Congratulations on that huge squat! Can’t wait for your next video.
In regards to the Strength Wars battles - if you want to compete you have to contact BodybuildingRev via facebook. Their facebook is linked in the info box of their videos. I read somewhere that they are planning on doing a north American title or something (please don’t quote me on that) anyways, if you can make that happen I am sure it will bring a lot of popularity as the audience of this series is pretty big. I don’t know how successful it is outside of Germany though.
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@Benanything Thanks man, I would hope that I would drop that extra inch in a comp, but who knows.
As far as my squat and Dead being so close…I think the higher you get, one or the other begins to separate itself. That is why there are so many elite lifters who squat more than they deadlift. Part of it is in how you are made and the levers you have been given. My arms are super short so I am a decent presser but my starting position in the deadlift is weak. My lower body is definitely made more for squatting than deadlifting. You add in 2 broken backs which limit my lower lumbar mobility and you have a squat and a deadlift that are very close in number…Or at least that is the excuse I am giving myself…
@Koestrizer Thanks man! I will have to contact those guys and see if they are doing anything in the States. If they are maybe we can hook something up. Would definitely give me some more youtube subscribers! Hahahaha
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So here is the full work-up on the 680 squat attempt. I also include some tips on Mobility for people who have trouble with the low bar position. I have gotten lots of questions about that, so i thought I would include it.
Anyway, here is the video
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Really great work on the squat.
Cool let us know if you can work something out.
Unbelievable how you can demonstrate such strength with your back being hurt/ injured. Once again I can barely wrap my head around the things you are able to do. Keep it up man!
@biker Thanks man, I really appreciate that!
@Koestrizer Thanks man, Pano actually gave me the guy’s email address so i am going to reach out to them and see if we can make it happen. As far as what I am able to do…all I can say man is your gonna be dumb, you gotta be tough. and I am plenty dumb Hahaha. I just go in and try to give my all each day, sometimes it works out. Sometimes it doesn’t. But I am a true believer that if you are not pushing your limits then you are disrespecting life. I’ve only got one shot at this, so I am going to do my best to leave a few scars showing that I’ve been here. I appreciate what you said man. Thank you.
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“The moment we believe that success is determined by an ingrained level of ability as opposed to resilience and hard work, we will be brittle in the face of adversity.” --Josh Waitzkin
WEDNESDAY, 06JULY2016 - Work For Today
TESTING - Axle Strict Press.
135
185
225
275 (felt slower than I wanted it to, but I think I just needed to get the axle more to the back of my head.)
300 (PR - Vid Below)
VOLUME - 3 Rounds of the Following Giant Set
6 Medicine Ball Vertical Throws
Axle “Z” Presses @ 225lbs
14 Barbell Landmines
ASSISTANCE - 3 Rounds
Max Reps Dumbbell lateral Raises
Max Reps Dumbbell Rear Delt Flys
15 Banded Face Pulls
NOTES:
- Man am I happy that 300 finally went down on the strict press. I have been jealous of @strongmanvinny2 Hitting it FOREVER ago and just couldn’t seem to catch him. I know he has moved past this now by a good bit, but I am just happy we are in the same hundred zone again.
- The rep itself felt ok. Started well, kind of got grindy in the middle then finished fine once I got my head through.
- All of the assistance stuff was good and should make for a good video that I will upload tomorrow.
- I go into why there has been so much PR testing going on lately in the video and recap some of the PR’s that have been hit during this round of conjugate (There have been some milestones for me) but all of that will have to come tomorrow. Right now, I am tired and hungry. It is brutally humid in Maryland today and I dropped 11lbs of sweat while drinking over a gallon of water from the time I started working out and coached 2 classes…Ridiculous.
Here is the 300 Strict press from my instagram account. There are 3 plates and 2.5’s on there because the axle only weighs 25bs. I wish I could claim that it was 320, but sadly it was only 300. Good enough for my day’s work though, I have been stuck here in the 200’s for quite some time now.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BHh_qnCDII3/?taken-by=neversate
If you guys want quicker updates on the lifts as they are actually happening, you can follow me @NEVERsate . I really appreciate the support guys. Oh and if you haven’t subscribed to my youtube channel yet, please do. I am really considering stopping the videos because they take up more time than the money they are worth. If you are thinking about getting into the youtube fitness game, here is a shock of reality (it was to me at least)
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the remainder of my post was edited out…guess I can’t say what i did
Beastly. So many big PR’s, loving it man.
beast mode! thats so much weight overhead
@strongmanvinny2 Just trying to keep up with you brother!
@kckfl349 What’s crazy is that I can do almost 100 More pounds if I use leg drive…Need to get stronger shoulders somehow…But thank you man!
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Here is the video of the full workout from yesterday’s 300lb Strict press PR. I also explain why I have been maxing out so much recently and some thoughts on the Strongman National Championships. Check it out if you are interested! Thanks for the support Everyone!
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Hi Alpha
Looking back at your older logs (Alpha works 3), would it be fair to say you were doing your own version of conjugate - changing the main exercise every workout, going for either 3, 2, 1 rep max and using repetition for assistance but just not adding the dynamic element?
Also if I can ask, how would you define a variation and an assistance exercise? Most times it’s pretty clear but sometimes for example what would straight leg deadlifts or dumbbell benching be classed as? Can a variation of the main movement be used as assistance afterwards?
Keep hitting the PR’s, your video’s are better than any pre-workout.
Mark
Amazing press!! I hope you back heals up nicely for next week, you’ve definitely got it.
The weather is just as bad down here in VA. We don’t have AC in one of the labs and I sweat though a shirt just sitting taking notes. Training in this heat has got to be rough, walking to my car is right now is rough haha! I appreciate the videos, and your log, always great stuff to look forward too!
Ain’t Alpha but here’s my take on it. It depends on what is the goal of the assistance. For example, if you need more volume, dropping the weight and doing more reps of the main movement would count as assistance. The way I view it, as long as it helps your main lifts increase, it’s assistance work.
Thank you for your input Benanything, your last sentence makes sense.
It makes no sense to me that you do not have more subscribers to your channel. You mention Alan Thrall -now there’s a super popular guy who I think would totally mesh with your personality on a “combo” video. Have you ever tried contacting Thrall for some sort of collaboration?
@markws Well, I wouldn’t have called it conjugate. I was running linear progression where i would do 4 weeks of 8 sets of 4 AHAP, then 4 weeks of 5x5, then 10x3, then go for PRs and reset the entire thing over again. Then again, i honestly cannot remember what exactly what I was doing at that time in my logs, so that is only my best guess. I have always enjoyed lower reps more than higher, so maybe that is what you are seeing, but I mainly like conjugate because going for PRs motivates me to work harder. I just have trouble getting excited for higher rep stuff.
As far as Variation vs. Assistance, I think @Benanything did a great job explaining it. But basically, (for me only, I am no expert with conjugate) I consider a Variation a close relative to the competition lift that you are willing to go for a 1RM with. An Assistance exercise is something that targets the “weak points” of the main lift. You gave the examples of the Stiff leg deadlift and the DB bench press. For me personally, I would never go for a 1RM with either of those. But i would go for a 1RM with a Deficit dead or a floor press. I would consider the stuff leg and DB bench more of an assistance because they help me with my weak points but there are too many variables for consistent improvement when it comes to 1RMs. I hope that makes some sense but if it doesn’t just re-ask differently and I am sure some other kind of nonsense will run out of me
@Roran Thanks so much man and i am looking forward to you coming to the gym for a visit! And you are not kidding about the weather…No lie, it makes me want to move west so i don’t need to deal with it anymore. Maybe it is my heritage or I am just getting soft but i swear the summers here are getting worse…I don’t mind the heat, but sweating through your shirt before you can even get to your first set it a bit much! I’ll see you soon brother!
@Benanything well said man, well said.
@punnyguy I don’t get it either man. I am trying all different kind of things but maybe i am just not what people are looking for. Then again, I don’t understand a lot of things about today’s culture so maybe I am just missing the mark with my videos.
And yea man, i have reached out to a lot of the youtube people I watch and haven’t heard anything back. But in their defense, I get maybe 2% of the contacts they do on a daily basis and I can say it is pretty overwhelming. I cannot imagine trying to keep up with 200,000 subscribers. My messages are one in literally thousands per day. i can totally see why it didn’t stand out or get responded to.
I think people really have no idea about the mass quantity of contacts these guys get per day. I know I never would have guessed, but even at my very small social media footprint, i get probably 30-40 messages a day for people I have never met or spoken to asking me questions or telling me their stories. It is amazing and I appreciate every single one of them, but responding to them all is definitely a bit overwhelming.
Also, when you look at it from a business standpoint, what would a lot of these people gain from doing a collaboration with me? They are well-known, I am not. They may get a handful of people subscribing that follow me, but otherwise nothing. Plus you throw in the fact that he is on the other side of the continent, so someone has to pay a couple of grand for plane tickets/hotel/food/rental cars etc…and since I quit my job so I could open my gym, i don’t have that kind of money. Basically, it is a tough situation to be in. I would love for my channel to grow and would love to meet up with a lot of these guys to make some content, but the only person who benefits would be myself. And that, sadly, isn’t how the business world works.
Anyway man, that was a long way of saying…“Yes” I have reached out, but have not heard back. I think the only way this thing is going to grow is from people sharing the videos and getting them out in front of the individuals they need to be seen by. And that is one aspect that I am not hitting any PRs on right now. Thanks for the kind words though man, it means a lot that you would say what you did.
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First, I just want to say that anyone who reads this log but doesn’t subscribe to your channel is guilty of…something! And more of those T-Nationers who whine about blah, blah etc. etc. should all subscribe to see what kind of effort it takes to get the results they (think) they want.
I think it’s great you respond to everyone that posts in your log ;-), but I don’t think it’s necessary for the social media stuff (nor do I think it’s expected, but I don’t do social media so what do I know).
I mentioned Thrall because he does strongman. If he’s good enough to qualify for the Nationals, that would be a great chance for you to connect with the guy. I bet he wouldn’t say no to you in person…LOL. Yeah, too bad he’s so far away, because if you went to just “work out” in his gym, I bet you would totally show up on one of his videos, whether or not you were a “featured” part of the video. Just a .02 thought.
edit to add: Thrall was in the military (marine I think), so I think you guys also have that in common
I’ll miss your videos if you stop them completely! Definitely understand the struggle but maybe you should try to find a way to narrow down the work that goes into them a bit and keep them coming?
Count me as one more that loves the videos, but I certainly understand you have to make decisions with your time and business.
Alpha, you ever try the shoulder dislocates with a rubber band?
I find it better than a fixed bar, have an extra degree of movement.
@punnyguy Thanks of the kind words man! I am not sure if Thrall has qualified for Nationals yet, but if he is there, i will definitely approach him to see if we can work something out. I plan to do the same thing with quiet a few other individuals if I make it to the Arnold this year.
@strongmanvinny2 I am not thinking about stoping them completely, they just take up a lot of time and time is one thing I don’t have a lot of these days. If it were more lucrative, I would put more production value into them. The taping isn’t bad because it is something I would be doing anyway. It is mainly the editing (which takes me a few hours) and then the voice-over (Which also takes a good bit of time.) It takes so much longer than i would have expected. Nothing is going to change any time soon, I am just complaining about it. I am really glad you like them though!
@TrainForPain Like I told Vinny. They are not stoping anytime soon, I just need to take a look at the time investment vs What I am getting out of them. Right now, It costs me money to make them and that usually isn’t a good business decision. I appreciate what you said though man!
@MattyG35 Yea man, I love doing dislocates with bands as well, I just put the PVC in the video because it was right next to me and I was using it for other stretches.
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Latest video where I talk about 5 Annoying things about Dieting down that people won’t tell you. This is part of the Q&A 3 Video but had enough content that I decided to do a video about it all of it’s own. Check it out of you are interested. Thanks for the Support
