2/13

floor press
bar x 15
95 x 10

added band hooked about 4' behind the bar
95x5

Attempted to add heavier band. It was too much for this type of movement, so I decided just to load weight and keep the original band.

135x5
225x5
275x3x3

1 arm cable rows

face pulls

2/15

squat
65x5
155x5
245x5

Wife is going to do a meet in gear in a few months, so we visited some people we know who have lots of used gear. We bought her a DL suit and they're letting her try out a squat suit. The guy has a bunch of gear that is too mall for him - he usually lifts at 275. He gave me a pair of briefs and a DL suit to try out. They are brand new Overkills that are very similar to my new pair that is too tight. His briefs fit snug on the legs and belly, but they are a little lacking in hip support for me. I used his briefs for all the following squats.

335x3
425x2
515x1

suit & knee wraps (training a guy to wrap me)
605x1 with suit strings completely loose
665xf. I got a little forward and couldnt recover.
665xf. It felt like I had nothing when I got the up command. idk if its because the briefs have too little hip support or if I did something wrong or what.

Everything before the 665 felt good in those briefs. I used them for secondary and that felt good too. I think they would be perfect for me now if they were a little tighter in the hips, but I dont have time to get them altered before the next meet. My new tight briefs, which are very similar to these, will probably be great once they get a lot more broken in, so I dont think buying these briefs would be a great idea - he wants $100 for them since they're new, but altering them would probably cost another $75 or so, which isnt that much less than a brand new pair would cost, and in the end I'd have something almost the same as what I already have.

ssb squats with chains
325 + 4 chains x 3
325 + 6 chains x 3
375 + 6 chains x 3
375 + 8 chains x 3
I love these.

GHR
15
vs blue band x 15
vs blue and green band x 20 (pretty much failure)

2/17

bench press
45x15
95x12
135x10
185x5
225x3
275x2
315x1

looser SDP
2 boards
495x1

1 board
545x1
585xf - I left the collar up too high. I got the weight almost to lockout, but just couldnt finish it. If I adjust the collar down slightly, I will for sure get this.

tighter SDP
1 board
605x1
This was pretty ugly. I had this collar too low, so touching it to the 1 board was hard. The bar was floating as it touched the board, but I didnt control the weight before pressing it. Then I let half of my air out on the way up, but I still easily locked it out. It would for sure have been 3 red lights, but its good to know I can move this amount of weight upwards with relative ease in this shirt. I need to get a little better with positioning the collars appropriately for the amount of weight I'm pressing in both shirts.

My SHW teammate bought a new blue SDP size 58 (my size) and he asked me to help break it in. The blue material is supposedly more stretchy than the black. This shirt has bigger arms and is way tighter in the chest than either of my shirts. With a new SDP like this, you need to use high boards for a while.
585x1 off 3 boards
Getting my hands out to the rings was very difficult. It wasnt too hard to touch to a 3 board because that's a lot of weight for me, but it wasnt easy and I heard some pops in the shirt. I dont know how my huge teammate is going to fit into this thing anytime soon. Pressing was fast, but this still took something out of me.

floor press
245x3
265x3
285x3
305x3
325x3

1 arm cable rows

face pulls

2/19

DL
225x5
315x3
405x2

suit - this is a borrowed Overkill suit that belong to the guy who let me borrow his briefs. Its a sumo suit. He said it would work well for conventionals too. idk. I think I like my DL suit better. This Overkill has 3 plies on the back and two plies on the front, so I didnt use briefs with it.
495x1
555x1
605x1
A teammate was fooling around doing FPS on the straps to make them very tight. I attempted 605 again and missed it because the suit pulled me forward. That actually took a lot out of me, so I moved on.

sumos
I have been considering doing sumos as secondary work for a while, so I figured why not do them while wearing this sumo suit?
440x1
480x1
These were loaded for a teammate and the weight seemed appropriate for me since it had been so long since I pulled sumos. The first rep, I started to fall backwards because it was so light. That didnt take much out of me, so I just reset and pulled the 440 with better balance right away.

I felt like pulling more, so I called for 545. I didnt notice that one teammate forgot to load a 25 on one side. It felt crroked as I pulled it, but I finished it anyway.
520x1
585x1 - this probably looked fine, but it was not easy. I figured that was enough sumoing for the day. If I had to guess right now, I'd say my max sumo is about 20-30 lbs behind my conventional DL. I'm sure I could pull over 600 sumo with a little practice, but it would take me a while to pull much more than that. I'll hang onto the suit for now and maybe try again. I might send my conventional suit to Ginny to get the legs taken in about a quarter or half inch while I have this sumo suit.


RDL
225x5
315x5
405x5x2

GHR
20, 30
lolcardio

2/20

floor press
45x15
135x10
185x5
225x3
275x3

added band way behind with probably too much tension for this
225x3x5
These were hard and my upper back and neck were pretty fried for a couple days afterwards. I need to use less band tension when I do this again.

1 arm cable rows

face pulls

chaos pushups

2/22

I felt like ****. This was because of not getting enough sleep because of the upper back & neck soreness from the previous workout. I was stiff and sore all over and had no energy.

squat
65x5
155x5 - adductors felt like ****, so I put briefs on

Inzer briefs
245x5
335x3

tight overkill briefs - it was miserable trying to get into these. I spent about a half hour hanging from a carpet puller and wiggling to get them about halfway on. I made the mistake of not using my suit slippers.
425x2
425x1
515x1

I spent another half hour hanging and wiggling to get them about 3/4 of the way on.

suit with laces pretty loose & light knee wraps
605x1 - I actually hit depth. Getting there was miserable. Standing up went fairly fast.

Tightened the suit laces a bit and got a slightly tighter knee wrap
680x1 - I hit depth again, which was miserable again. Coming up with this was slightly harder than the 605, but it wasnt bad. I lowered my 3/23 meet training goal to 716, which would be a small meet PR, but well short of a gym PR, because I dont have my strength back yet.

I think I can maybe use these briefs at the 3/23 meet. I was thinking about my attempt numbers last night. As of now, 639/678/716 seems ok if I can make these briefs work.

I had to stop after primary squats because I had nothing left and I felt like ****. I did sleep better last night and I feel quite a bit better now than I did yesterday.

2/24

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

looser SDP
2 boards
495x1

off chest
545x1

tight SDP
off chest
585x1 - this was hard to touch. Pressing wasnt too bad.


1 board
I lowered the collar of the shirt a little.
615x1 - this was hard, but after looking at the video, it looked easy. Touching the board was hard. Its clear that the collar position is very important when I use these shirts.


My CNS was pretty fried after these, so I took it fairly easy afterwards.

3 board press raw
315x3x3

1 arm cable rows
2 sets

face pulls
2 sets

next level chaos pushups
10, 10, 12
I like these.

2/26

DL
225x5
315x3
405x2

red Overkill suit
495x1
565x1
615x1 - this was probably the slowest DL I can ever remember doing. It would have gotten white lights, but it was way harder than it should have been. I dont like this suit. I think I might be able to pull more raw than with this suit. I only used it because I sent my suit in to get the legs taken in a little. I doubt I'll have my suit back next week. idk what I am going to do for DL training next week.

I want to break in my tight briefs, so I out them on and did squats as secondary work. I did these in my New Balance Minimuses, not my squat shoes.
335x3
425x2
515x1
565xf - With the flat shoes, I had a difficult time finding my balance, so this went down way too slow. I kept going down trying to hit depth. When I finally got there, I had nothing to stand up with.
335x3

GHR
20
raised foot plate halfway up - 20
raised foot plate all the way up - 7. I had to move the foot plate closer with it all the way up. That worked way better - 12.

2/27

floor press
45x15
95x10
135x10
185x5
225x3
255x3
275x3
295x3
315x3


1 arm cable rows
150x20
180x15
200x12


chaos pushups
10, 12, 15


face pulls
140x15x3

3/1

squat
65x5
155x5
245x5

tight briefs
335x3
425x2
515x1

suit & knee wraps
605x1 - probably hit depth with suit laces loose

700xf - My feet were too far back when I picked it up, so it took me a while to get my balance, and I never really got it. I should have reracked it, but instead I took it down poorly and couldnt stand up.

700xf. This one was going fine until I got about 1/3 to 1/2 way up and I got the bar forward an inch or so.


briefs only
425x2x3


Lots going on, so I cut secondary short and skipped assistance work.

3/3

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

looser SDP
2 board press
495x1

off chest
545x1 - this went pretty well. Collar height is the key.

tight SDP
off chest
585x1 - touching was fairly challenging. Pressing wasnt easy, but I got it ok. I definitely have more in me than this.

605xf - I lost tightness in my back as I was getting the handoff. I tried to correct it, but its pretty much impossible to do for me while holding 605 lbs. I actually got it down to my chest ok, but I pressed it kind of straight up and because my back wasnt tight, it came right back down after only going up about 1/3 to 1/2 of the way. I didnt feel good after this, so I took the shirt off.

floor press
255x3
The left side of my chest was jacked up. I popped a rib out in front on the left side. A chiropractor teammate popped it back in for me. That helped some, but I still didnt feel good. My upper back and chest dont feel like they want to be exerted much.

I did a few sets of light face pulls and a few sets of light 1 arm cable rows before calling it a day.

3/5

DL
225x5
315x3
405x2

Inzer briefs (suit is being tailored, taking a little in on legs)
495x1
585x1 - Setting this down caused a bit of rib pain. The rib is better, but it isnt healed.
635xf - weak.
605x1
I'm not sure how much the suit matters. This is the first time in years I've pulled over 600 without it. I should have it back before next week. I think I should probably attempt ~635 if I get it back next week.


I think I'm probably going to use the Inzer briefs for squatting at the next meet. The Overkills are not going to be broken in well enough yet and I'm not used to them yet. I figured I'd do squats in the Inzers for secondary work.

335x3
425x2x4
These went pretty well


GHR
15
raised foot plate to top
15, 20, 20

3/6

I went to TCBB to return the briefs and DL suit that I tried and didnt want. I asked if they had a conventional DL suit for me to try. One of their guys had an Inzer Fusion that didnt work for him when he tried it for sumo. I tried it on. Its a little too big, but I have wanted to try a Fusion for a while now, and I could get the legs taken in if I like it.

They encouraged me to try a few pulls with it. I pulled the day before, but I felt fine, so why not?

DL in suit, no belt or briefs
225x2
315x3
405x2

I went to the car and got my belt
495x1

yeah, I like this suit. I bought it from the guy for $75. Then we went to Southside.

floor press
45x15
95x10
135x10
185x5
225x3
pec/rib didnt bother me through any of this
225x2
I felt a little something in the rib on the 2nd rep, so I stopped.

chaos pushups
10, 10, 15, 15, 15

1 arm cable rows
150x20
180x15
200x12

face pulls
140x15
150x15

3/8

squat
65x5
155x5
245x5

briefs (Inzer)
335x3
425x2
515x1

suit
605x1

knee wraps
665xf - got forward a little. This sucks.

665x1 - harder than it should have been. I felt wiped out after this. I think I'm getting another ****ing cold. I quit because I didnt want to get sicker. This sucks. I was supposed to squat 715. My squat is weak, I cant make either pair of briefs work well now and I'll probably be sick for this next meet. My plan to not bomb is now to open with 628.

3/12

bench press
usual warmups raw

loose SDP
2 boards
495x1

off chest
545x1 - smoked it, but my front rib popped out again. Teammate popped it back in and also noticed some stuff in the back was also out, so he popped those back in as well. I had planned to hit 585 & 605 if my rib permitted, but it didnt, so I moved on.

DL
typical warmups
Metal suit (after getting it taken in), no briefs
495x1
585x1
I didnt like the way it felt without briefs

briefs and new (used) Inzer Fusion suit
585x1 - much better
635xf - weak and a little bit forward
Back was a little wonky after this due to chopping ice earlier and also handling lots of 100 lb plates earlier. I will use the Fusion and briefs for DLs at the meet.

I had typed up a long story about how I got rid of a cold in just a few days, but I had to restart my browser and I dont have time to type it all out again yet. Maybe later.

3/15

squat
65x5
155x5
225x5

Overkill briefs (one last try before the meet to see if I can figure these out)
335x3
425x2
515x1

suit & knee wraps
625x1 - This was the best squat I have done in a while. Deep and fast. I'll use these briefs at the meet. I figured out what I need to do with them. I dont have time now to type it all out. I know I can open with 633 or so in these briefs now & it should be easy.

675xf - I had trouble finding my groove on the way down. I went forward and couldnt get back, and it took forever to hit depth. By the time I hit depth I had no way of moving the weight up. This took a bit out of me, and the meet is only a week out, so I stopped.

briefs only
475x2

I felt a little tired. Rather than press my luck a week out from the meet, I stopped.

3/17

This was supposed to be bench opener day, but with my rib situation, I am not benching until the meet. My DL didnt exactly go well last Tuesday, so I figured I'd try to dial in my DL opener.

DL
225x5
315x3
405x2

suit (Inzer Fusion + briefs) - I tightened the shoulder straps more than before.
495x1 - felt great
585x1 - felt great and moved fast
I think I figured out what I need to do in this suit for the time being. The legs and hips and belly on this suit are loose on me, so cranking the shoulder straps down doesnt make me feel like I'm going to explode. It works well for me. Eventually, I'll want to get he suit tailored so the legs and hips are a bit tighter.

I did some light cable rows and face pulls after this. I feel pretty good now.

Meet plan for DLs: 584/617 to 634/628 to ???. I dont know how strong I am right now on DLs when my form is dialed in. I'm going to have to make some guesses.

Squats, similar with regards to unknowns, but my form is way more erratic. I'll probably open with about 634/~678/and try for a meet pr of 716 if I get that.

Bench plan is open at 551 in the loose SDP, then put the tight SDP on and get a meet pr of 584, then attempt what would now be an American record of 606 for 50-54 years old and 275 bw (I plan to weigh in ~245).

The 242 record is out of reach for me. 606 wont be an American record if Jim Grandick doesnt bomb out or weigh in heavy. Jim lifts at 275. He just turned 50. He says he's shooting for mid to high 700s on his bench. This guy had a knee replaced maybe a couple years ago. I saw him doing 900 lb box squats in training. I think its been 3 - 4 years since he last competed.

Dave Hoff (Mr 3000) is also going to compete at this meet. Last year when we went to this meet (my wife competed but I did not) we saw a SHW guy squat 1102. I assume he will be there again. This should be fun to watch. I'll be lifting in the same flight with these guys.

Sick, looking forward to this meet TR. GL!

Thanks!

Thanks!

I always found it weird/wrong that a higher weight class could have a lower "record" lift. Shouldn't be that way imo. If you're a 198 and bench XXX which happens to be more than the 220, 242, 275, 308 records, then that 198er should hold all those records.

Anyway, good luck at the meet!

This certainly seems to make the most sense.

However, more records = more people signing up/competing to try to get records

Everybody gets a trophy!

Yeah, I was going to say something like that but, let's be fair here, I am very much in the target audience for that. Chances I do a meet? Very small, chances I do a meet if I think I can get a trophy for some very niche subset of competitors? Less small. Not super proud to admit that but I'm pretty sure it's true.

Good news is that right now I couldn't even win a trophy in an everybody wins a trophy meet.

What about the trophy for nicest gym bag?