Former College Athlete Building Strength

Training Training Logs
81

@ActivitiesGuy I decided to enter my first powerlifting meet, coming up in 13 days. The impetus was mainly because I just want something in which I can compete. Ideally, I’ll begin training more for Crossfit in the Fall; I still need to spend a great deal of time learning and mastering the O-lifts and gymnastics movements before I feel comfortable competing as a Crossfitter.

On your end: glad to read that you’re almost back to squatting and deadlifting. Been very interesting reading your log, and your recent adaptations to mastering bodyweight movements will probably play a role in how I program the next phase of my workouts, following my meet on July 12.

82

[quote]MikeFitz3 wrote:
@ActivitiesGuy I decided to enter my first powerlifting meet, coming up in 13 days. The impetus was mainly because I just want something in which I can compete.
[/quote]

Totally understood; I ran competitive distance races (5K through marathon) for my first couple years after finishing college ball for the same reason. I enjoyed having something to train for and compete in. Powerlifting today has its flaws, to be sure, but I think raw powerlifting is a great sport to compete in while training for something else. My dad was into powerlifting, and I lifted in a handful of meets in high school (usually in the spring after football and wrestling season was done for the year).

How do you feel as you approach the PL meet? Got an idea what your openers should be? Got an idea how to fuel before/after weigh-ins, have any idea how the meet is going to flow, etc.

Not to stress you out, but it can be hectic making sure you time everything right to get your warmup lifts in, to stay fueled & hydrated during the day, etc. Have you talked to some folks that have competed before so you have an idea what to expect?

Re: the order of your attempts, some unsolicited advice: make your opener something you can handle comfortably in the gym for 2-3 reps. Get yourself in the meet. If that goes well, make your second lift either your prior gym max or a small PR. If you’re still good, then go for broke on lift 3. Good luck!

83

@ActivitiesGuy Your advice is pretty much spot on to the things I’ve heard from others. I’m finishing up the last week of a cycle right now that has some planned heavy triples (and possibly singles), so I will probably determine my openers this weekend.

As for the week leading up to the meet, I’m not entirely sure how I should prepare myself. I was planning on keeping things mostly in the 5-rep range with around 80-85% for the sake of not taxing myself too much. Do you have any advice as to how I should program the workouts I’m going to hit next week?

84

Monday 6/30

Upper Body

Strict Military Press: 125x3, 135x3, 145x3, 150x1 right into
Push Press: 155x3, 160x3
Pull-ups: 3x12
DB Incline Chest Press: 3x6, 1x4 w/80s
Barbell Row: 4x6 at 175
Dips: 3x6 at BW+70, BWx15

Core Circuit

I have got to get stronger overhead.

85

[quote]MikeFitz3 wrote:
As for the week leading up to the meet, I’m not entirely sure how I should prepare myself. I was planning on keeping things mostly in the 5-rep range with around 80-85% for the sake of not taxing myself too much. Do you have any advice as to how I should program the workouts I’m going to hit next week? [/quote]

I’d go lower on volume. You’re a hardworking kid and it’ll feel strange to do so little work for a few days, but really, there’s nothing to be gained by going hard in the week of a meet. The week of a meet, my dad and I would usually just simulate our planned warm-up lifts for the day of the meet and maybe even do a single rep with our opener, but that was it.

I’m not sure what your typical warm-up is like (I do a lot more warmup sets than most people, it seems), but I’d say that if your squat opener is going to be, say, 315, then this would be my suggested squat workout for the week of the meet:

5x135, 5x135, 3x185, 3x205, 3x225, 1x245, 1x275

…and that’s it. Just enough to get yourself warmed up and pretend that you were ready to step on the platform…and then go home. Maybe do 2 or 3 singles with that “last warmup” weight to make sure you hit a good clean one, and maybe a little bit of “pump” work after the main lift, but err on the side of caution: you really want to be as fresh as possible for your meet. Since you’re in much better “condition” than the typical PLer as a recently-graduated college basketballer, you’ll probably be OK with some light cardio if you feel you “have to” break a sweat the day before the meet, but I would do my last lifting workout 2-3 days beforehand.

“Training through” a meet is fine if you really don’t care performance in the meet, but then I’d wonder why bother doing the meet anyway. You won’t suffer much by taking one light week in training, and the experience of competing in a PL meet will be valuable and fun!

86

@ActivitiesGuy Awesome. Thanks for the advice. What would you recommend for assistance work? Any sense in throwing in some pull-ups, DB presses, rows, lunges and the like as I have been, or would it be smarter to cut the assistance and do extra mobility work while dialing in my form on my bench, squat, and deadlift?

87

Tuesday 7/1

Lower Body

Clean complex (deadlift, high pull, power clean, clean, front squat): 4x135
Deadlift: 225x5, 275x5, 315x3, 365x3, 405x1, 430xmiss
Front rack reverse lunge: 185x10, 195x10, 2x10 at 205

On the track
200m-400-600-800
Rest:work was again 2:1 throughout

Notes
430 should not have been a miss. Probably could have grinded this one out; I honestly believe I can pull 440/445, and one of the two will probably be my last attempt in my first meet next Saturday.

For the running, I tried to keep my splits below what the average split would be for a 5-minute mile. I was able to maintain this pacing until the 800, which I ran in 2:38.

88

Wednesday 7/2

Upper Body

Bench Press: 225x5, 230x3, 235x2, 245x1, 250x1, 185x10
Pull-ups: 4x5 at BW+35, BWx10
DB 1-arm shoulder press: 3x6 at 60
SS: DB Row: 3x6 at 95; Incline bench press: 3x6 at 165
Arms Superset
Shoulder prehab

89

Thursday 7/3

Lower Body

Clean low pull: 185x3, 205x3, 2x3 at 215
Back Squat: 225x5, 275x3, 325x3, 340x1, 2x5 at 245
Reverse lunge: 185x10, 205x10, 215x10
RDL: 4x8 at 185

90

Friday 7/4

Bored, so I figured I’d lift. Only had access to DB’s up to 75#, so I did a bunch of incline presses, seated presses, pull-ups, cable rows, etc. in the 8-12 rep range.

91

Saturday 7/5

Total Body

Paused Bench: 185x3, 205x2, 225x1, 235x1
Bench drop set (touch and go): 225x4, 205x5, 185x9, 135x17
Front Squat: 135x5, 155x5, 185x5, 205x5, 220x5
Pull-ups: 3x5 at BW+40
KB Swings: 4x12 at 60

I’ve really never worked on a paused bench, and with my meet coming up next week, I wanted to get in one last day of benching heavy w/ a pause. Thankfully, one of the powerlifters at my gym was nice enough to help, giving me commands and giving me some tips about really pressing off my chest after the pause.
The 220x5 front squat is a new 5RM. I’m really happy with this because I haven’t done much front squatting (outside of complexes) in the last four weeks or so.

Add conditioning

On the track

3x200m
3x300m

92

Monday 7/7

Meet Prep–Lower

Deadlift: 2x5 at 135, 225x5, 275x3, 315x1, 340x1, 2x1 at 365
Front Squat: 135x5, 3x5 at 165
KB Swing: 4x12 at 60
Decline sit-ups: 2x25

385 will be my deadlift opener on Saturday.

93

Tuesday 7/8

Meet Prep–Upper

Paused Bench: 135x5, 185x3, 205x2, 3x1 at 215, 225x1
Pull-ups: 4x10
Incline Bench Press: 135x8, 3x5 at 165
Barbell Row: 135x8, 3x8 at 155

I hit 225 once because I wanted to convince myself that it’s still light. 225 will be my opener for bench.

Conditioning

Two four-minute jump rope tabatas with a two minute break in between
Core Circuit
Mobility work–band stretching (shoulders+ ankles)

94

Wednesday 7/9

Meet Prep–Lower

Back Squat: 2x5 at 135, 185x3, 225x3, 245x2, 275x1, 2x1 at 295
RDL: 135x8, 2x8 at 185
Lunge w/KB in goblet hold: 3x12 at 80

And that’s it. I’ll probably do some fasted cardio stuff to make sure I don’t end up weighing 166, but I won’t touch another weight until Saturday.

315 will be my opener for the squat.

95

Good job leading up to the meet. Nothing wrong with a little cardio, you’re in good enough shape that it won’t bother you, just for go for a 10-mile run. Have fun!

Oh, also, big fan of doing KB lunges with the bell in the goblet position :slight_smile:

96

Saturday 7/12

First Powerlifting Meet
RPS Heatwave (Merrick, Long Island)

Squat
1st Attempt: Opened at 315 and missed…badly. I’ve never used a squat monolift before, so I figured I’d treat the lift the same way I would off a rack. I backed up too far after unracking the bar, and, as I got to the bottom of my squat, the safety chains touched the bar and threw me off. Not a good way to start my first meet.

2nd Attempt: Stuck with 315. Spotter told me not to walk it out and just to set my feet and squat once I felt comfortable. I did this and 315 flew.

3rd Attempt: Went for 340, which matches my gym PR. No problem here.

Bench
1st Attempt: Opened with 225, which was very easy.

2nd Attempt: Jumped to 240–this is a 5-pound paused PR. Hit this one without much difficulty.

3rd Attempt: Went for 250. Couldn’t get it past the sticking point and missed. Probably would have hit 245, but I can’t be too mad with myself for trying.

Deadlift
1st Attempt: Comfortably opened with 385

2nd Attempt: Jumped to 420. This is 5 pounds short of my gym PR. Wanted 420 to give myself a 1,000 pound total on the day. Comfortably made the lift.

3rd Attempt: Went for 435, a 10 pound PR. Also hit this pretty comfortably.

Overall: I finished with a total of 1,015. I was relatively happy with how things went, but definitely missed out on setting a big PR with the squat. Plan was to go 315-340-360, but I didn’t get the chance because of the botched first attempt.

This was really, really fun event. Loved how everyone was pulling for each other. I didn’t know one person there (besides my girlfriend who appeared to be one of many bored girlfriends in the room), but many other lifters were yelling words of encouragement each time I stepped onto the platform. Awesome time, and I can’t wait for my next meet–after getting stronger, of course.

97

Monday 7/14

Upper Body

Incline Bench Press: 155x10, 165x8, 170x6, 135x14
Pull-ups: 4x6 at BW+25, BWx12
Strict Overhead Press: 95x10, 105x8, 115x6
Barbell Row: 3x8 at 165
Shoulder superset (front/lateral raises, upright rows)
Decline sit-ups: 2x25

I’ll just be doing a bunch of bodybuilding stuff for the next two weeks to let my body recover from the meet. The only thing I’ll hit for fewer than 6 reps will be cleans.

98

Tuesday 7/15

Lower Body

Front Squat: 165x10, 175x8, 185x6, 195x6
RDL: 3x8 at 185
Alternating lunge w/KB in goblet hold: 3x16 at 80
KB Swing: 4x15 at 60

99

Wednesday 7/16

Conditioning

3 Rounds
200 single-unders
60 yard weighted carry w/100# rock
10 toes-to-bar
2 minute plank

100

[quote]MikeFitz3 wrote:
Saturday 7/12

First Powerlifting Meet
RPS Heatwave (Merrick, Long Island)

Squat
1st Attempt: Opened at 315 and missed…badly. I’ve never used a squat monolift before, so I figured I’d treat the lift the same way I would off a rack. I backed up too far after unracking the bar, and, as I got to the bottom of my squat, the safety chains touched the bar and threw me off. Not a good way to start my first meet.

2nd Attempt: Stuck with 315. Spotter told me not to walk it out and just to set my feet and squat once I felt comfortable. I did this and 315 flew.

3rd Attempt: Went for 340, which matches my gym PR. No problem here.

Bench
1st Attempt: Opened with 225, which was very easy.

2nd Attempt: Jumped to 240–this is a 5-pound paused PR. Hit this one without much difficulty.

3rd Attempt: Went for 250. Couldn’t get it past the sticking point and missed. Probably would have hit 245, but I can’t be too mad with myself for trying.

Deadlift
1st Attempt: Comfortably opened with 385

2nd Attempt: Jumped to 420. This is 5 pounds short of my gym PR. Wanted 420 to give myself a 1,000 pound total on the day. Comfortably made the lift.

3rd Attempt: Went for 435, a 10 pound PR. Also hit this pretty comfortably.

Overall: I finished with a total of 1,015. I was relatively happy with how things went, but definitely missed out on setting a big PR with the squat. Plan was to go 315-340-360, but I didn’t get the chance because of the botched first attempt.

This was really, really fun event. Loved how everyone was pulling for each other. I didn’t know one person there (besides my girlfriend who appeared to be one of many bored girlfriends in the room), but many other lifters were yelling words of encouragement each time I stepped onto the platform. Awesome time, and I can’t wait for my next meet–after getting stronger, of course. [/quote]

Nice lifting, and it was nice to meet you at the meet, too.

Regarding your squat, did you warm up using the Rogue squat racks? I did notice some people using those instead of the monolifts in the warmup area because it was so crowded, but I’d recommend warming up on equipment that’s as similar to the platform as possible. Most people walk out their squats even at RPS meets because they don’t have monolifts at their gyms, but it is awkward if you’re not used to it. The way you did it on the 2nd attempt is actually the intended purpose, but it is very different from how most people train.

I should also note that while monolifts are standard at all RPS meets, some feds don’t use them - instead they usually use squat stands or an ER Rack. It is important to note that neither option is bolted down like a typical power rack so you can’t push into them the same way some people do, so that is something to keep in mind in training.

Keep up the good work!