It was suggested to me that I use the Cycle Log section this time around rather than the training forum to post my meet training log so here we go.
The Essentials:
Stats: I'm 49 years old and currently weigh 197. I compete push/pull (bench/deadlift) in the masters (40 and up) category in the 198 pds. division.
Last meet: My last meet was at the end of June this year and I finally broke the 400 pds. bench barrier with a 15 pd. meet PR and set a 10 pd. meet PR pulling inching closer to 600 pds. finishing north of 550 for the first time at a meet going 6 for 6 on the day. The bench placed me in the top ten in the nation over the past year at the time but has since fallen but both lifts are in the top 25 nationally in the masters 198 division.
Training history: I've been lifting steadily since I was 17. Unfortunately, back then there were no resources on the Internet to guide you so most of my early training was based on bodybuilding books and magizines. I came into the powerlifting game very late and started competing in my 40's.
Injury history: Like most who have lifted heavy for a long time this is a fairly long list which includes 2 hernia surgeries, a bicep tendon surgery and multiple times of having my knees cleaned up. The knees are what keep me from squatting in competition as they just won't hold up to a meet training schedule however they don't cause me any real issues pulling. I have worked on my form a lot over the past five years and I believe that has played a big role in leading me to be in better shape injury wise now than I have been in quite a while.
Next Meet: Coming out of the June meet my plan was to do a meet on the second Saturday in December. Unfortunately, a trip for work which was supposed to start the next day got moved up a day so that meet was out. I have been pleased with the way I came out of my last meet physically and with my training since then so my next meet is now planned for October 31 or ten weeks from yesterday. This will be the first time I've done 3 meets in a year since 2012.
Meet Training: I will be running a modified Bulgarian method for benching again this meet beginning next Monday, August 31 which will have me benching to a daily max six times per week until meet week. This method has worked well for me for the past couple of years and I will be starting at a higher max than any other training cycle so I'm looking forward to seeing where I end up.
Deadlifting will be a program Brandon Lilly ran many times which alternates block, deficit and flat pulls on a weekly basis and will start next Saturday and run for the next nine weeks. I've run the Coan program leading up to my last several meets with some success but it is a program that I feel like I need at least 3 and preferably 4 months between runs on and with only two months between meet training cycles this time it is time for a change.
I workout everyday during a meet training cycle up until meet week as my intensity level on each movement I do is strong but my ability to perform and recover from sessions with a large number of sets is limited so everything gets divided up into shorter sessions.
I will start logging my sessions tomorrow as this week is a bridge week between higher rep off season training and meet training which starts full scale with next Saturday's pulling session.
The Essentials:
Stats: I'm 49 years old and currently weigh 197. I compete push/pull (bench/deadlift) in the masters (40 and up) category in the 198 pds. division.
Last meet: My last meet was at the end of June this year and I finally broke the 400 pds. bench barrier with a 15 pd. meet PR and set a 10 pd. meet PR pulling inching closer to 600 pds. finishing north of 550 for the first time at a meet going 6 for 6 on the day. The bench placed me in the top ten in the nation over the past year at the time but has since fallen but both lifts are in the top 25 nationally in the masters 198 division.
Training history: I've been lifting steadily since I was 17. Unfortunately, back then there were no resources on the Internet to guide you so most of my early training was based on bodybuilding books and magizines. I came into the powerlifting game very late and started competing in my 40's.
Injury history: Like most who have lifted heavy for a long time this is a fairly long list which includes 2 hernia surgeries, a bicep tendon surgery and multiple times of having my knees cleaned up. The knees are what keep me from squatting in competition as they just won't hold up to a meet training schedule however they don't cause me any real issues pulling. I have worked on my form a lot over the past five years and I believe that has played a big role in leading me to be in better shape injury wise now than I have been in quite a while.
Next Meet: Coming out of the June meet my plan was to do a meet on the second Saturday in December. Unfortunately, a trip for work which was supposed to start the next day got moved up a day so that meet was out. I have been pleased with the way I came out of my last meet physically and with my training since then so my next meet is now planned for October 31 or ten weeks from yesterday. This will be the first time I've done 3 meets in a year since 2012.
Meet Training: I will be running a modified Bulgarian method for benching again this meet beginning next Monday, August 31 which will have me benching to a daily max six times per week until meet week. This method has worked well for me for the past couple of years and I will be starting at a higher max than any other training cycle so I'm looking forward to seeing where I end up.
Deadlifting will be a program Brandon Lilly ran many times which alternates block, deficit and flat pulls on a weekly basis and will start next Saturday and run for the next nine weeks. I've run the Coan program leading up to my last several meets with some success but it is a program that I feel like I need at least 3 and preferably 4 months between runs on and with only two months between meet training cycles this time it is time for a change.
I workout everyday during a meet training cycle up until meet week as my intensity level on each movement I do is strong but my ability to perform and recover from sessions with a large number of sets is limited so everything gets divided up into shorter sessions.
I will start logging my sessions tomorrow as this week is a bridge week between higher rep off season training and meet training which starts full scale with next Saturday's pulling session.
