More Like a Half Gallon of Milk - Powerlifting for Little Guys

[MannyPrieto]

Offseason Week #3 Workout #1: 3/17/14
Body Weight: 137.6
Stress Check: 6% (Low)
RHR: 59

I worked out at Morgan Stanley in the morning (same situation as last Monday). To celebrate St. Patrick's Day I wore an EliteFTS St. Patrick's Day shirt (one of the older ones - I don't see it in stock now). Of course this just happens to be the only kelly green article of clothing I own. Anywho . . .

Squat Warm-ups: 45x10, 135x5, 175x5, 205x3, (add belt and wrist wraps) 235x3

A. Squat: 260x4x5 - Depth is getting better. These weren't easy but did feel much better than last week (the difference between 8.5 and 9.5?)
B. Squat (Paused): 240x3x3

Bench Warm-ups: 45x10, 65x5, 85x5, 105x5, 125x5

C. Bench Press: 140x4x7
D. Bench Press (3-second pause): 155x3x3
E. Back Extension: 25 lb. platex4x25

Got all my reps on my own with bench presses, even with making sure to hold those pauses longer. Even with wrist wraps, I couldn't get my hands in closer than I normally do without them, but I was able to squeeze the bar harder, which I think helps. I also tried moving my grip out slightly on bench presses now that I have wraps - not a huge change (going from edge of pinky on rings to space between ring and pinky fingers on rings), but enough to reduce my ROM a little without any ill effects.

[MannyPrieto]

Offseason Week #3 Workout #2: 3/19/14
Body Weight: 137.8
Stress Check: 12% (Low)
RHR: 55

Recovery indices are looking better. I worked out at Credit Suisse today - the situation was entirely the same as last week so no need to go into detail there.

Bench Warm-ups: 45x10, 95x5, 115x5, 130x5, 145x3

A. Bench (paused): 160x5x5
B. Bench (touch-and-go): 160x8 - Getting better at these. I was a bit more willing to grind which allowed me to get another rep.
C1. Seated DB Press: 40x4x10
C2. Incline DB Row: 45x4x12
D1. DB Lateral Raise: 12.5x3x15
D2. Standing Abs on GHR: 1.5" Bandx3x20

[MannyPrieto]

Offseason Week #3 Workout #3: 3/21/14
Body Weight: 138.6
Stress Check: 2% (Very Low)
RHR: 59

I trained at Credit Suisse this morning. Since the bars there all have weightlifting knurl patterns, setting up for a sumo deadlift felt awkward. I did notice my hand/the barbell was rubbing against my left thigh prematurely (no issues with the right hand) - I wish I recorded my sets so I could figure out what was wrong with my setup. Though it wasn't a huge deal - I wasn't really in danger of missing any reps.

Deadlift Warm-ups: 135x5, 185x5, 225x5, (add belt) 255x3

A. Deadlift: 285x4x5
B. Deadlift from 3" Blocks: 335x3x3 - I did manage to steal some aerobic steps just before yoga class. This did make some people nervous, but it worked out fine.
C. Pendlay Row: 140x5x8
D. Lat Pulldown: 95(?)x2x10, 100x2x10 - Due to time constraints I actually had to do these later in the afternoon. I ended up working up to a heavier weight after the first two sets. I wasn't sure about the weight on the first two sets as I had 85 on the stack plus two incremental weights (100 was the next heaviest weight on the machine).

[MannyPrieto]

Week #3 Workout #4: 3/22/14
Body Weight: 136.8
Stress Check: 40% (High)
RHR: 64

I slept well last night but of course with these long hours during the week I didn't get as much the night before. Today's training was at Iron Arena. Smaller crowd today (Warmer weather? March Madness?) so I didn't have to worry about the rack/bench situations.

Squat Warm-ups: 45x10, 135x5, 185x3 - figured I'd go with a shorter warm-up since my first work set was light and I'd be adding weight each set

A. Squats (3-0-3 Tempo): 205x4, 225x4, 235x4, 240x4 - The program originally called for 235 to be the top weight for 1-2 sets but Jason had me go up another 5 lbs. on that last one. These always suck but I'm definitely getting better at them.

Bench Warm-ups: 50x10, 100x5, 120x5, 140x3, 160x3 (all bench sets used the 50 lb. Iron Wolfe Super Bench Bar)

B. Bench (paused): 180x4x3
C. Sling Shot (paused): 205x3x3
D. Bench (3-second pause, no Sling Shot): 160x2x3 - Yes, even MOAR benching!
E. Standing Abs on GHR: Green Bandx4x20

You may have noticed I'm no longer using the "Off-season" designation. With the way training has been going, it looks like I'll be lifting at the July RPS meet after all. That meet is still more than 12 weeks away and I usually wait until near the deadline before sending in my entry form, so I won't start the countdown yet, but we do have a more concrete plan now.

[MannyPrieto]

Week #4 Workout #1: 3/24/14
Body Weight: 137.8 (One of my female coworkers who is prepping for a physique comp told me she was stuck at 123 and felt she needed to change things up to keep losing weight. Not only is this an entire weight class above my weigh-in weight, but even at 15 lbs. heavier than she is I feel like I need to EAT. To be fair, she is shorter than I am, but still . . . lol)
Stress Check: 11% (Low)
RHR: 61

Trained early at Morgan Stanley this morning (~10 AM).

Squat Warm-ups: 45x10, 135x5, 185x3, 225x3, 255x3

A. Squats: 285x4x3 - Yes, this is more than 2x/BW, AND more than my opener at my last meet, and I was supposed to do these for not one, not two, not three, but FOUR triples. Somehow I managed to make all of these. I did 280 for a set of 6 (and those squats might have been a little high), but I haven't gone this heavy for a triple, let alone multiple ones. So I guess I can call this a Training PR?
B. Paused Squats: 250x3x3 - Much like Tempo Squats, these always suck, but today they didn't suck as much. I'll call it an 8.

Bench Warm-ups: 45x10, 95x5, 115x5, 135x3

C. Bench (regular pause): 150x5x6

Due to time constraints I ended up doing the rest of this workout in the afternoon. I basically repeated the bench warm-up and went from there.

D. Bench (3-second pause): 165x2x2
E. Back Extension: 25 lb. plate across chestx4x25

[MannyPrieto]

Week #4 Workout #2: 3/26/14
Body Weight: 138.6
Stress Check: 13% (Low)
RHR: 59

I trained at Credit Suisse at around 10:30 AM. I started my bench warmups on one of the "competition" benches they have there but they have the dread non-adjustable uprights (and of course the high ones are too high and the low ones too low). So I went to the power rack again.

Bench Warm-ups: 45x10, 95x5, 115x5, 135x5, 155x3

A. Bench Press (paused): 170x5x4
B. Bench Press (touch-and-go, 1 AMRAP set): 170x7 - I missed halfway up on an 8th attempt. Last week I got 160x8, so I can't complain too much.
C1. Seated DB Press: 45x4x10 - I had the option of going up but chose to stick to the same weight as last week. Form started to break down toward the end of that last set, so I'd say this was a good call.
C2. Incline DB Row: 45x4x12
D1. DB Lateral Raise: 12.5x3x15
D2. Abs (on machine): 35x3x20 - Credit Suisse has one of these machines (http://www.lifefitness.com/commercia...abdominal.html) so I tried that instead of the usual GHR abs (plus I didn't feel like searching around for the band). I kept the weight light and focused on getting a really good contraction - it does seem like it's easier to cheat on this one than the one I normally use at Morgan Stanley so I made a conscious effort not to.

[MannyPrieto]

Week #4 Workout #3: 3/28/14
Body Weight: 137.4
Stress Check: 15% (Medium)
RHR: 65

I had to split this workout into two parts, the first of which I did at Credit Suisse at 11 AM and the second of which I did at Morgan Stanley around 4:30 PM. I missed my train this morning so I came in a little later than I would have liked.

Main Lifts at Credit Suisse
Deadlift Warm-ups: 135x5, 185x5, 225x3, 255x3, 285x3

A. Deadlift: 315x4x3 - Because of space constraints I did the first three sets inside the power rack (took the pins out), which felt weird (I pull sumo). These are standard Cybex power racks (no sumo base) so my toes were right at the edge of the rack. I felt my back rounding a little more than usual on those first three sets, so I finally decided on the last set to take that bar out of the rack.
B. Deadlift from 3" Blocks: 335x2x3, 345x3 - That first set was a bit of a struggle so I hesitated to add weight. The last two sets felt better.

Assistance Work at Morgan Stanley
C. Pendlay Rows: 140x5x8
D. Lat Pulldowns (Wide Grip): 100x4x10

[MannyPrieto]

Felt too tired to post this yesterday. Anyways, here we go:

Week #4 Workout #4: 3/29/14
Body Weight: 138.0
Stress Check: 1% (Very Low)
RHR: 66 (??? Usually my HRV and RHR scores correlate, so this seemed a little weird. For now I won't dwell on this too much.)

Lower back still felt a little sore from Friday's training but otherwise I felt fine. I trained at Iron Arena around 1 PM.

Squat Warm-ups (all squats on ER Rack with Westside Power Bar): 45x10, 135x5, 185x3

A. Squat (3-0-3 Tempo): 225x3, 245x3, 255x2x3

Bench Warm-ups (all bench presses on the competition bench with 50 lb. Iron Wolfe Super Bench bar): 50x10, 100x5, 140x3, 160x3, 180x1

B. Bench Press: 190x2, 195x5x2 - The program as written called for 5 sets of 2 at 190, but after looking at the first set Jason thought the weight was "too light" so he had me add 5 lbs. Locking out that last rep of the last set was tough, but I still made all my reps.
C. Sling Shot: 215x3x2 - Now I'm starting to handle heavier weight than my meet PR with this thing. Got tougher toward the end, but once again still made it.
D. Bench (3-second pause, no Sling Shot): 170x2x3 - These felt really light, even after everything we did!
E. Standing Abs on GHR: Green Bandx4x20

This may not have been a great week outside of training, but training has gone well this week - I've Squatted and Benched more than my openers from the last meet and I'm doing that weight for multiple sets of multiple reps. Qualifying for RUM is still a long way to go, especially now with the new standards, but making progress, especially when things aren't going perfectly, is always a good sign.

[MannyPrieto]

Week #5 Workout #1: 3/31/14
Body Weight: 137.8
Stress Check: 29% (Medium)
RHR: 66 (This is starting to worry me a little.)
My lower back/right hip still feeling a little sore, but got better as I warmed up.

This was described as a "deload" week as I'm only training 3 days this week and assistance volume is reduced (I'm also only benching once this week). But the main lifts are still going to be pushed hard - I'll be working up to some heavy singles later this week.

I arrived later than I wanted to because of delays (snow at the END of March?!?!?!) so I ended up doing my Squats at 11 AM at Credit Suisse and my assistance work at Morgan Stanley around 4:30.

Squat Warm-ups: 45x10, 135x6, 185x4, 235x3, 265x2

A. Squat: 295x4x2 - The last rep of that last set was a grinder for sure! I've noticed when training weights get heavy I have the tendency to want to cut the depth off on my squats, so in terms of RPE I'd call sets like that a "technical" 10.
B. Squat (paused): 255x2x3 - The lighter weight did make things easier, but these were tough. I'd call them a 9.
C. Back Extensions: 25x4x25
D. Abs (on machine): 35x4x20

[MannyPrieto]

Week #5 Workout #2: 4/2/14
Body Weight: 137.4
Stress Check: 3% (Very Low)
RHR: 62

Lower back is feeling better. I trained at Credit Suisse - no reliable spotters around, so I benched in a power rack.

A. Bench Press (working up to a heavy single): 45x10, 95x5, 115x4, 135x3, 155x2, 175x1, 190x1, 200x1, 210x1, 215xmiss - I missed that last rep at midrange - was pissed that I couldn't grind my way through it. Without a handoff my setup definitely felt off - I most likely would have gotten that 215 if I was just in a better position.
B. Sling Shot: 200x3x3
C1. Seated DB Press: 50x2x10
C2. DB Row on Incline Bench: 50x2x12
D. Standing Lateral Raise: 12.5x2x15