New Squat PR and More Weaknesses to Work on

Hey guys,

I hit 625 for a new squat PR last night (30lbs); 204 lb BW after dinner. Depth was about parallel but without knee wraps. I was pretty stoked considering I hadn't broken the 600 barrier before. I'm posting my 505 warm up video to show what I wish my 625 looked like on the way up. I feel like I had a good, controlled arched back on the way down but leaned forward on the way up. Also, I BOOKED MY TICKET FOR NATIONALS !!! WOO!!!

625


505

Luke 3-27-12 Bench

Shirted Bench

225 x 3

225 x 3

235 x 3 PR

Shirted 2 Board

245 x 3

255 x 3

250 x 3

Chest Supported Rows

Cable Flys

Incline Curls

Lat Pulldowns

Abs

Triceps

Luke 3-26-12 Squat

My left hip has been tight and painful. After nationals I will take a few weeks off.

Squat in Peter's 34 super centurion (suit has been getting easier to put on, I think I lost weight)

415 x 1

455 x 3 @ 9+ knees wrapped

465 x 3 @ 10 knees wrapped, potential opener

then they wouldn't let us check out the SSB or the bands...

pause squats

275 x 3 bad idea on the hips

Front Squats

155 x 5

175 x 5

185 x 5

Leg Press

Hamstring Curls

Foam roller transversus

Matt Buttimer - Alive and Well

Haven't posted in quite a while, so I figured I would give a quick update on my PL pursuits. I have been training as hard as ever and like Vit did a meet yesterday as well. Here is how it went (I competed at 181):

Squat:
534 3 whites...easy
567 2 reds, 1 white...called for depth, and one of the red lights was from the head judge, who has no business calling depth unless it is egregious, which it was not. It was an easy lift though. I have seen the head judge before at national meets and knew he was tough, bordering on unfair. This blew my hope for going for 600.
573 3 whites (26lb PR)...went up 2.5 kilos just to shove it in the head judges face and I took the squat down WAY below parallel to leave no doubt. This hurt me though as I had a long way to get back up and it was a good 5-6 second grinder - left me gassed.

Bench:
363 3 whites
385 3 whites
402 3 whites (17lb PR)
Good bench day considering in training I only touched my chest twice. Have been having some elbow/tendon issues in my shirt, but got it seated well for the meet and it didn't become an issue. Might have had another 10-15 lbs left in me.

Deadlift:
501 2 whites, 1 red...same judge as from the squats said one of my knees wasn't locked.
540 3 reds...lost my balance near the top and couldn't finish the lift.
540 3 whites...I had pulled 562 back in a meet last November (although I didn't bench in that meet) so I was hoping for more, but that last squat took a lot out of me.

1515 lb total (80 lb meet PR)

All in all a solid day and something to build off of for Men's Nationals.

Also I am about 85% sure I will come out for Collegiates, so I hope to see the UCLA competitors there.

USPA CA State Meet 2012

Hi everyone. I did a meet today :) Overall very happy with my results. I will post videos soon.

198lb Junior Single Ply Division

Squat

501 -no lift, 2 to 1 reds for depth

501 -good lift, 2 to 1 (44 lb PR)

534 -no lift

Bench

314 -good lift, 3 whites

330 -good lift, 3 whites (27 lb PR)

341-no lift, it was coming up but the bar rolled in my hands and went towards the racks

Deadlift

490 -good lift, 3 whites

518 -good lift, 3 whites

540 -good lift, 3 whites (78 lb PR)

Total: 1372 (150 lb PR)

Luke 3-22-12 Dead assist

Good Mornings

325 x 5

365 x 5

405 x 8

Rack Pulls

405 x 5

425 x 5

Deadlifts

275 x 5

295 x 5

Weighted GHR's

Floor Sweeper Abs

Luke 3-21-12 Bench

Bench

200 x 5 @ 9

210 x 4+fail PR no liftoff

185 x 5 @ 9

Shoulder Press

50's x 5

55's x 5

60's x 9

Pullovers

Rows

Abs

First squat in 7 months

So for anyone that doesnt know I herniated an L4-L5 disc and havent been able to do much this year.
I'm about 218 lbs 11-12% BF
Found out yesterday the herniation has subsided completely So i gave it a whirl.

Psoas/glute activation.
10 min

atg squat paused
135x10
225x10,10
250x10,10,10,10

Ab work.

pretty weak, but my muscle conditioning is horrible. back is pretty sore atm. Hip feels good though and no pain while squatting. no sciatica.

Luke 3-19-12 Squat

Squat in 34 super centurion straps down
365 x 5
405 x 5 @ 9- with knee wraps, major bar slippage
425 x 5 @ 9+ PR knees wrapped, slightly high

Black Band resisted SSB squats
205 x 5
225 x 5
245 x 5

Leg Press

Hamstring Curls

Foam Roller Abs

Max Effort Foam Roller Bench. Sat. 3/17/12.

Max Effort Foam Roller Bench 3x1
170 (@9), 175 (9+), 180 (@10)

Semi Close Grip Incline Bench 3x5
105 (@8), 115 (@9), 125x4 (@10)
-> (on the last set, I brought my elbow in too far and failed on the 2nd rep, a simple form error, but I was fatigued and racked it after the 4th rep)

Weighted Pullups 3x3
BW+45lbs (@9), BW+45lbs (@9+), BW+45lbs (@9+)

Shrug Machine 2x20
-> (facing in)
3 pes, 3 pes
-> (my grip wasn't so good due to small blisters)

Cable Rows 2x8
-> (medium horizon grip)
100, 100

Db Curls
20dbs x15 (@10-)

**** WEIGH-IN: 137 LBS BODYWEIGHT ****

Max Effort Rack Pulls. Fri. 3/16.

**** JUST CAME BACK FROM 2 WEEKS OFF DUE TO MINOR STRAIN IN LEFT PEC ****

Max Effort Sumo Rack Pulls 3x1 (belted)
-> (from ~1-2 inches below knees)
365 (@8), 385 (@9), 405 (@10)

Stiff-Leg Deadlifts 3x5 (belted)
205 (@8), 225 (@9), 245 (@10-)

Luke 3:16 Bench Assist

T-bar Rows

4 plates x 5

Floor Press

185 x 5

205 x 5

215 x 3

225 x 3 @ 10

Close Grip Bench

175 x 3

185 x 3

195 x 3

185 x 3 x 2

Lat Pulldowns

200 x 5

230 x 5

265 x 5 PR shitty

250 x 5

Flys

Hammer Curls

up to 70's x 6 per arm

Anti rotation ab thing

Deadlift 3/16/12

Deadlift (suited):
245 x 3
255 x 3 (10 lbs below my raw 1RM!)
These felt easy even, but was too tired to think I could get 265 x 3. Finally getting how to use the suits for deadlifts feels great.

Good Mornings:
135 x 5
145 x 5
155 x 5

Bench 3/13/12

Bench:
115 x 1 (touched my belt...which had ridden up, but still)
There were various attempts from 115-135 mixed in here, all failures. Just a bad shirt day overall.

Luke 3-15-12 Deadlift

Deadlift in suit

415 x 3 @ 8

455 x 3 @ 10 PR of 10 pounds. scraped my knee up

Good Mornings

back was hurting too much to do these

Anderson Squats off high pins (11)

225 x 5

275 x 5

315 x 5

335 x 5

Weighted GHRs

BW + 20 x 10 x 3

Abs

Luke 3-13-12 Bench

Shirted Bench

225 x 1

225 x 1

225 x 1

225 x 1 best rep, didn't slow down at lockout

235 x 1

I'm so fucked for bench. I think my only gains have come from getting stronger. I could probably hit 235 raw.

2 Board Press in shirt

245 x 2 tired by this point

225 x 3 x 2

pullovers, reverse flys, abs

Bench Singles

3/14/12
Bench
shirted
285 x 1
275 x 1
275 x 1
285 x 1
295 x fail, got stuck around 2 board

Was hoping to get close to 300.  Need to fix things.

2 Board
305 x 2
285 x 3

Pullovers, Ab Wheel

Max 3/13 Bench

Bench

215x1

230x1

235x1

240x1 <-matched old PR from over a year ago

245x1 <-new PR

Paws Bench

185x3

195x3 <-PR

200x3 <-PR

200x2 failed 3rd

195x2 failed 3rd

These failures were entirely my fault.

Cable Rows

190x5

200x5 4 sets <-PR

Arnold Press

40x8

45 3x8 <-PR

Squat

195 5x5

Squat Singles

3/12/12
Squat
405 x 1 @ 9
435 x 1 @ 10- right above or at parallel (potential opener)
445 x 1 @ 10 at parallel

Thank you Danny S. for great wraps.

465 x 1 @ 10+ at parallel (20lb gym PR, 50lb meet PR) (potential 2nd attempt)

I wanted to go 455 but after Dave wrapped my knees I decided not to waste it and go for 465.
Thanks for the A+'s.

Shirted Bench 275

Just wanted to post the vid.  Not amazing but a PR nonetheless.

Luke 3-12-12 Squat

Squat in Peter's 34 super centurion

415 x 1 @ 8

455 x 1 @ 8

475 x 1 @ 9+ lost balance

500 x 1 @ 10- PR of 25 pounds borderline depth from video

Walkouts 10 seconds

565, 585, 605

Band Resisted SSB Squats

205 x 5

205 x 5

225 x 5

Hamstring Curls

Foam Roller Transversus

Squat 3/12/12

Squat:
185 x 1 (Dave said don't count this because it was too light, perfect light wraps from Danny)
225 x 1 (Nice light wraps from Dave on this and the next but the squat was too easy)
235 x 1
255 x 1 (A bit high but easy, brutally awesome knee wraps from Greg)

This took until 10:30 and I had to go, though I was also super tired because of the time change and wouldn't have had much more in me.

Overall work in the suit has been going a lot better lately and I think I'll be able to open at nationals at 265/275...+?

Bench Assist. 3/9/12

T-bar rows:
90 x 5
95 x 5
100 x 5
105 x 5
115 x 5

Floor press:
85 x 5 x 2
85 x 3 x 2 (I get worn down after the first couple sets of 5)

Wide-grip bench:
65 x 3
75 x 3
Messed up my shoulder on these so laid off after that and just did light auxiliary work.

Lat pulldowns, Cable Flys

Bench Assist 3/9

Chest-Supported Bros

3plaet 5x5

Floor Press

205x5

210x5

215x3

225x3

Banded One-Bored

185 4x3

Lat Pulldown

170 4x5

Dumbbell Press

40s 3x8

Pause Squat

135 x5

155 4x5

New Deadlift PR

Hey guys,

Here's footage of me pulling 585 for the first time in my centurion (202 BW). Ted told me to go for 605 but I leaned forward too much. You'll see the difference in the two lifts:

585 x 1 (20lb PR)


605 x f :(

Deadlift Assist. 3/8/12

Good Mornings:
135 x 5
135 x 5
145 x 5
155 x 5
165 x 5
Was pretty tired so went light to work on form more.

Deadlift:
135 x 5
165 x 5 x 2

Rack Pulls:
255 x 3
265 x 3
275 x 3
The 275 was surprisingly easy and could have probably gone for more; I've had trouble with that in the suit but it was nothing raw.

Box Jumps

Bench 3/6/12

Bench:
85 x some boards
95 x boards, almost chest but not quite
105 x 2
105 x 3
This took a lot out of me, but I'm happy that I'm learning the shirt better.

Shirted board work:
125 x 5
135 x 5

Bench

3/6/12
Bench
275 x 1, fail
275 x didn't touch chest, 1
275 x 2
275 x 3 I finally "got it" by really reaching my chest up to the bar but my butt probably came off the bench.

3 Board
295 x 3
305 x 3
315 x 3 (easy, PR)

Squat

3/5/12
Squat
385, 405, 415, 435 x 3
no depth but I got close

Walkouts
495, 525

Equipped Week 1

Squat
2/27/12
335, 345, 365, 385, 405 x 5
straps down

Walkouts
475, 495, 505

Bench
best set 285 x 3 off 3 board

Deadlift
My CNS was so fried and I was exhausted from not sleeping so I could barely deadlift.

Luke 3-6-12 Bench

Raw Bench

185 x 3 @ 8

195 x 3 @ 8+

205 x 3 @ 9

210 x 3 @ 10-

215 x 3 @ 10 ties PR

shirted bench

225 x 4 board, 3 board, 2 board

235 x 3 board, 2 board, chest

245 x 3 board, 3 board, 2 board

245 x 3 board, 2 board, chest fail

245 x same

245 x 1 board, 1 board fail

Dumbbell Press

45's x 8

55's x 8 x 2

Pullovers

up to 4 plates + 50 x 10

Reverse Flyes

Weighted Crunch bench

30 x 20 x 3

3/6/12 Bench

Raw Bench:

155 x 3

165 x 3

175 x 3

Shirted Bench:

225 x 3 (3 board, 3 board, two board)

225 x 3 (3 board, 2 board, chest)

235 x 1 (2 board, failed chest)

225 x 1 (straight to chest)

Board work (3 board):

235 x 3

235 x 3

245 x 3

Dumbbell Bench:

65 x 8 x 3

Cable Rows:

130 x 10 x 4

120 x 10 (Too much ingles on the 4th set, dropped down a little)

Weighed in at 146 after this workout. This doesn't make much sense to me given how I haven't been watching how I eat at all, and usually I gain weight pretty easily. The shirt was super loose today, not a good sign. On the other hand, my squat suit is way too tight. I can't afford to lose weight at this point, but getting my suit on and off won't be getting much easier. I don't really know what my best option is when it comes to dealing with gear and I need to figure something out fast.

Max 3/6 Bench

Bench

220x3 2 sets

215x3 3 sets

Paws Bench

185x3 4 sets

Cable Rows

180x5

190x5 4 sets

Ahnold Press

50 4x8

Squat

185 5x5

Squat 3/5/12

Squat:
175 x 3
185 x 3
195 x 3
205 x 3
215 x 3
I definitely started too light on these; my form was much better at 205 and 215. None of these were depth but the 205 set, but 215 got close and would have been easy to I just wasn't trying hard enough.

Heavy Walkouts:
275 x 3
Had to go after this.

3/2/12 Bench Assistance

Forgot to post this workout:

T-Bar Rows:

3 Plates x 5

3 + 10 x 5

3 + 15 x 5

3 + 20 x 5

3 + 25 x 5

Floor Press:

175 x 5 x 2

185 x 3

185 x 2 + 1F

Close-grip Bench:

155 x 3 x 5

Lat-Pulldowns:

160 x 5 x 4

Cable Flyes, Hammer Curls

Luke 3-5-12 Squat

Squat in Peter's 34 super centurion

405 x 3 @ 8-

435 x 3 @ 8

455 x 3 @ 8+ PR

475 x 3 @ 9+ PR previous 1 rep max was 465. These reps were deep enough or at least right at parallel.

Heavy Walkouts for 10 seconds

515 x 1

555 x 1 PR

585 x 1 PR felt like my head was gonna pop at first, but then felt fine

Black Band Resisted SSB squat

155 x 5

205 x 5

245 x 5 x 2 @ 10

Hamstring Curls

150 x 12 x 2

170 x 3

superset with foam roller transversus

hyperextensions

BW x until I got bored

3/5/12 Squats

Squat:

405x3

425x3

435x3

Just three sets. Every rep was high. After taking 45 minutes to put the suit on and 1 hour and a half raking it off this is all I got done.

Voluminous

Squat
275 x 5 x 5

Bench
175 x 5
185 x 5 x 4

Never really sure if I get better at assistance work or my form just gets worse

Max Effort 3-Board Bench. Sat. 3/03.

Max Effort 3-Board Bench 3x1
165 (@8), 175 (@10-), 180 (@10-)-> P.R.!!

Decline Bench 2x5
155 (@8), 165 (@10)
-> stopped early because my upper left pec (under collar bone) tightened up during the middle of the 2nd set. I probably should have stopped mid-rep but I finished the set since the pain was not piercing. I hope this wasn't a strain. It just felt "off" during the rest of the workout and I still feel it 10 hours later as I'm typing this.

Seated Row Machine 3x8
115 (@10-), 115 (@10-), 115 (@10-)

Iso-Lateral High Row Machine 3x8
-> all w/ 2pes (@10)

Shrug Machine (facing in)
2pes x40, 2p+10lb.es x40, 2p+10lb.es x30+(3 more reps each with an 8-second hold)

Bicep Curls (open grip)
60bb x5, 60bb x6, 20dbs x10, 20dbs x10

**** WEIGH-IN: 137 LBS BODY WEIGHT --> I am lean & mean right now haha!! (this is 8lbes less than what I was weighing in at consistently at the end of fall quarter, which was my PR bodyweight of 145 lbs) ****

Bench Assist. 3/2/12

T-bar Rows:
90 x 5
115 x 5
100 x 5
105 x 5
115 x 5

Floor Press:
75 x 5 (too easy)
85 x 5 (also seemed easy so went for quarters twice but couldn't get it)
85 x 3
85 x 3

Close-grip Bench:
75 x 3 x 5

Lat pulldowns, Cable Flys

Deadlift 3/1/12

Deadlift:
225 x 5
245 x 2 (1,f,1,f,f)
Thanks to some coaching from Kevin and Ro (and Ro's tip from Misael) I FINALLY "get" the suit. The 225 was way easy, and I failed on some of the 245s just at the top of lockout and not keeping the momentum, but I am way more excited to pull in the suit now :D!

Good Mornings:
145 x 5
155 x 5
165 x 5

Anderson Squat:
95 x 5 x 3
Brutal!

GHRs, Box Jumps

Max Effort Band-Lightened Squat. Fri. 3/02.

Max Effort Band-Lightened Squat 3x1 (belted)
-> w/ the minis (reds)
245 (@8+), 265 (@9+), 275 (@10)->P.R.!!

Good Mornings 3x5
135 (@8), 155 (@10), 155 (@10)

**** (had to leave gym early) ****

Max Effort 2-Board Bench. Sat. 2/25.

Max Effot 2-Board Bench 3x1
165 (@8+), 170 (@9), 175 (@9+/10-)

Decline Bench 4x5
155 (@8), 165 (@10), 155 (@9), 155 (@9)

Dynamic Effort Bench 6x3
-> all w/ 95 lbs

MTS Seated Row Machine 4x8
-> w/ seat all the way up to emphasize the middle back)
60lb.es. x8 (@10-), 60lb.es. x8 (@10-), 60lb.es. x8 (@10), 60lb.es. x8 (@10)

Shrug Machine (facing in)
2.5pes x25, 2p+35lb.es x20, 20+10lb.es x30

Iso-Lateral Front Lat Pulldown Machine 3x11
-> all w/ 1p+10lb.es (@8)

Db Bicep Curls (open) 3x9
-> all w/ 22.5dbs (@10)

Romanian High Chair Core Leg Raises 3x12
-> all w/ 5db

Luke 3-2-12 Bench Assist

T-bar Rows

up to 4 plates + 25 x 5

Floor Press

205 x 5 forgot to warm up so this sucked. stupid.

205 x 5

215 x 3

225 x 2 + fail. I was pretty tired today from going to bed a 6:30. I should be able to get this weight.

Elbow was irritated from tuesday so I skipped close grip bench

Lat Pulldown

200 x 8 x 3

Cable Flys

GHR abs

BW x 10 x 3

superset with hammer curls

35's x 10 x 2

30's x 10

Luke 3-1-12 Deadlift

Deadlift in super centurion size 36

385 x 5 @ 8

425 x 5 @ 9+

I was feeling kinda beat up still from the 5x5 squats, so I am very happy with the 425 x 5. It was a lot cleaner than the 435 x 5 I did last time.

Good Mornings

225 x 5

255 x 5

285 x 5

315 x 5

forgot to do Anderson squats, plus I got kicked off the rack by a personal trainer

Weighted GHR's

10 x 10

25 x 6

35 x 7, 8

Floor Sweeper Abs

3/1/12 Deadlift

Deadlift:

405 x 5 @9- Didn't feel too heavy, but I squatted on Tuesday and today felt like I might pull my groin or something if I did another hard set.

Good Mornings:

225 x 5

275 x 5

285 x 5

Anderson Squats:

225 x 5

265 x 5

275 x 5

GHRs, Box Jumps.