Vimless

Last night, I go in, do one work-set of deadlifts, 315 x 12, then BAM!!! I'm wasted, ready for a nap!!! That's what I'm going through, still - just lack of VIM, lack of VIGOR....I couldn't even pick the bar up off of the floor for the next set. So then I moved onto rack pulls. Now, when I do rack pulls, or "partials",I do them from beneath the knee. So many people I see move the bar from above the knee, and the bar moves about an inch...WTF??? I'm still getting about a foot of movement here. 565 for 3 or 4...I'll probably get a lot better at these, as I've only done these 2 or 3 times total in my life.
Hammer Machine single arm rows...I don't much care for this machine, but I let B pick my workout last night, as I didn't feel like thinking - just doing. Machine pullovers...blah...then cross swing dumbell curls (I don't know what else to call them). I think B made me do 85's ...you see, I wasn't thinking, so I don't remember all of the details.Then Gawwwd awful preacher curls with a barbell...oooh, I hate any kind of barbell curls. Calves toe raises on whatever that machine is. And a set of hip flexor curls on the lying leg curl. My hip flexorshave been out of synch again, as I haven't worked them for months. Traywick commented whilst watching me squat the other day that I was really wobbly on the descent. That's the sign that my hip flexors need some tending to. So I tended to them.
I'm up to about 156. I should be well into the 160's now. At least I still have some quad striations!!!
Not real good for recovery purposes, however. Weight will start to climb next week, I'm sure, and hopefully so will my energy levels!! :) Believe me this - I AM GETTING REALLY TIRED OF POSTING HOW BURNT OUT I AM!!!
It's been a gray and gloomy week, but the sun is finally shining today. It's supposed to be in the high 90's, and since I do live "at the beach", I think I'll take advantage of the breeze off the bay today, and try to soak up some of the sweltering late August sun. Hopefully the crowds will be a little thinner there today since the kiddies in most places have started school, keeping the tourists at home. Last two times I ventured down to the beach I could not find a parking space and wound up coming home. Boooo.

Alan from APT's Pro Wrist Straps, http://www.prowriststraps.com/ has agreed to sponsor us for the First State Power Frenzy once again! The man is awesome, he has sponsored us three times thus far. His equipment excels - I always use his lifting straps. I also use his knee wraps and wrist wraps, currently liking the Black Mambas. Thanks APT!!!

the First State Power Frenzy - Saturday September 15, 2007
APF sanctioned
Full Power, Push/Pull, Squat Only, Bench Only, Deadlift Only
Raw and Geared divisions
where: The Training CenterNew Castle, DE 19720
entry form: www.DE-APF.com
meet promoters:Kate Baird powerfulkate@comcast.net
Broderick Chavez - DE state APF chairman isquat700@mchsi.com
It's a Party!It's a Frenzy!It's Powerlifting!!!

I'm back in the gym. Actually, I was back Monday for squats. Things are on the upswing finally. I don't mean poundage - I mean my physical state. Unless you have been in a severe over extended, over trained state, you won't grasp the extent of what I am trying to convey. I was trashed for so long, I surely came close to unraveling. For the past week or so, I feel "normalized", back in balance... I'd love to hang on to that feeling. The forced rest came at the proper time - shows you that someone indeed must be looking out for me from above. So now I MUST be careful. I'm forcing myself to back down from my usual 900 mph, coasting a little slower. Having to drop the intensity level back a couple of notches.

I currently don't have a specific goal, a meet or contest, to train for right now, and it is best I keep it that way for awhile.Just train for training's sake.

Twiddling Thumbs

I'm just hanging about twiddling my thumbs this week...
My body is showing signs of accepting this forced rest. OK, so I have learned that I need to go out and find a dictionary that has the word "Relax" in it, and place that book somewhere with easy access at all times...

Great news for my Powerlifting meet - the First State Power Frenzy, which is held at the Training Center gym in New Castle DE on September 15th, APF sanctioned, raw and geared divisions.
AT LARGE NUTRITION and TITAN are both stepping up to help sponsor this time, and word is we may have another biggie helping out.
http://atlargenutrition.com/ and http://www.titansupport.com/.

I honestly have not tried At Large Nutrition's products yet, but I hear that they are superior to much of the stuff that lines the shelves at the vitamin stores these days.
Broderick just received a pair of Titan knee wraps a couple of weeks ago, first time he has tried them, and loves them!
If anybody who is reading this plans to compete in the FSPF, please register as soon as possible! It's hard to know how many trophies and t-shirts and such to order when you don't know how many competitors are planning to lift in the meet!

No training for a few days

I have to say after Monday's training session - "This Will Never Do"...

I am on mandatory respite from the gym again. I didn't even think about that until yesterday, whilst I was in the doctor's office having a small follow up surgery to my surgery in March.
This will work in one of two ways - I'll either benefit from additional rest, for I am having problems bouncing back into prime form from the bodybuilding, or I'll suffer from the additional stress because it was a little more traumatic than I had anticipated.
Am I good at skirting details, or what?

Anyhooo, no training for at least five days - wahhhhhhhhhhh.

Still Breaking In -

I'm still breaking myself back in - I wonder if I'll ever get over this stomach thing. Yes, it's still off and on plaguing me after 3 weeks. I'm barely tipping the scales now at 153 - 154. I just can't seem to get set straight with this weight gaining program!!! Not because I haven't been including lots of food or my Little Debbie Cakes, because they have once again become a daily staple, but my body is just plain ol' rebelling against wanting to gain weight... I'm still doing a bit less volume all around in my training. We did rack pulls the other night - I'm not really into them. I betcha, however, that in the long run they will benefit me, but even with close to 600 lbs, they just don't provide me with that overall exhilerating, body thrashed feeling I get from deadlifts. My weak spot on the dead is off the floor, not mid-point. We'll be doing these every other week to see waht happens. Deadlifting every week is counter productive for me. GW will benefit from the rack pulls, especially, as his weak link in the dead is the mid-point. My upper abs did get very sore from the rack pulls. My hips were saved alot of grief, however, and hopefully will be fresh on Monday for squatting!

The pics are of GW, Beth Beitzel and I pulverizing our legs on my last training session the Sunday before the Masters.
The Duo Squat machine is just a heck of an incredible piece of machinery. I relied on those when I could no longer push through regular squats. The sissy squat "machine" - to me, not really like a sissy squat, more like an altered front squat.
Good stuff, but manual sissys still rule - funny that they would even make a machine to try to simulate a sissy - one of the few excercises you can do any time, anywhere without a piece of equipment...????
We've all been trying to encourage Beth to compete - she's got all of the tools necessary - looks, physique, personality. She jumps in to work out with us from time to time, and she's also got alot of strength she either doesn't know she has, or is hiding....not sure which. She would be a force in figure, fitness, or bodybuilding....maybe someday, Beth??????
OK, every time I post, I'm going to try to thank one person whose influence has made my foray into bodybuilding and powerlifting the grand experience it has been and hopefully will continue to be for some time to come...
Mark Collins. My old beau during the time I was going to the Art Institute of Philadelpia, and was the first person to ever take the time to show me and explain to me what weight training was all about. I haven't seen nor spoken to him in 20+ years, but he got the ball rolling for me in the basement of a friend's row house in South Philadelphia with a set of plastic filled weights and a cheap bar. Thanks Mark.

SQUATS

I was bouncing back to health and spriteliness on Friday, then got a rebound of whateveritwas on Saturday and Sunday. It was so bad, that I finally decided that a Dr's visit was in order yesterday morning. Of course, I was on the upswing again by the time I got to the Dr's office. But that is ok, it just feels good to finally (almost) feel good again! LOL!!!
ahhhh, squats..........SQUATS!!! First session back to squatting since mid-June, and gosh, did it feel good- it was just this side of orgasmic!!! I was a little rusty, but not too bad - I was just breaking in a new stance a few months back when I had to abandon them because of bodybuilding contest prep. Yes, I HAD to, I just simply couldn't push through them any longer due to overtraining, lack of steam,etc. I would have to say, that having been in the depleted state for so long, then coming in off of a two week flu stint, I can't complain about my performance at all.
B trained with GW and I...I had almost forgotten what a sick pup he is when he trains.
315 for 8 pretty much took everything out of me as far as endurance on my first set. 365 for 2 wasn't hard at all, I felt the strength was there, my legs called out for more, but lo' and behold - no steam to push further. I need to get the "wherewithall" back in gear.
Next week, I'll be back in the 405 mode, yeah yeah yeah... I'm frothing at the mouth. Even if I'm not in the mode next week I'm going to do 405 anyway. We also did smith machine back lunges on a box - I really don't have any polite words for those...

My goal is to get at least that 450 that eluded me on the platform last year a couple of times, and to hopefully get a 475... bodybuilding contest prep definitely cuts into one's strength gains, I despise that side effect...I am ultimately after the 500 (belt and knee wraps only, of course). I need to nail down a commitment for a meet to compete at in the coming months, so stay tuned on that decision.

I'm finally on the upswing again - slowly, but finally. I was spent after the show, then that stomach flu kicked my butt. I did my two weeks mandatory rest, not as hard as I imagined because I had no choice with being sick. Going to the gym to train was NOT in the forefront of my mind. I haven't jumped back in entirely full force yet, I will be kind to myself so I don't relapse into the burn out stage.
It feels good to be refreshed, not just physically but mentally as well.
I am finally up in weight - one whole pound since weigh-ins!! Hey, you try gaining weight with a stomach flu! I am up to 151...
I did train Wednesday. It went as expected, I think I even still had a fever that morning. Powerlifting mode = bench pressing. I was able to pick off 225 x 6, yes all paused, but that's nothing for me to rave about as you know. But that's ok, realizing I need to ease back into it. I did less sets and reps for the entire session, to keep myself from overtraining.
Last night it was back to DEADLIFTS!!! Yay! It has been over two months since I pulled from the floor. I certainly was not expecting much, but I did better than I expected, especially after a couple of very stressful workdays. I expected a 315 x 5 tops, in my ragged low weight state.
I managed 315 x 10, so I did put 365 on the bar and pulled 4. It was a sucky bar with no knurling on it. It felt good to put another hole in my pants and make my leg bleed again! My ABS are what are incredibly sore this morning - hence, why I never directly work them, boys and girls. Less overall volume, again, need to back off for a week or two.
Now that I am not contest dieting, I decided to go for the ultimate post workout recovery drink - a Slurpee! Actually, it was a WaWa Icee, same thing. Hot weather is Slurpee weather, and this was my first all year. Good stuff!