4/10

squat
60x8
150x5
240x5
290x3
330x2

put on briefs
420x1

put on suit
510x1
600x1 - good depth
650x1 PR + 50, but it was high. I will be able to get this with good depth when I'm feeling well and when I dont get the "up" call early.

My head felt like it was going to explode when I was near the bottom with 650. Still not over being sick, but everything went up quickly. I used my new knee wraps today and I love them - ATP two-ply convicts.





ssb box squats
255x3
345x3
395x3x3
I was worn out after that so I didnt do any accessory stuff.

4/12

bench press
45x15
95x12
135x10x2
185x6
225x4
275x3

put on loose Fury shirt
365x2

put on single ply Katana
405x1

put on two ply Rage X
495x2
525xf - My bar path went up towards my head. Good thing I have excellent spotters. Gotta keep my elbows under the bar.

I was pretty much spent after the heavy stuff, so no secondary work.

I did the light assistance stuff and called it a day.

cable rows
face pulls
high rep tricep pushdowns - I think these are helping keep my triceps & elbows from getting beat up.

Watching videos on island is pure AIDs so I figured I would ask: Have you figured out the losing the weight forward issue in squats?

Happy birthday!

I haven't had any problems since that one incident. I'm pretty sure I'm good in my squat shoes. I'm sure Priest would have suggested flat soled shoes if he thought that would be helpful, too. He never has.

Thanks!

Happy Birthday Cha!

Nice. Good to hear it was just a one time issue.

thanks!

thanks!

4/14

DL
245x5x3
335x5
425x2

put on briefs
515x1

put on suit
565x1
615x2 (90%) - ez

The plan is to do 90% of my goal this week, 95% x 1 or 2 next week, and 100% x 1 the week after before deloading the following week. I'll do the same thing for squats. I dont know what I'll be doing for bench, as we're still trying to get my form down with the new shirt and figure out what I'm capable of.

6" block pulls
605x3
655xf
625xf
idkwtf happened here. Maybe I ran out of gas from being sick or something.

GHR
15, 15, 20
added band - 12

4/15

speed bench
Priest was there on Wednesday for the first time ( he used to have other commitments on Wednesdays), and there were only three of us from Nemesis there total, so I talked to him about what I should be doing on speed bench day prior to the meet. Its not far off from what I have been doing. He says my "raw goal" should be about 390-400 right now. Based on that, I was to do ~60% of 400 for 8 sets of 3 reps last night, ~65% next week, ~70% the next week and deload the week after that. If I have a longer training cycle, I can go 60%, 65%, 70% & 75%.

245x3x7 - Priest kept talking so much to me that I cooled off after my 7th set. When I got going again, I figured it would be better to move on to assistance stuff rather than force a set of 345x3 cold. He agreed. fwiw, his speed day yesterday was 405x5x5 raw, and it did move fast The dude is a beast.

cable rows
face pulls

side note: Priest talked with one of the greatest lifters of all time on the phone the other day. I cant reveal his name. This guy said that our team (Nemesis) is the team to beat, not only in this state, but across the nation." and, "....not to worry about people talking ****, because that's what people do when you're on top. They put a target on your back. The problem with being at the top is staying there. Let the talking be done with your lifting." I wish I could say who this was, but he doesn't want his name associated with those comments because he doesn't want to get some other good teams mad at him. He is an awesome guy.

Priest was talking about how we have something like 7 people on our team with "pro" totals. He said I'm pretty close to a "pro" total too. I looked it up on the USPA classifications. Apparently, their "Int'l Elite" category is considered pro. Those #s for me (multiply, 50-54 years old, 220-242.5 lbs bw) would be:

squat - 729
bench - 583
DL - 632
total - 1944

I think by the end of the year I have an outside chance of hitting either squat or bench and total. I already have a pro DL - I just need to do it in a meet. So I guess there are some more goals for me.

4/17

squat
60x10
150x5
240x5
290x3
My left leg felt bad on these, so I put my briefs on one set earlier than usual. That made it feel a lot better.

330x3
380x2
420x1

put on suit
loose straps - 510x1
tight straps - 600x2 - PR, woot!



ssb box squats
240x3
330x3
380x3

GHR
15, 15, 20

4/19

heavy bench
45x15
95x10
135x10x2
185x6
225x4
275x3
315x1

put on single ply Katana. I'm trying to nail down what I can open with at the May 16 meet.
405x1 - ugly. I was shifting the weight back and forth trying to get it to my chest. I almost ended up touching my belt with it. I pressed it fine, but I need to clean up my form.
405xf, sort of. I got about an inch from touching and I started moving the bar back and forth again. Priest told the spotters to tale it before I touched. I figured I probably should use more weight to get it to touch more comfortably.
425x1 - I struggled a little less to touch, but still had some trouble near the chest. Once I did touch, the weight shot up fast. I think I need to open ~435 - 440. I'll try to get that number nailed down the next couple weeks.

put on two ply Rage X
495x1.5 off two boards
I felt tired at this point. My lower body got loose and the weight started rocking back & forth a little. I almost locked out the second one, but I got no leg drive at all on the second rep, which is why I failed it. I shut down the heavy stuff after this.

I'm not optimistic about using my two ply shirt at the May meet. I have a lot of stuff to clean up before I feel good about touching anything to my chest with that shirt. Hopefully I can do something like 441 with my Katana for my opener, then I'll have two shots at something like 500-525 with my Rage X. I'll be satisfied if I don't bomb out, and happy if I get in one good lift in my two ply shirt.

floor press
275x3x3

cable rows
195x12
210x10
225x8

face pulls
140x15x2

tricep pushdowns
70x30

spent

I posted this question in LC, but thought I might come here and bug you about it too..

I know you like your RKC planks for working on glute and core activation and strength... Do you have any thoughts on the ab wheel roll out? It seems somewhat similar in theory. Is it just FPS, or do you think it's useful for developing strength and/or proprioception in the core/glutes?

The ab wheel is great if you are already strong enough in the core to do it correctly. If you aren't, its not so good. You need to be able to keep everything flat, from your shoulders to your knees. If you can do that, its a fantastic core exercise.

4/21

DL
245x5x3
335x5
425x2

put on briefs
515x1

put on suit
605x1
650x1 (95% of goal) - after seeing this, Priest suggested rather than doing it again, that I move up to 97.5%.
665x1 - PR - woot!



6" block pulls (raw)
565x3
605x3
625x2 - I blacked out as I was setting the weight down. Weird feeling. It was like I fell asleep for a few seconds, then everyone is all around me asking if I'm ok. I felt fine. I figured I should shut it down after that though. It probably wouldnt have happened if I had taken a breath after the first rep. I feel fine still.

Thanks.

I think I currently am strong/skilled enough to do some reps with good form, but I definitely feel my hips tilting/lumbar arching on some reps, so I think I'll start doing more of these and work on my consistency.

Super beast. Nice work!

thanks!

4/22

speed bench
45x12
95x12
135x10x2
185x6
225x4
265x3x8
I seem to be getting better at the transition of turning my elbows out smoothly while the weight is moving up. It accelerates to the top fast right now with this weight.

push ups
15
+ band - 15
+ thicker band - 15
+ thicker yet band - 15 x 2

cable rows, face pulls & high rep tricep pushdowns

4/24

squat
60x10
150x5
240x5
290x3

put on briefs
330x3
380x2
420x1

put on suit
510x1
580x1
630x1 (95% of goal)


ssb box squats
255x3
345x3
395x3x3

GHR
15
+ 25 lbs - 12

4/26

heavy bench
45x15
105x12
135x10x2
185x6
225x4
275x2
315x1

put on Katana
405 off two boards x 1
445 off chest x 1 - I think my opener is going to be 441 at my next meet.

put on Rage X
495 off 2 boards x 1 - not clean. Getting this weight to touch two boards is hard with this shirt.
525 off two boards x 1 - PR. This was pretty good. I touched more easily than with 495, and I locked it out good. Priest said he thinks it will take at least 550 for me to touch in this shirt. Benching in a two ply shirt is really ****ing hard.

I was pretty exhausted after that.

floor press
275x3x3

cable rows
195x12
210x10
225x8

face pulls
140x15x3

4/28

DL
245x5x3
335x5
425x2

put on briefs
515x1

put on suit
605x1
645x1


685x1*
* - This would get red lights in a meet because the weight came down a little at the knees, but ****it, I'm counting it as a rep because I worked hard and locked this sumbitch out. If I had stayed back a little bit better, locked my knees out a little sooner, I would have had this for sure. I'm glad to know I can pull this weight, and I will get white lights at the meet if I dont make a technical mistake like I did here.



This is the last heavy night before the 5/16 meet. Next week I'll hit my opener for a double.

speed DL (raw)
435x3x4

GHR
15

Priest saw three of us doing GHRs and suggested an exercise I havent done before. I dont know what to call it. You get your legs straight in a GHR, put a barbell on the floor in front, grab the barbell, get tight and lift it up til you are in basically a plank position. Its sort of a cross between a back raise and a reverse-reverse hyper. It feels like reverse hypers do.
135x15x3
185x12
225x8

This is my plan for the meet as of right now:
squat (subject to change after Friday's session): 584/628/661
bench: 441 in single ply shirt/???maybe 557 in two ply if I can touch that weight this coming Sunday???/ ????
DL: 606/650 - 656/683

661/557/683 would get me over 1900. I need 1881 to qualify for UPA nationals as an open class (not masters) lifter. That would be a cool accomplishment at age 50.

UPA national records for my age / weight:
727
402 lol
540 lol
1670 I should beat this even if I bomb out in the two ply shirt. I'm pretty confident about hitting my second squat and second DL attempts right now, so if I miss my third squat & DL attempts and miss my 2nd bench attempt, I should hit a 1720 total, which I would be satisfied with at this point.

Can't bench because the weight isn't heavy enough. R.I.P cha. R.I.P.

On the plus side, holy f*ck. Getting close to 700 deadlift.

What's your bodyweight hanging around these days? You're looking pretty trim. Although perhaps it's because my frame of reference has gone from Cha vs. Yugo to Cha vs. gym full of 1000lb squatters.

I can bench single ply. I just havent leaned how to bench 2 ply yet.

I weigh ~231 when I get out of bed in the morning these days.

lol, yeah there are some great squatters (and benchers) there, but I have yet to see any of them pull >685 yet.