Boatguy's New and Final Log (Ongoing)

Training Training Logs
101

[quote]boatguy wrote:
eagle- Currently no, but in the past yes. At various times in my NSW career, I have been forced to do the group thing, which I hate(yes, I am repeating myself). Pushups-situps-long ass run does nothing for anyone, especially in my profession. I like that the boat community is getting away from that, and implementing a more athletic-based program, but I have to say I agree with Wendler’s view on the subject: lift heavy weights to be strong, do hops, jumps, and the like to improve athleticism.

Obviously running is needed, but beyond 3-4 miles I don’t see the point. The stupid thing is when our Human Performance manager was trying to change things and questioned the stupid long runs, the answer was ‘But what if we get blown off the boats and have to go on E&E?’ So, we’re basing our entire PT program off a semi-annual test (PRT) that does nothing to measure actual job performance, and the less than 1% chance of going on E&E? Good plan.

If I ever end up on E&E, I’m definitely not going to run 6+ miles with all my gear, unless I know for a fact there is a FOB or pickup spot waiting for me there. Realistically, I will run 1-2 miles to put down some distance between myself and the contact site, and then I go to ground. I more than likely won’t have much food and water, so conserving energy is the name of the game.

Deep Breath.

Sorry, little rant there. Point was, lifting actually helps me prep for my job, as it does most military jobs. When I have been allowed to completely do my own thing in my career (PT-wise), are the times when I have gotten in the best shape. As soon as I have to follow the pack, I start losing my progress. Have you read any of the CrossFit Endurance stuff? He says you can prepare for marathons without pounding the pavement for the ridiculous amount of mileage that is typical.

Carries over to military as well, obviously. I had started to follow that, but then I changed to my current program and cardio has taken a back seat, so to speak. I fully intend to jump into that once I finish this 6-8 weeks and go back to my normal 531.[/quote]

Well thank you for that - very helpful.

CS

102

24 November 2012
Saturday - OFF
HRV - 77, Green

Like I said before, I knew I was taking today off anyway to do some stuff with the family. There is a place up near Richmond called Morefield Mine. My son’s cub scout pack went up there to get there mining belt loop (or geology, not sure which one it was). Took the whole family, and it is right at 2.5 hrs each way, so I didn’t bother trying to squeeze in a session. Had a good time, basically you dig up a bucket full of dirt and take it over to the sluice area, then run it through the water in a little tray to wash away the dirt. The wife and I found a bunch of little garnets, a few quartz crystals, and a couple amethyst and amylline (amethyst and citrulline together), as weell as some decent size chunks of amazonite. The kids found similar stuff, and my son found what is called a garnet ball, a rock with a bunch of little flecks of garnet in it. Overall, great family day outing.

25 November 2012
Sunday - Arms/Abs/Forearms
HRV - 80, Green (I was expecting a bigger jump after a full day off)

1A. Dip - BW x 10, 50 x 8, 8, 75 x 4, 4, 100 x 2, 2, 135 x 2, 2;
1B. EZ Bar Curl - X, 80 x 8, 8, 90 x 6, 6, 100 x 4, 4, 110 x 3, 3;
Cable Pressdown Stack Drop - 8 x 120- 6 x 110-90-80-70-60, 6 x 90-80-70-60-50-40;
Reverse EZ Bar Curl - 70 x 8, 8, 8;
Concentration Curl - 30 x 8, 35 x 8, 6;
Hanging Leg Raise - 10, 10, 10;

Hit the Y this afternoon after church, since it is right down the street from the church and we had someplace to be afterward. For the first two moves - dips and EZ Curls - I used the double pyramid again, except I changed the rep counts a little. I doubled the two top sets of dips, since I just didn’t want to do only 1 rep on dips, and I added to a couple sets of curls since I was at the top of the pre-loaded bars, and following the prescribed rep counts would have left quite a bit in the hole. Also, the X at the beginning of the curls means I didn’t do a set of those to correspond with the set of bodyweight dips.

Since I haven’t done specific arms days in years, I also haven’t done extended drop sets of pressdowns in a really long time. I had forgotten the over-pumped, super fatigued feeling you get in the tris on those. The last couple reps of the last couple sets, it is near impossible to get a full lockout. I did two sets of reverse curls after the first set of pressdowns, then finished after the second set. That (reverse curls) is the only thing I did for forearms. Due to the high frequency with which I am training calves and forearms, I am only doing one move for a few sets, not trying to annihilate the muscles. Same thing for abs, since i am hitting those every other day as well.

Tomorrow is back to work, so I will start splitting some of the sessions into two-a-days, at least on the ones which end up with multiple bodyparts due to the rotation. Also means I have to shave this sweet beard I’ve been working on. In a couple years after I retire, I’m going for the full Opie look (SOA). My wife is donw with the beard, but she doesn’t seem too thrilled with the Opie idea.

103

26 November 2012
Week 2 (Smolov Week 1)
Monday - Upper Back (Horizontal)/ Traps 2 / Smolov 4x9
HRV - 81, Green

Seated Cable Row - 144 x 8, 156 x 8, 168 x 8, 180 x 8;
Meadows Row - 75 x 8, 100 x 6, 125 x 6;
Kroc Row - 85 x 20;
Squat - 135 x 10, 185 x 8, 8, 225 x 8, 265 x 9*, 9*, 9*, 9*;
Squat Machine Calf Raise - 90 x 10, 10, 10;

  1. Standing DB Shrug - 100 x 8, 110 x 6, 6, 120 x 4;
  2. Face Down Incline Shrug - 60 x 12, 12, 10;
  3. Rear Shrug/Front Shrug Superset - 275 x 8-8, 8-8, 6-7;
  4. 4 Way Neck Machine - 40 x 20, 20, 20;

Good workout today, though a little stacked. I cut back a little short, since I wanted to make sure I got the other stuff in. I had wanted to do a second set of Kroc Rows, but I dropped the second one to conserve energy. Squats felt good, though my lower back was a little tight the rest of the day. An epsom soak once I got home this afternoon took care of that.

The trap workouts aren’t quite as brutal as I was expecting, but I am not going to true failure where they call for it. Partially due to time, and partially just because I don’t want to. I take the sets to just short of failure, so I should still be getting a good stimulus from it. If nothing else, the increased volume of shrugging should cause some good growth.

104

27 November 2012
Tuesday - Shoulders/Abs
HRV - 79, Green

Military Press - bar x 10, 10, 65 x 8, 85 x 6, 100 x 5*, 115 x 3*, 130 x 2;
1 Arm DB Press - 45 x 8, 50 x 8, 55 x 6;
Lateral Raise - 20 x 12, 12, 12;
Reverse Crunch - 10#MB x 12, 12, 12;
***PM
Treadmill 1/4 Mile Repeats - 4 repeats @ 12.5MPH/90sec rest between
HR Average- 152 Peak- 182 1(pre/post)- 104/172 2- 121/177 3- 134/179 4- 136/182

Shoulders felt pretty good today, even at the top weights. I feel like I’ve lost some strength, but not really sure. Hard to say, with the heavy schedule I’ve been following. I got 2 at 130, which I was happy with even though I would have liked more.

I use the 1 Arm DB Press a lot, if you didn’t notice. I like it because I can usually go a little heavier than bilateral, and I also feel like it hits the serratus fairly well. I also increased reps on lateral raises, so next shoulder day I can go up to 25s.

After work, I hit the gym again to get the treadmill runs in. They are basically the same as how I used to perform Litvinovs, except without the front squat pre-fatigue. I’ve been talking about CFE and how I plan to jump back into it, but the more I think about it, I don’t like the idea of freeze-drying my lungs a couple times each week hitting the track. I’ll definitely do something for conditioning, but not sure I’ll do that again until it warms up.

105

28 November 2012
Wednesday - Chest, Smolov, Arms
HRV - 82, Green

AM-
Bench - bar x 10, 135 x 10, 185 x 7, 6, 205 x 5*, 230 x 3*, 250 x 4*;
Incline DB Bench - 45 x 10, 50 x 10, 55 x 9;
Pec Deck - 100 x 10, 10, 10;
Squat - 135 x 10, 185 x 8, 225 x 8, 285 x 7, 7, 7, 7, 7;

PM-
A. Close Grip Bench - 135 x 10, 155 x 8, 185 x 6, 205 x 4;
B. Incline Curl - 40 x 8, 8, 8, 8;
1 Arm Pressdown Extended Drop Set - 8 x 70-60-50-40-30;
Screw Curl - 40 x 8, 45 x 8;

Bench felt great this morning. Got to my top set of 250, and pumped out 4 reps, which I was very happy about. Then I went to log it, and realized it was supposed to be 255. Oh well. Still felt good. Even with 255, I’m sure I could have gotten 2-3 at least, if not 4. Finished out my chest work, then went to squats. My lower back felt a little dodgy after Monday’s session, so I broke out the belt for the first time. I got the EFS lever belt a while back, and actually haven’t used it yet. I haven’t used a belt in years, and always kind of prided myself on squatting heavy (for me) without one. But, time marches on. With the increased volume, it will probably help keep some of the soreness at bay.

After squats, I still had a little time, but I didn’t want to just phone in the arm workout so I headed to work and pushed arms to the afternoon. By the time we got done today, it was after 4 going on 5. Got in what felt like some decent work, then hit the shower and headed home.

106

29 November 2012
Thursday - Back(Vertical)
HRV - 85, Green

Pullup - BW x 10, 25 x 7, 45 x 6, 65 x 3*, 67.5 x 3*, 72.5 x 5*;
Alternating Neutral Grip Pullup - 4, 4; Alternating Normal Grip Pullup - 4;
Front-to-Back Pulldown - 120 x 7, 7;
Mid-Range Pullover - 55 x 20;

Hurricane - (25W/35R) 10MPH @ 5-10-15 incline/11-12MPH @ 0-5-10 incline
Heart Rate Average - 164 Peak - 181

I only had back to do today, so I had a little trouble keeping moving. You know when you know there isn’t much to do, so no real rush? Yeah, that was me this morning. Got the reps I wanted at the weights, and hit some other moves I haven’t used in a while (seriously can’t remember the last time I did pulldowns, let alone front-to-back). Got a good pump in the lats, felt a good burn in the lats and rhomboids.

Then I sit down to update my log (just now) and realized I was supposed to do abs as well. Oh well. Squats were good the last couple days, but today (an off day from squatting) and yesterday, I have been moving boxes full of machine guns around, so my back tightened up nicely. Hot and cold packs should take care of that later, hopefully won’t impact tomorrow’s squat session.

107

30 November 2012
Friday - Shoulders, Traps 3, Smolov
HRV - 93, Yellow

Military Press - bar x 10, 10, 65 x 8, 85 x 6, 105 x 5*, 110 x 5*, 120 x 5*, 95 x 5;
Lateral Raise - 20 x 8, 8, 25 x 4, 4, 30 x 4, 4, 35 x 2, 2;

  1. Heavy Front Shrug (straps) - 275 x 20, 20, 20;
  2. Seated Alternating DB Shrug / Facedown Incline Shrug - 60/50 x 10ea, 70/50 x 10, 10;
  3. 4 Way Neck - 50 x 20, 20, 20;

Squat - 135 x 10, 185 x 8, 225 x 5, 275 x 5, 305 x 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5;

Woke up to a yellow measure this morning, was surprised I didn’t get one earlier in the week. I guess my body has adapted (for the most part) to the increased frequency and volume.

Military press felt pretty good, I’ve been taking more of a warm up for those and it seems to be helping. Did the Sipes double pyramid on lateral raises, and should have adjusted the reps more than I did, and/or started higher in weight.

Cut traps short due to time. I was supposed to do another supersetted pair of exercises for 3 sets, but I was running short and wanted to make sure I got the neck done. I was also supposed to do overhead shrugs in place of the facedown shrugs, but I tried a few and was barely getting any ROM, so I switched. I wanted to do more retraction/mid trap work anyway.

Pushed squats to the afternoon, and then ended up spending longer at work than I expected to, and didn’t eat anything between my initial post-workout shake and the Quest bar I ate literally right before heading over to the work gym. Felt alright though, I think most of my issues with squatting the last week or two has more to do with not having squatted in a while before starting this.

Over the years, I have gotten used to watching myself in the mirror while I squat, because every gym loves to cover the walls with mirrors. It’s never bothered me, but I do notice a difference when I don’t have one, since I typically watch my form in the mirror. Our work gym only has mirrors on one wall, but they have cameras covering the 6 squat racks in the center of the room, with about a 10-second delay on them. Gives you enough time to unrack the weight, get set, perform your set, and then rerack, and be able to watch your form. Only one angle, and the plates (Uesaka bumpers, what’s up) were covering most of my torso from the camera, but it’s still something. Probably works better for the guys doing cleans and snatches.

108

01 December 2012
Saturday - Arms, Smolov
HRV - 88, Green

1A. Close Grip Deadstop Bench - 135 x 8, 155 x 8, 185 x 6, 205 x 4, 225 x 4, 245 x 2, 2, 265 x 1;
1B. Screw Curl - X, X, 40 x 8, 8, 50 x 4, 4, 60 x 2, 2;
2A. Elbow-Out Extension - 40 x 8, 45 x 6, 6;
2B. Reverse EZ Curl - 65 x 10, 75 x 10, 85 x 10;
Squat - 135 x 10, 185 x 5, 225 x 5, 275 x 5, 320 x 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3;
Seated Calf Raise - 90 x 12, 12, 12;

Stayed up too late last night, then kept waking up. Surprisingly, I still felt pretty good when I finally got up, and my HRV came up green again. Hit the gym, did arms first. I was kind of all over the place with rep counts- I was trying to do a version of Sipes’ double pyramid, but I was jumping a bit too much.

Squats went good, I started off with a 90 second rest between sets, but cut that down to a minute around the halfway point. There were some guys doing strongman training while I was there, so that was rather motivating. Kind of cool watching guys do squats with bands, then heavy farmer carries (about 400 per side), then still have enough left for keg lifts and chain drags.

109

02 December 2012
Sunday - Chest, Back (Horizontal), Calves, Abs
HRV - 90, Green

1A. Seated Cable Row - 144 x 8, 156 x 8, 168 x 8, 180 x 8, 192 x 8, 204 x 8;
1B. Bench - 135 x 10, 10, 185 x 8, 207.5 x 5*, 220 x 5*, 235 x 8*;
2A. MX Row - 144 x 8, 156 x 8, 180 x 8;
2B. Incline DB Bench - 45 x 10, 50 x 12, 55 x 12;
3A. Kroc Row - 85 x 20, 20;
3B. Cable Cross - 50 x 12, 12;
4A. Toe Press - 350 x 12, 395 x 12, 12;
4B. Reverse Crunch - 10#MB x 12, 12, 12;

Keep expecting yellows, cause I haven’t been sleeping very well. Let me rephrase that. I felt like I didn’t get a lot of continuous sleep, but I woke up this morning feeling great. I drank two cups of coffee before/during church, then started pre-workout nutrition (2 Zone bars) while tearing the sound equipment down (I volunteer as part of the sound crew at a mobile church here). Hit the gym after church, and had a great session.

Bench felt great, I started the top set thinking I wanted 10, but after 6 I could tell I was getting past 8. Still happy with that though, good solid reps at that weight. I should have started the rows heavier, both seated cable and the motorcross rows (especially these). Hadn’t done them in a while and didn’t bother to look back through my log. Kroc rows were a gut check - I felt an odd twisting/stretching sensation in my lower back on the first set. It went away and never really hurt, so I guess no big deal.

Did toe press using the leg press machine today, even though I did seated calf raises yesterday. Hatfield’s variable split protocols say you can work the forearms and calves every day, since they are so small, so I am going to try doing them everyday. That way, if I forget them (like I did a couple days ago), I won’t go as long without doing them. I feel like a dolt though, because the only things I have been doing for calves have been either seated or standing calf raises. I suppose the move is very similar to standing, but it felt a little different. Besides, variety (at least a little bit) is the spice of life.

110

03 December 2012
Monday - Shoulders, Smolov
HRV - 80, Yellow

Military Press - bar x 10, 10, 65 x 8, 85 x 6, 105 x 5*, 110 x 5*, 120 x 6*;
Lateral Raise - 25 x 8, 8, 30 x 4, 4, 35 x 2, 3, 40 x 2, 2;
Squat - 135 x 10, 185 x 10, 225 x 10, 285 x 9, 9, 9, 9;

Finally got the yellow I’ve been expecting, along with a 10 point drop. Didn’t sleep real well last night, so that certainly didn’t help. Taking tomorrow off anyway, for command requal jumps (skydiving, or MFF). Plan is to eat a lot before/during/after jumps, and try and get some good rest out of it, in spite of the jumping.

Screwed up when I wrote out today’s workout. Thought I had updated the file I have with the 531 workouts for bench, military press and pullups pre-written. Didn’t line-out the last one I did (Friday), so I repeated it without realizing it. Till I was done, of course, and finally looked back to try and figure out why these weights at these reps seemed so familiar. Yeah dumbass, it’s familiar cause you did it 3 days ago.

Military press is coming along, though I seem to be right on the curve now instead of in front of it. I typically don’t get extra reps on the top sets, or if I do, no more than 2-3. Weird, cause bar speed is really good until I get to my work sets, and it suddenly feels like I’m pushing through mud. Still progressing though, so we’ll keep plugging along.

Only did lateral raises after pressing, since I had squats and needed to get them done in the same session. We had refresher training today for the jumps, and I didn’t know how long it was going to take.

Funny side note: while I was doing lateral raises, I remembered a bone-headed move a friend of mine did several years ago. He was on deployment, and was determined to train up to an iron cross before he came home. Not being too up on his exercise phys, he thought he needed to strengthen his delts (probably wouldn’t hurt, but not the most important thing there). As part of his ‘plan’ he was direct injecting juice into his delts (forget what exactly he was using). Again, not being too up on exercise phys, he was only injecting into the lateral head, and ended up with these really funky looking fins running the length of his lateral deltoids. Looked funny as hell, and I’m pretty sure it went away (haven’t seen him since then).

111

05 December 2012
Wednesday - Arms, Smolov
HRV - 85, Green

1A. Dip - BW x 10, 50 x 8, 8, 75 x 4, 4, 100 x 4, 4, 125 x 2, 2;
1B. Incline Curl - 40 x 8, 8, 45 x 4, 4, 50 x 2, 2, 55 x 2, 2;
2A. Elbow Out Extensions - 40 x 8, 8, 8;
2B. Screw Curl - 45 x 8, 8, 8;
Squat - 135 x 10, 185 x 8, 225 x 8, 275 x 8, 305 x 7, 7, 7, 7, 7;
DB Shrug Extended Drop Set - 80 x 25, 70 x 20, 60 x 15, 50 x 10, 40 x 10;
Squat Machine Calf Raise - 90 x 15, 12, 12;

Good workout today. Arms went good, I’m kind of digging the Sipes double pyramid (if you couldn’t tell). It gives me an excuse to go heavier, without worrying about not getting whatever target reps (since the reps get smaller as you go up). Ground breaking, I know, but I think at some point I got tied up in getting more reps at a given weight on assistance work.

Squats felt good, nice and smooth. I always feel a little awkward at the top, if I actually lock my knees out. I typically stop just shy of that, because it feels smoother.

Traps for today was simple, just run the rack on shrugs. All of these sets were done back to back, though I did take a very brief breather once or twice (literally, one or two breaths before picking up the next set of DBs). I was supposed to do 2-3 sets, but after barely getting through that one, I really didn’t want to do it again.

112

06 December 2012
Thursday - Back(Vertical), Conditioning
HRV - 87, Green

Pullup - BW x 10, 25 x 8, 40 x 6, 60 x 5*, 67.5 x 3*, 75 x 4*;
Pullup - BW x 15, 14;
Stretcher - 120 x 8, 8, 132 x 8, 8;

PM - 1/4 Mile Repeat - 1/4mi @ 12MPH/90sec Rest x 4 Heart Rate Average- 153 Peak- 184
HR Pre/Post - 1 - 104/173, 2 - 123/177, 3 - 135/182, 4 - 140/184

Today’s workout was pretty simple and straightforward. Kind of short, even. Could have done the sprints at the tale end of my morning workout, but after drinking my PWO stuff, just felt like I had too much liquid in my belly. Pushed it to after work, which should have been 2-3 hours later but became more than that. Anyway, got it done.

113

07 December 2012
Friday - Chest, Smolov
HRV - 72, Yellow

Bench - bar x 10, 135 x 10, 185 x 8, 205 x 5, 220 x 3*, 235 x 3*, 247.5 x 6*;
Incline DB Bench - 50 x 8, 8, 60 x 4, 65 x 4, 75 x 2, 2, 80 x 2, 85 x 2;
Squat - 135 x 10, 185 x 8, 225 x 6, 275 x 6, 325 x 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5;

Woke up with a yellow today, with a significant drop in score. I blame it on the repeats, they are a bit intense and I did them in the afternoon.

Bench felt good today, shoulder still reminds me it is there occasionally, but no real worries. I think ignoring it was a good idea, since it seems to be going away. If you notice, the top set of bench today was 247.5. How did I get the extra 2.5, you might ask? We have Plate Mates, which are a pretty cool addition to any gym. They are little magnetic weights in increments of 1.25 or 2.5 pounds. I was using them on the DBs for pullups initially, but then I started sticking 2 1.25 plate mates on the big plates for bench when necessary. I know, you can just as easily round the numbers up or down when doing the math, but that sometimes caused me to have a jump between sets of only 5 pounds. This works better, and tonnage is tonnage.

This added squat volume is blowing up my thighs, mainly hams and inner thighs. After I finish the Smolov intro, I am going to add in front squats 2-3 times per week to get some growth on my quads and VMO for the rest of this program.

114

08 December 2012
Saturday - Arms, Smolov
HRV - 79, Green

I thought my body was wearing down with age, but I still have a pretty good recovery ability. I’ve only had a few yellows in this first three weeks, and even less reds, and that’s with only two days off so far. Thinking about taking tomorrow off just for the hell of it, maybe make a recovery day out of it.

1A. Dip - BW x 10, 75 x 8, 8, 100 x 4, 4, 125 x 2, 2, 150 x 1, 2;
1B. Incline Curl - 45 x 8, 8, 50 x 4, 4, 55 x 2, 2, 60 x 1, 1;
2A. Elbow Out Extension - 40 x 10, 10, 10;
2B. Screw Curl - 45 x 8, 8, 8;
Squat - 135 x 10, 185 x 10, 225 x 8, 275 x 5, 315 x 4, 340 x 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3;
Toe Press - 395 x 12, 12, 12;
Forearm Medley

Was really happy with dips today. Yes, you read that right, I did dips (granted, only a few) with 150 pounds, that’s about 3/4 my bodyweight (added onto my actual bodyweight). I’ve only ever done 135 before, this was pretty cool.

I’ve started doing the Elbow Out Extensions again (haven’t done them consistently in some time). Got those from EFS, they are supposed to be a good assistance exercise for bench, as well as filling in the muscle right above the elbow. I have a bit of a divot there, so some added meat there would be nice.

The forearm medley was fairly unorganized at first, then I just repeated what I had already done. Wrist hammers with 5# club bells, wrist curls with a DB hanging off a bench, and reverse wrist curls using a forearm bar (odd looking yoke of a thing). Looks like it should be a cable attachment, but it has a weight collar where the d-ring would be. A little awkward at first, and took a bit of getting used to. That’s why I mainly used it for reverse curls, that one felt the most comfortable.

115

[quote]Boult wrote:
Hey Boatguy, ran into a problem, sorry for the delayed response, my harddirve in my laptop gave out. I will be using your advice on the CSS. Just wanted to thank you for all the help you’ve been giving me. I really appreciate it! If you have the free time, I would be glad to take some pointers from you, just let me know when you have free time. I’m going to start throwing swimming in my routine again. Thanks again.

The pool I was swimming at previously like 5 months ago was Kempsville rec center, and haven’t been doing much swimming since, besides the occasional swimming parallel to chic’s beach when I’m up there with friends. The Kempsville pool was only 25m. Do you know of the Dam Neck pool on base is 50m or not?

I’ll keep at everything and work at my weaknesses. Thanks![/quote]

I grew up on Va. Bch, and lived right behind the Kemp Rec Center. I loved that place! I lived there from 87’ to then end of 92’. My sis still lives there with her husband, he’s in the Navy…on the USS Bataan. Go NAVY.

Boatguy, just found your log here, looks great man. I will be joining the Navy Reserves sometime soon & cannot wait. Also, where’s the info you put on here about improving ones 1.5 mile run? Thanks.

116

oohlala- What I used to improve my 1.5 mile time was something called Litvinovs. I got them from an article on here several years ago. There was a Russian Olympic lifter (or thrower, I forget), named Litvinov. His main conditioning tool (or only, again, I forget) was this: front squat 8 reps at a decently challenging weight, then sprint a 400.

He would rest to complete recovery, then repeat. I changed it in a couple ways, for convenience mainly. I did the front squats in the gym, then would run a 1/4-mile on the treadmill at the highest speed I could manage. The Woodway treadmills we had in the gym went up to 12.5mph, so that is what I worked up to. After the 1/4 mile, I would rest 90 seconds, and then repeat, for a total of 4 rounds. I did this 1-2 times a week, and saw some very good benefits. I dropped my run time down to the high 9’s, which was the best I’ve ever done. Did this for a couple years in a row, until I stopped caring (HAHA). I still use it periodically when I want to boost my conditioning level.

117

I took Sunday off, just for the hell of it, planning on eating a ton and recovering. Then, something screwed up my stomach, and I puked my guts out before going to bed. Actually felt fine Monday morning, and got back after it.

Week 4
10 December 2012
Monday - Back (Horizontal), Smolov, Traps
HRV - 83, Green
Weight- 207.5

Seated 1 Arm Row - 84* x 8, 8, 96* x 8, 8; (sets 1&2 used rolling thunder handle, 3&4 used normal grip)
A. Kroc Row - 85 x 20, 20, 20;
B. 4 Way Neck Machine - 50 x 20, 20, 20;
Squat - 135 x 10, 185 x 10, 225 x 10, 295 x 9, 9, 9, 9;
PM
Seated DB Shrug w/ 20 sec hold on last rep - 75 x 15, 15, 15;
Prone Incline Shrug - 55 x 12, 12, 12;
Heavy T - 15 x 12, 12;

Since I was only doing rows today, I just did a few sets of seated rows to get warm, and then hit Kroc Rows for the meat. I did a third set this time, to get more work out of it. I also supersetted these with the neck machine, in order to speed things up. I went from there to squats, starting the third week of the Smolov Intro Cycle. My lower back hasn’t been too bad before, but after the last set it felt wrecked. I’ve been using the belt, which seemed to have been helping in the last couple weeks, but I might as well have not even worn it today - at least it seemed. I ran out of time (got out of the house a little later than I meant to after taking care of the wife ;), so I cut traps until after work (which is basically about 2 hours later).

118

11 December 2012
Tuesday - Shoulders, Abs
HRV - 77, Yellow

Military Press - bar x 10, 10 65 x 8, 95 x 6, 110 x 3*, 120 x 3*, 125 x 5*;
Lateral Raise - 25 x 8, 8, 30 x 4, 4, 35 x 4, 40 x 2, 2, 45 x 1, 2, 25 x 20;
A. Reverse Crunch - 10# med ball x 10, 10, 10;
B. Cable Twist - 60 x 10, 10, 10;

Today was a quick day, since I didn’t have much on the schedule for today. When I wrote out the schedule for the variable split, I somehow skipped a shoulder day. That’s why I had a 6 day gap between shoulder days instead of 2 (counting taking Sunday off). I also tried CT’s ice pack on the abdomen trick, just for shits and giggles. Can’t really say if it did anything, but I got 2 reps over on the top set, where I’ve only been getting 1 over typically in the recent past. So who knows.

Threw in a drop set on lateral raises as well, just for a little something extra, then did two ab moves instead of one, since I haven’t done any abs in a few days.

119

12 December 2012
Wednesday - Chest, Smolov, Arms
HRV - 88, Green

820-920AM
Bench - 135 x 10, 155 x 8, 185 x 5, 207.5 x 5*, 235 x 3*, 260 x 6*, 185 x 10 - 135 x 13;
Incline DB Bench - 50 x 8, 8, 65 x 4, 4, 75 x 2, 3;
Pec Deck - 100 x 10, 10, 10;
Squat - 135 x 10, 185 x 8, 225 x 8, 275 x 8, 315 x 7, 7, 7, 7, 7;
1PM
A. Close Grip Bench - 155 x 8, 185 x 8, 225 x 4, 4; Elbow Out Extension - 40 x 8, 10, 10;
B. Screw Curl - 45 x 8, 8, 50 x 4, 4, 60 x 2, 2, 65 x 2;

Today was a busy day, at least in the gym. I like this rotation, but I hate when multiple bodyparts pop up together on the rota. Then tomorrow, it’s just pullups and abs.

Was really happy with my chest workout today. Bench went good, got 6 reps on the top set, then followed it with a double drop set. Rested just long enough to strip weight, did 10 reps (near failure) at 185, stripped again, and did 13 reps at 135 (again, just before failure - closer this time). Moved to incline dumbbell bench, which I went through while I started my squat warm up sets (to save time). Finished those with 3-4 sets of squats left. Finished out squats, then did the 3 sets of pec deck and cut out for work.

Few hours later (after work) hit the work gym for a quick arms sesh. Triceps were still fatigued from benching, but still got some decent work done. After I got done with everything, my arms were pumped beyond belief.

120

[quote]boatguy wrote:
oohlala- What I used to improve my 1.5 mile time was something called Litvinovs. I got them from an article on here several years ago. There was a Russian Olympic lifter (or thrower, I forget), named Litvinov. His main conditioning tool (or only, again, I forget) was this: front squat 8 reps at a decently challenging weight, then sprint a 400.

He would rest to complete recovery, then repeat. I changed it in a couple ways, for convenience mainly. I did the front squats in the gym, then would run a 1/4-mile on the treadmill at the highest speed I could manage. The Woodway treadmills we had in the gym went up to 12.5mph, so that is what I worked up to. After the 1/4 mile, I would rest 90 seconds, and then repeat, for a total of 4 rounds. I did this 1-2 times a week, and saw some very good benefits. I dropped my run time down to the high 9’s, which was the best I’ve ever done. Did this for a couple years in a row, until I stopped caring (HAHA). I still use it periodically when I want to boost my conditioning level.[/quote]

Thanks Boatguy! I remember that article from way back & will add that in down the road. Sounds painful & fun, at the same time. Haha.