Domination Tour

[This Is Bench Day]

What's up everybody. I've been keeping a training journal over on elitefitness.com's powerlifting board under the name DOM and I'm going to move it over here to hopefully get some more feedback. Looks like this board is a little more knowledgeable and there a lot of old elite members here.

Some Stats
Age: 19
Height: 5.7
Weight: 160
Training: 6 months now on westside bench. About 2 months now westside squatting -- about 3 years experience on and off with lifting/BBing before that.

SQ, BP, DL: 335, 315, 335 -- These are all gym lifts, all raw.
Competitions: None. Doing first meet in January. Either WI State Open full, or Oshkosh Bench Invite.

My current goals are to get a 1000 total. And the thing I need the most help on is tinkering with my Squat workouts in order to get to the classic twice a week DE and ME split. Currently -- I'm not healing fast enough from SQ workouts to go twice a week. Pretty much any SQ workout takes me 4-5 days to recover.

[Ermantroudt]

What are you doing in your squat workouts and how long do your squat sessions last?

Ermantroudt

[GRIMM]

I hear ya, it takes me the full 4 days to recover from my ME to DE day. I do my Me on MOn. and DE on Fri. It seems to allow just enough time to recover. The best thing i started doing though is on Tues , Wed,and Thur trying to get some kind of Recoup workout in. Usually band GMs or just the bar Gms, GHR for a few sets of 8 , and sled draging. Stretching is coming intoplay now as well. Usually i can get at least one of tose three days in for recovery if not two.

[This Is Bench Day]

3 Board Press no previous record
315 x 1, 335 x miss

JM presses
95 x 8, 115 x 8, 135 x 8

Front plate raise
3 x 15

chest supported row
10 @ 90, 2 x 10 @ 110

Well, it was a decent workout. I'm disappointed I missed 335. This means that my 3 board press is the same as my raw bench -- on the other hand, since my board presses aren't as high as they should be, I think they're going to be a good ME exercise for me. Next week I'm going to do 2 board press. This was also my first time doing JM presses. There was a westside vet at the gym today who helped me with the form.

GRIMM I think I will try doing some light reverse hypers on bench days as recovery maybe that will help. Ermantroudt -- I'll post my squat workouts in here as I do them... They usually last one hour not counting stretching beforehand.

[This Is Bench Day]

wide stance arched back GMs + 1 set chains
245 x 3
265 x 3
285 x 3 (No previous record)

GHC raise
3 x 9 @ bodyweight

Cable side bends
2 x 10 @ 60 on each side

Face pulls
3 x 12 @ 70'

Reverse hypers
3 x 8 @ 70

Hammer curls
2 x 8 @ 40s

Well, this is the heaviest I've ever gone on GMs. After that last set it felt like my back was just run over by a truck. Feels fine now though. I might have been able to go heavier, but there was a little bit of form detioration on that last set. Next ME squat I think I might do a max single on these.

[This Is Bench Day]

speed bench + 1 set chains
3 x 9 @ 135

rolling dumbell ext on floor
6 x 11 @ 20s

military press
3 x 5 @ 135

chest suported row
3 x 9 @ 110

face pulls 3 x 10 @ 80

bench workout was great. missed the bus afterward and had to wait outside in the cold for a half hour. another note -- I am still sick! It has been a month now, I think I have mono.

[This Is Bench Day]

box squats + 1 set chains
9 x 2 @ 155

GHC raise
3 x 9 @ bodyweight

Reverse Hypers
3 x 9 @ 90

Standing abs
3 x 9 @ 80

Well last weekend I got some box squat pointers from a westside vet at my gym. So I spent about a half hour with the bare bar working on form before I started -- and I definitely felt it in my hams more. Sat further back... got my knees behind my ankles. Also -- I went to a higher box... roughly 2 inches above parallel... because I had been falling the last couple inches to the lower box. I will lower the box over the next 3 months. Speed was great -- I can tell I'm getting stronger by the week.

[This Is Bench Day]

2 board press
315 x 1 (20lb PR) 335 x miss

bodybuilder bench
3 x 8 @ 185 w/ compensatory acceleration

JM press
3 x 6 @ 135

Lateral raises
3 x 10 @ 35s

Lat pull down
3 x 10 @ 120

Well, as expected, my 2board was equal to my raw max, and my 3 board. Confirming that basically the entire bottom half of my bench is my weak point.

[This Is Bench Day]

tues dec 17 me sq/dl

conventional deads
365 x 1 (30 lb PR)

GHC raise
3 x 10 @ bdyweight

Reverse hyper
3 x 10 @ 110

Standing calves
135 x 10, 185 x 10

Standing abs
3 x 10 @ 70

Pretty good day with the DL PR, man was it slow. In bad news, the first competition, which I had planned... requires a qualifying total of 1030 for the 165's... so I can't really lift in it since I'd be glad to get 1000 in the meet. Guess I'll just have to keep working hard and hit something further down the road.

[This Is Bench Day]

speed bench + 1 set chains
9 x 3 @ 135

dumbell press
5 x 10 @ 45s short rest

seated cable row
3 x 10 @ 110

face pulls
3 x 10 @ 70

hammer curls
2 x 8 @ 40s

well it was a shitty day. was feeling weak all over, with headache, kind of feverish, and I still think I have mono -- swollen lymph nodes in neck for about 6 weeks now. I started to do a 6 board press (gym doesn't have a 5 board) as spatts suggested after my speed work -- but I tweaked my right elbow while warming up with 225, I will use it in the future though. Everything was off today, all joints sore, things tweaking out. I think I might phase everything back a little until I kick this mono or whatever it is.

[This Is Bench Day]

I took some extra time off from being sick, also, I'm home for college break and haven't found a box to squat on yet, so today was ME day instead of speed day.

squats (previous record 335)
315 x 2, 335 x 1

standing calves
2 x 10 @ 185

pullthroughs
3 x 10

standing abs
3 x 10

good day, that 335 squat was much easier than it was last month so I can tell I've been gaining. People looked at me like an alien was landing when I did pullthroughs. haha.

[This Is Bench Day]

decline (previous max 315)
315 x 1

close grip bench
225 x 4, 245 x 3, 265 x 2 (failed 3rd rep)

elbows out extensions
3 x 10 @ 30s w/ 1 minute rest

plate raises
3 x 12

lat pull downs
3 x 10

Wish my decline max had gone up.

[This Is Bench Day]

Box squats
9 x 2 @ 160

standing abs
3 x 12 @ 65

Showed my mom how to squat and deadlift today so I didn't have time to do much. Didn't have my normal box since I'm at home so I used a bench... 17" so a couple inches high.

[This Is Bench Day]

speed bench, straight weight
10 x 3 @ 145

JM PRESS
135 x 5, 155 x 2

DB Press
55 x 10, 65 x 10, 70 x 10

Side raises
3 x 10 @ 35s

Seated cable row
3 x 10

Speed was insanely fast for some reason today, probably because I've concentrated on trying to catch the bar... feared hurting my elbows from hyperxtension it was so fast. JM press causes a lot of pain in my elbows from tendonitis too, but it really gets the lower tricep -- so I think I will leave them out for a while and then try when my elbows are better, I could barely do it today.

[This Is Bench Day]

wide stance archedback GMs (no record)
275 x 3, 295 x 3, 315 x 3

pullthroughs
3 x 15

Gave my mom some more help learning freeweights exercises so I was low on time again.

I felt strong on GMs, but I think my form breaks down as I get heavy. My previous best on these was 285 + chains x 3, so I think I was a little stronger.

[This Is Bench Day]

Raw Incline medium grip (previous record 235)
230 x 1, 240 x 1, 250 x 1 PR

Rack Lockouts, medium grip, 19.5" from bench, 5" ROM
365 x 1, 405 x 1, 455 x miss, 455 x miss

Dumbell press, 2 mins rest
4 x 10 @ 65s

Incline -- I knew I was good for more than the 235 I got last month. I may have even been good for 260 today.

Rack lockouts -- measured with tape measure in order to standardize these since I use different power racks from time to time. From now on I'm going to measure height from bench, and ROM every time I do them. I did lockouts a few months back and got 495 but I think that was about 2" ROM. So I think this height was a more appropriate ME exercise for triceps.

Notes: Getting the measuring tape out I noticed I have a very long bench stroke. At lockout the bar is about 24" from the bench -- and I'm about 9" thick... and with my slight arch I maybe get 2" more. So that's a 13" stroke! Wow. It was a medium grip, but that's still 12" stroke. I'm also getting pretty excited for my bench shirt. I can only do about 315 raw or on a 1, 2, or 3 board. But then with lockouts I can get over 400, maybe the shirt will give me an easy 75 lbs.

[This Is Bench Day]

Squat 5 reps (previous record: 225)
225 x 5, 275 x 5

Conventional deads (record 365)
285 x 1, 335 x 1, 365 x 1

Standing abs
3 x 10

pullthrouhgs
3 x 10

Did a kind of repetition day today on squats since I still haven't found a box to squat off here at home. Good day, 50 lbs PR on squats since my old 5 rep max which was about 4 months ago. Also I didn't max on DLs, just took a single.... this was much faster than when I did 365 last month.

[GRIMM]

Hey, i'e been lookin' over your workouts. Your doing great. But one thing i noticed was that on ME days a lot of the time you get the same as your previous PR. Instead of trying the same Previous PR again go for a five or ten lb. jump. Its easier to tell if your getting stronger by the amount of weight rather than how easy it was relative to the last time you tried it. Just something to think about. Keep up the good work.

[This Is Bench Day]

Thanks for looking my workouts over GRIMM - I always appreciate advice. Ill start getting those 5 or 10 lb PR's where I had only been going for my old max. Later.,

[This Is Bench Day]

speed bench + bands (~10 at bottom ~30 at top)
3 x 9 @ 135

heavy single
205 x 1, 255 x 1, 295 x 1

floor press (no 5 rep record)
225 x 5, 245 x 5

dumbell press
4 x 10 @ 50s w/ 20 second rests

face pulls
3 x 12

Elbow tendonitis still bothering me. Did bands anyway since I haven't used accomodating resistance in a while -- and it didn't mess my elbows up much at all.

I definitely like doing 2 accessory tricep exercises even though it looks like sometimes I have to take an extra day off after DE days because of it. Hopefully we'll see some PR's falling because of it.

In bad news, I thought I was over my mono, but today my lymph nodes in my neck were swollen up like balloons.

[This Is Bench Day]

Jan 7 -- Lat work/biceps

Jan 8 -- forearms, grip work.

First time ever doing gripwork, inspired by Parabellum's post here. I did pinch grip plate walks, two plate hold with crushing grip for as long as possible, and 80 lbs dumbell holds for as long as possible.

Eventually I will get "The Mastery of Hand Strength" and do a program from there, but until then, does anybody have any suggestions of exercises or programs they use for grip? I don't really know what I'm doing and pretty much making it up as I go along.

[This Is Bench Day]

Floor press, med grip.
225 x 3, 275 x 1, 305 x 1, 320 x miss, 320 x miss

Closegrip Bench
5 @ 225, 2 x 5 @ 245, failed last rep.

Elbows out extensions
3 x 5 @ 45s

Well, a long time ago I got 315 on floor press with my competition grip. And today I got 320 off the floor each time, but could not finish it. I hate it when I can't get a PR and it's been happening a lot lately with ME bench press. I've hit a minnor plateau, hopefully the extra tri work I'm doing will help me push through it soon.

[This Is Bench Day]

Box Squats plus green bands, 16"
9 x 2 @ 125

Front squats
45 x 10, 95 x 10, 135 x 10, 185 x 8

SLDL's
210 x 10, 260 x 6

Standing Abs
3 x 12

Great day with some great training partners. Intensity was unbelievable. I love the bands, this was my first time with them -- and the 16" box is only for another week since I'm going back to school next week, then I'm gonna go to a 14" and then down an inch each two weeks, until I level out around 12".

Also my first time frontsquatting and wow, this is a great exercise. I was only going for 185 x 3, but my friend kept screaming at me for another, and they kept coming. Next time I'll go even heavier.

[This Is Bench Day]

Jan 12 -- grip work -- pinch grip plate walks, thick towel barbell holds, two plate crush grip hold, pinch grip curls.

Jan 13 DE BENCH

speed bench + minis (10 at bottom 30 at top)
3 x 9 @ 135

rack lockouts 15" from bench
315 x 3, 325 x 3, 335 x 3 <-- couldn't lockout the last rep.

rolling dumbell extensions on floor
7 x 8 @ 25s w/ 20 secs rest

side delt raises
4 x 10 @ 35s

speed could be faster. I'm pretty pleased with the rack lockouts.... they were low today. I lockout about 24" above the bnech, so I had a 9" ROM on these and a bench shirt will easily get me up to this point or even higher. My FURY should arrive this week or next and with a little training in it to get the feel of it, i think I could hit 365 easily based on my lockout strength, and 405 by the end of the semester.

I also ordered 'mastery of hand strength' and the captains of crush trainer gripper with some xmas cash so I might start adding grip training to this thread. I'm pretty motivated on this and I have done 2 days for grip already. Later.

[This Is Bench Day]

tuesday jan 14 -- lats/biceps


THURSDAY JAN 16 ME SQUAT

FRONT SQUAT (no record)
185 x 3, 225 x 1, 245 x 1, 265 x miss

Archback GMS widestance (best 315 x 3)
295 x 3, 325 x 3

Standing abs
4 x 10

Slow workout, nothing special. Was falling slightly forward on front squats. Also extreme hip pain on wide ABGMs. Gonna have to use narrow stuff for a few weeks while my hips get better.

[This Is Bench Day]

Jan 17 ME BENCH

FLOOR PRESS (pr=315)
275 x 1, 305 x 1, 320 x 1 PR, 325 x miss

CLOSE GRIP BENCH
225 x 5, 2 x 5 @ 245, failed last rep on second set

ROLLING DB EXT ON FLOOR
5 x 8 @ 25s, 15 secs rest

Glad I got that floor press after missing it last week, but I wanted to get 3 x 5 @ 245 on closegrip -- I was stronger on closegrips back when my bench max was 295.

[This Is Bench Day]

JAN 18 -- GRIP WORK -- COC trainer 5 x 5, one finger pinch grips on a bungee cord attached to weighted bucket, towel hold w/ weighted bucket for time.


MON JAN 20 -- SPEED SQUAT

Box squats + green bands
5 x 2 @ 135, 3 x 2 @ 145

GHC Raise
3 x 8

Reverse hyper
3 x 10 @ 120

Standing Abs
3 x 10 @ 70

Speed fast, seemed very easy today. I will up the weight if it feels easy again next speed day.

[This Is Bench Day]

I was hit by a car while biking home from class on tuesday. There was a good deal of pain in my left knee while I was benching just from the leg drive. I'll see how it holds up next squat day -- but it might not be good.

Straight weight speed bench
9 x 3 @ 145

Wide grip bench (middle finger on ring)
225 x 5, 245 x 5, 255 x 5

French press
65 x 8, 2 x 8 @ 70

Plate raises
4 x 10

Lat pull down
3 x 10 @ 130

Hammer curls
4 x 10 @ 40s

Speed was very fast -- just like last time I used straight weight. I felt like I could have thrown the bar into the ceiling. Other news -- bodyweight is up to about 165-166 now, up from about 158-159 before christmas, this is the highest I've ever been. Hopefully that will get my bench moving up.

[This Is Bench Day]

THURS JAN 23 -- GRIP WORK

SAT JAN 25 SQUATS

Full squats
185 x 5, 225 x 5, 245 x 5

Zercher DL's
2 x 8 @ 95, 8 @ 115

GHC raise
3 x 8 @ bodyweight

Left knee was fine -- but the quad hurt a lot, and kept locking up. Z-deads were good but I dont' think i'll be using them in the future, felt it mostly in the lower back and hips and not enough in the hamstrings. I will maybe substitue them in for GMs once in a blue moon. Workout cut short in order to get to the bus on time.

[This Is Bench Day]

ME Bench + GRIP WORK

Rack lockouts (14" from bench, no PR)
275 x 3, 315 x 1, 345 x miss, 345 x miss

Wide girp bench (middle on ring)
225 x 5, 245 x 5, 255 x 5

French Press
50 x 8, 60 x 8, 70 x 8

Chest supported row
90 x 10, 115 x 9

GRIP WORK -- COC T -- 3 x 8 , COC #1-- 1 x 3, Sledgehammer levering, two finger plate pinches on first two, and last two fingers, two finger plate crushes with last two fingers

Well not a great day, I have gotten 335 x 2 on racklockouts from 15" from the bench. This means that I have a significant sticking point between 14" and 15" since my lockouts differ so greatly. I estimate that this equates to 3-4" above my chest. I probably won't do these low lockouts again for a long time.

Grip work is going great. I've only been doing it for some 3 weeks now, and already I can close the COC Trainer for 8 reps, initially I could barely close it for one rep. Three weeks ago I could not even close it with my left hand but now I have closed it for the first few reps of the sets with my left. I nearly cloesd the #1 with my right on all the reps -- probably a couple sheets of paper width between the handles. Wasn't even close on my left though. I'm gonna get #1 and #2 soon. #1 will fall to me by the end of February. I borrowed a friend's #1 today. Later -- DOM

[This Is Bench Day]

SPEED SQUAT + CHAINS (14.5")
9 x 2 @ 165

NARROW GMS + CHAINS
225 x 3, 255 x 3, 225 x 3, 295 x 3

GHC RAISE
3 x 9

STANDING ABS
3 x 10 @ 80

BENT OVER ROWS
2 x 8 @ 195

HAMMER CURLS
2 x 10 @ 40s

Good speed on a couple sets, decent on other sets. I was very tired today and it took a while to get the workout going.

Ok, here's the news.
1. Got a competition, not official, just a gym meet, but it's a start. It's March 8th.
2. Form issues -- need to experiment with new elbow positioning on squats, my rotators are strained from current positioning.
3. Need to concentrate on expanding my belly, and keeping my arch.
4. Still have nasty hip pain from squatting wide.
5. Training suffering a lot because of school last couple weeks. Mostly because I'm not getting enough sleep. If I'm gonna make any progress this semester I'm gonna need to find a way to get more sleep.
6. I need to get down to a 12" box asap, I will do 13" next week, and 12" the week after.

[This Is Bench Day]

Feb 1 -- SPEED BENCH + GRIP WORK. Bench sucked, but I closed the COC #1 for two reps in my right.

Feb 5 -- ME SQUAT. Heavy Box Squats at 13.5".

Sorry I haven't updated in so long. I have 23 hours of class this semester and between that and homework, I am losing sleep, and missing workouts. It sucks.

[This Is Bench Day]

Feb 6 -- ME BENCH -- RAW FLAT BENCH FOLLOWED BY 6BOARD PRESSES

Feb 7 -- GRIP WORK

Sorry about another late update. Looks like this semester is pretty much scrapped for any progress at PLing. My lifestyle just can't support it at this time. I'm still going to compete and lift -- but for now schoolwork demands a lot out of me and if that takes away from lifting then that's how it has to be.