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Post by rpmcmurphy on Jul 14, 2010 6:45:03 GMT -5
Intervarsity Lead Up Week 3 - Wednesday 14/07/10
Bench 1x3 @ 55kg(121lbs) 1x3 @ 65kg(143lbs) 2x3 @ 70kg(154lbs) 5x2 @ 80kg(176lbs)
Deadlift 1x3 @ 120kg(264lbs) 2x3 @ 145kg(319lbs) 2x3 @ 155kg(341lbs) 5x2 @ 165kg(363lbs)
Good Mornings 5x5 @ 60kg(132lbs)
DB Pullover 3x8 @ 15kg(33lbs)
Planks 30 sec efforts 2 with 1 hand 2 with 1 foot 60 sec effort Both hands and feet
- So as I'm typing up my training session... I realise I completely forgot to do close grip bench / flies. Oh well, I'm sure I'm not going to die. Might bang out 3x10 close pushups in a minute.
- Bench felt good tonight, cranked shoulder blades down hard and tried to set up really tight. Most reps on 80kg were paused and all felt crisp and controlled.
- Deadlifts felt rubbish at first, decided to get my head in the game and not be psyched out. Set up hard and really extended my spine before starting the pull and the remaining reps felt a world better. With that being said, I got a sharp burning sensation on the lower left side of my abdomen on 1-2 reps... Should I be getting checked for a hernia?
- Good mornings were heavy. I wasn't focusing on what I was doing for the first 3 sets, fixed this up for the last 2. Won't change from this weight for a little while.
- Cross bench pullovers were another exercise I've decided I may throw in to the mix, if not just for the great stretch I feel in my lats when doing it. I'll keep it this weight and up the reps.
- Abz were good tonight, last set @ 1 minute was reaaaaaaally hard.
- Stretched a LOT in this session. Was stretching calves, hip flexors & glutes between sets as well as hamstrings with the GM's. Probably a habit I should try and keep...
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Post by Boris on Jul 14, 2010 21:41:32 GMT -5
I would be a little worried about that pain Tom. If it doesn't go away, I would certainly see someone about it.
With the cross-bench DB pull-overs, you might try taking a deep breath in as you lower the weight. You should extend the stretch through the ribcage and t-spine if you do.
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Post by rpmcmurphy on Jul 16, 2010 22:40:07 GMT -5
Thanks Boris, I'll keep both points in mind.
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Post by rpmcmurphy on Jul 16, 2010 22:41:21 GMT -5
Intervarsity Lead Up Week 3 - Friday 16/7/10
Skwatz 1x3 @ 80kg(176lbs) 2x3 @ 95kg(209lbs) 2x2 @ 102.5kg(225lbs) 3x2 @ 110kg(242lbs)
The king of all lifts and the ultimate test of a man's masculinity and worth 1x3 @ 55kg(121lbs) 1x3 @ 65kg(143lbs) 2x3 @ 70kg(154lbs) 4x2 @ 75kg(165lbs)
- Quick session tonight, had to git-r-done. Next week is the last week, 2 training sessions and then competition on Saturday.
- Trained at North Sydney PCYC under the watchful eye of Dr. Boris.
- Squats felt fantastic, squatted in my chucks as lifting shoes were left at my home gym. Depth wasn't an issue and all reps felt luvverly. Got a few comments / suggestion for form but all in all very happy.
- Bench felt good, all reps were paused & easy.
- Stretching every night this week, I'm determined to fix my flexibility issues & rid myself of my lumbar rounding in the squat.
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Post by peterako on Jul 17, 2010 2:47:23 GMT -5
"The king of all lifts and the ultimate test of a man's masculinity and worth" Leg extensions?
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Post by rpmcmurphy on Jul 17, 2010 3:03:57 GMT -5
"The king of all lifts and the ultimate test of a man's masculinity and worth" Leg extensions? Tricep Kickbacks Bench Press, actually. Simply because whenever I tell anyone I lift weights the first question is "So... what do you bench?" Funny story - I was with one of my mates who is a very strong young man (best bench of 275kg @ 110kg Bodyweight). Someone asked how much he benches, he replied with "275". Their next question?... ... ... "How many reps?" >.<
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Post by rpmcmurphy on Jul 21, 2010 3:21:18 GMT -5
Pardon the lack of updates, this week was deload week so there doesn't seem to be much point in reporting. Here's a brief summary:
Monday
Bench Worked up to 3x1 @ 75kg(165lbs) - Felt easy, as it should.
Deadlift Worked up to 4x2 @ 155kg(341lbs) - Surprisingly these felt pretty bloody hard. I think it was more a grip issue than anything else (the whole "Your body won't pull what your hands can't grip". Bar I'm using is thicker than a standard bar which makes it a bit difficult
Wednesday
Squats Worked up to 3x2 @ 102.5kg(225lbs) - Felt good, a little tight at the bottom of the hole but probably didn't stretch my adductors enough prior to beginning. Felt very strong on all reps however.
Bench Worked up to 3x2 @ 70kg(154lbs) - E.z.Pee.z.
Bring on Saturday morning! For openers I'm thinking 140/95/210. I want to hit 155/105/227.5. We will see what happens and what various sources of guidance think.
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Post by Boris on Jul 26, 2010 1:45:39 GMT -5
Well, how'd it go?
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Post by gable on Jul 26, 2010 8:50:21 GMT -5
"The king of all lifts and the ultimate test of a man's masculinity and worth" Leg extensions? Tricep Kickbacks Hahahaha! Awesome! Great work lately too. The abdomen pain go away?
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Post by rpmcmurphy on Jul 28, 2010 5:11:12 GMT -5
Intervarsity Comp D-Day.
Squat 1st: 140kg(308lbs) 2nd: 150kg(330lbs) 3rd 155kg(341lbs) X
Bench Press 1st: 95kg(209lbs) 2nd: 100kg(220lbs) 3rd: 107.5kg(237lbs)
Deadlift 1st: 210kg(462lbs) 2nd: 227.5kg(501lbs) X 3rd: 227.5kg(501lbs) X
Notes
- Meet was at 9am on Saturday morning. Was feeling pretty good going in to it, though a little put off simply because it was fairly early in the morning and I almost always train in the afternoon. At 7:30am I weighed in at 107.5kg. Made sure I took time to warm up properly with mobility/stretching stuff. Big thanks to Boris for helping me out on the day.
- Squats felt alright on the warmups, a little rushed as I lost track of time (last was a single on 120kg/264lbs). 1st attempt was alright, however I lost tightness in the hole, my hips shot up and I ended up having to Good Morning the weight up. I had the strength to do it, but this strategy was not optimal. 150kg was a similar story, I lost it in the hole, hips popped up and form went to buggery as I used brute strength to lock out a weight (as opposed to brute strength + good technique). I was notified after the attempt that a spotter had touched the bar on the way up and as such, the lift didn't count. I was given the option to take the attempt again at the end of the round (in about 3-4 minutes). I declined, as I'm not really fussed as to whether or not in counts "in competition". I took 155kg for my final attempt and I'll admit I didn't have the best mental attitude going in to the lift. My hips popping up hasn't happened in a while and it was bugging me that it was now. I took the weight out of the rack, descended, but the same thing happened again. I was bummed but still happy with a 5kg PR. More on this later...
- Bench Press was feeling pretty good in warmups, though it's hard to do too much for an opener of 95kg(209lbs). Don't have much to say about these lifts, they all came up well and felt great. On the 107.5kg (final attempt) I hit the rack with the bar on the way down, but thankfully stayed tight and focused and powered the weight up. Feels good to finally bench >100kg(2platesperside) and also bodyweight. This was a 12.5kg PB over my previous comp best.
- Came time for deadlifts and I was amped to have a crack at 500lbs. As I was warming up though, weights were feeling quite heavy. Both 170kg & 190kg felt like they could have been openers so this had me a little worried. With that being said, deadlifts over 150kg always feel heavy so I figured I'd just knuckle down and see what happens. 210kg was the opener and it came up well albeit a little slowly. 227.5kg was loaded for the second attempt, I walked up the bar and... didn't budge it off the ground. Same deal as my squats, my hips shot up and the lift went to crap. I was frustrated as I've been focusing on trying to set up tighter recently however it didn't seem to come together on the day. I was going to pass on my third but was told by my mate Damo something to the effect of "Man up". Went out and had a crack, moved it a good 4-6 inches off the ground this time but was undone again as my hips shot up and the bar went way forward. Disappointed I didn't get the lift but considering I'd had such massive increases in my deadlift strength recently I guess it was going to slow down sometime.
- So my post comp analysis is that, when training at home I have become complacent with my form. I'd noticed on a few occasions that I was letting my hips come up a little quick in the squat but without someone else yelling at me to fix it I think I was being too lenient with myself. So in an attempt to fix this I've decided to start training at North Sydney PCYC again. The extra eyes and the different environment I believe will help to keep me honest.
- I'm also going to be trying different programming (though still focusing on increasing my powerlifting total). I've been talking to 1-2 guys about what they do and have decided to give it a crack. When I have a more exact idea of what I'll be doing, I'll post up the routine. For now, in summary, it will be 4 days a week, still focusing on the big lifts but with a bit more accessory work as opposed to Sheiko.
- The rest of the weekend was a f**king ball. I stayed at the competition for 15 hours on Saturday watching people lift and Sunday was awesome as the big boys were lifting and I was in the thick of it helping a friend warm up. Got to see some huge totals and some ridiculously strong guys. As well as this, saw a number of competitors who look far more solid/strong at 110kg than I do. I need to re-focus and smarten up. Eating has been lax lately as has stretching. Next competition is the Matti Tikka on December 5th. I aim to be a great deal stronger and bigger by then. 16 weeks of good training, let's boogie.
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Post by rpmcmurphy on Jul 28, 2010 19:37:29 GMT -5
Gable- No sign of ab pain since I last spoke of it. I only felt the pain as I was deadlifting, once the bar was on the ground I was fine. No sign of it on comp day so that's s good sign I guess
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Post by rpmcmurphy on Jul 29, 2010 5:43:08 GMT -5
Be Alert. The world needs more Lerts. Week 1 - Thursday 29/7/10
Squats 1x5 @ 40kg(88lbs) then add 10kg, do another 5 reps up to: 1x5 @ 100kg(220lbs)
Chinups 3x5
Pushups 3x10
- Just a quick session, trying to make sure the weights don't feel so-d**n-heavy when I start up properly next week. I'll probably try do another similar session on Saturday afternoon.
- Squats started off alright, playing around with my technique and trying to make sure I keep my chest up. I probably should have called it at 80kg, both 90 & 100 felt strangely heavy today. Ah well, done and dusted now. I'm about to do some stretching while watching TV.
- Chinups and pushups were just to get the elbows & shoulders moving a bit.
- Heart rate was way up by the time I finished this session... I need to start doing some cardio.
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Post by rpmcmurphy on Aug 2, 2010 4:43:55 GMT -5
Matti Tikka Lead Up Week 1 - Monday 02/08/10
Bench Press 1x5 @ 40kg(88lbs) 1x5 @ 50kg(110lbs) 1x5 @ 60kg(132lbs) 1x3 @ 70kg(154lbs) 1x1 @ 80kg(176lbs
1x5 @ 85kg(187lbs)
Flat Dumbell Press 3x8 @ 22.5kg(50lbs)
Chinups 35 reps in 10 sets
Press 3x10 @ 32.5kg(72lbs)
- First proper day of training leading up to Matti Tikka on the 4th of December. I'll now be training 4 days a week.
- Mondays is Bench + Assistance. I work up to a heavy set of 5 on the bench and then proceed to do assistance work, targeting raw bench & lats.
- Bench felt good, the 5 was a bit awkward as I'm not used to touch-n-go bench (had been doing most of the bench in my last cycle paused). Nonetheless, felt good. I'll probably have a crack at 87.5kg next week and try to keep moving it up from week to week.
- Dumbell presses felt surprisingly heavy, though I haven't done them in quite a while. I'll have a go at moving up in weight next week. After a while (as work capacity increases yada-yada) I'll do 10 in each set and then add another set altogether. After that caps out, I'll switch over to incline presses.
- As many sets as possible to hit 35. Hopefully will be 9 sets next week. Just doing this with palms facing toward me about 30cm(12in.) apart.
- Been a while since I've done such high reps on the press haha. 32.5kg brought on quite a pump. I'm going to keep the reps high as I really want to try and promote a bit of growth in my shoulders.
- That's all I've got to say about that. Wednesday is deadlift day.
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Post by peterako on Aug 3, 2010 8:31:44 GMT -5
Great work Tom!
You broke your 100kg Bench barrier!
No stopping you now!
It's all in the mind!
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Post by rpmcmurphy on Aug 4, 2010 6:55:38 GMT -5
Matti Tikka Lead Up Week 1 - Wednesday 04/08/10
Italics indicate warmups
Deadlifts 1x5 @ 60kg(132lbs) 1x5 @ 100kg(220lbs) 1x3 @ 140kg(308lbs) 1x1 @ 162.5kg(358lbs)
3x3 @ 175kg(385lbs) 2x2 @ 175kg(385lbs)
Squats, Low- Bar Squats 2x5 @ 40kg(88lbs) 2x5 @ 60kg(132lbs) 1x3 @ 80kg(176lbs)
5x5 @ 90kg(198lbs)
Hip Extensions 5x8
Decline Bench Situps 3x10
Curls 3x10 @ 20kg(44lbs)
- Deadlifts felt HARD and heavy tonight. First set was good, second set was rubbish, third set was marginally better. Last two sets my back just felt too knackered to hit the last reps. Next week I'm going to knock the weight back to 165kg(363lbs) to make sure I hit all the reps right.
- So... I tried low bar squats again for the first time in a while. Mother of god, squats have not felt this stable in a long time. Good bounce out of the bottom, no worrying about weight distribution on the feet, depth was good and kept my elbows down. I will probably try low bar again on Saturday (squat day). As long as I can keep the bar in a good position I think this could be the goods...
- Was meant to do Good mornings instead of hip extensions but my lower back was friiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiied. Absolutely fried. Hip extensions felt good anyhow as I was really able to focus on hard glute contraction. This is an area that I really need to focus on (glute control). Plenty more hip flexor stretching and glute activation exercises.
- Decline sit ups felt alright, will probably keep them in.
- Curls for the girls.
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