Powerlifting Across the Pond!

Training Training Logs
121

11-29-11 Deadlifts

Deadlifts against Bands *Red Mini Bands *Bit of tension @ bottom… ~ +120 lbs @ top.
6x135
3x225
1x315
1x405
1x495
*Bands off
1x495

For some reason I wasn’t feelin that great, so I didn’t do anything else that was really heavy. I hit some hamstring curls and lots of abs, and some other crap…

It took me a while to set up the bands since I have not pulled against them since coming to this new gym. It was a bit awkward but I finally found a setup that will work. I used my luggage scale thing and each band was about +60 lbs at lockout. 495 was tough but I definitely had more in me. Gonna do squats after a days rest and hit legs a bit harder, then rest for several days for a regular heavy deadlift session. Training got a bit thrown off last week or two with the traveling, but after the next heavy deadlift session I am going to be back to rotating ME deads and squats every week.

Edit: Most I’ve pulled against mini’s is 535 I believe, and I probably could have hit that last night, but the band tension I am using here is a bit more than at the old gym, because of how I have to set them up.

122

12-2-11

Squats
8x135
4x225
1x315
1x385
3x455 +PR

That’s it. Had very little time today. The way 455 felt I thought I was going to get like double those reps, but I had the knee wraps on real tight, and I don’t think I’ve been using them enough lately, because it felt like it was throwing me off. The third rep came up fast but at the bottom I almost lost it for some reason. Oh well, I’m still happy with those reps and real happy with how the weight felt. Next time I will just work up to a heavy single since I think I am good for a lot more.

It’s funny, because I am feelin good about my squats going up some, and if I start hitting them hard again they will only progress more I hope… but at the same time I feel like my squats are below par of where they should be. I suppose deadlifts were my strong point so I have been focusing on them, which ironically has slowed my progress on them I think, but that should have been obvious to me. Bench was a weakness of mine, and I have been focusing on pressing strength which has brought my bench up… but squats have been left behind.

I am going to go in tomorrow and test my bench, and next week test my deadlift. After that I will be squatting more often and just doing ME deadlifts less often.

123

12-3-11

Flat BB Bench
5x135
3x185
1x225
1x295
1x335
1x365 +15 LB PR
1x375 +25 LB PR *video

I think hitting that 335 and making the smaller jump in weight did help. 365 didn’t feel nearly as heavy, and then hit that 375. Just met the guy who helped lift off for me and he did a great job. It’s amazing how much better it feels with a good liftoff. Last time I tried the 365 and missed it I had a bad liftoff and probably woulda just been better off doing it myself.

Hoping my deadlift goes as well next week… :slight_smile:

124

[quote]Joweeee wrote:
12-3-11

Flat BB Bench
5x135
3x185
1x225
1x295
1x335
1x365 +15 LB PR
1x375 +25 LB PR *video

I think hitting that 335 and making the smaller jump in weight did help. 365 didn’t feel nearly as heavy, and then hit that 375. Just met the guy who helped lift off for me and he did a great job. It’s amazing how much better it feels with a good liftoff. Last time I tried the 365 and missed it I had a bad liftoff and probably woulda just been better off doing it myself.

Hoping my deadlift goes as well next week… :slight_smile:
[/quote]

great job on the bench jowee… looked very fast. definitely have more in you. also, it sucks that you have such crappy equipment. why would anyone build a bench without a liftoff platform and i’m having nightmare flashbacks about those horrible multisided plates. again… why would anyone make such a shitty plate and it seems like every gym has them now.

just to rub it in… we are getting our monolift and competition bench tomorrow. i’ll be squatt’n tomorrow night… can’t fucking wait.

125

[quote]maraudermeat wrote:
great job on the bench jowee… looked very fast. definitely have more in you. also, it sucks that you have such crappy equipment. why would anyone build a bench without a liftoff platform and i’m having nightmare flashbacks about those horrible multisided plates. again… why would anyone make such a shitty plate and it seems like every gym has them now.

just to rub it in… we are getting our monolift and competition bench tomorrow. i’ll be squatt’n tomorrow night… can’t fucking wait. [/quote]

Yeah some of the equipment is pretty crappy, but no one has bothered me for making noise or using chalk or setting up bands, etc… so it’s not too bad for now. I’ve no idea why all plates aren’t round. They could still put handles on the round plates if they wanted to, so I don’t see the point of the non-round ones.

Yeah, I saw you post about getting it and Metcalf posted about it on my facebook, haha. Get a video showing off the monolift and bench!

Monolifts don’t have any kind of safety bars do they? Probably a good idea to set something up like SPF does with the chains or something, I dunno. Sounds really awesome though, and yes… I am jealous, lol.

126

12-5-11

Strict Standing BB Press
5x95
3x135
1x185
1x205
1x225

Flat DB Bench
4x80
2x110
6x140 +PR

+some pullups, light machine rows, few curls…

Short one… restin up now until I deadlift.

127

damn bro…two bench PR’s in one day? Be careful or you will be in danger of becoming a BOF!!!

Very nice work man…you’re only 10# behind my bench PR now…looks like I have some work to do!

128

Read your first couple pages and your last couple…

You made some serious gains in a few months, good shit.

129

12-8-11

Conventional Deadlift
6x135
4x225
2x315
1x405
1x495
1x585
1x635+15 LB PR

That felt like such a grind. Form could be better I guess but I’m happy enough with it considering how hard it was. I am pretty happy with this since when I hit 620 it was with an Okie Deadlift bar… and I’m pretty sure I can get like 20 lbs of that bar. The bar I’m using at the base I train at is just an old crappy semi-rusted bar with worn knurling.

I’m back to hovering around 260 bodyweight again. I really do need to force myself to stop trying to ‘lean out’ like every 6 months, lol. I always just get mad and end up putting the weight back on real fast, and my progress would be better if I just maintained this weight and slowly get up to 275. My belt is pretty tight again which you can see in the video, and it makes me look like I have a decent gut, lol. In a regular shirt I don’t look to bad.

I broke a 1000 lb push/pull (in the gym). My goals now are to get back to a more balanced training schedule and get my squat up, and get back to hitting all my lower body supplement work again, because it’s been lacking lately. I’ve tested my maxes though and should get back to training with a bit more volume.

130

[quote]VTBalla34 wrote:
damn bro…two bench PR’s in one day? Be careful or you will be in danger of becoming a BOF!!!

Very nice work man…you’re only 10# behind my bench PR now…looks like I have some work to do![/quote]

Haha… I wish my bench was strong enough to be a BOF.

I’m sure you will keep ahead of me, lol. I just need to stop trying to drop weight and keep trying to keep the lifts moving in the right direction.

131

[quote]FearFactory wrote:
Read your first couple pages and your last couple…

You made some serious gains in a few months, good shit.[/quote]

Thanks man. In reality though I hit a 20lb bench PR and 15 lb deadlift PR, which I set the previous PRs several months ago.

I was dieting for a few months and got down to almost 230, then said screw it and went back to eating and well probably ate too much too fast, lol. I’m just gonna try to maintain my weight now so hopefully I can keep the lifts moving up and not try to be a runway model this time.

132

i’ve heard all of this before:) you get big and then decide that it’s time to get back into your bikini. you really need to fight the urge. powerlifters are supposed to be big, ugly and strong.

awesome job on the deadlift… you did a great job at being patient. your sticking point has always been at lockout. luckily you didn’t run out of air.

you’ve been making great progress over there…must be all that faggy tea you’ve been drinking:) or maybe the beret.

going to try out the monolift this coming week. can’t fucking weight. it’s really easy to use.

133

[quote]maraudermeat wrote:
i’ve heard all of this before:) you get big and then decide that it’s time to get back into your bikini. you really need to fight the urge. powerlifters are supposed to be big, ugly and strong.

awesome job on the deadlift… you did a great job at being patient. your sticking point has always been at lockout. luckily you didn’t run out of air.

you’ve been making great progress over there…must be all that faggy tea you’ve been drinking:) or maybe the beret.

going to try out the monolift this coming week. can’t fucking weight. it’s really easy to use. [/quote]

I think the urge will be less since I’m over here and it’s always rainy and cold, lol. Plus, I’ve been growing my beard out, which is probably helping my strength right? I’ll take a picture of it when it gets a bit longer. I saw your beard in the new equipment video and it’s gettin pretty long.

Yeah, I think I’m still getting better at locking out those slow deadlifts, because that one felt like it hurt my arms I was pulling on it so long, but it kept moving. I think I was pretty close to running out of air, because I felt pretty lightheaded afterwards, and I had the red speckles all over my face and shoulders, lol.

I think the progress is from eating again… right now I just had a banana and shake for breakfast getting ready to head to the gym in a little while, and as I’m typing this I’m eating a slice of pumpkin pie with whipped cream. :smiley:

Monolift looks awesome. I was going to call ya last night but got really tired… anyway, I was going to say if you could keep an eye out for a deadlift bar I want to get my hands on one. I’ll probably just have to buy one new because I think it’s impossible to find a used one from anyone. They are like $400 I think, which isn’t as much as I thought they would be… but I’m not sure what the shipping will be to over here.

134

Scott, I was just looking through all your old videos… and I first pulled 600 in February of 2010!! In a few months that will be 2 years ago. Makes it feel like I haven’t progressed much in it. Although, my bench and squat have gone up quite a bit, and I’m going to keep hitting the squat hard now, so hopefully the deadlift will keep going up too.

135

12-10-11

Strict Standing Press
5x95
5x135
10x155

Close-Grip Flat BB Bench *Paused, against purple mini bands +60 lbs @ chest & +130 lbs @ lockout
3x135
1x185
1x225
1x250

Pullups
6xBW+45
8xBW

V-Bar Pushdowns
15x95(stack)

Gonna use a 5/3/1 type progression for the standing press. I really liked the close-grip against bands. Found a good setup so I am going to do those for a few weeks. Didn’t go too heavy on them yet, although at lockout it felt heavy as hell, lol.

136

[quote]Joweeee wrote:

[quote]maraudermeat wrote:
i’ve heard all of this before:) you get big and then decide that it’s time to get back into your bikini. you really need to fight the urge. powerlifters are supposed to be big, ugly and strong.

awesome job on the deadlift… you did a great job at being patient. your sticking point has always been at lockout. luckily you didn’t run out of air.

you’ve been making great progress over there…must be all that faggy tea you’ve been drinking:) or maybe the beret.

going to try out the monolift this coming week. can’t fucking weight. it’s really easy to use. [/quote]

I think the urge will be less since I’m over here and it’s always rainy and cold, lol. Plus, I’ve been growing my beard out, which is probably helping my strength right? I’ll take a picture of it when it gets a bit longer. I saw your beard in the new equipment video and it’s gettin pretty long.

Yeah, I think I’m still getting better at locking out those slow deadlifts, because that one felt like it hurt my arms I was pulling on it so long, but it kept moving. I think I was pretty close to running out of air, because I felt pretty lightheaded afterwards, and I had the red speckles all over my face and shoulders, lol.

I think the progress is from eating again… right now I just had a banana and shake for breakfast getting ready to head to the gym in a little while, and as I’m typing this I’m eating a slice of pumpkin pie with whipped cream. :smiley:

Monolift looks awesome. I was going to call ya last night but got really tired… anyway, I was going to say if you could keep an eye out for a deadlift bar I want to get my hands on one. I’ll probably just have to buy one new because I think it’s impossible to find a used one from anyone. They are like $400 I think, which isn’t as much as I thought they would be… but I’m not sure what the shipping will be to over here.[/quote]

yep… beard is grow’n. i’m going on 6 weeks now. it’s getting really cold now so it’s easier to just let it go.

you are definitely getting better at lockout. it’s just one of those things that you have to grind out. i’m going to attempt something like 810-815 tomorrow on the reverse band deads. hopefully i’ll be able to grind it out as well.

i’m sure shipping will be a good bit unfortuantely. maybe just keep your eye out for a used one over there. it may take some time though.

137

[quote]Joweeee wrote:
Scott, I was just looking through all your old videos… and I first pulled 600 in February of 2010!! In a few months that will be 2 years ago. Makes it feel like I haven’t progressed much in it. Although, my bench and squat have gone up quite a bit, and I’m going to keep hitting the squat hard now, so hopefully the deadlift will keep going up too.[/quote]

any progress once you get into the 600’s is good progress. gaines come slower once you reach a certain level of strength.

i think you’ve made awesome progress. definitely considering your circumstances. i was watching your bench video against bands and had to listen to the horrible radio station that you are forced to listen to.

138

3648×2736 1.25 MB

here’s my beard at 6 weeks… bring it!!!

139

12-12-11

Squats
6x135
4x225
1x315
1x365
1x405
1x475
0x535 *started coming up but fell forward
0x535 *crap

Well, I know I am not in my prime for squatting right now but felt like I could hit a PR… and 475 went up pretty fast so my plan was to go for like 515 which I probably would have got…

Then I started thinking… hey I just pulled 635 I’ll go for 535 because then I’m only 100 lbs behind on my squat!! Well if I form was better I might have got it on that first one, but I tried it again thinking I just missed it cause I fell forward. I probably shouldn’t have though and just called it a day, because on that second attempt my form went to shit and my knees wobbled all over the place.

Pretty pissed off because the next day my right knee is hurting some, and this morning it is still hurting, and there is some bruising on the back of the knee that wasn’t there before. Just gonna take it easy until saturday when we go snowboarding and hope it isn’t hurting. We won’t get back until Christmas eve so I won’t be squatting again until that Monday probably, and hope that my knee still doesn’t hurt.

I’m mainly pissed because I should know that I shouldn’t have gone that heavy right now on squats, since I haven’t been squatting a lot lately. The knee wraps were feeling really uncomfortable and throwing me off so I need to get used to using them again. They were so tight I think they might be what caused some bruising on the back of my knee… I’m hoping that’s all it is anyway.

Gonna do some bench today.

140

[quote]maraudermeat wrote:
any progress once you get into the 600’s is good progress. gaines come slower once you reach a certain level of strength.

i think you’ve made awesome progress. definitely considering your circumstances. i was watching your bench video against bands and had to listen to the horrible radio station that you are forced to listen to. [/quote]

Yeah you’re right… I’m hoping to get that 675 next year! :smiley:

Lol, yeah well I just got my iTouch all hooked up last night but gotta put all my music on it tonight. I’ll probably just have my headphones on the whole time I’m at the gym then.

It’s not that bad though, no one bothers me about what I’m doing and most of the guys there are marines so they can appreciate the weight I’m moving. If you look at my 695 reverse band pull they all started clapping afterwards, lol. So in that sense it’s cool, but the powerlifting atmosphere just isn’t there.