[quote]FarmerBrett wrote:
Congratulations on the meet results.
I think it’s funny that you made your own slingshot. You and MJ could write a book together. The home hobby craft book for powerlifters. Featuring your slingshot, his homemade prowler and lifting shoes and a monolift made entirely from loo rolls and pipe cleaners!
Start logging again, I miss your sarcastic wit.[/quote]
x2
Nice video! And I see you guys enlisted the help of an aspiring movie director?
Cleans
bar-4
65-3
95-3
105-3
115-0
115-3 high pulls
115-1,1
120-0
120-3x3 high pulls
Push press
95-5
100-2
105-0
95-4,4
75-12
Zerchers
135-5
145-5
155-5
165-5
185-5
I tried wrapping a belt around the back of my neck to hang onto to take my arms out of the equation a bit and it worked well. You have to be careful though, if you let the belt ride too high, you get the auto asphyxiation effect. I tried to let it ride lower on my traps.
[quote]kpsnap wrote:
Always a clever idea in here. But for some reason I giggled my way through that vid. That beanie is WAY cute on you.[/quote]
It’s a collector item. It’s from the gym run by Tom Nicholls, one of Canada’s premier powerlifters and meet director at nationals. It adds tons to my lifts.
I kind of wore it as a joke but the truth is, it’s still a bit cool up here and I like it keeping my brain warm.
We’ve decided to stay kind of away from the competition lifts for a week or two and try out some variations.
Tonight was:
Belt squats
25-8
50-8
75-8
100-8
115-9
If you’ve never tried these, they are deceptively tough. We used our home made dip belt and stood on our wooden boxes with the plates dropping between. Squatting with quarters on a chain we could get below parallel. The last set we did with 35s so they weren’t as deep. The work was pure hips and glutes and the movement of the plates added an element of balance. I don’t think I could go all that much heavier. I will definately do them again.
Suitcase lifts with a standard bar
65-8
75-8
90-8 ended up hook gripping these
The length of the bar made it swingy and hard to control.
Seated OHP
bar-8
65-8
70-6,5
Chins
3x5
In the past week, we’ve done front squats, zerchers and belt squats. If anyone has any other interesting variations that aren’t single leg, I’d love to hear about them.
Bench
bar-10
65-5
95-3
115-1
115-3 with sling shot - the version made for me with the old THP wraps
135-3
145-3
155-3
165-2
155-2x3 paused reps
135-12
I had a realisation today with my bench. If I push straighter towards my feet kind of, my stroke is significantly shorter. I’ve always benched up and back like a ‘j’ stroke and today I suddenly just got into the groove with a shorter straight stroke.
[quote]ouroboro_s wrote:
I had a realisation today with my bench. If I push straighter towards my feet kind of, my stroke is significantly shorter. I’ve always benched up and back like a ‘j’ stroke and today I suddenly just got into the groove with a shorter straight stroke.
[/quote]
My coach always tells me to push away. I’m not always successful. But it certainly shortens the stroke.
[quote]ouroboro_s wrote:
I had a realisation today with my bench. If I push straighter towards my feet kind of, my stroke is significantly shorter. I’ve always benched up and back like a ‘j’ stroke and today I suddenly just got into the groove with a shorter straight stroke.
[/quote]
My coach always tells me to push away. I’m not always successful. But it certainly shortens the stroke.[/quote]
Interesting. I find pushing in a straight line harder on my shoulders and if I stall it’s over. For me, the “J” stroke is longer but the lockout is much easier.
Training is going on. Yesterday I did some DB rows with 90s for a set of 10. That was cool. I used straps but it still aggravated my hand since I’d torn a callous once again doing rack pulls.
Last Wednesday we went to the commercial gym and some jojo had occupied the rack doing, admittedly legit, power rack type stuff but he was taking for freaking ever. We were doing zerchers and started on the squat rack pulling up off the fixed pins and walking it out of the rack. Jojo came over to talk to us and asked if we were powerlifters. Mostly he talked to BB who has a knack for attacting every sad and lonely soul in need of a buddy within a miles radius. He talking about training strength for his sport. It turns out he plays for the Toronto Argonauts and was shaking hands and being a little star. At that point in time, the only thing he was to me was Bryan, get the fuck out of the rack.
He finally left and we did rack pulls which is when I tore up my hand.
Friday we squatted and I did a couple of sets at the end going as wide as I could. My depth sucked but one of the guys at nationals who is a good sumo puller recommended wide squats to a box as an assistance to deadlift. We didn’t have boxes but holey hamstrings and hips. It’s a completely different feel. It was like a dead stop rather than the typical spring in the hole.
I’d been reading earlier in another thread about wall squats. I was saying to BB that I didn’t see what it would do for squats unless you’re wide. I don’t buy it for narrowe(er) squatters. When I started playing around, I was thinking that it might be another good accessory for dead lift. He keeps telling me to stay upright when I pull. I tend to lean and use my back. Doing mock pulls against a wall makes you drive with your hips and legs. I did them with DBs like a goblet squat. We’ll see if that does anything. I’m looking at putting a lot more strength to my hips.
[quote]ouroboro_s wrote:
If you’ve never tried these, they are deceptively tough. We used our home made dip belt and stood on our wooden boxes with the plates dropping between. Squatting with quarters on a chain we could get below parallel. The last set we did with 35s so they weren’t as deep. The work was pure hips and glutes and the movement of the plates added an element of balance. I don’t think I could go all that much heavier. I will definately do them again.
[/quote]
Ironmind makes a belt that hooks to a hanging barbell so you can get some real heavy squats. At least they used to. I got one and tried it. If you thought it’s tough to balance a few plates, try balancing a swinging barbell. Haven’t used mine in years.
[quote]ouroboro_s wrote:
I’d been reading earlier in another thread about wall squats. I was saying to BB that I didn’t see what it would do for squats unless you’re wide. I don’t buy it for narrowe(er) squatters. [/quote]
So interesting. I said the same thing on some thread on the PL forum and got slammed and talked to like I am a fucking idiot. People are so rude.
[quote]ouroboro_s wrote:
I’d been reading earlier in another thread about wall squats. I was saying to BB that I didn’t see what it would do for squats unless you’re wide. I don’t buy it for narrowe(er) squatters. [/quote]
So interesting. I said the same thing on some thread on the PL forum and got slammed and talked to like I am a fucking idiot. People are so rude.[/quote]
That’s the one I was referring to. I was going to jump in but then thought, why bother hijacking the guys thread. I think sometimes things are repeated as gospel without a whole lot of thought being put behind them.
For instance, I’m constantly reading to squat by breaking at the hips first. I squat by shooting out my knees first and dropping into the hole. If I lead with my hips, I have a propensity to good morning. It seems like leading with the hips works best if you squat wide. I’ve experimented a fair bit. I’ve yet to get an answer as to why you lead with the hips. I don’t mean an adequate answer; I mean any at all. That tells me that not many people really know why. That’s just what they’ve been told and will repeat it ad nauseum. That’s why I didn’t bother jumping in with ‘wall squat’ guy. He just knows what he knows.
It does seem that wall squats are the latest thing despite the fact that they’ve been around for a while. It’s not a cure all, just something to try.
