After my experience at the XPC Finals, I have decided that it is time for me to stop resisting the changes my body wants to make and move up to the 242 lb weight class. I'm looking forward to being the little guy and having something to prove. I took a 2 week break from barbell work after the meet and just did whatever I felt like doing, three days a week. Kept the reps high and just had fun. But now I'm back on the programming train. I'm walking around in the mid 230's now, so I need to grow into the new weight class a bit. My coach, Mike Mastell, has dedicated the next 16 weeks of training to hypertrophy work. We are obviously still incorporating the big three lifts. However, we are shifting the focus from barbell work to putting on size. Lots of crazy stuff is ahead - pre-exhausting the main lift, rest/pause work, drop sets, high reps. All that unfun bodybuilding stuff us powerlifters hate. But by focusing on putting on size, I'll be giving my joints a break from the heavy lifts and be able to take a mental break from chasing pounds on the barbell. I'm looking forward to seeing how much size I can put on in the next 4 months and seeing how it positively influences my next meet prep training cycle.

Right now, I am looking to compete at either the RPS/XPC Semi Finals in September or the RPS Autumn Apocalypse meet in November as a 242 in the raw w/ wraps division. My body will tell me which meet is right when the time comes, and I'll be listening. Onto the leg destruction!

3/21/16 - Squats/Legs

Warmup:
McGill Big 3
5 part hip series

GHR's:
BW x 15
BW + Mini Band x 12
BW + 2 Mini Bands x 10
BW + 3 Mini Bands x 10

Notes:
Tried to keep the eccentric as slow as possible, which is really tough once the band weight gets heavy, and explode on the concentric. These are tough!

Buffalo Bar Squats: Sleeves, beltless
435x10
455x10
475x10

Notes:
As I stated in my previous log entry, I am trying to make the transition to low bar squatting. I have been an extremely high bar squatter for as long as I can remember, and have never really attempted to go low bar. I'm using the Buffalo Bar (and soon, the Duffalo Bar once it comes in to my gym) for all of my squatting this offseason to help save my shoulders and ease into the wider grip I'm having to take. I'm trying to wear the bar a little lower and stand a little wider every week until I find my sweet spots, then I'll hold it there. These squats felt great - weight was light, but the 10 rep sets just smoked my lungs.

Hack Squats:
3x20, rest pause set on the last set. BRUTAL. I just wanted to leave the gym after these.

Leg Extensions superset w/ Lying Leg Curls:
3x15, hard flex and a 1 count hold at the top of each exercise, and a 3 count slow eccentric. These drained what little I had left in my legs at the end of the session.

Wobbled out of the gym, unable to flex my knees due to the pump, and I'm pretty much doing the same thing today. The pump and DOMS is real. All in all, this session was a lot of fun and challenged me in ways that pre-meet training can't do. Looking forward to smashing bench and chest tonight!

Photo credit for the featured image - Moffitt Photography. Check out her awesome work at https://www.facebook.com/MoffittPhotography/?fref=ts. She's also a badass strongwoman competitor!