Suit Work (straps down) 365 x 5 395 x 5 405 x 5 425 x 4 AHHHHH!!! I think this would have been a PR. 405 felt easy even with the straps down. 405 x 5
Band Resisted Squats (w/ Greens) 225 x 3 245 x 3 235 x 3
Leg Press 6 Plates on each side x 12 7 Plates on each side x 12 8 Plates on each side x 8
Superset-Foam Roller Transversus & Calves 3 sets each
Box Vertical Jumps 3 sets of 20
So my scalene pain is getting better (and it fucking better be since I already turned in my stuff for collegiate nationals). Last week I couldn't even get under the bar when I tried good mornings. Today, the pain was still there but it didn't affect the lifts. I'm glad I was able to hit depth 70% of the time...I thought it'd be less than that.
Leg Pressezzz
6 plate per sidex10
7 plate per side x10
8 plate per side x10
Box Jumps, abs, food
pretty happy with today, first time ever even getting in my suit
everyone said my reps were at parallel too! even with straps up,
expected it to be much worse.
On the last rep of the 3rd, 4th, and 5th sets, for some reason I kept rolling the bar higher up on my back causing me to lose balance. The missed reps were due to this flaw in technique probably from doing so much suited squatting for the past couple months. Next week should hopefully go smoother.
Band-resisted squats (Wooden blues~ same as purples)
185 x 3
205 x 3
225 x 3
235 x 3
Before I started suited squats for the last meet I was having some issues with strength out of the hole. I tried to hit the hole hard and rebound quickly on these to work on this weakness.
Tried 1 set of pause squats at 235 but was gassed from the band-resisted squats.
Front squats
135 x 6, 8, 6
As Cheryl said, I have to focus on pushing the ass back and driving the elbows upwards at the bottom to help keep the chest up. Need to up the weight on these soon.
Finished with 3 sets of calves and 3 sets of transversus.
Start of the new cycle. Squats and back work on Monday and Thursday, Pressing work on Tuesday and Friday. 305 on squats didn't feel too difficult, and that's only 10lbs off my PR for a 5-rep set. Good stuff.
Squat 1x5 at 225 lbs (84.9% max) 1x5 at 205 lbs (77.4% max) 3x5 at 185 lbs (69.8% max)
So I thought I could do more than I could and did not follow the routine at all. My mistake, and I definitely paid the price.
Leg Press 1x8 at 270 lbs 1x8 at 180 lbs 3x8 at 230 lbs
Definitely was dead from squats and the rest of the day.
I was feeling quite dizzy after squats so I decided to cut the day short after leg press. I did, however, hobble back to my apartment (in the good way). TERRIBLE TERRIBLE SQUAT DAY.
after 15 minutes of struggling to put my suit on, and walking in it a little before i went to bed...
woke up this morning with an intense burning on my shoulders, and my shoulders look like i'd been whipped by my slavemaster
Leg Press 4 plates + Qtr per side x10 5 plates + Qtr per side x10 5 plates + Qtr per side x10 6 plates + Qtr per side x8 7 plates + Qtr per side x8 7 plates + Qtr per side x8 6 plates per side x 12 6 plates per side x 12 I couldn't clean nor due GMs due to the scalene muscle in my neck. I tried to a couple of sets of GM then did a set of front squats. This made things worse. Training in the suit next week should be fun.
Banded Hyperextension w/ 2 Blues & 2 Greens 3 sets of 20 I supersetted these with calves
Close-grip benching just felt too nasty on my wrists to keep doing. I did move my grip in a couple fingers though to get more tricep work in. Strength is coming back nicely.
Bench 135 x 10 155 x 10 165 x 10 165 x 10 155 x 9 + fail I did this set paused and also went down super slow on every rep. I could barely lift the bar after.
Stability Bench Bar+25's x 8 Bar+45's x 8 x 2 Bar with 5's + 45's x 8
Skull Crushers, Lat Pulldown, Curls superset
80 x 10, 180 x 8, 80 x 8, 3 sets each
Car Pushing
Got the course record for the long track with 4 people at 2:42
I really wish someone had taken a picture of the faces I was making just because I want to see them. All attempts felt pretty good though, but this is around where I was peaking on my caffeine/endorphin high
Bench
1st attempt 85 kg (187.2 lbs): good
2nd attempt 92.5 kg (203.7 lbs): no good; uneven extension
3rd attempt 92.5 kg (203.7 lbs): good
Never noticed how strict judges were on extension until I watched the video again. The weight itself felt easy and I honestly probably should've gone for my original 209.2 kg but didn't want the same thing to happen and only be credited for 187.2.
Deadlift
1st attempt 182.5 kg (402.2 lbs): good
2nd attempt 192.5 kg (424.2 lbs): good
3rd attempt 195 kg (429.7 lbs): no good
Pretty gassed at this point (not to mention caffeine crashing) so 424.2 felt like my old PR attempt of 435. Watching the video my 429.7 might've been possible if I had started lower and didn't lock my knees out so fast.
Total
435 kg (959 lbs)
Felt good about my lifts this meet, with a PR on squat and proof of over 200 in bench and 400 in deadlift for getting over mental blocks in training. My ideal meet would've resulted in 1000 total but I'm really starting to think I can next time. And after trying this meet without attempting to cut and with personal problems (sleep) beforehand, I think I'm ready to try to go back down to 165 for August's meet. As a final note, I fucking love caffeine.
You know, there really isn't much to say for me. I got what I thought I would get after slimming down 8 pounds, so I'm happy with that. I really want to work on my deadlift though because I feel like that is a) not increasing and b) incredibly weak.
Squat ~243 lbs ~259 lbs
Bench ~153 lbs ~159 lbs
Deadlift ~243 lbs ~268 lbs ~281 lbs
I think those are the values, I'm too lazy to look them up precisely right now.
Squat: 484 x 3 whites 502 x 3 whites 519 x 3 whites (+9 pound PR)
This went much better than when I hit my openers two weeks prior. 484 felt very easy. I think I had around 10 pounds left in the squat, but stayed conservative to break the total record.
Bench: 314 x 3 whites 330 x fail 330 x fail
I was not happy about this. During warm ups it felt like my pecs were about to tear off, which was disconcerting. I think the slight weight loss really killed my bench. I hit 330 solidly just a week prior, so I'm disappointed not to have those extra 16 pounds.
Deadlift: 633 x 3 whites (+4 meet PR) 672 x 3 whites (+22 PR) 705 x fail
I got the total record with 672 and was all amped up, so I just went for 705 at that point. Looking at the video, it got much higher than it felt like, but I couldn't lock it out. I think I was mildly gassed at this point anyway, but I need to work on my lockout more if I'm going to get that 705 raw deadlift. I'd say I was probably good for 684 that day had I not been overly ambitious, haha.
Total: 1504 (+127 meet PR (last time was @ 181)), which apparently gives me an elite raw total? (according to some definition of elite)
Overall, it was good meet. Having an entire meet before hand was a bit exhausting though. It felt like lifting in two meets the same day and by the end it was harder to keep my energy levels up. That said, the meet was well run and judging was fair. I didn't see very many questionable calls.
Big thanks to everyone who came and the team for cheering me on. And especially Ross for loading a lot of weight, haha.
Squat: 1. 115 kg (253.5)--3 whites 2. 127.5 kg (281)--3 whites 3. 135 kg (297.6)--3 reds. I went big, went too deep and didn't have enough out of the hole. This is the one I wish I had a do-over on. Wish I would've used nose tork or gone a little lighter, but damn I feel like I can hit that.
Bench Press: 1. 75 kg (165.2)--3 whites, but back hurt throughout lift, so I went belted for next two attempts. 2. 82.5 kg (181.7)--3 whites 3. 85 kg (187.2)--3 whites. 2.2lb PR. I really didn't think I would get this, but I used nose tork and had the belt, which I believe made the difference. I'm gonna belt anything I do heavy from now on. Thanks for the lift off Vit!
Deadlift: 1. 150 kg (330.5)--3 whites 2. 165 kg (363.7)--3 whites 3. 175 kg (385.8)--3 whites. 20 lb PR. I probably could've done more, I was so pumped for this (Thank you nose tork and Vit slap). My deadlift is horribly inconsistent, but not having grip issues was key to success here. I'm definitely glad I made the switch to conventional last year, it seems to be paying off.
Total: 387.5 kg (854.3). 57.5 kg (126.8) meet PR. I'm really happy with that progress in just 1 year. Now I'm really gunning for 200 bench, 300 squat, and 400 deadlift by the end of the year. Also excited to be in a race with a bunch of the guys on the team to 900. Should be a fun Spring Quarter!
3rd Attempt: 157.5 kg (347 lbs) I don't remember struggling with this much at all. I stood up pretty quickly. 7 Pound PR.
Bench:
1st Attempt: 75 kg (165.2 lbs) This was not as easy as I was hoping, it was like a hard warm-up.
2nd Attempt: 82.5 kg (181.7 lbs) Lifted this no problem.
3rd Attempt: 87.5 (192.7 lbs) Barely struggled with this weight. 12.7 Pound PR.
Deadlift
1st Attempt: 150 kg (330.5 lbs) Came up quickly.
2nd Attempt: 162.5 kg (358 lbs) My only failed lift. I'd attribute this to a shitty setup. I had my legs way far out, and I wasn't flexible enough to get good leverage for this lift. I am disappoint because this lift should've been way easy.
3rd Attempt: 162.5 kg (358 lbs) Ripped the bar off the floor. Much better setup and form. Hit the nose tork really hard before this and couldn't breathe through my nose or think clearly. I gave up on holding my breath for this and the bar shot up anyways. I could've done so much more weight, but I didn't know that I could change the weight for my 3rd attempt after failing a 2nd.
Goal: 900 lb total
Total: 407.5 kg (898.4 lbs)
Overall, this was an excellent first meet. I hit 8/9 lifts, and hit two good PRs in bench and squats. I didn't go over my goal, but I know I had it in me anyways. I can't describe how great it feels to lift weight on that platform. I loved the environment of friendly competition, everyone was there to show the fruits of their labor. You guys were all awesome, and I think the support I got helped me focus. For the future, I know my bench and deadlift need a lot of work. Sometimes I don't think I know what I'm doing for either, but I'm getting better.
Competed in the Raw Open 148 (67.5 kg) weight class, although I had signed up for junior
Squat
152.5 kg (336 lbs) 2 whites 1 red- easy but I got 1 red for depth
162.5 kg (358 lbs) 3 whites- made sure I sank this one, felt a groin stretch at the bottom, not too hard
170 kg (375 lbs) 2 whites 1 red- PR by 5 pounds, I nose torked this lift and it really helped. I could have gone a little heavier, but I did get 1 red for depth, so it was a good choice. Finally got that 2.5 x body weight squat.
Bench
90 kg (198.4 lbs) 3 whites- not as easy as planned, pause was longer than expected
95 kg (209.4 lbs) 3 reds- failed 2 inches off chest at former weak point. I just felt really weak in bench at the meet and I also wasn't focused at this point
95 kg (209.4 lbs) 3 reds- retry of second, same result. I nose torked this lift, but no improvement. This really pissed me off since I hit this weight a year ago at the meet and I've recently benched 220 and 210 x 2. Missing my second attempt and not getting a chance at 220 ruined my chances for a 1025 pound total which would qualify me for nationals, however I still had a shot at a 1000+ total. I blame my bench weakness partially on cutting weight, because bench strength is always the first to go. I'm gonna try to gain some weight and do some volume for bench.
Deadlift
177.5 kg (391 lbs) 3 whites- 2.5 kg lower than I initially planned for safety margin
190 kg (419 lbs) 3 whites- PR by 5 pounds. I nose torked this lift a little bit, and it was pretty hard. I was shaky on the way up.
195 kg (430 lbs) 3 whites- PR by 16 pounds. Nose torked. 2.9 x body weight. This one was really hard, I though I was gonna fail this one and it felt pretty slow. Vit's slap probably helped me get this, along with my roar. Really happy with this PR which brought my total to over 1000.
Total: 455 kg (1003 lbs) 70 kg (154 lbs) meet PR
I was very happy about my squat and bench PR's, but pretty pissed at my bench. This meet is strong evidence that powerlifting has done nothing for my bench since I officially am weaker than a year ago. I think I need to try my own thing for bench. I got drug tested after the meet. I was 22 pounds away from qualifying for nationals even though I competed raw. Good meet overall, great turnout from UCLA. Thank you everyone who was there and also to everyone who has helped me train for this.
Weighed in at 233, 18-19 Y/o Division. I turned 19 this week. Squat Warmups Felt a little hard, 405 scared me.. they were rushed and out of the groove. Squat- 451- Good lift, Relatedly easy 484- Good lift,Matched PR from 2 weeks ago 501- Good lift, not a grinder, but close to max 15 LB PR Bench- warmups went as plan 282- good lift,Easy 308- good lift,Alright, 5 LB PR 314- good lift,grinder 15 LB PR Deadlift- 496 - Good lift, basically a warmup 540 - good lift, Good Speed 572 - Good lift, close to grinder 22 LB PR
Total - 1387 ~ 60 lbs higher than in November
Thank you to everyone, it was so awesome to have so many people there, we definitely let our presence be known.
Squat 1st attempt 165kg (363.7 lbs) Good Lift 3 whites; slower than it should have been, forgot the elbows thru 2nd attempt 180kg (396.7 lbs) Good Lift 3 whites; felt hard as fuck 3rd attempt 185kg (407.7 lbs) Good Lift 3 whites; almost stepped forward because I lost my balance, had to grind through to get to the top PR Bench 1st attempt 97.5kg (214.7 lbs) Good lift 3 whites; warm up 2nd attempt 105kg (231.2 lbs) Good Lift, 1 red light for sinking 3rd attempt 107.5kg (236.7 lbs) No lift 3 reds, I felt a cramp coming in my lower back and I lost all my tightness. Deadlift 1st attempt 217.5kg (479 lbs) 3 whites, easy 2nd attempt 237.5kg (523.5lbs) 3 whites New CA State Record; Class I total 3rd attempt 245kg (540 lbs) 3 whites, I think I pulled the scalene muscle in my neck but it was worth the lift. New CA State Record PR
Total: 534.33kg (1,178lbs) My last Raw total in July was 1,080 lbs
This was the best meet UCLA Powerlifting has ever seen. I don't think we've gotten close to having this many people show up. I can officially say I'm a Class I lifter (needed a 1,148lb total). The next step is becoming a Master and fixing the shit out of my bench. The highlight of the evening for me was my 3rd attempt deadlift. It was awesome having you guys there to pump me up in the back. I couldn't have done it without you. I'm looking forward to training in the suit again and giving sumo deadlifting a second chance. Thanks again to the spotters, the people that helped load the weight in the back and to everyone that came out. Good job to all of you !!! We fuckin' killed that shit !!!
Well, I didn't reach the 1145 qualifying total that I was gunning for but I still think it was a good meet overall. Weight loss definitely made my gear fit less tight since even after eating/drinking during the day I was still about 10-12 lbs below the bodyweight that I trained at for the meet. I am glad I was able to grind out that last squat and basically all 3 bench presses despite the gear not fitting right. As for deadlifts, I was able to get 473 lb to my knees and had the same sticking point that I desperately need to work on. I look forward to focusing on raw strength for a while now since these past 6 months have been centered around geared lifting for me. Finally I'd like to thank everyone who came to support us/help out and send a congratulations out to all the guys who competed. Couldn't have not bombed out without you guys lol.
A most excellent meet. Did not get the 500kg total that I wanted, but I came close enough to it to walk away satisfied. The squat and deadlift were both nice PR's to get at the meet, and I beat Vit's geared total from November just like I said I would haha. Excited to start my new training cycle focusing on my squat and shoulder strength.
and just for fun - No Handed Squats! 135x1x3 155x2
Squatting today took a while to warm up to (tight hips), but I was able to hit depth well according to Max, Ross, and Ro. Did not feel like front squats, so I just squatted 225 for a few sets.
The No Handed Squats were just me Kylin' around :D
Bench Press (with full commands): 165x1x2 (opener) 180 (2nd attempt) felt good. Whether I go for 185ish or 190ish will depend on how I'm feeling on meet day.
Pause Bench (brutal 3 second Nick Orton count): 145x3x4
255 x fail <--dumped the bar towards my neck on the way up, but luckily Dave set the pins at the height exactly half an inch above my neck. Thanks Dave <3
255 x 1 -came down a little higher, but came up slow
255 x 1 -probably my best rep of the day, hopefully would have passed in a meet
Banded pushdowns (purples)
25lbs x 3 sets of 15
Lat pulldowns
200 x 10
220 x 8
240 x 8
250 x 5+Ryan sabotaged the set by trying to make me stop swinging.
Machine shrugs
10 plates x 15
12 plates x 12
14 plates x 6
Finished with 3 sets of GHR abs and 3 sets of hammer curls.
Skull crushers didn't feel so hot today, so I went with cable triceps for reps. Along with lat pull downs. While i was repping the stack some dude starts point at me to his friend keeps saying "now that's the shit," over and over until his friend replies, "ok, i see it. i know."
Shrugs 14 plates x some reps 16 plates x some reps
Bench: 135x3 165x3 185x3 205x3 225x3 245x1, 1 @ 8, 8 260x1 @ 9.5 (this will be my second attempt)
Incline: 185x3x3
Push Press: 115x3 135x3, 3 145x3
Rows: 165x5 185x5 205x5 225x5
Bizeps
Bench is feeling strangely difficult, but there's not much I can do now other than rest up and gain a few more lbs. I'm weighting in at 233 pretty consistently, which gives me a 9lb window for the meet. Helloooooo bagels.
Not sure what happened on the first one. It was nasssty, especially considering that i tripled it last week. Maybe I need to warm up more, but I hit 445 x 1 as my last warm up, which I thought would be enough.
Pause Squat: 405 x 3, 3 second 415 x 3, 3 second 425 x 3, 3 second
Leg Perazas
some plates x some reps. All of these were high for some reason. (Hi Misael!)
Thanks to Dave for wrapping my knees tight as shit. I might order a prosthetic leg to be safe in case one falls off at the meet. Need to hit 424 at the meet to be on pace to qualify for Collegiate Nationals. Most videos also taken by Dave's phone. Perhaps one day they'll be posted ;(
Pause squats (3 count)
245 x 3 x 3
Leg press
360 x 10
450 x 4+1fail <-- lol man I suck without a suit on
360 x 10
Finished with 3 sets of plyos, 3 sets of foam roller transversus, stretching, and 3 sets of calves.
Squat-
135x10
225x5
315x3
405x1
455x1@9 this felt hard, I was mad
455x1@7.5 this felt much easier, deeper and quicker.
485x1@9- this felt easier than my first 455, happy with this
atg pause squats
365x3,3,3
Leg pressezzzz
5platex10
6platex10
7platex10
8platex10
365 was pretty slow and felt heavy, but I did not feel like I was gonna fail it. I think I will go for 374 on my third attempt unless this feels easy at the meet.
Pause Squat with 3 second scott count
275 x 3
285 x 3
295 x 3
Leg Press
530 x 10
570 x 10
620 x 10
Plyos
Abs
Cardio: Bike machine for 240 calories
Weigh In: 149.5 lbs
365
I think depth was good but it is hard to tell from this angle. It definitely felt deep while I was squatting.
More meet prep stuff. I can tell that my body is starting to get a little more fatigued here and there - things like sleeping through Classics in the morning.
Where was everybody??? Only Alex, Max, and I lifted at 4:30.
3.5 board press (yoga block)
185 x 4 sets of 6
Flat dumbbell press
60s x 12, 8
50s x 12
Cable rows
250 x 6, 6, 6, 6
Neutral grip pullups
BW x 12, 12, 12
Finished with 3 sets of ball rotations and 30 minutes on the stationary bike. Need to kick up the cardio since I'm consistently weighing 187-188 in the mornings.
Deadlift: warmups included for reference for meet 135x5x2 215x3 275x2 305 worksets: 329 359xf. Completely a grip issue, you can watch the video I uploaded. I ripped it off the gorund, but it slipped out of my left hand. Balls.
Machine Shrugs w/ pause at the top 3 sets of 15 with 5 plates on each side
Biceps 3 sets
Conditioning 10 burpees w/ 5kg medicine ball followed by 20 slams 3 sets, 1 min 15 sec break
GHR Abs
Stretching
My traps were SORE AS FUCK when I woke up on bench day. On squat day, the only thing that gets my traps are power cleans and I didn't even do them. 205 x 3 felt harder than 205 x 5 last week.
Bench: 295 x 3 @ 9 315 x 2 + 1f, ughasodjhashgagsf
That long press call kills me. Bagged it after 2 sets to work on pausing more.
Pause Bench: 275 x 1 + 3 @ 3 seconds (greg called out press right away on the first one, which was pretty funny) 285 x 3 @ 3 (+10 PR) 285 x 3 @ 3 harrrd 275 x 3 @ 3
I'm making progress on these, but man, i gotta get my off-chest strength up for the meet...