The 1400 or Bust Log

Also, Rich Peters removed me from the NASA group less than a day after I did the UPA meet, lol.

KKeough wrote:

Broceidon wrote:

inb4- 4x BW pull

You're not "in before" anything, lol. It happened yesterday. 146.5 x 4 = 586.

let me clarify, i said you would pull 4x BW at the meet. a few guys from 22nd said that you had an awesome meet and that your deadlift was monstrous. many 'mirers at 22nd this morning

Broceidon wrote:

KKeough wrote:

Broceidon wrote:

inb4- 4x BW pull

You're not "in before" anything, lol. It happened yesterday. 146.5 x 4 = 586.

let me clarify, i said you would pull 4x BW at the meet. a few guys from 22nd said that you had an awesome meet and that your deadlift was monstrous. many 'mirers at 22nd this morning

lol. Good call, then--I do remember you saying that, actually. The pull felt real good, and my session at 22nd Street gave me a lot of confidence, so they deserve a lot of thanks. I don't know about "awesome," but my bench and deadlift never been even remotely close to that strong at a meet before. Again, the squat needs fixing, but at least more things are going right than wrong.

KKeough wrote:

Also, Rich Peters removed me from the NASA group less than a day after I did the UPA meet, lol.

I know nothing about the history of PL/how federations work/the politics of it all...but...

This guy sounds like the type of guy who is bad for the sport. He should be happy for you on your accomplishments in the sport, even if they don't happen at a NASA meet. On a human level, divorced from all the federation competition, he should be happy for you. Makes me question if I want to even compete in NASA, a federation that looked like a good choice, given it seems to be a good venue for novice lifters.

Also congratulations on 601, and best raw lifter.

Allprocro wrote:

KKeough wrote:

Also, Rich Peters removed me from the NASA group less than a day after I did the UPA meet, lol.

I know nothing about the history of PL/how federations work/the politics of it all...but...

This guy sounds like the type of guy who is bad for the sport. He should be happy for you on your accomplishments in the sport, even if they don't happen at a NASA meet. On a human level, divorced from all the federation competition, he should be happy for you. Makes me question if I want to even compete in NASA, a federation that looked like a good choice, given it seems to be a good venue for novice lifters.

Also congratulations on 601, and best raw lifter.

When we talk next, I'll give you my thoughts on NASA. The truth is probably more complicated than I can present it here.

Young 'murican powerlifter.

NASA isn't bad. You just have to be able to see things for what they truly are, and form an opinion on that.


As I posted on Facebook, I am done with NASA, for personal reasons. (i.e. they deleted my comments because I don't have Rich Peters' cock down my throat)

In case you haven't seen this from FB:



hng.

KKeough wrote:

Allprocro wrote:

KKeough wrote:

Also, Rich Peters removed me from the NASA group less than a day after I did the UPA meet, lol.

I know nothing about the history of PL/how federations work/the politics of it all...but...

This guy sounds like the type of guy who is bad for the sport. He should be happy for you on your accomplishments in the sport, even if they don't happen at a NASA meet. On a human level, divorced from all the federation competition, he should be happy for you. Makes me question if I want to even compete in NASA, a federation that looked like a good choice, given it seems to be a good venue for novice lifters.

Also congratulations on 601, and best raw lifter.

When we talk next, I'll give you my thoughts on NASA. The truth is probably more complicated than I can present it here.

I would appreciate this for real. It's becoming pretty hard to not formulate an opinion on him (Rich Peters) given the way he has treated you and Chris. Also scrolling through the last year on the NASA IOWA page and seeing some of his posts isn't helping.

KKeough wrote:

In case you haven't seen this from FB:
https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/970973_544682228927762_2058624160_n.jpg
hng.

Das nice

I'm tempted to have Jack De Fibraz post this on the NASA page

They posted results from the meet:

http://upapower.com/downloads/resultsfor07202013fullpower.pdf

On Sunday, I just did a little foam rolling after my meet.

Monday:

Floor Press (w/ reactive slingshot)
Barx20
95x8
135x3
185x3
225x3
275x3
315x3ish
315x3
225x8 (normal grip)
225x8 (normal grip)
225x8 (normal grip)

Notes: I still felt good coming off of the meet, so I wanted to get one more good pushing session in before my carb-load drops off. 315x3 is a PR; I didn't quite get it the first time, but I did on the second attempt. After that, I worked on some reps with my grip in a bit--I'll be doing one "normal grip" session per week on bench.

Tuesday:

Reverse-Band Squat (w/ doubled minis--about 120 lbs. at bottom, 60ish lbs. at top)
185x5
225x5
275x3
315x3
365x3
405x3
435x3
455x3
475x3
500x3

Leg Curls, BWx200

Leg Extensions, three sets

Hip Abductors, three sets

Notes: Doing the reverse-band thing for a little while as I work on my stance. After this week, I'll start integrating more unwrapped volume. In a couple of cycles, I'll start working in my wraps again.

Wednesday:

Paused Bench Press
Barx20
95x10
135x10
155x25
155x20 (tng, normal grip)
155x20 (tng, normal grip)

External Rotations, three sets

Band Pull-Aparts, three sets

Notes: I suck with a "normal" grip. Triceps are definitely a weakness now. I'm not sure how well this grip will transfer over to my competition bench, so I'll tip-toe into these changes.

Reverse-Band Squats
135x5
185x5
225x5
275x5
315x5
365x5
405x5
455x5
480x5
495x4 (missed fifth)

Leg Curls
BWx200

Notes: After seven months almost entirely dedicated to higher-volume unwrapped squatting--and a second consecutive disappointing squat at my meet--I've come to a few conclusions regarding myself and my training:

1.) My squat confidence sucks. I feel very confident benching and deadlifting at meets, but not squatting. There is no excuse for me squatting only 446 at a meet in which I otherwise felt great. I'm going to fix this by...

2.) Widening my stance (slightly) and trying Oly shoes again so that I feel more stable. Also, I will be...

3.) Increasing the intensity. I have done very little high-intensity squatting, and it's starting to show. As much as I hate squatting in wraps, I need to do a little more of it. And I went from 450 to 501 very quickly last year when I started with reverse-band squats; I'm stronger than I was then, but I think I "threw the baby out with the bathwater" when I ran Smolov. It worked as a peaking program, but I got too hung up on unwrapped squatting as "the answer" and neglected my high-intensity stuff. Because my occasional wrapped set produced good numbers, I felt I was meet-ready. Perhaps I was, strength-wise, but doing more high-intensity squatting in training will help prepare me mentally for competition.

4.) I'm also going to start number-chasing again. I used to do well with constantly trying to break rep PRs on my squat, and I think I need to get back to this. I'll do a dedicated unwrapped volume day, but I want at least one "rep-max" day as well. Last cycle, I had very few RPE@9 or above sets, and of the ones I did, very few were at five reps or fewer (I can probably count them on one hand).

5.) I'm also going to start doing things that will motivate me to squat again. I'm frankly very sick of doing five sets of eight with something in the low to mid 300s. I don't have to throw this out entirely, but I also shouldn't be doing it three times per week if I'm so tired of it. I need to start doing squatting that will motivate me to break PRs again, which means giving myself top sets again.

Anyway, that's all for squat changes for now. My squat training will change, but it won't be dramatically different, and I will try to remember the good things from my unwrapped period as I plan ahead. Even if I do something absurdly stupid, like 430-460-480 at the next meet, I'm strong enough in the other two lifts to make 1400 happen. I just need to give myself a RIDICULOUSLY EASY second attempt to start building confidence again. If it means sandbagging it on the squat, then so be it.

KKeough wrote:

Leg Curls
BWx200

 Ah the mysterious 200 leg curls. This is from Westside correct? I've seen many a people talk about them but never have seen them in action. Where do you these, just on the floor? Do you go all the way to 90, just 45 degrees??

Also has anyone ever said your squat kinda looks like a deadlift? Or that it is a deadlift? Sorry for the off-hand comment. Not trying to criticize.  More curious.

Allprocro wrote:

KKeough wrote:

Leg Curls
BWx200

 Ah the mysterious 200 leg curls. This is from Westside correct? I've seen many a people talk about them but never have seen them in action. Where do you these, just on the floor? Do you go all the way to 90, just 45 degrees??

Also has anyone ever said your squat kinda looks like a deadlift? Or that it is a deadlift? Sorry for the off-hand comment. Not trying to criticize.  More curious.

Yep, it's a Westside thing--you just lay face-down on the floor and do a hamstring curl. I don't really focus on range of motion too much (somewhere beyond 90 degrees, but I'm not sure exactly how far), as my goal is just to get a "wicked pump," I guess.

And yeah--I think because I was a good deadlifter and a lousy squatter when I started, I just ended up turning my squat into a sort of deadlift. It looks weird as hell to me too.

Paused Bench Press
Barx20
95x5
135x5
185x5
205x5
225x5
245x5
260x5
w/ regular grip
225x6
225x6
225x6
135x20
135x10

Face Pulls, five sets

Machine Rows, four sets

Notes: I'm just now working back into heavy paused benching, having done no full sessions for the last two and a half or so weeks. This felt OK--260x5 was probably an RPE@9, and I stopped it there. It will take me a few weeks to build it back up, but I'm starting a lot stronger than when I came off of my April meet. I also mixed in some heavier regular-grip benching, and I can tell that even moving my hands in an inch will bring my max down a good deal. My plan is to run two competition-grip days--and a regular-grip day in place of my floor pressing, which has now gotten "too good" to warrant further training--for this training cycle, and I hope that the narrower grip carries over.

Deadlifts off 2.5" Blocks
135x5
225x3
315x1
405x1
455x1 (CHALKLESS PR)
475x13
475x5
475x5
475x5
315x10
315x10

Notes: I set for myself the goal of 10-12 repetitions coming into this session, and I decided not to put a lot of pressure on myself to hit a big number. I figured I might be beat from the meet, so I wanted to be semi-conservative with my projection. 475x13 wasn't too difficult, and had I wanted to drag it out any longer, I could have hit more reps, but I have decided that ~4 minutes is my limit for these long cluster sets. After that, I pulled 475x5x3 without straps; the weights moved slow, but they felt really strong. 315x10x2 was done just to really emphasize and hammer my lockout--these longer sets will go up in weight soon enough.

I have no idea what is a reasonable expectation for my deadlift for November, but I see no reason why I couldn't pull 617+ at that meet. I have a ton of time to prepare, and my deadlift shot up a lot since I made my stance change in early June. But we'll see what happens--I'm used to my deadlift moving at a snail's pace.

you have turned me into a believer

all hail the cluster

KevinAlvy wrote:

you have turned me into a believer

all hail the cluster

Really?

I mean, it's just a lot of deadlifting. I think all I needed to do was deadlift a lot more. The cluster set just gives me something entertaining.

not telling

KevinAlvy wrote:

not telling

I just want to be pulling KevinAlvy weights. When is it my turn?

Okay, I haven't updated this log in a long while, so I'll put something quick together to get myself back on track. I've been posting videos from the last couple of weeks on my channel; if you're really interested, you can find some training up on there.

I'll just log yesterday, my first day training in Madison:

Paused Bench Press
Barx20
95x5
135x5
185x2
225x2
260x2
285x2
285x2
285x2
w/ slingshot, touch-and-go, regular grip:
225x15
225x15
225x15

T-Bar Rows, five sets

Tricep Pushdowns, three sets

External Rotations, five sets

Notes: Benching today felt a lot better than last week, when I really struggled with 280x2x4. These reps weren't blazing fast, but they were very strict, and I kept in my groove much better. I was using a Forza bench, and I was wondering if that was making a difference--I've usually benched very well on these despite not being able to get much of an arch on it. These doubles were encouraging, and I'm just trying to train through a slight pec/shoulder strain right now.

Today I deadlift, and I didn't bring my camera, so I won't have any video. It will be at a new gym, and I'll make my plan based on how I feel (and based on what equipment I have--doing the 2.5" block pulls will probably be off the table). I might use this week to break a cheap rep max (I'm thinking of going for 560x2 for my first 90%+ pulls since the meet), then get in some easy volume in the 70-75% range. We'll see how it goes though. I feel pretty inspired by Richard Hawthorne's 1470-lb. total at 132 (weighing 128 lbs.), so maybe that will propel me to a good number today.

Deadlift
135x3
225x1
315x1
405x2 (why?)
495x1
565x2 (PR)
405x8
405x8
405x8

Face Pulls, five sets

Band Pull-Aparts, two sets

Notes: Today was a semi-deload for me; my back has been pretty fatigued from getting back into training, so I took it pretty easy. I worked quickly up to a cheap two-rep PR (my previous best was 550x2), then got in some extra volume with 405 and really just focused on strict lockouts. 565x2 felt pretty easy, and I probably had a tough third rep in me. I pulled with a stiff bar today (no deadlift bars at this gym), so I guess that's also encouraging. Overall, my deadlift's feeling strong and is making progress--if I keep putting together good sessions, I think I can pull in the low 600s in November.

There's video of the double PR, but I don't have it yet--I'll post it tonight.

The jump in your deadlift from about 6 months ago is crazy, especially being that I know you've mentioned it was barely puttin' along before the 601.

Seth wrote:

The jump in your deadlift from about 6 months ago is crazy, especially being that I know you've mentioned it was barely puttin' along before the 601.

Well, I changed everything from the training to the technique, and it was a pretty dramatic change, so I guess this was a possibility. I expect the improvements to slow down, but I still think I could see another 10-20 lb. jump this training cycle. This looked and felt a lot easier than 550x2, and that was two months ago (June 10th).

It's still way too far out to start setting goals, but I guess ~620 is possible if I keep seeing progress; we'll just see what happens with my rep numbers. I think I could have done 575 or 580 for a double today.