First day back

I've noticed that my "self-image" has suffered as a result of not lifting the past few weeks. I thought that transitioning my priorities to table tennis would be a good move. It has helped my game I think to play more, but my confidence on the other hand has dropped as I haven't lifted at all. While I do enjoy table tennis, I think I need to keep lifting at the top of my extracurricular activities.

Today was my first day back and I knew it would be tough so I started out easy:

Deadlifts: 5 x 8 x 225
Captains Chairs: 5 x 10
Close Grip Cable Rows: 3 x 10 x 180
Crunches: 3 x 50

Motivation wasn't great today. My hands have definitely grown soft in the past three weeks. My hands took a beating today. Went and saw the Dr. last week and my suspected nasal infection turns out to be just hayfever. Congestion really is affecting my sleep when I can't breathe at all through my nose. I hope the Allegra prescription does the job!

Got kicked around for the first time in a LONG time

Today at lunch I played coworker Gyanendra Hyoju. He played very well today and smart. He won more matches than I did today. His placement of the ball today was very well selected and forced alot of errors as well as made very aggressive shots himself that were difficult to return. If he plays like this everyday, then I should improve much faster than I have been.

I haven't been schooled like that since Bala used to play. Hoping that it continues. I don't mind losing as long as it isn't due to crappy shots I make, but rather from smart and aggressive play from the opponent. Which was the case today.

First Place at Chinese New Year Table Tennis Tournament

On Saturday, Feb 17th I took the family up to Evanston Wyoming for the 2007 Chinese New Year Table Tennis Tournament. I forgot how long it takes to get through the tournament. Cathi was exceptionally patient. We started out with Austin and I as a doubles team. Jacob found a partner, Braxton who was very patient and a good sport.

Austin and I played Paul and Javza. Paul is from Rock Springs, WY, and Javza a BYU student. Austin and I played quite well together and I think we shocked the two of them. We barely lost 2 - 3 with many of the games very close and the last game being a deuce game. The next game we played Aaron and Mike Pratt. We lost 0 - 3 and not so happy about those games. Aaron likes slow play with lots of spin and that messed with Austin a bit. And my friend and nemesis Mike Pratt played his typical game. So the doubles went quick for us. Jacob had a quick double loss too.

After that I played a guy in the qualifying round and lost 2-3 and then won another guy which put me in the B division. There were four divisions (C, B, A and Open)

In the B Division I played 4 people (8 people total in the bracket). The games of note were when I played Varghese Pallathu. I've seen him at the club many times and noticed his game. He is a good player, and I knew it would be tough to beat him. I lost the first two to him. I didn't enjoy the pace we were playing so I picked it up. I would set him up with a chop and come back with a forehand smash. This strategy worked fantastic with him and I was able to win the next three games for the match. Many of those points were "tickers" or net shots which are quite frustrating for the opponent. I've been in that situation and knew how frustrating it can be to be so close to victory and missing it. In that situation it is hard to not get violent.

I then played Justin and lost to him 0 - 3. That was puzzling because in the last tournament in SLC I beat him in the qualifying rounds 3-0. He has really improved. The next game I had to play Varghese again since he lost to somebody and we were both in the losers bracket. This time I played the same way I did the last few sets with him and won 3-0. That win put me at #2 in the division.

I had to play Justin again. This time if I beat him two matches in a row I could win the division. Worst case scenario is I take second. So the pressure was off a litle. I played hard and found that when Cathi watched, or Ryan Gubler watched our match I played better. I won the first match 3-0 and I heard Justin say "Times have changed!". So I had to simply beat him one more time for first place. The second match I won 3-1. Ended at @8:00 and it was a long day, but I felt very good about today's tournament and got a 1st place plaque.

I am grateful for the family being patient staying so long. I promised them we would go swimming but I forgot the pool closed at 4:30 so we missed the chance. I was especially impressed with the facility's staff. They were patient with the kids running everywhere and shared the tournament food with them. The tournament director's we well organized and kept things moving. Overall a fun experience and a great day although it was quite long.

Pictures (Sorry about the quality, the flash wasn't very energetic):

Bad luck

I was looking forward to a great day today with the virtual meet. I bought a newspaper, made sure I had new batteries, proper lifting attire etc...

I even bought a new HP Photosmart M425 a couple weeks ago knowing that I needed a digital video camera for the meet (since misplacing the one we had). I used the 1 GB SD card from my old mp3 player. I formated the card first and then used the camera the past couple of weeks to get used to it. Everything was falling into place and working great.

I started out videoing the newspaper, then the weights, then the first two Squat attempts. I reviewed both attempts immediately afterwards and they both looked good (275, 315). I went upstairs to fetch Cameron and Justin to spot me on my last squat attempt of 345. They had to help about halfway up on it. I was disappointed, but knew it would be extremely difficult to get considering I haven't worked legs at all in the past 3 months or so.

I reviewed the last attempt to see where the lift broke down. It started to play back on the camera. About 10 seconds into the video the screen went bright red and said something like "CARD HAS WRONG FORMAT Press OK to format card". I tried not to panic, but didn't feel good about that message. I ran upstairs and tried to see if I could recover what was on the SD card.

I kept getting: "The disk in Drive E is not formatted: Do you want to format it now?"

I hit NO and tried looking at the properties on the drive - nothing worked. I figured, OK well I'll just DQ my Squat and do the other lifts. I tried formatting the SD card and that wouldn't even work. I got "There is no disk in Drive E. Insert a disk, and then try again.". I tried phsyically tweaking the card to get any life out of it, but no go. The card is simply lifeless. So I was completely out of luck with this meet. The internal memory in the camera wouldn't even come close to being sufficient.

I figured I'd do the other lifts just for fun to see what I could do without the video and ended up with 345 on the bench and 315 on the DL (365 DL attempt failed).

I am very disappointed. I was hoping to at least submit something, but the only thing that could have made the day crappier I guess is that I could have seriously injured myself which I didn't do so I should count my blessings. Sorry fellow lifters. I hope your hardware works better than mine and that you have successful lifts. I'll be there next time with a new SD card and better prepared physically as well.

Taking it easy

Just playing table tennis this week to allow my body to prepare for the virtual meet this Friday. Kris has really outdone himself on it and it looks great. If you haven't already checked it out, please do so at http://www.virtualmeet.net. This weekend I have had some major stiffness in my neck/upper shoulders on the right side. Still not 100% but hoping that the rest will do some good for it. I'm actually feeling extremely guilty taking the time this week off.

My attempts for the meet will be (unless I don't make a lift in which I'll change it of course):

Squat: 285, 315, 345
Bench: 350, 360, 370
Deadlift: 365, 375, 385

Total: 1000 (455 kg), 1050 (477 kg), 1100 (500 kg)

I will be totally surprised if I get the 1100, but will be happy with the 1050.

Deads and core

Deadlifts: 15 x 5 x 225
supersetted with:
Crunches: 15 x 25 = 375 total

Frustrating morning at work. Looking forward to the weekend.

Short Shoulders Workout

Midrack Pulls: 8 x 135, 225, 315, 5 x 405, 480 W/Chains @ 495
Cable Pulldowns: 8 x 150, 170, 190, 200, 4 x Pullups x bw
DB Military Press: 8 x 50, 2 x 6 x 60

Didn't have a whole lot of time. Did this in 40 minutes. Better than nothing I guess.

Lats are sore

Yesterday's workout was great for my upper lats. I don't recall my lats being this sore before. I guess it was those inclines that got me. Fantastic.

Today for lunch instead of lifting I played table tennis. I went in with an attitude of giving it my all and it paid off. Played very well. Looking forward to the Evanston Chinese New Year Tournament that I have attended every year for the past 8 years or so.

Good Chest workout

Flat Bench (Bottom half only): 4 x 8 x 225
Floor Presses: 3 x 6 x 275
Heavy 1 rep Bench: 3 x 1 x 315

Incline Press: 3 x 12 x 135, 3 x 6 x 185, 3 x 10 x 65 DB's
Flys: 4 x 6 x 45 (Slow and controlled)

The Floor Presses, 1 rep bench and 185 Inclines were the toughest. I remember back when I could do 5 of 315. I don't think I could do that now. I wonder why really. I have once done 365 without a shirt before and I would be surprised if I could do that now. I'm worried that I've lost some strength recently, but hoping that it is just one of those weeks. Pressing forward....

Biceps and Shoulders

Alternating DB Curls: 4 x 5 x 55
supersetted with Military DB Press: 4 x 5 x 65

Preacher Curls: 4 x 5 x 115
supersetted with DB Shrugs: 4 x 5 x 65

DB Concentration Curls: 4 x 5 x 45
supersetted with DB Lateral Raises: 4 x 5 x 45

Good workout. Hands are fried. Exceeded the prescribed plan.

Deadlift and core

Deadlift: 15 x 5 x 225
supersetted with....
Captain's Chair: 5 x 10
Crunches: 5 x 20
Seated CG Rows: 5 x 8 x 200

Good workout. Kept to the prescribed plan and that makes all the difference!

No go on new PR

Today I was hoping to get a new PR on Bench press. Last week I didn't lift at all to give the tricep tendon some rest. I was hoping the rest would also allow me to get a new PR today. Apparently I took too much rest.

Shirted Bench Press: 1 x 225, 1 x 315, 1 x 365, 0 x 385
Bench Press 5's: 5 x 5 x 275
15's (Lower end 5, top end 5, full: 3 x 15 x 185
5 second Pause Bench with speed press: 5 x 5 x 135

I was very surprised how heavy the 315 and 365 was. I didn't have a spotter, but had a rack setup as a back up in case I couldn't get something up. I was surprised it was the 385 that was the failing point. Ouch. Need to get serious again.

Shoulders

Shrugs: 8 x 135, 6 x 225, 4 x 315, 6 x 225, 8 x 135
Military Press: 5 x 8 x 135
Lateral Raises: 5 x 6 x 45

At this point I wasn't feeling much like lifting as I heard lots of table tennis going on in the next room so I played a few games. Wish Bala could play. His style is the kind I like to play best. Need to do arms tomorrow.

Deadlift work

Deadlift: 30 x 185 (50%) rested 5-20 seconds between reps
Close Grip Pulldowns: 4 x 8 x 170
Wide Grip Pullups: 4 x 0 x bw

On the deadlifts I tried using the mirror to see how far down my hips go and watch that my legs are doing the initial part of the lift. Hard to tell. Before I went down I did a google search for "perfect deadlift form video" and got this link as the second hit. The thing I got out of that thread is that there are many different opinions on what is "perfect" form. Personally I would agree that you need to avoid rounding the back. I would also agree that I need to use my legs more. So I focused on that more today.

The pullups were pretty wide grip so I probably barely got half way up before I couldn't do it. Glad the gym I use is private. I'd be pretty embarrassed with how wimpy my pull ups are. Didn't have shoes/socks today and it felt weird to be in the gym in bare feet so I didn't do a full workout and I didn't really have a plan either. Not a great day in the gym.

Chest and Abs

Warm Up: 50 Pushups fast, 20 x 135 flat bench
Stump Presses: 2 x 8 x 135 + 50 lb DB hanging on each side and 30 lb chains (@265)
4 Blocks: 8 x 285, 6 x 295, 4 x 315, 2 x 335, 1 x 365
DB Presses (Speed): 4 x 10 x 65
DB Flys: 4 x 4 x 55
Four-count Flutter Kicks: 8 x 25 (200 total)
supersetted with Slow Crunches: 8 x 10 (80 total)

Was surprised that 50 pushups was as hard as it was. My all time best is 90 pushups, back when I was training for the physical test at Security. I'd love to do 100 in one sitting. I'll start doing these as a warm up and build up on them. I think my endurance has gone down.

Also surprised at how difficult the stump presses were. Those really make you keep control of the weight. The 365 four board was tough too. I'm wondering if I'm gonna be able to put up 365 at the virtual meet (which is raw). 365 raw is my PR right now, and I definitely want to at least match it. Overall it was a good workout and I started real early as yesterday I had to bag it.

Shoulders

Midrack Pulls: 8 x 135, 8 x 225, 6 x 315, 5 x 405, 0 x 480

The Rack was lower than normal. Two inches lower than normal. Couldn't bend my knees and keep my back straight. My back had to bend a little just to reach the weight. Thus the zero on the 480. I'll take it back up next time.

Close Grip Standing Rows: 12 x 95, 8 x 115, 8 x 125, 8 x 135
Lateral DB Raises: 3 x 8 x 40
Pullups: 2 x 4 x bw
Military Press 1 rep max: 1 x 185, 0 x 195

Felt good about this workout. Chest still sore from Wednesday, so I won't be lifting with Stump even though Cathi gave me the go ahead this afternoon. On Saturday's Stump, Moosie, Mike, and several others lift at the Gold's Gym in West Jordan.

That is usually their heavy day and since I'm still sore, I'm definitely not going. Cathi changed plans on me last minute or I would have held off on going heavy this week. Maybe next time.

Going to the club tonight with Austin and Jacob. Looking forward to playing hard and improving my game. The 989 rating makes me hungry.

Arms and Abs

Standing EZ bar curls (Speed): 5 x 8 x 75
superset with
Crunches (Slow): 4 x 25

Alt DB Curls: 5 x 6 x 55
superset with
4 count flutterkicks: 4 x 25

Concentration Curls: 8 x 35, 8 x 40, 2 x 8 x 45, 6 x 50
superset with
Knee Up Captains Chair: 4 x 25

Those captain chairs were tough. I was feeling a burn inside my inner hips not in my abs. Good workout.

Found out yesterday how bad the Las Vegas Tournament really was. I am rated 989 ( I was hoping for mid 1200 before I got sick).

Austin is rated 699 which is a little higher than I thought he would get. Looking forward to better that rating.

Inspiring Deadlift videos

Fellow blogger at Old School Strongman included the following videos in his blog. I am also including links. Very cool.

link 1
link 2
link 3

My chest and neck are sore from yesterday. I think my neck is mostly sore from the day before. That's great. Love being sore. Workout for today to follow....

New 225 Bench PR

I've wondered where my 225 rep is at. My best at 225 is 20 reps. Today I was going for 25. I ended up doing 24 and failing on the 25th. So my new PR for 225 is 24 reps. I'll probably do them again in another year to see where I'm at.

Flat Bench: 24 x 225
Decline Bench: 8 x 225, 6 x 275, 4 x 295, 2 x 315, 4 x 295, 8 x 225 (Speed)
Incline DB Press: 5 x 8 x 65
DB Flys: 3 x 8 x 50

Deadlift PR and setting goals for 2007

Deadlift:
4 x 275
2 x 315
1 x 365
12 x 225

Here is the video of the lifts.

The form on these looks more like SLDL. If anyone can give me pointers on how to make the lift easier that would be great.

The goals I have for 2007 are:

1) Get my Deadlift PR to match or exceed my Bench PR
2) By year end 2007 I would like to get my Bench PR up to 435 (which also means my Deadlift PR is at least 435)
3) Lift no less than three times per week, unless recovering from an injury or tapering.