Max Effort Deadlift
I know that's still not a great pull, but it was progress, and I was stoked about it. I did feel as though more weight would have caused me to drop, But since I was losing my grip with 625 not too long ago, this was still optimistic.
Max effort bench and assistance
I didn't have a pr for this one (at least not an easily accessible one) so I just worked up until I knew that was all I had.
Gear whore raw squatting
Long story short I made it, and I learned an important lesson. Never wear adidas shorts while raw squatting, because the lines on the legs will make you look sky-high on video.
Speed bench and accessory
Last week ended with an accessory workout on Wednesday and a speed bench workout on Friday.
Speed work and accessory
Nothing impressive or fancy, but it was a good start. Started a little sluggish in terms of speed, but the reps started getting faster by about my 4th set.
Raw SS Bar Squats
Sunday was a safety squat bar box squat, and since I'm pretty far out from a meet, I stayed raw.
Raw bench work
This time, I decided to take advantage of a new toy, and use my red shoulder saver pad that elitefts sent me last week
Arnold-Bound Again! XPC Semifinals Write-Up.
The plan for the day was to plan smart attempts, take conservative jumps and cruise into a qualifying spot.
Why Fitness Articles Suck — Confessions of a Content Mill Author
If you’ve been in the fitness industry for a couple of decades like I have, you may be wondering what the hell happened. Fitness articles weren’t this bad when we were starting out, were they?
Raw bench
Last Thursday was a raw bench day with the goal being 275 for 6 sets of 5 with a close grip.
Suit Deadlift
For the first time in years, my back is not holding back my pull, but I guess years of not being able to deadlift a lot have allowed my grip to weaken.
Max Effort Bench
Right now my grip is taking priority over everything because I can't seem to hold onto a damn deadlift, lol
Shirt Bench
Not really a whole lot to say here other than I'm really confident in my bench right now, and it's time to start shutting down the shirt work.
Max Effort Deadlift
A good number here would be evidence that my back is still doing well, despite a rocky start to this training cycle.
Max Effort Bench
I've found through experience that my raw sets are not always a great predictor of how I'll feel in my gear.
Accessory Stuff
This generally takes me an hour and I usually get two sessions like this in per week, in addition to my main sessions.
Raw bench with a rep-pr!
I got through the first 5 sets really easily, so I decided to push the weight on the last set to 315. I still got 6, which is a rep pr by one rep.
Max Effort Squats
The 420 was a grind, but a clean rep. I called it there because given the tension at the top, I was already well above my max squat at the top range of the movement.
Last week's shirt bench
Last Monday was a shirt bench day at Apollon. I wasn't sure quite what I was getting into because the triple band session the previous day had taken a toll on my elbows and shoulders. The goal was to work up to and touch an opener range bench in my shirt. Warmed up to 315 […]
Last week's squats
Sunday was a circa-max session at Apollon. The plan was to take around 25% of our maxes in bar weight, with what was probably around 500lbs or so of band tension. In this case, it was 2 strong bands and one average. I wound up working with between 200 and 240 lbs for 6 work […]
Finally up to date!
This week I did 5 sets of 5 with 275, then rather than pushing the reps, I bumped the weight up to 300 and got a final set of 5. Although I've been stronger, I know I couldn't have done this last time I ran this bench cycle.
More Catch-up
Worked up to 625, which felt a little heavy. This was fine because I have a couple of months to regain my top end, and get more work in my new shirt.
Speed pulls
I did these wth no belt and a double overhand grip (no hook) since I am trying to address both abdominal and grip strength
Catching up: Last week
Got a little backed up again, so here's last week's training in one post to to get more up to date. Monday: Monday we used the incline bench as a max effort movement. We don't do a ton of incline benching, but I remember the last time I did it, about a year ago I […]
Speed Deadlifts
My last one could maybe even be called "fast" if you saw it out of the corner of your eye with a three beer buzz.
Max Effort Squats
With less support, I had an easier time pushing back to the box and avoiding my knees caving forward.
I still suck at the deadlift (but I'm getting better)
I know I could have done it sumo and kept up with the pack, but now that I'm healthy, It's time to start addressing weaknesses, and this is the most glaring one I have.
Underweight raw benching
So I knew the weight loss shouldn't be catastrophic for my lifting, but it would have a slight effect.
SPF Northeast Showdown Meet Report!
I really had no expectations going into this meet, other than my deadlift training was going better than normal, my bench was worse, and after multiple gear changes, my squat was going "who the f*ck knows?"
Last week
This moved pretty well, but was starting to get heavy, so I cut it. At two weeks out, no need to go to a grinder, or worse, a miss. Right now the goal is recovery!
Some catch-up!
Damn, I get a little distracted with work and family, next thing I know I'm late on my log again. My apologies for whomever is trying to follow along!
Shirt bench
Not the best day, but I'm still making improvements and I feel like I will bench big enough to put up a respectable total.
Max Effort Squats
Next squat session will be a full gear squat, so hopefully the box work will transfer over, even if it's not optimal technique.
Shirted board press
The weight moved ok, but I would have liked for it to have been a bit more solid technique-wise.
Raw bench
The first couple of weeks were pretty easy, and I expected this week to be a little harder, since my raw bench is so low right now. Fortunately, I was wrong, and this week was the easiest.
Shirt benching
I'd rather have a little less support, but be better able to use my technique to execute the lift.
Max Effort Bench
This is a cool movement that builds strength off the chest because you're bringing the bar about an inch lower than with a straight bar.