Thanks for the advice, I’ll give your tips a shot. I’m going heavy on squats on Friday so I’ll see how it goes. I was also wondering how does one qualify for nationals?
Good luck on your maxes today!
Roran: Well, I can only speak for the North American Strongman (NAS) sanctioning body. There you just need to place first in a NAS level I event. That is no easy feat, but in my opinion is a little bit too easy to compete on the national level. Definitely let me know how how those tips work out for you on your squat Friday!
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“Let the refining and improving of your own life keep you so busy that you have little time to criticize others.” --H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
WEDNESDAY, 20MAY2015 - Work For Today
Wave 2/Week 2/Day 3
STRENGTH
Deadlifts
Warm-Ups, then
500x2
585x1
605x1
635x1
655x1
685x1 (PR Vid Below)
CONDITIONING - 3:00 Minutes Work/1:00 Rest for 4 Rounds
5 Pull-Ups
5 Dips
5 Sumo Deadlift High-Pulls
5 Burpee Lateral Jumps
5 Box Jumps
STRENGTH
Bench Press
Worked up to 455, then
SPEED
At the Top of Every Minute for 10 Minutes Completed 3 Flat Bench Presses @ 315lbs
NOTES:
- Pretty great day. I hit the deadlift PR (685) which made me feel pretty good but it took a decent amount out of me. I loaded the bar with 700 just to see what it would feel like. I pulled it and it hovered about an inch off the floor. I may have had it if I went for it instead of the 685, but I wanted to make sure I hit a PR today. Gravity was working just fine today. Either way, 685 is 25lbs more than when i started this 10 week wave, so I am happy with it. I think my PR time is just about up and 700 will have to wait for a little bit. I can feel that I am getting close to hurting myself every time I am pulling anything over 650, so now it is time to back off and get stronger so that this is not the case.
- Bench felt like junk today. I was pretty tired going into it but still expected to get up a little heavier before I had to back off for my speed stuff.
Here is the vid of the 685 deadlift PR
Nice job on all the recent PRs.
Awesome work on the PRs!
Well done man that was a great lift. I notice you’re now spending less time setting up and more just grabbing the bar and ripping it off the floor. I’m guilty of spending a little too long between gripping the bar and actually lifting it, too much thinking/making sure I’ve got the perfect set up, which i think is actually pretty detrimental. Any advice?
Thanks brother.
Nice pull! That looked pretty smooth for how heavy it is. Very inspiring considering you just pulled 675 not long ago.
LoRez: Thanks brother! It is great to see you are back around!
LiftingStrumpet: Thanks! I am glad that the testing stuff is over. I’m ready to get back to the grind now!
joe: Well man, I wrote a decent amount in the past few weeks about changing up my breathing and bracing on deadlifts. All that I am doing now is getting my breath and bearing down on it prior to getting down into position. emskee gave me the idea. It has allowed me to stay tighter and is the ONLY thing I have changed about my deadlift and it added 25 easy pounds to it. I wrote an entire article over on my site about breathing and bracing which explains how I get my air in and brace it down. So now I am holding my breath from before I begin my descent all of the way until the rep is done. Once I get down to the bar, I have time to pull the slack out of the bar, cue bending it across my shins to lock my lats in and start the pull. It is a long time to hold all of that internal pressure, so I am trying to get the rep done as quickly as possible. I hope that helps a little bit man.
Roran: Thanks man, 700 Soon hopefully!
Alpha dude! You maniac, great job on the 685 only you can make a pr look like a warm up set lol.
Yea man, I’ve read the bracing article over on your site, I found it really helpful. Thanks for the reply, I’ll give it a shot when I next deadlift and let you know how it goes. Take it easy dude.
Alpha, I hope that back of yours gets stronger soon. So it can match your beastly bench.
My deadlift still feels a little strange with the belt but my squat felt amazing. I ended up hitting a 25 pound PR since it was the end of my cycle anyway. I can’t say if it was the belt or the last semester of squatting 2-3 days a week but I’m happy.
I feel like the belt lets me focus more on pushing with my legs instead of trying to keep my abs tight the whole time. I seemed to just stay tight without a lot of thought.
Thanks for the breathing advice, and the bracing article on your website!
Farmer Owen: Thanks man! I am not sure about it looking like a warm-up set, it felt like a truck! Thanks for stopping in man!
Joe: That is great man, i really hope the tips help you out! Definitely let me know how it goes!
Pano: I am not sure what you are trying to say, but it definitely came off as an insult.
Roran: That is awesome news brother! Congrats! And yea, the deadlift takes a little bit longer to adjust to the belt just because it kinda gets in the way. Keep playing with different positioning and I am sure you will break that PR as well. Really, really great job man, proud of you!
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“You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don’t try.” --Beverly Sills
FRIDAY, 22MAY2015 - Work For Today
Wave 2/Week 1/Day 5
EVENTS - Yoke walk
Worked up to 810b x 50 Feet, pretty smooth, no drops.
Loaded 915lbs and picked it twice, but my back did a weird thing, so I chose not to walk with it. I am glad I did, because it is nothing me now.
STRENGTH - Front Squats
135x3
225x3
315x3
365x2
405x1
455x1 (in the video)
485x1 (PR! In the video)
500x a really great looking lowering of the bar haha
REPS - Squats
465x8
465x8
465x8
465x8
NOTES:
- So I know I said that I was done with going for PRs for a little bit, but not trying a yoke or Front squat PR was eating at me so I went in today and decoded to try them.
- I worked my way up to 810 on the yoke for a pretty fast and smooth run. 900 is my current PR so i threw on 915. I picked it up and something in my back shifted. I kinda freaked me out so i put the yoke back down. But then I just decided to go for it anyway and picked it back up, but the pain was definitely telling me something was off so i put it back down and called it a day on yokes.
- So then I figured I’d work my way up to a heavy single on front squats. I hit 455 and it was pretty fast. (you will see it if you check out the vid below). My current PR was 475 and I had passed out trying 485 a few months back if you guys remember me talking about it. Since that day I have been a little gun shy of front racking anything over 455. But 455 felt so good, i loaded 485 and it went a lot faster than I expected. That is an awesome PR for me, but since it was only 15lbs off 500, I loaded it. I walked it out and dropped into the hole…Where I lost my tightness and ditched it. I was disappointed that I didn’t get 500 but I am very happy with the 10lb 485 PR!
- I had to get my required squat work in after that so i hit 4 sets of 465x8.
-Legs and back are pretty fried, but i didn’t pass out and hit a PR. I’ll Take it.
Here is a vid of the 455 set and the 485 Front Squat PR
Damn that 485 was clean Alpha, Not even a sticking point. Much respect. I suspect 500 is there next time.
Nice work Alpha. I know it’s been said, but I can’t see that 500 is too far off on those front squats. Keep killing it dude.
Great stuff with the dead, you absolutely had another 5-10lbs in you.
As you’re going back to complexes have you considered doing the rower again? - If stuck in a hotel and want maximum suckage going for a PR for race distance/2000m is pretty much king. Up there with prowler flu in terms of that wiped out feeling!
12x500 meter sprints all out, 90 seconds rest aka the Dirty Dozen is also truly miserable. Often used as a punishment by rowing coaches.
Sorry, it’s not meant as an insult at all!
I mean you have a monster bench, but because you injured your back, your deadlift is not really in ratio with your bench yet.
I should have said: “Hoping your deadlift keeps improving, so it can match your beastly bench”
That’s not meant as an insult, I just hope your back keeps going strong.
Your still deadlifting more than me, by far.
And it’s more a compliment at your amazing bench;)
And looking solid. Fresh kicks and smooth squats:)
Alpha, I recall you saying having a blackout event when you went for a max on front squat, have you changed anything to prevent that? I noticed you weren’t in the cage using uprights in case you cut off the blood to your head.
Great squats, just don’t want to hear about a repeat event.
Seems you had a lot of PRs lately. Good work bro, keep it up!
Lonnie: Thanks brother, it went better than I expected it to. As for the 500, Typically, the first time I load something, it doesn’t go too well. I don’t even think it is the weight, I think it is that my body needs to feel the pressure and decided that it is going to be ok. Then when i go back to it, I will typically get it. I really hope that is the case with this as well. I really appreciate you stoping in man!
TheWolfman: Thanks brother! I really hope you are right! and thank you for the kind words!
Rampant Badger: Thanks man, I am really looking forward to hitting the 700 mark on both the deadlift and the squat. Hopefully that will come sooner than later. As far as a rower, I actually love doing that and you put up some great workouts! A lot of the hotels I end up staying in just don’t have them. Most of the time it is a few treadmills, a couple ellipticals and Dumbbells up to 50lbs. I always pack a jump rope with me, but it is usually pretty limited. If I ever stay in a place that has one, i will definitely give your workout a run, thanks for suggesting them brother!
Pano: Well I appreciate the kind words about the front squats. I figured that you were not being malicious about my numbers and I can respect your opinion about it, but I really don’t think it is that far out of ratio.
Consider that most lifters start out trying to reach a 300lbs bench, 400 squat and a 500 deadlift. Once they reach those numbers, they are shooting for a 400B / 500S/ 600D … I am just one step further in my journey, so I am looking for a 500B / 600S / 700D. It is the same ratio as what most guys are shooting for. I know a lot of the top echelon guys have a bench near mine and would crush me on squats and deadlifts, but I’d still consider myself an intermediate lifter. Also, as an intermediate lifter, my build is much better suited for benching than it is deadlifting as I have short arms. That is why I can keep my bench fairly decent without much work, but need to work for every single pound I get on deadlifts. Even so, although I haven’t chosen to participate in any powerlifting competitions as of yet, my gym lift’s total is 1845. That isn’t bad for an all natural guy walking around at 230. Just my opinion.
I agree that my squat and dead should already be well over 700lbs, but I am working hard to get there and just haven’t been able to achieve it yet…I am sure my numbers would go up more if i focused primarily on the big three lifts, but I’m not willing to give up strongman or MMA just yet and those things take a large toll on me and my recovery. We will see what the future brings.
Matty: Hahaha yea man, I like to live dangerously hahahah! Honestly man, as long as I flex my butt the entire time that I have the weight in front rack, I am fine. If i relax my posterior chain, then it must put the bar in a spot that is no bueno. I never even got the overwhelming pass out feeling at all yesterday. Keeping a tight posterior chain makes all of the difference in the world. Thanks for asking and for the concern!
Regev: Thanks man, yea it was time for me to test them again and it seems as if the training has worked. I think I am back to the grind now though. Great to hear from you man!
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“Be daring, be different, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves to the ordinary.” --Cecil Beaton
SATURDAY, 22MAY2015 - Work For Today
Wave 2/Week 1/Day 6
CONDITIONING - Perform As Many Reps As Possible for :40 Seconds. Then :20 Seconds to Rest and Rotate to the next Station
- Double Unders
- Burpee Bar Touches
- Medicine Ball Slams - (50lb Ball)
- Sledge Hammer Swings
- Barbell Snatches/Overhead Squats -135lbs
- Kettlebell Swings - 88lb KB
- Stone Shouldering - 200b stone
- Box Jumps - 28" Tire
- Pull-Ups
- Hollow Rocks