Alpha's Work 3

Training Training Logs
381

I just wrote this article for another website, If you are trying to decide about doing a competition, meet or have some life decisions to sort out I hope this will help you make up your mind…

“It is not who will let me, it is who will stop me?” – Ayn Rand

A letter to myself…

Look man, we need to talk. There are a lot of big things going on in your life right now; things that are going to change how you see the world and if you do not respond correctly to what is ahead of you, they will break you. What you have before you is a great void. Before you decide to jump or not I wanted to give you a few things to consider on your way down so that hopefully you will survive this…maybe even land on your feet.

Look over the edge at about you are about to embark upon. You feel that? That horrible sick feeling in the pit of your stomach? That is fear. Everyone feels fear, that is no secret. But it is what you decide to do in the next few minutes that will determine the kind of person you REALLY are from what kind of person you think you are.

Before you make any decisions remember that YOU define your fear; you cannot allow it to define you.

All of those other people who talk and talk, saying that they are going to do this or that but never did…They stood on the exact same ledge that you stand on now but the fear made them turn back. They let the fear break them. They chose the safe and easy path back down the ravine.

Know that the words that come out of your mouth hold weight. Once they are released you cannot take them back and if you said you were going to do something, then you better do it or your words will mean nothing anymore. I know it is scary…But you said you would jump, now it’s time to pay the check.

What you are not realizing is that the fear you are feeling right now is the greatest gift anyone has ever given you. It alone tells you exactly what you should do and will show you what is most important in your life. When you look down a road and it makes your heart race and terror steals your breath, then that is the path you must take. Apply this to all areas of your life. It is the only way your soul will ever live a true existence. The easy road is paved with the souls of the placated. Join them if you wish, but know that you will never be more than average at anything in your life.

Understand that if you jump, your life will be filled with suffering and strife. Misery will season every single day and “hard work” barely describes the task upon which you will call on yourself. But the funny thing is that it will never seem like work. You will be living your dream. Your days will run together in a stream of extreme consciousness and affliction but you will find that the most challenging times are the most rewarding and it is in these times that you will find yourself the happiest and most fulfilled.

You know this is true. Just look at your workouts. The ones that you look back upon and remember as being some of the most terrible physical moments of your life are also the ones where you felt the most honest and true to yourself. You felt alive like no other time. You are always a little bit anxious before a workout or fight that you know is going to take everything you have. That is how you know that you MUST complete it. Learn to embrace the misery. That is where you grow.

If you are not pushing into the realm of fear and disquietude and not taking the fight to those demons, the demons will bring the fight to your doorstep and they will not only take you, but those you love and all that you hold dear.

Know that motivation always follows movement, but movement rarely follows motivation. It is one thing to study war, but an entirely different thing to live a warrior’s life. It?s not necessarily about being the best, it is about being better than you were the day before.

When the hard things come you must face them – stand toe to toe, bite down on your mouthpiece and slug it out until only one of you remains. Battles like these are won inch by inch, hour by hour, day by day and the payment will be in your own blood. Wars like these will change who you are and temper your very soul. When these demons come, ask yourself if you want to quit. If your answer is “no” then be grateful for them and that you are living in the position that you CHOSE. Who cares if you take some shots on the chin? That is the price of not standing on the sidelines.

NEVER complain or worry. Both are wasteful; they may give you something to do, but neither will get you anywhere.

Give no excuses, and accept no excuses. Let your word be your word. Don"t say it if you don?t mean it, and never make a promise that you do not 100% intend to keep.

Remember that you ALWAYS have a choice. If you do not stand up and make the hard decisions, then they will be made for you. If that happens you have no one to blame but yourself. You are not a victim unless you allow yourself to be.

This stands true in all areas of your life. If you cannot be entrusted with small things like what you put in your mouth every day, how are you ever going to have the constitution to be strong when REAL problems attack you from behind on an idle Tuesday? Making the right choice is a habit. So is making the wrong ones. Disciple and character in all things will build more than a stronger body and will.

If you bail on your work today, you will be twice as likely to bail on it tomorrow.

Your decisions should not be based on popular opinion or what everyone else is doing. The road you have chosen is a lonely one, walk tall, be stronger and be able to be proud of the wake you left behind.

When you are old and broken, lying on your deathbed you will not regret the things you did or the choices you made nearly as much as the risks you turned away from and the opportunities you didn’t take. The glory belongs to the man in the arena. Even if you fail in every venture you ever embark upon, at least you left the shore. No one can ever take that away from you.

Get very comfortable with being uncomfortable. If you look around and feel content enough that you can relax and lay back, something has gone wrong. Be present in all that you do and take moments to appreciate where you are, but never forget that stagnation is a rut. When a rut becomes too deep it becomes a grave. Many men greater than you have fallen because of such things.

Build up those around you. There is plenty of room for everyone. Trying to belittle or tear people down for their accomplishments does nothing but make you weaker. Give more than you receive, then give some more. Give when you have plenty; give even more when you do not. Be lavish with praise and stingy with your criticism.

Finally and probably most importantly, if at any time, any of this stops being scary to you – quit. Either you are doing it wrong or it is time to move on. If you are not scared, then this means nothing to you anymore. Every man dies, but not every man truly lives – It is time to act like it.

Jump.

Thanks for reading the mumblings in my own mind

382

Hey Alpha! I’ve been a long time reader and love your workouts, help, rants and everything. You’re truly an inspiration and keep up the hard work! If you open that gym, I would love to stop by. Sounds like it would be an incredible place. Will be following along!

383

Killer Article man! Some of that stuff really speaks to me. I feel like I have a life purpose that is going to subject me to austere conditions. Sometimes in the mornings if something hurts I get that little voice that says this is a grind would it not be easier to choose a more conventional path. Then I think of how hard guys like you are capable of pushing it or remember something you wrote and I realize that I am being a puss and I get a bit stronger each day .

Btw thanks for answering my q on stone lifting , your strongman training looks very fun and challenging I’m gonna push myself to get stronger and do one someday. a cool tidbit I read in a blog- for viking fisherman to be eligible to partake in a voyage they had to be capable of lifting a 225 stone to hip height and walking around with it for a while! If a fecking viking could do that I need to up my game lol. Keep killing it man!

384

Roran: Thanks so much for the kind words man, they mean a lot to me! And welcome to the log! Once the doors are open, I will definitely have to have you come down and check it out!

law8: Thanks so much man! I am never sure how my rants go over and don’t get a ton of feedback on them, so I really appreciate what you said! And I totally know what you are saying. The only way I get through workouts sometimes is by telling myself a lot of the things that I have written, I figure if they help me, hopefully they may helps others.

and that is really cool about the Viking thing, makes me feel less bad about how heavy Atlas stones feel! Thanks for checking in brother!

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No one’s paved the road to paradise or guaranteed that it’d be nice. It’s just a long road, a hard road Till were six feet under wondering ‘What the Fuck have I done? Where did all my time go?’ At times in life you gotta take A chance and dance on broken Glass and see who lasts." --TAT Road to Paradise

Saturday, 07June2014 - Work For today

Finally the deload is over so I headed up to Hershey PA to do some strongman stuff. Really it was just Atlas Stones. Had a couple of competitors there and made some good contacts.

I’m not completely sure of the weights of the stones I played around with today, it is all kind of convoluted because a lot of the bigger stones weren’t marked and the scale we had wouldn’t read them correctly but I know I got a 300lb stone onto a 56" Platform pretty easily a few times. Then I Just kept grabbing bigger and bigger stones working my way up to a 365lber. I laped it very easily twice but couldn’t get it high enough. The experienced guys there said I had plenty of power to do it, I just need to work on my technique more.

Afterwards I did a bunch of tire flips and headed home.

Good day of training and I made some good contacts that will hopefully help me out in the future.

385

Its clear that you have an incredible talent for writing, that article was one of your best. As always thank you for putting all the time and effort you do into this log. It means more to alot of people than you will ever know.

386

That letter to yourself resonated with me.

Not much else to say…

387

augustburnsred: Thank you so much man, what you said means a lot!

Vinny, Thankks man, I really glad it did. A lot of that stuff is stuff that I need to hear all of the time. It means a lot that it resonated with you.

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Sunday, 08June2014 - Work For Today

No weights for me today, just fighting then cutting firewood. I am pretty excited to start the new program tomorrow, hopefully it will take me to where I want to be.

388

Strong words again Alpha. Something that will resonate with most people.

Just started doing upping the intensity and using giant sets. I was just wondering a few things.

  1. You mentioned you recently had to a deload. How do you usually judge when you need it? Given the intensity of your sessions, I guess there is always some lingering soreness and pains. For example today I was sore all over, but decided to push through it and actually felt better for it, but I guess there is always a limit.

  2. I noticed you haven’t done as much on the extract recently. Is this due to time or with everything else you are doing do you find you have done enough after giant sets (especially given the weights you have been lifting recently).

Either way, I am enjoying getting back into the game and your log has been a great help.

389

Great article/letter man, came at a good time as I was just considering quitting something that was getting too difficult (with a busy job, young family etc) and now I’ve decided to go at it with twice the commitment as before and make it work somehow.

Just wondering if you’d care to share what an average day or week is for you? Not necessarily only training-related stuff - just keen to read how a real life badass goes about life in general. I ask because for me, getting my training in is the fun/enjoyable part of my day - managing the other 23 hours is the real challenge. Don’t mean to pry or get overly personal - I’ve asked the question, you can answer any way you like.

Cheers dude - and best of luck with the new venture!

390

Alpha,

I’ve been following your new log since the beginning and have read the others multiple times already. First of all, I have the greatest respect for your uncompromising dedication (I know you probably read that all the time, but anyways).

I’m an LEO and thus my training is geared towards being as efficient as possible in that line of work. I’ve noticed that you ran/sprinted a lot more back in 2011/2012. I don’t really like running (especially longer distances up to 10km), but I’ve always done it for PT-tests and GPP.

Do you think that the rucking you’re currently doing plus some fighting and sprints thrown would be enough to keep adequate 3/5k times and be efficient in foot pursuits etc.? I’m talking about sub 11/21 Min. here. I’m preparing to join my nation’s SWAT team, and being in good cardiovascular shape is of huge importance there.

I don’t really believe all the crap that cardio slows/kills muscle and strength gains (if you don’t go overboard, that is), but I was wondering whether you think it’s necessary.

Regards

391

Ironwarrior: Well man, as you know, I am not a big fan of deloading. The only reason why I did this one was because My left shoulder is in some bad shape, my left groin is definitely tweaked and my left knee is rough at the moment. I thought some time off would help them heal a little bit, but I found that the stone work I did Saturday just completely undid all that I had rested for. Such is life. At least now I know what I am dealing with! 99% of the time I chose to just push through. That may not work for everyone, but it seems to work for me. You really just need to know the difference between your body being beat up and being injured. You need physical time for one and mental toughness to get through the other. Listen to your body, but you know when you need some time and when you do not.

The extracts have been absent recently mainly because of the time that it takes for me to get the insert and giant sets done. Well, that and the fact that I have some sort of fighting practice every single day of the week. I just consider practice to be a form of the extract.

Thank you so much for the kind words about the rant, they mean a lot, and if I can be in any way a help to you on your journey, please do not hesitate to ask. I have been and will continue to follow your log and give you any insights that I can.

Justrob: Well man, I cannot go into too much detail with the work stuff but I will do my best.

I usually wake up between 0330 ? 0400, slam a protein shake, take some pills and get on the road. Once I arrive at work I throw on my vest and get my normal ruck in to help loosen my body up, blow out my first lung of the day and burn some extra calories. I always read the entire time I ruck. My days always go better if I read something, write something (Create) and perform some form of fighting.

Then I eat my first meal And look over what the day will be like and set some goals for my workouts, career oriented and my business oriented.

Next I either do a bodweight workout with a group of guys or teach some fighting stuff often time both. Then I go into the workout that I post on here every day. During this time I will usually have 1-2 more protein shakes.

Then I will eat another meal after doing some soft tissue work.

More work related stuff would come next in my day.

Then I leave work to go to fight practice. I slam another shake as soon as I get home.

The next few hours are spent working on my business/website and getting and errands/housework/food prep that is needed.

Then I will either have another form of fight practice or do some soft tissue work, set some goals for tomorrow, meditate/breathing exercises, slam another protein shake and rack out.

I can do all of this right now because my job situation is very stable at the moment, that will be changing in the very near future. But when that happens, I only plan on keeping at this line of work a little bit longer before I quit and go full-time with my side business.

That is an average day man. Really, in my line of work there are no average days as circumstances change constantly but I hope that gives you a basic idea. Thank you so much for your kind words and I am glad that I am able to help you out in some small way.

KDO: In reality man, if you are hitting the inserts that I post here with everything you have, running is kind of unneeded. I did more running in the past because I was in a circumstance where I did not have access to more equipment, so the running took place of a lot of other forms of conditioning.

I too need to take PT tests regularly and have never had any problems making my run times following what you see here in my log. I think the rucking my help in a small way, but really, the inserts are where my lung capacity really gets built up. Hit it as intensely as possible for short amount of times and you will find that you can just grit your teeth and power through any distance event when the time comes.

I hope that helps man, and I really appreciate you kind words, they mean more than you realize.

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“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” --Aristotle

“My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure.” --Abraham Lincolin

Monday, 09June2104 - Work For Today

INSERT: As Many Rounds As Possible in 15 Minutes
5 ? 30? Box Jumps
5 ? Pull-Ups
5 ? Clapping Push-Ups
5 ? Burpee Pull-Ups

STRENGTH:

Conventional Deadlifts: 515x2, 515x2, 515x2, 515x2, 515x2, 515x5 - Strict 1 Minute Rest periods between Sets

Giant Sets:
Farmer’s Walk Deadlifts: 600x2, 600x2, 600x2, 600x2, 600x2, 600x2
Ab Wheel Rollouts: 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10
Krock Rows (Each Side): 180x20, 180x20, 180x20, 180x20, 180x20, 180x20
Stiff Legged Deadlifts with a 2" Axle Bar: 315x5, 315x5, 315x5, 315x5, 315x5, 315x5

NOTES:

  • It is the first day of a 10 Week program I have written. I hate programs like this (With straight Sets at a certain % of my 1RM) but I want to give it a try to see if the higher rep volume will help me build some more strength. I guess we will know if 10 Weeks!
  • Normal rucking in the AM
  • I am waiting on my first equipment delivery to my new gym as we speak and cannot leave until it gets here. If it gets here in time then I will head to fight practice. If not, there will be some conditioning done with my new toys when they arrive!
392

Straight sets ha? That will be interesting.
Recently I switched to kinda pyramiding the weight by feel up or down as you do and it works really well for me at this moment.
Your letter/article was a great read as always!
The volume of the rows is enormous!! 120 reps total of 180 DB holly shit, how much soreness are you having from this kind of stuff if any at all?

393

Regev: Thanks for the kind words brother! I am a little sore from the rows, but not terribly.

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09June2014 - Fuel From Yesterday

Meal 1: 2-3 Scoops of Metabolic Drive, 1 Flameout, 2 servings of Superfood, 3 tbs MCT oil, 1 tbs grass fed butter, coffee, 2000 IU’s of Vitamin D3

*****2 Mile Ruck. 75lb vest @ a 15% Incline

Meal 2: 2-3 Scoops of Metabolic Drive, 1 Flameout, MCT Oil, Beef Jerky

*****Yesterday’s Workout

Meal 3: 4 Turkey Brats, broccoli, 1 Flameout, 1 Avocado

Meal 4: 2-3 Scoops of Metabolic Drive, 1 Flameout, Milk, Spinach

Meal 5: 1 Steak. 1 Avocado, Strawberries, 1 Flameout, Milk

Meal 6: 2 Chicken Breasts, Salsa, Black Beans, Onions, Peppers, 1 Flameout, Milk, 1 Orange

I am trying to eat 1 Steak a day, at least 1 Avocado a day and 1/2 Gallon of milk a day.

394

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“Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.”
“He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else.” --Benjamin Franklin

Tuesday, 10 June2014 - Work For Today

INSERT: In Front of a Running Clock
1 Minute of Double Unders
1 Minute Alternating Turkish Get-Ups
2 Minute of Double Unders
2 Minute Alternating Turkish Get-Ups
3 Minute of Double Unders
3 Minute Alternating Turkish Get-Ups

STRENGTH: Every minute on the minute for 10 Minutes Complete 3 Reps of flat Bench Press with 275lbs

Then Giant Sets:
Incline Dumbbell Preseses: 100x20, 100x20, 100x20, 100x20
Immediately followed my presses with 10 Plyo Push-ups from the floor up onto 18" Jump Boxes
10 Windshield Wipers (Each Side)
10 Dumbbell Snatches (each Side): 80, 80, 80, 80
1:00 Minute of Battle Ropes: 1, 1, 1, 1

NOTES:

  • Since my body is not used to splitting up my body parts this much, I am getting unreal pumps…Not sure I like it, but my body is definitely responding to the different type of training I am putting it through.
  • I find these training sessions to be pretty easy, I think i am going to have to start making the inserts harder on my “rep” and “explosive” days.
395

10June2014 - Fuel From Today

Meal 1: 2-3 Scoops of Metabolic Drive, 1 Flameout, 2 servings of Superfood, 3 tbs MCT oil, 1 tbs grass fed butter, coffee, 2000 IU’s of Vitamin D3

*****2 Mile Ruck. 75lb vest @ a 15% Incline

Meal 2: Turkey Italian sausages, Apple, 1 Flameout

Meal 3: 2-3 Scoops of Metabolic Drive, 1 Flameout, MCT Oil, Beef Jerky

*****Yesterday’s Workout

Meal 4: 4 Pork Cop, 1 Flameout, 1 Avocado

Meal 5: Pork chop, Apple 1 Flameout, Milk, Spinach

Meal 6: Steak, salsa, Black Beans, Onions, Peppers, 1 Avocado, Strawberries, 1 Flameout, Milk

Meal 7: 2-3 Scoops of Metabolic Drive, 1 Flameout, Milk, 1 Orange

I am trying to eat 1 Steak a day, at least 1 Avocado a day and 1/2 Gallon of milk a day.

396

Man, you really trying new things hu? bro splits you said? haha
Have you thought on going on 5/3/1 and on the weekend doing an event day? I read that it’s a good template for strongman. I read that you did some 5/3/1 back in the day right before the first log been shut down.

397

So with the extra steak, avocado & milk each day are you aiming to increase bodywt with a goal in mind or just trying to eat more solid food to help recovery?

398

I think Alpha is probably too advanced for something like 5/3/1 to work very well.

399

Regev: Man, I will try anything if it makes me stronger! I did try 5/3/1 when Wendler first published it but I like more volume than what it prescribed. I think it is one of the best programs out there, it just didn’t fit what I was looking for. This is the first time I have broken up the full body stuff in years. I am just hoping for some more advancement. and like they say, if you don’t change anything, nothing changes…Only time will tell.

Lift and eat: I got the steak idea from Ben Rice and the milk idea from the guys at elitefts, basically it is just an experiment for strength gains using my body as a test tube.

1000rippedbuff: Hey man, great to hear from you again! and thanks for what you said, but I sure don’t feel very “Advanced”!

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“We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.” --Charles Swindoll

Wednesday, 11June2014 - Work For Today

INSERT:
Heavybag Shuttle runs with a Farmer’s Walk Chaser
Pick up 1 150lb Sandbag, sprint 50’, sprint back to the start. Do this 5 times for a total of 5 Bags.
Once you have moved the five bags pick up 250lb Farmer’s Walk Handles (Each Hand) and move them 150’.
Do this for 5 Rounds, Take up to 4 Minutes of Rest Between Rounds.

STRENGTH:
Completed 4 Sets of 8 Squats with 385lbs On the Bar. Performed a 2 Minute Plank as my rest periods between sets.

GIANT SETS: 4 Rounds
8 Front Squats: 315, 315, 315, 315
8 Snatch to Overhead Squats: 135, 135, 135, 135
8 Seated Good Mornings: 255, 255, 255, 255
10 Weighted Decline Sit-Ups: 1, 1, 1, 1

NOTES:

  • This insert made me want to kill myself.
  • This would be considered a “high” rep day for squats for me. Between all of the lowerbody work and the insert I wanted to puke long after the workout was over.
  • My legs and lower back were so engorged with blood that I thought they might explode. I am not used to this nonsense!
  • Normal Rucking first thing in the morning. Not going to fight practice this PM because I am headed to a baseball game. Hopefully i won’t get rained on!
400

Hey Alpha are you part wolverine?reason I ask is that I’m trying to remember the injuries you have logged in this and you seem to be very injury free compared to other lifters /athletes. From what I can remember (no homo :wink: ) you messed your back up after getting suplexed in mma, youtore your lat slightly… Any hip,knee, shoulder issues? What do you put this down to?