Fund. prep. Stage 1

P. Sn. 67/6 78/4 88/2 x 3
Sn. Pull 100/4 x 2 110/2 x 4
Jerk 95/3 x 4
Front Squat 95/4 127/3 x 4
BTN Press 52 x 4, 55 x 4, 57 x 4 59 x 2

Bench

5/24/09

Bench

195 x 5

195 x 5

195 x 5

195 x 5

205 x 5 (PR -- pre-powerlifting 175 x 5)

Decline Bench

195 x 5

200 x 5 (the weight was loaded unevenly but I didn't notice until the 4th rep)

215 x 3

225 x 3 (PR -- pre-powerlifting 185 x 3)

Parallel Grip Skull Crushers

65 x 8

65 x 8

75 x 8

75 x 5

Pullups Superset Shoulder Shrugs

Forgotten bench

showed up late, had to skip ending sets
Bench:
2 second pause
275 x 5, 2 sets

Decline Bench:
275 x 5
295 x 5
315 x 4 + 1 fail
335 x 1 + 1 fail
325 x 3

Military Press:
(originally going to skull cruzhers, but tricep tendon is still irritated)
135 x 10
185 x 5
195 x 4
135 x 10

Pull ups:
bw x 31 (HI BRENT)
bw x 24
bw x 19

Shrugs:
405 x 20
495 x 8 + 8 (knurling sucks on the wooden bars)
455 x 15

beNch Trening

Bench Press:
275 X 2
295 X 2
275 X 4

Incline Bench Press:
225 X 5
225 X 5
205 X 8
135 X 23

Standing Overhead Press
Skullcrushers
Rear Delt Machine
Side Lateral Raises
Cable Pressdowns
Abs

Highland Games

Hey, so I guess the UCLA representation is Dave, Gary, Phil, and myself. What time do we need to be there is the morning to check in and stuff? It says the whole fair starts at 9, so is that it?

Pull

Starting the triples phase of the program. Used the Inzer Fusion with straps down.
Deadlift:
474 X 3

Dumbbell Rows:
worked up to 125s X 20 (each arm w/straps)
really tiring doing these for reps

Pullups:
BW X 30
BW X 28
BW X 20
BW X 22
100 reps total

Bent Over Rows
EZ Bar Curls
Dumbbell Curls

Press

Overhead Press: 95x5
105x5
120x5, 5

Pull-up: 10, 8, 5

Dip: 12, 10, 7

Chin-up: 9, 4

Well, I took Phil's advice and did only these exercises. The result? A damn good workout. I think with the addition of Bench, this would make a pretty good DE day.

Deadlift

Deadlift
warmup
(belt on)
369 x 1 + 1 fail right above the knees PR
I got a little ambitious with the weight selection.

Back raises
BW x 50, 50, 50

Deadlifts

5/21/09

Deadlifts

worked up to

375 x 1 + 2 fail (PR)

first rep was fast and felt easy

Speed Pulls

band-resisted with reds

155 x 3

205 x 3

245 x 3

Good Mornings

185 x 6

225 x 6

225 x 6

Band-Resisted GHR Abs superset Medicine Ball

Leggs

Low-pin Zerchers:
Dropped these so I was about at parallel with a wide stance. This is about 4" below where I would set up for a sumo.

275 x 7
315 x 7
365 x 1
315 x 5, 4 sets

365 was much harder than I expected. Things felt much easier at the end, so perhaps it was just getting used to the positioning.

Speed pulls:
155 x 3,
205 x 3
245 x 3, 5 sets

Kept it light for recovery

Good Mornings:
135 x 10
225 x 6

Right hamstring has been bothering me for a week, but got really aggravated on these, so I stopped. The good news is that the lower back feels fine.

Did a quick circuit of free-motion calf extensions, adductors and abductors for groin stretching.

Finished with band-resisted GHR abs + ball toss.

LAST TWO WORKOUTS

▼ 1. 5/21/09 - Thu - SHEIKO #26

Weight: 210. At Wooden, so this is 'official' weight. This was after a workout that I drank a lot of water at.

• Squat 135x5x4, 225x3 (50), 275x3x2 (60), 325x2x3 (70)

• Bench 155x3 (50), 180x3x2 (60), 210x2x3 (70)

▼ 2. 5/20/09 - Wed - CARDIO

• Cardio - bike 45 mins

Proper way to miss a squat

http://weightliftingexchange.com/index.php?option=com_smf&Itemid=39&topic=5416.0

KATANA Trening

Still having some trouble getting lighter weights to touch.

Shirted Bench:
295 X 2 (shirt seater)
325 X 2 (~3 board)
350 X 1 (~2 board)
355 X 1 (1-2 inches from chest)
365 X 1 (touch and go off chest)
I had to sacrifice my form and break my wrist a bit at ~1 inch from my chest in order to get the 365 to touch.

Flat Dumbbell Press:
80s X 10
90s X 8
100s X 8
110s X 7

Raw 4 Board Press:
275 X 6
295 X 8
295 X 9

Cable Pressdowns
Rolling Dumbbell Extensions
Plate Raises
Band Pull Aparts

RE Bench

My pecs were painfully sore right where they insert into the sternum. Maybe this is from the pull-overs? I haven't experienced soreness there like I did today.

Bench:
2 second pause
255 x 8
245 x 8, 2 sets

Foam-rolled Bench:
1 second pause
315 x 5
335 x 5
345 x 5
365 x 5 (no pause)

Floor Press:
245 x 5 (too light; my fault)
255 x 5
265 x 4
245 x 7

I seem to just hit a wall on these at some point. Rep x will be easy, but x+1 will be impossible.

Front Deltoid Raises:
db x reps per arm
35 x 8
40 x 8
45 x 6
50 x 6

Bench

Bench (2 second pause)
135 x 8, 8, 8
Felt drained and hungry after these and started craving for a chicken sandwich.

Foam press
175 x 5
185 x 4 + 1fail
175 x 3 + 1fail
165 x 5

Floor press
165 x 5, 4, 4

Laterals
20s x 12, 12, 12

Pushdowns
110 x 20, 15, 15

Bench

5/20/09

Bench

2 second pause each rep

155 x 8

165 x 8

175 x 8

Bench off Foam Roller

195 x 5

205 x 5

215 x 5

225 x 4

Floor Press

185 x 5

195 x 5

195 x 4

Side Raises superset Front Raises

20 x 8

20 x 8

27.5 x 4

27.5 x 4

DE Squat - Advanced Technology

So before my box squats, I was re-locating one of the plyo boxes. I was stopped by a Wooden trainer who asked me where I was going with the box. I replied "to the squat racks to do box squats" and started to walk away. He ran after me, and proceeded to tell me that rearranging the equipment was not allowed (turns out he was the manager -John?). I argued with him for a bit and he backed down provided that this was the last time. He also said that "they would get right on finding the wood box" that dissappeared from the gym. BS.

Box Squat: 165x2x10
185x2
205x2
225x2
245x2 PR

Sumo DL (a bit rusty on these): 275x3
295x1x6

Seated GM: 135x8
155x8, 8

Week B #2

Gear:
NOne / no belt

Shoulder-Stance Back Squat:
275 x 5/5/5

Conventional Deadlift:
365 x 5/5/5

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

Chin-ups:
BW x 6/5/5

Nice and easy session. Had to deadlift since my mid-back is sore as hell right now, and that's where all the power clean pull comes from. In general, need to stop beating myself up so much.

Upper Back

Wide grip lat pulldowns
190 x 8
200 x 8
210 x 6

Cable rows
170 x 8, 8, 8, 8

Dumbbell shrugs - haven't done these in a while
95s x 30, 20, 20

Rear delt machine
130 x 10, 10, 10

SHEIKO #25

Weight: 207 (after lifting, before cardio, hydrated). Time: 1:30.

  Took my time with everything today since I was stuck at gym for a while waiting for a ride back home.

• Bench 45x5x2, 150x3 (50), 180x3x2 (60), 210x2x2 (70), 225x1x4 (75)

Arch pinches my back bad.

▼ Deadlift 135x5x3, 225x3, 275x3 (50), 335x3x2 (60), 385x2x4 (70)

Took lots of time to foam roll and stretch, etc. Forgot my belt also, but it wasn't a big deal. Also had no chalk, who cares.

• Foam rolling

• Cardio - bike 140-150 bpm x 25 mins

Watched Laker game. Go Lakers.

kcab

Latt Pull Downn:
250 x 10
295 x 8, 8, 7, 9

Pull Overs:
250 x 10
295 x 10
340 x 6, 5

Reverse Flyes:
205 x 10
250 x 10
280 x 8
295 x 6

Standing Curl:
w/ cambered barr

100 x 10
130 x 10
150 x 5
130 x 8

Finished with some cable abs. Lower back feels 95% on theses, which is a good improvement.

ME Press

Was a little stir-crazy this afternoon, so I decided to go and lift early.

Push Press: 132x3
142x3
155x1, 1
165x1 PR

Seated Overhead Pin Press (eye level): 135x3x5 <-- This is my sticking point

Pull-up: 8, 8 ; Chin-up: 6, 5

Cable Row: 150x12, 12

Pushup/GHR Abs (45lbs) Superset: 20/10, 20/10

A good workout today. The last time I did push presses, I failed at 145, so good progress. All of the push presses were power cleaned (although it looked more like a continental) from the floor to get a little extra back work in there.

Squat

Squat
205 x 5, 5, 5

Pause Squats (5 second count)
175 x 2
175 x 1 + 1 fail

Power Cleans
129 x 5
149 x 5
159 x 4
169 x 3

Standing Abs
100 x 10, 10
110 x 10

squat trening

5 weeks of training left before the AAU meet. time to quit dicking around.

I'm doing a squat program similar to my deadlift program that calls for a progressively heavier triple each week, let's hope it works just as well.

Squat (straps down, no wraps):
391 X 3

S-S Low Box Squats (RAW):
245 X 4
275 X 4
295 X 3
295 X 3
315 X 2
265 X 8

Hamstring Curls
Calves on Leg Press

Dragged 70lbs of chain around the block:
1 time backwards
1 time forwards

LAST TWO CARDIO DAYS

▼ 1. 5/18/09 - Mon - CARDIO/FLEXIBILITY

Weight: 206. Time: 0:40.

  This weight is after a workout according to the scale in the gym. My home scale says 204, and according to that scale I was 199 this morning (hydration cycle has started to kick in -- 204 yesterday morning and 204 after today's breakfast). So I should be able to easily make weight and I'm going to make sure I get enough to eat this whole week. I'll be using Wooden's scale to make sure I hit 198 on Sat morning before weigh-in.

• Cardio - bike 30 mins

• Flexibility - calves on leg press, hamstrings, seated groin, hip flexors

• Foam roll - back

• Ice knees

▼ 2. 5/17/09 - Sun - CARDIO/FLEXIBILITY

Weight: ?? (no reliable scale). Time: 0:40.

  Back home in LA ...

• Cardio - bike 30 mins

• Flexibility - calves on leg press, hamstrings, seated groin, hip flexors

• Foam roll - back

Last 3 workouts

5-14(?)

P. Sn. 72/3 85/3 x 3
Snatch 78/3 90/2 x 2 102/1,1, 105-miss
Sn. Pull 90/5 102/3 x 2
BTN Press 50x5 55x5 50x5


5-16

C&J 95/1+2 110/1 x 2 125/1 x 3 missed the second jerk
Back squat 160/2?

5-18

P. Sn. Ab. Kn. 80/3 x 4
Snatch 80/2 90/2 x 5 missed the second snatch of the first rep
Back squat 140/2 150/2 160/2 x 4
BTN Press 52 x 5 55 x 5,4,2

Solo Effort Squat

No one else showed up today? Pretty unexpected...

Squat:
warmed up slowwww. 135 x 10, 185 x 10, 225 x 10, 275 x 10
315 x 10, 4 sets

Wooden was ruthlessly humid and my legs were so pumped i felt pretty nauseous. Actually it might have been the food as well. My pre-workout, at-school dinners have been making me feel pretty nasty lately.

The squats themselves were so-so. My form has suffered from not squatting for 2 months. I am also self conscious about hitting the hole like I'm used to which is throwing off my explosion at the bottom. The weights still felt light, but I need to improve.

Front Squats:
225 x 5
245 x 6, 5
185 x 10

Decided to go light to help my knee recover and to avoid having the FSH push my abs and cause me to boot all over.

High Pulls:
235 x 3
205 x 5, 3 sets

Finished with repeated sets til failure of hyperextensions. Just trying to get some blood in my lower back in case I messed it up again today. Also did some transversus. Another guy wanted to try them out, which was fun. He got the movement right away but he was sucking wind pretty hard after each set. I think it's a good exercise, especially if you're not used to it.

Week B #1

Gear:
Belt (squat)

Shoulder-Stance Back Squat:
365 x 1
385 x 3
365 x 4/4/4

Medium-Grip Bench Press:
325 x 1
335 x 1/1/1
305 x 4

Stiff-Leg Deadlifts w/ Quarter Plates:
355 x 3/3

Standing Overhead Press:
195 x 5/5/5

This sucked complete ass. Sleep has been screwed up and I drove 12 hours over the weekend. Started bad and got worse. Oh wells.

ME Squat

My upper back was tired from yesterday and post-flu weakness lingers on...

Front Squat: 185x3
205x1
225xFailx2
185x4, 4, 3

GM: 155x10, 10, 10

Decline Abs: 70x10, 10

bench trening

Narrow Grip Bench Press:
275 X 4
275 X 3
275 X 4 (4th was a grinder)

Incline Dumbbell Press:
80s X 8
90s X 8
100s X 8
100s X 5

Decline Bench Press:
225 X 10 (regular grip)
225 X 10 (wide grip)
Thought I was a bodybuilder but then realized I wasn't.

Arnold Dumbbell Press
Incline Skullcrushers
Cable Pressdowns

Bench Evaluation

5/16/09

I had to evaluate my bench press strength and endurance for Phy Sci 5...

One Rep Max

115 x 5

135 x 4

175 x 3

195 x 2

215 x 1

225 x 1

235 x 0 not sure why I failed this one, next set felt easy

235 x 1 tied previous PR

245 x 0 x 2 fail

Here are the somewhat arbitrary strength (1 RM) ratios (bench weight to body weight) for a 20-29 year-old:

Excellent > 1.26; Good 1.17-1.25; Average 0.97-1.16; Fair 0.88-0.96; Poor <0.87

Mine: 1.47

Endurance Test

185 x 8 (80% of 1 RM) (possibly PR)

Again somewhat arbitrary ratings for muscular endurance:

Good: >= 10 reps; Fair: 7-9 reps; Poor <= 6 reps

Overall not terrible numbers -- somewhat disappointed that my max didn't go up, but I think the endurance test set was a PR.

Band-Lightened Bench

red bands

225 x 4

Arnold Press superset Shoulder Shrugs superset Seated Rows

45 x 6 x 2 180 x 12 x 2 160 x 8 x 2

SE Bench

Bench:
no pause
275 x 1
315 x 1
335 x fail
325 x 1

Not sure what happened. 315/325 felt easy. I think I just gave up too soon on the 335. Not really in a great lifting mood today.

Band-lightened bench:
purples
315 x 5 (easy)
365 x 4
bands were too uneven (stretching?), switched to pinks
315 x 5 (pause on 1-3)
315 x 4 (pause on 1-2)
315 x 5 (no pause)

got stuck on the second set of pinks. Right arm feels like it's consistently dragging with the bands. I need to video tape to see if I'm doing this normally and the bands are just highlighting the imbalance.


Finished with a super set of:
seated rows, stack x 10, 4 sets
Arnold press: 75 x 8, 80 x 8, 85 x 5, 6
Shrugs: 4 sets of whatever

and then some weighted GHR abs. Not really pleased with my work out today.

Press

Standing Overhead Press: 110x4, 4, 4
120x2, 2, 2
132x1, 1

Ez-Bar Push Press: 95x5
105x5
115x5, 5

BB Row: 155x10x4
185x5, 5

Rev. Grip Bench: 135x10, 10

Parallel Bar Curls: 20's x 12, 12

HS Shrugs: 3px20, 20
4px12

GHR Abs: 45x10, 10

Well, my elbow is still jacked up but I am not sick anymore. I have lost some weight, which I will need to gain back pronto. Since overhead pressing (seated or standing) does not hurt my elbow, I will be doing a lot of that for the next few weeks. Dave recommended no triceps isolation to try and let the muscle heal. It should get plenty of work from the presses. I think on Wednesdays I will do Seated Pressing and on Saturday I will do Standing Pressing along with the usual lats/traps/arms exercises (the ones that don't aggravate it). Hopefully when I go back to benching again, all of this work will have a positive carryover.

LAST THREE WORKOUTS

▼ 1. 5/16/09 - Sat - SHEIKO #24

Weight: 206. Time: 1:15. This weight is a little misleading, as I was fairly dehydrated. I was back to 208 after the workout.

  Really starting to deload now. Easiest workout ever.

• Squat 45x5, 135x5x4, 225x3 (50), 275x3x2 (60), 325x2x2 (70), 345x2x3 (75)

• Bench 155x3 (50), 180x3 (60), 210x3x2 (70), 225x2x4 (75)

▼ 2. 5/15/09 - Fri - CARDIO/FLEXIBILITY

• Stretching - gastroc, soleus, hamstrings, lower back, seated groin, hip flexors

• Cardio - bike 40 mins

▼ 3. 5/14/09 - Thu - SHEIKO #23

• Bench 155x3 (50), 180x3 (60), 210x3x2 (70), 240x2x5 (80)

• Dips BWx8x4

• Deadlift 135x5x5, 225x3, 275x3 (50), 335x3x2 (60), 385x3 (70), add suit, 420x3 

(70), 450x2x5 (75)

Last day in suit. Reset fully between reps, seems to make lower back do better. Still using overhand grip until putting on suit.

• Good mornings 135x5x4

Deadlift Trening

I started the Ed Coan program last week after resetting my max at 551. For this cycle, I'm going to add my gear.
Deadlift (last week):
429 X 5 w/straps down

Deadlift (today):
451 X 5 w/straps down

Dumbbell Rows:
80s X 10 (each arm)
95s X 10
110s X 10
125s X 10
140s X 10
150s X 10

Weighted Pull Ups
GHR
Biceps

Deadlifts

5/15/09

Deadlifts

worked up to

349 x 3 (slight hitch on last rep)

Zerchers off pins

225 x 5

225 x 5

245 x 5

245 x 5

Seated Good Mornings

135 x 7 x 4

Ball Twists

3 sets

Pretty Amazing

All-time Raw Powerlifting Records. Great to see how everyone stacks up. It also underscores what a goddamn beast John Kuc was (especially because he was supposedly drug free and over 6 feet in height @ 242).

Week C #2

Gear:
None / no belt

Shoulder-Stance Back Squat:
325 x 5/5/5

Standing Overhead Press:
221 x 4/4/3

Power Cleans:
221 x 3/3/3 (easy-peasy)

Dips:
BW+70 x 8/7 (left hand started cramping)

SO HUNGRY during this. Went to In-N-Out immediately after and got a 4x4.

SELECT workout_title FROM day WHERE lift = 'zercher';

Zercher:
Middle pin.

405 x 5
495 x 5
545 x 2 (ughh)
495 x 5, 3 sets

These nearly cramp my pecs up. It's a weird feeling.

Finished with standing hamstring curls, seated good mornings, stretching and ball twist abs.

Deadlift

Deadlift
warmup
(belt on)
359 x 3 PR -hitched the 2nd rep and megahitched the 3rd
I felt dehydrated and tired when I started warming up but somehow I still got the weight up.

Stiff legged deads
175 x 8
195 x 8
207 x 8, 8

GHR abs
BW x 20, 20, 20, 20

bench trening

Threw on the shirt to work on breaking the sucker in more and to stay in the groove.

Bench Press:
295 X 2 (shirt seater)
325 X 2 (~.5 inch away from 3 board)
335 X 1 (~1 inch away from 2 board)
350 X 2 (~1 inch away from 1 board)
365 X 1 (~.5 inch away from 1 board)
365 X 1 (touch off 1 board)
All reps were speedy. I am hoping to open somewhere around 353lb for the next meet. Still got a lot of work to do breaking this thing in.

Bench Press off Foam Roller w/140lbs of Chains:
185 X 5
205 X 5
225 X 4
205 X 8

Standing Overhead Press
Barbell Skullcrushers off Floor
Weighted Dips for Reps
Front Lateral Raises
Cable Triceps

This guy offered Spencer $50 to drag the 140lbs of chains up the street, down our back alley, and back to the gym without stopping. Spencer did it, but said it was one of the hardest things he has done.

Bench

Standing overhead press
135 x 1
145 x fail x 2
140 x fail
135 x 1
140 x 1

Close grip bench (2 second pause)
135 x 5
145 x 5
155 x 3 + 2 fails
145 x 3 + 1 fail

Machine pec flyes
130 x 12
145 x 10, 10, 10

Flat dumbbell press
50s x 10
55s x 6
50s x 7, 6

Two major points to help my bench press:
1) Get better at dumbbell presses.
2) Grow a thick mustache.

Bench

5/13/09

Military Press

worked up to

135 x 1 (PR)

145 x fail

140 x fail

135 x 1

Close-Grip Bench

2 second pause each rep

155 x 5

165 x 5

175 x 3 + 2 fail

165 x 5

One Arm Tricep Extension

22.5 x 8 x 4

Dumbbell Bench

65 x 5

70 x 5

75 x 5

previous PR 75 x 0

80 x 5

85 x 1 + 1 fail

got some leg drive into it for the next set

85 x 5

90 x 2 + 1 fail

ME Standing Press

Standing Press:
155 x 3
185 x 1
195 x 1
205 x 1
215 x 2
205 x 1, 5 sets

Apparently, the elite is 218. Should've used the 2.5s and just gotten it over with.

Also, I feel like I'm going to pass out from these as soon as I set the weight down. Is that normal?

Close-grip Bench:
2-second pause

225 x 5
235 x 5
225 x 5, 2 sets

Cable Triceps:
Right elbow tendon was feeling irritated, so tried to use the cable. (did it on the lat pull down station, so it's the actual weight)

100 x 10
110 x 10

Still felt it mildly, so switched to flyes.
Machine Flyes:
Douchie LaRue was taking 2 minutes per set with like 150, which pissed me off.
stack x 15
stack x 12

Dumbbell Bench:
95s x 10, 7, 8, 8

Pretty exhausted by these. Haven't been taking any creatine lately, which maybe is why.

Bench Accessory

DB Bench (neutral): 70x10, 10, 10
80x8 PR

Lat Pulldown: 140x10
150x10
180x5, 5, 5, 5, 5

Military Press: 95x10, 10 PR

Barbell Shrugs: 225x8
275x8, 8, 8

Cable Rows: 140x15, 15, 15

Parallel Bar Skull Crushers: 10'sx20
15'sx20, 10, 8

Sandbag GPP

My elbow still kinda hurts, and to top that off I have been having digestive issues this week. The good thing is that the military presses, high rep extensions, cable rows, and shrugs don't really hurt, so I will keep doing more of these.

Upper Back

31 minute workout:

Wide grip pullups
BW x 16, 13, 9, 9

Dumbbell rows
95 x 10, 8, 8

Smith machine shrugs (thumbless)
270 x 15, 15, 15

USAPL CA Games

So the USAPL is running powerlifting at the California Games. I think I'm going to do this meet instead of the AAU Vista meet (and the USPF Sept. meet). Seems more legit, and I don't feel like wasting another $80 for USPF/AAU membership cards. Gary's in.

Week C #1

Gear:
None / no belt

Shoulder-Stance Back Squat:
355 x 4
335 x 5
315 x 5

Medium-Grip Bench Press:
305 x 5 (ludicrously easy)
295 x 5
275 x 5

Stiff-Leg DLs w/ Quarter Plates:
355 x 5

Standing Overhead Press:
199 x 5/5

So lower back was still tired, but everything else felt great. Should be back in the saddle on Monday.

GPP

5/12/09

8 x 100m

30lb sandbags each arm

5 sets of stadiums

30lb sandbags each arm

4 Sets of Pullups

4 x 100m

30lb sandbags each arm

And yes, Alex did come back with a watermelon (16 lbs).

GPP

went to the track. Ran 8 x 100m with 30lbs of sandbags in each arm. Pretty decent workout after a few trips. Then we did 5 sets of stairs. Then 4 x 100m with the sandbags again. Knee felt good until the last set of stairs, then it became irritated when I put my heel down first. Ice + vitamin-I tonight.

SHEIKO #22

Weight: 210 (this was after gym, not in the morning...but still worrisome). Time: 2:00.

  Felt better today but still not 110%.

• Squat 135x5x4, 225x3 (50), 275x3 (60), 325x3x2 (70), 370x2x5 (80)

Felt pretty good about these. As in they felt easy and pain-free.

• Bench 155x3 (50), 180x3 (60), 210x3x2 (70), 240x2x3 (80), 255x1x3 (85)

Got a shot in my arm today so it feels a little weird. But bench went well.

• Dips BWx8x4

5-11, 5-12

5-11
Power clean 100/2 x 3
Cl. pull + clean 100/2+1
C&J 100/1+2 x 2

Tried to clean and jerk 115 and failed. Decided to call it quits.

5-12
Finished the workout:

Clean and jerk 115 - 1,miss,miss,1,1
Jerk 100/3 105/2+miss
Clean pull ab. kn. 123/4 135/2 x 2 150/2 150/1 x 2

Came back tonight and did:

Back squat 405 - 2+miss,1+miss,1+miss,miss

Disappointed in these workouts. I think the 170 5x5 must've got me harder than I thought, plus the BTN jerks on Saturday also must've messed me up. I'm going to keep the weight I do at 184 and just build up to 4x4 by the end of the cycle. I'll be quite happy with that. I'm not that disappointed since I just realized that 405 is 184, so I'm using more than I should. But I like doing 4 plates.

Squats

squats
315x5

box squats
315x2x2

band-resisted box squats
315x2
335x2
355x2
365x2(slow so I dropped weight)
335x2x2
315x2x4

pause squats
275x2 5 second pause
295x2 5 second pause
315x2 Dave counted and he started in the negatives and went to 5. That tricky bastard

Box jumps and transverse superset
1x6 on the second highest box
2x5-6 on the highest box

Did the stack on transverse twice, tiring
92.5 2 sets of whatever

Squat

Squat
warmup
(belt on)
225 x 5 PR - last 2 reps slow

Pause Squats (5 second count)
165 x 2
175 x 2

Power Cleans
131 x 5
161 x 4
181 x 1 PR
201 x 1 high pull (aka failed power clean)

Standing abs
100 x 10, 10, 10, 10

Squats

5/11/09

Band-Resisted Box Squats

purple bands, 2 reps each set

135, 155, 155, 155, 155, 165, 165, 165, 165, 175 x fail

Pause Squats

5 second reps, 2 reps each set

175, 175, 175

was easier after I moved my stance slightly closer together

Transverse superset Box Jumps

Front Squat Day

Knees are feeling kind of tender these days. I think all the front squatting and lunging is taking its toll. [Insert Bill Starr article link here]

Front Squat:
275 x 5
315 x 5
335 x 5
345 x 5
355 x 5

Nearly passed out after the 355. The front squat harness reallllly digs into the abs as the weight goes up. Great for ab training, horrible for catching your breath.

Powarr Cleans:
165 x 5
195 x 5
223 x FAIL x 4 (could not get it up the last 2" to get under it)
+ 195 x 3 (immediately after)
195 x 3

Finished with box jumps + transversus

ME Squat

Back Squat (raw): 225x3
245x2
275x1
285x1
295x1 PR

Front Squat: 155x3
165x5, 4 (Terence made me laugh), 5

GM: 145x10, 10, 10

GHR Abs: 35x15, 15

and some Calves

The 295 was a big PR, and I am 95% sure that it was depth. I feel like box squatting has really improved my squatting form as the squats felt a lot smoother. I think I may try to incorporate free squatting a bit more.

5-9

P. Cl. Ab. Kn 87/4 102/2 x 3
BTN Jerk 95/2 110/2 x 3 123- 1,2,2,2 125/1 127 - 2 x miss
back squat 140/2 150/2 160/2 Couldn't squat any more than that.

Monday = 405 4 x 4. That will be the most I've ever squatted, x4. Unless I die.

LAST THREE DAYS

▼ 1. 5/10/09 - Sun - CARDIO/FLEXIBILITY

Weight: 208. Time: 1:00.

• Cardio - bike 40 mins

• Flexibility - gastroc, hamstrings, groin

▼ 2. 5/9/09 - Sat -SHEIKO #21

Time: 2:00.

  This day was extremely difficult. I definitely need the rest period before the meet...thankfully, its coming. :)

• Bench 155x3 (50), 180x3 (60), 210x3x2 (70), 240x3x5 (80)

• Squat 45x5, 135x5x4, 225x3 (50), 275x3x2 (60), 325x3x2 (70), 370x3x6 (80)

• Bench 155x4 (50), 180x4 (60), 210x4x4 (70)

• Dumbell bench 50x10x5

• Good morning 135x5x5

▼ 3. 5/8/09 - Fri - CARDIO/FLEXIBILITY

Back felt a little beat up from deads, so I took extra long on the stretching.

• Cardio - bike 40 mins

• Stretching - everything for a long time

Flu Effort Bench

Still sick, but feeling better.

Incline Bench:
185 x 5
225 x 3
245 x 3
265 x 3
275 x 2

Right shoulder felt a little funny, so I stopped.

Arnold Press:
(throwing a little variation in on the shoulder work)
70 x 8
80 x 8
85 x 6
85 x 5

Stability Bench:
65s x 10
65s + 25s x 3 (ughhh)
65s + 15s x 10
65s + 25s x 6

Finished with 4 sets of pull ups and light cable flyes for prehab work.

Bench

5/9/09

Incline Bench

hit triples up to

175 x 3

185 x 2 + 1 fail

175 x 2 + 1 fail

definitely all PR's

Arnold Press

50 x 5

50 x 6

45 x 7

45 x 6

Stability Bench

45lb dumbbells purple bands

5 reps

7 reps

6 reps

45lb dumbbells purple bands + 15lb dumbbells blue bands

2 reps + 1 fail

Flyes superset Pullups

Week B #3: The Walking Dead

Gear:
Belt (squat + pull)
APT Knee Sleeves

Shoulder-Stance Back Squat:
405 x 1
435 x 1/1
415 x 1
405 x 1
365 x 3

Standing Overhead Press:
215 x 4/4/3
235 x 1
185 x 5

Conventional Rack Pull @ Below Knee:
455 x 3
485 x 2
505 x 2
525 x 1

Dips:
BW+45 x 8/8/8

Sleep has been really shitty this week (a sign of over-training). Thankfully, the Rack Pulls went well. Backing the hell off next week and hit it hard in two weeks.

Deadlift

Deadlift
(belt on)
349 x 4 PR - hitched the last rep
263 x 5
I watched the video Dave took on his camera and was pretty disappointed to see how bad the arch in my lower back was (non-existent).

Good mornings
135 x 8
145 x 8
155 x 8
165 x 6
Left knee hurts when I do these.

Back extensions
BW x 75
BW+purple band x 50

GHR abs
2 sets

Deadlifts

5/7/09

Deadlifts

345 x 4 (previous PR 1 rep)

253 x 5 (form set)

Good-Mornings

225 x 5

245 x 5

SHEIKO#20

Weight: ?? Time: 2:40.

  Felt really really exhausted today. Nothing in particular was sore but I just felt tired and weak. Everything turned out alright though, I guess.

• Deadlift to knees 135x5x4, 225x3, 275x3 950), 330x2x2 (60), 355x2x2 (65), 385x1x3 (70)

• Bench 150x3 (50), 180x3 (60), 210x3x2 (70), 240x3x2 (80), 255x2x3 (85)

• Dumbell bench 50x10x5

• Deadlift 135x5x2, 225x3, 275x3 (50), 330x3 (60), 385x3 (70), add suit, 420x3 (70), 480x3x5 (80)

Danny pointed out that the straps weren't tight, and I have to agree that the straps aren't up to par. Its really annoying that after three tailoring the straps still don't fit.

RE Lunges

I feel very sick right now; like weak and achy all over. Probably shouldn't have gone tonight..

Lunges:
275 x 10, 4 sets

Did some light good mornings, then standing hamstring curls.

Hyperextensions
bw x 75
bw + purple x 50

Finished with some GHR abs. I could barely stand upright at the end. I blame Groundhogs Day.

5-7

P. Sn. + OHS 72/2+2 x 2 85/2+2 x 3
Snatch 80/3 x 3 90/2 x 4 missed very first one
Sn. Pull 102/2 x 3 112/2 x 3
Back squat 140/2 150/2 170 - 5, failed opn first rep of 2nd set


came back for:

Back squat 175 - 4+1 rest-paused the last rep. Then I realized I put on 385 (3 plates and a 35) instead of 375 (170kg), so I switched the weight and got:

Back squat 170 - 5,5,3+fail

Not bad. I'm excited for Monday when I get to try 405 4x4.

FREEstyle bench

Bench Press:
255 X 4
270 X 4
270 X 4
270 X 4

Floor Press w/140lb Chains:
chains were not completely off the ground at the top
135 X 3
155 X 3 (2 sets)
175 X 3 (2 sets)

Close Grip Press off Foam w/140lb Chains:
135 X 8
185 X 5 (3 sets)
155 X 10
On these I let the bar sink into the foam and then pressed it out. A bit of Westside action today.

Incline Skullcrushers
Cable Pressdowns
Plate Raises
Rear Delt Shit

I don't know who this is, but he's a badass and his quads are freakin jacked.

Bench

5/6/09

Bench

2 second pause each rep

215 x 2

205 x 2 + 1 semi-fail

195 x 3

175 x 5

175 x 5

last 2 sets too easy

Floor Press

185 x 5

185 x 5

155 x 8

155 x 10

last 2 sets too easy again

Military Press

95 x 6 x 4

feeling progress on these

Cable Tricep Extensions

finished up with high reps, low weight

Bench

Bench (2 second pause)
175 x 2
165 x 3, 3
155 x 5, 4

Floor press
165 x 5
175 x 4
135 x 8 -little too easy
155 x 7

With my floor press being stronger than my bench, the problem with my bench I guess is the first half of the movement off of the chest. I might start doing some dumbbell presses or if anyone else knows exercises that have helped their bench off the chest, I'm all ears.

Standing overhead press
95 x 7, 6, 4, 4

Rope pushdowns
130 x 10
100 x 15, 15

The past 4 weeks I've been resting on Saturdays instead of doing another bench workout and I think this extra recovery time has helped my bench improve slightly.

Bench

Bench:
w/ 2 second pause
295 x 2
285 x 3, 2 sets
275 x 5 (PR from last week somehow)
275 x 3 (going for 5)

Pretty good improvement today. I didn't feel that fresh going in (triceps still sore from saturday), but the benching all felt good. Maybe could have gotten 305 x 2.

Floor Press:
255 x 5
265 x 5
235 x 2 + 7 (bar misloaded at first)
225 x 10

Standing Press:
135 x 8
155 x 5
165 x 5, 2 sets

Thought I had 175 on the last set, but forgot to check.

Finished with some light, high-rep cable triceps for prehab. The right elbow still has a bit of tendonitis, but it's getting better.

Week B #2

Shoulder-Stance Back Squat:
315 x 3/3/3

Power Clean:
235 x 1/1/1/1
225 x 2/1
215 x 2/3

Incline Dumbbell Bench Press:
120s x 4/3/4/3

Dips:
BW x 8/8/8

Well, that's two shitty sessions in a row. I'm officially over-trained. Need to get some sleep and back the hell off next week.

LE (lame effort) Bench

Incline: 155x3 (right elbow a little tender)
165x3
185x3 (more tenderness)
195x1 (flat out pain)

Had to stop these b/c of elbow pain, so I searched for exercises that did not hurt. The neutral grip seems to be fine in terms of pulling/pressing

DB Incline (neutral): 45x20
55x10, 10, 10

Smith Shrug: 3px12
3p+25x12, 12
4px12, 20 PR

Cable Row (neutral close): 120x20
140x15
160x10, 10, 10

Rope Pushdowns: 1/2 stack x 35
Full x 15 (pain on last few)
1/2 x 25

Ez Bar Curl/French Press Superset: 50x20/12, 12/12, 8/12 (just for blood flow)

BICEPS/CARDIO/FLEXIBILITY

Weight: 209. Time: 1:15.

  Weight starting to go in the right direction.

• "Strict" curl 155x1

Following the example set for strict curls by Brent and Dave--that is, not strict at all. I stopped when I realized how stupid it was.

• Cardio - bike 40 mins

• Stretching - gastroc, soleus, hamstrings, seated groin, hip flexors, seated glute, adductors 

on machine

Adductors tight today and everything feels like ass. I think I'm a little overtrained because I haven't been sleeping well either. Good news is back just feels tired, not injured/sore.

Judge Nathan gives me 3 white lights on all curls. (Why not?)

Also, there was some girl doing cardio in a skirt that I saw *taping her laptop* to the elliptical so she could watch a movie hands-free.

Interesting stuff from Lon Kilgore

Interesting stuff on detecting hormone fluctuations without (expensive machines such as) the OmegaWave. For those blanking, the Hormone Fluctation model of training is described in Practical Programming and basically combines alternating intensity/volume weeks while monitoring hormone levels in an effort to disrupt training homeostasis and peak for contest.

In plain English:
If your "power" movement speed (Snatch, Power Clean, Vertical Jump, etc.) is down (assuming you track these things), then you are not in the optimal state for performance. If you are "fast", then probably you are.

Upper Back

5/5/09

Close-Grip Lat Pulldown

180 x 8

180 x 7 x 3

Circuit: Calves, Hammer Curls

Ab Wheel

SHEIKO #19

Weight: 211. Time: 2:15.

  Weight is a serious problem.

  Came in to today feeling like absolute shit (lower back and just overall), so I took a really long warm up and felt OK. Back felt better during squats then it has in a while, but I'm still pretty beat up so this workout kicked my ass.

• Squat 45x5, 135x5x4, 225x3 (50), 275x3x2 (60), 325x3x2 (70), 370x2x4 (80)

Figured out how to really block hard and my back felt OK unracking the weight, which was my main problem. But my blood pressure in my head was crazy and left me with a headache.

• Bench 150x3 950), 180x3 (60), 210x3x2 (70), 240x3x5 (80)

• Dumbell bench 50x10x5

• Squat 255x3 (55), 300x3x2 965), 245x3x4 (75)

Rene said back looked rounded on last set, which is unusual, but I fixed it after the first rep and it was fine.

Upper back/ME calves

Close grip pulldowns
180 x 10
200 x 10
220 x 6
200 x 8

Circuit - 4 sets
Standing calf raises, seated calf raises, that wobbly calf pedal machine, neutral grip pullups, and hammer curls with 40s

Ab wheel

Yesterday and today

5-4

Sn. pull + Sn. 80/3+1 x 2 90/2+1 x 4
BTN Jerk 95/2 x 2 110/2 112/2 115/2 117 - 1+miss, 2
Back squat 140/2 150/2 160/5 x 6 Painful


5-5

Snatch 80/2 90/2 x 2 102 - miss
Sn. Pull Ab. Kn. 102/3 x 3 112/3 x 3

I'm going back tomorrow to finish this. The squats messed me up real bad.

Accessory Work

Low volume day of the once-a-month muscles.

Close Grip Pull Downs:
250 x 10
295 x 9,8,9,9

Calf circuit of standing calf raises, calf raises on leg press, seated calf raises and free motion calf extensions. Each circuit had a set of pull ups til failure and hammer curls (65s x 8, 80s x 8, 90s x 6, 95s x 4 (PR))

Finished with ab wheel.

trening videos

485lb squat

501lb squat

Not sure about the depth on the 485 but IMO the 501 was definitely sunk.

squat trening

Threw on Art's Titan Centurion squat suit. The bottoms feel good, but the straps are a bit loose at the top.

Squat:
straps down, no wraps
319 X 2
363 X 1
straps up, with wraps
407 X 1
451 X 1
485 X 1 (PR for 10 minutes)
501 X 1 (PR)
Depth is close on the 485 but I feel that I sunk the 501 fosho.

Front Squat:
185 X 8
205 X 8
225 X 7
245 X 5

Light Lunges
Leg Extensions

Squats

5/4/09

Squats

185 x 5

185 x 5

195 x 5

195 x 5

Pause Squats

2 reps each 6 seconds

175, 195, 185, 175, 175, 175

Power Cleans

135 x 5

145 x 5

145 x 5

155 x 3

155 x 3

Transverse Superset w/ Box Jumps

Front Squat Day

Front Squats:
225 x 5
275 x 5
315 x 5
335 x 5

Had a weird set up on the first rep of my last set, and though I wasn't going to get any, but I fixed my form and finished it. Not sure what I did wrong though, which is unsettling.

Pause Squats:
225 x 2 @ 6 sec
275 x 2 @ 6 sec
315 x 2 @ 6 sec
335 x 2 @ 6 sec
365 x 1 @ 6 sec

I tried these high bar, which felt ok, I still don't know what to do with my hands; the bar feels all loose up top. The last set didn't feel so great on the lower back (probably too heavy for now), so I stopped

Cleans:
135 x 5
155 x 5
203 x 4

Stopped again because of the back.


Finished with some box jumps (felt surprisingly good?) and transversus.

Week B #1

Gear:
None / no belt

Shoulder-Stance Back Squat:
380 x 1
350 x 3/3
335 x 4/4
315 x 3 (bleh)

Medium-Grip Bench Press:
340 x 1
330 x 2/1
310 x 3/4
295 x 4

Stiff-Leg Deadlifts w/ Quarter Plates:
375 x 4/5/3

Strict Curl:
120 x 1
160 x 1 (Judge Brent approved this)

Man, just tough today. Still hit the weights I wanted, but not quite the reps. Kicked my ass pretty good on Friday. Need to actually back off next week instead of just treating it as an excuse to max out.

ME Lower

Zercher Squat (walked out): 185x3
205x3
225x1
245x1
275x1

Rack Pull (mid shin): 315x5
335x5, 5

GM: 135x10, 10, 10

GHR Abs: 25x15, 15, 10
BWx5

LAST THREE DAYS (+ off day)

▼ 1. 5/4/09 - Sat -CARDIO/FLEXIBILITY

Weight: 210. Time: 1:00.

  I've started dieting fo realz and doing longer cardio. We'll see if it pays off. Or I will be a 220. That would suck really hard.

  Got Deirdre to try the knee wraps. Easiest set of squats ever. She lost all the blood to her calves. It was awesome.

• Cardio - bike ?? bpm x 30 mins

• Flexibility - lower back, gastroc, soleus, hamstrings, seated groin, hip flexors, IT band

• 2. 5/3/09 - Sun - OFF

▼ 3. 5/2/09 - Sat - SHEIKO #18

Time: 1:45? Back didn't feel amazing. It just needs some quality time (~1 week) without any heavy load to heal up fully.

• Squat 230x3 (50), 275x3x2 (60), 320x3x2 (70), 345x2x4 (70)

• Bench 165x3 (55), 195x3x2 (65), 225x3x6 (75)

• Dumbell bench 50x10x5

• Good mornings 135x5x5

Started with 185 but realized there was no point, 135 felt much better on the back.

▼ 4. 5/1/09 - Fri - CARDIO/FLEXIBILITY

• Cardio - bike ?? bpm x 30 mins

• Flexibility - usual

Good Chart

James Smith's modified Prileppin chart.

Squat

IM game tonight so I went early to squat.

Squat
185 x 5
195 x 3
205 x 3
215 x 3
185 x 8

Standing abs
100 x 15
110 x 10, 10, 10

I can't seem to get this right... 5-2

So, instead of doing the workout I planned to do today and flip the prvious workout with Monday since I did the wrong workout last time, I went ahead and did the wrong workout AGAIN. Keep in mind this was yesterday, less than 24 hours after 160 4x6. However, it went rather well so I guess I am un-overtrainable.

Snatch 80/2 x 2 90/2 x 2 102 - 2,1,2,1
I've never snatched anything over like 90 for a double, so this is a pretty damn good start to this phase.

Sn. Pull 112/2 x 4 123/1 x 4 heavy.

BTN Jerk 95/3 110/2 x 3 123- 1,1 125 - miss, miss, 120 - 1, miss 110- 2,3,3
As usualy, not that happy with my jerk, but I have added jerks to every workout (almost) for doubles/triples to keep working strength and technique.

After this I was technically supposed to squat 160 6x2. I got one set of 2. I took the bar out of the rack for the second set and stood there, contemplating, for about 10 seconds. Then I decided to rack it and go home.

The good news about destroying my body with two heavy workouts in a row is that this week will be rather easy.... I already did the hard one. Of course, squats will still bone me.

Espionage Fail

So Greg, Alex, and myself showed up today to go to the powerlifting class only to find that it had been cancelled. And by cancelled, no one had the interest to show up.

So we did some light flexibility/form work for the squat - nothing at all strenuous. Recovery workouts ftw.

bEnch trening

Close Grip Bench Press (this grip isn't that close, just a lot closer than my regular grip):
255 X 5
265 X 5
265 X 6

Incline Dumbbell Press:
75s X 8
85s X 8
90s X 8
95s X 6

Dumbbell Shoulder Press
Side Lateral Raises
Front Raises
Skullcrushers
Cable Pressdowns

Last Wednesday, I attempted 365lb in the Katana off my chest and I ended up touching extremely low, like by my dick. Seriously though, I touched at my belly button, barely above the belt and then somehow pressed it up. I misgrooved on the second try but I'm going to really work the sweet part of the shirt and try to break it in instead of touching so low. Lots of work to do in that thing...

Bench

5/2/09

Ultra-Wide Grip Bench

185 x 3

195 x 3

205 x 3

215 x 2 + 1 fail

Incline Dumbbell

50 x 8

55 x 8

60 x 6

60 x 7

Skullcrushers

70 x 8

70 x 8

80 x 5

80 x 6

Iso-Lateral Front Lat Pulldown

4 plates x 3 sets x 6 reps

Dips

BW x 20

BW x 21

BW x 15

Press

Press: 115x3x8
125x1
135x1
145x1 PR

CG Bench: 165x5
185x5
195x5, 5

BB Row: 155x5x5
165x5x3
185x5

Ez Bar Curl: 90x8 PR
100x4 PR

Dips: 8, 8

Good training today considering I was half-asleep when I got in the gym. I am consistently making PRs with this training method, so that's pretty good. I need to test out my new max bench to see if the Overhead Pressing is actually doing anything for it.

ME Bench

Ultra-wide grip bench:
(no pausing)
225 x 5
275 x 3
295 x 3 (easy)
315 x 2 + 1 fail (almost got it)

Incline dumbbell:
85 x 10
95 x 10, 3 sets

these were a joke. meant to do the barbell, but it was taken.

Skullcruzherz:
120 x 10
140 x 10
150 x 10
170 x 6

Finished with a superset of bodyweight dips til failure + iso-lateral front lat pull downs (machine pull ups; not joking about the name...), and then cable abs.

Not smart, good workout

So, I have all of my workouts written out for the next 2 weeks or so. Today I accidentally chose one that was not todays, but the highest volume workout I have written...Oops. It went ok though. Good squats.

P. Sn. Ab. Kn 72/4 85/4 x 3
P. Cl. Ab. Kn. 95/2 x 4
C&J 95/1+2 110/1 125/miss, 120/miss not happy about this, but I've been pretty messed up this week.

Jerk 112/2 x 2 pretty easy, happy

Cl. Pull 123/2 x 2 135/2 x 3 150/1 x 3 Wow I am a pussy, this was SUPER heavy. Lol

Came back in the evening for:

Back squat 140/2 150/2 160/6 x 4 Pretty easy, only the very last rep was hard. Floored me afterward, actually, but I nailed this.

This Dave's Idea?

UCLA Beginning Powerlifting. If not, FAIL.

Quick Squat Day

Front Squat: 165x2x6
185x1
205x1

SLDL: 198x15
242x12, 12

GHR Abs: 25x15, 15

Only had an hour to train so this was it. May have possibly recruited even more people to the club. I told them to show up Monday night at 7 to check it out.

Week A #3

Gear:
Belt (squat + pull)
APT Knee Sleeves

Shoulder-Stance Back Squat:
425 x 2
415 x 2/2
405 x 2
385 x 3
365 x 5

Standing Overhead Press:
215 x 4/4
205 x 5/4
185 x 5

Conventional Rack Pulls @ Below Knee:
495 x 1/2
505 x 1/1

Rack Pulls went okay, wanted doubles on all of them but just couldn't lock some of them out. This is exactly the right position to train in for me, easily my weakest point in the deadlift.

I would have loved to deadlift

I started with really light sets on deadlifts, but then i went to like 400 and I felt excruciating pain in my lower back, so it was time to lunge.

Lunges
135x8
225x8
275x5(most I've ever tried due to my messed up knees)
295x3
225x9 or 10
225xat least 8


Good mornings (stayed SUPER light because of my back)
135x10
145x10
145x10

Circuit trainig
Pull throughs
band resisted abs
glute ham curls
...and a little bit of random jump roping

Hopefully my lower back will get better so I can actually lift some real weight next week