For Your Viewing Delight

Courtesy of YouTube, How to Spot the Deadlift:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07wU70cM88k&eurl=http://www.wannabebigforums.com/showthread.php?t=117351

SHEIKO WEEK #6; #18

Weight: 209. Time: ??.

• Bench 135x3 (50%), 165x3 (60%), 195x3x2 (70%), 220x3x5 (80%)

Pecs very sore from flies on Wed, did a long warmup.

• Squat 205x3 (50%), 245x3x2 (60%), 290x3x2 (70%), 335x3x6 (80%)

Not easy, but not close to failure. Belt last two sets.

• Bench 135x4 (50%), 165x4 (60%), 195x4x4 (70%)

Set up on power rack feels better with plates under my feet.

• Dumbbell bench 35x10x5

• Good mornings 165x5x5

Danny recommended that I look forward, not up, during squats. He says it helps judge if you are falling forward. Guess Phil isn't completely insane. I will try this after the meet.

Good training video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4e5cuyqjqw&NR=1

There are three parts, all in French, but it's a good illustration of how sport specific exercises are created and used in the training of a shot putter.

3x/Week Raw Training Template

This is basically a compressed version of what I do now. Several details omitted for brevity. Keep in mind that the lifts are chosen to target my weaknesses, yours will vary. No gear. Comments welcome.

Week A:
#1
Shoulder-Stance Back Squat: 3x5
Standing Overhead Press: 4x4
Power Clean: 7x2

#2
Front Squat: 5RM
Close-Grip Bench Press: 3x5
Chin-ups: 4x4

#3
Shoulder-Stance Back Squat: 3x3
Standing Dumbbell Overhead Press: 3x5
Romanian DLs: 3x5

Week B:
#1
Shoulder-Stance Back Squat: 3x5
Wide-Grip Bench Press: 3x3
Power Clean: 5x3

#2
Front Squat: 3RM
Standing Overhead Press: 3x5
Chin-ups: 3x5

#3
Shoulder-Stance Back Squat (Belt): 3x2
Close-grip Bench Press: 3x5
Conventional Deadlift (Belt): 3RM

Week C:
#1
Shoulder-Stance Back Squat: 1RM
Wide-Grip Bench Press: 1RM
Block Pulls: 5RM

#2
Shoulder-Stance Back Squat: 5RM
Standing Overhead Press: 5RM
Power Clean: 3RM

Deadlifts

10/30/08

Deadlifts

(including bar weight)

30kgs + 135lbs x 8

30kgs + 135lbs x 8

30kgs + 185lbs x 6

30kgs + 185lbs x 5

30kgs + 225lbs x 4

30kgs + 275lbs x 1 (not sure why I didn't want to go for a second rep)

Seated Goodmornings

95 x 10 x 2

115 x 8

135 x 6

155 x 6

Glute Ham Raises

4 sets till failure

Band-Resisted Abs

5 sets till failure

Hyperextensions

100 x 2 (no weight)

Leg Raises

4 sets till failure

Hit & Pass w/ Terence

with some of Dave's tips I was really able to get my whole body into this and give Terence a run for his money; but in the end he hit more than me

Deadlift: the sickening

The qualifying paper for the CS Dept. is due in 11 days, and so far my advisor has trashed two versions of it. I think the stress and long/late hours are taking their tolls on my body and mental focus. I also think I'm coming down sick, which normally is a good sign for strength, but today I just felt lifeless and kind of faint.

Deadlifts:
653 x 2 FAILs.

the 573 warmup went up easy. These went up easy too but I could not lock them out. I was very unfocused today.

Seated Goodmornings:
225 x 10
315 x 10
365 x 10
365 x 10

Glute-Ham Raises:
2 sets x failure
2 sets w/ 45 then nothing x failure

Hyperextensions:
78 + 6
50 + 12 + 8 + .. + 9 = 100 reps

Leg Raises:
4 sets

Undeadlift

Deadlift: 275x2
295x1

+Suit & Belt: 335x1
385x2 PR (not too bad, just slow)

Seated GM's: 185x8, 8
225x8, 8

GHR: 8, 8, 8, 8

Back Extensions: 2 sets of 100

Leg Raises: 3 sets

And some biceps to finish. LOL.

As for weight, I am 202. It seems as though excessive eating caused me to lose weight. I like this diet.

ME Lower Body

Gear:
Inzer Max DL (as squat suit)
Metal IPF Viking DL (as deadlift suit)
VS Athletics Shoes
Belt
Titan bad-ass knee wraps

Back Squat:
blahblahblah
473 x 1, straps up w/ belt

It then occurred to us to put on Mike's Titan wraps. These are insane and make my Inzer wraps feel like a gentle caress.

495 x crash, straps up w/ belt + wraps

Analysis: I am completely un-used to squatting in a suit in general, and especially the Max DL. It was pulling me forward, causing me to tilt forward in the hole. This meant that I had to try to good-morning 495 up, which wasn't going to happen.

What this basically means is that I need to remember that wide-stance squatting for competition is pretty different than Shoulder Stance squatting for training. That means for comp:
- use chucks, not VS Athletics
- look forward at ~10' up, not down like I usually do
- sit back more

Will practice this more next week.
In any case, these are going to be my squat attempts: 473/507/518-529, depending on previous attempts

Conventional Deadlift:
385, 5 x 1 (5 singles)
Had to get used to the pull of the suit

451, 2 x 1 (2 singles)
These felt pretty good. I can rip the weight off the floor, but then it slows down above my knees. This suggest some chain/block work after contest. My technique for this had to change as well. The suit pulls me forward, so I had to do the hamstring snap trick (ie you sit back really quickly and pull) to make sure I wasn't rounding over.

Deadlift attempts: 473/507/????

CARDIO/FLEXIBILITY

Time: 1:00. Weight: 211.

▼ Flexibility A

• Hip flexors

• Hamstrings

• Seated groin

• Cardio - bike 130 bpm x 21 mins

▼ Flexibility B

• Gastroc/soleus

• Hip flexors

• Hamstrings

• Adductor on machine

• Seated groin

• Seated glute

• Seated illiotibial

• Dislocates w/ a short bar

Step Class

I went to step class today. I spent more time figuring out the damn moves than working out. I now understand why America is fat and out of shape (just like the instructor). Girls should not be going to these things. Nobody should. They should be listening to me. On a positive note, the classes to inspire me to show up and do cardio because they are hilarious.

Upper Back + Misc

10/29/08

Body Weight Pull Ups

5 sets

Chest Supported Row

with red bands

70 x 8

90 x 7

115 x 6

125 x 6

Freemotion Lat Pull Downs

65 x 7 x 2

65 x 6 x 2

Reverse Flyes

130 x 6 x 4

Incline Curls

25 x until failure x 4

Upper Back + ME Eating

Went in early today and did my stuff. Everything done without chalk b/c the gym staff was doing inspections today or something.

Chest Supported Row: 2 plates + 25x 6
3 plates x 6, 6
3 plates + 25x 5
2 plates x 15

Pull-ups: 5, 3, 3

DB Rows (normal DB): 70x 15/15
80 x 10/10
95 x 15/15

Smith Machine Shrugs: 3 plates x 12
3 plates + 25 x 10, 15


And some biceps work to finish up.

For dinner, some of my friends and I went to a Korean BBQ place on Wilshire. I ate probably close to 5 pounds of meat. Mmmmm......

Quick Upper Back

Gary was showing me shoulder dislocates, then I saw this guy do it with a band. And then I saw this video:



So I thought I would try those today...

Clap Pull Ups:
2.
OH SNAP. These are scary. Although it could just be from doing them in a squat rack at Wooden.
5 claps + ~10 regular
6 claps + ~8 regular
20 regular
12 regular
8 regular

Chest Supported Row:
w/ quadded minis

115 x 10
135 x 10
145 x 6
135 x 8

(superset)
Freemotion Lat Pull Downs:
Used the often-overlooked freemotion lat pull down machine where the handles are free move around and you have to forcibly pull your arms out to make it a pull down

stack x 10
stack x 10
stack x 9
stack x 8

Reverse Flyes:
w/ pause at top
175 x 10
205 x 10
190 x 8

Incline Curls:
35 x 10
40 x 10
40 x 8
30 x 12

We finished the workout with 7 of us in under an hour too. sweet.

SHEIKO WEEK #6; #17

Time: 1:15. Weight: 210.

• Deadlift to knees 260x3 (50%), 315x2x2 (60%), 340x2x2 (65%), 365x1x3 (70%)

• Bench 135x3 (50%), 165x3 (60%), 195x3x2 (70%), 225x3x2 (80%), 235x2x3 (85%)

• Flies 30x10x5

• Deadlift 260x3 (50%), 315x3 (60%), 365x3x2 (70%), 415x3x5 (80%)

Belt last one.

10-29

Hang Power snatch bel. kn. 70/4 81/2 x 5 (75%)
Snatch 77/2 86/2 x 2 97/1 x 6 (90%) missed 3 got 3
So I work out at Crossfit Newport Beach, and today they were having this nutrition thing at 6, which meant that I had 20 minutes to work out there. I was pretty rushed which is why I think I missed those three. They felt really light. I missed 2 behind, which is an improvement.

Snatch pull below knee 86/4 x 2 97/3 x 2 108/2 x 3
BTN Press 3 x 6 x 95lb
Back Squat 102/4 152/5 x 3 (80%)
Good mornings 4 x 3 185, 205, 205, 205
Vertical jump holding the bar in a snatch grip 55/5 x 4 (50%)

Overall good workout, the weights feel light.

So I'll explain what I'm doing for the next 8 weeks. I'm repeating The last preparatory period and the competition period right after it for class II, and at the scheduled competition day I'm going to test (obviously). I should definitely hit class I this time so that I can move up to the class I program. I need to get more flexible anyway before I transition to a stage where I'm doing more assistance lifts and fewer classical lifts. I'm also midifying the program to do more pressing (I'll be pressing almost every workout) because my upper body strength is not very good. It doesn't need to be amazing but I think it'll help.

Yesterday and Today

Yesterday:
Power snatch 65/6 75/4 86/2 x 3 (80%)
Sn. pull 97/4 x 2 108/2 x 4 (100%)
Drop Snatch 75/2 x 3 86/2 x 3 (80%)
Front Squat 95/4 127/3 x 4 (75%)
BTN Press + OHS 115 x 3+3 115Lb Did all I could from dead stop on the shoulders
Stretching: Seated groin, standing hamstring, leg propped, seated hamstring, shoulder dislocate, Snatch starting position

Today:
Pump and Sculpt class!
Basically aerobics with weights. Actually, not that bad for me since I never do any kind of cardio. I figured looking at cute girls...pump and scult themselves would be good enough motivation. The instructor was a little disappointing though.
Stretched afterward.

Bench

Banded bench (green): 135x3x9

Decline bench:165x8
185x8
205x4

Skull Crushers: 80x 8, 8, 10, 10
90x6

3 sets of weighted push-ups

It turns out that Dean and I have similar goals for this meet. Never mind that I outweigh him by 70 lbs.

Speed bench

Speed Bench:
Complete 1 second pause at the bottom to simulate competition
choked green bands
145 + greens x 3, 1 set
165 + greens x 3, 2 sets
185 + greens x 3, 3 sets
205 + greens x 3, 3 sets

Decline Bench:
225 x 5 (warm up)
275 x 5
295 x 4 + 1 fail
285 x 6

Skull Crushers:
130 x 10
150 x 8
170 x 8
130 x 14

Push Ups:
plates on the back

2/1/0 plates til failure (10?)
3/2/1/0 plates t.f. (8/6/10/12?)
3/2/1/0 plates t.f. (8/5/8/10?)

Bench w/ Tricep Emphasis

10/28/08

Band-Resisted Speed Bench

(red bands??)

105 x 5

115 x 5

135 x 5

135 x 5

145 x 5

(almost completely superseted from here on out)

Dumbbell Chest Press

50 x 8

55 x 8

60 x 8

65 x 8

Skull Crush

60 x 10

60 x 10

70 x 8

80 x 6

80 x 4

Body Weight Dips

12

8

8

7

REHAB/CARDIO/FLEXIBILITY

Time: 1:00. Weight: 212.

▼ Rehab

• A: Cable kick back

• A: Cable kick front

• A: Single-leg extensions

• Hip abduction 110x25, 150 (full stack) x20x2

• Hip adduction 100?x15

• Hyperextension 50

▼ Flexibility

Every three weeks or so I squat wrong (I can tell when I'm doing it, but I forget every ~3-ish weeks) and I pull the adductor again. Today I decided to double up the flexibility to address it.

• Hip flexor

• Hamstrings

• Seated groin

• Cardio - bike 120-140 bpm x 20 min

▼ Flexibility (part deux)

• Gastroc

• Hip flexor

• Hamstrings w/ bar

Touched floor with bar in hack squat position...I'm getting much more flexible.

• Soleus

• Adductor on machine

• Seated groin

• Seated illiotibial

SE Upper Body

Rippetoe-Style Standing Overhead Press:
200, 3 x 5 (3 sets of 5 reps)
220, 2 x 1

Chin-ups:
Bodyweight + 20 lbs, 3 x 5
Bodyweight + 45 lbs, 1 x 2

Close-grip Bench Press:
225, 8/8/6

Squats

10/27/08

Squats

weight x reps x sets

95 x 10 x 2

105 x 10 x 2

135 x 8 x 2

165 x 6 x 1

Calves

250 x until failure x 3 superset

300 x until failure x 3 superset

360 x until failure x 3 superset

Pause Squats

135 x 5 x 3 (5 seconds)

Hang Cleans

40kg x 8

40kg + 10lbs x 6

Cable Pulldown Abs

4 sets

Squats

Banded Box Squats: 95 + blue x 2 reps x 8 sets
-> Did a little research and found out that the blues are 185 at the bottom and 235 at the top

Pause Squat (3 count): 185x3
225x3, 2
185x5

Power Cleans: 115x6
135x5
155x3, 3

Hang Snatch: 95x6, 6
105x 5, 5 (Just to be different - these actually make my shoulders feel better)

Pulldown Abs: 4 sets

Brent, I fixed your tape measure with a fork. It'll be there tomorrow.

Speed Squat

Box Squats:
w/ choked blue bands

225 x 2, 2 sets
275 x 2, 2 sets
315 x 2, 2 sets
335 x 2, 2 sets

Pause Squats:
365 x 3 @ 3 seconds
405 x 3 @ 3
405 x 3 @ 3
415 x 2 + 1 fail @ seconds

Cleans:
115 x 5
155 x 5
175 x 5
205 x 5

Hang Cleans:
155 x 5
175 x 3
155 x 5

Finished with 4 sets of cable ab pull downs.

I left my stuff by the squat rack while we were doing cleans. Some dude really liked my belt so he started using it. Brent was like "hey Dave, isn't that your belt?!" The dude was quarter squatting 315. He was pretty nice when I asked for it back. But then during his next set he lost control of the bar and the weight dumped all over. Whoops!

SHEIKO WEEK #6; #16

Weight: 211. Time: 1:05.

• Squat 205x3 (50%), 245x3x2 (60%), 285x3x2 (70%), 335x2x4 (80%)

Belt on last 2 sets.

• Bench 135x3 (50%), 165x3 (60%), 195x3x2 (70%), 220x3x5 (80%)

• Dumbbell bench 35x10x5

• Squat 225x3 (55%), 275x3x2 (65%), 315x3x4 (75%)

Flexibility

Groin, hamstring stretches and shoulder dislocates (look them up).

CARDIO

Time: 0:40. Weight: 209.

• Bike ?? bpm x 30 mins

Bitch was using the good bike, so I got the one with a broken heart rate monitor.

▼ Flexibility

• Hip flexors

Hips feeling better from this obsessive hip flexor stretching.

• Hamstrings

Competition

Snatch 105
Clean and Jerk 127

Really pissed I didn't get at least 107/130.... Both were there and I couldn't hold them.

Ben

Hey - I just got on the blog so I'll be posting up my training soon.

-Ben (skinny but mighty)

P.S. This week's accomplishments ...
P.R.- 8 easy reps of 115 lbs on squat (note: started out with 10 reps of just the bar 3 weeks ago)
P.R.- 8 easy reps of 171 lbs on dead lift
P.R.- 1 rep max at 135 lbs on triceps lockouts (to help bench)
P.R.- (last week) 1 rep max at 95 lbs on bench press

Bench

10/25/08

Bench

warm-ups

175 x 5 x 3(sets)

185 x 3

Band-Lightened Bench (greens)

225 x 3

275 x 1 + fail x 2

255 x 3

265 x 3

Military Press

95 x 8

105 x 7

115 x 5

115 x 4

Flyes

50 x 1 set

60 x 3 sets

OLY/UPPER BACK/CARDIO/FLEXIBILITY

Time: 1:45. Weight: 210.

▼ Oly

Stretched left hip flexor throughout to keep the hip from hurting -- we'll see if this actually worked.

• Drop snatch 20x5, 40x5x2

• Hang snatch 40x3x2

• Snatch off 4 blocks 40x3x2

• Snatch off 2 blocks 40x3x2

• Full snatch 40x3

Still caught higher than I'd like, but I think my form is better on these.

• Jerks 40x3x3

Upper back

• Dumbbell rows 80x10, 120x12x3, 120x15

Grip got tired after three sets, so for the last set I used the straps and just got some reps.

• Barbell curls 70x10, 90x8

I wanted to get strong, so I did some biceps today.

• Cardio (bike) 140 bpm x 20 mins

▼ Flexibility

• Gastroc

• Hip flexors

• Hamstring w/ bar (hack squat pos)

• Adductor on machine

• Seated groin

• Seated glute

I finally got to see Danny doing his heavy sets. He did 9.5 plates on the power squat machine -- don't know how this translates to actually squatting, but it looked cool. Anyway, he also yells really loud before every set and during every rep.

Bench

Bench:
275 x 3 (warm-up)

Put on the F6
315 x 3 off 2 board
Shirt wasn't seated right, so fixed it
315 x 1 (easy)
335 x 1 + 1 fail

I was going for a triple at 335, but it didn't happen. Kyle gave me a long pause on the second, but I still should have gotten it even in the F6. I may drop to 325 for an opener once I see how the Phenom feels when it comes back.

Band-assisted Bench:
quadded-greens. Full weight at top.

315 x 3 (warm-up)
365 x 2 + 1 fail
365 x 3
365 x 2 + 1 fail
355 x 3

Military Press:
185 x 6
185 x 6
185 x 5
135 x 13

Flyes:
80 x 12
90 x 10
100 x 10
100 x 10

on the first set of 100, the floor was so slick, i started sliding back instead of moving the cables forward. I was practically running in place to generate enough force to do the exercise. Thankfully, kyle was gracious enough on the second set to provide his foot as a backstop so I wouldn't move.

Weighed in at 183.6 this morning. I had some TJ's orange chicken and cookies last night <3

Weekend Bench

Bench Press: 155x5, 5
165x3

+Shirt: 185x3
205x2
185x3 <- this will be my bench opener

Reverse Band Bench (green): 225x3, 3
275x3, 3, 3

Seated OH Press: 105x8
115x8
125x6, 6

Cable Crossovers: 50 x 4 sets

Well, it looks like my opener will be 185 for bench, and I can work up from there. I keep touching too low in my shirt, so I need to fix this real quick.

After we lifted we went to the dining halls:
Fried Egg x 4
1 cup of oatmeal x 2
Apple x 1
Bannana x 1
Turkey x maybe 6 oz
Water x 3
Bean & spinach salad x 1

ME Upper Body

Gear:
None

Wide-grip Flat Bench:
295, 3 x 3

Rippetoe-Style Bent-Over Row:
235, 3 x 4 (3 sets of 4 reps)

Standing Dumbbell Overhead Press:
75s, 8/6/6

Saturday Training

Trey and I are going around 11:00 due to scheduling conflicts. Anyone is welcome to join.

Kyle - if you can't come, put the HD Blast on and hit your opener for a triple. Then do some medium sets for your sticking point and light assistance work after.

Jake's meet, anyone?

I will be leaving Westwood at 12:00pm to head down to Jake's meet. Give me a call if you want to go.

714 580 5610


When: Saturday, October 25, 2008
Where: CSU Long Beach Strength & Conditioning Complex (Bldg. PE)
Weigh-in: 11:00 a.m.
Lifting begins: 1:00 p.m.
Fee: $5.00
- 6 weeks out from the North American Open (Dec. 5-7 in Chandler, AZ)
- 17 days out from entry deadline for North American Open (Nov. 11)
You must be a current member of USA Weightlifting to lift in this competition. Membership may be purchased online at http://weightlifting.teamusa.org/.
Directions
From 405 Fwy Southbound:
Take the Palo Verde exit - it will be about 2 blocks before you actually reach Palo Verde. Make a right turn onto Palo Verde.
From 405 Fwy Northbound:
Exit at Palo Verde. Make a left turn onto Palo Verde.
After you are on Palo Verde and heading southbound:
While on Palo Verde you will pass through three traffic lights - Sterns St., Atherton St. and then one going into campus. After passing the third signal make a right into the entrance for Parking Lot 11 or park on Palo Verde. Parking in Lot 11 is $4.00 for the entire day, or you can park on Palo Verde for free.
Park or walk towards the far southwest corner of the lot nearest the tennis complex. Follow Deukmejian Way, the inside campus street along the tennis courts. Large brick buildings will be to your left and tennis courts to your right. Follow this street to the left as it splits just before the outdoor basketball courts. The Strength Complex is in the brick building (PE) about 100 feet ahead to your right. It has a long ramp walkway and putting green in front of it.
Building PE on the campus map: http://daf.csulb.edu/maps/campus/east.html

So. Pissed. Off.

Worked out at the Rec Center today because it was a light day. Pulled my fucking right bicep lowering a warm-up snatch because I can't drop it there. Took 4 ibuprofen. I hope it isn't sore tomorrow.

SHEIKO WEEK #6; #15

Another light day, this whole week was centered around the 95% on Wednesday.

• Squat 205x3 (50%), 245x3x2 (60%), 290x3x2 (70%), 310x2x4 (75%)

• Bench 150x3 (50%), 180x3x2 (60%), 205x3x6 (70%)

• Dumbbell bench 35x10x5

• Dips BWx10x5

▼ Flexibility

• Gastroc

• Soleus

• Hamstrings w/ bar (hack squat pos.)

• Hip flexors

• Foam roller

Skills Eval.

Wednesday was skills evaluation for Sheiko:

squat:
1x3x150
1x3x180
2x2x210
1x2x240 belted
1x1x270 belted
1x1x285 belted

bench:
1x3x125
1x3x140
2x2x165
1x2x190
1x1x210
1x1x225

deadlift:
1x3x205
1x2x150
2x2x290
1x2x330 belted w/wrist strap on right hand
1x1x370 belted w/wrist strap on right hand
1x1x390 belted w/wrist strap on right hand


The last 1x1s were 95% max...squats felt super easy, bench felt good, and deadlift felt good. Biggest problem being...my right ring finger is fractured. I had to use a wrist strap on my right hand to hold onto the weight. Left hand had no issues with grip...and a few weeks of healing should be sufficient for my right hand. Or at least I hope so...otherwise it will be very painful/difficult deadlifting.

Speed Deadlifts

10/23/08

Deadlifts

warm-ups

green bands throughout

135 x 7

185 x 5 (had trouble locking out -- personal problems)

135 x 6

185 x 5 (lockouts got better)

Good Mornings

135 x 7

135 x 8

135 x 8

135 x 7

(form got better as I did more sets, with my last set feeling great, Trey gave me some good pointers and I really felt that last set in my lower back)

Hamstring/Ab Circuit

3 sets

glute-ham raises

green banded hamstring extension

purple banded decline abs

The Wasabi Effect (Deadlift)

My biceps are feeling so huge right now, so I knew I was in for a big deadlift day.

Über-band-resisted deadlifts:
quadded-purples off the bottom. Then we yolked a green band 12" from the bottom of the vertical post on the squat rack and stretched it to the weight-tree pins on the back of it. This meant about 200lbs from the purples (since the 100s that were weighing them down started coming off the floor) and ~100lbs from the greens about 4" into the lift.

225 x 5
275 x 5
315 x 5
405 x 10

The last set was easier than I thought, so I just kept repping it. This seems encouraging for the meet since this was about 700 at the top. As long as I build a lot of speed from the floor, I should be able to hit something big.

Good Mornings:
405 x 8, 3 sets

Kind of tired from deadlifts after all

Hamstring/Ab Cicuit:
glute-ham raises, 1 set x failure, 2 sets w/ green band x failure
banded-hamstring, 3 sets w/ green band x failure
banded decline abs, 3 sets x failure

Today was full of bands and love. Mostly bands.

Deadlifts

Band-resisted Deadlift: 225x5 (green)
135x3 sets - 4 total locked out (green + purple)

Good Mornings: 185x6, 6, 8
225x5

Abs/GHR Circuit

I felt really fried today. Probably the heavy lifting/midterms combo. Also, I reeeeaaaalllly hate deadlifting in the power rack. I can't get my feet out far enough, and it's jacking up my knees. 205lbs today.

CARDIO/FLEXIBILITY

Time: 0:45. Weight: 209.

• Cardio (bike) 140 bpm (?) x 25 mins

▼ Flexibility

• Adductor on machine

• Seated groin

• Hip flexors

• Gastroc

• Soleus

• Hamstrings

ME Lower Body

Gear:
Belt
Knee sleeves
Weight-lifting Shoes

Conventional Deadlift:
Had to do this first since Ricardo was benching.

417, 1 x 3 (1 set of 3 reps)

Looked at the video of this, honestly it looks pretty terrible. My butt is way too high to start, basically these were all stiff-legged. Need to not pull in my VS Athletics shoes right now and get my butt down. Too much air in front of me at the start results in trouble snapping my hips through at the end. Felt relatively easy, though.

Another thing is to work in some RDLs into the program to practice the hip snap at the top.

Shoulder-Stance Back Squat:
385, 2 x 2

I wanted a third rep on each, but no go today. Felt I was pitching forward. Need to sit back on the heels of the shoes and drive from there. On the upshot(sorta), Mike said I was Olympic Weight-lifting style deep.

Health:
Sleep has been off for the past three nights, very tired. Good food intake, though.

For Jake

Interesting notes on strength training for Olympic Weightlifters.

Rippetoe basically says the exact same thing in Strong Enough? (.)

Farmers Strike Back

T-Bar Rows (50 kg base weight): 2 plates x 6
2+25x6
3x6
3+25x 8, 6, 6
1x20

Pull-ups: a bunch

FARMER'S WALKS!:
4 lengths (2 drops)
Up, around and down stairs (4 drops)

Cross-body Hammer Curls: 45x 10/10
50 x 9/9
55 x 8/8, 6/6

Bus Drivers?: 4 sets

I had my sweet revenge on Farmer's today. The only thing I can compete with Dave on are grip-related things. My bodyfat enables me to do this.

Upper Back + Misc

10/22/08

T-bar Rows

50kg x 8

50kg + 45lbs x 8

50kg + 90lbs x 7

50kg + 135lbs x 7 (failure)

Wide-Grip Pull-Ups

bodyweight x 9

25lbs x 5

25lbs x 6

25lbs x 5

Farmer's Walk (must save 5th graders from burning building)

100lb plates in each hand

midway down hall and back

45lb plates in each hand

full length hall and back -- too easy

Hammer Curls

40 x 4 sets

Bus Drivers

25lbs x 2 sets

45lbs x 2 sets

Curls w/ Squat Bar

65lbs x 8

65lbs x 8

75lbs x 7

Half of us have signed our lives away so we can become a club team.

Upper Back: Kyle's Revenge

T-bar rows:
(some warm-ups; all weights approx. to a guess)
345(?) x 6
345 x 6
370 x 6
255 x 15

Wide-grip pull ups:
bodyweight x 10
bw + 45 x 10
bw + 70 x 4ish
bw + 45 x 7

Farmer Walk:
Kyle LURRRRVES these.

100lbs plates in each hand, down the hall and back (2 brief stops on the way back).
same weight, up the steps, strolled around for a bit, then came back down.

Kyle walked down, back and down without stopping thereby proving that farmer's walks have zero correlation to strength in powerlifting. Also Kyle wins again :'(

Hammer Curls:
(weight for each dumbbell, reps per arm)
70s x 8
80s x 6
80s x 5
80s x 5

Bus Drivers:
25 til failure, 2 sets
45 til failure, 2 sets

SHEIKO WEEK #6; #14 - SKILLS EVALUATION

Time: 2:15. Weight: 210.

  Simulated competition as much as possible. All lifts done in singlet with RAW gear. No mirrors. All lifts felt easy and fast.

• Squat 205x3 (50%), 250x3 (60%), 290x2x2 (70%), 335x2 (80%), 375x1 (90%), 395x1 (95%)

Knee sleeves, belt, and squat shoes. I got pretty worked up for the 90% squat because it was the first heavy lift of the day. It was the fastest squat I've done in a long while--I was coming up before I realized I'd started the lift. 95% was easy as well, I thought I could triple it.

• Bench 135x3 (50%), 165x3 (60%), 195x2x2 (70%), 220x2 (80%), 250x1 (90%), 260x1 (95%)

Wrist wraps and Chuck's. Considering that my bench didn't move for a long time, I'm very happy with this. 95% was smooth, definitely could have doubled, maybe tripled. Rene gave full commands for everything starting with 80%. Gave me an extra-long pause on 95% (I didn't ask for this, but that's what training partners are for, right?)

• Deadlift (sumo) 260x3 (50%), 315x2 (60%), 365x2x2 (70%), 415x2 (80%), 470x1 (90%), 495x1 (95%)

Belt and wrestling shoes. Used chalk and baby powder. Deadlifts always feel heavy to me above 80%, but Rene says that all of these looked "decisive". I let the 90% get out in front of me, which made it a little awkward, but I wasn't close to missing any of these.

▼ Prehab

• Ice knees

• Stretch flexors & hamstrings

SE Upper Body

Speed Bench (Close-grip):
200 + 70 lbs chain, 6 x 3 (6 sets of 3 reps)

Rippetoe-Style Standing Overhead Press:
200, 3 x 4

Chin-ups:
Bodyweight + 20 lbs, 3 x 4

NOTE: volume reduced to 60-75% until contest to account for catabolism => reduced recovery.

Bench Day

10/21/08

Flat Bench w/ commands

warm-ups

135 x 3

165 x 3

175 x 3

185 x 3

Seated Military Press

warm-ups

85 x 7

95 x 7

115 x 6

125 x 4

Incline Bench

(going for 10,8,6,4,10 -- used too little weight on all sets)

95 x 10

105 x 8

115 x 6

145 x 4

115 x 10

Tricep Dumbbell Press

40 x 8

50 x 7

60 x 5

retroactive blogging/terminator eye

On Saturday I did my regular Sheiko routine, but only did half the bench so I could practice in my shirt.

3x3x225 3 boards
3x3x225 2 boards
3x3x225 1 board
3x3x225 no boards
3x3x225 no boards, with belt. was only able to touch on 1 rep.
3x3x225 full commands


After my second set in the shirt, it looked like I had gotten punched in each eye...or like I had some mad Asian glow around the eyes. Also, a blood vessel in my left eye popped. Since then, the redness around the eyes has gone away, but my eye is still bloody looking. LOL.

I also jacked up my finger playing flag football Sunday night. Monday's Sheiko workout was no problem, but deadlifting tomorrow (especially for skills eval.) is going to be hard. Two of my friends are convinced it's broken but I've definitely messed up my other finger where it has gotten crooked like this..I just pulled it back in place and it eventually healed. I have a splint to wear so I don't bang it around during the day.

Any tips for deadlifting without a right ring finger? I'll probably end up taping it up and just dealing with the pain. Hopefully it wont affect my grip that much.

Bench + Skinny-fat Jokes

Bench (called a la competition): warm-ups
165x3,3,
175x3,3
185x3

Seated OH Press: 105x8
115x6
125x5 PR

Speed Bench (blue): 95x5, 5
110 (bar unevenly loaded)x4
135x fail

Incline Bench: 135x8
145x5 PR

CG DB Bench: 60x6,6,4,5

Dip Machine: Stack x 7, 7, 8, 7

All of the regular bench and speed bench were done with a tiny "cannonball" under the lower back to reenforce the arch.

And apparently, I am now the butt of skinny fat jokes. It started with my comment about me being a fat Michael Phelps, and it esclated from there. Fail.

Benching with hidden chalk

Got yelled at twice in two days for using chalk. This time the guy was much cooler about it though. We need to petition Elisa for getting a more common sense chalk policy. There are open bags of chalk in the climbing facility and a giant chalk canister in the gymnastics area. Why would they disallow it 30' from those places?

Bench:
Sets of 3 with full commands. For these we grabbed a 4" ball and put it under the lower back to work on getting into place for the arch. It actually felt about where my natural arch was, which is encouraging.

275 x 3, third one was a grinder so I dropped down
265 x 3
265 x 3
265 x 3
265 x 2 + 1 fail.

Close-grip bench w/ bands:
95 + blues x 5
135 + blues x 5
155 + blues x 4
155 + blues x 3 + fail
145 + blues x 7 (why did 10lbs make such a difference??)

Incline bench:
135 x 10
185 x 8
225 x 4
185 x 8

Dips
Used the dip machine to better isolate the triceps.

Full stack x failure, 4 sets

By far the most funny part of the night was Brent jumping on the bicep machine next to this and chanting "bicep bicep bicep" while curling it with 30 lbs. I think Thursday will be an all bicep day. That way we can be full rounded lifters in the squat, bench, deadlift and strict curl.

ME EATING

Today was my big group dinner.

- Bread x 3 slices

- Roasted pear/bacon/blue cheese appetizer (I know, wtf?) x 1

- Beef tenderloin w/ garlic mashed potatoes x 1

- Apple pudding w/ cinnamon ice cream x 1

I opted out of beer/wine because I'm hitting openers tomorrow.

Squats

10/20/08

Squats

warm-ups

135 x 7

155 x 7

155 x 7

175 x 5

Pause Squats

135 x 4

135 x 4

135 x 4

155 x 4

Box Jumping Outside

1 set on each box x 4 reps

Hang Cleans

20kg warm-up x 2 sets

20kg + 20lbs x 7

20kg + 20lbs x 7

Banded Decline Abs

purple band 4 sets

We should just be allowed to work out in the acosta center so the gym staff doesn't continue to harass us about chalk and bags, and other random people complaining about not being able to use machines.  In acosta they have more chalk bowls than water fountains...

Brent Squatting Video

385 x 4 (easily did a 4th, but I missed it on camera)

Lifting RAW

So, I'm thinking about just lifting raw at the meet. I signed up for the open mens, but I'm hoping they'll let me change. I'm still not used to my gear and it would be cool to set some PR's at the meet. Additionally, I haven't been feeling as strong lately in my squats and deadlifts. Maybe undertraining, overtraining, or maybe just stress from work and school. Just putting it out there, but I think I'm going to go through with it.

Squats

Warm Up: 135x6
185x5

Straps Down: 225x5

Straps Up: 225x5
275x3 PR

Power Cleans: 145x4
135x5x3

Pause Squats (5 count): 225x3
205x5
185x5

Banded Decline Abs: 4 sets w/purple

The suit felt loose today. Still tight in the hips, but I could almost fully strap up myself. This will most likely exacerbate for the meet, as I will now be going for the 198's. I weighed in at 205 today. 7 pounds in 4 weeks is doable.

Also, the gym staff today told us to stop using chalk. While Dave was still warming up with 405. If this was actually enforced, Brent would be in big trouble LOL.

My First Date with the Centurion Squat Suit

Squat:
405 x 1, straps down
455 x 1, straps down
495 x 1, straps up
This felt horrible. If there was a video of it, it would show me popping out of the hole 3" and then completely stopping. At this point, i'm like "wtf, I triple this," so then I push the weight back up. I was planning on 550 x 3 today, but decided to back it off a bit to get used to the suit.

525 x 3.
These felt much easier. I will probably try 550 x 3 in two weeks to see whether I will open with that or use it as a second attempt. Video of the set:



Cleans:
The rest of the guys started cleaning while I was finished up the squatting and some Douchie LaRue was giving the guys trouble about taking up the platform forever. So he jumped in before I could even get a set in.

0 x 0 (FAIL)

Pause Squats
365 x 3 @ 5 seconds
315 x 5 @ 5 seconds
315 x 5 @ 5 seconds

These felt good, hips were tired afterwards.

I didn't finish squatting until 8:15, so we were running long. We finished with banded decline abs. I'll just have to work my legs harder on thursday.

10-20

Power snatch 75/3 x 2 85/2 x 3 (80%)
Snatch 85/2 x 3 97/1 x 4 (90%)
Sn. Pull 97/2 x 3 107/2 x 4 (100%)
Front squat 95/3 110/3 127/3 x 3 (75%)


I was worried about the 90% snatches but they were all super easy now that the volume and intensity are lower. Next 2 workouts are light, so i think I'll be good to go for the meet. I'm already feeling psyched up.

SE Lower Body

Gear:
None / no belt

Shoulder-Stance Back Squat:
315, 5/4/4/3

Couldn't get the fifth rep on the 2nd set, so went for 16 total lifts.

Power Cleans:
225, 2/2/2/2/2/2/1

Missed the very last second rep.

Good Mornings:
210, 3 x 8

SHEIKO WEEK #6; #13

Weight: 212. Time: 0:45? This was a light day in prep for the skills evaluation on Wed. I used full comp gear for all these, which since I'm raw means...

Squat: belt, knee sleeves, squat shoes

Bench: wrist wraps, chucks

  Everything ridiculously easy obviously.

• Squat 205x3 (50%), 245x3 (60%), 285x3x2 (70%), 315x2x3 (75%)

• Bench 135x3 (50%), 165x3 (60%), 195x3x2 (70%), 205x2x3 (75%)

Commands on the bench, too.

▼ Flexibility

For left hip.

• Hamstrings

• Hip flexors

CARDIO/FLEXIBILITY

Bike for 30 mins, 130-145 bpm.

Flexibility routine.

I'm going 220, for all the reasons before and encouragement from lots of people. I want to weigh 215 or so. I haven't decided if I'll shoot for 221, that would be fun.

10-18

Clean and jerk 90/2+1 x105/2+1 x 3
Jerks 90/2 105/2 x 2 117/1 x 3 (missed last one)
Clean pull 105/3 117/2 x 2 130/1 x 3
Back Squat 105/4 115/4 142/4 x 2


I cut the volume of the normal workout down to this because I feel kinda tired and overtrained. Cleans and clean pulls felt really good and high, but I'm still having trouble fixing jerks over my head. I'm going to incorporate more presses and push presses into my training after the meet, but it's too late to change anything now. Hopefully I'll just hit what I need to hit.

Bench

10/17/08

(thank you to surrogate-Dave [Kyle])

Decline Bench

warm-ups

175 x 5

185 x 3

195 x 3

205 x 3

Rack Lock-Out

195 x 6

215 x 5

225 x 5

235 x 5

Military Press

95 x 5

95 x 6

105 x 4

95 x 5

Skull Crush

70 x 8

80 x 6

80 x 5

UPPER BACK/CARDIO/FLEXIBILITY

Time: ??. Weight: 208 (also 208 at the gym scale--wtf, it was 3# lighter last time!). Normally this is my Oly day, but I have a test day ("skills evaluation") on Wednesday and my hip was acting up, so I skipped it.

  Having serious doubts about going 198 in the Nov meet. (1) Diet isn't working. (2) I don't think its best for me in the long run. (3) I haven't changed my body composition in the past year, including overall body weight. I can't let this continue indefinitely.

  I'm considering seeing if I can bloat up to 242. That'd be fun.

▼ Upper back

• Pull-ups BWx5, BWx17, +25x8, +45x5x2, +45x4

Almost a PR on BW reps. Missed last rep half way. Same for fifth rep of last set with 45.

• Shrugs 315x15, 365x12, 405x4+11

Started double overhand for reps. On the 405 set, I knew I wasn't going to be able to grip double overhand any more after the fourth rep, so I just grabbed it normal and repped out the set.

• Cable row w/ articulating lower back 200x12, 240x10, 300x8, 260x10

• Single-arm deadlift 155x1, 198x1

This was just a diversion. You do a sumo deadlift with overhand grip with only one hand (no hook or chalk).

  Danny and I were talking about this throughout the workout today. Early in the workout, some guy was doing clean & presses with 155 so we both tried it. Then towards the end, some guy was doing deadlifts with 90kg. We decided to try it again. All were easy. I could def. get 225, not sure what my limit is on this.

▼ Flexibility

• Hamstrings

Sometimes I do something right on squats or good mornings and my hamstrings are nice and tight the day after. Today was one of those days.

• Hip flexors

Double up left leg.

• Seated illiotibial

• Seated groin

• Foam roller

• Cardio - bike 130-135 bpm x 20 mins

Danny: "It might be best for this meet, but this meet is nothing. You have to think about the long term." Also, "You need to gain 30-40 pounds."

I can bench too

Board press:
315 x 5 - 3 board
315 x 5 - 2 board

felt slow from being over trained, so I stopped.

Dumbbell Military Press:
65 x 10
85 x 8
85 x 6
85 x 5

Close-grip Bench:
(it ain't what it used to be :'( )
185 x 10
225 x 6
225 x 5
225 x 5

Dumbbell Flyes:
(hadn't done these in ~4 years)
35 x 10 (warm-up))
45 x 10
55 x 8
55 x 8
55 x 8

Early Bench

Decline Bench: 175x5
185x3
195x3
205x3

Pin Presses: 205x6
215x6
225x6
245x6

Barbell OH Press: 95x8
105x7
115x5, 6 (leg drive)

Elbow-out Extensions: 35x9/9, 9/9
40x6/6

Scap Pulls: 8, 8, 8

Good training video

Sandbag training

Sandbags are on the list of shit to make. These look very useful (and cheap).

SHEIKO WEEK #5; #12 + *VIDEO*

Weight: 209. Time: 1:20.

• Squat 205x4 (50%), 250x3 (60%), 290x3x2 (70%), 335x3x5 (80%)

Belted last two sets. Belt must add 30# to my squat, it feels so different. These were pretty easy regardless.

• Bench 135x5 (50%), 165x5 (60%), 195x5x4 (70%)

• Dumbbell press 35x10x5

• Dips BWx8x5

• Good morning 165x5x5

Here's a video of the 70% squats taken from a bad angle.

REMINDER: MAIL FORMS TODAY

Also, as an FYI: the latest you can get something postmarked is ~9pm at the LAX Post Office. They are open 24/7 too. I may or may not have had to do this for at least two meets. I plan on not doing it tomorrow, but you never know...

10-16

Power snatch 75/3 x 5 (70%)
Snatch 85/2 x 5 (80%)
Snatch pull 85/3 97/3 x 3 (90%) 107/2 x 4 (100%) 110/2

Easy workout, even the 110 snatch pulls felt light and I pulled them high. I am not concerned with my snatch at all for the meet.

Deadlifts

10/16/08

Deadlifts

warm-ups

185 x 7

225 x 6

275 x 4

275 x 4

Box Squats

warm-ups

135 x 8

155 x 8

175 x 6

185 x 5

Good-Mornings (first time)

95 x 10

115 x 8

125 x 7

125 x 7

Cable Abs

4 sets

Deadlift: the recovery week

Still sore from those lunges. It hurts to move. Also my abs are still sore from the ab wheel?? what's that about. CNS felt 100%, Muscles around 85%.

Titan came through FTW and got me my suit back today. It feels just right. Super tight in the shoulders. I think I must have gained some size on my legs, because they were much tighter than before.

Deadlift:
I decided to do "Phil-style recovery min volume".

635 x 3 + 1 failed rep. 4th felt possible, but got stuck above the knees.

Good-mornings:
315 x 8 (easy)
405 x 8
405 x 8
455 x 5

Muscles so tired at this point. Then the CNS slow down kicked in.

Banded Hyperextensions:
3 sets w/ purple, the raw until failure.

Cable Abs:
110 x 10
120 x 6, 110 x 3
100 x 10 (whoops wrong weight!)
110 x 8

Good workout. So tired.

Deadlift: Fully Geared

Sumo Deadlift: warm-ups
275x3

+suit, straps down: 295x3

Straps up: 315x3
365x2.75 (my hands got stuck on my thighs and couldn't lock it)

Good Mornings: 135x8
185x6, 6
225x6, 6

Banded Back Raises: 3 sets

Pulldown Abs: 3 sets

The deadlifts were good. Had I applied baby powder, the last rep would have been mine. I felt very strong today. I forsee pulling over 4 plates at the meet.

CARDIO/FLEXIBILITY

Time: 1:00. Weight: 211? I'm in a strange position now ... the scale in the MIT locker room says I weigh 211 with clothes and shoes on. My scale says I weigh 211 naked. Since I weigh ~3 lbs lighter at the beginning of the day, this could mean I'm really at 205-ish. I need to figure this out because it will change my calories significantly if I'm already at 205.

• Cardio - upright bike

▼ Flexibility

• Upper back on cable row

• Obliques on pull-up

• Seated glute

• Hip flexors (lunge stretch)

• Back arch on ball

• Hamstrings w/ bar, in hack squat position

• Adductor on machine

• Seated groin

Really stretched this one --- I'm a ton more flexible on this now, and I think it's helped my adductor issues tremendously.

• Gastroc on hack squat machine

• Soleus

• Seated illiotibial

• Hip abductors (rehab) 70x50

• Foam roll hip flexors and IT band