[quote]Spock81 wrote:
Wow, your deadlift looks great now! I wish I had that liquid mercury person around to help me out, ha-ha.[/quote]
Yea LM has helped me out a lot over the past year. We have different opinions on DL technique, but this one cue on pulling the shoulder blades down made a world of difference. I also worked on sitting back more, just not quite as much as he was suggesting lol. Sitting too far down and back feels too awkward for me and I can’t get any power off the floor. Regular DLs tomorrow should be fun.
Irritated today. My back went back to the same shit today on DL. My left hip is still shit. My right knee is pretty shitty now too. I’m starting to wish this meet was already over with. I may just skip some squatting next week. I don’t know really…
Quit… I have no idea why I was so weak this day, but it happened and I’m over it.
Friday:
3ct Pause BP: 135x5(x2), 185X5, 205X3, 225x3
245x2 @8
255x2 @8 (good so far)
265x2 @9.5 (not quite a 10 but still hard)
255x2 @8.5
245x2 @8.5
Squat w/ light band: 135x5, 185x5, 225x3, 245x3
275x3 @8
295x3 @9 (I love these. I thought my head was going to pop off)
(belt added)
285x3 @8.5
275x3 @8.5
DB extensions: 25x6, 30x6(x3)
Tricep band push-downs: 3x10
This day was much better. I’m starting to fix the injuries and everthing feels better. This week has been rough. Went to Tenn. and back tuesday for work and put in some long hours the rest of the week. I’ve had a few beers now and I’m going to sleep very long tonight. I weighed in at 182 monday -__-. I had no idea the weight would come off that fast. So I shoved my face full of pizza for two nights straight and I’m sure I’ve gained some back. I feel stronger at least so that’s what matters.
1ct pause Reverse band BP (monstermini): 135x5(x2), 185x5, 205x5, 225x3
245x3 @7
275x3 @9
265x3 @8
265x3 @8
265x3 @8.5
265x3 @9
GMs: 135x6, 155x5, 175x5(x2)@9
The volume was rediculous today. If I haven’t mentioned it before, I’m on a specialization block, high frequency. Mike talks about it in his newest DVD seminar. I made a list with all the different exercise types and picked which exercises could go in that slot. So now all I have to do is go to my training generator, pick the exercise for that slot (depending on the block and goal) and go with it. Makes it super easy to switch from fatigue to frequenct templates. I love these frequency templates. I feel fresh on every lift almost. Going for x5 @10 on squats, heavy 3 on DL and BP next week going into my last week of training.
Went up too much on squats. I was looking for x5 @10 but overshot. I also wanted to see how the wraps felt. I’ve had them forever and used them once. I didn’t care for them this time either. Happy with the benching. I hope I can squeeze out some good weight on squat at this meet. My hip is still shitty though.
Had to quit on the glute bridges because I had no idea how strong I was on them. That’s the most I’ve done and felt like I had 275x6 in me. DLing was better but still shit. I gotta figure out what the hell I did to pull that 445. I think I’m worried too much about my back rounding, but I’ma just say fuck it and deal with it after the meet. The only thing that feels consistently strong right now is bench, but I weigh around 184 now too so that’s probably why.
Competition raw BP: 135x5(x2), 185x5, 205x5, 225x2
245x2 @7 (too easy)
265x2 @8
275x2 @8.5
285x2 @10 (could have gotten the 2nd rep but my dad touched it a little)
255x3 @8.5
245x3 @8
245x3 @8.5
Squat w/ light band: 135x5, 185x5, 225x5, 275x3
295x3 @8
315x3 @8.5
325x3 @9 PR
305x3 @9 (DONE)
Forehead tricep extension: 65x6
95x6 @10
85x6 @8
85x6 @8.5
85x6 @9 (8 close-grip presses after)
85x6 @10 (8 close-grip presses after)
Really trying to get that fatigue high here. I’m only training once next week, which will be a mock meet x1 @8. I may hit x3 @8 first then go on to my singles just to get some extra work in. DL will mainly be triples because I need more volume there. I have a lot of work coming next week to so it’s a good time to take off. I gotta skip school even (at least we’re picking up business though). Let me know if the pauses were not long enough.
I attached some minis to the bar on block pulls for some overload. I’m guessing there was an added 25-30lb at least at the top so I was damn happy with 385x2. I decided to quit worrying about my back giving for the moment and just get some heavy shit in my hand for the meet. It feels nice to bust out some heavy sets, even though I feel like shit I should supercompensate nicely come meet day.
Again, way too heavy. This is what let me know I wasn’t fully recovered because my bench has been doing great lately.
DL: 245x5(x2), 295x3, 335x1
385x3 @8.5
405x1 @8
425x1 @9
385x1 @8
Actually pretty decent considering my other lifts and how terrible I did on DL last test day. I got my singlet and inzer single prong belt in today and trained with them. The belt felt AWESOME. Never had a belt like this before, it’s something serious. My hip is still fucked up, and after squats it seems to have gotten worse. I just need to take special care of it these next couple of days and get fully recovered.
Didn’t go great. I did terrible on squat, even worse on bench, and squeaked out a VERY hard PR on DL. If anyone cares to look through my log and see where I went wrong I’d appreciate it. As of now I think it was the demolition job I started wednesday-friday, swinging a sledge hammer most of the time. So here’s how it went down:
Squat:
Opener - 365 @8.5
2nd - 385 @9.5
3rd - 397 @10
Barely stood up with 397. A girl put up 390 easier. My hip was killing me, causing my knees to shoot in on the ascent.
Bench Press:
Opener - 285 @9.5
2nd - 297 no lift (watched it hover 2 in. off my chest for what felt like forever)
no 3rd attempt
I knew I was gonna be shit on this after warm-ups because 275 moved way too slow. I have NO IDEA why BP was so weak. 285 in traning was stupid easy.
DL:
Opener - 405 @8
2nd - 435 @9
3rd - 451 @10 (all out)
By this time in the meet I had gotten over the fact that I was doing shitty and just tried to enjoy the time there with all the awesome people. My back was feeling fine and one of the guys just got me really pumped about hitting a PR. I also used some nose-torque for the first time and DAMN was it great.
All in all I think I learned a lot. Next time I’ll try not to work my ass off the three days prior to the meet. Maybe my peaking stategy needs some improvement too. I should probably stay away from 7% fatigue the week before the meet. I’ll save 7% fatigue for before vacation or something. I’m going to hit my back harder than ever before. Goodmornings are now a main exercise for the next 12 weeks along with speed pulls. Lots of barbell rowing and sled rowing. Another priority is to break 200lb bodyweight and cut “right” before the meet next time. I weighed 176 at this meet -__- . I only happened to get one video on the DL and my brother luckily got.
Sorry to hear about a less than ideal meet day. I know you’ll take it as a learning experience and keep improving.
Regarding your prep for this meet, what did you change, if anything, compared to before? That might be a good starting point to see what went well and what didn’t quite work.
Really cool workout today and tons of aggression because I haven’t trained in a while. The sled drags were something new and hit my back really good. I also bought some heavy ass tires (one 400 and one 600) and will start some flipping Friday. I figure all this strongman type training will build my back up enough for a bigger DL. I’m also going to keep a more detailed log from now on and log my smaller workouts. I’ve been doing some DB rows at school and hit 100x8 on each arm. Not great but it’s better than what I’ve usually done. My hip is still hurting and I’m having a hell of a time figuring out what’s wrong. I’ll post a video of the tire flips Friday. Should be fun.
working on getting a deep stretch between each rep
Goblet squat(close-stance): 75x10(x2)
Lunges: 25x10 (one set)
Main Session Bench (5:00pm):
3ct Pause BP: 135x5, 185x5, 205x3
225x3 @8.5
235x3 @10 (LONG count by my dad here)
225x3 @9
JM Press: 135x6(x4) @8.5-10
DB extensions: 25x6 @9, 15x10 @9, 15x10 @10
Really tired today. Felt fine at the start of each workout, but energy quickly diminished towards the end. I had some training ADD today and just didn’t really care about weight, RPEs, or fatigue. I need to get back on it. Rest and eat tomorrow.
20min. jog, high rep air squats, and foam rolling. Did some deep couch stretch/split squats and hit my hip flexors real hard on the foam roller. The pain in my hip went away for a little bit so I’ll keep at it and see what happens.
Really need to develop some explosive power in the bottom of the DL. I know I can grind them out, so the idea is to develop my weakness which is speed. I’ll switch up the reps, but RPE will stay around 7 and I’ll only work up if I’m feeling strong. The tire flips are way too damn hard, but it’ll pay off. I’ll get a video of the sled rows next week.
Bought a legit heart rate monitor today off craigslist and now I’m ready to start TRAC again. Was really tired going in to this workout. I was actually about to fall asleep when my dad said we needed to workout early. I’m going with a different set-up on bench now. Mainly because it’s one that will pass in any federation with my heels down. It feels weaker for now, but I’m sure it will get stronger pretty quick.
225x3 @10 (never had this much on my back for GMs before)
185x3 @8.5
135x8 @9
Sled Rows: 200x12-16 (4 sets)
So I strained my left bicep bowling yesterday. I was really surprised I could do the rows. I used straps to minimize bicep tension and I could feel it at times, but it felt fine for the most part. I started using TRAC again this morning with my new heart rate monitor. Went well but I’m not sure if the damn thing is right because my resting HR was 53 this morning. When I count is by hand it’s around 60 usually. As long as it’s consistent I don’t care.
@Adam: If you say so, but I didn’t think I was anywhere near that “fit” haha.
Saturday:
Bench Press: 135x5, 185x5, 205x3
225x3 @9
205x3 @8
205x3 @8
205x3 @8.5
Speed DL: 245x2, 265x2(x4)
no RPE, just really fast
No plan for this workout. I did a lot of video analysis this whole workout. Bought a new bench so I checked my technique and played with a few different positions. Also played with some different positions on my DL to see if I could get more pop off the floor. I missed a lot of work this week due to a back tweak a few days ago. Just woke up with my mid back all jacked up. I had to fight through the first half of the day to finish some tests, then went spent $50 at the chiro. for nothing. Just did some trigger point work to get it back right, but took several days. My last test is tomorrow so I’ll get back to training next week.
Sooo I havent’ updated this in a while. I was out for a full week two weeks ago with my upper back messed up and just never felt like logging anything after that. I just started Carb Back-Loading a few weeks ago and the prep week (zero usable carbs) left my training a little lackluster. Then last week I gotta a little crazy with my workouts and started training for a “pump” instead of hitting goals and following my programming. Next week I plan on getting everything back in order and on the right track.
For details on the CBL diet, I lost 5lbs on the prep week. Which puts me at ~500g of carbs post-workout. I now have a six-pack for the first time sense I was a hardcore gymnast at 12 years old and it’s pretty awesome. My girl loves it too. She hasn’t told me she does, but actions speak louder than words ;). So anyway I’m down to about 176 bw now and looking to hit get back up to 185 pretty soon. Idk how hard that’ll be so I’m not gonna make any short-term goals. Hopefully I’ll keep this thing on my belly too. Anyway that’s it for now. Gonna get fully back on RTS starting tomorrow and hitting some PRs.
225x3 @9.5
*working on hereing the “press” command
JM Press(the right way): 45x6, 65x5, 95x4, 65x8
DB extensions: 25x6(x4)
TRAC said not to train, but I felt good, and really felt like back loading. I’m still getting used to my new bench, but I think I’m starting to get the hang of it. Been playing with foot position and I think I found it. Leg drive is no where near the same, but hopefully it’ll work out aight.
Wednesday: TRAC said stop after initial.
Squat: 135x5, 185x5, 225x5
275x5 @9
Groove Briefs added
275x5 @8.5
Belt added
275x5 @8.5
Raw
225x8-10 @10
*I suck at reps
Pause DL: 225x3(x2)
245x3 @7
275x3 @8
Quit while I was still ahead. Was itching to get a few more sets in, but I need food and sleep. I’ve been working a job an hour and a half away from my house this week and I’m getting up at 4am to get there by 6. Something I haven’t had to do in a while so my recovery isn’t so great right now. Back-Loading has been awesome so far. Ate some cupcakes tonight. There’s a lady I met the other day who makes some badass homemade sweet potato pie I’m getting for Monday’s Back-Load. Gonna be awesome.
