K.Diesel's powerlifting and other training - 2009 and beyond

[K.Diesel]

Fri. 1/23 Mailman GPP

9.396 miles, 23814 steps, 1325.6 calories. Knees feel terrible. 3 days left before squats, with 1 day of total rest in there.

[K.Diesel]

Sat. 1/24 Mailman GPP

7.024 mi., 17183 steps, 912.1 calories. Brisk pace. Monday will suck. The bag and arm load will be heavy. Certain of overtime. Squats after work.

[K.Diesel]

Mailman GPP
6.584 miles, 15,955 steps, 929.4 calories. Caught a break - no overtime today. Took about 4 1/2 hours.

Lifting - Don't know what's up with the temp in the gym, but it is still HOT HOT HOT!

1.Squat
bar/8, 140/5, 180/3, 210/3, 240/2 (wrist), 265/2
285/5, 5, 5, 6 - Really optimistic about squats right now. Still not using a belt.

2.RDL - done on step
135/5, 225/5, 275/3 (straps), 315/3, 345/3, 360/3(belt), 375/3
Think I found my 3RM. I think that's a PR for me, can't remember and don't feel like looking thru my journal right now. Used overhand grip until 375 set, then went staggered.

3.Walking dumbbell lunge
75s/12 ea, 12 ea

4.Pull-thru
130/15, 15

5.Standing cable crunch
130/11 + 6 + 100/12 - brief pause on 130 to reset feet.

Time - 1:40. I really think the heat in the gym affected my rest periods, as in made them longer. At least I've convinced myself of that, and that's the story I'm sticking with.

[K.Diesel]

Mailman GPP
Forgot my pedometer today. Would guess that it was close to yesterday's post, considering I had a small part of another route, but many skipped deliveries due to light volume on my own. Was much harder than yesterday though, due to snow on the ground all day. Not to mention I didn't have my normal calorie intake during the day (negligence on my part). This may have had an adverse affect on...

Lifting

Warmed up w/3 x 15 empty bar bench(3 grips) and 3 x 15 empty bar rows (3 grips)

1.Bench
bar/5, 100/5, 140/3, 190/3, 230/1, 255/1
276/0.25 - what?! Form was off. Rested 4-5 minutes, then 276/0.66 - Damn!
Form was better.
247/3 (true max effort, may have had help on last rep)
242/3
242/2 + 1 spot
234/3, 3 Not exactly the way this was planned to go today. (Plan was 276/1, 247/3 x 5)

2a.Dumbbell floor press - neutral grip
40s/14, 60s/10, 80s/7, 100s/3, 75s/8

This was an improv, because after my 2nd bench at 242, every spotter I trust and thought competent was gone. My plan was to do one more week of 3-phone book presses. But at this point, finding one good spotter was a chore, let alone 2.

2b.Face pull
70/12, 90/15, 110/15, 110/11

3.Dips - drop set
+50/7 + BW/5

4.Hammer curl
45s/7 sim. + 5 alt.

5.Pressdown - at crossover station
130/12

Time - 1:37. Spent a lot of time resting after those failed bench reps, trying to recoup some strength that may not have been there to begin with today. Just to be safe, may recalculate the %s I'm working with on bench day. Would rather get the reps and volume in. More bad weather tomorrow for work/GPP. Still, I think I got stronger at pressing heavy weight off my chest today.

[K.Diesel]

Have stopped using my pedometer for a few days. It's become a little depressing due to the overtime i've been working this week. So there was some GPP today, and Sat. 1/31 too, and it was an estimated 8-9 miles each day burning a whole lot of calories, somewhere like 1000+ each day.


1.Deadlift - done on step, w/bands, almost-snatch grip
95+/6, 140+/5, 230+/3, 320+/2, 370+/2, 395+/1
416+/1 x 5 sets - again, last rep was real grinder. Probably around 1-2 min rest between singles. Bands on deads make grip a much bigger issue. Hard enough holding onto weight w/gravity alone fighting you. Pleased with progress on these, still not using a belt. Staggered grip for work sets.

2.Bench
pushups to warm up/15
135/8
190/8, 8 - last 4 reps felt a little tough. Little surprised by that.

3.Chins
7 wide
50+/5 wide, 50+/5 under, 50+/5 wide, 50+/5 under, 50+/5 wide

4.Seated cable row
200/6, 180/7, 150/11

5.R.Balboa decline situps - almost like in the barn on Rocky IV
30+/15 (static hold on last one) + body/6

Time - 1:25

[K.Diesel]

Another big mailman GPP day. Didn't mean to ditch the pedometer, but left it by mistake. Still, I'm sure it was 8-9 miles again based on past info.

Ended up lifting w/some new bodybuilding buddies at the gym today. They were shooting a documentary, and were using the squat rack. This was totally unplanned, and while not a total departure from my game plan, a nice freestyle improv.
1.Squat
bar/10, 140/5, 230/3, 270/2, 295/1
315/5
300/5, 5, 6 - My plan for the day called for 300/3 x 5 sets. Still no belt. Felt really strong.

2.Front squat
185/5, 205/5
225/5 - ME mostly due to form, especially left bicep. After the set, it was cramped. Locutus all I could think about was how if I could use the clean grip, I wouldn't have this problem. I realize that I abandoned my rule to do heavy sets for 3 reps or lower. Won't forget next time.

3.Dumbbell swings
15/10, 35/10, 55/12
70/12, 15 - hadn't done these for a while. Like 'em. Will keep them in rotation for a few weeks.

4.Standing cable crunch
120/6, 130/15, 130/12

5.Calf press - on plate loaded leg press
360/a lot of reps over several sets. At this point, had hooked up w/another long-time bodybuilding friend. Didn't count sets or reps.

Lots of fun today. Nice change of pace while still getting the volume I needed within the rep/set range. Next week, squats will be triples for working sets. Near 75-77% 1RM and steadily climbing week to week.

[K.Diesel]

Seeking redemption from last week. a.m. BW = 192.5. Home scale is now in new location and there's new carpet on the floor, so I don't know how that affects the reading. Either way, it's about 10 lbs. too light.

Mailman GPP - will have to edit this part later. Left pedometer in car, but I did use it today.

1.Bench w/bands - still no idea how much they add. Speed and warm up
bar only/13, bar+/7, 100+/3, 140+/3 x 6 sets

2.Bench press
190/3, 230/1, 260/1
275/0 Decided to rest 4-5 minutes and try it again. Got it about 1/2 way up.
275/1 Spotter almost came in again, but I grinded it out on my own. This was an absolute 1RM today, which I didn't expect it to be. Sucks b/c I maxed out inadvertently, and it wasn't a PR.
247/2.5 (failed 3rd), 2, 2
237/2, 2.5
I think my bench form is decent but inconsistent. It must improve. Work weight drops a bit next week, so hopefully by the time I get back up in the 95-100% 1RM range, it will be better.

3a. Standing OHP w/dumbbells, rest pause work set
35s/8, 60s/9 + 3 + 3

3b.Face pull
80/12, 110/16 + 8

4a.Pressdown
rope - 100/14, bar - 120/14

4b.Hammer curl
50s/7 simul. + 2 ea. alt.

I'm throwing caution to the wind as far as food intake. I think I'm going to need to see the scale go up for the bench to go up. Shooting for 5500-6000 calories per day now (4500-5000 was previous goal).

[K.Diesel]

Mailman GPP for Wed, 2/4

7.805 miles, 19781 steps, 1101 calories.

[K.Diesel]

For the first time ever for me (I think) I had 2 lifting sessions in one day. Went to my long distance coaches' new facility in southern Maryland today, and only had time to deadlift. Later, back in Baltimore, did the rest at my normal gym.

AM - Deadlift - w/chains (another 1st!)
bar/10, 143/6, 231/4
231+/2, 275.5+/2, 319.6+/2 - all of these +40 lbs of chain at top
341+/1, 363.7+/1 - +40lbs.
363.7+/1 - +80lbs of chain
385.8+/1, 1, 1 - +80lbs
385.8/1 - bar weight only. The fastest heavy dead I've ever done. Oddball weights b/c they have kilo plates there, and I only wrote the lb equivalents and don't feel like dividing all those numbers by 2.2046....

PM Session
Bench
bar/11, 135/3
169/3, 2 x 7 sets - meant to do 8 doubles, but forgot on the 1st set

Chins
7 warm up
BW+55/5 wide, 5 under, 5 wide, 5 under, 5 wide. Microloading for chins is coming. Don't feel confident in 5x5 for 60lbs.

One arm dumbbell row
40/8 ea
100/11 ea, 9 ea

Shrugs
315/12, 365/8, 9 - short ROM, probably because I didn't let form get sloppy just to pull it all the way up. Better to lighten the weight to touch my ears?

I like splitting the day like this. If my schedule allowed it more often, I'd do it. Felt like a full-time athlete today. Oh well, back go mailman GPP tomorrow. None today.

[K.Diesel]

Fri. 2/6 Mailman GPP
5.137 miles, 13021 steps, 725 calories

Sat. 2/7 Mailman GPP
6.953 miles, 17622 steps, 981 calories

Rest tomorrow. Squats Monday. Working sets should be triples for the next 3-4 weeks.