Events & the Twilight Bench Comp: Just Enough

JUST enough overhead work today. It was a great outcome, really; I was very happy to be clean-pressing for reps what would be 65% or more of my best ever, ever, and with no pain or reduced movement. But I knew when it was time to stop. I'll be back to 20-rep sets of the axle next Wednesday and now isn't the time to be pushing it.

There's been some changes to my routine thanks to the recent positive developments with my squat. I'm going to start squatting with everybody else at PTC, Mondays nights, and it also means I'll be getting back under the straight bar for the first time since... shit, I have no idea. To start out I'll be going at my own pace and probably won't be hitting proper depth much of the time, to avoid further aggravation.

I held off on performing anything heavier on deads to save myself for next week. I got a little excited as the weight went up and started bounce-lifting it, so had to reset and do the next 5 at 230 properly.

And it's starting to sound like I'm just name-dropping Brandon Lilly for the sake of it here, but the truth is a great deal of his advice is resonating with me, and it's really helping me developmentally. My squat has benefited from regular leg pressing and I'm betting my OHP press strength and stability is going to improve with this new exercise called the Cambered bar walk.*

It was another busy Saturday. At 3PM I left the Pit and headed to PTC to assist with loading and spotting (and sweating) on their Twilight bench press competition, which was one of the best run competitions I've ever witnessed. It was a bench only novice comp, but even so, everything was wrapped up in just one hour. The inimitable MLC (master of lifting ceremonies) Adam Coe on the mike, kept things lively, and the day saw some truly monster pressing from Ando (the Boss) Nguyen and a home trainer (I think?) by the name Steven Bennett. Full results can be found on the PTC Perth website, or by clicking here.

warmup w/bands

OHP w/swiss bar
35 kgs x 10
55 kgs x 8
65 kgs x 5

Axle clean-press
45 kgs x 5 press only
65 kgs x 5
75 kgs x 3 TPR

Cambered bar walks
*These will take some explaining. I walk with an approx 30 kilo cambered bar held overhead, and every ten paces I stop and press the bar twice. I was feeling pretty beaten by the end of it. Gonna put weight on the bar next time...

Seated rows
full stack x 18 PR

Deadlifts w/hexbar
80 kgs x 10
130 kgs x 10
230 kgs x 5 bouncelifts
230 kgs x 5
280 kgs x 5

Squat Thursday: That's a Record

warmup w/bands

Squats w/cambered bar
50 kgs x 10
70 kgs x 8
80 kgs x 8
100 kgs x 5
120 kgs x 3
130 kgs x 1
145 kgs x 15 PR

Upper-back lockouts
170 kgs x 20
220 kgs x 15
250 kgs x 12

YEAH, that's an all time new personal record there. Not sure how significant it is, really, but my previous best reps at weights under 200 kilos are typically all under 10 (180 for 6, 170 for 8, 160 for 10... I think), so this represents a possible, minor, increase in strength. Minor. Still really happy as there was no pain, and all gain.

I did an extra set tonight because gym brain. Those blue rubber 15s look exactly the same as those blue rubber 20s, from the perspective of gym brain. But after the lockouts I was literally too worn to need to do anything else! Pull-ups might have been too much as my biceps are good and sore from previous work this week, and my legs were also jelly at this point, so all good.

The final set of lockouts I dropped back to 250 from 260, as my ROM last week was not great. Tonight, much better. Anyway, time to rest and prepare for events training saturday. That means time to eat. A lot.

Press Wednesday: On Track

warmup w/bands

Bench press
60 kgs x 10
80 kgs x 8
100 kgs x 5
120 kgs x 1
135 kgs x 5 PR

DB OHP (strict)
left
26 kgs x 3
36 kgs x 3
46 kgs x 1
51 kgs x 1
56 kgs x 2 FAILs
51 kgs x 3

Pull-ups
bodyweight: 129 kgs
+ 10 kgs chain x 14 PR
+ 10 kgs chain x 10
BW x 10

BB OHP w/axle
35 kgs x 20
45 kgs x 20
50 kgs x 20 PR

I CANNOT find the blog entry, and I'm not even sure if I wrote one about it, but the first competition I entered was a bench-only novice comp at the Pit. I pressed 135, but was red lit for not waiting for the press signal. This was late 2011, I'm pretty sure.

So I've repped that 1RM from not quite two years ago, tonight. And how much bench work have I done in that time? Not much, actually. A bench variation (swiss bar and/or incline, etc) has typically been somewhere in my assistance work, but it hasn't been a focus while I've been a Strongman.

Very happy with the axle progression. Smooth, steady reps without discomfort. I can't wait to be doing this with something approaching my max. But I'll have to, of course.

I'll deadlift 300 kilograms at the WA Strongman finals, September 21st, and I'll bench at least 150 at the next PL comp I enter (still haven't decided which). See if I don't. And to top that drama, tomorrow night I'll be squatting a mighty 145, for as many reps as possible.

...I realise now I cannot simply leave it there. Tonight had an obvious down side, being the dumbbell press. This was way, way worse than I was anticipating, and I can only assume my money set on bench is taking more and more of my stabilisation... not to mention, the money set made my lower back cramp viciously. I wasn't fit to press heavy after that.

Deadlift Monday: 100% Again

warmup w/bands

Deadlifts
70 kgs x 10
120 kgs x 8
170 kgs x 5
220 kgs x 1
240 kgs x 1
255 kgs x 7 PR

Krocs w/kettle bells
left
80 kgs x 12 PR
80 kgs x 10
80 kgs x 10 TPR
right
64 kgs x 12 PR
64 kgs x 10 TPR
64 kgs x 8

Pull-ups
Bodyweight: 130 kgs
+ 10 kgs chain x 8
BW x 10

Leg press
160 kgs x 20
210 kgs x 20

THOSE training sessions I was too messed up to go hard, or too pressed for time to do my assistance work, or when I just didn't feel like I'd done my best: this session almost makes up for them all.

I only got 7 reps of 250 last week, equalling my PR of a couple of months prior. So tonight I knew I needed something better than an equal best. And I got it. Dropping to singles in the final two warmup sets was a good idea, but during the money set I took my time and made sure I breathed deep at the top and bottom of each rep. When I locked out that seventh, there was no air in my lungs, at all. I thought I was going to pass out.

Thanks to Brian for taking the video.

Brandon Lilly said that, on the road back from injury, every milestone is a new personal record - it doesn't matter if you did it before, way back when. Well, when it comes to my right those Krocs are not all-new territory but I'm calling them as such. And I've never performed them with a kettle bell before. KBs make them harder.

Finally, I'm loving that nothing hurts. Back, hip and shoulder are all sweet. Bring on Press Wednesday.

Squat Thursday: Believe it or Not...

warmup w/bands

Squat w/cambered
50 kgs x 12
70 kgs x 10
90 kgs x 8
110 kgs x 5
130 kgs x 5
140 kgs x 10 TPR

Pulls-ups
bodyweight: 128 kgs
2 sets x 10

Upper-back lockouts
DB
55 kgs x 3
BB
170 kgs x 20
220 kgs x 15
260 kgs x 10 PR

THIS is the best squat session I've had in months! No hip problems, at any stage, and depth was decent throughout. I couldn't say all of them would get white lights, but it's a freaking cambered bar and that's really not important. All the same, I tried on the straight bar again tonight, attempting to get comfortable with the position again. Didn't go over at all.

No events training this weekend, which is good. I have no excuses for not busting a gut the next deadlift Monday.

And now, to your right, you will see a pair of tools.

Press Wednesday: 3 Times the Charm

warmup w/bands

Bench press
60 kgs x 10
80 kgs x 8
100 kgs x 5
120 kgs x 1
130 kgs x 6 PR

DB OHP (strict)
left only
26 kgs x 3
36 kgs x 3
46 kgs x 1
51 kgs x 0
56 kgs x 0
56 kgs x 3

Pull-ups
BW x 14
BW x 8

BB OHP w/axle*
25 kgs x 20
35 kgs x 20
45 kgs x 18

Leg press
explosive
210 kgs x 10
260 kgs x 10

THE MAKESHIFT circus dumbbell proved a bit wily tonight. I make it up using a six kilogram bar (with fat grip), which makes for odd loading amounts. At 51 kilos it came apart just as I cleaned it to my shoulder. I swapped around some plates for thinner Ivankos of about the same size, and didn't need to try that weight again. But when it came time for the money set I didn't keep rigid enough once I'd shouldered the weight, so there wasn't enough power under it. I reset and tried again, and at least got three slow, agonising strict reps out of it. I needed five. Lucky this isn't an event.

Of course that's not the best outcome of tonight's session; I made that sixth rep on bench. I'm still not sure I'm keeping my elbows and wrists where they need to be, but I brought the bar down to the right spot, which made all the difference. I paused the first rep and continued pushing from a position of strength. I might have tried a seventh but I didn't want to fail. I've failed in my final rep attempt on the last few press sessions and it's not a habit to get into. Training to failure trains your body to fail. Remember that kids.

Tomorrow we squat.



Hey!! I found a bench video I made pretty much three years ago. Some of you might even remember this video from when I first started logging my training on Muscle and Strength.
So in three years I've put 30 kilos on what I can bench for six reps (and my 1RM mid-2011 was 135, from memory, so who knows where my true 1RM is right now?)

*The PTC axle was lighter than I expected; it's like 23-point-something kilos. Lucky those tiny plates are on every cage.

Deadlift Monday: Game On

warmup w/bands

Deadlift

70 kgs x 10
120 kgs x 8
170 kgs x 5
220 kgs x 3
235 kgs x 1
250 kgs x 7 equal to best effort

Kroc rows w/kettle bell
left
80 kgs x 12 PR
80 kgs x 10
80 kgs x 8
right
80 kgs x 2 too heavy, too soon
64 kgs x 12 TPR
64 kgs x 8
56 kgs x 10

Pull-ups
bodyweight: 129 kgs
+ 10 kgs chain x 12
BW x 12

Leg press
165 kgs x 10 explosive
165 kgs x 10 speed

I DID THIS in early June. My deadlift money set, I mean. Why am I still happy about tonight? Because it could have been worse. I went in feeling 75% and got... something better. I don't use percentages, but you get the idea. And while on paper it's not a step forward, there's been no steps back. In fact my back actually feels better for having repped that 250. I really, really need to find co-workers willing to walk on my back at odd times of the day though... and I'm getting a butt load of taurine, to assist with blood flow to that area. Another recommendation from Brandon Lilly.

I've started writing out a cube program for myself, though it's going to take some collusion with the rest of SMWA to get it right. In the mean time I'm incorporating some of the other things he swore by; pull-downs (well unless/until PTC gets a machine, pull-ups will do) and leg press with every session. I'm going to expand on these and focus on explosive movement.

Solid progress on my accessories too. I'm slowly getting my weak right side back. Gotta baby it though... I was a little too optimistic with the 80 tonight. Lucky for me, it doesn't feel like I'm going to pay for it.

Let's see if I can make a better go of bench press this Wednesday. I want at least 6 reps of 130. If I can't get that, I'll need to take the loading back to 100 (or even lighter) for max reps and start building up again.

A Weekend with Brandon Lilly

*Brandon Lilly totalled 1015 kilograms at the CAPO world championships, Tasmania, Aug 10th*

DAY 1 - A LATE DINNER

FOR ME to be the first to arrive is a rare thing indeed. I’m usually just on time, or late, or (if it’s around Hillarys) lost. So here I was, sitting alone at a banquet table in Lapa, a Brazilian barbeque restaurant at the heart of Armadale’s shopping district… and a pretty difficult place to find on a rainy night, as it turns out. But then if you're not a local, that's pretty understandable (and if you are, you're probably loling about the fact that we were in Armadale).

Brandon Lilly, his wife, and the rest of WA Strongman eventually got there and dinner was underway an hour after the reservation, but we made up for the late start by eating everything in sight and beckoning the wait staff to come by again and again with skewers of different, delicious meats.

Once everyone had eaten enough to be slowed down with meat sweats, and after a bit of small talk, Dan asked Brandon how he’d come to create the Cube training method. This kicked off the most fascinating discussion of strength I’ve ever been privy to. I was at the opposite end of the table to Brandon, so I couldn’t catch everything he said. But what I did hear was quite astounding.

For a start, Brandon told us he left West Side Barbell to get stronger. But when he started lifting in high school he couldn’t bench 60 kilos. He tried to squat 60 and fell on his face, busting his nose. In fact he was, in general, incredibly weak (compare this, he said, to his friend Dave Hoff who was benching 160 for reps at age fifteen). This was a massive revelation for myself, to see proof first hand that genetics isn’t the only determinant of strength. 

Though it is, quite plainly, a major factor. Just look at arguably the strongest deadlifter in the world right now; Benedikt Magnusson. Brandon told us that Benedikt really wanted to work with cosmetics, and would rather go clay pigeon shooting, or do a variety of activities other than train. He is exceptionally intelligent but doesn’t like to advertise the fact. He is one of several brothers, the smallest of whom can deadlift 400 kilos. Magnusson told Brandon this last fact as a way of explaining to him why he, at that stage of his career, should have been lifting more than he was (if Benny’s little brother could do it, so could Brandon, obviously).

Brandon gave us all some great suggestions on how to begin tailoring the Cube method to our Strongman training (similar to Josh Thigpen’s treatment), and by the time we had all eaten our fill and it was time to leave it felt like Dan and Brandon had really only just gotten started.

DAY 2 – ALONGSIDE GREATNESS

The Muscle Pit again played host to the strongest in the iron game. SMWA did our training outside
while a small but lively crowd gathered indoors, where a semi-naked Lilly was giving one-on-one coaching in the deadlift. The atmosphere was incredible; one newcomer, Kurt, was so inspired seeing people around him charged up and hitting records that he hit one himself; a 115 kilo snatch (at about 70 kilos bodyweight I believe) and Gabor walked a 400 kilo yoke the full 15 meters.

When I left, Dan and Brandon were locked in conversation once more while his trainees continued to smash weight on the platform.

DAY 3 – THE SEMINAR

Brandon Lilly went to a school with no dividing walls between classes. To this day, background noise allows him to think more clearly. So facing a crowd of thirty or more people all seated in awed silence seemed to make him a little uncomfortable. He encouraged us to talk amongst ourselves while he jotted out some diagrams and program templates on the whiteboard behind him.

The design of the Cube was first on the agenda, though the seminar was not rigidly structured; Lilly relied on his audience to ask him what they wanted to know, and invariably this would lead to anecdotes and stories about the many strong, strong guys he’d met, learned from and competed against in his career. He would always answer the question, but there was sometimes such depth to his reply that the original question became incidental.

Brandon gave us a stark insight into his past and the trials he and his second wife have gone through in order for him to make his 1015 kilo RAW total. How he’d been dealt a bad hand academically and his high school coach, Travis Lynch, had introduced him to the iron when he could no longer play soccer for his school. You could say that it was under the bar where Brandon had his first great successes in life, something that I think a lot of us can identify with.

But when he chose to follow his dream and commit to Powerlifting 100%, he lost the support of his first wife and pretty much his entire family. Before he met his second wife, Jess (who was a little embarrassed, seated amongst the crowd), he was alone. “Eddie Coan lived with his parents, in their basement, while he followed his dream.” Brandon said, adding that while it was a great thing to have such supportive parents, he didn’t think he could have done it himself. Dependence on other people in that way would damage his pride.

He talked about sacrifice and priorities. Jess, for instance, travels hundreds of miles each week to her part time nursing job and back home again, just so she can be with him. He explained to us that it wasn’t even a question; he hadn’t asked her to do this, she did it because that was what she needed to do, just as he needed to be where he was. He pointed to his shirt, and said that he’d have arrived shirtless today if his wife hadn’t handed it to him; same with all his clothes, for that matter; he wears the shirts and shorts his sponsors give him to wear. He doesn’t waste money or time on clothes, and pays no attention to fashion.

“Think about this" he said, "what if all you had in life was the iron? What if you were paid to train? What if all you did was squat, bench and deadlift every week for four weeks and on the fifth week compete. Well, that’s how it is for Russian athletes. Could you do it?”

I asked him about where his drive came from, and he said other lifters helped to give it to him. He follows his competition closely. He then spoke of the injuries he’d sustained, and the training methods he’d abandoned over the course of his career (and why Powerlifting in general was fraught with bad information). He had so many stories to tell about other great athletes and coaches he’d met; how he badgered Sheiko as often as he could get near enough to him to ask questions, and how even Jim Wendler would agree that Wendler’s 531 will make you a really strong dude, but it isn’t the best program for a competitive Powerlifter.

Magnusson had helped him improve his deadlift by making him drop his soap in the shower. And his shampoo bottle, and his washcloth. And perform a deadlift to use each one. “Make every lift a four hundred kilo lift.” He said ‘Bennie’ had been watching him perform variations of bench press when opening doors, eating with utensils, et cetera. He performed his best lift every day, and so he needed to adopt the same behaviour with the deadlift. It worked.

Brandon was a little offended when the questions seemed to dry up an hour or so after we’d resumed from lunch.  “Well I have a question then.” He said, “Why the fuck don’t you have more questions?” Then someone got the ball rolling again, and we learned why Brandon strips down to short shorts whenever he’s lifting.

“There will always be haters. My haters say, when I bench wearing clothes, that I got a [bench] shirt under there, or when I deadlift that I got a suit on. So that’s why in my last comp I took my shirt off and I pulled my shorts up. People might say ‘hey you look like a fag’, but I don’t care. Nobody can say I’m not a raw lifter.”

I left just as Lilly was getting to the practical part of the seminar, but I got a whole lot out of the day, and the weekend generally has been a major experience for me. I'm glad Brandon took the time to come and speak to us (Perth being a helluva detour from the CAPO worlds in Tasmania) and I wish him and his wife a safe trip back home.

Events Saturday: Alongside Greatness

warmup w/bands

Yoke walk
135 kgs x 15 meters x 2
215 kgs x 15 meters
255 kgs x 15 meters
295 kgs x 15 meters
335 kgs x 15 meters

OHP axle
35 kgs x 15
40 kgs x 15
45 kgs x 15
50 kgs x 15

Farmers walk
50 kgs x 15 meters x 2
90 kgs x 15 meters x 2
110 kgs x 15 meters x 2
130 kgs x 15 meters

A PRETTY solid session for me today, no new records to speak of but I'm feeling pretty good about the yoke and farmers walk, though the yoke did fuck something up to the left of my left thoracic area again, a complaint I've had since the last comp which needs needling, or massaging, or both (something, anything!). I'm switching all my two-handed overhead pressing to an axle from here, in preparation for the WA Strongman finals, and also because the movement is becoming more comfortable for me, which is really good news.

Well, I can't say deadlifting tomorrow night is going to be win, but it's going to happen. If this weekend has done one thing, it's made me re-evaluate my perceptions of what dedication, sacrifice, and strength can really mean.

Anything happening in the strongman pen today was of little consequence compared with the goings-on indoors. One of the strongest Powerlifters in the world, Brandon Lilly, was in the Pit giving one-on-one deadlift coaching. We'd had dinner with him and his wife the night before. He's a nice guy with a lot of great stories to tell; something I'll elaborate on very soon.

Press Wednesday: Win Some Lose Some

warmup w/bands

Bench press
60 kgs x 10
90 kgs x 8
110 kgs x 3
120 kgs x 1
130 kgs x 4 FAIL

DB OHP (strict)
left only
31 kgs x 3
36 kgs x 3
46 kgs x 1
51 kgs x 1
56 kgs x 4 PR

Pull-ups
bodyweight: 127 kgs
+ 10 kgs chain x 12
+ 10 kgs chain x 12
bodyweight x 12

BB OHP
20 kgs x 20
35 kgs x 20
45 kgs x 20 TPR

I'VE DONE better than this, just two months back. I wanted at least 7 reps for my money set, but would have been happy with 6... and didn't even make fucking 5. This is because I lost tension and my arch collapsed on the first rep. From there, everything felt wrong. Guess I'll try again next week.

The overhead press made up for it, though. Kinda. I started with the Oly dumbbell bar and fat grip and built up in those awkward increments as the bar weighs 6. The idea was to keep things simple, but wth my gym brain I'm still not entirely sure I didn't do an extra warmup set.

Also solid, almost entirely pain-free barbell pressing at a weight I'm sure I haven't done twenty reps of ever, ever (because when the hell do I do twenty reps of anything anyway), so I'm calling it a record.

Oh yeah. Tomorrow night, I may do twenty rep sets. So... that's when.

Deadlift Monday: Filler Material

warmup w/bands & hip rotations

Deadlifts
70 kgs x 8
110 kgs x 8
160 kgs x 5
200 kgs x 3
240 kgs x 1

Kroc rows w/kettle bell
left
80 kgs x 10
80 kgs x 10
80 kgs x 8
right
64 kgs x 10
64 kgs x 8
64 kgs x 8

I DON'T feel like I was productive, but that's ok. This is not a problem considering what I was doing on the weekend. My lower back advised me when it was time to stop deadlifting tonight; more recovery time is needed before I return to regular programming. Plus, I met some new people and spent a good deal of time talking to other PTC members while I spun my wheels. I even had a token (135 kilo?) straight bar squat (PL comp spec, the length and thickness of the old Mastodon)... I'm glad I warmed up beforehand, but even so it was as much as two inches from acceptable (according to Darwin), and even at that depth it still aggravated my hip a little. On the plus side: there were no problems with my shoulder. There was a little discomfort initially as I took the weight, but everything held up okay. Not that that weight should have posed a problem... add another hundred and it'd be a different matter entirely.

Looking forward to Press Wednesday. I intend to bench 130 for at least 7 reps, and make up a 56 kilo dumbbell to press a few times. Should be fun.

Events Saturday: All in Good Time

Deadlifts w/trap bar
130 kgs x 10
170 kgs x 10
210 kgs x 10
210 kgs x 10
260 kgs x 10
300 kgs x 5 PR

OHP w/swiss bar
55 kgs x 5
60 kgs x 5
65 kgs x 5

Log clean-press
60 kgs x 5

Seated row
Full stack x 15 PR
Full stack x 15
Full stack x 12

SOME of you might remember that I started out training at home, and my first ever deadlift was a hex bar, or trap bar, deadlift. My best ever trap bar dead was 225 kilograms back in October 2011, and that was the last time I used one until today. I distinctly remember that day, and having to unload my dumbbells and carry all my heaviest plates outside to make the necessary weight. This was the day I decided I needed a proper gym to train at. Compared to the cost of constantly buying more plates, a gym membership was actually looking attractive... it was honestly something I hadn't anticipated, back when I started exercising in 2010. I hadn't the slightest idea of how strong I would get.

This unfortunately blows my programming for next week (but then it's not like everything's been totally on track lately) so deadlifts for max reps Monday almost certainly won't be on the cards. There's plenty of other pulls and accessory work I can do.

And I'm looking forward to Wednesday, as one of my coaches (and fellow WA Strongman member) Joel McCaughan is coming down to give me some one-on-one bench coaching.

Squat Thursday: Pissweak but Painless

Squats w/cambered bar
50 kgs x 8 or 10
70 kgs x 5
90 kgs x 5
110 kgs x 5
125 kgs x 3
140 kgs x 1
150 kgs x 1

Upper-back lockouts
140 kgs x 15
190 kgs x 15
220 kgs x 12

MY PREVIOUS two squat sessions were terrible. The second was actually worse than the first one. There were several reasons for this, not least of which is that I, as usual, aren't sufficiently warmed up before I begin squatting. I need to devote more time to prepare for the session. It's as simple as that.

I did a thorough warmup tonight. I rotated my thighs for a couple of minutes just to get my hip flexors good and prepared, and then I assessed foot spacing, depth, knee positioning, and general discomfort while squatting without the bar.

From there, I had to adjust my depth in order to keep going without pain. My squats were around parallel and obviously with the cambered bar it's not kosher in terms of Powerlifting form. But it's something. For me, at least, it's good just to be able to work up to a (lil shallow) single of 150 with no pain. I can tell you, I am compensating; I can feel it and I'm trying to correct it. It is here where I can kinda feel the threshold of what's painful and what isn't, and adjust my depth in order to keep going.

The bottom line is: until I can get on top of both of my labrum tears, I'm going to be training these movements for myself and not for competition, PL or otherwise. I will be returning to the slow and steady programming I was on a couple of weeks ago, before it got derailed. Tonight I wasn't looking for a training response, I was assessing my safe loading ability without going overboard. I'm having to do all this because I'm no genius, but I'm not stupid either; testing near maximals is way, way off. Way off.

I was going to faff around with some pinwheelz (for the ladiez) before heading off, but my biceps were fried from last night so that was out. I gave my triceps a dose last night but I was looking at doing something triceps related. However, with dips still out of the question, my options were limited. Might have to reacquaint myself with Skull Crushers... and as we've got a swiss bar on the way, that might really help. The swiss bar will help out in general, actually, looking forward to using it (and I must say a big thank you to Les for all his great equipment - his stuff is used by both PTC Perth and WA Strongman and it exceeds all quality and strength expectations).

Instead I got yapping to Aaron (or, more appropriately, he got yapping to me) and I left having done nothing else significant. So I better make up for it with a solid events training session this weekend.

Press Wednesday: FFS

warmup w/bands

Bench press
60 kgs x 10
80 kgs x 8
100 kgs x 5
110 kgs x 1
117 kgs x 1
125 kgs x 8 PR

DB OHP (strict)
left only
30 kgs x 6
40 kgs x 3
46 kgs x 3
51 kgs x 4 TPR

Pull-ups
bodyweight: 130 kgs
+ 10 kgs chain x 13 PR
+ 10 kgs chain x 10
BW x 4 super-slow

BB OHP (strict)
20 kgs x 20
30 kgs x 20
40 kgs x 20

YEAH... so I didn't deadlift this week and I haven't recorded a couple of squat sessions now, mainly coz things have been shit. Like, really shit. But I'll get to all that later. For now, let's look at the good news. Tonight's new record on bench keeps me on track for a decent 1RM of around 160 kilos. And I'm really enjoying the overhead with my improvised circus dumbbell. Tonight I used the Fat Grip and some better collars. It felt close enough to the real thing, so I'm pretty happy and keen to build back up to the 60 kilo benchmark.

On the same subject, I think I need to scale back my warmup reps on DB OHP, just because it doesn't feel like I needed to do that triple of 46 before my money set. A single would have been the way to go.

The pull-ups felt strong, though I could have perhaps extended more, so I used the last set to take it as slow as possible, and I felt my biceps fail as I attempted the fifth rep. Then I screwed up the first set of barbell overhead press (it should have been 30 / 35 / 40 kilos), but I made up for it in the time I had with 10 kilo increments.

With my lower half having been given the last week off, lets see if I can actually squat tomorrow night. For fuck's sake.