Iain K's Powerlifting

25/1/10

Squat (low bar, oly shoes);
barx5
60x5
100x3
120x3
140x3
160x2
180x2
160x2
140x2

Bench press;
barx15
60x5
75x5
90x3
105x3
105x3
105x3
105x3

Push press;
30x5
50x5
60x3
70x3
80x3

Bradford press- 50x10, 50x8
Face pull- 15x2

Fancied tweaking the squat today. Lower bar poss and oly boots on. Felt good and the 180 was a fast as it was gona be after sats heavy work. Mmmmm... think I'll do next session this way and see how it goes with 200kg odd on the bar.

Benchihg solid enough as was push pressing

Stonehenge
 
Where the banshees live and they do live well

low bar and oly shoes is the way to go!

20kg to go.

How much difference, position-wise, for you between high and low bar?

I've always had it in a fairy mod to high position, but not a true high bar. However still closer to a classic high bar than low.

Moved the bar down 1-2" where I have it for equipped work.

You could say if it 'ant broke etc etc', but of late my groove raw squating isn't at it's best (strong but not as it was) and logically with my overall style of squat a lower bar position should give me better leverages. But we'll see

Stonehenge
 
Where the banshees live and they do live well

Makes sense mate. ;o)

No lifting middle of this week. Condesing thurs deadlift and squat/bench into fridays 3 lifts day and probably sq/bp sunday too.

Planning to up the squats to x3 per week and base 2 sessions on working up to a solid single/double for the day, and baseing down sets on that. A daily max if you will but it won't be a real max, just what feels nice and doable.

I'll bench twice a week and deadlift once a week. The 3rd block of squats will be after deadlifting and will do em high bar and deep.

Will do another x2 weeks of the current plan before starting the above. This will take me up to mid march were I'll start to introduce the gear. Although may do one session in wraps soon anyway.

Stonehenge
 
Where the banshees live and they do live well

iaink
 

This will take me up to mid march were I'll start to introduce the gear. 

Now, I know what you mean!

lol

Stonehenge
 
Where the banshees live and they do live well

29/1/10

Squat;
barx5
100x3
120x3
140x2
160x2
180x1
200x1
217.5x2 (pb.. this as you'll see was s.w.e.e.t!)
180x2
180x2
180x2

Bench press;
barx15
60x5
75x5
90x3
100x2
110x1
120x1
130x1
140x2 (pb.. messed up 3rd rep)
105x5 (narrow grip now)
105x5
105x5

Deadlift;
70x3
120x2
160x2
180x2
200x1
220x1
240x3
200x2 (total re-set)
200x2
200x2

Great session today!

Moving the bar down and oly boots felt good today. New double pb is no doub best bit of raw squating I've done in a gym. Have a vid and it is lovely!!

Bench good. Another double pb. May have had a fightinng chance at a tripple but snatched at the 3rd rep and tried to get a bit of extra bounce. All this did was throw me off groove!

Finished with some solid deadlifts. Not on fire but good all the same.

Very good days!!!

Vid to follow

Stonehenge
 
Where the banshees live and they do live well

in terms of weight handled, wats the difference between high and low bar squats?
 i mean can ui handle more weight doing one than the other??

great work though iain.
how did the bradford presses go? ive never tried them but fancied given them a try sometime.

  

Bodybuilding Warehouse Board Rep

****ing legendary work

20kg to go.

Cheers.

Mr- Very technically lower bar position will allow for better leverages... but it's a bit horses for courses and oly lifters do some sick work with high bar.
 
My current position is not that low.. just an inch or so lower than I am used to..

.. actually were I have it for equipped squats

Stonehenge
 
Where the banshees live and they do live well

Lovely work. I think i've finally found my ideal bar position to suit my long legs and shortish torso - it's about a mile south of where it was when you came down to City last year! Pretty much in line with my rear delts, makes for a beautiful squat though.

I am very very impressed at that PR you just posted in the squat. weldone mate. bench press is solid also, great volume for a strength program. Looking all over your lifts will inspire people.And i am inspired at how good your program looks. all exactly according to theory and paying off gr8 by looks of it. what is ur weight atm?

Cheers CF. I lift in the 90's. ATM morning weight is 89-91kg

Not weighed myself in a couple of week since I dropped the iron on my dig scales... the scales lost :)

Stonehenge
 
Where the banshees live and they do live well

Superb session Iain. Brilliant mate.

Cheers

Currently youtube won't play my squat vid. It took 50 min to load. It says it.s loaded but will iot ****innnnnngggg playyyy?

.. will it fucccckkkkkkk!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh techno hate!!!!

Stonehenge
 
Where the banshees live and they do live well

http://www.youtube.com/user/IainK76#p/a/u/0/pHu-coEp56g

Carn't embed it yet!!

Stonehenge
 
Where the banshees live and they do live well

Stonehenge
 
Where the banshees live and they do live well

Those squats were sick mate, properly buried them. Definitely had a good shot at 140 x 3 too.

20kg to go.

Cheers. Chuffd with my squating yestarday

Stonehenge
 
Where the banshees live and they do live well

And that was all in one session - crazy!!! I like the fact that you bring a change of clothes for each lift.

Depth wise on the squats how did they feel? They looked super deep which I'm sure isn't something I've come to associate with you

"They are quite possibly the most sorry bunch of socially challenged and boarderline mentally ill reprobates to have ever attracted such a like-minded following of keyboard warrior wannabes." Unknown

LMC


And that was all in one session - crazy!!! I like the fact that you bring a change of clothes for each lift.

Depth wise on the squats how did they feel? They looked super deep which I'm sure isn't something I've come to associate with you

giving me fat banter and iain depth banter...on form today 

20kg to go.

lol

Yeah depth was sweet! As is Dave's fat!

Stonehenge
 
Where the banshees live and they do live well

No way was that a proper bench press, you must have your back flat on the bench!
 
Actually mate, I am convinced now that is exactly the reason I developed a shoulder/upper arm problem. In going through rehabs I have changed my style to more of an arch, well, as much as my fat torso will allow.

Fat torso > big belly = good

Stonehenge
 
Where the banshees live and they do live well

31/1/10

Squat;
barx10
70x5
100x3
120x3
140x2 (wraps on)
160x1
180x1
200x1
160x5
160x5
160x5

One arm dumbbell PP;
20x5
30x5
30x5
30x5 + 3 strict

As it was squat session 3 on sunday put my wraps on. Loose-mod in my old wraps.

No lifting now till thurs deadlifting.

Stonehenge
 
Where the banshees live and they do live well

Awesome squatting mate.

Did you work quite hard at a wide stance or was it always fairly natural to you?

Team "Show Pony"

"...those aren't the roids you're looking for..."
"...those aren't the roids I'm looking for..."

Cheers.

Good question. I think I was quite naturally not narrow if that makes sense :)  My current stance is only a step out from what I used pre-powerlifting.

When I decided I wanted to powerlift (2004) I researched and went wide. Too wide though and eventally brought it a step in to were you see now. It's a wide stance but in powerlifting terms it not that wide.

I personally think that those with compartitvly longer thighs will benefit from a wider stance as it effectivly shortens the femure length.
 
Shoulder width is allways a good start.

Stonehenge
 
Where the banshees live and they do live well

If I went to shoulder width I would be super wiiiiide

Seriously though, my natural stance is fairly narrow and feet parallel, which I think makes for good quad recruitment but is mechanically compromised when it comes to trying to increase my weights now I'm having a dabble with the powerlifting.

I get where you're coming from with your stance being quite a natural one as compared to the extreme stuff. It looks very comfortable (for saying there is 217.5kg on the bar). You just seem to have more 'room' than I do somehow. It looks like you make the below parallel depth whilst keeping your shins more upright so you are not creating as acute an angle at the knee as I'm doing because my shins track forward a lot more. I can see how it would obviously be better if they didn't so I'm going to give the wide stance another bash but I probably find it tricky on the grounds that I definitely do not fall into the "...those with longer femurs" category

Team "Show Pony"

"...those aren't the roids you're looking for..."
"...those aren't the roids I'm looking for..."

It's all about proportions. Those with squat (no pun) builds generally can use a narrow stance without knees coming too far forward.

I did not mean to suggest that those with relativly short femurs shouldn't squat wide

Main thing is hip position.. if your getting that right then knees will take care of themselves normally.

Finally it can help to turn feet out a tad if you go wider.

Stonehenge
 
Where the banshees live and they do live well

I will now be doing the U90 Southern Strongman Qualifyer in Fareham (HANTS) @ Strength Tech on 2nd May.

Events;
Mini circus dummbell OH (53kg)
Max axle clean and press (starts at 80kg)
Silver dollar deadlift (start 180kg)
Machine squat max reps 200kg (PL equipment allowed)
Duck walk (150kg), yoke (250kg) medly
Stones.

It's 9 week before GBPF Brits so is good timing. I'll be in the gear by then so works for the max rep squat event.

Gona keep up with the OHP work alternating with bar and dumbbell and get down to strength tech a couple of times to practoce events.

Should be fun

Stonehenge
 
Where the banshees live and they do live well

****ing nice mate!

20kg to go.

Solid work as usual pal!

TOMMY TACK "Stickin it to the Stones "
My You Tube Vids..
http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=ncpowerlifter

Thanks T. Good to see a journal of yours back!

Stonehenge
 
Where the banshees live and they do live well

A bit of strongman comp stuff eh? That should be fun, have you done anything in that regard before?
 
I'm really trying to get myself motivated to do something competative with my lifting, most likely physqiue wise. Never have done but always dreamed of doing so and when my lad starts school this year and I have 4 hours a day to myself that I never used to have I figured I can reallyy start to channel things a bit more and take things more seriously.

Limits, like fear, are often just an illusion: MJ 12/9/09
My journal

great news regarding the comp iain. should be a great experience for ya!

  

Bodybuilding Warehouse Board Rep

Indeed.

DV- part from the odd bit of farmers walks never done anything like it really. But as SM coms go it's pretty good for me.. squat and deadlift.. nice!

4/2/10

Deadlift;
barxcomplex
70x5
120x3
160x2
180x2
200x2
220x2
245x2
180x5
180x5

Block pull (mid shins);
180x3
200x3
220x3
220x3
220x3

Complex- bar x 10 x 3 rounds 60-80s rest;

Pull
High pull
Power clean
Push press
BNPP
Squat
(some variation between rounds such as snatch grip lifts and GM)

Solid session. Solid double without much in the tank. Nice block pulls from as tough height and finishing with some complexs that laid me out

Gona do this complex x2 a week until I can get through em without dying then add a little weight.

Stonehenge
 
Where the banshees live and they do live well

6/2/10

Squat;
barx10
60x5
100x3
120x3
140x2
160x2
180x1
200x1
220x1
227.5x1 (gym pb)

Bench press;
barx15
60x5
75x5
90x3
100x2
110x1
120x1
130x1
140x1
150x0
150x0
120x6

Solid enough session today but technically and physically didn't feel great. Poss because still beat from thurs pulling?

Anway plan was to take some heavy singles today and see how I am at.

Squating was off as I just couldn't get a consistant feel for the bar position on the back. This resulted in feeling lobsided n sonme reps and shallower depth than last week. 220 was the nicest rep. Didn't feel much effort. 227.5 was good but depth was borderline. Wtaching the vid I felt it was in but i wouldn't have thrown my teddy if it had got two reds at a meet (not that ai do that anway).

Benching was worse. Technically better than squats but not a lot in the tank. 140 felt easy, but didn't have the second gear to step up for an equal pb attempt. Had a go twice but no juice there today. With hindsight should have taken 145 which still would have been my best bench in an age and equalling my meet pb.

Didn't do much else today as its the end of an 8 week phase, which has gone very weel indeed.

Next week take it pretty easy and start x3 per week squating week after

Stonehenge
 
Where the banshees live and they do live well

nice 500lb'er champ

20kg to go.