Last Semester of College - Bulk Workout Log

[arian11]

4/22/10 - Deadlift Taper

Deadlift-
45/12
95/10
135/5
185/5
225/3
255/3
285/1
315/1
*All sets down with double-overhand grip and felt very easy

325/1 (Felt easy)
335/1 (Slow on lift-off)
345/1 (Slow on lift-off)
*Sets done with mixed grip

So I decided to write down all my sets today, including warm-up sets to give you guys an idea of how my warm-up is leading into my 3 attempts. My grip started dying out on me at the end, so when I actually max I think I will warm-up with mixed grip and keep it throughout. I may need to bring my straps but I will try and go as long as possible without them. Almost all the sets felt easy. The last 2 sets had a slow lift-off but once I get it to my knees, I know I can lock out. I think the bar slips a bit down my hand when I lift-off and that is what is causing the slow lift-off.

Any comments or tips on warming up, how I should max out, and what weights to open up with would be very helpful. My goals at the beginning of the semester were dead 400, squat 255, bench 225, and press 165 but I am not sure if I should end with these numbers or try opening with these numbers. Also, I don't think I have the time or energy to do all 4 lifts in one day. So, I think I will separate each into their own day and probably do bench, dead, squat, and press.

[arian11]

4/25/10 - Bench Press Max Out

Attempt #1
215 lbs.
Good Lift http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ0GZUp0sgo

Attempt #2
225 lbs.
Miss http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvitStM_Cg0

Attempt #3
225 lbs.
Miss http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jNfmhdUh2Q


I wanted to max out in WorkoutMachine's garage but I tried to contact him yesterday and today and no answer. I assumed he was busy with school and whatnot, so I headed to the gym tonight to max out on bench. Felt good throughout the warm up sets. The 1st lift started off quick and then I got stuck but I willed my way through it. That gave me a new personal record, 210 was my previous best. I was unsure if I wanted to do 220 or 225 but my goal all semester was 225 and I felt I could will the weight up so I went with that. Attempt 2 went horribly. As you can see, as soon as I unracked, I proceeded to go down. I should have focused and let the bar settle like WorkoutMachine taught me. I was determined to hit 225 so I kept the weight the same for attempt 3. I asked the trainer to give me a light lift off but, as you can see, it kind of threw me off. I got stuck at the same sticking point and he spotted me just enough for me to get the bar up. In the end, it was a sucky day and only put on 5 lbs onto my personal record for bench press in 6 weeks. Bench press pisses me off so much. Benching 225 lbs has been one of the hardest things for me to achieve in my life, and it seems as though its going to allude me once again. It was good to atleast see the weight go up but I don't count it as a good lift because the spotter helped me. I may try to attempt a bench press max again 1 week from now, we'll see. Till then I will stay optimistic with my other lifts and hope to atleast max out deadlift tomorrow.

[arian11]

4/26/10 - Squat & Deadlift Max Out

Squat:

Attempt 1:
225 lbs. - Good lift
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28MQgNS-b5o

Attempt 2:
245 lbs. - Good lift +20 PR
Memory card was full

Attempt 3:
255 lbs. - Good lift +30 PR
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2V5QLrLQ-Y

Final - 255 lbs. +30 PR



Deadlift:

Attempt 1:
345 lbs. - Good lift
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yLCjracrcs

Attempt 2:
365 lbs. - Good lift +20 PR raw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXKq_MRQStM

Attempt 3:
385 lbs - Good lift +40 PR raw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tw-VME8QCuA

Attempt 4:
405 lbs - Miss
Memory card was full

Attempt 5:
405 lbs - Good lift +60 PR raw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XFLKmm9qAY

Final - 405 lbs +60 PR raw


Overall:
Bench - 215 lbs (Goal was 225)
Squat - 255 lbs (Goal was 255)
Dead - 405 lbs (Goal was 400)


Prev. Total - 780 lbs.
Raw Total - 875 lbs.
+95 lbs on raw total!

As you can tell from the videos, I got to go to WorkoutMachine's garage and max out squat and deadlift today. Squat went exactly as planned. The most I ever done was 225 for 2 so we opened with that. Then hit PRs on attempts 2 and 3 with 245 and 255. Deadlift was a bit more difficult because the most I've done with straps was 385 but the most I've done without straps was only 345. So we opened up with 345 then hit raw PRs with 365 and 385. I felt like I still had more in me and I wanted to hit my goal of 400, so we put on 405 and gave it a try. I wasn't explosive enough off the ground on the first try and failed at about the knees. Took a long rest and gave it another shot. It was really difficult and I had a bit of a hitch at the end to lock it out, but I'm not in competition so I'll take it.

I am very happy with my 870 total, but I may still try and bench 225 again at the end of the week. Doesn't make too big of a difference because it'll only up my total 10 lbs, but it was a goal of mine to accomplish by May 1st, so I still have some more days to reattempt it. Once I am done with the semester, I will evaluate where I am at and decide what my plans will be to break a 900 total.