JiP's Powerlifting Log

[JiP]

14.11.17

20 min walk. 20 min cycle
10 min foam rolling
15 min dynamic warm up


Squats
Bar x 20
40 x 20
60 x 15
80 x 5
100 x 5 - no pain

Pause Bench
90 x 5 @8.5
91 x 5 @9
90 x 5 @9

Incline Bench
71 x 5
72 x 5

Pause Deadlift
155 x 5 x 2

Ab Circuit
Plate swings 25kg x 10, Leg raises x 12, Dead bug x 10 (x2)

15 min static stretch


Notes
Great session. No pain on squats! So that's fantastic. Using my older wide stance, but with more forward torso position. I think I'm butt-winking, so really need to fix that. Didn't want to push the weight too much today.

First time doing pause deadlifts. They're a great exercise. Although my pauses were pretty weak. I also need to pause longer on my bench.

I've started walking/cycling to work. So a bit of extra cardio.

[JiP]

Managed to injure my neck just getting out of bed too quickly. Incredibly painful, I would imagine related to some wear and tear from lifting.

Barely made it into work Friday, one of my co-workers has a slipped disc but refused to give me any of her oral morphine because she sucks. But ibuprofen and paracetamol took some of the edge off.

Going to try and lift tomorrow morning (Sunday). Diet and cardio have still been on point. Leg is feeling strong, so that's good.

[JiP]

19.11.17

10 min bicycle
10 min foam roll
15 min dynamic warm up


Squats
120 x 5
130 x 5
132.5 x 5

Press
53 x 5 x 4

BB Rows
90 x 5 x 4

Circuit
4 Chins, 8 Leg raises, 10 25kg plate swings x 6

2 set of pilates core movements

15 min static stretch
10 min bicycle


Notes
Neck still hurts but surprisingly feels looser after doing weights. Chins are getting easier again as BW goes down. Had to squeeze as much as I could into this day, have to train again tomorrow to try and make the most of this week.

No pain on squats! Didn't want to push my luck too much today. Using my old wider stance again I am expecting some posterior chain DOMS as it really stretches the hell out of my hamstrings.

Squats looked and felt good. I never realised before but I do have a tendency to butt-wink, so I was working on avoiding that today. I think it may be slightly unavoidable due to the shape of my femurs/hips. There were only a couple of reps today where it was quite clearly happening.

Due to the injury time off squats, I will skip the deload from this training cycle and just be a bit careful with my volumes over the next 4 1/2 weeks.

[JiP]

20.11.17

1hr walk on lunch break

20 min bicycle
10 min foam roll
15 min dynamic warm up

3ct Pause Bench
80 x 3
85 x 3 x 5 (2 min rest)

Incline Bench
72 x 5
73 x 5 x 2

Deadlift
172.5 x 5 @9.5
172.5 x 5 @10

Circuit
4 chins, 6 dips, 10 air squats x 4

20 min bicycle


Notes
Deadlifting sucked today. I was expecting it to move pretty well but it crushed me. My back was rounding a bit too much really, but still not what looks to be particularly injurious. My neck however was hurting quite a bit, I'm praying the neck pain wasn't caused by pulling. My hamstrings were sore as hell from squats yesterday.

Bench was good. I think doing the 5x3 with shorter rest rather than 3x5 with the paused reps was a good idea. Made it easier to focus on each rep.

Next deadlift session I want to TRY DEADLIFT WITH HIPS HIGHER UP. This is in caps so I don't forget it. ALSO TO KEEP HEAD NEUTRAL/DOWN

[JiP]

24.11.17

Bodyweight 88.0kg

10 min bicycle
10 min foam roll
15 min dynamic warm up


Squats
135 x 5 @8
135 x 5 @8.5
135 x 5 @8.5
135 x 5 @9

Pause Bench
91 x 5 @8.5
91 x 5 @9
91 x 5 @9.5

Incline Bench
72 x 5 x 2

Circuit
4 Chins, 10 25kg plate swings, 15 air squats x 4


10 min static stretch
10 min bicycle


Notes
Neck pain was pretty severe after deadlifts. Bearable now but still not great, seeing PT tomorrow so will get it addressed. I will also definitely be doing my pulls with hips higher and head neutral in the future, regardless.

Squats felt great today. Depth was solid with very minimal butt-wink, practically none. Wide stance is definitely my cup of tea. Right side was dropping on some reps.

Bodyweight is moving down well. Competition is in 9 weeks, should come in just around 83.

[JiP]

25.11.17

10 min bicycle
10 min dynamic warm up


Press
53 x 5 x 3

BB Row
93 x 5 x 4

DB Press
25's x 6 x 3

BB Curls // Tri Ext
Bar x 15 x 3 // 20 x 10 x 3


10 min foam roll
10 min bicycle


Notes
Each set of press was close to failure. Was feeling very fatigued during this. My goal on press is 80kg for a single. Not sure how long it will take to reach that, but feels quite far away at the moment.

Neck pain wasn't too bad. Felt it a little bit on the press, but doesn't feel like I've made it any worse. Have stopped taking NSAIDs, don't want to mask the pain and potentially make it worse. Couldn't see PT yesterday as my motorcycle wouldn't start.

[JamesA1990]

Managed to injure my neck just getting out of bed too quickly. Incredibly painful, I would imagine related to some wear and tear from lifting.

Barely made it into work Friday, one of my co-workers has a slipped disc but refused to give me any of her oral morphine because she sucks. But ibuprofen and paracetamol took some of the edge off.

Going to try and lift tomorrow morning (Sunday). Diet and cardio have still been on point. Leg is feeling strong, so that's good.

Lately i've been turning my head too quickly or stepping forward while turning my head and i feel it tweak slightly, have a mini heart attack that ive done something but then its fine.

Feel like im walking on thin ice lately. Think its time to take a serious deload soon. Hows yours feeling now?

[JiP]

Lately i've been turning my head too quickly or stepping forward while turning my head and i feel it tweak slightly, have a mini heart attack that ive done something but then its fine.

Feel like im walking on thin ice lately. Think its time to take a serious deload soon. Hows yours feeling now?

Deadlifting made it a great deal worse. But doing everything else has been fine, so I'm just avoiding deadlifts until it feels 100%. Luckily squats don't aggregate it, which seems odd to me.



27.11.17

10 min bicycle
15 min dynamic warm up


Pause Squats
130 x 3 x 3

3ct Pause Bench - 2:15 rest
87 x 3 x 5

Incline Bench
72 x 5 x 3


Notes
Did this session at 5.30am before work, had to cut accessories as I didn't anticipate how long this stuff would take.

First time doing pause LB squats. Felt great and really helped me feel when my hips/back begin to rotate. Looked great on video too.

Cycled in temp, pouring rain. Winter sucks.

[JiP]

28.11.17

Physiotherapy
PT had a good look at my crooked back, hips and everything else. She measured my legs and didn't seem to find a problem there. She did say the curve was clearly in my thoracic. She doesn't think she can make any change to my spine, but other areas like hips, shoulders and general positioning should even up.

She said my right scapulae is very immobile, so gave me some exercises for that. I'll also be trying harder to keep my elbow up when I squat.

Also checked out my neck and said I need to keep head down on pulls. Gave me some exercises to strengthen the posture of my cervical.



29.11.17

20 min walk
10 min foam roll
15 min dynamic warm up


Press
53 x 5
54 x 5
55 x 5 @9.5

Squats
135 x 5
137.5 x 5
140 x 5

Deadlift
140 x 5
170 x 3 x 3

Circuit
4 Chins, 8 Dips, 10 25kg Plate Swing x 5 in 15 min


15 min static stretch
20 min walk


Squat 140 x 5


Deadlift 170 x 3 (last set)


Notes
Had a huge focus today on really using my glutes. I thought the amnesiac glute was quite a generic PT thing, but it appears that mine are quite inactive. Focusing on using them properly made my squats/deads look and feel great.

Squeezing glutes hard on squats stopped me being pulled forward, stopped any butt wink and surprisingly made it easier to reach depth. My right elbow is still dropping which is causing some unevenness.

Deadlifts felt pretty fantastic, but also really hard. I was focusing on keeping hips higher, head down and squeezing glutes. I think they looked really good. This does mean I'll have to drop the weight a bit to get used to new technique. But it will be worth it in the long run.

[JiP]

02.12.17

Bodyweight 87.6
35 min walk
25 min scapular mobility & dynamic warm up


Pause Squats
132.5 x 3 x 3

Press
50 x 5 x 3

Deadlift
172.5 x 3 x 3

Glute Bridge
50 x 10 x 3


10 min static stretch
25 min walk


Notes
Forced left knee out alongside keeping elbow raised on squats. Also tried to get bar slightly lower on back. Felt great and looked very even!

Deadlift felt pretty good with head down, but I'm really struggling with my proprioception. Head down so low is throwing me off a bit.

First time doing glute bridge, pain in the arse to set up. Really felt them though, which is great. I struggle to feel much using my left glute compared to my right. But I could feel this strongly in both. Hoping doing the glute activation and strength work will bring it up to scratch.

[JiP]

03.12.17

25 min walk
10 min scapular mobility

Circuit
4 Chins, 10 Push-ups, 15 Air squats x 8

25 min walk


Notes
Slept like hell last night. Didn't have much energy for any serious training. Decided to take it easy. Think my fatigue levels are pretty high.

8 weeks until competition now.

[JiP]

04.12.17

1 hour walk on lunch break

10 min cycle
30 min scapular mobility & dynamic warm up

Squats
140 x 3 x 5

Comp Bench
95 x 3 x 5

Circuit
4 Chins, 8 Dips, 10 leg raises x 5


10 min static stretch
10 min bicycle


Notes
Forgot how long it takes doing triples. All the reps moved well enough today but I felt pretty tired throughout.

My bad leg was slightly hurting on squats. I was forcing the knee out well and in general the squats were looking good. I worry that without drilling the technique with some lighter weights I am just heading for injury again. I will need to think about the best course of action.

[JiP]

06.12.17

1hr walk on lunch break


10 min cycle
15 min dynamic warm up


Squats
140 x 3
142.5 x 3
145 x 3 @8

Press
55 x 5 x 3

Deadlift
175 x 3 x 5

Curls // Tri Ext
Various x 10 x 5 // 20 x 10 x 5

10 min cycle


Notes
Strong session. Everything moved with purpose, although I hesitate to use the word 'easy' in case the weightlifting Gods smite me for my arrogance. Left leg is still trying to come in on squats, although to a lesser degree. Squats felt much better today, forcing myself to do all the cues.

My last set of deadlifts were the best. I took my stance out and tried to keep hips higher to replicate more of a weightlifting style 'pull'. As opposed to my old style of pulling hips very low and just letting my back round. I don't think having a very close stance was doing me any favours, I realised from a biomechanical perspective it wasn't ideal (due to making hips further away from the bar). I could keep my hands at pretty much the same width.

[JiP]

09.12.17
Bodyweight 87.4

1hr walk on lunch break

10 min bicycle
25 min scapulae mobility & dynamic warm up


Squats
145 x 3 x 5

Bench
95 x 3 (felt very heavy today, decided to press instead)

Press
55 x 5 x 3

Hammer Curls // Tri Ext
10's x 12 x 5 // 20 x 10 x 5

Glute Bridge // Plate Swings // Leg Raises
70 x 10 x 3 // 25 x 10 x 3 // BW x 10 x 3

10 min bicycle


Notes
Good day. Decided to use the 'chest up' cue to try and help hips & chest rise at same time on squat. Made everything else smoother as well. Right side was dropping on the last couple of sets. Need to focus on keeping right elbow up. My left knee was staying out very well today. Did 39 reps this week at average 142.5kg.

[JiP]

10.12.17

10 min bicycle

40 min foam rolling/static stretch

10 min bicycle


Notes
Today was meant to be finishing off some pause bench, incline, rows, DB press and core stuff. I worked 55 hours last week which took it's toll on my sleep and generally left me feeling beat to hell. I thought just taking this session easy and getting ready for next week was better idea. I never really had a full deload on upper body stuff from last training cycle, so this won't be a huge loss.

My training volumes haven't been reduced since I've gone from gaining to losing weight. I'm still not sure if they need to be, I don't know if the fatigue levels I'm experiencing are just part of working/training a lot on a diet. I will see how this week plays out and adjust if I need to.

[JiP]

13.12.17

1hr walk on lunch break

10 min bicycle
10 min scapular strengthening
15 min dynamic warm up


Squats
145 x 7 @8.5
145 x 3 x 3 (final set on video)

Comp Bench
95 x 3 x 5

Circuit
5 Chins, 10 Leg Raises, 10 25kg Plate Swings x 5

Circuit
12 10kg Hammer Curls, 10 25kg Tri Ext x 3


20 min static stretch
10 min bicycle



Notes
Squats looked fantastic today. I have realised the cues I needed to fix my squat are basically everything that is taught in starting strength. Chest up to set the lower back, elbows up to avoid imbalances and keep back tight & knees out to avoid quad issues. Perhaps there's a lesson to be learned there..

I would gauge my max to be around 180-185 at present. Hopefully with the fixed technique issues, and still gaining my strength from years ago, I will come close to the 200 mark in competition in 7 weeks.

[JiP]

15.12.17

Bodyweight 86.6

1hr walking at lunch
10 min bicycle
10 min scapular strengthening
10 min dynamic warm up


Press
55 x 4
52.5 x 5 x 2

BB Rows
95 x 5 x 3

Dips
BW x 10 x 3

Hammer Curls // Tri Ext
10's x 12 x 4 // 25 x 10 x 4

10 min bicycle


Notes
Felt beat to hell. Dragging arse through entire session. Shoulders both extremely sore, I think from scapular work. Here's the program I am running - https://thebarbellphysio.com/scapula...at-case-study/

Good to get significant drop in bodyweight. Had been weighing in heavy. Looking forward to some sustained time gaining weight (slowly) in the future.

[JiP]

17.12.17


15 min foam roll
10 min scapular strengthening
15 min dynamic warm up


Squats
145 x 3 x 2
150 x 3 @10
145 x 3 x 2

Comp Bench
95 x 3 x 5

Circuit
5 Pull ups, 10 25kg Plate swings, 10 Leg raises x 4


15 min static stretch
30 min walk


Notes
Everything was heavy today but it moved with purpose. Squats looked great, feeling more stable each session at the moment. It is very nice training indoors with some heaters and no one else around. I am lucky to have my current set up.

Feel like my body is starting to fall apart. Many aches and pains. Mainly worried about possible pec strain, but it felt fine benching so unsure. I did all my foam rolling today on the steel safety bar to really get in deep. Worked great.

[JiP]

19.12.17

Bodyweight 86.8kg

1.5hr walk

Notes
Been working a lot of overtime recently as well as finding training very difficult. Apart from deadlifts, I haven't missed anything significant. I feel I may be deadlifting too much anyway, I think my energy would be better used squatting/recovering more. Remaining injury is definitely my top priority.

I have strained my pec many times in the past. Previously I had put this down to bad luck, but now I realise it's probably from not pulling my scapular together when I bench. My bench dips on the left side, as well as my left wrist bends backwards. I need to go back to basics there.

[JiP]

20.12.17


10 min cycle
15 min foam roll
10 min scapular strengthening
15 min dynamic warm up


Squats
160 x 4 @9.5
150 x 3 x 5

Comp Bench
95 x 3 x 5

Deadlift
170 x 3 (Using Rippetoe cues)
170 x 3 (Old form, low hips)

20 min static stretch
10 min bicycle

160 x 4


150 x 3



Notes
Squats looked great. Left knee coming in more than I'd like, but I forgot about my cues on the 160. All the other sets looked really good.

Worked on keep right wrist straight, as well as touching relatively low and looking at the ceiling rather than the bar. Everything was pretty even on the last set.

I'm overthinking my deadlift. My deadlifts from a couple of weeks ago looked good really, I just felt like my back was rounding too much. I need to pull the hips down a little bit, but also really focus on keeping my lower back tight and head down.

[JRMoore82]

Subbed!

Neck stuff sucks!

Totally agree with deadlift overthinking. We all do it!

[JiP]

Subbed!

Neck stuff sucks!

Totally agree with deadlift overthinking. We all do it!

Thanks for the sub man.



23.12.17

30 min walk
20 min foam rolling
10 min scapular work, 10 min dynamic warm up


Squats
Warm ups - strained adductor

Comp Bench
95 x 3
97.5 x 3

Incline Bench
72.5 x 5 x 4

DB Press
22.5's x 6 x 4

Circuit
5 Chins, 10 Leg Raises, 30sec Plank, 100m walk x 5

Circuit
5x10 Curls / Skullcrushers


15 min static stretch
30 min walk


Notes
Strained my adductor on warm ups. Doesn't feel like anything too serious. Couldn't do anything standing, press, rows etc. So just got lots of accessory work done.

[JiP]

25.12.17


30 min walk
20 min foam roll
15 min scapular mobility + dynamic warm up


Squats
155 x 3 x 2
160 x 5
155 x 3

Pause Bench
100 x 3 x 4 - Failed final rep, also hardly pausing

Circuit
5 Chins, 10 Leg Raises, 30 sec Plank x 5


30 min walk


Notes
I had had quite a lot of gin before this workout. The 160 x 5 is the strongest set of squats I've done this year, pushed the boat out a bit today as I was feeling good. Slight pull on the adductor, but no real pain.

Bench sucked. Every rep felt heavy and out of the groove. I think the weight loss has messed up my form and increased ROM. Definitely need to put some work in to even things out as the left side still drops.

[JiP]

Here is the 160 x 5. I'm very happy to be able to squat pain free right now. My hips are still slightly rotating, right elbow slightly dropping. Left knee doesn't look too bad really. Given this was maximal, I'm pretty happy with the form and the lack of pain in my quad. Feels good to get the best of an injury where I wasn't sure if it would keep coming back to haunt me.

My best squat in 2011 (nearly 7 years ago, Jesus), was 170 x 5 @95kg bodyweight. So hitting 160 x 5, in the middle of a workout, when I am generally quite fatigued, shows a lot of promise for this peaking block. Hopefully I can hit 170 x 5 or better at 83kg which would definitely be a new best at the lower bodyweight.

For anyone reading, I stopped powerlifting from 2011 - 2016.

[JiP]

27.12.17

1hr walk at lunch

10 min bicycle
15 min foam roll
15 min scapular stuff + dynamic warm up


Press
53 x 5
54 x 5
55 x 5 - Brought grip in
60 x 4
55 x 5

Deadlift
180 x 3
185 x 3
180 x 3 x 3

Circuit
5 Pull Ups, 10 Leg Raises, 30sec Plank x 5

Circuit
12 Curls, 12 Skullcrushers x 5

10 min bicycle


Notes
My press is way stronger with a narrow grip and it feels way more natural. I think I was using a wider grip to develop my shoulders more, but lifting more weight is definitely a priority.

Once again much mess around with deadlift form led me back to; my back is round with heavy weights whether I do a high hip or low hip deadlift. But lower hips feels way better to me, along with close stance. I've been messing around with my deadlift form for 6 months now, I think I'll just stick with what feels good and accept my back will round. I can't really tell if my lower back is rounding or not, so it can't be that bad.

[JiP]

30.12.17

40 min walk
30 min foam roll
10 min static stretch
40 min walk


Notes
Forgot to take my meds yesterday, had to double up today and got some pretty awful nausea. Can sometimes be quite a bad side effect. Glad I managed to drag myself to do some cardio and rolling. Glute is still feeling tender so thought I'd save the lifting for tomorrow.

Had a look back through deadlifting videos from the 6th doing 175 5x3. Back looked less round. Last session I was pushing the bar forward with my shins and being brought onto my toes. I also had a close stance with feet forwards. Next session will make sure bar stays over midfoot, use slightly wider stance and turn toes outwards. Will also consciously think more about keeping back tight.

I've given some thought to pulling sumo in the future, but the purist in me doesn't like the idea. From an injury prevention standpoint, maximum conventional deadlifts aren't the most logical thing.

[JiP]

01.01.18

1hr walk at lunch

25 min bicycle
10 min foam roll
15 min dynamic warm up / scapular strengthening


Squat
140 x 3 x 3

Comp Bench
87.5 x 3 x 3

Pull Ups
BW x 6 x 3

Press
52.5 x 5 x 3

15 min bicycle


Notes
Deloads suck. Everything felt heavy as expected. Weight loss seems to be impacting bench due to loss of power belly. Nice to be able to do more pulls ups though. Have increased my cycling to 40min a day as well as reduced calories 100 a day. Was starting to get a bit worried if I'd make 83 as weigh ins have been pretty up and down.

Will be squatting/benching 4x a week now and deadlifting/pressing 2x a week. Reducing accessories to the minimum.

[JiP]

04.01.18

Bodyweight 85.2

1hr walk at lunch

10 min bicycle
10 min foam roll
10 min dynamic warm up


Squats
155 x 3 x 3

Comp Bench
95 x 3
97.5 x 3 x 2

Pull Ups
BW x 6 x 3

Circuit
10 Dips, 10 Leg Raises, 30sec Plank x 3

20 min static stretch
10 min bicycle


Notes
Was going too deep on squats. Causing butt wink, right elbow to drop and forcing weight onto left quad. I don't need to squat this deep for competition and it's obviously not good for my body, given my crooked back. The reps were grinders but glad I got them. Bench was fine.

Finally got significant weight drop on scale as it's been fluctuating a lot past 2 weeks. Should be good for 83.

Took a progress picture. Can really notice the different from 94kg. Abs are definitely coming in. Not sure how lean I want to be, certainly looking forward to training in a calorie surplus again. Don't plan to upload any pictures for a while though.

I've merged my deload and this week together as the fatigue was running me into the ground.

[JiP]

06.01.18

2hr walk, seeing seals at the beach with all the pups

10 min bicycle
10 min foam roll
15 min scapular strengthening + dynamic warm up


Squats
145 x 1
160 x 3 @9
155 x 3 x 3

Pause Bench
100 x 3
96 x 3 x 3

Pull Ups
BW x 4 x 6

Circuit
10 Dips, 10 Leg Raises, 30sec Plank x 2

10 min bicycle


Notes
Was supposed to deadlift after squats but glute felt very sore and was getting a bit of acute pain when flexing. Didn't want to risk it today. Squats looked a lot better today, had the bar too high up on my back last time.

Took bench into a pretty close grip as wide grip is just too uneven. I don't seem to be able to make it even without it feeling very unnatural. Closer grip felt and looked a lot better. I think this is because of my crooked back.

Had a strong psychological battle today. Just got really low. Glad I got it finished.

[JiP]

09.01.18

80 min cycle, few hours before training


15 min foam roll
15 min scapular strengthening + dynamic warm up


Pause Bench
97 x 3
105 x 3
100 x 3 x 2

Deadlift
190 x 1 + 1 fail
185 x 3
180 x 1 + 1 fail
180 x 3

Press
55 x 5 x 2

Circuit
6 Pull Ups, 10 Leg Raises, 35sec Plank x 2

15 min static stretch


Notes
Absolutely awful deadlift session. Luckily the last set was good. Too much screwing around with form, bar a couple of inches away from shins and hips low works way better for me. No more of this high hips crap. Also I'm not so sure about this higher volume deadlifting, doesn't seem to have done me any favours. Pulling a max set then doing RDL afterwards always worked great for me in the past.

Bench was great. Fixed my set up, didn't have my heels far enough back and my arch sucked before.