MaxEffort's Powerlifting Log

[MaxEffort]

Saturday: 6/18/11 DE bench

Fat bench w/ chain:
155 w/40lb chain x 3 x 3 CG
155 w/80lb chain x 3 x 3 MG
155 w/120 chain x 3 x 3 comp grip

95 w/120lb chain x 21 WG x 10 CG

lats tris rear delts

Sunday: 6/19/11 ME squat/dead

Reverse Band squat w/ bow bar & green bands:
135 x 8
225 x 5
add bands
315 x 3
405 x 2
add belt
425 x 1
445 x 1
465 x 1
475 x 1

GHR: 25lb plate x 10 x 2
10"box squat w/ bodyweight and mini around knees: 2 x 15
Reverse hyper: 50lb x 10 x 4
GHR abs: 10lb x 10 x 4
Fat bar EZ curl: bar +50lb x 12 x 3

Tuesday: 6/21/11 ME bench

Fat bar CG 2 board press:
150 x 8
200 x 5
add board
240 x 3
290 x 1
330 x 1
310 x 1
310 x 1
310 x 1

Chaos bench w/ 35lb KB hanging from each side:
150+70 x 5 CG
200+70 x 5 CG
200+70 x 5 comp grip

Fat DB skulls
30s x 10 x 4

Fat lat pull downs
170 x 10,10,7

Fat lateral/rear delt raises: 3 sets of 10 lateral raises didnt let go of DBs super set 3 x 10 rear delt raise

[MaxEffort]

Thursday: 6/23/11 DE squat/dead

Speed squat: 225 x 3 x 10
Speed dead: 295 x 1 x 10

Trisset
Reverse hyper: 50lbs x 10 x 4
Fat DB hammer curl: 35s x 10 x 3, 25s x 15
PD abs 100 x 10 x 4


Saturday: 6/25/11 DE bench

Fat bar Bench w/ short mini bands (60lbs at top):
150 x 3 x 3 CG
170 x 3 x 3 MG
200 x 3 x 3 Competition grip
took off bands
240 x 1
290 x 1 these two felt very fast

Fat bar bench w/ straight weight
200 x 23 comp grip
200 x 9 CG

Fat bar press: 95 x 8 x 3

Super set
Fat dead rows: 135 x 10 x 3
Face pulls: 70 x 15 x 3

One armed fat DB tri ext 15s x 20 x 3


Sunday: 6/26/11 ME squat/dead

13.5" box squat:
165 x 5
220 x 5
275 x 3
319 x 2
add belt
363 x 1
385 x 1
407 x 1
385 x 1

Paused beltless ATG squat
275 x 5 x 2

Tri set
Reverse Hypers 60lbs x 10 x 4
Fat bar curls: bar +50lbs x 12 x 3
GHR abs: bw +10lbs x 10 x 4

The box squats were a specialty exercise to help push my dead lift and I did the paused squats as a supplemental movement for my squat. My hips were weak and my knees kept caving in on max effort but with the added box work they have improved a good bit.

[MaxEffort]

I am currently 8 weeks out from a raw powerlfting meet (APF). Ive decided to go back to using 5/3/1 but with more of a bodybuilding split. I will still be training for strength but I want to add size to my smaller muscle groups and get bigger in general. Heres the split

saturday: military press 5/3/1, shoulders, biceps
sunday: squat 5/3/1, quads, hams/lowback, abs
tuesday: bench 5/3/1, chest, triceps
Thursday: dead 5/3/1, cleans, back, upper back

[MaxEffort]

Saturday: 7/16/11

Press:
100 x 3
115 x 3
130 x 7
added fat gripz
85 x 10 x 3

Fat lateral raises: 15s x 15 x 3

Fat BB curl: 70 x 10 x 3
Fat hammer curl: 15s x 15 x 4

[MaxEffort]

Sunday: 7/17/11

Squat:
295 x 3
335 x 3
add belt
375 x 4 NTF
385 x 1 85% of 1RM
415 x 1 92.5% of 1RM (felt very fast)

205 x 10 x 2 (couldnt do the rest of the sets in the BBB my hamstring gave out!)

leg press: 4pl x 10
GHR: bw x (16,12,8) 36
GHR sit ups: bw+10lbs x 10 x 3
Calf raise: 210 x 20 x 4

Im guessing my raw squat w/o knee wraps is around 450. My goal for the meet is at least 465.

[MaxEffort]

Tuesday: 7/19/11 no spotter at the gym today

Bench:
225 x 3
255 x 3
285 x 4 NTF
300 x 1 w/ pause
315 x 1 w/ pause
add Fat grips
190 x 10 x 3 sets (this was hard!!!)

Fat DB bench: 65s x 10 x 3 w/ pause
Fat JM press: 115 x 10 x 3
Mini band PD: 100 reps

The Big but boring down sets were really difficult! i couldnt imagine that a plate and a quarter could feel bad only after 3 sets lol.

[MaxEffort]

Thursday: 7/21/11

Power cleans:
135 x 3
155 x 3
170 x 8

Sumo Pull:
365 x 3
415 x 3
add belt
465 x 3 felt like crap so i didnt do the 92.5% for a single

BB row: 160 x 10 x 3
Fat bar pull ups: BW x 10,8,6 (slow negatives)
One armed machine row: 55 x 10 x 3 each arm
Band pull aparts: 100 reps

[MaxEffort]

I strained my rotator cuff pretty bad in August 3 weeks out from a meet so I've had to move my grip in closer on bench (basically a close grip, 1/2 thumb from smooth) but squats and pulls are doing well. I've been doing 5/3/1 and am on my third cycle.

last cycle Dead PR: 475 x 10
last cycle squat PR: 405 x 10 w/ knee wraps
this cycle bench(5s week): 240 x 10 felt strained on cuff so stopped

I pulled 565 for an easy single but I ripped my hand open on it so I didn't try for more weight (was hoping for 600)

Body weight is 173.2 right now I am adding weight at about 1lb per week. on deload weeks I am skipping a meal and skipping pre and post workout shakes. I just started using creatine for the first time in 5 years and also fish oils and vitamin C. I never liked using supplements before because I never thought they truly worked. I always thought people hyped up their affects from placebo. I am experimenting with creatine for this offseason and will see how it affects me. This 5/3/1 cycle I am mashing squats and pulls on the same day so I get extra recovery and am doing upper body twice a week with press on one day and bench on the other.

Friday: 11/11/11
OH press: 95 x 3, 105 x 3, 120 x 8 NTF, 65 x 12 x 4
Med grip pull ups: BW x 20, 13, 10
DB rows: 80 x 15 x 2
Spoon press: 70 x 12 x 4
Reverse pec dec flies: 45 x 15 x 3

[MaxEffort]

Sunday: 11/13/11
Squat:
315 x 3
Add belt
365 x 3
Add knee wraps
405 x 11 PR

Sumo pull:
375 x 3
Add belt
425 x 3
475 x 9

Ultra wide SSB 11" box squat: 150 x 8 x 3 (this is for hip/hamstring strength)
EZ curl: 80(+5) x (15+7+5) = 27RP
RG EZ curl: 50(+5) x 17
GHR abs: bw+5lbs x 10 x 4

wow this is the first time I have squatted and pulled in the same work out and it detroyed me! I was really nauseous after squats so I had to take 10-15 minutes before moving on to dead lift. I'm trying it this way because I need 2 upper body seesions a week to move my bench up but I can't squat and pull on separate days during the week or my pull drops off big time. I hope this works

[MaxEffort]

Tuesday: 11/15/11

Bench:
195 x 3
225 x 3
255 x 11 finally getting my strength back

DB bench:
75s x 21,8,7 all sets to failure

BB row:
150 x 6
170 x 6
190 x 12

Shrugs:
175 x 6
200 x 6
225 x 21

Med grip lat pulldown: 140 x 12 x 3
Mini band pushdown w/1 sec pause at bottom: 5 x 15

Bench is finally coming back! I believe my best reps when my bench was at 385 was around 275 x 14-15 so hopefully I can break that in a little while. I started DB pressing because I am lacking stability while benching and I believe that will help me stabalize a little bit. I am hitting 50s for failure on 5s week, 75s for failure on 3s week, and 100s for failure on 5/3/1 week. when I start stalling I'll switch it out with something else.

Starting Thursday I will have a 6 week mini diet to diet off some extra fat I've gained in the past 19 weeks of massing.

[MaxEffort]

Friday: 11/18/11

OH press:
100 x 3
115 x 3
130 x 7 NTF

65 x 12 x 4

Pull ups: BW + 1 chain x 13, 9, 8
Chest supported rows: 1pl + 1q per side x 12 x 3

Spoon press: 75 x 12 x 4
DB curls: 35s x (18+7+5) = 30RP
Hammer curl: 27.5s x 15
Face pulls: 50 x 12 x 3
standing calf: 210 x 15 x 3

My OH press sucks!! This is probably why I hurt my shoulder benching. I believe my 2 biggest weaknesses are my back and my shoulders. My rows should be close to my bench press reps and my OH press should be AT LEAST 225 (considering my bench was 365-375 prior to injury) so I need to be rowing at least 275 for reps and OH pressing 200 for reps

[MaxEffort]

I started a 6 week mini diet on thursday so I can lose about 1.5 inches off my waist. My waist was 32 thursday morning, and I dont want it getting any higher than 31.5 inches in this offseason. weight was 174.8 dry. goal is to have a 30-30.5 in waist and be around 168-170 in 6 weeks and then start the gaining period again.

I gain body fat pretty fast while gaining so I really need to watch my waist and weight. This time gaining my diet was basically the same every day besides adding pre and post workout carbs for training. I am using carb cycling for this mini diet and will continue to use it to gain because I believe it will help slow down the fat accumulation so I can make the gaining periods longer.

I learned this year that I dont need to gain a bunch of body fat to gain muscle. It took me 23 weeks of dieting to diet all the fat that I gained last offseason and I lost a good bit of strength and muscle due to the duration of the diet. Ill probably gain for 8-12 weeks and then mini diet for 4, just to keep my insulin senstivity and make sure that scale weight that I do gain is muscle, and not just piling on body fat.

Cardio is 3 time a week at 30 minutes (same as the gaining period)

[MaxEffort]

Sunday: 11/20/11

Squat: 345 x 5, 385 x 3, 425 x 1
Dead: 405 x 5, 455 x 3, 505 x 1

Leg press: 3 pps x 15 x 3
GHR abs: bw+5lbs x 10 x 4

(Had a 10 hour work shift and felt horrible so I did the bare minimum)

Tuesday: 11/22/11

Bench:
215 x 5
240 x 3
270 x 9 finally getting somewhere!

DB bench:
100s x 11, 8 sets are to failure, definitely needs work

BB rows:
160 x 8
180 x 6
200 x 10

Shrugs:
185 x 8
205 x 6
235 x 19

Lat pulldown: 140 x 15 x 3
Mini band tricep PD: 4 x 15

EZ bar curl: 85(+5) x (14+6+5) = 25RP
RG EZ bar curl: 55(+5) x 17

Bench is finally getting back where it used to be. I believe my best rep max with 270 was 13-15. DB benching must be a weakness for me because with adding these in my reps on barbell bench are shooting up and I believe it may be helping my RC was well

[MaxEffort]

This is the deload week

Weight was at 171.2 before Thanksgiving and the day after was 175 on the dot

Weight today is 173 and today is a high carb day

Weight dropped so much in the past week because I had to work a lot of hours before Thanksgiving and it is a physical labor job so even though I was not missing meals, I was doing extra cardio lol.

Waist was 31.25 on Thursday, down 0.75 from last Thursday, and that is to big of a drop for me in a week! (probably mostly water, we'll see)

[MaxEffort]

Sunday: 12/11/11

Squat:
325 x 3
add belt
365 x 3
add wraps
415 x 10 PR

Sumo pull:
375 x 3
435 x 3
add belt
485 x 8 PR

Paused leg press: 4 PPS x 10 x 2
GHR: BW+25lbs x 8 x 2
GHR abs: BW +10lbs x 10 x 4

Body is getting used to squatting and pulling on the same day. Weight was 173.4 on Thursday so slowing gaining again. On this cycle I added an arm day to the routine. Seems stupid but wit the weight I have gained, nothing has been added to my arms so I need to try some more isolation work. I tried not training them as often and they shrunk. I guess that would make sense, not training/ignoring a weak point will most likely make it weaker

[MaxEffort]

Tuesday: 12/13/11 ME Bench

2" Fat bar 1 board press:
280 x 1
300 x 1
330 x 1
350 x miss wow lol!
240 x 8 x 2

DB bench:
75s x 25, 11

BB row:
155 x 6
175 x 6
195 x 11

Shrugs:
185 x 6
215 x 6
235 x 20

Chest Supported row: 2pps x 10 x 3

On the 350 attempt I got really scared and quit before I even touched the board even though 330 flew up. This is the heaviest I've gone since early summer and ever since my rotator injury I have had a huge mental block when it comes to heavy singles on bench. Hopefully teaching my body to go heavy again will help solve this

[MaxEffort]

Thursday: 12/15/11

1 arm hammer curls: 25s x 12 x 3
Rope push downs: 50 x 12 x 4
Seated DB curls: 25s x 12 x 3
Bench dips: bw x 28, bw+25lbs x 17, bw+50lbs x 14
EZ curl w/ 3 sec neg: 65 x 10 x 2
EZ skulls w/ 10 sec rest: 55 x 12 x 3

Leg press calf w/10 sec rest: 3pps +10ps x 12 x 3
Standing calf: 225 x 15 x 3

Weighed in at 172.4 so I lost a pound this week! I raised my fats on non training days and carbs on training days so we'll see how that affects me this next week.

[MaxEffort]

Saturday: 12/17/11 DE Bench

Speed Bench w/short minis:

135 x 3 x 3 CG, x 3 x 3 MG, x 3 x 3 comp grip

Overhead press:

100 x 5
115 x 3
130 x 7 lol

Lateral raises: 20s x 12 x 3

Pull ups: BW+20lbs chain x 18,11,9
Lat pull downs: 140 x 10 x 2, 130 x 10
Face pulls: 30 x 25 x 2 sets

I just laugh at how bad my military press is. Still trying to improve it and hopefully it will shoot up because that 130 was a grinder on every rep lol.

I'm happy to finally start speed benching again I believe that his is a main point of my bench stagnant after my injury. I need my technique back and explosiveness

[MaxEffort]

Sunday: 12/18/11

Squat:
345 x 5
Add belt
395 x 3
Add wraps
435 x 9 PR (went to failure and 9th rep was sloppy)

Dead:
405 x 5
Add belt
455 x 3
515 x 2 LOL I couldnt even budge it for a 3rd

Paused leg press: 4pps +10ps x 10 x 2
GHR: bw+30 x 8 x 2
GHR abs: bw+10 x 10 x 4

That set on squats spent all of my energy. It took me 20 minutes just to catch my breath. I had nothing left on dead lifts so I learned next time not to go to complete failure on squats and pulls so I can still make PRs and not burn out.

[MaxEffort]

Tuesday: 12/20/11

Bench:
215 x 5
245 x 3
275 x 8 not to failure

3 board close grip bench:
265 x 5 x 3

BB row:
165 x 8
185 x 6
205 x 11 PR

Shrugs:
195 x 8
215 x 6
245 x 18

Lat pulldown: 140 x 12 x 3

super set:
lateral raises: 20s x 12,10,10
1 armed pinwheel curls: 25s x 12,10,10

Bench felt good tonight slowing getting back up there again

[MaxEffort]

Tomorrow starts my next blast and I'm incorporating these ideas:

-The split will be Friday shoulders/arms, Sunday lower body (sq/dl), and Tuesday chest/back

-I'm going to try something a little different with OH presses and bench. Instead of going for as many reps as possible on the last set. I'm going to do the recommended reps for mulitple sets (maybe a little more like for 85% 3 sets of 6-7 90% 3 x 4-5 and 95% 3 x 2-3). I'm doing this because my OH press isn't moving and I have to watch my rotator cuff on bench so this will not let me go to failure and reinjure it. It will also allow me to get a little more volume in without having to raise intensity

-Lower body will stay the same because it is a very strong part for me


I will try these things for this blast and see how it affects recovery

Starting weight is 173.8 I didn't lower calories this deload week due to not gaining much in the last blast and with Christmas. Goal weight for this blast is 177.

[MaxEffort]

Friday: 12/30/11

OH press:
90 x 5
105 x 5
120 x 7 x 3

Lateral raise: 20s x 15 x 3
Rear pec dec: 30 x 25 x 3

1 arm pinwheel curl: 27.5 x 12 x 3
Rope push down: 50 x 12 x 3

Sitting DB curls: 27.5s x 10 x 3
Bench dips: BW x 24,14,10

EZ curl w/3 sec neg: 70 x 8 x 2
EZ skull crusher w/10 sec rest: 65 x 12,15

Felt good on the OH press. My rotator cuff didn't hurt and I added some extra volume without upping the intensity

[MaxEffort]

Sunday: 1/1/12

Squat:
315 x 5
Add belt
355 x 5
Add wraps
395 x 7 x 2 (felt heavy and hard bleh)

Dead:
315 x 3
405 x 1
Add belt
465 x 5 x 2 (ran out of steam didn't try for 7 just got minimum)

Paused leg press: 4pps+1Qps x 10 x 2
GHR: BW+30lbs x 8 x 2
Hanging leg raises(legs touched top of power rack): BW x 8 x 3
Stand calf: 225 x 15 x 3

Felt horrible today. I drank a bit last night and stayed out pretty late. By the time I got to pulls I felt like puking lol definitely won't be drinking for a while.

[MaxEffort]

Tuesday: 1/3/12

Bench:
185 x 5
225 x 5
250 x 7 x 3 sets

Incline Bench:
135 x 12 x 3 huge weakness

DB bench:
50s x 22, 12

BB row:
185 x 10 x 3

Pull ups: BW x 11, 10

Shrugs:
205 x 10 x 3

This session killed me! I was wiped after chest so I had to lower my weights for back work. Last night was the first time in over 4 months that I used my regular bench grip(pinky on rings) with more weight than just 135. I felt strong and hopefully I can get back to my old weights again and more

[MaxEffort]

Friday: 1/6/12

OH press:
95 x 3
110 x 3
125 x 5 x 3 sets

Lateral raise: 25s x 10 x 3
Rear pec dec: 45 x 20 x 3

Pinwheel curls: 27.5s x 12,12,8 (going to switch this out)
Rope Push downs: 50 x 15,13,12

Seated DB curls: 25s x 12,12,10
Bench dips: BW x 26,16,14

EZ curl: 70 x 8 x 2
EZ skull crusher: 75 x 12 x 2

Weighed in at 174.6 this morning so weight is still going up steadily. I might add 100 calories more (either 10g of fat or 25-30g of carbs) just to make sure if i plateau that I don't end up losing a pound lol carb up period is tomorrow