The Life and Opinions of breathinglife, Gentleman - 1500@181 raw

[breathinglife]

Hello all. I am going to start keeping a training log here again. I hope you guys enjoy. I'd like to hit 1500@181 raw. I don't have a great video camera, but I will try to add videos of my heaviest sets from most of my workouts.

Current Bodyweight: 188
Height: 5' 8"
Current lifts:
Squat: 505 (belt, rehbands) - video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwBPjU33mB0
Bench: 350 - Don't have a video, but here is a heavy triple: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtXj1uBNaUA
Deadlift: 565 (belt)

Total: 1420

If you don't remember me, this video may jog your memory:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAoBpadkn3Q

Sorry I can't embed or link.

My main priority is working on my squat. My form is crud; I have worked at it for years but just can't seem to get things straight. It has come a long way, however. Six months ago my total was 430/345/545, so my squat isn't so far behind.

[breathinglife]

Yesterday's workout:

Squat: - no belt or knee sleeves today
135x5
135x5
225x5
275x5
315x5
335x5
355x5
375x5
395x5
415x8 - 415x5 would have been a 5 rep PR, but I felt some extra reps in me.

The end. This workout was somewhat abbreviated because I had to be at a night class.

[breathinglife]

Also, if someone could imbed those videos for me, I'd be much obliged.

[HumanHorrorFilm]

BM, BM is that you?

[DesireToGrow]

Hello all. I am going to start keeping a training log here again. I hope you guys enjoy. I'd like to hit 1500@181 raw. I don't have a great video camera, but I will try to add videos of my heaviest sets from most of my workouts.

Current Bodyweight: 188
Height: 5' 8"
Current lifts:
Squat: 505 (belt, rehbands)



Bench: 350 - Don't have a video, but here is a heavy triple:



Deadlift: 565 (belt)

Total: 1420

If you don't remember me, this video may jog your memory:



Sorry I can't embed or link.

My main priority is working on my squat. My form is crud; I have worked at it for years but just can't seem to get things straight. It has come a long way, however. Six months ago my total was 430/345/545, so my squat isn't so far behind.

fixed....



that's an incredible box jump man. I'd love to be able to do that someday.

[breathinglife]

BM, BM is that you?

It is I! Good to see you're still training. You've progressed quite a bit since I was last around here.

fixed....



that's an incredible box jump man. I'd love to be able to do that someday.

Thanks for the embedding! And thanks on the jump. I've always liked to jump. If I wasn't squatting and deadlifting so much all the time, I would do some plyos every once in a while. As it is, I generally manage to do some box jumps every 1-2 months but that's about it.

[breathinglife]

Today's bench workout:

Paused Bench:
135x5
185x5
225x5
255x4
275x3
295x2
315x1
335x1

2 Boards:
315x4
335x2

3 Boards:
355x2

4 Boards:
375x1
385x1 - Flew up. All of these sets were very fast, so that accounts for my next two attempts.
405x0 - Stupid.
405x0 - It's the feeling that a baby is an insect.

225x5 - Paused Bench

135x30 - Not Paused.

This is a somewhat atypical workout for me. I figured I go heavy on the boards to get my tri's used to some heavy poundages. When I've randomly hit huge maxes in the past, I noticed that it was after ramping up poundages until I hit a 110-115% single on boards.

Everything except the 405 attempts felt good. Luckily, I have great spotters.

[Rawngus]

breathingmurder ???????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11

[breathinglife]

breathingmurder ???????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11

Yep! How's it going?

[breathinglife]

Today's Workout - 1 week out from push-pull meet

Today's workout was a light one since I'm so close to meet time. I know this makes for a somewhat boring start to my log.

I focused on explosion today. I even used quick, explosive form on the rows.

Pre-workout Nutrition: (second breakfast)
4 eggs
3 slices turkey bacon
2 apples

Highlights of the workout:



Speed Deadlifts:

135x5
155x3
185x3
205x3
225x3
275x3
295x3
315x3 (vid)
315x3
315x3

Pendlay Rows: (these were supersetted with the high/low pulls below)
135x5
185x5
225x5 (vid)
225x5
225x5


High Pulls:
135x5

Low Pulls:
185x3
225x3 (vid)
225x3
225x3

Box Jumps from Full Squat Position:
18" x3
30" x3
40" x3
46" x1
48" x1
50" x1 (vid) - The staff started yelling at people to come watch.
52" x1 (vid) - I think this is a PR, or equal to a PR on squat jumps. A crowd had gathered to watch me. My sister shifted the camera away from me right after the jump.

All in all, this was a pretty good workout.

Post-workout nutrition:
25 oz fruit punc + creatine
2 scoops whey
12 BCAA pills

[breathinglife]

Today's Workout - 6 days out from push-pull meet.

Bench - All Reps Paused:
135x5
185x3
225x3
275x3
295x3
315x2 - Super easy.
315x2 - Still easy!
315x2 - Easy again. These sets were encouraging. I felt stronger with the pause than I typically do.
275x3
275x3
275x3

Front Squats: - Done as explosively and plyometric-aly as possible.
45x12
65x3
85x3
105x3
125x3
145x3
165x3
185x3
205x3

(assistance stuff)

I didn't get any videos of today's lifting. I probably won't do much this week since the meet is on Saturday. I've got a ton to do with work and school, so it may be for the best.

[breathinglife]

Yesterday I did a pansy workout. 3 days out from push-pull.
I was training people, so I couldn't keep my hands off the weights. I practiced my form on squat and bench, as well as trained my biceps. With all this powerlifting I almost forgot I had biceps.

Bench:
135x5x5

Squat:
135x5x5

DB Curls:
10'sx12
20'sx12
30'sx12
40'sx6
50'sx6
60'sx6
70'sx6

EZ Bar Curls: - These really take me back to when I was 16.
75x12
75x12

BB Curls:
135x3


To make up for my crappy workout, my two trainees both hit PRs on deadlift. My wife deadlifted 250@140 and my little sister deadlifted 205@115.

I'm excited about the push-pull. I would really like to hit a 900 lb total - something like 340/560. I'm feeling well-rested and injury free, despite it being almost the end of the semester. I'm working on a PhD, teaching two classes and taking four, so this is an extremely busy time of year.

[DesireToGrow]

Good luck going into this meet man. Not that you really need it, you've already put the work in... It's just time to step on the platform and make it official .

[breathinglife]

Good luck going into this meet man. Not that you really need it, you've already put the work in... It's just time to step on the platform and make it official .

Thanks. I feel good right now, but I generally have a tough time with sleep when I travel. So, we'll see. I'm looking forward to it. I haven't been on the platform in a long time, so it will be fun regardless of how I do.

[benbriz]

intersting training. good luck man.

[breathinglife]

intersting training. good luck man.

Thanks!

Friday - 1 day out.

Weight: 190.2 lbs. (As I stated before, I'm not going to try to make it into the 181's, although that's where I will ideally compete in the long run.)

My car broke down last night, so I didn't get home til later than planned, and as a result didn't get in bed on time.

I haven't mentioned that I have Crohn's disease because I rarely ever have symptoms, but last night I awoke around 4 am with stomach pains and didn't really get back to sleep afterward.

So, today I'm operating on not a lot of sleep, but I'm still very excited about the meet.

[TrettinR]

Holy box jumps!!!!

Good luck tomorrow!

[breathinglife]

Holy box jumps!!!!

Good luck tomorrow!

Thanks!

I am fairly please with my performance. I think I planned my attempts pretty well.
Bench Warm-up:
135x5
185x5
225x3
245x1
275x1
I was going to do one more warm-up with 295, but I didn't get it in. There were a lot of lifters warming up, but I felt fine with the warm-up I got.

Opener: 315 - 3 whites. Easy.
2nd attempt: 335 - 3 whites. Again, this was fairly easy.
3rd Attempt: 345 - This rep was slow. I still got 3 whites. I am 95% I wouldn't have been able to hit 350, so I think this was exactly where my 3rd attempt should have been. My 350 done in the gym was touch and go, so this was a 10 lb paused PR.


Deadlift Warm-up:
135x5
225x3
315x2
365x1 - added belt on this set.
405x1
455x1

Opener: 500 - 3 whites. This was an easy rep.
2nd Attempt: 550 - 3 whites. This was somewhat difficult.
[b]3rd Attempt: 570[b] - Miss. My gym PR is 565, so I decided I would go for a PR. I got it above the knees, but the weight just wasn't moving. I'm still happy with 550. I feel like 570 could have gone up on one of my better days.

Total: 895 - I placed first in the 198's regardless of raw/equipment, class, etc., but I didn't have a lot of competition.

I will post videos and more on the meet soon.

[DesireToGrow]

Very nice job man, congratulations

[Fluster]

Euuurg, Crohn's sucks major ass.

Good job on the meet

[lohmie]

I'm impressed, that's about it...! Good job at the meet!

[breathinglife]

Here is the video of the meet:





One of the judges was messing with me because I didn't bring him any coffee, so a few of those reds aren't for real.

The meet was pretty cool. There were some great lifters there. One guy who hit 1100@165, and another who came close to benching 905. Fun stuff.

[dtaps24]

Impressive shtuff man. Quick question why do you roll the bar before you pull? Does it help you to sit back? Again keep up the good work.

[breathinglife]

Impressive shtuff man. Quick question why do you roll the bar before you pull? Does it help you to sit back? Again keep up the good work.

I watched some top pullers, mainly Benni Magnusson, who initiated the pull with a slight roll. I've found that it helps me to sit back. As you can see, I still tend to stiff-leg my deadlifts. I also feel that I get a stretch reflex from my hamstrings when I do them this way. It's hard to see on the videos, but if you tried it I think you'd feel it.

[DesireToGrow]

I used to roll n pull out of habit haha.


I noticed you shoot your hips up before the bar is even off the ground. Are you stronger that way or is it a poor habit?

[dtaps24]

I watched some top pullers, mainly Benni Magnusson, who initiated the pull with a slight roll. I've found that it helps me to sit back. As you can see, I still tend to stiff-leg my deadlifts. I also feel that I get a stretch reflex from my hamstrings when I do them this way. It's hard to see on the videos, but if you tried it I think you'd feel it.

I figured, I'm gonna try that next time I pull, my main flaw is not getting back on my heals. Appreciate the help, keep up the good work, definitely following.

[breathinglife]

I used to roll n pull out of habit haha.


I noticed you shoot your hips up before the bar is even off the ground. Are you stronger that way or is it a poor habit?

Poor habit!

I figured, I'm gonna try that next time I pull, my main flaw is not getting back on my heals. Appreciate the help, keep up the good work, definitely following.

Thanks. The only tricky thing is the timing. When I wasn't used to doing it, sometimes I would time it wrong and end up pulling all weird or smashing my shins.

[breathinglife]

Yesterday's Workout - 10 days out from Push-Pull meet.
I'm not really sure how to prepare for this push-pull. It's at a local gym, and is non-sanctioned, so I don't know what the judging will be like. I'm just going to train 100% until then and see what happens.

Squats: (No belt or sleeves)
315x5
340x5
365x5
400x5
425x5 PR video. This was a PR regardless of belts/sleeves.



Front Squats:
135x6
135x6
135x6
135x6
135x6
135x6
135x6

Bench:
225x5
275x5
295x5
225x8
225x8
225x8
225x8

Decline Sit-Ups:
BWx12
+25x9
+25x9
+25x9

Circuit in the Machine Room:
shoulders/pecs/abs/leg ext/curl - sets of 12-20+ reps. 4 circuits.

I like to do some high rep sets to get blood flowing through my muscles. I find that it helps me to recover. Other than that, I don't attach much value to these sets.

[DesireToGrow]

Awesome squatting man! Squatting PR's all around the past couple days


I second the notion of those blood flow kinda sets. Similar to how I treat the flyes, good mornings, pushups, etc on Sheiko. Kinda like active rest.

[dtaps24]

Very impressive squatting. Looked like you may have had more in the tank. Your training looks a little like Sheiko thus far.