April 8th Deadlift training:
Combined deadlift with military press after
Deadlift:345/5, 405/5, 450/5
GHR: BW/10,6,10,8
Military Press: 120/5, 140/5, 160/5
Some assistance work.
April 11th Squat day
Squats:345/5, 390/3, 440/1, 495/1, 520/1
Reverse Hypers: 100/10, 150/10
Felt good putting that much weight on my back and handling it pretty well.
Program points:
Cardio on a more consistent basis
Better nutrition through more foods. That means getting my ass over a stove a get to cooking more
Dropped to 3 days a week right now for lifting. Took a clip out of a strong man competitors play book. Clint Darden from elitefts.com combines his overhead pressing after deadlifts. That way I can recover over two days and comeback fresh on Monday.
13 weeks.............
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Bench Training
Worked up to 280 for 5 reps. I really did 6 though. I took a wider grip on the bar and utilized my fat gripz also. Fat Gripz are attachements you can put on a dumbbell or barbell and it mimics the effect of a fat bar. Fat bars take stress off the elbows a bit (at least for me) and gives you a stronger grip over the long haul. I bought them after reading an article by Charles Poliquin on the the effects of using a fat bar. I'll be using these attachements on the regular as I am having elbow issues. And I'll also use them for arm exercises as you get more fiber recruitment using a fat bar with barbells and dumbbells.
It's nothing really heavy this week. I work up to 95% of my training max next week and I need my head in the game. Gonna get a nice bloat going for squats on Monday so I can work up to around 500.
This is a video of Dave Ricks. International level powerlifter. And he's over 55. Whats your excuse? Thats right..........you dont have one
It's nothing really heavy this week. I work up to 95% of my training max next week and I need my head in the game. Gonna get a nice bloat going for squats on Monday so I can work up to around 500.
This is a video of Dave Ricks. International level powerlifter. And he's over 55. Whats your excuse? Thats right..........you dont have one
Squat Monday
Worked up to 390 for 5. Used a belt and felt good and fast. Also bought some Rehband knee sleeves and took those for a ride today. The heavy knee sleeves I use from elitefts.com are illegal in competition or the federation I compete in.
No words can describe this video.
No words can describe this video.
Friday, April 1, 2011
Bench Training from Wednesday
This was one of those things that started out as a good idea, but as things went on, things went a bit south. Not that it was a bad thing, but I'll get into that in a moment. But right now, lets break the workout down.
230/3
265/1.
300/1
330/1
365/1
405/ two misses
This workout was still a success in my eyes in that it showed me I'm have a long way to go and made my weak points even more apparent.
Weakness one: Set up and technique are the things that come to my mind first. I lose tightness and fall out of the groove in the bench.I need to learn how to keep my shoulder girdle tighter also.
Weakness two: Weak triceps and some forearm and elbow pain have been getting lately. I will have these area worked on soon. I'm gonna go H.A.M on triceps training now. Close grip, board press, floor press, extensions. You name it, I'm doing it( except kickbacks because I'm positive that they serve no purpose at all for bodybuilding, powerlifting or general strength and fitness training and because they aren't manly)
Weakness three: Mental. I need to learn how to come back strong after a "defeat". My head wasnt right after that missed attempt and I let the first miss get to me in the head. This has even affected me in meets. I cant let it go on.
Onward. I'm only as strong as my weakest link and my weakest is my bench.
230/3
265/1.
300/1
330/1
365/1
405/ two misses
This workout was still a success in my eyes in that it showed me I'm have a long way to go and made my weak points even more apparent.
Weakness one: Set up and technique are the things that come to my mind first. I lose tightness and fall out of the groove in the bench.I need to learn how to keep my shoulder girdle tighter also.
Weakness two: Weak triceps and some forearm and elbow pain have been getting lately. I will have these area worked on soon. I'm gonna go H.A.M on triceps training now. Close grip, board press, floor press, extensions. You name it, I'm doing it( except kickbacks because I'm positive that they serve no purpose at all for bodybuilding, powerlifting or general strength and fitness training and because they aren't manly)
Weakness three: Mental. I need to learn how to come back strong after a "defeat". My head wasnt right after that missed attempt and I let the first miss get to me in the head. This has even affected me in meets. I cant let it go on.
Onward. I'm only as strong as my weakest link and my weakest is my bench.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Squat Training
Went into a new training phase. Decided against truly max out, but getting close to 90% and above in my poundages.
Squat: Top sets were 420/3, 460/1
The 460 felt really good and fast despite a messed up setup and even i was surprised a bit I would've went up to 500, but I decided to shut it down. Next time I'll make an attempt hopefully. I wasn't at my best because I was dealing with some stress and had a pounding headache and was moving a bit slower throughout the workout. I didn't make excuses though and decided to squat hard and roll out the gym.
I am of the realization now that I have to get to the gym earlier so I'm not late for class. I can see the finish line here and I don't want to mess up any chances i have of getting into either Iowa or Nebraska.
Come to think of it, i have a pretty focused schedule going on that won't allow for much BS'ing like last summer. Even though I had summer school and work, that ended pretty quickly. I have the Nationals in July, I graduate in May, and I start back work on Friday. And when Nationals is over, I have to get ready to go wherever I'm going. And saving money is a must, so the late nights will come, but i have to afford it in my budget first. Plus I have an idea for another training cycle after Nationals, and i still don't know what type of gym I'm dealing with when I get to my University. But the primary goal of the next training cycle is to put on some solid size and obviously gain more strength.
Here is a link to the program I'm following. It's a variation of 5/3/1 that has weeks 2 and week 1 switched around. it's called "5/3/1 for Powerlifters" in the article.
Me and my training partner Mike made tremendous progress with the original 5/3/1 which is available here......
Thats it from me. Going to try for a 405 bench. I need to get to that big weight, and I havent had to press 405 in awhile, so lets see where it goes.
Squat: Top sets were 420/3, 460/1
The 460 felt really good and fast despite a messed up setup and even i was surprised a bit I would've went up to 500, but I decided to shut it down. Next time I'll make an attempt hopefully. I wasn't at my best because I was dealing with some stress and had a pounding headache and was moving a bit slower throughout the workout. I didn't make excuses though and decided to squat hard and roll out the gym.
I am of the realization now that I have to get to the gym earlier so I'm not late for class. I can see the finish line here and I don't want to mess up any chances i have of getting into either Iowa or Nebraska.
Come to think of it, i have a pretty focused schedule going on that won't allow for much BS'ing like last summer. Even though I had summer school and work, that ended pretty quickly. I have the Nationals in July, I graduate in May, and I start back work on Friday. And when Nationals is over, I have to get ready to go wherever I'm going. And saving money is a must, so the late nights will come, but i have to afford it in my budget first. Plus I have an idea for another training cycle after Nationals, and i still don't know what type of gym I'm dealing with when I get to my University. But the primary goal of the next training cycle is to put on some solid size and obviously gain more strength.
Here is a link to the program I'm following. It's a variation of 5/3/1 that has weeks 2 and week 1 switched around. it's called "5/3/1 for Powerlifters" in the article.
Me and my training partner Mike made tremendous progress with the original 5/3/1 which is available here......
Thats it from me. Going to try for a 405 bench. I need to get to that big weight, and I havent had to press 405 in awhile, so lets see where it goes.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Stuff
This is the post of stuff. A little bit of life, a little bit of training, a little bit of commentary. So enjoy my stuff
Training: It's coming along good. I'm not sure if those are pr's I have hit so I would have to look back on my logs to see if I have hit either weight or rep pr's in the squat and deadlift, but offhand, I'm going to say no. I don't think I have set any significant weight or rep pr's. While I am making progress, it's just slow progress. And I'm alright with that seeing as that i want to be in this for the long haul and stay competitive. However, I'm going to have to give a bit more of myself on the gym floor. Do any of us ever give enough of ourselves to the gym in regards to improving. No, but we all come close. Our bodies quit before we do.
One thing I need to do is to leave the outside of the gym on the outside. Once I step inside, there should be nothing else going on. No phone calls, no texts, no bullshit. Just me, my partners, the weight and violence. Thats it! While the Nationals are in July and it's only late March, thats not a lot of time. So focus and intensity is of the utmost importance.
I'm making a contract with myself from here on out. Once I step in the gym, the outside ceases to exist until the last rep of the last exercise. No phone, no texts, no nothing. I just want weight. I'm leaving my problems at the door. They aren't going anywhere so they can wait a few.
Life: School is going. Spanish and business law are works in progress but I'm plugging at them nonetheless. Not really a whole bunch to say about school as if you are a student or have been at any point in your life, you know what I'm talking about.
I will say that I am going to embrace the night a bit more for studying. I function better at night as far as school goes and thats when my purest thinking comes. So these 3-4 am mornings will start to be commonplace for the remainder of the semester. As long as I have soe music and food, I can do work
Thats it on my end for right now. I just want to keep rolling and finish this semester off to go on the other academic pastures.
Persistence is nothing more than consistency with a few rough patches.
Training: It's coming along good. I'm not sure if those are pr's I have hit so I would have to look back on my logs to see if I have hit either weight or rep pr's in the squat and deadlift, but offhand, I'm going to say no. I don't think I have set any significant weight or rep pr's. While I am making progress, it's just slow progress. And I'm alright with that seeing as that i want to be in this for the long haul and stay competitive. However, I'm going to have to give a bit more of myself on the gym floor. Do any of us ever give enough of ourselves to the gym in regards to improving. No, but we all come close. Our bodies quit before we do.
One thing I need to do is to leave the outside of the gym on the outside. Once I step inside, there should be nothing else going on. No phone calls, no texts, no bullshit. Just me, my partners, the weight and violence. Thats it! While the Nationals are in July and it's only late March, thats not a lot of time. So focus and intensity is of the utmost importance.
I'm making a contract with myself from here on out. Once I step in the gym, the outside ceases to exist until the last rep of the last exercise. No phone, no texts, no nothing. I just want weight. I'm leaving my problems at the door. They aren't going anywhere so they can wait a few.
Life: School is going. Spanish and business law are works in progress but I'm plugging at them nonetheless. Not really a whole bunch to say about school as if you are a student or have been at any point in your life, you know what I'm talking about.
I will say that I am going to embrace the night a bit more for studying. I function better at night as far as school goes and thats when my purest thinking comes. So these 3-4 am mornings will start to be commonplace for the remainder of the semester. As long as I have soe music and food, I can do work
Thats it on my end for right now. I just want to keep rolling and finish this semester off to go on the other academic pastures.
Persistence is nothing more than consistency with a few rough patches.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Deadlifts
Top set only
Deadlifts
420/3,3,3,3,3
Reverse Hypers: 200/12
Cardio: About 20 minutes
Bringing the camera out next week and it will be mainly for technique check. I hope it's all up to snuff.
Military press tomorrow. I've went against the template a bit and just doing my own thing on that.
Deadlifts
420/3,3,3,3,3
Reverse Hypers: 200/12
Cardio: About 20 minutes
Bringing the camera out next week and it will be mainly for technique check. I hope it's all up to snuff.
Military press tomorrow. I've went against the template a bit and just doing my own thing on that.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)