Thank you, hopefully I’ll be up again sooner than later!
I had a quick question about the 14 week program. Do I stick with the same movements for all 14 weeks?
LondonBoxer: No worries man, you have earned them.
Pano: Yea man, if you have a box high enough, I think you could pull off some reverse hyper movements on one. It is better than nothing, that is for sure! As far as the nordic hamstring curls (thanks for enlightening me on their name!) I would just use a push-up to get you started. As your hamstrings get stronger, push-up less intensely.
And that is cool that you posted that stuff in Thib’s log, but I am pretty sure he has no idea who I am! I don’t venture outside of this log very much! I will be interested in what advice he gives you. Thanks for posting brother!
Roran: Yes and no. base it off of your main strength movements, but you can change up variations every so often so you don’t get bored with it. I think you would be just fine sticking with all of the same movements since you are changing up the weights and rep ranges every few weeks, but I personally have too much ADD to do it. That is why you see me throwing in all different kinds of variations on the daily workout section of my site. I hope that helps brother!
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“There is a battle between two wolves inside all of us. One of the wolves is named Fear. It carries anxiety, concern, uncertainty, hesitancy, indecision and inaction. The other wolf is named Faith. It brings calm, conviction, confidence, enthusiasm, decisiveness excitement and action… Which one wins the battle? The one you feed.” --Gary Keller
MONDAY, 23AUGUST2015 - Work For Today
Wave 2/Week 1/Day 1
STRENGTH
Deadlifts: 225x3, 315x3, 405x3, 500x3, 585x3, 635x3 (vid), 655x3 (PR vid)
Then dropped the weight to 550lbs and completed 10 Reps (Vid)
ACCESSORY
Reverse Hyper: 180lbs x 2 Minutes
NOTES:
- I just got back in town and went straight to the gym to coach. Since I knew I had to hit some stuff before I leave again, I just threw is some deadlifts between coaching.
- It worked out well for me because I hit 635x3 which is a PR by 1 rep and then loaded 655 and hit is for 3 which is a big PR. Then I wanted to get some rep work in, so i dropped the weight to 550 and got 9.9 reps. I am not counting that last rep because I didn’t completely finish it. My grip was going because of humidity and sweat, but I am very happy with he day overall.
Here is a vid of the 635, 655 and 550 sets.
Killer on the deadlifts!
Haha I should’ve made myself more clear I guess: do you maybe wanna chime in on what I wrote?
It was originally posted in Thibs log, and I copy pasted it, so maybe you could give your opinion too.
I value your and his opinion equally. Sorry I was too lazy too type it all over.
Strong Deadlift. Awesome stuff!
Thanks that does help!
Saw you’re killing that reverse hyper for time. How you liking the effects of it?
Pano: Thanks brother, I am really happy with how the deadlifts went.
As far as responding to that post, I am not completely sure what you are asking. I mean, the way your typical workout set-up was laid out is identical to mine, so of course I think that is good. But i don?t really understand the “compass” that you were talking about (maybe it is something that is being discussed on Thib’s area) or if you wanted me to respond on the 3RM stuff. You covered just about every major lift in there so, I would say that it is a good thing.
Your three goals are fine, but they cover virtually everything involved in weight training, so you may want to pick one and stick with it for a few months, then switch it up if you want to see the best results from your training.
As far as what to run (the cube, westside, etc.) is kind of obscure because I have no idea of what you have been doing, for how long you have been doing it and the results you got. If you are training exclusively for strength, then the answer would be different than if you were training strictly for ascetics.
To me, it looks like you are trying to reach a lot of different goals but have not decided which is the most important to you at this time. I think what you wrote up is a great start and you obviously spent a lot of time on it and I commend you for that. But narrowing your focus a little bit could help me or Thib point you in a better direction.
I guess i just do not understand what it is that you are asking exactly. If you rephrase it, I will be happy to answer. But as it is written, I do not really see a poignant discernible question. Let me know man, you know I am more than happy to help!
IronWarrior: Thanks man! It was a good day! Thanks for posting brother!
Roran: Great man! I am excited to see what you come up with!
Pwnisher: Hahaha yea man, right now, between that and the deadlifts, I am NOT liking the effects much at all! I feel like I was locked in a prison cell with a sexually ambiguous rhino! I am really hoping that the divided pay off, but it is still to early to tell. I am not sure what is helping me the most (GHRs, Reverse Hypers, 18" DL or SSB Squats) since I added them all in at virtually the same time, but I CAN say that my deadlift feels better than it ever has. 635x2 Just about killed me last time I tried it, so to hit 655x3 followed by the 550x10 feels pretty darn good. I am going to keep doing all 4 regularly because I am not willing to figure out which one is the main helper, but something in there is working! Thanks for stopping in man!
Thank you for the time you spend trying to decipher my post. I guess Thib didn’t get it either sinds he skipped over the post pretty much haha.
As far as your input, I think your right about trying to chase too many goals at the moment. I believe strength is the most important at the moment. Because getting strong will improve my physique more than vice versa. And at this point, I believe getting my strength up would do the most for my sports.
The Compass thing isn’t really a thing I heard anybody talk about. It was like a direction to move in to reach my goals. I tried to be too fancy right here:)
The 3RM thing is something Thib is pretty big about, since your 1RM can easily fluctuate from day to day. Besides that, I think I heard Thib say something about triples and how they built more strength than singles or doubles. While singles (and doubles) are way better for building efficiency in the lifts. And to be honest, in the end of the day, I’m far more concerned by getting all-round strong than being great in the lifts.
I guess, I don’t really know how to write down my thoughts.
Besides that, I’m really excited to see how your deadlift assistance works out! Not to insult you the least, but are you just winging it and trying to get everything strong on the backside, or are you figuring out what is weak and attacking the weak point. In the end, attitude matters the most, but if you got a clear idea where your weakest point it, it is maybe easier to target.
I can’t really say where you have the least easy time, but it seems like the lockout isn’t, cause it’s fast as hell. So maybe the lower half of the lift.
[quote]Alpha wrote:
Pwnisher: Hahaha yea man, right now, between that and the deadlifts, I am NOT liking the effects much at all! I feel like I was locked in a prison cell with a sexually ambiguous rhino! I am really hoping that the divided pay off, but it is still to early to tell. I am not sure what is helping me the most (GHRs, Reverse Hypers, 18" DL or SSB Squats) since I added them all in at virtually the same time, but I CAN say that my deadlift feels better than it ever has. 635x2 Just about killed me last time I tried it, so to hit 655x3 followed by the 550x10 feels pretty darn good. I am going to keep doing all 4 regularly because I am not willing to figure out which one is the main helper, but something in there is working! Thanks for stopping in man!
[/quote]
Those will definitely all do some crazy stuff for sure. I’m still on the fence with timed reverse hypers, but I might just need to sack up and really hammer them.
That’s definitely a substantial improvement on the deads. Keep killing it man.
Pano: I would agree with you that building your strength will do the most to help you with reaching your goals.
As far as Thib’s idea about the 3RM vs the 1RM, I would tend to agree. But be careful, at the end of your sentence you said that you are more concerned with building all out strength rather than being good at the lifts. The two go hand in hand. Strength is a skill. In my opinion, technique is king. a lot of my gym lifts are stronger than many of the pro 231 strongmen, but their technique is better than mine in the events.
I may have more overall horsepower, but I cannot use it as well as they can. Learning how to use your body’s leverages and dialing in your technique will get you much further along in the game than just raw brute power. Don’t get me wrong, being as strong as an ox can get you far, but if your technique is off than you are rushing toward injury or at least big plateaus.
It is just like when you mentioned my deadlift strength off the floor. Part of it is that I have short arms and bad back injuries, so i have trouble getting into really good starting positions, but more than anything, it is that my technique is off. If you watch my videos, when I start pulling, the bar tends to float out in front of me for a brief second, which in turn, slows the bar down. People on these forums have associated it to a crane lifting an object. Until you get the weight to a 90 degree, perpendicular position, it won’t start moving upward. This is 100% a technique flaw. With the weights I am currently using, I am able to overcome it with brute strength, but if I want to continue progressing and not hurt myself, it is something I have to remedy. I am working on it, but my technique in ALL of my lifts has a lot to be desired.
When it comes to what I am doing about improving my deadlift (strengthening the posterior chain or hitting weak points) I would say neither. I am training for 2 really big strongman shows coming up. So I continue to deadlift to get stronger in preparation, but it is treated more like an accessory for me at the moment that will hopefully give me some good carry over to have more strength going into the events, since my technique in them isn’t the greatest. If i were training for a powerlifting meet, I would probably do a little of both. I would continue to try and strengthen my entire posterior chain, but set aside a day where I really focus on my weak points and hammer them to try to drive my 1RMs up. I hope that makes sense. I think you are on the right path and there will be a lot of trial and error along the way, but remember that the road is long and littered with experiences and failures. What works for me will not necessarily work for you and what works for you will not necessarily work for someone else. Stay at it man, in 10 years you will be shocked by how far you can come if you are just consistent and give all that you have every day.
Pwinsher: Thanks for saying that man, I am constantly checking out your log to get ideas. Your PROM stuff and the chains have really opened my mind to new ways to do things. Are you going to Nationals this year?
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“(When working out) You’re always on the edge of fear, because your body senses it can do more than your mind will allow.” --Lizzi Chong
“The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret to getting started is breaking your complex, overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks and then starting on the first one.” --Mark Twain
WEDNESDAY, 26AUGUST2015 - Work For Today
Wave 2/Week 1/Day 3
CONDITIONING - 5 Rounds
20 Dumbbell Squat Cleans @ 50 lb dumbbells
20 Dumbbell Man Makers @ 50lb Dumbbells
65 Double Unders
Then jumped on a treadmill and did 10 - 400 Meter Sprints with 2 Minutes rest between Rounds
Won’t be going to Nationals this year. Event just plain didn’t look like much fun, and for me to take the time/money to travel with my family, I want something that is going to be worthwhile. If they throw in an actual deadlift event next year, I’ll probably be more willing, haha.
Appreciate the comment. I’m always scouting your log as well. Lot of great ideas to be had.
O yes, don’t let me be misunderstood, I believe getting awesome technique will be of great importance! If I get the chance too get my technique better, I take it.
I meant technique stuff like getting all your strength in the first rep. It seems most people are stronger on their second or third rep in a set. I will never straight rod a deadlift or goodmorning a squat if I have a bit of a choice, but getting more horsepower is more important for me in the end. Very simplisticly brought: in my broscience-y mind raw horse power is what I can bring into my martial arts and real life, while perfect technique not so much.
The accesory makes perfect sense, man! I believe I have never seen someone with a PC too strong!
BTW Met a Irish girl in a hostel, liked her alot, inside and outside a 9, cause I don’t believe in 10’s (sorry for objectifying women). Thought she was out of my league. We went out with a bunch of people from the hostel. When she left, the friend I was traveling with (a girl) analysed what happened last night. She said the Irish chick was flirting with me…bad. After some introspection I found out…well she wanted me! Seems that when a girl laughs like a lunatic when you make a bad joke, makes you taste every drink they have, starts 3 conversations, hops on you koala-style and stares you in the eye for a minute…standing against you…,she likes you.
Feel free to laugh, guys, I did too! (After finished headbutting a hole in the wall)
Alpha, I’m sure you’ve noticed the whole “natural” movement craze that has hit the fitness industry in the last couple years. What is your take on it and it’s relationship to training and fitness?
Hey guys, I will post my workout and answer questions later tonight, I have been messing with the new T-shirts all morning! But they are finally in! I am really happy with how they turned out. You guys will see me sporting them in a lot of my future videos and at contests. Let me know if you guys like the design, or if you think I should have chosen some different color schemes. I went with what would match my site but, like I said, I like them a lot! Thanks guys!
The shirt looks perfect! That exactly how I feel when I’m at your gym haha, I got pretty pumped up and ready to go workout just looking at it.
Pwnisher: I can totally relate to what you are saying man. The events this year are definitely a disappointment. You and I are going to show up at the same contest one of these days and will meet up. I look forward to that day, my friend!
Pano: Great to hear about the girl man, I hope you can stay in touch with her! Good Luck brother!
Roran: Thanks so much for the T-Shirt Comment man! The Mods ripped down the link to my site pretty quick, so I don’t think too many people got the chance to check it out.
If by “natural” movement you mean people learning to do some parcor, muscle ups and learning how to use their bodies more effectively, then I am all for it! I think so many times people get into a groove when going to the gym. They think being big and strong is enough, but it isn’t. In fighting, we LOVE to see big strong guys, they rely on their muscle to get them through and it does nothing but tires them out and then they get smashed. Or I know a ton of guys who can lift a house but cannot do a pull-up. That is ridiculous in my mind. The idea of spending all of this time getting bigger and stronger then not being able to o anything with it if a barbell is not in your hands is idiotic. I think a person should spend as much time working their entire body coordination as they do strength training. They want to look like they are capable of great feats without ever actually having to step up to the plate. This is the reason why I program so many animal walks into my workouts.
However, on the other side of the spectrum, you have guys that can do 20 muscle ups with ease but cannot help you move a couch. That, in my opinion, is just as ridiculous. It is a balance between the two. Teaching your body to be a skillful object and yet building up the strength and endurance to fall back upon is where most people should be. It is like the skinny guy who is too afraid to lose his abs to eat enough to gain muscle and the fat guy who is “bulking”…Neither is willing to do what it takes to reach the goals they are striving for, and yet neither is completely happy with where they are. For most people, they would be much happier and performing better if they were somewhere in the middle. Just my opinion man, but those are my thoughts on the subject. Thanks for asking!
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“If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.” --Marcus Aurelius
“It is not death a man should fear but he should fear never beginning to live.” --Marcus Aurelius
FRIDAY, 28JULY2015 - Work For Today
Wave 2/Week 1/Day 5
CONDITIONING - As Fast As You Can
At the Top of Every Minute complete 3 Box Jumps. For the remainder of the Minute, complete as many Front Squats @ 40% of your 1RM Maximum as Possible.
Continue this pattern until you have reached 100 front squats.
STRENGTH GIANT SET
SSB SQUATS: 160x3, 250x3, 340x2, 430x1, 480x1, 520x1, 570x1 (PR vid)
Weighted Pull-Ups: 90x3, 115x3, 125x3, 135x3, 160x3, 160x3, 160x3
Axle Push-Press: 135x3, 185x3, 225x3, 275x2, 315x1, 335x1, 375xNope
ACCESSORY - 3 Rounds
Banded Glute Ham Raises: 10, 10, 10
GHR Sit-Ups: 10, 10, 10
CONDITIONING
At the Top of Every Minute completed 3 Box Jumps (30" Box). For the remainder of the Minute, completed as many Front Squats @ 185 as Possible.
Continued this pattern until I reached 100 front squats.
NOTES:
- So, like I said to Roran, the link to the T-Shirts got yanked pretty quickly by the Mods. I can understand why. But we have already sold 20 of the 65 shirts already, so I am stoked about that. I wrote up an article to go along with the shirt to state what it represents, so if you guys want to read it, just head over to the articles section of my site. I added a pic of them in the vid below if you guys want to just see them, if so just watch the vid from today.
- I walked into the workout feeling pretty good, then i did my first sets and no longer felt good about how the day was going to go! I was really expecting to hit 375 on the overhead press but it was not in the cards. However I did hit a 570 SSB squat PR so that was awesome! It threw me forward pretty hard so it was definitely a struggle but it went.
Here is the vid of the 570b SSB Squat and a peek at the new shirt
Alpha dude congratz on the 570lb SSB pr, for a second there it looked like he had you on the ropes but in typical Alpha fashion you KO’ed ‘im out! Also the shirts are frickin’ cool beans dude!
Hi alpha, I’m wondering if you’ll be able to give me some advice? I’m wondering if my problem is dietary, and lots of the guys on here are so knowledgable. Recently I’ve developed massive dark circles under my eyes, and no matter how well or how much I sleep, I’m always tired and lethargic. Has anyone here dealt with something like this before? Cheers guys!
Thank you for the reply. I have never worked on muscle ups before because of the gyms I’ve been at. There are plenty of trees around though so maybe I just need to think outside of the box…we’ll see how it goes. And please excuse what will be a bit of long post…
First off I wanted to thank you for all the help you’ve given me. I know you are busy and yet you update this log, write inspiring articles and rants, and are willing to help anyone who comes on here seeking advice. I hope I can pay you back one day for it all or at least pay it forward.
Second I just got my first semester schedule and I’m not sure if I will be able to make it up until December. I won’t complain about school because it is a blessing to be here, but I will say its a little harder than I’m used to or was expecting. I was wondering if you had any quick advice on training with an inconsistent schedule. I remember your earlier logs were pretty sporlactic with your job and I was looking over them again earlier. I don’t want to give up training for 4 months but my schedule will be all over the place.
Thanks again!
and congrats on the PR! The SSB looks rough, like grinding a low bar squat every rep…
FarmerOwen: Yea man, there was a lot of thoughts going through my mind of whether to ditch it or not, but it ended up well! And thanks for the feedback about the shirts!
Tim_Tom: Well man, from my limited knowledge about them, I know they they can often show up from bouts of fatigue/stress and from the loss of subcutaneous fat in your face. This can sometimes be caused naturally with age or if you have recently lost a substantial amount of fat. Other than that i am unaware of any dietary practice that would help or be causing that, but again, my knowledge is limited so maybe someone else knows more. As far as sleep goes, often times one or two nights of good rest will not make up for the accumulated stress and fatigue that your body is under. Much like an overweight person will not see immediate results from one day of clean eating, a person in a fatigued state may take weeks-months of making sleep a priority before they reap the benefits of it.
My guess is that you have been burning the candle at both ends or have had some events in your life (probably within the last 3 months) that have either stressed you out more lately or has you sacrificing your sleep/recovery too often and you are now seeing the result of it. In my opinion, sleep is something that should be GUARDED with just as much discipline as working out itself. I know for some people, this is not an option. But if it is staying up late watching tv or surfing the internet, then I think the individual should cut those things out and get to bed earlier.
Again, I am not a professional by any means in this subject, but those would be my best guesses. Hopefully that points you in the right direction, but if not, if you provide me with more specifics, maybe I can better dial in my response.
Roran: Thank you very much for saying that, I really appreciate you support! As far as programming for an irregular schedule, I think stepping down your workouts to full body and only including the most important exercises is the way to go. That way, if you miss a day it won’t be a huge extended period of time before you hit it again. Following the latest template that i laid out on my site wouldn’t be a bad place to start, but I would even simply it more to save time. Try to choose exercises that give you the most bang for your buck and work more muscles in their execution. On days you cannot get to the gym, I’d add in hill sprints or weighted carried with random implements you have at hand. I hope that gets you started in the right direction brother!
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“You’ll learn as you get older, that rules are made to be broken. Be bold enough to to live life on your own terms, and never, ever apologize for it. Go against the grain, refuse to conform, take the road less traveled instead of the well-beaten path. Laugh in the face of adversity, and leap before you look. March to the beat of your own drummer, and stubbornly refuse to fit in.” --Mandy Hale
SUNDAY, 30AUGUST2015 - Work For Today
Wave 2/Week 1/Day 7
STRONGMAN EVENTS - 6 Rounds
5 Keg Over Bar
100 Foot Prowler Sprint
:30 Seconds Battle Ropes
STRENGTH GIANT SET
Rack Deadlifts: 135x5, 225x5, 315x5, 405x5, 500x5, 585x5, 650x5
Bent Over Rows: 135x5, 225x5, 275x5, 315x5, 365x5, 385x5, 405x5
Bench Press: 135x5, 225x5, 275x5, 315x5, 365x5, 385x5, 405x5
NOTES:
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Rough workout for me. I did not give myself enough time between monday’s deadlifts and todays. No worries though, just need a little bit more recovery time.
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Strongman stuff went really well though
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I REALLY want to say thank you to all of you who have been over to my site and are helping support me by purchasing a t-shirt! More then half of them are gone already and I truly thank all of you who have emailed me with your encouraging words! Some of you have had trouble with the paypal button when using an iPhone. If the button seems to have a really small area that you can click. If you miss it, it sends you right back to the homepage. If you are really careful, it should work or any desktop/laptop doesn’t seem to have these problems. Anyway, i just really wanted to thank all of you! I am getting ready to drop my day job and go for the running my gym full-time, so your support couldn’t come at a better time! I am humbled and overwhelmed by how you guys have gotten behind me in this endeavor, it means more than you know. Really.