Building Curves

[ilovethe80s]

Ed Coan Bench Week 7 + Good Mornings
Bench: 135/2 130/4 (failed lifts)
CG Benc:h 2 x 5 (118)
Narrow Bench with bands at wrists: 95/5, 115/5, 135/FAIL
Row 3 x 5 (135)
Concentric Good Morning 95/5 135/5 185/3 205/3 205/3 205/5

I read that pre-mixing your creatine ahead of time so it fully dissolves would make it easier on the stomach. So the night before, I mixed up creatine, beta alanine and bcaa powder in a cup of juice. I was so excited about how yummy it would be, have not had fruit juice in ages (and this was my first ever pre-workout drink). However, blech! Drinking that shiz might have been harder than the workout itself!

Lost a lot of bench strength. Was supposed to be 2x5 (135). I took a long pause on my first rep (to check for meet opener), then failed on the 3rd rep. I was not surprised, I had an idea I might need to go back a week or so on my program starting back. I'm thinking 130 opener instead of 135 now that it has come to my attention that I suck. I mean where am I going with this bench. It is not like I am going to whip 150 out of thin air again now.

Could not connect with any sort of leg drive, relaxing at the bottom of the lift and thinking 'oh crap' once barbell was on chest instead of having the confidence to blast it up. Sad how quickly I lose it on bench. Knocked it down to 130(so repeat week 6) and failed on 4, again, no leg drive to be found. Close grips went ok.

Instead of reverse grip bench, I decided to pop off a plate to find my drive, and work back up with singles (so I'd have an opportunity to use it). On the way back up that time, I failed a single at 135. I'm thinking of hitting a light bench a couple of times this week, just to not feel so out of touch.

Wanted all my heavy work done today (have fasted blood test in the a.m. so don't want to train fasted tomorrow, and any later in the week is not enough recovery before meet). So I ended with some good mornings. Those were easy as pie.

[Euqinom]

I have a hard time stomaching beta alanine if I 1) don't spread dosage over the day 2) don't take it with carbs.
Maybe that will help. And I soaked my BCAApowder in sirop.

[ilovethe80s]

I have a hard time stomaching beta alanine if I 1) don't spread dosage over the day 2) don't take it with carbs.
Maybe that will help. And I soaked my BCAApowder in sirop.

today I had it soaked in the fruit juice again but with a scoop of unflavored whey in there. it was......really....something. lol! I've heard the beta alanine tingles, but none of that yet

[ilovethe80s]

Bench
Last session's Ed Coan was such a mess, I knew I'd have to backtrack a couple of weeks. Decided to hit my opener for triples today in place of my usual program.

Sidenote, my rotators are screaming, bordering on impingement. Was extremely sore there after last session, which I know from doing this many times before, means that I was benching all wrong.

Paused single at 130
5 x 3 (130)
Inverted Row 3 x 8
Paused single at 135
Miss at 140

Just before my 140 miss I realized that I have been flaring my elbowst while pulling the bar apart. So my arms were not going straight down, and probably giving myself a longer way to pull as well as tearing up my shoulder joint. Also been locking out bar over face instead of sternum which is a huge no no for me. Can't believe what a mess things can turn into in such a short time.

For the meet, I'll go 130, 135 and 140. It is sad because I know it is not a strength issue as much as it is a mental one. I am fully capable of forgetting countless hours of bench training within a couple of weeks.

I don't want to blame ed coan I know it is a great program and I would like to finish, but like some other programs I have tried, I don't feel like it gives me the frequency or volume that I need on the bench. I know I can't run smolov jr forever, but am looking around for something that has me benching a little bit more.

[Euqinom]

O

today I had it soaked in the fruit juice again but with a scoop of unflavored whey in there. it was......really....something. lol! I've heard the beta alanine tingles, but none of that yet

Oh, I'm not complaining about the tinglin, that's only during start up for me, but if I'd take it without carbs or huge dose at once, I'd throw up.

[Euqinom]

I don't want to blame ed coan I know it is a great program and I would like to finish, but like some other programs I have tried, I don't feel like it gives me the frequency or volume that I need on the bench. I know I can't run smolov jr forever, but am looking around for something that has me benching a little bit more.

How long until your next meet? If you'd like to try it, Easy Strength or One Lift A Day is a great approach to really get the technique down without blowing out your RC or elbows or shoulders.

[ilovethe80s]

How long until your next meet? If you'd like to try it, Easy Strength or One Lift A Day is a great approach to really get the technique down without blowing out your RC or elbows or shoulders.

The meet than I plan on not sabotaging myself for is at the end of March.

As always, you've given me lots to think and get excited about Quickly looked up both programs - OLAD looks interesting - kind of did something similar when I first started having kids and had no time (the workouts are short, which is always great). Hmmm, this one is on the list of things I want to try this year.

I looked over Easy Strength, I need to do a bit more reading on that. Is this the program you are on? In a very vague nutshell, same thing every day, and on consecutive days too? Sounds like exactly what I need on bench. I saw 'Easier Strength' too which ironically looks like it has a more intricate rep scheme than easy strength (though maybe not - I do need to read more on easy strength, will probably just get the book if I decide to go ahead).

Either way, if Ed Coan proves totally unsalvageable, I like the idea of adapting something like what Easy Strength seems to prescribe. Just going in and hitting the lift till it feels light then moving up sounds really appealing right now.

Thanks again, looks like I've got some reading up to do, I'm excited

[ilovethe80s]

Dynamic Squat
Dynamic Box Squat 8 x 2 (130)
Medium Weight Single (160)
Speed Pull 1 x 6 (200lbs in 3" deficit with red mini bands)

My last 'regularly scheduled' session till the meet. That's it for squats/ deads, and I am satisfied. Had english breakfast and a few globs of pb preworkout and it gave me lots of stamina. I think I need 2 globs of pb per 20 minutes of lifting. Better hope nobody at the meet has a peanut allergy. I'm feeling greedy for deadlift numbers though still not feeling 360.

This week, I am heading back to the bench, maybe even daily. My shoulders are SO forgiving, they don't feel half as bad today. I feel like I don't deserve their forgiveness. No real bench plans other than to build up a little tension back in my benching muscles and hopefully find my stride back on bench (I actually perform much better when not so relaxed, plus I want some more benching practice).

Notes on today's session:
Box squats were really good today. Some days I feel like I am relaxing too much on the box and that translates into my regular squat when I am too loose, but today was perfect. In the next phase I am ok with parting with box squats for a while. For my current set of squat issues, they aren't on the priority list. I think my upcoming smolov frequency sqautting will help me find my squatting stride again.

Also really enjoyed my speed pulls and they helped me work out a recent kink that popped up in my deadlift. I do take advantage of a stretch reflex in the dead, however somewhere along the line, a bounce showed up at the bottom. In the bounce, I was bringing my hips way down and springing back up. This did not make the lift any easier, in fact it felt like I had longer to pull and actually more difficult to break off the floor. I sometimes see people give the hips down cue in the dead, and for me, this is like, the absolute worst cue in the world. I think I have a very good sense naturally of how much my hips need to drop, and the best way for me to find that is to not even think about them. Just concentrate on grabbing that bar while keeping hips and shoulders at the correct angle, and for me it feels like a high hip position, but when I video, it looks lower than it feels. I actually feel like my upper is hardly moving at all, like I just dropped a few inches to grab the bar, which translates to feeling a shorter path to lock it out.

As you can tell by my overly detailed journal, there aren't many lifts that 'just come' for me, so it serves me best to not f with my deadlift.

[Euqinom]

The meet than I plan on not sabotaging myself for is at the end of March.

As always, you've given me lots to think and get excited about Quickly looked up both programs - OLAD looks interesting - kind of did something similar when I first started having kids and had no time (the workouts are short, which is always great). Hmmm, this one is on the list of things I want to try this year.

I looked over Easy Strength, I need to do a bit more reading on that. Is this the program you are on? In a very vague nutshell, same thing every day, and on consecutive days too? Sounds like exactly what I need on bench. I saw 'Easier Strength' too which ironically looks like it has a more intricate rep scheme than easy strength (though maybe not - I do need to read more on easy strength, will probably just get the book if I decide to go ahead).

Either way, if Ed Coan proves totally unsalvageable, I like the idea of adapting something like what Easy Strength seems to prescribe. Just going in and hitting the lift till it feels light then moving up sounds really appealing right now.

Thanks again, looks like I've got some reading up to do, I'm excited

I think my version of Easy Strength is on T-nation as "The Forty Day Program". Low intensity, low volume, but high frequency. Perfect. OLAD is awesome, but it's hard to not overdo it 40 reps per 45 minutes MAX.

[geek23ka]

im here. reading and stuff.

the list you made, what list is it? is it national? whatever it is... congratulations!!! well deserved.

[ilovethe80s]

I think my version of Easy Strength is on T-nation as "The Forty Day Program". Low intensity, low volume, but high frequency. Perfect. OLAD is awesome, but it's hard to not overdo it 40 reps per 45 minutes MAX.

Yeah, that is the writeup I was looking at too, it seemed to have the most info. I think I am going to have to sample these, the anticipation is killing me After the meet, I am super casual till January. I might sample a week of OLAD and a day of Easy Strength, just to get an idea of how long those sessions will take and how interruption-friendly they are (though by the summer, I'd hope these kids would all be on the same clock and getting workout time won't be such a challenge). I don't plan putting in a ton of effort in January and certainly no maxing on anything -- I can see how OLAD might pose an issue, haha.

im here. reading and stuff.

the list you made, what list is it? is it national? whatever it is... congratulations!!! well deserved.

Thanks! It is powerliftingwatch - they take all the federations together and rank the top 50 guys and top 20 ladies. I signed up to see rankings a while ago so I could see who was getting the big lifts and look up youtube vids and see their technique. Right now, I am ranked #16 for the deadlift but it could change - there are a bunch of meets across the country this weekend and it is possible that other meets have not turned in their results yet. I would love to stay on the rankings list for this year but if it doesn't happen, it will be next year's goal. And if it does, then next year's goal will be top 10 I'm not a really competitive person and I don't consider this a competitive sport, but trying for goals like this are so much fun

[ilovethe80s]

After weighing myself 3x in a row and getting 167, 177 and 180, I realized my scale is busted. Must find scale asap but having a hard time finding one that gets even decent reviews (and avail locally). Literally, every single scale gets like a 2 star rating with tons of complaints about inaccuracy. I don't care if it is off by a consistent amount (I can weight a kettlebell or something and compare it) but if it gives just all sorts of numbers, makes things difficult.

As I have started and stopped creatine a few times, I know it packs on a few extra pounds, so want to be careful that I stay in my weight class. I know I was planning on sucking at this meet but I don't want to suck THAT bad, haha. My jeans still fit, if I had really gained my butt would not fit in my jeans (that is the only place my weight goes). Granted, it is large right now as it has been for some time, but usually around the 150 mark I'm splitting my pants and resort to living in my zubaz.

On a side note I forgot to note that this morning I did 25 goblet squats and a couple of (very, very poor excuses for) Turkish getups prior to squatting this morning (inspired by the dan john programs/ articles) and I think I can attribute some of that to my good squatting day. Worked out all the kinks before getting under the bar, and didn't take much time at all.

[geek23ka]

on scales. we bought an eat smart
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_no...0smart%20scale

this one specifically
http://www.amazon.com/EatSmart-Preci...at+smart+scale

because it had a gazillion reviews which were mostly good for the brand overall. we bought that specific one bc we didn't wanna pay 50 bucks for a scale.

it has served us well. we do have to recalibrate it when it's been moved around too much (think toddler in the house), but it's easy to recalibrate (pop battery out and back in and then weigh yourself twice in a row while it sorts itself)

i think thats the only complaint we have. it's accurate, but a bit fussy.

[Euqinom]

Yeah, that is the writeup I was looking at too, it seemed to have the most info. I think I am going to have to sample these, the anticipation is killing me After the meet, I am super casual till January. I might sample a week of OLAD and a day of Easy Strength, just to get an idea of how long those sessions will take and how interruption-friendly they are

OLAD is super interruption friendly (I just set an alarm for 45 minutes. Alarm goes, I change into daily wear.) Easy Strength takes me 30-40 minutes lifting. My warm up is 5-15 minutes depending on mood and stiffness. HAVE FUN!

[ilovethe80s]

on scales. we bought an eat smart
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_no...0smart%20scale

this one specifically
http://www.amazon.com/EatSmart-Preci...at+smart+scale

because it had a gazillion reviews which were mostly good for the brand overall. we bought that specific one bc we didn't wanna pay 50 bucks for a scale.

it has served us well. we do have to recalibrate it when it's been moved around too much (think toddler in the house), but it's easy to recalibrate (pop battery out and back in and then weigh yourself twice in a row while it sorts itself)

i think thats the only complaint we have. it's accurate, but a bit fussy.

Thanks! I just got back from scale shopping. I saw on amazon that the scale brand that you have got the best reviews by far, I am probably going to order one before the next meet.

I am appalled by these so called digital scales in the stores. I pulled a bunch of them down and they weighed me in at a range from 136 to 148. Online, they all got like 1 or 2 stars. One got 3 so I was intent on getting that one - but it gave me a different weight everytime I stepped on - ranging from 142-148!

Oddly, the only one that measured consistently the same there was this cheapo one for $20. When I first set it up it gave me everything from 140 to 148. But now it is consistently saying 141 (in jeans and boots). I've been weighing a 25lb kettlebell and it was giving out a range for that too, but now, shockingly, it keeps measuring it at 25 pounds so this one just might be on to something.

I cannot believe that all these scales - their sole purpose is to measure weight, and they cannot do it? what is the point of its existence then? lol

OLAD is super interruption friendly (I just set an alarm for 45 minutes. Alarm goes, I change into daily wear.) Easy Strength takes me 30-40 minutes lifting. My warm up is 5-15 minutes depending on mood and stiffness. HAVE FUN!

I will! So excited

[ilovethe80s]

Bench Technique
Wendler article was just what I needed right now. The plan was not to even do a full bench at all, just drills.
http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_..._press_seminar

"Make sure your shoulder blades are pinched together."

No groundbreaking info there - but last time I forgot! And that is why my shoulders feel like this now. I remember when I was benching alot with smolov, I felt that my posture was improving from constantly holding that position. Felt totally different today than when I was 'shoulder benching'.

Next lightbulb cue:
"As you press the barbell off the rack, drive your heels into the ground and your upper back into the bench."

My whole body was so tight I felt like steel, and instantly the bar felt lighter. Without even thinking about squeezing the bar, I just squeezed it harder. Awesome, awesome cue.

bar unrack/ rerack using above cue - approximately 20 times

Next cue:
"Once the bar touches your chest, think about 'squatting the weight up.' This doesn't mean pushing your feet into the ground and sliding across the bench – the force you push with your legs has to be directed into the barbell."

115 3x2, 125/ 2, 130/1 (long pause), 135/1, 140/MISS
I knew where I went wrong. Yet another cue from Wendler's article (re. descent):

"Going too slow makes good magazine and article fodder, but does little to help your bench press. All you're going to do is tire yourself out for the lift."

Squeezing, lowering verrrry slow, resisting and controlling the bar, especially as the bar gets closer to the chest, I was done at the bottom of the lift.

So retake
140/1 And this literally flew, BUT this was much faster than I intended - touched chest and came right up, would not work in a meet.

Since it felt so easy though
145/ Miss
Leg drive literally ran out. Was in a terrible position for drive - legs out in front and narrow.

Several more unrack/re-rack, static holds and even some partial reps for the ego with 175

I am working on bench again tomorrow. Not planning on failing, probably just triples with 125 or so to cement what I re-learned today and let me experiment with drive. Bench re-learning is starting to come much quicker each time I forget, this process would have taken months before

[geek23ka]

thanks for the article and writing out your process. it really helps me. i dont even know if i'm utilizing my leg drive. another thing to talk to the coach about, which is happening next week!

is the meet tomorrow?

[ilovethe80s]

thanks for the article and writing out your process. it really helps me. i dont even know if i'm utilizing my leg drive. another thing to talk to the coach about, which is happening next week!

is the meet tomorrow?

That's so awesome you will be working with a coach on this. can't wait to see what he teaches you. Glad the writeup helps.

The meet is tomorrow. I still have not made it to the basement to try for my triples session and I have been trying since 5am. Everybody got up so missed the morning time slot. Then lost baby's nap in the car and he is PSYCHO. I literally spend every second grabbing him away from somewhere screaming 'nooo! noooo!' In the time that I have written this, he
pulled up a bar stool and climbed into the sink (with the dirty dinner dishes!)

got himself lodged between a shelf and the fireplace and got so furious he nearly tipped the damn thing

ransacked my purse to leave me crawling through the house looking for my credit cards

put the dog in an aggressive headlock and tried to force feed her a quarter (which he stole from my purse - and about 10 minutes before this my elderly dog peed on the floor to add to the chaos. and of course I am on the floor trying to clean pee with one hand and holding him away with the other while he fights me to go splash in the pee)

pulled up a chair and turned on the microwave..

I mean it has been every single second something else. start fixing one thing and he is into the next. He has our air purifier in 3 different pieces right now and I am just at the point where if it keeps him busy for 5, I'll sacrifice the thing.

What do we have, like 4 more months of this?

Had an image in my head of getting my session in, taking it easy the rest of the day, packing for tomorrow and going to bed early. Um, nope! Haven't even had time to think about the meet. I don't even know my deadlift opener right now, I feel so lost. lol.

[wakechica]

Heh I love partial sets... I don't do bench partials as we haven't got any boards I do rack pulls from shin height though and I am convinced they help cos I load on a good 10-15kg more. *must do more deficits*

Bench form is an art, but when it's right it works - I had that today but the last time I benched it was all over the place. 4x4@40kg felt easy. Geeka, check out the last few pages of my journal, Arian posted a great bench form tutorial video. Lots of tips and they break the form down into bits and go through it - like using a partially deflated football to help with arch etc.

PS the scales I have are dead accurate, weighed in before the meet and at the meet (1hr later) exactly the same; but they're EU only - I checked for you as they're a bit cheaper.

[ilovethe80s]

I cut the rack pulls for now because I was able to get a full 55 pounds more on them than my dead and I KNOW no 400 shiz is leaving the floor so thought why bother haha

On your journal - JT!!!!
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...#post948120093

I've been stalking this chick for ages for vids and tips. She's really amazing because she is no shrimp - you hear of a girl benching 300+ and think she must be some short thing with t-rex arms but she is 5'5, and I think we have similar leverages. So that 'I have long arms
excuse goes right out the window'

She's also an amazing deadlifter AND a good squatter too! I saw her on the rankings list in my weight class, she'd usually at 132. Wonder if she is bulking up to make a 400 bench now?

I'd also love to find out what her squat training consisted of between 1999 and 2000 because she put around 100 pounds on her squat that year.

[ilovethe80s]

Powerlifting Meet Report - SPF Boston Barbell Christmas Classic Push/ Pull
Weighed in at 141.

Bench:
Opener: 130
2nd attempt: 135
3rd attempt: 140 MISS
I knew it was bad the second I unracked. Had bar too far out in front on the descent, went waaay slow as I neared the chest, resisting the weight and using up all my energy by the time I was at the bottom of the lift.

Ended up with 15 pounds under my own bench record.

Deadlift:
Plan was to open a little lighter than usual and try to limit my lifts in the upper range to avoid exhaustion.

Opener: 320

2nd attempt: 340 - NOT COUNTED - MISLOAD! - Every lifter's worst nightmare. I grabbed the bar and one side was coming up ok, the other, was not, bar was TOTALLY crooked. My trap was straining, I guess it looked pretty awful to because one girl there was massaging my trap for me after like 'omg are you alright? that looked rough!' I locked out the side I could but the other side didn't make it and I dropped the bar. I felt like crap for not only failing the lift, but letting the bar drop like that.

Thought I had grabbed the bar crooked or something, went back over to see if I could still put in for 350 next, but they realized that the weight was misloaded. So they would allow me to retake it whenever i felt ready.

Appreciated that, but there went my plan of limiting my lifts on the upper end!

2nd attempt retake: 340 - smooth as silk

At this point I figure I've given all I had. Original plan had been to attempt 350 last. However, getting competitive at the end of the year and making things fun - there are 2 girls on the national rankings list tied with 352. If I already thought I was going to fail 350 - I figured why not go for 353 and if my some grace of goodness I get it, then I could skip ahead a few spaces on the rankings list and that would be my christmas present to myself for the end of the year haha.

Downed pretty much a jar of peanut butter and then:

3rd attempt: 353


Shaky, but it went up!!! Was SO excited!!

So ended up with:
Bench: SPF Push Pull Bench Record (135)
Deadlift: SPF Push Pull Deadlift Record (353)
Push Pull Total: 488 - SPF Push/ Pull Record (488)
Best Overall Lifter - Female, I even got cash, yo!!

Feeling pretty happy to close out the year with that dead

[Euqinom]

Congratulations!

[rdferguson]

Good job on the deadlift and getting moniez.

[geek23ka]

Geeka, check out the last few pages of my journal, Arian posted a great bench form tutorial video. Lots of tips and they break the form down into bits and go through it - like using a partially deflated football to help with arch etc.

thanks! ill go check it out.

80's congratulations!!! i love that lift; you really pushed your way through it.

[ilovethe80s]

Congratulations!

Good job on the deadlift and getting moniez.

thanks! ill go check it out.

80's congratulations!!! i love that lift; you really pushed your way through it.

Thanks!! I feel really good about the lift, original plan was 350 and was really not counting on that going up so it was a really nice surprise

[RyouBakua]

353 deadlift is pretty awesome

ill be checking out this log more often

[BloodType3R]

Late to the party but just happened across your log and glanced over the last page..

Good stuff in here and fantastic pull!

[Botika]

Wow congrats on the DL... Impressive! Subbing to your journal

[ilovethe80s]

353 deadlift is pretty awesome

ill be checking out this log more often

Thank you, and welcome!

Late to the party but just happened across your log and glanced over the last page..

Good stuff in here and fantastic pull!

Thanks so much

Wow congrats on the DL... Impressive! Subbing to your journal

Thank you! Welcome

[RyouBakua]

i noticed you had quite an abdominal ordeal


how is that feeling?

are you taking anything/doing any exercises for it?