NX Level

upper body

2010-06-02T12:24:00.000-07:00

rollout
warmup circuit

bench (raw)
worked up to 355x1

2 board w/ sgl. ply shirt
4x3 ended at 455

banded pullups 3x8
high to low rev cable fly 2x15
ext rot. 2x12

Memorial Day Squats

2010-06-01T06:25:00.000-07:00

rollout
mobility

Squat raw
Worked up to 555 x 1
Briefs on
worked up to 645x2

thats it. i was pretty unmotivated. i got a horrible sun burn on my back on sat, so every time i had the bar and belt on it was nothing but pain. i guess after 27 yrs of being a fair skinned person i should learn to use sun block more often.

upper body

2010-05-27T11:44:00.000-07:00

rollout
warm up circuit

bench(raw)
worked up to a single at 330

2 board w/sgl ply shirt
did 5x3 ended at 435

banded pull ups 3x8
weighted dips 3x6, 10,25,45#s
high to low rev cable fly 3x15
piston tris 1x20
ext rot 2x12

conditioning sled drag(various different positions) x15min

tue leg day

2010-05-25T12:11:00.000-07:00

rollout
mobility
complex

Deadlift Worked up to 3 singles @585

Squat (narrow stance) 4x5 last set at 385
Tire drag (300#) 3x25yrds

band good mornings 3x15

leg curl 2x15
bridge hold series (body saw, hip touches,sit outs)
calf stretch
done and dead to the world for the next hour!!!

thur upper body

2010-05-20T11:10:00.000-07:00

rollout
warm up circuit

10 degree incline bench
worked up to 295x3

mix grip pullups 3x8 w/black band
lean aways 3x10
dips 3x6 bwt,25,45
chain tri ext 2x15

conditioning
3- 1 min circuits (2 tire flips, 5per side sledge hammer,prowler w/greens on x50 yrds)
prowler walk length of building x2

tue leg day

2010-05-18T10:44:00.000-07:00

rollout
warm up/mobility
complex/rope chop

squats raw
worked up to 545x1
briefs on
565x2, 585x2,635x1,655x1,675x1

rev hyper 2x15
anchor chain drag 60ft x3(got a huge quad pump from this)
cable crunch x12
45#side bendx12
bar straight arm situp
pelvic tilts

thur upper body

2010-05-13T10:36:00.000-07:00

rollout
warmup circuit

incline bench
worked up to 1RM @305

cluster pull ups 4x 1,1,1 @25#
scare crows 2x15
high to low cable standing rev fly 3x12
sledge hammer x 8/run 40+back x 4 sets

TUE LOWER BODY

2010-05-11T10:42:00.000-07:00

rollout
mobility drills
quick warm up circuit

squat
worked up to a raw single @545

put on briefs(this took a while and i was pretty winded so i took a break)
worked up to a double @655

this whole session probably took about an hour to complete. not only that but I was really tired.
so i finished off with:

glute ham bwt. x 20
45 degree back ext. x 20 @25#
plevic tilts x30
suitcase dead lifts x 10
layed on the ground with a huge low back pump (1 x failure)

thur upper body

2010-05-06T12:04:00.000-07:00

rollout
incline bench 6x3 last @275
pin lockouts 4x3 last at 375
wt. pull ups 4x3 w/15#'s
blast strap inverted row 3x10
green band push down 3x15
rope pull 30yrds x2
pelvic tilts

tue lower body

2010-05-04T12:12:00.000-07:00

rollout
mobility
complex/handle

squat
warm up
worked up to 405x3 raw
added chains up to 475 w/90#'s of chain x2
added briefs 3 sets ended at 585 w/90#'s of chain x 2

deadlift 4x1 ended at 585
glute ham 2x20
bwt split squat 2x10
glute ham roman chair 2x12

thur upper

2010-04-29T10:13:00.000-07:00

rollout
mobility
warm up circuit

incline bench 5x5 last @ 235
pin lock outs 4x3 last @315

blast strap inverted row 3x10
green band push down 3x15
wide grip pull ups 3x3 w/10#

contest recap and tue. lower body day

2010-04-27T10:34:00.001-07:00

this past weekend i had a strongman contest. every thing went really well except the weather. it rained all day sat so we had to do the contest indoors. the only thing that changed was we exchanged the tire flip for repetition deadlift. the other events where 290 farmers for 100ft. (turn at 50ft.), max log press, arm over arm truck pull, and an exciting 9 stone load. over all i took first in the heavy wt. division. i was happy with how i did and it was a well run show.

now on to today's work out. my back was still sore from sat, so i wasn't real motivated to get back into the swing of things.

rollout
activation/mobility
complex/ rope chop

hang snatch/ over head squat
95 x3/x4
115 x3/x4
135 x3/x4

back squat
135,225,315,405,405 last 2 sets x3
elevated glute ham w/ red band 3x10
blast strap bulgarian split squat 2x10
sgl. leg ext 1x12
glute ham standing banded abs 2x20

Spartans Update

2010-04-24T12:59:00.000-07:00

Hola Amigos! I know it's been a while since I rapped at ya but I've been busier than a rooster in a hen house. We've got a lot of awesome things going on at both clubs from the boot camps, nutrition classes, Advocare, and people getting down to business and getting better no matter what their goals.

Anyways, it's been a while since I've updated you with what I've been doing with the Wauwatosa Spartans. This past week on bench and squat I let them work up to three heavy singles. Not necessarily a max out but they were moving some appreciable weight. Next week I'm going to give them a taste of what they can expect their in-season workouts to look like should they chose to continue. They are going to be fast paced, lifting moderately heavy weights and doing the things they need to do to stay healthy as the season wears on.

If you want to know more about them or are interested in going to a few games you can check out their website here.

That's all I got for now. Don't forget to check out my blog at http://www.200poundsis200pounds.blogspot.com/

This is for you Spartans.

"Victory belongs to the most persevering." -Napoleon Bonaparte

tue 4/16 upper body

2010-04-15T10:49:00.000-07:00

Rollout
warm up circuit
axel split jerk 5,3,3,3,1,1,1 last set @340
kroc row 10,8,8 last 2 sets @155
sgl arm bench 3x10 last @75
lat pull down 3x15 last @ #20 w/red band
scare crows 3x12
Prowler 8 tripps ended w/180# (stupid, felt like i was going to die for the next hour)

4/13 lower body

2010-04-13T10:40:00.000-07:00

Rollout
dynamic warm up
complex x1
rope chop x1

squats 3,3,3,1,1,1 Ended at 555

deadlifts 1,1,1,1,1 ended at 605

slideboard leg curl 2x10
bwt step up 2x10
sgl. leg ext 2x12

thur 4/8 upper body

2010-04-08T10:05:00.000-07:00

rollout
dynamic warmup/ mobility
warm up circuit

db bench 10,8,6,6 last 2 sets at 100#s
kroc row 10 10 8 last set at 155#s
inverted row (over hand) 3x12
arnold press 2x10
db rev fly 2x10
over head rope tri ext. 2x20
slosh pipe walks

Been keeping it simple on my upper body day, so i can hit it hard on sat during event training.
contest in two weeks so we'll see how everything comes out.

tue 4/6 lower body

2010-04-06T10:47:00.000-07:00

rollout
dynamic warm up
glute activation/hip mobility
complex/rope chop

power snatch. 5,3,1,1,1,1,1 ended @236
Squat 5, 3,3,3,3 ended @ 495
rev. hyper 3x10
sgl. leg work 3x10
vested bridge hold/pelvic tilt x 2 rounds

thur 4/1 upper body

2010-04-01T11:30:00.000-07:00

Rollout
warm up circuit
blast strap push up w/wt. vest 2x10
med ball pushups 2x10
wt. chinup w/ bwt pullup
sgl. kettle bell shoulder press 3x10
db rev. fly 3x12
30 yrd sprints x5

tue 3/30 lower body

2010-03-30T10:30:00.000-07:00

Rollout
ground based hip mobility
snatch complex/rope chop

power snatch 5x3 ended @ 206
Zercher Squat 5x3 ended @350
glute ham 3x8
bar split squat 2x10
wt. vest bridge 1 normal x 30sec.
1 pushup x1 min.
pelvic tilts 2x25

Strongman Sat 3/27

2010-03-28T16:35:00.000-07:00

Rollout
Warm up circuit
few tugs on the 315 deadlift
Log press ended at 340
arm over arm truck pull for 80ft.
tire flip 550 for 2x5 flips
loading series, 225 stone, 160 concrete block, 245 keg, 260 stone, 300 stone.

Congrats

2010-03-28T08:04:00.000-07:00

ON Saturday two of the Wauwatosa Spartans that have been training at NX Level played in a Semi-Pro All-Star game in Las Vegas. DE Joe Flick had three sacks and QB Tony Henner had two touchdowns and 150 yards of offense. Great job guys.

thur 3/25 upper body

2010-03-25T10:30:00.000-07:00

rollout
warm up circuit
blast strap push up 2x10
alt. arm med ball push up 2x10

Far bar pull up/weighted fat bar chin up
4x3 4x1 w/ 25#,35#,45#

Sgl. arm shoulder press 3x8 ended at 80#
Face pull 3x15
zottman curl 1x15
YTW 1x15each
slosh pipe walk 125 yrds.

kept my day simple to gear up for Saturdays strongman day.

Last 3 training sessions

2010-03-23T10:24:00.001-07:00

Thur. 3/18 upper body
bench 5x5 ended @275
fatbar chin up 4x6 bwt.
sgl. arm shoulder press 3x10
face pull 3x15

Sat. 3/20 Strongman training
deadlift worked up to 485x3
log press 5x3 @220
tire flip 2x5flips 500#tire
farmers walk 80ft 150x2, 240x1

Tue 3/23 lower body
power clean ended 296x3
zecher squat 4x5 ended 310
back ext. 2x15
glute ham low back arches 1x15
kettle bell get ups 2x3 per side
prowler 6 trips x25yrds. 90#'s
diaphram breathing
pelvic tilts x 25

Thurs Spartans and SC Waukesha

2010-03-19T13:01:00.000-07:00

SC Waukesha

I'm finding out these girls are very competitive. The first thing they asked me as they were starting was if they could play a game. Again, they are competetive, but not sore winners or losers. They are happy when they win, but aren't upset if they lose. I've even heard some of the girls cheering on other that weren't on their team. Makes me hopeful for the future of humanity.

NX Level warmup

Complex: squat, rdl, fwd. lunge, squat to raise ball overhead to stand
w/ Med ball tosses

The girls had the same Shamrock Shake on the line if they hit the ceiling. Claire cam close but she's still about three feet away. Gotta want it.

Ground based plyos

Accelleration work

Med ball toss relays

Abs

Another good session. Sometimes if I'm explaining something i catch them watching something else. I can't blame them. They're 11-year-old girls. I'm sure I was the same way. Except a boy.

'Tosa Spartans

St. Paddy's Day was not kind to some of the guys Wednesday. There were some lingering effects from the green beer and corned beef and cabbage. They made it through without anybody making "yuckies" all over the place so I'm happy about that.

NX Level Warmup

Multi-directional movement

Bench: 3x3

Inverted Row: 4x10

Grip Work

Abs

Last week's bench workout took forever so I tried to shorten it up a bit. I let them warmup how they wanted with three heavy sets of three at the end. There is also a lot of faulty technique work I'm trying to work with. A lot of the guys breath out as they press. Most people have been taught this since they first set foot in a weight room. If you are a healthy individual with no heart of blood pressure problems you actually want to hold your breath for the entire lift. Holding your air helps to maintain overall tightness which is critical in max effort lifts. A lot of the guys told me about high school coaches teaching them this or that, but that's another topic for another day.

“Live daringly, boldly, fearlessly. Taste the relish to be found in competition - in having put forth the best within you.” -Henry J. Kaiser

first day back 3/16/10

2010-03-16T13:25:00.000-07:00

First day back after my competition. i did fool around w/some things sat. but nothing worth mentioning. after my comp i felt really good sat and sun. mon, tue, and wed were a different story. my body was giving me the middle finger after what i did to it. So today was a get back on track day. nothing real heavy just get my body moving again.

Rollout a lot
some dynamic mobility
complex x2
pwr. clean 4x4 ended at 220
front squat 4x5 ended at 295
45 degree back ext. 3x20
turkish get ups
kettle bell windmills
prowler x6 with 20lbs on
little more rollout

Thurs Spartans and SC Waukesha

2010-03-12T11:06:00.000-08:00

SC Waukesha

The girls had another good session last night. Their postures are holding well and I don't need to do too much coaching when we do the complexes. Once in a while a one of them will forget to arch but other than that they are doing great with the strength part of the workout. Here is what we did.

Full Warmup

Complex: Squat, RDL, Forward Lunge, MB Underhand Throw to Sprint

Wall acceleration mechanics

Two point starts

Push Up Start races: One girl in front and one behind. Both are on their stomachs. When they start the girl in front's job is to not get caught. It is the girl behind's job to catch her.

Prowler Relay

Bridge Hold Contest: Teams of three. If anyone from a team goes down the whole team is out.

I've read arguments that at this age kids aren't suppossed to be engaging in too much competition. These are all girls from the same team so I don't see too much wrong with it. They don't hang on to losses and the games seem to be the most fun thing we do.

'Tosa Spartans

We had a small group last night so I was able to do a lot more with the guys on their movement. Benching took too long so I'm going to switch up how it is run. Here is what we did.

Full Warmup

Box Jumps with Single Leg Turf Jumps

Prowler March

Pushup Starts

Bench: 6x4

Dips: x40 total
w/ Chins: x25 total

Sprinter abs: 3x :30 sec

Another good session last night. Keep it simple, get them in, work them over, get them out.

"Inward calm cannot be maintained unless physical strength is constantly and intelligently replenished.” -Buddha

Tuesday Spartans and SC Waukesha

2010-03-10T08:48:00.000-08:00

I'll start with the Spartans today. Last night was a very good session. The guys are getting stronger, moving more efficiently, and are holding posture and position much better. Here's what we did.

Full Warmup

Various Ladder Drills

Various 4-Cone Drills

Front Squat: 6x4

Lunge Walk: 3x20 yards
w/ DB RDL: 3x12

Tababta Finisher

Slide Board Pikes: 3x10

SC Waukesha

The girls seem like they are starting to enjoy the training to a certain degree. They are able for the most part to do what I tell them without me having to demonstrate and they are even asking to do certain exercises. I'll take credit for making each session fun, enjoyable, and yet beneficial.

Full Warmup

Med Ball Complex: Deep sit x8, RDL x8, Reverse Lunge x5 ea leg, straight up Med Ball throws x5
I challenged the girls that if anyone could hit the ceiling with the med ball I would buy them a Shamrock Shake from McDonald's. No one came close. I guess they don't want it enough.

Reviewed double leg stops to reverse cycle

Lateral Movement Drills

Partner Lateral Movement Drill

The girls each had a partner and stood facing each other. One girl's job was to move back and forth within 5 yards however she wanted. The other girl's job was to stay as close as she could to her partner. I had to go with a girl named Emily due to odd numbers. I was a little sweaty and winded at the end, but did my best to hide it.

Ended with shoulder exercises and various bridge hold progressions.

Highlight of the night: During the bridge holds I was trying in vain to impart the importance of learning about history. Most of the girls thought it was boring and useless, until Katelyn offered her two cents. I quote, "I like slavery. Slavery is cool!" She immediately caught herself and said that she liked learning about slavery and that particular time period. Not the wisest choice of words, but at least she likes to learn.

“Things may come to those who wait...but only the things left by those who hustle.” -Abraham Lincoln

Amateur Heavy Weight World Championship Recap

2010-03-08T11:44:00.000-08:00

This Past weekend was a big weekend for me. i was invited to compete in the Arnold Classic Amateur heavy wt. world championship in Columbus Ohio. This was by far the biggest contest i have ever been involved in. 49 strongmen from 19 different contries. needless to say i was a little nervous prior to the show. so much that i think i puked once and dry heeved twice before the show even started. once the show got going i calmed down and got down to business. here my recap as to how the contest went:

1. 900lb yoke 60 ft. w/ 250 sand bag 60 ft.
yoke was heavy but i managed to keep moving and not drop it. sand bag was a little tough and i probably should have moved a little faster. i have a tendency not to breath to well when carrying things like this and have blacked out before, so i took it a little slower. ended up with a time of 33 sec. putting me right around 19th place.

2. 315 log clean and press for reps 60 sec.
this is my hardest event. i really wanted to get 3 reps, but i ended up with 2. the first 2 reps went up fairly fast and smooth. i had 3 attempts after that that failed. i just didn't have the leg drive to pop it up. so i ended in the up in the lower middle of the pack.

3. 315 farmers walk 60 ft. w/ 235 keg and 275 keg 60 ft.
this whole event went very well for me. i was moving fast the whole time with no mistakes. part of the reason was i went head to head with another light wt. pro that i competed against last year at nationals and we both pushed eachother hard. it was a close race between us untill the last keg and he fumble it a little at the end. this put me back up in the top half of the contest.

4. stones (235,300, 330,380,410) loaded to a 54 in platform
stones is by far my favorite event. i knew going in i wanted to finish the whole series in a decient time. the first 3 stones went up without a problem. the 380 stone took a little work but still wasn't a problem. when i got to the 410 i knew i had some time so re-tackied and took a few breaths. then i went at it hard. the pick was fine, but i really had to work to get it. i got the whole series in 52 sec. i was excited as hell. this event was challenging for alot of the true heavy wt. and for me to get it as a light wt. i was super pumped.

Over all i finished 16th and was the top USA light wt pro. i had a great time and was very happy with how i finished. it was a great experience and i would do it again. my next contest will be in july or august all depends on what i have going on and what it will cost to get there.

Congratulations Jake

2010-03-05T19:04:00.000-08:00

I received word today that your very own Jake Bodi finished 16th out of 49 competitors today at the first ever Arnold Classic Amateur Strongman Show. I will let him give the details because I don't know them. I know that he is happy with his performance as are all of his extended NX Level Family. I and everyone else are proud of what you've accomplished. Keep working hard.

2/22/10 Training (Start of new cycle)

2010-03-03T19:05:00.000-08:00

2/22/10 Training

Week 1, Day 1

All exercises preceded by the same letter are paired.

Dynamic Warm Up

A1: Snatch Complex (Snatch Pull, Hang Snatch, Good Morning, Drop Snatch)
75# x 3, 88# x 3, 88# x 3

A2: Rope Chop (3 positions: High to low, Low to High, Mid-Line Rotation)

B1: Hang Snatch
5 x 2 at 110#

C1: Overhead Squat
3 x 5 at 115#

D1: Sprints
10 yds x 6 reps

E1: Power Skip (Height and Distance)
2 x 8 on ea leg for 3 rounds

E2: Med Ball Throw Circuit with 5 kg Med ball (3 rounds)
- Overhead Scoop Toss Backward 1 x 5
- Soccer Throw-In with crow hop 1 x 3 ea leg
- Sideways Push with rotation (Single Arm) 1 x 3 ea side

Last cycle I had an entire day dedicated to snatch work, with a heavy emphasis on strength since I performed snatch pulls and snatch deadlifts. This cycle I wanted more speed work, so I am hand snatching with a focus on speed, I retained the overhead squats but I back down in weight from where I left off last cycle. I like performing sprints, jumps, skips, and throws for my speed work. Its fun, it breaks up training monotony and I think it helps me when I play basketball, although I don't get the chance to play as much as I used to. I am also interested to see how my heavy lower body days will go this cycle with the removal of the heavy snatch work.

Deload Week 2/15 - 2/19

2010-03-03T18:40:00.000-08:00

Since I have a lot of catching up to do on the blog I will summarize my deload week. I generally use every fourth week as a deload week. I still workout three days. Each day during the deload I spend more time than normal on warm up, mobility drills, and flexibility. I only perform Olympic lift complexes or very light work from the hang. On squat and bench I perform 3-5 sets of 5 ranging from 40 - 70% of training max. With my major lifts I want to maintain my form or a feel for the movement without taxing my system. I also perform some of my assistance work for the next cycle with light weights to minimize soreness for the next week. And finally, I maintain my sprint, plyometric, and med ball throw work but at reduced volumes and intensities.

Friday 2/12 Training

2010-03-03T18:32:00.000-08:00

Week 3 Day 3

Dynamic Warm Up

All Exercises preceded by the same letter are paired:

A1: Sn Complex (Snatch Pull, Hang Snatch, Good AM, Drop Snatch)
75# x 3, 88# x 3, 98# x 3

A2: Rope Chop (3 Positions Hi-Lo, Lo-Hi, Midline Rotation)

B1: OH Squat
120# x 5, 120# x 5, 130# x 5

C1: Snatch Pull Floor
155# x 3, 175# x 3, 185# x 3

C2: Vertical MB Throw
3 x 5 w/5kg MB

D1: Snatch Grip Deadlift
221# x 3, 241# x 3, 261# x 3

E1: GHR
3 x 8 with 30# DB

E2: DB Hammer Curl
45# x 10, 45# x 10, 55# x 8

As you can see by the date I have been away from the blog for a long time. With two kids and three different jobs, its bound to suffer, but I always get in my workouts. This was the last workout before my deload week. I felt very stable on my overhead squats. I was also happy with my snatch grip deadlifts, but my back really rounded on my last two reps of the last set. I was definitely ready for a week of lower intensity work.

Tuesday Spartans and SC Waukesha

2010-03-02T19:42:00.000-08:00

The beginning of SC Waukesha was a "off pace". The girls seemed to have a case of sillies that they couldn't shake. Nothing a bunch of burpees, squats, lunges, and running can't fix.

NX Level Warmup

Bodyweight Complex: burpees, rev. lunges, squats

Movement:

Reviewed sprint to a stop and sprint to a stop to reverse cycle.

Worked on sprinting to a stop then opening up and running at a 90 degree angle.

Canoe Holds w/ pushup position hold

The girls' movement is definitely getting better. They are getting better at putting themselves in the positions and holding it. They have a tendency to stop paying attention (get lazy) and get sloppy with their steps. They just need more reps at it so it becomes second nature.

Spartans

Spartans' workout went great today. Guys look much improved from last week. I am seeing them getting stronger and moving faster. I'm so proud.

NX Level Warmup

Movement: today we worked on coming to a stop and opening up 180 degrees and sprinting out.

Front Squat: 5x5

DB RDL: 3x8
DB Rev Lunge: 3x6
Slide Board Leg Curl: 3x10
Calf Raise: 3x20
Tabata burpees

Front Squats went a lot better than last week. The guys are doing a better job of keeping their knees out and sitting to their heels. Last week knees were diving in like frickin' kamikaze pilots, and heels were coming up like they were on fire. Not today. Form was overall an eight out of ten. RDLs and reverse lunges went well. Still working on the arches, but they'll get it. Tabata finisher went great was well. The first day the guys really struggled but today all of them were able to keep moving for the whole thing. Step by step they are moving in the right direction.

“Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win." -Sun Tzu

last day before compition

2010-03-02T11:11:00.000-08:00

Today was a normal week of comp. training session. what i did was do a quick run though of all the events ill be doing on day one. along with lots of rolling out and traction my hips and low back. every thing felt good and i am ready to go. leaving Thur morning for the 8 hour drive to Columbus. Friday is compition day and if i do well i will make it to day 2 on Sunday. this will be the toughest and heaviest contest i have ever done. so either way it will be a great experience. ill post a recap on Monday to let everyone know how i did.

Thursday Spartans and SC Waukesha

2010-02-26T09:23:00.000-08:00

SC Waukesha

Full NX Level warm up

Body weight complex: squats, rev. lunges, squat jumps

Wall acceleration drills

Push up starts

Split starts

Burpees w/ bridge holds

I'm am finding out very quickly that I need to keep things less technical in nature and just keep the girls moving. There was a softball team on the other turf tonight and I had to keep lassooing the girls attention. I don't blame them. They're 10 and 11 years old. I'm sure I was like that when I was a kid. Time to get back to some of the little kid stuff that is fun and effective at the same time.

Spartans

Full NX Level warm up

Movement: worked on break out steps and lateral movement to breakout steps.

DB Bench: 10, 8, 5, 5, 5

Single arm row: 3x10
w/
DB Shoulder Press: 3x10

Face Pulls: 2x12

Prowler: Hi handle 20yards/ Low Handle 20yards
x6

DB Bench went well. Some of the guys are pretty strong dudes in this area. Next week we will be straight bar benching. I'm going to spend a lot of time on technique and set up to keep the guys' shoulders as healthy as possible. I'm going to keep up with the heavy rows and pulls since I'm sure at least some of the guys neglect this part of their body. The prowler destroyed some of the guys. There wasn't any weight on it either. That's ok though. It's a building process and when they get to camp practices will seem like a breeze.

Tuesday

2010-02-24T09:03:00.001-08:00

Last night I started working with the SC Waukesha Girls U-11 team. The very first thing I did with them was an overhead squat test. The main problem that I saw was a lack of posterior chain strength. With females this is extremely important when it comes to injury, specifically ACL tears, prevention. A majority of the girls were unable to either sit back or keep their knees from diving in towards each other. This tells me that they are unable to fire their glutes and hamstrings which cause their quads to take the brunt of all work when moving and slowing down. A lot of the parents were there and I told them very bluntly that the girls were weak. I laid out a basic plan of attack for the next six weeks that will involve strengthening their weaknesses (glutes and hamstrings), loosening up their tightnesses (calves, hamstrings, and hips) and teaching them to move their own bodyweight in an efficient manner. Here is what I did with them.

Full NX Level Warmup

Taught the double leg land position

Jump to a land position

Run to a land position

Bridge Hold: 3x:30

Teaching the girls to put themselves into position was the hardest part. I see a lot of posterior chain work in the near future. Sitting back, engaging the glutes, and keeping an arched back were by far the most difficult things for the girls to get. They will get it though. Rome wasn't built in a day.

Also had the 'Tosa Spartans last night. 12 guys total.

Dynamic and in place warmup

Top End Mechanics Work

Front Squat: 5x5

DB RDL: 3x12

Slide Board Leg Curl: 3x10
w/ Calf Raise: 3x20

Mountain Climbersx:20 w/ Bridge Holdx:10 allx8

Front Squats were an adventure. I allowed the guys to use a crossed arm hold since I am not going to be teaching them to clean. Many of the guys have the same problems that some of the SC Waukesha girls have: they are weak where they need to be strong. I kept the weight light on the guys that just need to be able to put themselves in the position to teach the proper mechanics. If I felt a guy could handle some weight I gave him the go-ahead. RDLs were a little better once I stopped the guys and made sure they were using proper form. Again, arching and firing the backside is not something that I can assume these athletes are able to do. It just takes time, work, consistency, and diligence.

The finisher of Mountain Climbers and Bridge Holds I think was an eye opener for some of the guys. They fought through it and I'm sure they all got a little confidence just by pushing themselves through something that was extremely difficult. They did good tonight and are only going to get better.

“Accept the challenges so that you may feel the exhilaration of victory.” -General George S. Patton

hip speed and stability

2010-02-23T09:45:00.000-08:00

wasn't that into lifting today so i decided to work on speed and stability. so here is what i did
Clean and Jerk(clean once, jerk twice)
134x2, 184x2, 234x2, 256x2, 276x2

Crazy band front squat(all x3)
bar wt. band wt.
135 70
185 120
185 140
185 140

tire flips(600#)
3x5
w/
sledge hammer
3x10 per side

forearm/elbow blood flow work

Good Day For strongman events

2010-02-20T12:02:00.000-08:00

Going into to day i felt horrible. i was tired, had a bad headache, and i just didn't want to do anything but lay down. i think in a previous post i had said that on the days i feel the least motivated i usually have a great training session. Today was one of those days. here is what went down:

rollout
warmup circuit
deal with rental people
re-warm up

Log clean and press (goal=3 reps at 315)
170x5, 260x2,315x2
barely missed the last one and attempted one more. i was happy w/ this, especially after last weeks failure

yoke and keg carry (goal=905 for 60ft. no drops)
pick and hold 675x2, 855x1
905x60ft. 170keg x 60ft.
i made the whole distance with no drops and at one point i felt like i was moving fairly fast. after the yoke i grabed the keg and moved as fast as possible. i finished right around a min. total. much improved from the last coulple of weeks when after the event i felt like a semi truck was parked on my chest.

farmers and keg carry (goal=320 for 60ft. no drops)
pick and hold 230x2
320x60ft. 170keg x 60ft.
grip held again and i finished faster then last week. keg felt good once again so i went 90ft with it to the back wall. again my conditioning has come along way from the last couple of weeks.

my original plan was to do stones today at west allis barbell too. i scaped that idea because my back was pretty fried. when you do this much in one day you need to know when to push and when to back off for the better of your body.

Thursday Spartans

2010-02-19T07:58:00.001-08:00

http://www.200poundsis200pounds.blogspot.com/ for my latest post.

'Tosa Spartans were in last night. Thursdays are all upper body days.

Dynamic/In-Place Warmup

Pec/Lat/Calf Stretch

Box Lands

Box Lands to sprint to stop

DB Bench: 10, 8, 5x5

Inverted Row: 4x10

Db Shoulder Press: 3x6
w/ V-Grip Chin: 3x6

Swimmer Complex: 3x12
w/ abs: various

Tabata finisher: Burpees, Pushup rotations, pushups, canoe holds; each one was done twice

Guys did well last night. Only four were here so we were able to do a little bit more in depth on the movement. Contralateral (opposite arm/opposite leg) movements seem to be a bit of a struggle. They will come around though. It baffles me when people can't move opposite arm opposite leg. Literally millions of years of evolution have brought us to this efficient mode of conveyance yet some people can't seem to get it. De-evolution? I don't think so. Learning to use the six inches between the ears. Definitely.

"The evolution of the brain not only overshot the needs of prehistoric man, it is the only example of evolution providing a species with an organ which it does not know how to use" -Arthur Koestler

Mock contest day 2 events

2010-02-18T10:39:00.000-08:00

rollout
warm up circuit

Dead lift medley (Frame,Axel,bar)
worked up close to contest wts.
last set: 810x2/605x2/621x1

Press medley(DB,Axel,log)
worked up close to contest wts.
last set: 155x2/ 305x2/300x1

i was a little disappointed with my deadlift medley. mainly the Axel i had to quick drop 50lbs. to get my reps. but i know i will be able to do it come contest time.
pressing went great i hit an easy double on the DB, easy double on the Axel, and i had a little trouble on the log, but it went up. both of these event are on the second day of the contest. the only way to make it to the second day is to be in the top 10 on the first day. so my main focus now is day 1 event. i will try to hit all 4 events on sat.

2-10-10 Training

2010-02-17T18:58:00.001-08:00

Wednesday 2-10-10

Week 3 Day 2

Exercises preceded by the same number are paired

Dynamic Warm Up

A1: Clean Complex (Clean Pull, RDL, Hand Clean, OH press, Front Squat)
75# x 3, 88# x 3, 110# x 3

A2: Cable Rope Chop Lo to High 3 x 8

B1: Hang Clean
165# x 2, 180 x 2, 190 x 2, 198 x 1, 198 x 1, 198 x 1

B2: Depth Jump (Drop from 1 box minimize contact time and jump to second box)
Drop Box height = 32 inches Landing Box Height = 38 inches
4 sets x 3 reps

C1: Bench Press
115# x 5, 145 x 3, 165 x 1, 145 x 5, 160 x 3, 180 x 1+ (performed 6 reps)

D1: Chest Supported Row
3 x 8 with 75# each hand

D2: Dips
3 x 8 with 35# belt weight

I was happy with my clean performance, I really struggled with my technique last week. When I hand clean I typically, RDL the wight to about an inch or two above my knee, come to a dead stop and perform my triple extension. Last week I just couldn't get enough bar velocity and in turn bar height with heavy loads, although I could feel that I wasn't leaning over the bar enough either. So this week I slid the bar two inches below my knees, forced myself to push my hips further back, developed some momentum sliding back over the knee to my power position before triple extension. My bar speed was drastically improved and allowed me to get under the bar better on the catch, although I don't know how I feel about my one week technique change. Olympic lifters pull from many different positions or block heights, each technique modification is designed to improve a limitation in performance for the full clean. I rarely full squat clean, but pulling from a dead stop or from blocks versus using a countermovement may different effects on sprint performance (starts - dead stop or block) or acceleration (countermovement) because they more closely mimic the muscle contraction types for those sprint phases. Its something interesting to think about.

I felt very tired when benching. The cleans and depth jumps were fatiguing, but this has been my program fro three weeks. Another factor could be my lack of sleep, I have two kids under (2 and 2 months) and sleep has been hard to come by. My co-working Nic gave me some valuable feedback on my bench press telling me that while I do a good job of tucking my elbows my forearms and wrists tend to "fall back" behind my elbows, leading to a very inefficient bar path. Knowledgeable, positive training partners are invaluable to your lifting success.

My dip and chest supported row work were assistance work PR's, and while we don't really hang our hat on assistance work all of your efforts add up, strengthening weak parts in the chain for big movements, so it was a great way to finish my workout

2-08-10 Training

2010-02-17T18:38:00.000-08:00

Monday 2/8/10
Week 3 Day 1

All Exercises preceded by the same letter are paired.

Dynamic Warm Up

A1: Snatch Complex (Snatch Pull, RDL, Hand Snatch, Good Morning, Drop Snatch)
75# x 3, 88# x 3, 98# x 3

A2: Cable Rope Chops from three positions (Low to High, Mid Line Rotation, high to Low)

B1: Power Snatch from Floor
110 x 2, 125 x 2, 130 x 2, 130 x 2, 130 x 2

B2: Med Ball Over Head Throw Forward with Step "Axe Throws"
5kg ball x 3 throws each leg x 4 sets

C1: Sprint (yds): 10, 25, 5, 20, 10 40

D1: Back Squat
150 x 5, 175 x 3, 195 x 1, 175 x 5, 195 x 3, 220 x 1+ (performed 7 reps)

E1: Walking Lunge
3 x 6 steps each leg with 65# per hand

E2: Fat Bar Pull Ups
3 x 10 with bodyweight

Sorry I fell off the blog wagon for a while, there is always time to train, but not always enough time to blog. 130# is definitely a sticking point for me on the Power Snatch. While I "finished" all the reps my form was hot or miss. I often have to press to lockout. Next cycle I may incorporate some snatch presses or heavier drop snatches. I can snatch pull, or snatch high pull much more than 130#, but its the drop and lockout that's killing me.

I was pleased with my squat. It puts my extimated max at about 270, I am planning to do another raw 5-3-1 cyle and see if my numbers move and then I may try some band assisted squats to get more load on my back. My short term goal is a raw 315# squat from a shoulder width stance. Three 45's a side would be pretty good for a tall skinny guy, but of course that is only a short term goal, I would always want more.

Fat bar pull ups are challenging. They have really taxed my forearms grip for the last 3 weeks. I will probably move back to a standard pull up bar next cycle and I hope I can crank out more reps or use more weight than before.

It's Wednesday Already?

2010-02-17T08:48:00.000-08:00

Hey everybody check out my latest blog posts at 200poundsis200pounds.blogspot.com

I'm going to be switching focus on here from myself to groups that I consistently train. First up is the Wauwatosa Spartans. They are a semi-pro football team in the Ironman Football League. NX Level has trained two of their players, Joe Flick and Matt Cerra, in the past and are now teaming up to train the entire team. They train on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7pm. Here is what went down for their first two sessions.

Thursday 2.11.10

Dynamic warmup

Multi-directional movement

DB bench: 10, 8, 6, 6

Chin-ups: 3x6

Face Pulls: 3x12

Arms/ shoulders/abs

Tuesday 2.16.10

Dynamic Warmup

Acceleration

Sumo Deadlift: 2x5; 2x3

DB Reverse Lunge: 3x6
w/
Reverse Hyper: 3x12

Slide Board Leg Curl: 3x10
w/
Calf Raise: 3x20

Abs

Some of the guys are in shape, some of them are not. Either way their program is going to focus on getting imbalances fixed and getting them ready for the upcoming season. Right now I'm not concerned with weight lifted. My man goal is to get them to put their bodies into the right positions and hold them with a bit of external load. Sumo pulls are going to set them up nicely for if/when they get to back squatting. They need to be able to sit back, keep their knees out, and chests up.

Movement I'm not going to be a big stickler on. Many of these guys have probably never been coached on proper running/stopping patterns. I'm just keeping it basic while still keeping them moving and keeping their heart rate up. Throwing too much at them can and will probably lead to paralysis by analysis. Put them in positions that they will be successful in and they will improve mentally and physically.

“I think about the meaning of pain. Pain is personal. It really belongs to the one feeling it. Probably the only thing that is your own. I like mine." -Henry Rollins

Tuesday misc. training

2010-02-17T07:55:00.001-08:00

rollout
warmup circuit
Clean and jerk
135x5, 225x3, 275x2, 295x2, 308x2, 317xmiss, 275x4

i did clean and jerk today so i could work on droping under the bar lower and faster. it went well up to the 317 and i couldn't even catch the clean. so i went back down to 275 and finished with a set of 4.

glute ham x20
rev hyper x15
blast strap fall outs 3x15

Strongman Training semi mock contest

2010-02-13T15:05:00.000-08:00

today was suppose to be just like thurs. and mimic the second day of the contest. i still did contest events, but there were a lot of people at the gym i was at in wauwatosa. so i did some of the events i can't train anywhere else.
Circus DB press
140x5,160x2, 175x1, 185x2
this is a hard event. you really need to find your balance because the DB is almost 3 feet long, about 10 inches in diameter and has large soup can sized handle. the first sets felt real easy. the 175 it took 3 tries to get it and i think i figured out why my press has been so crappy. when the weight gets heavy i have a tendency to rush and not drop my hips enough. so on the 185 i really focused on a good hip drive and quick/low drop to get under it. this payed off big time. 185 for 1 would have been a PR and i got 2.
Axel deads (bar at mid shin)
220, 310, 400, 490, 580, 670 all x2
i need to be able to do this in a medley w/ a 800lb frame x2 and a 705 conventional DL. 670 felt good and will have some good carry over to the other pulls in the medley.
stones
245x8, 300x3, 345x2,375x1, 375x4
stones were extra dust at the gym i was at, making it hard to get a grip on them. i tackied up for my last 2 sets and was very happy to get 4 on the second set of 375. i think come contest time i will be able to pull one or two more if i really try.
overall it was a really good day. i felt good even after the mock contest on thur. i will most likely do something similar next week on my last 2 training day.

Strongman mock Contest (day 1)

2010-02-12T10:52:00.000-08:00

rollout
warm up

Yoke walk/sand bag
905 yoke/200 sand bag 60ft ea.
yoke was tough and i ended up droping it after 3 steps. picked it again and finished. after that i was cashed. the sand bag didn't feel heavy, but my legs just wouldn't move fast.

Log clean press
315 x3 miss
when pressing a heavy log i use a lot of leg drive to split jerk it. after the first event i had no pop in my legs. i was needless to say i let out some unfriendly words after the third miss

Farmers walk/sand bag/ keg
320 farmers/200 sand bag/ 175 keg
suprising this whole run when fast and smooth. nothing was hard, my grip held, and i finished fairly fast. after this i was still pissed about the log, so i gave my self 15 min and gave it another shot. i got it once and then called it a day. the rest of the day i was one big pile of moosh. everything hurt. sat i will do another mock contest with different events.

Friday 2/5 Training

2010-02-10T19:10:00.000-08:00

Week 2 Day 3

Exercises preceded by the same letter are paired

Dynamic Warm-Up

A1: Snatch Complex
75# x 4, 88# x 3, 88# x 3

A2: Cable Rope Chops from 3 positions (hi-Lo, Lo-Hi, Mid-line rotation)

B1: Overhead Squat
110# x 5, 120# x 5, 125# x 5

C1: Snatch Pull from Floor
3 x 4 reps @ 155# (emphasize speed and triple extension)

C2: Med Ball Vertical Throw
3 x 5 w/5kg ball

D1: MB Overhead Throw Backwards
3 x 5 w/5kg ball

E1: GHR
3 x 8 w/25# DB at Chest

E2: DB Hammer Curl
3 x 10 w/45# DB each hand

Instead of performing snatch pulls from the hang and Snatch deadlifts like I did in week one I performed snacth pulls from the floor and med ball throws focusing on speed. I made this change because I felt that the snatch deadlifts on from week one day three (Friday) left me tired for squatting on Monday. check the Monday, leg day blog to see how if it made a positive impact in my squat. I was very happy with my Overhead Squat performance, I had great depth and control.

My day has arrived

2010-02-09T12:18:00.000-08:00

I went into todays workout wanting to deadlift...I felt as if I havn't done it for awhile, looking at my plan I think it was 2 weeks ago when I pulled my record 515. Today went a little differently.

Foam roll + hip mobility
High rope chop + band walks

deadlift - 155x5, 220x5, 265x3, 309x1, 375x1 + belt, 420x0+belt conventional/sumo, dl suit 420x1 "GFSI," 485x1, 505x0

In its rawest wording I had nothing to give. 485 pretty much owned me, but it came. 505 kicked me in the face and laughed at me - I should have been able to work it up - instead the exact opposite happened.

Missing the 420 raw and the 505 suited really had me upset and discouraged. I wanted to really work my deadlift and it wasn't going the way I planned so I decided to scale it back and work 6x3...

375x3x2
395x3x2
405x3x2

I finished with
3x20 bwt.GHR
3x8 45 Bk Ext
3x20yd 140lb Prowler

What really changed my mood and helped me get through my workout were the wise words from a client...

"It wouldn't be training if you didn't have a bad day." ~ Mike Hamm

jake: lower body

2010-02-09T09:33:00.000-08:00

Fairly short work out today. i wanted to get somethings done and save some energy for thur and sat. i am doing a mock contest on thur and sat, so i want to be some what ready for it. Thur will be yoke/sand bag medley, log clean and press for rep, farmers/keg medley. sat i will try to do a deadlift medley, press medley, and stones. any ways here is what went down today:

Rollout
warmup circuit
Squat
Worked up to 545x1
Crazy band/chain pin squat
Bar wt. chain and band wt.
405 80# chain/170 on bands
405 80# chain/220 on bands
405 80# chain/270 on bands
i have done these in the past and its a nice change up to doing straight abs. the chains do not touch the floor and the bands are hooked though the plates allowing them to hang too. all of this creates a instable environment, forcing you to stay as tight as possible though the whole movement. i even held the it for a 8 count at the top to add some extra time under tension.

bwt lunge walk/prowler lunge walk x30yrd x3
glute ham 1x30
DONE!!!

Its has been aWHile

2010-02-08T11:31:00.000-08:00

Its been a couple of days... and then some since I last posted. That's not due to slacking in the weight room, I've still been at it, but my days have gotten busy. I've started my own personal blog liftsmartliftstrong, which can be followed by clicking the link on the right side of this page. I've also been getting settled with all of my new Advocare Nutritional/Supplement products, that also can be found through my blog.

To get to it... I think I've missed the last 2 weeks worth of workouts - so to keep this brief here is what I've been up to.

Red band benchin,' Flr. Pressin,' Purple band squattin,' geared-up dead liftin,' some shirt work in which I hit 335x3 off a 3 board (w/a 340 max) so that's a huge improvement and after my 270lbs bench PR!... that was 2 weeks ago

Last week I did a bit more of the same with small alterations such as: heavier bar weight on the red band bench, heavier bar on the purple band squats, 310+purple band for 5x3 on dead lift, 455 brief squat, which I still have bruising from, and what was awesome was my max effort bench of 340lbs PR!

So now your all caught up - Today started my 1st week of benching with purple bands. They were pretty loose on the bottom and fairly tight at the top - I'm going to play with the set up next week which will probably staple the bar to my chest but it went well for now.

8x3 @ 135+ purple
2x5 @ 155
3x15 3"ele pushups - left shoulders been bothering me so I wanted a little stretch through the front side and give my shoulders/collar a rest cause I've been getting a lot of stress through the collar from heavy floor presses and board pressing
3xamap w/25lbs+ these sucked! I need to work more lats/mid back
4x6 DB Military Press

Because of the set up with the bands everything went well today - I have a feeling next week will be a lot harder - I'll deal with it then.
Push-ups were fine but I'm thinking I should have done a different pulling exercise and maybe a diff. tricep exercise to help my lockout .... probably wasn't the greatest idea looking at it now but you and learn
DB Military Press was hard! Had to have Troy spot me on my last two sets

That is all for now.

The following link will help explain the title spelling...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lich59xsjik

Double strongman

2010-02-06T16:24:00.000-08:00

today was kind of a double training day because i do not have access to stones at NX level. so here is how it broke down:
NX Level Hartland
rollout
quick warm up circuit
Farmers
50x120 ft.
140x120 ft.
230x60 ft.
320x60 ft. x2
grip felt a lot better today. finished the first with out a problem. the second got tough at the very end and i barely made it.

West Allis Barbell (1 1/2 later)
another rollout
Stones: did my normal warm up w/ the 240
240x2, 280x2, 300x2, 340x1
series 1: 280x2, 300x2, 340x2
series 2: 280x1, 300x2, 340x1, 405x1
series 3: 300x1, 340x1, 405x1, 420x1

was really happy w/ the series to day. the first series was fairly easy. the second series got tough at the end with the 405. the last series kicked my butt. the tacky i use is old and half frozen. so by the time i got to 420 i had my arms were some what slick. i still fought through and got the last stone but it took every thing i had. it sucks training in a freezing garage or any unusual conditions, but it takes dedication to reach your goals no matter what. i know that the people i train with and work with feel the same way and its great to be around those kind of people and motivates me every day.

strongman upper conditioning. Kind of!!!

2010-02-04T12:07:00.000-08:00

rollout
warmup circuit

Log clean and press each rep.
170x5
220x5
240x5
260x5
260x5
Seated military pin lockouts (pin set alittle above elbow at lock out)
225x3
245x3
275x3
295x3
315x3

wide grip pull down(w/red band) 3x15
band pull aparts 2x20
band push down 2x20
ext rot.
upper body ladder

Felt very sluggish to day. not sure what it is. Still accomplished what i needed to, just took a little longer. today i worked did some rep work with the 12" log. yes i consider 5x5 rep work for a full clean and press each rep. i was really happy with my first 3 reps of each set felt fairly easy. 4 and 5 were a pain. i struggled with my leg drive and could not set my air. pin lock outs went well did them as a change up to work my tricep strength. everything else was good. haven't really decided what to do on sat.

Thursday

2010-02-04T10:23:00.000-08:00

Bench: 225x3; 275x1; 295x0,0
Lateral Raise: 3x10
Dips: 4x15
Inverted Row: 4x15

Crappy session today. Bench did not go at all according to plan. On both attempts at 295 I got it off my chest fine, I just couldn't finish the lock out. I'm not sure if I'm not doing enough tricep work or too much. I also think doing two straight weeks to my chest is hurting me. From now on I will switch from boards one week and to my chest the next. I could go on blaming this, that or the other thing, but ultimately I have to look myself in the mirror and do what I need to do to get better.

"Wishes won't wash dishes." -American Proverb

Wednesday 2/3 Training

2010-02-03T18:46:00.000-08:00

Week 2 Day 2

Exercises prefaced with the same letter are paired.

Dynamic Warm Up

A1: Clean Complex (Deep Sit, RDL, Hang Clean, OH Press, Front Squat)
65# x 6, 88# x 3, 108# x 3

A2: Low to High Chop 3 sets

B1: Hang Clean
155# x 3, 165# x 3, 180# x 2, 190# x 2, 190# x 2, 155# x 3

B2: Depth Jump (Drop from one box, jump from ground to a higher box)
BW x 3 jumps x 5 sets (I didn't measure the drop height yet, I held the drop height constant from last week but increased the landing box height)

C1: Bench Press
115# x 5, 135# x 3, 155# x 1, 135# x 3, 150# x 3, 170# x 3+ (performed ten reps)

D1: Chest Supported Row
55# x 15, 65# x 12, 65# x 12

D2: Dips
Bw x 15, 25# x 12, 25# x 12 (weight added via belt)

Disappointed with my hang cleans today, the sets at three reps felt great. I felt that I had great triple extension, good tight bar path, and I felt fast. 180# x 2 went well, 190# got ugly. I didn't get over the bar well when I set up, I felt I tried to muscle it up without full extension, and the catch was pretty bad. This is why I took the "down" set at 155#, just to get my technique back.

Monday 2/1/10 Training

2010-02-02T20:50:00.000-08:00

Week 2 - Day 1 Lower Body

Exercises prefaced with the same letter are paired.

Dynamic Warm Up

A1: Snatch Complex (Deep Sit, Hang Snatch, Good Morning, Drop Snatch)
All singles in order three times through for 3 sets (75#, 88#, 98#)

A2: Cable Rope Chops 1 x 8 ea way, Different chop each set (Hi-Lo, Mid-Line Rotation, Lo-Hi)

B1: Power Snatch
110# x 3, 115# x 3, 125 x 2, 130 x 2, 130 x 2

B2: OH Med Ball Throw Forward to wall with step (like throwin' an ax)
5 x 3 ea leg w/ 4kg ball

C1: Sprint (distannces in yards)
10, 20, 10, 20, 5, 20, 5, 20

D1: Back Squat
115# x 5, 150 x 3, 175 x 1, 160 x 3, 185 x 3, 210 x 3+ (performed 9 reps)

E1: Walking Lunges
3 x 8 steps ea leg 55#, 55#, 60# ea hand

E2: Fat Bar Pull Ups w/belt wt
20# x 5, 20# x 5, 20# x 5

I had difficulty locking out my right arm when catching my power snatches. On my day three workouts I have been performing overhead squats. Next cycle I might switch to drop squats or incorporate some snatch grip pressing.

I really like med ball throws from an athletic development standpoint. It really teaches athletes to develop force in sequence from the ground up and it provides low-force high velocity power training with no deceleration because you release the ball. Plus, its fun to throw stuff.

Squatting is a fundamental movement pattern, but with a load on your back that pattern can breakdown. I was pretty happy with 9 reps on my "plus set" for my squat. My squat form needs quite a bit of work, but when you add in fatigue on a set just short of failure bad habits become really evident. On the last few reps Iwas no longer sitting back into my squat and I could feel myself coming forward at the knees at the bottom of the movement.

During that last set I didn't feel like my legs were the limiting factor in the lift. about a quarter o f the way out of the hole on the last several reps it took a lot effort to keep my back arched and elbows tucked, in short I felt weak in my back. Part of the solution would be some verbal cueing/screaming from a partner, but I might start to add-in some good morning or cable pull-through variations in an effort to bring up this weak link.

Upper -body day tomorrow.

jake lower body

2010-02-02T10:38:00.000-08:00

rollout
warm up circuit
front squat (last couple sets)
365x3
405x1
455x1
475x1 tied PR

Dead lift medley
farmers pick (handles right below knee)x2's
axel pin pull (bar right above knee)x2's
set 1: farmers 470/axel 445
set 2: farmers 655/ axel 535
set 3: farmers 820/ axel 685

glute ham 3x10 @25lbs.
ab wheel 2x10
ab wheel seal walk 2x30yrs

my abs will be sore tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day. hopefully I'll have a sweet six pack by Monday!!!!

Friday - Great squat day (thank you Troy!!)

2010-02-01T20:03:00.000-08:00

Full NX Level Athlete Warm Up

Snatch Complex: 4 ea X 45lb
4 ea X 45lb
4 ea X 55lb

Rope Rotation: 8 X 6
7 X 7
6 X 8

Back Squat: 10 X 45lb
5 X 65lb
5 X 85lb
3 X 95lb

3 X 115lb
3 X 135lb
3 X 155lb
3 X 165lb
3 X 185lb

Hamstring Curls on the Glute Ham: 3 X 10 (w/ 10lb plate)

Reverse Hypers: 3 X 10

Y,T,W: 3 X 10 ea

Hammer Curls: 3 X 12

Monday

2010-02-01T11:32:00.000-08:00

DE Bench: 8x3 @ 155
Standing Press: 115x8; 165x5,4,4
Dips: BW+35x35
Fat Bar Pull Ups: BW+ 25x20
Rear Delts: 2 sets
Hammer Curls: 2 sets

Due to some schedule changes I had to rush through this session. This never puts me in a good mood. I hate feeling rushed during training. I never feel like I can get into a good rhythm and I'm usually in a sour mood. This is totally pointless and unnecessary because I always get done what I need to get done and am no worse for it. Just need to stay positive with my attitude. Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it. That's little Jeff Voris maxim for you. This one is free, but the next one might cost you.

I finished the book Bluebeard by Kurt Vonnegut last night. I have always liked Vonnegut's fiction, his characters, and the way he tells a story. Bluebeard is one of those existential stories that is full of coincidences for coincidence's sake. There are a number of parts in the book where the fictional author says, "if such and such didn't happen, then this wouldn't have happened, and on and on." One example is Rabo Karabekian, the main character and author of the autobiography the reader is reading, blames the eye he lost in WWII on a huckster that swindled his parents out of their money and sent them to America years before he was even born. There are other parts where so and so just happened to be the son of so and so. Or so and so just happened to be at this particular location at this particular time due to this particular circumstance. Needless to say it is a very interesting read.

I myself have had had many such fits of existentialism. There have been times when I thought, "what if I had joined the Marines out of high school?" or "what if I had gone to Whitewater?" or "what if my Great Grandfather George hadn't listened to his girlfriend, gone on that rum run for John Dillinger and ended up in jail?" and on and on ad infinitum. Your's truly wouldn't be typing this right now and you wouldn't be reading it either, that's what would have happened. Of course it is impossible and almost just as pointless to speculate on what might have been, but it is so tempting and sometimes interesting how radically different our lives might be.

On another note, I am extremely sore today. Ass, hammies, groings, pentas (one bigger than a quad). I gots the lunge-ass. It hurts. I'm hoping most of it clears up by tomorrow. I gots to squat heavy tomorrow. Until then. HOLD FAST.

A man who stands for nothing will fall for anything. -Malcolm X

Back at cha'...

2010-02-01T11:30:00.000-08:00

Its been a few days since I last updated my training blog. Last Thursday I had a max effort upper body, saturday was suppose to be a dynamic lower body that I had to put the kibash on due to prior engagements that were scheduled with my fiancee. That was the first workout I have missed entirely in 6 weeks. I'm not proud that I missed it but I am proud that I have been a lot more consistant in my training, and I am definitely seeing the benefits!

Last Thursday - ME Upper
Raw bench: 135x5, 185x3, 225x1, 245x1, 270x1 (PR)
3-Board w/ Shirt: 295x3, 315x3, 335x3

this was also a great lift because I was working off a 3-board max of 340 - so to triple 97% of my max was awesome!

Rope Pushdowns: 5x15
Ext./Int. Rotation: 3x10/2x10
Seated Row w/ Rope: 5x10

Today - DE Upper
Bench: 8x3 at 155+red bands
Bench: 2x5 at 185

This bench day went very well as well. Last week 145+red felt heavy and very slow. Today I felt like I had much better control, grip, bar path, and much more explosion.

DB Floor Press: 4x8
Band Resisted Pull-ups: 3xa.m.a.p
Military Press: 2x8, 2x6

DB Floor Press, for being an auxillary exercise, went great. Two weeks ago I finished my last set of 8 struggling with 85#, last week I finished with 2 sets of 8 at 85# which felt a lot better, this week I blasted the 85# and finished with 2 sets of 8 at 90#. The band resisted pull-ups sucked, but the MP went well. Last week I finished at 105# for my 2 sets of 6... this week 115#.

I've been having some of the biggest improvements and successes these last 5-6weeks of training. I am going to chalk it up to consistancy... it is key!

"consistancy, effort, and mental toughness one can accomplish any goal" - T.Dequaine

It's Been Such A Long Time...

2010-01-30T17:40:00.001-08:00

Hola amigos. I know it's been a long time since I rapped at ya. But I have been busier than a rooster in a hen house. Anyways, to update I don't want to bore you with a bunch of details so I'll just give you the meatballs of my training week.

Monday
Dynamic bench
Worked to 175x3 on military press

Tuesday
Got an iffy 525 on squat
Below knee rack pull of 625

Wednesday
Tore up the track with my blazing speed

Thursday
Bench: 265x3 PR

Friday
Sled sprints and starts
Got new grippers

Saturday
DE squat and dl
Lunges- I'm going to have lunge-ass tomorrow. I will need side rails in the loo.

That's been my week. Next week I will be more diligent. As always you can check out my other posts over at 200poundsis200pounds.blogspot.com.

Dequaine...I'm outta here!

"Beauty is truth, truth beauty," - that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.
-from Ode on a Grecian Urn by John Keats

frickin' tired. Sat Strongman

2010-01-30T12:58:00.000-08:00

Rollout (extra on the hammies, been extremely tight)
warm up circuit

12" log press last 2 sets
330x1 (felt good)
340 miss x3 attempts
the 330 felt so good i went up but i wasn't totally comfortable under that wt. so today wasn't a day for a PR in log. ill have to work on it some more.

Yoke walk last 2 sets
765
905
felt good today 765 went fairly fast so i made the jump to 905. i finished all 60ft. with one set down 3 steps in and one set down 5ft. from the finish. the first set down was a quick re-pick and go again then my right arm started to tingle bad and lost it. took a second to gather my air and finished strong. PR for the yoke.

Farmer walk
140 per hand 180ft.
190 per hand 180ft.
this was light today because i was cashed from the yoke and wanted to get some grip/trap conditioning. 140 i took really slow to make it hard. 190 i went slow for the first 90ft. but my traps and forearms were burning so bad i kicked it into 5th gear (probably 2nd gear for skinny fast people!!).

i find it interesting that on days that i feel like super tired and don't want to move from my chair i have the best days training. this was one of them. ill be spending the rest of the weekend hanging out with my wife, stuffing my face with delicious un healthy food, sitting infront of the TV. There is nothing better than relaxing, eating, and someone that loves you.

Friday Workout 1/29

2010-01-29T15:28:00.000-08:00

Week 1 Day 3

Platformapalooza

Exercises preceded by the same letter are paired

Dynamic Warm-Up

A1: Snatch Complex (Deep Sit, RDL, Hang Snatch, Good Morning, Drop Snatch)
3 sets - 75#, 88#, 98#

A2: Cable Rope Chop 3 types (Hi-Low, Midline Rotation, Low to High) 8 ea way ea type

B1: Overhead Squat
110# x 5, 110# x 5, #120 x 5

C1: Snatch Pull from Hang (focus on Speed)
155# x 4, 155# x 4, 155# x 4

C2: Medicine Ball Throw - Vertical from chest with countermovement
3 sets (5kg ball x 5ea set)

D1: Snatch Grip Deadlift
221# x 3, 221# x 3, 241# x 3, 241# x 3

E1: Glute Ham Raise (from parallel)
3 sets x 8 reps with 25# Db at Chest

E2: DB Hammer Curls
30# x 15, 40# x 12, 50# x 8

My overhead squats went really well today, I had good contol through the whole lift. Its a great lift because it develops strength everywhere, its great for shoulder stability and core strength, improves (and is a great test of) mobility, and improves your balance without dancin' around on foam pads or bosu balls. I was dissapointed in my snatch deadlift, I wanted to go heavier today but I had trouble holding my back posture at #241. I know I recieved a tremendous hamstring workout becasue I can normally go heavier than a #25 DB and get more than 8 reps on my GHR's but my hammies were gassed.

Jake: upper body

2010-01-28T10:46:00.001-08:00

rollout
upper body warm up
bench
bar
135x8
225x5
275x3
315x1(felt heavy)
335x1(felt really good)
single ply shirt
355 2x2
405 2x2
krock rows
100 2x10
150 1x12
face pull 3x15
sgl arm db curl (focus on supination for mobility on deadlift)
purple band push down 2x30
Prowler (20yrds) 8 trip w/45's on each post

super exausted, wanna take a nap. the prowler crushed me today. everything else was good didn't want to do to much because i kind of treated today as a deload from strongman. hopefully i come back on sat refreshed and strong.

Wednesday 1/27 Training

2010-01-28T06:38:00.000-08:00

Week 1, Day 2 (Clean Variation and Upper Body)

Lifts prefaced with the same letter are paired.

Dynamic Warm Up

A1: Clean Complex (RDL, Deep Sit, Hang Clean, Press to Front Squat)
All Singles x 3 x 3 rounds: 65#, 88#, 108#

A2: Low to High Cable Rope Chops 3 sets x 8,7,6 reps

B1: Hang Clean (Maximize bar speed)
142# x 3, 165 x 3, 175 x 3, 175 x 3, 180 x 3

B2: Drop Jump (Drop from box to the floor and jump to a higher box, minimize ground contact time) BW x 3 reps x 5 sets

C1: Bench (Grip sets with pinky's on the rings - standard for me)
95 x 5, 125 x 3, 145 x 3, 125 x 5, 145 x 5, 160 x 5+ (13 reps)

D1: DB Chest Supported Row
3 x 15 w/55# DB ea hand

D2: Dips
3 x 15 w/BW

I was pleased with my plus set bench performance, similar to my squat I set my training max low. I have really improved my ability to set my air and stay tight, but I need to work on my arch and I really need to work on keeping my wrists locked out. They tend to fall back into wrist extension and at that point you are not developing force in a straight line from your elbow into the bar. I have really benefited from performing higher rep back work (rowing). I would have liked to have performed a fourth set of rows and dips but I had shower and change for work, maybe next week.

Monday 1/25 Training

2010-01-28T06:22:00.000-08:00

Week 1 Day 1 of Cycle
Dynamic Warm Up

Lifts prefaced with the same letter are paired.

A1: Snatch Complex (RDL, Deep Sit, Hang Snatch, Good Morning, Drop Snatch)
All singles for 3 (times 3 rounds) - 65#, 75#, 88#

A2: Cable Rope Chops 3 x 8. 7, 6 (a different chop each set: hi-low, mid line rot., low-hi)

B1: Power Snatch from Floor
110# x 3, 110 x 3, 120 x 3, 120 x 3

B2: OH MB Throw (Forward at the Wall) with Step
4kg x 3ea leg x 4

C1: Sprint: 4 x 10 yd Standing Split Start

D1: Back Squat: 115 x 5, 130 x 3, 160 x 1, 150 x 5, 175 x 5, 190 x 5+ (12 reps total)

E1: Walking Lunge (55# DBs each hand x 8 steps each leg x 3 sets)

E2: Fat Bar Pull Up, wide, thumb under bar (BW x 8 x 3 sets)

I was pretty happy with 195 x 12 back squat on my plus set, I have my training max set pretty low because I want to make cointinued progress in my subsequent cycles. The plus set and the lunges left my glutes and hamstrings sore as of writing this on Thursday morning. FB Pull Ups left my forearms sore the next day which is good because I think my grip holds me back in my Olympic lifts. I may add more grip work in on Fridays.

Blogging Bandwagon/Background

2010-01-28T05:36:00.000-08:00

At Troy's request I am jumping on the blogging bandwagon. I am the definition of an ectomorph and as such, Troy and I have joked that I would need an I.V. drip of insulin and essential amino acids to gain weight, its a joke that's funny because its true. I'm 6'3" and currently 177#, but I've been as high 190#, and I've never exceeded 10% bodyfat.

I train for a number of reasons: I find it fun, most people in the world don't train with any consistency or intensity so I find it a challenge, I want to stay healthy so I can play with my kids as they grow up (and not on a Wii Fit, we'll actually go out do real activities), I still play basketball whenever I can (so I train to play well and injury free), and I am my own one subject training study (I want to know what the athlete's that I train are experiencing).

I am starting a new 4 week training cycle this week. I train for three weeks increasing intensity and decreasing volume and use the fourth week to deload. On the deload week I reduce the intensity on the major lifts with a small decrease in overall volume, I also perform more explosive/high speed work (sprints/movement, jumps, throws). I also use the fourth week to experiment with lighter weights on my accessory lifts for the next cycle. I train three days a week, here is my current template

Day 1 - Snatch Variation, Sprint Work, ME Squat, Lower Body Accesory Work and Vert Pull

Day 2 - Clean Variation, Plyometics, ME Bench, Upper Body Accesory Work, Conditioning

Day 3 - Snatch Work with Med Ball Throw, Multi-Diectional Movement or Conditioning

I have been using Jim Wendler's 5-3-1 program for my squat and bench, and I went to the all snatch work day 3 just for something different, I traditionally used day three as a total body repetitive effort day but I am much better cleaning than snatching so it seemed like a fun challenge. This is my first cycle Back Squatting in quite a while, in the fall I couldn't squat at all for about 5 weeks because I had developed bilateral patellofemoral pain and I was down to just accesory lower body work, foam rolling, stretching, ice, and relative rest to try and clear it out. After the knee pain cleared I performed a couple weeks of high-rep low-load box squatting (holding a single DB at the chest), a cycle of front squatting (5 x 5), and a cycle front squatting (5-3-1). That takes me to the current cycle.

Wow, the length of that post escalated quickly, I apologize, I've been known to ramble. Anyway, I hope my posts are an interesting addition to the blog

jake: lower body

2010-01-26T10:55:00.000-08:00

rollout

warm up circuit

Front squat

warm up sets

315x3

365x1

405x1

455x1

block deadlift(bar at mid shin)

warm up sets

405x2

495x2

585x2

635x2

675x1

pull throughs x15

cable crunch 3x15

tke 2x20

rev hyper x15

45 back ext x30

been doing alot of strongman training lately so i thought it would be a good idea to take a break and just do gym lifts. every thing went well today. Front squat was fairly solid at 455. block deads were tough but still got 675 with a little hitch. all my accesory stuff was to keep me working on weaknesses. i will do the same thing thur and stay away from strongman events, then hit strongman hard on sat. i found this pic on one of the elitefts logs and i totally agree this is how everyone should come in to the gym:

Monday & Tuesday Training Sessions

2010-01-26T09:40:00.000-08:00

Monday-

Bench Press - 8x3 @ 145 plus red bands
Bench Press - 2x5 @ 170
Band Resisted Pull-ups - 3x5 plus red band
DB Flr. Press - 4x8 @ 65, 75, 85x2
Military Press - 2x8, 2x6 @ 95, 100, 105, 105

The bench was crazy heavy - it was hit and miss with sets that I 'though' felt explosive. The floor pressing went great, especially from last week! I think I finished out at 80's, so that's a big improvement. The military press went well too, when compared to last week. My arms were so shot last week by the time I got to the mp I had nothing left and sat on 95lbs for all four sets, this week that wasn't the case.

Tuesday

Squat - 10x2 @ 240 plus purple and red bands
Slideboard Curls - 3x15
Reverse Hypers - 3x8
Prowler - 3x
Side Bends/V-ups - 3x20, 10

Squatting today went well but like pressing yesterday, it felt really heavy. My first couple and my last couple sets felt great, but the 6 or so sets in the middle were hit and miss. Some felt good and some felt like I was 2 seconds from getting stapled to the ground. I started timing my rest between sets towards the end and that definitely helped. Here's looking to the 2 more weeks with the same accommodating resistance but increased bar weight! The rest of the workout was pretty simple - I just kept moving got it all done and worked up a good sweat in doing so.

"keep on... keeping on"

2010-01-23T16:12:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to take a minute and second Troys nod to Matt's most recent blog. I just read it and I think it is insightful and inspiring. Matt's passion for all things training is un-quenchable...in-quenchable...non-quenchable... let's just say he has tons of passion! He is a great coach, a great co-worker, and I am lucky to call him my friend.

Here here!

Bayside strongman training

2010-01-23T16:04:00.000-08:00

Went out to Bayside today to do some strongman with some friends of mine. they started around 11:00 and i didn't get there until 12:20. they were doing some yoke at the time so i jumped right in. 640x70 ft. 730x70 ft. 820x70 ft. all three sets felt really good and really fast. from there a couple of us tried sam's manhood stones. which is a 250lb stone to a 64 inch tree stump and to a 84 inch tree stump. we only did the 64 inch because the base of the tree was pretty much all ice. we then went to the basement and did stones. i worked up doing singles at 225, 275, 300, 320, 350, and failed at 380(all done no tacky). then i did a couple of series from 225 to 350. our buddy swede turned 50 to day and Sam had a nice workout planned for him. it ended with swede doing 50 reps with the 300 lb stone. he got them all at the young age of 50, very impressive. all in all a good day. its always fun to train with people who enjoy the same things you do. the motivate you and make you push past your normal comfort level.

Mono-lift Squatting

2010-01-23T11:10:00.000-08:00

Nothing but alil mono-lift squattin' today!

I travelled out to a friend's gym to use his mono-lift to help me accomodate and get more comfortable squatting from it. My first geared competition is coming up in March and it will also be the first time I'll be competivily squatting. My goal is to do whatever I can to be the most prepared and comfortable for this meet. For those that don't know what a mono-lift is, it is a type of squatting rack that eliminates the need for a walk-out. It is much safer especially when squatting near maximal/maximal loads. Check here for more information.

After a good rolling out and some hip activation exercises the warm-up started with a saftey bar squat... hated every minute of it - but changing types of bars is good for the body. Different bars will sit differently on your shoulders/back, vary the load, and a different emphasis on the musculature. There are a lot of different types of bars that can be used for multiple reasons... I say experiment! But still hated every minute of it, until we changed it out for a Texas Squat bar. A thicker and heavier bar than your standard barbell.

SSB - 95x5, 135x5, 185x3, 225x3, 275x1
TSB + gear - 235x5, 325x3, 415x1, 465x1x2, 485x1, 505x1

That was todays lift and I feel right about it... I feel right.

The 415 and 465 both felt great coming up, 485 was a little slower, and 505 felt decent. I don't know if my depth was low enough on the 505 but I definitely tried sitting back and getting low I didn't want to cheat myself on that one - that was what I had. There are still a few weeks before the competition but I'm thinking 505 or 515 might be a second attempt at the comp. I want to open with something I know I can blow up and then go for something I know I've done but might have more of a struggle to get... third attempt will be all or nothing! I still have time to change those numbers slightly but we'll see. More to come on that topic.

Found this on EliteFTS...

Down this road, in a gym far away,
a young man was heard to say,
"No matter what i do, my legs won't grow."
He tried leg extensions, leg curls, and leg presses, too
trying to cheat, these sissy workouts he'd do.

From the corner of the gym where the big men train,
through a cloud of chalk and the midst of pain,
where the noise is made with big forty-fives,
a deep voice bellowed as he wrapped his knees,
a very big man with legs like trees.

Laughing as he snatched another plate from the stack,
chalking his hands and monstrous back,
said,"Boy, stop lying and don't say you've forgotten,
the trouble with you is you ain't been SQUATTIN'."

Freaky Friday

2010-01-22T15:53:00.000-08:00

No training today. I will probably do some foam rolling and stretching at home tonight, but other than that, nada.

My friend and fellow strength coach Matt Gifford had a great post today on his blog. You can check it out here. I highly recommend it. The kid has a great outlook on the strength and conditioning field and life in general.

Tomorrow is the last day of the deload. As per usual I'm itching to get back to lifting heavy again. Face diet is still going well. I'm down about 8 pounds. Again, some of that is water. Next week I will be adding in carbs around my workout. Got to fuel the machine. BEEFCAKE!!

I want to be all used up when I die. George Bernard Shaw

Chalk it up to week 4!

2010-01-21T11:44:00.000-08:00

I'm quite satisfied with this weeks training. Days 1 and 2 went great, no pain on Monday in the arms, PR on Tuesday in the deadlift, and today 340 off a 2-board felt pretty good!

"I just hope we can keep this momentum going....yeah....Richard....who's your favorite little rascal?"

I hope I can keep this momentum going though. I know its inevitable to hit a wall but things are going good.

Rollout the legs - real sore from Tuesday
Hip, Back, Shoulder mobilization/activation

I added some foam roller stretches in between my first warm-up sets of my bench press.

Bench
115x5, 135x5, 185x3, 205x1, 235x1, 265x1
Shirt+2-board
295x3, 315x2, 330x1, 330x1, 340x1, 340x1

Everything felt good. I had to focus on staying tight off the boards, which I did, and I controlled all my lockouts. Things went well.

I finished with some

Kneeling rope pushdowns
5x15
Ext./Int. Rotation
3x10
Band Resisted Row
4x15

I also played around with some abs - I hooked a band to a 10lb plate and used it for a little added instability to some GHR sit-ups...it didn't work very well. It did work a little better on some side-bends off the 45 back ext. My thought was to add a little dynamic stabilization but it wasn't the right path about it. I wouldn't recommend it. Anyways.

My completely unrelated quote to end my blog entry for the day

"Columbus wasn't exactly looking for America, but that seemed to work out for everyone."- Beanie

Chesties

2010-01-21T11:29:00.000-08:00

Bench: worked up to 250x1
Lateral Raises: 2x15
Band Tri Pushdowns: 2x25 (purple band)
Lat Pulldowns: 2x20
Med Ball Pushups: x50

Still deloading this week. I just wanted to hit a single at about 85-90% of my 1rm. Other accessory was just to get a pump and get some recovery going. The medicine ball pushups I felt all through the chestal region.

A friend asked me the other day what my diet was like before I started on my face diet. Here it is.
Meal One (6:30ish): 3 whole eggs, 3 egg whites or 5-6 oz. sirloin steak, 1 apple, 1 orange
Meal Two (1 hr pre w/o 9:30ish): 2 whole eggs, 2 egg whites, one apple, one orange
Meal Three (post w/o 12:30ish): one scoop whey protein, 2 bananas
Meal Four (2ish): 10 oz (2 cans) tuna, 1/2 lb green beans or broccoli
Meal Five (4:30ish) 1 scoop whey, 1 scoop casein, 1tbsp peanut butter
Meal Six (7ish) 5oz. grilled chicken breast, 1/2 lb green beans or broccoli
Meal Seven (9:30ish) 5-6 oz. sirloin steak, 2 cups raw spinach, 2 cups frozen blueberries

It may look like a lot but remember it's all over the course of 15 hours. On non heavy training days, the two meals around my workout are replaced by another shake of 1 scoop whey and 1 scoop casein. As of right now this diet works for me. If/when I want to gain or lose weight, I will either add starchier carbs, or decrease my fruit intake. Simple as that.

Keep your blood clean, your body lean, and your mind sharp.
-Henry Rollins

i can't feel my arms!!!! Seriously its uncomfortable

2010-01-21T09:29:00.000-08:00

rolled out
upper body warm up circuit

Axel press from rack
45x15
80x8
170x5
190x5
220x3
240x3
260x3
280x2
310x2
330x miss
330x1

v-grip chins 5x3 w/25#
tate press 3x12
alt curls 2x10(focused on hand turning at the top kept wt. light
conditioning
10# prowler pyramid x 20yrds.
sledge hammer 60 swings total

press when ok today. i think i have to change something with my pressing. its not feeling the same as it did 2 to 3 weeks ago. next week i might do some 3 board or some sort of bench.

Prowler conditioning went really well today. i haven't done any prowler in a couple of months and before that i really didn't push it b/c we all know how i feel about conditioning. the 10# pyramid is done like this: you start with 50 lbs on the prowler push 20yrds then add a pair of 10s. you then repeat this until you run out of 10s. i did 8 trips and was very surprised i finished. by no means was it easy, but i didn't want to die at the end.

As for my blog title. troy let me use his elitefts knee sleeves. they are super small so i tried them as elbow sleeves on my 280 and 310 press today. as soon as i got them on my arms they started to tingle. by the time i was done with 280 everything was numb and painful. i decided to tough it out for one more set and it got even worse. by the time i was done i was in a angry panic to get tourniquets off. i finished with my regular elbow sleeves. Never again!!! Troy i can't believe you can wear those on your legs.

Training up around Bayshore sat with my buddy sam and sweed should be a good day.

2010-01-20T14:12:00.000-08:00

Today I did some sprint work. Allison and I are in the works of organizing a race between us. Probably either a 40 yard dash or 100 meter dash. I can tell she is nervous. She went out of her way to critique my mechanics. I don't know why she's nervous, she is a former Div. 1 heptathlete and I am a 220 lb. former defensive lineman. Anyways, the race is probably going to be sometime this summer. Stay tuned.

Various sprint drills culminating in 2 20yd sprints, 2 30yd sprints, and 1 40yd sprint.

Hammies started to feel tight after the 40 so I shut it down. There are definitely things that I can fix in my mechanics which will help my speed.

Ended with some grip work. Blob for a bunch of sets. CoC gripper for a few sets.

Be sure to check out my other blog at www.200poundsis200pounds.blogspot.com

Sometimes the truth hurts. And sometimes it feels real good. -Henry Rollins

tue dec 19: strongman lower

2010-01-20T05:40:00.000-08:00

rollout
warm up circuit
squat
135x8
225x5
315x5
405x3
495x3

Farmer walk(60ft)
140x2
230x2
320x1
340x20ft.x2

Glute ham 3x10
TKE 3x12
Arch ups 3x15
timed hangs from fat bar 3x20sec. w/45# plate(grip work)

did squats today just to keep my hip mobility. in the past when i train for strongman i usually stop squatting which ends up very bad for me. after the past two seasons i have come back and struggled to hit any where close to parallel with 315. so i am keeping squats in my program to continue to stay mobile. Farmers didn't go as well as i hoped. weight felt ok, but my grip just wouldn't hold on. i would like to think my grip is fairly good, but right now my calluses are probably the thickest they have ever been. and for all of you that have seen or touched my 40 grit sand paper hands, you know thats pretty bad. ill take some time this weekend and file them down and see if that helps. end with some grip work just to put a little more emphasis on it just in case.

Party Tuesday

2010-01-19T11:23:00.000-08:00

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't feeling a little foggy today. That's ok because it was totally expected. When on an extremely low carb plan days 1-3 or 4 are usually the worst. After this your body becomes accustomed to using fat for fuel and energy levels remain steady. Due to my wavering energon (very few will know this reference) my lifts didn't go exactly as expected. The plan today was to work up to a single at 85% of my 1rm and squat and deadlift. Here's how it went.

Squat: worked up to 455x1 Knees came forward at the bottom causing my ass to shoot back on my ascent. Just need to take more time to open my hips in my warmup and trust myself at the bottom.
DL: worked up to 493x1 Went ok except I felt my back get loose and round. Just need to stay focused and controled while still jacked up from adrenaline. Belly needs to stay tighter as well.

Finished with reverse hypers and glute ham hypers. For abs I did weighted bridge/plank holds.

In the end I wasn't happy with the way my lifts turned out, but can't be discouraged. At the same time I can't use my nutrition as an excuse for my poor performance as it is much more than that. My morning wasn't planned out very well and my lifts suffered. I have no one to blame but myself. On a positive note though, even though this is a deload week I feel like I'm still getting quality work in and progressing nicely towards my goals for March. Just need to keep on...keep truckin'.

He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else. -Benjamin Franklin

2010-01-19T09:57:00.001-08:00

Alright so I had this huge great post all ready to go and then stupid blogspot crapped all over it and now I am re-writing it and I'm not in the mood to try and duplicate the exact entry so here it is...

Monday-
DE Bench - 130+red bands 8x3 - felt great - no shoulder pain - thanks Troy!
followed with - 155 2x5

DB Floor Press - 4x8 50-80lbs
Band Resisted Pullups - 3xamap - I got 4 each set
MP - 8,8,6,6 at 95lbs - arms were pretty shot by here

Prowlered with Joe Flick

40yds high/low x 3
40yds low/low x 1
40yds high/high x1

Great workout!
========================================
Tueday - ME Lower body

Geared DL
154x5, 264x3, gear/no belt, 374x1, belt, 440x1, 484x1, 515x1, 525x0 (maybe an inch off the ground)

515 is a PR - I'm super jacked about it - first time I've pulled in the 5's so I couldn't be happier.

Its been a battle getting there but I don't think without the help of some great strength coaches I would have been able to get to a 500+ deadlift from where I was a year and half ago - even with using gear myself. Thanks to Brad - Troy - Jake!

I can't really sum it up better than this latest version of Miley Cyrus' song ...

I can almost see it
That "weight" I am dreaming
But there's a voice inside my head saying"You'll never "lift" it"
Every step I'm taking
Every move I make feels
Lost with no direction
My "legs" is shaking
But I gotta keep trying
Gotta keep my "arch" held "tight"

There's always gonna be another barbell
I'm always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be a uphill battle
Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose
Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb

Moonday

2010-01-18T13:03:00.000-08:00

DE Bench (deload): 5x3 @ 60% 1rm
Dips: 50 reps in as few sets as possible (25, 22, 3)
Pull Ups: 30 reps in as few sets as possible (10, 8, 7, 5)
Prowler Jogging: 40 yards; 50 lbs; 6 trips

Deloading this week so I didn't use any extra resistance on my bench and lowered the sets a bit. Stayed all body weight on my assistance and went for high reps. Prowler was tougher than I thought it was but it was good to get a good sweat rolling and breathing heavy.

Tomorrow on my ME lower I will probably hit singles at about 80-85% of my 1rm, do some light posterior chain work and call it a day.

Face Diet is going well. No bad carb cravings or hunger. I am already a few pounds lighter. This is probably 95% due to water loss. When carbs enter a muscle they pull water with it. When carbs are used the water is also taken out. I am going to be taking in as much sodium as I can to offset this. Water retention in the muscle is an often overlooked aspect to strength. The fuller your muscle is the more leverage you will have. Thus, when your muscles are full you have a higher strength potential. I say potential because there are obviously numerous other factors that go into how strong one is in a particular lift in a particular training session. Physiological and mental aspects are also at play.

It's science, it's boring, but it's a part of my life. -Ron Burgundy

flippin' cold at west allis barbell

2010-01-17T09:37:00.000-08:00

Trained at west allist barbell today(aka troy and kirk's garage)
warmed up
complex back squat, good mornings, press, row
stones
240x3x2
280x3x2
300x3x2
340x2x2
405 x1
series (240,280,300,340,405)

haven't done stones in a while and i was very happy with the results. by the end of my training my toes were numb. but i acomplished what i needed too.

Saturday DE Lower Body

2010-01-16T15:36:00.000-08:00

Rollout
DE Squat
135x5, 185x3, 225x1, gear, 250x2x10 + purple band

Abs - GHR Sit-ups 3x10 w/25lbs + 45 Bk. Ext. Side Bends 3x10

Real simple today -right to the point

Tomorrow I'll finish with my auxillary lifts: RDLs and 45 Bk. Ext. plus prowler

dec. 14: strongman upper/conditioning

2010-01-16T05:54:00.000-08:00

rollout

warm up circuit

12" log press

170x5

190x5

220x5

240x3

270x3

290x3

315xmiss

315x1(struggled but i got it)

fatbar chin ups 5x6

conditioning
sand bag mimic(heavy bag w/chains)x6
kettle bell press x 5 each arm
sledge hammer x10 each side
keg cary x40yrds

Burpee Snatches and Syutch

2010-01-15T12:24:00.000-08:00

Normal Warm-Up
Burpee Snatch: Tabata Style
Bike Cool Down: 6 mins.

Instead of trying to explain burpee snatches I drawed a picture.

Tabta Style means I did 20 seconds of work with 10 seconds of rest for four minutes. It doesn't sound like much but at the end of the four minutes I was sweating hard and breathing heavy. Its about 45 minutes after the fact right now and I am still warm with just shorts and a t-shirt on.

The bike was just to cool down and keep me from crying in front of everybody. I have a reputation to uphold.

The idle man does not know what it is to enjoy rest. Albert Einstein

ME Bench

2010-01-14T12:57:00.000-08:00

Went off of a 2-Board today.
225x3; 270x1; 285x1; 300x1; 315x0; 305x1 (PR); 315x0
Lateral Raises: 3x12
Rope Tri Pushdowns: 3x20
Seated Row: 3x20

2-Board went great today. I wanted 300 and ended with 305 which is a 5 lb. PR for me. The first 315 miss my lats got lose about an inch away from the board and I had no pop off the board. The second miss went "better". I stayed tight to the board and got it about 2" off the board but my triceps had had it by then and I couldn't finish the lockout. Normally I don't like to miss weights in training, but with getting a PR the last two heavy training days I can't be too upset.

I'm going to keep my fingers crossed, but I may be going to Vegas in May. Insert your Hangover joke here. Speaking of which, I finally saw The Hangover this past weekend. It felt like I had already seen it with everyone and their cousin quoting it. Regardless, it was still wicked funny and I am looking forward to a second viewing.

I do not fear failure. I only fear the "slowing up" of the engine inside of me which is pounding, saying, "Keep going, someone must be on top, why not you?" General George S. Patton

Go in feeling like poo - come out smelling like roses

2010-01-14T10:41:00.000-08:00

It took some mental focus to get todays workout in. I really didn't want to "put the wrench in" but I'm certainly glad I did. After a brief rollout and some activation and mobility drills I got into a workout groove.

ME Upper Body: Shirted Singles
warm-up: 135x5, 185x3, 225x1, 255x1, 270x0

The 255 felt good in my hands - grip felt good - back felt locked in - controlled all the way to the touch - felt my right heal kick in a lot harder than my left but I think thats because I'm still a little nervous about my left hip flexor - the weight didn't fly up but it came smooth enough to go for 270.

270 obviously felt heavier but I stil thought I had decent control of it on the way down once I got it off my chest and the heals came in ... it didn't get very far. Next time!!!

Shirt- 295x1, 315x1, 335x1, 295x3
335 was a true max cause it came up a little wobbly and I definitely had to fight through it but I didn't lose it and was able to control the lockout. The 295x3 felt awesome - each rep was controlled and smooth. Troy made a good observation and that was I hit the same spot on all my reps meaning the bar path was grooved in. "Nice, nice" Very happy with that!

finished with ...
3x15 Purple band pushdowns
3x10 @ 20lbs Ft./Lat. Raise
3x8 Bwt chin-ups - got'em all!

“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan "press on" has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race”~ Calvin Coolidge ... he was our 30th President

tue: jan 12 strongman Lower

2010-01-13T16:29:00.001-08:00

rolled out
warm up circuit
rev hyper
rope chop
pull down
cable row

Yoke walk (60 ft.)
315x2
405x2
495x2
585x2
675x2
765x1
855x1
905x3(15ft./8ft./4ft.)

45 back ext. 45x2x15
glute/ham 1x10
front squat 2x10
cable crunches 3x15

yoke went very well today 905 is a PR and felt pretty good on my first trip. the second two trips were a little rough. every thing else was just to bring up some weeknesses.

A Little of This and a Little of That

2010-01-13T12:53:00.000-08:00

Grip Work: Blob and Fat Bar hangs
Tire Hits: 5x10 hit on each side
Tempo Sprints: (~35 yds sprint/ ~35 yds jog)

My grip/ forearms were still a bit sore from deadlifting and fat bar chins. Being so I didn't push the grip too much. Thinking back to my failed attempt at 593 I think my grip done me wrong. Would I have gotten it with a stronger grip? Maybe, maybe not. But it was definitely a limiting factor.

I had some stuff on my mind so I decided to consult the tire...with a hammer. I used the 10 lb. hammer which allowed me to swing a lot harder and faster. I think these would be a lot more satisfying if I wasn't hitting a big rubber tire. If I was beating on a junk car, or some Precious Memories figurines, or some priceless artifacts in a museum I would do these every day. Fuck history. I don't really mean that.

Sprints went well. Hammies felt a little tight. Need to start stretching them more. Other than that hips have felt pretty good lately. No IT pain. No problems with my squatting technique. All good in the hood.Tomorrow is How Much Ya Bench Day. I need to emphasize two things: Brad Pitt needs a beatin', I'm not on steroids. Classic. (If you don't know what I'm talking about watch the "How Much Ya Bench video from a recent post.)

Any man worth his salt will stick up for what he believes right, but it takes a slightly better man to acknowledge instantly and without reservation that he is in error. Andrew Jackson

ME Lower

2010-01-12T17:50:00.000-08:00

Squat Deload: 3x5 @ 275
DL: 525x1; 573x1(PR); 593x0 missed at shins
Reverse Hypers
GH Hypers
Abs
Prowler

Got a deadlift PR today so I'm pretty happy with that. I'm not sure it would have counted in a meet since I hitched it. Speed from the ground was pretty good but once I got passed my knees my technique broke down a bit. I'm glad Nic was lifting at the same time today because I was pretty on the fence about the prowler and he challenged me to do it and I did it. Good training partners will do that to you.

Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other. Abraham Lincoln

Tues., Jan. 12th

2010-01-12T14:18:00.000-08:00

DE Upper Body:

Bench Press
8x3 at 155lbs
2x5 at 180lbs

This is my heaviest week for my dynamic effort. Next week I'll scale the bar weight down and add red bands for resistance. About half way in to my working sets my right AND LEFT arm started to hurt. And I'm definitely getting sick and tired of this pain. I worked through the pain, but that took a toll on my attitude and I felt like giving up. I decided that heavy 4-board pressing was not going to help the situation so I hit the triceps with 5x15 purple band push downs and that actually improved the way my arms felt. I don't know if there is some relationship with lateral humeral pain when pressing and tricep activation/strength? The pain always felt as if its coming from the bicep insertion, but I digress.

I felt good after the push downs and my attitude got a little better - I finished out with 3x of chin-ups with 25lbs - 6, 5, 3. These coulda gone better.

Ended with some

DB Military Press 4x8 - 40, 45, 45, 50
Y, T, W's 3x10 - 2.5
Side Bends off the 45 Bk ext 3x10
Sit-ups off the GHR 3x10
Prowler 50lbs 40ydsx5

2010-01-11T18:56:00.000-08:00

"I'm not mad. I'm just disappointed."

Nothing stung more as a kid than hearing those words. Not even a spanking or a jabbing of an index finger into my soft chest. It stung as a kid and Packers, I hope it stings now. So much potential, so much promise, all washed away in the desert sands. But as disappointed as I am, I am already looking forward to next season. This team has some very bright young stars. Rodgers, Jennings, Finley, Matthews, you guys are on baller alert. I have a feeling this game will leave a very bitter taste in the hearts, minds, and mouths of my favorite team and its fans. I also have a feeling that, like a phoenix, next years team will rise from the ashes of this years team and return to glory. You've been to the playoffs and now you know it is a whole other ball game than the regular season. Green Bay Packers...today is the first day of the next season.

There, I've vented and I'm done. No more about last nights game. I'm moving on. Today was a DE Bench day. Break it down:

DE Bench: 8x3 @155
Military Press: 3x6 @ 150
Weighted Dips: 3x10 w/ 25#
Weighted Fat Bar Chin Ups: 25 reps w/ 25#
Prowler: all low handle
8x20ydsx90lbs

Bench felt smooth and easy today. I felt like my setup was staying a lot tighter when I unracked the bar. Maintaining tightness in your whole body is key to benching success. MP went well. It's been a while since I've done these. Dips and chins went well. Also been a while since I've done these. What can I say about the prowler that hasn't already been said? It is what it is. It's not my favorite thing to do but I always feel better having done them.

I don't measure a man's success by how high he climbs but how high he bounces when he hits bottom. George S. Patton

Real Quick cause I gotta shower and eat

2010-01-11T11:59:00.000-08:00

Monday - DE Lower Body

2"(approx.) Box Squat w/gear
warm-up sets: 135x5, 185x3, 225x1, 315x1, 365x1, 405x1
working sets: 405x1, 455x1, 485x1, 525x1, enter make shift mono-lift, 550x0
Troy was pretty confident in saying I was not going to come up with the 550, but it felt alright. I'm excited about the attempt though, its the most weight I've tried in quite a long time.

After this ... 4 x 8 on the good ole reverse hyper

outtie

Sat- DE SQ/DL

2010-01-09T19:07:00.000-08:00

Dynamic lower body today. I was feeling a bit unmotivated going in, but once I got the virtues flowing I was good to go. Sometimes just getting to the gym can be the hardes part of the workout. Once I am there some Pavlovian shit happens in my brain and I have no problem getting going. Just being at the gym seems to be like a trigger that gets me ready mentally to train. Enough talk. I'm not here to talk. I'm here to imform (clap) you about my workout(if you don't know what that's from, I don't know if we can be friends). Lets get going.

DE Squat: 8x2 @ 235
DE DL: 5x1 @ 330
RDL: 220x8; 286X6,6
Abs

I tried a different band set up today. The bands were hooked about 4-6 inches lower than I normally have them. This gave me about the same tension at the bottom, but way more at the top. Once I found my groove with the squats they flew up. One thing I need to work on is pushing my elbows forward without letting the bar roll on my back.

Deadlifts felt fast and easy. I used a purple (average) band this week instead of a black (monster mini) and I couldn't tell a difference. I'm getting excited about Tuesday's deadlift max out.

On a final note, I want to say, "Dah nah na duh nuh nanana GO PACK GO!"

Perfection is impossible. But if we chase perfection, we achieve excellence. Vince Lombardi

Saturday, Jan 9th 20-DIME

2010-01-09T13:11:00.000-08:00

Lower Body DE:

Rollout- Calf, Hamstrings, Adductor, Piriformis, IT Band, and Quads...nice and deep like!

DE DL- warm-up 154 x5, 198 x3, 264 x1, gear-up, 274 +60lbs of chain x2 x10
GHR- 3x15
45 BK EXT- 3x8 70lbs
Spread Eagle Sit-ups- 3x25 25lbs
Side Bends- 3x25 25lbs

Today was a good workout but my mind wasn't in it. It was more of "let's get it done and do it right" but there wasn't a lot of attitude or intensity. It also took me 7 sets of DL to figure out where to place the chains so they wouldn't fall off or land under the plates and cause the bar to smash into my ankle inbetween reps. I think it was that frustration that played with my head just a little. Once I got to set 7 and 8 I, with the help of Troy, figured out what appears to be the best way - but next time I DE DL it will definitely be with bands and I'm doing it the 1st way I did - much more set-up and tear-down involved but the work sets are simpler and the resistance at the lockout is heavier.

The lesson of the day is ... if at first you don't succeed - try - try again ... and if you still fail put another 90lbs on the bar and gear-up!

Hansen-out

Jake: Jan. 8 upper strongman

2010-01-08T14:15:00.000-08:00

workout got pushed back to today b/c work.
roll out
warmup circuit
pulldowns x20
band pushdown x15
over head bar shug x20
int and ext rot x10's
snatch comple x1x5's

Axel Clean and press
bar x10
130 x5
150 x5
170 x3
220 x3
240 x3
270 x3
290 x2
310 x1
330 x1 (struggled bad, but got it)
330 x1 (much better)
Fat bar chin up 4x5
hang snatch 2x5
1x10
dbl. rope, wide face pull 3x15
over head tri ext 1x20

awsome training to day. i really suprised myself on the axel hitting 330(10lbs from my PR). the first 330 i struggled because it took forever to clean it to my shoulders and then i had to grind it out on the lockout. every thing else was just for kick after that . ill try to get conditioning in sat or sun. but im going to chicago with the inlaws. so we'll see what happens.

Jan 7th, 20-DIME

2010-01-07T12:40:00.000-08:00

ME Bench Training

Today I worked up towards a raw max and then geared-up for my 3-board max attempts.
After a good rollout session I warmed-up with the following

bar x10, 135x5, 185x3, 225x1, 245x1, 265x1
(shirt & 3-board)
275x3, 295x1, 315x1, 345x1*, 345x1**

*lost on my way down towards the board
**controlled down but lost on my way up-left shoulder lost position

After regaining feeling in my arms the remainder of my workout was

3x20 Purple Band Pushdowns
3x10 Front & Lateral Raises - thumbs up
3x8 Body Weight Chin-ups
4x10 DB Military Press - kept the weight lighter - worked it in just for my mental well-being because I skipped it on my last bench day due to time.

I was pretty happy with todays workout. My shoulders didn't hurt during and as of right now don't hurt, I'm still feeling a little weakness down the middle of my right arm but its not as intense and nagging like it was last week. I was excited at the end of my bench to realize that I miscalculated my finishing weight and I was attempting 345, not 330. Definitely could be the reason why I bottomed out on my first attempt and couldn't lock out on my second. But both attempts had their positives. So I know I'm right around 345. My next training date is Saturday, I'll be working on my deadlift... "so I got that going for me"

“Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power.”

Thurs- ME Bench

2010-01-07T11:15:00.000-08:00

Bench: 185x3; 225x3; 245x1; 265x1; 280x1; 290x0 (miss)
Lateral DB Raise: some sets, some reps, varying weights
Band push down: 3x25
Chest Supported Row: 3x15
Band Pull-Aparts: 3x20
Conditioning:
Prowler: 90 lbs x20 yds
w/ Tire Flips x 4
6 Sets

Bench went well today. 265 flew up a lot faster than I was anticipating. As soon as I started my descent on 280 I knew I had it. On the 290 I came too far down on my chest and couldn't recover.

I had a little elbow pain from the odd object carrying I did last night. I got a new washer and dryer and moved them into my basement by myself. They are not as heavy as one might think, but they awkward to carry. There was also very little wiggle room getting them through door and down the steps. There were a few close calls, but I got them down there. Tonight I get to hook them up...hopefully.

Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. Helen Keller

Giff

2010-01-06T08:57:00.000-08:00

Tuesday Training
Acceleration Warm Up 1/2
Ground Based Mobility and Activation 1/2
Seated Box Jumps 4x2 @ 30,37,42,42
Box Squat up to 5x4 @ 370 (special thanks to T-Roy)
Rev Hyper 3x12/3x6 Heavy Band Hip Flexor Pullin
Hi/Lo Prowler Sprint 15/15 w/120/70

Wednesday Training
Recovery
Eliptical 5/ Bike 5/ Stick Roll 20, Mobility 5, Stretch 20

Monday & Tuesday

2010-01-06T06:09:00.000-08:00

ME Squat - Monday
DE Bench - Tuesday

I walked into the club on Monday not knowing what I was going to do... I soon realized it was a geared max squat day. To say the least I was excited. Last week I squatted in the cage and I dropped 455 twice so I was a little dissapointed. My hopes were that because I was in the cage I wasn't able to get my stance wide enough and that was limiting my ability to sit further back and really get into my gear... that seemed to be the case on Monday when I switched sides and was able to get my feet out a little wider 455 came up fairly easy - as it should - and I was able to push it to 475. Here's how that all went:

135x5, 225x3, 315x1, gear (straps up), 405x1, 455x1, 475x1, 405x1, 405x1

It's not the 525 I have gotten before so it's frustrating sitting under 455 and 475 feeling like your heads going to blow off when you know you've done more and been able to hold your air better. All-in-all I'll take it ... any progress is progress... one small step at a time

Rest of the workout went as follows:

RDL: 4x8 @ 200, 240, 270, 300
Reverse Hypers: 4x8 @ 8, 10, 12, 14 (plate wt)
Prowler: x4 40yds @ 100lbs

Tuesday I came in for my DE Bench training.

Started out doing

8x3 @ 145 working speed off my chest
2x5 @ 170

I switched over to a 4-board after to work tricep/lockout strength, that went like this

235x8, 245x8, 255x6 (coulda got 8), 265x6 this is a 10lbs jump from last week but last week was 4x8

25lbs Pull-ups 3xamap and I went 5, 4, 4 which tied my numbers from last week. During my first set my arms felt shot and I had nothing I was resting a little longer for the next two and was able to keep my reps higher.

The best part of the entire workout was that my grip felt really strong on the bench and remained strong during the pull-ups but I was short on time and gas to finish my DB Mililtary Press.

Everything is going great-consistancy is going to be key!

Jake: jan 5

2010-01-05T14:10:00.000-08:00

Lower body strongman
quick warm up
fat bar deads
175x5
265x5
355x2
445x2
495x2
585x2
600x2(used straps, grip sucks right now)

farmers walk(60ft.)
140x2
190x2
230x2
280(went 90ft. to push my grip)

Conditioning
405 yoke w/160 keg 60ft. x2 x2
this sucked. it wasn't much, but it really opened up my eyes to where my conditioning is at. i need alot of work. deads went well, i was happy hitting 600 for a double on the fat bar. farmers were ok. i didn't push it to much because i new conditioning would be hard. upper body strongman on thurs.