Not Just a Man's World

I am serious about wanting to qualify and compete at powerlifting.  When I started out on this series there were several key problems, such as poor hip mobility.  Having had some reasonable successes at the end of 2009, fixing the remaining problems while also driving up the strength numbers are now the priorities of the program.  

I’m recording my progress in this series: powerlifting progress.  It is serving as a journal and makes me a bit more accountable to my goals. 

This week

This was the last week before going on holiday (so it’s been a while since I had a rest week) and the second week of the new program.  As such I wasn’t quite sure what to expect so I was pleasantly surprised to find that I continued to progress, maintained good form, coped even better with the lactic acid than at the end of last week and even found the exercises in my deadlift day easier than last week.  I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised to find the deadlift was easier since this seems to be the pattern for me with cluster workouts – week one is hell, week two seems easy, week three I start to struggle again.

Strongman events

We didn’t do a strongman workout this week.  The weather wasn’t reliable enough, which we had expected since it was a bank holiday weekend in the UK, and we were both feeling ready for a rest day.  Instead we got in a mid-length morning bike ride and spent the rest of the day chilling (or, in my case, pottering about in the kitchen experimenting with new recipes – watch the blog over the next month or so for the recipes).

Bench

Action plan

• Maintain – technique
• Develop – lat and shoulder strength

 Progress this week

Another great week on bench.  The weight is continuing to ease up slowly and I got Chris to take a video for me.  This is the fifth set of the ten sets I did last Sunday with 30kg:

I also managed to maintain my pull up numbers from last week, when I had such a storming week that I added a significant number of reps to my total, so I feel like I have actually gained some more lat strength rather than the other week being a fluke from my pre-period additional strength.

Squat

Action plan

• Maintain – leg strength and ab strength
• Develop – hip mobility and lower back strength

Progress this week

A good week for squats as well.  Since Chris was doing videos last Sunday for me, I got him to record my squats in addition to my bench press.  This is also the fifth set of the ten sets I did:

I’m pleased to see that I’m not tucking, my back is staying flat and my knees aren’t drifting forwards.  Overall, I couldn’t be happier about the progress on my squats when I consider that I started the powerlifting progress series last autumn unable to squat below 17.5 inches before I started tucking.

17.5 inch squat depth when I started the program last autumn

Deadlift

Action plan

• Maintain – leg strength and ab strength
• Develop – hip mobility and lower back strength

Progress this week

I thought my shins were bruised last week, but they are an even more impressive colour now!  It’ll look good if it’s warm enough to wear cycling shorts on holiday.

As I said in the introduction my clusters felt easier this week, despite adding 2kg to them (to 72kg) and worrying that I wouldn’t be up to it on my way home.  I didn’t even have to collapse on the floor for 5 minutes at the end of the deadlifts before continuing with my workout.  I did have a nasty bit of ringing in my ears and spotty vision for a moment though.

I have to admit that I’m glad we’re on holiday next week though.  It’s a mental battle getting through five sets of clusters of four singles on a 2 minute schedule!

Related posts:

1. Powerlifting progress 2011: week eighteen
2. Powerlifting progress 2010: week forty-four (fat loss: week six)
3. Powerlifting progress 2010: week thirty-five
4. Powerlifting progress 2010: week thirty-seven