Filling out the 93 kg weight class...

Training Training Logs
221

03.07.14
Week 8: realization

Squats:
5 x 60 kg
4 x 80 kg
3 x 90 kg
2 x 100 kg
1 x 110 kg
1 x 120 kg
1 x 130 kg
1 x 135 kg @RPE 8.5

Sumo deadlifts:
4 x 100 kg
3 x 140 kg
2 x 160 kg
1 x 180 kg
1 x 190 kg
4 x 1 x 200 kg @ RPE 8

Decline bench crunches:
2 x 15 x BW

Trained at a “foreign” gym yesterday on the road. Everything felt good despite poor sleep and abnormal breakfast protocol, but I was a bit apprehensive on squats. I wanted to get two reps on my top set, but could only train in a squat stand without safeties. The first rep went up OK, but I felt somewhat distracted and shaky, so I decided to cut off the set there and not risk injury.

The light deadlifts felt good. I’m thinking of trying 205/220/230 in competition.

222

04.07.14
Week 8: realization

Overhead press:
5 x 40 kg
3 x 50 kg
2 x 55 kg
2 x 60 kg @RPE 9

Competition-style bench press:
5 x 60 kg
4 x 80 kg
3 x 95 kg
3 x 105 kg
2 x 3 x 110 kg @RPE 9

Another training session in the “road gym” today. Was short, but that’s what I’d had in mind. All things considered, it also went well. Haven’t been sleeping well in our current hotel and have had a bunch of stress with my residence permit and my insurance in the last couple of days. Didn’t feel it physically, which is always good.

On the positive side, Germany just beat France in the World Cup quarterfinals! YeaaAahhh!

223

[quote]dutchie1 wrote:

[quote]kgildner wrote:

[quote]dutchie1 wrote:

[quote]kgildner wrote:
cause I’m dangerous like that.[/quote]

yesterday i went through a 4 hour bodybuilding style leg workout (and no, i actually had very short rest periods between sets) … the day before i hit a low-bar squat PR[/quote]

Body… building? What is this sorcery? ;-)[/quote]

Yeah i’m always breaking the rules, i have broken so many rules set by “fitness guru’s” that i have lost count (and i can count really high)… just saying i have done things that shouldn’t work but they help me break barriers and i never looked back

I’m very used to frequency, i’m so good at recovering from a workout i could run smolov year round if my knees could keep up (not even bragging)…

squating 5 times a week if not more, i don’t get sore from it anymore even though my weekly volume is higher than i could handle with once a week…

I wanted to be sore as fuck so i broke the rules, many would say your stomach would cramp up if you eat while training. I ate small bites between my sets and holy crap i could just keep going and going with the same intensity (did a kai greene style workout, did pretty much exactly as he did in his TwK serries. took over 3 hours of agony before i even squated, and leg presses afterward)

squats and presses aren’t that draining, i’d bet my gains that without dairly life stress one could squat and press everyday, all day … that doesn’t count for deadlifts.

(just saying, those front squats helped, set a PR for both low-bar and deadlift, felt strong off the floor and upperback felt alot stronger)[/quote]

Just to add to that, I also like bodybuilding-style training, even if I do very little of it. I like exercise variation and shirt rest intervals, although I’m not too fond of high-rep sets…

And I also seem to respond well to higher-frequency squatting, but can usually only manage it in spurts of several weeks. After that, my knees do begin to feel the strain. I’m anatomically not greatly built for squats, but don’t want to use that as an excuse. I think one’s planning and recovery protocol need to just be that much more meticulous. But hell, my squat is weak, so I’m not really one to give insight into that topic. :slight_smile:

224

[quote]kgildner wrote:

[quote]dutchie1 wrote:

[quote]kgildner wrote:

[quote]dutchie1 wrote:

[quote]kgildner wrote:
cause I’m dangerous like that.[/quote]

yesterday i went through a 4 hour bodybuilding style leg workout (and no, i actually had very short rest periods between sets) … the day before i hit a low-bar squat PR[/quote]

Body… building? What is this sorcery? ;-)[/quote]

Yeah i’m always breaking the rules, i have broken so many rules set by “fitness guru’s” that i have lost count (and i can count really high)… just saying i have done things that shouldn’t work but they help me break barriers and i never looked back

I’m very used to frequency, i’m so good at recovering from a workout i could run smolov year round if my knees could keep up (not even bragging)…

squating 5 times a week if not more, i don’t get sore from it anymore even though my weekly volume is higher than i could handle with once a week…

I wanted to be sore as fuck so i broke the rules, many would say your stomach would cramp up if you eat while training. I ate small bites between my sets and holy crap i could just keep going and going with the same intensity (did a kai greene style workout, did pretty much exactly as he did in his TwK serries. took over 3 hours of agony before i even squated, and leg presses afterward)

squats and presses aren’t that draining, i’d bet my gains that without dairly life stress one could squat and press everyday, all day … that doesn’t count for deadlifts.

(just saying, those front squats helped, set a PR for both low-bar and deadlift, felt strong off the floor and upperback felt alot stronger)[/quote]

Just to add to that, I also like bodybuilding-style training, even if I do very little of it. I like exercise variation and shirt rest intervals, although I’m not too fond of high-rep sets…

And I also seem to respond well to higher-frequency squatting, but can usually only manage it in spurts of several weeks. After that, my knees do begin to feel the strain. I’m anatomically not greatly built for squats, but don’t want to use that as an excuse. I think one’s planning and recovery protocol need to just be that much more meticulous. But hell, my squat is weak, so I’m not really one to give insight into that topic. :slight_smile:
[/quote]

In the past i was often like “i’m gonna do a bodybuilding contest one day with striated glutes(still am gonna one day, but not as soon)”

but nowadays … i’m more interested in been a athlete but once every now and then i gotta do a brosplit for a week, pump feels orgasmic and i don’t get in much from powerlifting (when i do, it’s shortlived)

Sucks that your knees don’t go along with you man, i had a knee injurie over a year ago and i find that frequency puts less presure on my knee … like by spreading the volume through the week rather than all in one day

you live in Germany right? is there a “powerlifting watch” for here in europe? maybe some time this or next year i think i’m gonna go compete just for the experience (even though i probably won’t place well cause i’d be too tall for the weightclass)

225

[quote]dutchie1 wrote:
you live in Germany right? is there a “powerlifting watch” for here in europe? maybe some time this or next year i think i’m gonna go compete just for the experience (even though i probably won’t place well cause i’d be too tall for the weightclass)[/quote]

Yeah, I’m not too familiar with a website like Powerlifting Watch for Europe. I just look at the websites of the BVDK (the German IPF affiliate), NRW Powerlifting and the GRAWA (the only raw association here in Germany) from time to time. Powerlifting really isn’t that big here. Where you at? Am I correct in assuming the Netherlands?

And how does your training look, by the way? I’m curious as to how you integrate those different training styles into a program.

226

i swear i rewrote the same post twice now (luckily i copied and pasted it)

i tried to submit it 4 times now but it won’t let me, could it be too long?

227

07.07.14
Week 9: realization

Sumo deadlift:
5 x 70 kg
4 x 120 kg
2 x 160 kg
(add belt)
1 x 180 kg
1 x 190 kg
1 x 200 kg @RPE 8
1 x 210 kg @RPE 9
1 x 220 kg @RPE 9.5-10

Squat:
4 x 70 kg
3 x 90 kg
2 x 110 kg
1 x 120 kg
2 x 1 x 130 kg @RPE 9

Last week of hard training prior to the meet. Decided to the stiffer Eleiko bar in our gym, which is the bar used in all IPF meets. I’m unsure as to which bar will be used at the push/pull in two weeks, but I know now that a stiffer bar can make a 5 kg difference in my deadlift. Everything felt OK, though, and I tested out my new singlet. Sexy video below:

228

08.07.14
Week 9: realization

Competition-style bench press:
5 x 50 kg
4 x 70 kg
3 x 90 kg
2 x 105 kg
1 x 115 kg
1 x 122.5 kg
1 x 127.5 kg (PR; vid)

Bench press top iso hold:
2 x 10 sec. x 145 kg

Paused bench press (2 count):
2 x 1 x 115 kg
2 x 1 x 105 kg

Band pull-aparts:
6 x 15 x double red

Good training session this morning. Managed to work my way up to a PR in competition-style bench press, although I did pause very briefly. I still need to work on keeping my butt down, as it threatened to come off the bench during this attempt. See vid below (and sorry for the dude who walked in front of the camera right before I pressed).

229

11.07.14
Week 9: realization

Squat:
5 x 60 kg
4 x 80 kg
3 x 100 kg
2 x 115 kg
1 x 120 kg
1 x 127.5 kg
1 x 135 kg
1 x 140 kg @RPE 9
1 x 145 kg @RPE 9.5

Hyperextensions:
20 x BW
2 x 15 x BW 15 kg

Pretty good training session this morning. My top sets of squats were a bit slower than I would’ve liked and I need to get used to squatting with a belt. But all in all, I’m happy. Also, I’m having fun with iMovie:

230

13.07.14
Week 9: realization

OHP:
4 x 40 kg
3 x 50 kg
2 x 1 x 60 kg @RPE 9

Competition-style bench press:
5 x 50 kg
3 x 80 kg
2 x 100 kg
2 x 110 kg @RPE 8.5
1 x 115 kg @RPE 8.5 - 9

Band pull-aparts:
6 x 15 x double red

One week out from competition. Feels pretty good. Had my wife give me start and press commands for bench, that all felt quite good. Let’s just hope the judge at the meet isn’t too stingy (I’ve heard that this fed has very quick press commands, but we’ll see).

Will go in and hit my openers in the gym this coming week and do a bit of mobility/prehab stuff.

231

[quote]dutchie1 wrote:
i swear i rewrote the same post twice now (luckily i copied and pasted it)

i tried to submit it 4 times now but it won’t let me, could it be too long?[/quote]

Hah, that seems to happen to me a lot when I submit my posts. But I often lack the foresight to copy+paste just in case.

232

14.07.14
Week 10: meet prep

Sumo deadlift:
4 x 120 kg
2 x 160 kg
1 x 185 kg
1 x 200 kg @RPE 9
1 x 205 kg @RPE 9
1 x 210 kg @RPE 9.5

Hyperextensions:
3 x 20 x BW

So today’s training was predictably crappy as I didn’t get much sleep last night. But it don matter, cause something more important happened yesterday evening:

233

16.07.14
Week 10: meet prep

Competition-style bench press:
5 x 50 kg
4 x 70 kg
3 x 85 kg
2 x 100 kg
1 x 107.5 kg
1 x 112.5 kg @RPE 8
1 x 115 kg @RPE 8.5

Band pull-aparts:
6 x 15 x double red

Felt good today. Just went in to the gym and worked up to my planned first attempt for Sunday. The rep went up fast and my form looked good. Planning to try 115/125/130 at the meet.

234

18.07.14
Week 10: meet prep

Squats:

5 x 50 kg
4 x 70 kg
3 x 100 kg
2 x 110 kg
1 x 120 kg
1 x 125 kg @RPE 7

And a bunch of stretching.

Feeling good for Sunday.

235

20.07.14
Sueddeutsche Meisterschaften der GRAWA in Bankdruecken/Kreuzheben
(“German Raw Association” South German Championships in Bench Press/Deadlift)

Bench attempts:

  1. 110 kg - good
  2. 120 kg - good
  3. 130 kg - no lift

Deadlift attempts:

  1. 205 kg - good
  2. 215 kg - good
  3. 230 kg - good (PR, 2.75x BW)

So the meet went pretty well, all things considered. Weighed in at 83.5 (!!!) kg. I expected that I’d be maybe one or one and a half kilos less than my “normal” weight, since the last few days had been very warm and I’d had a fair amount of work stress. But I was about four kilos less than normal. However, I can’t say if this number was accurate, since just about everyone who I’d talked to had weighed in at about two to four kilos less than what they’d expected. Crazy.

The venue was great, but the warm-up room was a bit small and we didn’t have enough plates. I also wasn’t used to getting a hand-off, which was necessary with the bench we used, since the j-hooks weren’t adjustable. Because of this, I chose to open at 110 kg instead of 115 kg and go up in 10 kg increments. This probably wasn’t the best idea: 110 kg almost flew out of my hands, 120 kg went up very fast, but I narrowly missed on 130 kg. As a result, my bench result was sub-par. Note to self: next time, go near-maximal on the second bench attempt.

Deadlifting went much better. I already knew in the warm-up room that things would go well. Opened at 205 kg. My lockout was somehow funny, almost dropped the bar, but it passed. 215 kg went up easily, so I decided to go for a PR of 230 kg on my third attempt. At this point I’d consumed so much taurine and caffeine that I had to rage it out. The lift was good, and I felt as though I could’ve managed another couple of kg. I’m happy because I’m back at around 2.75x BW. My goal is to reach 3x BW before the end of next year.

There was a pretty good turnout at the meet, very nice people and a good number of spectators – especially for bench press. The lifting was what one would expect from a regional raw push-pull meet. I think the best bench press was somewhere around 210 or 215 kg. One lifter (I think he weighed about 100 kg) attempted 300 kg twice and failed both times. There were one or two triple bodyweight deadlifts, though. And a guest posing between bench and deadlift from the German IFBB pro Markus Hoppe. If you don’t know him, check him out. I don’t think I’d ever seen quads that impressive in person.

Here’s the final deadlift, will try to get more videos up soon:

236

23.07.14
Deload week

Competition-style bench press:
5 x 50 kg
4 x 70 kg
3 x 85 kg
2 x 100 kg
1 x 105 kg @RPE 8
3 x 110 kg @RPE 9

2-count paused bench press:
2 x 2 x 100 kg @RPE 8.5

Barbell rows:
3 x 5 x 80 kg

DB curls:
2 x 8 x 14.5 kg

Band pull-aparts:
7 x 15 x double red

Just trying to keep up a moderate intensity during this deload week. I might compete in an “online meet” on the 2nd of August if I can hold my peak.

237

24.07.14
Deload week

Squat:
5 x 60 kg
4 x 80 kg
3 x 95 kg
2 x 105 kg
1 x 112.5 kg
1 x 120 kg
1 x 125 kg @RPE 7
2 x 130 kg @RPE 8.5-9

Paused squat:
3 x 3 x 100 kg @RPE 8.5

Bottom-half squat:
10 x 60 kg
8 x 70 kg
8 x 80 kg

Reverse hypers on back extension bench:
10 x BW
2 x 8 x BW + red band

Just another deload session. I decided to concentrate on exercises that would work on my squat form and on associated weaknesses. Tried out bottom-half squats for the first time and they felt excellent. I thought I’d have to reduce the weight to like 30% of my squat max, but was able to work up to an easy higher-rep set at 80 kg.

238

27.07.14
Deload week

OHP:
5 x 40 kg
3 x 50 kg
1 x 55 kg
1 x 60 kg @RPE 9

Competition-style bench press:
5 x 50 kg
3 x 80 kg
1 x 100 kg
2 x 2 x 105 kg @RPE 8

Pull-ups:
9, 8, 8 x BW

Band pull-aparts:
4 x 15 x double red

Last training session for this deload week. I’m going to be pretty sore tomorrow, though, it’s the first time I’ve done pull-ups for a while.

Starting my new mesocycle on Tuesday.

239

Congrats on the DL PR man!

240

[quote]Spidey22 wrote:
Congrats on the DL PR man![/quote]

Thank you, sir! How’s your training going with all that farm work on the side? Looking lean, at least!