Alpha V

Training Training Logs
81

TX_Iron: Thanks brother, i really appreciate you checking out the site. The way I am laying out the conjugate method for the classes is much different than I am running for myself. I had to change it up due to time restraints/Class sizes, etc…If you want me to share what I am personally doing, I’m more than happy to. And I will definitely be running it longer than 10 weeks. I’d measure it more in months to be honest. Especially if the progress continues the way it is. Thanks for asking man!

Badger: Man, you are DEFINITELY overrating my editing skills! Hahaha I am going to continue to try and learn new things each time. And I will definitely be adding some videos of some of the classes. The only issue is that not everyone wants to be broadcasted on YouTube. If you want to check out a video of some of the PRs they set a few weeks ago, I have one up on the Gym’s Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/NEVERsate-Athletics-1698442627042822/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel

LoRez: Hahaha yea man, but you knew exactly what I was talking about!

Farmerowen: Thanks brother that is an amazing thing to say! And I have something pretty big in the works right now, if all turns out ok, I will be telling you guys about it really soon. Thanks for checking in and saying that man!

Roran: I am glad it helped man! I think explaining when my head is at and the cues I am focusing will help some people. Or at least i hope it does. I really appreciate the feedback man!

Vinny: Thanks brother! Yea man, the kettle bell swings were a little easy, so by the second class, we added 3 burpees to each round…That was a good change! Try it with hill sprints and you will seriously hate your life!

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“Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go.” --William Feather

FRIDAY, 08JANUARY2016 - Work For Today
Wave 1/Week 1/Day 5

SPEED - Dynamic Effort Lower
At the top of Every Minute for 10 Minutes
2 Banded SSB Box Squats @ 230lbs + 300lbs band tension

Then At the top of every minute for 10 minutes
1 Banded Deadlift @ 335 + Average grey bands.

ASSISTANCE: 3 Rounds
20 Reverse Hypers @180lbs
10 Pendlay Rows @ 225lbs

NOTES:

  • So i am sick. The fever, puke feeling kind of sick. I haven’t slept very well in a few days and i honestly think the Zercher Yoke Carries kind of dipped me under. It is not like “Stop your life” Sick, it is just mild, “this makes things less fun” kind of sick. For this reason, I just got in and got done what needed to be done. Luckily, it is the start of my second wave of conjugate so things were lighter than normal. Not a big deal, i am sure after i get some sleep tonight I will feel ok.
  • i am doing a sleep/daytime sleep study early next week, so hopefully i can get some more answers as to why I struggle with it and hopefully i will have wi-fi available there so i can kill the 24 hours I will be locked in a little room. It sounds wonderful! Haha

Anyway, i appreciate all of the activity and support in here guys, you are awesome.

82

I noticed your still using the oly shoes, what are your thoughts on them after a few months? I’m going to finally give my pair on honest 12 week trial.

Hope you feel better soon.

83

Somehow training through a cold never made me feel worse, only better a few times. It helps to focus on something else than muckus. Hope it works the same for you.

Keep us posted about the sleep study. And keep up the great work as usual

84

Great progress over the last month. I think you’re great with the commentary, It’s a good change.

85

@Alpha yeah man if you wouldn’t mind diving into it that’d be awesome!

86

twojarslave: Hahaha, I am sorry to disappoint man! I have to tone down the hulk-ness when speaking publicly. Good to hear from you man!

Roran: Well, I really like pressing in them and squatting in them becomes kind of addictive. Honestly, I have had to wear shoes constantly in the gym for a while now because of whatever I did to my foot back in September. I think i most likely broke something in there because it still give me trouble. Even the pressure of squatting is pretty painful. So i just leave them on. But even if bare feet didn’t hurt so much, I would still definitely be wearing them for my Overhead stuff and my front squats at least. Definitely give yours a run and let me know what you think.

Pano: Thanks man, i really appreciate that, but i don’t think it is a cold. I’m not really congested, I just keep running fevers and feel nauseous. It is getting better though, i think i will be good by tomorrow. Thanks for the well-wishes!

Regev: Thanks brother, I am hoping to get better and better at it as time goes on.

TX_Iron: Sure thing man.

Well, I am not going to go into a full breakdown of the conjugate method because I am not sure that i understand it well enough to do something like that, but here are my first waves variations:

Wave 1/Week 1
Maximum Effort Lower - SSB Squats
Maximum Effort Upper - Close Grip Bench Press
Dynamic Effort Lower - SSB Box Squats with blue + red Mini bands Doubled.
Dynamic Effort Upper - Bench Press with Doubled Blue Mini bands

Wave 1/Week 2
Maximum Effort Lower - Banded Deadlifts (doubled average bands)
Maximum Effort Upper - Axle Split Jerks
Dynamic Effort Lower - SSB Box Squats with blue + red Mini bands Doubled.
Dynamic Effort Upper - Log Press with Doubled Red Mini bands

Wave 1/Week 3
Maximum Effort Lower - Front Squats
Maximum Effort Upper - Banded Bench Press (Doubled blue mini’s)
Dynamic Effort Lower - SSB Box Squats with blue + red Mini bands Doubled.
Dynamic Effort Upper - Bench Press with Doubled Blue Mini bands

Wave 1/Week 4
Maximum Effort Lower - 3 Second Pause Squats
Maximum Effort Upper - Floor Press
Dynamic Effort Lower - SSB Box Squats with blue + red Mini bands Doubled.
Dynamic Effort Upper - Bench Press with Doubled Blue Mini bands

Wave 1/Week 5
Maximum Effort Lower - Deficit Deadlifts (3" Deficit)
Maximum Effort Upper - “Z” Press
Dynamic Effort Lower - SSB Box Squats with blue + red Mini bands Doubled.
Dynamic Effort Upper - Log Press with Doubled Red Mini bands

That was the end of my first wave. So I just finished week 1 of wave 2. I have to work in all of my conditioning stuff and my Strongman training, but when we are just talking weights alone, a day will usually unfold like this:

Conditioning - 12 Minutes
Strength - Take 20-30 Minutes to work up to a 1RM for the day. (Abs between attempts)
Volume - Drop to 80% of your top set and complete 3 sets of 5 reps, or, if you are having a bad day, 5 sets of 3 reps.
Assistance - 3 Rounds (12-15 reps each exercise)
Exercise 1: Weak point focus
Exercise 2: antagonistic muscle group or supportive muscle group focus
Exercise 3: Core/lower back/Stability

Like i said brother, this is only the weight training portion…it get even more convoluted when the conditioning and strongman stuff is worked in. It is working like crazy so far though and I am say i am very happy with it!

87

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“At first people refuse to believe that a strange new thing can be done, then they begin to hope it can be done, then they see it can be done–then it is done and all the world wonders why it was not done centuries ago.” --Frances Hodgson Burnett

MONDAY, 11JANUARY2016 - Work For Today
Wave 1/Week 2/Day 1

Well, I just got home from my sleep study. It was scheduled for all of last night throughout today and into this evening but I ended up sleeping a whopping 15 minutes in 9+ hours of laying in a bed so they sent me home because there wasn’t anything to study.

Anyway, because of the study, I wasn’t able to post my workout from yesterday, so i will now.

Doing any sort of conditioning or moving strongman stuff sent me into coughing fits, so I am going to have to give it another day or so. Instead I just did some strength stuff

STRENGTH
Log Press (out of the Rack)
155x3
205x1
245x1
275x1
300x1
320x1 (PR or that i can remember)

VOLUME @ 80% of top set
Log Press @ 255x5
Log Press @ 255x5
Log Press @ 255x5

ASSISTANCE - Kettlebell band suspended drop sets
Set # 1
205x6
155x6
105x5

Set #2
205x5
155x5
105x5
…At this point, the pressure of the log on my chest was even sending me into coughing fits, so i called it a day.

NOTES:

  • a Log press PR is waaayyyy overcooked for me. I’m not sure what changed this day, but the 320 went up with decent speed and I was honestly probably good for a few more pounds, but decided to leave some in the tank for the volume and drop sets.
  • I really think the extra work on my presses (both bench and overhead) and the extra tricep work has made the difference. Again…so far i am a big fan of the conjugate method. I plan on running this until I work every last drop out of it.
  • I haven’t been able to set PRs this often in a long time. The only thing that has changed is the programming. I am really hoping that this is what will take me into the 700s on both my deadlift and squat. Time will tell but early results are very promising.
88

Between the words “coughing fits” and a Log Press PR are 3 inches on my desktop… Mad props for that alone.

What happened on the sleep test? Too much light? Hope it works out better next time

89

Pano: Nah man, nothing like that. I just won’t go to sleep. The tech said that my lease was super low and my brain waves were really quiet…She said she was waiting for me to fall asleep at any moment, I just never did. For whatever reason, my body just won’t shut down if it is not medicated. Is what it is I suppose. And thanks for the kind words man!

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“I was wholly fulfilled. Most people never get there. They’re afraid or unwilling to demand enough of themselves and take the easy road, the path of least resistance. But struggling and suffering, as I now saw it, were the essence of a life worth living. If you’re not pushing yourself beyond the comfort zone, if you’re not constantly demanding more from yourself - expanding and learning as you go - you’re choosing a numb existence. You’re denying yourself an extraordinary trip.” --Dean Karnazes

WEDNESDAY - Work For Today
Wave 2/Week 6/Day 3

Still coughing like a madman, so no conditioning or strongman moving events just yet…only strength.

Deadlifts
135
225
315
405
500
585
635
675
700 x Nope…It did break the ground and hover though!

So today I actually broke out the vet scale and stood on it with a bar. then applied my normal doubled band tension and was shocked to find out that the bands added between 270-300lbs of weight at lockout!

So, of course i had to do some…
135 + Bands
225 + Bands
315 + Bands
405 + Bands
500 + Bands
535 + Bands (10b PR from last wave)

VOLUME
455 + Bands x 4
455 + Bands x 3
455 + Bands x 3
405 + Bands x 5
405 + Bands x 5

Axle Deficit Deadlifts (3" Deficit)
225
315
365
405
455
505
555
555

SSB Bar Good mornings
270x8
320x5
270x8

NOTES:
-Banded Deadlifts Feel like death. I was happy to hit the 535 and if I hadn’t hit the deads from the floor earlier, it would have gone smoother. It had decent speed, paused in the middle of the lot when it got really hard, but I finished it. At the top that is somewhere over 800lbs. Make my vision crazy weird…

  • 700 remains elusive. soon…soon…
  • I have my videos from last training session and a few from this one, so i will be sure to edit them up and get them out tomorrow. If I can keep from coughing for 4-5 minutes, I will add the commentary as well.
90

Just uploaded the latest video which has the 320 Log press PR and the 535 (805) at the top deadlift. It has commentary, but you guys will definitely hear the sickness in my voice on this one…

3 Likes
91

Stay pensive about that 700. That’s INSANE to try and hit when you’re not 100%. Get well soon man.

92

Hey Alpha, been a while…Great to see the progress you’re making using the conjugate method. I started training with a powerlifting coach last year who also got me on it, and the progress i’ve made in such a short time has been crazy, so you’re not alone there haha. Regarding the knees to elbows in one of your latest videos, if you could pick a few more core exercises that you’d consider have the best carry over to you’re main lifts, what would they be? Anyway, i’ve subscribed to the YouTube channel and i’ll try and spread the word. The videos are awesome man, thanks for taking the time out to share.

93

Vinny: Yea man, probably not the smartest of ideas. I am sure 700 is going to go down within the ext few weeks.

Joe: That is awesome news man. I cannot say enough good things about the conjugate method!

If I had to add a few more core exercises that i think have really good carry over, (in no real order) I’d say
Hanging leg raises
Weighted Standing Crunches
Weighted planks
Single arm Farmer’s Walks
Single Arm Waiter’s Walks
Dragon Flags

Thank you so much for subscribing to my youtube man. If people ever wanted to repay me for advice, that would be the way to do it. If i can build enough of a base, then that could really help supplement my income while I am taking this risk with opening the gym. It means more than you know man, so thank you again!

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“Successful people do what unsuccessful people are not willing to do. Don’t wish it were easier, wish you were better.” --Jim Rhon

“Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men! Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks! Then the doing of your work shall be no miracle. But you shall be a miracle.” - Phillips Brooks

FRIDAY,15JANUARY2016 - Work For Today
Wave 1/ Week 2/ Day 5

DYNAMIC EFFORT LOWER
At the top of every :30 Seconds for 10 Rounds
2 Banded SSB Box Squats @ 230lbs + 300lbs of Band Tension at the top

ASSISTANCE - 3 Rounds
20 Grenade Pull-Ups
10 Barbell Bent Over Rows @ 315lbs
15 Banded Glute Ham Raises
3:00 Minute Plank

SATURDAY
DYNAMIC EFFORT UPPER
At the Top of Every Minute for 10 Minutes
3 Bench Presses @ 225 + Doubled Blue Bands

NOTES:

  • The cough is still hanging around. During the day it is not too bad but in the mornings and the evenings, it is pretty rough. Also, after I get done a set, the coughing sets in pretty hard. I am going to get some Pho today in hopes of burning it out of me so I can get back to conditioning next week!
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Big things going on around here. Book list is deep, newspaper article is really cool. The pr’s falling is inspiring, with bigger lifts on the horizon. Loving the commentary, insightful to say the least. Your tips and focus points are gonna help so many. Subscribed, I’m glad I can help you. If anyone deserves it, you do. Eager to hear your big news, but patient nonetheless. Your mindset is always impressive. What are your thoughts on cold showers, both for recovery, and mental toughness? Your insight is appreciated as always. Best wishes.

95

Hey man, proud to be around the log now your going to hit the 700 soon.
If you want some inspiration for your vids: there are some powerlifters out there doing great. Bart Kwan (total fruitcake, but knows his stuff), Mark Bell, Jujumufu (kinda…) are doing it. Maybe their ideas help you get inspired or see a niche in the market.

BTW: Still doing some grappeling?

96

Hey Alpha, you mentioned that you feel the zercher walk kind of put you under the weather a bit. That happens to me from time to time when I’m in a deficit as you say. I’ve always thought that might be overtraining. What are your thoughts on that?

97

BetaBill: Thanks so much for the kind words and for subscribing to my youtube brother! Hopefully this week I will actually video my first “how to” video and have it up. And as far as the big news, it should hopefully come out in the next week or so. I am pretty stoked about it!

As far as cold or contrast showers…I am a big fan. Whenever my body feels beat up, I will use them. Basically, I take my normal shower then when i am standing there under the hot water, I will completely cut it to as cold as possible. This usually takes my breath away and forces weird noises to come out of my mouth. I will stand under it for about 30 seconds, then turn it back to hot. Once i warm up, I will cut it again. I will do this back and fourth for about 5 times. I think it really does aid in recovery. Even if the results are all placebo, it seems to help, so i will stick to it.

As far as working in a deficit and overtraining…I am not sure that i would label it as being overtrained. i think when i dig a little too deep on something big like yoke walks or high rep deads, my CNS is beat up. I know I have used the illustration before, but it is like a life meter on a video game. When my CNS is beat down it can take me a week or two before my strength completely seems to come back. That is why programming Plays such a big role in my training. My body can feel great, but sometimes the draw from my CNS just can’t keep up. I can usually tell when this happens because my grip strength goes out the window and I have trouble regulating my body temperature. That is why sometimes you will see me say that I feel like I have the flu after a hard day of yokes. My muscles are good to go, but sessions like that definitely take something from you that you won’t get back for a few days.

This usually only happens when i am dealing with extremely heavy weights and do a little more than was smart. I had been fighting a little bit of the funk for a few days and that Zercher yoke day dropped my system enough that i think it was just able to take hold. I know I just kind of rambled for a while there, but I hope that kind of addressed what you were asking. Thanks for checking in man!

Pano: Thanks brother, and yea, I am a fan of Mark Bell’s channel. Kwan is a little bit too strange for me but I also really like Alan Thrall, ben rice, pete rubish and even max chewing. I am trying to figure out my own voice and how I want to present my channel, but all of those gyms are people I watch regularly.

I am still grappling, but not as much as i would like. The business has really picked up and is keeping me pretty busy at the moment. i need to roll more often though. Thanks for stopping in brother!

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"Almost everything you do, you do because you are afraid to die. And yet dying is exactly what you are doing, from the moment you are born. Two hours of absorption in a good Super Bowl telecast may distract you temporarily, but the fact remains. You were born as a sacrifice. And you can either participate in the sacrifice, dissolving in the giving of your gift, or you can resist it, which is your suffering.

By eliminating the safety net of comforts in your life, you have the opportunity to free fall in this moment between birth and death, right through the hole of your fear, into the unthreatenable openness which is the source of your gifts. The superior man lives as this spontaneous sacrifice of love." --David Deida

MONDAY, 18JANUARY2016 - Work For Today
Wave 2/Week 3/Day 1

CONDITIONING - At the Top of Every Minute for 12 minutes
5 Burpees
5 Squats
5 Push-Ups
20 Mountain Climbers
20 Jumping Jacks
30 Double Unders

STRENGTH - Maximum Effort Lower
Front Squats
135x3
225x1
315x1
405x1
475x1
520x1 (PR)

VOLUME
5 Front Squats @ 415lbs
5 Front Squats @ 415lbs
5 Front Squats @ 415lbs

Ran out of time because clients showed up, so no assistance work today…

NOTES:

  • I have been thinking about this front squat for about a week now. My anxiety was pretty high going in. It always is before a heavy front loaded lift such as front squats or Zercher Yoke carries. Partially because I know the pain that is coming in my near future, but mainly because I want to do a good job.

As i was working my way up, I hit 405 which is usually the weight that determines how the day is going to go. It flew up today so i jumped all the way up to 470. That went well also. So i loaded 520 and crushed it. I was very happy about that.

I have video of the front squats, plus a round of the conditioning and some accessory stuff from earlier in the week. I will try to edit them and add some commentary tomorrow so I can get the footage up for you guys. I think i have enough. Really happy though…Getting closer and closer to that 550 front squat. Now if I could just figure out where I am going wrong in the deadlift…

98

Wow. The speed of that front squat made it seem as if you still have 20-30 lbs in you before you top out. I know you have mentioned before that it isn’t a question of strength that inhibits you from putting up bigger numbers but rather a lack of stability but you could of had me fooled for that as one of your warmup sets. I laughed when you finished and just dropped it as if you were like… Nope I’ve had enough of this resting on my collar bones. Anywho, perhaps it seemed a lot smoother than it actually felt. I wouldn’t know, I’ve never had 500 lbs loaded on the front… good to see progress. I myself have a bit stalled out on the front squat as far as 1RM. Perhaps you can shed some light on what I should focus on if I want to improve on getting bigger numbers. Unlike yourself my front squat and back squat only differentiate by 40 lbs.
Front squat - 305: back squat -345
you think I should continue on just front squatting or add in some back squats for strength?

99

gvaldes: Thanks brother! i like to video all of my sets because the way they feel is usually different than how they looked. So for instance, the 405 felt kind of slow, so i was thinking 455 for my next jump. But when i watched the video it moved pretty well. Looking at it objectively, if that was someone else doing that rep, I would have told them to make a bigger jump. Since i videoed it, i am able to kind of be my own coach. It worked out well for me this time. But i would definitely encourage others to start doing this.

As far as doing back squats for strength. I think it depends on what your goals are. Honesty, if the two numbers are that close, it is probably because of something you are doing form wise that i leaving a lot of pounds out there in the either that you could have otherwise. Most likely you are breaking at the knees before you break you hips, causing the main stress of the movement to fall onto your quads. If you changed a little bit with your form you could probably engage your hips and hamstrings a lot more and it could lead to much bigger back squat numbers. It could also be a bracing issue. If you want to upload a video of your squats from a couple of different angles, i can probably give you some tips to help you out. Just let me know if you are interested. If you don’t want to blast it out on here, just email me the vids to my company’s website and i can help you out privately. Also, I am going to start taping for a “how to front squat” video today, so hopefully that will help you out some once I upload it.

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So i just uploaded the video from yesterday’s training session. It has my jumps up to the 520 Front Squat PR as well as some conditioning and some assistance stuff in there. I am going to start doing some taping for my first how to video and the subject will be front squats.

If you enjoy the video and commentary, please hit the like button and subscribe if you feel so moved. I really appreciate the support everyone.

3 Likes
100

How far in advance do you plan your ME work? I’m currently toying with the idea of giving the conjugate method a try after my current training block is finished in April, but while Dave Tate and others have recommended to only decide on your ME movement when you get to the gym to prevent you from obsessing about it beforehand I’m not sure how I feel about that.

By the way, definitely like the commentary as well!