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

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

Dwayne's Training Blog

Yoster · The Truth!

You are a freak!!! - Holly crums - 219!!!!! Grow Dwayne Grow!!!!!!

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

I can't believe I made it up to 219 and at a decent offseason bodyfat level. This Saturday I'm about to finish the first prep phase of this cycle and I'm definitely going to up the percentages at least 1-2% on the second prep phase. I think by the peaking phase, I will definitely transform into a different type of beast.

Can't wait to report what an awesome training week I've been having.

-- Edited by winflex on Friday 25th of September 2009 01:24:11 AM

-- Edited by winflex on Friday 25th of September 2009 01:25:11 AM

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

Tues:
Came into workout with a headache from allergies and my temperature was 99.6 degrees. I think I was having a slight fever because I needed the workout. Once I started squatting everything was golden. Today was two leisurely doubles...they really went a lot easier than I thought they would. So much that I increased the last set 5 lbs (a mini-break from the program). Everything else felt good on this day (other than a mini neck tweak on bench...rats!)

Squat: warms, 170/4 205/3 240/3 3 275/3 290/2 295/2
BP: warms, 195/3 235/3 270/3 310/3 3 3 3
5 sets of flies
5 sets of overhead press
Squat: 170/4 205/3 240/3 275/2 2 2 2
5 sets of good mornings

Thurs:
Made sure to get a spotter for a lift off (which is where I got the neck tweak last workout) on all sets over 300 on bench. No tweaks today. DL's felt heavy today once I hit 380 but I powered through and it wasn't so bad once it was over!! A double bench day, so that's never fun....

Bench: warms, 195/3 235/3 270/3 310/3 3 330/2 2 2
Deadlift: warms, 240/3 285/3 335/2 2 380/3 3 405/2 2 (not as leisurely as squats on Tuesday)
Bench again: 215/5 255/5 290/4 4 4
5 sets of flies
5 sets of light squats

Saturday:
Great weekend so far. Got to spend time with Ia's grandparents (Jen's parents) and my brother came over to train with me. I actually felt super recovered for this session. I had taken fish oil and glucosamine with every meal for a couple days since I was feeling a little creaky and it seemed to work great. Neck is better, not 100% but pretty close. This workout was a typical triples for squats for multiple sets to ramp up volume and 5's for bench to ramp up volume and lower on the weight. Kind of a light one on the books....

Squat: warms, 170/4 205/3 240/3 3 275/3 3 3 3 3
Bench: warms, 195/5 235/5 270/5 5 5 5
5 sets of flies
5 sets of overhead press with sets across on top weight, instead of ramp up
5 sets of good mornings (sets across, no ramp up)

THIS IS THE END OF PREP PHASE ONE on my 3rd cycle of the Sheiko program PREP PHASE TWO to begin on Monday!!!

and I leave you with a side ways vid of my last set of 275 squat (I'm representing Team Franco with my t-shirt):

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

One more commentary:

I like the results that I'm getting at the cal level I'm taking in...so I'm going to bump it up another 500 cals. I mean why not?!! The other reason for doing this is that in PREP PHASE 2, I'm going to to push the envelope again with the percents and add 1.5% more onto the 3% extra that I'm already pushing. What this means is that I'm supposed to train as if I have a 330 lb max on squat (which is my true tested max), but I'm currently training as if I have a 340 lb max. With an extra 1.5% in phase 2, I will be training as if I have a 345 lb max. So it's semi-aggressive programming that I've actually been adapting to very quickly with the surplus of cals. If the first week of PREP PHASE 2 goes easily, I will just push up the percents again. I can possibly see myself finishing this cycle with a 355-365lb max on squat..which would put me about 35-45 lbs away from my 400 lb goal...which would be awesome to me. At which point, I would probably start to concentrate on my strength to weight ratio. A double bodyweight squat would be a huge milestone for me. Basically, instead of pounding calories and going for big increases (20-30 lb increases), I would clean up the diet a little and go for conservative increases per cycle (5-10 lb increases). If I could compete with around a 400 squat in the 181 lbs raw category, I would be decently respectable...not top fiver at all but respectable. I was never the strongest guy around, but I'm going to work really hard to keep getting stronger...and so far, I've been pretty successful. If all goes well, I may actually become STRONG!

-- Edited by winflex on Sunday 27th of September 2009 12:13:31 AM

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

Monday:

BP: warms, 195/5 235/4 270/3 3 290/3 3 3 3

SQ: warm, 175/5 210/5 5 245/5 5 5 5 5

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

Flies: 5 sets across

GMs: 5 sets across

Got a lift off on all sets at and above 270 in each bench session. 290 was good again today. Shoulders were healthy. Not happy that it was a double bench day but like I say, I endure the torture for the results.

As planned, for the squats, I pushed the weight up by 1.5% for this round, so it amounted to about 5 lbs extra on each set. Doesn't sound like much but there are two things to remember. In this phase of the cycle, 1. the sets are increased by one...2. the accumulation of fatigue.

So in comparison to phase 1, I lifted 1260 more raw lbs in squat volume in this workout. That is due to an extra set (245X5) + (an extra 5lbs/per set X 7sets). This is accumulation of load at its finest. Progressive overload...the only way to get bigger and stronger! So looking at a measly extra five lbs added to the bar amounts to a ridiculously larger amount of stimulation once you add up all the reps. Suddenly 1.5% looks a lot bigger.

Also from a Progress standpoint, last time I hit 5 by 5's I used 225 on the bar. So, that in itself is 20lbs extra/per set. On each rep, I imagined myself with 345 for 5 by 5 (in a year...I can see it coming true!) In 7 short weeks, I see 365 for 1 happening just in time for a yummy Thanksgiving.

Wednesday:

DL: warms, 240/5 285/5 5 335/4 4 360/3 3 3 3

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

OHP: 5 sets across

DL from knee (rack pull): 240/5 285/5 5 335/4 4 380/3 3 3 3

SQ (light): 5 sets

Early workout due to change in schedule for the day...but because of this I had a time limit and had to watch the clock. I completed in really good time. DL's felt really good and tight. Grip strength is taking off. The rack pulls were insanely easy and the 360 DL's were very very fast from floor to lockout. All in all a very good workout. Sticking to the original %'ages for DL's as I feel that I will need the rest for pushing the squat..and I know my DL will definitely inherit strength from increased strength in the squat. Things just work that way.

Friday:

BP marathon: warms, 195/6 235/5 270/4 4 290/3 3 310/2 2 330/1 1 310/2 2 290/3 3 255/5 215/7

Flies: 5 sets across

SQ: warms, 175/5 210/4 4 245/3 3 265/3 3 3 3 3

OHP: 5 sets ramped

GMs: 5 sets ramped

Great spotters on Bench today. I'm very grateful. It really helps with the lift off of weight greater than 300lbs...especially on the marathon where energy tends to get sapped quickly.

For squats, everything felt good once I got up to 210. I was really tight in the groin and outer sweep at the beginning but stretched out in time for the heavier stuff. Here's where the 1.5% extra kicks the arse. If I hadn't changed the percent, I would have done 255/3 3 3 3 3...but it was a 10 lbs jump today and not a 5 lber. Why? Because I round up. I don't have the little micro loaders to get exact weight; so, I round up to the nearest 5. That way I get the stimulation plus some. Well, in comparison to last phase, I did (10 lbs extra perset X 9 sets) + (an extra set of 265 X 3) for a grand total of 885 lbs more of raw load than phase 1. In the last cycle, it was 240/ 5 sets of 3...so that amounts to a 15 lbs increase. May not sound like much but all the accumulation of load adds up over the period of time and makes its mark.

In other news, I'm holding steady at 220, about 12-13% bodyfat. I think for this phase I'm going to take another cal bump since I feel I haven't grown since I hit 220. I was at a nice 1lb per week pace before. I need to get that back as I feel that my body will probably respond by remaining at this bodyfat % and just adding muscle especially around week 10. Just finished up week 5; so there will be about 4 more weeks of accumulation before supercompensation (aka the transformative phase/peaking) can begin in week 10.

I feel the beauty of this program is that I haven't lifted to failure in over a year and I haven't gone much higher than 6 reps or so on any of the major lifts, yet, I am managing to put on muscle, get stronger, and perfect my form with minimal injuries. I'm getting ahead of myself but I know it will be hard to go back to a bodybuilding style routine in the future knowing how much better I respond to this style of training.

I mean, I've done bodybuilding "mass" routines in the past with a caloric overload but the results have not been even close to what I've achieved just pounding out squats, bench and deadlift endlessly each week frequently, full body, with no iso stuff except for flies (where the purpose really isn't to isolate but rather to get some space in the AC joint after benching to protect the health of the shoulders). Did you know that Deadlifts provide a larger EMG in the biceps than a curl could ever? No wonder I added an inch to my arms without curls or tricep extensions. My arms endure 1000's of pounds of load with DL's and Benches. They have no choice but to grow.

I guess the beautiful thing will be that I will really respond fast with the switch to a traditional bb routine because I've gone off it for so long...so that at least is exciting...anywayz, I have a few more lbs of strength I'd like to get before I even think about switching back...and I may even get greedy and go for more. Everywhere I look it seems like a 1500 total is representative of really strong for a raw lifter regardless of weight class; so I have something to shoot for...it may be a while before I switch hats, as dieting is the enemy of strength and muscle building furious

.

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

ONE GOAL....UBER STRENGTH, I think I'll add that to my sig. smile

Yoster · The Truth!

Dwayne,

Been very interesting reading your training logs - honestly don't fully understand everything - but starting to put bits and pieces together. Glad you have been responding well to this!!

Joe · Beyond Nutrition - Co Owner

Great stuff Dwayne.

After this show, back to the basics for me, and will be doing something close to powerlifting routine.

Keep up the good work and calories!

Bill · Member

Uber Strength? This is good.

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

Uber strength...shooting for the stars...hopefully will land on the moon!

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

Week 6 is in the books (3 more till evaluation...6 more till test)

Sun

SQ: warms, 175/5 210/4 4 245/3 3 280/2 2 2 2 2

BP: warms, 195/5 235/4 270/3 3 310/2 2 2 2 2 2

Flies: 5 sets

OHP's: 5 sets

SQ: 195/3 230/3 265/3 3 3 3

GMs: 5 sets

This one was a fun workout. Doubles and triples were fast. Each set faster than the last.

Tues:

DL to knee: warms, 240/4 285/4 4 335/4 4 4 4

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

flies: 5 sets

DL: 240/4 285/4 335/3 3 360/3 3 3 3 3

SQ: 5 sets

Really fun yanking 360 off the floor like it was 160. Huge pump on bench today.

Thurs (really late night...a tough one):

SQ: warms, 175/5 210/4 245/3 3 265/3 3 3 3 3 3

BP marathon: warms, 195/6 235/5 270/4 290/3 3 3 (oh my shoulder...must continue) 310/2 2 330/1 1 310/2 2 290/4 270/5 235/6 195/7

Flies: 5 sets

OHPs: 5 sets

SQ: 195/3 230/3 265/2 2 2 2

GMs: 5 sets

Was really sore from Tuesday on bench so my shoulders (especially the right one) was really sore. I got to the gym late so there was no spotters for a while. The lift off is mostly shoulders, lats and tricep; so I pretty much killed my shoulders in the 290 series going up. Luckily after that I was able to get a lift off for the remainder sets above and around 300. Teaches me not to get to the gym that late even though it is 24 hrs.

Took three days off to heal up the whole upper body.

Starting up week 7 on Monday.

Week 9 is the skill evaluation up to 95% and above.

Week 12 is the test for the new maxes!

Weight is 223 lbs.

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

Week 7 is done...and it was a rough one physically and emotionally (2 more weeks till eval, 5 more till test, 1 more till the end of prep phase 2)

Monday:
SQ: warms, 175/5 210/4 4 245/3 3 280/3 3 3 3 3
BP: warms, 195/ 235/4 270/3 3 310/3 3 3 3 3
light crossovers (due to shoulder pain)
OHP's (no pain here..thank goodness)
SQ: 175/5 210/5 245/5 5 5 5 5
GM's

Great workout tonight. The whole gang from back when I started training at Hamilton Fitness was there. It felt like old times. I actually got asked by a pretty big dude to work in with me on squats. He told me he was 218 lbs. I was taken aback because I was 223 and realized that I'm the big dude...but to his credit, he was about 4 inches shorter than me...so there went my ego boost out the door LOL! He's looking to do his first show. I am pushing him in the direction of the show in Burlington that Joe promotes...so look out for another beast to enter your show Joe!! Bench was atrocious. I mean my form was great but my right shoulder was killing. I will have to change something around for this.

Wednesday:
DL to knee: 240/4 285/4 335/4 4 360/4 4 4 4
Bench marathon: warms, 195/6 235/5 270/4 4 290/3 3 310/2 2 330/1 1 290/3 3 270/4--cut it short here, the shoulder pain was too much to continue *** benches are going to gone for a few weeks
DL from knees: 285/5 340/3 3 380/4 4 4 4
Light Squats
Abs

Did all my deadlifts with straps to give my hands a break. I haven't done a deadlift workout all cycle with straps so I figured once won't hurt a bit. Bench could not finish. The pain was too much. I definitely have a tendonitis problem in the right shoulder and I think the 405 bench is not going to happen this cycle. I think I will just switch to OHP's for the remainder of this cycle and use a linear progression for that. My OHP lags greatly behind my bench and it is a weakness that is most likely contributing to the shoulder pain. The goal will be to get my OHP 1RM to approximately 70% of my current 1RM for bench...which will be a daunting task but I know it is doable. I'm plenty strong in bench that the current deficit in overhead pressing strength will be enough for me to not bench for the next 5-6 weeks. After which point, I will reintroduce the bench with a less frequency than that of before.

Thursday: CHOP with Olivia
Friday: CHOP and then home
Saturday:

Got the training session in late again. I had trouble motivating for this one but once everyone was asleep I had to get it in since it was bugging me that I hadn't trained.

OHP: 45/5 65/5 95/5 115/5 135/5 155/5
Squat: warms, 175/5 210/5 245/5 5 265/4 4 4 4 4
90 deg curls: 1 set
OHP: 65/20
GM's

Pressing overhead will be a good change for me. As it will allow me to work this program as it should. The upper body weights will finally be a lot lower than the lower body weights which will allow more energy and focus to be put into the lower body stuff. On top of that I won't be irritating my right shoulder and it will allow healing to occur. Overhead pressing will also build strength in a different way and decrease my strength deficit ..which should allow the bench to increase a lot more when I get back to it. Although, i really have no aspirations to have more than a 405 bench. It is not necessary and it is plenty enough to get to with my shoulder in one piece. A really smart person wrote this to me a while back, and I should have listened:

"Joe wrote:

And stop benching if you want your squat to catch up!"

Joe knows what he is talking about...I decided to learn the hard way though. So the new goal is to get my OHP (strict overhead press no knee bend) to 70% my current bench max which is 270 for 1 rep, or a 5RM of 230. The plan tonight with the OHP was to do sets of 5, increasing slowly until I hit a set where the 5th rep slowed down a bit. That happened on 155lbs...which doesn't surprise me because the most I pressed overhead was 190...and 155 is about 80% of that. SO I have a long road ahead of me with the presses but hopefully the strength deficit I have will drive quick adaptation in it. Going to do 3X5 with each workout on press and add 5 to 10 lbs for as long as possible each workout. And I will shell out the dough to get the microloaders so I can continue making linear progress for as long as possible until I get to the 230X5 goal. That's the plan and I'm sticking with it.

The benefit of pressing will be that my training poundages will be adequate enough to heal the shoulder, maintain upper body strength, develop new upper body strength, and provide more energy towards lower body strength. So this injury is a blessing. I'm looking forward to the upcoming progress!

-- Edited by winflex on Sunday 18th of October 2009 12:25:59 AM

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

Week 8 starts today. Posting because I'm home all week and I have the bandwidth to do the individual sessions this week.

I hit a few milestones today of which I am very proud of but I will get to that in a minute.

Here was the session:

SQ: warms, 175/5 210/4 245/3 245/3 280/3 3 300/2 2 2 Milestone #1

OHP: warms, 155/5 5 5 Milestone #2

Curls: 1 set of 20 reps (help to work the anterior arm while healing up front delt)

SQ again: 175/5 210/4 245/3 280/2 2 2 2

GM's: 5 sets

300X2X3 is a huge milestone for me on squats. This marks the first time EVER that I squatted in the 300's for a training session that is not an evaluation or a max test day. I feel absolutely great and made sure to get at least one of those doubles on video. Both reps were smooth and had good speed. I'm really loving the squat right now.

155X5X3 is another huge milestone for me on strict overhead pressing. I got this on video too. Although it marks the first time in several months (almost a year) that my upperbody pressing movement hasn't been in the mid 200's low 300's, It is still my first time OHP'ing seriously and not just as an assistance movement. With some consistent overhead pressing, the coat rack will continue to expand...LOL. The movement is limited only by lockout strength and core strength. Both of which I have developed a lot with the benching and the squatting. So I'm looking forward to seeing this movement take off in the next couple weeks.

Without further ado, the vids.

First the squatting of 300X2:

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

Second the strict pressing overhead (sideways...going up 5 lbs on Wednesday):

-- Edited by winflex on Tuesday 20th of October 2009 12:17:09 AM

Azbury · Guru

ahhh...you made that look easy bro ")

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

Thanks Carl. The speed of the reps are very promising for a test in a few weeks.

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

Deads tonight

Press: 45/5 95/3 115/2 135/1 160/5 5 5
Deadlift: 240/4 285/4 335/3 3 380/3 3 405/2 2 2
Pullups: 3 sets
90 deg curl: 1 set
SQ: 5 sets (light)
walking lunges: 1 set

Presses felt awkward tonight...like heavy but not. I guess I have to get used to the motion. I may also have to use smaller increases from workout to workout. So I may go out on a search for the mini plates tomorrow. Deads were nothing special tonight. This was a been there, done that type of deadlift workout. The only difference from week 4 is that I did 3 sets of 2 with 405 instead of 2 sets of 2. Either way, 405 really is not that hard for me anymore...especially after not doing a 330 lb bench press prior. Threw pullups in there with the curls to get some upper body work since I'm not benching and today would have been a double bench day. I also threw in some walking lunges at the end because I was just not feeling destroyed as I normally do after a workout like this. Could be that I get to take naps during the day when Olivia naps. If only I could get to nap at work...LOL! Probably could only happen in another space, time, or dimension.

-- Edited by winflex on Wednesday 21st of October 2009 11:14:17 PM

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

Still holding strong at 223. Can't believe the bodyweight I've put on. I'm holding steady though which means body comp changes are happening as I get stronger. Calculated my non fat body mass to be somewhere between 185 and 190 depending on if you ask the calipers or the handheld. I think at 6'2" I need to be heavier in the lean body mass and size to make a really big statement the next time I compete. Plus, I want to squat 405!!

Anyway, I finished prep phase 2 today aka the end of week 8 of this ridiculous program and it was an easy one:

Squat: warms, 175/5 210/4 245/3 3 280/3 3 3 3 3 3 (who knew I could be capable of this a year ago..and I'm calling this easy...WOW)
Press: 45/5 95/5 115/2 135/1 165/5 5 5
Curls: 5 sets
Goodmornings: 5 sets

Squats felt good. I wasn't totally into it but the form was picture perfect on every rep. The soreness from deads on Wednesday didn't affect me a bit. Press was heavy but was still moving. Got to get my hands on some platemates quickly. GM's provided a really nice hammy stretch.

Okay so now that the prep phases are all over. Its time for the peak phase to begin. It starts in week 9 with the evaluation of the lifts at near max levels which I will video next week on Wednesday. From there on out it will be all doubles, and triples at 80% tapering down to 70%...this is mostly to hone form, develop the speed strength aspect, and create some recovery. Then test day at the end of week 12. 4 short weeks to go. I actually like this part of the cycle because it has decreasing work but rapidly increasing results.

Thinking ahead, I said this last time I was coming to a close of the cycle but then I changed my mind. The likelihood of me changing my mind this time is a little lower though. I think I want to do a linear type program just to see where I end up at the end of it. I need a change of mindset and learn some instinctiveness about my training which is something that is missing from the Sheiko programming. I started the linear stuff with my overhead press and I've already put 10lbs on it. Its open ended and exciting to see what you can do session to session...so I dabbled and I'm ready to jump in head on with everything else too. But I'm also 28, and I can change my mind in an instant later on.

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

One word for tonight's workout: EASY. Its a mini-deload for the eval on Wednesday night. Although its an eval, I will be shooting for a conservative PR on Squats..which I think will be very doable due to my overall progress throughout the weeks leading up to this. I will be shooting for SQ: 335 (+5 PR), OHP: 167.5X5X3, DL: 455.
Here's tonight's quick workout:

Squat: warms, 175/3 210/3 245/3 3 265/2 2 2
OHP: warms, 166.25/5 5 5 (got my Platemates this weekend, I have a pair of 5/8lbers, and 1 1/4 lbers, this will come in handy for this lift big time).

Went home without a lick of sweat. Looking forward to Wednesday's eval. Will have vids too and analysis of the form just like last time.

Yoster · The Truth!

Can't wait to see how you do on your eval!!

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

Neither can I...
I had a hard time sleeping last night because I kept thinking about hitting that PR!
I'm a crazy man!!

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

I'M SO MAD I'M SO MAD I'M SO MAD...BUT I FEEL GREAT!!!

So the eval went great but there were some technical hiccups that are really annoying me right now but I'll get over it. Here's the log of tonight:

Squats: warms, 175/3 210/3 245/2 2 280/2 315/1 335/1**PR

Strict standing overhead press: warms, 167.25/5 5 5 (PR... I guess)

Deadlifts: 240/3 285/2 335/2 2 380/2 430/1 455/1 1* (only did this second single due to technical difficulties...AARGH!!)

First off, I forgot my digital camera which left me only the phone option...which lead to some disappointing events later in the workout.

Okay, so squatting went amazing. The PR of 335/1 felt only medium heavy. I did get it on film (at first...more on that later..which is why I'm mad). What I mean by medium heavy is that I'm not going to lie but it was the most I ever held on my back ever so the nerves were there BUT the execution of the rep was nearly flawless and smooth from beginning to end. It was a very fast one repper. It was a very different experience that my eval last cycle where I did 305/1 and struggled on my way up. There was absolutely no struggle and the way it looked on film was amazing.

Strict standing overhead press. Thank goodness for platemates. They are helping my continued progress. I felt really strong on these tonight thanks to an easy squat day. The PR was expected but nonetheless appreciated. I didn't video it and didn't plan on it either since it really just served as a rest between Squats and Deadlifts.

Deadlifts. Here's were technical difficulties led to an accidental erasure of the 335/1 Squat. For the deadlift, I only had one person to ask to video me. He was a very nice elderly man who is always helpful to me when I ask. So I greatly appreciate the help he gave me. He was having trouble working my video on my phone. It took a few practices before he understood not to hold the button down and not to hit it twice. So the first time I did 455/1 he hit it twice and it took my set up and that was it. So I had to wait 2 minutes and try it again. Not in the plan but luckily 455 was feeling light today. So I ran a practice with him first to make sure he didn't hit it [the record button] twice on this go round. He videoed the 455/1 successfully on the second try. This is why you see 455/1 1* on the log. I got it on video and was happy.

So there I am happy as a clam with my two videos and I decide to clean out the extra practice vids I had on my camera. Well all it takes it two button pushes to erase. I accidentally highlighted the squat video and erased it. I was bummed for about 5 minutes and then I got mad because I couldn't post it. But now I'm over it because in three short weeks, I will have it a much bigger PR and I already booked my baby bro to workout with me. He will most likely video every set I do since he likes to do that and we won't delete any of it. So it will be a fun time!! Nov 21st is the big day.

The way I look at it, last time I eval'ed at 305 for a struggle and then PR'ed on 330 on squat. Last time, I also eval'ed at 430 with some funky form and PR'ed on 460 on deadlift. So about 25-30lb increase from eval to test in each of those lifts.

I'm hoping to see at least that much this time if not more. I eval'ed at 335 without a struggle on squat tonight..and I eval'ed at 455 tonight TWICE...only two minutes apart...and there was no struggle either time. So maybe I'm going to shoot for 360 and up for squat in three weeks and shoot for 485 and up on deadlift. Time will tell...but I'm really excited right now!!!

Here's tonights' second deadlift (unfortunately no squats to show):

-- Edited by winflex on Wednesday 28th of October 2009 11:43:09 PM

-- Edited by winflex on Wednesday 28th of October 2009 11:44:01 PM

Yoster · The Truth!

Dwayne

AWSOME JOB - you are truely a beast!!! Know you will do even better next time!

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

RE: Dwayne's Long Offseason 2008/2009/2010

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

RE: Dwayne's Training Blog

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

Peaking is interesting compared to the prep phases. Prep phase 1 (week 1-4) gradually builds on volume and intensity from a baseline. Prep phase 2 (week 5-8) build on the baseline from prep phase 1, recycling the volume and intensity, and builds it up again.

Peaking does the opposite. Instead of building up, I'm starting right at the top and tapering down. So week 9 kicked it off with a high intensity evaluation. Week 10 is right at the max amount of volume and intensity of the entire program..and I'm glad I made it through because there were a few moments that I wanted to quit.

Thankfully, the taper kicks in next week with a moderate load, and then a light load week 12 before the test.

So here's how this week went:

Monday:

SQ: warms, 175/3 210/3 3 245/3 3 280/2 2 2 2

Press: warms, 170/5 5 5

Curls: 50/20

SQ: 195/3 230/3 3 265/2 2 5 3

I had to squat at a squat stand for the first round of squats instead of a power rack. So that threw me off a bit, but the good news is, it wasn't the first time I did that. The weight wasn't that hard at doubles but they definitely pre-fatigued me for everything else. Press was awesome, it was nice to hit that milestone..once again another PR. Just got to keep going little by little. Only 30lbs away from 200!!!

Round 2 of squats was a killer because my hips and legs were tired. I was supposed to do four triples but I misread my training log. So I rested a little longer before set three and made up for the the two missed reps by hitting a fiver. The last set was a triple and it was much easier after having completing the fiver previously. I am definitely going to a lower volume program after this cycle is over. 16 sets of squats is a lot and I've done more, but I'm gonna get old quick if I keep this up.

Wednesday: (Here's where I had some quitting thoughts and squashed them with my balls...LOL)

DL to knees: 240/3 285/2 2 310/2 2 335/1 1 1

Press: warms, 171.25/5 5 5

DL's: 240/3 285/3 335/3 335/3 385/3 3 3 (Just shoot me) 3 3 (Just shoot me)

DL's to knee weren't bad at all but they did affect me. They, just like the first round of squats on monday, pre-fatigued my entire system, making everything that much harder. Presses were again awesome...another PR. Loving every minute of that. My traps and delts are really getting more prominent. The coat rack is growing. I keep getting comments. A couple women at work have commented on my shoulders. People in the gym have commented on the increase in muscle mass. It is definitely noticeable now..and I have to go shopping this weekend for new clothes. Weight is now 228-230 range.

Last round of DL's was the hardest DL session of the entire program. Doing the 3 rep sets was not the problem. The problem was doing 5 sets of it. I was dying after the third set but I pushed through the last two with all the balls I could muster. If that doesn't create an awesome deadlift in two weeks, I don't know what will. Then I realized afterwards that I was only supposed to do 380...five pounds extra for 15 reps never killed anyone. I'm gonna go for 495 in two weeks...eff it! Five plates here I come ya bastid.

Friday:

Nice to lead off with...

Press: warms, 172.5/5 5 5

Squats: 175/3 210/3 3 245/3 3 280/3 3 3 3 3 3

Good mornings: 5 sets

Press was an easy PR today since I had nothing preceding it. Slowly inching toward 200, 1.25 lbs at a time, 3.75 lbs a week. 27.5 lbs left towards that goal, which is theoretically (if I can sustain this progress), 7 weeks!!

Squats were absolutely a challenge today because my back is still feeling the wrath of Wednesday deadlifts. I had to dig deep for that last set. I made the last set mostly off of eccentric-concentric elastic component of the muscle (aka the hammy bounce) and my hammies are SORE so that didn't feel so good. Also, it has been two heavy weeks in a row on this peak. Looking forward to the taper and a subsequent 365 squat on test day!

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

SQ: warms, 175/3 210/3 245/3 3 280/2 2 2 2 2
Press: warms, 175/5 5 5

SQ, I think I tweaked my right hip a little on the last set...nothing to worry about. Need to get a massage to work out the kink. Press, still feeling it in the upper back due to that deadlift session but I wanted to push the envelope today and go for 175 instead of 173.75. Hit the PR..Booya! Think I will keep the progression at 2.5 lbs a workout and 7.5 lbs a week...making me 3 weeks and 1 workout away from 200 (if I can maintain the pace).

I had to use the squat stand again today. I friggin despise the squat stand...but the rack was taken...and I wasn't going to wait.

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

Press: warms, 177.5/5 5 5
DL: 240/3 285/3 335/3 3 360/2 2 2 2 2
GM's: 4 sets

Press was awesome. No tweaks today. Another PR. I remember at one point only being able to press 180 for a RM. Will be hitting 180 Friday for 3 sets of 5 (and 200 for 3 sets of 5 in two weeks). Yeah Big strong coat rack baby!! Very thankful for the progress thus far.

DL's not great today but not bad either. 360 for 5 doubles was a chore but got easier as I got closer to the end. It was kind of a recovery workout for deadlifts today...well yeah..because I'm on a taper..DUH! Had to open my stance a tad to get a better arch at the bottom but that was about the only form tweak I needed today. Right hip feeling much better today. It was definitely just over rolled with the lacrosse ball prior to Monday's workout.

Yoster · The Truth!

Nice progress Dwayne!!