Meet Prep Week 7 Day 4 (17 February 2017)

Aight, this entire week has been painful. Started getting elbow pains on Wednesday and it got worse on this session, up to the point that I didn't dare to do the programmed manpon presses after my squats. My warmup felt terribly awful with the bar swaying back and forth with 0 consistency, so I took that out of this training session. Plan is to take a deload next week, I think my body needs it. While deloading, I plan to do a mini crash diet, eating 150g of protein a day, whatever fat that comes with that and 0-30g carbs, full on keto. I don't think I'll need the carbs on a deload week so I hope to accelerate my fat loss a bit. As of writing I am sitting at 73.6kg with 0 drop in strength. I need to hit 71kg-72kg in another 4 weeks.

On with the log.

Squats 115kg x 6 x 2
- The goal with this squat session is to train my speed and upper back tightness. I programmed the weight to be slightly heavy but still something I can handle for 6 sets. The entire session was a bit miserable due to my left elbow and my setup couldn't be as tight as I'd like it to be. The weight did move fast and easy though so no big deal there. I practiced my walkout a lot also in this session. Off season I will train a 2 step walkout ala JP Cauchi's form but for now, I'll stick with my 3 step walkout. RPE 8.5 on these which wasn't too bad. Lower back was complaining a bit though so I had to be extra careful. I pretty much squatted, deadlifted or did a combination of both 5 straight days this week and my lower back was starting to really show signs of fatigue.

Deadlift (deadstop) 132.5kg x 8 x 2
- I didn't get to do any volume work for deadlift prior to this session so I decided to add these in. 8 x 2 is perfect for when I'm trying to train for speed and to limit the fatigue on my CNS. Truth be told I didn't even break a sweat after this deadlift session, as compared to my squats which had me soaking wet in sweat. Speed was a bit slow as well like my squats, I just felt a bit beat up after a long week of training. Good session though. RPE 8 on these.

Accessories.
- The gym was a mess on this day. I just can't stand it when plates are strewn about the platform and power rack where I usually train all the time. So for a cooldown accessory I did Plate Cleanup 10 x 10 (or something like that). Fuckers just don't put their plates back on the plate tree. It's right fucking there. Boils my blood man.

Meet Prep Week 8 Day 1 (20 February 2017)

That elbow pain I had last week, it's almost gone. But I'm not gonna risk a real injury by not giving it time to get back to 100%. My lower back is feeling a bit fatigued too the past few weeks. That is why I've decided to take this week as a deload week. I have no set program for deload. Basically I'll be doing a much lighter version the competition SBD and maybe 1 or 2 accessories. I'd rather take this time to work on technique and form rather than work on getting some work volume in, so I'll be doing sets of doubles and triples only, even though some of the weights are like my 10RM weights. Also, since it is deload week, I will be avoiding carbs this entire week to help me with my cut. I won't be training really hard so I don't think the loss of energy will be much of an issue. This will give me a greater deficit which will hopefully let me break my weightloss plateau.

On with log. Aight, I'm also gonna note the RPE of each weight next to it instead of putting it in the comments to make it easier for me to pull out the data for when I need it next time. And I'll underline the exercise I did, just for tidiness sake.

Squats 95kg x 6 x 2 @RPE 6, 130kg x 1 x 1 @RPE 7.5, 135kg x 1 x 1 @RPE 8
- 95kg was a joke for sets of doubles. I don't think anything below RPE 7 is beneficial in terms of training aside from being warmups. I've done this weight for 8-10 reps before. Either way, it was much needed rest for my back and elbow. I focused on speed, form and technique on this session, reinforcing some cues that I tend to forget. I'm currently thinking of pulling my hands inwards a bit more to create better tightness in the upper back which has been an issue for me the past few weeks. It's risky to changing form this near to a meet but I think it will be beneficial. Next session will be an experiment to find the best hand placement. The top single of the day was basically my opener/daily minimum. It should've been much easier than RPE 8 but I think that's just fatigue and lack of energy. Next time I'll do the top single in the beginning of the session like I always did.

Bench Press (competition paused) 60kg x 6 x 3 @RPE 7 superset with Dumbbell Rows 26kg 6 x 6 @RPE whatever
- Bench felt weird the first few warmup sets and working sets. It was as if I forgotten how to bench; bar path inconsistent, bad unrack, butt coming off the bench, scapula detracting on
some reps. I got my shit together after set 2 though and got my groove back. Again, I focused on form, technique and speed to reinforce cues. Elbow held up pretty well too, so that was good. No pain whatsoever so I think I can go a bit heavier the next session. Superset is proving to be a really good way to save time so I will continue doing this going into off season later, despite the extra effort to set up the exercises I want to do.

Deadlift (deadstop) 110kg x 6 x 2 @RPE 6.5
- Deadlift was great on this session. I hardly even sweat on these but I achieved what I intended; to give rest to my back and work on technique and form. I found that shorter setup at the bottom produces a much smoother rep every time so from now on I will try to spend as little time as possible setting up my grip. Not much to say about deadlift for now, it's been going really great lately.

Accessories
- Again, my accessories consisted of cleaning up the gym of plates strewn about the general vicinity of the platform and power rack. I couldn't give a fuck about the rest of the gym but I just have to have my "temple" clean and tidy. Quite a good cool down exercise to be honest even though I'm filled with spite the entire time.

Meet Prep Week 8 Day 2 (21 February 2017)

This session felt like one of those grind days, where you just grind and grind even though you're fatigued, tired, and want nothing more than some massage and lots of sleep. The lack of energy is not that bad IMO, I can live with this. Keto is easy so far, the hunger is very unsubstantial. Besides, it will be only for a week. What's bothering me is the fact that everything felt strained, everything felt fatigued, everything felt sleepy. It was still a deload session so the weights I moved weren't that heavy but still, it just wasn't one of those great sessions. Well, grind is the name of the game.

Squats 130kg x 1 x 1 @RPE 7.5, 135kg x 1 x 1 @RPE 8.5, 100kg x 5 x 2 @RPE 7
- Funny how 135kg done in two days in a row turned it from RPE 8 to RPE 8.5. I experimented with a new grip today. Much narrower to get my upper back as tight as possible. It felt different, now the bar position on my back is more mid bar than low bar. I found the walkout to be a tad more difficult as well as the bar became more difficult to balance. However, I did in fact engage my traps and rear delts a lot more and my elbows could get below the bar more comfortably which in turn reduced my elbow discomforts. Plus my wrists weren't hurting as well as now the weight of the bar is mostly on my back and not my hands. I will need to practice this form as I think this might as well be the form for me.

Bench Press (competition paused) 65kg x 5 x 3 @RPE 7 superset with Barbell Rows 110lbs 5 x 6 @RPE whatever
- In the previous session, my elbows didn't hurt but my form was a bit fucky. This session, my left elbow did give some issue but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle. The weight moved fairly consistently and I was really pleased with that. Technique was on point, bar path was good, arch was getting better. Overall a great bench session. I discovered in this session the reason why my butt has been shooting up from the bench when I perform a paused rep. It is because of lost of tightness from the self unracking technique I talked about a few posts before. I just couldn't reset my setup properly with the bar right above my face. Best solution, get a hand off on heavier sets and unrack normally on lighter sets instead of the butt off unracking technique.

Deadlift (deadstop) 130kg x 5 x 2 @RPE 7.5 superset with Abwheel Rollout 3 x 8
- I'm really loving the concept of a giant set/super set where I can get a lot more done with less time. I've decided to add some abs component after deadlift as I have been neglecting abs a little bit for the past few weeks. It actually helped my deadlift because my abs were engaged more and I was able to create a more rigid core via Valsalva. I did feel some lost of tightness in my upper back on this deadlift session though but I think that's just due to fatigue. I practiced my technique on this session and I feel confident with a short setup now. The setup starting from grip setup all the way to lift initiation takes around 1-2 seconds now and my reps feel a lot more explosive and powerful.

Accessories
- I think I might remove accessories as I intend to do giant sets starting on my off season later. All giant set/super set and it saves a heck of a lot of time.

Meet Prep Week 8 Day 3 (24 February 2017)

This session did not have any planned workout, I went to the gym with the goal to just do what my body feels like training. Turns out it wasn't that bad. I didn't like the non-structure of it though so I cannot be doing that often.

Squats 135kg x 1 x 1 @RPE 7.5, 140kg x 1 x 1 @RPE 8, 110kg x 5 x 2 @RPE 7
- Squats felt awesome on this session. I went ahead and tried my PR of 140kg again for shits and giggle and guess what, it wasn't so hard at all. I did slow down at the usual sticking point but the whole rep was smooth without much struggle at all. I can gladly say that the new hand placement is definitely helping since I can keep my upper back much tighter making the rep smoother. After the top set, I did some doubles for some volume. Overall, great session. I have a feeling that my squat will eventually overtake my deadlift one day as I can feel like my deadlift progress is slowing down.

Deadlift (deadstop) 142.5kg x 10 x 1 @RPE 8
- I decided to train my setup and speed on this session so I slapped on 3 plates and pulled 10 singles. Speed was good. Slowed down by set 7 but that's pretty normal. Wasn't heavy per say, but I was definitely feeling the fatigue from the squats beforehand.

This post has been edited by Npad: Mar 9 2017, 04:17 PM

Meet Prep Week 9 Day 1 (28 February 2017)

It's peaking week baby. Time to lift some heavy ass weights and train my CNS to fire the muscular motor unit I've built throughout the hypertrophy weeks and the months of bulking before. Deload last week really helped in letting me recover so that I can come back stronger this week. I also bought some bands of unknown tension from SuperSave for really cheap to do some reverse banded squats on this session.

Squats (singles) 130kg @RPE 7, 135kg @RPE 7.5, 140kg @RPE 8
- Ever since last week I really deviated from the training plans I've programmed in the beginning of this prep cycle. I've been going for a day to day feels based programming ala RTS a bit, and I found it to be better in the way that I don't feel like I'm sandbagging just to finish up the preplanned workout. On this session I squeezed in a lot of volume in my warm-up to my working weights. I only did 3 singles and they felt great. my all time 1RM of 140kg felt like something I could push to do for a triple. Squat strength is definitely coming out of the woodworks and I can't wait to test it out on the platform.

Reverse Banded Squats of unknown band tension (singles) 150kg@RPE 7.5, 160kg @RPE 8.5, 170kg @RPE 10
- I could have measured the band tensions at the bottom position of the squat but I decided against it to keep the mystery alive, for now. The aim for this exercise was for me to not get intimidated by big weights. Seeing more than 3 plates on each side is a bit scary when you've never threaded into that territory before. I also wanted to have a feel of heavy weights on my back, hence the reason I let the bands stay loose at the top. I might measure the bands tension next week when I want to dial in the exact weight I am doing. The session went great in my opinion. I crushed that 170kg squat, even with bands, I was really glad I could grind it all the way up. It really helps with the mental side of things.

Squat Walkout 180kg for 10 seconds @RPE Death
- This was one of the longest 10 seconds I've had in recent memory. Unracking this weight (4 plates) was no joke, it really took all my effort to stay tight and not collapse under it. The usual rack height I used was a bit too tall as well as I got so compressed that I lost about 0.5"-1" in height, maybe. All I know is that it didn't clear the J-hooks the way it usually does. It was difficult to even rack it back up as I had to tip toe a bit and I really felt drained from staying tight the entire time. It felt good though, allowed me to really dial in my walkout. As my squats get heavier, I cannot afford to waste energy in being inefficient with my walkout.

Bench Press (with competition commands) 70kg x 5 x 3 @RPE 8 superset with Barbell Rows 110lbs 5 x 6 @RPE whatever
- I had my GF to give me commands on this session. I usually have no frame of reference to how long I should pause, getting these commands really help ingrained the habits of waiting for the commands and to actually get the bar to stop on top of the chest to get that press command. Weight moved fast and easy but there were some inconsistencies on some reps on where the bar touches my chest. All I can do is keep practicing. Next training session will be maximal and supramaximal weights on the bench. This will be fun.

Accessories
- I did some supinated front raises with a 4kg dumbbell while waiting for my GF to get done. Got the shoulders moving and warm, a very good prehab exercise if you have the time.

This post has been edited by Npad: Mar 9 2017, 04:17 PM

Meet Prep Week 9 Day 2&3 (2&3 March 2017)

I'll admit, I slacked this entire week in either logging my training, planning my training or both. I caught the shutter bug recently, and I've been reading photography tutorials, searched the garage sales for camera and lenses and all that jazz. I got quite the obsessive personality so when something new caught my eye my entire attention will go to it. Finally got my first DSLR this past weekend and for now, my attention can go back to logging my training. This log will be a bit different than normal as I can't do commentary on things that happened a while back, as I can't exactly say how I felt or the RPE for those sessions. It will be quite pointless, but nonetheless, it will be a reference point on what numbers I've hit this week.

2 March 2017

- Bench Press 75kg x 5 x 3

- Deadlift Singles
- 142.5kg
- 152.5kg
- 157.5kg

- Sumo Deadlift Singles
- 142.5kg
- 152.5kg
- 157.5kg
- 166kg

3 March 2017

- Squats 100kg x 5 x 3

Bench Press Singles (with competition command)
- 80kg
- 85kg
- 90kg

I really need to get a Slingshot to properly overload the bench press. That's definitely next in my equipment acquisition list.

Meet Prep Week 10 Day 1 (6 March 2017)

It's the 2nd week of peaking and over-reaching. This session was the last heavy session for deadlift before hitting only openers next week and some very light work the week after. Only 3 more weeks, I am currently feeling a lot stronger and I'm ready but the nerves are starting to hit me. Also, some updates on my weight, last week my lightest was 71.9kg, this morning was 73.1kg. This is definitely because of the carbs I eat during the weekends that's making me retain water. When I went to a medical checkup on Saturday I was 71kg! I'm not sure which scale to trust now. I know for a fact that I am losing fat, I just gotta trust the process. It's still a bit nerve wrecking though. I will make weight no matter what.

Squats (singles) 130kg @RPE 7, 135kg @RPE 8, 140kg @RPE 9
- The reason I did squats on this session was to warm up. I didn't put in much volume work in the warm up leading up to the top 3 singles and I even forgot my knee sleeves. I was wearing my chucks which I wear only for deadlift. Safe to say I was out of my elements. I did still manage to hit 140kg even though it was a bit of a grinder. I am feeling very confident with my squats right now, my setup is way tighter and secure, my descent is slow and controlled, and my ascent is more explosive to get me through that stupid mid point sticking point.

Deadlift (singles) 155kg @RPE 8, 166kg @RPE 8.5, 171kg @RPE 9
- All singles today. Well I did some touch and go with weights below 100kg for warmup but after that, I focused on singles and getting the bar moving as fast as possible, while being as smooth as possible. I hit a new all time PR on this session with 171kg. I expected as much, I would've been disappointed if I didn't manage to get that. A new problem reared it's ugly head and that is my damn grip. My left hand could barely hold on to 171kg, even though the whole movement was actually pretty easy. It was smooth and fast, much smoother than my opening weight of 155kg. In the end I only managed to hold the barbell at the top for maybe 1 second after lockout, after which it just slipped through my fingers. I'm not sure if I could increase my grip strength in 3 weeks but damn it I will try. Gonna add in some isometric holds for the remaining few sessions I have.

Accessories
- I did cardio for once, first time in this entire damn cycle in fact, I think. Me being a fatass, I chose the seated bicycle machine and just cycled for 10 mins while maintaining heart rate at 145BPM. Got quite the sweat going.

This post has been edited by Npad: Mar 9 2017, 04:18 PM

Meet Prep Week 10 Day 2 (7 March 2017)

I'm logging the training from this session about 2 days late, because yesterday, some idiot decided to ram my car from behind while I was waiting for the red light to turn green. Fuck my life. Now I don't have a car to go to work for the next 2 months and it ain't even my fault. This is some added stress that I really don't need to prep for this meet man. I'm quite bummed to be honest. Nevertheless, life goes on. Training goes on.

On this session I basically bro it out. Did some feet up bench press as to let my lower back recover a bit. It is a bit painful, seems like the old injury flared up again. Doesn't hurt when I squat or deadlift though. So I'm pretty sure it's because of my arch on the bench. I don't think the technique is at fault, I think I just need a deload on the back as I'm quite beaten up in that regards currently.

Legs Up Bench Press(Competition Paused) 70kg x 5 x 3 @RPE 8.5 superset with Barbell Rows 70kg x 5 x 5 @RPE 8.5
- Like I said above, I wanted to give my lower back a break. Doing leg up bench press allows me to stay tight while remaining as flat as I can. A Larsen press is way more difficult and probably more useful for the intention I had on this session, but I really didn't want to do something that was wildly different variation of the bench press. Supersetted with barbell rows as usual to increase my efficiency and conditioning. Not much to say about it really, was quite easy and I worked up a good sweat.

Flat Dumbbell Bench Press 26kg x 3 x 10 @RPE 6
- I did this one purely out of vanity sake. I was being a bro essentially. I chased the pump and boy was I pumped. Quite sore today though, not sure if that's good or bad. Very easy weight that I think I could do at least 15-20 reps each set. I'll incorporate a lot of these in my off season later. I need bigger pecs.

Tyre Flip ?kg x 3 x 8
- The gym recently opened an outdoor section where they have a large tyre, a battlerope, a grass turf and large variety of plyo boxes. I played around with tyre flips on this session, simply because it was fun. It's nice to work out shirtless once in a while getting all dirty with a damn tyre. Really worked my forearms and traps doing this. I think I might be able to improve my grip strength as well as conditioning if I incorporate more of these. No idea how heavy the tyre was though, it was light enough even my GF could do it for a few reps with ease and her max deadlift is 95kg.

This post has been edited by Npad: Mar 9 2017, 04:19 PM

Meet Prep Training Reflection

I was looking at my training plan for this strength/peaking phase and man do I suck at following a program. More so than that, I think I really suck at writing a program when it comes to peaking and overreaching.

Base building and hypertrophy is easy, I have a good idea of what works well currently. Full body workout works best. For squats, multiple sessions per week with an emphasis on submaximal weight ~70%-80% works well. Also, huge volume for squat works well. No need for fancy variations. For bench, extreme frequency and going ~75%-90% and undulating volume works best. So if I train 4 times a week, I need to bench 4 times a week. I also need to perform at least 1 variation per session to assist any weak points. For deadlift, a shit ton of variation works well. Just 1 session of normal deadlift a week is fine, with weights ranging from 75%-85% with medium volume. The assistant variations are what I think contributed the most to my deadlift gains recently, as I really pounded on the off the floor speed weakness.

However, for peaking and overreaching, there are so many factors that I did not even consider at the time of the writing. I neglected the effects of the accumulated fatigue on my joints, the weight loss plan, feasibility of doing multiple singles at above 90%, and much more. I've learned that doing banded variations allow me to go supramaximal which helps mentally in being confident, and physically in allowing me to experience the weight in a controlled manner. I also learned that my elbows can't take the constant abuse when going near 100% on squats or bench so the exercise selection needs to be revamped. I will probably write a review and lessons that I've learned coming off of this training cycle later after the meet or during weigh in week where I don't expect to be training much.

Anyhow, I didn't train yesterday as I couldn't get to the gym on time. No car remember. My ride was a bit late but it's ok, no harm done. Today, I am planning to do banded squats again to train at supramaximal weights and probably some light weight bench press. I am going off program and by feel. Next week is opener practice week so it's all on cruise control from then on. All I gotta do is make sure I stay healthy all the way until game day. I can do that at least.

Meet Prep Fuckarounditis (12 March 2017)

Who said one can't fall into the traps of fuckarounditis coming into a meet?

Last week has been shitty to say the least. I didn't get to train on Thursday and Friday because of transport issues and such. All because some idiot decided hit my car.

Anyhow, since it was a boring Sunday with no plans, me and GF decided to go do some bouldering at PCP. Fun little conditioning session. Sweat balls man. And my forearms, gawd... I'm just still too fat for rock climbing or bouldering I think. Just holding on to my own body weight took a lot of effort. At least I had a good forearms workout to hopefully improve my grip strength.

Also, on Saturday I went to the hospital to get the results of my medical check up. I'm healthy as an ox, except for the part where my good cholesterol is a bit low. I'm also very obese according to BMI, but we all know how "well" that applies to people who lift. However, it's apparent that my hate of cardio is affecting my health. The doc prescribed 30 minutes LISS cardio at >100BPM at least once a week to combat this. I knew avoiding cardio was gonna come back to haunt me one day. Welp, this coming off season I'll program a cardio and conditioning day I guess, since we have the tyre outside anyway. Actual powerlifting training will be 3 days so total training days will be 4 days a week as per usual.

Meet Prep Week 11 Day 1 (13 March 2017)

Final heavy sessions this week. I'm not entirely sure if I will deadlift heavy this week though, I might just work up to my opener and do some isometric holds on those. My body is feeling strong, but a deload/total rest is definitely needed very soon. I feel very beat up. Bodyweight has been hovering about 72kg-73kg range so I have about 5kg to water cut. That's about 7% which, while feasible, is definitely on the high side. Nothing to lose sleep over though, I can do this.

Squats (singles) 130kg @RPE 7, 135kg @RPE 8, 140kg @RPE 9
- I worked up to 140kg on this session. The feeling of the top single was really heavy, I actually thought I stopped in the middle of the squat but reviews from my training partner (my GF) says otherwise. The bar moved fast and without much struggle. It didn't stop as I perceived, nor did it slow down. I am confident to hit 135kg as my opener then 142.5kg as my second for a small PR. I will then go for either 145kg, 147.5kg or 150kg depending on how I feel on meet day. I am definitely aiming for that 150kg though.

Banded Squats (singles) 145kg @RPE 7, 150kg @RPE 7.5, 155kg @RPE 8, 160kg @RPE 9, 165kg @RPE 9.5, 170kg @RPE 10
- I looped the bands a bit differently this time as compared to the last time I did banded squats. I made it so that it has less tension in order to make the movement more difficult. It shows when 170kg was RPE 10. I was literally stuck in the middle and grinded like hell to get it up. I was loud, I was screaming, I didn't hold back nothing on that last single. I'm ready. There's nothing in my attempt list that my back can't support. The only issue is standing back up with it. Slight thing to work on is staying tight while racking the weight. I noticed my self losing tightness when racking the weight causing me to collapse a bit. I need to keep myself tight even after the movement. I experienced some pain in my ribs and spine due to this on this session as I was compressed without my muscles bracing for it.

Meet Prep Week 11 Day 2 (14 March 2017)

Didn't have any serious training planned for this session as I was feeling very beat up from the squat overload the day before. I decided to do some light-medium bench press to practice on my form and some conditioning work. Also, I fucking hate people. I really wish to have a home gym one day. Some idiot decided that in the middle of my set was the best time to load the machine next to me. Inconsiderate bastards, they almost knocked the barbell in my hands a few time. I seriously lashed out this time and yelled at them. So, PSA, like seriously, I do 1 rep, it takes 5 seconds. Please, wait till I'm done to load your machine. I wait for you to be done loading your machine before even laying down on the bench. I know you're done with your set, you want to load for you buddy. Just wait, please. You are risking MY life because you couldn't be bothered to wait 5 seconds. I think I made myself really clear last night. One day, I really hope to graduate from a commercial fuckboy gym and go to a real training facility.

Bench Press (Competition Paused) 75kg x 3 x 4 @RPE 7.5, 80kg x 3 x 1 @RPE 8, 60kg x 1 x AMRAP=8 @RPE 7
- Nothing too serious on bench on this session. Everything was smooth and fast. I even gave myself a lift-off at 80kg with ease; this was not really comfortable for me 2 weeks ago. Next session will be the last bench session and I will overload this time using the bands again. I need to get used to heavy-ish weights.

Barbell Rows (with body English) 80kg x 3 x 4, 60kg x 3 x 8
- As usual, just did some rows as an antagonistic movement to my bench. This might be the last heavy-ish rows for this cycle. I even cheated on most of it. I don't give a fuck about rows, the same way most people don't give a fuck about their squats. After this I will drop most accessories just to reduce fatigue. I'm seriously really fatigued. After this meet I will take a good long week off the weights and just gonna do some conditioning and cardio.

Tyre Flips 100kg x 3 x 10
- I found out the tyre weight today, it was 100kg apparently. Did some "cardio" tyre flips as a finisher of the day. Gotta get that heart pumping.

Totally know that feeling bro. An idiot decided that my bench - out of like 3 or 4 benches, all few steps away - was the best place he could unload his weight on. I was grinding to push my bar up at that time and he went "wham" "wham". What the fck. On a bad day I swear I would have told him off, and maybe even more.

I occupy the bench means it's my zone. Even encounter some who tried to squeeze their way through the gap between the bars. Hit the gym but unwilling to take a few steps more, what the fck. Gym etiquette means shit to some apparently.

Somebody actually walked into the bar before. Lucky for me it was really light and just a warmup set, about 60kg I believe. Still took all my strength to regain balance though and my left thumb was so sore the day after because most of the weight hanged on it. I had wrist issue on that hand for a few months due to that incident. If that bar were to fall on my chest that day, at best my ribs would have cracked, at worst I would have died. Man did that guy get a scolding from me, I haven't seen him in the gym ever since then. A lot of these people act like little children in the gym, never aware of their surroundings. They think the gym is a playground where they play with the barbell.

Yeah, fck around and generally have no idea about what they or anyone else are doing in the gym. Danger in the gym? They think it's a myth.

Meet Prep Week 11 Day 3 (16 March 2017)

I overloaded my bench on this session. Wanted to get more than 1 set but my back couldn't take it no more. How I did it was, using my band, I looped it on my elbows across my chest like a pseudo slingshot. One day I'll get a slingshot when somebody brings in their product to Malaysia. Are you listening, fitness product retailers? Hmm, StrengthApparel, StandardIssueGears, anybody? Please. I've heard nothing but good things about this thing.

Squats (singles) 130kg @RPE 7.5, 135kg @RPE 8.5, 135kg @RPE 9, 135kg fail
- As usual I start the bench session with squats. I didn't bring my sleeves or wear my shoes designated for squats this time around as I wanted to train bench. Worked up to my opening weight of 135kg. Wanted to hit it 3 times but the 3rd set I misgrooved and failed the set. I think I dropped too low and I was pitched too far forward making me unable to recover. No big deal though it did make me rethink what my opening weight should be. I do not want to miss my opening squat, no sir. I might bump it down to 132.5kg.

Pseudo Slingshot Press 85kg x 1 x 3 @RPE 7.5, 90kg x 1 x 2 @RPE 8.5, 95kg x 1 x 1 @RPE 9.5
- Like I said above, I wanted to overload my bench press on this session and did a band bench press aka pseudo Slingshot press. 90kg is my current gym 1RM and this setup allowed me to hit it twice with at least 2 more reps in the tank. The I proceeded to hit a 95kg single with at least 1 more rep in the tank. This thing is amazing. Makes me wonder how well a actual Slingshot would work. Anyhow I hit what I wanted but couldn't go on because of my back. I've injured my back in the past by hyperextending in the deadlift, so now whenever I arch on the bench press, I get some pain in the soft tissue there. I need to get my lower back stronger which will be a prime focus next off season, along with bigger pecs and arms.

Cardio x 30 mins @ 140BPM
- I needed to wait for my GF to be done with her workout so decided to do some cardio. For once, my training session got done within 1 hour. I skipped accessories on this session as I was feeling really beat up. Cardio was good, was really relaxing. I sat on the seated bicycle machine and cycled 15 mins, then I went to the treadmill and walked for 15 mins. 140BPM is perfect as I can browse Reddit and Instagram with ease. Makes the time pass much quicker. The gym regulars were actually shocked to see me do cardio and threw some banters here and there about my weight and such. Haha.

Meet Prep Week 11 Day 4 (17 March 2017)

Training is done. I am finally finished with this cycle of training. It is time to rest up, deload and get my body ready to lift some heavy ass weight. 1 week out baby! Those of you who want to see what powerlifting is about, come watch us lift next week at Utropolis Marketplace in Glenmarie on 25th (morning to evening) and 26th March (morning to noon). I will be lifting in flight E on the 26th. It's free yo, just come and sit down on any of the chairs facing the stage where the lifts are gonna happen. Be prepared to hear a lot of shouting and cheering.

I think I did well in this peaking phase. I did flare up an old injury which is my hyperextended back, but it doesn't hurt or anything. Only hurts when I arch my back in the bench. It is most likely due to fatigue and the overreaching nature of a peaking phase, but we will see. I've kinda figured out my attempts as well, so here they are.

Squats
(1st) 135kg
(2nd) 140kg
(3rd) 145kg/147.5kg/150kg

Bench Press
(1st) 85kg
(2nd) 90kg
(3rd) 92.5kg/95kg/97.5kg

Deadlift
(1st) 160kg
(2nd) 170kg
(3rd) 175kg/177.5kg/180kg

If I manage to hit my YOLO numbers on all my 3rd attempts, best case scenario I will get a total of 427.5kg which will give me a Wilks score of 329.6. Potentially a 63.97 Wilks increase from my previous Wilks of 265.63 with total at 367.5kg. Woohoo! LET'S GO!

Alright, enough with the ramblings, onwards with the log.

Pseudo Slingshot Press 85kg x 1 x 3 @RPE 8, 90kg x 3 x 2 @RPE 9
- Despite my back nagging me, I decided to overload on the bench again today because overloading the squat or deadlift this close to the meet is generally a bad idea. I did my pseudo slingshot press again with the band and was able to get doubles on my current 1RM, for 3 sets. I think come meet day, I might have a shot at hitting 95kg or more depending on how well the day goes. Surprisingly though, I was able to self lift off with 90kg.. I really wanted to add in super heavy holds with 140kg, but I didn't have a way to do that safely. And besides, my back was really whining by this point I decided to call it a day. Overall, good session. I can't wait to test out my bench press. I have a long way to go before I can even stand toe to toe with some of the competitors in this federation, but I'm really happy with how much my bench press has improved. Potentially, I progressed 10-15kg on my bench press in a span of 7 months.

Deadlift Opener 157.5kg x 3 x 1 @RPE 8
- I finished the day off with some deadlifts. I worked up to my opening weight and just did 3 singles on it. It felt pretty much like a warmup. My grip can definitely get better but for now I think it's ready to hold on to my planned attempts. Did a lot of technique analysis on this session as I ended up as an impromptu coach for somebody in gym. Apparently, I made a new friend. Shared my cues and my technique breakdown to this fella, which in turn allowed me to be critical to my own technique. Deadlift is feeling good. I'm definitely happy to say that I have effectively eliminated that habit of hyperextending at the top, which brought me this pain in my back in the first place. No pain whatsoever during this session.

Off topic post. I haven't trained the past few days to rest and recover, the most I've done the past couple of days are tyre flips, sled push and some cardio. So, I had time to browse other forums here. Man, I never knew such a vile and sickening place like Kopitiam exist. I really hope I never meet some of these people in real life. It's almost as terrible as /b in 4chan. I lost my cool last night. I'm probably banned there now. Maybe I'm banned sitewide, who knows.

First rule on kopitiam is not to be triggered by whatever they may say as they are trolls trying to provoke people.
If you didn't say anything too racist,you should be fine.

Yeah, I don't think I can stand it there. Best avoid it I guess. Such a fucked up place. Even /b has some human decency.