Virtualmeet.net

My training actually started last week. I do everything raw except squats, I add a Valeo belt(it's all mental). Here it goes:

WEEK 1

Schedule for this week is SQ/DL Wed; BP Thurs; Upper Back/Traps Fri

7/11/07
Squat
warm up 2@135lbs, 2@225lbs
add doubled small bands 2@bar, 2@135lbs, 2@225lbs, 2@315lbs, 2@405lbs

Deadlift
warm up 1@225lbs, 1@315lbs, 1@405lbs
work sets 1@495lbs, 1@565lbs


7/12/07
Reverse Band Bench - all sets done with small bands
warm up 2@135lbs, 2@225lbs, 2@315lbs
work sets 3@405lbs, 1@515lbs

Band Bench - all sets done with doubled smalls
warm up 2@bar, 2@95lbs, 2@135lbs, 2@185lbs
work set 3@225lbs

7/13/07
Shrugs 5x10
Seated Row 3x10
Machine Row 3x8
V Bar Pulldowns 3x8


WEEK 2

Schedule for this week is SQ/BP Mon; DL Thurs; Upper Back/Traps Fri

7/16/07
Reverse Band Bench - all sets done with small & mm bands
warm up 1@225lbs, 1@315lbs, 2@405lbs, 2@495lbs
work set 1@605lbs

Band Bench
warm up 3@135lbs
add doubled smalls & mm
3@bar, 1@135lbs, 3@165lbs, 1@225lbs

Squat
warm up 2@135lbs, 2@225lbs
add doubled Greens  2@bar, 2@135lbs, 2@225lbs, 2@315lbs, 2@345lbs (wow)

I second what James said, it's a privilege to follow how you guys prepare for the upcoming meet... so, thanks Mike for taking the time!


Will you lift in the meet sans belt as well or do you plan to add it in later? If that Valeo belt is one of those velcro things I am familiar with from my early iron days, then it is indeed all mental... and probably very good for your core stability. Not much support compared to a thick powerlifting leather belt.

Last, but not least, please read the journal posting guidelines (http://virtualmeet.net/community/forum/meet-journals/52/0/), especially the part about notation. Besides the obvious benefits of a common notation for readability across journals, I will also look into the option of auto-parsing journal entries to include both kilograms and pounds. One of my goals for this project is to make both people who think in pounds and kilograms feel at home without having to trouble any poster to do the conversion manually. The @ notation works well for this since the script will then know that the number following it is the weight to be converted. But enough about that, back to lifting matters!

Thanks guys. My weight right now is around 280 and hopeully it won't get much higher! The valeo belt is exactly what your thinking of Kris. After my workout last night my abs were cramping up so bad. That's usually what happens when I get into the higher tension squatting. If I wear a belt in the meet it would just be the velcro valeo one. I have a thicker powerlifting belt but it feels uncomfortable to me.

Hey Kris, I tried to edit my journal 3 times to meet the guidelines but everytime I hit the save button it sent me to a "404 error page" and if I hit refresh or back it wouldn't save my changes. Feel free to make adjustments yourself and my future post will meet the standard. Thanks for reading guys.

I need to fix that ASAP. The redirect after modifying a post is broken due to a forum module I am using to clean up the URLs. It should still save your post though, but apparently it isn't in your case for some reason. Sorry about that, I'll be happy to reformat the post for you. Also, thanks for your understanding. I know everyone has their own prefered notation, but there is a lot to be gained by using a common format, especially as this project aims at becoming truly global.

EDIT: Fixed the issue, you should no longer see any 404s.

My low back is still a little beaten up from the squats on Monday. Usually I squat/deadlift the same day early in the week but my work schedule has not been allowing that. So I will rest my body for the rest of this week and pick up fresh Monday. Looking back on it though, I never do heavy band tension squats 2 weeks in a row so that may have been what caused the problem.

Alright, back feels 97%(it's never 100) so schedule for this week will go:
Monday - Bench/Deadlift      Thursday - Upper Back/Traps

I'm going to do this meet with a sumo style deadlift, which means I will have to squat and deadlift on alternate weeks. This has worked well in the past. On bench/deadlift day I will be adding leg presses and seated leg curls. With 6 weeks left that gives me 3 squat and 3 deadlift workouts. I will be lifting on the 7th so this gives me a full 14 days to recover before the meet for the deadlift and 10 days for the squat, perfect.

My 3 squat workouts will go  Med+MMx2 - 200chainx2 - 590x2. This should give me an easy 615 second attempt. My last 3 deadlift workouts: 455x2 off plate -  RDL 485x5 - Reverse Band DL(smalls) 575x1(Bands give out just below knees). This should give me an easy 605 2nd attempt. I only list my top sets, I work up to these making 60-90 pound jumps so that I try to do 5x2, after warm ups, every workout. If anyone has any questions on how/why I set my training up this way, please ask. My benchcycle is a little more complicated. Later guys.

Highly interesting! Like you, I am a back case. Keeping the low back decently happy is a daily chore. It has also forced me to switch to sumo. So, I'd be really interested in hearing a bit more as to why you alternate squat and deadlift weeks. I've taken the precise opposite route by deadlifting after squats every workout to condition for the meet. Last meet, I was left at my opener in the deadlift (a weight I had tripled in training) and don't want to see that happen again. I've also taken my squat stance in considerably as I felt going wide also took kilos off the sumo due to their similarity (plus my hip got really beat up from going wide on both). How wide do you squat, and is this also a factor in your decision to alternate weeks? Also, what kind of back problems are you suffering from and how do they affect your training routine?

Sorry for the many questions, but I'd love to hear more about this being in pretty much the same boat.

Honestly, I don't think I'm a wide squatter. Maybe 24-30 inches between my heels. But, I use a fairly high bar position and lean forward a bit. This stresses my quads and low back, two very important muscles in a sumo style deadlift. With these muscles being taxed so heavily the only deadlifts I was able to do after squats were singles and speed work. Which is what I use to do, reverse band speed deads 5x2 working up to 80-90% of my projected max over 3 weeks. Results, decent but my back was still an issue. So, somewhere along the lines I read an article by Fred Hatfield in which he talked about training the dead with Doyle Kenady. Fred did sq/dl on the same day where as doyle broke them up. Why? It allowed him to train the deadlift heavier then if he did it on the same day as squats so when the meet came around he knew that his max would be a weight he handled for a triple plus 10 pounds. If he had squatted and deadlifted on the same day he felt he may have been good for 50 pounds less less at a meet b/c he had not handled a lot of weight in training.

But, being drug free I had to come up with a better way. So, I tried doing squats and deads on the same day for awhile and it helped my low back a lot. But, as I got stronger this became unrealistic. Doing 560x5 raw in the squat then hoping for 575x5 in the sumo dead after was not easy and would leave my body taxed for weeks(by the way, I only got 575x4 that workout). So, due to certain time constraints I began to alternate weeks for my squat and dead. The result, well in 2 months I went from 605x2 to 665x1easy rep in the deadlift. Squat from a hard 565x2 to an easy 585x2. The extra rest and ability to put 100% effort into each lift made all the difference. The last time I did this I didn't get to a meet so we shall see what happens now.

The kind of back problems I have occur on the sides of my back in certain sweet spots. The pain jumps back and forth and sometimes my back gets very stiff. I injured my back in 2006 during the early part of traditional linear/western periodization cycle doing 50% of my max for 10! I used periodization for years and loved it, still do. But I just can't use it anymore. Thanks for reading!

Mike, thanks for the in-depth answer!  Much food for thought there. My weights are still way below the numbers you cite as being problematic for you when squatting and pulling on the same day. Also, I seem to thrive on plenty of volume on the main lifts and the thought of only going heavy pre-meet on each every second week is almost frightening... but I can indeed see that an experienced lifter with good technique might fare a lot better this way. I am also lucky that my back can take the main lifts decently well (can't cope with much flexion though). I'm actually squatting and deadlifting twice a week right now (one being a chain suspended SSB squat before the deadlifts), but it remains to be seen whether this is too much or not. So far so good though, although I can't say I have been totally pain free.

Keep up the hard work and let's hope we both check in at the meet with our backs at 97% percent!  :D

WEEK 3

Schedule for this week: Monday - BP/DL       Thursday - Upper Back/Traps

7/23/07
Reverse Band BP - all sets done with doubled Green Bands
2@295, 2@405, 2@585, 1@635

Band BP - all sets done with doubled Greens
2@bar, 2@135, 2@185, 2@225, 1@275

Sumo Platform Deadlifts - done standing on 100 pound plates
2@135, 2@225, 2@315, 2@405, 2@455(easy!)

Week 4

7/30/07
Squat and Bench Press

Squat - Using Doubled Mediums and Doubled Smalls

2@135 / 2@225

add Bands
2@bar / 2@135 / 2@185 / 2@225

Reverse Band Bench Press - using doubled mediums and smalls

2@405 / 2@585 / 1@725 / 1@765 / 1@765

Band Bench Press - doubled mediums and mon. mini

2@bar / 2@95 / 2@135 / 1@155 / 1@175

Standing Abs 4x20@120+small band


Went with the band squats instead of the chains to help get more out of the residual effect. My next squat workout will be chains then 590x2-3. I'll probably be good for 5 with that weight so I may try 2-3 reps with 600+. Rest until next Monday when I got Sumo RDL 485x5.

Ok, so I switched things up just a tad so that I can use the virtual meet as a warm up meet. I've never done any type of westside program but the one I will be working with has many of its' theories behind it. I do think that the virtual meet crowd could see a 700 raw squat from me, maybe ;) So on to todays workout:

8/6/07 ME Squat/Deadlift

Box Squat with chain(11 inch box used)
2@135
2@225
2@315

Add 120# of chain
2@315

Add 200# of chain
2@315
2@405
2@455
2@500

Good Mornings
8@135
8@225
8@225

Standing abs
12@100+med band
12@120+med band
12@120+med band

Chain Leg Raise(with 5 sec. static hold)
5@ 1 chain
5@ 2 chain
5@ 3 chain

Leg Extension
2x20

Oh yeah, my schedule will be: Monday ME SQ/DL / Wednesday ME BP  / Friday DE SQ/DL  /  Saturday DE BP

8/8/07 ME Bench

Floor Press with Chain
1@135+3 chain
1@135+5 chain
1@225+5 chain
1@275+5 chain
MISS@315+5 chain(this was heavy!)

Elbows Out Incline Extension 6x10@35

Seated Rows 4x8@300

Hammer Curls 3x12@50

Decline Sit Ups
8@45
8@90
8@110
8@110

That's all she wrote. I got planted by the 315 floor press. I do though pause all floor presses for 3 seconds. If you've ever seen Blakleys' XTM tape he does 405 for triples with 5 chains a side!

Hi Mike,

it is great that you share your training log here.
Some posts ago you mentioned Sumo RDL standing on plates.
Well, I tried those yesterday for the first time and these felt amazingly intense. When I stumbled out of the weight room I knew it was one of my best workouts ever. Thanks for the inspiration!

Best regards,
Christian.

Great to hear! Those are great for developing overall strength for a sumo deadlifter. Keep your reps at 5 for those and you should shoot for 80% of your best sumo deadlift for 5. Thanks for reading.

8/10/07 DE SQ/DL

Speed Squat
8x2@225+mon. mini
4x2@275+mon. mini

Speed Sumo DL
6x1@365

Leg Extensions 2x20

Spread Eagle Sit Ups 3x10+mon. mini

DB Side Bends 3x8@110

Speed days sucks. I used 45 second rest periods for the squats and 30 for the deadlift. I hope this works but I keep believing that nothing speaks louder then results and westside has plenty of them. Tommorrow, DE bench and I will be using a ballistic style for those reps.

8/11/07 DE Bench Press

Bench Press
2@135
2@225
Add 3 Board
1@315
1@405
Add Shirt
1@500
1@545
0@605
2@500
3@405

Speed Bench
5x3@135+mm
3x3@155+mm

Machine Rows
2x8@100
1x8@120

Light Pause Incline
8@135
5@185
5@235

Tough day today. Haven't had a shirt on in almost 3 years but a friend of mine talked me into doing an IPA nationals qualifier and the IPA nationals. I got greedy on the shirt bench b/c 545 was soooooooooo easy. 605 though moved maybe 2-3 inches. From 500 up all touched and when I worked back down the 500x2 both touched as well as the 405x3. Speed bench went well and was actually very hard to maintain speed but I did.

8/13/07 ME SQ/DL Day

Chain Suspended Good Mornings(at parallel)
2@135
2@225
2@315
2@405
1@455
2@500
1@525

Reverse Band Sumo DL
1@315
1@405
5x1@500

Standing ABS
8@120+Green Band(last rep on each set held for 5 seconds)
3x8@140+Green Band(last rep on each set held for 5 seconds)

Chain Leg Raise
5@2 chains with 5 second hold each rep
2x5@3 chains with 5 second hold each rep

Leg Extension
20@180
20@200

Good day today! The good mornings were awesome. I had a friend of mine that use to work out with me and the Mike Miller crew watch my form and he said my reps were great. For the deadlifts, the bands gave out at knee level so I had to be very fast. Form on sumos is getting good.

HUGE PR DAY!!!!!!!

8/15/07 ME Bench Press

Band Bench Press - doubled purple bands
2@bar
2@135
2@225
1@275 old pr
1@315(EASY)
1@335

DB Extensions
4x10@35
10@45
10@55

Seated Rows
3x8@300
8@340

Decline Situps
8@BW
8@110
3x8@130

What a suprisingly awesome day! Hit a 60 pound pr with the purple bands and everything else felt light as a feather. I've never been good at these type of extensions and the 55 felt fairly easy. Now, I can't wait to see what Friday brings. I am starting the circa max phase for the september 22nd meet. From there it is the November 17th-18th IPA nationals. As of now I have no squat suit but we'll see what we can do about that Friday.

DE SQ/DL Day

8/17/07

Squat
2@135
2@225
2@315
1@405
1@495
5@605!!!

Spread Eagle Sit Ups
8@BW
8@35
8@45
3x8@35

DB Side Bends
4x10@90

Leg Extensions
2x20@200

What an awesome PR for me, I was totally pumped when I hit the 605x5. It has been a goal since I hit 500x5. Last year I hit 585 for a hard double before hitting a tough 610 at the ADAU nationals. Right now my weight is 280 and I'll be 275 for the meet so that would put me in the same weight class as last year. The other thing is form improvement for me. I use to get a little bounce out of the bottom but I took care of that with a little suggestion from Sam Byrd. I used chains, like the good mornings, set at 3 inches below parallel and this would prevent bouncing, gauge my depth, and make me control the weight all the way down. Alright, so we shall wait for monday for more good mornings or zercher squats with chain! Later

You lifted what?! :o Must feel good to be back up and beyond this soon after the injury. What kind of lifts do you need to qualify for the IPA Nationals?

8/18/07

DE BENCH PRESS

Speed Bench on Floor
3@135+2 chain
3x3@165+2 chain
3x3@185+2 chain
1x3@205+2 chain

Two Board Presses
13, 8@315

Ascending Board Press
weight used for all sets was 225
10@ 1 board
10@ 2 board
10@ 3 board
8@ 4 board
5@ 5 board
*all sets done with no rest, back to back


IPA nationals are out due to work, but that's not a big deal to me. No more shirt work yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  This workout kicked butt. I want to do 2x20 with 315 off the 2 board and all 50 reps for the close grip ascending board presses.

Will be taking today off for some extra rest and recovery. To say I had a hard time walking this weekend would be an understatement! I loved it though b/c I was still pumped from fridays session. Will squat/deadlift together on wednesday for the next 2 weeks to allow for a full 10 days of rest each before the meet.

8/22/07

Squat/Deadlift Night

Squat
3@135
2@225
1@315
1@405
1@495
2@615

Conventional Deadlift
1@315
1@405
1@495
2@545

Chain Leg Raise
3x5@3 chain each rep with 5 sec. static hold

Standing Abs
10@140+small band
10@180+small band
10@200+small band

Good night, I should have no trouble come meet day doing both on the same day. So far we're guranteed 640 squat and 570 deadlift. And yes, I did revert back to the dark side and use the conventional style for my deadlifts. I'm much more explosive this way but I would really like to get good at sumo. Oh well!