Maximum Strength Training Log

Started Eric Cressey’s Maximum Strength Program today. Initial testing results:

Bodyweight: 164.5
Broad Jump: 86"
Box Squat: 255lbs
Bench Press: 195lbs
Deadlift: 290lbs
3RM Chin-up: 45lbs

Phase 1, Week 1, Monday

A. 5x4 Box squat 215, 215, 220, 220, 225
*attached video of 225x4, would like feedback on form
B. 8x2 Speed deadlift @50% 1RM, :60interval, 145x2, 155x6
*upped the % to about 53%
C. 4x8 DB walking lunges, 8 each leg 65x2, 70x2
D1. 3x12 reverse crunches
D2. 3x:30 Single leg front bridge

Conditioning later in the day:
5 rounds, 2:00 rest between rounds
250m row sprint, damper @6
4x25m Prowler push, alternate hi/low bars, @90lbs

Sorry, don’t want to mess up anyone’s neck by watching the video sideways, haha.

Phase 1, Week 1, Tuesday

Day off from the weights. Legs are a little sore today, not too bad. The box squats definitely hit the glutes.
Sprints at the track this morning:

10x100m 1:15 interval
:90 rest
10x50m :40 interval
:90 rest
10x25m :25 interval
:90 rest
2 x Gassers, 1:00 rest in-between.

*Gasser = 25m back, 50m back, 75m back, 100m back

Did I read that right? You ran thirty-two sets of sprints?

You did. The gassers at the end aren’t necessarily sprints, haha, by the last few lengths it feels like I’m running in sand. I figured I could add in a higher volume of sprints if I programmed them on a non-lifting day. Thoughts?

[quote]erik_carlson wrote:
You did. The gassers at the end aren’t necessarily sprints, haha, by the last few lengths it feels like I’m running in sand. I figured I could add in a higher volume of sprints if I programmed them on a non-lifting day. Thoughts?[/quote]

That’s WAY too much, dude. If you’re gonna run legitimate sprints, especially when embarking on a new, intense program, you need to program 'em better. At the absolute most, I’d go by Dan John’s 1,200 meter rule, as in never run more than 1,200 intense meters in any given session. Olympic sprinters don’t run a quarter of what you did. Remember, you’re trying to get better, not just tired.

What are your goals?

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[quote]theBird wrote:
What are your goals?

tweet[/quote]

After I finish the 4 month program, I want to:

  • Weigh 170lbs, (currently 164), while not adding too much bodyfat
  • 1RM Box Squat 305lbs
  • 1RM Bench Press 225lbs
  • 1RM Deadlift 330lbs
  • 3RM Weighted Chin-up 65lbs
  • Maintain a sub 18:00 3 mile run

Also, did either of you get a chance to watch my video of my box squat? I’m curious if the way I’m doing it is the most effective. Thanks.

[quote]erik_carlson wrote:
Also, did either of you get a chance to watch my video of my box squat? I’m curious if the way I’m doing it is the most effective. Thanks.[/quote]

I’m no expert, but thought it looked good. I personally subbed regular squats for box squats and ran it M/T/Th/F upper lower. Think you’ll dig this, and as long as you eat and do what you’re supposed to you’ll definitely at minimum reach your goals.

Yeah, I initially was going to sub out the box squat for plain ol’ back squats, but I’m still relatively new to the lifting game so I figured I’d just follow the program as written. Thanks for the feedback. I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of progress I make. I think it’s going to come down to me eating enough to make gains.

Phase 1, Week 1, Wednesday
A. 5x4 bench press 165, 170, 175, 175, 175
B1. 3x10 low incline neutral grip DB press 50, 50, 50
B2. 4x10 seated cable row w/ medium pronated grip 135, 150, 135, 135
C1. 3x12 Prone trap raise 10, 7.5, 10
C2. 3x12 side-lying external rotation 10, 7.5, 5

  • hard to gauge what weight to use for these
    D. 3x:30 side plank, each side.
  • tried these w/ top leg elevated, much harder

About an hour break, then conditioning:

10x40m prowler pushes, alternate hi/low bar, @140lbs, 1:00 rest
4x40m prowler pushes, alternate hi/low bar, @90lbs, :30 rest

10:00 farmers carry w/ 2x45lbs plates and 25lb weight vest. Time stops when you set down weights.

Phase 1, Week 1, Thursday.
Track Intervals
2x800m 5:00 interval
2:00 rest
4x400m 3:00 interval
2:00 rest
1x800m
2:00 rest
2x400m 3:00 interval

Icy track this morning. Kind of frustrating, felt like I had to hold back a little, especially on the curves. Still good to get some work in, though.

Phase 1, Week 1, Friday

A. 4x6 front squats 165, 170, 175, 180
*attached video of 175x6. Phone died during 180x6.
B. 4x6 rack pulls from kneecap 225, 245, 265, 275
*first time with these. Grip strength was the limiting factor. Really like this movement, though.
C. 3x6 DB bulgarian split squat 50, 50, 55
D1. 3x10 cable pull throughs 57.5
*first time with these as well. First set felt awkward, but felt more comfortable with it for sets 2 & 3. Posterior chain will be sore tmrw.
D2. 3x12 reverse crunch

Conditioning:
10-1
Back squat @135lbs
*2x20m prowler shuttle @120lbs between sets

4:00 rest

7x35m prowler sprints, hi/low @90lbs, :20 rest

I was initially planning on doing front squats for the conditioning, but I went with back squats so I could keep the tempo up.

[quote]erik_carlson wrote:
Yeah, I initially was going to sub out the box squat for plain ol’ back squats, but I’m still relatively new to the lifting game so I figured I’d just follow the program as written. Thanks for the feedback. I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of progress I make. I think it’s going to come down to me eating enough to make gains.[/quote]

It’s a great program. I honestly think you need to scale back on your conditioning work, both in volume and frequency. There’s an old saying, “you can’t ride two horses with one ass” which basically means focus on one goal. If getting bigger and stronger is your goal, that’s the horse you should ride. That doesn’t mean to eliminate your conditioning, but you don’t want to leave potential gains on the track.

[quote]WhiteFlash wrote:

[quote]erik_carlson wrote:
Yeah, I initially was going to sub out the box squat for plain ol’ back squats, but I’m still relatively new to the lifting game so I figured I’d just follow the program as written. Thanks for the feedback. I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of progress I make. I think it’s going to come down to me eating enough to make gains.[/quote]

It’s a great program. I honestly think you need to scale back on your conditioning work, both in volume and frequency. There’s an old saying, “you can’t ride two horses with one ass” which basically means focus on one goal. If getting bigger and stronger is your goal, that’s the horse you should ride. That doesn’t mean to eliminate your conditioning, but you don’t want to leave potential gains on the track.[/quote]

I agree with you. I’m in a bit of interesting situation though, because due to the nature of my employment I have to maintain a certain level of conditioning. I have several PT tests a year that I am required to pass, and a good amount of endurance (long distance rucking for example) is necessary for my training. So I’m doing my best to find ways to condition for these requirements without doing much, if any, low-intensity aerobic work. Kind of an experiment, I guess. Hopefully it works. I’m also trying use conditioning methods that can at least maintain, if not increase, muscle mass. For example, today my conditioning is:

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 Front Squats @135lbs w/ 2x20m prowler sled pushes inbetween each set.

What do you think?

[quote]erik_carlson wrote:

[quote]WhiteFlash wrote:

[quote]erik_carlson wrote:
Yeah, I initially was going to sub out the box squat for plain ol’ back squats, but I’m still relatively new to the lifting game so I figured I’d just follow the program as written. Thanks for the feedback. I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of progress I make. I think it’s going to come down to me eating enough to make gains.[/quote]

It’s a great program. I honestly think you need to scale back on your conditioning work, both in volume and frequency. There’s an old saying, “you can’t ride two horses with one ass” which basically means focus on one goal. If getting bigger and stronger is your goal, that’s the horse you should ride. That doesn’t mean to eliminate your conditioning, but you don’t want to leave potential gains on the track.[/quote]

I agree with you. I’m in a bit of interesting situation though, because due to the nature of my employment I have to maintain a certain level of conditioning. I have several PT tests a year that I am required to pass, and a good amount of endurance (long distance rucking for example) is necessary for my training. So I’m doing my best to find ways to condition for these requirements without doing much, if any, low-intensity aerobic work. Kind of an experiment, I guess. Hopefully it works. I’m also trying use conditioning methods that can at least maintain, if not increase, muscle mass. For example, today my conditioning is:

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 Front Squats @135lbs w/ 2x20m prowler sled pushes inbetween each set.

What do you think?[/quote]

I think you’re shooting yourself in the foot with a bazooka. I’m a big believer in practicing like you play. If your job requires you to pass certain physical endurance tests, keep 'em in semi-regularly. In the example you just proposed you’re taking about 80% of your 6 rep max and doing 55 reps with it, interspersed with sled pushes, the day after hitting that movement. How do you expect to get appreciably stronger if you’re constantly burning yourself out? I’d run the program AS IS, and tweak the energy work recommendations to suit your job. What you’re doing is WAY TOO MUCH.

Phase 1, Week 1, Saturday
4mi tempo run, 26:08

A1. 4x6 one-arm DB push press, 50, 50, 55, 55
A2. 4x6 close-grip weighted chin-up 25, 22.5, 25, 25
B1. 3x10 weighted push-up 55, 60, 65
B2. one-arm DB row 60, 65, 65
C1. 3x12 kneeling cable external rotation 15, 10, 10
C2. 3x:30 side plank each side w/ top leg elevated

[quote]WhiteFlash wrote:

[quote]erik_carlson wrote:

[quote]WhiteFlash wrote:

[quote]erik_carlson wrote:
Yeah, I initially was going to sub out the box squat for plain ol’ back squats, but I’m still relatively new to the lifting game so I figured I’d just follow the program as written. Thanks for the feedback. I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of progress I make. I think it’s going to come down to me eating enough to make gains.[/quote]

It’s a great program. I honestly think you need to scale back on your conditioning work, both in volume and frequency. There’s an old saying, “you can’t ride two horses with one ass” which basically means focus on one goal. If getting bigger and stronger is your goal, that’s the horse you should ride. That doesn’t mean to eliminate your conditioning, but you don’t want to leave potential gains on the track.[/quote]

I agree with you. I’m in a bit of interesting situation though, because due to the nature of my employment I have to maintain a certain level of conditioning. I have several PT tests a year that I am required to pass, and a good amount of endurance (long distance rucking for example) is necessary for my training. So I’m doing my best to find ways to condition for these requirements without doing much, if any, low-intensity aerobic work. Kind of an experiment, I guess. Hopefully it works. I’m also trying use conditioning methods that can at least maintain, if not increase, muscle mass. For example, today my conditioning is:

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 Front Squats @135lbs w/ 2x20m prowler sled pushes inbetween each set.

What do you think?[/quote]

I think you’re shooting yourself in the foot with a bazooka. I’m a big believer in practicing like you play. If your job requires you to pass certain physical endurance tests, keep 'em in semi-regularly. In the example you just proposed you’re taking about 80% of your 6 rep max and doing 55 reps with it, interspersed with sled pushes, the day after hitting that movement. How do you expect to get appreciably stronger if you’re constantly burning yourself out? I’d run the program AS IS, and tweak the energy work recommendations to suit your job. What you’re doing is WAY TOO MUCH.[/quote]

You’re right. I’ve always struggled with doing too much, adding in extra work that just inhibits progress. I think I just need to focus on getting bigger and stronger right now. One positive is that I am hovering around 165-166lbs today. Obviously the scale isn’t always the most accurate indicator of muscle gain, but looking in the mirror I look a little “fuller” if that makes sense.