Relearning the Bench Shirt

Here's some vids from my first shirted day since my last meet. It has never been so hard to touch my chest with this damned shirt. One of the most frustrating days at Diablo by far. You'll see on the failed 385 that I struggled going down and tried to force the last inch. Then I was able to double it. On the 405 I was so focused on touching that I did a touch and go. I'm going in the shirt one more time to hit my opener a couple of times for clean singles. 385 x f 385 x 2 405 x 1

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

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 :(

USPA West Coast Open 2/18/2012

Hey guys,

So I did my 3rd meet with Diablo Barbell on Saturday. This was my 3rd meet in 5 months. (Ted believes me and the other new guy should compete as much as often as we can). I was aiming high for a 1600 total but only got 1503.

Weight Class: 198
BW: 197

Squat
1st attempt - 573 - 2 Reds No Lift (You could see how loose I was at the bottom, too much time between last warm-up and first attempt)



2nd attempt - 573 - 3 Whites (got xtra low)




3rd attempt - 600 - No lift; I was coming up nicely out of the hole but couldn't lock it out. This pissed me off bc I hit 595 in the gym without knee wraps. Oh well...



Here's 595 in the gym with no knee wraps:



Bench
1st attempt - 363 - 3 Whites
2nd attempt - 385 - 3 Reds; butt came off
3rd attempt - 385 - 3 Whites; butt stayed on :)

Deadlift (conventional)
1st attempt - 545 - 3 Whites
2nd attempt - 562 - 3 reds; Couldn't lock it
3rd attempt - Ted pulled me off the platform bc I almost passed out from my 2nd attempt. Didn't take my 3rd.

Total: 1503 (previous meet in Dec was 1432). Vids to come

Congrats to those going to Nationals and to those that hit new PRs! Hope you guys are doing well!

Lower Body Progress

Hey guys,

Happy New Years to all of you! Just thought I'd post up some recent PRs. I finally hit a deadlift PR since my scalene injury from February. Also, I've been walking around 201lbs BW so I'm filling out my weight class (no longer doing a paleo diet).

495lbs SSBar Box Squat (straps down)




565lbs (not 555lb) Conventional Deadlift



Congrats to everyone that has qualified for nationals so far. I hope more people qualify after the Feb meet.

Take care,

The Miz

Some bench progress

Hey guys!

Great job to all of you at the meet. I just thought I'd give you some updates on my bench. My previous shirted PR was 275 at around 185 BW. About a week ago I benched 365 in my shirt and did a RAW 2-Board at 305 (195 BW). TECHNIQUE IS EVERYTHING so I hope you guys hammer that down. I know we haven't been too great at benching as a team but I hope you guys don't do what I was doing, which was to hope for a strength increase without improving technique. I have a meet on Dec 10 in Modesto so I'll be putting up vids for that as well. My lifts are a little shaky but I think my technique has gotten better. BTW yes I kept my ass down. Keep lifting strong y'all!

10/9/2011 - USPA San Jose Open Powerlifting Championship

What's up guys !

So I did my first USPA meet with Diablo as a 198 and it looks like I've made some progress, except for dlift :(

Weight Class: 198
BW: 192 (after a ton of gatorade and breakfast)

Squat
1. 485 - 3 whites
2. 512 - 3 whites
3. 551 - 3 whites (surprisingly easy) 50lb Meet PR, Ted said I left about 25lbs in the tank.

Bench
1. 303 - 3 whites
2. 325 - 3 whites 50lb Meet PR
3. 340 - 3 reds, couldn't lock out with my left arm, also my leg position was a little off.

Deadlift
1. 485 - 3 whites
2. 518 - 3 reds, crappy set up cost me a glute cramp
3. 518 - 3 whites, this would have cost me some prowler trips if I had missed it.

Total: 1,394 88lb Meet PR

I'm doing USPA for now bc they have meets in NorCal so it's really convenient. But don't worry, the thought of drug use has never crossed my mind. Also, I'll be coming down to LA on the 28th and I'd like to join y'allz for GPP.

Keep lifting strong!

551



325




518

Speed Squat Day - Saturday 9/3/11

12 trips with the sled (90lbs)

Box Squats
185 x 2
185 x 2
185 x 2
205 x 2
205 x 2
205 x 2
215 x 2
215 x 2
215 x 2
215 x 2
215 x 2
215 x 2
This was tiring, very little rest.

GHRs
4 sets of 10

Reverse Hypers & Abs
3 sets of 10

Stretching

Today was all about perfect form and speed. I’ve never used a monolift before but it’s not bad. I would have preferred to walk out the weight on a normal squat rack but we train in groups so I had to stay with them. I’m pretty much resetting my squat form and making sure that I develop the right symmetry to boost up my three lifts.

Diablo Barbell - Week 1

Greetings from the Diablo Barbell!

I’ve been really lazy about posting (sry!!!) but I still kept up the lifting after the Aug meet. I’m in the Bay Area now and loving Diablo Barbell so far. I’ve quickly learned that these guys are no joke. When I walked in the first thing I saw were the red painted walls with heavy death metal playing in the background (a little different than JWC...). I’m the lightest guy in Diablo by almost 60lbs. I’m not used to being that much lighter than everybody else but it’s all good. Either way, I’m here to get strong as hell and outwilks mother fuckers! Here’s what I’ve done so far.

Squat Day - Tuesday 8/30/11

Warm Up
12 walking trips with the sled (45lbs)

Box Squat (right at parallel)
135 x 5
185 x 5
225 x 5
275 x 5
315 x 3
345 x 1
375 x 1
405 x 1 30lb PR (went wider and put the bar in a higher position to use my abs and hams more than before)

Good Mornings (High bar, position was parallel to the floor)
135 x 5
185 x 5
225 x 5 x 4

Ab Wheel & Reverse Hypers
5 sets of 10

Stretched

Bench Day - Thursday 9/1/11

Warmed up with 12 trips w/ sled

Bench

Bar x 10
95 x 5
135 x 5
185 x 3
205 x 1
225 x 1
255 x 1 10 lb PR .
Positioned my legs wider instead of having them underneath the bench.

Tate Presses
20s x 10
25s x 10
30s x 10
35s x 10
35s x 10

Dumbbell Chest-Supported Rows (I was laying down with my whole body on a tall bench and brought the bar all the way up til it hit the bottom of the bench)
135 x 10 x 4

Delt raises with sled.
For these, I put a plate on the sled and did delt raises by first having the handles out in front of me and then pulling in a Y motion to drag the weight. I did 6 trips total.

Supersetted Reverse Hypers and Abs

Ted made it crystal clear that this place will test how bad I wanna be strong. As he put it, “Diablo will either make you or break you”. A little scary but I’m sticking with it. I wish you guys all the luck in the world with your studies and your lifts. Keep lifting strong! I’ll see you guys in November. I’ll have my squat suit tailored by then ; )

Deadlift 7/28/2011

Deadlift
405 x 1 @8
445 x 1 @8
495 x 1 @8

GHRS
3 sets of 10 on the lat pull down machine

Banded Pull Thrus w/ Greens
3 sets of 20

10 minutes Rowing Machine
10 minutes Stairmaster

Morning bodyweight: 184.6
Opener: 496
2nd Attempt: 523.5
3rd Attempt: Anything over 540

Thoughts about the meet:
I'm feeling confident about this one. What I would like to achieve is to take the RAW Jr. Squat record (440), the RAW Jr. Deadlift record (540) and the RAW Jr. Total record (1250). Also, I'm skipping bench assistance tomorrow for the first time before a meet. The rest is gonna be nice.

Bench Day 7/26/2011

3 White Lights Bench
225 x 1 @ 8
230 x 1 @ 8
240 x 1 @ 8.5
These were done with full commands
Opener: 231.2
2nd attempt: 242.5
3rd attempt: ???

Pause Bench
185 x 5 @8
185 x 5 @8
185 x 5 @8

One set of Tricep Death
Two sets of banded tricep extension

Chest Supported Rows
3 sets w/ 3 plates

Machine Shrugs
3 sets of 20 with 5 plates on each side

Abz

Squat Day 7/25/2011

Squat
405 x 1 @8
405 x 1 @8
420 x 1 @9
Opener: 407.7 bs
2nd attempt: 429.7lbs ???

Band Lightened w/ Greens
455 x 5 @ 8
455 x 5 @ 8
455 x 5 @ 8

Leg Press
3 sets of 8 w/ 5 plates on each side

Foam Roller Transversus
3 sets

MAD PNF SESH

I'm falling apart 7/22/11

Strict Press
115 x 5 @8
135 x 5 @ 8
145 x 5 @9
145 x 5 @9
155 x 3 @10 FFFFFFFF
I had to sit down for 15 minutes because of glute cramp, I seriously couldn't bend my leg.

Incline Press
185 x 5
185 x 5
195 x 5
195 x 5

Shoulder Press
As I was pressing with 65lb dumbbells, my right arm went backwards and did a backstroke movement and I dropped the weight. This fucked right shoulder. Thankfully it's just a sprain. Note to self: Have a spotter even on accessory work.

Pec Deck
3 sets of 10

Iso Lat Machine - 4 sets
Face Pulls - 4 sets
Biceps & Abz 4 sets
Icing and Ibuprofen

Deadlift assistance 7/21/11

Good mornings
315 x 5
335 x 5
365 x 5
385 x 5
405 x 5 

Speed pulls w/ greens
275 x 5
315 x 5
335 x 5
365 x 5
365 x 5
Soooooo tiring

Lunges
185 x 5 per leg
185 x 5 per leg
185 x 5 per leg

Banded hypers with blues
3 sets of 20

Abs
3 sets of floor sweepers

Bench 7/19/11

Bench
225 x 3 @9 hmm
225 x 3 @9
225 x 1 stopped bc liftoff screwed me off, i benched this with my back flat on the bench
225 x 3 @10
Not feeling it today, last week I got these for 5

Pause Bench
185 x 3
205 x 3
205 x 3

Close Grip off 2-Board
185 x 5

Then I saw Ryan and Danny doing Tricep Death so I decided to join
135
155
135
missed a couple of reps on the 2nd & 3rd set

Chest Supported Rows
3 plates x 8
3 plates + Qtr x 8
3 plates + 35lb x 8

Supersetted w/ Machine Shrugs
12 plates x 15
14 plates x 10
14 plates x 10

Abs

Recovery Squat 6/18/11

Squat
405 x 3 @9
420 x 3 @10 old PR
Stopped here.

Band Lightened Squat w/ Greens
455 x 5
475 x 5
495 x 5
515 x 5

Leg Press
10 plates x 8
12 plates x 8
14 plates x 8
16 plates x 8

Supersetted Ab work and jumprope

Bench Assistance 7/15/2011

Overhead Press
115 x 5 @8
125 x 5 @ 9
135 x 5 @10
135 x 5 @10
135 x 5 @10
These felt ridiculously hard at 8:30 am

Incline Bench
185 x 5
185 x 5
185 x 5
195 x 5

Dumbbell Overhead Press
60's x 10
65's x 10
65's x 10

SS Cable Rows @ Facepulls

SS Biceps & Abs
effin beat after this.

Bench Day 7/12/2011

Bench
205 x 5 @8
225 x 5 @9.5 15lb PR
235 x 3 ffffffffffffff
Still having trouble keeping a locked position with my butt down. All of these were done with a strict pause though

Pause Bench
185 x 5
195 x 5
205 x 3

3-Board Close Grip Bench
185 x 5
195 x 5
205 x 5
205 x 5
waaay tired

SS Chest Supported Rows
3 plates x 8
3 plates + QTR x 8
3 plates + 35lb x 8

Machine Shrugs
10 plates x 25
12 plates x 20
14 plates x 20

Abs

Squat Day 7/11/2011

Front Squat
225 x 5 @8
245 x 5 @8.5
265 x 5 @9 PR 20lb
275 x 5 @9 PR 30lb
285 x 5 @10 PR 40lb
These felt nice on my lower back.

Leg Press
8 plates x 5
10 plates x 5
12 plates x 5
14 plates x 5
16 plates x 5

Dumbbell Lunges
75lb dumbbell per hand x 6 per leg
75lb dumbbell per hand x 6 per leg
75lb dumbbell per hand x 6 per leg

Intervals
Jumprope & Floor sweepers

Stretched

Bench Assistance 7/9/11

Seated Military Press
135 x 5 @8
135 x 5 @9
145 x 5 @9.5
145 x 5 @10
135 x 5 @10

Chest Supported Rows
3 plates + Qtr x 8
3 plates + Qtr x 8
3 plates + Qtr x 8
3 plates + Qtr x 8


Decline Bench
185 x 5
205 x 5
205 x 5
205 x 5
These felt nice on my lower back.

Shrugs
315 x 20
315 x 20
315 x 20
315 x 20
Wanted to go light on these. Took about a minute break between sets

Superset Inverted Rows & BW Dips
x15, x12, x12, x12 / x15, x20, x20, x20

Timed Ab work w/ exercise ball
3 minutes

The inflammation in my lower back is almost completely gone. I can now get out of bed without guiding myself up by using the wall and my desk. I am still amazed at the work that chiropractor did. Tomorrow I'll do front squats and avoid exercises like regular squats and good mornings where the weight rests on my back.