#drizzt

[steak]

Good write up D 8)

[cMac]

Great job pal :clap: 300kg squat is mighty impressive.

[HarryB]

Really good lifting and all things considered 10k on your squat and bench is awesome work.

Of course like a true battler you've walked away somewhat disappointed at lifting your best over in comp... lol

Well done man, every outing you just get better and better.

[drizzt]

Considering your limited time in equipment, I thought you lifted really well mate. Definitely left a lot on the platform in the squat, I got right along side for the 300 and it was ridiculous how deep you sank it, and still came up quite easy. A bit more time learning the suit and hitting depth spot on and I honestly think a 320-330 is there before the year is over. I saw the same thing as the others with your deadlift too, amazing speed off the floor and then a sudden stop and slight drop before you properly activated the hips to bring them through.

Was a pleasure to meet you and the rest of the powerhouse crew, a few easy things for you to iron out and you should see a massive jump in your total come BBro :nod: I'll hopefully be up there for it too.

Thanks Phed! Likewise meeting you and watching you lift too, definitely have a strong future.

Yeah I'm confident with possibly a better-fitting suit (which was looser than usual due to the drop in weight), restrengthening the raw squat, and further time in equipment, I hope to challenge for around the top squat nationally by next year's Nationals.

Deadlift I think is just time over the bar, it hasn't been this poor since before I started at the House, so I have some ground to make up here. Definitely need to target that lockout, has always been an issue for me, about time I fixed it. Might order some bands today for it.

Surprise package was definitely the Bench, aside from that first attempt it felt very strong, I like where that is going. Til' next time bro :nod:

Nice writeup, Drizzt. It's a good read even for us non-PLers. :clap:

Thanks, Pseudo! Long weekend but happy the first Nationals is under the belt.

It was nice to catch up mate.

Cheers GR nice to see you again too bud. Thanks for the support!

Good write up D 8)

Thanks bro! A shame we didn't get to see Emma in action, next time!

Great job pal :clap: 300kg squat is mighty impressive.

Cheers Mac, you won't be far off.

Really good lifting and all things considered 10k on your squat and bench is awesome work.

Of course like a true battler you've walked away somewhat disappointed at lifting your best over in comp... lol

Well done man, every outing you just get better and better.

Yeah all things considered on paper, it wasn't a terrible result, I just know there is so much there waiting to be taken that I'm disappointed I didn't show some of it on the day. Ah well it has motivated me to train (and eat!) better this time around.

16-17 weeks to BBro, enough for a couple of cycles through something, time to get to work.

Cheers all for the support

[drizzt]

Here are a couple of vids of my squats, the 285 (thanks to Ailsa (aka Captain Amazing) for this one):

And the 300 (thanks to HJP for this one!):

[Old Bull]

Happy Birthday Bro

[HarryB]

happy birthday!! :grin: :grin: \:D/ \:D/

[Pseudonym]

Happy birthday, Mr Drizzt!

[Gym rat]

happy birthday Drizzt have a good one mate.

[drizzt]

Thanks guys! Pretty lowkey day, managed to fly under the radar with nobody at work knowing and then hit a nice weights session to loosen things back into it. Pretty much perfect birthday :grin:

[bar-belle]

Happy B'day Drizzt

[drizzt]

Thanks BB! :grin:

[steak]

Just seen this...Happy Birthday :nod: Hope you had a good day and are recovered from Nats and big night out you deserved :clap:

[drizzt]

Thanks bro! Yeah a few of the CDs boys had some beers Sunday night but nothing too outrageous! Otherwise pretty much recovered and chomping at the bit for the next training block :nod:

[drizzt]

Trap Bench Training - 18.08.2012

• Bench (sets x reps @ weight - RPE)
  bar
  1 x 8 @ 60kg
  1 x 5 @ 80kg
  1 x 3 @ 100kg
  Add Loose F6
  1 x 3 @ 120kg
  1 x 2 @ 140kg
  Swap F6 for RageX/Wrist Wraps
  1 x 3 @ 140kg (3 board)
  1 x 2 @ 160kg (2 board)
  1 x 1 @ 170kg (1 board)
  1 x 1 @ 175kg (touch) - @ 7 [+15kg PB]
  1 x 1 @ 185kg (touch) - @ 8.5 [+25kg PB]
  1 x 1 @ 180kg (comp commands) - @ 9 [+20kg paused PB]
  Raw work
  5 x 5 @ 100kg (close grip, feet up)

Comments

• Resolved to keep under cover until BBro, but wanted to give an update as to how I am tracking along for the Trapfat Bench challenge 15 weeks out from the comp. Did more than just bench, but this is all that is relevant to the challenge.
  I think people might have thought I was out of my depth with this challenge, but I don't make stupid challenges (even drunk :shifty:). I knew I was in the hunt, just needed to show it. So here it is. 185 was probably easier than the 180, burned a bit of energy there before dropping down for a paused rep. Maybe a 190-195 touch-n-go in the tank if I got in the zone for it.
  2nd training session in this shirt, few things tech-wise were sloppy, can get a bit more jack out of it too. 15 weeks to improve it, now aiming at 200 for BBro. Happy with PBs today, but time to get serious if I want to compete with the best, not good enough yet. This is just the beginning.
  OB has vid which he will post up in due course.
  See you all at the BBro.

Cheers to the fellas for spotting/liftoffs/holding boards.

[Pabs]

Impressive benching, Drizzt. Well done!

What sort of numbers are you looking at hitting for the BBro?

[drizzt]

Cheers Pabs!

Ahhh will depend on how the Super Cent goes when I get into it, but a pretty optimistic estimate is 340/200/290.

Was thinking 180 would be optimistic for bench, until today happened, heh.

[Pabs]

Good lord, that's some serious weight there. All the best mate, I'm sure you'll smash it. :nod:

[drizzt]

All wishful at the moment, but should be there. Cheers mate 8)

[drizzt]

Benching from yesterday. 175 touch/185 touch/180 pause

(175 was uneven due to the sleeve being a bit more pulled up on one side, so I had a little less resistance on the right arm)

[Phedder]

Jeez, where did that come from!? Think you've found the right shirt haha.

but a pretty optimistic estimate is 340/200/290.

Doesn't seem that optimistic, 800+ total coming for sure :clap:

[drizzt]

Cheers Phed

Jeez, where did that come from!? Think you've found the right shirt haha.

Yeah after having this happen at Nats for a 3rd attempt:

I had the feeling there was a lot left in the shirt to be tapped into.

Really liking the RageX as opposed to the F6. Differences being the F6 gives you excellent speed off the chest, but not a lot in the middle range (where I'm weakest), so it results in a slower lift for me - I have to rely on that added speed off the chest to just biltz past/through the transition to get safely to lockout :grin:

The RageX doesn't give you the same speed off the chest that the F6 gives, but carries it's support on through the middle/transition to give you a decent kick there too. Because off the chest is my strong point, a shirt that pumps this facet of the bench up further isn't going to be giving me the best poundage. So getting some support through the transition from the RageX has made a huge difference for me :nod:

That, and I reckon (in my whole 1-2 months experience in bench shirts :pfft:) that the Rage is an easier shirt to learn. It supposedly falls in between the F6 and the Katana in terms of the type of lifter it is targeting (e.g. someone who has a bit of experience in equipment), but I find it doesn't try and force me into a certain line or style like the F6 does. And I reckon handling these heavier weights can only be good overall for my bench - raw and equipped :nod:

Will have to try and resist getting into a shirt for the nex 6-7 weeks while I keep working on the raw stuff, snuck it in on the weekend because it was a light day.

Doesn't seem that optimistic, 800+ total coming for sure :clap:

Fingers crossed, big gap between the 700 I got at nats and an 800+ so there'll need to be some hard yards haha.

[HarryB]

Damn solid benching bro.... solid 180!!! That bench is flying up!

[drizzt]

Cheers Harry, yeah as I said above, just really found a shirt that helps through my weak point(s). The raw strength isn't great at the moment so hoping once that is back up to par I'm going to be looking at 200+.

[drizzt]

:wave: Been a little while since I last logged, but I thought with my deadlift being atrocious at the moment, something needs to be done. So not only have I started the Pavel-Simmons Deadlift program (5 days in a row deadlifting, 6 weeks), I thought I'd log my embarrassingly bad deadlift sessions throughout the program to hopefully shame me into a better lift.

As it stands, my deadlift is currently at a worse level than when I first competed as a 93kg lifter at the beginning of last year. The 2 months off for a holiday without lifting really killed it, and I haven't recovered any of the strength back - in fact, I've gone backwards. I was getting easy, fast triples at 240 (I think beltless too?) before I went away... and last week, I got a very grindy single (with a belt) at the same weight. Something needs to be done.

I've changed a few things around since Nationals technique-wise due to my problems with lockout, and just in making my lift more efficient (thanks BJ). This has resulted in a decent cut to my speed off the floor, but now when it is above the knees I'm (usually) assured of a lockout due to better hip positioning. So my strength curve is a lot more even throughout the lift.

It's a bit of an adjustment to my natural high-hip-round-back style that rockets off the floor and stalls at lockout, but I think it will suit me better in the long run.

These sessions are pretty basic, I do (*well, will be doing) them at about 6am before heading to work. They take about half an hour total including warmups, and then I come back in the afternoon to do some other lifts. Because deadlifting is the focus, the afternoon lifts won't be too strenuous, and I won't be logging them either.

So, the program in a nutshell is: Monday 15 reps, Tuesday, 12, Wednesday 10, Thursday 8, and Friday 6. All reps are done as singles (i.e. Monday is 15 sets of 1 rep per set), and I time myself for 30 seconds rest between each lift. This is suggested on the program, and also means I get a quick, fast session out, keeping the intensity high.

Obviously, the weight gets higher from Monday to Friday, and increases a few percent each week. It looks like the goal is to go from speed to strength.

Here's the program for those interested in taking a look: