26/06/10
DE Bench Presses
Speed Bench Presses:
20x2x8
(Added doubled mini bands)
20x5
40x3
60x3
70x8x3
Neutral Grip Dumbbell Floor Presses:
38x4x8
HS Row Machine:
2 platesx12
2.5 platesx10
3 platesx10
3.5 platesx8
Scarecrows:
7.5x3x10
Barbell Curls:
3 sets
Suspended Barbell Push-ups:
3x20 w/mini band
28/06/10
ME Squats/Deadlifts
(Very) High Box Squats:
20x2x5
60x3
100x3
140x3
(Added Metal Ace briefs)
160x2
180x2
200x1
220x1
230x1
Deficit Deadlifts:
60x3
100x3
140x3
160x3
170x4
Reverse Hypers:
70x3x12
Ab Pulldowns:
115lbx3x15
I’ll be honest, I wasn’t really any closer to hitting depth than last week. Maybe 6 plates will do it? I need to find a monolift!
30/06/10
ME Bench Presses
Bench Presses:
20x2x8
40x5
60x3
80x3
(Added Metal Ace shirt)
100x3
120x3
140x1
160x1
170x1
175x1
180x1
Close Grip Bench Presses:
80x5
90x5
100x5
112.5x5 (PR)
Pull-ups:
BWx10x5
Triceps Pushdowns w/Straight Bar Attachment:
85lbx2x8
Face Pulls w/Straight Bar Attachment:
105lbx2x10
The plan tonight was to find out what I could touch to a 1-board, but one of my training partners was MIA and I was having difficulties securing the boards myself. Instead, I just tried to get as close to a touch as possible whilst maintaining a sensible line. I think I could probably touch 160kg, but it means touching ridiculously low on my belly and really having to muscle the weight back into a groove. Instead, I piled on the weight, kept my line, and was only an inch away…
The rest of the session was pretty good. I performed sets of pull-ups in between every subsequent set, and managed a PR on the close grip bench presses.
Once you get those briefs broke in hitting depth will be like 2nd nature to you.
Breaking them in will do wonders for you. Also, really try to push your knees outward because that will help a lot. When I used the Ace suit, knees out was the best thing I did to achieve proper depth. Good luck.
Thanks for the tip novaeer, I’ll make sure I really focus on getting my knees right out on Monday.
muscle_g: I certainly hope so!
02/07/10
DE Squats/Deadlifts
Speed Box Squats:
20x2x5
(Added green bands)
20x3
60x2
80x2
110x8x2
Speed Sumo Deadlifts:
(Added Metal IPF Viking Squatter)
60x3
100x1
140x1
160x6x1
Reverse Hypers:
100x4x8
Landmines:
15x4x6
There isn’t anything interesting to say about my squatting. However, it was good to see that my training partner was able to get under the bar and squat 150kg plus green bands for an easy double yesterday; Chris had major shoulder surgery in January and has been unable to squat with a straight bar since then.
Onto deadlifts - I tried putting on Chris’s Metal IPF Viking Squatter for some fast pulls, and it worked a treat. The suit is a little loose, but all of my working sets were very fast.
04/07/10
DE Bench Presses
Speed Bench Presses:
20x2x8
(Added doubled mini bands)
20x5
40x3
60x3
70x9x3
Neutral Grip Dumbbell Floor Presses:
75lbx10
85lbx10
85lbx10
85lbx8
One-Arm Dumbbell Rows:
45x12
45x12
50x10
55x15
TRX Rear Delt Flyes:
3x10
Suspended Barbell Push-ups:
2x17 w/light band
Barbell Curls:
45x2x8
05/07/10
ME Squats/Deadlifts
Squats:
20x2x5
60x3
100x3
140x1
(Added Metal Ace briefs)
180x1
200x1
220x1
240x1 (PR)
Rack Pulls (from 1st pins):
60x3
120x3
160x3
180x3 (PR)
200x1 (PR)
220x1 (PR)
Glute/Ham Raises:
BWx8
BW+10x3x10
Ab Pulldowns:
120lbx3x12
Tonight’s session was a marked improvement on the last couple of weeks. I’m getting more comfortable in the briefs, and with more weight on the bar, and more focus on shoving me knees out, I was able to hit depth with 240kg. The lift was easy the second time around, after a rather scary looking miss at the first attempt!
The rack pulls were also a breath of fresh air, so to speak… I suck at these, but tend to be better at them when the bar is nearest the floor. 220kg was a HUGE PR (the only other time I have pulled from the 1st pins I maxed out at 180kg) so I was delighted with the evening’s work.
Good job on the PR. Getting the hang of Ace briefs/suit can be exasperating at first, but once you master the groove they are awesome.
07/07/10
ME Bench Presses
Bench Presses (Paused):
20x2x8
40x5
60x5
80x3
(Subsequent sets performed to a 2-board)
100x3
(Added Metal Ace shirt)
120x1
140x1
(Subsequent sets performed to a 1-board)
160x1
180x1
190xF
Seated Overhead Press Lockouts:
60x5
70x5
80x5
90x5
95x3 (PR)
Pull-ups:
BWx10x5
Triceps Pushdowns w/Straight Bar Attachment:
85lbx3x8
Face Pulls w/Straight Bar Attachment:
105lbx3x12
Well, I’m competing in the BPC/GPC British Powerlifting Championship next Sunday, and I have yet to touch a weight to my shirt. It would be boring if I didn’t make it hard for myself.
[quote]novaeer wrote:
Good job on the PR. Getting the hang of Ace briefs/suit can be exasperating at first, but once you master the groove they are awesome.[/quote]
Thanks man, it felt a LOT better on Monday to the previous week, so I’m definitely moving in the right direction. Hopefully over the coming weeks and months I’ll really dial in my technique to get the most out of the briefs.
09/07/10
DE Squats/Deadlifts
Speed Box Squats:
20x2x5
(Added blue bands)
20x3
60x2
80x2
100x3x2
110x2
120x2
130x2
Speed Sumo Deadlifts:
(Added Metal IPF Viking Squatter)
70x3
(Added doubled mini bands)
70x1
110x4x1
130x2x1
150x2x1
Reverse Hypers:
100x3x8
Landmines:
15x3x7
This was my penultimate heavy session for my competition next weekend, and it went extremely well. I’ve only ever used strong (blue) bands once before, and after a slightly questionable set with 120, I followed up with a strong 130kg. Then I moved on to deadlifts, where I equalled my best pull against bands (twice). Given that both efforts were smooth and fairly comfortable, and the bands I used today are still fairly new and stiff, I was very happy with the evening’s work.
11/07/10
DE Bench Presses
Speed Bench Presses:
20x2x8
(Added doubled mini bands)
20x5
40x3
60x3
70x2x3
80x2x3
90x2x3
100x3
Neutral Grip Dumbbell Floor Presses:
85lbx2x10
One-Arm Dumbbell Rows:
45x12
45x12
50x10
55x15
TRX Rear Delt Flyes:
3x10
Suspended Barbell Push-ups:
3x20 w/light band
12/07/10
Deload - Squats/Deadlifts
Squats:
20x2x5
60x5
100x3
120x2
140x1
Glute/Ham Raises:
BWx2x15
Reverse Hypers:
70x2x15
Ab Pulldowns:
120lbx3 sets
Last squat session before the BPC/GPC Nationals. Not very interesting.
14/07/10
Deload - Bench Presses:
Neutral Grip Dumbbell Bench Presses:
22x2x10
28x8
36x12
36x11
36x10
Neutral Grip Chin-ups:
BWx5x5
Triceps Pushdowns w/Rope Attachment:
2 sets
Face Pulls w/Straight Bar Attachment:
2 sets
Last one. Here we go…
Good luck with your meet. Have fun, set some PRs and may all your lights be white.
Thanks man, much appreciated. I’ve got my fingers crossed that despite a woeful lack of preparation, it will all come right on the… Day.
18/07/10
Meet Report
Bodyweight: 105kg
Squats:
240x1
250x1 (PR)
260xF
Bench Presses:
155x1 (PR)
160x1 (PR)
167.5x1 (PR)
Deadlifts:
200x1
220x1 (PR)
232.5x1 (PR)
Total: 650kg (PR)
Despite the very short preparation time for this meet, I was able to turn in a solid performance and come away feeling extremely satisfied. I had an 8/9 day, set a host of PRs, and recorded an absolutely spectacular miss on my final squat. So, onto the report…
The warm-ups for my squat felt great, until I put my briefs on for 180kg. I didn’t bother trying to hit depth, and only tried to get lower with my last two at 200 and 220. These didn’t feel great, but I was getting low comfortably, which I hadn’t been able to do in training up until this point. Some bloke called Andy Bolton (you may have heard of him) was running the monolift backstage, and he told me to shove my knees out even more than I was was. Good advice. My opener with 240 felt good, and was really deep. I called for 250 for my second (550lb - nice milestone) and struggled through. At that point, I considered passing my third attempt, but went with 260 instead. It felt heavy as hell when I unracked the weight, and I sunk it fast and low. My right knee buckled, I heard something pop, and thanked God/Flying Spaghetti Monster that we had straps on the monolift to catch it.
After removing my briefs (which took about 10 minutes), icing the knee, and loading myself full of ibuprofen, I decided to see what I could do on the bench. Setting up felt horrible, but eventually I worked out a set-up that enabled me to lift. I opened at 155kg, and (miraculously) managed a touch - my first in the Ace shirt. Press was good. Ditto with 160. 167.5 was harder, and the lockout was a little uneven, but I still got whites - happy days.
More ibuprofen. More ice. Sumo deadlifts. 200, 220, 232.5kg (17.5kg PR - although my previous best pull was raw and conventional). I know these lifts are pretty modest for a 110, but I was elated to pull through the day and perform the way I did after that third squat! A video will follow.
By the way (if you’re still reading, and I suspect that you aren’t) I went to A&E today to get the knee checked out. It turns out I’ve torn my medial collateral ligament, but it’s not serious. Plenty of rest, some physio, and training around it should do the trick.
