Chin ups - wide overhand
bw+25x8 - Could do a couple more reps but this is supposed to be an easy session.
Barbell curl
135x10
After this I did some thoracic mobility stuff using a foam roller, I realized that my t-spine is not quite as mobile as it used to be and if I can get a few more degrees of extension that would help with my bench setup. Also I spent about 5 minutes practicing my bench setup, I think I will try doing that every day (or close to it) so that I can sort this out. That’s one advantage of having my weights in the basement. No t-spine stuff every day though, I already found out a long time ago that it’s not a good idea the day before squatting or deadlifting.
Also today I tried wearing flat soled shoes since I already had them on and it feels like maybe that will work better, I will try them tomorrow. I have benched in my squat shoes for years but maybe they are part of the problem. With flat shoes I can set up the same way but have my hips fully extended, which it seems I can’t quite do with heeled shoes. My ass is only coming up about an inch, so that might do the trick.
The plan going forward for deadlifts is going to be 4 week waves going heavy-medium-heavy-light, the light sessions will be something like today and for medium sessions I will start off with 85%x3x3 (that’s about 510 based on estimated 1rm (600-ish), and I have pulled 580 with more in the tank). In a few weeks I will work up to a heavy single on my heavy days, not a max attempt or anything. Seems like I can squat heavy just about every week with a lighter sesion here and there, but it doesn’t work too good on deadlifts.
Slingshot bench
440x3 - Ass stayed down on all reps. I inadvertently did that foot shuffle thing after the 2nd rep and on the 3rd my hips rose more but I did not appear to lose contact. Strength looks like just about the same as the last couple weeks too. The slight change in setup and different shoes feels slightly awkward but not a big deal and I should get used to it fast. I think this is a PR too.
400x6 - A 7th rep should have been there but for some reason I brought the bar down too low, it didn’t come up like it should and I got stuck and just dumped it. But my ass stayed down the whole time, which is a much bigger concern than a rep PR on a down set, so things are looking good.
JM press
275x8, 6 - I don’t know how I managed 270x10 last week, this was hard
Neutral DB pushups
light + super mini bands x10 - I thought about it and I guess I will just stick with bands for now because otherwise I will be doing 25+ reps which doesn’t make much sense right now. I will just cut it down to one set instead. I can’t think of anything better to do than this for a little extra upper body pump with what I have, and I don’t want another heavy barbell lift.
Squat in wraps
565x2 - Went better than expected, could have gone for another rep but I was only planning for 2. The original plan was 555x3 and I felt good overall except my hip flexors and QL were a bit crampy, I was doing a bunch of extra stuff to fix my bench setup and it looks like it backfired a bit. Anyway, warmups didn’t feel great at first and 545x3 last week was hard so I figured 555x3 wasn’t guaranteed to happen and it would be better to just throw another 10bs on and go for a double. Last couple warmups felt good, top set was even better.
I think this was to depth too, I was actually planning to squat in my singlet but I forgot until it was too late. I need a brighter lightbulb too, can barely see shit.
Pause squat in wraps
485x3x2 sets - same wrap job - Feels horrible on the skin around my knees, like taking a grater to them, but went up pretty easy. If my pain tolerance was higher I could probably do 6-7 reps on the first set, but it’s real uncomfortable.
Band leg curl
2 light bands x12, 9
10 weeks until the meet (I still haven’t signed up, need to do that today), next week is an easy squat session and a couple weeks after I will start doing singles for the top set. Things are looking good, I could have tripled 565 which is a couple pounds short of what I squatted at the last meet (passed on my 3rd due to technical difficulties) and leading up to that I think my heaviest double was 525. If I was competing in 2-3 weeks I would say 620-630 is there, but I have over 2 months to go so we will see where I end up.
I emailed the Canadian Powerlifting email address asking about the membership, and they responded with an email to e-transfer $50 to. She texted me a photo of the membership card, and then shipped it out to me.
Tell you the truth, that’s like the last thing on my mind. Before I got my own stuff at home I was training in commercial gyms where 9 times out of 10 it was whatever pop music was on the radio, silence is pretty good in comparison. My CD player died and I didn’t bother to replace it.
One gym I used to go to would play Christmas music at Christmas time, imagine setting up for a big lift with “I’m dreaming of a white Christmas” playing.
I contacted EPC through Facebook and the guy said to go ahead and sign up, I just need to have the membership card at the meet. So it’s official, I’m there on May 2nd.
Any hotels you recommend or recommend avoiding? I was looking the other day and there’s a 1-star hotel down the road, sounds like a place full of hookers and junkies, not exactly conducive to sleeping well before a meet.
My in-laws who have come to visit have stayed in the Ambassador on Princess St (big pool with a waterslide if that’s your thing), the Days Inn by Wyndham on First Canada Ave (also has a pool), and Holiday Inn Express and a Ramada by Wyndham both just off the 401 (Division St exit) on Benson Ave (not sure if these have pools, but they are adjacent to a Denny’s and right on the main fast food strip). I don’t think they had any complaints about these hotels, so you should be safe. I would be hesitant to book any “Motels” in Kingston, I think that is when you may find yourself surrounded by some questionable activities.
My wife and I had a little “staycation” last year at the Best Western Fireside Inn, staff were great and their chef is fairly well known (in Kingston) for his dishes, and our meal did not disappoint.
Ambassador would be the closest location to the meet, but this isn’t Ottawa, so a trip across town only takes about 10-15 minutes. I don’t have any reviews on hotels over in the “west end” closer to the meet.
Closer to the meet is better because I don’t know my way around Kingston at all. I looked up Ambassador, looks alright and a little over $100 for a room, I will probably end up staying there. Thanks.
This was a weird session. Last night I felt like I was catching a cold, my nose was stuffed up and I didn’t sleep well as a result. I thought of making this an easy session but I was too determined (or maybe hard headed) to not attempt my planned top set so I took some caffeine and went with the plan.
Bench press
390x1 - failed 2nd rep - First rep was good but got stuck on the 2nd and just didn’t have it in me to grind it out. I wasn’t feeling 100% and things felt a little bit off due to changing my setup, seeing as I did 385x2x2 last week I’m pretty sure I could have done this if I felt better. At least my ass stayed on the bench, that’s half the battle
So I loaded 350 on the bar but I was pissed off and determined to get that double with 390 so I tried that again, the first rep moved better than on the first attempt but I ended up failing the 2nd again. Maybe I would have been better off not taking a 2nd shot at it, but that’s how it goes sometimes.
Down set:
350x5 - This is a PR. I was even more angry after the 2nd set with 390, I didn’t even have a target for how many reps to do on this, I just told myself it was an AMRAP set and that was that. Only problem is I did that stupid foot shuffle thing after the 4th rep and raised my ass on the 5th, I really need to stop that but I will take it for now. Pretty good considering I did a couple sets with 390 before this.
I was going to upload the video but Youtube isn’t cooperating right now, I will try again later.
I had already decided to skip the assistance work, I just did the W shoulder rotation thing and that was it. I’m not feeling great and I know from experience that pushing myself when I don’t feel good causes more fatigue than it would otherwise so that’s all. A couple sets of flys and shoulder raises won’t do a whole lot for me anyway.