CR's Powerlifting Journal

[Chris Rodgers]

2/1
Bench

Bench press(comp grip)

1@095x5
1@135x5
1@185x1
1@225x1

Add Ultimate Denim

1@265x1
1@285x1
1@300x1(touch/easy)
4@315xmiss(tried a few diff shirt adjustments)

Last two attempts were great up until lockout. I just have to make sure I don't overtrain my bench the next two weeks. My groove felt great and I was getting good pop, my arms were just dying the last few inches. I did heavy lockouts on Monday though, so that might have hurt me.


Plate loaded Shoulder press(maybe Hammer Strength)

1@090x10
1@140x10
1@180x10


Flat Db press

1@60'sx12


Board press(Pinky grip/Zane and Sandi style..all one set)

1@155x

3 brd- 5 reps
4 brd- 5 reps
5 brd- 5 reps
4 brd- 5 reps
3 brd- 3 reps(last one grinder)

I reracked after each board, but kept my hands on the bar until the new board was switched in, then quickly right back to it. This was nasty even though I used a gay weight.

Curls- 3 sets


Today I was about 1.5 lbs lighter than Monday night when I shirt benched. The shirt still felt real good and my groove was good, I just had no lockout strength. I'm definitely sticking with this shirt, I just have to figure out what to do next week for bench, since it is my last training week.

Saturday I squat...hopefully in a new canvas.

[WBBIRL]

Sweet efforts. I'm semi inclined to try out benching with a shirt once I'm done with my cut and try a bulk.

Monstrous totals for the BW BTW.

[smokinHawk]

RAW sets? What are those? tuttut
Actually, if I get my Elite total at this meet, I already told myself I will be doing some raw squats during my bulk up to a full 165. The most I have ever weighed in my life is like 162-163. When I competed @165, I typically weighed in at 157-161 after breakfast, the day of the meet. So, my goal is to total elite as a skinny bastard, then bulk up to like 170-172 and drop to 165 for my next meet as a slightly less skinny bastard.
I will say this...I get a lot out of my gear on squats.

ha, no raw sets yet for ya, guess if you want to be good in your gear you have to use it all the time.
though for you bench you still need some time out of it to build up your lock out strength which you said youve been having problems, after your contest are you planning on doing some more raw traing on the bench to help boost it up? It would probably help you doing alot of close grip and normal grip heavy bench and some skull crushers.\

ya if you get up to 170-172 normally thats a good weight to get down to 165 for competition.
thats what i hover around, last week i was up to 172 and this month will try to cut down slowly to 165, weigh in at friday the 23rd, then try to eat as much as possible for saturdays meet the 24th. when i weighed myself yesterday I already dropped to 168 which probably is why my last few workout sessions felt like crap. gonna try and maintain 167-168 then take it down 2-3lbs just before weighin to try and keep as much strength as possible.

[Chris Rodgers]

Yea Hawk. I plan on doing a lot of different stuff after the meet. I plan to get a lot of good training in and not do another meet until summer or fall.


Saturday I had a crappy squat workout. Everything felt heavy and I was getting no pop from my canvas. I worked up to 555x1 in full gear, but it was much too slow. I was just feeling beat up. My hammies, hips and back were real sore. So I stopped the workout there and left. I took Monday off from benching and went back in on Tuesday.


2/6
SQ/DL

Box squat(SSB/parallel box)

1@105x3
2@155x2
1@205x2
1@245x2(DD suit/straps down)
1@295x2(belt)
1@315x2


SLDL(off 5.5" block/RAW/no belt)

1@225x3
1@315x5(these are nasty/had a few more in me)


That was it. I tried to do some Spero DB rows, but my knee was buckling a little since my hammies were fried. I figure now rest is more important than volume anyway.

[Chris Rodgers]

2/8
Last bench before meet

Bench press(comp grip)

1@095x5
1@135x3
1@185x1
1@225x1

Add Ultimate Denim

1@265x1
1@285x1
1@300x1(touch/easy)
1@315x1(touch/slower lockout, but strong)

Incline Hammer strength press

1@90x10
1@180x10

Curls- 3 sets


Good final bench session. I was very light today. 153 after work. 152-153 has been my lightest bodyweight this cycle, first thing in the morning. So I thought the shirt might have felt loose, but it felt good. As long as I rehydrate properly, my opener should be 300. I have touched and pressed it strong every time I've taken it in this shirt. Then I'll go right to 315.

Saturday will be the last squat workout and then rest time.

[1mmort4l]

Nice work CR, how long away is the meet?
What sort of rest sessions are you planning?

[Chris Rodgers]

Meet is in 9 days..Sat Feb 17th.

I will just stay away from the gym all next week.

[the doc]

welcome back LATMAN!!!

[Stumprrp]

nice work man looking foward to seeing your contest results, and i agree SLDLs off a box are brutal

[Chris Rodgers]

Sup doc.

Thanks Stump. I hope I don't dissapoint.

2/10
Last squat before meet

Squat(CR briefs)

1@135x5
1@255x2
1@345x1(Canvas on)
1@455x1(straps up)
1@505x1(belt)
1@555x1(knee wraps/much better than last week)


That's it. I went in to take my opener. I was real light again today...151.5,
but I used thicker briefs which helped tighten the canvas a bit. I took the 555 out of the rack on my toes, but was able to squeeze it back on my heels and it came up much faster than last week.

I should have my new canvas this week, so I will try it on and decide if it is worth trying at the meet. Nothing like calling a few audibles at the line of scrimmage. I figure it works for Peyton Manning. :P


After this meet I hope I can use my brain a little better when it comes to training. I was all over the place the last few months and I severly beat up my hips, back and hammies. Everything is real sore, so I'm hoping this week of rest will have me feeling good on meet day.

7 DAYS!!

[dw06wu]

i love reading your journals man. good luck next week!

[Chris Rodgers]

i love reading your journals man. good luck next week!

Thanks man.


4 days out. I drank 7+ liters of liquid yesterday. Will end up at around 4.5 to 5 today. Tomorrow I will drink ~3 liters and then just sip a little bit on Thursday. Thursday night I will sit in a sauna, only if necessary, which it might not be. Then Friday morning I drive up and weigh-in.

Then I'm gonna consume mass quantities of liquids and food and hopefully compete @ over 155 lbs.

[Sidior]

Best of luck at the meet man. Last two pre meet sessions looked good.

[Bohizzle]

good luck man, hopefully u can go 9/9!

Andrew

[Time+Patience]

Meet is in 9 days..Sat Feb 17th.

I will just stay away from the gym all next week.

Best of luck man. I'm making a comeback here to WBB myself, I haven't posted in quite some time.

But damn it looks like you are really thriving under a PLing routine.

I bet you have added some size, I remember I started to get real thick when I started PLing.


I have a bad memory, but where are you from, and what federation do you lift in.

[Chris Rodgers]

Thanks guys.

T+P- I live in NY and mostly compete in the APF(AAPF actually).

[Stumprrp]

nice squats man you better own it up!

[BigCorey75]

goodlifts man, good luck with ut upcoming meet, do some damage

[Chris Rodgers]

Thanks guys. I just took some time writing out my 8 week SQ/DL cycle for after the meet. I have no idea if it will kick ass or kill me, but I can't wait to try it. I haven't had an actual plan and stuck to it for a while, so I wrote it all down. I'll post it in the powerlifting section too.

[Chris Rodgers]

SQUAT

Week 1

Box squat(SSB/14"/briefs)- 245+light bandsx10x2
RAW squat(belt)- 235x2x5
Pull Thrus- 2x10-15
Wide grip pullups- BWx2xfailure
Calf raises- 2 sets
Abs

Week 2

Box squat(SSB/14"/briefs)- 245+average bandsx8x2
RAW squat(belt)- 255x2x5
Pull Thrus- 2x10-15
Wide grip pullups- BW+20 lbsx2xfailure
Calf raises- 2 sets
Abs


Week 3
Box squat(SSB/14"/briefs)- 245+strong bandsx6x2, work up to max single
RAW squat(SSB/no belt/ATF)- 165xfailure
Pull Thrus- 2x10-15
Underhand grip pulldowns- 3x8-12 reps
Abs


Week 4

Box squat(14"/briefs)- 245+080 lbs Chainx10x2
RAW squat(belt)- 270x2x5
Pull Thrus- 2x10-15
Wide grip pullups- BW+30 lbsx2xfailure
Calf raises- 2 sets
Abs


Week 5

Box squat(14"/briefs)- 245+120 lbs Chainx8x2
RAW squat(belt)- 285x2x5
Pull Thrus- 2x10-15
Wide grip pullups- BW+40 lbsx2xfailure
Calf raises- 2 sets
Abs


Week 6
Box squat(14"/briefs)- 245+160 lbs Chainx6x2, work up to max single
RAW squat(SSB/no belt/ATF)- 180xfailure
Pull Thrus- 2x10-15
Underhand grip pulldowns- 3x8-12 reps
Abs


Week 7 (Deload week)
Box squat(14"/briefs)- 245x6x2
RAW squat(belt)- 300x1x5
Pull Thrus- 2x10-15
Wide grip pullups- BW+50 lbsx2xfailure
Calf raises- 2 sets
Abs


Week 8
Squat(full gear)- Work up to heavy single(test)
RAW squat(belt)- 315x2x3
Pull Thrus- 2x10-15
Wide grip pullups- BW+60 lbsx2xfailure
Calf raises- 2 sets
Abs

[Chris Rodgers]

This is the deadlift plan. Only gonna pull every other week, but when I do I'm gonna go crazy.

DEADLIFT

Week 1

Goodmornings(no belt)- Work up to 3x6 reps
Heavy rack shrugs(belt)- 405xfailure
Ghetto Reverse hypers- 3x10-15 reps
BB rows- 2x8-10 reps
Ghetto T-bar rows- 2x6-8 reps
Abs


Week 2

Partial Deadlifts(Sumo/off mats/briefs/belt)- Work up to max triple
SLSDL(RAW/no belt)- 275x10-12
SLDL(RAW/no belt)- 315x10-12
Ghetto Reverse hypers- 3x10-15
Rows(Leg press aparatus)- 3x10-12
Abs


Week 3
Suspended Goodmornings(SSB/no belt)- Work up to 3x6 reps
Heavy rack shrugs(belt)- 425xfailure
Ghetto Reverse hypers- 3x10-15 reps
BB rows- 2x8-10 reps
Ghetto T-bar rows- 2x6-8 reps
Abs


Week 4

Reverse Band Conventional(RAW/belt/Average band)- Work up to max single
SLSDL(RAW/no belt)- 285x10-12
SLDL(RAW/no belt)- 325x10-12
Ghetto Reverse hypers- 3x10-15
Rows(Leg press aparatus)- 3x10-12
Abs


Week 5
Seated Goodmornings(no belt)- Work up to 3x6 reps
Heavy rack shrugs(belt)- 445xfailure
Ghetto Reverse hypers- 3x10-15 reps
BB rows- 2x8-10 reps
Ghetto T-bar rows- 2x6-8 reps
Abs


Week 6

Deadlifts against bands or chains(Sumo/briefs/belt)- Work up to max single
SLSDL(RAW/no belt)- 295x10-12
SLDL(RAW/no belt)- 335x10-12
Ghetto Reverse hypers- 3x10-15
Rows(Leg press aparatus)- 3x10-12
Abs


Week 7
Suspended Goodmornings(no belt)- Work up to 3x6 reps
Heavy rack shrugs(belt)- 465xfailure
Ghetto Reverse hypers- 3x10-15 reps
BB rows- 2x8-10 reps
Ghetto T-bar rows- 2x6-8 reps
Abs

Week 8
Deadlift(Conventional/Full gear)- Work up to max single
SLSDL(RAW/no belt)- 305x8
SLDL(RAW/no belt)- 345x8
Ghetto Reverse hypers- 3x10-15
Rows(Leg press aparatus)- 3x10-12
Abs

[Chris Rodgers]

Well, my new canvas came, but unfortunately the leg openings are much too small. So, I'll have to send it back to get fixed or exchanged. I guess I'll have a new suit for my next meet.


So, at the meet I will use my old canvas and I have two brief options depending on how much I'm weighing. 3 DAYS!!!

[Sidior]

I like the deadlift routine. It seem pretty well rounded, so Im presuming there is no specific weak point you are trying to bring up?

[Chris Rodgers]

I want to strengthen everything.

I'm switching to pulling every other week which should help recovery and I am also adding GM's....which I have not done in ages. Hopefully the new routine+ eating to gain will result in a big strength increase.

[Chris Rodgers]

Sitting at a super-skinny 150 even right now after work. I weigh in at around 10:00 A.M. tomorrow(~17 hours) so I should be more than fine. Then I'll be throwing liquids and food down like a fat bastard. Hopefully I'll put back on some pounds and not die.