It’s almost time for training crew and my team of lovely lifters in the TPS Method for Powerlifting to begin a new training block.
In my crew we have three people prepping for meets.
My head coach, Kevin Cann is entering his first powerlifting meet after being in the MMA cage for a while. His fighting days are over for now and he wanted to take up something new, why not lift right?
My training partner Sabra “Chief” Mitchell is also getting ready for a meet and Jane “The World’s Strongest Granny” Stabile is prepping for a different meet.
My lifting team of lovely ladies is starting a meet prep cycle too.
Kevin, the Chief and my team of ladies are all prepping for the RPS meet that TPS’s hosts in October.
Jane is getting ready for an RPS meet a few weeks after that.
I’ll be following a similar training block as if I were prepping for a meet, but not using manly weights.
I am using weights that allow my hip to continue to get healthy. I will be breaking in my new Metal Jack Deadlift suit though. I’ll be seeing how I adapt to it and if I can get it to work for me. So far it is going pretty good.
The suit has a short learning curve and thanks to Team EliteFTS member, Matt Ladewski, I am learning it a little quicker form the tips he gave me.
Deadlift Suit Tips
I had a lot of trouble getting to the bar with it when I was at the compound so I am using blocks to help me adjust to it. The plan is to work off blocks at certain heights and make sure I am getting in the correct position at the start of the lift.
Once I have the first height set, I will lower the blocks.
My reasoning for this process is as follows:
I have a lot of trouble getting into a good start position in a deadlift suit and I have seen this with many lifters; so I believe that if I work on blocks and master the suit at a higher height, I can then lower the blocks and master the next lowest position instead of fighting with the suit and being frustrated.
The straps really make all the difference in how much you get out of a Deadlift suit. They need to be tight enough to give you pop off the floor but not so tight as to limit your ability to get into a good pulling position.
I already know my hips are a mess and they are interfering with my squat, bench and pull, and this was really made clear to me at the compound.
I pulled with J.L. Holdsworth, the Casey Williams and Matt Ladewski the last time I was there and they all spotted this almost immediately. I am going to PT for my IT band issue and he is also getting the hips looser and more mobile while I am there.
So, getting back on topic, by using 7” blocks to poll form I can really focus on loading the suit and getting tight in a good position. I am planning on working on 7” blocks for another week and then going to 5” blocks for 2-3 weeks. From there I’ll drop to pulling from a 45 pound bumper plate, and the pulling from the floor.
Once I get to the floor, I’ll work on seeing how tight I can get the straps and still maintain a good start position. This may not be the fastest way to get the suit working but I am convinced it is the best way for me.
If you have a meet coming up this is probably not the best idea, but I don’t. I have all the time in the world. However, if you are an active competitor and you are in the “off” season this may be a good protocol for you to follow if you need to master a new suit.
As I said, I believe this is the best approach for me. It might work for you so if you are having trouble with a deadlift suit, give it run up the flagpole and see if it flies.
On another note, I’ve used a lot of suits and so far, the Metal Jack suit is the best I have ever used. It is pretty forgiving and easy to get used to and it has a ton of pop. I haven’t even begun to see what the straps give me. I am pretty confident they will give me a lot once I have got it dialed in. As always, I’ll keep you posted on the progress.
Something New
I am changing up the team’s training a little this cycle to see if it works better.
We normally follow a Squat, Bench and Deadlift program with squat assistance on Squat day and Bench assistance on Bench Day, and finally Deadlift assistance on Friday with a fourth day of pressing and upper body bodybuilding movements.
So far it has worked very well.
Since I am never satisfied with our progress, I am trying a new twist.
We will Squat on Monday and then do a deadlift movement, Bench on Wednesday and do a limited assistance and on Friday we will Deadlift and do a squat movement. Day 4 will be mostly upper body repetition work with a Press as well.
We are also using shorter Volume and Intensity waves this time.
Waves will be 2-3 weeks long and will allow for periods of incomplete recovery as well as periods of complete recovery between training sessions. The girls are all done with their first meet and I feel they can handle a little more work so we are hitting it like a crack pipe.
Bench day will be pretty tough so I am keeping the assistance work a little less intense and making sure they are getting enough on Day 4.
Here is an example of what they are doing:
Volume Wave-Week 1
Day 1
1. Yoke Bar Squat w/2 chain 4x4 RPE 7
2. Koklyaev DL 3x3 RPE 7
3. GHR 50
4. SLSU w/wt 5x5
Day 2
1. Bench w/ chain 4x5 RPE 7
*under 100 lb. bench-1 chain
Over 100lb. bench-2 chain
2. 2 Board Bench 3x8 RPE 7
3. DB Floor Press + DB Flyes 3x8-12
4. BB Row 4x8-12
Day 3
1. DL off 45 bumper w/ 2 chain 4x4 RPE 7
2. Speed Squats w/ 1 chain 6x2 RPE 6
Run groups by bar weight-30 sec rest between sets EG: 3 people, 5 sets should take no more than 15 min MAX!!!!
3. Dead Hypers 4x12-15
4. TGU 3x1 AHAP
Day 4
1. Press 3x8 RPE 7
2. Floor Press 4x5 RPE 7
3. Pulldowns + DB Rows 4x12 each
4. Band Pushdowns -75 + 10 BB Curls between each set
5. Farmers Walks 4x100 feet
Let’s see how it works.
That’s all for this week.
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Vincere vel mori
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