April 24, 2013 Deadlifts

I was really looking forward to deadlifting tonight, and that's something that I have not felt in a really long time.  Tonight I worked up to a top set of 6.  I was thinking that 455 would probably be it but 405 did it.  I have no idea what my raw numbers are so I am trying to use my geared numbers to figure things out.  I did some rack pulls next and was really wanting to handle 700.  I was doing sets of 5 on these and when I got to 605 I knew it was it.  So, in my mind I had definitely been a little high on  my estimates but I got some good work in.  Pull downs, shrugs, and up-downs finished the night.
Mindy was following me and she had a very good night.  She had a real nice set of 5 on the rack pulls of 355 and then I put 425 with some reverse average bands and she got a real easy fast set of 5.  She will pull big at her next meet.

April 21, 2013 Bench

6's this week on bench. I'm really feeling good with this volume. I had forgot what it felt like to do some reps. I finished off with a good set of 6 with 325. Then three sets of close grip. Next up was incline db presses. I grabbed the 125's not sure how it would go. But, they weren't too bad. A few band flys and done.

April 20, 2013 Squats

Week 2 of raw squats.  We decided to head a little north to Chad Walkers garage and train today.  I, and my wife, like to train up there for a change of scenery.  Today felt pretty good.  Had to work up to a top set of 6, which was 407.  Starting to try and push a little harder now that I see my hips and back are surviving.  I did 3 sets of 6 with 307 pause squats.  I really hated these when I first started doing them but I like the way they feel now.  Brian has put good mornings into my training and I am working on these.  I have never done them consistently or heavy.  I am taking it slow but I like the stretch and the feel of them.  Finished the day with some extenisons and planks.  I was beat.
Mindy had taken a week or so out of her suit but today she put it on and her form was perfect.  She didnt go really heavy because we were really working on form and depth but she has come a long way with this new suit.

  

April 17, 2013 Deadlifts

For the first time in a long time deadlifting didnt feel like a foriegn movement.  I worked up to a top set of 8 reps and used 365.  Not a lot of weight but I'm still feeling this out.  When I get to 5 I really die out.  Plus I am testing my hip.  The last time I pulled sumo raw I did something to my right hip.  It took forever to stop feeling it and I had a terrible time pushing my hips thru at the top.
So, I worked up to 8 with 365 then went to 6" block pulls and did a set of 5 with 405 and 455 and it felt really light and easy.  I had been really struggling with rack and block pulls due to these hip and low back injuries.  I am looking at next weeks dealift plan and am actually looking forward to deadlifting.
I finished the night with some barbell rows, shrugs and some up/down planks.
Mindy has been doing sumo pulls since she started lifting.  Tonight she decided to see what conventional pulls felt like.  She PR'ed...  It was really unbelievable how much stronger and faster she was.  So, she'll be pulling that way now and we need to find a conventional suit now...
I have been watching a lot of those videos from Dr. Stuart McGill after hearing about him thru Brian.  What he says makes a lot of sense and I would highly recomend listening to him.

4/14/13 Raw Squats

Raw squats... Do I have to say anything else. Pure hatred is the only motivation I can muster up to put myself thru these. Sets of 8... I'm pretty sure I didn't work up enough. I stopped at 365. I know, I'm a puss. But I was thinking too much about "deep" pause squats for sets of eight... I was supposed to do 50% of my raw max but I have no idea what that is and unless ordered to I'm not going to find out. So I picked 285. That was some pretty good work. Good mornings, extensions, and planks finished the day.
It's Monday and I did all this yesterday and i am SORE. Damn you Brian Carroll.

4/12/13 Raw Bench

Today was the first day of my ten weeks of raw hell. I switched some things around because I was going to Ft Lauderdale to help out at a meet. So, I met my wife at the local Worlds Gym... It's been a few years since I've trained at a commercial gym. I decided to bench there on Friday and would squat Sunday. The first thing I noticed was the lack of knurling on the bar. Wow. It looked like it had it but it was slick. Luckily I had a block of chalk in the truck.
This week I have eights... So I worked up to a top set of 8. Which ended up being 305. I thought I would have been a little stronger but, I'm blaming it on the bar and the bench. Next up was a few sets of wide grip presses. Then was the worst part. Sets of 30 dumbbell presses. I thought about what kind of weight to use and settled on the 60's. The first set sucked but I finished. The second set I made it to 16 and had to take a second. I finished but I definitely went to failure. Got some good stretches with some flys and then I was done. Soreness on the way...

April 3, 2013 Deadlifts

Not a whole lot of work tonight. I used to train like this all the time and thought it would be fun to do it.
135 2x10
225 x 8
315 x 6
405 x 4
495 x 2
Done... Everything felt really light and fast. And my hams actually are a little sore so that's good. Next I did some barbell rows, dumbbell rows, band face pulls, and some planks to finish the night.
One more week of playing and then I'll start my raw crap... Not looking forward to that at all.

March 31, 2013 Benching

Easter! We were up doing the Easter thing all morning. Our boys had a blast with the Easter egg hunt and all the candy. So, we didn't go straight in to the gym. We messed around and had a big nice breakfast a d then got there around noon. I did some raw benching with chains. I worked to about 225 bar weight and 100lbs of chains for fives. Then some barbell incline presses and flys. Nice easy fun day.
Mindy put her shirt on. It's an old rage x that about a size too big but she likes it. She touched 205 and pressed it strong and fast. The 225 to a 2 board really well, which is a pr for her. If she would put a shirt on that fit she could be knocking on 300's door very soon. I'm looking and working on it.

March 30, 2013 Squats

Mindy and I went up to Northport to squat at NPBB. Chad was doing some pre-Easter family things so he wasn't training. But, the rest of the crew were. I am just goofing off to be honest. I'm trying to build little bit of a foundation and have some fun before any organized training begins. I haven't had some kind of "plan" in about 15 months. So just going in and figuring things out as I go is pretty cool.
I have 26 weeks until the XPC Semis. So even though there's not a plan today here is the plan that I want, what Brian tells me may be a little different. I'll do ten weeks of "raw" work. Then what I would like to do is 15 weeks of geared training leading up to the meet. The reason I want to do 15 weeks of pre-meet is to have a little bit more time to build in gear and then maybe eight or so weeks of testing and handling meet weights. Of course all this will have to be cleared by Brian and I really have t even talked that much with him about it. He's got his medical issues to handle and I don't want to bug him. I've got the first five weeks of the evil, disgusting raw plan anyway that I'll start in two weeks. So, one more week of whatever training.
Back to this day... I worked up in briefs doing triples to somewhere around 571. Then a bunch of light high rep leg extensions. Mindy was working in her suit again and did good. But, I don't think this suit is right for her. I'm going to send my jack squatter to Ginny and have her custom build it for Mindy. That way we know its right. So that leaves me looking for a suit, I want an Ace Squatter to try out. We'll see.