10/17 Squat/Military Press

This week away from home has been brutal. The fact that it is “test week” for our 3’s wave has not helped. I am overall happy with the results, but my squat reps were not what I wanted them to be. Squatting is just an exercise that you have to be at 100% to get any type of PRs. Looking forward to starting our 5’s wave next week.

A. Squat 255×5, 305×3, 355×2, 405×1, 425×1, 455×5

B. Standing Military Press 95×5, 115×3, 135×1, 150×1, 160×10. Another rep PR. Yeah buddy.

Can’t wait to get back home to my family and my bed.

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

Bench 9/5

A. Bench with pause 5×5@210, 1×14@210 with no pause
B. Dead Bench (start 1″ off the chest) 8×1@175 w/20 sec rest. SPEED!
C1. Magnum Lat Pulldown 3×12@275
C2. T-bar Row 3×10@110
D. DB Front + Lateral Raise 3x8each@30lbs
E. Triceps Rope Extension 100 reps@100lbs

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 7/27

Heavy Upper
A. Bench (no belt, no wraps, no hand-off) 2×20@45, 135×5, 165×4, 205×3, 225×2, 265×1, 4×2@245 w/ pause, 1×9@245 w/ no pause
B. Bench down sets 185×15, 185×11
C1. Lat pulldown 3×12@165, 180, 180
C2. Skull crushers 60×25, 70×18, 70×15
D1. DB shrug 3×20@95 w/5 sec hold on last rep
D2. BB standing military w/ pause 2×5@135, 1×8@135
E. Parallel grip pull-ups 1×10

Happy 4th of July

Big training day. PRs for both myself and Dominick. I knew it was gonna be a good day this morning when I woke up weighing 221 and my shoulder felt perfect. Backing off a little from upper body and moving my grip back in on the bench has made all the difference.

Dominick crushing 405+chains with the slingshot.

A. Bench 45×5, 2×5@135, 185×5, 235×5, 285×5, 305×1, 325×2, 345×1, 350×1 (big training PR)
B. DB incline w pause 75×5, 85×5, 90×5, 95×5, 100×5
C. Tate press (google it) 25×10, 3×10@40, 6×10@35
D. DB pull over 5×15@50

Work in progress.

Training 6/27

Popped blood vessels never hurt anybody

Max Effort Upper
Today we worked on my set up for the bench (which sucks right now) as well as my arch. We put a PVC pipe under my back to help build my arch. See below:
A. Bench 2×20@45, 3×5@135, 225×3, 255×3, 285×3, 305×1,2,2,1,1,1, 255×3, 255×2
B. closegrip bench w/ pause 3×4@225
C. 2 board w/ pause 225×4,3
D. DB incline press 2xmax reps/time 50×19/1:12, 60×10/0:49
E. T-bar superset @60lbs closegripx10, widegripx10, closegripx6, widegripx6, rest 1-2min, closegripx6, widegripx6, closegripx6, widegripx6
F. EZ bar curl 1×30@80lbs

Training = life

So many times, training mirrors life. The ability to have discipline, restraint, work smart vs. hard, etc, all transfers over from the gym to our lives. Last year I posted on my wife’s blog about Decisions and this morning, I read a similar post from Paul at Lift, Run, Bang (I know, awesome blog name) that was very similar. Read it if you have a few minutes: Maximum decisions

Anyway, on the training side of things, I really like what I’ve read from Paul and Ed Coan regarding sub maximal training and I’m gonna try it for a few months after my meet. I need to find another meet to use it to prepare for. Definitely check that out on his blog as well. Sneak peak: for each of the big lifts, you warm up to more than 100% of the weight you’re going to do that day, then complete your work sets. Here is an example. Lets say its a 9 week cycle, and on week 1 of your squat day, you’re supposed to do 2-3 sets AMAP (as many as possible). You would warm up with 45%x10, 65%x5, 85%x3, 100%x1, and 110%x1. These are percentages of your working sets, obviously NOT your max.

I like this idea and I think it will also help me put on more muscle which will help improve my leverage (and let’s be honest, every guy wants more muscle). If you doubt this will work, I will leave you with a quote from one of the most successful powerlifters of all time–Ed Coan:

“You only have so many big attempts in you over the course of your career. Save em all for the meet.”

Training 5/30

Bench Press

ME Upper/meet prep
A. Worked on establishing my opener and 2nd lift on the bench for my upcoming meet. Opened with 300, it was slow, so Phil had me do it again. 2nd attempt was 320. I came down high on my chest and missed. Attempted it again and got it.
B. 4 board press 315×3, 345 for 3×3
C. Band assisted bench 315×3, 375×3, 375×3, 405×1
D. T-bar row switching grips 4×10@75-100
E1. DB triceps extension 5×10@35
E2. DB hammer curl 5x10each@50-55

*learned today that benching standards in powerlifting add an extra level of difficulty. You must control it off the rack, pause at the bottom and hold again at the top to get the green light. Definitely an adjustment.

Westside Barbell & Training 5/28

If you are new to powerlifting, you may be asking yourself, “who is the old guy and why should I care about him?” That is Louie Simmons of Westside Barbell. I won’t go into a really deep history of his background and credentials, but in summary, he is from the old school. He did not get a fancy degree yet he worked with pro teams like the Cleveland Browns, and has run the most successful powerlifting gym with athletes reaching elite totals in nearly every weight class. When I first came across his articles over 8 years ago, I became obsessed, and actually had them all bound. I picked up the packet the other day, and it was just as relevant today as it was then. Louie gets it. He understands rate of force development (in my opinion one of the most important aspects of strength training. You must be fast if you want to lift heavy), and he brought over the methods that were used in the eastern bloc countries while we were still wasting our time in the west with linear periodization. The conjugate method tells us that we can train several skills/qualities without sacrificing the others.

Anyway, I also became obsessed with Chuck Vogelpohl, at the time a 220 pounder. I was definitely surprised to find out, after years of not following him, that he later crushed the 242 and 275 weight class as well! Here’s the larger version of Chuck.

This powerlifting blog would be sacrilegious if it did not pay homage to, in my opinion, one of if not the top influence to the sport in modern days. So google them, google Louie, read up and study what he has to say, because you will definitely benefit from it.

Nowadays, I’m training with an elite lifter with 3 decades of experience and the numbers to prove he can get results. Obviously, the strength & conditioning coach in me is trying to figure out his programming but I am trusting in his expertise. And although we are not on a strict westside template, if you are familiar with westside you will see several elements in what I do. Here is what I did today:

Dynamic Effort (DE) Lower
A. Box Squat SPEED 2×2@160, 8×2@270 with 15-20sec rest, then added chains (about 50lbs of extra resistance at the top) and did 2×2
B. Speed pulls 5×2@275, then 5×2@275 with a 1″ deficit. 20 shrugs immediately after last set
C. Bent-over row with a snatch grip 4×6@225
D. Russian KB swings 3×20@55
E. BW reverse hypers 3×12
F1. Sit-ups 3×30
F2. Seated DB curls 3×10 each @35

Chuck Vogelpohl Tribute