Rob's Brooklyn Block (periodization) Party

Tuesday Night, Day 2

Deadlift: 435x1@8, 430x3@9.5 (ties PR), 410x3, 400x3
Very happy to be back here. My DL has been lagging and now it's finally back at PR territory.

3-count bench (no belt all triples): 205, 210, 215, 205, 205
My arms were pretty sore and tired from the night before so I didn't go any heavier than last week, but this was much more dense so overall the intensity was higher.

A good workout in a crappy gym. They had a DJ which meant the music was more terrible than normal and a lot louder. Plus they didn't have 35 pound plates-- which normally I hate-- but i have to use so I can roll the bar. The 45's hex plates are 1/4" too big. Anyway, going to avoid that place for now on, even if it's the closest one to my workplace. Most importantly I hit the deadlifts I wanted in very non-ideal conditions so I'm feeling pretty good about my deadlift for the first time in quite a while.

Thursday GPP

BB rows: 155x5x2 then 165x5x4 in 8 minutes
Intervals: 6 rounds of :20/1:40

Friday Day 3 Specialization

TnG Bench (no belt, triples): 220, 225, 230 and 225x5x2

Incline DB bench (fives): 60, 65, 70, 75

No squats. Didn't have time didn't want to spend all that time warming up and didn't want to aggravate the knee which felt crappy yesterday but better today. Figured I'll irritate it all at once tomorrow!

Day 4 Specialization

Up in NH and found a body building gym which was cool. "Adam's Body Shop" in Ashland, near Plymouth.

Paused DL (no belt, all triples): 335, 345, 355, 365,, 375, 355
Heaviest ever and 20 more than last week. Started rough as I felt like crap this morning, was nauseous and my back was really tight. It took an hour but I was pleased in the end.

Slingshot bench (no belt all triples): 245, 255, 265, 275, 255
Heaviest ever. 10 pounds more than last week. Good stuff

I was suppose to squat but circumstances (and my unconscious) conspired against it. Gym closed, I left. I prioritized DL because my knee.

Good training week in spite of the knee though. Honestly I want to PR my total but my biggest desire is a big bench and DL PR.

Hope your knee heals up in time to get a squat you want, but let's face it: it's really ALL about the bench.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Michael Wolf

Hope your knee heals up in time to get a squat you want, but let's face it: it's really ALL about the bench.

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Luckily for my ego (because of my shit-ass bench press) that is not actually true. Right? RIGHT????

Specialization Week 3, Day 1

Paused Squat (no belt, triples): 295, 305, 295x3x2
Wore ace bandages on the knees which helped. Overall knee has been feeling better but it got really sore this afternoon. Maybe from the work I got done on it this morning...

DB Incline press: 55x5, 70x5, 75x4, 80x4, 74x4x2
Solid enough.

Pretty short workout, even with all the mobility for the squat which was good since I worked late. Hitting doubles on the comp lifts this week, should be interesting!

Day 2

Deadlift: 445x1, 455x1(PR), 440x2 (PR for a double), 420x2, 410x2
445 was actually a bar misload. I got distracted and forgot to put a 10 on one side. I could feel it (obviously) but the pull was still pretty smooth, albeit not exactly symmetrical! I loaded 455 and I knew it would go (I missed 456 at my last meet) but it was pretty damn smooth too. At least 1 left in the tank. Good stuff!

DB Bench (all sets of four): 75, 85, 80, 80
Went a little too light here.

Honestly, I'm digging these short workouts.

Notes: Right knee is meh. But my left leg was more painful today-- my fibula is jamming up into my knee. I've had this before on my right leg and it was address via loosening up the lateral calf muscle and quad. That isn't really working. I may need someone to delaminate the muscles manually.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POUOrZQSLhg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S13AJyz5qJg

Specialization Week 3, Day 3

Squat: 405x1@9.5, 395x1@9 and 385x2@9.5
Knee feeling a lot better but still bothering me. It hurt on a few reps while warming up so i decided to reduce my normal warmup volume. The main problem here is that I'm not getting a bounce out of the hole so there's no momentum through my sticking point. The reps are fine, but the bar speed is not what it should be. So 405 was like what 415 should be like.... I'm resigned to the fact that I basically just will put up a 'decent' 400+ squat Saturday and will not match my PR from December. Still.

Bench: 245x1@8.5, 255x0 and 235x2x2 @8.5 and then 10
I got a little greedy here and went for a PR and missed. It was another one of those reps where I look at the video and go "why didn't I make that?" My sticking point is higher than most people. I should have done 250 but was looking to hit a new PR like my DL and gain some confidence. No dice. I'll probably make 253 my 3rd attempt. A PR, but not where I was hoping I'd be. Disappointing, but one step at a time I guess.

Overall a disappointing workout. What I lacked in the squat I did not make up on the bench. My only hope is Obi Wan Kenobi or a 473 deadlift for a huge PR and lots of smiles at the end. That will probably make the difference between a PR total or not. I"m thinking this for attempt now:

Squat: 391-407-413/419 or pass
Bench: 237-248-253
Dead: 435-457-468/474

Seriously considering passing on my third squat attempt just to not have to deal with the knee.

Catch up....

Realization week

Tuesday
Squat (to opener): 385
Felt absolutely terrible because it was so slow. I'm descending so slowly there's no bounce. Reducing opener to 375. The reduced warmup isn't helping and may be hurting so I'm not doing that tomorrow

Bench: 235 for 2 singles
Solid and easy

Jordan gave me different numbers so we are compromising.

Meet Recap

Despite my knee problems, I had a very successful meet yesterday and for the first time ever I went 9/9. I think I actually may have gotten 27 whites.

I had been taking ~3,200mg of ibuprofen for the 4 days leading up to the meet but my knee was still bothering me. Regardless, I decided I had to be aggressive on my descent and see where it went. During warmups it felt 20x better than Tuesday and my last warmup at 353 made me confident I could squat over 400 on that day.

Squat: 380, 407, 413
There was a little left in the tank here which was good as it wasn't an all grind leaving more for later. I had 419 yesterday for sure but I'm glad I left it for the bench and DL. Everyone said my squats looked great. I'll post my 3rd later.

Bench: 231, 242, 253 (PR)
A small PR but a PR. I missed this in April. There should be more here, but I'm getting stuck very high for some reason I don't understand.

Coaching INPUT WELCOME:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Crk4tsHhapo&

Deadlift: 430, 452, 463 (PR)
Plan A was higher, but I played it conservative. I really, really didn't want to miss my 3rd attempt again.

Total: 1130. I think this is 5 pound total PR. Tiny, but hey, I got 2 PR's and went 9 for 9. I also won the gold over my fellow coach and friend Fox (who had a very rough day.)

Looking to get healthy, feel better and lean out over the next 2 months. I will be working hard on my upper body and plan on taking at least this week off from squatting.

I got to meet two of my log stalkers as well which was pretty cool.

Thanks everyone for your support.