Found a wi-fi signal!

On a whim, decided to check for a wireless internet signal, and wouldn't you know? The hotel across the street has one! So I figured I'd post the results from Tuesday's workout and info about a recent issue that has surfaced.

Tues. 7/21

1. Squat
bar/8 - bar sucked, switched bars and realized I felt sluggish and stiff
bike/10:00 min
bar/3; 135/3
(50%) 220/3
(60%) 265/3, added wrist wraps, 3
(70%) 310/2, added knee sleeves, 2, 2

2. Bench
bar/15; 95/5
(50%) 140/3
(60%) 170/3, 3
(70%) 195/2, 2
(75%) 210/1, 1, 1 - paused all of these on chest

That was it. Took my time. The squats felt harder than I thought they should, but I attributed that to lifting early and not feeling too energetic. Plus, after I thought about it, I realized that squats always feel harder than I think they should.

Really like the weight room in this place, as they have some old school stuff. Plus, the PLer I was going to meet there was gone by the time I arrived (around 10:30am). Turns out he was the 1st member there that day. His chains, Safety Squat Bar, and lots of other goodies are there for the public goods. A few kettlebells, dumbbells pairs up to 130, and other good stuff.

Weight issue
This has been a weird week. I brought my scale from home, and it read 198.5 at wake-up time on Tuesday. In the gym, I came out of the restroom and weighed 199.5 in t-shirt, shorts, and Chucks. Ok, maybe it's breakfast still in me. We went to a seafood deluxe buffet that night, and I got my $24.99 worth out of that place. Roast beef, pepper steak, pizza, onion rings, a couple different veggies, chicken, bread pudding, ice cream and pie, and that's just what I actually remember.

Why is all that important? Because I freaked out when my scale read 202.5 on Wednesday morning! A 4 pound gain in one day?! Even if my scale is off, that means I'm too close for my own comfort and peace of mind. So I've been manipulating my food and drink intake, walking more, and this morning it was back down to 199.5. I'm going to find the official meet scale as soon as I get to VA tomorrow afternoon for the early equipment check-in and see what that says. I would be pissed to the highest levels of pissedivity (for the Robin Harris fans out there) if after all the trouble I've had keeping weight on, I show up at 199 on Saturday morning. So we'll see...

Meet week

I weighed 198.5 on the home scale this morning, so I guess that means 194-195. I'm quite satisfied that I've been blessed to maintain this weight with all the mailman GPP. Vacation has finally started, and my body gets a much needed (and I'll humbly add deserved) chance to rest and recover. Hooray!!!

7 more days, and my 1st national/4th overall meet is finally here! This is what my likely attempt progression will be, assuming I make them all:

Squat
1st: 182.5 kg (402.3 lbs)
2nd: 195 kg (429.9 lbs)
3rd: 202.5 - 205 kg (446.4 - 451.9 lb)

Bench
1st: 117.5 kg (259.0 lb)
2nd: 125 kg (275.6 lb)
3rd: 130 kg (286.6 lb)

Deadlift
1st: 220 kg (485.0 lb)
2nd: 235 kg (518.1 lb)
3rd: ? - will depend on what kind of meet I'm having, how my competitors are doing, and what kind of total/placing may be in reach

Obviously, I really want to have a good meet, since I've trained hard for it and the stage is bigger. I don't expect to win, and considering the competition I shouldn't win. So in a way, low expectations are helping me to relax a little more than if I was in contention for a top slot. My focus is to achieve the goals I set for myself, which are covered in a previous post. I won't have internet at my Ocean City spot, other than my wife's phone, so I probably won't post again until I get to VA on Friday, and of course the results after the meet. Thanks for following me on this road.

Peace
Kaisheem

Anyone curious about the meet, here's the site http://www.usaplnationals.com/2009raw/

Last heavy squat, Thu 7/9

I had a much more productive squat workout on Thursday, July 9. It was the only exercise I did, and I got it done before the start of my shift at the gym (I work there part time as a trainer and fitness instructor). My kind of day.

Squat
bar/8; 140/5; 230/3
added wrist wraps - 275/1; 305/1
added belt - 335/1
added knee sleeve - 365/1; 395/1; 425/1
walkout and hold, no squat - 455/10 seconds

That 455 felt HEAVY! That was the first time in about 8 months that I've had over 450 on my back, and I'm glad I got to feel it again now instead of waiting for the platform. The 425 was heavy but pretty fast and clearly sub-maximal. I'll do a post before the meet to let you know what my probable attempts will be.

Last heavy bench press

1. Bench press
bar/20; 100/6; 140/5; 180/4; 200/3
220/1; 240/1; 260/1
280/1 - This was not a smooth rep, starting with a poor descent and a few sticking points going up. I only planned to do this once today, but I really wanted to reinforce better mechanics with heavy weight, so I waited 5 minutes, then...
280/1 - SMOKED IT!
315/10 second lockout. I made NO attempt to move this weight, just held it at full lockout and squeezed the bar to prime my central nervous system for a max lift soon.

2a. Chins
BW/10 wide, 10 under, 10 neutral

2b. Dips
BW/15, 15, 11 (stopped 1 short of failure)

3. Seated row
150/13

If I keep my weight up, I should be good for 286 at the meet. I may have 292 in the tank, but I'd rather nail the 286 PR than miss 292. I just hate having to think so much during the bench. Drive legs, push back, squeeze bar, try to bend it, etc. and invariably I forget one or more during the reps when I need all those factors activated the most. I need to do more visualization of the perfect rep, then do it on the platform.

Weight update and my last heavy deadlift before Nationals

I weighed 199.5 lbs this morning, but my scale is off a bit. My real weight is probably 195-196. Also, my waist is up to 33.5 inches, but that was after drinking water and coffee. This ties the biggest my waist has been in the past 3 years, which I translate as the highest my bodyfat % has been. Bodyfat is still relatively low, as I can still see some abs without flexing (I can still go to the beach in 2 weeks! ). This is also the heaviest sustained weight I've been at with my current workload, so I'll gladly take it.

Here's how today's workout went. The notation I use is pounds/reps, with ";" or "," separating sets. If I use (for example) 150/10, 10, 10, that means I used 150 lbs. for 3 sets of 10.

1. Deadlift - sumo style
140/6; 230/4; 290/2; started alternating grip: 340/2; added belt: 390/1
440/1
480/1
515/1 - this matches my best ever sumo, from Oct. '08. This didn't feel like a max effort this time. Video shows that the bar swayed front/back as I locked out. I'm pretty sure you don't get red lighted for that. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. I'll post the video at the end of the week along with the squat and bench highlight.

After a looong rest trying to help someone who asked me for advice and thought he was getting his carbs from his protein (yes, that's what he said)...

2a. Pull-thrus - cable w/rope attachment
130/15, 15, 15

2b. Standing crunch - cable/rope
130/30, 20, 21

2a/2b means I was alternating from one exercise to the other with a normal rest period between sets.
I'm feeling good about deadlifts right now. I think I basically hit my opener and 2nd attempt tonight. Will do some singles at 425 or so next Monday, along with some abs.

3 weeks out

It's been a while, but I plan to update this blog regularly now. Between getting on facebook, keeping my strengthmill journal up to speed, training, living, etc, I think I have my schedule running a bit better than I did when I started the blog. I'll do better.

At the Richmond Open in April, I competed raw in the 90 kb/198 lb class and totatled 1223 lbs. This was comprised of a squat of 441 (new MD state record for 198 lb men's open, raw), bench of 275 (ugh!), and deadlift of 507 (raw PR). I weighed 191 lbs, and went 7/9, missing my last bench outright, and my last deadlift (530) due to a slight wobble on the bar at lockout. That would have given me the state record for raw total as well. Oh well...

I'm 20 days away from my first National level meet. It's USA Powerlifting Raw Nationals. Since expectations are low in terms of placing, I'm actually less nervous than I have been for my previous 3 competitions. My goals are to beat the guy who challenged my to enter (former squat record holder and current bench/total record holder). Also, and more importantly, I want to get my total as close to 1300 as possible. That was my total at the 2008 MD state championships, where I took 1st place in the 198s at a bodyweight of 190. I wore a squat suit for squat and deadlift, and benched raw. If I can get close to, or match that total in a raw meet, then I'm confident that when I put the gear back on this year, my total should be significantly higher than last year's. Not to mention that I'll have about 4 more months to train.

For right now, I'm focused on Charlottesville, VA, and having a good meet, and having a good time. I'll keep you posted as I wrap up my training cycle before the meet.