el67ko tries to not stink at lifting heavy stuff

[el67ko]

Hey everyone, my name is Chris, I have been logging here since August but things are a 'changin so I decided to start a new log. Plus there was stuff in my last title that was misspelled and it was really bugging me. My last one had a few followers, so hopefully everyone can find their way over to this one.

Been training for about 7ish months for semi pro football using WS4SB 3. Unfortunately some things with work and the team fell through so that is no longer possible. Soooo I registered for the first available powerlifting contest and will compete for the first time on March 27th 2010.

Backstory is boring..I'll keep it brief. Started training about 2 years ago at a flabby 260ish, got down to about 190, got bored. Decided to play semi pro football, played a few games last year but now that is done. If I didn't have a competition style goal I would prolly sit around and eat bon bons all day, so now I am throwing my hat in the powerlifting ring. Been training a powerliftish style for about 7 months.

Current set up is Westside:

Tuesday: DE Bench/RE Upper
Wednesday: ME Lower
Friday: ME Upper
Saturday: DE Lower

Current maxes:
Bench: 335
Squat: 355
Dead: 405

Anyone who gets lost and finds their way into the log feel free to offer advice, criticism, tell me I suck etc...

[el67ko]

Been down in Columbus Ohio for a week for law enforcement supervisor school so I was computerless. The week sucked pretty hard in general, but actually got some good workouts in. Except I had to lift at an Urban Fitness which was this huge commercial style fitness center. The amount of d-bags in those places makes my head hurt. Anyhow, this week my workouts started to shift towards a more traditional westside setup and closer to what I am going to be rolling with.

Monday February 8th 2010-DE Bench

Bench Press + mini bands:
Bar x 25
135 x 12
**Added mini band
135 x 2 x 5
170 x 8 sets of 3-50%ish + the band, rotated through the different grips, rest periods at about 45s-1m

Chinups:
BW x 14<--One of my proudest PRs in a while, I was stuck at 12 forrreeever
BW x 8
BW x 5

Seated DB OHP:
70x5
75x5
80x5
85x4

Tricep Pressdowns:
Some weight x 3 x 12

Tuesday February 9th 2010-ME Lower

Front Squats:
Bar x a bunch
135 x 2 x 5
165 x 5
185 x 3
205 x 3
225 x 3<---I am sucky at these

Strait Legged DL:
185 x 3 x 12

Hypers (on a real hyper machine!):
BW+25 x 3 x 15

Decline sit ups (weight behind head):
10lb plate x 3 x 12

Thursday February 11th 2010-ME Upper

2 Board Press:
Bar x a bunch
135 x 12
**Added 2 bd
135 x 5
185 x 5
225 x 3
275 x 3
295 x 1
325 x 1
355 x 1
365 x fail<----Got it off the board OK, couldnt lock it

T Bar Row (actual T Bar row thingy):
3 plates x 10
3 plates + 25 lb plate x 8
4 plates x 6

Incline Close Grip:
185 x 4 sets of 5

DB Shrugs:
100 x 15
110 x 12
120 x 10<---Tried to take advantage of the bigger DB's since my gym only goes to 95s

Mini band facepulls x some

Saturday February 13th 2010-DE Lower

Speed Pulls (Conventional style + mini band):
135 x 2 x 5
**Added mini band
135 x 5
185 x 2 x 3
205 x 4 x 1
225 x 4 x 1<---Rest periods about a minute

Reverse Hypers:
BW x 2 x 12
Played around with trying to add the mini band for tension. Did a bunch of sets of 5 until I finally figured out how to set up the band. I don't have a real reverse hyper machine, so I do a ghetto version where I lean over an incline bench.

GHRs:
A bunch of sets. Wasn't really counting, pretty much just ran through a bunch of different weights. Again..no GHR machine, done off the lat pulldown station. More of a manual leg curl.

Ab roller:
x 3, 3, 2, 2, 1 <----This was like winning the ab roller super bowl. Last time I tried I couldnt do any.

[el67ko]

Tuesday February 16th 2010-DE Bench

Warmup

Speed bench (55% + mini bands):
Bar x 25
135 x 12
**Added mini band**
135 x 2 x 5
155 x 5

9 sets of 3 @ 190 lbs (3 close grip, 3 regular, 3 wide), rest times ~1 min

-Have a vid of these to check my speed, will post later

Strict Standing OHP:
115 x 5
135 x 5
145 x 5
155 x 4

Neutral grip chins: (palms facing inward)
BW x 14
BW+10 x 10
BW+25 x 3 sets of 5

JM Presses (maybe?)-Not sure about technique, video comin
75 x 3 sets of 8

V Bar Pressdowns:
Something x 2 sets of 20

Notes:
-Good stuff. Couple of vids to check on some things will post later or tomorrow.
-Digging bands, feeling strong all around right now.

[Joshua_B]

Thought I replied to this. Subbed, anyway. Looking good man.

[Torrtrefireto]

Describe what semi-pro ball was like man!

Also, I can't wait to see the log man

[el67ko]

Thought I replied to this. Subbed, anyway. Looking good man.

Thanks Josh!

Describe what semi-pro ball was like man!

Also, I can't wait to see the log man

"Semi pro" was used very loosely in this league haha! More like bush league. Not a ton of talent in the league, just a lot of guys that still loved the game but werent good enough to play legit football. Shoddy officiating, lots of fights. The first game I played last year we were getting smoked like 50-0 by a team full of ex D-1 players and with about 2 minutes left in the game they were still throwing bombs and taking a lot of cheap shots. The refs ended up tossing the whole team and they forfeited lol. Our coach and their coach eventually worked out a deal where they got credit for the win, because we definately didn't deserve it.

It would have been fun to play full time, but there was a lot of stuff that didn't work out for me. I work 12 hour night shifts and would have been working the days of the game and the days of the practice. Plus I would have needed extra insurance because our department doesn't do light duty so if you get hurt and can't work you aren't gettin paid.

Wednesday February 17th 2010-ME Lower

Dynamic warmup-Added in a few new elements I have picked up since getting the bands, some TKE's, some banded leg swings. Hopefully get the flexibility up a bit.

Front Squats:
Bar x a bunch
135 x 2 x 5
165 x 5
185 x 3
205 x 1
225 x 1
245 x 1
265 x miss <---Leaned forward coming out of the hole, and its a lot harder to recover from that with fronts so I dropped it. Got pissed and tried it again....
265x1

Suspended good mornings: (40.5 inches, off the rack)
185 x 5
205 x 5
225 x 5

Light Band Pullthroughs:
4 x 10

Hanging Leg raises:
BW x 2 x 20
**Added the mini band
2 x 8

Notes:
-Good session, really glad I tried the 265 front again. I knew I had it in the legs, just had to focus on sitting back further.
-Have a bunch of vids on my new cell, can't figure out how to get them on the computer. If anyone knows how let me know. Specifically a Verizon LG Chocolate Touch phone.

[SuicideGripMe]

Good job on the 265 front squat! Subbed.

[el67ko]

Good job on the 265 front squat! Subbed.

Thanks! I subbed to yours as well.

Friday February 19th 2010-ME Upper

Warmup n' stuff

Bench Press: Testing opener/2nd attemptish. All reps done comp style with paused bottom and full lockout.

Bar x a bunch
135 x 3 x 5
185 x 5
225 x 3
270 x 1<---Eeeasy. Was planning to open with this.
295 x 1<---Also very easy. May split the difference for the opener.
320 x 1<---Not terribly hard. Dunno if the pause was legit (I think it was). Have a vid, will throw up for some of you more experienced fellas to take a look at.

1 Board close grip:
225 x 5
225 x 5
235 x 5
245 x 5

Barbell Rows:
225 x 3 x 8

Shrugs:
315 x 15 x 3

Grip stuff: 3 sets of static holds for max time, 2 x 275, 1 x 225

Notes:
-Good workout considering I was a bit hungover. Thinking of setting up my bench attempts for the comp as such: 280, 315, go for broke.

[el67ko]

295


325

[Torrtrefireto]

Way to muscle up those benches. After your meet maybe you need to work on the speed a little bit? Work a little less hard

[el67ko]

Way to muscle up those benches. After your meet maybe you need to work on the speed a little bit? Work a little less hard

For sure. I pretty much lack speed in my lifts across the board, but it's something I am trying to get better at. Just started speed benching/squatting/DL'ing with bands about 2 weeks ago. I don't know how much I will be able to improve in 5 weeks, but it's gonna be a major focus point for me after the comp.

Saturday February 20th 2010-DE Lower

Warmup

Box Squat (15 inches)+ monster minis:
Bar x a bunch
135 x a couple sets of 5

180 x 10 x 2- Rest periods ~1 minute. I attempted to test how much tension I was getting out of the bands by standing on a scale, but it was a crappy digital one and I was getting about 10 error messages for every reading. Average readings I got was about 65 lbs at the top and 35-40 at the bottom. Very unscientific, but a decent reference point.

Speed Deads: (conventional)

205 x 6 x 1

2 reps strait weight, 2 + mini, 1 + monster mini, 1 + light (just feeling out the different tensions).

GHR's:

Used the mini band and did sets of 8, 8, 6, 6. This is my favorite way of doing pretend GHR's w/o a real machine yet.

Barbell Russian Twists:
Bar + 45 for 4 sets of 8

[el67ko]

Tuesday February 23rd 2010-DE Bench

Warmup

Speed bench (50%)+ monster mini:
Bar x 25
135 x 12
**Added monster mini
135 x 5
170 x 9 x 3 (various grips)

Triceps Death:
225 x 5 reps full ROM, 1bd, 2bd, 3bd, 4bd, 5bd
225 x 5 reps full ROM, 1bd, 2bd <----Lived up to its name and the triceps were effectively killed.

Neutral Grip Chins:
BW + 25 for 25 reps (done in sets of 5's, 3's and 2's till I got there)

DB Shrugs:
95 x 30, 20 <---Need bigger DB's

Mini band facepulls:
2 x 12

Notes:
-Good workout. Feel like I am putting together a good string of workouts. Everything feeling great.

[el67ko]

Wednesday February 24th 2010-ME Lower

Warmups

Conventional Deadlift: Testing some weights for opener/2nd attempt and such
135 x 3 x 5
185 x 5
225 x 3
275 x 1
315 x 1
365 x 1<---Easy, prolly open light with this
390 x 1<---Meh. Not as easy as I was hoping. But still went up. Prolly 2nd attempt. I still hate and suck at the deads.

Low box front squat (close stance):
135 x 5
155 x 5
185 x 3 x 3

Light band leg curls:
3 x 12

Notes:
-Kinda just a ho hum day. Tho I have never gone over 315 w/ conventional stance (was going sumo for a long time) so technically a 75 lb pr haha.
-Made a tactical error goin with the 30 rep DB shrugs yesterday so my grip was the suck. Actually slipped going back down with the 390.

[BEhave]

Whats the difference between your floor pres and flat bench/close grip? I want to start floor presses next week and want to be able to ball park what weight I should use.

[el67ko]

Whats the difference between your floor pres and flat bench/close grip? I want to start floor presses next week and want to be able to ball park what weight I should use.

Mine is fairly similar since the top part of my bench is my strong point. I think last time I maxed on floor press I did 305 and my max bench was 325. So about 20 lbs. But if you are stronger off your chest and weaker at lockouts I would imagine there will be a wider gap.

[el67ko]

Friday February 27th 2010-ME Upper

Warmup

Floor Press:
135 x 2 x 5
185 x 5
225 x 3
250 x 3
275 x 3
300 x 3<---was my 1RM last time

1 BD Close grip bench:
225 x 5
245 x 5
255 x 5
265 x 3
275 x 3

Barbell Rows:
185 x 12
205 x 10
205 x 8
205 x 8

Barbell Shrugs:
405 x 8
405 x 8
425 x 6

Plate pinches: 2 x max time using 3 10lb plates

Light auxillary work: Tricep pressdowns (rope) x 20, 15, Facepulls (rope) x 12, 10

Notes:
-Awesome day. Wish I could bottle the intensity and energy I had today. At the end I felt like I could have done tomorrow's workout still.

[SuicideGripMe]

Strong tris there man!

[el67ko]

Strong tris there man!

Thanks bro.

Saturday February 28th 2010-DE Lower

Dynamic warmup and such

Parallel box squats + monster minis:
Bar x a few sets
135 x 2 x 5
**Added monster minis (double choked around the bottom of the rack, finally figured out how to get the most tension out of the bands for squats. may be a bit too much tension for consistent DE work, but will throw them in occasionally, and use this style for ME work. double choked minis or single choked monsters seem better for the DE).
145 x 5
175 x 10 x 2

Hypers:
Bw x a few sets of 6-8
+25 x 12
+35 x 10, 8

Ghrs:
x fiddy

Don't know the exact sets of reps, just counted to 50. When I got towards failure I would rest for a couple minutes then kept going. (I can't really do 50 strait GHR's, I was using a light band to reduce tension)

Weighted Planks:
3 x max time w/ a 45 lb plate on my back

Notes:
-Scrapped speed deads for lower back work since I did a max'ish dead workot earlier in the week.

[el67ko]

Wednesday March 3rd 2010-ME Lower

Warmup

Squats:
135 x 3 x 5
185 x 5
225 x 3
265 x 3
300 x 1
325 x 1
350 x 1<---easiest a 350 has ever felt. Depth was great.
365 x 1<---Squat PR's make me giddy like a school girl. Even if they are weak ones. Depth was right on the line of being a red/white.

Defecit strait legged deads:
205 x 5
225 x 5
245 x 5
265 x 5

Light band good mornings:
3 x 12

Weighted decline situps:
+25 lbs x 2 x 20
+45 for a timed hold

Notes:
-Movement on the squat makes me happy.

[el67ko]

Friday March 4th 2010-ME Upper

Incline Bench:
-Don't remember the sets. Ended @ 275x1

2 Board Press:
275 x 5
295 x 5
295 x 5

DB Rows:
95 x 10
95 x 10
95 x 10
95 x 8

DB Overhead Extensions (seated):
70 x 12
75 x 12
85 x 8

Rear delt machine:
Sumthin x 3 x 12

Notes:
-Crap day. No energy, motivation or any of that good stuff. All benches + the rack where I do floor presses were occupied. Got impatient and went with Incline's. Shoulda just waited for something to be open.

Saturday March 6th 2010-DE Lower

Warmup

Box squats + single choked monster minis:

Bar x a few
140 x 2 x 5
170 x 3
200 x 10 x 2, rest periods ~1 minute

Speed Deads + light band:
6 x 1 x 205

Reverse hypers:
BW x 3 x 10

Standing crunches:
Some weight x 3 x 12

Notes:
-Much better. Feeling very speedy and explosive. Light band may be a bit much tension at this point for the speed deads.

[Torrtrefireto]

How does your 2 board compare to your bench man?

I;ve only done board work once and it felt weaker than to my chest

[el67ko]

I did a 355 off of 2 board and missed with 365 a couple weeks after I did 335 full ROM. So about 20ish pounds which seems about right. Someone told me (whether its true or not I dunno, I am sure its different for everyone) you should get about 10-15 lbs per board.

I have been doing a lot of 2 board because that is where I start to slow down but I think it's putting me a touch high. Might have to go down tot he 1 board for a bit.

[el67ko]

Tuesday March 9th 2010-RE Upper

Warmup

DB Bench:
55 x 10
70 x 8
85 x 5

95 x 16
95 x 12
95 x 10

Wide grip pulldowns:
180 x 12
192 x 8
204 x 8
226 x 6

DB Shoulder Press:
70 x 10
75 x 8
85 x 6

BB Shrugs:
315 x 5 x 10

Skullcrushers:
95 x 10
105 x 8
105 x 5

Notes:
-A little Defranco WS4SB action to take a break from the bands for a week or 2. Gonna rotate this in every once in a while until my chain setup is complete.
-Seems interesting (to me at least) that my first set with the RE excercise was about the same as the last time I did it 5-6 weeks ago, but I added 5 reps over 3 sets at that weight. Seems like my repping power for one set stayed put but I got stronger over multiple sets. Hmm.

[el67ko]

Wednesday March 10th 2010-ME Lower

Box squats:
Bar x a few both free and off the box
135 x 3 x 5
185 x 5
225 x 3
255 x 3
285 x 3
315 x 3

Rack pulls (~1 inch below knee):
Some warmups w/ 225 and 275

315 x 3 x 5
335 x 5
365 x 5

Band Good mornings:
Light band x 12
double light bands x 2 x 10

Hanging leg raises:
BW x 25
+10 x 15
+15 x 10

Notes:
-Another good lower body PR. 315 was my 1rm last time through.

[el67ko]

Friday March 12th 2010-ME Upper

Floor Press:
135 x 3 x 5
185 x 5
225 x 2 x 3
265 x 1
290 x 1
315 x 1-easy as pie
325 x miss dayummmmm..told the spotter "if i get this moving off the floor it is getting locked out". Got it moving off of floor. Did not lock it out lol.

1 BD Press (all paused):
275 x 1 full ROM (exagerrated pause)
275 x 4 x 3 off the 1 board

Pendlay rows:
135 x 12
165 x 10
195 x 2 x 6

DB Shrugs:
95 x 2 x 20

Rope Pressdowns:
weight x 20, 15

[el67ko]

Saturday March 13th 2010-DE Lower

Box squats (60%)+ single choked minis:
Bar x a couple sets of 5
135 x 2 x 5
185 x 3
225 x 10 x 2

-upped the bar weight and lowered the band tension

Speed pulls + 2 mini bands
205 x 6 x 1

GHR's
BW x 5, 5, 3
+monster mini x 10, 10
negatives x 3

Ab Wheel:
x 5, 5, 4

Notes:
-Was really surprised with the GHR's since I felt like I was moving in slo mo all day. Have never been able to do more than a couple at reduced ROM, and pounded out quite a few unassisteds at full ROM. I wish I had a real GHR machine instead of doing my ghettofied version to see how many real ones I could do.

[el67ko]

Monday March 15th 2010-RE/DE Upper Deload

Warmin up

Incline DB Bench:
Some warmups w/ 50s and 70s
85 x 3 x 8

Wide Grip pulldowns:
3 x 12

Lat raises:
3 x 10

Skulls x 12, 10, 8

Notes:
-Got emailed by the director of the meet I was going to and found out it was cancelled due to not much interest. Personally thought that was a strong WTF. Seems if you advertise something you should go through with it. Soooooo....I scrambled and found another meet on the same day. A USAPL meet called Battle of the Great Lakes which is only about an hour drive from my house. So all is not lost I still get to compete on the same day I wanted it just turned into a bit of a pain in the butt.

[el67ko]

Wednesday March 17th 2010-ME Lower deload

Defecit deads (done w/25lb plates ~2.5 inch defecit):
145 x 2 x 5
195 x 5
245 x 3
285 x 3
305 x 3
325 x 3

Front squats (narrow stance):
135 x 2 x 5
165 x 5
185 x 2 x 5

Single leg band curls (monster minis)
2 x 12

Strict leg raises:
2 x 15

[Torrtrefireto]

Solid de-load. Not too easy but still nice to unwind.

Any set date to compete yet?

[el67ko]

Solid de-load. Not too easy but still nice to unwind.

Any set date to compete yet?

Yup March 27th. USAPL battle of the great lakes. Pretty pumped to get the first one under the belt.

I'm taking next week pretty much off, but didn't really have any clue as to what to do two weeks out. Any suggestions? Deload like I am doing or keep hitting it at 100%?