Keosawa's Powerlifting Log

[hatchoo]

That guy behind you deadlifting pissed me off, and i wasn't even there. I'm sure this is also part of your mental training

 

[LitteringAnd]

That guy behind you deadlifting pissed me off, and i wasn't even there.

Definitely this.

 

[LegioTitan]

Definitely this.

What.... the cereal fuck was that.

 

[Keosawa]

That guy behind you deadlifting pissed me off, and i wasn't even there. I'm sure this is also part of your mental training

Yeah, he and his friend were real motherfuckers.

Definitely this.

Yep.

What.... the cereal fuck was that.

That's called the joy of training at a big university gym with obnoxious assholes. Most of the people there are pretty considerate, but there are some real jerks, and when there are 50+ people in that gym at a time, there's bound to be at least a few.

 

[seamus1979]

gym etiquette is sadly missing in some people

 

[CRZA]

Great pressing, kro.
And Ive seen the video 3 times, I cant see anyone deadlifting?

 

[dawgpnd81]

You're a good dude for not saying anything to that douche. Strong pressing man. You had to have felt that rattle the cage in your set.

 

[Midnighter]

Lol, as soon as I saw the guy I just shook my head.

 

[Mike Y History]

Keo, are you in grad school and if so for what?

 

[PowerHungry]

Damn, wish my bench looked like smooth and in a groove.

 

[Keosawa]

gym etiquette is sadly missing in some people

Oh, trust me; there are some pretty atrocious characters at our gym.

Great pressing, kro.
And Ive seen the video 3 times, I cant see anyone deadlifting?

Kro?

And that's probably because it's hard to call whatever the fuck they were doing a "deadlift."

You're a good dude for not saying anything to that douche. Strong pressing man. You had to have felt that rattle the cage in your set.

Yeah, I really just try to focus on myself, since it only hurts me to be bothered by others. But I sort of wanted to call him out on it and show him just how easy--and unimpressive--a 275 lb. deadlift was.

Lol, as soon as I saw the guy I just shook my head.

I knew they were going to be trouble when they came over and took my clamps without saying a word.

Keo, are you in grad school and if so for what?

Yes--I'm in the Ph.D program here for Film Studies.

Damn, wish my bench looked like smooth and in a groove.

I felt sort of out of the groove on this day, but yeah, my bench usually feels pretty automatic.

Part of the reason for that is because I bench a lot, but part of it is also because I bench with a wide grip. The wider your grip, the less you have to arch down, then up, to perform the bench press. I can bench in a pretty straight line without having to tuck my elbows very hard, and so this makes it much easier for me to stay in the groove. Generally speaking, the closer your grip, the more lateral movement you'll need in order to stay grooved and keep a.) your elbows under the bar, b.) your wrists straight, and b.) your forearms perpendicular to the ground. The greater the lateral movement, the easier it is to mis-groove. The bench press is the only lift where having a straight, vertical bar path is not necessarily best.

 

[larizzo]

Damn, wish my bench looked like smooth and in a groove.

Agree!

 

[Keosawa]

Squat (w/ wraps)
95x8
135x5
225x3
315x3
365x6
425x7 (PR)

Pull-Throughs
115x15
115x15
115x15

Leg Curls
BWx200



For today: I wanted to come in and try not to put too much pressure on myself to perform well in my wraps for the first time in a couple of months. I felt good about where my squat stood after all this high-frequency training, but I still felt really achy earlier in the week and I don't feel like I've hit my stride yet. Plus, I wasn't sure how I would respond to being back in the wraps. I have a squat style that really seems to take advantage of them (I'm great at using my wraps but, conversely, suck without them), so I was hoping that was still the case.

Overall, I'm very happy with today's results. I only did two work sets for a few reasons--I just wanted to do enough work to experiment with them, and they very quickly started cannibalizing the backs of my knees--but the results were good. 365x6 moved pretty fast, though I could feel myself sitting back further than when I was squatting in these every week. For 425, the number I had in mind was 7, but I figured I'd just accept whatever I ended up with, even if it was underwhelming. I was ready to accept the possibility that I'd have to set my sights lower on the squat for this meet, even though I REALLY did not want to have to face regression.

With that said, 425x7 felt pretty good. The reps felt easy, and though I mis-grooved early, I started getting more comfortable as the set moved on. I didn't break technique too badly and I managed to keep most of my speed through the last rep. My legs just got real tired from shouldering the weight--and having circulation cut off from the wraps--so I racked at seven rather than trying to squeeze out more reps. Someday soon, I'm going to take the training wheels off and go until failure with these, so that I know where I stand.

But yes, this went about as well as I could hope for, and it now seems like 515-520 in April is a distinct possibility.

 

[Keosawa]

Agree!

Well, I wish my squat felt in the groove more often. I'm all over the place with that thing on some days.

 

[belph]

You tiny little freak.




I mean that in the best, most respectful way possible.

 

[Keosawa]

You tiny little freak.




I mean that in the best, most respectful way possible.

Awww, thanks.

 

[miaou]

Strong squats.

 

[Keosawa]

Strong squats.

Thank you, miaou.

Interesting insight (at least to me) from the past few days: it's interesting to see just how much I get out of my wraps versus other people. I had one lifter on my team try them out after doing a 340-lb. squat at our intramural meet (and 350 in training), and he missed 335 twice while in them. We've had two other lifters try them out and, after one session, decide they didn't like them.

I still use a shoddy pair of Iron-Zs, which are made of a more cloth-like material, not like the stiffer, rubbery wraps out there. For whatever reason, I feel better in these. I find it interesting that I benefit so much from them while others seem to benefit very little. My theory has been that my technique lends itself really well to wrapped squatting, and not well at all to unwrapped squatting, hence the discrepancy in my squat maxes.

 

[Babyeater]

I am one who just really is not into wraps at this point in my lifting career. Additionally, my weight class squat numbers are dominated by women who squat unwrapped, and something about that just makes me want to try to get to that level without wraps too. I know that the opposite is true for Kyle's weight class's squat rankings--most men up at the top are using wraps. It's definitely an individualized choice on MANY levels and not nearly as black and white as youtube armchair commentators love to make it out to be.

 

[LegioTitan]

I feel as if though they push me forward a bit.

Given that I only wear them at 80%+ maybe that's just me sucking at 80%+.... so...

I only use mine to lessen knee issues and I don't really like the idea of them giving me help but... it's whatever.