Keosawa's Powerlifting Log

Disco said:
Total newbie question - what happened on the last rep of the video? Did you complete it as dump the bar because you were finished? Or was that a failed rep and you bailed at the top?
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I just dumped it at a point where I felt comfortable doing so. My legs were tired and I didn't want to try and re-rack, so it was planned.

Bloodhy said:
Good luck on the meet!
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Thank you!
 


RUM Intense Cycle
W3D7

Squat
420x1 (10-lb. unwrapped PR)
450x6 (5RM and 6RM PR)

Bench Press
255x8x2 (8RM PR)
255x4x3
280x5 (4RM and 5RM PR)

Notes: The intense cycle's all done now; it can't hurt me anymore. Actually, I feel pretty good now, as most of my achy issues from the beginning of the intense cycle have resolved themselves. I can finally bench without much pain (either in my shoulders or my elbow joints), and my legs feel good squatting; they were a little heavy today, but all in all, it was very manageable. The adductor isn't really bothering me anymore, and my SI joint has been fine. So, smolov put me back together again.

As far as the day's lifting goes:

Squats were solid. They didn't feel as great as they did last session, but I did fine. I warmed up to 420x1 (no wraps; 10-lb. PR) and that felt really light on my back. I also squatted my opener (450) for a set of six. The depth on these was mostly fine; the first rep could have been borderline, so I just have to make sure to sink my attempts at the meet. Based on what I've seen over this cycle, I should be fine IF I'm not tentative with my eccentric.

450x6 is a 5RM and 6RM PR, but it's not that big a deal; I've squatted 445x6 before, and I did it right before I squatted 520. I probably had more in me than these six, so that's encouraging; I just didn't want to absorb too much lumbar stress before the meet, and I was starting to break down and round over. I also wrapped over my knee sleeves, which makes the wrap less stiff.

For benching, I felt great. I'm pretty healthy now and my bench has officially peaked. Bar-speed on everything was great; 255x8 was really easy, and I felt like I had a few reps left in the tank on the first set. I intentionally used long pauses for the second set of eight. Overall, I'm really pleased with these--I remember doing 250x8 on the day before starting Smolov, and it was really difficult.

For my last set, I substituted with my opener (280) just because everything was moving so smoothly and I saw it as an opportunity to get some higher-intensity reps in. I had missed 280x4 a few times in the past--I think I missed 280x4 just a couple of weeks before I benched 308 in my July meet--and I wanted to get it here. The first four reps were easy, so I went for a fifth and squeaked it out. That fifth rep probably wasn't the smartest move I could have made, but whatever.

Obviously, my openers should be really easy for RUM; 450 and 280 both moved really well, and I'm opening at ~530 for the deadlift. I'm feeling good now, and beyond one more light session ("W4D1" on Tuesday), I'm done training and Florida-bound. Thanks to everyone who followed my training this cycle.
 
Glad you got through the 3 weeks. Looking forward to seeing a PR total next week!
 
Final Prep Session
W4D1

Paused Bench Press
230x6x6

Squat
330x9
405x4

Face Pulls, Lat Pulldowns, Rear Delt Flys.

Notes: Pretty "meh" day; I just feel mediocre since cutting all my carbs, and the bench felt awkward the whole time. I don't know if it was the bench or something I was doing with my setup, but it never really clicked. Bar-speed was still OK, but not fantastic. The good news was that I felt great--as in no aches or pains anywhere--and got in the requisite amount of work with no issues. Not at all worried about it, as I just had a fantastic bench session two days ago and will be primed for something big at the meet.

After bench, my plan was to squat 335x9x4, but the first set was harder than it probably should have been--I don't think the bar-speed was bad, but I didn't cruise through it like I was last week. Instead of doing the last three sets, I opted to go up and do a high-intensity top set, which turned out to be a good idea. 405x4 felt good (somehow), and I probably had at least one rep in the tank. It felt a lot better than 420 did a couple days prior, which was surprising, considering I felt better on that day.

Tomorrow is my sodium drop day, so my weight's probably going to plummet. I was 158 this morning and figure to be around there tomorrow--last time I dropped a good five pounds from the sodium drop, so we'll see how that goes.
 
Good luck at the meet. Look forward to the results!
 
Keosawa said:
It's just a simple three-week peaking program called Smolov. I ran it as my last mesocycle before this meet.
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Oh my fault for not realizing that it was Smolov.
Well it certainly will add to your squat. Best of lucks.
 
Have fun at the meet. You are prepared for it! Can't wait to hear about it.
 
Thanks, everybody. In case you're wondering, I think the live stream for the weekend will be on: http://www.jtsstrength.com/live/

(Not sure of the link, but there will be an official announcement soon.)
 
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I think you should commit seppuku if you don't kill it at the meet.
 
Just wanted to say congrats Kyle, I didn't catch your Squats/Bench but got your deadlifts, that third attempt was a ball hair away from being completed. Still got a 1404lb total in the bag and probably your best meet performance ever?

Looking forward to your write up.
 
Sick stuff. It sucks that you didn't get that last deadlift, but 1404 is boss.
 
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