Commanding My Body

[Commander]

^-Thanks Bro!

Squat 3x10 180 lb
Military Press 155 lb First set 5, then 4 and 3 reps!!!! Arghhh!
Pendlay Row 3x5 180 lb
Standing Ab work (from high cable) 30x15 (I am getting the feel for these exercises, need to bump up the weight)

11 minutes of GPP:
Barbell complex - see above, miscellaneous BW exercises, sledgehammer work

Crap, I stalled on the Military Press. I really thought I could push the 155, what surprised me was that I got all 15 reps on 150 last workout. Back down to 140 lb next time. Progress good on Pendlay and Squat, will go up another 5 lbs.

However, I got an idea. I think maybe I fatigued my upper back and delts from the isometric contractions during the 3x10 of squats. I am going to switch exercise order for next week and go...Military Press, Squat, Pendlay. Hopefully, the squats won't adversely affect the Pendlay rows.

Motivation - System of a Down....I may have to ditch them since I couldn't push 155, lol!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJmt3dr9XYQ

[Commander]

Couple notes on what I have been doing lately:

The Tabata Method I use during GPP is taken from Dan John
Check this article out if you got time....
http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_..._tabata_method

The sledgehammer work is done with an EZ curl bar with weight on one end! I don't own a sledgehammer and I am too cheap to buy one, so I had to improvise.

Why do I do it? Because I hate normal cardio, and I was trying to find activities to get my heartrate up inside during the winter. When nicer weather returns, I plan on doing sled pulls (with a tire, rope and weight....again, improvised, kind of like this but no where near as nice.... http://patrickhdonnelly.blogspot.com...tire-sled.html ) and farmer's walks as well.

Finally, I have been doing Chin-ups 3 times daily to "Grease the Groove" (much thanks to MaverickBU for mentioning this article in another thread)
http://www.dragondoor.com/articler/mode3/69/
I started with 3x5 (my max is 14 with BW) because it is about synaptic facilitation and the sets are not supposed to be hard. I do 1 in the morning, afternoon and evening. I add one rep each week and I am currently doing 3x7.

[Commander]

I don't want to hurt you or cause any trouble...
So get out of my way, get out of my way!

Rancid - "Get out of my way!"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moFwKU3T1Fk

DEADLIFT, I don't want to hurt you, get out of my way! I owned 363!!!!!

Squat 220 lbs 3x5
DB Inc Bench 82 lbs each 3x5
Deadlift 363 lbx 1x6 (only supposed to do 5)
Dec Leg Raises BW x 12, 6

363 was my 1 REP MAX in August! Now I pulled it 6 times strapless!

7 minutes GPP:
4 minutes Tabata Front Squats with 90lb
3 minutes miscellaneous core work; T-push ups and swiss ball alternating step-offs

Ideas for core work taken from....
http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_...h_to_crunching

Optimistic Goal: Add 5 lbs to Deadlift each workout, pull 403 x 5 on December 15th!

[Commander]

Saturday:

Squat 3x10 180 lb (I was wrong last workout, this was 175)
Military Press 3x5 140 lb (down 10% due to last workouts missed reps)
Pendlay Row 3x5 185 lb
Standing Ab work (from high cable) 2x15 35 lb

11 minutes GPP:
Jump Rope, T-Push ups, Swiss Ball Step Offs, Barbell Complex (see previous posts for details on the complex) 70 lb

[Commander]

Sunday: Body Weight 188 lb

11 minutes jump rope
Test of Bench Press Max, 260 lb paused. Rested 1.5 minutes, then did 230 lb x 5 reps (touch n' go)

My Father-in-Law wants me to enter a Powerlifting competition because he is thrilled with my progress in the Deadlift. He is a powerlifter himself and recently competed at age 54. (correction, age 56)

I am estimating my Deadlift max to be about 430 right now. So I figured I would test my Flat Bench max in preparation for the competition. I have been doing DB Inclines, so I couldn't really estimate the Flat Barbell Bench without actually trying it. I did it with a paused rep because that is how I would have to do it in competition.

The competition is just bench and deadlift. I haven't decided whether or not I will do it yet. We will see how the upcoming weeks progress.

[will-work4andro]

Originally Posted by Commander

Sunday: Body Weight 188 lb

11 minutes jump rope
Test of Bench Press Max, 260 lb paused. Rested 1.5 minutes, then did 230 lb x 5 reps

My Father-in-Law wants me to enter a Powerlifting competition because he is thrilled with my progress in the Deadlift. He is a powerlifter himself and recently competed at age 54.

I am estimating my Deadlift max to be about 430 right now. So I figured I would test my Flat Bench max in preparation for the competition. I have been doing DB Inclines, so I couldn't really estimate the Flat Barbell Bench without actually trying it. I did it with a paused rep because that is how I would have to do it in competition.

The competition is just bench and deadlift. I haven't decided whether or not I will do it yet. We will see how the upcoming weeks progress.

you should do it man...get some official lifts....430 ain't no joke

[Ben2285]

Def. great progress in your Deads. I like your cardio ideas too hah, ain't nothin like thinking outside the box.

[Commander]

Originally Posted by will-work4andro

you should do it man...get some official lifts....430 ain't no joke

Well, it's just an estimate at this time, but I'm optimistic! Thanks for the encouragement!

Originally Posted by Ben2285

Def. great progress in your Deads. I like your cardio ideas too hah, ain't nothin like thinking outside the box.

Thanks Ben, it always feels good when hard work pays off....
and the cardio, I will do ANYTHING to avoid running, ha, ha!

[Commander]

Well, my father in law convinced me to do the contest! It is the second week in January.

I am going to start some assistance work. Namely, I am going to do rack pulls and board presses with roughly 110% of my max (or estimated max). I plan on gradually increasing the range of motion week by week to get me used to the heavy weight.

I am starting with 463 lb for a 3" ROM deadlift and 285 lb for about a 3" ROM bench press at the top end of the motion.

Furthermore, the weight classes go 181 and 198. I am 188 currently, I will try to get closer to 198 to take full advantage of my weight class. I figure if I am in a caloric surplus for the next six weeks or so it will also be easier to keep adding strength right up until the contest.

[Ben2285]

Excellent plan! Rack pulls work wonders for improving my deads