Your axle presses are really great.
Ecchastang: It definitely is brother, thanks to you! I also found that I moved my hands in a little bit closer last night which seemed to really help alleviate the pain. Thanks again man!
Roran: Thanks brother, you can see where my right elbow is still a little bit weak at the top of the 340 set. That is also where I failed on the 350, it was all but there and the right elbow just wasnât quite ready for it just yet. It feels pretty decent today so i think it is on the road back to recovery.
Biker: Thanks man, it felt really good to get back to them finally. Apparently all of the log work leading up to the contest really helped, thanks for stoping in man!
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THURSDAY, 16APRIL2015 - Work For Today
Wave 1/Week 6/Day 4
SKILL
1 Hour of Grappling
CONDITIONING
2 Mile Incline Ruck with a 50b weight vest
Then, 10 Rounds, As Fast as Possible
10 Pull-Ups
10 Handstand Push-Ups
10 Glute Ham Raise Sit-Ups
Then, 8 - 400 Meter sprints with the 50b weight vest.
Approximately 90 Seconds Rest between rounds
NOTES:
- Body is beat up from all of the work this week so I stuck to conditioning only for today in hopes of having a good workout tomorrow.
- Right elbow feels pretty good considering after a workout like yesterdayâs it normally feels like a piece of dead meat. I think it is on the path to healing. Iâm excited to see what I can hit when it is back to 100%
Thanks Roran and Lorez for pointing out those section, Iâm not sure how I overlooked those! Amazing write-up as always from Alpha! You are one inspiring individual. Keep up the great work man.
Alpha, how long does 400m with the vest take you?
The-German: Thanks so much brother, I really appreciate the kind words!
MattyG: I am not really sure brother. I keep the treadmill rolling between my sets for the entirety of the repeats and I donât look at when i jump on or off, I just look at the distance. I usually start the run at 9mph, and up it throughout the distance, usually finishing around 10.5 - 11mph. When it comes to running, I go as hard a possible because I despise it so much. The faster I go, the less time I have to spend doing it. Sorry I cannot give you a more precise answer, but I hope that in explaining how I perform them, I came close to answering your question.
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The resistance that you fight physically in the gym and the resistance that you fight in life can only build a strong character.? --Arnold Schwarzenegger
âOne man has enthusiasm for 30 minutes, another for 30 days,but it is the man who has it for 30 years who makes a success of his life.â --Unknown
FRIDAY, 17APRIL2015 - Work For Today
Wave 1/Week 6/Day 5
CONDITIONING - 10 Rounds
50 Foot Farmerâs Walks (Heaviest set was 275 each hand) I am working on my speed and staggering my picks.
20 Kettlebell Goblet Squats: 150lb Kettlebell
:30 Seconds Rest Between Rounds
STRENGTH GIANT SET - 4 Rounds
Squats: 500x5, 550x3, 570x2, 585x2
8 Lumberjack Squats @ 160lbs
10 Toes to Bar
Run 400 Meters Holding a 50b Medicine Ball
NOTES:
- Farmerâs walks went well. I am thinking of throwing my hat into a platinum plus strongman comp in a few months. For those of you who donât know, they are a tier above all other competitions and people travel from all over the nation to compete in them because if you win, you get your pro card. Fast Farmerâs are involved, so I am working speed, not weight on these.
- Squats didnât feel very good today. I had to rush to the workout straight from the airport and I was coaching people while trying to get these done, which usually drops my focus considerably. I am trying to work on reps for squats in hopes that the increased time under tension and focus will help up my numbers. Also, for Marylandâs strongest man 2015, there is a car squat for max reps. I am not sure how that is going to work out, but I figure it will be the hardest set of my life. Hopefully changing up my focus some will help me in that event.
- Also, when my squat goes up, my deadlift goes up. It doesnât work the other way around for me though.
Here is a vid of the 550x3 and the 585x2. I meant to vid the 570, but I guess i didnât hit completely hit the button on the camera and I didnât get it.
Hi Alpha,
Thanks so much for replying to my question on mental toughness the last time round. I havenât replied you and it would be really rude of me to have asked you a question and not offer my thanks, so many thanks again!
PJ
Alpha or anyone else know the song during that 550x3 set? I was trying to figure it out, but have been unsuccessful.
Oh yeah, good answer and approach Alpha, thanks
pjlife: Thanks brother. I love answering peopleâs questions, that is why I am here.
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âEach workout is like a brick in a building, and every time you go in there and do a half-ass workout, youâre not laying a brick down. Somebody else is.â --Dorian Yates
SATURDAY, 18APRIL2015 - Work For Today
Wave 1/Week 6/Day 6
CONDITIONING - Deck of Cards Workout
Complete the number of reps corresponding with the number on the card. Face cards = 10 reps, Aces = 11.
HEARTS: Burpees
SPADES: Pull-Ups
DIAMONDS: 45lb Plate Touches
CLUBS: Jumping Lunges
Joker 1: 4:00 Minute Plank
Joker 2: 8 Rounds (4:00) Tabata Hollow Rocks
EVENTS
Atlas Stone work. Did a lot of reps while coaching people, then did a bunch of loads with a 300b stone.
NOTES
- The Deck of Cards really helped loosen me upâŠI walked in feeling pretty beaten up, but felt better after the conditioning.
- Stones are always fun and it is awesome to see peopleâs faces when they do more than they thought they could. I really do love my second job
Alpha dude! Awesome work on those Axle presses! Also, I really enjoyed that interview with Dan Caraway, I read it the day you posted it and a couple times since then, just too cool!
Alpha,
When I see your log, I feel you do things randomly alot. Maybe Iâm just missing out some system.
Do you have a form of programming, or do you just do what you feel like?
No discredit eitherway, it definetely works great for you.
MattyG: It is âWith Everythingâ by Hillsong United off their Live in Miami album. I love the song, but it is Christian based, just wanted to warn you in case you were not into that sort of thing. And you are very welcome, I am happy to help.
Farmer Owen: Thanks so much man, he is a really good guy and has helped me a lot in the sport! Thanks for stopping in brother!
Pano: Believe it or not, there IS a method to this madnessâŠA brief layout looks like this:
Monday: Conditioning/ Strength (lower body Pull) /Accessory stuff
Tuesday: Strongman Events and Conditioning
Wednesday: Conditioning/ Upper body pull-push (horizontal) / Events or more conditioning
Thursday: Strongman events and conditioning
Friday: Conditioning / Lower body push) / Accessory
Saturday: Conditioning or Strongman events / Upper body pull-push (vertical)
Sunday: off
For the strength stuff, I will run percentages similar to the cube for 10 - 20 weeks, then percentages similar to DUP for 5-10 Weeks, then run 5-10 weeks of ramping sets, then start it all back over again.
Believe it or not, every single time I walk into he gym, I know what I am going to do and have an intent for the day. People get thrown off by the condition and event stuff but if you look at the strength section alone, you will see the programming.
I hope that helps man.
Todayâs workout consisted of doing a lot of random junk at really weird speeds because some photographers came out to do a photo shoot for advertising for the gym.
Random fact about me: I was a model for the first 2 under armor commercialsâŠYou know the âwe must protect this houseâ BS? Yep, I was in that one and the next one where we were playing football at the University of MarylandâŠToday reminded be of that. I despise doing that kind of stuff, but if it helps get people to my gym so that can become my full-time gigâŠThen Iâm all inâŠ
[quote]Alpha wrote:
MattyG: It is âWith Everythingâ by Hillsong United off their Live in Miami album. I love the song, but it is Christian based, just wanted to warn you in case you were not into that sort of thing. And you are very welcome, I am happy to help.
[/quote]
Thanks man, I can appreciate the music even though Iâm not religious.
I found this song a few years ago, apparently their a Christian metal band, donât know if youâve heard it before, pretty short.
The part starting from :50 and peaks at 1:25 gets me pretty amped
[quote]Alpha wrote:
Todayâs workout consisted of doing a lot of random junk at really weird speeds because some photographers came out to do a photo shoot for advertising for the gym.
Random fact about me: I was a model for the first 2 under armor commercialsâŠYou know the âwe must protect this houseâ BS? Yep, I was in that one and the next one where we were playing football at the University of MarylandâŠToday reminded be of that. I despise doing that kind of stuff, but if it helps get people to my gym so that can become my full-time gigâŠThen Iâm all inâŠ[/quote]
These ones?
Thanks alot Alpha, itâs kinda a pimped up upper-lower split.
The conditioning and events really thew me off indeed. Do you have some kind of progress for those (especially conditioning), or do you just push as hard as possible?
Btw, you do a hell lot of conditioning! I think your hearth can deadlift more than me.
Have you never felt overly fatigued by all the conditioning? Perhaps you progressed till you could handle this amount.
I think you canât give a big guy enough credit for taking care of his hearth: a bazooka is great, but not worth that much if you could fire it once.
One last question alpha. If you would enjoy it, and please tell me if you wonât, may I write an small essay for your awesome blog?
Iâm thinking lately of vanity as a beast with two heads, and since a great deal of T-Nation readers are into making their body more aestheticly pleasing, this might just be the right place.
Hope to here soon from you, bro!
[quote]MattyG35 wrote:
[quote]Alpha wrote:
Todayâs workout consisted of doing a lot of random junk at really weird speeds because some photographers came out to do a photo shoot for advertising for the gym.
Random fact about me: I was a model for the first 2 under armor commercialsâŠYou know the âwe must protect this houseâ BS? Yep, I was in that one and the next one where we were playing football at the University of MarylandâŠToday reminded be of that. I despise doing that kind of stuff, but if it helps get people to my gym so that can become my full-time gigâŠThen Iâm all inâŠ[/quote]
These ones?
Hahahaha yep, those would be the ones. Pretty embarrassing looking at them now, but at the time they seemed pretty cool.
Pano: yea man, you could call it something of a split.
And the Event stuff is usually based upon need for whatever show one of my athletes has coming up. If no one has anything on the horizon, I will try to cycle the event intensities similar to the cube method. The conditioning is pretty random though. I just think of what sounds like hell to do for 12 minutes, then roll with it. Some of the exercises will be in place to help fire the muscles we will be using in the strength portions, but as far as time/rep schemesâŠThat is all made up in my head.
And yea it is a lot of conditioning. I get asked a lot about the pre-fatigue effecting the strength. I think, as with most things, many people would respond well to slowly building up the volume over time.
But at my gym, if you signed up for the workout, you will do the same as everyone else from day one. BJack from these forums had that experience and he can speak for himself, but it did nothing but help him.
I may feel more tired physically after doing the conditioning, but it has never effect my strength. It may even feel like it is going to, but then the weights just go up despite what my body is telling me. i hope that makes senseâŠ
And if you want to write something and post it here, feel free to. I wouldnât mind at all. But know that if you do choose to post it here, then you will only be reaching a select few readers, most of whom are more interested in performance rather than ascetics. If that is your intention, then go for it. But if you want your writing to reach more of the physical appearance crowd, then i would post it in either the bodybuilding forum or the off topic forum. Feel free to post here if you want man, I just want you to get the audience you are shooting for.
A pic that one of my friends sent me from earlier todayâŠI guess I am considering this a progress pic??
Nice to hear your thoughts on conditioning and events. I didnât guess you would let everyone do the same. Do you have group lessons (feel free to ignorer if Iâm asking too much about your job)?
Thanks for your support! One of the main reasons I wanted to post here is the all-round athmosphere. Everyone is constructive and not overly vain (as I understand). A reasonable objective audience like you and yours would be perfect.
I will post it in a few days probably (when I have acces to a computer, writing a essay on a smartphone sucks).
The essay will be about selfish vanity and vanity as a form of respect:)
@Pano: Like Alpha said, I jumped in headfirst with no gradual build up at all. Iâm not going to lie, it was pretty rough at first (I can remember almost failing a 205 squatâŠ) but after a week or two, I adapted. The conditioning still felt terrible, but I no longer noticed much if any effect on my strength work. I started following the Warrior Athlete program the first week of November, and have been following it exclusively since then.
The conditioning still sucks, but my muscular and cardiovascular endurance is much better; my lifts have gone up, Iâve gotten leaner, and put on a little bit of size too. I have an academic background in exercise physiology, so I can appreciate slowly easing into this kind of work as being the âsmart wayâ, but I know that for myself (and probably some others) this would have been the wrong way. I could have just continually had an excuse to do less work, or skip things under the guise of slowly increasing volume. I may occasionally have to modify or scale some things based on equipment or current ability levels, but I never try to sandbag it or take the easy way out. (i.e. replacing Yoke Walks with Fireman Carry Hill SprintsâŠthat was a special kind of suck). If you are interested in this kind of training, I think you should try it, just go all-in. Of course listen to your body, pay attention to recovery, mobility, nutrition, but go all-in.
@Alpha: Hope all is well man, I need to make it down soon. I did find a great place locally with a yoke, axle, kegs, and tires so I can start hitting those again regularly, but the atmosphere just isnât quite the same! Set to defend my title this Saturday in the timeless battle of man versus manâŠand fish.