5/17
Seated ohp; warmups, 140x12x2
CGBP: 295x2x6, max out set, 9 reps. Happy with that right now.
DB Laterals; 4 sets 15
Bent over cable laterals; 3 sets 12
Face pulls; 3 sets 12
JM press; 3 sets 10
Plate twists; 2 sets 15
5/18 - Turning into an event day
Axle deadlift; 265x12x2, 330x1, 360x1, 420x1 - best the deadlift has felt since my recent tweak. Felt like there was more in the tank but no reason to push it today.
Axle high pulls; 215x3x3. Wanted to do cleans but tweaked my wrist early on
Tire deadlift; stand inside of tire of your choosing, deadlift said tire. 4 singles
Farmers walk; 2 runs of 100ft with 200/hand. 1 run 100ft with 250/hand. Felt really strong and stable
Prowler; 2 heavy runs
Chins; 9,2,2. 8,2. Done in rest pause fashion. I was shot by this point
CG lat pulldown; 3 sets 12
Plate twists superset with pysio ball hypers, 2 sets
Chest supported t-bar row; 3 sets 10
All in all a good day and we had a lot of fun training.
Jacked my knee up on the last posted training session. Basically felt like it was going to blowout at any time. After that had a rough week of training, followed by a deload. Right knee was in rough shape, so basically had to take 3 weeks off of lower body training. This week is my max test, so we’ll see what happens on Friday. I am honestly not expecting much.
Was able to do some really good training today however. Powercleans into front squats, snatch and then stiff leg deads from a deficit. Followed that up with some heavy core work. Back feels much improved as well and maybe getting back to 100%.
Previous gap in training. Not much to report. Ended my 12 weeks with Josh, retested max bench, a shaky 385. Granted this was not a strength phase so I’m not unhappy with things. I powercleaned 130 and powersnatched 110 the other day, the snatch tied a PR. Overall feeling okay.
6/17/13 - Heavy Upper
First day of my 9 week training cycle for the USPA show. I did not get enough calories down but I did get a shit ton of carbs. I also had a very heavy caffeine use day and felt rocking by the time I got to the gym.
Warmup/prehab/rehab stuff
Flat bench w/pause: warmup sets, up to 275 for 9. No belt, no wraps. Felt very tough pausing, I just got 14 reps with this weight a couple of weeks ago with touch and go reps.
Flat bench: 225x3x3, paused, speed work
Push Press: Warmups, 120kgx3x2 - very fast, felt pretty easy
Dips: 4 sets of 10
Hammer decline press; 4 plates a side, 3 sets of 10
Banded pushdowns: 4 sets of 25
Ab work
Overall a pretty good day. No major aches or pains, everything felt strong other than bench.
So, I have decided to bag training for the meet. With my wife being pregnant and due any day, I think it’s stupid to commit to it when I know things are going to be bumpy for a month or two. I have 12 weeks already paid up with Josh and I am going to save them for when I can put all attention back to training and focus on getting to a meet.
Training is up and down since the last post. Hit a pretty easy 140kg power clean then later in that workout passed out after missing a snatch. Wasn’t out for more than about 5 seconds but when I went down I landed on my thumb, which is in turn now broken. FML. So I went over and started squatting and fucked up my knee again. So now, I have a broken thumb, bad knee and the back is bothering me again. I seriously contemplated quitting over the weekend.
Was back at it on Monday. I was able to do some standing strict presses after I wrapped up my thumb and hand. Still hurt like hell but it was better than nothing. Hit 175 for 8, 215x1, 225x1 which ties a PR, then went to 110kg and got it with just a tit of leg drive. This was good for me as overhead (strict) is a major weakness. After than did what I could with machine work. Actually felt strong and had a good workout, then I remembered why I do this shit.
I’m fucking addicted to the iron.
7/12 - Update
Training has been minimal. Now have a new baby which is crazy.
On the 4th I got a really good workout in with an old training partner. Started off front squatting (which I haven’t done in a year?). Felt terrible early on and got better as it went heavier. I was going to bag it at 150kg, but he pushed me a bit. 170kg, smoked. 180kg, very solid lift. This is 396lbs. My PR is 405 but was done with wraps, and it was high. This was lower and done with sleeves, so I’m really happy. I have NO idea where this lift came from, but I was happy to say the least. I really wanted to wrap up and try 190 but thought better of it.
I hope to get back to normal next week, the lack of training and eating is starting to show up in the mirror.
Still logging workouts, not much worth reporting lately.
For my birthday I did hit 32 push jerks with 300lbs in under 45 minutes, which I thought was pretty cool. Sadly, I work up the next day with a major forearm problem that put me out of the last highland games comp for the year. 5 ART treatments later and it is almost back to normal.
Training is in full on “Dust” mode right now. Between the new kid, a very busy time with work and our entire crew pretty much disbanding, I’ve been getting in only 3 sessions a week and they have all pretty much sucked.
It will come back, hopefully sooner than later. Biggest thing is to just keep training.
Have continued training and things are going well for the most part!
Bought the EliteFTS make a wish holiday books and am running a 6 week program from John Meadows. Doing my own thing for leg training/lower body as the last thing I want right now is my legs to get any bigger. Stronger yes. Bigger, no.
Have had some great sessions lately.
PR overhead squat 115kg no belt with more left.
Back squat 315x15 with belt/wraps - crazy thing here is I had previously done 365 for 4 doubles and they all felt like shit (no belt/wraps) Put on the belt/wraps and destroyed the 315. Total mental thing going on with the wraps, I feel so much more stable with them.
Easy 495 deadlift after the above squatting - most since my most recent tweak
Bench 275 5x5 all paused
Really just logging these down for a marker and future reference. Going to finish out the 6 weeks of this program and then will possibly start meet training for a USPL meet here in May. Bodyweight back up to 262. Trying hard to now max out on anything right now.
Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas.
I’m committing to a meet, May 10th. Had to test my maxes. 435 squat, 360 bench, 570 deadlift. Fuck. Fucking pathetic. I could do a writeup and explanation of why each of those lifts suck so bad, but I’m not going to waste my time or yours.
Start training and prep on Monday, have hired Josh Bryant again to do all of my workouts and diet. Goal is to total raw elite at 275. I have 19 weeks to train and I feel like if I stay healthy I can do it.
I had my last fuckaround day on Saturday and felt pretty good.
Push Jerk: up to 330. I think more was there but this was a good lift and I was happy to hit it. I think this is a push jerk PR?
Axle clean: man, these were tough. went up to 120kg for some doubles.
Box jump: Some of the highschool kids were working with our oly coach, I figured I would jump in. Worked up to 50" which is a PR for sure, was super happy with this.
Starting with Josh this week, I have moved my bench day from Monday to Tuesday in order to train with someone else so I hope it works out. This is the first time in probably 10 years I do not have planned workouts on Monday night!!
1-12/1-18
1/13 Bench:
Pathetic day. 300x4,2,2. All accessory work. Not sure what was off today but it was moving very slow
1/15 Accessory Lower body:
Brutal lower body day. Belt squats, 1 leg leg press, split squats, GHR and leg curls. Was sore for days
1/17 Accessory Upper body:
Much better day today. Second movement was 2 board bench, hit 310 for 15 reps touch and go
1/18 Squat/Dead:
Squat: 365x5x2, Deadlift 440x1x12 then accessory stuff
Overall a good first week.
A good second week in the books. Got some treatment and will continue this on either a weekly or bi-weekly basis. I think it’s almost necessary at this stage of my lifting. I have tried 3 “occlusion” arm training workouts now and I have to say for me, I hate them. Either the wraps are too tight or too loose, and the weights feel light. I have asked Josh to switch it out for something else. If anyone else has suggestions I am open to them.
1/20 Bench:
Better than last week. 310x5,4,2. All accessory work.
1/22 Accessory Lower body:
Belt squats, 1 leg leg press, split squats, GHR and leg curls. Very tough workout
1/24 Accessory Upper body:
Was weaker today than last week. Food intake was down on Thurs/Fri so I am guessing this was the reason.
1/18 Squat/Dead:
Squat: 375x5x2, Deadlift 455x1x12 then accessory stuff
Dbol must be kicking in. Running it at 30mgs a day, first time using it. My low back BLEW UP on my accessory lower body day. So bad I couldn’t finish the workout.
1/27 Bench:
320x7,4,3. (all of the benches are being paused) All accessory work.
1/29 Accessory Lower body:
Belt squats, 1 leg leg press, split squats
1/31 Accessory Upper body:
Better day. 345x9 3 board bench touch and go. Lot’s more here, this was a bad set.
1/18 Squat/Dead:
Squat: 390x5x2, Deadlift 480x1x12. Accessory work. Best the squat has felt. I was feeling beat up. Put belt on for dead lift. First 5 lifts sucked, 8 and 9 were my best reps. All around it was a good day and a good week. Time for a deload now.
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Had a deload week that was needed more than I realized. Came back the next week feeling fresh and strong.
2/10 Bench:
330x4,3,2. (all of the benches are being paused) All accessory work.
2/13 Accessory Lower body:
Leg press, 1 leg leg press, split squats
2/14 Accessory Upper body:
360x6 3 board bench paused. Very strong today, overhead felt good and a good arm workout as well
2/15 Squat/Dead:
Squat: 405x5x2, Deadlift off blocks at knees: 500/530x1. Deadlift: 495x1x6. Accessory work. Just walked through the squat, felt very good. 3 of the 6 pulls were very solid as well.
2/17 - Bench - Feeling pretty darn good overall. Bodyweight is up to 278! Eating is going pretty well. Running 750 sust and 30mgs day/dbol. Happy with how things are going so far, if it continues in this fashion I will be in position to have a good meet and hit my goal.
One more week down! All in all, a brutal week. Feeling really beat up but was strong for all workouts.
2/17 Bench: Top set 340 for 5, paused. Lots of heavy accessory work today.
2/19 Accessory lower: Took it a bit easier today. Right knee has been acting up a bit so I changed a few things to try and work around it.
2/21 Accessory upper: VERY strong today. Seated db overhead - 90x15 with more reps in the tank. 3 board bench 375 for 7. Weighted dips 5x5 @80lbs. Then arms. Just crushed it today but was soon to pay the price…
2/22 Squat/dead: Oh boy, this is not good. Could not get warmed up, loose, feeling good. Spent 30 minutes on warmup and the bar just felt horrible squatting. Top sets were 415x5x2. Second set was better than the first. Form held up, but man it was painful. I almost quit during the deadlift warmups. Put on a belt and had to really get up for the lifts, but they moved pretty good actually. Up to 545 for 1 on a block pull then 6 singles from the ground at 500. Cut out almost all the accessory work because I was shot and so happy to get through today without injury.
Today is Monday and I’m still feeling like I got runover. Bench should be interesting tonight. Here is a back shot from last week at 279.
2/24 Bench: Top set 350 for 5, paused. Elbows were feeling very beat up. There is more bench work after this and heavy JM presses.
2/26 Accessory lower: Basically used today as a rehab/prehab. Everything felt terrible. Lots of wall squats, foam rolling, band work, GHR, stretching, etc.
2/28 Accessory upper: Could tell it was time for a deload. Seated DB press, 95 for 10 today and it felt VERY heavy compared to the 90 for 15 last week. 3 board bench 395 for 7. Also today there are weighted dips which did not feel good.
3/1 Squat/dead: 435x5x2 on squat. Block pulls 1" below knee, 530x1, 565x1. Deadlift 505x1x6. Mixed bag. Tried new wraps on the squat. First pair I hated, second pair was better and the second set was much better as a result. Deadlifts moving very slow off the ground then they rocket up.
Some notes on the week. Tweaked right pec on Monday, on a deload now so I hope it heels up. Knees are very sore, I assume this is from new knee wraps and wearing them much tighter than I normally do. Back to training on my own for the most part. I have a few guys helping with handoffs on heavy bench and coaching a bit on the squat/dead day but that is it. I did really try to get some new guys on the team from our gym but nobody has come back or showed up when they said they would. Really do miss the environment we had with 5 or 6 guys all pulling the same direction.
MAJOR victory for Big Z at the Arnold. Has to cement him as the best of all time? What a comeback, if you can call it that.
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Deload bench last night. 200 for 2 sets of 5. Could feel something going on in the pec for sure but did not feel terrible. I will get treatment on it twice this week and keep the ice going.
If it’s not one thing, it’s another.
Week of 3/3 - Deload, much needed. Had ART, acupuncture, electro stim and Matrix all done on the pec and knee. Pec responding pretty well, knees, not so much. Today is the 17th and I have pretty much ruled out squatting at the meet.
3/10 Bench: Top set 360 for 4, paused. Could feel the pec tweak today but was happy to get through the workout no worse for wear
3/12 Accessory lower: Finally able to squat to depth again (airsquat). Fair amount of pain but I got down. Just did some light leg press, leg ext/leg curl, light deads, mobility work
3/14 Accessory upper: 3 board bench, 420x1x2. I went back to look through my logs, did not make it all the way through but this is the most I have ever handled straight weight. Have done more with reverse bands but that’s it. I did make it to the middle of 2010 and found a 385 reverse band off the foam roller. Guess I have made some progress, although it has been slow.
3/15 Squat/dead: Very long warmup. Box squat to 225 with knees wrapped, feeling not good. Stopped and moved to deads.
Deadlift 510x3, speed pulls 435x3x3. Decent day pulling
3/17 bench: 370x4, rep/weight PR? This time last year that was my 1 rep max so it’s good progress.
3/17 Bench: Top set 370 for 4, paused.
3/19 Accessory lower: Long warmup, leg curls, GHR, mobility stuff. Fluff day.
3/21 Accessory upper: Seated db overhead: 100x7x3. 3 board bench, 425x2. PR and moved better than last week. I missed a third rep but that was due to a spotter grab, not sure if I would have been able to grind it out or not
3/22 Squat/dead: Suspended squat morning, up to 295 for 3. Way more there, just stopped to move on to deads. Only doing this movement right now to keep a bar on my back. Deadlift: 535x3 very easy and fast today. Also form was locked in. Big improvement over last week.
Knees still slowly getting better. Have had 2 people confirm that the quad tendon is likely the cause of all of this, as it encapsulates the kneecap. Gabe Moen was in the gym for several days last week and he seemed like a pretty cool dude. Just massive, if you are a taller lifter check him out. Overall a pretty good week.
I can tell I have been pushing hard for 12 weeks now. Starting to feel a bit run down. Biggest thing I’m having problems with right now is food, my appetite has dropped WAY down and I’m not getting enough calories in.
3/24 Bench: Top set 380 for 3, paused. Felt terrible today, was happy to hit this and move on.
3/26 Accessory lower: Leg press with minimal knee pain, standard rehab/prehab stuff
3/27 Accessory upper: Seated db overhead: 100x6x3. Felt stupid heavy. 3 board bench, 405x2, missed the third. Was supposed to go 430 but after this I shut it down and just did my accessory work.
3/28 Squat/dead: Suspended squat morning, up to 255 for 3. Deads 545x3, not near as fast as last week but overall it was better than I was hoping for. I felt so unmotivated today and very beat up.
4/1 - Deload week thank god. Starting to get close now and getting anxious to test maxes.
4/7
Felt pretty good going into today. The week off was nice and I was excited to lift some weight again. I made sure I had a good day of nutrition and it went pretty well.
BENCHHHHHH: Warmups, 365x1 - super easy. I’m thinking somewhere around here may be a good place to open. 390x1x4. 4 really strong singles at 390. All time PR is 395 with no pause. These were are really good reps and I am happy with this. Speed bench 330x3x3. Max out on pin press, up to 375. Was smoked after this.
Went to the doc today and got talking about an upcoming strongman comp. Am I really brain damaged enough to try this again?
