7/2

squat
dynamic warmup

65x10
155x5
245x5
335x3

briefs
425x2
515x1
605x1

suit & knee wraps
715x1
785x1 - 15 lb PR. My front to back balance was off on the way up, but there was no doubt I was getting this. When I get better at this, I definitely have 804 or more in me.


I needed to DL too because I will not be going to the gym Friday.

modified sumo DL
I left my tight 3 ply briefs on to see if I could get to the bar in them.
515x1 - this was in tight briefs and my DL suit with straps down. It went up very fast.

Straps up
625x1 - very fast
675x1 - 40 lb PR. Imperfect form - I got a bit forward with it, but there was still no doubt it was going up all the way. I like this new form. A PLing friend suggested to me on FB that I should move my hands in a bit. This worked very well for this stance. I think when I clean my form up, I have the strength for 711+.

625x1 practicing form a bit more

3 bench PRs in one workout followed by squat and sumo DL PRs. That’s a solid week!

yeah, thanks!

7/3

floor press
45x10
135x10
185x5
225x3
275x3
315x3
365x3. This didnt feel as good as last week. My right triceps seemed tight and they were giving me a bit of an elbow problem, so I moved on.

1 arm cable rows
140x15
180x12
200x12

face pulls
150x15x2

banded jacknifes
12x2

TRX fallouts
15x2

7/8

bench
45x15
135x10
185x5
225x3
275x2
315x1
365x1

2 board press in tight 2 ply SDP

585xsomething. I was at another gym and had spotters who were not familiar with me grab the bar when I touched low. One of my teammates was there and she said there was nothing out of the ordinary with it. bleh.

585x1 - hard to touch due to increased body weight, but it flew up fast.

I got a used 3 play SDP that has had the chest taken in a bit. The arms fit well, but the chest is too tight.

675 off 4 boards x 1. Uglier than **** on the setup, uglier than **** on the descent (I let half my air out in order to get it to move at all), but it went up fast. I cant use this shirt the way its set up right now at my current body weight. The chest is way too tight.

I put on the tight 2 ply SDP again
3 boards
725x1 - 10 lb PR

I wasted a lot of energy screwing around with the new used shirt and the extra warmup rep at 585. The people who own the gym looked like they were wrapping things up, so taking a lot more time to do secondary and assistance work was not going to happen. I decided to just do band face pulls and leave. At least I got another PR in.

7/9

squat
65x10
155x5
245x5
335x3

briefs (3 ply Predators) - omg these were so tight. I weighed 264.5 in the morning. It was very difficult to get into the briefs and breathing sucked. I could not hit depth until I got to 715 and that was very hard to get down there.

425x2
515x1
605x1

suit & knee wraps
The strings on the side of the suit no longer have much slack. I ordered longer strings last night.

715x1 - difficult to hit depth, but it shot up like a rocket once I started coming up.

805xf - The breathing issue was at its worst on this attempt. Picking the weight up actually felt fine, which is the first time 800+ has ever felt fine to pick up. On the descent, the lack of air and the fact that it was pushed up into my chest made me very unstable. My upper body got loose, either because I didnt have enough air or because maybe I blew a little out? Whatever, once I got to the hole, I had almost nothing to stand up.

805xf - I decided to push down the front of my briefs so that I could breathe better. That aspect of it was way better. Picking it up felt fine, but once I started descending, everything felt weird. I got forward with it, then tried to correct it, but never found a good groove. I had to stop short of reaching the bottom.

I think that either I need to lose 5lbs, the briefs need to be stretched out a bit, or I need to push down the front off them on the heavy sets. If I do the latter, I need to get used to how that feels on lighter stuff before I do another 800+ attempt. I definitely have 800+ in me if I can figure out ways to make everything work. I cant do it at 265+ bw and these briefs unless I push down the front to make room for air.

I figured I would get out of these briefs and put on my 2 ply blue briefs for secondary work. lolno. There felt about as tight as the newer ones. ****it. I did secondary raw.


SSB box squats to about parallel vs two red bands (maybe 60 lbs of tension?) anchored in front of the mono - this pulls you forward
335x3
425x1 - this was a little challenging
515xf. Everything seemed ok, until I tried to stand up off the box. I think someone put glue on the box, lol. I probably sat back on it too far. I dont know if I would have gotten it with better form or not.
475x1 - this was very challenging. I strained my right hamstring slightly on the way up, so I decided to shut it down after that. Its sore today. Hopefully I'll be ok for DLs Friday.

4/11

floor press
45x15
135x10
185x5
225x3
275x2
315x1
365x1
385x1 - 20 lb PR. This didnt feel great, so I backed off.
315x3x3

face pulls
150x15
160x15

seated cable rows
150x15
230x12
300x8 - this was kind of hard

TRX fallouts
15
20

7/12

DL
225x5
315x3
405x2

suit (tight 3 ply briefs and squat suit)
495x1
585x1
675x1
715xf
It was hard to get into a good setup position with the squat suit, so I took it off and put on my DL suit.
715x1 - WOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! 10 lb PR!!


After resting a while, I did a bunch of sled pulls, forward and backwards.

Nice!

Thanks!

7/14

bench
55x12
135x10
185x5
225x3
275x2
315x1
365x1

loose SDP
2 board press
585x1

I wanted to see what I could touch at my current body weight (261) in this shirt to help me dial in an opener.

off chest
615xf. I got it down ok, but I couldnt tell when it touched and everyone forgot to give me a press command. I think I held it for a couple seconds on my chest. When I finally got the press command, I shot it straight up and I couldnt correct it.

After that, I figured I could probably touch 605 ok.
605x1 - I smoked this one, but touching both these took a lot out of me, partially because it was so friggen hot and humid. I moved on to secondary work. At least I know that 606 will make a good opener in this shirt if I weigh around 260.


raw
3 board press
315x3
365x3
405x3
435x3 - this was hard.
455x1 - this was a grind. I only had about 2 or 3 minutes rest between the last set and this one too. It probably would have gone up better if I had been able to get a 5+ minute rest after tripling 435.

face pulls
2 sets

1 arm cable rows
the whole stack x 12 x 2

7/16

I was feeling good after my PT got my right hip fixed.

squat
65x10
155x5
245x5
335x3

briefs
515x1
everything up to this was fine

605x1 - ugh. This felt bad in the right hamstring. I strained it a bit squatting last week, then aggravated it a bit DLing Friday. It was feeling better, but now its not good.

I figured I would try something lighter. I put on looser briefs.
425x1. Right hamstring pain. No good. I shut down squats and did a bunch of sled pulls with just the 100 lb sled and two 45s. That didnt really hurt. I dont know if it helped or not.

Its fairly sore and stiff today.


On the bright side, my brand new triple ply SDP showed up finally (4.5 weeks after ordering it). I'm looking forward to breaking this shirt in and seeing what I am capable of pressing in it.

I dont know if I should skip DLs Friday or not yet.

7/17

floor press
I warmed up and did triples up to 315. It didnt feel good in my chest because I had no one handing off to me, so too much chest activation and too little back. I decided to shut down and move on.

~5 sets of chaos pushups.

Face pulls, pulldowns and TRX fallouts

7/19

My right hamstring and right hip felt like ****, so I decided to skip DLs and just drag the sled.

I did about 4 sets of backward drags, 4 sets of forward drags and 6 sets of row drags. I added a little weight on most of the sets. I think I started with 6 plates + the 100 lb sled and worked up to 11 plates (595 lbs total). It was hard, but it felt good.

TRX fallouts
15x2 abs were on fire

Got my brand new 3 ply SDP, size 58 chest and 56 arms. Looking forward to starting the break in process today. I'm excited to see what I can bench in this shirt. The hip and hamstring feel ok right now (fingers crossed).

7/21

bench
45x15
95x10
135x10
185x5
225x3
275x2
315x1
365x1

tight 2 ply SDP
2 boards
585x1

touch
635xf - nothing about this felt good. I did get it to touch, so at least I know I can touch 635 at ~260 bw, but my setup felt weird, I probably had my feet too narrow, and my hip is getting jacked up again. ****it. I moved on.


new 3 ply SDP
3 board press
675x1 - A bit hard to touch. Not too bad going up, but there waas zero chance of hitting another rep.

4 board press
675x2. Sloppy on the 2nd rep.

4 board /3 board
675x1, f.
This is where the board holder puts a 3 and a 1 board on you for the 1st rep, then pulls the 1 board for the 2nd rep. I got confused because I didnt see when she pulled the 1 board away. I held it at the top for a few seconds waiting, then I decided I better go anyways. I took it down and then realized she had snuck the 1 board away. I ran out of gas about 2/3 of the way up.

All that shirt work burned me out, and my hip was not feeling good. I think I need to just start out in the new shirt next week with only 6 plates and stay there and get some reps in so I can break this shirt in. I also need to fix my damn hip.

TRX rows
15x2

face pulls
2 sets

TRX fallouts
15x2

7/23

I squatted a few reps with just the bar and felt the sharp pain in the front of the hip, so I figured squatting heavy would not be good. I did a little machine work (leg extensions, curls and presses) and a bunch of sled pulls, mostly backwards and some forwards, along with a few other things like offset farmer walks, step ups and some PT stuff. My quads were on fire for most of the night from this stuff. None of it bothered my hip or hamstring.


7/24

I intended to do a bunch of chain pushups, but I felt chest tightness when I was doing them with no resistance. I did a bunch of pec activation stuff and they improved, but when I added a little resistance, the chest got angry again. I decided to do some 1 arm DB bench presses. Those were fine.

Then I got the idea of doing cable presses while seated on a high incline bench. Those really pumped my pecs up well; however, I was starting to feel tightness in the left pec minor that tore a few years ago. I stopped before any issues happened. I did some stuff to loosen it up and then my chiro worked on it the next day. Its ok.

Its obvious that I use so much back when I bench press, that my pecs hardly do anything. That's why benching 600-700+ doesnt bother my ribs but pushups do. I have been doing chaos pushups sometimes, but apparently I use my back a lot more doing those (pulling the band apart) than I do when I have my hands set in one spot. I ought to be doing more pec work to make myself less susceptible to the rib issues. I'll do that from now on. The PT gave me some light stuff to do, which I do somewhat regularly, but its too light to make a big difference. I think the seated cable presses are a good one to focus on for a while.

After the cable presses I did face pulls, 1 arm cable rows and TRX fallouts. Abs were burning by the time I finished.

7/26

DL (modified sumo)
225x5
315x3
405x2
Everything moved fast and I felt strong. The hip didnt bother me. The hamstring didn't bother me during the lifts, but after the 405 set, I felt a bit of tightness in the right hamstring, so I stopped.

sled pulls
backwards and forwards, ranging from 4 plates to 9 plates + 100 lb sled
I think I made 10 trips before the poor air quality started to affect me. This place is in a basement and the air quality sucks, plus it gets very hot and humid down there. People were going upstairs to the air conditioning to do rack pulls, so I figured I'd see if those felt ok.


conventional rack pulls about 2" or so below the knees
515x1 - beltless, fine. I got my belt to do the rest.
535x2
555x2
605x2
It felt pretty good to do these conventional stance. The hammy is a bit tight, but it doesnt feel like I aggravated it.

7/28

bench press
45x15
95x10
135x10
185x5
225x3
275x2
315x1
365x1

breaking in the new 3 ply SDP
4 boards
585x2 - I forgot to tell some of the spotters I was tripling this. Some of them tried to grab it after the first rep and then they took it after the second rep.

585x3 - fast

3 boards
585x3 - fast

raw 3 board press (flat footed)
350x3
405x3
455x2
475x1 - 20 lb PR. It moved slow, but I got it.


face pulls
2 sets of 15

1 arm cable rows
something x 20
whole stack x 15

incline cable press
3 sets of 20

TRX fallouts
15x2

The meet I have been training for in December that I thought I had a chance to win just opened up registration. I registered right away because I know it will fill up fast. There have already been 18 entries so far in two days, including 13 multiply lifters.

Dave Hoff says he wants a spot. He says it looks like a good meet to squat 1300 @ 275. Assuming he doesn't bomb out, I am competing for 2nd place at best now.

There's also a chance more of the best lifters will come to this meet. It will be fun to watch and compete in. I hope I can be at my best when the time comes.

7/30

squat
65x10
155x5
245x5

briefs
425x2
515x1
At the bottom of the 515, I got a sharp pain in the lower part of my right gracilis, right under where the VMO is. I guess it was a spasm. Time to shut down again, sigh.

RDLs
225x5
315x5
405x5
495x5x2

TRX fallouts
15x2

7/31

floor press
45x15
95x10
150x10
200x5
240x3
290x3
330x3
380x2

sled pulls, row style
Several trips with a ****ty sled and less than a huge amount of weight, maybe up to 450 or 500 lbs. It was ok for conditioning and my lats got a little work.

face pulls
160x15
170x15

TRX fallouts
15

I sat down to do some cable rows. I had my right hip joint bent more than 90 degrees. As I started to push with my feet and pull the weight to get myself into position, I got a sharp pain in the groin. This is the gracilis, but the other end of it.

Doc says the old L3/L4 injury is probably contributing to the issues I'm having with the hips and upper leg muscles. The fibula/tibia joint on the right is also contributing. I've been using my TENS unit to stimulate muscles all up and down the right leg and that is helping it feel better, but I need to fix the source(s?) of the problems if I am going to perform at the level I want to at the December meet.

I heard through the grapevine that the whole Westside PM crew is considering doing this meet here in MN in December. ugh. It was already going to be a very tough meet to take top 3, but if I cant be at my 100% best, I have no shot at top 3 from the sounds of it. There are already several other people registered who are going to be tough to beat even before the Westside crew joins us.

I was looking at Openpowerlifting.com the other day. The all time best total for anyone over 50 years old ever in all weight classes is 2305. I had my goal set at 2298 (843/705/750). I only have a slim shot at this even if I am 100% healthy, but I need to change my goal now to 2309 (854/705/750). If I hit a total like that in a meet like that, it would be awesome. As it stands right now, I think my openers would be 744/606/661, 2011. That would be a very nice PR, so it would be hard to be upset about that or anything better, but 2,309 would be the greatest thing ever for me. I need to heal up now and see how much stronger I can get by December.

The guy who put up 2305 was 52 years old and weighed 308.6. Karl Tillman, who has all the 275 records, is #2 on the list with 2303 @ 308.6. He put up 2276 at 275, age 54, for the highest 275 total ever. 854/705/722 would beat that. I cant get too excited about any of this right now considering the issues I'm having, but if I fix them, I have some fun goals to shoot for.

8/1

inversion table - 5 minutes



8/2

cat & camel - 10
~6 minutes on inversion table
x-band walks - 15 each way
walking spidermans - 10 total
bird dogs - 3 x 15s
1 arm farmer walks - 53 lb KB, 2.5 trips across gym each hand

modified sumo DL off 2.25" blocks
225x5
315x3
405x2

suit
495x1
585x1
Everything felt good and moved fast, but I felt a little bit of soreness in my right hamstring, so I stopped there.


sled work
pushed sled - 180x2 trips
pulled forward - 280x2, 325x2
pulled backwards - 325x2, 370x2, 460x1 (very difficult)
pulled forward - 460x1 while wearing 40 lbs of ankle weights (very difficult)

up & down 16 stairs with 40 lbs of ankle weights - 5 sets


Using the ankle weights and pulling the sled forward are two of the things Louie Simmons suggested to me back in 2011 when my injury was really bad. I am sure they helped then and they are helping now as well.


Low back/right hip & other leg muscles affected by back feel pretty good today. I need to continue doing this kind of stuff for a while.

8/4

bench press
45x15
95x10
135x10
185x5
225x3
275x2
315x1
365x1

triple ply SDP - break in week 3
3 board press
585x3x3
I did these flat footed to protect my back. Back didnt get nearly as beat up and they still moved well.

3 board press
365x3
405x3
455xf - Bad bar path - I shot it straight up.
455x1

push ups
12
+ 2 chains x 15
+ 4 chains x 12

TRX rows
15

I had done a bunch of other accessory stuff including face pulls prior to benching and I was tired out after this stuff, so I left.

8/6

Low back issues slightly improving. I've been doing at least 5 minutes per day on the inversion table.

Tonight I did a bunch of rehab/prehab back stuff in preparation of squats. The back/hip issue was ok.

squats
65x10
155x5
245x5

loose briefs
335x3
425x2
515x1

added chains
515 + 2 chains x 2
515 + 4 chains x 1
515 + 6 chains x 1 - Pulled right calf muscle badly. I cannot push off with the ball of my right foot without lots of pain.

I couldnt do much else after this that didnt negatively affect the calf.

Wife rolled the calf with the battlesaw. That might have helped slightly. I flossed it with a voodoo band. That might have helped slightly.

I did 3 sets of 15 reps of banded jackknifes. That didnt bother the calf.

Cryofreeze is good stuff. It helps everything feel better, but I dont think its going to fix this. Hopefully this gets better quickly.