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Thread: Training for Powerlifting at Planet Fitness (I’m not joking!)

  1. #81
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    Default Aborting Mission (For Now)

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    Quote Originally Posted by Bill Anders View Post
    That is great news!!! That's still quite a bit closer than your brother's place, so hopefully you can get there a bit more frequently while you prep for your meet.

    As I mentioned before when we talked about this, I do not envy you your work on getting the needed calories in during the short window while also getting sufficient sleep. But who knows, this experiment may surprise you in the end with meet totals. Good luck!
    Thanks a bunch Bill! Unfortunately, it looks like I’m going to have to pull out of this meet. I wouldn’t say that I love the challenge of these circumstances, but I don’t like to make excuses or shrink away from them. However, there’s a difference between making excuses and recognizing valid reasons not to do something. And all signs in the last week and a half are pointing to me skipping this meet.

    My goals were to 1) break the Maryland state squat record for Masters 1b at 93 kg, and 2) improve on my total from the meet in November. I would only need to squat 230 kg (507 lbs) for the record. But when I went to Gold’s last Sunday after a decent Planet Fitness session last Wednesday, I struggled with 425 after smashing 455 on my first visit there a week prior. Come to find out, I’ve lost even more weight and I’ve seen my lowest body weight in years looking back at me from the scale’s display (200.4 lbs). My sleep and eating are off since Ramadan began, and I don’t think I’m going to be able to do what I need to in order to perform the way I want to at the meet. If the meet was a month after Ramadan ended, then probably. But not 10 days.

    So, looking ahead...

    The last day of fasting this year will be May 12. My goals through that date are to 1) keep my body weight over 200 lbs, and 2) train at least once per week. Beyond that, my first order of business is to GET SWOLE. I’m figuring out my post-Ramadan training and diet now. In terms of competing, I’m looking at the same meet I did last year, scheduled once again for November.

  2. #82
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    Kaisheem — Well, I'm sorry to read this, mostly because I have an idea how disappointed you are. But discretion, as they say, is the better part of valor. Trying to recover post-Ramadan in just 10 days would be quite a feat, especially since you're struggling with the eating and sleeping right now. I was thinking "well, what about using the meet as a training benchmark opportunity?", but that would be more trouble than it's worth, I suspect.

    Looking forward to November!

  3. #83
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    Default 199.2

    Quote Originally Posted by Bill Anders View Post
    Kaisheem — Well, I'm sorry to read this, mostly because I have an idea how disappointed you are. But discretion, as they say, is the better part of valor. Trying to recover post-Ramadan in just 10 days would be quite a feat, especially since you're struggling with the eating and sleeping right now. I was thinking "well, what about using the meet as a training benchmark opportunity?", but that would be more trouble than it's worth, I suspect.

    Looking forward to November!
    Thank you Bill! I thought about doing the meet anyway, but this meet director is so awesome that he issues refunds. So my wife and I are just going to use the weekend to get away. God willing, November is going to bring a much more favorable result. However, I have some ground to make up...

    199.2 - that was my weight (in pounds) yesterday morning. I don’t remember the last time that I weighed less than 200 lbs. It has probably been several years. I had been planning on training either today or Monday, but seeing that number on the scale pushed me into the gym yesterday evening. I decided to go ahead and start with my upper/lower (biceps w/lower) DoggCrapp-inspired split, incorporating loaded stretches. That’s my preferred hypertrophy protocol, and I wanted to get going with it just in case I can get in the gym more often than I have been.

    I also plan on going to Gold’s Gym twice a month to get some practice on the competition lifts, and to use some of the other equipment they have (glute-ham raise, reverse hyper, strongman implements, etc).

    Sat. 5/1/21 - Lower #1

    On exercises 1-3, I used machines that I’ve never used before. My wife was with me, and she was doing a circuit on machines in their “30 Minute Express Workout” area. So I used them so we could train together. The leg curl is in that section too, but I use that one every time I’m at a Planet Fitness that has one.

    1. Biceps Curl Machine

    15/20
    45/10
    75/7
    Rest-pause drop: 90/8 + 75/6 + 65/7-8 (lost count)

    2. Hammer Curl - used the same machine, but grabbed the handles in a very close, neutral grip

    15/10? - just getting a feel for the movement, not sure how many I did
    Drop: 50/10 + 35/20 - didn’t expect that many after the drop; should have rest-paused with the same weight

    3. Calf Press - on Express Leg Press Machine, 5 second negatives on each rep

    50/15
    100/17
    Drop: 145/10 + 125/10
    Loaded stretch: 120/60 seconds - this hurt

    4. Prone Leg Curl

    35/10, 10 - needed a second set to get it right
    60/10
    75/8
    Straight set: 90/20 - flex & hold each rep at the top through rep 16; ROM was getting short at 20

    Did 75 second biceps stretch after the 60/10 set

    5. Leg Press - plate loaded; sled weighs 136 lbs, but I’m only counting the plates

    sled/20
    180/10
    270/8
    360/8
    450/8
    Work set 1: 500/10 at 8.5 RPE
    Work set 2: 320/20 - paused for a few breaths at reps 10, 12, 15, 18

    Stretched each quad and each hamstring 60 seconds each.

    Done in one hour. Pizza with grilled chicken, olives & pineapple, plus fried chicken, plus my staple 700 calorie bowl of oatmeal last night after training. One day at a time.

  4. #84
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    Quote Originally Posted by K.Diesel View Post
    One day at a time.[/COLOR]
    That's all we can do, regardless of our plans.

    Turning the meet weekend into a weekend getaway sounds like a great idea!

  5. #85
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    Default What A Week

    Quote Originally Posted by Bill Anders View Post
    That's all we can do, regardless of our plans.

    Turning the meet weekend into a weekend getaway sounds like a great idea!
    Indeed. I’m looking forward to a little breather, plus the Memorial Day break the following week.

    I haven’t been to work at all this week. For the first few days, I’ve had two things going on. First, someone in my oldest daughter’s dance class tested positive for Covid. Since she had close contact with the other girl, she had to get tested and my whole household isolated to see what her result was. The idea was that if she tested positive, then we’d all get tested, but if she was negative, then we should all be fine. She tested negative, but by Tuesday she was having serious asthma trouble again, and spent a night in the emergency room. The second issue is a cracked sewage pipe in my basement. I’m not much of a DIY guy, but I’ve had to purchase wet/dry vac and do some serious cleanup so a plumber can come in and do the repairs. 🙁

    I’ve taken advantage of the time off by actually being more active in terms of lifting.

    Sun.5/2/21

    Ab Wheel: 3 sets of 10

    I might start doing some direct ab stuff at home on days off from the gym, just so I don’t have to spend time on it at the gym. 3 sets of 10 isn’t much, but I don’t see myself doing a lot more than this. Maybe get up to 5 sets of whatever over the course of an evening after work.

    Mon. 5/3/21 - early session

    After we got the email saying our daughter’s test was negative, I went out to run some errands. I was near the gym, so on a whim, I went in to do some extra stuff before my real workout. This took about 10-15 minutes.

    Torso Rotation Machine

    40/15 left, 15 right
    55/20 left, 20 right
    70/20 left, 20 right
    85/20 left, 20 right

    Hammer Crunch Machine

    25/15
    40/10
    40/10
    20/15

    Cybex Leg Press

    75/15
    145/10
    205/10
    260/10

    I don’t like this machine because the ROM is too short. But I was on it to do a loaded calf stretch, so I just did these too.

    Loaded Calf Stretch (on Cybex Leg Press): 130 lbs for 60 seconds

    Mon. 5/3/21 - later, real session (Upper #1)

    Weights listed on Smith Machine exercises are plates only. The + represents the weight of the bar.

    Smith Machine Decline Press - stacked a pair of 10 lbs plates under the end of the bench

    bar/20
    50+/15
    90+/10
    130+/6
    160+/6
    rest-pause: 185+/10 + 3 + 2 all at 10 RPE - Added mouth guard. Rests were 30 seconds, 45 seconds

    Pec Stretch: bottom position of flat dumbbell fly, 25 lbs dumbbells, 45 seconds

    Smith Machine High Incline Press

    bar/12
    50+/8
    50+/8 - changed seat angle on this set
    70+/8
    weird rest-pause: 90+/11 at 10 RPE + 2 standing OHP + 4 high inclines at 10 RPE

    Okay... I’ve done standing overhead press on the Smith machine plenty of times. My idea for the rest-pause was to do my first round of reps, then do a “mechanical drop” by putting myself in a stronger pressing position (standing OHP) after the brief rest. But something with that machine’s track was off at the top, so I had to abort that idea after two reps, and finish with the same seated high inclines I had been doing.

    Smith Machine Barbell Row

    bar/15
    90+/10
    140+/10
    180+/6 - added Versa Gripps
    straight set: 200+/11 at 10 RPE - Added mouth guard. Shut it down when the ROM got short.

    Smith Machine “Snatch Grip” Rack Pull - Grip outside the rings. Bar just below knees. Versa Gripps.

    180+/6
    270+/6
    straight set: 320+/6 at 9 RPE

    First time doing these. I like them.

    Pull-ups: Bodyweight x 13 reps - one set on the Smith Machine with the bar locked at the top.

    Cable Pressdowns - short, straight bar

    30/10
    50/10
    rest-pause: 60/13 + 7 - very slow negative on last rep of each round

    Unilateral triceps stretch: bottom position of an overhead extension, 10 lbs kettlebell, 45 seconds each

    Standing lat stretch: used Pulldown station, 60 seconds

    Lat hang: wide grip hang from pull-up bars, 60 seconds

    This probably reads like a lot, but I actually did it in one hour.

    Looking forward to training this evening, and a doctor’s appointment tomorrow to start investigating recent daily lower back pain.

  6. #86
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    Default Wed. 5/5/21 - Lower #2

    My daughter went back to the ER early this morning (about 4-5 am). She’ll be there at least through tonight, so I’ll be home with our other 2 children tomorrow. They have a half day at school on Fridays, There’s a silver lining for me: not delivering mail means I can hold onto some weight. I haven’t been to work this week, and was already back up to 204.4 lbs this morning.

    Also, I went to the doctor today myself, as I’ve been having some lower back pain for the last 2-3 weeks. I first noticed it while squatting, but I don’t know that squatting caused it. There was no “snap” or indicator of acute injury. It hurts just about all the time, starting when I wake up. I was prescribed prednisone and muscle relaxer, and had x-rays taken. A physical exam did not suggest a herniated disc, but we’ll see what the imaging shows and if the steroid helps.

    I still did stiff legged/Romanian deadlifts yesterday. It didn’t make things worse. At least, I don’t feel worse. I don’t know if I prevented improvement though.

    Wed. 5/5/21 - Lower #2

    Seated Dumbbell Curls - kept hands supinated the whole time

    20’s/15
    25’s/8
    straight set: 30’s/14 at 10 RPE

    Seated Dumbell Hammer Curls

    straight set: 20’s/13 at 10 RPE

    Calf Press (on Cybex Leg Press) - 5 second negatives on each rep

    85/15
    130/12
    straight set: 175/17 at 9.5 RPE
    loaded stretch: 205/60 seconds

    Smith Machine RDL - only listing plate weights, bar is represented by +

    bar/10
    90+/8
    180+/6 - added mouth guard
    270+/6 - added Versa Gripps
    straight set: 300+/6 - added belt
    straight set: 230+/8

    The negatives on all of these were very controlled. Each set had an extra negative at the end to lower the bar to the starting position. Also, each foot was standing on a 25 lbs plate to make sure I had full ROM.

    Leg Extension - different machine than the one I normally use. I like this one better.

    30/15
    60/10
    90/10
    rest-pause set: 120/15 + 10 + 10 at 9-10 RPE

    Was rushing and forgot my stretches. Done in an hour.

  7. #87
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    I'm glad that you could find a silver lining in these events. Hopefully everyone's health issues get sorted soon.

  8. #88
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    Default Fri. 5/7/21

    Quote Originally Posted by Bill Anders View Post
    I'm glad that you could find a silver lining in these events. Hopefully everyone's health issues get sorted soon.
    Thank you sir. It looks like things are turning a corner.

    My bodyweight is practically the same at 204.2. That’s because I haven’t been to work all week. My daughter is home from the hospital, and it looks like I’ll be back at work on Monday. Ramadan ends this week as well. If I still weigh this much next weekend, I’ll take that as a win.

    I went into this session with biceps that still felt pumped and sore. That’s odd for me. My biceps never feel sore. I will skip curls on my next lower day.

    Hammer Strength Incline Press

    10 per side/10, 10 - getting loose, particularly my left shoulder
    40 per side/5, 12 - moved seat to it’s highest position after 5 reps; shoulder felt better
    65 per side/8
    rest-pause: 80 per side/10 + 4 + 2, all at 10 RPE - left mouth guard in locker, missed having it

    Hammer Strength Shoulder Press

    30 per side/15
    50 per side/10
    70 per side/8-10 (lost count)
    rest-pause: 85/10 + 5 + 4 all at 10 RPE

    I never lift more on overhead presses than I do on horizontal presses (flat/incline/decline). I retrieved my mouth guard before the work set on shoulder press. Could that be the reason that I performed better on an overhead press than I did on a horizontal press? I find that hard to believe, but this was odd.

    Cable Pulldown - neutral grip, outside shoulder width

    40/20
    85/12
    125/10
    160/8 - added mouth guard
    rest-pause drop: 200/8 + 180/5 + 140/8 all at 10 RPE - added Versa Gripps

    Seated Cable Row

    42.5/10 - used V-handle
    70/10 - switched to same handle as I used on the pulldowns
    straight set: 90/11 at 10 RPE - added mouth guard and Versa Gripps; stopped when ROM got short

    Triceps Press Machine - looks like a seated dip machine

    70/15
    145/15
    drop: 220/12 + 190/9 both at 10 RPE, stopped when I could feel pecs starting to work

    Superset - same machine, opposite directions

    Rear Delt Machine

    70/12
    drop: 115/15 + 100/6 - added mouth guard; stopped when it felt like I wasn’t doing full reps anymore

    Pec Fly Machine

    70/12
    straight set: 115/20 at 9.5 RPE - added mouth guard

    Did the following stretches for 60 seconds each: 1) vertical hang (from pull-up bar), 2) horizontal hang (from Smith machine bar, feet on bench), 3) flat pec stretch w/20 lbs dumbbells (bottom position of a fly), 4) front delts stretch (holding waist high bar), 5) biceps stretch (holding waist high bar)

    Done in 1 hour 10 minutes

  9. #89
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    Default 45th Birthday - The Grind Continues

    Sun. 5/9/21

    My 45th birthday! I’m grateful that God has blessed me to see this milestone, and to be in the physical, mental, financial, emotional, spiritual places I am right now. I’m not blind to all the areas I need/want to improve, but I’m well aware of how much worse things could be.

    I had an errand to run, returning an item to Home Depot. The Planet Fitness is in the same shopping center, so I ran in to do some quick ab work. It took about 10-15 minutes.

    Cybex Sit-Up Machine - not the Hammer Ab Crunch I normally use. Lower body is stationary on this.

    30/20
    50/20
    70/20
    90/20

    Hanging Leg Raises - elbows propped on a dip station

    BW/10 x 5 sets

    Tue. 5/11/21 - Lower #3

    Biceps feel back to normal, so I went ahead and did them with lower body again.

    Wall Curls - used some of the fixed weight barbells they have, with my back against a wall (strict)

    20/15
    30/10
    40/10
    straight set: 50/16 at 9.5 RPE

    Wall Reverse Curls - done with a pronated grip to stress the forearms

    20/10
    straight set: 30/11 at 9.5 RPE

    Biceps stretch for 45 seconds

    Calf Press (on Cybex Leg Press)

    70/10 - flex at the top w/brief hold, then 5-count on the negative through bottom stretch
    130/15
    straight set1: 175/10 - flex at top w/brief hold, then 5 second (timed) negative through bottom
    straight set 2: 205/17 - nonstop, full ROM, deliberate reps
    loaded stretch: 205/60 seconds at the bottom of the ROM

    Seated Leg Curl - If I don’t use prone leg curl, it means I’m at my normal PF

    40/15
    85/10
    rest-pause: 115/18 + 13 at 10 RPE (could not do a full rep anymore)

    Smith Machine High Bar Squat - weights listed are just the plates. Bar is represented by “+”.

    bar/12
    90+/8
    180+/8
    230+/6 - added mouth guard
    280+/6 - added belt
    cluster-set: 320+/2 + 2, then immediately walked to leg extension machine

    Leg Extension

    rest-pause dropset: 155/11 + 135/10 - both at 10 RPE

    Done in one hour.

    Facebook threw an ad for this on my feed. I’m seriously thinking about doing it.

    2021 USSF Powerlifting Summer Challenge | US Strengthlifting Federation

  10. #90
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    starting strength coach development program
    Happy birthday, Kaisheem! What a great way to mark it - by staying strong!

    And that USSF challenge and Nationals is a nice carrot to keep the training focused.

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