Preparing to apply to the 1,000lb club

24/3/16 - Thursday

More bench.

Bench

Bar x lots x lots
40kg x 8
50kg x 8
60kg x 6
70kg x 5
75kg x 4
80kg x 3
85kg x 2x2
90kg x 2x1 - All time pb!

90kg moved a lot better than the other warm ups so that's always a good sign.

Slingshot Bench Press

95kg x 2x1
100kg x 2x1

Yay, 100kg! Ok it's in the slingshot but there's potential that it isn't too far out of reach. 95kg flew, 100kg was a tad tough but moved pretty well.

Left the OHP and tricep pushdowns for tonight, I probably should have rowed but never mind. Only a week out from the competition so dropping training volume and intensity outside of the bench press probably isn't a bad thing.
 
Warbie said:
Good work on the pb :)
Click to expand...

Thank you. It's taken far too long for to add on any weight onto my bench and still have a very long way to go too.

25/3/16 - Friday

Squats. Super light squats.

Squat

Bar x lots
32.5kg x 8
40kg x 2x6
45kg x 2x5
52.5kg x 2x3
57.5kg x 2x1 - Moved really well
55kg x 9

The last set didn't feel great on the knees tbh but not terrible either. I'll add on a few kg's for my training weight to work on from next week.
 
26/3/16 - Saturday

Today was deadlifts and it was horrific. I've lost silly amounts of strength and now really struggling to pull sumo as a result. Conventional came to my aid for some super light work and that was that.

Sumo Deadlift (1/2 (x2) + 2)

50kg x some
75kg x 1x1(4)
90kg x 2x1(4)
105kg x 1x1(4)

From this point I just couldn't even break it from the floor because of my knee so I swapped to conventional.

Deadlift (Tempo 4-2-4)

105kg x 4x3

That was a lot easier and I've finally broken my curse of using straps too.

Shrugs

90kg x 4x8

BOR

60kg x 4x8

And that's that. Let the rebuild begin...again.
 
28/3/16 - Monday

So after a weekend of feeling grim, and I wasn't much better today if I'm honest, I pushed myself in for the last big session before the weekend and whilst things didn't move amazingly to begin with the session as a whole was worthwhile.


Bench

Bar x lots x lots
40kg x 8
50kg x 5
60kg x 4
70kg x 3
80kg x 5x4 - Paused

Not bad but felt a tad difficult. I'm putting that down to a self unrack and putting myself into less optimal position.

Double Paused Bench Press (Spoto + Pause on chest)

75kg x 5x3

Fatigue sets in quickly on the last rep of each set.

Close Grip Bench Press

75kg x 3x3

Yay for triceps getting stronger.

13 sets of bench later and that's that. Time to move on to accessories.

OHP

Bar x lots
30kg x 5
35kg x 3
42.5kg x 5 - Moved well
40kg x 5
37.5kg x 8

All nice and rather comfortable.


French Press

10kg 5x8

Not convinced I'm doing these properly from a laying position.

Slingshot Dips

BW x 5x12

I have a feeling I'm going to need the slingshot for another cycle or two before I can do this kind of volume without it. I'll just through on some weight with a dip belt.

Hammer Curlz

8kg x 5x8

Really should have used the 10kg dumbbells but never mind.

Rather happy with that. Much, much, much less on Wednesday and then nothing until Saturday.
 
30/3/16 - Wednesday

Horrific session. Squats were ok though...at the might 57.5kg that I was lifting...

Squat

Bar x millions x billions
32.5kg x 5
42.5kg x 4
50kg x 3
52.5kg x 2x3
57.5kg x 2x2

Moved much, much better than before but knees aren't super happy and it's baby weight. Going to get bigger knee sleeves as the ones I've been wearing are a size too small for me now.

Bench

Bar x lots
40kg x 5
50kg x 5
60kg x 4
70kg x 3
75kg x 2x3 - Did not move well
80kg x 2x2 - Horrific

Moved really badly tonight, but I think it was down to a bad unrack positioning more than anything. Just going to have to suck it up and rest until Saturday to see what happens.

BOR

65kg x 4x5

And that's that. Followed it up with some basic stretches but the bar moving really badly has somewhat knocked my confidence for the the weekend. Hopefully it was just one of those days.
 
2/4/16 - Saturday - Competition Day

So today was competition day for YNEPF Bench Classic. Set a nice 7.5kg all time PB and a 20kg competition PB!

Bench Warmups

Bar x lots (8?)
40kg x 5
60kg x 3
70kg x 1
80kg x 1

Warm ups finished.

Bench Attempts

85kg x 1 - Smoked it
92.5kg x 1 - 2.5kg PB
97.5kg x 1 - 7.5kg PB!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BDtLZZDGGcY/?taken-by=porridgeisyummy

Super happy with this and it means I qualify for the national bench press competition next year! Time to get more gooder.
 
MoNkeE said:
Had no idea you were from my neck of the woods. Great PB, very quick rep for a PB too :)
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Somnambulist said:
Had 100kg in you ez.

*goes off to cry at how poverty his bench is*
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MoDe said:
Didn't even know there was an Olympic lifting place in Shields. Grats on getting through!
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MoNkeE said:
Huh. Yet more North Easterners - yet none of you phaggots ever put your names down for a NE meet :p
Click to expand...

Thank you all for the congrats :) It's still a horrifically poverty bench but hopefully it'll get better over time. I'll try 100+ in my next comp in 4 weeks times as I'm entering it for the giggles and not fussed what I get not that I'm qualified for the bench nationals.

MoDe, if you're ever in the area you should pop on by, there's few of us powerlifters but plenty of weightlifters and a fantastic coach.

And the NE meets are a rare occurrence, as well as the meets just seem to be badly timed for me :(
 
4/4/16 - Monday

First session back. More bench.

Bench

Bar x lots x lots
40kg x 8
50kg x 8
60kg x 6
70kg x 3
77.5kg x 5x5 - Awesome!

Close Grip Bench Press

62.5kg x 2x8
62.5kg x 15

Really wanted 16!

OHP

Bar x lots
30kg x 5
40kg x 2
45kg x 7

Not bad.

Curlz

Ez + 12.5kg x 4x12

Nice, I'll go for 15kg next week.

Decent session, nice and light for the first session back too.

Squats and deads tomorrow, and more bench on Wednesday!
 
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5/4/16 - Tuesday

Squats and deadlifts. Squats are still terrible with knee clicking and what not but I'm doing deadlifts again so it's all good.

Squat

Bar x lots
40kg x 5
50kg x 2
52.5kg x 5x5

And that's that. Nice and easy, just trying to stop the knees from clicking. Turns out if I keep my knees out throughout the entire movement this prevents clicking.

Deficit Deadlifts (1.5")

60kg x lots
80kg x 5
100kg x 3
110kg(S) x 10
110kg x 3x5

That set of 10 was cardio. The other working sets felt good but I was tiring towards the end. I tried 3" deficit but my knee wasn't too happy so I dropped it to 1.5" by swapping the plate that I was standing on.

RDL

80kg x 3x8

BOR

60kg x 4x8

Shrugs

100kg x 4x8

Not a bad session at all. Really need to work on my squats and my mobility in hope that it will bring up the squats nicely and my deadlift strength too.
 
6/4/16 - Wednesday

B-b-b-b-b-b-b-bench. Possibly one of the most fun sessions I've had in a while.

Warmed up with 3x12 Face Pulls and 3x12 Band Pull apart.

Bench

Bar x lots x lots
40kg x 8
52.5kg x 8
62.5kg x 6
72.5kg x 5
85kg x 4
90kg x 2x1

Felt a tad heavier than it should have but it all moved really well.

Slingshot Bench Press

90kg x 3x6

Felt so good, and challenging for that matter. If slingshot pbs are a thing then that was a nice little pb.

OHP

Bar x lots
30kg x 5
40kg x 3
45kg x 8 - PB
42.5kg x 8
40kg x 5,1,1,2,1 - fatigue hit hard.

Chuffed with that mini rep pb at 45kgs. The last set was just exhausting and took a good while to finish.

Tricep Pushdowns

Notch 7 x 3x8 (No idea how much weight that actually is)

Chin Ups

BW x 3x5

Surprised myself.

Face Pulls ss/w Band Pull apart

mini band x 3x12

And that's that session finished. Feels great to just hammer everything. Light squats tomorrow and then more bench on Friday!
 
7/4/16 - Thursday

Squats

Bar x lots
35kg x 8
42.5kg x 6
50kg x 2x4
57.5kg x 2x3

Squats done. Starting to feel better in terms of positioning.

Good Morning

40kg x 2x12

And that's that session over and done with. Hips need a lot of work in terms of mobility but doing a bit more dynamic warm up stuff today helped. Altering my technique has also helped so I can get a an increase of dorsiflexion than dead vertical shins to help get into the bottom position.
 
8/4/16 - Friday

Benchhhhhhh.

Bar x lots
40kg x 8
52.5kg x 8
62.5kg x 6
72.5kg x 5
82.5kg x 2x3

First set was difficult because of self lift off but the second set flew, even though it felt heavy on the decent, because I had some assistance with the unrack.


Double Pause Bench Press

67.5kg x 6x4

Everything flew.

French Press

15kg x 3x8

Slingshot Dips

5kg x 3x12

Hammer Curlz

12.5kg x 3x8

Done. Finished up with stretching and shoulder mobility. Shoulders are coming forward a little bit but pecs and front delts are nice and loose so I'm putting it down to a tight back stopping proper scapula retraction and depression. Time to foam roll and stretch.
 
mrthingyx said:
Are you giving your rotator cuffs the love and attention they need?
Click to expand...

So much love and attention, plenty of face pulls, band pull apart, rotational work and back work to balance everything out. Shoulders coming forward isn't actually an issue when benching, it was just something I noticed through various positions such as when I was stretching out with my hand behind my back and pulling away with my elbow to make a chicken wing type shape.
 
mrthingyx said:
Sounds like internal rotation limitations... do you test it much?

(I know you know this stuff, but I like to watch learn from others...)
Click to expand...

I'll do some test to see what's going on. I frequently do the Kelly Starrett snatch pull position test where you start with a flexed arm in a bicep pose type position and then rotate the arm downwards whilst keeping the elbow inline with the shoulder. It's drastically better today so that's always a positive.

9/4/16 - Saturday

Deadlifts :D and squats.

Squat

Bar x lots
40kg x 5
50kg x 2x3
57.5kg x 2x4
57.5kg x 9

New bigger knee sleeves are a lot comfier to wear and pushing through my heels is helping a lot too.

Deadlift

70kg x 5
90kg x 3
110kg x 3
120kg(B) x 1
127.5kg(B) x 5 - Felt strong
127.5kg(B) x 2x3 - Felt harder due to fatigue setting in.

Deadlift Block Pulls (5.5")

102.5kg x 4x4
117.5kg x 2
132.5kg(B) x 2
102.5kg x 15

So much fun and that last set was great, could have maybe gone for 20 but figured there wasn't too much point. All sets of block pulls were done with straps as I had already done my main work for the day without.

BOR

70kg x 3x8

Well that was a nice surprise.

Really happy with that session, everything moved really well and it was just a lot of fun.
 
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11/4/16 - Monday

Benchhhhh

Bench

Bar x lots x lots
40kg x 8
50kg x 8
60kg x 6
70kg x 5
80kg x 3
85kg x 4x3
77.5kg x 3x6

By no means was it easy but it wasn't super difficult either.

Close Grip Bench Press

67.5kg x 2x6
67.5kg x 12

It was practically cardio.

Curlz

Ez + 15kg x 4x12

And that's that. Finished up with some stretches to loosen the pecs, shoulders and lats. Lats are still tight but I can do some more work on them tomorrow after the deadlifts.
 
12/4/16 - Tuesday

Squats and Deficit Deadlift.

Squat

Bar x lots x lots
40kg x 5
50kg x 3
55kg x 2x8
55kg x 13

Yay. Little bit of clicking but not horrific. Upping the weight for the next squat session.

Deficit Dreadlift 1.5"

60kg x 5
80kg x 3
100kg x 3
110kg x 2
122.5kg(S) x 8
122.5kg x 3x4

Not too bad at all. Actually, it was a lot easier than I anticipated. Right knee seems a bit grumpy but that could be the squats, or a combination of both, hopefully it'll calm down nicely.

RDL's

80kg x 4x8

Really focusing on using the glutes and quads throughout the movement to prevent the shins form shooting back.

BOR

60kg x 4x10

Better than expected.

Shrugs

100kg x 4x10

Pew pew, traps.

All done and finished. Time to eat and rest up for a big bench day tomorrow.
 
13/4/16 - Wednesday

Benchhhhhhh

Bench

Bar x lots x lots
40kg x 8
52.5kg x 8
62.5kg x 6
72.5kg x 5
77.5kg x 4
85kg x 3 - Moved so well
90kg x 2x2

First work set was epic, second set was simply harder but no form breakdown or anything so it's all good.

Slingshot Bench Press

95kg x 3x3

The very last rep was horrifically misgrooved and was too far down the chest but oh well. Just need to focus more on the slingshot reps.

Short and sweet session and just finished up with some stretching and dead hangs.
 
14/4/15 - Thursday

Squats and bench. Such a good session!

Squat

Bar x lots
40kg x 5
50kg x 3
60kg x 2
65kg x 2x6
65kg x 11

Yay. Upping training max for next session. Not too much funk going on, bringing the stance in ever so slightly as I think the super wide stance isn't doing the knee too many favours either right now but likewise going narrow just does not work for me in flats.

Good Mornings

45kg x 3x12

Going to keep this weight for next week.

Bench

Bar x lots x lots
40kg x 8
52.5kg x 8
62.5kg x 6
72.5kg x 5
82.5kg x 3x4 - Absolutely flew


Double Pause Bench Press

72.5kg x 5x4

Niceeeeee. Nice bit of volume and it really helps with controlling the bar properly.

French Press

15kg x 4x8

Still not convinced I'm doing these correctly. Maybe I just need more weight.

Slingshot Dips

5kg x 4x12

I'll get around to doing dips without the slingshot when my shoulders are super healthy.

Hammer Curlz

12.5kg x 4x8

And that's that. Good session but took quite a while. Next session is focused on squats and deadlifts.
 
18/4/16 - Saturday

After an evening of drinking and eating and more drinking and sure enough a late night and little sleep things weren't moving too great but I was still pleasantly surprised.

Squat

Bar x lots x millions
40kg x 5
50kg x 5
60kg x 3
70kg x 2
75kg x 2x4
75kg x 6

Could have pushed more but I want it to put too much stress on the knee over the next few weeks so I've intentionally slowed down the progression.

Deadlift

60kg x 5
80kg x 3
100kg x 3
120kg(B) x 2
132.5kg(B) x 5
132.5kg(B) x 3x3

First set flew but the triples were more difficult due to fatigue but still solid reps.

Deadlift Block Pulls (5")

110kg x 4x4
125kg x 2
140kg(B) x 2
110kg x 15

Felt good and felt strong. I'm really enjoying block pulls right now I think I'll keep them in the next few cycles and gradually lower the blocks each time.

Good session but I'm taking a few days off and I'll end up doing a two training sessions on the Tuesday.
 
19/4/16 - Tuesday - Session 1

Firsts session of the day with another one coming later. Squats and deadlifts in my first session, bench in my second.

Squat

Bar x lots
40kg x 5
50kg x 3
60kg x 2
67.5kg x 2x8
67.5kg x 10

Any more and the form would have broken down too much regardless of strength. Knee doesn't feel too bad but definitely need to work on hip mobility and general stretching to stop the clicking on the medial side of the knee.

Deficit Deadlifts 1.5"

60kg x 5
80kg x 3
100kg x 3
120kg(B) x 2
135kg(B) x 5
135kg x 3x2

First set was great, the others were a solid RPE 9.5. So pleased there is a deload next week.

RDLs

80kg x 5x8

Done and done and done. I left the extra back work since I'm benching later and didn't want to destroy my back before the amount of pressing coming later.
 
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