Rockman's Prep for VT

[rockman181]

I know I'm starting to post just before shutting down, but I just got registered here this week, and ya gotta start sometime.

OK, I've been a bench specialist in the worst way. All I used to do for legs was run, and the occasional leg press and leg curl. I started doing legs this summer, and had take 2 months off from squatting due to a shoulder impingement. I took one month off from everything in late August thru early September.

However, I'm pretty excited right now, because I just dead lifted (last night) over 400 for the first time in my life. Last week I got 370 x 3, but couldn't move 410.

Last night went like this:

warm ups 6 x135, 4 x 185, 3 x 225, 3 x 275, 3 x 315, 1 x 370, 1 x 410 (it was slooooowwww), and then 5 x 3 x 315

we then did pull through's and hypers.

I'm really quite psyched, I can finally pull more than I push (with a shirt). I'll try to keep posting my workouts from now on.

See you all in Vermont

[biglifter]

Tear it up in VT. Great job on the 400+ DL!!!!!!!

[rockman181]

Thanks! I just started reading some your posts, biglifter; you are very strong. I may be too old to catch up with you, but I'll try .

[biglifter]

rockman181 said:

Thanks! I just started reading some your posts, biglifter; you are very strong. I may be too old to catch up with you, but I'll try .

### Are you kidding? I think you have me by a country mile in bench and are close in DL. I should be catching up to you!! . First meet or are you a veteran?

[rockman181]

Thanks for the compliments , but you are too modest.

I started competing in sanctioned meets in April 2005, bench only, and later strict curl. I was looking through some records from another fed, and saw that the Connecticut State bench record for men 50-54, in the 181 class, was 335 lbs. I was already doing 315 RAW.

My first meet I showed up and did 325 raw, second meet in June I did 345 shirted.

I turned 50 on October 25th, 2005 and benched 385 (shirted) on October 27th. I also strict curled 140 that day. It was one of the highlights of my life. I've done 4 meets since then, including my first 100% RAW meet in Spencer, MA last June.

But the leg stuff is all new. VT will be my first meet squatting or dead lifting. My squat is not coming along nearly as well as the dead lift. My best there so far is 315 for 2. Now, I need to choose my attempts widely, since I don't know how squatting will affect my dead lift or my bench. Wish me luck, and good luck to you too.

[biglifter]

rockman181 said:

But the leg stuff is all new. VT will be my first meet squatting or dead lifting. My squat is not coming along nearly as well as the dead lift. My best there so far is 315 for 2. Now, I need to choose my attempts widely, since I don't know how squatting will affect my dead lift or my bench. Wish me luck, and good luck to you too.

### It might be a little too late for this advice, depending on when you stop training following your peaking cycle, but my last workout 10 days out was a simulation of the meet. I had the same exact question about how squats would affect the deads and also needed to determine my openers. I did my 3 squats with about 6-7 minutes between each attempt and the same for bench and DL with about a 15 minute break before moving onto the next "event". I viewed this as a worst-case scenario, as far as fatigue goes. Almost certainly more rest between attempts on meet day. I did nothing but eat, sleep and watch my weight 8 days prior and went in very rested. I set a PR on my 3rd squat and the legs were real sore following that. What amazed me was that it didn't affect the deadlift one bit. I did some occasional quad/ham stretches throughout the day and didn't sit down for long periods of time. Deads went like a knife through butter. I think the adrenaline shut out most soreness I was feeling. The part I'm still laughing about was the 3 hour ride home straight after the meet. Being able to get out of the car was my fourth event of the day. Almost unsuccessful. . This is all just my experience, of course. If you have the time, do your 9 lifts and see what happens. Also, my openers were reallllllly light. Get the confidence and ride the wave from there. I wish you the best of luck and be sure to post the results. I'll see you there next year!!

[rockman181]

Thanks biglifter, that sounds like a good plan. I'm going to go over my training plan this weekend, and see what I have to change to work that in. Did you take evenly spaced big jumps? Or did you go close to your max on your second attempt, with a small jump between your second and third attempt?

[chancey]

Welcome. 50 and going strong - awesome! Wish you the best and we'll see you in VT.

[dopar66]

BigLifter, you hit the nail on the head about the 4th event! And that was a pretty good idea for your first meet prep. Wish I had thought of that 22 years ago.....

Rockman, if you're hitting 315x2 and this is your first full-power, I'd recommend about a 300 opener. I say that because you'd surely feel confident you could rep it, even on a a bad day, and you can easily get those first-lift jitters out of the way. Just a little wisdom I picked up from a first-meet competitor recently, DO NOT drink a red bull before your first meet! The poor guy was bouncing off the walls with nerves. :')

Please keep in mind if you don't like my recommendation for a squat opener, I will NOT be offended if you don't heed my advice. :')

One thing you can't prep for is a LONG meet. Last I heard, 35-40 people had registered so that might not be an issue. But if we have a marathon meet, the wait between attempts and events can kill the adrenaline, and stiffness sets in. Yet another reason to bring Icy Hot. :')

God Bless.

[biglifter]

Here are the actual numbers I printed out and took into my first meet, including my incoherent scribblings at the bottom. This was very, very helpful to have guidelines in writing with me. It kept me honest with myself, and I'd like to think it kept me from getting caught up in what other people in my weight class were lifting and screwing with my plan. However, I did go in fully aware that these could be changed as contest conditions dictated. I did a 305 opener for squat, 235 bench, 365 deadlift. My preference is to make my opener my last warm-up and I'll probably keep that practice going in future meets. Shake out any nerves and put up a weight like it's nothing starts the day off right. Being my first shot at the big time, I was ultra paranoid about bombing out. I figured these openers would at least keep me off the sidelines, if nothing else. You'll see the +5's all over the place. My strategy was simple; post a total and walk away with some experience, and if I was feeling extra gutsy, exceed any 3rd attempt for any of the big 3 by 5 lbs. to hit an 1100. A good day would've been a 1,000+, a great day if I could post an 1,100. As it turns out I added 5 lbs. to the squat and 10 to the deadlift. Stayed the course on bench. I saw a lot of people with 5lbs between all attempts. Some successful, some not so successful. My take is this:

> 1st attempt - last warmup, get in the contest. Saw many people miss openers and couldn't understand why
> 2nd attempt - make numbers toward the goals you set going into the meet. Get what you came for
> 3rd attempt - PR's. Time to be a hero, if only in your own mind

I suppose the downside of this strategy is that with significant differences in poundage between the lifts, if you miss the 3rd you might give up 50 points on total. I think with experience the increments between will decrease, but for now I like the big jumps and tear up that 3rd attempt with everything you got!!
Hope this helps.


<<Gameplan.txt>>
Squat

Warm-up
135 - 8
135 - 4
225 - 3

--> 305
--> 360
--> 405 +/- 5


Bench

Warm-up
135 - 8
135 - 6

--> 235
--> 250
--> 265 +/- 5



Deadlift

135 - 5 single
225 - 3 single

--> 365
--> 405
--> 425 +/-5


+5 on any 1 for 1100

Low glycemic

Small omelet
Apples
Oatmeal
Much much water all day

Protein bar

[dopar66]

BL, your post made PERFECTLY good sense! Well said.

God Bless.

[rockman181]

OK, thanks to everyone for the great advice. Here's what I'm thinking for openers:

Squat 300, Bench 315, Deadlift 350

It's kinda sad that I can bench more than squat, but the facts are the facts, for now...

I'm hoping for 330, 335, 410, I'll have to convert these to Kg's

[rockman181]

I went to the gym to squat this morning, and that's exactly what I got; SQUAT!

My legs are still not recovered from deadlifting Wednesday night. I warmed up to 225, did a singel with 275, then loaded 315 on the bar. I went down, and din't get up. I was in a power rack, and had the safety bars set, so I didn't get hurt physically. My confidence and pride are another story.

I'm gonna try doing legs again on Monday night, after benching, and then go 60% on the deadlift on Wednesday. I'm think of dropping my opener to 275 on the squat too.

Any suggestions?

[biglifter]

First and foremost, kick the bruised confidence under a rug and don't dwell on it. Since you were able to post the experience, I'm assuming the squat did not kill you and therefore made you stronger. What is your workout volume right now??? At this point, overtraining is really BAD. If you went into the squats w/sore legs, you have overtrained/under-recovered at some point. Getting a max effort out of sore muscles is going to be a tall order. Volume should be low at this point with a focus on powerlifting-style squats (vs. olympic). Pull out all the stops on whatever it takes to maximize your recovery. Focus on going into each of these remaining sessions strong, not sore. If you're at the point of 1's and 2's, don't get carried away with 10 sets. Hit it hard, quick and start recovering for next time. Leave the soreness with the hypertrophy/strength cycles. Great strategy on dropping your opener. If you've done 315 for 2, planning a 300 opener is cutting it close. I would even consider 250. Those white lights can do wonders for 2nd and 3rd attempts ;D.

Post your previous deadlift day routine and plan all the way up until you're training stops. The guys way smarter than me can spot anything that might be a concern this close to the meet.

[chancey]

Sounds like good, solid advice to me. I need to hear that kind of stuff all the time - like shock treatment - to keep me in check.

[dopar66]

Kinda gotta echo BigLifter. That workout is now HISTORY! I'm going to be right there in your ear screaming my head off, so I know daggone good and well the 300 opener is going to clang at the top! Just don't forget to wait before racking it!

Between now and then, hit a few heavies AFTER adequate rest, but DO NOT train for volume. Three heavies per workout is plenty to maintain for three weeks. If you have the time, spread your squat out another couple of days from your deads. If you don't have another heavy dead day between now and the meet, that's even better. Now it's maintain and recover. We're going to ensure you get you a total and stay in the meet, bro!

God Bless.

[toolpod]

Good strategy man, I like the way you choose the openers.

Opening smart saved me at my last two meets from a dreaded bomb-out.

Get on the board *FIRST*... justifying your travelling arrangements..., *THEN* go to town!

Good Luck!

[rockman181]

Thanks to eceryone for the great advice. Biglifter, I don't actually have a plan for the rest of my deadlift workouts. There should be 2 more, 11-22 & 11-29. I posted last Wednesday's deadlift workout here a few posts ago. I've been thinking 3 or 4 sets of two with 370. Does that sound like too much? That's 90% of the 410 that I'm calling my max.

Scream real loud, and you might just scare me up. Adrenaline works wonders.

Thanks.

[biglifter]

I wouldn't do any more than 3 sets. Why not throw in a max for your last set of 3? If you can move 400 after 2 doubles, 410 is well within reach on meet day.

[rockman181]

Bench night

8 x 135, 6 x 185, 4 x 225, 3 x 275, 2 x 315, 1 x 345, 3 x 2 x 315, 1 x 325 tried for 2 on this one, but hit the pins on the way up on the first one. I was getting tired.

all T N G

tri's: cable extensions and push downs 3 sets of 10 each

[dopar66]

That is one wild ride on the bench! 315, 345, 315, 325....I'm tired just reading! GREAT work! You deserve to be tired!

God Bless.

[chancey]

Nice benching. Young man ego killer. ;D

[rockman181]

Thanks guys you're making me blush.

I gotta get my squat to be more than my bench. The guys I work out with keep telling "remember, you've only been doing legs for a couple of months". When I see what you folks are squatting, I feel a little embarrassed.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

[rockman181]

I went in and did a little shoulder workout. I haven't done shoulders since April of this year, due to an impingement at the A-C joint, and arthritis.

upright Seated military presses in the Smith machine

10 x 135, 8 x 185, 6 x 205, 2 x 225

That's it. I don't want to overdue it, or be injured for December 9th.

Happy Thanksgiving, again, to all.

[3speed]

Don't be embarassed about your squats. Be proud of the wok you have done. If this was easy, everybody would be doing it. At least for me, squat progress comes in spurts. Don't get discouraged if it seems you aren't making progress. Just make sure your form is good, take 'em deep and the weight will come.