Tue. 8/4 - My squat suit still fits!

Put on my squat suit for the 1st time in months today. I hope to get a new one before MD States this year, because I'm a little worried that this one is used too much to get the same support from. I used it in 2 meets and several workouts over the last 6-7 months of 2008. But it may be in better shape than I thought. It was pretty tight around the thighs and hard to pull up, which is how it's supposed to be. I left the straps down the whole time. Still, I think having 2 is a good idea, because if I blow this one out at or close to the meet, I'd hate to be unable to get a replacement.

Also, I pulled out my cheap resistance bands/tubes again. I have 3 pairs, each with different resistance levels, and I have no idea how much weight they add when stretched. I usually double them anyway, and to keep track in the journal, I'll refer them as bands 1, 2, and 3 to note resistance added.

1. Bootleg box squats - not a box, but something I rig to function as such. Stops me right at parallel. All sets done with bands 1&2 on ea. side. XL Inzer sleeves on this, no velcro.

bar+5; 95+/5; 135+/3; 185+/2 x 10 sets - Top bar weight was 40% 1RM. This went very quick, with little rest between sets. I did all this in about 12-13 min. I plan to keep these in the rotation, waving the bar weight between 40-50% and increasing the band resistance with each wave.

2. Zercher pulls - bar on rack about 1" above knee. Did each rep from a dead stop on rack. Still had knee sleeves on.

180/5; 230/5;
added belt, 250/5
tightened velcro on knee sleeves, 270/5 - if not 5RM, it was pretty close

3a. Shrugs
270/13; 320/13

3b. Pull-thrus - cable w/rope attachment
130/11, 14 - cable go caught on my shorts twice on 1st set!

Time - :41. Would have put the suit on before box work sets and removed after Zerchers, but due to time constraints, I had to have it on the whole time. Doubt it helped on anything else.

Back in the gym, Sat. 8/1 and Mon. 8/3

Got back in the gym on Saturday for the real start to training again. My plan is to basically do 2 bench days and 2 squat/deadlift days per week, one raw and one geared since I plan to use gear at my next meet. If I can tolerate it, I'll also do overhead presses on a 5th day, with some biceps, calves and maybe extra triceps. For the raw stuff, I'll follow 5/3/1 again with 1 alteration. My core lifts will be overhead press, close grip bench, and squats. My working maxes to start are:

squat - 420
close-grip bench (CGBP) - 270
overhead press - 170

For the geared days, I'll follow Prilepin's chart, and gradually add more gear as the weeks progress (regular sleeves with velcro, smaller sleeves with velcro, knee wraps, squat suit minus straps, etc.). I'll also do some conjugate method work on some assistance exercises. Those sessions in gear can be really long, so I'm hoping this split will significantly reduce the time I spend in the gym for any 1 session.

Saturday's session - Druid Hill YMCA

1. Press
bar/10; 85/5; (65%) 110/5, (75%) 130/5; (85%) 145/6 - really thought I'd get 7 or 8 here. Maybe I set my max too high? Tired from work?
Loss of strength from downtime? Oh well, I still beat the mark, so I won't sweat it.

2a. Hammer curls - did these with my back against a column to prevent cheating. L/R alternating.
20s/15 ea; 40s/10 ea; 45s/7 ea, 7.5 ea

2b. Press - more of the same at lighter weight
115/9, 9, 7

3a. Calf Press - 2 types
seated, 90/15; standing machine, 370/9(? lost count); seated, 90/16; st. mach., 370/14

3b."Olympic abs" - situps on decline bench, pressing a bar overhead with snatch grip on the way up
bar/12, 12, 12

4. 1/2 Dips - only came 1/2 way down to focus on triceps
BW+45/5 x 5, 30 seconds between each set

Time - :53

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Mon. 8/3, raw CGBP, 33rd St. YMCA (normal gym)

1. CGBP
bar/15; 100/6; 140/5; (65%) 175/5; (75%) 205/5; (85%) 230/8 - happy with that
195/9, 5.5 (good spot), 5 + 4 partial reps, top half

2. Rows
seated cable, 100/15; barbell, 135/5; 185/5; 225/5 x 5

3a. Side bends
50s/25, 25 - really light, but they'll get heavier as I go along

3b. Incline Fly - bench on notch 5, fairly high
35s/9; rest-pause: 50s/9+4+2

3c. Seated cable row
130/11; rest-pause: 160/12+7+4+2 partial

3d. Pressdown - rope attachment
90/11; rest-pause-drop: 120/14 + 4 + 100/5. Must have worn out on the 1st set because I expected at least 6 after the 1st pause. Dropped the weight to chase reps, but in retrospect, I should have left it alone.

Time - 1:06 even with some socializing and sharing the bench with 2 other guys on the CGBP

USAPL Raw Nationals summary, Sat. 7/25

Weighed in at 87.9 kg - 193.8 lbs. What was I so worried about?

Squat
182.5 kg/402.3 lb - good
195 kg/429.9 lb - good
205 kg/451.9 lb - good, 5 kg/11 lb raw PR! Felt easier than I thought it would. Plus I broke my own Maryland state squat record (unfortunately, someone else broke it again )

Bench
120 kg/264.6 lb - good
125 kg/275.6 lb - good
130 kg/286.6 lb - miss This is the 2nd straight meet I've missed this lift, and it's a mental issue, plus one of technique. I went to the bench KNOWING I was gonna smoke this attempt, and in an effort to make sure I didn't push it toward my feet, I threw it almost straight back, and it was about to come down on my head. That has only happened to me 1 other time, and it was the 1st time I had on a bench shirt. Back to the drawing board on this.

Deadlift
217.5 kg/479.5 lb - good
235.5 kg/518.1 lb - good, tied meet PR (from '08 States, wearing squat suit)
242.5 kg/534.6 lb - good all time DL PR, raw or geared!

Total: 572.5 kg/1262.1 lb - raw total PR!, and only 17.5 kg/38.6 lb off my all-time total PR, where I squatted/dl'ed geared.

I lost to the guy who challenged my to this meet. He finished 5th, and I finished 6th in a field of 11 in the 90kg/198 lb men's open. But with 3 PRs, I'm happy happy joy joy right about now, in spite of my bench press woes.

Thanks to everyone who is following and supporting me on this fun ride! It's been 11 months since my first meet. Looking for the next year to be even better. Back in the gym for serious training in a week.

Found a wi-fi signal!

On a whim, decided to check for a wireless internet signal, and wouldn't you know? The hotel across the street has one! So I figured I'd post the results from Tuesday's workout and info about a recent issue that has surfaced.

Tues. 7/21

1. Squat
bar/8 - bar sucked, switched bars and realized I felt sluggish and stiff
bike/10:00 min
bar/3; 135/3
(50%) 220/3
(60%) 265/3, added wrist wraps, 3
(70%) 310/2, added knee sleeves, 2, 2

2. Bench
bar/15; 95/5
(50%) 140/3
(60%) 170/3, 3
(70%) 195/2, 2
(75%) 210/1, 1, 1 - paused all of these on chest

That was it. Took my time. The squats felt harder than I thought they should, but I attributed that to lifting early and not feeling too energetic. Plus, after I thought about it, I realized that squats always feel harder than I think they should.

Really like the weight room in this place, as they have some old school stuff. Plus, the PLer I was going to meet there was gone by the time I arrived (around 10:30am). Turns out he was the 1st member there that day. His chains, Safety Squat Bar, and lots of other goodies are there for the public goods. A few kettlebells, dumbbells pairs up to 130, and other good stuff.

Weight issue
This has been a weird week. I brought my scale from home, and it read 198.5 at wake-up time on Tuesday. In the gym, I came out of the restroom and weighed 199.5 in t-shirt, shorts, and Chucks. Ok, maybe it's breakfast still in me. We went to a seafood deluxe buffet that night, and I got my $24.99 worth out of that place. Roast beef, pepper steak, pizza, onion rings, a couple different veggies, chicken, bread pudding, ice cream and pie, and that's just what I actually remember.

Why is all that important? Because I freaked out when my scale read 202.5 on Wednesday morning! A 4 pound gain in one day?! Even if my scale is off, that means I'm too close for my own comfort and peace of mind. So I've been manipulating my food and drink intake, walking more, and this morning it was back down to 199.5. I'm going to find the official meet scale as soon as I get to VA tomorrow afternoon for the early equipment check-in and see what that says. I would be pissed to the highest levels of pissedivity (for the Robin Harris fans out there) if after all the trouble I've had keeping weight on, I show up at 199 on Saturday morning. So we'll see...

Meet week

I weighed 198.5 on the home scale this morning, so I guess that means 194-195. I'm quite satisfied that I've been blessed to maintain this weight with all the mailman GPP. Vacation has finally started, and my body gets a much needed (and I'll humbly add deserved) chance to rest and recover. Hooray!!!

7 more days, and my 1st national/4th overall meet is finally here! This is what my likely attempt progression will be, assuming I make them all:

Squat
1st: 182.5 kg (402.3 lbs)
2nd: 195 kg (429.9 lbs)
3rd: 202.5 - 205 kg (446.4 - 451.9 lb)

Bench
1st: 117.5 kg (259.0 lb)
2nd: 125 kg (275.6 lb)
3rd: 130 kg (286.6 lb)

Deadlift
1st: 220 kg (485.0 lb)
2nd: 235 kg (518.1 lb)
3rd: ? - will depend on what kind of meet I'm having, how my competitors are doing, and what kind of total/placing may be in reach

Obviously, I really want to have a good meet, since I've trained hard for it and the stage is bigger. I don't expect to win, and considering the competition I shouldn't win. So in a way, low expectations are helping me to relax a little more than if I was in contention for a top slot. My focus is to achieve the goals I set for myself, which are covered in a previous post. I won't have internet at my Ocean City spot, other than my wife's phone, so I probably won't post again until I get to VA on Friday, and of course the results after the meet. Thanks for following me on this road.

Peace
Kaisheem

Anyone curious about the meet, here's the site http://www.usaplnationals.com/2009raw/

Last heavy squat, Thu 7/9

I had a much more productive squat workout on Thursday, July 9. It was the only exercise I did, and I got it done before the start of my shift at the gym (I work there part time as a trainer and fitness instructor). My kind of day.

Squat
bar/8; 140/5; 230/3
added wrist wraps - 275/1; 305/1
added belt - 335/1
added knee sleeve - 365/1; 395/1; 425/1
walkout and hold, no squat - 455/10 seconds

That 455 felt HEAVY! That was the first time in about 8 months that I've had over 450 on my back, and I'm glad I got to feel it again now instead of waiting for the platform. The 425 was heavy but pretty fast and clearly sub-maximal. I'll do a post before the meet to let you know what my probable attempts will be.

Last heavy bench press

1. Bench press
bar/20; 100/6; 140/5; 180/4; 200/3
220/1; 240/1; 260/1
280/1 - This was not a smooth rep, starting with a poor descent and a few sticking points going up. I only planned to do this once today, but I really wanted to reinforce better mechanics with heavy weight, so I waited 5 minutes, then...
280/1 - SMOKED IT!
315/10 second lockout. I made NO attempt to move this weight, just held it at full lockout and squeezed the bar to prime my central nervous system for a max lift soon.

2a. Chins
BW/10 wide, 10 under, 10 neutral

2b. Dips
BW/15, 15, 11 (stopped 1 short of failure)

3. Seated row
150/13

If I keep my weight up, I should be good for 286 at the meet. I may have 292 in the tank, but I'd rather nail the 286 PR than miss 292. I just hate having to think so much during the bench. Drive legs, push back, squeeze bar, try to bend it, etc. and invariably I forget one or more during the reps when I need all those factors activated the most. I need to do more visualization of the perfect rep, then do it on the platform.