1/18/14 Meet Results

We have a lot of catching up to do. I know I have been MIA since the holidays.

My training partner and I started working with Bert Underwood in November. He designed our programming and analyzed our form throughout our meet prep. I can speak for myself and my training partner when I say that we are thrilled with the results. Bert is a great coach and friend and we look forward to breaking records with him at our side. He also was the best handler I’ve had on meet day.

This training cycle was perfect for us. When we first started, we thought it would be easier than it was. It was very challenging, but it was a program built for success, unlike a lot of programs out there that are basically built for failure. We never missed a lift. Ever. I never felt run down, although there were times I had to make sure I was eating and sleeping enough to recover from some of those tougher workouts. We worked with our openers and several times we handled our second and third attempts in some variation or another to build confidence (reverse bands for squats, boards for bench, blocks for deadlifts).

This, paired with our strategy for picking our attempts led to Terry going 8 for 9 (one of his bench attempts was a freak miss due to some issues with the meet) on his first meet, and I accomplished my goal of going 9 for 9, and hit 5 meet PRs. I am a strong believer in picking light openers. My openers were about 85% of my 3rd attempts, and my 2nd attempts were about 93-94% of my final attempts). I never struggled on any lifts. I may have been able to get some more weight on my total but 105 lbs PR on my last total is pretty good to me. This also gives me a great number to build on for my next meet.

I ended up with a 605 squat, 355 bench, and 650 deadlift for a 1610 total. I’m 10 lbs away from qualifying for the XPC in the 242 lbs weight class. That’s right, no more 220. Cutting weight is not fun and I don’t want to go through that again.

I look forward to taking some time off and then preparing for my next RPS meet, hosted by Redemption Powerlifting. This meet will be huge, especially since it is a qualifying meet for the XPC, which leads to the Arnold Classic in 2015.

I’m ecstatic to compete in the RPS, and to represent Redemption Powerlifting. Looking forward to staying healthy and getting strong.

For some videos and photos of my meet results, as well as my cutting and rehydration, follow me on instagram @dvegatron

10/21 Tugs

First week of 5’s wave. New training maxes are:
Deadlift 595
Bench 315
Squat 515
Standing Military Press 205

A. Deadlift 5×5@415
B. Sumo off 4″ blocks 2×2@535
C. 2″ Deficit deads 2×3@475
D1. Weighted pull-ups 2×5@25lbs, BWx9,9
D2. Shrugs 3×10@315

3’s Wave: Realization Phase

This week just happens to be week 3 of my 3’s wave. I am supposed to do as many reps as possible at 90% of my working maxes. Luckily, I found a gym while I am in Massachussetts for work, but the added stress prompted me to just cut back on assistance exercises and just do my main lifts. I also had to combine deadlift and bench today, since I can only hit the gym twice while I am here. Here is what I did after warming up:

A. Deadlift 285×5, 345×3, 405×2, 455×1, 485×1, 515×7. No chalk hurt my grip a little, so I had to reset a few times. This is still good for a 20lb PR on my working max. (how I figured that was I added 5lbs for every rep I did over 3. For more info on this, I highly recommend you purchase The Juggernaut Method)

B. Bench 155×5, 185×3, 215×2, 245×1, 265×1, 275×7. Almost hit 8. Maybe next time.

Last couple of weeks

I’ve been very busy with a big work transition, travel etc, and I have been deloading a little bit in weight and volume since I am starting a new 10 week training cycle today, so here is what I’ve done over the last couple of weeks:

9/21 Saturday
A. Squat 245×5, 295×3, 345×2, 375×1, 405×1, 425×7
B. Front Squat 2×6@315

9/23 Monday
A. Deadlift 2×5@385, 385×13
B. Sumo DL 2×7@365
C1. GHD w/10lbs 2×10
C2. T2B 2×10
D1. DB Shrugs 110×28
D2. Leg Curl 115×16

9/26 Thurs
A. Bench 225 as many reps as possible in 30 min 107 reps. I can definitely beat that. Was just getting a feel for that workout.
B. DB Row 100 reps each at 100lbs did it in 14:51. I can also do that quicker. Gonna beat that time this week.
C1. DB Front/Lateral Raise 3x11each @30
C2. DB Rear Raise 3×15@30

9/27 Friday
A. Squat 225×2, 275×2, 315×2, 365×2, 405×2, 455×3, 485×3
B. Front Squat 315×2, 345×2, 365×2

9/30 Monday. First Day of new 10 week cycle
A. Deadlift 7×3@435
B. Sumo block pulls 2×3@485
C. 2″ Deficit DL 2×4@435
D. Weighted Ring row 25lbsx15,15,10
E. BB Shrugs 225×20, 275×15,15
F. Pull-upsx8,8,6
G. Farmer’s walks @85lbs each: 30sec on, 30sec rest for 3 sets

Deadlifts 9/4

First week of Juggernaut Method 5’s wave is going great. A lot of focus on form work with the high reps, but stopping well short of failure. Week 3 is always the “test” week where you try to hit more than 5 reps for your top weight. Week 1 and 2 is just a ramp up. I will be posting videos…any critique/comments on form are welcomed. Videos at the bottom.

A. Deadlift 5×5@385, 1×12@385
B. 4″ deficit RDL 335×6, 365×6
C1. Weighted GHD 3×8@10lbs
C2. Strict toe to bars 3×8
D. DB Shrugs 2×20@110
E. Hammer Strength Seated Leg Curl 115×10 reps

Final set of deadlifts

Final set of deficit RDL

Second meet in the books

South Florida Conquest 2013 Push/Pull

First, Let me say this. Bert and Mindy Underwood put on one hell of a meet. Well organized, and it went off without a hitch. Another thing I loved about it was that it gave me a chance to exchange ideas and training tips with several great lifters.

With that said, I will say that I am just a little disappointed with how I did, but that is natural. Big Chad Walker said something really wise to me today, “Most of us are much harder on ourselves than we probably should be, so it’s nice to get the encouragement from our fellow lifters.” This was true for a lot of us. Although some of us didn’t get what we wanted (who doesn’t wanna go 6 for 6?), it is all relative.

I came in with a fairly conservative gameplan: 305, 325, 335 on bench, and 545, 605, 645 on deadlift. I hit 325 on the bench for a 20lb PR over my last meet, but the bar drifted on my last attempt and I hit a wall.

I’ll be honest. I was nervous about deadlift coming into this meet. This is never a good thing. Anyone will tell you that deadlift is extremely mental. But I can’t lie, I was unsure of how I was gonna do. After I hit 600, I knew the only choice was to go for a PR, so I went for a 5lb PR over my previous best, and I let my hips shoot up, basically tried to back extend it, and came forward on my toes. Didn’t happen.I’m really excited about the next phase in my training, because I am going to take a few steps back and do a 9 week “off-season” wave to put on some muscle. I’m gonna reach out to Bert this week to bounce some ideas off of him, and get some help on my programming.

8/13 Testing Openers

A. Bench 95×10, 135×5, 185×3, 225×2, 275×1, 305×3 paused reps.
B. Deadlift 135×5, 225×3, 315×2, 405×1, 495×1, 545×3

Could’ve powered through 1-2 more paused reps on bench, but there’s no need for that at this stage. The weight felt light, which just confirmed my strategy for my lifts is going to be right on point.

My deadlift reps were a little more ugly. Two things working against me were my crappy Velcro belt and that smooth bar. I wanted to use my new elite fts belt, but it will probably arrive this afternoon, and I had to train in the morning. As for the bar, that won’t be an issue at the actual meet.

Training 8/5

Deadlift heavy

I decided to go beltless today and went up to 545 for an easy single. I also have no chalk, which makes it a bit more challenging as the bars at this gym are smooth, and have barely any knurl. Video at the bottom.

A. Deadlift 135×5, 245×5, 295×4, 355×3, 405×2, 455×1, 545×1, 2×2@500
B. CS row 200×10, 225×10, 250×10, 275×10, 312×12
C. DB shrug w/ 5sec hold on last rep 100×28,25

545 raw

Training 7/29

Deadlift speed day
A. Speed pulls 135×5, 225×5, 315×2, 10×2@345
B. Snatch grip rack pull from 2″ below knee 225×5, 275×10, 295×8, 315×6
C. Front squat 135×3, 225×3, 255×7,7,8
D1. Chest supported hammer low row 2×15@180, 2×15@200
D2. Back extension 4×20
E. DB shrug 105×25,24,25
F. Parallel grip pull up 1×11

Training 7/2

Busy week so I’ll just get to the point. Today was a speed lower day with some GPP at the end.

A. Box squat 2×2@160+chains, 1×2@250+chains, 6×2@300+chains
B. Speed Pull @315 3×2 conventional, 3×2 sumo
C. Trap bar overhead squat 3×10@95
D. GPP circuit: 4 rounds of farmers walk with (each hand had 100lbs plus whatever the bars weighed), prowler push