12/17
Bench
225x5x5
185X5+ pause at chest

These 225 sets are getting easy.

Squat
270x5
270x3(+1f)

First set hard as ****. Hell, first rep hard as ****. But we power through. Second set nfw i could finish. Missed depth on the third rep, started to collapse. Took several long breaths and tried to power through on fourth rep but couldn't get back up. Frankly surprised at how hard this was after how easy 265 went up last time. First time I've ever thought Jesus, wish i was wearing a belt. Loco put the facking joojoo on me with all this talk about weak core strength.

I'm not trying to be a vagina, but is there any sense in me wearing a belt at this point? Srs question. I've been committed to increasing my strength without a belt. Need belt experts to advise me.

I will repeat 270 next time. Not worried if i fail and need to reset. Move back to 250, still hit my goal of 300 for reps by EOY.

Did some more lower weight squats. 225 EZ-PZ these days. Feels good.

225x5x2

RDL
205x8x3

Loco, fwiw I felt some stiffness in my lower back after squatting, but everything felt great after RDLs.

Pull ups
+40x5x3

Ab wheel (standing close stance)
10x2

When you get close to a plateau, some days you'll be stronger than others. Sleep, dehydration, food, & stress levels can all factor into how strong you are on a given day.

Belt - sure, your form is good enough without one, so why not? Keep in mind the purpose of a belt is not to prevent injury. The purpose is it will assist you so you can lift heavier weights once you learn how to use it properly. For me, it helped me squat more right away. It took a while before I learned how to use it properly for DLs, and way longer before it helped my bench.

As far as what belt to get, get a leather one, 4" wide and 10 or 13mm thick. I love my lever belt and I'll never use a buckle again. I love Titan belts (and all Titan products for that matter). Inzer is of comparable quality to Titan.

lol nah, not really. I don't think you should be testing a 1RM right now though. Better to keep the true numbers a secret so you can swoop in under the radar.

TY! I have actually felt run down the last couple of days. Sleeping 8+ hours, then napping for an hour or so twice a day. Can't help it. After a few hours I feel unable to stay awake. I've had something of a sore throat in the morning, and Mrs. Rhymes has been sick. I assumed since I didn't feel sick beyond the morning throat thing that I was okay, but it could be that my immune system is working overtime.

Tips on how to use a belt? Links to an article or whereabouts in your log you've already posted tips is more than fine. I feel silly for asking this since I've read so much advice from you before on how to use a belt, but it really is one of those things that doesn't stick until necessary.

I tried one on at the gym and had to use the last hole, and even then and after a big breath it didn't feel tight at all. Tinybro gonna tinybro. Good thing a few of the belts I see online come in midget sizes.

Hmmm. Good point. I might do some 1RM tests this Sunday, but obv will not reveal results until I post videos and claim the #1 spots on all Whiteboard lifts.

I'm not going to disagree with Cha here, but BR, you should know that experts have very mixed opinions on this subject matter. Some believe that you should just use a belt all the time, and some believe you should use it only when gearing up for a competition to temporarily boost your performance. You may want to do a little bit of research and understand the points each side makes before settling.

Dr McGill, the foremost spine biomechanist in the world, says "save belt use for your championships'", or something similar to that. He has done lots of testing with a lot of world class athletes and has lots of data from other sources that suggests belt use does nothing to protect your spine, and it can be cause for greater risk of injury. I would challenge any other so-called expert in the world to debate McGill on the subject. Read Ultimate Back Fitness and Performance if you want to research the subject more imo.

That being said, I use a belt for almost all my squatting, benching & DLing now, because I am confident the way I use the belt does not put me at greater risk of injury, and it helps me practice using it, so I'm good at using it, when the weights get heavy. If my primary goal wasnt increasing strength, I wouldnt use it so much.

As far as making the best use of it goes, get used to pushing your belly into it when you take a breath before your lifts, and dont ever let your core/low back move when you are moving the weight. Picture your core like its a block of granite when you're using the belt. The belt should help make your core more solid when you do it right.

saw,

It really took courage to almost disagree with cha. Applause. J/K. Definitely doing more reading. I should have one anyway, and I'll at least try out a belt the next time I'm in the gym. BTW, I am sort of training for a competition (early January virtual H&F meet), even though it seems my fellow lifting brothers have given up the game already. I'd still like to have the best performance possible on my 1RM total.

cha,

Do you ever not use your belt and see how your lifts currently compare?

lol

Have you ever thought about competing in meets? Its fun, and they do have a 114 lb class you could lift in Seriously though, you could compete at 165. If you get a 992 total, that would have been enough to qualify you for this year's IPL worlds at that weight class*.

* - 2013 required a class II total. 2014 will require a class I total, which is 1131 at 165. The point is, you wouldnt be out of place if you entered a meet.

I havent gone very heavy without a belt in a long time, except for up to maybe ~540 on a TBDL a week or two ago. Ive done DL warmups (dont remember the last time though) up to ~421 without a belt a few times. Both of those are still under 80% though. I dont see a good reason for me to not wear one right now.

LOL

I haven't given it much thought. I lift for self-improvement and personal satisfaction. Competing would feel to me too much like a performance. Maybe that's my aspyness coming out, but that's how I am. About ten years ago I was in college as a music major. I played piano more than well enough not to worry about anyone telling me I sucked, but I still only practiced in the dead of night, when the music halls were empty, and I hated recitals. I guess I'm uncomfortable being the center of attention.

I'd probably feel differently if I was at a meet with fellow H&F bros like you and saw. That's just friends having a good time. On my own, idgaf (or the opposite of gaf, but you get what I mean).

Fake Busto, if you have nobody else, I will compete with you, although it will be a rather sad showing when I lose to someone nearly 50 pounds smaller than me. What are the competition lifts again? Snatch and clean and jerk? Jk, I'll do bench/squat/dead even though I never bench and haven't done a whole lot of traditional deadlifting lately.

Let's do it POW!

LOL at snatch and C&J. I have done cleans before (lol with 95lbs smd), but never jerks or snatches.

What do you think your current numbers are for bench/squat/deadlift?

I don't know anything about specifics, but I'm pretty sure some 1RM practice and a diversion from your long term fitness goals can give you a good boost for the competition. Get Cha or Saw to PM some meet prep to you, so the other folks can't steal the info, maybe. Good luck.

Thanks highland. Some meet prep info would be good. I haven't really given much thought to what I'll do in the week leading up to our "meet." I've only been thinking about maintaining the programming until the end of the year, then ??? until the meet.

IIRC, we were waiting until the end of the first week of January because that's when worked for Monte. I was sort of joking about him dropping out. Not sure if he still plans on participating, even though he's obv given up lifting for the holidays.

Bench - not a clue. I'd guess anywhere between 185 and 215, but I couldn't really see myself benching much more than that. I never bench.

Squat - 290 - 300?

Deadlift - 400 - 420

My WR on squat was 290 a few months back and deadlift was 405 in the end of August. I've been squatting frequently, so that number might be a little higher, but I doubt that it's very much higher.

I haven't been deadlifting in the traditional sense at all, although I have been doing a lot of other pulling, so who knows, it might have gone up a touch, but I couldn't imagine anything more than a very marginal number, if it went up at all.

The 405 DL was a true max effort. I don't think I had another pound in me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipyjVXL56W4

I will 100% not change any of my programming between now and then. This is all in good fun on my end. Lol at PMing the meet prep info.

Trade secrets bro. Need whatever edge I can get. Your squat is perhaps stronger than mine and undoubtedly has better form. Can't wait for the nits to watch the videos and shout RED LIGHTS.

Will we allow straps on deadlift PRs?

My vote is no to straps, but in the spirit of not taking this too seriously, I don't feel that strongly about it either way.

I'm curious if that DL would get red lights for any reason. None that I can see but IANAPL.

ETA: oh red lights at our Vmeet lifts. Yeh, I think unless something is particularly egregious, i.e., bro squatting, hitching a deadlift, bouncing your bench, I don't think any lifts should be red lighted.

POW, I don't see any hitching at all, but I'm not sure it's locked out.

Re. straps, LOL. No need to use powerlifting rules, but allowing straps is lol.

I'm using straps. F the haters. This ain't a meet

It's called a Bro TYVM

Pshhhh, in that case, brb bros, getting my knee wraps, multi-ply suit, and bench shirt.

POW,

The funny thing is that you'd still lose

To btm? No question.

To my dog.