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

Min-Volume Week #2

Gear:
None / no belt

Health:
Felt "flat", or "didn't feel like I was firing on all cylinders". Expected, since that's sort of the point of the de-tune week.

Note to self: switch from Deadlift 5RM to Block Pull 5RM, full-on DLs (even for one set) are too much and inhibit super-compensation and rest.

Olympic-Style Front Squats:
275, 1 x 3 (1 set of 3 reps)

Close-grip Flat Bench:
280, 1 x 3 (bleh)

Wide-grip Flat Bench:
280, 1 x 5 (better)

Power Cleans:
230, 1 x 3 (barely, no power today)

EDIT:
I realized that I added the weights wrong in the gym. It was 185 + 4x10 + 2x2.5 = 230. Somehow at the time I thought this was 220. Yay me for pulling 10 lbs over my goal weight for the day while having a brain fart.

Rippetoe-Style Bent-Over Row:
230, 1 x 5

Upper Back + Misc

10/15/08

Bent Over Rows

20kg + 50lbs x 10

20kg + 50lbs x 10

20kg + 90lbs x 8

20kg + 90lbs x 8

Neutral Grip Pull-Ups

Body x 10

Body x 10

Body + 25 x 7

Body + 25 x 7 (failure)

Body + 25 x 7 (failure)

Reverse Flies

(poor first set of too much weight)

115 x 7

115 x 6

115 x 6

Curls

30lb curl bar + purple band x 4 sets

Upper Back

Pendlay Rows: 135x10
185x5, 8
195x6
205x6

Pull-ups: Wide x 7
Wide Parallel x 5
Parallel x 6
Supinated x 5

Pull-over machine: 200x10
275x8
285x6
275x7
230x8

Rear Delt Machine: 130x10
145x7
115x10, 10, 12

Banded Curls: 30 + mini band x 4 sets

First time trying the Pendlay rows. I kinda like these. The set-up is pretty similar to my conventional deadlift. Dave said that next week we may do farmer's walks. Hooray!

Also, I have no biceps.

MAX BAX

Bent Over Rows:
thumbless "Bull" style
185 x 10
205 x 8
225 x 6, 2 sets

Close-grip pull ups:
bw x 8
45 + bw x 10
90 + bw x 6
90 + bw x 8
100 + bw x 4

Pull-overs:
275 x 10
320 x 8
320 x 7
275 x 10

Reverse flies:
160 x 10
175 x 10
190 x 10
220 x 10

Curls
30 lbs cambered bar + green bands, 4 sets

SHEIKO WEEK #5; #11 & CARDIO DEADLIFTING

Showed up way too late, had no rest today between sets. Weight: 211. Time: 1:15.

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

(85%)

Easy.

• Deadlift 260x3 (50%), 315x3 (60%), 365x2x2 (70%), 415x3x2 (80%), 445x2x2 

(85%)

No rest on deadlifts is not fun. Almost missed the last rep with my "weak grip".

• Bench 150x5 (55%), 180x5 (65%), 205x4x3 (75%)

• A: Dumbell bench 35x10x5

• A: Lunge 135x5x5

Renee is back from Germany. I have my gym buddy back.

Bench Day

10/14/08

Flat Bench

warm-up

Speed Bench

95 x 3 x 9

Stability Bench

30 lb dumbbells x 10

30 lb dumbbells x 12

40 lb dumbbells x 12 (failure)

40 lb dumbbells x 11 (failure)

Seated Dumbbell Military Press

45 x 8

45 x 8

50 x 5

50 x 5

Tricep Burnout

3 supersets cable pulldown + 8 dips

3 supersets cable pulldown + 7 dips

(probably could have gone for more dips)

Abs

4 sets of ab wheel

benching FE

Speed Bench
Quadded-minis
145 x 3, 9 sets

Stability Bench
50lb dumbbells off greens, 10 smooth reps
70lb dumbbells off greens, 6 wtf reps
"", 10 so-so reps
"", 12 ok reps

Military Press:
135 x 10
185 x 5
185 x 4
135 x 10 (barely)

Tricep burnout:
Tricep extensions 100 x 10, 70 x 8, 50 x ??; Dips: bodyweight x 8
Tricep extensions 100 x 10, 80 x 7, 60 x ??, 40 x ??; Dips: bodyweight x 15

Finished with 4 sets of ab-wheel

Bench

Speed Bench (minis): 95x3x4
115x3x4
95x3x2

Stablity Bench: 30x9,15
40x12
70x1 (wanted to try it)

Seated OH Press: 95x6, 8
105x8
115x6 (PR)

Superset of Cable pushdowns/Dips:
stripset x 2/ 6, 7

Ab Wheel: 4 sets

Stability bench is kinda fun. The speed work was good too. The seated press was ok, I personally prefer the standing kind.

Min-Volume Week #1

Gear:
None / no belt

Back Squat:
blahblahblah
305, 1 x 5 (1 set of 5 reps)

Rippetoe-Style Standing Overhead Press:
200, 1 x 5

Conventional Deadlift:
405, 1 x 4.5

Couldn't lock out the fifth rep. Mike said I need to pull the bar more towards me at the beginning, it was too far out in front. Part of the reason is that I did this in my VS Athletics shoes. I think the heel tilted me a little too far forward and I didn't compensate correctly. Stick to chucks for pulling for now.

ps.

VS Atheltics shoes are still awesome for squatting

10-14

Power clean 85/3 97/2 x 3 (75%)
Clean and Jerk 105/2 x 2 (80%) 117/1 x 4 (90%) missed last two
Clean pull 105/3 117/2 130/2 x 4
BTN Press + OHS, paused on the neck every rep I could manage 3+1 115,115,115
Back Squat 105/4 125/4 355(Lb)/4 x 3 Only did 2 sets, almost failed last rep of second set and called it a day

This workout sucked...Clean and jerks felt like total shit, although the weights felt light. Not sure exactly why. Back squats were surprisingly easy after everything else feeling so bad. I'm nervous about the meet. I know I can snatch 107, and I know I can get 130 up to the height I need in the jerk, but I'm afraid I can't fix it overhead. Not sure what to do about it since I'm not at all a firm believer in overhead supports, nor do I want to change anything at this point. Maybe the next jerk workout will be better and I'll get some more confidence. Maybe today was just a brain fart.

PREHAB/CARDIO/FLEXIBILITY

▼ Prehab

• A: Cable front kicks 40x15x2

• A: Cable side kicks 40x20x2

• A: Leg extensions (single leg) 90x15x2

• Toss ball on bosu ball

• Squats on bosu ball (single and double leg)

• Side twists

• Hip abduction machine 90x30, 150x20x2 (full stack)

▼ Cardio

• Elliptical ?? x 2 mins

This was the worst 2-minutes of my life. The stride was built for some 3-foot midgit, I was just shuffling my feet. Who the fuck does this to themselves?

• Upright bike 140-150 bpm x 20 mins

Much better.

▼ Flexibility

• Gastroc

Pulled something in the left calf on my Sunday walk.

• Hamstrings

• Soleus

• Adductor on machine

• Seated groin

Really need to pull on these for stretch now. Excellent.

• Seated gtute

• Hip adductors

W/out using ball for support -- much better. Left hip is killing me.

Book Club: Lyle McDonald

Some very good articles:

Fat Loss

Muscle Gain

Reminder: USAPL Nov. 15 Entry Form

Must be post-marked by this friday.

Form found here.

Sheiko Week 4, Monday

Squat
1x4x150
1x3x180
2x3x210
1x3x240
2x2x255

Bench
1x3x135
1x3x140
1x3x165
4x3x190

Flies
5x10x25

Dips
5x8 with plate

Squat
1x4x150
1x3x180
1x3x210
4x2x240

goodmorns.
5x5x135

I was really tired/sore from football on Sunday night, which made then last 4x2x240 tough. My groin is also sore from football, but that was a non-factor yesterday. Hopefully it will be at full strength for deadifting tomorrow.

Squats

10/13/08

Squats

Warm-ups

135 x 8 x 2

Banded Box Squats

95 x 2 x 2

135 x 2 x 4

1st Day in Suit

Some warm-up sets, and then I put on my suit.

Box Squats: 135 +greens x 2 x 8

PowerCleans: 115x5
135x5, 5, 5

Barbell Lunges: 95x6/6
135x6/6, ?/?
95x?/?

Strip set: leg ext./135lb squat

Brutally painful hamstring stretch

The suit was tight, and will take a bit of getting used to. Got some nice bruises though.

Also, Brent and Dave came up with the phrase "no more kylin' around".

Recovery Squat

Last week was brutal, so we backed off a little this week.

Box Squat:
w/ green bands.
225 x 2
275 x 2, 7 sets

Cleans:
165 x 5
165 x 5
175 x 5
185 x 5

Lunges:
225 x 16 (8 per leg)
245 x 12
275 x 8

Was there another set in here? I forget..

RE Quads + Squat:
Did that ol' Arnold exercise where you strip set your quads to the point of failure and then squat with perfect form until failure. I don't have a name for this thing to tag it with. Suggestions?

2 sets, lots of reps, 135 on squat.

Then we did some partner stretching. I went from like 45° to 110° in flexibility. awesome.

▼ 1. 10/13/08 - Mon - SHEIKO WEEK #4; #10

• Squat 205x4 (50%), 245x3 (60%), 290x3x2 (70%), 335x3 (80%), 355x2x2 

(85%)

All reps easy, no belt. Slightly wider stance than usual with toes out, focus on knees out from the beginning. This felt better on both my hips and knees.

• Bench 135x3 (50%), 165x3 (60%), 195x3 (70%), 225x3x4 (80%)

• Dumbbell bench 35x10x5

• Dips BWx8x5

• Squat 205x4 (50%), 250x3 (60%), 290x3 (70%), 335x2x4 (80%)

Hips came up on the second heavy set. I belted the last one and my form felt flawless.

• Good morning 165x5x5 (40%)

Yesterday with Rippetoe

So, yesterday the guy I was going to train with (not an Olympic lifter but he works at the gym I lift at) bailed on me, so I just showed up hoping someone would be there. Turns out Rippetoe was having a seminar and he was training right after. I talked him into letting me train there (he doesn't really know anyone at the gym so I had to sweet talk him a little into letting me lift with no one else there). I was doing 90% snatches (97kg) while he watched and coached my form. Turnes out I need to start with my hips higher tha I have been on both the snatch and clean, and to get my elbows down in the jerk to drive myself under the bar. I had a blister on my thumb by the time I was finished with the workout so I skipped power cleans but did the snatch pulls I needed to get done. I also skipped back squats since the workout went like 2 hours or so and I was tired/bored. I have 85% back squats tomorrow anyway so think it'll be alright.

Rippetoe was a nice guy and he ended up staying and coaching me way longer than he had planned to be there. I need to get much more flexible in my rear delts (I think...whatever shoulder muscle that allows me to keep the bar in the palm of my hand for the jerk). I definitely still need to stretch the hams/groin to get into the hips-higher starting position with an arched back. My back is flat but not arched enough.

Lame bench

Late post from saturday.
Shirt Work:
Used the 48 Phenom
315 x 3 off 3 board
Armpit started to rip, didn't look good
365 x "TAKE IT"
Armpit completely rips open. I thought it was the shirt blowing, but it looks like one of the non-load-bearing seams tore. I need to get this restitched ASAP if I want to use this shirt.

Switched to the F6. This shirt has loosened up a lot more than I thought.

375 off 2 board x FAIL. ugh
365 off 2 board x 1
365 x 1 - barely. Not good.

Board word:
3 board:
315 x 4
315 x 5
325 x 5

Tricep death:
205, finished the 4 board, couldn't hit a rep off the 5 board.
185, 4 board + 2 reps
135, finished

Lateral Raises
25 x 10
30 x 10
30 x 10

A pretty lame work out. I need to back off this week if I want any chance a recovering. The bar did not feel very fast.

▼ 1. 10/12/08 - Sun - CARDIO

• Walk ~1:10 hr

I ended up taking a different turn and ending up the shady warehouse district @ 1am. I had to jump a fence and cross railroad tracks to get back near my place. I was nervous.

Bench Day

10/11/08

Flat Bench

Warm-Ups

135 x 8

155 x 8

165 x 6

175 x 4 5(failure) 4 5

Incline Bench

95 x 8

115 x 8

135 x 7

145 x 5 (PR)

Dumbbell Military Press

30 x 2 sets

35 x 2 sets

Tricep Cable Pulldowns

130 x 6

130 x 6

Lat Pulldown Cable

60 x 6

60 x 6

Tricep Death

115 (failure at 4 boards)

Abs

3 sets weighted crunch

3 sets leg lifts

ME^Max Upper Body

Close-Grip Bench Press:
275 x 2
315 x 1
325 x 1
330 x 1 (+5 PR)

Note to self, don't slam the bar into the supports, the bar will fly back out and freak Kyle out. HAH

Shirted Board Press:
Metal IPF Viking Bencher

365 x 5, 3-board
405 x 1, 2-board
425 x 1, 2-board
435 x 1, 2-board (+10 PR?)
445 x FAIL, 2-board

I failed on the 445 at the top lockout, just couldn't extend my arms completely. Steve did these same weights as me (rock!), except he passed out under the 445. RESULT: Steve gets Best Lifter award, both for bench vs. bodyweight and for benching to the point of blacking out. Yeah buddy!

Chest-Supported Row:
3 plate, 1 x 5
3 plate + quarter, 1 x 5
4 plate + nickel, 1 x 2
4 plate + dime + nickel, 4/4/3

Need to stay at this weight until I get 3 x 5

Standing Dumbbell Overhead Press:
70s, 3 x 8, Hammer grip (easy)
80s, 1 x 5, Hammer grip

Need to increase to 75s next time, this was too easy.

Then I did some random stuff:
- 1 jumping muscle-up (arrrgh)
- 1 round of triceps death w/ 20 lbs more than Dave (although I failed on the 4-board)

Bench

Bench: 165x5
175x3, 5, 6
185x5 PR (Beat Greg)
175x5

Incline Bench: 95x10
135x8
145x4, 4 (Greg beat me with 5)

DB Military: 40x8
45x5, 4
50x 4/4 (1 arm)

Cable Pushdowns: (side pulley) Stack x 8, 11
1/3 Lat Pulldown Stack x 7, 8

Triceps Death: 115 failed at 4 board

The 185x5 was a big PR for me, which was nice. However, I ended up sandbagging the Triceps Death. Partial Fail.

Must...Get...Stronger...

▼ 1. 10/11/08 - Sat - OLY/UPPER BACK/FLEXIBILITY

Time: 1:45. Weight: 210.

▼ Oly

I decided to "max" on snatch today. Just see what I was capable of. The weights are still so light that it doesn't really tire me much.

• Drop snatch 20x5, 40x5x2, 60x5x2

• Hang snatch 40x3x2, 50x3, 52.5x2, 60x2, 65xmiss, 60xmiss, 60x2, 65xmiss

I wanted 60, and I got it. The 52.5 I thought was 55, but I guess thats OK because I thought 60 was a 5kg increase. I think my form still needs work, I'm catching the weight way above parallel (although not at full extension).

  The first 65 attempt I didn't pull hard enough, so I tried again and missed it pretty bad. Then I dropped down to 60 and missed it to the front and back (two attempts). I tried again and got 60 easily. My last miss at 65 I really thought I had, but I lost it forward at the bottom of the squat. I decided to call it, even though I probably could have gotten 65 with a few more attempts. I've never OH squatted more than 60, so whatever.

• Hang clean 60x5x2, 60x4

I think I figured out something about keeping the weight close to me. The last set I missed the last rep because the bar hit my chest as I was dropping.

• Clean off 3 blocks 60x3x3

• Jerks 60x3x3

I tried one rep not looking at mirror (I didn't for everything else). It felt so awkward I decided I still need the mirror for these. Other than that, these felt great. I feel like I still need serious coaching on jerks though. For some reason I get really tired even doing this holding the weight in the front squat position? It doesn't happen if I just hold the weight, I don't know what's up.

▼ Upper back

Short on time and I did a lot of work in the oly part, so I just kept this easy today.

• Dumbell rows 100x12, 110x12, 120x12

No wraps, but I had to reset grip with 120. Strange, because 110 felt really easy and grip was rock solid.

▼ Flexibility

• Gastroc on hack squat machine

• Hamstrings w/ bar in hack squat position

• Adductor on machine

• Seated groin

• Seated illiotibial

• Hip flexor

I need to find some good rehab for my left hip... The hip flexor is killing me constantly.

10-10

Power snatch 70/3 x 2 80/2 x 3
Power clean + push jerk 85/2+1 97/2+1 x 4
Clean and jerk 105/2+1 x 5 (missed last jerk)
Jerk 105/2 x 2 117/1 x 6 (missed one)
Skipped clean pulls

My groin/hamstrings were super sore from the heavy backsquats and hard stretching Wednesday. So much that I couldn't get a 105 clean pull off the floor at the very end and cleans hurt every rep. I think Nathan drunk-IM'ed me. Sounds like he had a good night.

SHEIKO WEEK #3; #9

Weight: 212.
- Bench 135x4 (50%), 165x4 (60%), 195x3x2 (70%), 220x3x3 (80%)
- Squat 208x5 (50%), 250x5 (60%), 290x5 (70%), 315x4x4 (75%)
- Bench 150x5 (55%), 180x6x2 (65%), 195x4x5 (70%)
- Dumbell bench 35x10x5
- Good mornings 165x5x5

SHEIKO WEEK #3; #9

Weight: 212.
- Bench 135x4 (50%), 165x4 (60%), 195x3x2 (70%), 220x3x3 (80%)
- Squat 208x5 (50%), 250x5 (60%), 290x5 (70%), 315x4x4 (75%)
- Bench 150x5 (55%), 180x6x2 (65%), 195x4x5 (70%)
- Dumbell bench 35x10x5
- Good mornings 165x5x5

Suit Has Arrived

So, the Hardcore and singlet arrived today. The singlet fits just fine - a tad loose, but I guess it being on you is what counts.

As for the Hardcore, I spent almost a half hour working with it, but managed to get it all the way on. Wasn't able to get both of the straps up - just one. Breaking it in should be fun.

Deadlifts

10/09/08

Deadlifts

93 x 8

139 x 8

179 x 8

179 x 8

229 x 7

269 x 3 (failure, used too much back, need to work on form)

Box Squats

Bar x 10

135 x 10

135 x 10

155 x 10

Purple Band Hamstring Curl

purple band provided too little resistance

Glute Ham Raise

Lunges

30 lbs each hand

down long hallway

break

back down hallway

Need to stop sandbagging and get stronger

some warm-up sets...

Rev. Band Sumo DL(green + blue): 315x5
405x3
455x Fail, 1, fail, fail
405x 4

Stiff-leg DL: 185x8
225x6,8

High Zercher Pull (only moderately high for me): 185x5
225x5
315x3, 3, 6 (figured out how to do it)

Banded Decline Abs: 5 sets

Moral of the story: Do not combine Nyquil and Accutane. I was completely out of it the entire day, and it contributed to my pussing out. Epic Fail.

Deadlift: the deadliftr

Band Lightened Deadlift:
Used greens + blues. completely slack (even for me) at the top, roughly 225 at the bottom.

(some warm ups)
495 x 5
585 x 3
675 x 3
725 x 3 (~2.9)

On the last one, I locked out too forward and fell forward. There's no correcting when the weight is this heavy, so I need to make sure I get it right.

Stiff-legged Deadlifts:
225 x 10
315 x 8
365 x 8

I was pretty fried after the first exercise. These were no fun

Zerchers (Off High Pins):
405 x 8
495 x 8
585 x 10

Decline abs w/ bands
used purples.

4 sets until failure

CARDIO/FLEXIBILITY

- Cardio (bike) 140-150 bpm x 30 mins
- Flexibility
- Gastroc
- Soleus
- Hamstrings w/ bar in hack squat position
- Hamstrings putting leg up on squat rack
- Stretch lats on pull-up
- Dislocates with "fitness bar"
- Adductor on machine
- Seated groin
- Seated illiotibial
- Hip flexors
- Quadriceps
- Lying glute

ME Lower Body

Gear:
Belt
Knee Sleeves
VS Athletics Weigtht-lifting Shoes (yay!)

I think this meets pretty much everyone's def. of competition raw.

Back Squat:
Shoulder-Stance

No belt:
blahblahblah
315 x 3
365 x 1

Belt:
405 x FAIL (too big of a jump)
385 x 1
395 x 1
405 x 1
415 x 1

Conventional Deadlift:
Chucks + belt

405, 3 x 3

Health:

Pre: tired, achy, back felt like shit

Post: pretty good! Twinged my upper traps (rhomboids?) a little bit with the DLs (slow lockout)

All in all, pretty decent considering how friggin tired I was. I really like the VS Athletics shoes, felt much better than squatting in chucks for Shoulder Stance. Keep plugging away.

SE Upper Body

Did this at Wooden. The downside is that there are far too many people at Wooden, and they crowd me. The upshot is that I get a ton of rage from this.

Gear:

None / no belt

Health:

5 hours of sleep, 7 hours of work, 2 hours of driving, and actively hungry.

Rippetoe-Style Standing Overhead Press:
Cleaned first rep to standing position.

198, 5/4/4

I'll still increase to 200 next week even though I didn't get all the reps. I think this is explainable by the other factors.

DE Speed Bench:
195 + green bands resisting, 9 x 3
235 + green bands resiting, 1 x 1

At this point Dave decided to show his respect and appreciation for my benching my throwing his wrist wraps at my head. This is fine, because this gives me a legitimate excuse to crack him in the balls when he isn't expecting it.

Dave: 235 + green bands, 1 x 2
Phil: 255 + green bands, 1 x 1
Dave: 255 + green bands, 1 x FAIL

Lesson: DON'T MESS WITH MY BENCH *stare*

Pull-Ups:
Bodyweight, 3x5

Didn't have the energy to really attack these, so just shut it down.

Upper Back Day

10/08/08

Chest-Supported Rows

50 x 10

70 x 8

95 x 5 (failure)

95 x 6 (failure)

Smith Machine Shrugs

(not accounting for bar weight if there is any)

180 x 10

230 x 11

270 x 10

320 x 12

360 x 9

360 x 15 (failure)

180 x 100 (not nearly all perfect reps)

came back to gym after hour break

One Arm Dumbbell Rows (not fat bar)

(very light weight but hands were in agony)

50 x 8

50 x 10

65 x 10

Finished with a few sets of pull-ups & chin-ups

Upper back - Competition Ensues

Chest-supported Row (mini band): 50x12
70x8
95x6, 6, 8

Smith machine Shrugs: 2 plates + 25x 12
3 x 15
3+25 x 12
4 x 10
4+25 x 10
2 x 54

Fat DB Rows: 90x7/7
100x9/9
110x6/6 (I pussed out, so Dave beat me)

Lat Pulldown: 2/3 stack x 6, 7, 7
full stack x 5

Greg and I are now competing on our main exercises. I beat him on the rows, and the shrugs for weight, but lost on the shrugs for reps. He got 100. I couldn't remember what rep I was on, so Victor had to count for me. At this rate, I will be senile by the age of 35.

Suit is coming tomorrow!

Uppr backr

Chest-Supported Rows:
used quadded minis on all sets for this. We were moving pretty quickly with 6 people, so I don't remember all my sets...

45 x 10 (warm up)
90 x 10
115 x 10
135 x 8
160 x 5
135 x 9

Shrugs:
Used the Smith Machine. I had to stand on the box to get the full range of motion because I have monkey arms.

415 x 10
455 x 10
495 x 10
545 x 10
585 x 10
315 x 37(?)

Greg and Kyle were duking it out on these pretty heavily. It was awesome to watch.

Fatbar-dumbbell rows:
90 x 8
100 x 8
110 x 7/right, 8/left

I beat Kyle today thanks to the shrugs, which was sweet revenge/vindication. He will probably beat me next time :'(

Lat pull downs:
No thumbs/finger grip

stack x 10
stack x 10
stack x 12
stack x 10

Preacher Curls:
80 x 8
70 x 8
70 x 8
70 x 8 + 30 x 12 (superset)

10-8 high volume day

Power snatch 70/3 x 2 80/2 x 3 (75%)
Snatch 75/3 (70%) 85/2 x 2 (80%) 97/2 x 3 (missed all of these but one......the new
percents are hard and I was kinda tired)
Snatch pull 97/3 x 3 107/3 x 3 (100%) 117/2 x 3 (110%)
Back Squat 105/3 (55%) 125/3 (65%) 152/4 x 5 (80%) This was hard.
Behind the neck press + OHS (pounds) 125/3+2, 130 fail, 125 fail, 115 3+2 x 2
If I can get the weight off my neck I can do it for reps. I couldn't get 130 or the second 125 up.

Flexiblity:
hamstrings, groin, shoulders for 30 minutes.
For shoulders I just got a 45 pound plate and held it over my head.

Ok workout, I easily got 85kg for 2 x 2 on the snatch, but the jump to 97 killed me. This week has been surprisingly hard though, considering I'm 3 weeks out from the meet. On the flip side, I do feel quite strong.

I'm also using the Russian books I bought to study up on program creation and to create a template that will allow me to create my own programs instead of having to exactly copy the one I have. That way I can address my specific weaknesses while still getting stronger in everything else as I should normally be. After I get it figured out I'm going to try to find data on powerlifting numbers that is similar to the type of data I have for weightlifting. It should actually be quite simple to translate the system to powerlifting once I have it down.

SHEIKO WEEK #3; #8

Time: 1:30?. Weight: 212.
- Deadlift to knees 260x4 (50%), 315x3 (60%), 365x4 (70%), 390x4x3 (75%)
- Bench 135x4 (50%), 165x4 (60%), 198x4x2 (70%), 205x3x2 (75%), 220x2x2 (80%), 235x1x2 (85%), 220x2x2 (80%), 205x3x2
(75%), 195x4 (70%), 180x6 (65%), 150x6 (55%)
Wrists were killing me from unracking without a lift-off.
- Dumbell bench 35x10x5
I'm replacing flies with this for now. My right shoulder was aching a bit from the flies. These felt better. Done with palms facing in.
- Deadlift from knees (rack pulls) 315x4 (60%), 365x3x2 (70%), 315x4x3 (80%)
- Lunges 135x5x5
- Abs on lat pulldown 120x10, 150x10x2

There might be hope for 198 yet.

Competition Training

So we are about 5 weeks out from the meet. I was wondering what you guys suggest as far as training from here on out. Last time I think Brent, Kevin, and I did something like this.

Bench and Deadlift Training
4 weeks- 5 RM
3 weeks- 3 RM
2 weeks- 2nd Attempt
1 week- off

This worked pretty well for me for the last meet, so I guess I'll stick to that unless you guys had something else that you think might up my numbers. Also, what would you guys suggest for squat training? or at least what do you guys plan on doing?

Bench Day

10/07/08

Bench Press (need to work on not bouncing off chest)  

Bar x 10

95 x 10

115 x 10

135 x 8

135 x 10

155 x 8

155 x 8

165 x 8

Reverse Band Bench:

Quadded Purples

135 x 8

155 x 8

165 x 8

Quadded Greens

185 x 6

185 x 6

205 x 3 (Kyle showed me who's boss)

Tricep Death (yes, they died, I need to work on them)

Close Grip Bench

Chest, 1 Foam Roller, 2 Foam Rollers

Superset 1

145 x 5

145 x 4 (failure)

145 x 2

Superset 2

135 x 5

135 x 5

135 x 4 (failure)

Regular Grip Bench

Chest, 1 Foam Roller, 2 Roam Rollers

Superset

155 x 5

155 x 5

155 x 4 (failure)

Bridges (abs)

3 sets of alternating leg bridges on ball

2 sets of bridges on ball being kicked until fall off ball

Bench Day Bench

Bench:
275 x 3 (warm up)

Shirt work:
I decided to try the F6 on again and see how it felt.
315 x 3
365 x 1
Feels alright, but the Ol' Cutter (read: 48 Phenom) seems to work better.

Reverse Band Bench:
Quadded purples:
275 x 8
295 x 8
295 x 5

Quadded Greens
315 x 5
315 x 5
325 x 4

Tricep Death:
Did a 3-set superset off the chest, 1 foam roller, 2 foam rollers. Foam roller = 2.5 board?

close grip:
195 x 5 x 3 (easy)
225 x 5 x 3 (not at easy)

regular grip:
225 x 5 x + 4 reps. Could not get the 5th rep to finish it. arrgh

Bridges (abs):
2 sets of alternating-leg bridges on ball
3 sets of bridges on ball where people kick the ball until you fall over.

1st Shirt Day

Bench: warm up to 175x3
Add HD Blast Shirt
185x3
205x3 PR
225x1 PR

Rev. Band Bench: 185x10 (purple)
205x6 (purple)
225x3 (green)

Triceps Death (normal, 1 manpon, 2 manpon): 135x5,5,5
165x4, not too many more
155x5, 3, 7?

Stability Ball Abs: 5 sets

The shirt today actually fit pretty well. It was tight in the chest, which I guess is what counts (the sleeves were loose - I have no arms to speak of). I think I can get some good poundage out of the shirt at the meet. I just need to work on touching to my sternum and not my belly.

Also, I felt super crappy today - maybe there is something to this sickness=strength thing...

PREHAB/CARDIO/FLEXIBILITY

Time: 1:00. Weight: 216.
- Prehab
- Snatch-squat-press 20x5x2, 40x5x3
Hips didn't like squatting today so I only did a few sets.
- A: Cable front kicks (single leg) 30x15,20
These got my hips really warm.
- A: Cable back kicks (single leg) 40x15,20
- A: Leg extensions (single leg) 60x15,20
For patella-femoral pain in right knee.
- Hyperextensions 50
- Cardio (bike) 150-160 bpm x 20mins
- Flexibility
- Seated groin
Adductor feeling tight today. Probably from hip-first squatting I tried yesterday, so I will not be
doing that any more.
- Seated illiotibial
- Adductor on machine
- Hamstring w/ bar in hack squat position
- Gastroc on hack squat machine
- Soleus on machine

Had another big meal tonight ... so that's three big group dinners in a row for me. I'm going to start shutting it down ... although my group is going to a big steak dinner (> $100/plate) next week that I'm not such a dumb ass as to skip out on. So my goal is to have my weight around 210 by the end of next week. Slightly under would be best. I need to be at 205 by the end of the month and 202-ish the week of the meet. I should know pretty quickly if this is going to happen or not.

Training with Priest Burdette

So for those who don't know, James 'Priest' Burdette contacted us (specifically, Dave) back in the beginning of the summer. Since Dave was somewhat forgetful about getting back to him, I'm the person he contacts.

For a frame of reference, Priest set a new USPF record in the 198 Class Bench Press at 633 lbs at the Muscle Beach meet on Sept. 13.

He wants to come out and train us, and I really want this to happen. It will be a pain in the ass to get him into Wooden (although it's our plan B). Any other suggestions are welcome. I'm trying to see if the guy who runs Velocity Sports Performance in Santa Clarita (the site of the USAPL meet) will let us train there with Priest (who has to drive from Bakersfield, I believe).

Santa Clarita is 40 minutes north of LA. Carpool as necessary.

Make it happen people!

EDIT: another option is F.I.T, run by Mendy. This is in Sherman Oaks, so pretty close.

USAPL Nov. 15 Entry form

Found Here

Squatting ME

Wore deadlift suit w/ straps down

I am sick; Brent is sick; Kyle is sick. We all hit PRs. That is called SCIENCE.

Squat:
405 x 5
(Added loose knee wraps)
455 x 5 (PR)
500 x 1 - fell backwards on second rep
500 x 3 (PR #2)

Band-lightened squats:
green bands:
585 x 3
605 x 1 (heavvvy)

Box Squat:
green bands:
(no belt)
225 x 1
Shooting pain in the lower back, so I stopped
(w/ belt)
225 x 1
Less shooting pain but still pain, so enough for me

Leg Extensions:
full stack until failure, 3 sets

Had to run to help the movers with my new bed (sweet).

Mondays are for Squatting

Felt like ass today due to a cold...but no excuses, so here's the training session:

Squats (belted):
warm up
315 X 5
340 X 5 (with knee wraps)
370 X 3 (with knee wraps)

Reverse Banded (green bands) Squats:
495 X 3
495 X 3
525 X fail (tried for 2 reps)

Box Squats with Green Bands Resisting:
225 X 5
245 X 4 (for 3 sets)

Barbell Lunges:
135 X 8 each leg
155 X 8 each leg
185 X 6 each leg (for 2 sets)

Squats + Dave I Have Your Stuff

Squat: 155x5
185x5
205x5
225x5
255x3 PR (questionable depth on the last one, but the strength was there)

Rev. Band Squat (green): 405x3 PR
365x 5, 6

Box Squat (green): 135x3, 3, 3, 3

Zerchers from Pins: 175x5
185x5, 5
195x5 PR

Today was a good day for PR's. I felt like crap and am at 207 right now(was 209 last week), so that obviously made me stronger. On a good note, however, I am re-incorporating dairy into my diet with no side effects so far. Cottage cheese FTW!

I will be getting my squat suit and singlet on Thursday night.

The Zerchers were added in because I really feel these working my glutes and hips - which theoretically should help my squat and dead.

Stuff I have of Dave's: green & purple bands, knee wraps, & box

Squats

10/06/08

Squats

135 x 10

135 x 10

155 x 8

165 x 6

185 x 9

185 x 8

Purple Band Squats

275 x 5

225 x 8

225 x 8

225 x 6

Box Squats

135 x 3

135 x 3

135 x 3

Lunges

Bar

65

75

85

Today

Power clean 85/2 (65%) 97/2 x 3 (75%)
Clean and Jerk 110/1 x 4 (85%)
Jerk 105/2 (80%) 117/2 (90%) 127/1 x 2 (missed both)
Continued trying 127 a couple more times, then went to 130 and tried it 4-5 times. Every single time the weight was locked out overhead but slightly forward so I missed them all. The problem is that I'm nnot moving under the bar into the right position, and I'm not doing it fast enough when I try. I'll be working on that especially during every workout from here on.

Front Squat 85/4 (50%) 105/4 (60%) 120/5 x 3 (70%)
Behind the neck press + OHS 115/3+1, 125/3+1, 130/2 presses (weights in pounds)

Overall not that bad of a workout. The weights are light, I just need to adjust my jerk technique and it should increase quickly. I'm relatively better at the snatch than the jerk because I'm very good at getting under the bar quickly in that lift. Now I need to work on it in the jerk, and the clean to some degree.

SHEIKO WEEK #3; #7

Brazliian BBQ today... Very rushed at the gym so I had minimial rest and supersettted some of the active recovery.
Weight: 218. Time: 1:10.
- Squat 205x4 (50%), 245x4 (60%), 285x3x3 (70%), 335x3x4 (80%)
Belted third heavy set, then said fuck it and took it off for the last one. All felt pretty good. I would do a set, take a walk to the far side of the gym, walk back, and do another.
- Bench 135x3 (50%), 165x3 (60%), 195x3x2 (70%), 220x3x3 (80%)
- A: Flies 25x10x5 (10%)
- A: Dips BWx8x5
- Squat 205x4 (50%), 245x4 (60%), 285x5x4 (70%)
I discovered that if I conciously push my hips back at the start of the squat, it feels different and easier. But my back became quite tired. So I'm going to avoid this change until I have another pair of eyes look at it and see if my form is breaking down.
Sets of five are rare on Sheiko, so this was fun.
- Good morning 165x5x5
Last set done while they were turning off the lights in the weight room.

As you can see, the sodium and food from the Brazilian BBQ led to an awesome bloat (6 lbs at least).

I got back from dinner to my apartment at 9pm. The gym closes at 11pm. For who-knows-what reason, I decided to hang out doing jack shit at my apt for 30 mins before leaving. By this time I realized I had far less time than I planned for to do the workout. So I basically sprinted through this whole thing. Considering I was mildly full (not super full by any means) with meat and rushed, the work out actually ended up being awesome.

SQUAT BENCH SQUAT I AM BORIS SHEIKO™

SE Lower Body

Gear:

None / no belt

Back Squat:
Shoulder Stance

295, 3 x 5 (3 sets of 5 reps)
325, 1 x 2 (1 set of 2 reps)

The last one was easiest.

Power Cleans:
215, 5 x 3 (5 sets of 3)

Good Mornings:
205, 3 x 8

The good mornings are a good finisher for this setup. The squats felt much better than the 285 5x5. So I'm going to use my regular protocol for them (and pretty much everything else).

On a related note, I switched back to the 2 High/1 Low Upper/Lower split I've been using (although I need to tweak a few things). The 3 Whole Body/Week routine I tried last week was too much of a grinder to sustain with my situation (work + driving a bunch).

Priest Burdette gave me a call. I'm going to call him and invite him to bench this weekend. So if you want to learn from a 600+ lbs single-ply bencher, show up this weekend (time TBD).

Sunday STuff

Gear:

None / no belt

Olympic-Style Front Squats:
135 x 5
185 x 3
225 x 3
245 x 3
275 x 2 x 2

Couldn't snag a third rep on either set, was falling forward too much. Still improvement, but can't move the weight up yet.

Speed Bench:
195, 9 x 3 (9 sets of 3)

Meh, just easy.

Rippetoe-Style Bent-Over Row:
225, 3 x 5 (3 sets of 5)

Lats/lower back++

I talked to two guys about the club. One one a guy deadlifting 405 @165? (or so) without a belt. SO that was pretty good. He seemed pretty on-the-ball, as he was a Crossfit trainee. Told him about the hours and the website.

Other dude was deadlifting 315 @ some weight > 200 (he was tall). He wore chucks, so he must be curious. Informed him as well.

So keep as out this week for new people. Also, Wooden is somewhat improving; these two guys, and there were a bunch of asian dudes trying to olympic lift (practicing the jerk, hang snatches, etc.)

Then again, I saw some dude doing standing single-arm dumbbell curls while yelling really loudly, so it all kind of balanced out.

CARDIO/FLEXIBILITY

- Cardio - bike 135-160 bpm x 30 min
- Flexibility
Gym was closing so I just did a few stretches I won't do on Tue instead of the full repertoire, as
intended.
- Quads
- Hip flexors
These felt really good ... probably need to do both this and illiotibial.
- Seated glute
- Foam roll illiotibial

Weight: 212. I have a few social dinners over the next two days, then I will lock down the diet for serious near the end of the week. I will give it a couple serious weeks to start working and then make a decision. I've never had serious dieting not work, and I was looking @ 220 classification standards. I really need to go 198.

24hr Fitness: Bench

Over at Lucy's place on Saturday after apple picking. 24HR was close so I thought I would get a workout in since Wooden would be close by the time I made it back west.

Bench:
275 x 5
275 x 5

I forgot I wasn't going to do barbell bench, so I stopped

Dumbbell Bench:
They had dumbbells up to 115, so I decided to take advantage of the situation.
105 x 8
115 x 5
115 x 4
(drop set)
105 x 6, 50 x 10

Drop sets on dumbbells feels really weird, in a good way

Cable Tricep:
Single-pulley stack, which is nice
110 x 10
120 x 10
130 x 6

I had to stop after 130 because I kept losing my leverage and nearly picking myself up off the ground. I get around this at Wooden by locking my feet in to the lat pull down part, but there was no way to do that here.

Dip Machine:
full stack until failure, 4 sets

(superset)
Reverse Flyes:
pause at full extension
110 x 10
140 x 10, 4 sets

Bench Flyes(?):
24HR had some weird machine where it was a wide grip bench press at first, but then forced the movement into a fly, so it transitioned from the tricep to the bicep and at the end it was all pecs. Kind of nifty, so I just did it as a cool down.

5 sets, 110 lbs. (or whatever that means)

Friday

Power snatch 75/2 x 4 (70%)
Snatch 80/2 90/2 x 4 (85%)
Snatch pull 97/4 x 3 107/3 x 3 (100%)
Power clean 90/3 x 3 (70%)
1/2 jerk 130/5 x 3
Back squat 95/4 105/4 152/5 x 3 (80%)


Didn't post this until now because Friday I left the gym, took a shower, and went straight to Mike Jones' place, drank, and passed out on his couch. When I woke up and didn't remember how I actually got on the couch I knew the night had been a success. I then picked up Ita from home and we went to the football game, which we actually won, then we came home. I'm taking this weekend off because 1) Ita is here and 2) it actually sets my lifting schedule up so that I lift again the day before the meet instead of 2 days before, which is how the program is intended to work.

Also, before the game we hung out with my parents and god Brazilian BBQ, which was totally sweet. They brought 3 more books from home on weightlifting so I can study and figure out how to properly write a program using the Russian style. Yay.

OLY/UPPER BACK/FLEXIBILITY

- Oly
Everything is feeling ridiculously light. So much so that I think I'm cheating the pull. I will probably move up to 50 next week. I also finally learned how to catch a snatch on my legs.
- Drop snatches 20x5, 40x5x3
- Hang snatches 40x3x5
- Snatch of blocks
- 6 blocks 40x3, 2
Felt unstable so I did two sets.
- 5 blocks 40x2
- 4 blocks 40x2
- 3 blocks 40x3x2
- Hang cleans 40x5x2
- Cleans of 3 blocks 40x5x2
- Full cleans 40x5x2
- Jerks 40x3, 50x3, 60x3
For these I wanted to make sure I wasn't just pressing, so I increased the weight. All reps felt easy and fast. Need to re-assess technique.
- Upper back
I need to decide if this is just for prehab/recovery or if I'm going to be serious about the upper back on Saturday.
- Pull-ups BWx12x3
- Cable rows w/ articulating back 200x8, 240x8, 300x6
240 easy, 300 hard (relatively--could have done a few sets of 8 if I pushed it).
- Strict hammer curls 30x12x2
- Flexibility
- Soleus
- Gastroc
- Hamstrings in hack squat position (bar behind legs)
- Seated illiotibial
- Adductor on machine
- Seated groin

EDIT: Weight was 212 today. I've significantly cut back on my eating over the past week and the weight hasn't dropped. I'm going to continue for now and monitor things...if the weight doesn't change in a couple weeks I'll need to seriously reconsider this 198 thing.

Ultra-Newb Bench

It was just me, Greg, Ben, and Victor working on bench today. The theme for today was "Arch More".

Bench: 175x3
185x2
195x1 (foot lifted a bit, so doesn't really count)
195x miss (Came down too fast)

Rack Lockouts: 185x7
195x6
195x5
205x3

Barbell Overhead Press: 95x8
105x6
115x7 (leg drive)
125x3 PR (leg drive)

Barbell Rows: 135x15
175x10
185x10
195x8

Farmer's Walks (just for fun): 100lb plate x 2 lengths of gym x 2

An ok session. My wrist is doing a lot better, I just need to get stronger. I'm probably doing something wrong with my bench as well, but I couldn't really tell.

The farmer's walks were thrown in there because they're fun. And they help build "the yoke".

Bench

10/04/08

Flat Bench

Bar x 10

95 x 8

115 x 8

135 x 9

155 x 8

165 x 5

175 x 4

185 x 3 (Failure)

185 x 4 (Failure)

Rack Lock-Outs

185 x 6

195 x 5

205 x 5 (Failure)

205 x 3

205 x 4 (Failure)

Military Press

Bar x 15

95 x 7

105 x 5

105 x 5

Upright Row

Bar x 10

95 x 12

135 x 10

155 x 7

165 x 6

Deadlifts for Huge Guns

Pythons, I'm telling you!

Gear:
None / no belt

Me and the Lil' Lady got to the gym about 1/2 hour before closing so all I had time for was:

Conventional Deadlift:
Straight weight, y'all

225 x 5
275 x 3
325 x 2
375 x 2
425 x 4 x 1 (4 sets of 1 rep)



I think this is the most I've ever pulled conventional, straight weight, no belt. Nice, since my lower back was tired from all the squatting this week. The last pull seriously took like 10 seconds to lock out, but I just gutted it out.

Also, I need to make up speed benching and front squats. Sunday morning, probably.

SHEIKO WEEK #2; #6

Danny suggested I be more explosive on all of my lifts because they are such low intensity. He said for all my sets of three, I should do three singles instead of three reps. (This is a mental cue.) I think this is a good idea and fits within my understanding of Sheiko, so I will be doing this insofar as I am able to keep good form.
First test at MIT today, so I am not particularly well rested. This was a long work out, so it was quite exhausting.
- Squat 205x4 (50%), 250x4 (60%), 290x3 (70%), 315x3x5 (75%)
If I push my knees out hard, then I think my form is fine. Danny says I am still squatting too low. No belt.
- Bench 135x5 (50%), 165x4 (60%), 195x4 (70%), 205x3x3 (75%), 225x2 (80%), 235x1x2 (85%), 225x2 (80%), 205x4 (75%), 195x5 (70%), 165x5 (60%), 150x6 (55%)
- Flies 25x10x5 (10%)
- Dips BWx8x5
Maybe explosiveness isn't such a good idea on these. Closest I've come to failing a rep on the last few sets. It's only active recovery.
- Squat 225x3 (55%), 275x3 (65%), 315x2x3 (75%)
Belted heavy sets just for practice.
- Good mornings 165x5x5 (40%)

Danny told me his training philosophy today: "First set, start with absolute maximal weight. Then add more weight." Dave, I think you'd get along with him.

I need to get a mullet

Then I too will bench 600 lbs in a blast shirt

Also, my squat monday looked like Dave Pasanella's. Just with (literally) 1/2 the weight :'( :'( :'(

I good-morning more than I squat

Good Mornings:
(some random warm up sets)
405 x 8
455 x 5
495 x 3 (wtf??)

Ultra-wide deadlifts:
Plastic collars are inside the plates pointing out to extend the sumo deadlift 3" in each direction. They're murder on the hips.
225 x 10
315 x 9
405 x 5 (6? I don't remember)
315 x 10

(Giant set:)

Banded leg curls:
3 sets w/ green band til failure

Glute Ham Raise:
1 set bodyweight
3 sets + 25lbs

Band-resisted decline sit up:
4 sets w/ purples

Squats and Deadlifts

10/02/08

Squat

Bar x 15 -- 3 sets

95 x 10 -- 3 sets

Conventional Deadlift

135 x 10 -- 2 sets

155 x 10 -- 2 sets

185 x 4

185 x 6

225 x 5

Banded Leg Curls

Green Elastic x 10 -- 3 sets

Hamstring Extension

Body Weight x 8

Body Weight x 6

Body Weight x 5

Band Resisted Decline Sit-Ups

Purple x 6

Purple x 7

Purple x 8

"Get Stronger" (aka Deadlifts)

Arch-Back Good Morning: warm up sets...
185x5
185x5
195x5
205x8
225x8
225x10 PR (my previous best was 185x6)

Ultra-wide Sumo Deadlift: 225x5
245x5
315x3
335x5 PR!!! (double overhand - this was my previous max)

GHR: 6, 8, 8, 6

Band Leg Curls: green x 15, 12, 13

Band Resisted Decline Sit-ups: purple x 12, 11, 11, 11

A day of Massive PR's. First were the Good Mornings. Next up came the deadlifts. These were very uncomfortable and I feel like I could get much more with my normal stance. I attribute much of my strength today to Dave's inspirational words of "Get Stronger".

Now time to eat obscene amounts of food.

These are pretty awesome

Old School PL

Some More

And again

Check out how short Vince Anello's deadlift stroke is. Ludicrously short.

Extra Workout

Barbell Complex:

Same as Tuesday

Standing Overhead Dumbbell Press:
70s, 8/6/6/5 (24)

Got up at 5:00 today and tired from getting used to new format, made these hard.

Hanging Leg Raises:
Bodyweight, 4 x 6

EDIT:

Also, Elite had to refund my Metal Squatter since they didn't have the sizes I wanted (apparently it's discontinued). So no new squat suit for now (the deadlifter is coming next week). I'll put off getting a new squat suit until I can't get any more use out of my Hardcore. I'll get either a Centurion or TRX at that point.

First Day

10/01/08

I should have counted my reps more carefully, but I was just trying to get used to the new exercises.

Back

Big Grip Bar

2 sets 25lbs each side

1 set 30lbs each side

Pullups

3 sets

Biceps

Purple Elastic with 30lb Curl Bar

3 sets

Calfs

1 set 5 45lb plates on each bottom rack side, 2 45lb plates on each top rack side

1 set burnout 5 45lb plates on bottom, 2 45lb plates on top, down to 2 45lb plates on top

Mr. Lattimer and the Posteriors

Weighted Chin-ups:
+45 x 8
+70 x 7
+90 x 5
+100 x 4.5
(drop set)
+45 x 12, bodyweight x 16

Brent beats me on these :'(

Chest-supported Row:
Used quadded-purples anchored to two 95s. I think it was a bit too much at the top ~150? Quadded-minis would've worked better had we had them.

70 x 10
90 x 10
115 x 7
115 x 6

Fat-bar Dumbbell Rows:
70 x 8
90 x 8 (PR from last week; also, no stopping this time)
100 x 7 (PR)
110 x 4 on right arm, 8 on left arm????

Kyle wins. These are still hard.

Standing cambered bar curls w/ bands
Band wrapped around feet and looped though hands.
35 + purple x 10
35 + purple x 10
35 + green x 8 (harrrd)
35 + green x 7

Calf Raises on Leg Press:
450 x 15
630 x 15
810 x 15
Then the fun began. We did an massive drop set where we went tail failure, then took one plate off, repeat. We stopped with 2 plates on the top pins. 9 sets total
900 x 12 -> 180.
awesome.


We had our newest member Greg show up tonight. A freshman Computer Science major. Computer Science, ftw. Also, we've had another new member Dan start training with us as of yesterday. And Greg's friends are going to join up. At one point there were 7 of us training at the same time, which was pretty intense! Things are looking good for us getting 2 legit 2 quit.

CHALK!!!

DAVE-
PLEASE BRING SOME CHALK TOMORROW!

thanks

Back Day

Pull-ups: Wide neutral x 6, 6
Wide x 5
Neutral x 6, 5

Chest-supported Row: 70x8
45 + purple band x 8
70 + x 10, 10
Strip Set: 70+ x 10, 45+ x 5, 45x8

Fat DB Rows (heavy today): 70x10/10
90x8/8
100x7/7 (de-load between reps)
110x7/7 (") PR

Fat Bar Hammer Curl/Leg Press Calves Superset from Hell

Joints feeling better today. Shoulders still a bit crappy.

Dave and I now have a Fat DB Row competition going. It's the only thing I can compete with him on. Those things are hard lol.

10-1

Power clean + push jerk 90/2 x 4 (70%)
Clean and jerk 90/2, 105/2 x 4 (80%)
Jerk behind head 105/2 110/2 115/2 x 3 (90%)
Clean pull 105/4 x 2 117/4 x 3 (92%)
1/2 jerk 130/10 x 3
Back Squat 115/4 135/4 x 3 (70%)

Flexibility (did this twice, AM and PM):
20-30 minutes of hamstring, groin stretches standing and seated. I stretch really hard, to the point of pain but not injury.

Jerks behind head actually felt really good. I tried these when they were actually written into the program and failed misterably (a few months ago). Now I've got the technique down and they feel great. I will continue using these. The half jerks felt good too, I think it will help my rebound out of the jerk a lot.

It's good that I'm actually doing flexiblity work now. My hamstrings aren't bad but my groin is terrible. I was thinking that I would just do it on workout days to give myself complete rest on my off days, but after doing the AM flexiblity today and then lifting I think I'll be able to do it every day. It's necessary so I guess I might as well, I'll just not do it too hard the day before heavy workouts, and certainly no AM stuff if I'm going 90%+.

Competiton Cycle: ME Bench

Gear:
None / no belt

Back Squat:
Shoulder Stance for all. I need to get some weight lifting shoes for this stance, as I have to go damn deep without a heel and I feel slightly tilted too forward at the very bottom.

285, 5 x 5

Reverse-Band* Flat Bench:

315 x 3
335 x 1
355 x 1
375 x 1 (10 lbs PR)
395 x FAIL

Failed on the 395 about where a 3 board ends.

Setup pictures:





Power Cleans:

135 x 3
185 x 3
215 x 7 x 2 (7 sets of 2 reps)

Also, here's a picture of my eye from squatting Monday:

SHEIKO WEEK #2; #5

- Deadlift to knees 285x4 (55%), 315x4 (60%), 365x4x3 (70%)
- Bench press 150x4 (55%), 180x5 (65%), 195x4x3 (70%)
With wide-grip and "Phil-style" set up, Danny says the arch looks a lot better.
- Flies 25x10x5 (10%)
- Deadlift 265x4 (50%), 315x4 (60%), 365x3x2
(70%), 395x3x4 (75%)
- Lunges 135x5x5

Spent a lot of time talking to Danny today... Here's some highlights:
- He's looking for a training partner, so I'm going to judge Sheiko after the Nov meet and decide how to proceed.
- I told him about the two-hour weigh-in. His advice? "Don't compete. That's impossible."
- He says I should weigh about his weight (260) and bench around 400 raw.
- He tweaked his knee today.
- I was going over Sheiko and we were talking about doing multiple sets at 70-75%. He asked, "So what's the point? To get stronger?!" (Last part incredulously.) Lols.
- We were talking about deadlifting, and somehow talked about Coan's 198 record. He said, "It's even more impressive chemically. The pros today are doing very stupid things. They did stupid things back then too, but less stupid."
- He says my bench set up + arch looks a lot better doing "Phil-style" set up. I've also moved my grip out a little wider, so w/ the arch, the stroke feels noticeably shorter.
- He says my deadlift is perfect, except I'm doing to cut off my toes w/ the plates some day when I drop it.