Deadlift and Back

Deadlift: 8 x 3 x 225
Seated Cable Good Mornings: 4 x 3 x 150
Close Grip Cable Pulldowns: 4 x 3 x 150
Bent Over Rows: 4 x 3 x 135
Core: 8 x 10 situps followed immediately with 25 crunches. 80 Situps and 200 crunches total.

All exercises were done with weight at about 50-60% or so but with explosive movements. Weight felt really good and the movements were strong. Felt like a slacker actually with the low number of reps and low weight, Hopefully this speed training stuff does something.

Shoulders

Military Press: 15 x 95, 10 x 115, 8 x 145, 7 x 165
Lateral Raises: 4 x 8 x 40
Smith Shrugs: 4 x 8 x 185
Arnold Presses: 4 x 8 x 40
DB Military Press: 4 x 8 x 40

I pulled something on those shrugs. It was tougher doing it in a smith machine, than I've done before at Tomax. Trying to rotate the shoulders while in a smith was putting a strain on my neck which I didn't really discover until after the sets were over. Its getting worse throughout the day. I'll have to put some heat on it tonight.

Tomorrow I'm going to skip working out with Brandon in the morning and do some deadlifts and back work.

Kris is putting together an International Bloggers’ RAW and Natural Open Virtual Powerlifting Meet. This will be a meet which anyone, anywhere can participate in given that the events are done raw and natural and the lifts must be completely visible using a digital camera. Stinn will either be participating or be the judge. I think this is a grand idea and am excited to see if we can get a bunch more people to participate.

Benching at 7800 S. Redwood

This morning I talked Cathi into letting me go to meet with Steve at the Gold's Gym at 7800 S. Redwood at 8 am. I met Kyle (Moosie) and Mike Cordova, and Manny(sp?) who was the veteran of the group.

All very nice guys and gave lots of tips and encouragement. The few biggest things I took away from the session was all about setup:

1) Shoulders tight! - When I lay down my arms used to be outstretched with my shoulders blades relaxed. Instead I learned to squeeze my shoulder blades together before I take the lift off.

2) Once I get the lift off and I'm at the top I need twist my elbows inwards towards my body, get a massive breatch of air and come down with my arms down instead of flared out to my side.

3) When I hit the bottom and do the pause, I EXPLODE!!!!!! popping the weight up (and down towards my feet). Since my form before has been so bad, I need to change my groove lower. It is higher than it should be because of the lack of getting my arms in. With my shoulders tight and my arms in (along with keeping my feet solid on the ground) it should force my back to get the arch that I keep hearing about and have never been able to get.

The equipment is also better. The bench at Tomax is too high and not wide enough. Brandon's bench is much better so I will for sure be doing my ME days at Brandon's and my DE days at Tomax.

Stump also traded me bench shirts. He had a 50 Fury (called the grape because of the purple back) which was much tighter and felt better than my 52 Fury. I gave him my 54 as a trade which I was glad to do as 54 is like a seatshirt anymore.

I was most impressed with Kyle's workout. He was putting up 580 (4 boards). Here is what I did:

Bench (4 boards with shirt): 8 x 315, 3 x 365, 3 x 385, 3 x 385, 1 x 405, 1 x 425, 1 x 425

On a couple of these my body was so far up to the pins and I'd sometime brush against them on the way up, or get stuck underneath them and had to get my spotter to push me out away from them so I could get them up. Some of that was that I was setup too high, and some because I did get my elbows in enough and my groove was higher. Kyle said to make sure that when I push, to push the bar towards my feet instead of up above my head. I'm really hoping that over the next few weeks that I get all these techniques down and go down for another session early September.

Mike is going to the Elko WABDL meet and I know David Edgell is going. I'd like to ask about a mock meet that David Edmundson could judge to get some good feedback before I go to a real thing. My goal is to really push my bench and deadlift so that next year when they have a meet that I'm fully prepared with enough confidence to get what I'm capable of with the amount of experience that I have (Which is still relatively small).

What an enjoyable morning! I noticed that I was thinking about the shoulder blades and the tightness involved that I was driving home with my back against the seat with my shoulder's and upper back all tight as if I was getting ready for a big lift. What an awesome experience it was today. I'm looking forward to next time.

Arms

Standing Curls: 4 x 12 x 95
Preacher Curls: 12 x 75, 4 x 10 x 95
Tricep Extensions: 4 x 10 x 80
Tricep Cable Extensions: 4 x 8 x 85

Fighting the traffic in the morning isn't fun and Brandon had to take off a little early and since he's the glue to the morning routine, we cleaned up and took off.

Going to focus on DL tomorrow.

More Chest work

Flat Bench: 15 x 185, 12 x 215, 10 x 225, 10 x 235, 8 x 245, 8 x 255, 8 x 265
Decline Bench: 10 x 215, 10 x 225, 10 x 235, 8 x 245
Flat DB Flys: 4 x 10 x 40 with 4 x 10 x 40 Speed Presses
Smith Squats: 2 x 8 x 185

Went to failure on the last set of Decline benches. Wayne had to help me on the last rep quite a bit, but its the first time I've gone to that point of failure in a long time. I think I need more of that. The other guys are going to failure just about every time, and many times I've got alot more fuel in my tank.

Isaac was sick last night so I was only getting short periods of sleep between comforting him. I also get off early today to go help Josh move, so I'll be wasted by the time I get home and ready to hit the sack.

Going for new Bench PR

This morning I was late to Brandon's. I had to haul all my gear over there including two x 45's (which I weighed this morning and they are actually 47 pounds).

Bench: 3 x 315, 1 x 345, 1 x 375, 1 x 385, 0 x 400. Here is video
Pullups: 2 x 8 (4 with help)
superset with Military DB Press: 2 x 15 x 40
Military Press: 15 x 115, 12 x 135, 10 x 145, 10 x 155

I wasn't as mentally focused on this attempt. I'm surprised I got 385 with the mental condition I was in. Wayne talked me into just putting on 2.5 pounds more on each side and go for 400, but it didn't go up. My breathing was off, I didn't focus on getting my shoulderblades squeezed together, and the weight was wobbly coming down (which also contributed to my legs not staying steady). Next time I'll attempt 385, 395 instead of messing with 375. This is my fourth time doing 385.

Arms with Austin

Today Austin spent the afternoon with me at Tomax. He and I play ping pong every Friday at the Wasatch Front Table Tennis Club. Before going to the club I did arms with Austin:

Preacher Curls: 3 x 8 x 115
Dips: 3 x 8 x (bw (240) + 45)
Alternating DB Curls: 3 x 8 x 45
Tricep Cable Extensions: 3 x 8 x 80

Austin lifted with me real light (he's 10 years old). It was fun teaching him a little. I'd love to lift seriously with my boys when they get older.

Table Tannis went well again. I was 3 and 1 again this week.

Last time for legs at the Bubble

During the kids swim lesson I did:

10 min bike
SLDL: 8 x 225, 6 x 245, 4 x 245
Leg Press: 12 x 14 plates, 8 x 15 plates, 8 x 16 plates
Calf Raises: 12 x 100, 8 x 200, 6 x 300, 4 x 400

Didn't have much time or enthusiasm for a killer workout, but better than skipping today.

Backed off doing Max - did DE Bench

Flat Bench (Legs Up) - 25 x 135, 12 x 185, 12 x 205, 12 x 225, 12 x 205 (Oops didn't get the right weight, no wonder it was easy), 12 x 225, 12 x 225
Incline Smith Press: 12 x 135, 3 x 8 x 185
DB Flys 21s: 3 x 40, 30
Pushups: 4 x 15 (Diamond, fist, fingertips, clap)

I didn't do a max, cause my shoulders and upper back are even more sore than yesterday. Brandon and Wayne tried a max, but they didn't get what they wanted. I told them Monday is the best day for attempting a max cause you automatically get 2 days off (if you take weekends off). So we are going to try maxing on Monday.

Sore from yesterday - getting ready for tomorrow

Tomorrow I am going to attempt to build up to 395 on the bench. I'll video it.

1st attempt: 365
2nd attempt: 385
3rd attempt: 395

Today I only did 10 minutes on the elliptical trainer. Lazy sucker.

Killing the Shoulders at the soon to die Bubble

Today I worked straight through lunch and got off work at 3pm. I went to the Bubble on the way home. I have 3 more visits which I need to use before August 12th when they close the facility. Today I did shoulders:

10 minute Bike
Military Smith Press: 12 x 135, 3 x 6 x 185
Standing Reverse Cable Flys: 12 x 40, 10 x 60, 2 x 6 x 70
Standing Rows: 12 x 95, 8 x 115, 8 x 135, 6 x 135
Smith Shurgs: 8 x 185, 8 x 225, 2 x 6 x 275
Seated Close Grip Cable Rows: 10 x 190, 8 x 200, 2 x 8 x 210 (The whole stack)
DB Laterals: 4 x 8 x 40
Standing DB Military Press: 12 x 50, 6 x 60, 8 x 65, 6 x 70

Excellent workout. Took 1:30 to complete. Empty gym most of the time. Rocked out to Rammstein on my MP3 player. Plus I got to beat all the crappy traffic which was already to the south of me.

Arms at Brandon's

Preacher Curls: 12 x 95, 3 x 8 x 115
Lying Tricep Extensions: 4 x 10 x 115
supersetted with
Alternating DB Curls: 4 x 10 x 40
Standing Tricep Cable Extensions: 12 x 65, 10 x 75, 2 x 8 x 85
supersetted with
Standing Barbell Curls: 15 x 75, 3 x 12 x 75

Great workout, sweated a ton though and that room has no air flow so I'm sure the other guys were holding their breath. Brandon's birthday isn't until August, but I don't think I can wait that long to get him a decent fan for that room.

Chest

Flat Bench: 20 x 155, 8 x 275, 8 x 275, 7 x 275, 6 x 275, 15 x 225
Decline Smith Press: 3 x 8 x 255, 7 x 255
DB Flys, Supersetted with Tate Press/Flat Press: 10 x 40, 6 Tate/15 Flat
Pushups: 25, 25, 20, 13

Today I had good effort and I was wishing we could do more but pushed it hard enough to make it satisfactory today. This week I'll be at home all day with the kids. So I'll be lifting at Brandon's in the morning.

Heavy Triceps

CGBP: 3 x 5 x 225 (8" between hands)
Dips: 2 x 5 x (bw (240) + 45, 5 x bw + 55, 4 x bw + 90)
JM Presses: 5 x 95, 2 x 5 x 115
DB Tate Press: 5 x 45, 5 x 40, 5 x 45
Rope Pulldowns: 5 x 7 plates, 5 x 8 plates, 5 x 9 plates
Triangle Pushups: 15 high, 15 normal, 15 low
Crunches: 3 x 50

On the CGBP I felt some slight shoulder pain on the first set (should have warmed up with something), but each set progressively got better with less strain on my joints.

On the Dips I was psyched that I could do two x 45's 4 times. I was hoping to do it once, but stopped at 4. Next time I'm going for 3 plates for a one rep max.

Today was the first time I have ever done Tate Presses. The first time I was nervous with 45 since I wasn't sure I could handle it and didn't want to squish my face in. The form wasn't that great and it was difficult to keep my elbows flared out, so I went down to 40's and then the form was strict. After that I went back up to 45 as I felt more confident with the form and the weight and did just fine.


Triangle Pushups are just where you bring your hands closer together and form a triangle with your thumb and index fingers of each hand. I then placed the triangle at neck height for high, chest range for mid, and then stomach for low range. This works the triceps in different areas.

I was very pleased with today's workout. I felt strong and exceeded the plan.

Legs for the 2nd time this week

I went to Brandon's again early in the morning. I was not happy when I found out he was doing Legs, but I stuck around and did them anyway, (sort of)

Smith Squats: 4 x 8 x 185
Lunges: 2 x 95 (I skipped the rest of them as my left knee was having trouble)
Quad Extensions: 12 x 75, 3 x 8 x 100
Ham Curls: 4 x 8 x 40

I'm feeling tight in my calves today. Hopefully my Table Tennis play tonight won't be affected too much.

Duplicating the Roy workout from last week at Tomax

Today was Shoulders/Back:

DB Lateral Rows: 3 x 8 x 45
Military Press: 8 x 135, 8 x 140, 8 x 145, 8 x 150
Lat Pulldowns: 10 x 140, 8 x 170, 8 x 190, 8 x 200
Seated CG Cable Rows: 4 x 8 x 200
Mid Rack Pulls: 6 x 135, 6 x 225, 5 x 315, 4 x 405, 3 x 480 (All the weight in the entire Tomax Weightroom)

Crunches: 4 x 50 throughout the workout.

I was happy with this workout and the first time I've ever loaded all the weight in the room on a bar. I know it isn't much compared to what many guys can do, but it is a milestone nevertheless for me. Wouldn't it be awesome to have that much on a bar and bench it! One day.

Bench at Brandon's Basement

Flat Bench: 20 x 135
4 blocks: 2 x 8 x 300
2 blocks: 2 x 8 x 275
no blocks: 6 x 275, 8 x 265

Incline Smith: 2 x 10 x 185, 6 x 205, 8 x 185

DB Flat Bench Flys:
4 x 10 x 40 + 4 x 10 x 40 DB Presses fast.

Pushups: 25, 20, 15, 15

Could barely soap my pits this morning, I pushed it this morning although I wish I had another few exercises. I'll do more at lunchtime.

All out on Legs

Squats: 12 x 135, 8 x 185, 6 x 225
SLDL: 8 x 225, 6 x 250, 4 x 275
Leg Press: 3 x 10 x whole stack (@ 300)
Ham Curls: 12 x 45, 8 x 55, 6 x 70
Quad Extensions: 12 x 90, 8 x 135, 6 x 180

I felt a little pain just under my left knee cap during the squats, leg press, and quad extensions. It wasn't so bad that it prevented me from completing my prescribed sets/goal weights. Today's workout went much better than planned. Hoping to be sore tomorrow. My legs need alot of work.

Fully recovered from Roy... resume with Arms

After last Thursday's workout I was pretty sore for a few days throughout my entire upper body. So today was the first day back from that killer workout. I did arms:

Preacher Curls: 8 x 95 (inside grip), 8 x 105 (outside grip), 8 x 115 (inside grip), 5 x 125 (outside grip)
Standing French Presses: 8 x 115, 8 x 125, 5 x 135, 5 x 135
Alternating DB Curls: 2 x 8 x 50, 2 x 5 x 55
Dips: 12 x bw (235), 10 x bw + 25, 8 x bw + 35, 8 x bw + 45
DB Wrist Curls: 8 x 35, 3 x 6 x 45
Reverse One Arm Cable Curls: 10 x 1 plate, 3 x 10 x 2 plates

200 crunches total (4 x 50 between exercises)

This workout took 1:15 and I was moving pretty well through it. Felt really good today and I was pleased with the effort.

Lifting at the Roy Gold's Gym - Meeting David Edgell

This evening after scouts I rushed off to the Gold's Gym in Roy. I got there at 7:00 and didn't notice anybody huge or any group of people lifting together, so I figured I got there on their off day and started to do some benching:

Bench: 15 x 225, 8 x 275

I then noticed a couple huge guys gathering and figured I didn't miss them afterall. I went to the front desk and asked them if they knew David Edgell and they told me who it was and I went and introduced myself. David is one of the powerlifters in the state and he introduced me to Bill, another huge and strong guy who happens to live in Syracuse where I live. I also met Bryan, a marine who probably weighs close to what I do, but is nothing but muscle, so much stronger. Then there was Mickey who I think I overheard was 16 years old and the sone of another powerlifter in the area. So five of us in the group today.

David said today was back day so I joined in on the fun:

15 minute bike ride

Machine Lateral Raises:
12 x 160, 3 x 10 x 180

Rear Deltoid Machine:
12 x 100, 3 x 8 x 160

Pulldowns:
10 x 180
3 x 6 x 200

Seated Cable Rows: 4 x 8 x 200

Mid-rack pulls (Explode up, slow down, then hold weight at top for about 3-5 seconds at the top on the last rep):
5 x 135, 225, 315, 405
4 x 495
3 x 585

Curls (While Bill and David did some serious weight mid-rack pulls):
10 x 95, 6 x 115, 6 x 95, 8 x 95

Those Mid-rack pulls were fun! I've never heard of those before nor ever seen them done before. David provided spot and support for the last two sets. He told me to stop at 585 as it starts to get real heavy. David and Bill continued on to over 1000 pounds on their last couple sets (12 plates each side). These guys are huge!

The thing that suprised me with today's workout is that there was only one free weight exercise. I also was surprised at the use of wrist straps. I ended up using them definitely on the mid-rack pulls, and on the pulldowns. I was also impressed with the support the group had for each other. There were many key words used such as "Up", "Big" and "Strong". David told me that they discourage negative words and that the last word of a sentence or comment before a big lift should be positive.

David asked me if I had any medication for pain. I think he expects me to be seriously sore after this workout. I too expect to be sore, but not overly so.

I came home extremely happy with this experience and Cathi also was very supportive and said that as long as the other evenings that I'm in a good mood and helpful she wouldn't mind me going once a week. I was grateful for her thoughtfulness, but I'll try for once every other week for now. Gold's Gym isn't cheap, and I'm not sacrificing Friday's Table Tennis, so I can't expect Cathi to let me gone 2 nights a week every week. That's too much. So the next lift for me in Roy is Wednesday, July 26th where the guys will next do Bench.

Another Massage by Kristyn and the Tomax Summer Barbeque

Last Thursday may knot points flared up (two knots one just inside and below my shoulder blades on each side) so I called for an appointment with Kristyn. I was disappointed that I had to wait until Tuesday, and by that time the knots weren't bad. However I kept the appointment and man was I glad I did. At first it was painful, but after just a few passes, the knots were nearly completely gone.

This massage was much better than the last one in that I wasn't sore afterwards, but relaxed. Next time I get knots I'm calling in right away.

Today Tomax threw a barbeque from 11:30 - 1:30pm (with a softball game) for the employees. There were about 30 players among 2 teams so I only hit twice (double and single). No long bombs. Conservative hitting. There were a few who tried hitting it over the fence (none did though) and ended up getting caught well short. Remember I work with geeks and the average weight is probably 160 pounds with arms that are 10 inches in diameter. I had alot of fun and there were many guys from India who were trying to not play cricket. Great time overall.

Because of the barbeque I wasn't able to lift today. I called David Edgell and left a message to have him call me about when the next Bench day is at the Roy Gold's Gym. I sure hope its tomorrow, cause I've been saving my chest for working out with David and his posse. I'm sure he's going to make me suffer.

Shoulders and Tris fashioned after Stump's last blog

I've been following another Utahn lately: Steve Fredine (Stump)

Today's workout was fashioned after his latest Shoulders/Tricep workout

Standing Military Press:
1 x 5 x 135
1 x 5 x 145
1 x 5 x 155
1 x 5 x 165
1 x 10 x 135

Cheat Lateral Raises:
2 x 5 x 45
2 x 5 x 50

Dips: 5 x 12 x bw (235)

JM Presses:
1 x 10 x bar
1 x 5 x 95
1 x 5 x 100
1 x 5 x 105
1 x 5 x 110

Overhead High Pulley Rope Extensions:
2 x 5 x 8 plates

Overhead High Pulley Short Bar Tricep Extensions:
2 x 5 x 8 plates

The JM Presses were the first time for me. I tried to do them with a high level of control and strict movement. Felt good. The toughest was the 165 on military press. I ended up cheating on the last rep by dipping my knees to get a little momentum. The Rope Pulls were hard too, but the moving to the tricep bar made it much easier. Good workout today. Had it scheduled down to the very minute and kept within schedule. Workout done in 55 minutes.
Thanks Stump!

Helping Eric Move

Today I was planning on legs. I loaded up 185 and did 5 squats and it didn't feel great. I did 50 crunches and then did 8 reps of SLDL at 185 and they felt OK, but the motivation just wasn't there today. I remembered that I had to help Eric move today, so I figured it would be dumb to get all sore from lifting before doing something that would probably be just as good (especially all those little stabilizer muscles that I never use even when lifting).

So I bagged it after those two sets and played ping pong (which isn' a strain on anything) for the rest of my lunch break. Ping pong by the way on Friday at the WFTTC was awesome. I was 2 and 1. Not my best performance at the club, (3 and 0 is my best) but not too shabby either. I finally learned the name of the guy with one of the best forehands at the club. Besi usually comes with Tim and his son Jason. Besi has an awesome forehand shot, and I got a couple games on him, but he came through with the 4 games to win.

Today's lunch matches I played Bala and Gyan 3 times each. Beat Gyan 3 times, but Bala only once. Bala is a little more cautious in his shots than he used to, more chop than I remember.

Chest - before going to Lagoon

This morning I met at Brandon's to do another Chest workout:

Bench: 15 x 135, 12 x 250, 5 x 8 x 280
Incline Smith Press: 12 x 145, 2 x 8 x 195, 5 x 205
DB Flys: 4 x 12 x 40 (all we got)
Push ups: 25, 15, 15, 10 Less than 1 minute rest

This workout was pushing it for me. I haven't lifted in 5 days with the vacation. I did some ultimate frisbee with the family and man did that make me realize what a fat slug I am. I ate just about anything placed in front of me, but it sure was a fun time being with the family and doing cool activities. Lagoon was long and hot, but the kids had a total blast. This was the first family reunion week that hasn't made me crazy. I was actually sad to see it end.

Looking forward to getting serious with the lifting now.

Neck

Today I almost didn't lift. I was still sore all over from earlier this week. The only part that I could conceivably lift without hitting already sore areas was neck. So here is what I did (and I had to rush it as I had a 1:00 meeting):

Standing Preacher Bar Front Rows: 8 x 115, 3 x 6 x 135

Barbell Shrugs: 8 x 225, 3 x 6 x 245

Seated Close Grip Cable Rows: 8 x 170, 2 x 8 x 190, 8 x 200

Core work: In between sets I did 10 Captains Chairs(100 total)

Felt good about this workout even though I wish I had another 30 minutes for more.

Chest - focusing on feet placement and drive

Man my legs are probably the sorest they have ever been. Monday's workout was bare bones, but did it ever kick my butt! The good thing is, it won't take very much to improve in the legs and hopefully it will skyrocket. Hoping to be unsore enough on Friday to do another session.

Today's bench was to focus on feet placement and driving my heels into the mat.

Flat Bench: 10 x 225 warm up
4 x 4 x 225 - with bar pausing on my chest for seven seconds, then driving the weight up as powerfully as I can with my mind focusing on keeping my feet under my butt and driven into the ground.
2 x 8 x 275 with 4 blocks. These are touch and go, no pause.

Incline DB Press: 3 x 10 x 65 (The heaviest DB's we have. Wish I could afford heavier ones, but these will have to do.)

I did 50 crunches between exercises: 500 total.

I put a post up on the Utahpowerlifting forum and got several people offering to have me lift with them or get some tips. Very cool group of people. I called David Edgell and talked with him for a bit. Looks like he and a group of guys workout up at the Roy Gold's Gym at 7:00 a few days a week. I told him that I would call him in a couple weeks once I get back from vacation to find out what day the week of July 10th his group will be doing bench.

From the conversation, I get the feeling that I will definitely be thrown into the fire by working with these guys, but I think that would be good for me. I wish I had unlimited resources and time and then I would definitely join in full blast. I'll have to be satisfied with probably twice a month going up to the Roy Gold's gym. Hopefully I can take much of the methods learned there to the Tomax Gym and even get somebody at Tomax to really get excited about lifting too. There is a WABDL competition in Elko which David is interested in getting me to train for. I'd love another chance at 405 (with the proper technique and training this time) soon rather than waiting another six months. After I get back from the vacation I'll have to have a serious talk with Cathi to see if she is OK with me putting a little more priority on lifting.

First time doing legs in a long time

Squats: 12 x 135, 8 x 155, 6 x 175 - My legs were cramping up pretty good at this point. Reminding me to stretch before I do squats next time.
SLDL: 3 x 8 x 225 - These were tough to complete especially the 2nd and 3rd sets, but I did get them!
I figured I would be plenty sore tomorrow so I stopped here. My goal is to do legs twice a week which is a huge improvement over once every two weeks which was about what I was doing before.

Getting back to work

This morning I met Wayne and Brendon for some biceps:

Pullups (Rotating between lat/bicep grips): 4 x 7 x bw (240)
Standing Preacher Curls: 12 x 90, 12 x 85, 15 x 80, 15 x 75
Preacher Curls: 12 x 75, 3 x 10 x 95
21s: 3 sets

I got a good burn. My lower biceps are cramping up a little today so it was a great workout. We need a fan in that workout room badly! Dude I stink!

2006 Utah Summer Games - Bench Only Competition

Short Story –

1st attempt – 385 (success)
2nd attempt – 395 (fail)
3rd attempt – 395 (fail) My goal was 405 for 3rd if I got the 395 on the 2nd.

I was disappointed with my results in this meet, I had some surprises which threw me off, but next time I’ll be more prepared, not to mention stronger!

Here is a video of the lifts.

I did end up getting the gold medal in the open 235 and up weight category for the bench-only competition. So that was cool, but like I said when I started, it was the PR I wanted most, so getting the gold was bitter sweet.

Long Story -

Weigh in was at 8:00 am. I weighed in at 239. I was supposed to weigh under 235, so I was pushed into the heaviest category, 235 and up. I didn’t care too much as the only concern I had was with getting a new personal record, not what anyone else was doing.

At 9:00 they started squats. There were several guys squatting over 400 and a few at 500. I was in awe. They started with the youngest category moving to the open division and heavy categories. They didn’t start bench until around 11:00 or so. Then there were so many people doing bench only that it wasn’t until 1:30 that I did my lift. I was there drinking Gatorade and trying to get pumped for 4 hours and by the time I did my lift I was exhausted mentally.

About 15 minutes before my lift I did 275 twice with no shirt on, I was surprised at how heavy the weight felt. I knew though that the shirt and the pressure would give me that extra 100+ pounds.

As it turned out I was the last lifter for the day as I had the biggest opening lift (385 pounds). It was strange for me to see these really big guys lift and sometimes fail at weights that I have done. The heaviest weight benched to that point was 405 with the second best being 390! I had confidence that I could get the 385 and 395 since they were weights I had done before. At this point the gym had more people in it than the whole day. Here was the last bench of the day – talk about huge pressure and this was my first time doing a big lift outside of the Tomax basement!

My first lift did go up with some struggle, but it did go up. 385 down, 395 and 405 to go!

I had about 3 minutes until I had to lift 395. I was so anxious, it was hard for me to relax that whole time. I was angry earlier in the day that the lifters would take so much time (making me wait) so I felt self pressure to hurry up a little. What was most distressing was that it seemed as everyone was watching me. I hated that!

When I went for the 395 I couldn’t get it more than 3-4 inches off my chest before it stopped and started coming down. The spotters quickly grabbed it out of my grasp. What a bummer!!! My chance at 405 is gone! There is no way I’m going up in weight on my 3rd attempt if my 2nd wasn’t even close! So I had to at least tie my PR (395) on my third.

On the third I went further, but got stuck and couldn’t lock it out. I was upset that I didn’t meet my goals! However I was at least grateful I got 385. If I were to bomb out completely that would be the worst (and there were a few that did earlier in the day).

I was angry at myself because I have been struggling with my feet ever since I’ve started benching over 300. I have never had leg drive and my legs don’t give me any help at all. I talked with John, the master powerlifter who was the ref. He said I did need to work on my leg drive. He said to put 225 on the bar and let the bar sit on my chest for about 5-10 seconds (still pushing though so the weight isn’t resting on me) and then concentrate on my legs pushing my body up the bench so that they stay on the ground and help me get that weight up until the power transitions to my traps.

Lessons learned:
· focus on legs, not only for bench, but to get my squats and deadlifts to a respectable level.
· Next time I will not drink Gatorade all morning
· I will start major mental prep no more than 15 minutes before.
· Stay outside the gym until 10-15 minutes before my lift. Its too intense watching the others right before me.
· Make my opener smaller
· RELAX!!! Until its time to perform, and when it’s time do so with some RAGE! This meet I was unable to get some real rage as I was mentally exhausted by the time it was my turn.

Some things I thought were handled very well at the meet:
1. The organizers were good at judging. There were several people bouncing the weight off the chest, and they didn’t let that slide.
2. They were good at getting the crowd to cheer. When monumental lifts were being made they announced something that would cause the crowd to wake up a little and cheer.
3. They accommodated people who had music preferences and played their music during their lift.
4. John (the main judge) would give those who failed their lifts good direction on how to overcome their flaws and motivation to get the next attempts. But the fact is that without practice it’s hard to really adopt big changes unless those techniques are already mastered.
5. The gym was well cooled. It was probably 100 degrees outside (the doors were wide open too), but the gym stayed comfortable.

Some problems I had with the meet:
1. Two folding chairs. There was a lot of gym equipment, for spectators to sit on, but only two folding chairs! I was surprised at that! I had to sit in uncomfortable places for over 5 hours before my lift!
2. The water fountain was very wimpy and only had about a 1 inch arch. I was so sick of Gatorade by noon that I started drinking from the drinking fountain and I wasn’t impressed.
3. When I asked where the closest bathroom was, I was directed to a porta-potty about 50 yards away. I didn’t really think about this until I used it, but let’s say I take a dump in a portapotty with no facilities for cleaning up, and then go lift, my dirty hands are going on a bar that someone else is going to touch in the same place. I located a real bathroom where I could wash my hands but I don’t know if a porta-potty should be made available when a bathroom is twice as far, but people can wash their hands.

Thanks to everyone (Especially Cathi!) for supporting me in one of my passions in life!

Massage by Kristyn

Yesterday evening I got an hour long massage just on my upper body. It was awesome. There was a knot in my back just below each shoulder blade. It was quite painful to get them worked out, but they sure feel better than before. She did a fantastic job and was very professional. I'm definitely going back.

If you are interested in getting a good massage and live in North Davis County, Utah, give her a call at 644-5724. She's located at the Lifestyle Fitness Center in Layton at 1014 W. Gentile.

Taking it easy

I heard that I need to really rest up before the meet and I have been doing that except for today I did just a few sets:

Speed bench: 3 x 275, 3 x 275, 3 x 225

I experimented with finding my ideal grip on the bench. I believe it is with pinkys just inside the ring rather than middle finger on the ring.

It's been painful to stay completely out of the gym. In fact, I'm getting a one hour massage tonight, thanks to my in-laws for the Fathers Day gift!

I compiled a little list of things that I must not forget to pack for the trip:

Leather Belt
Wrist straps
Bench Shirts
Chalk
NB Shoes
Camera
MP3 Player

I am getting really excited. I ordered #9 How Not To Bomb Out of a Meet DVD last week. I hope it gets here soon and that it contains something I can use for this Saturday.

I've remained on my decision to do 385/395/405. I'm doing the bench only. I really want that 405 bad!!! I've done 385/395 in the gym, so I'm hoping that the extra enthusiasm in the competition gives me that extra push to get the new PR. After this weekend I'm going to start working the legs real hard.

Biceps early in the morning

This morning I went of to Brandon Mattson's again, this time for biceps:

Pullups: 4 x 8 (5-8 with help)
Standing Curls: 12 x 95, 3 x 12 x 75
Preacher Curls: 2 x 12 x 75, 24 x 65, 20 x 65
Alternating DB Curls: 4 x 10 x 40

The car door locked on me with the keys in so that added an extra 10 minutes to my day. The weights today were much better and I was getting a good burn. Never felt like I was overexerting myself with too much weight. Lifting extremely light for the rest of this week until next Saturday.

That chest workout I was supposed to do light!

I was supposed to take it easy this morning, but oh boy did I overdo it. My pecs have cramped up several times throughout the day. I imagine I'm going to be pretty sore tomorrow. Its hard to really cut back! Make me feel really slack to go 5 reps of 65% That would mean I would do five sets of 255 and thats it! I'll have to do that next week for sure.

Lifting Chest in Brandon Mattson's basement

Yesterday evening Cathi suggested we go see Mattson's new terrier puppy. Cathi told me a couple weeks ago that Brandon lifts every morning with a friend of his. I called him last week about lifting with him but he had to go on a business trip. Well yesterday evening he showed me his gym and offered to let me work in with him and his partner, Wayne.

I got to bed late (11:30pm) and got up at 5:45 to go lift. Here is what I did:

Flat Bench: 15 x 225, 6 x 6 x 275
Incline Smith Press: 4 x 8 x 185
Military Smith Press: 12 x 115, 2 x 8 x 125, 5 x 145
DB Flys: 4 x 40
supersetted with
Tricep Cable Extensions: 10 x 65, 3 x 8 x 75

There was basically no rest between sets with the three of us constantly moving in/out and changing weights around. I was sweating like a pig, and I was completely fatigued by the time it was over. Next time I will definitely need to contain my enthusiasm and keep the weight much lower so I don't overexert myself as the meet gets closer. Excellent workout! I'll call him tonight to see if he still wants me to come on MWF or T and TH to avoid it getting too crouded.

Shoulders and back

SLDL: 3 x 5 x 225
Shrugs: 3 x 5 x 225
In between exercises did 50 crunches

Alternating DB curls: 3 x 5 x 45
DB Military Press: 3 x 5 x 45

In between exercises did 15 situps

Back Cable Extensions: 3 x 5 x 200
Preacher Curls: 3 x 3 x 145

In between exercises did 10 captains chairs

I wasn't planning on lifting today, but Brendon was interested so I wasn't going to flake on him. Finally getting some benefits out of having a partner! Also my neighbors wants me to join him tomorrow morning during his morning workout.

I'm anxious to have another good evening of Table Tennis at the club tonight. Have a good weekend.

Last heavy bench day til the games

Today I got Brendon and Luke to spot on some heavy bench work:

1 x 315 (slow with no shirt)
Put the shirt on....
1 x 385 (slight pause again at the half way point, but pushed past it)
1 x 395 (Stuck at half way point, struggled and weight came down (Thanks spotters))
1 x 405 (This one coming down was nice until I got to the half way point then it came down too fast. Stopped on the chest and I couldn't get it even 1/4 way up, so the spotters helped me get it up the whole way nice and slow)

DB Press: 20 x 65, 2 x 12 x 65 speed press
Decline DB Flys: 12 x 40, 2 x 12 x 45

I knew that the 405 I would need help on, but I was disappointed that I couldn't get the 395 up. I'm thinking that I'll start at 385 at the meet, and on the third attempt hopefully get 405.

This is my last time doing big weights before the meet (June 24th). I'll be doing some speed presses at 65% the next couple weeks.

Back

Seated Cable Rows: 6 x 200, 2 x 6 x 200 (with Chains)
15 Situps
Chest Supported DB Rows: 12 x 35, 8 x 45, 8 x 50
15 Hyperextensions with 45 BB
Close Grip Cable Pulldowns: 12 x 150, 2 x 6 x 180
15 Situps
Military Press: 8 x 135, 2 x 6 x 165
15 Good Mornings with 75 pounds

Today I worked out with Brendon and it was nice to have a partner to move things along. We did this workout in less than 35 minutes. It was hot in the weight room too! No Air conditioning and no fan.

Biceps with Brendon

Today I convinced Brendon to join me. He choose Arms so we did:

Preacher Curls: 3 x 10 x 95
Tricep Cable Pulldowns: 12 x 80, 2 x 6 x 100
Alternating DB Curls: 3 x 8 x 40
Close Grip BenchPress: 12 x 185, 2 x 6 x 225

I didn't want to hit anything too much today as I'm going to the Table Tennis Club tonight. I got enough Birthday money to get a new Mark V GPS paddle which I hit with after this workout against the robot, and boy did it hit differently. It gives a much more hollow sound versus my old Mark V Paddle, but it is much faster and "crisper" than the old paddle. I'm excited about hitting there tonight.

Earlier in the day I read a post from "ironjohn" regarding how I should best be preparing for the June 24th meet. I'll go for one more big lift next week (385,395,405) and then go with sets of 3 at 335 for the next two weeks.

DE Bench

Well - my neighbor cancelled, so I had to do my DE at work. I got Luke to help spot me so I did the following:

Bench:
8 x 225
Put the shirt on....
1 x 365 (easy)
1 x 375 easy
1 x 385 paused at the sticking point but did get it up after yelling it out.

I rewarded myself with 30 minutes of hitting ping pong balls against my robot. Next week I'll have two spotters, so I'll definitely start at 375, 385, 395.

Pleased with today's numbers.

Shoulders with back and abs between sets

DB Lateral Raises: 3 x 4 x 50

10 Hyperextensions between sets

Bradford Press: 3 x 4 x 135, 145, 155

50 crunches between sets

DB Rotating Shrugs: 3 x 4 x 60

10 Good Mornings (45 pound bar only) between sets

Upright Rows: 4 x 115, 2 x 4 x 165

10 Captains chairs between sets

Front DB Raises: 3 x 4 x 40

10 Side bends between sets

This felt like a good workout. The good mornings were surprisingly easy and felt good. The lower back felt tight, but not as if something was wrong or overexerted. Thanks to Jason Paris for the encouragement to hit some lower back along with the abs.

Benching at the Bubble v2

Smith Press: 3 x 6 x 315
Incline Press: 8 x 135, 8 x 165, 8 x 185
Machine Flys: 3 x 12 x 220
Decline DB Press (Fast reps): 3 x 10 x 75
Bent Over Cable Flys: 10 x 60, 10 x 70, 8 x 90
Dips (240 bw): 12, 15, 19

I was so excited about today's new PR that I got off a little early to go to the bubble. I have 8 visits left on my pass, which I need to use before August 12th or I lose them.

I'm also thinking about joining a neighbor once a week in his basement to lift. With the meet next month, I probably should do a few negative sets to get used to the real heavy weight. Good day today.

395 bench - new PR

I was building up mentally all day for this lift. I planned on going down at fifteen minutes till noon to warm up. Man it takes a long time to get ready. It really did take 15 minutes to prepare. When Christian and Luke showed up I had the weights all ready.

The camera was acting up on me, so I didn't get it filmed as I felt pressured to hurry it up as Luke and Christian were waiting for me.

I put the leather belt on the third notch in to keep the shirt down low. I felt the weight coming down real slow, but on the way up, I went out of my groove and the weight shifted left at which point I called for help. The weight felt so light coming down, I knew it was going back up. That was very reassuring, so I made a 2nd attempt a few minutes later.

Christian also suggested that I move the bench a little lower and allow him and Luke to give me a liftoff. I agreed, and I think that helped.

On the second attempt I took the weight down slow too. When I stopped at the bottom I pushed it up hard and fast. At the same sticking point (about 1/3 way up) I screamed it out literally past that transition point and it went up strong! I felt great with it. I'm just bummed I couldn't video it so I can critique it afterwards. They both said it was strict and looked good. At any rate, I was very pleased with the 2nd attempt.

I did four more one rep sets of 315 without a shirt focusing on squeezing my shoulder blades together and that felt good. I didn't do anymore after that, because I plan on getting off at 3:15 to reward myself with a trip to the Bubble for a full chest workout with some good equipment.

Upper Back

Chest Supported DB Laterals: 4 x 8 x 30
Close Grip Cable Rows: 4 x 6 x 200
Lat Pulldowns: 4 x 6 x 160
Behind the Back Shrugs: 4 x 3 x 225
Standing DB Lateral Raises: 4 x 3 x 40
Military Press: 4 x 3 x 185

60 Crunches between exercises, Total of 300.

Today I had a slight headache to start, but I pushed through the prescribed workout to my satisfaction. Last Friday's table tennis was awesome. I played very well and I believe it is because I had two bottles of gatorade.

Killer Chest and Tricep workout

Bottom Half BenchOnly: 40 x 135, 30 x 155, 20 x 185
supersetted with
DE Bench: 8 x 185 (with chains), 6 x 205 (no chains), 4 x 225

50 crunches, 50 pushups

DB Press fast: 15 x 65, 20 x 65, 25 x 65
supersetted with
DE DB Flys: 8 x 35, 6 x 30, 4 x 25

2 x (40 crunches superset with 40 pushups)

Speed Dips: 12, 15, 18 (max)
supersetted with
DE Floor Press (legs up): 3 x 8 x 135

3 x (30 crunches superset with 30 pushups)

Total crunches & pushups: 220 each

My arms were so beat that I could barely take my shirt off afterwards. On the dips and pushups it was the first rep that was the hardest. Once I got a few going, my muscles went into overdrive and I was able to keep going, but man was I fatigued between sets. These weren't very strict supersets, but just barely enough rest to actually get the reps done that I had prescribed. This was a fantastic workout!

Half deadlifts

Today was one of the suckiest days in the weightroom. I put on 225 for doing squats, but I knew that I didn't want a repeat of what happened to me 2 months ago, so I only went down half way. I did 3 sets of 6 at 225.

Then I did a couple sets of deadlifts, but found the weight to be too much. Since I came in late to work, I figured I'd scrap the rest of the workout and let my mind and body build up for tomorrow's chest workout. Not much enthusiasm today, that's for sure.

Heavy Biceps work while being distracted with deep thought

Standing Preacher Curls: 6 x 115, 3 x 4 x 135
Top Half only Standing DB Curls: 4 x 8 x 35
Cable Concentration Curls: 8 x 40, 3 x 8 x 30
Close Grip Reverse Grip Pullups: 4 x 3 (bw = 240)
Alternating Standing DB Curls: 4 x 4 x 55

Today's workout went fairly well, except I my focus was more towards obtaining some height in my biceps. They are full and long, but the height is not good at all, so I looked through Arnold's Bodybuilding Bible for some tips on obtaining some height. Now I am definitely not a bodybuilder, nor a fully converted powerlifter. All I know is that I wouldn't mind some decent guns and mine are definitely not peaked. I get the impression that "looks" don't mean too much in powerlifting so I had to resort to Arnold a little.

I also had a deep conversation with Cathi about the topic of abortion just before noon. Not due to personal reasons in case you're wondering, but the topic came up and during the course of this discussion with her I realized that my believe system is "weakening" a little in that I am much less likely to believe in black and white anymore. There are tons of gray area and circumstances that cause me to believe less in absolutes. Anyhow, my mind was greatly off track while trying to maintain a good workout. I think this workout had a very small amount of quality and unfortunately finished just as confused as before about my own beliefs about the topic at hand.

I also did NOT get the burn I wanted, but I also realized this was supposed to be "Heavy" and not necesarilly working to get that burn. But I left disappointed a little nonetheless.

Shoulder and Neck

Shoulders/Neck

Barbell Shrugs: 3 x 3 x 275
DB Military Press: 4 x 5 x 65
Bent Arm DB Laterals: 5 x 8 x 40
Cable Front Raises: 4 x 6 x 50
Preacher Bar Front Rows: 3 x 4 x 135
Lateral DB Rows: 6 x 40, 8 x 40, 10 x 40, 12 x 40

60 Crunches between exercises: 300 total

Today the music was good, the motivation was good and felt strong. Excited about going to Lagoon this coming Saturday where I do my annual High Striker game. (You know the game where you hit the stump with the mallet and the electronic display shows how hard you hit it?) Although it isn't completely a test of strength as it depends on the angle where contact is made as well as the location the mallet hits the stump. There is something about that game that either strokes or destroys your ego. I shouldn't be that way though, I know.

Back

Pull Ups: 3 x 3 (max)
Seated Cable Rows: 3 x 8 x 180
Chest Supported DB Rows: 3 x 8 x 40
Close Grip Cable Pulldowns: 3 x 6 x 180

Today I was feeling sick and barely got this workout done. I was low in motivation as well as energy. Not a great workout, but better than just going home.

ME Chest and new lift -"Angel Press"

ME Bench: 4 x 275, 3 x 315, 2 x 335, 0 x 355
Tate Press: 6 x 8 x 50
Incline Press: 8 x 205, 6 x 225, 4 x 245
Decline DB Flys: 3 x 4 x 60
Angel Press: 8 x 25, 8 x 20

On the second to last set I called Luke down to spot me. I was glad I got the 335 twice, but very disappointed I didn't get the 355 once. I felt a little pressure to hurry into it instead of taking more rest to recover.

During my DB Flys (which were very hard), I noticed that my arms weren't as straight as I wanted them to, so I was toying with the idea of an "Angel Press" which is what I'm calling them. I haven't seen these done before and figured it would help my shoulders, lats and chest. The idea is that instead of doing a press its a combination of press resistance and rotator work.

Angel Press starts out lying on a flat bench on your back. With DB in each hand hold your arms to your hips along your side with your palms up. Then move your arms out keeping them parallel to the ground and keeping your elbows locks and rotating your arms all the way till your are reaching far above your head and the DB touch. The point is to keep the weights level with your body and to fight gravity with the weight. Move the weights slowly back down to your side and that is one repetition.

I call them Angel press because its like making snow angels. It isn't really a press, but a good resistance exercise and good for stretching out the entire pec muscle. Let me know what you think if you try it.

Endurance Legs

Today I did a high number of reps/low weight for legs:

Squats: 3 x 15 x 135
SLDL: 3 x 15 x 155

I also did 200 crunches total.

My legs were pretty fatigued which is pretty normal after working legs, but what was different was that I was out of breath and light headed. I guess doing that many reps is what made me out of breath. Luke was in the weight room this time doing his routine.

Last night I played Table Tennis with Sanjay Bakshi for about and hour and a half. I was sure sweating.

Speed Work - Triceps

CGBP: 8 x 3 x 185
Floor Presses: 8 x 3 x 225
Dips: 3 x bw (240) + 25, 7 x 3 x bw
French Presses: 8 x 3 x 75
Lying Cross Face Tricep DB Extensions: 8 x 3 x 25
Jason Paris' One Arm Barbell Press: 3 x 8 x 45

This workout was the first time I left with a ton of energy and rather disappointed in that I really had to hold myself back in the weight and in reps in order to get quality speed on the lifts. I'm used to using 90% of my effort on each and every set so that I only could do one or two more reps, not ending with the ability to double or triple the reps. But the goal was to get quality speed not worry about weight or reps. I loved the fact that after the workout I was bouncing around with energy rather than being beat. Tomorrow I'll have to do legs as I want to be fully recovered before doing any upper body work.

Lesson Learned: Don't checkout your financial situation before lifting!

Today just before lifting, I was curious how my financial situation was. Bad Move.

I was in a much worse situation that I thought, and it ruined my mental state for my lift.

I ended up doing:

Alternating DB Curls (Slow and controlled): 8 x 45, 6 x 50, 3 x 4 x 55

At this point I was so filled with worry trying to figure out what expenses this month I could cut, or what part time job I could try to get, or how I could really tighten my belt, etc... My mind and emotions were in disarray and ended calling it a day after five sets of curls.

So lesson for today: Don't check your finances before lifting! It could really screw up your mind.

DE Shoulders

Today I decided to do a Dynamic Effort Workout (DE) for shoulders since its probably the only non-sore part of my body:

Military Press: 25 x 95, 20 x 115, 12 x 135, 15 x 125
Wide Grip Behind the Neck Pulldowns: 18 x 120, 15 x 130, 12 x 140, 10 x 150
Close Grip Seated Cable Rows: 4 x 18 x 150
Barbell Shrugs: 2 x 15 x 135, 2 x 15 x 135 (reverse grip)
DB Lateral Rows: 2 x 12 x 40, 2 x 15 x 30

The close grip seated cable rows were probably the most intense. I wanted really bad to stop at 15 on several of the sets, but I pushed out 3 more although not very cleanly.

Its weird to do more than 12 reps. I've tried to avoid reps more than 12 in the past, but I hope that the DE concept actually produces fruit for me. I have tomorrow off work, which means that I'll also be taking tomorrow as a rest day from lifting. Friday = ARMS!

I also had a question for Jason Paris(or Dave Tate) regarding the 3 lifts at 90% or more. I probably should find out what my 1 rep max is raw, but I'm nervous about screwing up my shoulder with a non shirted one rep max.

ME Squat and Deadlift with Core work

Today is the first time since my back injury that I did Maximum Effort Training on Squats. I still did them without any belt or wraps. Here is what I did:

Squats: 2 x 225, 2 x 275
DL: 2 x 295, 1 x 315
SLDL: 2 x 275, 1 x 295

75 Crunches and 15 captains chairs between sets: 450/90 total

Today I wrote down this workout BEFORE I went downstairs and followed the prescribed workout completely. Actually I did better than what I prescribed. I did 2 reps of 275 rather than 1. I was very happy with today's effort.

Lifting Terms: ME and DE

I've found several other bloggers using ME and DE terms in their posts and just now found out what that meant. This article explains that ME: stands for Maximum Effort Method, which is that you lift one exercise for one rep at 90% - 100% of your max. DE: stands for Dynamic Effort Method, which is that you lift between 70 - 90 % of your max but do several more reps.

Benching at the Bubble

Yesterday afternoon on the way home I stopped at the Bountiful Bubble to lift. The weightroom was empty.

Here is what I did:

Incline Bench: 12 x 185, 2 x 8 x 195
Fly Machine: 2 x 8 x 200, 6 x 200
Decline Smith Press: 3 x 8 x 275
Cable Flys: 8 x 60, 2 x 8 x 70
Smith Upright Rows: 3 x 8 x 135
Flat Bench: 15 x 225(Low end only), 15 x 225 (High end only), 6 x 225 (Legs up), 15 x 135 (Legs up)

Later in the evening my pecs would cramp so I tried stretching them out and that was fine, but a sign that I definitely worked the chest today. Next time, I'm going to follow the advice given in this article by Dave Tate, point number 10 (per Jason Paris' suggestion to do speed bench). Next time I work chest I'm going to take the weight clear down to 60% and do some speed bench work.

Reset Bench 1 Rep Max PR (385)

Today I was planning on setting a new record in my Bench. However I always plan to reset my existing PR (385). On the first attempt I slipped out of my groove on the way up and paused too much half way up. I did get it up on my own, but the movement wasn't progressing at one point. So I took three minutes to prepare for another attempt. This time I had Brendon tighten my weight belt as my shirt kept sliding up to my neck and choking me. I had it so tight around my waist that the shirt didn't budge when I brought my arms up. That made all the difference as my second attempt was very clean and solid.

Here is the video. I didn't bring in my good camera so I had to settle for my Motorola video phone. Sorry about the quality, but for those of you with low bandwidth, practically no wait for you.

Here is today's work:

Flat Bench:

1 x 225, 1 x 315 shirted, 1 x 365 shirted, 1 x 385 shirted (not 100% legal), 1 x 385 shirted (legal), 8 x 275 (2 block), 8 x 295 (4 block), 8 x 315(6 block), 8 x 405 (liftoff only)

I'm rewarding myself with a stop over at the Bountiful Bubble this afternoon on the way home to get in an evening workout (which I'll post tomorrow).

I was very pleased with at least getting the same PR as two months ago as now I have a video, and plan to go up to 395 the end of May (making sure the belt is tight on the first attempt), which should put me at 405 as my first attempt at the Utah Summer Games competition, which isn't sanctioned at all, and I just got word that shirts will be allowed (whew!). I would be thrilled to get 405, but even more so if I can get 425 which will be my third attempt if I can nail 405 and 415.

For those of you with alot of Powerlifting competition experience, can you suggest a cycle I should follow to best prepare for this date (June 24th)?

Finishing the week with Legs

Squats: 4 x 8 x 155
SLDL: 4 x 6 x 255

Looking forward to draining myself completely of all energy at tonights TT club.

Good Arms workout

Armblaster Curls: 15 x 75, 3 x 10 x 95
Standing Cable Curls: 10 x 70, 3 x 8 x 80
Standing Tricep Cable Pulls: 12 x 80, 3 x 8 x 100
Weighted Dips: 12 (bw (240) + 10), 10 (bw + 25), 10 (bw + 35), 10 (bw + 45)
Alternating DB Curls: 8 x 45, 10 x 40, 12 x 35, 15 x 30

In between sets did 40 crunches (16 total = 640 Crunches)

This took a little over an hour to do and it felt great! I skimmed through a couple of arnold video's yesterday and it was Lou Ferrigno's lifting that inspired me. Not that I believe I could ever get that big or strong, but it was just inspiring.

Excellent Back and Shoulders workout today

Today my chest is still sore from Monday's lunchtime and evening lifts, so that's good. Today I decided to do Shoulders and upper Back. I felt strong, but not a whole lot of motivation so I'm very pleased that I stuck with it and did the following:

Barbell Shrugs: 4 x 8 x 225
BradFord Press: 8 x 135, 8 x 145, 2 x 8 x 155
DB Laterals (Opposite of Flys): 4 x 8 x 20
Standing Cable Crossover Laterals: 4 x 8 x 20
DB Presses: 8 x 55, 3 x 8 x 60
Rotating DB Shrugs/Rows: 4 x 10 x 40

Wading through a mentally troubling time

Things at work are getting more intense and my love for table tennis is on the rise again, it is hard to stay focused on my lifting endeavors. However I don't want to lose what I have so today I did a small chest workout:

Bench:

15 x 225 slow, 10 x 225 (with chains) pausing on the chest, 8 x 225 (wc) slow coming down, pause on chest and explode up without bounce, 6 x 245 (wc) slow and controlled, 8 x 245(wc) slow and controlled with pause at bottom.

DB Flat bench flys: 2 x 8 x 50

At this point my headache was getting heavier and my desire to play TT increased, however nobody was in the TT room which would present a challenge so I just took a five minute shower, had lunch and went back to work on the many small issues that face me. Yuk!

I also did 250 Crunches total today between sets.

Later in the evening during each commercial during the 7 - 9 pm hour of my two favorite shows (Wife Swap and The Apprentice) I would do one set of 8 x 225 feet up bench. That resulted in probably 10 sets (I missed a couple).

Small Biceps Workout

Last week I didn't do Biceps at all so it was about time I got them put in:

Alternating DB Curls: 2 x 10 x 45, 2 x 8 x 45, 6 x 40
Preacher Curls: 5 x 10 x 100

I then played probably 12 games of Ping Pong with Kyle which he beat me probably 8, so I was frustrated. I think lifting arms and ping pong just doesn't mix very well. From now on its one or the other, I'm not going to do both during lunch, cause I then suck at both.

Good back workout

I took Friday off since my entire upper body was still sore. So today I decided to do back:

DL: 4 x 5 x 255
Chest Supported DB Rows: 4 x 5 x 55
Wide Grip Lat Pulldowns: 4 x 5 x 180
HyperExtensions: 2 x 5 x 35, 2 x 5 x 45
Close Grip Seated Cable Rows: 12 x 160, 8 x 180, 2 x 5 x 200

60 Crunches/10 Captains Chairs between exercises (240/40 total)

Squeezed this workout into an hour. Wish I could have taken more time and done one more exercise, but I had a meeting scheduled. Friday's TT club was awesome, I actually won two matches out of five.

Fleshy arms and Chest

This morning I read in the Book of Mormon a verse which lept out at me:

2 Nephi 4:34 - "...I will not put my trust in the arm of flesh; for I know that cursed is he that putteth his trust in the arm of flesh. Yea, cursed is he that putteth his trust in man or maketh flesh his arm."

Humility is something that typically doesn't accompany tough guys right, or is that just my own perception? That's a lesson for me to ponder and those who try to get strong should consider. How do we treat others? How big is your head? Enough of the sermon...

Today I did Chest workout patterned after Jason Paris' recent workout

Bench: 3 x 315, 4 x 295, 5 x 295, 4 x 295
Decline Bench: 20 x 225, 3 x 10 x 225
Incline Bench: 5 x 185, 6 x 175, 10 x 165, 12 x 155
Dips (bw): 15, 12, 10, 8

On the Incline Bench I originally intended to start at 225, but the first rep caused a cramp in my back and it took too much effort on the first one just to get up. I also was surprised that I lost so much steam after my first set of declines. This was indeed a tough workout and I respect Jason for the amount of weight and reps he did in his routine. That definitely was a good workout. I also did 50 crunches and 10 captains chairs between exercises (150 total crunches, 30 CC).

Old Fashioned Lifting

In the modern world we live in weightlifting has to be done in order to prevent the degeneration of the human species. 4 or 5 generations ago we didn't have massive tractors to work on the farm, and the women had 3-4 times the number of kids with part of the reason probably being to help out on the farm.

Well today I am bypassing my lifting because I'm renting a tiller and for more than two hours will be tilling and shoveling which I am sure will make me more sore than most workouts I've done. So I'll let you know which is harder, lifting weights, or working in the garden. Not that I'm really rouging it as my 3rd Greatgrandfather had to use a mule rather than a powertiller.

During lunch I played TT with Bala. Today wasn't so good. He beat me 9 games and I beat him 6 games. I've found that I get lazy and play defense, but he knows how to play really good offense against defense and it backfires. I need to play more offensive style.

Legs and Ping Pong

Squats: 3 x 12 x 155
45 minutes of ping pong with Bala (He beat me 5 out of 8)
SLDL: 3 x 8 x 225

The squats felt good and weren't too painful. Bala came in as I was finished my 2nd set asking to play table tennis. I did one more set and played. We used the table that is in tight quarters so it wasn't my typical style to play that close to the table, so it was good practice in staying close to the table. Made it hard to play defense against kills.

SLDL's also felt good and I was happy with the movement and amount of effort. The back of my neck is sore from yesterday's neck extensions.

Good Shoulders workout

Bradford Press: 3 x 8 x 135
DB Shrugs: 3 x 8 x 65
Lateral Raises: 3 x 8 x 40
Neck Extensions/Lateral DB Rows Superset: 3 x 8 x 20/3 x 8 x 40
Arnold Presses: 3 x 8 x 40

Neck Extensions involve a headstrap that attaches to the bottom cable pulley and starting with my chin on my chest and lifting the weight back and away so that I am looking up at the ceiling. Not alot of weight, but last time I did this my neck was shocked and it was sore.

I also did 50 crunches between every set (500 total), and 10 captains chairs between every set on the last 3 exercies (60 total).

I was happy with today's quantity and quality, but not the amount of weight. I didn't truly struggle as much as I would usually like. Definitely nothing even close to failure. The toughest in this regards was probably the Bradford Presses.

Lower half Bench movement

With the use of blocks and chains I've noticed that my off the chest position has weakened. So today I did the following to strengthen the bottom portion of bench press:

Bench (stop half way up and go back down, pause on chest):

8 sets of 8 x 225

These were pretty tough. My work has been taking alot of my thoughts and while I don't mean to neglect my lifting passion, I'm finding that I'm becoming more invested in my work. When I notice others become passionate about their work I perceive that as a weakness, especially when they totally neglect their bodies to become workaholics.

Legs

Squats: 3 x 12 x 155
Leg Press: 3 x 10 x @330 (Whole stack)
SLDL: 8 x 185, 2 x 8 x 205
Quad Extenseions: 3 x 8 x 115

In between sets I did 50 crunches (400 total)

Its a pity that my attitude towards legs is that it must be done and I'm looking forward to get them finished and done with for the week. Hoping that one day I look forward to legs like others.

Triceps after a long weekend

Friday - Monday I played host to friends from Australia. Yesterday I had to leave at lunch to take Cathi to the Emergency Room for a terrible case of mastitis (which she has almost completely recovered from as of this moment), so today I was very much craving the weightroom. I did some much needed Tricep work:

Dips: 12 (bw(240) + 25), 10 (bw + 35), 8 (bw + 45)
Close Grip BP: 8 x 185, 8 x 205, 8 x 225
Nosebreakers: 8 x 95, 8 x 105, 8 x 95
DB Kickbacks: 6 x 30, 8 x 25, 10 x 20
French Press: 3 x 8 x 115

The DB Kickbacks were tough and I found most of the work in the upper triceps. While thats good, I'm looking for something that really works the lower triceps especially just above the elbow. I think all the other exercises hit the lower tris pretty good. In between exercises I also did 50 crunches and 10 side bends (each side) totalling 200 crunches and 40 sb each.

I didn't feel psyched about this workout, but content. Hopefully I'll get some great work the rest of this week.

Chest

Today is my last workout this week so I needed to do chest.

Incline Press: 3 x 8 x 185
Decline DB Flys: 8 x 45, 8 x 50, 8 x 55
Flat Bench: 2 x 8 x 275, 7 x 275 (Barely got up seven on last set so I stopped there)
Push Ups: 50 Normal, 30 Normal, 10 Hands together.

My lower triceps (just above my elbow) were fatigued after the flat bench and were starting to ache after the second set. I had higher hopes for the push ups, but was completely fatigued after the first set, and my triceps were getting even more work that I thought. Overall a very good workout.

Leg Work

Squats no belt: 3 x 8 x 135
supersetted with
Leg Press: 3 x 12 x @275
SLDL: 8 x 175, 2 x 8 x 205

The squats even though they were "light" were still a little tough near the eighth rep. The rest of the workout was good, controlled. I stretched between sets to using all sorts of stretches which hopefully will target those tiny little muscles that hardly ever move. I then played Ping Pong with Kyle for about 45 minutes. I think I may have convinced him to get a serious paddle. He played with my Mark V paddle for a while and he noticed a difference right away. I'm hoping that several other Tomax people get serious about their table tennis game as it would be nice to play different styles rather than just Bala's style all the time.

Crap, this isn't a table tennis blog, but you know? Nobody's leaving comments much anymore, so perhaps my posts aren't getting read, so I can ramble anyway.

Lower Back after work (Name that 2nd exercise)

Today I played Table Tennis with Bala and Kyle (I did very well) during lunch, and lifted after work:

Romanian DL: 12 x 225, 2 x 6 x 275
(I don't know the name of this lift and couldn't locate it on the web): I laid on my upper quads perpendicular to a bench and put my legs under a brace. My upper body bent down to the floor, I held a 35 pound weight against my chest and brought my back upwards so that my upper body was slightly higher than my hips and then bent my upper body back down for 1 rep. Please tell me what the name of that exercise is. I'm sure I've heard of it before, I just can't recall.

I did 3 sets of those with 35 pounds @8 reps

Seated Cable Pulls: 3 x 8 x 200 - On these I kept my arms straight and used nothing but my lower back to pull the weight back so that I was lying on my back and then brought the bar back to my feet.

Shoulders and Neck

Barbell Shrugs: 8 x 185, 2 x 6 x 225
Full Lateral Raises to overhead: 8 x 30, 2 x 8 x 35
Upright Rows: 8 x 95, 8 x 115, 6 x 145
Lateral DB Rows: 3 x 8 x 40

In between sets I did 35 Crunches and 10 Side Bends (5 each side), total of 280 crunches and 80 Side Bends. I had planned a fourth exercise (DB Military Press) but since I went ahead to an overhead position on the lateral raises I considered that exercise done. It was a fairly good workout given I wasn't as motivated as normal today. Body was fine today, mind though not so strong.

First good chest workout in a while

Worked with the shirt today:

Flat Bench: 12 x 225, 8 x 275, 4 x 295, 4 x 315, 3 x 335, 1 x 365
Unshirted Flat Bench: 1 x 275, 8 x 225, 12 x 185 (wide grip), 12 x 135 (Ultra wide)
Incline Bench: 12 x 135

I must have made more noise than usual lifting the 135 up from the flat to the incline pins cause my workplace's hardware administrator, Kevin came down and poked his head in the door. His office is just above the weight room. I hope he wasn't bugged. I wouldn't want to get on his bad side.

I took the last couple days off cause my entire back was more sore than normal and my ankle was sore from the side bends. I saw the Chiropractor for the last time today and he did a few minor adjustments and said I was good to go for a while. I'm glad I went and hope I don't have to go back.

First good back workout since the injury

Chest Supported Rows: 3 sets of 7 x 95, 5 x 125, 3 x 165
Lat Pulldowns: 3 sets of 6 x 160, 4 x 170, 2 x 180
Light SLDL: 3 sets of 12 x 135, 10 x 155, 8 x 175
Seated Cable Rows: 3 Sets of 8 x 180

In between sets I did 33 crunches/10 side bends, Total: 266 Crunches, 80 Side Bends.

The SLDL felt really good, I wasn't feeling any pain or tightness whatsoever between sets so I'm hoping that doing higher reps and lighter weight strengthens those smaller muscles in my lower back/hip that need to catch up. Felt really good about this workout.

Mucho Muscle's Bicep workout

This workout came from Mucho Muscle's website

Barbell Curls: 3 sets of 7 x 105, 5 x 125, 2 x 145
Alternating Standing DB Curls: 3 sets of 7 x 50, 5 x 50, 4 x 55
Armblaster Curls: 3 sets of 8 x 95, 6 x 105, 4 x 125
Barbell Curls (Strip Set): 5 x 95, 10 x 85, 15 x 75, 20 x 65, 25 x 55, 30 x 45

33 Crunches and 20 flutter kicks between sets: Total 200 Crunches, 120 flutter kicks.

The Barbell Curls provided quite the burn. I also did all of these exercises slowly, controlled with a short flex at the top of the curl, except for the last exercise which was done kind of rushed.

I went to see the Chiropractor again this morning and bought a ball. I used it to do one exercise and then placed it on a piece of tin tubing used for air conditioning and it popped! I was so mad. At least I only paid $12 for it. I think I'll give the Dr. one more visit and then I'll call it quits. I only had one episode of pain with my lower back this weekend due to driving to Moab for Cathi's Half Marathon. With my high deductible plan with my Health Insurance I can't afford to keep going, unless its because of an overwhelming need to get some pain relief.

The hotel in Moab had a pool, but no weights at all which was extremely disappointing, so I have a little catching up to do. Today's workout was good and I got a good burn, but I doubt I'll be sore for days like the website claims even though I followed it to a T (except I replaced the Spider Curls with Armblaster Curls since our preacher bench attachment doesn't have a very good back end, plus there is a small rack on the otherside and didn't like getting a piece of metal so close to my crotch. So the 2nd and 3rd sets I replaced with Armblaster to get the same effect.

I also posted a question in the proper forum about whether the utah summer games competition is raw or not.

First time to a Chiropractor

Today I went to visit Mark Dudley a chiropractor that was referred to me by my Mother. He lives next to my parents. His office was downtown so it was convenient to go over. He said that the injury may not have been completely due to the squat or the weight I did, but may have been something that tipped the scale relating to a problem that may have started long ago. He used a tool to "thump" certain points in my back and had me do some movements as he made certain adjustments using his tool. He mentioned that my right hip flexor (I don't remember the medical term he used) was weak and that it also affected my range in my shoulder on my left. He gave me a couple of exercises to strengthen those small muscles that are triggering the problem.

I have another appointment for Monday. Felt really relaxed and loose after the appointment so when I got back I went right to lifting.

Today I did legs:

Romanian DL: 8 x 225, 2 x 8 x 275
Leg Press: 3 x 12 x @250
Hamstring Curls: 3 x 12 x 55

I did 25 crunches between reps: Total 150

Today I cut it short because I started to do DB Lunges with 40 in each hand and this experience confirmed the Dr.'s diagnosis. I could lunge with my right leg just fine, but when I put my left leg forward and tried to stand up with my right hip, I could barely do it. So I decided against agitating that hip any more. I did the Dr's exercises where I get into a lunge position and rotate my hip forward and hold it for 30 seconds (each hip). Then I laid on my side with my forearm against the mat, then push my hip towards the ceiling. That was tough.

Today also somebody put up a nice sign in the locker room on how to keep it clean, etc.... I love how people feel entitled to lecture others instead of just living life laid back. I admit the locker room isn't the cleanest place, but its not like I'm eating lunch off the floor. On the other hand the signmaker is right in that its very easy to put your stuff away and keep it tidy. I'm just not used to getting lectured by someone who is too timid to let me know who I'm getting feedback from. I've been living with the locker room the way it is for the past several years and I haven't felt the need to put up a sign. Now that people are actually getting off their butts its interesting to see that people are starting to establish rules and guidelines. I'll play along.

Moderate Chest Workout

Floor Press: 3 x 8 x 225
Floor DB Flys: 3 x 8 x 45, 50, 55
Decline Bench: 3 x 8 x 225
Fly Machine: 3 x 8 x 3/4 stack (@ 175)
Press Machine: 3 x 8 x whole stack (@225)

In between sets I did 15 flutter kicks (4 count) and 20 crunches: Total 150 FK, 200 Crunches. These were easier, next week I'll increase the reps a bit on these. Abs already feeling really good.

Shoulders/Neck

Standing Military Press(behind the neck): 3 x 8 x 135
DB Front Rows: 3 x 8 x 45
Shrugs: 3 x 8 x 185
Wide Grip Cable Pulldowns: 3 x 8 x 150
Lateral DB Rows: 3 x 8 x 45

In between sets I did some ab work: 15 flutter kicks, 20 crunches. I only did these between sets and not between exercises (2 ab sets per exercise) so I ended up doing 200 crunches total, and 150 flutter kicks (4 count = 1)

The first ab set was kind of hard, but the rest was cake. I'm going to do ab work everyday! Thanks Stinn for the suggestion. Kind of a no brainer, but my lazy butt needs a reminder now and then.

Just a few sets of DB Curls

Alternating DB Curls: 6 x 55, 9 x 50, 12 x 45, 15 x 40, 18 x 35, 21 x 30, 25 x 25, 30 x 20

Quite a burn.

Too hungry to stay out of the kitchen

My back is probably at 80-90% normal. Today I had a tough chest workout planned, but after I couldn't get the weight off the rack without struggling, I decided to abandon it and just take it easy and not push it too hard. Here is what I did:

Flat Bench: 8 x 235 (2 block), Tried to get 285 off the rack, and decided against it. At this point I just took it easy with the following:

3 x 2 x 185 (Letting the weight just sit on my chest for about 20 seconds between each rep)
5 x 8 x 185 (with chains) nice and slow
25 x 135 (with chains)

Got a pretty good burn today. Disappointed that I couldn't do the planned workout, but hey, I was supposed to take the day off anyway!

Taking the week off

Last night and this morning I could barely walk. I've discovered that if I move really slow, I'm OK, but moving fast is impossible. I'm at work with a heating pad on my lower back and that really is awesome.

I'll be taking the rest of this week off from lifting, and taking the rest of my life off of squats.

My body has declared war on Squats

Today even though my lower back was sore (from what I have no idea), I decided to do Squats to start out my workout today. Here is what I did:

Squats from 12" block (no belt): 8 x 185, 6 x 225, 1 x 275

I planned on doing 4 reps of 275, but on the way down about an inch or two before reaching the block my lower back did something that I cannot describe, but it was intensely painful. I barely got back up from the seated position. I tried bending over to do a toe touch but the pain was too much. I had to stand straight up to avoid pain. Even getting off the 25 and 45 pound weights from the bar was painful if I didn't stand completely erect.

My back was actually feeling great after the 225, but just that one 275 unbelted took me out. I think I'm going to give up on squats altogether. I'll still do leg presses and girly leg machines, but my back just has never been very kind to me. I still want to do Deadlifts (Just romanian for now), but squats are out of the picture for me.

Arms instead of squats

Since the back of my neck is so sore and I didn't feel like resting weight on it, I did arms today.

21s: 3 x 30
Decline Bench Tricep Rope Pulls: 10 x 50, 2 x 8 x 70
One Handed DB Preacher Curls: 8 x 35, 8 x 40, 8 x 45
Dips: 3 x 8 x 275 (body weight + 35)
Standing Curls: 10 x 95, 8 x 105, 8 x 115
French Presses: 10 x 115, 2 x 8 x 125

Felt really good today, the dips usually are painful, but I did them slow and controlled (especially on the last two sets) and they went much smoother and without pain. The best song played today while lifting was Reise, Reise by Rammstein. I actually heard an instrumental mix of it during the broadcast of the Olympics and man was it giving me goosebumps. Rammstein imho is the best metal band out there.

Trying to break my pencil neck

Today I focused on neck:

DB Front Raises all the way up to ceiling: 4 x 8 x 25
Standing Preacher Rows: 8 x 95, 8 x 105, 8 x 115, 8 x 135
Shrugs: 8 x 135, 3 x 8 x 185
Cable Neck Extensions: 8 x 10, 2 x 8 x 20, 8 x 30

I don't know who bought a neck harness which has been in the gym for ages, but doubtfully everused for its proper purpose, but I tried it out today. The weight was too easy. One of the clamps was missing on the end of the harness so I had to rig some stupid contraption together to get it functional. It would have been funny to video. I had a small BB end spring attached to the end with a lat rope attached to that and the other end of the harness, then a chain connected to the pulley system attached to the rope in the middle. It wasn't very comfortable, but it did the trick.

I wonder if my neck will be sore. It felt like a decent workout, and I did an exercise I've never done before in my life. We'll see. My chest is sore from yesterday which is good.

I got my tax return back last night, I'm still on cloud 9 with the rebate I'm getting. Yahoo!

John McDonalds Bench Workout

John McDonald posted a good bench workout which I followed:

Bench Press: 15 x 135, 10 x 185, 8 x 225, 4 x 3 x 275
Paused BP: 6 x 215, 8 x 205, 10 x 195
12" Grip BP: 5 x 225, 5 x 235, 5 x 245
18" Grip BP: 5 x 245, 5 x 255, 5 x 265
Seated DB Press: 3 x 6 x the whole stack (@ 250)
Hammer Curls: 8 x 45, 8 x 40, 8 x 35
Seated Rows: 3 x 8 x 200

Excellent workout. I was beat by the end. PS - My legs are sore from yesterday at the perfect level (I'm not getting weird looks)

I fell ill

Thursday and Friday I had a stomach virus that left me much of the time feeling sore and nauseous. I took work off so today was my first time back since Wednesday.

Today I did:

Squats: 3 x 6 x 225 (Stop at the bottom)
Leg Press: 3 x 8 x @300
Romanian Deadlift: 8 x 275, 2 x 5 x 315

I was starting to lose my grip on the RDL on the last two sets on the fifth rep. Good thing I had chalk. Next week I'm moving the bars down one notch. They were just above my knee today. I need to go a tad deeper next time.

Chest workout patterned after Jon's

I was looking for some inspiration for a good chest workout and decided to pattern mine after one that Jon did. Here is what he did

I made some modifications and added some others, but here is what I did:

Floor Press: 3 x 255, 3 x 265, 3 x 275, 3 x 285, 3 x 295
Static Hold: 405 (20 seconds), 465 (10 seconds)
2 Board Press: 3 x 315, 3 x 325, 1 x 335 (I couldn't control the weight two inches from the top of the boards and it came down hard. It barely went up once. There was no way I was getting three and no spotter was nearby)
Incline DB Press: 3 x 10 x 65
Decline DB Flys: 2 x 8 x 40, 2 x 8 x 45, 2 x 8 x 50
Pushups (As many as possible without slowing down): 55

I should be extremely sore tomorrow. My shoulders are a little sore from yesterday so that's good. Tomorrow I need to do Squats!

Countdown from 5

Military Press: 5 sets of 20 x 95, 16 x 105, 12 x 115, 8 x 125, 8 x 135
Shrugs: 4 sets of 12 x 135, 8 x 185, 8 x 205, 6 x 225
Seated DB Reverse Curls: 3 sets of 8 x 35, 8 x 40, 8 x 45
DB Lateral Raises: 2 sets of 8 x 40, 8 x 45
Arnold Presses: 1 set of 4 x 55

Today I had to do a quick one cause I worked through lunch and had to do this after work. I then played about 20 games of ping pong with Bala and got schooled. I only won about 5 of them. Usually we are evenly matched, but today I didn't eat lunch, was tired to begin with not to mention that he was spot on today. Tomorrow will be a full chest workout with plenty of exercises and sets!

Squats and Deads

Today my tris and chest are both sore. Yesterday's workout was wonderful. Today I did:

Squats: 6 x 185, 2 x 8 x 155 (Slow and deliberate, no belt)
SLDL: 12 x 155, 2 x 8 x 185

My back was pretty much thrashed at this point and my co-worker Bala wanted to play ping pong, (which in itself is a pretty good lower back workout when you play it properly) so I stopped at this point and played for about a half hour.

Have a great weekend and President's day on Monday.

Chest and Tris

Flat Bench (with Chains):
     5 x 230, 5 x 235, 5 x 240, 5 x 245, 5 x 250
     3 x 255, 3 x 260, 3 x 265, 3 x 270, 3 x 275
Incline Flys: 8 x 40, 2 x 8 x 50
Dips: 12 x bw, 8 x bw+25, 8 x bw+45
Bench BB Tricep Extensions: 5 x 8 x 95

Today my tris were very pumped up at the end. I also felt good about the chain bench.

First day of Squats this week, then shoulders

Squats: 12 x 190, 2 x 6 x 230
Seated Behind the neck Military Press: 3 x 8 x 135
Close Grip Cable Pulldowns: 3 x 8 x 160
Seated Cable Rows: 3 x 8 x 180
Romanian Deadlifts: 12 x 135, 8 x 225, 6 x 275

Man the squats were super difficult! I had tightness in the back and I didn't arch my back properly on all the sets. I am going to take the weight down a little next time and not worry about the weight, but the quality of the lift. I was supposed to do SLDL right after squats. Instead I postponed them to the end and converted them into RomanianDeads.

Still psyched about yesterday's PR.

New Bench PR (shirted of course) - 385 lbs.

Today I asked Bala and Luke to assist in spotting me for a new Bench PR. I went down 10 minutes early to load up the weight, get psyched, and do 300 once to prepare the body.

The 300 went up like it was nothing. Then I loaded up 75 more. I got the camera ready for Bala to video, and it was out of batteries! I was so mad, but I wasn't going to let that spoil my attempt, so I just made a mental note that when the weight touched my chest, it needed to stay there. I was not going to push until I had stopped it on my chest for about a second.

The 375 went up fast! I put on an additional 10 pounds and figured that would go up as well.

So I waited about 3-5 minutes and did 385 with the same pause at the bottom, there was a slight struggle just before lockout, but the weight still came up fairly quickly and it was completely legitimate. Next time I'll make sure to get completely new batteries! I'm so excited. I'm going for 395 on March 20th. But I will have to keep pushing it and making sure I work enough to be dead sore every week until then.

Squats: short, but sweet

Today I worked over my usual lunch break save 20 minutes so I went downstairs and did three sets of quality squat sets:

2 x 6 x 185, 6 x 205

These all were with the feet just outside shoulder width apart, I squated until my butt was just a few inches from the ground (as far as I could possibly go without falling backwards. Stopped completely at the bottom and pushed up trying to keep my back arched. I did not use a belt, or wraps. In fact I was in jeans. I was surprised at how well these went without a belt. I think I will try to do these about every other day along with whatever body part I'm doing, so they get plenty of practice instead of once a week. Its only three sets so I hardly think I could overtrain with that amount of sets. I'm hoping that I can increase the weight about 10 pounds a week. I'll keep going with the quality and going beltless. Thanks to Jon Yeo for the pointers!

Pumping up the Arms

1 Rep Max DB Curls: 1 x 60 (No Problem), 1 x 65 (Got it up with slight cheating on the left arm)
Concentration Curls: 8 x 40, 2 x 6 x 45
Seated DB Curls 21's: 3 x 30
Lying Barbell Tricep Extensions: 2 x 8 x 95, 8 x 105
French Press: 3 x 8 x 115
Alternating DB Curls: 3 x 8 x 45

Bala asked me a few days ago how much I could Curl. I've never tried to max on a DB Curl before. So I figured I'd try it. Unfortunately though we only have up to 65 pounds on DB, but strictly speaking, 65 probably was as much as I could do with cheating.

There is a guy who has showed up four days in a row. I've never seen anyone in the gym that consistent before. Luke is his name and hopefully I keep seeing him in there and perhaps we could work a routine or two together a week.

I am planning another PR attempt on the bench on Monday. I'm planning on 375 CLEAN! I will be shirted, but I want it to be a totally smooth and legit lift. I'm going to have Brendon be the judge.

Great lift today. I'm very pleased. Going for squats tomorrow.

Good Shoulders Workout

Shrugs: 8 x 225, 8 x 245, 8 x 255
Bent Over Rows (Standing on bench): 8 x 185 (this was without much control and was sloppy so I dropped some weight and increased the control), 12 x 135, 8 x 155
Seated Close Grip Cable Pulldowns: 8 x 180, 2 x 8 x 160
DB Lateral Rows: 3 x 8 x 40
DB Lateral Raises: 3 x 8 x 35
DB Seated Reverse Curls: 3 x 8 x 30

Today I was pleased with the quantity. I got this all in under an hour. I probably tried too heavy weights on the first three exercises and a little too light on the last three. Felt good though to get in a good workout that was planned out up front.

Stepping up the bench a little

I was trying to figure out how to start to make gains in my bench so I decided to look back and pick a day where I thought I did good and to increase everything by 5 pounds. So I picked this one as well as this one. Here is what I did:

Flat Bench:
    2 blocks: 8 x 230, 6 x 280
    4 blocks: 8 x 300, 6 x 320
    6 blocks: 8 x 340, 6 x 350
    no blocks: 4 x 8 x 230 (lower half only)

Incline Bench: 12 x 140, 2 x 8 x 190, 6 x 210
Floor DB Flys: 2 x 8 x 40, 2 x 8 x 45

The Floor DB Flys were too light at 40 so I up'd the weight and did the last set in super slow motion. I felt completely satisfied with today's workout and was happy with the weight and content. One of the best in a long time.

Back to work

Last Thursday and Friday Bala tempted me to play ping pong (which was very enjoyable by the way) so my lifting those days was passed up. Which I felt OK about since I had the Evanston Tournament this weekend. I did better than I anticipated and took 5th in the A division.

I know that powerlifting is a passion, and table tennis was a passion. This week I was confronted with making a choice between the two as the Utah Summer Games events that I'm interested in (Powerlifting and Table Tennis) conflict with each other so I without hesitation am going to register for powerlifting.

Today I brought the camera which I usually forget so I felt obliged to video some squats and deadlifts for your feedback.

Here is what I did:

Squats: 12 x 185, 2 x 6 x 225
Deadlift: 8 x 225

Here is the video (Only 1 MB)

At this point my back was shot and I didn't want to do anything which I would regret later so I stopped. Notice that the wrap on my right knee came off one the second 225 set. I didn't wear the wraps on the first set of 225 because they aren't long enough. I can barely get them around my legs 4 times. Does anyone else struggle with wraps coming off? Is there a good method for wrapping them?

By the time I did my deadlifts my lower back was already in bad shape, and my form I know is awful. After viewing it I can tell you right now, I don't think I'm going low enough. My legs aren't taking much of the work it doesn't appear.

Let me know what you think.

Short Chest workout

Flat Bench: 12 x 225, 8 x 275, 5 x 295, 2 x 315

I was going for 3 x 315 but with no spotter and the second one being very slow going up I decided not to risk it. I'm gonna stop by the bubble on the way home to do a good one today.

Well, Cathi called me just before leaving saying how stressful her day was so I decided to lift in my newly renevated home gym instead (after I have relieved her of her duties).

I worked out with Jacob (7 years old). He did several sets of 11 x 20 lbs standing preacher curls. I ended up doing a little more chest:

Flat Bench: 15 x 135, 3 x 8 x 225, 20 x 135
Incline DB Press: 4 sets of 15 x 40

I swear the bar and/or olympic weights I have at home are heavier. One of these days I'm gonna weigh to make sure. I can't believe that its just in my head, I bet there is a major difference. It was fun working out with Jacob. He sure is a bundle of energy.