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Full Workout Logs: Starting 4/19/2015 – Two by Two Plan (Variation C); Routine A, Weeks 7-12 of 12

By Gary F. Zeolla

These workout logs are continued from Full Workout Logs: Starting 3/6/2015 – Two by Two Plan (Variation A); Routine A, Weeks 1-6 of 12.

Age: 54.
Height: 5'1".
Bodyweight, body fat, and lean body mass: 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.

God-willing, my next contest will be IPA Nationals, November 21, 2015. For details, see under “My Health/ Next Contest/ Goals” near the end of the contest report for my recent contest: IPA Pennsylvania State Powerlifting Championships - 2015.

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.

See also my Cardio Logs - January through April 2015 and Cardio Logs - May through August 2015.

Training Plan Change

My Two by Two Powerlifting Training Plan is based on the idea of two different training weeks (Week A, Week B) being done in each of two different training routines (Routine A, Routine B). The routines differ by using different exercises in each of them. When I developed this plan, it was with the idea of having time for two 10-12 week routines between contests. But this time, I have time for three routines. I was going to do Variation A of my training plan through all three routines, for which look-alikes lifts are done Week A and the actual powerlifts Week B. I would thus do Routine A, Routine B, Routine A, repeating the same assistance exercises in both Routine As, while doing the actual powerlifts through all three routines.

However, I think I will get burned out doing the actual powerlifts every other week for that long. That is the reason for Variation B of my routine. For it, look-alike lifts are done in both weeks in Routine A (thus giving a break from doing the actual powerlifts), but then the actual powerlifts are done in both weeks in Routine B. Moreover, looking at my long-term contest plans, there will probably be additional times in the future when there will be time for three routines between contests, so I needed to come up with a variation of my training plan for such cases. I think I have done that by combining my two current variations.

I am in the middle of Routine A of Variation A. That was actually a good way to start. But for the next two routines, I will switch to Variation B. But to keep things from being confused, I will call the two routines in it Routine B and Routine C. For the most part, I will do different assistance exercises in each of the three routines. The main exception will be Bench Assistance Day, for which I only have two sets of exercises, so those will need to be alternated, this time by repeating Routine A’s exercises in Routine C. On the three powerlifts days, I will also have to alternate a few non-look-alike exercises. And some look-alike lifts will be done in two routines, but most of the time I will change the placement of them (e.g., doing CGBPs second in Routine A, but first in Routine B). I’ve found a change in placement makes a big difference in the feel of the lift and how much weight I can handle on it.

For simplicities sake, I will call this three routine plan Variation C of my Two by Two Training Plan; although it might be better called a Two by Three Training Plan, e.g., two different training Weeks (Week A, Week B) in each of three different training routines (Routine A, Routine B, Routine C). But whatever the name, here’s praying this plan works well, not just for my contest this November but whenever I need to use it in the future as well. Of course, all of this assumes I will be able to continue to train at a high intensity and to compete for the foreseeable future. Here’s trusting the LORD that will be the case.

Wraps Inventory and Comments on Wraps

About this time, I did an inventory on the wraps I am using for my training and competition and explain why I use these brands. See Wraps Inventory and Comments on Wraps.

Week 7 of 12 (Week A)

Bodyweight: 120.0 pounds.
Body fat: 10.4%, 12.5 pounds.
Lean body mass: 107.5 pounds.

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Bench Assistance

Sunday – 4/19/15

Gear: Crain power belt, Redline wrist wraps (1).

Shoes: Nike Sneakers.

Incline Benches [DBs: 12s/15, Barbell: 50/9, 70/7, 90/5, and belt and wraps: 110/3], 125/6, 130/4, 135/2

Dips: [bwt./9, 10/7, and wraps: 17.5/5] 25/8, 30/6, 35/4

V-Grip Chin-ups: [bwt./4, bwt./4] 1.25/7, 3.75/5, 6.25/4

Reverse Curls: [Curl Bar: 40/9, Barbell: 50/7] 54/10, 56.5/8, 59/6

Rotator Cuff (Sitting, Front): 2.5/12, 2.75/10, 3.0/8

Stretching: ~5 minutes

Workout time: 1:32

A very good workout. The dips were rather easy. I could have bumped the weights up, but I was leery to do so since I aggravated my pec on them a while back doing just that, so I will take it slow on the weight increases. Since I am doing them again in my next routine, there’s no reason to push it now. But my apologies on the music on the dips video. Audio Adrenaline is usually good lifting music, but a very weird song on their debut CD started just as I was getting set for that set, so I was too late to skip it.

Again, videos are always of my last set for each exercise, unless I indicate otherwise.

Music:
Audio Adrenaline - debut
Petra - “Back to the Street”

BB Incline Benches

Dips

V-Grip Chin-ups

BB Reverse Curls

Rotator Cuff (Sitting, Front)

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Squats

Monday – 4/20/15

Gear: Crain: squat shoes, power belt, Genesis wrist wraps (1); APT heavy knee sleeves (1).

Shoes: Crain Power Squat Shoes; Nike sneakers.

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

[135/9, 175/7, 215/5, add belt & wraps: 250/3] 280/6, 292/4, 305/2

Speed Chain Squats: 155/8, 162/6, 170/4

Extra Low Squats: [125/9, 145/7, 165/5, add belt & wraps: 185/3] 205/6, 215/4, 225/2

Decline Sit-ups: [--/9; 5/7] 7.5/10, 8.75/8, 10/6

Stretching: ~5 minutes

Workout time: 1:36

A very good workout. I decided to go with extra low squats for here and wait until my next routine to do the squats with knee sleeves that I mentioned about last week. However, the extra low squats bothered my tender right adductor some. If it continues to be a problem then I’ll go with the squats with knee sleeves instead. Rather than extra low squats, I probably should call them ATG squats like most do, but given what that acronym means, I tend to avoid it.

Music: KJIM - “White Noise” (featuring Neon Cross’ debut album, 9/10/88).

I lived in Denver in 1988-90 while attending Denver Seminary. At that time KJIM, a AM radio station, played Christian music. Most of the time it was softer Contemporary Christian Music (CCM), but for three hours on Saturday night was their “White Noise” time, where they played White Metal. I recorded it on several occasions, and believe it or not, those cassettes still sound reasonably good and make for great lifting music, so you’ll hear that in the background at times. Then for three hours on Sunday night was KJIM’s “All Request” time, but most of the requests were for White Metal, so it was like a second White Noise time and thus I recorded it on occasion as well. You’ll also hear those tapes at times.

Chain Squats

Speed Chain Squats

Extra Low Squats

Decline Sit-ups

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Benches

Wednesday – 4/22/15

Gear: Crain: power belt, Genesis wrist wraps (1).

Shoes: Nike sneakers.

Dead Stop Benches: [45/15, 75/9, 95/7, 110/5, add belt & wraps: 125/3] 140/6, 145/4, 150/2

Reverse Band Benches (light #3, purple bands choked around the top of my power rack, set so there is very little tension at the top of the lift):

[120/9, 140/7, 155/5, add belt & wraps: 170/3] 185/5, 192/3, 200/1

Speed Reverse Band Benches: 122/8, 127/6, 132/4

Dumbbell Rows (elbows out): [30/9, 40/7, 50/5] 55/8, 57/6, 60/4

Stretching: ~5 minutes

Workout time: 1:38

I might have been able to get a double on the last set of RB benches, but I was thinking single since I only got 5, 3 on the first two sets. I need to remember that sometimes I get extra psyched up for the last/ heaviest set and can do more comparably than on my first two lighter sets, like I did with regular benches last week.

The workout time got a little dragged out as I was experimenting with two brands of chalk, going back and forth between them with each set. I’ll post more about that later. But here, the music is Pandora Bride Radio. We’re entering a cool spell here in the Pittsburgh area, so I’ll be able to use my PC for music for the next few workouts without heating up my home office unnecessarily. I much prefer Pandora to using old-fashioned tapes and CDs.

The music is louder in the following videos than in previous ones because of where I place my computer speaker sets versus my music box. The music box is on a shelf behind my power rack with my smart phone is several feet away. But one of the speaker sets is on top of my washer, which is where I attach my smart phone holder, so my Galaxy S5 is right by the speaker. The speaker sets are actually iPod speakers, but there are hookups for a PC as well. I have two of them so I can set them several feet apart and get a really good sound. The first one I got is white and the second black. Below are pics of my sound systems and then the videos.

Pictures (click any pic for a larger image):

Music Box.
The box to the right is a four pack of Bob’s Red Mills Organic Oatmeal that I get from Amazon. It makes for a great breakfast!

White speaker set

White speaker set with cell phone holder in front. The smart phone holder is a TaoTronics Smartphone Holder, also available from Amazon.

Black speaker set

Videos:

Dead Stop Benches

Reverse Band Benches

Speed Reverse Band Benches

Dumbbell Rows (elbows out)

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Deadlifts

Thursday – 4/23/15

Gear: Crain power belt; APT: knee sleeves (1), wrist bands (1).

Shoes: Nike wrestling shoes.

Conv. Platform (2-1/4” Deficit) Deadlifts: [45/15, 135/9, 185/7, 225/5, add belt & wraps: 265/3] 295/6, 310/4, 325/2

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

[135/9, add chains: 225/7, 270/5, add belt & wraps: 315/3] 355/6, 372/4, 390/2

Sumo Speed Chain Deadlifts: 225/8, 235/6, 245/4

Crunch/ Side Bend Combo: [0/9, 7.5/7] 13.75/10, 14.5/8, 15.75/6

Stretching: ~5 minutes

Workout time: 1:39

A very good workout. Looking at videos, I really need to get my butt down more on the conv. PDLs, but it is really hard to do so standing on a 2-1/4” platform. On chain DLs, I thought I had my butt down more on the second rep than the first, but it was actually the reverse. That shows the value of videos.

Music: Pandora: Barren Cross Radio. For those who don’t know, with Pandora, you can create a “radio station” by starting with any group. Pandora will then play songs by that group and songs by groups similar to it. In this case, Barren Cross is a White Metal band, so Pandora plays songs by it and other White Metal and Christian hard rock bands. Starting with Barren Cross usually gives me the best workout music, so I often use it for deadlifts, for which I have found being psyched up is even more important than on the other two lifts. 

Conv. Platform Deadlifts

Sumo Chain Deadlifts

Sumo Speed Chain Deadlifts

Crunch/ Side Bend Combo

I have now recorded two weeks of workouts. By doing so, I have recorded separate videos for every exercise I will be doing during this routine to place on the Weightlifting Exercises Videos section of my Christian website. Next week, I will try recording each day’s exercises as one video and post them here and in the new Workout Videos section of my site. If this work outs out, I will probably use the same pattern in future routines: record two weeks of videos separately and the rest of the workouts as single videos. I probably should set up a YouTube channel to post the videos in as well, but I am already wasting enough time as it is on these logs and videos.

Chalk Reviews

It was during the preceding training week that I experimented with four different brands of chalk and wrote a review of each. See Lifting Chalk Reviews for these reviews. 

The LORD Has It Under Control
What the Bible Teaches About the Sovereignty of God
653 page book By Gary F. Zeolla

I’m mentioning about my newest book here as I mention my powerlifting several times in the book, by way of one example of God sovereignly working in my life. This book is for the person struggling in life and for the person struggling with how God sovereignly works in people’s lives. See the Preview Page for details.

Week 8 of 12 (Week B)

Big week; lot’s happening.

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Bodyweight: 119.8 pounds.
Body fat: 10.4%, 12.5 pounds.
Lean body mass: 107.3 pounds.
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Bench Assistance

Sunday – 4/26/15

Gear: Crain power belt, Redline wrist wraps (1).

Shoes: Nike Romoleos II Weightlifting Shoes; Nike sneakers.

Dumbbell Decline Benches [20s/15, 35s/9, 47s/7, add belt and wrist wraps: 57s/3] 62s/7, 65s/5, 67s/4

Barbell Presses (standing) [45/9, 60/7, add belt & wraps: 70/5] 75/6, *change  shoes* 80/5, 85/3

Pull-ups: [bwt./6, 1.25/5, 2.5/4] 5/7, 7.5/5, 10/3

Curl Bar Curls: [40/9, 52/7] 57/9, 60/7, 62/5

Rotator Cuff (Shoulder Horn; Arms Together): 2.75s/12, 3.25s/10, 3.75s/8

Stretching: ~5 minutes

Workout time: 1:54

For most of the exercises in this workout, I planned on doing the lower/ odd-numbered reps of my rep ranges due to how hard they were last time. With my normal weight increases, I knew getting the higher reps would be too much. Everything went as planned, except I got an “extra” rep on my final set of declines, but then I missed a rep on the first set of presses. But that was because I was trying out a new pair of lifting shoes. They did not feel right and threw me off for that set, so I put my Nike sneakers back on, and the next two sets went as planned. I even tried a fourth rep on the last set to make up for the first, but I barely budged it.

This was the third pair of lifting shoes I tried, and I just ordered a fourth. I will post details later on that, but here, changing my shoes and wiping off and packing up the lifting shoes for return got me behind, as did taking the videos.

I wanted to take the last set of each exercise as one video, but I messed up after declines and stopped the recording. I fiddle with it some to see if there was a way to add to it, but I couldn’t find it on my Galaxy S5. So that exercise is a separate video. But I got it right for the rest of my workout. But then I got confused on curls and recorded my second set rather than my third. But the rest are off my final set.

Also, I guess it is not a good idea to wear a necklace while doing declines, as I kept losing it in the back of my shirt. You can see me trying to find it at the end of the video.

A couple of other minor mishaps slowed me down as well, leading to an overly long workout. Almost two hours is just too long, and I was overly tired afterwards. But I’m not sure how to rearrange things to keep that from happening, as I feel like I need to do all five exercises in this workout. I might even need to add back a warm-up set on the rotator cuff work, as the first set did not feel good. I just need to pick up my pace some and try not to mess around with anything during the workout.

Music: Pandora Skillet Radio. This might not be the best station, as Pandora played mostly Nickleback and similar secular hard rock rather than Christian hard rock like Skillet. Nickleback and the like make for good lifting music, but I prefer to listen to Christian rock during my workouts to remind me where the ultimate source of my strength is and to give me the confidence to attack the weights. I discuss this theme at length in my Under Control book. 

DB Declines

Rest of workout

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Squats

Monday – 4/27/15

Gear: Crain: power belt, Genesis wrist wraps (1), 2.5 meter Genesis knee wraps (3); APT: heavy knee sleeves (2).

Shoes: Crain Power Squat Shoes; New Balance sneakers (jump squats, abs).

Squats: [45/15, 135/9, 170/7, 205/5, add belt, wrist wraps, and knee wraps: 247/3] *switch from knee wraps to knee sleeves* 225/6, 235/6, 245/4, 260/2

Manta Ray (high bar, close stance) Squats: [105/9, 130/7, 155/5, add belt, wrist wraps, and knee sleeves: 175/3] 195/6, 205/4, 215/2

Jump Squats: 70/8, 75/6, 80/4

Alternating Dip Bar Leg Raises: [--/9] 3s/18, 3s/18

Stretching: ~5 minutes

Workout time: 1:51

I made a big decision during this workout: For both training and competition I will be squatting with knee sleeves rather than knee wraps. I made this decision for two reasons.

First, after my overly long and tiring workout on Sunday, I just couldn’t get motivated for this workout knowing I had another overly long and tiring workout ahead of me. As mentioned in my “Inventory” post, using wraps has been making my squat workouts overly long and tiring. It is just much easier to simply pull knee sleeves up and down.

Second, I knew when I wrapped my knees for my last warm-up set that I hadn’t gotten it quite right as I had too much wrap left over. But I didn’t want to bother re-wrapping for a warm-up set, so I did the set. But it did not go well and felt very heavy. That is when I got really frustrated. I am just tired of how well a set goes being determined by gear, in this case, how well I wrap my knees.

It was for these two reasons that I stopped using a squat suit and bench shirt years ago, but I thought lifting raw with wraps would be a good compromise. But the wrapping still presents the same problems, so it was at that point that I made the decision to switch to knee sleeves.

However, I had no idea how much weight to use for squats with knee sleeves. Since I had two sets of 45s on the bar, I left them on and then worked up from there. The 260/2 for my last set was 40 pounds less than I had planned on doing for my top set with wraps. That’s about right as I’ve been estimating that my knee wraps add about 30 pounds, but I have no way of knowing if I would have gotten a double with 300 with wraps, and the double with 260 without wraps was not a full max, so the 30 pound estimate is about right.

This workout still took too long due to changing things in the middle of it. But I am sure the workout time will be much shorter next time.

This was a big decision as it will put me at a significant disadvantage in regards to the All-time raw masters records and All-time open ranking lists, both of which are for raw with or without wraps. But I might be able to make better progress on squats without the wraps tiring me out, so I am hoping and praying that as I train without wraps I will be able to narrow that gap by the time of my next contest. But still, I will need to revise my goals somewhat.

Checking my workout logs, 225/6 is the most I have squatted without wraps since I turned 50, so the rest of the sets are 50s PRs. That is important as it means my current training routine is good for squatting with or without wraps, so I will not have to make any significant changes.

One last point, under no circumstances will I even consider lifting without wrist wraps and knee sleeves. I tried that several times in the ‘00s and ended up injured every time. Thus a belt, wrist wraps, and knee sleeves will be my gear from now on. I’m glad I did my “Inventory” recently, as I know I have plenty of each of these for each lift.

I got it right this time recording the top set for each exercise as one video.

Music: Pandora: Saint Radio.

Video

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Benches

Wednesday – 4/29/15

Gear: Crain: power belt, Genesis wrist wraps (1).

Shoes: Adidas AdiPower II Weightlifting Shoes.

Benches: [45/15, 80/9, 100/7, 115/5, add belt and wrist wraps: 135/3] 145/6, 152/4, 160/2

Close Grip Benches: [75/9, 90/7, 105/5, add belt and wrist wraps: 120/3] 135/6, 140/4, 145/2

Push-ups: [regular: 8] Clap: 8, 8, 8

Curl Bar Rows: [45/9, 65/7, 85/5] 95/8, 100/6, 105/4

Stretching: ~5 minutes

Workout time: 1:37

Just in time for this workout, the package with my new AdiPowers arrived. This was the fourth pair of lifting shoes I tried, but it is the pair I plan on keeping. I will be writing a full article on “Footwear for Powerlifting/ Weightlifting” later, but here I will say these shoes are excellent. I got them mainly for benches, but I will be wearing them for other upper body exercises and trying them out for squats and deadlifts in my next workouts.

Here, the first two sets of benches were 50s PRs for the given reps, and the third set tied my double PR from last time. But with doing more on the previous two sets, that was also a PR of sorts. Whether my new AdiPowers had anything to do with it, I cannot say, but they felt great and held my feet very secure. Unfortunately, I messed up and didn’t record any of the bench sets, but I got it right and recorded the top set of my other three exercises. I was wearing my AdiPowers for them, and they all went very well also.

Music: X2004: 17 Christian Rock Hits

Video

Warm weather is back here in the Pittsburgh area, hopefully for good. But that means I am back to using my old-fashioned music box and cassettes and CDs for music, probably for the next five months. But no matter as I got lots of it. Below are pics of my cassette and CD collections. The empty slots are for the ones I have by my music box right now.

 Cassettes:

CDs: On the top of the rack is a certificate from “Powerlifting USA” for when I was #1 across the board in its Top 20 Masters ranking list (2007).

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Deadlifts

Thursday – 4/30/15

Gear: Crain power belt; APT: knee sleeves (1), wrist bands (1).

Shoes: Adidas AdiPower IIs, Nike wrestling shoes, Nike sneakers, New Balance sneakers.

Sumo Deadlifts: [45/15, 135/9, 200/7, 255/5, add belt, wrist bands, and knee sleeves: 305/3] 340/3 *change shoes* 340/6, 357/3, *change chalk* 375/1

Sumo Stiff Leg Deadlifts: [135/9, 180/7, 225/5] 250/8, 262/6, 275/4

Jump Deadlifts: 75/8, *change shoes* 75/6, 80/6, 85/4

Barbell Calves (on 2-1/4” high platform): [105/9, 130/7] 145/10, 152/8, 160/6

Stretching: ~5 minutes

Workout time: 1:56*

This workout got really messed up and took way too long due to having to change my shoes three times and my chalk once and having to do two extra sets.

On the shoes, I started out with my new AdiPowers, but as I feared, the heel threw me off, and I only got half of my planned reps on my first work set. I then switched to my wrestling shoes, repeated the weight and got my planned reps. But that extra set got me tired out, so I got one less rep than I had hoped on the next two sets.

Then I normally put on regular sneakers for jump deadlifts (and jump squats), but the Nikes I started with had too hard of a sole, so I switched to the New Balances that I had been using. Again, I will give much more details on shoes when I write my article, and see below about the chalk. But here, changing shoes got me confused, and I did too few reps on my second set, so I did an extra set to get it right.

Despite all of the problems, this was actually a good workout. The 340/6 was a 50s PR for six reps. The triple equaled my best 50s triple, and the 375 is what I pulled at my recent contest, with 380 being my gym best for my last hard workout before that contest. Thus my deadlift is back to where it was then. I even got the video right.

Music: Never Say Dinosaur: a collection of songs by various Christian hard rock bands.

Video

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Chalk Reviews Update

After I wrote the above reviews, I did a regular deadlift workout and was having problems holding onto the bar for my first couple of work sets. I was trying to figure out what was happening as I normally do not have grip problems. Then it hit me; I was using my new APT chalk, so I used my lone remaining block of Gibson chalk for my final set.

As soon as I held the Gibson chalk, I could see a big difference. It was much softer than the APT chalk, and I was able to get a lot more chalk on my hands. I was thus able to hold onto the bar for my final set with no problems. However, the Gibson chalk made a significantly greater mess than the APT chalk.

Given this, I need to revise the above ratings and rankings and give the Gibson chalk five stars and rank it #1, and give the APT chalk four stars and rank it #2. Basically, I would recommend the APT chalk if your gym is really picky about getting chalk on the floor, but the Gibson chalk if such is not an issue. As for me, I ordered a pound of the Gibson chalk the next day from from Amazon .

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Necklace

Along with the lifting shoes and chalk, I was also trying out wearing my new necklace for this week’s workouts. I never wore a necklace while lifting before, or for anything else for that matter. But I really liked the fish/ cross pendant; that is why I had my parents get me a gold one for Christmas and a silver one for my birthday. As with the Christian music, it is a great way to remind me where true strength comes from during my workouts.

In any case, wearing it for anything other than deadlifts did not go well. I mention above that I kept losing it in the back of my shirt on declines benches. On squats, I thought the chain would be above where I place the bar, so it would not be a problem. But when I took the chain off, the clasp fall off, and I couldn’t find it. It must have gotten crushed somehow.

But then earlier in the day before my bench workout, I just happened to see the tiny clasp on the cement floor in my basement, so I put it back on the necklace and put the necklace on and kept it on for the workout. But the chain kept getting caught under my neck as I pushed into my arch and was choking me, so I had to take it off.

On deadlifts, it would dangle around when I knelt down to change the weights, so I was concerned that it would distract me during the lift; but I didn’t notice it, and it didn’t get in the way at all. Given all of this, I will probably wear the necklace for deadlifts both in training and at contests, but I doubt I will wear it for squats and benches.

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Well planned extra day off

This was a long training week with overly long workouts and lot’s happening, but it is good to get all of these bugs worked out now, when I do not have a contest for six months rather than in the fall right before the contest. I am feeling really beat up today (Friday). But thank God my planned extra monthly day off is Sunday, so I won’t be working out again until Monday. By then, I should be recovered and good to get back into it. 

Having Sunday already planned off is doubly good as my family is having its Mother’s Day get-together a week early due to my niece having to work on Mother’s Day. She’s a waitress, and as I remember all too well, Mother’s Day is the biggest day of the year at restaurants. Back in the day, I worked as a cook at various restaurants, and it was always crazy on Mother’s Day, and no one got the day off.

Mother’s Day Follow-up

My family’s early Mother’s Day get-together went well. My sister-in-law made veggie lasagna and cheese-stuffed shells, and my brother grilled veggies on his grill, and there was a large veggie tray. The orange and yellow peppers were a big hit, even with the kids. So it was mostly healthy food. Even the desert was not too bad, being strawberry shortcake. I’m glad for that as it didn’t used to be that way. But I guess with all of the kids in the family now, my brother and sister-in-law are trying to set a good example for their grandchildren. Below are pics of this food, followed by one of my parents Click any pic for a larger image.

Week 9 of 12 (Week A)

New angle for videos

Bodyweight: 120.2 pounds.
Body fat: 10.7%, 12.9 pounds.
Lean body mass: 107.3 pounds.
Waist: 31-5/8”

I made a couple of changes for this week’s measurements. First, I had been weighing myself first thing in the morning before urinating, but since I always have to urinate as soon as I get up, I am switching to weighing myself afterwards. I usually lose a pound urinating, so I actually gained a pound in the past week. Second, I am going to include my waist measurement, as that is a more reliable indicator of my body fat that the finicky body fat calipers.

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Bench Assistance

Monday – 5/4/15

Gear: Crain power belt, Redline wrist wraps (1).

Shoes: Adidas AdiPower lifting shoes.

Incline Benches [DBs: 12s/15, Barbell: 45/9, 70/7, 95/5, and belt and wrist wraps: 117/3], 130/4, 135/2, 137/1

Dips: [bwt./9, 10/7, and wrist wraps: 20/5] 30/8, 35/6, 40/4

V-Grip Chin-ups: [bwt./6, bwt./4] 1.25/7, 3.75/5, 6.25/4

Barbell Reverse Curls: [45/9, 50/7] 55/10, 57.5/8, 60/6

Rotator Cuff (Sitting, Front): 3.75/12, 4.0/10, 4.25/8

Stretching: ~5 minutes

Workout time: 1:33

For this workout, I used my new AdiPowers. They worked very well, with no slippage on inclines. That is important as I had been slipping with my Nike sneakers. I also used a block of chalk from the pound of RAGE/ Gibson chalk I ordered from Amazon, and it worked okay. But it seemed a little harder than my old block of Gibson chalk and thus was harder to apply. But I will see what happens with deadlifts on Sunday.

That said, last time on inclines I did 6,4,2, but all three sets were very difficult. So I thought of using my 1-1/4s and only going up by 2.5 pounds. But instead, I went up by five pounds and was hoping to do 5,3,1. But the first two sets did not go as planned, so I only went up by 2.5 pounds for my third set. But that single was relatively easy; I probably could have done the 140.

On the rotator cuff exercise, I got confused and used more weight than I had planned for the first set. But it was relatively easy, so I increased as planned from there.

Video

I figured out how to add a caption for this video, but not how to have it only appear for a couple of seconds; so I don’t think I’ll bother doing so any more as it might obscure something important.

Music:
Bash ‘n the Code: debut album
Altar Boys: When You’re a Rebel

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Squats

Wednesday – 5/6/15

Gear: Crain: power belt, Genesis wrist wraps (1); APT heavy knee sleeves (2).

Shoes: AdiPower lifting shoes, Crain: squat shoes (squat work), Nike sneakers (sit-ups).

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

[45/15, 135/9, 175/5, *add chains* 175/5, 210/5, *change shoes*, add belt, wrist wraps, and knee sleeves: 255/3] 285/5, 300/3, 315/1

Speed Chain Squats: 160/8, 167/6, 175/4

Extra Low Squats: [125/9, 150/7, 175/5, add belt, wrist wraps, and knee sleeves: 195/3] 215/6, 225/4, 235/2

Decline Sit-ups: [--/9; 5/7] 8.75/10, 10/8, 11.25/6

Stretching: ~5 minutes

Workout time: 1:51

With now training and competing raw with knee sleeves rather than knee wraps, It would probably make more sense to do extra low squats first; but I’ve been changing this workout around so much, I think it is best to leave it as is for the remainder of this routine. Then in my next routine I’ll do them first, and that will be a change of sorts.

For this workout, I used my new AdiPowers for most of my warm-up sets on chain squats. They would have worked, but I much prefer my Crain squat shoes, so I switched to them for my final warm-up set and the rest of my squat work and will stick with them from now on. I will provide details in this regard in my forthcoming article.

With trying out the AdiPowers, I wasn’t paying attention and put 45s on the bar for my second warm-up set instead of my chains. I forgot to indicate “add chains” in my workout sheet, and with both weighing the same, I got confused. I thought of it during my third warm-up set, so I stopped that set, took off the 45s, and put on the chains, and redid the set. Then my next warm-up set was supposed to be 215, but I forgot a 5 on one side. I noticed the weight imbalance, but didn’t want to stop the set.

All of this messing around got me behind and might have thrown me off for my chain squat work sets, which were supposed to be 6,4,2 reps. But the lesser reps might also have been due to switching from knee wraps to knee sleeves for squats in Week B and thus using less weight, especially since I did not work as hard as usual on the those squats with knee sleeves. But then the extra low squats went well. On the last set, I cut the first rep a tad high, so I sunk the second rep even lower to make up for it.

Video

Music:

“Xtreme Squatting.” This is a free CD that comes with the book Xtreme Squatting by Ricky Dale Crain. It is a good book, with much helpful advice. There are also many pictures of old-time powerlifters. The CD makes for good lifting music. This book and Ricky’s follow-up book Xtreme Deadlifting, along with many other lifting books, are available on his company’s website at:

Books for Powerlifting, Strength Training, and More:

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Benches

Thursday – 5/7/15

Gear: Crain: power belt, Genesis wrist wraps (2).

Shoes: Adidas AdiPower lifting shoes.

Dead Stop Benches: [45/15, 75/9, 95/7, 112/5, add belt and wrist wraps: 127/3] 142/6, 150/4, 157/2

Reverse Band Benches (light #3, purple bands choked around the top of my power rack, set so there is very little tension at the top of the lift):

[120/9, 140/7, 155/5, add belt and wrist wraps: 170/3] 185/6, 192/4, 200/2

Speed Reverse Band Benches: 125/8, 130/6, 135/4

Dumbbell Rows (elbows out): [30/9, 40/7, 50/5] 56.5/8, 59/6, 61.5/4

Stretching: ~5 minutes

Workout time: 1:37

With how hard my sets were last time and with my normal weight increases, I thought I would get the lower reps for my reps ranges for the first and last exercises, but I got the higher reps and with strength to spare. That could possibly be due to my new AdiPowers giving a more secure footing on benches and a firmer base on DB rows. Or maybe all of the changes I’ve made to my routine are finally paying off. But whatever the case, I feel like I’ve finally turned the corner on my formerly stagnating bench.

I figured out a way to put my Galaxy S5 right in front of my platform. I put it in a zip snack bag, set it on a drawer handle, and then duct taped the top of the bag to the cabinet so the phone doesn’t tip over. This will make for much better videos. The picture is closer and shows my form better, and the music is louder. But for some exercises, this angle will not be so great, such as for DB rows. So pardon my butt when I am using my right arm and my bald head when using my left arm.

Video

Music: Petra: “Rock Block” (a “Best of” CD).

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Deadlifts

Sunday – 5/10/15

Gear: Crain power belt; APT: knee sleeves (1), wrist bands (1).

Shoes: Nike wrestling shoes.

Conv. Platform (2-1/4” Deficit) Deadlifts: [45/15, 135/9, 185/7, 230/5, add belt, wrist bands, and knee sleeves: 275/3] 305/6, 320/4, 335/2

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

[135/9, add chains: 225/7, 275/5, add belt, wrist bands, and knee sleeves: 325/3] 365/5, 382/3, 400/1

Sumo Speed Chain Deadlifts: 230/8, 240/6, 250/4

Crunch/ Side Bend Combo: [0/9, 10/7] 14.5/10, 15.75/8, 17.0/6

Stretching: ~5 minutes

Workout time: 1:40

This was an excellent workout. The final rep of every deadlift set was a grinder, but I got them all. My new RAGE/ Gibson chalk worked well, and I had no grip problems.

Video (ab exercise not recorded):

Music: KJIM – “White Noise” (8/6/88, 9/3/88).

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Cardio/ Blood Pressure

Week 10 of 12 (Week B)

Bodyweight: 121.2 pounds.
Body fat: 10.7%, 13.0 pounds.
Lean body mass: 108.2 pounds.
Waist: 32” 

I gained a pound in the past week. If I go by the body fat calipers, it was almost all muscle. But if I go by the waist measurement, it was mostly fat. The truth is probably somewhere in-between.

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Bench Assistance

Monday – 5/11/15

Gear: Crain power belt, Redline wrist wraps (1).

Shoes: Nike sneakers.

Dumbbell Decline Benches: [20s/15, 35s/9, 47s/7, add gear: 57s/3] 62s/8, 65s/6, 67s/4

Barbell Presses (standing): [45/9, 60/7, add gear: 70/5] 75/7, 80/4*, 85/3

Pull-ups: [bwt./7, 1.25/4, 2.5/4] 5/7, 7.5/5, 10/4

Curl Bar Curls: [40/9, 52/7] add wrist wraps: 57/10, 60/8, 62/6

Rotator Cuff (Shoulder Horn; Arms Together): [2.0s/9] 3.0s/12, 3.25s/10, 3.5s/8

Stretching: ~5 minutes

Workout time: 1:40

I was leery about wearing my AdiPowers for presses given the problem I had on presses with the Nike Romoleos last time, and I was pressed for time, so I wore my stand-by Nike sneakers. Maybe I’ll try the AdiPowers later. But I’m not sure what happened on the second set of presses. It should have been five reps, but maybe like benches, the second set is the hardest on presses. Or maybe I just was dogging it for a set, but the rest of the workout went well.

Video

My new smartphone location is not very good for recording presses and especially pull-ups, so I might need to use the old location for this workout, or just skip recording pull-ups.

Music:

Audio Adrenaline: “Don’t Censor Me”

Saturday Nite Lite: 6/7/86. Back in the 1980s, the Pittsburgh Christian station was 101.5 FM, WPIT. In the afternoons on weekdays and weekends it played CCM, but on Saturday nights from 7-midnight was Saturday Nite Lite, when Christian hard rock was played. I recorded it on many occasions, even when I was working late at a country club kitchen. I still have those cassette tapes, and they play reasonably well, so you’ll hear these tapes on occasion in my workout videos. Unfortunately WPIT was later bought out by Salem Communications, and 101.5 FM became WORD FM. It now only plays CCM on weekends, with no Christian hard rock.

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Squats

Wednesday – 5/13/15

Gear: Crain: power belt, Genesis wrist wraps (1); APT: heavy knee sleeves (2).

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

Squats: [45/15, 135/9, 165/7, 195/5, add gear: 225/3] 247/6, 260/4, 272/2

Manta Ray (high bar, close stance) Squats: [105/9, 135/7, 160/5, add gear: 185/3] 205/6, 215/4, 230/2

Jump Squats: 72/8, 77/6, 82/4

Alternating Dip Bar Leg Raises: [--/9] 3s/20, 3s/20

Stretching: ~5 minutes

Workout time: 1:40

This was a very good workout that went even better than originally planned. Right before it, I increased my planned weights on squats by 2.5 pounds as I was feeling especially confident. I should have made it five pounds as all three work sets were with strength to spare. Then Manta Ray squats went especially well. I even added an extra five pounds on the last set, and it was still easy, as you can hear me shouting in the video. This all was probably because I wasn’t tired out from using wraps like previously. In fact, it is for that reason that I really enjoyed this workout, as you can probably tell from the video. I cannot say the same for previous squat workouts of late, so my decision to switch to knee sleeves was a good one.

This is no surprise given that I said about the same thing in a contest report back in June 2008, when I first switched from competing with full gear to raw with knee sleeves. See under “Thoughts on Gear” about half way down on the following page of this website: NASA NE States Powerlifting Championships – 2008.

I happened to see a pair of Adidas Title Run basketball shoes on sale on Adidas’s website. I got them as I figured they’d be ideal for doing jump squats and jump deadlifts, and good for other exercises as well. But they are about half a size too big and don’t come in a smaller size, so I’m not sure if I will keep them or not.

Video

My new camera angle might not be the best for squats, as you cannot see my depth. But I know I am hitting proper depth due to my foam squat box, and this angle is a much closer picture, so I will probably stick with it. But I don’t think I will record abs work anymore as it adds too much length to the video due to the number of reps, except when I am doing an ab exercise I haven’t record before or at least for a while for my website.

Music: Pandora: Bride Radio

After a string of hot upper 80 degree days, it was a cool day in Pittsburgh, only going up to the 50s, so I was able to use my PC for music. It gave me a chance to see how well my smartphone would pick up the speakers with the new location being farther away from them than before, and it still sounds very good.

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Benches

Thursday – 5/14/15

Gear: Crain: power belt, Genesis wrist wraps (1).

Shoes: Adidas AdiPower lifting shoes.

Benches: [45/15, 85/9, 105/7, 120/5, add gear: 135/3] 150/6, 157/3*, 165/2

Close Grip Benches: [95/9, 110/5, add gear: 125/3] 140/6, 145/4, 150/2

Push-ups: [regular: 8] Clap: 9, 9, 9

Curl Bar Rows: [50/9, 65/7, 87/5] 97/8, 102/6, 107/4

Stretching: ~5 minutes

Workout time: 1:35

Another very good workout, with everything going as planned, except once again for the second work set of benches. The first and last sets were 50s PRs, as would have been the second set, if I had gotten my planned 4 reps. But with only getting a triple, it only tied a PR.

I got confused on my warm-ups for CGBP and used my planned weights for my second set for my first. I thus skipped my planned second set; but no matter as the work sets went as planned.

Video

I guess there’s no point in recording push-ups with this angle, as you really cannot see me. And once again, rows don’t appear very well either. I might need to change how I record my workout videos.

Music: Pandora: Saint Radio

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Deadlifts

Sunday – 5/17/15

Gear: Crain power belt; APT: knee sleeves (1), wrist bands (1).

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

Sumo Deadlifts: [45/15, 135/9, 200/7, 255/5, add belt, wrist bands, and knee sleeves: 305/3] 340/6, 357/4, 375/2

Sumo Stiff Leg Deadlifts: [135/9, 185/7, 235/5] 260/8, 272/6, 285/4

Jump Deadlifts: 77/8, 82/6, 87/4

Barbell Calves (on 2-1/4” high platform): [115/9, 135/7] 150/10, 157/8, 165/6

Stretching: ~5 minutes

Workout time: 1:35

I don’t normally eat protein bars as I try to avoid highly processed foods, as such are generally not very healthy, and with the number of ingredients usually in them, I am often allergic to something in them. But the evening before this workout, I made the mistake of eating a Parrillo Bar and was obviously allergic to it. I slept very little as a result. Then the heat was back on in the Pittsburgh area, and I was sweating bullets during this workout. Thus for two Week B deadlifts workouts in a row, I had something adversely affecting it, shoes and chalk last week; tiredness and not being acclimated yet to hot weather this time.

But despite the adversities, I got my all of my planned reps. However, the last rep of every work set of DLs and SLDLs was a grinder. That might not have been the case without the problems. But still, I got all of them! The first set of DLs tied my six rep 50s PR from last time, and the next two set were new 50s PRs. This was thus a very good workout.

I had no grip problems, so my new Gibson/ RAGE chalk is working well, and that problem is solved. But I’m still not sure about the Title Runs.

Video

Music: KJIM: Listener Controlled Radio – 1/1/89.

I messed and didn’t stop recording after the BB calves and recorded a few minutes of me cleaning up my home gym. But I downloaded Video Zip to my S5, and that worked well for trimming the extra off of the end. It also compresses videos, but it is rather slow. So I also downloaded Video Dieter 2. That compresses video much quicker. I had been transferring the videos to my desktop PC then compressing them using Prism Video File Convertor, but that meant I had large files to transfer. This way, I can trim and compresses the videos first, thus making them easier to transfer. Note that these are all free apps, which is really nice.

Week 11 of 12 (Week A)

Bodyweight: 121.0 pounds.

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Final Two Weeks Plan/ Health Setback

For the final two weeks of this routine, I am picking my weights so that I can only get the lower reps in my reps ranges, but with a full effort. That means for the top set on the powerlifts and most look-alike lifts I am trying for a single, on other compound movements for a triple, and on most isolation exercises for a set of five. That also means these should thus be my heaviest and hardest workouts of this routine.

However, during this training week I had another health setback, leading to several sleepless nights, and that tiredness added to the difficulty of these workouts. But I was able to take a nap before each workout and thus felt okay for them. But by Sunday I was really dragging, so I took my monthly extra day off a week early, thus moving my deadlift workout to Monday. But another sleepless night on Sunday left me still tired for that workout. If such difficulties continue it could derail my long-term training and writing plans. Here’s praying that does not happen.

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Bench Assistance

Monday – 5/18/15

Gear: Crain power belt, Redline wrist wraps (1).

Shoes: Adidas: AdiPower lifting shoes.

Incline Benches [DBs: 10s/15, Barbell: 45/9, 70/7, 95/5, and gear: 117/3], 130/5, 135/3, 140/1

Dips: [bwt./9, 15/7, add wrist wraps: 25/5] 35/7, 40/5, 45/3

V-Grip Chin-ups: [bwt./6, bwt./4] 2.0/7, 4.5/5, 7.0/3

Barbell Reverse Curls: [45/9, 52.5/7] 57.5/9, 60/7, 62.5/5

Rotator Cuff (Shoulder Horn; Arms Together): [2.5s/9] 4.0s/12, 4.25s/10, 4.5s/8

Stretching: ~5 minutes

Workout time: 1:38

I picked the weights just right for this workout, and it was thus a very good workout.

I wrote down the wrong rotator cuff exercise. This one should have been done next week, so I will do this week’s next week.

Video
Since minor exercises are not recording very well with my new camera angle, for this workout I tried recording all three work sets for the first two exercises. But that made for too long of a video, so I will go back to recording just the top sets and only record minor exercises on occasion.

Music:
KJIM: Listener Controlled Radio – 1/1/89
Bach ‘n the Code: “Holiday”

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Squats

Wednesday – 5/20/15

Gear: Crain: power belt, Genesis wrist wraps (1); APT heavy knee sleeves (2).

Shoes: Crain Power Squat Shoes, Nike sneakers.

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

[45/15, add chains: 135/9, 180/7, 225/5, add gear: 260/3] 295/5, 310/3, 325/1

Speed Chain Squats: 165/7, 172/5, 180/3

Extra Low Squats: [135/9, 160/7, 185/5, add gear: 205/3] 225/5, 237/3, 250/1

Decline Sit-ups: [--/9; 5/7] 11.25/9, 12.5/7, 13.75/5

Stretching: ~5 minutes

Workout time: 1:39

I felt surprisingly good for this workout, so I increased my originally planned weights slightly for the two main squat exercises, and I am glad I did. That gave me the full effort I wanted on the first two sets of each, but I still had a little strength to spare on the tops sets.

Video
Top set of the three squat exercises; abs not recorded.

For this video, I tried compressing it using the two smartphone aps I mentioned about before. It started at 198 MB. Video Dieter 2 reduced it 8.6 MB with the “Low” quality setting and 17.0 MB with the “Standard” setting. Video Zip reduced it to 9.0 MB with the “Medium” setting, but Video Zip looked and sounded slightly better than either of the Video Dieter videos, so even with its slower speed, I think I will go with Video Zip. That way, I will be able to trim any “extra” at the beginning and/ or end of a video.

Music: Pandora: X-Sinner Radio.

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Benches

Thursday – 5/21/15

Gear: Crain: power belt, Genesis wrist wraps (2).

Shoes: Adidas AdiPower lifting shoes.

Dead Stop Benches: [45/15, 80/9, 100/7, 117/5, add gear: 132/3] 147/5, 155/3, 162/1

Reverse Band Benches (light #3, purple bands choked around the top of my power rack, set so there is very little tension at the top of the lift):

[125/9, 145/7, 160/5, add gear: 175/3] 190/5, 197*/3, 210/1

Speed Reverse Band Benches: 130/7, 135/5, 140/3

Dumbbell Rows (elbows out): [32/9, 45/7, 55/5] 60/7, 62.5/5, 65/3

Stretching: ~5 minutes

Workout time: 1:36

This was another very good workout. As usual, the second set of both main bench exercises was the hardest, while the top set was the easiest. The second set of RB benches was supposed to be 200, but I forgot a 2-1/2 on one side. I noticed the imbalance during the set, but I thought it was due to the bands. Warm-ups felt especially light on the DB rows, so I bumped the weights up slightly for the work sets.

Video
Top set of all exercises; only left arm shown for DB rows.

Music: Pandora: Red Radio.

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Deadlifts

Monday – 5/25/15

Gear: Crain power belt; APT: knee sleeves (1), wrist bands (1).

Shoes: Nike wrestling shoes.

Conv. Platform (2-1/4” Deficit) Deadlifts: [45/15, 135/9, 195/7, 240/5, add gear: 290/3] 320/5, 335/3, 350/1

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

[135/9, add chains: 225/7, 285/5, add gear: 335/3] 370/5, 390/3, 410/1

Sumo Speed Chain Deadlifts: 235/7, 247/5, 260/3

Crunch/ Side Bend Combo: [0/9, 12/7] 16.25/9, 17.5/7, 18.75/5

Stretching: ~5 minutes

Workout time: 1:44*

I felt okay for this workout, and it went as planned, except for one hitch. When I finished the chain DLs, I took the chains off and put them in my buckets and took the weights off of the bar, but then I remembered I still had to do speed chain deadlifts. So I had to get all of that back out and set it back up, and then put it all back again afterwards. It probably took longer to do all of that than to do the three quick speed sets, so the workout time is rather meaningless. But other than that minor mental lapse, this was a very good workout.

Video
Top set of all four exercises

Music: X2005: 17 Christian Rock Hits (plus four bonus tracks).

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Productive Week

During this training week I upgraded my BibleWorks software program from version 6 to the newly released version 10 and my home Wi-Fi from a Comcast rental modem and a nine year old Linksys router to the newly released and nicely priced combo pack of a NetGear modem and router. BibleWorks is the best program there is for working with the original languages of the Bible, and the new version has many added helpful reference works. The Wi-Fi upgrade took four hours to setup, but it more than doubled the download speeds on my desktop PC and smartphone and significantly improved the upload speeds.Thus despite the difficulties, this was a very productive week. My training went as planned, and these upgrades will help immensely as I start on the writing plans I mentioned about before. I thank the LORD for enabling to not just get through this difficult week but to do so with such production. If anyone interested, details on BibleWorks can be found on their website. The NetGear combo pack I got is available from Amazon.

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Responses

Someone replied to this post saying that it was good lifting and that he was praying for me. He also said I should talk to a doctor about my health problems and get some sleep medication. My response was:

Thanks, and thanks for the prayers. Those are always appreciated. As for doctors, I gave up on them a long time ago.  See the following section of my website for the difficulties doctors have caused me and how useless they have been in helping me: Dealing with Health Difficulties. There is a section about my less than desirable experiences with various sleep meds near the middle of  Medication Reviews/ Psychiatrist Experiences.

A second person responded saying he hopes the health problem is nothing serious. My response was:

Thanks, but it is a chronic problem that will not be going away soon. The best I can do is manage with it as best as I can, with full reliance on the LORD to keep me going.

Week 12 of 12 (Week B); first workout only

Bodyweight: 120.6 pounds.

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I normally wait until the end of my training week to post all of that week’s workouts together, but I wanted to post this workout now due to what happened before it and the music I was playing during it. My comments here will explain a comment I made in last week’s log, and the music explains my life attitude.

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Bench Assistance

Wednesday – 5/27/15

Gear: Crain power belt, Redline wrist wraps (1).

Shoes: Nike sneakers.

Dumbbell Decline Benches: [20s/15, 35s/9, 50s/7, add gear: 60s/3] 65s/7, 67s/5, 70s/3

Barbell Presses (standing): [45/9, 60/7, add gear: 70/5] 77/6*, 82/5, 87/3

Pull-ups: [bwt./7, 1.25/5, 3.25/3] 5.75/7, 8.25/5, 10.75/3

Curl Bar Curls: [40/9, 55/7] add wrist wraps: 60/9, 62/7, 65/5

Rotator Cuff (Sitting, Front): [2.5/9] 4.0/12, 4.25/10, 4.5/8

Stretching: ~5 minutes

Workout time: 1:49*

I made the mistake of eating some dark chocolate the day before this workout. That caused an allergic reaction and another sleepless night. I used to be able to eat it, but I guess no longer. I have to be very careful about everything I eat, everything I touch, everything I smell, everything I am exposed to in any way or such can happen. That is my life and what I have to deal with, and why I rarely leave my home and never have visitors. Thus when I mention about having a health setback, it is usually due to an allergic reaction, as despite my best efforts, I am often exposed to something I am allergic to. But I thank the LORD for my home office and home gym, as with them I am still able to be productive.

That said, despite the tiredness, this was a very good workout. It was the first time I used 70 pound dumbbells this decade, and it felt good. But I missed the planned seventh rep of the first set of presses due to resting the bar too long on my clavicles before attempting it. But I corrected that and only rested it for a couple of quick breathes between reps for the next two sets and got my planned reps. I mention “on my clavicles” in response to a discussion in another thread about where to rest the bar on presses, on the upper chest or on the clavicles? I’ve always done the latter. But this workout once again took long, so I will be making a change to my BA workouts for my next routine.

Video

Top set of all exercises. I used my old camera location as it gives a better angle for this day’s exercises.

Music:
David and the Giants: “He’s Got It Under Control”
D.O.X. – “Defenders of the Cross”

The title song for the first album helped get me through some tough times back in the ‘80s when it first came out, which was when the LORD saved my soul. It was the inspiration for the title of my most recent book. For copyright reasons, I had to change it to The LORD Has It Under Control. I was playing this song during the rotator cuff work and let the recording continue for a while thereafter. I’d highly recommend listening to it and paying attention to the lyrics.

Week 12 of 12 (Week B); rest of workouts

For my final three workouts of this routine, I am picking my weights for my three work sets on the powerlifts as if they were contest attempts, except I am shooting for 5,3,1 reps rather than all singles.

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Squats

Thursday – 5/28/15

Gear: Crain: power belt, Genesis wrist wraps (1); APT: heavy knee sleeves (2).

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

Squats: [45/15, 135/9, 170/7, 200/5, add gear: 230/3] 255/5, 270/3, 285/1*

Manta Ray (high bar, close stance) Squats: [125/9, 155/7, 180/5, add gear: 205/3] 225/5, 237/4, 250/1

Jump Squats: 77/7, 82/5, 87/3

Alternating Dip Bar Leg Raises: [--/9] 3s/22, 3s/22

Stretching: ~5 minutes

Workout time: 1:40

On the top set of squats, I stumbled on the walkout. You cannot notice it in the video, but it must have been enough to dislodge the bar from the groove on my back. The bar stayed put on the descent, but as soon as I started the ascent, it began to slide off of my back. You can see me struggling in the video at that point. But somehow I got control of it, restarted my ascent, and got the lift! Looking at the video, I definitely stopped, but it does not look like I went back down at all, so it probably would have passed at a contest.

I increased the weights slightly on the Manta Ray squats from my original plans, and that made each set a full effort. It is also interesting that I ended up only squatting 35 pounds less with the close stance than with my normal stance. That is still significant, but less of a difference than I thought there would be.

I decided to keep the Title Runs. And with that, all of my equipment issues are solved. I detail my experiences with workout shoes in my just published article Footwear for Powerlifting and Strength Training: Part One.

Video
Top set of all four exercises; only first five reps of abs exercise shown. Trimming off the end when I finish off a workout with an ab exercise where I do a lot of reps I think is the best compromise for how to record it.

Music:
KJIM: “White Noise” (8/6/88)
Petra Praise CD

______________________________

Benches

Sunday – 5/31/15

Gear: Crain: power belt, Genesis wrist wraps (1).

Shoes: Adidas AdiPower lifting shoes.

Benches: [45/15, 85/9, 105/7, 125/5, add gear: 140/3] 155/5, 165/2*, 175/1

Close Grip Benches: [80/9, 95/7, 110/5, add gear: 125/3] 142/5, 150/3, 157/1

Push-ups: [regular: 8] Clap: 10, 10, 10

Curl Bar Rows: [50/9, 70/7, 90/5] 100/7, 105/5, 110/3

Stretching: ~5 minutes

Workout time: 1:35

This was a good weekend. I finally got a couple of good night’s sleep; I started work on my next book (on the authority and integrity the Bible), and I received a major order from Bodybuilding.com, containing ON Natural Whey and Natural Casein and UN glutamine. These, along with UN creatine and a basic multi, are the only sups I take, but I think they are very helpful. So I am set for some time now. And this good pattern continued with this workout.

I got all of my planned reps, except once again on the second set of benches. I tried a third rep, but I missed it about half way up. I wish I had been recording it so I could see exactly where I missed, but I almost stalled on the top set probably at the same place. That set I recorded, and it doesn’t look like as much of a stall as I thought. There’s a bit of an uneven extension, but I don’t think enough to have gotten it red-lighted. The miss on the second set means that set only tied a 50s PR, but the other two sets were new 50s PRs.

I thank the LORD for all of the above.

Video
Top set of all four exercises.

Music:
Messiah Prophet Band – “Rock the Flock”
Seventy-Sevens – “Ping Pong into the Abyss”

______________________________

Deadlifts

Monday – 6/1/15

Gear: Crain power belt; APT: knee sleeves (1), wrist bands (1).

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

Sumo Deadlifts: [45/15, 135/9, 205/7, 265/5, add gear: 315/3] 350/5, 370/2*, 385/1

Sumo Stiff Leg Deadlifts: [135/9, 190/7, add knee sleeves and wrist bands: 245/5] 270/7, 285/5, 300/3

Jump Deadlifts: 82/7, 87/6, 92/3

Barbell Calves (on 2-1/4” high platform): [120/9, 142/7] 157/9, 165/7, 172/5

Stretching: ~5 minutes

Workout time: 1:40

The curse of the second set struck on deadlifts the same as on benches, but the rest of the workout went as planned, with 50s PRs across the board. Thus all three of my final powerlifts workouts went very well.

Video
Top set of all four exercises.

Music: Pandora: Sacred Warrior Radio

Routine Review/ Revised Goals

Routine Review/ Revised Goals reviews this training routine and presents my goals for my next contest.

These workout logs are continued at: Full Workout Logs: Starting 6/39/2015 – Two by Two Plan (Variation C); Routine B, Weeks 1-6 of 12.

Full Workout Logs: Starting 4/12/2015 – Two by Two Plan (Variation C); Routine A, Weeks 7-12 of 12. Copyright © 2015 By Gary F. Zeolla.

Powerlifting and Strength Training
Powerlifting and Strength Training: Full Workout Logs: 2014 - Present

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