Full Workout Logs: Starting 1/13/2016 – Two by Two Plan; Routine B (Pre-Contest), Weeks 7-12 of 12

2015-16 Two by Two Training Plan

Routine B (Pre-Contest)

Weeks 7-12 of 12

These workout logs are continued from Full Workout Logs: Starting 11/29/2015 – Two by Two Plan; Routine B (Pre-Contest), Weeks 1-6 of 12.

Age: 54.
Height: 5'1".
Bodyweight See each week.
Note: Body fat percent and LBM are being measured with a Sequoia Fitness: Warrior Digital Body Mass Caliper. If you need one, it is available from Amazon.

Next Contest: God-willing, IPA PA States, March 5, 2016 in York, PA.

Gear as indicated; if not indicated, then completely raw (no supportive gear).
Warm-ups are in brackets. All weights are in pounds. Format: pounds/reps.
Workout times include set-up, warm-up, lifting, stretching, and clean-up.

Halfway Routine Review, Contest Plans

I just finished the first half of my 12-week pre-contest powerlifting routine, and it has gone as well as can be expected with coming off of a hamstring injury. I also made several changes during these first six weeks and that always hinders my progress until I get used to the changes. But still, my lifts are about where they were near the end of my last pre-contest routine, but I still have six weeks left this time.

My hamstring only bothers me slightly occasionally. As long as that remains the case, I won’t be concerned about it, but I will continue the rehab I’ve been doing.

The powerlifting contest I will be entering is IPA PA States in York, PA on March 5, 2016. This is the same contest I entered last year, which ended up being my only contest in 2015 due to the hamstring injury. I already sent in my registration and got confirmation back from the IPA and made hotel reservations, so God-willing, I will be going. But I hope to enter a second contest this year. There are a couple of contests in September I am looking at, but I will decide on that one after this one.

But for now, here’s trusting the LORD my lifts continue to progress, so that I am able to exceed at this contest what I did last time.

Week 7 of 12 (Week A)

Bodyweight: 120.8 pounds.

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Bench Assistance

Wednesday – 1/13/16

Gear: Crain power belt, Redline wrist wraps.

Shoes: Coleman sneakers.

Dumbbell Incline Benches: [10s/15, 22s/9, 32s/7, 40s/5, and gear: 45s/3] 50s/6, 52s/4, 55s/2

Dips: [Bars: bwt./9, 20/7; Rings: bwt./5] bwt./8, 2.5/6, 5.0/4

Chin-ups: [bwt./6, bwt./6, 2.5/5] 7.5/8, 10/6, 12.5/4

Curl Bar Reverse Curls: [40/9, 52/7] 60/9, 62/7, 65/5

Stretching: ~5 minutes

Workout time: 1:41

I’ve been leery of doing 1-2 reps with dumbbells, but I’ve grown weary of doing as many as eight reps with them; so I tried my lowest rep ranges this time, and it felt good. It probably helped that last time I did 7,5,3 reps, so going 6,4,2 this time was not a big change. This was the first time I added weight on dips with rings, and that felt very good. This was also the first time in quite some time I used 25s for a curl exercise, and that felt good as well. Thus overall, a very good workout.

Video

Music: Bride Radio.
I usually reserve this very heavy metal music for deadlifts, but I accidently put it on and didn’t realize it until later.

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Squats

Thursday – 1/14/16

Gear: Crain: power belt, Genesis wrist wraps, SlingShot World Record 2.5-meter knee wraps (squats); APT heavy knee sleeves (partial squats).

Shoes: Crain Power Squat Shoes.

Squats: [65/20, 125/9, 165/7, 200/5, add gear: 247/3, 275/1] 290/4, 305/2, 247/6*

Partial Squats: [145/9, 185/7, 220/5, add gear: 255/3] 285/6, 300/4, 315/2

Speed Squats: [135/7] 145/8, 152/6, 160/4

Leg Curls (alternate legs): [--/9] 2.25/12, 2.5/10, 2.75/8

Stretching: ~5 minutes

Workout time: 2:19*

The first two work sets of squats went great and tied 50s PRs, but things got messed up on the backoff set due to trying to use wraps rather than sleeves for it. I’ll write more about that later when I write a review of my new wraps. But here, it was a mistake that got me behind and tired out, leaving me fighting fatigue the rest of the workout. That led to an overly long and tiring workout. But I still got all of my planned reps.

Video

Reviewing the video carefully, it looks like I almost stalled on the second rep of the top set of squats at the height at which I am starting the partial squats, so I got them set up just right.

Music: Pandora – Pillar Radio
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Benches

Sunday – 1/17/16

Gear: Crain: power belt, Genesis wrist wraps.

Shoes: Adidas AdiPower lifting shoes.

Benches: [55/15, 85/9, 105/7, 125/5, add gear: 140/3, 155/1] 162/3.5*, 170/1*, 140/7*

Reverse Band Benches (#2, yellow, monster-minis): [95/9, 120/7, 140/5, add gear: 160/3] 177/5, 185/3, 190*/2*

Speed Reverse Band Benches: 110/8, 115/6, 120/4

Barbell Rows: [45/9, 65/7, 80/5] 90/7, 95/5, 100/3

Stretching: ~5 minutes

Workout time: 1:46

A rough weekend before this workout due to personal matters and health problems flare-ups, leading to three sleepless nights, and I felt it during this workout. On benches, last time using the same weights I did 3,1, 7 reps, so I was hoping to go 4,2,8 this time. But on the third rep of the first set the bar hit the safety on the right side and that threw off my form and made that rep very hard. But I still thought I would get rep four. I got it halfway up and stalled. I really tried to get it moving again, but to no avail. All of the struggling drained me, and that is when I began to feel the sleeplessness. I thus repeated what I did last time on the next two sets and dragged through the rest of the workout.

But then the first two sets of RB benches went as planned. I was excited when I got a double rather than my planned single on the last set, until I went to take the weights off and noticed I had forgotten a 2-1/2 on the left side. I thought the right side felt heavier! Then I took down the bands, forgetting I still had speed work to do with them, so I wasted time setting them up again. But despite the problems, not a bad workout.

Video

Music: Pandora – Skillet

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Deadlifts

Monday – 1/18/16

Gear: Crain power belt; APT: knee sleeves, wrist bands.

Shoes: Nike wrestling shoes; Adidas Title Run basketball shoes.

Sumo Deadlifts: [45/15, 145/9, 200/7, 255/5, add gear: 310/3, 340/1] 357/4, 375/2, 310/8

Sumo Platform (3” Deficit) Deadlifts: [135/9, 185/7, 235/5, add gear: 280/3] 310/5, 325/3, 340/1

Sumo Jump Deadlifts: 75/8, 80/6, 85/4

Side Bends: [15/9, 30/7] 35/10, 37/10, 40/8, 45/6

Stretching: ~5 minutes

Workout time: 2:00

I finally got a good nights’ sleep and felt good for this workout, and it went great. For the first time since my hamstring injury, deadlifts felt good, and the two top sets tied 50s PRs. What that means is both squats and deadlifts are back to where they were before the injury, but it took 19 training weeks to get there.

Video

Rather than recording the top sets off all four of my exercises in a workout, I am going to start recording the top two sets of my first two exercises, which are always “major” exercises, and not bother recording the following two minor exercises. The reason is what happened on the first set of benches yesterday. It would have been beneficial to have had a video to see exactly how I messed my form up and where the bar stalled at.

Music: Pandora – Barren Cross Radio

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Morning Workouts

Rotation 3, Day 3

Wednesday – 1/13/15

Heavy Bag: 15 minutes

Rotator Cuff: Lying, up: 3.75/14, 4.25/12, 4.5/10

Abs: Crunches: [bwt./11, 10/9] 16.25/12, 17.5/10, 17.75/8

Workout Time: 0:35

Rotation 3, Day 4

Sunday – 1/17/16

Heavy Bag: 15 minutes

Rotator Cuff: Lying, out: 4.0/15, 4.5/12, 4.75/10

Abs: Twisting Leg Raises (reps to each side}: 10, 12

Workout Time: 0:31

Week 8 of 12 (Week B)

Bodyweight: 119.6 pounds.

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Bench Assistance

Wednesday – 1/20/15

Gear: Crain power belt, Redline wrist wraps.

Shoes: Coleman sneakers.

Barbell Decline Benches: [55/15, 95/9, 115/7, 135/5 add gear: 150/3] 165/4*, 170/3, 177/1

Dumbbell Presses: [10s/9, 20s/7, add gear: 27.5s/5] 31.5s/8, 32.5s/6, 34s/4

Dip Bar Pull-ups: [bwt./6, 2.5/5, 5/4] 7.5/8, 10/6, 12.5/4

Dumbbell Curls: [10s/9, 20s/7] add wraps: 27.5s/10, 29s/8, 30s/6

Stretching: ~5 minutes

Workout time: 1:53

I was being a bit overly optimistic in my increase from last time on declines, so I only got four rather than my planned five reps on the first set. But I readjusted the weights for the sets after that, and they and the rest of the workout went as planned.

Video

Reviewing the video, it looks like I was getting better at pausing the declines with each rep.

Music:

Pandora – Jonah 33

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Squats

Thursday – 1/21/16

Gear: Crain: power belt, Genesis wrist wraps; 2.5-meter SlingShot World Record Wraps (squats), APT heavy knee sleeves (extra low squats).

Shoes: Crain Power Squat Shoes, Adidas Title Run basketball shoes.

Squats with wraps: [65/20, 135/9, 170/7, 205/5, add gear: 252/3] 280/5, 295/3, 310/1

Extra Low (ATG) Squats: [135/9, 160/7, 185/5, add gear: 205/3] 225/6, 235/4, 245/2

Jump Squats: 80/8, 85/6, 90/4

Leg Curls (legs together): [5/9] 8.0/12, 8.5/10, 9.0/8

Stretching: ~5 minutes

Workout time: 2:01

For more variety between my training weeks on the powerlifts, I am going to shot for the higher reps of my preferred rep ranges Week A and the lower reps Week B; thus Week A should be 4, 2, 8 reps and this Week B 5, 3, 1 reps. At least that’s the plan, and this workout went as planned. The 310 is what I squatted at my last contest, and like then, it was with strength to spare. I now have four more heavy squat workouts before my next contest to improve upon that mark.

Video

I’m glad I recorded my second squat set so I could see where I almost stalled on the third rep. It was a little below where I start my partial squats in Week A. So again, I got that exercise set just right. More important my depth looks just fine on all of the reps.

Music: Pandora – Bride Radio

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Benches

Sunday – 1/24/16

Gear: Crain: power belt, Genesis wrist wraps.

Shoes: Adidas AdiPower lifting shoes.

Benches: [55/15, 80/9, 100/7, 120/5, add gear: 140/3,] 157/4*, 162/2*, 170/1

3-Count Pause Benches: [85/7, 105/5, add gear: 125/3] 140/5, 147/3, 155/1

Push-ups: [Regular: 8] Clap: 11, 11, 11

Dumbbell Rows (elbows in): [37/9, 50/7, 62/5] 67/8, 70/6, 72/4

Stretching: ~5 minutes

Workout time: 1:42

Benches were supposed to be 5,3, 1 reps, but after only getting four reps on the first set, I dropped my planned weights for the next two sets by 2-1/2 pounds each and still only got a double on the second set, but at least I got the single with 170 on the third set. The rest of the workout went as planned, so I really am not sure what happened on benches.

Video

I forgot about wanting to use a new approach for recording my workouts and used my old method of recording my top set of each exercise.

Music: Pandora – Decyfer Down

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Deadlifts

Monday – 1/25/16

Gear: Crain power belt; APT: knee sleeves, wrist bands.

Shoes: Nike wrestling shoes, Nike Sneakers.

Sumo Deadlifts: [45/15, 145/9, 200/7, 250/5, add gear: 310/3] 345/5, 362/3, 380/1

Conv Chain Deadlifts (chain set-up weighs 90 pounds, which is included in the indicated weights):

[135/9, 185/7, add chains: 225/5, 260/5, add gear: 295/3] 340/6, 357/4, 375/2

Conv Speed Chain Deadlifts: 230/8, 242/6, 255/4

DB Calves (on 3” platform): [25/9, 35/7] 45/9, 47/7, 50/5

Stretching: ~5 minutes

Workout time: 2:03

This was an excellent workout. The only minor miscue was I forgot to adjust some of the warmups weights and went a little too light on them. But no matter as all of the work sets went as planned.

Video

Music: Pandora – Saint Radio

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Morning Workouts

Rotation 4, Day 1

Wednesday – 1/20/16

Heavy Bag: 15 minutes

Rotator Cuff: Shoulder Horn (alternate arms): 4.75/14, 5.0/12, 5.25/10

Abs: Decline sit-ups: [bwt./11, 6.25/9] 10/12, 11.25/10, 12.5/8

Workout Time: 0:38

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Rotation 4, Day 2

Sunday – 1/24/16

Heavy Bag: 15 minutes

Rotator Cuff: Lying on side: 4.25/14, 4.5/12, 4.75/10

Abs: Dip Bar Leg Raises: [--/11] 4s/20, 4s/20

Workout Time: 0:35

I got new ankle weights, CAP Barbell 20 lb. Adjustable Ankle Weights to be exact. There are five, 2-pound sand bags that can be inserted into each wrap. I got them mainly for a rehab exercise I plan on doing after my upcoming contest, but I can also use them for a couple of ab exercises, like the dip bar leg raises here. And they worked just fine. The only problem is it is a little hard getting the sand bags in and out of the wraps, so I will probably only do straight sets rather than using a drops rep approach when using them. I got them from Amazon.

Week 9 of 12 (Week A)

Bodyweight: 120.6 pounds.
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Bench Assistance

Wednesday – 1/27/16

Gear: Crain power belt, Redline wrist wraps.

Shoes: Coleman sneakers.

Dumbbell Incline Benches: [10s/15, 25s/9, 32s/7, 40s/5, and gear: 47s/3] 52s/5, 55s/3, 57s/1

Dips: [Bars: bwt./9, 20/7; Rings: bwt./5] 2.5/8, 5.0/6, 7.5/4

Chin-ups: [bwt./6, bwt./6, 5.0/5] 10/7, 12.5/5, 15/3

Curl Bar Reverse Curls: [40/9, 52/7] 60/10, 62/8, 65/6

Stretching: ~5 minutes

Workout time: 1:45

I was really having a hard time locking out on inclines and got one less rep than I had planned on for each set. They were still within my desired rep ranges, but that means I did a near 1RM with dumbbells for the first that I can remember, but it felt good. The dips with rings felt especially good. I am really getting the hang of them.

Video

Music: Barlow Girl

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Squats

Thursday – 1/28/16

Gear: Crain: power belt, Genesis wrist wraps; SlingShot World Record 2.5-meter knee wraps (squats, first two sets); APT heavy knee sleeves (squats, third set; partial squats).

Shoes: Crain Power Squat Shoes.

Squats: [65/20, 135/9, 170/7, 205/5, add gear with wraps: 252/3, 280/1] 295/4, 310/2, sleeves: 235/8

Partial Squats: [145/9, 190/7, 230/5, add gear: 265/3] 295/5, 310/3, 325/1

Speed Squats: [135/7] 145/8, 152/6, 160/4

Leg Curls (alternate legs): [1.0/9] 2.5/12, 2.75/10, 3.0/8

Stretching: ~5 minutes

Workout time: 2:01

This was as excellent workout. The two work sets of squats with wraps were 50s PRs. The first rep of each set was probably a tad high, but the rest were good. The final reps were real struggles, but I got them! The backoff set went surprisingly well given that I used wraps last time, so I hadn’t used sleeves for if for four weeks. The partial squats were probably also 50s PRs. But I’m not sure if they are working as well as I would like given that I almost stalled once again on the final reps of squats with wraps at the midway point. I probably would have been better off sticking with chain squats. I’ll think about that for my next training plan.

Video

I forgot to record my first work set of squats, so I recorded the top set as usual then my backoff set.

Music: Pandora –Barren Cross Radio
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Benches

Sunday – 1/31/16

Gear: Crain: power belt, Genesis wrist wraps.

Shoes: Adidas AdiPower lifting shoes.

Benches: [55/15, 85/9, 105/7, 122/5, add gear: 137/3, 152/1] 160/3.5*, 167/1*, 137/6.1*

Reverse Band Benches (#2, yellow, monster-minis): [95/9, 120/7, 140/5, add gear: 160/3] 177/6, 185/3.1*, 192/2

Speed Reverse Band Benches: 115/8, 120/6, 125/4

Barbell Rows: [45/9, 65/7, 80/5] 90/8, 95/6, 100/4

Stretching: ~5 minutes

Workout time: 1:50*

This was a horrible workout. I had a dentist appointment on Friday for the first time in ages. It really caused me problems allergy-wise the previous time I went, hence why I hadn’t gone in years. And once again, it really caused me problems, and I didn’t sleep well the next two nights and was dragging for this workout. As it turned out, not going to the dentist for so long caused me dental problems that could be expensive to deal with, so that was on my mind as well.

In any case, the bench reps were supposed to be 4, 2, 8 and the RB benches 6, 4, 2. But I got buried three times, the three sets with decimal points in the reps. But where I stalled on each is instructive, hence the decimal points. Having to reset the weights three times really got me behind and added to my fatigue.

I had already laid out a revamped bench training plan for after my upcoming contest given that my bench training has not been going well, and this workout confirms the changes I will be making are correct. I will post details on that at that time. But in the meantime, I will just have to accept that I will not accomplish on benches what I had originally hoped for at this contest, as it is too late to make changes now.

Video

I kept forgetting to start the recording, so the only set I recorded was my top set of RB benches, the only good set of the day. That is a shame, as it would have been beneficial to see exactly where I stalled on the other sets. But I think I have it estimated about right.

Music: Pandora – Christian Rock Radio

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Deadlifts

Monday – 2/1/16

Gear: Crain power belt; APT: knee sleeves, wrist bands.

Shoes: Nike wrestling shoes; Adidas Title Run basketball shoes.

Sumo Deadlifts: [45/15, 145/9, 205/7, 260/5, add gear: 315/3, 345/1] 362/3.9*, 380/1.1*, 315/7*

Sumo Platform (3” Deficit) Deadlifts: [135/9, 185/7, 235/5, add gear: 280/3] 310/5.1*, 325/2.1*, 340/miss

Sumo Jump Deadlifts: 80/8, 85/6, 90/4

Side Bends: [20/9, 32/7] 40/10, 42/8, 45/6

Stretching: ~5 minutes

Workout time: 2:02

Another terrible workout due to still not sleeping and still being in an allergic reaction. I think what is happening is I am allergic to the toothpaste and mouthwash the dentist gave me to use, so I will stop using those and look for natural alternatives.

In any case, the “3.9” reps on the first set of deadlifts is not totally correct. I actually locked it out, but then I lost my grip. That is the first time that happened in ages. What I think happened is the bar almost got away from me on the third set, and pulling it back in loosened my grip. I then did not reset my grip before pulling the fourth rep. Then on the top set, I got the first rep cleanly, but failed miserably on the second rep. The seven reps on the backoff set were not bad, as that is within my desired rep range, but still, I wanted 4, 2, 8 reps going in. Then by PDLs, I was so spent I simply did not have the energy to get anywhere near my desired 6, 4, 2 reps.

In addition to the tiredness and allergic reaction, another very old problem was rearing its ugly head. Prior to this workout I was listening to the John Ankerberg app on my smart phone (a Christian theologian/ apologist). He was doing a show on chronic pain. That got me thinking of the six nightmarish years I spent crippled with low back pain back in 1994-2000. Then sure enough, during this workout, my back began hurting, and more so as I went along. It was really hurting and getting stiff by the time I got to the jump deadlifts and side bends. Let me say, during those nightmarish years, I would never have even considered jumping or bending sideways, let alone with added weight. But now, knowing it was nothing to be concerned about, I ignored it as best as I could and did the exercises anyways.

The next morning, my back felt fine, until I starting thinking about it, and then the pain and stiffness returned. All of this verifies what I learned long ago, that my back pain was psychological in origin. If the pain and stiffness continues, I will have to revisit the “treatments” I used back then. I relate this story in my eBooklet Overcoming Back Pain: A Mind-Body Solution.

Videos:

I missed when I tried to pause the video after deadlifts. By the time I noticed it, several minutes had passed. I thus stopped the video and started a new one for the PDLs. I then had to trim the first video later.

Deadlifts

Platform Deadlifts

Music: Pandora – Saint Radio

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Morning Workouts

Day 3, Rotation 4,

Wednesday – 1/27/16

Heavy Bag: 15 minutes

Rotator Cuff: Lying, up: 4.25/15, 4.75/12, 5.0/10

Abs: Crunches: [bwt./11, 10/9] 17.5/12, 18.25/10, 20/8

Workout Time: 0:36

Day 4, Rotation 4

Sunday – 1/31/16

Heavy Bag: 15 minutes

Rotator Cuff: Lying, out: 4.5/14, 4.75/12, 5.0/10

Abs: Twisting Leg Raises (reps to each side}: 13, 13

Workout Time: 0:32

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My Diet Evaluation Logs – 2016 has been updated with January's numbers.

Week 10 of 12 (Week B)

Bodyweight: 121.4 pounds.

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Bench Assistance

Wednesday – 2/3/15

Gear: Crain power belt, Redline wrist wraps.

Shoes: Coleman sneakers.

Barbell Decline Benches: [55/15, 90/9, add gear: 120/6, 150/3] 162/5, 170/3, 177/1

Dumbbell Presses: [20s/8, add gear: 27.5s/5] 32.5s/8, 34s/6, 35s/4

Dip Bar Pull-ups: [bwt./8, 5/5] 10/7*, 12.5/6, 15/4

Dumbbell Curls: [22.5s/8] add wraps: 29s/7*, 29s/8, 30s/6

Stretching: ~5 minutes

Workout time: 1:52

The allergic reactions finally calmed down, so I got a good night’s sleep before this workout and was feeling good for it, but my back was still aching and stiff. In fact, in the morning, I was supposed to do decline sit-ups after my cardio, but I simply could not bend backwards, so I did regular sit-ups instead. But then I had to get into that same position for decline benches and wasn’t sure what to do.

I considered doing dips instead, but I didn’t want to give in to the back pain, so for the first three warmup sets, I didn’t hook my feet under the base of the bench as I usually do and was able to hold position with just my legs. But I didn’t want to risk slipping on my heavier sets, so I hooked my feet as usual, used the bar to push myself down, ignored the pain, and did my sets, then pulled myself up with the bar. I only repeated what I did last time, but not bad considering. I felt some pain throughout the rest of the workout, but I just ignored it, and the workout went well.

I’m trying to reduce the number of warmup sets in order to reduce my workout times. That worked on the first two sets, but not on the next two, as seen by the missed reps. That is probably because those exercise are too different from the preceding ones, so I will add a warmup set for each next time. I ended up not reducing my workout time, but that was due to wasting so much time at the start of the workout trying to figure out what to do on declines.

Video

Music: Pandora – Skillet Radio

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Squats

Thursday – 2/4/16

Gear: Crain: power belt, Genesis wrist wraps; 2.5-meter SlingShot World Record Wraps (squats), APT heavy knee sleeves (extra low squats).

Shoes: Crain Power Squat Shoes, Adidas Title Run basketball shoes.

Squats with wraps: [65/20, 135/9, add belt and wrist wraps: 195/6, add knee wraps: 257/3] 285/5, 300/2*, 315/1

Extra Low (ATG) Squats: [135/9, 175/6, add gear: 212/3] 235/6, 245/4, 255/2

Jump Squats: 85/8, 90/6, 95/4

Leg Curls (legs together): [5/9] 8.5/12, 9.0/10, 9.5/8

Stretching: ~5 minutes

Workout time: 2:08

This was an excellent workout, except for not trying the planned third rep on the second set of squats. I almost stalled midway on the second set and thought it best to stop there. I also almost stalled midway on the final reps of the other two sets and on all three sets of extra low squats. I was also struggling to get the weight off of the racks and to walk it out on all of those sets. All of this is what the partial squats in Week A are supposed to be helping with, but obviously are not, so I will be making a change next week.

I reduced my warmups by one set each on the first two exercises. That worked well on the second but not the first, so I think I will stick with what I was doing on my first exercise of the day, but go with what I did here on the second. But it made no difference in my workout time. In fact, this workout took a little too long, as I’d like to keep it to under two hours, but I’m not sure why it took so long.

As for my low back, it was hurting and stiff throughout the day before this workout, so I had to use the mind-body techniques I utilized 16 years ago to eliminate it. It still bothered somewhat at the beginning of this workout, but I just ignored it and then forgot about it. It’s been bothering me somewhat on and off since after the workout, but I don’t think it will be an issue.

However, I am a little concerned about my eye doctor appointment Friday morning. Just like my dentist appointment last week, this will be the first time in ages I will be going to the eye doctor due to it bothering me so much last time. But my planned monthly extra day off is Sunday, so if it does bother me, I will have until Monday to recover. This will be my last monthly extra day off before my upcoming contest.

Video

Music: Pandora – Thousand Foot Krutch

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Planned off day

Sunday – 2/7/16

For the second year in a row, my extra day off just happened to fall on Super Sunday. With the Steelers not being in it, I was not too thrilled for the game. But I lived in Denver back in 1988-90 when I attended Denver Seminary, so I root for the Broncos unless they are playing the Steelers, and I am glad the Broncos won.

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Benches

Monday – 2/8/16

Gear: Crain: power belt, Genesis wrist wraps.

Shoes: Adidas AdiPower lifting shoes.

Benches: [55/15, 80/9, 100/7, 120/5, add gear: 140/3,] 157*/5, 165/3, 175/1

3-Count Pause Benches: [70/9, 100/6, add gear: 125/3] 140/6, 147/4, 155/2

Push-ups: [Regular: 8] Clap: 12, 12, 12

Dumbbell Rows (elbows in): [35/9, 50/6, 62/3] 70/8, 72/6, 75/4

Stretching: ~5 minutes

Workout time: 1:43

First, on my eye doctor appointment, my eyes were fine, except for one minor issue. The doctor found a small cataract in my left eye. It is so small he said it shouldn’t be a problem for a decade. And being there did not bother me too much allergy-wise, so I was good to go for today’s workout. I thank God for all of that.

That said; this was an excellent workout, thanks in part to a misload on the first work set of benches. It was supposed to be 155, but I inadvertently put a 2-1/2 on one side. I noticed the imbalance on the first rep but didn’t want to stop, and I’m glad I didn’t. Despite the extra weight and imbalance, I got my planned five reps; and since I did, I increased my planned weights for the next two sets by 2-1/2 pounds and again got my planned reps. With doing so, all three sets tied or bettered 50s PRs. The pause benches also went very well, as did the rest of the workout. This was all very satisfying, given that benches have not gone well for the past month. But with less than a month left before my next contest, I really needed what I hope turns out to be a breakout workout.

Video

Watching the video, I’m not pausing my bench reps. I hope that doesn’t come back to bite me at the contest. If it does, I will have to work on that in my post-contest routine.

Music: Pandora – Pillar Radio

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Deadlifts

Wednesday – 2/10/16

Gear: Crain power belt; APT: knee sleeves, wrist bands.

Shoes: Nike wrestling shoes, Nike Sneakers.

Sumo Deadlifts: [65/15, 145/9, 205/7, 260/5, add gear: 315/3] 350/5, 367/2*, 385/miss*

Conv Chain Deadlifts (chain set-up weighs 90 pounds, which is included in the indicated weights):

[175/9, add chains: 225/7, 270/5, add gear: 315/3] 350/5, 367/3, 385/1

Conv Speed Chain Deadlifts: 230/8, 242/6, 255/4

DB Calves (on 3” platform): [25/9, 35/7] 45/10, 47/8, 50/6

Stretching: ~5 minutes

Workout time: 2:06

This was a strange workout. The first work set of sumo deadlifts went as planned, but then the second rep of the second set was so hard I didn’t even try the planned third rep; then I missed miserably on the final set, only getting the bar about half a foot up. But then on conv chain deadlifts, using the same weights, I got my planned 5,3,1 reps. That is strange, but instructive. It means my top end strength is good, but I’m weak at the bottom. I will thus make a couple of changes next week that I will explain then.

Video

Music: Pandora – Bride Radio

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Morning Workouts

Day 1, Rotation 5

Wednesday – 2/3/15

Heavy Bag: 15 minutes

Rotator Cuff: Shoulder Horn (alternate arms): 5.0/14, 5.25/12, 5.5/10

Abs: Decline sit-ups: couldn’t do’ stiff back

Abs: Sit-ups: [5/10] 15/12, 16.25/10, 17.5/8

Workout Time: 0:38

Day 2, Rotation 5

Wednesday – 2/10/16

Heavy Bag: 15 minutes

Rotator Cuff: Lying on side: 4.5/14, 4.75/12, 5.0/10

Abs: Dip Bar Leg Raises: 6s/18, 6s/18

Workout Time: 0:36

Week 11 of 12 (Week A)

Bodyweight: 120.2 pounds.

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Bench Assistance

Thursday – 2/11/16

Gear: Crain power belt, Redline wrist wraps.

Shoes: Coleman sneakers.

Dumbbell Incline Benches: [10s/15, 25s/9, 32s/7, 40s/5, and gear: 47s/3] 52s/5*, 55s/3*, 50s/6

Dips: [Bars: bwt./9, 20/7; Rings: bwt./5] 5.0/8, 7.5/6, 10/4

Chin-ups: [bwt./7, 2.5/6, 7.5/5] 10/7*, 12.5/5*, 15/3*

Curl Bar Reverse Curls: [40/9, 55/6] 62/8*, 65/6*, 67/4*

Stretching: ~5 minutes

Workout time: 1:54*

This was another terrible workout. I missed reps on all of my work sets, except for on dips with rings, and it took too long. The problem was I was dragging due to my blood sugar being low due to my hypoglycemia. I was trying a new cereal for my pre-workout snack, and it was too high glycemic. But the next day I went to Pittsburgh’s East End Food Co-op and got some cereals that I’ve used before and know work well. I’ll use them for my final two+ weeks of training and at my upcoming contest. See the following page of my fitness website for reviews of the cereals I am talking about, both good and bad: Cold Cereals Reviews.

That said; once again, I was really having a hard time locking out the inclines. But watching the video, that could be because I am actually pausing the reps and that that be causing me to have less momentum throughout the lift. Since I was struggling so much, rather than increasing the weight, I dropped it for the last set to get some reps in.

Video

Music: Pandora – Barlow Girl

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Squats

Sunday – 2/14/16

Gear: Crain: power belt, Genesis wrist wraps; SlingShot World Record 2.5-meter knee wraps (squats, first two sets); APT heavy knee sleeves (squats, third and fourth sets; partial squats).

Shoes: Crain Power Squat Shoes.

Squats: [65/20, 135/9, 175/7, 210/5, add gear with wraps: 255/3] 280/6, 295/miss*, sleeves: 260/4, 275/2

Chain Squats (chain set-up weighs 90 pounds, which is included in the indicated weights):

[135/9, 175/7, 210/5, 250/3] 275/6, 290/4, 305/2

Speed Squats: Skipped

Leg Curls (alternate legs): [1.0/9] 2.75/12, 3.0/10, 3.25/8

Stretching: ~5 minutes

Workout time: 2:17*

I had a rough day before this workout, with one thing after another going wrong. As result, I started this workout late and was already stressed out and tired. I had previously decided to change back from my “drop reps with backoff set” plan to my regular drops reps plan, as I felt like the former wasn’t working. But that proved to be a mistake. The reason I switched to the backoff plan was due to a set of six with wraps being too tiring, and that was the case here, especially since I stalled midway on the last rep, but somehow, with much struggle, was able to get it moving again.

I was also having a hard time wrapping my knees with my new SlingShot wraps. I had hoped by now they would be broken in, making wrapping easier, but that was not the case. In fact, I had to wrap my knees twice to get it right for the second set. Then I had to walk it out twice, as the first time the bar wasn’t centered on my back. The set was supposed to be for four reps, but I got buried on the first rep!

At that point, I had no idea what to do. I was getting so tired, I just couldn’t bring myself to wrap and try the 295 again, so I decided to switch to sleeves to get some work in. I picked my weights just right, basing them on what I had done with sleeves for my backoff set last time.

I then switched from partial squats to chain squats since I did chain squats at the beginning of this routine and have come to believe they are the better of the two exercises. I should get in an “extra” day for this workout, so it is worth changing for two workouts. I again picked my weights just right, basing them on what I had done for chain squats back in Week 3. But I was so tired and the workout was getting too long, so I skipped my planned speed work. But I thought it best to do the leg curls, as I am still rehabbing my hamstring.

With all of this, I basically ended up going back to doing what I did for the first month of this routine: squats with sleeves followed by chain squats. In retrospect, I would have been better off sticking with that plan. As such, I will do that in my “extra” workout in two weeks (more on that later).

Videos:

On top of everything else, I was having problems with my phone, so I ended up with four videos.

First walkout with 295

Buried, then first set of squats with sleeves

Second set of squats with sleeves

Chain squats

Music: Pandora – Barren Cross Radio
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Benches

Monday – 2/15/16

Gear: Crain: power belt, Genesis wrist wraps.

Shoes: Adidas AdiPower lifting shoes.

Benches: [55/15, 85/9, 105/7, 122/5, add gear: 137/3, 152/1] 160/4, 167/2, 137/8

Chain Benches (chain set-up weighs 40 pounds, which is included in the indicated weights):

[85/9, 105/7, 125/5, add gear: 145/3] 160/4, 152/5.5*, 165/2

Speed Chain Benches: 105/8, 110/6, 115/4

Barbell Rows: [45/9, 65/7, 85/5] 95/7, 100/5, 105/3

Stretching: ~5 minutes

Workout time: 1:46

I barely slept at all the night before this workout. I’m not sure if that was due to being overly tired from my squat workout yesterday or if it was due to the allergic reaction I had been in during the day (one of the problems I was having yesterday), but I felt fine for most of this workout, and it went great. For the second bench workout in a row I got the reps I had missed the previous time.

I just got some new chains, so I was anxious to try them out and did chain benches instead of reverse band benches. But I had no idea how much weight to use, so I just guessed, and I guessed about ten pounds too heavy. As a result, my work sets got mixed up, and I got buried on the second set. But by the third set I got it right, and that set felt great, as did the speed work with chains. But then by rows, the sleeplessness caught up to me, and I dragged through them, with none of the reps being full ROM.

I got new chains as I use two sets of heavy chains for squats and deadlifts but only one set for benches, and it was too much of a hassle to be taking one set of heavy chains on and off. Below is a pic of my new chains (click for a larger image). I really like the gold color of the heavy chains. I got them from Amazon.

Video

Music: Pandora – Red Radio

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Deadlifts

Wednesday – 2/17/15

Gear: Crain power belt; APT: knee sleeves, wrist bands.

Shoes: Nike wrestling shoes (Deadlifts, PDLs); Adidas Title Run basketball shoes (Jump DLs, Side Bends).

Sumo Deadlifts: [65/15, 145/9, 205/7, 260/5, add gear: 315/3, 345/1] 362/3.5*, 380/1*, 315/6*

*Conv* Platform (2-1/4” Deficit) Deadlifts: [135/9, 180/7, 225/5, add gear: 265/3] 295/6, 310/4, 325/2

*Conv* Jump Deadlifts: 85/7, 90/5, 95/3

Side Bends: [20/9, 35/7] 42/10, 45/8, 47/6

Stretching: ~5 minutes

Workout time: 2:08*

Another terrible deadlift workout. Very frustrating with just one deadlift workout left before my contest. Sumo deadlifts were supposed to be 4, 2, 8 reps, but I missed at the knees on the fourth rep of the first set. On the second set, the first rep was so hard I didn’t even try the second rep, and on the backoff set, I was so wiped from the first two sets I only tried six reps.

My lack of progress and the back pain I’ve been experiencing could be due to my low back not getting strengthened enough from doing mostly sumo work, so I switched to a conv stance for the PDLs, and they went well. In fact, for the first month of this routine I was training conv deadlifts and sumo deadlifts equally. Again in retrospect, as with squats, I should have stuck with that plan. I’ll remember all of this when I design my next training plan, and I’ll repeat the conv PDLs next week to somewhat make up for the mistake.

Video

Music: Pandora – X-Sinner

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Morning Workouts

Day 3, Rotation 5

Sunday – 2/14/16

Heavy Bag: 15 minutes

Rotator Cuff: Lying, up: 4.75/15, 5.25/12, 5.5/10

Abs: Crunches: [bwt./11, 12.5/9] 18.75/12, 20/10, 21.25/8

Workout Time: 0:35

Day 4, Rotation 5

Wednesday – 2/17/15

Heavy Bag: 15 minutes

Rotator Cuff: Lying, out: 4.5/15, 5.0/12, 5.25/10

Abs: Twisting Leg Raises (reps to each side}: 15, 15

Workout Time: 0:35

Powerlifting Watch's Top 50 Ranking Lists

Powerlifting Watch recently posted their final rankings for 2015. I competed in one contest last year in the 114 pound weight class, 50-54 age division, raw with wraps gear division. But these lists lump 114s, 123s, and 132s together. But PW followed my suggestion and started indicating actual weigh-in bodyweights, so below is first my ranking for the 132s charts, then in brackets is where I place when only considering those with weigh-in weights of 114.5 pounds or less. Also below are my rankings for previous years. PW did not have separate lists for master lifters in 2007-09.

2007 (open, multi-ply list): #7 squat, #23 bench, #9 deadlift, #9 total
2008 (open, raw list): #6 squat, #44 bench, #10 deadlift, #7 total
2009 (open, raw list): #13 squat, #13 deadlift, #17 total
2015 (open, raw with wraps list): #21 [#1] squat, #23 [#1] total
2015 (master, 40+, raw with wraps list): #1 [#1] squat, #10 [#2] bench, #3 [#1] deadlift, #2 [#1] total
2015 (master, 50+, raw with wraps list): #1 [#1] squat, #5 [#1] bench, #2 [#1] deadlift, #2 [#1] total

Powerlifting Watch's Best of the Best Ranking Lists

These list are for from when Powerlifting Watch began its ranking lists in 2007 to the present.

Open, multi-ply gear: #19 squat, #39 deadlift, #22 total
Masters, multi-ply gear: #1 squat, #2 bench, #3 deadlift, #1 total
Masters, raw without wraps: #7 squat, #9 deadlift, #8 total
Masters, raw with wraps: #3 squat, #9 deadlift, #5 total

Week 12 of 12 (Week B)

Bodyweight: 121.6 pounds.

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Bench Assistance

Thursday – 2/18/16

Gear: Crain power belt, Redline wrist wraps.

Shoes: Coleman sneakers.

Barbell Decline Benches: [55/15, 95/9, 115/7, 135/5, add gear: 150/3] 162/5, 170/3, 177/1

Dumbbell Presses: [10s/9, 20s/7, add gear: 30/5] 34s/8, 35s/6, 36.5s/4

Dip Bar Pull-ups: [bwt./9, 3.75/7, 7.5/5] 12.5/8, 15/6, 17.5/4

Dumbbell Curls: [17.5s/9, 26.5s/7] add wraps: 29s/9, 30s/7, 31.5s/4*

Stretching: ~5 minutes

Workout time: 1:59*

I repeated what I did last time on declines, although I might have been able to double the last set. But I’ve been getting buried enough lately and didn’t want to risk it. The rest of the workout went well and as planned, so overall a good workout. One thing though, I was having problems with the collars on my dumbbells slipping and had to keep stopping and resetting them. When one slipped on the next to last rep of my last set, I just stopped there. I’m not sure if I can buy just the dumbbell collars, but I will check at York Barbell when I’m there next weekend for my contest.

Video

Music: Pandora – Christian Rock Radio

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Squats

Sunday – 2/21/16

Gear: Crain: power belt, Genesis wrist wraps; 2.5-meter Genesis knee wraps (squats), APT heavy knee sleeves (squats, extra low squats).

Shoes: Crain Power Squat Shoes (Squats, X-low Squats), Adidas Title Run basketball shoes (Jump Squats).

Squats: [65/20, 135/9, 175/7, 210/5, add gear with wraps: 260/3] 285/no try, *switch to sleeves* 260/6, 272/4, 285/2

Extra Low (ATG) Squats: [135/9, 165/7, 195/5, add gear: 220/3] 240/5, 252/2*, 265/skip*

Jump Squats: 90/7, 95/5, 100/3

Leg Curls (legs together): [5/9] 9.0/12, 9.5/10, 10.0/8

Stretching: ~5 minutes

Workout time: 2:11*

With the problems I had with wrapping with the SlingShot wraps last week, I went back to Crain wraps, as they are much easier to wrap with. But I still did not get my knees wrapped quite right for my final warmup set, so it did not feel good. Then for my first work set, I thought I had the wraps right, but when I lifted the weight off of the racks, I felt very unstable and had no confidence I would be able to get my planned reps, so I re-racked the weight. I then sat down and thought and prayed for a few minutes. I just cannot seem to get myself psyched up to use wraps anymore given the difficulty of wrapping and the uncertainty of how effective the wraps will be on any given set, depending on how well I wrapped my knees.

I then made the monumental decision I made last spring but went back on—rather than raw with wraps, I will train and compete raw with sleeves, and that includes my contest next weekend. I know that sounds crazy, making such a monumental change this close to a contest, but it’s not that big of deal as I have been squatting with sleeves for my backoff set Week A and the extra low squats here, so I am ready for squatting with sleeves. That can be seen in that I squatted 315/1 with wraps last time, and I have always figured wraps add 25-30 pounds, so the 285/2 is on target for what I’d expect to be able to do with sleeves. Moreover, all three sets with sleeves were 50s PR. But still, I will need to adjust my expectations for the contest, for squats and my total and for the records therefor I was hoping to break.

On an interesting point, I felt more stable for the final set of squats with sleeves with 285 than I did when I lifted up that same weight wearing wraps. I can only guess that it was a mental thing with the wraps more than anything else.

But then the extra low squats did not go well. That was because I did not sleep well the night before this workout, and I was tired out from the wrapping, and the extra low squats are not much different from regular squats with sleeves, so I was burned out before I started them. I thus got very winded and lightheaded on the first set and buried on the third rep of the second set. At that point, with the bar now on the safeties, I thought it best not to reset for the third set. But I did the speed work I skipped last week, then leg curls. But with all of this going on, I ended up with an overly long and tiring workout and barely slept that night.

Video

I only recorded the top set of squats with sleeves and the second set of extra low squats, so I recorded the top set of jump squats as well.

For the really observant, that is a new freezer in the background. Unlike my old one, it has auto-defrost and a light. But most of all, it is larger, so I now have plenty of room to stock up on natural/ organic foods on my monthly trips to Pittsburgh’s East End Food Co-op and on hormone-free, antibiotic-free, (mostly) pasture-raised meats on my quarterly trips to Pound’s Turkey Farm, which also sells beef and chicken.

Music: Pandora – Three Day’s Grace Radio

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Benches

Monday – 2/22/16

Gear: Crain: power belt, Genesis wrist wraps.

Shoes: Adidas AdiPower lifting shoes.

Benches: [55/15, 80/9, 105/7, 125/5, add gear: 145/3,] 160/4*, 167/2*, 175/1

3-Count Pause Benches: [70/9, 95/7, 115/5, add gear: 130/3] 145/4*, 152/3, 160/1

Push-ups: [Regular: 8] Clap: 13, 13, 10

Dumbbell Rows (elbows in): [37/9, 52/7, 65/5] 72/7, 75/5, 77/3

Stretching: ~5 minutes

Workout time: 1:43

Despite my overly long and tiring workout yesterday and not sleeping well, I felt okay for this workout. I thank the LORD for that as this was an important workout. It might be my last heavy bench workout and was the bench workout in which I would be figuring out my tentative contest attempts.

My reps on benches and pause benches were supposed to be 5, 3, 1. But on benches, the fourth and second reps on the first and second sets respectively were so hard I didn’t the try the planned final reps. But the single with 175 felt great, and all three sets tied 50s PRs. Then on pause benches, my back slipped up some on the bench on the fifth rep, and the bar hit the racks. As a result, I got buried. But then after resetting and chalking the bench, the final two sets went great.

The third set of pause benches was especially satisfying, as that might be my opener, and getting 160 with an extra long pause, after five previous hard sets, and on little sleep, means it should be plenty light for an opener. In fact, I might have been able to double it. That was due to being extra psyched up from my favorite song just happening to come on as I getting set and from already thinking it might be my opener and thus visualizing myself at the contest.

I will be benching again next Monday, but by then I will have started cutting weight, so won’t know how heavy I will go until I see how I feel from that.

Video

Music: Pandora – Sacred Warrior Radio

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Deadlifts

Wednesday – 2/24/16

Gear: Crain power belt; APT: knee sleeves, wrist bands.

Shoes: Nike wrestling shoes (deadlift work), Nike Sneakers (calves).

Sumo Deadlifts: [65/15, 145/9, 205/7, 260/5, add gear: 315/3] 350/4*, 367/1.1*, 385/miss*

Conv Platform (2-1/4” Deficit) Deadlifts: [135/9, 185/7, 230/5, add gear: 275/3] 305/5, 320/3, 335/1

Conv Speed Chain Deadlifts: Skipped

DB Calves (on 3” platform): [35/9, 42/7] 47/9, 50/7, 52/5

Stretching: ~5 minutes

Workout time: 2:06

This was my last deadlift workout before my contest, and the workout in which I would be setting my contest attempts. But unfortunately, it went terrible. I didn’t even come close to my planned reps of 5, 3, 1. Part of the problem was my right adductor started bothering me on my first warmup set. Actually, I felt a twinge in it when doing an ab exercise in my morning workout. This is yet another old problem rearing its ugly head. But even with all of that, the first set felt good, so 350 will probably be my opener. I will then play it by ear for my next two attempts.

Since my top end strength is good, rather than the conv chain DLs I have been doing, I did conv PDLs again this week for more bottom end and lower back work. And my adductor did not bother me on the PDLs, and they went well and as planned. I didn’t want to get the chains out just for speed work, and I didn’t want to try something new for just one workout, so I skipped the speed work.

That ends my planned 12-week Pre-Contest Routine. But as it turns out, I should get in a couple of “extra” workouts before my contest. I will post about them afterwards as usual.

Video:

I messed up again recording and ended up with two videos:

Sumo Deadlifts

Conv Platform (2-1/4” Deficit) Deadlifts

Music: Pandora – Bride Radio

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Morning Workouts

Day 1, Rotation 6

Sunday – 2/21/16

Heavy Bag: 15 minutes

Rotator Cuff: Shoulder Horn (alternate arms): 5.25/14, 5.5/12, 5.75/10

Abs: Decline sit-ups: [--/9, 7.5/7] 11.25/12, 12.5/10, 13.75/8

Workout Time: 0:37

Day 2, Rotation 6

Wednesday – 2/24/16

Heavy Bag: 15 minutes

Rotator Cuff: Lying on side: 4.75/14, 5.0/12, 5.25/10

Abs: *Twisting Dip Bar Leg Raises: [--/10] 8s/16, 8s/16

Workout Time: 0:36

It was on the dip bar leg raises that my adductor bothered me. Ironically, the ankle weights I am using for it I actually got recently for doing an adductor exercise, but I thought it best to wait until after my contest to do that exercise least I aggravated the adductor. Even more ironically, I later realized I wasn't supposed to be doing twisting dip bar leg raises but the regular ones I've been doing throughout this routine. The twisting version is much harder, but I used the weight for the regular version and thus worked too hard. It is in my post-contest routine that I am planning on doing the twisting version.

Extra Workouts

Bodyweights (pounds):
Friday, 2/26 - 121.0
Saturday, 2/27 – 120.8
Sunday, 2/28 – 119.4
Monday, 2/29 – 119.4
Tuesday, 3/1 – 119.9

Last year, I began seriously cutting weight Friday, a week before weigh-ins. But then I ate some carbs throughout the day on Sunday so as to have energy for my last heavy workout. That caused me to regained some weight. I thus had to almost start over, and the weight seemed harder to come off. This time, I figured I wait until I was done with my workouts on Monday, then start serious cutting. But over the weekend, I cut intake back slightly and surprisingly still loss 1.6 pounds by Sunday. But on Sunday and Monday I ate normally during the day to have energy for my final workouts, and I started to increase my salt intake in preparation for serious cutting later. That is why my weight did not change from Sunday to Monday and increased from Monday to Tuesday.

But I eliminated carbs starting after my workout on Monday. From there until weigh-ins, it will be strictly low fat protein foods and low carb veggies. Then starting lunchtime Wednesday, I will restrict sodium (48 hours pre-weigh-in), then water on Thursday (24 hours pre-weigh-in). Weigh-ins are then on Friday from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm. This is an hour and half later than last year. That extra time might prove helpful if I am still close that morning. The weight class limit is 114.5 pounds (52 kilograms), so I have 5.4 pounds to lose in the next three days.

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Bench Assistance

Thursday – 2/25/16

With the way I’ve been dragging of late and with aggravating my adductor on Wednesday, I thought it best to take this day off rather than struggling through a not very important workout. My hope is by Sunday my adductor will be okay, and I’ll be feeling much better.

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Squats

Sunday – 2/28/16

Gear: Crain: power belt, Genesis wrist wraps, *2.5-meter Genesis knee wraps* (squats); APT heavy knee sleeves (chain squats).

Shoes: Crain Power Squat Shoes.

Squats: [65/20, 135/9, 175/7, 210/5, add gear: 260/3] 285/4, 300/2, 315/1

Chain Squats (chain set-up weighs 90 pounds, which is included in the indicated weights):

[135/9, 185/7, 225/5, 260/3] 285/5, 300/3, 315/1

Speed Squats: Skipped

Leg Curls (alternate legs): Skipped

Stretching: ~5 minutes

Workout time: 1:55

As I hoped, me and my adductor both felt good by this workout. But normally, when I take a day off, I do the workout I was supposed to that day on my next workout day. But with my BA workout being my least important workout, and with really needing to put in another heavy squat workout, I skipped the BA workout and squatted instead.

However, I once again changed my mind on wraps. I know I keep going back and forth on this, but I just cannot get away from the fact that I have no chance to break my records from last year using sleeves. Also, after my last workout, I was thinking the reason I felt unstable with the wraps was I didn’t wrap quite right. I thus practiced wrapping after my morning cardio using a new pair of Crain wraps I got a while ago but never used. I also experimented with rolling the wraps up both tightly and loosely, and I found it made no difference when I wrapped. I also remembered that the Crains work best if they are not wrapped as tightly as possible, tight yes, but more like 95%. I thus had been wasting time and energy rolling the wraps up tightly and wrapping as tightly as possible.

If squats with wraps went well, then I figured I’d do chain squats for the top end work; but if not, I’d do squats with sleeves and then use them at the contest. As things turned out, squats with wraps felt great! The first set was plenty easy for an opener, and the final stet tied a 50s PR. I thus will be squatting with wraps at my contest this Saturday, using this same pair of Crain wraps and opening with 285. After this contest, I will have to decide once and for all whether to use wraps or sleeves so that I can train for that throughout my entire next training plan.

Then after squats I did chain squats for more top end work and for conditioning for the handling of the heavier weights the wraps enable. One problem though; both of these exercise are time-consuming and demanding, so even if with skipping speed work and leg curls, this was still a long and tiring workout. I’ll remember that when designing my next training plan so as not to do these two exercises in the same workout.

Video

It took me several seconds to remember to pause the video after squats, so pardon my back while I am unwrapping my knees.

Music: Pandora – Thousand Foot Krutch
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Benches

Monday – 2/29/16

Gear: Crain: power belt, Genesis wrist wraps.

Shoes: Adidas AdiPower lifting shoes.

Benches: [55/15, 85/9, 105/7, 125/5, add gear: 140/3, 155/1] 162/3, 170/1, 140/6*

Reverse Band Benches (#2, yellow, monster-minis): [95/9, 120/7, 145/5, add gear: 162/3] 180/5, 187/3, 195/1

Speed RB Benches: skipped

Barbell Rows: skipped

Stretching: ~5 minutes

Workout time: 1:20

I barely slept the night before this workout, and I really felt it during the workout. I had hoped to do 4, 2, 8 reps on benches, but the third rep of the first set was very hard, so I stopped there so as not to overdo it. Then 170 felt very good. I wouldn’t have been able to double it, but the single was with strength to spare, and I paused it reasonably well. That is what I need to break my records from last time, so it felt good getting here it despite feeling so awful.

But then my form on the backoff set was all over the place, and I got buried on the seventh rep. I’ve often had problems concentrating on the backoff set as it is such a letdown after the top heavy set, so I doubt I will use that rep scheme in my next training plan.

RB benches went well, although I had planned on topping out at 200, but thought it best not to push it. The 195 was with strength to spare, so I might have been good for the 200.

Video

Again, pardon my back as I undo my gear, forgetting again to pause the video for several seconds between sets of RB benches.

Music: Pandora – Barren Cross

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Morning Workouts

Day 3, Rotation 6,

Wednesday – 2/28/16

Heavy Bag: 10 minutes

Rotator Cuff: Lying, up: 5.25/14, 5.5/12, 5.75/10

Abs: Crunches: [2.5/11, 12.5/9] 20/12, 21.25/10, 22.25/8

Workout Time: 0:36

I cut back on my heavy bag time to leave time and energy for the above mentioned wraps experiment. I will do a morning workout again on Wednesday to help with cutting weight, but that will be it far as workouts go until my contest on Saturday, March 5, 2016, which is IPA PA States in York, PA.

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My Diet Evaluation Logs have been updated with February’s numbers.

Bodyweight Update

Wednesday, 3/2 -119.4
Thursday, 3/3 – 118.2

I wasn’t expecting my weight to drop much by Wednesday due to the increased salt and liquid intake the previous three days. But I wasn’t concerned as that should leave my system by Friday. But I’m not sure if I will use that approach again, as consuming so much salt and liquid caused me to have to get up during the night to urinate, and I had problems getting back to sleep. And besides, I am no longer consuming a low sodium diet, so I consume sufficient sodium anyway.

At 6 am today (Thursday), I was still 3.7 pounds over the weight class limit. From here out, I will be eating turkey breast periodically through the day and veggies until lunchtime, and that it is. Thus no carbs, not fat, and most of all, very little sodium, so the remaining fluids should be released by tomorrow morning. But if not, I’ll have plenty of time before 11:30 am to take a long hot bath, and that should do it.

With having put in a hard bench workout on Monday, I thought best not to hit my heavy bag on Wednesday as I had planned. And I’m glad I didn’t as I am feeling very good now, even though I haven’t been sleeping very well.

For as follow-up to these workout logs, see Routine Review/ Contest Plans.

Powerlifting and Back Pain

The first book is geared towards the beginner to intermediate powerlifter. It presents sound training, competition, dietary, and supplement advice to aid the reader in starting and progressing in the sport of powerlifting. The second book details how I overcame years of crippling low back and was able to return to the sport of powerlifting.

Starting and Progressing in Powerlifting: A Comprehensive Guide to the World's Strongest Sport

Overcoming Back Pain: A Mind-body Solution (Second Edition)