Had a wart on my palm frozen right before this session. Hand hurt like a motherfucker, hence the brevity. Haven’t done rack pulls in a long time. Back was torched all weekend.
Solid session. 340x5 is not a PR but it’s close. My 5RM is 345.
Finally have a handle on how I’m going to organize my training over the fall and winter. I’ll delve into that in a future post, but I’m just glad I was able to settle on something. It’s nothing drastic, just small changes to my accessory days.
[quote]Maiden3.16 wrote:
Have you been using increments of 2.5 or 5 for JM? What did you use when you were running it for squats?[/quote]
I’ve been using 1.25 per rep over the minimum for bench and military, and I used 2.5 for squats. No sense in rushing things, the numbers will add up eventually.
GHR - 3x10
BB Curl - bar for lots of reps
Band Ext - monster mini for one set of 100
Got slammed at work this week and haven’t slept much, plus it was raining today so my hip felt like shit until I’d done 8 sets or so. Training volume has been way down and will probably stay that way for a while. I usually go into this kind of funk every year around this time. It’s not that I don’t care about training, I just don’t feel the need to be in the gym every day of the week.
Since squats are feeling ok, I’m planning on doing another gym meet 11/10. My wife is due with our second on 11/11, so I might end up missing it if she pops early, but it doesn’t really matter since I don’t have to travel.
[quote]novaeer wrote:
Congrats on kid #2. We are waiting on #2 as well. He/she is supposed to arrive at the end of February.[/quote]
Congrats to you as well. How old is your first? Boy or girl?
We have a girl that will be 2 in December. She is a fucking laugh riot. Cutest thing I ever laid eyes on. I’m sure all fathers say that about their daughters when they are this age though.
I also have an 11 year old son from a past relationship that lives with his mom and I see him on weekends. He loves having a sister and is excited about #2 as well, so that’s working out for the best.
So this session was awful. Everything felt heavy and everything hurt. I worked up to 255 for a triple on bench and realized this was not going to be a good day. Then I did some dips, a set of 100 curls with the bar, and a set of 100 cable pushdowns with 40lbs. Then I went the fuck home. Blah.
I guess I was kinda due for a down week. Going to take the rest of the week fairly easy and come back next Monday for the start of meet prep.
I actually ended up taking last week off completely after Monday’s debacle. After 6 days off I am hungry to hit it hard again.
10/8/12 - Bench Press
BP - worked up to 335 for 3 triples with the first rep paused
Incline DB Press - 85x4x10
Blast Strap Pushup - 2 sets
Felt very solid on the triples. Bar speed was right on for that weight. I feel like I’m right where I need to be to start this meet prep, at least as far as bench is concerned.
10/9/12 - Arms
Rope Ext/Hammer Curl - 3 sets of 10-12 with little rest to get a pump
Reverse Pec Machine - 4x15
LR Machine - 4x10-15
MP Machine - 4x10
Chest Supported DB Swings Drop Set - 55s, 45s, 35s for one set
Side DB Swings Drop Set - 55s, 45s, 35s for one set
Bench Press - 365 for 2 cluster sets of 3 reps each; first 5 reps were paused; 30 sec b/w reps
Incline DB Press - 4x10
DB Curl - 35x10, 45x8, 55x7
JM Press - 135x10, 165x8, 195x5
Traveled for work Monday and Tuesday this week so I had to get that work done on Sunday. The cluster sets of bench press were tough. The worst part is wrapping and unwrapping wrists between reps. Plus I did this at home so I did not have a lift-off for any of the reps. Unracking the bar that many times adds up when your POS rack has 4" hole spacing; so I was basically doing a 4 board press just to get to the starting position.
Did some stuff, nothing special; light day to allow more recovery
10/29/12 - Last Bench Press before meet
BP - worked up to 365 with a pause
Inc BP - 135,185,225x20
Band Pullaparts - 100 reps
I will work up to my opening squat tonight for a double, then do some speed deadlifts for a few sets. Next Monday I will do a few sets of 315 squat, 225 bench, 315 dead. That will be all til the meet.
Started my cut today. Weighed in at 238 this morning. I would like to hit 230 by tomorrow night, then I will do the rest Friday morning before my 10am weigh-in. LA Fitness has a sauna that I will be using.
Why all of this for a stupid gym meet? Because I will actually be challenged at this one, and I want to fucking win. The heavyweight best lifter award will be hotly contested between myself and 3 other guys, and literally any one of us could win it. This is the first time I’ve actually felt like I’m competing for something since college football. I didn’t know how much I missed it until now.
Two of the other guys are stronger and heavier than me (one is around 1700 total @~340lbs; other is around 1600 total @~265-275lbs), and the third guy is a little lighter (he might cut to 198 and therefore be a lightweight) and roughly as strong as me.
I am going to need to weigh in as light as possible and hit a PR total to win. I love pressure like this; makes me feel alive.