Marcorock log - Italian style

[Rock1984]

26/04/2013

MEET DAY!!!

IPF, -83 class, Single ply

Woke up at 8.00 am. Bag was packed, food ready.
Got at the venue a couple of hours prior to weigh in, in time to see the -74 class.

Weighed in at 78.8 - my home scale said 79.5, so I know I'll have some margin next time if I get closer to the class limit.

SQUAT
warm up:

bar x5
75x5
105x3
125x2 - belt
145x1
175x2 - Centurion straps down, loose wraps
205x1 - straps up, tighter wraps - alright! Feeling good...if anything, i finished my warmups a bit too early

Attempts:
220 - good lift, I'm in - this went down slow, but came up fast
230 - no lift - possibly faster than the 220, but I leaned forward a bit and didn't get depth, by 1 inch or so - this forced me to scale down a bit on my 3rd
235 - good lift - 20kg meet PR, and gym PR tie - I went down quicker, kept a more upright back, and shoot up - they only felt heavy while unracking, the lift itself was @9

BENCH
w ups

70x5
90x3
105x2
125x3 - added F6 shirt, and used a plastic bottle as a board
135x2 - as above
145x1 - to chest - touched a bit low

Attempts:
150 - no lift - head came off the bench - stupid me!!! Lower the 2nd attempt, then
155 - good lift - just a smooth, easy lift - meet PR tie
160 - no lift - the actual pressing was even easier than the previous attempt, but my butt raised off the bench - stupid me #2

DEADLIFT
w ups:

70x5
100x3
120x2 - added belt
140x1
160x1 - added TRX suit, straps down
180x1 - straps up
195x1

Attempts:
210 - fast and smooth
220 - heavy but nice - 2.5 kg PR
227.5 - no lift - didn't keep the bar close a few cm off the floor (lat bracing?), no way I could force it up from there - I needed this to go up a position, stupid me #3

TOTAL: 610 kg (+22.5), 11th place in a very competitive, 25+ lifters, -83 class.

WHAT I NEED NOW:
- get a way stronger deadlift (going back to regular, maybe?)
- get a Superkatana and bench >180 in it
- get my head straight and squat 260 kg - yesterday, I had 250-worth legs and 235-worth head
- fill out the class, as lean as possible - i have 4 kilos to add, and a lot of unnecessary BF, so, definitley a lott of room for improvement here

RTS balance: all in all, I am happy with my choice of going RTS.
I'm way stronger than before, on a lot of basic movements, I just need more time to transfer the strength gains to the competition lifts: i think we'll see some interesting numbers in October, at my next full meet.
I also think I need to focus less on the intensity part of the session, and more on the back off/volume phase, to build a bigger base and foster growth.

So, thank you to Mike, to my friend Massimiliano, and to Federico and Lorenzo, who did a great job managing attempts, wrapping knees and helping me getting into the gear

[Rock1984]

1st session back after friday's meet

SQUAT
bar x5
70x5
105x3@6.5
125x2@7 - added belt
135x1@7.5
145x1@8
135x3@9 - decided to stop here

BENCH - 2ct pause
60x4@5
80x4@6.5
90x4@8
100x4@9

Floor press - pinky on rings
50x8@5
60x8@6
70x8@7
80x8@8
90x8@9

I also did:

DB curls - 3 sets of 8
Lat pulldowns - 3 sets of 8
Abs - 2 sets of 12

[Rock1984]

30/04/2013

DEADLIFT - regular stance
70x5
105x3
125x2@6
145x1@7 - belt from here
165x1@8
145x4@8.5
145x4@9

BENCH - TnG
bar x8
60x8
80x8@7
90x8@8 - stopped here: I strained my left pec last week during my last shirted session before the competition, and today I could definitely feel the tight spot causing me discomfort.
With Mike, we're figuring a way to work around it untikl it's healed.
Strange it didn't bother me in competition and in monday's paused bench?

GOOD MORNING
40x6
60x6@7
80x6@8 - still no love for GMs from me...probably a good reason to get good at 'em

[Rock1984]

02/05/2013

BENCH
bar x8
50x5
70x5
100x4@8 - added Ram
120x2@8
140x2@7.5 - to 6cm board
150x1@8 - to 6cm board - PR
160x1@8.5 - to 9cm board - PR

Then, my friend who was to let me try his Super Katana 42 finally showed up: off the Ram, on the Katana!
140x3@8 - 1st to 9cm board, then to 6cm board
160x2@8 - 1st to 6cm board, then 3cm board
170x1@8 - to 3cm board
180x1@9 - to 3cm board - nice, solid PR - the RPE was higher than what Mike prescribed, but I wanted to give the 180 a ride
150x4@8 - to 6cm board - PR?
150x0 - to 3cm board - dumped it forward
150x4@9 - to 6cm board

Pheeewww...that was a LONG bench session!

MILITARY PRESS (both racks were busy: clean on 1st rep)
bar x8
35x8@7
40x8@8
45x8@8.5
50x8@9.5 - not sure if this is a PR?

SQUAT - here I was running on fumes, and completely gassed...and it showed!
bar x5x2
75x5
95x4
115x4@7.5 - added belt
135x4@8.5 - added wraps (loose)
145x4@9 - stopped here, I didn't have much energy nor focus left: no point in risking injury.

Very good bench session, but it took too long and this impacted my squat afterwards.

[Judas]

Weighed in at 78.8 - my home scale said 79.5, so I know I'll have some margin next time if I get closer to the class limit.

If you have a home scale that is nice, that you like and plan to keep, then bring it TO the meet next time... bring it to the weigh-in scale (pre-meet if possible so no rush or hassle), and note the difference between yours and true weight. That way you dont have to guess next time. My girlfriend always travels with her home scale.

BENCH

125x3 - added F6 shirt, and used a plastic bottle as a board

Though any GOOD meet SHOULD supply a full set ov boards in the warm-up room... dont assume. Make your own mini-boards and bring them with you. I've seen MANY different ideas that all work. Very easy to do and take up no space in a suitcase.

TOTAL: 610 kg (+22.5), 11th place in a very competitive, 25+ lifters, -83 class.

Fuck me... TWO full flights in ONE weight class...??? What kind ov meet was this?

Good job though.

WHAT I NEED NOW:
- get a way stronger deadlift (going back to regular, maybe?) Yes.
- get a Superkatana and bench >180 in it Get a 142.5kg raw bench first.
- get my head straight and squat 260 kg - yesterday, I had 250-worth legs and 235-worth head Get a 227.5kg raw squat first.
- fill out the class, as lean as possible - i have 4 kilos to add, and a lot of unnecessary BF, so, definitley a lott of room for improvement here Yes... fat dont move weight. Time for more assistance and more FOOD.

RTS balance: all in all, I am happy with my choice of going RTS.
I'm way stronger than before, on a lot of basic movements, I just need more time to transfer the strength gains to the competition lifts: i think we'll see some interesting numbers in October, at my next full meet.
I also think I need to focus less on the intensity part of the session, and more on the back off/volume phase, to build a bigger base and foster growth.

Are you doing the RTS program as written? as in exercises/sets/reps/etc.? Or just using the numbers to gauge lift difficulty? Is it even a program? or just a rating system? I wish i knew more about it. One ov the VERY few programs/systems designed by someone other than myself i've been interested in.

[Rock1984]

J, thanks for all the comments.

The meet was the official FIPL (IPF) National Championship, so basically everyone was there, since our sport is so small here that we do not have qualifiers in place yet.

So you get A LOT of lifters, I'd say over 150 this year? The -83 and -93 classes are the most populated 'cause short, biggish people is going to weigh between 80 and 90 kg, pretty much...and that's the most represented population in Italian PL.

Mike's writing the program for me: that is a bit costy, but it takes the "guess" part out of guesswork, and leaves you with "work" only.
Mike agrees with me that I need more work/volume, so we'll go in that direction. I was already thinking to ask him about doing more assistance/bb stuff, to build "junk" muscle.
I should meet him tomorrow, and I'll ask him.

I'm already working on getting better quality food, then I'll work on the amounts.

[Judas]

J, thanks for all the comments.

The meet was the official FIPL (IPF) National Championship, so basically everyone was there, since our sport is so small here that we do not have qualifiers in place yet.

So you get A LOT of lifters, I'd say over 150 this year? The -83 and -93 classes are the most populated 'cause short, biggish people is going to weigh between 80 and 90 kg, pretty much...and that's the most represented population in Italian PL.

Mike's writing the program for me: that is a bit costy, but it takes the "guess" part out of guesswork, and leaves you with "work" only.
Mike agrees with me that I need more work/volume, so we'll go in that direction. I was already thinking to ask him about doing more assistance/bb stuff, to build "junk" muscle.
I should meet him tomorrow, and I'll ask him.

I'm already working on getting better quality food, then I'll work on the amounts.

You are meeting Tuscherer tomorrow? What the hell is he doing in Italy...???

About the eating... We have a new guy in our gym i met two days ago. He's about my height, or maybe a tad shorter at 5'9", and he's currently 160lbs. He's a competitive bodybuilder and right now about 6% bodyfat. Fucking jacked. He eats about 250-280gr protein a day, about 4000 calories, VERY very clean food. We both agreed that once you get past the easy mass gains, and start looking for a weight class your body might not agree with, you'll have to eat far more than you think you should. When you start hating food and life in general... THEN you'll know you're eating enough.

[Rock1984]

Yep, he's living here for a while (USAF related).

I've met him yesterday, and I have to say...uber nice guy. He's one of the strongest mofos on the planet, yet he's also very kind, and willing to discuss/being exposed to new ideas.

Also, built like a brick wall: not crazy muscular or ripped, just SOLID.

[Rock1984]

3/5/2013

DEADLIFT against doubled minis - regular stance - +b means "plus bands"...you wouldn't have guessed it, right?!
50+b x5
70+b x4@6
90+b x4@7
110+b x4@8
130+b x4@8.5 - added belt
150+b x2@10 - done - should've gone with 140!

PENDLAY Rows
65X8@8
70X8@8.5
75X8@9 - feeling weak...?

CS Rows
55x10x3

[Rock1984]

5/5/2013

Today, I got into the gym late, still munching on my last lunch bit and feeling sleepy

SQUAT
bar x5x2 - trying to loosen up some
70x5
100x3@6
120x2@7 - added belt
140x1@7.5
150x1@8.5
140x3@8
135x3@7.5
135x3@7
135x3@7.5
135x3@8

A good volume! Also, the rep sets felt very good

BENCH to a 3cm board
bar x8
40x5
60x4@5.5
80x4@7
100x4@8
110x4@8.5
120x4@9
115x4@8.5
115x4@9

CLOSE GRIP BENCH
60x6@5
80x6@7
90x6@8.5

Had to go, the gym was closing down!
Nice session, though.

[Rock1984]

6/5/2013

DEADLIFT - regular stance - tried to use a somewhat wider stance, and had good feedback
70x5
100x4@5.5
120x3@6.5
140x1@6.5 - added belt
160x1@7.5
170x1@8.5 - everything had felt very light and snappy until this set...maybe I rushed the setup a bit?
150x4@8.5
150x4@8.5
150x4@9 - got some good volume in

Comp BENCH
60x5x2
80x4@7
95x4@8
105x4@8.5
110x4@9.5 - last one was pretty grindy...feeling yesterday's benches as well - not sure if this is a PR for comp bench?
105x4@9
100x4@9

FRONT SQUAT
bar x5
50x4
70x4
90x1
I'm not even rating these: I'm not able to do a proper front squat anymore...! All the work done was "positional", nothing else. I need to practice them more often, if I want 'em to be effective.

ROWS
80x20 - just went for it, and with some solid cheatin' too

[Rock1984]

7/5/2013

SHIRTED BENCH
bar x5
60x5
80x4
100x3@7
110x1@8 - feeling strong
130x2@7 - F6 shirt on from here - 1st to 9cm board, 2nd to 6cm board
140x1@7 - to 3cm board
150x1@8
160x1@9 (more of an 8.75...!)
140x3@8.5
140x3@9
135x3@8.5

Strong pressing, if I may say so myself

PIN SQUATS
bar x5x3
70x3
90x3
110x3@6
130x3@7
140x3@8 - belt from here
150x3@8.5
160x3@9 - solid - PR
150x3@9
140x3@8.5

I was feeling hungry...need to start bringing food to the gym

INCLINE BENCH
35x6
55x6@6
65x6@7
75x6@8
85x6@9
80x6@9
75x6@8.5

A bit of stretching

Nice session! .

[Rock1984]

8/5/2013

Tired, pressed for time, and feeling the fact that this is the 4th session in 4 consecutive days.

Waiting for the bands I had ti use in DLs, I started with board benching:

BENCH - to a 9cm board
bar x8
40x5
60x5
80x3
100x3@6 - board from here
120x3@7.5
140x3@8.5
150x3@10 - PR - overshoot the RPE here, but I still got the required reps in
140x3@9
140x3@9.5

Done...after benches, I was feeling very run down and tired. I decided to postpone DLs to today.
Got in a couple sets of CSRs and abs, then left.

[Rock1984]

9/5/2013

Making up for the deadlifts I'd skipped on wednesday.

DL against doubled minis - regular stance
All sets were triples, except for the 1st
50+b@5
70+b@5
90+b@6
110+b@7
130+b@8
150+b@9 -PR -very solid set
160+b@9.5 - PR - added belt from here
150+b@9
140+b@8.5
140+b@9

Very nice DL session: good pulling power and speed, and consistent form throughout .

[Rock1984]

13/5/2013

Got back late last night from a weekend in Amsterdam...it was a bachelor trip, 'nuff said...still, i was able to train and do well today!

SQUAT
bar x5x2
50x5
70x4
100x3@6
120x2@7
140x1@8 - added belt
150x1@8 - nice single
140x2@8
140x2@8
140x2@8
140x2@8
140x2@8

Doubles kept getting better with each set: maybe the 2nd or 3rd were 8.5s, but everything else went smooth.

BENCH - 2 count
bar x8x2
60x5
80x4@6
90x4@7
100x4@8
110x4@9 - PR
116x4@10 - PR
110x4@8.5
110x4@9

I know i overshoot the RPE here, but I was feeling good, set up had been rock solid throughout, and I knew the PR was there for the taking, so I went for it. Glad I did: the last rep was a real challenge, but I kept the course and pressed it to lockout..."learning to grind", as Mike would say.

FLOOR PRESS - POR
60x8@7
80x8@8.5
90x8@9
100x6@10 - nothing more here
94x8@9.5

DB curls
D10x12
D10x12
D12x10

"Kennelly" tricpes DB extensions
D10x12
D12x12
D12x12

[Rock1984]

16/05/2013

DEADLIFT - classic
70x5x2
100x3
120x2@6
140x1@7 (closer to 6.5)
160x1@7.5 - belt on from here
180x1@8.5
170x3@9 - this ties my best ever classic DL triple...
170x3@9.5 - ...and this doubles it

SHIRTED BENCH - opted to go shirted instead of raw, 'cause my trainig mate had shirted benchin' in his program, and I had my new shirt with me
bar x8
60x6
80x3
100x3@7
120x2@7 - Super Katana Low Cut 42 on - 1st rep to 9cm board, 2nd to 6cm board
140x2@7.5 - 1st rep to 6cm board, 2nd to 3cm board
160x1@9 - to chest
150x3@9 - touched on the last rep
150x3 @9 - as above

Friggin' shirt is loose: I get more support from my old trusted F6...need to find smoebody to sell it to!

GOODMORNING
bar x6
60x6
80x6@6.5
100x6@7.5 - belt on from here
120x6@9 - good PR, here: I'm getting used to this movement
110x6@8

ABS - Bw x10x3

Rows - 60x10x3 .

[Rock1984]

17/05/2013

COMP BENCH
60x6
80x4
100x3@7.5
110x3@8.5
120x3@9.5 - PR - very solid
115x3@9

Nice PR, especially considering that I trained shirted bench yesterday!

SQUAT w/wraps
bar x5
70x5
100x4
120x4 - added belt from here
140x4@7 - added wraps from here
160x4@8
180x4@9 - huge PR (at least 10kg) - tight wraps
170x4@8.5 - stopped here 'cause I was too hungry to keep on squatting

PRESS - clean on 1st rep
40x12@8.5
45x10@10
40x12@9.5

[Rock1984]

Video of my performance at last month's Italian Championship (IPF, 1ply):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8Etw...ature=youtu.be

[macdaknife]

Video of my performance at last month's Italian Championship (IPF, 1ply):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8Etw...ature=youtu.be

solid effort Rock

[Rock1984]

Thanks, Knife!

[Rock1984]

18/05/2013

I had time only for deadlifts yesterday, so I put it to good use and came away with a PR:

DEADLIFT against doubled minis - regular
50+b x5
80+b x4
110+b x4@7
130+b x4@8
150+b x4@9.5 - PR: I had to work for this, but it was good!
140x4@9

Abs: 3x10

[Rock1984]

19/05/2013

FLOOR PRESS
bar x10
60x6
80x4@6
100x4@7.5
110x4@8.5
120x4@10 - PR - I overshoot this quite a bit, but still....a very nice PR
115x4@9

PENDLAY ROWS
60x12@7
70x12@8
80x12@9 - PR

Pulley rows
50x10
55x10
60x10

Facepulls
25x10
25x10

Stretching

Another good session, with PRs in meaningful lifts.

[Rock1984]

20/05/2013

SQUAT (keeping a neutral low back, instead of arching hard: WAY better)
bar x5
70x5
100x3
120x2@6
140x1@7 - added belt from here
150x1@7.75
160x1@8.5
170x1@9 - PR - I have squatted 170 before, but never this easy (was actually @8.75)
150x3@8.5
150x3@8.5
145x3@8.5
145x3@8.5

Best thing about all of the above, is that I did it very casually: no hype, no tension, just unrack, set and squat the weight.

PIN PRESS
bar x8
60x6
80x3
90x3@6
100x3@7.5
110x3@8.5
120x3@9.5 - PR
115x3@8.5

CLOSE GRIP BENCH to 12cm board
90x6@6
110x6@7
130x3@10 - stupid me, I took to big of a jump
120x6@8
130x6@9 - alright...now we're talking! PR
120x6@8.5

One of my best sessions ever.

[Rock1984]

21/05/2013

DEADLIFT - regular
70x5
70x3
100x3
120x2@6
140x1@7
160x1@7.5 - added belt here
180x1@8.5
190x1@9.5 - PR tie - heavy, but good
170x4@9 - PR - awesome set
164x4@9
160x4@9

COMP BENCH
bar x6
60x6
80x3
100x3@7.5
110x3@8.5
120x3@9 - PR tie - happy to get this on the 3rd consecutive day of heavy benching
115x3@9

PAUSE SQUAT
bar x5
60x5
80x4
100x4@7
120x4@8
130x4@9 - I had been hoping for 140, but it was definitely not there yesterday
124x4@9

A bit of stretching

Another good session! Bring it on! .