Competition Results

I hope that everybody had a great Thanksgiving this past week! I definitely enjoyed my first TG at home in four years... Tuesday was the only day I trained last week, and the goal was only to do an opener on bench followed by a few sets of band squats and band deadlifts to keep my nervous system going in to the meet.
Thursday I ate a sickening amount, even for my own standards, and Sunday we had another holiday-sized dinner for my mom's birthday.

The powerlifting competition went extremely well. It was a fun atmosphere in a great gym up on Lake Winnepesaukee - so a big "thank you" to Bill Durant and the Elite Powerlifting Federation and Wayne Mclay of Galaxy Gym. All the competitors did a great job and made for an interesting meet. I went with three of my friends and training partners who also competed very well. As for myself I exceeded expectations and am very happy with my performance on the day. I am actually surprised as to how well I did.. Before starting the meet I would have been happy walking away with a 525 squat, 425 bench press, and a 600 deadlift for a 1550 total (which would be close to matching my last powerlifting meet in 2008). I ended up with a 550 squat, 440 bench press, and 650 deadlift for a 1640 total! Even with two of those being all time personal bests I still felt like I had a little bit left in the tank and maybe could have padded those numbers even more. Not to mention I came in about 4 pounds light, weighing in at 212... This definitely makes me feel like we had some good things going with our training and I am trying to distill out the most effective methods and how we can improve for the next meet which should be in the spring.

Here are a few videos of the final attempts on each lift just for fun.. Dont mind the unitard outfit!!

525 Squat

440 Bench

650 Deadlift

Goons: Me, James, Matty, Steve

Will be taking a week off of training to rest, in hopes of avoiding my bi-annual injury. New goals will be forthcoming!

Training week of 11/17/12

Weight - 216.4

11/13/12

Max Effort Press

Incline Press - 135x10, 225x5, 275x3, 315x1, 375x1, 405* missed

BB 1/2 Military Press - 135x10, 185x5, 225x5, 275x5, 315x5

3"Board Close Grip Bench Press - 135x10, 225x8, 315x8, 365x6

Green Band DB Tricep Extensions - 50x8, 55x8, 60x8, 65x8

Lat Pull - 3x12

Tricep Pushdown - 3x12

Seated Cable Row - 3x12

11/14/12

Max Effort Pull

Deadlift from plate (-1.5") - 135x10, 225x5, 315x5, 405x3, 495x1. 545x1. 585x1, 605x1

Front Squat - 135x5, 185x5, 225x5, 275x3, 315x1, 365x1, 315x5

Deficit Deadlift (+3") - 135x8, 225x8, 315x8. 405x8, 455x8

DB Walking Lunge - 80's x3x16

11/16/12

Dynamic Effort Press

Green Band Bench - 275x6x3, 300x2x2

BB Incline Press - 135x8, 185x8, 225x8, 275x8, 315x8

DB Military Press - 80x8. 100x8. 120x8

Pushups - 3x25

Single Arm Cable Row - 3x10

Lat Pulldowns - 3x12

11/17/12

Dynamic Effort Squat/Pull

Green Band Squat - 275x6x3, 300x2x2

Green Band Deadlift - 135x8, 185x5, 225x3, 275x3, 315x3, 365x3, 405x3

BB Shoulder Supported Hip Extension - 225x10, 315x10, 405x8, 585x8, 675x8, 765x5

DB Walking Lunge - 85x3x20

BW Glute Ham Raise - 3x8

This was a great week of training... Definitely am feeling good going in to the week of the meet. After feeling lukewarm about my potential performance - I was hoping for 85% of all my personal bests - I actually feel like I may be able to put some great numbers up next week. What I am really encouraged by is my deadlift, and I just might pull a PR on meet day. Crossing fingers for something special..

Sunday Dinner 11/11/12 East meets West: Italian-Khmer Hybrid Dinner!

Sunday Dinner 11/11/12

Eggrolls
Laap
Spezzatino (Stracotto di manzo con dragoncello  e pastinaca)

This weekend was a very interesting combination of foods to say the least... After great success last week and several days worth of gloating about my culinary prowess, my Cambodian friend volunteered her time to give look at REAL Khmer home cooking. I had to plan for a few picky eaters at the table as well and also needed to ensure that I would have plenty of leftovers to pick from during the week, so I decided on a beef stew recipe/invention to contribute to the dinner. Do the dishes go together? Nope! But they were all exceptionally tasty and loved by all, so I'll consider it a success.

Eggrolls

Rice paper
Cabbage, shredded
1 small Taro root, shredded
3 Carrots, shredded
1.5 pound ground pork
2 tbsp Fish sauce
1 tbsp sugar
Salt and pepper
1 egg

We used ground pork shoulder for a richer stuffing. Ill be honest, my contribution to this dish was minimal. I was allowed to stuff, roll and fry the eggrolls. From what my friend tells me that at home the ritual is the mother makes the stuff and the children stuff and roll. I'm the noob in this situation so I didn't get to make the stuffing. I did however do an exceptional job frying the rolls. I didn't burn any either!! OK... I burned one out of fifty. Sad face.

Laap
1.5 lbs round roast sliced very thinly
2 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp prohok
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp sugar
juice of 4 limes
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 shallot, minced
2 handfuls mint leaves
2 handfuls sweet basil leaves
1/2 cup peanuts, coarsely chopped
1 bunch radishes, sliced
1 cup bean sprouts
1 head romaine lettuce

Laap is a manly beef salad and is quite reminiscent of Italian carpaccio. The meat is supposed to be served extremely rare, in fact the recipe sounds quite like a southeast Asian version of seviche or carpaccio, with the lime juice "cooking" the beef and being served without heat cooking. We did throw everything in a pan and cook over high heat for a few minutes though, so it wasn't exactly as tradition would require.
I picked out a great looking bottom round roast from the butcher shop and trimmed off the little bits of fat off the sides. To get the beef as thinly sliced as possible I threw it in the freezer for a few hours, then thawed just enough so that I could throw it on one of the deli slicers and have it not fall apart. Sliced about one and half pounds off then reserved the rest for stew meat. The meat marinated in lime juice for an hour, and then was cooked in a sauce made of fish sauce, prohok, water, sugar, shallots and garlic. After cooking the beef was pressed and drained, then chilled, and served mixed with mint and basil leaves, radishes, bean sprouts and peanuts, and served over a whole leaf of romaine lettuce.

Spezzatino
3 lbs chuck roast, cubed in to 3" pieces
2 red onions, diced
4 celery stalks, halved and chopped coarsely
4 garlic cloves, smashed and chopped coarsely
8 carrots, peeled and chunked
8 potatoes, peeled and quartered
4 parsnips (pastinaca), peeled and chunked
2 cups leftover tomato sauce
2 cups beef stock
lots of red wine (I used cheap Cabernet Sauvignon)
Salt and pepper to taste
4 tbsp dried tarragon (dragoncello)
4 tbsp dried thyme
4 sprigs dried rosemary
Flour for dredging
Olive oil and butter

This stew was really, really easy to make, and tasted wonderful. The sweetness of the carrots and parsnips melded beautifully with the tangyness of the tarragon... I will be patting myself on the back for that insight! First I mixed some salt and pepper with the flour to season the crust for the meat. Dredged the cubed beef and fried in a mixture of olive oil and butter, then removed from heat. Sauteed the onions for about 10 minutes, then added in the celery and garlic. Sauteed another 5 minutes and lightly salted and added pepper. Next added about 2 cups of red wine and allowed to reduce over high heat until the contents were paste-like. Then added 2 cups of tomato sauce and brought to boil. Added tarragon, thyme, salt and pepper. Added the root vegetables, meat, 2 cups of beef stock and red wine to cover the pot. Brought to a boil then placed rosemary sprigs on top and pushed down lightly in to the stew. Covered and baked in the oven at 350 for 1 hour covered, 1 hour uncovered.

Lifts 11/9 and 11/10

11/9/12

Weight - 215.6

Dynamic Press

Green band bench press - 8x3x225
DB Incline - 80x10, 100x10, 125x8, 125x10, 125x12
1/2 BB Military Press - 135x10, 185x10, 225x8, 275x8
Tricep Pushdown - 3x25
Rope face pulls -3x15
Lat Pulldown - 3x15

11/10/12

Dynamic Squat

Green band squat - 8x3x275
Green band deadlift - 135x5, 225x5, 275x3, 315x3, 365x3, 405x3
Rear Foot Elevated BB Split Squat - 135x16, 185x16, 225x16
Rope Pull Thru - 4x15

Training 11/6 and 11/7/12

Weight - 216.2

Tuesday Max Effort Press

Close Grip Bench - 135x10, 225x5, 275x5, 315x3, 365x1, 405x1, 425x1
DB Military Press - 80's x10, 100's x8, 110's x8, 120's x5
DB Tricep Extensions - 60's x8, 65's x8, 70's x8, 75's x8
Tricep Pushup - Bodyweight x3x20
Weighted Pullups - +25 x4x8
DB Lateral Raise - 30x3x15

Wednesday Max Effort Deadlift

Deadlift from 3" lift (barbell on two 45lb plates) - 135x10, 225x8, 315x5, 405x5, 455x3, 500x3*, 545x1*, 585x1*
Back Squat - 135x8, 225x5, 315x5, 405x5, 455x3, 455x1, 405x2x3
Deficit Deadlift (+1 1/2") - 135x8, 225x8, 315x8, 405x8
Glute Ham Raise - Bodyweight 3x8
TRX Ham Curls + Hip Extensions - Bodyweight 3x8+8
*with belt

Both lifts were pretty good. At this point I have a really good idea of what I'm going to post at the meet. It looks like my bench opener is still going to be 400, I will bring my squat down to 485 and still open up with 500 for deadlift. If all goes well I'll probably go 415-520-550 (1485). Those numbers are not nearly where I want to be, but will be a pretty good launch point for the next year of training and definitely not a bad place to start for my first meet since 2008 and my back injury(ies).
The deadlift is the wild card. I haven't pulled much the past few months and I can definitely make improvements over the next few lifts. This week I elevated the barbell on two 45 pound plates to reduce the range of motion and make the lift easier. Pulled 585 pretty easily, and thats the heaviest weight that has been in my hands since May. I will drop to one 45 pound plate next week and see if I can still pull 585 from it. The following week will be the meet and test what I can pull from the floor.
Bench and squat are pretty stagnant though, which sucks. Today I wanted to hit 455 for a few sets of 3 on squat, but the volume is just too much at that weight. After unracking the second set I only had to do one rep before I started second guessing and decided that my original idea wasn't going to work today. Dropped down to 405 and did two sets of 3, with good form and speed.
The pec/shoulder is feeling better every lift and haven't had any hip irritations the last 2 lower body lifts either.. so atleast I've got my health!

Sunday Dinner 11/4/12 - Cooking Khmer

Trey kho chnay - Caramelized catfish
Bai lieng chia mui sach chrouk - Fried rice with pork and vegetables
Sach ko luc lac - Marinated beef salad

This week I wanted to take a break from cooking Italian or other European-style recipes and try something with a totally different flavor palate. I was inspired by one of my best friends who's family immigrated from Cambodia after the devastating genocide that happened in there in the late 70's. Nearby Lowell, Massachusetts has the second highest population of Cambodians in the country and as a result of that there are some pretty fantastic restaurants exclusive to the area that show off traditional ethnic Khmer cuisine. After being treated to one such a few weeks back I decided to try my hand and see what I could pull off. I normally don't venture off to the recipes of Latin America or Asia, for some reason I don't have as good "kitchen-sense" and am often disappointed with the results. However the mainstays of Cambodian cooking are tenets that are very familiar (simple recipes dependent on the freshness and quality of their ingredients) and gave me confidence to extend out in to this new world of food.

Trey kho chnay - Caramelized catfish

I love this dish and whenever I order out at a Vietnamese, or in this case, Khmer restaurant this is at the top of my list. The sweet sauce goes so well with braised catfish, which is a fish that gets little love here in the northeast.

Caramel sauce
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup water

Melt sugar over high heat in a saucepan until completely dissolved. At the same time heat water to almost boiling. Once sugar is dissolved remove from heat and slowly add water. The sugar bubbles crazily when you add the water, so you can only put a little in at a time. After all of the water has been added, put over medium-high heat and bring back to a low boil. Once heated to boil, remove from heat and set aside.

Marinade
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup fish sauce
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsp black pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced

I had a whole, fresh catfish cut in to steaks so that the flavor of the dish could benefit from braising with the fish bones and head. It must be noted that I did not remove the pin bones, which in the future I would definitely do, otherwise it makes a messy meal. I rinsed and cleaned the steaks and placed in marinade for an hour, flipping once so both sides got coated.

Stew
1 vidalia onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves
Caramel sauce
Catfish

To make the stew, first the catfish steaks where browned in a dutch oven to get a nice, crisp crust on the all over, then removed from heat and set aside. Next the onion slices were added and sauteed gently until translucent. Garlic was next and cooked for about five more minutes. Add the catfish back in, then cover with the caramel sauce. Baked in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 60 minutes, flipping once.

Bai lieng chia mui sach chrouk - Fried rice with pork and vegetables

I figured any trip to an Asian-influenced dinner would be incomplete without a fried rice dish. This was incredibly easy and satisfying to make!

1 lb lean pork cut in to 1/2" cubes
1 1/2 cups sweet peas, fresh or frozen
1 carrot, diced
1 yellow onion, cubed
10 okra, sliced 1/2" pieces
6 cups jasmine rice, cooked
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup fish sauce
1/4 cup sugar
Black pepper and chili sauce to taste
Oil for frying

This recipe frequently uses leftover pork from previous meals, so I seasoned the pork with a Chinese five-spice and sugar mix before browning the pieces in oil in a large pot. Once browned, remove from heat and set aside. Next saute carrots until fork tender, then add in onion, okra, and peas and saute for 5 minutes. Add pork. Add cooked rice and seasonings and continue to saute over high heat until completely mixed.



Sach ko luc lac - Marinated beef salad

1 1/2 lb flank steak, sliced thinly
1/2 cup fish sauce
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp black pepper
1 tbsp chili sauce
2 garlic cloves, minced

Salad and dressing

1 head romaine lettuce
2 tomatoes, cut in to chunks
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 vidalia onion, thinly sliced

2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp white vinegar
2 tbsp water
Sugar and black pepper to taste

Marinade the beef slices for one hour. Prepare salad. Stir fry steak over high heat until reached desired doneness (rare, medium-rare is great for flank which can seize up and toughen if cooked too long)

My Khmer sidekick unfortunately was unavailable to preside as judge over my interpretation of these recipes, but the dishes were well received and I am very happy with the results. Going to have to come back to these and looking forward to trying some new Khmer recipes in the future.

Lifts 11/2 and 11/3/12

Friday - Dynamic Press

Weight - 212.0

Green Band Bench - 225x8x3
Barbell Military Press, 1/2 Partial - 275x8, 225x12
1/2 Partial Close Grip Bench - 135x10, 225x5, 275x5, 315x5, 365x5, 405x5
Tricep Pushups - BWx10, +25x10, +45x10, +90x10
DB Row - 125's x4x10
Cable Tricep Pushdown 4x12
Pull Up - 4x8
Lateral DB Raise - 4x12

Saturday - Dynamic Squat

Weight - 214.6

Green Band Squat - 275x8x3
Deadlift - 135x10, 225x5, 315x5, 405x3, 455x3, 505x2
Barbell Reverse Lunge - 135x16, 185x16, 225x16, 275x16

Left both lifts feeling pretty good. Had to make a few adjustments in the upper body lift, keeping to partial movements on the presses to alleviate stress on my pec and still work shoulders and triceps hard. Shifting the bar higher up - right on top of my shoulders is helping me to hit depth on squats. Everybody has a different style that suits them best and I think that bar placement is extremely important when considering squat technique. A low bar placement (behind traps on back of rear deltoid muscle) causes too much forward lean and it is difficult for me to get below parallel that way. With the bar higher up on my back I can stay more upright and get my hips down for a competition squat.