Tell ya what....I'll squat more than 500 by June...that is a promise. I'm pretty sure I could do it today...but I'm going to make it look easy in June!!

Hey Dave...I probably will not be at the show this weekend since I usually train on Saturday afternoons. I might stop by the prejudging though if there is time--but it is very doubtful since I have a lot to get done this weekend.

Back at it today:

Squats: warms: bar/5, 135/5, 225/5, work: 315X5X5 easy took 1-2 minutes rest between sets....lots of sweating
Bench: warms: bar/ bunch, 135/5, 225/3, work: 285X10X4 easy weight but hard reppage...triceps felt like they would give out at the end of each set
Deads: warm: 315/2, work: 355X5X3, 355X10...was supposed to do 5x5 here but gym was closing and I had to get those last 10 reps fast....good thing it was a light weight today.

This session definitely was more of a endurance type for me. I took very short rests. My training partner and I did "I go- you go" style on bench...on two different benches. Also did minimal rest on the deads. Probably like 2-3 minutes at that point.

I realized at the end of this session that my conditioning is not very good. I easily get gassed and that is something I want to work on this training cycle. I shouldn't be getting gassed that easy with these light weights. So I have to figure something out with my cardio conditioning. It is perfect timing with the spring and summer weather coming up. I can get outside and enjoy it.

Might enjoy these if you're looking to improve your conditioning.

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/most_recent/cardio_for_strength_athletes

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/most_recent/conditioning_101

Squat: warms: bar/5, 135/5, 225/3, 315/3, work: 350X10 *PR

Bench: warms: bar/5, 135/5, 225/3, 275/1, work: 310X8X4sets

Deads: warm: 315/5 no touch, work: 405X5X3sets (no touch)

Squat workset:

Bench last workset:

The squat workset was a PR but a small one.  My best for 10 was 345....and it was fugly--during my short stint with GSLP.  This was not bad and I had more in me.  I was breathing like heck afterwards.  So it was good for my cardio too.  I took short rests throughout this workout so that was also good for my conditioning.  I cut my cals this week a little by cleaning up my food preparation so my energy levels were kind of low.  I think I will make sure to eat a little bit more the day before a squat bench deadlift session so that I'm not so out of it.  I also didn't get much sleep since the little one was up a lot last night...but she's getting some nice looking chompers--very cute : )

Thanks Serg!
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Very fast workout....

Press: warms: bar/5, 95/5, 135/5, 185/2,

work: 200/6,6,4,2 (I took even shorter rests this time..went I go you go with my training partner on separate racks...same weight as last week...but the shorter rest caused me to miss the last couple reps of the last set so I racked it and rested and got them.. no biggie)..,

drop 135/12 (easier than last week and 10lb increase)

Floor Press: warms: bar/5, 135/5, 185/1,

work: 225/5,5 235/5...easing myself in...triceps were mondo sore last week but it shouldn't be as bad this week. (Also went I-go-you-go stle on these)

Biceps: 21's with the bar....don't know how many but stopped when it felt like enough.

Stayed tuned for 365X10 this weekend. That's what Coach Steel sent me in the email. That will be a PR I'll be a little more excited about. Honestly, I just want to squat 405X10....maybe by the end of the year. I figure, I have trouble already finding pants that fit my squat-arse; so who cares at this point.

I'm feeling pretty recovered from 350X10 today. Last week I was still carrying some soreness from 315X5X5 since it was my first workout back from after the meet...but my recovery is getting better each week. I think pushing the rest periods helps with that too (maybe...maybe not).

Diet is in check too. Focusing on lots of red meat, green veggies, tuber starches, some fruit, H2O, and protein shakeys. Made a wicked Five spice beef short rib recipe on Monday night...it is fantastic. I made 5 lbs. I started it yesterday and I will be done with it today. Damn! Gotta cook again. Good news is that I'm down 5 lbs from the meet. I think it would be sick to compete as a lean but jacked 242...but at my height that might be an oxymoron. Bill Kasmaier was a SHW around 340ish and he was truly lean and jacked. I have a long way to go to even resemble that level of strength and muscularity...

/rant

Thanks Flee....Found another awesome recipe online for ground beef....but not just any ground beef.  Its Asian ground beef.  I chock full of goodies like onions, garlic, cilantro, cabbage, mushrooms, tamari, sherry, yum and yum.  Made it in the middle of the week and also, tonight with some lean ground beef.  My tummy is happy : )

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Squat: warms: bar/5,5 135/5, 225/3, 315/2, 350/2, work: 365X10 ->15 lb PR for a set of 10 over last week's 5 lb PR....and it was not bad...could've been better.

Bench: warms: bar/5, 135/5, 225/3, 275/2, 315/1, work: 350/4,4,4,4,4,4,6 (for a total of 30 reps)....Went with 4's here because I wanted to get multiple sets to practice my set up.  I took short rests between the 4's and went for a long rest before the 6 because I wanted to be done.

Deadlifts: warms: 315/3, 405/2, work: 425X4X4 (no touch)....left thumb is a little bruised (nothing terrible) from all the hooking I've been doing that last eight deadlift workouts.  My right thumb seems fully adapted but the left one is not as quick. It'll get there.

Hey Flee, thanks. 385 next weekend....I was assigned 8 reps...but I'm going to see if I can get 10. I will have to recruit spotters for that 30-45 seconds of hell.

I love to cook because I love to eat what I cook. I'm going to go basic tomorrow though. Just grill up some lean steaks. I made some Cuban picadillo last night for today's meals. It was pretty tasty. But I just want to do something quick for tomorrow. I'll get back to the "gourmet" this weekend.
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Presses: bar/some, 135/a bit, 155/3, 185/2, 210/5,5,5, 215/4,4,2

Was supposed to do 5X5 here. I choose 210 because it was about 80% and I wanted to push myself. But after three sets, I felt like it was probably a tiny bit too light. So I went with 215. That didn't work out but I stuck with it. My excuse is that my triceps are still a little under shock from the 350 for 30 reps on bench Saturday.

Skipped triceps work because they were already blown up.

Biceps: Seated incline curls for 120 total reps.

Was supposed to do 12 sets a piece for tri's and bi's but like I said, the tri's were done. So I just nailed the biceps. Had a pretty long lasting pump there. Also felt very good on my shoulders...a nice stretch.

Got my feedback from Coach Steel. He said the bench and squats were fine. So I'm happy with that even though things weren't going as I'd liked...but I still hit the minimums. Deadlifts comments were that I was too far over the bar, last rep I did a funny hitch thing that I really didn't need to do, first rep flew up and the rest deteriorated from there.

I think the first rep was good because my thumb wasn't hurting until after it LOL. Then the rest of the reps were off because my thumb was in pain. But I need to learn to look past the pain and remain in focus. It will get better with time but that shouldn't stop me from executing a perfect rep. Coach suggested that I wrap my thumb in tape for the hook. I'll start doing that next time. For now, though I will ice the thumb and if the pain is still unbearable, I will strap up the the left hand. Not ideal but the training must be done if I am to surpass a 600 pull.

Training on little time today.  So I had to keep the rest periods low and controlled. Main thing on my mind was "GET THE REPS."

SQ: bar/5, 135/5, 225/5, 315/3, 365/3, 385/3, 405/5,5--all felt really smooth. First set with 405 is blocked by spectators on video.  Pretty awesome having spectators LOL : ) Second set was a little harder since I had to keep the rest times low today.

BP: 135/5, 225/5, 315/2,2, 365/2,2, 385/2,2, 405/1...Luckily my buddy Mark was there and he was able to help me out with the lift offs.  This was I go you go style with him.  He was doing back in between my bench sets.  Worked out pretty well. Killed it in a timely fashion.

DL: 315/1, 405/1, 475/1,1,1,1,1,1...by the time I got to deads, I was drenched.  Good thing it was "only" singles today.  Haha only.  I tried to used the reverse hook with my left hand (thumb over pointer and middle finger) on the first two sets.  While it served its purpose, it just felt weird having each hand hooking differently.  3rd set I did the regular hook with both but that was a bad idea since my left thumb was still not ready for it.  I went back to alternate grip for the last 3 sets and it was better than last week but still, I was a little too forward.  I'm going to have to get a few more angles next week to try to figure this out.  You can tell I'm forward because the angle between my upper arm and my lats is not 90 degrees as it should be.  I'm starting to get fed up with my deadlifting lately....but hey, here's an area where I can really focus on improving.  That's a good thing.

-- Edited by winflex on Saturday 19th of May 2012 07:30:31 PM

Dwaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnneeeeeeeeeeeeee

When are we going to the big guy hit the stage?

Paused SQ: 135/5, 225/5, 315/2,2,2,2,2,2,2...my left hip had to get used to holding this position..but once it did, these felt great!!

vid:

 

Paused BP: 135/5, 225/3, 315/2,2,2,2,2,2,2..Got easier as the sets went on. Felt good.

vid:

 

DL: 225/3, 275/2, 315/1, 365/1,

415/1,

470/1,

505/1,

525/1,

Changed up my stance.  Opened it up a little bit. I could squeeze the chest up better....and I was able to squeeze  at the top instead of the weird ramp I was doing before.  The reps were definitely smoother.  Although this stance felt a little weird off the ground, it was definitely an overal improvement.  Probably it felt weird because I was maybe a little too close to the bar which took my quads out of it too much.  Good thing weird things get better with practice.  It clearly wasn't a detriment to the weight I could lift.  With practice this should be a more efficient pull.

 

-- Edited by winflex on Saturday 26th of May 2012 03:54:44 PM