WSB? How to form a routine after the basic routine.

[Parabellum]

I went to a few competions as a spectator when I lived in Cali and they were fun. I had a buddy who always competed. He was just beginning and somehow he always managed to walk a way with a trophey because the other competitors would open with a lift that was too much for them. I thought that was funny. He taught me alot at the time.

I'll look for some local competitions.
Thanks for the advice.

I looked up the DE day max out thing and during the basic program in week 4 DE squat day you go heavy and week 5 after DE bench you go heavy for one. I would do the bench one every week, no wonder I was stalling out on ME day and only moved up 5 lbs on max out day.

 

[spatts]

Joker, that's a good question. Ideally, we would compete often enough that we would know where we're failing on a given movement at LEAST every 12 weeks. You can also kind of tell by your comparitive numbers on partials. For example, my floor press was stuck at 177 for what seemed like forever, while my rack lockouts were at 403 pounds. That tells me that there's a HUGE difference in contributing strength between my shoulders and my tris. So I started doing more work for my shoulders. Now my floor press is up to 200ish. The nice thing about that is that my total 1 rep max raw bench has never been MORE than the lowest of my partials. So when I was at a 177 floor press (which is the lowest of my partials, in terms of stength), that's all my 1 rep max was. Now that it's closer to 200, so is my raw 1 rep max. Make sense?

 

[JOKER47]

Joker, that's a good question. Ideally, we would compete often enough that we would know where we're failing on a given movement at LEAST every 12 weeks. You can also kind of tell by your comparitive numbers on partials. For example, my floor press was stuck at 177 for what seemed like forever, while my rack lockouts were at 403 pounds. That tells me that there's a HUGE difference in contributing strength between my shoulders and my tris. So I started doing more work for my shoulders. Now my floor press is up to 200ish. The nice thing about that is that my total 1 rep max raw bench has never been MORE than the lowest of my partials. So when I was at a 177 floor press (which is the lowest of my partials, in terms of stength), that's all my 1 rep max was. Now that it's closer to 200, so is my raw 1 rep max. Make sense?

I see the logic there. I guess my concern would be that it seems to be a little of a guessing game for your opening lift(s) come comp day. Personally, I wouldn't want to find my weakness during my comp.

Is WSB completely "against" full ROM lifts except during comps? Or is that how you and your crew choose to apply their principles?

For me, I try for a new PR in a full ROM about every 5-6 weeks. Wherever I fail during this, I put my focus on for the next 5-6 weeks, then do it again and see if I have fixed, or made improvements on the problem. (Of course, I am not a competitor either, so I don't have the comps as you do.)


Thanks,
Joker

 

[spatts]

Joker, I don't know how Lou and his boys do things. DBC could better comment on that. Prior to my first comp, I did do a "test day" in July and in October, set up just as if it were a meet, but in the gym. We did full ROM MAX everything. We worked up in the circamax phase, deloaded, took the week off, and everything....just like a comp. That's how I knew my weaknesses and openers for the November comp.

Every now and then one of us will get a wild hair, we're having an on day, we've had plenty of rest and there are plenty of spotters, and we just GO FOR IT. Not so much me, but some of the other guys. Especially if they got new equipment and need to "test drive" it.

 

[JOKER47]

Joker, I don't know how Lou and his boys do things. DBC could better comment on that. Prior to my first comp, I did do a "test day" in July and in October, set up just as if it were a meet, but in the gym. We did full ROM MAX everything. We worked up in the circamax phase, deloaded, took the week off, and everything....just like a comp. That's how I knew my weaknesses and openers for the November comp.

Every now and then one of us will get a wild hair, we're having an on day, we've had plenty of rest and there are plenty of spotters, and we just GO FOR IT. Not so much me, but some of the other guys. Especially if they got new equipment and need to "test drive" it.

Thanks for the clarification on all that, Spatts.

One last question: Do you ever feel that you might have been better off at a meet if you HAD done a "test day" a few weeks prior to the comp?


Thanks again,
Joker

 

[Hannibal]

Is WSB completely "against" full ROM lifts except during comps? Or is that how you and your crew choose to apply their principles?

Lou recommends that you "take a weight" after your speed sets every once in awhile to see where you are at. That's the best way to determine a weak point. We as a crew do not do that enough...thats my fault...haven't been reminding them that they need to do it.

Also 4 weeks out or so from a meet, usually during a circa max phase where we don't go as heavy on ME moves, we will use a ME day to work up on Squat openers.

Basically the trick is to learn your carry over on certain exercises. Like for me personally I know that my reverse band blue deadlift without any equipment....is about the same as my deadlift in comp with gear. So if that goes up...then I know that my comp deadlift went up.

You also need to establish a PR off your Dynamic Day box...then compare that to your comp numbers. Say you squated 400 off your box a couple weeks out from the meet. Then at the meet you squatted 500...thats a 100lb carry over. So if you test again and you get 425...then you are capable of 525 in the meet. Establishing a consitant carry over is how you can know what to espect in a comp without burining yourself out with full ROM reps.

 

[spatts]

We as a crew do not do that enough...thats my fault...haven't been reminding them that they need to do it.

It's not your fault, I just don't do it. Don't feel like I need to.

Joker, the only time I have wished I'd had a better grasp was my first comp. I had never squatted with knee wraps before. So they wrapped those suckers up, I got under 365, which was my third attempt, and I just sprang right back up with it like it was nothing...I couldn't believe what knee wraps added to my squat. If I had known they would make a huge difference, I would've practiced in them a few times and maybe gone for something closer to 375-400. At that particular meet, that would've made the difference between me reaching Elite at my first comp and not.

 

[JOKER47]

Hannibal/Spatts,
Thank you both for the claification to all my questions. It's much appreciated. Although I don't compete, the science of how it all comes together really intrigues me.
Thanks again.


Joker

 

[skaman607]

so you almost made elite at your first meet?

 

[spatts]

Yeah, but what did "almost" ever get someone, you know? I didn't make it.