Wednesday, June 28, 2006

06/27 DE Bench

Speed Bench w/Bands & Chains 145x4x3, 155x4x3
4 BD Press 315x3, 365x5x4
One Arm Cable Rows 50x4x12 (No Rest Between sets)
Rear Delt Raise 20x3x15

Yet another hot day in the basement, but it went well so i cant complain. Like Jon said at least i dont have to worry too much about warming up.
This was the last week of Speed Work with chains or bands, its straight weight from here on out which should allow for complete healing and recuperation between now and meet time. Next Week i will take my opener and figure out where i am at, tentatively i am planning on opening with 330, again this will be dependant on next week, two weeks ago this weight seemed really easy and im hoping with the form work (feet out in front of me more) will help, it seems to be. For a while there i was getting caught up in trying to get them as far back under me as possible and it was compromising any leg drive i did acquire. As i remember back when i started making alot of progress on bench i was doing it more like i am now, i had to revisit a few articles to reinforce this for me.
I was just thinking today that time is flying and didnt quite realize i am this close to the meet. Am pretty excited to get it over with, though i wished i could have done a full power meet this time around i will have to wait until november, though i think i may have read on John Macdonalds blog that there is an APA Full Power Meet in CT somewhere in september which i may hit instead of the one in November. Given my new situation with expecting a 2nd child i think that time frame may work better but we shall see......anyway, thats it from here, didnt talk too much about the actual session but there's a reason for that, it just wasnt all that exciting.....well take it easy.....l8r

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

SE Squats/DL's

Free Squat 135x5, 185x5, 225x3, 275x2, 315x1, 365x1, 405x4x2
Speed DL 290x8x1
KB Swing-Thru 73x3x10
Ab Pull Down 100x3x12

Tonight was supposed to be a ME Squat Movement but given my recent history i took it easy and did more of a SE type workout just to be safe. The squats felt nice, still lacking pop out of the hole but that will come back. The Speed DL's felt alright, nothing too big top report there, just worked the form with what explosiveness i have left. Not much else to report other than it was humid as hell and i must have lost abot 5 lbs of water weight, this weather friggin sucks.....On to DE Bench.....l8r

Monday, June 26, 2006

06/23 ME Bench

2 BD Press 185x5, 225x3, 280x2, 315x1, 340x1, 385x1PR 350x2x2
Rope Pushdowns 70x4x8
Lat Pulldowns 130x3x8
KB Armbars 43x2x3 (15 sec holds)

Took it easy today given all the recenet issues with my shoulder and shit, was actually thinking of going for another PR but held back (actuallyy listened to myself for once) The good thing is my shoulder didnt hurt at all after the 2 BD, granted most of the pain before was when doing a front raise type of motion. I rediscovered why i hate Rope Pushdowns, they hurt!! but in a good way. The pulldowns were alright, the loading probably should have been higher but what can you do, and the Armbars are bitches now that i know how to do them correctly. The holding is the key on these, before i wouldnt hold them wuite long enough and i made it mostly a delt movement which is opening a way for injury to creep in, once you get the form on these down they are a great movement for the shoulder and supposedly great for recuperative purposes as well, maybe thats why the pain has been subsiding....who knows....thats it for now, tonight i got ME Squat as i was feeling sick yesterday (Sunday), kept getting hot and cold flashes all day long and spent the day on the couch, feeling better today so we'll see, i may squat into chains today not sure.....well thats it for now.....l8r

Thursday, June 22, 2006

06/21 SE Squat

11" Box Squat (Form Work) 135x5, 185x3, 225x3, 275x3, 315x3, 365x3
Free Squat (Form Work) 365xbunch of singles, lost count, then finished with 315x3x3
Rev Hyper 50x4x8
Ab Crap
Leg Curls

Decided at the last second to do some form work and see how the groin-a-roo felt in the hole. Very similar to the DL where i have apparently lost alot of pop out of there, this shit sucks!!! Pretty boring workout really then again form work usually is, its always the same, stay tight, keep arched, elbows forward, etc...so on that note, adios amigos................

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

06/19 DE Bench

Speed Bench w/Bands & Chains 145x8x3
4 Board Press 315x5, 365x3x5
KB Rows w/Mini's 73x3x8
KB Front Swing 33x3x12

Shoulder felt much better tonight. I skipped my ME Bench from the other day to rest up a bit and did some pathetic pulling on Sunday that is not worth mentioning other than this, my attempts at the meet will be below what i was expecting, probably less than what i started the training cycle with. No big whoop, will just make it easier to beat the numbers next time around. The 4 Board Press i took it a bit easy as i did not want to aggravate my shoulder, good news, i didnt....KB Rows against mini's were kinda cool will leave them in for another 2 weeks and the front swings felt good as well, i went lighter with more reps for a more recuperative effect....thats it for now, next up is DE Squat, til then....keep it dark, keep it heavy...........

Friday, June 16, 2006

06/15 DE Squat

Box Squat w/Bands & Chains 215x4x2, 230x4x2
Seated GM's 135x8, 185x8, 225x3x8
Lying Band Leg Curls Avgx3x10
AB Pull Downs 90x3x15

Good Night, not too exhaustive but definitely sweat inducing. The Seated GM's i will keep in for the next two weeks as i felt these will help to strengthen the lower back in the absence of DE Day pulling. those Leg Curls still kicked my ass and will stay in the mix for another 2 weeks as they seem to hit the posterior much different than any other Hamstring exercise i have been doing, i will try to post a video of how i am doing these to give you guys an idea. Thats it for now, i got ME Bench tonight but will probably take it easy as my right shoulder is still achy, at this point im not sure if i slept on it weird or if it is just the lingering wipeout pain.....we'll see tonight............l8r

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

06/13 DE Bench & Shirt Work

DE Bench 185x8x3
Shirted (Opener Work) 330x3x1 365x1
3 Board Press 365x2x2, 365x2x3
Pull Up 4x6
KB Read Delt Swing 33x3x8

Decided to put the shirt on since the last time it was a total disaster. The 330 was very easy and the technique felt good. I went with a flat footed position per Marc Bartley and concentrated on pushing myself up the bench, seemed to work well and i didnt have to irritate the groin with a wider stance. The 365 went up but my arse did to, gotta fix this soon. Im kinda pissed as the last time i did a Raw bench i got 355 and i sort of struggled with 365 shirted? ugh, i gotta learn this shit or just lift Raw.........

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

06/12 ME Squat-I Guess....

Squats into Chains w/Pause 135x5, 185x5, 225x3, 275x3, 315x3, 365x3, 405x3, 455x3, 500x2
Bottom Position Squats 405x3x1
Rack Pulls (below Knees) 405x4x5

This workout was made up on the fly, i had been meaning to try out these Squats into chains where you basically perform a normal squat but at the bottom postion,the bar rests in the chains. You do a quick pause then shoot up. The whole idea is to perform a regular free squat and help build strength out of the hole, similar to a box squat. These were definitely killers, i had the chains set about 1" above parallel although they felt closer to parallel. After the 500 i got the bright idea to try Bottom Position squats which as i found out were alot harder with no momentum or normal set-up involved. I will come back to this movement in two weeks and beat these numbers. After the Rack Pulls i was wiped and decided to call it, i have a busy couple of days coming up so i dont want to wipe my CNS too badly. The good news was the only nagging area of my body was the Groin Pull, the bruise on my hip has fully come out and is almost gone, talk about ugly.....now the groin just has a slight twinge when i move certain ways......well, this is your gracious host signing off leaving you with this little thing to ponder......Is it a Fin-Less Brown Trout or just a Brown eel?

Saturday, June 10, 2006

06/10 Accessory/Recovery Crap for shoulder

KB Arm Bars 38x4x6
Mini Band Fly's 3x15

I spoke with the one and only Marc Bartley on the phone the other day and finally figured out how to do KB Armbars correctly, pretty cool that a world class PL'er will take the time out of his day to converse with some boob from New Hampshire. I was engaging my Lat improperly which is why i always felt these in the delts only. This movement is good for shoulder health and given my recent ailment i figured what better time to incorporate them. With the lat engaged i definitely feel it deeper in the girdle as opposed to before, good stuff. Over the next couple of weeks i will be doing sessions like these with rotator movements and the normal rehabilitory crap they teach you in all these courses, common sense really but boring as all hell.........thats it for now, keep it dark, keep it heavy......unlike today!!!

06/09 ME Bench

Band Assisted Bench 205x5, 240x3, 275x2, 315x1, 365x1, 405x6x1
Seated BB Tricep Ext w/Chains 85x6x6
Seated Rows 190x4x8

Well i came to a conclusion, i will no longer try to keep track of PR's on the Band Assisted Bench as i figured out today it is almost impossible to get the bands set the same each time. This night i had around 85 lbs of assistance where as in the past i had around 100 lbs of assistance. I could waste my time and try to get it the same each time but it will always sit in the back of my head. I am going to continue to use these as ME Movement for the poundage being handled thru the range of motion, but to try and break PR's i think i would be chasing my tail. That being said the 405 felt pretty good, i really concentrated on keeping my ass down as last week when i did shirted crap my ass kept coming off the bench. I had to frig around with my technique due to a groin/hip/shoulder injury i suffered on vacation while fishing on a Jetty in Newburyport. At least i caught some decent stripers though.
Caution Flashback moment coming up

The tide just went out and me and my buddy decided we had to "get out there", well about 50 feet into the rocks i took a spill on and jacked up my hip and right shoulder on the rocks. The fucking Barnacles sliced up my left calf and forearm as i broke my fall, not like i had much choice on how to do this. But being the true fisherman that i am i got up and successfully finished the trip out to the end for the big ones. On the way back my buddy bit it as well (No Blood though, Pussy) so all was well in the universe......Now back to reality......

This was not good as now i have slight discomfort in my shoulder and when i go to push off walking my left hip/groin area hurts. The shit part is that i dont really get hurt lifting, its usually in the extracurricular activtities that i do i.e fishing, drunken stumbling, etc.....but you gotta live life right? Anyway, now vacation is over i am back to bass fishing from a canoe which is much safer....All that being said, when i went to set up on the bench i couldnt get my feet as wide as i would have liked so my leg drive was compromised, not good since i have been working the leg drive into this movement more so over the last couple of months. Well anyways, onto the next two movements, the Ext's w/Chains seem to be a nice addition to my arsenal as these really hit the shoulders for balancing as well as overloading the triceps at the top of the strength curve. i set the chains so they dont touch the ground which incorporates balancing musculature and shit like that. The seated rows were nice and i decided to add an extra set to what i had planned. I didnt do any direct shoulder work due the previous crap i just typed, so if you skipped over the middle part of this long ass post then go back......long winded as it was that is what is going on in my universe, and thats the straight poop!!!......on a side note, just took the family out to see the Pixar movie "Cars", heres a bit of advice, if you or your kid dont have the best attention span in the world then this will make a good renter, almost 2 hrs long and it probably wont hold their attention that long, i know it didnt mine, thank god for the M.I.L.F's in attendance!!!.........thats it from my world, Enjoy!!!!

Friday, June 09, 2006

06/07 DE Squat

DE Box Squat w/Chains and Bands 215x4x2 225x4x2
Speed DL's 365x21x1
Rev Hyper 50x3x10
Ab Wheel 3x10
Avg Leg Curls lying down 5x5

The Speed Squats felt really good and fast, the Rev Hyper has definitely paid off in the lower back department. I have also been doing some stretching from my Pavel video for Powerlifters which has been helping with the hip tightness and groin pull. The speed DL's were explosive as well, minor pain after each rep but hopefully that will all go away. The lying leg curls i made up, i hooked the Avg bands to the top of my Power rack and perform leg curls while lying on the ground, different but damned did they hurt my Hamstrings......thats about it, i got a ME Bench Post to make but am too damned lazy at the moment and i have to go get my fishing gear in order as i got some big fat bass calling my name in the morning...l8r

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

06/06 DE Bench

DE Bench w/Chains 185x8x3
3 Board Press 345x5x3
Pull-Ups 4x6
KB Hanging Snatch 38x3x8

Speed bench went well, the 3 Board could have been better but my triceps were still beat from a new movement i did last week on ME day, Seated Triceps Extension's w/Chains. Last week i got 365 on 3 board for 5x3 so i was a little disappointed. No Big whoop as it was only done as an accessory movement. Pull-ups as always were a bitch towards the end and the KB Snatches had me huffing and puffing as well, my traps felt pumped after these and the shoulders were fried as well, good times, good times.....well thats it for now. Nothing too major on the vacation, just too much drinking, not enough fishing, and tons of shitty food, still stayed at 204 with lowered BF so all is good in the world. Upper back bigger, waistline smaller make Chris a happy camper!!! But arent you a powerlifter?