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View Full Version : The Road to the Arnold Pro Raw



ironlion93
07-23-13, 2:36 pm
I've been lurking in the FORVM for a while now, and figured it was time for me to make a post. I waited until after one of my competitions so that I can start from the beginning.
First, a little background on who I am. My name's Greg, I'm 20, in the 83 kg. class, and I picked up the moniker the Iron Lion from an announcer at my first couple meets or so who kept referring to me as the Iron Lion, I liked it and it stuck. It wasn't until recently that I discovered my family crest is covered in lions, however, I digress. I started training for PL January of 2012. My first meet was in May 2012 and I totaled 1137, enough to qualify me for Men's, Teen, Junior Nationals in Orlando, my hometown. I competed there and placed fourth with a slightly better total. One last local meet in October 2012 qualified me for Collegiate Nationals in Killeen. I threw on the gear at this point. I placed 12th at collegiate nationals. It was a major ego check, as I went 5/9, not even coming close to my potential, except with a 601 lb PR third deadlift. I was asked to lift for Team USA in the Pan-American Championships. I cut way to hard for the meet, felt like complete shit, still came out with a second place medal and 9 points for the team. After this I had only 2 weeks until Raw Nationals. Between the two meets, my hip flexors locked up, my lower back was sore, and my glute med was tender as veal. It was to the point where I believed I wouldn't be able to compete. I went to the gym and did my openers for Raw Nationals. I could barely squat 435. Which is pathetic, considering during my training for Pan-Ams I would do 415x5x3 raw w/ a belt on without a problem.
A week of hot baths, mobility work, and stretching later, I totaled 607.5 kg 1,1336 lbs at Raw Nationals. I went 9/9 with a 458 squat, 292 bench, 590(not my best) DL. Although this only got me 7th in the Junior division, we all know medals don't mean shit. I could've entered as collegiate instead and won first place and a shiny medal. I spent the whole weekend in the Hyatt at Raw Nationals, Friday I coached/handled Saturday I lifted, Sunday I spotted. I saw the best lifting that the IPF has to offer at that competition. I saw Sioux Z win her 21st National Championship title. Watching Mike Tuscherer lift felt like I was watching how to videos. He's form perfect for every lift, it's inspirational. Of course, as I'm sure you've heard by now Ray Williams' World Record squat of 400.5 kg. and his failed 410 kg attempt, which he dumped on the spotters and left a pretty big dent in the squat rack. I feel like Forrest Gump being close to all the history being made while spotting Ray. The battle between Ray and Blayne was amazing to watch. I haven't seen intensity like that since I spotted Raw Unity 6 in Tampa. One of my favorite lifters was Niko Hulslander, who brings a shit ton of intensity to the platform. My biggest complaint against the IPF and USAPL is a lot of the lifters don't have much intensity when they're lifting. To each their own though. I like to get fucking psyched out of my mind, but not so much I don't remember my form.
This brings y'all up to speed on my lifting to date. What's next? The title's a bit of a spoiler. Raw Nationals qualified me to lift at the Arnold Pro Raw in Feb-March 2014. I basically made this thread so that I can be involved in the PL community, and keep anyone who's interested up to date with my training, eating, etc. I've used a run of the mill linear periodization program for all of my competitions to date, some programmed by the likes of Matt Gary, some I wrote myself. Seeing as how I have 250+ days until the Arnold, I plan to use a much less structured training method to try and bring up my 365 strength. I'm going to incorporate strongman and Oly lifting(which I really enjoy) and even some swimming(which I fucking hate, we're god damned land mammals, I don't have fins, I wasn't meant for that shit, despite the last name Phelps) but I figured it would really help out my hip and shoulder mobility problems. I'm going to do Smolov for squat, and Smolov Jr. for BP(clearly my weakest lift). Both of which require I much higher than average calorie intake. I've been looking forward to this time of year for a long time because IT'S BULKING SEASON, BITCHES. I'll try to make it a clean bulk, but it's gonna definitely have it's dirty parts. When it's the end of the day, you gotta be willing to eat a honeybun or 12 to get in the calories. I'm not a model, I don't need abs. Gonna work up to 200-210 in the next three months(from 183). I'll see where I stand strength-wise to determine which weightclass I'll lift in the Arnold.
More importantly, I look forward to hearing from the bros to see what you guys have to talk about. I'll be posting every day that I lift. 3-4 days/week, maybe more often than that. Let me know if I left any info out that you're interested in knowing about.

ironlion93
07-30-13, 10:03 am
Yesterday(7/29) was my first day back in the gym. Right now I'm concurrently running Smolov and Smolov Jr. Here's what I did yesterday.
Squat: 300x3x8, 325x5x1, 345x2x2, 375x1
Bench:205x6x6

I did some upper body accessory work. I hit bis and tris, shoulders, and core. Tricep pulldowns, bicep curls, strict military press, and OHP, and pulldown crunches. All in all it felt pretty good for a first day back. I wore some hand me down squat shoes that I got, and I'm liking the feel enough to wear I might buy a new pair after a couple weeks. It's painfully obvious that I'm not used to doing more than five reps, because as soon as I hit that fourth rep, it's like I hit a wall and the burn really sets in. Thankfully it wasn't a day with high intensity. On the cutting board for today, I'm doing the same squat training, and I'll probably work in some flies, rows, and back work. Maybe even some traps.

ironlion93
07-31-13, 3:17 pm
I did the same squat progession as yesterday. I followed it up with
bent over rows: 1x10x135, 1x8x185, 1x5x225
shrugs:1x15x135, 1x15x225, 1x15x315
core work: pull down crunches 3x15xthe whole stack.

Had ten eggs today, four shakes, and about a half gallon of chocolate milk. 4 cups of pasta, ham and cheese wrap. Preworkout I had 2 pbj's, a protein shake, and used up some free samples I got from Europa as a preworkout drink.
My legs are starting to get pretty sore. I had trouble hitting depth when I warmed up with the bar today, just achey and tight. Fixed itself when I added more weigth on the bar. Wednesday is the heaviest day yet at the end of a decently challenging half-week of squatting. I'm looking forward to it.

ironlion93
08-09-13, 1:12 pm
Haven't been able to update the log for a while. I moved and don't have internet in the new digs yet, and I've been too busy at work to make time to update the blog.
I've just finished the introductory phase of smolov and I'm feeling pretty strong. As far as bench, it's a tough road. I had to do 225x6x6, and it was surprisingly hard. It may have been because I had reallllly bad gas that day. Gotta keep pushing. Almost 200 days to the Arnold.

Universal Rep
08-09-13, 2:22 pm
Haven't been able to update the log for a while. I moved and don't have internet in the new digs yet, and I've been too busy at work to make time to update the blog.
I've just finished the introductory phase of smolov and I'm feeling pretty strong. As far as bench, it's a tough road. I had to do 225x6x6, and it was surprisingly hard. It may have been because I had reallllly bad gas that day. Gotta keep pushing. Almost 200 days to the Arnold.

Solid log brotha. Stop by The Cage when ur out in C-Bus...

Riffmaster
08-09-13, 2:34 pm
Looks like a lot of good stuff coming out of here. Subbed.

ironlion93
08-13-13, 9:06 am
Looks like a lot of good stuff coming out of here. Subbed.

Thanks brother. I was talking to myself for a while. Still don't have any internet at the house, so I can only make updates while I'm at work.

ironlion93
08-13-13, 9:07 am
Solid log brotha. Stop by The Cage when ur out in C-Bus...

Can do. Officially entered as of 2 AM Sunday morning. Waited up for the entry form to open cuz it fills so quick. I'll see you in Ohio my friend.

ironlion93
08-13-13, 9:28 am
It's been a good weekend. UCF gym is back open so now I can get back into my routine, which obviously makes it a lot easier. You just get used to using the same equipment, and when you're thrown into a different environment you don't know what to do, especially when you're going from a 20,000+sq ft gym to a 1000 sf gym. Moving even affected my eating habits. It's definitely been harder to get in my 4k-5k calorie a day goal. My weight is up to 192 from 177 on July 20. I wanna make it up to 200-210 area to train for the Arnold, then just cut the fat back down. I cut 17 lbs for Collegiate Nationals, and didn't lose any strength, so I'm confident I can do it again for the Arnold, as long as I give myself a couple months to cut the fat off, and leave the muscle where it belongs. Here's what I did for the weekend:

Saturday: Bench 245x9x3 255x1x3.
Today felt amazing. Really feeling some progress on the bench. Some of it has to do with form improvement, but most of it just has to do with...here's the kick...benching. The more ya bench the better ya get at it. My strength feels like it has improved drastically even though not a couple days ago I struggled really hard with 225x6x6.

After bench I hit arms hard. BB curls, hammer curls, EZ bar curls, my favorite tricep pulldowns, and some skull crushers. I also did some flys. I attempted to do some shoulder press, but after all that bench work, it was like trying to lift a can of soup after arm day: shitty.

Monday: Today marks the first day where my bench and squat workouts synch up. Until now it has been squat Mon-Wed, Bench Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat. Now that my squat days are on my bench days, I'm expecting the massive volume to really take a toll on the CNS. It also makes accessory selection more difficult, because any way I cut it, I'm doing upper AND lower body main movements the next day. Here's the work I did today:
Squat: 325x4x9. This has cemented in my mind forever that my mantra "Anything more than five reps is cardio work" is true. By the end of the fourth set I was panting like a dog laying on the bench. I'm determined to stick to the program, because clearly Mr. Smolov would know more about good training than I. I did them easy enough, all raw AND BELTLESS. I emphasize beltless because, IMO, the amount of training it does for your core and back is the best work we can do. Why do PL's train core and back? So we can get a stronger DL and squat. What better way to improve the specific core and back muscles we use while squatting and DLing then to do those movements w/o a belt?

Bench: 225x6x6. SO MUCH EASIER THAN LAST WEEK. In my log last week I talked about how difficult this was for me. This week, CAKE brother, pure cake. Repped 225 like it was my bitch without a problem, even on the sub-par benches that UCF has. (They're too low, you can't leg drive without your ass coming off.)

All in all I'm feeling a lot of strength gains on the BP. In the squat, I don't think I've made it far enough in my program to determine whether or not I'm stronger in terms of a 1RM. I guarantee I couldnt do 325x9x4 three weeks ago, but I don't do reps in competition, so who cares? In a couple weeks when I'm dealing with a higher percentage of my 1RM on my back, I should be able to tell if Smolov is working for me. Till next time, peace.

ironlion93
08-15-13, 9:23 am
I'm really starting to notice the effects of intensely training bench and squat on the same day. As I've said, I'm running Smolov for squat and Smolov Jr. for bench. This week is the first week where each workout syched up, so now every day that I squat, I also bench press. I'm enjoying the challenge of pushing through the pain and fatigue to acheive some good results. Yesterday, Wed 8/14, I worked up to 345x5x7 on squat. As I've said before, I'm only squatting beltless trying to get my core and lower back on par with my quads and hamstrings. On bench I worked up to 245x7x5. I think it bears reminding that my bench is only 292. That's 83% of my 1RM for 35 reps overall(although the two last sets I only got 4 and 3 reps, respectively. The gym was closing and I had to rush my workout. On only week 3 of Smolov Jr. I'm noticing drastic increases in my bench, and just overall improvement in form and execution. I was benching at Orlando Barbell the other day and Brian Schwab pointed out that my elbows were tucking fine on the way down, but as soon as I press the weight, they flare out. I mentally need to focus every rep to make sure my elbows stay in, and it has helped dramatically.
Some of you might be wondering what the biggest difference is training both an upper body and a lower body main movement on the same day,especially multiple (4+) times a week, as compared to separating them for different days
the week. The biggest difference that I've noted is that my ability and stamina for assistance/accessory work after I'm done with the main lifting for the days is vastly decreased. Keep in mind I have DOMS 24/7, coupled with the fact that each new day I go into the gym, is the hardest day of lifting I've ever done, and I'm straight up gassed after the workouts. Trying to do shoulder presses after heavy bench? Impossible. Doing deadlifts after squatting something for 4x9? Suicide. Some days I can manage getting in a solid arm workout, maybe some rows,too. I have yet to do ANY lower body assistance work after a squat workout on this program. Maybe that's the point though. It's supposed to hurt, and it's supposed to suck, so sack up and stack up. I'll start doing the majority of my accessory work on the days in between my major workouts. Don't want all this bench to get my shoulders to slouch.

ironlion93
08-17-13, 9:15 pm
Skipped posting yesterday, so I'm gonna talk about Friday's and Saturday's training. Good news is, I have internet at the new place so I can post more frequently right after training while my ideas and experiences are still fresh. Here's the hell I've been going through:
Friday: Getting to the end of the first week in the base mesocycle for Smolov, while also being in the last week of the mesocycle for Smolov Jr. Today was an absolute shit show in the best way possible. I walk into the gym and my buddy asks if I'm just getting there, I'm like yeah why? He tells me the gym closed in an hour. The gym is still on break hours and it closes early on Friday's. I was pissed. This mean I had less than an hour to do 375x7x5 on squat and 255x8x4 on bench. I immediately started taking my warm up sets so I could finish my training in time. I really do hate being rushed, but in this case it made me push myself harder than I ever have before. I would do a set on squat, rack it, walk over to the bench, do a set, and take maybe one minute break. I was pushed to the absolute limits of my cardiovascular abilities, which are zero, by the way. I was so fuckin amped though. I was pumped the fuck up. It was me and two buddies(both with 1700+ totals) just lifting so much iron that a crowd was starting to gather to watch us lift. This is the quintessential powerlifting high that I love so much. Hard asses lifting heavy ass weights, making everyone else feel feminine. Post workout: I could barely talk, let alone move. I had been using my nose tork to keep me from passing out during my training. To top it off, we were having a house party that night, so rest was not likely in my near future.

Saturday: I wake up, I can barely move. My legs are the most sore they've been since I first picked up a barbell on my back and did a 'squat' in high school. I know I gotta do what I gotta do, so me and my roommate Nick pack up and head to the gym at about three. I walked in that gym knowing I was gonna crawl out the other side, but I'd sure as hell be stronger than when I walked in. Today's work was 390x10x3 on squat and 265x10x3 on bench press. My last bench press workout of Smolov Jr. before my max week. The DOMS from the day before was excruciating. Thankfully I didn't have to rush today. I took my time, did 9 sets of squat, and that got crushed by the tenth set. Did not phase me one bit. Threw the weight back on the rack and crushed it for my tenth set. By that point, I had already warmed up for bench. I got to my sixth or seventh set with 265 and that was as far as I could take it today. Surprisingly, while I was squatting, my legs weren't even the most sore muscle. My triceps were FUCKING DYING. I slathered some Icy Hot on those bitches, but any time I would pull myself under the barbell to squat, a spasm of pain would just shoot in my triceps. I know it's not an injury, it's just acute soreness and it'll fade, but it even made putting on my wrist wraps more difficult. I walked away from the gym today thinking, "FUCK... this is only the first actual week of lifting in my Smolov program." Here's to hoping that it gets easier when I'm not benching so fucking heavy at the same time. My next post will summarize my experience of running both programs at the same time.

ironlion93
08-19-13, 9:54 pm
Monday 8/19. First day of classes, preceded by 8 hours in the office... followed by one of the sickest squat and deadlift workouts since idk when. Warmed up on squat took the bar for 10, 135x10, 225x5, 315x3, then finally 345x4x9. The 345 is surprisingly more difficult than you think. I did the first set beltless, and threw on the belt after I felt how tired my lower back was. Anything more than 5 reps for me is really pushing my cardiovascular system. I felt like I was gonna fall over and throw up after each set. It's the best feeling and the worst feeling. Afterwards, since I didn't have bench I figure I would see how my deadlift was doing, since I haven't pulled in training since June. It seems like forever, more so because the DL is my best lift (600 lb, 272.5 kg.). I warmed up 135, 225,315, 405x3, and finally did 500(495 with the clips) for an absolutely easy raw set of two. All in all extremely pleased. I can see 650 being a reasonable goal for the Arnold, especially considering that I never did 500 for two reps THAT easily. I mean this might as well have been 225. Good shit fellas, good shit.

ironlion93
09-16-13, 4:31 pm
It has been a LONG while. Here's the deal. Went to max on bench, had such pain in my elbows I couldn't even control my descent enough to pause the bench. So no new max on the BP. However, I maxed on squat a week ago and got a clean 500 and sunk that shit to the ground. This is basically where I wanted to be at this point in my training. It's a 42 pound PR in 8 weeks. Now I have two weeks of dynamic effort. But in my experience my body actually responds better to the constant stress. If I give myself too much of a break I'm gonna suck when I get back to squatting. So last week was dynamic effort. Today I get back to the real work. 450x1x5. No promises about a post tonight boys, I have a bunch of studying to do for some upcoming tests!