I Come From the Land of the Ice and Snow

[hbriem]

OK, so I'm starting a log here, detailing my preparation for the Icelandic Powerlifting Cup on November 20th.

Some background first. I started lifting when I was 41 and I'm 48 in a couple of weeks so I've been weight training for nearly 7 years now.

I spent most of my life at around 70kg (154 lbs) and currently weigh about 95kg (209 lbs). Here are a couple of before and after pics.

I never did the Starting Strength program per se and didn't hear of it until last year, but after initially trying a machine based program for a few months, I read up on training on the internet and by instinct gravitated towards a very similar training scheme. I did mostly the basic lifts, squat, deadlift, bench, press and chinup, trained the whole body (push/pull/legs) with compound lifts each session, and mostly did 5-ish reps and 3 days a week.

The details have varied over the years and I've plateaued several times and needed to change something to break out of the rut, but mostly I train according to the same principles as before.

I competed in my first PL meet in April 2004 and totalled 425kg (937 lbs) at 87.3kg (192 lbs). Since then I have competed in several PL and deadlift meets and managed to become national champion at 100kg in 2009. For details see my athlete's bio.

Currently, my best raw lifts are 175kg (386 lbs) squat, 130kg (287 lbs) bench and 235kg (518 lbs) deadlift. I have squatted 200kg (441 lbs) and benched 140kg (309 lbs) equipped in old and loose-fitting gear.

[hbriem]

My current routine, meant to peak on Nov 20th, is (very loosely) based on Smolov. When I say loosely I mean very loosely.

Here's what I aim to do for each lift:

Squat. Heavy squat Monday, speed squat Wednesday, light squat Friday.

On Mondays I use 3 reps, 6-8 sets, working from 80% up to 95% of 1RM. On Wednesdays I use 6x2, going from ~60% to ~75% and on Fridays 3 sets of 5-8 reps, ~57%-70%.

Bench. Heavy bench Wednesday, speed bench Monday, close grip Friday.

On the Wednesday heavy day I'm running the Sheiko progression, first adding volume (6x3 up to 6x6, then weight 5x5 - 2x2). This has worked well for me several times in succession. On Mondays I do 6x2 with 85% of 1RM, working up to ~92%) as fast as I can. On Fridays I do close grip bench for 5x5, starting at 80% (of BP 1RM) and working up to about 87%.

Deadlift. On Fridays I alternate speed deadlifts one week, 6x2 starting at ~80% and working up to 90% with heavier deadlifts. In the heavy week I try to work up to a heavyish single and a backdown set.

Chinup. I do weighted chinups in a similar way as bench, several sets of 3. Sometimes I do a few sets of bodyweight pullups as well.

Other assistance. I warm up with overhead squats, snatches and power cleans, light squats etc. After the main work is done I sometimes do some DB hammer curls, mainly to rehab my biceps which have been giving me trouble for a couple of years. I have just started doing presses again after I had to lay off them for a while, again because of bicep trouble. I also do a little conditioning work sometimes, high rep DB swings, 500m in a C2 rower, cleans and presses for time and so on, as time and energy allows.

[hbriem]

So this is what I've been doing for the past month or so:

                 Monday         Wednesday      Friday 
------------------------------------------------------------------
Week 1  Squat    120 x 222222         
Jul 19  Bench    100 x 8        112.5 x 55543
        DL                                     200   x 3
        Chin     BW  x 10
------------------------------------------------------------------
Week 2  Squat    140 x 33333333 120   x 222222 100   x 888      
Jul 26  Bench    110   x 33333  112.5 x 666543 105   x 5554  (cg)
        DL                                     180   x 222222
        Chin     25  x 333                     BW    x 55555 (wg)
------------------------------------------------------------------
Week 3  Squat    150 x 33333333 110  x 222222  100   x 666
Aug 2   Bench    110 x 222222   115  x 65543   105   x 55555 (cg)
        DL                                     220   x 1
        Chin      15 x 333333
------------------------------------------------------------------
Week 4  Squat    155 x 333333   120  x 222222  100   x 666
Aug 9   Bench    110 x 22222222 115  x 55544   105   x 55555 (cg)
        DL                                     185   x 222222
        Chin      20 x 33333                   BW    x 66666 (wg)
------------------------------------------------------------------
Week 5  Squat    155 x 33331333 120  x 222222          
Aug 16  Bench  112.5 x 222225   117.5  x 4434  107.5 x 55555 (cg)
        DL                                     200   x 3
        Chin      20 x 44444
------------------------------------------------------------------

All weights are in kilos of course.

[hbriem]

Monday Aug 23th 2010 - Squat Day

Squat

50kg (110 lbs) x 10
70kg (154 lbs) x 5
90kg (198 lbs) x 5
100kg (220 lbs) x 3
120kg (265 lbs) x 3
140kg (309 lbs) x 1
160kg (353 lbs) x 3,3,3,3,3,3

Bench Press

50kg (110 lbs) x 10
70kg (154 lbs) x 5
100kg (220 lbs) x 3
115kg (254 lbs) x 2,2,2,2,2,2

Weighted Chinup

25kg (55 lbs) x 3,3,3,3,3,3

[hbriem]

I'd like to note that I'm moving into PR territory on all the lifts now.

On the squat, I've done 160x5 and 3x2 before, but 6x3 is a significant step up.

On the bench, 115kg for 5 and 6 reps were PRs, also 117.5x4. On the close grip bench, 107.5 for 5x5 was a PR as well.

I'm going to the Netherlands and Belgium for a week, Sept 3rd-10th, so that will be my light week.

Before then, I hope to squat 160kg for 8x3 and bench 122.5kg for 3x3.

[hbriem]

Wednesday Aug 25th 2010 - Bench Press Day

Bench Press

50kg (110 lbs) x 8
70kg (154 lbs) x 5
100kg (220 lbs) x 3
120kg (265 lbs) x 1
122.5kg (270 lbs) x 3,2,2 (PR for 3 reps)
110kg (242 lbs) x 7 (PR for reps, I think)

Speed Squat
50kg (110 lbs) x 8
70kg (154 lbs) x 5
100kg (220 lbs) x 3
125kg (276 lbs) x 2,2,2,2,2,2

Press

50kg (110 lbs) x 5
60kg (132 lbs) x 3
65kg (143 lbs) x 3
70kg (154 lbs) x 3
72.5kg (159 lbs) x 3
70kg (154 lbs) x 3

DB Hammer Curl

30kg (66 lbs) x 10

[MazdaMatt]

Dude, I get Zeppelin stuck in my head EVERY time I see your log title in the "New Posts".




(This is not a bad thing)

[K.Diesel]

About time you put a log on here! Really though, I appreciate all the support you've given me with my training and competitions. Glad I can follow your journey now. Didn't realize we've made similar gains in terms of bodyweight since we started training. Plus you're giving me hope by making those gains after 40! That number used to seem like it was an eternity away. I'm not knocking at the door yet, but I'm getting close to the neighborhood.

Nice job on the squat and bench rep PRs. Are you doing the meet raw or single-ply?

[hbriem]

Thank you Mazda and K.

Are you doing the meet raw or single-ply?

I'll probably be doing the squat and bench single-ply and the deadlift raw. I always tell myself I'm going to go raw next time and then I see the list of guys signed up and my competitive nature kicks in and I want to try and win! This time I decided I'll train with the gear in mind (even though the gear I have is old and much too loose).

The meet I'm planning on, the Icelandic Cup, will probably be held in conjunction with the Icelandic Fitness and Health Expo, a kind of micro-Arnold and there may be some foreigners competing. Don't want to disgrace my country, eh?

[fnet]

I'm glad to see you started a log. I too started late in the iron game and I'm in my mid-40's. Though I'll probably never compete, I'll be following your log for some inspiration. Best of luck in your endeavors.