8 singles at or above 500 is a lot of heavy pulling. Nice work.
[quote]DBasler wrote:
8 singles at or above 500 is a lot of heavy pulling. Nice work. [/quote]
Yes sir, I realized how heavy it was over the weekend. My back was like “thanks!” all day Sunday. 
Looks like we’ll be able to get 10 heavy sessions in before Raw Nationals. Got back in the gym tonight after 3 days off.
TUE. 9/22/15 - Heavy (90%) Bench, Light (70%) Squat
- Bench Press
75/10 - My wife got out of the locker room much quicker than me, and I just started with what she had on the bar.
145/5, 215/4, 245/3
265/2 - added wrist wraps here
275/2 - started getting handoffs here
285/2 - probably could have grinded out a 3rd
295/1, 1 - Felt out of position on the bench for the 1st single.
315/did a 30-second static hold at lockout.
- Squat
135/5
225/3 - added knee sleeves here
295/3 - added Oly shoes here. Only reason I didn’t start in them was rushing. First rep felt really bad. Had to do more foam rolling, as I was running into the same problem with my abductors and hip flexors.
350/3 - Felt better than 295, but not as easy as 350 normally feels. Opted for the belt and wrist wraps on later sets, which I don’t normally use at this weight.
350/3, 3, 3 - with belt and wrist wraps. These got faster and easier by the set. Left feeling optimistic.
God willing, much heavier squats and light deadlifts on Thursday.
[quote]TheSwoleLife wrote:
God willing, much heavier squats and light deadlifts on Thursday.
[/quote]
Well, we got in the gym at a good time tonight. Squats just took longer than we thought.
135/6. 225/3. 275/3. 325/2.
375/2. Added wrist wraps here.
410/2. Added belt here.
440/2. Felt like I was good for 3-4.
460/2. Got a bit tired and loose in the upper back about 1/3 of the way up on the 2nd rep. Stuck with it and shot up from 2/3 to finish. I’m hoping the video for this one will post. If so, ignore the chatter at the beginning about nose tork.
475/1. Decided before getting under the bar that this would be a single. Could it have gone for a double? After looking at it, I’m certain it could have.
500/walkout. Took it off the rack, walked it out and held everything as tightly as I could for 10 seconds. Put it back. This felt heavy, but manageable.
525/unrack. Just took it off the rack, and held everything as tightly as I could for 10 seconds before putting it back. This felt unbelievably heavy. I can’t believe I’ve squatted a lot more than this equipped.
This was a great session, in that my confidence in my squat is restored. I foam rolled before I started as well as between several of my sets, which reduced (and in some cases, eliminated) the pain I’ve been experiencing in my hip flexors and abductors. Most weights felt light off the rack, and moved pretty fast coming out of the hole. If I can stay healthy, I feel good about my chances for another official 500 lb squat.
The plan is to do more heavy benching tomorrow along with the light deadlifts we had planned for tonight.
FRI. 9/25/15 - Heavy Bench, Light Deadlift
- Bench Press
95/5. 150/5. 205/3. 240/2.
260/1. Added wrist wraps here.
275/1. Started getting handoffs here. Got commands on this one.
290/1 x 6. Rest-pause cluster set. Time elapsed from the end of #1 to the end of #6 - 7:25. Got commands on #1-3. Touch & go on #4-6.
225/11! What do you know? Did a backoff set, expected nothing, and hit a rep-PR at 225 lbs. Maybe this bench press thing is starting to go somewhere after all. 
- Deadlift - modified sumo stance, wearing flat, thick-soled shoes
135/6. 225/3. 315/2.
405/1 x 10. Used Versa Gripps & my belt for these, at my wife’s suggestion and her assertion that she was using hers, no matter what I did. Glad I listened to her. These DL’s were supposed to be easy, and we’ll be grinding out some hard DL’s on Tuesday. I didn’t think of these as rest-pause, because I always do deadlifts as singles. But I guess this counts. Time elapsed from the end of #1 to the end of #10 - 9:00 exactly. This weight is just about 70% of my PR.
TUE. 9/29/15 - Light Squat & Bench, Heavy Deadlift
Bodyweight on Sunday morning - 218.8 lbs.
-
Squat
5 reps each at 135, 185, 235, & 275. -
Bench
5 reps each at 95, 135, 160 & 185. -
Deadlift - modified sumo stance, thick-soled shoes
135/5.
225/2. Bathroom break - takes longer to walk there and back than to actually use it.
225/3.
315/1, 1. Stepped back from bar, reset, pulled again.
365/1. 415/1. 455/1. 455 should have flown up. I figured I was in trouble.
495/1. Added belt here.
525/1 x 4 sets. 1st set was solid, clean, and fully locked out, but it was too slow to justify my hope of pulling 545 last night. I decided that 525 would be my top weight for the day. I was going to do 2 pulls, then back off to 465, but ultimately just did the 4 singles and went home. Last 2 pulls were in Versa Gripps. Final pull was in slippers.
Heat and humidity are real factors in performance. It has been quite humid in Baltimore this week, and I was sweating A LOT more than normal at work and in the gym. I tried to keep up my fluid intake, but I don’t think I drank enough to keep pace with what I was losing. With no better reason to cite, I’ll blame that for not being where I wanted to be last night. We have 6 heavy sessions left before Raw Nationals.
Playing catch up here.
THU. 10/1/15 - Wonderful Bench
-
Bench Press
95/6. 140/5. 180/4. 220/3. 240/2.
260/2. Added wrist wraps here.
280/2. Started getting handoffs here.
300/2. 2-rep PR! First time benching 300 raw for more than one rep. 1st one was paused, 2nd was touch & go.
305/1. Heaviest raw single I’ve ever done in training. Got commands for this.
305/1 & 1/2. Got greedy going for 2 reps, but the 1st rep moved well enough for me to think I could get the double. I was wrong. I may have been able to get it 2 sets earlier.
325/30 second static hold.
274/4. 225/8.
-
Pulldowns
120/15, overhand. 195/8, overhand. 195/8, neutral. -
Seated cable row
195/12, overhand. 195/12, v-handle.
FRI. 10/2/15 - Terrible Squats
135/5. 225/3. 275/2. 325/2. 365/1.
405/1. Added wrist wraps here.
430/1. Added belt here. Felt worse than the 475 in the last session.
Abort mission.
I was dragging after a LONG day of urban hiking at work. Unfortunately, I wouldn’t have had a chance to squat another day over the weekend, so I tried to grind through it. At least nothing hurt, as I was foam rolling my hips and abductors before and after every set. I hope that I’ll be able to get it together for my last heavy session later this week. Either way, I should feel much better the morning of the meet, since I would be either 1-2 days removed from work when I hit the platform.
Good job on the PR. You always put in a lot of work.
Fabulous bench PR! And the timing couldn’t be better with a meet right around the corner. I will be watching the live stream and cheering (virtually) for you. Good luck!
[quote]Crippler56 wrote:
Good job on the PR. You always put in a lot of work. [/quote]
[quote]kpsnap wrote:
Fabulous bench PR! And the timing couldn’t be better with a meet right around the corner. I will be watching the live stream and cheering (virtually) for you. Good luck! [/quote]
Thank you both! kp, I’ll take any form or cheering and support I can get.
We’re into the home stretch. This was the 1st of the final four, in terms of heavy sessions before Raw Nationals. We were going to do some light benching and/or squatting along with the deadlifts tonight, but scrapped that idea once we got in the gym. We decided to just take our time and really dial in our pulls. Mine went like this:
- Deadlift - modified sumo stance, thick soled shoes
135/3, 3. 225/3. 275/2. 325/1. 365/1. 405/1. 445/1.
485/1. Added belt here.
515/1. Things were moving nicely.
540/1. Put slippers on here. Better than I expected.
560/1, 1. Heaviest raw singles I have pulled in training. It’s 96-97% of my PR.
That second pull at 560 was really hard, but I managed to finish it and looking at the videos with our referee eyes, my wife and I believe it would have counted. I need to get some of these uploaded so I can post them here. The first one felt very manageable, and between them, I’m confident that I have a chance at a deadlift PR. Short backstory - for 2 straight meets, I’ve been blessed to finish the meet with a DL PR. 2 meets ago, the number was 573, and in my last DL session I’d pulled 545 for 2 singles. In April, I pulled 578 after pulling 555 for 2 singles in my last DL session. So no, I didn’t go 565 today, but I still feel optimistic.
Since I know I’m going to lose by a lot, my only real goals at this meet are to 1) go 9/9 and 2) finally get that elusive 635 kg total (1400 lbs). I know that the conversion is actually 1399.92 lbs, but if I get it, I’m rounding up. I feel like my BP and DL are finally where they need to be to do it, but of all lifts, it’s my squat that I’m worried about the most.
I’M HOLDING ON!
THU. 10/8/15 - Heavy Bench
-
Bench Press - right elbow pain (tendinitis?) from the start
95/5. 145/5. 195.4. 235/3.
265/2. Started using wrist wraps here.
285/1. Commands for this one. Started getting handoffs here.
Cluster set: 302/1, 1, 1, 290/1, 1, 1. Each of these singles were 1:15-2:00 apart. The 3rd single at 302 was tough enough that I decided I’d rather drop a bit and get more reps than potentially miss a 4th rep. Elbow didn’t feel better by the end, but it didn’t feel worse either.
-
Seated cable row
60/15. 150/10. V-handle
195/10. 210/10. medium width, neutral grip.
FRI. 10/9/15 - Heavy Squats and nothing else
135/5. 185/3. 235/2. Did these in my flat, thick-soled shoes. No knee sleeves. Dictated somewhat by laziness and pacing.
285/2. Put on Oly shoes and SBD knee sleeves here.
335/2.
375/2. Added wrist wraps here. Happy this moved well beltless. This last set before 4 plates is often an indicator of how I’m doing that day.
405/2. Added belt here.
435/2. Not bad.
455/2. Confidence in my squat is restored. I felt like I was good for 3. Video review confirmed the ruling on the field.
485/walkout with 10 second hold.
515/unrack with 10 second hold. This felt HEAVY!
Well, if I was ever in denial, I know I’m in the right forum now. Everything is breaking down on me! I’m struggling to hold on through the meet, reevaluate and then resume training feeling better than I do now. I went to an urgent care center and got some stronger, non-narcotic painkillers. I’d been planning on doing a heavy BP session today (didn’t happen) or tomorrow (probably won’t happen). But we’ll see how I feel tomorrow. Fortunately, I only have to work 2 days this week (Tue & Wed), and I was off Sat-Mon, so I have a chance to be feeling pretty good by Sunday morning. I’ll do my traditional “meet week” session on Thursday, and go for it all on Sunday.
This past week has me feeling confident about opening at 205 kg (451 lbs) on squat, 132.5 kg (292 lbs) on bench, and 242.5 kg (535 lbs) on DL. I may adjust down on any or all of them by 2.5-5.0 kg depending on anxiety, fatigue, judging (i.e. LONG pauses on the bench), or other factors. I need 630 kg (1389 lbs) for my best day ever.
I’m excited for Sunday morning for you. I’m not sure what you mean by everything is breaking down? I think sometimes we get close to meet time and just feel physically and mentally overwhelmed. Hang in there. You’re going to do awesome.
Training has been solid. Good luck this weekend you’re setup for a great meet.
It looks like you have a game plan. Good luck.
[quote]kpsnap wrote:
I’m excited for Sunday morning for you. I’m not sure what you mean by everything is breaking down? I think sometimes we get close to meet time and just feel physically and mentally overwhelmed. Hang in there. You’re going to do awesome. [/quote]
Sorry I didn’t explain that. By “everything is breaking down on me”, I meant wear-and-tear injuries and pains. A nagging left groin injury has become worse. I have some new, but not unbearable pain in both knees, but especially the left. The outside of my right hip has become almost impossible to sleep or put pressure on for extended periods of time. Tendinitis is flaring up in my right elbow, and I may have plantar fasciitis in my left foot again. These aren’t chronic or terminal diseases, so I’m grateful for where I am. They do affect lifting though, and they seem to be snowballing on me all at once. So that’s what it was about.
[quote]DBasler wrote:
Training has been solid. Good luck this weekend you’re setup for a great meet. [/quote]
Thank you sir. I’m going to give it my best.
I did end up training this week. Tuesday, I did a heavy bench session, but it was lighter than I’ve been doing lately. It went 245/3, 265/3, 285/2 with LONG PAUSES, then back down to 265/3 and 245/3 all with pauses.
Yesterday, I squatted up to 2 singles at 350, and it moved as fast as I would expect. The pain in my left groin/abductors was on more than it was off. On some reps, I felt nothing. On others, it was the worst I can remember in the weeks I’ve been feeling it. A burning pain that shot down the inside of the thigh, halfway to my knee this time.
[quote]Crippler56 wrote:
It looks like you have a game plan. Good luck. [/quote]
Thank you Crippler. Pain management is my primary concern. Plan A - go with meet as planned. Plan B - 100 kg squat, and do the rest of the meet. I’ll decide that on Sunday morning during warmups.
This place is off the charts with excitement! There were 3 sessions today, including a session I called “Prime Time Powerlifting” that started at 6pm. Kimberly Wolford and Priscilla Ribic were among the lifters on the 4 platforms. Packed room, people all in the hallways, with enough vendors to make it look and feel like an expo rather than a normal powerlifting meet. Plenty of people were just hanging out after the session ended. Very cool. I’m looking forward to my wife’s shot at the bar tomorrow afternoon. I’m up on Sunday morning.
USAPL Raw Nationals, The Short Version
Bodyweight: 98.58 kg (217.3 lbs)
Competing in 105kg Open
Squat
1st attempt: 207.5 kg (457.5 lbs) - GOOD LIFT!
2nd attempt: 217.5 kg (479.5 lbs) - GOOD LIFT!
3rd attempt: 227.5 kg (501.6 lbs) - GOOD LIFT!
Bench Press
1st attempt: 132.5 kg (292.1 lbs) - GOOD LIFT!
2nd attempt: 137.5 kg (303.1 lbs) - GOOD LIFT!
3rd attempt: 142.5 kg (314.2 lbs) - NO LIFT
Deadlift
1st attempt: 242.5 kg (534.6 lbs) - GOOD LIFT!
2nd attempt: 255.0 kg (562.2 lbs) - GOOD LIFT!
3rd attempt: 265.0 kg (584.2 lbs) - NO LIFT
TOTAL: 620 kg (1366.9 lbs), made 7 of 9 attempts.
USAPL Raw Nationals, The Long Version
Saturday, 10/17/15
My wife was lifting, and I was coaching. We ate at the breakfast buffet in the hotel, and I had 2 small (for me) cups of coffee. This is an important detail for later. Looked to be a good day.
Sure enough, he warmups went well but she was stressed and nervous. Then she got called for depth on her opening squat. I was like - “look, I can help you manage your lift choices etc, but I can’t help you with an emotional crisis over lifting. SQUAT DEEPER!” I don’t think it was because of me, but she went on to hit her next 8 attempts, and finish with PR’s in each lift and her total. 120 kg (264.5 lbs) squat, 67.5 kg (148.8 lbs) bench, 137.5 kg (303.1 lbs) deadlift, and 325 kg (716.5 lbs) total. No better way to rebound from missing your opening squat.
Sunday, 10/18/15
Apparently I should have had more coffee or an energy drink the day before. I usually live off of caffeine (it’s a macro nutrient, isn’t it?) and didn’t get much from the coffee I had at the buffet before my wife lifted. By the time I went to bed on Saturday, I had a horrible headache. I woke up at least twice from it, and still had it in the morning. Felt nauseous too when I woke up for good. Got some Starbucks right after 7am weigh-ins, and popped some pain relievers. By the time the session started at 9am, I still felt bad, but slightly better. But I was still worried about whether or not I’d make it to the platform at all.
Warmups were moving okay, and at least the groin pain was gone. The headache was still there, and intensified at the top of the squat. After my last warmup at 435, I figured I may as well go through with it. If I had to go out, I’d go out in a blaze of glory! So after that last warmup, we casually made our way to the backstage area. It must have been to casual, because when I got to platform 2, I saw that my name was up, and they had just called BAR IS LOADED! for me. So as fast as I could, I put my belt on, wrapped my wrists, chalked my hands, and ran out there. I got the squat command WITH ONE SECOND LEFT on the clock!
The moral to the story: adrenaline is the antidote for caffeine withdrawal. After the flurry of that opener, my headache was completely gone, and did not return for the rest of the day.
I went on to make all 3 squats, and finished where I wanted to be: back in the 500 club with a 227.5 kg (501.5 lbs) 3rd attempt. Video honestly has me thinking 507 or even a PR 513 was there. Also, my streak remains intact - I have never outright missed a squat on a platform. I got called for depth once, on my 2nd attempt at the USAPL American Open 2010 competing equipped. Yes, I still remember that one, and I still think it was in.
Bench was sailing right along as planned. Opener at 292 went fine, as did the 2nd at 303. My sure thing, “I’d bet money that I’m getting this PR” 3rd attempt at 314 flew off my chest, and died in mid-air.
Going into the deadlift, my subtotal was 365 kg (804.7 lbs). I needed a 2.5 kg PR in the deadlift to achieve a 2.5 kg PR total. Since placing wasn’t a concern, I figured I had nothing to lose by going for it. 534 opener was good. 562 2nd attempt was good. Third attempt of 584 for all the marbles got past my knees, and suffered the fate of my third bench. Couldn’t finish it off.
All in all, going 7 for 9 isn’t bad considering how my day started. Funny how things work sometimes: the one lift I felt least confident in (squat) is the one I did best in, while I failed in the lifts I was most confident in. It’s the first meet where I didn’t PR in anything, unless you count weigh-ins. In light of that, I’m seriously considering dropping back to 93 kg for my first run in the Masters division next year. All my best lifts have been done in that weight class, and so far, I have no indication that the extra bodyweight helped me. I’ll likely not lift anything until Thursday (light stuff), and resume normal training next Tuesday.
For my 2016 competition schedule, I’m looking at a local raw meet here in MD next April, and the American Open in December, possibly competing equipped.
Congrats to you and your wife. No two meets are the same, and it seems something unexpected always happens. All the best…
Looks like a solid meet for you both. Congratulations.
Congratulations! I tuned in to watch but somehow missed you. Not surprising given the fact that there were four platforms running at once.
But where is the video??
[quote]kpsnap wrote:
Congratulations! I tuned in to watch but somehow missed you. Not surprising given the fact that there were four platforms running at once.
But where is the video??[/quote]
Thank you everyone! KP, I’ve been having trouble with Movie Maker lately, as in it’s really slow, and gives me error messages at various times. None of the fixes I’ve found online are working, and I’ve been hesitant to purchase new video software. Anyone have any suggestions?
Obviously, I’ve been MIA, for various reasons. I’ll just jump back in and recap what I’ve done on the the competition lifts since the meet. Starting with tomorrow’s session, I’ll get back to logging full training sessions.
NOTE: For years, I’ve been using a form of recording RPE in my journal on everything. I’ll start to incorporate that in this log.
FRI. 10/23/15
Sumo DL
135/5. 225/3. 315/2. 365/1. 415/1.
455/1 x 6 - no belt for 1st rep, but wore it on 2-6. Took 10 minutes for all 6.
TUE. 10/27/15
Bench Press
95/6. 145/4. 185/4.
255/4. Started getting handoffs & using wrist wraps here.
265/4. @9 RPE
275/4. @10 RPE
245/4, 4. (@9 RPE, 2nd set)
THU. 10/29/15
Squat
135/6. 185/5. 235/3. 285/3. 335/3.
385/2. Started using wrist wraps here.
425/4. @10 Started using belt here.
405/4. @9
405/4. @9.5 (?)
FRI. 10/30/15
Bench Press
95/8. 145/5. 185/5. 205/3. 225/3.
245/9.5. I was that close to 10 reps. All touch & go here.
TUE. 11/3/15 - DEADLIFT SESSION
-
Front Squat - straps around the bar
6 reps each at 135, 185, 215, 245.
At this point, I had to get my son out of child-watch and into his karate class. My wife and I were both squatting (back squat for her), and the way the timing went, her set was up when the his time came up.
245/2. Added the belt on here. Repeated the 245 since I had such a long break.
275/6 @8 RPE
-
Sumo Deadlift - wearing thick-soled skate shoes
4 reps each at 135, 225, 315, 365, 415.
465/4 @8 RPE. Added belt and Versa Gripps here.
495/4 @10 RPE. Damn, this was hard.
455/4 @9 RPE.
This was my first time doing DL for reps in years. They were all from a dead stop, and I even adjusted my feet between reps, but my hands never left the bar during a set. Next time, I’ll do AMRAP at 455. Main focus on these is fixing a flaw that I recognized after the meet. Apparently, I’ve been locking out my knees too late for a sumo pull. I’m getting used to the change.
3a. Leg Press - would have used the Squat Press, but someone had already left plates on this one.
450/6.
600/10 @9 RPE. Short ROM on the 2nd set. Did not like how my lower back felt on this. Probably will resume avoiding this device.
3b. Sumo RDL
225/10.
315/11 @9 RPE. Wore belt for this set.
I walked out of the gym feeling like this was the best bad session I’d had in recent memory. It was productive, and I didn’t hurt myself, but I never felt like I was mentally dialed in. I didn’t go through the motions, but I wasn’t sure I felt like being in there either. Maybe I was just tired. Either way, got it in, got out, and bench is up next.