Good progress !

Good Heavy day workout !!
On the pin presses I did 315X6 405X3 405X2 425 445 445 445, at or a smidge above chest-RAW!

Then, to reverse band benches using the small purple bands,there I did 500X2 515X2 535 535 535 and then 545...the 545 was hard and really pounded the triceps !

Left the bands on and did partial rack deadlifts below knee ..545X2 for 4 sets..then took off the bands and did one 500 and one 545 rep.
nice hour and 15 min workout...surprise !! no one in the gym was a doofus today,good form on most of the lifts..decent use of the weights and equipment..maybe the "A" group gets to the gym earlier than the ones that annoy me in previous rants !!


Sad Pullout !

"I beg my pardon?"
I wrote to Bruce McIntyre today to tell him I couldn't make it to the CPO National's after all...as much as you've seen me gather enthusiasm for this meet that will be a terrific event and an impressive show of strength for Canadian lifters..things have transpired in my career,one, an important recording session the day of my flight to Toronto, and a 'slower work year' the means I need my income to live on rather than do my intense schedule of meets..

I see maybe only 4 more meets this year,they will most likely be ones I can drive to..and some that might not even require a hotel stay ($$$$)
I'll miss seeing the amazing lifters and friends like Bert Merriman,Tony Tomra,Andrey, Bruce,and that giant of bench Clint Harwood ! but this year I have to spend more reasonably...

"Here's the GREAT poster for National's"

I do have ONE possible project that may act like a transfusion to my bank account...but,I'm wrestling with politics to even stay a part of it now..so that has done much to change my plans...hopefully I can get some meet pics to share here, of the CPO's May 5th and 6th ! it'll be great ! I'm told there may be a CPO Bench only In August closer to home,meanwhile I'll focus on the bench and dead in the Olympia Wa. meet in June...drivable..

Do Re Mi FATSO la de dah !

Today was light bench day--but,as I do some days,I switched the way I did it..today, no bands 315X3 reps for 8 sets with the fastest speed I could get on the bar..I'll be honest, only 4 sets went ballistic..the first 4 sets were 3 secs each like they should be..but only when I got to set 5, did they take off and go rocket fast, my visual cue was remembering the way Ryan Kennelly does his 3 plate benches..alot like an EMPTY bar...that's what I wanted out of the lifts..that FAST 4 sets didn't go like his but they were VERY fast and felt effective..then I did 2 sets of 2 reps ea. with 335 and 355 --they were still fast n' easy too..

What's with the title?

I'm sposed to be doing squats n' deads in the gym in prep for the CPO national's..but my gear is too uncomfortable at my present weight (Fatso) so I'm taking a cavalier attitude on those lifts (La De Dah) thinking that if I alternate raw rack pulls and reverse band deads I can build a base to getting my lifts ready for WHEN the gear fits AND in time for a month's training..so today, rather than get in a squat suit...or squat raw..I leg pressed...that is a hint to my tree stumps to get ready cuz squats WILL be happnin soon..in leg presses today I did 10 sets of 8 plates a side for 3 reps each...these I tried to do very fast too..AND they were very deep...I was proud to BREAK the gym tradition of loading 14 plates on the machine and doing ONE INCH reps...doncha just KNOW when someone is going to do that??
...today I was hoping people were watching with the thought that I'd do 2 ton toe raises..and at last moment actually DO a leg press...sometimes I'm just no fun...

Saturday's Heavy work!

Yesterday I did the usual Heavy Alternate routine..
That's the Bench day that I do pin presses from the safety bars in the squat rack..on the floor pushing from a dead stop,bar just barely at, or above chest height..315X4 405X2 405 425 435 435 440 440 440 (singles)Then as a change up in the routine I did reverse band lifts with only the weaker "Purples" hanging from the top of the rack in that lift I was only able to manage 500X2 500X2 500X2 then 515 515 515--the reverse band lifts were done with extra long 'holds' at the top..and a near negative lift -return to the pins..

The gym had only one slightly odd event...2 doofuses thought that jumping rope was appropriate in the "Heavy area" actually,I spose they cant read my mind and dont realize that I've deemed the squat rack/bench press/row bar/leg press/ area--THE--heavy area...anyway,they were bulky guys and doing a very precise boxer training type rope skip..and seemed to go for 5 minutes straight..I wondered if the whirring blade of jump rope or the tappy tap of the feet was bugging me...OR...the fact that I couldn't do as well with a jump rope and was just being jealous of their ability?

Then, a rather lovely,very fit young woman came to 'talk all things rope' with the two...she looked like a fitness instructor,someone very well versed in "FIT" so when she took the rope to have a turn..I expected her to out dance the two guys...nope !! she couldn't keep the rope going for even 10 seconds at a time...she ended in a tangle..over and over...what's odd about that??? Isn't jump rope expertise a Gal thing???--I always thought it was...funny...I guess I was just "profiling"

Hello Gym, I'm Phattsoe...remember me??

I made no excuses!

And launched right into doing my Speed Band light benches..I did pretty much the usual..225X4--then 245X 4 reps X 8 sets...then I took off the Heavy blue bands and did 3 reps of 315 -- 2 of 335, and singles with 355 and 365..easy bench day but I concentrated on getting the bar moving as fast as possible.

Earlier, before the bench became available,I'd killed time with leg presses... knee caps as ear muffs, style...worked up to 8 sets with 8 plates a side (6 rep sets)this was a good warm up for the day AND partial deadlifts in the rack and full pulls with the reverse bands...

At below knee height I warmed up with 315X5 405X 495X1 500X1 545X1 with rack pulls
then I put the skinny little purple bands on the top of the squat rack, put them over the ends of the bar and did full deads 500X3 for 4 sets FROM a platform in the rack to make it true deadlift height or below..This seems like light work to the real lifters out there..but I need to take it easy til I get used to doing deadlifts and squats...as lame as it sounds I'm going to just work on reviving some 500+ Deads n' Squats for the CPO's in May..minimum goals? a 518 Squat and a 534 or 550 Dead...hopefully the bench will stay large ! and give me an AWPC WR !

--GYM -- I was told by a young lady that worked the desk..or did she just use her cell phone and SIT at the desk?? that when we have that many plates on the bar we must use the wire collars for Safety ...of course I explained that I was fluent in the language of "Barbell" and wondered if, at this gym she didn't mean "Clank-i-ness" She admitted that the sound of heavy plates rattling against one another was upsetting the 'regulars'..she was diplomatic..and kind..BUT I laughed out loud as she handed me the 'collars'...later I told her that the bands were for safety and quiet too...as if I went to great trouble to find alternate ways to quiet and 'safety ' the bar..
..I think she believed me...
today, a few people (2 out of 5.) actually touched the bar to their chest in the Bench Press..

and one guy took the bar below parallel in the squat...all 95 pounds of it.

But, this act of proper gym use was nulified when a guy dressed in boots...heavy treking pants..a heavy shirt and a heavily insulated puffy grey hooded coat..worked out by doing side bends with 20 pound dumbells and continued what looked like a Jack LaLanne program from the 50's all the while in mountain climbing or hobo gear ..I couldn't smell which !

ahh, the gym...love it ...hate it ...ya cant live without it !

Shirt day, and the purgatories of my mind..

For the last week..little stupid things have been bugging me..I wonder how many of them are 'psycho-plasmatic' tho?
But they have made me the Lord of Lethargy and Dread, AGAIN, more about that later..Saturday's so so workout..oh, I mean it was a good and effective workout ..it just wasn't anything to blog home about, poundage wise... my work was warm ups 225X6 330X2 350 375 then into the shirt 440 (no touch) then 462 507 and 518 ...I had been all stoked to try to get a better version of my 550 from 2 weeks ago..more of a pause, cleaner touch/lockout etc. but I noticed my shirt was behaving differently,it was ratcheting the bar down in little uneven increments...then the path the way back up was the same..I was forgeting to "elbows in" and not arching much..finally the 518 felt right ..but it was hard enough that I thought that would be good enough for the final heavy attempt..later I did raw reps as Nancy and Bruce used the reverse bands ..I just went into a shirtless mode and did sumpin like..NO BANDS 285X4 308X3 330X2 350 and 375 again, as if doing a more extended version of my warm up..the final 375 seemed like a very hard rep (end of the day) and was satisfying to the deepest fibers of the benchin muscles !

Now, the thorns in my mental paw ! --the downers that goosed Goliath --

1. On Tuesday I get too much water in my ear while showering..and a huge hearing loss in my left ear...damn, and I'm "Left Eared" too!--it's probably infected..cuz I cant hear my self typing still...what happens at my next announcing gig? "I end up doing an Homage to Lou Ferrigno??"

2. That night in my sleep I grind my teeth and chipped a tooth, probably will be solved by painless bonding...the day before, I had my dentist sign some passport documents ..which by law, he must do FREE...did I sabotage my tooth so I could Pay him for something legit--making up for the freebie?? Gasping Guilt-o-rama Toothman..am I suggestible?

3. I get super scary heart palpitations on Thursday,frightening, nearly went to hospital...obviously too much caffeine AND highly spiced food, induced a gas attack...not to TOOT my own horn...oh wait,it tooted itself..but I did all the 'what if this is only GAS' options to save the embarrassment of being ambulanced just for Farts !

4. My bad shoulder gets Bad again..but, I think it's just temporary and vow to bench anyway...did little chiro exercises I've learned.

5. I have cabin fever over the meets I've missed...and had stress over missing the Pasco meet...strange ...almost a guilt thing about not being able to get to Gus' meet after talking to him about it coupla weeks ago.

6. My car door sticks in the 'open' position...and I spend 15 minutes trying to not FORCE it shut..yes, I was LATE for something...and the door is closed now but I open it very lightly ..as not to be driving with a "pedestrian plow" on the passengers side.

Now how could ANY of that B.S. cause me to either work out poorly or skip the gym?? I dunno, but it did dampen my attitude last week..it also helped that the weather Thur Fri Sat was grey and depressing...so, tomorrow is a new day, and time for new resolve in training...and paying less attention to excuses to slack..see I wrote it here ..now I have to do it..

POSITIVITY!!!

The USAPL Washington State meet on the 10th of March was a great one according to Richard Schuller--he said there were 72 lifters in one day..and there were some special ceremonies...new awards, and Hall of Fame inductee's for Washington State...Priscilla Ribic was athlete of the year from Washington State (AMEN TO THAT !!!!)
and some inductees to the Hall of Fame (from memory here) Willie Austin,Roger Silva,Garrielle Keeble,Chris Greckoff,Martin Beavers and Yueh Chun Chang !! those Hall of famers will be on a board to elect next years group...I understand USAPL President Larry Maile was at this meet too..our BC team had the pleasure of meeting him in February..it's great to see the highest executive of USAPL come to the Grassroots meets !
encouraging for the lifters !

Dual Heavy !

I did Heavy Benches from the pins today AND Pulled a few rack Deadlifts..The weights went up easy, and I spent over 2 hours in the gym...Penance for ignoring my training this week..I did do a "speed day" substitute at home Wednesday to stay on course..

But, I was SUPPOSED to get back to 3 lift training, and the thought of it, quickly put me in a state of avoidance..

So today,after beating myself up over skipping the Washington State USAPL Meet this weekend and NOT getting back to 3 lift training---

I FINALLY got with it and did chest level floor/pin presses...225X12 315X6 405X2 435 435 440 445 --no shirt--dead start pushing off safetys..then switched to the reverse bands (hung 12" from the top of sq rack) blues--500X2 515X2 545 545 555 560--with LONG holds at the top..felt really good --then I took the bands off--unloaded the bar to 315 and did 6 rack pulls from below the knee (3-4 inches) then 405 X3 then 500 550 and 570 ..I havent deadlifted at all since the CPO National's last year, close to a whole year...usually when competing I use a suit..today I lifted in my 'street clothes' so there was no belt or spring involved...my back may hurt a bit tomorrow..altho that wasn't very many reps..I will add reverse band deads from the floor to my training next time--and rep /set it like a normal person.

Today in the gym a lady who trains there said she saw me on TV with Nancy and Jody--she recognized me due to the LOAD on the bar..most people there do 'fitness' sized weights,we heard Back from Jack Christie,that people's response was very good for the segment.

Great to hear that from the producer..maybe more powerlifting will get on locally--our lifting pal Rosalyn Hannah (2006 CPU Nationals) was featured in a 'running/fitness' segment 4 or so days later-(same show -EXPRESS )-funny, how the coincidence factor of the Universe works ! TV and otherwise.

The USAPL has an online magazine called Powerlines, done by the CPU's own Mike Armstrong..in it, there are rankings from the years (2006) USAPL contests all thruout America...

I was overjoyed to see Nancy ranked 3rd in her weight/age category..
Jody 2nd out of 22 lifters in the USA in the single 'open' deadlift with a beautiful 570 pull..
And I was was the number one geezer in the 60-64 Bench press only, with my American Record of 470 (I did 500 twice that day was red lighted by the judges) I had a higher wilks than most of the 60-64's if not all of em...

so that made my day...hah..for a day...oh yeah, Mark Vezina from BC was also in the rankings as #5 out of 25 lifters--I guess our trips across the border paid off in honors for the Vancouver team !

"Click this link to POWERLINES"

Our rankings are contained within these pages --also read Mike Armstrong's great 'judging the bench press' article--right on Mike !!!

A WORD FROM MY REAL SPONSOR ! Some of you know that I voice the TV and Radio ads for London Drugs in Western Canada...I noticed last time I read a TV ad that they had one Bargain WE all would like to know about..starting Tomorrow, London Drugs Has 100% Whey Protein,5 pounds for $24.99--as I remember 5 Pounds is usually WAY more expensive than that in Supplement stores...If you have a London Drugs Near you ..and you're out of Whey Pro..check into it...I'm going to !

I heard from WABDL's Gus Rethwisch during the week --love talking to him..he really wants a good turnout for Pasco (do Not Pass, go??) coming up March 24th and encourages people who can make it to come on out--Its an Iron Gladiator's Record Breakers !! and will be a good meet --I'd like to try out his new Deadlift Bar--cross between a York Classic and an Okie !( shorter tho )

-plus if I'm ever going to get a 550 bench it would seem the timing for this one would be perfect..I just dont trust driving the summit in my big heavy car this time of year--is anyone a fearless driver out there, that wants a GAS for payin, meal buyin Passenger???

Ha Ha!! loook!!! I just "INVENTED" ON LINE Hitchhiking...

550 Bench in the Gym!!!

The first step to getting a Big lift barrier broken in a meet..is to give it a trial run in the gym.
Of course, in the gym there might not be a sufficient pause..the touch could be barely grazing the shirt..but what ever the outcome ..getting a BIG target lift ONE TIME is a euphoric feeling! That happened to me yesterday at Nancy's home gym..my friends Nancy and Bruce were there to help set the shirt,and save me in case of an accident.

I warmed up with 225 330 350 put on the shirt (A Katana I previously deemed "second string" due to loose fit )

It wouldn't touch with 440 462 or 507 and it seemed to have NO pop..the lifts that didn't even touch seemed really heavy..as if the shirt wasn't helping...but of course it was..it just didn't seem like it...then 529 --whoo a huge lift!!!.. EASY !! but Bruce pointed out that it was 2.5 inches from touching..DAMN !!!

So I sat on the end of the bench head down...said
"Well,I can do one of 2 things...quit,chicken out, or try 551...."
Nancy and Bruce were silent ..

after about 20 seconds I said..

'Load 250 KILOS' (551 lbs)

--we adjusted the shirt a bit...Nancy pulled down the shirt..belted me ...no, not that way...she secured my shirt with the small dress belt I use..

I got under the bar--this was excessively tough on Bruce..because the position of my arms were such that he had to lift most of the 551 for me--I must've initally given him only 150 pounds of force from my end..he got it out over me..I felt the full 551 and it was heavy..it began to go down.. and sideways..I thought for sure I was going to eat the weight..but not being in the mood for a funeral..I tried to straighten the course of the bar (rather than cry for Bruce and Nancy to grab it) it straightened...and went smoothly down to a perfect place on my chest...and wham !! UP IT WENT !!!!

Needless to say I was ecstatic !!! --it was the easiest lift of the day..after a 'near death' experience and an effortless pop with an all time PR--I was walking on air !

There was more to the workout--as Nancy and Bruce both hit PR's in the reverse band part of our workout..I followed what Bruce with doing with the bands...but I did the same weights WITHOUT the bands --IE: raw reps to speed the loading of the bar phase..I remember doing 225 for 10 286X6 308X6 330X3--this was after the shirted 551--kinda like repeating my warm up --

Then I started doing reverse Band work with the crew for 462 X4 496 X 3 507X2 and 529 for One final rep...Nancy and Bruce both seemed inspired and had all time GOOD workouts.. a milestone in Bench press poundage for me ..and reps and weight PR's for my partners...I wish there was a meet close to me soon..to do the 551 for real..alas,the Issaquah USAPL requires more expense than I can muster now (hotel-fees-gas etc)and the WABDL at the end of March--is the same deal only with a snowy mountain to drive over AND 6-7 hours driving added to the mix...
Job at hand ..get back to 3 lift training this week ..and send in the entry for CPO Nat's in May..hopefully one of my voice clients will accidentally OVERPAY me for something between now and then...or I could sell my first run of "Terrorist Donuts" by then.

Note --the Big Benching at The Arnold is winding up--hit the Powerlifting Watch link to the side, for info on how our own Clint Harwood did!

It was On !!

The World WIDE web could care less cuz they cant see Vancouver Cable TV--BUT--the Powerlifting blurb starring Jody Cranston--Nancy Carpenter and me popping up 500+ like a feather...was on last nite and today --I think I spoke my parts well--I said "crap" under my breath--when being put into my shirt..and "Feels good" after the effortless Bench reps I did --2 heavy lifts were shown...Jody kinda looked like --"what gives" when I threw 507 or so back at him and made the cage bounce..Both Jody and Nancy were articulate... and impressive in their exercise movement shots..Jack Christie the producer of the piece did a great job in explaining powerlifting in under 3 minutes..It's good ..any viewers in the Mainly Lowland can see it rerun cable 4--
we're on----------
Thursday at 3am, 6am, 6:30am,
8am, 8:30am, 10am, 10:30am,
2pm, 3pm
Sunday at 1pm & 6:30pm
Monday at 12midnight, 2:30am

Both WABDL and BCPA were mentioned, so hopefully people will get interested in our sport and google the feds and turn out for a meet or two...or, bring their strength to the platform !

___________________________

For something completely BETTER
Scroll down to the 'Powerlifting watch' link today and catch Ryan Kennelly's 909 Bench on video there !!