Heavy Bench Day at The Press

It was heavy bench training day at The Press this morning. I went in with the mindset of knowing I need to ramp it up with this lift. I wore my Titan F6 training shirt, which is looser, and it actually worked pretty well today.

Bench Presses
45x10
45x5
65x3
85x1
105x1
125x1

Titan shirt on...
145x1

Heavy bench single for today...
155x1

Drop-set with reps...
145x2

Board Presses (2 boards)
165x2

Decline Bench
135x3
145x3

Weighted Decline Crunches (crunches on the decline bench, holding a plate over my chest to add weight to the reps)
25x20x3

Low Ab Crunches (0 = unweighted)
0x20x3

I paused all of my bench and board press reps and found that this works pretty well. It almost seems the pause gives me that one-second of switching gears in my mind where I can focus on the upward motion -- like what I envision at meets.

I choose the number of reps and sets I do, based on how close I am to the end of my training cycle. The closer I am to the end, the fewer the sets and reps, and the heavier the weights. I am doing 3 "mini-cycles" of four weeks each for the bench press, each one peaking progressively. And I never jump ahead of schedule, regardless of my strength level. I pre-planned a single of 155 today and nothing heavier. Next week, it will be 165. The following week, it will either be 170 or 175.

This was how all of my training used to be set-up when I first started full power training; it was based on the Gaugler Routine (Rick Gaugler's). (For the squat and deadlift, I will be doing longer training cycles of 6 weeks.) Rickey Dale Crain had originally set me up with my first powerlifting training routines, back in 2002/2003. Much of it has stayed the same and used the same progressive template, but with various modifications over the years. For example, I used to have many more assistance exercises that would follow the basic lifts, but I have cut them out to save time or the need for recovery.

It felt like a strong day of training for me, although I am still sore from yesterday's volume. Mitch, my son Glen, and I headed out to Jake's in Maplewood for lunch with Mike and Jane Seigler afterwards -- great time talking with them! (If you ever want to have an awesome post-training burger, they have a real good selection on their menu...the Garlic Burger is da bomb.)

Post-Thanksgiving Deadlifts

My training schedule can sometimes be... let's say, flexible (and when I look back at my calendar of how 2008's training went, it's amazing how I have even maintained my strength, let alone made gains with the deadlift -- it was all OVER the place!). I typically pull on Wednesday or Thursday evenings, but with Thanksgiving this week, my deadlift training was pushed over to today. Recently, Mitch changed his training routine and schedule up, which means he's squatting as an "early-bird" on Fridays now -- and I'd totally forgotten. Long story short, he asked if I wanted to ride with him to The Press at 9:15 am, so my schedule changed too, and I deadlifted this morning earlier than expected.

I'm posting this in the evening, and I am already feeling it! It's too bad the hot tub closes early at the IGH Community Center tonight, or I would have made it a point to get in there for sure.

I'm doing two 6-week training cycles for this lift, the first one ending with a projected goal of 335 (or possibly 340).

Sumo DLs (except 1st set)

Warm-ups...
45x6 (conventional)
45x6 (sumo)
135x1
165x1
195x1

DL suit on...
225x1 (straps down)
255x1

Heavy single for today...
290x1 (straps up)

Drop-set with reps...
260x3x2 (1st set, straps down... 2nd set, straps up)

Conventional DLs:
230x3x2 (2nd set stronger and more explosive than the 1st; came complete with bloody shins and displaced skin, but refrained from posting such graphic photos online)

Bentover Rows:
45x8
65x8
85x6x3

I'm saving my ab work for tomorrow morning, after heavy benches!

I have teased Mitch more than once about starting his own blog... but after his own experiences today, we both could see why that would not be a good idea. LOL. I admire how he continues with this sport non-stop, even after 27 years. After raw squatting this morning, things came to a standstill and I was a little worried about him. But then he was singing "Too Legit 2 Quit" a little later, so I think he'll be OK.

Angela Simons baked up a bunch of cookies (again) and spoiled us on the way out the door. We brought them home and feasted on Thanksgiving leftovers. (I absolutely love this holiday... and no, I'm not sick of turkey yet!) Blueberry pie and ice cream is on the agenda for later tonight - the ultimate pre-bench power diet :) Maybe I should be thankful I can't compete in the 97's anymore, at least in USAPL/IPF... LOL.

New Blog, New Training Cycle, and Hudson Open Review

This is my first post on my first training blog, and what better way to begin than with a brand-new training cycle? Thanks to Fawn Friday for her encouragement with getting this up and running. Back when I began full powerlifting training, I used to post my training days for feedback on a message board called Weight Trainers United, where the supportive veteran powerlifters literally coached me online, successfully placing me on the road to where I am today.

This past week, I started a new training cycle to get back into the gym and rev up for the upcoming 2009 USAPL Women's Nationals, Feb. 14-15 in Miami, Fla. I will be logging what I do each training day here. As a brief overview of this past week (for now), I deadlifted 275x1 and 245x3x2 (that's weight x reps x sets) last Thursday evening. Saturday, I benched 145x1 and 135x3x2. Today, I squatted 235x1 and 205x3x2.

If you are seeing any sort of pattern here, stay tuned. These are precisely some of those things that make you go "hmmm..."

For some background on my last competition, I lifted at the 2008 USAPL Hudson Natural Open, which took place on Nov. 8th in Wisconsin. I weighed 104.0 lbs. and totaled 760 lbs. My attempts:

Squats
1st attempt: 255
2nd attempt: 285 (missed due to depth, but came all the way up smoothly)
3rd attempt: 285 (missed due to... not being able to stand up this time)

This took 30 lbs. off my potential total of 790 lbs. (I realized immediately with a cringe that usually happens with this, my least favorite of the 3 lifts). Not cool. My coach and boyfriend, Mitch Edelstein, typically calls my depth for me as insurance, because I typically have a hard time sensing where "deep" is when the weight gets heavy. On that 2nd attempt, I thought I was deep enough and figured if I kept descending, it would be harder to stand back up (the panic mode sets in). So I beat his call. My bad. The weight went up smoothly, with no sticking point, so he believes I could have gotten if I had just kept going down about an inch or so more.

This sport is so "mental." Even a 1/2 second of panic will ruin much of what you have worked for, over a 12-week (or a 12-month) period.

Bench Presses
1st attempt: 150
2nd: 165
3rd: 170

I am content with benching in the 170s, but I am certifiedly stuck here for the time being and really should be progressing into the 180s by now. I think a lot of that has to do with only training 3 days a week right now; I am doing a heavy bench day each week, without a 2nd day of needed tricep and shoulder work, which I used to have in my routine.

Deadlifts
1st attempt: 305
2nd: 335 - Minnesota Open State Record and PR (Personal Record)
3rd: pass (called it a day)

Ahhh... thank God for this lift :) Every lift is an experience, as is every meet. But then there is the deadlift. The 335 lbs. was a personal record for me all around -- I had never pulled it successfully before anywhere, in training, single-lift or full-meet competition. It felt awesome.

Here is a neat video that Mike Siegler Jr. put together after he captured all the action, highlighting lifting by Maura Shuttleworth, Fawn Friday, and yours truly at the Hudson Natural Open...