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By: Collin "PoohBear" Rhodes
 Squat: 710 Bench: 540 Dead: 716 I equaled the squat, fell quite short of the bench and slightly exceeded the dead. I'll go over my training cycle; what I was doing and how I was progressing, and then I'll tell you what I think I did wrong and what I have changed for this next cycle. My normal training cycles are 13 weeks long, split up into 3, 4-week mini cycles followed by a week off just before the meet. The three mini cycles are a volume cycle, a strength cycle, and a performance cycle. I'll start with my squat. My workout plan
was as follows:
The main work was the Deads. I would do a single set of dead lifts, but I listed it, for example in week 4, as 10 sets of 1 because I wanted to remind myself that each rep had to be like a complete competition lift. In other words, when I train dead lift in the gym, I do the first rep, put the bar down, release it and stand back up. That is 1 rep. Rep #2 starts from the standing position and I perform a new lift, just as if I had just walked on the platform. I do this to prevent using bad form, and you will find it is much harder this way. All 10 reps are done w/ no rest (except a couple of breaths) between standing up and going back down for the next rep. The weight and rep scheme was pretty good for this, maybe just a little too conservative. I used to do rack pulls from just above the knees, but on the advice of a pretty strong guy, I moved the bar to just below the knees. On this new type of rack pulls I was a little over ambitious. I have a weakness getting through my transition stage, and so rack pulls from below the knees are particularly difficult for me. I had to lower the weights to get the reps, but I felt like this was a very productive exercise for me. I rotated the rack pulls out (during mini cycle two), for Zercher squats. These are just a great all around back exercise, and I like them because they are weird. I wasn't able to do all the reps though because I find that I can not breathe when doing these so after about 3 reps, I'm heading for the twilight zone. 3's are my max for heavier sets because of this reason. Stiff-legged deads followed. I think this was too much stress on my lower back. I did all the reps with the weights listed, but I think that I ended up over training my lower back. What I really want out of the second assistance exercise is hamstrings, so leg curls or something like that would be much better. William's shrugs (Wm Shrugs) are to target the lower traps and inner lats. Wm. Shrugs, for those of you who don't know, are done on a rowing type of machine. A chest-supported T-bar row works well. I like to use a Hammer Strength bi-lateral row machine. I use about 5 45 lb. plates or 5 "wheels" on each side, and I set up just as if I were going to row the weights. But instead of pulling the weights up by leading with the elbows, I just shrug the weights back. The elbows stay straight, and the movement is achieved by rolling the shoulder blades in towards the spine. The range of motion is only about 3-4 inches, but if you do it right you will feel it right between the shoulder blades. For regular shrugs I use 150 lb dumbbells in each hand. I pause each rep at the top for a second and really try to squeeze the muscles. If my lower back isn't too fried I like to lean forward sometimes and do the shrugs at about a 15 degree angle. This is similar to the last part of my deadlift. I think both of these help stabilize the upper back when you are coming off of the floor, and help prevent that dreaded hunch. I have never recovered a dead lift if I hunch off the floor. Shrugs are done with dumb bells, and are paused at the top for a second. I think that both of these exercises are very good. I feel like I have a general Trap weakness, and so I am in great need of these two exercises. An added bonus to these two is that they both are significant in stabilizing your bench press too. I finish this workout with pulldowns. I do these in the place of chin-ups. I actually prefer chins, but they tear up my shoulder (the one that has the pins in it....whine, whine, whine). These are just basic back exercises and I figure I ought to do them to try to keep from becoming thicker than I am wide. And of course there's the ab work (note I use the singular). I hate ab work. In the mini cycle 2 and 3 I move to power crunches which are regular crunches with a dumbbell on your chest. You will need a partner for a lift off and to hold your feet down, but you'll develop that signature PoohBear silhouette. ---Next time "How to Over Train Your Bench" PoohBear
Photo of Collin appears courtesy of Brackley Enterprises.
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Collin Rhodes is a top ranked 275 lb lifter. Collin started powerlifting in California in 1994 has now won the 275 title in Texas. Collin is a professional engineer working for a major semiconductor company.
Reproduction of this article, in whole or part, for any purposed other than personal use is prohibited without written consent. Copyright 1998,1999,2000 Collin Rhodes. |
