Countdown to (1200) Pound Town

[Cmart]

Deadlift, o dreaded deadlift

135 x 10
225 x 3
315 x 1
445 x 1 -- a grind, but way better than my recent failures. I was starting to get nervous about having a very pathetic showing at the meet. Hopefully now a PR isn't out of the question.



(I only own 6 45lb plates, so the plate load is three 45's, two 25's, a ten and a five on each side.)

More deadlifts

405 x 1
405 x 1
365 x 5 -- with straps

I'll stop here so I can hit a reasonably heavy squat session in a few days. Overall, I'm very pleased.

In case the lockout on my deadlift looks odd to anyone... My first knee surgery when I was 39 left me with a right knee that doesn't bend or extend to full range of motion. In meets, I've explained (and demonstrated) this to the judges and it's never been a big deal. So just in case the lift looks unfinished, that's all the farther that leg locks. That's in case you're wondering.

 

[Cmart]

Bench Monday -- big Kyle came over so I could have a strong spotter. He worked up to easy singles with 425. I did a lot less.

135 x 10
225 x 3
315 x (negative) -- I want to get a little time under some heavier weight, so just did slow negatives with 315, pause at the bottom, then push as hard as I can
315 x (negative) -- It comes off my chest about an inch or two, that's it.
285 x 0 -- those negatives took a bit out of me
265 x 2 -- paused
265 x 2 -- paused
265 x 2 -- paused
225 x 5 -- narrow
225 x 4 -- narrow

Weighted pullups

BW+30 x 7
BW+30 x 6
BW underhand x 8
BW underhand x 5

Hit the wall quite a bit and was weaker than I'd like, but I was coming off a few days of not feeling well (stomach-related) so I'm glad to just get the work in, hopefully it pays off.

 

[Cmart]

Squats -- done with the 11" box for white light purposes

135 x 10
225 x 3
315 x 1
385 x 2 -- Finally! That's a double with my planned opener, although I may be conservative and start out with a little less.
385 x 1
385 x 1 -- easier than last single due to tightness

Excellent. I weighed 181 this morning, I finished this workout in 50 minutes, max HR was 169 BPM. A little rest goes a long way. And I can eat a couple of pizzas before the comp.

 

[Cmart]

Deadlift

135 x 10
225 x 3
315 x 1
445 x 1 -- still felt heavy, but better than last time. Video with dramatic music added below.
405 x 1
405 x 1

Shrugs
315 x 12

 

[The_observer86]

Have you tried moving your right hand grip out about half an inch? It seems your left side is rising before right, putting lots of stress on your RT side because of uneven grip. I had the same issue I think, but since I hurt my lower back, if I'm off by quarter inch, I get super sore on one side.

 

[Cmart]

Have you tried moving your right hand grip out about half an inch? It seems your left side is rising before right, putting lots of stress on your RT side because of uneven grip. I had the same issue I think, but since I hurt my lower back, if I'm off by quarter inch, I get super sore on one side.

I think I should try that. That was an alarming lean of the bar on that video, and I didn't notice it while I pulled, but I sure feel it in my right hip/lumbar today. Good call.

Side note: I weigh 181 again this morning. Time for more pizza, I guess.

Second side note: the meet is a week out from today. I wanted a double with 385 on the squat, got it. One more squat workout Sunday. I wanted a paused double with 285 on the bench, still need it, will try Monday. I got 445 on the deadlift, wanted more but that will do, I'm done deadlifting now until the meet.

I'm sure I have a minimum of 385/285/445 for 1115 in me, which would be a meet PR for me. I'm still hoping to break 400 in the squat, 300 in the bench, and to PR in deadlift (so something over 457). That would get me over 1150, which is shy of my 1200 dream, but still puts me well on my way to where I want to be.

For now, things look good. Just need to stay healthy and get good rest for a week.

 

[Cmart]

Well, the anticlimactic finish is that I bombed out -- the meet was a learning experience for me in that I made mistakes in training that became apparent at the meet, and mistakes at the meet that cost me a halfway decent (for me) total. Humbling and tough, but makes me want to work harder and do it again better.

I'll post video later, but here's the simple synopsis:

Weighed in at 82.0kg (180.81 lbs) -- felt good, maybe a little low energy and sore but healthy and capable

Squat
160kg (352.8 lbs) -- good, easy
170kg (374.9 lbs) -- good, a bit of a grind
182.5kg (402.4 lbs) -- went up, a tough grind, no lift, depth

Bench
120kg (264.6 lbs) -- hard, bench press has sucked for me lately, no lift, it went up but I moved my heels
130kg (286.7 lbs) -- big mistake to move up instead of taking 120 again, no lift, didn't complete the lift
130kg retry went the same as #2

Deadlift
190kg (419 lbs) -- not really hard, a good opener, good lift
200kg (441 lbs) -- difficult, good lift, I was thinking of 210 for 3rd but this was tough enough that I nixed that idea
205kg (452 lbs) -- darnit, this would have been my first increase for the DL comp, but it wasn't to be, it was stuck to the ground, no lift

This was a disappointing lesson learned -- I did too much grinding late in training, and too much training alone with no one watching my form and telling me I was making mistakes (except for some guys on here who were basically right) and my next move is to make the corrections to my training to do better next time.

Next time may be some time in October, there's a good meet then, but I haven't committed to it yet. Time now for a cigar and a rice crispy bar.

 

[MatterOverMind]

Bummer, man. But at least you learned a few things from it and can make adjustments for next time.

 

[Darth Magoo]

315 to 445 seems like a pretty big jump. Have you considered adding 1 or 2 more steps ramping up to a max attempt?

 

[Cmart]

Meet video still hasn't been uploaded, let alone trimmed for time, etc. but here's my attempt 3 squat, red-lighted for depth unfortunately but lesson learned, and I think I'll get it next time:

 

[MilkManUK]

I am by no means an expert, but that looked OK to me, depth-wise, from that angle.

 

[Oblivian]

If that's high, it's just barely. Hard to tell for certain from the angle.

 

[Cmart]

The judges said it's high, so it's certainly high, I trust them. I need to work on power out of the hole so I'm not gun-shy about hitting depth. I think the first two squats were three whites, and then I just got nervous about getting stapled on my third.

 

[Oblivian]

I wouldn't start over-correcting though. No point in burying well below depth if it leaves lbs off the bar. I'd just start filming some work sets from the side.

 

[Cmart]

The fall meet I'm thinking of competing in is three months from today. The meet registration hasn't opened yet, so I can't say for sure I'm doing it. I plan to.

Anyway, time to start tracking my workouts again. I've been using some lighter weights, concentrating on form for the last few months. I weight about 179, so I can eat what I want for a while and not be over. Time for more fun!