Powerlifting Past 40: Doing the Best I Can with What I Have

[K.Diesel]

5 days without training, and it felt like 2 weeks. Time really does fly.

1. Barbell Overhead Press
bar/10; 85/8; 105/6; 125/6
added mouth guard
145/5 @7
added wrist wraps
165/5 @9
added belt
extended set: 175/4 @9 + 4 push press reps @10

2. Deadlift
135/5; 245/3; 335/2
added mouth guard
395/1; 445/1 @6
added belt
485/1 @7 - lock out wasn't clean due to grip (no chalk, no straps/Gripps)
added Versa Gripps
515/1 @8
535/1 @9 - this was HEAVY!

3. Dual Handle Pulldown
90/10; 120/10
cluster set: 150/6 x 6 sets done in 6 minutes

I didn't have time to do the close grip bench presses I had planned. Hopefully, I'll train tonight (Day 1) and they'll be a part of tonight's session.

[Oldster]

Wow! What an impressive log, your taped sets are really fun to watch.

[K.Diesel]

Wow! What an impressive log, your taped sets are really fun to watch.

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoy the uploads. I tend to get behind on them, but my goal is to keep those running as a sort of companion to the written log. Speaking of which, here's one I uploaded several days ago, but forgot to make it public when I did. This one is from the 10/5 session, and included a 475 lbs squat with a 415 x 5 backoff set, incline press, seated row and curls.



Fri. 10/12/17 - Day 1

1. Squat
135/5; 225/4; 295/3
added mouth guard
355/2 @5
added wrist wraps
405/1 @6
added belt
435/1 @6
465/1 @7
485/1 @8
420/5 @8

The top @8 single was up 10 lbs, and the 5-rep backoff was up 5 lbs from my last day 1 session (10/5). Nothing but happy about that!

2. Decline Closer-Grip Bench Press - not exactly "close-grip", but closer than my normal BP grip.
95/10; 145/10; 185/6
added mouth guard, wrist wraps & started getting handoffs
225/5 @5
rest-pause set: 250/12 total reps (7 @9 + 5 @9)

I haven't done decline benches in years. Generally speaking, I don't like them because your feet aren't on the floor when doing them. They felt okay, and I'm just playing around with some different exercises. I'll probably keep them in the rotation for a while, but I would definitely want a spotter and handoffs for the "heavy" sets.

3. Incline Pull Machine - Cybex machine that is sort of a hybrid between a pulldown and seated row
70/10 left + 10 right; 130/10 left + 10 right
added mouth guard
190/6 left + 6 right
extended set: 250/12 left + 12 right + 6 both arms

The weight stack on this machine only goes up to 295, and I'm pretty sure it's designed to be done with 2 arms at a time. I'm almost rowing the whole stack with one arm. I might keep this in the rotation as a ego booster, if nothing else.

4. Dumbbell Curls - hands neutral at the bottom, supinated at the top
30's/8
drop set: 45's/8 + 40's/5 + 35's/5

5. Hanging Leg Raise - at dip station
bodyweight x 10 x 3 sets

Session done in 90 minutes


Sun. 10/15/17 - Day 2

1. Bench Press
95/5; 145/5; 185/3; 215/2; 245/1 @6, 1 @6
added mouth guard
265/1 @7
added wrist wraps
280/1 @7
290/1 @7.5
300/1 @8
270/5 @9

I topped out at 300 x 1 on my last Day 2 (10/6) , but 1)that was an @9, and 2) I think this was the first time I ever benched 300 raw without a spotter or a handoff. That's quite a reach, but I'll take a W any way I can get it. Also, the 5-rep backoff set was +5 lbs from last Day 2.

2. Front Squat - using straps around the bar, and wore Rehband sleeves instead of SBD.
135/6; 185/4; 235/4 @5
added mouth guard
275/4 @7.5 (legs felt like @7, upper body felt like @8)
added belt

295/1 - not sure how to rate this. I wasn't going for a single. The bar felt like it slipped near the top on my right shoulder, and I never felt like as stable holding the bar as I should.

225/10 @7

I haven't done front squats in a while, so I didn't expect to be as good at them as I used to be, but this was still disappointing. My all-time PR is 375, and doing 315 for a set of 3-4 was normal. If I'm going to make them a regular thing again, I need to get used to holding the bar more than anything. My legs felt like they had plenty left.

3. Prone Leg Curl
80/10; 110/10 @6
added mouth guard
135/10 @8
150/8 @9

4. Seated Calf Raise
70/15-16 (lost count) - I actually did this set while waiting for the leg curl machine.
70/10
100/15 @9 - medium-slow on the negative, hard flex at the top

5. Standing Calf Raise
90/10
115/12 @BURN

2 calf exercises in one session? I must really be giving serious thought to this bodybuilding/classic physique thing.

Hopefully, my next session can happen after work either tomorrow or Tuesday. My wife and children were gone to a dance conference for my oldest daughter all weekend (she won a scholarship there!!), so it's probably best if we all have dinner and hang out tomorrow. I won't be mad if I can't squeeze the gym in until Tuesday. Thanks for reading all of this and keeping up with me.

[K.Diesel]

Peace everyone! I didn't intend to take a hiatus from posting. Hopefully, that won't happen again any time soon. If you've followed my log before, thank you for checking back in. If you're new to this log, welcome aboard.

Sunday, I competed in my first meet of 2018. It was the USAPL "Et Tu Brute Strength" meet, a 2-day event nearby in Baltimore County. Being so close to home, and with my weight class lifting on a Sunday (no time off work), I couldn't pass it up. I'm glad I didn't. Things went even better than I expected, even though training had been going fairly well leading up to it.

USAPL Et Tu Brute Strength, 3/25/18 - Open & Masters 1, 105 kg (231 lbs)

Weighed 101.4 kg (223.5 lbs) - my first PR of the day.

SQUAT
1st: 220 kg (485 lbs) - GOOD LIFT!
2nd: 230 kg (507 lbs) - GOOD LIFT!
3rd: 240 kg (529 lbs) - GOOD LIFT & PR (+5 kg)!!

BENCH
1st: 137.5 kg (303 lbs) - GOOD LIFT!
2nd: 142.5 kg (314 lbs) - GOOD LIFT!
3rd: 147.5 kg (325 lbs) - GOOD LIFT & PR (+2.5 kg)!!

DEADLIFT
1st: 235 kg (518 lbs) - GOOD LIFT!
2nd: 247.5 kg (545 lbs) - GOOD LIFT!
3rd: 257.5 kg (567 lbs) - GOOD LIFT!

FINAL RESULT: 9 for 9 (27 white lights), 645 kg (1,422 lbs), +10 kg (22 lbs) PR!!

"Vids or it didn't happen", so...
Note: if you're a WWE fan, the music will make a lot more sense to you.



I couldn't be happier with the result of this meet, except for my placing. I finished in a tie for first in both the Open and M1, but I was 0.4 kg heavier than the guy I was tied with, so he won. Going into 3rd attempts on the DL, the scoreboards crashed, and I didn't realize that I could have won by 2.5 kg with a 260 kg deadlift and a miss on my opponent's 3rd attempt (which he, in fact, missed). But I should have kept better track of the scores. Note to self: don't let that happen again!

I also qualified for Raw Nationals (the M1 qualifying total is 615 kg at 105 kg), but I don't know if I'm making the trek to Spokane, WA. I do plan on competing at Mid-Atlantic Regionals on August 5 though. I was itching to get back in the gym, so I did go in there on Tuesday for an easy session to keep things moving:

Tue. 3/27/18

1. Squat
135/5
205/5
260/5 - added mouth guard
(60%) 315/5 - added wrist wraps
(70%) 370/5 - added belt. Felt like an @4 or @5 RPE

2. Bench Press
95/5
135/5
165/5
(60%) 195/5 - added mouth guard
(~70%) 225/5 - added wrist wraps. Definitely less than @5.

3. Pullups
Assisted (full stack)/10 wide overhand
Assisted (half stack)/10 wide overhand
BW/10 wide overhand
BW/10 narrow overhand
BW/5 neutral hands out
BW/5 neutral hands in

4. Leg Raises (at dip station)
BW/10 x 4 sets

Nothing too hard. Nothing hurts. I'll probably do another easy session tomorrow, and tinker around with some other lifts. Thanks for reading/watching all of this and catching up with me.

[Str8shutr]

Nice lifts. You made the third attempts look light, too.

Awesome work.

[Oldster]

Wow! Really enjoyed watching that, man! Congratulations!

[skid]

Congrats! Squats and bench moved fast too! Def more there!

[John Helton]

Awesome stuff. Super strong.

[codger]

Incredible and inspiring!

[Meshuggah]

Why haven't I noticed this log before?! Keep up the strong work!!