Meet Results and PlantBuilt 2014

I've been a bit delayed in getting my results posted up here. I don't have any pictures or video uploaded to the computer yet (so behind!) so this is mostly a wall of text...

I was in the afternoon flight so I didn't have to get up at an ungodly hour to weigh in. Instead, I was able to enjoy breakfast and some needed downtime before heading to Tacoma. After navigating traffic because of an accident on the freeway, going the wrong way from the off-ramp and then not being able to find where the gym was at the high school we finally made it in. It was a nice gym and there were actually bleachers instead of just chairs on the floor. The warm-up room was lacking however as the school's weight room equipment is older than I am. I weighed in at 88.4 kg so I had room to spare for the 90 kg class. For this meet I was smart about prep and packed a bunch of food, more than I actually needed. So I immediately sat down and started chowing down as I had an hour or so before I needed to start warming up.

Things were, of course, chaotic in the warm up room with everyone trying to work in on limited equipment. Luckily, most everyone at these competitions is super nice and friendly. I worked up to 275 on squat and then it was show time.

Squat
First Attempt: 147.5 kg (325 lbs) - Good Lift
Second Attempt: 160 kg (353 lbs) - Good Lift
Third Attempt: 165 kg (364 lbs) - No Lift

I got stuck right out of the bottom on the third attempt. After watching the video, there's no reason I should have missed this lift. 160 kg was fast and 165 should have been as well.

Bench Press
First Attempt: 82.5 kg (182 lbs) - Good Lift
Second Attempt: 87.5 kg (193 lbs) - Good Lift
Third Attempt: 90 kg (198 lbs) - No Lift

I had one red light on my first attempt because the judge said my butt came up. While I felt like this was probably true, I'm not sure why the other side judge didn't call it as well. On the second attempt, I concentrated on keeping my butt down, unfortunately this also led to me losing a lot of leg drive and it was a struggle finishing the lift. The third attempt was to go for broke and the second attempt just took it out of me so I got stuck at about 3" off of my chest.

Deadlift
First Attempt: 182.5 kg (402 lbs) - Good Lift
Second Attempt: 192.5 kg (424 lbs) - Good Lift
Third Attempt: 200 kg (440 lbs) - No Lift

This was a similar situation to the squat. On the last attempt, I had the bar about mid-thigh, but just couldn't lock it out. This is another one that should have been in the bag.

Overall:
6/9 Attempts
Total = 440 kg (970 lbs)

That's a 78 lb improvement from July and all lifts went up across the board. My squat and bench opening attempts were both higher than my 3rd attempt at the meet in July. I'm still disappointed with the missed lifts though, but I did win a medal!



The biggest thing I learned from my performance this time is that I need to deal with mental blocks. Whether this is just sticking with the weight and grinding as much as I can or finding new ways to clear my head. This is the most important thing I need to accomplish going forward.

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In other exciting news, I was accepted onto the PlantBuilt 2014 team! I will be a part of their first powerlifting team headed by none other than Patrik Baboumian. I'm so stoked to be a part of such a great cause and can't wait to show what vegan strength means! You can learn more about the team here at the link!

Week of September 30th

Today is two for one with posts!

9/30

Deadlift
135 x 5
225 x 3
315 x 1
365 x 1
385 x 3
405 x 1

18" Deadlift
365 x 3
395 x 3
395 x 2

2nd week in a row of disappointing pulls. 385 was slow and I couldn't lock out the second rep at 405. It's frustrating, but coach things I might be overtrained a bit. So next week will be a deload on deadlift and then we'll do singles the week after. Hoping to get 450+!

10/2

Bench Press
Bar x 8 x 2
95 x 5
135 x 2
155 x 1
175 x 3
190 x 2
185 x 2

2 Board Press
175 x 3
185 x 3
190 x 1

A bit of progress. No way that third rep at 190 was happening, but I'm still happy with 2. I was pretty fatigued after that, so 185 was no fun. Singles next week!

10/4

Squat
Bar x 8 x 2
135 x 5
225 x 2
265 x 1
295 x 3
320 x 3
325 x 2

Squat w/ Reverse Blue Band
405 x 3
425 x 3

I think I would have had that last rep at 325 if I hadn't just done 320, but we were working on depth. Still happy with the progress though.

10/5

Seated Shoulder Press
Bar x 8
65 x 5
95 x 2
115 x 1
125 x 3
135 x 3
140 x 2

Bench Press
135 x 10 x 2
145 x 8 x 2
155 x 6

Then did some upright rows, chin-ups, facepulls. Seated press is up a little and volume bench went pretty smoothly. I think I need to work more chin-ups into my routine. Coach doesn't like them much, but I suck at them so that's no good.

Week of September 23rd

9/23
Deadlift
135 x 5
225 x 5
315 x 1
365 x 1
395 x 3
415 x 1
405 x 1

T-Bar Row
90 x 8
105 x 8 x 2

Shitty day all around. Didn't have a great weekend and I think my body was fighting something off. 395 felt kind of slow, but I decided to push anyway. 1st rep of 415 was alright, 2nd rep I couldn't get my hips through so I got stuck just above the knees. Same thing happened when I took it down to 405. Coach said it looked like my hips were just fatigued. We'll see how the rest of the cycle goes, but coach wants to consider pulling every other week if this is a sign that I'm moving into more advanced territory.

9/25
Bench Press
Bar x 8 x 2
95 x 5
135 x 1
155 x 1
175 x 3
185 x 3
185 x 2

Pause Bench
155 x 3
165 x 3
170 x 3

Laying DB Triceps Extension
20 x 8
25 x 8
25 x 6
Finally got that 185 for 3. 3rd rep on the second set wasn't happening, but I'm ok with that since it's still progress.

9/27
AM
OH Press
bar x 8 x 2
65 x 5
85 x 2
105 x 3
115 x 3
120 x 3

Bench Press
95 x 8
135 x 10 x 3

Upright Row
85 x 8 x 3

PM
Squat
bar x 8 x 2
135 x 5
225 x 2
265 x 1
295 x 3
320 x 3 x 2

Pause Squat
265 x 3
275 x 3
Need a little more depth on those squats, but they were all at least parallel.

Week of September 16th

9/16

Deadlift
135 x 5
225 x 3
315 x 1
355 x 5
380 x 5

18" Deadlift
405 x 3 x 2

Pendlay Row
135 x 5
155 x 5
165 x 5

9/18

Bench Press
Bar x 8 x 2
95 x 5
115 x 3
135 x 1
155 x 5
170 x 5 x 2

3 Board Bench
185 x 3
195 x 3 x 2

Assistance
Tri Pushdowns: 4 x 10

Finally got 170 and managed to get it for 2 sets, so I'm happy with that. It's looking like it's time to go on the cut. I'm sitting around 203 or so with too much fat around the midsection. So I'll probably be cutting back on the calories and incorporating some hill sprints into my week.

No squats to report as I had some issues come up and wasn't able to make it into the gym.

Week of September 9th

So I thought I had updated this more recently, but apparently not. I'll try to catch up...

9/9

Deadlift
135 x 5
225 x 3
315 x 1
345 x 5
370 x 5

Deficit Deadlift
315 x 3
325 x 3
335 x 3

DB Row
60 x 8
70 x 8 x 2

Up 10 lbs, so progress continues. I was hoping for a bigger jump, but I'm still happy with that. Managed to have extra time for more assistance so that was good. A ton of people in the gym today though so I had to share the platform...

9/11

Bench Press
Bar x 8 x 2
95 x 5
115 x 3
135 x 1
155 x 5
165 x 5
170 x 4

Bench w/ Green band
125 x 3
135 x 3
145 x 1

Laying DB Skull Crushers
25 x 8 x 3

Sore as hell today from Monday still. Also tried narrowing the grip a bit, which I think helped somewhat. Still missed that 5th rep, but it was barely a fail. I think I was just spent on that last set of banded bench though as it felt way harder than it should have.

9/13 AM

Seated Shoulder Press
Bar x 8 x 2
75 x 3
95 x 1
115 x 5
120 x 5
125 x 5

Bench Press
95 x 8
115 x 10
135 x 10

Face Pulls
50 x 10
60 x 10 x 2

Inverted Rows on Rings
BW x 8 x 3

Hammer Curls (for the gunz yo!)
30 x 8 x 3

9/13 PM

Squat
Bar x 8 x 2
135 x 5
225 x 2
255 x 5
285 x 5
295 x 5

Box Squats
225 x 3
245 x 3

GHD
BW x 10 x 2

Up 20 lbs from last round of 5s. Shoulder press earlier in the day was up as well, so good progress all around. Hoping I can get the bench moving again next week!

Week of August 26th

A bit late on the update here, but I was gone all last week. The trip to California was fun and it was great to see family. It definitely felt good to come home to the Pacific Northwest though. There's nothing else like it. Prior to that, it was a great lifting week with PRs all around!

8/26

Deadlift
135 x 5
225 x 3
275 x 2
325 x 1
395 x 1
425 x 1 (20# PR)
440 x f
440 x 1 (35# PR)

T-Bar Row
45 x 8
90 x 8
115 x 8

Not quite 450, but I'll take it! So the first attempt I was stuck just shy of lockout. Coach told me to tip my head up once I got past my knees to help get the hips through. Second attempt I started to get stuck at about the same place, but tipped my head up. Didn't quite feel like my shoulders were back all the way, but everyone yelled to lock my knees, so I did and finished the lift. Must have been holding it for a good 4-5 seconds before lockout though.

8/28

Bench Press
Bar x 8 x 2
95 x 5
115 x 2
135 x 1
165 x 1
185 x 1
195 x 1 (10# PR)
200 x f

Pause Bench
175 x 2 x 2

A bit of progress, so I'm happy with that. 200 got stuck in my usual spot (2 boards), so I've just got to keep hammering that.

8/30

Squat
Bar x 8 x 2
135 x 5
225 x 2
265 x 1
295 x 1
325 x 1 (11 # PR)
340 x 1 (26# PR)
350 x 1 (36# PR)

Pause Squat
275 x 3 x 2

And done! Great week of PRs. Brings my gym total up to 985 which is more than 100lbs up from at the meet!

I'm hoping progress continues at this pace. I realize that eventually it will slow down, but I feel like I'm on a roll. I really want to get my bench up before December's meet though as that has been lagging much farther behind. With these new numbers though I'm setting my sights on a 500 lb deadlift and a 400 lb squat. A lot of work ahead of me.

In other vegan news, Patrik Baboumian set the world record for the yoke carry at 550 kg. Incredibly impressive and that will put him in the Guinness Book of World Records. A great day for vegans everywhere!

Week of August 19th

Last week of 3s before testing max singles then I have a down week where my wife (http://thespindleandspoon.blogspot.com/) and I will be taking a week long vacation to head down to California and see family. Her birthday was last week, right in the middle of finals, but her parents came up for the weekend and we celebrated properly. Even more significant is that she is now done with her undergraduate degree! I'm so proud of her! She majored in Plant Biology and she will be applying to graduate school this fall. She's hoping to go straight into a PhD program and maybe focus on Mycology. I can't wait for the exciting times ahead for her as she is so passionate about this field and is going to do some really big things in the realm of Ecology. Watch out for her!

It was a good work out week with progress all around. The bench is still a bit slow, but up from before the meet so I am happy.

8/19

Deadlift
135 x 5
225 x 3
275 x 1
315 x 1
355 x 1
380 x 3
405 x 3

18" Deadlift
315 x 3
385 x 3
405 x 2

Another great deadlift day. So stoked about reppiing out 405. I'm excited to see where that puts my 1RM next week. I missed that last rep on the 18" because the bar stuck to my leg and I just couldn't lock it out.

8/21

Bench Press
Bar x 8 x 2
95 x 5
115 x 3
135 x 1
155 x 1
175 x 3
185 x 2
185 x 1

2 Board Bench
185 x 2 x 2

Stuck again. I was feeling a bit off though, but still sucks. Hoping to break 200 when I test!

8/23

OH Press
Bar x 8
65 x 5
85 x 2
105 x 3
115 x 3
120 x 3 (Push Press)

Assistance
DB Press
Side Lateral Raises
Rear Delt Raises

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

Box Squat
225 x 3
245 x 3

3 Plates for 3! All the reps felt great. Need to work on the shoulders a bit though.

After vacation, I will probably be adding a fourth day to the workouts for some volume bench work, upper back focus and maybe move shoulders to that day. I really want to focus on getting my bench up for the next meet as I feel like it's lagging too much.

Week of August 12th

A little late on the update, but it was a great week last week!

8/12

Deadlift
135 x 5
225 x 3
275 x 1
315 x 1
355 x 3
375 x 3
385 x 3

Deficit Deadlift
315 x 3
325 x 3

Great workout. 385 was pretty fast too and probably not max effort. Could have gone heavier on the deficits too, but ran out of time. Shooting for at least 395 for 3 next week.

8/14

Bench Press
Bar x 8 x 2
95 x 5
115 x 3
135 x 1
170 x 3
180 x 3
185 x 2

2 Board Bench
185 x 2
185 x 3 x 2

Assistance
Tri Pushdowns
Close Reverse Grip Lat Pulldowns

Awesome! Bench is up. Missing that last rep at 185 seemed more like fatigue than lack of strength for it. Not sure what the deal was with the first 2 board bench set, I think I got out of position on the last rep. Other two sets were good though.


8/16

Seated Shoulder Press
bar x 8
65 x 5
95 x 3
115 x 3
125 x 3
130 x 2

Assistance
Face Pulls
Seated DB Shoulder Press
Landmine Side Bends

Squat
Bar x 8 x 2
135 x 5
185 x 3
225 x 1
255 x 1
275 x 3
290 x 3
300 x 3

Pause Squat
225 x 3
245 x 3

Awwwwwww yeah! Shooting for 310 next week. Shoulder work was earlier in the day and went pretty well. Really focusing on getting back and shoulder strength up.

Week of August 5th

Second week of 5s and still going strong. I'm excited to see where I end up at the end of the month when we retest singles.

8/5

Deadlift
135 x 5
225 x 3
275 x 1
315 x 1
350 x 5
360 x 5

18" Deadlift
315 x 3
365 x 3
385 x 3

Coach asked what we got the week before and I told him that missed 355 on the last rep, his response was to start at 350. Nailed that and then went to 360 which I also got, but last one was a grinder. First couple flew up though.

8/7

Bench
Bar x 8 x 2
95 x 5
115 x 2
135 x 1
155 x 5
165 x 5
170 x 4

Bench w/ Green Bands
115 x 5
135 x 4

Bench numbers are up, which makes me happy. Wish I could have hit that last rep at 170 as that would put me 10 lbs up, but 4 is pretty good for me. The 5th rep got stuck a couple of inches off my chest and I finished with my coach taking a little bit off. Last rep on the banded bench I got myself out of position with my feet and lost tension.

8/9

Squat
Bar x 8 x 2
135 x 5
185 x 3
225 x 1
245 x 5
265 x 5
275 x 5

Squat + 80lbs of chains
185 x 3
205 x 3

Happy with that. Second week of gains and up 20lbs from my 5RM prior to last week.


All in all a great training week. Numbers are up and I've got that 1,000 lb total in sight for December.

Meet Pictures

As promised, here are some pictures from the meet. Sorry it took so long to post them!

Getting set up for my 3rd Squat attempt.

Making a most excellent lifting face as I grind out 314 lbs a new PB. I could have gone for more as you'll see in the video below, but I wanted to nail the lift so I was bit more conservative. Also note the socks...

Resting between attempts with one of the guys from my gym. He later got screwed over by having his first bench attempt misloaded, and then having to make his next two attempts with minimal rest between.

Obligatory bench picture, though I don't think these are ever that impressive.

Lockout on my second deadlift attempt at 402 lbs. I always love deadlift pictures.

I'll make a proper post of last weeks workouts later.

Back in action

I haven't forgotten about the promised pictures. I just haven't gotten around to putting them up anywhere...

The week after the meet was a down week, so no real workouts and just kind of putzing around the gym wishing I could get back to lifting. It was a hard week to get through as I was feeling pretty good, but I know that extra recovery time is needed after competition. So it was a week of longingly staring at the barbells . I probably looked something like this:

Somehow I made it and rejoiced in getting back under the bar on Monday last week, psyched up and ready to hit hard for my next meet in December. Right now I'm hovering in the mid 190s for weight. I want to get that up to around 205-210 and then cut back to be under 198. After that I think I'll start the big push to get up closer to 220 next year. Lifts were great and already on a positive track based on the last time I did 5s. The week went like this:

7/29

Deadlift
135 x 5
225 x 3
275 x 1
315 x 5
345 x 5
355 x 4

Deficit Deadlift
275 x 5
295 x 5 x 2

Almost had that 5th rep at 355, but let the bar get away from me a bit off the ground and it messed me all up. I also ran into issues with the bar sticking to my thighs. I need to use the baby powder more I think.

7/31

Bench
Bar x 8 x 2
95 x 3
115 x 1
135 x 5
150 x 5
160 x 5

Pause Bench
135 x 3
145 x 3 x 2

Assistance

Lat Pull down: 130 x 10, 150 x 10, 160 x 10

Tri-Pressdowns 3 sets of 8 (Can't tell what the weight is, #14 on the machine)

Kroc Rows: 60 x 20

Ring Fallouts: 3 sets of 10

Good day all around. First time I'd done 5s in a long time and last time I struggled with 160 but got it. This time it was easy, could have at least got 165 I think.

8/2

Went in early in the day to walk on the treadmill and do a shoulder workout.

Military Press
Bar x 8
65 x 5
85 x 3
95 x 5
105 x 5
110 x 3 + 2 push press

Assistance

Face pulls
Straight Arm Press Downs (not sure what these are called really)
Landmine side bends
Front Squat holds

Then I went in the afternoon for squats

Squat
Bar x 8 x 2
135 x 5
185 x 3
225 x 2
240 x 5
250 x 5
260 x 5

Box Squats
185 x 5
205 x 5

Could have done more on the box squats, but ran out of time. Last time I did 5s on squat I missed 260 so I'm happy with that. I may have been able to get 265 or 270.

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I've also been adding in incline walking most days to dry and get some sort of cardiovascular exercise in. It's not too intense because I want to save my energy for the lifting, but I think it will definitely be beneficial in the long run. I'm also going to up the amount of core assistance exercises I do as I feel like that has been lacking a bit. That's all for now!

Meet Results

Well, the meet was last Saturday and went very well I think. Below is a brief synopsis:

Squat
First Attempt: 270 - Good Lift
Second Attempt: 303 - Good Lift
Third Attempt: 314 - Good lift (4lb PR)

Bench
First Attempt: 165 - Good Lift
Second Attempt: 176 - Good Lift
Third Attempt: 187 - No Lift

Deadlift
First Attempt: 375 - Good Lift
Second Attempt: 402 - Good Lift
Third Attempt: 408 - No Lift

So I went 7/9 and had a 892 total. Just shy of 900, but still solid for my first time out. I should have gone with 182 as my third bench attempt. The last deadlift I would have had if I had eaten more. My energy levels were just down. I'll probably be doing another in December, so I'm pretty stoked on that. Great experience! The biggest thing I learned was that I need to bring way more food. The event ended up running pretty late and I already hadn't brought enough food to begin with so that really affected me late in the day.

My loving wife (The Spindle & Spoon) stayed and supported me the whole day. It was great seeing her smile before I walked onto the platform and having her cheer me on. She also took some pictures and video that I will try to get up here soon.

Week of July 1st

Holiday week so it threw my training off a bit. A friend of my wife was getting married so we left town on Friday and stayed at her folks house. I ended up seeing a couple of guys I knew from high school, which was odd because I didn't know the groom or bride really. As for training, it was more of a speed week anyway, so I went in on Monday and Wednesday for training with the coach and then assistance on Tuesday and Thursday (Yes, you read that right, I went in on the 4th. Dedicated!) Here's how it went down:

July 1

Squat
Bar x 8
135 x 5
185 x 3
225 x 1 x 2

Squat w/ Blue Bands
315 x 3
365 x 3
405 x 3
415 x 3

Blue bands take off about 130lbs total at the bottom and nothing really at the top. I still think I could have done more, but the point this week isn't to push big weight, so I'm happy with that. Plus it just looks cool to put up big numbers like that...

July 3

Bench
Bar x 8
95 x 5
115 x 3
135 x 1 x 2
155 x 3
165 x 3
170 x 3

Bench w/ Green Band
125 x 3
135 x 3
135 x 2

Work sets on regular bench were done with a pause on the first rep for more practice and then touch and go for the next two reps. Green band adds about 60 lbs at the top So I'm happy with that. Failed on the third rep of the last set, but last time we did bands, I couldn't even get 135 for one.

Nothing too specific for the assistance days. On Tuesday I did some Zercher squats light deadlifts, Glute-Ham Raises and other core work. Thursday I did some Good Mornings, T-Bar Rows, Lat Pulldowns, DB rows and hammer curls for the gunz.

Just to share something I liked, while I was at work today I listeneded to a seminar with the mighty Dan Green. It was really interesting and informative, so if you have some time to kill give it a view (or listen). I like his perspective on a lot of things. He's not vegan, but I won't hold that against him.

Week of June 24th

Last week was Max Effort week. This was the first time I've attempted 1 rep maxes for each lift in the same week. On top of that training the last few weeks has been off since I've been going back and forth between singles and threes. Enough excuses! Not the best week for me, but overall I still think I'm in a good place. Here are the workouts

6/24

Seated OH Press
Bar x 8
65 x 5
85 x 3
105 x 5
115 x 5 x 2

Squat
Bar x 8
135 x 5
185 x 3
225 x 1
265 x 1
290 x 1
310 x f
305 x 1
310 x 1 (5# PR)

Pause Squat
205 x 3
225 x 3

Coach wanted me to call it 314 because of the collars, which they will do at the meet, but it's still 310 in my eyes. PR is a PR though

6/26

Bench
Bar x 8
95 x 5
115 x 3
135 x 1
155 x 1
175 x 1
165 x 1
170 x 1
175 x 1
180 x 1

This was the first time I did actual competition style bench. So it's up and then wait for the command to go down, then down and pause at the bottom and wait for the command to press, then up and wait for the rack command. The pause at the bottom I think is what got me so I wasn't able to get up to my prior 185 max.

6/28

Deadlift
Bar x 8
135 x 5
225 x 3
275 x 2
335 x 1
385 x 1
405 x f x 2

Deficit Deadlift
275 x 3
305 x 3
325 x 3

This was really disappointing. First attempt at 405 and I got it just above my knees, but not fast enough for lockout. Second attempt, I couldn't even get it off the ground. I think it was a combination of max outs all week and only two weeks between my last max attempt, but with the meet only a few weeks away that's the way it goes.

I'll try to get my workouts for this week up early next week. This week is a bit of a down week and then next week I'll be working on openers for the meet.

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!

Progress

We ran through some one rep max testing over the last few weeks. The bad news is that my bench press didn't move up at all. We worked our way up to 170 lbs for one and then made the jump to 180. I had the same issue as last time where I got stuck a few inches off my chest. Since then we've gone back and worked on a few different assistance lifts to try and break through the sticking point. Things like 2 and 3 board bench press, floor press and pause benches. I just wrapped up a second week of 5 rep benches so it will be a while before I'm back to testing again.

On to the good news. Testing on squat went very well. The lift progression went something like:

Warm-Up to 255 or so
275 x 1 (5 lb PR)
285 x 1 (15 lb PR)

I was really happy with this and I think I might have been able to get more out of it. The biggest change we made was that I started using a belt, which I felt definitely helped on the lift. The increase in thoracic pressure definitely helps when you're coming up and helps push more. My goal is to get this lift over 300 lbs by the meet I'm doing in July.

Another boost happened earlier this week on deadlift. My prior one rep max was 350 the last time we tested 5-6 weeks ago. Well, last week we were working sets of 3 and trying to break where I had been stuck the week before at 340. So last week's progression went:

Warm-up
320 x 3
340 x 3
350 x 3

Not only did I break the sticking point, but also did my previous one rep max 3 times! I was stoked! So this week we tested. We started at 345 just as an in-between from the warm-ups and then jumped to 365 which was my goal. I nailed that lift and still felt pretty good about it, so we increased to 375 and I went again. The first attempt I threw myself off during set up and could barely get it off the ground. So I took a break to regroup and came back for a second attempt. I got the bar up to about knee level, but couldn't make it all the way. I think I was just exhausted myself from the previous work, but a 15 lb gain is still nice! This puts me 35 lbs away from my goal for the meet, so I still have a ways to go, but I'm determined to make it happen!

The Workouts

I thought it would be good to give kind of an overview of my workouts. My coach does a 5/3/1 type program customized to fit what the lifter needs. Despite the Jim Wendler namesake for the design, this type of programming has been around for decades. That doesn't diminish Wendler at all though as his methods are proven.

My current main lift split is Monday - Deadlift, Wednesday - Bench, Friday - Squat. Tuesdays and Thursdays are assistance days with lighter weights and focus on volume. For example, on a Tuesday I might do Lat pull-downs, Reverse Leg Curls, Stiff Leg Deadlifts, dumbbell rows or Glute-Ham Developer in some combination. Basically focusing more on lower to mid-back stuff. Doing a lot of upper-back exercises would impede bench day. Thursday then is a shoulder/upper back with overhead presses (standing or sitting), some front/side raises, upright rows or t-bar rows, shrugs and maybe some hammer curls at the end.

For the main lifts, my coach's mantra is that there is never enough warm-up. Always start with the bar and leave your ego at the door. Even if you can squat (or bro squat) 800lbs, you still start with the bar. The basic idea is to do decreasing sets as you add the weight and once you exceed 50% of your 1 rep max (1RM), only do 1-2 reps. This maximizes energy conservation while getting to your work sets and helps to adapt to the heavier weights.

Here's an example from Monday's deadlift. We were working up to doing 5 reps at 85% or so of my 1RM.

Weight x Reps x Sets
Bar (45lbs) x 8 x 2
135 x 5 x 1
185 x 3 x 1
225 x 1 x 1
Work Sets:
275 x 5 x 1
295 x 5 x 1
305 x 5 x 1

I could have used another single between 225 and 275, but you get the idea.

After the main lift, we switch it up to assistance exercises. Common things include:

Squat with chains
Reverse Band Squats
Pause Squats (3 seconds)
Box Squats

Banded Bench
Bench with boards (between 1 and 3 boards depending on the situation)

Rack pulls
Deficit Deadlifts

These exercises can really strengthen aspects of the lift where you are struggling. I know for me lock out on bench and deadlifts can be a real struggle so these are great.

Quest for Strength

I've had a hard time figuring out what to do for a first post on this blog and thought of a lot of different ways to say something poignant or deep, but it's probably better just dive right into it!

A bit of background first. I've been vegan for 3 years now and have never looked back. The improvements in my health, energy and outlook have been dramatic since becoming vegan, not to mention the weight taken off of my conscience. About two years ago I started going to the gym at the place I was working. It was a basic run of the mill set up that was focused mostly on weight-loss and "toning". Meaning, no squat rack, no barbells and limited space. There wasn't even a bench press, just a smith machine which I and a coworker used for the three main lifts. Note: you can't do deadlifts in a smith machine...

At the time, I had pretty much no idea what I was doing and just puttered around doing whatever I thought was a good idea without any real knowledge about fitness. Eventually, I started doing the Westside for Skinny Bastards program, but not really in earnest. I made some progress though not much as my training wasn't focused. I didn't really have a goal in mind and I think that affected things. When I moved to Seattle later, I joined a local globo gym that had much better equipment than the previous gym. It was here that my goals began to take shape. I worked out their for about a year and a half while researching programs and gaining more training knowledge. I started doing Strong Lifts 5x5 which is a really great program for beginners. That started me on my road toward strength. Through lifting this way I learned that what I really wanted was to be as strong as possible.

Looking back, strength is something I always desired, but never worked toward. I guess I always wanted it to just come to me without putting in the effort and literal sweat. Like everything else in life, this doesn't happen. I also had another motive for this, which was debunking all the myths people have about vegans and strength training. There is so much propaganda around about the need for meat/dairy for athletes that it can be almost deafening. There are some really great vegan athletes out there, but they are few and far between. Moving into the strength athlete arena, the number is even less. At this moment, I can only think of one truly famous vegan strength athlete. He is the German Patrik Baboumian. An incredible athlete whom I respect a lot, but he started his training as a vegetarian. My goal is do everything completely vegan.

With this in mind, I began to find that my strength progress was slowing down at the globo gym and I was hitting some plateaus. I didn't have a training partner so I worked out solo all the time. This is ok for a while, but having another person there to help push your limits is essential I think. I also began to feel like I could use some coaching if I wanted to really get more serious about this. This led me to join a local powerlifting gym here where I could receive training from veteran powerlifter and 30+year strength coach Todd Christensen. I've only been going for just under a month and have already seen gains. My training is more focused than ever and my drive to succeed is huge.

I will make a valiant effort to keep this blog updated with training info, diet, competitions and whatever else I can related to strength and veganism. Thanks for reading!

Current Stats:
Wt: 181
Bench: 175
Squat: 270
Deadlift: 350