# PL Meet  Prep Log



## SAD (Oct 24, 2012)

I've tried this a few times and have trouble keeping up with it.  This time I'm just going to chronicle my contest prep.  I have a powerlifting meet December 1st so I'm just a little over 5 weeks out.

6'2"
295lbs
Bodyfat? (who gives a fuck, my singlet looks good!)

Test E - 500mg/wk
Test PP - 600mg/wk
Dbol - 30mg/day
GH - 3.33iu before bed, except on max effort days when I'll go 10iu before bed.


Was cruising at 300mg/wk up until about a week ago.  Just started munching on the March Pharm Blue Hearts yesterday.  Only been running growth for a month thus far, so all I'm getting from that right now is improved recovery.


Currently squatting 600, benching 410, and deadlifting 600.  These haven't been tested in a while, and likely won't be truly tested until the day of the meet.  Right now just trying to make that last little bit of progress and find my opener numbers.  Will have a mock meet here in about two weeks to judge what my 1st and 2nd lifts for each discipline will be.


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## Big Worm (Oct 24, 2012)

Looking forward to following this.


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## SAD (Oct 24, 2012)

2 week split looks like this.

Week 1: ME week

Day 1 - Flat bench. Heavy doubles into heavy singles into slingshot work.  Nothing over 95% raw, nothing over 110% with slingshot.
           Drop sets 315 for reps (6-9 normally) and then 225 for 10.

Day 3 - Deadlifts. Triples with orange short bands, then heavy doubles raw into heavy singles raw.  Nothing over 95%.
           One set of 90% static hold. (Just pick it up and hold it until you can't anymore.)

Day 5 - Squats.  Heavy triples into heavy doubles, raw classic.  Then heavy singles wrapped.  Nothing over 95%.
           Drop sets 315 for reps (10-12 normally) and then 225 for 15.


Week 2 -  Speed work

Day 1 - Flat bench.  Explosive triples with orange bands, nothing over 65%ish.  6-8 sets.
           Bodyweight dips, three sets to failure.  Usually looks like this, 31, 23, 13, lol. 
           Dumbbell flyes, three sets of 10-12.  Nothing heavy, just stretching really.

Day 3 - Deadlift.  EITHER rack pulls against bands or deficit deads without bands.  6-8 sets of doubles at 70%ish.
           Good mornings, 2 sets of 5, IF our backs are not fried.
           Bodyweight pullups, three sets to failure.  Usually looks like this, 9, 8, 5.

Day 5 - Squats.  EITHER box squats without bands or regular squats against orange bands.  6-8 sets of triples at 70%ish.
           Barbell lunges, 3 sets of 20.



Repeat.  That's it.   This is a hybrid of a high-level-powerlifter-friend-of-mine's program, (thanks PLK), and my own brainchild program that allows me to tweak it around my work and my workout partner's work.


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## DF (Oct 24, 2012)

Great numbers SAD! Very nice to see a PL log.  Will be following along.  Best of luck!


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## gymrat827 (Oct 24, 2012)

like the training style your using for prep.


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## SAD (Nov 9, 2012)

I thought I had started this, but then forgot about it and never came back.  Here's an update.

I've learned some important things about my meet prep this time.

#1 - 1.35g test/wk PLUS orals is too fucking much.  I felt lethargic all day long, took a couple of naps everyday, and had very little appetite.

#2 - There is a really fine line between lifting heavy enough, often enough, and overtraining.  I'm getting close to knowing my line.

#3 - Once you get to a certain point, scratching and clawing for 5 pound jumps, you can't take a bad day too seriously.


I've cut my test dose in half and dropped all orals for the time being, even though the meet is only three weeks away.  Why?  Because I know for a fact that having energy in the gym and an appetite that can sustain my size is more important than all the juice in the world.  I'll bump the test up a little bit in a week, and add the orals (dbol and m1t) back in about 10 days out.

My bench is going to be very questionable come meet day.  I may not even be able to train again until the meet because of a slight injury I suffered on Wednesday.  I was working doubles up to 385lb, then jumped to 405 for a single, and at the top I got a little uneven and locked out my left arm first.  When I squeezed to lock out my right arm, I felt something twinge behind my right shoulder.  Could be labrum, could be rotator cuff.  I feel it still and it shoots pain down my tricep.

Also on Wednesday, I was working on deads to find an acceptable second attempt, and before I even got close, my back tightened up and made 500lb feel like a metric ton.  I stopped there and went home truly depressed.  Days like Wednesday make me question if I'll ever be able to achieve my goals, and I went home feeling sorry for myself.  My training partner had a terrible day as well, so we sat around drinking protein shakes and bullshitting about what we can do to right the ship.  We decided to go in the next day for a heavy squat session and just man the fuck up.

So that was yesterday, the heavy squat session, and I had an epic day.  I warmed up through 405, then doubled 495, doubled 505, doubled 515, doubled 525, and then tripled 545 and held it at the top of the third rep for about a minute.  I damn near passed out, but the sense of pride and reassurance that I'm still progressing was worth the ringing in the ears and labored breathing for 10 minutes.

I fucking love this sport.  Give me more damnit, I'm never done.


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## theminister (Nov 9, 2012)

you're fuckn huge!


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## PillarofBalance (Nov 9, 2012)

545 for a triple? Jesus... 

You said you don't like the foam roller and you feel awkward on it, but that is gonna be your good friend and keep you healthy.


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## SAD (Nov 9, 2012)

TheMinister said:


> you're fuckn huge!



Thanks, although it's not all it's cracked up to be.  Yeah, nobody really fucks with you, but they would if they saw how out of breath you get tying your shoelaces or fucking in missionary.



PillarofBalance said:


> 545 for a triple? Jesus...
> 
> You said you don't like the foam roller and you feel awkward on it, but that is gonna be your good friend and keep you healthy.



I know brother, I know.  I really need to bite the bullet and buy one, then actually use it.  The bigger I get the tighter I get.  Fuck it, throw me a link of what you think would be best for me and I'll buy it right now.


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## PillarofBalance (Nov 9, 2012)

Get the black one at elitefts.com... I know how you like the black ones


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## DF (Nov 9, 2012)

Very nice log SAD.  I like seeing what you big beefy bastards are up to.  Hope your injury is just a minor tweak.  You guys ever go for deep tissue massage?  Only thing with the deep tissue would be you really need to get someone that can push thru all the muscle to be effective.


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## SAD (Nov 9, 2012)

PillarofBalance said:


> Get the black one at elitefts.com... I know how you like the black ones



Shhhhhhhhhhh!



Dfeaton said:


> Very nice log SAD.  I like seeing what you big beefy bastards are up to.  Hope your injury is just a minor tweak.  You guys ever go for deep tissue massage?  Only thing with the deep tissue would be you really need to get someone that can push thru all the muscle to be effective.



I get them occasionally, and I keep going back to the same 5'2" 100lb girl because she is a merciless torturer and, believe it or not, has the muscle to get down deep through the muscle.  That and she has some Double D's that rub against me every so often while she leans across me, that keeps me coming back as well.

Thanks Dfeaton.


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## DF (Nov 10, 2012)

Oh man! I'd love to have a little lady like that.


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## cougar (Nov 10, 2012)

My GOD BRO , ................. Triple 545..


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## jyoung8j (Nov 10, 2012)

Damn beast.. hope nothing major injury wise.. good luck in Dec..


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## SFGiants (Nov 10, 2012)

Where is the meet and Federation, raw or geared?


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## SFGiants (Nov 10, 2012)

PillarofBalance said:


> Get the black one at elitefts.com... I know how you like the black ones



Rumble Roller, pvc pipe, softball and lacrosse ball.

If you don't like a rumble roller a pvc pipe is much better then a foam roller only foam roller I use and many is the rumble.


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## SAD (Nov 10, 2012)

SFGiants said:


> Where is the meet and Federation, raw or geared?



I'd rather not say the meet and fed for anonymity purposes.  Safe to say it is a legit comp that doesn't give you good lifts unless it's a good lift.  I'll be competing Raw Modern, which I know you know what that means, but for the rest of you it means I can only use knee wraps, but everything else is assistance free.


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## SAD (Nov 10, 2012)

SFGiants said:


> Rumble Roller, pvc pipe, softball and lacrosse ball.
> 
> If you don't like a rumble roller a pvc pipe is much better then a foam roller only foam roller I use and many is the rumble.



I think the rumble roller is what I used at my last meet, correct me if I'm wrong POB.  It definitely works, but I feel so damn awkward on it.  I guess I just need to keep using one and get used to it.


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## SFGiants (Nov 10, 2012)

SAD said:


> I'd rather not say the meet and fed for anonymity purposes.  Safe to say it is a legit comp that doesn't give you good lifts unless it's a good lift.  I'll be competing Raw Modern, which I know you know what that means, but for the rest of you it means I can only use knee wraps, but everything else is assistance free.



With that said it's definitely not a SPF meet!


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## PillarofBalance (Nov 10, 2012)

The rumble roller has big knobby things all over it.  It's a torture device.

A PVC pipe is only good for the bottom of your feet. On other areas such as the legs it is so hard and so painful that the muscle remains tensed and you do not get the myo release that you need.


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## SAD (Nov 10, 2012)

SFGiants said:


> With that said it's definitely not a SPF meet!



Bwahahahahahahaha!  Did you see how terrible the attempts looked by Eric Spoto?  Soft start, touch-n-go, and he STILL couldn't hit 716lbs in three attempts.  Not saying the dude isn't a beast, but if he had gotten 716lbs it would've been cheap as fuck.


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## SAD (Nov 19, 2012)

Last semi-heavy bench and deadlift day before the meet.  My shoulders (yeah, both of them now) feel very brittle and on the verge of exploding when I lift heavy.  Not a good feeling at all and I have no clue why.

Flat bench - 
Bar x 5
135 x 5
185 x 3
225 x 3
295 x 2
335 x 2
365 x 1 
365 x 1
365 x 1
225 x 24

Deadlift -
135 x 4
225 x 3
315 x 3
405 x 2
495 x 2
545 x 1
545 x 1
545 x 1
315 x 10 (conventional) x 10 (sumo) x 10 (heels touching "frog" style)

As I said, the bench work hurts my shoulders like a mofo, but the deadlifts felt really solid.  That last deadlift set of 30 was more cardio than I had done in months.  I couldn't regain normal breath or heart rate for a solid 10 minutes, lol.

Meet is in 12 days, and I'm fucking ready to go.  My workout partner is a beast and should jump into the top 25 in the nation, but I'm just looking to crush some PRs with my paltry (by comparison) lifts.

Thanks for following.


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## JOMO (Nov 19, 2012)

Good lifts SAD. My right shoulder has been tweaking on me too with bench but no prob with deads. But training light till this thing feels better.

Im sure you are going to kill some fucking PRs. Do work big man.

The Mo


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## SFGiants (Nov 19, 2012)

Bro you should never pull within 4 week out and make this your last week training taking the entire week off for the meet.

Your shoulders are beat to shit by your training style bro it way over kill too many sets.


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## SAD (Nov 19, 2012)

You think 5 working sets is too many for bench?  The 295 is my last warmup set, so if you take away the drop set, it's only 5 working reps over 4 working sets.

I feel that in this sport, moreso than many others, we have to find what works for us and it may take many many years to get somewhere close to ideal, in terms of prepping for a meet.  I look at every single training session as a learning experience, and each meet prep as a greater overall learning experience.


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## DF (Nov 19, 2012)

Nice numbers SAD!  damn if I tried something like that last set I'd have turned a nice shade of green.  Best of luck at the meet!  lol, 295 last warm up set :-0


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## heavydeads83 (Nov 20, 2012)

sounds like by your schedule you may be going to the same meet i'm going to to help a couple of friends from the gym i go to in december in georgia.  would be cool if its the same one.


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## SAD (Nov 27, 2012)

Negative heavydeads, won't be at the same meet, although I have some strong ties to GA.

Quick update, and it's not a good one.  I've been sick for the past 4-5 days and haven't touched a weight, which is fine because I wasn't planning on doing anything before the meet.  However, my appetite has sucked ass too, and my weight is down to 281.  I look like shit, feel like shit, and have become seriously anxious about this meet.  In light of my unintentional weight cut, I'll go ahead and cut to 275 for weigh-ins, but I can't imagine hitting any PRs just a couple days after having the flu for a week.  I'm really bummed, but still excited for my workout partner and close friend, who should total in the 1800s and jump up inside the top 25 nationwide.

Also, we have a new addition to our powerlifting team.  I don't know much about this guy yet, but he is 210lbs, squats 585, benches 375, and deadlifts 650!  Here's the kicker, the dude is all natural and is just a genetic freak.  I know that I personally will never be a world record holder, but I would like nothing more than to be the coach/admin for a team that has a few of the strongest raw lifters in the world.  With this new addition, I believe we now have two guys who will one day break world records.

Wish me well, gents, and don't take your health for granted.


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## JOMO (Nov 27, 2012)

Seems like getting sick always seems to show its ugly ass during the wrong time frame. I usually get sick when I go home on leave but can imagine that if i was prepping for a meet i would be in the same boat as you. 

Still wish you luck, and who knows you might still surprise yourself. Just keep positive brother.


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## DF (Nov 27, 2012)

Sorry to hear about the illness brother.  I used to get real sick before taking my national boards years ago.  That stress beat the hell out of me.  LOL, @ weight is down to 281 :-0 .  Anyway best of luck to you, you friggin beast.


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## SAD (Dec 1, 2012)

Weighed in earlier today at 286.7lbs.  Still feel weak and can't stop coughing up gnarly phlegm, but you're never going to be 100% for a meet, so I'm going to go out there and attack the iron with everything I have.  Training partner cut a couple pounds and made 275 easily, so hopefully we can bring home the highest totals in two different weight classes.

Openers will be 545 squat, 360 bench, 545 deadlift.

It's going to be an afternoon session, so I won't have an update on performance until late tomorrow, maybe Sunday.


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## PillarofBalance (Dec 1, 2012)

SAD said:


> Weighed in earlier today at 286.7lbs.  Still feel weak and can't stop coughing up gnarly phlegm, but you're never going to be 100% for a meet, so I'm going to go out there and attack the iron with everything I have.  Training partner cut a couple pounds and made 275 easily, so hopefully we can bring home the highest totals in two different weight classes.
> 
> Openers will be 545 squat, 360 bench, 545 deadlift.
> 
> It's going to be an afternoon session, so I won't have an update on performance until late tomorrow, maybe Sunday.



Good luck bro, shoot me a text when you wrap up and let me know how it went for you two.... I wanna see a pic of some trophies!  Get your head right and get in there.  Tell your bud I wish him the best as well.


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## SAD (Dec 1, 2012)

PillarofBalance said:


> Good luck bro, shoot me a text when you wrap up and let me know how it went for you two.... I wanna see a pic of some trophies!  Get your head right and get in there.  Tell your bud I wish him the best as well.



Will do, much appreciated my friend.


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## jyoung8j (Dec 1, 2012)

Good luck Sad!!!


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## DF (Dec 1, 2012)

Best of luck brother! Move some heavy shit!


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## SAD (Dec 2, 2012)

Really rough day guys.  Went 5 for 9 missing a 600 squat twice, 400 bench, and 620 pull.  Wound up with 545/385/600.  Just wasn't my day.

My training partner took home best raw lifter though with a 1760 total including a 720 pull.  He's good for 1850+ but had a rough day as well, bombing out his last two squats at 650.  We'll get em next time.  Thanks for the support fellas.


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## DF (Dec 2, 2012)

Not much you can do when you feel like ass bro.  Some very impressive lifts anyway.  You'll get those PRs next time.


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## 63Vette (Dec 2, 2012)

Have you ever done floor presses in lieu of flat bench from time to time to give your shoulder a break?
When is the last time you checked your E2 and thyroid?

Very impressive big guy...  I like how I look at the pool... unless the boyfriend shows up.... then I am calling for help from your big burly ass and running like a bitch.

Powerlifters.... what a unique breed.

MUCH Respect,
Vette


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