Just curious, has your weight gone up with the strength gains you’ve achieved? Keep up the good work.
HARDWORK=RESULTS
I’ll letchya know the exact number so far tomorrow morning jd, I always weigh myself on Saturday mornings after I get out of the shower. I’ve been sitting around 175 (which is 8+ lbs) for a while, but I also came onto creatine as soon as I started the program.
Saw the chiro today and my one ASIS was a full inch higher than the other- that explains the iliopsoas pain that I’ve been getting heh.
[quote]IronAbrams wrote:
I’ll letchya know the exact number so far tomorrow morning jd, I always weigh myself on Saturday mornings after I get out of the shower. I’ve been sitting around 175 (which is 8+ lbs) for a while, but I also came onto creatine as soon as I started the program.
Saw the chiro today and my one ASIS was a full inch higher than the other- that explains the iliopsoas pain that I’ve been getting heh.[/quote]
how much of that gain was in the first week?
i’m thinking of adding creatine for this next phase.
i’m 11lbs heavier than 4 weeks ago, and would likely gain another 5 with the creatine weight (first time at 200lbs)
Hmm, can’t say for sure (I forgot to weigh myself a lot of times) but I’d guess that 5 lbs would be a good ballpark figure.
I’ve never responded to creatine before, but my guess is that it was a nice perfect storm of factors most of all which was finally getting used to drinking 1+ gallons of water a day.
Sorry about the late update, work’s been pretty crazy lately. Weight was 174 btw, I’ve noticed that it’s been fluctuating between roughly 175 and 180.
[i]Phase 3 : Week 3 (Very High Stress)
Upper Body #2
Saturday 07/26/08 10:15 am - 10:45 am[/i]
Mood: 4/10
Rushed and in a hurry.
Had to make it quick because of work- only got the Speed Pin Presses and strength sets of One Arm DB Rows and DB Push Presses in. Not much to report, was a good session.
Link of the Day:
Let’s just say that there’s some places on the internet where you can find Bigger Faster Stronger*
This hip flexor strain is really pissing me off, even a regular ITB stretch is bothering it now. Decided to not risk anything that would piss it off today.
No real workout, just worked up to a deadlift single with 335 which was alright but 135 and 225 seemed A LOT heavier than normal. It’s good to know that I can hit my old max even on a bad day.
[i]Phase 3 : Week 4 (Low Stress)
Upper Body Workout #1
Wednesday, 07/30/08 5:05 pm - 5:55 pm[/i]
Mood: 5/10
Nothing special today.
Did a double with 80 lb DBs on the Incline Bench but I just couldn’t get them into position for the second double that I was supposed to do. Another drawback on training without partners, I really wanna get back to college. I also didn’t feel like doing band pushups today so I discovered that I can still knock out 20 bodyweight dips.
Not a bad day overall.
Link of the Day:
Eric Cressey’s newsletter. Sign up for it now if you haven’t already.
Is there room for GHR’s and reverse hypers in the program?
Thanks for the log! I’m definitely getting the book.
GHR work is included in two of the phases and I don’t think that some extra Reverse Hyper would hurt you at all.
Good luck!
[i]Phase 3 : Week 4 (Very Low Stress)
Lower Body #2
Thursday, 07/31/08 5:30 pm - 6:10 pm[/i]
Mood: 5/10
Alright.
No squatting today, didn’t wanna risk it. I also want to say that I’m never, ever doing rack pulls at this gym again- the only way I can pull is from above the knee. I hate them and they really aren’t doing shit for me. Straps I haven’t gotten used to either.
Anyways… my Nike Free 5.0s arrived and I got to test them out, felt really good on the Reverse Lunges. Taking them out for a run today to see how they are.
Link of the Day:
http://www.T-Nation.com/tmagnum/readTopic.do?id=2373327
Tony Gentilcore’s log on T-Nation, should be some good stuff here.
[i]Phase 3 : Week 4 (Very Low Stress)
Upper Body #2
Saturday, 08/02/08 9:20 am - 10:30 am[/i]
Mood: 4/10
Not looking forward to work later in the day.
Alright, so I began with some Speed Pin Presses and went for a heavy set of 2x2 afterwards. 225 was good, 235 was alright, and 245 was balls to the wall. It felt heavy as hell and I was shaking all over the place. I did a double but couldn’t come back for it the next set.
60s x 5 for the DB Push Presses was too maximal for my tastes so I went down to 55s for the next set. I also used 75s for One Arm DB Rows but I think these are getting to the point where I’m compromising form for weight, time to drop down.
Link of the Day:
Nike Frees are available again on the Nike website! I’m loving my pair now, my feet are damn sore.
Phase impressions to come.
Phase 3 (Growth) Final Impressions:
Things I Didn’t Like
- Being stupid and jumping into free squatting 90 lbs than I’ve ever done before and getting a psoas injury from it (had some ART done today, feeling a little better)
- Rack Pulls from above the knee- by the program they should have been from the kneecaps or below, but because of the shitty rack design in my gym an inch above the knee was all I could do and it felt like they honestly did nothing for me.
- Straps. Still hate them.
- I’m still not a big fan of the post-activation potentiation higher rep sets after lower rep ones. It’s pretty apparent that they worked but I just didn’t like how they felt.
Things I Learned
- Snatch Grip Deadlifts, Floor Presses, and Band Pullaparts are all fantastic exercises that I will be using from now on.
- Creatine really works if you drink enough water
- Single leg work really pays off in the end
- Speed deadlifts are an excellent way to work on technique.
- Bulgarian Split-Squat Isos cause pain, so much pain.
I weighed in at 178 on Saturday morning, I think I was a little off center on the scale the week before because I didn’t have my contacts in lol.
Good news is that because of this phase I now have some stretch marks along my pec-delt tie in for the first time ever and I have some new veins on my forearms that weren’t there before :D.
And now for the grand finale… Phase 4 : Peak.
[i]Phase 4 : Week 1 (High Stress)
Lower Body #1
Monday 08/04/08, 5:20 pm - 6:30 pm[/i]
Mood: 8/10
Ready to bust in and kick some doors down.
Anderson Front Squats from Pins. Ugh.
If you’ve never heard of them before, that means that you start in the lowest possible position (Ass to fucking Grass for me) and lift the weight. No stretch reflex or bouncing out of the hole, just pure starting strength. Goddamn these were a fucking bitch. For comparison, my Front Squat max is somewhere around 245. I was doing singles with 185 on these, 7 to be exact. You have to be tight as Pam Anderson’s leather… anything or else the weight is not going up. These kicked my ass.
The speed deadlifts afterward were a relief, but I had to use the bar for the Front Squat grip Reverse Lunges and I had a tough time with even that. I ended with my old favorite the Pallof Press and went home to recover.
Link of the Day
Nothing, but I finished reading Supertraining. My brain is still reeling lol.
[i]Phase 4 : Week 1 (High Stress)
Upper Body #1
Tuesday 08/05/08 5:20 pm - 6:20 pm[/i]
Mood: 6/10
Very eager to see what I could Incline Press.
Opened up today with another series of heavy singles, this time with the Close Grip Incline Press. I did one rep with 175 (good but pretty close to max) followed by two with 170 (same) and then four with 165. I was pretty ambitious and should have stuck with a straight set for all 7, but I wanted that pretty 185 haha. The plan is straight sets with 170 for next week.
Assuming that 185 is my regular grip Incline max, I’ve increased my 1RM by over 40 lbs since the start of the program.
I was absolutely toasted by the singles, and was using 145 for sets of 8 on the CGBP. Some rowing, scap work and hammer curls followed.
[/b]Link of the Day:[/b]
Not lifting related, but I recently picked this book up and am engrossed by it right now. LTC Sassaman offers a very unique view of the Iraq War in 03 and 04, and the series of events that led to his eventual downfall.
[i]Phase 4 : Week 1 (High Stress)
Lower Body #2
Thursday, 08/07/08 5:10 pm - 5:45 pm[/i]
Mood: 5/10
Pretty decent, if rushed.
2 days after ART on the psoas/rectus fem and it feels SO much better, not good enough for Box Squats though.
Broke in the workouts with Ghetto GHRS and DB Lunges with 50s for 3x6. I can’t believe how far I’ve come with them.
However, I still suck ass at Pistols. Barbell Rollouts felt good, can’t wait to get back to school and mess around with the actual ab wheel that my roommate has.
Link of the Day:
Some interesting stuff with Tabatas on the CrossFit boards.
Hey IronAbrams!
Great job with your log, your results are impressive. I’m looking to start Maximum Strength this fall, but have never done box squats, just free squats. Were you the same way or have you always done box squats before starting the program?
I was exactly the same, the 275 1RM max video in the beginning of the log was the very first time that I’d performed them.
Unfortunately, I’ve had to work off of a bench at my high school gym because there’s no low boxes like at my college gym but my results have been fairly good.
Here’s a good guide to box squatting: http://www.T-Nation.com/readArticle.do?id=459391
There’s a Squat RX on box squatting too I think.
Thanks for keeping up with the log!
[i]Phase 4 : Week 1 (High Stress)
Upper Body #2
Saturday, 08/09/08 10:25 am - 11:35 am[/i]
Mood: 6/10
Decent today.
Psoas was a lot better today, but the back kept flaring up after arching for bench.
Speed Bench today, nothing special. Followed by Close Grip Floor Presses with 155 for 5 and Hammer Grip Pullups with +10 for 5. I don’t have any troubles with lockout but my triceps are pretty weak, I have no idea why. Some other assistance work after that and I was good.
I’m writing this the day after and my triceps and lats are thoroughly murdered.
Link of the Day:
A series of videos by Travis Ortmayer on Olympic Weightlifting, not too shabby.
As far as my goals go for the end of the program, I’m feeling pretty conservative.
I’m going to shoot for 235 on Bench, 225 was shaky and I’m pretty sure that my ass came off the bench. Squat is an unknown to me because of the hip flexor strain, but hopefully higher than 315. Deadlift is another unknown because of the back but I’d be happy with 365 even though I want that 4 plates. The 3RM Chinup is where I’m hoping I make some real progress due to the heavy volume of pulling and rowing, hopefully over +55 lbs.
Hey IA
How’s the hip flexor feeling? I’d imagine you’re rolling the hell out of it
I bought the Ultimate Back Fitness and Performance 3rd edition by Stuart Mcgill and I’m about half way through it now. I’ll just say I highly recommend it, but it is a text book.
He talks a lot about birddogs, curl-ups, and side bridges and the progressions for each of those exercises as important stability builders.
The rest of the stuff is rather specific, but it’s all gold.
You should check it out.