Training for the IPA Buckeye Brawl on December 1st. Programming by Dave Tate in italics.

 

10/13 ME Lower

  • Warm Ups
  • 2 sets each various shoulder raise and push downs. Again this is just warming up. I would also put it 1-2 sets of hanging leg raise and GHR’s Also include shoulder circuit for 1 rotation.
  • *Add in band pull aparts and band face pulls. 
  • Deadlift off two DC Blocks 
  • Work up to heavy single but DO NOT MISS

 -

I was incredibly fucked up coming into today. Mentally fucked up. The last time we pulled off two blocks was about 5 or 6 weeks prior to this. It was the first time I pulled heavy since fixing  my back and I got stapled with 345. For reference, 345 is what I usually pull from a deficit in the off season. At my meet I pulled an easy 420 so I figured 450 would be easily doable this time around and that my training would lead to that or more.

 

Obviously my back strength took a huge hit (as demonstrated by getting stapled with pretty much 3 plates). Dave kept telling me the strength would come back quickly since I was pain free but I was having trouble buying it. Even though he has decades of experience with these things. But hey I have been doing it for like 1/6 the amount of time so obviously I know best, right?

 

So for me, today would be an indicator of whether I could do the meet or not. I still wasn’t totally sure where my squats were in relation to where they should be but if my deadlift was nowhere in the vicinity of the low to mid 400s, I was going to say fuck it. I spent the whole night before training bitching about what was to come the following day and worrying about what this would mean for my ability to do a December meet (really helpful, right?).

I warmed up (135, 225, 275, 315) and got to 375 easily so thankfully I was not yet stapled. I decided to put my deadlift suit to give myself any possible advantage I could get.

405 was easy so I slapped some dimes on there for a speedy 425 then went to 445. My callouses tore off hence the bar dropping at the top.

Not shown in video: the many many minutes I spend sitting in silence and taking forever to set up/contemplate my existence/not miss any of my pulls for the day.

So while my back is working, I now dropped a deadlift in my right hand for the first time. I would like to blame it fully on the callouses but unfortunately I could feel that hand opening on one of my warm up sets too. After talking (complaining) to Dave, he recommended taking a week off my usual grip work (which I do 2x a week) in case it was wearing my sad little paws out.

Video is 425 and 445

 

I sent my mom a picture of my boo boo so she would think I was cool

IMG_6616

 

IMG_6622_LI

AND THEN MY OWN MOTHER TROLLED ME. I've taught her well. I'm so proud. I think I'm tearing up a little.

 

  • Goodmornings with Cambered or Buffalo Bar. 
  • I prefer cambered bar but if you hate it then use the Buffalo Bar. Warm up and go no more than 50% of your best TM on the squat. You will do this for 4 sets of 3 reps

 -

I used the rackable cambered bar for about 175 that is not a 50% weight but I was told to stop there to leave room to go up in the coming weeks and also because I was looking shaky. Like a leaf on a tree. Like in that lynyrd skynyrd song. Where they say that line. You know the one that I mean.

 

  • Reverse Hypers (HEAVY)
  • 2 sets of 8 reps

 -

5 plates on each side with lots of swinging. I already used my swinging joke in my first log so I’m out of material.

 

  • Banded Good Mornings 
  • 2 sets of 20 reps

 -

When I do these they are the best mornings.

 

  •  Light Bench Press with tsunami bar
  • 3 sets of 10 using either 95 or 135 pounds

-

 I did 95 because I'm just a lil guy.

 

  • Free Time: 
  • 20 minutes of whatever you want. No less then 8 reps per set. Try to get as much blood into the muscles as you can.

 -

I tried to do extra isolation work today including seated hamstring curls, leg extensions, hypers, adductor and abductors (all for high reps). I also did the t- bar row kinda heavy for my upper back. Gotta keep the old backeroo strong. Ya know.

 

10/14 ME Upper

 

  •  Warm Ups
  • 2 sets each various shoulder raise and push downs. Again this is just warming up. I would also put it 1-2 sets of hanging leg raise and GHR’s Also include shoulder circuit for 1 rotation.

 

  • Bench Press 
  • Work up to 80% of CM with shirt for 1 single off 2 board, 1 single off 1 board and 1 single to chest. Go back to 3 board and go up 10% and hit two more singles.

 -

I chose my percentages based on my 300 lb bench from last training cycle, not my competition max bench. Which was only my opener (265). I did the bar, a quarter, a plate, then 185 off boards (to save my elbows). I put the shirt on for 225 and kept it up all the way (as in I pulled the shirt all the way up and didn’t make any adjustments to it). I took two plates to a 3 board just to warm up and try and get the shirt on a little more. Then I went to my working weight (245) for the singles, everything went smoothly for these nice easy singles until the one to my chest.

I had my shirt set and jacked down a little for all of them since I am trying to use the shirt as I would at a meet. I bobbled a lot on the way down and ended up about a millimeter from my shirt before I pressed. It was too light for me to touch with my shirt set the way it was so I either should have:

1) added more weight (but that was not an option since we were going off percentages) OR

2) not had the shirt set the way I did. I probably would have touched easier if I left it all the way up. And now that I think about it I never set the shirt for 245 so, good job Lily. I’m pretty sure I was just being a lil bitch and trying to get as much out of my shirt as I could even though I did not need it and it was not the right time.

 

I then took 275 to a 3 board for two singles. The first one I forgot how to bench and touched in a weird place and the second one was fine and speedy.

 

I won’t say if my shirt work is going well or not well. Since it really doesn’t matter until I get to the meet and either fuck up or don’t fuck up. And my training is never an indication of which way it will go.

 

But I will say that my bar speed on the way down and general shirt groove is getting better. Usually it takes me a while to get back into the shirt when I put it on at the beginning of a meet cycle but this time around I only took one “what the fuck” bench the first time I put it on then I remembered what my body is supposed to do in it. I’m also dropping in pretty speedily without having to think about making a conscious effort to do it so that is superb.

 

  • Extensions (any type)
  • You can pick the sets and reps but when it all done should be 100 total reps

 -

I did cable extensions today. I don’t have cable at home so I have to get my cable time in at the gym. Ha get it? TV joke. Good one. Topical. High five.

 

  • Seated One Arm Dumbbell Press 
  • 3 sets 6-10 reps staying 1 rep shy of failure

 -

I used 40 lb dumbbells for sets of 10. 1 arm seated presses make you realize that the two sides of your body are on very different wavelengths. Like real bad.

 

  • Lat Pull Downs 
  • Do 2 sets with 3 different handles for a total of 6 sets of 8-10 reps

 

I try and use as many different grips as possible with 120-140 lbs depending on the handle.

 

  • Pull Down Abs 
  • 3 sets of 8-10 reps

110 lbs.

 

  • Free Time
  • 15 minutes - do whatever you want. Nothing under 10 reps and nothing over a level 4 

 -

I did some more triceps (lying DB triceps) because if you don’t hit your triceps from every angle possible did you really do triceps? I also did some front and side raises so maybe one day my shoulders can balance out my traps.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Which, coincidentally, is why I think my traps are so big. From all my indecisive shrugging.