Powerlifting Blog

2008-02-07T10:55:00.001-05:00

2/5/08 - Tuesday

Squat - warm up bar, 135×10, x6, x3, 225×5, x3, 315×2, broke back down and added the green bands to 225×2x8 sets. alternated sets with my training partner.

Speed Dead sumo - 135×1x5 sets, 225×1x5 sets, 315×5

Back Extension machine - 145×8, 160×8x2

Kettlebell Swings - 55lbx10, 70×10x2

Pullups - bodyweightx8×4 sets

DB Curls - 35×6, 40×6x2

Cable Curls - 120×6, 140×6, 160×6

2008-02-05T12:47:00.000-05:00

The road to the AAPF Nationals starts. Just under 9 weeks of training until then. We started our training today. Feeling pretty good so far. Before starting yesterday, we wanted to gauge where we were in the squat, bench, and dead. We suited up the 2 weeks prior, and here’s where I currently stand. Squatted 575lbs, benched 410lbs, and deadlifted 525lbs. I can only go up. My goal is to squat 630lbs+, bench 440lbs+, and dead 575lbs+.

2/4/08 - Monday

Bench - warm up with bar, 95×10, 135×10, 135×6, 225×5… broke it down to 135 with the green bands, and did 8 sets x 3 reps w/about 20-30 sec rest.

DB Incline #1- 70×6x3sets

Shoulder Press - 135×4x4sets

Rear Delt on cable cross - 160×10, 170×10, 180×10x2 sets

Tri Pushdowns wide - 60×15x8 sets, I supersetted with 40×6 on Nautilus XPLoad Tri Ext.

Dragon Flags (for the core strength)- 2 sets of 5 reps

So far so good. Speed Squatting and Deads on Tuesday

2007-12-21T15:02:00.000-05:00

12/20/07 - Thursday

Bench - warm up bar, 95x10, 135x10, 135x6, 225x4, 255x1, 285x1. Threw on my shirt 385x2, 410x1

Close Grip - 235x3, 245x3x2sets

Incline #2 - 75x4x3sets

kettlebell snatches (55lb) 5x4 sets, each arm

preacher curl on nautilus nitro plus - 110x8, 125x6x2 sets

v-bar tri pushdowns - 90x10, 100x10x3 sets

2007-12-19T10:12:00.000-05:00

12/18/07 - Tuesday

Squat - warm up, then went to box squats with 225x2x8 sets, about 30-45 sec rest between sets

Deadlift Conv - 225x1x10 sets

Pull-ups - i love doing pull ups now, legs straight, no swinging! bodyweightx8, put on the dip/chin belt and added my 45lb kettlebell to it. 2 sets x5

Bent over barbell rows - 135x8x3 sets

seated calves - 50x20, 20x40, 20x40

NitroPlus Calf machine (straight leg) - 65x30x3 sets... i'm definately going to be feeling this tomorrow. everytime i blast my calves i have problems walking 2 days later.

2007-12-19T10:07:00.000-05:00

12/17/07 - Monday

Bench - warm up, 185x10, 195x10, 205x10

Dumbbell Incline #1 - 70x6x3 sets

Barbell Military Press - 135x6, 145x6, 155x6

I only did a set or 2 of Kettlebell cleans, i was showing my training partner the proper clean technique. we used the 55lb and 70lb bells

Preacher Curls on Nautilus Nitro Plus - 110x8x4 sets

Tri Pushdowns wide flat bar - 90x10x3, 100x10x4

2007-12-17T13:26:00.000-05:00

12/13/07 - Thursday

I haven't used any gear since the AWPC World's on August 4th. We decided to break it out to see where we were. my first bench with the shirt was 385, and my second was 405. i decided to leave it at that. considering this time last year i went into a meet and only did 385. this entire year i've used that as my opener (4 meets 12/2/06 - 8/4/07) i may start opening up around 395-400.

12/15/07 - Saturday

Again, no gear from 8/4/07 thru now. No belt, no hips. the only thing we used as "gear" were wrist wraps. i've had a slight strained groin for the past few weeks. wasn't sure as to how heavy i was going to go. hips and belt from 415 up. 415 felt nice. 465 felt good. i went to 505 with the hips, belt and a light... light knee wrap. i haven't done 505 without at least having the lower half of my suit on. 505 felt like nothing and i squatted it smooth and with a good turn-around on the bottom. i want to see how i do with the suit now. we just got a frantz deadlift bar, so we decided to check that out today as well. hips and belt. i haven't sumo deadlifted much at all since august... mainly i've only done grueling sets of 5 conventional. i pulled 405 easy. did 455 easy, but kept it there. because of my groin there was more stress on it picking up the dead weight than there was squatting. too much of a twinge for me to want to go higher. we'll see how it goes from here.. i don't know how much gear we will be using or how often. hasn't been determined yet.

2007-10-27T10:07:00.000-05:00

Friday, October 26, 2007

i was more rested this week and ready to squat, however, i have a slight strained groin, so i broke the weight back down on the squat and did a 3x3 workout. i also narrowed my stance some and made my feet more straight forward to take out some of the pain in the groin muscle.

Squat - bar, 135x8, 135x6, 225x5, 315x2, 355x3x3

Conventional Deadlift - 225x3, 275x1, 335x1, and now the work sets.. there were 4 of us and we had 3 bars set up since we all have different strength levels. we went in turn deadlifting, so our rest was limited to 60-90 seconds between sets. this is a brutal deadlift routine, but we love it. i think it's a huge factor to my slight weight increase the past few weeks, since i have done nothing special to my diet.

Here are the work sets... 350x5, 315x5, 280x5 for 9 sets! (10% [35lbs] drop for the first 3 sets) again very little rest here. heart racing, dripping with sweat, feeling like puking, light headed and seeing stars. i was fried after 9. thomas did 10 and rob, the freak that he is banged out 15 sets of 5 with 335. his drops were 50lb drops, so he started at 435, 385, 335... i wonder how he feels today... haha! i actually don't feel too bad.. a little tight, but i've been doing this for a few weeks now, so i'm getting used to workload involved. the premise of this routine is that it is supposed to help your body release it's natural growth hormone. i'm believing it.

2007-10-25T22:22:00.000-05:00

October 25, 2007 - Thursday Heavy Bench

It's been a while since my last blog posting... oops! from where i left off with my bench on september 27, i've been increasing the weight 10lbs every week. so this is what has culminated up to now... this was today's workout

Bench - warm up bar, 95x10, 135x8, x6, 225x5, 255x2, 285x3, 295x2, 305x1

Board press - 305x3 (3 boards), 325x2 (2 boards), 345x1
I decided to lower down to 2 boards... i had a lot of explosive drive off of the 3 board and that part of my bench was not the weak area, so i dropped to a 2 board. what a difference! that extra distance of just under 2 inches feels like a full range rep!

Incline press - 195x3, 205x2, 215x1

Rear delts on one half of cable cross - 160x10, 180x10, 200x10, 220x10

preacher curls Nautilus nitro plus - 110x10x4

Triceps pushdown v-bar - 90x10, 100x10, 110x10x2 sets

Dragon flags - 1 sets 5 reps

My squatting last week ended up with 385x3, 405x2, and 425 for an attempted 1. i say attempted because i picked it up strong, controlled it down strong, but couldn't get back up! i had a rough week of late nights and some partying which definitely was the main reason for my failed rep. i was exhausted. it showed in my deadlifting too. 2 fridays ago i deadlifted 340x5, 305x5, 280x5x10 sets. last friday i did 345x5, 285x5, and was fried by my fifth set of 285x5. sheer exhaustion. i took off going out friday night, and since sunday haven't gone out at all and i'm feeling more rested. i'm hoping tomorrow is a better training session than last week...

2007-10-02T13:01:00.000-05:00

Monday October 1, 2007

Bench - warm up bar, 95x12, 135x8, 135x5, 165x3x7sets 20 count between sets

Close grip bench - 165x10x4 sets

Kettlebell snatches - 55x5x5 each arm

Preacher curls - 125x8x2, 125x6x2

Tri Push downs w/wide grip round bar- 80x10x2, 90x10, 100x10

Dragon flags - 4 sets of 5

KB windmills - 2 sets of 5

2007-10-01T12:04:00.000-05:00

September 25, 2007 - Tuesday

Squat - warmed up with bar, 135x8, 135x5, 225x5, 315x2... did box squats with 275x3x5 sets

no deadlifts today.

Alternating hand Kettlebell swings - 55lbs x 5 reps each arm for 5 sets

Lat pulldowns w the v-handle - 170x6, 180x6, 190x6, 200x6

Low rows - 160x6, 170x6, 180x6

September 27, 2007 - Thursday

Bench - warm up bar, 95x10, 135x8, x4, 225x5, 245x3, 255x2, 265x1

Board press - 265x3, 285x2, 305x1

Incline press - 145x3, 155x2, 165x1

Kettlebell Cleans - 55x5x5 sets

preacher curls Nautilus nitro plus - 125x8x4

Triceps pushdown v-bar - 80x8x3, 90x8x1

Dragon flags - 3 sets 5 reps

Windmills with kettlebell - 55x5x2 sets

September 28, 2007 - Friday

Squat - warm up 135x8, x6, x5, 225x5, 315x2, 365x3, 385x2, 405x1

Deadlift conventional - 135x5, 225x3, 315x1, 365x1, 405x1.. i tried 455, but it was a no go. i'm still working my conventional deadlift. it's horrible... not in the way of form, but in the way of how much i can pick up! Sumo in my last meet, i almost locked out 573. I have a mental block conventional deadlifting. i'm going to continue working conventional.

2007-09-25T15:45:00.000-05:00

Monday September 24, 2007

Bench - warm up, 95x10, 135x10, 135x5, 185x6, 155x3x8 sets

close grip bench - 155x10x4 sets

kettlebell snatches - 55lb x5 reps x4 sets

Preacher curls - 110x8x 4 sets

wide bar pushdowns round bar - 80x10x4

dragon flags - 3 sets of 5

wasn't feeling too great during the day. i have a small cold now, but at the gym last night i felt great. went to bed early and i'm a little better today, but sound a little worse. we'll see what tonight brings squatting.

2007-09-24T13:40:00.000-05:00

Friday September 21, 2007

Squat - warm up, 135x8, x6, x4, 225x5, 315x2, 355x3, 375x2, 395x1... no belt, no knee wraps.

Deadlift - 135x5, 225x3, 315x1, 345x3x3 sets

Lat pulldown - 180x6, 190x6, 200x6x2 sets

2007-09-24T13:29:00.000-05:00

Thursday - september 20, 2007

Bench - warm up, 95x10, 135x8, 135x6, 185x5, 235x3, 245x2, 255x1

3 Board press - 255x3, 275x2, 295x1

Incline Bench - 135x3, 145x2, 155x1

Kettlebell snatches - 5 sets of 5, 55lbs

Preacher curls nitro plus nautilus - 120x8x4 sets

Tri pushdown wide flat bar- 80x8x4

2007-09-24T13:26:00.000-05:00

September 18, 2007 - Tuesday

Squat - warm up, 135x8, 135x6, 225x5, 315x3x3

Deadlift - 135x5, 225x3, 315x1, 365x6 45 sec rest - 330x5

Lat pulldown - 170x6, 180x6, 190x6, 200x6

dragon flags - 3 sets 5 reps

2007-09-19T14:23:00.000-05:00

Monday September 17, 2007

Bench - warmup with bar, 95x10, 135x8, 135x5, 185x5, 225x5, 150x3x8 sets 20 sec count between sets

Close grip - 155x8x4 sets

Kettlebell Snatches - 55lb x 5 x 4 sets my new favorite kettlebell exercise. I was reluctant to do these at first since i got the kettlebell a few months ago because i feared the bell crushing my forearm at the top of the move. we ordered a 35lb kettlebell for a customer and i experimented with it, since it was 20lb lighter, got the form down and that was that.

Rear delt on cable cross - 180x10, 190x10, 200x10, 210x10

Preacher curl on nautilus nitro - 95x8x 4 sets

Wide Tricep pressdown - 80x8x4 sets

Dragon Flags - 3 sets of 5 reps bodyweight

2007-09-04T20:44:00.000-05:00

9/4/07 - Tuesday

i guess i took too much time off from posting my workouts. getting back, i've been working my conventional deadlift like crazy. i've been doing a set of 5 with 90% of a 5 rep max. so going off of 360, my first set was 35 lbs lighter at 325, stripped another 35 lbs to 290... maybe 45 sec between my 2 sets. every workout i added 5 lbs to the bar. so after 5 workouts, which included today, i've worked up to 350x5 stripped to 315x5. my form is good and feel that i'm making great progress. i know there will be a point where i will not get the 5. that's where i need to break it back down again off of my new 5 rep max. i do want to do a sort of max effort on the conventional to see where i am. but i may wait 3 more sessions to try that. the dead is my main focus right now. i do want to do a program for bench and also squat. i have them lined up, but i don't want to burn out my nervous system. i'm not getting great amount of rest right now.

2007-08-27T12:55:00.000-05:00

Saturday 8/25/07

Squat - Warm up, 135x10, 135x6, 225x5, 315x3, 335x2, 355x1

Deadlift - 135x5, 225x3, 295x1... 340x5, drop 35lbs to 305x5 rest 20count, 45 sec rest 305x5 again. i was going to pull another set, but decided not to

lat pull - 170x6, 180x6, 190x6, 200x6

low row - 180x6, 190x6, 200x6

dragon flags 3 sets of 5

2007-08-27T12:51:00.000-05:00

Thursday 8/23/07

Bench - warm up, 95x10, 135x8, 135x6, 185x7, 245x3, 255x2, 265x1

DB incline #1- 75x5, 80x5, 85x5

close grip bench - 225x3x3 sets

kettlebell clean and press - 55x5x5 sets

tri pushdowns wide flat bar - 80x8, 90x8x3

kettlebell pass through legs - 55lbx10 passes each hand x3 sets

2007-08-22T08:07:00.000-05:00

Powerlifting - Squat/Dead
8/21/07 - Tuesday

Squat - warm up, 135x10, 135x6, 225x5, 315x3, 225x2x4 with a 2 second pause in the hole and a 20 rest between sets

Deadlift - 135x5, 225x3, 285x1, 335x5 stripped to 300x5 (about 30 sec rest), did another strip to 225x10. don't know why i did that... body boy (rob the transitioning PLer to bodybuilder) said i should do it. i don't like high rep deads, and i probably won't do that again.

Lat pulldown - 160x6, 170x6, 180x6, 190x6.

That's pretty much everything that was done. I need to get more abwork in again. I do my dragon flags on mon/thur, but should throw in the wheel every morning to try and work my way to the jack knife wheel (BRUTAL!!!)

2007-08-21T09:56:00.000-05:00

8/20/07 - Monday - Powerlifting Speed Bench

bench - warm up bar, 95x10, 135x8:4, 185x7, 155x3x7sets 20 count between sets.

DB incline #1 position, palms facing each other - 70x5, 75x5, 80x5

Kettlebell C&P - 55lbx5x5

Preacher curls on Nautlius NitroPlus - 95x8x3

Tri Pushdown V-bar - 80x8x4

Dragon Flags for abs - 3 sets of 5

2007-08-20T12:06:00.000-05:00

8/16/07 thursday

i was in a rush today because i had to meet family for dinner at a local restaurant, so i benched, did db incline and close grip bench.

Bench - warm up, 95x10, 135x10, 135x6, 185x7, 215x3, 225x2, 235x1

DB incline - 70x6, 75x6, 80x6

close grip - 155x8x3sets and i left the gym... not much today like i said because of time. i'm also still getting back into the swing of things

8/17/07 Friday

Squat - warm up 135x10, 135x6, 225x8, 285x6, 335x4. no belts, briefs or kneee wraps

Deadlift - 135x5, 225x3, 275x2, 330x5 stripped 35lbs to 295 and did another 5 reps (about 30 secs between the sets)

Pull ups 3 sets of 6

that was my short workout for friday.

2007-08-15T14:03:00.000-05:00

Powerlifting - Tuesday 8/14/07

Squat - warm up bar, 135x10, 135x6, 135x5, 225x8, 275x6, 325x4

Deadlift - 135x5, 225x3, 275x3, 325x5 rested long enough to strip the bar to 290... 290x5, rest 30sec 290x5

Pullups - 3 sets of 6, just body weight.. nice controlled reps.

That was pretty much it. i'm keeping it semi short to get back into the swing of things. i'm not really training with my usual powerlifting partner since he's training for bodybuilding now...

2007-08-14T08:47:00.000-05:00

AWPC Worlds - 8/5/07

600.75lb Squat

407lb Bench

540lb Deadlift

2007-08-14T08:31:00.000-05:00

Finally back at the gym this week, after a much needed week off from the previous 3 months training for the AWPC World's. Felt good to be back training. My training partner's girlfriend wants him to do a bodybuilding show this November, so i'm not training with him. apparently, he may not compete again because she doesn't want him to. excuse me???? she says that if he gets on the stage and does the show then he can compete to go to World's again next year. that's just retarded! you've been competing for 25yrs and you're going to let your girlfriend dictate if you can compete next year?? please man, grow some balls. powerlifting has been your life. don't let a woman tell you that you can't compete. it's your girlfriend, not your wife. she's into fitness/body shows, you're a powerlifter, always have been. whatever, i'm done with that because it makes me sick!

Back in the gym.... Monday 8/13/07

Bench - warm up bar, 95x10, 135x10, 135x6, 185x5, 205x3, 215x2, 225x1

DB Incline #2 setting on bench - 65x6, 70x6, 75x6

KB clean and press - 55lbx5 x5 sets

side lateral raises - 25x10x3

DB shrugs - 70x10, 80x10, 90x10

wide tri pushdowns with flat bar - 70x10x2, 80x10x3

2007-08-07T09:54:00.000-05:00

AWPC WORLD's
8/4/07 - 8/5/07

This weekend was successful for me and Rob. Rob competed on Saturday in the 198lb Submaster division, setting a squat world record at 727.52lbs (330kg). He benched 463, and deadlifted 628. He also set the total world record for his class at 1818lbs.

I competed on Sunday. I ended up squatting 600.75, benching 407.85, and deadlifting 540. Those were all of my 2nd attempts. I missed 644 on the squat... felt the same as 600, I just got stuck in the hole. I missed 440 on the bench... the weight flew off my chest, but i couldn't lock out my elbows. I missed 573 on the deadlift... i picked up nice, and just as the judge went to say down, i lost my grip with the right hand. so close! I totaled 1548. a little off of my total from Nationals in April, but good enough for 1st place! I'm taking this week off to recoup, and i'll be back in the gym soon to working bench and squatting. in the meantime, i'll also be working grip strength!

2007-08-01T09:10:00.000-05:00

I'm a few days out from my competition... 2 from flying into Chicago. It hit me today that I'm competing in the Worlds, so now I'm anxious. I haven't done much this week in terms of the gym. On Monday I did some light shoulder side and front raises, and some wide tri pushdowns to get some blood flowing. I've been doing abs this week, with my wheel and powerbreathing. I'm trying to up my food intake because I'm light. I've been weighing less than 160 the past couple of days, which is actually normal when I know a meet is near. It's the nerves, and I lose a couple of pounds. I have to force myself to eat. I need everything fitting tight for Sunday. I need to eat, and bloat up with some salt. I'm just relaxing until then. Saturday I'm there helping out my training partner who also qualified for the World's. Wrapping someone's knees is a bitch. I'm new to it, and it's one hell of a forearm workout.

Train hard, eat, rest...

2007-07-29T16:56:00.001-05:00

Powerlifting - Openers for the AWPC Worlds
Friday - 7/27/07

We did our openers for the AWPC Worlds that we're competing in this coming weekend, Aug 4-5 in Chicago. I'm opening my squat at 540lbs. I haven't totally decided where to go from there, but probably 600 for my second attempt, and above 625 for my third. For the bench I'm opening at 385lbs. I opened there at the nationals in April. I'm thinking 30lb jumps, so 415 for my 2nd and 445ish for my 3rd attempt. I should have a pretty good total going into the deadlift. I think I may open there around 500lbs. The next 2 attempts I haven't thought about much as of yet. I'll have more of an idea later on in the week.

2007-07-24T16:42:00.000-05:00

Powerlifting - Speed Bench
Monday 7/23/07

Bench - warm up with bar, 95x12, 135x10, 135x6, 195x5, 235x5, 265x4, broke back down to 175x3x8 sets

Dumbell Incline #1 setting - 85x6, 90x6, 95x6

Shoulder press on Nautilus XP Load - 90x10, 180x6, 230x6, 230x6 (total weight, half for each arm)

Shrug - 90x10, 180x6, 230x6, 280x6

Rear delt hanging from pull up bar - 3 sets of 6

Tri pushdown's wide flat bar - 90x10x4, 100x10

Dragon flags - 3 sets of 5

2007-07-22T11:14:00.000-05:00

Powerlifting - Heavy Squat/Dead
Friday - 7/20/07

We had a little time constraint since Rob had some family to attend to early in the evening. All that we got done Friday was Squat and Rack pulls from below the knee.

Squat - warm up with the bar, bottoms up front squat with the 55lb kettlebell x8x2, 145x8, 145x5, 235x5, 235x3, put on my briefs, 325x3, 415x2, put on my suit, not too tight with the straps, a light knee wrap 535x2. it felt heavy, the reps weren't bad, but i was up the day before for 20hrs, and that most certainly didn't help at all.

Rack Pulls - 225x3, 405x3, 455x2

Saturday - 7/21/07

Very rare for me to do this, but we haven't done a lot of back work on our heavy squat days, so i came in after work for some back

Lat Pulldown - 50x10, 110x10, 190x6, 200x6, 210x6x2

Low row the the D-handle attachment (the wider one so your hands are just about a foot apart) - 180x6, 190x6, 200x6

Kettlebell clean and press ladders - 55x1, 55x2, 55x3... i did that series 3 times. gets the heart racing

Preacher curls on the Nautilus Nitro machine - 80x10, 95x10x2, 110x8

One more week of training, and this thurs and fri we do our openers for the bench and squat. i'm still working the numbers out in my head as to where i will open. we take a week off and then fly into Chicago....

2007-07-19T21:51:00.000-05:00

Powerlifting - Heavy Bench
Thursday - 7/20/07

I had a pretty long day... having to get up 2 hours earlier than normal for a pretty big job we had for a local HS. I felt pretty drained going into the gym from the day's work, and it wasn't a max day, since we did that last week... it was a heavy work day.

Bench - bar warm-up, 95x12, 135x10, 135x6, 185x5, 235x4, 285x2... put on my bench shirt, 385x2, 420x1... the 420 felt good, a little slow for me, but i'm content. i thought about a 2nd rep, but didn't want to push it. we're doing our openers for the meet next thursday.

Bench w/chains - 225+1 set of chains x2, 225+2 sets x2, 225+3 sets x2

close grip bench - 225x3, 245x3, 265x3

bent over dumbell rear delt - 20x8x3 sets

Tri pushdowns v-bar - 90x10x4, 100x10

i still feel pretty drained, but considering today's work schedule, the training was still good. one more week of training left, a week off and then i'm in chicago competing....

2007-07-18T09:39:00.000-05:00

Powerlifting - Light/Speed Squat/Dead

Squat - Bar warm up, 135x8x2, 225x5, 225x3, 315x3

Box Squats - 225x2x4 sets

Conventional Dead - 135x3x3, 225x3x3

Hyper Extensions - body x10x3, body+25lb x10

Lat Pulldown - 190x6, 200x6, 210x6

One Arm Dumbell Rows - 80x6, 90x6, 100x6

Bicep Preacher machine - 95x8x4

nice short day for me. i'm hoping to get some good work in tomorrow on the bench... train heavy, and rest up

2007-07-18T09:26:00.000-05:00

Powerlifting - Light/Speed Bench
Monday 7/16/07

Saturday's training took a lot out of us, so we cut down a little on the volume for monday so we could let our nervous system recoup a little faster.

Bench - bar warm-up, 95x12, 135x10, 135x6, 185x5, 225x3, 265x4 broke it back down to 165x3x4 sets.

Dumbell Incline - 85x6, 90x6x2

Kettlebell Clean and Press - 55x5x4 sets

Rear Delt hanging from chin bar - body weightx6x3 sets

Wide Tri Pushdowns - 80x10, 90x10x4 sets

Dragon Flags - 3 sets of 5

2007-07-16T12:39:00.000-05:00

Powerlifting - Heavy Squat/Dead
Saturday - 7/14/05

Today was the 2 peak week in our cycle for this meet. so it was full gear max effort. My dead is still lacking, but a couple of factors different from a meet day - one being the whole environment/intensity, the other being that we deaded right after max squatting. More time during a meet to recoup a little, and the bench is thrown in the middle as well... anyway here we go.....

Squat - warm up with bar for a few sets, 145x8, 145x5, 235x5, 235x3, put on briefs, 325x3, 415x2, put on suit, 525x1 (light knee wrap), 575x1 Full gear, 625x1 Full Gear!!!! That is a NEW PR for me. I weigh around 162lbs right now. I was planning to go over 600 today, and wanted to best my third attempt that i missed at nationals.

Dead - 225x3, 405x1, 495x1, and i tried 565... i just got it to my knees and that was it. I felt fried. I picked it up easy, but couldn't pull my hips through once i got it there. i didn't lose my grip either. The dead is hard to work. it's very taxing and especially right after squatting with a fried back. it's just tough since it's a very taxing movement in itself.

I was pretty psyched about today. new PR in the squat for me, and i got over that 600lb hump. my numbers are looking good right now. 625 squat, 440 bench, and @550 deadlift= @1615. My goal is 1600+ total at this meet.

2007-07-13T09:08:00.000-05:00

Powerlifting - Heavy Bench
Thursday - 7/12/07

Yesterday was, as it says above, heavy bench day... Seeing that we're at a peak week in the cycle, we kind of did a max effort yesterday. Tomorrow is a max effort in the squat. The bench yesterday felt great, and I made a new PR for myself. Still with 3 weeks to go until the AWPC Chicago.

Bench - warm up with bar, 95x12, 135x10, 135x6, 195x5, 235x4, 295x1... i had a long wait until i put my bench shirt on since i was spotting my partner while he did his shirt benches. Once he was done and i was ready to go with the shirt:
385x2, 440x1 ! New PR for me!!

3 Board Press - 385x2, 440x2, 455x2

Close Grip - 230x3, 245x1, 260x3

Side Raises - 15x25
Front Raises - 15x15, 15x10

Now for my rear delt, what i did was hang from the cross bar in the power cage, looked up, arched my back and pulled my shoulder blades together... keeping the arms straight. i did this for 3 sets of 6, nice and controlled and concentrating on the squeezing of the shoulder blades.

V-Bar Tricep Pushdowns - 80x10, 90x10x4 sets

Dragon Flags - 2 sets of 5

Heavy Squat/Dead Tomorrow... looking for new PR's!

2007-07-10T23:03:00.000-05:00

Powerlifting - Speed Squat/Dead
Tuesday 7/10/07

Seeing that we're ending on a peak week this Friday, we took it a little easier on the squat and dead today, so we will be better rested for the heavy sessions.

Squat - warmed up with bar, 2 sets of bottoms up kettlebell squats to loosen the hips, 135x8, 135x5, 135x3, 225x5, 225x3, 315x3

Band Box Squats - here we used the blue bands, thicker than the green ones we used last week. 225 plus bands x2 x4sets

Band Deadlifts - 135x2 x4sets

Kettlebell swings - 55lbx10 both hands on bell, 2 sets with each arm individually, and the last set i did them with both hands on the bell

back extension machine - 125x10, 140x10, 155x10

Lat pulldown - 180x6, 190x6, 200x6

dumbell row - 75x6, 85x6, 95x6

bicep curl olympic straight bar - 65x6, 85x6, 105x6

dragon flags - 2 sets of 5

Heavy bench is next on the list...

2007-07-09T21:01:00.000-05:00

Powerlifting - Speed Bench
Monday - 7/9/07

Bench - Warm up with the bar, 95x10, 135x10, 135x6, 195x7, 245x5... broke it back down to 135 with the blue bands for 8 sets, 3 reps, 20 count between sets

Dumbell Incline #1 - 80x6, 85x6, 90x6

Kettlebell Cleans - 55lbx10x4 sets

Wide Rear Delt (on Freedom Trainer) - 200x10, 215x10, 230x10, 245x10

Tricep pushdowns wide w/flat bar - 80x10x2, 90x10x3

Dragon Flags - 3 sets of 5

Side Bends - 55lb x 5x 2sets

2007-07-06T22:38:00.000-05:00

Powerlifting - Heavy Squat
Friday 7/6/07

I'm coming off a pretty successful day in the gym yesterday... matching a PR on my bench in preparation for the AWPC World's. Today was just as good.

Squat - warmed up with the bar, did 2 sets of bottom's up KB squats (55lb). I highly recommend using that exercise to help loosen up your hips. it's amazing. 145x8, 145x5, 235x5, 235x3, put on my briefs, 325x3, 415x2, put on my suit and a light knee wrap 505x1, fully geared 555x2. then did a stand up with 625. felt good.

Chain Squats - just kept the suit on, but left the straps down. it's been humid, i've consumed a lot of salt and water, and my suit was tight, so i just left it on like last friday. base weight on the bar was 365 w/1 set of chains x2, 365+2sets x2, 365+3sets x2, 365+4setsx2, 365+5setsx2. last set was tough down, but i'm coming up nicely. again each set of chains is about 33lbs, so at the top of squat, there's roughly an extra 30lbs from each set, so with all 5 sets thats 150lbs. (i think when i was fully standing, there were maybe 3 links on the floor) 365+150 at the top =515 lbs.

Rack pulls from above the knee (took of the suit, just wearing my briefs now) - 225x3, 405x3, 495x3, and 585x1. we've been training this younger kid too.. he's 16, 220+, and 6'2" tall... he's pretty damn strong, and i did not want to let him beat me on the rack pulls. i'm 163ish, 5'5" tall. i've got a few more years under my belt powerlifting, but my racks have sucked lately. so i saw him fail 585 twice.. i had to get at least one, and i've never picked up that much weight and held it freely in my hands, which becomes an issue when deadlifting heavy. i got it and held it... it was slow, i had every muscle and vein popping, but i picked up that 585 from the knee. felt great and i called it a day. i'm zapped, need some rest. only 3 more weeks of training until we take off for the the AWPC Worlds. Have a great weekend, rest up, see you monday!

2007-07-06T08:33:00.001-05:00

Powerlifting - Heavy Bench
Thursday 7/5/07

Ok, the day after the 4th... I wasn't feeling too great today. I was tired all day, tried a little cat nap at work, but still was extremely tired from my activities of drinking for most of the day July 4th! Hope everyone had a safe holiday.

Bench - warm up with bar, 95x12, 135x12, 135x6, 185x5, 235x5, 285x2, put on my shirt, 385x2, 430x1 matching my all time PR!

3 Board Press - 385x3, 430x2, 455x1

Flat Dumbell Press - 80x4, 85x4, 90x4

Close Grip Bench - 225x3, 240x3, 255x3

Rear Delt on one half of cable cross machine - 160x10, 180x10, 200x10, 220x10

Tricep Pushdowns with V-bar - 80x10x2, 90x10x3

That's it... I'm feeling really good about my training thus far. I have 3 more weeks of training, and the week following is the meet. I'm counting down to Chicago!

2007-07-04T22:47:00.000-05:00

Powerlifting - Speed Squat/Dead
Tuesday - 7/3/07

Squat - warm up with bar, 135x10, 135x6, 225x5, 225x3, 315x3
Added Green bands and box squat - 225x2x8 sets

Deadlift with Green bands platform - 135x3x8 sets

D-handle Lat pulldown - 180x8, 190x8, 200x6

Chest Supported row - 80x6, 100x6, 120x6, 130x6

Seated calf raise - 90x12x10

Hammer DB curls - 35x6, 40x6, 45x6, 50x6

2007-07-02T21:11:00.000-05:00

Powerlifting - Speed Bench
Monday - 7/2/07

Bench - warmed up with bar, 95x10, 135x12, 135x6, 185x8, 235x6, broke it back down to 135 and added green bands. 135 w/bandsx3x8 sets. 20sec count between sets

Dumbell Incline #1 - 80x6, 85x6x2

Kettlebell Clean and presses - 55lbx5x5

Dumbell shugs - 90x10, 100x10, 110x8

Rear Delt - 160x10, 180x10, 200x10, 220x10

Tricep Pressdown w/Flat wide bar - 80x10x3, 90x10x2

Dragon Flags - 3 sets of 5 reps... I need to add some different ab exercises.. cycle them in a little better, or hit them more often.... you need your core strength in powerlifinting. power moves with the abs are the way to go. forget the high reps with abs. spend the $10 for an ab wheel, and learn how to do them right. learn how to do the dragon flag. those 5 reps will tear you apart, but your core strength will skyrocket. i love doing them.

The shoulder felt awesome today.. I'm not really too worried about working with it right now. felt good on the bench and it felt good with the dumbells and kettlebell as well. i have more super cissus rx on the way. i really think this stuff works! tomorrow, speed squat/dead

2007-06-29T22:17:00.000-05:00

Powerlifting - Heavy Squat
Friday 6/29/07

Squat - warm up with bar, did a set of bottoms up kettlebell squats to loosen up the hips a little, 145x10, 145x8, 235x5, 235x3... put on my briefs... now today it was a bitch putting them on.. it was a combination of the heat, and the amount of sodium water i took in from this morning and at lunch with water throughout the day. 315x5, 405x2, put on my suit, didn't crank the straps, light knee wrap and 535x2

Squat with Chains (each set of chains @33lbs [SC]) - 345+1 SCx2, +2 SCx2, +3 SCx2, +4 SCx2, +5 SCx2... i had on my hips and just the bottom of my squat suit... didn't put the straps up... normally i would take the suit of and just be in my briefs, but with the heat, and the fact that the suit was tight as hell, i was not about to try taking it off right then, so i kept it on.

Rack pulls below the knee - conventional rack pulls - 225x3, 315x3, 405x3, 495 failed... my conventional dead sucks... i need to work on it more when done training for this meet. i can definately hold the weight in my hands, but i get stuck at the knees conventionally. definate work to be done here. i'm a sumo deadlifter

Seated Calf Raise - 90x10x10... couldn't handle 15 reps here rapid firing the sets... so i cut the reps... some sets i was able to get 11-13 reps, but only for a few.

That was it, I felt very productive with my squat today, not so much with the rack pulls. next friday i may do a double with 555. rack pulls will be above the knee and we'll take it from there...

2007-06-29T16:20:00.000-05:00

Powerlifting - Heavy Bench
Thursday 6/28/07

I've been wondering how my shoulder was going to hold out with a heavy day of benching... turned out to be just fine.

Bench - warm up barx15, 95x12, 135x10, 135x6, 185x8, 235x4, 275x2... Put on my bench shirt, 385x2, 415x1. no pain and it felt great, very tight, very controlled movement and pretty smooth on the way up.

3 Board press with the shirt - 385x3, 415x2... my third rep with 415 was scary since i lost it.. good thing i have great spotters. i came out of my groove and back toward my head.. don't know really...

Flat DB press - 80x4x2sets, 85x4

Close Grip bench - 205x3, 225x3, 245x3 i was afraid of trying too much weight too soon with the shoulder, but it didn't hurt, and it felt great.

Kettlebell Clean and Press - 55lb bell x5 each arm for 2 sets. then i dropped the sets to 3 reps as i was feeling a little burnt

Tricep pressdown with V-bar - 80x10x3, 90x10x2

Pretty much done here... added a little abs in there, had my shake and went home. I'm ordering some of the Supercissus Rx for one of the guys that trains with us that has been having some trouble with his shoulder. I would like to see how he responds to it. Heavy Squat tonight in about 25 minutes, so I'll have that workout posted later on this evening... Have a great weekend!

2007-06-27T08:23:00.000-05:00

Something to be said for SuperCissus Rx by USPLabs. If you guys have been reading my blog since I started it again earlier this month, you know I ran into a shoulder problem. It hurt to bench, hurt to do shoulders, hurt to move my shoulder, hurt just letting my arm hang. I asked my chiropractor, massage therapist and sister, who is a PT (physical therapist), but no one knew for certain. I just iced and iced. It felt better, but not good enough to really train like I need to be. I added SuperCissus Rx to my daily supplements and although it took about 3 weeks (avg. time to see some sort of result reading the forum on this product), I'm not feeling any pain in my shoulder at all. Last thursday, it still hurt benching and I only did 50lbs for the dumbell incline... I should be in the 80's - 90's by now. On monday, my shoulder felt great, no pain. I was able to add kettlebell clean and presses back into my routine, which I had stopped doing because it hurt so much. I'm going to continue to take the SuperCissus Rx as a preventative measure in my training routines. Tomorrow's heavy bench day, so I'm eating up and resting today. If you want to know more about SuperCissus, click the "Buy" button over on the right and it'll take you to a page that'll give you some more information on it, or you can visit USPLabsDirect.com Click Here.
You will definately save more ($12/bottle) if you click on the "Buy" button over in the right hand column. If you have any sort of joint pain, or want to take something as a preventative measure for you joints, I recommend the SuperCissus Rx.

Johnny D

2007-06-26T20:29:00.000-05:00

Powerlifting - Speed Squat/Dead
Tuesday 6/26/07

It was hot as hell in the gym today. Either it was never put on in the morning or the girls thought it was on. When we checked the thermostat it read 87 degrees!! Not good seeing it was 92 with high humidity today. Sweating like crazy the first part of the workout.

Squat - warm up for a couple of sets with the bar, 135x10, 135x6, 225x5, 225x3, 315x4

Box Squats - 225x2x 8 sets @30sec rest between sets... focusing on releasing the hips on the box and driving back up off of it.

Deadlift Conventional - 135x3x5 sets, 225x3x5, 315x3

Hyperextensions - 3 sets 10 reps of bodyweight.

BACK
Pulldowns with the close handles (D Handle) - 160x8, 170x8, 180x8

Chest supported row - 70x6, 80x6, 90x6, 100x6

Seated Calf Raise - 60x15x9 sets 60x20 @30sec rest between. This still kills my calves, but I'm actually seeing some results from doing it.

Bicep curls on the Nautilus NitroPlus Preacher - 95x6, 115x6, 125x6

Workout didn't feel too bad except for the heat. I'm just really concerned with the box squats this workout. I think I should start working the back just a bit more though to carry over into the bench.

One of the college kids that goes to my gym chats with me once in a while. Today he asked what weight I compete. I just find it funny because he says "you weigh what, 180?" Weighed 163 this morning. Guess I worked off some of that bloat from this past weekend I mentioned earlier. Time to rest up...

2007-06-25T20:26:00.000-05:00

Powerlifting
Monday 6/25/07, Speed Bench

Bench - warm up bar, 95x15, 135x10, 135x6, 185x8, 225x8, 155x3x8 sets with about 20 sec between sets

Incline Bench #1 setting - 70x6, 75x6, 80x6

Kettlebell clean and press - 55lbx5x5 sets

Dumbell shrugs - 85x10, 95x10, 110x6

Wide rear delt - 215x10, 230x10, 245x10, 260x10

Wide Tricep pushdowns - 80x10x4, 90x10

Dragon Flags - 2 sets 5 reps

One arm dumbell overhead side bends 35lbx5x2 sets each side

Training felt great today. Shoulder pain was pretty non-existent. the clean and presses felt great and smooth. I've been missing them lately. I'm cutting back on the higher weighted bench sets on speed days. I think that'll make a difference in not being burnt out on mondays. Supplementation hasn't changed, and I'm still trying to consume a high protein, high fat diet cycling carbs in every few days. So far, so good....

2007-06-25T08:38:00.000-05:00

I bloated up this weekend. After training friday, I had my good friend's stag party to go to, so plenty of food and beer there. Saturday, my company was a sponsor at a local Lobsterfest. I had 5 tails and i have no idea how many claws. Oh and there was also free microbrews, so i had a lot that day. Yesterday I visited my aunt and uncle's, and had a great pasta dinner with sauce, meatballs and sausage after munching all day and drinking "Beautiful Blacks" (Johnny Walker Black on the rocks). I know much of my bloat is due to the alcohol, however, since I cycle my carb intake, it was a good carb-loaded weekend. I'll see how the training goes tonight. Shoulder is feeling really good right now. Speed bench tonight, so we'll see how it pans out...

2007-06-23T10:36:00.000-05:00

Powerlifting - Heavy Squat/Dead
Friday 6/22/07

This was the end of week 3, which is one of our peak weeks before we breakdown and ramp up again in another 3 weeks. All we did today was Squat and Dead. We went full gear as well.

Squat - Warm up bar, KB bottoms up front squat 55x8, 145x10, 145x6, 235x5, 235x2, put on brief 325x3, 415x2, suit on (didn't crank it) belts and wraps, 505x1, easy, 575x1!

The 575 felt light picking it up. i felt very controlled and tight going down and i popped up pretty fast. what i'm really psyched about is that this is the end of our 3rd week. i still have 5 more weeks of training and then the meet. My last meet at Nationals, I squatted 589 and missed 622. That 589 was a PR. I shouldn't have a problem getting over my goal of 600 this time around.

Dead - 225x3, 315x2, 405x1, 495x1, 550x1... i don't give myself full credit for the 550... my hips were forward and just as they got there, my right hand couldn't hold out any longer. my best dead in a meet is 556, so again, 3 weeks in and i'm creeping on my PR's. can't wait for August to get here!

Done....

2007-06-22T11:11:00.000-05:00

Powerlifting - Heavy Bench

Bench - warm up bar, 95x10, 135x10, 135x5, 185x8, 235x5, 265x2, shirt 365x1 easy, 385x1 easy.... striped back down to 225 and added chains. 225+1chain x3, 225+2chains x1, 225+3chains x1, left it at that.

Dumbell incline #1 setting - palms facing each other, 50x10x3 sets just trying to keep it easy on the shoulder... didn't feel much in the way of pain doing it this way

Wide Rear Delt pull-ins (or shrugs) on Freedom Trainer - 200x10, 215x10, 230x10, 245x10

V-bar Tricep Push downs - 80x10x4, 90x10

Dragon flags - 3 sets 5 reps

Kettlebell side bends - 55lbx5x2

2007-06-19T22:30:00.000-05:00

Powerlifting - Squat Light/Speed

Squat - warm up with bar, 135x10, 135x6, 225x10, 275x10, 325x10 (belt)... already winded.. the last reps were tough on the last set, but i squeezed them out.

Dead Sumo- 135x2x5sets, 225x2x5sets, 315x16 (no gear) form was good.. may have had a very slight lean forward on a couple since i felt a weight shift to the toes.

Hack Squat - 50x6, 100x6, 150x6

Back extensions (machine)- 3 sets of 10

Kettlebell swings - 55lbsx10x3sets

Lat pulldown - 170x8, 180x8x2

T-bar Row - 45x10, 70x10, 80x10, 90x10

Barbell curls - 65x8, 85x8x2, 45x20

Seated Calf raise - 60x15x9, 60x17x1... tried to get 20 reps on that last set, but it wasn't happening

Kettlebell passthroughs - 55lbx20 passes x2sets

Kettlebell sidebends - 55lbx5x2... really concentrated on the obliques doing the work contracting hard.

overall the workout was good.. shoulder not used much today, but it feels better than yesterday. had a pump going with biceps and the calves... forgot my SuperCissus RX at home today, but managed to find 2 i had in my computer bag, that i took prior to the workout. didn't feel overly tired after the training which is a good sign. Next up is Heavy Bench on Thursday. Stay tuned...

2007-06-18T22:08:00.000-05:00

forgot to mention that during today's workout i had a serious pump going on. not that i'm always looking for a pump when training, but i really didn't do anything out of the norm. it may be due to this SuperCissus Rx by USP Labs that i started taking 2 weeks ago to help aid in the recovery of my shoulder. i know it's supposed to have anabolic effects associated with it on 4-5 caps a day. i've been taking 3/day since starting it and a few days ago started to add a 4th per day. we'll see how tomorrow goes and see if i have another pump during the workout.

2007-06-18T20:27:00.001-05:00

Powerlifting
Monday 6/18/2007 - Bench

Bench - warm up with bar, 95x12, 135x10, 135x6, 225x8, 265x5, back down to 185x10, 205x10, 225x10. the shoulder was feeling ok today. still not 100%, but i can feel it improving.

Incline Bench - 135x6x2 sets

Incline Dumbell press palms facing each other - 70x6, 75x6

Kettlebell 2 handed front raise (55lbs x10) supersetted with kettlebell cleans 55lbs x5... 3 sets of each

Dumbell shrugs - 80x10, 90x10, 100x10

wide grip rear delt shrugs (done on Nautilus Freedom Trainer) - 170x10, 185x10, 200x10, 215x10, 230x10

Wide Pushdowns Flat bar - 70x10, 80x10x3, 90x10x4

one arm side bends 35lb dumbell overhead for 2 sets of 5

2007-06-16T06:57:00.000-05:00

Powerlifting
6/15/07 Heavy Squat/Dead work

Squat - warm up with bar for a few sets, 145x10, 145x4, 235x5, put on my briefs 325x3, 415x2, put on my suit and a light wrap 525x1. felt and moved very easy. broke the weight back down to 345, took off the suit but kept on my briefs.

we then did chain work. each chain set added 33lbs to the bar. 345+1chain set x2, 345+2chain sets x2, 345+3chain sets x2, 345+4chain sets x2, 345+5chain sets x2. the great thing with chains is that you don't pay attention to the weight. i'm thinking 345 plus chains. the last set at the top was @510 (33x5= 165lbs in chains +345lbs). and i did 525 prior to that fully suited with a light knee wrap.

Rack Pulls - 225x3, 315x3, 405x3, 455x1 with a failed 2nd attempt, 495 failed.

Good Morning, feet a little narrower than squat stance - 135x3, 145x3, 155x3

Seated calf raises - 60x15x10 sets just alternating with training partner. very painful, but you have to push your calves if you expect them to do anything. this is just something i decided to add to my routine. usually i don't do them.

Train Hard.

2007-06-14T23:42:00.000-05:00

Powerlifting
6/14/07 Heavy Bench

Bench - warm up bar, 95x10, 135x10, 155x6, 185x5, 235x3, 265x5, put on bench shirt 355x2, 355x2.

added chains to 225. 225+1chain x3, 225+2chains x1, 225+3chains x1 225+4chains x1.

last week i couldn't get 225+2chains off of my chest because of my shoulder. shoulder was ok, again controlled and paying attention to form to keep the pain away. going to my chiro tomorrow to have it checked out.

Incline bench - 135x5, 185x5, done with that

DB Shrugs - 70x10, 80x10, 90x10

Wide rear delt... just moving the shoulder blades back. very small movement. 3 sets

V-bar Tricep push downs - 70x10, 80x10x5 sets

I'm watching the shoulder closing on bench days. i really don't have issues with it on my other training days.

2007-06-12T23:21:00.000-05:00

Tuesday - 6/12/07

Squat - warm up with the bar for a few sets, also did a couple of sets of bottoms up kettlebell front squats. 135x10, 135x6, 225x6, 315x2, back down to 225 with green bands for 2 reps, 8 sets, switching off with my training partner after each set. so maybe 30sec rest in between sets.

Deadlift sumo - 135x2x5 sets, 225x2x5 sets, 315x2x2 sets

Kettlebell swings - 55lbx10x4sets

Lat pulldown - 160x8, 170x8, 180x8

Tbar Row - 90x6, 115x6x3 sets

Seated calf raise - 60x15x10 sets with only a 15 count between sets! this is killer and burns.

hammer curls - 25x15, 30x15x3sets (most biceps i've done in quite some time!) shoulder really wasn't an issue today. i only felt a stretch when holding the bar for squat. the swings didn't bother it at all, which i was thinking that it may.

2007-06-12T14:56:00.000-05:00

Monday 6/11/07 - Speed bench today, and i was very cautious because of my left shoulder...

Bench - warm up bar, 95x10, 135x10, 135x5. at this point since i was doing rep controlled and in strict form, my shoulder felt better, so i continued on. 185x10, 225x7, 265x5... stripped the weight back down to 135 and added the blue bands for 8sets x3reps, with a 20 count between sets.

Dumbell Incline on bench setting #1 - 65x6, 70x6, 75x6. i did these with my palms facing each other since it took some of the strain off of my shoulder

Kettlebell cleans - 5 setsx 5reps with 55lb KB each arm

Wide round bar tricep pushdowns - 70x10x2 sets, 80x10x3

One arm overhead side bends with 30lb dumbell - 3sets 5reps each side

Pass thrus with the 55lb kettlebell between the legs, 3 sets 10 reps

The shoulder felt good while in strict form with good control. i will continue icing to keep the inflammation down.

2007-06-09T11:55:00.000-05:00

Friday 6/8/07 - Heavy Squat

Squat - warm up, bar for a few sets. 145x8, 145x5, 145x3, 235x5, put on my brief, 325x3, 415x2 (belt), 505x2 suit added with light wrap

Rack Pulls from above knee - wearing brief 225x3, 405x3, 495x3, 585x1

2007-06-09T11:05:00.000-05:00

Thursday 6/9/07 - Heavy Bench day

Bench - warm up bar, 95x10, 135x8, 135x4, 185x10, 235x5, 275x3 shoulder was not feeling great, put on my shirt and failed twice with 375. took off the shirt and went to chains. 225 with one set of chains, 3 reps for a set and i was done. shoulder was bothering me too much. so i didn't do anything else for the rest of the night. just went and iced it.

2007-06-09T10:50:00.000-05:00

Tuesday 6/5/07 - Speed day for squat and deads

Squat - warm up with the bar for a few sets, 135x8, 135x5, 135x3, 225x5, 315x3 Went back down to 225 for box squats. 225x2x8 sets, rotating with training partner, so rest between sets was @30seconds.

Deads Conventional - 225x1x5sets, 315x1x5sets - again rotating with training partners

Kettlebell 2 handed swings - 55lbx10x5 sets

Lat pulldowns - 150x8, 160x8, 170x8

Low Row - 150x8, 160x8, 170x8, 180x8

Seated Calves - 100lbsx15-20 x10 sets with a 20 sec rest. Calves are burning and on fire from set #3 on!

Biceps - don't do too much for them, just did some 40lb Dumbell concetration curls

2007-06-09T10:40:00.000-05:00

Monday 6/4/07 - Started training this week for the AWPC in Chicago August 3-5. 9 weeks out.

Bench - warming up with the bar, 95x10, 135x8, 135x4, 225x5, 265x3
Broke the weight back down to 135 and added the green bands. 135x3x8 sets

DB Incline - 65x6 for 2 sets

Kettlebell Clean and press - 55lb x5x5sets each arm

DB Shrug 70x6, 75x6, 80x6

Side Raises - 25x6, 30x6x2

Rear Delt (done on one side of cable cross sitting on floor) - 170x10, 190x10, 210x10, 210x10

Tri PushDowns (PD) with the longer round bar and a wide grip - 70x8x3, 80x8x2
I supersetted these with 55lb kettlebell between the leg passes while my training partner did his Tri PD's

Finished out with 25lb dumbell overhead (one arm) side bends -25x5x3

I was feeling pretty good that day. I little ache in the left shoulder area

2007-06-09T10:29:00.000-05:00

After competing in the AAPF Nationals this past April down in Monroe, LA, I qualified and received an invitation to the Amateur World Powerlifting Championship (AWPC). This is being held the weekend of August 3-5 in Chicago, IL. I finished out at the AAPF Nationals with a 589 Squat, 429 Bench, and 556 Deadlift, totaling just over 1576 lbs in the 165 lb weight class. I think I weighed in that day at 163.

Here are pics of these three lifts:

2006-11-03T15:07:00.000-05:00

11/2/06

Just realized on Wednesday that my competition is a month out. Didn't hit me until then. From here on out for heavy bench day we're using the shirts to get used to the groove. Yesterday went well with the shirt. I put up 385 and then 415. I've come down with a slight cold this past week, and was surprised by yesterday's 415. I'm looking to open above 400 come Dec 2 and take it from there. I've already done 430, but my shoulder yesterday didn't seem 100%, so I left it at that. I'm still concerned with my squat. I haven't felt comfortable with it since my meet last November. I want to hit a 600 squat this meet. I've already done a 545 in training for this meet, which was pretty good off the bottom, so I just have to keep my form for the next few weeks, hit it hard and REST! My dead is coming along. I've increased my conventional dead strength this training session. It was way down before because I've just been doing sumo. My grip feels better now, so that should be a plus come the meet. I want to pull 550 there. I definately want to total over 1500 at this meet. 550+ squat 400+ bench and 525+ deadlift. That's 1475 there. All 3 lifts should have a total more than that next month. I'll keep you posted.

2006-09-30T11:54:00.000-05:00

My next meet is coming up the first weekend of December in Maine. We start training for it on Monday. Hit a couple of PR's this week training... This too is after a week of vacation and no training. We decided Thursday just to try a raw max on bench.. I ended at 315 with a clean lift. Yesterday we squatted and deaded. I squatted 540, full gear, which is only 16 off of my best ever, and I pulled 545, which came up smooth, and is my best ever. Can't wait to see how I'll perform in December. I should definately have more than a 1500 total.. I've benched 405 easily on a few occasions shirted, so I'm not worried about that lift too much. Squat and dead have been my weak points as of late, so that's what I'm going to need to focus on more. I'll probably be posting up my workout programs again. I'm still in the 165 weight class.

2006-06-26T20:46:00.000-05:00

6/22/06 - Thursday

Today we decided we were going to see where we were with our bench shirts. We haven't put them on since our meet at the end of March. I think I benched 362 or something in the meet and missed 380 something. Over the past month we've done more with board presses, and lockouts (pin presses) in the cage. This I think is the only thing different we've done to our training since the meet.

Bench - warm up barx10, 95x10, 135x8, 135x4, 225x5, 255x2, 295x1, then I put on my bench shirt. I had 345 on the bar to start, and that weight flew off my chest. I had so much pop behind it. Then I had 375 on the bar. That went up easy too, nice smooth, one motion through the lift. Now, I knew before my 345 attempt that I was doing 345. After that I don't want to know the weight because it fucks with my head. I didn't know what my second lift was. I do nothing, just sit on the end of the bench and my partners load it. So after the lift I asked "what was that?" 375. Sweet, let's do another.. same thing.. i'm sitting on the end of the bench, I have no idea what their loading. I'm listening to Disturbed in my mp3 player. I'm ready, the weight is covered by a couple of tshirts, so I can't see it while I set up with the shirt. I got my lift off and it was heavy, but not much different from the last lift. I pulled it in, touched, paused and pushed it up... again smooth lift... "what was that?" "take a look brother... 405!" I was psyched. I broke through that barrier. And this is at a weight of about 162. I had mental blocks to dead over 400. once i did it, i kept going up. now i'm in the 500's. same with the squat. 500 was a barrier for me... once i did it, now my opener is around 525. seeing that i broke 400 w the bench, that is probably going to be my second attempt in a meet. everything seems to be progressing nicely and i have some time before november to tweak everything.

2006-05-27T12:15:00.000-05:00

5/25/06 - Thursday

Bench - warm up bar x10, 95x10, 135x8, 135x4, 225x5, 275x3.. 4 board press - 315x3, 385x3. after every set it hurt like hell to sit up since i injured my rib cage on tuesday. i pretty much started to roll off of the side of the bench when done with a set.

DB incline - 70x4, 75x4, 80x4

Close Grip bench - 205x3, 225x3, 245x3.. last rep was tough, but it went up

Nautilus XPLoad Shrug - (plates per side) 1plate x10, 2plates x10, 3 plates x10... strip sets 5plates x10, 4plates x10, 3 plates x10, 2plates x10, 1plate x30, with a static hold on the last rep. fried!

reverse grip pushdowns - 4 sets of 10.. not too sure on the weights...i think 60 for 1 set and 70 for the last 3

2006-05-27T11:15:00.000-05:00

5/23/06 - Tuesday

Squat - warm up bar couple of sets, 135x10, 135x6, 135x5... put on my briefs, 225x6, 225x4, 315x5, box squats, 275x2x4 sets

Deadlift - all convential until my last rep... green bands - 135x5x3 sets, no bands 315x5, 405 i failed to pick up twice conventional, went to sumo and picked it up pretty easily. there is such a difference between the 2 stances... i started out training conventional when i first started powerlifing and worked up to 455. i haven't done conventional is so long, so i'm not into the groove of the movement anymore. i'm so used to the sumo style and form. the leverage is totally different. so as i attempted to pull the 405 conventional.. after the first time, i noticed that the top of my belt was really pressing against my lower rib, so i moved it a little on the next attempt. i've been hurting there ever since.. i don't know if i severly bruised the area or possibly cracked a rib... but it's not good. it hurts to move, breathe deep, etc. i've iced it and it still doesn't seem any better.

that was pretty much all i did for training.. threw in a little bicep work just for the hell of it

2006-05-27T10:20:00.000-05:00

5/22/06 - Monday

Bench - warm up bar x10, 95x10, 135x8, 135x4, 225x4, dropped back down to 135 for band work. we did green bands again since the prior week we went to sets of 10 after doing green bands. usually we'll go green bands, blue bands the next week and sets of 10 the following week. with green bands 135x3x8, 16-20 count between sets. 4 sets were done, the other guys i trained with did 4 sets and then we did it one more time.

DB incline - 70x6, 75x6x2

Nauilus XPLoad Shoulder Press - (weight per side) 45x10, 90x10, 115x10

Rear Delt - 100x10, 110x10, 120x10, 130x10, 140x10

DB overhead press for tri's - 70x8, 80x8, 80x8

2006-05-27T10:09:00.000-05:00

5/20/06 - Saturday

Squat - warm up, bar for a couple of sets, 145x10, 145x6, 145x4, put on my briefs after that... i haven't used my briefs since my meet in march. i had them tailored, cut in on the sides since i don't have a gut, and the stitching on my right leg needed to be redone since it popped a little. 235x5, 235x3, 325x5 (belt from here on), 375x10, 425x3

Rack Pulls from above the knee conventional stance - 245x3, 445x3, 535x3, i attempted to do 645 twice and failed at both.

Wide Good mornings - 135x5, 225x3, 315x5, 375x5

Glute/Ham raises - body x8x3 sets

today felt really good and i haven't gone this heavy in a while. after doing the 375x10 on the squat, i crashed on the floor to get my breath, my legs were pumped as hell, i was shaking, head was spinning. loved it.

2006-05-19T13:58:00.000-05:00

5/19/06 - Thursday

Bench - warm-up barx10, 95x10, 135x8, 135x4, 185x5, 235x3, 265x3... what sucks is that with the new benches that we got, i can clear the pins when the weight isn't heavy. once it gets heavier and i need a lift off, it kind of pulls my shoulder blades apart, so i never get completely set again. i recently moved my grip out 2 fingers. i need to get another pad, or start pressing out of the power cage. 5 board press w/275x3, went to a 4 board press since i have short arms. 4 board 315x3, 365x3. everything felt good. no shoulder pain today like i had on monday.

DB incline - 2 setting - 70x4, 75x4, 75x4

for some reason we skipped close grip bench... today was completely off with the workout.

Shrugs on the Nautilus shrug-dead plate loaded machine - 1plate per sidex10, 2 per side x10, 3 per side x10, then we did the strips... 4 per side x10, 3 per side x10, 2 per side x10, 1 per side x11, on the 11th rep was a static hold at the top to failure.

we then went to the Nautilus seated dip/press.. i did one set here and it bothered my shoulder, so i left it at that. we got rid of our tri pd machine when we redid the gym last weekend and the new machines have too many pulleys to even feel anything. the weights feel way to light. i think that the weight being lifted is equal to like 1/4 of the weight that's on the stack. so that didn't feel good, and i went to the tri extension plate loaded machine. did a few sets there... 25x10, 35x10, and 45x10. that was it. we're still trying to find out how some of these new machines do... the plate loaded tri and the bicep are good, but we're going to have to get back to some basics with the tri's since the pushdowns are pretty much out and that sucks! like i said, i have no idea why we didn't do close grip bench. we'll get some overhead dumbell presses in for the tri's, more close grip and some others in upcoming workouts.

pre-workout i took NO-Xplode and Nitrix. i'm starting to see a difference with the Nitrix already. i woke up a little heavier today. just topped 165. it's been slowly going up during the week. post workout i took my Cellmass. tomorrow's a new day, i've got my heavy squat and dead day.

2006-05-17T12:22:00.000-05:00

Tuesday 5/16/06

Squat - warm up bar for a couple of sets, 135x10, 135x8, 225x5, 225x5, 315x10, 365x1

Leg Press - 3 plates/side x15, 4plates/side x15, 5plates/side x15, 6plates/side x20, 7plates/side x20

seated calf raise plate loaded - 2plates x12-15 x3 sets

Nautilus plate loaded high pull - 2 plates x8, 3plates x8, 3plates x8

Nautilus plate loaded los row - 2 plates x8, 3plates x8, 3plates and a quarter x8

Nautilus biceps plate loaded - 25x8, 35x8, 45x8.. strip sets 55x6, 30x8, 15x8... my bi's were fried from these. i just recently started BSN's Nitrix and noticed a huge pump in this workout... the workout felt good too and i wasn't as tired throughout.

2006-05-17T12:13:00.000-05:00

Monday 5/15/06

I had an exhaustive weekend. my gym replaced all the weight equipment this weekend and seeing that i work for the owner, i helped with that starting thursday night through sunday afternoon. little sleep and a lot of moving of heavy shit. we were going to do blue bands on the bench today, but decided not to since we were burned out a little

Bench - warm up barx10, 95x10, 135x8, 135x4, 185x10, 225x5, 275x1

DB incline - 65x6, 70x6, 75x6

Rear delt - 100x10, 115x10, 130x10, 145x10

Shrug on Nautilus plate loaded - 1 plate x10, 2plates x10, 3plates x10.. then a strip set 3plates x10, 2plates x10, 1plate x10 with a static hold on the last rep.

Tricep extension on Nautilus plate loaded - 35x10, 45x10, 55x10, 55x10

2006-05-10T09:47:00.000-05:00

Tuesday - 5/9/06

Pre-workout drink NO-Xplode - 2 scoops

Squat - warm-up - barx10 for at least 3 sets.. we used the box today, so wanted to get the feel of it again, since we haven't done it in so long... 135x8, 135x6.. work sets - 225x2x4sets, 20 sec count between, partner did his sets, then i was up again for another 225x2x4. we then did 315 box 1 set, 2 reps. no belt with the squats. the only thing i consistently use with squatting is my wrist wraps.

Deadlift - Conventional style - 225x2x5sets, 20 sec rest between sets
Sumo style - 315x1, 405x1, no belt. felt good. first time doing 405 with no gear whatsoever... no belt, no hips, just chalk!

Leg press - to blast the front of the quad. these we do with our toes just off the top of the platform, feet a little closer than shoulder width.. it's a short movement, but you feel it in the quads, and it helps the hamstrings too with the control on the way down. 7 plates each side x10, 8 plates each side x10, 9 plates each side x10..

Adductor - yes that machine that the women use to work the inner/outer thigh.. we worked the inner. i was told to do these by a Physical Therapist to help with my hip flexor which i strained a little at my meet back at the end of march. i'm not too sure what the weights were but nothing too heavy, just heavy enough.

Abs - i do abs at work earlier in the day. i used a couple of exercises from Pavel's Beyond Crunches... using the ab wheel, jacknife exercise 5 sets of 5.. i have not graduated to the full jacknife, so i'm still doing them from my knees. i then did the dumbell overhead side bend, 12lb db's in each hand, 5 sets of 5. At the gym inbetween the adductor sets, i did weighted crunches on the Abench, 20lb x20 reps, 30lbs x15 reps, 35lb x15.

took my Cellmass 1 scoop, went home, cooked a couple of peppercorn filets, rested a little, took my Cellmass 1 scoop and went to bed. woke up this morning feeling pretty damn good.

Pavel's Beyond Crunches - you will work your abs with these exercises

2006-05-10T09:14:00.000-05:00

I got away from posting my training for too long since I wasn't training for a meet. Since we're starting to bring the box squats and bands back into our training, I need to keep track again of the weights, bands, boxes and whatever else.

5/8/06 - Monday

Pre-workout drink - NO-Xplode 2 scoops

Bench - warm up - barx10, 95x10, 135x8, 135x4, 225x4
work sets - green bands - 135x3x4sets, 135x3x4sets... 20 seconds between sets... a couple of minutes between the next series since we had 4 people training.

Barbell incline - 135x6x4... I stayed the same weight here since I have a slight pain in my left shoulder, and didn't want to push it.

Shrugs done on Hammer Strength Seated/Standing Shrug machine... these we did standing. 1 Plate each side x10, 2 plates each side x10, 3 plates each side x10... then we went to the real work sets... these were strip sets, used straps because they would not all have been completed without... 5 plates each side x10, stripped, 4 plates each side x10, stripped 3 plates each side x10, 2 plates each side x10, 1 plate each side x55... the last set was basically do as many as you can, that's how i ended at 55. that is brutal. give it a try. i had doubts about picking up the 5 plates. once i got it up i made every rep count. i'm still feeling that and it's now wednesday.

i also added a static shrug hold with a 45lb plate in each hand... just holding the plate, not on the hammer machine. i held this for 35 seconds and dropped 'em.

Tricep Pushdown with rope - 50x10, 70x10, 90x10, 110x10... this was done on the cable cross machine, so with the extra pulleys the weights weren't what i have posted, but that's where the pin was (5,7,9,11). I then did a seated tri pressdown on the bottom part of an assisted chinup machine, 70x8x4

That was it, took my Cellmass 1 scoop, went home, ate, had water, took Cellmass again 1scoop, and went to bed.

2006-04-01T11:37:00.000-05:00

3/31/06 - Friday

back to another bodybuilding type routine for legs.. this hurt and i'm not going to be able to walk sunday. i felt like puking during the workout between sets of the leg press, leg ext supersets. you'll know why.. here we go:

Squat... close stance, this hurt. 135x10x2, 225x10x2
Leg Press supersetted with a leg extension... up from the leg press walk over to the ext do a set and repeat... foot positioning on the leg press... feet close together toes off the top of the foot plate. this keeps the knee from bending past the front of the foot and focuses on the hams and glutes on the downward movement...

Leg Press - 5 plates per sidex15, Leg ext 80x10, 6 plates per sidex15, 80x10, 7 plates per side, 80x10, 8 plates per sidex17, 80x10... wanted to puke pretty much throughout starting from set #2

stiff leg good mornings - 135x10x3

lat pulldown - 130x10x3

bicep curls arms wider than shoulder... 45x10,55x10,65x10,75x8

cybex machine arm curls... this really hurt... very light weight.. i think i on had 3 plates on to start... 10 reps, 10 sec rest.. now during the 10 sec rest rob kept my hands on the handles, and my wrists curled to keep tension on the bicep muscle. i was able to handle 3 plates for maybe 3 sets, then i think i had to drop it down to 1 plate for the rest. my arms were killing me... however, after the last set i was still doing partial curls at the mid of the movement for 10 or so, top of the movement for 10 or so and a long negative with rob pulling the handles back down. i got off the machine and my arms stayed bent... i couldn't lift my drink to face! my bi's were engorged with blood, felt tight and hurt like hell.. that was it for this day. i ended up going home, taking a quick break then i went to go see my friends' band play and did some more curls of the alcoholic persuasion. i'm hurting today from thurs and yest, and this isn't even the worst yet!

2006-04-01T11:00:00.000-05:00

3/30/06 - Thursday

so we decided to do a little more of a bodybuilding routine, and kind of work on not using any leg drive on the bench or incline db press.

Bench - warmed up and did 225x5, 225x4x2. usually i have my pinky finger on the outside ring of the bar, but today i moved it out one to the ring finger. felt wide as hell. also we benched like this with our feet up on the bench. more control was needed and it took the leg drive out of the equation. didn't like it because it felt uncomfortable.

DB incline.. 60x8x4... again to take the leg drive out, we put our feet up on the db rack... again i didn't like it.

Hammer Strength shoulder press - 90per sidex8x4

Tri pushdowns - wide flat bar 40x40x4
Tri pushdowns - v-bar 50x20x4

that was it.. i was hurting and i'm still feeling it today.. really felt it when i went to squat yesterday and it hurt to grab the bar on my shoulders.

2006-03-27T15:17:00.000-05:00

going back to my last blog on how i wasn't feeling it for this meet, well, that's how it turned out. i did place third in my class, but i didn't do nearly as well as my last competition. i learned a few things though.

once we got to the competition, then my nerves kicked in. i opened my squat with 518. did it no problem, good depth and good speed coming up. next attempt was 556, which was my 3rd attempt in my last comp. picked it up easy, started my squat, and i thought i was down, but i apparently clipped it. now i heard everyone say up. everyone. the spotters and everyone in the audience. don't listen to others. i was too high at the bottom, but i came up with it easy. so i decided to do the same weight for my third attempt. picked it up easy, it felt lighter than the last time, started squatting. again i thought i was deep enough but apparently not again. i came up easier with it this time, and i was told i was about 1/2 inch too high.. half of a fuckin' inch. i felt like my head was going to explode at the bottom of the lift and i came up stronger and easier than the last time. but no lift because of one half of an inch! oh well, this was a meet to make these mistakes at, so i'll learn from them. the dvd will be sent here friday.

for the bench i opened at 330, and that went up easily. i got 2 out of 3 white lights.. good lift, but apparently my ass came off of the bench. so on my next attempt, 358, i moved my feet to help correct that, but again same result. good lift but that one judge was nailing me for a hair of light. i didn't feel as if i really lifted my ass off the bench, but she saw something. my third attempt, 380, i moved my feet again. this time my ass didn't move, but the bar barely did.. got it about 4 inches off of my chest and that's all she wrote.. no lift.

the dead i opened at 430. i could've opened higher, and pulled it no problem. i went to 475, pulled that easy. the girl taking weights for the next attempt came up to me and teddy says "what do you want 500?" i say no, i did 515 2 weeks ago, fuck it...523. i came up with that pretty fast, kept my form, got to the top and all i had to do was hold the damn bar.... lost my grip just as i was totally up. no lift. oh well, it felt good and i just need to work my grip strength. i want to total more than 1500.. not with that performance, but i know i can do it. i have a 600lb squat in my, a 550 dead and i've done 385 bench in the gym... it just needs to come together, and it will.

weekend was good. the 4.5 hr trip to maine wasn't too bad. heard some crazy fucking stories, had the ipod cranking through the escalade, and of course the text messages. and out of the blue, a few people decided to text me that i sent texts to, anywhere from a week ago to more than a month ago, and never heard anything back from them. so there was enough entertainment there, just weird they all decided saturday was a good day. and the content of these messages was also weird with, yet again.. unanswered texts. these are my friends though.

anyway now i feel like someone has thrown a really big rock at my left hip. if they could actually pick up this big rock.. maybe they used a huge slingshot, but i got hit by this thing when i wasn't looking and i'm walking like a gimp. not good, but sometimes you just get hit by these slingshot rock throwing mother fuckers!

2006-03-15T14:28:00.000-05:00

3/14/06 - Tuesday

Squat - warmup barx10, 135x8, 135x5, 225x5, 315x2, 365x5, 275x5... with the 275, there was a 2 count hold on the bottom of the movement before coming back upright.

Hyper Machine - stack x10x3

Light lat pull - 130x8x3

again with the met-rx and food and muscle juice before crashing for the evening.

2006-03-15T13:55:00.000-05:00

3/13/06 - Monday

We're winding down to the competition on the 25th, so we're backing off a little here to rest up somewhat.

Bench - warm up barx10, 95x10, 135x8, 135x4, 185x10x2

DB Incline - 75x6x2

DB raises side - 15x25
DB front raisies - 15x25

Rear delt rope - 100x10, 110x10, 120x10, 130x10, 140x10

Tri pds - 50x20x8 done...

had a met-rx immediately, went home ate some stoop (stew and a soup combo pretty filling) and then i had a full shake of Muscle Juice w/whole milk which completely filled me up.

2006-03-13T11:16:00.000-05:00

This was my 2nd attempt, AAPF Pine Tree State November 5, 2005.

363 Bench @161.75lbs CLICK HERE if video doesn't load below.

2006-03-12T18:44:00.000-05:00

This is my 3rd attempt deadlift at the APF/AAPF Pine Tree State November 5, 2005. I weighed in at 161.75lbs. The weight here is 501 lbs. It looks easier than I remember pulling it. Looks like I could've definately pulled a lot more. That'll be determined in 2 weeks!

501 Deadlift CLICK HERE if video doesn't load below.

2006-03-11T18:56:00.000-05:00

3/11/06 - Saturday

Squat - warm up barx10, brief on 145x8, 235x3, 325x1, 415x1 suit with straps up, however i did not pull them tight. all geared up, 525 got down and as i went to come up, let air out.. my mouth was open, big mistake, and i lost my balance, left foot went back...no lift. i wasn't going to miss this lift again, so i did another attempt, kept control, kept my air, kept my mouth closed, and it was night and day. i came up easy with it. i should've only had to do that once, but i didn't keep my head in there, so i screwed up and came back and did right the second time. i then did a stand up with 625 for a 5 count.

Deadlift - 245x2, 335x1, 425x1.. this came up pretty easily, i was a tad forward, but mostly noticed that when i was at the top of the lift. 515x1... NEW PR. in my nov 5 meet i pulled a PR of 501.. today 515!!

that was all that was done for today. we've decided that we are going to do this meet in 2 weeks despite how the first half of our training felt like shit... mainly due to the fact that we were sick and couldn't get rid of what we had. we were debating whether or not to do it because of that, but we're going anyway. i'm resting and getting geared up for this meet on the 25th!

2006-03-10T15:52:00.000-05:00

3/9/06 - Thursday

Bench - warm up barx10, 95x10, 135x8, 135x4, 225x5, 265x2, shirt 335x1 slow, 335x1, slow... cut the back of the shirt, 335x1 easy... 4-board presses 365x2, 405x2

Tricep pd's vbar - 40x20x4, 50x20x4.. these last few sets really hurt and it took a lot to finish them out

that was it.. we went a little crazy with the benching today so we took it easy on after that

2006-03-07T23:36:00.000-05:00

3/7/06 - Tuesday

Squat - warm up, bar for a couple of sets, 135x8, 135x7, put on briefs, 225x5, 225x4, 315x3, 405x5, blue band work, 225x2x4 rest 16 to 20 sec between sets... after set number 4, rest 1.5 min.. 315x2x4... the last set of 2 was hard especially rep#2.. came up slow, but kept my form. this band work is nuts.

Hyper ext mach - stackx10x3

lat pulldown - 160x6, 170x6, 180x6

bent over rows - 135x8, 185x7, 235x6, 235x6, 185x10, 135x10

2006-03-07T13:55:00.000-05:00

3/6/06 - Monday

Bench - warmup - barx10, 95x10, 135x8, 135x4, 225x3... blue bands work 155x3x4 sets.. 16-20 count between sets

DB Incline #1 setting - 75x6, 80x6, 85x6

Plate raises - 45x10x4

Rear delt rope - 80x10, 100x10, 120x10, 140x10

Tri pushdowns vbar - 60x10x3, 70x10x2

2006-03-06T12:25:00.000-05:00

3/4/06 - Saturday

Squat - warm up - bar for a couple sets of 10, 145x8, 145x6, put on my hips/briefs, 235x5, 235x3, 325x1 belt, 435x2 belt light wrap.. felt good, the 435 felt nice and light coming up... the second one i think i was a little loose when i started to come up.

Dead - 225x3, 315x1, 405x1, 475x1... the 475 felt good and came up good.

cage good mornings - starting from the weight on the pins, so i was starting the movement from the bottom up... 225x5, 315x3, 365x3

that was it, i called it a day. i need to start implementing the camera into my workouts. just ordered my competition on dvd so i'll have my last meet lifts up soon hopefully.

2006-03-06T10:45:00.000-05:00

3/2/06 - Thursday

Can't believe March is here already!

Bench - warm up with bar x10... did floor presses today - 135x3, 225x3, 245x3x2... went over to the bench and did 185x5 full range. my forearms are so damn short that on the floor presses i was only a couple inches above my chest. rob on the other hand was a lot higher.

DB incline #2 setting - 75x4, 80x4, 85x4

Close grip Bench - 215x3, 235x1, 255x1

Flat bar tri pushdowns - 50x20x8

we cut back a little this week, and wanted to work the lockout part of the lift. we're firing off of our chest fine, but the lockouts are slow. i am no where near where i was in preparation for my last meet at this point in the training cycle, for bench anyway.

2006-03-01T16:05:00.000-05:00

this is not about training, however it pertains, because this is what i usually do twice a day for supplementation. this is an isolated supplementation that i do... i do supplement with more stuff like aminos and creatine, but i started doing this last week and i love it!

i recently bought a box of 50 Met-Rx extreme chocolate packets for about $70. I also buy coffee twice a day. I go to the Mobil station down the street... they sell New England Coffee. I'm sick of Dunkin' Donuts coffee and their coffee is overpriced. I get a 16oz coffee at Mobil for $1.10 and every time i buy 5 i get one free. so in the morning, i get my chocolate cappacino flavored coffee - black. i arrive at my store, open up, and then i put my coffee in the blender, turn it on and add the Met-Rx. It's pretty damn good. it comes out more like a hot chocolate or a latte type of drink. i get my caffeine fix and my supplementation. i do this later on in the afternoon also 3-4pm, somewhere in there. give it a try. i haven't tried it with black coffee or other flavors, but i do know that this one works well with it.

2006-02-28T22:39:00.000-05:00

2/28/06 - Tuesday

Squat - warm-up bar for a couple of sets, 135x8, put on light brief, 225x5, 315x5, 365x3, Green bands with 225x2x4, rest 20 sec in between sets 1:30 rest after set 4, 275x2x4. these were tough, doing pretty much 8 sets in a row. we decided to skip deads today to let our backs rest a little

Back ext machine - stackx10x3

Pull throughs - 80x10, 100x10, 120x10, 140x10

we were still feeling saturday's session, so we backed off a little today. the workout felt good overall though. we're going to change it up a little on thursday with the heavy bench, probably not use the shirts at all

2006-02-28T22:34:00.000-05:00

2/27/06 - Monday

Bench - warm-up barx10, 95x10, 135x8, 135x4, 225x3... Green bands 155x3x8 - 20 sec count between sets, about 1 min to a min and a half rest between sets 4 and 5. usually we do 4 sets and the next person does 4 sets and we cycle around again.

DB incline #1 - 75x6, 80x6, 85x6

Shoulder press - 135x4, 155x4, 175x4

Plate raises - 45lb plate x10x4

Tri pd's flat bar - 60x10x4, 70x10

2006-02-27T14:10:00.000-05:00

2/25/06 - Saturday

Squat - warm-up - bar for a few sets, 135x8, 135x6, 225x5, 225x3, 315x2, 385x5 belt and a very light wrap

Dead - 225x3, 315x2, 405x1 belt, 455x1 belt

due to time constraints and the gym closing becuase i got out of work almost 2 hours late(!!!) i had to limit my workout to these to exercises... so that was it, short and sweet.

2006-02-27T14:00:00.000-05:00

2/23/06 - Thursday

Bench - warm up barx10, 95x10, 135x8, 135x4, 185x3, 255x3, 255x3, 325x1 with shirt... i wanted to do another set but opted not too.. the reason i wanted another set was to get the feel of the shirt. i've been doing horribly in it lately and although this 325 went up easy, i wanted to feel the shirt better. but that didn't happen, so onto DB incline

DB incline #2 - 75x4, 80x4x2

Close Grip Bench - 225x3x3

Barbell shrugs - 225x10, 315x10x3 (these i did with straps)

Tri pushdowns vbar - 50x20x8 - these got really hard and hurt like hell after 4 sets

that was thursday's routine... felt pretty good overall.. there are only a few weeks left until march 25th, which is a meet i may be entering.. we haven't decided yet because of how the first half of our training and being sick for a good part of that. i'll keep you posted

2006-02-21T22:28:00.000-05:00

2/22/06 - Tuesday

today was okay.. one thing that we did not have was chalk. we were completely out. sucks. we sell it in our stores, but we're out of stock. great. the bar was slipping on my back, so that was not comfortable, and we usually don't go too heavy on deads today, but you can definately tell the difference

Squat - 135x8, 135x5, 135x4, 225x10, 225x10, 315x1

Dead - i reversed my hand grip for the first set.. usually my left hand is supinated and my right is pronated... after that i went back to normal.. 225x2, 225x3, 225x5

Pull throughs - 110x8, 120x8, 130x8, 140x8

Lat pulldown - 160x6, 170x6, 170x6

Bent over barbell rows - 135x10, 135x9, 135x8

Barbell curls - usually we never do curls, but once in an while we break them out and this is a very, very rare occasion... 65x10, 85x10, 105x5 stripped to 85x5 stripped to 65x10, stripped to the bar and reverse curled the barx20... that pumped the arm and forearm pretty damn good and i know it's going to hurt later on tomorrow.

so i went to pick up some chalk, checked sports authority, checked dick's sporting goods, checked walmart (last resort) but none of them had it.. you know where i got it? a mountain climbing store. i've done some mountain climbing and remembered using chalk while doing it. saw this store and figured if they were a real mountain climbing store they would have it. they were stocked!! picked up a few bars, and this stuff is cheap - $1.25 for a block. you can't afford to powerlift without the chalk!

2006-02-20T22:52:00.000-05:00

2/20/06 - Monday

Bench - warm up - barx10, 95x10, 135x8, 135x4, 185x10, 205x10, 225x8... failed the 9th rep.

DB incline #1 setting - 70x6, 75x6, 80x6

Hammer Shoulder press - per side 45x6, 70x4, 80x4, 90x4

Plate raises - 45lb plate x10x4

Tri PD's Flat bar - 60x10x4, 70x10

we switched up the tri's plan of work... usually on monday's we do 8 sets of 20, and on thursday's 5 sets of 10. we're no doing the 5 sets on monday and the 8 sets on thursday. i felt pretty good for today's workout. i think if i was able to sleep a little more last night i would've gotten those last 2 reps on my bench. anyway, it was a good session.

2006-02-20T14:00:00.000-05:00

2/18/06 - Saturday

Squat - warm up - bar for a couple sets, 145x8, 145x6, put on my hips, 235x4, 325x1, 355x5

Dead - we did these on the platform so the bar was a few inches lower than normal. with the bar being lower and wearing the hips, it made it more difficult to get down. 245x3, then 2 of the kids that i train with on saturday went... their still working on their form, so they were going until they couldn't anymore to work their form. i saw this and i was only going to do 3 reps for my next set at 335... i said fuck it and ripped nine, and had no more grip for another rep... the one thing that really sucked today is that none of us had any chalk.. we were using chalk dust and that went quick. anyway, i went to pull 425 from the platform again, but i just did not have any grip. i don't have a problem picking up 425, but those extra inches lower and no chalk make a huge difference.

anyway this pic is 2 days after the fact, but this is what your shins should look like after deadlifting. it was nice and raw on saturday, and the soap later in the shower felt nice on it... not! that's the price you pay for deadlifting.

Squat stance good mornings - 235x3, 325x3, 365x3, 440x3... yeah, phil said "fuck it you're doing 440" all right then... i know they weren't as deep as the previous sets, but still. i'm still feeling that workout today. that was it for the day.

2006-02-20T13:52:00.000-05:00

2/16/06 - Thursday

Bench - warm up - barx10, 95x10, 135x8, 135x4, 225x3, 245x5, 245x5, shirt w/325 which i failed. this was not a good week up to this point. this time along in my training for my last meet i was not having a problem at all with bench and was doing 365+. i don't know what's going on, but my bench is weak as hell right now.

DB incline #2 - 70x4, 75x4, 80x4

Close grip bench - 215x3x3

Barbell shrugs - 225x10x2, 315x10x2

Rear Delt - 110x10, 130x10, 150x10x2

vbar pushdown's - 50x10, 60x10x5

2006-02-16T13:37:00.000-05:00

2/14/06 - Tuesday

Squat - warmup w bar, 135x8, 135x6, (put on hips) 225x5, 315x2, 365x4
Blue Bands - 225x2, 275x2x3 (16-20 sec rest between sets.. these things are killer!)

Dead - 225x1x5, 315x1x5, 405x1

Hyper ext machine - stackx10x3

Lat pulldown - 150x6, 160x6, 170x6

tbar row, 45 degree - 3 platesx6x4

2006-02-16T13:35:00.000-05:00

2/13/06 - Monday

Bench - warmup barx10, 95x10, 135x8, 135x4
Blue bands - 155x3x4 (1-20 sec rest between sets)

DB Incline #1 - 70x4, 75x4x2

Shoulder press - 135x4, 155x4x3

Plate raises - 45lb platex10x4

Tri PD's flat bar - 50x20x3, 60x20x5

2006-02-16T13:33:00.000-05:00

2/11/06 - Saturday

Squat - warmup bar for a couple sets 10, 8 reps... 135x10, 135x8, 225x5 (put on hips), 225x3, 325x5

Dead - 225x3, 315x1, 405x1

Rack pulls above knee - 315x3, 405x3, 495x3 (no wraps)

2006-02-16T13:29:00.000-05:00

2/9/06 - Thursday

Bench - warm up barx10, 95x10, 135x8, 135x4, 225x5, 235x5x2, 275x1, 325x1 shirted

DB Incline #2 - 70x4x1, 75x4x2

Close Grip Bench - 205x3x3

Barbell Shrugs - 225x10, 315x10x2 - strip-225x10, 135x20

Vbar pushdowns - 60x10x5

2006-02-09T11:46:00.000-05:00

2/7/06 - Tuesday

Squat - warm up - barx8x2, 135x8, 135x5, put on briefs 225x5, 225x3, 315x2, 365x5, green bands - 225x2x8, 16-20 sec count between sets and rested after 4 sets so the other 2 guys could do their 4 sets

Dead - 225x1x5, 315x1x5, 405x1... today's deads felt extremely good... and the 405 felt easy.

Lat pulldown - 150x6x3

T-bar row on 45 degree... 2platesx6, 3platesx6x2

short workout, but it felt good.. after the last set of squats i def needed to sit as the stars started to pop up.. after a few minutes though i was good and as previously mentioned the dead flew up easily. because the training up to this week has felt blah, and mediocre, we may skip the competition at the end of march and go into one in april or may... again in maine. this is to be decided and i'll comment on this later when i know what we're doing.

2006-02-07T15:50:00.000-05:00

2/6/06 - Monday

Bench - warm up barx10, 95x10, 135x8, 135x4, 225x3 - work sets were with green bands today - 155x3x4 20 sec rest between sets... other 2 training partners their 4 sets, and i did another 155x3x4

DB Incline setting #1 - 70x6x3

Shoulder Press - 135x4, 155x4x3

Plate Raises - 45lbx10x5

Tri pushdown, wide, flat bar - 50x20x4, 60x20x4

one hand underhand grip tri - 30x10x2
rope pd's - 40x20, 30x15, 20x10 done right after one each other with no rest between.