Simon's Log

[Simon C]

29/01/08 Tuesday
Weight: 170


Band Bench Press(3 bands)
44lbs x 5
66lbs x 3(8 sets)

CG Board Press
143lbs x 8(2 sets)

Hammer Curls
24.2lbs x 15
30.8lbs x 10
30.8lbs x 7
26.4lbs x 9

Tate Press
27.5lbs x 10
33lbs x 10(2 sets)

Side Bends
55lbs x 12(2 sets)

Decline Sit-up
BW x 25(2 sets)

Comments:
-I came into this workout with my chest and shoulders pretty sore allready, so kept it light
-Using the bands was fun, I thought speed benching would be boring, but its cool with bands
-They know tate presses, they know who dave tate is, cool
-Didn\'t know powerlifters do \'ab work\', most ab work ive done in ages haha...

[Simon C]

This was a fun workout with the bands. I had a good chat to Tim, who\'s like the second coach below Steve(Steve wasn\'t there). He said I would have a good shot at some national records in the Sub-juniors(under 19s) if all goes well this year. Considering my goal for this year was 300/400/500 raw, that would pretty much be a national record for the total, so I won\'t even have to get that strong, just put on some gear hahaha lol

Deadlifts tonight! yay!

[MindPower]

Sounds like you've found a great place to train,
Go smash those records

[ParanoidAndroid]

Originally Posted by Simon C

Deadlifts tonight! yay!

Pull heavy.

[Simon C]

Originally Posted by ParanoidAndroid

Pull heavy.

Sorry, I didn\'t pull heavy:


30/01/08 Wednesday
Weight: 170

Deadlift
143lbs x 6
209lbs x 4
286lbs x 2
352lbs x 1 11lb PR
264lbs x 5(3 sets)

Speed Squats
88lbs x 5
143lbs x 3(8 sets)

Glute-ham Raise
BW x 4

Good Morning
110lbs x 8

Stiff-leg Deadlift
Light x 12

“Motorbike” Machine Rows
60lbs x 10
50lbs x 10
50lbs x 10

Comments:
-Deadlifts were good, used a mixed grip this time, I think I’ll start training that way from now on
-Deadlifting 352lbs was easy, went up really fast, I think I could have done a set of 5. The sets of 5 were light too, still taking it easy.
-Squats felt good, I put the bar much lower down on my back, it felt ok. I felt much more pressure on my wrists, my right wrist was in a bit of pain, but I think it was because I set up funny on the first set
-GHR’s are a no-no, hamstrings would cramp up as they contract – this happens on leg curls too
-Did some SLDL’s and GM’s too; now I remembered that I pretty much hate direct hamstring work.
-Machine rows were gay, I’ll stay away from them and just do BO rows next time
-Benching on saturday

[Alcoholiday]

haha!

stick with the GHRs. they'll pay off.

[Simon C]

Just chucking out some long term goals here. This is not saying what I will do or the likelihood of me reaching these goals, this is just what I\'ll aim for

By Nov 29 PL meet, geared, 165lb class(probably):

Bench: 320(I\'m guessing this means 275ish raw)
Squat: 440(400 raw? not sure exactly how much gear gives ahha)
Deadlift: 495
Total: 1255

I know, I am WAYYY, way off these, but I have 10 months to reach them, but don\'t hold me to these numbers I\'m guessing I\'m at approximately 230/330/400 now, but thats raw, the meet will be geared. I am planning to do 1-2 other PL meets, before the nov 29 one, not going to bother cutting weight until the nov one, just using them to gain experience on the platform so they will be in the 181 class.

Why did I choose these numbers? Well should I lift them at the end of the year, they would be four new national records in the sub-juniors(under 19yo) 165lb class, duh...

Anyway, If I don\'t make these, I\'ll still have 5 years to play around in the junior class.

[Simon C]

Originally Posted by Alcoholiday

haha!

stick with the GHRs. they\'ll pay off.

even with the cramping at the top of each rep?

[Alcoholiday]

play it by ear.

you may just have to get used to the movement. You should be driving your calves into the plate to raise yourself. I feel it more in my calves than my hamstrings on the initial ascent. You should also be trying to bring your glutes through in the top of the lift.

Your squat gear will add more pounds than 40. Your goals are solid though, but i think you can do way more than that.

[ParanoidAndroid]

Good work.

[Simon C]

I was thinking about going in the 181lb class, some of the records were set by one guy. This guy has been the top lifter in Australia in the open class for the last 3 years now, was the top junior lifter, and the top sub-junior lifter. Damn! thats ridiculous!

records for 181 sub juniors:
Bench: 320 - why is this the same as the 165 class lol!
Squat: 470
Dead: 530

Anyway my plan is still the same up until that meet. Gain as much strength as possible, don\'t worry about weight, and cut down for the 181 or 165 class for the end of year meet, I\'ll decide closer to then depending on my numbers.

Originally Posted by ParanoidAndroid

Good work.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by Alcoholiday

play it by ear.

you may just have to get used to the movement. You should be driving your calves into the plate to raise yourself. I feel it more in my calves than my hamstrings on the initial ascent. You should also be trying to bring your glutes through in the top of the lift.

Your squat gear will add more pounds than 40. Your goals are solid though, but i think you can do way more than that.

Music to my ears...

Any guesses on what a 440lb squat and 495 dead would be raw though? it will make it easier to see how far away I am.

Also, I saw one of the lifters in our club, a 148lb lifter I think do double bodyweight benching for sets of 3, good stuff. He showed me his bench shirt, haha it looks funny, you have to walk around with your arms infront of you, since you need weight to bring them back hahahaha

[Alcoholiday]

Originally Posted by Simon C

I was thinking about going in the 181lb class, some of the records were set by one guy. This guy has been the top lifter in Australia in the open class for the last 3 years now, was the top junior lifter, and the top sub-junior lifter. Damn! thats ridiculous!

records for 181 sub juniors:
Bench: 320 - why is this the same as the 165 class lol!
Squat: 470
Dead: 530

Anyway my plan is still the same up until that meet. Gain as much strength as possible, don\'t worry about weight, and cut down for the 181 or 165 class for the end of year meet, I\'ll decide closer to then depending on my numbers.



Thanks!



Music to my ears...

Any guesses on what a 440lb squat and 495 dead would be raw though? it will make it easier to see how far away I am.

Also, I saw one of the lifters in our club, a 148lb lifter I think do double bodyweight benching for sets of 3, good stuff. He showed me his bench shirt, haha it looks funny, you have to walk around with your arms infront of you, since you need weight to bring them back hahahaha

it depends on a lot of factors. How well your gear fits you, what type of suits you get, how your form is with the suits, etc.

How good are the guys you lift with in learning gear? If you look at the best benchers, they are able to get hundreds of pounds out of their gear. Ryan Kennelly benched 1050 with a shirt, but benches significantly less without gear. Donnie Thompson has squatted 805x3 in training, raw, and just squatted 1,155 pounds this last weekend.

So, obviously, there's a big carryover from raw to gear if you know how to use it. It's just about how WELL you know how to use it... also, where you're weak on the lifts. If you're weak out of the hole in your squat, and have good top end strength, then you're going to get a lot more out of them. For deadlifts, if you're weak off the floor, it's going to help you more. It'll be harder to get a good carryover from gear for the deadlift though (you pull conv. right?), so i could see you pulling 450-470 before the meet, and getting maybe 20lbs out of a suit.

That said, if you get a good pair of briefs alone, you will probably see a 30-50lb increase in your squat. Then add a suit, and you never know.

[Alcoholiday]

and get some of your lifts on film, silly!

[Simon C]

The guys I lift with either use their gear really well, or are just much stronger than everyone else. Steves done 800kg@242lbs total, Tims done 722kg@198lbs.

And yeah, I do pull conventional.

Originally Posted by Alcoholiday

and get some of your lifts on film, silly!

I\'ll try to get this done some time in the next couple months haha...

Thanks for the info

[Simon C]

02/02/08 Saturday
Weight: 170


Bench Press
44lbs x 10
110lbs x 6
143lbs x 4
187lbs x 1
203.5lbs x 1
214.5lbs x F
214.5lbs x 1 5.5lb PR

Incline Press
110lbs x 15(2 sets)
110lbs x 10

NG Lat pullldown
60lb x 10
120lbs x 12
120lbs x 10(2sets)
100lbs x 10

Triceps Pressdown
80lbs x 12
80lbs x 8
70lbs x 10

Hammer Curls
28.6lbs x 12(2 sets)
26.4lbs x 10

Comments:
-Happy with a PR on the bench press, I know I\'ve got 220 in me. I failed the first attempt because of a shitty setup, I think I lowered the bar too fast, not under control, and paused it a tiny bit at the bottom. It went up pretty fast the second time.
-I think I\'ll be going to watch a meet soon, should be good.
-Squats tomorrow

[Simon C]

03/02/08 Sunday
Weight: 170


Squat
44lbs x 10
110lbs x 6
143lbs x 5
209lbs x 3
264lbs x 6(2 sets)
264lbs x 6B - Belt and wrist straps
264lbs x 6

Bent-over Rows
110lbs x 8
176lbs x 6
154lbs x 10
154lbs x 8
154lbs x 7

Comments:
-Squats were good, starting to get kinda hard, rep PR\'s next week or two I think
-The low bar position bothered my wrist a bit, so I tried wrapping it, which helped a bit
-On 3rd work set, I used a belt - This actually helped more than I thought it would, made my core feel much more solid - but I didn\'t need it for these sets, just trying it out
-I\'m a bit weaker on the rows after the layoff from training