January 1, 2016 Lower Body

• Deadlift: 405*1 435*1 455*1 475*1 495*1 505*1-ouch.

OK, so I was in a pissy mood and just felt like ripping some weight off the floor, everything was going good and I actually cracked 505 again....but I strained my back on the right side down low pretty bad.  I'm catching up on entries now, writing 6 weeks later, and it turned out to be relatively mild, but at the time I thought I ruptured a disc in my back. I couldn't even bend over to take the weight off the bar, and any time I tried to pick up anything heavier than 10 lbs., I couldn't even pick it up because I had no strength at all.  It gradually got better over the weekend, but was still fairly painful by the following Monday.  I would chalk this up as only the second moderate injury I've had in my 17 years of lifting.  The one good thing to come out of this is that it's forcing me in subsequent weeks to really focus on the form of my deadlifting and making sure my hamstrings are contributing enough to the lift; I have never really gotten to activate them enough, and ended up using my back and ass more than I should be in a deadlift.   As of late February when I'm writing this, I can tell when I use shitty form on a deadlifting rep because I get a 'ping' signal from that spot in my lower back.  It's forcing me to make sure I'm initiating the lift with my hips, as opposed to trying to lean back and pull up using too much arm and lower back.  

Overall I think I jumped in to the high rep squatting too fast earlier in the winter, I posted a few times about how tired and sore my lower back was, and this just exacerbated that

March 13, 2015 Lower

• Hanging Power Snatches: 95*5 115*5 125*3 135*3 135*3
• Hanging Power Cleans: 135*5 145*5 155*4 165*2
• Deadlift: 275*3 325*1 365*2 365*1
• Standing Calves: 240*10 260*10

I'm still annoyed that the 135 sets have been harder on snatches lately, not sure why, I need to figure out what I'm doing wrong. I end up 'star-fishing' my legs out to the side on almost every rep at 135 the last couple weeks. Deadlift form felt fine, going to start putting weight back on again. 

March 6, 2015 Lower

• Hanging Power Snatches: 95*3 115*3 125*3 135*2
• Deadlift: 315*2 365*2 385*2 405*1 315*2 315*1
• Wide-Stance Anti-Rotational Chop: 70*10 50*10

Tired after the full body yesterday, kept it light here. 

February 19, 2015 Lower Body / Olympic Lifting

• Deadlift (double overhand): 315*1 335*1
• Deadlift: 405*1 435*1 455*1 405*1
• Hanging Power Snatches:95*3 115*3 135*3 145*2
• Overhead snatch-grip holds: 145*20(seconds) 145*30
• Hanging Power Cleans: 145*3
• Press Walks: 90*100 90*100

Good times, I feel like my grip strength is improving from the farmers walks, I couldn't have gotten 335 overhand before on deadlifting. My grip has been a weak point, now I really focus on trying to squeeze the bar to death as I pull.  On the snatches, at 145 I held it overhead for a while after each rep, I really like that feeling. Finished with cleans, and then did some press walks; pressing a short-bar overhead and then walking. I count that as a weighted carry of sorts

September 12, 2013 Lower

• Deadlifts: 405*1 435*1 455*1 475*1
• Deficit Deadlifts: 405*1 425*nopenopenope
• Hanging Power Cleans: 135*3 155*3 175*1,1 185*1
• Hanging Power Snatches: 145*3 155*1
• Pull-Throughs: 110*10 120*10
• Ab-Wheel: 10, 10

44 minutes

Someone actually broke my deadlifting record (again, they use 5 rep max as the record), so I feel somewhat obligated to reclaim it as quickly as possible, I think 455*5 was what the guy got. There can only be one king.  I was going to keep focusing on squats but now I don't know...maybe do both?  Added in deficit deadlifts here, stood on 2 45 lbs. plates, so about 2".  Wasn't sure it would make a huge difference..yeah it does.  Going to work these in from now on.   Cleans & Snatches went well, I'm focusing on snatch form right now, it's going good. Pull-Throughs were nice again too. 

August 6, 2013 Lower Body / Posterior Chain / Olympic Lifting

• Power Shrug: 405*5 455*5
• Hanging Power Cleans: 135*3 155*3 155*3 175*3 185*1 195*1 -tired, starfished 155*3
• Hanging Power Snatches: 135*2
• Deadlifts: 405*1 425*1 315*5
• Pull-Throughs; 60*10 70*10
• 90 lbs. sled push & pull: 14, 3:25

Good session, got a bit tired while cleaning.  Actually really tired for some reason.   On deadlifts my back was extremely sore, I never really rested after Friday & Saturday. Forgot how much that day off helps.  Did some sled pushes & pulls for fun after.  

July 9, 2013 Lower Body / Posterior Chain / Olympic Lifting

• Rack Power Shrugs: 335*6 405*6 495*4
• Hanging Power-Cleans: 135*3 135*3 135*4 135*3 135*4 135*3 135*3 155*3
• Hanging Power-Snatches: 135*3
• Deadlifts: 315*3 365*2 385*1
• Pull-Throughs: 40*11 50*11

41 minutes

Power shrugs 495 was about my upper limit.  Then I drilled the heck out of hanging power-cleans.  It's getting better, I feel like my biceps are finally phasing out of the pull, my traps and upper back are the parts that feel it the most.  It's getting easier to pull the weight up, and I'm not star-fishing very much.  It's very important to me to visualize rotating my elbows out in front of me as I catch the bar.  I'm also dipping a tad when I catch the bar finally.  It seems to be coming together.  On the 155 attempt it was just as easy for me as the 135s which is very good; indicates it's hip explosion moving the weight, and not my arms. If it was arms the 20 lbs. increase would be quite noticeable.  Did some token hanging power snatches after.  Deadlifts still kept them light.  Did pull-throughs...need to work on these, they exhausted my lower back, not that it was moving the weight, just keeping stabilized after all the sets I had done earlier was exhausting for it.  

June 25, 2013 Lower & Upper

• Hanging Snatch-Grip High-Pulls: 135*1 155*1 175*2 155*4
• Hanging Power Snatch: 95*5 115*5 135*2 115*1
• Hanging Power Cleans: 135*4 155*X-2, but all arm 175*1
• Deadlift: 405*1 415*1
• Bench Press: 245*2 265*1-exhausted 275*1 285*1
• Staright-Bar Pullups: 60*4 BW*4 -grip shot
• Landmine Laterals: 50*9
• 10 lbs. plate transfer planks: 4*2 4*1

68 minutes

Well that was a marthon.  Still don't have my o-lift form down at all. It's really pissing me off.  I move less weight when using form that is closer to 'proper' with the snatches & cleans, and my feet keep going out naturally 'starfishing' as they call it.  I'm not counting those reps, or ones where it's all arm to get the weight up.  Was furious after that part of the session, almost threw a plate at one of the mirrors on the wall.  Was out of town yesterday so I crammed in an upper body session in here too, wasn't expecting much out of it since I did all the other lower body stuff first. 

June 4, 2013

• Bench Press: 245*3 265*2 275*1 285*1 295*1
• Deadlift: 405*1 425*1 445*1
• Pendlay Rows: 175*6 195*5 205*4
• Hanging Power Snatch: 135*3 145*1 135*3
• Landmine Laterals: 45*10 50*8
• Ab-Wheel: 10, 11

Vacation was fine I guess.  Got food poisoning on plane ride home yesterday. Don't feel too weak now though. Hard to keep food down though. whatever.  Threw upper body here too since I didn't want to miss it two straight weeks. 

April 23, 2013 Lower Body

• Deadlift: 315*3 365*1 405*1 435*1
• Hanging Power Snatches: 135*3 145*3 150*2 155*1
• Power Cleans: 185*2 205*1
• Hanging Power Cleans: 185*1
• Sled Pushes: 180*4
• Plank Sled Drag: 45*1 70*1

45 minutes

Felt good deadlifting here after last week off from deadlifting.  Felt really good.  Hanging Power Snatches went great, was pumped for them.  Got double on 150.  Power cleans went well too.  May do regular cleans next week, not sure. In other news...my gym got some indoor astro-turf, and a flat sled! So happy, I'm going to wear that thing out.  Did some pushes on it, felt them more in my quads than i expected.  Then I did some plank sled drags (tie a rope to a sled, extend the rope out, get in a plank at the end of the rope and pull the sled towards you with one arm.  

April 2, 2013 Lower Body

• Deadlift: 405*1 435*1 455*1
• Hanging Power Snatch: 135*1 145*1 155*1
• Hanging Power Clean: 185*1 185*1 195*1 205*1
• Power Cleans: 185*1 195*1 205*1
• Ab-Wheel: 12, 12

37 minutes

Good session, kept DLs not too heavy.  Snatching went well, need to focus on snap up overhead more, I feel like focus is such a huge part of the olympic lifts that gets overlooked.  Did some hanging power cleans, and then regular power cleans. May do cleans strictly off the floor for a few weeks, it's a lot of fun and the weight feels easier to toss up.  I did clip my right knee on the 205 attempt on the power cleans. Good thing I was fatigued or I probably would have popped it off.  Finished with some ab wheel for mah red hawt abbzzzz y

February 5, 2013 Lower Body

• Deadlifts: 345*10 385*10
• Hanging Power Snatches: 135*1 145*1 145*1
• Hanging Power Cleans: 185*1 195*1
• Wide-Stance Anti-Rotational Chops: 60*10

39 minutes

CNS is really tired still from Saturday.  After the deadlifting I decided to take it a bit easy on the o-lifts.  My bar speed was awful on the o-lifts.  Going to take tomorrow off and just eeeeat and rest.  Up to 385 though on DLs...hopefully just two weeks away from a new 10 rep record (405).  We shall see

January 29, 2013 Lower Body

• Deadlifts: 340*10 375*10
• BB Hanging Power Snatch: 155*1 145*2 145*1
• BB Hanging Power Cleans: 135*32 (not a typo)

40 minutes

So I decided 3 sets of 10  on the deadlifting was a lot like the 4 sets of 10 on squatting; it just wears me down more than anything.  I want to go 385-395-405 over the next three weeks, and if I'm worn down that's not going to happen.  When I started this higher rep stuff I was not sure how long I would continue for, I think I'm going to do a few more weeks, I'm at the one month mark now. My goal is 250 for 10 on bench press, 405 for 10 on deadlifting, and 300 for 10 on squatting.  Snatches the 155 was really shaky.  Should have warmed up more and done 145 first for 1, then 155.  I went straight from 135 to 155.  

Ok so for the hanging power cleans, the gym is having a competition on various lifts, the idea came from one of the trainers. It's mostly cardiovascular stuff; nothing like 'highest deadlift' or anything, it's more 'how many reps with 75% of your bw (max weight 135 lbs)' type of deal.  In this case it was total number of reps in three minutes with 135 lbs.  You could put the bar down as needed.  Some other guy got 50 with 135...then I found out he used wrist wraps.  My face when they told me: 

Anyway I got 32 reps.  My last rep the weight actually fell out of my hands, not even on purpose, my grip was just exhausted, even with putting the weight down twice during the three minutes..  Afterward my forearms were so swollen I think it bruised the skin underneath, check this out, both forearms had bruising on them all over, like this.  

January 22, 2013 Lower Body

• Deadlifts: 405*1 420*1 445*1 455*1
• Hanging Power Snatch: 150*1 155*1 145*1
• Hanging Power Cleans: 185*1 195*1 205*X
• Side Planks: 1:00

45 Minutes

Decided to see where my deadlift is, since I haven't done low rep stuff in quite a while. I'm happy with this result.  On the snatches I barely got 155, so an attempt at 160 was not in the offing.  REALLY ticked off that I missed 205 on the cleans, I think I missed it because of non-tight form; I really should have had it but the start of the movement I was slow.   It's amazing how I only do 9 or 10 sets on this workout every week but it still takes 45 minutes.  Deadlifting just drains me (not in a bad way) and i always end up taking 4-5 minutes between sets. 

January 8, 2013 Lower Body

• Deadlift: 315*10 335*10 350*10
• Hanging Power Snatch: 145*1 150*1 155*1
• Hanging Power Cleans: 180*1 190*1 200*1
• Ab-Wheel: 10, 10

44 minutes

Good session; going to go 325-350-360 next week on deads.   Hanging power snatches went great, the reps were all clean, felt great.  Going to bump the 180 to 185 on HPCs next week.  Overall a good session.