Looks like we’re both trying to revamp our workouts. I always seem to struggle for a week or two before I get back on track. But hey change is good, gotta kick start those muscles every now and again. So good luck DZ, your amazing determination will make you succeed.
PS is the snow deep enough yet. Stay strong Bro.
I agree with PN (Pencil neck) remember also that I am training for football these days. So when you see me drop off and do some speed work on the same days I’m doing some ME it is just me experimenting with explosive type moves to get more carry over to knocking the shit out of someone, lol. When I am training for a meet I’m on the same split that PN outlined above. Also remember that Speed work does not equal easy. You should feel gassed at the end of you 10 set of 3 reps. You can mix in bands, chains, shorten your rest periods all stuff to make it harder on you but get you faster. Figure out your sticking points and do assistance work geared toward that!
Here are some links that are old but helped me when I was looking for information. (T-mag Admin if yo don’t want the links to other sites please let me know and I will remove them) Same advice I gave PN I give to you. Find a meet and sign up! Pay your money and make it real!
Westside Philosophy:
Winning Attitude
www.bodybuilding.com/fun/pmag1.htm
Periodization Bible : Linear Periodization
http://www.T-Nation.com/findArticle.do?article=body_129per
Periodization Bible : Conjugated Periodization
http://www.elitefts.com/documents/conjugate-method.htm
Westside PL routines:
http://www.elitefts.com/documents/training-methods.htm
http://www.elitefts.com/documents/repetition-method.htm
http://www.elitefts.com/documents/devspecstrength.htm
Sheiko Template
www.sostrength.com/profile.html
Edit to add, EC is a awesome guy with a huge heart and the brains to match. Shoot him a quick question and he is always responsive. This guy is wicked smart…
Thnaks for all of the reading material Colin, I’ve never seen those articles before. I usually get over to Elite Fitness on weekends to check out the new articles. I’ve found two meets in my area this year. There may be more, but I’ve just started looking. One in April, 20 bucks to get in, no prizes just lifting.
Another is a full meet, ADFPF, next weekend and again in Sept. Next weekends meet is the one I was registered for almost two years ago to the day when I ruptured my biceps tendon. I think I’ll go and watch. Colin, I sent you a PM Bro, but I’ll confess my ignorance here, who is EC?
Eric Cressy, He really helped me through some of my trouble spots with my bad shoulder and arm. He forgot more about this stuff than I ever knew.
[quote]streamline wrote:
Looks like we’re both trying to revamp our workouts. I always seem to struggle for a week or two before I get back on track. But hey change is good, gotta kick start those muscles every now and again. So good luck DZ, your amazing determination will make you succeed.
PS is the snow deep enough yet. Stay strong Bro.[/quote]
Thanks Streamline. Oddly enough it rained all day yesterday and melted about half our snow. Now it’s all gonna turn to ice.
[quote]Colin Wilson wrote:
Eric Cressy, He really helped me through some of my trouble spots with my bad shoulder and arm. He forgot more about this stuff than I ever knew. [/quote]
Again, thanks Colin! I spent a couple hours after the race yesterday reading a bunch of things Eric has written. His website is pretty impressive too.
New program W/K 2 ME Bench Press
1x12@68% SRM I’m using 255 as my SRM. 275 was my best before injury. I feel the need to do more than just that one ME set. So I’ll do some singles or doubles as well.
ME Bench
1x10xbar
1x10x95
1x6x135
1x12x175
1x2x205
1x1x225
1x1x235
1x1x245
Speed deads
1x10x135
10x3x195
After reading Eric’s Mastering the Deadlift, I realized my lifts could have been used as one of the how not to videos. So I worked on my form today, and the 195lbs flew up today. I got a decent workout from it but could really tell there was a difference.
WK 2 Bench recovery/Squat-Dead assistance
BB Lunges
1x10xbar
1x6x95
4x6x135
First time w/BB lunges. My heaviest DB is 40lb but that’s not gonna work anymore. My quads and glutes are screaming.:-)And a slight strain in the L Ham. Maybe too aggressive.
Close stance Zercher GM
4x6x115
Zrecher Squats
1x6x135
2x6x145
1x6x155
One Arm DB Rows
4x10x40s
One Leg Squats
1x6x40s
I’m gonna stop right there, feel a little pain in my lower back now. 50 minute workout, pretty intense.
2 questions DZ, first why do you do the GMs before the squats? It would make more sense to me to do them the other way around.
Second, How do you like the zercher squat compared to, say, front squats?
Stu
Gettin strong. No way I could hit the lower back like that 2 days in a row. Deads one day and Good mornings the next. I agree with Stu, why pre-fatique the back? I’d save them for last.
[quote]stuward wrote:
2 questions DZ, first why do you do the GMs before the squats? It would make more sense to me to do them the other way around.
Second, How do you like the zercher squat compared to, say, front squats?
Stu[/quote]
No particular reason at all fellas. Many of these lifts I’ve only been doing for a couple of months. I don’t feel much in the way of back strain doing the squats, so, I haven’t found a reason to do one before the other. I’ll usually try to get what I’ll expect to be the more difficult lifts in early in a workout. But I’m not sold on these Zercher GMs. I feel the strain in my hams, and abs. Good for a change of pace I suppose, and it doesn’t take much weight to get a wicked workout, but I think I prefer regular GMs. And I would do them first because they would take more energy to do them heavy. Now if I were doing full back squats I would do them first. To answer your second question Stu, I’ll have to admit my ignorance of what I’ve been doing. I’ve learned more, have been motivated more, and have had more feedback to my workouts in the last couple months here with T-Mag, than ever in the last several years of drifting around the internet try to learn what the hell I’m doing. A few weeks ago I made a remark about how much these front squats hurt, and soon realized I was actually doing Zercher squats, and had never done a front squat properly. I will tell you I enjoy the Zercher squats. They don’t require a lot of weight to get a great workout. They’re something I can do with my limited resources here at home,ie. no squat rack. And frankly my glutes are quite unhappy with me right now. That may have been the Lunges though. So, honestly Stu, I don’t know shit Bro. I know diddly about structuring a good routine. What I do, I do with every ounce of energy I’ve got though. And I’m having a good time doing it. I am beginning to learn, with the help of the guys in this forum how best to get where I want to be. Colin turned me on to Eric Cressy the other day, and suddenly I realize I’m not pulling correctly. So, All that being said, what do you suggest Stu? I’ve read a bunch of your posts and you’ve given a lot of sound advice to folks around here, and I’d guess you know what your talking about. I’ll apreciate all the help I can get. If I actually knew what I was doing, I’d probably be benching over 300 already, and with impressive squats and deads to match.
[quote]hel320 wrote:
No way I could hit the lower back like that 2 days in a row. Deads one day and Good mornings the next.[/quote]
I don’t disagree hel320, but I did DE squats last week, and I just figured I’d do DE deads and work on my form which I just learned was crap. Wasn’t really feeling like I’d done deads that day before. Ordinarily, I wouldn’t do that after a heavy deads workout. Beacuse I am whipped for a couple days afterwards.
Alrighty then…movin’ on. Really fuckin’ sore from those Lunges. I’m wondering if the assistance work should be so intense, but I normally don’t get this sore.
WK 2 ME Squats
1x10xbar
1x8x95
1x6x135
1x4x185
1x10x245(68%SRM)
Still a bit of tenderness in lower back. Don’t think it’s a big deal, but I’m not gonna press my luck and do something bad to it. Next week if I don’t work Saturday, I’ll break down and get a 10 punch card for the local “fitness center”, and start using their piece of shit squat rack on Saturdays. 8 weeks till the meet in April.
DE Bench
2x3x175 Still too heavy I think. Colin suggested lightning speed.
8x3x155 That was a lot faster, but next time I’ll probably drop another 10-15lbs.
WK 2 Squat recovery/ bench assistance
Rear Delt Flys
2x10x10s
Board Presses
warm up
1x10xbar
1x10x95
1x6x135
2 boards
1x6x185
1x4x215
1x3x235
3 boards
1x4x235
1x3x245
1x3x255
4 boards
1x4x265
1x2x285
1x1x305 with the wife’s spot. Kinda sux, I was hoping to get it on my own.
Squeeze press
2x10x40s palms facing each other
2x10x40s palms facing out
The board presses took longer than I expected. Y’all would get a laugh outa how I do these on my own. Prett good workout though. I think I need to move my ME squat day to allow for more recovery time from the assistance work.
Man, those are some heavy boards! Just kidding. As you get closer to a competition you may want to get some imput from Jimmy T, pencil Neck, and QT. Don’t know if you’ll be entering a raw meet or suited/gear? but they can probably give you some good advise on what to wear, etc.
Glad your sticking with your plan.
Remember to act civilized when you go to the fitness center and don’t scare the other members.
[quote]hel320 wrote:
Man, those are some heavy boards! Just kidding. As you get closer to a competition you may want to get some imput from Jimmy T, pencil Neck, and QT. Don’t know if you’ll be entering a raw meet or suited/gear? but they can probably give you some good advise on what to wear, etc.
Glad your sticking with your plan.
Remember to act civilized when you go to the fitness center and don’t scare the other members. [/quote]
Thanks hel320, I appreciate your imput as well. I’ll be lifting raw, I have a singlet and a belt, that’s it. I’ll be buying some shoes to DL in soon. I’ll need to keep it affordable, but I see a lot of guys lifting in Converse Allstars. Damn, I remember when you could buy a pair of Allstars at the 5 and dime for 7 bucks.
$7 at the .05 and .10, my oh my you’re really old lol! But hell look’n damn strong though. Give it hell at the meet, I’ll be thinking powerful thoughts for your success. Stay strong Bro, let me know the date so my energies are focused.
Those 5 and 10 days were some good times bro!Your gonna do great at the meet.Any guy who can walk around the house with 300lbs. on his back to set up,should have no problem on the platform. TRAIN HARD! Jimmy T
Thanks guys! The meet is in April, but I’m getting stoked already. The online registration still isn’t up though. I drove to see a meet near here yesterday, got there and found it had been cancelled. I was really bummed. I rushed home and went by the gym to see if anyone was there and found the owner still around. He said it was called because the venue denied them access this year. It’s a middle school, the same place the meet I want to lift in in September. I hope the September meet can find a place to hold it. The April meet is a USAPL meet at the Plainwell highschool.
DZ - the meet will be a piece of cake, when you compare it to all the hours of training, the aches and pains, the sacrifices, and all the other things that we call life. The meet should be FUN & a nice venue to test your expectations of yourself in front of 3 judges. My coach asked me what my goals were for my first meet…I thought about for a minute and said, “9 for 9 and to learn a whole lot by watching & asking & to have FUN!”