Keosawa's Powerlifting Log

[Keosawa]

Awesome video was awesome.

Was pretty cool to include the footage from the December attempt.

Thanks, miaou! Yeah, I figured I'd include it for some context; I do this every so often to give viewers a visual comparison, with which to gauge progress.

I've always had a mind for training numbers, so I can usually remember my lift numbers from a while ago. I can tell you my rep PRs for a lot of my lifts off the top of my head: squat (510; 480x2 (was 470x2 after 450x2 and 460x2); 460x3 (done in RI); 440x5 (done with flu); 430x6; 425x7; 375x8 (still best eight-rep PR, done w/ Steve at Poundstone's). Deadlift (575; previous bests were 570, 568, 565, 560, 555 (w/ straps), 551, 546, 545, 540, 530, 520, 515, 500); 540x2; 520x3 (done same session as 540x2); 510x4; 500x5; 485x6; 465x9. Bench press (tng from when I trained it: 315, 280x3, 275x5, 260x8, 225x15) paused: (310; 275x4; 260x6; 250x7; 245x10; 235x12).

Babyeater will vouch for this shit, because I'm always giving her a hard time about the fact that I know her rep PRs better than she does.

So, I tend to track all of these, though I sometimes realize that viewers have no clue what I did a few months ago (why would they?) or even if a lift is *good* or *bad* by my standards. As someone who watches other training logs on youtube, I like it when I at least know is a rep-max is a *good* or a *bad* performance.

Very nice PR man. Do you normally use straps when doing reps? I don't remember ever seeing them before.

I tore a callus off pulling 485 last week; I usually don't use straps, but occasionally I will if I feel there's a need. Our bars have very little knurling, so I find that I don't have to train without straps exclusively to be able to grip a bar in competition. When I get to a meet, it's like, "woah--this is what knurling feels like!"

Man, your meet prep is getting me really excited to see your results, and also excited about my own first meet. Keep it up!

lol, I'm glad! Do you have a date for your first meet? If so, when is it?

Not sure what to say except, just blown away by your weightlifting talent Kyle.

Thank you much, sir. But as I tell people, I wasn't talented before, say, the last nine months of my life--the only thing that has changed are the numbers. Nobody called me "talented" at the beginning of my training; if anything, my strength at the start was pretty pedestrian and unremarkable.

 

[Uncle Rico]

Well to be 148lbs lifting the poundages you're handling is fantastic. Well done.

 

[Denoginizer]

lol, I'm glad! Do you have a date for your first meet? If so, when is it?

I'm eyeing 20 July in Ottawa for a meet. My girlfriend plans to compete too. I really don't want to get into the fed politics and such, so I'm just picking one that had lots of lifters last year (particularly in her 52kg division) and is close by. I think that's a good timeframe since we're still making relatively-linear progression. I'm really just shooting in the dark here though. I have no delusions of placing well at any meet this year, so I just want the experience and to give me something to build on. My girlfriend however, is very competitive and will be pretty bummed if there are no other girls in her division.

 

[hatchoo]

Hey keo. I remember that you pulled sumo for a few months in the past. For someone that hasn't pulled sumo (and has no idea what my max is), how do you suggest i approach this? Should i be doing more of a linear progression type? I was originally planning doing a 5/3/1 approach to it to get some volume in and just start light to get the technique down first.

 

[Babyeater]

I'm eyeing 20 July in Ottawa for a meet. My girlfriend plans to compete too. I really don't want to get into the fed politics and such, so I'm just picking one that had lots of lifters last year (particularly in her 52kg division) and is close by. I think that's a good timeframe since we're still making relatively-linear progression. I'm really just shooting in the dark here though. I have no delusions of placing well at any meet this year, so I just want the experience and to give me something to build on. My girlfriend however, is very competitive and will be pretty bummed if there are no other girls in her division.

Honestly, tell your girlfriend that when she goes to a meet, she's competing with names on the national rankings list. Unless she lives in a few "hot spots," none of which I understand to be in Canada, although I could be wrong, the amount of women who will be lifting at a given meet is going to be low. The chances that there will be more than one other woman in a given weight class are going to be low, particularly as you get down closer to 97, 105, even 114. I compete, and I'm actually competitive as hell, I just try to pretend I'm not. I eye the national rankings like a fiend, and i won't be happy unless I post numbers and/or a total at my coming meet that top certain numbers in the 105 ranks. Assuming I make 105, which is still a bit up in the air. But when I go to a meet, I don't expect to really even pay attention to other women there. I'm competing with a huge spread of women distributed throughout a great area of geography. One of my biggest competitors lives on the opposite end of the country from me. She sets standards for me that I think about actively when I think about competing.

I hate to sound like I'm discounting the performances of women who go to my local meets, but honestly, if you want to do great things, you need to keep your eye on those who are doing great things and imagine yourself at that level. This sport is small, and the likelihood you've got an exemplary lifter in your backyard isn't high. We've got the Lilibridges in this state and that's kind of amazing to me.

 

[Keosawa]

Floor Press (w/ reactive slingshot)
Barx20
95x5
135x5
185x5
210x4
230x4
250x4
270x4
290x4
310x3 (PR)

Pull-Ups
BWx8
BWx8
BWx8

 

[Keosawa]

Modified Agile 8

Squats (no wraps)
95x8
135x5
185x3
225x1
275x1
290x4
310x4
330x4
350x4
370x4
390x5 (PR)

Seated Goodmornings (w/ posteroanterior loaded bands)
95x10
135x5
185x5
225x5
245x8

GHRs
BWx15
BWx15
BWx15

Hip Abductors, three sets

Hip Adductors, three sets

 

[Keosawa]

Hey keo. I remember that you pulled sumo for a few months in the past. For someone that hasn't pulled sumo (and has no idea what my max is), how do you suggest i approach this? Should i be doing more of a linear progression type? I was originally planning doing a 5/3/1 approach to it to get some volume in and just start light to get the technique down first.

I would take it slow, as if you were training for the first time. It's not the worst idea to do about a month's worth of sumo pulling at no more than 50% of a perceived max just to try and develop a good technical base.

5/3/1 wouldn't be a bad program--if you were running it and learning sumo pulls at the same time, I'd consider running BBB, just for all the extra repetitions.

 

[klonger]

Honestly, tell your girlfriend that when she goes to a meet, she's competing with names on the national rankings list. Unless she lives in a few "hot spots," none of which I understand to be in Canada, although I could be wrong, the amount of women who will be lifting at a given meet is going to be low. The chances that there will be more than one other woman in a given weight class are going to be low, particularly as you get down closer to 97, 105, even 114. I compete, and I'm actually competitive as hell, I just try to pretend I'm not. I eye the national rankings like a fiend, and i won't be happy unless I post numbers and/or a total at my coming meet that top certain numbers in the 105 ranks. Assuming I make 105, which is still a bit up in the air. But when I go to a meet, I don't expect to really even pay attention to other women there. I'm competing with a huge spread of women distributed throughout a great area of geography. One of my biggest competitors lives on the opposite end of the country from me. She sets standards for me that I think about actively when I think about competing.

I hate to sound like I'm discounting the performances of women who go to my local meets, but honestly, if you want to do great things, you need to keep your eye on those who are doing great things and imagine yourself at that level. This sport is small, and the likelihood you've got an exemplary lifter in your backyard isn't high. We've got the Lilibridges in this state and that's kind of amazing to me.

That's funny you brought up a lack of female lifters because the roster for my meet this weekend just got emailed out and put on powerlifting watch and there are something like 16 female lifters lifting on my day (Saturday). And only 5 guys in my weight class, 181 problems man.

 

[Keosawa]

That's funny you brought up a lack of female lifters because the roster for my meet this weekend just got emailed out and put on powerlifting watch and there are something like 16 female lifters lifting on my day (Saturday). And only 5 guys in my weight class, 181 problems man.

We have a logjam at 181-198 on our team; we probably have a half-dozen guys between these two weights.

But yeah, if you're looking to go to your first powerlifting meet seeking out competition, forget it. Experience levels are usually pretty scattered, and you'll run into people who either have no chance of beating you, or who will crush your total by hundreds of pounds. Provided nobody bombs out, the placing is usually predetermined in almost all local and regional meets.

You first compete against yourself; you then compete against the "standards" posted by various federations; you finally compete against other lifters like you across the country. But ultimately, unless you're doing a big, national-level meet, the competition that matters is with yourself.

 

[Keosawa]

I'm eyeing 20 July in Ottawa for a meet. My girlfriend plans to compete too. I really don't want to get into the fed politics and such, so I'm just picking one that had lots of lifters last year (particularly in her 52kg division) and is close by. I think that's a good timeframe since we're still making relatively-linear progression. I'm really just shooting in the dark here though. I have no delusions of placing well at any meet this year, so I just want the experience and to give me something to build on. My girlfriend however, is very competitive and will be pretty bummed if there are no other girls in her division.

You guys will do just fine. Just go have a good time--and a good, successful meet--and gain some experience. I think Babyeater has some FANTASTIC advice for your girlfriend; make sure she remembers that the competition is with herself.

Also, most meets will award a best male and female lifter, and this is done by coefficient. So, perhaps that will motivate her as well. I don't worry about beating the other 148s at my meets, but it is cool to win best lifter when there are some other good totals in other weight classes being posted.

 

[Babyeater]

That's funny you brought up a lack of female lifters because the roster for my meet this weekend just got emailed out and put on powerlifting watch and there are something like 16 female lifters lifting on my day (Saturday). And only 5 guys in my weight class, 181 problems man.

oh man, awesome...I would venture to guess this is more the exception to the norm. Perhaps not, though.

 

[Fighting Sprite]

it is cool to win best lifter when there are some other good totals in other weight classes being posted.

How many best lifters have you won?

 

[Keosawa]

How many best lifters have you won?

Two, I think.

 

[miaou]

Were those two workouts done as two separate sessions several hours apart?

 

[klonger]

oh man, awesome...I would venture to guess this is more the exception to the norm. Perhaps not, though.

The other APF meet I did here (Illinois) had something like 14 female lifters too. A big team came from the quad cities.

 

[Keosawa]

Paused Bench Press
Barx20
95x5
135x5
185x3
225x1
245x4
255x8 (+2 rep PR)
255x4
255x4

Band Pull-Aparts, three sets

Tricep Pushdowns w/ band, five sets

I'm getting skinny again: 154.8 the morning of this session.

 

[Keosawa]

Were those two workouts done as two separate sessions several hours apart?

Nah, separate days; I just posted the videos closely clustered together.

 

[Keosawa]

Modified Agile 8

Squats (w/ wraps)
95x8
135x5
225x2
315x2
405x1
445x6 (PR)
(no wraps)
335x7
315x7
315x7

Banded Hip Abductors, three sets

Back Extensions
BWx20
BWx20
BWx20
BWx20

Crunches w/ Dumbbell
90x20
90x20
90x20

Leg Curls
BWx200

The skinny on the day: 445x6 compares pretty favorably to my best rep performances of my pre-Smolov training cycle. My previous best with six reps was 430, and my previous five-rep max was 440. So, this was a +15 lb. PR for a six-rep set, and +5 lbs. AND +1 rep on my 440x5. All told, I'm making good progress, and I might have been capable of grinding out another rep if I didn't start to literally shit myself.

So, for two weeks in a row my wrapped squat has performed pretty well. I can't describe it, but the mechanics of the lift just feel a little different to me. I definitely feel like I can keep better position coming out of the hole; the key will see if that transfers over to my 1RM.

Next week, I finally test my wrapped squat after doing what feels like nothing but squatting for the last two months and change. I'm looking to take an attempt at 520 lbs. If I'm successful, that will put me in position for 1400+ in April. If I'm unsuccessful, it's still possible, but I'll evaluate closely my attempt selection and perhaps readjust. This will be the most important litmus test of this entire training cycle--here's hoping it goes to plan.

 

[3 dimensional]

where'd your "ask me a question" thread go?

i was going to ask about ALL your dead lift accessory/auxiliary lifts... i guess, whenever you have the time... thanks, i appreciate it.