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OH Press
50kg x 8/8/8
Floor Press
50kg x 3/3/3/3/3/3/3/3 – 30 seconds rest
Inverted Band Row
4 x 8
Squats
137.5kg x 2
145kg x 2
152.5kg x 2
Paused
110 x 3/3/3
Banded Lying Ham Curls
1 x 100
Bench
95kg x 3/3/3/3
80kg x 8/8/7
Tri Machine Dip
3 x 12
Tri Press Down on Cables Super Set Face Pulls
Deads
60kg x 10/10
100kg x 5/5
120kg x 3
140kg x 3
150kg x 3
160kg x 3/3/3/3
RDLs
100kg x 8/8/8
Hyper Holds
20kg x 10seconds x 3
Squats
Bar x lots and lots
45kg x 5/5
65kg x 5
85kg x 3
105kg x 3
Wraps on
125kg x 3
137.5kg x 3/3/3
Paused – sleeves
105 x 3/3
Walking Lunges – just bodyweight with nice stretch
24x 4
Bench
Bar x lots & lots
40kg x 5/5
60kg x 5
70kg x 3
80kg x 3
90kg x 3/3/3/3/3
High Board
100kg x 3/3
DB Inlcine Press
50lb x 8/8/8
Tri Press
50lb x 8/8/8
Table Tops & Rotates
50/50
Deadlifts
60kg x 10/10
100kg x 6
120kg x 5
130kg x 3
150kg x 3/3/3
Paused
140kg x 4/4
Lats PDs
3 x 15 at around 130lb
SQUATS
Squats
Bar x lots
40kg x 6
60kg x 6
80kg x 3
100kg x 3
wraps on
120kg x 3
127.5kg x 3/3/3/3
Paused
90kg x 3/3/3
Static Lunges with Safety Squat Bar
40kg x 6/6/6 – each side of course
Steated Flop n Locks (this is what I call them anyway, I am sure they have a proper name)
40kg x 10/10/10
BENCHPRESS
Bench
Bar x lots
40kg x 6
60kg x 3
70kg x 3
80kg x 1
85kg x 3/3/3/3/3/3
DB Floor Press
55lb x 8/8/8
Banded Skull Crusher into Tri Fry
Bar + purple x 5/10 x 2
Table Top/Rotates
50/50
I have added commentary into videos to go into more detail. I hope it works for you guys. Let me know what you think.
Deadlifts
Deadlifts
70kg x 10/10
90kg x 5
110kg x 5
135kg x 5/5/5
Paused
125kg x 5/5
Chins
8/6/4/4/3/3/2
This is actually 112.5kg NOT 118.5kg as stated on the video by your truly!
THIS is 118.5kg for the 90kg Open GPC Women’s Bench Only WR/ER/BR
Fast forward to last Sunday. As the only woman in the bench bash I literally had nothing to lose. It was actually really nice to go into a competition with no self induced or externally perceived pressures. So the game plan was simple. Get 120kg on the bar for third attempt, start higher and take 7.5kg jumps to get there. So we opened at 107.5kg which is the highest I have opened at, 115kg was on the bar on the second attempt, it was again a good solid lift, at this point I was pretty confident I could nail a 117.5kg but I had nothing to gain and so stuck to the plan and put 120kg on (see Big jump to SMALL…you get the idea). Unfortunately that was just a gnat’s fart too much on the bar that day, the bar came down solid and controlled and I fired it off the chest after the press command but it stalled around a third of the way up. It just wasn’t there, but I had it on the bar and it didn’t bury me, nor did I technically unravel at any point, it was simply too heavy that day.
115kg solid second attempt.
120kg so close and yet soooooo far!
The month of March has been super for me for making progress in terms of implementing different strategies that I can now use. For most people competitions are just about hitting PBs and I get that but I like to pick my battles. By setting different measures for judging my performance and how to improve it I feel I can constantly fine tune myself as a lifter. This is something that I drum into all my clients time and time again. Look at different way of measuring your progress, look at what strategies work for you, have a game plan with all options covered, know what increments on the bar you can do and practice them.
For more information on my coaching services and approach to training please email me info@nodumbelles.com.gridhosted.co.uk
This past 6 weeks has been a bit of a roller coaster. I somehow managed to injure my hip and what started as a small twinge soon deteriorated into something more serious that left me unable to squat and deadlift. Along with my mentor, Delroy McQueen, we took the decision to pull out of my next planned full power competition in Ireland on Easter weekend. I was pretty gutted as the line up is just superb and it would have been good to be there in the mix. This is where having a mentor like Delroy is invaluable, we both deal with reality and adjust our expectations accordingly and having someone as a feedback system keeps everything in perspective and working on the positives.
Delroy McQueen always in the tick of things even when he is lifting himself.
Keeping the bigger picture in mind, which is the GPC European Championships, a full lower body training ban was imposed. So pretty much all I have been able to do is bench and upper assistance work for the last 3 weeks so that is what I did. Two press days and two back days. First press day is formal bench with tri’s and the second is a secondary bench day and strict press with delts. On the back days it was chins & rows, rows and more rows with retractions and trunk work.
To keep me focused I spoke to the promoter of the competition in Ireland, as I knew that as part of the event the boys were doing a raw bench comp based on Wilks, and I asked if I could be thrown in the mix. He was very much up for that which was awesome. Along with that I put my name down for bench only at Tattooed & Strong which, as many of you know, is a competition I run with GPCGB. Due to that weekend being stupidly busy for me I was under no pressure and I was prepared to pull out at any time if I needed to. Thirdly I entered Ink & Iron which is a push/pull in 3 weeks and a back up option.
I am a firm believer in when you get ‘injured’ you can really optimise that time and often come back a much better lifter because of it. You can only work with the body you have on any given day. I knew what I couldn’t do so instead of bitching about is I turned to what I could do and set goals accordingly.
*Set GPCGB Bench Only Raw British Records in 2 weight cats in Master 2 & Open
*Hit a 120kg Raw bench regardless of BW
*Practice taking 7.5kg jumps on bench
*60kg Strict Press
*Not come last against a flight on men on Wilks.
*Fully rest hip and allow time to heal.
Well so far the plan is going better than expected. On Saturday I not only set the British GPCGB Raw Bench only record in 90kg (weighed in 82.85kg after having to eat steak pie & chocolate milk to get up into the weight class), I also was able to set it a a GPC European and World single lift record. BONUS!!!!!
As always when I lift I have lifting plan with various options depending on how things are on the day. There is always the optimal plan and underlying that there are other strategies depending on what the end goal is. What I do depends on each attempt and the tempo of the bar and how well (or not) the attempt was carried out. One of the goals for this comp was to build confidence in taking bigger 7.5kg jumps which I had been practising in training. So these were my plans:
A:105/112.5/115 – 118.5(OpenWR)?
B:105/110/112.5
C:105/112.5/118.5 – Optimal
To say that I had been crazy busy project managing for a straight 36 hours is an understatement. Lifting was to start at 12pm for first flight and I was in 2nd flight so at 11.30 I took of my promoter cap and put on my lifter cap. I told everyone I was off duty for the next hour or so, put on my singlet and in went the earphones. Any dramas would now be dealt with by the rest of the team.
Warm-ups went well with the help of Daz ‘The Walrus’ Sloan. I keep it short and sweet and last warm-up was 97.5kg. I was on about halfway through the flight. Mr. G was then with me on platform to hand out and Del was my bar tempo feedback system. For me the atmosphere at Tattooed & Strong is totally overwhelming if I let it be. After 12 months of organising to finally have up and running one of the most talked about events in the powerlifting calender AND all the very vocal support that came from the crowd as I walked on platform, there is a tsunami of emotion ready to sweep over me at any time.
Putting my wraps on I am shaking like a leaf, the adrenalin is on full pelt and I must now make sure I don’t let it take over and get giddy. There is no need to psyche myself up. I need to focus on getting the job done so I mentally blinker myself and fade everything out and go through my checklist. For the next minute my universe is a single bench between 3 referees. Nothing else is any concern.
Be A Dog!
Whatever happens now I have to deal with it. Stay in the moment. I now go through the checklist like turning the pages of a book, look at one page at a time, do what it says then move on to next page. No skipping pages. No thinking about what happens next. Heads down…no nonsense. Take the bar, wait for the commands and do what you came here to do.
105kg opener really did feel like nothing. A quick confer with Del and we agree 112.5kg is the next attempt. He reminds me to focus on this next attempt and that the decision on third will be made based on the 112.5 and how it moves. Stay in the moment.
I had done a 112.5kg last heavy session and it was a good lift but had moved pretty slow, but I felt good and was pretty confident that I would be able to push it through even if is felt tough. Bar is loaded again, same process, nothing changes, turn the pages and get the job done. 112.5kg FLEW up, looking back at it I think it is one of the sweetest benches I have ever done. As soon as I get up of the bench I look at Del and we both say 118.5kg 3rd attempt to take the GPC Open Single lift record by .5kg.
Now nothing changes. Just stay in that groove and get the job done. Bar is loaded, I can hear EVERYONE and yet I hear no one. Turn the pages, focus and Never EVER Give Up. 118.5kg is my step to 120kg. If I do this I know the 120kg will happen very soon. As Mr G hands off for me and I start taking the bar down I know I’ve got it and think of my cues ‘spread!wrap wrap wrap’ ‘pin’ ‘press’ ‘elbows’. Part way up the left arm lags slightly but I anticipate this and I know not to panic and just keep position and focus on driving my elbows through and it will lockout with the right. RACK!!!!! Job Done!
Right….tick off the first goals hit with added bonus.
*Set GPCGB Bench Only Raw British Records in 90kg+WR & ER*Set GPCGB Bench Only in 82.5kg
*Hit a 120kg Raw bench regardless of BW
*Practice taking 7.5kg jumps on bench
*60kg Strict Press
*Not come last against a flight on men on Wilks.
*Fully rest hip and allow time to heal.
Singlet and back to making sure everyone has an AWESOME time!
So here an example of how we use what we call ‘cluster sets’. This is a good way of getting the volume done.
Stay ROARSOME!
Jacked & Classy For Life
T x
Time and time again I keep finding things to do to keep myself busy, to give myself the excuse that I haven’t got ‘time’ to keep this Blog updated. It is of course utter rubbish. All I am doing along with what seems like the rest of the planet is losing my life on social media. To be fair to myself last year was crazy busy for me and I had a really successful year’s lifting, became a national and international referee and very heavily involved in organising some stupendous competitions.
This all gave me a plethora of great stuff to write about and yet I didn’t. Instead I chose to waste countless hours ‘relaxing’ scrolling through miles and miles of meaningless shite. Like most things that you put off, once I actually get started I quite enjoy the writing even though I don’t particularly think what I have to say is very interesting or important. Maybe there-in lays the secret. It doesn’t have to be important and whether it is interesting is up to you, the reader, to decide.
I have never really been one for making New Year’s resolutions. I do however like me a good list and on my 2016 ‘to do’ list (along with play more Ukulele, start sketching again and learn 4th language) is to blog more. Now that in itself is such a vague goal. Blog more? More than whom? Blog more what? Write longer Blogs? Write more frequent Blogs? And what the fuck do I Blog about?
Simple ‘blog more’ as a goal is meaningless. It has no plan. It is not measurable. It gives me no idea what I am working towards or how to break it down into bite sized chunks that I can tick off my beloved lists. Yet I know the importance of planning, of having a structure, of having set goals that I can accomplish along the way in order to achieve what I ultimately set out to do. I do this week in week out with my training program.
As I said last year was pretty special for me in powerlifting terms. I became the first UK female to hit a 500kg raw (with wraps) total. Now it just didn’t ‘happen’ and when it did I didn’t even know how momentous it was. 500kg was a target I had in my head and my 12 month plan was to come as close as I possibly could with each platform outing. I knew exactly what numbers I needed to get and I knew I had to really put the work in to get them. These numbers were as far as I was concerned just out of reach for the time being but I was putting the work into the plan to get me there.
All that changed on 9th June 2015 at GPC European Championships when I hit 180/115/205=500. I will leave the details of this day for another post. The point is once you commit to something, have a plan, a way of working through the challenges and a way of monitoring your progress. Then you have to be prepared to put in the time and effort. Even though you may not really know where to start you just have to do it. You will learn as you go along. The only wrong way is by not starting at all. Remember plans can be changed if it doesn’t work for you, they can be adapted and tweaked. You HAVE to be willing to start and give that plan your all.
Every training session I have a plan. As part of my plan I have a target rep range for my main lifts along with how I would ideally like to hit that target. So for example the plan may be:
4 sets of 3 reps
Total = 12 reps.
So ideally this is how it would go to plan. Some days though things are not ideal. So for me the target rep range is what I want to walk away with and it is irrelevant whether I get that volume in;
4×3=12
6×2 =12
2×3/2×2/2×1=12
What is paramount is walking away positively because I can adapt to suit the body I have on that day. Without the set target I have no direction. Without the set plan I have no structure. Without the adaptation I set myself up for potential failure. Delroy McQueen, my much suffering mentor and I called it ‘getting the job done’ and boy did we get the job done last year.
Now just by writing this I have started to formulate a plan, I realise that I have some good transferable skills that I can put to good use here. I have also identified at least 3 more ideas to write more about. I know that just like my numbers on the platform something magic is not going to just miraculously happen. Just by starting I have begun to formulate a plan with set targets. And that plan may not be perfect but I have to be willing to commit, put in the time and the effort, be willing to adapt and find what works for me so that with each entry I hit ‘upload’ with a positive feeling of getting the job done.
#JackedAndClassy
#WomenWhoPowerlift
#ThisIsWhoIAm
#ThisIsWhatIDo
#NeverEverGiveUp
#FindAWay
Stay ROARSOME!
T x
Dear GPC-GB Nodumbelles 2015 Lifters,
I would like to thank you all for joining us on platform on Saturday. I know that for many of you this was your first powerlifting competition and I feel honoured that you chose GPC-GB Nodumbelles Women’s Open 2015 to pop your powerlifting cherries.
I know you were nervous. In fact I know many of you were terrified. So many things were running through your heads even before you sent off the entry form. The thought of being up on platform in front of so many people made you feel sick. What if I make a fool of myself? What will people think? OMG I am just going to be a laughing stock. The other girls are going to be so good. SHIT! SHIT! SHIT!
The times you thought of pulling out. The ‘reasons’ you could give yourself for not entering running through your mind as you lay in bed at night. No one would know it was just an excuse would they? No one but you.
How will I know what to do? What if I get it wrong? How do I pick my numbers? Where will I warm up? HOW will I warm up? What if I need to pee? What if I don’t get my lifts? What? What? Who? Where???? AAARRRRGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And Jeeeeeeeeezzzz I am going to have to wear a singlet!!!!!! Why do I have to wear a singlet? I think I will actually DIE. This has to be the most unflattering garment known to mankind and I have to wear it IN FUCKING PUBLIC!!!!! SERIOUSLY?????? Yes I will ACTUALLY DIE of embarrassment.
But you didn’t die did you?
No. Far from it! You actually thrived and grew with each passing moment.
You felt the fear and you did it anyway. No one laughed. No one jeered. And you know what even if they had have done would you have cared on the day? I don’t think so. You see that is the thing about pushing outside of your comfort zone, you just can’t lose. Whatever happens you have won. You have put yourself in a place you have never been in so whatever the outcome you will walk away with something you didn’t have prior to it.
Every year I stand back and I watch as each one of you literally grows as the day goes on and it is AMAZING. I see the shy, body conscious women who come to weigh in become these powerful singlet clad Amazonians in a matter of hours. I see empowerment of self and of others. I see friendships made. I see coach athlete bonds that are truly unique. I see that fear turn to elation and I see trepidation turn into absolute determination. I see body language change from self-conscious wall flowers trying to hide in the crowd turn into absolute puffed out peacocks of pride with glorious tail feathers on show strutting their stuff and I FUCKING LOVE IT!!!!!!
I want to thank each and every one of you for giving your all on platform. You were incredible. Not one of you came to just make up the numbers. You came here to be powerlifters and powerlifters you are. From the first-timers right through to our seasoned lifters each one of you gave your all. You conducted yourselves in a fashion that make me proud to be on the same team as you. No tears or tantrums. No divas. Just solid athletes getting on with what they came to do. You lifted out of your socks. You supported each other with shouts, cheers, words of support and advice and when needed a good old kick up the arse.
There is no shame in being competitive. NON at all. The difficulty sometimes comes in making sure you don’t take it personal. You can be competitive and not be a bitch. You should want to beat your opponent but you should never want them to fail. The better they become the better you become. Do not compare yourself but push yourself and those around you. Leave the ‘fight’ on the platform and be gracious in victory and defeat.
For many of you this is just the start. You are on page one your powerlifting story. Turn each page and enjoy it. Sometimes you may have to reread a chapter but never be tempted to miss a page. Sometimes it is a hard read and you may want to put the book down because you just don’t get it. Please persevere, one word at a time….one training session at a time, one lift at a time, a day at a time. This book has no end.
On Saturday for many of you your lives will have changed forever in ways that yet remain to be seen. For me the memories are many but I want to leave you with one of the reasons that for as long as you and others like you keep wanting to lift I will keep providing a platform.
At the end of the lifting a lifter came to thank me for the day, as many of you did. As she hugged me she said
‘I am so proud of MYSELF.’
The power of these words are the reason I do what I do.
Be proud of what YOU do.
#JackedAndClassy
#Roarsome
#WomenWhoPowerlift
#ThisIsWhoIAm
#ThisIsWhatIDo
#NeverEVERGiveUp
Tania x
