Training -- Tue 30/04/2013

Bench Press

10x20kg
5x40kg
5x60kg
3x5x70kg
8x50kg

CGBP

2x8x40kg

Pull Ups

3x8xBW
5xBW

Seated Row

10x40kg
5x10x30kg

Competition -- Iron Fest Open 2013

Despite having been unsuccessful in my last attempt at a water cut, I wound up giving it another shot for this comp. This time I drank about 6L water/day for a week before hand, and then cut out most fluid from about 10am yesterday. I did this because I realised that if I made it into the 66kg weight class, I'd make it into the top 10 ranked lifters of that weight class. My water cut was more successful than last time, but still not nearly enough to get me down to 66kg. So I weighed in at 67.5kg (I've been sitting around 70kg for the last couple weeks), and got straight into eating and rehydrating. Not making weight turned out to be a good thing, though. There was only one guy in the 66kg class, and I'm pretty sure he was stronger than me. There were four of us in the 74kg weight class, and it turns out I got the highest total. Consequently, I came home with some gold that I was not anticipating.

Videos were taken, although I don't have them on me, so I'll post them when I get them. In the meantime, here are my lifts, and some photos.

Squat

Warming up with 120kg

Opener

135kg

White lights. I started warming up about an hour before I should have, so once I got up to 120kg for a single, I tried to just maintain that. Ultimately, I went cold at some point. Still had the movement prepped, but needed to re-roll my left leg before opening. Consequently, my left side wasn't as solid on this lift, and it felt like my left hip did a dip on the way up.

Second Lift

142.5kg

PB lift. Felt much smoother/more stable than my opener.

Third Lift

150kg -- No lift

Got to ye olde sticking point and then the bar started disagreeing with me.

Bench Press

I think this is my third attempt

Opener

85kg -- No Lift

Technique was good. Touched chest, held it there, locked out. Shame I forgot to wait for the start signal, and thus disqualified the lift.

Second Lift

92.5kg

PB lift. Remembered to follow the rules. Felt good.

Third Lift

97.5kg -- No Lift

I felt that 100kg was a bit too ambitious, so decided to play it safe. Not safe enough, apparently. Like my third squat, I got to the sticking point and then my strength gave out.

Deadlift

I think this is my opener

Opener

150kg

Felt easier than my last warm up set (which was 140kg).

Second Lift

165kg

PB lift. I was pretty happy with this.

Third Lift

177.5kg

PB lift. After striking out on my third attempts of squat and bench press, I wasn't feeling as confident about my third attempt as I was to begin with. It was also getting late, and my drive wasn't what it had been earlier in the day (in the past, whenever I've done 1RM sessions I haven't had heaps of other guys training up to their maxes, too, which has meant getting it done in about 2 hours rather than 5, which has meant being more energetic by the end of it). Not trusting myself to give it all I've got when grinding becomes necessary, I opted for 177.5kg instead of 180kg. The weight pretty much flew up. Probably shouldn't gone 180kg after all.

I enjoy my gold medal. First time I've earned a medal for anything in my life.

Training -- Tue 23/04/2013

Foam Rolling -- Quads, ITB, TFL, Glutes, Hamstrings, Adductors

Squats

10xBW
10x20kg
5x60kg
3x80kg
3x100kg
1x120kg
5x130kg -- Rep PB :)

Bench Press

10x20kg
5x40kg
3x60kg
1x75kg
3x85kg

Deadlift

10x60kg
6x100kg
10x1x140kg -- Singles every minute on the minute.

And thus concludes my last session before comp this Saturday. Time for my body to relax.

In other news, I had a presentation today at uni on powerlifting. I had some videos prepared for the presentation but they didn't work. Nonetheless, I enjoyed myself, I felt I presented well, and I got a good Q&A session at the end.

Training -- Sat 20/04/2013

7 days 'til competition! I'm excited!

Squats

10xBW
10x20kg
5x40kg
3x70kg
3x100kg
3x120kg
4x132.5kg

RDL

3x10x100kg -- Used straps for the first time and instantly realised how much work I haven't been doing with these. Will be strapping up more often.

Bench Press

10x20kg
5x35kg
3x50kg
3x60kg
3x70kg
3x80kg
2x90kg -- That's not 4. How odd.

Press

10x20kg
3x5x41kg

Pull Ups

8xBW
2x5x15kg

Seated Row

10x60kg
10x50kg
10x40kg
12x30kg

Training -- Wed 17/04/2013

I've been a bit sick the last couple days. Wot 2 do? Set PB's, that's what!

Front Squat

10xBW
10x20kg
5x40kg
3x60kg
3x70kg
3x80kg

Squats

3x100kg
3x115kg
1x125kg
1x32.5kg
1x140kg -- I wanted to get a triple. Instead, I got stuck halfway up the second rep. Not what I was aiming for.

Deadlift

10x70kg
4x100kg
2x120kg
2x140kg
3x160kg -- All time PB :)

GHR/Shrugs/Calf Raise

3x5xGreen/12x84kg/12x320lb

Training -- Tue 16/04/2013

Bench Press

10x20kg
5x35kg
3x50kg
3x60kg
3x70kg
3x80kg
2x3x90kg -- That's the stuff! If we want to be really technical about, this was 1x3 and 1x2 + 1 assisted, but the assistance on the last rep was so light that -- given that this is training, not competition -- I'll count it here. First set was a definite PB, though, all on my own.
4x80kg
8x60kg

CGBP

2x8x50kg

Assisted Pull Ups

15xGreen
2x12xOrange

Seated Row

8x60kg
3x10x50kg

I went bowling in the evening. That was fun. I was less terrible at it than expected, but don't let that fool you into thinking I didn't get the lowest game of the game.

I Think About the Future Too Much

Competition's 2 weeks away, and I'm already thinking about what I'm going to do afterwards. I'm not planning anything particularly interesting for my lower body, other than that I'm thinking of getting some wrist straps and doing touch-n-go deadlifts once a week with a controlled eccentric. I've got some interesting ideas for upper body, though, which, if I proceed with this, will result in a lot of volume prior to peaking. Basically, I'll be broing out big time.

Bear in mind, 2 weeks from now I may already be bored with this idea and follow a different plan. Nonetheless, here's roughly what I'm thinking of for my upper body training:

Upper 1 (heavy bench/light press)
Bench Press 3x10 (or perhaps 1-2x5, 1-2x10)
Close Grip Bench Press 2x10
Incline Bench Press 2x10
OHP 3x10
Assisted Pull Ups 5x10-15
Seated Rows 5 sets

Upper 2 (heavy press/light bench)
OHP 3x5
Push Press 2x5 superset with BB Row 2 sets
DB Press 2x8-12 superset with 1-arm DB Row 2 sets
Bench Press 3x10
Weighted Pull Ups 3x5
Seated Row 3x15

Training -- 13/04/2013

Squats

2x10xBW
10x20kg
5x40kg
3x60kg
3x80kg
3x100kg
2x115kg
2x125kg
2x132.5kg
2x140kg -- I should have bought my camera. 2 reps with my old 1RM.
5x110kg

RDL

8x70kg
2x8x100kg

GHR/Calf Raise/Decline Sit Ups/Side Sit Ups

2x6xGreen/20x200lb/10/10

Training -- Fri 12/04/2013

Bench Press

10x20kg
5x35kg
3x50kg
1x65kg
6x80kg
5x80kg -- Attempted 6th rep, hit sticking point. Not sure if I could have gotten through the sticking point, but after what felt like a couple seconds of not moving, I decided not to expend any further energy on the attempt.
10x60kg

Incline Bench Press

8x20kg
2x5x50kg

Press

10x20kg
5x41kg
2x3x41kg -- Too fatigued at this point. It happens.

Pull Ups

8xBW
3x4x15kg -- Loud exertional farts FTW.

Cable Row

10x60kg
12x50kg
15x40kg
4x15x30kg

A Man-to-Man Talk I'd Like to Have with my 16-Year-Old Self

Food is not bad, calories are not evil and the bench press is not special. Yes, the other 16-year-old boys are watching you and judging you. Get the **** over it. Worrying about what disapproving people think of you has only ever brought you harm, now is no different. You'll never have a great 6-pack unless you have lots of muscle to make a 6-pack out of, and you'll never have lots of muscle if you spend so much time being paranoid about gaining 1g of fat. You don't have to lift to failure, you do have to lift progressively, if you aren't progressing reduce the weight and work on technique. Lack of soreness is not a bad thing, and you don't need to change your program every month to prevent a plateau. Being constantly hungry is not a sign of health. Eat good food, and lots of it. You're not 7 any more, so stop limiting yourself to the amounts of food you ate as a 7-year-old. Above all of this, your size and strength has no bearing on your value as a human being. Getting bigger and stronger will not make you feel better about yourself. It won't make you like you, and it won't make others like you. This is good for you, this is one of the best things you'll ever do for yourself (although there are a few things you'll do for yourself that will be even better), but it won't fix your emotional problems any more than a band-aid will cure cancer. You want to fix yourself? Say hi to people. There are a thousand students at your school. Say hi to someone new every day. Listen to people. You think you're so smart, you think you're right all the time. You're wrong. About most things, most of the time, you're wrong. That's not because you're young, that's because you exist. There is more information out there than you'll ever know, and most of it is wrong. The amount of information available to mankind is growing exponentially, and most of it is wrong. You have a lot of experience ahead of you. The experience that shines light on what you know will make you confident, but the experience that allows you to appreciate how much you don't know and how much the stuff you think you know warrants correction will make you both humble and confident, and that will give you a strength that no amount of lifting will ever provide. But don't stop lifting. Lifting is awesome. You love it now, and you're going to love it even more in time. Listen to your body and love yourself. Trust in God, know that He uses your pain and suffering to grow you into who you'll be for eternity, and no matter how badly the **** hits the fan (and trust me, it will hit the fan, badly), you'll be alright.