Slipped the first time (had a towel on the bench). Took it off and tried again with only the anti-slip mat. Got it! It was a bit of a fight, wasn't really happy with the rep, but got it though.
I think I need to try to get the pressure on the back of my neck instead of upper back to prevent slipping. Have to test this out some more.
330 lb: 4
Missed on 5th set. Slipped, but don't think I would have gotten it anyway.
Mat Pulls
8 mats, about 6 1/4" from the ground, or an inch or two below my knee caps.
Hook grip.
Wore my Chucks.
140 lb: 10
230 lb: 5
320 lb: 3
410 lb: 1
460 lb: 1
510 lb: 1
550 lb: 1
600 lb: 1 * PR!
Didn't budge on the first try, but that got me pissed off so I tried again and got it!
I'm going to lower the weight for my work sets by about 40 lb or so, and then work my way back up. My body needs a bit of a break from the heavy pre-meet training.
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:
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:
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:
Squat: 250 Kg (551.2 lb)
Bench Press: 182.5 Kg (402.3 lb)
Deadlift: 272.5 Kg (600.8 lb)
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.
