10 weeks to APF TX State

Rodja

Rodja

Board Sponsor
Awards
3
  • RockStar
  • Legend!
  • Established
My wait is over and it's time to gear up (pun intended) for April 13th. After some initial debate and thought, I will be competing in the 220lbs weight class instead of 198lbs. I'm currently sitting at almost 230, which is really heavy for me, and I will be closer to 222-224 by the week of the meet. Cutting weight is not something that is new to me, but I don't want to have anything substantial going into this one to keep the number of external factors to a minimum. My primary gear is going to be Metal Ace shirt and Metal Ace suit. The main thing is still in the air is what degree of thickness I will be able to get underneath my suit. I have successfully fit a single-ply under my suit, but haven't tried double-ply since gaining roughly 12-15lbs.

My actual template has been something that has deviated away from conjugate principles to something that is primarily rep effort and max effort. My reason for moving away from dynamic is primarily two-fold. First, I find it extremely boring and something that I don't get psyched to do. Second, and the most important part, is carryover. For whatever reason, I don't see much, if any, carryover from the DE.

I will have a heavy influence of block periodization on this template and will be focusing on strength building instead of strength testing until the final 3-4 weeks when I will start working on my first and second attempts.

Let the ride begin...
 
Sean1332

Sean1332

Legend
Awards
3
  • RockStar
  • Established
  • First Up Vote
In here for the ride and knowledge intake. Good luck. Particularly interested in watching you a few weeks out for tips as our meets are close together.
 
rob112

rob112

Well-known member
Awards
4
  • RockStar
  • Established
  • First Up Vote
  • Best Answer
Definitely in for this

Sent from my iPhone using Am.com
 
PalmFist

PalmFist

Well-known member
Awards
0
Following for knowledge
 
Rodja

Rodja

Board Sponsor
Awards
3
  • RockStar
  • Legend!
  • Established
1/29

RE Upper

CG Floor Press (thumbs away from smooth)
225x5x4
20 reps

JM Press
155x10
185x10
205x9

HS Unilateral Neutral Rows (weight added)
180x12x4

Facepulls/Pressdowns/Side Laterals
90x12/90x12/35x12
3 sets total of each

Getting this log rolling with a triceps oriented day. Made some slight adjustments in my form on floor press with a more narrow grip and a different setup to increase upper back tightness. My grip in my shirt is ring finger on the outer ring and requires more triceps strength compared to my old grip of index finger (max legal grip).

At the end of the night, I had my wife dig out some adhesions in my mid-traps/rotator cuff muscles and could immediately feel the difference in mobility. I guess once you get to a certain level, the self MFR methods don't quite do the job and I need to make this a regular thing.
 
NYiron

NYiron

Member
Awards
1
  • Established
You like the JMs? I've never done them before but seeing them up on your log sparked some interest.
 
Rodja

Rodja

Board Sponsor
Awards
3
  • RockStar
  • Legend!
  • Established
You like the JMs? I've never done them before but seeing them up on your log sparked some interest.
Love/hate relationship. They very difficult in that the leverage is not with you at all and requires great patience and control. I can't deny their effectiveness, though.
 
NYiron

NYiron

Member
Awards
1
  • Established
Love/hate relationship. They very difficult in that the leverage is not with you at all and requires great patience and control. I can't deny their effectiveness, though.
Ill have to give them a shot. The last few months I've refocused my training efforts toward a possible April APF meet as well, being my first meet I'm just looking to put up the best raw numbers I can. I've grown rather bored with my past bodybuilding endeavors and have chosen to capitalize on my base of strength and athleticism. Partly I can say it has been as a result of the knowledge I've acquired on this board and interactions with individuals such as yourself.
 
Rodja

Rodja

Board Sponsor
Awards
3
  • RockStar
  • Legend!
  • Established
1/30



510x2
510x1

SLDL
315x10x4

Walking DB Lunges
50x12x4

DB Side Bends
75x15
90x10x2
100x10

Standing Cable Crunches
110x15x2

Learned a valuable lesson on this day: Pro briefs under my Ace for pulling are a no-go right now. I couldn't get my hips into position as there was too much tension from the gear. Also, adding chains in the center virtually eliminated the flex of the bar and makes the lift more difficult.
 
Rodja

Rodja

Board Sponsor
Awards
3
  • RockStar
  • Legend!
  • Established
2/1

Bench
Worked up to 495x1 (3-board)
455x2 (2-board)



Facepulls/Tate Press
90x15x3/35x15x3

Starting to really get this new groove in my shirt. My previous grip and groove was much wider in the elbows and I didn't tuck until I hit a 2-board. With this groove, I tuck much earlier and it allows me to stay tighter in the traps.

One thing I noticed is that I still need to work on driving my heels down a tad more, but everything else looked much better compared to my last shirted video.
 
bolt10

bolt10

Well-known member
Awards
2
  • RockStar
  • Established
In for the rest of this. Been reading up a lot on Block Periodization lately so it'll be cool to follow along. Good luck. :thumbsup:
 
Rodja

Rodja

Board Sponsor
Awards
3
  • RockStar
  • Legend!
  • Established
2/3

Squat



GM
185x15
225x10
245x10

Ab Wheel
BWx10x4


First time with briefs and suit since October and it felt really weird at first. The session didn't start off too well as I was having some difficulties keeping my thoracic tight and my hands in place, but I locked in once I hit ~560.
 
Rodja

Rodja

Board Sponsor
Awards
3
  • RockStar
  • Legend!
  • Established
Lower back is quite tight today from Sunday and right shoulder is also tight, but nothing some mobility and ice couldn't help.

2/5

Incline CG
185x8x2
205x5x2

DB Rows
145x15
145x18

Dips
BWx15
BW+25x8
BW+45x8
BW+70x5

WY/BB Curls/Rolling Ex
15x6/85x12/30x12
15x6/85x12/30x12

I got in some really solid work on this day. Decided to throw in dips as my supplemental move to change things a bit and because I couldn't find a good handoff guy for some 2-board presses. One thing that I noticed, and this is very positive, is that my upper back mobility is improved and I was able to hold extra tightness during the CG incline and dips.
 
Rodja

Rodja

Board Sponsor
Awards
3
  • RockStar
  • Legend!
  • Established
2/6

Sumo
405x5x3
455x3

Suspended Cambered GM
225x5
245x5
275x5
315x5x2

Unilateral LP/Standing Cable Crunches
360x15x3/110x15x3

Used more of a RE today based off of Prilepin's chart and hit the "optimal" reps based off my projected 1RM. I didn't attempt anything near failure and worked primarily speed and technique with the GM variation as my primary muscle builder.
 
rob112

rob112

Well-known member
Awards
4
  • RockStar
  • Established
  • First Up Vote
  • Best Answer
Those are serious GMs man

Sent from my iPhone using Am.com
 
Rodja

Rodja

Board Sponsor
Awards
3
  • RockStar
  • Legend!
  • Established
Those are serious GMs man

Sent from my iPhone using Am.com
Thanks.

Although it's not part of my total, I've made it a goal to get to 375-405x3-5 on suspended GM by the end of the year. These easily have the best carryover to my squat. They're not as important to my deadlift since I pull sumo, but anytime you strengthen your entire posterior chain, good things will follow.
 
herderdude

herderdude

Well-known member
Awards
2
  • RockStar
  • Established
Wow, I wondered what had happened to your old log. I always look to your logs for insight.
 
Rodja

Rodja

Board Sponsor
Awards
3
  • RockStar
  • Legend!
  • Established
Wow, I wondered what had happened to your old log. I always look to your logs for insight.
Started this one as a specific log for this meet. My other log was more of a general training log.
 
herderdude

herderdude

Well-known member
Awards
2
  • RockStar
  • Established
Well, count me in.
 
herderdude

herderdude

Well-known member
Awards
2
  • RockStar
  • Established
Ok, now that I'm caught up, I have a question. I see that when you squat, your shins are damn near perfectly vertical. When I squat, I sit back until I think I'm going to fall, and my knees still come almost all the way out to my toes. Why is that?
 
Rodja

Rodja

Board Sponsor
Awards
3
  • RockStar
  • Legend!
  • Established
Ok, now that I'm caught up, I have a question. I see that when you squat, your shins are damn near perfectly vertical. When I squat, I sit back until I think I'm going to fall, and my knees still come almost all the way out to my toes. Why is that?
It's the gear. With each layer that you add, you have to sit back further on your hips and push the knees out hard to move the weight.
 
Rodja

Rodja

Board Sponsor
Awards
3
  • RockStar
  • Legend!
  • Established
2/8 Bench



Close Grip
225x8x3

Tate Press/External Rotations (mini)
35x15x3/15x3


Easily my best bench ever in a shirt. I ****ing nailed it today. On each set in the video (both of which were PRs), I had another rep in me, but my lumbar cramped after the single. Either way, I am far ahead of my pace and am extremely happy with my progress. Next week will be floor press per my 2:1 of shirted:raw work.
 
herderdude

herderdude

Well-known member
Awards
2
  • RockStar
  • Established
****ing SMOKED both of them. How many boards? Video quality on my phone is bad.
 
Celorza

Celorza

Well-known member
Awards
0
Subbed, you know I am an addict for your training insights and also for the sport too haha.

Congratz on the bench Ryan!
 
herderdude

herderdude

Well-known member
Awards
2
  • RockStar
  • Established
Ah. Understandable. Looks like the rest of you was ready for it. The arch hasn't gotten easier for you as you've gone along? Mine has, even as I've gotten better at forcing my ass toward my scapula.
 
Rodja

Rodja

Board Sponsor
Awards
3
  • RockStar
  • Legend!
  • Established
Ah. Understandable. Looks like the rest of you was ready for it. The arch hasn't gotten easier for you as you've gone along? Mine has, even as I've gotten better at forcing my ass toward my scapula.
The shirt changes the arch and forces more pressure onto you. Gear amplifies the amount of tightness that you need or the shirt will fold you.
 
Jiigzz

Jiigzz

Legend
Awards
5
  • RockStar
  • Legend!
  • Established
  • First Up Vote
  • First Up Vote
Killin it. Vids look good, but then again, I expected as much ;)
 
PalmFist

PalmFist

Well-known member
Awards
0
DAMN BRO> Awesome bench brah!!!
 
rob112

rob112

Well-known member
Awards
4
  • RockStar
  • Established
  • First Up Vote
  • Best Answer
Killed that bench!

Sent from my iPhone using Am.com
 
herderdude

herderdude

Well-known member
Awards
2
  • RockStar
  • Established
The shirt changes the arch and forces more pressure onto you. Gear amplifies the amount of tightness that you need or the shirt will fold you.
True. The groove for my shirt with the back closed was mid-pec and even that tried to flatten me.
 
Rodja

Rodja

Board Sponsor
Awards
3
  • RockStar
  • Legend!
  • Established
Whoa how long have you been lifting seriously??
I've been lifting for 11 years not with the past 3 PL oriented.
True. The groove for my shirt with the back closed was mid-pec and even that tried to flatten me.
That was probably a single-ply as well. Depending on the cut and shirt type, some of them place more pressure on the chest and others on the triceps. One of the guys I train with uses a grid-stitched Inzer Rage X, which is puts all the pressure in the triceps and is extremely difficult to move.
 
PalmFist

PalmFist

Well-known member
Awards
0
off topic...What did you specialize in for your Masters?
 
Rodja

Rodja

Board Sponsor
Awards
3
  • RockStar
  • Legend!
  • Established
off topic...What did you specialize in for your Masters?
Exercise Phys. It's weird how much your overall interests change in just a few years. I originally wanted to get my PhD under Cordain at Colorado State to further the Paleo movement, but that was before I found powerlifting. Now, I'm looking at two main schools for my PhD: Texas and Kentucky as they have more of a S&C interest.
 
Rodja

Rodja

Board Sponsor
Awards
3
  • RockStar
  • Legend!
  • Established
2/10
Squat

Worked up to 615x1

Ab Wheel
BWx10x3

This session was far from my best day. I was never able to loosen up my back and I had to call it at earlier than I had hoped. Most of the crew ended up having a ****ty day and one of the guys had to dump a weight, which hasn't happened to us in several months. This whole next week is going to be an underload with only briefs on lower and raw for upper.
 
AZMIDLYF

AZMIDLYF

Legend
Awards
3
  • RockStar
  • Legend!
  • Established
In for the insight
 
PalmFist

PalmFist

Well-known member
Awards
0
Exercise Phys. It's weird how much your overall interests change in just a few years. I originally wanted to get my PhD under Cordain at Colorado State to further the Paleo movement, but that was before I found powerlifting. Now, I'm looking at two main schools for my PhD: Texas and Kentucky as they have more of a S&C interest.
I always see the students in the grad program for ex/sci going everywhere and basically living in their gym clothes. Makes me jealous sometimes!
 
jimbuick

jimbuick

Legend
Awards
3
  • RockStar
  • Legend!
  • Established
I've been thinking about going to Texas as well. The Hazelwood Act allows me to go to school in the state so I'm looking at schools in Texas.
 
Rodja

Rodja

Board Sponsor
Awards
3
  • RockStar
  • Legend!
  • Established
I've been thinking about going to Texas as well. The Hazelwood Act allows me to go to school in the state so I'm looking at schools in Texas.
Which particular schools and for what speciality?
 
PalmFist

PalmFist

Well-known member
Awards
0
I've been thinking about going to Texas as well. The Hazelwood Act allows me to go to school in the state so I'm looking at schools in Texas.
Hell yes to this^^^
I'm always jealous of my Texan friends
 
jimbuick

jimbuick

Legend
Awards
3
  • RockStar
  • Legend!
  • Established
Which particular schools and for what speciality?
I have a little time before I can go.

Haven't looked much beyond UT as far as Texas schools, I spent a little time talking to Jason about it but haven't decided on a particular school.

I am looking for a degree in exercise physiology with a more performance or S+C focus, my goal is to work with wither HS or hopefully college athletes as a coach/trainer.
 
Rodja

Rodja

Board Sponsor
Awards
3
  • RockStar
  • Legend!
  • Established
I have a little time before I can go.

Haven't looked much beyond UT as far as Texas schools, I spent a little time talking to Jason about it but haven't decided on a particular school.

I am looking for a degree in exercise physiology with a more performance or S+C focus, my goal is to work with wither HS or hopefully college athletes as a coach/trainer.
UT would be the top option. Texas State is getting there, but still needs some faculty improvements.
 

Similar threads


Top