The road to 1500..

[theprodgicalson]

@Boxsquatter
couldnt agree more. the more time under the bar or on the platform the better you will be. which is why i will have competed 3 times over the next 8 months. the more time in that atmosphere, under meet conditions, the better you will be off. as it has been explained to me. from here on out i when i set my openers i will be dropping the weight down roughly 2.5-5% to accommodate for fatigue and calibrated plates. good to have you along for this journey. have any comps coming up?

10-11
this was a totally unplanned session. havent had any time to lift the last two days. was at an event and a couple buddies said they were going to lift and i said fuck it ill go. unfortunately i didnt have my gym bad with me. borrowed a belt and didnt have any chalk or straps for the shitty commercial gym bar i was about to lift on

Deads
580 9.5 RPE
1 set 3 reps
520
2 sets 3 reps

double paused Bench
285
3 sets 5 reps

Paused at Knee Deads
475
1 set 5 reps
425
3 sets 5 reps

all in all was happy with it considering i maxed out on deads on Saturday, didnt have chalk or straps and had to use shitty octagon shaped plates(the fucking worse to deadlift with) setting me up alot better than where i was at at the start of last prep. when i set my openers id like to be somewhere around 610 x 3

 

[Boxsquatter]

Been crushing for a while. May be looking into one come Jan or feb.. I always train heavy but training heavy and getting into comp mod two totally different frame of minds..

 

[Boxsquatter]

Ate you a raw lifter belt and wraps or a geared lifter meaning single ply etc

 

[theprodgicalson]

Ate you a raw lifter belt and wraps or a geared lifter meaning single ply etc

Just belt and knee sleeves. Bought a pair of wraps last week, but don't plan on using them till the summer for a fall meet.

 

[theprodgicalson]

10-13

Bench
310
15 sets 2 reps

5 count Paused Squat
365
1 set 3 reps

335
3 sets 3 reps

Floor Press
275
1 set 7 reps
3 sets 5 reps

low back is still pretty tight so im surprised the Paused Squats went as well as they did. the new wider grip with bench felt buttery smooth. very happy with that. really forcing myself to squeeze and try to bend the bar as much as possible and its seems to have help maintain tightness for sure.

 

[Boxsquatter]

I FN love floor presses... really puts a strain on chest and tries. People don't understand how much more effort it takes to push that bar from a dead stop..love em keep me posted. Took today off will post my workout tom.

 

[theprodgicalson]

I FN love floor presses... really puts a strain on chest and tries. People don't understand how much more effort it takes to push that bar from a dead stop..love em keep me posted. Took today off will post my workout tom.

when i first started doing them earlier this year i was surprised how much i felt them in my chest. i feel it in my chest more than when im doing regular bench.

10/15
Squats
390
5 sets 5 reps

Sumo Block Pull
635
2 sets 1 rep

Bulgarian Split Squat
165
5 sets 7 reps

Choose to go a touch lighter on Squats as my low back has been on fire lately. that and ive learned i respond better to a more volume approach. so i may be dropping the weight down a hair on my volume days to ensure i get a ton of volume in. that and so i dont ego lift and push the envelop too far.

10/16
Iso row machine
2 plates and a quater each side
4 sets 10 reps

Close Grip Bench
235
5 sets 10 reps

Reverse Hypers
2 plates per side
4 sets 10 reps

this was all my low back could tolerate. it was pumping after that. spent some time rolling it, my hamstrings and glutes out with a pvc pipe and did some body tempering.

Hammer Curls
5 sets 10 reps

Adductors/Abductors
5 sets 10 reps

 

[Junni]

@theprodgicalson I saw your first post regarding your PCT, and you saying you will do a power PCT, so i will speak by my experience with a 16 week cycle. I did hcg 250x iu every 3.5 for 18 weeks (16 weeks, and 2 others leading to PCT), which was clomid and tamoxifene for 5 weeks, on a 100/50/50/50/50 (clomid) and 40/20/20/20/20, and my recovery was a breeze, with no problems on sex drive or any other issues. My bloods 8 weeks later also came back normal, and i was able to keep most of my gains. Note that i'm also 29 years, and was 28 at the time, so it also might weight on the recovery. Also i would like to say that all those ancilliaries and PCT meds were all bought on a pharmacy, so they are all legit, and people sometimes don't recover too well because they are scammed on those meds from UGLs and are actually not taking anything, which makes recovery very hard.
just my 2 cent. Keep it going.

 

[theprodgicalson]

@theprodgicalson I saw your first post regarding your PCT, and you saying you will do a power PCT, so i will speak by my experience with a 16 week cycle. I did hcg 250x iu every 3.5 for 18 weeks (16 weeks, and 2 others leading to PCT), which was clomid and tamoxifene for 5 weeks, on a 100/50/50/50/50 (clomid) and 40/20/20/20/20, and my recovery was a breeze, with no problems on sex drive or any other issues. My bloods 8 weeks later also came back normal, and i was able to keep most of my gains. Note that i'm also 29 years, and was 28 at the time, so it also might weight on the recovery. Also i would like to say that all those ancilliaries and PCT meds were all bought on a pharmacy, so they are all legit, and people sometimes don't recover too well because they are scammed on those meds from UGLs and are actually not taking anything, which makes recovery very hard.
just my 2 cent. Keep it going.

thank you for sharing your experience. the first post is from a year ago. i decided to B&C earlier this year so PCT will not be a problem anymore.

 

[theprodgicalson]

Deadlifts
520
9 sets 2 reps

Pin press
285
5 sets 5 reps

2.5-3" deficit Dealifts
470
1 set 5 reps
420
2 sets 5 reps


Regular deads didn't go quite as planned. Weight it heavy super quick. Pin press I probably should have went up 5-10 pounds. Deficit deads went really well

 

[ronin17]

10-13

Bench
310
15 sets 2 reps

5 count Paused Squat
365
1 set 3 reps

335
3 sets 3 reps

Floor Press
275
1 set 7 reps
3 sets 5 reps

low back is still pretty tight so im surprised the Paused Squats went as well as they did. the new wider grip with bench felt buttery smooth. very happy with that. really forcing myself to squeeze and try to bend the bar as much as possible and its seems to have help maintain tightness for sure.

Why so many sets with only two reps on bench. Whats the thinking on that? I lift heavy but not a powerlifter.

 

[theprodgicalson]

Why so many sets with only two reps on bench. Whats the thinking on that? I lift heavy but not a powerlifter.

Short answer, because it is what my coach programs.

Longer more detailed answer. It is not always 15 sets. sometimes its 10, sometimes 12 etc etc. i work up to a fatigue point. starting with a 6RPE(4 reps left in the tank) and lift up until 9RPE(1 rep left in the tank). so sometimes i will only get 9 sets in before my prescribed Fatigue point, sometimes its 13 sets. Second thought, PLing is all about one repetition. so working on form and making those reps be the best they can be while maintain proper form is of the essence. Third thought, and probably the most important point, 15 sets of 2 reps gets you 30 total reps. allowing you to move more total tonnage versus doing 3 sets of 10 reps. a higher total tonnage equals greater strength and muscle gains.

 

[theprodgicalson]

10/19
Bench
315
5 sets 5 reps

SSB box squats 16" box
385
1 set 3 reps
345
3 sets 3 reps

Strict Standing Overhead Press
170
1 set 7 reps
3 sets 5 reps

Bench again felt really smooth. beleive that is a volume PR. Box Squats also went really well to a low box. really focused on driving my hips open, spreading the floor and bringing my head up first before my hips. Changed the way i do overhead press. coming all the way down to the top of my shoulders/chest pausing for a second and driving up not utilizing and leg drive. used to just come just below my chin and back up. REALLY happy with this session. things are looking up

 

[theprodgicalson]

10/21
Squats
445
1 set 3 reps
405
3 sets 3 reps

Stiff leg Deadlift
485
3 sets 1 rep

Hack squats
2 plates/side
4 sets 7 reps

10/22
Close grip Bench
240
4 sets 10 reps

Iso row machine
2 plates plus 2 dimes per side
5 sets 10 reps

Reverse Hypers
2 plates 1 quarter per side
5 sets 10 reps

Curls
5 sets 10 reps

Adductors/abductors
3 sets 20 reps

Did some shrugs too and a tad more back work. Not prescribed but was feeling good.

10/21 my back was feeling kind of shitty. Went conservative on my squats.

Woke up today and my back felt great. Going to a chiro this week to get everything checked out to make sure nothing is wrong. Some days I feel great, others my low back is a mess. Keeping everything fairly conservative for the next couple weeks until I see how my low back feels. May pull out of the meet depending on how I'm feeling in the next 2 weeks. Spend the rest of the year continuing to build but just dial squat/deads back a touch to get everything 100% for the beginning of the year so I can go into nationals and just smash weights.

 

[theprodgicalson]

Switched up my Monday lift with Wednesday. Low back was a little tight so that was the reason

Bench

365
1 set 3 reps
330
3 sets 3 reps

Box squats with buffalo bar to 16" box

410
1 set 3 reps
370
3 sets 3 reps

Standing overhead press
170
1 set 7 reps
3 sets 5 reps

Everything went really well. Bench was a 10RPE but it ties my current best 3 rep max.
Box squats was a PR
SOHP wore me out. Love hate relationship with that lift.

 

[theprodgicalson]

I forgot dates but this was the rest of this weeks training. After Sunday I will have worked 76 hours. Body weight is a tad light because of it.

Deadlifts
535
3 sets 5 reps

Pin Press
295
5 sets 5 reps

3" deficit deads
485
1 set 5 reps
435
2 sets 5 reps

All I had time for with the deficits.

Squats
385
13 sets 2 reps

Stuff leg Deadlifts
475
3 sets 1 rep

Hack Squat
3 plates/side
4 sets 7 reps

Close grip Bench
265
3 sets 10 rep
245
2 sets 10 reps

Lat pull downs
5 sets 10 reps

Reverse Hyper
4 plates 2 quarters
5 sets 10 reps

Biceps
5 sets 10 reps

Adductors/abductors
3 sets 20 reps

 

[theprodgicalson]

Rotating some days around again this week as i didn't deadlift until Saturday last week. i will deadlift tomorrow and be back to normal schedule next week. body weight was 237. down 2.75 pounds from last monday. will be spending today preping food as i was on the fly about it last week because of work.

Bench
335
13 sets 2 reps

Box Squats
415
1 set 3 reps

375
3 sets 3 reps

Standing overhead press
170
1 set 7 reps
3 sets 5 reps

really did not want to go in and lift yesterday but i made myself so that i could be back on schedule next week. Bench continues to feel smooth. another PR on box squats. SOHP is just mehh

 

[theprodgicalson]

Deadlifts
575
1 set 3 reps

505
3 sets 3 reps

Pin Press
315
4 sets 5 reps

Deficit deads
495
1 set 5 reps

445
2 sets 5 reps

Deads felt pretty good up until my top set. Looking back at the video I took from the side angle my hips shot way up and I basically RDL'd them. Took a little more than 10% off for my drop sets to hammer in staying right in starting position. Deads have really been hit or miss this training cycle. The deficits honestly felt better than the deads from the floor. Think I need to lower my starting position. Going to talk with my coach about it and see what the game plan is.

I can't complain too much. Bench and squats have felt phenomenal this training cycle. That and I worked 76 hours last week and will work 73 this week.

 

[ruckin]

Serious props for sticking to your training while working that much, brother. 15 hours days, that's nuts. I've been an unemployed loser the last few weeks and it's been driving me crazy lol

 

[theprodgicalson]

Serious props for sticking to your training while working that much, brother. 15 hours days, that's nuts. I've been an unemployed loser the last few weeks and it's been driving me crazy lol

thanks brother. it hasnt been easy, and most days i have to force myself to go. im not expecting great things at this meet. goal is to go 9 for 9 with a mid 1500's total. around these numbers is what im looking for; 550 squat, 390 bench, 630 deadlift