Alpha V

Training Training Logs
602

@littlesleeper That is so great man, thanks for giving it a try!

======================================================
“…If you work hard enough and assert yourself, and use your mind and imagination, you can shape the world to your desires.” --Malcolm Gladwell, Outliers

“Hard work is only a prison sentence when you lack motivation.” --Malcolm Gladwell, Outliers

SATURDAY, 20AUGUST2016 - Work For Today

So today I was just working some of my Keg/load medleys. Had the kegs 20 Feet away from the Bar i was loading them over and basically did wind sprints with them for time. Kegs weights were, 250, 270, 300

Then I worked a little bit of Stone over bar with the 300lb stone. They just switched my event at Maryland’s Strongest to the Stone of Steel which is considerably harder and you can’t use tacky. This may work out in my favor or it might tear my bicep…Time will tell…

===================================
A lot of people have been asking me to talk about training with/around injuries in a video… so that is exactly what I do in this one. Then I share some of the rehab stuff that I like to do every night to keep my lower back in check. If you are interested, check it out! Thanks everyone!

1 Like
603

Hey Alpha! Long time Lurker, been following your training near religiously since your second log, and have been constantly impressed with your progress, and more so with your work ethic. So, decided it was finally time I posted to the log with a question I have for ya.

Im 19, 5’10 200ish lbs. Played football and wrestled throughout high school, then spent this last year Powerlifting for my college team. A knee injury about 3 months ago put a pause on powerlifting, and while recovering I lost interest in the Sport, wanting to do something more “athletic” instead. The Rugby team at my school has a reputation as some of the best athletes on the yard, all big strong men who can run. Well I made the team, but now I want to be good.

Im looking to start a program to help make me the type of explosive athlete im looking to be.I run 2 miles and perform a brief calisthenics routine every morning as part of military training, and have time for a second training session in the evenings. I was thinking of running 531, adding in an emphasis on power cleans/snatches, dips, and chins. Id like to add in some farmers walks, but dont know where they would best fit into a 531 pattern.

Any advice for a military athlete? conditioning recommendations, exercises for power, brute strength work?

Thanks for all ya do, keep being awesome

PS: In Annapolis MD, I feel you on the Maryland heat. Sweaty sweaty sweaty

604

Can’t miss a week in here or Alpha triples his subscribers! A couple more years and you just might be an overnight sensation!

Hey alpha, something I noticed is that you only ever show pressing the circus dumbbell with your right hand. Do you even it up on the left and just not show it? Or do you just focus on the one side since that is all that is required at your event?

Also, when are you releasing that cool color changing shirt? The one that starts out light grey and eventually becomes dark by the end of the workout? I could really use one

605

Love your last few videos! The last one about injuries is really helpful for me and my painful team members. Being in the military hurts like hell!!
Thanks again for the constant quality content.

606

Hey @Alpha, I know you’re a big fan of bodyweight movements and I was wondering if you could do a video on that in relation to strongman? Your favourite bodyweight movements, what you feel their advantages are and how you programme them? As well as disadvantages. I’d particularly like to hear your thoughts on pistol squats/lower body stuff. Thanks!

1 Like
607

@atlas13 What’s up brother! Thanks for all of the support! And I am guessing you are at the Naval Academy? As far as the program goes, I would really put a lot of effort into your morning bodyweight sessions because they are going to do more in upping your athleticism than the weights probably will. But building explosiveness is all about power output, which is usually built more in the weight room so you are in a really good place. I think 5/3/1 is a good place to be. Just make sure you are doing every single rep explosively. Even the weights you hit working up to your prescribed percentages for the day. You are teaching your body with every single rep how to go from zero-1 hundred immediately. That starts with 135 and goes all of the way up to your 90% set. You are either ingraining bad (slow) reps or good (explosive) reps. I think adding the power cleans will help a lot as well.

As far at the Farmer’s walks, first and foremost find a 50 foot 1RM weight. No drops but as heavy as possible. Then I would just mimic the percentages on your Deadlift day. So hit what you are supposed to hit and then some where in your assistance or back-off sets throw the farmer’s in at the same percentage you were prescribed for the deadlift, Giant set or Superset style. The distance you walk will be determined by the percentage. So it may look something like this:

Main Strength work: Deadlift
5 @ 65%
5 @ 75%
AMRAP @ 86%

Then Your Assistance Work may look like
Stiff Leg Deadlifts - 5 Reps
Farmer’s 150 Foot @ 65%
Ab Variation
Stiff Leg Deadlifts - 5 Reps
Farmer’s 100 Foot @ 75%
Ab Variation
Stiff Leg Deadlifts - 5 Reps
Farmer’s As Far As Possible @ 85%
Ab Variation

That s just thinking off the top of my head man, but I hope it helps! And thanks for the support man!

@Lonnie123 Hahaha it has been crazy man, i feel so thankful! And you are right, give me 5 years and i just may be doing something with this youtube stuff!

As far as the Circus DB. I do both sides, but my left is much uglier and the CDB isn’t that interesting to watch, so i typically just keep the footage short and only show my right. It is important to be able to do both sides in case one side gets tired or injured during the comp, but I almost exclusively use just my right side since it is usually only 5-10 reps for me personally in :60 Seconds.

And gotta love Maryland Humidity! It does wonders for your wardrobe! Thanks fro stopping in man!

@Regev19978 Thank brother, i am really glad you like them! And yea, you will get pretty beat up in there but it will be worth it when you are done and you will look back on it positively.

@furo Sure thing man, i will add it to my list of things to cover. But in reality, I use it more to improve my athleticism and to prime my body for the work it is about to do. Also to build up muscular endurance. If you want to try something that sucks, do this…
20 Squats
20 Lunges
20 Jumping Lunges
20 Jumping Squats
6 KB Turkish Get-Ups (3 Each Side)
No rest between exercises…Rest :60 Seconds after each round and do it 5 times. You will hate me.

But I’ll try to brainstorm some ideas for that video brother!

1 Like
608

Thanks for the quick response! I will definetly take that to heart, implement some carries into my training. And yep, you caught me, Naval Academy Midshipmen, Go Goats!

609

Alpha “V for 5 thousand” subscribers! Really awesome that you are finally getting a modicum of the recognition you deserve for all your work and helpfulness.

Here’s hoping for a future in-person Thrall/Alpha collaboration…

610

@atlas Sure thing brother!

@punnyguy Thanks man, i really appreciate that! And yea, I plan on going out to visit Alan after Nationals sometime for an in-person collaboration! Come on Youtube money! Plan tickets are not cheap! But it will be coming soon my friend!

=================================================
“Once a musician has enough ability to get into a top music school, the thing that distinguishes one performer from another is how hard he or she works. That’s it. And what’s more, the people at the very top don’t work just harder or even much harder than everyone else. They work much, much harder.” --Malcolm Gladwell, Outliers

MONDAY, 21AUGUST2016 - Work For Today
Wave 1/Week 3/Day 1

CONDITIONING - 4 Rounds As Fast As Possible
5 Power Cleans
5 Burpee Lateral Jumps
5 Pull-Ups
8 Plate Touches

STRONGMAN - Was working my Yoke/Fram Carry medley for Maryland’s Strongest man.

Did probably 10 runs total. Heaviest sets were
Yoke 720lbs
Frame 650 lbs

One of the Athletes at our gym made a Frame for us and the thing is awesome! I should have some videos of it up soon but right now I am off to do a bunch of tips for a deadlift Tips/Cues video

611

Alright, So there have been a lot of requests for me to do a Deadlift series ever since I did the one about squatting a few months ago, so here you go. It covers some basic things to fix your set-up and will hopefully help some of you out!

3 Likes
612

“The best men are not those who have waited for chances but who have taken them; besieged chance, conquered the chance, and made chance the servitor.” --E.H. Chapin

WEDNESDAY, 24AUGUST2016 - Work for Today

STRENGTH GIANT SET - 7 Rounds
Log Press: 135x3, 205x3, 255x3, 275x3, 275x3, 275x3, 275x3
100 Foot Atlas Stone Carry @ 240lbs: 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1
15 Sledgehammer Swings: 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1

CONDITIONING - 5 Rounds
5 Muscle-Ups
5 Keg Clean & Presses @ 200lbs

ASSISTANCE - 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 Reps of
Ring Dips
Ring Pull-Ups
No rest between exercises

NOTES:

So judging by the video, i look a lot like an axe murderer… I didn’t realize how fast I was actually moving during the swings So I had to include them. Also i have my first ever frame walk in history…I definitely need to get A LOT better at these before Maryland’s Strongest man or I am not even going to finish that event…Which would definitely mean not having the title anymore…But I’ll keep working at it.

613

That hammer work was strangely hypnotizing. Haha

I’d be interested in your thoughts about keeping performance up while dropping weight. I think this basically bites just about everyone in the arse the first couple of times.

614

Well, if you ever want some light conditioning work to do, I’m sure you can just breeze throught their workout.

150kgs Squat for 20 reps
260kgs (130kgs per hand) Farmer’s Hold for 30 seconds
90kgs Log Press (clean as needed) for 15 reps

But seriously though, I really wonder what’ll happen if you ever went up against someone in a Strength Battle.

616
1 Like
617

@tsantos Hahaha thanks man, well i definitely think there is an art to dropping weight and retaining strength. And it never goes as well as you had hoped the first time you try. that is why i recommend people do a practice cut a few months out from their comp. (For the first time they are trying to cut) . That way they can figure out what went well and what did not. I have found that for me personally, I need to cut out all starchy carbs and fruit. Even Milk towards the end because the sugar is just too high for the last few pounds. If I do this without really upping my fat intake, I get as weak as a kitten. If I keep my fat high enough, I loose little to no strength. Also, I try not to dehydrate more than 5-10 lbs, otherwise my strength also seems to suffer. because of that, I always need to start my cut many weeks out. I hope that helps a little bit man!

@Benanything Hahaha well I definitely wouldn’t breeze right through, but there is noting in that that really looks too terrible to me. We will see if it ever pans out man, time will tell!

@Lonnie123 Hahaha maybe only for me…

====================================================
“We’re dissatisfied with our jobs, our relationships, our place in the world. We’re trying to get somewhere, but something stands in the way…So we do nothing. We blame our bosses, the economy, our politicians, other people, or we write ourselves off as failures or our goals as impossible. When really only one thing is at fault: Our attitude.” --Ryan Holiday, The Obstacle is the Way

MONDAY, 29AUGUST2016 - Work For Today

CONDITIONING - Hill Sprints…15 Minutes worth…which was not nearly as fun as i had planned in my head…

STRENGTH - Axle Deadlifts from the height we will be using at Nationals.
135x3
225x3
315x3
405x3
500x3
600x5
600x5
600x5

10 Banded Standing Crunches between each set.

ASSISTANCE - 3 Rounds
14 Sumo Stance Stiff Leg Deadlifts
14 Reverse Hypers @ 270lbs
14 Standing Banded Crunches.

NOTES:

  • Solid training day. It was definitely as sweaty one so the hardest part for me was holding onto the axle, even with straps. First time I have ever pulled from this height…It’s deceptively hard but I will hopefully put up a good number at Nationals.

================================================

I get asked daily about “How strong do you need to be before entering your first Strongman Competition?” …It is an impossible question to answer, but I gave it my best shot in this video…and yes, I talk about some numbers and ratios I think you should probably be able to hit (relative to your bodyweight) before jumping into a contest. You may agree or disagree, but I hope you enjoy it either way!

618

Hey Alpha, I’m not sure how you’re setting up your straps on the axle, but I shot this video a while back that you might find useful

I know the quality sucks, but it should still get the point across. I’ve found that crisscrossing the straps like that makes it just about impossible to lose grip. It’s even allowed me to let the bar hang in my fingertips and hold on by the straps and still complete a rep…which is a great way to cheat in a competition, haha.

Really excited with the progress your channel has made. And my Neversate shirt has become my favorite shirt, haha.

1 Like
619

@T3hPwnisher Dude, that is awesome, thank you so much for sharing this, i am definitely going to try this out! You are awesome man!

======================================================
I will post my workouts rom yesterday and today a little bit later, but for now:

For those of you interested, I just uploaded Part II of the deadlift series I am putting together. This video covers how to be more explosive and gives some cues commonly used to help people lift more weight. I hope some of you will find this helpful.

620

Alright, finally getting around to posting my workouts!

“Uncertainty and fear are relieved by authority. Training is authority. It’s a release valve. With enough exposure, you can adapt out those perfectly ordinary, even innate, fears that are bread mostly from unfamiliarity. Fortunately, unfamiliarity is simple to fix, which makes it possible to increase our tolerance for stress and uncertainty.” --Ryan Holiday, The Obstacle is the Way

TUESDAY, 29SEPTEMBER2015 - Work For Today

CONDITIONING
20 Burpee Pull-Ups
20 Handstand Push-Ups
15 Burpee Pull-Ups
15 Handstand Push-Ups
10 Burpee Pull-Ups
10 Handstand Push-Ups

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.” --Steve Jobs

WEDNESDAY, 31AUGUST2016 - Work For Today

STRONGMAN - I was working on the Keg Medley for Nationals and Maryland’s Strongest man

4 kegs, 50 Feet away from the platform.
Carry first keg (225lbs) and load it. Sprint back
Carry second keg (250lbs) and load it. Sprint back
Carry third keg (270lbs) and load it.
Hate life.

I did this a few times then got the bright Idea that i should do some long distance carrying for the Hussefeld Carry coming up at Nationals

So i grabbed the 300lb Keg and carried it 200 Meters…Then puked…Then puked a lot more…It was pretty brutal. i had to drop it quite a few times and it took me long than i would have liked but it was a good Mindset Challenge…Glad i did it, but honestly i would be ok if i never did it again for the rest of my life!

I got video of it all so it will be in my next workout VLOG.

621

What kind of camera are you using right now? My wife and the best man at my wedding both majored in film, and my best man now works at Discovery. If you have any questions I can always pass them along. I’ve asked them if they have any good budget camera ideas.

622

@Roran Man, i really appreciate that! I had upgraded to a Vixia hf r 700 but I took that back this morning and got a sony for-ax33 which shoots in 4k so i think it will be pretty great, i am going to test it out tomorrow! and I’ll let you know how it goes!

======================================================

"Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark in the hopeless swamps of the not-quite, the not-yet, and the not-at-all. Do not let the hero in your soul perish in lonely frustration for the life you deserved and have never been able to reach. The world you desire can be won. It exists… it is real… it is possible…” --Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged

I had totally forgotten to post y training from Friday where I hit some overhead stuff. Big things of Note were 3 Sets of 315lbs on the Axle Overhead press for 5 reps each and a whole lot of Circus Dumbbell.

Hee is a vid that highlights some of the training this week:

And then Friday morning I was talking to one of my members abut how we need a car deadlift frame. He is a really, really good guy and delivered it to the gym this morning. He made it all himself! So of course I had to play with it some

hit a bunch of reps with different level ties on the frame
then we did a Toyota Corolla (Approx Weight 3,500lbs)
Then the Corolla with 90lbs added to the frame.
Then I hit 10 reps with A subaru Outback (Approx weight 4,500lbs )
That was no problem at all, so we loaded a friend’s stock jeep (Approx wt. 5,500 Lbs)
I was able to hit that for a triple.
Then I put my jeep on there…It is the same make and model as my friends but mine has big tires/off-road bumpers etc…so we placed it’s weight somewhere around 6,500lbs)…I pulled my heart out twice but couldn’t get it either time!

Fun day and I love the new toy. Great day to play around some
https://www.instagram.com/p/BJ-1tuoDHWc/?taken-by=neversate