Bothell Barbell
Training Log: 3/17/12

Squats:
Tom: 380x5x1
I would NOT have gotten this set without my buddies cheering me on.
Check it out here: http://youtu.be/5cDj_R5fcmI

I lost extension a bit on the last rep and I dropped into the hole on most of them, but, overall, I am happy with this set. This was a life time PR and I KNOW I have more in me. Just look at the bar speed.

Tony: 280x5x3
Tony just got a new belt (https://twitter.com/#!/BothellBarbell/status/180498580681920513/photo/1) so he doesn't have to use a crappy velcro one anymore. With a solid leather belt, he absolutely SMOKED these. Seriously, they were quick. As always, Tony's form was very good. He's a better model for form than I am.

Tim: 240x5x3
Best form Tim has ever had with a heavy weight. These were all to depth and all very solid. He has some troubles with keeping his knees out on the ascent, but most of us do. Overall, very nice.

Zach: 145x5x1, 105x5x2
Zach is capable of doing more, but right now we need him to nail down the form. That wasn't happening at 145 so we deloaded a bit and got him to produce a good looking squat at 105. He'll continue to improve with more coaching and exposure.

Bench:
Tom: 217.5x5x3
These were not as easy as they have been lately. The last rep on the last set was a bit of grinder. And the other 5th reps weren't exactly fast. I'll have to make sure I put in my fair of share of work in the kitchen if I want my presses to keep going up. I'm happy with this PR. I'm closing in on my life-time PR and I'm going to do it for sets across.

Tony: 165x5x3
Finally, I've got him going up by 5s. He had a few reps that were grindy, but they were actually earlier in the set. They kind of woke him up. With presses, you HAVE to be aggressive and push hard. Speed is very important in bench. Tony looks poised to continue to gain.

Tim: 140x5x3
Tim FINALLY got past this barrier. Tim has an odd problem of relaxing when he gets the bar to the chest. I think he's doing it to try and get a bigger bounce. He needs to stay as tight as possible so he can remain stable. He's got terrible stability and it holds him back. We got him to be more aggressive with this weight and he was able to smoke it. Good stuff. We all love Tim, but he badly needs to get this lift up. Who pulls 335x5 and benches 140? He's got more in him.

Zach: 135x5x3
Just working on technique here. Like most people, he's used to an extremely wide grip and a flat back on the bench. We got him using a few powerlifting techniques and 135 was pretty much a joke for Zach.

Power Cleans:
Tom: 165x3x5
Exhausting. This is not a hard weight for me, but it is extremely fatiguing for my back. I'm moving to 8x3 ramped up Madcow style. I'll be cleaning twice a week now. Should be good. I can clean way more than this.

Tim: 120x3x5
Tim's making strides with his cleans. Like lots of people, he wants to catch them with straight legs and use his arms to pull. Flying reverse curls suck. I won't allow them. He'll get it right. This weight is just a joke for him. Tim pulls 335x5. We're going up by 10s.

Tony: 100x3x1, 105x3x4
We misloaded his first set. He got the next four sets with a PR weight. Tony has some mental blocks on this one, but he'll get a stronger clean one workout at a time.

Deadlift:
Zach: 245x5
20lbs PR. No big deal. Zach had a little more rounding than I'd like to see and this may be a bit heavier than what we need from him. I might have him do 235 next time.

Chinups:
Tom: 215x5x3
I could have been more strict with these. Some of them were not really dead-hang. Oh well. I did 207.5 last time and I only wanted to move up by 2.5#s. I gained too much weight to make that realistic. I figure that makes up for the fact they weren't perfect reps. 7.5#s is a big jump.

Tony: 188x5x3
I don't know how he goes from 185x5,3 to smoking all of his reps at 188, but he did. He'll get 190 next time.


Zach: 170x3x5
These were tough reps and he had to grind them out, but, much respect, Zach got all of his sets. We'll have him do 175 next time.




Tim: 3x5 /w grey band
We didn't get him to weigh in because he usually lifts at school. He can't do body weight yet, but doesn't always have access to bands. He was able to get 3x5 which is a great improvement. He normally has to use the black strong band and add a bit of weight.