LAST TWO WORKOUTS

▼ 1. 6/23/09 - Tue - CARDIO/FLEXIBILITY

• Cardio - bike 130 bpm x 25 mins

• Flexibility - gastroc on leg press, adductor magnus on leg press, hamstrings, seated groin, 

hip flexors, glutes

▼ 2. 6/22/09 - Mon - SHEIKO #4

Weight: 211. Time: 2:30. Not sure what happened with this weight -- I didn't eat much the night before and I was a little dehydrated, I guess. Didn't eat anything all day before this work out either, felt pretty weak because of that even though I was finally well rested.

• Squat warm-up: 45x5, 135x5x4, BW lunges x15x4, 225x4 (50), 275x3 (60), 

315x3x2 (70), 365x3 (80), 385x2x2 (85)

Belted essentially everything. Used new APT knee sleeves. They felt great, gave very little support, etc. Exactly what I need.

  I tried to use the same form as last time to keep knees feeling good -- toes only slightly pointing out, weight on heels, pushing feet out. I think this might be a good form to keep in the long run, but it changes my form and makes the squats feel much harder. 385x2x2 was not easy. More on this later.

• Bench 45x10, 155x3 (50), 185x3 (60), 215x3x2 (70), 245x3x4 (80)

Feeling kind of beat up lately, so these were slow but not close to failure.

• Dumbell bench 50x10x5

• Dips BWx8x5

• Squat 225x4 (50), 275x3 (60), 315x3 (70), 365x2x4 (80)

Belted last three sets of 365. For last set, I used my 'lazy form' of dropping much more quickly with my weight more forward on my foot. It felt much easier. I'm not sure what I should do with this -- maybe sitting back will feel better if I give it enough time?

• A: Good mornings 135x5x5

• A: Lunges BWx15x4

For adductor...

SE Squat

So I left my belt at 4-star on accident last thursday, so my squat day was a little thrown off. Thing feel fairly comfortable until around 315 when I don't feel like my lower back is fully supported. That's a weakness I definitely need to overcome, but not at the same time I'm rehabbing that body part.

Box Squats:
225 x 8
275 x 8
295 x 8
315 x 8
335 x 8

Cleans:
155 x 5
175 x 5
205 x 3, 5

Lunges:
225 x 12, 3 sets

Finished with hyperextensions and hanging leg raises

Weight

Current weight = 190

What's the best way to drop 25 pounds by July 18?

6-23

This was supposed to be at the beginning of yesterday's workout. I was pretty tired this morning for no paticular reason too, so that made the workout harder.

Power snatch 77/2 88/1 x 3
Power clean + push jerk 92/2+1 x 2
Clean and jerk 105/1+2 117/1 x 2 120 - 1,miss,1

6-22

Couldn't do my morning workout today because of meetings, so it's been moved to tomorrow.

I did this today:

Clean Pull 132/2 x 2 145/1 x 3

Deadlift 145/3 x 3 No chalk, no hook, double overhand

Jerk 95/3 x 3

Back squat 105/4 152/5 x 4 Felt heavier than I would've liked

Bench 135/3 155/3 185/3 x 2 210/3 x 5 Last 3 sets with commands

QE Bench

Quick workout. total time: 55 minutes. The short rest starting taking its toll after the 3rd set of bench. Went over to Wooden instead of 4-star due to evening conflicts. That place is packed and filled with bad spotters all around.

Bench:
275 x 5 @ 2 sec
285 x 5 @ 1.5 sec
275 x 5 @ 1 sec
225 x 10

Military Press:
135 x 8
155 x 4 (ughh.. gassed too soon)
135 x 7, 6

super set
Band tricep extesions
doing these last saturday made my tricep feel much better. The purples are too much, so next time I need two minis.

minis x failure, 6 sets

Wide-grip pull ups:
33, 30, 15, 10

Finished with GHR abs

Training 6/19/09

No more fever, but still sick enough that this was a very hard day.

OLY:

P.snatch: 65x6x3
P. Clean + jerk: 85x4x3

Took more rest, as I was fucking dying doing this. The fast cardiovascular stuff is the hardest when sick.

DEADLIFT:
135x3, 185x3, 225x2+Fail

DB BENCH:
25x6?, 30x6?

BENCH:
65x5, 85x5x5

Even this felt easy enough, but was hardly the day to move up. Next time.

DEADLIFT:
135x3, 185x3x5

Light sets across for strict form work. nathans asked if I was actually pushing my knees out during sumo, which I was not, then did on the last set and boy, the difference. 'i learned something today'.

Stretch, foam rolled hips, back.


The beginning was brutal, but I'm glad I stuck through it.

LAST THREE DAYS (+ off day)

▼ 1. 6/21/09 - Sun - CARDIO/FLEXIBILITY

Time: 1:00. Feeling beat up. Just a light cardio day.

• Cardio - bike 30 mins

▼ Flexibility

• Soleus on leg press

• Adductor magnus on leg press

This is a great squat-specific stretch for the adductor muscle that gets sore. I just use the leg press with no weight and let it sink with no resistance from me. Hurts like a bitch, but it hits the adductor magnus really well.

• Hamstrings w/ bar (straight back and 'touching toes')

• Seated groin

• Hip flexors

▼ 2. 6/20/09 - Sat - OFF (FLEXIBILITY)

Feeling really destroyed from jumping into this cycle in week 3. Took a day off to chill with Dee and heal up.

• Flexibility - hamstrings, adductor magnus, groin, hip flexors

Dee helped me stretch!

▼ 3. 6/19/09 - Fri - SHEIKO #3

Weight: ??. Time 2:30.

  Today was difficult, but manageable. I think I've figured out how to bench without my arch hurting the lower back. And I figured out some good things on my squat.

• Bench 155x4 (50), 185x4 (60), 215x3x2 (70), 240x3x3 (80)

• Squat warm up: 135x5x4, bodyweight lunges x 15 x 4, 225x5 (50), 275x5 

(60), 315x5 (70), 335x4x4 (75), cooldown: 135x5x4, bodyweight lunges 

x 15 x 4

After getting super sore adductors from Monday, I decided to try some things to correct this for good. First, I noticed that lunges hit the main muscle (adductor magnus) that gets sore. So I did lots of these to warm up and cool down. I also made some form changes primarily for my right knee, but these could definitely have helped the adductor as well.

  For my knee, I tried pointing my toes slightly more forward. This also makes depth harder to hit, so I get a better bounce out the hole. I also focused on sitting on my heels with the weight straining on the outside of the foot. This felt noticeably different, and I couldn't keep this form on every rep, but I felt better overall so I will keep it up.

• Bench 165x5 (55), 195x6x2 (65), 215x4x5 (70)

• A: Dumbell bench 55x10x5

• A: Good morning 135x5x5

6-20

P. Sn. 72/4 82/2 x 3
Snatch 88/2 x 2 100 - 1,1,1,1,miss,1
Sn. Pull 110/2 x 4
Jerk 100/2 112/2 x 3 100- 2,4

Tried to back squat but could only do 162/1 after this, so I left Crossfit Balboa, drove home, and went to the ARC (about an hour break total):

B. Squat 125/5 162/3 x 5
Bench 145/3 170/3 x 2 195/3 x 6

Easy after the break. I lose my ability to strain after heavy Olympic lifts. They are too dissimilar from squats (much faster, much more rebound out of the bottom, lower bottom position as well). After a rest though I'm good to go.

Also, When I got to the ARC one of the squat racks was being used by this idiot teaching his little brother/friend how to lift (I believe they were training for either basketball or football). I got to hear such gems as "point your toes straight forward and don't put you legs wide or you won't work the right muscles," "these work your quads and your legs (with gestures to quads and hamstrings)," and "don't worry about what other people are doing just worry about tearing them up on the field, or court." I also got to watch as they did 1/4 reps on both squats and lunges, then move to the Smith machine to do weighted jumps with like 90% of what they were "squatting." I mean, they were going down the same distance for a squat (and a lunge) as they were for the jumps.

The thing that actually pissed me off was this: "anyone can put up three plates on a side" (this was as I was benching...I could barely keep from laughing and/or beating the shit out of this pussy because I'm about 90% sure he was talking about me.). And the reason I think he was talking about me (other than the fact that I was squatting 360 5 feet from them beforehand), although I didn't hear it, is because I think the little brother/friend was questioning his "mentor" when he saw me lift. Oh, another delightful piece of advice: "it doesn't matter if you see someone lifting more than you. If you're doing 10's on a side and you're doing it right then it doesn't matter." The irony being, of course, they they had NO CLUE was right actually is.

RE Deadlift

Deadlift
529 x 8

Good Mornings:
325 x 8
365 x 8
407 x 8
435 x 8

Can't remember the exact kilo conversions.

Did some light sets (155) of SLDLs to work on flexibility and form. These still seize up my back even being light. Feels good to stretch though

DB Row:
125 x 8
150 x 8, 2 sets

Upper Back Training (DELOAD)

Pullup
Warmup: Dead hang from bar
BWx12
BW+10x10
BW+25x8

Inverted Row
BWx12
Bwx11
BWx9

Face Pull
2 sets 8-10 reps

Seated Dumbbell Curl
2 sets of 10 reps

External Rotator Work
2 sets of 10 reps

Side Note: I am deloading this week, so the volume is lower and I'm going for more reps.

Deadlift Workout (DELOAD)
(Thursday Jun 18, 2009)

Power Clean
Warmup: Bar x 5, 95x5
135 x 5
155 x 3
175 x 3
185 x 3

Dumbbell Pull-through
60 x 12
60 x 12
70 x 10

Barbell Holds
Held the bar in the deadlift lockout for as long as possible to work on pronated (thumb-less) grip
315 x Failure
365 x Failure
405 x Failure

Ab Wheel
3 sets to Failure

Side note: I'm deloading this week as I feel trashed after heavy squatting, deadlifting, rowing etc. I've decided to have one deload week every 4 weeks - just doing more reps, lower volume and more power movements while changing the exercises for the week ;)

CARDIO/MISC

Weight: 215 (morning), 218 (after gym). Time: 0:45.

  Adductors feel a bit better today, not 100%. Definitely less sore than after Monday.

• A: Pullovers 40x8x3

For stretching my upper back, which ended up quite tight after yesterday.

• A: Decline crunches 45x10x3

• Rowing machine 15 mins @ 2:08.5 min / 500m

• Bike 15 mins @ ~130 bpm

Some guy was doing cardio and stopping to rest every 45 secs. It was pissing me off.

Rugby/Cardio

6/16/09

Touch Rugby - 1.5 hours, out on the pitch.

Stretch - .5 hours.

Started with 2v3, then brock showed up and we had 3v3. Being only in sneakers and not cleats did not bother my ankle luckily, though my feet slid out from under me once. I scored a few tries, but not having any real cardio for two weeks, plus getting sick, made me less than useful. In retrospect, this may have been a bad idea since I woke up with a fever the next day.

Touch will definitely continue throughout the summer so that i won't show up to practice in august as nimble as a prop.

M(arathon)E Bench

I srsly need to stop lifting at 4-star for 3+ hours...

Shirted Bench:
365 x 3 @ 3 board
365 x 2 @ 2 board
365 x 2 @ 1 board
365 x 1
385 x 1 (PR)
405 x FAIL

Guys tried cranking the Katana for the last one but the max-resistance point got shifted far too low for an IPF-legal bench. I went with the shirt's groove (to avoid dumping on myself), but it didn't give nearly as much pop. Guys said the Katana was barely doing anything (hard to believe), but it's definitely not providing a ton of resistance, which is unfortunate. I still have yet to fully seat it in the armpits, so I'm hoping once it's in place, the shirt might tighten up more. Next week I'll try 395, as 385 felt easy.

Chain Work:
185 + 140lbs of chains x 5 @ 2 board
225 + 140 x 5 @ 2 board
275 + 140 x FAIL
245 + 140 x 1 (immediately after previous fail)
185 + 140 x 14 @ MANPON (Brent said 15, but i gassed)
185 + 140 x 10 @ MANPON (sunk it in deeper this time)

Skullcrushers are still bothering my right tricep tendon at the elbow, so I bailed on them early. Bill suggested doing monster-mini band tricep extensions, which were surprisingly hard. They set had the bad weight kick in at 90 degrees, so it was perfect. Did 5 strip sets from monster-minis to minis, all til failure. I'm guess 110 at the top / 150 at the bottom for the monster minis.

Stability Bench:
65s(??) x 10, 3 sets

Forgot what Brent had on there.

Did some biceps too.

LAST TWO WORKOUTS

▼ 1. 6/17/09 - SHEIKO - #2

Time: 2:45. Weight: 219.

  Not sure what to make of my weight. Maybe it is really getting close to 220?

  The monday workout destroyed me. Jumping into the third week of this program is definitely intense. It left my adductors very sore today, like I always get from rep sets of squats. Took long warm ups but they are still sore. Other muscles were also a little beat up, especially my lower back. I think this is exaggerrated by my back compensating somehow for the adductors.

  Dee has a fever so I was alone at TPS.  :(

• Deadlift to knees 135x5x4, 225x4, 275x5 (50), 335x3 (60), 385x4 (70), 415x4x3 (75)

I tried to keep good arch and pull slow off the floor. My adductor bothered me most for these, obviously, because it has the biggest stretch of anything I did today. I had medium success with the form. The final sets were kinda tough.

• Bench 155x4 (50), 185x4 (60), 215x4x2 (70), 225x3x2 (75), 240x2x2 (80), 

255x1x2 (85), 240x2x2 (80), 225x3x2 (75), 215x4 (70), 195x6 (65), 

165x6 (55)

This took a long time, especially since I was alone today at TPS and had to leech lift offs from other people.

• Dumbell bench 55x10x5

• Deadlift from knees 335x4 (60), 385x3x2 (70), 445x4x3 (80)

These felt stupid easy, except for my lower back being tired. I think I maybe should start the pull from lower?

• Lunges 135x5x5

• Abs

Forgot to do these. Will do them tomorrow.

▼ 2. 6/16/09 - Tue - CARDIO

• Cardio - bike ~20 mins

• Strecthing - calves, hamstrings, adductors, hip flexors

Deadlift

I tried to do the 70% 3x3, 75% 3x3, 80% 3x2 that Jake suggested for working on form a couple of weeks ago, but I was a little tired at the end of it I think because 1) I haven't deadlifted in 3 weeks and 2) the percentages were based on the 381 max I hit 3 weeks ago, which I did with not-so-great form.

Deadlift
I had my brother watch me do a few sets to see how my lower back arch was.
265 x 3, 3, 3 -arch was good on all these
285 x 3, 3, 3 -lower back started to round slightly in the middle of the movement on the last set so I didn't want to do the doubles at 80%
305 x 1 -very slight rounding in the lower back
285 x 1 -arch was good

I have a couple of questions for Jake:
1) Previously you suggested doing this at the beginning of every deadlift workout, but would it be too much volume to do assistance exercises after this too (like good mornings or SLDL's)?
2) Should these numbers be based on a lower max since the 381 wasn't done with good form?

Lying leg curls
90 x 10, 10, 10, 8

Side bends
45 x 10, 10, 10

GHR abs
BW x 20, 20, 20

6-16

P. Cl. + Pu. J. 92/4+4 105/2+1 x 3
Sn. Pull Bel. Kn. 88/4 100/2 110/2 x 2
Bench 135/3 155/3 185/3 x 2 195/2 x 3
BTN Press 50 - 3x3

So, I've decided to do the powerlifting meet on 7-18. Who else is doing it? I'm excited to actually lift with you guys this time around.

As you can see, the bench training is straight out of Sheiko. Squat training will be identical to my current squat training since there is plenty of it in this program. Phil, you'll be proud of my Bill Starr no-deadlift deadlift program. I'll only be doing 4 total sessions of actual deadlifting, and those only because I never deadlift and need to practice lifting more than 70% of my max (my max clean is around 73% of my deadlift). Clean pulls will take care of the rest.

SQ/DL Triples

6/12 DL 529

3 days later...

6/15 SQ 485

Bonus: Spencer absolutely smokes the shit out of a 584 DL

New Program, First Post

Greetings dudes, I come in peace. Nathan invited me to log my workouts here, and hopefully y'all can advise me to getting stronger, faster, and more awesome.


6/8/09

Start of new training phase, at a new gym: Total Performance Sports (TPS) in everett.

OLY- light, for warmups

55xBurgnener warmup, deep overhead squats
Power snatches: 55x8?, 65x4x2, 95?xfail+1+fail
Power Cleans: 95?x6x4 +front squatx2
Power Clean and Jerk: 65x4x4

Murph said I need to get my head through faster on the jerks.

BENCH
45x8, 65x6, 75x4?, 85x5x4

i guesstimated a 1RM/goal of 125, so my work sets were just 70% of that, they felt solid but not difficult. My numbers and long-term program needs to be tightened up i think.

SQUAT
45x8, 95x6, 135x3?, 145x5x3+4+fail

These were non-trivial, I lost my balance on the last rep. I'm so not in squating shape, this is usually trivial for me, 160+ at these sets is more likely to fail. But this was over 70% of my goal/1RM (200), so, gotta get back in somehow.

SLOW PUSHUPS ON RINGS:
wide stance: x5?
narrow stance, one foot: x5?

Was going to do more bench, but was running out of time and wiped, so we dicked around with the rings and did suspended, slow pushups. Cool.


6/09:

got to zcenter way too late due to work, had 15 hard minutes on elliptical, stretched.

6/10:

TPS again.

OLY:

Burgener Warmup with deep overhead squat.

snatches: 65x6x3?
clean+jerks: 5?x2 (fast)

DEADLIFT:
Trying to work up to a 5RM, but this was not the day for that, full of fail.
135x6?, 155x5, 185x4, 205x3?, 225x1?, 235x3+FAIL (~85% of 275)

The sleeve on the end of the bar was COMING OFF and I was all lopsided for a bit. Fixed it, kept going.
The center of the bar was smooth where I was normally gripping for sumo, so this absolutely wrecked my hands and was fucking painful. Great start there.

BENCH:

Warmed up with DB presses: 25sx8, 30sx6, 35sx6?

45x10, 65x6?, 75x6?, 85x5x5

These were good. I didn't try to destroy myself. This was ~70% of 125. I should have done 70% on deadlift 5RM, but pushed myself too hard this first week back.

DEADLIFT:

135x6?, 185x5x5 (<70% of 275)

These were brutal on my hands. Tried to correct my non-arched back and failed on those more often than not. It was not a good time to try and change form while also on my first week back and using a shitty bar with no grip, but Nathan noted it's possible that I'm lacking in hipstrength needed at the bottom/start of the lift with a proper back arch. I'm thinking that when I actively try to arch, I end up pushing my butt below parallel and my leverage is gone, which perhaps does indicate inadequate hip strength, but I think I also just need to learn how to arch my back without ending up starting the lift way too low.

6/12/09:

TPS

OLY:

Burgener Warmup x1
snatches: 65x6x3?
clean+jerks: 65x 5?x2 (fast)

SQUAT:
45x8, 95x6, 135x5?

BENCH:
45x8, 65x6, 85x5x5

SQUAT:
95x5, 135x5x5

Glut-ham raise:
6?x3

Ow. Having never done these, and after all the squating, my hamstrings were shot.


6/15/09:

OLY:

Burgener Warmup x1
snatches: 65x6x3
clean+jerks: 85x 4x3

Snatches were much harder today, feeling stiff. Heavier c+j, still done for speed.

BENCH:
45x8, 65x5, 75x5, 85x3, 95x3, 105x3, 115x3
Current 3RM.

Huzzah. Would have attempted 120 but I felt my bad shoulder twinge so I didn't push it.

SQUAT:
45x6, 95x5, 135x5x5

BENCH:
45x6, 65x5, 85x5x5

DB presses:
35sx8x4

My shoulder was suffering on the last two reps of each set.

Deadlift (conventional stance):
95x6, 135x6x4

Trivial. Concentrated on awesomely arched back.


Other:
The female co-owner of TPS basically told me to cover myself so that other ladies that lift there won't feel bad about themselves. I spent the rest of my workout trying to pull my shirt down. If I were a dude, this wouldn't even be an issue.


Apologies on the text dump.

Squat Trening

Fifth and final week of the Brent Tanaka Squat Peaking Program. Full gear baby.

Squat:
485 X 3
Form wasn't great and my back was still pretty drained from Friday's deadlifts, but I took the weight down and squatted it up god damnit.

Cambered Bar Box Squats (for speed):
light weight X 2 (6 sets)

Hamstring Curls
Calves on Leg Press
Abs
Biceps
Chain Drag

Squat: Return of the Volume

Training down at 4-star for the next two weeks. Phils was there and loaned me his high-heels for me to try. They seem alright and I feel slightly more upright. I used to use the Inzer Pillars, but those are cheap. I will likely switch to heeled shoes now.

Squat:
407 x 5
418 x 5
429 x 5

Box Squat:
off 10" box (I'm guessing 10, could be 11? Def. below parallel)
275 x 8, 4 sets

These feel great for stretching the groin at the bottom.

Cambered Bar Squat:
225 x 8
315 x 8, 3 sets
365 x 7

Went slow and focused on getting as low as possible.


Banded abs + a walk around the block with 140lbs of chains. Overall feeling pretty good. No pain in the lower back for the first time in a long while.

Give Thanks for Good Spotters

Today was shirted training at OC Strength Club.


lots of warm up sets
265xFAIL 2 board, shirted/belted
basically, i was way out of the groove and almost got weight on my face, which is
why i am thankful for good spotters.
275x1x3 2 board, shirted/no belt
285x1x2 1 board, shirted/belted from here on out
295x1x1 1 board
305x1x1 1 board
305xFAIL no board.
touched, but way too low, then got way out of groove. again, thank goodness for
good spotters.

Finished with tricep pull downs and banded abs on glute-ham.



I have A LOT of work to do if I'm gonna be competing in September. Need to find my groove in the shirt and be able to touch. I'll probably be coming down every Monday after summer class to train at OC Strength Club.

Knees still don't feel great. I've also been playing a lot of basketball, which probably doesn't help. I may experiment with squatting wider this week.

Squat Workout

Monday's Squat Workout (6/15/09)
by Sunny

Squat
Warmup: 135 x 5, 185 x 5, 225 x 3
245 x 3
295 x 3
315 x 3 (belted PR!)
245 x 8

Pause Squat
3 sets of 2 reps with 225 for a 5 second pause on each set

Leg Extension
3 sets of 8-12 reps

Standing Calf Raise Machine
One triple drop set starting with whole stack

Leg Raise (Abs)
3 sets of 8-12 reps

Side note: I was alone today, so I did not go all out on the pause squats. Felt good on the squats though, and I've gained a couple of pounds in the last week because of eating a lot at weekend parties ;)

SHEIKO - #1

Weight: 218. Time: 2:45. Weight is misleading. I drank a gallon of water during the workout.

  I jumped into this program in the third week, so I didn't have all the time to adjust to the heavier weights that I would have liked. I also haven't gotten as much sleep as I'd like lately, so I was very tired by the end of this workout.

  Some guy did a good morning/half squat from pins with yoke bar + 5 plates + 2 chains per side. It was pretty crazy.

• Squat 45x5, 135x5x3, 225x4 (50), 270x4 (60), 315x3x3 (70), 360x3x4 (80)

Belted last 2 sets?

• Bench 45x10, 155x3 (50), 185x3 (60), 215x3x2 (70), 245x3x3 (80)

Back is feeling good. Just need to keep abs tight, belt helps with this.

• Dumbell bench 50x10x5

• Dips BWx8x5

• Squat 225x4 (50), 270x4 (60), 315x5x4 (70)

Belted last 2 sets.

• Good morning 185x5x5

• Foam rolling, hamstring and groin stretching

Bench

Bench (paused)
135 x 5
145 x 5
155 x 3
165 x 3
125 x 8, 8

Flat dumbbell presses
50s x 8, 8
55s x 6.5

Skull crushers
65 x 9, 9, 8

Machine flyes
100 x 10
110 x 10
80 x 10

6-15 PM Maxes

Squat 405, 415 - miss No chance of getting it. Perfect form on the eccentric though

Bench 225, 240, 250, 260, 275 - blacked out sometime after I was handed the bar.

Supposedly I lowered it and got it off my chest, but I don't actually remember. I do remember being stapled under the bar and thinking "this isn't so bad, I can hang out here until they get it off of me." This is the first time I've passed out under a bench press. My arch is really tight though... I'm still a little dazed.

Overall, great day of maxing.

6-15 test day

Snatch 107, 110, 112 - 3 x miss

Clean and Jerk 127, 130, 132, 135 - miss


Great test day. The 110 snatch is equal to my best ever, and the 132 clean and jerk is a 5kg record. I didn't weigh myself, but for 85kg that's FINALLY class 1. After the 130 clean and jerk my whole body was shaking, and during the 132 my feet shook while the bar was on my shoulders. I had to lie down after the 132, but I went for 135 anyway. The clean wasn't even close because I was so drained.

Tonight I'm coming back and maxing on back squat and bench. I'm hoping for 190kg back squat, although I think I can get at least 195, and 250 bench (5lb higher than I got like 4 weeks ago when I started benching again). That'll setup all of the maxes I need for the next (competition) cycle.

Thanks Nathan for making sure I used appropriate maxes for this program, because that, and doing a shitload of jerks, was probably the difference.

Sergey Fedosienko

Here's why Kyle should do Sheiko.

LAST TWO WORKOUTS

▼ 1. 6/14/09 - Sun - CARDIO

• Bike 25 mins

• Rowing 2000 m in 7:30

• Stretching Hamstrings, seated groin, hip flexors

▼ 2. 6/12/09 - Fri - SHEIKO - CONDITIONING #3

• Bench 150x5 (50), 180x4x2 (60), 215x3x3 (70)

• Squat 225x5 (50), 275x4x2 (60), 315x3x3 (70)

Belted last set. Other sets felt OK, but last one felt really good.

• Dumbell bench 50x10x3

• Dips BWx8x3

• Good mornings 185x5x3

Upper #1 - And new summer training plan

Well, because of my crappy grades this year, restrictions have been put into effect - one of which is less gym time/no Diablo. With this in mind, I decided to do an upper/lower split training 3 days a week with a focus on gaining mass. I'm tired of being skinny. It needs to change. I am starting this program at a BW of 220lbs.

Here is the Program:

Upper #1/Upper #2/Upper #3:
Incline BB Bench/Seated Overhead Press/Bench Press
Dips/DB Bench Press/Pin Press
T-Bar Row/BB Row/Chin-up
HS Row/DB Row/HS High Row
Skull Crushers Off Floor/Parallel Bar Extensions/Barbell Curls

Lower #1/Lower #2/Lower #3:
Back Squat/Front Squat/Box Squat
Good Morning/Sumo Deadlift/Conventional Deadlift
Incline Sit-ups/Pulldown Abs/Sit-ups on Floor
Standing Calf Raises/Seated Calf Raises/Leg Press Calf Raises

Everything for upper (except arm work) is 3-5 sets x 5-8 reps, and every thing for lower (except abs and calves) is 5 sets x 3-5 reps. Arms, Abs, and Calves are 2-3 sets x 8-12 reps. Over the 2 years of real training I have done, I have noticed that it is these rep ranges that work the best for adding muscle.

Today's Workout was Upper #1. I had to feel it out, so some rep/sets may be off.

Incline Bench (Medium Grip): 135x5
165x5, 3, 2

Dips: BWx8
+45x8, 7, 7

T-Bar Row: 3px5
4px5x5

HS Row: 3px5x5

Skull Crushers off Floor: 75x12, 11

Upper Back

Pullups (wide grip)
BW+35 x 5
BW+45 x 5
BW+55 x 5, 5

Dumbbell rows
95 x 8, 8, 8, 8

Smith machine shrugs
270 x 15, 15, 15

EZ bar curls
75 x 8, 8, 8

supersetted w/ Cable face pulls
85 x 12, 12, 10

Squat

Squat
175 x 8, 8
185 x 5, 5, 5

Lunges
115 x 6 (per leg)
125 x 5
135 x 4

Kneeling abs
50 x 20
80 x 10, 10, 10
(When I did 160lbs with ease I started to think I was strong...then I realized there was a damn double pulley.)

supersetted w/ seated calf raises
90 x 10, 12, 12 ,12

Bench

Right shoulder still feeling so-so, so I backed off on anything wide-grip.

Close-grip Bench:
1 second pause
225 x 5
235 x 5
245 x 5
255 x 5

Incline Bench:
Paused these, which was a switch
185 x 8
205 x 7

Close-grip Incline Bench:
1 second Pause
155 x 7, 8, 10

Super set:
Dips
bw x 43, 25, 39, 27

MTS Row:
250 x 10
270 x 10
290 x 10
310 x 6

Super set: flyes for pre-hap (light) and pull ups of varying grip.

Finished with bench crunches or whatever they're called (Phil taught me these)

Deadlift Trening

Sixth and final week of the Ed Coan Peaking Program. Inzer Fusion straps up son. Bodyweight at 169.5lbs yesterday morning.

Deadlift:
529 X 3
video coming soon

Bodyweight Pullups:
a bunch

Dumbbell Rows:
115s X 8 (each arm)
165s X 8
165s X 10
185s X 6

Barbell Rows
Biceps
Chain Drags
Trey checked out the gym and I think he liked it and is going to join.. right Trey? Anyways, it looks like he'll be putting up some big RAW numbers come July.

last workout before test

Power snatch 78/2 x 4
C&J 90/2 x 4
Jerk 110/1 x 2
Front squat 102/6 120/6 x 3
Bench 145/4 x 4

Front squats were really hard for this late in the game, but everything else was easy.

LAST TWO WORKOUTS

▼ 1. 6/11/09 - Thu - CARDIO

Gym closed, no stretching.

• Bike - sprints - 30 strokes on, 60 off 13 intervals

Maybe 14 intervals?

▼ 2. 6/10/09 - Wed - SHEIKO- CONDITIONING #2

Weight: 213. Time: 2:00. Second workout at TPS. Much more empty this time, but still better atmosphere than Z.

• Deadlift 135x5x3, 225x5, 275x5 (50), 335x4x2 (60), 385x3x3 (70)

Double overhand without chalk except for last two reps. No belt. Felt strong on these. Used oly bar (has flex) at TPS. I am still pulling too hard off the bottom, but it doesn't affect reps with this weight much.

• Incline press 45x10, 135x5, 165x4, 205x4x3

Always interesting to see what I can pull out of my ass on these. All reps paused, some more so than others.

• Dips BWx8x3

• Lunges 135x5x3

• Glute ham raises BWx8x2

Tried a different machine with a different pad. Much more difficult, but still doable.

6-10

AM
P. Sn. Bel. Kn. 72/4 x 2 85/2 x 3
C&J 90/2 x 2 102/2 x 4
Jerk 105 - 2+miss, 2 100 - 1+miss
Clean Pull 115/3 x 2

PM
Jerk 102/3 x 3 was supposed to get 80%/3 x 4 so I made up all of the total reps, plus a few
Back squat 100/6 120/6 x 4
Bench 165/3 x 5

I test my maxes on Monday. Technically, this is a "competition without special preparation," so there is no decrease in volume beforehand. The intensity is lower but these long workouts are killing me. Friday will be easy though, and I'll have the whole weekend off to recover, so hopefully it'll go well. Afterwards I start the competition phase and will also begin doing the Sheiko competition bench cycle to go along with it so I can keep up with you guys on the bench.

D-D-Deadlift

Just me and Sunny tonight. Greg was out with one of his 17 girlfriends.

Deadlift:
450 x 8
500 x 8

Did the full set-down on every rep. Hamstring felt 100% so I started trying my old set-up where I pre-load the hamstrings. That felt so much easier off the ground, but I'm still a little nervous in the back of my mind for injuring myself again.

Good Mornings:
275 x 10
315 x 10

Worked on stretching the hamstrings with a hard arch.

Finished with hamstring curls, cable abs and seated calf raises

Upper Back

pull ups

3x8 body weight plus 45 normal grip
3x6 body weight plus 45 parallel grip

i was at 24 hour fitness and everything was in use but the assisted pull up bar. i put the assist thingy up but the weight would hit it, so every rep had to be super in control and not super fast..especially with parallel grips since it put my body closer to the machine

wide grip rows
1x10x130
1x10x140
3x8x150

reverse flies on machine
3x10x100

dumbell rows
1x12x65
3x10x70

angled lat pull downs on cable cross machine
1x10x90
3x10x100

high row
3x8x100

1 30 second pull-up...15 seconds to go up, 15 to go down. grip was dying. the goal is to be able to get to a 1 minute pull up.

too legit to quit pull-ups
2x10
that means going from arms completely extended to all the way up so your chest touches the bar

kATANA Trening

Pots stretched the sleeves out a lot. It was much easier getting the weight to touch today, but I didn't get as much pop out of it as before. Still haven't pulled the shirt down at all, it's riding really high at about my throat.

Bench:
295 X 2 (shirt seater)
325 X 1 (2-3 in. away from touch)
345 X 1 (1 in. away from touch)
360 X 1 (lightest weight I've touched)

Dumbbell Bench:
80s X 8
90s X 8
100s X 10
105s X 10
110s X 8

Skullcrushers
Dumbbell Extension
Lateral Raises, Plate Raises, Band Pull Aparts
Chain Drag

ME Bench (or: I can has Katana too nau?)

Got the 44" Katana in so decided to mess around with it today:
Shirted Bench:
315 x 1, 3-board (seater)
315 x 3, 3-board
315 x 3, 2-board
365 x 1, 2-board x 2
365 x 1, 1 board x 2
365 x 1 off chest

The arms on it are tight (no surprise) but fit pretty well. I imagine that they will get to be just right once the shirt stretches more. I wasn't able to seat it properly until the last two sets, but then it felt fine. I still haven't tried cranking it down either. (Thanks to the 4-star guys for suggesting I let it ride high while breaking it in.)

2-board:
315 x 3
315 x 8 (wtf?)

Just kept going on that second set like it was nothing. Very surprised.

Seated Military:
135 x 8
185 x 7
165 x 8
155 x 5 (going for 8; got tired)

Finished with some cable/rope triceps.

ME Bench

Dave lent me his 56 Phenom for the summer, so we decided I should try it on today. Tight in the chest, but pretty loose in the arms. Dave and his titanic biceps!

3-board: 185x3 205x3 225x3
+Phenom: 245x3 265x1 275x1 285x1 295xFail

Dips: Bwx10 +45x6, 6, 7

Tate Press: 40x10x3

Db Row: 105x8 125x5, 5, 5

HS Lat Pulldown: 2p/side x 10 2p+25/side x 8, 8, 8

A little less back volume than I am used to, but I needed to get out of the gym to finish up some schoolwork. Last assignment of the year!

MDNGHT BCK

had to drive to campus for the workout, but couldn't find parking for 40 minutes so I went home and came back at 11:40.

One-arm DB row:
(db x arm)
115 x 8
165 x 6
135 x 8, 3 sets

I didn't have my chalk with me and the smooth handle became too slippery to go heavier.

Close-grip lat pull down:
250 x 10, 4 sets

Super set of Band pull-aparts on the bench and the MTS Row machine (basically a low row). I am really liking those band pull-aparts.

Finished with some incline biceps.

Being able to use heavier dumbbells has sort of revitalized my upper-back days since there's a new challenge. The rows actually seem to hit where I want, so I plan to continue doing them for a while.

rehab squat

my knees seem to be doing better...i've been making sure to ice them every day and i've been massaging the tendons. i'm pretty sure it's just tendinitis flaring up a bit.

however, my right hip area has been weird...it feels like it is super tight or jammed up? the psoas major/iliacus does not feel good when i am at the bottom of my squat.


taking it easy for now with squats...
135x1x6
165x1x4
185x2x4

hip area was not feeling so great so i did some light-weight overhead squats...
95x3x6
115x2x5

and then some light front squats. i'm starting to get used to holding the weight oly style.
95x3x6
115x2x5

rippetoe style press
115x5x5

finished with some captain's chair abs and LOTS of foam rolling.

i hate not being able to squat.


and jake (or whoever), please comment on this...when i was doing overhead squats and front squast, my knees were very much pointed out to the sides. this seemed to be the only way i could hit depth and stay balanced, and it felt very comfortable. for my normal squat, my knees don't point out nearly as much. should my knees be pointing out more on my normal squat? or is there some part of me that is sucks at flexibility and that is why my knees have to point out with the overhead/front squats?

also, any ideas on stretches/things to do for rehab of the psoas major/iliacus (aka the part of my hip/leg that is directly opposite my glutes)?

LAST TWO WORKOUTS

▼ 1. 6/9/09 - Tue - CARDIO/FLEXIBILITY

• Bike - 30 stroke on, 60 stroke off 10 sprints

Go for high resistance for 30 strokes and then low resistance for 60 strokes, repeat, etc.

• Rowing machine 2000m in 7:40 + 300m cool down

• Stretching - hamstrings, groin, calves

Thanks Dee!

▼ 2. 6/8/09 - Mon- SHEIKO - CONDITIONING #1

Time: 2:00.

  First day at new gym Total Performance Sports (TPS). This is a serious boxing/strongman/oly/powerlifting gym. I'm really excited about it.

  Starting this cycle with slightly increased raw maxes from the last cycle.

• Squat 45x5x2, 135x5x3

For warm-up.

• Bench 45x5, 155x5 (50), 180x4x2 (60), 210x3x3 (70)

• Squat 235x5 (50), 270x4x2 (60), 325x3x3 (70)

These felt pretty heavy like usual for the first week. I also screwed up my adductors which isn't uncommon when I'm getting back into squatting.

  Also, *no knee sleeves* for this because of IPA raw rules. Belted the triples.

• Dumbell bench 60x10x3

• Good mornings 185x5x3

• Glute ham raise BWx12,15,15

Not part of the program but I had the machine again for the first time in a long time.

Squat

6/9/09

Squat

175 x 8

175 x 8

175 x 8

185 x 5

went to 12" box every rep

Squat Trening

Week #4 of the Brent Tanaka Squat Peaking Program. Second to last squat trening session before the meet.

Squat:
468 X 3 (full gear)
3rd rep was slower than I wanted it, but all had good depth.

Front Squat:
225 X 8
245 X 5
gassed

Accessory Stuff

6-8

Long day, and still tired from Saturday's workout. Not too bad though:

AM
Snatch 78/2 90 - (1+miss) 2 100-miss, 1, miss Not great, but had to get up really early and my back was not recovered from Saturday. No big deal.
P. Cl. + Jerk 90/2 x 3 102/1 x 3 Hard... Only because I wasn't recovered though


PM
Sn. Pull 102/2 110/2 112/2
Front squat 102/6 110/5 x 3
BTN Press 52/4 62/4 52/6 55/5 Finally feel sttrong with 135! Yay!

Squat

Squat:
365 x 5,
405 x 5
415 x 5
425 x fail, 5

With my adjusted form, I tend to be putting more pressure on my toes instead of evenly spreading it. On the 4th set, I leaned forward too much and had to set it on the pins. I really need to fix this, as the suit is only going to make the problem worse. On the plus side, my groin didn't feel any discomfort and I think my arch is staying much better now. I plan to video tape next week's squats to confirm / analyze.

Box Squat:
I tried to do cleans, but I tweaked my right knee over the weekend and it didn't feel good.

low 12" box
225 x 8
245 x 8, 3 sets

I felt extremely weak on these. Also nauseous. This could be due to not having any caffeine all day, but I think it's probably from having adjusted my form. I plan to try theses again next week and see how they feel. This could be a weak point for me that I need to fix.


Had to leave early, so finished with standing calves, stretching and banded ball toss.

ME Lower

Good Morning: 225x3
245x1
255x1
275x1 PR

Extra-Wide Deadlifts: 242x5
264x5
308x5
328x5, 5

GHR: 8, 8

GHR Situps: BWx10
45x15, 15, 15

Working on developing more hip/hamstring strength as this is my weakness.

The Passion of the Otsuka

...aka training in the Katana.

I think it's been 6 months since I last put on the Katana. Went to OC Strength Club today to finally get back into some heavy benching:


Lots of warm up sets, unequipped.
245x1x3 (1 set of 3 reps) 3 board. shirted, no belt. felt REAL shakey.
265x1x3 3 board. shirted, no belt. felt much better.
265x1x3 2 board. shirted, belted from here on out.
275x1x3 2 board.
285x1x2 1 board. second rep was kinda slow.
295x1x1 1 board. loose set up, but hit it.
300x1x1 1 board. felt better than 295.

Tricep pull downs
Banded rehab type stuff
Banded abs on glute ham


Definitely happy with today's work out. I'm gonna try and bench every Monday with them.

And of course, the marks left on me were PHENOMENAL...across my chest, on my elbow joint, down my tricep, on my traps. hahaha.

Also, it took about 15 minutes just to pull the shirt off of my arms. I hope this means my arms are getting bigger...

Finals week training: also post # 1337

Hey Dave and Co., when will you guys be training this week? I was wondering b/c I need to return the box and boards to Dave before I leave for NorCal. Respond, and I will drop the stuff by when I can.

kthxbai

Trening Vid

Here is some video of our gym trening at 4 Star that was taken over this past week. In the video I do a 365lb X 1 bench (almost touch) and a 375lb X 1 bench (touch n' go). My 512lb X 3 deadlifts are also in there somewhere. Some highlights include a raw 660lb SSB squat, a 565lb cambered bar good morning, a 535lb bench, and a 300lb dumbbell row!

Last 3 workouts

6-3

Snatch 80/2 x 2 90/2 x 2 100/2 - 2,2,1,1
Jerk 90/4 95/3 100/3 x 2
Sn. Pull. Bel Kn 100/3 x 5
Sn. Pull to st leg 110/3 x 3 120/2 x 2
Jerk 90/3 x 2

PM
BTN press 115/4 125/4 x 2 125/2
Back squat 110/3 130/3 160/3 x 3 165/3 x 3
Bench 165/6 x 3

6-4

P. Sn. Bel. Kn. 72/5 82/2 x 3
P. Cl. + Pu. J. + OHS 90/1+3+2 x 3
P. Cl. + J 95/2+1 x 5


6-6 Longest workout ever

P. Sn. 78/2 x 4
C+J 90/2 x 2 102/2 x 3 115/1 x 5
Jerk 105/2 x 3 117 - 2,1 127/1 (100%) 130 - miss, miss, 120/1 125 - miss, miss 120-miss
Not too unhappy with this because even during the highest volume week of the year I got 100%
Cl. Pull Bel. Kn 102/4 x 2 117/3 x 2
Cl. Pull 130/2 x 3
Jerk 110/2 100/2 102/2 x 3
Front squat 100/3 x 2 130/3 x 3
Back Squat 130/3 142/3 x 3

Bench 205/2 x 3 225/1 x 3 205/2 185/5 165/8 135/10
My arch is pretty damn good.

RANDOM

• Front squat 135x5, 185x5, 225x3, 255x3, 275x3, 245x3x3

Pretty happy about this since I never do front squats. I was good for a little more than 275 but I didn't want to push it since I start lifting fo realz next week.

• Fat bar floor press 90x5, 154x5, 204x5, 224x5, 244x4

• A: Good morning off pins 135x5, 225x5, 275x5x3

These were harder than expected, but I haven't done heavy good mornings in a while and I've never done them off pins that I can recall. Danny and I built a cool apparatus with bands to keep the bar from sliding forward.

• A: Dips BWx8, BW+45x8x3

• A: Dumbell curls 40x8,8,10

back and ready for action

sorry for being so MIA the last months. for those that don't know, i took spring quarter off but will be heading back up to UCLA in a few weeks for summer school. i took some time off of training but have been getting back into it the last month or so. anyways, i figured it was time to start keeping track of the blog again and start lifting some heavy weight.

and there's no way i could let kyle get stronger than me.

i've been feeling great on bench in the gym, but my knees have been killing me. i haven't squatted in a week and a half and i've been going conventional on deadlift. my knees started hurting after an extreme deadlift session last week during which i pulled sumo. i think i let my knees cave in too much. my form is pretty good for conventional since my flexibility has greatly increased, but i certainly can't pull as much weight as sumo style.

i'm gonna try to train at OC Strength Club on monday to do some heavy bench work in the katana. i haven't put that thing on in a LONNNNNG time, so i'm sure i'll be hurtin'. however, i want to hit 3o0 at 132 at my next competition (which i'm thinking might be the sept 12-13th uspf meet at venice beach)


and it certainly made me happy to read the daily bruin article last week. you guys rock.

Deadlift Trening

This 265lb English guy is going to start trening with us now. He's a friggin beast.
Now, for my trening.

Deadlift:
512 X 3 (straps up)
slower than I wanted it bc/ lockout was lagging a bit

Dumbbell Rows:
worked up to 135s X 15

Pull Ups w/17 lb chain around my neck:
X 27
X 22
X 17
X 14
80 total reps

BICEPS
Draggin Chains

UCLA Powerlifting Club: Update

Club Sports Update:

Okay-- for those interested, here's the rundown. I spoke with the Director of Club Sports, and overall I think the conversation went well. I think he likes us and sees the Powerlifting club as a great addition to the club teams.
However, his main hesitancy in granting us a Conditional Club Status revolves around the unique variable of using the Wooden Center Facilities. Most other clubs utilize field spaces, whereas we would be occupying Wooden Center. It would be hard for him to grant us exclusive use of the facility 1-3hours a day (or our 5 training days). I told him that though exclusive use would be nice, it's not necessary; we wouldn't be a problem, and pointed out common gym courtesy (basically what we normally do). However, he kept asking about our coaches, who trains members, what about people who don't know anything, people wanting to work out with you, etc. I tried to address any concerns and told him that not only does our team excel on teamwork and employ a cyclical system of more seasoned lifters helping out newer lifters for form and technique, but that we also have an expert lifter/coach, Dave. And most of all, safety is a big priority. Besides, I pointed out that it might actually be more beneficial (for newer lifters, and UCLA (injury-wise) that having a powerlifting team would be able to point out correct form from the get go, instead of developing bad habits.
I told him much more b.s., but basically it sounds like to me that his main areas of concern are 1) Safety; and 2) Liability issues and using Wooden (i.e: using Wooden equipment, as a club you are now able to solicit anyone, etc.)
So that's where the talks are left at; he's gonna speak with Wooden Center managers/trainers regarding his facility/safety concerns etc before getting back to us

Bench/Lower back

Bench (paused)
135 x 5, 5
145 x 5, 5

Stiff legged deads
175 x 10, 10, 10

Dips
BW x 8, 8, 8, 8

Back raises
BW x 25, 25, 25

DE Bench

Needed this weekend to study for finals, so I did a 45 minute workout today. Rest periods were at a minimum.

Bench: 135x3x4 CG
135x3x4 Normal
155x3
185x3
195x3

DB Incline: 65x8x3

HS High Row: 2px10
3p+10x5x8

V-Squat Shrug: 4p+25x20
5px20
5p+25x20x3

Parallel Bar Extensions: 25'sx15, 12

It's kind of strange - my close grip bench (pinkies on rings) feels a lot more explosive and stronger off the chest than my normal grip. Don't really know why this is, but I think I may stick with this grip for raw benching. Also, I really like the V-Squat Shrugs, although the machine is running out of room for plates :(

High Week #3

Gear:
Belt (squat only)

Shoulder-Stance Back Squat:
395 x 3
375 x 3
365 x 3

Standing Overhead Push-Press:
255 x 1
225 x 4/4

Stiff-Leg Deadlifts w/ 45 lbs Plates:
385 x 5/5

Dips:
BW + 75 x 8/6/6

UCLA Powerlifting Club: Update

Club Sports Update:

The Program Director of Club Sports, Jason, finally contacted me yesterday regarding the status of our club. Though he/they admit our club is legit, small signs clue us into that our Club being questionable for the next year. Besides Club Sports taking such a long time to get back to us since we first submitted our application at the beginning of the quarter, he says that it was "extremely competitive" this year, and unsure of being able to approve us for the upcoming year. I will be talking with him this afternoon

Hence, if anyone has any selling points they would like to share, that would be great. Any stories, ideas, or benefits that we as a club team can offer, please post. I will be speaking with him this afternoon, and the more talking points; the better. If not, i'll try my best to convince him otherwise

Dave will never beat this guy

Check out the biceps, you're screwed Dave.

RE Lower Back

Good Mornings:
275, 315, 365, 405 x 10

Felt pretty good. Warm-ups were a bit stiff in the lower back, but there wasn't any discomfort if I kept a solid arch.

Stiff-legged Deadlifts:
265 x 10, 3 sets

These were not as good. Lower back kept tightening up after the final rep as I tried to stand up. I did some stretching but couldn't seem to keep it from seizing up, so I stopped early.

Did a calf-raise + hamstring curl ciruit. Finished with hyper-extensions and ball twists.

@Kyle: we met last night and decided to meet at 9pm after the game. Greg is working on a mailing list so we can keep people more in sync and avoid these kinds of of issues.

DE Squat

Box Squat (14", Purple bands):155x2x10
185x2x3

Deadlift: 297x3
308x1x8

Good Mornings (wide stance): 165x10x3

HS Front Lat Pulldown: 2px10
2p+25x10x2

Spud Abs: 130x10
150x7, 6 (elbow started to hurt so I stopped here)

Sunny was there (no one else?), and took some video of my box squats. As I thought, my knees are coming forward just a little when I sit onto the box. Need to focus on sitting further back to build my hamstrings/glutes more.

RANDOM BENCH/DEADLIFT

• Close-grip bench 45x5, 135x5, 185x5, 225x5,5,7

I really exceeded my expectations on this. None of the sets to failure and it felt pretty easy. Bench felt a little shaky on Tues, so I'm happy. Lower back also felt OK, but my arch sucked pretty bad.

• Conventional deadlift 154x5, 264x5, 314x5, 364x5, 384x5, 404x7

Form not perfect but still better than I used to be with conventional, so I'll take it.

• A: Military Press (standing) 154x5,5,4

Meh. Never was very good at this.

• A: Bent-over row 204x5,7,10

Always hated these, they just feel very awkward.

The close-grip and deadlift had to be some kind of PRs. But, really, its not a 1RM, so who gives a shit?

Katana Trening

Threw some pots in the sleeves of the shirt and left them there for the last 2 days in order to stretch out the arms more. It worked alright and I was able to get the shirt seated a little better. Need to continue this until next week.

Katana Bench:
295 X 2 (shirt seater)
335 X 1 (no touch)
365 X 1 (1/4 inch from chest)
375 X 1 (touch and go)
The difference between today and the past trening sessions is that I kept my form strict and was able to touch in the right spot without breaking my wrists at the bottom. Slowly getting better...

in order to work the lockout I did
Raw Bench off Boards with Chains:
185 X 4 (3-board)
225 X 4 (3-board)
225 X 4 (3-board)
225 X 4 (3 board)
245 X 3 (4-board)
225 X 6 (4-board)

Floor Barbell Extensions
Seated Dumbell Extension
Rope Pushdowns
Plate Raises
Pink Band Pull Aparts

Squat/Upper back

Squat
185 x 5
195 x 5
205 x 3, 3
These sets felt weak. I think missing Monday workouts has caught up to me.

Leg press
270 x 8, 8, 8

Pull ups (neutral grip)
BW x 10, 10, 10, 10

Barbell shrugs
225 x 15
275 x 10, 10

QE Bench

Bench:
2 second pause

245 x 10
265 x 7 + 1 fail
285 x 3 (going for 5; too ambitious)
275 x 5

Band-lightened bench:
2 second pause

275 x 5
315 x 5, 2 sets

Standing Press:
155 x 6
155 x 7
165 x 6

Went a little light / low volume today. Right shoulder is feeling odd, so it may be time for a week off. (Today was light in order to see how it responds next week)

Bench

6/3/09

Bench

175 x 10

185 x 11 (PR)

195 x 7 (PR)

225 x 2

Band-Assisted Bench

red bands

215 x 5

purple bands

225 x 5

245 x 5

245 x 5

Military Press

95 x 5

105 x 5

115 x 4

High Week #2

Gear:
NOne / no belt

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

Power CLeans:
216 x 3/3/3

Medium-Grip Bench Press w/ Pause:
285 x 5/5/4

Chin-ups:
BW x 6/6/5

Newspaper article on us

http://www.dailybruin.com/stories/2009/jun/3/bruins-bulk-and-bond-gym-while-powerlifting/

Maybe it will raise some interest.

Upr Bk

T-bar Rows:
lots of sets with some plates. eh.

Dumbbell Rows:
I figured out that I could jack up one of the benches and use the parallel grip curl bar as a plate-loaded dumbbell. It looks pretty ridiculous, but actually worked well in practice. It has a side benefit of a raise handle so the dumbell has no torque and won't roll out of your hand.
("db" x reps per arm)
110 x 10
130 x 8
150 x 6
160 x 6

Finished with some shrugs, band-resisted curls, and bus drivers. Shrugs felt somewhat off/worn-out today; I may be overtraining my traps, if that's even possible?

Upper Back + Biceps

6/2/09

T-Bar Rows

209 x 7 x 3

231 x 6

Bent-Over Rows

75 x 8

95 x 6 x 3

Band-Resisted Curls

purples

40 x 6 x 4 (Curl PR!)

Bus Drivers

45lbs x 4 sets

Bench + Sickness

CG Incline Bench (pinkies on rings is the closest I can go without jacking up my joints so this is my new close grip): 135x3
145x3
155x3
165x3
175x3 PR? (I think I got 1 or 2 for the same grip the last time I did these) <- edit, nvm, 3RM was 185

Dips: BWx8
+25x5, 5, 5
+45x6 PR, BWx9

Chest-Supported Rows: 2px8
2p+35x10, 10, 10, 8, 8

Rear Delts: 50x10/10x3

EzBar Curls: 80x10, 8

Went to Ashe today and they gave me some heavy-duty cough suppressant. I have been unable to sleep for the past few days b/c of excessive coughing, so this should help a lot. Weight is still a stable 215 as it is hard to gain weight when sick.

There was some lifting

Squats
405x3x5
455x2x3
Didn't attempt 500 this week because I'm still not using a belt and running is making my legs weak.

Press
135,155,165x5

Deadlift
455x3 (just fucking around with this bodybuilder friend of mine at the gym)

Gary Abs 3x10 (you know, my pseudo-roman chair full twist shit and rocky style crap)

30 mins Cardio 'cause I'm big and beautiful.

...Then I ate a pizza after. Oops.

Squat Trening

Week #3 of the Brent Tanaka Squat Peaking Program.

Squat:
446 X 3 (straps up w/knee wraps)

Cambered Bar Low Box Squats:
225 X 4
265 X 4
295 X 4
295 X 4
295 X 4

Hamstring Curls
Calves on Leg Press
Abs

Walk Around the Block w/70lbs of Chain:
X 1 trip backwards
X 1 trip forwards

Squats

6/1/09

Squats

185 x 10

205 x 10

225 x 7

245 x 5

Band-Resisted Box Squats

purple bands

135 x 5 x 3

Banded Jumps

Cable Abs

RE Squat

Squat:
315 x 10
365 x 8
385 x 8
405 x 8

Felt pretty good on all of these. Still nice and easy while I'm on the mend. I've noticed that my new form seems to pull at the groin some. I think this is a good sign that my form is getting better, but I still need to work on the flexibility. I've been actively stretching, but suggestions for specific stretches are welcome.

Band-resisted Box Squat:
w/ purple (throw some P's on that)
225 x 5
275 x 5
315 x 5
365 x 5

Finished with banded jumps and cable abs.

Last 2 workouts 5-30 and 6-1

5-30
P. Sn. 78/4 x 4
Snatch 78/2 x 3 88/2 x 6
Jerk 105/2 x 3
Sn. Pull 90/4 100/3 x 3 110/3 x 2
Sn. Pull to St. Leg 120/2 x 3
Jerk 95/3 x 3
Fr. Sq. 100/5 x 5



6-1

AM
P. Cl. + Pu. J. + OHS 90/2 x 4
C&J 102/1+2 x 5
Jerk 110/1 x 4
Cl. Pull 100/3 117/3 x 2 130/2 x 2
Cl. Pull to St. Leg 143/2 x 3 Deadlift - 150/1 160/1
Jerk 105/3 x 2

PM
Front Squat 100/4 127/5 x 4
Bench 225/1 245/1 255 - fail 185/5 x 5

I'm happy with my bench since it's my first max in about 2 years. I also nailed my weight selection of 185 since it just happens to be 75%. Go me. I'm excited to start the sheiko program soon because I think I'm getting used to benching pretty quickly.

ME Birthday Squat

Box Squat (14", purples): 155x3
185x2
205x2
225x1
245xFail (Greg just barely touched me, but it still counts as a fail)

Sumo SLDL: 242x10, 10
252x10

Leg Lifts: 20, 20

Boring Birthday. Good food, but the SOBs made me hand in my microfridge and I have an essay to write before 8 AM tomorrow. Lame.

High Week #1

Gear:
Belt (squat + pull)
APT KNee Sleeves

Shoulder-Stance Back Squat:
405 x 1
435 x 1
465 x 1 (slow, but deep and stable)
405 x 2

Medium-Grip Bench Press:
315 x 1
335 x 1
355 x 1 (felt good)
315 x 4 (with pause)

Conventional Deadlift:
496 x 1 (felt easy)
529 x 1 (slow lockout but fast off the ground)

Dumbbell Standing Overhead Press:
80s x 5/5/5

Very pleased with all this, this means I'm perfectly in line for the number I want to hit on July 18.