DW's Journal

[BendtheBar]

I should be close to 1700, or if all goes well at 1700 in 10 days. Competing at the UPA Nationals. Qualifier for RUM is about 1708 or something like that. I might compete in the fall if I think I am over 1725-1750.

We'll see.

[DieselWeasel]

Originally Posted by BendtheBar

I should be close to 1700, or if all goes well at 1700 in 10 days. Competing at the UPA Nationals. Qualifier for RUM is about 1708 or something like that. I might compete in the fall if I think I am over 1725-1750.

We'll see.

Good luck, Steve.



04.12.12

Reverse Band Bench Press, Paused: 1 set of 1 with 285, then two failed attempts with 300

^ In the past, I've only done reverse band deadlift, not RB bench press, so this was new for me. I used blue bands which removed ~60lbs from the bottom of the movement. As the bar approached the end of the lift, I felt the full weight.

- Both attempts with 300 were very close.

Behind-The-Neck Push Press: 2 sets of 1 with 205, 1 set of 1 with 215, 2 failed attempts with 225

^ The 205 and 215 were BTN-PP personal records.

- The two misses with 225 were not as close as the two tries with 300 RB bench.

One-Arm Barbell Bent Press: some near catastrophic failures with 122

^ A couple of those were nearly finished, but not all the way. I banged my shoulder a few times, which gave me some bruising and a small scrape.

- I think I'm going to put this on the back-burner for a while. Too risky and I would rather do the one-arm thick dumbbell press, in preparation for a possible strongman show that I might be doing in July.

Rope Pushdown: 11,10,9 with 130

[BendtheBar]

Good to see the overheads moving up. Hope that carries over to bench.

[DieselWeasel]

Originally Posted by BendtheBar

Good to see the overheads moving up. Hope that carries over to bench.

Thanks, Steve. Yeah, strong shoulders should help me drive through the mid-range of the bench press, saving myself for the lock-out.



04.14.12

Two-Hand Barbell Power Snatch: 5 sets of 1 with 133

^ 91.7% of my 1RM, 145.

Deadlift: 4,2,1 with 508, then 441x5, and 353x6

^ The first set was a 4-rep PR.

- I intended to get more reps with those two drop-sets, but I didn't have as much left in the tank as I thought I would have after the 508 sets.

Incline Barbell Bench Press, Paused: 3 sets of 5 with 165

One-Arm Seated Cable Row: 2 sets of 8, each arm, with 110

^ I never did this before.

Pull-Up: 1 set of 10 with BW+40

Keg Carry: 2 walks with 160, then 2 with 210

^ The two with 210 were approximately half the distance of the 2 w/ 160.

- I still need to try the 260 which is the heaviest keg at my gym.

[J_Byrd]

Nice work! I like the overhead work. I need to get back into doing some myself!

[IronManlet]

Nice pulls. Ever give one-armed snatches a try?

[BendtheBar]

Congrats on the PR.

[DieselWeasel]

Originally Posted by J_Byrd

Nice work! I like the overhead work. I need to get back into doing some myself!

Yeah, it should help my bench press, along with being good training for the strongman show that I intend to do on July 21st.

Originally Posted by IronManlet

Nice pulls. Ever give one-armed snatches a try?

Thanks. Yeah, I've been doing it with a kettlebell over the past year, but haven't done it with a barbell since 2004 or 2005. I was thinking about that recently. Might try it in the near future.

Originally Posted by BendtheBar

Congrats on the PR.

Thanks, Steve.



04.17.12

Back Squat, Breathing: 1 set of 12 (8,4) with 315

^ My PR with 315 is 15 reps in one breathing set, last August. Going into this session, I thought that I would be capable of getting at least a small PR (16 or 17 reps), but it looks like I wasn't ready after the previous workout which included a 508x4 deadlift PR, among other stuff that brutalized my posterior chain.

Leg Press: 1 set of 10 with 4 plates per side, 1 set of 3 with 5 plates per side

^ Quads were too fatigued to do enough reps in that final set.

Standing Unilateral Leg Curl: 1 set of 8 with 80, then 1 set of 6 w/ 90

^ Same # of reps with each leg.

Cybex Donkey Calf Raise: 22, 20, 18 with 270

Hanging Leg Raise: 6,5 with BW+20



04.19.12

Close-Grip Bench Press: 7,6,5 with 225

^ touch-and-go

- First set was a rep-PR.

Strict Standing Press: 6 sets of 1 with 175

Parallel-Bar Dip: 6,5 with BW+135

Flat Dumbbell Fly: 8,6 with 60s

Hand-Stand Push-Up Against Wall: 0, then 2

^ This was new for me.

- I failed the first attempt, then did a double and failed the 3rd rep. Very good exercise for the deltoids.

V-Bar Pushdown: 10,8 with 140

[LtL]

Strong work in here.

LtL

[DieselWeasel]

Originally Posted by LtL

Strong work in here.

LtL

Thanks, bro.



04.21.12

Deadlift: 325, 335, 345, 355 - all against short black "strong" bands

^ My previous PR with those bands was 315 in late October 2010, so I went well beyond that, in 10lb increments. These bands give me ~230lbs extra at the top of the lift, so the 355 was equivalent to ~585

Romanian Deadlift: 3 sets of 7 with 335

One-Arm Seated Cable Row: 2-3 sets of 8 with 120

Wide-Grip Pulldown: 2-3 sets of 6 with 225

Thickbar Curl: 1 set of 10 with 70

Keg Carry: 80-90 feet with 210, then 25-30 feet with 260

^ Plenty of rest between those two carries.





04.23.12

Back Squat: 2 sets of 4 with 405

^ This was a small multiple-set PR.

Front Squat: 4 sets of 3 with 260

^ Probably going to doubles with 265 or 270, next week. No belt, like these 260 triples.

Snatch-Grip Deadlift, 4" Deficit: 3 sets of 1 with 375

^ I used a belt for those singles.

Glute-Ham Raise: 1 set of 3 with BW+44

^ I wanted more reps than this, but my hams have been getting brutalized too much over the past couple of weeks.

Cybex Donkey Calf Raise: 1 set of 25 with 270





04.24.12

I think my right hamstring was slightly strained near the insertion, underneath the glute. It didn't impede my lifting today because it was almost entirely upper body.

Bench Press w/ Slingshot: 1 set of 1 with 315

^ First time using the Slingshot. I worked up to a max single. It should be a good training aid, hopefully improving the top part of my bench press, along with priming my CNS to handle heavier weights.

One-Arm Press/Jerk, 2.5" Thick Dumbbell: 3,1 with 100

^ I used my new Iron Bull T-Grip to make the dumbbell much thicker, almost the same diameter as the 3" handle that the circus 'bell will have, at the strongman show in July.

- Those two sets (3,1) were with my right hand/arm. Along with that, I did two sets of 3 with my left, using a 90lb dumbbell, but without the T-Grip.

Parallel-Bar Dip: 8,7,7 with BW + three chains around neck (60lbs)

Rope Pushdown: 2 sets of 6 with 150

Two Dumbbell Lateral Raise: 1 set of 10 with 35s

^ Probably 40s next time, 1-2 sets.