08 Feb Byrd: Its Not Over

Arnold prep is here and its time to get to work! The field for the Arnold is pretty impressive and will take a big day to finish near the top of the field.

Guess who is health(ish) and finally carrying some bodyweight? Going to have to cut for the first time in awhile, but not too worried. I will be using the weight cut method laid out by Brian Carroll here.

https://www.powerrackstrength.com/books/

It has been a long time since I havent been in pain while squatting. Some down time and the rehab work has really paid off for me. The hardest thing for me right now is not to push too much too soon. Brian has done a good job of keeping me on track, which is no easy task. I spent over a week sick with the flu. I lost a ton of bodyweight and was in the bed for a few days. I wasnt really sure how I was going to recover, but this week will tell the tale!

It's not over yet! 860 to a 2board in 3rd attempt territory. Pretty good speed on this one! #powerlifting #inzer #sdp #1020life #powerrackstrength #xpc #arnold #total #deadlift #squat #bench

A post shared by Jonathan Byrd (@onlythestrong275) on Feb 7, 2017 at 7:32am PST

Bench Night!

These next two weeks are do or die, and this bench session was as important as any that I have had in a long time. I was lucky enough that even though I was out, Brian spent a session helping finish breaking in my shirt. I went to a custom set up that was recommended to Brian from Dave Hoff. So far I really believe this was the missing part of my bench. Add in having Paul Key develop my plan, and its put me in a place where I will open with a PR.

Warm ups:
Bird dogs, light stretching, face pulls, hammer curls, shoulder raises.

2×10 @ bar
3×5 @ 140
2×3 @ 230
1×2 @ 320
1×1 @410

shirt on singles the rest of the way
550 3board
640 2board
730 2board
800 2board
860 2board
760 1board

everything moved great with good lockout. I really feel like things are on track for a solid bench. Now my focus will turn to putting together a good squat this weekend.

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Jonathan Byrd

Jonathan Byrd is a competitive powerlifter, with over 16 years of training experience. Byrd has been ranked nationally for the past 6 years under multiple categories. His total has ranked as high as second nationally in the 275 class. He currently has a best total of 2500lbs. Best individual lifts include a 1040lb squat, a 750lb bench press, and 735lb deadlift. His 1040lb squat ranks him 26th all-time squats at the 308 class. Jonathan currently trains out of Team Samson Gym in Jacksonville, FL. Before powerlifting Jonathan was a college athlete at Methodist University as both an all-conference football player and track athlete. Following graduation he played four years of arena football in various leagues.

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