Strongman/GPP workout Number 1

Need to start doing this to help build some overall Strength, Power and Speed.

Got started with some Hammer hits for 5 sets of 10 reps. Good way of getting the Ab's working and I need to strengthen up though my mid section. The Sledge hammer weigh's 6 lbs.

  

                                                  

Next up was Log presses off the tyre's. Not sure whether it was the training over the last few months but they seemed real easy today. The press was actually pretty easy and quick. Happy with this since it was the first time I had done this for a while. 

                                            

Tyre Flips were up next with the baby tyre. I call it the baby tyre because it only weighs about 170kg not like the Mongrel which is 225kg+. 5 Sets of 5 Flips for today. Need to lift my head a bit more as I am looking at the other end of the tyre to much. And for people who want to say the tyre flipping can cause torn biceps my comment is if you are flipping right you should not be able to feel your biceps at all as this should be all though your butt. Here is a video of one of my sets Flipping the baby tyre

I then went on to do some framers walk using my 30kg gas bottles with sand in them. It was down the drive and back, about 40 mtrs there and 40 mtrs back. Felt pretty good doing these although with my shoulder I had to put the bottles down and release my shoulder part of the way back. If I use my head I can continue to lift. If I am stupid I sit down and watch everyone else.

                                               

Finished off the whole workout by doing tyre drags down the driveway and back like with doing the farmers walk. Felt good and strong all the way and could really feel my butt and hamstrings working which is good as I need to more in this area to help with the bigger squats and bigger deadlifts. 

                                               

Bench day again

Today was bench/triceps day and as I generally work nights today I had to work the morning shift ( I work in a hotel), so I wasn't in the same mind frame as I would have normally have been, therefore I was not sure what to expect.

I worked my way up to what I normally do while warming up and felt pretty good so after my last warm up rep of 180kg off the 4" board, I got into my benchshirt and did a sighter at 220kg off the 4" board which went real well. I was staying with the 4" board. My first work set was 240kg and it felt good and strong. Quick press out so on to 250kg with a slight adjustment to the shirt and brought the bar out a bit further over my chest which put me into a better position to press from and the weight came up real well. Happy with this as I missed it last week which annoyed me a bit. As in my previous post I am not afraid of failure so I took a gamble and went for 260kg. Good lift off but just as I was starting to pull the bar to my chest one off my wrist wraps came loose so I did not have the protection on the wrist I wanted but I still went for it and got it back up but to protect my wrist I stop about 2" from lockout. Then I thought what the hell lets go for it and put 265kg on the bar for a single rep. Good set up and it came to my chest nice and smooth with a strong press out but just could not hold the lockout however I was still real happy to have had a go. Have next week to have another go at that or a bit higher. Who knows however I still have to keep pushing myself. I will not back down to the weight.

After this it was onto some tricep training which was a bit measure because my tri's had already been hammered with the big benches.

Stop presses 3 sets of 6 reps @ 125kg. Starting from a stopped position makes this harder as in this case I am using it as a chest exercise and not a tricep exercise. It is harder because the momentum of the movement and your back are taken out of the exercise. Try it one day and you will see what I mean.
Close grip Bench press 3 sets of 6 rep,5 reps and 5 reps @ 150kg. Real tough work by now as my triceps are starting to run out of power that's why the 2 sets at 5 reps.
Floor press 3 sets of 8 reps @ 100kg I brought the weight back on this for safety reasons. Good long stop on the floor with a strong press to the top though my triceps as this is what I am using this for at the moment.
Flat back D/bell extensions 3 x 8 @ 35kg. Again brought the weight back a bit for safety and the reps as my triceps were pretty dead by this stage and this was just a finisher.
I feel that due to not doing enough tri's over the last few cycles and not lifting the heavy weight it has paid me back by not letting me do the big weights for a couple of weeks however since I picked that up and have now started to train my tricep more and with bigger weights the big weights will come a lot easier. Time will tell.

Ahhhh Silly season

Because of the silly season Monday's squat and back session did not quite go the way it should have. Got in a little later than I want to but hey. This is the second week of my 5th cycle so it means that Safety bar squats  are up. Today I change it a little bit by only having the No# 2 bands over the bar giving me 60kg of tension. Worked up to 180kg + 60kg of band tension on the bar for 2 reps before putting my squat suit on. Straps down at the moment but to protect my knees I am using my knee wraps. These went well. Good depth this week so happy to be able to get down. Then on to 200kg + 60kg of band tension on the bar for a couple of reps and again they felt good. Next up was 220kg + 60kg of band tension for another 2 reps. Good strong solid sets and reps so quite happy with these. Since I was feeling good I thought I would have a go at 250 on the bar + 60kg of band tension for a single. This would be a PB if I could get it. Unfortunately it did not happen. The weight felt light and the descent was nice and smooth but at the bottom there was nothing as I squeezed my glutes to try and come back up. Sat in the bottom position for about 3 - 5 seconds before I called my spotters in to help. I would far sooner go home knowing than not. This would have been a massive PB (about 25kg) so not to worried. I know I can do it now but I will just have to go and do some other strengthening work on other exercises for a few cycles before I have another go at that weight. I know it can be done. I know a few people will say "why are you happy with what happen you missed the weight". I do not fear failure as all it shows me is what I have to do to get stronger and to be able to lift more. Very few things in life come to you on your first go so I look at it that I have to get the misses out of the way in the gym and not on the competition stage. At the weights I lift most people have problems doing half of that weight so if they want to say something go for it. Never be afraid to miss or fail as all it is doing is showing you where your training is at, at this stage and what you have to do to get better.

I then only had time to get a few sets of bentover rows done before I ran out of time as I had a work chrissy function to go to. 3 sets of 120kg for 6 reps. Ahhhh begone silly season.

Speed day

Well I got in to do some speed work for a change yeah. This is something I have been a bit lazy on over the last few cycles and it is now paying me back especially when I am benching. Pick it up last week and have put some changes in place so I can get it done. No point in turning up to a big competition if I don't have a lot of speed in me. Because I live a normal life and have to go to work for a living and I have a wife I get to spend to little time with I have had to modify the Westside approach and get all my speed stuff done on the same day. Am I not quite as fast as I could be, Probably, But am I faster than if I did nothing, Yes. Sometimes you just have to make compromise's. So it all gets done at the same time and so far it seems to work for me.
Any way first up for me today was Box squats with the safety squat bar. Today I set it up with the no#2 bands over the bar giving me about 60kg of tension at the top and a all up weight of 50% of what i did on Monday so about 140kg. and the box was set so while sitting on it with my feet out wide I was just below parallel (IPF). 10 sets of 2 reps per set with an average time of 0.72 seconds for the first rep and a average total time of 2.27 seconds for the 2 reps and a total time to do all the sets is about 15 - 18 mins. Not to worried how the reps look more worried about out "n" out speed with good form. Also trying to get a good strong contraction from my glutes off the box. I know I have done it right when I can fell my butt at the end of this exercise. Thought I had some photo's of this but I don't.

On to Speed benches with the No#2 over the Fat bar and a total of about 125kg at the top of the rep. Again speed is more important than nice form. I stop on my chest(IPF Rules), then drive hard and fast for 3 reps. I try and set up like I would on the lifting platform. 10 sets of 3 reps gets this done. Again this takes me about 20 mins to get though. My average time for this was 0.39 seconds for the first rep and a total average time of   1.88 seconds for the 3 reps.

Fat bar benchpress set up with the No# 2 Bands over the bar

Using the Fat bar to do my Speed work. 

Then it was on to Speed deads and I do this real different to everybody else in which I start at 55% of what I did on Wednesday and add 5% to each lift for 10 single reps. I am trying to pull as hard and fast as possible. The first 5 reps are done Sumo style and the last 5 reps are done Normal which is how I deadlift at competition. The sumo is to help build strength in my abductors overall not specifically. While I do use the bands this is for 2 reasons, One it is speed work I am doing and 2 the bands are set to come off just below my knees ( a bit like rack pulls) and if I am not ready to pull then the weight will go back to the floor in a hurry. I believe true rack pulls do not set you up anatomically correct for the deadlift. My thoughts and I am sticking to it. Anyway 10 sets of single pulls as fast as I can. My average time was 0.68 seconds per pull.

Set up for the Speed deads

Part way though a rep

Overall a good day but something I need to do more of and something for me to work on over the next 12 months. by then hopefully I should be real quick with a lot more weight.

On time and Up to Date

Last power day of the week, Deadlifts. Went into Eastside to do Fat Bar Deadlifts but on warm up could really feel my elbow hurting (same injury from helping put up squat suit straps from April this year) so since watching sucks I changed to a normal bar and put the No# 2 bands over the bar.

Set up and ready to go with work weight on the bar, 200kg + 40kg of band tension at the top of the rep

This is the first week of a cycle so the weight was not real high but a good solid weight. I did 10 singles with this with about 90 - 120 seconds between reps. All reps had a good strong pull feel to them. Was able to lock out strong on each one. A lot happier with how this went today.

This is the 7th rep of 10 and basically at the top of the movement

Moved on to Log press for shoulder today as well. I seem to be the only person at the moment in Eastside who is willing to change things, so to that end I pulled out the blue steel log that you can see in the background of the above shot. This is used so rarely that I had to add in the weight of the dust on the log for my total weight. LOL

Lots of Dust, Hmmm, What ya reckon another 100grms of weight.

From what I have been told the log weighs 70 - 75kg so I reckon if I work on 72.5kg I am going to be somewhere close to it's real weight, but who cares about the weight it is how many times you can press it. 3 sets of 6 reps gave my shoulders a good workout. 

Here's me in action

Pressing the Blue Steel Log

Big heavy cycle for my shoulders at the moment so on to Behind the neck Shoulder presses for 3 sets of 8 reps @60kg, Bentover Lat Raises for 3 sets of 10 reps @ 12.5kg and that was shoulders done. I like to control the negative portion of the bentover rep so the weight is not real heavy. I know I can do a lot more weight but since I have not been doing some of these things as well as I should have I have to work back into those weights. Luckily I picked it up now and I have time to fix these things. This time next year and I would have had problems.

Also I have been really badly ignoring my Hamstrings so have made a plan to bring them up over the next year so it was on to the GHR machine. Having never been in a position to use one I had to get some tuition on how to use it. The goal was to do 3 sets of 10 reps but after being shown how to use it and what to do I was only able to 3 sets of 5 reps out. Hey it is a start. The hard part I found was keeping my mind on pulling my weight back up with my Hams and not throwing myself up. My hams are no where strong enough and I will be feeling them for a couple of days. If I want to squat 350kg - 370kg in competition at the Nationals or Commonwealths then I have to start doing these things. Whatever it takes to do that. 

Benchpresses Hmmmm

Benchpress power day today and all I can say is Hmmmmm. Not the way I wanted it to go. I have been thinking that I need to have a good look at what I am doing on these days and that I will have to change things and so today proved it. Work up to my normal weight before putting a shirt on (220kg) and things felt good so I was surprised when I didn't quite lockout the way I should have but thought nothing of it, just one of those things. Put my work weight on (250kg) and wanted doubles today. Down to a 2" board. I had plenty of power off my chest but no lockout. NOT IMPRESSED. So had another go and the same thing. So stopped there as I was not getting what I wanted. 

This did not go anywhere near as well as it should have

Now my thought had been that I was not doing enough or using enough weight when doing my tricep and shoulder training and this proves it, Also throw in not a lot of consistent speed work and you have missed benchpresses. So while I will take the hit on benches I will continue with the plan to teach myself a lesson. So on I went with bench stop presses which is completely different to tricep stop presses for 3 sets of 6 reps with a light weight this week but will reevaluate this during the week and go for a lot heavier. 3 sets 6 of Close grip bench again with a lighter weight and 3 sets 8 of floor presses and to finish off with 3 sets of 10 reps for flat back d/bell tricep extensions gave my tricep a better workout. As I have said I can handle a lot more weight on all of these exercises so will have a look at the weights and move them up quite a bit next week.

I also started to think I need to do more hamstring work so put in 3 set of 10 reps @ 80kg of Stiff legged deadlifts as a starting point. Will need to work these hard over the coming months as If I am real with myself I have not done anywhere near what I should be doing for them. 

Last but not least was 3 sets of Hyper Extensions for 10 reps. 

Have I been real Lazy or what

I seemed to have been real lazy on this for a while. Life, Work and a few other things have been going on, but maybe that has just been an excuse.

Anyways.......

It is now approx 52 weeks until the Commonwealth Powerlifting Champs in Auckland, New Zealand in December 2013, So i have a lot of work to do.

Monday,
Safety bar squats for my main power exercise today with the No# 1 and 2 bands over the bar. Thought the tension would be about 60kg but it turned out to be 100kg. Went up to 185kg on the bar (bar weighs 25kg) and with the added tension of the bands a total of 280kg at the top. Probably 220 -230kg at the bottom of the rep so weight all the way round. Had my Squat Suit on but straps down and knee wraps as well. It felt like I was fighting the suit all day today as I was having real problems getting down to parallel, Speed on the way up was not a problem. Feet could have been a little wider. Tough day but if I want big numbers next year then I am just going to have to live with it. I know some days are going to be good and some days are not going to be good so I just have to accept it. 3 Sets of 2 Reps @ 280/220 (top of rep over bottom of the rep)
On to the rest of my workout for today of Bentover rows, Cable rows and Dumbbell rows to help build up my back. Again have to change my attitude to everything as I know I can be a lot stronger in my back which is not only going to help my Squatting and Deadlifting but will also help with driving power though my benchpress. Finished off with some green band axe swings to help strengthen up my Obliques. Notice the other week that I was shaking to much though my mid section so will have to strengthen them up.
 

Deadlifts

Today was deadlift day and during this cycle I am doing high bar Trap bar deadlifts. Went in get these done thinking I might go to about 280kg for a couple, However warm up was going real well with triples so I just kept at it all the way though. My thoughts were if it is going well then I will keep at it and the dangerous " I feel strong at the moment so lets go for it". My warmups were 80 x 3, 130 x 3, 170 x 3, 210 x 3, 250 x 3 and then on to 280 x 3 for 2 sets and I still felt real good so after the second set of 280 I thought what the hell lets go for it and put on 300kg. My thought was I hope to get the first rep then just whatever after that. I got the first one out then just thought what the hell go for it and had a go at a second thinking at worst it doesn't go and I put it down but it just kept coming so I was lucky enough to get a 2nd rep out. Not to bad for a PB attempt, However what do I now do next week which is the final week of this cycle. Hmmmm. Here is some photo's of the last set.

From there I went on to Log shoulder press like last week except this week I started with the 5kg plates on the bar. First set felt like shit and I felt like I had no power. However before the second set I got my head into it a bit more and added the 10kg plates on to the log. A lot better set and it felt good as well. On the last set I added the 5kg plates back on to the log to make and all up weight of 85/86kg. 6 good reps later I was finished.

Then went on to bentover lat raise for my rear delts. I am one of these people who lower the weight on this exercise under control and don't just drop it back to  the start so the amount of weight I use is not a lot but my rear delts get a great workout. 3 sets of 10 reps @ 15kg was all I needed. on the second set instead of bringing the weight up the normal way people do I pronated my hands so the palms were facing backwards while the rep went out to the sides. Different movement and a different feel. Good to use for a change and if done right I feel it targets the rear delts a little better. Just my thoughts.

Anyway I feel good at the moment and hope to get in and start doing some speed work as I really need it.

Benchpress Day

Yeeeyyy, Got in on the right day for Benchpress again. Second week of this cycle.

Benching went well today although I am still a little slower off the chest than I want to be. Using the No# 2 bands again this week. The first set @ 185kg for a couple of reps went well and felt good off my chest. I was able to keep my elbows tucked in tight which gave me a good press.
The second set was @ 205kg for a couple of reps. Again a good set up and good press for the first rep, got the second down with control and part of the way up then needed just a small help to finish off the top. Still happy with how it went.
3 set was @ 215kg, got the second rep down and part way up then needed a bit of a hand to the top. On the second rep did a full negative and part of the way up again before needing a hand to finish the top of the rep. Not entirely happy with the second rep but I need to push myself a bit. Not every rep can be perfect but it is a start.

215kg Set and ready to go

Hey a post on the right day

Mondays are Squat days or something similar so as this is the second week of the cycle it means doing Safety bar squats with the No# 1 bands over the bar. After last week I was expecting this to be a lot harder than it turned out to be. I think a better mindset and the advantage of another week made a big difference. Felt a lot stronger and got out some good reps. 3 sets of 3 reps @ 170kg with 40kg of tension from the bands at the top. Here is a picture of the set up.

Safety bar squats set up with No# 1 bands

Also did some Zercher squats after the Safety bar squats. I am using the Zercher squat harness I helped develop with Kevin from getstrength.com. I find this works well and saves me from destroying my elbows. Again this week i have gone up in weight and felt these were some real good reps. I also find that by standing a bit wider I get a better workout from my butt. Also you must try and get to a least parallel as you will get so much more out of the exercise. Good control on the way down with reasonable speed on the way up. 3 sets of 6 reps @ 120kg. Also got some pics of this as well.

on

 

A normal week would be nice

Ohh to have a normal week for a change. I have been able to get in all the training this week but just not quite in the way I wanted. I got in the Squat workout on Tuesday with some Safety bar squats for 3 sets of 3 reps at 160 plus the No# 1 bands over the bar which is about and extra 40kg. I also used knee wraps for the first time since somewhere in July so that felt a little different but also so good. Felt a little slow on the way up but the rest of it was good. It is good to be able to change type of exercise with some of the different  relevant. Will keep this for the next couple weeks adding a bit more weight each week. Hope to add in some speed work soon as I feel I am missing out there for the being able to have some good speed with the reps.

Benchpress on Wednesday was okay as it was time to put on some more real weight. Wanted to use my No# 3 over my elbows a bit like a Titan Ram or Mark Bells Slingshot, but could not find them so used 2  No# 2 bands over the elbows. 3 sets of 2 reps with 1 set of 180kg with a stop on the bottom, second set of 2 reps at 200kg with a stop and a third set of 2 reps at 210kg with a stop. The first 2 sets were real good and had some good power to them but the last set could have been left at 200kg. Still happy with how it went and it shore felt good to have that much weight in my hands again.

Deadlifts on Friday went well. I was using the high bar on the trap bar so it worked a bit like having a 3" board under the weights which is perfect for where I am at in my training at this stage. I was able to get my 3 sets out with reasonable amount of weight. I do singles on deadlift day and got out 250kg (the trap bar weighs 30kg) for 3 singles. Good speed off the floor and a strong lockout already. Happy with this and again to be to have some heavy weight in my hands again felt good. Got a couple of photo's of the setup I had with the trap bar.

Last warm up weight 230kg. Trap bar weighs 30kg

My workout weight this week of 250kg. 3 singles

Also did some shoulder presses with something different. I used the strongman log to the front for a different way of doing things. 3 sets of 6 reps with the log weighing 56kg then I added 5kg a side for the 2nd set and 10kg a side for the 3rd set. Felt good and liked the variation. Got some pics as well.

Set 1 56kg

Set 2 56kg + 10

Set 3 56kg + 20kg

Also tried a different exercise for my shoulder using the buffalo bar. As this bar hangs a lot lower and is a lot fatter it also swings during the rep a lot more. I am hoping over time this will help strengthen and stabilize my shoulders which in turn will help me have a cleaner press on the bench. Got some pics of this with some light weight. I will increase the weight next time but as this was the first time I have done this I didn't want to go over board. The reps are done behind the neck.

Buffalo bar shoulder press with 10kg xtra weight.

What a screwed up week it has been

It has been a screwed up week for me and things have been done a little on a when I can get it done basis. So you are going to get a few days in one go.

Deadlifts last week went real well and I am now starting to feel like I need to lift some real heavy shit as they say. Speed off the ground and a strong finish at the moment and all this while I am lifting SUMO style. I normally lift with a normal stance, however since the weight is light I have been using the sumo to help strengthen up abductors and pelvic area. Started doing this last year and it helped my overall stability a lot. 3 sets of 3 reps @ 160kg

Shoulder press @ 60kg is again starting to get to light and they weight will need to go up. Strong press.

Pronated press, again weight is starting to get light and the reps are coming easily. 3 x 8 @ 35kg

Bentover lat raise, As above 3 x 10 @ 15kg with good control and speed on the downward part of this exercise. I do not believe in dropping the weight on this exercise.

Squats: Last week of the cycle. Good to be able to get out wide and stable to squat. A little slow on the way up but not to worried as I could feel my butt working hard. Other than my OLY shoes on all the reps for the last few weeks have been RAW. No belts, knee wraps or anything like that. 3 x2 @ 200kg. Next week on to a new exercise, Safety bar squats with the number 1 bands over the bar.

Front squats: 3 x 6 @ 140kg which felt good and I was able to use the 3 feet positions of narrow, medium and wide. Felt good and this was the first time I have enjoyed this exercise for a while. On to Zercher squats next week for a cycle.

Bent over rows: Felt good and strong on these and was able to get the reps out well even though they were only about 20kg behind my PB. Good control on the down part of the exercise. As I have said I do not like to drop weight when doing these sorts of things.

Benchpress: went in yesterday to see how I would go and I have to admit my benching went a lot better than it has over the last couple of weeks. My spotter was saying there was good speed off my chest and that reps looked a lot stronger and with more power. With the different bench here I am able to get my chest up more and I feel I am getting a better press overall. 2 x 2 @ 150kg and 1 x 3 @ 150kg. There is a IPF stop on the first rep always and on the last set of 3, I put in a stop on the first and third reps. Again raw as I have only been using my wrist wraps.

Incline benchpress was quite easy today with 3 sets of 6 reps @ 90kg, Will change to something else from next week on.

Close grip benchpress went well again this week as it has been doing over the last few weeks. Good power and speed off my chest and I have been able to lockout strong over the last few weeks as well. 3 x 6 @ 120kg.

Flat back dumbbells. have been getting some good results from these in this cycle and am already back up to within 5kg of a PB already. Helps when you are pain free in the elbow area. 3 x 8 @ 32.5kg

Tricep pressdowns. Good finisher for the day as I can concentrate on these and get a good feel of things.
3 x 10 @ 100.110.120 pounds.

Benchpresses

Got in to do benchpress today which went well.

Although the speed of the press was a little slow on the way out the reps were good and it felt good to have that sort of weight in my hands again. I will have to get in to do more speed work as this is what is slowing me down. Set up was good and I was pretty stable. 3 sets of 3 reps @ 140kg with a stop on my chest. all done raw except I use wrist wraps to protect my wrist when I am benching.

Incline benchpress: Found a new moving bench and put it in the power rack (we have 6 of them) tonight as it sets me up a lot better than what they have there. Felt strong off my chest today and I was able to set a lot better because of the different seating position. Was able to get my wrists and elbows/shoulders under the bar better so that ended in better presses. 3 sets of 6 @ 80kg.

Close grip Benchpress: Again these are going a lot better than I thought they would be at this stage. I am getting a good tuck on the elbows on the descent and a pretty decent return. Because I am using the suicide grip I am feeling a lot better and stronger contraction from the Triceps at the top of the press. Good control and I am touching my chest with ease at the moment. I have struggled with that part at times. 3 sets of 6 reps @ 100kg.

Flat back Dumbbell press: back up to the 30kg dumbbell already so I am pretty happy with that at this stage especially as this is only about 5-7.5kg lighter than what I had been doing. Working real hard at keeping my elbows tuck in so I can feel more on them during each rep. 3 sets of 8 reps @ 30kg.

Squats on time this week

Yeah, I was able to get in and do Squats on the day they are mean't to be done eg today.

The first set of 180kg felt a little to slow but I felt I had the power to get them done. A better mind set for the next 2 sets and the  reps went a lot better. Brought my feet in a little as I think I was starting to get to far wide at the moment. Will look at getting back out there as I get a bit stronger. The 2nd set felt like there was a lot more power in the reps and they came a lot better. On the 3rd set I got a person to just check my depth to make sure I was getting low enough and they said it look good. Also felt a lot stronger on the last 2 sets with more power from the bottom on the 3rd. Starting to feel better about these at the moment. It will be good to see how 200kg goes next week. At the moment all these reps are being done with only Ollie shoes on.

Front squats are coming along real well to. Varying my foot position from narrow to wide on each set  and it seems to be helping. Working hard at not letting my knees go to far forward while doing the reps which I feel makes my butt work harder. Good speed off the bottom. 3 sets of 6 reps @ 120kg.

Bentover rows were up next and slowly the power from my back is returning. Was able to get out 3 sets of 6 reps @ 100kg which is the first time I have been up here  for a while. Good pull with a controlled descent so not letting the weight drop to the floor. Next week should be interesting as I would be back at weights I was doing in Dunedin. Yea.

After this I had to finish as life got in the way but I am still happy that I was able to get this done.

2nd week of Deads

Finally got to get the power days done on Friday when I went in to do deadlifts,

Good reps today with a bit more power than last week. 160kg on the bar and they were coming off the ground well. Sets of 5 this week. This weight is light for me but not wanting to rush as I am still getting back into it from the no training/shifting thing. Happy with these and I seemed to have a better attitude today as I got a bit more sleep and was able to eat a bit better.

Shoulder presses were probably a little light but again I am in no rush at the moment. 3 good sets of 6 reps @ 50kg. Good control on the decent and a strong press.

Pronated D/bell press hits my shoulder from a slightly different angle and I feel more of the side of the shoulder working. Not sure if that is what is mean't to happen but that's what I feel. Weights are getting back up to where I left off in Dunedin.

Bentover Lat raise was a nice finisher for today with 3 sets of 10 reps @ 12.5kg. Plenty of control both ways of the lift.

Overall a good day was had and it is another piece in place. Won't be doing any speed work this week as I need some time to recover for squats on Monday and Saturday/Sunday should be fine. If it was around competition time then that would be another story.

Benchpress day

Again running a couple of days late but getting it down.

What was going on today as I made benchpress look hard for some reason. Good set up and everything but my racing snail had more speed than me. Just could not get it going although I was able to get my sets done. Still early days don't want to be the best right now. The speed and power will come I just have to be patience. Still pretty happy with how it is going.

Incline bench went okay although I think the weight is to low so I might have to find another way of doing these safely and being able to put more weight on the bar.

Close grip benchpress is good, in fact I think I am getting more out of these than hoped for at this stage. 3 sets of 8 reps @ 90kg and the felt good strong and fast. Can feel myself putting a lot of emphasis on my Tri's  while doing the reps. Hopefully this will build my tricep's back to what they were and to help me with my bigger benchpresses.

Flatback dumbbell presses. Again getting some good reps from these at the moment. Felt a lot stronger than last week and it felt like more power off the bottom of the rep.

Tricep pressdowns. Changed machine's today and got a lot better result out of the exercise. Weight felt like 100lbs should. Triceps felt in it a lot more and I could really feel my tri's at the end of each set and at the end of the 3rd set.

Another good day with nothing spectacular except for the benchpress, but got to take the good with the bad. On to deadlifts tomorrow.

A little late but I got them in

Work has been real tough over the last few days and I was not able to get in on the days I wanted to be able to train, so I had to put it back a couple of days. So what should have been done on Monday was done on Wednesday. Again I am just taking some time right now to bring my body back up to power and strength after having a few weeks off though moving to a different city.

Squats went pretty well today with 3 sets of 5 reps @ 160kg. I am liking Eastside in so far as they have wide power racks and you can set your feet out wide when getting ready to squat. The first set I found it a little hard to get down to depth as I was trying to bodybuild squat instead of powerlift. On the next 2 sets I changed that and was poking my butt out the back a lot better with better squats with a lot more power especially out of the bottom. Pretty happy with squats this week. I am still raw and at the moment I am not putting any aggression into any of the lifts or sets, so am happy with my results.

Front squats for 3 sets of 6 reps @ 100kg. Again that wider stance helps with doing these and also using the front squat harness (mine is from getstrength.com) allows for me to spend more time on thinking about getting the best out of this exercise than the bar falling off my shoulders. Just my opinion. Good sets and because of the position a lot of work though my butt.

Bentover rows are slowly coming back but no rush. Can feel my back working on these and yes I do need to bring my back strength and power up if I want that big bench. Weight is probably a little light but it will go up over the next few weeks.

Seated rows for 3 sets of 8 reps. Pretty good stuff today a good filler.

Dumbbell rows for 3 sets as well again the weight is slowly going back to where it was before I stopped training just before we shifted. Give me a few more weeks and I should be back up around the sort of weights I was doing (60kg)

Overall I am happy with where I am at,at this stage. A couple of more weeks then I will be on to another cycle but I have to get though this first.

Speed day Maybe

To end the week I went into Eastside to do some speed work. This is the first time I have done this in a few weeks so I had no Idea what was going to happen.

First up was Speed box squats and since this was the first week it was only at 50% of what I did on Monday (which was 140kg). I know that makes the speed stuff real light but remember it has been a while. The reps were quite good but could have been a bit quicker on some of them. As I do these out quite wide I could feel my butt being activated quite strongly at times and that was helping with some good speed off the box. Happy with this week but will expect more over the next few months.

Speed bench again as above was with 50% of Tuesday, (so only 50kg on the bar) I used the No# 1 bands to help with some speed and it seemed pretty good. Keeping my chest high and tucking my elbows strongly allowed for me to get some good speed on most of the reps. Will be interesting to see how the speed goes over the next few months as well.

Speed pulls I do a bit different from everybody else as I put the bars in a power rack and set it up with the bands over the bars and set so that the whole band comes off just below my knees so I have to pull with all the weight to the top of the rep. I also start at 55% of my top weight on Wednesday and work my way up to 100% in 5% jumps one rep at a time. My mind set is just to pull as hard, strong and as fast as possible though the whole rep. I am not interested in form today as it is all about speed. Today felt good and the bar was coming quite quickly (yes I know the weight was light). Over the next few months I hope to keep this going and  to get a lot quicker.

Overall a okay day, Nothing spectacular.

A couple of days in one go

Again remember that I am just starting back after 6 weeks off to shift to a new city. Tuesday is benchpress day for me so went in to do some. Only went to 100kg for 3 sets of 5 Reps. This is pretty easy for me but it was good to get it out of the way. The old technique came easily and the shoulders/traps were in place quickly with the chest up. Still got plenty of speed (without trying) off my chest. Had a pretty good tuck with my triceps as well. A couple of more weeks then I will be into some of the bigger weights. Incline B/press, Close grip bench, Flat back dumbbell press and tricep pressdowns finished off the night. Not trying to kill myself at the moment so that is why the weights are way back. just want to get moving again.

Wednesday was for deadlift. Today was good with the deads going real strong and fast although it was only 120kg. 5 good strong reps per set. Felt good. Since the weight is so low at the moment I was using a narrow sumo stance to help build up some strength in my abductors. As the weight goes up then I will do my warm ups sumo and my work sets normal as that's how I pull in competition. Shoulder press, Pronated D/bell press and bentover lat raise ended the workout.

Good week overall from a power perspective with not a lot going on but it was good to get back to lifting something. The feel of the bar in my hands again and the body working against weight felt good. Over the next few weeks while the weights won't go stupid they will go up before we start pushing things. Eastside gym has plenty of little in house comp nights so may do a couple of them just to see how things are going but already planing for next years competition year.

New start in a new place

I am back, We have shifted to Christchurch and got most of our stuff into our new house. The rest is just one of those drip feed things. The job is going well and things are good at the moment. The cat settled in well and the neighbours are nice and friendly.

Went into lift some weight last night for the first time since the middle of July. So this cycle and the next there is not a lot of BIG weight to be lifted but by the time I get to the third cycle I should be way back up there. So Monday was just the start of coming back. I am now lifting at EASTSIDE gym in Christchurch and this gym is set up for people to, lift big, go hard and to get strong. Learning how things work in there as well. But hey everyone changing gyms has to go though the same things.

The long term goals are to lift big at next year's Canterbury Champs, New Zealand Nationals and the Commonwealth champs in Auckland at the end of 2013.

Yesterday was just Squats, Front Squats, Bentover rows, Seated rows and Dumbbell rows.

Moving

Sorry to anybody following this, We are in the process of moving to Christchurch and with everything that has to be done training has to take a back seat at the moment but I hope to be back training around the 20th of August but that will be dictated by what happens on the shift. I will be back though.

Wednesday 30 May 2012

Again off the 3" boards tonight and had a good day. The elbow is feeling a lot better but I still have to watch what I am doing. Got a 280kg, 285kg and a 290kg pull out tonight so real happy. Could feel my elbow a bit after putting the weight but not enough to stop. Just real happy to be lifting heavy weight again. Good strong pulls as well and they never felt like they were going to miss.

YEAH LET'S HEAR IT FOR HEAVY WEIGHT

Tuesday 29 May 2102

Pretty good day today with benching with the bands. Felt good so I went for it today. About 275kg at the top with these bands on. (220kg on the bar). About 250kg at the chest. Good strong, quick presses out but not quite locking as strong as I want at the moment but with that shitload of tension at the top it is hard. I am trying my best to get it to lock strong. Still happy with how everything is going. If I could lift at comps right now I would still be opening on 240kg and that would just fly to the top. The Titan fury is still going and I have not got into the superkat yet so who knows what that would give me. I want to push the Fury until I can't get it to lockout for me then I will go to the Super.

Monday 28 May 2012

Had to use the No# 1 and 2 bands over the Safety squat bar today. My No# 3 bands have a big hole in them and are to dangerous to use safely. Not looking for big fiqures at the moment on these as this is the first time I have used this bar in a while. Still just trying to work things out but still got a good workout done with them. Only had knee wraps on at this stage. Could feel the lower back doing some work which is what I was wanting with this bar. Will go to about 260 - 270 next week.

Wednesday 23 May 2012

Changed things a bit here and went to deads off a 3" board. Also watching my elbow area as this is the first time for some real deads in about 4 or 5 weeks. Everything went well although I could feel my arm a bit at the top. But felt good to have the bar in my hands again for deads. No real power or speed or agression as I was just wanting to get these done. Will do some more next week. A bit happier now that I know I can get back to deads.

Bench Week 1

Good sets today. Had the No# 2 bands over the bar which gives about 55kg of tension at the top and 34kg of tension at the bottom of the press. So had the shirt on and 190 on the bar which works out at 245kg at the top and 235kgish at the bottom. Real good speed off the chest and good lockouts. Just missing my chest (mm's) but that happens with the shirt on. Need about 235ish to get it to touch clean. Everything went well including not to much wrong with my elbow. Bring on next week.

Monday 21st may 2102

Learning day today as I was usiing the Safety bar for the first time. Will have to do it inside the power rack and will have to redo the weights for the next 2 weeks. Could feel my lower back all last night and my butt as well. Was using the blue bands until we found a hole in one of the bands. Next week will have to use the No# 1 and 2 Bands for the same effect.Probably look at about 220-230kg on the bar next week for 2s.

Link to SouthernstrengthNz

This is the link to my SouthernstrengthNz Google+ page.


https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/110449915760904400231/110449915760904400231

An update

Well how lazy can I get as I have done very little with this for a while. Still trying to work the bullshit thing out with my association and federation. It seems like the president of the association has something personal against me as I stood up to her last year and we have a major difference of opinion. Was nothing to do with abusing refs or anything like that, and I did not think so.

Still life goes on and over the last couple of weeks have had a new person that my training partner and I have been showing the light to in regards to Benchpressing and that's has made me realize I am being lazy. Have not been making up training plans a couple of cycle into the future like I was doing and I could have been doing a lot more strongman stuff. Thanks to Andrew (the new guy). I have refocused on this and am starting to get this done again. Andrew came in with us to do bench on the first time and we asked him what his best was and his reply was 137.5kg in competition (Andrew weighs about 80kg). On that first night we had him do a 140kg press off a 4" board for 3 individual reps, and he was stoked. Got him around for another session a week later and used the finger boards which are 20mm thick and we got him to the 4th board (80mm) with 152.5kg. This week we are going to push him to 160kg as low as he can get it. I think our style of training is a huge difference from what he has been doing and what he thought he could do. We have told him if you stick with us he should be looking at 180kg by the end of the year. Big goals but we ( both Steve and I) think he can do it. He might need to get an up to date Fury of Superkat but hey.

This week I am looking at a 320 + 30kg of chain Squat as the top of this cycle which will be a PB in every way, so pretty keen to have this go. Also looking at a 250kg + 22kg of chain benchpress off my chest as again this is the top of my cycle. Also I am trying to push the Fury as far as I can before I start looking at the Superkat. As this is my 3rd week of my cycle I do not deadlift and this is okay at the moment as I am letting my elbow heal from injuring it while helping people out at he Otago's but the way it is feeling I should be able to go back to deads from the next cycle onwards. I think I did it by helping people get the squat suit straps up. The injury was so bad on the first week that I could only just benchpress and had to stop after close grip for my tri's as it was just to much and I have a good pain tolerance level.

Congratulations to Steve as well for being able to get a total at the Otago's, however not quite what he wanted as he set up real bad for his first squat (320kg) and had to monster it out. Steve did however set a competition PB in the benchpress with a press of 222.5kg. His deadlift was only a 310kg. Still a pretty good total of 852.5kg. As this is only the Otago's and it is the Nationals we are aiming at no need to go all the way  right now. He is (and I hope to) be lifting at the South Islands on the 7th of June. Remember all this is being done under IPF rules and WADA drug testing guidelines.

Also would like to mention the our great friend Sonia Manaena is preparing for the world raw champs in Sweden in June as well. We are supporting her all the way and would love to see her bring home another gold and increase her Raw world deadlift record that she set in Australia at the beginning of April 

GO SONIA GO FROM YOUR DUNEDIN SUPPORTERS.

As you can see from the pictures I am still doing the strongman training on the weekend 

with who ever turns up. I have no choice in the matter it is something I have to do if I 

want to get stronger for the big lifts as I find this really helps with core stability and 

posterior chain work and it gives me and anybody who turns up a chance to do 

something different. I will find a way to keep this stuff in. 

Anyway sorry for the long post but as I have been lazy I suppose this sort of 

thing happens.  I am going to try and keep it up to date a bit more so post should

 not be as long. Hope all is going well with your training and you are setting and 

achieving your goals.

Ummmm

Well, how things change. Beginning of this year I was looking forward to competing with plenty of goals and so on, Now my association has refused my membership and therefore stop me from lifting for this year at least. Some trumped up charge of abusing a referee. When.Where, What I said or did I do not know as they do not have to tell me. I have nothing but respect for referees as they do a thankless task, I don't like being a referee as I personally find it boring, but I did not mind working on the platform, and trust me, even blowing my own trumpet I was good. The freedom from drug testing registers and so on feels good but what I am to do. In my country there is only one federation (IPF) and because of the fact that in any one year there is no more than 160 -200 registered powerlifters the possibility of another organisation in my country is slim at best. At this stage one option is to prepare for the SPF finals in the USA in 2014. That would be something different to go to a competition with all the big lifters with the big Squats, Benchpress's and Deadlifts and to be around some of the biggest names in the sport regardless of federation would be a once in a life time opportunity that would be hard to pass up.

Any way on to other things, First off my wife and I would like to congratulate a great friend of ours, Sonia Manaena on setting a world open womens 84kg+ Raw deadlift record at the Pacific International competition in Australia over the weekend. This sets her up real well to defend her deadlift title at the open world champs later on this year. At last years open champs she beat the great Russian lifter Kapova for the gold medal in the deadlift.
Also I would like to wish Steve Varga all the best at the Otago Champs on the 14th of April. I will be there helping him and supporting him all the way. Steve is coming back from an enforced year off with back problems so it will be good to see how he goes.

Did some Strongman last Saturday and am still feeling it. No power in my butt or legs for squats yesterday so I am looking at taking this week off and going in to do some singles to be able to set up training programs from there on. Once I have some thing sorted out I will get back with another post.

Another week

Well here we go again. A whole week at a time.

Monday, Squats with the blue bands over the bar and working up to a top weight of 335kg for single's. Still getting use to the straps being up on the suit. Getting good depth on each of the reps with a pretty solid speed to lockout. Shook real bad on the up part of the 2nd rep for some reason, think part of it may have been from the suit and the rest from not setting right at the start. Got it up though. 1st and 3rd reps were good strong sold reps. As for depth if I weren't there then I was pretty damn close. Happy with these and looking forward to next week.

Benchpress went well on Tuesday. No# 2 bands over the bar with 54kg of tension and the hooks and about 57.5kg at lockout. This includes the bar, We then load weight from there. Worked up to 200kg of weight added to the bar for a total of 255kg - 275.5kg at the lockout. the bands lose about 20kg of tension at the chest so pressing 232.5kg - 237.5kg from the chest. Getting the Fury to work better now and also getting better press and drive out of it. Speed off my chest is pretty good with some good lockouts. If I hit it right then it locks real quick and easy. 3 sets of singles at the moment. Pretty tough work but this is what I need to do to get the real big figures. Was having trouble keeping my feet from slipping but I think that had more to do with the floor being a bit dirty and my feet were just sliding around on it. At this stage I am now more confident that 240kg is my opener at the Otago's.

Deadlifts on Wednesday were done with the trap bar for something a bit different. Had a good day. worked up to 280kg all up and got my 3 singles out real well. The trap bar frame is so well balanced that any movement and you start swinging at the top. I find this good as it makes you have to be more solid on the whole rep to keep the swing out of it so it must make you stronger with a normal bar. Real happy with the speed off the ground and the strength in the top part of the rep.

Friday is my speed day and had a good day as well. Box squats using the lighten method with the No# 2 bands which is taking about 80kg of weight off the bottom of the rep. Good speed on the reps. the first 3 sets of 2 were done in about 6.5 seconds but by the time I got to 5th set I was down to about 5.1 to 5.3 seconds as I warmed up a got quicker. From the box I got to about .9 - 1.1 seconds for each rep. I had 185kg on the bar which is 55% of what I did on Monday. At the moment I seem to be getting quicker over the weeks. 10 set of 2 reps.

Speed press today was with 140kg of all up weight with the No# 2 bands over the bar and No# 4 bands around my elbows and working like a slingshot or ram. Was a lot quicker and getting a better rep. Again doing this as something different. Again it seems to be working as I feel it is making me quicker on Tuesday's. 10 set of 3 reps

My speed deads went real well today as well. Using the No# 5 bands over the 5th hole of our power rack and as quick as I can to lockout. The first 5 reps are done sumo style the I go back to my normal deadlifting style. Started on 165kg and worked up to 300kg in 5% jumps. Had a couple of reps where I was not ready for the weight coming on and had a tough pull, but when I got my head into it the reps came fast and all the way to the top. First time i have pulled 300kg for a while so real happy to get that figure. The way I set up the bands is so that the come off just below my knees and I have all the weight from there. It is like a rack pull but I find I get into a anatomically better position for this that off racks. This has got to make my overall deadlift at lot stronger and better.

Well that's it for this week except for some strongman on Saturday if the weather is okay.

New Cycle

Well we got though another week of training just.

Monday which is Power squat day I did real well with the blue bands over the bar and then add the weight. We estimate the tension of the Blue bands at 80kg so you just keep adding weight from there. My goal was to have 325kg all up including the bar and bands and to do doubles. Had my suit on and since I only have about 7 weeks until the Otago's I put the straps up as I have not done this since last year's Nationals. Man did I get thrown around on a couple of the reps. Only managed to get singles done but as I get more time with the straps up that will turn into doubles. Don't know how deep I was but they were what I call "good solid reps" which means I wasn't going 1/2 way down but somewhere near the depth I need a competition. Speed on the way up was good and overall I am happy with how I am going.

Benchpress on Tuesday was a new exercise with having the No#1 Bands over the bar and having a all up tension of 40kg then load the weight on. Into my Titan Fury Shirt as well and was able to get 240kg to my chest with good control and good speed and a strong lockout at the top of the rep. 3 sets of singles today and I am pretty happy with how things are going. 240kg should be my starting weight at the Otago's.

Because life got in the way on Wednesday I did not get to do my Deads this week so not sure how I am going on this.

Friday was speed day with box squats with the No# 2 bands over the bar. The box was set at just below parallel and I was getting my feet out as far as I could. 10 x 2 reps with about 165kg of all up weight on the bar. Speed off the box was a bit better than it has been lately and as I squeeze my butt real tight and drive my knees out on the way up I could feel it by the end of these.

Speed press was also with the No# 2 bands over the bar and as a variation I used a blue band around my elbows to get the same sensation as using a SLINGSHOT or RAM. 10 sets of 3 reps with 137.5kg all up including the bands. Got timed on a few of the sets and was timing around 2.5 seconds for the 3 reps which is a bit slow but I have to start somewhere. Over time I can see this coming back to the 2 second mark that I aim for.

Speed deads this cycle are with the black bands over the 5th hole up on a power rack with the bands coming completely off by the time I get to my knees. If you are not ready to pull at this stage the weight is headed back to the ground real quick. I do my speed deads a little different from everybody else as I start at 55% of Wednesday's figure and then over 10 single reps work my way up to 100% increasing the weight by 5% each time. It seems to work for me. The first 5 reps are done in the Sumo style then I revert back to the style that I lift in in competition. Got everything done with the last rep being 280kg.  

Overall I think I had a good week but it could have been a bit better. I still have to look at it over the long term as the 2 major competition's for me this year are the New Zealand Nationals in early August and the Oceania Champs in early December.

The last few days

Well we have got though another few days of training with some good results.

Monday was Squats with 50kg of chain (last week something new next week), Worked up to 285kg on the bar plus the chains. The first rep was a bit high so for the next couple of sets I put my straps up and things went better. Got quite a bit lower and if I was below parallel then I was pretty damn close. Had good speed on the way up. Did 3 sets of single reps. The weight did not feel heavy and I felt like I could have out more weight on the bar and picked it up and step out with it. At this stage I am on line for what I want at the Otago's and if I keep this up then a real good figure for the Nats in August.

Benchpress on Tuesday was good as well. Still trying to get the Fury to work reliably. So work up to 250kg on the bar and came to a 40mm board then a couple at 20mm then I just said to my training partner lets just go to my chest. We have to deal with bent bars at our gym so any where near is good enough for me. but was able to touch and press the weight out with a stop. Off the chest was real quick but had to work real hard for the top part of the rep. This happens to me some times so not to worried about that part. Last year I did not do this until about a month from the Nats so at the moment I am about 5 months in front of last year. New cycle next week so will change to something new, Probably No# 1 bands over the bar.

No deadlifting on Wednesday this week but will put in some speed stuff on Friday. Off the 3" board and will work up to 290 again so should have a 875kg total for the week.

Well thats it for now, Off to do some speed work so will let you know how that goes. Strongman training tomorrow. hope to get some pictures with that so I can put those up as well.

An update

Been a bit lazy this week so doing the whole week in one go.

Squats on Monday went real well with getting the reps done. Although instead of 2 reps went for singles. Need a bit more strength for the double but will have it by the Nationals especially if I want the squat weight that I want.

Benchpress went real well on Tuesday with me getting a ugly looking 245kg bench for a single. Wasn't planned but I will take . Got 2 sets of 245kg from 2" and 40mm board. I was using my Fury Shirt as I need to do some more work in a shirt.

Deadlifts on Wednesday went well as well. Worked up to 290kg off the floor (50kg of Chain)and got 3 singles out. Good strong pulls on all the singles. Real happy with these.

Speed on Friday went well as well with some good speed coming though on the bench and deadlifts. Was able to pull 290kg again off a 3" board just 2 days after pulling it from the floor.

860kg for the week so back on track with about 8 weeks to go before the Otago's. So a bit of time for some more weight.

Friday Speed Work

Well got in and got my speed work done today and things went well.

Box squats with the Blue bands were good as I was getting a lot of speed off the box. Real happy with these. The box was set just below parallel and I was hitting it with good timing and getting good drive off the box for the stand up part.

Benchpress was with 55kg of chain on the bar and 55kg of weight on the bar. This was real good as I could feel the chains deload on the descent. Could not feel the same thing on the press but got some real good speed. Was timed on the last 4 set of 3 reps and had a best time of 1.7 seconds right out to 2.37 seconds. So somewhere around 2 seconds to get 3 reps done. Must be about right weight for this sort of time.

Deadlifts off a 3" board. Started at 157.5kg and then went up by 5% a time up to what I did on Wednesday which was 270kg. Good strong pulls on all the reps. Felt strong Did the first 5 reps sumo style the switched back to my normal stance. Because being off the 3" board a lot lees back and a lot more butt and leg drive. First time I have done these and I will be keeping them in on rotation.

Good Day overall.

Off to help my training partner at the Masters Games tomorrow. Then to get some strongman training done.

Wednesday 1 February 2012
Cycle 9 Week 1

Deadlifts today went well. Off the floor with 50kg of chain over the bar. Reps a little slow than what I wanted but it is power day. 270kg all up for 3 singles. Used only about 10 total reps for warm up as this is what seems to happen at competitions. As I get closer to the competitions then I will bring that number down as your only seem to do 4 - 6 reps as a warm up at them. Good strong lockouts so happy with how it went today.

Tuesday 31st Jan 2012

Cycle 9, Week 1

Back to benching in a shirt today so things felt a little different. Good warm up then on to 230kg off a 3” board.
First set the first rep was crap but it got better from then on. Good speed off the board to lockout. That should get quicker as I do more of this. Using the Fury at this stage as I want a good SuperKat for the Nationals. With the time I have I should just about have the 260kg going as an opener by the Otago’s. If not, then I should at least be somewhere around that sort of figure. Because I Started on a heavier weight today I will have to adjust the rest of the cycle up a bit so looking at 245kg off a 40mm board next week.

Monday 30th Jan 2012
Cycle 9, Week 1

Well got squats out of the way today with 50kg of chain added to the bar as well. Good deep reps so happy with
that part. A little slow on the way up though but to be expected with the big jump I have taken. Suit felt like it was
sticking to me a little but with it being so warm that has to be expected.

Happy with how things went, but knowing that next week will be even harder. Have to expect this as I have big
goals for the Otago’s this year and also the Nationals. Have to work hard if I want the 330kg at the Otago’s.

Goals for this year.

Here are my goals for this year,

Otago Powerlifting Championships

Squat: 330kg

Benchpress: 275kg

Deadlift: 305kg

Total: 910kg

South Island Powerlifting Championships

Squat: 340kg

Benchpress: 290kg

Deadlift: 310kg

Total: 940kg

National Powerlifting Championships

Squat: 350kg

Benchpress: 300kg

Deadlift: 310kg

Total: 960kg

Oceania Powerlifting Championships

Squat: 355kg

Benchpress: 305kg

Deadlift: 315kg

Total: 975kg

Big goals I know but if I want to push myself I have to set things like this. Also this means that I now have a BIG reason to train hard every time I go into the gym. I will also need to put a lot of effort in to making sure I get the strongman training done as well. My training for all this will start on this coming Monday the 9th of January. My first competition will be the Otago powerlifting champs in April, so lets bring on the training.

The 300kg benchpress is also a major goal this year and I will have to get my head into this as from now on I will have to be opening on 260kg at competitions to be able to get this done. To be the first person in the South Island and only the second person in New Zealand to have benched that much in competition would be a high light of the year, and to be able to do that in front of my people at the National Champs which are going to be held in my home city would be even more special.

Gmail - Inbox (1) - keithandrene@gmail.com

Gmail - Inbox (1) - keithandrene@gmail.com:

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