CEnlow's training log

[CEnlow]

To start with here is a little bit of background on me. I am 22 years old and I started out just lifting to get back in shape after letting myself go when I stopped playing football in high school. I then transitioned to doing a few raw meets because I found that having a set day to test my progress in a meet kept me motivated. I found this very helpful to keep making progress. Now I would have to classify myself as a multiply lifter. I made this change after starting to train at SC Barbell with Spud Bartley and Dale Stiefel as well as the rest of the crew there. I have done two full power multiply meets since then where I totaled 1800 at 275 in my first one and around 8-9 months later 2025 again at 275. Currently I am just doing some base work and addressing weak points since I have a long way to go in order to get where I want to be.

Training from Saturday
6/30/2012 – ME Squat
Giant cambered bar box squat:
bar 3x5
165lbs 2x5
255lbs 1x3
345lbs 1x3
395lbs 1x3
435lbs 1x3
add single ply titan briefs
525lbs 1x2
575lbs + 1 chain per side 1x2
575lbs + 2 chains per side 1x2
575lbs + 3 chains per side 1x2
575lbs + 4 chains per side 1x2
575lbs + 5 chains per side 1x2

I was having trouble keeping my upper back tight today and I felt it rounding over on most every set so that’s something I’ll have to work on more in the future.

GHR superset with belt squat
BW x 6 / 205lbs x15, BW + 10lbs x 6 / 205lbs x15, BW +25lbs / 307.5lbs x 10

Doubled monster mini band hip abduction 2x50, stretched my hips a lot in between these sets

Dumbbell side bends 75lbs 3x10 each side

Not a bad day overall

[CEnlow]

Feeling a little bit stiff today so I did some light recovery work. Took a bit of a walk around the neighborhood to try to get loosened up somewhat. It was a very short walk since this was either the second or third day we have been over 100 degrees. Got back home and decided to give the banded good mornings with the mini band that Chris Mason mentions in his last article.

Wide stance good mornings with mini band 1x100
(I've never done these but I like them, I've had decent success doing banded leg curls as feeder workouts in the past so I figure I'll give this a shot)

Finished up with some hip mobility work and a ton of hamstring stretching and foam rolling.

[CEnlow]

Heavy bench day (sort of)

Been doing a lot of lower volume work lately so I decided to do some volume work on an exercise I suck at for a bit of a break.

Wide chest supported rows 5x10 with 1 plate as part of warmup

Close grip floor press with swiss bar and 150lbs of chain

empty bar 2x10
bar + half of chain weight 1x6
bar + all of chain weight 1x6
(from here on everything will include the chain)
125lbs 2x6
175lbs 1x6
205lbs 1x3 (hands started to slip so I racked this early)
moved hands out to the wide handles and started working up again
125lbs 1x8
145lbs 1x8
175lbs 1x8

My chest and shoulders were smoked from this, much more so than I expected.

Some of the other guys were doing some board work with the fat bar and I jumped in since I have never done this before:

close grip 4-board press with fat bar
255lbs 1x8
345lbs 1x6
called it here to save something for the next week, just wanted to see how it felt

high pulley face pulls
2x30 30lbs, 1x40 20lbs, 1x50 10lbs

fat tricep rope lat pull down
1x15 100lbs, 1x12 130lbs, 4x10 150lbs

TRX abs 3x15

I finished with some light rotator cuff work and band shoulder traction then called it a night

[RobmoriRB]

One hell of a work out keep it up...an how do you like the Fat bar for bench pressing?

[CEnlow]

I like it for a change but I definitely wouldn't use it all the time. My favorite bar to bench with honestly is our older squat bar, its not quite as fat as an actual fat bar but noticeably thicker than the power bar is. I typically use the fat bar when my elbow's feel beat up or I will usually use it for floor press since it is more comfortable for me personally.

[CEnlow]

Deadlift:
This is by far my worst lift of the three and as I've honestly struggled with finding what works for me to build this optimally. I made a drive upstate to do some pulling with my buddy Gordon Lake as he has helped me tremendously over the past couple of years with my training. He started me off pulling conventional, which I'm absolutely awful at compared to my sumo pull.

135lbs 2x5 1 set sumo, 1 conventional
225lbs 3x5 1 set sumo, 2 conventional
315lbs 1x3 conventional
405lbs 1x3 conventional
455lbs 1x3 conventional (big PR for me as this is my previous 1RM)
455lbs 1x3 sumo
405lbs 1x3 sumo
455lbs 1x2 conventional, missed the third rep

Stiff leg sumo deadlift
1x6 315lbs, 1x6 365lbs, 2x6 315lbs

Meadows rows with t-bar row
1x12 1 plate, 4x12 1 plate and 25, done for each arm
superset these with 5x15 tricep rope pull down abs

1 arm chest supported machine row 3x15 100lbs
superset with wide grip pulldowns 1x15 120lbs, 2x10 170lbs

Called it here as I starting to feel smashed and I had a long car ride back home. I was happy with the conventional PR but I have a lot of work to on this lift. Today's session exposed a very glaring mid back weakness that will hold me back from performing like I should on meet day.

[CEnlow]

Upper body accessory/repetition day

tricep pressdown
1x15 60lbs, 1x12 80lbs, 5x10 100lbs

I got the idea for this from reading Steve Pulcinella's log. I kept it light so it wasn't difficult but it did give a massive shoulder pump
10x10 overhead press 95lbs
superset with rear delt fly 10x10 with 20lb dumbbells

rolling dumbbell extension on floor
1x10 20lbs, 5x8 40lbs

six ways
2x10 12lbs

Did some band traction and called it a day. I tried to keep breaks short as possible between sets and exercises since this is kind of a cleanup day to build some extra muscle and pump a lot of blood into my problem areas in my upper body since it seems to help with my recovery.

[CEnlow]

Squat day:

straight bar free squat
bar 2x10
105 2x5
145 2x5
195 1x5
235 1x5
285 1x5
325 1x5
375 1x5
415 1x5
465 1x5
505 2x5

GHR 4x8

Absolutely smoked form this. I am having trouble staying tight on heavier sets of 5 throughout the entire set and it makes the work much harder than it should be so I'll need to work on this as I get into prepping for my next meet.

[CEnlow]

Went in today to help my fiance bench and decided to knock out a quick extra session while I was in there.

Conventional stance mini band good morning 1x100

Long strap reverse hyper 3x12 200lbs

light band assisted pullups 1x20 neutral, 1x20 pronated

long ab strap standing abs 4x12

I did a lot of stretching and mobility work while waiting on her to finish her assistance work. Hopefully I won't be so stiff again tomorrow when I wake up.

[CEnlow]

Blah bench night with a PR

standing abs with long ab strap 3x20

bench with squat bar - pinkies on rings
bar 2x10
105lbs 2x5
145lbs 2x5
195lbs 1x5
235lbs 1x3
285lbs 1x3
325lbs 3x3
345lbs 1x3 PR

add slingshot
415lbs 1x2

add shirt and 3 board
(just had the sleeves pinched and really just wanted to see how much it effected the feel of the shirt)

505lbs 1x3

switch to 2 board
560lbs
1x0 way misgrooved reset immediately and did
1x2 much better but not as comfortable as I'd like it to be

I had a pretty terrible night benching overall even with the PR. I wore different shoes than normal and my feet were sliding all over the place all night and I don't think I kept my back planted for a single set like it needed to be so I called it there since it wasn't really a shirt work night and I just wanted to get a feel for the altered fit.

Cambered bar presses out of the monolift using the squat box as back support.
This is a weird exercise and somewhat similar to a floor press but its killer for stability and lockout strength.

empty bar + blue band 1x10
25lbs and 2 blues per side 1x10
empty bar + 3 blue bands per side 1x2.75 (I have never used this kind of band tension before and it was brutal, just couldn't lock out the third rep
45lbs + blue band per side 1x10

face pulls
40lbs 4x20

finished off with some band traction and shoulder mobility work

[CEnlow]

Deadlift

I'm having my good buddy Gordon Lake help me with my programming for bringing up my deadlift leading into my next meet, which barring anything unexpected should be SPF record breakers in November. He has been one of those most helpful people I have met since I started competing and has a great eye for addressing weaknesses so I'm looking forward to the the work.



hip abductor machine 100lbs 4x25
super set with hip adductor machine 100lbs 4x25

2 inch deficit conventional pulls (all sets done with 45seconds to a minute rest)
135lbs 2x5
135lbs + quadded mini bands 8x3
165lbs + quadded mini bands 1x3
185lbs + quadded mini bands 1x3

close(r) stance front box squat to a way down there box
135lbs 1x6
225lbx 4x6 -> These were brutal for some reason, probably a combination of a weak back and being much deeper than I'm used to or needed to be with these.

supinated barbell rows 135lbs 1x8, 225lbs 5x8
super set with incline situps bw 1x12, bw + 25lbs 5x12

balls of thunder neutral grip pulldowns
funny named handle but blows up the forearms and lets me focus on pulling with my back
120lbs 4x15

[CEnlow]

Upper accessory day,
Reverse close grip bench press
135lbs 2x8
185lbs 2x5
205lbs 1x5
225lbs 1x5

illegallly wide incline press
135lbs 2x8
185lbs 1x8
205lbs 1x8

neutral grip chest supported row
1 plate 1x25
2 plates 1x18
3 plates 1x10

KB snatch press
24kg 2x6

monster mini band fly
3x15

machine cable curl 3x20

[CEnlow]

Squat

Box squats to a right around parallel box with giant cambered bar
bar 2x10
165lbs 2x5
255lbs 1x5
305lbs 1x3
395lbs 1x1

added single ply briefs

485lbs 1x1
575lbs 1x1

added suit bottoms

665lbs 1x2 <- this was awful in just about every possible way. I haven't put my suit on since the meet so it was weird anyway. Spud kicked my stance out a little bit and adjusted my feet to try to keep me from being so bunched up. Every set from here on out

665lbs + 40lbs of chain 1x2
665lbs + 80lbs of chain 1x2
665lbs + 120lbs of chain 1x2
665lbs + 160lbs of chain 1x2

*stopped here for the day, I like the adjustments to my stance but it will take some getting used to especially pushing back hard enough and maintaining stability throughout the lift. here is video of the last set you can see what I mean.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFy6tahd5mU&list=UU4v2xSmBgxSfdNtpebZhRcw&index=1&feature=plcp

kettle bell high pulls with a narrow sumo stance
20kg, 24kg, 28kg, 32kg, 40kg, 48kg for 10 reps each set

kettle bell side bends
28kg 3x15

[CEnlow]

Heavy bench day

blast strap rows 3x10

Did reverse band bench with the squat bar
started without the bands
65lbs 1x10
95lbs 1x10

I moved over to the reverse band set up at this point. We used average bands today with it set up so the bands all but let go completely at the top. All sets from here out are with reverse bands.

255lbs 2x5
345lbs 2x3
395lbs 1x3
435lbs 1x3
485lbs 1x2 (misgrooved the third one and called for the spotters to take it, focus wasn't there)
added slingshot
525lbs 1x3
575lbs 1x3 foam 1 board
615lbs 1x3 foam 2 board
645lbd 1x0 <- pretty much everything I could have done wrong with this during my setup I did

did close grip work with the same reverse band setup to a foam 3 board to help with lockout power
395lbs 1x8
435lbs 1x8

average band overhead triceps extensions 1 x 50,30,20

dumbbell lateral raises 30lbs 1x12, 40lbs 3x12

bear crawls with 12kg kettlebells for 2 trips of 50ft

TRX style abs with feet on exercise ball 2x15

reverse pec dec 4x25 50lbs

smoked from this but good workout today, just need to improve my focus under the heavier weights

[CEnlow]

Pulls from yesterday

machine adductor 100lbs 5x25
super set with machine abductor 100lbs 5x25

Conventional pulls off 2-2.5" deficit
135lbs 3x5
225lbs 2x5
315lbs 1x3
365lbs 1x3
385lbs 1x3
405lbs 2x3
425lbs 1x3 <- PR, terrible yes but it is progress

front squats to parallel box instead of around the 9" or so one from last week
135lbs 1x12
225lbx 4x12
I like how these feel but holding the bar in the rack position tore my hands and forearms up.

I kept breaks on the back work to around 30 seconds between sets.
Hammer strength iso row
1 plate per side 1x12
2 plates per side 6x12

narrow grip lat pulldowns
150lbs 1x10
160lbs 1x10
170lbs 1x10
180lbs 1x10

We did some weird cable low row ab thing, not really sure how else to describe this but it worked pretty well.
100lbs 1x20
140lbs 1x20
160lbs 1x15
180lbs 1x10

[CEnlow]

Upper accessory work
I actually did a speed bench day for the first time in a few months. I'm not sold on going back to it every week but as of right now my biceps and shoulders aren't screaming so that is a good sign at least.

superset all sets of bench with light band pushdowns x20
bench with index on smooth
135lbs 1x10
185lbs 1x3
added a light band crossed behind back, holding onto the ends for extra resistance
135lbs + light band 2x3
155lbs + light band 1x3
moved grip out to index on the power ring
155lbs + light band 1x3
185lbs + light band 2x3
brought grip in to pinkies on the ring
185lbs + light band 3x3

shoulder and upper back circuit, did 2 rounds with a 2 minute break between rounds
clean and press from the floor 115lbs x 10 <-haven't done these since 9th grade so not pretty by any means
db lateral raise 25lbs x 10
barbell high pull 115lbs x 10
db front raise 25lbs x 10
bent over db fly 25lbs x 10

incline db curls
1x20
5x10

straight arm pulldowns with rotator bar
4x25 40lbs

[CEnlow]

Squat day
Felt kind of blah when I got in and started getting warmed up. I have 3 people I'm handling in their first meet at the SPF pro/am on amateur day so I mainly helped them and did some low box speed/form work in my single ply briefs.

bar 3x10
105lbs 1x5
145lbs 2x5
235lbs 1x5
285lbs 1x3
375lbs 1x2
added briefs here
465lbs 7-8 x 2 (first set was awful but I got my briefs seated a little better and smooth sailing from there)

Ghr bw 4x10

Ghr situps 6x10

Called it there for the day. Not a lot of work but identified some weaknesses that tend to come out in my squat so I have areas to focus on bringing up more now.

[CEnlow]

Bench day 7-23:
Bench with squat bar
bar 3x10
105lbs 2x5
145lbs 1x5
145lbs + 2 chains per side 1x3
195lbs + 2 chains per side 2x3
235lbs + 2 chains per side x 1
285lbs + 2 chains per side x 1
325lbs + 2 chains per side x 1
added slingshot
375lbs + 2 chains per side x 1
put on shirt
3 board 465lbs + 2 chains per side x 1
1.5 board 505lbs + 2 chains per side x 1
full range 555lbs + 2 chains per side x 1

swiss bar lockouts out of spud inc suspension straps
Dale and a few other guys did these a few weeks ago but this was my first time trying it out. Kind of fun but a little rough on the shoulders, much more forgiving than pin presses are though

empty bar x 8
empty bar + doubled purple bands x 8
125lbs + doubled purple bands x 8
215lbs + doubled purple bands x 5
175lbs + doubled purple bands 3x6

neutral grip incline DB press
40lbs 1x15
55lbs 1x15
70lbs 2x15

light band pull-a-parts 5x20

Cut the shirt work a little short this week but it was a decent night of bench work overall. Due to some schedule conflicts I'm going to do an earlier meet than I had originally planned. Looking at putting together a short training and picking up the IPA big south powerlifting meet at The Edge training facility in Columbia SC.

[CEnlow]

Deadlift day

machine adductor 100lbs 6x25
super set with abductor 100lbs 6x25

sumo deadlift
135lbs 3x5
225lbs 1x5, 1x3
315lbs 2x2
365lbs 1x1
add briefs
425lbs 1x1
add suit bottoms
495lbs 1x1
straps up (loose)
565lbs 1x1
tightened straps
605 1x0

Had some form issues, bar drifted out a little bit out and my back rounded over as soon as the bar broke off the floor. It felt easy enough but didn't want to try to grind for it 10 weeks out from a meet when my goal with today was really just to see where my form broke down.

RDL
225lbs 4x12

Dimel deadlift
135lbs 5x20

dead stop dumbbell rows
50lbs 1x12
75lbs 1x10
100lbs 3x8

pullups
1x5
added purple band for assistance
3x8

tricep rope cable crunch
100lbs 3x20
150lbs 3x20

short strap reverse hyper
50lbs 2x25

Decent night overall but I still have a lot of work to do on this lift.

[superdonut]

Do you still weigh 275? You're strong man, keep it up. Hope you can improve your DL.

[CEnlow]

Superdonut, my bodyweight is holding pretty steady in the 280-285 range. Thanks for the support.


bench accessory work from today
everything in the biceps and shoulders still feel ok so I did another speed bench session

Fat bar floor press
bar a lot of sets x5
125lbs 2x5
165lbs 2x5
215lbs 8x3 (3 sets narrowm, 3 sets moderate, 2 sets illegally wide)

underhand lat pulldowns
160lbs 1x8
200lbs 3x8

JM press
135lbs 3x6
135lbs + 2 chains per side 1x6, like how these felt but I'd need to lower the bar weight to get a lot of work in with the chains

underhand monster mini band pull aparts 4x25

light band pushdowns 2x50

[CEnlow]

Squat:
straight bar
bar for about a million, felt like no matter what I did I couldn't get my hips warm today
145lbs 2x5
235lbs 1x5
285lbs 1x2
375lbs 1x2
added single ply titans
465lbs 1x2
555lbs 1x2
added ace suit bottoms
645lbs 1x2
735lbs 1x1 <- should have been 2 but the new guy close the rack early
added stretched out reverse bands
straps up but loose
825lbs 1x2
straps a bit tighter with krait wraps
865lbs 1x2

Shut squats down there for the day. It was an easy day for the most part, just trying to get more comfortable with the new stance and get some full gear work in. I haven't done full gear doubles in over a year so that was a bit odd for me but I need the work and the practice being patient waiting for the up call.

speed pulls off 2inch block
135lbs 2x5
335lbs 5x2

dead squats out of spud inc suspension straps with SSB
bar 1x5
165lbs 1x2
255lbs 6x2

banded leg curls
light band 2x15

straight leg v sit ups 4x12

[CEnlow]

Bench:
did all sets with pinkies on the ring
bar 3x10
95lbs 2x5
135lbs 2x5
185lbs 2x3
225lbs 1x3
275lbs 1x3
315lbs 1x2
335lbs 1x2
added 3 board
365lbs 1x2
405lbs 1x2
425lbs 1x1, 1x2
455lbs 1x2 - huge PR for the night so decided to take it and run

light band pushdowns super set with close grip 1 board press (index on smooth)
1x50 / 225lbs 1x8
1x50 / 225lbs 1x8
1x50 / 225lbs 1x5 <- ran out of gas

dead stop partial dips
body weight 1x12
bw + average band 1x10
bw + strong band 3x8

strict overhead press on power squat machine
1 plate per side 2x8
1 plate and a 25 per side 2x8
1 plate, 25, and a 10 per side 1x7.5

machine assisted chinups from a dead hang 5x12

[superdonut]

Nice squats and benching man.

[CEnlow]

Thanks, I appreciate it. Still have a long way to go but its a start

deadlift day, kind of

adductor/abductor superset
110lbs 4x25 each

Arch back good mornings with SSB
bar 2x15
added around 100-120lbs of fully suspended chain from here out, very awkward and made the camber from the SSB much worse
bar 1x10
125lbs 1x10
145lbs 1x10
165lbs 3x10

Got these from my buddy Gordon Lake and they are awful but they have to help build my back up

RDLs:
135lbs 1x8
225lbs 1x8
275lbs 4x8

meadows rows
1x15 1 plate
4x12 1 plate and a 25lb

band assisted chinups 4x6

decline sit ups 5x20

[CEnlow]

upper body accessory day:
low pulley cable fly
1x20 30lbs
3x15 40lbs

bench with band suspended kettlebells
95lbs 2x10
95lbs + 16kg suspended bells on each side 3x15
empty bar with 16kg and 12kg suspended 3x10

overhead press with strongman log
bare log 1x8
150lbs 2x5
190lbs 1x5
150lbs 1x12

incline tricep extensions with KBs suspended by bands
16kg 4x20

cable curls 5x12

monster mini band face pulls 4x25

[CEnlow]

Playing catchup today, I missed my squat day handling 3 people on amateur day at the SPF raw pro am. It was the first meet for all 3 of them so it was a good experience. Judging was top notch, strict but fair all weekend. So to make up for missing my squat day going to have to do 2 sessions today.

Morning session:
Squat make up day
Trying something new to help with me loosing my stability at the top of the lift. setting up the chains where they hang completely suspended at the top of the lift and don't deload as much as normal at the bottom.

Giant cambered bar with fully suspended chain.
bar 3x10
bar + ~110lbs of chain 2x5
bar + ~220lbs of chain 1x5
165lbs + ~220lbs of chain 1x5
215lbs + ~220lbs of chain 1x5
255lbs + ~220lbs of chain 1x5
305lbs + ~220lbs of chain 1x5 <- this set rocked me, shot up too quickly on my 4th rep and took almost 30 seconds to restabilize so I wouldn't fall over

added titan single ply briefs
345lbs + ~220lbs of chain 4x2
365lbs + ~220lbs of chain 2x2
395lbs + ~220lbs of chain 2x2

leg curls with 3 second concentric and eccentric
100lbs 4x15

45 degree hyper with over emphasized arch 3x20

Was supposed to do some dead squats with the SSB but my back shot and I still have to bench late so I decided to play it safe and save something for the next session.

[CEnlow]

PM session
bench

Fat bar floor press with pinkies on the ring
bar 3x8
125lbs 2x5
bar + 70lbs of chain 2x5
bar + 140lbs of chain 1x5
125lbs + 140lbs of chain 2x3
165lbs + 140lbs of chain 1x3
215lbs + 140lbs of chain 1x3
235lbs + 140lbs of chain 1x3
255lbs + 140lbs of chain 1x3
275lbs + 140lbs of chain 1x3

light band pushdowns superset with close grip (index on smooth) fat bar floor press
3 rounds of 25 pushdowns and 215lbs x 10 with a 2 count pause

JM press 135lbs 2x8

machine assisted pullups 5x10

triset fat bar curls x 10, monster mini band pull apart x 25, standing ab pull downs x 25 3 rounds

Almost everyone else got in their shirt tonight so I had to make adjustments and didn't get to do what I had planned but that is the way it goes sometimes. Just need to adjust and still do enough to bring my weak points up to par. Back is shot so I'll be doing a lot of recovery work tomorrow.

[CEnlow]

Deadlift night

band hip abduction with doubled mini band 3x50
machine hip adduction 150lbs 5x20

Rack pulls from pin 1 or about 2"-3" below the knee
135lbs 2x5
225lbs 2x3
315lbs 1x3
365lbs 1x3
405lbs 1x2
added suit bottoms
455lbs 1x2
495lbs 1x2
545lbs 1x2
565lbs 1x2
495lbs 2x2

Back was still a little tired from double session on Monday and i showed. 565lbs was all I had today, wanted more but I'll take it for sure.

Stiff leg sumo deadlift off 2" deficit
245lbs 4x12 (did all these without a belt for a change)

Doubled light band row with fat tricep rope 4x20

light band assisted chin ups 5x6

weighted leg raises on swiss ball 3x15

I'm hoping all the volume helps with bringing my deadlift up. I know all the extra back work should help my bench as well so that is a nice added bonus to think about.

[CEnlow]

upper accessory day

face pulls with long ab strap 30lbs 5x20

Defranco's shoulder shocker 4x12

cable chest fly
60lbs 1x12
70lbs 1x12
80lbs 1x12
90lbs 1x12

fat v-grip pushdowns 100lbs 5x12

Dumbbell tricep extensions superset with under hand band pull aparts
4 rounds of 20lbs x 30 / monster mini band x 25

Finished the day with a lot of stretching to try and get a little bit looser for squatting tomorrow.

[CEnlow]

Sucky squat day:
This week finally caught up to me so I decided to just do raw work today.
I've realized lately how much I really on rebound out of the hole in order to power through my squats so spend today and worked on static strength.

Squat into chain set at 2" high, paused each rep for a 2 count before reversing the movement
buffalo bar
145lbs 4x5
235lbs 2x3
325lbs 1x3
415lbs 1x2
505lbs 2x2
555ish lbs (misload)1 x smashville
555lbs 1x2, very slow so I called it here for the day

GHR 5x6 bodyweight

SSB paused olympic squats, 5 count in the hole
215lbs 1x6
255lbs 2x6

SSB upper back good mornings 165lbs 2x20

GHR situps 4x10

Short quick day but managed to get some work in.

[RobmoriRB]

one hell of a Squat work out keep it up and dont stop. Going to sub and watch you break PRs

[CEnlow]

Thanks Rob, hopefully going to break some big PRs at this next meet.

Went in to help my fiance' bench again and knocked out a quick accessory workout.

inverted rows 3x12

hanging leg raises knees to elbows 2x15, 1x6 toes to bar

banded leg curls 4x10

45 degree back raises 3x15

Did some more band traction, stretching, and rolling before heading home. Heavy shirt day tomorrow, going to try and jack it up a little bit more than before to see how much pop I can really get out of it before trying something new on meet day.

[CEnlow]

Bench, shirt work
older squat bar, pinkies on the ring
bar 3x8
135lbs 2x5

*reverse average bands from here out*

255lbs 2x5
345lbs 2x3
395lbs 1x2
435lbs 1x2
485lbs 1x1
added slingshot, moved out to normal shirt grip
525lbs 1x1
added overkill shirt
615lbs 1x2 3-board
665lbs 1x2 1.5-board
705lbs 1x1 to the chest
735lbs 1x1 1-board

seated overhead press
135lbs 1x10
185lbs 3x10

underhand tricep pressdowns
50lbs 3x15

plate tricep extension
squeezed a 45lb and a 25lb bumper plate together 1x10
100lb plate 4x10

monster mini band pushdown 1x100

machine assisted chins 4x8

Not a bad night overall. Something I noticed tonight is I need to work on warming my hips up better prior to benching so I can get my feet wide enough to prevent my butt from coming off the bench.

[CEnlow]

Deadlift night

hip adduction with short monster mini band 3x50 each leg

hip abduction with doubled light band 4x25

SSB arched back good mornings with 75lbs of fully suspended chain
empty bar 2x10
*chains on from here out
bar 1x6
125lbs 1x6
145lbs 1x6
165lbs 1x6
185lbs 1x6
205lbs 1x6
215lbs 1x6

stiff leg sumo deadlift from 2" deficit
135lbs 1x5
225lbs 1x5
275lbs 4x10

45 degree hypers with SSB on back 4x10

wide lat pull downs
160lbs 1x15
170lbs 1x12
180lbs 1x10
190lbs 1x8
200lbs 1x6

dumbbell side bends 75lbs 4x10 each side

seated leg curls with mini band 1x100

[CEnlow]

Upper accessory day

standing overhead with swiss bar
bar 2x10
85lbs 2x8
105lbs 1x5
125lbs 1x5
145lbs 1x5
175lbs 1x5

close reverse grip bench press
145lbs 1x8
195lbs 5x5

neutral grip pushups with feet elevated
bw 1x20
bw + 1 chain 1x20
bw + 2 chain 1x15

monster mini band pull a parts 2x50

Defranco shoulder shocker 2x10

fat bar curls 4x10

band standing abs 4x20

light band pushdowns 100 reps total

[CEnlow]

Squat day:
more work with cambered bar, finally starting to feel more stable with it

all sets to a very low box
bar 4x5
165lbs 2x5
255lbs 2x3
305lbs 4x2
added briefs
395lbs 1x2
435lbs 1x2
525lbs 4x2

dead squats with SSB set 1 inch below parallel
empty bar 1x2
bar + doubled average bands 1x2
165lbs + doubled average bands 6x2

kneeling hamstring curls
50lbs 1x12 each leg
50lbs + mini band 4-5 x 12 each leg

cable side bends 3x25

bent over scap retractions with kettlebells
24kg 3x20

[RobmoriRB]

solid squatting session you had keep it up

[CEnlow]

Thanks Rob, the plan is to push it a little more this week but we will see how beat up I'm feeling that day.

Max effort bench:

floor press with squat bar, pinkies on the ring
bar 2x10
105lbs 2x5
145lbs 2x3
195lbs 1x3
255lbs 1x3
295lbs 1x3
325lbs 1x3
355lbs 1x3 <- small PR but seeing as I felt like crap from the bar up I'm pretty happy with it

close grip 3-board press, index on the smooth
275lbs + monster mini band 1x12
275lbs without the band 1x15

incline dumbbell press
40lbs 1x10
50lbs 1x10
60lbs 2x25

assisted chinups 4x12

kb shrugs 32kgs 3x20

machine side raises 30lbs 2 x failure

machine tricep pressdowns 3 x failure

hammer curls 3x10

standing abs with long ab strap 4x12

Good session overall. Should be nice and sore tomorrow from all the volume.

[CEnlow]

Deadlift night:
I was beyond tired today due to not sleeping last night for some reason. That being said I had a surprisingly good night, but I did hit the metaphorical wall at the end of the training session.

machine hip adduction 80lbs 3x50

light band hip abduction 5x25

GHR 3x8

Conventional deadlift from 2 inch blocks, all sets done against EFS short average bands unless stated otherwise

bar 2x5
135lbs with no bands 2x5
135lbs 1x3
185lbs 8x3
225lbs 1x3
275lbs 1x3

2 inch deficit sumo stiff leg pulls
295lbs 4x8

45 degree hypers
body weight with an empty SSB on shoulders 4x10

neutral grip lat pulldowns with a light band for resistance 3x20

We have a few guys in the gym getting ready for the APF meet in Rockhill SC on 9/8 so I became the knee wrap guy for those taking their squat openers. By the end of the night my hands, forearms, and back were trashed so I called it earlier than I would have originally meant to on the back work.

[RobmoriRB]

love the work..i see some prs coming on the dead lifts soon

[CEnlow]

Hope you're right Rob, everything feels good right now in training so hopefully it will pan out well.

Squat day and I sucked really bad today. Have a few weeks to get my head on straight in time for the meet.

bar 3x10
145lbs 2x5
235lbs 2x3
285lbs 1x2
375lbs 1x1

added titan single ply briefs

465lbs 1x1
555lbs 1x1

added ace suit bottoms, straps down

645lbs 1x1
735lbs 1x1

straps up with knee wraps

805lbs 1x1
865lbs 2x0

long strap ab pulldowns 4x15

The top 2 sets were awful, technique and pickup were just terrible on both sets. The strength is there but I just missed it up. I would rather do it now than at the meet. One big thing I can take away from today is I need to make sure my back has enough time to recover leading into the meet. All the volume on deadlift day and back accessory work is starting to take its toll on my recovery and making it more difficult than it need to be to hold my back in an arched position throughout the lift.

[CEnlow]

Bench work

all sets done a thumbs length from the smooth
bar x a lot
135lbs 3x5
185lbs 2x3
225lbs 1x3
275lbs 1x3
added 2 board
315lbs 2x6

underhand triceps pressdowns
1x20
3x12

incline tate presses 4x15

machine assisted chins 3x10

neutral grip assisted chins 2x10

[CEnlow]

Deadlift night:
back and hips were still smashed from Saturday

GHR 3x8

leg extensions 40lbs 2 x 1 minute

standing abs 4x15

deadlift off 2 inch mats
135lbs 3x5
185lbs 2x3
225lbs 1x3
315lbs 1x2
365lbs 1x1
425lbs 1x1
added suit bottoms
495lbs 1x1
straps up
555lbs 1x1
585lbs x missed (beat up and tired, no excuse though, I think a lot of it is mental and I need to just do it and quit over thinking it)

deadlift off 4 inch block
495lbs 3x3

blast strap rows 3x15

twist deadlift 32kg 3x6 per side

[CEnlow]

upper accessory day

reverse hyper 2x20

chin ups 3x6

dumbbell lateral raise hang swings 3x25

dumbbell rear delt hang swings 3x25, 1x60/30/10 drop set

cable tricep pushdowns 1x100 changing hand position every 20 reps

Elbows were feeling a little cranky so I opted for a more volume based shoulder dominant session today. Decided to give the hang swings John Meadows talks about for shoulders a try and it was miserable. It was nice for a change of pace but no way I could handle that kind of volume all the time right now.

[CEnlow]

Squats from this morning:

buffalo bar slightly below parallel box

bar a lot x a lot
added 1 blue band each side
bar 2x5
145lbs 2x3
195lbs 2x3
235lbs 1x2
*added loose briefs
325lbs 1x2
375lbs 1x2
415lbs 4x2

hamstring curls
100lbs x 20
120lbs x 18
140lbs x 15
160lbs x 12
180lbs x 10

twist deadlift
40kg 3x6 each side

kb upright rows
16 kg each hand 3x15

Everything felt nice and easy today so that is a good sign at this point.

[RobmoriRB]

solid doubles on the squats keep it up

[CEnlow]

Shirted bench day:
Everything feels fantastic on this right now

raw bench with pinkies on ring
135lbs 3x6
185lbs 2x3
245lbs 1x1
295lbs 1x1
335lbs 1x1
*added slingshot, normal shirt grip from here on
405lbs 1x1
*added shirt
495lbs 1x2, 3-board
545lbs + 1 chain per side 1x2, 2-board
545lbs + 2 chains per side 1x2, 2-board
545lbs + 3 chains per side 1x2, 2-board

paused illegally wide bench
185lbs 3x12

rolling tricep extensions on floor
40lbs 4x8

machine assisted pull-ups 3x8

KB high swings 3x12

Fairly quick session today and hit everything exactly like I wanted to for the most part. Had a bit of a shaky hand off on the 2 chain set but it still went fairly smooth. Top set felt the best of the day honestly, which is what I always hope for. I'm finally getting focused for the heavier weights again while benching. I'm normally good about that but I have struggled with it this training cycle for some reason. I'll get some video of the top set up later if I can figure out how to embed videos and I'll get the link up if nothing else.

[CEnlow]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYeyJYEE8ho&list=UU4v2xSmBgxSfdNtpebZhRcw&index=1&feature=plcp

[CEnlow]

Deadlift work

Ankle drags with sled 45lbs 4 trips x ~150ft

deadlift
135lbs 3x5
added light bands
135lbs 2x3
185lbs 1x3
245lbs 8x3 (around 60 seconds rest between sets)
275lbs 1x3
315lbs 1x3

*quick note on this, I widened my grip from last week which helped with keeping my chest up and pushing my hips through at lockout, just need to remember to do this when it matters

close stance SSB round back good mornings
bar 1x12
165lbs 1x12
215lbs 3x12

average band pull through superset with light band assisted pullups
3x20 / 3x8

GHR situps 4x10

[CEnlow]

Short squat night

Went in a day early since I'm going to handle a few lifters tomorrow at the APF meet in Rock Hill, SC.

straight bar, all sets to a just below parallel box
bar 4x8
bar + 1 blue band per side 2x5
all sets from here out with 2 blue bands each side
bar 2x3
145lbs 2x3
235lbs 1x2
added single ply titans
315lbs 2x2
365lbs 1x2
405lbs 1x2
435lbs 1x1
455lbs 1x1

Had to stop there for the night. Unfortunately I didn't get to hit my accessory work like I wanted but its probably for the best if I want to be remotely useful to my training partners tomorrow.

[CEnlow]

The meet didn't go quite like everyone hoped for but still resulted in some small PRs for most of the crew.

Max effort bench
bar 4 or 5 x 8
95lbs 2x5
135lbs 2x3
185lbs 2x3
245lbs 1x1
295lbs 1x1
335lbs 1x1
*add slingshot
405lbs 1x1
*add shirt
495lbs 1x1 3-board
545lbs 1x1 1.5-board
600lbs 1x1 full range (projected opener)

illegally wide paused bench
225lbs 3x8

chain tricep extension
4-5 x 10-15
I didn't really keep track here but I think we ended with 7 chains per side

hammer curls 30lbs 3x15

monster mini band pushdowns 4x20 each arm, only resting the one arm to do a set with the other. This wound up being great for a massive pump to finish off my triceps

monster mini band pull a parts 4x25

All in all it wound up being a decent night. I messed up the 600lbs rep pretty bad but it still went as well as could be expected despite this. I didn't set my back like I should have and it made the entire lift harder than it would have been had I done it like the previous set. I made it way more difficult to touch than I should have but its a good sign for me to mess it up and still mange to complete it relatively easy.

[dbc3po]

Looking pretty solid man.

[CEnlow]

Thanks Dave, I should have a pretty good meet at Donnie's place if I can put it all together on that day.

Last heavy deadlift night of this training cycle

GHR 3x8
monster mini hip adduction 2x50
monster mini hip abduction 2x50

deadlift
135lbs 3x5
225lbs 2x2
315lbs 1x1
365lbs 2x1 (only wanted to do this once but it was slower than it should of been the first time)
425lbs 1x1
suit bottoms
495lbs 1x1
555lbs 1x1 (opener will be somewhere around here)
565lbs 1x1

I finally got my head on straight for a deadlift night so I'm pretty excited about that. Spud talked me into the 565lb rep just to get some extra practice with pulling heavier weight and slamming my hips through at lockout.

pullups 3x8

face pulls with short ab strap 3x20

knees to elbows 3x12

[RobmoriRB]

hell of a deadlift work out keep it up mate

[CEnlow]

Light pump up upper body day
just did a few sets of the following in a sort of circuit fashion.
mini band pull a parts, light band tricep pushdowns, db curls, kb overhead press and plate front raises

Just a light day to get some blood moving, feeling a little beat up so I just took it easy today. Overall feeling pretty good for being this close to a meet and ready for my last heavy squat day tomorrow.

[CEnlow]

Last heavy squat day

free squat with straight bar

bar 3x10
bar + 4 chains per side 2x5
bar + 8 chains per side 2x3
145lbs + 8 chains per side 1x3
added single ply titan briefs
235lbs + 8 chains per side 1x1
325lbs + 8 chains per side 1x1
added ace suit bottoms
415lbs + 8 chains per side 1x1
505lbs + 8 chains per side 1x1
straps up
575lbs + 8 chains per side 1x1

All of these felt super easy but since I'm trying to save it for meet day I shut it down there.

monster mini band rows superset with wide neutral grip pull ups
3x20 / 3x10

wide stance good mornings with monster mini band 1x100

weighted situps 4x10

[RobmoriRB]

hell of a squat work out...you got a meet coming up soon??

[CEnlow]

Rob, I've got a meet next Saturday on 9/29. Donnie Thompson is putting on an IPA meet just down the road and it just worked out that his meet fit the best with my schedule.

Got caught up with a group project on campus so I didn't get to bench with the normal crew so I had to adjust so I could get some work in.

Incline bench press (pinkies on ring)
bar 3x10
95lbs 2x6
135lbs 2x6
185lbs 1x6
225lbs 1x6
275lbs 1x6
moved hands about half a thumbs length away from the smooth
185lbs 2x15

giant ez curl bar skull crushers
(no idea what this bar weighs so for the sake of easy math I'm going to say 45lbs)
bar 1x8
95lbs 1x8
115lbs 1x8
135lbs 1x8

machine lateral raise super set with machine overhead press
3x25 / 3x10

machine curls 3x12

walked about a mile and did some light stretching

I would say this qualified as a very laid back training session but I still got some good work in. Just got to stay on top of the little things at this point like mobility and other prehab work.

[CEnlow]

Last deadlift day and no deadlifting from last night

nothing really exciting to report here but I did get some blood moving

olymipc style squats with SSB
worked up to around 200lbs for about 3-4 sets of 8

light band good mornings 4x25

step ups 2x8 each leg

heavy reverse hyper 3x15

standing abs 4x20

I did lots of hip mobility and hamstring stretching to finish up. Need to do some more soft tissue work and mobility stuff on hips and quads over the next few days and I'll be ready for meet day.

[CEnlow]

Last couple training sessions

squats from saturday
Done with buffalo bar into chains set about 1.5-2" below parallel
(these sucked, so I'll be doing them a lot in the future)

bar 4x5
145lbs 2x5
235lbs 2x3
325lbs 1x2
added briefs
415lbs 1x2
505lbs 1x2

lat pulldowns 5x20

reverse hyper 3x20

v-situps 4x10

Went for about a mile walk later that night around the neighborhood. I know that doesn't really count as part of the workout but I'm counting it as work done.


Last bench session
This was more of a bodybuilder kind of workout than anything

rope pushdowns 6x15

incline nose breakers 5x8

db lateral raise 4x15

mini band face pulls 4x25

hammer curls 4x10

chest flies 3x12

lots of stretching and done for the day

Rest of the week is going to be light cardio and traction work. I may do some light reverse hyper and stretch a little tomorrow but everything from here out is pretty much just rest and doing some soft tissue work.

[CEnlow]

Weighed in at 275lbs earlier this morning. I plan on spending the rest of the day doing some light stretching and pounding back fluid and carbs. I love the week before a meet but I get impatient the day before so I'll have to find something to distract myself.

[CEnlow]

The meet didn't go like I wanted unfortunately with a bomb out on the bench press. Squats didn't feel heavy but nothing moved like it should have so that was the first sign I was probably going to have an off day. I got handcuffed on my first attempt and had to dump the bar, my second attempt I was called for my butt coming off the bench, and on my third I was called for a slight downward movement of the bar before getting it to lockout. Just stresses the importance of focusing on the little things in training. I think I'm most disappointed because of how light everything actually felt, It was just like hitting a wall with my squat and little technical things killed my bench. Oh well, live, learn, and come back stronger next time. The meet itself was very well run, probably one of the best I've ever been to, and very tightly judged it just wasn't my day.