Rob's shiny new Geezling (mostly TM) log. In Brooklyn.

[Michele Knaub]

rob! i'm sorry i missed that squat PR. holy cow.

[Joe Williams]

Nice work amigo.

[Rob Israel]

Thanks everyone! It was nice to be able to post a positive report after a tough couple of weeks.

Goals for the meet...
Squat is 165 kilos (363.75). Maybe I have more but I would like to try to make all my lifts in the first meet. I may do a conservative and an aggressive plan and see how the openers and 2nd attempts go-- maybe I'll put 170KG on the aggressive plan. At this point it really is going to depend on my form. 335 was so much easier last night that 325-- I had a good bounce and solid bar path. 355 had a good bounce but my weight came forward and almost made it a miss. The fact that I still made lift without it being a complete grind instills confidence too though.

Bench is tough to say-- I'm sure I can do 210 (95 kilo) but things hit a wall pretty quickly for me. It would be great to do 215 paused (97.5 kilos) which is my 1RM for touch and go. That's probably my goal I guess.

[Tall Texan]

Good luck with the meet Rob. Start off your first lift with something you have no doubt you can demolish, then the confidence and adrenaline will take over for the rest.

[bigstve121]

Great work on the squat PR Rob! Sounds like you are ready as ever for the meet...Keep at it!!

[Michael Wolf]

Just another congrats on the Squat PR!

I like the idea of a conservative and aggressive plan, and choosing based on how your first attempt goes, and then 2nd.

[Rob Israel]

Thanks for the input gentleman. I'm definitely going to start easy and get a lift on the books. I'm going for 330 as my first attempt which I can triple for sure. If it's a nice solid rep and I'm feeling like I have my legs that day, I'm going to go for a big jump...
_______

Feeling good again today. I got my shit mobilized well and prior to my warmup sets (I do 1 set with the empty bar to see how I'm moving) and then did some more mobility work with a lacrosse ball and bands. This worked well today as the warmup sets felt really good and I was definitely feeling strong and recovered.

I start my taper that Justin Lascek kindly provided me. Two weeks out volume day is reduced to sets of 3x5.

Squat: 280x5x3
So much easier than 5 sets!

Bench: 190x5x3
These were OK. Wish they had more speed overall.

Chins: 4x6 with a thin assistance band.
I did super-sets of these with the bench press. I used a band so they would be sub-maximal. Wendler talks about doing a set of chins or pull-ups with every set of pressing. I'm going to try to implement this. I haven't been doing any chins as it still bothers my forearm (from the sprain I got in August) so it was good to do some and have it feel OK. I think the band helps with that too, so I'll stick with it until I'm back up to 10 per set.

Really good not overly taxing, fun workout today. I got in early and got to work out with my coach and another lifter who's a stand-up comedian-- we had some good laughs.

[Rob Israel]

Squat: 295x1, 215x, 330x1

Bench: 170x1, 195x1 with pause

Things felt pretty heavy tonight. Definitely had a tough week rest-wise and felt it today. Will have to be more diligent next week with sleep, mobility work, etc...

[Rob Israel]

Did my mobility work and warmed up to what will be my last warm-up weight on Saturday:

Squat:
45x5, 95x5, 135x5, 185x4, 225x3, 275x1, 305x1

Bench:
45x5, 95x5, 135x3, 155x1, 175x1

Bench felt really good. My right lateral leg is a bit tight, so that didn't feel super great, but it's fine. I'll need to keep things moving and stretching all week.

I do a warm-up on Wednesday (I'll squat and press super light) and that will be that until the big day.

[Michael Wolf]

Sounds like you're prepped and ready for the weekend. Hit it strong Rob!