Alpha - those pants remind me of a certain shirt in Munich … just sayin’
Hey bro,
I know there is no short cut to rucking greatness - just suck it up and ruck. Thankfully for me it is not a huge requirement, just some here and there, and not too heavy. Some of my mates have selection coming up - not fun.
But I know what you mean; muscle comes back - be what you have to be when you have to be it, then get back to were you want to be when you can.
On another note, how do you go with more conentional-style deads? You have no issue off the floor, and conventional (at least to me) puts more difficulty in the lower portion of the lift, with the advantage of an easier final hip drive and lockout. But it is quite possible that 300kg is just fricking heavy and damn hardto lock out no matter what…
Thinking of you and your family today and I thank you for your service.
Hope you are staying safe out there!
Big-c: Yeah man, the only reason why i didn’t ramp up on this one was because after i did ramp up on my squats, my back was cramping really badly, so i was just pushing through the rest and not really trying to do much other than finish the workout…I normally do ramp up everything.
When i get back to my house i will let you know a couple of the versions on the Book of Five Rings that i have read. i don’t have them in front of me at the moment and don’t want to steer you in the wrong direction…
Power GnP: those pants may just be the most erotic thing I have seen in a very long time…
St Clair: it is a VERY similar shade isn’t it!!! and PINK MAKES ME ANGRY!!! i think Dirty South has given up on keeping a log…that was short lived…
BadMF: Well, i never pull conventional, well heavy at least, because of my broken back…breaking the weight off the floor applies the pressure directly to the injured portion of my spine and so I try to avoid them…To be honest i would rather pull conventional as I feel i am more powerful that way, just like my squat seems stronger with my feet a little closer together as opposed to a lot wider than my shoulder, but it is just an injury i have to work around…
i have some good ideas of what i am going to work on and will hopefully blow away my old numbers in a few months by working on my form with the lift…Lots of good help from people on here…Thanks for checking in though man, and keep me updated on how your rucking is going…
MIM: Hey thaks MIM, but your Hubby is the one getting shipped out for the long haul! It is I that is thanking you for what you and yours do!
***Did a bunch of rucking through some mountains semi-close to my house all day yesterday…i have no idea how far it all ended up being though…Going to hit the gym soon, i will post how it goes later…
A late happy memorial day/thank you for your service to all of you out there putting it/have put it on the line for all of us…
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Always dream and shoot higher than you know you can do. Don’t bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself.
-William Faulkner
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01June2010: Training
Training B:
Insert: 3 Rounds as fast as possible:
Row 700 meters
50 Situps
50 push ups
Repeat 2 more times
Strength: Giant Sets 4x8
1a. Weighted Pulls: 70/6, 70/6, 70/6, 70/6
1b. Standing BB Military: 155/8, 175/8, 195/8, 195/8
1c. Cable wood chops: 4 Sets 8 reps each side
2a. Upright rows: 90/8, 100/8, 100/9
2b. DB Lateral Raise: 45/8, 50/8, 45/8
2c. Face pulls: 4 Sets of 8 reps
Extract: 3 Rounds as fast as possible:
Row 700 meters
50 Situps
50 push ups
Repeat 2 more times
Notes:
-Fairly easy day as far as things go, but again, i am just working my form and rehabing myself back from stupidity…Talked to a guy today and may try to set up some chiro and traction stuff to see if they can speed up getting my back into shape…
-the pumps I have been getting have been crazy with this higher reps stuff–but it feels good to be doing something a little different…
Have you ever used a fat bar or does your gym even have them? They are great for improving grip, forearm strenght, and the pumps that come from them are crazy. Thibs and many other strength coaches have been incorporating alot of the fat bar stuff but so many gyms don’t carry them. They are very expensive. The alternative is this http://www.fatgripz.com/ I got them a week ago and holy shit! Would be an excellent addition to your lighter workouts that are you are now doing…just sayin.
Alpha,
Ever do your conditioning/sprints/distance runs with a weighted vest on?
I’m thinking of trying this to add difficulty to my training.
Hey Alpha,
Just checking in…did you get my PM?
Also, pulled my hamstring pretty good tonight got any tips for a fast recovery?
I am pretty bummed about it.
ALPHA!!!
hey Fella, I hope your back is better and am glad you are taking care of yourself.
Serious question though, do you do visualization prior to your workouts?
I do it prior to anything important to me, including work presentations.
Celeste
Mateus: Hey man, no, I have never had access to a fat bar or those grips…what have you noticed they did for you? I was reading some of the stuff on thier site, but would like to hear what your opinion of them is…good suggestion though. Thanks!
Animal Mother: Nah man, i haven’t…i actually looked into buying one of those but they are pretty expensive and I wanted to try one out before shelling out the cash for one…i have definitely heard good things about using them. I also hear that doing things like weighted pulls/dips is a whole lot stable/comfortable uing one of those as opposed to buying a chain from the hardware store and doing what I do…
Just liek the fat grips above, it is another thing that i would like to add to my gym bag…Do you have access to one? Or have you tried one before…again, i would liek to hear your thoughts/opinions if you have. Thanks man!
gebaker: Nah man, I think something may be up with my account because I haven’t gotten any PM’s for a few days now which is kind of rare…try sending it again man.
Oh and really sorry to hear about the hamstring man, I know that sucks…the RICE principals of Rest-Ice-Compression-Elevation are always good as well as Advil, and foam rolling/lax work…i would also keep doing very light things to keep allowing blood to get to the area like walking and easy mobility stuff…don’t discount contrast showers and epsom salt baths as well…
That sucks bro, but you can do a lot to speed up the recovery…injuries happen to everyone, now it is just where you go from here.
Yesterdays Fuel: 01 june 2010
Meal 1: 1.5 Cups of greek yogurt, Black berries, Raspberries, strawberries, 1 Flameout, 2 BCAA’s, 1 Multi
Meal 2: 1 Scoop Metabolic Drive, 1 Scoop optimum 100% whey, 2 Fish oil, 2 BCAA’s.
Meal 3: 1 Scoop optimum 100% Whey, 1 Scoop Surge, 1.5 Scoops Surge Workout Fuel, 12 BCAA’s
Meal 4: 1 Scoop Metabolic Drive, 1 Scoop optimum 100% whey, 2 Fish oil, 2 BCAA’s.
Meal 5: Turkey Meatballs, tomato sauce, 1 Flameout, 2 BCAA’s
Meal 6: Salad, steak, feta cheese, Milk, 1 Flameout, 2 BCAA’s, 3 Z-12.
More stretching and LAX ball stuff last night to try and work on my back…it is feeling a little bit better today…going to hit some deads later and will post the pain here later…
Hey Alpha… great training.
Just to echo an earlier post, which version of the Musashi book “The Five Rings” would you reccomend, there are a couple out there.
Thanks for the inspiration…
Bunny: I have read these three versions of the book…All three i would recommend:
i would check any of them out…Thanks man!
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“Fear can make you do more wrong than hate or jealousy. If you’re afraid you don’t commit yourself to life completely; fear makes you always, always hold something back.”
-Philip K. Dick
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02 June 2010: Training
***I had a normal day of training planned for today but then i really got into ripping apart the form on my deadlift to see what I can do to try and improve…It was a good learning day and was still pretty hard despite how it looks on paper…
Insert: Jogged a mile before my back started giving me fits again…
Then Set up the weights for a giant set consisting of Deads, 75lb DB Swings, and the full stack on the Hammer Strength ab machine…
My deads looked like this:
135x3 Legs very wide hips very close to the bar
225x3 Legs very wide hips very close to the bar —Felt heavy
315x3 Legs very wide hips very close to the bar —Felt heavy
405x3 Legs very wide hips very close to the bar —Felt heavy and had a sharp pain in my lower left ab
455x3 Legs very wide hips very close to the bar —Felt like balls
405x3 Brought legs to hybrid stance in but brought my hips down and kept my shoulder blades retracted through the pull–felt good, very light
405x3 kept legs in hybrid stance and kept my hips down and kept my shoulder blades retracted through the pull–felt good, very light
455x1 kept legs in hybrid stance and kept my hips down, shoulder blades came forward at the start of the pull…no me gusta
495x1 kept legs in hybrid stance and kept my hips down, shoulder blades came forward at the start of the pull…was super slow and felt like a truck
405x1 kept legs in hybrid stance and kept my hips down and kept my shoulder blades retracted through the pull–felt good, very light
405x1 kept legs in hybrid stance and kept my hips down and kept my shoulder blades retracted through the pull–felt good, very light
455x1 kept legs in hybrid stance and kept my hips down and kept my shoulder blades retracted through the pull–not too bad, and much lighter than the 455 earlier
475x1 kept legs in hybrid stance and kept my hips down and kept my shoulder blades retracted through the pull–not a bad pull, felt a little heavy but not terrible…
all of these sets were giant setted with 75Lb DB swings for 8 reps and the Hammer Strength Ab machine for 8 reps…
My back was waaaayyyy to weird/shot to do an extract so i finished up with a bunch of stretching…
Things i learned about my deadlift today…
-My body is weak and doesn’t like pulling with my legs out wide like in a traditional Sumo stance…
-I am much stronger/in a better position for pulling with my legs at the rings on the bar…
-Dropping my hips helps, but I think i need to work on some of my hip mobility, because it was hard to get down there…
-i have a hurt back.
-i wanna pull 700lbs
-Stclair is helpful to have around on a learning DL day…
Notes:
I don’t like having days like today, but when i did thins with my bench it helped me more than i can say…hopefully in time this will get me pulling heavier healthier…and if it doesn’t, I quit…
Stclair20 and Dirty south both saw what happens when my back decides to act up today…their solution was to laugh at me…thanks guys…
Not a bad day all in all, hopefully I am learning something from being hurt like this…
Thanks for pointing us in the right direction for the books man, will look into those later! Cheers
Hey man, sorry to hear the full-sumo didn’t do any good. I’m interested in what you mean when you write you brought your hips down. Do you mean you’re trying to keep them from rising early, or have you changed your starting position?
Incidentally, since you mentioned you switched to a chain for weighted dips after your dip belt gave out: have you tried tubular webbing? Pros: Light, cheap, easy to store, more comfortable than chain, and holds 20 kilonewtons. I get mine at a climbing store - even made straps out of it. Cons: Not quite as badass as chain.
Also, I think it’s awesome you bothered to read several translations of Miyamoto Musashi’s Book of Five Rings. Stay strong.
[quote]Alpha wrote:________________
Animal Mother: Nah man, i haven’t…i actually looked into buying one of those but they are pretty expensive and I wanted to try one out before shelling out the cash for one…i have definitely heard good things about using them. I also hear that doing things like weighted pulls/dips is a whole lot stable/comfortable uing one of those as opposed to buying a chain from the hardware store and doing what I do…
Just liek the fat grips above, it is another thing that i would like to add to my gym bag…Do you have access to one? Or have you tried one before…again, i would liek to hear your thoughts/opinions if you have. Thanks man!
[/quote]
Alpha,
I actually talked with Jason Ferruggia(do you know of him?..If you don’t, you should check him out…I think you would definitely like his methods) the other day about this. He told me not to run with the vest on as it will lead to damage of the ankles, knees, hips and lower back. Pulling a sled(which I already do) is a much more effective and safer option. However, the vest is great to use on body weight exercises, like you mentioned.
I also have Fat Gripz. These things are great for barbell pressing and heavy barbell holds. I wouldn’t use them for rows, chins and deadlift type movements as it is almost impossible to hold onto any kind of heavy weights. I recommend them to anyone looking to take their grip and forearm strength to a new level. Funny you mentioned the Fat Gripz because someone in my gym made a comment about them to me today in the gym when I was using them on the bench press. He said, “Most people in here complain that the barbells are too thick and you’re making them even thicker!”…He didn’t understand when I told them that I’m always trying to find ways to increase the difficulty of my training.
Keep up the hard work man.
Hey Alpha,
Have you tried football / hockey socks for deads? They let you pull the bar right up the shins, which in turn allows you to get over the bar and drop your hips and keep them low. Obviously you have good leg drive, so maybe this could help out - you will however receive some odd looks, but you are probably big enough to deal with them…
The big thing for me to break my last plateau was to grab the bar, then sit back as far as possible just before the pull. Activates the stretch-rebound reflex, and keeps the bar close. I don’t use long socks because I pull conventional and the knurling is outside my shins, but you might need to. Another option is duct tape / go fast tape up the legs. That would be pretty hardcore!
Hey Alpha, finally got a chance to go thru this and wanted to echo the sentiments of others that you are an inspiration to a lot of people. Keep tearing it up and thanks for posting as much and going into as much detail as you do regarding your training and diet. Its refreshing to see someone be genuinely interested in helping others’ out and taking time to answer everyone’s questions.
As far as your deadlift goes, I highly recommend checking out Pavel’s “Power to the People Professional.” I know a lot of people like to crap on him, but he goes into great detail on all the powerlifts, including the sumo DL. I know you said the full blown sumo DL didn’t agree with your back, which I totally understand, but I think some of the finer points he goes into can help you out. Oh, and happy belated birthday- sounds like you got to enjoy it eventually!
Big-c: No worries brother, I am happy to help!
Axt-rs: Well, i am changing my starting position actually. Before I would automatically start with my hips higher but now i am pulling them down and really focusing on keeping my shoulder blades back.
And I have actually grown very used to the chain…it hurt at first but now I actually enjoy using it…Dirty south is actually using towing straps for a belt…seems to be working well for him. Good suggestion though..
Animal Mother: I have never met Jason Ferruggia but have read some stuff by/about him, and he seems like a great resource…and i would totally agree with what he said about the weighted vest stuff…and i think I may go for the fat grip stuff…I figure it cannot hurt at all.
Badmf: You know man, I never hit my shins when i do deads, I actually rub the skin off my thighs more man. and i just started doing the “sit back” thing and it seemed to work pretty well for me yesterday…And i did lose skin on my shins i would totally do the duct tape thing, but taking that stuff off would blow! thanks for checking in man!
PMgalt: hey thanks for the kind words man! and i will definiteyl check out the Pavel stuff! Good suggestion man, and thanks again!
Yesterdays Fuel: 02 June 2010
Meal 1: 1.5 Cups of greek yogurt, Black berries, Raspberries, strawberries, 1 Flameout, 2 BCAA’s, 1 Multi
Meal 2: 1 Scoop Metabolic Drive, 1 Scoop optimum 100% whey, 2 Fish oil, 2 BCAA’s.
Meal 3: 1 Scoop optimum 100% Whey, 1 Scoop Surge, 1.5 Scoops Surge Workout Fuel, 12 BCAA’s
Meal 4: 1 Scoop Metabolic Drive, 1 Scoop optimum 100% whey, 2 Fish oil, 2 BCAA’s. Beef jerky
Meal 5: Chicken, BBQ sauce, 2 fish oil caps, 2 BCAA’s
Meal 6: Turkey Meatballs, tomato sauce, 1 Flameout, 2 BCAA’s
Meal 7: Salad, steak, feta cheese, Milk, 1 Flameout, 2 BCAA’s, 3 Z-12.
Also ate a bunch of sunflower seeds to and from work…it is a long commute where i am going right now and eating them keeps me awake while driving!
–Did some much LAX ball work last night that I should get a full ride to hopkins! But my back definitely feels a little bit better today…working out in a few hours, I’ll post it here once I am done…
Thank-you for the response regarding the book… rehab that back brother… Intereo Cassus…