Return of the King

BossArky · 14-07-2010 12:39pm

Wednesday July 5th: Heavy Bench & Squat, Light Deadlift

Bench Press
20kg - 1x8
40kg - 1x5
50kg - 1x5
60kg - 3x8
---
BB Curl
32.5kg - 3x10

DB Bench
20kg per arm - 3x10
---
Straight Bar Lying Tricep Extension
22.5kg - 3x10
---
Deadlift
40kg - 1x8
50kg - 1x5
55kg - 1x5
60kg - 3x8
---
Squat
50kg - 1x8
60kg - 1x5
70kg - 1x5
75kg - 3x8
---

Spent the past few days tramping around the hills of Tasmania on a mini holiday.

Physio massage this morning on left pec. Painful. He almost turned it inside out. Feels a lot better now.

Kept the bench to close grip and gradually worked width out as the sets progressed. No pain. Good. Ended up at about 3/4 of normal width.

Kept the DB bench elbows tucked and parallel ish grip to keep strain off the pecs. Again no pain. Good. Think recovery is almost complete.

BossArky · 14-07-2010 12:39pm

Cheers Damien

BossArky · 17-07-2010 6:47am

Friday July 16th: Heavy Deadlift, Light Bench & Squat

Close Grip Bench
20kg - 1x6
30kg - 1x5
40kg - 1x3
45kg - 3x6
---
Lying Twists
1x6 ... bodyweight
2x5 ... with 3.3kg ball between ankles
---
Deadlift
60kg - 1x6
80kg - 1x5
100kg - 1x3
110kg - 3x6
---
Glute Ham Raise
3x10

Chin Ups
3x6

Decline Situps w/5kg
3x10
---
Squat
40kg - 1x6
45kg - 1x5
50kg - 1x3
55kg - 3x6
---

Bodyweight 79.3kg in the evening after training/shower. Training is light as still in early days of the cycle - just getting to the 3x6's. The intensity will increase in a few weeks when getting on to the 3x5's.

3rd physio session this morning. I more or less one arm pressed the 68kg physio up into the air without pain during a rehab test so left pec seems to be doing fine. One of the conditions of my visa is that you required private health insurance. It is coming in handy now for getting this stuff sorted out with no stress about paying heaps of money.

Next Saturday I'm running the scoring table/IT stuff at the Oz Powerlifting Champs. Should be a good weekend.

Put in an order for my own belt too.

BossArky · 20-07-2010 12:37am

Monday July 19th: Heavy Bench & Squat, Light Deadlift

Bench Press
20kg - 1x6
40kg - 1x5
50kg - 1x3
65kg - 3x6 ... close grip
---
DB Bench
22.5kg - 3x10

BB Curl
32.5kg - 3x10
---
Straight Bar Lying Tricep Extension
32.5kg - 3x10
---
Deadlift
50kg - 1x6
55kg - 1x5
60kg - 1x3
65kg - 3x6
---
Squat
60kg - 1x6
70kg - 1x5
80kg - 1x3
82.5kg - 3x6
---
Cross Trainer 15 mins ~164 cals
---

Felt a tiny twinge somewhere in my oxter/rib area when trying bench with little finger on rings. Switched to close grip for the top sets and that was fine. May just stick with close grip for the next month and grow massive triceps. Told the physio about the twinge the next morning. He reckons it may be due to the serratus or intercostals taking more strain when the pec was injured.

BossArky · 20-07-2010 11:17am

Tuesday July 20th: burning calories @home

5 rounds of

5 BW Squats
5 Press Ups
5 Chin Ups ... just got 4 and 3 on the last 2 rounds

---
Seated DB Shoulder Press
10kg per arm - 1x5
15kg per arm - 1x5
20kg per arm - 5x5

Single Leg Calf Raise
BW - 3x10 per leg
---
One Arm DB Row
20kg per arm - 1x5
30kg per arm - 3x5
---
Treadmill Intervals 8km-14km: 5 times with 30 seconds on/off ~150 cals
---
Cross Trainer 15 mins ~75 cals
---
Face Pulls
23kg - 3x8

Lateral Raise
5kg per arm - 3x8
---

Think that was it.

BossArky · 22-07-2010 11:56pm

Thursday July 22nd: Heavy Deadlift, Light Bench & Squat

Close Grip Bench
20kg - 1x6
40kg - 1x5
45kg - 1x3
50kg - 3x6
---
Lying Twists
1x6 ... bodyweight
2x5 ... plus 4.09kg (9lbs) ball between ankles
---
Deadlift
60kg - 1x8
85kg - 1x5
110kg - 1x5
117.5kg - 3x6
---
Glute Ham Raise
3x10

Chin Ups
3x7

Decline Situps w/5kg
3x10
---
Squat
30kg - 1x6
40kg - 1x5
50kg - 1x3
55kg - 3x6
---

Beltless and creatineless so far on this cycle.

Chins are a nice change from pull ups. Easy. Wanted to max out on the last set but restrained myself.

BossArky · 27-07-2010 1:47am

Monday July 26th: Heavy Bench & Squat, Light Deadlift

Bench Press ... close grip
20kg - 1x6
50kg - 1x6
50kg - 1x5
60kg - 1x3
67.5kg - 3x6
---
DB Bench ... close parallel grip
25kg - 3x10 ... failed on last rep. Should have been 3x6's. Misread the sheet
---
BB Curl
40kg - 3x6
---
Ez Bar Lying Tricep Extension
35kg - 3x6 ... tough
---
Deadlift
40kg - 1x6
60kg - 1x5
65kg - 1x3
70kg - 3x6
---
Squat
60kg - 1x6
70kg - 1x5
80kg - 1x3
90kg - 3x6
---

Going to close grip bench for the rest of this cycle

I should clarify that light deadlift day = speed deadlift.

Got my lever belt over the weekend. Tried it out for the first time tonight. Messed about with a screwdriver to get it nice and tight. Hopefully it'll add 50kg to my total :pac:

The weekend was spent running the scoring and other bits and pieces at the Oz PL nationals here in Melbourne. Spent Friday night, all day Sat and Sun running about at weigh-ins getting rack heights, first attempts, bodyweights, etc and sorting out the IT stuff so scoring was visible on a number of screens through the warm up/audience/announcer/judging areas. Some great lifting included:

330kg oz squat record in the <100kg mens category
blind bench press world record with second lift of 216kg, and pushed up further on third lift of 220kg in the <125kg category
junior <90kg commonwealth bench press record of 188kg on second lift, and then pushed it higher with 190kg on his final lift
70 years+ male world deadlift record of 240kg. He did it first at 238kg on his second attempt but the correct judges (international) weren't in place so he had to go for it again on his final attempt. The lifter is over 80 years old!!
a number of female Australian records
a number of male 60-75kg Australian records
overall winner on Wilks points with a total of 940kg in the <125kg. He would be up close to 1000kg (one thousand!) if it wasn't for having to use a hook grip due to a bicep tear making a mixed grip impossible

There were 8 male lifters in my category- the <82.5kg's. Obviosuly I wasn't competing - merely plotting how much I'd need to be competitive and trying to figure out how long before I will be competitive. One guy bombed, so the top 7 total scores were as follows:

687.5
675
672.5
660
640
630
577.5

Adding my best lifts curently (132.5/92.5/165) gives me 390kg. To qualify based upon this years criteria I would need to add ~175kg to my total. The cut off is "B" grade. For the 82.5kg male this equates to 565kg.

Let's assume I manage to add 20kg to my total every 3 months. This would give me a total of 550kg in 2 years. I'm talking raw here. Then throw on a bench shirt and squat/deadlift suits and I may make up a bit more.

So, that is the target --> 20kg on my total every 3 months for the next 2 years. You heard it here first :cool:

BossArky · 27-07-2010 11:39am

Tuesday July 27th: @home

3 rounds of

10 BW Squats
10 Press Ups
5 NG Chins

---
Face Pulls
23kg - 3x8

One DB Arm Row
20kg per arm - 1x8
25kg per arm - 1x8
30kg per arm - 1x8
---
Cross Trainer
15 mins ~75 cals
---
DB Seated Press
20kg per arm - 3x8

DB Single Calf Raise
20kg per arm - 3x8
---

Felt good.

BossArky · 29-07-2010 11:51pm

Thursday July 29th: Heavy Deadlift, Light Bench & Squat

Close Grip Bench
20kg - 1x6
40kg - 1x5
45kg - 1x3
50kg - 3x6
---
Lying Twists
1x5 ... bodyweight
2x5 ... plus 3.5kg ball between ankles
---
Deadlift
60kg - 1x8
100kg - 1x5
112.5kg - 1x3
125kg - 3x6
---
Glute Ham Raise
3x10

Chin Ups
3x8

Decline Situps w/5kg
3x10
---
Squat
20kg - 1x6
50kg - 1x5
55kg - 1x3
60kg - 3x6
---

Told the coach about my 2 year plan. He laughed.

BossArky · 29-07-2010 11:55pm

Friday July 30th: Physio & Testing wide (i.e normal grip) bench

Ultrasound & massage followed by:

Narrow Bench
20kg 1x5

Wide Bench
20kg - 1x5
25kg - 1x5

No pec pain on the normal bench grip which is good. He advised running some deep heat into the pec prior to any wide bench for the next while, to warm it up a bit similar to how he warms it up with the ultra sound and massage.

BossArky · 31-07-2010 10:31am

Saturday July 31st: Heavy Bench & Squat, Light Deadlift

Bench Press ... close grip 1st. Getting wider on 2nd & 3rd top sets
30kg - 1x6
50kg - 1x6
60kg - 1x3
70kg - 3x6
---
Deadlift
40kg - 1x6
60kg - 1x5
65kg - 1x3
75kg - 3x6 ... ouch for shins
---
Squat
60kg - 1x6
70kg - 1x5
80kg - 1x3
95kg - 3x6
---

*30 minute break to get home and do the stuff below*

---
DB Bench ... close parallel grip
20kg per arm - 3x6
30kg per arm - 3x6

DB Curl
15kg per arm - 3x6
---
Tricep Extension
10kg per arm - 1x6 ... lying
10kg per arm - 3x6 ... standing, DB overhead
---
Face Pulls
23kg - 3x10 ... various grips
---

Brought this session forward two days as I'm heading off to the Great Barrier Reef early tomorrow morning. I doubt there will be a squat rack where I'm staying.

Belt too tight on Squats. Need to get out the screw driver and set the lever a notch looser.

Shins sore on the light deads - they haven't recovered fully from heavy deads on Thursday. Lower back was still fatigued.

Quite pleased that I managed to bring my grip out a bit on the close grip bench and there was no pain in the left pec. I was probably using 3/4 of a proper wide grip on the last 70kg set.

BossArky · 08-08-2010 5:10am

Thursday August 5th: Holidays - Light Bench & Squat

Close Grip Bench Press
30kg - 1x6
40kg - 1x5
50kg - 1x3
55kg - 3x6
---
Squat ... no rack
30kg - 1x6
40kg - 1x5
50kg - 1x3
50kg - 3x6
---
Ham Curl
Setting 6 whatever that was - 3x10 per leg

Pull Ups
3x9
---
Decline Situps w/5kg
3x10
---

This was an attempt to replicate normal Thursday training. Subbed Ham Curls for Glute Ham Raise, and postponed heavy deads until after hols - see next post.

No squat rack so kept the light squat lighter than it should have been. Slightly tweaked lower back getting the weight overhead so stuck with 50kg on the top sets.

Wanted to do Chins instead of Pull Ups but grip handles were too wide for Chins.

Spent the week doing lots of the following out by the Great Barrier Reef: swim, walk, hike, kayak. Came in contact with the following: whales, jellyfish, turtles, cockatoo, koalas, wallabies, giant ants, etc.

Great time. It was paradise.

BossArky · 08-08-2010 5:15am

Sunday August 8th: Heavy Deadlift

Bird-dogs
2x10 per side
---
Lying Twist
3x6 ... no weight
---
Deadlift
60kg - 1x6
100kg - 1x5
120kg - 1x3
*belt*
132.5kg - 3x6
---
BB Curl
20kg - 1x6
30kg - 1x5
40kg - 1x3
42.5kg x6, x5, x4
30kg - 1x10 ... drop set
20kg - 1x10 ... drop set
---
Spinning Bike
~10 mins
---
Foam Rolling
~5 mins
---

Got the deadlift out of the way, then curled my way to victory.

Trying to get a foam roller from the same supplier the gym get them from. Their long ones don't sag in the middle.

BossArky · 09-08-2010 1:03pm

Monday August 9th: Heavy Bench & Squat

Bench Press
40kg - 1x6
55kg - 1x5
65kg - 1x3
72.5kg - 3x6 ... back to wide grip - no pain - success
---
DB Bench
25kg - 3x6 ... back to wide grip - no pain - success

Straight Bar Lying Tricep Extension
32.5kg - 3x6
---
Squat
60kg - 1x6
75kg - 1x5
90kg - 1x3
100kg - 3x6
---
Glute Ham Raise
3x5
---

Delighted that I can now bench with a proper wide grip again.

Nearly snapped in half during the 1st warm up squat set. Back was in ribbons following yesterdays deadlifts. Won't be trying heavy deads the day before heavy squats again. Had to be done this time though due to my schedule.

BossArky · 13-08-2010 12:23am

Thursday August 12th: Heavy Deadlift, Light Bench & Squat

Close Grip Bench
20kg - 1x5
40kg - 1x3
50kg - 1x2
55kg - 3x5
---
Lying Twists
~3x5 … second two with 3.3kg ball between ankles
---
Deadlift
60kg - 1x5
100kg - 1x3
125kg - 1x2
140kg - 3x5
---
Squat
40kg - 1x5
55kg - 1x3
60kg - 1x2
65kg - 3x5
---
Chin Ups
3x10 … few seconds break midway through last set to adjust oly bar. These feel easy. Probably 'cos I had an audience
---
Glute Ham Raise
2x10 bw+2.5kg held on chest
1 broken set of just bodyweight for ~10 reps experimenting with settings
---
Decline Situps w/5kg
3x10
---

Training has hit 3x5's and will continue as such for the next 4 weeks. It is what Stuart McRobert would refer to as "full bore". LOL.

Deadlifts feel like I'm missing a warm up set somewhere. 60-100-125-140 are big ish jumps. First set at 140 felt heavy, probably due to the warm up style. Others were better.

BossArky · 15-08-2010 3:17am

Monday August 15th: Heavy Bench & Squat, Light Deadlift

Bench Press
20kg - 1x5
40kg - 1x5
55kg - 1x3
65kg - 1x2
75kg - 3x5
---
DB Bench
32.5kg - 3x6f ... failed 6th rep each time
---
BB Curl
20kg - 1x5
30kg - 1x5
40kg - 1x5
42.5kg - 3x6 ... pb. Nice and strict. Took 5-10 secs between some reps. Forearms burning after holding the bar for so long
---
Deadlift
40kg - 1x5
60kg - 1x3
70kg - 1x2
85kg - 3x5 ... focusing on not hopping the bar off the top of my knees on the way down
---
Squat
20kg - 1x5
60kg - 1x5
80kg - 1x3
92.5kg - 1x2
*belt*
105kg - 3x5
---
Straight Bar Lying Tricep Extension
32.5kg - 3x6 ... fine
---

Trained today instead of Monday, as heading to Kuala Lumpur for the coming week with work. Will bring my belt/liquid chalk and try and get my deadlifts in up there on Thursday.

Aiming to to increase the DB bench and BB Curl. Happy enough with today. DB Bench at 30kg is usually fine and has been for a while. Todays 32.5kg was a step towards improving my flat bench.

Squats were handy enough.

Everything was slightly rushed as my plane leaves in less than 3 hours. Once I finish typing this I'll eat my pancakes and head for the airport. Totally knackered so will sleep well on the plane.

BossArky · 21-08-2010 9:23am

Saturday August 21st: Heavy Deadlift, Light Bench & Squat

Close Grip Bench
20kg - 1x5
40kg - 1x3
50kg - 1x2
55kg - 3x5
---
Lying Twists
~3x5
---
Deadlift
60kg - 1x5
100kg - 1x3
120kg - 1x2
135kg - 1x1
145kg - 3x5
---
Squat
40kg - 1x5
50kg - 1x3
60kg - 1x2
65kg - 3x5
---
Chin Ups / Spinning
2x10 … 10 mins spinning between sets
---
Decline Situps w/5kg
3x10

Single Ham Curl
20kg per leg - 1x8
15kg per leg - 2x8
---

More later...

BossArky · 21-08-2010 9:37am

Ok so, that seesion above ^^ was supposed to be 2 days ago. A work trip to Kuala Lumpur (where I couldn't find a decent gym) pushed it back to today as I'm just home to Melbourne.

Was expecting the 145kg 3x5 deadlifts to be a lot harder given the 5 late nights and averaging ~3 hrs sleep per night. I guess the 6 days off acted as a mini deload.

Bodyweight is down a bit to ~80kg. Competition is one month away. I have a bit of bodyweight to play with and with some sleep/food/recovery I hope to increase on last comps 165kg 1RM deadlift. Today I focused on avoiding my knee caps on the way down - hey presto - no bruises above the knees.

The rest was active recovery/assistance. Loving the chin ups. It sounds vain to say this, but it's true --> my biceps are getting massive. Hooray for hypertrophy assistance.

Must add weight next cycle. Only problem is my spud belt is a monster to carry around if walking to work when training that day.

Parsley · 21-08-2010 6:08pm

BossArky wrote: »

The rest was active recovery/assistance. Loving the chin ups. It sounds vain to say this, but it's true --> my biceps are getting massive. Hooray for hypertrophy assistance.

nicccce. :pac:

BossArky · 23-08-2010 1:38pm

Monday August 23rd: Heavy Bench & Squat, Light Deadlift

Bench Press
40kg - 1x5
60kg - 1x3
70kg - 1x2
77.5kg - 3x5 ... easy
---
DB Bench
25kg - 2x10
---
BB Curl
20kg - 1x10
30kg - 1x10
35kg - 1x10
30kg - 1x10
---
Straight Bar Lying Tricep Extension
30kg - 2x10
---
Deadlift
50kg - 1x5
65kg - 1x3
75kg - 1x2
85kg - 3x5
---
Squat
60kg - 1x5
80kg - 1x3
100kg - 1x2
*belt*
110kg - 3x5 ... equals sets across pb from last cycle
---

Bench feels fine. Not up to max yet.

Squats were good. On the 2nd rep of the last set I almost lost it, but came back and smashed the rest. Apparently it looked good enough for 7 or 8. Not bad considering my back is still in ribbons from Saturdays deadlifts.

From here on in Deadlifts and Squats will be hitting pbs on heavy days.

Following on from my bicep comment on Saturday - today a fellow asked me to get out of the squat rack as I was curling in front of it... hehehe. Somewhere in Australia there is an annoying gym behaviour thread where I'm being mentioned right now :pac: I moved obviously, and cringed too.

Parsley · 23-08-2010 1:58pm

how's the flexibility coming along boss? you mentioned you were gonna embark on a mission to touch your toes a while back!

BossArky · 26-08-2010 12:29pm

Haven't tried touching toes for a while. Managed it shortly after setting out on that task, then got side tracked with a million other things.

BossArky · 26-08-2010 12:36pm

Thursday August 26st: Heavy Deadlift, Light Bench & Squat

Close Grip Bench
20kg - 1x5
40kg - 1x3
50kg - 1x2
60kg - 3x5
---
Lying Twists
~3x5
---
Deadlift
60kg - 1x5
100kg - 1x3
125kg - 1x2
*belt*
149kg - x2, x3 :mad: ... supposed to be 3x5
130kg - 2x5 ... make up sets for the above failure ^^
---
Squat
20kg - 1x5
60kg - 1x3
65kg - 1x2
70kg - 3x5
---
Chin Ups
3x5
---
Glute Ham Raise
3x6

Decline Situps
3x10
---

2 heavy deadlifts and 1 heavy squat into 5 days does not go.

Last Saturday's 145kg 3x5 was fine. Tonights 149kg felt like..... something very heavy. Lower back was still fried. Really should have waited an extra day or two. Annoyed.

Will reassess next week and see if I got for 147.5 or 149 3x5. Need to sleep, eat and rest more. Belt felt loose ... and other excuses.

BossArky · 30-08-2010 12:59pm

Monday August 30th: Heavy Bench & Squat, Light Deadlift

Bench Press
50kg - 1x5
60kg - 1x3
70kg - 1x2
80kg - 3x5 ... easy again this week
---
BB Curl
20kg - 1x6
25kg - 1x6
30kg - 3x6
---
DB Bench
32.5kg - 3x5
---
Straight Bar Lying Tricep Extension
30kg - 3x6
---
Deadlift
60kg - 1x5
70kg - 1x3
80kg - 1x2
90kg - 3x5
---
Squat
60kg - 1x5
82.5kg - 1x3
105kg - 1x2
*belt*
115kg - 3x5 ... sets across pb by 5kg
---

Tonight was great. Bench was simple. Squats felt light. 115kg was my 1RM from my first comp 6 months ago.

Laid off the assistance a bit given that I'm getting to the final stages of the cycle.

Speed Deadlift was quick and snappy.

Happy = me.

BossArky · 02-09-2010 1:04pm

Thursday September 2nd: Heavy Deadlift, Light Bench & Squat

Close Grip Bench
20kg - 1x5
40kg - 1x3
50kg - 1x2
60kg - 3x5
---
Lying Twists
~3x5
---
Deadlift
60kg - 1x5
105kg - 1x3
125kg - 1x2
*belt*
147.5kg - x4, x3 ... supposed to be 3x5
140kg - 1x5 ... make up sets for the above failure ^^
130kg - 1x6 ... make up sets for the above failure ^^
---
Squat
20kg - 1x5
40kg - 1x3
50kg - 1x2
60kg - 1x1
70kg - 3x5

Decline Situps
3x10
---
Chin Ups
3x5

Glute Ham Raise
3x5
---

Didn't get much sleep. Felt good coming into the gym though and was confident about getting 3x5@147.5kg. It wasn't to be. It seems I peaked a couple of weeks ago at 145. Everything since then has been downhill. Next week I'm going back down to 142.5 instead of up to doubles at 157.5 or similar. Apparently I'll get more out of that. Dissapointment.

This cycle has been interrupted a lot with holidays, work trips... and another one next week.... so maybe I should just aim to maintain the deadlift and hope for pbs on squat and bench which are still progressing.

BossArky · 04-09-2010 2:33am

Saturday September 4th:

Swim 280m as follows

200m bs
80m fc

---

Deadlifting the other night has me feeling like a 60 year old. Swam to loosen up.

BossArky · 05-09-2010 4:18am

Sunday September 5th: Heavy Bench & Squat, Light Deadlift

Bench Press
50kg - 1x5
60kg - 1x3
70kg - 1x2
82.5kg - 3x5 ... failed on very last rep. Ok. Pb
---
BB Curl
30kg - 2x10
---
DB Bench
25kg - 2x10
---
Straight Bar Lying Tricep Extension
20kg - 2x10
---
Deadlift
50kg - 1x5
65kg - 1x3
80kg - 1x2
90kg - 3x5
---
Squat
60kg - 1x5
85kg - 1x3
*belt*
105kg - 1x2
117.5kg - 3x5 ... sets across pb
---

Felt pretty drained heading into the gym. This session was brought forward a day. Could have done with the extra days rest.

Bench was fine. Will have to check back and see if that is a pb or not. It was on this weight or thereabouts that I tore a pec last cycle, so getting through it in one piece is good. Not too bothered about missing the last rep.

Squat was good. None of the reps were ever in doubt. 3rd rep of the 1st set fell forwards a bit and got a rush of blood to the head. Rest were fine. Quads are in shreds now. Never had such instant DOMS before. 117.5kg is a nice which seems my 3x5s end 7.5kg up on last cycle. Pb in a couple of weeks - here I come.

Now heading to the airport & Singapore for a week with work. Hoping to get deadlifts in on Thursday up there.

BossArky · 06-09-2010 8:12am

BossArky wrote: »

Sunday June 13th: Heavy Bench & Squat, Light

Bench Press
82.5kg - 1x5, 1x4f, 1x3f ... supposed to be 3x5. Videos later

3 months ago I did that ^^ when on the way to breaking myself... which means that yesterdays 82.5kg 3x5 failing on last rep was a pb.

Hopefully that means I'm good for a paused bench 1RM of 95kg.

BossArky · 07-09-2010 12:22am

Monday September 6th: Morning

Bird-dogs 2x10 per side

BossArky · 07-09-2010 12:24am

Monday September 6th: Evening

Swim ~45 mins of ~20-30 lengths of an average sized pool (30m?) followed by general splashing about

BossArky · 12-09-2010 1:20pm

Sunday September 12th: @home

Swim 400m as follows:
- 200m bs
- 200m fc

Skipped the last deadlift session. Too busy in Singapore. It will probably affect my comp prep ... so not expecting too much from next Saturday

BossArky · 14-09-2010 12:48am

Monday September 13th: Heavy Bench & Squat, Light Deadlift

Bench Press
50kg - 1x5
60kg - 1x3
70kg - 1x1
80kg - 1x1
87.5kg - *PAUSED* 2x2 ... failed on 4th rep
---
Deadlift
50kg - 1x5
60kg - 1x3
70kg - 1x1
80kg - 1x1
90kg - 2x2
---
Squat
60kg - 1x5
80kg - 1x3
*belt*
100kg - 1x1
110kg - 1x1
125kg - 2x2 ... sets across pb
---

Wrecked going into this. Happy to finish the squat cycle without missing a rep. Weight aroung 78kg at home. Lost some weight - belt was a bit loose. Will bring it in a notch at the weekend.

BossArky · 17-09-2010 2:58am

Thursday September 16th: Light Bench & Squat - Deload

Bench Press
20kg - 1x5
40kg - 1x5
50kg - 1x5
60kg - 3x5
---
Squat
40kg - 1x5
50kg - 1x5
60kg - 1x5
65kg - 3x5
---
Decline Sit Ups
1x15
---

Hoping for the following on sunday: 140/95/170.

Attempts may go something like this:
SQ: 127.5/137.5/140
BP: 90/95/?
DL: 150/160/170

Squat seems to have went well over the past cycle. Not sure what state my bench and deadlift are in.

Hail 2 Da Chimp · 17-09-2010 2:13pm

You still at 80Kg Boss? Those are some big numbers you're posting!

BossArky · 18-09-2010 2:37am

Yep, still around 80kg.

80.5kg after breakfast this morning, and less than 80kg last night after work.

That reminds me ... need to get out the screwdriver and take my belt in a notch.

BossArky · 19-09-2010 9:31am

Sunday September 19th: Powerlifting Competition in Hawthorn (Melbourne)

Weighed in at 80.9kg after a decent breakfast and fair bit of liquid.

Warms went as follows:
SQ: 60kg x5, 80kg x3, 100kg x1, 115kg x1
BP: 50kg x5, 65kg x3, 70kg x1, 80kg paused x1
DL: 60kg x5, 100kg x3, 125kg x1, 140kg x1

Competition lifts went as follows:

Squat
#1: 127kg ... good
#2: 135kg ... good & 2.5kg pb
#3: 140kg ... fail. Almost

Bench Press
#1: 90kg ... good
#2: 95kg ... good & 2.5kg competition pb
#3: 97.5kg ... fail

Deadlift
#1: 150kg ... good
#2: 160kg ... good
#3: 170kg ... good & 5kg pb

400kg total @bw 80.9kg

Finally hit a 400kg total!

Squat - happy enough but maybe should have went for 137.5kg on the 2nd squat instead of 135kg. 140kg on the 3rd was so close.

Bench - still in shock. Was expecting it to be woeful given my crappy preparation over this cycle. The volume bench program which injured me 3 months ago must have done some good.

Deadlift - delighted. I came into the competition aiming to just maintain the 165kg from the previous one in June. Kept the 1st attempt nice and easy then just kept throwing on 10kg. 170kg felt fine.

Next Comp is in late Nov. Bring it on. I'm going to put a proper 2 months training into this one, hopefully without too many holiday and work trip distractions like this cycle. Overall - quiet pleased and cannot complain with pbs everywhere. Bit lighter than before too thanks to walking ~5km roundtrip to/from work each weekday.

Video to follow...

podge57 · 19-09-2010 12:12pm

Nice work!! Getting PRs on all lifts is tough to do in a comp

brianthebard · 19-09-2010 4:07pm

Not happy about this at all, your squats far too close to mine, your deads the same and you bench more. gah! well done dude, hard work and consistency is paying off.

BossArky · 20-09-2010 6:56am

BossArky wrote: »

Competition lifts went as follows:

Squat
#1: 127kg ... good
#2: 135kg ... good & 2.5kg pb
#3: 140kg ... fail. Almost

Bench Press
#1: 90kg ... good
#2: 95kg ... good & 2.5kg competition pb
#3: 97.5kg ... fail

Deadlift
#1: 150kg ... good
#2: 160kg ... good
#3: 170kg ... good & 5kg pb

400kg total @bw 80.9kg

Video to follow...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeTNF9tTnT8

BossArky · 20-09-2010 6:59am

podge57 wrote: »

Nice work!! Getting PRs on all lifts is tough to do in a comp

brianthebard wrote: »

Not happy about this at all, your squats far too close to mine, your deads the same and you bench more. gah! well done dude, hard work and consistency is paying off.

Cheers both

Hail 2 Da Chimp · 20-09-2010 9:58am

Great stuff Boss!

BossArky · 20-09-2010 11:18am

Monday September 20th: @home

Swim 600m as follows:

200m bs
200m fc
200m alternating

---

Easy swim to stretch out.

BossArky · 20-09-2010 11:18am

Hail 2 Da Chimp wrote: »

Great stuff Boss!

Thanks Chimp!:D

dartstothesea · 20-09-2010 11:20am

Fair play on those PRs. You're what I'd be if I was 20kg lighter and had a better bench!

Hanley · 20-09-2010 11:22am

Looking great dude. You're making savage progress. Tonnes left on the squat too.

d'Oracle · 20-09-2010 12:45pm

Good work.

BossArky · 21-09-2010 5:17am

Here are some thoughts on training in no particular order. Best to note them down here before I forget.

A training buddy (whom I classify internally as my "nearest rival" i.e. similar bodyweight/size) deadlift 167.5kg when I deadlift 152.5kg back in my first comp in February. At Sunday's comp he deadlift 215kg when I did 170kg. His deadlift is going through the roof (he weighed in at 79kg on Sunday). He probably wouldn't take too kindly to me calling him a "nearest rival" as his deadlift is 45kg off in the distance. His bench is the same as mine (95kg) and his squat is a bit better (152.5kg in knee wraps). Anyway, he reckons a cycle of weighted chins/pull ups helped his deadlift, so I'm going to incorporate those going forwards. Previously I've been throwing in bodyweight pullup/chins as an after thought more than anything else. May have to put these on a separate day along with some other stuff - see below.

One arm row / kroc row - going to include these too for more upper back work. Ditto on the facepulls. Been a bit lax with the assistance recently. Double ditto on the ab work. Going to bring back the hanging leg raises and ab pull downs, on top of the lying twists.

Include plyometrics i.e. box jumps to build explosiveness. Just a couple of sets - I've seen a couple of steps in the main gym that I can use.

Bench 100kg…. I've worked out the base mesocycle for smolov and may just start running it tomorrow morning. Not sure if I can run the "intense" session afterwards as heading to Singapore again with work mid Oct. The first 3 weeks should fit in between now and then though, if I choose to do it.

If I go ahead with the above I'll have to hit the gym 4 days a week, vs the current 2 days a week plan. Hmmm - I quite like training just 2 days a week. Training more often will mean decreased recovery time, increased food intake… and more leanification (is that even a word?) for the summer.

May try something like the following (exact days will vary). Monday and Thursday will be the same as the past 8 months except I'll do 2 of the 4 smolov bench days on the usual Mon heavy bench / Thurs light bench days. The other two days will be the 3rd and 4th smolov bench sessions, along with weighted pull ups, heavy abs and upper back. I'll work out the specifics later.

Monday: Squat & Bench1
Tuesday: Bench2 & Weighted Pull Up Cycle / extra Abs
Thursday: Deadlift & Bench3
Saturday: Bench4 & Upper Back (One Arm Row, Face Pulls)

Here is what the base mesocycle will look like, assuming 95kg as my 1RM:

Wk1:
Mon 67kg - 4x9
Wed 72kg - 5x7
Fri 76kg - 7x5
Sat 81kg - 10x3

Wk2:
Mon 72kg - 4x9
Wed 77kg - 5x7
Fri 81kg - 7x5
Sat 86kg - 10x3

Wk3:
Mon 74.5kg - 4x9
Wed 79.5kg - 5x7
Fri 83.5kg - 7x5
Sat 88.5kg - 10x3

BossArky · 21-09-2010 1:02pm

Tuesday September 21st: @home

Shoulder Dislocates
3x10

Band Pull Apart
3x10
---
Seated Shoulder Press
10kg - 1x10
15kg - 1x8
20kg - 3x6

One Arm Row
10kg - 1x10
15kg - 1x8
20kg - 3x6
---
Pull Ups
2x8 ... wide palms away
1x6 - bodyweight +5kg ... wide neutral grip

Pull Down Abs
full stack - 3x10
---
Lat Pull Down
10, 8, 6, 4, 2
---

Was in bits after that ^^. Must be all the supersets and whizzing through stuff. Generally my powerlifting training involves doing a set, sitting on a chair for 10 minutes, doing another set, sitting on a chair for another 10 minutes... etc.

Decided not to bother with smolov for bench. Had all the numbers worked out and was going to start tonight ... but saw sense. Don't have the time to commit 4 days to the gym right now. Would be stupid to change a program that has seen me make constant progress over the past 8 months and seen me hit pbs in everything on Sunday.

BossArky · 24-09-2010 12:56pm

Friday September 24st: Heavy Deadlift, Light Bench & Squat

Close Grip Bench
20kg - 1x5 ... wide grip
40kg - 1x5 ... wide grp
50kg - 3x8 ... close grip
---
Lying Twists
1x6 - no weight
2x6 - with 3.3kg ball between ankles
---
Deadlift
60kg - 1x8
75kg - 1x5
90kg - 1x5
97.5kg - 3x8
---
Glute Ham Raise
30 reps ... did them this way rather than 3x10. Harder setting so full sets of 10 were broken up as I rested at the top of some e.g. 8+2, 7+3
---
Decline Situps
2x10 - with 5kg
1x10 - no weight
---
Squat
30kg ... aborted
---
WG Pull Ups
10 singles: bodyweight + 5kg
10 singles: bodyweight + 10kg
10 singles: bodyweight
---

First day back. New program up on the board which will see me reach the following in mid Nov for next competition:

Squat: 3x5 120kg & 2x2 cannot remember
Bench: 3x5 83.5kg & 2x2 88.5kg
Deadlift: 3x5 150kg & 2x2 160kg

Apparently the bench cycle will see me "peak twice". Need to find out exactly what that means. Starts off at 75kg 3x6 next Monday and gets up to 83.5kg... with lots of question marks in the intervening weeks. Someone was telling me that this means I ramp up to something heavy, then deload for a week and ramp up again. Interesting.

Was supposed to deadlift off blocks for this cycle starting tonight, but since no one in the know was around I didn't want to risk starting on them just yet. Probably Monday.

Stopped squatting after 1 rep. Sore right hip flexor from the strain of the last cycle. Wasn't supposed to squat today anyway as still deload.

Remember my new year goals set back in Jan? Well, they were 140/100/180. Hopefully I'll come close to them/hit them in Nov. Not too far off them right now... but it may be asking a lot to reach all 3 over the next 8 weeks. Let's see.

BossArky · 27-09-2010 1:48am

Saturday 25th & Sunday 26th September: @Mt.Buller

Snowboarding
---

Good laugh. High factor suncream didn't prevent me coming away from the mountain looking like I've just observed a nuclear explosion up close and personal.

Hamstrings were in bits all weekend following the Glute Ham Raise on Friday night. It was the second last weekend of the season so everything was discounted and the runs weren't too crowded. Snow was still there and conditions were good. Perfect time for it.

Only stacked it once or twice all weekend. Turns were pretty handy which I'll put down to a properly fitted board. Nothing like snowboarding in Europe though. Gumtrees and snow just look wrong together!

Return of the King

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