PR Friday, 26 April 2013

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Quick Recap of the week’s post:

I bragged a bit about my lady friend. Lots of good feedback; we both appreciate it.

AC talked to you about coaching squats. He’s quickly becoming a legend on Reddit.

I discussed my Over-Warm-Up method. Try it and report back with your findings.

Lots of pic submissions this week:

scott

Scott representing the 70sBig face at his bachelor party in front of what appears to be a ’57 Chevy. Bonus points for the beard.

CrossFit Annandale - DC 70s Big

Nick and the CF Annandale crew (host site of three 70sBig seminars) made a nice little group shot. Except for nobodystopstheblob, of course.

kevin

Kevin didn’t tell me if he’s the Pedro-lookin-dude with the sweet stache, or the headband-wearin’ bearded fella tacklin him, but either way, we get the point: Rugby’s rad.

joshua

Did I mention rugby’s rad? Here’s Joshua after a tourney, sporting the 2nd place keg. A little work on the face, some extra jaw-juttin’, and he might be getting that 1st place keg soon.

james James is 47 and squats 440 @ 198lbs bodyweight. Get started, kids. You might beat him in 20 years. Maybe. Or not.

reece

Reece gets it. Grass, weights, aviators, and a nip slip? He’s clearly been paying attention. Good job.

 

Post your PRs and have a great weekend!

 

 

78 thoughts on “PR Friday, 26 April 2013”

  3. I’m in my 3rd week of a cut and taking it easy in prep for a friendly competition a bunch of my interwebz friends and I are having in a few weeks and keeping the volume low. In prep, I’m hitting heavy doubles (usually never go below triples in my current program) to get used to the weights, which typically leads to me going for heavy singles by the end instead.

    I went through a little bit of an overtraining issue a month or two ago from being too aggresive with my bench and pressing weight increases and had to drop the weight significantly and work back up, and it’s paid off. While doing the heavy singles on bench this week I hit 295 lb for a single, a 17.5 lb PR, and I have a shot of hitting 305 lb during the comp. I’m just under 260, hoping to cut down to 240 or so by the end of June. Bench is nothing special, hoping to get it closer to a 1.5x BW bench by the end of the year.

    Oh, I also hit a 10 lb deadlift PR for the same reasons Saturday, pulling 525. I have a shot at 535 at the comp. Both of these PRs are my planned second lifts.

    • Oh, forgot since I didn’t post last week. No actual weight PRs, but I went for a triple on squats 10 lb lighter than my previous best triple, and due to my cut and weaker self, it was hella hard and I had to push so hard I blew out a ton of blood vessels in my face and neck. First time I’ve done this, so PR? It was my first heavy squatting session on the cut, 2 weeks in. I had taken the previous week very light as I was feeling very beat up after an intense 6 weeks of lifting where I increased my squat and dead lift by something like 40-50 lb each and my bench by 20ish on Madcow, my first weekly periodization.

  5. Competed in my first Powerlifting Meet, USAPL Equinox Open. Took 3rd in the 275lb weight class (missed 242 by 0.3KG).

    Squat PR: 347.2lb (17.2lb PR)
    Deadlift: 457.5lb (2.5lb PR)

    I got 500lb above my knees on my 3rd Deadlift attempt, but had to choose between putting the bar down or needing new underwear. I put the bar down. I’d say I did pretty good for my first comp, and just over a year of lifting!

    • That’s awesome, congrats on your first meet, I really need to get around to singing up for one in my area. How would you have placed with those weights in the lower weight class?

      • Coreyd, not sure. Full results haven’t been posted yet. Whichever class I was in (242 vs 275) would have had 4 guys including me, so it wasn’t super competitive in that sense. And taking 3rd was icing on the cake, my goal was to have 6 good lifts, and I had 7 (missed bench and deadlift 3rds).

        • 7/9 is great. I like the 6 good lift goal (2/3 goal on each lift I assume?). I might have to use that when I compete, leaves room to really gun for iton that 3rd attempt while making sure you post good totals. Gonna go do some research on a comp now, I’ve been putting it off too long.

  8. This has been a really solid week of lifting and nutritious eating. I made an excellent Costco run last night, so it looks like next week will be great for food as well! I was pretty excited to find frozen ducks at Costco for a fine price of about $12/each. It’ll be good to mix a little duck in from time to time to break up the monotomy of chicken, beef, pork, fish, shrimp, repeat. No PRs, but I am on track to hit my goal of a 500 lb. deadlift this year. I think I’ll also hit my goal of a 300 lb. bench press as long as I can avoid injury. I’ve really racheted up my pull up and row volume and frequency in the hope of avoiding some of the shoulder problems that plagued me after I got my bench to 295 last year. Squats, bench, rows, pull ups and curls tonight! Then I’m going on a nice hike/hunting scouting trip/picnic tomorrow.

    PR: I sucessfully removed the ABS brake module from my car with an allen wrench after registering my car in Virginia for the first time and then failing their safety inspection because a warning light was on. I didn’t even know what the hell an ABS brake module was last week. I think I saved myself about $900 by doing the repair myself. The relevance here is that I had to use every ounce of my deadlift grip to get that thing offf. Next goal: buy a torx #T20 bit for my socket wrench because removing a screw that’s been rusting since 1999 with a fucking allen wrench sucked big time.

    I’m looking forward to meeting up with some DC-area 70sBiggers at the gym on Sunday!

  10. Had a weird experience PR – I’ve been taking ZMA nightly for a few months and last night I think I had eaten too much food (is there ever such a thing?). I had a belch coming as I was getting ready for bed and along with it came… a mist of white ZMA powder.

    What ensued was my trying to get that crap off the back of my throat, as its not at all water soluble. I tried drinking a Naked juice for its thick consistency, which didn’t work. Water barely helped. Ultimately, I wound up eating some peanut butter and drinking some milk with it. Now you know what works if this happens to you.

  11. Good week of lifting, nothing spectacular but working my way up toward some numbers. I am aiming for a meet on June 29th and had my first meet on March 23rd so not a ton of time in-between to get ramped up.

    Hit 275x5x5 squat pretty easily which I never would have made a year ago. Also hit 125×8 in OHP which is probably a rep record.

  12. Rolling along another week. Volume squat session is down to sub 1 minute rest periods. I think I might drop the belt and work back to that point beltless over a few weeks. Squats were great last weekend and everything is progressing well.
    Bench: 210×1 (stupid fast), 185×10, almost a lifetime PR, after 23 previous reps. Once again, more reps than last week. I was going to stop at 185, but everything is working so well, I’m just going to keep edging upwards for another couple weeks, maybe.

    Tomorrow should be a great squat session as well. In another month or so I’m going to start alternating squat and deads intensity days.

  13. I always feel left out of PR Friday because my intensity day is on Friday afternoon and I usually go right to dinner afterwards and forget about posting something. I guess I can post what I’m going to get and then reply after I get it.

    Today I’m going to get:
    HB Back Squat 131 kg x3
    Press 67 kg x3
    Deadlift 160 kg x3

    Question for the TM gurus. I’ve been stuck at a squat of 130kg x3 for the last month (missed 132 three times and was sick one week). I’ve tinkered with a couple variables and finally admitted to myself that I need to lower the volume day this week (was doing 110kg 5×5, then tried 108kg 5×5, and now 105kg 5×5 this week). My question is, how do you know when to drop volume, or start shooting for doubles on intensity day? I’ve read both books so if there’s a section in there I missed, feel free to refer me to it.

  14. Hit a PR on bench at 330#, that was a 30# PR. (But my previous 1RM of 300# was also a 5RM)

    I am going to the USAPL NC State Championships in June, being my first meet I have started pausing at the bottom of very bench rep (I was used to the typical high school weight room bouncing it off your chest like a trampoline). During normal training is is better to pause every time?

  15. Looking forward to getting cleared to exercise by my doctor within the next week or two. PR on hitting some weights earlier in the week for the first time since my surgery… hammer dumbbell curls, 15 pounds, 12 reps, gassed me. One minute on the exercise bike on moderate resistance, gassed me. Military press with an empty bar, two reps and couldn’t lock out the third (the procedure I had pulled my abdominal wall super tight, so I can barely achieve lumbar extension while standing *without* a barbell). Oh, and that gassed me too.

    PR on having my last of four surgical drains removed. It’s nice to not be hooked up to tubes anymore.

  16. Awkward lifting PR.
    Press: 245lbs @ 220BW
    However, this lift was completed while Taylor Swift was playing over the gym’s radio. Not sure if I hit the PR despite the music (Mental focus PR?) or because I was actually pumped up by the catchy lyrics.

    Also, my new belt arrived today (lost the old one a few months ago) so new PRs for SQ, DL, Press should be coming along soon.

  17. Not many PRs to report because I’m in the accumulation (read: so much volume.) phase of a modified Juggernaut program, but I do have a general question for you folks. What are peoples’ thoughts on intermediate lifters using a belt? Sometimes I feel like people want to murder me when I’m using gear for less than three wheels! Can anyone else speak to feeling similar belt shame?

    • search “belts” on this site and you will get an article called “Belts Redux”. There are also some other ones in the archives that will help you learn to use the belt to your best advantage. Don’t worry what the assholes staring at you are thinking, they probably don’t even know what the belt is for anyway.

        • I read those articles—they were what lead me to my belt in the first place—more just wondering whether intermediate lifters need a belt or if I’m going to see better long-term training without one until I can hit bigger bodyweight multiples. Currently can’t squat even close to 2x bodyweight, for example.

  19. First meet since August and got a couple meet PRs under my belt (and 2nd place in the -69kg class)

    snatch: 65kg (+3kg meet PR)
    C&J: 85kg (+3kg meet PR, just missed the jerk at 88)
    Total: 150kg (+7 meet PR)

    so no overall PRs, but 4/6 makes for a good meet, I say

  20. I don’t really have a PR this week, but I am finally back under the bar after two years of pathetic back-induced hobbling.

    Also I discovered an ass-kicking gym in the Boston area that “encourages” its members to compete. Their terms and conditions include the phrase “work hard or go home”. I’m going to talk to a trainer during my orientation about signing up for a competition. I don’t even care what kind of competition; I’m just sick and tired of being a useless brokedick.

  25. Ego PR, I made the website above and Cloud held me up as a role model to the kids. Coach Big Chris just had me crank down the intensity days so no lifting PRs. He also gave me the green light for a bench only meet 5/18, so I reckon we’ll see something big happen there.

  26. It was a good week of training, not a great week of eating as I was at a bunch of off-site training…

    I’m finally come to the realization that my “38 year old mid-level manager with a four year old and two year old twins” PR’s might not be my “Pac-10 football player” or “Mid-20’s” PR’s…that being said, I was still happy with the following:

    450×1 deadlift (suprisingly easy)
    230×1 Power Clean
    175×1 Power Snatch
    405×4 High Bar Squat
    185×3 Press

    Working towards the following goals:
    550 lb DL
    500 lb Squat
    300 lb Power Clean
    250 lb Press
    250 lb Power Snatch

    Other sub-goals:
    50′ with 16 lb shot
    160′ with 2k discus
    55′ with 35 lb. weight throw.

    It’s definitely possible to 70’s Big when you were born in the mid-70s..

  27. Been a while since I posted.
    Squat: 3 x 5 @ 234#
    Press: 3 x 5 @ 115#
    Deadlift: 1 x 5 @ 343#

    I also realized that there’s a grocery store near my office that sells various cooked meat. So for the days where I can’t prepare my lunch ahead of time, I can a couple chicken legs for $5. Cheaper and better than the food court.

  28. im not in special forces so maybe this has been mentioned, but why has the site changed? if you just log into 70sbig.com it shows ACs bench article as the last thing posted. if you follow the link from facebook it goes to 70sbig\blogs\yadda yadda\circlejerk or something like that.

    • We had some system issues and have been working on things behind-the-scenes for the past couple weeks to try and keep the site up and running while we optimize things. Thanks for your patience.

  29. Squat 410×12
    Press 270
    Powerclean 280
    I had a couple more reps in me on the squat but my elbows dropped really bad on the last one so I called it quits.

  30. I was pulling good today, but had no gas in the tank for squats and bench.

    Squat: 370×3 (missed 5 rep PR)
    Bench: 250×4 (missed 5 rep PR)
    Power Clean: 200×3 PR!
    Deadlift: 370×5

    The below list is this week’s shortcomings, which doomed most of my PR attempts before I even put my Pendlay lifting shoes on…

    -Intensity workout was rushed and I did not have my pre-workout meal and coffee.
    -Poor nutrition all week.
    -Forearm soreness from first week of softball, probably due to poor pre-game warmup. In the gym, this affected most notably my volume squats, benching, and assistance work, but also pulling toward end of workouts.
    -Lack of focus and drive to continue doing what I need to do outside of the gym to continue progress.

    I need to make good habits a priority and re-dedicate myself next week.

  32. No PR’s this week. Began Cycle 3 of 531 BBB. I put 10kg on my squat and 5kg on my dead 1RM so far. Bench aint moved, somethings up. Big up to AC for the article on said exercise. Will study, implement and report back.

    Side Note – dont move to Holland if you want gains. They stay fucking with my gains.

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