Keosawa's Powerlifting Log

[JauntyAngle]

Obligatory log update:

I went in and deadlifted 580 today.

Lockout looked easy! And it looks like you might have had a little more in you, too.

I know that your DL improves very slowly, but surely 600 is not too far off now?

 

[LegioTitan]

Congrats again on the PR man. It looks like you're settling into this new stance well.

 

[Keosawa]

Seems like that deadlift form change is really working for ya man. Looking forward to seeing what you get at the meet!

Yeah--it still feels a little awkward, but the numbers don't lie.

looking forward to this... i hope it isn't in some ridiculously high quality feed that i only see frame by frame...

I'm hoping not either. It should be a good event--Eric Lilliebridge signed up yesterday and will be competing on the same day as me. I won't have a shot at best lifter, but that's great.

Whoa, awesome deadlift man. And this just a few weeks after a big form tweak.

I'm always impressed that someone so advanced still progresses so steadily.

It's slow, but it's consistent. I just try never to let myself detrain. I know of lifters who focus too much on trying to "peak" and then detrain from meets, and they're always going backwards and forwards and backwards again. I obviously want to set myself up well for meets, but I try never to let my lifts go backwards. Sometimes holding a lift steady while you figure things out is as much a victory as making progress.

Lockout looked easy! And it looks like you might have had a little more in you, too.

I know that your DL improves very slowly, but surely 600 is not too far off now?

I'd say that I could pull 600 by the end of 2014. I'm hoping it comes sooner than that, but past history suggests otherwise. I never thought I'd get there--at least not at this weight class--so I don't care when it happens, so long as it does happen.

Congrats again on the PR man. It looks like you're settling into this new stance well.

I am indeed, and the next training cycle will really help; I only just started toying with it this cycle. Once I get a full cycle under my belt, it'll be really interesting to see where the progress takes me.

 

[Keosawa]

Okay, because I'm bad at logging, I'll just skip ahead to today:

Squat
95x8
135x5
185x3
225x3
285x3
330x8
330x8
330x8
330x8
330x8

Notes: Conditioning wasn't spectacular, but 40 reps with 330 is a good session, and the sets were all strong; nothing felt close to failure. I only have two more full weeks' worth of squatting before the next meet, so I need to just get my reps in without worrying about doing anything spectacular; I think my squat is where it needs to be.

 

[Keosawa]

Hi everyone,

I want to log a quick update on two issues: my weight and my digestive system.

First, my weight: over the last three weeks, I've been operating on a small deficit and doing LISS in the mornings (this basically just consists of a 45-minute walk around downtown Iowa City) in an effort to get my weight down. At my heaviest this training cycle, I was weighing roughly 165 lbs. before bed and was sometimes waking up over 160. This would still have been a make-able weight cut for me, but given that this is my first time having to make weight for 9am, I wanted to be closer to my target weight.

My carb intake over this time has actually gone up, but I've kept my calories down and have cut out creatine supplementation. Since then, my weight has gone back down--last night, I was 159.4 before bed and 156 upon waking up. I've leaned back out a bit, and I'm hoping that I'll drop another pound or two before the meet, though at this point I'm in range for an easy cut (I was ~160 before bed before starting my cut for the last meet).

Regarding the digestive system: as I alluded to earlier, I changed my macros so that I'm now eating about 250g of carbs and 225-250g of protein per day. So, my protein is down, and my carbs are up; the increased carbs are coming from high-fiber sources, and I'm now eating ~40g of fiber per day. I've reintroduced greens into my diet, and I'm taking a probiotic supplement to help with digestion.

The results have thus far been fantastic. I'm finally able to go to the bathroom every day, and my schedule has gotten pretty regular after starting on the probiotic. I haven't gotten sick from a meal in about a week and I feel like I'm digesting my food a lot better. I'm hoping this continues, but as of now, I'm really happy with how my body has responded to these changes--this is better than I could have hoped for.

 

[ravenman2000]

Glad you are doing better. Wouldn't surprise me if at least some of that weight loss is from not being backed up as much due to the fiber.

 

[KidAlchemy]

Have you seen any performance effects with getting more carbs?

Congrats on the deadlift! This brings me to another question: has mixed grip caused you any visible muscle imbalances mainly in your back?

 

[Keosawa]

Glad you are doing better. Wouldn't surprise me if at least some of that weight loss is from not being backed up as much due to the fiber.

I thought the same thing. The fiber and the probiotic have really helped, and I think much of my weight loss can be attributed to not being so constipated.

Have you seen any performance effects with getting more carbs?

Congrats on the deadlift! This brings me to another question: has mixed grip caused you any visible muscle imbalances mainly in your back?

I haven't, really. And that's probably to be expected, as I usually don't suffer much when I'm on a deficit or on a lower-carb diet, either. Unless I'm changing my diet in a pretty massive away, the effect upon my performance is very low compared to some others.

And I don't think I have any muscle imbalances--I always pull with the same pronated/supinated setup, too.

 

[miaou]

Good to hear things are better. Considering what your diet looked like, it was a pretty safe bet that adjusting your diet would improve things.


I'd say getting 225-250 g of protein in on a permanent basis is still unreasonably high for you.

 

[eastNYgoon138]

Good to hear things are better. Considering what your diet looked like, it was a pretty safe bet that adjusting your diet would improve things.


I'd say getting 225-250 g of protein in on a permanent basis is still unreasonably high for you.

Yano, a couple of months ago I would have called you crazy, but I've been eating 1g of protein for every gram of LBM, which I had tested to be around 160-lbs. I rarely eat over 180g of protein anymore as opposed to the last couple of years where I was eating close to 300g per day. Well, my muscles haven't shrunk or anything yet, and my lifts keep going up. Can't complain. I also made a bunch of other dietary changes but dropping the unnecessary 150g of protein daily made my life so much simpler. Weekly food bill is cheaper, less protein powder consumption, not haveing to stress about meeting a ridiculous daily requirement etc.

 

[Keosawa]

Good to hear things are better. Considering what your diet looked like, it was a pretty safe bet that adjusting your diet would improve things.


I'd say getting 225-250 g of protein in on a permanent basis is still unreasonably high for you.

You're probably right; after this meet, I will probably try to lower it to ~200g and increase my fat intake.

 

[Mike Y History]

I saw your new video and I'm really looking forward to seeing you do well in your meet. Good luck.

 

[KidAlchemy]

And I don't think I have any muscle imbalances--I always pull with the same pronated/supinated setup, too.

Interesting really because I've noticed I have some imbalance in my lats and bicep with underhand side being bigger. I just tought if you who has lifted longer has experienced this. But good news your tummy is working!

 

[Keosawa]

I saw your new video and I'm really looking forward to seeing you do well in your meet. Good luck.

Thanks a lot. Damn it, I'm going to hit a PR total at this one!

Interesting really because I've noticed I have some imbalance in my lats and bicep with underhand side being bigger. I just tought if you who has lifted longer has experienced this. But good news your tummy is working!

I never have, but I also pull a lot with straps (so, double-overhand), so maybe that helps. And yeah, I'm SO happy my stomach has its shit together right now.

 

[WitchCraft]

Interesting really because I've noticed I have some imbalance in my lats and bicep with underhand side being bigger. I just tought if you who has lifted longer has experienced this. But good news your tummy is working!

My underhand side has an imbalance in my lats too. It took me some time to realize it was from pulling. I tried to switch my hands up but its hard when you're used to pulling with your hands the same exact way.

 

[miaou]

I tried to switch my hands up but its hard when you have an imbalance.

ftfy





Btw, I never use mixed grip for anything (always do DOH or hook), but it still feels way more natural to do right hand over/left hand under rather than the opposite. Might or might not be attributed to having gotten used to that relationship from all those years playing the guitar.

 

[Obscure Terror]

Congratulations on your shitting Keo.

Bonus points for not giving us picture updates. That is a completely different kind of log.

 

[Keosawa]

From yesterday:

Paused Bench Press
Barx20
95x8
135x4
185x4
225x4
250x4
280x3 (missed fourth)
280x3 (missed fourth, again)
135x47
w/ slingshot, 135x32

Tricep Pushdowns, five sets

Face Pulls, five sets

Pec Deck, three sets

Band Pull-Aparts, three sets

Notes: This was my first time handling 90%+ in the last few weeks, and 280 felt pretty strong, but I missed my fourth rep twice on my top sets, so I didn't hit a rep PR. Overall, though, I liked how these felt. This time next week, I'll be doing some doubles with 290, and the week after, I'll finish with a couple of singles at 300.

 

[Keosawa]

Congratulations on your shitting Keo.

Bonus points for not giving us picture updates. That is a completely different kind of log.

I know, I've been talking about this in pretty detailed fashion for a while now. I'm surprised people still stop in here.

 

[Keosawa]

From yesterday:

Deadlift
135x5
225x3
315x1
405x1
455x1
505x7 (missed 8th)
505x3
Off 2.5" Blocks
405x10
405x10
405x2, 2, 2, 2, 2 (60-sec. rest)

28-30 sec. Static Holds, two sets, w/ 405 lbs.

Notes: I wanted 505x8 today, but I couldn't quite finish the last rep, as my legs were gone by the end of that set. 505 is 87% of my 1RM, so getting it for a cluster set of seven is still a good performance on my part. After getting in ten total reps with that weight, I hammered my lockout and my grip for a bit.

Next Sunday will be my last intense deadlift session; I'm going to travel to 22nd St. Barbell to do some pulling there, and the goal will be 520x5 (this will be my opener at the meet). I'll also be at the Anvil on Tuesday for some practice in a monolift.