Harder to Kill - 5 Pounds at a Time

[Nikola Blagojevic]

Monday 6/6 - Dynamic Effort Upper
DE Bench........240x3x10
Press..............185x3; 155x8; 145x8; 135x10
Dips...............BWx10x3
Rack Push Ups.15+8+6

Tuesday 6/7 - Dynamic Effort Lower
DE Squat.........360x2x10
DE Deadlift......380x2x5
Goblet Squat....55x20x3
TRX Leg Curl....3x21
Band Crunch....3x21 purple band

Thursday 6/9 - Max Effort Upper
Bench..............300x5
CG Bench.........260x5x3; 225x10
DB Row............130x12; 95x17
OH DB Ext........35x15x3

Friday 6/10 - Max Effort Lower
Squat..............445x5
Rack Pull.........505x5
SG Deadlift......375x8
TnG Deadlift.....335x8

Caloric deficit taking its toll. Body weight down to 248. Sticking with rack pull fives to manage fatigue.

[Nikola Blagojevic]

Monday 6/13 - Dynamic Effort Upper
DE Bench........260x3x8
Press..............185x2; 155x6; 145x8; 135x8
Dips...............BWx16,14,14
Rack Push Ups.18+8+6

Tuesday 6/14 - Dynamic Effort Lower
DE Squat.........385x2x8
DE Deadlift......410x1x8

Wednesday 6/15 - Max Effort Upper
Bench..............305x3,2
CG Bench.........265x5x3; 225x11
DB Row............135x8; 95x18
French Press.....70x15x3

Thursday 6/16 - Max Effort Lower
Squat..............450x5
Rack Pull.........510x5
SG Deadlift......385x8
TnG Deadlift.....345x8

This was a compressed week; I'm leaving on a family vacation. Weight loss is wiping out my press and affecting my bench a little, but I'm still squatting PR weights even though it feels like hell.

[Nikola Blagojevic]

Monday 6/27 - Volume Lower
Squat.............385x5x5
DE Deadlift.....355x2x5

Tuesday 6/28 - Volume Upper
Bench.............265x5x5
Press..............155x5x3
Dips...............BWx16x3

Friday 7/1 - Intensity Day
Squat..............445x3x2
Comp Bench....315x1x5
Rack Pull.........520x5

I'm splitting up volume day across Monday and Tuesday for reasons of time and fatigue, and I've decided to leave out recovery day. On intensity day I'm going to taper squat triples down to doubles and keep comp bench singles and rack pull fives going until closer to meet day.

[Nikola Blagojevic]

Monday 7/4 - Volume Lower
Squat.............395x5x5
DE Deadlift.....380x2x5

Tuesday 7/5 - Volume Upper
Bench.............275x5x5
Press..............160x5x3
Dips...............BWx16,14,10

Friday 7/8 - Intensity Day
Squat..............455x3x2
Comp Bench....320x0x2
Rack Pull.........525x0

Saturday 7/9 AM - Intensity Day Part 2
Comp Bench....320x1x5

Saturday 7/9 PM - Intensity Day Part 3
Rack Pull.........525x0; 495x0; 455x5

Caught a bad cold; Friday was a disaster. Stretched out intensity day over Saturday and still couldn't hit my planned rack pulls. Managed 455, which is better than nothing.

[Nikola Blagojevic]

Monday 7/11 - Volume Lower
Squat............405x5x5
DE Deadlift.....410x1x8

Tuesday 7/12 - Volume Upper
Bench.............280x5x5
Press..............165x5,5,4,1
Dips...............BWx18,17,12

Friday 7/15 - Intensity Day
Squat.............465x3,2
Comp Bench....325x1x5

Friday 7/15 PM - Intensity Day Part 2
Rack Pull.........525x5

Bench singles took forever; ran out of time. Got my rack pulls - last heavy pulls before competing.

[Nikola Blagojevic]

Monday 7/18 - Volume Lower
Squat............415x5x5(PR)
DE Deadlift.....435x1x8

Tuesday 7/19 - Volume Upper
Bench.............285x5x5
Press..............165x5,3,3,2,2

Friday 7/22 - Intensity Day
Squat.............470x1x2 (opener)
Comp Bench....330x1, 315x1x2, 305x1x2
Deadlift..........480x1x2 (opener)

[Nikola Blagojevic]

Monday 7/25 - Volume Day
Squat............375x5x3
Bench............265x5x3
DE Deadlift.....380x1x8

Wednesday 7/27 - Recovery Day
Squat............300x3x2
Comp Bench....305x1x2 (opener)
DE Deadlift.....225x1x8

Ready for Saturday.

[Bill Anders]

Great work will lead to great results, Nikola.

Have a great meet!

[Nikola Blagojevic]

Saturday, July 30th, in Saco, Maine.

Squat.....212.5/222.5/232.5 kg (513 lb)
Bench.....137.5/145 kg (320 lb) - missed 152.5 kg (336 lb)
Deadlift...217.5/230/240 kg (529 lb)

Total - 617.5 kg (1361 lb)

Third Place Raw Open/Masters

Very happy with how this went. Got squat, deadlift, and total PRs and a big DOTS score PR (weighed in at 247 vice 260 at my last meet) to bring home a third place medal. I think I missed my third attempt bench because I'm not training the competition bench to competition standards - I need to incorporate a longer and more deliberate pause. I am thrilled to have placed in a meet. Next goal will be a 1400 total.

It's clear training has slowed down a lot. In seven months I added 11 pounds to my squat and 16 pounds to my deadlift and I'm assuming like 5 pounds to my bench. Insofar as I am using advanced training methods, adding weight less than weekly, and at three meets into a competitive career no longer just fucking around, I am going to move over to the advanced lifter section.