Donati's Log Of Steel Bending, Grip And Powerlifting

[Shoggoth]

Are you working your grippers between deads sets? If not I'd suggest to give it a try. Work of of that neuro spike and your mitts are primed right then as well.

[Buccos1]

Are you working your grippers between deads sets? If not I'd suggest to give it a try. Work of of that neuro spike and your mitts are primed right then as well.

Today I was ... don't normally do grippers with deads, as both together usually kill my hands. I feel the strongest with grippers and squats but have started to work them in with other stuff, mainly due to less time to train.

[Buccos1]

Fri (7/10)

Squats

(1x5) 135

(1x3) 225

(1x2) 315

add briefs

(1x1) 405

(1x1) 425

(1x1) 440

I took the family up to Erie for a few days. We went to a few water parks, and I ended up going on some crazy slide at Splash Lagoon, which ended up jacking my knee a little, It actually hyperextended and forced me into the Lazy River for awhile. I was able to get in one session before this, after having looked for a decent place to train all morning.

[EricMilfeld]

Speedy recovery, Carl.

[Shoggoth]

Hope it's just a short term tweak bud

[Buccos1]

Speedy recovery, Carl.

Hope it's just a short term tweak bud

Thank you guys. It is a ton better after a few days off. I won't know for sure until I squat and deadlift, but it seems to be OK. I just gotta realize that I am not a young guy anymore! LOL

[Buccos1]

Mon (7/13)

Adjustable Thick Bar

(1x3) 100

(1x1) 145

(1x1) 170

(1x1) 195

(1x1) 210

Ironmind Hub

(1x1) 30

(1x1) 50

(1x1) 55

Ironmind Pinchblock

(1x1) 52.5

(1x1) 55

DO - IMPs

Yellow Nail

Yellow Nail (4.5")

Red Nail

It's been awhile since I've done the Hub and Pinchblock, and they both felt pretty weak/heavy today.

[Buccos1]

Tue (7/14)

Speed Bench Press - Axle

(1x3) 115

(1x3) 125

(2x3) 125 - add chains

(3x3) 150 - chains

Floor Press

(1x3) 135

(1x3) 170

(1x3) 225

(1x3) 265

(1x1) 305

Shrugs

(1x5) 225

(1x5) 315

(1x5) 405

(1x3) 475

(1x3) 520

My top set of 305 on floor press seemed to be a max. I wasn't able to pause it like the other reps, for fear of getting stuck at the bottom. (My bottom safety bars are several inches below the bottom part of the lift, so I try to avoid dumping it at all costs, or risk damaging the bars.) My knee seemed OK while standing with the heavier shrugs, so things should be good to go for tomorrow's squat/dead session, the last before the meet.

[JHenze646]

I may have missed it in your log. When & where is the meet? What is your game plan for this meet?

[Buccos1]

I may have missed it in your log. When & where is the meet? What is your game plan for this meet?

Nah, man. I haven't talked about it too much. The meet is next weekend … the RPS PA State Championships. It's out toward Philly. I'll be lifting in the men's master's division @ 198. I will be posting my goals soon. (I have to do some last-minute analysis. LOL)

[Buccos1]

Wed (7/15)

Squats

(1x5) 135

(1x3) 225

(1x2) 315

add briefs

(1x1) 405

(1x1) 455

(1x1) 480

Deadlifts - suit/straps down

(1x3) 225

(1x1) 315

(1x1) 405

(1x1) 440

straps up

(1x1) 500

[Buccos1]

Fri (7/17)

Bench Press

(1x8) 135

(1x3) 185

(1x3) 225

(1x3) 250

(1x1) 295

(1x1) 345 - Sling Shot

add loose shirt

(1x1) 345

(2x1) 350

I was out-of-state for a few days and had to bench at a health club. The benches were pretty bad, so I ended up putting one of their utility benches in the rack. (It was still pretty bad, but I was able to get a few reps in.)

Edited July 20, 2015 by Buccos1

[Buccos1]

Mon (7/20)

Bench Press - 3-board

(1x3) 135

(1x3) 185

(1x3) 225

(1x2) 275

(1x2) 315

(1x1) 335

(1x1) 355

Speed Bench Press

(3x3) 155

(3x3) 165

Shrugs

(1x5) 225

(1x5) 315

(1x5) 405

(1x5) 475

Grippers - MMS

(1x5) T

(1x3) #1.5

(1x1) GHP5

(1x1) RB 240N (124lbs.)

(1x1) SM (132lbs.)

I've made pretty decent progress (for me ) on grippers throughout the past half-year. My numbers have steadily climbed, but have started to plateau around 128-130 the past month-or-so. I have also been hitting them pretty hard, doing grippers 2-3 times/week (which for me, typically destroys my hands, when combined with the bending). After having passed through the 120s pretty smoothly (after having been stuck around 115-120 for a long time), being able to hit 128-130 50% of the time has become pretty frustrating. I also know that backing off grippers would probably help my numbers, but it has been really tough backing off, as the desire to close grippers supersedes common sense sometimes.

Due to meet training issues and traveling a lot this past week I haven't been able to get in my gripper sessions. Yesterday was my first day in about a week, and I was expecting my closes to feel pretty weak. When my 124lb. attempt (top planned rep) felt like an easy #2, I pulled out my 132lb. Super Master and made an attempt. (I've gotten close a few times with this, but for the most part, been about 3-5mm away.) When the set felt good, I knew I had a shot and not only clicked the handles, I was able to hold it shut for about 3 seconds. This totally blew my mind as this gripper felt so hard the past few weeks.

Now that I see the result of taking a week off, and how this fits in with my training, I will not push things endlessly, without a break. I also just purchased the RRBT program and am thinking about starting it after my meet next week, with the hopes of going from the lower 130s to the lower-mid 140s.

[Buccos1]

Tue (7/21)

DO - IMPs

Yellow Nail

5/16 x 7" Grade 2

Red Nail

DU - IMPs

Yellow Nail

1/4 x 6.5" Grade 5

Iromnind Pinchblock

(1x1) 42.5

(1x1) 47.5

(1x1) 52.5

(1x1) 57.5

Ironmind Hub

(1x1) 40

(1x1) 50

(1x1) 55

Not much else going on this week. The meet is coming up Saturday, and, as always, it is most difficult for me on meet week to stay away from everything. Bodyweight each morning this week was 192-193, which is a little lower than I would like. I'm not going to do any cutting for this meet, which is going to be nice!

My training leading up to this has been OK, but not great. My goal remains 1400, in the men's master's division (single-ply).

Goals for meet:

Squat -- 485

Bench -- 375

Deadlift -- 540

If I get some decent attempts in, I would be happy with 1350-1370 (especially with my bench shirt sessions being hit-or-miss), but am definitely aiming for 1400!

[EricMilfeld]

Do it, Carl. 1400!

[Shoggoth]

Great goals Carl. Nail it!

[Buccos1]

Thanks guys!

[Buccos1]

Sat (7/25)

RPS Pennsylvania State Championships

Lancaster, Pa

Men's Masters (single-ply)

Squat

440 - good lift

465 - good lift

485 - good lift

Bench Press

340 - good lift

365 - good lift

400 - no lift

Deadlift

470 - good lift

520 - good lift

550 - no lift

Total - 1370

Bodyweight - 191.9

All-in-all, this was a good meet. The meet atmosphere itself was phenomenal. They broke the 100-lifter mark, which forced two different sessions: sub-198/women in the morning; 198+ starting at 3:00. This proved to be a challenge because of waiting around until 3 to start and the having to lift late. I also left after the meet and it was a 5-hr. ride home.

I was perfect on all of my squats, and got whites for all three attempts. 485 came up pretty good, and I might have had a shot at 500, but at this point, I was thinking about my 1400 goal total. Not having had a good shirted-bench session in months, I thought I was safe to go 340 in my super-loose shirt. It felt strong and I decided to switch to my tighter (still loose) shirt on the next attempt. I went for 365 and slammed it up. Feeling a little amped up after having my first technically sound shirted bench rep in awhile, I decided to go for my first official 400lb. bench in a meet. (I've gotten 400+ up before but have been red-lighted for various things.) I knew doing this that if I missed it, 1400 would be tough. I thought I had a shot and decided to go for it. Everything was good on the set-up. I might have gotten a little too amped-up though. I got to about half-way and then just lost it.

Going into deadlift (around 7:30), I was very tired and run-down. I opened an easy 470 and then jumped to 520. The 520 came up smooth, but took out more than I thought it would. I had no choice but to call 550 for my last attempt (for 1400 total), but had nothing left. (550 would be a difficult pull on the best of days for me, with all things going right.)

If I would have taken a 385 bench instead of going for 400, a 535 deadlift would have gotten me 1400. I'm happy with the way things went though, especially with the problems lately with bench. I also weighed-in at my lightest ever for a meet (191.9) and did no cutting for it. (Normally if I cut before a meet, I can drop 5-8lbs. the night before without too much difficulty.) Makes me wonder if I should commit to getting down to 182. Also, my recent weight loss has left my shirt and briefs (PL gear) way too loose, and not giving me much at all in support. I am going to probably send some stuff to the tailor to have tightened up soon.

Anyone that has a chance to do an RPS meet should do it! Gene Rychlak and his wife run the best meets I have ever been apart of. They also have a ton of stuff to do for families.

[JoshW]

Really enjoyed reading this. Very strong lifts! Seems you got your bench sorted this time man! Analysing your past performances will definitely help you judge what jumps to make for each lift in the future, also I think you would be even stronger at a slightly lighter weight but if you have to buy new shirts etc then maybe not a good idea

Impressive numbers brother!

[JHenze646]

Nice write up. It seems like it was a much better experience than the previous meet and you made some progress.

When is the next meet?

Are there ever any on this side of the state? - humor

[EricMilfeld]

Congrats, Carl! Very nice lifting.

As you suggested, with a couple of smaller jumps you had 1400. From the sounds of it you could do it even at 181!

[Buccos1]

Really enjoyed reading this. Very strong lifts! Seems you got your bench sorted this time man! Analysing your past performances will definitely help you judge what jumps to make for each lift in the future, also I think you would be even stronger at a slightly lighter weight but if you have to buy new shirts etc then maybe not a good idea

Impressive numbers brother!

Thanks for checking it out! Yeah, a lot of the shirt problems were messing with my head. And I've had a lot of attempts passed over the years. I was over thinking things too much. But, when I was lifting with a crew for bench, my numbers were solid. It definitely hurts a little training alone, with liftoffs from your wife (though, she does surprisingly well).

Nice write up. It seems like it was a much better experience than the previous meet and you made some progress.

When is the next meet?

Are there ever any on this side of the state? - humor

Thanks Josh! LOL Yeah, not too many western Pa meets, unfortunately. I wish RPS was around here more, but they haven't been in west/central PA too much. They do a few meets in Columbus, OH. This might have been it until next spring, unless the competition bug bites hard.

Congrats, Carl! Very nice lifting.

As you suggested, with a couple of smaller jumps you had 1400. From the sounds of it you could do it even at 181!

Thanks Eric! Yeah, after getting my 3rd attempt squat and bench opener and second attempt, I was set-up perfectly for it. But the chance to go for a 400 bench was too much to pass up for me. (I accepted this too during the meet, telling myself that it was going to be unlikely if I missed the 400.) I went into my last deadlift on fire, expecting to get it, but just didn't have anything left.

I squatted with knee sleeves too, which I know knocked me down a little in weight. But, I got sick of messing around with wraps before attempts, and wanted to cut out that stress.

[Buccos1]

Mon (7/27)

RRBT

Phase 1 -- Day 1

I am going to start the RRBT program (actually starting today). As this program is not free (out of respect to Bill), I will not post exactly what I am doing with grippers when engaged in it. The program does call for a lot of volume, almost every day. So I will just be posting a basic title (e.g. Phase 1/Day 1) each day I do something. After having done some work already today, my hands are fried. This will definitely be brutal!

My current max close is 132lb. Super Master. (This was done last week, and was surprisingly easy after a short break.) Estimating, my MMS max is probably 133-134lbs. I hope to bump that up to 140+, with the hopes of closing my 140lb. #3.

I am involved in a lot of different things (bending, grip, powerlifting etc) and am not sure how this will affect everything else. I am still going to keep up with my normal routine, utilizing some variations, as needed. I want to focus more on grippers now, until I can close my #3, and will make this a priority, but I am not going to give up on bending and lifting. I just need to find the right mix/timing, and am not sure how it will unfold yet.

[Buccos1]

Tue (7/28)

RRBT

Phase 1 - Day 2

My hands were feeling pretty messed up after the first day. I had to make some slight adjustments, or would likely not be able to continue on. I am going to take a day-or-two rest after the meet and will get back into things soon.

[Buccos1]

Wed (7/29)

Squats

(1x5) 135

(1x3) 225

(1x2) 315

add suit/straps down

(1x1) 385

(1x1) 435

(1x1) 465

RRBT

Phase 1 - Day 3

I normally don't squat during the week, and typically take more time off the week after a meet, but needed to do something heavy. Warmups felt rough, but as I got used to the heavier weight, the last two reps were pretty good.