Wednesday, November 28, 2012

3 Days to Meet

Bodyweight 151 even this morning.  Food has been simple the last few days.

-->  Instead of having my usual homemade almond butter, banana, and coconut oil first thing in the morning, I've been having it around noon.

--> Dinner for the last few days has been simple: homemade cheeseburger with grass fed beef and grass fed cheese, plus steamed asparagus in butter, and for dessert, homemade pineapple-coconut bread.

That's all it's take for me to drop about 2 lbs. from my usual weight and I haven't used herbal diuretics (yet) or deprived myself in any way.  Nice!  I'm not looking forward to the morning, day-of, weigh-in, however.

Warmed up with 2-mile walk, then:

One-arm bar hangs for maybe 5-10 seconds each side, then 16 kg windmills, 1 each side.

Lifting: 2 x 24 kg see-saw mil press, 5 each side, lost tightness on final rep and felt it in disc, other than that, excellent and felt great.

Onward and Upward.

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Easy Bench and More Pre-Meet Variety

Monday - off, not feeling great, very busy day, just some stretching

Tuesday (today)

Dumbbell bench press with 20's and 30's.   As always, a real tonic for my left shoulder, big stretching in left chest and shoulder muscles.  Protocol is pull down as if a heavy barbell, then relax and exhale at the bottom, then repressurize and press strong.  One set with each weight, 4 or 5 reps (wasn't really counting)

BP: bar x 5, 95 x 5, 135 x 5, 155 x 1, 175 x 1 - not bad.  Meet was 170, 180, 185.  We'll have to see if we feel like more is possible this Saturday.  Opening at 170 didn't take away too much so that 180 and 185 felt good - I think trying +5 on all three attempts in a possibility.

DL: 225 on the bar, tried a single in Inaba "duck" style - felt great.  Tried another single in narrow sumo, inspired by Jeff Steinberg - felt weak and awkward.  One more duck DL @ 225 - again, felt strong

Finish with a few 2-hand, 48 kg swings

Onward and Upward


Sunday, November 25, 2012

Variety Day - Barbell Plate See-Saw Military Press

Barbell Plate See-Saw Military Press - a strange movement I have created (not the first person to think of it, I'm sure, but I've never seen it before).  Tried 25's for a few reps, 35's for a few reps - middle and ring fingers in the holes in each plate, the rest behind - then 45's.

http://youtu.be/9ujVcCCfn90

It could be a thing to do when in a gym without kettlebells but with Oly plates.

The clean obviously will need a little work - guess I could work on curling them...

Have a long rehearsal this afternoon, will try to get in another lifting session of some sort, probably bench press up to my second attempt and maybe DL up to my opener, tomorrow (Monday).  Meet is in 6 days, bodyweight was again 152 even.

Onward and Upward.

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Saturday - first lifting in a week

Bodyweight - yesterday (day after Thanksgiving), 153.2.  Today, 152.2

Stretch a bit:

FSQ: bar x 8, 95 x 5

SQ: 135 x 4 paused,

SQ: All rock bottom, 155 x 1, 175 x 1, 200 x fail - not used to this weight at this depth

SQ: 245 - just stand with and and some not-even-quarter squats.  Just wanted something heavier on the bar.

Bottom line - not having regular training for month through a postponed meet, an actual meet, and a second actual meet is not to my liking. I feel out of shape and weak.

No more lifting today.

-S-

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Variety - 48 kg swings

walk 2 miles

Try some of the V-sit double presses I read about in the StrongFirst.com blog.  For me, they were more like side split presses.  Used double 10 kg - seemed to go OK.

Also worked on pressing a single 10 kg on each side a few times from a side split.

48 kg swings: 5 on the minute for 8 minutes

Onward and Upward

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

2 Days Post-Meet - Variety: Pistols, Pullups, Pushups, Windmills

I was all kinds of weird sore yesterday, Monday, the day after the meet.  Things ached in places they never have before, one knee hurt for a while and then it switched to the other knee, and so it went.

Today is Tuesday and I need to do something to get my body feeling good again.  Did a little stretching and then decided to try overhead pressing:

Double 24's, 2 reps.  That's enough, form felt good, just looking to get the juices flowing.

I haven't done bodyweight-only pullups in years - decided to see what a dozen of those felt like and they felt fine.  Tight, locked out and paused on both ends, throat to bar, no hurry.  12th rep was just starting to get tiring - if I'd gone faster and/or been a little less careful or both, certainly could have done 15 or more reps.

Assorted experiments with 1-arm pushups variations, some 1-leg, some 2-leg, various heights, some partials, etc.  Need to get better at these, maybe a variety-day kind of activity.

Crane Pistol - on the front porch, 1 each way, left first - a bit rusty but not awful.

16 kg windmill, 3 each side.

Onward and Upward.


Sunday, November 18, 2012

Meet Results - Good!

Weighed in last night and just barely made weight.  Was 150.6 upon waking, 149.8 before I left the house, 149.2 when I got to the hotel, and did a half-hour hot bath to get to 148.8.

Squat:  Opened at 200 and did 215 second attempt as planned, 3 white lights for both.  Felt spent after second attempt but tried 225 for third, struggled with it at the sticking point then gave up on it.

Bench Press:  170, 180, 185.  Three white lights for all.  Had a funny hand-off on second attempt but everything good on third.

Deadlift:  There were 2 flights of squatters but 3 flights of bench pressers.  Felt really tired by DL time and my warmups felt heavy.  Did my planned 315 and 335 and decided not to take a third attempt.

I am tired, tired, tired.  I'm leaving the meet even before it's over to try to drive home in the daylight.  There are also 3 flights of dead lifters.  I'll survive without the trophy.

Friday, November 16, 2012

Cutting Weight, Planned 1st and 2nd Attempts for Sunday


My news today is about cutting weight for a competition in a safe, effective, not miserably unpleasant manner through diet and herbal formulations that are intended to help you shed water weight.

I weighed 150.8 lbs. this morning, right on schedule to weigh-in at just under 149 on Saturday at 6 PM.  Yesterday, Thursday, I was still 152 even, as I was the day before.

Cutting weight for a meet is one of those things where you wake up every morning and hope the bathroom scale is going to show you the number you need.  My number was 151 today so I'm happy.  Yesterday was the first day this week that I didn't have 2 chocolate chip cookies for dessert after dinner- you can't really complain too much if cutting weight only involves that.  (I baked them from scratch on Sunday so I get to eat some of them, right?) I was 153.2 on Monday morning which is my usual weight.

The other thing I do is take a herbal diuretic which helps shed a pound or two of water weight.  The product I use is MHP Xpel.  You can see the ingredient list on bodybuilding.com but I usually buy mine locally at Vitamin Shoppe.

Xpel is nice stuff to have around, useful if you're retaining water that you need to get rid of for whatever reason, e.g., I have used it if I get allergy-related dizziness.  I would not, however, stay on this for any length of time.  The general recommendation is that you can take an entire bottle of the stuff, which is 10 days worth if you follow package directions.

And speaking of package directions, if you are my size - 150 lbs. - you may find that the recommended dose is too much.  I don't take 4 morning and 4 evening as recommended, I do 3 and 3.  The extra started to make me feel weird and didn't do anything additional for my water retention.  This week, I took 1 and 1 on Tuesday, 2 and 2 on Wednesday, and 3 and 3 Thursday, which was yesterday.  My last dose will be Saturday morning.

Wish me white lights.  Planned first two attempts, all in pounds: SQ: 200, 215.  BP: 170, 180.  DL: 315, 335.  Weigh-in is Saturday between 5 and 6:30 PM, lifting is all day Sunday - this was originally supposed to be a 2-day meet but got changed to a single day due to low sign-ups.  That means it'll probably be a long day.

Today, I'll walk a bit and stretch a bit, might even do some back squats @ 135 and/or DL's @ 225 just to stay loose - we'll see.

Onward and Upward

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Meet Minus 4 Days - Updated

Bodyweight 152 even today, and that's after 2 cookies and a Irish coffee last night.  If I wake up Saturday morning at 151 even, I'm good enough, so that's 3 more days to lose 1 more pound.

Food has been otherwise clean, e.g., dinner last night was a burger on a roll with cheese and sauteed onions, asparagus as veggie.  Meat was grass-fed, cheese from grass-fed cattle, asparagus and onions organic, etc.  So was the half-and-half in my coffee - but not the Jim Beam. :)

Today, just really had the urge to lift something - grabbed a pair of 24 kg bells and did 10 see-saw presses (5 each side).  What a fantastic lift, a real tonic to the entire upper back and shoulder region.

HLR: 2

Edit - Spoke to Marty, here's the plan:

SQ: Attempts: 200, 215, and then we'll see.  Warmup 135 x whatever, 155/160 x 1 or 2 deep and paused, 185 x 1.  Warmups on 5 min rests before the announced start of the flite.

BP:  Attempts: 170, 180, then we'll see.  Warmup 135 x whatever, 155 x 1 or 2 well-paused

DL:  Attempts: 315, 335, then we'll see.  Warmup 225 x whatever, 255 x 1 or 2, 285 x 1

Onward and Upward!

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Another Rest Day

Bodyweight yesterday morning: 153.2 lbs.

Bodyweight this morning: 152.4 lbs.

Exercise: walk to bank and grocery store, standing meditation, stretching.

Yesterday's dinner was filet of sole (fish) pan fried in olive oil with a gluten-free, almond-flour breading.  Asparagus (always a good meet week vegetable as it's a natural diuretic) was the veggie, even had 2 of the chocolate chip cookies I baked from scratch on Sunday night.  Irish coffee for desert: one shot espresso, a little vanilla sugar syrup, a little Jim Beam whiskey, plus half-and-half.

Meet is this Sunday, need to keep dropping weight but since the weigh-in is the day before, not too worried.  Also took my first of an herbal diuretic pill called XPEL, just one capsule this morning, will take another tonight, the 2 and 2 tomorrow (Wednesday), then 3 and 3 on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.  Package dose is 4 capsules AM and 4 capsules PM but I've found that, for my size human being, 3 and 3 works just as well and doesn't make me feel bad like 4 and 4 has sometimes done.

Onward and Upward!


Monday, November 12, 2012

Variety Day - A Few See-Saw Kettlebell Presse

I'm off for the week before my meet, but I wanted to do a little something to stay loose, so I grabbed a pair of 24 kg bells and did see-saw military presses, 3 each side or 6 total.

It's interesting that just assuming my standing kettlebell press stance stretches my hip flexors - I miss doing these.  Standing kettlebell presses, with good form, provide a great challenge to tight hip flexors.  The see-saw variation is wonderful because it encourages a nice amount of mobilization in the upper back, shoulders, scapula, etc. while still requiring stability.  This is one of those magic lifts, IMHO.

Also walked a few miles to run errands, also stretched.

Onward and Upward!

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Sunday Mini-Meet: BP 180, DL 335

Thursday - not much, walking, sore

Friday - lots of driving and lots of sitting

Saturday - sore again, this time from driving and sitting


Sunday - mini-meet but only light squats per Marty

FSQ: bar x 5,  SQ: 95 x 4 - ATG and paused, 135 x 3 - deep and paused


BP:

bar x 4

95 x 5 long pause

135 x 1

Meet format: singles on ~10 min rest at 160, 170, 180.  180 is close to the limit but maybe 185 is possible - might try


DL: 225 x 3 over, 275 x 1 over, 295 x 1 over, 315 x 1 left under, 335 x 1 left under - 335 was slow but it went and didn't stop.

Onward and Upward!

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Mini Meet 3 of 4: SQ 215, BP 175, DL 315

Yesterday, Tuesday, off/easy - been walking a lot with my sister who's in for a visit

Today, Wednesday - a bit tired and sore from all the walking and also the stupid 1-arm pushups on Monday.

SQ: bar x 5, 95 x 5, 135 x 5, 165 x 1, 185 x 1, 215 x 1

BP: bar x 3, 95 x 3, 135 x 1, 155 x 1, 175 x 1 - 175 is getting easier, form is improving, basically learning how to get and stay tighter

DL: 225 x 3 overhand, 275 x 1 overhand, 295 x 1 left over, 315 x 1 right over - 315 was moving pretty quickly for 315.

Onward and Upward - meet in 11 days

Monday, November 5, 2012

Variety Day - Meet in 13 days, B/U Double Press, 1-Arm Pushup

I stretched a lot this morning, some Primal Move-based floor work combined with my own.  Lots of nice pops and cracks in my back and neck - aah!

I thought it would be interesting, since I like the see-saw military press so much, to try it with a pair of light kettlebells held bottoms-up.  After I tried and failed to clean a pair of 16 kg b/u, and a second failed attempt, I got it on the third try.  At that point, see-saw pressing seemed out of the question but a standard, two-bell military press did not - I tried and got the press.  Wow, what a great grip exercise and a good lesson in total body tension as well.

Found a newer pair of 16's and the grip felt a little easier, tried the see-saw press again - got a solid press on each side but that was about it, and it didn't matter which side I started with.

1-arm pushup on a 12" box - right first, one each side

Onward and Upward


Sunday, November 4, 2012

Mini-Meet 2 of 4 - Postponed PL Meet

Thursday, Friday, Saturday - not much, walked, stretched

Sunday:

SQ: bar x 3, 95 x 3, 135 x 5, 155 x 2, 175 x 1, decided to try 205 x 1 instead of planned 195, got it pretty easily, felt plenty deep, am thinking about going for 225 at the meet

BP: bar x 5, 95 x 5, 135 x 4, 155 x 1, 170 x 1 - not fast but neither a total max, either

IMHO, I need to bench more in training - I am already fatigued by my warmups and I don't do many warmups.

DL: 225 x 3 overhand, 280 x 1 right under, 300 x 1 left under - all pretty easy.  Tough to pack left shoulder when it's underhand but tried to do a better job of that today.

A few one-arm bar hangs to stretch out.

HLR: 2

Onward and Upward - felt great today.