David Petersen's Log

9/5/13
Dead: 350
245x3 kyle comment on hips
280x3 conversation with kyle on strength curve
315x3+ did 4.
315x0

Went to 319
135x5
185x5
225x3
275x1
315x11

Disgusted

Soooooooo you deadlifted twice today..? Anderson wilk surely shed a tear of joy

Broceidon wrote:

Soooooooo you deadlifted twice today..? Anderson wilk surely shed a tear of joy

Yeah somewhere in there were hamstring curls after my first session...Then I sat around the CRWC for 15-20 minutes...Decided to go to 319 and "redo" my AMAP.

9/5/13
Dead: 350
95x3x5-slow-kyle called me out on this
135
185
belt
225
245x3 kyle comment on hips
280x3 conversation with kyle on strength curve
315x3+ did 4. Had more but just wasn’t ready for how hard this was
315x0-dropped it maybe 2 inches off the ground

Hamstring curls 80x3x15

Walked to 319
135x5
225x5
275x1
315x11….

A day of duality….

“Learn to not pull like a bitch”…The caveat here is "at the CRWC"…There was nothing wrong with my deadlift at 319…I was a machine…All business…Took names, got pissed, pulled with force/speed…I just need to figure out how to do that when training conditions are not what I am use to.

I’d like to think when I compete in November that the better equipment/atmosphere will be something that help me…But that isn’t a guarantee…Like Kyle said today, if history is any indication, lots of people under perform at a meet because of the change in environment. The benefits of being at the meet (sick squat bar, deadlift bar, being around other competitors) is lost because a lifter is simply just not ready to deal with lifting in an environment that is different than their training area.

Different mental states:
CRWC-
Worrying about……
Rolling the bar
My set up
Where the fucking lines on the floor are in relation to the bar
Where my hips are at
Is anyone pissed at the fact blood is soaking through my socks
Middle of set worrying about how heavy the weight is
Pissed I won’t PR cause I’m at the CRWC
The fact the bar swivels a little to fit into the panels on the floor
Getting the bar in the “perfect spot” before I pull each rep
Not using a deadlift bar
The team probably doesn’t even believe I can pull 315x10 cause I bomb in front of them
My glutes hurt…

All the above just fucked me, mentally just defeating myself before the set starts. The first rep on my x4 set felt like a one rep max. Even though my speed got better on the second, third, and fourth I was just so off put by how heavy it felt (and how surprised I was) I just quit, plain and simple, just gave up on the set. The one technical thing that was noticed was my hips starting lower at the beginning of my set and then coming up as it progresses.


319…
Pissed at myself that I left my chalk at the CRWC
Pissed at myself for being mentally weak
Pissed I quit
Thought about my set up for a second and said “fuck that go away bad thoughts bad thoughts bad thoughts”
Not giving a fuck about anything and just pulling
Screaming
Yelling
Attitude
Redemption

Sorry I’m weird and included this stuff, I just don’t want to forget how different I felt mentally today.

At 319 I thought zero about technique…I think one time during the set I went “I need to tuck my neck” at the top and that was it…This is the exact opposite of what it was like at the CRWC…Maybe I’m trying to “look cool” rolling the bar around or trying to have “good form”. I fucking have no clue what happens at the CRWC…I just start thinking about shit, I get in my head, and I fuck up…

I’m happy with today, but also not happy. 315x4 and then 315x0, and then 315x11.….No environment is the cause of such a drop. Everything is me being mentally unable to cope with a different environment. I don’t expect to go to the CRWC and have the greatest session in the world, but I should be able to have a decent/respectable session.

I like Kyle’s idea to split time at the CRWC/319. One of my training partners also mentioned that I should change stuff up when I am at 319 every once in a while. Pull off mats, and use a squat bar occasionally. So I’ll use some sort of combination.

TL;DR
I suck at pulling when conditions are not optimal. I need to figure it the fuck out.

My interpretation of what you just wrote is that it seems like you are always looking for a perfect set or a PR, and if you don't think you can do that halfway through the set then you give up. You wrote that you flat out quit because you were thrown off by how heavy it felt. Watching that set, you could have pulled those 11 reps at the CRWC if you would have let yourself. Even if you only pull 8, I feel like you are doing yourself more good by powering through whatever is throwing you off. Don't let your mind make your body quit if you want more, its there. Have faith in yourself.

Also, try to clear your mind before you start your set until you finish. Break it down rep by rep and tell yourself to finish each rep, then move onto the next one. I catch myself worrying or thinking about random things and it messes up my set. Going rep by rep seems to ground me.

Seth wrote:

My interpretation of what you just wrote is that it seems like you are always looking for a perfect set or a PR, and if you don't think you can do that halfway through the set then you give up.  You wrote that you flat out quit because you were thrown off by how heavy it felt.  Watching that set, you could have pulled those 11 reps at the CRWC if you would have let yourself.  Even if you only pull 8, I feel like you are doing yourself more good by powering through whatever is throwing you off.  Don't let your mind make your body quit if you want more, its there.  Have faith in yourself.

Also, try to clear your mind before you start your set until you finish.  Break it down rep by rep and tell yourself to finish each rep, then move onto the next one.  I catch myself worrying or thinking about random things and it messes up my set.  Going rep by rep seems to ground me.

God I didn't even think of the "one rep at a time" mindset.....Kind of ironic because that is the one thing someone I train with says before I start every set, and sometimes between reps...So weird how that never crossed my mind at all today...That's why I posted this all here. The more eyes on what I do, the better

Going along with seth, if you have sort of a rep set, get to like halfway and start counting down. You know exactly how many you have left so it is like seeing and sprinting for the finish

9/6/13
OHP: 135
95x3
110x3
120x3+ Did 6. I knew I wasn't going to be able to set a new PR ( and I was 50/50 on if I could get a 7th. So just stayed safe.

Bench 82%
95x5 135x5
Working
160x3 160x5x2-Last two sets I got into my power set up because I was struggling pretty hard with a flat back/no leg drive. See Notes

Super set bench with
Pulldowns
110x3x12
Facepulls
65x3x12

Superset
hammer curls
25x3x12
rope pulldowns
80x3x12

Notes--So my phone died on the way to the gym. I had forgotten what my plan was for my bench on OHP day. When I got home I looked back, realized that I was going to treat it like I would if I was doing the Cube (speed day, rep day, heavy day). At the gym I just decided to throw 80% on the bar and do what I felt like I could. I know ~80% isn't necessarily "heavy" but it certainly wasn't speedy or reppy. The first couple sets I did with a flat back and no legs, and those were pretty tough. When I got into my competition set-up things felt easier but I still feel like I could call those doubles "fairly heavy". This works out well though, next week is my 5/3/1 week, and I will be due to do a rep day for the bench after I OHP.

My shoulder/wrist were not liking the full(er) ROM on the bench (cause from the lack of an arch). Hopefully they just get use to this as I do more flat back work.

I always find my thoughts bouncing around and thinking one rep at a time seems to bring me back and help me focus.

Seth wrote:

I always find my thoughts bouncing around and thinking one rep at a time seems to bring me back and help me focus.

Could also be a blood-flow issue.

lack of blood flow=no lift.

9/7/13
Squat: 320
Kyles comments while warming up about elbows. Brought grip in
225x3
255x3
290x3 did 3. Left one, easy triple. Felt good

Wrapped
315x1
335x0 notes...Kyle's comments

Hmastring curls
80x3x12
Leg Extensions
60x3x12

Leg Raises
3x12
Crunches
3x15

Notes...
So this was the first time I had squatted with this rotating bar thing. It felt a little weird on some of the heavier sets, just felt like it wouldn't settle into my back as well.

Kyle noticed my elbow position probably isn't ideal. I use to squat with a very narrow grip but after my wrist injury once I started using a straight bar I kept my arms out wide. I will probably return to a narrow grip as I think my sets were a lot better with that, and I was able to really get my upper back in a better position.
Wrapped notes

Kyle cranked on my wraps a lot more than I ever have been able to. I think they were so much tighter that it actually is going to require me to change my technique a bit. 315 felt good and easy but I did feel something different about the squat that I couldn't put my finger on.

335...despite this being a miss I'm rather okay with it...The strength was there for the lift and I got past where I normally have to bail on a lift....I just lost my balance (backwards) and felt the bar slip a little bit..I thought I had it steadied out, but I felt myself falling back so I just dumped the bar. Kyle commented here to work on sitting into the wraps, and letting my knees track forward a bit more. Less sitting back with the hips. This miss wasn't mental, I was able to get myself in a nice little bubble before each lift. I learned a lot from this miss, and I know it is a weight I will be able to hit.

Tweak: The back of my knee on the left side is really freaking tight. I'm icing it right now, and I'll ice it again before I go into work tomorrow morning. I am hoping this isn't major. I'm not use to someone wrapping for me, so I may not have been staying flexed as long/hard as I needed to be. I also had trouble keeping my leg down while Kyle worked on the wraps, but I sorta figured out a way to brace myself on the rack for the second set.

I have a pretty modest training goal in wraps (350)...This is something I will progress towards. I'll take another shot at 335 in two training weeks (I plan to hit 325x2 next week), and then 345-350 a couple weeks after that. That will put me about a month out. I don't think 350 will be a max attempt when it comes around. I am hoping that I hit it fairly easy, and it will give me some confidence going into the meet....I'm actually really happy I'm planning this out, as right now I have a pretty good plan for my squat heading in to the meet.

And many thanks to Kyle for the wrapping of the legs today.

Protip: chalk your knees before wrapping.


Also, it probably felt different because of the added resistance as you go deeper into the hole, nohomo. You'll get used to it. Maybe.

9/9/13
Deadlift: 350
260x5
329x3
330x1+ did 9. Hips were coming up on the last few reps...I noticed something interesting with my str curve.

P-rows 185x5x5

Hamstring curls 90x3x12

Notes: I was suppose to bench today, but given that I have a longer break today then I will tomorrow and I take longer to deadlift than bench I swapped days.

330 notes....It is no secret that I start sets off rather slow, have a good middle, and then once I fatigue they get slow again....I also have been told that my hips start to slip up as I get deeper into the sets...I really want to snag a video of one of these heavier AMAPs so I can see the speed off the floor compared to knees-up/lock out. By the time I got to my 7-8-9th rep my hips were pretty high, but I was breaking the bar pretty quickly off the floor. And it becomes the lockout that I have trouble with.

So my sets look something like this (at least I think they do, from what I recall)
Beginning of set...Start with hips lower, slower off the floor, fast on lockout
Middle of set....my hips start to be less low and my speed of the floor gets better and lockout is usually pretty good still
End of set...Hips are less/low to high (not sure if higher than middle reps but deff higher than start of set) and my speed off the floor is still pretty good, but my lockout gets real tough....

It seems to be the case that as I lose my ability to be fast off the floor my body just naturally adjusts. I really didn't want to think about my set-up too much as that seems to get me into trouble as I approach the bar, but this might be something I need to adjust moving forward. If my best pulls are in the middle when my technique has changed, I want to be able to take advantage of this on my first rep, that's all I get when I step onto the platform.

This is really just a confirmation of what Kyle talked to me about str curve and starting position. If I make changes they will be small. I might wait till I get some sort of video camera that way I can see the changes, and also have the team give me feedback.

Chris Anderson wrote:

Protip: chalk your knees before wrapping.

Unsure if real, or joking.

9/10/13
Bench: 195
135x3
155x3
175x3+ did 4. Long-paused..Brian's comment about bar on chest

Swiss OHP. (35 pound bar)....barx10 55x10 65x10 75x10 85x5 55x3x10

Face pulls 65x3x12
Pulldowns 110x3x12

Hammer curls 25x3x12
Rope pulldowns 60x3x12

Notes
So the plan is to pause everything moving forward. My sticking point on my bench is an inch or two off my chest, and once I am through that I usually get it to lockout pretty easy relative to my sticking point.

My top set (as usual) was pretty terrible looking according to Brian. He said the middle of the bar was on the right side of my chest the first two reps, left side of the chest my third rep, and finally brought the middle of the bar down centered on my last rep. Hopefully a smooth bar path will come with practice...

In my head I have been debating the benefits of benching with (versus without) an arch on my second bench day (follows my OHP work on OHP day)...I know that making my upper body just stronger by benching without an arch will carry over to my bench, but I also think I might need more work in an arch as my heavy sets are looking pretty awful whilst benching with an arch.

9/12/13
Squat: 320
240x5
275x3
305x1
Wraps
335x1. A little slow through my sticking point but I felt like I could have doubled this
350x0--The strength was there but the same thing happened at the CRWC. I lost my balance and started to fall backward the more I pushed with my glutes/hamstrings...My speed out of the hole is pretty good. I need to focus pretty hard on finishing the lift as fast as I can during my warmups.

Good mornings
135x5x5
Hamstring curls 80x3x12

Notes:
So today turned into a "max-type" day. I need to not do this anymore. I'm shutting down Joker sets for the squat and bench for sure, and maybe for the deadlift. If I do a normal 5/3/1 schedule the program will call for a 340 squat right before the meet. 350 is probably there, or close. I am sartisfied with that in my head. Follow my program moving forward. I am debating cutting 5-10% off my squat training max. Some of my perscribed reps are grinders. I know I'll be able to put it off for a few weeks but might not be able to push off a miss for 9 weeks. I do not want to miss a lift right before my meet. Nor do I want to be grinding out everything before a meet....I'll seeeeee.

Other Notes: I lifted at 10AM. Very odd for me...I also had no food this morning, so the last time I had food before this was around 10 last night. I also loosened my belt one hole, cause I'm a fatty.

IMO, just run your training as it is. Do not attempt 350 until the meet. If you do all of your submax work leading up to the meet, 350 will definitely be in the bag and probably some more. So for now, let it sit and get angry then get it later when it actually counts.

9/13/13
Bench: 195
145x5
165x3
185x0
Changed grip
185x0 Brian spotted it up. I felt like I might have been able to get this without him. Either way it was way too much of a grind for what is 10# lighter than my mock meet result.

Notes: Normally I bench with my pinkies on the outter ring. At the rec this is almost a hand further out. I noticed this working up to my weight because my shoulders were really bothering me. I asked Kyle and he confirmed. Changed it for my second 185 attempt. Since I missed the weight I am going to hold this training weight for my next cycle. This is a manageable weight for me.

My short experience training at the CRWC is done.

9/14/13
Deadlift: 360
240x5
270x5
305x5 did 14.

Hamstring Curls 80x3x12
Back Raises 3x12
Leg Raises 3x12

Deadlift was the same as always. I felt like my speed was not as bad. I am slowly working on trying to get myself into a better starting position for better speed off the floor. I feel like I am getting better at snapping the bar off the floor.

Notes: I trained around 1:30 and had not had anything to eat but a bowl of cereal around 8:30. This usually is not the case. I felt pretty terrible after my training session.

Allprocro wrote:

My short experience training at the CRWC is done.

CRWC = hardest training environment on earth.

9/16/13
OHP: 140
90x5
105x5
wrist wrap
120x5 did only 5 cause of wrap issue

Bench-heavy
95x5
115x3
135x2
155x2
175x0
Went to old grip
135x5
175x2
185x2
Sooo changing my grip back.

Pulldowns
110x3x12
Face Pulls
60x3x12

Hammer Curls
25x3x12
Rope Pulldowns
80x3x12

Notes:
I guess I lost my right wrist wrap at the CRWC last time I benched. So I pressed without wraps and after my 105 set my left wrist (former injured buddy) was pretty tender. I wrapped it with the solo wrist wrap, and just did 5 reps even though I had a lot left in the tank.

Bench...Brian showed up and bailed me out with his wrist wraps so I followed what I was suppose to do..Work up to a tough double and maybe go for a heavy single if I felt like I had it. 155 felt like a pretty tough double and then I just flat out missed 175 (miss grooved it toward my head). My bench has been consistently under-performing compared to my mock meet result (195). At the mock meet I benched with a somewhat narrow grip (thumbs length into knurling) but since then I have brought my hands out to the rings (competition bar). That is about a 3 fingers change...After missing 175 I decided to see where my bench was at with the narrower grip. Smoked 175 for an easy double, and then hit 185 for another easy double. These reps felt easier than any heavy work I have done with the wider grip. I'm going to switch back to my older grip. My wider grip has just consistently not been showing up.

If anyone finds my red elite fts wrist wrap at the CRWC, steal it for me.

Okay quick run-down of the bench. What I did. Why it isn’t working. Why I am going back. 

Benching narrower for my entire training pre-July I was able to put on 40 pounds onto my bench from December to July. I had received a lot of feedback on how my bench looked awkward. I’d tuck my elbows and bring the bar fairly low on my chest, resulting in almost a bench press/tricep ext hybrid….I decided to kick the grip out probably 2 inches…This, in retrospect, was a pretty big jump. I made this change thinking it would pay off immediately. That there was a technical issue with my bench, and if I resolved it, I would put 10-20 pounds on my bench right away. When this didn’t happen I started to do a lot of TnG work, and was hitting rep RPs doing that, but once the weight got heavy and I started to work on pausing I really saw a decline. 

Training numbers have looked like this.

I hit a 195 in my mock-meet which was paused w/ a bench command in July. I did this with the narrower grip

Below is wider grip
185x1 TnG (very tough) on 8/19
195x0 TnG on 8/25
185x0 on 9/13
175x0 9/16

Changed grip (9/16) to older and more narrow grip
175x2 paused
185x2 paused and left some in the tank

That’s a lot of fucking misses in a short period of time…I’m actually embarrassed, and not even cause it is baby weight, but just the fact that I let myself miss that much…I’m glad I sat down and wrote this. Missing a lift 3 out of 4 training sessions is not good. Anyways…I miss almost all the reps the same. I’m slow off the chest and I either get stuck, or miss groove it towards my head.
So right now I am clearly a better bencher with a narrower grip. Maybe I am a poor wide grip bencher, or maybe I am doing something wrong that makes my bench just suck with a wide grip. For right now, I’m stronger with the narrower grip, and I think it makes sense to revert back to it.

Yes...feel the power of the Dark Side...