My buddy was going for a 700lb deadlift tonight. I had the today, and tomorrow off from work, so I wrangled up the money for a day pass, and joined him for the session.
The first thing I did on the gym floor was an off camera really clean 70lb bottoms up press.
He was pulling plate by plate, so I singled from 135-495, mixed grip on the 405 and 495 singles.
This was my 1st 495 pull in 3+ years. I last did 495+ in 2017 or maybe 2018.
Maybe ten minutes after the first bottoms up press and deadlifting I took a few tries to get something okay for the camera, not recalling if I had a 70lb bottoms up press on camera or not from years ago.
And…
I did.
Somewhere around this time I got absolutely nowhere with a 340lb and then a 320lb atlas stone.
Having saw me press the 70lber, my friend suggested I go both hands, so I ended up with video (not the best set) with the 53lber on the weak side.
You can hear my friend doubling? what I think was 600 something in the background. Boom around the :28 mark.
It was no dice managing to get a pair of 53s simultaneously bottoms up.
At least for more than a fraction of second anyway.
I tried.
Double bell bottoms up pressing is far more challenging than one handed.
Fun day, guest passing at the little hole in the wall place.
While my buddy zoned out amping up for a second attempt at 700, I no warm up, no spot, and on a weird bench (yet designed for and liked by powerlifters) hit a 10×275 bench…
Lifetime PR!
+ that 50% set 5×275 a minute later both what I consider wide gripped, my pinkies on the ring.
With the rolling thunder I pulled 135 each hand.
Having short term access to toys I put a 135lb?/150lb? (my buddy and the board stating equipment weights disagree) block overhead a few times for a laugh.
A laugh, very fun, the type of thing to leave outside year round to mess around with.
I did a few good form 10 rep sets of pullups.
I went back to the bench taking
315 as a warmup after spotting a dude at something like 170lbs bar weight
Then I took a lift off for a 345 bench that kinda counts, the spotter (the guy I’d just spotted) may have touched the bar when I slowed down at a high ¾ to lockout sticking point, and then I hit the j hook on the right side before locking out.
Within a couple minutes I took 345 for another spin, wanting to make it solidly, to solidify a lifetime 1 rep PR.
I took the lift off, and made sure I didn’t get out of line and hit the j hooks this time.
I too clarified to this spotter (another guy this time) not to touch it unless I told him to.
He actually had acted hesitant to spot 345, thinking it heavy, and I assured him it would be fine, then had him laughing at my “when a brazilian girl spots you at the SoCal bodybuilding gym” story.
I did pushups there, kicked into a couple handstands, and goofed around trying to, and kinda succeeding at bottoms up pressing a small keg with some sand in it.
That was humorous. I carried the keg around bottoms up in my right hand awhile, more than a minute, trash talking my buddy all the while.
I ended with a handful of axle deadlifts with a wicked thick, probably 3″ bar.
I hit what I think was 205 on it, unless it was 245. I was unclear as to which axle supposedly weighed what.
When I was mostly waiting for my buddy to finish his assistance work I was goofing around flexing, flexing at him (a few different bicep poses, the come at me bro victory pose variation, and a front double bi in kung fu leg raised position), flexing behind him making it look like he had extra arms, the best being flexing a front double bi in stork/kung fu/tae kwon leap pose.
I even mimicked his curling.
I was having a blast lifting barbells, playing with the toys, and goofing off.
Maybe I’ll end up joining the gym, on a regimen of once or twice weekly lifting as the guideline.
Like every program that too works.
Today I was wicked strong.
Why? Cause I’m the Man.
I was having a blast, and testing out top end strength after doing what really had been lots of reps lately.
Why so serious?
You can treat the gym as play, and make great gains.
And as we drove off I joked “have you ever seen me have post workout protein”, as I ate a chocolate chip cookie dough met-rx bar and drank a 24oz thermos full of milk.
Persistence & Tenacity