Strong 15 Testing Week: Deadlift & Bench Press

Deadlift

Two weeks ago, I failed at 364.  I sought out the advice of powerlifter Craig Hirota, who told me that I wasn't using my hips at all. So, today, I put his advice to the test and blew away my initial goal of deadlifting 383.

133/5, 223/3, 273/1, 323/1, 363/1, 383/1, 403/1

I finally cracked the 400 pound deadlift barrier, and I can't thank Craig enough!!!

Bench Press

Unfortunately, my bench press testing didn't go nearly as well as the deadlift.  My 1RM going into this round of Strong 15 was 258. I failed to set a new PR tonight.

132/5, 182/2, 222/1, 242/1, 262/0, 260/0

I came really close to hitting 262... really close.....just couldn't lock it out. I used all of my energy in my attempt at 262, that when I tried 260, I had nothing left, and only made it halfway.

Conclusion

After this Strong 15 cycle, my numbers look like this:

Squat: 343
Overhead Press: 183
Deadlift: 403
Bench Press: 258*

*I'll call it 258, since that was what it was at the start of this program and since I came about as close as one could come to hitting 262.

Strong 15 Testing Week: Squat & Overhead Press

Tonight called for 1RM testing in the squat and overhead press.  Unfortunately, I only managed 2.5 hours of sleep last night, and I was wondering all day how I would do tonight because of that. I tried to not let it bother me, figuring it was out of my control. A contributing factor to this lack of sleep was that I had it in my mind that I needed to have a good night's rest because of tonight's testing. Once I started thinking like that, I was a dead man, as I kept saying to myself, "gotta get to sleep, gotta get to sleep", and never really did.

The weight I used for my squat at the start of this program was 338. In reality, that was probably a little bit higher than what I should have used.

Tonight's results:

Squat

42/10, 133/3, 183/2, 223/1, 273/1, 313/1, 333/1

Testing Weight: 343/1

343 was a difficult single and I really had to battle to get it, and I ultimately did. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to tape my session tonight because there were too many people around my area. Going solely by feel, then, I felt like the rep was solid. The depth felt good and it was a true grinder, so I think this is representative of my true 1RM.

All in all, I gained 5 pounds in my squat since the start of this program. That doesn't sound like much, but it is still a positive result for someone that takes a long time to increase strength. As alluded to above, my 338 start was likely a little suspect, too, so the 5 pound increase is actually probably more than 5 pounds.

What I need to work on going forward: hip drive- still not driving as much as I should be.

Overhead Press

My true 1RM going into this program was 177.
I hit a 1RM of 181 during Week 9 of this program, even though the 1RM wasn't supposed to be tested at that point. As I said in that post, however, I felt good that night, so I decided that I would not waste that feeling.

Tonight's results:

42/10, 92/3, 133/1, 158/1, 173/1

Testing Weight: 183/1

183 is a new true PR! 6 pound increase from the start of the program. Another true grinder of a rep that felt good.

On Thursday, I will test my 1RM in the deadlift and bench press.

Strong 15- Week 10: Light Week

Squat

178/5

Deadlift

193/5

Bench Press

137/5

Press

95/5


Next week is 1RM testing week!!!!!

Strong 15- Week 9: Overhead Press

Press

95/5, 108/4, 127/3, 140/2, 155/1, 165/1, 174/1, 159/6, 181/1 (PR)

I was scheduled to do 159/8-12 reps, but I was spent after the 6th rep. This made me pretty upset, especially in light of yesterday's deadlift failure. I didn't want to walk away from shoulder presses on that note, so I decided to try a PR tonight.  On March 24, 2012, I posted a video of myself failing at a 181 pound shoulder press.  So, I decided to try 181 tonight. This time, I was able to do it.

Video- 181/1

Chin Ups

7,7,7,7,7
8,8,9

Pendlay Rows

158/8, 153/8

Poundstone Curls

42/57 (PR)

There are now two weeks left in the Strong 15. Next week, there will only be one day of lifting, where I will do 1 set of 5 reps at 50% of my desired 1RM in the bench press, overhead press, squat, and deadlift.

The week after that, I will test new PRs in all four of those exercises.

I will then take a week off from lifting after that, and start again the following week.  So, in the next 3 weeks, there will not be very much lifting.

* Regarding my deadlift form, Craig Hirota, of www.firebirdfitness.com, offered me some great advice. He informed me that I've been doing stiff legged deadlifts (as opposed to conventional) because I don't lower my hips at all.  Lowering my hips should increase my conventional deadlift a good amount, so I am looking forward to that.  I don't know how much it will increase when I test my 1RM in two weeks, however, as I am not used to lowering my hips. Hopefully, the learning curve won't be too long or difficult.

Strong 15- Week 9: Squat & Deadlift

Squat

179/5, 208/4, 243/3, 269/2, 315/1, 322/1, 334/1

Video- 334/1

Deadlift

192/5, 236/4, 268/3, 306/2, 337/1, 345/1, 364/0, 337/3

* Upset that I wasn't able to pull 364. I tried twice, but failed both times.

Videos- 364/FAIL, 337/3

Strong 15- Week 9: Bench Press

Week 9 is the last week of the Strong 15 cycle. Next week is basically an off week, as I will only do 1 set of 5 reps at 50% of my 1RM goal in the bench press, squat, deadlift, and overhead press. Two weeks from now is when I will test my 1RM in the aforementioned exercises. After that, I will start a new training regimen.

Squat

42/15, 133/5, 183/3, 223/3, 273/1, 313/1 

Bench Press

134/5, 155/4, 182/3, 202/2, 222/1, 236/1, 249/1, 228/6

My 1RM goal two weeks from now is 268.  In order to "be assured" of hitting that weight, the program calls for doing 228 for 8-12 reps. I was barely able to do 6 tonight.  As such, I am not very confident that I will be able to bench 268.  However, I am also not very surprised because bench press has always been very difficult for me to improve in. Therefore, I will have to be content with any PR that I may hit.  (My current PR is 258.)

Incline Press

Dumbbells:  75/15, 70/15

Pull Ups

7,7,7

Hanging Knee Raises 

17,14,15

Strong 15- Week 8: Overhead Press

Press

95/5, 108/4, 127/3, 140/2, 150/1, 159/1, 168/1, 150/8

Chin Ups

7,7,7,7,7
9,9,8

Pendlay Rows

166/8 (too heavy, I couldn't touch my shirt with the bar)
156/10 (good set)

Poundstone Curls

45/53 (PR)

Used a 45 pound bar instead of the usual 42 pound bar and ended up doing one more rep than last week.

Strong 15- Week 8: Squat & Deadlift

Squat

179/5, 208/4, 243/3, 269/2, 286/1, 316/1, 322/1

* Both 316 & 322 went up well tonight. Best squat session in a while. Maybe it's because I squatted on Tuesday, maybe it's because I ate well today, maybe it's both, maybe it's neither. In any event, I'm happy.

Deadlift

192/5, 236/4, 268/3, 306/2, 325/1, 337/1, 356/1, 325/3

* 356 went up smoothly. I was concerned about it going into the workout because I haven't deadlifted that much weight in a while. If 364 goes up similarly next week, I'll be one content individual.

Hack Squat

191/8,8

Strong 15- Week 8: Bench Press

I have decided to add some sets of light squats to the beginning of this workout, so that I am now squatting twice per week.

Squat

47/15, 138/5, 208/3, 258/2, 258/5

Bench Press

134/5, 155/4, 182/3, 202/2, 214/1, 228/1, 242/1, 214/7

Incline Press

Dumbbells:  70/15, 70/15

Pull Up/Push Up/Abs Pyramid

Pyramid A) No rest:
1/2/3
2/4/6
3/6/9
4/8/12
3/6/9
2/4/6
1/2/3
 
Pyramid B) No rest:
1/2/3
2/4/6
3/6/9
2/4/6
1/2/3 

Pyramid C) No rest:
1/2/3
2/4/6
1/2/3

* An overall good workout. The pyramid is a killer. As far as bench press, 214/7 is one rep lower than the recommended rep range of 8-12. I tried my best for 8, but I wasn't able to get there. Next week calls for 228/8-12. We shall see........

Strong 15- Week 7: Overhead Press

Bodyweight: 220


Press

94/5, 108/4, 127/3, 140/2, 148/1, 155/1, 165/1, 140/10

Chins

7,7,7,7,7
8,8,8

Pendlay Rows

158/8,8

Poundstone Curls

42/52 (new PR!!)