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Jswain's training log for powerlifting

Good points by everyone definitely. I think we can all agree that if only training a lift once a week the best way to go is heavy strength. But if you can increase frequency to practice skill more often(and trigger muscle protein synthesis more often) this is ideal, provided you can recover from this. This is where the lighter weights on the second session come in for most guys, who can't train heavy twice a week often (because I'm a *****, for example lol).

From there, all that matters is if you are getting the results you desire I think. Like Herder mentioned, the why doesn't really matter as much as the (perceived) results.
 
Personally I'd love to hear more from swim on this. Esp if I could send him josh Bryant's book where he cited a lot of studies on speed based training with lifting. A lot of us here have done some west side style training where we did and probably still do some speed work. So I'd love more input from someone who doesn't do it and honestly is making great gains anyways.
 
I have no idea what josh Bryant is citing, but I'll say this. My guess is he's citing studies that say if you're pushing weight as hard as you can (versus just completing the rep) you'll see more gains. Duh? Gotta remember he's writing a book to make money. He's a smart guy and knows his ****, but you've gotta have an angle to sell yourself. So yeah, at that point we're not talking about speed/dynamic/cat work. Just talking about lifting with "intent". Obviously, this is easier with fewer repetitions per set because it's extremely fatiguing. But the load doesn't really matter. Unless you're using it as a recovery/skill practice workout like I said before. I also don't think it need to be done all the time. If you're trying to gain muscle in the off season you're better off just pounding volume. Ramp up your CNS and neuromuscular coordination in your strength and peaking blocks. In the end all this is just conversation. Train hard for 10 years and you'll be strong as hell. No matter what you do.
 
liftandswim said:
I have no idea what josh Bryant is citing, but I'll say this. My guess is he's citing studies that say if you're pushing weight as hard as you can (versus just completing the rep) you'll see more gains. Duh? Gotta remember he's writing a book to make money. He's a smart guy and knows his ****, but you've gotta have an angle to sell yourself. So yeah, at that point we're not talking about speed/dynamic/cat work. Just talking about lifting with "intent". Obviously, this is easier with fewer repetitions per set because it's extremely fatiguing. But the load doesn't really matter. Unless you're using it as a recovery/skill practice workout like I said before. I also don't think it need to be done all the time. If you're trying to gain muscle in the off season you're better off just pounding volume. Ramp up your CNS and neuromuscular coordination in your strength and peaking blocks. In the end all this is just conversation. Train hard for 10 years and you'll be strong as hell. No matter what you do.
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You are right on point here. Good points. His whole point of cat is to learn to lift with intent. And you are also right it's much easier with fewer reps per set. Thanks swim. Always more food for thought and I enjoy the perspective. Esp with all the people lifting with straight sets and getting very strong.
 
liftandswim said:
I have no idea what josh Bryant is citing, but I'll say this. My guess is he's citing studies that say if you're pushing weight as hard as you can (versus just completing the rep) you'll see more gains. Duh? Gotta remember he's writing a book to make money. He's a smart guy and knows his ****, but you've gotta have an angle to sell yourself. So yeah, at that point we're not talking about speed/dynamic/cat work. Just talking about lifting with "intent". Obviously, this is easier with fewer repetitions per set because it's extremely fatiguing. But the load doesn't really matter. Unless you're using it as a recovery/skill practice workout like I said before. I also don't think it need to be done all the time. If you're trying to gain muscle in the off season you're better off just pounding volume. Ramp up your CNS and neuromuscular coordination in your strength and peaking blocks. In the end all this is just conversation. Train hard for 10 years and you'll be strong as hell. No matter what you do.
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Just gonna add I read the studies byrant lists for cat. It's what you said, lift with intent. Nothing more nothing less. So if you always lift with intent, no need to train it. If you don't then maybe training it would be good for a block then just keep it up.
 
Well damn. Considering this is my log i wish I would've been more involved in this whole dialogue. But, it was a crazy busy day for me so sorry gents. I'm gonna try to just make a quick post and go cook myself some food. Friggin starving.

Honestly, I don't even know how to respond to all of this really. You guys obviously do a lot more research into lifting "science" than I do and, therefore, are a hell of a lot more knowledgeable about it than I am. And as much of a cop out as it may seem, i really don't think i have anything that I can add to what has already been said.

I'm thinking that I may give some AR a go on one of my pressing days and one of my squat days. I like the idea of using it to speed up my eccentric on squats (will also act to deload my hips a bit, which i obviously need and will continue to need as a transition back into sumo) and I'm honestly just curious to see how my pressing responds to it. Like I said in my original post, a lot of strong and smart mfers use cat/speed/dynamic work and a lot of strong, smart mfers got brutally strong without it. And, i think that boils down to what swim mentioned. That if you train consistently and hard (and not completely idiotically) for long enough, you're going to get strong. There will be outliers within each school of thought that stand out over the rest. Ive always had good success with just straight weight, but it is hard to argue with the results of Bryant, Westside, etc. It's also hard to argue against people like Mike T who have argued against dyn/speed/cat work.

I'm starting to feel like i'm just rambling now so im gonna go cook this grub. Once again, thanks for all of the input in here guys. It's awesome to have a dialogue like this.
 
Just wanna add west side encourages ar but Bryant does not. But I agree with trying. You never know it could be just what you need right now, may not need it later.

Lewis likes bands to teach what true tightness is.

Byrd likes them to add resistance but not at the bottom as he works back up.

So there are many reasons they could help you right now.
 
Good point by Swim, easy to forget: lift heavy consistently for 10 years and you will get strong. Probably very strong by most people's notions.
 
Alright, before i forget to do it all together, here is yesterday's training:

3/10 PM washout W2D3

-CGBP (x3@6; x3@7; x3@8; 55%x__@8 N=30 w/ 3ct ecc)

45x-
135x5
185x5
215x3x2
230x3
[email protected] (~6)
275x3@7
290x3@8
185x15@8 -30s-> x4 -30s-> x5 -30s-> x4 -30s-> x2.

^the pec/tri pump was real.

Was ss/ SA cable rows with some of the above sets.
100x10
110x10
120x4x10

-CGBP (x11@9 -> x4@10; 2 activations)
215x11@9
30s
->x4@10

3m rest

195x11@9
30s
->x4@10

-Bus drivers (did pallofs instead)
60x30sx1
70x30sx1
80x30sx2

Good lift. Upper body was pretty pumped everywhere. I started taking 15g fearn lecithin granules (mainly for potential strength gains from PA) before workouts again Monday and I'm starting to notice i get pumped a lot quicker with it. I figured it's cheap so might as well see if i notice anything.

Deads tonight. Triples up to an @8. Donno how much accessory stuff i'll do. Probably scrap the high bars and do some ghrs instead. This washout stuff is heavy quad dominant and im not a fan of that. Gonna try to make myself do the bss but we'll see.
 
3/11/16 Proj Momentum washout w2d4

Officially the final day of all things Project Momentum. Sad day (but not really...I'll never trust a "washout" cycle again). I did go out with a bang though. I also decided to test my doh again.

-deads (sumo) (x3@6; x3@7; x3@8; 55%x__@8 N=30)
135x5
225x5
315x5x2
365x3
405x3 (+loose belt)
455x3 (+tight belt) (all doh through this)
485x3@6 (1 hook, 1 doh, 1 strong mixed)
505x3@7 (1 hook, 1 doh, 1 strong mixed)*PR triple i think
525x3@8 (1 hook, 1 doh, 1 strong mixed) *PR triple for sure
335x20@8 -> 6 -> 4
^used straps for the first set. Ditched em for the next two. This fckn sucked. Hips were LIT up. Combo of the squat set tuesday and this set today is the most cardio I've done within 1 week in a long time.

GHR
Bwx2x15 w/ high foot placement
Bwx15 reg foot placement
^hams were cramping up starting in the middle of set two.

That was it. Short and sweet. Good day. Happt with where my sumo strength is two weeks into getting back into it. Form wasnt even on point today as my shoulders were out over the bar a tad bc i wasn't getting my hips in as good as i need to. Good training block. Onto the next one which will hopefully end in a good showing at a meet.
 
Shut up Jared with your ridiculous man paws and alleged endowments associated with said titan mitts!
Nice PR man!

Been taking 3 tbsp of Now's Soy Lecithin granules for a while pre-training and definitely seems to make pumps come on better. Just let it sit in some water and it turns to a walnut-flavored jelly. Goes well with protein or preworkout powder.
 
The chalk and aggressive knurling helps a boat load. I cant do half that in one hand on the farmers apparatus i dont think (haven't ever specifically tried, but just from what i have done with them). Thanks man. I really want ~620 next meet. Im 95% sure im really going to push my 3rd, 5% reserved in case im just having a ****ty dl day or (hopefully not) get injured. My 3rd last meet went too easy. I haven't been too happy with my attempt selection in hindsight. I think I've left weight on the platform on my 3rd pull each of the two meets I've done.

Thanks for the idea on the SL granules. Im already getting sick of chewing 15g.
 
Could throw the SL in a ninja and blend it to dust too. Mix it in your pre workout.
 
Gonna lay out my current thoughts here on the time frame between now and the possible meet on June 4th.

3/14 - week 1 - complete deload. I could possibly go into it tomorrow but im not feeling great physically so im gonna take another week prioritizing recovery over lifting. I'll probably do a 5/3/1 style deload.
3/21 - 4/25 - weeks 1 through 6 - 6 week proj momentum style block
5/2 - deload
5/9 - peak week 1
5/16 - peak week 2
5/23 - peak week 3
5/30 - whatever i did the meet week of my last meet in Sept. I felt that it worked well and had me recovered well.

I'll go with some form of a fairly simple peak. I'll have to do some research with you guys and on my own on setting up a peak. I've never done it before. I'm sure that cws book we have will be used heavily in whatever i come up with.
 
tyga tyga said:
I got a meet June 4th too! Where's yours at?
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Yours is June 4th too huh? The one I'm thinking of doing is in Kenosha, Wisconsin. What fed is yours in? And it's in St. Louis, right? If so, if we can get hyde to do it too i'll think about making the longer drive down and competing with you two dudes.
 
tyga tyga said:
I got a meet June 4th too! Where's yours at?
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My birthday, you owe me big numbers as a gift.

I hate it all you guys live up north.
 
jswain34 said:
Yours is June 4th too huh? The one I'm thinking of doing is in Kenosha, Wisconsin. What fed is yours in? And it's in St. Louis, right? If so, if we can get hyde to do it too i'll think about making the longer drive down and competing with you two dudes.
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That'd be a drive lol yeah it's in STL the Feds usapl.
RegisterJr said:
My birthday, you owe me big numbers as a gift.

I hate it all you guys live up north.
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Done. I'll give you the biggest numbers I've got that day lol
Hyde your move
 
Yeah it is a bit of one ha. 4 hours or so. I will admit that the 90 min drive sounds a lot more appealing than 4 hours after a meet.
 
jswain34 said:
Yeah it is a bit of one ha. 4 hours or so. I will admit that the 90 min drive sounds a lot more appealing than 4 hours after a meet.
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Just have to hotel it! The wife and I will stay in STL Friday and Saturday. If Hyde comes we can all chill
 
jimbuick said:
That's just how Texas is man.

I did one in League City (Southeast Houston) and it was about an hour, but every other one was probably 3+.
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I can verify this. I've only had one meet close and that was still an hour drive. The others have been 3.5+.
 
Man. I feel lucky now. I'm sure it can't be like that too many places...TX apparently being one of the exceptions. I guess that's what happens when you basically have your own country down there.
 
jswain34 said:
Man. I feel lucky now. I'm sure it can't be like that too many places...TX apparently being one of the exceptions. I guess that's what happens when you basically have your own country down there.
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If I did USPA, I'd be golden, but I hate that federation in this state. There's so much favoritism that's it's borderline obscene. When the state chair sponsors specific lifters that compete in meets that he runs, you really think they're not going to get some calls go their way?
 
Favoritism happens in every sport. FINA (the international governing body for swimming) banned full body tech suits back in like 2013 or whatever because Michael phelps and SPEEDO were upset.
 
Rodja said:
If I did USPA, I'd be golden, but I hate that federation in this state. There's so much favoritism that's it's borderline obscene. When the state chair sponsors specific lifters that compete in meets that he runs, you really think they're not going to get some calls go their way?
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Gotcha. I could easily see that happening with the upa meets held at my gym (owner of my gym is the IL UPA chair and coach of the PL team). It'd be hard to argue no conflict of interest there, but from what I've seen he does a good job of staying out of it and tries to keep it as an even playing field.
 
I'm down for UPA or USPA (just bought my card for them again) but I don't support the USAPL. I would probably be down to come cheer tho provided I can! My back won't be ready to train for a meet in June anyway honestly. Need to spend time getting it happier.
 
I was wondering about your back too. Just wasn't totally sure how it was going. Why not usapl, if ya dont mind me asking?

I only have a Upa membership card anyway so it makes more sense for me to just stay with them anyway.
 
jswain34 said:
I was wondering about your back too. Just wasn't totally sure how it was going. Why not usapl, if ya dont mind me asking?

I only have a Upa membership card anyway so it makes more sense for me to just stay with them anyway.
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Back is getting healthier and I intend to keep it going so I can get right enough to train lower for real, hopefully for an October or December meet.

Only since you asked - I despise the IPF. Their elitist attitude, the way they crap on the grassroots level of powerlifting. Also, just because I haven't used anything in a while doesn't mean I agree with entering a tested meet. More out of respect for the guys who have always taken the high road. Just my .02!
 
Deload today. Was feeling my weekend still yesterday so i just moved it to today.
3/15 SQ deload

Sq (buffalo bar, flats)
* = double monster mini below knees
60x8*
150x6*
220x5
260x5
330x1
375x1
405x1@~5

Wasn't staying back on my heels very well and the buffalo bar felt weird today. Wasn't getting my upper back as tight as usual with it. My hips and lower back were tight as well so i almost didn't even do the last single, but I did. I wanted to feel a little bit of weight on my back. Still working on the monkey toeing. I'm starting to think that my hammer toes (thanks grandpa) kind of throw the whole cue off for me. I'll keep working at it. When i try to grab the floor with my pinky it pretty much folds under my foot.

Weights all still moved fast as they should've though.

-Banded GHR ss/ leg extension
3x10 w/ monster mini / [email protected]

Nothing heavy/hard on either. Just some blood flow work essentially.

Then i spent a good 20-25 mins on soft tissue/mobility.

1. Kb roll calves
2. Static stretch calves
3. Sb both hips/glutes
4. Banded super d hip/piriformis stretch
5. Static hip flexor stretch.

I really need to start stretching/mobilizing my hips better and more consistently. I also need to work on my ankle mobility which is currently restricted AF from my tight as calves. That'll not only help my hips but also my borderline depth on squats.

Edit:

Forgot that i did 2x30s@70lb 1/2 kneeling pallof press after the super set. Hyde dropped some Stu McGill knowledge in another thread and im going to try and start incorporating a small amount of static core work each session.
 
The McGill stuff can be done just as easily at home. It takes about 10-15 min and gets me warm actually so I have been using it as a warmup but as it's largely static bracing it's only primarily good at activating my breathing and core. For loosening/warming hips the bodyweight BSS, 2x15/leg has become my standard for lower days or bench if I have need. Nothing opens my hips easier faster with less effort.

Brian Carroll has some okay demo vids on YouTube w some babe but he doesn't touch on some of the finer points of execution: on the Curl-Up, for instance, he has her bend her head forward but McGill actually calls for a neutral neck with only enough torso movement to unload the weight of the shoulders and activate the top of the abs.

All of the big 3 are to be done always for 10 sec holds/side/rep, and to be progressed from a 4, 3, 2 reps/set scheme initially adding reps as endurance increases. This will be cake on the Curl-Ups but the Side Bridges will punish your tall 240lb ass. It's like over 90 seconds of side planks to do the first set of 4 reps/side alone. Rest 30 sec/set and lucky you, repeat.
 
Awesome post. My side planks have always been horrible as i couldn't ever do them due to shoulder issues. My shoulders get really pissed off when i apply pressure on them at that angle, but I have been doing some light lateral pallof presses (standing perpendicular to the cable station with the cable held over head) occasionally and feel that that mimics side planks pretty good (core wise) without pissing my shoulders off. You're right on this though. My core is very weak in the frontal plane.
 
Been doing a little more research on hyde's post and found this link. Figured id toss it up incase anyone was interested.

Invalid Link Removed

Looks like suitcase carries are another viable option for side planks. Maybe one of these days I'll actually do what i say I'm gonna do and start incorporating them regularly.
 
You have to remember I'm actively rehabbing so I need to be diehard. But honestly if you cut the side planks out and just did the curlups and bird dogs daily at home it would only take 7 min. It's the side planks that drag it out to 15 min. You could just pallof every time you hit the gym ideally for a few min and g2g.

If you were looking to incorporate a lasting routine to build a bulletproof core. Seems like a lot of the greats take core very seriously is something I'm picking up on.
 
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