Jswain's training log for powerlifting
- Thread starter jswain34
- Start date
jswain34
Well-known member
I'm kinda weird in the fact that my spoto and comp press maxes are probably within 10lbs of each other. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing really.
jswain34
Well-known member
I did go in and get some gpp in yesterday. I mainly just did upper back and some bat hangs. I decided against the box sq + gm bc my glutes were (and still are) pretty damn sore from fronts. The left knee is also starting to flare up a tad again, i first felt it on friday on my first sumo pull. Nothing major at all though.
I'm having some issues getting my ipad to connect to my wifi so I haven't been able to upload the videos of fris bench + pulls and Saturdays fronts. I'll get em up whenever the ipad stops being retarded.
On another note, I was planning on lifting after work today but my boss from my other job texted me this morning saying the front desk girls overbooked the one doctor that is there so he wants me to go in and help the doc out again. So, I'll have to pull tomorrow...probably tomorrow night.
I'm having some issues getting my ipad to connect to my wifi so I haven't been able to upload the videos of fris bench + pulls and Saturdays fronts. I'll get em up whenever the ipad stops being retarded.
On another note, I was planning on lifting after work today but my boss from my other job texted me this morning saying the front desk girls overbooked the one doctor that is there so he wants me to go in and help the doc out again. So, I'll have to pull tomorrow...probably tomorrow night.
jswain34
Well-known member
Fri bench work and some "light" paused dead work:
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Fronts with the rev ssb from Sat:
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Edit: if anyone has anything they notice i could improve on, lemme know. Deads aren't feeling too good. My glutes are dead and I need to spend more time outside of the gym keeping them active.
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Fronts with the rev ssb from Sat:
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Edit: if anyone has anything they notice i could improve on, lemme know. Deads aren't feeling too good. My glutes are dead and I need to spend more time outside of the gym keeping them active.
SweetLou321
Well-known member
Hey bud do you happen to have project momentum all laid out? I have a buddy who wants to see it as he is getting into mikes stuff. If you could send it me id appreciate it.
SweetLou321
Well-known member
You can get tighter on the bench, esp in the legs, let the shoulders sink into the pad more after the unrack too
jswain34
Well-known member
Email sent
jswain34
Well-known member
Alright. Thanks. Those are both two things ive actively been trying to work on so ill keep at it.
RegisterJr
Legend
No clue how you can tell.
Jealous of your adjustable bench rack. This must be why I struggle on unracking, partly. I have to lift it a mile.
Hyde
Legend
You can always be tighter lol
And adjustable makes a ridiculous difference in my entire setup - if the rack is fixed but close enough I can vary my grip to get a perfect lift out with my lats and thru my heels, but if it's far off I have to press it out and it absolutely ruins my setup. You want that baby literally as high as possible where you can just pull it out. Any lower and you are wasting energy and potentially changing your setup.
SweetLou321
Well-known member
Look at his back when he takes the weight out and his shoulders with the pad.
Legs is easy bc you can see him wiggling before the unrack, if locked in that wouldn't be happening
SweetLou321
Well-known member
Got it, thanks
jswain34
Well-known member
4/19/16 W6D1
CGBP (x3@9 -> x2@9 rep drops)
Last rep paused, pointer on edge of knurl and smooth
45x-
135x-
185x6
215x5
245x3
275x3@6
[email protected]
310x3@8
[email protected] (~9) *overall bench pr triple and cgbp pr triple
[email protected]
320x2@9
trying to set up pulls in multiple random spots because the team was doing rdls and shrugs with the hex bar on the only two deadlift platforms. The floor is uneven as all hell and the bar was rolling everywhere, after 20 mins i finally found a damn place to deadlift.
DL (+2" blocks) (sumo) (x1@8; 80%x3x2)
135x5
225x5
315x5
365x5
405x5
455x2 (+belt) (+hk)
505x1 (+hk)
555x1@7 (+hk) (after watching the video this looks more like a 6-6.5)
[email protected] (~8) (+hk) (this also moved better than it felt after watching the video)
*i was considering going to 605. But one of the guys on the team (same guy that explained to me his entire meet prep last week or 2 weeks ago) came up to me immediately after this pull and started talking my ear off again. The gym was closing in 15 mins at this point so i just moved on to the backdown stuff.
[email protected] (+1 doh, 2 str mix)
[email protected] (+3 str)
Went with the blocks today. Next week i work up to an @9 single and the ole hips are feeling sumo a bit so i wanted to give them a slight break with the 2" blocks. Im a little convinced that they help too much, my form was still not very technically sound as my hips were raising first vs popping the bar off the floor (with the exception of the 585, that was a LITTLE bit better). Ive got some videos that ill put up later tonight or tomorrow and it'd be awesome to hear from you sumo guys on stuff to work on. One thing that i do want to note is that after i grabbed onto the bar i was rolling back onto my heels and that seemed to help me keep my shoulders over the bar better than the last 2 weeks (it also could have been the blocks, so I'll wait and see next week).
CGBP (x3@9 -> x2@9 rep drops)
Last rep paused, pointer on edge of knurl and smooth
45x-
135x-
185x6
215x5
245x3
275x3@6
[email protected]
310x3@8
[email protected] (~9) *overall bench pr triple and cgbp pr triple
[email protected]
320x2@9
trying to set up pulls in multiple random spots because the team was doing rdls and shrugs with the hex bar on the only two deadlift platforms. The floor is uneven as all hell and the bar was rolling everywhere, after 20 mins i finally found a damn place to deadlift.
DL (+2" blocks) (sumo) (x1@8; 80%x3x2)
135x5
225x5
315x5
365x5
405x5
455x2 (+belt) (+hk)
505x1 (+hk)
555x1@7 (+hk) (after watching the video this looks more like a 6-6.5)
[email protected] (~8) (+hk) (this also moved better than it felt after watching the video)
*i was considering going to 605. But one of the guys on the team (same guy that explained to me his entire meet prep last week or 2 weeks ago) came up to me immediately after this pull and started talking my ear off again. The gym was closing in 15 mins at this point so i just moved on to the backdown stuff.
[email protected] (+1 doh, 2 str mix)
[email protected] (+3 str)
Went with the blocks today. Next week i work up to an @9 single and the ole hips are feeling sumo a bit so i wanted to give them a slight break with the 2" blocks. Im a little convinced that they help too much, my form was still not very technically sound as my hips were raising first vs popping the bar off the floor (with the exception of the 585, that was a LITTLE bit better). Ive got some videos that ill put up later tonight or tomorrow and it'd be awesome to hear from you sumo guys on stuff to work on. One thing that i do want to note is that after i grabbed onto the bar i was rolling back onto my heels and that seemed to help me keep my shoulders over the bar better than the last 2 weeks (it also could have been the blocks, so I'll wait and see next week).
jswain34
Well-known member
This. I usually bench on that bench in the video as it has the highest pin setting. When i have to bench on the other one it is a full pin length shorter and the distance is extreeeemely easy to notice.
I have a bad tendency of waiting to screw my right foot into the ground harder after i unrack. Good call.
Have you ever heard of anyone initiating the unrack by firing their leg drive? Thats what i do and i honestly feel like it gets me tighter than having my legs pre set. I push back with my legs and pull out with the lats at the same time and (at least i feel like) im set and ready to go.
herderdude
Well-known member
I wiggle some before the unrack in the lower body, but it's always very noticeable that I've turned leg drive on full bore when I go to receive it. I've always benched best with a more constant leg drive, meeting the bar at it's highest point. Letting the weight settle to load the back side of the upper body is so important though.
I can't set my lats as the uneasiness comes. I was reminded of that today. I have to have them clamped down before I go through my checklist of grip tightness, then legs, then air. I can always get them kind of tight, but having them tight before ensures the best result.
I think when people see Mark Bell or Dan Green bench, they don't realize that even with all of the rocking and sinking, they are actually incredibly tight throughout their body the entire time. They just have some moving parts that actually come as a result of the springload tension in their upper back.
I can't set my lats as the uneasiness comes. I was reminded of that today. I have to have them clamped down before I go through my checklist of grip tightness, then legs, then air. I can always get them kind of tight, but having them tight before ensures the best result.
I think when people see Mark Bell or Dan Green bench, they don't realize that even with all of the rocking and sinking, they are actually incredibly tight throughout their body the entire time. They just have some moving parts that actually come as a result of the springload tension in their upper back.
jswain34
Well-known member
505:
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555:
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585
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I edited in some notes above in the initial post. These moved pretty quick actually. If I would've actually been able to sit down and watch this vs talking to the guy from the team I would've pulled 605 off those blocks tonight. Oh well, that (or more) will happen during the peak.
Just got home from watching the Hawks game. Gonna grub down 8oz cooked chicken and 200+g carbs worth of jasmine rice and hit the sack.
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555:
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585
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I edited in some notes above in the initial post. These moved pretty quick actually. If I would've actually been able to sit down and watch this vs talking to the guy from the team I would've pulled 605 off those blocks tonight. Oh well, that (or more) will happen during the peak.
Just got home from watching the Hawks game. Gonna grub down 8oz cooked chicken and 200+g carbs worth of jasmine rice and hit the sack.
SweetLou321
Well-known member
This. I usually bench on that bench in the video as it has the highest pin setting. When i have to bench on the other one it is a full pin length shorter and the distance is extreeeemely easy to notice.
I have a bad tendency of waiting to screw my right foot into the ground harder after i unrack. Good call.
Have you ever heard of anyone initiating the unrack by firing their leg drive? Thats what i do and i honestly feel like it gets me tighter than having my legs pre set. I push back with my legs and pull out with the lats at the same time and (at least i feel like) im set and ready to go.
That is how you should unrack the bar in my opinion.
SweetLou321
Well-known member
Strong pulls.
Spend an extra second or two making sure your brace is set before bending over. The big one tho is really grabbing the ground and rotating to get those hips engaged. I can tell you are setting up around the bar and not making the bar set up around you. This could explain why the hips just arnt loaded to the max and seem to get a touch away from you.
jswain34
Well-known member
Alright. I do think more of just out with the hips ("spread the floor") vs rotating or "monkey grabbing" the floor. So that makes sense to me how that'd be something to improve on. It'll definitely help me get my glutes involved better too and that's never a bad thing.
And although i feel like me rolling back like i did yesterday helped me control the setup better vs letting the bar control it, this has been an issue for me this block now that i think about it. I used to kind of just slowly get tighter and tighter until i was in the correct position and then pull. This block, i think ive been out of position then trying to explode into position then pull.
Thanks brother.
SweetLou321
Well-known member
Sounds like you have a good flow of thoughts on what you need to do. Now let's see some big pulls in here! There aren't many of us left that are healthy at this point lol
jswain34
Well-known member
Yeah. I needed pulls to feel good (better) yesterday. It boosted my confidence a bit and i think i may have found the way to figure a couple of the issues out that i was having.
And I'll do my best man. 6 weeks out this saturday!
Hyde
Legend
So this 20yr old came in to practice for a local strongman show this weekend and I coached him through log technique fundamentals today to get ready for his first show Saturday. This kid is 325lbs at 6'1", benches 565 raw and pulls 720x2 Sumo and has only ever done powerlifting and some throwing and football. He was smoking a 320lb log today and will definitely win Novice this weekend. He also crushed a 330lb stone several times w just chalk having never touched one before. He has the strength to do 400 it appears.
Anyway, he invited me to come bench w him and the Lilliebridge's next Saturday for my help - kinda thinking I should take him up.
Anyway, he invited me to come bench w him and the Lilliebridge's next Saturday for my help - kinda thinking I should take him up.
jswain34
Well-known member
Damn! Thats some impressive shît. Let me know if you come up. Does he train at Barbell Central or what? Depending on what's goin on, I'd be down to come after i get off work and toss some weights around with ya, screw the schedule at this point. My gym is less than 10 mins from there.
jswain34
Well-known member
4/20/16 w5d2
-SQUAT (+ rogue CG-1 cambered bar) (+12" box) (x1@8; 80%x3x2)
85x-
135x5
175x5
225x5
265x5
315x1@5? (+belt)
355x1@6
385x1@7
415x1@7 (maybe box squat pr?)
445x1@8 (definite box squat PR)
385x3x2
@7
@7
Felt like doing more
355x3x2
@6
@6
-BP (76%x4x5)
45x-
95x5
135x5
185x5
215x5
245x5
270x4x5
@6
@6
@7
@6
@6
-RDL (belt less)
(Work up to x8@8 then do 5 sets including initial set)
135x8
225x8
315x8@8
@7
@7
@6.5
@6.5
Decided to break out this rogue cg-1 cambered bar for box squats today. That was interesting, i liked it a lot though. I was gripping the vertical beams where they meet the crossbar and was able to get my upper back probably tighter than i ever have on a squat before. The thing i did notice is you have to lock your lats down hard or that baby will wiggle around on you, happened a few times when coming off the box.
Was benching with thumb distance from smooth and that was feeling better than it has in a while too. I was getting my lats a bit more involved. Instead of cuing the "bend the bar" with the outside of my hands i was cuing it with the hook of my thumb and pointer and that seemed to help me get a little tighter.
Not gonna lie, the first set of rdls was at an 8. The rest were probably too easy. If i wouldve had more time i wouldve warmed up better and probably kept going up. What i did was better than nothing though.
-SQUAT (+ rogue CG-1 cambered bar) (+12" box) (x1@8; 80%x3x2)
85x-
135x5
175x5
225x5
265x5
315x1@5? (+belt)
355x1@6
385x1@7
415x1@7 (maybe box squat pr?)
445x1@8 (definite box squat PR)
385x3x2
@7
@7
Felt like doing more
355x3x2
@6
@6
-BP (76%x4x5)
45x-
95x5
135x5
185x5
215x5
245x5
270x4x5
@6
@6
@7
@6
@6
-RDL (belt less)
(Work up to x8@8 then do 5 sets including initial set)
135x8
225x8
315x8@8
@7
@7
@6.5
@6.5
Decided to break out this rogue cg-1 cambered bar for box squats today. That was interesting, i liked it a lot though. I was gripping the vertical beams where they meet the crossbar and was able to get my upper back probably tighter than i ever have on a squat before. The thing i did notice is you have to lock your lats down hard or that baby will wiggle around on you, happened a few times when coming off the box.
Was benching with thumb distance from smooth and that was feeling better than it has in a while too. I was getting my lats a bit more involved. Instead of cuing the "bend the bar" with the outside of my hands i was cuing it with the hook of my thumb and pointer and that seemed to help me get a little tighter.
Not gonna lie, the first set of rdls was at an 8. The rest were probably too easy. If i wouldve had more time i wouldve warmed up better and probably kept going up. What i did was better than nothing though.
SweetLou321
Well-known member
With the full body work, how sore are you and how tight do you get from a session? Do you feel it in later sessions? That's always the biggest issue for me with the high frequency programs and I switch back to 2 times per week
jswain34
Well-known member
Anymore, the soreness i get from this is pretty negligible. But, with that being said, i havent really been doing any of the x8-11 rep stuff that is programmed in PM and that was the stuff that had me feeling sore during PM. The first few weeks absolutely kick your ass in terms of soreness/tightness just because of the frequency, but you slowly adjust to it. You honestly just have to take what's there on that given day and do what you can to try and loosen/warm up. That's one of the cool things about TRAC, it asks you how sore you are for "push muscles", "pull muscles" and "legs" and tells you to adjust volume accordingly or continue as planned.
For your second question, you do feel more beat up later in the week. But that's why mike likes keeping the comp movements early in the (edit): week and secondary stuff later. That way, if you're too beat up, you're missing some volume/intensity on the secondary stuff and not the comp stuff. He also likes lifting Mon/Tues/Thurs/Fri so he gets two days off on the weekend to recover for the comp moves early in the next week.
Edit: *week. You're. Lol
SweetLou321
Well-known member
Thanks for the detailed and well written post. I can't set my week like he has it unfortunately. I also don't have trac to adjust things. Just some more food for thought. I'm trying to take in details from everyone I can. Even my chiro proposed an issue with my recovery is I'm just putting to my load on the soft tissues that need time to catch up. So I'm trying to figure out if my work split up over 4 days or upper lower is best given my issues right now.
Edit:
How much fatigue does the single at 8 add to a session and how much time? I'm considering using it in my training to help autoregulate my days but I don't want to use it at the cost of more fatigue or a bunch more time.
Hyde
Legend
He's an ISU student and apparently normally just lifts at the Golds around here (we have 3 lol) but one of the Masters strongmen that comes in to train some when he's not at Golds is trying to recruit his natural talent. Kid nearly loaded our 370 without tacky having never touched a stone. I can only assume he payed for some training with Eric at some point and they like to have him come up to train now because he can bench toe to toe with Eric.
If I end up coming I will definitely see what your up to. Would be great to lift together! Otherwise I'll be handling in Kentucky at the Beast of the Bluegrass - it's a World level qualifier for the Arnold next year for the lightweight women's overall win, so a win there would be huge.
Hyde
Legend
It serves 2 purposes: to generate the days training numbers but ALSO makes the weights move better after it as its a neural primer. PAP is very real and is proven to let you lift more weight during your work sets. Don't spend more time on it than you need (I'm sure Mike T has guidelines but as a general rule with that method).
SweetLou321
Well-known member
I'm well aware of pap from Bryant. Thanks. Still smoothing out the details before my next block.
jswain34
Well-known member
The daily recommendations from trac are insanely simple. Feel beat up in the pressing muscles/tissues - reduce volume on the pressing movements for the day. Drop a set here or there, or the movement altogether if it's that bad. That part of trac can be done purely instinctively on your own.
I can see the argument your chiro is making. I guess you could just try to up the frequency slowly as you continue to heal up.
Pretty much this, Lou. The @8 single isn't very fatiguing at all imo...and it's the working up to ~92% of your max that takes the most time, not exactly the single itself. Like Hyde said, the single is mainly just to get an estimated daily 1rm to hit your pap/work sets off of. Honestly, working up to ~92% on more than one comp lift (much more so if it's deads/squats in the same session, bench I can work up faster) is what takes the most time.
My suggestion would be to just use the x1@8 single on one comp lift per session and then your other lifts for that session just go straight into work sets.
SweetLou321
Well-known member
So you just do the comp lifts? How do you pike the percents for the variations?
Thanks for the detailed write up. Makes a lot of sense. That is how o had to approach my last block anyways. My main goal is to just manage fatigue to have productive blocks and stay healthy! Number one goal. Idc what I gotta do or layout my training to do so.
jswain34
Well-known member
I guess i should rephrase. Just pick one lift (whether it's the comp lift or a close variant is entirely up to you) to work up x1@8 on and then the remaining of the lifts for that session just go off percents.
And I've never actually programmed the percents for myself so i cant really answer that question. You know how to program better than I, so what id guess is just do it how you typically do depending on what your goals are atm.
SweetLou321
Well-known member
I see. So if you had two bench lifts you'd just do one then program the other off it?
jswain34
Well-known member
If you know how your second bench compares to the first bench then yah that'd be ideal.
If not you could just do it like i did RDLs yesterday. Worked up to x8@8 and then hit 5 sets total including the first set with that weight. You could use the rpe chart and get a rough percentage of what that weight may be as well which would help you with the guesswork (which is what burns the most time).
SweetLou321
Well-known member
Appriciate all the info. Still learning. If I go full body id deff want to work up on each lift, if split I'd probably only work up on the first then just adjust for the second.
SweetLou321
Well-known member
Well this block would all be 77.5%-85%, so it would be almost all heavy work. Might not be the best plan then.
jswain34
Well-known member
4/22/16 w5d3
-Comp BP (x1@8; x1@9; 80%x3x3)
45x-
95x-
125x5
185x5
215x5
235x4
275x1
305x1@6? (vid)
335x1@7 (vid) (pause was pretty much non-existent so i took it again)
[email protected] (vid) (wasn't sure what to do since i split the rpe, but i went up anyhow and it was the right choice)
345x1@8 (vid)
355x1@9 (vid) *tie all time PR. This one was snappy compared to the last time i hit it though.
295x3x3
@7.5
@8
@8
Lift offs help a lot. Today is the first day i really realized that.
-DEADLIFT (76%x4x4)
Work up
490x4x4
@6
@6
@7
@8
^work sets completed in 5.5 mins. Thats probably why there was such an increase in the rpe through the sets. Pulls felt slow today, i was falling back like i was on monday but still felt like my shoulders were out in front and therefore my hips were raising vs pushing through. Still a work in progress, as it always will be.
No lifting tomorrow. Headed down to Indiana U for my little brother's 21st birthday. Should be interesting...he's in a frat. Not necessarily my cup of tea so we'll see how long i can handle the bros.
Will put up the vids below. Still need to work on keeping my lower half tight throughout the entire bench. I was wiggling again, i think that might be a tough habit to break for me. But, i think the heavy CGping ive beeing doing is paying off.
-Comp BP (x1@8; x1@9; 80%x3x3)
45x-
95x-
125x5
185x5
215x5
235x4
275x1
305x1@6? (vid)
335x1@7 (vid) (pause was pretty much non-existent so i took it again)
[email protected] (vid) (wasn't sure what to do since i split the rpe, but i went up anyhow and it was the right choice)
345x1@8 (vid)
355x1@9 (vid) *tie all time PR. This one was snappy compared to the last time i hit it though.
295x3x3
@7.5
@8
@8
Lift offs help a lot. Today is the first day i really realized that.
-DEADLIFT (76%x4x4)
Work up
490x4x4
@6
@6
@7
@8
^work sets completed in 5.5 mins. Thats probably why there was such an increase in the rpe through the sets. Pulls felt slow today, i was falling back like i was on monday but still felt like my shoulders were out in front and therefore my hips were raising vs pushing through. Still a work in progress, as it always will be.
No lifting tomorrow. Headed down to Indiana U for my little brother's 21st birthday. Should be interesting...he's in a frat. Not necessarily my cup of tea so we'll see how long i can handle the bros.
Will put up the vids below. Still need to work on keeping my lower half tight throughout the entire bench. I was wiggling again, i think that might be a tough habit to break for me. But, i think the heavy CGping ive beeing doing is paying off.
jswain34
Well-known member
Yah...i just watched it again when i uploaded it and was like
. I knew it moved well when i hit it but I didn't wanna go overboard so i called it at a pr tie. Maybe should've taken 365 for a spin in hindsight.SweetLou321
Well-known member
How do you establish the max for the % work on the days you don't work up to 1@8?
jswain34
Well-known member
Using the last x1@8 day's e1rm. For instance: i pulled [email protected] on Tuesday. Using mike's general rpe vs percentage chart i found my e1rm from Tuesday to be 642 (585/0.91 = 642). So i used 642x0.76 to get me to 487.92 =~490.
herderdude
Well-known member
You look good for 375+ right now brotha. Taking the bench crown for your own!
SweetLou321
Well-known member
Thanks a ton man. Makes sense. Tough when I don't do the same lift twice in a week right now bc I'm so far from a meet.
jswain34
Well-known member
Id give ya 370. My bench dies hard, it always looks smooth til it aint.
Example:
My 355 vs 365 at the end of PM testing.
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jswain34
Well-known member
No problem man. I like to help out when i can, you guys have helped me a shîtload.
And yah..how many movements you having for each lift? Primary/secondary/supplemental/secondary supplemental setup was for bench and primary/secondary/supplemental for squat and deadlift was what it was for his generalized intmdt program, iirc.
You could even use some of those slots (probably supplemental & secondary supplemental) for some of your rehab exercises.
herderdude
Well-known member
I would have given you more, but I know the bench can be fickle. You flared a tiny bit early as well. When I'm faulting in that pattern, 5lbs less than my max looks like a joke.
Be sure to think of shoving yourself into the bench and spreading the bar. That will keep your shoulders seated and give you a chance to grind. The early flare is how I ended up hurting my pec most recently. Mine was because of poor band setup on speed days. It threw off my straight weight groove.
Edit: just watched the 365. Don't recall seeing it in the past. Your lower body tightness was a little low in that one as well. Knee cave is also a bench thing as well. Run through my instagram and you'll see some examples of good lower tightness. The only one that I'm unsatisfied with is my 405, where I caught the weight. I made an especially nice recovery of lower body and overall on that one, though.
RegisterJr
Legend
Smooth presses yesterday Swain.
You pulled 490 16x in <6 min? I think anyone's form would be somewhat off....
You pulled 490 16x in <6 min? I think anyone's form would be somewhat off....