Breathing paused squats up to 320 lb. Exhaled fully at the bottom, followed by 1 breath. I found it harder to inhale as the weight increased.
45 lb: 10
140 lb: 10
230 lb: 5
320 lb: 3
Paused Low Bar Squat
Belted up at 460 lb.
410 lb: 1
460 lb: 1
Low Bar Squat
500 lb: 1
390 lb: 3,3,3
+5 lb from last week.
High Bar Squat
390 lb: 3,3,3
+5 lb from last week.
Felt very explosive.
Low Bar Squat
350 lb: 5
+5 lb from last week.
High Bar Squat
350 lb: 8
+5 lb from last week.
Face Pulls
70 lb: 12
90 lb: 10
Reverse Grip Bench Press
First day testing out this grip tape on the bench.
No slipping, and it really feels like my shirt and back are sticking to the bench. Any sort of movement while laying on, adjusting or getting off the bench sounds like velcro strips coming apart.
Had to put a small towel at the edge of the bench to protect the back of my head and neck.
I don't see any scratches or markings on my back (other than the bar mark from high and low bar squats) and my shirt appears to be intact. So far, so good.
Paused until work sets.
45 lb: 10
140 lb: 5
230 lb: 3
280 lb: 1
330 lb: 1
370 lb: 1
295 lb: 5,5,5,5,6
+5 lb from last week.
Did an extra rep on the last set because the weight felt light.
Last week I got a 570 lb deadlift (I deadlifted 562.2 lb at the meet) and this week I squatted 520 lb (previously PR was 518 lb) and paused benched 375 lb (374.8 lb at the meet).
Low Bar Squat: 520 lb (1RM)
Wasn't too hard.
I'm happy that my form didn't break down at a 1RM attempt.
Paused Reverse Grip Bench Press: 375 lb (1RM)
Yeah this was pretty easy. I've started to pause bench 370 lb as my over warmup lately, so another 5 lb wasn't a big jump. It's only a fraction of a pound higher than what I benched press at the competition in June, so this was defininately doable.
I Am A Canadian Powerlifting Record Holder...in something.
Well, it's officially...official.
I am the CPF All Canadian Amateur Raw Full Power 90 Kg record holder for the squat (235 kg), and total (660 Kg)! (The spreadsheet can be found here, under "Men's Raw Amateur Records").
192.5 Kg bench press and 272.5 Kg deadlift...
YOU ARE NEXT!
To be realistic, the 272.5 Kg (600.76 lb) deadlift is probably next because I'm about 30 lb away from that mark. A 192.5 Kg (424.39 lb) bench press is still a LLLOOOONNNGGGG way to go...currently my best is only 390 lb, and that's not even paused! My paused bench press is a mere 375 lb (see above), which is almost 50 lb off from the CPF amateur records. Maybe in a few years.
Even though my numbers are a record, it's still quite low compared to the CPF "Men's Raw Pro Records", and I'm sure it's lower than a lot of 90 Kg records for other federations in Canada and around the world.
Ah well, it's still nice to accomplish something, and to be able making a cheesy picture combining Bolo Yeung along with the spreadsheet.
Modded Rogue Flat Bench With Grip Tape
For the handful of you people who have read my blog and training logs every once in a while, you've probably noticed that I occasionally complain about slipping on the bench during the bench press.
I have tried using an anti-slip shelf liner, which worked OK but not 100% slip proof. Lately I've been having some success with a microfiber towel placed on top of my bench, along with wearing a tight tank top. Not sure why it works.
But a couple of weeks ago I ordered some grip tape from eBay and I got it a few days ago. It's normally used for skateboards/longboards to prevent people from slipping, and it's basically sandpaper with a sticker on the back side.
I applied this grip tape on my Rogue bench, and this is what it looks like:
I have a feeling the grip tape will prevent sliding for sure. It's very abrasive, and my finger tips are scratched up from handling it.
I'm going to wear some crappy shirts when I bench just in case this tears up my clothing. We'll see how it works on Monday and Friday (where I might go for some sort of bench press PR to really put myself in a situation to generate a lot of leg drive in an attempt to slip on the bench...and to see how well the grip tape will work).
