Tonight the plan was to work up to a good and heavy double. I was looking forward to this because i had been doing more than 3 reps, which is what i consider high reps and i don't like that... Warm ups felt really good and smooth. They went like this - 135x5x2, 185x5, 225x2, 275x2, 315x2, 355x2, 380x2 which moved really nice and smooth. So much so that i thought 405 was a shot for a double... I went for it but only got one grinder of a rep. Here is a link to the video: 405 Bench Press Video
I had been wondering about where i was on a raw max and i found out. Now lets get into the shirt and see what has happened with that over the last few weeks. After the presses i did some skull crushers, push downs and flys. Normal stuff.
I am looking forward to getting back into the meet prep. That is my favorite part of training. We decided to go with a 6 week prep for this meet and its almost time start up...
Not to bad of a day today. The plan was some heavy doubles. That went prett y good and did a top set at 510. I'm still breaking in my new briefs so I threw them on to hit a few more doubles. One of my training partners Chris starting talking crap so I went a little further... I ended up hitting 700 for a single. It was OK, a little slower than I would have liked but not terrible. After that we did some front squats. They pretty much suck and I can't ever keep the bar from rolling down my front delt. Some parking lot lunges were up next then finished off with some extensions and some core work. Just a couple more weeks of this raw crap and then I can start getting ready for the RPS Nationals. Looking forward to New Jersey in January...
I have totally sucked at keeping my log up to date. But raw training sucks and it's hard to get excited about writing what's been going on. My volume has been in the three-five range the last few weeks on the lifts. Bodybuilding type accessory volume. Wow. Exciting stuff. I have been playing around with pulling conventional though. I borrowed a Metal King Pro from Chad Walker and I want to see how it feels in gear. Tonight I pulled sumo raw, which always worries me some because I've strained my hip flexor more than once doing it. It felt pretty good tonight though and my top set of five was at 455.
Brian decided to try a short meet prep since I'm coming off a meet. So I'll only be doing a six week prep. I'll do better at logging my training once I'm back in gear...
Saturday was squat day. Since I have decided to the RPS Nationals on January 25-26 my whole program is out of whack. I had gotten some new Overkill briefs in the middle of my training for the Semis. When I had sent my measurements to Rudy I was a about ten pounds lighter. Come to find out my hips were 1.25" smaller than they are now... I tried them a couple weeks ago and couldnt get them over my ass. Well, I talked to Rudy and he told me a couple things to try and I stretched them out overnight Friday and poured boiling water all over them. I got to the gym Saturday and warmed up and then spent the next hour hanging, twisting, and squirming my way into these briefs.
I finally got them pretty much on. I worked up to 520 for a couple sets of 2. They weight felt heavy on my back but it moved really good. Surprisingly I got down pretty good without my knees going to far forward.
It only took about 5 minutes to get the things off. I did pause squats, walking lunges, and a couple core exercises. A good day. I am liking the way the lunges are feeling. I know that my biggest weakness is my glutes and hams so I am focusing on that. Between GHR, lunges, and leg curls I think they may get right. I will not allow my deadlift to keep going the way it has. Even if my squat and bench have to stay put to get it moving I am willing to do that.
Things are going pretty good for the website and magazine. Picked up another meet sponsor and advertiser today: powerbellygear.com
Please go visit our website redemptionpowerlifting.com and take part in our forum, we will get a couple pro lifters for a Q&A next week. Remember that you will have to switch to the web version if you have trouble bringing the forum up your mobile device. Also, if you haven't already please go to our Facebook page and like us -
The last couple of weeks have been all over the place. I had to work in Islamorada, poor me, for a week and I also got to take the family. We had a blast. That got my training off schedule and we only got to half ass train last Saturday. We went to a local "gym" and I think we would have been better off not training. They had a squat rack but the safety catches were so high we had to walk all the way out of the rack, about six feet or so. I did notice that there wasn't any plates around the rack, they were all by the benches. Guess it doesn't get much use. I was supposed to work up to a top set of six but that wasn't happening. I stayed at 405 for a couple triples and called it. Now the whole place was looking at Mindy and me anyway but when we started doing walking lunges with a barbell this one "trainer" started freaking out. He was yelling 'you can't do that' and I was looking around trying to figure out what he was talking about. I finally realized he was yelling at Mindy so I asked 'she can't lift weights?' He replied that what she was doing was dangerous... To which I replied 'seriously? lunges? so what your saying is we can't train here?' He started mumbling and walked off. We finished our lunges with his dirty looks motivating us to do an extra set for spite. Real douchebag. So, I highly recommend steering clear of Froggys Fitness if your in the Florida Keys. I missed my bench day Monday, so I benched and Deadlifted Wednesday. On bench I worked up to 355 for my last set of 6. Then did some conventional pulls up to 405 for 3x6. Then 405 for 3x3. After that I did various accessories. If you haven't seen the XPC website the Finals are now a two day event and the amateur meet I had planned on doing is up in the air. I don't like the unknown especially with what gets put into meet prep physically, mentally, and financially so I have decided to compete at the RPS Nationals on January 26 in Newark, NJ. Brian isn't exactly thrilled but I want to compete again soon. The subpar performance at the Semis is really pushing me. So that means I'm 13 weeks out. A couple transition weeks and right back at it. I'm excited and feel pretty good. After this meet I may have to have my umbilical hernia taken care of so I will have some down time before I go back after it at next years Semi Finals.
I would also like to invite everybody to check out Mindy and I's website:
redemptionpowerlifting.com
This is a project that has evolved from wanting to put on kick ass meets to now having a magazine scheduled for January... We also have a forum on the site that we will be having pro lifters come on for q&a's every couple of weeks and to also be able to interact with other strength athletes. I'm going to try and moderate it to keep some of the things that turn people away from other forums. Right now there is an issue and the forum isn't available on mobile devices, so you will have to switch from mobile to the full web version on your phones, etc... Please give us feedback on things you like and especially things you don't like. This project is for lifters so we want it to be the best experience possible. Email us at: publisher@redemptionpowerlifting.com
Saturday I competed at the XPC Semi Finals. I had an awesome training cycle and had very high hopes going into this meet. I flew up Thursday afternoon and met up with friends and are really good. I had moved up from the 275 weight class to the 308's. I wasn't worrying about my weight. Friday morning I weighed in at 290.something. That had been my average weight and my gear had been fitting perfect right there. I was with Mick, Drew, Justin, and Brian from Omaha Barbell and we went on an eating mission Friday. That night I weighed over 296...that's the most I've ever weighed. But, I felt really good. We had went to the Elitefts Compound for some pre-meet training and my body was ready to lift right then. I didn't get a lot of sleep with the anxiety of the meet.Saturday morning I was pretty worked up already at breakfast. I ate a little bit and started to hydrate the best I could. During warm ups I could feel myself letting my knees drift forward in my squats. I thought it might just be the lighter weights and my heavier bodyweight. I got to 715 which would be my opener and took it down and my knees went forward again, so bad I had them take the weight. I was very frustrated and concerned with what was going on. Brian changed my opener, which caused a brief argument between us that he did win...It's hard to argue with facts... I was sucking ass that day and I needed to go out and be OK. I took my opener squat, 760, and it was nice and smooth. Knees were forward but not to bad. Went for a PR of 810 on the next and got it pretty good too but I felt a strain in my lower back and oblique on my right side.
We decided that I would take 830 and unrack it and see what it felt like. I did, and when I broke at the hips all of those muscles told me they weren't cooperating with me so I racked it. Disappointed because I have more than that but it was a PR. Bench warm ups felt spot on. Opener was 575 and it was smooth and easy. I went to 605 which would be a 5lbs PR. I set up and took the weight down pretty good. When I got the press command and drove with my legs my left foot slipped about 6" forward. That threw my balance off and I dumped it. Very annoyed... Took it again and pressed it easy.
So with the squat and bench being off just a few pounds it all added up to a bigger than I wanted necessary pull. I would have to pull 675 to qualify elite and make it to the Arnold. My training had actually been going very well up until four weeks out. I was going to open with 6 and then get my total and if things were OK try for a PR. But by meet time I knew the dead was trying to fall apart. So I opened with 575 which I got OK but wasn't as easy as it should be. I came to qualify so I went straight to 675. Went after it twice and both times stalled at the knees. This sucks... I hate you Deadlift!!!!!!!!!!!!! So, I'm trying to figure out what to do. I'll probably do the open meet that's either Friday or Sunday in Columbus. I love going up for the Arnold and Mindy is going this time. I have to seriously look at everything with Brian and make some big adjustments. It is my main goal to PR my dead in March. The list of thank you's is long. Brian Carroll, Ria Carroll,Clint Smith, Brian Mull, Mick Manley, Justin Graalfs, Drew Kleymann,Chad Walker, Greg Staruk, Torey Haun, John Romoser, Phil Halliwell, and I know there's many more. Especially my mother Joye Cole for the help and support. But, most importantly, and without your support and dedication none of this would happen - Thank You Mindy! Thank you.
I wanted to put something together regarding Mindy’s meet Saturday, September 28. She will put together another amazing meet write up but I wanted to say a few things too. If you don’t know that much about Mindy she is one unbelievable person. She is the mother of four, a three and four year old full time and a thirteen and sixteen year old part time, she goes to college full time, she works part time, she is a powerlifter, and the most challenging of all she is my wife…
This was her third full meet. She had done a meet a couple years back in some old too big gear for fun and I have no clue what she totaled but she had fun. This year she started training seriously and competed in June in the raw modern class. She did really well totaling 800lbs. She thought it was terrible; she served nine years in the Marine Corps and has a way of only comparing herself to men… I showed her the numbers and told her she was very close to being in the top. Reluctantly she started looking at it that way. She decided after that meet that she wanted to go to RUM VII after the knee wrap division had shown that there should be quite a turnout of top raw lifters. She needed to get an 860 total to quality so we decided to go for this September meet. Her meet prep started at about 9 weeks out. She took a week off from the June meet and pretty much went right back into prep. We tried a few new things and didn’t really like how she was responding so we went back to what had worked best last time. When she was about four weeks out her bench just crashed… that was weird because that is her best lift. She was really discouraged by it but I told her to just train with the strength she had at all out intensity and come meet time it’ll be OK. Her squats and pulls were thru the roof and we knew that was going to be some really nice PR’s. At two weeks out the black plague hit our house. This seems to be becoming a tradition at our house, the last four meets I have done this has happened including this one. She was SICK. And I don’t mean not feel good. She had a high temperature, cough, congestion, throwing up from both ends, it was terrible. We thought about throwing in the towel when the symptoms hadn’t really gotten that much better on Tuesday before the meet. That night she really went thru it and broke the fever and started getting a little better Wednesday. By Friday morning she could move around but the congestion and cough were still kicking her butt. She made the decision that she was going and we would see what happens. So, we drove over Friday evening and Saturday morning she wasn’t too bad. She was still congested but mostly she was nervous. We ate breakfast and headed over to the meet site. Warm ups went pretty well and she said everything felt good. So we stuck to the plan, we had three goals. The first was a qualifying total for RUM, the second was a 900 total, and the third was to sweep the RPS world records in the 181’s. Her opener squat was 300, easy. Second was 325 butt shot up a little but easy lift. Third was for 340 and a 65lbs PR – smoke show, best squat of the day and probably had 20lbs left in the tank. Bench, here we go. We cut her opener because of all the problems to 185 and it looked like air. Second was to 200 and it moved nice and smooth. Her third was 210 and a 5lbs PR and it was a grinder but she got it. Deads are her favorite right now. Her warm ups looked spot an and she felt ready so we changed her opener to 310 which would give her qualifying total and have that out of the way. She pulled that like nothing. So she needed 350 to get the 900 total and she took that on her second and it moved really good, 30lbs PR… She needed 375 to take the record and that’s what I called even though she said not too. She got it to her knees and that was it… I was wrong on the call but it was worth the shot. She had an awesome day. So very proud of her for going thru all the sick crap right before the meet. I am fighting the same crap right now just five days out from the XPC and after watching her I know that there is no excuse to not go and do well. She set the example that if you’ve prepared and your heart and mind are there to fight you can overcome anything. Congratulations mama and know that me and the kids are so very proud of you and love you so much.
Wednesday night is our accessory night normally but because of the meet we rearranged the schedule.
Still fighting this dang summer cold. Shirted up and did doubles all night. 545 to 1 bd, 575 to a 2 bd, and 645 to a 3 bd (PR). Very happy about how the night went. This has been one of the best training weeks I've had in forever. I tried to hit 645 awhile back and it was a big no go. So, what we've been doing is working no doubt.
I'm on a plane right now with my 3 year old, Stone. We are going to Tennessee for two family reunions and to visit. All of my family lives there and except for my Mom and stepdad no one has met this little guy before. We are excited. So I'll deload this weekend in some hopefully not totally gay commercial gym then bench again Wednesday when I get back. Then it'll be time to be on a normal schedule for the last few weeks. Looking forward to the XPC. Gotta room booked and flight is booked. Now it's just time to go get some PR's!
We ran a push/pull meet on Saturday that went very well. April Mathis broke her own world record bench press. 435 lbs raw... We also had seven RPS World Records broken! Chad Walker pulled a big 835 lbs deadlift too. We really can't wait to do another meet, the next one will be a full meet.
Since Saturday was meet set up, running, and breakdown we squatted on Monday night, our usual bench day. I have a terrible head cold and really felt like crap. But, squats felt awesome. I worked to two singles with 725 then a reverse band single with 775. Depth was real close if not good and the weight moved fast. Really happy about that.
Deadlifts have been killing me in training for a long time now. Brian put squats a d deads in the same day to give me all week to recover and it's working. I've struggled to pull over 550 in training but I pulled an easy 575 for a double then 605 for a double off 4" blocks. The night couldn't have went better.
I've realized that my hamstrings are a weak point for me and am pounding the GHR to try and bring them up. I royally suck at them and have to use a band to help pull me up. But, I'm working at it and my hams have been destroyed since...
Really, really sucking at keeping this up to date. 2 weeks ago was a deload week so nothing of interest to report on that.
Saturday I squatted. I had worn my leviathan the first couple weeks but everything felt off. It fit best at around 278-280 lbs. Now, at 290+ it's just not right. My Jack had been a little loose at that weight so I put it on Saturday and it fit really nice. So, as of now I'm back in the Jack. I worked up to 2x2 at 685 and the weight didn't feel bad but I was all over the place. I did a single with 725 RB and it was a lot better. Maybe with the gear being quite a bit tighter the extra weight helped settle me in.
After squats I did some form pulls very light. Then rack pulls up to 675 for an easy triple.
Monday was some really nice work in the shirt. 2x2 at 570 to a 2bd, 545 x2 to a 1 bd, and 545 for a single to a half board. My favorite bench accessory is RB close grip board presses. They are a very good indicator of my bench and if its getting better. I worked up to 655 off a 4 bd which is a PR so that's a good sign for me.
That pretty much catches up everything. I need to do better...
Not keeping up with this log at all... Work has been insane. Got notified that we are out of our current gym location. Just signed the lease on the new place tonight. Planning the gym move for this Saturday... Anyway.
Last Saturday squats in full gear: worked up to 645 for 2 sets of 3. Depth was still off but that's not enough weight. Felt good though. Deads: worked to 510 for 2 sets of 3. They felt decent. Rack pulled 655 for a good double. Core. Done.
Sunday benching: massive amount of work. 570 for 3x3-3bd, 515 2x2-2bd, 480 1x1-1bd. Some RB CG shirted presses off 4bd. Triceps. Done.
Today I started my ten week meet prep program. Brian sent everything to me Friday and it is a pretty big change-up from what he has had me doing in the past. Brian has been coaching me for a little over a year now and this will be our fourth meet together. Since I started powerlifting in October of 2010 this stretch since the Arnold is the longest I've went without competing. I did do a bench meet but that doesn't really count. I tried to talk Brian into a full meet but he was pretty adamant that I not, so... He was right though, I feel that I am as close to 100% as I have since I started. Thanks Brian for all the offseason programming that has brought me back to life...
The biggest change has been that I'm squatting and pulling on the same day. Wednesday was my pull day but now it is all accessory work. So, today was the first squat/pull day of this training cycle. It went really well considering it was a pretty light day. The only negative that I saw was that with 565 for the squats I couldn't get down very good at all. It usually takes around 700 to be able to hit depth so as the weeks go by and the weight gets heavier then I'll start really worrying about it. I did three sets of three on the squats in full gear once I got to 565. Once I got the briefs and suit off I had to sit down for about ten minutes to chill and catch my breath. My gear is super tight since I have gained this additional ten pounds and it is a pain in the ass to get off. Then I had to put on my DL suit... It's not so bad and I don't wear briefs with it and I wear Under Armour type underwear under it so it can move around. I worked up to 475 for two sets of three. My deadlift is sucking big time and I hope this new approach will make it move again. After pulls I went to rack pulls and finished with a top set of three at 605. As I was loading the bar in the rack I also hit my head on one of the pins and cut it. Dumb ass... It wasn't a bad cut at all but it wouldn't stop bleeding, Mindy finally took a paper towel and some masking tape and fixed me up. Pulling the sled was up next. It has been awhile since I had done that and it got my quads fired up. Finished the day with some McGill crunches. Good day.
I was all fired up for another PR on top set of 2 squats... Well, wasn't the day. I don't know if it was the speed squats from the other day or what but i just felt like crap. I got a good double with 655 but i was done after that. I guess you cant have a PR every week unfortunately. After the squats i was feeling pretty beat down so i took it a little easy. I did some extensions, GHR, and some planks and side bends. I'm really looking forward to starting me 10 week meet prep. I was on the fence as to what meet I was going to do. I knew I was going to compete on October 5th but just wasn't sure where... Money is tight and travel costs add up quick. I was thinking about doing a local meet and saving a lot of money but my wife put a creative plan together and it looks like I'll be in Columbus for the XPC again. I'm excited to go to the Semi's again and i love Columbus. So, let the games begin...
Now that i am pulling after squats Wednesday has turned into a accessory day. Tonight i did some speed box squats. Well, they were supposed to be speed... I was feeling really good and just kept going. I was doing triples and ended up with 415 on the bar with a black Elitefts band which is somewhere around 200-250 lbs at lockout. So, I pushed it way to far. But the work felt good. I did some pull ups, rows, stiff leg DL's, and some core work to end the night. Fun night...
Haven't really touched the flat bench in the last few weeks. After the bench only meet I've only done dumbbell work and floor presses. Its felt pretty good and I know that the strength from this change up will help. I did a few sets of 10 with the 125's then grabbed the 150's for a last set of 8. Those things were heavy, I haven't used them in a long time. After that it was incline presses, skull crushers, and band flys.
Today was a top set of 5 reps. I haven't ever tracked my rep PR's that much and definitely not in briefs only. I finished up the day with a set of 5 with 615. I have never really done more than doubles over 500 so thats a PR. It felt pretty good and the first couple moved pretty quick. My depth wasnt perfect but this far out I'm fine with it.
Next up was pulls. We are trying the pull after squats thing to see how it goes. I know I'm not pulling to 100% because of the squats but there feeling OK. I worked up to 550 for a double and shut it down.
Bunches of accessory work. This 5 week plan has had a LOT more work/volume and it gets pretty rough in the South Florida heat. But, my bodyweight is around 292 and I'm not loosing so thats good.
Deload week. The plan was to do 3x10 floor presses, 50 flys, and 50 push downs. Finished that up pretty quick and easy. Mindy and Christian, the 16 year old thats been training with us, were doing some other things on the bench so I helped them finish up. After they finished they did some reverse band close grip presses. When they were done we started breaking stuff down but I just put the bar down on the pin that was in the lowest position and did a quick Deadlift, then everybody else did too... It all got out of hand pretty quick. Next thing I know it's only me and Christian Left and there's 675 lbs on the bar. We both got it and called it at that. I was very happy with Christian and how hard he pushed. He's going to do our meet in August then a full meet in December. I've looked at some numbers and he's got a pretty good chance at a record pull. Really excited to see him grow and get stronger.
This is a deload week. It was also the weekend I went to get Shane, my oldest son. So, I got up and drove to pick him up instead of the gym in the AM. Mindy rode with me and we got back home around 1PM. We thought about going to the gym but neither one of us felt like being in the truck any longer.
Garage gym - all I did was 3x3 squats, 3x3 pulls, and some good mornings. Easy light day.
Mindy and I have been helping a 16 year old kid for the last couple weeks. He can't train Sunday morning so we've been meeting him in the afternoon. I usually get up train in the morning and go back for him and Mindy. Well, I decided I'd sleep in and train with them yesterday. Bad idea... I was up at the normal time and Laid around eating crap and watching pit masters on Netflix. So I was dragging ass and my stomach hurt when I got to the gym. I'm doing pretty much bodybuilding for bench the next few weeks so it wasn't to bad. DB presses 3x10 w/125's, floor presses for 3x8 w/275, then skull crushers, flys, and I threw in some shoulder prehab stuff.
Mindy put her Jack shirt for the first time. The sleeves are about a 1/2" too long but she got an easy 250 off a three board. But one hand went numb so we called it and got the shirt off. She'll have a video up soon. She's gonna kick ass in a shirt.
