So, I had a long day of watching over my girls at a friend’s 5 year old birthday party and waiting for my wife to get home from work(overtime) really through my lift timing off. And, I’m still a bit ill with chest congestion and a cough but other than that feeling much better than a week ago. Lifted tonight:
Squats:(raw/knee sleeves)
135 x 10
225 x 5
315 x 3
405 x 1
495 x 1
635 x fail(but I came out of the hole with it about half way up which I was very happy with-a new weight and felt strong in the hole)
Bench Press:
135 x 10
185 x 5
225 x 1(pause)
265 x 1(pause)
315 x 1(pause)
245 x 4sets x 3reps(all paused)
Standing Crunches:
80 lbs x 20
Tried 635 lbs on the squat for a new PR tonight but I was just shy. Perhaps the lift will be there for the meet next week. I will have to judge how I feel at the meet to determine if I will go for this weight. The 315 lbs pause bench was great except my ass came up a smidgen which I think will not happen next week. I am thinking about my attempts and will dial them in tomorrow or the next day. I am thinking to open with a 585 lbs squat, a 285 lbs bench, and a 525 lbs dead.
Thanks Crippler and Jack. I am paying today for my efforts last night because I could not get to sleep unit almost 4 AM due to being so amped for my late lifting. I got almost 6 hours of sleep which was not nearly enough however I have been lucky enough today to not do much besides watch football. Looking forward to 7-8 hours of sleep tonight, I hope.
[quote]gorillavanilla wrote:
Thanks Crippler and Jack. I am paying today for my efforts last night because I could not get to sleep unit almost 4 AM due to being so amped for my late lifting. [/quote]
Sorry to hear you couldn’t sleep, but answered a question I had. I had a 9:00 pm session a couple of weeks back and couldn’t sleep and knew you pulled some late nights. Meant to ask how you got to sleep afterwards…guess you don’t.
Thanks Dave, hawkcapt, and sen say. Yeah, I’ve found over the years that especially when I squat or deadlift big that many times I have trouble getting to sleep for many hours afterward. Maybe it’s the increase in blood volume or pressure or my mind being so excited and wired for the lifting. I did get a good night’s sleep last night however after taking an easy off day. Hopefully, I will get my lifting done early this afternoon and get another good night of sleep, now that would be awesome. The meet is in 5 days.
Had an okay lifting night. I had a great deal of chest congestion going in to squats and continuing in to benches but after I coughed up a huge lung chunk following my second set of benches my strength came back a bit. I woke up feeling great this morning thinking my sickness had completely passed but I guess I was mistaken. So the lifting went well enough and tomorrow or the next day should be better.
Squats:(raw)
135 x 10
225 x 5
315 x 3
405 x 1
495 x 1(belt/comp-depth)
Bench Press:
135 x 10
185 x 5
225 x 1(pause)
265 x 1(pause)
295 x 1(pause)
310 x 1(pause/comp-style)
I forgot to do standing crunches tonight but oh well. I’m hoping I can be completely rid of any illness funk in my system before the meet on Saturday. Maybe tomorrow I will be clear of the bug. When you’re feeling the gargle of congestion in your chest coming up with 495 lbs on your back the prospect of lifting heavier weight can be daunting. That is why I decided to wait a day or two for bigger lifting.
Thanks everyone. Today was my last day of big lifts and I may take tomorrow and Friday off all together. Seems like I just have a small cough and tiny bit of congestion left of my illness but for the most part I feel a lot better. Did first attempts on the squat and bench today.
Squats:(raw/knee sleeves)
135 x 10
225 x 5
315 x 3
405 x 1
495 x 1
585 x 1(belt/deep)
Bench Press:
135 x 10
185 x 5
225 x 1(pause)
285 x 1(pause)
Felt pretty good today on the 585 lbs squat but I think I will open with 565 lbs, then 600 lbs, and finally between 615-625 for a final squat attempt. Bench opener at 285 lbs is right on, then I will go 300, and the final attempt will be between 315-325 lbs. For deads I am thinking of starting at 500, then 550 lbs, and finally 600-605 lbs. I am going for a 9 for 9 attempts day and a total of 1500 lbs or better. I will take things in to consideration in accordance with how I feel. Onwards and Upwards.
The Raw United Last Chance To Get A Total Meet in Melbourne, Florida was a lot of fun today. There were about 25 lifters total and we finished the entire meet in about 3 hours. There was a ton of camaraderie and overall friendliness as well as support was everywhere. There was a person getting video and another taking pictures however at this time I have no video or pics to share because my wife and/or other family were not at the meet with me today.
I opened up with a 525 lbs squat but my dumb ass forgot to wait for the signal to squat so it was red lighted. My next attempt at 565 lbs was easy and then I did a nice 600 lbs squat for all greens.
Going in to the bench my lower back was feeling a bit stressed but I felt pretty good nonetheless. I opened with 285 lbs and smoked it for 3 green lights. Then I went to 300 lbs and was successful again. My lower back was feeling a bit strained at this point but I decided to go for 315 lbs anyway. I must mention that I was not using a hand-off for any bench and was comfortable that way because it’s the way I train. So I stalled with 315 about 1/2 way up and could not lock it out. Perhaps I should have done 310 this day seeing as my energy was low by this point and my lower back was protesting some.
Next I opened with 525 lbs on the deadlift but the bar moved slowly for me and I didn’t have any pop in the lift.
Next I scored 3 greens with 550 lbs which moved with the same slow, steady pace as my first attempt. Finally I went for 600 lbs and barely got it off the ground before my lower back just said, “No!” I think I would have made a 575 lbs dead but I was thinking about hitting a 1500 lbs total which was a mistake.
My total for the day was 1450 lbs which was I believe a 183 lbs increase from my total in July at the USAPL meet. I won my weight class(220 lbs) and was only second in total to Kenny Morrison, who was in the 308 lbs class. I also won the men’s Best Lifter award which was awesome. This coming year I will add a significant amount to each lift and to today’s total. I’m not sure when my next meet will be but I have thoughts of doing a USAPL meet in several months and then going to the USAPL RAW Nationals next October. I have aspirations to be the USAPL raw national champ and set several records. My work and goal is laid out before me and I am determined to be a 45 year old national champion. It’s on.
All the lifters at today’s meet were great and I am thankful for a great contest staff.
Wow. Just wow. Great total. The 600 lb squat made my jaw drop. I bow to the master. I think it was a great idea not to get a lift off with the bench because that’s not the way you train.
@NHLFTR-Thanks for the props. I am feeling incredible body strain today but it’s all part of the process. It’s recovery time. I had another 10 to 25 pounds in me on the squat but I decided to play it safe and conservative with the 600 lbs. I think in the near future I will be going in the 650 to 675 lbs range for a meet squat.
Helluva meet GV. Congrats on the Best Lifter award. Rest, recover, re-evaluate. Three hours is a quick meet. Your work capacity paid dividends. Good on ya.