And, of course, I can’t find it. I don’t remember if it was a research article or something published here or on a similar site.
I found several articles in the Strength & Conditioning Journal that all found that intra abdominal pressure is increased with a belt, possibly leading to improved performance.
There are a couple studies that found that reps were performed faster with a belt while doing an 8RM.
Apparently no studies have found (or tested) actual performance in terms of adding weight to a RM. It seems that many studies agree that belts aren’t needed (and should be avoided) unless doing loads of 85% or higher.
I found a T-Nation article that said belts can improve performance but it didn’t cite any sources.
Woke at 234.6 lbs. Time to pump the brakes a bit. I’m fasting today with the exception of protein shakes made with water to get my protein. I’m sore from yesterday’s session so I want to at least get that part of my nutrition. At dinner I’ll allow myself to eat as many veggies as I want. Unfortunately we’re almost out so all I’ll get is salad and carrots.
WARM UP/CONDITIONING
2 lap Dynamic warm up
4 laps of running the straightaway and walking the curves at around 70-80% effort (run approx. 80-90 meters, walk approx. 45 meters). I’d like to think it was on the low end but I really don’t think I can crank it up much more than 15-20% before I hit all out effort.
STRETCH AND ROLL CLASS AT THE Y
Another glorious day at foam rolling. This particular session is pretty mellow and very relaxing. We don’t do the lats or shoulder girdle. I’m not certain if I’m going to attend tomorrow’s class at the East Y. It’s a bit less enjoyable aka more painful.
The rest of the day will consist of chugging water and a few cups of coffee. Water to help flush the junk from my body and coffee to help me keep from eating.
It’s a speed check. The scale has been going up by the pound each day recently. My goal was to be at 225 on June 1st (up from 222 on March 1st) and I’m at 230+ right now.
Creatine has been causing some water retention but my diet was terrible this past week.
I’d say the fast and water flush did a good job of getting the junk out of my system. Back to normal eating today. I also received the good news that my beef is ready! I’m not sure how much I’m getting other than it’s 1/3 of the cow. I’m try to remember to report back later after I pick it up to give a cost breakdown.
Off to the gym in an hour for upper body and another round of Stretch & Roll.
This little gem put me in puke mode. I had a great upper body pump - - - chest, delts, bi’s, & tri’s. Unfortunately it jacked up my stomach around the 4th set. I was rushing to make sure I got everything done before the foam rolling class.
REAR DELT MACHINE
110 x 12 x 3 sets
110 x 10-1-1
110 x 9-1-1-1
Spent the next 15-20 minutes trying to pull myself together and not puke. Apparently I had plenty of time and didn’t need to superset OHP and pull ups. Oh, well. I finally turned the corner and was able to enjoy the class.
211 lbs of beef is now in my freezer! I paid $727 total ($559 to the farmer, $168.80 for processing) which breaks down to about $3.44/lb for steaks, roasts, and ground beef. BOOM.
Thanks! OHP and I don’t get along. My brain and physique (in my opinion) say I should be using more weight but it doesn’t happen. With any luck I’ll be doing 145 for triples in week 9.
I mostly picked my weights based on my goals for the end of this 12 week program. I know where I’d like to be and hopefully I can get there. None of the numbers will be PRs so it’s realistic.
I feel like you could make a sweet beef sculpture with 211 lbs of beef. I googled beef sculpture, because, you know, the internet, and found some pretty sweet beef sculptures.
I couldn’t find a full snowman made of beef, but you definitely have enough weight to make another human out of beef. You’re probably thinking about doing something mundane like eating all of it, but let’s be real here - you have an opportunity to do something that really means something.
It’s been a little busy at work and I actually haven’t had any time to dink around here.
No training yesterday.
Hit the gym at 0445 this morning… Ugh.
GSS&S W3 D1
3 LAP DYNAMIC WARMUP
SQUAT
135 x 8
185 x 5
225 x 8 x 3 sets
POWER CLEAN
135 x 3
185 x 3
205 x 3
DEADLIFT
295 x 8 x 3 sets
WALKING LUNGES
35s x 8 ea x 3 sets
RDLs
175 x 8 x 3 sets
_Well, today was the second workout in a row where I felt nauseous and horrible halfway through. I think it’s my pre-workout meal. I ground up a serving of oatmeal and added it to my protein shake. I’ve done this the last two workouts.
After my warmup my stomach was bloated and hurt. I ripped ass on a power clean and it smelled like an open grave. It was downhill from there.
I struggled to finish my workout and skipped farmers walks. My back also hurt. Today was actually a grind and I had those old thoughts of “why the hell am I doing this?”. I’m not exactly excited to get up early and lift before work tomorrow. I’m not a fan of it. I think today sucked from the combination of early morning and the stomach problems. I do so much better training right before lunch. It just feels right…but it’s not feasible on work days anymore.
Today was tough but I’ll get over it. Monday is the last big workout of this phase and that’s great because I’m over it. Week 4 and its 5 rep sets will be very welcome.
Oh hell yeah. I worked out from mid aug- Around Thanksgiving getting up at 4:30 and working out at 5 until 6-6:30. Taking showers with no hot water. It sucked. But I was devoted. Now to go back to that…I would do it if I had to, but I don’t want to ever again. 4am is better than 11 pm though.
Yep morning is the suck for 2-3 weeks until you get adjusted to it
Today was much better!
I had some powerade for carbs and drank my BCAAs during my workout. It also helped that it was upper body day.
GSS&S W3 D2
NEUTRAL PULL UPS
BW x 8 x 3 sets I cheated and did these first. Much better.
BENCH
135 x 8
185 x 5
215 x 8 x 3 sets
PENDLAY ROW
135 x 5
165 x 8 x 3 sets
SEATED OHP (no back support)
105 x 8 x 3 sets
REV DB FLY
20s x 12 x 3 sets
I feel much better this morning. Just finished a big bowl of oatmeal and three hard boiled eggs for my breakfast and there are no signs of bloating or nausea! It’s going to be a good day…except for the weather. It snowed overnight and the temps will feel like 20 F all day.
