Dwayne's Training Blog - Team Franco Bodybuilding Forum: Competition and Fitness Board

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

RE: Dwayne's Training Blog

The Lioness · The Truth!

Welcome back Dwayne!! ...all that extra food in you is gonna pump up your workouts this week:) GO DWAYNE!!

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

My analysis of the skill evaluation from last Wednesday. Now that I have a week removed from doing it, I can give a better technical analysis of what went right and what went wrong.

Squat: What went right: It took approximately 4-5 seconds to complete the rep (descent and ascent). That's not bad for 95%. That's about where it needs to be.

What went wrong: I think it could have gone faster. Right after hitting the hole, I get a strong hip rebound and a slight change in back angle. That translated to movement in the bar upward...which is great but I didn't move with it which caused the bar to roll "up" my back a little. You can see it happen when there are about 5 seconds left in the video. This extraneous movement of the bar caused me to try to "save" the nice bar path that happened on the way down. The "save" is when my upper body was moving the bar but my lower body wasn't. That "save" expended lots of precious force that could have been used to go up faster. One good thing I could pull from this save is that, I now know that my torso is capable of more weight. With a heavier weight this "save" would not be possible. I would have been flat on my face had the bar rolled up any more. But the fact that I could make that "save", demonstrates that the only thing holding my squat back right now is little technicalities like this. To lift maximally, the weight must be still and not rolling. Could be a bar issue too. I never checked to see if the bar was a locked one. If it was, any plate roll friction could have caused the bar to roll. NEVER use a locked bar with max weight. The sleeves must revolve freely around the bar.

The fix: Bring the bar a tiny bit lower at the set up, and arch the upper back harder. I need to play around with my hand grip during the next couple weeks to figure out the best way for me to super glue that bar so no rolling occurs. Choose the correct bar.

Bench: What went right: For a 95% lift, this lift looks like it went extremely fast, however it was also a 5 second lift. The bar path on the way up was precise..nice and straight.

What went wrong: I want to see a higher arch if I can possibly get myself into that position. I want to see a little more elbow tuck and a straighter descent on the bar path. I want to see a more solid leg drive.

The fix: I have to work on my arch flexibility a little more...will use foam roll work for this. For the descent, I need to play with my starting position a little to get the balance just right. This may have been a remnant of my warmup. Elbow tuck just have to remind myself before each set. Leg drive...I've been ignoring this factor in the warmups. I think I need to incorporate it more so that it is solid once I get up over 80%. Will probably add some hip circles to lengthen hip flexors right before bench and also some calf stretches to get my foot position better.

Deadlift: What went right: Good speed. 2-3 seconds from floor to standing up. I think that is indicative that my max is a good bit higher than this which is cool to think about. The bar path was basically straight so I definitely was close enough to the bar. It took Andy Bolton five seconds to pull 1003 from the ground to standing up. If I'm capable of pulling for 5 seconds, i will be pulling a lot more in a few weeks.

What went wrong: Obviously the rounding. I wish I could see the exact moment the bar breaks the ground. I can't tell if I start to round before or after that. The rounding definitely is highest once I clear the knees. Rounding for me generally happens due to a bad set up. From what I see of my set up, I need to get a tighter arch. I think I kept my toes forward on this one. I don't know why. I usually turn them out a little so that its easier to get a nice tight arch and also get a little more leg drive off the bottom.

[One more thing. My shoulders are too far forward at the set up.]

The fix: Remember to turn out toes slightly and really arch super hard. Get that chest up. Try to over extend (even though it won't happen because I'm not that flexible).

[Also, make sure blades are lined up with the bar, basically sit back more on the heels]

-- Edited by winflex on Friday 24th of July 2009 08:50:58 AM

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

I'm going to be switching to a different log reporting schedule. From here on out, I will be writing my log up weekly. Mostly because of time constraints that I'm working with in my daily life. I will be stopping in periodically to check out the other logs on the board as I am a fan of all who post a training log on this site.

Monday morning:

Over vacation, I did get to squeeze in a makeshift workout before checking out of the hotel. It was challenging and I pulled it out of my buttocks. The hotel gym had a barbell, barbell weight set, a smith machine, a bench, and a ton of machines. Since I haven't really done much machine training, that cut down a lot of my options. I wanted to squat but there was no squat rack. Lo and behold, I came up with the following moves:

1 Clean, 1 Jerk, Recieve from overhead to behind head, adjust to squat position, 5 squats, 1 Jerk from behind the head, recieve from overhead to chest, put bar on the floor....that was one set.

I did this for my first exercise, and worked up to 155 and did 3 sets. I was torched. Then I went on to bench and realized that their bench was on some funky angle. So instead I did standing overhead presses with dumbells for reps. I called it a day and was happy with the overall work done.

Tuesday night:

I knew I needed to get some type of training in before I went back full force with my program to see where my level of soreness would be so I did the following:

SQ: 3 warms, 160/3 190/3 225/3 3 240/2 2

BP: 3 warms, 185/3 225/3 260/2 2

Flyes: 1 set to 25

Felt great.

Thursday night:

Ready to get back to work. Back on the program. Here are the results:

Foam roall, Regular DROM warmup

SQ: 3 warms, 160/3 190/3 3 225/3 3 240/2 2 2 2

BP: 3 warms, 205/3 245/3 3 280/3 3 3 3 3 3

Flyes: 2 sets of 25

GMs: 140/ 5 sets of 5

For squat, I looked for a bar that the sleeves rotated smoothly and freely. I also brought the bar a smidgen down my back more and took a slightly wider grip. This allowed me to contract and arch my upper back much tighter. There was absolutely no bar roll...granted it was only 240 lbs.

For Bench, I took my feet out a little further from the bench. I usually have them really close. Opening up the foot position allowed me to arch a little higher and contract my glutes harder on the leg drive. I felt like a loaded gun. It was slightly uncomfortable but It made a huge difference in how the weight felt. I just have to get used to it in the upcoming weeks.

Three days off!!! Looking forward to a lower training volume in the next couple weeks as the gradual deload begins!

Bill · Member

Great self coaching there brother. I love technology.

I'll watch the vids again just to see if there is anything at all I can add, but I doubt it.

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

Thanks Bill!

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

Last week's training:

Mon
SQ#1: 160/3 190/3 3 225/3 3 255/2 2 2 2
BP: 185/3 225/3 260/3 3 300/3 3 3 3 3
Flies: 5 sets
SQ#2: 175/3 205/3 3 240/3 3 3 3

SQ#1 had some bar roll with 255. I got rid of the bar roll last session at 240 but it came back with the increase in weight. BUT I fixed it with two things. Really making a tight "ledge" for the bar to sit on and feeling the "bounce" vertically instead of forward. The second fix was more mental than anything and it actually made the lift easier to do. BP focused on a slow negative bar path. I really want to groove an ideal bar path. Also wrapped wrists a little higher than usual as it helped to fend off the wrist soreness I've been prone to get with all this benching. SQ#2 noticeable improvement on the minimized bar roll. It was gone. Again its easy to do it with lighter weight but a different story under heavier load.

Wed
DL to knee: 225/3 270/2 2 295/2 2 315/1 1 1
BP: 185/3 225/3 260/3 3 300/3 3 315/2 2 2
flies: 5 sets
DLs: 225/3 270/3 315/3 3 360/3 3 3 3 3

On all the DL's I made a point to mark my shoe where my mid food was with a piece of chalk. This way every set up was the same...at least visually at my feet. Improved arch by point the toes out a little. Also another thing that I found that helped was changing the point at which I was taking in my breath before the lift off. I find that I can get the right amount of air and the perfect amount of arch when taking in air the moment right before I hit the tight arch. May be a little different for others due to individual differences. That last set of 360 put me to sleep. I was exhausted and glad the workout was over...Bench was a nuisance this session as I didn't feel like doing the lift. Although I completed it fairly easily, I was out of groove and out of motivation. Got through it though.

Fri
BP#1: 185/3 225/3 260/3 3 300/3 3 3 3 3
SQ: 160/3 190/3 3 225/3 3 255/3 3 3 3 3 3
BP#2: 185/4 225/4 260/4 4 4 4
Flies: 5 sets
GMs: 5 sets

Motivation was much improved on benches today. Arch was awesome. Put a little chalk behind the neck to help me to "stick" my shoulders into the bench during leg drive harder; so, greatly improved leg drive too. SQ's continued making my tight "ledge" and maximizing vertical drive. It went very well. I even videoed one of the SQ sets. I compared the speeds between 255 for 3 this cycle with 225 for 3 of last cycle. I lift the 255 faster. This is a very good thing.

On another note, I think my "food attack" is going to start up sooner than I wanted too. I realized that if I were a tad "fatter" (it would take a lot to get me fat per se), I would be progressing a lot faster and a little closer to my goals. With that in mind, I had a double cheeseburger and a sauerkraut hot dog for a post workout meal...and woke up this morning to a veggie and cheese omelette with three buttermilk pancakes and 2 sausages, and whatever else everyone else didn't eat. The only thing was that I couldn't eat much after that until about 6-7 hours later. I'm going to have to build up gradually on the food I can pound back. The goal will be somewhere between 4000 and 5000 cals a day by fall. If that doesn't put weight and strength on me, I'm a lost cause. I'm thinking some ice cream every night should help.

Being 190 is an accomplishment but for being 2 years removed from my last show and only being 20lbs heavier since then, its a small accomplishment. Most people can gain 20lbs within three months after a show. The goal is between 210 and 220 by Christmas. 20 more pounds could lead to 50-70 more pounds on each lift. Which is more than a fair trade off. 20lbs of bodyweight for up to 200lbs extra on my total. I'll take it and whatever muscle comes with the territory. Strength will ultimately lead to more muscle. At 6'2", 220 sounds like an appropriate weight so I'm not concerned at all for health at that level. 190 is still ...dare I say it... SKINNY!

I can't wait another year for another 10 lbs of bw. Time to up the pace...and chase the dream. Youth doesn't last forever.

Other changes going to happen are going to change training program to a weekly periodization and not a block periodized program like Sheiko (the one I'm doing now). On Sheiko the blocks are about 4 weeks. So the 13 week program is a conditioning week, 2 prep phases which are 4 weeks each, and a 4 week competition phase..which is what i'm in now...the homestretch before the test day. It is a long drawn out process which leads to pretty much gauranteed results. However, its drawback is that its long. Which is great for when you are near your "genetic potential." Also great if you want to increase your total and stay in the same weight class. I don't want either. I want to increase as FAST as possible and GAIN weight. So that involves some risk taking. Without steroids, food is my only option. Food is the only limiting factor but it is something I can control. I'm going to move from 80% squeaky clean eating to 75% then 70% and then whatever it takes to keep the scale and the plates increasing. That's how I'm going to push the "genetic" envelope.

No more SKINNY.

Its time for BIG.

Finished the night off with a expresso ice cream shake from The Bent Spoon in Princeton, NJ. Delicious!!

Bill · Member

I'm telling you man, I have been loosening up my diet considerably over the last month or so, and my strength is improving rapidly. I am on the verge of some PRs right now. Actually I just got a Front squat for reps PR.

I envy you a little, because it will not take much for me to get fat. Nonetheless the strength gains are worth it right now. Good luck getting yours.

Joe · Beyond Nutrition - Co Owner

I am following along but dont always comment. I too am like Bill, I gain weight easily and I was carefull before prep, but I will write about that after my show.

In a nut shell, Iam jealous, LOL Time to eat my man, you lucky SOB, wink

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

Hey Joe and Bill...so I started the food attack and pretty much have been eating whatever I fancy since Saturday. To date, I have plateaued at 200 lbs (since about yesterday). I pretty much look the same but with a full belly. So I'm pretty sure that the weight is all in my intestines...LOL. I will do my best to try to turn that into real tissue (whether fat or muscle I don't care as long as it stays). Goal is 215-220ish. I will probably have to come up with some sort of eating plan so I am consistent and eat even when I don't feel like it.

Ben Aylor · Member

Dwayne...you are one lucky son-of-a-gun I tell you! Ah, best of luck in your goal to back on slabs of weight. With your drive and outlook you should certainly reach your goal!

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

Thanks Ben...up to 200 now...lets see if I can keep the scale moving!

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

This week's training:

M:
SQ: 160/3 190/3 225/3 3 255/2 2 2 2 2
BP: 185/3 225/3 260/3 3 300/2 2 2 315/1 1 1
Flies: 4 sets

Still felt the effects of the Friday workout last week. Tired but not sore. So I pushed through quickly. Improving technique

W:
BP: 185/3 225/3 260/3 3 300/2 2 2 2 2
Flies: 4 sets
DL: 225/3 270/3 3 315/3 3 340/2 2 2 2 2
GMs: 4 sets

Felt good after warmup. Arch was so tight it hurt on the bench. Working on perfecting technique there and got really good results. DL's had great form. I used the crap bar but it didn't make a difference. I brought my stance back in and filled up with air and pulled hard. Everything came up light with that technique. I'm sticking with it.

F:
SQ: 160/3 190/3 3 225/3 3 240/2 2 2
BP: 185/ 3 225/3 260/3 3 280/2 2 2 2

Deload in full swing. This was the shortest workout in the entire stretch of the program so far. It was also the lowest load so far. The next two will be more of the same and then testing on next Saturday. I flew through this and I actually got to work with my wife at the gym. It was the first time in months that we had the opportunity to workout together. We had a great time and it was good to have her to watch me do my thing and me to watch her.

Size-wise, I am 200 which is a milestone but not a goal. I'm pushing the current goal up to 225. I'm trying to keep it as simple as possible. Continue to lift heavy on the basics and eat to support growth. This is the only thing over time that has been shown to work...drugs or no drugs. The human body has no choice with caloric excess and heavy loading but to grow. When I was 21, I "bulked" up to 230 but I wasn't lifting heavy enough or safely enough either. Now I am. So I know I have it in me to do this.

I distinctly remember when I was 23 getting ready for my first show a well-known gym owner in the Syracuse area (where I was living at that point) was taking my bodyfat. I asked him how do I gain size. He asked clean or juice. I said clean. He said you have to stuff your face and said that there is no reason that I should be ashamed to get up to 260lbs. He said that I have to lift heavy basics and stuff my face.

To this day, this approach has been the only approach that I have not tried. It has to work because of process of elimination. If it doesn't, nothing will.

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

hovering between 202-204
Hoping to be around 210 at the Midatlantic!!!
BIG BOY!!

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

Monday and Wednesday were deload day and today (Saturday) was the test day. Here is how Monday and Wednesday went:

Mon:
BP: 185/3 225/3 3 260/2 2 280/1 1 1 1
Deads: 225/3 270/2 2 315/2 2 2 2

BP felt good, not much effort. Will have to nail form on Satuday to get 5 more lbs. Also, I have to get a good spotter for lift offs.
DLs were cake. Back was lil sore but all good. Probably didn't need to do these today but it was good practice.

Wednesday:
SQ: 160/3 190/3 3 225/2 2 2
BP: 185/3 225/3 3 260/2 2 2

Phone videod my squat and realized that I'm going a little lower than I need to; so, I tried cutting it short but when I re-videod, I was still going to the same depth. Oh well, I guess I'm programmed to go that depth at thisi point. Can't change it overnight. As long as I get stronger I'm happy.
BP was super easy. Didn't see the point here, but it was good practice.
*****test day report coming up soon with vids******

-- Edited by winflex on Sunday 16th of August 2009 09:37:03 AM

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

Test Day Part 1:

Squats: 160/3 190/3 225/2 225/2 255/2 285/1 300/1 320/1 325/1 330/1

Great progress. This is a 25 lb PR for me today as the last time I tested I was at 305. I programmed this cycle so that I was training for 320 but I surpassed it, and as you will probably see from the video, I think I still had some more in me. The agressive approach to the programming cycle definitely worked and I'm thinking I will stick to that.

So here's what 330 looked like (sideways LOL):

Probably could have shot for another 5-10lbs but I think beating myself by 25 lbs was a good way to leave the squats. Plus, I didn't want to be in the failed state of mind...or burn out on the squats either since I had bench and deadlift left to go.

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

Test Day Part Deux:

Bench: 185/3 225/3 260/2 2 295/2 335/1 350/1 375/1 385/1

So basically after I did my 5 lb PR on 375, I decided to keep going since squats surpassed the plan by extra. My spotter said it looked like I had ten more lbs in me...so I went for 385. AND I GOT IT!!!! wtf... a 15 lb PR!! I can't complain.

Here is what 385 looked like:

So so far 25+15 = 40 extra on my total!

-- Edited by winflex on Sunday 16th of August 2009 12:04:19 AM

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

Finally Test Day Part 3:

Deadlifts: 225/3 270/2 315/2 2 360/2 405/1 430/1 460/1 470/0

Okay so on this lift, I pretty much worked to plan and got a 20 lb PR...which is still awesome. With the other lifts going up extra, I decided to attempt 470. It broke the ground but after all the work I did on Squats, Bench, and the previous sets of Deads, I just had to quit while I was ahead. I took the 20 lb PR and went home. All in all, A VERY successful event.

Here's 460 for ya:

40+20 = 60...I added 60 lbs to my raw total today!!! A good way to end a hard summer of training!

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

So in summary:

Old max lifts:
Squat: 305 lbs
Bench: 370 lbs
Deadlift: 440 lbs

New max lifts:
Squat: 330 lbs
Bench: 385 lbs
Dealift: 460 lbs

Old max total: 1115 lbs
New max total: 1175 lbs

ONLY 25 lbs away from 1200 lbs total. I think with another cycle I can definitely break that and then start looking into getting serious and looking for a meet.

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

Finally, everything is over three wheels a side!!

Yoster · The Truth!

Way to go DWAYNE!!! I can't believe that bench!!

Ben Aylor · Member

Killer lifts my friend, AWESOME stuff!

Joe · Beyond Nutrition - Co Owner

Great job!!! Your bench is insane and the deads are impressive too.

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

Well its almost been a week since I added 60 lbs to my total. Still in the moment of glory!
Thanks for the props you guys!

Now its time to get ready for a new cycle. I'm up to 210 with this week "off" (just did some light work which I detail below). Decided not to go with the linear program and just stick with what's been working since the beginning of this year. So I'm going to do another Sheiko cycle, but I will make some adjustments. With the high influx of cals I'm consuming, I will take a look at each block separately and basically as last time, program the squat and deadlift aggressively and the bench conservatively. After the first four week block, going into the second block, I will use some intuition and decide either to stay with the same agressive percentage schedule as the first four week block or to go up and be a little more agressive, possibly working 1-2% higher than the 1st four week block. The final block, peak block will stay with the percentages of the second block. So in sum:

1st 4 week block - program SQ and DL about 2-3% heavier than prescribed (like I did last time), BP - as prescribed

2nd 4 week block - program SQ and DL either the same as first block or 1-2% higher, BP - as prescribed

Last block - stick with percentages in 2nd block and ride it out

With this approach I think I'll be able to add 30 more lbs to the SQ and DL each. This plan will be fueled my massive caloric intake which has managed to get me up to 210 in the absence of my normal volume of training.

Anyhow this is how this light week went by:

Wed
BP: warm up, 195/5 235/4 4 270/3 3
SQ: warm up, 165/5 200/4 4 235/3 3
2 sets of flies
GM: warm up, 155/5 5

Everything in my body felt tight and sore but the weights felt light. That's what happens after all out maxing every lift on the weekend. GMs felt a little heavier but not bad, will stick with this for the entire first block.

Fri
Deads: warm up, 230/5 280/4 330/3
OHP: warm up, 110/8 8 8 8
SQ: 165//5 170/5 175/5

Again things felt somewhat tight in my body but the weights were nice and light and the form was spot on.

Next Monday begins the conditioning week for the first block of the new Sheiko cycle. This time around, there will be no front squatting, or high bar squatting. They just mess my knees up and I can't go as heavy that way either. So I nixed lunges last time. So wherever I used to lunge, or fsq or hbsq, its just going to be more squatting but at a lower percentage for technique practice.

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

With the training now, I think I've plateaued in bodyweight in the 210-212 range. I think that's a good range for now to make some decent gains. Got a few comments this week. One guy in the gym noted that I'm looking thicker. I said, I'm fatter. He said it doesn't look like it..and he said he noticed how I've been getting stronger over the last couple months. I was stoked. Then on Thursday I went to get a haircut and my barber says, Dwayne what are you doing? I say to him, What do you mean? He says, You look as big as a house. I start laughing and say, I've just been eating a lot. He says, No what are you "really" doing? I laughed again, I said seriously, I'm just eating a lot more. He said to me at the end of the haircut, You better stop eating a lot. I think he thinks I'm juicing. Ha! My face does have a little bloat to it now as compared to five weeks ago when i started this calorie-assasin but not like I've been juicing. Although I'm a little upset he thinks something like that of me, it kind of was some good motivation. Anyway, Here's this weeks' workouts:

Monday:

BP: 3 warms, 195/5 235/4 4 270/3 3
SQ: 3 warms, 170/5 205/4 4 240/3 3 3
Flies: 3 sets
GM's: 3 sets

Pretty easy overall but I felt a little funny on the squats, out of groove. Not worried about it since I know grooves sometimes go but come back quickly once I get back into it. Another cycle comparison, 1st cycle 1st workout last set in squats was 210, 2nd cycle 1st workout, last set in squats was 225, now its 240. So again this time, just to complete this next cycle will definitely produce another great PR in 12 short weeks. And hopefully, I'll see some body comp changes at this weight of 210. Exciting.

Wednesday:
DL: warm up with powercleans (95/3, 115/3, 135/3), 240/5 285/4 4 335/3 3 3
OHP: first with pause at bottom 115/4 4 4
OHP: no pause, continuous 115/8 8 8
Lt. SQ: 155/5 5 5

A little tight in the lower back. Was thinking of reverting to lunges but after doing one rep, it felt like a total waste of time so I squatted and went a little lighter than 50%. Actually made the back feel a little better. SQs are the magic exercise that heals all pain.

Friday:
BP: same as Monday
flies: 3 sets
SQ: same as Monday
OHP: 115/8 8 8
GMs: 3 sets

SQ groove came back. Bench was little tight in the left shoulder. I had this problemin the first cycle. I think its a elbow tuck thing again..or possibly the arch thing in the 2nd cycle. Either way, those are two things that I generally slip on..so I have to make sure I do it right next time. OHP's were good and so were GM's (probably because my Squat groove came back).

Going to Vegas to train with the stars (maybe) on Sep. 11. My friend Dave who I used to train with in Syracuse (this is the man who got me into bodybuilding) is a trainer out there for big time ballers (aka Kevin Garnett). He has invited me to come on several occasions but finally my scheduled opened up to go. If you want to become an NBA player (LOL...and you have the talent) check out: http://www.impactbball.com/

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

So much for staying in the 210-212 range. Woke up this morning to 213..and the growth keeps coming..

So I didn't take my normal two days off on the weekend in order to stay on track for my trip next week. Instead of my normal MWF MWF MWF, I switched it up to MWF SunTuesThurs SatMW. I know my recovery will be challenged with that schedule but I seem to be doing just fine. Going to visit with my little (not so little now) brother this weekend and we are going to train together for the first time in months. It should be fun watching him try to keep up with me on this program for the day. Its my turn to lead. Last time we trained together I followed his lead.

Here's this weeks' training:

Sun:

BP: warms, 215/4 235/3 270/3 290/3 3 3 3

SQ: warms, 170/5 205/5 240/5 5 5 5

BP: 215/4 255/4 4 270/4 4 4 4

flies: 5 sets

GMs: 155/5X5

Bench went perfect. As usual concentrating on perfecting the bar path since that seems to be the thing that helps me most. 290 never felt lighter. Its really funny how progress just happens like that. Also, perfecting the arch. Squats were good. Focusing on perfect form on every rep with the key thing of being tight in the hole. (Double bench session: 2nd bench round was torture but made it through)

Tues:

Powercleans from the hang: bar/3 95/3 3 115/3 3

Powercleans from the floor: 135/3 3 3

DL's: 240/3 285/5 5 335/3 3 360/3 3 3

BP: warms 215/5 255/5 270/4 4 4 4

OHP's: 115/8 8 8 8 8

Rack Pulls (below knee): 240/3 285/4 4 340/3 3 380/3 3 3

light Sq's: 155/5x5

Used powercleans as a warm up to DL's. I like that strategy. Keeping with it. The last set of 360 felt kind of heavy but I think its just a remnant of being a little sore from squats on Sunday. I picked it up fast so I'm sure it didn't look like it was heavy from the outsider's perspective. I also used very little rest between sets. Why? I felt fresh...even though I was sore. Maybe it was impatience. Bench was good but I had a little tightness in the right shoulder but nothing serious. It went away with the OHP's.

Thurs:

BP marathon: warms 195/5 235/4 270/4 290/3 310/2 2 330/1 1 310/2 2 290/3 255/5 215/5

flies: 5 sets

SQ: warms, 170/5 205/3 3 240/3 3 255/3 3 3 3

OHP: 115/8 8 8 8 8

GMs: 155/5x5

BP was good. Tweak in right shoulder was gone in earlier sets but came back in the middle sets and went away at the end. I know what did it. After a heavy set, my shoulders tend to need a little time before I get up and go change the weight. Its as if they are still in overdrive but I need to go do some regular activity like changing plates and that sets them into minor spasm. So, I watched that and it went away. Weird. Its so funny that its not the heavy slow stuff that get you. Its always the light easy quick stuff. This is my first time lifting off a weight over 315 without a spotter. I actually felt ready for this and very confident in myself that I've done the work up to now to get to this point. Honestly, it wasn't bad at all.

Squats were awesome. Its always awesome when I do three's. No endurance necessary..just strength LOL. I had to spot this guy doing his squats though during my benches. He wanted me to make sure he didn't lean forward. Why do people think that back squatting has no forward lean? I mean unless you have 2 inch legs you have to lean forward or else you get no depth..which was exactly what was happening to him. I watched him do 1/4 squats which will eventually tear his knees up to shreds. I know because I've been there. BUT I kept my mouth shut as he seemed like a young guy confident in himself and not willing to take any pointers. If he wants to keep squatting and make progress, I know he will find the proper technique. I did. All it took was some desire. Anyway, it was mostly form work as 255 has never felt lighter even when my form isn't perfect. I have to remind myself to stay out of my knees sometimes in the hole because as I've gotten stronger, my form tends to be a little non-chalant with the lighter weights. But I have to remind myself that, the point of the lighter weights is to perfect technique, rep after rep after rep. The goal is to become as efficient as possible on the rep...no wasted energy. Pure focus! I think by the end of the squatting, I had that which was the true goal.

OHPs were just torture today after going heavy on bench. I had the most insane pump. You could call me Mr. Coat Rack.

fitmom726 · Guru

Dwayne, I just love reading your blog!
Keep up the good work Mr. Coat Rack!!

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

Thanks Robin.
-Mr. Coat Rack (LOL)

Yoster · The Truth!

Awsome job - holly crums "290 never felt so light" that is CRAZY!!!!

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

A crazy couple weeks gone by...

Saturday Sep 6th training
SQ: warmups, 170/4 205/4 240/3 3 275/2 2 2 2
BP: warmups, 195/3 235/3 270/3 3 310/2 2 2 2
flies: 5 sets
OHPs: 5sets
SQ again: 190/3 225/3 255/3 3 3
GMs: 5 sets

Ahh so the loading begins. Trained with my lil' bro on this one. He helped me with the confidence I needed to do the 4 doubles in the first squat session. Honestly, I definitely underestimated myself and a mental block was lifted. I buried those doubles like nothing. It was an awesome feeling to know that last year November I could only do these for one rep on a very high squat. Here I was burying them in the ground with the speed of a gazelle. Super powerful and super fast. What a difference a year makes. Bench was easy. Second round squats very easy...but I was getting tired. I completed 36 sets in this workout, not counting warmups. Long and arduous but it builds work capacity.

Sunday and Monday: traveling to and from Northeast PA

Tues:
DL to knee: 240/4 285/4 335/4 4 4
BP: warm ups, 215/4 255/5 270/4 4 4
flies: 5 sets
Hang powercleans: bar/3 95/3
Floor powercleans: 115/3 135/3 155/3
DL's: 240/4 285/4 335/3 3 360/3 3 3
light SQ: 5 sets

Had all intention to train on Monday but all the traveling, and subsequently bad eating and rest, changed the plans. So, I waited to Tuesday...but the bad news was I forgot my Vasocharge up in Northeast PA where I had planned to train on Monday. So I zapped it. I forgot how much Zap works since I haven't used in months. It really does give long lasting energy. Cleans were perfect. Bench was easy. The carryover of the cleans to DL was terrific. Did most of my DL's with double overhand hook grip. Something weird did happen in this workout though. On my 2nd set of bench, there was blood on my hands. I checked the bar if there was blood on it from before, and there was not. I checked my hand to see if I had cut myself somehow. There was no cut. My only explanation for it was that I have an adaptation to sweat blood. It didn't happen on any other sets though. So it must have been a fluke. And yes I washed my hand immediately and also took the disinfectant to the bar and cleaned it. Weird though!

Thursday before I hit the skies for Vegas:
SQ: warmups, 170/4 205/4 240/3 255/3 3 3 3 3
BP marathon: warmups, 195/5 235/4 270/4 290/4 310/2 330/1 1 310/2 290/4 270/5 235/5 215/6
flies: 5 sets
OHPs: 5 sets
SQ again: 190/3 225/3 255/2 2 2
GM: 5 sets

Really emphasized pushing knees out on the squat to facilitate depth. I thought I missed doing a set on one of the 255'ers so I may have done an extra set in there. I'd rather do an extra set than miss one. The whole point is to accumulate fatigue and work capacity. The deeper the inroads over a period of time, the large the supercompensation at the end of the cycle. So bring on the extra sets. Bench was a heavy loading day here. It was nice to have a heavy day after two easier ones. I really hate the way down on the pyramid though. Its like a slap in the face how weights that felt easy on the way up feel really hard on the way down. Just brutal...but I prefer the marathon to double bench any day. Its done and over with in one shot.

*****Off to Vegas from Fri to Monday****

Back to the gym on Tuesday, September 15 2009

SQ: warmups, 170/4 205/4 240/3 3 3 275/3 3 3 3
BP: warmups, 195/3 235/3 270/3 3 310/3 3 3
flies: 5 sets
OHP: 5 sets
SQ again: 170/4 205/4 240/5 5 5 5
GM: 5 sets

And the hits keep coming. Again, I wowed myself with the 4 triples this time on 275. Last week 4 doubles. This week 4 triples. Definitely buried these easy peasy 1-2-threesy. Again, November last year this was a fake 1RM... because I honestly can't count that partial garbage I did then as a squat. Bench was easy...I guess after four days I fully recuped from the marathon last Thursday. Squat again...was tough. It was at the end of the workout and I did 37 sets this workout...not counting warmups. I'm going to have to start bringing meals with me for mid workout...but the adaptations are happening quickly as I powered through it although I was running on fumes. Absolutely great workout!!

On a side note, I notice that I absolutely get motivated at my gym by its members. To the younger newer people, they consider me a beast. That's a huge ego boost--(testosterone through the roof). Then, the huge and juiced guys consider me to be stronger for a "little" guy. Also, very motivating. All that helps me to work even harder at achieving my goals!

-- Edited by winflex on Sunday 20th of September 2009 11:44:46 AM

-- Edited by winflex on Sunday 20th of September 2009 11:46:31 AM