Updates! Updates! Updates!

Somehow I got sidetracked again and haven't been updating. Well, I have some legitimate reasons. Two weeks ago my wife graduated from University and then we spent the weekend with her folks. This last week I had an exam for work (which unfortunately I didn't pass) and then we went away for the weekend for our anniversary to a vegan bed and breakfast on Whidbey Island (Someday Farm Vegan Bed & Breakfast). We've been married 5 years already and time sure does fly! Here are some pictures of our adventure:


My wife showcasing the cabin we stayed in.


The view along a hike we took.


Yours truly, showing my approval.

WARNING: Gratuitous food shots ahead!


Breakfast #1


Breakfast #2


The lady who runs the farm even baked us a cake!


Seriously, such a great place!

So while all this has been going on I still have been dedicated to my lifting. Especially with the meet only 4 weeks away. I've still been stuck at 185 on bench press. I almost had 190, but couldn't quite get there. I test again this Wednesday though, so hopefully I'll have some good news to share. I added another 5 lbs to my squat yesterday bringing it up to 310 lbs (314 with the collars)! Last, and certainly not least, I got 4 plates (405 lbs) on my deadlift! I even managed to get a video of it. So stoked! I'm testing again on Friday so hopefully I can add another 10 lbs to that and I'll be way ahead for the meet!

June 7th Workout

This was squat day and testing 1 rep max again after a very short cycle. We went straight from testing a few weeks ago into a 3 rep week which I got up to 285 and then back to a 1 rep test. The competition coming up is kind of throwing things off a bit. The workout progressed like this:

Seated Shoulder Press
Bar x 8
65 x 5
85 x 3
105 x 1
115 x 3
120 x 3
125 x 3

Squat
Bar x 8
135 x 5
185 x 3
225 x 2
265 x 1
285 x 1
305 x 1
315 x fail x 2

The first attempt I ended up leaning just a bit too far forward and got myself stuck out of position. The second attempt I was just burned out. I was really disappointed with not getting 315 as I should have had it on that first attempt. The strength was there, but positioning screwed me up. Next time I'll nail it!

Road to competition

I've been neglecting this for a while, but that doesn't mean I've stopped training! I'm going as hard as ever toward my first powerlifting meet in July. I'm really excited to get out there and show what I can do. My wife got me a t-shirt with this on it:



that I will be wearing under my singlet so at least the "Vegan" portion should be showing. It combines two of my favorite things: being vegan and Star Wars! I'm hoping this will just be the start for me with more meets to come as I become stronger and more competitive. I'd like to be a representation of the vegan community for strength in demonstrating how this way of life has no hindrances despite what people tend to think.

Training has been going well and my coach has been tremendous in helping me make some serious gains. I finally managed to blow past my bench press 1RM and make some gains there where I had been stuck for 2 months since starting with my coach. My current totals are:

Squat: 305
Bench: 185
Deadlift: 375 x 2

The deadlift has always been my strongest lift and it's been progressing really nicely. I put the x 2 number in there because I've made significant gains since I last tested my 1RM. Last time I tested, I was at 365 and failed on a 375 attempt. This was about 5-6 weeks ago. After a down week where I focused on back work and didn't pull we started another long cycle. My 5RM jumped 25 lbs and when I got to 3s, the first week I was able to get 365 for 3. Then last week I hit 365 for 3 again and tried 375. I nailed the first 2 reps (though the second was a struggle), but got stuck on the third rep with the bar just above my knees. I know I can get it though. Next week is another 1RM test, so we'll see where it ends up, but I'm hoping for close to 400!

Squat has also been making great gains. I finally broke the 300 lb barrier two weeks ago which was my goal to hit before the meet! We're on a short cycle there so I'm back to testing my 1RM later today, I'm hoping for 315. My coach said he wants my squat up to 330 or 340 by the meet.

Bench progress came as a sudden breakthrough. I had been stuck at 175 for 2 months (I was stuck at 170 for 6 months or so before that). We stuck with the program and mixed up the accessory work. I had been hitting a wall at 180 with bar about 3 inches off my chest. Then, all of a sudden, it happened. 180 flew up. Cheers all around and my coach said, "Let's wait 5 minutes and try 185." I was like heck yes! So we waited and then 185 went up, not as easily but still up! So finally a 10 lb jump in my bench. Since then I feel like progress has been coming on the bench. This last Wednesday I was able to hit 175 for 3 reps. This puts me on track for my goal of 200 by the meet.

That is what's been going on with the lifting. I need to make an effort to update this more often, so I may end up making a workout log out of this along with my other posts just to keep it moving and so there is something to see. Stay tuned!