Pam and Kristen are amazing…

…they got up and trained while I was still in bed. Here’s what they did:

Jerks: 4 sets of 8 @ 65 lbs
Front squat: 4 sets of 8 at 85 lbs
Bench:
 warmed up with about 15 reps of just bar
KK- 1 set of 6 with 10's
    1 set of 6 with 12 1/2
    1 set of 3 with 12 1/2
Pam-1 set of 12 with 10
    1 set of 6 with 15
    1 set of 5 with 15

Here’s what Captain Volume (yours truly):

power jerk from rack: 135×2, 185×2, 205×2, 225×2, 235×2, 250xmiss

medium grip bench press: 135×3, 185×3, 225×3, 275×3, 295×3, 315×3

towel bench: 315×3 I used a rolled up yoga mat, and it just wasn’t working right. There’s too much squish with 3 plates.

dumbbell low incline: 100x5x5, 90x5x5

machine row: 90×5, 115x9x5

dumbbell extensions: 40x10x5

ez bar curl: 95×5, 115x4x5, 95x5x5

This is where my grand plans for doing ten sets each of all my accessory work disintegrated.

GHR sidebends: bwx10

YTWL: 15×4 I was just guessed, too much weight for these and I’d been in the gym long enough I just didn’t care.

After I had my amino acid/whey hydrolysate/wazy maize shake and an obligatory handful of pills, we went to KFC and I had a whole box of shit. I washed it done with another protein shake and now I feel jacked. Go me.

Deadlift and Dead Accessory Day

Wow, this session took forever, but left me feeling satisfied. I started out with DeFranco’s Agile Eight, since it’s eight easy moves and Jim Wendler recommended it.

hang snatch: 135x2x2, 155×2, 165×2

reverse grip bench press: 185×5, 225×5, 245x2x5

1 inch deficit deadlift: 315×1, 405×1, 425×3(belt), 455×3, 475×3

shrug from rack pull (low shrug): 225×5, 315×5, 365x8x5 I used a regular double overhand grip and no straps for these, which made my hands tired.

chins: bwx1,2,3,4,5,5,4,3,2,1 + partner assisted eccentric rep

GHR: bwx5, 25# platex9x5

neck harness: 25x2x12 I also did some unweighted neck flexions to balance these.

face pull: 6x2x12

prestretcher crunches: bwx5x10

Attack!-Quotes from today’s session:

Kyle: You know, abs?

Conor: What the fuck is abs?

Kyle: You know, the thing between your quads and pecs.

Conor: My penis?

*Upon seeing one of our friends being instructed in the curl…*

Conor: Are you being coached in the curl? Do you have a drillbit stuck in your brain?

Pump Up The Volume!

This blog title reminded me of one of my favorite albums, America’s Volume Dealer by Corrosion of Conformity. Anyway, I got hella volume in yesterday, I didn’t stop sweating for hours and I’m sore as shit today, especially my abs and calves, despite a very clean diet and *ughh* stretching.

hang clean: 185x3x5 Reps suck!

safety bar pause squat: 240×5, 200×5 These were terrible, my back didn’t feel right and I couldn’t get my hips to open up, so I decided to let these lay, since this is a scheduled deload week.

Anderson front squat (front squat out of pins): 225×10, 315×10, 365×10, 415×10 I think I used pin setting 22/21 (Kyle seems to have misnumbered one side) but I think I’m going to go lower from know on. I started with the bar just touching the bottom of my nipple, and I’m not sure that’s low enough to help boost my power clean. Also, I didn’t reset each rep completely, so I’m not sure how fitting the prefix “Anderson” really is, but at least I took a deep breath and got my weight under it on every rep. This seems to have made it easier to keep my chest up and give my back more work; less rounding over.

Safety squat bar one-leg calves: barx5x10

stiff-leg deadlifts; 185x5x10

one arm, one leg pressdown abs; 150x5x10

one arm dumbbell press: 50×50 reps

leg press: 6 plates x 3×10 These were pretty tough after all of that lockout work in the rack.

preacher curl: 45×10, 55×10, 75×10

My intent was to go for 5×10 on all the assistance work, but my work capacity is so low I cut a couple of them short on sets. I really didn’t feel like hurling in the gym. Next week will be a for-realsies training week so I’ll put a lot more effort into my main movements. I should be ready to rock and roll on the squat by next Friday, but we’ll see. We’re far enough out I have time to ease back into things.

Putting Humpty Back on the Wall

So, after this dismal showing last weekend, I need to get my shit together for the next meet. I really do not like being at this weight. I liked it better when I was a 275er and making the squat my bitch on a regular basis. I also know it’s as much psychology as biomechanics and I’m probably healthier, have more general fitness, am more attractive (not that it does me much for me) and have just as much potential for strength at a street weight of 250 than 270. So, instead of just piling weight back on, like I’d like to do, I’m going to do what I did this summer and make an effort to eat right, get my conditioning in order and put on some lean(ish) bodyweight.

I’m following one of my teammate’s advice and I’ve been eating a ton of salads, even though I die a little inside every time. I also did a half-hour on the stationary bike after class tonight. Needless to say, I’m ready to get back on the gym and do some man training.

So it turns out…

…that I’m a pretty shitty powerlifter. To be fair everyone has meets like this eventually and I’ve already got my head wrapped around what I need to fix it. Here’s the down and dirty on my showing:

1. Squat – 447
2. 479 – staple
3. 479 – staple

1. Bench – 331
2. 353 – staple
3. 353 – staple

1. Deadlift – 531
2. 581 (go big or go home) – missed at knees
3. I skipped this and went to take a shower.

• 1306 total @ 241.1 BW

It’s clear I just need more volume on my next training cycle. I’m going to use Wendler’s 5/3/1 for my main lifts for the next several weeks and just throw on a ton of volume for my accessory work, a la this awesome article by Matt Rhodes. I can’t thank Phil Wylie from Bad Attitude Gym enough for all his advice and helping to talk me through my first crummy meet.

The highlight of the meet was our two ladies who both did an awesome job getting through their first meet. Great job Kristen and Pam!

I should add, the night on the town the girls treated us to is what made the whole weekend tolerable.

Conor Smash!

I’m starting to get antsy not training. I’m ready to smash some fucking weights. Yesterday I did:

box squat: 225x2x2, 275x2x2

bench press: 135×1, 185×1, 225×1, 245×1, 275×1

I destroyed that last single on the bench. I pressed it fast and my setup was tight. I’ve definitely got a ton in the tank for this meet. Now I just have to keep healthy, make weight and show up ready to roll on Saturday.

Tonight I just went in and did a few minutes of biking and stretched.

No more squatting till the meet!

No more real squatting or pulling until the meet, and I’m stoked. I might do some speed pulls or speed box squat on Friday, but it will only be a couple of easy sets.

snatch: 135×3, 165×1

conventional deadlift: 315×1, 365×1, 405×1, 455×1, 495×1 (belt)

full squat: 315×1, 365×1, 405×1, 455×1

pullups on monolift (thicker grip): bwx1,2,3,4,5,6,2,2,2,2

A Quick Pre-training Update

I’ve been very lax in posting my training lately. Furthermore, my training has been pretty shitty in general. We’re definitely ready for a deload before our meet. I’m thinking tonight and tomorrow are going to be our last full training days, then a light speed day either Friday or Monday. I hate to guess my openers, but I think I’ll have a pretty good day in Oklahoma City…