The 1400 or Bust Log

I encourage you all to come in and watch Kyle squat the bar. It's quite a sight.

Nathan Poage wrote:

Why would you tell him that? Do you even care about the "Two men enter, one man leaves" thread?

I'm not worried. Some random highlights from the past three months:

Kyle's squat:
495, 470x2, 460x3, flawless technique.
Squats deeper.
Uses a narrow stance to give George a chance; would probably squat more with Westside-style wide stance.

George's squat:
Always high.
Almost missed 440.
Not built for squat, should just quit it.

Kyle's bench:
300-lb. paused bench press; so easy that he took his time with it.
Mastered the paused bench, setting PRs everywhere.
Reps George's max as if it were an empty bar.

George's bench:
Sucks.
Cheats with ultra-wide grip on bench.
Also not built for bench; should just quit, again, and do deadlift-only.

Kyle's deadlift:
Broke numerous rep- and deficit height PRs; 500x5, 510x4, 520x3, 540x2, 520 from a 4" deficit.
Now with 50% lower hips.
Still retaining incredible off-the-speed floor, plus has a higher meet PR than George.

George's deadlift:
Ramping.
Failed 555, twice.
No pulls above 525 this cycle, which probably means 525 is his max.

Anyway, these random facts probably make clear which man will be leaving on October 27th.

KKeough wrote:

Kyle's squat:
495, 470x2, 460x3, flawless technique.
Squats deeper.

Stopped reading here LMFAO

Way to cut a little off my squat depth.

Also: can't judge depth from the front.

Also: still deeper than you.

ITT: butthurt

Fake plates and steroids.

I am basking in the hate

I don't squat deep enough to get my butt hurt.

(Sorry about the lousy audio! I forgot to mix it before producing this.)

Squat:
Barx5
135x1
225x1
315x1
405x1
480x1

Paused Bench Press
Barx5
95x1
135x1
185x1
225x1
250x1
270x1

I worked up to an opener on bench and a planned second attempt on squat, and both felt pretty good. I actually ended up squatting and bench pressing a combined nine pounds less than the numbers I finished with in July (750 to 759), and I didn't really break a sweat on these.

So, anyway, good stuff! My weight's looking pretty solid right now and I'm feeling pretty good. Now, it's time to wait until Saturday.

Now, who wants to see the shirtless photos I took from my most recent body-comp analysis?

Did I tell you guys that Kyle is considering competing equipped? He already owns a squat suit and everything.

no glutes no care

KKeough wrote:

Now, who wants to see the shirtless photos I took from my most recent body-comp analysis?

Surely OP will deliver.

So, here's the run-down of my performance at today's meet:

This week, for whatever reason, I wasn't as motivated as usual, and I just wanted to get this meet over with and get back to uninterrupted training. I think the combination of a brutal training cycle and having to build off of a great July performance was wearing on me. I wanted to break 1350 but knew it wasn't going to be easy; I've been as strong as ever in training, but my confidence, particularly on my squat, hasn't exactly been sky-high.

I knew if I made it through my squats, I'd be OK, so I opened with a semi-conservative 446. I felt like I crushed this for an opener, so I made the choice to jump up to 479 for a +6 lb. meet PR. I had done 480 in training on Tuesday, and it went smooth, though as usual, my balance felt a bit off on that, and the bar rolled on my back. So, I knew I needed to suck it up and make this happen for a PR total.

I took 479, walked it out slowly, and popped up with it easier than I had on Tuesday. This gave me a new NASA American record, and it gave me the confidence to call for 501. Even with a missed third attempt on the squat, I knew now that I would be able to break 1328 regardless.

But 500 was the number I had been gunning for since I squatted 495 in the middle of this past training cycle. Like 479, it felt like death on my back--my squat has climbed so quickly since the summer that I haven't quite adjusted to the feel of these heavy weights--but I sank it as deep as I could and came up strong with it. I folded over a bit, but I actually popped up pretty smooth. After watching the video, it looked like I had a bit left in the tank, but I'm VERY happy with my first 500+ lb. squat. If all goes well, I'll try to add a few more pounds onto this when I re-test maxes at the end of the year.

501 makes me the second person in the U.S. to have squatted 500+ at 148 in the past year, and it gives me a chance at possibly picking up the #1 spot in November. It was also a 3.38xBW squat, which is cool.

Now, at this point, I knew I had it in me to pick up a big total, so I stuck to my original plan and stayed conservative. I warmed up great on bench and felt like all the paused training I had been doing would pay off. I took 270 as an opener and crushed it, and so I called for 292.

292 was awful. I rolled my right shoulder, mis-grooved, and very nearly missed the lift. I'll be honest--I probably didn't respect 292 like I should, and I panicked when I mis-grooved and muscled it up. I called for 298 and knew I was capable of getting it, but I wasn't exactly confident after that shitshow. So, I changed a number of things: I brought out my belt, decided to take my unrack differently (with one breath as opposed to two), and used a stand for my feet. I also didn't rely upon getting the huge arch I had gotten for 292.

I got everything right, because I crushed 298, to the shock of myself and everyone around me. I have no idea what happened, but I suppose I just hit it perfectly. I must have made 292 as hard as possible, and 298 as easy as possible. Like my squat, I'll re-test this by the end of the year, and I EXPECT to break past the 300-lb. barrier and pause 305+.

298 also becomes my first twice-bodyweight paused bench press in a meet! I know that I need to be benching 320-330 to put together a truly world-class total at this weight, and I think I'm on the path to doing that now.

So, at this point, I've got just about 800 lbs. between my squat and bench press, so I know I only need to pull 550+ for 1350. Again, I warmed up really strong, and I opened at 535 and pulled it with ease. I wavered between 556 and 562--I already had a PR total with my opener at 1334--and decided on 556. I wanted an easier pull to give me a shot at a PR deadlift, and I wanted to clear 1350 and move up to #3 for the 148-lb. rankings.

556 was probably about as clean as I've pulled a deadlift at this weight; the lockout at this point is never easy, but I didn't struggle badly. I was eight-for-eight now, and I figured I'd just go for it and call for 573. That would be a +5 lb. PR on my deadlift. Hitting 568 would have advanced me up to #2 in the rankings, but I decided the PR was more important.

I took 573 and came oh so close to locking it out, but I just ran out of steam at the top. Had I not been conservative, I might have pulled it for a second attempt, but I stand by my decision. At the very least, this will give me some room to improve for last time. Considering my best-ever gym lifts coming into this meet amounted to a 1355 total, this was a great performance. At a certain level, it's hard to be at your best in every lift, and though my deadlift didn't surpass what I did last time, I know I was just as strong with it today as I was at the last meet.

So, I finished eight-for-nine with a 1355-lb. total; I weighed in at 148 lbs., so this total was also my highest times' bodyweight result (9.15xBW). This moves me up to #3 in the U.S. at 148 lbs. My squat (which was 3.38 times' bodyweight) could potentially end up being my first #1 ranking in November; Tony Conyers squatted 530 in November and 501 over the summer, so I could move up to tie him if his bigger squat becomes ineligible and he doesn't compete at 148 before then.