Aria Attia's BoB 3 Training Log

[Nmowery]

Just curious, but where do you usually train? Like someone else mentioned earlier, I also saw you at the abc in eaton last year - I'm about an hour north of Cinci myself.

[bigpoppachizl]

Just curious, but where do you usually train? Like someone else mentioned earlier, I also saw you at the abc in eaton last year - I'm about an hour north of Cinci myself.

Rivercity Barbell in Newport, KY is my main powerlifting gym. Yeah I drove about an hour to Eaton last year. I wish I lived around there.. that gym was sweet.

[Nmowery]

It is hella nice! I don't live that far from eaton, and know other people who lift there, but the only time I've been there was for that abc. I'd fucking kill for a monolift and buffalo bar at my gym...ive thought about going down there weekly to squat, but my gym is 2 min. From my house and has 24 hr access for my fucked up work schedule, so convenience wins out there.

[bigpoppachizl]

It is hella nice! I don't live that far from eaton, and know other people who lift there, but the only time I've been there was for that abc. I'd fucking kill for a monolift and buffalo bar at my gym...ive thought about going down there weekly to squat, but my gym is 2 min. From my house and has 24 hr access for my fucked up work schedule, so convenience wins out there.

Haha, yeah I guess the most important thing is getting it in! That's too convenient to pass up... Hopefully I'll see you up there if they have another ABC some time!

[bigpoppachizl]

My left knee and right quad were giving me issues since last week. I went ahead with the workout anyway. This week, I want to pull BIG on Thursday so today was a volume day at ~80%. Again, not too heavy.. just enough to stay strong and not too much to affect my deadlift. I'm really going to need an offseason to work on my squat b/c I am prioritizing the deadlift for BoB3. I need a time where I'm not on a schedule or a deadline, for example squat when my legs/back have recovered like in 10 days instead of 7 or to squat more frequently and put the deadlift on the back burner. I really want a bigger squat. I'm starting to like it a lot.


155 x 10 x 2
245 x 10
335 x 5
425 x 5
515 x 5
605 x 3 x 3
425 x 10



Back in Cincinnati at Rivercity Barbell (actually in Newport, KY). The gym atmosphere is amazing. Everyone has a one-track mind: get stronger. Blasting heavy music and tons of spotters and support on your workouts is what you can expect. Check out gym owner Zac Whalen's article in the newest issue of Power Magazine.

[Pete Rubish]

Did you move back to Cincinnati? I take that as a good sign.

[bigpoppachizl]

Did you move back to Cincinnati? I take that as a good sign.

I wish my man.. I'm actually looking for work here, came to get my dog and cat. She won't even talk to me.. blocked me on text/FB/email. After 4 years together, you'd think she'd give me the decency of closure but nope. Time heals all I guess. Thanks for caring tho lol

[Pete Rubish]

I wish my man.. I'm actually looking for work here, came to get my dog and cat. She won't even talk to me.. blocked me on text/FB/email. After 4 years together, you'd think she'd give me the decency of closure but nope. Time heals all I guess. Thanks for caring tho lol

Well at least you've got your pets man. We're looking at getting a German Shepherd in the next two months or so. We've been talking about it for awhile and it's been a year now since I last had a dog. See you in California buddy!

[bigpoppachizl]

Well at least you've got your pets man. We're looking at getting a German Shepherd in the next two months or so. We've been talking about it for awhile and it's been a year now since I last had a dog. See you in California buddy!

Yeah thanks man.. My next dog will be a German Shepherd.. love those dogs. Can't wait till Cali, it's gonna be fun!!!

[bigpoppachizl]

It's time to come to terms with what happened! I was pulling for an audience at RiverCity Barbell in northern Kentucky. I was SO confident in my pulls thus far. Guess what? I missed. First miss since January. This wasn't a strength miss, this was a miss due to pulling a hamstring- which has never ever happened to me doing deadlifts. 900 came off the floor quick, but about 6 inches up, my leg started shaking forward and back and I felt a pop and had to drop it. Hopefully this is a minor strain and should be completely healed by BoB3. I am getting sick and tired of injuries, frankly, but I guess it comes with the territory. Depending on how it feels, I might want to give it another run tomorrow because my back is hardly sore at all.... All the warmups flew off the ground and I felt strong as heck that day:


135 x 10 x 2
335 x 8
425 x 4
515 x 1
605 x 1
695 x 1
765 x 1
900 - strained hammy


Humidity and electrolytes never meant so much to me than in powerlifting. It was hot out that day ~90 degrees. I was sweating more than usual and actually drank an entire gallon of water sitting there doing the deads. I will go for it again either tomorrow (if my hammy heals a little bit or even just enough that I can take it out of the lift) or next week, depending on how the hammy has healed. 900 is going down at some point before BoB3,, I need to feel the weight.

I feel like I let people down at this thing. One girl left a concert early to come watch me. Another guy invited his girlfriend to come see it. I take my lifts very seriously and I love to entertain people if they care haha. That's why I'm really bummed about missing this lift. I had forgotten what it feels like to fail on a big deadlift, but this one wasn't a strength failure, just a body failure...

[bigpoppachizl]

I tried it again. Took enough ibuprofen that I could not feel my hammy (which has completely healed by today btw). I went up the same progression of weights, but 765 lbs came up really slow. Even though my muscles were completely recovered, my CNS was fried from 2 days ago. I let them down in Cincinnati. I'll be back in October for a wedding to redeem myself.


135 x 10 x 2
225 x 10
335 x 4
425 x 4
515 x 1
605 x 1
695 x 1
765 x 1 cut it here, came up too slow


I will try 900 again in a week and a half... gotta be sure the CNS recovers. I may want more by then, but I also might play it conservative and just go for 900 flat. It's going down before BoB3.

In other good news, I got into medical school at Drexel University in Philly. This turns my life in a new direction and for the first time in a long time I see that I can become successful... It's a great feeling. Don't worry, I checked the schedule of classes and BoB3 falls right after our first exam. So while everyone is out partying, I'll be getting ready to do BIG THINGS!! Keeping my head up and moving forward with the training...

[bigpoppachizl]

Not a good day... My tricep strain from a week ago was more significant than I thought. My arm bruised up. I try to never post pictures of my injuries b/c I don't like showing weakness. Benching was OK, but I cut it at 405 lbs. because after one rep I felt some sharpness in my shoulder/pec area. I know my tricep was giving me grief a week ago when I dropped 405 on my chest,, but I was still able to push it up easily with a spotter. I think I can go up to 455 ish right now but I don't know about 500+. This might be the first meet where I don't bench 500, which would be very disappointing. But let's be clear: I'm there to deadlift first and total high/sponsorship/fame second. I'm there to deadlift. I want 900+. That might mean 903 if I'm fatigued by the end or 920+ if I'm ready to risk everything. I'm known to risk everything so... I heard Yuri Belkin's gonna be there so... American vs. Russian so... Rocky style so... Let's do this!!!


135 x 10 x 2
225 x 8 x 2
315 x 5
405 x 1 Cut it here b/c I felt a sharpness in my shoulder/pec area


In the back of my mind I'm thinking the tricep just needs time to heal (medial head only).... I'm thinking 2-3 weeks (it's already been 1). I hope I'll be ready for BoB3 in the bench department. But I'm also weary of my pec... I tore a quad squatting so that one of my legs doesn't look like the other one anymore- the muscle is torn but the tendon still attached, I tore my left biceps puling the World Record deadlift, only thing left is to tear a pec/tricep something in the bench press realm. I'm ALWAYS scared when I go under a 500 bench. But that I know I can almost always get. I want that same feeling with 900 deadlift. It's getting there. Then you guys will see me drop 900 on an average saturday lol, no meet in mind. That's what I want... Thanks for reading my rants if you read 'em btw!

[bigpoppachizl]

I worked up to an easy 700 lbs x 2. Everything felt good despite my strained hammy, which bruised up down by the kneecap. Since I was able to squat with no issues, I am confident I will be able to put up a good squat and serious deadlift at BoB3. This was the first squat workout in a long time that I did not take ibuprofen before the workout and that my back gave me no issues whatsoever. I seriously try to figure out why the lower back issue happens, but it seems like there is not a single trigger.


155 x 10 x 2
245 x 8 x 2
335 x 5
425 x 5
515 x 2
605 x 2
655 x 1
700 x 2
515 x 5


Great workout. I gained a lot of confidence on my squat here. My work on hitting depth in the past meet prep (extensive stretching and foam rolling) has paid off. Now, to balance a heavy deadlift with more squats until the meet...

[bigpoppachizl]

My tricep is still healing. I have a huge bruise on the inside of my arm and I can feel the tricep having trouble as the weight increases. The goal here was to test out the arm and just fill the muscle with blood. I'm a big fan of active recovery, aka working through an injury. I rarely stay off a muscle completely until it heals. I train on it using as much weight as I feel comfortable without re-injuring it. This method definitely increases my healing time, but I prefer it. Not the smartest, but whatever... Here, I was able to do 5 sets of 315. Although I think I'm good for 400-450 range right now, I didn't feel comfortable testing it just yet. Next week and the week after will be CRITICAL in getting my bench back to where it needs to be by BoB3. Hopefully this injury heals by then... very unfortunate.


135 x 10 x 2
225 x 10 x 2
315 x 5 x 5 (7 reps on the 4th set and 10 reps on the 5th set)


I am really scared under the bench these days, but I will try to go heavier to gain confidence next week. My squat is where it needs to be and my dead is almost there... just gotta fix this bench situation.

[bigpoppachizl]

I got sick with a bad cold on Monday this week. I thought I'd try 900 on Thursday but I knew being sick would change the plan. Also, for med school orientation they had us doing lots of social events at night. It felt like homework... I had to go home and nap to prepare for the social, then wake up at 6am the next day for more orientation haha. Needless to say, i was beat up all week. I tried 855 lbs. and it felt heavy.. but I think this is because I was still sick and my body was tired. Hopefully my strength rebounds by BoB3. I will do lots of sub max work this week to make up for the low max of 855 instead of 900. I just hope it all comes together at the meet for a big pull (high 800's to 900).


135 x 10 x 2
225 x 10 x 2
315 x 5
405 x 4
495 x 1
585 x 1
675 x 1
765 x 1
855 x 1
585 x 1 (nervous system was shot and 1 rep was like pulling a max here)


Good Mornings:

135 x 10
225 x 5 x 5

I added in good mornings to make up for some of the work I lost by not hitting 900. These good mornings plus lots of reps on Thursday of next week should keep me on track for a high 800 to 900 lbs. deadlift at BoB3. The hamstring tear from 2 weeks ago was a non-issue. I don't even feel it and it's healing quickly. Let's see what the future holds...

[bigpoppachizl]

I gave my tricep enough time to heal as much as possible. It is still black and blue but today's workout didn't aggravate it at all. I didn't feel any sharpness or pain in either my tricep or pec, so my confidence on the bench is rebounding. I'm still getting over the sickness.. (just about done) but it definitely affected me. I was able to hit 455 easy and fast, but I only got 525 lbs about half way without a pause. Again, I think this is because I'm getting over a sickness and bad eating/sleeping last week. The goal is 523 at BoB3, but definitely 500 as a second attempt. This should save my total...


135 x 10 x 2
225 x 10 x 2
315 x 5
405 x 4
455 x 1
525 x 1 (missed at lockout. Tried touch and go and it still wasn't there.. I'm hoping this is due to sickness b/c I felt strong all the way up to this set).
315 x 10 (went for a light down set b/c I'm still afraid of the tricep or pec tearing... the idea was to fill the muscles with blood and continue the recovery.. I already took the big risk in 525)

[Randy Sullivan]

Hi guys! I'm a new guy here. Dan Green suggested that I post my training here. It will be good b/c I don't post my training anywhere as of now.

A little background: I'm 32 years old. On 12/05/15 I set the All-Time Raw WR Deadlift in the 275 lbs weight class beating Konstantin Konstantinov's 906 lbs. by pulling 915 lbs. It was my 3rd meet and BoB3 will be my 5th. I'm hoping to total 2100+ lbs in knee sleeves at BoB3 with a 900+ deadlift, if training goes as planned. I hit 2,033 lbs in sleeves at my last meet in June 683/501/848 which was my first meet back from distal biceps tendon reattachment surgery I suffered while setting the WR in December.

Check out my Instagram (@bigpoppachizl) or Facebook/YouTube accounts for videos of all my training.

I'm excited to post here and am happy to take any questions.

I have been a personal trainer for 3 years in the past and have trained several clients of all ages, so I have some knowledge in the area. I call myself a "Pro" powerlifter, but that is in terms of total. In terms of the sport itself, I'm still a noob and have a lot to learn. But I think I have some insight to offer on the deadlift, specifically.

I hope you guys enjoy the content!

Hey Aria, barring injury, what openers do you plan to hit on squat, bench, and deadlift at BoB III? By the way, CONGRATS on setting the All-Time WR Deadlift in the 275 lbs weight class! Very impressive!

[bigpoppachizl]

Hey Aria, barring injury, what openers do you plan to hit on squat, bench, and deadlift at BoB III? By the way, CONGRATS on setting the All-Time WR Deadlift in the 275 lbs weight class! Very impressive!

Thanks man, I appreciate it! I'm still thinking this through, but I'm leaning toward 683 squat / 455 bench / 800 deadlift. I take bigger jumps, that's just how I train. I'm hoping to end up with a 730 squat / 523 bench / 881 - 903 deadlift. It all depends on the day, my hydration, rebound after cutting a few lbs. etc. Let's see how it goes!!

[Randy Sullivan]

Thanks man, I appreciate it! I'm still thinking this through, but I'm leaning toward 683 squat / 455 bench / 800 deadlift. I take bigger jumps, that's just how I train. I'm hoping to end up with a 730 squat / 523 bench / 881 - 903 deadlift. It all depends on the day, my hydration, rebound after cutting a few lbs. etc. Let's see how it goes!!

That's awesome! I hope you hit your numbers. I have a goal of making it in the Pro division which for 242 weight class I believe is 1,605.

I did my very first powerlifting meet two weeks ago in Lancaster, PA. It was Revolution Powerlifting Syndicate (RPS). I had a blast even though I did bench only. I opened on bench at 330 lbs. and then hit 345 lbs. I tried 355 lbs. but didn't get it. I'm recovering from a severe muscular strain that I incurred in April 2015 in my perineum (groin region) from doing heavy barbell back squats and deadlifts twice a week, every week for 3 months straight. So squatting and deadlifting was definitely out from the RPS meet. I didn't listen to my body and thought I would be fine...Nope. Paying for it now. I've spent several weeks at the Chiropractor working through the injury. It's a lot better now but I know I'm not back to normal. I'm starting completely over on squat and deadlift doing 135 lbs. for 1 set of 5 and eventually will go to 5 sets of 5 then slowly increase the weight and go back to 1 set of 5...Rinse and repeat. If the pain still persists then I will look into Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) injections. I know it's pretty expensive but at this point I'm out of options and this injury is beyond annoying.

Before I got injured I was doing 4x4 on deadlift with 500 lbs. (touch and go) and 4x4 on squat with 405 in knee sleeves. My max on deadlift was 565 lbs. for two singles 15 minutes apart and squat was 475 lbs. Sucks starting over but what can ya do. I lift much smarter now and base everything on feel. I do this as a precautionary method in an attempt to prevent further injury of any kind.

[bigpoppachizl]

That's awesome! I hope you hit your numbers. I have a goal of making it in the Pro division which for 242 weight class I believe is 1,605.

I did my very first powerlifting meet two weeks ago in Lancaster, PA. It was Revolution Powerlifting Syndicate (RPS). I had a blast even though I did bench only. I opened on bench at 330 lbs. and then hit 345 lbs. I tried 355 lbs. but didn't get it. I'm recovering from a severe muscular strain that I incurred in April 2015 in my perineum (groin region) from doing heavy barbell back squats and deadlifts twice a week, every week for 3 months straight. So squatting and deadlifting was definitely out from the RPS meet. I didn't listen to my body and thought I would be fine...Nope. Paying for it now. I've spent several weeks at the Chiropractor working through the injury. It's a lot better now but I know I'm not back to normal. I'm starting completely over on squat and deadlift doing 135 lbs. for 1 set of 5 and eventually will go to 5 sets of 5 then slowly increase the weight and go back to 1 set of 5...Rinse and repeat. If the pain still persists then I will look into Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) injections. I know it's pretty expensive but at this point I'm out of options and this injury is beyond annoying.

Before I got injured I was doing 4x4 on deadlift with 500 lbs. (touch and go) and 4x4 on squat with 405 in knee sleeves. My max on deadlift was 565 lbs. for two singles 15 minutes apart and squat was 475 lbs. Sucks starting over but what can ya do. I lift much smarter now and base everything on feel. I do this as a precautionary method in an attempt to prevent further injury of any kind.

Glad to hear about your meet and that you're back on track!! Yeah, unfortunately it seems like injuries are just a part of the game in this sport. The idea is to keep them to a minimum and when they happen, to nurse yourself back to health. Sounds like you've got a good plan moving forward. Get after it man!! Injuries are temporary- the weight is waiting for you!