April 6th
My right elbow has been having bouts of tendonitis and it was killing me this morning
Focus: Bench Form and Triceps
Bench Press 195x1
Chin-ups (BWx5)x5
DB OHP (seated) 50x5
Looks like I’ve got to lay off the upperbody lifts for awhile due to some serious elbow pain
VTBalla34
Good stuff about PL. The federation is the southern powerlifting federation. My buddy and I just found the closest meet to us and this just happened to be it. The rules look pretty normal from what I can tell. Don’t know about the tighty whities though (I always thought you just went commando under your singlet?). Anyway, both he and I will be in the raw division so aside from singlets and t-shirts we won’t be using anything. Excellent idea about practicing the commands (just like in any sport just make it like the game or competition, but I hadn’t thought about it). Well, I’m going to get back to nursing an injured wrist and elbow thankfully they don’t keep me from squatting or deadlifting though.
Well, the PMT deadlift program did not go as planned today. I have done two singles with 405, so I guessed at a 1 RM of 450 or so. Anyway, I wanted to try this with 500. I think I have to start fresh and not work my way up on these as my grip was wasted by the time I got to attempting 500. I picked it up once, but then had to lower the weight and then lower it again.
Geez it was frustrating… Especially since the final weight I was using (405) I have pulled from the floor before (must have been really on that day). Oh well, I soldier on. I am skipping my upperbody stuff tomorrow and this weekend to see if I can get my elbow fully healed so no new enstallments until Monday.
April 8th
PMT Deadlift 500x1 450x2 (405x2)x5
Standing Calves 450x5
Barbell Hipthrust 205x5
Seated Calves (140x10)x2 (180x6)x2
Dimel Deadlifts (wide grip) 135x20 185x20 225x10 225x10 (narrow grip)
Well, after skipping Friday’s workout my elbow is feeling much better and should be fine for tomorrow. The PMT Deadlift stuff isn’t exactly going according to plan. My grip pretty much sucks… And even though I can pull 405 from the floor I end up using that amount by the end of these lockouts. Ah well, we’ll see how it goes as the range of motion gets longer.
April 12th
PMT Deadlift 6x450 6x405
Standing Calves 450x5
Back Squats 275x4
Seated Calves (140x10)x2 (180x6)x2
Quad Extensions 230x4
Full Good Mornings (old school style) 8x45 Just to see how they feel.
April 13th
Focus: Bench Form and Triceps
Bench Press 225x4 almost got the 5th
Chin-ups 90x2 + 1
DB OHP (seated) 60x2
Upright Rows (10x45, 10x35, 10x25)
Skull Crushers (75x5)x2 was wiped when I got to these and my elbow was hurting a bit
Couldn’t manage the fourth round… Was too busy breathing and sitting…
April 14th
Complex/Cardio
Barbell Complex x3 (2 min rest) (115 lbs)
RDL x8
High Pull x8
OHP x8
Front squat x8
Still limited by the grip on deadlifts.
April 15th
PMT Deadlift (move rack down) 450x2 +1 +1 400x2 +1+1+1+1
RDLs 255x5
Standing Calves 450x5
Glute Machine 150x10
Seated Calves (140x10)x2 (180x10)x2
I am kind of feeling like my pull/chin up strength is falling off a bit lately. I suppose this could be from the maximal effort DL lockout stuff, but it bugs me. Anyway, everything else is going up and progress is slow but steady so really no complaints. I think I need to eat more though as I haven’t been doing as good a job with that lately. I am considering doing some high frequency work for my delts. Just something to stimulate them on off days, but not fatigue them. Probably some shoulder raises with decent weight (not pushing it) but low reps.
April 16th
BB Rows (supinated) 215x5
DB Incline Press 80x3
Pull-Ups 70x1
Face Pulls 11 settingx10
Shoulder Raises 10 lbs (frontx10, sidex10, backx10)x3
Well, I am finally feeling better about these PMT deadlifts. As in I could actually do them with the right sets and reps today (even though it was a bigger range of motion). I can’t wait to pull 500. On another note I really want to get my squat up considerably over 300. I think I may have some form issues (like not sitting back far enough), so I think I am going to read up and work on that.
April 19th
PMT Deadlift 450x5, 450x5
Standing Calves (single leg) 140x5
Back Squats 275x2
Seated Calves (single leg) (50x10)x2 (60x10)x2
Good Mornings 135x5
April 20th
Bench Press 235x2, 225x2
Chin-ups 90x4, 115xfail
DB OHP (seated) 60x4
Upright Rows (45x10, 35x10, 25x10)x3 no rest this time!
Skull Crushers 95x5
April 21st
Skipped…
Well, I didn’t have much time this morning so I only hit the PMT Deadlifts this morning. The pins are just above knee height now. I couldn’t get the last rep on the last set even after three attempts.
April 22nd
PMT Deadlift 450x4, 450x4, 450x3
April 24th
PMT Deadlift 475x4, 475x3, 475x2, 405x4
Standing Calves (single leg) 120x5
Back Squats (from pins) 225x3
Seated Calves (single leg) (50x10)x2, (70x10)x2
Good Mornings 165x10
I think I am going to give the “Cycled Load Program” from this article a shot for my bench press.
We’ll see where it takes me.
Well, I started the cycled load program for bench press today and thought what the hell I’ll do it for chin-ups too. It felt pretty good. I was shooting for 20 reps with 175 on BP, but only got 17. I did manage 20 on the chins though. I upped the intensity of my assistance stuff a bit to go with this sort of on the same lines.
I worked up to a weight just below what I thought was my five rep max and then repped out. Good stuff so far we’ll see where it goes eight weeks from now and if I like it and make progress I may max out on the ninth week and then re-cycle.
Just an update on the PMT Deadlifts. They have been going great. My grip is stronger and I am now doing rack pulls from just above the knees with 475 for multiple reps. Thursday the pins lower again and they’ll be below the knees. I did tear off two huge chunks of callouses yesterday though and it hurts like hell when I grab a bar now. Anybody have good ideas on treatment or prevention of this?
April 27th
Focus: Bench Form and Triceps
Bench Press (work up to max reps @ 70%) 175x17
Chin-ups (work up to max reps @ 70%) BW+10x20
DB OHP (seated) 50x8
Upright Rows (10x45, 10x35, 10x25) no rest
Close Grip BP 155x8
Dips BWx10, 5, 6
Four months down… Taking stock…
It’s nice sometimes to look back and see how far you’ve come.
January 4th 2010
Bench ???
Vertical 20 in
Pull-ups 21
Front Squat 200
Deadlift 250
Current
Bench 250
Vertical 25.5 in
Pull-ups ???
Front Squat 275
Deadlift 405 2 singles
I feel pretty good about this… I have switched to back squats from front squats and I think I have some form issues to workout. Anyway, I’ve got powerlifting on the brain, so here are my goals for the comp in October: Squat 375, Bench 300, and Deadlift 500. My back squat is a mere 275 right now, so I am looking to add 100 pounds to this, add 50 on bench and about 100 on deadlift. I think it’s possible as the back squat is still relatively new for me and I think I just need to get the form and break through not knowing what I can do.
April 29th
PMT Deadlift 475x2, 475x1, 475x1, 455x1, 405x2
RDLs 275x3
Standing Calves (single leg) 140x5
Glute Mach. 155x15
Seated Calves (single leg) 90x10
I think after I finish these PMT deadlifts that I am going to have to rework my program a bit making it something more like:
Monday - Upper body pulling focus
Tuesday - Squat and legs
Wednesday - Complex/Cardio
Thursday - Upper body pressing focus
Friday - Deadlifts, legs, and back
because right now the day after deadlifts my whole back is sore and tight. Maybe I’ll just break down and jump on the 5,3,1 bandwagon or something. We’ll see…
April 30th
BB Row (supinated) 225x5
DB Incline 70x9
Pull-Ups BWx10, 8, 6, 6
Tricep Extensions 80x10
DB Bicep Curls 40x5
Cable Crosses 40x10, 50x8
Well, my first time doing box squats today and I like them pretty well. It took me a bit to get used to sitting way back, but it went well especially, I think, since I read some great tips on this site. I switched my DL grip to the bar more in my fingers and chalked up today and no more torn skin. My fingers hurt a bit and I couldn’t get quite as much weight, but I’ll just have to get my grip stronger.
May 3rd
PMT Deadlifts 455x2, +1, +1
Box Squats (1 inch below parallel) 275x2
Standing Calves (single leg) 160x5
Good Mornings 175x10
Seated Calves (single leg) (90x8)x2 (110x6)x2
Walking Lunges to finish
May 4th
Bench Press (max reps @ 80%) 200x9
Chin-Ups (max reps @ 80%) BW+40x10
DB OHP 55x7
Upright Rows (10x45, 10x35, 10x25)x3 no rest
Close Grip BP 185x4
Dips BW+25x9, 6, 4
May 5th
Complex DB 30 lbs x4
RDLs x10
High Pulls x10
Arnold Press x8
Front Squats x10
Probably could have used heavier DBs. Next time…