Don't let the coward in your head, control the badass in your heart

Had our gym party Saturday night and I'm still in ribbons.. expectations low going into todays session...

Bench
60kg (2x10)
80kg x8
100kg x8
120kg x2
140kg x1
*Eh..... *
152.5kg (2x3)

Close Grip Bench
60kg x5
80kg x5
100kg x5
120kg x3
*wrist wraps*
142.5kg (2x3)

Incline Bench
60kg x5
80kg x5
100kg x3
120kg x1
*F*cking Mondays*
132.5kg x3

Lat Pulldown
(3x10)

DB Shrugs
70s (3x10)

Cable Pressdown
(3x20)

Seated OHP
40kg (2x12)
60kg x12
70kg x8
80kg x5
90kg (2x8) (PR)

Floor Press (Paused + 40kg chain)
20kg (2x12)
40kg x5
60kg x5
80kg x5
100kg x3
120kg x3 (PR)

Dips
2xAMRAP

Band Row/Band Tricep Pressdown
(5x 15/15)

[Narrower Grip] Flat Bench [+ Mini Band]
60kg (3x12)
80kg x12
100kg x12
120kg x1
140kg x1
150kg x1... tidy
*Remove Band*
132.5kg x10

Close Grip Bench
60kg x5
80kg x5
100kg x5
120kg x5
140kg x5

Lat Pulldown
Pin 6/8/10 x20

DB Shrugs
40/55/70s x15

Incline Bench
60/80/100kg x10




Shoulder felt a little sore after last weeks training so took my grip in on the bench to protect it. All sets were pinky on rings as opposed to index on rings... felt OK. I think 150 is the most I've ever benched with a band so a tidy result there, having hit some decent heavy triples last week it was either go heavier, go for more volume or do something different so decided on a heavy single against bands at the last minute after 140 popped up. The back off set was a grinder, felt like dead weight. Close grip felt very solid, I think 140x5 is close to PR levels there. The main thing is that its nice to know that 800mgs caffeine, a freshly shaved head and an Iron Asylum camo T-Shirt still guarantees that everybody in the gym keeps a safe distance

257.5 raw squat attempt...

Seated OHP (BAR2CHIN)
Bar (2x10)
40kg x5
60kg x5
80kg x5
90kg x5
100kg x4

Floor Press + 40kg chain
Bar (3x5)
40kg x3
60kg x3
80kg x3
100kg x3
115kg x3
130kg x3


Dips
(2 x AMRAP)


Tricep Extension/Lat Raise
(5x15)




Really didn't fancy training today, but unlikely I'll have time again until Sunday. Raging I failed the last rep on the top set of the seated OHP, but the floor pressing made up for it. It was all a warm up for the lat raises anyway obviously

Decided not to bench today because I'm going to push the floor pressing on Thursday/Friday

Incline Bench
bar (2x12)
60kg x8
80kg x8
100kg x8
120kg x8
125kg x8

Close Grip Bench
60kg x5
80kg x5
100kg x5
120kg x3
140kg x1
150kg (2x2)

DB Shrugs/Lat Pulldown/Cable Pressdown
(5x15)



**BRING ON THE HEAVY SQUATTING WEDNESDAY**

dartstothesea wrote: »

Am I remembering things horribly wrong or is this way more beltless training than you've done before any previous recent comps? Just wondering if there's any particular thinking to it, beyond beltless lifts obviously being that bit harder. (they sure are for me, anyway)

Yep, I've never really done any beltless training for comps or otherwise. The thinking is get beltless strength up, reap the rewards in belt after.

Today

Squats
60kg (3x5)
*Belt/Rehbands*
100kg (2x5)
140kg x3
*Elite Single Ply Sleeves*
180kg x2
200kg x1
*APT Heavy Sleeves*
220kg x1
240kg x1
*Metal All-Black Knee wraps*
262.5kg x3



RDL
60kg x5
100kg x5
140kg x5
180kg x5
210kg x5

Lat Pulldown
(5x10)

Face Pulls
(3x15)




Happy enough with the squatting today. The wraps felt horrendously uncomfortable but def more in the tank once I'm used to them again. Decided to use sleeves and belt from much earlier in the session just to make things easier in the run up and save energy for the top set. RDLs were tough, decided to push them a bit as I'm not planning on deadlifting very heavy at the weekend.

Holy sh*t I am sore...


Floor Press +40kg chain [PAUSED]
bar (2x12)
40kg x5
60kg x5
80kg x5
100kg x3
120kg x2
130kg x1
140kg x1 (PR)

Lat Raise/Reverse Fly/Single Arm Row
(5x10)




Floor pressing was rough, fought every inch of it. Nice one DaZa for the spot

I’m only logging this because I’m bored and too sore to go drinking...

Last Sunday
Defict Deadlift (1.5inch)
60kg (3x5)
100kg (2x5)
140kg x5
185kg x2
205kg x2
225kg x1
245kg x1
265kg x Fail.... And blew out my back.

Had never felt stronger coming into that session – the extra day off the day before swimming and relaxing etc meant that I was more than confident coming into the last heavy deadlift session before the GPC nationals. Every rep felt solid, the 245 was prob some sort of deficit PR by default and even the 265 popped off the ground. At ~knee level something popped and shifted and I hit the deck.
Having had a similar experience a couple of years ago I instantly assumed the worst – I’m after prolapsing that f*cking disc or crushing a verterbrae. The pain this time was completely off the charts though even compared to the first time I injured the area. Got an ice pack under my back and contemplated calling an ambulance... have a video of the entire event that recorded til the battery ran out about 15mins later I only saw it there on Thursday and it reminded me of a time lapsed video of a carcass on the African plains... people coming over, leaving... my pride eroding into nothing in the process. Anyway I refused the ambo and crawled out the emergency exit at the back of the gym, managed to get into my girlfriends car (I live 45secs drive around the corner) and pretty much roared the trip home in agony. By the time I got home I couldn’t stand up, or sit or lie down, so ended up holding myself using the sink in the bathroom where that the pain almost had me reduced to tears. Almost! Still refusing to get an ambulance I called my dad and asked him if he could get me to St James as his car is bigger than my gf’s and thought I might be able to slump into the back seat. Ended up kneeling in the footwell of the passengers side facing the wrong way trying to support my bpdy and keep my posture in check by holding onto the headrest. Two security guards at A&E helped me over to reception at about 2.30pm ... then I waited to see a doctor on a trolley in the corridor beside the fire exit, flanked by 2 junkies, one that vomited every few minutes while trying to escape to have a smoke. Nurses gave me 2 aspirin... then some ibuprofen... then solphadene... then a heap of diazepam. Didn’t do f*ck all.

About 10hours later I finally saw a doctor ( I remember it was after 12.30am anyway) who gave me a bottle to pee into as I couldn’t get out of the trolley – an experience I hope to never repeat. Ever. They hooked me up to some morphine, and gave me difene and waited to see how I’d react. I didn’t, so they gave me more morphine and more diazepam and sent me for xrays even though I protested that it was a complete waste of time and that I needed an MRI. They disagreed, the consultant radiologist also said this is a Waste of time but nice to rule out a fractured verterbrae all the same. Getting from the trolley to the Xray table was hands down the most painful thing I’ve ever done – absolute negative craic. Sent back to the corridor then to find my doctor asking me how the hell was I still awake after all the meds... I retorted by questioning his knowledge of the lumbo-sacral junction, produced the previous MRI images I had saved on my phone and gave him a speech bases on 2 years researching lowback disorders and injuries etc. Then I got ingnored for a few hours, lol.
Around 8am a nurse told me I was being discharged and that I should try to sit up – having told her that I couldn’t she said she’s have to talk to the doctor as they had reached the legal limit of pain meds/anti inflams that they could issue. Insensed by the lack of MRI I said fine, I’ll go home – Lurched out fo bed and used someones food trolley as a zimmerframe to get me to the toilets down the corridor where I got my own back when I vomited because of the meds, then collapsing.
So, they prescribed me more valium, diphene and solphadine and sent me home. That was Monday morning. Had to stay in the folks place because I couldn’t get into bed unassisted... That sucked, I hate help in any capacity for anything ever. By Tuesday evening I figured out how to roll over in bed kind of pain free, Wednesday I made it to the living room floor on my own and did as much glute activation as I could manage. Thursday I put my own socks on and a few pseudo-bird-dogs etc. Friday I went home, did a couple hours of PT to try stay on my feet as long as possible, then got dry needling done on my spinal erectors Saturday morning.

Pretty mobile again now, pain site moves so there’s clearly a f*ck tonne of muscular compensations occurring. I don’t remember exactly what felt like it popped on Sunday but felt around the L3/4 level on the left side, most of the pain at the moment is at S1 level on the right. So I’m still not entirely sure what’s damaged or to what extent but its good to be back on my feet anyway. Bad timing all the same, last rep before the comp, but there’ll be another nationals in 2014 and I’ll just aim to bring the pain to that platform instead. Rehab protocols are in place, I'm surrounded by the right people and I m not going to spend a second letting this get me down, sh*t happens. Literally the only thing that bothers me as I sit here is that having hit some great PRs in the last couple months, and having rested for the last week on the back of that is that today I'm probably stronger then I have ever been, I just can't show case it in any capacity! Melt.

Anyway I'm hoping to get back to some light upper body training in the next couple days – in the absence of a 700 total the next logical thing to train for is stability, drop some bodyweight and get huge pecs and arms. I don't plan on being out for long but not sure if I’ll bother keeping this log up in the meantime.. the numbers are gonna be depressing enough without typing them out too.