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Sea Doo

390 lb Bench Press 1RM, 600 lb Hook Grip Mat Pull, Anti Slipping Grip Tape and Stuff You Should Read

June 23, 2013 — 2 Comments

Alright back to some real training this week (AKA volume), but managed to get a couple of PRs!

Bench Press: 390 lb x 1 (1RM)

Got this on Friday. Closing in on 400 lb!

I have missed many attempts at this weight mostly due to slipping on the bench. This is my second attempt at this weight for that day. I slipped on the first attempt.

Looking at the video a few times, it does look like my body is sliding backwards slowly. (I look at the top of my head to see if it is moving backwards).

One thing that might have helped in minimizing slipping on the bench was that I tried to get the pressure on the back of my neck and traps prior to unracking the bar. I'm not 100% sure this is the case, so I'll have to test this out some more.

I mentioned the slipping on the bench issue on Facebook, and STG Strength And Power told me how he had all his benches in his gym re-upholstered with the material used on the seats of a personal water craft known as the Sea-Doo. Other well known brands are the Jet Ski and Waverunner. At this point I had only used an anti-slip mat, but the mention of some fabric used on the seats of Sea Doos (which is likely water resistant and anti slip) for use on a bench makes complete sense. I mean, if it's good enough to be used on the seat of a fast moving vehicle in the water that's constantly getting wet, then it should work fine for a bench used for the bench press!

Sea Doo

H-hi...DYEL??

I'm really not sure where to get this type of fabric, or how I could apply it to my bench. It seems like it would be somewhat expensive and a bit of a pain in the ass to do it myself. I could take my bench to some upholstery shop to get it done, but I'm a frugal DIY kinda guy.

Well, a bit of searching lead me to "marine vinyl" which then lead me to "anti slip tape" and finally somehow I stumbled on "grip tape" that's used on the surface of skateboards.

My understanding is that this grip tape has a sandpaper-like surface that tapes onto a skateboard to prevent people from slipping.

So I ordered an 11" wide "Jessup" grip tape from eBay, and hopefully I'll be able to test this out within a week or so. It was cheap (about $15 shipped), and seems easy to apply (tape it onto my bench).

Jessup Grip Tape

I hope this works.

I'm betting this will work better than that dollar store anti-slip mat. If I'm still slipping on the bench with the grip tape, I'll probably move up to something more expensive (maybe some industrial strength marine grade anti-slip tape/product).

Hook Grip Mat Pull: 600 lb x 1 (1RM)

One of my goals for this year is to deadlift 600 lb. I deadlift with a hook grip, so my thumbs have to be able to tolerate being squished by 600 lb of pressure.

I have found that developing and maintaining pain tolerance for the hook grip is essential for pulling heavy without having thumb pain get in the way and stop me from completing the lift.

If I can pull 600 lb off 6 1/4" mats with a hook grip, then I know my thumbs can handle this load. Now the trick is to pull this off the floor!

My plan is remove a mat every week or so until I'm deadlifting off the ground. I may alternate with sumo, conventional, suitcase and maybe deficit deadlifts every few weeks just to give my back and thumbs a break.

Stuff You Should Read

  1. Dan Green Interview on Vegas Power Hour Podcast with some notes at All Things Gym. I like his approach to training, because I think it kinda parallels mine haha.
  2. Squatting Big by Sam Byrd
  3. Fight Doctor: Big Country's Granite Chin by Dr. Michael Kelly. It's another reason why you should train your neck.
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Seven of Nine

Powerlifting Meet Recap, Training Updates, Warm Up & Openers, Sumo and Stuff You Should Read

June 16, 2013 — Leave a comment

What a week.

Well, mainly last Sunday was great, the rest of the week sucked as far as training goes! Here's what happened:

Powerlifting Meet Recap

Last week I got Seven of Nine:

Seven of Nine

Resistance is futile.

7 of 9 attempts that is!

My second squat attempt at 235 Kg (518 lb) did not count because I didn't wait for the squat command, and I missed a 175 Kg (385.8 lb) bench press most likely due to my back slipping on the bench when I engaged my leg drive on the ascent.

Finished off with these numbers in the 90 Kg (198.4 lb) weight class:

  • Squat: 235 Kg (518 lb)
  • Bench Press: 170 Kg (374.8 lb)
  • Deadlift: 255 Kg (562.2 lb)
  • Total: 660 Kg (1455 lb)

Here's my full meet write up.

I already posted videos to individual lifts, but here's a compilation of all the lifts in one easy to watch video, which is set to a song that goes well with everything:

Post Meet Training

So after maxing out at the competition last week, I didn't really have any immediate plans about training post-meet, so I decided to screw around for the most part.

Screwing around for me = trying to hit MOAR 1 rep maxes!

Unfortunately I missed on all lifts haha

I did hit a 1RM on the sumo deadlift, but that's because it was my first real attempt at trying out that exercise.

Goals & Training Updates

So the goal is to hit these numbers for the next meet, or by the end of the year:

  1. Squat: 250 Kg (551.2 lb)
  2. Bench Press: 182.5 Kg (402.3 lb)
  3. Deadlift: 272.5 Kg (600.8 lb)
  4. Total: 705 Kg (1554.3 lb)

My training will be more or less the same, which is as followed:

Monday:

  • Low Bar Squat: 3x3
  • High Bar Squat: 3x3
  • Low Bar Squat: 1x5
  • High Bar Squat: 1x5
  • Face Pulls
  • Reverse Grip Bench Press: 5x5 or 10x3

Tuesday:

  • Jump Rope/Heavy Bag
  • L-Sit Chin Ups
  • Neck Training

Wednesday:

  • Front Squat: 3x3 or 5x3
  • Overhead Press: 3x5 (or something else)
  • Barbell Curl: 3x5-10

Friday:

  • Low Bar Squat: 2x3
  • High Bar Squat: 2x3
  • Face Pulls
  • Reverse Grip Bench Press: 3x3
  • Conventional/Mat Pulls/Sumo/Suitcase Deadlifts

The sets and reps may change up and time goes by (or right away), but the exercise will likely remain the same throughout.

As far as progression goes, I'm going to stick with adding 2.5 lb to the bar every week (for most lifts). It's been working well, and so far it has been a sustainable increase in weight.

Occasionally I'll attempt some sort of PR on a Wednesdays and Fridays, depending on how I feel.

Pre-Workout Warm Ups

My pre-workout warm ups will look like this:

  • Foam Rolling
  • Ab Wheel
  • Band Pull Aparts
  • Shoulder Dislocations
  • L-Sit Chin Ups

I decided to start using the ab wheel to strengthen my abs, and to make use of an piece of exercise equipment that has been collecting dust for a while.

I'm hoping the stronger core I build from using the ab wheel will translate to all my lifts.

Warm Ups & Openers

My warmup for the squat and bench press will follow a similar pattern.

I will warm up to a paused heavy single, and then drop back down in weight for my work sets.

For this heavy single (also known as an "over-warm up"), I'm aiming to get it to a load that is equal to my intended openers for my next meet.

So I guess you can say I'm warming up to my openers, then dropping back down to my work sets.

Also, pausing my warm ups has been an easy (and sneaky) way to add paused lifts to my training without having to screw around much with the exercises. I'm building power out of the hole with paused squats, and getting strong in the bottom position for the bench press. I'll be pausing in competition anyways, so might as well do it during warm ups (and occasionally work sets).

I pretty much did this while training for the powerlifting meet that was held last week, and it seemed to have worked well.

For the squat, I have squatted 460 lb (my squat opener at the meet was 463 lb) many, many times during training as the last warm up set before dropping down in weight. Also, I have benched press 330 lb (which was also the weight I chose for my opener) many times. Same deal with the deadlift.

I feel that hitting an a weight that is intended to be used as an opener during a meet over and over again during training (as a friggin' WARM UP!) will build confidence and familiarity with that weight and ensure that you (or I) won't miss the first attempt at any lift.

The last point about warm ups is that I've recently started warming up during the squat without a belt, up to around 410 lb (paused squat), in an attempt to further strengthen my core.

Sumo Deadlift

As mentioned earlier, I started doing sumo deadlifts.

Why?

Simply as a potential way to deadlift more weight through a shorter range of motion.

Combined with a hook grip (which also shortens the range of motion slightly), the sumo deadlift hypothetically could be the best deadlifting "style" for me and my T-rex arms.

Looking at the video, I already see some things I can improve on:

  • More vertical shin
  • More vertical arms
  • Pulling back on the bar more

I'm still not sure when to program the sumo deadlift in, but I'll probably be training with conventional deadlifts more often and throw in sumo if I ever want a lighter day in order to practice the technique, and take a bit of the stress off my lower back.

Stuff You Should Read

Check this out:

  1. Why "Your Head Is Fucking Tiny" Is The Greatest Compliment You'll Ever Receive (NSFW) by Jamie Lewis
  2. Master the Squat by Dave Tate
  3. Powerlifting and Philosophy: What Phenomenology Can Teach Us about Meet Preparation by Kyle Keough
  4. Russ Knipp and the Resurrection of the Olympic Press by Marty Gallagher

 

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206.8 lb

1 Week Out! Plans Before The Meet, Knee Wrap PRs, Mash Elite Strength Extravaganza and Stuff You Should Read

June 2, 2013 — Leave a comment

1 week out from the Canadian Amateur Powerlifting Championships on Sunday, June 9, 2013!

Damn. Time sure flies fast.

Plans For This Upcoming Week

Take it easy. I'm probably just going to do my warm ups for my main lifts on Monday and Wednesday for practice, and do a bunch of foam rolling and mobility work all week to keep loose. Also, I want to let my body recover and hopefully any nagging aches and pains will be gone by next Sunday.

Sleep better. I picked up some ZMA and melatonin to help me with this. I've read good things about ZMA, but so far after 2 nights I don't notice any difference. I was expecting some vivid, awesome dreams at least, but they were the vague, normal dreams that I regularly have.

Sleep Supplements

Sleep Supplements

Eat less carbs. In other words, eat less rice. Goddammit.

Water loading. I done this one for my first powerlifting meet last year. Basically drink a lot of water, pee a lot, then stop drinking so much water before weighing in (but keep on peeing) so you piss out a lot of water weight. It didn't really work well for me back then, but maybe I'll temporarily lose more water weight this year with this method.

Current Body Weight

206.8 lb

About 207 lb.

I normally don't weigh myself so in my mind I'm always "around 200 lb". Well, I weighed myself this morning and I was about 207 lb.

That means I need to lose 9 lb to make weight on Saturday (I'm weighing in on Saturday, and the competition is on Sunday).

Hopefully this water loading and pissing it out will help me lose some water weight this year, but I'm probably going to lose the most weight by sweating it off during a hot bath like last year.

Knee Wraps

This past week I discovered firsthand how effective knee wraps are for the squat. I bought them in September 2012 and never really tried them out on heavy sets of squats. Until now. PRs below.

Personally I don't consider using knee wraps "raw" simply because they provide assistance in the lift. There is elastic energy stored in the knee wraps which definitely helps move the weight in the lift, especially out of the bottom of the squat position.

So far, I like them.

They let me handle more weight, and I think the knee wraps will be a valuable training tool in the future for me. I'll probably do something like squat with knee wraps one week, and then the next week or so, attempt the same weight without knee wraps (Knee Wrap Progression Method™).

I've added 3 more rows to my personal records table to indicate knee wrapped squats.

Anyway, onto the PRs I've done this past week:

Front Squat: 405 lb x 1 (1RM with Knee Wraps)

On Wednesday was my first time wearing knee wraps for a 1RM attempt, and probably my 5th time wearing them ever for a lift.

I missed on this weight a couple of weeks ago, and weight knee wraps I got it with not much struggle. Eventually I'll want to front squat 405 lb without the assistance of knee wraps.

Overhead Press: 235 lb x 3 (3RM)

Held it on the top for the last rep, and when I brought it back down somehow I lost balance.

I tried to bring it back down under control, but the bar slipped out of my hands while trying to catch it.

It dropped on the edge of some rubber mats I had in front of my rack, and the bar bounced right into my shins. Here's the aftermath:

Shins

Shin damage from OHP :/

Low Bar Squat: 500 lb x 2 (2RM with Knee Wraps)

I've been struggling to get 500 lb x 2 in the low bar squat, but thanks to knee wraps, I got it on Friday!

Actually felt like I could have went for another rep. I didn't even make a squat face on that last rep. Might try 3 reps in a couple of weeks, or attempt 500x2 without knee wraps.

High Bar Squat: 500 lb x 2 (2RM with Knee Wraps)

I like to keep my low bar and high bar squat workload balanced, so I did this on Saturday:

This was a bit harder than the low bar squat at 500 lb x 2.

Mat Pull: 550 lb x 1

I read somewhere that you shouldn't really deadlift so close to a meet, so I opted for a partial deadlift instead. I just wanted to make sure that my thumbs and my mind will be able to handle the load that I'm hoping to pull (I deadlift with a hook grip).

I figure if I can deadlift 550 lb off of 6 1/4" mats with a hook grip, and I can deadlift 560 lb off the ground with straps (which I did last week), then I should be able to deadlift 550 lb off the ground using a hook grip during the competition next week.

Mash Elite Strength Extravaganza

Mash Elite Strength Extravaganza

I heard about this event from Greg Nuckols, who, by the way, is an absolute monster (a nice, good guy monster), smart and wise beyond his years. I would subscribe to his blog if I were you.

This looks pretty awesome.

From the Mash Elite Strength Extravaganza Facebook page:

This event will be the greatest test of strength ever devised. A two day event with weightlifting, powerlifting, and strongman events all included, it will answer the age-old question, "who is the strongest athlete?" It is guaranteed to have events in which you excel, and also events that expose your weaknesses. Whoever emerges victorious at the end of two grueling days of competition can rightfully claim greatness in the realm of strength athletics.

The event is basically this:

  1. Saturday Morning - Olympic Lifts (Snatch, Clean & Jerk)
  2. Saturday Afternoon - Powerlifting (Squat, Bench Press, Deadlift)
  3. Sunday - Strongman (Log Press, Tire Flipping, Farmers Walks, 18" Deadlift For Reps, Stones, Truck Pulling etc)

More about how this event is going to be run, weight classes and scoring here.

It kinda reminds me of the good ol' days of mixed martial arts (which was then known as NHB, or no-holds barred) where barely anyone was a "mixed martial artist" and they only trained in one style. Back then, they would pit fighters from various disciplines (style vs style) to see which fighter and style was the best.

This seems like it's pitting strength athletes against each other in some mixed-strength competition to see who is the strongest in each weight class.

It would have been cool if they brought back the old school clean and press into the competition though!

But I like this idea, and it will be interesting to see how this will turn out, and if it'll catch on as the next "big thing" since CrossFit.

Stuff You Should Read

  1. A Lion in Iron: It’s Not That Complicated, Part 3 by Alexander Cortes
  2. 5 Reasons Women Shouldn’t Be Intimidated by Powerlifting by Caitlyn Trout
  3. West of Westside by Daniel Green
  4. Barbell Training as Rehab by Karl Schudt
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McDonalds

Powerlifting Meet “Plans”, A Bunch of Rep PRs and a Strapped Deadlift 1RM

May 26, 2013 — Leave a comment

It's exactly 2 weeks away from the CPF powerlifting meet in Waterloo, and I don't really have any sort of solid training plan leading up to the competition haha. Hope it all works out though.

This week, starting tomorrow, will be my final "normal" training week (i.e. heavy with a lot of volume). After that, I'm just going to take it easy and hit some PRs come June 9th.

Also I probably won't be eating so many cheeseburgers for the next little while:

McDonalds

3 Double Cheese Burgers and 1 McDouble Burger. Ate this on Wednesday, May 22.

Here's what I'm aiming for:

1st Attempt2nd Attempt3rd Attempt
Squat210 Kg (462 lb)235 Kg (517 lb)240 Kg (528 lb)
Bench Press160 Kg (352 lb)170 Kg (374 lb)175 Kg (385 lb)
Deadlift230 Kg (506 lb)250 Kg (550 lb)255 Kg (561 lb)
Total600 Kg (1320 lb)655 Kg (1441 lb)670 Kg (1474 lb)

All the 2nd attempts will be PRs for me, and they look reasonable. Hitting a few PRs this week gives me confidence that I will nail the 2nd attempts in 14 days.

Anyway, some personal records for this past week:

Paused Bench Press: 370 lb x 1 (1RM)

Started off the week with a paused bench press PR at 370 lb:

Getting this gave me confidence for pausing a bench press with heavy weights.

Front Squat: 370 lb x 2 (2RM)

On Wednesday, I got a 2RM on the front squat:

Bench Press: 370 lb x 2 (2RM)

On Friday, I hit a bench press 2RM at 370 lb. I was fairly certain I could get this after doing 365 lb x 2 last week, which felt quite easy:

The kind-of-rare 400 lb+ bench press milestone is within my sights. I might try for a 390 lb 1RM in a few days.

Deadlift: 560 lb x 1 (1RM - Strapped)

Hit a bunch of strapped deadlift PRs, including a 1RM at 560 lb:

Originally I wasn't planning on doing this, but I figured heck, why not try and see what happens. Hard, but wasn't super hard to the point where it looked like I was having convulsions on the way up.

Time to update my personal records scoreboard yet again...

 

 

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315 Bench Press

365×2 Bench Press PR, Missed Squats, Deadlift Worries, Belted Bench And Stuff You Should Read

May 19, 2013 — Leave a comment

Felt a little sick lately (coughing, runny nose), but still trained as much and as hard as I could.

Here's a recap of this past week:

Bench Press: 315 lb x 10 x 3, 365 lb x 2 (2RM)

On Monday I did a bunch of paused bench presses with 315 lb for 10 sets and 3 reps a piece:

I'm getting a lot of practice with paused reps, so I think I'll be OK for the meet.

On Friday, originally I was planning on 370 lb for 2 reps, but after not setting any PRs so far this week, I decided to play it safe and go for 365 lb instead.

You'll notice in the videos that I'm using the crappy spring collars instead of my Ivanko COT-1.25. And there are no fractional plates on the bar. Usually I put on a couple of fractional plates to the bar before adding the 45s. Those collars weight 1.25 lb each, so the combined additional weight is 2.5 lb. I normally throw on 2.5 lb of fractional plates to the bar (so the total weight before the plates is 5 lb) so that my numbers look nicer.

365 lb felt pretty easy to be honest, and I'm going to try 370 lb x 2 this upcoming Friday.

Missed Squat PR's

On Wednesday I wanted to front squat 370 lb x 2, which would have been a 2RM, but after the first rep I felt a sharp pain in middle of my back, along the right side. After this, I stopped squatting.

I felt pain whenever I twisted my torso or took deep breaths. This pain persisted the next day, but it dulled quite a bit on Friday.

On Friday, I wanted to low bar squat 500 lb x 2, but missed on the 2nd rep:

I didn't feel that the mishap that I suffered from Wednesday had anything to do with missing the rep, but more like I felt tired after the first rep.

For squats, I'll just work on hitting my sets and reps and a moderate weight with speed from now on, and save any PRs for the platform in June.

Deadlifts

Of all the lifts...I'm worried about the deadlift the most. Mainly because of using a hook grip with a weight that I'm not accustomed to, and I don't train the deadlift very often.

I'm aiming for 550 lb in the competition.

I have deadlifted 550 lb before with straps, and my best with a hook grip is 540 lb. However, last Friday, I couldn't even deadlift 530 lb.

My pain tolerance for my thumbs is higher now, from a combination of deadlifting with a hook grip, and doing L-sit chin ups with a hook grip. I hope the pain tolerance will be high enough.

I think they might be using a deadlift bar during the competition. Apparently that makes it easier lift the bar off the ground (hence, getting a bigger deadlift) because the bar is not as stiff (ie. whippier). Or something like that.

For my deadlift training, I'm just going to work up to a heavy-but-non-grindy single with a hook grip, and do few sets of 3 afterwards. Nothing special really, but hopefully I end up pulling 550 in June!

Belted Bench Press

I used to wear a belt when I benched, mainly just for the hell of it. I mean, I have a belt, might as well wear it right?

However, I stopped wearing a belt for bench presses because I didn't see the point, and sometimes the buckle would pop open as I inhaled into my chest making my stomach temporarily slimmer.

But after reading this Q&A by Jennifer Petrosino, it made me re-think and reconsider wearing a belt again.

The reverse grip bench press touches the body quite low (below the sternum/upper abs) compared to a regular bench press. When I wear a belt, I can reduce the range of motion because my gut is pushed up and out (meaning, the top part of my gut - below the sternum or upper abs area - sticks out more). I haven't measured it or taken any pictures, but it looks like I get about an inch less range of motion with a belt. I'll look into this further in the future and maybe write a post, but it does seem to work in reducing ROM without the need to have a insane arch.

Also, I'm working on breathing into my belly to make it stick out more before unracking and lowering the bar.

I think with the combination of wearing a belt, and breathing into my gut making it as huge as possible, my ROM will go down, and my bench press numbers will go up.

Stuff You Should Read

  1. Rogue Voodoo Floss Bands Review by John Phung (That's me!)
  2. The Truth About Certifications by Don (not sure the last name)
  3. Coaching The Sumo Deadlift by Jacob Cloud
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