the upper body volume.

Thoughts?

Testing blog

TEST DAY

Quick summary, more detail later.

Squat - 460 (+35 PR)

Bench - 300 (+20 PR)

Deadlift - 550 (+20 PR)

-----------------------------

Total - 1310 (+75 PR)

Went for fourth attempts on squat and bench. Didn't leave much in the tank today. Deadlift was pretty hard.

UPDATE: Details...

▼ 1. 3/9/09 - Sun - SHEIKO #36/TEST DAY

Weight: 210.  +35/+20/+20 = +75 PR day.

• Squat 225x3 (50), 260x3 (60), 305x2x2 (70), 350x2 (80), 390x1 (90), 415x1 

(95), 445x1 (102), 460x1 (106)

Sweet. I knew that squats would set the tone for the day, so I was honed in mentally. My friends watching (Danny and Frank) said I was well below parallel on 460. Danny was berating me for it.

• Bench 145x3 (50), 170x3 (60), 200x2x2 (70), 230x2 (80), 255x1 (90), 270x1 

(95), 290x1 (102), 300x1 (105)

Awesome. Pauses probably weren't as long as USAPL, but I had a friend calling them so they were legit.

• Deadlift 271x3 (50), 326x2 (60), 381x2x2 (70), 431x2 (80), 486x1 (90), 516x1 

(95), 551x1 (102)

550 was a good, tough rep, and I really didn't think I had anything left in me.

• Deadlift (suited) 400x1, 490x1, 581xmissx2

First time putting the suit back on since it was tailored and since gaining some weight. It was VERY tight. Very difficult to put on and get down to the bar. I couldn't keep any kind of arch. 580 came off the floor pretty easily, but I kept losing my balance forward at halfway/lockout. I'm not very worried about this in terms of getting 600 in May; I've gotten stronger raw and I've done no suited training at all lately. Also, my head really wasn't in the lifts at this point.

Week A #3

BLAH, my squat is really weak right now.

Gear:
Belt (squat and pull)

Shoulder-Stance Back Squat:
345 x 4/3/4/3 (BLEH)
365 x 2 (BLEH^MAX)
280 x 5 (BLEH / 0)

Dumbbell Bench Press:
130s x 5/6/4/5

Conventional Rack Pulls @ mid-shin
455 x 3/3

Comp # 10 (today)

Power snatch above knee 77/3 88/2 - missed twice, 85/2 x 2 Lots of reasons I missed the 88, not too concerned with that too much right now
Clean and jerk 95/1 x 4
Clean pull 122/3 135/2 x 2
Power clean + Push Jerk 95/1+2 108 - 1+2, 1+1+miss, 1+2, 1+1+miss

Had to skip the front squats (only 60% x3 x 4 anyway) and good mornings because my groin was in agony by the end. The back squats in the previous workout messed me up again. Interestingly, I stretched tonight and they feel a little better. Hopefully by Monday I'll be able to squat again, because I have 160/4 x 3. I attribute the groin to most of the problems I had this workout, even the overhead stuff, because it's hard to catch the bar with bent knees. The clean and jerks were assigned to be 70%, so that's why they're so light. I didn't modify the workout except for the front squats and good mornings.

I really don't know how to feel about my clean and jerk. Two days ago I got 122 for 3x1, so I'm happy with it, but it's not nearly as easy as I would like for it to be. Also, 122 is 90% of 135, not my true competition max of 127, which is a good sign. The problem is, 90% should be a challenging but still pretty easy single and those weren't super easy. I like the technique results that I've gotten from working jerk technique, I'm just nervous for testing it again. Snatch, on the other hand, I apparently kick ass at.

Deadlifts

3/5/09

Good-Mornings

185 x 8

185 x 8

225 x 7

225 x 7

Deadlifts

221 x 5

265 x 5

287 x 3

309 x 2

Calf Circuit

Pull Throughs

50lb Dumbbell x 6 reps x 3 sets

Core Work

Comp. #10 (3-5)

Clean and Jerk 108/1 122/1 x 3
Snatch 77/2 88/2 x 3
Sn. Pull. Ab. Kn. 100/3 x 3
Jerk 95/2 100/2 x 3
BTN Press 52/3 57/3 60/3
Back Squat 130/3 160 - 4 ,3,3,4,3 Supposed to be 5 x 4 but I was ok with this

HMMMMMMmmm

Yep, this is about right

Meet Results

Squat:
462 - good
485 - good
501.5 - fail

Lower back felt so-so still. Enough to squat but not enough to max.

Bench:
292 - good
302 - fail
302 - fail

Not sure what happened here. Energy levels were low

Deadlift:
600 - fail (fell forward)
600 - good
628 - fail

Lower back finally gave out. Not sure if I sprained it.

total: 1377

This meet sucked balls for me.

LAST TWO DAYS

▼ 1. 3/5/09 - Thu- SHEIKO #35

Last one ...

• Squat 225x3 (50), 260x3x2 (60), 305x2x3 (70)

• Bench 145x3 (50), 170x3x2 (60), 200x2x3 (70)

▼ 2. 3/4/09 - Wed - CARDIO/FLEXIBILITY

• Cardio - bike ?? x 30 mins

• Flexibility - usual

Week A #2

Gear:
None / no belt

Power Cleans:
230, 1/2/1/1/1/1
199, 3/3

Power Clean + Standing Press:
205, 5/4/4/4
155, 8

Bleh, press strength is down right now.

EDIT: forgot the back-off sets I did.

Deads

Good Mornings
185 x 2 x 5
135 x 8
Felt my back start to round with 185 so I dropped the weight down.

Block pulls (2 stacked 50kg plates)
243 x 5
263 x 5
283 x 3
303 x 3

GHRs
BW x 15
BW+25 x 3 x 10

Hanging leg raises
5 x 20

Bench

3/4/09

Close-Grip Bench

125 x 8

135 x 8

145 x 8

155 x 8

Decline Bench

195 x 4

165 x 8

175 x 6

175 x 6

205 x 4

Skull Crushers

70lbs x 8

80lbs x 8

80lbs x 8

ME: Cornbread

Ronnie Coleman was on the plane with me. I think he flew first class because he so giant, he would have taken 3 regular seats.

Bench

Recovery Day-- For Wed. Still feelin fatigued:
Bench/Warm
135 x 6 x 2
Decline Bench
165 x 4
185 x 8
225 x 10
245 x 4
225 x 4
Skull Crushers
Bar + 25's, Bar + 30's, Bar + 30's, Bar + 25's
Rope Pull downs
Ab Circuit

Good Luck Dave!
Do Work.
( ..only a few more days before you get to feast again. Have a safe flight)

B.P.

Dave, don't forget to bring a band so you can do some bicep curls and pump up because after all, it's the ARNOLD!

Weight is only 167lbs. I guess walking my dog does make a difference.

Bench Press:
270 X 3
275 X 2
275 X 2

Incline Dumbbell Press:
80s X 8
90s X 7
95s X 6

Weighted Dips:
45lb X 8
90lb X 8
115lb X 8
135lb X 8

Tricep Pushdowns
Banded Tricep Extensions
Pink Band Pull Aparts
Reverse Curls
Dumbbell Curls
Abs
Treadmill

Bench

Close grip bench
125 x 8
135 x 2 x 8
155 x 5
155 x 4+1fail

Decline bench
165 x 4
135 x 8
(paused reps from now on)
135 x 6
145 x 6
165 x 4 - This actually felt easier than the first set probably because I haven't done this exercise in about a year.

Skull crushers
70 x 8, 5, 5 weak ass triceps.

Rope pushdowns
110 x 2 x 10

My left shoulder pain from yesterday increased gradually as the workout went on but I was still able to do the pressing exercises so...dah well..

cardio

40 minutes arc trainer.

weight is looking good. hotel has a sauna for the last few pounds. I sure hope my lower back feels good.

Competition Phase # 11

Snatch 77/3 90/2 x 2 100/1 x 3 Feels good to finally train with 100
Clean and jerk 95/1 x 2 108/2 x 2
BTN Jerk 108/2 122/1 - miss 115/1 117/1 - miss too fatigued in the mid back to support the weight overhead. Probably due to the extra jerks and supports yesterday and the snatches today
BTN Jerk + Jerk 108/1+1 Couldn't do more than 1 set
Cl. Pull. Ab. Kn 110/2 x 3
Sn. Sq. Press 50 - 3x3
Front Squat 122/5 x 4 worked on holding my back super arched. It was totally fried by the end of this. The weight wasn't challenging for my legs but the reps made me really tired.

Week A #1

Gear:
None / no belt

Shoulder-Stance Back Squat:
325 x 5/5/4
345 x 2
275 x 8

Medium-Grip Bench Press:
285 x 5/5/5
315 x 2 (hard)
255 x 8

Stiff-Leg DLs:
352 x 5/5/5

Man I feel like ass. So detrained right now. Also, I need to really get on the ball about eating enough on training days.

Upper Back

T bar rows
55, 65, 75, 80, 85, 90 kgs each done for 5 reps
70kg x 2 x 8

Smith machine shrugs
225 x 10
315 x 10
365 x 8
405 x 6
455 x 5 - This felt pretty heavy for me so I switched to a mixed grip and afterwards my left shoulder started hurting and it still does...hopefully this goes away by tomorrow

Face pulls (w/ green band)
4 x 15

Reverse curls (thumbless grip)
70 x 4 x 10

Medicine ball abs
2 sets

Cardio

40 min biking
20 min on arc trainer
i am so hungry.

SHEIKO #34

Windin' it down...

• Bench 145x3 (50), 170x3x2 (60), 200x2x2 (70), 215x1x4 (75)

• Deadlift 270x3 (50), 325x3x2 (60), 380x2x4 (70)

Squat

Monday-- Recovery:
Not exactly sure.. perhaps since it was my first meet; but my muscles are still shot. Started training back up Wed thru Sun. Been feeling sluggish/fatigued since:

No Bands/ Warmups
135 x 6
165 x 6

With Purples. (Band Lightened)
225 x 8
255 x 8
275 x 6 (fail)
295 x 4 (fail)

With Greens. (Band Lightened)
275 x 8
305 x 8
335 x 6 Belted.
365 x 4 Belted.

No Bands
185 x 6
195 x 5 Belted. (fail)