Meet Prep Week 4 Day 4 (29 January 2017)

I went to Kuching this Chinese New Year holidays and tried to get some training in. That did prove to be quite difficult as most gyms were closed. I ended up getting a training session on this day at some ghetto gym where I tried out my new SBD knee sleeves. Did I tell you I bought knee sleeves? I bought a pair on Friday and they're expensive and they're awesome. Very short session on this day as I was overheating as per usual at a ghetto gym. Didn't feel my best as well as I may have pulled something on my hammies after squats so went home shortly after that.

Bench Press (touch & go) 70kg x 5 x 5
- I really don't know about this gym's equipment. Everything felt light. Like seriously, 70kg felt more like 60kg. RPE 7 on these. Wasn't very productive because I didn't have chalk and couldn't push myself. The bench was wobbly, the barbell was super rusted. I hate going to ghetto gyms sometimes.

Squats 130kg x 1 x 3, 120kg x 2 x 3
- I didn't really follow any programming on this day for squats because everything just felt off. I accumulated some volume with my warmup sets and reached a top set of 130kg, after which I dropped back down to 120kg. Still getting used to the sleeves which caused some form changes but either way got it done. RPE 9 on top set and RPE 8 on back off sets.

Accessories.
- For accessories, I did pullups x 2 x 8. I can do 8 now!! Haha.

Meet Prep Week 5 Day 1 (1 February 2017)

First day back in Cyberjaya and back in my good old gym. Guess I'm cutting my training sessions from 4 to 3 this week, again. Oh well, can't be helped. I went all out beast mode on this session from all the pent up energy from the holidays. I tried to get some training in Kuching but it just couldn't happen from all the festivities. Besides, my hammies felt 100% now. Back to the grind.

Squats 105kg x 6 x 4
- I finally got used to the new sleeves on this session and the weight moved pretty flawlessly. The sleeves really give a pop in the hole and keeps my knees warm and fuzzy. No more knee pain or fatigue. My quads are more engaged and I feel more power as I drive the weight up. RPE 8 on these. I also changed another small thing in my form this session, which is my grip. I wrap my thumb around the barbell instead of the usual over, shamelessly copying Jesse Norris' grip. It allows for a much tighter back at the sacrifice of my wrist comfort but after putting on my wrist wraps, it works out just fine. Great squatting session. My hips weren't tight like before and my hammies are back to 100% capacity.

Bench Press (touch & go) 70kg x 5 x 5
- I've decided to up my touch & go weight to 70kg. Though I usually AMRAP the last set on these 5x5 benches, I dialed it down and went for the minimum reps only as to save energy and get used to the load better. RPE 7.5 on these. Most difficult part was the hand-off, which if I was without a spotter, I found it was really difficult as the bench hooks are a tad bit too high. Good session nonetheless. I also experimented wearing my belt on 1 of the set and found that it might help my stay a bit tighter when handling bigger weights. Gonna test it out more in the coming weeks.

Squats 95kg x 3 x 8
- Even more squats. The weight was a bit scary at first but it wasn't that difficult. It felt like cardio though. I was left gasping for air for a couple of minutes after every set. Pleased with the 3x8 squats, really reinforces my technique and form. I'm getting better at minimizing my walkout as much as possible, keeping upper back tight AF, hitting depth without going to low, maintaining good control on the descent and driving my feet through the ground to use my legs more. RPE 8.5 on these.

Deadlift (touch & go) 130kg x 3 x 5
- Like I said, only 3 sessions this week so I'm trying to get in as much of the volume work as I can. Deadlifts felt easy this session. Sucks that I forgot my long socks because the bar kept scraping my shins and thighs. Again, I was supposed to AMRAP the last set but dialed it down to minimum to not kill myself. Nothing much to say about deadlift this time around. Weight moved fast and easy. Grip was good. Belt was awesome. RPE 8.5 on these.

Accessories.
- I wanted to do 2 rowing movements on this session but cut it short. Went and did V-Bar Landmine Row 70kg 1 x 10. Just had no energy to go on after that so decided to pack up and head home. Overall great session. Felt like I had a deload over the holidays.

Meet Prep Week 5 Day 2 (2 February 2017)

Brutal session on my back on this day. My erectors have never been this sore in a while. Part of the reason was probably because the belt was a bit too loose. Last night I went ahead and made it a bit tighter, which made me doubt my decision to get an L size instead of an M size belt. Owh well, I'll bulk up again after the meet so no worries.

A little update on the cut and weight class. MPA already replied to me saying that I've been moved to the 67.5kg class, so by hook or by crook, I cannot back down from my cut now. The cut has been going up and down. I've been successful at keeping my weight between the 74kg-75kg range but finding it difficult to break the 74kg barrier. I'm 5 weeks out from reaching my goal weight of 71kg, so I gotta buckle up and lose at least 500 grams a week on average. If I can get to 71kg I can easily water cut 3kg-4kg on competition week. Cutting makes me so anxious.

Alright, on with log.

Bench Press (competition paused) 77.5kg x 3 x 3, 80kg x 2 x 3
- Started the session with max effort bench in the hopes of saving energy for the deadlift. Usually if I deadlift first, my bench suffers but not the other way around. RPE 8.5 on 77.5kg and RPE 9 on 80kg. I'm playing closer and closer to my max and I can feel that it's helping me handle bigger weights. I also had to self lift off on the 80kg sets and I'm proud to say it was quite manageable. It does take away some energy from the actual work so I'll definitely want to have a lift off on meet day. Great bench session. I can feel my form getting more dialed in and more efficient.

Deadlift (deadstop) 145kg x 3 x 3
- I was having grip issue on this session, not because the grip was failing but my hands felt shredded from the knurling. I take care of my hands and remove the callous once they get too big, but it just hurts this session. Powered through it though and didn't get any skin tear. RPE 8.5 on these. Speed was still good. Didn't feel as tight as I wished because the belt was a bit too loose. Can't easily adjust a lever belt, that's the downside.

Paused Deficit Deadlift 120kg x 3 x 3
- This movement felt really brutal on this particular day. I felt the tension in my hammies, my lower back, even my calves. Tried to maintain a 1-2s pause mid shin at a 2" deficit, but I probably paused for much shorter than that. Felt a bit lightheaded at the end of each set, almost blacking out. Supposed to do 115kg but decided to up the weight and I think it's a good decision. 115kg was a bit too light the previous time I did this movement. RPE 9 on these.

Accessories.
- For accessories, I did 2 back movements which I feel are definitely improving and that makes me happy:

- Pull up BW x 2 x 5, 1 x AMRAP=7
- Lat Pulldown 60kg x 2 x 10, 1 x AMRAP=12

Yo check out the OP man, I revamped the entire damn thing to look a bit more pleasing to the eye. It will also serve me better in recording my current stats and programs.

Meet Prep Week 5 Day 3 (3 February 2017)

Decided to try something a little different on this session, might be something I'd like to do every squat days. I basically worked up to a heavy single of RPE9 in the beginning of my workout as a warmup, after that I did my normal squat programming. This is basically a bastardized Bulgarian method of squatting. I feel this will give me more practice in the heavier range as I am currently always is the submaximal range of weights for squats.

Squats 130kg x 1 x 1, 122.5kg x 3 x 3
- Managed to reach a top single of 130kg on this session. Was quite conflicted on calling it RPE9 since the speed out the hole was really fast but it felt heavy as hell on the descent. Either way, I was happy that I could hit 130kg with relative ease. After that I dropped it to my working weight of 122.5kg and those were RPE 8.5 on their own. Sets of triples at heavier weight is no joke. Also, I tightened my belt the night before and now it fits really snug and tight. Quite difficult to latch at times but the support is well worth the effort.

Bench Press (competition paused) 75kg x 5 x 3
- I was supposed to do manpon press but I forgot my yoga foam block in the car. Owh well, no harm in practicing the competition movement more. The weight moved fast and easily, RPE7.5 at the most. I did however encountered some issue in losing a little bit of tightness in the hole as I pause, but I think that's just because I wasn't paying attention. I believe wearing a belt might alleviate that issue but that also means I would need a spotter, which I don't always have. I'll just have to keep in mind and focus on maintaining tightness the entire duration of the movement. Also, I've decided that I'm sticking with pinky on ring width for this meet, ain't no time to practice new form. I will experiment with index on ring width come the next off season after this meet.

Pin Squats 105kg x 3 x 5
- Pin squat is the devil I tell you. It forces you to really slow down your descent as to not slam the barbell into the pin and stay balanced, at the same time it removes any stretch reflex whatsoever so you have to rely entirely on your actual strength. This was a great session, but brutal nonetheless. I've never felt so much soreness on my VMO. RPE death on these. I really recommend this movement as it teaches you depth, balance and just overall strength.

Accessories.
- For accessories I did some more chest workout for the weekend pump and a back workout to complement it:

- Dumbbell Bench Press 30kg x 3 x 10 I used to be able to only do 8 reps on these, now I can do 10. Definitely seeing improvement there.

- Seated Cable Rows (straight handle) 195lbs x 3 x 15 Also improvement in this accessory movement. 15 was my max AMRAP a few months ago, now it's an easy working weight for me. I can't increase weight on the damn cable machine so I can only increase reps. I aim to be able to rep this weight up to 30 reps soon.

This post has been edited by Npad: Feb 7 2017, 02:35 PM

Weight Cut Log (6 February 2017)

So here I am, contemplating if losing weight is worth it. I've been confirmed to be in the U67.5kg class and as of today, I'm still stuck in the 74kg-75kg range, for the past 3 damn weeks. Obviously, something drastic needs to be done. I know exactly where the pitfalls are in my diet currently, it's the dinner at home which I usually have no control over, and the damn late night McD runs (those nuggets and ice creams are too good man).

From the weight loss trend, it seems that the current diet is ideal for a recomp/maintenance as my recovery has been quite fantastic despite the amount of volume I'm doing in the current. This week marks the beginning of the week 6, which is the last week of hypertrophy block, so the plan is to maintain the same exact diet for just 1-2 more weeks depending on how well my recovery goes.

Week 7 is the beginning of my strength block and week 9 is when I begin the peaking block. The plan is right now to maintain the same diet up week 8 or 9 where my training volume will decrease quite significantly. After that I will begin PSMF in the hope of losing about 4-6kg of fat by competition week (Competition date still TBA as of now). Projected duration of this PSMF diet is 2-3 weeks, depending on when the meet is and how bad I'm doing in losing weight. On meet week I will up the calories a bit to go for maintenance to improve recovery, while doing some water/sodium manipulation a.k.a. water cut, and hopefully, make weight on weigh in day. I will make weight damn it!

So the plan for my PSMF is as below:

Plan of attack

Duration: 2-3 weeks
Calories: 800-1000 calories/day
Protein: 160g/day
Carbs: 20g/day (from veggies)
Fat: 20g-30g/day (from protein sources, lean meat is not easy to eat)
Goal: Reach 70kg by competition week. Water cut on competition week and increase calories to just below maintenance level up to 2 days out from weigh in day.

Meal Plan

Breakfast: 2 scoops of ON 100% whey (240cal, 50g protein)
Lunch: Fried chicken & tofu / Grilled lean steak & a bit of veggies (300cal, 35g protein)
Dinner: 2 scoops of ON 100% whey & scrambled egg with 5 egg whites & 1 whole egg (400cal, 75g protein)
Electrolytes: 1500mg-2000mg of sodium & 750mg-1000mg of potassium supplement
Coffee: A shit ton
Water: 2 liters to 3 liters a day, excluding coffee and shakes

As you can see, this is quite a terrible/pathetic looking plan but this is what's been suggested to me in order to maintain/increase my performance. If I start too soon, I risk compromising my strength gains from my current hypertrophy block. I also want to decrease the amount of time I spend doing this, because I know, this is gonna suck balls. Is it worth it though? I don't know man, there are a few monsters in this weight class as well. I might have a shot for 3rd place maybe. Most people would suggest to not bother with weight manipulation unless I have a shot at winning and/or setting world records, but I am of the opinion that there is value in practicing these things. I learned a lot during my last water cut and I'm sure I'll learn a lot about how to be shredded after running this plan, and that is valuable practice for future meets. So, even if I don't win this meet, if I manage to break or even maintain my own PR at a much lower bodyweight that is still a victory in my books. And I'll learn a new skill along the way.

bro, u sure the pairing the above calorie and carb intake with strength training gonna be a wise choice?

To be completely honest, I have no clue. I have no idea how my body reacts to very little carbs and calories because rarely have I done that before. From what I've read online and what others have suggested, this seems to be a good practice to do around the end of a strength block and the beginning of a peaking block, which is when I'm aiming to do this. The volume is very low compared to now. For example, currently in hypertrophy block I'm doing about 7000 kg worth of squat volume a week. On peaking block I'll be doing about 3000 kg of volume, and it goes down by 1000kg of volume a week, which is a very significant decrease in energy and recovery demands. I'll keep the log updated about the diet and we'll see how it goes. Keeping my fingers crossed through.

My take on your approach is water cut 2-3 kg is fine, losing fat just before a meet is not a good idea imo, you may lose strength in the process.

Yup, that is my concern as well. I just have a lot of fat to lose so I might have some buffer there, the slow and steady method of fat loss is just stalling really badly for me currently. We'll see, if I succeed then this can be a guide for others. If I fail, then we can all learn what not to do. Worst thing that can happen is I don't make weight, no big deal.

Meet Prep Week 6 Day 1 (6 February 2017)

I'm bolding the title from now on, it just looks cooler.

I continued doing what I did last week on squats by doing heavy singles up to RPE 9 before going into my working set. Oh ya, and I bought new shoes specifically for squats. Well, its not Romaleos or Adipower or even Sabo, just a pair of Admiral futsal shoes but the stability it provides compared to chucks is way better. And it's red. Now all my gear is color coordinated. Woohoo!

Squats 135kg x 1 x 1, 107.5kg x 7 x 3
- 135kg was my gym 1RM since August last year. I hit it twice in the gym on 2 separate occasions (both felt like death) and missed it on my previous meet, so it was with great pleasure that I was able to hit this as a top single of the day. It was surprisingly very easy. Walkout was perfect (3 steps walkout), depth was very low (I think I went 2" below parallel), speed was really fast. Adding the heavy singles was a great idea, it really gets me accustomed to handling bigger weights. The working set went really fast as well, 107.5kg moved at RPE 7.5. Overall very pleased with this squat session. Turns out, good shoes, good belt, and good knee sleeves really do make a difference. Too bad I didn't bring my tripod to record the set. I'll be sure to bring it the next squats session this week as I'll attempt to break this PR.

Bench Press (touch & go) 70kg x 4 x 5, 1 x AMRAP=9
- Bench felt a bit off on this session. It was probably the shoes as I wasn't that used to the way it grips the floor, or something, I don't know. But it just felt really heavy in my hands the entire workout. My leg drive wasn't up to par and my upper back wasn't as tight as I want it to be, also felt really fatigued from squats. Oh well, it happens. RPE 8.5 on these. I was able to salvage the terrible session by going AMRAP=9 on the last set which is a rep PR for me at this weight.

Squats 97.5kg x 3 x 8
- This was the worst sets of 8's I've ever felt. While my conditioning has improved, the added heavy singles in the beginning of the session and the general lack of energy from going at a caloric deficit really zapped my energy to abysmal levels. By the last set, it was REP10 for me and it took all the testicular fortitude I could muster in order to finish the set. I was a heaving by the end of it, gasping for breath. The weight did move well though. The speed slowed down by the last set and the last reps, but the form didn't break down significantly. Overall, I hated this but it was good. Thank God this is the last time I'm doing this torturous shit, finally done with hypertrophy block this week.

Accessories.
- For accessories I did Lat Pulldown 65kg x 3 x 10. I was supposed to do some landmine rows as well but my body wasn't having none of, so I packed up and went home shortly after.

This post has been edited by Npad: Feb 7 2017, 09:09 AM

Nice bro. Keep up the log. I enjoyed reading it and atb for yr meet.

Thanks man. I'll definitely write up a meet report once it's done. And also weigh in report. I'm so damn excited for this meet.

Meet Prep Week 6 Day 2 (7 February 2017)

I did it, I finally broke the 74kg plateau barrier. Weighed in last night at 73.8kg. Finally the cut is going somewhere. It's been stuck for weeks damn it. Now I only got 4 weeks to get this cut done or I'm gonna have to do the bloody PSMF thingy. I hope I don't have to resort to that. The session on this day was, meh. It wasn't bad, wasn't great, just "ok" as Saitama would say. It happens.

Deadlift (deadstop) 150kg x 4 x 2
- I've been feeling a lot of general tightness in my lower back as of late. I've been taking my time to foam roll and stretch very lightly before every session in order to prime my body to lift, but I'm guessing the fatigue is just catching up to me. 150kg went great on this session. It moved rather fast, but a bit on the low end. Not as explosive as I'd like but the power is there. No form breakdowns as far as I can feel from my own body's feedback. RPE 8.5 on these. I'm sure I could have thrown in another 3 set but you gotta stick to the program man.

Bench Press (competition paused) 77.5kg x 5 x 3
- The off feeling on bench continued on from the previous session. This time, my left bicep even cramped up on set 4 and on set 5, my bar path swayed backwards causing me to to really fight the bar to remain stable. I don't know what's going on exactly with my bench but again, I have a feeling that the fatigue accumulation is at its top end. The weight wasn't that heavy, it moved pretty fast in my opinion, just that the session was a bit difficult on this particular day. Probably I shouldn't have deadlifted before bench but I really wanted to give more focus on deadlift on this day. RPE 8.5 as well on these though the last set might qualify for an RPE 9.5-10. Almost died there.

Deadlift to Knees 112.5kg x 3 x 8
- I was surprised at how easy this exercise felt when I did it. I can feel my off the floor speed and technique has really improved the past 6 weeks with the bar consistently following the same path and at the same speed when breaking off the floor. Heck I think my hammies has exploded in size. RPE 7 on these. The only concern I have currently is the fact that at the meet we'll be using a deadlift bar instead of a stiff bar which I'm currently training with. A deadlift bar has the tendency to fuck with an explosive type lifter as the whip causes the bar to break off the floor a bit later as compared to a stiff bar, which breaks off as soon as you initiates the lift. I guess I won't really know until meet day, unless I go to QLS and play around with the deadlift bar one of these days.

Accessories.
- I did my usual 2 rowing movements today as accessories:

- Kroc Rows 32kg x 2 x 12. I feel like my Kroc Rows has gotten a bit weaker. May be a result of fatigue or just no energy but it just felt so sluggish on this session.
- Seated Cable Rows (straight handle) 195lbs x 2 x 15, 1 x AMRAP=17. Planned progression for this exercise is to do AMRAP on the last set each time till I reached 20, then I'll try 20 for each set.

Meet Prep Week 6 Day 3 (9 February 2017)

So, on this session, the gym's air conditioning broke down, hell the entire mall didn't have air conditioning. Being a fancy commercial gym, they didn't even have a damn fan. It was hot. So hot I felt like I needed to chew my air before inhaling. Every 2-3 sets I had to change T-shirt. It was not fun last night. BUT, I did manage to hit a new all time PR on squats, that's definitely a plus. Aaaand I went home after that, because I felt like I was overheating. Fuck that. Even today I feel a little bit sick. I'm very susceptible to heat unfortunately. Turn the heat up and I get sick very easily.

Squats 140kg x 1 x 1, 125kg x 4 x 2
- As usual I work up to an RPE 9 single. On this session, I planned on trying 140kg since 135kg went up rather easily the previous session. Once I got to 135kg here, I knew 140kg was in the bag. Attempted it and hit it, without much difficulty. At the time it felt like RPE 9 but after reviewing the video, it looked a lot more like an RPE 8 since the barbell didn't slow down much at all on the way up. Others around me mentioned that I could have added at least 5kg to it. Usually I'll classify an RPE 9 as a classic grinder where the barbell really slows down at the sticking point, but that didn't happen here. I'll take my 140kg, which was my squat goal last year, and leave the actual test for the platform later. After that I did my programmed squats for the day, which was RPE 8. Very very pleased with this session despite the hellish heat and the less than optimal sleep the night before.

Meet Prep Week 6 Day 4 (10 February 2017)

I told you I'm very succeptible to the heat, felt a bit sick on this session with a bit of a sore throat and a slight fever. I felt lethargic like hell on this session despite eating lots more carbs and fats for lunch prior to the training session. It also doesn't help the fact that I forgot my log book so I had to work from memory of what I programmed in for the day.

Bench Press (competition paused) 80kg x 5 x 3
- I decided to start the session with bench press as I felt too fatigued to begin with deadlifts. My energy levels just felt really low on this day. I toyed around with my form a few times, put on the belt, removed the belt, etc. I've decided to stick with no belt for this meet as I felt like my bar path was too deviated when I have it on and I just can't get my arch as high as I need it to be. I don't think I have the time to change my form. One day I'll get a bench belt for this purpose. The weight felt heavy as 88% should feel like, but I was rather pleased with the way the bar moved. It was relatively fast and consistent on sets that I didn't fool around on. RPE 8.5 on these.

Deadlift (touch & go) 132.5kg x 2 x 5, 1 x AMRAP=6
- Deadlift was slow on this session. It didn't feel like a drag but it just felt so slow. My explosiveness was not there on this session. Even the reps were not clean as the left side of the barbell keeps descending faster than the other. Last AMRAP set I failed at 6 reps because my grip failed. I forgot to put on the strap but it's okay, it was much needed grip training. RPE 8 on these, just some light volume work.

Accessories.
- I dragged my ass across the gym to force myself to do at least 2 rowing accessories. I was so lethargic by the end of deadlift. I did Lat Pulldown 65kg x 3 x 10, followed by T-Bar Chest Supported Rows 35kg x 3 x 8.

Meet Prep Week 7 Day 1 (13 February 2017)

Shit it's been a very busy few days and I couldn't update my log till today. Anyhow, some updates. MPA just announced the meet to be held at Utropolis Marketplace on 25th & 26th March, so this gives me about 6 weeks out including this week. So, if you want to see what a powerlifting meet is all about, feel free to come over and spectate and that includes you lingleeyen

On with the log. This day marks the first week of the strength phase, which I'm not too good with. I'm okay with planning for volume and such but peaking is not something I have much of a knack for. I programmed to do all 3 big lifts in a day for this week and the next but decided against that for this week only since I want to do my opener for squats and deadlift twice this week to get more accustomed to heavier weights. Those 2 I'd rather not be on the same day so that's what I'm doing this week.

Squats 135kg x 1 x 1, 120kg x 4 x 3
- 135kg was my gym 1RM for a long time, it crushed me at MPA SAM 2016 back in August 2016. Now, it is my opener. I began my workout on this session by working up to a heavy single with 135kg as daily minimum. I'm running a Bulgarian-esque style peak for squats. If I feel great on that particular session I'd go heavier, if not, I need to at least be able to hit 135kg. I'm really happy to say that it was RPE 7.5-8 at most. Felt really fast and explosive, and light as well to be honest. I used to feel this weight as really heavy on my back. I could have went heavier but I was feeling a wee bit tired and fatigued. After that was some backoff sets with 120kg. I failed set 5 as I shifted the load to my left side too much causing the barbell to hit the safeties and couldn't recover. RPE 8.5 on these. I stopped at set 4.

Bench Press (competition paused) 77.5kg x 5 x 3
- I had really really tight hips on this session. I have a feeling it might have been because of the long hours of being seated. I flew back and forth from Kuching over the weekend and had a whole day of product seminar training at work on that day. Leg drive felt horrible and my hips and lower back were complaining the entire time. The weight itself wasn't that heavy. The bar path did sway backwards on some reps because of the terrible leg drive I got from the tight hips. Overall though, I felt that it was a good session. RPE 8 on these. Bench has not been affected by this cut as of currently so I'm quite pleased with it.

Accessories.
- I finished off the session Landmine Rows 65kg x 3 x 10 while watching a fellow gym goer deadlift with the most terrible form I've ever seen. What do you do in that situation? I've always been the kind that if somebody didn't ask I should just shut the fuck up but man it was horrible seeing him deadlift like that. Oh well. Didn't do too much volume on this session.

Valentine's Day Workout (14 February 2017)

Couples who lift together stay together, or some shit like that. We were gonna go for a date that evening but she wanted to squat, though it had to be a really really short session. I tagged along to fool around at the gym so I didn't bring my chalk, belt, roller, nothing. Figured I wasn't gonna do any serious lifting since I wouldn't have enough time to even warmup properly.

I ended up pulling a beltless, chalkless PR of 157.5kg for a good RPE 8.5. My fingers slipped at the top right as I locked out the weight. Heaviest I've ever pulled beltless before was 130kg I believe, a long long time ago. A Valentine's day well spent.

Meet Prep Week 7 Day 2 (15 February 2017)

I lift on the 26th March in Flight E which is on Sunday. I don't know how to feel about it, on one hand, I don't need to take an off day from work on Friday to weigh in, on another hand I'll be absolutely destroyed come Monday. I'll take leave on Monday lah I think.

On this session I went ahead and worked up to a good heavy single for deadlift. I also learned that after max effort on deadlift, I can forget about trying to put in some volume work because the muscles just wouldn't fire due to CNS fatigue. Fried CNS is real yo. So now I know better in how to plan my training, working up to a top single at RPE 9 on the deadlift prevents me from doing any volume work for it while for squats, the same strategy works quite well and allows me to handle more weight. For bench, well I can bench about 15 to 25 reps everyday in the 80%-95% with no trouble in recovering. Elbows might hurt a bit but nothing a bajillion curls and better form couldn't help.

Deadlift (deadstop) 166kg x 1 x 1
- 166kg was my 1RM previously tested in December. It was slow and grindy before, on this session this weight moved very smoothly with adequate speed, as the video review confirms it. RPE 8.5-9 on this with at least 1 rep left in the tank. I might take this as a second attempt depending on how my opener feels on the meet day, which I think will be 155kg. I will tackle deadlift exactly how I did back in August. Back then I opened with 155kg but failed both subsequent attempts at 167.5kg. The goal for this meet though is to at least hit 175kg, with a 180kg being a cherry on top. Working up to this weight I did get some volume in so it wasn't all that bad. I couldn't get any more work in however, after reaching the top single. My body just said nope, I'm done.
- Ramp up weight:
70kg x 4
90kg x 3
110kg x 3
130kg x 2
142.5kg x 2
152.5kg x 1
157.5kg x 1

Bench Press (competition paused) 70kg x 7 x 3 superset with Barbell Pendlay Rows 60kg x 7 x 3
- I wanted to save some time on this session by supersetting my rowing movement with my bench press. For bench, the weight felt light here. I managed to deal with the tight hips I got the day before so my setup got much better. I had some pain on my left elbow on set 3 and I think I figured out why my elbows have been complaining lately. It's the position where I touch my chest. I experimented with that throughout the session and I found out that if I went a bit lower than normal on my chest, about 1" lower, I get more pec activation and my elbow pains get reduced significantly. Some days I wish I have a coach to point these things out for me, sigh. It was a good session though, I learned a lot of new things. RPE 7.5 on these, didn't feel all that difficult.

Meet Prep Week 7 Day 3 (16 February 2017)

This session was really a meh session. I felt like I was dragging myself to get shit done. My left elbow was really inflamed and it was complaining throughout the workout. I've identified it to be one of the tricep tendons and I have a feeling it's because of the high frequency squatting and benching. It doesn't hurt to bench but it does hurt to stabilize the damn bar which is pretty damn important. Powered through it and made it safely though, thankfully. One thing about meet preps is that I know I will always have some sort of pain throughout the cycle. Last time it was my shoulders. This time it's my elbows.

Squats 135kg x 1 x 1, 122.5kg x 5 x 2
- Like I said, it was a meh session. My daily minimum of 135kg felt heavy on this day, about RPE 8.5. Speed was a bit slow in the middle and again I lost some tightness in my upper back coming out of the hole. I think my hand positioning is not exactly ideal but I doubt, at 6 weeks out, that it is a good idea to play around with a huge variable such as hand placement. The back off work after that felt a bit heavy too, about RPE 8. On set 3 I hit the safety bar on my left side, causing me to lose balance and failed the set, couldn't recover the rep. This makes me think that I might be leaning to my left side a bit too much due to some muscular imbalance, probably a side effect of mixed grip on the deadlift.

Bench Press (competition paused) 80kg x 3 x 3, 2 x 2 superset with Dumbbell Rows 24kg 5 x 5
- 80kg is really difficult unrack on my own especially with a bum elbow. It felt painful to stabilize at the top but if I twist my hands inwards as if to bend the bar, the pain subsides. Huh... Maybe I've been holding the barbell wrongly all these years. The weight moved fast and efficient though, especially with the slight adjustment on where I touch the barbell on my chest, which I experimented on during the previous session. RPE 8.5 on these. I could have done 3 reps for each of the last 2 sets but I didn't feel like pushing it too far. Can't afford an injury now man. I supersetted with dumbbell rows. I didn't call them Kroc rows which I always do as I only did 5 reps per hand per set at only 24kg. Hardly anything difficult but good enough as an accessory for this block.

Accessories.
- I decided to get a pump on my quads before I went home to aid recovery of the lower body, so I did Leg Extensions x 3 x 20 at some random weight. I didn't bother checking, it just felt alright.