6 days out, Body Day
Chained Bench
10@bar, 2x6@bar+2 chains(20 lb each chain so 95 at the top), 2x3@65+2 chains, 2x2@75+2 chains, 2@85+2 chains, 1@95+2 chains(was going for 2 reps but I couldn’t quite lock out the 2nd rep ugh), 1@95+2 chains(135 at the top)
Deadlift
3x6@135
DB Bent Over Row
3x8@50
DB Curls
3x8@20s R/L
Cable Triceps Pushdown
3x10@60
Iso Low Row with overhand grip
3x8@40
Planks with 25lb Plate
2x45 seconds
5 days out, Deadlift
Deadlift
10@bar, 2x5@135, 3@185, 1@185, 6x1@205(belt), 5x1@135
Squat
5@bar, 8@bar, 2x5@95, 2x2@135
Spud Cable Pulldown Abs
2x8@90, 8@75
My first powerlifting meet review:
SO, what a fucking day. Most exhausting and draining experience of my life, but so much fun. I will be posting a video of all my lifts as soon as it’s made. So, this meet was APA which are similar rules to SPF if any difference at all. Before this meet, I had only ever seen one meet before and it was SPF so I was glad APA is pretty much the same as far as the meet rules, etc. The day did not go as well as I had hoped, I let myself get too fatigued by deadlift so that is definitely a big lesson I’ve learned from yesterday. I’ve learned what foods I need to shovel down the day before and also what foods or supplements to bring to fuel you through the 9 hour day. Yea, the meet was start to finish 9 hours with about 41 lifters. The only PR of the day was my squat. I’ll break all my lifts down:
Squat: By far, my best lift of the day. My opener was 185 because I can do 3 easy triples at that and I didn’t want to bomb out. I also was so so nervous so having a lift I could easily get was important for my first attempt. It was so fast so moved on up to 215. Again, good speed on it and no sticking point. I was still nervous and shaky so I undershot myself and did 230 for my 3rd attempt which is a 5lb PR but I think I should have done 235 or 240. But you just learn with experience. Still happy with a PR though!
Bench: Oye! This was terrible. I should preface this though and say that I just needed a lot more experience lifting heavy with a pause. The judges pauses were not that long at all, but I still needed more practice before this meet. Opened at 125 as I have down triples at 125 before and that went up like speed work, no problem. In practice, I have gotten a grinding 135 before without a pause so I went for 135 for my second attempt thinking with the crowd cheering me on and how fast 125 was that I would get it okay. Well, not so much. I got stuck about 4 inches of my chest. I held it there for a solid 5 seconds while everyone screamed at me but that baby wasn’t moving so I failed. The feedback from my boyfriend was that my descent was too slow and I wasted strength trying to control the descent too much. So went for 135 on my 3rd attempt. Had a much better descent but I got stuck again about 4 inches off my chest. I again held it there for a solid 5-7 seconds before letting them take it. Very disappointing but so so crucial in moving my bench forward as I now know exactly where my sticking point is and where my weaknesses are so that I can form a good program to improve my bench. It’s a lift I will never be great at because of my long arms, but I have so much room that I can improve.
Deadlift: Again, oye!! After getting a PR on squat and then hardcore failing 2 bench attempts and sitting around for hours, my body hated me. I was shaky and sore and stiff. At this point I had eaten a PB and J sandwich, banana, almost a gallon of water, Gatorade, and 2 Nutrigrain bars. Also, an Airhead for fun. I took 200 mg of caffeine about 30 min from warming up for DL too but all that just wasn’t enough to get me my 315 DL goal that I wanted. First attempt was 265 and that went up like speed work, perfect form. Next attempt was 295. When I post the video you will see the bar get away from. That lift took the last reserves of energy I had to complete it. It was an ugly lift with a rounded back and loose core. So terrible and felt terrible but I sure as hell wasn’t about to fail it so I completed the lift. After how that felt, I decided 315 was just not in the cards but I still had to go up. So went for 305 on my last attempt. It was stapled to the floor though so failed my final DL attempt. Again, very disappointing but showed where my weaknesses are and I now am full of ideas of where to go from here.
My overall core was 650. I hope later this year I can get 700. We’ll see!
Overall, great experience. If you powerlift, please for the love of God do a powerlifting meet! You will learn an unbelievable amount about yourself and your body and your lifting technique that you just cannot learn in the gym in 2 hours. Meets are where it’s at for progress. Hopefully I’ll be doing another one later this year in July or October that will be SPF.
Edit: Video of all my lifts except my 3rd attempt deadlift at 305 which I failed. Camera battery died. The fail was from the floor so no big deal it missed getting filmed.
Deload Week
Front Squat
2x6@bar, 5@65, 2x3@95, 3x2@115, 1ish@135 (form and soreness from the meet just wouldn’t let me get full ROM but I’ll keep working on front squats as I believe my quads need some development)
Back Squat
3x3@135…so difficult. I could definitely tell I’m still sore and exhausted from the meet.
Deadlift
5x5@135
Assisted Pullups
4x8@1 light band (2 pronated, 2 neutral)
Hanging Leg Raises
3x8
[quote]CamBam wrote:
My first powerlifting meet review:
SO, what a fucking day. Most exhausting and draining experience of my life, but so much fun. I will be posting a video of all my lifts as soon as it’s made. So, this meet was APA which are similar rules to SPF if any difference at all. Before this meet, I had only ever seen one meet before and it was SPF so I was glad APA is pretty much the same as far as the meet rules, etc. The day did not go as well as I had hoped, I let myself get too fatigued by deadlift so that is definitely a big lesson I’ve learned from yesterday. I’ve learned what foods I need to shovel down the day before and also what foods or supplements to bring to fuel you through the 9 hour day. Yea, the meet was start to finish 9 hours with about 41 lifters. The only PR of the day was my squat. I’ll break all my lifts down:
My overall core was 650. I hope later this year I can get 700. We’ll see!
Overall, great experience. If you powerlift, please for the love of God do a powerlifting meet! You will learn an unbelievable amount about yourself and your body and your lifting technique that you just cannot learn in the gym in 2 hours. Meets are where it’s at for progress. Hopefully I’ll be doing another one later this year in July or October that will be SPF.
I think you did great! Congrats on the squat PR, and I wouldn’t sweat the bench. My only goal for my first meet is to not bomb out entirely. I too have bigger goals for late Summer/early Fall (also gunning for a 700 total!), and this first meet is just to get my feet wet and be comfortable with the commands. I’m interested in what you were happy with/what you’d do differently as far as meet prep (deloading, cutting weight, water manipulation), and what you would recommend for meet day nutrition. Sounds like I should bring a ton of food.
Speaking of food, I need to start getting real about making weight in three weeks 
Nice job on the meet. fwiw, form on final deadlifts is rarely pristine. If ever you’re going to shit your spine out, that’s the time to do it There is no comparison between gym lifts and platform lifts and the pure rush you get from them.
What weight class did you compete in?
[quote]Mighty Matron wrote:
[quote]CamBam wrote:
My first powerlifting meet review:
SO, what a fucking day. Most exhausting and draining experience of my life, but so much fun. I will be posting a video of all my lifts as soon as it’s made. So, this meet was APA which are similar rules to SPF if any difference at all. Before this meet, I had only ever seen one meet before and it was SPF so I was glad APA is pretty much the same as far as the meet rules, etc. The day did not go as well as I had hoped, I let myself get too fatigued by deadlift so that is definitely a big lesson I’ve learned from yesterday. I’ve learned what foods I need to shovel down the day before and also what foods or supplements to bring to fuel you through the 9 hour day. Yea, the meet was start to finish 9 hours with about 41 lifters. The only PR of the day was my squat. I’ll break all my lifts down:
My overall core was 650. I hope later this year I can get 700. We’ll see!
Overall, great experience. If you powerlift, please for the love of God do a powerlifting meet! You will learn an unbelievable amount about yourself and your body and your lifting technique that you just cannot learn in the gym in 2 hours. Meets are where it’s at for progress. Hopefully I’ll be doing another one later this year in July or October that will be SPF.
I think you did great! Congrats on the squat PR, and I wouldn’t sweat the bench. My only goal for my first meet is to not bomb out entirely. I too have bigger goals for late Summer/early Fall (also gunning for a 700 total!), and this first meet is just to get my feet wet and be comfortable with the commands. I’m interested in what you were happy with/what you’d do differently as far as meet prep (deloading, cutting weight, water manipulation), and what you would recommend for meet day nutrition. Sounds like I should bring a ton of food.
Speaking of food, I need to start getting real about making weight in three weeks :)[/quote]
So, I competed in the 165 weight class. I’m 5’8" and usually sit at around 170 so I thought no big deal I can get down 5 lbs for the meet. Well, let me promise you that it is in your benefit to not have to use water manipulation or cut food. I ended up going for weigh ins at 11am and had stopped drinking and eating at 12am the day before so almost a full 24 hours. It was not as torturous as it sounds but I think I really did deplete my energy for meet day. I was even spitting in a bottle the whole way down which is probably what got me directly at 165.0. So go ahead and lose whatever weight you need to lose right now instead of last minute stuff.
Here’s what I ate on refeed day: Meal after weighing in was a 20 oz Gatorade and a PB & J…easy to digest and not too heavy after not eating for 24 hours. Then an hour later, I had Firehouse sub sanwhich with just basic stuff on it like turkey, lettuce, etc. Lots of turkey though. Then 2.5 hours later I had Chipotle and had chicken tacos. Then for dinner, a friend had all the people lifting over for home made pizza but that was around 8:00. What I learned from that is it was just too much. I woke up on meet morning and felt bloated and full, so I couldn’t really eat a good breakfast like I needed. So it’s definitely a learning experience and everyone will be different. Just don’t over eat towards the end of refeed day, that’s for sure!
Meet day food: The meet was an all day thing so we brought plenty of bananas, Nutrigrain bars, Cliff bars, Gatorade and water. You sweat all day and sit between lifts for about an hour to 2 depending on how many are lifting. Drink whenever you can. I just got massively fatigued after bench and just felt like going to sleep. Took 200 mg of caffeine and that woke me up and got me ready to go but my body was shaky. I drank over a gallon of water and Gatorade that day, so I’m thinking I didn’t eat soon enough after my squat and bench lifts. So that’s another thing, just snack constantly throughout the day and immediately after each lift. Those are things that I wish I had done so I wasn’t so exhausted. Other more knowledgeable friends of mine brought pre-workout supplements that are helpful for those final deadlifts too.
Deload Week, Bench
*So, one great lesson taken from the meet was exactly where my sticking point is on bench. My BF and I have come up with a new program that basically tailors the Cube Method to myself and from what did and didn’t work for me this last go around with the Cube. For bench, we added a lot of board work. I’ve never really done board work so I have no idea if it will work for me but today was just testing it out and getting use to it.
Bench with boards
10@bar, 2x10@bar with 1 board, 5@65 with 1 board, 3 rounds: (5@95 with 1 board, 5@95 with 1.5 board, 5@95 with 2 board)
*Not really sure which board height will be most beneficial right now since 95 is pretty light for me doing 5 reps. But it’s still deload week so didn’t want to go heavy at all. I liked the board work today though.
Assisted Pullups
3x8@ 1 light band
OHP
3x10@bar
Hanging Leg Raise
3x8
DB Curls
3x8@20s
DB Lat Raise
3x8@15s
Deload Week, Squat
Squat
2x8@bar, 2x6@95, 3@135
Paused
5x5@135…felt strong and had great form. I could still feel the underlying fatigue from the meet though. Really takes it out of you.
Front Squat
2x5@bar, 4x5@95
*Trying to get back to doing front squats for reals this program. I need stronger quads and I will benefit greatly from doing these consistently. However, I’m still trying to figure out where to place the bar on my shoulders without bruising the damn bone. Still unsuccessful with that but I’m going to keep trying.
Leg Extension
3x10@120
Hypers
3x12@25lb plate
DB Side Bends
3x15@40s
Pushups
3x10
I hear you on the meet recovery. I just did my 22nd meet and every meet is harder to recover from than the last. It isn’t the weight lifted, it’s the manufactured ‘fight or flight’ adrenaline surge we get from competition. My last was the end of January and I spent most of the next day napping off and on. You were also likely impacted by the weight cut as well. I hope you do more meets.
Ouroboro, I will definitely be doing more meets, just hopefully without having to cut. I learned my lesson, if you don’t have to do it then don’t because it does take energy away. But yea, I think doing meets is the best way to learn about getting stronger so I’ll be out doing another later this year
Deaload Week, “Body Day”
*With my new program, I will basically be doing a second bench day so I’ll be calling it 2nd bench day. The accessories will be different of course, just working with more chains and boards on the 2nd bench day though.
Bench
2x8@bar, 8@65, 2x5@95, 5@105, 4x3@115
DB Rows
3x10@65s R/L
Decline Pushups
3x10
Chest Supported T-bar Row
3x10@95
Wave 1, Week 1 Rep Deadlift
*Started my new program today. It is a more tailored version of the Cube Method which I utilized as my last program. I didn’t really get stronger because I think the real Cube Method is just too daunting for me and where I am in my lifting. So, I’m hoping that my new program and newly found motivation from doing my first powerlifting meet will get me back on track to Strong.
Deadlift
10@bar, 2x6@135, 5@185, 3@205, 3x8@215(belt)…felt easy and well controlled
Deficit Deadlift (stood on a 1 inch plate…that works best for my long femurs for sure)
4@135, 4@185, 4x4@205 (RPE 8)
*I’m doing the RPE scale for my accessory lifts, which is basically your perception of how heavy you go that particular day. So instead of programming to lift a certain weight at a certain rep scheme, I program a set amount of sets and reps only and then gauge that day what weight is an 8 at my set rep scheme (2 reps left in the tank) or what is a 10 (max effort lift). I feel like this will help me a lot with my struggles of getting frustrated easily when I’m feeling weak a particular day.
Box Squat
6@bar, 2x5@95, 4x6@135 (RPE 8.5)
Spud Cable Ab Pulldown
3x10@90 with slow assent
Wave 1, Week 1- Heavy Bench
Bench
2x10@bar, 6@65, 5@95, 3@105, 5x2@125
*For the record, the 5x2 was ugly and I struggled a good bit. It’s all about keeping my lats tighter and keeping steady. I did get better as i went but of course more fatigued. Lots to improve upon with my technique.
Close Grip
3x3@115 (RPE 9)
Assisted Pullups (neurtal grip)
3x5@1 mini band
Wide Grip Lat Pulldowns
3x10@105
Hanging Leg Raise
3x10
OHP
3x12@bar
Straight legged Situps
3x20@25lb plate
Wave 1, Week 1, Speed Squat
Squat
2x5@bar, 2x5@95, 3@135, 8x2@155(belt)…Was not as explosive as I would have preferred. My upper back is still sore from DL 4 days ago so I was struggling with that. Meh.
Squat
2x5@165(belt)…set 1 was RPE 8 and set 2 was RPE 9
Paused Squat
3x6@135…sets 1 and 2 were RPE 8 and set 3 was RPE 9.
GHR
3x12@25lb plate
DB Walking Lunges
3x20 steps@ 20lb kettlebells each hand
Forward and backward sled pulls
*probably about 8 total with each being ~20ish yards. Will. Be. Sore.
Spud Cable Pulldown Abs
3x8@90
Wave 1, Week 1, Heavy Rep Bench (the new body day)
Bench
10@bar, 8@65
Bench with 1.5 boards
8@65, 8@95, 6@105, 4x6@110
*Still not sure which board height will be best for me so I just guessed and stuck to one height this workout. Seemed to hit right so that I could keep my form a little tighter.
DB Bench
12@25s, 3x12@40s…last set was tough
Assisted Pullups
3x8@1 mini band
Banded Triceps Pushdowns
3x15
Kettlebell Bent over Rows
3x12@52lb R/L
Hanging Knee Raise
3x10
Wave 1, Week 2 Speed Deadlift
Deadlift
10@bar, 2x5@135, 5@185, 8x2@205(belt)…very fast, wore the belt so that I can practice more with breathing and using the belt for the most speed at the bottom. Did pretty well today.
Deficit Deadlift (going for RPE 8)
6@185(belt), 4x6@195
*Did the first set at 195 with the belt as well but it was getting in the way since I had to lean down further and I think since it was lighter rep work it’s better for me to not use a belt anyways.
Box Squat
2x6@bar, 2x5@95, 6@115, 4x6@135(RPE 8, except last set was a 9)
*I had to work on my technique compared to last week’s and I think today was much better. Worked on not plopping onto the box or sitting back. Just stayed as strict and tight as possible and I think it went well. Already sore.
Hanging Knee Raise
3x8
Hypers
3x20@BW…ouch, especially after all the posterior chain work
DB Side Bends
3x15@35s R/L
Wave 1, Week 2, Rep Bench
Bench
10@bar, 8@65, 2x5@95, 2x10@105, 6@105(the right side of my back cramped horribly), 10@105
*Originally going for a 3x8-12 so did a little extra with the 6 reps
Close Grip Bench
3x6@105, 4@105…the exhaustion wall hit me hard
Pendlay Row
3x10@115
OHP
3x10@bar
Cable Low Row
3x10@90
DB Curls
3x8@20s R/L
Wave 1, Week 2, Heavy Squat
Squat
2x6@bar, 2x5@95, 3@135, 3@155, 2@185 (belt), 2@195, 3x2@205
*So this was a great workout for my form. I was sitting back and really didn’t have an issue with these weights like of recent. It’s definitely a form and rep PR for 205. Just hoping I can keep that up and start moving my squat up finally.
Front Squat
5@bar, 3@95, 2x3@115, 3@125
*These are so frustrating because I haven’t gotten consistent with where to place the bar on my shoulders without it being on bone. Another problem I keep having is wrist pain…I have to keep the front squats low reps so that my right wrist and elbow don’t start acting up again. Definite work in progress.
Paused Squat
6@135, 2x6@145 (RPE 8,8,9)
GHR
3x10@25lb plate
Leg Extension
3x10@120
Straight legged Situps
3x20@30lb med ball
Hanging twisting knee raise
3x12
Wave 1, Week 2, Body Day
Board Bench( with 1.5 boards)
2x10@bar (FROM), 10@65(started with boards from here), 5@95, 5@105, 5@110, 5x5@115
DB Bench
10@25s, 15,15,14@40s
*Went for a big rep PR from last week when I did a 3x12@40s and I was really happy with going up 3 reps each set from last week. On the last set, the last rep floated and I barely failed but I was still happy with this improvement.
Assisted Pullups
3x6@1 mini band
Lat Pulldown (wide and neutral grip)
3x10@105
Cable Woodchopper abs
2x10
Cable Face Pulls
3x15@70
Wave 1, Week 3, Heavy Deadlift
Deadlift
10@bar, 2x5@135, 5@185, 2@225, 2@245(belt), 2x2@265, 2@275, 2@285(1 rep PR), 1@285
*The plan was to work up to doubles above my 80%(245). The 245 felt stupid easy so went ahead and kept going up. Finally got 2 @285 and got greedy and tried to get it a second time. Didn’t even come off the floor on the second rep but that’s okay. I still had an impressive deadlift session today
Deficit Deadlift
3x6@205 (RPE 8)
Box Squat
6@bar, 5@95, 4@145, 3x4@135
*This was terrible. Original plan was 4x6(RPE 8). I’ve done 135 for the last 2 weeks just fine for RPE 8 but today was just not happening. I started at 145 because I still had a big head from my deadlift. But even going back down to 135 I saw that it wasn’t going to get 6’s at RPE 8. Changed it to 6x4 and then my knee started hurting so I called it. Live to box squat another day.
Hypers
3x15@25lb kettle bell
Hanging Knee Raise(alternate straight with twisting)
3x12