Westside/PLing Training Thread

Training Powerlifting
9271

[quote]AshyLarry wrote:

Question to you guys for my roommate. He hasn’t hit a bench PR in 3 weeks now. He follows the same template I do, only today I had him try using just the single board since he always gets planted on his chest.

Some things I’ve noticed about him is that his setup is inconsistent, he cant hold the weight over his chest (always above his shoulders), he can’t control the weight when its coming down, whens it heavy it nearly bounces off his chest. Anyone have some tips I can pass along to him? [/quote]

If it is who I think it is than it is not a matter of technique. The kid is weak and inexperienced not to mention too skinny and he lacks determination. He shouldn’t be doing singles. He doesn’t have the coordination or neural efficacy to benefit from it. Only 3RM and 5RM. It would probably be even better if he just did 5s for awhile. The instability of bar tells me he really needs back and rear shoulder work.

9272

RE lower
dynamic warm up
foam roller
rh 18010
lat abs 10010

reverse band squats mini bands doubled parallel box
2305
ace briefs
3205
4105
5005
550*15

This was a good day in the gym, felt really strong I like the reverse band stuff, helps my ego if nothing else. Going to start a heavy band cycle saturday. Going green bands this saturday, blue next, blue+purple the next week then a de-load.

9273

[quote]Pemdas wrote:

If it is who I think it is than it is not a matter of technique. The kid is weak and inexperienced not to mention too skinny and he lacks determination. He shouldn’t be doing singles. He doesn’t have the coordination or neural efficacy to benefit from it. Only 3RM and 5RM. It would probably be even better if he just did 5s for awhile. The instability of bar tells me he really needs back and rear shoulder work. [/quote]

Yea it is who you’re thinking. You’re right about the determination for sure, something I’ve been on his case about for a while.

I’ll make him start doing 5RM on ME day from now on and like 10-12 on DE. For the instability thing I’ve got him doing a lot of back work, but again, very reluctant to work hard…

9274

ME Upper

45x?
95x2x5
135x3
165x3
185x3
2-Board
225x3
255x3
275x1
295x1 - This was lighting fast
305x0 - I might have had this if I picked my attempts better.
280x1
285x1

I didn’t get a PR today, but I still felt good about how things went. 295 felt lighter then it ever has.

3-Board Close Grip
225x3x5

Pull-ups
BW+10x5x8

Seated Row
150x5x10

Reverse Flies
55x4x8

Some External Rotation stuff.

DONE!! - Pretty good training today.

9275

Sheiko #37- W2 D2- 1/23/08- Wednesday

Brief foam rolling on front of lower body

1)Deadlift to Knees
(50%)255x5
(60%)305x4 x4
(70%)355x4 x4 x4 x4

2)Narrow Grip Bench (pinkies on rings- all reps paused)
(50%)140x5
(60%)170x5 x5
(70%)195x4 x4 x4 x4 x4

3A)Flat DB Fly
15x10 x10 x10 x10 x10

3B)Seated DB Lateral Raise
35x12 x10 x10

4)Deadlift
(50%)255x4
(60%)305x4
(70%)355x3 (belt on) x3
(75%)385x3 x3 x3 x3 x3

5A)DB Static Lunges
35x5 x5 x5 x5 x5

5B)Seated Wide Neutral Grip Cable Rows (with thoracic flexion)
140x10 x10 x8

6)Standing Twisting DB Curls
35x8 x6

Contrast Showers: 20s cold/90s hot x 4

Notes: Good, fun session today. Any day I get to deadlift is a good day. Anyhow, changed up the bench grip to get a little more work in the triceps. Tried rounding my upper back forward on the cable row as per Jason Ferrugia. He makes the point that to contract a muscle optimally, it has to be stretched first, so I decided to give it a try.

Figured it’s a better idea to wear a belt on my “heavier” DL sets just for safety. It’s easy to get lazy with my form, so I’m doing best to start from a solid position and not stiff-leg it. I think I did pretty well.

Measured my heart rate for fun when supersetting the DB Lunges and Rows and it was at 164BPM, 82% of my max HR. Measured my resting HR yesterday midday and it was 62BPM

Fun volume starts next week! :slight_smile:

-Matt

9276

2008.01.23

Sheiko #32 Week 2 Day 2

Deadlift to Knees
265x3x1
320x2x2
345x2x2
370x1x3

Bench Press
135x3x1
160x3x1
185x3x2
215x3x2
225x2x3

Deadlift
265x3x1
320x3x1
370x3x2
425x3x5

Hanging Leg Raise
BWx12x3

Notes
~75 min. Grip was good. I’ve been using my grippers consistently (haven’t logged my training w/ them) and I think they’ve helped to toughen my hands.

9277

Thursday, ME Upper:

Notes, the weather is “only” 58 degrees F today and my body needed a substantial warmup today.

1-board presses:
(warmup) :
-20kg (44lb) x10
-40kg (88lb) x8
-50kg (110lb) x5
-60kg (132lb) x3
-70kg (154lb) x3
-80kg (176lb) x3
-90kg (198lb)x3
Triple Attempts:
-100kg (220lb) x2 (I had the third, but my “spotter” who SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER, saw the bar slow down and decided to “help” me finish the rep. Boy, did I lose my temper there).
-100kg (220lb) x3 (PR +2reps)., Third rep was a grinder, albeit, not an eye-poppping, blood-vessel shattering, one.

45 degree incline DB Presses:
-29kg: 7,6,4 (all new weight/rep PR’s)

Standing Lat Pulldown Pressdowns:
5th pinhole: 11,11,9 (all new weight/rep PR’s)

Standing DB Overhead Presses (palms out, back against a wall):

18kg (about 40lb) each: 6,7,7 (I cheated a little on the last set). (all new weight/Rep PR’s)

STill having that arching problem.

Seated Rows: (Dual stirrups that are welded together, palms facing each other)
11th pin: 8 (too easy so I didn’t count this set reallY)
12th pin: 7,6 (all new rep/weight PR’s)

Done for today. Ugh, I HATE converting KG to lbs as it just takes too much time, but they only have KG out here.

9278

1/24/2008: ME Overhead

A. Push Press
95 x 8
115 x 5
135 x 3
155 x 1
175 x 1
180 x 0
160 x 3 (PR +5 lb)

B. Bradford Press
95 x 8
95 x 8
95 x 5
95 x 5

C. Incline Bench Press
145 x 4 sets x 8 reps

D1. Pull-Up
BW x 1 set x 5 reps
BW x 3 sets x 4 reps

D2. Kneeling Cable Crunch
160 x 4 sets x 15 reps

Now that I’ve got a pair of wrist wrap, I’m gonna start working on overhead stuff again. Each of the rep on the overhead felt really solid with the wraps on. Even the 175 which matched my previous PR felt decent. I should have taken a little bit longer for my attempt at 180.

I might have gotten my sticking point at my nose if I had a little bit more rest. Well, matching a PR after such a long time off on an exercise isn’t too bad I guess. I’m kinda curious to see how sore my wrists will be tonight and tomorrow.

9279

ME Bench Press

barxtons
95x5
115x3
135x3
145x3
155x2
165x2, missed the third
165x2, missed the third

Incline DB Bench 40x12 (PR+3 reps), 45x7 (PR+10)

Barbell Bent Over Rows 115x10, 125x10 (PR+4 reps), 135x8 (PR+2 reps), 115x8

EZ Curls 55x2x12

Shrugs 135x8, 10, 12

I really wanted 165 for a triple, but I went after it with all I had and it just wasn’t happening. Oh well, I’ll get it next time. I got some incline dumbbell pr’s instead.

9280

RE upper
dynamic warm up
foam roller
face pulls 220
v grip pull downs 10020 15020
clings 2010 30*10

incline bench close grip
9510
13510
18510
22510

decline bench close grip
13510
22510
31510
22520

chins 3 sets 5 reps
tri push downs with the rope

9281

1/25/08: DE Lower

Box Squat:
45x10
Added chains (+45 per side)
45x5
95x5
135x3
185x2
225x2x6
275x1
315x1
325x1

SLDL:
275x5x2
225x10x2

Cable Pull through:
240x12x5

Ab Pulldown:
70x10x5

I got my Inzer 13mm the other day and couldn’t wait to try it out, so I did a few singles squatting. Holy shit does that belt make a difference. Last time I tried 315 plus chains it was almost the hardest thing ever. I freakin breezed right through it, and 325 was just as easy.

Also, I got the wrist wraps and my wrists hurt 100% less than normal. Awesome…

9282

01/25/08 - Lower (RE)

A) 14" Box Squat w/Yoke Bar
barx12
170x6
260x5
310x3
350x6
370x6 (PR +20lbs)
390x6 (PR +40lbs)

B) Conventional Deadlift Technique Work
135x6
135x6
225x3
225x3
225x3
225x3
315x3
315x3

C) Rack Pulls (Pin #4 - Bottom of Patella)
225x3
315x3
315x3
315x3
365x3
365x3
365x3

D) Wide Grip Pullups (Band Assisted)
10
10
10
10

E) Modifed GHR on 45 Degree Hyper w/Avg Band
8
8
8

F) Weighted Abs on 45 Degree Hyper
25lbx10
25lbx10
25lbx10

The Yoke Bar felt great today. 370 was a hard set, and I almost repeated it for my last set, but threw caution to the wind and threw another 20lbs on. These felt solid, and I was very aware of not rocking back on this movement. I’ll probably go for 400 next week.

It looks like a ton of volume, but a lot of this was super light. I recorded every set, and went back after each one to look at my form. I’m really going to work on form on these. I kept wanting to clean 135. It was just too light to get any sort of feel for.

I’m trying to get my hips and shoulders to rise at the same time on these, without “squatting the weight up”. This is definitely going to take some reprogramming.

Rack pulls felt good. I kept them light as well, just to work on form. I feel like these were better than the full pulls. I think if I could get to rack pull height in a good position, I’d be doing alright.

I used a band for the pullups so I could focus on engaging the lats (I tend to pull with my bi’s), and paused each one at the top.

9283

Friday, 1/25/2008: RE Lower

A. Romanian Deadlift
135 x 8
225 x 8
275 x 8
275 x 8

B. Angled Leg Press
630 x 8
630 x 6
630 x 6
630 x 4
270 x 15

Today’s session was short and quick, but oh, did I take a beating. Doing 8 reps with 275 is quite a burn on my lower back. I was trying to explode each rep but by the last couple reps, it was more of a slow grind than an explosion. It’s been a while since I’ve done RDLs and I like 'em. :smiley:

9284

DE Lower

Blue Bands - last week thank god
45x2
65x2
85x2
105x2
125x5x2
155x1
185x1
225x1
245x1
265x1 - This was a bitch. (Baseline PR)

SLDL
225x8
275x6
295x6
315x6 Rep PR + 2
335x6 PR + 40lb for this rep scheme

Leg Press
14 Plates x5x10

Ab-Pulldowns
130x3x15

I was really happy with todays training. I didn’t know what to expect working up with blue bands, but 265 isn’t shabby. I would say that the tension + the bar weight at the top was beyond my free squat PR.

I can’t say for sure, but it sure felt like it out of the rack. I am done with them for now. Back to the light bands for a cycle. The SLDLs went really well too. I am totally fried right now, but in a good way.

DONE!!

9285

Upper (1-23-2008)
Bench Press
Bar x20
135x5
185x5
215x5
205x5

Close grip manpon press
205x5
205x3

Standing 1 Arm DB press
65x8
70x8
75x5

Pull (1-25-2008)
1-arm DB rows
75x5
95x5
115x5
135x5

Pull ups (med grip neutral)
65x5
65x5

DB alternating hammer curls
55’sx5,5

DB alternating curls
55’sx5

Belt squat
100x10
150x8
200x5
210x5

Not bad for a guy with a herniated disk. Prob shouldn’t be doing the the overhead stuff, but it doesn’t hurt or make my leg go numb, so I’ll keep doing them. Being real careful with the back stuff, so far so good. Belt squats to work the legs with out loading the back, though it may be ok at this point to do regular squats. Doc says I can’t make it any worse structurally, all I can do is make the nerve angry at me. I can’t stand not working out so I’m willing to take the risk.

MRI was pretty grim - disk is completely herniated, so I guess I got off lucky so far as level of painfulness goes. See another doc for a second opinion on the MRI and what I should do for treatment on the 31st of Jan. Procedure is supposed to be pretty non-invasive these days, with me possibly being back on my feet in a week or even less. Got my fingers crossed.

I’m using my wifes yoga mat and a mini jumpstretch flex band to hold it in place to do soft board pressing. Strange sensation, but easy on the joints. More so than going off the pins. Gonna keep doing these for heavy day. Sticking with 5’s until the joints get re- accustomed to the weights. May stay there. I got strongest doing a single set of 5 heavy and then 5 @ 10% less 3 times a week.

Legs have gotten real weak. I don’t know what percentage of standard squat a belt squat ought to be, but I sure can’t handle as much weight in it as I can a standard squat. The cool thing about the belt squat is that it tractions the spine a bit in just the area I need it - L5,S1 joint.

If the weather clears up, I want to go work the sled at the PL gym I haven’t been able to use yet as well as light reverse hypers. I think I can rehab this sucker faster if I can use that…

9286

1/25/2008 ME upper
bench
bar x 12
95 x 5
135 x 3
185 x 3
225 x 3
265 x 2 x 5

2 board
265 x 3 x 3

incline db
65 x 10
75 x 10
85 x 10
95 x 7

chins
BW x 6, 6, 6 The number of the beast!!

DB cleans 10 x 15 x 3

Form is still so-so on the heavy weights on bench. Reps were smooth for the most part, but could use a bit more power at the bottom (I’m sure that will be a constant forever). We figure that will be my opener at the meet and then I was thinking 20 lb jumps. 305 would be really good for me with a pause. The dumbbell in my left hand rolled on the last two sets of db presses which was annoying. I could have squeezed out another with the 95s maybe otherwise. Something to shoot for next week.

9287

2008.01.25

Sheiko #32 Week 2 Day 3

Bench Press
135x3x1
160x3x1
185x3x2
215x3x5

Squat
235x3x1
280x3x2
325x3x2
375x3x6

Bench Press
135x4x1
160x4x1
185x4x4

Chin-up
BW+15x5x5

Notes
My back was pretty stiff and fatigued from deadlift on Wednesday, so I used a belt for the 325 and 375lb squat sets. My right shoulder felt a bit funky…I slept on that side last night.

9288

thursday’s training:

lockouts below the knees up to 430kg (946lbs):

last year I was able to deadlift 370kg (814lbs) but at that sticky point I could only lift about 300kg (660lbs).

my right knee and ankle ached a little since the frontsquat accident on monday but the show most go on… :wink:

9289

01/26/08 - Upper (RE)

A) Flat Bench (5x5)
barx15
135x8
185x5
225x3
275x1
300x5x5

B) Serratus Press
315x6
365x6
405x6x3

C) Overhead Lockouts (Pin #19)
135x3
185x3
225x7x3

D1) Reverse EZ Curls
50x5
70x8
80x8
80x10

D2) Wrist Roller (reverse,forward)
10x5,5
10x5,5
10x5x5

I forgot how hard it was to breath on sets of 5 on bench press. I finally settled on doing the first 3 reps, then taking a big breath and trying to get two more, but it’s tough to stay tight after you exhale the first time. These felt good today, I’ll bump it to 305 or 310 next week and see what happens.

I thought 7 reps was a PR on the overheads so I didn’t get greedy, and just went for three straight sets. I had looked at the wrong day in my log when I got 225x6x3. Last week I got 225x8,7,6 so today was not a PR, but the volume was comparable. Dammit, I knew I should have gotten greedy. :wink:

Forearms are on fire from the reverse curl/wrist roller supersets.

9290

[quote]shane54 wrote:
thursday’s training:

lockouts below the knees up to 430kg (946lbs):

last year I was able to deadlift 370kg (814lbs) but at that sticky point I could only lift about 300kg (660lbs).

my right knee and ankle ached a little since the frontsquat accident on monday but the show most go on… ;-)[/quote]

Looking strong on those rack pulls. Heal up fast, that front squat video was crazy, glad you escaped with only minor injuries.