My Raw Quest

[Dr Squat]

The time is right I feel to be a bit more public with my training log. My training partner Mike Zero was giving me a hard time tonight about being slack at keeping my blog up to date. I hope that being by being a bit more public on here, I will be kept accountable to keep it up to date. Plus I hope I can inspire a few people along the way. And I am always open to constructive feedback and advice.

A bit about me. I have a powerlifting background. I went to the worlds as a junior a long time ago. I have grown since then. I am currently around 105 kg with a view to growing to 110 kg. My medium term goals are around achieving a raw total of 800 kg:

300 squat

200 bench

300 deadlift

I train at Eastside in Christchurch. As I said I train with Mike Zero and we train like power bodybuilders. Lots of sets and reps at this stage as we look to build a good foundation.

Looking forward to sharing some of my training philosophies as well as my progress.

[Luigi]

good stuff mate, will make a good read :nod:

[becbec]

:ditto:

[genetic freek]

I will be watching with great interest. I am intersted to see how you impletment the use of nanas fudge in your training program...

[steak]

Thats a mighty goal Doctor! Good luck with your training...keep us posted!

[rose]

Yay! More squatting 8) I like your name Doc :grin:

[jono]

Yay! More squatting 8) I like your name Doc :grin:

indeed this name is worthy of praise.

[IronHyde]

Awsome, i will be keeping an eye on this thread!

[groovy]

Ya that would be an awesome RAW total. So hows your progress so far? :pfft: :pfft: :pfft:

[Dr Squat]

Progess to date is good. As I said I have been training with higher reps (6-10) so I haven't really tested myself. My target date is April 2010 at the Canterbury Powerlifting Champs.

My best lifts as an equipped powerlifter were equal to a 700 kg total at 82.5kg. These were was:

280 kg squat

155 kg bench

265 deadlift

The equipment has gone now. I'm all about raw. I am now 105 kg and wanting to get closer to 110 kg. I have benched a raw 190 kg. I have been focussing on high bar squats and haven't done a lot of deadlifting. My training has been about working on my weak points. It's good to have a goal to focus on. I love training and I always try to be the strongest in the gym. And hopefully moving towards being the biggest.

Lower back and hamstrings tonight. I can't wait.

[startinfromscratch]

awesome strength mate, this should be an impressive read!

and welcome to journaland!

[Dr Squat]

Posterior chain day at the house of Eastside.

Safety Bar Box Squats 2x65x8 2x105x5 145x5 185x5 205x6

Chain Suspended Good mornings 60x5 2x100x5 2x100x5

Stiff leg deadlifts 60x10 100x8 2X140x6

Training was a bit condensed as had to head off to a meeting. Pleased with the 205 kg for 5 reps on the safety bar squats. I really like these. Confident of hitting 225 for 5 next week. Not pushing too hard on these as it is a movement I haven't done for a while.

Chain suspended good mornings are also great. Again, early days and developing the flexibility to do a full movement with a decent weight is the challenge over the next few weeks.

I believe a rep range of 5 is good for the posterior chain. Ed Coan stated that 5 is a good balance between size and strength.

Shoulders tomorrow. It will be a good night at Eastside with a few special guest- Nate Williams, Dave Smith and Lisa Bailey.

[rose]

I love Good Mornings. I'm not far off 100% BW for 5 x 5. Can you please post a pic of chain suspended ones? I'm intrigued. Thanks in advance Doc.

[autechre]

Geez those are some big lifts! Awesome work :grin:

[Dr Squat]

I love Good Mornings. I'm not far off 100% BW for 5 x 5. Can you please post a pic of chain suspended ones? I'm intrigued. Thanks in advance Doc.

Here is a link. The quality of the narration is not great but the technique is pretty good. I like them because the chains give you the benefit of finding a good starting position.

The key is too ensure that the bar stays in front of your knees. Otherwise it turns into a quarter squat.

[rose]

8) Thanks.

[Dr Squat]

Sorry I mean the bar should be in front of the knees at the starting point!

[Dr Squat]

Soulders at Eastside with Mike Fry

Seated barbell press 2x20x12 2x40x10 2x60x8 80x6 90x5 70x10 60x18(failure)

Shoulder a bit niggly but okay when warm. More frustrating than anything.

Seated lateral raises 2x15x10 2x20x8 2x25x6 PB 2x20x8 2x15x10

Front raise 15x8 17.5x8 20x8 17.5x12

supersetted with:

Cable upright rows 4x10

Rear delt laterals 3x12.5x15 2x15x12

Seated barbell press 60x10x3. Did the last 2 sets with a good pause at the bottom.

Good training with some good volume and intensity. Shoulders blew up nicely when warmed up. Still feel like my front press is a way off what I am capable of. Hard to isolate where the niggle is. It did go away but has come back. Not chronic so I will just try to find movements that don't cause pain.

[Laver]

Hey mate,

There is a strength/powerlifting sub-forum for the workout journals. PM Pse if you want it transferred to there (Helps me cos I don't look at the genera;l journals, but ill be following this)

[Dr Squat]

Saturday 19 September 2009- Triceps at Eastside

Skullcrushers 2x20x10 2x30x10 40x8 50x6 2x60x6 50x10 40x15 30x20

The young Fryup got a bit competitive which made for some silly reps at the end. Great volume and my tris were superpumped at the end of this.

Close grip bench press 60x10 100x6 120x4 2x120x8

Good strict form. Found these a bit humbling after working hard on skullcrushers. We will start with this next week and I will be after a PB. My best is 160x5.

Tricep pressdowns V-bar 70x10 110x10 140x10 160x10 140x10

Rope extensions (high cable) 4 sets of 15 to finish.

Good tricep workout. I can feel them starting to get sore as I do my log. I split arms in two and will do biceps in the morning (Sunday). Had to get home and I didn't want to give them half a workout.

So things are going well. Mike and I are pushing each other along and I am happy with the balance between heavy weights/low to medium reps/intensity/volume. Lots more room for improvement but we are well underway.

[steak]

Jeeeeezzzzusss...25 sets for triceps

[Dr Squat]

Jeeeeezzzzusss...25 sets for triceps

The good old volume debate. That 25 includes the warm up sets on skullcrushers. Even so I have found that my triceps do need a lot of variety and volume. I would struggle to get the job done in less than 20 set in my opinion. I would welcome your views of course.

My short term goal is to hit close grip of 170 for 5 reps. I don't think that this is too far away and my climb here has been on the back of this volume.

[steak]

Jeeeeezzzzusss...25 sets for triceps

The good old volume debate. That 25 includes the warm up sets on skullcrushers. Even so I have found that my triceps do need a lot of variety and volume. I would struggle to get the job done in less than 20 set in my opinion. I would welcome your views of course.

My short term goal is to hit close grip of 170 for 5 reps. I don't think that this is too far away and my climb here has been on the back of this volume.

I dont know f all about the volume debate mate...im a bit like you though and really like a good high set workout even though some would say its not that benficial for us...i have trouble dragging my rs out of the gym some days im having so much fun 8)

Awesome weights you guys are pushing around :nod: :clap: Envious as f*ck! Now how do i turn back time

[Dr Squat]

Jeeeeezzzzusss...25 sets for triceps

The good old volume debate. That 25 includes the warm up sets on skullcrushers. Even so I have found that my triceps do need a lot of variety and volume. I would struggle to get the job done in less than 20 set in my opinion. I would welcome your views of course.

My short term goal is to hit close grip of 170 for 5 reps. I don't think that this is too far away and my climb here has been on the back of this volume.

I dont know f all about the volume debate mate...im a bit like you though and really like a good high set workout even though some would say its not that benficial for us...i have trouble dragging my rs out of the gym some days im having so much fun 8)

Awesome weights you guys are pushing around :nod: :clap: Envious as f*ck! Now how do i turn back time

A wise person once said that the key to success is to surround yourself with good people. I had the benefit of training with probably the best and most knowledgeable for a year or so and he taught me lots about training and eating. I thought I knew quite a lot but I didn't know anything and even now I have a long way to go. And I now have the benefit of training with one of the great up and coming kids. 19 years old and so physically and mentally strong.

I find the volume a challenge every workout. I suppose I am still a powerlifter deep down and sets of 10 are painful! But I love it and wouldn't have it any other way.

[steak]

The good old volume debate. That 25 includes the warm up sets on skullcrushers. Even so I have found that my triceps do need a lot of variety and volume. I would struggle to get the job done in less than 20 set in my opinion. I would welcome your views of course.

My short term goal is to hit close grip of 170 for 5 reps. I don't think that this is too far away and my climb here has been on the back of this volume.

I dont know f all about the volume debate mate...im a bit like you though and really like a good high set workout even though some would say its not that benficial for us...i have trouble dragging my rs out of the gym some days im having so much fun 8)

Awesome weights you guys are pushing around :nod: :clap: Envious as f*ck! Now how do i turn back time

A wise person once said that the key to success is to surround yourself with good people. I had the benefit of training with probably the best and most knowledgeable for a year or so and he taught me lots about training and eating. I thought I knew quite a lot but I didn't know anything and even now I have a long way to go. And I now have the benefit of training with one of the great up and coming kids. 19 years old and so physically and mentally strong.

I find the volume a challenge every workout. I suppose I am still a powerlifter deep down and sets of 10 are painful! But I love it and wouldn't have it any other way.

Ive checked out the the eastside website mate...awesome! You are dead right about Mike Fry...gonna be a force to be reckoned with for sure! Keep up the good work and let us know any tips or hints eh...