An intermediate lifter's progress log

[trav_longo]

[Preface] - I didn't have as much time as I'd have liked to train for this meet, as after the last one I took about a month off from doing any substantial lifting...a few squats here and there, as well as some back and shoulder work. I didn't bench for almost 5 weeks straight. That was my own fault, but to that point I hadn't actually decided to sign up for the meet yet. My friends convinced me to go through with it, and that's when I had to kick it into high gear. I'm glad they did, and I'm glad everything worked out the way it did.

[Making Weight] - Wasn't too much of a problem. I was at 199.5 the day before, but I forgot to bring my scale to the hotel. Two 25 minute sessions in a very hot bath did the trick and I weighed in at 195.5...and the baths were pretty refreshing too

[Meet]
Squat:
408 - 3 whites ... Felt good
435.5 - 3 whites ... Heavy, but felt good. Thought I had more in me. (Tied PR)
445 - 3 reds ... This was a fight, and I feel like I could have made it... if I had to pick a reason besides being weak, I'd say I went too slow.

Bench:
246 - 3 whites ... Easy. This has been my opener at every meet ever and it's always been a breeze.

264 - 3 whites ... The cursed number. This has been my best bench in the previous two meets that I've done. Today I knew I had to destroy it. Easy. (10lb PR)

275.5 - 3 whites ... curse broken. I could have probably done this at the last meet, but 264 felt so easy last time that I made a bigger jump to my own demise.

Deadlift:
450 - 3 whites ... Opened big so I didn't make too big of a jump on the next attempt.

490 - 3 whites ... A strategic choice. I chose to go with 490 to secure the 1200 total. I wanted to go for 500, but it was 10lbs more than I needed and thus an unnecessary risk. (15lb PR)

500 - 3 reds ... I was fried, but I was already done with the meet. I met my goal and I was very happy. I knew I wouldn't get it, but I gave it my best for fun. It was actually pretty close. It's clear the I am weak on the top half/lockout.

Again, this was a lot of fun. It's time to pick a real program to stick to and be consistent. I think the bench stuff I was doing must have been really working, so I'm going to stick to doing that lift my own way . I also foresee many rack pulls. So thankful for my PL friends and their encouragement.

[trav_longo]

3/29/2013

Bench Press
--------------
135x5
185x5
205x3
225x2
245x4x2
245x3x2
225x3x5
135x5
185x5
205x3
225x2
245x3x2

Weighted neutral grip pull up
---------------------------
4x10 +25lbs


Snatches

Curls

[5inthehall]

Fantastic job at the meet, Travis, especially doing it one short week after kicking ass at a strong man competition! Glad you exorcised the bench curse.

[trav_longo]

Fantastic job at the meet, Travis, especially doing it one short week after kicking ass at a strong man competition! Glad you exorcised the bench curse.

Thanks Amy!

[trav_longo]

4/2/2013

Started Texas Method for Squats, Deadlifts, and Accessories. Benching my own way for now.

Squat 5x5 @ 335
Rack Deadlift 1x5 @ 395 (16", just below the knees)
Snatch 2x2 @ 45, 2x2 @ 95, 1x2 @ 135 (PR, although sloppy)

[trav_longo]

4/5/2013

Texas Method Intensity Day

Squat
Warm up to 315x2, the rest are with knee-wraps
345x1, 365x2, 405x1, 445x1, 475x1 (10lb PR) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGo0A...ature=youtu.be

Bench Press 1RM
135x5, 185x5, 205x3, 225x2, 245x1, 265x1, 280x1 (5lb PR)

Weighted Pull Up
+25lbs 5x8

[trav_longo]

4/8/2013

Moved 5x5 squat to tomorrow. Bench + Deads + Cleans

Bench
Warm-up, 235x3x5, 225x2x5

Deadlift
135x5, 225x5, 315x3, 410x5

Power Clean
135x3x3, 155x3, C&J 165x3

Later on I jogged about a mile.

[trav_longo]

4/10/2013

Squat - Working on my knee-cave, and also re-evaluating my form.
340x5x5 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lYRc4z5uQg

OHP
145x3x5 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7liGcWun0s

Pull up
10x3 - Back and biceps were already sore/tired so I didn't push this too hard.

[trav_longo]

4/12/2012

Bench
185x5, 205x3, 225x2, 245x1, 255x5 (PR), 265x1, 275x1, 285x1 (PR)

Deadlift
225x5, 315x3, 405x1, 425x1

Pull-up
2x10 (+25lbs), 2x8 (+30lbs)

Press
95x5, 135x5, 155x1, 165x3 (PR)

Curls

[trav_longo]

4/13/2012

Pendlay Seminar

Countless Cleans/Snatches with light weight. Logging PRs

Snatch (Actually power snatches because of my inability to get under the bar)
135x1, 140x1, 145x1, 150x1, 155x1, 160x1, 165x1 (30lb PR)

Clean
185x1, 205x1, 225x1, 235x1 (25lb PR)