Slowjoe's Second Go

[slowjoe]

Good news to start: B&R bar should arrive on Wednesday according to the parcel tracking.

Warmup:
Dislocates

Snatch:
PVC pipe x 3
20/44 x 3
30/66 x 3
35/77 x 3
40/88 x 3

All done from the knee, following the Pendlay videos, with OHS to follow. Used a much closer grip than usual, in order to get the bar into the hip fold as the videos suggested. Not sure my elbows appreciated this.

Back squats
20/44 x 5
60/132 x 5
110/242 x 5
157.5/347 x 5 x 3

Form all over the place. I think I'm high barring most reps. Couldn't film, lifting in the dark out on the deck.

Press
20/44 x 5
40/88 x 5
50/110 x 5
62.5/137 x 5 x 3

I have more flexibility in my shoulder now than I've had before. I get a sensation of moving the bar over my head and locking out with the triceps that's new.

Chinups
BW x 5 x 2

Bad news: biceps/brachialis area on both arms feels "bruised". Not sure if it was the snatches or the back squats that have done it, but it isn't a great sign.

Gonna hit the ibuprofen tonight, DE squats on Saturday, hopefully.

[Tad_T]

I've lost that much since the first of the year by just cutting 500 calories a day during the work week.

[slowjoe]

I've lost that much since the first of the year by just cutting 500 calories a day during the work week.

Yeah. That works.

The thing is, I've been thinking "food surplus" for so long, I wanted to have an idea of what my options are. I've never even had a conversation about making wait before in my life. If I have to do this at some point in the near future, the time to research this is now, rather than two days before the shit hits the fan.

[slowjoe]

Back at the lifting club.

Warmup
OHS broomstick x 5
8 chinups
10 situps
OHS 20kg x 5
8 chinups
10 situps
OHS 40kg x 5
OHS 60kg x 2

This may have been overdoing it.

Squats (DE, box)
20/44 x 3
60/44 x 3
100/220 x 2 x 8

Biceps were sore after this. Not sure if the problem was the OHS or the DE squats.

Bench
20/44 x 5 x 3 grips
65/143 x 5 x 3 grips

Biceps burning after this. Decided to stop

DB Bench, "vertical" grip
5/11 x 5
12.5 x 5
20/55 x 5

I should do these more. I should also get assistance passing the weight. Had a real problem lying back and getting the weight to my pecs.

Deadlift
20/44 x 5
60/132 x 5
100/220 x 5
130/286 x 5
142.5/313 x 5 (DOH)
170/374 x 5 mixed

Easy. Obviously.

Hamstring curls
BW x 5 x 2

I get a cramp in the back of my right calf up toward the knee with these.

Seated good mornings

20/44 x 15
40/88 x 15

Flexibility issues here. Felt like a weighted stretch.

Standing good mornings
Broomstick x 15

Nearly landed on my arse on the first rep. Not used to the way the hamstrings were working after the seated good mornings.

[slowjoe]

So, in a brief interlude in the biblical floods, I get to lift. Saturday was a no-op because I had to take my other half to the dentist, got there late, by which time the gym was hosting an Olympic lifting match. Result: I haven't lifted a thing in an age.

On the bright side, I got to christen my B&R bar (truly, a beautiful piece of steel...) and my flat bench which arrived today.

Back squat:
20/44 x 5
60/132 x 5
110/242 x 5
160/352 x 5 x 3

Surprisingly easy, considering the break. Took 4 minutes rest between sets, which was slightly excessive.

Bench
20/44 x 5 x 2 (narrow and normal)
60/132 x 5 x 2 (narrow and normal)
100/220 x 5 x 3 (normal)

I need to have the racking hooks one notch lower. Re-racking was border-line dangerous.

Chin-ups
BW x 5 x 3

Amazing how hard these were. (I should probably mention that the power rack at home doesn't allow me to hang fully extended, in contrast to BGWLC, where I can manage a set of 8 chin-ups.

[slowjoe]

I was leaving the house at 6am on Saturday. As I packed, I kept looking at the B&R bar.
Eventually, around 11pm, I said "what the hell" and did a quick deadlift workout.

Deadlifts:
60/132 x 5
100/220 x 5
140/308 x 5
180 x 5

That was it.

[slowjoe]

There's a story here.

So, I'm back visiting my folks, and "accidentally" packed my chucks, shorts, chalk and lifting straps. Mum and Dad were driving for a couple of hours for a visit to the doc. And since I moved out, a "Regional Sports Centre" opened 3/4 of a mile from home.

What was I supposed to do? I googled them, phoned up, and asked if they had free weights. Yes, I was told.

So I rocked up with a bag, and asked if I could take a look around before paying. Yes, I was told. I had to get buzzed in by a girl into the gym. The "gym" might have been the size of a tennis court. Pretty much 4/5 was cardio machines, and there was a line of benches at the end, and a tiny dumbell rack, topping out at 24kg. No bench press station. But in the corner was a power rack with an olympic bar, and next to it was a squat rack with a "dwarf-olympic" bar. This was a regular bar, but with shorter end-bits to hold the weight. The most you could get on it was probably 4 plates.

So I went back to the desk to ask the girl if it was ok to deadlift. If the answer had been "no" I might have said something cutting and left. But in the event, one of the PTs was there, and his eyes lit up at the word.

"Deadlift?"
"Yeah, lifting the weight off the ground."
"Sure, you can deadlift in the power rack. Can you lift much?"
"Why?"
"We are running a deadlift competition for May. Look at the sheet."

There were a couple of names, and someone had pulled 190kg at a bodyweight of 77kg. I said sure, sounds fun. I'll take a shot at putting 200kg on the board. And wandered off to pay, change, and return for the fun.

Warmup:
Hurdle stretches
Chin-ups x 6
12kg bear (1 round)

Deadlifts
60/132 x 5 DOH
100/220 x 5 DOH
140/308 x 2 DOH
170/374 x 1 Mixed
190/418 x 1 Mixed
195/429 x 1 Mixed
200/440 x 1 Mixed

PT was loading for me, and I'd check that each lift was good before putting it down.

And then he mentioned that they were also doing competitions on bench and back squat if I was around later in the week.

Hmm.

So I wound up doing a powerlifting meet, backwards.

Bench
20/ 44 x 5 x 3
60/132 x 5 x 3
100/220 x 1
105/231 x 1
110/242 x 1
115/253 x 1
120/264 x 1 (= PR)
122.5/269 x F

Took a shot at a PR, but the 120 was a very slow rep. But very happy with this.

Someone was curling in the squat rack and he'd seen the bench workout, and possibly the deadlifts. He offered to move, but I declined.

Back Squat
20/ 44 x 5
60/132 x 5
100/220 x 5
140/308 x 2
160/352 x 1
180/396 x 1
190/418 x 1 (= PR)
195/429 x 1

Bar speed was pretty good, certainly to 180. According to the SS first workout dictum: "Add weight until the bar slows down", I could be trying sets across at 180, possibly 190. The 195 was a slow, slow rep, so I quit at that point.

All in all, an interesting afternoon. And Mum got good news from the Doctor.

[hbriem]

Fantastic! So where did you place?

[slowjoe]

Fantastic! So where did you place?

It's a month long contest. I'm the first number on the board. Last year, someone apparently benched 210kg (!!), but he may not be around this year. I grabbed the scores from last year: 200kg deadlift was joint second last year, and no-one beat the back squat.

They're dividing by bodyweight to normalise scores, so I'll probably not win, especially as they're letting people do each lift on a different day. I weighed in at 108.8 (240 pounds). I want to compete properly in a club meet in July at 105, so we'll see if it is possible to add weight to the lifts and cut for me in the next few weeks. But either way, a mini-meet 2 months out from the "real thing" is great timing IMO.

[hbriem]

The problem with most "gym meets" of this type is the squats. Typically they'll count any unlocking of the knees as a "squat" and we purists who blithely ruin or backs and knees by squatting low get screwed by the ensuing inflated numbers.

But 200-120-195 is very good. I couldn't match that squat.