The Musings of an Iron Junkie

Deadlift

2008-08-28T07:44:00.002-05:00

Band stepdowns
1x10
Wall Squats
1x10

Deadlift
1x5 280
1x5 295
1x5 315

High rack pull (above knee)
1x5 315
1x5 335
1x5 365
1x5 385
1x5 390
1x5 395

Mid rack pull (top shin/below knee)
1x5 225
1x5 275
1x5 315
1x5 325
1x5 330
1x5 335

Today was a good session. I like how I've integrated the metal militia concepts into my training. We'll see what it does to my main lifts 4 weeks.

Bench

2008-08-27T07:39:00.002-05:00

Scap pushups
1x10
band pullaparts
1x15 monster mini

Bench
1x5 180
1x5 190
1x5 205

Close grip 5 board, metal militia style
1x6 225
1x5 275
1x5 295
1x5 315
2x5 325
2x5 330

Close grip Rack lockouts
1x5 135
1x5 225
1x5 275
1x5 315
1x5 335
1x5 345

This was a great session. I spent those early sets on the board presses trying to get myself to touch low enough. At about 295 I started getting it mostly correct and my last set was perfect. It feels way different than what I had been doing before, so I'm curious to see how it helps my bench. Rack lockouts went well. I think these movements are really going to allow me to bring up my shirted and raw bench without sacrificing one of them. My lats are incredibly sore today. I imagine this is from handling heavy weights with my improved set up. I'm now more on my upper traps and have adjusted my feet (heels turned more out) so that I'm tighter and can drive more. Keep moving forward...

Deload Squat

2008-08-25T09:10:00.002-05:00

Band stepdowns
1x10
Leg swings
1x10

Squat
235x5
250x5
260x5

High box squat
4x3 315

Mid box (just above)
3x3 295

Side Bends
4x15 85/side
Reverse Hypers
4x10 130

Good deload on the main movement. My next cycle I'm incorporating a couple concepts from Metal Milita so I wanted to get a feel for those exercises today before I jump all the way in next week. The high box squats were hard, which shows a weakness. It also will help train me to keep a bit more upright. I feel the side bends and helping out also. Deloading all this week and back to it next week.

Deadlift

2008-08-21T13:41:00.001-05:00

Band stepdowns
1x10
Wall squat
1x10
ankle mobility
1x10

Deadlift
warm up
belt on
1x5 335
1x3 385
1x4 425

Leg press
4x20 4plates/side

Bench

2008-08-20T13:42:00.002-05:00

Scap pushups
1x10
Monster mini pull aparts
1x15

Bench
warm up
1x5 225 + 2chains/side
1x3 250 + 2 chains/side
1x3 280 no chains

DB Bench
4x12 85/hand

Side laterals
4x15 20/hand

Flys
4x12 20/hand

Tricep death
2 sets

Probably shouldn't have done the chain work, but it was what it was. 280x3 was better than projected, so I know I'm on the right path.

Squat

2008-08-18T08:53:00.002-05:00

Band stepdowns
1x10 green band
Leg swings
1x10 each leg/each way
ankle mobility

Squat
warm up
235x2 light band
235x2 light band, 1 chain
235x2 light band, 2 chain
235x2 light band, 3 chain
285x2 light band, 3 chain
365x4 no band, no chain

lat pulldown, triangle grip
4x10 160

DB Rows
4x12 95/hand

Reverse hyper
4x10 120
Side Bends
4x15/side 80/hand

This was a pretty good workout. the 365 was supposed to be 95% of my projected max, so I feel good about getting 4 reps. The band+chain stuff was done with one of my team mates, it was all fairly easy. I'm feeling good and the weights are moving in the right direction.

Military Press

2008-08-18T08:49:00.002-05:00

Miltary press
warm up
1x3 125
1x3 135
1x6 145

Branford press
4x10 70

Upright Rows
4x10 100

Rear Delt on hammer strength
4x15 85

Gunz
various

Wasn't really feeling up to much before the session but once I started it got better. Everything continues to go well.

Deadlift

2008-08-14T08:02:00.002-05:00

ankle mobility
1x10/leg
Wall squat
1x10
Square dance
1x2/side
Band stepdowns
1x10/leg

Deadlift, conventional
warm up
add belt
1x3 360
1x3 385
1x6 405

Leg Press
2x20 4 plates/side
2x12 4 plates/side

Leg Extensions
2x25 140
2x20 160

Leg curls
2x20 90
2x15 120

abz

This was a good session. Deadlifts felt good and my form was really good. I'm knocking on the door to some PR's.

Bench Press

2008-08-14T07:58:00.002-05:00

Scap pushups
1x10
Band pull aparts
1x15 Monster Mini

Bench
warm up
1x3 235
1x3 250
1x6 265

DB Bench
4x20 80/hand

Side Laterals
4x15 20/hand

Flys
4x12 20/hand

Band tricep extensions
4x20 monster minis

This was a good session. Reps on the bench felt pretty good. I feel I'm recovering good, so hopefully this will lead to some PR's soon enough.

Squat

2008-08-11T08:33:00.002-05:00

Band stepdowns
1x10/leg
leg swings
1x10/leg/direction

Squat, straight bar w/3 chains per side
warm up
1x3 285
1x3 305
1x1 315
1x3 305

lat pulldowns, triangle grip
4x12 150

DB Rows
4x15 90/hand

Reverse hyper
4x10 110
Side bends
1x15 75/hand

The chains threw off whatever percentages that I was supposed to do. 305 was about right. I really didn't know until I had done 315. So another set of 305 and that was it. I'll be moving up on the pulldowns, rows and side bends. I like following wendler's guidelines about the intensity. I don't feel nearly as beat up as I normally do.

Military Press

2008-08-11T08:27:00.002-05:00

Scap pushups
1x10
Rear delt machine
1x10 80
Torque press
1x10 20/side

Strict Military press
Warm up
1x5 115
1x5 125
1x5 135

Branford Press
3x10 70
1x8 70

Upright rows
4x10 100

Rear delt on hammer machine
4x15 90

Gunz
4x10 70

This was a pretty good session. We'll see how this affects my bench.

Rugby Practice

2008-08-08T08:43:00.002-05:00

So I went to my first rugby practice yesterday. It was fun, tiring as hell but fun. I learned a lot and hopefully I'll feel confident enough by the spring in order to get involved in some games.

As a side note, I understand why Will cuts his bodyweight squat test off at 100kg's. It's not because he doesn't have athlete's any fatter or safety. It's because no idiot would ever expect to play rugby or anything similar at more that that. Especially not at 260 ish lbs.

Deadlift

2008-08-07T08:03:00.002-05:00

Band stepdowns
1x10/side green band

Deadlift
Warm up
add belt
335x5
360x5
385x5

Leg Press
1x20 1 plate/side
1x20 2 plates/side
1x20 3 plates/side
1x20 4 plates/side

Leg Extensions
4x15 120

Leg Curls
4x15 90

High decline sit ups
1x15
2x10

Pretty good session. I don't feel dead today like I have in the past on ME SQ/Deadlift days, so maybe Wendler's on to something.

Bench

2008-08-06T07:32:00.002-05:00

Scap pushups
1x10
Band pullaparts
1x20 mini

Bench
warm up
225x5
235x5
250x5

DB Bench
4x12 80/hand

Side Laterals
4x15 20/hand

Flyes
4x12 20/hand

Band Tricep extensions
4x20 monster mini

Today was a pretty good day. I could have done more on the set of 250, but wasn't feeling it after the 5th rep. No rest for the weak.

Squat

2008-08-05T07:57:00.002-05:00

Over and unders
1x10
Ankle mobility
1x10/leg

Squat
Warmed up
add belt
1x5 285
1x5 305
1x5 325

Lat pulldowns
4x10 150

DB Rows
4x15 90/arm

Side Bends
4x15 70/side

This session is brought to you by Memphis BBQ and Jim Wendler. My vacation was nice, relaxing and I ate a lot of good southern comfort food. Decided to give his 5/3/1 bodybuilder variation a shot. I struggle with pushing things a bit too much, so I think with his strict guidelines I should be able to make progress at a more steady rate. 325x5 is the highest weight I've ever done reps with. Moving on up.

ME Bench

2008-07-30T08:26:00.002-05:00

2 board bench
worked up to 325

5 board press
1x5 325
3x5 345
1x5 355

Inverted rows to sternum
1x15

Inverted rows to collar bone
3x10

Today was a pretty good session. I had a bit left in the tank, but 325 is up 10lbs from the last time I did 2 board, so I ended it there. I hit some big pr's in the 5 board. 355 is a 30lb pr in that exercise for 5. Hopefully my bench will start moving somewhere again.

RE Lower

2008-07-28T17:24:00.002-05:00

Over and unders
1x10
KB Swings
1x10

Squats
1x10 bar
1x5 135
1x10 195
1x10 175
1x10 195
1x10 175
1x10 195

Zercher deadlifts off of pin at knee level
2x10 105
3x8 105

Chest supported rows
3x10 100
1x15rp 100
Branford press
3x8 65
1x12rp 65

Had to do this today since I'll be on vacation from Thursday through Sunday. Squats went pretty well. Zercher deadlifts were killer again today. Really felt it in my mid/upper back and quads today. Decided I'm going to try something a bit different on my last set of assistance exercises. Those branford presses are torture. Keep moving forward.

ME Lower

2008-07-27T18:14:00.003-05:00

Leg swings
1x10 per way/leg
Band stepdowns
1x10/leg

Safety Bar squats (Assuming 45lb bar, I know it's not)
work up to 1x3 245

Deadlifts against green bands
worked up to 1x3 275

Reverse hyper
4x10 120

Abz

This was a very deceptive session. I finally found a safety squat bar in the area on craigs list, so we bought it. I know it's going to correct a lot of problems. My mid/upper back was so dead after squatting that deadlifts felt slow. I couldn't budge 325 off of the ground (it should have been a pr, but oh well). Keep moving forward.

Upper back

2008-07-25T08:09:00.003-05:00

Scap pushups
1x10
Rear delt
1x10 10/side
Torque press
1x10/side 20/side
Band stepdowns
1x10/side

Bent over rows
5x8 185
Bench press
2x10 185
3x8 185

Strict pullups, green band assist
1x10
1x8
2x7
Standing cable flyes
4x10 15/side

Barbell tri extensions
4x10 70
Barbell curls
4x10 70

That was it for that one. Legs were still a bit sore from the previous session, so I didn't do anything for them today. I figured out today that all that bicep pain that I have been having the last few weeks was from some micro tears in my right bicep, who would have thought. Just more incentive for me to work them so it doesn't happen again. One of my training partners, Phillip Daniels from the Redskins, tore his ACL last week. Keep him in your thoughts for a speedy recovery.

RE Lower

2008-07-24T09:04:00.002-05:00

Over and unders
1x10/side
Ankle Mobility
1x10/side
Square dance
1x2/side
Wall squat
1x8

Squat
1x10 bar
1x5 135
1x10 155
1x10 165
1x10 175
1x10 185
1x10 195

Zercher deadlift off of pins at knee level
5x10 95

Chuck V rows
4x10 140
Branford Press
3x10 65
1x10 65/bar

Today went pretty well. Squats are up 20 lbs from the previous 3 weeks, so that is promising. Zercher deadlifts were evil, but I love them. I noticed after the Chuck V rows that my gym got a chest supported row again finally, so that's what I'll be doing. Branford presses were harder than hell. I've never felt an exercise hit my delts/shoulders so hard. The last set I got 5-6 reps with 65 and just finished up with the bar. I was pretty tired after all that, so I'll probably do lunges next session.

ME Upper

2008-07-22T08:51:00.002-05:00

Some cardio stuff
1x a long time

Scap pushups
1x10

Flat bench
2x8 bar
1x5 135
1x3 185
1x2 225
1x1 245
1x1 275
1x1 295
1x1 305

4 Board press
3x5 315

Chuck V Rows
3x15 150

Decent session today. The rack height on the bench was a little low at the gym, so that sucked. 305 is a 10 lb improvement from 3 weeks ago. I am going to tinker with bringing the bar a bit higher (between the nipples and sternum) that I have been. I think my raw grove matches my shirted grove, hence a shitty raw bench. We'll see. More training to come...

ME Lower

2008-07-21T07:40:00.002-05:00

Windmills
1x8 30/side
Band stepdowns
1x10 green band
Leg swings
1x10/leg each way

Squat
2x5 bar
1x5 135
add reverse light bands (about 45 lbs off at the bottom)
1x3 225
add belt
1x3 315
1x1 365
1x1 405
1x1 455

Reverse green band band deadlift, conventional
worked up to 1x3 455

45* back raises
3x20 10

Various abs

Back felt kind of crappy from last week but once I warmed up it wasn't too bad. I hit the number I wanted to on squats, so I'm happy with that. Onwards and upwards...

Upper back

2008-07-17T19:46:00.002-05:00

Scap pushups
1x10
Rear delt
1x10 10/hand
Torque press
1x10/side 20/side
Band stepdowns
1x10/leg green+purple band

Bent over rows
5x6 185

Strict pullups
1x9 green assist
3x8 green assist
Standing strict cable flyes
4x10 15/side

Barbell tri extension
5x10 60
Barbell curl
5x10 60

Front squat
3x5 135
1x5 155

Today was a decent session. Had to play golf with the boss yesterday, hence no lower training session yesterday. I flared my elbows more on the rows today, which brought the bar to my sternum. Felt it a bit more in my rear delts/upper back like I should. I'd like to thank the elitefts exercise index: bench press for tips on altering form to actually hit the upper back better. Everything else went pretty decent and I'm ready for some heavy squatting on Sun.

ME Upper

2008-07-15T08:16:00.003-05:00

Scap pushups
1x10
Rear Delt
1x10
Torque Press
1x10/side 25

Floor press
1x10 bar
1x5 135
1x5 185
1x3 225
1x1 245
1x1 275
1x1 285

Schwab's
5x5 205

Inverted rows
3x15

Good session today. Next week will be the next time I come back to flat bench, so we'll see how things have improved. My lats seem a bit sore now, probably from actually using them on the floor press and inverted rows. I was training at the regular gym, so I didn't have access to boards. I figured I'd try something different. I made sure that on the schwab''s that I kept the stress on my triceps. I got to borrow the elitefts exercise index Bench Press tape. It's a really good tape. Here are the things I'm going to work on. I'm going to make sure I'm benching metal militia style. Right now I feel as if I'm trying to do a hybrid straight line/metal militia. Hopefully that'll add some lbs to my bench. Also, on my assistance work for my upper back I'm going to try to flare my elbows out some in order to put more stress on my upper back. I've been doing most movements with my elbows tucked which stresses more lat (according to the video). We'll see how that goes. Keep moving forward.

Team Video

2008-07-14T11:14:00.002-05:00

Here's a video of our team. It has some training footage and some meet footage.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=wCdzyZRrkmM

ME Lower

2008-07-12T19:09:00.002-05:00

Eric is out of town, so I met a teammate to train at gold's gym.

Squat
2x6 bar
2x5 135
1x5 185
1x5 225
1x5 245
add belt
1x5 275
1x5 315
1x5 325

Rack pulls, bar at knees against doubled mini bands
1x3 bar
1x3 135
1x3 225
1x3 275
1x3 285
1x3 295

Ghetto reverse hyper
5x10 mini bad

various abs
5x10

Was a pretty good session. I had a little more in me on the last set of squats, but hit the numbers that I wanted to hit so I shut it down. During the last 3 sets of rack pulls I felt like my spine was going to explode. Did some abs and ghetto reverse hypers and called it a day. Next week for a 1 rm and we'll see how things are progressing.

RE lower

2008-07-10T07:50:00.004-05:00

Over and unders
1x10/side
ankle mobility
1x10/leg
Square dance
1x2/way
Band stepdowns
1x10/leg

Squat
1x10 175
1x10 155
1x10 175
1x10 155
1x10 175

GM, closer stance
1x10 155
RDL
1x10 135
1x10 185
3x10 205

Reverse band bench pulls
5x10 doubled purples
DB overhead press
5x10 50's

Walking lunges
5x12 25/side

Pretty good session today. Squats felt good and I'll be working up to a new weight next week. RDL's and GM's continue to be difficult. I find that a closer stance good morning is way better than doing them in my squatting stance. My shoulders felt a bit more stable during the overhead presses today, so I'll probably move up in weight the week after next. Another week almost down.

ME Upper

2008-07-09T08:19:00.002-05:00

Scap pushups
1x10
rear delt
1x10 10/side

Bench, pinkies on rings
2x10 bar
2x5 135
2x3 185
1x2 225
add 2 board
1x1 225
1x1 275
1x1 295
1x1 315

5 board press
5x5 315

Triangle grip pull downs
4x15 140

Pretty good training session. I got a massage yesterday and she made a big positive impact on the amount of pain/discomfort in my pec/bicep. Floor press next week. Then PR time.

ME Lower

2008-07-06T13:43:00.002-05:00

Band stepdowns
1x10/leg green band

Leg swings
1x10/leg

Squat, raw
2x5 bar
2x5 145
1x5 195
1x5 235
add belt
1x5 285
1x5 305

Deadlift, conventional, against green bands
1x3 135
1x3 225
1x3 275
1x3 315

Reverse hyper
5x10 55/side

Today was a good session. Squats felt pretty good. Next week I'm hoping to get 315-335 x 5. Felt comfortable pulling conventional. I felt the band tension hit all at once right above my knees. I'll probably do GM's, RDL's or something like that next week. I'll be keeping the weight on the reverse hypers the same. End of the first week on the new cycle. I feel I'm hitting a lot of things I'm not good at, so I'm curious to see how this affects my strength.

Upper back

2008-07-04T13:31:00.002-05:00

Scap pushups
1x10
Rear delt
1x10
Torque Press
1x10/side 15
Band stepdowns
1x10/side green band

Bent over rows
4x6 185
DB Bench
4x10 90's

Strict pull ups, shoulder width
4x8 green band assist
Flyes
4x10 15/side

Tri extensions, straight bar
4x10 60
Curls, straight bar
4x10 60

calf raises on machine
3x10 220

Felt a bit tired this morning, so I did a little less. Legs still sore from last session. I think with the addition of flyes and curls that my bicep/pec will act up less. Some eating followed by some rest until next time.

RE Lower

2008-07-03T07:51:00.002-05:00

over and unders
1x10

ankle mobility
1x10 each foot

square dance
1x2 each way w/10lb held out in front

wall squat
1x5

Squat
1x10 135
1x10 145
1x10 155
1x10 165
1x10 175

RDL
1x10 135
1x10 185

Good Morning
1x10 135
2x10 155

Seated row, prone, shoulder width grip
4x10 165
overhead db press
4x10 50/hand

walking lunges
3x10 25/side

Today was a pretty good training session. Squats were decent and I obviously displayed my ability to do reps. I'll do a wave next week with 175 and 155 or 165. So next week will end up with 3 sets of 175 and 2 of the other. After that I'll pyramid up to a new weight. I'll probably continue like that for a while. I stopped RDL's after the second set because the bar was too slippery and I didn't have my chalk. I was really unstable during the overhead pressing. Onwards and upwards.

ME Bench

2008-07-02T07:41:00.004-05:00

No rest for the weak...

Scap pushups
1x10
Rear delt raises
1x10 10lb/hand

Bench, pinkies on rings
2x12 bar
2x5 135
1x5 185
1x3 225
1x1 225
1x1 245
1x1 275
1x1 285
1x1 295

3 board press, pinkies on rings
2x5 245
1x5 255

Inverted rows
4x14

Reverse hyper
3x20 50lbs

Everything felt pretty good. Since I'm going raw for a while, I decided to heed Wendler's advice and bring my grip in a little bit. 295 felt light and I'm pleased especially considering it's only 3 days post meet. More work on my board presses. Inverted rows felt the best they have in a long time. I hope that they keep getting better. The first step on the road to elite has been taken.

Resotration/Conditioning

2008-07-01T08:20:00.002-05:00

I went on an Xvest (30lbs) walk and then later went on a much longer walk with no Xvest with Alli. Considering picking up a sled. We'll see if I feel like blowing that kind of money.

New goals

2008-06-29T11:42:00.002-05:00

With the first meet over, I'd like to go about setting some new goals. I will be only setting Raw goals. I want to meet these numbers before I get into equipment again.

Squat: 550 w/belt

Bench: 405

Deadlift: 550 w/belt

I have a plan and we are going to meet these goals in a reasonable amount of time. Onwards to unexplored territory.

Meet Wrap Up

2008-06-29T11:19:00.002-05:00

This was a great meet for me to compete in. I weighed in at 118kg which is just a bit over 260lbs. Obviously my plan to make weight worked really well. Before I get into my performance I want to just talk about some things I observed.

I got to watch Shawn Frankl lift. He's a fricken beast, he totalled 2535 at 220. I got to talk to him and he has a real good attitude about it all. I got to see richie Briggs bench 859 at 275. Another amazing lifter. BIG Iron also had another girl there, Krystal Cary. She did both the bench only and full power meet going 12/12 and getting an american record or two in her weight class. I also got to see Al Caslow lift. He's a 181 and although he bombed on the squat, completed the rest of the meet with some really good deads and benches. There we a couple other people that had really good meets.

My performance:

The atmosphere was really good. Everyone from the team was there except Rob who's currently working in CA. Warm ups for the squat went pretty well. Form was feeling good all day. Pace on my lifts were also good.

Opener: 475- Easy
2nd: 501.5- Easy
3rd: 518- Pretty Easy

Squats= 3/3

There was a 30 minute break between squat and bench. I continued my regimen of drinking half strength gatorade and eating crackers, pb+J. Energy was good all day.

Warm ups for bench were going well. My shirt fit the best today than it ever has.

Opener: 365- easy (no belt)
2nd: 385 (belt on)- it was so easy that it surpised me and I beat the rack call so no lift
3rd: 385 (belt on)- stupid easy, good lift

Bench= 2/3

At this point the day was getting long and since I was in the 3rd flight of lifters it made it even longer. I wasn't physically tired, just a bit mentally tired from all the heavy lifting all day. Warm ups for the deadlift went ok, but the floor in the warm up area was a bit too slippery, but no adverse effects.

Opener: 480- easy
2nd: 501.5- felt awesome
3rd: 513.5- up to my knees but couldn't grind it out, no lift

Deadlift= 2/3

Total for the day: 7/9

Total: 1405.4
I'd like to thank Dano, Will, Sully and the Maroscher powerlifting team. Each of you has had a part in this first success. I'm looking forward to where this is going to go in the future. I beat my goal total (1400) by just a couple lbs. Back to training.

Restoration Upper/Prehab

2008-06-25T07:32:00.006-05:00

1 Scap pushups
2x10
2 Rear delt machine
2x10

1. 4 square
2x2 each way
2. Wall squat
2x5

1. DB Bench
2x10 75/side
2. Flyes
2x8 20/side

1. Strict Pullups
3x2
2. Torque press
3x10 15/side

This was a good last session. I really focused on keep my scaps pushed down and back on the way up on the pushups. Made it a bit harder. I used a lot of control on the rear delt machine. Continued to stretch at the end of the last set of flyes. Pullups and torque press went well. This was the perfect session to end my cycle on. We'll see how my work as paid off in a couple days.

Restoration/mobility

2008-06-23T07:42:00.001-05:00

Over and unders
ankle mobility

square dance
wall squats

back squats
worked up to easy 1x3 225

flyes
3x8 40 stretch at the bottom of each set.

Torque Press
2x10 15
2x10 15

over head squats
some reps with the bar

This session is brought to you by Will. I just wanted to get in and do some basic prehab/mobility stuff. I also wanted to try some different movements to see how they feel. My pec/bicep doesn't feel nearly as bad this time around, so it's getting better. I like how the square dance movement complex opens my hips. One upper body restoration session on Weds. and then the meet. I'm on pace to make weight. Saturday will be filled with half strength gatorade and peanut butter nad jelly sandwiches. Followed by a nice and large steak dinner.

Upper Back/DE Lower

2008-06-19T18:35:00.003-05:00

Speed Box Squats (low box)
8x2 225

Bent over rows
4x6
1x7

Pull ups (pronated, shoulder width grip)
Strict, light band assist
1x6
4x4

A1 Shrugs on the hammer strength machine
4x15 3 plates per side
A2 Flyes
palms facing
2x8 40
palms down
2x8 40

1 Walking lunges
3x12 50
2 Wall squats
3x5

Squats
2x5 95

Plate Shifting
5 10lbs plates shifted back and forth x 3 sets

Today was a good session. Wanted to get some quality work in as this is my last real session until the competition. Squats felt pretty good. Bent over rows was an improvement over last week. Felt like doing full pullups today, so I did. Something I'll definitely work on post comp. After each set of flyes I made sure I stretched in the bottom position. Also something I'll be including more of. Wall squats served as a stretch and form work. The squats at the end were to try to replicate that wall squat form. I thought I did pretty well. 9 days

ME Upper

2008-06-18T07:45:00.000-05:00

2 board bench (raw)
1x1 245
1x1 275
1x1 295
1x1 315
1x1 325

Close(r) grip 5 board press
4x5 345

Inverted rows (various grips)
4x12

Reverse hypers
4x15 90

Wanted to stay out of the shirt to give my bicep a rest. I figure since I'm not magically going to get stronger, preventing any additional injury to it until the competition would be best. My pacing on my bench and squat are getting better. 325 felt light and I blew it up. I don't feel much out of a 5 board press, but since we don't have a 4 board it's the only high board that we have. Everything else went well. 10 days

2008-06-16T09:34:00.000-05:00

Lifter log is down again, so here's what I did yesterday.

Squat
1x8 145
1x5 145
1x3 235
1x2 235
1x1 325
Suit on, straps down
1x2 415
2x1 465
Straps up
1x1 465
1x1 500
1x1 540

Deadlift
straps down
1x1 225
1x1 315
1x1 405
2x1 455

Reverse hyper
5x10 90

Today was a decent day. I hit the numbers on the squat that I'm looking for in the meet. I'm going to open with 465, then 500 and hopefully 540. My attempts for bench will be 365, 385, 405. My attempts for Deadlifting will be 475, 500, 520ish. 12 more days...

Conditioning

2008-05-13T17:30:00.000-05:00

Today I went for a walk with my xvest (50lbs) on. I'm not sure of the distance, but me and the gf walked for a while. Dragging around 320lbs total isn't fun.

ME Lower

2008-05-12T19:49:00.002-05:00

Dynamic Hip warm up

Squats
2x5 135lbs
2x3 225lbs
2x1 315lbs (belt on for second one)
1x1 365lbs
Suit on, straps down
1x3 405lbs
2x3 455lbs (straps up on second set)
2x1 495lbs
2x1 545lbs

Rack pulls against light bands
5x5 275lbs

Step ups
4x8 80lbs
4x8 80lbs

Curls
4x12 60lbs

Machine flies
2x15 60lbs

Ab rollouts
5x5

Today was an okay session. I'm still learning my suit and today wasn't the best day for that. My warm up really showed a big weakness though. I definitely have weak/untrained abs and back. 315 without the belt was difficult, but as soon as I put the belt on, it got a lot easier. I'll be throwing in heavy ab work every day. I feel that this definitely affects me under the maximal weights when I have my suit on. I did the curls and the flies in order to get the blood flowing in my arms/chest to help speed the healing of my right arm. I'm seeing a doctor on Thurs. and it should be fixed then. Keep moving forward...

ME Bench

2008-05-10T14:10:00.004-05:00

wu1 Windmills 2x8 each side 50lbs/hand
wu2 Field goals 2x10 10lbs
wu3 Mini band pull aparts 2x15

Bench w/shirt work up to 2x1 at 365lbs
1x1 at 385lbs
My right bicep tendon started bothering me, so I decided to stop.

Chest suppored rows 5x10 at 110lbs
Overhead plate extensions 5x10 at 45lbs

Inverted Rows 4x15
Straight bar curls 4x10 at 65lbs

Band traction for my right arm

Overall a good day. I pressed some decent weight and got it all to touch without much difficulty. I'm going to keep icing the arm and try to do some more curls so it can get stronger and better.

DE Squat

2008-05-08T11:13:00.002-05:00

I did some dynamic hip warm up type movements and then moved right into it.

DE Box Squat 8x2 225 (straight weight)

KB Single leg RDL's 5x8 each side 75lbs

1. Leg press 5x8 3 plates per side
2. Leg extensions 5x8 160lbs

That's it. Speed was pretty good. Maybe I'll do some reverse band stuff next week. We'll see. Feeling pretty good at the moment and hoping to keep it going.

Upper Back

2008-05-06T18:19:00.000-05:00

I felt pretty beat up from deadlifting on Mon. but got some good work in.

1. Neutral Grip Pullups- 4x6 bw+10lbs
2. Dips- 4x8 bw+10lbs

1. Neutral grip shrugs on hammer machine thing (like a car deadlift) 3x15 225
2. Straight bar tricep pushdowns 3x15 65

1. Straight bar face pulls 2x20 25
2. DB lateral raises 2x20 30