Still on the Right Side of the Grass

[Browndog]

4/2/22

Peak Week

Very odd not having the meet on a Saturday...

Anyway, an interesting week of extremely light lifts. This is a change from past Peaking templates, where we'd normally work up to Openers...#trusttheprocess

I feel pretty good, though I have had moments where I had to remind myself that I'm not losing any strength with this reduced work load. I maintained the no caffeine, no Aleve all week long. I'm looking forward to that extra boost tomorrow, as my ass has been dragging this week.

The official attempts are:
S: 145 / 157.5 / 165-170
B: 87.5 / 92.5 / 95-97.5
D: 185 / 200 / 210-215

So pretty much in line with what I anticipated. As always, it's important to nail that Squat opener, it sets the tone for the day.

For those who have an interest, in addition to the Lifting Cast page, the possibility exists that there will be a live stream on YouTube. Check on Mustache Fitness's site around 9:00am tomorrow. One session, 42 lifters, and from what I gather there will be some fairly strong athletes taking part (yours truly not included in that august assembly).

[Bill Anders]

The only thing to do now is show up.

This scattered group will the cheering you on from afar, looking forward to great success!

[Bill Anders]

Excellent recovery after Squat attempts 2 & 3, Browndog. Way to stick to the script!

[Browndog]

Excellent recovery after Squat attempts 2 & 3, Browndog. Way to stick to the script!

Thanks...it was an interesting day.

(see below)

[Browndog]

Today's meet was a qualified success...

I came into the meet feeling pretty good about all my lifts, and training has been as good as I could have hoped for.

Weighed in at 95.8kg, a little short on sleep, but well fed, and well hydrated.

Squats warmed up nicely. Opened at 145kg, and hit it with relative ease. Then things went sideways...on my Second at 157.5kg, I blackout coming up out of the hole. My third attempt ran into the same issue. I haven't had this problem for years, and it showed up today in successive lifts. Color me worried, bordering on scared.

After a profane pity party (held in my car), I came back to face an uncertain fate.

We warmed up Bench extremely conservatively, if this blackout issue was going to continue, it would really show up here...it didn't. Smoked every attempt, hitting 95kg on my third, and had I not had the "problem", 97.5kg was there for the taking.

So buoyed with a bit of confidence, we decided to be as committed as we could, to as big a pull as we could safely muster. 185 / 200 / 215...BOOM. That's my best pull since Chicago, and technically is was a beauty (my knees and back cooperated). Again, without having had the blackout issue, 220kg was easily within reach.

So I atone for the shit show that was Daytona 10 months ago. And even though I didn't hit any PRs today, I found some grit and inner resolve that I thought was lost over the past two years. I'm deeply appreciative for all the support from my teammates today, and everyone here through this arduous road back to being competitive again.

[granny]

Congrats! Way to go that’s awesome.
All grit no quit.

[Meshuggah]

Great job on digging deep and getting it done!
Stay Strong!!

[Bill Anders]

That is a fantastic return to the stage, even with the unexpected blackouts. Great work, Browndog!

[Browndog]

4/9/22

Recovery Week

Three working days of really light movement, with a recovery massage thrown in on Tuesday. Amazingly enough, I felt pretty good post meet. Normally I feel like a bag of smashed assholes. I attribute this state of being to the superlative programming these past 10 months #goldilocks

The gym picked up an Assault Runner...what a fun machine that is! I haven't been able to really run for a few years now (I don't consider the start/step of Squash, running) due to my ongoing knee issue. I've put in a few sessions on this new A/R, and my knees are no worse the wear. I think I've found a solution to my conditioning issues...finally. Plus, I will admit I was getting a bit depressed that I couldn't run anymore (not that I do a lot of it). I used to be a fairly fast fellow in my youth, and being somewhat "crippled" left me feeling less than athletic.

And now we're onto a new training cycle, consisting of three, three week blocks. These will lead us into Powerlifting America's Masters Nations in Orlando, in June. Why not...

Let's go!!!

[Browndog]

4/16/22

1st Cycle reps/sets

Squat - Keeping the program we've been running for the past year, with just a little more volume. Opening this cycle with a single at 135kg, and then down sets of 7*2. Lots of single leg work, and some rows. The single was pretty strong, felt good coming back from the recovery week.

Bench - Single at 85kg; down sets of 7*2 touch and go; Spoto sets 5*3; Dumbbell work; Bi's and Tri's...we're gonna make this bench move if it's the last thing we do. I'm warming up from the pins to build some explosiveness off the chest. Volume is the order of the day.

Deadlift - Single at 165kg; down sets of 7*2 at 145kg, heavy RDLs 125kg - 3 sets of 8; normal single leg extensions and hamstring curls as finishing work.

Conditioning Work - Ok this is new! We now have an Assault Runner at the gym, so I'm adding interval work to get my aerobic capacity back to where it should be - Five, four minute sets of 20 seconds on / 10 seconds off. Amazingly, my bad knee has handled this additional work load without a hitch: no swelling, no pain, no stiffness...I have no idea what has transpired, but I'm really happy that I can finally run without feeling like a cripple. My heart rate recovery is really good, all things considered. I maxed out my last set at 180bpm, and one minute later I was down to 120bpm...can't complain about that. Not that I enjoyed the oxygen debt, but that's too be expected for being so sedentary these past few years.

SBD Saturday - Haven't had a full Saturday session in quite a while. Can't say I didn't ask for more work. Paused SSB 8*3 at 95kg; three count pause Bench 3*3 75kg to 80kg; Big Wheel Pulls 3*3 at 183kg; Rows and Kroc Rows; IYTs and Shoulder Clusters...madonna! I thought the SSBs were gonna be the death of me.

Again, this is going to be a three week cycle, re-set (a bit higher than the start of this cycle) to start the next three week cycle, rinse and repeat into June, and the PLA meet in Orlando.