Bench Press:
Warm-ups: Dynamic warm-up and PVC roller
45x20x2sets
95x10
135x5
155x2
190x5 (75%)
215x3 (85%)
240x5 (95%)
I needed 6 reps at 240 for a PR. I was pretty pissed at myself for missing it. I had a poor set up and got very little leg drive. This was just a mental mistake and I was kicking myself. I listened to two more Pantera songs and then took the weight again. I probably had about 8 minutes of rest between the two sets.
240x6 (95%) PR!!! I feel like I earned this one!
Boring but Big sets:
165x10
165x10
165x10
165x10
165x11
Band Pull aparts:
Purple Band x 12
Purple Band x 12
Purple Band x 12
Purple Band x 10
Purple Band x 9
I am glad that I was able to set my PR with the second set. I realize that it was not the smartest thing to do, but I have deload coming up this week so I am not afraid of burning out. I need to make sure I remain more focused and not make this same mistake again!
I found a much bigger hill that is more challenging than the one I used to run. Before 15 hills was not much of a problem. Tonight 10 almost killed me. My long term goal is to work my way up to being able to run 20 of these bigger hills.
I don’t usually include my cardio, but this is my deload week and I am not up to much. Just running and stretching and some light weights in there. I take the deload week as a chance to focus on some other areas of my life that get neglected while I am training hard. I won’t be doing much worth noting until this coming Monday.
I know things have been quiet on here for a while. I was on my deload last week and did very little lifting. I did mostly all band work and PVC rolling for recovery along with a bunch of stretching and running. Not much worth writing up really.
I came back with a vengeance last night on the squats. I have made a few changes to my squat form. I moved to a higher bar position which allows me to stay more upright and I am really working on keeping my lower back arched as I squat. Any form pointers would be highly appreciated since I am still getting used to raw squatting after all the years of having briefs or a suit on.
On to the work…
Warm-ups: PVC roller and dynamic stretching
135x5
225x3
225x3 (belt)
280x5 (75%)
300x5 (80%)
315x10 (85%) PR!
I decided instead of 5 sets of 10 with my belt on I am now going to do 5 sets of 5 without the belt to help increase my core strength. I will be increasing the weight on these each week until I hit a platue.
5x5 Squat sets:
225x5
225x5
225x5
225x5
225x7 I was focused on my form and lost track of the reps.
I shut it down at this point. I was pretty beat and wanted to take a break from the ab wheel since my left shoulder is bothering me a little bit. Once again if anyone has any tips on the squat form I am all ears. I am trying to focus on keeping my lower back arched and taking advantage of the higher bar position to squat more upright.
Military Press:
Warm-ups: Dynamic Mobility and PVC rolling.
45x20 (2 sets)
95x3
120x5 (75%)
125x5 (80%)
135x12 (85%) PR!
More Military Press for volume:
95x10
95x10
95x10
95x10
95x10
Pull-Ups:
+25lbs x 5
+25lbs x 5
+25lbs x 5
BWx5
BWx5
Dips:
BWx10
BWx10
BWx10
BWx10
BWx10
Tonight was a very good night of pressing. I am starting to get very comfortable with the Military Press and I think the added strength I gain from this should carry over well to my bench press. I am hoping to carry all of the momentum I have gained with the PRs the last few cycles into my meet on Sept 12th!
Deadlift:
Warm-up: Dynamic mobility and PVC roller for glutes, quads, IT band, and Hams.
135x5 (2sets)
225x3
275x1
330x5 (75%)
350x5 (80%)
370x10 (95%) PR!
SLDL
225x10
225x10
225x10
225x10
This was supposed to be 5 sets but my lower back was so pumped I thought it was going to explode!
AB Wheel
BWx10
BWx10
BWx10
BWx10
BWx10
This was yet another big PR for me on this program. My old PR was 355x10 so I really smashed that tonight. I also feel MUCH more comfortable with rolling the bar in before I pull instead of just dropping my hips and pulling like I used to. I think rolling the bar helps me get into a much better position at the start of the lift. I am interested to see how well I pull at the meet with this form!
This will be my last big workout before the meet. This next week I am just going to hit the prescribed three reps and shut it down, then the week after I will be doing my openers.
BW is holding strong at about 195 so I should not have any problems there either.
[quote]whup wrote:
Good job on the PR, and good luck at the meet. Is someone going to record your lifts at the meet?[/quote]
Yeah I think my fiancee is going to shoot my lifts for me with her camera. My main problem now is finding someone to handle me. I am thinking about teaching my one buddy to wrap my knees and the bench handoff should be easy since I am so weak there it will be under 300lbs for sure…
3RM Bench Press
45x50
45x20 (Felt really tight for some reason these two sets helped)
95x8
135x5
155x3
185x1
205x3 (80%)
220x3 (85%)
230x10 (90%) PR!!
Down sets:
135x20
135x17
Pull-ups:
5 sets 5-8 reps per set.
That is all I did. This is my last heavy week of training before the meet. I hit openers next week. Rest/recover for a week, then it is game time. Overall I am really happy with my bench tonight. Using Jim’s formula that calculates out to a 306lbs 1RM. I don’t think I could hit that with a pause but would take 275-285 for sure!
Extra Squats: To work on form and help develop core strength
No Belt
275x3
275x3
275x3
45 Degree Hypers
BWx12
BWx12
BWx12
BWx12
BWx12
This was my last heavy workout before the meet. This calculates out to an estimated 1RM of just over 435 for me on the squat. At this point I am thinking about opening at 375 in the squat, 250 on the bench, and 450 on the deadlift.
Seconds will probably be 400/265/500 then I will pick my thirds from there depending on how my second attempts work out. Ideally I would like to break a 1200 total, but in all reality I will set 4 PRs by just making it through the meet and posting my first ever raw total. No matter what I total I will have a reference point from which to improve in the future.
[quote]whup wrote:
DAMN, strong squats, and good attitude about the meet.[/quote]
Thanks Whup! I actually got some good carryover from the light squats for high reps when I attempted my single to gauge where I am for the meet. So something seems to be working.
I have a meet coming up on the 12th so last week instead of my normal workouts I worked up to an opener so see where my strength is. I was hoping to hit 265 easy enough to use it as an opening lift on the bench.
This was a HUGE PR. Last time when I hit 265 I had a handoff so this was more than I had hoped for. I think if I play my cards right I might be able to take a run at a 300lbs bench at the meet.
After this all I did were band pushdowns and band pullaparts. I did 5 sets of 15-20 on each exercise back to back.
Sorry it took me so long to post these. Work is really crazy right now and my posting will probably be limited except for the weekends for a while.
I had to work up to see where I am on the squat and deadlift for this meet I am doing this coming weekend. I love the 5/3/1 program so far and I know it is making me stronger, but I really had no idea where my strength was, so this night was pretty important.
Squat:
Warm-ups: Dynamic Mobility and PVC rolling.
275x1
315x1 (Singlet on so I can view depth better on the camera)
365x1 Wraps added easy lift
405x1 Wraps good second attempt
Let me know what you guys think about the depth on these. I will be doing an APA meet.
Deadlift:
225x1
315x1
405x1
455x1 This rep felt horrible. Low back in a bad position
455x1 Much better the second time
I was pretty happy with this workout. I ended up doing this after 10PM after being up at 5 and working all day. Like I said things are going to be pretty crazy with work for a while now, so my posting will be limited to the weekends mostly. Don’t worry I will still be training just as hard!
I have a meet coming up on the 12th so last week instead of my normal workouts I worked up to an opener so see where my strength is. I was hoping to hit 265 easy enough to use it as an opening lift on the bench.
This was a HUGE PR. Last time when I hit 265 I had a handoff so this was more than I had hoped for. I think if I play my cards right I might be able to take a run at a 300lbs bench at the meet.
After this all I did were band pushdowns and band pullaparts. I did 5 sets of 15-20 on each exercise back to back.
Sorry it took me so long to post these. Work is really crazy right now and my posting will probably be limited except for the weekends for a while.
9-12-2009 APA Powerlifting Meet Junior 198lbs class
So, here is how the meet broke down:
Squat:
375 Good lift
405 Good lift
440 Good lift
455 Good lift and new PA state 198 Junior Record!
Bench:
265 Good
285 Good This took almost all I had so I shut it down and passed on my third
Deadlift:
450 Good (This was really easy)
500 Good A little hard at the top
520 Miss I missed this one just above my knee I need more lockout work on the deadlift for sure.
This was my first raw meet and I am thrilled with the way it went! My goal was to total 1200 and I surpassed that easily. My new goal is to break the American Junior 198 record which is currently set at 1280.
My plan is to take the next two weeks pretty much off from all serious lifting. I just started a new job and will use this time to get my feet under me and recover. I have also found that most of my injuries I have had over the years have come within the 3 week period after a meet. So I am going to be taking it easy.
Once I start training again I am going to rerun my last 5/3/1 cycle and just hit the prescribed reps. After that I will move on to cycle 5 and keep going as normal.
Changes to the program:
These are pretty minor. I am going to still use the boring but big accessory template for my bench and military press days. I am going to alternate whether I do it with a barbell or dumbbells on my bench days since I think more DB work will help my bench.
I am going to keep doing 5 sets of 5 after my squats and do them without a belt to help me bring up my core strength.
As for deadlift I am going to alternate doing SLDL for 5 sets of 10 after the main work or doing rack pulls from knee height to help fix my lockout issues.
Those are the only major changes. As I said I am thrilled with how the meet went and I am just trying to set up my program so I have continued success.
I really enjoy reading and following your log. I am starting 5/3/1 this coming week and it is awesome to see yet another guy who is improving big time with his numbers with it. Keep up the good work man.