Keosawa's Powerlifting Log

[hatchoo]

For unwrapped, #15 is 1195. For wrapped, it much less (around 1000, I think) because the field is much thinner now that they split up the rankings. I guess it would depend upon which rankings they follow.

Holy crap, i didn't expect it to be that high. I thought it would be in the high 1000s.

Good luck with your meet prep keo. I don't post so much anymore here but i still follow your youtube page.

 

[Denoginizer]

Holy crap, i didn't expect it to be that high. I thought it would be in the high 1000s.

Good luck with your meet prep keo. I don't post so much anymore here but i still follow your youtube page.

You should fix that man. I really enjoyed your log and videos.

Kyle, I was wondering if you do your modified Agile 8 anymore? Have you seen the Limber 11?

 

[IX Micheal XI]

Anybody home?

Was wondering if Rehband Knee Sleeves (Blues) are acceptable in NASA. I slightly injured my right knee so I'm not sure if I want to use wraps right now as I'm not very comfortable with them and I'm just doing the meet more for experience than showing out.

Also, what is your next meet?

 

[Gfreak]

Oh yea man, I knew I was missing a thread... Everything alright in here?

 

[Keosawa]

Anybody home?

Was wondering if Rehband Knee Sleeves (Blues) are acceptable in NASA. I slightly injured my right knee so I'm not sure if I want to use wraps right now as I'm not very comfortable with them and I'm just doing the meet more for experience than showing out.

Also, what is your next meet?

Oh yea man, I knew I was missing a thread... Everything alright in here?

Hi guys!

I have been so busy this last month that my log has become a casualty. I keep meaning to start it back up again, so I appreciate you two posting in here. I'll log today's session.

Basically, everything's going well. I'm prepping for my next meet (it's one month away! November 16th) and my numbers are looking good. I've just been so busy that I haven't been logging.

Mike, those knee sleeves are acceptable in NASA! I don't think there are too many banned sleeves in NASA anyway.

 

[Keosawa]

I might as well give a quick recap of the last month:

About a month and a half or so ago, I was pretty run-down with my training, and I wasn't hitting good numbers at all, so I took a full week off. When I came back, I brought my training weights down and focused on only training five days a week instead of seven. This ended up being a great decision, as I'm recovering better now and just feeling stronger for my training sessions.

I'm just now finishing a deload week (I've started taking these now!) before my last pre-meet mesocycle. Over the last week or two, I've hit some really strong numbers in all three lifts:

On squat, I've been doing a lot of reverse-band training, because my tweaked hamstring has kept me from squatting in wraps. My reverse-band numbers have gone way up; when I started, 445 was my 5RM, and I recently did 465x7:



I also hit a 510-lb. single with this setup. I've been doing high-exertion unwrapped sets while lowing my training volume, and those numbers have been really good. I think I did 355x10, 365x9, and 380x6 on consecutive training weeks for rep PRs; those were done after heavy reverse-band squatting. Those all compare very favorably to what I was doing just after Smolov earlier in the year.

On bench, I really needed some time off to recover; since then, I've been feeling stronger. Last cycle went very well; I matched a couple of rep PRs (260x6, 270x5) and almost hit 280x4, despite running a deficit for much of it. So, my bench *should* be in pretty good shape. For my deload week, I messed around with some lighter-weight touch-and-go stuff:




I'm not much stronger than before on bench, but that's OK, because at this point my progress is not going to come fast anyway. I could hit a modest PR at the next meet.

On deadlift, I was dealing with a SI joint issue for a while, so I had to take things way down for a few weeks. I just got back to pulling off the floor and over the last week pulled 475x12 and 495x11 for long cluster sets (3-4 minutes). Today, I pull 515 for a cluster set, and 8+ reps would put me ahead of where I was last training cycle. I pulled 580 pretty easily about a month ago, when I was struggling with this injury and weaker than I am now (I actually almost got it for a double, but I missed it at the top), so I'm in good shape for 600+ at the next meet.

Overall, the training is going well. I decided very recently to increase my openers by a LOT for this meet, since anything less than a PR total is a disappointment for me. I'm not going to open with any weights that won't get me to that PR total; instead, I'm taking "safe" openers that are still really high. My openers will total 1334: 463 squat, 298 bench, and 573 deadlift.

My feeling is that if I can't hit any one of these lifts, I shouldn't be in the meet anyway, and I wasn't going to have a good performance anyway. This gives me a lot more flexibility to hit a big total; I feel much better about this setup, because I can take smaller jumps and build a bigger total. I'm guessing I'll either bomb or hit something pretty big. And I'm not going to bomb.

 

[Keosawa]

From yesterday:

Deadlifts
135x5
225x5
315x5
405x5
455x5
515x7 cluster (failed 8th)
405x8
405x8
Off Blocks, 1" below knee
315x20
315x30

Notes: SI joint pain is back; I can work through it, but I have to limit my volume. At this point, I need to suck it up and get my training done before the meet. I should be fine, but it is frustrating to have this come back after last week was GREAT.

515x7 was a small disappointment. I just had nothing left for that last rep. The whole set was two and a half minutes, so at least the pace was decent. It's definitely a drop-off from last week, but it still compares favorably to the 521x6 I did at 22nd Street last cycle.

 

[Keosawa]

From today:

Squats
135x5
185x3
225x1
275x1
315x1
365x1
410x1 (5-lb. unwrapped PR)
w/ wraps
485x1
505x1

Banded Leg Curls
x40
x30
x30

Cable Thrusts (I forget what these are called; shows how often I do them) - in kg
42.5x15
47x5x15
52.5x15

Hip Abductors
70x15
70x15
70x15

Hip Adductors (Yeah, I seriously used 30 lbs. for these. I always seem to be dealing with an adductor strain, and now that the last one has finally gone away, I want to start with some really light adductions just as prehab)
30x10
30x10
30x10

Notes: Well, today went very well. I hit a 5-lb. unwrapped PR for the heck of it (I'm sure I had a few pounds left in the tank; I just treated this as a warm-up), then hit my planned second and third attempts for the next meet. Overall, I was extremely pleased with the session.

I wrapped pretty light for 485, and it ended up being a harder attempt than it had to be; I made sure to wrap tight for 505, and that felt much better. Sometimes I worry about a tight wrap either a.) hurting me or b.) throwing me out of my groove, but I could feel the difference on these attempts. I know I don't have too much left in the tank beyond 505, but it was at least a smooth rep. I NEED 485 at the meet for a good total, and I feel very confident in that now. I'm going to keep the heavy singles practice up over the next few weeks, and that should get me more comfortable with wrapped squatting. The strength is there; it's just a matter of putting it together in the lifts.

 

[Fighting Sprite]

Cable Thrusts = Pull throughs?



Good to see you back in here.

 

[ravenman2000]

Nice to see you back and logging. With your squat back where it was two meets ago (and possibly some on top of that), your DL still climbing, and being extra careful with your body, it looks like you are priming yourself for a pretty nice meet PR total next month.

 

[Keosawa]

Cable Thrusts = Pull throughs?



Good to see you back in here.

Yes--good call! And I'm obviously not doing a great job of logging just yet, but I'm going to work on it. I still only seem to get on here once every couple of days, but I'm going to make it a priority.

Nice to see you back and logging. With your squat back where it was two meets ago (and possibly some on top of that), your DL still climbing, and being extra careful with your body, it looks like you are priming yourself for a pretty nice meet PR total next month.

Thanks mate--I agree with all of this. I'm opening at 1334, so it's going to be difficult for me to miss a PR total, unless I manage to go three for nine. I'll likely either PR my total or bomb out (and I'm not going to bomb out).

 

[Keosawa]

Paused Bench Press
Barx10
Barx10
95x8
135x5
185x3
225x3
245x3
265x6 (tied PR)
265x3 (Grant called press commands)

Floor Press
235x12

External Rotations, five sets

Face Pulls, three sets

Lat Pulldowns
120x8
130x8
140x8
150x8
160x8

Notes: My bench feels a little achy right now (and not super fast), but I put it together at 265x6. A couple of observations:

1.) My bench is in good shape right now. Not great shape, but good shape. The good news is that I'm about as strong as I've ever been on bench. I shouldn't have an issue benching 308 again at the next meet, and I should be capable of 314+. My strength is almost exactly where it was (and maybe a hair ahead of) last cycle.

2.) The bad news is that I'm not really making much progress anymore, and I'm basically only tying most of my PRs from May and June. At some point, I will probably have to take a close look at my bench training and make some modifications. Heavy-duty sport-specific training has been good to me, but it might be time to start hitting weaknesses through exercise variants a little more aggressively. Regardless, I'll still be doing competition benching regularly, because I've learned from experience what a mistake drifting too far from the competition lift can be, particularly on bench.

 

[Keosawa]

Reverse-Band Squat
135x5
185x5
225x3
275x3
315x3
365x3
415x3
435x3
455x3
475x3
495x3

Notes: I didn't feel great on this session, but I got my shit together after 455. 495x3 was a PR and a good set (1RM for this setup is currently 510), but I had to grind the reps out to get it (particularly the third). My lower back was so taxed that I actually found I was stronger when I kept a more upright position, which is almost never the case for me. Deadlifting on Friday will be interesting (the goal is 535x5 with 30-second rest intervals), but overall I'm doing well in my training right now.

 

[Keosawa]

Paused Bench Press
Barx10
Barx10
95x8
135x8
190x10
210x19
210x19

Tricep Pushdowns, five sets

Notes: Achy, so I kept everything short.

 

[KidAlchemy]

Found you a sponsor if you ever need one, almost has your name already on it:

Spoiler

 

[Kinglee]

^LOL I never thought of mentioning Keo lager to Keo.

Some brilliant Cypriot beer, personally recommended

 

[Keosawa]

LOL. I have no idea what this "Keo" beer is, so that's a good catch on your part. The things you learn...

 

[Keosawa]

Deadlifts
135x5
225x3
315x3
405x1
455x1
495x1
535x4 (cluster set w/ 30-sec. rest intervals; missed 5th)

Off Blocks, 1" Below Knee
315x3
405x5
405x5
455x5
475x5

Notes: I'm pretty fried from the last month of deadlift training, so I think I will do a DE session next week, and then pull a few semi-heavy singles with some lockout work on my last session (the following week). For the last two weeks, I've felt fried and my speed off the floor has been crap. It's time for me to pull back a bit, because I can't recover in time for the deadlifting I'm doing. I was disappointed with today's results, but now I'm fine with it. My pulling hasn't been AWFUL; it's just time to manage my deadlift training.

 

[Keosawa]

Squat (w/ wraps)
95x8
135x5
185x1
225x1
275x1
315x1
365x1
405x1
465x1
515x1

Leg Curls w/ mini-band
x30
x30
x30

Machine Leg Curls
60x20
60x20
50x20

Hip Abductors, five sets

Hip Adductors, three sets

Notes: I felt really lousy warming up--like I had no energy--and that might be due to the fact that I deadlift the previous day. My back was pretty tight, but 465 was smooth, and 515 went up fine, too. I'm getting some good high-intensity reps in on my wrapped squat and I haven't missed anything yet. I'll work up pretty heavy again next week, too, then I'll cut the intensity down a bit for the last pre-meet squat session. 515 is 8 lbs. over my planned third attempt, so I should be fine with a 485 second (barring something bad happening) and I know I am strong enough to hit 507 for a third. The lack of heavy work was a pretty major oversight in my training for the July meet, and I have done a pretty good job of rectifying that.

 

[Keosawa]

Paused Bench Press
Barx10
Barx10
95x5
135x5
185x2
235x2
255x2
275x5 (PR; lulzy pauses, but what the fuck ever)

Floor Press
135x20
135x20
135x20

Face Pulls, in kg
42.5x15
47.5x15
52.5x15
57.5x15

Notes: Tendinitis has flared up with a vengeance in both arms, and there's no stopping it besides avoiding benching altogether, so I'm going to substitute floor pressing for benching for the next session or two. For whatever reason, I can floor press just fine, and that'll allow me to maintain my bench strength while still recovering. The hope would then be to spend my last training week benching; if I handle this correctly, I should feel good for the meet.

The bar-speed off my chest on this day was pretty lousy--I couldn't lower weights fast at all (again, tendinitis), and I couldn't stay tight at bottom, which meant no explosion--but I was able to adrenaline my way to a pseudo-PR of 275x5. Even though the pauses weren't great, that matches my best-ever touch-and-go 5RM, which is a pretty cool milestone to hit. My paused rep numbers are now all better than my old touch-and-go PRs from when I was a fatty.

So, overall, this was a cool session. I trained (again) with Grant, and his paused bench press is getting much stronger. It's great to see someone pay attention to small technical details and make progress off of that effort. His bench is looking a whole lot stronger than when he tested a couple of months ago, and I think he's in line to hit a very nice number--and possibly even surprise himself--at the November meet.