Meet went well. Will do a write up of the results once I can edit the videos and get them on youtube.
Time for a little write up of my meet.
Squat:
warmups:
135x5
225x5
225x3 (did another set because I started warming up really early and ended up with a lot of time before my first lift)
315x2
335x1
Attempts:
170kg, 375lb GOOD
182.5kg, 413lb GOOD
202.5kg, 446lb GOOD, 55lb meet PR
All this lifts felt great, and I had no trouble with the commands. It was easier to unrack out of the rack they had than the power rack with gigantic j-hookes I’m used to.
Bench:
warmups:
barx10
95x5
135x3
175x2
205x1
Attempts:
107.5kg, 241 lb GOOD
120kg, 265 GOOD, 17lb meet PR
130kg, 284 FAIL
I knew I was going to have trouble benching as soon as I was done squatting. I was getting all sorts of spasms and cramps in my back, all the way from my traps to my spinal erectors, especially when I’d squeeze my back or arch during my set up. This, coupled with my lack of training for the pause, ended up with me not even getting that 130kg off my chest.
After a shit ton of foam rolling and drinking a shit ton of water, I was good to go for deadlifts.
Deadlift:
warmup:
135x5
225x5
275x3
315x1
365x1
Attempts:
187.5kg, 402lb GOOD
217.5kg, 480lb GOOD
227.5kg, 502lb GOOD, 39lb PR
Every attempt was smooth and felt great. After I got the 480, I knew 500 was possible and I got it. Changing my form to a more narrow stance/grip with the bar closer to my shins to start has really helped.
Meet total:
550kg
1210lb, ~100lb PR
great job black angus!
Definitely good job angus. I will say you should have them lower the wrack some for squats, you lose tightness having to come up to it so high.
Yeah that is definitely something I will do at my next meet. I’m used to a power rack that is slightly higher than it should be, because I have to set the j-hooks either a bit high or so low that I have to quarter squat it out of the rack.
I’ve always preferred slightly low over slightly high to protect my shoulder. Especially on re-racking.
Nice job BA!
Me squatting 365lbs at 190lbs.
Probably could have done 370 or 375 if I didn’t walk it out that far…well, maybe. LOL
[quote]Fletch1986 wrote:
I’ve always preferred slightly low over slightly high to protect my shoulder. Especially on re-racking.[/quote]
The power rack is just slightly high, but to set it lower would be way too low for me.
Jarhead, I would suggest not sticking your elbows out so much. Keep them down a bit more.
[quote]black_angus1 wrote:
[quote]Fletch1986 wrote:
I’ve always preferred slightly low over slightly high to protect my shoulder. Especially on re-racking.[/quote]
The power rack is just slightly high, but to set it lower would be way too low for me.
Jarhead, I would suggest not sticking your elbows out so much. Keep them down a bit more.[/quote]
Sounds good. I am working on a wider/powerlifting stance. I was watching a Dave Tate video of him saying to put the elbows down and hands wider. I am going to try that this week.
I used to have my elbows pointing out like that because I felt that it made my back tighter. However, with my elbows pointing a bit more down, my chest can come up a bit easier, making the weight less likely to fall forward, which is by far the weakest part of my technique.
It doesn’t have to be an extreme change, just have them a bit more down and it will help a lot.
[quote]black_angus1 wrote:
I used to have my elbows pointing out like that because I felt that it made my back tighter. However, with my elbows pointing a bit more down, my chest can come up a bit easier, making the weight less likely to fall forward, which is by far the weakest part of my technique.
It doesn’t have to be an extreme change, just have them a bit more down and it will help a lot.[/quote]
Nice! Will do, I am always open to advice and critique. Thank you!
I’ve got the same issue regarding my elbows, my shoulder mobility is so bad that it really prevents me from getting them under the bar.
I’ve had plenty of shoulder issues in the past, but getting my elbows down a bit during the squat actually makes them feel better, usually.
[quote]black_angus1 wrote:
I’ve had plenty of shoulder issues in the past, but getting my elbows down a bit during the squat actually makes them feel better, usually.[/quote]
i’ve found that it’s much easier to get the elbows down with a high bar position. the lower the bar position the more you need the arms to support the weight. i used to squat with a low bar position but it absolutely killed my shoulders and arms. i was basically supporting all of the weight with my arms to maintain the proper bar position. once i switched to a high bar position i can get my elbows down and there’s no stress at all on my arms or shoulders.
I go with a medium bar set up. I used to squat high bar, but I can hit parallel a bit easier with it lower.
Just did a bodybuilding show June 11. The last chest workout I struggled to get 5 reps at 225. Weighed in for show @170. I’m now in a much better mood and weigh between 185-190.
First max bench day since the show, hit 285 for 3, singles for 315 and 325. Then repped 225 for 15.
Turned 54 last Monday…bench has been stuck at 315 for a couple years. Had decided that maybe holding on to what I got was the best I could hope for.
Planning on a meet in Oct…thinking 330-335…would be a all time pr for me.
Had a powerlifting meet this weekend. Weighed in at 179lbs and lifted RAW. It was the USAPL summer powerfest. I totaled 1367 squatting 507, benching 342, and deadlifting 518. Not as good as I wanted but not bad for having been out of the game for a while. I started another thread about it in the powerlifting section with a video of all my lifts going 8/9 only missing my opening squat.
Congrats greystroke and jsmiley. Looks like both of you have been getting after it. Jsmiley - better keep goin with that squat otherwise I’ll be catching you. Race you to 525?.
[quote]LiquidMercury wrote:
Congrats greystroke and jsmiley. Looks like both of you have been getting after it. Jsmiley - better keep goin with that squat otherwise I’ll be catching you. Race you to 525?.[/quote]
I’ll take that challenge, only because I have hit 520 in the gym. I am a really nervous lifter on stage so I tend to screw up my squat. After that it is smooth sailing. I was hoping to hit 523-535 that day but having to drop some bodyweight hurt me.