Today, Friday 07/03/2020, I finished up a twelve week strength block for the Low Bar Squat, the Paused Bench Press, and the Conventional Deadlift (my “competition lifts”). The program was a variant of one of Barbell Medicine’s 12 Week Strength Programs that I made a few slight modifications to. I changed up the exercise selection on a few exercises, added a little bit more accessory work on “off days”, and did a little more conditioning than prescribed during the development blocks (Weeks 1-8).
This is the best twelve weeks of training I think I’ve ever had. I ended up with a 475lb Squat, a 310lb bench, and a 475lb deadlift, for a total of 1260lb at a body weight of 175lb. The last time I actually dedicated time to peak for S/B/D, which was prior to my meet in August 2018, I totaled 1218lb at a body weight of 198lb. I’m super grateful for a great block of training and that I get to dedicate time to pursuing this hobby of mine.
I think that the biggest factor in how successful this block ended up being was how conservative I made myself be on my week to week jumps in weight. I set a hard rule of only increasing my e1RM by 5lb every two weeks. My original “goals” that I set for the beginning of the block were 455(S), 305(B), and 465(D). With those goals, I started at the end of the block and worked my way backwards to the beginning of the block with target weights for every week, adding 5lb every two weeks. This was a HUGE help in keeping me conservative with my weight increases, as I tend to be on the aggressive side when it comes to using RPE. I knew going in that I would need some form of a “governor” to keep my ego in check and to not make big jumps or to move up in weight too frequently. It paid off.
The second biggest factor in how successful this block ended up being was dialing in my technique just a little bit more for each lift. Specifically, improving my set up and bar position in the squat, my grip width and set up for the bench press, and how far I set up away from the bar in the deadlift. These minor improvements resulted in major benefits and allowed me to squeeze out 70lb in improvements on each lift despite weighing the exact same bodyweight. As your development continues to advance, the little things matter more and more.
I should note that even though the overall result of the block was a wild success, not every week was a great week. Throughout the course of the training block I struggled with weeks of poor performance, poor sleep habits due to starting a new position at my main job, and minor flare ups of common sites for pain (right side glute/hip, right side trap/neck, and right shoulder). Despite all of this, the end result was still great. This only highlights the importance of “trusting the process” and “not sweating the small stuff”.
Show up, put the work in, and in the end you will likely be better than when you started. Good rules for lifting, and probably life, too.
Happy Friday and Happy Independence Day for those Americans among you!
Cheers!
07/03/2020
BW:175.0
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Comp Squat:
455×1 PR
475×1 PR
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Comp Bench:
290×1 PR
300×1 PR
310×1 PR
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Comp Deadlift:
465×1 PR
475×1 PR
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TOTAL: 1260
WILKS: 392.12