I like that comparison a lot, since it makes me feel stronger. 
I do compare myself to PLifters, since that’s what I’m currently doing. I have (a small gym) meet in 28.3.
1 Like
Project Powerlifter Week 28
Tuesday:
Squat:
1x170kg
1x190kg Under RPE 5
3x190kg RPE 7
2x3x180kg
Good solid squats.
Block pull below the knee: 3x3x185kg. Fast and easy.
Single leg press 3x12x105kg
GHR 3x10 ss with weighted ab wheels 3x10x10kg
Wednesday:
Comp. Bench:
1x105kg
1x117,5kg. Small double pump at the bottom. Need to focus on this.
3x5x107,5kg. RPE 8-8,5
Not so great bench day. Felt heavier than usual. Got the work done without grinding.
Tricep pushdowns 3x12x85-90kg ss with cable rows 3x10x100kg
Tates press 3x12x22,5kg.
Saturday:
Squat: 3x3x120kg
Deadlift: triples (20kg jumps) to 3x225kg RPE 7. Still solid and fast.
Giant set:
Cable ab crunch 3x12x100kg
Single leg extensions 3x12x70kg
Single leg curls with band 3x12
Sunday:
Close grip bench: 3x8x97,5kg RPE 7-8
CGBP is feeling good.
Seated OHP 3x10x53,5kg ss with seated DB curls 3x12x12,5kg
DB bench 3x15x30kg ss with rear delt flyes 3x15x12,5kg
Weeks conditioning
Total 20km of cycling, 2 long walks.
Slowly increasing the cycling. Spring is around the corner.
Notes:
- Decent week. I’m feeling the fatigue though. My right glute, right trap and low back are really stiff. I can barely get my shoes on without help. Next week will be pretty heavy, then it’s deload and short “peak” for the meet.
- Overall this has been busy Sunday and I’m tired. Usually this day is the meal prep day. I roasted a whole turkey and did a huge bowl of very spicy Tom Kha. It’s delicious.
5 Likes
That looks yummy!!!
1 Like
Project Powerlifter Week 29
Wednesday
Squat:
1x180kg
1x200kg RPE 5. Solid!
2x195kg RPE 7
2x3x180kg
Nice.
Deadlift (light) 4x3x150kg
Single leg press 3x12x110kg
GHR 3x10 ss with weighted ab wheels 3x10x10kg
Thursday:
Comp. Bench:
1x105kg
1x115kg. No double pump this time.
3x115kg. PR? At least it was easy. RPE 7,5.
3x3x105kg
Very strong bench day. Great!
Tricep pushdowns 3x12x85-90kg ss with cable rows 3x12x100kg
Tates press 3x12x22,5kg.
Saturday:
CGBP:3x7x100kg RPE 8-9
Seated OHP rest pause, 50kg: 14,8,6
Seated DB curls rest pause 15kg: 14,9,7
DB bench rest pause 35kg: 16,10,6 (failure on the 7th)
Rear delt raises 2x15x15kg
Pressing muscles were tired from thursday’s session. Went well nonetheless. These workouts usually go. Thanks to the submaximal programming.
Sunday:
Squat: 3x3x100kg
Deadlift: triples (20kg jumps) to 3x230kg RPE 7,5. Nice! Moved well, even though I was feeling pretty beat up at this point.
Single leg extensions rest pause 70kg: 15,10,8
Single leg curls with band rest pause: 14,8,6
Ab wheel 3x15
Lunges one set.
Weeks conditioning
Total 10km of cycling, 1 long walk.
2 sessions of “lazy man’s triathlon*
*My erg session. I hate ergs, but I’ve figured out this system:
Rower 500-1000 meters
Ski erg or running mat 500-1000 meters
Airdyne bike 2000meters
It’s not much, but it serves the purpose.
Notes:
- Relatively hard week. Went really well. Heavy weights did not felt too heavy, which is a good sign. Everything should go well in the meet. Next week is light, then we move on to the next block, which will be a short meet prep.
- Pushed the assistance in the last workout. Insane pump. Feeling ready for deload.
- I’m a bit busy, so no more text today, but here’s couple vids:
6 Likes
Good looking deadlift!
1 Like
Project Powerlifter Week 30 (deload)
Wednesday
Comp. bench:
1x100kg
1x105kg
1x110kg
6x3x90kg
Tricep pushdowns 2x10x75kg ss with cable rows 2x10x90kg
Tates press 3x10x15kg
Thursday:
Squat:
1x160kg
1x180kg
3x3x160kg
CGBP: 3x5x85kg
ss with
Deadlift: 3x3x165kg
Single leg extensions 3x10x50kg
ss with band leg curls 3x10 (light band)
Weak man dragonflags 3x12
Weeks conditioning:
Two “lazy man’s erg triathlons”, some walks.
Notes:
- Not much to say. Easy deload week before the meet prep. Some pretty high bench volume coming next week. Also, we’re starting to go towards some PR weights in all lifts.
2 Likes
Project Powerlifter Week 31
Monday
Squat (light) 3x3x120kg
Deadlift
2x202,5kg
2x212,5kg
2x222,5kg RPE 6. Fast
2x202,5kg
Single leg press 2x10x112,5kg
GHR 2x10 ss with weighted ab wheels 3x10x10kg
Easy start for the block.
Tuesday:
Comp. Bench:
1x107,5kg
1x117,5kg. RPE 6,5
4x3x97,5kg
2x117,5kg RPE 8, PR
2x2x112,5kg
Very strong benching. A ton of sets, many of them heavy, at least for me.
Tricep pushdowns 2x12x85kg ss with cable rows 2x12x100kg
Tates press 3x12x22,5kg
Friday:
CGBP: 8x3x102,5kg RPE 6,5-7
Fun workout. Fast triples.
Seated OHP 3x10x 52,5-55kg ss with
Seated DB curls 3x12x15kg
DB bench 2x12x35kg + 1x15x25kg ss with read delt raises 3x12x15kg
Saturday:
Squat
1x177,5kg
1x197,5kg RPE 6
3x3x175kg fast and easy
Deadlift (light) 3x3x150kg
Single leg extensions 3x12x70kg ss with leg curls with band 3x12
Some planking. Had competition with daughters.
Weeks conditioning:
Only two walks and one lazy man’s triathlon. Explanation below.
Notes:
- Strong week, even though I was sick again. I had fever on tuesday night and I’m not still 100%. I think this is still the same illness I had earlier, I have had better and worse days for weeks now. Subborn flu, maybe covid or whatnot, the symptoms have been really weird at times too. Well, training is going good, so I think it’ll pass. This has been also the reason why my conditioning/cycling has been lacking for this and last week. Sparing the resources to lifting and other things.
- A lot of benching this week. Next week will be slightly easier for the bench and slightly harder for squat and dead. We’re dropping slowly the assistance also.
- I’m waiting for the meet, but I’m already waiting for the summer off season training too. More conditioning and less eating.
4 Likes
Project Powerlifter Week 32
Monday
Comp. bench:
1x100kg
1x110kg
4x3x90kg
3x3x105kg
Tricep pushdowns 3x12x80kg
Ss with cable rows 3x10x90kg
Easy session today.
Tuesday
Squat 3x3x120kg
Deadlift:
2x172,5kg
2x192,5kg
2x212,5kg
2x232,5kg RPE 7,5
Nice. Moved well.
Single leg press 2x10x100kg
GHR 2x8 ss with ab wheel 2x10
Thursday
CGBP:
6x3x100kg
Seated ohp 3x10x45kg ss with seated db curls 3x10x15kg
DB bench 2x15x30kg ss with rear raises 2x15x15kg
Easy day, but my pelvis/low back was angry from the DL, more on that later.
Friday
Squat:
1x187,5kg
1x197,5kg Misload. Wasn’t supposed to do this set.
1x207,5kg RPE 7 Solid, but the pelvis/glutes/back was bothering me. Moved well nonetheless.
Week’s conditioning: Total 20km of cycling, couple longer walks.
Notes:
-
Easier benching week, heavier for the sqt and dl. I suppose the 207,5 and 232,5 will be near, if not, the openers.
-
Good news are everything moved well, bad news are that I again hurt my self similarly again. I tend to have recurring issues with glutes/pelvis/low back cramps. Need to figure that out.
-
Having these issues 2 weeks before meet is not something I hoped for, but I might manage. Next week is the last heavy before the meet, how it goes dictates the meet plan.
-
After the meet I have 12-13 ish weeks left of coached PL training. We will have one more build up for new gym PRs for that period. After that I think I’m done with PL for a while. I’m not a powerlifter and I’m interested having broader and more life balanced life goals for the long term. Being a strong, but slow and fatt(ish) is not where I’m satisfied. Like fir most of us, having a good maximum strength in few movements is not enough.
I’m definitely happy that things are going well and I’ getting stronger, but this was never meant to be long term solution. I can notice growing already tired to this. A year of powerlifting is enough for now.
3 Likes
Project Powerlifter Week 33
Monday
Comp. bench:
1x100kg
1x110kg
1x120kg RPE 6
3x3x105kg
2x115kg RPE 7
2x120kg RPE 7,5 PR.
Tricep pushdowns 2x12x80kg ss with cable rows 2x10x100kg
Strong day. Felt good. My_not so impressive_bench is moving up, which is a big win for me.
Tuesday
Squat 3x3x100kg
Deadlift:
2x182,5kg
2x200g
2x220kg
2x240kg RPE 7,5 PR. Nice. Having 240kg/530lbs moving this easy is great. This got my estimated 1RM over 600lbs, which has been one benchmark I’ve been after. Now I just need to pull it. Hahah.
Single leg press 2x8x100kg
Ab wheel 2x12
Thursday:
CGBP 6x3x90kg
Seated DB curls 2x10x15kg
DB bench 3x15x22,5kg ss with rear raises 3x12x12,5kg
Light day. I felt the last two workouts in me, shoulders and low back were tired.
Friday
Squat:
1x172,5kg
1x202,5kg
1x212,5kg RPE 7 Was deep enough, but I would liked it to be half an inch lower. It was fast though.
Light leg extensions and -curls. Just got some blood moving.
Week’s conditioning: Total 24km of cycling, couple longer walks.
Notes:
- Last proper training week before the meet. Hit PRs, but had a more in the tank. A good sign.
- Next week I’ll have just couple very light workouts and the meet. Monday I’ll have light squat and bench, on Wednesday I’ll just do some light benching. I’m not going to log these, since there is not much to say.
- We also made the meet plan. We won’t measure out every kg I have in me. For several reasons it’s better to leave a bit in the bank. We just make sure that I win (which is not hard, this is not high level comp.), and more importantly, that I break my old meet PRs. That’s the ultimate goa, PR in every lift. If it’s an easy PR, great. We’re aiming to hit new gym PRs in June anyway.
- With squat we’re going to be most conservative and take a “guaranteed” PR with 225kg. Then we play bench and dead by the day. Point is to hit somewhere around 127,5-130kg and 255-260kg. Neither of these sound difficult for me.
- I hate the peak/taper. I always do. This project seems to do just what it’s supposed to do for my strength levels, but it also reminded me that I’m not a powerlifter. I have various reasons to aim for something else after this 48 week period, but I’ll tell more about it later.
VIDS:
5 Likes
Project Powerlifter Week 34
Monday and Wednesday: Light squat and bench.
Some light conditioning.
Gym meet:
Squat:
185kg. Cake walk.
205kg. My form was not perfect, but it went decently.
225kg RPE 9,5. Meet PR. My form was not great today, maybe I was a bit too nervous. You can see in the vid how I almost got out of the position, but save the lift. It was not heavy. Coach said I left at least 5kg in the bank. Solid start.
Bench:
107,5kg Super easy as expected.
117,5kg. Fast.
127,5kg. Meet PR. Solid, could have hit 130+ today.
Deadlift:
205kg. Again a super light start. Could have done 10 reps with this.
235kg. Good.
255kg. Meet PR. Good lift, but it fried me.
Total 225/127,5/255 = 607,5kg PR.
Notes:
-
Very successful meet. 9/9 accepted and 2,5-5kg PR in each lift.
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We had a strategy where only the last attempt mattered in each lift. Seems more risky than it was, but the PRs we’re expected, so I felt confident. Starting super light also preserved energy. This is a new way to approach meets for me, but it seemed to work.
-
The atmosphere in the meet was great and very supportive. We had 6 competitors in my weight class and there actually was some competition, and it was not clear who is going to win until the end. I aimed for 2nd place, since one of the guys is much stronger than me, but he failed the last DL so I won. It was really close and I actually hope he would have gotten it. It would have been a well deserved win.
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I like how conservative and feet on the ground attitude my coach has. I would have done ballsier meet, but this was an excellent solid win.
-
Next is back to hypertrophy and base strength for 2-3 months. I’m not sure what will be the step after that. I kinda feel that PL could take a backseat again, since I still don’t feel this is the nro. 1 thing what I’m after in lifting. But there’s some solid gains to grasp and I feel tempted. I need to think about it. I kinda feel this is the time in my life if I want to hit big singles and heavy weights, but I’m drawn towards more holistic approach to training. I don’t want just to be strong, but also agile, in shape and fast.
Last attempts for each lift:
4 Likes
Congratulations!! Fantastic to see! All that hard work paid off. I look forward to seeing what’s next.
1 Like
Yeah. I’m divided between two different plans now.
Next block will be hypertrophy/base strength training, increasing work capacity/conditioning and cleaning up my eating.
1 Like
Great post, and congratulations! Enjoy your success along with your planning for the next phase - it all sounds really good.
1 Like
Very Good!
1 Like
Thanks for all the support. Now we start building up again.
Project Powerlifter Week 35 (deload)
Wednesday
Squat, no belt or sleeves
1x150kg
2x6x120kg
Bench, no belt or wrist wraps
1x90kg
3x6x85kg
Tricep pushdowns 4x12x75kg
Ss with
Single leg press 4x10x90kg
Rear raises 2x15x12,5kg
Thursday
2h massage (legs)
Saturday (upcoming workout)
CGBP 3x6x85kg
Deadlift 3x5x130kg
Single leg extensions 3x12x50kg
Ss with
Single leg curls with band 3x10
Cable ab crunch 3x12
Ss with
Lateral raises 4x10x12,5kg
Weeks conditioning:
Total 50km of walking.
Notes
-
Had to log beforehand, since I’m taking a break from phone/screen altogether for the Easter. So I’m not finished with this week, but it’s all so easy, so I’m not worried I won’t stick to the plan.
-
My glutes and low back has been fried and overall I’ve felt kinda beat up. So this week has been pure deload.
-
As this week has been very light, but I’m feeling untrained (since I haven’t trained properly for couple weeks now), I had to do something. And as the spring comes it’s nice to be outside, so we decided to do low effort walking ”challenge” with wife.
Goal is simple. Walk 50km/31 miles in a week, under 1,5km walks aren’t counted. I’m currently half way through, so I need to walk a lot in Easter, but it’s not a bad thing.
It’s not a hard challenge, nonetheless, after the massage and 8km walk for that day, my legs were pretty sore. But I’ve walked a lot in my life, so 50km is a cake walk (pun intented).
- I’ve also back to counting calories. My eating slips too much if I don’t. This week started to get me back on track, and I’ve been on quite big calorie deficit and fasted the mornings. This is sort of a cleansing act, more than any cut. I’ll increase the calories as proper training starts.
But even though next phase is hypertrophy and work capacity, I’m not going to bulk. I have had enough of that currently. I’m aiming to eat to support my training, and aiming to find good maintenance where I don’t get fat, but I have energy to train hard. I know recomping is kinda myth, but if I keep eating cleaner with moderate calories, keeping workload and activity levels high I should be in a good spot to build at least some muscle while staying, if not super lean, but at least not fat. I’m also high end of my weight class so I don’t need a ton of weight. Let’s see how it goes.
- Also, I’m leaning towards keeping powerlifting the goal for the rest of the year, but let’s do this hypertrophy/base strength phase first.
4 Likes
Project Powerlifter Week 36
Monday
Comp. Bench
1x95kg
3x10x87,5kg RPE 6-7
Tricep pushdowns 3x12x80kg
Tricep Extensions 2x12x70kg
Ss with 4x10x10kg seated laterals
Tuesday
Squat
1x150kg
3x8x145kg RPE 6
RDL 3x6x110kg Easy
2x10 bulgarians with 25kg DB
Ss with DB bench 3x10x30kg
Leg extensions 2x12x80kg
Thursday
Incline bench 4x6x60kg. Easy.
DB OHP 3x12x20kg
EZ bar LTEs 3x10x30kg
Ss with
Rear raises 3x12x12,5kg
Curls with Ez bar 2x12x30kg
Friday
Tempo squat 5-0-0
4x4x130kg These sucked, they were not hard, but they were awful.
DL 3x6x160kg. Easy.
Lat pulldowns 2x12x70kg
Chest supported rows rest pause (around RPE 7-8) 100kg: 12,10,8
Single leg curls rest pause (around RPE 7-8) 20kg: 16,12,10
Weeks conditioning:
Total 24km of cycling. 2 long (+5km) walks.
Notes:
- easy start. Still I had decent doms, specially in my legs. I welcomed them with joy. I love volume/hypertrophy training and the feeling I’m doing some proper work.
- I’ve had some problems with my left shoulder at the same time. Need to take care of that.
- It’s spring now. “Warm” (by our standards) and sunny. Lakes are opening too, which means the start of fishing season for me.
- Finished 1Q84, it was decent, but slightly uneven and long book. I’m also soon listened my audiobook, Infinite Jest, which is insanely wild and unique book. Next I’ll dive in to Yukio Mishima’s stuff. Awesome writer, and a strange person. Gay Japanese ultra nationalist and monarchist. He opposed the westernization of Japan and ended his life by Seppuku in 1970.
- I need to write some texts here again some day. Just haven’t had the drive to comment properly anything for a while.
3 Likes
Project Powerlifter Week 37
Monday
Comp. Bench
1x100kg
3x10x92,5kg RPE 7
Tricep pushdowns 3x12x85kg
Tricep Extensions 2x12x75kg
Ss with 4x10-12x10kg seated laterals
Tuesday
Squat
1x160kg
3x8x150kg RPE 6
RDL 3x6x125kg, RPE 6
2x10 bulgarians with 25kg DB
Ss with DB bench 3x10x35kg
Leg extensions 2x15x100kg
Thursday
Incline bench 4x6x70kg. RPE 7
DB OHP 3x12x20kg
Ss with
Rear raises 3x12x15kg
EZ bar LTEs 3x10x35
Ss with
Curls with Ez bar 2x12x35kg
Friday
Tempo squat 5-0-0
4x4x135kg. RPE 6,5
DL 1x180kg
3x6x170kg. Easy.
Lat pulldowns 2x12x75kg
Chest supported rows rest pause (around RPE 8) 100kg: 13,11,8
Single leg curls rest pause (around RPE 8) 20kg: 16,12,10
Weeks conditioning:
Total 27km of cycling. 1 long (+5km) walk.
Notes:
-
Not a hard week. Volume has made me sore nonetheless. I definitely enjoy the soreness and the amount of work base strength/volume blocks offer. Add some strongman etc. conditioning and it’s roughly how I would like to train for the majority of the time.
-
Other than that I don’t have much to say, last week was extremely busy, this week I’ll do only 2 workouts, since I have a worktrip to Brussels. There I’ll drink some Belgian beer and eat a shit ton of different mussels (for recovery of course).
4 Likes
Love the commitment to the recovery!
2 Likes
It’ll be hard work, but I’ll give my full effort.
2 Likes