“A 40oz to freedom is the only chance I have to feel good...” – Sublime

“...two hundred pounds is always two hundred pounds.” – Henry Rollins

“Adult males > 200lbs” – 70’s Big

Friday, May 31, 2013



- Squat: 100 x 5/110 x 5/120 x 5
- Bench: 90 x 6 x 4
- Deadlift: 160 x 5 x 1 (on the minute)
- Barbell Curl: 3 x 8
- Prowler sprint x 30m x 8 (1 minute rest)

Comments:

So my city physio confirmed my local physio’s diagnosis. He reckoned I was right to resume squatting and pulling, so today I took it real easy. He also said that if it flares up again I shouldn’t have to take time off as he doesn’t think it’s the kind of SIJ issue that should get any worse. He said keep doing my 30 minutes of daily mobility work and my pelvis nutation should sort its self out. My SIJ still feels stiff in the morning and is still sore to palpate, so I really hope he’s right about it not getting any worse. At any rate, I’m not going to stop squatting and pulling unless it becomes so bad that I can no longer squat and pull.

Wednesday, May 29, 2013



- Bench: 85 x 4 x 6 (all reps paused)
- Rack Pull (below knee): 140 x 5
- Weighted Chin: 20 x 5 x 5
- Prowler sprint x 30m x 8 (1 minute rest)

Monday, May 27, 2013



- Bench: 80 x 4 x 8 (all reps paused)
- Barbell Bulgarian Split Squat: 60 x 3 x 6
- Chest Supported Barbell Row: 60 x 3 x 8 
- Prowler sprint x 30m x 8 (1 minute rest)
 
Comments:

My SI joint is improving and with any luck I’ll start my next cycle of REAL training next week. Fingers crossed.

Friday, May 24, 2013

Tuesday

- Bench: 81 x 3
- Press: 56 x 3
- Prowler

Thursday

- Bench: 81 x 3
- Press: 56 x 3
- Prowler

Friday

- Bench: 81 x 3
- Press: 56 x 3
- Prowler

Comments:

That's my post meet deload done.

It seems that MAYBE my SI joint is getting better. But I'm playing it safe and taking one more week off from squatting and pulling and then if everything is good after my visit to the city physio, I will start with Jordan F the week after next. In the meantime, I'll be introducing my bench to DUP next week.

Monday, May 20, 2013

Deload:

- Bench: 81 x 3
- Press: 56 x 3
- Weighted Chin: 20 x 12,8,6
- Biceps/Triceps
- Prowler sprint x 30m x 8 (1 minute rest)

Comments:

Every single bench rep of every single set (including warm ups) from here on out is paused for 2-3 seconds, unless stated otherwise. 

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Singleton Strength Triathlon







So today was my first meet and despite some unexpected failures and some equally unexpected successes, I had an awesome time and cannot wait to compete again. I met some great people, had a great time and just really loved the atmosphere and the culture of competing. I really believe that competing is part of what lifting is all about. It’s one thing to hit PRs and make lifts in your garage or gym and something else entirely to do it in competition, to time your peak and perform on the day. 

9:05AM: Arrive at venue, weighed in at a paltry 80.9kg. Subsequently I consumed 2 litres of water, muesli bars and jerky. 

10:00AM: Begin warm ups for the squat. Everything felt pretty good. My L5/S1 joint wasn’t particularly painful. 

10:30AM: Squatting begins. 1st attempt – 150kg. Easy. 2nd attempt – 160kg. Couldn’t believe how easy this was. 3rd attempt – 170kg. Pretty damn easy considering this was a 7.5kg PR and the first time I’ve ever even had this on back. At this point I was fucking charging and thought today was going to be my day.

10:45AM: Downed another 2 litres of water, Gatorade/BCAAs/creatine, more muesli bars. I was super bloated and would have been at least 83kg by this point. 

11:00AM: Begin warm ups for bench. Felt a bit heavy but I was still charging from squat PR so wasn’t too concerned. 

11:20AM: Benching begins. 1st attempt – 107.5kg. Comfortable. 2nd attempt – 112.5kg. Not too bad. At this stage I was pretty confident of hitting 117.5. 3rd attempt – 117.5kg. Failed. I thought this rep was technically sound, though she held me down there for a while. But frankly, I just didn’t have it. 

12:00PM: I stop consuming a shit-ton of water, have some more food and Gatorade/BCAAs/creatine. 

12:15PM: Warm ups for deadlift start. The bar in the gym, though its rings were like that of an IPF approved bar (and thus different than my home bar), still had knurling in the centre where I usually grip the bar when I pull. The warm-ups didn’t feel particularly heavy, though they didn’t feel light. My L5/S1 was hurting quite a bit by this point. 

12:30: Deadlifting begins. 1st attempt – 212.5kg. As you can see in the video, I didn’t know where to grip the bar, because there was no knurling where I normally place my hands. If I grip the knurling, my hands are a good 3 inches further out than normal (thus increasing the distance and completely fucking my whole set up). So I decide to grip the smooth and I was barely able to lock it out without losing the bar. Despite all of this, I didn’t feel the pull was that hard and so went ahead with Jordan F’s prescribed 2nd attempt of 227.5. 2nd attempt – 227.5kg. Complete failure. I decided to grip the knurling which a much wider grip than normal. I also think my stance was wider than normal, as the difference in distance between rings was throwing me. At the end of the day though, I wouldn’t have been able to pull 227.5 at home on my own bar. The fact is, my pull had already peaked 3 weeks ago after my second last deload. Then I pulled that horrible ball busting rep at 225 2 weeks ago and further beat myself into the ground. 

Total: 495. Wilks: 335. Very disappointing. 

Concluding thoughts: Yes this was my first meet and yes it was good just to get the experience, but I failed to get the total I was after. My squat was a huge surprise and it peaked PERFECTLY. My bench failure wasn’t a real surprise considering the last 12 weeks and we know what needs to happen with my bench (paused benching ONLY, more volume, more frequency and more fucking mass). My deadlift was a huge and unexpected failure. However it seems pretty clear to me that my pull peaked 3 weeks ago and pulling PRs 2 weeks out from a meet isn’t a good idea. Furthermore, I need to get a new bar with the exact same markings/knurling as IPF competition bars. This is essential. 

Moving forward, I’m going to take the whole next week off from squatting and pulling in the hope that my L5/S1 joint inflammation and pain will disappear. Then, it’s time to press forward with some DUP and absolutely smash 495 at my next meet in November. All in all though, I had an awesome time. I made friends with the guy that has the national deadlift record in the 103 class, swapped numbers and will hopefully get the chance to train together sometime soon.

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Realization Week 3, Day 1

Squat: 128 x 2 x 3
Bench: 95 x 2 x 3
Deadlift: 175 x 6 x 1

Realization Week 3, Day2

Squat: 80 x 2 x 2
Bench: 65 x 2 x 2
Curls, Pushups and other flush and pump shit.

Comments:

This is it. Last session until the meet.

Saturday, May 11, 2013

Realization Week 2, Day 3

Squat: 150 x 1/155 x 1/162.5 x 1 (PR)
GHR/GHD Sit Up: 2 x 15
Rowers: 4 x very light 20s

Comments:

This was actually ok. Obviously my squat numbers are still pathetic and I should have been squatting more than this by now, however considering how sub-optimal the past 12 weeks were for my squat, this result could be a lot worse.

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Realization Week 2, Day 3

- Bench: 116 x 1/120 x 0

Comments:

I honestly thought I was going to hit 120 after 116 came up quite fast. It just didn't happen however. 116 was technically the most proficient that weight has been this entire block, which is one thing to be happy about.

I am disappointed with how my bench has responded these past 12 weeks, however I'm past being devastated. Mistakes were made and lesson have been learned.



Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Realization Week 2, Day 2

- Deadlift: 215 x 1/225 x 1(PR)
- GHR/GHD Sit Up: 2 x 15
- Rowers: 4 x very light 20s

Comments:

225 was pretty ugly and a lot harder than I wanted it to be.

Saturday, May 4, 2013

Realization Week 1, Day3

Squat: 147.5 x 1/152.5 x 2/150 x 2
GHR/GHD Sit Up: 2 x 15
Rower: 4 x very light 20s

Comments:

What's to say? Shit house. Squats have gone nowhere either. I would have been better served by almost anything else during the past 12 weeks.  It just doesn't feel like I've squatted enough. Nowhere near enough sets of 5. If I had just pounded sets of 5 between 70-80% for the last 12 weeks I'd be in much better stead. Just want to get this meet over and done with.


Thursday, May 2, 2013

Realization Week 1, Day3

Bench: 111 x 1/115 x1/112.5 x 3 x 1
Push Ups: 2 x 20
Inverted Row: 2 x 15
DB Curl: 2 x 15
Band Push Down: 2 x 20

Comments:

I was feeling very good going into this session. After Tuesday's deadlift PR, my confidence was running high. I was aiming to hit 115 for a double, which would have made for a very small PR and given me some confidence to hit 120 at the meet. Instead, I struggled to lock it out for a single.

The reality of the situation is this: my bench has gone nowhere in nearly 12 weeks. It's actually regressed, as there is no way I could rep out 107 x 5 (even TnG). This is profoundly demoralizing for me and not how you want to be heading into a meet. I'll speak to Jordan and see what he says, but right now I'm at a loss. The only thing I can think of is that the my bench should have been based off my paused max and not my TnG max. I asked Jordan about this at the beginning and he said it shouldn't matter too much and if I had to shave a few kgs of here and there then to do it (which I've done the whole time). However, you would think that my bench would at least increase a little after all the volume and then the deload - but the fact is it hasn't.

And the thing is, I've been training long enough to know when I'm getting stronger, you can tell when that adaptation has occurred or is occurring. I could tell with my deadlift the whole time pretty much. And yet, my bench and squat haven't once felt stronger.

I just want to move forward, try to learn something from this (though I'm not sure what that is yet) and resume getting stronger.