Alpha's Work IV

Training Training Logs
761

MattyG: Hey man, good to hear from you! Ummm yea, that is partially it and the fact that I don’t think you should be able to use straps on anything in strongman. MAYBE the car deadlift, but honestly, I don’t even really think that should be allowed. I know promoters want bigger weights pulled and that is why they allow them, but letting people use suits and straps seems very “un-strongmanish” if you ask my opinion. Plus, what is the point in doing all of these farmer’s carries, axles and other grip building exercises if you don’t get to show it off every once in a while? It is just my opinion, but that is kind of my reasoning behind boycotting the straps.

LondonBoxer: Thanks man! If people ask questions like that, i will always speak my mind and give my opinion. And no worries about taking your time getting back, that never bothers me! Thanks for asking it man!

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“We are always getting ready to live, but never living.” --Ralph Waldo Emerson

SUNDAY, 09AUGUST2015 - Work For Today
Wave 1/Week 2/Day 7

STRENGTH
Log Press: 155x5, 205x5, 245x5, 245x5, 225x10
SSB Squats: 160x10, 250x10, 340x10, 430x10, 450x9
GHR Sit-Ups: 10, 10, 10, 10, 10

NOTES:

  • Short one for me today. Yesterday’s deadlift day definitely took a lot out of me so I was just looking to get some reps in.
  • 450 x9 on the SSB was hard! I am not sure if it was just that i was tired or if it was the bar but this was very challenging. I swore I did 10, but when I looked back at the video there are only 9 reps there. I guess the lack of oxygen got to me!
762

“If you realize that all things change, there is nothing you will try to hold on to. If you are not afraid of dying, there is nothing you cannot achieve.” --Lao Tzu

“The best way out is always through.” --Robert Frost

MONDAY, 09AUGUST2015 - Work For Today
Wave 1/Week 3/Day 1

CONDITONING - 8 Rounds
10 Dumbbell Curtis P’s (50lb Dumbbells)
10 Dumbbell ManMakers (50lb Dumbbells)
Sprint 400 Meters

NOTES:

  • This was ridiculously hard. Anyone who says they cannot absolutely smoke themselves with 50lbs DBs should give this one a shot. I thought i was going to die.
763

Thanks for your response Alpha.
I have tried the flaxseeds. However, I truly believe I just have to much time to focus on being hungry. Just have to get outta my head, that deep dark hole I call a brain!

Anyways, I’ve tried your programming a bit from time to time. I’ve found I’ve had to scale it back considerably. The workloads are extreme imho, and I already work a job where I’m taxed considerably. Leads me to my question. What, if anything do you personally do or recommend for recovery/injury prevention? For instance, I don’t recall you mentioning foam rolling or stretching. I ask because it seems that staying injury free is of the most important part of getting strong!

764

Sorry for double post, but I have read your logs for some time now. In addition to that, your site has info that is valuable. And, you put it all out there, just because. You sir, are a fine individual. It’s my honor to post in your log.

765

Betabill: Firstly, I just wanted to say thank you for your kind words, I really appreciate them! Secondly, you said that you have tried my programming and found it to be too “extreme”, I am always open to constructive criticism so i would like to know what you thought made it seem that way? What could I have dropped out that would have made them seem more doable for you? I know you said that you have a very physically demanding job that has you entering the workouts in an energy deficit, but at my gym, i run people from all different walks of life through these same exact workouts and they all do fine. From 60 year old men to 13 year old girls.

I just scale the weights to fit their levels of expertise, but the energy output and volume is the same across the board. There are a good number of guys on these very forum boards who follow my programming and some have even made long road trips out to my gym to train there. They can attest to what I stated about “normal” everyday people making it through these workouts 4x a week. I am really interested is what you found to be “too extreme”. I really appreciate the feedback and the criticism. Your input may very well change the way I program from here on out, so please be as honest as you can be!

As far as recovery is concerned. I have quite a few thoughts. In my opinion, the number one underrated thing to add muscle, lose body fat, get stronger or for mental acuity is sleep. Due to my job, I cannot get as much sleep as i would like, but when i have the option, i will literally lay down and try not to get back up for 10 -12 Hours. If i had an ideal schedule, i would GUARD my sleep and do my best to get no less than 8-9 Hours every single night. When i have the opportunity to get a full 9+ hours of sleep, i swear to you I am 20% stronger in the gym the next day. That is no lie. People who say they don’t have time to sleep that much (those of you with new born babies get a pass!) should cut television/internet usage out of their lives and they would easily be able to achieve 8 hours a night. I am telling you, if there is one thing that will help you reach your physical goals, it is sleep. This is something I would have not believed 5 years ago because I slept so little that I forgot what it felt like to feel “good”. Now that i am older and wiser, I peach it to everyone that will listen. If you are like me and have insomnia, then try taking melatonin. It in itself isn’t strong enough for me anymore…I actually take an Ambient CR, remron, ZMA, extra magnesium and melatonin just to get 8 hours of falling asleep and STAYING asleep.

If I don’t medicate myself, i will literally say up two days before my body naturally falls out. Even then it is only for a few hours before I am back awake moving and thinking…I used to think i was functioning fine and felt good. Then i made a dedicated effort to ACTUALLY get enough sleep and I feel and recover twice as fast, can think clearly, have an easier time keeping off body fat and all of my lifts have gone up. It is so important and I wish i would have believed it earlier, I think i would be a lot more advanced if I would have known before.

Also, every single night before I go to bed I spent at least 10 Minutes rolling around on a LAX ball. I used to use a foam roller, but honestly, I never really felt any difference from it. But using a lax ball to get into all of the pockets around my hips and pelvis does wonders for keeping my back feeling good and my keep my nerve problems (I?ve broken my back twice) under control.

The final thing I would say about recovery is of course diet. If you are not giving your body enough protein, water, minerals (from vegetables) and fat then you are really hurting yourself. Everyone thinks about the protein to heal your muscles but not many people think about how important the role of healthy fats play in keeping inflammation down and lubricating your joints. A lot of injury problems are just overuse “nagging” issues such as golfer/tennis elbow or a stiff shoulder. I think a lot of these issues could be taken care of relatively quickly with higher levels of healthy fats. or running a full cycle of predgnizone (sp) can do wonder to calm down inflammation issues.

I don?t really “stretch” too much in the traditional sense, but I do a lot of the mobility stuff from Kelly Starett if a joint or area seems locked up. pro to lifting or between my warm-up sets.

Anyway man, i hope that answers your question. Unfortunately, injuries are part of the game. But think of it this way. Anything that you spend this much time doing at a reasonable level of intensity will create problems at some point over an extended period of time. I don’t care if you go for a mild hike around your yard every evening for an hour. Sometime during that year you are going to roll an ankle or walk into a branch or trip over something. Things happen. You do your best to mitigate the chances but you are involved in a game where the entire purpose is to literally “break or tear down” muscle to a small extent so that it can build up bigger and stronger. That is a dangerous venture. Anytime where damaging your tissue is the basis of an activity, sometimes you are going to damage it a little bit more than you expected to. When that happens, you deal with it and drive on. Don’t worry about injuries or they will find you. Well, they will find you anyway eventually, but getting hurt doing something you love far outweighs playing it safe then getting injured anyway do to lack of movement or not taking risks. I hope that helps man

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“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” --Edmund Burke

“Character is not just who we think we are and what we stand for - it’s what we demonstrate to the world. intentions are not enough; our actions define who we truly are. In this way, nothing changes in your life util you change your behavior.” – Brendon Burchard

FRIDAY, 14AUGUST2015 - Work For Today
Wave 1/Week 3/Day 5

CONDITIONING - At the Top of Every minute For 10 Minutes, Complete
1 Snatch / 3 Overhead Squats @ 205lbs
10 Push-Up / Sit-Throughs

Then, CONDITIONING - 6 Rounds of Complexes

Complexes: Complete ALL reps of ALL Exercises before you release the bar.

8 Bent Over Rows
8 Stiff Legged Deadlifts
8 Hang Cleans
8 Front Squats
8 Overhead Presses
8 Back Squats
8 Good Mornings
200 Meter Sprint

Round weights: 105lbs, 125, 135, 145, 155, 175

NOTES:

  • I am in the middle of a pretty rough sinus infection and have a big day of strongman stuff tomorrow, so i just hit a lot of conditioning tonight.
  • Surprise! Complexes are still a horrendous way to make you want to die!
  • Finished book number 72 out of 100 for the year today, Getting closer!
766

Alpha dude I just stopped in to say howdy and ask how you’re doing? Also I totally agree on the sleep subject, its amazing the difference good sleep can make in recovery.

767

Hey Alpha,do you think it’s ok to get half ish of your daily protein intake from shakes? Maybe a silly question but it doesn’t leave your body quicker than protein from chicken or solid food does it? Also I’m following the ws4sb3 to get stronger for rugby. I have training tues and fri and lift mon/wed/thurs. I stretch after every session . Is there anything else I should be doing to not get stiff and keep my speed for sports?

768

Hey man, been reading your log for a long time, absolutely inspirational, thank you.

Any news on more T-shirts yet? I’ve always trained in whatever doesn’t get in my way, but now I do a day or two every week at a commercial gym, I feel I should actually start wearing shirts.

769

FarmerOwen: I’m great man, thanks for asking! I am about a week into a sinus infection but just picked up some meds on the way home from the gym today, so i should be back to 100% Soon!

law8: Well man, i am sure someone more qualified could give you a better answer, but I think it is perfectly fine to get half od your protein intake from shakes. I have done it for years. I know everyone says that solid food is better, but if your situation warrants it, I say do what you gotta do. I know the digestions rate (supposedly) is faster for whey than it is for casein but you are still getting the required number so I am not sure. In my opinion it would be no different than getting all of your protein from milk and cottage cheese. Obviously not ideal, but I don’t think this would be the thing to make or break your progress.

As far as not getting stiff, I am a huge advocate of jiu-jitsu. But if that isn’t an option then i think animal walks and other gymnastic ground drills can really help a person with mobility, coordination and being more athletic in general. If you threw them in as a warm-up for like 15 minutes a couple of days a week I think you would see great benefits in your cardio and it would definitely keep you from getting “stiff”. I hope that helps man!

dagill: Thanks so much for the kind words man! As far as T-shirts, the design has been sent to the print shop today. They are usually pretty fast, so as soon as I get them, they will be up on my site for sale. I am ordering a lot of them, so I really appreciate you and anyone else who orders one! Thanks for posting man!

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"Taking complete ownership of our outcomes by holding no one but yourself responsible for them is the most powerful thing you can do to drive your success. As such, accountability is most likely the most important of the three commitments. Without it, your journey down the path of mastery will be cut short the moment you encounter a challenge. Without it, you won’t figure out how to break through the ceilings of achievement you’ll hit along the way. Accountable people absorb setbacks and keep going. Accountable people persevere through problems and keep pushing forward. Accountable people are results oriented and never defend actions, skill levels, models, systems or relationships that just aren’t getting the job done. They bring their best to whatever it takes, without reservation.

Accountable people achieve results others only dream of.

When life happens you can either be the author of your life or the victim of it. Those are your only two choices - accountable or unaccountable. This may sound harsh, but it’s true. Every day we choose one approach or the other, and the consequences will follow us forever." --Gary Keller, The One Thing

SATURDAY, 15AUGUST2015 - Work For Today
Wave 1/Week 3/Day 6

BRUTAL day today. Maybe it is the sinus infection or maybe it was just a hard day, but I am dead from it! My buddy Gregg (Maryland’s Strongest Man from 2013 & my biggest competition for the year’s contest) drove 2.5 Hours today to come train with me at my gym. Since he drove so far, we figured we would hit a lot of stuff. We did.

We started out with a press medley since he has one in an upcoming contest and I have a lot of pressing coming up at Nationals this year.
We did a lot of reps with the implements on their own then a few rounds of the following medley:
Axle Continental Clean & Press: 245lbs x1
Log Clean & Press x1
Then for the remainder of the minute it was as many reps of
160lb Circus Dumbbell x1
250lb Single Arm Deadlift x1

I videoed the last round and I ended up getting 4 reps each of the CDB and SADL

Next we worked a Zercher Yoke Carry / Sandbag Carry Medley.
Did a bunch of rounds working up to weight.
I included a 500 zercher yoke carry / 50 Foot Sandbag carry and a 550 Zercher yoke carry /100 Foot Sandbag carry in the video.

Next was block deadlifts. I worked up to 675 but was pretty fried at this point.

Finally we did a bunch of stone work.
Lots of randomness at lower weights then I hit a set of 7 (just missed 8) with a 245lbs stone that is in the video.

Also, I included a video of the SSB Squats 450x10 from the other day.

It is a longer video, but I hope you guys enjoy it. If you do, hit the like button and if you feel so moved, subscribe to my channel. Thanks everyone!

770

That looked like a great training day, I’m very excited to come up next week!

I was listening to a podcast with a guy named Max Shank and they were talking about what few exercises he thought were good for general athleticism. He chose deadlifts, airbourne squats, L-sit to handstand, and front levers. Jim Wendler likes Press, Squat, Bench, and deadlift. I was wondering what you thought were a few solid exercises that you believe should be apart of everyones training program or have the best carryover to other lifts/life.

771

Hey Alpha, I should’ve been more clear in my statement as far as programming goes. I actually was referring back to log 3, before the change to strongman. At that time you would occ have a push/pull/hinge on back to back days. Although it was different planes of motion, it just destroyed me. I haven’t done any of the what I would call post site workouts, other than a few conditionings. I apologize if feathers were ruffled. Not my intention, I assure you. Offering insight into programming is way above my pay scale!

Sleep, you hit the nail on the head. 5 hours average a night. Even when I do have the chance to sleep longer, I can’t stay asleep longer than 6. So it’s not really overtraining, it’s more underrecovering! But the choices I’ve made in my life have put me in this position. No complaints, it could be far worse.
I do remember your back break, and your hectic schedule. Funny, but sometimes when I feel like throwing in the towel. I’ll often ask myself, “what would Alpha do?”. Or reference a particular quote you’ve posted that I’m find of. And, I keep on keeping on. Some would find it strange, that I’m older than you, yet you’re helping me be a better man. Whatever works I say.
I’ve only recently learned of Kelly Starett, but def good stuff. I find I need more mobility work, as the body is beat up from years of abuse. The aches and pains go away once I start moving, haha.

Anyways, I’ve read for a long, long time. I started an account here because I’m highly interested in the strongman training. It is so difficult to find this sort of thing, as you probably know. But I’ve done so much in my life, and yet, the fire isn’t stoked. I need more challenges. Strongman fits! Im located near Iron Sports up in PA. Supposed to be a fantastic gym for this sorta thing. I’m trying to make it happen. More will be revealed.
Anyways, I know my posting is wacky and all over the place. I’m not good at this internet stuff. It’ll get better. Please keep showing the masses how it’s done!
Question of the day— what’s your thoughts on belt less training???

772

I’d be really interested to know what you think of beltless training too, as I’ve been in two minds whether to get one. Part of me thinks that unless I’m competing, there’s no point being able to lift 500lbs with a belt if I can only lift 400lbs without, and it would give me a false impression of how strong my body actually is. Then the other part of me thinks that being able to slap another 100lbs on a lift (or whatever it actually is, may well be less, I have zero experience here) will force far more adaptions and lead to me getting stronger overall quicker. I’m not sure which philosophy is correct. Same thing with lifting straps too, so would be really interested to hear your thoughts.

I’ve also moved on to your training template you posted, and did my first day today. Really enjoyed it, and it felt like a much better fit for what I’m looking for out of my training than 5/3/1, which I enjoyed, but never quite felt suited my goals. I’m taking some pictures and measurements tomorrow, and I’ll take some again at the end of the 14 weeks - I’ll let you know how it goes!

Like all the others, if it makes sense for you to ship them I’d definitely buy a tshirt or two from you.

773

Roran: Thanks man, I am stoked that you are coming! Email me so we can set up a time a little earlier so that you can get some coaching on some of the implements that you are interest in!

As far as general athleticism…I’d say you would need some squat variation, and I think the best for athletes would be the front squat. You would also need some form of gymnastic/coordination aspect… for that I would say forward and backward animal walk wind sprints. Of course deadlifts would be an obvious choice because they just make you better at life. I think weighted carries are massively important also, so i would throw in both heavy and long distance farmer’s walks. And finally, for overall development of strength and explosiveness, i would add Atlas Stone loads.

I will think about this more and if my answer changes, i will let you know, but off the top of my head, I think I am sticking with these. Good question man!

Betabill: My feathers were not ruffled at all man, i was honestly interested in you opinion and I appreciate your clarification and input! As far as sleep is concerned, i totally get where you are coming from. If i were you and you think you can fit it in, I would at least try to set one night aside where you make it a point to get a few extra hours in. Ideally, this would be the night prior to your first day of training for the week. I think it would help your CNS recover and could really take your training to the next level. I know it is a hard choice, but for me, it made a huge difference.

And thank you for the kind words man, it is humbling to think that people can use some of what I do as inspiration. I do the same thing. And sometimes what keeps me going even when i don’t want to is the fact that I have all of you to be accountable to. We all make each other better brother! Thanks for posting and for your input brother, I will answer your beltless question below!

LondonBoxer and Betabill: Well, for the longest time I was against training with a belt. In fact, most of my training still is beltless until I hit around 85% or higher. It changes for each lift, but that is a rough estimate. You can go back to a few years ago on my youtube channel and you will see me deadlifting and squatting over 600 without a belt. But my thoughts are this…

Mark Bell says, “protect yourself before you wreck yourself”. And I would agree. I used to worry that if i wore a belt then my core would weaken and it wasn’t a “true” 1RM or whatever. But experience has shown me that it simply isn’t true…Say you can deadlift 400lbs without a belt, but 455 with a belt. You core still needs to be more engaged on the 455 set. The belt doesn’t magically make you a stronger individual, it just makes you be able to hold your position better. So now if you build up to a 500lbs deadlift in the belt, I am sure you will be able to hit that 455 without it. They move up together and you are much safer (IMO) in the process. Just remember that it is a tool. If your lifts suffer greatly when you take off a belt, knee wraps, elbow sleeves or whatever else, then they are doing too much of the work for you, and I would recommend dropping them from your workouts. But if they just help you stay more safe and add a few pounds n the process then they are fine, your body is still adapting.

As far as straps go, i don’t use them for anything other than bent over rows. That’s simply because I cannot hold double overhand as much as I can row (At least not for reps). I think they are fine to use if your hands are so torn up and sore from usage, but never because your grip strength isn’t there. Straps are one thing I think hurt a lot of lifter’s potential as well as leaves their biceps under developed. Just my opinion.

And that is great about you trying out my template man! If you have any questions about it, don’t hesitate to ask!

774

Looks like I won’t be down there for work this week after all…don’t have enough “experience” to take the training course, ability be damned. I could make it down tomorrow evening though if that’s cool. I think tonight I’m ready to 8-rep the last deadlift 1RM I set in your gym…

775

having a trip with barely wifi, so sorry for not checking in.
next week I’m on board again man! Seen some knowledge bombs here.
Keep killin it, boss

776

BJack: That is amazing news! You have made a lot of progress brother! Apparently the guy’s programming you are following is working! Hahahaha great job man! As far as tomorrow goes, I will be at the guy from 2-5. If that works with your schedule, than you are more than welcome to train! Unfortunately, after 5 I have prior engagements that I have to be at. Just text me and let me know brother! I was really hoping you would make it down on Saturday so that you and Roran could meet in person. The T-Nation world may implode if that happens though!

Pano: No worries brother! Hope you are healing up well!

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“If the people knew how hard I had to work to gain my mastery, it wouldn’t seem wonderful at all.” --Michelangelo

“I cannot believe that the purpose of life is to be happy. I think the purpose of life is to be useful, to be responsible, to be compassionate. It is, above all, to matter, to count, to stand for something, to have made some difference that you lived at all.” --Leo Rosten

MONDAY, 17AUGUST2015 - Work For Today
Wave 1/Week 4/Day 1

CONDITIONING - 10 Rounds
100 Foot Prowler Push

STRENGTH GIANT SET
Axle Deadlifts: 315x5, 405x5, 500x5, 550x4, 520x5
Barbell Bent Over Rows: 185x10, 225x10, 275x10, 300x10, 315x10
Axle Strict Press: 185x8, 205x8, 225x8, 245x8, 225x8
Reverse Hyper: 270x8, 270x8, 270x8, 270x8, 270x8
Hollow Rocks: 20, 20, 20, 20, 20

Then i did a bunch of Keg Carries and other stuff while coaching

NOTES:

  • World Strongest Man Brian Shaw’s wife is a friend of mine and she was in town so she came and worked out at my gym tonight. She attended the 5:00 Class and did an awesome job.
  • I have a kind of rough workout, I think i am still under recovered from Saturday’s Strongman stuff.
  • All of my Axle deadlifts felt heavy. I have delusions of grangure that I was going to get 550 x 10. But 4 Was all I could seem to get.
  • Rows and Strict Press went ok, was happy to get the 315x8 and 245x8
777

Thanks for the reply Alpha. We actually do a good amount of bear crawls as part of conditioning for rugby, they are a killer!Another Q for you, anytime I get a spot for the bench press I find it very distracting with the guy in my line of sight ha, to the point where I feel much stronger on my own even though it is slightly more dangerous.I think I might not get one in future and if I do get stapled someone will eventually come over and lift it off me. Does that make sense and is it something you get used to?

778

Thanks for your response in regards to beltless training. I’ve watched/read the bracing article. I always sucked air in, and then sucked my belly in. I’ve never used a belt. I get the whole can analogy, so I suppose a wider core would be stronger, if done correctly. Something for me to investigate. Sometimes as I come out of the hole in the sqaut hips come up, and my shoulders lag. Probably a lack of iap, or some erector weakness, not necessarily a belt issue. What do you think?

779

Actually Saturday might work out even better, what time would that be? Also my trusty flip phone broke, lost all my numbers man

780

Alpha, thank you for the response, that makes a lot of sense.

If you’ll humour me, I have a couple more questions I’d be grateful for your thoughts on:

The first relates to the programming - Day 3 of your programming (as posted on your site) has a giant set of lower body push supersetted with a ballistic movement. I’m in the first week of the hypertrophy section, and I’ve chosen dumbell snatches - as I can do those properly and I’m not extremely limited by technique, which is a problem I was finding with the BB snatch. the programming calls for 8 reps, so I did 4 reps with each arm. Would you suggest that is the best way of doing it, or am I better doing 8 reps with each arm and a lower weight?

The second relates to lightheadedness/blacking out when working with near max weights. I hit a Clean PR last week, put the weight down, and promptly blacked out - came too with a bench press on my head and god knows what else. No real damage done other than some cuts and bruises - I finished my session and treated it as an opportunity to work under adverse conditions. But I found again today doing the snatches, and the 8 rep front squats, that I was getting pretty lightheaded. I had an ECG as part of my job medical, and my heart is fine. I saw on the front page of this log, you’d experienced something similar, and wondered whether you had any thoughts on what might be causing it, any adjustments to breathing I might need to make to deal with it? I’ve read your article on breathing a few times, which I understand a little bit better each time I reread it, and I’ve been trying to implement it.

Third question - what are your thoughts on doing bodyweight stuff throughout the day - do you feel it has any value, or is detrimental to performance in the main training session? I’d be interested to know if you feel there is value in shooting to hit X many pushups, situps, chinups, HSPUs etc throughout the day, or whether it will just take away from your ability to perform optimally in the strength programming?