Project Improvement 2012: A 3DMJ Production.

[PerpetualMotion]

Is this the beginning of the plan Mike T. has laid out for you?

i have probably gone full retard but care to explain what the @ stands for on squats ie 350 x 3 @ 9

Rate of Perceived Exertion, mang.

[ErickStevens]

Is this the beginning of the plan Mike T. has laid out for you?

Yep. No load drops yet as I assume he wants to keep the volume relatively low at this point. No DLing this week, just rows, chins, and GHRs.

Rate of Perceived Exertion, mang.

This.

[ErickStevens]

Bodyweight

212.8 lbs

Week 1, Day 3 of USAPL Florida State Open Championships Prep

2 Count Pause Bench
225 x 3 @ 7.5
245 x 3 @ 8
265 x 3 @ 9.5 PR

Half Board Press (5lb Plate)
225 x 3 @ 7
235 x 3 @ 8
245 x 3 @ 9

JM Press
135 x 6 @ 6.5
155 x 6 @ 7.5
175 x 6 @ 9

Standing Cable Crunch
100 x 6
110 x 6
120 x 6
130 x 6

Reverse Hyper Extension
BW x 15 (3x)

Conditioning

Battle Ropes: 20 seconds on / 10 seconds off (8x)

Nutrition

300P/75C/90F

Notes

Today was pretty good even though I seem to be falling apart at the seams. I woke up with a sore neck/trap so I can only assume I slept in a very messed up position. On top of that my sciatic nerve has been acting up for multiple days in a row which has been causing me some concern. I'm getting my first deep tissue session in 2 months done on Sunday so hopefully that will help. I'm also scheduling a chiropractor appointment for next week and I've begun searching for some local ART practitioners. I need to get healthy before this training cycle really kicks into gear otherwise I'll never make it through the next three months.

[The Solution]

How do you feel/function on 75/90g of carbs daily E? Seems crazy for someone your size.

[ErickStevens]

How do you feel/function on 75/90g of carbs daily E? Seems crazy for someone your size.

First 4 days or so are easy and I feel fine. Last 2 days suck balls.

[Frankdaddy]

First 4 days or so are easy and I feel fine. Last 2 days suck balls.

We should all remember all the people who live with ketogenic diets. I use to powerlift on Keto for months on end and felt amazing, and in fact had some of the most intense sessions i've ever had with no issues in energy.

[Bonkies]

First 4 days or so are easy and I feel fine. Last 2 days suck balls.

ain't that the truth, I guess that's why some people do the refeed every 4 days, those last 2 days feel like a zombie lol

[ErickStevens]

Week 1, Day 4 of USAPL Florida State Open Championships Prep

2 Count Pause Squat (No Belt)
320 x 3 @ 6
340 x 3 @ 7
360 x 3 @ 8
380 x 3 @ 9 PR

Barbell Reverse Lunge (30 seconds rest in between sets)
140 x 5 @ 7.5
140 x 5 @ 8
140 x 5 @ 9

Pull Ups *Man, take a little time off and you completely suck at an exercise!
BW x 5 @ 7
BW x 5 @ 8.5
BW x 5 @ 9

Weighted GHR Sit Up supersetted w/ Weighted Back Extension
+ 5 x 5 (3 Second Isometric) / + 5 x 15
+ 10 x 5 (3 Second Isometric) / + 5 x 15
+ 15 x 5 (3 Second Isometric) / + 5 x 15

Conditioning

95lb Barbell Complex: RDL + Pendlay Row + Hang Clean + OHP + Front Squat x 8 (3x)

Notes

I wasn't planning on backloading yesterday but I felt so flat and crappy at the end of the day I decided to go ahead and do it. I ended up taking in just over 4200 calories and I woke up feeling exponentially better and more energetic, even though my neck was sore as hell. I think I may need to invest in a new pillow or something. Anyways, time to head out for early weigh ins for Team SBB. I've got three girls competing at the Tony Conyers Classic on Saturday and I'll be there to help out a few bros as well. Two of my girls will be qualifying for Raw Unity with their performances so that will be very exciting. I've never attended a meet in a purely coaching capacity so it should be nice not to have to worry about my stuff in addition to the rest of the team's. Other than that I will be spending the weekend relaxing and hopefully recovering.

[FenderElectrics]

Good luck with your neck/other stuff. I slept funny last weekend and dealt with annoying lower back pain all week. Annoying.

[jpfaherty]

How'd the team do E?

[ErickStevens]

Day 5 of USAPL Florida State Open Championships Prep

2 Count Pause Bench
225 x 4 @ 7.5
235 x 4 @ 8
245 x 4 @ 9
235 x 4 @ 8.5
235 x 4 @ 9

Wide Grip Bench (Pinkies on Rings, Paused)
225 x 4 @ 8
230 x 4 @ 8.5
235 x 4 @ 9
225 x 4 @ 7.5
230 x 4 @ 9

Tate Press
40 x 8 @ 7
50 x 8 @ 8
60 x 8 @ 9

DB Incline Row
90 x 10 (4x)

Band Pushdowns
Light x 25 (4x)

Cable Crunch
120 x 10 (4x)

Conditioning

Prowler Sprints: 160lbs x 20ft high / 20ft low (4x), 40ft high (2x)

Notes

Bench was the usual today. It felt good to add a little more volume with the load drop sets though. Perfect practice makes perfect!

The weekend was long and emotionally exhausting but all in all pretty successful. I had one girl bomb out on bench which really sucked because she would have qualified for Raw Unity with her opener. She squatted 250 and deadlifted 275 at 123 only for it not to even count. She'll get another shot at it in January so hopefully she keeps her head on straight. Our gym prodigy Meghan did exactly what I thought she would and completely killed it, totalling 755 at 132 and winning best female lifter. She broke some 132 open records and she qualified for Raw Unity. The third of our trio put on a very solid performance by setting three meet PRs just in time to start prep for figure competition next year. Here's a video of their lifts:

[L The Pirate]

Day 5 of USAPL Florida State Open Championships Prep

2 Count Pause Bench
225 x 4 @ 7.5
235 x 4 @ 8
245 x 4 @ 9
235 x 4 @ 8.5
235 x 4 @ 9

Wide Grip Bench (Pinkies on Rings, Paused)
225 x 4 @ 8
230 x 4 @ 8.5
235 x 4 @ 9
225 x 4 @ 7.5
230 x 4 @ 9

Tate Press
40 x 8 @ 7
50 x 8 @ 8
60 x 8 @ 9

DB Incline Row
90 x 10 (4x)

Band Pushdowns
Light x 25 (4x)

Cable Crunch
120 x 10 (4x)

Conditioning

Prowler Sprints: 160lbs x 20ft high / 20ft low (4x), 40ft high (2x)

Notes

Bench was the usual today. It felt good to add a little more volume with the load drop sets though. Perfect practice makes perfect!

The weekend was long and emotionally exhausting but all in all pretty successful. I had one girl bomb out on bench which really sucked because she would have qualified for Raw Unity with her opener. She squatted 250 and deadlifted 275 at 123 only for it not to even count. She'll get another shot at it in January so hopefully she keeps her head on straight. Our gym prodigy Meghan did exactly what I thought she would and completely killed it, totalling 755 at 132 and winning best female lifter. She broke some 132 open records and she qualified for Raw Unity. The third of our trio put on a very solid performance by setting three meet PRs just in time to start prep for figure competition next year. Here's a video of their lifts:

Nice work Erick. All your girls that lifted inspired my wife (her words), showing that women who commit to power lifting can KILL it.
Wife said she had her best training session yesterday to date thanks to that motivation. Was seriously impressed man. Great team you got there.

[ErickStevens]

Nice work Erick. All your girls that lifted inspired my wife (her words), showing that women who commit to power lifting can KILL it.
Wife said she had her best training session yesterday to date thanks to that motivation. Was seriously impressed man. Great team you got there.

Awesome! That's one thing my wife and I have tried very hard to do - Letting girls know it's okay to lift! Glad she enjoyed it.

[arian11]

1. I wanna go to that USAPL meet now just cuz you are gonna be there competing. Epic 220 weight class bench battle bro.
2. How did you like coaching? More tiring than actually lifting, right? I never felt more dead then coaching this years Florida State Open Championships.
3. How do you intake so much protein? Are you eating a cow a day or just a ton of protein powder? It was pretty hard for me to get up to 215g and I think that included 2-3 protein shakes.

[ErickStevens]

1. I wanna go to that USAPL meet now just cuz you are gonna be there competing. Epic 220 weight class bench battle bro.

The crowd will be in awe of our disgusting pressing prowess.

2. How did you like coaching? More tiring than actually lifting, right? I never felt more dead then coaching this years Florida State Open Championships.

Emotionally exhausting. I liked not having to feel like I was in a car wreck the day after though.

3. How do you intake so much protein? Are you eating a cow a day or just a ton of protein powder? It was pretty hard for me to get up to 215g and I think that included 2-3 protein shakes.

7 scoops of whey and/or casein per day.

[dchan8]

The crowd will be in awe of our disgusting pressing prowess.

Put your peepee away, Erick, it's inappropriate. :P

Good job at the meet, though; nerves will always affect people, it's my personal opinion that women are more affected by nerves than men in these types of events (nosexist).

7 scoops of protein!? That's insane... Also, I got the NoWhey Pumpkin Pie and it's pretty good. Of course, I've never actually had pumpkin pie so maybe my opinion is kind of skewed. There are a few small pea-sized (smaller, actually) clumps when mixing it with GY, though.

[arian11]

The crowd will be in awe of our disgusting pressing prowess.



Emotionally exhausting. I liked not having to feel like I was in a car wreck the day after though.



7 scoops of whey and/or casein per day.

It was physically exhausting for me as well because I had 10 lifters across various weight classes, men and women. So I had no time to sit down the entire day. Plus yelling at Chris and the rest for their 3rd deadlifts almost made me lose my voice. Fortunately it was all raw. Helping just Chris when he did single ply was exhausting in itself. Wrapping knees sucks.

7 scoops is intense. I do have a 10 lbs jug of protein I barely use, so I guess its time to start making a dent in it. I now know what I must do to become what I want.

Put your peepee away, Erick, it's inappropriate. :P

Good job at the meet, though; nerves will always affect people, it's my personal opinion that women are more affected by nerves than men in these types of events (nosexist).

7 scoops of protein!? That's insane... Also, I got the NoWhey Pumpkin Pie and it's pretty good. Of course, I've never actually had pumpkin pie so maybe my opinion is kind of skewed. There are a few small pea-sized (smaller, actually) clumps when mixing it with GY, though.

From what I've seen, guys have bigger egos that get in the way when it comes to listening to commands at meets. It also comes in the way when trying to teach them proper technique on a lift like the squat. Girls just seem to get nervous if they are the type that doesn't like people watching them while they are learning something like squatting for the first time.

[ErickStevens]

It was physically exhausting for me as well because I had 10 lifters across various weight classes, men and women. So I had no time to sit down the entire day. Plus yelling at Chris and the rest for their 3rd deadlifts almost made me lose my voice. Fortunately it was all raw. Helping just Chris when he did single ply was exhausting in itself. Wrapping knees sucks.

Ah, gear. I will probably never know that feel.

7 scoops is intense. I do have a 10 lbs jug of protein I barely use, so I guess its time to start making a dent in it. I now know what I must do to become what I want.

From what I've seen, guys have bigger egos that get in the way when it comes to listening to commands at meets. It also comes in the way when trying to teach them proper technique on a lift like the squat. Girls just seem to get nervous if they are the type that doesn't like people watching them while they are learning something like squatting for the first time.

Yep. Girls don't handle missed lifts as well as guys either. There were a lot of tears on Saturday.

[arian11]

Yep. Girls don't handle missed lifts as well as guys either. There were a lot of tears on Saturday.

Oh lawd. Why did she bomb on bench? Too high of an opener? Missed commands? Did her warmups in the back room look bad?

[ErickStevens]

Oh lawd. Why did she bomb on bench? Too high of an opener? Missed commands? Did her warmups in the back room look bad?

Nah, it was a combination of things. I think it was the difference in the bench + Nerves. We have these really firm WestSide benches at SBB and the bench at the meet was a really old comp bench with cooshy padding. Also, she cut down from 148 to 123 and was very nervous that she was going to under perform because of the weight loss. She opened with 105 which she had tripled in the gym during her prep for the meet. She got red lighted for her ass coming up and before I could get to her (I was handing off to another one of our girls) she put in her next attempt at 110. She got red lighted for downward movement of the bar 2x in a row even though her paused gym max was 115. Broads... SMH. Next time she's going to open with something retard light like 95. She will squat 260 and deadlift 285 and that shiit will count this time!

[arian11]

Nah, it was a combination of things. I think it was the difference in the bench + Nerves. We have these really firm WestSide benches at SBB and the bench at the meet was a really old comp bench with cooshy padding. Also, she cut down from 148 to 123 and was very nervous that she was going to under perform because of the weight loss. She opened with 105 which she had tripled in the gym during her prep for the meet. She got red lighted for her ass coming up and before I could get to her (I was handing off to another one of our girls) she put in her next attempt at 110. She got red lighted for downward movement of the bar 2x in a row even though her paused gym max was 115. Broads... SMH. Next time she's going to open with something retard light like 95. She will squat 260 and deadlift 285 and that shiit will count this time!

148 to 123, oh jeez. That's like if we cut down to the 181s...

[ErickStevens]

Day 6 of USAPL Florida State Open Championships Prep

2 Count Pause Squats (No Belt)
320 x 4 @ 8
340 x 4 @ 8.5
360 x 4 @ 9
330 x 4 @ 8
330 x 4 @9

2 Count Pause Deadlifts (No Belt, Stiff Bar)
405 x 3 @ 7.5
455 x 3 @ 8
425 x 3 @ 8

GHR
BW x 8 @ 7.5
+5 x 8 @ 8
+5 x 8 @ 9
BW x 8 @ 9

GHR Sit Ups (3 Second Isometric)
+ 15 x 6
+ 20 x 6
+ 25 x 6

Conditioning

Prowler High Push: 260 x 20ft (6x)

Notes

Squats feel better and better each day. I've cleaned up some form issues lately and I think my technique is a lot tighter than it was a few months ago. I finally tested out my nagging trap/neck/chest issue today with some light-ish DLs. My chest seemed fine but my trap still bothered me although that may be due to my visit to the chiropractor the day before. Hopefully I don't wake up tomorrow unable to turn my head.

[samsont]

hows the gym? Buddy of mine trying to get back into lifting said he wanted to squat again - hes on the west coast these days, I told him about sarasota barbell hopefully he checks ya'll out! now rep me ***got

[FrmrHoss]

I'm working with Mike T on a pretty long prep for a meet in April, so interested to follow yours along as well (even if our #s are worlds apart )

[ErickStevens]

Bodyweight

215.8

Day 6 of USAPL Florida State Open Championships Prep

2 Count Paused Bench
225 x 4 @ 6.5
245 x 4 @ 8
255 x 4 @ 9
235 x 4 @ 8
235 x 4 @ 9

Half Board Press (Paused)
225 x 4 @ 8.5
230 x 4 @ 9
225 x 4 @ 7
225 x 4 @ 8
225 x 4 @ 9

Military Press (Strict and Paused)
95 x 8 @ 6
115 x 8 @ 9 *Neck started to bother me here so I backed off.
95 x 8 @ 8.5
95 x 8 @ 9

Cable Seated Row (Wide Grip)
100 x 10 (4x)

Hanging Straight Leg Raise
3 x 10

+ Tricep and delt BBer work.

Notes

I'm happy with how bench was feeling today even if I was completely spent by the time the Half Board Press came along. I've got deadlifts tomorrow so hopefully my chest/trap/neck/shoulder doesn't give me any issues.

[vinipitta]

Bodyweight

215.8

Day 6 of USAPL Florida State Open Championships Prep

2 Count Paused Bench
225 x 4 @ 6.5
245 x 4 @ 8
255 x 4 @ 9
235 x 4 @ 8
235 x 4 @ 9

Half Board Press (Paused)
225 x 4 @ 8.5
230 x 4 @ 9
225 x 4 @ 7
225 x 4 @ 8
225 x 4 @ 9

Military Press (Strict and Paused)
95 x 8 @ 6
115 x 8 @ 9 *Neck started to bother me here so I backed off.
95 x 8 @ 8.5
95 x 8 @ 9

Cable Seated Row (Wide Grip)
100 x 10 (4x)

Hanging Straight Leg Raise
3 x 10

+ Tricep and delt BBer work.

Notes

I'm happy with how bench was feeling today even if I was completely spent by the time the Half Board Press came along. I've got deadlifts tomorrow so hopefully my chest/trap/neck/shoulder doesn't give me any issues.

The number after the @ is rest time?

[adamjohn32]

The number after the @ is rest time?

it's the rate of perceived exertion

[FrmrHoss]

it's the rate of perceived exertion

I feel like there should be a FAQ for this thread answering that question and that question only.

[Kent.White]

Tell the girls nice lifting. When is the Florida Championships?

[The Solution]

Up 3 pounds from last week?