Thanks a lot man. Now begins THE CUBE.
MONDAY PM (Heavy Squat)
KB Jumps 35x3x4
A) SSB Squat: 280x5x2 (80% of tentative 350 1RM)
B) Walking Lunge w/Chains: (+40C)x2x30 steps total
C) Glute Ham Raise: BWx3x15
D) Ab Rollout w/Lateral Band: (Micro)x12/side
Condition: Prowler (70/side)x6 trips alternating high and low handles
Still a little beat up from the meet but not nearly as sore as I was expecting. All of my assistance work is going to be limited to 2-3 sets this week while I readjust to an increase in conditioning and running.
Finally going to start working with the Hobart Football team, somehow the times haven’t worked out until now. Looking forward to it.
Hopefully I’ll have the videos from the meet in a few days here.
TUESDAY AM
Blackburn/Scap Floor Slide/Spider Crawl
A) Pullup (Wide Pronated): BWx12,10 not strong with this grip at all
B) HS High Row: (145/side)x10
C) Seated Cable Row (Medium Supinated): 150x10
D) Spud Strap Pulldown: 140x12
E) Incline DB Curl: 30x10
Soft tissue quality is pretty damn good right now and my back mind-muscle connection has never been better. I normally get a lot of adhesions on my lats that inhibit my ROM somewhat but I’ve really been digging into it lately.
I just started following this and noticed that you were in the National Guard. I plan on commissioning as an officer as well after college. I currently compete in powerlifting, but after my next meet in May, I plan on doing a complete 180 with my training so I can get into military shape. I have the lifting aspect down, but I plan on doing my own kind of PT 3 days a week. I found a running program and now I’m looking into how I can improve my 2 minute pushup and situp scores. As of last summer (test for my ROTC scholarship), I completed 71 pushups and 65 situps (burned out with 30 seconds left). I want to go into ROTC with at least a 275 on my APFT. Any ideas on how to increase my pushup and situp scores?
CS
Hey Abrams, sorry if i missed it but do you mind going a bit more into depth of your training philosophie?
ans CS you still training with Ed Coan?
Not ignoring you guys I promise haha, I’ll have more time to elaborate tomorrow.
WEDNESDAY PM - DE BENCH
Explosive Plank to Pushups (P2Ps) 3x3 holy dogshit I suck at these
A) DE Bench Press: (55%/165+40C)x8x3
B1) Blast Strap Rear Delts: BWx3x10
B2) Incline Close Grip: 185x10, from pins x5
C1) Band Face Pull w/ER: (Micro)x3x15
C2) Seated DB Military Press: 50x15,12
Conditioning: Battle Ropes (Alternating Waves) 10x(:15/:45)
No idea what possessed me to incline from pins on that second set. Feels like it could be a hell of a tricep power exercise, not well suited for high reps though.
FRIDAY PM - RE DEADLIFT
Lateral Lunge Jumps 2x2/side
A) Snatch Grip Deadlift: 385x6 (big PR)
B) GCB Front Squat: 135,185,205x6
C) One DB SL RDL: 30,40,45x10/side
D) Weighted Back Extension: 50x2x12
That’s a pretty awesome PR on Snatch Grip, previous was 405x1 I think? Plan is to hit a 6-8 RM on RE days so that worked out pretty well.
GCB Front Squats felt like my entire midsection from ass to chest was attempting to violently eject itself from my body. Fuck.
CS - I’ve read your log before, keep up the hard work. Unfortunately I don’t think that I’m the best person to ask about this - two bulging/herniated discs and SI joint issues on both sides put an end to any kind of sit up training for me. High rep situp variations start aggravating my symptoms within a couple of days. I maintain a mid 60s situp score purely on anti-extension and lateral flexion core work. I think it’s kind of hilarious that I can deadlift over 500 pounds but am still limited in this way but that’s the way the cards were dealt to me.
There are definitely a lot of guys out there who weigh <150 and can do 90+ pushups while not being able to bench press a kitten. For me personally my pushup reps increased whenever my bench went up. I can max out around 75-80 reps now while doing zero pushup variations, just high rep barbell and dumbbell pressing with short (<2 minute) rest times. I don’t think that this is the most efficient way to go about it (specificity is key) but I just cannot stand the joke that is Army PT, I have to make my own way.
My best advice for anyone entering ROTC is just to try it out for a year. If you don’t like what you see, get out because the bullshit is only going to increase haha. You didn’t lose much of anything except for your time and you gained a great deal of life experience and possibly a year of tuition. If it’s a good fit for you, you gain a career for life and join the less than 2% of Americans that are currently serving in the military.
If you’re trying for an active duty scholarship, your PT score needs to be as high as possible to maximize your chances of placing high on the Order of Merit list. That means lifting really does have to take a back burner to cardio and endurance. One of the main reasons why Crossfit is so popular in the military is because it is very effective for this purpose. Military Athlete (and by extension Mountain Athlete) and the Horsemen Training Program should give you some ideas in this respect.
t - I’ve been training for about six years now seriously (that hopeless first year doesn’t count for shit hah) and it’s only within the past year or so that I actually feel like I’m starting to get everything really dialed in. My current set up has been most heavily influenced by the information StormTheBeach (Mike Hedlesky) and others put out in the Westside Method I and II threads here on T-Nation. In the past I’ve taken a lot of stuff away from Eric Cressey, Bret Contreras, Todd Bumgardner and many others and continue to do so. Reading articles can be a great way to learn about new techniques and programs but in the end it’s time spent under the bar that’s the best teacher. I’m very prone to overanalysis and often have to take a step back and tell myself to shut up and just lift. This same tendency is telling me to keep writing and compose an essay on my training history year by year which I’m going to quash right now haha.
SATURDAY AM - UPPER ACCESSORY
A1) Fat Bastard Zydrunas Press: 105,115x6 fuck this is hard
A2) Tall Kneeling Band Pulldown: (Average)x3x12
B1) Seated Overhead Pin Press: 135x2x8
B2) Diesel Band Rear Delts: (Micro)x3x6
C) DB Tate Press: 20,25,30x15
Conditioning: Battle Ropes (Full Body Waves/Short Waves) 6x(:20/:40)
this hurt
On the upside I finally got an SSD installed on my laptop. I can play Path of Exile without getting murdered by animation lag and my comp boots in about 6 seconds.
Great answer man, thanks.
Sorry, nothing great for April Fools.
High school was closed for yearly cleaning so Maximum Fitness it was.
MONDAY PM
Weighted Jumps 40x3x3
A) DE Squat: (60%ish/265)x8x2
B) DB Walking Lunge: 40x2x12/side
C1) Seated Leg Curl: 120x15
C2) Landmine Anti-rotation: 25x8/side
D) Pushup Ring Fallout: BWx3x12
Not bad, not bad. Got an upgrade from Time Warner Today to 50/5 MB/s DOWN/UP from 15/1 for free. Too bad it’s taken Google rolling out their Fiber project to finally provide some motivation for them to upgrade their terrible service.
TUESDAY AM
A) Pullup (Wide Pronated): BWx14,10
B) HS High Row: (145/side)x2x8 high and low
C) Seated Cable Row (Medium Supinated): 150x2x10
D) Straight Arm Pulldown: 110x2x12
E) Incline DB Curl: 30x2x10
Fatigue from the pullups hit me a little harder this week. I’ve always sucked at wide grip so it’s cool to see this improving at a decent rate.
WEDNESDAY PM - RE BENCH
A) Bench Press: 275x1, 265x4 Slingshot
B1) Ring Face Pull: BWx4x12
B2) Incline DB Bench: 65,70x10,75x12
C1) Band Face Pull w/ER: (Micro)x3x20
C2) Seated DB Overhead Press: 50x2x12
Extra: Band Pushdown w/2ct hold, Supine Band External Rotation
Low bench, super low J-hooks, different gym, training time, blah blah. Worst training session in months. Not a complete loss though because I still did some work.
In college I’d have sessions like this on a weekly basis (stress, lack of sleep, bad motivation, etc) and my normal reaction was just the leave the gym pissed off right there. This led to me being undertrained which perpetuated the cycle the next session. Glad I can look at it a little more positively now.
FRIDAY AM
100m Shuttles: x5 (25m down and back twice), :20 rest
Bike 10 min
Just testing out the new Adipures.
FRIDAY PM
Band OH Squats x10
A) Deficit Deadlift (2 plates): (85%/375)x5x2 pretty easy, double overhand too
B) GCB Front Squat: 135,185,215x6
C) Seated Leg Curl: 90,105x10,125x15
D) Back Extension: (+50)x15,12,12
Shit, forgot to do the SL RDLs. I’ll throw them into the morning workout.
That set of 215 on the fronts was more difficult than the last time I did 275x7 with a normal bar.
Something interesting I noticed today. My current PRs on snatch grip (385x6) and two plate deficit dl (425x2) both roughly come out to 440 for a 1RM. Given that I’m limited by what I can pull off the floor, this is an interesting correlation.
SATURDAY AM
KB BU Press 35 x suck
A1) Fat Bar Zydrunas Press: 55,105x6,125x8 PR
A2) TK Band Pulldown: (Average)x4x15
B1) Seated Overhead Pin Press: 155x6, 135x10,8
B2) Band Y-Ws: (Micro)x2x8/side
C) DB Tate Press: 20,25,30x10,35x15
Conditioning: Battle Ropes (Alternating Waves) 12x(:15/:45)
Extra: Band Pushdown (Average x20,15), Machine Preacher Curl (70x15,10)
Good PRs, nothing to complain about other than strangely not being able to keep my left wrist straight today.
MONDAY AM
Run 1 mile, feel like dying, walk 2 miles to the end of the road and back
MONDAY PM - RE SQUAT
KB Jumps 35x5, 55x2x3
A) Squat: 345x8 easy PR
B) Flavor Flav DB Walking Lunge: (40+20C)x2x10/side
C) FF GHR: BWx15, (+20C)x3x10
D) Blast Strap Fallout: BWx4x12
Extra: Leg Extension and Lying Leg Curl 40,65x20
All exercises done with a 5/8 chain around the neck will henceforth be referred to as the “Flavor Flav” or “FF”.
Morning run was atrocious, just had no leg endurance at all. Had to take the conditioning real easy following the heart surgery so it will be a rough time getting it back.
That aside, my squat has never been stronger - no running = big squat, who would have thought? 345x8 is a huge PR (previous was 315x10) and very easy. When my squat first hit 340-350 or so, my main technique was to squat controlled until roughly hamstring parallel and then drop quickly into the hole. This worked very well but had inconsistent results for me depending on just how explosive I was feeling that day. The high volume of low box speed squats and single leg work that I’ve done since November have led me to take a different approach - generating an enormous amount of hip tension by forcing the knees out at roughly the same point. Not only am I stronger this way but it helps defeat my natural tendency to good morning the shit out of my 85+% squats.
TL;DR I disagree entirely with the “speed work doesn’t work” crowd.
TUESDAY AM
A) Pullup (Wide Pronated): BWx15,10
B) HS High Row: (145/side)x2x9
C) Seated Cable Row (Medium Supinated): 150x2x12
D) Machine Preacher Curl: 70x12,10
Pullups were strong, high row weak, cable row strong, curls strong. Sense this does not make.
[quote]IronAbrams wrote:
MONDAY AM
Run 1 mile, feel like dying, walk 2 miles to the end of the road and back
MONDAY PM - RE SQUAT
KB Jumps 35x5, 55x2x3
A) Squat: 345x8 easy PR
B) Flavor Flav DB Walking Lunge: (40+20C)x2x10/side
C) FF GHR: BWx15, (+20C)x3x10
D) Blast Strap Fallout: BWx4x12
Extra: Leg Extension and Lying Leg Curl 40,65x20
All exercises done with a 5/8 chain around the neck will henceforth be referred to as the “Flavor Flav” or “FF”.
Morning run was atrocious, just had no leg endurance at all. Had to take the conditioning real easy following the heart surgery so it will be a rough time getting it back.
That aside, my squat has never been stronger - no running = big squat, who would have thought? 345x8 is a huge PR (previous was 315x10) and very easy. When my squat first hit 340-350 or so, my main technique was to squat controlled until roughly hamstring parallel and then drop quickly into the hole. This worked very well but had inconsistent results for me depending on just how explosive I was feeling that day. The high volume of low box speed squats and single leg work that I’ve done since November have led me to take a different approach - generating an enormous amount of hip tension by forcing the knees out at roughly the same point. Not only am I stronger this way but it helps defeat my natural tendency to good morning the shit out of my 85+% squats.
TL;DR I disagree entirely with the “speed work doesn’t work” crowd.[/quote]
x2 since starting speed work for my bench, it has flown up. A pause on the chest, and then BOOM, there’s no pressure to go heavy, and technique gets reinforced. I think some people where bringing up valid points, however some just wanted site visits. There are so many training programs/ideas, all they really have in common, is handwork and dedication.
WEDNESDAY PM - ME BENCH
Band Assisted Explosive Pushups 4x3
A1) Slingshot Bench: (85%/265)x5x2
A2) Blast Strap Scarecrows: BWx4x12
B1) Incline DB Bench: 60,70x10,80x11
B2) Band Face Pull w/ER: (Micro)x25,3x20
C) Seated DB Military Press: 50x16,12
Battle Ropes (Slams/Small Waves)x8x(:20/:40)
Wore my heart rate monitor just for shits and giggles, average resting was 110-115 between sets and 130-140 during. Battles ropes were about 130-140 and 150-155.
Drill @ Fort Drum this weekend so have to cram two sessions into one day. May or may not get a chance to do an abbreviated upper accessory day Sunday night.
THURSDAY AM
Intervals 400m: 3x400m (WU, 1:30, 1:31, 1:35) - HR min 135 max 175
THURSDAY (30 min later) DE DEADLIFT
A) DE Deadlift: (60%/315)x8x1
B) DB Bulgarian SS: 40,60x8/side
C1) Band Good Morning: (Average)x2x25
C2) Band Lateral Step: (Mini)x2x15/side
Fire alarm went off on set 6 of the deadlifts which I think was something of a sign because this workout sucked haha. I don’t like training at the H&WS fitness center unless I absolutely have to because all of their free weights suck.
It snowed all three days we were at Drum, and I come back to a sunny 67 degree Monday. The fuck son.
MONDAY PM
KB Jumps 35x3, 55x3x4
A) SSB Squat: (85%/295)x3x2
B) Snatch Hang Shrug: 135x3x5
C) FF Walking DB Lunge: (40+20C)x15,12/steps side
D1) FF GHR: BWx12, (+20C)x3x12
D2) Standing Ab Wheel to Wall: BWx3x8
Prowler: (WU 45,70/side), (80/side)x4xdown and back
Absolutely nothing to complain about especially given the lack of calories over the weekend. Good shit.
TUESDAY AM
A) Pullups (Wide Pronated): BWx16,11
B) Nautilus Compound Row: (80/side)x2x12
C) Seated Cable Row (Medium Pronated): 150x2x10
D) Spud Strap Pulldown: 135x12,10
E) Machine Preacher Curl: 80x8, 70x11
Pullups coming back! I would fucking love to get +120x1 sometime soon.
.
Nautilus row is called the Xplode or something retarded like that. I used to hate this machine back when my back mind-muscle connection sucked and now I think its one of the best machines in the gym. The handles are free floating so you can manipulate them to get any grip that you want, I was using a wide elbows flared style for these and it was awesome.
WEDNESDAY PM - DE BENCH
Explosive Plank to Pushup 3x3
A) DE Bench Press: (60%/175+40C)x8x3
B1) Incline DB Bench (Neutral Grip): 70x12,8
B2) Blast Strap Scarecrow: BWx4x12
C1) Prone Lateral Raise: 30x3x10
C2) KB Face Pull: 35x3x10
C3) Band Pullapart: (Mini)x3x10
Extra: Band Pushdown (Average), Cable External Rotation, 4-Way Neck
That shoulder triset is absolutely disgusting, I’m going to keep forcing myself to do it.
