Today:
Press:
3@8: 160 x 3 sets
Paused Squat:
4@8: 275 x 3 sets
Pin Press: (Shoulder level)
4@8: 155 x 3 sets
Coughing has kept me up a bit the last two nights, which is getting very frustrating as it’s definitely hurting my recovery. Training went well in light of that, but I really hope I’m feeling better next week so I can finish this training cycle strong heading into the Fall Classic.
Today:
Deadlift:
1@8: 405
1@9: 435 (fail)
4@8: 365
Pin Press: (Shoulder level)
4@8: 145 x 4 sets
Interrupted sleep has really hurt my recovery this week. I pulled 405 as my last warmup, but in retrospect I should’ve realized that it was my RPE8 for the day. Pin press went slightly better than deadlifts, but I’m feeling pretty fatigued at this point. I’m planning on dropping to three training days next week to try to get more rest and hopefully finish this cycle strong.
Today:
Squat:
1@8: 170 kg / 374 lbs.
2@8: 165 kg / 363 lbs. x 2 sets
Press:
1@8: 80 kg / 176 lbs.
2@8: 75 kg / 165 lbs. x 2 sets
Paused Deadlift:
2@9: 170 kg / 374 lbs. x 2 sets
Coming down the stretch now. Hit my Squat and Press openers for some doubles today and then finished with Paused Deadlifts since I’m training M/W/F this week. Happy with how everything moved!
Today:
Squat:
1@7.5: 165 kg / 363 lbs.
3@8: 160 kg / 352 lbs.
Press:
3@7: 70 kg / 154 lbs. x 3 sets
Bench:
3@7: 100 kg / 220 lbs. x 3 sets
Solid work today, everything is clicking. I think I’m going to be a bit more conservative with my opening attempts and go for the triples I hit today, 160 for Squat and 70 for Press. They moved very well and I want to really build some confidence on the platform since this is my first competition.
Today:
Deadlift:
1@8: 200 kg / 440 lbs.
3@8: 175 kg / 385 lbs.
Press:
1@8: 80 kg / 176 lbs.
3@9: 75 kg / 165 lbs.
Squat:
1@8.5: 170 kg / 374 lbs.
Sleep has been better this week and I’m feeling really good overall. 200 kg flew up to lockout, I’m really confident that 450 lbs will go at the Fall Classic.
Competition week! Worked up to my openers today and all were around RPE7:
Squat:
Last Warmup: 150 kg
Opener: 160 kg x 1 x 3 (@7)
Press:
Last Warmup: 155 lbs.
Opener: 75 kg x 1 x 3 (@7-7.5)
Deadlift:
Last Warmup: 160 kg
Opener: 175 kg x 1 (@7)
Really happy with how today went and very much looking forward to Sunday!
Last training session before the Fall Classic:
Squat:
Last Warmup: 150 kg x 1 x 3 (@6~)
Press:
Last Warmup: 155 lbs.
Opener: 75 kg x 1 x 3 (@7.5)
Adjusted Opener: 70 kg x 1 (@6.5-7)
Squat was moving as well as I hoped it would, but the Press was slowing down/almost stopping at my sticking point, which I really don’t want to be fighting through on my opener. I’d rather open at 70 kg for the press and crush it than go for 75 kg and struggle.
Since this is my last session before the meet, I also wanted to put my goals for the meet (in relative order) down in writing:
1. Go 9/9.
This is my first competition and my top priority is just making all of my attempts. If that means dialing the weight down slightly I’m fine with that. I’d rather leave a few pounds in the tank than a lot of pounds on the platform.
2. Make weight in the 125kg class.
When I started training in February, I was 315 lbs. I’ve been slowly losing weight over the year and tipped the scales at 268.9 this morning. Making weight shouldn’t be an issue, but it’s my #2 goal because it’s a nice milestone in my long-term weight loss process.
3. Squat 405
This is more of a goal that I was pushing toward in training, but I want that 4 plate squat and I’m confident that I have it in me. I’m hoping to be able to get this on my 3rd attempt.
4. Deadlift 450
This was the most aggressive training goal that I set, but I’m on track to get it. I had a very clean pull at 440 last Friday, so I’ll be shooting for this on my third attempt.
5. Total over 1000 lbs.
If I hit goals 1, 3, and 4 I’ll get this because my Press opener is 154.
6. Press 185+
This is my gym PR and I had been hoping for a 200 lbs. Press on the platform, but 185 has just seemed like a wall after I got it once. I’d really like to push past that barrier, but will probably be conservative in attempt selection since making all 3 attempts is a higher priority for me this meet.
Good luck at the competition!
Meet Report: (all weights listed in kg)
Summary: 8/9 with a 470 kg total at 124.2 kg bodyweight. I’m very happy with how the meet went. The atmosphere was incredible and I got to meet a bunch of great lifters!
Squat:
1: 160
2: 175
3: 185
Press:
1: 70
2: 80 (no lift)
3: 80
Deadlift:
1: 175
2: 195
3: 205
Body Weight: 124.2
Squat:
I opened fairly conservatively for all three lifts because I wanted to smoke my first attempts and build confidence for the heavier second and third attemps. My first squat moved very, very well and really built confidence and set the tone for the day. My second attempt at 175kg tied my gym PR and I knew I had the 400+ squat in me. I was calm, but pumped for 185kg and nailed it. I probably had another 10-20 pounds in the tank, but I exceeded my goal of a 405 squat and I’m super happy with that.
Third attempt video:
Press:
Press has been the shakiest of my lifts in training the last few weeks, so I didn’t really know what to expect here. Warmups were moving well and my opener at 70kg felt good. I put in 80kg for my second attempt, but unfortunately I lost my balance just before lockout and had to take a step forward to save it. No lift on the second attempt, but I came back and got 80kg on my third. I was slightly disappointed that I didn’t get a chance to PR the press on the platform, but was happy with how the weight was moving.
Video is taking forever to process, will link it later.
Deadlift:
There were some incredible deadlifts in Phoenix this weekend, with the heaviest (not mine!) being just over 600 lbs. I opened at 175kg and it felt great. The jump to 195 for my second attempt was pretty big, but it moved very well too and put me in a good position to hit 450 on my third attempt. I called for 205 and it moved better than I expected it to. Like the squat, I probably had another 10-20 lbs. in the tank, but I hit my Deadlift goal and was very happy with that.
Third attempt video:
Today:
Squat:
1@8.5: 170 kg / 374 lbs.
5@8: 140 kg / 308 lbs.
Press:
1@8: 80 kg / 176 lbs.
5@8: 65 kg / 147 lbs.
Bench:
1@8: 110 kg / 242 lbs.
5@7: 90 kg / 198 lbs.
First session post-comp. Took some singles and fives, nothing special.
Today:
Deadlift:
1@8: 190 kg / 418 lbs.
5@8: 170 kg / 374 lbs.
Bench:
5@6: 80 kg / 176 lbs.
5@7: 90 kg / 198 lbs.
5@8: 95 kg / 209 lbs.
Getting back into the groove a bit. I’ve already selected my second competition, the USPA Drug Tested California State Championship in February! I was hoping to find a local USAPL meet, but the only one scheduled in Southern California currently is next month which is a bit too soon. The USPA meet is about 20 miles from where I live, so it was a perfect fit timing-and-location-wise. Looking forward to getting a powerlifting total to build on!
Today:
Bench:
1@8: 112.5 kg / 247.5 lbs.
5@8: 97.5 kg / 214.5 lbs. x 2 sets
Close Grip Bench:
5@6: 80 kg / 176 lbs.
5@8: 85 kg / 187 lbs. x 2 sets
Strict Press:
5@7: 50 kg / 110 lbs.
5@8: 60 kg / 132 lbs. x 2 sets
Really happy with how bench went today. My top single this week was 2.5 kg heavier than last week and moved much more smoothly. Press was on the lighter side compared to where it has been, but I was keeping it as strict as possible and my triceps were already pretty fatigued from all the bench work I did. Good workout.
Today:
Squat:
1@8.5: 175 kg / 385 lbs.
5@8: 145 kg / 319 lbs.
5@8: 145 kg / 319 lbs.
Block Pulls: (actually used the Rogue “Wagon Wheel” plates for these)
5@7: 335 lbs.
5@8: 355 lbs.
5@8: 355 lbs.
Weight-wise the Squat single at 175 felt like an 8, but I let it pitch me forward just slightly. I was able to recover and it moved well overall, but that’s been a creeping problem for me so I’m rating it an 8.5.
Today:
Bench: (Paused first rep)
5@7: 90 kg
5@8: 95 kg x 4 sets
Beltless “Tempo” Squats:
5@8: 120 kg
4@7: 120 kg
4@7: 120 kg
Bench was pretty good today. I was still feeling a bit fatigued from Monday and I wanted good reps, so I kept the weight slightly lower (2.5 kg) than Monday’s RPE8 5’s.
I wasn’t planning on squatting today when I set out my workouts for the week, but my bar path was so sketchy on Tuesday that I spent a lot of time thinking about how to correct it yesterday and wanted to put in some light work on it today. The change I made today was to cue myself (over-cue really) to “look forward” instead of down. This forced me to keep my upper back tight and the result was the best bar path I’ve had on the squat in months, maybe ever. I’m still looking down-ish, but it’s more like looking at the bottom of the wall that’s about 15 feet in front of me rather than the ground 3 feet in front of me, which is where I usually found myself looking in the hole. We’ll see how this cue works at heavier weights next week, but I really like what I saw in the video today.
Today:
Deadlift:
1@7: 190 kg
1@8: 200 kg
4@8: 175 kg x 2 sets
Paused Squat:
4@7: 110 kg
4@8: 120 kg x 3 sets
Deadlift felt great on warmups, but the bar stuck to my thighs at 200 which resulted in a pretty soft lockout. It moved really, really well, so I’m happy with the single overall. I ran into the same problem in my volume work on the 4th rep for both sets, but again they moved very well.
Paused squats went superbly today. Bar path continues to improve and interestingly knee slide is improving along with it.
Today:
Squat:
5@6: 130 kg
5@7: 140 kg
5@8: 147.5 kg
Close Grip Bench:
4@6: 80 kg
4@7: 90 kg
4@8: 95 kg
Sumo Deadlift:
120 kg x 4 @4~
150 kg x 3 @5~ x 2 sets
150 kg x 8@8 (Did AMRAP @8~)
Squats were okay today, but the 4th and 5th reps at 147.5 were all over the place balance/bar-path wise, but I did get all 5 reps at a solid RPE8, so that’s nice. Going to continue doing tempo squats and paused squats to really work on this.
CGBP was exactly as planned/expected.
And I tried Sumo as a change of pace on deadlifts. Really liked it. I worked up to 150 kg for a couple of triples to get a feel for it and then did an AMRAP@RPE8 set and got 8 reps.
Today:
Bench: (Paused first rep)
5@6: 90 kg
5@7: 95 kg x 3 sets
Beltless Paused Squats:
4@6: 100 kg
4@7: 110 kg x 4 sets
Really happy with how today went. I kept the volume at RPE7 because I had less time in the gym this morning. Everything moved appropriately for a 7 and I was able to keep rest times to 3~ minutes between sets at the lower relative intensity. I cued “heels” for my squats today and was able to keep the bar path solidly straight and balanced over mid-foot.
Today:
Bench: (Paused first rep)
5@6: 92.5 kg
5@7: 97.5 kg x 2 sets
5@8: 97.5 kg
Press:
6@8: 135 lbs. x 2 sets
5@8: 135 lbs.
Hammer Currlllllsssssss:
25 lb. dumbbells x 10 x 3 sets
Bench felt fantastic today. The third set at 97.5 creeped up to a 8 RPE, but that was expected. This weight was RPE8 for all sets last week. Finished with some hammer curls today because my elbows have been starting to hurt slightly this week. The curls worked to stop the pain last time this happened, so I’m gonna do them a couple of times a week as a pre-hab measure.
Today:
Deadlift:
1@7.5: 190 kg
3@8: 180 kg
4@8: 165 kg
Paused Squats:
4@8: 120 kg x 3 sets
Today was rough. The kids have tag-teamed to wake up my wife and I in the middle of the night for 7 of the last 8 nights (not their fault, they’ve both had a cold over the last week), so sleep has been bad and I’m definitely feeling it. But, I was able to get in the sets that I wanted to, so I’m happy that I was able to push through not feeling good and train anyway.
Logging two workouts today.
Yesterday, Monday 11/20
Squat:
320 lbs x 3@6 x 3 sets
270 lbs x 5@6 x 2 sets
Bench:
215 lbs x 3@6 x 4 sets
185 lbs x 5@6 x 2 sets
Hammer Curls:
25 lb. dumbbells x 10 x 3 sets
Conditioning: took the kids to Disneyland with my wife’s family!
Today:
Deadlift:
350 lbs x 3@6 x 3 sets
300 lbs x 5@6 x 2 sets
2-count Paused Bench:
4@7.5: 75 kg / lbs x 3 sets
Squat: (no belt)
260 lbs. x 5@6 x 2 sets
Wide-grip Rows: (Bench-grip/touch)
100 lbs x 10 x 4 sets