Colucci Still Lifts

Training Training Logs
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“If I were asked to give the three best lifts to practise, with a view to increasing muscular development, toning up the muscles generally with three positions only and preparing one as far as possible for every lift, I should advise the following: -

  1. Practice lifting heavy weights (bar-bells) off the ground as high as the knees […] In lifting it bend the legs but keep the back as straight as possible. Hollow it a little and bend from the hips. […]
  2. The exercise now recommended is one for the legs only. […] Place the bar-bell on the shoulders at the back of the neck. Feet fairly close together. Now sit down as far as possible by bending the legs. Then return and repeat. […]
  3. Lie full length on the ground with the bar-bell behind your head. Now grip the bar with both hands, pull same over your head and press up and down four or five times. […]

I feel that in advocating these three exercises, or what we will term “training lifts”, I have put every reader on to a splendid method of preparing himself.

I have never yet seen these three lifts fail to improve a man’s all-around capabilities.” - Thomas Inch, The Art & Science of Lifting published in 1910

Was catching up on reading some of the new-old books I’d gotten for Christmas and, when I got to this section, I literally said “Holy shit. Holy shit. Holy. Shit.”

Now, I’m not saying this was definitely the first time a trainer ever wrote “Just squat, bench, and deadlift”, but, I mean really, this probably is the first time a trainer ever wrote “Just squat, bench, and deadlift”.

I remain steadfast in my belief that there’s basically nothing new in the fitness world.

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322

That’s pretty wild. He began the bench (floor) press with a pullover; does he talk about that part of the rep contributing to the training effect?

This snippet further solidifies my belief Dan John’s five basic human movements list is accurate and a great foundation for strength training programs.

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Not really. He talks about its main benefits for the “arms and shoulders” and to “develop the triceps and pushing power of the arms.”

He adds, “As time goes on, increase the weight of the bar-bell, and probably in time you will have to have assistance to get the weight overhead.”

The pullover and press would eventually become a more common exercise in its own regard. And the “belly bounce” (basically bridging the weight up into position using the hips) would be another alternative to start the press until benches became popular. From what I’ve read so far, Inch was focused solely on the pressing part.

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Thursday morning weight: 198.1

Wednesday food:
9:00 - Mag-10, Spike

12:00 - Eggs, deli turkey, spinach/kale, sesame bagel

2:30 - Indigo-3G
3:00 - 1 scoop Plazma, 5g creatine
3:30 - 1 scoop Plazma

6:00 - Taco bake (ground beef, black beans, salsa, shredded cheese, tortilla chips)

9:00 - Mag-10

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Wednesday workout:

A) Ab medley 100 total reps

B) Decline banded push-up 4x10-12

C) Headless DB bench press 4x8-10

D1) Floor flye 3x10-12
D2) Barbell pullover 3x8-12

E1) Landmine lateral raise 4x8-12
E2) 1-arm hanging band bent lateral 3x8-10

F1) Overhead rope extension 2x8-12
F2) Rope pressdown 2x8-12
F3) Rope pressdown close-grip 2xX

G) 1-arm KB thruster 3x25

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Tuesday morning weight: 196.0

Monday food:
9:00 - Bigass coffee, stevia

11:00 - Breakfast tacos (4 eggs, splash of egg whites, 2 tortillas, salsa, jalapenos)

12:30 - Pear

2:30 - Indigo-3G
3:00 - 1 scoop Plazma, 5g creatine
3:30 - 1 scoop Plazma

6:00 - Homemade meatloaf; roasted potatoes; Swiss chard; salad (cabbage, carrot, celery, cucumber, tomato, onion)

9:00 - 2 scoops Metabolic Drive in water

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327

Monday workout:
A) Ab medley 50 total reps

B Top squat 5x2

C1) Landmine reverse lunge 4x8-12
C2) Landmine 1-leg RDL 4x8-12

D) Serpentors E30S (like EMOM, but 1 rep every 30 seconds) - 12min total.

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What are Serpentors? Okay so, every '80s kid remembers Serpentor, right? The Cobra Emperor genetically designed with an amalgamation of DNA from Julius Caesar, Napoleon, Hannibal, and Atilla the Hun. Lots of big bad guys combined to create a thing that wanted to take over the world and destroy the good guys.

So, yeah. I wanted to Frankenstein a conditioning “exercise” (arguably a complex, but whatever) that combined some of the biggest baddest bodyweight drills I could flow together for maximum cardio bang in minimum space and time. Ended up being:

Mountain climber 2 reps, T-push-up 1 rep per side, burpee chin-up 1 rep, hanging leg raise 1 rep… and that makes 1 rep of a Serpentor.

Also, very important: After you lower your legs on final rep of the workout, you need to hang from the bar and give the battle cry “Cobra la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-laaaa!” You have to. It’s a rule.

Silly random-looking exercise conglomeration? Maybe. Ball-busting finisher that leaves you sucking wind? Yup.

Been playing around with it for a week or two. First couple of times, my lats ended up most sore, probably the T-push-up/chin/leg raise combo. After that, the abs felt the next hardest hit, again likely from the T-push-ups (rotating uses the obliques in a big way) and the leg raise (trying to get max height on each rep, toes to bar would be ideal).

One rep is almost 15 seconds of constant movement, so the E30S approach leaves just a few quick breaths between reps while allowing the total volume to rack up.

Dan John has talked about the fat loss benefits of “groundwork” - literally getting up and down off the ground in different ways. This definitely fits that description. It also fits a lot of different movement patterns into the series - upper body pushing, upper body pulling, squat/lunge, rotate, so it’s nice and comprehensive in that regard too.

Figuring to keep at it for a while and see if it gets any “easier”. Certainly open to feedback if anyone wants to give it a go.

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Friday morning weight: 196.4

Thursday food:
9:00 - Bigass coffee, stevia

11:00 - 3 eggs, pour of egg whites, deli ham, cheddar, bell peppers

2:30 - Indigo-3G
3:00 - 1 scoop Plazma, 5g creatine
3:30 - 1 scoop Plazma

5:00 - Chicken piccata (chicken breast, breadcrumbs, lemon, capers); white rice-cauliflower rice mix; kale with onions

9:00 - Mag-10

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330

Thursday workout:
A) Ab medley 100 total reps

B) 1-arm curl-grip clean and jerk (barbell) 6x1

C1) Tall-kneeling Ahrens press 3x10-12
C2) Tall-kneeling db press 3xX
C3) Tall-kneeling neutral-grip press 3xX

D) 1-arm standing cable row 4x8-10

E1) KB swing 5x15
E2) Goblet squat 5x5,4,3,2,1
E3) Push-up 5x5,4,3,2,1

Big fan of mechanical drop sets, and that press series was spot-on. The Ahrens press really takes the triceps out of the movement, weirdly almost feels like a cable lateral.

That finisher is what Dan John calls the “humane burpee”. Aim to run through the whole thing with no rest - swings, right into goblet squats, inchworm/handwalk into push-up position, do push-ups, inchworm/handwalk back to standing, more swings… repeat for five total “sets”, dropping one rep off the squats and push-ups each round (that’s the humane part, he says.)

Take a bit under five minutes start to finish, but it feels like plenty. I read some folks do 10 sets (starting at 10 reps for the squats/push-ups, of course). Might try that next time.

I definitely haven’t given up on Serpentors already, still working on those. Just a combo of being easily distracted and looking to keep things interesting/motivating since I’m banging out the workouts in a freezing garage.

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331

Good work Chris.

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332

wtf, holding a barbell with one hand?

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Yeah. My bar has a center knurling so it’s a little easier to balance. Just playing around with the old-timey lift.

Saxon one arm
Saxon one arm594×875 86.4 KB

It’s a little cold in the garage for that gym outfit, but still. ^ This would basically be the mid-point, transitioning from the clean into the start position for the jerk. When you “rack” the bar after the curl-grip clean, you’re basically at the top of a curl with the hand in front of one pec.

Rotate the upper arm into a javelin-type position so the bar is facing front and back (not too much further than in the pic above), pause for a quick second so the bar stops moving, then dip and jerk. Stick the lockout, then lower the bar to shoulder-level, then to the floor, and that’s a rep.

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I’ve done 10 and 15 sets. At 10, and certainly 15, it’s less of a finisher and more a workout in and of itself.

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335

ok, ill try that next time

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Wasn’t sure if you were joking on this, but I tried the 15-rep routine on Saturday. Took me a half-hour or so. No idea if that’s decent or sad, as I can’t find any reference to 15-rep humane burpees online, so I kinda think you made them up to screw with me. Push-ups ended up being the limiting factor, eventually dropping to a weird “kneeling push-up position plank” every couple of reps to get through it.

Also didn’t help that at one point my brain completely shutdown and I flat-out forgot if it was swings/squat/push-ups or swings/push-ups/squats. Literally, after a set of swings (I think around the 9-rep mark) I just froze confused, then took a few seconds to Google it. WTF?!

Anyhow, I wouldn’t “mind” (relatively speaking) doing just the first chunk of it - from 15 reps to 10 reps - on its own. That’s still a crapton of work in a short amount of time.

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I made them up, but not really to screw with you, just as a wild hair up my ass kind of idea for a workout. Dan John has talked about starting at different numbers before (i think), so having done 10 in the past, I decided 15 would be a smart idea.

Its one of those workouts that I keep coming back to, like “the Eagle”, and sometimes like to do variants on.

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Body Type Cookie
Body Type Cookie1182×928 71.7 KB

Saw this. Related instantly.

Thursday morning weight: 192.5

Wednesday food:
10:00 - Bigass coffee, stevia

11:00 - Cinnamon eggs - egg, many egg whites, cinnamon, vanilla (basically an omelet pretending to be breadless French toast); blueberries, strawberries

2:30 - Indigo-3G
3:00 - 2 scoops Mag-10, 5g creatine

4:30 - Chicken breast, bbq sauce

6:00 - Homemade meatloaf; roasted potatoes; kale

9:00 - Mag-10

4 Likes
339

Wednesday workout:
A1) Yo-yo sprints (a.k.a. suicides) 3x30s
A2) Lying leg arc 3x8-10
A3) Double crunch 3x-12-15

1min rest

B1) Yo-yo sprints 3x30s
B2) Seated med ball twist 3x8-12
B3) Straight-leg sit-up 3x10-12

1min rest

C1) Yo-yo sprints 3x30s
C2) Bicycle crunch 3x12-15
C3) Overhead med ball crunch 3x10-12

Wanted to play around with Martin Rooney’s hurricane workout for a change of pace. Holy. Balls.

This was a “Level 2 Hurricane”. Level 1 is just the sprints/no ab work and longer rest between rounds. That would’ve been just fine.

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Tuesday morning weight: 192.2

Monday food:
9:00 - Bigass coffee, stevia

10:00 - Triple zero Greek Yogurt, 1 scoop Metabolic Drive, Superfood, strawberries, almonds

4:00 - 2 scoops Mag-10, 5g creatine

5:00 - Indigo-3G

6:00 - Chicken chili (chicken breast, black beans, kidney beans, corn, salsa)

9:00 - Mag-10