New direction.

[samuelNZ]

Can't delete this post for some reason?

[drizzt]

^Isn't that the older one bro?

edit: here you go:

[bar-belle]

Wow....deep squats...bench looked strong...and deads fast. Good skills eval Sam :clap: Soundtrack pretty cool too :grin:

[samuelNZ]

Wow....deep squats...bench looked strong...and deads fast. Good skills eval Sam :clap: Soundtrack pretty cool too :grin:

Thanks BB!

20/7/11 – Day 2

• Deadlift to knees
  1x5 @ 60
  1x5 @ 100
  2x2 @ 135
  2x2 @ 150
  3x1 @ 160
  
• Bench
  1x10 @ bar
  1x5 @ 60
  1x5 @ 70
  2x3 @ 85
  2x3 @ 95
  3x2 @ 100
  
• Deads
  1x5 @ 60
  1x3 @ 100
  1x3 @ 140
  1x3 @ 160
  5x3 @ 180 belt
  Comments
  
• Got some stuff going on outside of training that’s screwing with the head so struggling mentally big time. Resulted once again in a shit training, got it all done though. Hook gripped on all up until 160.
  Totally drained mentally at the moment. Sleeping approx. 3-4 hours per night. Need some changes.

[bar-belle]

Dump her :grin:

[samuelNZ]

22/7/11 – Day 3

• Bench
  1x5 @ 60
  1x3 @ 72
  2x3 @ 85
  5x3 @ 95
  
• Squat
  1x5 @ bar
  1x3 @ 60
  1x3 @ 85
  2x3 @ 100
  2x3 @ 120
  6x3 @ 135 belted
  Comments
  
• Last Fridays training. Missed the rest of the session, had another bit of benching to do, was meant to be another 4x4 @ 85 but had to go to work. Was going to do it during the weekend but had too many late nights working and couldn’t bring myself to come in. Own fault.
  Squatting was done to the foam box again, finding it pretty damn hard. Don’t feel very strong at all and I'm feeling like reverting back to my old squat style :x

[drizzt]

Head up bro and keep positive, push through these tough mental spots and this is where you'll make your gains :nod:

[samuelNZ]

26/7/11 – Day 1

• Squats
  1x5 @ bar
  2x5 @ 60
  1x3 @ 80
  1x3 @ 100
  1x3 @ 120 belted
  5x2 @ 137 belted
  
• Bench
  1x5 @ bar
  1x5 @ 60
  1x5 @ 70
  1x5 @ 85
  3x2 @ 95
  3x1 @ 102 with commands and long pause
  Comments
  
• Pushing training to the Tuesday cause I was still recovering (sleep not hangover) from working all weekend.
  Squats apparently look good, but don’t feel it, and they feel slow and like a bit of a grind. Took away the foam box today to start judging depth without the cue. Still feeling very weak only squatting to just below parallel. Still considering making the change back to the old style as I not only feel stronger, but I have a lot more confidence in myself and feel more sound. Had a small disaster also on my 2nd rep of the 5th set - lost concentration and all tightness, fell forward and dumped the bar on the pins. Was a bit of hickup but went back a few minutes later and did another set to finish.
  Benching was ok, doing the 102 singles as controlled as possible and with a lengthy pause on the chest. Last one was a lot slower but expected that with fatigue.
  Having a few problems with the new belt also, trying to position it correctly as its restricting me a little bit. Have a short mid-section so the belt can only just fit between my ribs and hips so it’s pretty difficult to get it sitting right. Will keep playing with it, maybe look into swapping/selling if I cant get it quite right.
  Going to do Thursday – Friday sessions to finish this week as I’m back at uni and busy now. Working all this weekend too, 8pm till 5am :cry: so will have to make the most the sleep I can get during the weekdays.
  Weight is still currently sitting around 93 which is pretty ideal at this stage. Big grocery shop this week in an attempt to try and maintain this weight until nationals.

[Phedder]

Despite everything, training is still looking solid bro. As Drizzt said, pushing through the tough times will only make you stronger once you come out the other side. All the best mate, and smash back the food :nod:

[drizzt]

Having a few problems with the new belt also, trying to position it correctly as its restricting me a little bit. Have a short mid-section so the belt can only just fit between my ribs and hips so it’s pretty difficult to get it sitting right. Will keep playing with it, maybe look into swapping/selling if I cant get it quite right.

Keep playing with it bro and I hope you get used to it. I'm sure you'll find it's ok once you've given it a chance

But um, you know who to sell to if you don't get used to it :shifty:

[bar-belle]

Head up bro and keep positive, push through these tough mental spots and this is where you'll make your gains :nod:

Good advice Drizzt...spot on!

[VanillaGorilla]

Just watched your skills vid... Stronnng bro

[M.T]

Had the exact mental 'wall' just a few weeks before the finish it's the Squat Gods testing your will power and you my friend have the will and the POWER :computer:

[HarryB]

If it was easy everyone would do it! Even a pansy bb like me needs a kick in the ass sometimes to get those squats happening! If you enjoy them WHILE you're doing them, there's a probably a dr you should see about it lol...

[Big john]

Had the exact mental 'wall' just a few weeks before the finish it's the Squat Gods testing your will power and you my friend have the will and the POWER :computer:

+1 bro, you will..........SMASH IT :twisted:

[samuelNZ]

Thanks to everyone for the support, means a lot! :clap: :nod:

Training has been quite cruisy as of lately and everythings feeling well oiled. Things are starting to look like they're on the up

27/7/11 – Day 2

• Bench
  1x5 @ bar
  1x3 @ 60
  1x5 @ 70
  2x3 @ 85
  5x2 @ 97
  
• Deadlifts
  1x20 @ bar
  2x10 @ 60
  1x3 @ 100
  2x3 @ 140
  1x3 @ 160
  5x2 @ 170 belted
  Comments
  
• Have been too lazy to log this, so I forgot all my notes lol.
  Only thing I can remember is that I had trouble with the belt again on deads. Cannot keep a breath in the stomach when pulling the bar from the floor as I just expel it as soon as the pressure comes on. So I switched back to the old belt which I’ll take along to nats too.

[samuelNZ]

29/7/11 – Day 3

• Bench
  1x5 @ bar
  1x5 @ 60
  1x5 @ 80
  2x4 @ 90
  
• Squats
  1x10 @ bar
  1x5 @ 60
  1x5 @ 80
  1x5 @ 100
  1x6 @ 120
  Comments
  
• Because of the decreased weights, I’m usually just adding up all the reps on the top weights and doing them as one set to save time. 6 @ 120 was quite comfortable, squat form felt really solid today and I didn’t feel as uncomfortable as I usually do stopping just below parallel.
  Got hit in the face by the door at work on Friday night which made me bite down on my teeth and chipped one of my back teeth, pretty painful and set off a nasty headache so headed home for the night. Will ask Doc on Monday to recommend me a dentist so I can get it fixed soon. Feeling groggy as hell tonight aswell, headache and sinuses pretty blocked up so I’m gonna take another night off work and rest up and force this “feeling shit” to pass. Will keep the food and fluids up, hope this thing runs quickly.

[samuelNZ]

1/8/11 – Day 1

• Bench
  1x10 @ bar
  2x5 @ 60
  2x5 @ 70
  1x4 @ 85
  1x4 @ 90
  
• Dead
  1x10 @ bar
  2x10 @ 60
  1x5 @ 100
  2x2 @ 140
  4x2 @ 160
  Comments
  
• Monday nights training. Bench felt snappy, enjoying the deload as I was feeling pretty beat up. Deadlifts didn’t feel as good as usual. A bit slow and felt heavy off the floor but not too worried.

[samuelNZ]

3/8/11 – Day 2

• Squats
  1x10 @ bar
  2x10 @ 60
  1x6 @ 100
  2x3 @ 120
  
• Bench
  1x10 @ bar
  1x5 @ 60
  1x5 @ 70
  1x6 @ 75
  1x6 @ 85
  Comments
  
• Bench again felt quite nice, nothing heavy but technique feels solid. Squats not feeling the best, little bit tight around the hip region so might get into some foam rolling tonight. Weights sitting around 93.8 fully clothed at around 7pm so picking I’ll make weight comfortably. Heading up on Friday.

[Phedder]

Solid lifting over the weekend bro :clap: Hope there's some vids floating around? Slow down with that deadlift of yours, it's not even in sight anymore :oops:

[samuelNZ]

Solid lifting over the weekend bro :clap: Hope there's some vids floating around? Slow down with that deadlift of yours, it's not even in sight anymore :oops:

Thanks bro, will give you the link to vids once they all get uploaded, should be some great pictures too.

2011 NZPF Nationals

• Squats
  150 www - easy as hell
  160 www +15 comp PB - still easy
  175 rrr – missed, not really too sure what happened because it all happened a bit too quick.
  
• Bench
  105 www – worried me a tad, thought I touched way too low, but got 3 whites so kept everything the same
  112.5 www
  117.5 www +12.5 comp PB – bit slower than the last time I got near this weight, but still have a little left in the tank.
  
• Dead
  200 www - no sweat
  215 www – starting to round the back a bit here, pretty much giving it everything I’ve got to get the weight up.
  227.5 www +27.5 comp PB – slower than the 215, which is expected but still not too difficult. Got a little left here too.
  
• Total: 505 + 65 PB
  
• BW – 92.85
  
• 3rd Junior U93kg.
  Comments
  
• Overall, pretty pleased with how I went. Hit 2 nice PBs on the bench and dead and still have a little bit left. The squat, well I guess I was pretty disappointed. Went into the comp expecting to hit 170. Warm ups were going well, the opener and second attempt were nice and snappy, then I just seemed to lose it on the last. Maybe it’s a mental barrier, maybe it’s a technical issue when I get to that weight, or may just not be strong enough for it. Will look into options for sorting this out as its starting to lag even further behind the deadlift.
  Wasn’t expecting much out of the bench, never too confident with this one so I guess I’m pleased with the PBs here. 120 would have been nice but played it safe and went for 117.5. Had some problems with the bench, my back started to cramp around the lower traps and the erectors were spasming pretty badly so I was having a lot of trouble keeping my arch. Everytime I went set up on the bench, my back would cramp up and try and stop me from arching. Had some magic remedies of OBs and some work from the magic man himself, The Doc and I was good to go.
  Stoked to hit the 500lb dead finally, that was the original goal going into the comp. Wasn’t too sure whether I’d have the strength to hit it so I was surprised when it came up. Will work on the rounding as I know it can’t be good for me.
  
• Was a privilege to be a part of the CDs team, so many great moments, too many to note but will share a few.
  The bus trip up, absolute ball. Brilliant stories told by TF about evolution, chickenosauruses and plenty of other quality subjects.
  But the bus trip back, not so many good memories as we were all tired (except the one who got less than an hours sleep).
  The trips to Wendys and their ridiculous sized drinks.
  Eating just about every type of fast food we could find, then eating more.
  Eating to the point where I was almost sick (twice) and constantly having to wear stretch type material pants or walk around with the belt undone to give the belly some room to breathe, then eating more.
  Putting on 2.5kg in 4 days.
  Watching the ABs in the hotel with the rest of the CDs crew.
  Realising Tonka is actually the size of a house, but being disappointed when finding out he wasn’t lifting.
  Watching everyone lift, especially everyone from CDs. Standout lifts for me, Costas 300 squat, OBs PB squats, Quigley smashing his squat after tearing his strap of his suit, PT speed benching 215, PT senior still going hard no matter what age, Matt competing raw and still taking 1st against equipped lifters, Zane making all of his lifts look like warm ups, Maria still totalling after injuring her knee on the second squat, TFs 9/9 deep as sausages squats, Bills 20kg PB deadlift.
  Just want to say a huge thanks to everyone who supported, organised and helped out over the 4 days, especially OB & Ruth. You guys did a great job organising everything and if it wasn’t for people like you, it wouldn’t be possible for me to experience such amazing events. Also a big thanks to PT for helping me out during my lifting day and keeping me on track.
  

[bar-belle]

[*] Total: 505 + 65 PB

[*] BW – 92.85

[*] 3rd Junior U93kg.

Good work Sam....65kg gain..freakn awesome :nod:

Shame I didn't get to stay and see you guys lift but we had to get back to Auckland. Looking forward to watching your vid.

Haha I know what you mean about the junk food...I'm staying away from the scales for the next week...too scary :grin:

[Big john]

awsome results bro :clap: MTF deep as sauasge squats! :pfft: :pfft: :pfft: :pfft: classic

[bar-belle]

Good work Sam :clap:

opps sorry BB used your login

[samuelNZ]

Thanks guys!

10/8/11 - GPP

• Cleans 3x5 @ 40 – just playing around
  
• Squats 5x15 @ 60
  
• Standing abs 4x8
  
• Russian twists 3x5 - absolutely suck at these
  
• Close grip pull ups 5x5
  
• Hammer curls 5x12
  Comments
  
• Mainly just wanted to get some blood flowing. Did some highish rep squats to get a feel for what I’m getting myself into and can definitely see its going to be hard work.