Boris (May 3, 2005 - October 29, 2005) )

[Boris]

Tuesday, May 3 - BP
BP: bar x 10 x 2sets, 135 x 6 x 2sets
BP (w. chains): 135 x 6, 185 x 3, 205 x 3 x 4sets
BP (w. 2 chains): 205 x miss
BP: 225 x 3
Bent Over Laterals: 15lbs x 10 x 2sets, 25lbs x 10 x 2sets


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Wednesday, May 4 - SQ
SQ: bar x 6 x 2sets, 135 x 6
SQ (w. 2 chains): 135 x 6, 225 x 3, 315 x 3*, 335 x 3 x 2sets*

*=w. belt

That was it. 315 and everything after it felt very heavy.


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Friday, May 6 - BP
BP: bar x 10 x 3sets, 70lbs x 6 x 2, 115 x 6, 135 x 6, 225 x 4, 245 x 1, 260 x 1, 245 x 1

I was working w. a student and decided to work up to an ME today. 260 was veeerry slow and hard. I think I'll try to take next week relatively easy and just do some accessory work. I'm pretty beat - the lad's been sick and work's been tough. Things should lighten up a little after next week.


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Saturday, May 7 - BP
BP: bar x 10 x 2sets, 135 x 5 x 2sets, 225 x 1
BP (w. Rage X shirt - all partial reps - none touched): 225 x 1, 315 x 1, 335 x 1, 345 x 1, 365 x 1, 315 x 2

JM was in town and offered to help me out w. anything I wanted to do in the gym. Even though I had benched yesterday, I couldn't pass up the chance to try the shirt again.
I still wasn't able to touch. I think that I'm going to have to get a lot stronger before the shirt is really able to do much for me. I'm just guessing, but I will probably need to load the bar up beyond 365 to get the bar to my chest and I'm not at all confident that I'd have much of a chance locking that out. The plan is to bring up my overall upper body strength - in particular, my lats and triceps and give it another shot.
I'll practice w. the shirt whenever I have a chance. Hopefully, I'll be able to get a meet in this summer with it.


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Friday, May 13 - DL
DL: bar x 6, 135 x 3, 225 x 2 x 2sets
DL (w. 5 sec. hold at bottom): 225 x 1, 315 x 1 x 3sets
DL: 315 x 1 x 2sets (sumo), 405 x 1 x 2sets
Ab Pulldowns: 80lbs x 10 x 3sets, 100lbs x 10 x 3sets
Manta Ray Squats: 135 x 6 x 3sets

I felt pretty crummy today. The isos were hard, 405 were crazy-difficult, even 135 w. the manta-ray was hard. I was happy to get the workout in though and I hope it will be the start of some better training here in the next few weeks.

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Boris:
What is your current max in the bench? I saw that you have a new shirt (rage X), how many times have you had it on?

Freddy M

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My current best raw is something like 265. My best shirted is 301. I've had three sessions w. the RageX and so far haven't been able to get anything to touch. Johnny and I are probably going to have a bench session this weekend and I might give it another shot.

I woke up Sunday morning w. back spasms and barely able to walk... I don't know what happened. Of course, I'm inclined to think that I must have overdone it on Friday, but except for being sore, I didn't think I had done anything damage to my back. I'm thinking now that I just slept on it wrong and that, coupled w. fatigue caused my back to rebel... Today, I'm on the mend.


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What fed do you usually compete in?

Freddy M ( I just found out that I was registered not at this board but another ez board, from years ago, so I will log in on the old user name)
Showing off is the fools glory

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I've competed in NASA and APF and some non-sanctioned push-pull.

Welcome to the forum!

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Boris its still me Freddy (2000orDIE) I just found out that I did register at one time in the Global Power forum which is EZBoard as well.
Showing off is the fools glory

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All right. I was confused for a while. Do you usually go by Fred or Freddy?


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I go by Fred but EVERYONE turns it into Freddy or Freddy Mac. And I have no idea where that custom signature came from, I have never written anything like that in my life.


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Thursday, May 19 - SQ
SQ: bar x 6 x 2sets, 135 x 3 x 2sets, 225 x 3, 315 x 3, 225 x 15*
Ab Pulldowns: 80lbs x 10, 100lbs x 10 x 2sets, 120lbs x 8

*=w. belt

I decided to take the 100kg squat for reps challenge that was posted over at the Strength Discussion Forum ( p083.ezboard.com/fstrengt...1584.topic ).

Obviously, I'm horribly lacking in any kind of endurance contest... I'll do it again next week just so I can say I did 20, but it was not fun. My back was starting to feel it so I stopped a tad earlier than I might have otherwise. Overall though, my back felt ok today.

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15 reps is awesome Bachmann. I don't think I can go over 5.

-Tommy
____________________________________
"As you get older, you begin to learn more and more, about less and less, until you know absolutely everything about nothing."
- Anonymous


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Thanks Tommy. I don't really care about my muscular endurance, but it is a little humiliating. I'm sure you'd get a lot more than I.

Saturday, May 21 - BP
BP: bar x 10 x 3, 135 x 8, 165 x 3, 195 x 3, 225 x 2, 245 x 1, 235 x 3 x 3sets
Bent Over Laterals: 15lbs x 10 x 2sets, 25lbs x 10 x 2sets
Green Band Tricep Pressdowns: x10, x8, x8

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Monday, May 23 - SQ
SQ: bar x 6 x 2sets, 135 x 3, 225 x 3, 315 x 3, 225 x 21*

*=w. belt

I had to give the 225lbs for reps contest thing another try. I managed 21 so, for now, I'm not in last place... Unless people start talking smack over at strength-discussion, it's probably back to regular training.
Moose Call

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Tuesday, May 24 - BP
BP: bar x 10 x 3sets, 135 x 6 x 2sets
BP (w. chains): 135 x 6, 185 x 3 x 2sets
BP (w. 2 chains): 185 x 2, 185 x 1
BP (w. chains): 185 x 3 x 4sets
Bent Over Laterals: 10lbs x 10 x 2sets, 15lbs x 10 x 2sets
Bent Over Front Raise (DBs): 10lbs x 10 x 4sets

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Thursday, May 26 - SQ
GM: bar x 6, 135 x 6 x 2sets, 225 x 6 x 2sets
GHR: x8 x 4sets
Spread Eagle Sit-Ups: x20 x 3sets

Good Mornings were tough - out of practice.
Friday, May 27 - BP
BP: bar x 10 x 2sets, 135 x 6 x 2sets, 225 x 3, 245 x 1, 265 x miss*, 245 x 1, 225 x 4 x 3sets
Green Band Pushdowns: x10 x 3sets

*= Had a kid spotting me. I instructed him to not "touch the bar unless I'm in trouble". This turned out to be a bad idea because I ended up struggling with the weight for what seemed like forever until I managed to grunt out "take it" and then he barely helped me at all! I guess at least he wasn't screaming "IT'S ALL YOU MAN!" in my face. My fault though - I should have been more specific with my instructions.


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Saturday, May 28 - Lats
Barbell Rows: bar x 10 x 2sets, 135 x 10 x 4sets
Pull-downs: 120lbs x 8, 140lbs x 8, 160lbs x 8, 180lbs x 8, 200lbs x 8
Moose Call

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Monday, May 30 - SQ (w. Johnny M in IA City)
SQ: bar x 6, 135 x 6, 225 x 3, 315 x 1, 315 x 1*, 405 x 1 x 3sets*, 315 x 8*
Side Bends: 50lbs x 8, 70lbs x 8

*=w. belt

Worked out w. Johnny M today. Went pretty well. Felt pretty strong.


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Wednesday, June 1 - BP
BP: bar x 10 x 3sets, 135 x 6 x 3sets
BP (w. chains): 135 x 6, 185 x 3 x 7sets

[Boris]

Saturday, June 4 - SQ
SQ: bar x 6, 135 x 3 x 2sets, 225 x 2 x 2sets, 315 x 2 x 2sets*, 405 x 1**, 495 x miss, 405 x 2 x 2*
Ab Pulldowns: 100lbs x 12 x 3sets

*=w. belt and loose suit bottoms
**=w. belt, suit bottoms, wraps

Felt pretty good today. Doubt and negativity crept in w. my attempt at 495. I won't be able to work out much the next couple of weeks, so I'm trying to get a few more good training sessions in this weekend.

[Boris]

Sunday, June 5 - BP
BP: bar x 10 x 4sets, 135 x 6 x 4sets, 225 x 3 x 3sets

Felt like absolute garbage today. My elbows and shoulders were trashed from yesterday. Some rest is in order...

[Boris]

Saturday, June 11 - Training @ Takei Power Gym in Oono, Japan
BP: bar x 12 x 3sets, 70kg x 6 x 3sets, 120kg x miss, 100kg x 3 x 4sets
SQ: bar x 10, 135 x 6 x 2sets, 225 x 3 x 2sets, 315 x 3 x 2sets, 365 x 3

My wife found out about a small powerlifting gym near her parents' home. It's nothing special as far as gyms go, but it has nice benches and a squat rack.

The owner's daughter is a 19 year old former IPF Junior world record holder in the bench press. I talked to her for some time in between sets about equipment and technique. She showed me her form and I was amazed! I had heard about Japanese lifters maximizing their arch, but WOW!!!

I asked her to watch my form and after I did 70kg, she told me to move my grip out - I plan on doing this more regularly from now on. I then threw another two 25kg plates on and promptly pinned myself to the bench! Pretty embarrassing, but I took it down to 100kg (225) and did a few reps. She thought my form was pretty good.

I noticed some large diameter PVC pipe lying around and she showed me how they use it to develop their arch. Also, something I had heard about, but very impressive to see.

I'm hoping I'll be able to go one more time before I go home, but only a few days left. We'll see... If I go, I'll try to take some pictures and post them.

[Johnny Mnemonic]

Is this teenage girl stronger than Ali Huston?

[Boris]

No, she probably weighs 100lbs soaking wet. Very, very slim. She teaches karate as well.

I just can't get over that arch! If I could have a bench stroke like that, I'd add 100lbs to my raw bench press! I don't know if my back could ever take it though.

[Boris]

Tuesday, June 14 - SQ @ Takei Power Gym
Worked on bench press arch and technique w. Mr. Takei
SQ: bar x 6, 135 x 6, 225 x 6, 315 x 6*, 315 x 8*

*=w. belt

[Boris]

Sunday, June 19 - SQ
SQ: bar x 10, 135 x 6, 225 x 4, 315 x 3, 225 x 15*. 220 x 15*
Ab Pulldowns: 100lbs x 10 x 3sets

*=w. belt

I was hoping to better my mark of 21 reps w. 100kg for the challenge they have at the Strength Discussion Forum: s9.invisionfree.com/Strength_Discussion/index.php?showtopic=11&st=0
Everything felt heavy and once self-doubt creeped in @ about rep #10 on both sets, I was done for. Jet lag probably didn't help, but no excuses - it just wasn't there today.

[Boris]

Tuesday, June 21 - BP
BP: bar x 10 x 3sets, 135 x 6 x 2sets
BP(w. chains): 135 x 6 x 2sets
BP (w. 2 chains): 135 x 3 x 6sets
Green Band Tri. Pushdowns: x10 x 3sets

I used the 3.5" tubing that I got from Takei to loosen up my back and start working on my arch. I was surprised at how quickly I got used to that amount of arch - I'll probably be going to the hardware shop soon to get thicker diameter tubing.

I have a cold right now, I went pretty light, and I had to fly through the workout to get out of the gym before a bunch of students took over, but bench felt pretty good overall.

[Boris]

Friday, June 24 - DL
DL: bar x 6, 135 x 4 x 2sets, 225 x 3 x 2sets, 315 x 2 x 4sets
Saxon Side Bends (w. DBs): 5lbs x 8, 5lbs x 10, 10lbs x 8

I'm suffering from jet-lag big time right now. I just could not get to sleep (despite almost falling at the wheel around 9pm), so I ended up going to the gym at 2:30am!

I wanted to do some DLs. They were fast, but not the best form-wise. The last two sets w. 315 felt better. I probably need to stick w. relatively low weights for a while (less than 350) and work on maintaining form.

[Johnny Mnemonic]

Wow! You still have jet lag? Just keep hitting the gym my friend.

[Boris]

Friday, June 24 - BP
BP (wide grip, index finger on ring): bar x 10 x 2sets, 135 x 6 x 2sets, 185 x 6 x 2sets, 225 x 3 x 3sets
Green Band Pushdowns: x10 x 3sets

I'm trying to move my grip out, hoping that it will mean higher poundages in the future - it's going to take a while to get used to it!

Johnny, yeah usually it takes me a couple of weeks until I'm totally back in the swing of things. Working out helps though - I'll stop using jet lag as an excuse to put off workouts...

[Boris]

Monday, June 27 - DL
Platform DL (4" platform): bar x 6, 135 x 6 x 2sets, 225 x 3 x 2sets, 315 x 1 x 2sets, 405 x miss*, 365 x 1 x 3sets*
Manta Ray Squats: 135 x 6 x 2sets, 225 x 4 x 2sets

I had planned on doing Manta Ray squats and abs today, but I decided that I really need to ramp up my DL training if I'm even going to have a chance of DLing 500 at the meet in August.

This will probably sound stupid, but I had, what I would call a moment of lucidity that struck me - I said to myself "It's time to start working on my deadlift instead of working on my squat and pretending I'm working on my deadlift." I realize all the anti-WSers and "traditional" lifters are all saying "Well, duh...", but I guess it took a two year plateau and just enough frustration to finally come to grips with that.

[Boris]

Wednesday, June 29 - BP
BP: bar x 10 x 4sets, 135 x 6 x 2sets, 225 x 3
3-Board Press: 225 x 3, 275 x 3, 275 x 2?
BP: 225 x 3 x 2sets, 205 x 6
Green Band Pushdowns: x10 x 3sets

I was pretty frustrated today w. the 3-board press. I guess it just shows how pathetic my lockout strength is. Everything felt heavy tonight though and maybe it just wasn't my day, but I have a lot of board pressing and chain work to do between now and the push-pull I'm planning to do August 20th...

[Boris]

Thursday, June 30 - SQ
SQ: bar x 6, 135 x 6 x 2sets, 225 x 4 x 2sets, 315 x 3*, 365 x 3*
GMs (close, close, wide stance): 135 x 8 x 3sets

I wasn't going full-bore today. I just wanted to get in and get a not-so-intense training session in.

Everything felt pretty good except for the last set of GMs w. a wide stance. I forgot how these can really hammer your back if you're not careful and go deep.