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13 Weeks to RPS Rawdawg Nats: Herder's PUUUGHE Comeback

7/22 Rep Bench

Trained fasted +Cellucor M5
BW 215 (FFFFyeah)

Bench

Worked up to 295x3 then voodoo flossed elbows
315x4 voodoo flossed again
275x12 in slingshot

Pin Presses (from chest)

245x1x8 30s rest

Iso Bench
245x1x3

Biceps tendons and all pushing muscles fried.

Poundstone Curls (just bar)
35/25/15

T-Bar Machine
3x15 hold at top

Kroc
115x15 PR

Really really good session. I moved my hands in from ring on ring to pinkie inside ring and moved my feet out in front. Sacrificed arch, gained stretch reflex, leg drive and power off chest.

Voodoo flossing is aptly named, that stuff is like dark magic for my sore biceps tendons. I'll be doing those daily and SSB squatting to hopefully heal up.

I may just PR on bench after all!
 
What size band for the voodoo floss? you do it yourself? benefit from it?

I used my cheapie knee wraps. I kinda needed someone to pin down the end while I wrapped and also to tuck it, but I think I could do it myself in a bind.

It was basically a miracle in how much it helped. The bar collapsed from bicep tendon pain with my first rep of 275 and 295, but after some flossin I was able to control 315. I edited the previous post to more accurately reflect my feelings.
 
Having a buddy also helps when they're manipulating it and not feeling ANY of your pain.
 
I just read over it again. I may try it with a miniband tonight. Good lookin

Side of my hip is still hurting, lacks external rotation. Trying to figure out what to do as per BASL

275x12 is no joke
 
I just read over it again. I may try it with a miniband tonight. Good lookin

Side of my hip is still hurting, lacks external rotation. Trying to figure out what to do as per BASL

275x12 is no joke

Yeah, it was Slingshotted, though. I'm happy with it, for sure. But it was just ok. 315 for 4 was what really made me happy. That's the most since ONE TIME I hit 315x6 and that was the same day I could have hit 365 right after. The bar might have been a 40lb bar, and that one day was definitely the second strongest bench day I've ever had besides the meet April 7. To see such dramatic results after a dramatic form change was really encouraging.
 
And this came out today:

Invalid Link Removed

I actually had the idea before I read this, but I got the idea from Josh Bryant. Today was a Bryant kind of bench day, and I stopped after 3 isometrics because I couldn't keep contact with my brother's hands. I milked my bench for everything it had today, even though the sesh was short and sweet.
 
I am envious of your benching man.


I agree, voodoo flossing is great. I use a mountain bike inner tube for the tire. Cut it in half and rock and roll.
 
Here's the switch in form and setup:

[video=youtube;_lL31slWNG4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lL31slWNG4[/video]
 
And here's the session:

[video=youtube;6FHZh0dOgZ8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FHZh0dOgZ8[/video]
 
I am envious of your benching man.


I agree, voodoo flossing is great. I use a mountain bike inner tube for the tire. Cut it in half and rock and roll.

That's way better than my knee wrap! That's stretchy and rubbery and can get in there a little better. I saw something on SuperDTV (maybe in the comments) that was an excellent suggestion to use.
 
7/23 Speed Deadlifts

Triples up to 335

Singles at 385 and 425

CAT Pulls
335x16x1 in 7 min.

I miscounted, obviously, and just erred on the side of low. They all felt pretty quick, some faster than others.

Front Squat
245x3x5

Toe Elevated Zercher GM
135x2x8
155x8

Pendlays (35s)
185x4x5

This was a lengthy workout, actually. Pretty leisurely except for the speed pulls. It was kind of necessary. The only time I felt fully engaged was the 8 minutes of speed pulling. One of those ho-hums that come along. Time to keep an eye on how the rest of the week goes. Another thing to note: this third carb-free stretch longest I've gone without carbs yet, this is day 5. Re-feed at day 10 or whenever it's forced upon me.
 
After some stopwatching, I see that today was pretty good. My 335 singles were between .8 and .9 seconds, my 425 was about 1.35s and last week's 455 double was 2 and 2.25 seconds. So I'm getting faster compared to last week. Didn't take the analysis any further, I just wanted a gauge on today and last week.
 
7/24 Body Day plus Deadlifts

We were on the back way to the gym we normally frequent when we passed a keycard entry powerlifting gym that I'd heard about in the past. We decided to poke our heads in and found a bunch of guys lifting hard to 100dB Godsmack. We introduced ourselves and he showed us around. Turns out they had a deadlift bar. Soo... I deadlifted again.

Triples
335
385

Singles
425 convo and sumo
465 and tore my palm

I was sore as hell all day in my deadlift muscles, so pulling 465 was huge.

Seated BB Press
185x3x5

Strength is down here. Need to emphasize the OHP more standing and seated.

Hammer Row
2.5ppsx3x8

Seated Cable Row (yes, I kicked it off with hip extension, but the concentric made it to my chest and the eccentrics were under control)
200x10
250x8
300x6

3 board
275x2x6
295x6

Triceps Death (chest, 1, 2, 3, 4 board, 5 reps each)
155x1.5 sets

Died on the 3 board set 2. It should be called Pec and Triceps death.

Pushdowns
10 reps

Facepulls
5x20

3D Pullaparts
3x8

That's a sweet ass gym. Apparently the top dog knows his geared lifting. Might have to learn from him, definitely have to make more appearances for sure. REAL 55# squat bar, a REAL bench bar, and springy deadlift bar. Bells up to 120, pair of 100lb plates. Felt good about the session, too.
 
Oooo sounds like my gym. You going to go there for good? That 55lb squat bar is a bitch but I'm so used to it now. Left me a nice callouse
 
Awesome update. Nice to play around with sweet equipment in a great atmosphere.

Solid pulling again. You have become a deadlifting machine! 8 days a week! Haha
 
Oooo sounds like my gym. You going to go there for good? That 55lb squat bar is a bitch but I'm so used to it now. Left me a nice callouse

It's $30 more a month than my current gym (so it's $30 a month lol) but it's definitely worth going in and messing with the hammer rows, cable low rows, lat pulldowns, squat bar and deadlift bar. They also have a full complement of bands (hence the 3D pullaparts) and about 90# of chain. I wish they did day passes because I'd be there in a heartbeat. As it is, I'm not sure if the logistics will make it worth my while to train there. But I will keep it in mind in the future.
 
Awesome update. Nice to play around with sweet equipment in a great atmosphere.

Solid pulling again. You have become a deadlifting machine! 8 days a week! Haha

Haha not gonna pass up a nice toothy bar that sags at lockout, man!
 
So how do you guys go about healing up torn hands in a hurry? I tore it below the callus, so it's virgin skin and I think there's still a flap. I put a single glove on to finish the lift, but this needs to clean up fast.
 
I generally just stop being such a ***** when mine tear.

Touche. I deserved that. Nay, needed to hear it.

I should've spit some 'baccy in there. Would've ripped 600 off of the floor with a vengeance.
 
My buddy who is coming to this meet is like killing himself right now trying to lose weight for 181. Trying to get a state record in bench and has some decent DL and SQ numbers... less than me but. He doesn't squat to depth either lol. But anyways, training looks good man. how you feeling? I need to catch up. Super glue "new skin" works. Tape during all lifts.
 
My buddy who is coming to this meet is like killing himself right now trying to lose weight for 181. Trying to get a state record in bench and has some decent DL and SQ numbers... less than me but. He doesn't squat to depth either lol. But anyways, training looks good man. how you feeling? I need to catch up. Super glue "new skin" works. Tape during all lifts.

I'm doing good, man. I would really dearly love to decompress my spine and I desperately need to loosen up my glutes and hip flexors this AM. It's all gonna loosen up, but that's what I get from deadlifting two days in a row.

I get the whole chasing records thing. I've hit 350 this cycle and the record is 355.

The thing about federation records is they don't make a fu(k. Whether I "hold a record" or not, I still know a 180lb twenty year old the next town over that has a hundred pounds on my bench.

There's only one world record. If you're going for that, go ahead and kill yourself making weight. If not, be comfortable.
 
I'm doing good, man. I would really dearly love to decompress my spine and I desperately need to loosen up my glutes and hip flexors this AM. It's all gonna loosen up, but that's what I get from deadlifting two days in a row.

I get the whole chasing records thing. I've hit 350 this cycle and the record is 355.

The thing about federation records is they don't make a fu(k. Whether I "hold a record" or not, I still know a 180lb twenty year old the next town over that has a hundred pounds on my bench.

There's only one world record. If you're going for that, go ahead and kill yourself making weight. If not, be comfortable.

Yep I feel ya man that's a much smarter and healthier state of mind. Goodluck getting loose I'm feeling that same way after deads and squats in a row. Sprints too. Actually got my quads sore!!!!

What's the count down now? You gota be out there Friday night?
 
Yep I feel ya man that's a much smarter and healthier state of mind. Goodluck getting loose I'm feeling that same way after deads and squats in a row. Sprints too. Actually got my quads sore!!!!

What's the count down now? You gota be out there Friday night?

I'm three weeks out. I'm leaving Thursday after my dad gets off work. Weigh in Friday morning (hopefully between 198-210) and hit it Saturday.
 
Haha sounds like a plan man. Whats the programming look like before the meet. singles, deload ? You're gona tear up.
 
Haha sounds like a plan man. Whats the programming look like before the meet. singles, deload ? You're gona tear up.

I have rep squats later this week, next week is rep bench, heavy pulls, and speed squats, and then the week after will be openers and if I can find a proper way to accommodate resistance, second attempts.

My cycle finished up a week early, so I'm going to work openers and do one assistance in more of a positional fashion (I.e. pause squats, two board, pause deficit pulls)
 
Sounds like a sound plan to me. What openers are you thinking?
 
465/315 or 335/455

Seconds will be 510/350/495, depending on how I feel.
 
What are the percentages of these to your 1rm?

Squat it's 93% of my max, bench 315 is 87% 335 is 93, deadlift 455 is 86% and 465 is 89%. My benching and deadlifting isn't as strong as it was in April, but my squatting is much further along.
 
Squat it's 93% of my max, bench 315 is 87% 335 is 93, deadlift 455 is 86% and 465 is 89%. My benching and deadlifting isn't as strong as it was in April, but my squatting is much further along.

Have you tried your opener yet? That's an aggressive % out of the gate...
 
Have you tried your opener yet? That's an aggressive % out of the gate...

I hit my squat opener for a single and a double two weeks in a row, I've hit 315 on bench more often than I can count, and I just hit 455 for a double from a deficit last week and just hit 465 the day after speed deads this week. I figure I've only been powerlifting for a year, I still have improvements to make.
 
I hit my squat opener for a single and a double two weeks in a row, I've hit 315 on bench more often than I can count, and I just hit 455 for a double from a deficit last week and just hit 465 the day after speed deads this week. I figure I've only been powerlifting for a year, I still have improvements to make.

Cool, you don't want to miss your opener. It can fck w your head. The only thought you should have is fcking smoke your openers. Then you can relax a bit. Judge your third on the bar speed of your second.

Kill it...
 
7/26 Rep Squats

Wrist Strap SSB Squat
worked up to 295x8
315x5 ditched straps, they were messing with me.
355x1
385x1 with belt
445x1 belt wraps (monolift practice)
445x1 just briefs (more monolift practice) hips were absolutely swimming at depth. Barely got it out of there.
525x0 I think it was an inch high, knees went forward at the bottom. Didn't sit back hard enough. Technical errors and today was just off from the beginning.

Sled Pushes
+180x100ydsx3 with 3min rest
+180x60ydsx3 with 1min rest

Wasn't really up for any assistance, squats were labored and draining, and the sled work was really tough enough for me. Half of it was uphill and the downhill was a slow walk so as not to build momentum. Squats were just off, I'd chalk that up to two weeks of heavy squatting and three heavy deadlift sessions in the past two weeks. Still hit 445 with weight to spare. Monolifting helped a lot. I breathed out on the 445 with briefs, highly unneccesary and just wrong. Vids to come momentarily.
 
Here they are. As you can see, I had a hard time finding the rhythm. I just stuck with it and got my knee bends in. Definitely a huge difference in squatting between a day of work and a day off of work. Makes me wonder about my deadlifts this week. It was my second day in a row pulling AND my first day back working in a week. Perhaps I'll be good for a lot more at the meet. I sure hope so.

[video=youtube;ndg69V2GelI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?edit=vd&v=ndg69V2GelI[/video]
 
To me, it looked like you got depth at the last second but close. Definitely didn't over do it.
 
To me, it looked like you got depth at the last second but close. Definitely didn't over do it.

Definitely not gonna overdo depth in those! If you wonder why multi-ply guys only squat TO parallel and not an inch below, just try it one time with a weight 100lbs less than your raw max. It's downright shocking.

When I first saw it on my phone, I thought it was for sure 2-3" high, but looking at it in stop-motion, I can see a hip crease and it looks like it is parallel or maybe an inch high. Hard to say. It will improve as I work on some box squatting for technique.

My Metal Pro Squatter and Viking Pro Bencher came in today!! The squatter is way tight in the legs and the straps are also pretty tight. I think I'd have a hard time getting to the bar on deadlifts, but we're going to have to make sure about that in a couple weeks! The bencher is nice and comfortable fitting all the way around. I'm gonna give that big bad boy a spin today.
 
Let's say it's adequate for training but close for a meet.
 
Let's say it's adequate for training but close for a meet.

Eh, I'd rather train ballz deep and have a judge tell me to cut them higher at the meet. You never know what you're going to get.
 
Yes but just because you were an inch shallow doesn't mean you aren't gona make any progress from it. Chalk it up to going deeper next time and training form, but realize you still put in decent work.
 
Yes but just because you were an inch shallow doesn't mean you aren't gona make any progress from it. Chalk it up to going deeper next time and training form, but realize you still put in decent work.

For sure. Part of it is that if your form is not on point, your equipment will terminate the depth for you. I needed to get my knees out more, sit back more, et cetera. Really my current squat is very different from a multi-ply squat. My feet are shoulder width and I open my knees up and sit between them when I'm raw. That will not work in gear.
 
Very true. My squat blows cause I have a bad build for that anyways. So I'm still trying to find my groove for a deep squat. I can't imagine having to change it up after learning it so well one way either going from raw to geared. Blows.
 
Very true. My squat blows cause I have a bad build for that anyways. So I'm still trying to find my groove for a deep squat. I can't imagine having to change it up after learning it so well one way either going from raw to geared. Blows.

It's like the Dave Tate article that came out last week. You can't be good at both at the same time. But, I fully believe that one helps the other. The overload from gear and the muscle built from raw both help each other. I just wanna compete raw and multi-ply like Brandon Lilly and Chris Duffin. Nobody can take anything away from what you do raw, and if you're gonna gear up for a bigger total, why not gear to the max?

Don't think that poor leverages can't be overcome. I'm pretty sure Chris Hickson can squat 700 raw, and he's 6'4" with a true deadlifter's build. My buddy is 6'2" 198 and he squats 455 with a narrow stance.
 
I definitely believe it. It's just finding my spot right now that I'm finally using good form is tough.

You're right about both I think. And you can do anything you set your mind to do.
 
7/27 Shirt Spin! (and speedwork)

Raw Benches in shirt style
Up to 315x1 (then 315x1 raw style)
365x1 slingshot

Added shirt
315 float
365x1
385x1 then remembered to flare elbows
405x1 ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffYEAH!

It was weird, I didn't know what to do with a loose shirt! Lol. It's incredibly easy to get on. Slide it all the way up, a tug here and there and we're benchin! The other shirts I had were a chore to get into. Love the groove on this shirt. Jack it all the way down and it's a nice upper ab touch. It leaves me pretty quickly, and I couldn't twist the big-ass sleeves to help with that. Flaring the elbows really helped the shirt carry higher.

Touch was comfy, though it's hard to feel. I could definitely grow into this shirt, get stronger, and progress as normal. Don't know if I want it any tighter until I get everything nailed down in it.
 
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