Chasing Records

Training Logs
341

60 inch box jump

Tapering my lifting volume for my meet in 2 weeks so I fooled around with a few more jumps on my off day. I ended up doing a 46" standing jump easily. Could’ve done 48 or even 50 possibly. I did 52" with a power step easily. And I did 60" with 2 steps by the skin of my teeth. I think I am going to include box jumps in my training cycle leading up to the next meet as they seem to keep me springy and explosive. Most likely I will mostly just do them from a standstill though during that time. Deadlifts tonight. Last session before the comp.

Standing box jump- 32" x 3, 36" x 3, 38" x 2, 40" x 2, 42" x 2, 44" x 2, 46" x 1
1 step- 48" x 2, 50" x 2, 52" x 2
2 steps- 54" x 2, 56" x 2, 58" x 2, 60" x 1

Done.

342

Welpppp, I’ll start off by saying I accomplished what I set out to do, so that’s a good thing. However, what should have been a cakewalk came down to me taking a single hero deadlift attempt to hit my qualifying total. It was not a good day by any stretch of the imagination and that was not a position I wanted to be in. But with minimal time to prepare I got it done. I needed 1235 to qualify for the XPC Finals at the Arnold and I totalled 1235.

Squats were ok but a little disappointing. I opened with 450 easily. I took 475 on my 2nd attempt which I misgrooved and almost fell over with at the sticking point. The only reason the bar slowed down was because I was out of position and regaining my balance. I thought I hit depth by how it felt but they called it high so oh well. I could have gone up to 485 probably, but after getting reds I was a little deflated. Regardless I retook 475 for my 3rd, sunk it, and grinded it out.

My bench tanked in the last month sadly. All I really wanted to do was hit 250 but I should have locked 260 out so that’s sad lol.

Here’s the biggest disappointment of all for me and the lift that really almost fucked me. 3 weeks ago I tripled 505 and the 3rd rep of that set was easier than the single rep I did with 510 at the comp. I didn’t factor in that I would be changing timezones while traveling to this competition and I think it really ended up wearing on me while I was there. I just became progressively more tired and felt like a wreck the morning of the competition and I think this took its biggest toll on my deadlift. I really wanted to make my 550 pull competition legit here so this was disappointing for me.

Anyway, 1235 total. Good enough to qualify, I’m just waiting to hear back. If I don’t get in I’ll probably do a different comp. during that time period (first week of March). I’m also slated to compete at Raw Unity this year on January 31 in Florida so that should be fun! I’m looking to start hitting some big lifts now that my numbers are back up and I can actually start training again instead of just playing catch up.

343

RUM Training: Deadlift 410lbs x 3x8 @ 155

Just started my new training cycle for RUM. The plan is to to upper body/bench 3x a week, squat twice a week, and deadlift once. My first squat session was Wednesday and holyyyy shit my legs are so sore I don’t know how i managed to deadlift last night. Squats from Wed. were 365lbs x 6,6,6,6.

Deadlifts went…
135 x 5
225 x 5
315 x 3
385 x 2
410 x 8,8,8

Hyperextension- 30,30,20,20
Single leg squat to bench- 10,10,10

Done. Bench today.

344

https://www.instagram.com/p/_k69jVuTmY/?taken-by=ape288

I got in some heavy squats yesterday. This is the first time I’ve squatted heavy without wraps in 15 months. I only started using the wraps as a way to be able to train through my torn labrum (I’m stupid) and it is becoming increasingly more clear to me that I suck at them. I hit 455 last night in sleeves even though the movement itself felt so awkward. For reference, I only hit 475 with wraps at my competition 10 days ago.

And I honestly believe I was strong enough to hit 475 last night in sleeves. 430 moved like air and the only reason 455 slowed down at all is because I shot backwards out of the hole and almost fell on my ass. The “sticking point” is just me regaining my balance. Once I get used to squatting in sleeves again I should be good for much more than this.

Squat- bar x 10
135 x 5
225 x 3
275 x 2
325 x 1
375 x 1
405 x 1
430 x 1
455 x 1
395 x 2
395 x 2

Glute bridges and shittt.

Done.

345

500lbs Squat @ 160

Haven’t posted in a bit, but I’ve still been training. Currently preparing for Raw Unity and have ditched the knee wraps for my squats. I seem to be much better without them. I managed to hit 500 on Tuesday (barely). I actually smoked 485 right before it and probably should have been able to do 500 fairly easily but I guess I got nervous and just completely misgrooved it and left it a little high. I was so out of position I should have just let it go but I bet my sister $50 I would hit 500 in that session so I grinded it out lol.

Squat- 135x8, 225x5, 275x3, 325x2, 375x1, 415x1, 455x1, 485x1, 500x1

Was planning on hittng some doubles but the 500 grinder gassed me so I stopped there.

Leg press- left leg only- 180lbs x 10,10,10
Both legs- 360lbs x 10, 450lbs x 10, 540lbs x 15

GHR- 10,10,10

Done.

346

480lbs x 2 Squat and 285lbs Bench Press

Got in some squats on Friday and a bunch of benching since then. I’ve been trying to squat twice a week but mannn, without the wraps it’s really stressing my hip and I’m having to seriously limit my volume. It sucks. I fee like I could be making great progress if I could just let the reigns go, but that doesn’t seem to be an option anymore. Oh well. I’ve been crushing it with volume on my bench press and it’s starting to move in the right direction finally. Also, looking pretty jacked which is always a good sign.

1/8/16
Squat- 135x8, 225x5, 275x3, 325x2, 375, 415, 455, 480x2 (wanted a triple but that was a no go), 455x3 - was planning to do another set after this but the hip had had enough.

Single-leg leg press- 180lbs x 10,10,10
Step up- 95lbs x 10,10,10

1/9/16
Bench- 255 x 3,3,3,3,3,3,3,3 (24 reps)
Press- 135x10, 145x5, 155x5, 160x5
Row- 200x25, 215x20, 230x15, 245x10

1/11/16
Bench- 225, 245, 265, 275, 285
240 x 8,8,7,6,5,5 (39 total reps)

Incline press- 185lbs x 8,7,6,5,5 (31 reps)
Row- 200 x 20,20,15,15,15,15 (100 reps)

Huuuuge pump.

347

Squat 430lbs x 6 @ 160

Got in some decent squats yesterday. My hip was bothering me a little bit which slowed me down, but the sets were still pretty easy. Seems like there’s more there. I stopped after 2 sets and did some assistance stuff. I’m going to hit the stationary bike this week and take things easy and let the hip heal so that I can go for 450x5 next week, which would be a 5 rep PR.

Squat- 430lbs x 6,6
Walking lunge(50’s)- 5,5,5,5 (each leg)
Leg ext- 200lbs x 10,10,10
Left leg only- 95lbs x 10,10
Leg curl- 170lbs x 10,10,10

Done.

348

Squat 455lbs x 5 @ 160

Pretty good squats yesterday. Managed to hit a new 5rm without wraps @ 455lbs, then did one back off set of 5 reps with 430 pretty easily. I almost fell on my ass on the first rep with 455 due to a technique error, but I managed to catch myself, re-group, and crank out 4 more reps for the PR.

After that I moved on to a couple new things that I’m going to keep around for this training cycle: front squat iso holds and heavy abdominal work. I’ve never done abdominal work before so I’m going to stick it in 3 times a week for the final 6 weeks of this training cycle and see if it proves itself useful at all or not. I’m also going to be doing isometric front squat holds twice a week for the remainder of the training cycle. I think these have real promise. I was looking for a way to tax my upper back without aggravating my hip. Yesterday I did 4 “sets” of 30 second holds with 405lbs. It’s unbelievable how deceptively difficult it is to just maintain posture while supporting a heavy weight on the front of your shoulders and having to inhale/exhale constantly. My back is torched today. I think these will be quite beneficial.

Squat- bar x 10, 135x8, 225x5, 275x3, 325x2, 375x1, 415x1, 440x1, 455x5, 430x5

Iso front squat hold- 405lbs x 30,30,30,30
Weighted situp- 25lbs x 10,10,10,10

Remedial work for the hip.

Done.

349

Deadlift 540lbs @ 160 (3.3x BW)

So I had to abandon RUM. I really wanted to do it because it’s RUM but I just didn’t have enough time to prepare. Instead I’ve signed up for a USPA meet on March 5. I’m hoping to hit a big total there and then I will probably take some time off from squatting for a while and accomplish some other goals of mine that I have had in mind for a long time in more explosive endeavors . So anyway, that leaves me about 6 weeks out with 5 more deadlift sessions (not counting last night) until this upcoming competition. My plan with these is just to leave the volume out. We’re going max effort. I’ll work up to a heavy single and then stop deadlifting and fill in the volume with other exercises. Last night’s session went…

Warm up - extensive (stationary bike, stretching, band stuff, cable stuff, blah blah)
Deadlift- 135x10, 225x5, 315x3, 365x3, 415x2, 455x1, 495x1, 540x1 (tough, but solid)
Isometric front squat hold(455lbs)- 30 seconds, 5 times (brutal)
Accentuated eccentric leg press (left leg only)- 180lbs x 10, 230lbs x 10, 280lbs x 10 (easy, will go higher next week)
Leg press (both legs)- 630lbs x 10, 10, 15 (jelly legsss)
Cable “donkey kick” - 80lbs x 10, 90lbs x 10, 100lbs x 10

My theory is that the heavy deadlifting will make me a good deadlifter, and the heavy upper back work and quad work will build strength in the applicable muscles. Hopefully it pans out!

350

Bench 255 x 5x5

New video is up. I’ve been slacking lately, but I wanted to make a quick vid about those front squat iso holds I’ve started doing. I really like them so far.

Anyway, I’ve been killing the last few weeks. Volume out the ass. Crazy pumps. Getting jacked as fuck.

Bench - 225, 245, 265, 285 (smooth)
255 x 5,5,5,5,5
Incline - 195 x 8,7,7,6,6,6
Row - 200x20, 215x15, 230x15, 245x10,10,10

Squats today.

351

Deadlift 550lbs @ 160 (3.4x BW)

Well my theory is working so far, lol. I managed to pull 550 on Saturday, 10 more pounds than last week. Just 4 more deadlift sessions remain until my first USPA comp in March. I’m liking this low volume/high intensity approach to the main lifts so far. I also crushed my assistance work after deads. Put in lots and lots of quality work.

Deads- 135x10, 225x5, 315x3, 365x1, 415x1, 465x1, 515x1, 550x1

Leg press(left leg only)- 180x15, 270x13, 340x12 (not too shabby, moving 340lbs 12 times with my weak leg)
Leg press (both legs)- 680lbs x 15,13,12
Isometric front squat hold- 495lbs x 30 secs, 545lbs x 20,20,30
Single leg glute bridge (bw + 35lbs)- 10,10,10,10

Done.

352

Bench + pullups & a new vid

Bench has climbed a little bit as of late. I’ve been crushing the volume for a few weeks now, gradually increasing the intensity. I really want to hit 3 fucking wheels finally. New video is up on my channel as well. It’s ll about my take on the squat depth issue in powerlifting :slight_smile: give it a watch and let me know if you agree or disagree.

Deads tomorrow. Super excited.

Bench- 225x3, 245x3, 265x3, 245 x 6,6,6,6,6
Close grip bench- 205 x 6,6,6,6,6
Pullup- (bw+45)- 6, (55)-6, (65)-6, (75)-5, (85)-4, (90)-3, (45)-10
Face pull- 3 sets of 20 real quick

Done.

353

On Tuesday I managed to work up to 495 pretty easily in the squat. My unwrapped PR is still 500. I anticipate beating that shortly. After regular squatting I did some pin squats from the sticking point. Wednesday I cranked out a bunch of volume on the bench with 230 and then Thursday I went in the gym and worked up to 475 on the squat, followed by a few remedial exercises. Tonight I’m going to hit some heavy benching and then tomorrow is deadlifts!

Tues: Squat- 135x8, 225x5, 275x3, 325x2, 375x1, 425x1, 465x1, 495x1
Pin squat- 315x5, 365x5, 365x5, 385x5, 405x5 (my quads are still sore as fuuuck from this)
Hamstring cable kickback- 90x10, 100x10, 110x10
Single leg glute bridge(bw + 50)- 10,10,10,10,10

Wed: Bench- 230 x 8,8,8,7,7,6,6 (50 reps total)
1-arm face pull- 100x10, 110x10, 120x10, 130x10, 120x10, 11x10

Thurs: Squat- 135x5, 225x3, 275x2, 325x1, 375x1, 425x1, 475x1
Hamstring cable kickback- 80x10, 90x10, 100x10
Single leg glute bridge(bw + 50)- 10,10,10,10,10

354

First ever 300lbs bench press!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BB1CzBduTug/?taken-by=ape288

Grindeddddd out my first ever 300lbs bench press with an ugly ass 305 single last night. I wasn’t planning to work up to a max single but after hitting a solid PR triple at 275 and then a solid double at 285, I knew I could crack the 3 hundo barrier.

Bench- 225x3, 245x3, 265x3, 275x3, 285x2, 295x1 (smooth - knew I could take 300 and hit it solidly OR jump to 305 and try to grind it out…obviously I chose 305)
(260)- 5,5,5,4,4,4
Close grip(225)- 5,5,5,5,5

Row- 200x15, 215x15, 230x15, 245x15
Face pull (one arm)- 120 x 10,10,10,10

Done.

355

505lbs Squat @ 160

Followed up Monday’s bench PR with a small squat PR last night, hit a decent but grindy 505, which is a 5lbs PR without wraps. My body felt beat to shit yesterday though so I’m hoping there will be more there once I get healed up a little bit. Will do more benching today.

Squat- 135x5, 225x3, 275x3, 325x2, 375x1, 425x1, 475x1, 505x1
Pin squat from sticking point- 315x5, 365x5, 405x5, 425x5
Hamstring cable kickback- 100x10, 110x10, 120x10, 130x10
Single leg glute bridge- 50 x 10,10,10,10

Done.

356

Wow. Amazing squat number!!!

Got that bench to move !! Do you a credit any one thing to figuring out blasting through that plateau?

I could see just making big runs at your dead n squat helping just by getting massively strong on those… and getting some carry over…

357

A couple things I’d say. For starters, I put a little bit of weight back on after losing a bit more than I should have before that last competition. That really affected my bench.

Also, I’ve put in a shitload of volume this training cycle on different pressing variations. I’ve been benching 3 times a week, using my competition bench as a main lift for 2 of the sessions and close grip bench as a main lift for the 3rd session. Each session has also been accompanied by another pressing movement as assistance work, this has been either incline bench press, bench press with no leg drive, or overhead press.

I’ve been averaging 150-200 pressing repetitions per week for the last 10 weeks. Looking at my training log, I did 165 total reps last week over 3 sessions. Total tonnage was 39,510lbs, and average weight lifted was 240lbs. Compare that to week 1 of the cycle where I did 223 repetitions with a total tonnage of 41,000lbs and an average weight of 184lbs. So I have managed to keep the tonnage relatively equal while drastically increasing the average weight lifted over these last 10 weeks.

So other than body weight gain, I’d say high volume, progressive intensity, and sufficient variety have been responsible for the increase.

358

Bench volume + new video

Did a whole bunch of volume on the bench yesterday with about 80% of my new max (240lbs). I was able to get 9 reps on the first set which isn’t too shabby. Got in 51 reps total before moving on to the incline press. I paired these with rows and face pulls.

New video is up on my channel as well. I realized that for all the tutorials and whatnot that I’ve made, I’ve never really discussed how I approach programming, so that is what I’m going to jump into next. This first video in the series covers programming for beginner lifters. Let me know what you think!

Bench- 240 x 9,8,8,7,7,6,6 (51 total)
Row- 215 x 20,20,20,20
Incline press- 195 x 6,6,6,6,5 (29 total)
Face pull- lots of reps

Super pump.

359

510lbs Squat @ 160

Tacked another 5lbs onto my best unwrapped squat last night. I wanted to go for more but my body has just been so beat up these last few weeks during meet prep that my warm ups felt terrible. I took 475 before this and descended into it like a grandma which made it way harder than it needed to be or should have been, so I figured it would not be prudent to go for 515 or 520…yet. Anyway, I’ve got 2 more squat sessions until my meet and then I’ll have 4 full days to recover.

Squat- 135x5, 225x3, 275x2, 325x1, 375x1, 425x1, 475x1, 510x1 (PR+5lbs)
GHR- 5,5,5,5,5,5
Single-leg glute bridge (bw + 60)- 10,10,10,10,10

360

300lbs Bench for a clean single

Hit 300 again on the bench press the other day while ramping up through my pyramid. This was a clean, solid lift. I also hit 280 for a triple on the way up (5lbs PR), and 290 for a double as well (also a 5lbs PR). On the way down I hit a couple more triples with 280 and 275. Strong bench day for me. I really want to hit 320 for that double body weight bench.

Bench- 225x3, 245x3, 265x3, 280x3 (PR+5), 290x2 (PR+5), 300x1
280x3, 280x3, 275x3, 275x3

Bench (no leg drive)- 245 x 5,5,5,5,5,5 (30 reps)
Face pull- 130x15, 140x15, 150x15, 160x15, 170x15

Done.