A quest for...something decent

[blooey]

The following is my plan for the foreseeable future. I would appreciate any comments or suggestions people may have.

Current Status:
I've been measuring my progress through the strength standards listed at http://www.exrx.net/Testing/WeightLi...Standards.html. My current maximums are:

Bench Press: 265 lbs
PL Squat: 365 lbs
Deadlift: ~475 lbs

Oly Squat: ~325 lbs
Military Press: 180 lbs
Clean: 120 kg (264 lbs)

I've been stuck at these weights for a little while now due to work/injuries/laziness/miscell aneous other excuses, but no more! I'd like to actually get somewhere with my lifts.

Goals:
I gotten to know a couple pretty experienced powerlifters, so my goals have shifted accordingly (why not take advantage of their expertise while I have access to it?). Also, based on my numbers, most of my lifts are pretty proportional, and I believe I simply need to get stronger to increase any of the "other" lifts (overhead press, clean, oly squat, etc.). Of course, powerlifting is a lot about technique, but I'm sure that going from a 475lb deadlift to a 585lb deadlift has to lead to some increase in strength.

So, that being said, here are my goals:

Set 1 (sometime soon...say summer)
Bench: 315 lbs
PL Squat: 405 lbs
Deadlift: 495 lbs

Set 2 (within a year or two)
Reach the "Elite" mark for the 181lb weight class (I'm currently 175) from the EXRX performance standards. These are:
Bench: 343 lbs
PL Squat: 479 lbs
Deadlift: 548 lbs
Military Press: 216 lbs
Clean: 310 lbs (roughly 140 kgs + collars)

Set 3 (set 2 + a few months)
Total Elite by RAW powerlifting standards (1396lb total), so the above + 26 lbs to any combniation of the Bench, PL Squat, and Deadlift.

Plan:
I'll be following a program that's a mishmash of WS4SB (Westside for Skinny Bastards) and Wendler's 5/3/1 program. I've never done a program with periodization before, so figure the 5/3/1 program, with its short cycles, will suit my impatience.

Notation is Sets x Reps @ Weight (as a % of max or flat weight). For the big lifts, I will be increasing the weights following the 5/3/1 program. For the other lifts, whenever I reach full sets x reps, I will try to increase the weight slightly

Light Upper
Speed Bench: 5x2@50%
Close Grip Bench: 3x8
Weighted Pullup: 4x8
Military Press: 3x8
Some elbow flexor work
An ab circuit

Light Lower
WS4SB has this day listed as an off day or technique day. Since I don't play a sport, I'll use this as an Olympic Lifting day.
(Power) Snatch: 5x1
(Power) Clean: 5x1
Jerk: 5x1
Speed Squat: 8x2@50%
Front Squat: 2x8
Oly Squat: 2x8

Heavy Upper
Bench Press: 5@85%, 3@90%, 1@95%, 6@70% for weeks 1, 2, 3, and 4.
Flat Dumbbell Bench Press: 3x8
Cable Row: 4x12
Face Pull: 2x15
Rear Delt Fly: 2x10

Heavy Lower
PL Squat: 5@85%, 3@90%, 1@95%, 6@70% for weeks 1, 2, 3, and 4.
Deadlift: 5@85%, 3@90%, 1@95%, 6@70% for weeks 1, 2, 3, and 4.
1-Legged Squat: 3x8
Ab Wheel: At least 15 reps using whatever set/rep scheme I need (currently 4x4).

My current schedule is as follows:
Sunday: Heavy Lower
Monday: Off
Tuesday: Light Upper
Wednesday: Off
Thursday: Light Lower
Friday: Off
Saturday: Heavy Upper

Last week was my off week (I've been training heavy, injuries permitting, since the start of January), but am looking forward to getting back into it. My first day is tomorrow.

[blooey]

Light Upper Body
Speed Bench: 5x2 @ 135lbs
Close Grip Bench: 8, 8, 6 @ 215 lbs
Weighted Pullup: 8, 8, 8, 7 @ +50 lbs
Military Press: 8, 8, 6 @ 140 lbs
Alternating Dumbbell Curl: 2x6 @ 40 lbs
Ab Circuit (x3): Weighted Incline Situp (10 lbs), Leg Lifts, Cable Woodchoppers (60 lbs)

First day back at the gym after a rest week felt great, as first days usually do. I'm sure that I'll be more worn down as I get to the heavier weeks.

I think I need to practice the speed benches more. I keep getting the feeling I'm not doing them quite right, since the weight is so light that my shoulders leave the bench slightly if I don't concentrate on it.

And yeah, I don't care a whole lot about curling. Personally, I think they're boring, but I do them for my elbow's sake. I neglected curls for a while while focusing on Olympic lifts, but I was overhead squatting and jerking so frequently that I started hyperextending and beating up my elbow a bit. I probably should have worked on my form a bit, but they felt much better after I started curling again.

[blooey]

Light Lower Body
Speed Squat: 4x2 @ 185 lbs
Box Squat: Lots x 2 @ 135 lbs
Power Snatch: 5 x 1 @ 70 kgs
Power Clean & Jerk: 5 x 1 @ 100 kgs
Front Squat: 2x6 @ 245 lbs
Olympic Back Squat: 2x6 @ 245 lbs

Some of the powerlifters were showing me how to do box squats today, so I shortened the speed part of my workout to practice. I have yet to get the hang of them, but I think I was getting the hang of it toward the end.

The weights for the Olympic lifts are not terribly heavy for me, but I haven't done the classic lifts regularly for about a month and a half. The last clean & jerk was ugly.

The workout overall was fair to poor, especially toward the end. I think I might have planned to do a bit too much for this particular workout, which certainly did not feel "light" to me. I may trim the weight on the squats or only do one of the Olympic lifts in the future.

[blooey]

Also, I took the time to read some of the other logs in this subforum and the PL/Oly/Strongman subforum, and I realized that I probably posted my log in the wrong place. I never really considered myself as a powerlifter/olympic lifter, but I am trianing like one (kinda). If possible, could a moderator move this to the PL/Oly/Strongman Training Log forum? If not, I'll start a new thread there and retire this one. Thanks!

[Mahler]

With the numbers you are already achieving, I can hardly be the one to offer advice, but I do wish you all the best and welcome you to the training log forum.

[blooey]

Thanks for the welcome. I too feel a little weird giving out advice sometimes, but I personally enjoy hearing about the experiences of others since there's always something new to learn. Besides, with any luck, I too will be 50 some day, so if there's anything you wish you had done at my age, I'd be glad to hear it .

I've started my new log here and will no longer be posting updates to this thread.