Jswain's training log for powerlifting

[herderdude]

I'm already looking forward to when you bench 405

As long as he doesn't do it in a meet before I do.

 

[jswain34]

I've got probably 10+ months so i think you'll beat me there.

 

[jswain34]

5/18/16 6/4 meet prep w10d2 peak w2d2

Better day today. I have videos of pretty much all sets since i was watching the warmups to try and dial in my form again. This is one of the reasons why i love high frequency, it's harder to forget the feel of your good form.

-Deads (work up to 92%x1 then add 2" blocks for 101-106%x1x2)
135x5
225x5 (3 pop n pause / 2 full)
315x5x2 (3 pnp / 2 full)
365x3x2
405x3
455x2
495x1 (hk from here on)
535x1@6
565x1@8
Was a little nervous after the rpe on that pull so i allowed myself to get a little fired up for the rest of these.
590x1@8
+2 inch blocks
620x1@7
645x1@10 -> hitched the **** out of this twice though. I wish i wouldve been able to get it without hitching dam it.

I'll try and get these videos up here shortly or tonight but it depends on how quick i get my shįt together for work.

Feeling like my attempts will be as follows:

1st - 580
2nd - 610
3rd - depends on 2nd and what i end up with on bench. Id really like to hit a 1000 between the two.

 

[Hyde]

I can't speak for anyone else, but I always get fired up for peak weights. The entire point is to A. Hit big weights to prime you and B. Induce fatigue. Which getting fired up accomplishes both.

 

[jswain34]

I can't speak for anyone else, but I always get fired up for peak weights. The entire point is to A. Hit big weights to prime you and B. Induce fatigue. Which getting fired up accomplishes both.

True, true. I just like knowing i have that extra ~5-7% in the tank for meet day.

 

[jswain34]

Videos from today:

645 w/ hitches + 2" blocks
http://youtu.be/FcrcaZwRpXg

620x1 + 2" blocks
http://youtu.be/0Sn-sMJadvo

590x1
http://youtu.be/XbaRTd0N5UM

565x1
http://youtu.be/dESijs1zIKA

 

[Hyde]

True, true. I just like knowing i have that extra ~5-7% in the tank for meet day.

If you follow Lou's peaking protocol properly you WILL have the extra 5% on meet day. That's why it's called a peak lol. Trust your training and the program! It will be there on the platform.

 

[Hyde]

Just watched vids. First one looked a little straight-legged, 2nd was better but it looks like your hips wanted to be closer at that height than they were. 620 off the mats looks the best, which makes me think that slightly shorter range did in fact let you start the pull with your hips closer at that height, so that's the biggest thing I'd look at. 645...well, you made the f*cking lift however you could lol. Which being a savage is better than quitting in my book!

 

[jswain34]

Just watched vids. First one looked a little straight-legged, 2nd was better but it looks like your hips wanted to be closer at that height than they were. 620 off the mats looks the best, which makes me think that slightly shorter range did in fact let you start the pull with your hips closer at that height, so that's the biggest thing I'd look at. 645...well, you made the f*cking lift however you could lol. Which being a savage is better than quitting in my book!

1 - agreed. I was pulling up vs pushing the hips in initially which subsequently caused my hips to just raise and then turn it into a semi-straight leg.

2 - my hips have been really stiff over the last week. I'll spend a little more time on the soft tissues to try and gain a little extra mobility and that should solve that issue. Thanks for pointing that out. I have been slacking in that regard.

3 - i was surprised how easy it went up. I wasnt thinking 645-650 would be there after the 590 pull but after the 620 went that well i had to go for it.

645 - yeaaah...whatever. Doesn't count for much but that was the closest I've ever been to blacking out after a deadlift so at least i know how that feels now. And least i generated the fatigue with it.

 

[RegisterJr]

Man, awesome progress over the last year.

 

[Duramaxhd]

Question, how much Bw have u added

 

[jswain34]

Man, awesome progress over the last year.

Thanks man. I knew i made some progress but i had no idea it was that substantial. Very happy with it.

Question, how much Bw have u added

20-25lbs -> all to the gut.

 

[Duramaxhd]

I was just curious,

 

[jswain34]

Tomorrow's gonna be a fun day.

92%x1x3

Then

97-102%x1x4 w/ rev mons minis.

Would you guys suggest weaker bands? The monster minis take about 40-45lbs off the chest.

 

[herderdude]

Tomorrow's gonna be a fun day.

92%x1x3

Then

97-102%x1x4 w/ rev mons minis.

Would you guys suggest weaker bands? The monster minis take about 40-45lbs off the chest.

Monster minis will be perfect. Crushing 102% will do well for your CNS and your confidence.

Also I call bull**** on your gain being all fat! If your deadlift has gone up, You can't say it's all leverage gains. Nobody ever fatted 50# on their bench in a year either.

 

[christ83189]

Nobody ever fatted 50# on their bench in a year either.

Lol this cracked me up

 

[jswain34]

Monster minis will be perfect. Crushing 102% will do well for your CNS and your confidence.

Also I call bull**** on your gain being all fat! If your deadlift has gone up, You can't say it's all leverage gains. Nobody ever fatted 50# on their bench in a year either.

okay you're right, it was an exaggeration - it just feels that way lol. My midsection (and gf says arms too) is/are the only place(s) where I've noticeably put on some non-useful weight. Its not even that bad but just past the point I'm comfortable with. Losing ~10lbs of fat will have me walking around at about 238-240 which will set me up perfectly to eat in a small surplus my entire next meet prep.

 

[jswain34]

5/20 6/4 meet prep w10d3 peak w2d3

Bench

92%x1x3 then 97-102%x1x4 w/ reverse monster minis

45x-
95x-
135x5
185x5
215x5
245x4
275x2
275x1
305x1x2
325x1x3
@7.5, 8, 8

+ reverse bands

345x1@7 -> best rep all day
355x1 -> hit the j hook on the way up so that screwed it up a bit
365x1x2
@9, 9.5

Alright well im thinking im gonna go 325 -> 350 -> 365-370 at the meet. Not too happy with the way 325 was moving really. I self lift offed everything today as there was literally no one else there besides the front desk lady so i hope that had something to do with it. I have 1 more heavy day for bench next friday so I'm looking for a solid day then.

I have some vids that i'll put up tonight.

 

[SweetLou321]

What's your best bench?

 

[jswain34]

What's your best bench?

That [email protected] (~9) a few weeks ago

 

[jswain34]

Vids:

325x1 (pause was way fast damn it)
http://youtu.be/JXLOoFvD6lw

355x1 w rev Monster minis
http://youtu.be/28jGa4YWc2c

365x1 w/ rev mms set 1
http://youtu.be/wmoi9cltxFE

Set 2
http://youtu.be/aAZGH64O4bQ

Lotta issues I'm seeing.
1. Not tight enough lower half
2. Too much flare too early
3. Pause without bands was too quick

 

[Hyde]

All very easy things to fix with mental and verbal cues. You are set for success if you can remember them.

 

[tyga tyga]

Second set w/365 looked a lot better

 

[Duramaxhd]

Got any book's?

 

[jswain34]

Got any book's?

Watcha mean? Anything in specific?

 

[Duramaxhd]

Rts so I can gain a better understanding for my journey

 

[jswain34]

Nope man. Everything i learned was from the powerliftingtowin.com articles. There are 2, one for rts in general and the second is specific to the generalized intmdt template. Id recommend starting there

 

[Duramaxhd]

Ty I'll look it up

 

[jswain34]

5/32/16 - 6/4 meet prep w11d1 peak w3d1

I'm just ready to do this meet. Starting to get a little antsy.

-SQ (tpb, sleeves, oly shoes)
Wanted to see how the olys felt since theyd allow me to bring my stance width in.

High bar
Doubled monster mini around knees until 265
45x8
135x6
185x5
225x5 (1st 4 with a 4ct pause)
265x5 (+loose belt)
295x3

Switch to low bar, keep olys w/ narrower stance
315x3
340x3x3
Last set was with a 3ct pause

These felt phenomenal. Had a lot of rebound out of the hole. Might buy some adipowers or romaleos (sp?). My wei-rui's are a .75 heel and i think thats too much for my low bar. These were easily the fastest/smoothest/most explosive squats ive done over the last 3 weeks.

-BP
+doubled monster mini around wrists until 165
45x5
95x5
135x5
165x5
Drop band
195x5
225x5
250x3x3

Bench felt good today too. Lower half was tight and first reps were all very speedy. Lost some back tightness after the first rep so they slowed down a tad compared to the first.

-NG ISO ROW
115x5x4

-Dead bugs
45lb bu kb in hands x12x2
35lb " " x12x1

Thats it. And Lou/Herder that post on insta is gonna get a bunch of nobodies pissed off lol - it already has a tad. I would've liked to see him tag Mike T too.

 

[Duramaxhd]

Spill the beans what was it

 

[jswain34]

Spill the beans what was it

Mark bell started the speed work vs no speed work debate today on one of his posts.

 

[jimbuick]

Romaleos is a .75 heel IIRC.

 

[SweetLou321]

Romaleos is a .75 heel IIRC.

Yes it is, go with the cheap adidas ones for a .5 heel

 

[herderdude]

I agree, small heel is better. Especially for me in my minuscule size 9 feet. Being that you're taller Jared I could see a bigger heel working for you. But if you're not feeling it then you probably will benefit. I think my pendlay do wins are .75 and I have to fight to stay on my heels, but I do well when I stay on them.

 

[herderdude]

Mark bell started the speed work vs no speed work debate today on one of his posts.

It's hilarious I think. I can put together a slam dunk program with speed work included, guaranteed. But I also wrote 6 or 8 weeks of prep to get Sean his best bench ever and it included none. People who are unwilling to be flexible in their approach are my favorite, because I know I'll beat them someday. My double fave is coaches who can only teach their specific technique to other lifters. It's shortsighted and suboptimal, and they're gonna get their charges hurt.

 

[Hyde]

It's hilarious I think. I can put together a slam dunk program with speed work included, guaranteed. But I also wrote 6 or 8 weeks of prep to get Sean his best bench ever and it included none. People who are unwilling to be flexible in their approach are my favorite, because I know I'll beat them someday. My double fave is coaches who can only teach their specific technique to other lifters. It's shortsighted and suboptimal, and they're gonna get their charges hurt.

Fwiw, I have seen progress with and without my bench using speed work. If I'm not doing it, I have found in the past sometimes I slowed down and bringing it back in made a massive difference. Other times it has beat me up to the point I was going backwards. I have progressed on once a wk bench frequency and 3x/wk, and certainly spent plenty of time not progressing at all.

The right tools for a lifter are not always going to stay the right tool - weaknesses vary, and change in time. Attacking them intelligently and reactively is the way forward, and it's naive to just write things off. Just because it's useless for a lifter now, doesn't mean that trick won't be nifty later.

Except kipping pull-ups. I don't believe in that sh*t

 

[SweetLou321]

Fwiw, I have seen progress with and without my bench using speed work. If I'm not doing it, I have found in the past sometimes I slowed down and bringing it back in made a massive difference. Other times it has beat me up to the point I was going backwards. I have progressed on once a wk bench frequency and 3x/wk, and certainly spent plenty of time not progressing at all.

The right tools for a lifter are not always going to stay the right tool - weaknesses vary, and change in time. Attacking them intelligently and reactively is the way forward, and it's naive to just write things off. Just because it's useless for a lifter now, doesn't mean that trick won't be nifty later.

Except kipping pull-ups. I don't believe in that sh*t

I use to do it, I see no benefits personally outside of technique practice. I'm fast when I want to be fast. All I have to think it speed and its there, same speed as if I did speed work. Maybe one day I'll do it again. Time will tell.

 

[jswain34]

Romaleos is a .75 heel IIRC.

Yes it is, go with the cheap adidas ones for a .5 heel

10-4

I agree, small heel is better. Especially for me in my minuscule size 9 feet. Being that you're taller Jared I could see a bigger heel working for you. But if you're not feeling it then you probably will benefit. I think my pendlay do wins are .75 and I have to fight to stay on my heels, but I do well when I stay on them.

I'll play around with the 0.75s a little more but thats the exact issue i have. It dumps me forward too hard sometimes and when that happens i aint worth a shît since my pc is what carries my squat for the most part.

 

[SweetLou321]

10-4



I'll play around with the 0.75s a little more but thats the exact issue i have. It dumps me forward too hard sometimes and when that happens i aint worth a shît since my pc is what carries my squat for the most part.

Try driving the knee forwArd as you go down. I know max aita Suggs his lifters do this

 

[herderdude]

Try driving the knee forwArd as you go down. I know max aita Suggs his lifters do this

This is a great cue for maximizing wraps. I have used this, though I have a hard time pushing into the wrap and still loading my PC.

 

[jswain34]

Try driving the knee forwArd as you go down. I know max aita Suggs his lifters do this

Never heard this one before. Wouldn't throwing the knees forward bring my CoG even further into my toes and off my pc more though?

This is a great cue for maximizing wraps. I have used this, though I have a hard time pushing into the wrap and still loading my PC.

That's what i feel like would happen. Seems like throwing the knees forward further would load the quads more and hams less due to the greater degree of knee flexion (and subsequent extension in the concentric).

 

[jswain34]

Went and played two games of slow pitch as a fill in for my buddy's team. For not swinging a bat in about a year it went great (as it should've considering i played baseball my whole life and the ball is coming in at about 10mph).

I am out of fuggin shape though lol, running to second on 60ft bases even had me breathing heavy .

 

[herderdude]

Never heard this one before. Wouldn't throwing the knees forward bring my CoG even further into my toes and off my pc more though?



That's what i feel like would happen. Seems like throwing the knees forward further would load the quads more and hams less due to the greater degree of knee flexion (and subsequent extension in the concentric).

If you tilt the pelvis hard (while keeping the spine neutral, of course) you can load the posterior. It's more difficult to master than sitting way back, but upright and loading the wraps is still ideal.

Look at Malan and Zahir. Upright and loading wraps. Because they're built well for it, yes, but that's our goal. Good dorsiflexion is also a must in this case.

 

[jswain34]

If you tilt the pelvis hard (while keeping the spine neutral, of course) you can load the posterior. It's more difficult to master than sitting way back, but upright and loading the wraps is still ideal.

Look at Malan and Zahir. Upright and loading wraps. Because they're built well for it, yes, but that's our goal. Good dorsiflexion is also a must in this case.

Interesting. I'll be playing around with it during the lower intensity phase after this meet. Thanks.

And my dorsiflexion is shît, so that could be an issue.

 

[jswain34]

5/25 - 6/4 meet prep w11d2 peak w3d2

Deads

Work up to 80%x1x2

Work up to 495x1x2

10 days out. Went smooth. Need to hit ankle and hip mobility a few times. Was supposed go do a few sets of abs but i have a microbio test tomorrow morning so i just got the pulls in and went home to study a bit.

 

[SweetLou321]

5/25 - 6/4 meet prep w11d2 peak w3d2

Deads

Work up to 80%x1x2

Work up to 495x1x2

10 days out. Went smooth. Need to hit ankle and hip mobility a few times. Was supposed go do a few sets of abs but i have a microbio test tomorrow morning so i just got the pulls in and went home to study a bit.

Almost time

 

[jswain34]

Almost time

Gettin antsy man. Gonna smash this bench overload session tomorrow then recovery mode is in full effect.

 

[SweetLou321]

Gettin antsy man. Gonna smash this bench overload session tomorrow then recovery mode is in full effect.

How ya feel?

 

[jswain34]

How ya feel?

Upper - great other than my shît posture.

Lower - hips & adductors are quite tight. Plan on doing a little rolling tonight at home on my pvc roller thats pretty aggressive but we'll see what i can get to. I found a couple good KStar vids of some drills i plan on doing saturday, monday, maybe tuesday, and wednesday.

 

[bolt10]

Never heard this one before. Wouldn't throwing the knees forward bring my CoG even further into my toes and off my pc more though?



That's what i feel like would happen. Seems like throwing the knees forward further would load the quads more and hams less due to the greater degree of knee flexion (and subsequent extension in the concentric).

https://youtu.be/DrwiddA_8CQ

That's the gist of it. Picked his brain a few months back, started sitting into my quads more, added dip belt squats, and my squat plateau that felt like an eternity is getting demolished.

That's not to say I think that'll work for everyone but it sure as hell helped me based on my build and strengths/weaknesses.