[jason2459]

Moving my log over to this forum as it looks great! I started into powerlifting last November 2006 in pursuit of strength which I never felt I ever really achieved training in a bodybuilding style split for over 7 years. In December I decided this was to be a part of who I am and decided to compete. October 2007 will be my first meet through the NASA. I started with the 9 week program written out by Dave Tate http://elitefts.com/...ing-program.htm.

Just copied this from my intro.
Started out at 165lbs and I just recently hit 200lbs in B/W with about 15-16% BF. 5'10'' and I'm 31.
Didn't really have any starting stats on my lifts but here's how they've progressed:

Unequipped - Belt and Knee Wraps only
January 2007:
Squat 355
Bench 255
DL 325

March 2007:
Squat 405
Bench 270
DL 385

May 2007:
Squat: 415
Bench 275
DL 405

Update: All same day as a moc meet.
August 2007
Squat 445
Bench 280
DL 425

My basic training template so far is setup as follows:
Monday DE Bench
Tuesday ME SQ/DL
Wednesday GPP work
Thursday ME Bench
Friday DE SQ/DL
Saturday & Sunday GPP work

This post has been edited by jason2459: 13 September 2007 - 10:26 AM

[jason2459]

Here is how my last attempts went at the SQ/Bench/DL
SQUAT

I started out just going through the movements with the bar and geting in a good stretch. Getting myself into a groove. Then I started it up.

1x5@135 Felt really good. I'm in my groove and warming up.
1x3@225 Little more weight and felt like I was exploding up.
1x1@315 Put on the belt to get some air in the belly and push against. Really went slow on this to get a really good strech and feel some weight.

READY FOR MY FIRST ATTEMPT:
1x1@415 PR!!!

I got myself under the bar. I told myself that this was going to be really heavy but it didn't mater. I could do this. I wont fail. I just need to keep tight and keep pushing. I took in a really deep breath and stepped out. Left foot back and out then the right foot back and out. Two step step out. Perfect. Let a little air out and Breathed in like it was my last breath. Down I go. Felt like forever before I hit the hole but once I was there I could feel it. My hips were down and stretched out like I was giving birth. I lifting my head and shoulders as hard as I could and started the rise up. KEEP YOUR BREATH IN!!! I had to yell at myself. KEEP PUSHING AND KEEP IT TIGHT!!! I gripped the bar as hard as I could and pulled the bar down into my traps as they started to raise up and flexed my hips as hard as I could. Up I went.

GOOD LIFT!!!!

I gave myself a breather and decided to go for a second attempt.

1xmiss@435

I know exactly where I messed up on this one. I didn't breath right. That is where it all started. I stepped out with it fine. Let out a little but didn't take back in enough air. When I started to go down I didn't push out enough into the belt and I felt myself go forward a little. I had to pause for a split second and correct my form. I got myself down and started up but just didn't have enough force to get up more then a few inches and I had to bring it back down. I spent to much energy on correcting my self on the way down.

Bench

Started off with some warm ups

1xa few@bar
1x5@135
1x1@225

TIME FOR THE FIRST ATTEMPT

1xmiss@285

Okay, okay. I got a little over zealous here. I at least moved it back up a little and needed just a small little push in one spot. I got into my setup with as much of an arch as I can get, planted my feet into the ground and pulled my shoulders back together. I got a lift off but made sure to tell the person to not help at all unless the bar is moving back towards me. Stalling is okay. After the lift off I was expecting to feel like the bar was going to be really heavy but it wasn't. I brought it down and it felt okay. The problem was on the way back up. I got it to about mid height and it stalled, big time, then started to move back towards me. The spotter gave it a little nudge and I got it the rest of the way up.

SECOND ATTEMPT!!!
1x1@275 PR!!


This felt heavier then 285 for some reason. I still stalled for a second at about mid-height but got it.


DEADLIFT

1xseveral reps@bar (some SLDL, some conv, and ended with sumo)
1xseveral more@135
1x3@225
1x1@315 (Got my belt on to make sure form is right with belt on)

READY FOR THE FIRST ATTEMPT
1x1@405 PR!!

Got my feet into position. Pretty wide sumo stance with my toes about two inches away from the plates. Bar touching my shins. I take in the Breath of life and hold it. I go down and set my grip into place and with out more then a second chance for any time to slip by I start the pull. I sit back and get my shoulders behind the bar and it comes up off the ground with ease and before I know it the bar is at my knees. That's when the weight hit me and I knew I better keep pulling back as hard as I could before I loose it. I lean back and bring my hips forward as hard as I can. I strain but pull my shoulders back. LOCK OUT!!!

No second attempt or more today. I was happy with that and felt releaved this week is over. I can't wait to start training again next week....

[jason2459]

My Assessment of my Squat and where I go from here.

Previously My goal going into today and problems I was working on the past 8 weeks:
"Squat: 425
I felt it was really hard to get down into the hole and feel if I was below parallel. I figure some more low box squats will help here"


Well, I didn't have a problem feeling the myself get into the hole. I feel those low box squats did help with that. I also had no problem getting a lift off the bottom. I hit 415lbs pretty smoothly so I'm satisfied with that. I messed up on 435 so I need to fix my issues there.

I don't think I was ready for the weight. I think my body could have done 435 if I didn't screw up my form in the beginning. I need to load up the bar with some heavy @$$ weights in the next 8 weeks to let my body get used to the weight.

I'll get some high box squats in there and some more arch back good mornings. The high box squats will allow me to really load up the weights more then I normally would be able to do and make 435 not seem like such a shock just standing there. The arch back good mornings that I have been doing to strengthen up my erectors and protect myself from injuries and to help with recovery from a form break.

Bench, time to look at where I'm at and what I need to do.

Here's my previous goals going into the past few months:

"Bench: 280
I'm getting stuck on the bottom now so get some 1 and 2 board presses in my workouts. I'm thinking I also need some more delt and lat work to help out. Maybe throw in some ME OHP work. I also feel like I am going to slow on the decent so I'll speed up the decent on speed days instead of take is slow on the way down. "

Well, I deffinitely did not get stuck on the bottom this time. In fact the bottom to half way up was very solid. I also think I brought the bar down much faster and smoother then before which is good. Two goals that I was able to accomplish. I was 5lbs off from the weight I wanted but then again I started off going for 5lbs over that. I shoulda coulda woulda... oh well.

Thinking about yesterdays lift I can spot several touble spots. First, and again like the squat, is my breathing. On thing I didn't think about at all was my breathing. I need to get that under control and timed right with the lift. I didn't take in any breath that I remember or anything. Need to work on that.

Also, leg drive. That is something that I've never been able to understand but just recently I'm starting to get it and now need to practice using more leg drive and get that into my bench.

The last thing is now hitting the mid area of the bench. I'll get some more floor presses in there and 2-3 board work. I still need to continue to bring my shoulders up to par. I think they are really lacking still.

Looking at the Deadlift

Here is where I wanted to be today several weeks ago:

"DL: 405
Still having a hard time getting it to come up off the floor. I think I need more work with the DL off a platform or using 25lbs plates. Also need to add in some good pullthroughs and maybe some GM Squats and Zercher Squats."

I focuses a lot on the deadlift this past training cycle. I really focussed hard on breaking the weight off the floor. I was extremely happy today when that happened. I was able to explode the weight up off the floor to knee height. I held breath the entire time and drove my hips into it hard. Getting it to break off the floor has been my problem since the beginning so this is really a big accomplishment to me and makes me very happy that I was able to achieve this goal.

Now, going forward I need to work on the lock out from the knees up. I'll probably focusing more on the squat in this next training cycle as I wasn't near as happy with that as I was for my bench and dl. I will do some rack pulls and some holds to help with the DL but a lot of the work I'll be doing for the squat will help carry over to the lockout in the deadlift.

[jason2459]

Quick run down of this past weeks workouts. I kind of did a deload this week and will be going full throttle starting next weeks.


Day1
Memorial day. Took it completely off. No training in gym or GPP work.

Day2
ME SQ/DL
GM Squat
1x5@bar, 95, 135, 175
1x3@225, 265, 315

No misses today and no PR's. Kind of making this week a deload week.

Assistance Work
GHR
5x5

Hypers
4x10 (5second hold on top.)

Hanging Leg Raises
3x10

Seated Calf Raises
3x15@90

Day3
ME Bench
3 Board Press
1x3@bar, 95, 115, 135, 165, 185, 205, 225, 275 PR

Didn't mean to hit a PR today but it turns out 275 for a tripple is a PR for me.

Assistance Work
Chest Supported Rows on HS Isolateral
1x10@75/side
3x10@105/side

Elbows Out Tricep ext.
4x10@40


Seated DB Curls
4x8@40

Standing AB Pulldowns
4x10@70

Day 4
RE SQ/DL
4x8@225
1x10@225

Assistance Work
Pull-throughs
4x10@190

DB Side Bends
4x10@90

This post has been edited by jason2459: 01 June 2007 - 03:58 PM

[byronsru24]

Nice looking workouts Jason. I know its a little late now, but the next time you max out you might want to take more then 3 warmups before you go for an all out max. With me at least I like getting in 5-6 warmup sets before I hit my peak weights, and I'm pretty close strength wise to you.

I know my last test for my raw squat was a few months ago, and it went something like this:

Bar x 5 x 2
135 x 5
225 x 3
275 x 3
315 x 1
365 x 1

*I used all those as a warmup, now onto the work sets

405 x 1
435 x 1
455 x 1

Warming up that way lets me really find my groove, and preps my CNS well for hte heavier sets. Jumping a plate at a time at our strength levels isn't really doable in most cases.

If its working for you go with it, I just figured I'd throw out whats working for me. Keep up the good training


Brian

[jason2459]

Nice looking workouts Jason. I know its a little late now, but the next time you max out you might want to take more then 3 warmups before you go for an all out max. With me at least I like getting in 5-6 warmup sets before I hit my peak weights, and I'm pretty close strength wise to you.

Thanks for the input I appreciate it. I would love to be hitting 450 in my first meet in the SQ but that will be a stretch. As for the warmup sets I'm still experimenting as I've never maxed out before getting in this type of training. I'll try more warmup sets next time. Thank you!

[jason2459]

Week 2/ Day 1

Time to complete workout:
35m

DE Bench
Bench 60%
1xseveral@bar
1xsevaralmore@135
8x3@165 (Three Different Grips)

Supplemental work
Seated OHP
3x6@135

Assistance Work
DB Incline Bench (Elbows tucked/palms facing)
3x8@75

Elbow Out Tricep Ext.
4x12@30

Seated Bicep curls
4x10@30

Legs Straight Spread Eagle Sit ups
2x10
1x8
(Getting a little Better at these.)

B/W:199.8

Comments
Nice Relaxing Weekend. Saturday went out to the farm for my grandpa's 93rd birthday. He's still doing really good for that age and having fractured his back this past year after falling down some stairs backward. He was out mowing when I got there. I also spotted some tires that I might go back out with the truck and pick up. I think I might be ready to add in some tire flipping in my yard on the off days. Sunday I went out to a park and grilled up some brats and went on a long hike. Not sure distance wise but it took me about 2 hours and I took a shorter route. I'll have to explore the longer routes some other time.

This post has been edited by jason2459: 05 June 2007 - 08:40 AM

[byronsru24]

Nice speed work Jason. Do you feel the speed work is helping your bench? I wish my grandpa was still alive...to be 93 and still going strong is awesome.

[jason2459]

Nice speed work Jason. Do you feel the speed work is helping your bench? I wish my grandpa was still alive...to be 93 and still going strong is awesome.

I didn't know if the speed work was truly helping a whole lot at the beginning. Well, I am still beginning but in the first few months I felt it let me feel what it was like to explode the bar up and I would think about that going into a ME or Max lift. Other then that I didn't know what else it was suppose to do. I did make some beginner mistakes and go a little to heavy but corrected that pretty quickly. Then the last four months I finally really felt it was helping with more then a mental thing. I feel it started to carry over in the the heavier lifts more control on the way down and up along with being able to concentrate on firing off as many muscle fibers at once. So far that's been my experience with it.

My grandpa is a determined person. He's not moving near as fast as he used to be and is hunched over pretty good and rheumatoid arthritis has set in his hands but he just cant stop from going out and doing something. He's been a farmer all his life and has put in a lot of hard work. I've definitely learned a lot from him and he has a lot of great stories to tell. He's seen a lot of stuff.

[jason2459]

Week 2/ Day 2

Time to complete workout:
48m

ME SQ/DL
GM Squat
1x3@bar, 95, 115, 135, 165, 185, 205, 225, 255, 275, 295, 315, 345
1x1,miss@365 PR! (Belt on)

I didn't count the miss as I didn't get down in the GM as low as I'd like to be able to count it as a full rep. I got into the squat and back up just fine. I don't really go for an ME single for my GM movements so I stopped after the first miss instead of continuing on with singles until I miss again.


Assistance Work
Pull-Throughs
4x10@202.5

Hypers
4x8@90

Hanging Leg Raises
4x15

Seated Calf Raises
4x12@90

B/W:201.2

Comments
My chest is really tight today. I didn't realize it until I went to get under the bar and I felt like my chest was ripping apart as I was going to grip the bar. I was really looking forward to today and hitting the ME hard. I kept waking up thinking the alarm was going off. I was wondering where I'd end up in the GM squat as I got a pretty nice triple PR last week unexpectedly. I didn't know how much I'd have in me this week. The last triple PR I had was 265 and a double for 275 which was back in December. I didn't think I'd improve that much on these.

This post has been edited by jason2459: 05 June 2007 - 09:20 AM

[byronsru24]

Getting stronger in here I see

Don't worry about the miss. Last I looked, none of us are ever going to be judged on a Good Morning at a meet.

I used to do lots of heavy singles w/ GMings, since I started doing more rep work with them my squat and pull have steadily gone up.

Keep it up

[jason2459]

Getting stronger in here I see

Don't worry about the miss. Last I looked, none of us are ever going to be judged on a Good Morning at a meet.

I used to do lots of heavy singles w/ GMings, since I started doing more rep work with them my squat and pull have steadily gone up.

Keep it up

Thanks, I started browsing through your log and it is very impressive. Nice lifts.

I'm all about the misses on my ME days. I wont stop until I miss. Thank God for pins. I was really hoping the GM would have a surge of popularity and we'd have the big four instead of the big three. I'm surpised the federations haven't picked up on the GM then they could charge more for the meets. Oh well...

This post has been edited by jason2459: 05 June 2007 - 02:36 PM

[byronsru24]

Thanks, I started browsing through your log and it is very impressive. Nice lifts.

Give me about 5 more years and maybe then my lifts will be somewhat respectable. But thanks for the props.

I'm all about the misses on my ME days. I wont stop until I miss. Thank God for pins.

I used to do the exact same thing. I would always go till I missed on ME days. Since I started "leaving a little in the tank", and worked more on technique a few things have happened:

1) My technique has gotten better, due to more work w/ weights over 90% as compared to just going for an all out max
2) My confidence is A LOT higher. Going to total failure on singles would just beat me up physically and fry me mentally
3) It reminds me that ME days are about TRAINING, not neccessarily testing. You want to strain yes, but a few of my friends who have trained at WS tell me that they typically DO NOT go till they miss a weight.

Just a few things that have helped me out. If what your doing is working then by all means keep doing it.

[jason2459]

Give me about 5 more years and maybe then my lifts will be somewhat respectable. But thanks for the props.
I used to do the exact same thing. I would always go till I missed on ME days. Since I started "leaving a little in the tank", and worked more on technique a few things have happened:

1) My technique has gotten better, due to more work w/ weights over 90% as compared to just going for an all out max
2) My confidence is A LOT higher. Going to total failure on singles would just beat me up physically and fry me mentally
3) It reminds me that ME days are about TRAINING, not neccessarily testing. You want to strain yes, but a few of my friends who have trained at WS tell me that they typically DO NOT go till they miss a weight.

Just a few things that have helped me out. If what your doing is working then by all means keep doing it.

I definitely make sure I hit enough up over 90%. If I end up missing and I've only got a rep or two in above 90 then I'll drop the weight slightly and get in another single or two. My technique for sure needs work. I have never had anybody be able to see me and correct me. I'm looking forward to my first meet and hopefully get a lot of feedback. So far ironscene and youtube have been my guides for form.
As for getting fried I hear you on that one. By the end of a cycle I'm ready for a nice deload but I've been able to keep up so far but I'm sure as I get into heavier weights it will be a different story. Thanks a lot for all your input it helps.

[jason2459]

Week 2/ Day 3

Time to complete workout:
53M

ME Bench
3 Board Press
1x3@bar, 95, 115, 135, 165, 185, 205, 225, 255
1x2@275
1x1@295 PR!
1xmiss@315

Shoulda Woulda Coulda again!! I should have went for a third on the 275 and that would have matched a previous PR for 3. But I was really hoping for a hit above 300 today for the first time. I did get 295 for 1 which was a good PR and it felt really good. Then I should have just added a little more to push it right at or just above 300 but wasn't thinking at the time. I was just in a rhythm of getting up adding weight and getting back down to press again. 315 felt okay coming down but once I got it on the boards and let it sink in a little to pause for a second it just flattened me out and I couldn't get it back up.


Assistance Work
HS Chest supported iso-lateral rows
1x15@90
3x10@135

JM Press
1x15@bar
3x8@90

Face Pulls
4x10@135

Roper Hammer Curls
3x8@130

Standing Ab Pulldowns
4x12@70

I tried for 75 today and just couldn't get it down for the first rep. It took me 4 months to get from 60 to 70 I guess it will take a while to get to 75.

B/W:200.6

Comments
Nice off day yesterday. I got some good landscaping style GPP in. I pull out 12 bushes. Dug around them a little then did some pretty rigorous pulling. Then dragged them to the back of the pick up to be dumped off so I got in some bush lifts and tosses in too. Great stuff. I love summer and being able to do some work outside.

This post has been edited by jason2459: 07 June 2007 - 09:56 AM

[jason2459]

Week 2/ Day 4

Time to complete workout:
46M

DE SQ/DL
Box Squat 50%
1xseveral@bar
1xmany@135
12x2@205

Supplemental work
Zercher Squats
1x10@135
1x6@225
1x3@275

I HATE THESE!!!!! But man they work all my stabilizers.


Assistance Work
SLDL w/ DB
4x8@105

HATE THESE TOO!!! I am so winded after ever set of these.

GHR
5x5

HATE!

DB Side Bends
3x8@105
blah!!

Standing Calf Raises
3x8@255

...


B/W:202

Comments
Didn't really do a single exercise today that I liked to do. What's up with that.

[byronsru24]

Nice workouts man. Dont worry about the miss @ 315. If its there, you go with it sometimes.

As for doing exercises you hate/don't like...thats the way to go! If you hate an exercise, its usually becasue you suck at it. You sure aren't going to get stronger by doing what your best at, its by doing things you suck at.

Work exercises you sucky sucky at

[jason2459]

Nice workouts man. Dont worry about the miss @ 315. If its there, you go with it sometimes.

As for doing exercises you hate/don't like...thats the way to go! If you hate an exercise, its usually becasue you suck at it. You sure aren't going to get stronger by doing what your best at, its by doing things you suck at.

Work exercises you sucky sucky at

I keep trying to tell myself that too. The Zerchers make my arms sore for days and I can't figure how to breath when I start adding weight, the SLDLs just plain suck the wind out of me even if I used a broom stick, I can't do GHR set with out using a pole in front of me, and the side bends actually make my lower back get all cramped up. So, yeah, all in all it was a great workout.

I use a lat pull down to do the GHR and the lat bar as the poll in front so I don't do a face plant.

[byronsru24]

I keep trying to tell myself that too. The Zerchers make my arms sore for days and I can't figure how to breath when I start adding weight, the SLDLs just plain suck the wind out of me even if I used a broom stick, I can't do GHR set with out using a pole in front of me, and the side bends actually make my lower back get all cramped up. So, yeah, all in all it was a great workout.

I use a lat pull down to do the GHR and the lat bar as the poll in front so I don't do a face plant.

I've done Zerchers before too. I think the most I ever did was 315 for a triple...and man did that wipe me out. My forearms had bruises for 5 days afterwards. Its a hell of an exercise to teach you to keep your back arched duing a squat.

For another alternative, you could do GHR's by choking a band at the top of a power rack, put a BB on the floor in the powerrack, slide your feet under it, and lower yourself to the floor. THe band you can hold onto in various ways and it will help pull you back up. I've been doing them with a light band lately, but I'm going to work on going with only a miniband soon.

[jason2459]

I've done Zerchers before too. I think the most I ever did was 315 for a triple...and man did that wipe me out. My forearms had bruises for 5 days afterwards. Its a hell of an exercise to teach you to keep your back arched duing a squat.

For another alternative, you could do GHR's by choking a band at the top of a power rack, put a BB on the floor in the powerrack, slide your feet under it, and lower yourself to the floor. THe band you can hold onto in various ways and it will help pull you back up. I've been doing them with a light band lately, but I'm going to work on going with only a miniband soon.

I'll have to look into a way to setup that way because my GHR strength has been going no where fast with the setup that I'm doing. Unfortunately, this is the "power rack" that I have to work with at my gym.





As you can see it is perfect for pull-ups and bicep curls.

This post has been edited by jason2459: 08 June 2007 - 02:36 PM

[byronsru24]

I'll have to look into a way to setup that way because my GHR strength has been going no where fast with the setup that I'm doing. Unfortunately, this is the "power rack" that I have to work with at my gym.


As you can see it is perfect for pull-ups and bicep curls.

Thats not bad man, I've seen worse.

Just get a band, and choke it to that center bow piece at the top. Put a loaded BB on the floor inside the posts of the rack w/ say 135. Get one of those pads you see people kneeling on while they do abs and put it in front of the BB. Now, face away from the rack, and kneel on the pad. Slide your feet under it and hold the band behind your head. Now just lower yourself to the floor. The band will keep you from falling on your face, and the BB will keep your feet from comming up. I've found doing them this way I can really get a good negative before the band kicks in, and I feel more stable. If you want I can shoot a vid of them tonight.

Brian

[jason2459]

Thats not bad man, I've seen worse.

Just get a band, and choke it to that center bow piece at the top. Put a loaded BB on the floor inside the posts of the rack w/ say 135. Get one of those pads you see people kneeling on while they do abs and put it in front of the BB. Now, face away from the rack, and kneel on the pad. Slide your feet under it and hold the band behind your head. Now just lower yourself to the floor. The band will keep you from falling on your face, and the BB will keep your feet from comming up. I've found doing them this way I can really get a good negative before the band kicks in, and I feel more stable. If you want I can shoot a vid of them tonight.

Brian

Gotcha. I read in your journal about your ghetto GHRs but was thinking that you set the pins low and put the bar under those. I wasn't even thinking about putting weights on the bar to keep it down. Now I feel stupid. I will definitely try that. Thanks so much for the tip that will help a lot.

[jason2459]

Week 3/ Day 1

Time to complete workout:
40M

DE Bench
1xmany@135
1x5@225
60%
10@3@165 w/ 4 different grips

Supplemental work
Seated OHP
3x5@135

My shoulders are WEAK!! They really get burned out fast. I'm glad I started adding in some OHP work. I'll trying standing with palms facing db work next week.


Assistance Work
Pull ups
1x8
1x7
1x6
1x5

Rope Tricep Pushdowns
4x10@70

Face Pulls
4x10@80

Standing Ab Pulldowns
several setsxseveral reps to get a total of 50@70


B/W:202

Comments
So tired this morning. Hit the snooze once before forcing myself to get out of bed. I did have a very strange dream last night. I was in my first meet and Mariusz was spotting me. It was at my old high school. Crazy stuff. Got a lot of things done over the weekend. I actually put up a wall this weekend instead of taking one down. I put up a wall and hung a door in the basement for the bathroom down there. Also got around to transplanting 8 rose bushes that were next to the garage where I didn't want them and put them in front of the garage where they look much better. Painted the kitchen walls and painted the front porch. I was going to mow the lawn but wanted to wait for tonight so I can loosen up the legs for my ME Squats tomorrow.

This post has been edited by jason2459: 11 June 2007 - 09:07 AM

[jason2459]

Week 3/ Day 2

Time to complete workout:
40M

ME SQ/DL
Parallel Box Squats
1x3@bar, 95, 115, 135, 185, 205, 225, 275, 295, 315, 365
1x2,miss@385

Tied my PR's for the triples and the double. Next two weeks I should be able to break through those easily.

Assistance Work
Hypers (nice and slow with 5s static hold on top)
Not sure how many I did. They just felt really good. I would do several and stop for a few seconds then do several more.

GHR
3x5 really sloppy ones for now.

Hanging Leg Raises
4x15

Hanging Hanging
At the end of the hanging leg raises I just sort of jumped up and grabbed on to the pull up bars and hung there. It felt really good. So I did that a few times until my grip let go.

B/W:200.4

Comments
Mowing the lawn last night really felt good. I felt ready to go this morning. Plan is to just hit up the triples today and keep going with the parallel box squats for another two weeks and hit it them hard. I didn't put a belt on at all today and the 385 felt really stable. I'm sure I could have hit a 3rd rep on the 385 too, making that a PR, but something took me out of my groove. I'm still trying to place my finger on it. I'm not going to beet myself up about it this week but I better make it next week. Rest of the workout was more for just recovery and stretching things out. Felt great.

I finally did find a good use for the smith machine and the sissy pad. I setup to do some GHRs on the power rack pictured above and I had it all setup with the bar down on the bottom and some weights on it and I was down on my knees and a trainer was next to me training someone. He said that I couldn't do that because it was going to scratch the equipment. I just kind of looked at him in disbelief and was about to tell him to shove it up his ass but then noticed smith machine and had a realized it's perfect for a GHR Machine. I brought the bar down to the bottom bumpers and put the weights on it and got down to do the GHR. I took the sissy pad that was on the bar and realized it would be great for my knees. I spread it out under my knees and went to town. Well, kind of. I don't have bands per say and started a few reps and realized I'm kind of doing push ups because I would go down so far and then start falling really fast so I'd stop my self with my hands. I found some bands with handles on them and I know they don't have much resistence so I grabbed two of them and looped them up over the top bar. Perfect. Well, kind of. It was very awkward at first and will take getting used to but they were great. Much different feeling doing them this way then with the lat machine. I could spread my knees farther apart instead of having them knocking right next to each other. Thanks Brian!

This post has been edited by jason2459: 12 June 2007 - 09:06 AM

[jason2459]

Week 3/ Day 3

Time to complete workout:
40M

ME Bench
Close Grip
1x3@bar, 95, 115, 135, 165, 185, 205, 225, 235, 245 PR!

Close Grip 2 Board Press
1x3@225
1xmiss@255
1x3@235, 245
1xmiss@255 DAMN IT!!!

Assistance Work
DB Bent over Rows
4x10@90

DB Tricep Ext
4x8@35

DB Seated Hammer Curls
4x8@35

B/W:202

Comments
I still suck at close grip but it is getting a little better. I got a triple PR for what was my single PR the last time I did close grip. This was the first time that I did close grip work with boards and it felt a little awkward. I feel I should have had the 255 for at least one. Then out of any back exercise I hate the DB Bent over row the most. They make me feel like I want to puke.

This post has been edited by jason2459: 14 June 2007 - 08:32 AM