I didn’t compete in the august comp. My training sucked in July and August. I thought I was overtraining, so I attempted to deload, but didn’t do it right and ended up screwing things up.
But I tried to keep my caloric intake high, and as a result I gained fat and lost muscle and strength. I now have a good bit of fat around the stomach. And sadly, I am down around 180 lbs.
Whatever. I can get it back quickly. There is another contest coming up in October, and I will compete. The gear has been a bitch to get used to – I have no guarantee that I will figure out how to really use it effectively. If I don’t do well and fail to qualify, there is a January meet – I do plan to be a full 198.
Last week I began a fresh cycle, beginning light. More volume this time round.
Day 1
Squats 255x5x5 half suited. Shitty form and groove.
Back hypers with 45 lbs 12x2
Hamstring curls
Abs
Day 2
Bench 165x5x5
Abs
Day 3
Deadlifts 225x5x5
Pullups+10lbs 5x5
Machine low rows 10x3 with 205 lbs
I had a spotter for my last three sets. This helped my confidence and the fact that I completed the last three sets lets me know that it wasn’t a strength issue on the first two sets with 295.
Finally, I am starting to hit some passable depth with briefs. Next time I will have the straps up, and lift in the mid 300s.
im not sure if its too late to mention something, but when i was powerlifting i noticed my lifts went up when i stayed with no lower than 70% of my max and those three lifts. one thing u could try is safety bar bench press. get on a bench in the rack squats and put the safety bars about 4-6 inches away from your chest so when the bar is lying there it too is 4-6 inches off.
just do the press from that spot, its a really great way work on getting the bar out of the sticking point. also our coach never had us do more than 5 reps which looks like what you have been doing.
Earlier in the year, from January through about June, I was maxing out every single session. And it worked: I gained a lot of weight and strength, going from a 275x1 squat to 345x4 in roughly six months, but I ended up getting burnt out.
I started a fresh cycle this past month with lighter weights, which will be going up steadily is I progress to a comp 4 weeks from now. I think I’ve been staying above 70%, with the exception of deadlifts, but I think this period is mostly gear practice rather than strength gain.
After the contest I intend to do a lot of partial ROM bench work.
with a 38 inch waist. When I was a skinny fucker my waist was 34 inches. So I suppose this translates to 20 lbs of fat that I would need to lose to get back to that level of leanness.
squats, suited
135x5
225x5
275x5
315x5
370x5 PR, but depth not quite there
380x3 went for 5, lost balance on 4th rep
380x1 tried to finish last set, too flat
snatches (hang)
115 for a bunch of doubles and a set of 5, easier than usual
hamstring curls
155x8
155x8
155x8
decided since I wasn’t hitting depth earlier, and since I had no clue what I need to open with in a couple weeks, I needed to try for some heavy singles.
135x5
225x4
315x?
365x?
405x1 PR very damn close to parallel
425x1 total fail, way too high, weight offcentered
425x1, I think it was parallel
These are massive PRs so I am happy with them. Still no use of wraps, which should get me another 40-50 lbs. Not to mention the suit is losse as hell.
Today was my last time going heavy before the contest next weekend.
Deadlift
135x5 belt
225x5
215x5
405x1 suit, belt
445x1
445x1
445x1
445x1
445x1
445x1
Pullups
5x5
HS Low Rows
225x8
225x8
225x8
Raw Squat (just a test to make sure I remember how to raw squat because I plan on opening Raw with 315)
135x5
225x3
275x2
315x1 easy as hell, super deep, buried that shit.
315x1
Shirted Bench
135x1 LOL, can’t believe I got 135 to touch
225x1
225x1
235x0
235x1, nice pause
245x0 I am of course flat from yesterday
