08/30 ME Bench

2 Board Press 175x5, 225x3, 245x2, 275x1, 315x1, 345x4x3
Seated BB Ext w/Chains 95x4x8
CSR DB 40x3x10
Hammer Curl/OHP 40x4x6

Alright night, was expecting to feel better doing this workout. I got kind of sluggish as i ate dinner a bit later than normal and hadnt allowed for proper time to digest. Oh Well, the 2 boards were pretty good considering the sluggish mood i got into and the rest was kind of ho-hum......Sometimes work just gets in the way of training, this morning at about 10:30 i was all psyched to lift but alas i had calls to answer......bummer!!!

08/28 ME Squat

SSB High Box Squat 115x5, 155x5, 245x5, 295x3, 335x3, 400x3x3
3" deficit Sumo DL against Mini's 225x4x4
Ab Pulldown 130x3x8
Pull Throughs 130x3x8

This SSB is a love/hate sort of thing. While i love the fact that it is strengthening my posterior, i hate doing them as they make your head feel like its gonna pop off, very similar to the first time i used a bench shirt. I set the box so it was about 1" above parallel so it was a bit higher than the low box squat variety(3 inches approx), so it was a bit easier but not much. Pretty much the spot in the squat where i am coming out of the hole and tend to lean forward a bit. So this in itself should help to remedy that issue. Next up was the DL's against Mini's, i was huffin by the end of these and reset on each set to try and work the explosion off the floor. The depth really enabled me to get a good stretch in the bottom position. The good thing is the groin didnt hurt at all, the pop from the floor seemed to be a bit better. I guess time will tell when i get a maximal load on the bar. The band tension isnt quite the same, actually a bit harder, so things look promising. The pull downs were a bit sloppy and i plan on dropping the weight a bit next time, form was a bit on the crrap side. Pull Throughs were re-introduced to my hamstrings dismay, i almost forgot about this movement, she'll be on board for the next couple of weeks.
All in all training is going pretty well, i seem to be recovering well from my meet injuries. Also since incorporation of the foam roller my lower back tightness is all but gone, not too bad for a piece of foam and PVC. I am planning on doing a Bench only meet on October 7th here in Manchester in the APF. The author of Rawpowerlift blog is scheduled to participate as well so it will be fun to compete with a fellow blogger. The sweet part is there is a Hooter's attached to the hotel so guess whats going on after? There will be no peaking cycle for this, just gonna do it for fun and gain some more experience. Should be looking to hit another meet in the November time frame either in New Hampshire or Maine. Still deciding, it looks as though i will be jumping ship to the APF from the APA, although there is an annual meet in Keene NH for the APA that i will most likely hit in February. Given my past experience i think i will pass on the Maine APA meet in Novemeber and try another federation on for size. Plus the APF seems to have alot more meets in the local area so that is a bonus.......well thats about it from here, as always, Keep it Dark, Keep it Heavy!!!

08/26 SE Bench

SE Bench Press 135x5, 185x3, 225x3, 245x3, 275x4x6
DB Tricep Ext (Paused) 35x4x12
Rev Grip Pull Down 130x4x8
Mini Delta Presses (choked on feet) 3x12

Pretty good day, went out go-karting all day and shot some mini golf before-hand. The Bench press felt pretty good, all were done slow and controlled. I was quite happy with all sets and reps. The Extensions were surprisingly painful at the end of the sets, i had planned on going heavier but the DB's were already loaded at this weight so i left them at that, had the pump going on....the rest was pretty normal stuff, got really pumped on the delta-presses as i decided to choked them off to add tension. This is the last week for this movement but i will definitely do them again in the future, the shoulder girdle gets pumped beyond belief but after the pump the shoulders feel "healthy".....good chit man.....thats about it from here, wishing you all the best in your strength achievements, ciao!!!.........

08/24 SE Squat

Free Squat 135x8, 185x5, 225x5, 275x3, 315x2, 365x1, 405x1, 425x1
Rev Hyper w/Minis 4x8 (Ugh!)
Laying Mini Leg Curls 3x20
Ab Wheel 3x15

Tonight wasnt really a traditional SE Day for me as i was pretty much messing around with my form. I think i figured out one of my big problems with this one, that being too damned slow on my descent. After watching numerous videos of Brian Siders, Kirk Karwoski, Ed Coan and a bunch of other PL'ing greats i had my epiphany. I was sooo damned worried about form and really concentrating on arching, knees out yadda yadda that i was still thinking of them on the way down and slowing myself and doing a tempo of about 4 to 1, with no gear on. Basically it was like trying to find depth with a really tight suit, but RAW......fucking dip-turd!!! Needless to say i was a bit bummed that i just had a ME Squat day this week as it would have been nice to really crank some out with this new found knowledge, but soon enough my pretty!!! I think i had an epiphany (word of the day) for the DL but i will verify this before i go blurt it out...All in all it was a good night, i changed it up a bit on the Rev Hper and rigged it up for mini's, these sum-bitches hurt like hell as there was absolutely no let up in the strength curve, my lowe back pumped up but not likeit used to (thank you foam roller!!) Then came the Leg Curls and Ab Wheel, two of the most intense movements a Powerlifter can do, the mere image of the ab wheel conjures up images of 1000lbs resting on my back, the ability to leap small buildings in a single bound, Tony Little after 1 hr on the Gazelle, Richards Simmons Sweating to the oldies!!!! Aggghhhhhh........Insanity!!!!!




Now Good Day Sir

08/23 ME Bench

2 Bd Press 185x5, 225x5, 275x3, 315x3, 335x4x3
Seated Triceps BB Ext w/Chains 95x4x8
CSR 45x4x8
Hammer Curl/OHP 45x4x8

Forgot to post this the other day so i dont have much to say except i am very sore today, after the 2 bd stuff i messed around with some full range Bench Press assisted with various band tensions. I left the bar weight at 335, lost track and didnt write any of it down, basically killed time....my Triceps were pretty sore today as well the shoulders so i guess something went right......onto the next post SE Squat which i just finished.

08/21 ME Squat.....De-Load Done

SSB Low Box Squat 115x5, 155x5, 205x3, 245x2, 295x1, 335x4,4,3,3(ugh)
Depth Pull (Conventional) w/Mini's 225x4x3
Wood Chops 30x4x12
SL KB Swing's 33x4x12

Had a bit of a deload to get my ME days back on Mon and Tues. I get too many variables on the weekend to screw up my ME days, especially with football coming up. This was the last week of SSB Low Box squat and i will bring the height up to around 1-2 inchess above parallel for 3 weeks before another deload. The first two sets of 4 were bitches as this bar makes your head feel like it is gonna pop off. I started getting sick to my stomach by the 4th set, good stuff. Cant wait to see the effect after this next mini-cycle. The Depth Pulls were bitches and i was still feeling sickly on these but gutted them out even though i hate conventional pulling, and from 3 inches depth to boot. I guess i am punishing myself for something. Will probably rotate a DL variation in two week shifts for a bit and see what happens. So far i dont feel overtrained so i will keep an eye on that, the intensity isnt too bad so that should keep it in check. Wood Chops and SL KB Swings, whoop-dee doo-doo.....Deload Done, back into it, next up on the plate is ME Bench, ahhh.....to be back in the swing of it......l8r

08/15 DE Bench

Speed Bench w/Mini's 145x4x3 155x4x3
Triceps crrrap.....
DB Rows 90x4x8
DeltaPress with Mini's 3x10

Speed bench was fun, i always like pressing against the bands. It gives you a good pump and really makes it feel like your accomplishing something on this much loathed day. Triceps i did a bunch of crap, i watched the Bench Press index to try and "get" the JM Press and basically said fuck it after Jim Wendler said "if you cant get this exercise to feel in the triceps, or you cant make this movement work for you then ditch it and find something you know works, dont waste time learning a movement for the sake of learning it" so thats what i did and ended up doing a million band pushdowns with my average bands. I tried the JM Press with the SSB as well per Paul Childress but me being a stumpy sort of fella my ROM was around 4 inches, just not worth doing.....oh well.....DB Rows are on their 2nd week and im still digging them so they'll stay for another week or two....These DeltaPresses (which im not sure but i think i may have created the name and possibly the movement, if not someone please let me know so i dont walk around with a false sense of pride, whatever) for these suckers i just choked a couple mini bands around my feet and did a side lateral raise and when i got to the top i brought it down into a super deep shoulder press. This compounded movement got a shit load of blood flowing into the shoulder girdle and made it hard for me to take off my tank top post workout to show off my muscle's to the ladies. Very effective movement that i will implement more of......thats it for that night next up will be DE Squat against Mini's......Keep It Dark, Keep It Heavy!!!

08/14 ME Squat

SSB Box Squat 115x8, 155x5, 205x3, 245x3, 295x3, 335x3x3
Rack Pull 455x3x5
Wood Chops with Mini's 3x12
KB SL Swings (outside of legs) 33x3x10

This was a most excellent workout. The SSB kicked my ass yet again, but i did feel stronger with it. It kinda hurt to do these as my neck (and Body) was still sore from thrashing around the other night at my gig. I went nuts on stage and always pay the price the following few days....fun stuff though, the gig went extremely well and my bass was sounding like the Voice of Doom!!! Anyway, this is a powerlifting blog right? So anyway, i figure to leave in the SSB for a bit longer but will vary the box height. I will go one more week with the current height, deload for a week, then bring it up above parallel and go for another 3 week phase before going back to the straight bar. I'm hoping to see the results that i read most people get with this thing which will obviously be a bigger squat but also a bigger DL. On a side note the rack pulls were all easy until the last rep of each set, then i was gassed and my lower back would get pumped like a 5 dollar hooker. All around it was a good session and lasted a mere 50 minutes, probably the reason for the lower back pump, when i move fast like this that generally tends to happen...so that about wraps it up, nobody like to hear about abs or hamstrings when it involves girly weights.....until next time, Eat Prunes and be a regular guy!!!

08/10 ME Bench

Floor Press 135x5, 185x5, 225x3, 245x2, 285x4x3
SSB Tricep Extensions 125x4x8
Pull Ups BWx6, +10lbsx3x5
Hammer Curl to Over Head Press 45x3x10

I did not feel like dong this workout tonight but had to. I have rehearsal on Friday for a Charity gig on Saturday.....good shit man.......Anyway, onto the workout. Since i went a day early i wasnt fully healed, i believe my Floor Press suffered. I had originally wanted to go up to 290 and do triples but knew damned well at 245 this wasnt going to happen, so i went with 285 and grinded those fuckers out. These still suck and i will probably hate this movement forever....The SSB's ext's were killer again and had my triceps burning, i will do these for one more week before moving on to another exercise. This was the last week for Pull-Ups, yet another exercise i really hate doing. I think i am finding a common theme here, exercises i suck at i hate.....Hmmm.....Deep.....like a mud puddle....on to the last movement, a little gem i picked up from Charles Staley, strength coach extrordinaire....the Hammer Curl to Overhead Press, slap these onto the end of your bench workout and tell me how your shoulders feel...this will stay in for the next two sessions before moving on....poretty much thats about it, my next workout will be ME Squat with the SSB.....i wont get my hopes up too much as this will be the day after my gig and i will most likely be a bit hung over....guess we'll see....thats it for now, so from my corner of the orld to yours, Keep it Dark, Keep it Heavy.......

08/09 SE Squat

SE Box Squat 135x5, 185x5, 225x3, 275x3, 315x3, 365x5x3
SSB GMs 155x3x8
Single KB Swing Throughs 33x3x15
Foam Roller....ugh

Pretty good night, got a good sweat on. As i type this my Hamstrings are killing me from the GM's, definitely a good addition to the tool box was that SSB. The squats were alright but my groin was acting up a bit, not sure why, i dont remember tweaking it at all but whatever. That foam roller is spawn of the devil i tell you. I knew i was tight through the hips and shit, but this friggin thing kills me, i sweat as much rolling around on the floor with this thing as i did actually working out...Crazy shit man.....anyway short synopsis as this work out was done a few days ago and i dont quite remember what i was thinking then.......on to the next post.....

08/07 SE Bench & Foam Roller Review

SE Bench Press 135x5, 185x3, 225x3, 245x3, 275x3, 295x4x3
4 BD Press 345x5x5
DB Row 80x3x12
KB Upright Row 63x3x10

Another decent night, shoulder is feeling a bit better. This workout was made a bit more difficult due to the lingering DOMS caused from the SSB. The foam roller helped a bit with that though, more on that later. I worked up to 295lbs (Approx 80% of Last 1RM). Reps were fast and controlled, i was actually quite happy with how the shoulder felt and feel i am on the mend. The 4 BD Press was again nice and controlled, probably should have upped the weight a bit as this was kinda light for this movement, but there again i want my shoulder to heal properly....check the ego at the door Boob!!! DB rows have been on extended Hiatus and brought a nice change up to the workout, and KB's.....ahh whatever....Onto to the Foam Roller, this sucker is just as they bill it. I only did the thing for like 15 minutes while watching TV before i worked out, but i felt incredibly loose compared to normal. My low back tightness from the previous days endeavor went away and left me feeling quite limber, like a ballerina poised for a curtsy, or a figure skater ready to perform a triple lutz.....what the fuck was that? I think somebody hijacked my keyboard for a second, i dont watch either of those sports and no i do not approve of leotards as leisure-wear......geez.....anyway, back to reality.....this sucker is pretty cool and i am glad i bought it. I had been skeptical but read on a few boards about how well they work and so far, so good....thats it for now, and to quote the great radio personality Casey Kasem "Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching up Bra's"

ME Squat-SSB is here!!

SSB Box Squat (11"Box) 115x5, 155x5, 205x3, 245x3, 295x3, 335x3x2
Rack Pull 405x3x5
Ab Pull Down 100x3x15
Mini Leg Curls 3x20

All is what i can say is holy shit, this bar sucks!!! (in a gonna-make-u-stonger sort of way) I will liken this bar to the Floor Press, i dont like it, but i know it will get me there. I felt like my head was gonna pop off from all the pressure and as i sit here and type my neck and traps are sore as hell from pushing back. I was pretty confident i would be able to go with more weight until around 245 where it started feeling like i was gonna get decapitated. My legs could have easily handled more but my lower back and upper back werent up to snuff. This bar will most definitely deliver on its claims to strengthen your arches as the weight is constantly trying to throw you forward. If you dont arch hard with this bar your gonna end up doing a GM with poor form.....On to the rest of the workout, The rack pulls could have been heavier and i will do so next week, didnt wanna overdo it as i was unsure how my body would handle the new movement of the SSB (see end of post for post workout CNS response) By the end of those i was quite tapped and finished up with some light Ab's and Leg Curls.
So, my post workout response to this new bar was i went upstairs and passed out on the couch, i literally fell asleep on the couch from exhaustion. Pretty weird stuff that i have never had happen before. I awoke to my son, who apparently just woke up from his nap, tapping me on the head asking for apple juice. Thus i rose from my slumber and fetched the young lad a drink. The End.

08/04 ME Bench

Floor Press 275x5x3
SSB Triceps Ext 115x4x8
Pull Ups Bwx6, BW+15lbsx4x4
KB Side Swings 33x4x8

Decent day, i dont generally lift that well at 3 in the afternoon and this 80% felt more like 95% of my max on this movement. God i hate Floor Presses!!! All reps had a 2-3 sec pause at the bottom and shot up like cold molasses, did i mention i hate floor presses? The SSB Ext's were new obviously because i just got this bar yesterday and had to use it for something. Thanks to Paul Childress for this gem of an exercise... somehow the load gets placed differently than a standard bar and the guns ballooned to 18's i swear.....the fuckers hurt and the skin felt like bursting, hell the weight wasnt anything to write home to mom about, what up with that shit?......the pull up sucked as my left bicep got tweaked during preparation for lifting (i lifted a loaded bar and curled it to the rack without being warmed up, Nimrod!!!) By the time i got to KB's i was sapped, its still humid in the basement and all motivation seems to leave my body after the first two movements, but then i thought about my one true inspiration, Benji, and i perservered.....i mean really, there you have a friggin mutt of a dog saving lives when the chips were down, what more could you ask for? Fucking Lassie had a network of support, what did Benji have? a bad case of fleas and diarrhea from eating garbage, Rock On Benji!!!!

08/02 DE Squat

DE Box Squat 225x4x3 235x4x3
Rev Hyper 60x3x10
SuperSetted 30 sec's rest
SLDL 185x5x5
AB Wheel 5x5

Holy Shit is it hot up here, broke 101 degrees earlier and seems hotter now. needless to say it was a draining workout that lasted a whopping 35 minutes. I was sucking wind by the end but overall felt pretty good. Speed was good. The rev hypers kicked my arse as i havent done them in awhile. I supersetted the SLDL with the ab wheel and thought i was going to pass out by the end. I would perform the two back to back then rest 30 sec then go back to back again etc....I felt these puppies in the lungs, felt like that 350lb fat chick i had a few years ago sittin on my chest......ugh......anyway, back to reality, got to get them planes flying........

07/31 DE Bench

Speed Bench 175x4x3, 185x4x3
4 Board Press (CG) 315x8,6,8,6
BB Rows to Upper Chest 135x12, 165x10, 175x8
Supersetted
KB Upright 53x3x10
Mini Pull aparts 3x10

Almost skipped this workout, got some kind of head cold, probably from the travelling, lack of sleep, CNS is working overtime........After i got down there i felt much better. Again, DE arent much fun to write about, or probably read about for that matter so on that note i will end it...from my piece of the universe to yours, be weary of the traveller with finger extended asking if thou wouldst pull thy digit!!!!