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Monday, December 22 - Supplemental Just a quick note to let folks know why I haven't put any new entries in my training log. Shortly after my last entry, I came down with a severe case of the flu. I was very sick for about two weeks; once I moved past the fever stage, I had no energy and very little appetite. I've lost nearly twenty pounds and have yet to train. I probably won't do any training until January to make sure I'm fully recovered. I even had a flu shot this year, too. |
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Sunday, November 23 -
Supplemental
In thinking about my performance at the meet and my training leading up to it, it occurred to me that I haven't followed the general advice of good benchers to be sure to include heavy full-range presses in the training cycle (not that I haven't tried to do so). Leading up to my May 2006 bench of 677.7 in Minneapolis, I was one-for-four on full-range attempts in the gym. My one successful full-range attempt in that cycle was a 660 on May 9, still my heaviest full-range gym bench press to date. Leading up to this year's WABDL Worlds, I had great success off a 1-board, but missed my only heavy full-range attempt, a 705 (due to my shirt being cranked much too tight . . . couldn't touch at all). My only successful full-range attempts in both PR cycles were opener checks: 550 in a 54 F6 in 2006, and 585 in a 54 Katana in this most recent cycle. While I agree with the principle of aiming for some heavy full-range attempts in training, clearly I've done alright in spite of my struggles with them. Part of my success could be good luck. Part is no doubt the lessons learned about setting the shirt and other technical issues from the failed full-range attempts. What others might take from my experience is not to panic if they, like me, crash and burn on some heavy full-range attempts in training. While I believe we should aim for them in our training, they are not guarantors of meet success in and of themselves. Failure in the gym--an inevitability much as we try to avoid it--offers its own opportunities for success. |
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Saturday, November 15 - WABDL World Championships Meet Report Weighed in Friday evening at 307.6 then headed to a steakhouse where I preyed on a full rack of ribs, a couple of cinnamon-glazed yams, and a big bowl of rice. I'm sure I was a superheavyweight again by the time I finished the breakfast buffet Saturday morning. 1st Attempt (in 54 Katana): 589.5 Good - 3 whites More difficult to touch than I anticipated, and slowed down a bit near lockout. Roger Ryan handed off. 2nd Attempt (in Titan Super Plus): Made sure not to pull the neck down much. 700.8 (699.7 plus small chips) Good - 3 whites - Meet PR! Video HERE. Descent was sloppy but the press was good. Dave Edmondson was head judge and he's picky, so that made the three whites all the more satisfying. My first 700 bench, making me only the second man to do a double-700 in WABDL (700 bench press and 700 deadlift). SHW Jani Murtomaki of Finland became the third later in the day. Handoff was slightly uneven, exacerbated by the left shoulder being up higher than the right since I didn't warm up in the shirt, but Roger kept it steady enough for me to handle. Ron L'Hullier and Gabe Perkins helped with the handoff. 3rd Attempt (in Titan Super Plus): Jess Peshek missed his first and second with 705.2, so I called for 706.3 (705.2 plus small chips) since he was lighter than me. 706.3 No Good - 3 reds Shouldn't have pulled the neck down as much as we did. I got the bar down, but it touched so low that I didn't get enough speed on it and it stalled about two-thirds of the way up. Meanwhile, Jeff Peshek called for 710.7 and missed. 1st Place - Master 40-46 308 Texas State Record I decided not to enter Open this year (being cheap). DUH! I would have won Open 308 by about 50 pounds. It was great to get my first 700 with my old coach Ron L'Hullier on the platform. I always seem to hit a PR when he's involved in the handoff. Roger Ryan has been a big help to me, both with his good advice and his example that age really is just a number. And Gabe Perkins, the Team Captain of UHD Powerlifting, has pushed me hard in the gym. Trying to keep up with him in RAW benching and close grips is TOUGH. Thanks to Janne Heittokangas for the celery trick, which may have been the ticket to my making weight. Resting up for a week and then thinking of my next meet and some new goals. |
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Tuesday, November 11 - Bench Press Opener Check BWT - 312.25 HUGE late lunch today. Bench Press - 135x10 185x5 225x5 275x1 315x1 Katana 54 on . . . 3-boards - 405x3 2-boards - 500x2 Full Range - 585x1 PR in the 54 Katana Difficult touch, but the weight flew up faster than anything I've done in a shirt. 589 or 595 might be a better number, or even 600. I think the shirt will fit a little better on Saturday. Will keep the collar slightly higher. Can't wait to give a 52 or 50 Katana a try. Mom is home from the hospital and is doing well. |
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Thursday, November 6 - Deadlift BWT - 311.5 This was an abbreviated final workout before Worlds. My mother is in the hospital, so I need to catch a flight up to Michigan very soon. There will be no opener check; my mother is my priority right now. Bench Press - 135x10 185x5 225x5 275x1 315x1 F6 Super Plus on . . . 3-boards - 405x3 500x3 2-boards - 605x1 Full Range - 705x0 Got it down to a half inch off the chest and couldn't get it down further. Tried to pull it down, but my wrists rolled and the boys had to take it. Decided to hang it up there as my wrists and elbows are still VERY sore from last week. I need to heal up. Close-Grip - 315x5 315x6
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Tuesday, November 4 - A New Day for America BWT - 309.5 Weight is coming under control. No deadlifting today so as not to risk injury going into Worlds. More importantly, an historic election is over, and history has indeed been made. The voters have spoken, and we have rejected the politics of fear and paranoia, and have ushered in a new era. In spite of the lies, in spite of the attacks, in spite of the smears, in spite of the widespread internet misinformation, Barack Obama will be the next President of the United States. I am prouder than ever to be an American on this night. |
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Thursday, October 30 - Bench Press BWT - 313.5 Damn! Have to start easing the weight back down toward 308.5 over the next couple weeks. Bench Press - 135x10 185x5 225x5 275x1 315x1 F6 Super Plus on . . . 3-board - 405x3 500x3 2-board - 585x1 1-board - 695x1 PR! Very strong and fast. Go HERE to see the video. Another angle on the 695 HERE.
2-board - Maybe a 695 or 705 full range next week, then 715 off a 1-board. |
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Tuesday, October 28 - Deadlift, sort of BWT - 312.5 What the hell did I eat?? I think it's because of my weekend in Seattle. Stiff-leg Deadlift - 225x5 315x5 385x5 Still going nice and easy with my back, and trying not to mess up my bench prep for Worlds. Several good deadlifters advised me to drop stiffs, and I got away from them for awhile. Guess what? My deadlift tanked. So back to my bread and butter assistance. I'll do rack squats Thursday AFTER I bench so as not to have a negative impact on my bench. My "visuals" in my log have had an effect, I believe. I haven't received any feedback or emails from any of my old powerlifting friends since I started posting them. |
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Yeah, I know this might be hard for some to figure out: how does he support Obama AND gun rights? I think for myself, that's why. I don't buy into anyone's pre-set agenda. |
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Thursday, October 23 - Bench Press This was a decent day. Bench Press - 135x10 185x5 225x5 275x1 315x1 F6 Super Plus on . . . 3-board - 405x3 500x3 2-board - 585x1 1-board - 675x1 Fast and easy! Kinda tough to touch the board, though. 2-board - 705x1 2-board PR! Very smooth and strong; solid lockout. Will probably try this to a 1-board next week. 3-board - 500x20 All-Time PR!! After a few years of trying, the 10,000 lb. set has been achieved! Now what do I do? Do my burnout set with 550 or 600? Shoulder P/Rehab . . . |
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Wednesday, October 22 -
Deadlift BWT - 308.5 Skipping deadlift this week due to a tumble down some steps I took over the weekend. Wound up doing the splits and pulling my groin pretty badly. Will bench tomorrow. |
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Thursday, October 16 - Bench Press BWT - 307.5 Bench Press - 135x10 185x5 225x5 275x1 315x1 F6 Super Plus on . . . 3-boards - 405x3 500x3 585x2 2-boards - 675x2 3-boards - 705x1 (just missed a second rep at the top; didn't quite get it locked and it drifted back) 500x17 Close-Grips - 315x4 Shoulder P/Rehab . . . |
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Wednesday, October 15 - Deadlift BWT - 307.5 Use a modified sumo stance today. Easier to get to the bar, but not nearly so fast off the floor. Well, that's sumo. Deadlift - 225x5 315x3 405x1 500x1 540x1 Rack Squats - 405x3 495x3 585x3 675x3 745x3 Heavy Lat Pulldowns - Cardio - Bike/Treadmill - 20 min. |
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Friday, October 10 - Bench Press BWT - 308.5 Due to the massive amount of truly moronic anti-Obama trash that finds its way to my inbox (Roger Ryan's FWDs excluded since he sends out some really funny stuff), I've decided to "express myself," politically and ideologically speaking, through my training log. It won't make any difference in the election, but it's my way of having a little fun to balance out all the fun people seem to be having at Obama's expense (and why is it that powerlifters seem to assume that other powerlifters are Republicans??). To those who may be offended by some of the material here, look at it this way: I'm not sending it unsolicited to your inbox, AND if you don't like it you don't have to visit my site. If you are still offended: lighten the hell up. I don't really care. On to my workout . . . First time back in the shirt since the Dallas meet. Pretty decent day. Bench Press - 135x10 185x5 225x5 275x1 315x1 F6 Super Plus on . . . 3-boards - 405x3 500x4 585x3 655x2 These were my best reps . . . decent speed. 2-boards - 585x2 3-boards - 500x14 Close-Grip - 315x2 I'm tired and I suck. Tricep Pressdowns . . . Shoulder P/Rehab . . . Abs . . . |
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Wednesday, October 8 - Deadlift BWT - 309.5 I still have serious compression problems in my lower back. As a result, I won't deadlift at Worlds since it's unlikely I'll be able to get back to 700 by then, and I may hurt myself trying to do so. I'm going back to basics and will follow a slow, patient progression back to 700+ territory, while continuing stretching and rehab work. I want to do this right so that next time I step on the competitive deadlift platform I finally hit a new PR. Deadlift - 225X5 315x1 405x1 500x1 520x1 Lockouts are still slow due to the loss of flexibility in my back. Rack Lockouts - 405x3 500x2 585x1 These are especially hard to get started as this is the position in which my back has the least flexibility. Shrugs - 500x20 Abs . . . Lots of newbies today . . . including a little 85 pound recruit! |
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Friday, October 3 - Bench Press BWT - 305.25 Still feeling the effects of Wednesday's heavy rack squats. They put me in touch with parts of my glutes I had forgotten I had. Bench Press - 135x10 185x5 225x5 275x1 315x5 Close-Grips - 275x5x3 Full Shoulder P/Rehab Series . . . On another note: the campaign gets ugly . . . or should I say the McCain campaign gets desperate? Having Palin attack Obama for his associations with a former member of the Weather Underground (against whom all charges were dropped, by the way) and fellow academic was truly disgusting, especially in light of the current economic mess we're dealing with. But they're behind in the polls and they have no good answer for the economy (a subject McCain admitted not too long ago that he didn't know too much about), so they resort to smear tactics and the invocation of the "T" word. Shameful! While intelligent, rhetorically astute voters easily will see through such toxic politics, I'm afraid a great many voters are neither intelligent nor rhetorically astute (after all, look who is in the White House now). Just as many were likely fooled by Palin's well-coached but substance-light debate performance, I'm afraid many might actually be distracted by the mudslinging of McCain and his henchwoman. How very, very pathetic. |
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Wednesday, October 1 - Deadlift BWT - 305.5 (Dai's cooking) Not supposed to deadlift for a couple of weeks due to some hyper compression issues in my lower back . . . but . . . Stiff-Leg Deadlift - 225x5 335x5 425x3 Rack Squats - 315x5 405x5 495x3 585x3 675x3 725x3 |
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Friday, September 26 - Bench Press BWT - 303.5 The combined stresses of Hurricane Ike and it's aftermath, gathering up my team and making sure our trip would happen, the trip to Collinsville and back, and running the meet have taken a toll on me: I'm STILL exhausted and the week is coming to an end. I've never been this wiped out except following my two major hospitalizations. Bench Press - 135x10 185x5 225x5 275x1 315x5 225x10 Close-Grip Bench Press - 295x3 275x5 Full Shoulder P/Rehab . . . Machine Chest Flyes - 3 sets Machine Tricep Extensions - 3 sets |
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Tuesday, September 23 - Deadlift BWT - 303.5 Still wiped out from the trip so I didn't do much. Heavy Lat Pulldowns - 3 sets Treadmill - 20 mn We left for Collinsville last Thursday morning. All the large-capacity vans in the city had been taken by FEMA and the National Guard, but we were able to find a mini van and an SUV from Enterprise. We took along my car for extra seating. 13 of my 15 lifters made the trip. The drive was 15 hours, and we got in after 1:00 a.m. on Friday morning. I got up early to take Gus to breakfast and set up for weigh-ins. After the team weighed in, they went into St. Louis to see the Arch and the Zoo. I was up pretty late for weigh-ins and doing flights. Up early on Saturday to set up. The meet went well, with just under 40 lifters and 8 schools represented. There was some great lifting and lots of camaraderie among the lifters. I received alot of positive feedback from lifters and officials. They all think we have a good idea with WABDL Collegiates and that the meet will grow and grow in the future. One of the highlights of the day was Trey Jewett of the University of Texas - San Antonio benching 705 at 220. I was doing the handoff, so no one at the meet wanted him to get the lift more than me, especially since I was coaching the only team there that had a shot at beating the strong UTSA team. Meet day was also my birthday, and my UHD Powerlifters gave me a wonderful present by winning the team title, beating 2nd place UTSA by 10 points. Other teams were the University of Illinois, the combined University of Wisconsin and University of Wisconsin - La Crosse teams, Southern Illinois University, Eastern Michigan University, and Saint Louis University. The key to our win was recruiting women and lightweights; this gave us a number of very high-point placings. It's never enough for a team to be strong; a good team must also be diverse in gender and weight-class coverage. It was another 15 hours back to Houston and then right back into school on Monday, scrambling to re-group after missing a whole week of classes. |
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Monday, September 15 -
Supplemental
Let
me tell you -- Houston is not the place to be without A/C. |
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Wednesday, September 10 - Deadlift BWT - 305.25 Lost 9 pounds in two weeks I was to deadlift on Monday or Tuesday, but it wasn't possible since my lifters were getting their final deadlift workouts in. Unfortunately, I didn't get good sleep on Tuesday night and didn't feel very energetic for the workout. I got through my pulls, and that was about it. Deadlift - 225x5 315x3 405x1 500x1 585x1 Much too slow. Stiff-Leg Deadlift - 335x5 Felt like crap at this point. Decided to do my assistance work on Thursday or Friday . . . BUT . . . (Ahead to Thursday, 9/11) By Thursday morning, Hurricane Ike was tracking directly toward Houston. The university shut down at 2:30, so no workouts. If the university re-opens on Monday or Tuesday, we can do opener checks. But if the hurricane shuts us down into midweek, no more workouts until our departure for St. Louis. I'm taping windows, clearing my balcony, and battening down the hatches for the storm. If we're lucky, maybe by morning the storm will be tracking away from Houston. If not . . . . . . this is not the place to be with no electricity. I know. I should be more selfish about my workouts, and I intend to be . . . after Collegiate Nationals. Quite frankly, with this big storm looming . . . 500 miles across with 110+ mph winds . . . I really could care less about my workouts or about Worlds. I'm thinking mostly about my lifters and hoping they get through the storm without their homes getting flooded or damaged, or even destroyed. I've seen these lifters come a long way in the months I've been coaching them. As usual, I've recruited a number of unlikely powerlifters who are making excellent progress, surprising themselves and everyone else in the gym week after week. They joined the team with some skepticism, but now they're becoming believers. I'm really proud of them and I hope this storm doesn't interfere with their St. Louis plans. I would imagine that we'll lose power sometime tomorrow night, and it may be awhile before it's back up. I'll post again when I can. See y'all on the other side . . . |
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Friday, September 5 -
Bench Press BWT - 306.5 Lost just over 7 pounds since Monday, August 28. All I did was start making my own lunches instead of getting my lunch at the greasy-spoon cafeteria. Bench Press - 135x10 185x5 225x5 275x1 315x5 Somehow tweaked my left rotator during the week, maybe by sleeping on my side wrong. Another heavy coaching week. Next week will be our last hard week of training before collegiate nationals. I'll be able to get some good training in the week of the meet, and I'm going to set aside more time for my Worlds training when we get back. |
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Wednesday, September 3 - Deadlift BWT - 308.0 Rack Squats - 315x3 405x1 495x1 585x1 635x1 I don't recommend doing these the day after rack lockouts, but I had to get some training in somehow. |
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Tuesday, September 2 - Deadlift BWT - 309.5 Monday was a holiday, so the gym was closed. This meant that all of our lifters were deadlifting on the same day . . . so no deadlift for me this week. Rack Lockouts - 225x5 315x5 405x3 495x2 585x1 Haven't done these in awhile. |
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Friday, August 29 - Bench Press BWT - 312.0 Bench Press - 135x10 185x5 225x5 275x1 315x5 Close-Grip Bench Press - 275x1 Shoulder P/Rehab . . . We are working hard to get the UHD team ready for WABDL Collegiate Nationals. That means I don't have much time for my own training. A team national championship will do alot to make me feel better about my missed training. |
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Tuesday, August 26 -
Deadlift
BWT - 314.0 Deadlift - |
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Tuesday, August 19 -
Deadlift First deadlift workout since 2007. Deadlift - Rack Squats (a couple
pins lower than usual) - |
