Louie's log 4

[Louie P]

10/14/13

Lower 1

laying leg curl
80x15x2

Squat
320x5x3
275x12

Bottom up zerchers
185x8x2

GHR
bwx10x3
add weight next session

accessory work

[Louie P]

I've been struggling lately with consistency lately. I travel a lot for work on short notice and training out of town is very hit or miss. This is my third week back after a month of travel. I eased into it the first two weeks but am going to push the main lifts hard the next 4 weeks and just jump right into it. I'm doing a mock meet November 16th and planning on doing a meet sometime in the early winter if everything works out. 

I've transitioned into a hybrid routine previously I was doing high volume. So it's been awhile since I had touched anything heavy. Strength still seems to be half way decent. I've added a good big of size from all the volume training so it will be good to put it to use over the next couple of months.

I have dropped all that nonsense of shakes/work out drinks/and anything of the sort. Just pounding the food, lifting and sticking to the basics.

I've been on 10,000 IUs of vitamin d daily. I've been on this for a couple months now and getting blood work retested Thursday. During my first test everything came back fine but vitamin d and testosterone. Here is a breakdown of those results -


Vitamin d = 27 NG/ml  (scale is 31-100)L
Test, Total = 420 NG/DL (scale 175-781)
Test, bio = 219 NG/DL (scale 131-682)
Test, Free = 93 pg/mL (scale 47-224)
Sex hormone-binding globulin = 29nmol/L (scale 13-90)

Estrogen and thyroid were in range

The doctor was concerned with my test levels being on the very long end of the scale for my age. We talked about going on HRT and seeing an endocrinologist. We also talked about how he usually sees men with low Vitamin d almost always have low test. So I opted to try raising that first and see my test levels come up. Some other options we discuses are running a short session of hcg and clomiphene to see if it would jump start my natural production.One step at a time for me. I will probably try and exhaust all of my options before going on HRT. The idea of being on test is somewhat tempting but the idea of pinning myself for the rest of my life is not.

As far as performance I don't suffer from any symptoms of low test. Sex drive is still good, no fatigue or lack of energy, and am able to gain muscle drop fat pretty easily. There is a chance that I've always had it so I'm use to it according to my doctor. So I'll a better idea of what the next steps are at the end of this week.

[Sereni]

LOUIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.

Good to see you posting, I look forward to your gains.  How do you go about getting all that blood work from your doctor, did you just ask during a routine exam?  I'm probably going to get some done once I find a Doctor out here, I'd like to see where I am.

[Louie P]

I just schedule an appointment for blood work. I've been with my doctor for awhile now and he likes the idea of routine blood work. So I get it done every 6 months now unless there is a problem. The first couple times I got blood work done was just a basic panel that has stuff like metabolic function, glucose, lipid profile, etc. The last time I got it done I requested to get test/thyroid/estrogen. You should just be able to discuses what you want tested and go from there.

[Louie P]

I got into too much fancy stuff in the past and was worrying about every little thing. I probably was getting a little ocd with training and dieting. I've completely dropped all that bullshit and gimmick stuff. Just eat clean and train hard now. I would say my results are a lot better now than before. I read this article today and it's a good reminder...



Back to the Roots of Training
by Jim Wendler

I've been on a mission the last few years to get back to the roots of training; to get back to when training was fun, simple, and most importantly, free of the fluff and crap that has polluted my world. When training was about strength, about moving weight, and moving bodies. About being proud of an added rep or 10 more pounds. Where performance and kicking ass are more important than how you look. Where people eat to live, not live to eat. Where trucks are pushed and sleds are pulled. Where reps and weight are counted, calories are not. Where running isn't "cardio, it's part of training and if you're going to walk for your conditioning you best have something on your back or in your hands.

With that in mind, here's a list of some simple rules that we follow:

• Squats are walked out.

• Lift-offs are not given on the bench press.

• If you're going to overhead press, it will be done standing.

• No straps unless you are hurt or doing a hang variation of a lift.

• You don't debate about organic/non-organic. 

• Squats are done with a barbell on your back; this is assumed and are not called "Back Squats." You don't say you're going to take a "standing piss" do you?

• No need for music or training partners or "the right atmosphere" to train hard.

• There are no 8-week plans, rather yearlong goals and decade long achievements.

• All you need is a rack, barbell, platform and some weights.

• You realize stretching doesn't make you slow or non-explosive.

• You realize physical strength can develop mental and spiritual strength.

• You never fall for gimmicks; principles last forever.

Now there are quite a few more of these, but you get the picture. The point is this: training has become over run with people telling us how we need to think, how we need to train, and what is acceptable. That is like me telling Fenriz what black metal is: I don't get to decide it, he does.

So in sticking with the reference, there are two kinds of "hardcore" people out there. There are Metallica people and Darkthrone people. Metallica people are fine, but don't come into my Darkthrone world and tell me what is Raw or what is strong or how I need to eat. Don't bring your gimmicky elements onto my platform. And please, don't try to sell us on how hardcore you are or how dedicated to strength you are. Your lifts and your silence do more talking than your Internet chatter and bravado.

Here's a real-world example: Not long after my last meet, I was hit with some criticism over some things that were absolutely ridiculous. I was informed of this several days later from a friend of mine and was stunned. Then I realized that in the last few days since the meet was over, I had traveled over 2000 miles with my son, lifted twice, and ran 50 hills.

So you can choose — do you side with Metallica or are you Darkthrone? - Jim Wendler

[Bob Stevens]

Pretty spot on except for the fact that Darkthrone is like the Grateful Dead of metal, every song sounds the same, and boring. 

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[Louie P]

Bob- We all know you were a dead head when you were younger

[Louie P]

10/15/13

Upper 1

Paused Bench
210x5x2

Paused NG DB Press
55x10x2

OHP
115x8x2

accessory work

[Bob Stevens]

Are you going to start tapering down to more single/ME work in prep for the meet, or just let it ride as is? 

--

[Louie P]

I have no idea- haven't really put much thought into it. I was just going to let it ride as it and keep hitting 5s but probably should get use to some heavy weights. It's probably been close to 1.5 years since I've done anything lower than 5 reps. So if the meet is set for the 16th of November that give me 3 weeks of training after this week and a week to rest. I could do something like this:

5 weeks out (this week) - finish 2 sets of 5
4 weeks out- work up to a 5rm
3 weeks out- work up to a 3 rm
2 week out work up to projected openers.
1 week out - rest

What do you meat head think? I honestly have no idea where I am weight wise for openers and have been added a lot of weight to the main lifts week after week since my lay off. For example last week I pull 325x5x2 and it was a little struggle. Tonight I pulled 365x5x2 and it felt rather easy.

[Louie P]

10/16/13

I have plans tomorrow so I cant train so pushed up my next lower day to tonight. I have been setting up similar sessions to be 3 days apart so training is usually M/T/Th/S. Legs were still a little sore from squatting but not too bad

Lower 2

DL
365x5x2
*one set of conv and one set of sumo. I have been having problems with squatting up the weight lately instead of pulling it. So I've been working on that. Didn't get any videos from tonight but I will have to get some next session. I felt the sets were a lot faster tonight after working on pushing my hips forward. Any suggestions on working on hip drive would be appertained

Speed DL (~70%) 45 sec rest
325x1x8
I have been doing 6 sets of 3 at 50% but worked in with some other guys so just did what they were to speed things up. The first time getting into any speed work. I think it will help a lot. Looking at videos I start off the ground fast then after I get it past my knees I slow down a lot.

Dimel Deads
205x10x2
Set these up right below knee height and really focused on speed to lock out. Haven't done these before either so will see how effective they are.


There was about 6 people dead lifting tonight so things took awhile. I didn't do any accessory work afterwards so I will just put that in on a off day.

[Louie P]

weighed in this morning at 194 fasted so I will just hang out at this weight for the next couple months so making 198 for a meet won't be an issue.

[Sereni]

What's your body composition like?  I haven't seen you in so long, last time I think you were pretty lean, I think it was when you were carb cycling?

[Dan]

How important is this meet to you?  Its fairly last minute it seems.

 

If its just to mess around, I would instead stick with a regular progression (doing the 5's or whatever) and just do some easy singles at the meet.  Are you looking to PR?

[Louie P]

"What's your body composition like?  I haven't seen you in so long, last time I think you were pretty lean, I think it was when you were carb cycling?"

I'm in the middle of the road. I got a 9 point caliper test done 3 weeks ago and was at 15.5 % BF. I was carb cycling for awhile and lost like 25 pounds. The only comparison pictures I have are a little dated. I don't remember when these were actually taken but the one on the left I think I was at 210s and the one on the right I was high 180s. If i remember right I was like high 13% bf in the right picture

Currently I'm just doing static calories. Right now I'm eating about 2300 calories daily with a break down of 40%P/25%C/35%F.

[Louie P]

"How important is this meet to you?  Its fairly last minute it seems."

Not important at all, just messing around to see where I'm at. Then going to plan for a winter comp and do a meet prep for it.

[chris]

On Thursday, October 17, 2013 11:29:17 AM UTC-4, Louie P wrote:

"How important is this meet to you?  Its fairly last minute it seems."

Not important at all, just messing around to see where I'm at. Then going to plan for a winter comp and do a meet prep for it.

I was going to ask the same thing as Dan and offer pretty much the same advice....

You asked about hip flexor stretching/training in another thread and I don't think anyone responded so I'll give you some information if you're still interested.

The best hip flexor stretch I've done is accomplished by doing the following:

1. set up for a bulgarian split squat with your foot anchored so your lower leg is roughly parallel with the ground

2. keeping the torso upright, descend into the squat, lowering the knee of the raised foot towards the ground such that when your calf and hamstring touch, the knee is pointed down at the ground.

3. push the hips forward slightly by extending the hip.  at this point, the knee should be in full passive flexion, and the hip should be in full active extension.

Hip flexion is most obviously trained by movements such as leg raises and sit-ups.  However, the rectus femoris of the quadriceps also acts as a hip flexor (think of how the long head triceps effects both elbow AND shoulder extension).  Performing split squats where the load is directed towards the foot in the rear and the hips are kept in full extension should also produce a desirable training effect.  Again, make sure to keep the torso upright and the weight shifted onto the rear foot.

[Louie P]

Thanks Chris- I see you mainly do a set of 20 to start off your lower days. Have you only used it as warm up movement, or have you ever tried to push the wight on them as an accessory movement?

[chris]

On Thursday, October 17, 2013 4:05:01 PM UTC-4, Louie P wrote:

Thanks Chris- I see you mainly do a set of 20 to start off your lower days. Have you only used it as warm up movement, or have you ever tried to push the wight on them as an accessory movement?

I really only use the bulgarian split squats for an active warmup.  I've tried training them before as accessory and never really cared for it.  I have trained regular split squats as an accessory and like them.  With the regular split squats, I'd start with just bodyweight and make sure you're doing them so you feel it in the quad on your rear leg.  Try to shift your weight back onto that leg and focus on flexing the quad as the knee extends.  You can use a barbell, just make sure you don't lean too far forwards -- I guess you could try front racking the bar too.

[Louie P]

Thanks Chris- I will have to try them out.

10/18/13

Upper 2

Speed Bench
155x3x9

Pin Press
185x10x3

JM Press
85x10x3

Accessory Stuff

I must have slept on my shoulder last night. Was bothering me all day, I will have to keep an eye on it.

10/16/13

Stuff I missed during the week due to time

Pull ups 3 set to failure
band pull aparts 3x20
band row 2x20
band upright row 2x20
face pull 2x20
curls 4x15
planks 3 set to failure

I have been enjoying doing more of my accessory work with bands lately. Will probably continue doing this for a couple weeks

[Louie P]

"Pin Press"
"185x10x3"

I have these set up about 6 inches above my chest. Last set was a grinder so might lower the weight or stick with it for a couple weeks until it feels easier. What have you guys had success with in terms of progressing a movement if you start to heavy. Just lower the weight and go work back up or stick with the weight for a couple of weeks?

[Louie P]

 10/22/13

Lower 1

Seated Leg Curl
120x15x2
*add weight next time

Squat
Barx10
95x10
135x5
185x5
225x5
275x3
315x1
335x5x2
365x1

Wanted to work up to a decent single then do my work sets. Now that I think of it probably should have worked up to the single first. 365 felt pretty easy. I would be happy to hit low 400s at the mock meet.

Bottom up zerchers
190x8x2
*possibly stay at this weight next week

GHR
microbandx10x3

Sissy squat
20x10x3
*I don't know what it is about sissy squats but they pump my quads up pretty good.

Other Accessory work

Had blood drawn this morning so I should get results back later this week.

[Louie P]

10/22/13

Upper 1

Paused Bench
225x5x2

Paused NG DB Press
60x10x2
*stay at this weight another week

Band Pull Over
#4 band x 15 x2

OHP
120x8,7
*stay at this weight another week

accessory work

[Louie P]

10/23/13

Morning Fasted weight 193

Lower 2

DL
barx10x2
95x10
135x10
185x5
205x5
225x5
275x5
315x3
365x1
405x1
425x1

I was going to get in 2 sets of 5 but everyone was pulling heavy today so I just decided to give it a shot. 425 slipped a little out of my hand but felt pretty good. I was pretty happy with them reguardless. I think my best pull was somewhere in the mid 4s sumo, I think I also weight like 15 pounds more. I'm pretty sure this is the first time I've ever pulled over 4 conv. I've been pulling conv for about 6 months now and so far I feel a lot stronger than sumo.

Speed Pull 65%
275x3x6
3 set conv, 3 sets sumo. Sumo were terribly slow until I really started to think about spreading the floor then they were a lot faster

Dimel Dead
185x10x2

[Louie P]

10/24/13

Going to see how spiting up my lower 2 session into two days will work. There is 6 people pulling so it takes a while to get through the session. I don't have the time to be at the gym for a couple hours so we will see how it works.

Band Row
2 sets of 20

Chins
2 sets to failure

inverted row
2 sets of 20

Band hammer curl
2 sets of 15

Band Curl
2 sets of 15

Planks
3 to failure

[Louie P]

DL
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4FZ9EJQBKk         425x1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuWbL3AEk2A          405x1

Speed
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMS9PQzNXUk

appreciate any feed back.

[Dan]

Nice beard.

 

Pull looked easy.

[Alex M]

Looks good to me. 425 looked easy I think you have a lot more in you.

On Thursday, October 24, 2013 11:52:50 AM UTC-4, Louie P wrote:

[Nicholas Battista]

Doesn't look too bad. Did you feel tight from the start? I just know
personally I can't fumble around the bottom for a while or else I lose
all my tightness/breath.

Also, what happened to the orange chucks?!

[Louie P]

Going to try and grow it out until spring, we'll see how it goes

On Friday, October 25, 2013 8:57:08 AM UTC-4, Dan wrote:

Nice beard.

 

[Louie P]

I feel like i am right but I will have to see if no messing aound in the bottom helps at all And the orange chucks blew out squatting :(

[Louie P]

Upper 2     10/26/13

Speed Bench
145x3x9
I dropped the weigh on these. Speed was too slow at 155

Pin Press
185x10x3

JM Press

90x10x3
These had the tris all pumped up

Accessory Stuff

[Sereni]

Thanks again for the support Louie!  I can't stress how awesome your beard is.

[Louie P]

Lower 1  10/28/13

10/22/13

Lower 1

Seated Leg Curl
120x15x2
*add weight next time

Squat
Barx10
95x10
135x5
185x5
225x5
275x3
315x1

365x1
385x1
405x1
335x5x2

405 was a little grinder. I was fast out of the hole then like 1/4 to 1/2 way up it was slow as death then once I got past the 1/2 point it was fast again. I think I need to work on accelerating throughout the entire lift. Any suggestions on some assistance stuff for this? Rev bands?

Hack Squat machine
10x5
*Everyone was squatting and I was sort of time so just did these instead of zerchers

GHR
10lbsx10x3

Sissy squat
20x3

[Louie P]

Updated Blood work-

Vitamin d = 46 was 27                              (scale is 31-100 NG/ml)
FSH = 2.0 mIU/ML                                    (scale is .7-10.8)
LH = 2.3 mIU/ML                                       (scale is 1.2-10.6
Test, Total = 387 was 420                           (scale 175-781 NG/DL)
Test, bio = 209 was 219                             (scale 131-682 NG/DL)
Test, Free = 89 was 93                              (scale 47-224 pg/mL)
Test, Percent Free = 2.3                            (scale 1.6-2.9%)
Sex hormone-binding globulin = 27 was 29 (scale 13-90 nmol/L)

So that puts my levels at a middle at man. I haven' been able to find many good studies from a university or accredited group to show a breakdown of age and correlate test levels but from this web site It would have below the 5% for my age group.
http://www.mens-hormonal-health.com/normal-testosterone-levels-in-men.html

I didn't get my results until after the office was closed so I have to call the doctor tomorrow and see what the plan is. I have no idea what FSH and LH numbers mean so I'm not sure if I have an underlying issue or just naturally have low testosterone. If any of you guys know anything blood work wise feel free to chime in.

[Bob Stevens]

Try doing triples at ~315ish with a 2-3sec pause in the hole to build explosiveness. Personally, rev bands make me lazier. 

[Louie P]

Thanks Bob - I will look into them

[chris]

On Tuesday, October 29, 2013 9:16:07 AM UTC-4, Bob wrote:

Try doing triples at ~315ish with a 2-3sec pause in the hole to build explosiveness. Personally, rev bands make me lazier. 

second bob's recommendations for pause squats.  build power in the hole.  go lighter the first few times until you've got a feel for it then move up towards the 80-85% mark.

[Louie P]

Upper 1   10/29/13

Paused Bench
barx10
70x10
95x10
135x5
155x5
185x5
205x3
225x3
255x1
275x1 All time PR
225x5 2 second pause
205x5 2 second pause
185x5 2 second pause

Paused NG DB Press
60x10x2
*stay at this weight another week

Band Pull Over
#4 band x 15 x2

DB OH
40x10x2
*BB over head was bothering my shoulder so switched to DB for this week

Face Pull
#4 band x 20 x2

Upright Row
#4 band x 20 x2

Tate Press
35x10x3

Decline Sit up
4 sets of 10

[Louie P]

Here is a video of the bench-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6d6yOjxy48

Looks like I might need to pause it a little longer.

[Bob Stevens]

You'll probably have to pause a bit longer at the meet, but overall looked ok. Try to drive your heals down immediately during the hand-off so that you're as tight as possible, with no risk of lifting your ass of the bench. 

[Louie P]

Thanks Bob

Lower 2 10/31

DL
Worked up to 365x5
*I felt like a zombie today and slept like crap last nigh, everything felt heavy. Worked up to 365 and called it quits. my right hamstring was bothering me and my form was shit. Did on set of speed stuff and had no more energy. Depending on how I feel I will probably try and dead lift again on Sunday.

Still wanted to get some work in so just did some light stuff to get the blood flowing

Rev Hyper
5x10

Walking Lunge
50 reps each leg

low row
5x10

BB Row
5x10

[Louie P]

Upper 2 11/2

Did a lot of rolling and streching. Right hamstring and abductor are still pretty tight.

DL worked up to 405x1 felt a lot better than last session

Speed Bench
145x3x9

Pin Press
185x10x3

JM Press
90x10x3

Dips 20x2
Side raise 15x2
Front raise 15x2
Band pull apart 3x12
Ab strap 5x10

[Louie P]

Lower 1 11/5/13

Squat
barx10
95x5

135x5
185x5
225x5
275x3
315x3

345x1
375x1 (going to use this as an opener)

Paused squat beltless
225x5x2
*1-2 second pause and a couple inches below parallel

Bottom up zerchers
190x8x2

Sissy Squat
BWx10x3

Band TKE
20x2
Switched to these, leg ext were bothering me knees. Gave a pretty good pump. Flexed hard each rep

GHR
BWx10x3


Been feeling a little beat up but am only going to train 3 times this week. Planning on hitting my DL opener Wednesday then bench on Friday.

[Louie P]

Been thinking about what training is going to look like after this mock meet. I will probably keep the same layout but thinking of alternating the layout. I didn't have a problem pulling and squatting the same week when my working sets were 2 sets of 5. As soon as I started pushing the weight on them I instantly noticed achy joints. I think when I get to the point again to start pushing the weight below 5 reps that I will alternative between ME and RE with squat and dl

[Sereni]

Do you have any goals for your mock meet?  You may have already mentioned them but I don't always read all the posts (for shame).  How do the goals compare to lifetime PRs?

[Louie P]

I'd like to hit a total of 1150. So I will probably aim for 430/285/445. In the next couple of months I'd like to break 1200 @198. I've been thinking of doing a rps meet in jersey at the end of January but haven't committed to it yet. 

[chris]

On Tuesday, November 5, 2013 8:16:56 AM UTC-5, Louie P wrote:

Been thinking about what training is going to look like after this mock meet. I will probably keep the same layout but thinking of alternating the layout. I didn't have a problem pulling and squatting the same week when my working sets were 2 sets of 5. As soon as I started pushing the weight on them I instantly noticed achy joints. I think when I get to the point again to start pushing the weight below 5 reps that I will alternative between ME and RE with squat and dl

If you're on a 4 day a week split (2 upper/2 lower days) you may want to try switching to training only 3 days a week.  So:

--- Week 1

M upper A

W lower A

F upper B

--- Week 2

M lower B

W upper A

F lower A

--- Week 3

M upper B

W lower B

F upper A

--- Week 4

M lower A

W upper B

F lower B

This means that you do a total of 12 sessions a month versus 16 (3 training weeks versus 4).  You could also alternate every other day which would give you 14 sessions (you'd do 3 1/2 full training weeks) but this means that your training days rotate every week.  I know Tim has been running 3x per week for a while.  I feel much healthier doing the 3x per week or every other day versus trying to get in both A and B sessions in one week.  The extra recovery days really add up.

[Tiny]

I used to train 3x per week, and I liked it a lot. But I've been back on 4x per week for about 7 months now. If you are going to try the 3x per week method, how chris has laid it out is how I did it. I like it a lot because it helps prevent boredom since you are doing something different every M,W,F.

[Louie P]

I'll have to look into training like that. Would suit me well especially in the summers when I'm active outside a lot.

[Louie P]

Lower 2  11/8/13

DL
worked up to 435
*had it around mid thigh and my grip slipped

will probably open at 390-405 depending how I feel then go for 430, 440

did a couple sets of speed work then my back was pretty right so stopped those. Then some messed around with some accessory work

[Louie P]

Upper 11/9/13

Paused Bench
worked to 265 with a 2 second pause, it was pretty slow. I will open with 250 and see how long the pause have to be then go from there

Bench touch and go
185x10x3

DB NG Press
60x10x2

Seated OH
105x10x2

face pull
bandx20x2

BB upright row
bandx20x2

JM Press
85x10x3

Decline sit ups
4 sets of 10

[Louie P]

Lower light 11/11/

Just wanted to get some blood flowing

BW squat 100 reps
tke 100 reps
split squat  50 reps
Bulgarian split squat 50 reps
lunge 100 reps

This actually got the legs a little pumped which surprised me

[Louie P]

Upper Light 11/12

Did a 100 reps of the following broken down into a couple sets for each exercise

push ups
band oh
band pull apart
band push down
band face pull
band row
band curls

Plan is to just take it easy until Saturday now with some walking each day

[Louie P]

Has anyone ever worked nights or shift work? I'm thinking of switching industries and the new job would be a rotating 12hr shift 6-6. Basically how it was laid out for me was:

Week 1 - 4 days on 3 days off
week 2 - 4 night on 3 days off
week 3/4 - 3 days on 2 days off 3 nights on 2 days off
week 5/6- 7 days off

not sure how tough that would be transitioning between days and nights

[chris]

Never had to do it, but I can't see it being easy to have to transition every week.

[Sereni]

My roommate works 2nd shift.  I think he goes in around 2pm and gets out around 11pm.  During the weekend he sleeps on a regular schedule though.  It doesn't sound as bad as what you explained because at least he does the same thing every week.  Your layout doesn't sound like fin, I didn't know strip clubs had such weird schedules.

[Louie P]

The strip club just isn't paying what it use to

[Louie P]

I agree that the transitioning could be tough. Thinking of giving it a shot, It would be working for the nuclear industry as an engineer. Only reason I'm considering it is I would basically triple my current salary. I was thinking of doing it for 5 years or so and get a bunch of money stashed away, pay off the house, etc then go back to a nice 9-5 job like I am currently at.

[Bob Stevens]

triple salary? Where do I sign up? Oswego? 

On Wed, Nov 13, 2013 at 11:59 AM, Louie P <louiep...@gmail.com> wrote:

I agree that the transitioning could be tough. Thinking of giving it a shot, It would be working for the nuclear industry as an engineer. Only reason I'm considering it is I would basically triple my current salary. I was thinking of doing it for 5 years or so and get a bunch of money stashed away, pay off the house, etc then go back to a nice 9-5 job like I am currently at.

--

[Louie P]

Yeah the nuke plant in oswego, the same company owns the one in Rochester. You might want to check it out. The power industry has a lot of money to toss around

[Timothy Copeland]

I had to shuffle my sleep schedule a but this summer cuz of travelling and different jobs and such...i honestly didnt think it was that bad, you just have to be creative with your sleep schedule sometimes (coffee helps too). Although it wasn't quite as extreme as yours would be, and I'm a bit younger. 

[Sereni]

All the cool kids work in Owego, not Oswego.  So close though!

[Louie P]

A little write up from the mock meet

Squat
375 pass
410 fail
410 pass

375 went up no problem as planned. My first attempt at 410 I got nervous about hitting depth for some reason and was searching for depth and ended up getting crushed in the hole. Stuck with it again and third attempted I just hit my grove and sunk it in the hole and it went up pretty easy.

Bench
250 pass
275 pass
285 pass 10lb pr
295 fail

I didn't know how long the pauses need to be so I played it safe. A couple weeks ago when I tried 275 it was a grinder but it was pretty damn easy this attempt after a week of rest. 285 got smoked too. It was one of those lifts that everything was perfect and it felt like felt like 135. Went for a 4th attempt since 285 was so easy. 295 felt good coming down but I got out of my grove a little bit and brought it too far down on my chest. It came off the chest fine then got stuck about 6 inches above my chest. Pretty happy with a 10 pound all time pr though

Dead lift
395 pass
420 pass
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJx1EiN18sM&feature=youtu.be
450 pass 25lb pr
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYd6M800O7M&feature=youtu.be

I was a little shot going into dl so took my second attempt light but it was actually pretty fast. I decided just to go for it with 450 and got it. Very happy with that pr. 

1145 total

Woke up this morning and I am very sore. Will take a couple days off then do volume for a couple weeks then look at transitioning back into something a little more strength oriented. Was tossing around the idea of trying to push my dead lift and get up to a 500lb pull

[Nicholas Battista]

Nice job Louie!

[Sereni]

Nice job buddy!

[Bob Stevens]

Looks like nobody got the pleasure of rubbing down you legs with baby powder, what a shame. ;)

Good job hitting some PR's on short notice! Should be good for 300/450/500 at your next meet. 

On Mon, Nov 18, 2013 at 7:40 AM, Sereni <glic...@gmail.com> wrote:

Nice job buddy!

[Louie P]

Thanks guys.

11/21/13

Lower

KB Swing
35x20x5

Sissy Squat
5x10

Leg Ext
5x15

Walking Lunge
bwx5x18

SLDL
45x20x5

Just wanted to do a quick one and get the blood flowing. Going to get back into the swing of things on Monday.

[Louie P]

11/25/13

Lower 1

laying leg curl
80x10x3

Paused SSB
235x5x3
went pretty light on these. Resetting my main movements and will progress back to working sets in the next couple of weeks

Bottom up zerchers
185x3x3 plus 2 chains per side
135x8 plus 2 chains per side
wanted to move something heavy since squats were light. the zerchers kicked my ass.

1 arm kb swing
35x20x2

TKE
20x2

GHR
bwx10x3

good girl/bad girl
15x2

I ended up taking the job working for the nuke plant so I will be in training for the next 6 months before i start shift work. Going to do a 12 week training cycle then look to do a meet sometime in the spring. So that will put me around May for a meet if any of you guys want to plan something

[Louie P]

ssb from tonight
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJ7S4dpfL3g&feature=youtu.be

[Louie P]

Upper 1  11/26/13

Switched my uppers this week. Going to meet some friends his weekend to get a heavy bench workout in

Speed bench
140x9x3

SM Floor Press
195x10x3
Trained at a different gym today to save time and didn't have a way to set up floor press.

JM Press
85x10x3

dips
2 sets of 20

Db front raise / side raiser super set
2 sets of 10 ea

band pull apart
redxfailurex2

ab strap
3 sets of 10

[Louie P]

Here is some video from the speed work. These are the middle 3 sets. I need to work on being explosive on all the sets. The middle one especially looked lazy and slow

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMCg94_tHvM

[Louie P]

Here are some videos from the mock meet. I don't feel like breaking them from the original video

Squat
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2uHaivMKi4
@start
@3:09
@6:15

Bench
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjcMf6OVIIQ
@:50
@2:40
@3:48

DL
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7i4qsTNN5E

@:26

@1:50

@3:09

[Louie P]

Lower 2

deficit deadlift
worked up to 335x5 betless

speed dl
275x3x3
225x3x3
lower back wasn't feeling so ho so dropped the wight on these

DB farmer walk
75lbx45secx2

db row
50x20x2

Chin up
2 sets to failure

invested row
40 reps rest paused

[Louie P]

Upper 11/30

Paused Incline
165x5x2
I haven't done incline in awhile so starting lighting

Paused Db Hammer press
60x10x2
stay at this weight another wek

band flys
redx15x3

band pull over
orangex10x2

standing db press
55x8x2
stay at this weight another week

band face pull
orangex20x2

BB upight row
45x20x2

over head ext
3 sets of 10

decline sit up
3 sets of 10

[Sereni]

Man, that 285 looked so easy, I bet you could nail 295 on a fresh day.  I'm a bad listener, how long(if at all) were you training singles before this?  I seem to recall that it wasn't much?  I think you have the strength for 295 and probably more, but just lack the practice.  Even though the 285 got smoked, it looked a little awkward and I bet with some more time you'd be putting up much more. 

[Louie P]

I think I had about 4-5 weeks were I started doing some singles and before that it had probably been a year since I had hit anything lower than 5 reps. I agree that ME work defiantly has a lot of room for improvement. I've been tossing around the idea of working up to a moderate single for my main movements then back off and do my volume stuff just to get more practice in.

[Sereni]

On Monday, December 2, 2013 4:25:15 PM UTC-5, Louie P wrote:

I think I had about 4-5 weeks were I started doing some singles and before that it had probably been a year since I had hit anything lower than 5 reps. I agree that ME work defiantly has a lot of room for improvement. I've been tossing around the idea of working up to a moderate single for my main movements then back off and do my volume stuff just to get more practice in.

If your body feels up to it, you could probably do this just fine.  But at the same time, if you don't have any upcoming meets or goals I bet your bench will increase just fine as you raise your base strength.  I'm no good at making recommendations,  especially because right now I could probably do a ME bench 5 days in a row and beat the previous day's number each time...

[Louie P]

Your Current routine
m - ME Bench
t - ME Bench
w - ME Bench
th - ME Bench
f - ME Bench
s - ME Bench
sun - ME Bench

???

[Louie P]

lower 1 12/2/13

seated leg curl
120x15x2

Paused SSB
240x5x2
longer pause then last time. going to work at a two second pause for awhile

SSB
315x8
315x10
There was about 15 people squatting tonight so I didn't want to wait to set up zerchers so did some more ssb instead. Did these outside the rack with a some assistance with my arms as my legs started to fatigue. Wanted to get some heavier weight on my back. These smoked my legs and had a pretty nasty pump going. Back felt pretty strong too. Didn't have any issues with wanting to fold over

Sissy squat
bwx10x3

Leg Ext / Leg Curl
2 sets of 20 / 2 sets of 10

Tried to do ghr but my legs were smoked

good girl/bad girl
15x2

[chris]

On Monday, December 2, 2013 4:37:40 PM UTC-5, Sereni wrote:

I wouldn't bother with singles unless it was for meet preparation...

[Louie P]

Paused Incline
170x5x2

Paused Db Hammer press
60x10x2

possibly add weight next week

band flys
redx15x3

band pull over
orangex10x2

standing db press

60x8x2

stay at this weight another week

band face pull
orangex20x2

BB upight row

55x20x2

over head ext
3 sets of 10

Ab Machine
3 sets of 10

TOWER OF BICEPS
worked up to 45s. Got 2 reps then ended up at 30s with the drop set. Pump was sweeeeeeeeeeeeet

[Louie P]

LOWER 2 12/5/13

deficit deadlift
worked up to 345x5 betless

speed dl
275x6x3
Speed is getting better on these

Dimel Dl
225x10x2

Chin up
2 sets to failure

db row
50x20x2

appetite has been pretty low lately, going to lower calories a little bit and add in some cardio for 3 weeks and see if that helps. I also think I'm starting to become lactose intolerance, never had a problem with dairy before but it's been destroying me lately.

[Louie P]

Anyone have any suggestions on a set of knee sleeves? I was looking at some rehab ones but haven't tried any before.

[Louie P]

Upper 2  12/07/13

Speed bench
140x9x3

Paused Floor Press
185x10x3


JM Press
85x10x2
Elbow was bothering me so cut these short

[Louie P]

Extra 12/8/13

BB Row
135x10x5

Band Face Pull
orangex20x3

BB Curl
3 sets to failure

Band Hammer Curl
3 sets to failure

Hook grip static holds
95x30sec x 3

Going to start practice hook grip. Will probably take a couple month before I'm ready to pull with it. These felt like my thumbs wanted to explode

[chris]

On Friday, December 6, 2013 2:46:28 PM UTC-5, Louie P wrote:

Anyone have any suggestions on a set of knee sleeves? I was looking at some rehab ones but haven't tried any before.

I have the elitefts ones.  I've never used any others so I can really provide any comparison.  They do provide support, but not anywhere on the level of knee wraps.

I like the idea of knee sleeves for keeping the joint warm, but I do have some concerns about keeping the joint compressed during flexion.  What I am planning on trying sometime soon is picking up two of those ab wraps (http://www.amazon.com/Women-Fitness-Waist-Trimmer-Belt/dp/B006JV3X3A/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1386605175&sr=8-4&keywords=trimmer+belt) and using them to wrap my knees between sets just to keep the joints warm.  I'll be sure to post about it if it seems to be working well once I get around to trying it.

[Louie P]

Thanks Chris

[Louie P]

I've been in training for work for the past week and I've been sitting at a desk a lot which I wasn't use to. I ended up tweaking my back and have been working on getting that straighten out. I went to the chrio a couple times and using the inversion table seemed to help. I took last week pretty easy and deloaded as my schedule was busy and to let my back rest.

 I've been trying to find a new gym. What a pain in the ass that it. I went to a commercial gym but after trying it out a couple times it's just a terrible experience and made me on the verge of killing someone. I found a guy who has a decent garage gym and running a power lifting group out of it so I'm going to try and get there a couple times a month but it's almost an an extra 1 hr & 1/2 out of my way so I won't be able to go constantly. I am hoping to order a squat rack in the next couple weeks and just train out of my garage.

Sat. 12/14/13

Lower

Def. DL
worked up to 355x1

Speed Dl
275x3x6  
3 sets conv 3 set sumo

Dimel DL
230x10x2

accessory stuff

[Dan]

Louie,

It looked like you were training in a pretty good gym with a monolift and powerlifting team...what happened to that?  Was that the one you did the meet at recently?

[Louie P]

Lower 1 12/17/13

Leg Curl
85x2x15

Calf Raise
3x20

SSB
285x5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcoyCy8fG_A&feature=youtu.be

305x5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1BSqxdOUCM&feature=youtu.be
These didn't look that good. A couple were high. I also forgot my chucks and squatting in shoes felt a little funky. I will either stick with this weight for a couple weeks or drop down a little bit depending on how I feel next week.

Zerchers
190x8x2

Sissy Squat
3x10

DB SLDL
45x10x3

good girl/bad girl

[Louie P]

Yeah Dan I was training at a good gym but took a new job and will be moving from Syracuse to Oswego. I did just hear of a cross fit gym that could have some potential. I guess they have some stones and strongman stuff so I will check that out later this week. I also got a number last night of a local fabricator in Syracuse that is making squat racks for a decent price so I'm going to check that out. Even if it around the same price as i've seen online the savings in shipping will make it worth it. 

[Bob Stevens]

Damn so you're moving to Oswego instead of commuting? I guess that drive will be pretty impossible in the next few months. Didn't you have a house in Syracuse? 

On Tue, Dec 17, 2013 at 9:08 AM, Louie P <louiep...@gmail.com> wrote:

Yeah Dan I was training at a good gym but took a new job and will be moving from Syracuse to Oswego. I did just hear of a cross fit gym that could have some potential. I guess they have some stones and strongman stuff so I will check that out later this week. I also got a number last night of a local fabricator in Syracuse that is making squat racks for a decent price so I'm going to check that out. Even if it around the same price as i've seen online the savings in shipping will make it worth it. 

--

[Louie P]

I actually live north of Syracuse and east of Oswego so I'm still living in the same place but my commute is a lot different. The drive defiantly has been a bitch lately. My commute to Syracuse now is about 40 minutes. With all the snow we have gotten some days it's almost an 1 1/2 hr. I think the news reported we have gotten almost 60 inches of snow since last Wednesday. Has it been snowing much in Rochester?

[Louie P]

Upper 1 12/17

Paused Incline
180x5x2

Paused Db Hammer press
60x10x2

add weight next week

band flys
redx15x3

band pull over
orangex10x2

OHP

1205x8x2

[Louie P]

Lower 2 12/20/13

deficit deadlift
worked up to 355x5 betless

speed dl
275x6x3

Dimel Dl
235x10x2

[Louie P]

Upper 2  12/21/13

Speed bench
140x9x3
Adding 10 pounds to my working set for these. I've also switched to setting up my feet underneath me as before my feet were in front. I get better leg drive but lower back doesn't like being set up in that position very long.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUS0v6gLXo8&feature=youtu.be

Paused Press 2 second pause at bottom
205x10x3
Didn't want to wait to use the rack so just did these instead

JM Press
90x10x3

dips
2 sets of 10 with 3 second negative

quat-set using bands  4 rounds
Side Raise/Front Raise/ pull apart/curl
10 reps for everything
I was pretty pumped after this.

ab strap
5 sets of 10

[Bob Stevens]

Your lower body is still pretty loose, not sure if cause the weight is light or what. You might be doing this but try to squeeze the bench with your legs and clench your glutes before you descend, that way you won't have that wind-up, which is tossing your body off the bench. This will also take some stress off your lower back (I had/have the same problem). 

[Louie P]

Extra 12/22/13

100 reps walking lunges (50ea leg)

100 reps overhead military press with bands (50ea arm)

50 Squat jumps

50 reps stiff leg deads with bands

50 reps pull a parts w/band

Going to be replacing my cardio sessions with conditioning type stuff. I had been walking previously for my cardio 2x week. This sucked and felt like after the jump squats I felt like I was going to puke. I'm going to start timing and base my results off how long it takes to complete everything.

[Louie P]

Thanks bob- I will give that a try. I have thought about keeping me glutes tight but not squeezing the bench with my legs.