Work Out

What a week. I keep chiming, "life always has a way of interfering with work outs". Last week and now this week are no exceptions. Mondays work out last week I tweaked a muscle between my shoulder blades. It was bad enough I went to see the Dr and had to take Thursday and Friday off work. This week my wife's gallbladder has acted up and she's in hospital. I did manage a work out after dropping the kids off at daycare and before going to see her.

Squats - bar/6 reps, 135lbs/6 reps, 225lbs/4 reps, 315lbs/3 reps.
Knee Wrap Squats - 365lbs/3 reps, 405lbs/1 rep.

Bench Press - bar/12 reps, 135lbs/12 reps, 225lbs/6 reps, 315lbs/1 rep, 4 sets/4 reps/275lbs.
Machine Preacher Curls - 90lbs/10 reps, 100lbs/8 reps, 110lbs/5 reps (failure), 110lbs/5 reps (failure).
Dips with 60lbs help - 4 sets/8 reps.

A good work out to help me handle the stress of this week.

Snowdaddy

Speed Bench

I'm feeling great today. There isn't so much stress in my life and now I can concentrate on everything I like / Love. Today was speed bench day and my technique was really working for me.

Bench Press - bar/12 reps, 135lbs/12 reps, 225lbs/6 reps.
Speed Bench - 5 sets/2 reps/245lbs, 5 sets/2 reps/275lbs.
Preacher Curls - 3 sets/12 reps/85lbs.
Cable Press Downs - 80lbs/12 reps, 90lbs/12 reps, 100lbs/12 reps.

I decided to try the press downs instead of extensions. The angle this works is much more similar to benching than doing extensions. I'll do them more often.

Snowdaddy

End of the Week

This week as may before was crazy busy. I didn't have time to train on Thursday so I mixed it up a bit today. Another quick one but very good.

Bench Press - 135lbs/10 reps, 225lbs/6 reps, 275lbs/4 reps.
2 Board Press - 275lbs/4 reps, 3 sets/3 reps/315lbs.

Speed Squats - 135lbs/6 reps, 225lbs/3 reps.
With Knee Wraps - 315lbs/2 reps, 335lbs/2 reps, 365lbs/2 reps.

I'm working on down speed and pop out of the bottom. I'll go a bit heavier, maybe up to 405lbs before putting on my suit with the knee wraps. The board presses will continue to go up in weight. Before Christmas I think I was up to 385lbs for a 3 board single. I'd like to get back up there before putting on my shirt again.

Snowdaddy

Heavy Squats

I'm trying to bike to and from work while maintaining my current weight routine. So far things are going well but then again, it's only the first week. Tuesday and tonight I rode my bike. Today however, was heavy squats.

Squats - 135lbs/6 reps, stretch, 135lbs/6 reps, 225lbs/4 reps, 315lbs/2 reps.
Bench Squats - 315lbs/4 reps, 365lbs/4 reps, 405lbs/3 reps, 455lbs/1 rep.

Core Work
10 sec Crunches - 10 reps.
Lying Leg Raises - 20 reps.
Elbow Plank - 1min 10sec.
Trunk Twists - 40 reps.

The squats felt really good. I making sure to take a narrow"er" stance. My legs cycling into work, after this work out, felt quite good. I was surprised. I was also supposed to do rack pulls but I was really short on time. Tomorrow is board presses.

Snowdaddy

Cardio and Speed Bench

My wife is back at work now and also has to get ready for her annual PT test. Today we did some cardio together then I went off and did some weights. Here's how it went.

Indoor track about 200m
2 laps walk warm up
3 laps jog
1 lap walk
2 laps jog
1 lap walk
1 lap run.

Core work
Elbow Plank - 1 minute
10 Sec Crunches - 10 reps
Weighted Twists - 40 reps

Speed Bench - warm ups, 10 sets/2 reps/225lbs.
Machine Preacher Curls - 90lbs/10 reps, 90lbs/8 reps, 90lbs/6 reps (all to failure).
Machine Triceps Extensions - 90lbs/10 reps, 110lbs/10 reps, 120lbs/10 reps.
Hammer Dumbbell Curls - 50lbs/12 reps, 65lbs/12 reps.

An all around good work out. I recently bought a new bike for riding back and forth to work (about 7km one way). I'll be starting sometime this week.

Snowdaddy

Squats / Deadlifts

I'm working on some obvious weak points. One is the inexperience I have wearing knee wraps. Here's how it went.


Raw Squat - 135lbs/6 reps, 225lbs/6 reps.
Super Set
Raw Squat - 3 sets/3 reps/315lbs.
Knee Wraps Squats - 3 sets/4 reps/315lbs.

Sumo Deadlifts - 225lbs/3 reps, 315lbs/2 reps, 405lbs/1 rep, 405lbs/1 rep.
Conv Deadlifts - 225lbs/3 reps, 315lbs/3 reps, 405lbs/2 reps, 405lbs/1 rep.

The knee wraps felt very uncomfortable but did seem to give good pop out of the bottom. All the squats were taken to rock bottom. This is the goal I have for when I'm in gear. Let the gear pop me out of the bottom. A few more days of knee wraps then I'll try it with a suit.

Snowdaddy

Bench Day

I guess this is my first real work out since the competition. Bench today was very solid. I went pure raw, no wraps or belt. Here it is.

Bench Press - bar/12 reps, 135lbs/12 reps, CG135lbs/8 reps, 225lbs/8 reps, 275lbs/6 reps, 295lbs/3 sets/2 reps.
Dips - 3 sets/4 reps/body weight.
Various Arm Exercises.

Not too shabby. I don't feel like I've lost too much strength in the bench department. I do feel like I've gained some control.

Snowdaddy

The Cardio Begins

As I've posted every year around this time, its time for my annual PT test. I'm a powerlifter, one would guess, so running/jogging for me does not offer any joy. Last week I managed a light day of jogging at my gym on the indoor track. This morning I got up early and hit the streets, or, rather the streets hit me. Like they always do.

Sit Ups - 20reps
Total street time ~25minutes with the first 5 minutes jogging. Jog/walk after that.
Body weight = 297lbs

Snowdaddy

2009 Nova Scotia Provincial's Video

Here's a link to the video of my best lifts. I had lots of problems in the squat and deadlift, only managing to get one good attempt in each. I also blew a blood vessel in my nose during the squat in this video. Hard core!!!

2009 Nova Scotia Provincial's Video

2009 Nova Scotia Provincial's Results

Snowdaddy