T Nation

Journey to a State Title

Training Logs
#1

Height: 5’9"
Weight: 175 lbs

PR’s

Squat: 395 lbs @ 171.3 lbs
Bench: 225 lbs @ 171.3 lbs
Deadlift: 410 lbs @ 161.2 lbs
Hang Clean: 225 lbs @ 171.3 lbs

40 time: 4.87 seconds
Vertical: 32 inches

I do not train deadlift until a month out from competition, so that will not appear in my log.

By February 25, 2010 (my birthday and a week before two meets that are very important to me) I expect to have reached:

Squat: 450+ lbs @ 165 lbs
Bench: 275+ lbs @ 165 lbs
Deadlift: 500+ lbs @ 165 lbs
Hang Clean: 265+ lbs @ 175 lbs

By Football camp (July 27, 2009) I expect to have improved to:

40 time: 4.75 seconds and -
Vertical: 36 inches and +

I aim to improve myself in order to help my football team in the fall and my powerlifting team in the winter. I hope to win a state title in the 165 weight class, and a state championship in football.

June 18th, 2010
Now that I’ve graduated from high school, I’ve retired from football and track. I managed to set the first place squat record for my high school in the 134-166 lbs weight class at 450 lbs. I set the second place squat record for my high school in the 167-200 lbs weight class at 475 lbs.

I aim to set a few raw Nebraska AAU Teen 181 records and USAPL Teen 198 records before I finish out my teenage years and then I’ll chase some real records =)

I’m now sitting at 195 lbs with old PR’s of:
Squat: 475 lbs @ 174 lbs
Bench: 260 lbs @ 174 lbs
Deadlift: 465 lbs @ 174 lbs

Here is the video:

By the beginning of the summer, I’d like to have hit these numbers:
Squat: 525+ lbs @ 181/198 lbs
Bench: 315+ lbs @ 181/198 lbs
Deadlift: 525+ lbs 181/198 lbs

#2

Squat:
325 X 5 @ 80 %
325 X 5 @ 80 %
325 X 5 @ 80 % - This was tougher than I thought it would be, and I fell over after the last
325 X 5 @ 80 % set.

Bench:
185 X 5 @ 80 %
185 X 5 @ 80 %
185 X 5 @ 80 % - This set was really frustrating. I could not focus and I quit mentally on the
185 X 3 @ 80 % 4th rep.

1 Arm Row:
75 X 5
75 X 5
75 X 5 - Physically, these exercises were easy. However, nausea from squat was setting in and
75 X 5 I was really frustrated by my performance on bench.

Dumbbell Curl:
35 X 5
35 X 5
35 X 5 - I dropped the weight 5 lbs from last week because I hadn’t been able to lockout
35 X 5 the reps to satisfaction.

1 Leg Power Runner Jumps:
45 X 20 Left Leg
45 X 20 Right Leg - This was easy

Full Sit ups:
50 Reps - I rested a half second after the 35th and the 45th, but it was otherwise very easy.

Jump Rope X 250 Skips - I’m terrible at jump rope. I really need to practice.

This day’s workout is focused on building strength, and so the reps are lower and include two of the ‘Big Three’ lifts.

#3

Hang Clean:
190 X 5 @ 80%
190 X 5 @ 80%
190 X 5 @ 80%
190 X 5 @ 80% - They were all very easy

Smith Machine Shoulder Press (I use this as a replacement for Power Press):
140 X 5 - I got all of these, but I used to much weight so I dropped down
135 X 3 - My muscles were fatigued, and even with the lighter weight I couldn’t adjust
125 X 3
125 X 3 - Both of these sets were very frustrating, and next week I will lower the weight.

Jammer Rotation:
90 each side X 5
90 each side X 5
90 each side X 5
90 each side X 5 - Very easy

Tricep Rope Extension:
70 X 5
70 X 5
70 X 5
70 X 5 - Very easy

Power Runner Sprints:
90 X 20 Seconds
90 X 20 Seconds
90 X 20 Seconds
90 X 20 Seconds - I keep this light so that I don’t exhaust my legs for squat the next day.

Crunches:
100 Reps - I don’t like crunches

5 X 50 Meter Sprints - Easy, I beat the pack

This day’s workout is built around explosiveness, and so the poundages aren’t as high because I focus on really exploding through each rep.

#4

looks good man. what age group do you compete in?

#5

[quote]brauny96 wrote:
looks good man. what age group do you compete in?[/quote]

I still have to get my feet wet in USAPL or AAU lifting, but I would be lifting in the Teen II class this summer, and then the Teen III class next year. The NSAA (my state’s athletic committee) sanctions powerlifting, but it’s not ran by a big federation.

You’re a Teen II lifter right?

#6

no im teen 1. how come you bench and sqat the same day? just curious

#7

no im teen 1. how come you bench and sqat the same day? just curious

#8

[quote]brauny96 wrote:
no im teen 1. how come you bench and sqat the same day? just curious[/quote]

Wait, you’re just 15?

I don’t usually, but during the summer my school’s strength coach organizes the schedule into Day 1 and 3, Day 2 and 4 and Day 5 workouts. Day 1 and 3 are days when we don’t have morning practice, so we have more energy, while Day 2 and 4 are days we have morning practice so we put the lifts that we prioritize less on those days. Day 5 is Friday and we usually have guys going to football or wrestling camps around there so we just hit the less important muscles on that day. You’ll see as I progress through my log.

Personally, I hate benching and squatting on the same day. During the season and in the winter and spring and give squat it’s own day and do bench and hang clean on a separate day. But this is what the coach wants, and so I do it. I think you can tell from my log that my bench is suffering a lot from this combination.

EDIT: I just checked your profile and it said you’re 17. Isn’t it:
Teen I (14-15)
Teen II (16-17)
Teen II (18-19)
You should be Teen II I think.

#9

Squat:
330 X 5 @ 80 %
330 X 5 @ 80 %
330 X 5 @ 80 % - The first two sets were very easy, but the last two were challenging. I collapsed again
330 X 5 @ 80 % after the last set.

Bench:
185 X 5 @ 80 %
185 X 5 @ 80 %
185 X 5 @ 80 % - I pause all my reps, and I finally broke that plateau. It’s still not very good though,
185 X 5 @ 80 % because about two months ago I was repping 200 for 3 X 5.

1 Arm Row:
75 X 5
75 X 5
75 X 5
75 X 5 - I was stupid and forgot that I had done the same weight earlier that week. Onwards to 80’s.

Dumbbell Curl:
35 X 5
35 X 5
35 X 5 - These are really too easy. I’m going to have to raise the weight. I can easily do these for 10 reps,
35 X 5 so I have no business doing them for five ‘heavy’ reps.

1 Leg Power Runner Jumps:
45 X 20 Left Leg
45 X 20 Right Leg - This was easy, and I’m going to have to raise the weight.

Full Sit ups:
50 Reps - Very easy.

Jump Rope X 250 Skips - I’m improving. I got around 70 in a row!

#10

Hang Clean:
195 X 5 @ 80%
195 X 5 @ 80%
195 X 5 @ 80%
195 X 5 @ 80% - They were all very easy, but I tweaked my wrist a little.

Smith Machine Shoulder Press (I use this as a replacement for Power Press):
105 X 5 - I lowered the weight from earlier this week and it was very easy. However, my wrist
105 X 5 really bothered me throughout.
105 X 5
105 X 5

Jammer Rotation:
95 each side X 5
95 each side X 5
95 each side X 5
95 each side X 5 - Very easy

Tricep Rope Extension:
70 X 5
70 X 5
70 X 5
70 X 5 - Very easy

Power Runner Sprints:
90 X 20 Seconds
90 X 20 Seconds
90 X 20 Seconds
90 X 20 Seconds - I keep this light so that I don’t exhaust my legs for squat the next day.

Crunches:
100 Reps - I did them in two sets of 50.

5 X 50 Meter Sprints - Easy, I beat the pack

I hope my wrist gets better by bench day. I’m icing it.

#11

Upright Row:
75 X 10 - I was only supposed to do three sets, and so I wasted my time doing the last one.
75 X 10
75 X 10
75 X 6

Two-Way Shoulders (Front and Lateral Raises):
15’s X 10
15’s X 10
15’s X 10 - The weight is light because my medial delts are really weak, so I’m concentrating on my form.

Running Curls:
15’s X 1 minute
15’s X 1 minute
15’s X 1 minute - This is an endurance exercise

Standing Calf Raises:
100 X 10
100 X 10
100 X 10 - I go really slow and hold the squeeze at the top.

Leg Extensions:
80 X 10
80 X 10
80 X 10 - Too easy.

1 Minute Sit-up Test:
I got 59, which was a 9 sit-up improvement from last week. I need to work on my speed, because I’m not tired at the end of it.

Jump Rope X 250 Skips

I call this day “Beach Muscle Friday”. We work a lot of the beach muscles and I get a nice pump, but I don’t really feel as if I’ve worked hard. My school’s strength coach keeps the lifts of lower priority on this day because we often have athletes going to camps over the weekend, so we let them leave after a lighter day of work.

#12

Squat:
335 X 5 @ 80 %
335 X 5 @ 80 %
335 X 5 @ 80 % - I think this was mental. I asked for a spot, and so I didn’t have to push myself. Anyways,
335 X 2 @ 80 % 20 lbs in two weeks is good gains.

Bench:
190 X 5 @ 80 %
190 X 5 @ 80 %
190 X 5 @ 80 %
190 X 5 @ 80 % - The last rep was a grinder, but I got it. I’m still pausing.

1 Arm Row:
80 X 5
80 X 5
80 X 5 - I choked up on the grip like Dave Tate recommends and I felt it a lot more in my upper back. I did
80 X 5 feel a slight tug in my groin on the first set, so I’m going to monitor that.

Dumbbell Curl:
40 X 5
40 X 5
40 X 5
40 X 5 - These were pretty easy, but the top portion of each rep is a strain.

1 Leg Power Runner Jumps:
45 X 20 Left Leg
45 X 20 Right Leg - Easy. I didn’t think of raising the weight.

Full Sit ups:
50 Reps

Hops (Low Hurdles):
2X Both legs
2X Right Leg
2X Left Leg
2X Sideways - I am uncoordinated on one leg.

#13

Hang Clean:
200 X 5 @ 80%
200 X 5 @ 80%
200 X 5 @ 80%
200 X 3 @ 80% - They were easy, but my right wrist was not letting me catch the reps.

Smith Machine Shoulder Press (I use this as a replacement for Power Press):
110 X 5
110 X 5
110 X 5
110 X 5

Jammer Rotation:
100 each side X 5
100 each side X 5
100 each side X 5
100 each side X 5 - Getting tougher.

Tricep Rope Extension:
75 X 5
75 X 5
75 X 5
75 X 5 - I just put a 5 lb dumbbell on top of the stack.

Power Runner Sprints:
90 X 20 Seconds
90 X 20 Seconds
90 X 20 Seconds
90 X 20 Seconds - This seemed tough today.

Crunches:
100 Reps

4 X 100 M Sprints - I dogged these.

My wrist is really becoming a problem. It’s supposedly ‘calcification of the tendon’. It really hurts when I catch my cleans.

#14

Squat:
335 X 5 @ 80 %
335 X 5 @ 80 %
335 X 5 @ 80 %
335 X 5 @ 80 % - This felt fairly easy. I don’t know what it is, maybe I’m just a very mental lifter.

Bench:
195 X 5 @ 80 %
195 X 5 @ 80 % - These two sets my wrist was hurting a whole lot.
195 X 3 @ 80 %
195 X 1 @ 80 % - These sets my wrist felt fine, but my muscles gave out. Very disappointing.

1 Arm Low Row:
85 X 5
85 X 5
85 X 5 - My school’s weightroom’s dumbbells move from 80 lbs to 90 lbs, so I switched to the low row. It felt
85 X 5 easy.

Dumbbell Curl:
40 X 5
40 X 5
40 X 5 - My left arm which is usually really weak compared to my right was stronger because my wrist couldn’t
40 X 5 support the weight. I was swinging my right arm a little.

1 Leg Power Runner Jumps:
50 X 20 Left Leg
50 X 20 Right Leg

Full Sit ups:
50 Reps

Hops (Low Hurdles):
2X Both legs
2X Right Leg
2X Left Leg
2X Sideways - These are all easy. It’ s a lot simpler when you don’t have freshmen messing up the hurdles.

My wrist is killing me. I’m icing but I’m going to have to take hang cleans out of my routine for the short term. It’s looking like high pulls are going to replace them. Does anyone have any recommendations for poundage I should use for the pulls?

#15

the teen 1 class im thinking of is 16-17.

#16

yeah now that i look at it, teen 2 is 16-17 for usapl and teen 1 is 14-15, my bad. are you starting stuff for football season yet? here in MI were going over plays and going 50% without pads, but were also doing conditioning, because we takeno breaks

#17

Yeah, we’ve been doing play review sessions at 7 on Tuesdays and Thursdays and we’re doing 7 on 7’s on Fridays. We just do speed work and leave conditioning for camp and twoadays.

#18

thats cool. what posititon?

#19

High Pulls:
135 X 5 @ 80%
185 X 5 @ 80%
185 X 5 @ 80% - I switched to high pulls because I couldn’t catch properly. I kept the weight low but focused
185 X 5 @ 80% on pulling as high as possible.

Smith Machine Shoulder Press (I use this as a replacement for Power Press):
115 X 5
115 X 5
115 X 5
115 X 5

Jammer Rotation:
97.5 each side X 5
97.5 each side X 5
97.5 each side X 5
97.5 each side X 5 - Very dumb of me. I thought I’d done 95 the previous session. It was easy.

Tricep Extension (Straight Bar):
80 X 5
80 X 5
80 X 5
80 X 5 - This felt good. It hurt my wrist more than the rope did though.

Power Runner Sprints:
90 X 20 Seconds
90 X 20 Seconds
90 X 20 Seconds
90 X 20 Seconds

Crunches:
100 Reps

We did a lot of routes during morning practice, and we had 7 on 7 after.

My wrist felt a little better. It was incredibly aggravating to be doing high pulls when everyone else was doing cleans. I really can’t wait to get back into it.

#20

[quote]brauny96 wrote:
thats cool. what posititon?[/quote]

I’m a receiver/corner. I’ll play more at corner. What about you?