Glory in the Attempt

Training Over 35 Lifter
1

Tuesday, April 12/2011

With all apologies to the wise, little green dude, sometimes all that matters is to try!

I like to call myself a powerlifter, but truth be told, it’s been a few years since my last competition. Sure, I can blame my career, my volunteer commitments, my personal life. Bah! The BC Provincials are scheduled for June 12th… that gives me two months exactly. The goal? Break my PBs, it’s that simple. Manage outside distractions, get proper rest and recovery, some decent nutrittion and train

Former Powerlifting PBs:
Squat - 475 lbs (suited), 405 (raw)
Bench - 347.5 lbs (shirted), 305 (raw)
Deadlift - 515 lbs (suited), 440 (raw)

Two weeks ago, I crashed and burned out on an extended 5/3/1 program. Great progress initially, but after five months, I could no longer sustain it! I managed the following: Squat 335 x 3, Bench 280, Deadlift 440. I like deadlifts. For the record: Ht 6’4, Wt 258, Age 42 (closing in on 43)

Last night was my first real workout in sixteen days. Sixteen days. That’s a long time without some real lifting. There are some real good excuses. Hospitals, job instability, personal commitments. But none of that matters.

Last night’s training:

Warmup: cycling, stretching. And lots of it. I’ve gotten seriously tight in the hips and back.

Deadlift
135 x 8
225 x 8
315 x 5
405 x 3
455 x 1, (raw PB)

So… Not sure where that came from. I just started feeling the groove and went for it! The weight just came off the ground with aggression and speed. I felt like I coulda done more, but why risk an injury this early in the training cycle. Did I mention I like deadlifts?

Assistance - Push/Pulls
Incline DBs
Lat Pulldowns
Dips

The idea is to get in, get the main lift in, do a little assistance work and get out. Too much volume is often my downfall

2

welcome, you’ll fit right in, with the PL and being Candadian. These place seems permeated with Canadians. Not that there is anything wrong with that.

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Welcome, fellow Canuck.

  1. Nice.
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[quote]PeteS wrote:
welcome, you’ll fit right in, with the PL and being Candadian. These place seems permeated with Canadians. Not that there is anything wrong with that. [/quote]

Isn’t Minnesota part of Canada?

Snow? check
Ice? check
Polar Bears? check
Eskimos? check

Sounds like Canada to me.

All kidding Pete aside, welcome to the compound. Watch out for Git, he can get a little grabby.

5

I’ll hold off on the grabass until I see some vids. I like booty shorts, if that helps.

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Welcome brother!

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[quote]JoeGood wrote:

[quote]PeteS wrote:
welcome, you’ll fit right in, with the PL and being Candadian. These place seems permeated with Canadians. Not that there is anything wrong with that. [/quote]

Isn’t Minnesota part of Canada?

Snow? check
Ice? check
Polar Bears? check
Eskimos? check

Sounds like Canada to me.

All kidding Pete aside, welcome to the compound. Watch out for Git, he can get a little grabby.[/quote]

I was actually waiting for this…

8

[quote]buffnstuff wrote:
Tuesday, April 12/2011

With all apologies to the wise, little green dude, sometimes all that matters is to try!

[/quote]

Welcome.

What’s the reference? I don’t get it.

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Welcome to the old age home.

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[quote]FarmerBrett wrote:

[quote]buffnstuff wrote:
Tuesday, April 12/2011

With all apologies to the wise, little green dude, sometimes all that matters is to try!

[/quote]

Welcome.

What’s the reference? I don’t get it.[/quote]

I think it’s a reference to Yoda saying “do or do not, there is no try”. Do I get a prize?

11

[quote]cavalier wrote:

[quote]FarmerBrett wrote:

[quote]buffnstuff wrote:
Tuesday, April 12/2011

With all apologies to the wise, little green dude, sometimes all that matters is to try!

[/quote]

Welcome.

What’s the reference? I don’t get it.[/quote]

I think it’s a reference to Yoda saying “do or do not, there is no try”. Do I get a prize?[/quote]

I was hoping it was The Great Kazoo from the Flintsones.

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Welcome. You are strong like elk. Although if you live in VANCOUVER you won’t know what that is.

Yes, the Canadians are taking over. No Minnesota does not count as Canada. Minnesotans aren’t sexy enough to meet Canadian standard.

And despite all the chest-thumping the powerlifters are indulging in, they all really wish they had the dietary control to be bodybuilders. Since they don’t, they lift increasingly heavy things to take out their frustrations. And now all the powerlifters will line up to kick my ass.

Cheers!

13

[quote]PeteS wrote:

[quote]JoeGood wrote:

[quote]PeteS wrote:
welcome, you’ll fit right in, with the PL and being Candadian. These place seems permeated with Canadians. Not that there is anything wrong with that. [/quote]

Isn’t Minnesota part of Canada?

Snow? check
Ice? check
Polar Bears? check
Eskimos? check

Sounds like Canada to me.

All kidding Pete aside, welcome to the compound. Watch out for Git, he can get a little grabby.[/quote]

I was actually waiting for this…
[/quote]

Well new material takes time…

14

[quote]PeteS wrote:

[quote]JoeGood wrote:

[quote]PeteS wrote:
welcome, you’ll fit right in, with the PL and being Candadian. These place seems permeated with Canadians. Not that there is anything wrong with that. [/quote]

Isn’t Minnesota part of Canada?

Snow? check
Ice? check
Polar Bears? check
Eskimos? check

Sounds like Canada to me.

All kidding Pete aside, welcome to the compound. Watch out for Git, he can get a little grabby.[/quote]

I was actually waiting for this…
[/quote]

Well new material takes time…

15

Wednesday, April 13/2011

Greetings from the greenest part of Canada! We have mountains and oceans…

Well, this is a real welcome! Just when I had started to think the Old School, Iron Brotherhood sort of mentality was a thing of the past <tear…>

Last night’s training…

Warmup: Stretching… the gym was just packed and my training partner was waiting, so I cut it a bit

Bench
135 x 10
185 x 8
225 x 8
135 (+70 lbs chains) x 8
160 (+ chains) x 6 (twice)
185 (+ chains) x 5 (twice)
205 (+ chains) x .5 - actually, it was about 3 or 4 partials to get the damn thing past mid point!

This was my first experience with chains… more than twenty years hanging around gyms and there is still some new things to try! Took a moment to get used to the balance, but I think I will continue to add them to dynamic/speed days. Looking forward to the effect chains might have on Squats and Deads.

“Are there no workhouses?! Are there no prisons?!”

Assistance - Push/Pulls
Incline DBs for speed
DB Rows
Tricep Presses

And a whole bunch of stretching afterwards!

Oh… the wise, little green dude? It is Yoda… If you got it right, give youself five points for popculture reference recognition!

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Nice training, Ebenezer.

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Welcome Buff, you’re going to like it around here, everyone is old and crabby but strong and working to get stronger. It’s like a coffee shop in Mayberry, “back in 19 dickity 2 I could…”

edit: great lifting BTW.

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[quote]buffnstuff wrote:

Oh… the wise, little green dude? It is Yoda… If you got it right, give youself five points for popculture reference recognition!
[/quote]

Well that’s why I didn’t get it. Believe it or not I’ve never seen a star wars film.

19

[quote]Canada_K wrote:
Welcome. You are strong like elk. Although if you live in VANCOUVER you won’t know what that is.

Yes, the Canadians are taking over. No Minnesota does not count as Canada. Minnesotans aren’t sexy enough to meet Canadian standard.

And despite all the chest-thumping the powerlifters are indulging in, they all really wish they had the dietary control to be bodybuilders. Since they don’t, they lift increasingly heavy things to take out their frustrations. And now all the powerlifters will line up to kick my ass.

Cheers![/quote]
Ignore your fellow Canadian Brother. Hes suffering from poundage envy I think. :slight_smile:

20

Friday, April 15/2011 - Squats

It may be the greenest part of the country, but I still woke up to ice and fog today. Skiing is one the agenda for the weekend. Probably the last time for the season, so it’s all good.

Last night’s training…

Warmup: Stationary cycle, just enough to get the blood flowing

Squat
135 x 10
135 x 10
135 x 10
185 x 8
185 x 8
225 x 5
225 x 5

Ugh… Not exactly my favourite movement to train. And since I spent about 30+ days on skis this season, my technique is bit buggered. A fact my training parnter reminded me of. Over and over. Of course, he’s right. And about 30 lbs lighter than me, and still out squats me by a long shot. Not that I’m competitive or anything.

“Winning isn’t everything… but losing sucks!”

Assistance - Random
Pullovers
Lat Pulldowns - great to align and stretch the spine
One arm DB clean and press
Alternating curls

And a whole bunch of stretching afterwards!

Holy Dickens! Ebenezar? Well… with the chains, I was actually thinking of Marly’s ghost, but close enough! Five points for literary references.