Keosawa's Powerlifting Log

Training from this week!

Box Squats (w/ reverse mini-bands; 35 lbs. at bottom)
Barx8
95x5
135x5
185x3
225x3
275x3
315x3
345x3
375x3
405x3

Beltless Squats
335x5
335x5
335x5

GHRs
BWx20
BWx20
BWx20
BWx20

Hip Abductors, three sets

Weighted Crunches
80x15
80x15
80x15
80x15
 
Paused Bench Press
Barx20
95x5
135x5
185x3
225x2
265x2
285x2
285x2
290x3 (+5 lb. PR)
235x8
235x8

Lat Pulldowns
140x8
140x8
140x8
140x8
140x8

External Rotations, in kg
7.5x12, 12
7.5x12, 12
7.5x12, 12
7.5x12, 12

Notes on training: It's eight weeks from my next meet and I'm finally starting to really let it go on the heavy training days. 405x3 was a 10-lb. PR from when I was messing with this setup last week, and it was a pretty good one; I feel much better at grinding out heavy box squats than when I used to do them. Afterwards, I got in fifteen reps at a reasonably high intensity with my beltless squat; those sets were space six minutes apart, and I was pretty gassed after the last one. Starting this week, I squat on both Thursday and Friday, so I'll be getting in plenty of back squatting soon.

On the bench, I took last week's template and just added five pounds to it, considering I handled it so well. I was a little concerned about doing 285 for three sets of two, as that's my current max triple and only ten pounds away from my best double, but I cruised through it on the first two sets, which prompted me to go for 290x3. This is the first heavy max-rep set I've done this training cycle, and I handled it very well. I nearly ran out of gas on the third rep, but I was able to finish it without any asymmetry in my arms. Furthermore, the pauses felt good--I didn't cut any of them short, which I'm sometimes inclined to do on near-max sets. 290x3 is probably the best single work-set of mine this training cycle, and it comes just after pulling 521x4 off of 2.5" blocks; at this moment, I feel good about my deadlift and bench press development, and I feel like I'll be set up for meet PRs in July.

One final thing: I'm considering competing at UPA Battle at the Mississippi in July instead of NASA Grand Nationals. There are a few reasons for this: first, it's a bigger meet with better competition. Second, I want to see what the facilities are like; the NASA meets in Des Moines are very well-run with great spotters and loaders, but the actual lifting equipment is not top-notch, and warming up was...frustrating...at the last one; it would be cool to pull on a different deadlift bar and squat out of a monolift, or even to use longer knee wraps, and see if that stuff makes my total go up at all; they use 24-hour weigh-ins, which would mean that I'd come into the meet weighing a good 3-4 lbs. heavier than usual, which would be to my advantage; the presentation values there are better, and it more of a "meet" feel to it.

So, it's something I'm considering. Rich Peters is a great guy and NASA has been very good to me, but sooner or later, I'll end up competing elsewhere, and I don't want to be beholden to any one federation. I want to experience different feds, meet different lifters, and be able to travel to seek out new challenges if I choose to do so.

 
So, if my memory serves, you didn't start integrating beltless squat work until 6-8 months ago... What are your thoughts on it at this point? Helpful?

And the meet in Mississippi seems like a great opportunity to expand your horizons a bit. Go for it!
 
Where at in MS?? I was stationed there for five years.

Any residual rib pain??
 
calvus said:
So, if my memory serves, you didn't start integrating beltless squat work until 6-8 months ago... What are your thoughts on it at this point? Helpful?

And the meet in Mississippi seems like a great opportunity to expand your horizons a bit. Go for it!
Click to expand...

I started out of necessity when I did Smolov; it beat the hell out of my ribs, squatting that much, super-narrow, into a belt. So, on occasion, I'd go beltless just because I had to.

I like it, personally--I don't think it's any more helpful to me than squatting with a belt, but it allows me to do more squatting, which is very important to me.

And yeah, I'm excited about that meet! They always draw some good lifters. The Lilliebridges are affiliated with the UPA and usually do their Iowa meets.

Here are the results from last year: http://www.powerliftingwatch.com/powerlifting-meets/upa/2012/ironbattle

Some good lifters there. EliteFTS also had a few lifters there last year (Marshall Johnson, Mick Manley, Julia Ledewski).
 
Modified Agile 8/SMR

Squats
95x8
145x5
195x5
245x5
295x5
350x5
350x5
350x5
350x5
350x8

GHRs
BWx20
BWx20
BWx20
BWx20

Hip Abductors w/ band
x13
x13
x13
x13

Notes: Today was a much-improved squat session. My technique was much more consistent and much better. Also, I handled these weights better than I've handled just about anything over the last few weeks; 350 isn't exactly a heavy unwrapped squat for me, but it's a step up from what I've been doing, and these sets were all pretty easy.

So, good stuff came out of this session. I've got another squat session today (305x8x5), and I'll use it to accumulate some beltless volume. If I can continue to push my progress, my squat should be very ready come July. I'm already looking forward to Sunday, in which I'll try to pull 540x3 off of 2.5" blocks. If I can do that, then my deadlift is looking up.

 
Modified Agile 8/SMR

Beltless Squats
Barxlulz
95x8
145x5
195x5
245x5
295x3
305x8
305x8
305x8
305x12

Banded Face Pulls, five sets



Notes: these reps got my NBL for the squat (70%+) up to 83 for the entire week, which is about what I was targeting for this week, so that's good. After next week, the volume will increase again. Next week, the exertion will increase on these sets by adding a little bar weight. So far, so good.
 
Very much enjoyed your most recent video. While it was pretty comical you made a very good point. I know I've been guilty of training with mindset B in the past. I think a majority of people probably have. Being objective can be difficult if you've allowed yourself to become too emotionally invested in your training.

So how hard are you going to push these gearless squats?? Are you pleased with the over all impact they're having.
I'm trying to do more wrapless squatting. Within the bounds of Shieko anyways. If my knee will allow it I'd like to avoid using them for anything below say 85% or very high 80% volume. My knee would likely be the limiting factor.
 
Paused Bench Press
Barx20
95x5
135x5
185x3
225x3
255x5
255x5
255x5
255x5
255x5
230x6 (lol, gassed; stopped here)

Banded Tricep Pushdowns
x40
x30
x25
x25
x25

Lat Pulldowns
150x8
150x8
150x8
150x8
150x8

Face Pulls, in kg
67.5x12
67.5x12
67.5x12

Notes: 255x5 is a reasonably high exertion set for me, and to hit it for five sets is an achievement in itself. I've made big strides in my bench press since I started to push it this mesocycle, and I now feel like I'm in a position to start making progress on it again. Pausing 315 has been the bane of my recent existence, but I think I will be in a position to hit this pretty soon. Next week, I have a very ambitious 300x2 programmed, and I've missed it before; if I can nail it, it'll mean that my bench is stronger than ever. It still doesn't feel too fast with sub-max weights, but I'm handling the higher-intensity stuff very well, so I think I have a good shot at it.

 
2.5" Block Deadlift
135x3
225x3
315x1
365x1
465x1 (stupid progression, I know)
540x3 (PR; missed fourth rep past knees)
435x5
435x5
435x5
435x5

Shoulder External Rotations, in kg
7.5x12, 12
7.5x12, 12
7.5x12, 12
7.5x12, 12
7.5x12, 12

Weighted Crunches
90x15
90x15
90x15
90x15
90x15

Notes: YEEEEEAH. I had been waiting all week to try for this; it was on my mind constantly this weekend, and I thought, after watching the video, that I handled it very well. The first lockout was smooth, and while the second two had their hiccups, neither was an egregiously slow grind.

540x3 off of these 2.5" blocks is a big deal for me; my best triple off the floor is 520, and my best single from this height is 545, done a little over a year ago. At that time, my pull off of 2.5" blocks lagged slightly behind my pull off the floor, probably because I benefit so much from the speed I generate off the floor that cutting the distance hurts me a little. With how these went, I felt like I could have definitely hit this from the floor, and perhaps I'll get the chance to do so soon.

So, these went very well. I think the increased volume is making a positive difference in my lockout. This is what's keeping me from pulling 600+, so I'm going to hammer it from now until July to see if I can't put some pounds on my deadlift. There's no reason why I can't pull in the 580-590 range IF this ends up working out well. That's not a guarantee, but I feel I can make that sort of progress if I stick with it.

435x5x4 went very well; these reps flew up, and I intentionally pulled it slowly off the floor to make the lockout more difficult. In general, my pulling feels a million times better from when I started with this higher-volume approach. That might be because I'm acclimating to the training, or it could be because I'm actually getting stronger. I'm hoping it's the latter.

 
LegioTitan said:
Very much enjoyed your most recent video. While it was pretty comical you made a very good point. I know I've been guilty of training with mindset B in the past. I think a majority of people probably have. Being objective can be difficult if you've allowed yourself to become too emotionally invested in your training.

So how hard are you going to push these gearless squats?? Are you pleased with the over all impact they're having.
I'm trying to do more wrapless squatting. Within the bounds of Shieko anyways. If my knee will allow it I'd like to avoid using them for anything below say 85% or very high 80% volume. My knee would likely be the limiting factor.
Click to expand...

I've been guilty of it too! The past year has been very humbling for me, starting with the decision to squat without wraps and culminating in the calf tear. Having to focus on what you do poorly sucks, but sometimes it's necessary if you really want to get better.

I was REALLY pleased with how the wrapless squatting helped me the first time. When I squatted 520, I could tell that the unwrapped work really paid off. The problem was that the amount of training I was doing just wasn't sustainable, and I had beaten my body up so much in training that it took a lot of time to un-do that damage.

So, I'm going to finish this mesocycle with one more week of box squatting/squatting/beltless squatting. After that, I'll probably transition to a 3x per week light/medium/heavy squat mesocycle, keeping the RPEs down a little, especially on the beltless day(s). I'll be looking for 80-90 bar lifts per week, so it'll be a good 25% lower than Smolov. Then, for my last cycle, I'll drop the exertion slightly but increase the RPEs. I just don't be doing quite the same volume as I was last cycle, simply because that's what beat the hell out of me. Right now, I'm training by feel and trying to keep my body feeling good--if I do decide to really push it hard and ignore nagging injuries, it'll only be on that last mesocycle to try and peak for the meet.

So yeah, I think they've helped me, but I REALLY needed to fix my strength out of the hole. I think I'll probably put my wraps on for one session before my next meet--my plan was to go into that meet without training in them at all, but since I'm doing the UPA, I can use longer knee wraps, and I want to mess around with that to see where I stand before I settle on attempts.
 
Floor Press
Barx20
95x5
135x5
185x3
225x3
260x4
260x4
260x4
275x4 (PR)

Standing Overhead Press (lol)
Barx5
95x5
145x5
145x5
145x6

Face Pulls, in kg
67.5x12
67.5x12
67.5x12
67.5x12
67.5x12

Notes: This was my last floor press session before Battle on the Mississippi in seven weeks, and I felt it went pretty well. I wanted to work with 260x4x4, but I felt so good after my third set that I upped the intensity a bit and hit 275x4 for a PR. For some context, my 1RM for this lift is 305, and my best two-rep set, done over the winter, was 270x2. That was when I had a 290 1RM on the floor press. My hope now is that my bench max, which over the winter was 305, has risen with my floor press. I'm still waiting to break the 315-lb. paused bench barrier, but my benches at 300+ are feeling increasingly easy. In a couple of days, I have a top set of 300x2 planned on the bench press, and if I can (finally) hit that set, I know I'm in good shape.

 
Last edited:
Dat floor press...

Grats on the PR Keo. I hope the recent changes in your training provide you with great results in your next meet.
 
Tankimus said:
Dat floor press...

Grats on the PR Keo. I hope the recent changes in your training provide you with great results in your next meet.
Click to expand...

Thanks, Tank. I hope so too. I've been a lot healthier than last cycle, and the numbers are pretty encouraging. Here's hoping it all comes together this time.
 
congrats kyle!
its amazing that despite your level you keep smashing PRs. any news on the ebook?
 
Reverse-Band Box Squats (~35 lbs. at bottom)
Barx8
95x5
135x3
185x3
225x3
275x3
315x5
345x5
375x5
275x8
275x8
275x8

Banded Hip Abductors
x20
x20
x20

Notes: I might have done more, but I'm blanking on it. This is my last box-squat session of this training cycle; from here on out, it'll be all back squatting, all the time. Some of that will probably have to be beltless (so as to keep my ribs intact), but I feel pretty healthy right now, which is a big plus. Look for me to really ramp up the intensity on my back squatting in a couple more weeks.
 
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