I recently lifted in the 2019 USPA National Championships where I totaled 1769 in wraps at 198 via a 655 squat, 451 bench and 661 deadlift. I'll be lifting at an APF meet in Chicago this December to wrap up the year.
Most of my accessory work gets done on my third and fourth day. We train two days a week in my garage and 2 days at local commercial gyms. With limited equipment in the garage, most of the "bodybuilding" type stuff happens at the local spots.
After last weekend's Train Your Ass Off mini-seminar, I decided to do things a little differently. Rather than a few half assed sets, I changed to 1 or 2 challenging sets per exercise. I kept the same movements, but changed the loading pattern a lot by using some of what Dave put his attendees through last weekend.
As a side note- that mini-seminar was super cool. It was 4 people with Dave, so very up close and personal. They had the gym to themselves. Dave put them through a tough training session and did a ton of teaching as he went. There was no lecture portion, but of course he would answer questions through the time and had some open time at the end.
I liked this seminar better than others I have been to. The hands on interaction was awesome and made up the vast majority of the time. Each person got plenty of time being coached and broken down while under a barbell. You simply don't get that kind of interaction at bigger seminars with only 1 or 2 instructors. I'd absolutely recommend it to serious lifters. But be prepared, he's going to try and break you.
Day 3
Warm up - Pull down abs, McGill curl ups, Bird dogs, Codman's Arm Drops (pec rehab), Leg extensions
Leg Press - Started with 400 pounds and worked up 2 plates at a time. I did this as a "build up and strip" set. 6 reps, add two plates, 6 reps.... up to 8 plates (so 4 sets of 6) and then back down as one continuous set.
Leg Extensions - 70 pounds "build ups". I don't know what to call these. I did 1 rep, then a 3 count rest, then 2 reps followed by 3 count rest.. and so on up to 11 reps. Finished with 20 "minis", so just the first couple inches of the range of motion
Walking Lunge- ~40 yards or so. The length of the gym. These first three exercises were done as a giant set.
That was fun, it was hard and I think better than a bunch of half effort sets of each.
Finished it out with a bunch of leg curls and more pull down abs.
Day 4
Dumbbell Row - 140 x 3 x 8
Lat Pulldown - Build and strip down, starting at 100 going up to 180, 6 reps at each weight.
Bird Dog Rows - 30 x 4 x 8 per side
Dips - 3 x 8
Rope Pressdowns - "Build Ups" with 50 pounds up to a final set of 13. Followed immediately by a set of 20 single arm pressdown with about half the weight.
EZ Bar Curls - 75 pounds, 3 sets of 21s
I liked both these days a lot.
Both days were quick and engaging. I got through them fast and worked hard. From a recovery standpoint, I was fine. No more sore than usual. Maybe my lats a little. Overall, I like this approach. I'm working these muscle groups in a different way by doing this and still accomplishing the goal for both days. Its a nice change of pace.
