back hyperextensions
black band x 10
black + red band x 10 x 2
Afternoon session banded box squats
warmup
green + black bands + 205 x 3 x 10
I didn’t have enough time to get in all of my work in the morning. I wanted to get in another set of squats at 455 and then some speed work. Normally I do GHRs but my knee didn’t quite feel right so I did hypers.
Seeing as I had a good bit of rest and food in me before the afternoon session, I doubled my volume. I was also lifting with some other fellas and so my competitive nature took over to try and keep up. Before we began, we attempted to figure out the added resistance of the bands. The best we could figure was an empty bar weighed 240 at lockout and 130 in the hole. So my working sets were ~290 out of the hole and ~400 at lockout.
Definitely got in that extra volume I had talked about a few weeks ago.
db rows superset with Kelso Shrugs
115 x 5
125 x 5
135 x 5 145 x 5 (no strap PR)
Kelso Shrugs
180 x 8
225 x 8
250 x 8 x 2
facepulls
120 x 12 x 3
Pretty happy with the rows. I had never attempted the 145s before without straps, my previous best was 135 x 12. I had to reset twice with the left but blew straight through it with the right. As long as I can keep adding reps to these I’m gonna stay away from straps. If it ain’t broke…
I will soon be getting into the challenging weights on my DLs, so I will be able to evaluate if the shrugs are beneficial. They are fun and I feel like I’m getting a little thicker in that middle back area, but with a meet quickly approaching, I need to be strictly performance based.
I have noticed that when I do speed work with bands for the bench, things start to bother me (tricep, elbow, wrist). Gonna try out RE work instead. Also a lower volume, so this is it.
I am looking forward to my deadlift session tomorrow…
Had a lot of volume in this workout. Lower back never did tighten up too badly, my hands, OTOH, were a bit raw. I used no straps and had no problem holding onto anything. As the deadlift weight creeps higher and the contest nears, I will start to drop off some of the volume on the back end of the session.
I attempted to use a belt during my warmups but it did not seem to give me any leverage and only pulled my air out of my belly. Maybe I’m doing it wrong, but I thought I would give it a shot if it could give me a few pounds. But being so close to the meet, I probably don’t have time to figure it out.
My first time doing an incline bench in well over a year (before I injured my shoulder) and was planning on doing reps. When I worked up to 275, it was not as easy as I thought it would be and without a spot I decided to go for a conservative max. To get in some reps, I dropped down to 225 and got what I could.
It was also my first time doing a flat db press since Aug 08 (that is what injured my shoulder). Felt good, but I could definitely tell that I need a little more “practice” at getting into position with these.
Squat
warmup
405 x 5
425 x 5 x 2 knee wraps
435 x 5 x 2
GHRs
BW x 5 x 5
Squats felt real good today. 435 moved pretty easy. I didn’t get my sqt access. lift in due to a time constraint, but that might workout okay for this week. Gonna start throwing in some lockouts next week, so the poundage lifted is going to go way up.
db row superset with Kelso Shrug
115 x 5
125 x 5
135 x 5 145 x 6 (1rep PR)
145 x 10 strapped
Kelso Shrug
225 x 6
250 x 6
270 x 6 x 3
facepulls
130 x 12 x 4
Elbow was feeling better on the pullups, so I’m gonna start adding weight, slowly. My lower back tightened up on me a little. Probably some leftovers from the squats yesterday. Other than that, good liftin’ today.
Well, this was one hell of a deadlift session. I’ve been due for a PR here for a while now and I’ll take the 5lb on the double. And since I was in the zone (chief), I decided to go ahead and bump up my straight leg best. It’s a great feeling to have the PRs start to fall as a meet gets near.
Back feels great, grip stayed strong. Now I gotta start cutting weight (uughhh).
lockouts hole 22
515 x 1
565 x 1 605 x 1 (70lb PR)
back hyperextensions
red band x 8
red + black band x 8 x 3
Kept the hot streak going. The squats were a couple inches shy of depth, but I’ll get that worked out. The last time I did lockouts was in May, and since then I have gotten through Smolov so that’s where the big PR came from. I also decided to drop back on the volume, feeling it will be a quicker recovery between workouts. It helps that the squats are feeling good and I seem to be making decent progress.
db rows superset with Kelso Shrug
125 x 5
135 x 5
145 x 5 x 2
Kelso Shrug
225 x 4
270 x 4
295 x 4 x 2
facepulls
140 x 12 x 4
Backed off a little bit on the volume here. As the squats and deadlifts get heavier, I am gonna ease up on this session. Really, I’m just planning on dropping the reps down and try to keep the intensity fairly high.
I am getting the rows with 145 without resets now, so the grip is getting stronger (somewhat of a PR, if I wanted to be a whore).
I didn’t realize until I got home and in bed that my elbow has not given me any issues in a couple days now. I feel as I’m poised to make a big jump, finally, in my bench. I was not making this kind of progress with the speed benching, so maybe the bum elbow was a good thing.
reverse band deadlifts
green band
warmup
545 x 1
585 x 1
635 x 1
655 x 0
deficit DL
standing on a plate
425 x 3 x 3
power shrugs
425 x 5 x 2
SLDL 425 x 5 x 2 (20lb PR)
BOR
315 x 5 x 2
Good Mornings
275 x 5
295 x 5
I was really expecting to get more on the rev. band pulls. I think that I will try something different next time, running the bands from the floor. I like the accomodating resistance, but the pull feels different being unweighted. I don’t know if it is due to an altered motion due to the bands being pulled tight from the beginning of the lift, or if the strength curve isn’t right, or something else entirely. I should have a little more control over the amount of tension and where it grabs doubling up a mini or monster mini from the floor. We’ll see…
Everything else felt great. I pushed hard on all accessories, almost to true 5RMs. The BORs got ugly just trying to hold on. Next week the intensity and volume is gonna drop, a lot.
bench
warmup
315 x 4
315 x 3 x 2
225 x 3 x 3 (paused all reps)
dips
bw+145 x 3 x 3 (paused all reps)
incline db press
all reps paused
110 x 3
115 x 3
125 x 3 x 2
I’m a bit disappointed here. I was shooting for 3 sets of 5 with 315, and while that may have been a little lofty, I had hoped to get a least one set with it. I did get a 5th rep on the first set with a spot. I didn’t find my groove until the last set with 315 and that set went much smoother. Trying to reinforce my groove, I took 225 and worked on some speed.
All reps after benching were paused to begin working on speed off the chest and holding tightness throughout the lift.
I guess I didn’t warmup good enough, my elbow started to ache a little bit during the squats. That is why the reps and sets were cut short. The good mornings were done in a squat stance and with my hand placement a lot wider than my squats, so they didn’t get to the elbow too badly.
10-14-09
pullups
bw x 10
+55 x 8 x 3
db row
125 x 5
135 x 5
145 x 6 x 2
facepulls
150 x 12 x 4
DB rows keep going up. Pretty happy about that.
10-15-09
bench
warmup
225 x 20
seated OHP
135 x 5
155 x 5
175 x 5
195 x 5 x 2
Tied my previous week on the bench reps. Barely got that bastard up over the hooks on the last rep. )( that close to getting pinned with 225…
Built up some confidence today. 545 flew up, no problem.
I’ve tried something a little different with my deadlifts in prep for this competition. I feel like I get a lot out of my nerves when it comes to pulling at a meet. The nervous energy that I build up before stepping on the platform, IMO, gives me an extra 20-30 pounds. Previously, in training, I would work myself up before a pull to mimic the feeling. In this cycle, I stayed calm, focused on the pull and my cues, and feel like I have a little bit left in the tank now that I haven’t been relying on that kick in the ass to get the weight up.
Just a little experiment, we’ll see how it goes. I’m feeling good about it right now.
incline db press
all paused
110 x 3
115 x 3
125 x 3 x 3
That may have been a best with that double @ 335, it felt damn solid. I thought of going for broke with a 2nd on 345 but decided against it. Confidence is the name of the game and I didn’t want to be missing any lifts this close to a meet.
Volume is down across the board this week, keeping intensity up. Saturday, Monday, and Tuesday will be for openers. Then I’ll just have to finish making weight…
squat
warmup
add belt
445 x 1
add knee wraps
475 x 1 (video)
495 x 1
supramax hold 565 x 30sec.
paused squats
315 x 2
365 x 2
385 x 2
I had a little problem finding my groove on 475 and almost lost it forward. It is good to know that I can pull it out even if I’m a little off. 495 went better, could have been a little deeper, and I think I just need to take a little longer to warm up and focus on sitting back and keeping my elbows down.
I’m planning on 475 to be my opener. The plan, as of right now, is to go 475, 505, and hopefully 535. I’ve hit 515 in the gym after Smolov. My compitetion best is 465 in May. It will be nice to add to that on my opener.