Finding Out that the Iron Never Lies

[bustermonkey2]

Oct 27, 2015

Bench, 1st rep paused @ 295 lbs-8
Bench, 1st rep paused @ 300 lbs-8
Bench, 1st rep paused @ 305 lbs-8
Bench, 1st rep paused @ 310 lbs-8 PR RE 9.75 I am getting some residual soreness in my pecs and shoulders the last 10 days, probably from doing too much benching. I'm hoping to stay the course and remain injury free until the meet on Nov 7 then take a bit of time off.

Deadlift singles @ 506 lbs-4 RPE 9.75. On 2nd rep I did a bit of hitching but kept it under control after that. It would really suck to get red-lighted on a deadlift I can do because of hitching at the meet.

Press @ 170 lbs-6
Press @ 175 lbs-6,6 RPE 9.75

[bustermonkey2]

Oct 29, 2015
Bodywt 227 lbs

Squat @ 435 lbs-3
Squat @ 445 lbs-3 PR RPE 9.5
Squat w/ wraps @ 460 lbs-2
Squat w/ wraps @ 480 lbs-2 PR RPE 9.75. After I got the wraps on I waited an extra minute before starting to emulate more like a meet which made it harder. I am getting better at wrapping however.

Bench, 1st rep paused @ 320 lbs-6
Bench, 1st rep paused @ 342 lbs-4 PR RPE 9.50 but bar path was real good.
Bench, 1st rep paused @ 325 lbs-6,6 RPE 10. On last set I got hung up on one of the hooks and balance got skewed and remained so throughout set. I barely got it up on last rep which could have been a disaster as I didn't have a spotter on that set.

Chins, 5 min block-10,10,10,5,5,2 Total 42 reps

[bustermonkey2]

Nov 1, 2015

Bench, 1st rep paused @ 340 lbs-3
Bench w/ wraps, 1st rep paused @ 352 lbs-3 PR RPE 9.75
Bench w/ wraps, 1st rep paused @ 345 lbs-3,3 RPE 9.75

Deadlift @ 496 lbs-1
Deadlift @ 516 lbs-1
Deadlift @ 496 lbs-1 RPE 9.5

Press @ 190 lbs-3
Press @ 195 lbs-3
Press @ 200 lbs-3 RPE 9.75

After I got done, I realized I had somehow managed to tweak my back- kind of left middle area. I have no idea how I did it, but it affected sleep and may eliminate competing this coming Saturday. I'll just have to see how it goes. This is very frustrating as I've made great progress over last several months and I really wanted to compete but I'm not going to do it if my back feels compromised.

[bustermonkey2]

Nov 5, 2015
Bodywt 226 lbs

My back has been a bit sore on left side since the 1st. So long as there's no twisting, it seems ok. I decided to scrap plans for the meet this weekend as it's not worth the risk and because I lost 5 training days right before the meet. I decided to test out my 1RM's today since I really want to know how I'm progressing, but with the idea that I'd shut it down if back hurt.

Wrapped squat @ 455 lbs-1 Pretty Easy
Wrapped Squat @ 485 lbs-1 Rpe 9
Wrapped Squat @ 515 lbs-1 PR RPE 9.5 Not too bad. I'd guess I had another 15-20 lbs there if I wanted to really push it.

Bench, paused, w/ wraps @ 345 lbs-1 Easy
Bench, paused, w/ wraps @ 370 lbs-1 RPE 9.5
Bench, paused, w/ wraps @ 380 lbs-1 PR RPE 10. I got it up but it likely would have been red lighted at a meet as the left side went up as right side trailed behind it.

Deadlift @ 495 lbs-1 RPE 9
Deadlift @ 550 lbs-0 FAIL. It got stuck just below my knees. This is very frustrating. My squat is quickly approaching my deadlift, largely because my deadlift has been stagnant so long. I really hoped that switching programming from high volume to singles would help, but it clearly isn't working. I'm going to do some research and think about better deadlift programming. Overall, I'm making great progress on squat and bench, but I need to figure something else out for deadlift.

[bustermonkey2]

Maybe I'll try Matt Kroc's Simple Deadlift program as it starts higher volume and tapers down as intensity goes up. I do think I need some more practice with heavy weight around 85%-90%. It looks like this:
Week 1: 5 x 5 x 70% (5 sets of 5 reps at 70% of 1RM)
Week 2: 5 x 3 x 75%
Week 3: 5 x 1 x 80%
Week 4: No deadlifting, but feel free to do accessory movements like good mornings, weighted back raises, reverse hypers, or pull-throughs in the 10+ rep range.
Week 5: 5 x 5 x 75%
Week 6: 5 x 3 x 80%
Week 7: 5 x 1 x 85%
Week 8: No deadlifting, but do accessory movements.
Week 9: 4 x 5 x 80%
Week 10: 4 x 3 x 85%
Week 11: 4 x 1 x 90%
Week 12: No deadlifting, but feel free to do accessory movements.
Week 13: 3 x 5 x 85%
Week 14: 3 x 3 x 90%
Week 15: 3 x 1 x 95%
Week 16: No deadlifting and no lower back work at all.
Week 17: Retest your max or compete in a powerlifting meet.

[bustermonkey2]

Nov 9, 2015

I'm taking a small deload both by dropping the weights and by dropping one set per movement. I'm thinking at this point that I may try switching to sumo style deadlifts, at least for the next 3 months. I've never really spent much time on them and I'm very frustrated by my plateau on conventional deadlifts.

Squat @ 315 lbs-8
Squat @ 325 lbs-8
Squat @ 335 lbs-8 RPE 9 but very tiring.

Bench, 1st rep paused @ 265 lbs-8
Bench, 1st rep paused @ 275 lbs-8
Bench, 1st rep paused @ 285 lbs-8 RPE 9

Chins w/ 45 lbs -5,5

[bustermonkey2]

Nov 13, 2015
Bodywt 225 lbs

I spent today testing out sumo 1RM. I'm going to switch back to classic urban kitten assault programming for sumo deadlifts. I have a fairly long torso compared to my legs so I think sumo might prove more effective. However, I've never spent any real time, so it's going to be a long time before I can get my sumo close to conventional in terms of weight.

Sumo deadlifts @ 315 lbs-1, @ 405-1, @ 455-1, @ 475 lbs-0. This was interesting as 405 felt easier than it does conventional and 455 only felt a but difficult while 475 didn't move at all. The movement feels very alien at this point and I need to do a lot of experimenting with stance width and foot angle. Even though my sumo is 80 lbs less than my conventional, I'm pretty sure that number will change quickly with some practice.

Sumo deadlifts @ 405 lbs-1,1 A bit of practice
Sumo deadlift @ 315-2,1,1,1 More practice
Sumo deadlift @ 135 lbs-1,1,1,1 Trying to figure out best stance.

Press @ 135 lbs-8
Press @ 145 lbs-8
Press @ 155 lbs-8 RPE 8.5

[bustermonkey2]

Nov 16, 2015
Still a bit of a deload on working weights and one dropped set.

Squats @ 365 lbs-6
Squats @ 385 lbs-6
Squats @ 405 lbs-6 RPE 9 Not too bad.

Bench, 1st rep paused @ 295 lbs-6
Bench, 1st rep paused @ 315 lbs-4? (should have been 6), 4? I was doing 325 for 2 sets of 6 just a couple weeks ago. I'm guessing I'm a bit detrained since I have only done bench 2 times in last 2 weeks.

I had to skip chins as all pull up bars were occupied.

[bustermonkey2]

Nov 18, 2015

Bench, 1st rep paused@ 315 lbs-3
Bench, 1st rep paused@ 320 lbs-3
Bench, 1st rep paused@ 325 lbs-3
Bench, 1st rep paused@ 330 lbs-3 RPE 9.5

Sumo deadlifts @ 365 lbs-1 Easy
Sumo deadlifts @ 317 lbs-4,4,4,4 RPE 7.5 but tiring. I'm trying to take my time with setup so each set takes 15-20 seconds or so

Press @ 155 lbs-6
Press @ 165 lbs-6
Press @ 170 lbs-6 RPE 10

[bustermonkey2]

Nov 20, 2015
Bodywt 223 lbs

Bench, 1st rep paused @ 275 lbs-8
Bench, 1st rep paused @ 295 lbs-8,7?, 8 RPE 9.75. On the 2nd set at 295 I think I just didn't rest enough between sets as I was pressed for time.

Squat @ 405 lbs-3
Squat @ 415 lbs-3
Squat @ 425 lbs-3
Squat @ 435 lbs-3 RPE 9.5

Chins-12,12 I was pressed for time so skipped last set.