James' Training Log - Juggernaut Method

Training Over 35 Lifter
61

kpsnap - that’s what I notice when I film myself and it’s really frustrating because it’s a mobility issue not a strength one. But I don’t trust any of our PTs at my local gym to help me out because I squat better than all of them. I need to find a local coach somewhere but I need to interview them first. This is definitely a distant second but I appreciate any and all of the feedback that I get and try my best to incorporate it.

matty, dude, and farmerbrett - Thanks! And yeah, I have no shame and am willing to try anything at this point so I would wear high heals if that’s what it took. I would not wear high heals though.

Here’s some form checks

275

315

355

Overall I think my form looks better. I’m still trying to figure out my stance though and wish I had the ability to film both side and back at the same time to really see my whole form.

james

62

[quote]I also wore a pair of workboots based on some feedback I was given. I know they are not oly lifting shoes but they seem to work and give me that “tough guy” image that a pair of oly lifting shoes wouldn’t.

I did lunges because someone said that they were “stupid” so I had to try them out. Hard to do in boots.[/quote]

You may wear boots, but you must stop wearing sweat pants with elastic cuffs.

And lunges are f##king difficult when you add weight and do sets of 10… per leg. Personally I think they’re great accessoriy exercises.

And I’m hard pressed to see anything wrong with your squat form.

63

The squat looked all right to me.

64

Good job James, squats looked good. Note to self wear work boots next squat day.

65

Call me a critic, but it looks to me like you GM the bar or round your back a bit at a certain point on the descent, which suggests that your back doesn’t stay tight. It doesn’t look as pronounced from the side, for sure. Do you ever wear a belt when you squat? Might help cue you to stay tight and keep your back flatter.

When I squat, I try to arch like crazy, which results in a flat back. Always surprises me when I see vids of myself squatting because I truly feel like I’ve got a lordotic arch going on but videos never bear that out.

66

Thanks for the feedback!

I sometimes wear a belt when I squat but haven’t lately because I was trying to eliminate one variable at a time. I will wear my belt during my next session though and film that as well to see what it looks like. You’re dead on about how the cues feel so extreme but in reality they are pretty minor. That’s something to bear in mind.

thanks!
james

67

Squats look good to me, James. Nice work!

68

12 May, Thurs

Warm up
OHP: 3bar, 65, 95, 115, 135, 155, 180, 200, 180, 190, 200, 180, 190, 200, 180
Pendlay rows: 5135, 185, 205, 225, 245, 255, 265, 265, 245, 225
Bench: 3*135, 225, 245, 275, 255, 265, 275
Ab work

30 minutes of sled dragging.

Training every day and pushing the weight up this week certainly took its toll. I was worn out for this session and it certainly showed. I did some different stuff for abs tonight from this article:

I really liked the floor press to overhead sit up and they are tougher than they look. I also found the suitcase rack pulls to be really effective so I’ll definitely be adding those into my routine.

Tomorrow will be squats then vacation!

james

69

[quote]FISCHER613 wrote:
On the Front Squats if I may offer some suggestions.

  1. Get your hips way under the bar when setting up the bar on your shoulders.
  2. Stay real tight and keep your elbows/chest way up the whole lift.
  3. You need to squat with some heel elevation (that will help alot with the forward lean)oly shoes or
    constuction boots work goood as well.
  4. Do not look into a mirror doing these. Keep your chin up and really flex your abs on these.

hope this helps and good lifts BTW.

[/quote]

I would also add a tip I picked up from Dan John. Make sure to sit down between your legs. In other words, drop straight down. Since the weight is already over your feet, there is no need to bend or arch at the hips to keep it there, unlike a back squat. I’m putting front squats back in as well because at the moment they seem to be the one thing that helps my hip mobility. I have an issue with the tendon that attaches to my hip in the front of the right thigh.

70

Thanks for the tips! I’ve got a lot to remember.

13 May, Fri

Warm up
Squats: 3bar, 95, 135, 185, 225, 245, 275, 295, 315. 1335, 365
RDLs: 3*135, 225, 245, 275, 295, 315

Short and sweet session today. Squats went well and I wore a belt for the 335 and 365 sets. I definitely feel more solid now with the boots on and they will remain a staple. I can’t do anything else in them really though so I’ll go barefoot for pulling.

OK, now time for a long awaited vacation. See you guys Thurs!

james

71

Enjoy the Vacay Bro!

72

18 May
20 minutes of sled work including some sprinting.

19 May
Warm up
OHP: 3bar, 65, 95, 115, 135, 155, 175, 200, 180, 190, 200, 180
Pendlay rows: 5135, 185, 205, 225, 245, 265, 245, 225
Bench: 3*135, 225, 245, 275, 255, 265, 275, 255
Ab work

It felt good to be back at it. I am using 200 for my overhead weight and 275 for my bench weight. The reps today were tough but not grinders. I think I made the right choice on the weight but we’ll see. The test will come as I have to up the reps.

I’m going to spend some time focusing more on my abs than I have been as I think they are in need of attention in order to keep my back healthy. I’m also going to up my cardio some as part of general conditioning.

james

73

Welcome. How tall are you? You taking off the top of the squat rack makes me thing you have some stretch to you.

74

I’m 6’2" so not too tall but tall enough to have crappy squat leverages. It’s all about overcoming those though.

20 May
Squats: 3135, 155, 185, 205, 225, 245, 275, 315
Dips: 6bw, +25, +50, +75, +75, +75
Deads: 3135, 225, 315, 405, 445, 405, 425
Good mornings: 35*135
KB Swings
Ab work

Deads were tough after a week off and it took a bit to get back into the swing of things. I used squats as a warm up fro them and to get more practice with them. They are getting better than they have been which is what I was hoping to accomplish. I am using KB swings as a strength tool more than a cardio tool.

james

75

Wanted to stop in say hi. Good lifting James.

76

Cheers everyone. I have a lot of catching up in the logs to do!

22 May, Sun

Warm up
OHP: 3bar, 65, 95, 115, 135, 155, 180, 200, 180, 190, 200, 180
Pendlay rows: 5135, 185, 205, 225, 245, 265, 275, 265, 245
Bench: 3*135, 225, 245, 275, 255, 265, 275, 255
Ab work and face pulls

Good session but bench was tougher than it should have been. I’ll account for it by my vacation and call it good.

Took my son and dog to the park this morning and added some light sled work enroute to the swings area. I’m going to try to add it in whenever it makes sense to just to keep the volume up. Luckily the park is a pretty easy place to do this as there are already plenty of people around running, walking, etc. Nobody really gives me any grief about it which is always nice. Holden (my son) rode on the sled for a bit then was on my shoulders for a bit. I like the added work and it fits into my training philosophy.

I’ve been thinking about how my goals have elapsed from when I first started strength training from just wanting to get stonger to wanting to become more athletic at the same time. In some ways the goals go together but in some ways they are at odds with each other. I just need to figure out how to best put them together.

I took some measurements yesterday and had a few surprises. My neck, chest, and surprisingly legs all shrunk. My shoulder circumference and hips got bigger though. Waist stayed the same. I’m glad I’m taking the measurements because they seem to be the best gauge of how I’m doing. My lifts are going up and my weight is staying pretty stable. I need to figure out what works best for my legs as that seems to be something that eludes me. I think what I need to do is up the volume on the sled as that is what I first did when I got it. I then went to more weight and less time (increased intensity) but that didn’t seem to work as well as it could. Funny about my chest considering that I set a PR on bench but it also could be a change in my back composition since I took out pull ups. I think that I need to start taking photos along with the measurements.

james

77

Yeah id vote for the photos. Sometimes measurements can give false readings if your body composition has changed.

78

I agree, with te conflicting goals with strength and athleticism, I do think it could be done, its almost as if you have to simply realize by trying to attain both, both will take longer to achieve…kinda sound like a fortune cookie.

79

23 May

Warm up
Squats: 3135, 155, 185, 205, 225, 245, 275, 315, 275, 295, 315, 275
1 arm DB press: 630, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60
Step ups: 410
RDLs: 310*135

Since I’ve got a hypertrophy goal I’m going to try some volume work for RDLs. Typically I go for heavy singles but this time I want to see how the volume works so I’m going to work my way up on these for sets of 10. I really wanted to feel the stretch and spent more time under tension that I typically would.

Step ups are an addition and I think I like them a lot. There’s less balancing involved on these so it’s more strength. I used a box that allowed my knee to be above my hip and simply stepped up onto it being as strict as I could. I went without weight this session but will add weight next session.

I did single arm DB presses instead of dips to mix things up a bit and give my body a break. As an added bonus I got some additional oblique work in.

I’m still learning low bar squats and everything is a bit of an experiment including hand position. It’s a change but the learning curve isn’t too steep.

james

80

I think 6’2" is tall for squatting!

Holden: such a cute name. Makes me think of Catcher in the Rye.