Adarq.org

Rep bench day!


Bench @70%:

260 x 8
260 x 10
280 x 8 (bench felt great today so I upped weight a bit on last set)


One board paused bench:

280 - 2 x 5


High rep bench (Used a single ply titan ram):

230 x 15 (I'll take it considering the volume on todays main movement, plus my ram was sized to fit my 300+ pound body so there isn't hardly any overload in it now lol!!!)


Incline bench:

210 x 10
190 x 12


Tricep pressdowns:

4 x 15


Dips:

3 x 12


Incline band flyes:

50 reps (rest pause method)


Core work:

150 reps



Bench felt great today, I can already tell if everything goes smoothly there will be a lifetime rep PR in the tank this cycle!!!! also my normal during the day bodyweight is down to 269lbs now which puts me on a smooth road to the 242's. I plan on running stairs tonight at work to get the heart rate up.

Speed Deadlift tomorrow!!!!!



vid of 400 x 2 squat from yesterday

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1HnK_VBgtA


vid of 280 x 8 from today on bench

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrHpDR7ld9Y

I couldn't imagine doing 90 minutes of plyometric activity especially on concrete   


I would definitely recommend stopping that ASAP, if not I guarantee those injuries will get worse and even to the point of "sparking" more futuristic problems for yourself. I would take time off to heal and during that time try to find a better surface to train on, but regardless when it comes to the CNS and training to get better responses from it I believe a 90 minute session of plyo's is overkill. maybe that's just me though lol!

I know this category of the site is pretty much dead, however I wanted to take the time out for anyone looking to do their first meet and do a brief write-up of what to expect and what to bring with you as far as food sources go as your competing!



First off things you will need for the competition:

Singlet (most federations allow basically any singlet long as it doesn't come below knee height)
Under shirt for singlet (some federations require a non-supportive t-shirt under the singlet, some federations don't)
Belt (always recommend a 13mm belt, competition specs state no padding on the inside, and you can compete beltless if you want)
Shoes (I competed in the old school chucks their fairly universal still in powerlifting, but if you want something better grade rogue has a good line of shoes)
Knee Wraps (you have the choice of raw or classic raw, giving you the option of knee sleeves/wraps/wrapless. it depends on the lifters choice.)
Wrist wraps (again lifters choice, I always wear mine when benching above 80%. competition specs don't allow you to keep the thumb loop on)
Deadlift socks (requirement for the deadlift, these can be soccer socks/baseball socks/any socks as long as they come up just below knee height)

These are typically universal rules across the federation board, however when you commit to a meet I would google the rule book for extra security so your better prepared! Also you will need to purchase a membership online from the federation you choose to compete in as well as paying your entry fee for the meet (entry forms are posted several weeks before competition so you can print it off and send your check in) some federations offer memberships in person the day of the meet (I would double check before making it your last option). also If you decide to use knee wraps start casting them when your 3 or 4 lifters out, it takes a minute or two to get them casted and tied off properly so doing this by the time your standing up you should attempt your lift within 30-45 seconds. reason I say this is you only get 1 minute to attempt your lift once the bar is loaded and you chance rushing your wrap and possibly to the point of just squatting without them!!!




Foods I recommend/had to eat during the meet:

Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (solid blend of protein and carbs)
Turkey and cheese sandwiches (or any kind of meat you like best)
Trail mix (I love going with a fruit and nut mix)
Whey protein mixed with regular oats (I refer to this as a power shake as it contains a lot of protein and carbs)
Bananas (potassium for the muscles)
1 gallon of water (to stay hydrated)
Half gallon of water mixed with half gallon of Gatorade (perfect ratio for diluting the electrolytes just enough to fuel the muscles but at the same time not cause them to cramp.)

Rule of thumb on the food sources is eat what foods best sit with your digestive track!

also for those curious on a window of time for eating, everyone is paired in separate groups know as "flights" for example I was in flight 3 each flight rotates through all three of their attempts before the next flight is called. (where I was in flight 3 I consumed my food while flight 1 was going through all three of their attempts, total time for each lifter to complete all three attempts in flight 1 took approximately 45 minutes. once flight 2 was called I went back into the warm up room and took my time warming up. so in essence I had 3 large windows during the entire meet to consume food and water before warming up and doing my attempts.)




Picking attempts for your meet:

Opener - I always recommend an opener be a weight you can lift for at least a smooth triple (3 reps). reason I recommend this is all of your lifts are judged and you want to get on the board as well as shake any excess nerves off

2nd attempts - This lift I recommend going with a weight that is around 92.5%/95% of your max, but if your feeling good and confident you can go with something that is just a fuzz shy of a PR.

3rd attempts - This lift determines how well your training has been going, I always recommend a small PR here but if everything has went great on meet day you can attempt a solid PR (15lbs+)


Using myself as an example on how I picked my attempts:

My goal for squat was 500lbs (I squatted 480lbs solid in training)

Opener: 440lbs

2nd attempt: 479lbs

3rd attempt: 507lbs (everything felt great that day so I exceeded my goal and had more in me)


My goal for bench (using a competition pause) was mid 300's even though I'm a high 300 gym bencher:

Opener: 319lbs

2nd attempt: 341lbs

3rd attempt: 363lbs


My goal for deadlift was 530lbs (I pulled 515lbs for a PR a few weeks before the meet)

Opener: 470lbs

2nd attempt: 518lbs

3rd attempt: 532lbs (and had plenty of room for more)




Signals the head judge will give you:

On the squat - once you unrack the bar the head judge will give a "squat" command, when you go to squat make sure you hit proper depth for the lift to pass as well as keeping your body balanced and bar in good position. (any stumbling or bar rolling on your back while squatting will give your lift red lights). once you squat and your standing up the head judge will give a "rack" command.


On the bench - once you receive a hand-out you will wait for the head judge to give a "start" command once that is given you take the bar to your chest with a pause and wait for the head judge to give a "press" command once the weight is locked out wait for the head judge to give a "rack" command


On the deadlift - The only signal the head judge will give her is a "down" command once you lockout your weight. red lights will be given to those who hitch or shake too much during the lift and also make sure you don't just drop the bar in the floor once the down command is given.



I think that pretty much covers it for those who are curious going in to their first meet!!!!!

5-30-14 Heavy Deadlift day!


Deadlift from floor @80%

425 - 5 x 2

2" block pull @85ish%

445 - 3 x 2

1" deficit pull @70%

365 - 2 x 5

Shrugs:

140 x 20
230 x 20
320 x 20

One arm dumbbell rows:

100's - 3 x 8-10

Chest supported rows:

4 x 20

core work:

150 reps



Considering my posterior chain was still slightly sore today the weights moved good, once my body adapts to my new cycle by wave 2 I should be in position to hit some PR's by the middle of wave 3 (usually just rep PR's). another thing I noted today is that I can wear my lifting belt on the 10th notch now which is the smallest it will go, when I first started using it (@348lbs) I could barely wear it on the 4th notch guess I'll be drilling extra holes soon lol! (note: I use the 13mm, single prong economy belt from elitefts)


I'll more than likely being doing a small crossfit session with a buddy of mine at work tonight on my lunch break. I enjoy finishing out the training week with a moderately intense cardio session.


425 x 2 Deadlift video will be posted soon as my training partner texts me the video!  speed squats are Monday! I'll also post my CF workout sometime tonight (granted work isn't super busy and we don't have to forgo it)

Just wanting to share with you all my progress on cutting weight, total duration has been 16 months (down 82lbs) and hopefully if I hit my goal for September I'll have an even better update pic to post. Not quite as lean as I'd like to be however I've came a long way and I'm satisfied with that.


The rim in the other pic should be near 10' (9'10" or so) still not consistent on a true dunk. hopefully that will change with a few more weeks of training.



https://imageshack.com/i/n8gx0nj

https://imageshack.com/i/nh82lrfj

you shoot your hips pretty consistently on that 370 x 8. you're a strong dude and i'm a random guy on the internet, so grain of salt obviously applies, but if i were teaching someone to squat and saw them doing that i'd make a point to correct it.

EDIT: watching your competition vid the hip shooting is not as pronounced. maybe you were just tired for that one set?

nice job on the total, btw. 1402 is serious bidness.

I noticed it as well, good point lol. Thinking back I believe it was a mixture of my stance being slightly wider than I typically use as well as my first time squating for heavier reps in knee wraps. If the hip problem occurs again I'll take the time out to make sure I correct it. I've learned from experience good technique should always be king lol.

And thank you for the kind words!

An interesting approach... I'm not sure I ever saw this anywhere else

It's definitely different from a typical "power lifter" doing double and triples anything over 5 reps is cardio approach lol! The point of rep day is volume the prescribed percent of the main movement for wave one is 70% for 8 reps (I usually opt for 2 to 3 sets, as opposed to the original template of just 1 set). Also the original template suggests doing 135 for 50 reps as a finisher for the workout (which I have done before) but there's such an lactic acid build up in your legs all you can do after racking the bar is just lay in the floor for a couple minutes haha! So for that I decided to tweak it to a much heavier weight and do a set a 20 as a finisher.

From my own experience in my squat training volume, and paused squats for a 2-3 count has been my bread and butter for finally breaking into a 500+ squat. Last training cycle was my first time implementing the paused squats, however the volume was 5 reps and under. This cycle for rep day I figured a set of 10 and a set of 6 would work well using percentages that wouldn't completely kill myself lol! The point of reverse band squats is to partially overload and help build explositivity out of the hole, the trick is not to use big bands here a lot of people choke heavy bands and get anywhere from 75lbs-100lbs+ of pop out of the hole to me this is ego lifting and actually compromises the true point of reverse band squat training! The setup I use usually gives no more than 25-35lbs of pop out of the hole which I what I would recommend. Another reason I use reverse band squats so much in my training is because it gives me confidence with handling heavier weights on my back, so anytime I'm using 85-90% of my training max it doesn't seem to feel as heavy on my back.