30 Oct Lab Rat – Off Season Week 2 & 3

I’m currently in an offseason training cycle after competing at RPS Redemption in Ft. Myers May 30th.  I ended up lifting in the 275’s vs. the planned 242.  I achieved a 1610lb total via 580 squat, 440 bench and 590 deadlift.  Best numbers at 242 were 550, 425, 575 for 1550.  I don’t have a meet on the horizon yet but there are several goals in mind.

The second round of offseason training is going great! Weights are moving with easy and I don’t feel beat up.  Since week 1 was a fairly low RPE I decided to change the format of my 10 week offseason some.  Instead of a deload every third week it will be every fourth week, the training sturcture will remain the same as the combo offsason training found in the book (top set of 4, top set of 3, etc.).  The 10 week format is below:

1. Top set of 5
2. Top set of 4
3. Top set of 3
4. Deload
5. Beat week 1
6. Beat week 2
7. Beat week 3
8. Deload
9. Heavy doubles (back in wraps)
10. Test the waters (I’d like something in the neighborhood of my best comp lift)

With lower RPE’s I feel pushing another week before a deload becomes necessary isn’t an issue, as my training recap below shows it worked well for weeks 1-3.  I’ll let week 6 determine if week 7 is a deload or another hard push.

Squat / Deadlift – October 17

Usual warmup – McGill Big 3, KB swings, couple sets with an empty bar

Squats (safety bar, box just above parallel)

• 2 x 5 w/ 165
• 255 x 4
• 355 x 4
• 385 x 4

Deadlifts (2″ block)

• 2 x 4 w/ 245
• 335 x 4
• 425 x 4
• 455 x 4

Bench – October 19

Typical warmup – light shoulder/rotator work, band flys

• 2 x 5 w/ 135
• 2 x 4 w/ 225 (2 board added)
• 275 x 4
• 315 x 4
• 345 x 4

Close grip bench (shoulder saver) 3 x 8 w/ 275

Band Fly – 100 reps

Squat / Deadlift – October 24

Usual warmup – McGill Big 3, goblet squats, couple sets with an empty bar

Squats (safety bar, box just above parallel)

• 2 x 5 w/ 165
• 2 x 3 w/ 255
• 355 x 3
• 395 x 3

Deadlifts (2″ block)

• 2 x 4 w/ 245
• 335 x 3
• 425 x 3
• 475 x 3

Deadlifts from Saturday's combo day, 475×3 at a moderate RPE. #1020L #1020life #powerrackstrength #teamsamson #teampowerrackstrength #powerlifting #squat #benchpress #bench #deadlift #offseason #training #gymlife #crossfit #wod #bodybuilding #doyouevenlift

A post shared by Jason Kowalewski (@jasonkowalewski) on Oct 26, 2015 at 8:43am PDT

Bench – October 26

Typical warmup – light shoulder/rotator work, band flys

• 2 x 5 w/ 135
• 2 x 4 w/ 225 (2 board added)
• 275 x 3
• 315 x 3
• 345 x 3
• 365 x 3

Incline d/b – 4 x 8

Band Fly – 100 reps

Bench dips – 60 reps

Top set of 365 for an easy triple @ ~7rpe. Selling myself short but it's great base to continue building on. #1020L #1020life #powerrackstrength #teamsamson #teampowerrackstrength #inzer #powerlifting #squat #benchpress #bench #deadlift #offseason #training #gymlife #crossfit #wod #bodybuilding #doyouevenlift #chestday #tris

A post shared by Jason Kowalewski (@jasonkowalewski) on Oct 26, 2015 at 6:04pm PDT

Squat / Deadlift Accessory – October 28

McGill Big 3

McGill Chins (alternating grip) – 30

D/B row – 4 x 12

D/B shrug – 4 x 15

Leg press – 5 x 20

Hammer curl – 4 x 12

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Jason Kowalewski

Jason Kowalewski is an up and coming raw powerlifter residing in Jacksonville, Florida where he trains with Team Samson. In his younger years he was a “gear head” who built his first drag car before obtaining a driver’s license. Within the last 6 years his primary focus has shifted from motorsports to powerlifting. Jason began training under Brian’s tutelage in February 2013. He was actually one of the initial test subjects, hence the name Lab Rat. Since then he has seen significant improvements on all lifts with his commitment to Brian and the 10/20/Life methodology. To date his best total is 1653.4lbs via 633.8lb squat, 435.4lb bench and 584.9lb deadlift at 242lbs.

Latest posts by Jason Kowalewski (see all)

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