[niagareven]

Sat 9/8

At home--lots of band work doing a lot of the stuff that the "band man" shows in the videos on elitefts. I felt good after doing this.
Foam roller

Ate another meal--off to the gym

reverse hyper--100 x 3 sets of 12
light tire (400ish) x 2 sets of 10 flips

stones to 44"
300 x 1 so easy
330 x 0, couldn't lap it
330 x 0
330 x 0
300 x 1...crappy tacky made me miss lapping a second.
300 x 1
260 x 5 -- soo slow. Don't ask me why.
-I completely forgot to put the tacky on ice today, so it was not working. It was basically almost liquid and not sticky since it was so warm. It also didn't help that my arms were soaked in sweat. Now I am not trying to make excuses, but the way the 330 was popping off the floor, and how easy some of the 300 singles were.... the 330 would have gotten loaded and I would have repped the 300. Crap.
-Video of the 3rd single with 300, and the crappy 260 set - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8cnYn3ZpL8

Farmer medley
160 x 50 feet, 160 x 50 feet
250 x 50 feet, 250 x 50 feet
-So easy today. I could have gone further and my grip didn't budge at all.

Flipped the 685 tire a couple times

Reverse hyper
380 x 12
380 x 12

pinch grip
six 5's x 1 in each hand after failing a couple times.

Sushi time.

--last workout before my contest next saturday. I will ride my bike 2 or 3 times this week, use the foam roller at least 3 times, and do band traction/stretching a couple times as well. I am ready for the contest.

[niagareven]

So, once again I was lazy and didn't touch the foam roller or bands in this week. I always say that I'm gonna do this and that when I take a week off from lifting, and then don't. So the last 2 days my back has been bothering me again, my knees are bothering me, my forearms had this weird pain down them. Finally today after work I used the foam roller for about 20 minutes, and then stretched with my bands for another 20 minutes and did a bunch of band traction. I feel much better now.

I was also going to eat light this whole week and try to come in weighing 180-183 or so because I was thinking thats the weight I'm strongest at. Then I realized that would be stupid to try and get back down to that when I've been used to walking around at a bloated 186-190. So I've been eating how I have been. I weighed 189 this morning after 2 meals. I'll probably weigh around 190 for weigh ins tomorrow, considering I am gonna eat when I get up, and depending on how long it takes to get there, possibly eat again before I weigh in.

After this contest, I need to get in better shape/condition and try and drop some body fat while getting ready for nationals. I feel like my strength is there, or will be there to do well, but my condition is what may hold me back from doing well, so I really need to focus on that. And I'd like to get down to about 180 again so I don't really have to cut much weight before hand.

One problem about nationals, is that I couldn't get that friday off that the lightweights are competing, and in order for me to get to vegas early enough to weigh in, I need to leave pretty early on thursday morning, so that means I need that day off. Now I can't decide if I want to try to work something out with my manager, or if I should just call out sick both days. I'm just afraid if I try to work something out with my manager, that he will try to get people to switch their personal days with me, but it won't work and then I'll be screwed. I have the next week off from work for vacation, so I will try to decide this week.

Speaking of the week off, I'm glad it fell the way it did. I didn't plan on having the week off after this contest, but because I did, I'll actually get a lot of sleep during the week and will recover even better, so when I start training for nationals the following week, I think I'll feel like a million bucks. I'm not going to take off the week after this contest, I'm gonna workout tues/thurs but do light/technique work. Then saturday I am going to try to deadlift for the first time since hurting my back all those months ago. We'll see how it goes.

[Zerocrew1984]

yeah its a bit risky trying to work something out with the boss...him saying no and then you call out sick on those days...i dont know your work situation but i would just call in sick.

[niagareven]

That's what I was thinking. I hate calling out sick, but whatever. I have a place I can get a doctors note from.

[niagareven]

So, I sucked.

Only got about 5 hours of sleep last night, and then drove about 2 and a half hours so I was pretty tired as it was. Whatever

600lbs conan wheel. I don't know what happened here. Well, I do, I just wasn't strong enough. It was my first time touching one, but I thought I'd do a little better than I did. I think I made it like 3/4 of a lap and then it slipped out of my arm. I had a good pace going I felt like, then bam it starts slipping. I think that zercher carries on a yoke will definitely help with this, despite people saying it won't.

Car deadlift was my only half way decent showing. I had to go first sine I sucked and came in last on the conans. I ended up grinding out 11 reps. The whole time I was pulling this I was saying to myself "great, it feels like a million pounds, and everyone is gonna pull like 30 reps with it." Guess I was wrong, even though keller and leth definitely smoked the thing. The last rep I pulled I burst about 400000000 blood vessels in my neck and face, and my collar bone popped and was hurting the rest of the contest. Now I have a pain in my collar bone that goes through my neck and into my trap. Great. 3rd place in this event (it was the only event I paid attention to my placing.)

Overhead medley next--190 10" log, 210 axle, 230 12" log, 250 axle. I thought I was gonna blow through the first 2, and then give the 230 log a good shot. I was planning on pressing the first log from my lap to save on some time. Then I get it in my lap, and it feels so much heavier than it should have. Then I miss the clean. re-clean it, get the press. Then almost struggle cleaning the 210 axle, and missed the press! Then I pressed it out again without putting it down. Go to the 230 log and it friggen felt like 300lbs. I couldn't even clean the damn thing even though I have cleaned more than that easily before. Very dissapointing.

At this point, I was so tired that I laid on the floor and ended up falling asleep. I don't think it was for that long, but I just thought htat was pretty funny

Farmers medley next--230 x 50 feet, 260 x 50 feet. At this point my traps were toast from the car dead, and I was exhausted. I can't believe how beat I felt from only 3 events. I pick the first farmers up easily, go like 10 feet and trip and drop the bars. Pick up again and finish them. Get to the next set, and pick easily, then my grip starts failing, and I keep dropping them. I think I only made it like 30 or so feet before time ran out because I dropped them like 4 times. So bad.

Stones up next. 220 - 330 to 60", 60", 54"?, 48"? and 44"? Something like that.
Being so short, I was very nervous about the first 2 stones. I ended up getting them pretty easily, and then go the 3rd easily as well. Got up to the 4th stone which I believe was 305 or 310. Lap it first try, but dont get close to loading it. I couldn't lap it again after that. Crap

I think I got 4th, but I could be wrong. I just know I didn't place top 3 and get a cool sword/axe

I am exhausted, feel like crap, and my neck is killing me. Now it's time to start training for nationals so I don't come in and suck again.

My friend filmed everything, I'll post the video (even though the quality is pretty bad) when I upload it.

[fat_wilhelm]

Nice job on the car deadlift! You can chalk your bad events up to it being a bad day, plain and simple.

[niagareven]

Thanks. I was really nervous that everyone was gonna blow me away. My friend went after me and only got 4, then 2 guys got 0 after that and then a guy got 8 I believe. So I felt really good. Then I remembered that keller and leth, who are ridiculously strong still had to go. I think Keller got like 15 or 16 and leth did a couple more than that.

[niagareven]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywUGdd6BA9I Look at my ROM on the car deadlift, wow.

[niagareven]

Mon 9/17

I was ridiculously sore yesterday. My neck was bothering me as well, but not as much as I thought it was going to.

Today I am still sore, but not as bad. My entire back is still pretty bad though. I tried using the foam roller on it, but it hurt too much and I had to stop.

Did a bunch of traction, stretching, and various rows with bands to get some blood flowing into my back.

Also did 3 neck work. I wrapped a monster mini band around the rack, and then attached my other 3 bands to it. Looped it over my head from the front, and held for 10 seconds, then the side/back/other side. Did this for 3 sets.

Then rode my bike for 15 minutes.

[niagareven]

wed 9/19

Still feeling beat up. My traps are still pretty sore but not as bad as the last couple days. My neck is still bothering me, but it's not terrible.

Foam roller, not much.

Lots of band traction and stretching with bands.

Neck work.
-I am going to start doing neck work a couple of times a week at least. I think the reason I always tweak something or hurt myself in my upper back/trap/neck is because I have a very weak neck.

Push press with axle out of the rack.
70 x 5
110 x 5
130 x 3
160 x 3
180 x 3
-Was gonna call it there, but did I? Nope.
200 x 1
220 x 1
I'M A MORON (240) x 2 misses.
-I was planning on staying light and just working on speed/technique. But I am incredibly stupid. I should not have even come close to attempting 240 which would have been a new PR. I don't know what I was thinking.

Shrugs
135 x 20
135 x 20
135 x 20
reverse grip
135 x 15
135 x 15

bent over rows (pretty high angle to hit my traps more)
135 x 15
135 x 15
reverse grip
135 x 15

mini band rear delt cross over things
2 sets of 30

superset: monster miniband face pulls / chest press with 2 monster minis wrapped around my back
20 / 30
20 / 30

mini band piston press downs
1 set of 40

Now gonna go ride the bike for 30 minutes.

I really want to deadlift on saturday, but I am going to have to see how my neck feels.