Jmaths Training Log

[Jmaths]

I'm gonna be posting my log here.

 

[Jmaths]

4/20/09

I was originally going to go to the gym tonight, but I wanted to be well rested for my squat workout tomorrow since I have had trouble sleeping lately. I did some light calisthenics and stretching geared towards active recovery, as opposed to the bench workout I had planned, which would have fatigued my CNS.


Hamstring stretches

Bodyweight squats

Oblique stretches

Pushups

Hang from pole by hands


I'll probably do some more a little later but I am learning more and more when to workout and when not to.


One thing that has been worrying me lately is a nagging pain in my lower back. I have been keeping a close eye on it and have been trying to figure out if it is a strained muscle or if it were something more serious.

I've been taking it easy and it has seemed to heal. My right spinal erector still feels tight. I have realized that it is probably nothing serious, just some flexibility issues from having recently trained in gear for 2 months with the Sheiko routine and not being able to work on my normal posterior chain flexibility.

I ordered some Primaforce Cissus, hopefully that will attenuate some of the chronic inflammation in that area and encourage healing.


Diet today:

Morning: Milk, Popcorn, Cheese

Afternoon: Milk, Cheese, Pretzels

Night: Milk, Cheese, Pretzels


Yes...I eat a lot of Milk and Cheese


Supplements: Fish oil, B complex, Multi, Grape seed extract powder


I've got some phenibut and valerian on the way too from good old bb.com...looking forward to a low dose of the phenibut and experimenting with the dosage of the valerian.

Anyway, yea it will be nice to rest tonight so I'm ready to go tomorrow. Squats haven't been going so well lately since the meet (I squatted 600 geared)...probably due to a combination of factors. I also have for some odd reason been using chucks while doing close stance squats. I think that has also contributed to my back tightness, something about the movement with such flat soles really felt unnatural on my back. Just going down in a full squat position onto my toes, and then forcing my heels down let me see how I was stretching my lumber region in a bad way.

Needless to say I'll start using my olympic lifting shoes again, in fact VS Athletics has a new shoe out that has a smaller heel, something I would like to try since I've always felt that the shoes I got from them in the Xmas of 2007 had a very high heel. Apparently the new ones are about 1 cm less. I think that would be perfect. Once I am able to cash my checks from work, I'm gonna order that ****.

I also got some generic neoprene knee sleeves (having a job kicks ass) that have yet to arrive, but I am excited for those as well.

Time to celebrate 4/20 finally.

 

[Jmaths]

4/21/09

As I have stated, for the past couple months before April started, I changed up my form and started using chucks during squatting 95% of the time. I widened my stance and "learned" how to use gear (barely).

Now I want to rebuild my raw strength, but the problem is, I can't figure out which stance feels better, and I can't figure out if olympic lifting shoes or chucks feel better.

Anyway, today was squats.


Ride bike 3 mins to gym

Squat (no belt, vs athletics oly lifting shoes): 4 sets of 135X3

5 sets of 225X1

5 sets of 315X1

2 sets of 365X1

3 sets of 405X1

455X1

Pretty much all these squats felt weird.

Pause squat:

2 sets of 315X1

These felt good because I wasn't rebounding. The rebound is where the squats start to feel weird.

Front squat:

135X5

Overhead squat

135X1

135X5

Squat

5 sets of 135X1


Upper accessory (cable work on shoulders and obliques)


All in all it felt good, I can tell that once I find a stance that suits me I'll hit some big numbers. My short term goal is a 500 squat with no belt.


Diet:

Morning: Milk

Afternoon: Milk, Cheese, Pretzels

Night: Milk, Cheese, Pretzels, Ice Cream (lol)



Supps: Multi, Fish oil, B complex, Primaforce Cissus



Oh yea I got my knee sleeves today. They felt great, my knees were very warm. I don't think I actually got any poundage out of them, which I expected.

 

[Jmaths]

4/22/09

Started out with some arm circles to stretch the shoulders as I always do.

Pause Bench: 3 sets of 135X5 (I like to warmup a lot. I don't want a pec tear)

185X5

225X5

225X3

10 sets of 275X3 (elbow started hurting during these)


Hammer grip chinups: 8 reps, dead hang (surprised I got this much, I'm around 250-255 right now and this is pretty decent for me)


Upper Accessory:

15 lbs on cable stack, various things like flys, curls, rows, tricep pushdowns, etc. mostly for conditioning the tendons/ligaments of the shoulder


Squat: 45 lbs (bar) X 20

Paused Overhead squat: Bar X 1 (these are meant for active recovery of the legs, and again conditioning the shoulder joint)


Stretching on mat





Benching has been feeling good lately, figured I'd try something different and go for a 10X3. Long and boring.




Diet:

Morning: Milk, Pretzels

Afternoon: Milk, Cheese, Pretzels, Avocado

Night: Milk, Cheese, Pretzels

 

[Jmaths]

4/23/09

Today was a rest day, I was still feeling sore and I didn't think it would be wise to do anything. Gotta listen to your body.

I did some stretching and bodyweight squats, pushups, and chinups.



Diet:

Morning: Milk

Afternoon: Milk, Cheese, Pretzels

Night: Milk, Cheese, Pretzels, Hamburger (Five Guys), French Fries (Five Guys)

 

[Jmaths]

4/24/09

Today was light squat/bench.

Rode bike to gym

Dynamic stretching (hamstrings, obliques)

Squat: 3 sets of 135X5

3 sets of 225X5

315X5

315X1

225X3


Then for some reason I felt like doing a behind the neck push press with 225. Felt easy, I wanna do more overhead work. Elbows are still feeling kinda weird. I'm glad I got some cissus recently.


Pause bench: 135X20

135X5 close grip

135X5 regular

135X5 regular


Upper accessory:

15 lb dumbbells tricep ext., bench press, shoulder press, flys


Impressions: I have recently been putting more work into my bench press and I can already feel my chest growing in size. Today my chest was extremely sore and fatigued though. It must have been the 275 10X3 that I did on Wednesday. So I took it light today geared towards active recovery. Elbows are hurting, not much but somewhat.

As far as the squat goes, I believe I've found my most comfortable stance. I used chucks today with a little wider than shoulder width stance. It felt very comfortable. Much more comfortable than close stance with either oly. shoes or chucks.

Diet so far today: Milk and pretzels. I drank a quarter gallon of whole milk after training.

 

[Jmaths]

4/25/09

I had originally planned to go the East Area Locker room, where there are DB's going up to 150 lbs. That way I could do DB snatch.

So I rode my bike over there, unfortunately, it was closed.

So I said, oh well, I'll just do a normal oly lifting day.

So I headed to the white building.


Stretching

Squat: 2 sets of 135X5

Jump squat: 2 sets of 135X1 (Once I felt how fast these went up, I realized I was in for a damn good workout. Jump squats are where I go down to an ATG position, pause there for a few seconds, and then explode upward as fast as I can and jump off the floor)

Power clean and press: 3 sets of 135X1 (pressing this also felt really easy)


Squat: 2 sets of 225X3

Jump squat: 2 sets of 225X1 (also felt super easy)

Front squat: 225X1



Power clean and jerk: 3 sets of 225X1 (felt stupidly easy)

275X1 (previous PR for power clean and jerk)


Now I was done with jerking. (lol)


Power clean:

295X1 (10 lb power clean PR)


Then I went up to 315 thinking I could get it. Well, I missed it. Still having form issues and while I am getting better, I am still bending my arms too early.

I set up a few times to try to go for it again, but each time I lost faith that I could do it and I knew I wouldn't get it.

So I dropped down 10 lbs to 305

305X1 (GOT IT! 20 lb power clean PR!)

The 305 was very sloppy and it hurt my wrist a little but I got it.



Overall a really awesome workout! Now I see that it was a good idea to take it easy on my last workout. I was fresh and rested for today. I am learning more and more how to structure my weeks so that I don't have any bad workouts. I basically just predict what days I would normally have bad workouts if I were to go heavy, and I devote those days to light recovery work. So far this workout today is the first sign that this is working.

I'm looking forward to Tuesday, when I will squat with the stance I figured I'd use from now on.


BTW, I have also been trying to correct a form issue with my squat where my left knee travels farther forward than my right knee...during my last 2 squat workouts I've focused on letting my right knee travel forward more. Well, yesterday my knee hurt quite a bit on the patellar tendon area, after the workout.

I am not saying this did it, but I took like 12 pills of Primaforce Cissus. Well, I woke up today and my knee felt great.

I highly recommend this product to anyone who has joint issues.


Diet:

Morning: Milk

Afternoon: Milk, Pretzels

Night: Chocolate Milk pre and post workout (YUM!!)

And I'll probably have pretzels later tonight as well.



Supps haven't changed, I always love the primaforce. I think it helps with recovery and to attenuate inflammation. Plus the fact that my joints love it doesn't hurt.

 

[Jmaths]

4/26/09

Rest Day

Some bike riding to and fro supermarket, other than that, nothing.

Diet:

Milk, Pretzels, Avocados, Cheese, Ice Cream

 

[Jmaths]

4/27/09

Today a rest day.

Diet was unchanged.

 

[Jmaths]

4/28/09

Today was a great workout!

Rode bike to gym

Arm windmills X 10 each arm

Pause Bench: 2 sets of 135X5

Upper Accessory with 10 lb DB's


Pause Bench: 135X5

2 sets of 225X5

275X5

315X5 (PR)

135X10


Then I did some light squats, front squats, cleans, and overhead squats with 135 lbs. One set of each, low reps. Mostly to stretch my back and help with flexibility and recovery of my hips. Squatting tomorrow, so I hope I feel good for that. Knees have been feeling weird lately. Felt perfect during today's workout though.

Then I rode my bike back.



Diet:

Morning: Milk

Afternoon: Cheese, Milk/Chocolate milk combo (I hate how thick normal chocolate milk is, I do a mixture of regular milk and chocolate to have a more palatable drink) I drank this for preworkout and postworkout nutrition.

Tonight: I have some steak that I cooked up yesterday, I'll probably go out and get some pretzels or something to snack on.

 

[Jmaths]

4/29/09

Before training for Nationals began, I had always lifted a certain way. I lifted with a very close stance during squatting and deadlifting, and a close grip for bench.

During training for Nationals, I widened my bench grip and my squat stance to accommodate my usage of a squat suit and bench shirt. I felt my groin muscles and gluteal muscles becoming stronger during this training from the widened stance. I also felt my chest become stronger from the widened grip. I don't think this was because one way is better than the other...I think it was because I was working on my weaknesses.

I felt during this time that this new training would be beneficial to my raw strength.

After Nationals I felt burned out and weak for a few weeks. My squat felt very weak and I was wondering why I wasn't getting better.

Now with my past couple bench workouts and todays workout, I can see that I am starting to reap the benefits of geared training.



Rode bike to gym

Stretched lightly


Squats (raw, no belt, atg, oly shoes)

2 sets of 135X5

1 set of 1 rep of jump squat with 135

2 sets of 225X5

315X5

365X3

405X3

455X1

475X1

495X1 (Massive PR)


Then I did 1 rep each of pause squat, jump squat, and overhead squat with 135.



Thoughts: This was done with a little bit wider than shoulder width stance. It was also done with no belt. It went up faster than the 500 raw I did belted at a meet in late 2008. My previous max with this setup (no belt, oly shoes) was 455 done early this year (which went up rather fast).

If I can get my squat in this setup up to 545 by the time training for the 2009 Iron Lion Open starts, I believe with a belt I can hit 565 at a meet raw.

I am not sure if I should start training my deadlift now...I was waiting for my squat to feel good again...but I am just not sure yet. Once I hit these short-term goals, I don't know what to do next. That's one thing I have to learn.

One thing I learned from a dude on BB.COM is that when your body starts getting stronger, don't pull back and take it easy...milk it for all it's worth. I think in two more weeks I will do some heavy pulls from normal height (not deficit as I often do) and see how it feels. Maybe I'll try to hit my previous raw max for deadlift as well (601) except without a belt. That can be my new short-term goal. I want to hit that by the end of May.



Diet:

Morning: Milk

Afternoon: Milk, Pretzels, Potato Chips

Preworkout: Chocolate Milk

Postworkot: Chocolate Milk


Tonight I'll probably eat more pretzels.

 

[Jmaths]

5/01/09

Rode bike to gym

Stretch legs/arms/core

Squat:

2 sets of 135X5

Jump squat:

135X1

Power Clean

4 sets of 135X1

Overhead squat

135X1


Squat:

225X5

Jump Squat:

225X1

Power clean

5 sets of 225X1

Overhead squat

225X1


Squat

2 sets of 225X5


Jump squat

135X1


Upper Accessory




Tomorrow will be some more squats and bench press. I am itching to get a better squat, so I'm preparing for more heavy squatting on monday. Easy stuff tomorrow will = being rested and prepared for Monday. At least that's my theory. Lets see if it works. Not sure if I should stay at 225 with squat tomorrow, or if I should go higher. I'm leaning towards staying lower, but doing a few sets of 1 with 315 won't tax my CNS. Oh well, that's tomorrow.

 

[Jmaths]

5/02/09

Moderate bench and light squat today. Bench felt weaker than usual...but I must remind myself that I can't expect to make gains twice a week on bench. I should know better. I didn't attempt to go any higher than 275 today, but I'll wait until tuesday to bench heavy again. I'll go for 6 paused reps with 315 on tuesday. Not only will I go for it, but I will get it.

Monday I will squat heavy. Not sure what I'm gonna go for, but I'm thinking about doing 495X2. I will also get that.

 

[Jmaths]

5/04/09

I previously hit 495 raw beltless at my last squat workout, it was a little shakey and I came onto my toes for the top portion, I was satisfied with it since it went up fast, but I quickly wanted to do it again.

So I did some easy squat workouts to prepare my CNS for today. 5 days after that day was today. It was kind of an experiment to see how quickly my CNS can recovery from certain things. I think if I would have waited another day I would have felt even better.

Anyway...

Rode bike to gym

Squat: 2 sets of 135X5

1 pause jump squat with 135

2 sets of 225X5

315X5

365X3

405X3

455X1

475X1

495X1 (felt great)



Then I decided to try some pause squats with 405. I always do better at pause squats once I drop the weight off and do them at the end of the workout. So I dropped 90 lbs and went to 405.

Pause squat: 405X3 (felt amazing, I could have more but I do not want to overdo things)


Then I went back down to 135 and did another pause jump squat.


Rode bike back to apartment




My new squat form feels so comfortable. I am working on actively arching my lower back and going down slower. I want to get home so I can videotape myself doing these things. I figure I'll go for 495 again next week and some more pause squats and stuff and videotape myself doing that. One of my ideas is that if I can keep replicating my new PR every week, my CNS will become used to doing it...not just a fluke where you felt strong that day and then you can't do it again for another month. However, I add in more stuff each workout...like last squat workout, I did essentially the same warmups and weights...but I didn't do any pause squats with 405. Today I did, however. Next time, I'll probably go for 5 reps instead of just 3. That way I am not actually attempting any more weight each week, but I am still making my CNS adapt. I think instead of waiting 5 days ntil my next squat workout, I will wait 7 days.

 

[Jmaths]

5/05/09

Rest day today, just some bike riding and stretching to get some blood into the legs. Legs are feeling great. I can feel another 495 on Monday...and after that a 405X5 pause squat. But today I will do some bench and light (135) squats.

 

[Jmaths]

5/06/09

Rode bike to gym

Arm circles with 5 lb DB's 10 rotations each arm

Bicep curls with 15 lb DB's 8 reps each arm

Shoulder press 15 lb DB's 10 reps


Pause bench:

2 sets of 135X10

135X5

225X5

225X3

2 sets of 275X3

315X6 (NEW PR, butt came off bench but w/e)

Benching felt good today, which I'm glad, since it felt weaker a few days ago. Interesting how rest works. The CNS just wasn't feeling it a few days ago, but tonight, even though I was tired from finals and thinking about not even working out, I still got a PR.




Flat back close grip bench: 135X10

DB bench: 30 lb X 10

Shoulder press: 30 lb X 10

Lateral raises: 15 lb X 10


I did these with little rest time in between each set. My shoulders hurt so bad from the pump. I hate doing this kind of stuff but it's good to vary things so I add BB type exercises in every once in a while.




Pause Squat: 4 sets of 135X1

Jump squat: 135X1

Dead Hang Chinups: 8 reps

Cable Upper Accessory

Dead Hang Chinups: 3 reps

Hamstring stretches



Workout felt good today. I'm thinking about seeing how many reps I can get with 365 next week...probably Tuesday, one day after my squat workout.

 

[Jmaths]

5/08/09

Today I did some light work on bench and squat.

Pause Bench: 10X10 135

Upper Accessory: Shoulder Press, Bicep Curls

Pause squats: 135X5

Jump squat: 135X1

Jumps: Jump onto 5th stair

Dead hang Chinups: 5X5

 

[Jmaths]

5/09/09

Today was also a light day.

I simply did some work outside shoveling soil for about an hour.

Then a couple hours after that I did some upper body stuff on a bowflex at my friend's house, such as chest press, curls, flys, pushdowns, rows, and shoulder press.

I also did some dead hang pullups.

Tomorrow will be a rest day in preparation for a max effort squat workout on Monday.

 

[Inarius]

sweet man subbing in all up in here

 

[Jmaths]

Monday 11th of May 2009

On May 11th I was originally going for a 500 lb squat.

However, my core was feeling weak and I think I wasn't warmed up properly, I decided to cut my losses and go for it later in the week. I ended up doing something like this:

Squat: 135X10

2 sets of 135X5

2 sets of 225X5

315X5

2 sets of 365X1


Overhead squats:

2 sets of 135X5

185X3

225X3


Pause jump squat:

2 sets of 135X1


Was in a bad mood after this workout since I felt weak.

 

[Jmaths]

May 13th, 2009 (Wednesday of last week)

Today was a great workout.


Pause Bench:

135X10

2 sets of 135X5

2 sets of 225X5

275X5

315X6


Incline pause bench: 3 sets of 135X10


Pause dips: 6 reps


Dead hang chinups: 8 reps


Upper accessory 30 lb DB's:

Shoulder press 20 reps

Bench press 20 reps

Bicep curls 15 reps


DB row's 70 lb DB's 15 reps



Great workout.

 

[Jmaths]

May 16th, 2009 (Saturday)

Awesome workout.


Ran .15 miles

Dynamic stretching


Squat:

3 sets of 135X5

2 sets of 225X5

2 sets of 315X3

365X3

405X3

455X1

475X1

500X1


Pause squat: 405X5

135X3

 

[Jmaths]

May 18, 2009

This past Monday was May 18. I did something different today, I saw a video of a guy doing kettlebell windmills and I decided I would try it. I feel that my obliques are lacking in strength, and these would help with that.

DB snatch: 70 lb DB's both arms 5 reps


Windmills: 70 lb DB's 5 reps each arm


DB snatch: 100 lb DB's both arms 3 sets of 1


Windmills: 100 lb DB's 2 sets of 1 each arm


DB snatch: 100 lb DB's 1 set of 5 reps each arm



135 lb barbell: low rep squat, jump squat, overhead squat, front squat, pause squat


cable upper accessory


leg/back stretching



Windmills were a very challenging lift.

 

[Jmaths]

May 21, 2009

Yesterday I decided to do basically the same stuff as Monday. I ended up doing a little bit more with the windmills.


DB snatch: 70 lb DB's 3 sets of 1 each arm

Windmills: 70 lb DB's 1 set of 5 reps each arm

DB snatch: 100 lb DB's 3 sets of 1 each arm

Windmills: 100 lb DB's 1 rep each arm
2 sets of 5 each arm

DB snatch: 130 lb DB's 1 rep each arm


Then I did some low rep squat, jump squat pause squat, overhead squat, and push press with 135 lb barbell.


Then I finished off with some cable upper accessory and stretching.

Tomorrow will be heavy bench day, hoping it will go well.

Then on Monday I will deadlift for the first time since the meet, hoping that will go well too. Hoping to get 625 or so without a belt. Based on how much my squat, hamstring, and core strength has increased I figure this is not out of the question. Then I will be on track for 645 belted at the Iron Lion Open.

 

[Jmaths]

Today I did some deadlifts.



Rode bike to gym.


Unbelted Deadlift:

135X10

135X5

225X5

225X5

315X5

3 sets of 405X1

455X1

495X1

545X1

585X1



The 585 was done unbelted. It went up quickly and smoothly. I was hoping for more and I probably could have attempted more...but I haven't deadlifted in 2 months and I want to ease back into it. My form felt good today though.

All in all everything was good.

Rode bike back to apartment.

 

[Jmaths]

Today was a bench day. Felt really good today, considering I just deadlifted heavy yesterday. My lats always feel great after deadlift days, I don't do anything for lats aside from deadlifts and chinups and my lats are huge for some reason. I can't remember that last time I did rows.

Anyway...

Rode bike to gym (short ride)


Warmed up doing some arm circles, 15 reps, with 10 lb DB's

Also did some shoulder presses and bicep curls with the DB's (I do this to warm up the area prior to benching, particularly the rotator cuff and elbow, it works great)


Pause Bench:

135X5

135X10

225X5

225X3

275X3

315X1

365X1 (NEW PR!!!)

315X1


Pause DB bench:

130 lb DB's 6 reps


Then I did some dead hang chinups, I got 10 reps (NEW PR) I figure 10 dead hang chinups at 250 lb bodyweight isn't that bad.

Then I finished up with some cable upper accessory work.


I had done 365 bounce bench in the gym before, but never paused. The best I've ever done paused was 320 in competition (which felt really easy and went up too fast, I wish I had tried for more during that attempt but w/e). So this 365 pause bench is really encouraging for me. My bench has really improved in the past year or so. Part of it is from widening up my grip. I used to have almost a shoulder-width grip, I just didn't feel strong with the wide grip.

But once I started training in a bench shirt, it forced me to develop my strength in the wide grip. I think the fact that I had trained for so long with the close grip is helping my wider grip bench, too. I think training in the bench shirt allowed me to handle heavier weights than I normally would have, and although it took a little while for me to translate that into raw strength, I think it definitely helped with my bench.


From the past couple months, here are the new PR's I hit:

500 unbelted squat

585 unbelted deadlift

365 unbelted pause bench

I gain a noticeable amount on each of these lifts when I put on a belt. I'd say conservatively, around 10 lbs on the bench, 30 lbs on the squat, and 20 on the deadlift.

My goals for the Iron Lion Open are to get at least:

565 squat

635 deadlift

385 bench

This would put me at a 1585 raw total. I'd be REALLY happy with a 1600 lb raw total, but last time at the Iron Lion I set reasonable goals and I was thrilled when I reached them all.

My first meet was in November of 2007, the USAPL American Open. I believe I got a 430 squat, 265 bench, and 551 deadlift. The same time the next year at the Iron Lion, I got 500 squat, 320 bench, and 601 deadlift. Now by the same time this year, I hope to progress in the same manner.

 

[Inarius]

great progress man. keep up the hardwork

 

[Jmaths]

great progress man. keep up the hardwork

thanks, I'm pumped, I wanna compete again!

 

[Jmaths]

Today was some more core work and light squat. My DB windmills are getting better each time. I dont know what my limit is.



Arm circles with 10 lb DB's to warmup

Dynamic hamstring stretches



75 lb DB snatch: 3 sets of 1 with each arm to warmup


75 lb DB windmills: 1 set of 1 with each arm

1 set of 5 with each arm



110 lb DB snatch: 2 sets of 1 with each arm


110 lb DB windmills: 1 set of 1 each arm

1 set of 5 each arm

1 set of 1 each arm



130 lb DB snatch: 1 set of 1 each arm


130 lb DB windmill: 2 sets of 1 each arm (felt really good)



Squat: 135X5

135X1 (paused)

225X5

225X1 (paused)

315X1

315X1

135X1 (pause jump)


Then I did some DB bench, shoulder press, and bicep curls.

Finished it off with some leg/back stretches.



Left elbow was acting up after the windmills, felt weird, I was going to do another set with the 130's but I didn't want to injure myself. Right now it feels fine, doesn't hurt at all. Don't know what the problem was. Windmills are feeling really strong, I am gonna go for 130X3 tomorrow.

I am probably going to do basically the same thing tomorrow.

 

[Jmaths]

Tonight was also a good workout.


Rode Bike to gym


Dynamic hamstring stretch

Arm warmups with 75 lb DB (presses)

Snatches with 75

Windmills with 75


Moved up to 100's

Snatches with 100

Windmills with 100


Then snatches with 130

Windmills with 130 (1X1, 1X3, 1X1 each arm)


My shoulders were feeling really fatigued today, and my core was also kinda tired, but all in all these felt good.


Squat:

135X5

135X5

225X1 (paused)

315X1


Overhead pause squat: 135X1



Then I finished up with some upper accessory with 20 lb DB's, and then some static hamstring/quad/glute stretching.


Thinking about next week, I'll probably do some light leg and upper body work on Monday, heavy bench on Wednesday (I wanna go for 375 paused), and heavy squat on Friday (I wanna get 525).

 

[Jmaths]

Monday, May 1st

This past Monday, I did a light weight workout in the bench and squat.

I rode my bike to the gym, as always.

Light stretching


Squat: 135X5

135X5

225X5

225X3

315X1

315X1

315X1



Bench: 135X10

135X5

225X3


Upper accessory with 20 lb DB's


Finished up with hamstring, glute, quad, and back stretching.



I did this workout in the hopes that on Wednesday (today) I'd hit a new PR on bench. How did it go? See next post.

 

[Jmaths]

Today I did bench, ultra light squat, and stretching. I hit a new PR on the pause bench. It am amazed at how much my bench is going up. I have no f*cking clue why it's improving like it is. 90% of what I do is completely intuitive, and apparently it's working.

Maybe it's just the fact that I drink 1.5 gallons of whole milk per day and sleep 10 hours per night, who knows?

Anyway...


Rode bike to gym

Arm circles with 10 lb DB's 15 reps

Shoulder press 20 reps

Bicep curls 6 reps


Pause bench: 135X10

135X5

225X5

275X3

315X1

365X1

385X1 (NEW PR!!!)



Squat:

135X5

135X3

135X3

135X3

135X1 (paused)


Back, hamstring, glute, and quad stretching




The 365 went up faster than it did last week. It went up really fast so the dude that was spotting me suggested I do 385. I was like "OK" and tried not to think about the fact that I was gonna attempt a 385 pause bench.

It was a grinder, my butt came up off the bench, but I got it nonetheless. My bench can't keep improving like this, realistically speaking, so in order to pre-empt the plateau I will inevitably hit, I might just deload for a week or so and then start hitting it hard again.

If I am getting 365 this easily this far out from the competition, who knows what I will hit in comp? Maybe 385 in competition should be my new goal. Things in competition aren't quite as easy as they are in the gym, but based on my bench performance in the past month or so, I think it is realistic. It has been consistently higher than it ever has been before. I wonder what it would be if I took some creatine.

Well, anyway...on Friday I will be taking some creatine for my squat workout. I will attempt 525 no belt, and damnit, I'll get it. 2 nights of rest between now and then, my legs are feeling good, there's no reason I shouldn't hit it.

Until next time!

 

[Jmaths]

525 raw squat

Whew...what a workout. Perilous, hard, but victorious.


Rode bike to gym.


Stretching

Bodyweight squats

Squat: 135X5

135X3

225X5

225X1 (pause)

315X3

365X3

405X3

455X1

495X1

525X1 (NEW PR!!!!)

135X1 (pause)


Then I finished it off with some leg stretches.


I wasn't feeling 100% today with some poor sleep and exams and stuff lately, so in an ideal world I would have rested tonight and had my workout tomorrow...but this isn't an ideal world and all the gyms are closed tomorrow. So I had to do it tonight.

Well, the squatting didn't feel 100% like I said, the 455 felt weird, the 495 felt better than the 455, but the 525 was one of the toughest squats I've done in a while. It was a real grinder. I'm glad I got it though.

I've decided what my goals for my next meet are gonna be.

Based on the lifts I have hit recently I will aim for a 1600 lb raw total preferably in the 242 weight class. If I can hit 385 bench, 585 squat, and 630 deadlift, I will make it. Then again, I am counting on my squat to improve greatly for that to happen. Maybe if my bench improves more I can go for something like 565 on squat. Then again, I still have like 5 months of preparation. 5 months is a long time. I am really in no hurry and I am well on my way to meeting this goal.

Either way, I think 1600 is doable. I want to redeem myself for my poor performance at nationals. I was very disappointed with how I did. Well, I will do better at my next competition.


Monday I will do some lighter bench, I was thinking of doing either 15X1 with 315 or 5X3 with 315. Something like that. Then some bodybuilding type upper body stuff to bring blood into the area more.

Wednesday I want to try something I've never done before. It's the exercise where you hang from a pullup bar and bring your knees up and touch your elbows with them. I'm going to incorporate them into a DB windmill workout. It will strengthen my core.

Friday I will do something like 5X3 overhead squats with 225. Light weight for the legs/back but it forces me to keep my body upright and works my core. And of course, it also works shoulder stability and upper back strength, which carry over into bench.

And then the Monday after that I will do another deadlift workout. I'll probably do 3X1 with 585. And I'll also do some upper accessory.

Then the Wednesday after that I will see how my bench is feeling again, maybe go for a cleaner 385 pause.

 

[Inarius]

nice pr man! Post up a vid of a windmill... I have no idea what those are...

 

[Jmaths]

nice pr man! Post up a vid of a windmill... I have no idea what those are...

Basically like this:

[youtube]zFgqVkP6bZY[/youtube]

[youtube]6651sjanpxI[/youtube]


Really great for core strength, and shoulder stability.

 

[Jmaths]

Good workout today as well, bench wasn't feeling 100% but I expected that.

Rode bike to gym


10 lb arm circles, 15 reps each arm, shoulder press, bicep curls to warmup



Pause Bench:

135X10

135X5

225X5

275X3

10 sets of 315X1 (about 30-45 seconds in between sets)


Pause DB bench: 130X7 (NEW PR!!!)


30 lb DB shoulder press 15 reps, bench press 10 reps, curls 10 reps


Then some light stretching.

 

[Jmaths]

Yesterday I did some light stuff, legs, back, arms, etc. Not worth mentioning.

 

[Jmaths]

Haven't been keeping a good log lately due to computer issues but no notable workouts in that time period.


Yesterday I had a deadlift workout.

Walked to gym

Stretched

Deadlift:

135X10

225X5

315X5

405X3

465X1

495X1

545X1

585X1



The 585X1 was done without a belt, and it went up extremely fast.