Back Squat, Bench Press, Deadlift

We had a fun "Powerlifting Meet" this morning between Adam, Andy and I

Back Squat
135 x 5
185 x 3
225 x 1
255 - Failed
245 x 1

Bench Press
135 x 8
185 x 3
225 x 1
235 - Failed

Deadlift
135 x 3
225 x 3
315 x 1

Totals:
Dave: 805lbs @ 160lbs bodyweight
Andy: 875lbs @ 230lbs bodyweight
Adam: 705lbs @ 200lbs bodyweight

Laces to bar: 3x10

Back Squat and Bench Press

Back Squat
135 x 3
185 x 3
205 x 3
225 x 3
235 x 1

Bench Press
135 x 5
205 x 3
205 x 3
205 x 3

2 on 2 full court basketball, 20 minutes
Ab Ripper X

Back Squat, Deadlift, Push Press

Back Squat
135 x 3
185 x 3
205 x 3
215 x 3
225 x 3

Continuing to go up in weight on the back squats. Last week with Tom I did 215 x 3. With Tom's encouragement to go heavier (and Pat's line of "It is like running...you can run an 8 min mile all day long, but you will never run a 5 min mile without going faster), I decided to up the weight and just go for it. And 225lb felt great! I know that for next time I can do 225, and even add weight, to continue challenging myself.

Deadlift
225 x 3
295 x 2
295 x 2
305 x 2

Again Tom's encouragement on this one. Last time I did deadlifts at 295, Tom said "Tell me you at least used 300lbs". That motivated me today to bump it to 305 x 2.

Push Press
135 x 5
165 x 5
165 x 4
165 x 5

Laces to bar: 3 sets of 10 reps

20 minutes of incline walking on the treadmill (6% incline, 3.8mph pace)

Back Squat and Push Press

Back Squat
135 x 5
185 x 3
205 x 3
210 x 3
215 x 3

I've been doing back squats at 185 or 195lbs for three, so I was really happy with this progress of doing my sets at 205, 210, and 215. It was the encouragement of Tom Mohr this morning (my first time training with Tom in almost 2 months!) that had me increase the weights. Thanks, Tom!

Push Press
155 x 5
165 x 5
165 x 5
165 x 5

Lighter volume today, in that I just did two exercises. I feel like I tweaked a little something in my shoulder, and didn't want to push it too hard. Back at it on Monday!

Back Squat and Press

Back Squat
135 x 5
185 x 2
205 x 1
225 x 1
245 x 1 - New PR! (old PR 242lbs)
255 x 1 - New PR!

Press
135 x 1
155 x 1
165 x 1 (Tied PR)
170 - Failed

Snatch Technique @ 75lbs

24lb kettlebell windmills:
5 left, 5 right
10 left, 10 right

25 minutes of incline walking on the treadmill

Back Squat, Deadlift, Push Press

Back Squat
185 x 3
205 x 3
205 x 3
205 x 3
205 x 3

Getting stronger on the back squat. Started a few weeks ago doing 185 x 3 x 5. Last Friday I did 195 x 3 x 5. Today I did 205 x 3 x 5, and still think I can go higher. Next week for back squat I'll do 215 x 3 x 5.

Deadlift
295 x 2
305 x 2
305 x 2

Push Press
155 x 5
155 x 5
165 x 5
170 x 5
170 x 4

30 minutes of 6% incline walking on the treadmill, 4mph speed.

Snatch Balance, Back Squat, Press

Snatch Balance
115 x 2
115 x 3
135 x 3
135 x 3
135 x 3

Back Squat
185 x 3
195 x 3
195 x 3
195 x 3
195 x 3

Press
95 x 5
105 x 5
110 x 5
110 x 5
125 x 3

3 sets of 10 reps of laces to bar

Great workout today. Felt really strong on everything. Phil gave me a great cue that I forgot from Gattone's about foot position on the snatch balances. I was starting them with my feet too wide, and thus not doing the foot transition. When I changed my foot position to a jumping stance to start, the 135lbs felt a lot lighter. I'll go heavier next time for sure.

Last time on back squats I did 5 sets of 3 at 185lbs. Today I did it at 195lbs, and it didn't feel too heavy. Next time I'll bump it to 205lbs for my 5 sets of 3.

Today is Day 3 of my "Beef and Water Experiment". Feeling great so far, 2 perfect days of just 2lbs of grass fed ground beef, water, and nothing else. Energy level is as high as ever. Went to bed at 7:30 last night, getting a solid 9 hrs of sleep.

Thursday Garth, Zach and I go to get tested using Poliquin's Biosignature method. Will be interesting to see what advice they give to each of us.

Snatch Balance, Back Squat, Snatch Pull

Snatch Balance
125 x 3
135 x 2
135 x 2
135 x 3

Back Squat
185 x 3 x 5 (five sets of three reps at 185lbs)

Snatch Pulls & Full Snatches
75lbs - Focused on the double knee bend and aggressive shrug

Knees to elbows: 3 sets of 10

Last night Pat, Phil, Brian, Kiko, Garth and I spent 2 full hours training with Mike Gattone at WCS Gattone Sports Performance in Buffalo Grove. To get an idea of how fortunate we were to train there, here is a short bio/history on Mike Gattone:

• President/Assistant Coach of Windy City Weightlifting Club
• President of WCS/Gattone Sports Performance
• Manager of Coaching of the US Olympic Committee
• Assistant Strength & Conditioning Coach for the Chicago Bulls
• Competition Manager for the 2009 Pan American Weightlifting Championships
• Three National Weightlifting Championships
• 2 Junior National Weightlifting Championships
• 1992 Olympic Trials Manager
• Personal Coach for the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games Weightlifting GOLD medalist, Tara Nott
• Board of Directors for USA Weightlifting
• Current member of USAW Coaches Committee
• Assistant Women's Coach for the 2008 Junior World Weightlifting Championship USA Team
• Senior International Level Coach with USA Weightlifting
• Coached Dave, Pat, Brian, Kiko, Phil & Garth for 2hrs on January 15, 2010

Obviously the last bullet is to drive home the fact that this INCREDIBLE coach with an INCREDIBLE resume and history in US Weightlifting coached US! On the side, Pat was receiving coaching from Roger Nielsen: An incredible resume as well, including Head Coach of the Men's Olympic Weightlifting Team for Barcelona in 1992 and Beijing in 2008.

The fact that we have this caliber of coaches in BUFFALO GROVE, IL is just incredible.

Snatch Grip Deadlift, Back Squat, Push Press

Seven people this morning, so we split it up with four people doing back squats, three people doing snatch grip deadlifts, then switched. We all did push presses at the same time (two bars).

Snatch Grip Deadlift
185 x 5
205 x 5
225 x 3
225 x 3
225 x 3

Back Squat
185 x 3 x 5 (Five sets of three reps at 185lbs)

Push Press
135 x 5
145 x 5
155 x 5
160 x 5
160 x 4

5 minutes of double under practice, followed by 6 minutes of planks

Back Squat and Front Squat

Today was my first day back at the CDW Gym after spending the last 10 months at Crossfit Fire. I learned a TON about Olympic weightlifting, metabolic conditioning, the Paleo lifestyle, and of course building incredible friendships.

Today Adam Oldenburg, Cory Stonehocker, Brian Maastricht and I did back squats, front squats, and a short circuit. For my numbers (in lbs):

Back Squat
135 (5)
155 (5)
175 (5)
185 (3)
205 (3)
215 (3)

Front Squat
135 (5)
135 (5)
155 (3)
175 (3)

40-30-20-10 of:
24kg (53lb) kettlebell swings
Situps
8:25