Bench (Monday 08NOV10)
From out of the ashes of our Fall FTX come two Bench PRs- unexpected but welcome.
Bench
45x8
95x5
135x5
185x3
225x1
260x1 PR
185x15 PR
Floor Press
185x6 hahaha not happening
Band Resisted Push-up - Monster Mini
15, 11 laughable
Weighted Chin-up
BWx5
25x3
35x2 lol
BWx10 pathetic
Curlz and Lateral Raises
Absolutely tanked after benching. Haven’t come close to this feeling in a long time.
Deadlift (Tuesday 09NOV10)
Deadlift
380x1
325x2x5
Still easy and fast.
Zercher Squat from Pins
205x3
185x4x3
I’ve never done these for more than two workouts in a row. Will they give me any carryover? I’m willing to try it. The pain in the elbows doesn’t bother me as much how hard it is to hold my air through the whole rep.
DB Bulgarian
20x10
30x10
40x10
Decided to throw these in on my Deadlift day instead of squats since 1. My quads are a lot less fatigued and 2. They help with my hip flexor flexibility a lot after my 3 hour night class on Tuesday night.
Glute Bridge
Accessory (Thursday 12NOV10)
Reverse Band Close Grip w/Monster Minis
250x1
275x1
295x1
315x1
Alex wanted to try these out so we set it up with doubled Monster Minis. 135 was essentially weightless at the chest. In retrospect this was way too much band tension. If I decide to do these again in the future it will be with single looped Minis or Monster Minis. It was really cool to strain through 315 though.
Close Grip w/Chains
175 x6
Not happening after reverse band.
Pullup
8, 8, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6
Military Press - Fat Grip
115x5
115x5
I’m at a bit of a crossroads when it comes to shoulder work and especially the strict press. On one hand I would love to do lightweight strongman one day when I’m at or around 231 and my overhead pressing would have to be very strong for that. On the other hand, overhead pressing has absolutely no carryover to my other lifts (eg bench and push-ups) and takes away training time from those other lifts. So the question is strict press or dumbbells?
Ring Inverted Row
8, 7
Face Pull/Rope Pushdown
Squat (Friday 13NOV10)
Squat
255x12
Front Squat
215x12
Short and very intense. Front Squat was a near death set.
Had to get running to see my parents so no accessory work.
Deadlift (Wednesday 17NOV10)
Record PT Test so no training on Monday or Tuesday.
Deadlift
390x1
2x3x345
Leg Curl
70x10
90x10
110x10
130x8
In and out, not much to write home about. You’ll notice that the sessions I did this week were pretty brief- all of my professors seem to think that they’re the only ones who assign work before Thanksgiving Break so I had 4 papers and 2 tests on my plate.
Full (Friday 19NOV10)
Testing Lab for Strength and Conditioning today. Did a bunch of random tests like 40 yd dash (5.47) and 1RM Bench (CG 245).
Bench
215x1
205x8
Squat
315x1
265x10
Front Squat
225x5 done
I’ve went over to the Dark Side.
I’ve been using Nike Free 5.0s for the last two years as my main running shoe and gym shoe. I finally broke down and grabbed a pair of Vibrams. I’ve been contemplating this for a while now and used them the last three sessions.
Squat- Felt amazing. Not sure how but I was getting even more depth than usual too.
Front Squat- Ran into some problems here. The Front Squat requires a lot more dorsiflexion range of motion than the back squat and it’s something I’ve always struggled with. I had to shift forward more as a result which was the major reason why I cut Friday’s set with 225 short. Going to be working on a lot of ankle mobilizations before leading into next week’s session.
Benching- I could see the lack of a heel possibly affecting bench at some point, especially in a flat foot fed. Doesn’t affect me terribly much at this point but I’ll probably continue using my regular shoes on upper body days.
Deadlift- Exactly like pulling barefoot, not much to mention.
I have a severe case of flat feet and overpronation that wasn’t helped by orthotics or improved by any modalities at all until I made a more conscious choice to go barefoot more often. I’ve followed the barefoot training movement since it’s resurgence a couple years ago now and agree with most of the key points- the research behind running shoes is flimsy at best and barefoot training increases proprioception. But at the same time our physiology isn’t optimal for walking and running on flat, hard artificial surfaces like concrete and asphalt.
Where’s the truth lie? Probably solidly in the middle, but for right now I like pulling and squatting in these.
Bench (Monday 22NOV10)
Bench
225x1
205x9 PR 1 rep
Incline
155x7 PR 1 rep
135x10
Decline Pushup w/Handles
BWx16,12
Spider EZ Curl
45x12, 65x8, 55x10
Incline DB Curl
Good stuff back home. Had a good chance of going for 10 with 205 but of course I was benching out of the racks without a spotter. Everything felt good this session, can’t complain about anything.
Deadlift (Tuesday 23NOV10)
Deadlift
400x1
365x2x3
I was able to reign in the urge to throw 405 on the bar only because I was using a pair of new 11 lb collars.
Definitely the easiest deadlift session I’ve had back home without bumper plates. For whatever reason though, this aggravated the right side of my back (lumbosacral area). For the last 3 years whenever I’ve had this pain it’s been on the left side. I think it might be related to mixed grip?
Solid work, man. Thanks for the War Room invite, too. I’m working my way up, but I’m sacrificing big lifts for a 13:00 run time. How do you manage the run with the weights?
Accessory (Friday 26NOV10)
Close Grip
185x3
205x3
215x1
This is just not making sense, except that 205x9 was done out of the racks and this set was done in them. Looking back on my past sessions at home, all of my bad bench days were done in the racks. I can’t logically think of a reason why it would make that much difference but it seems to.
Neutral Chin
BWx5
10x5
20x5
25x3
35x2
Definitely still adjusting to weighing 200 instead of 185.
JM Press
65x10
85x10
95x10
115x10
115x10
HS High Row
45/side x 10
90x10
100x10
100x10
Band Pushdown
Light x 15, 12, 12, 10
almighty- Thanks for dropping by man. If you have any questions about LDAC feel free to throw them my way. I added a couple thoughts to the thread in Thib’s forum.
Squat (Saturday 27NOV10)
Squat
265x11
Front Squat
225x6
Prowler Push/Backwards Drag
Better today but I didn’t hit on my ankle mobility as much as I should have this week. I never have any problems squatting back home, looks like just benching.
Coffins - Altars In Gore
The top two comments say it all.
Bench (Monday 29NOV10)
Bench
230x1
210x5
Ring Push-up
50 reps - 5x10
Ring Curl haha
This was one of those days.
My bench warm-up usually look like this:
Band shoulder Dislocation
Overhead Band Pullapart
Band Pullapart
Regular Pushup
If by the time I’m benching the bar I already feel fatigued it’s not going to be a good day, seems to happen every once in a while. Not sure what I can do to prevent it other than drive on.
On another note, for whatever reason the entire football team was in the gym today. I’ve never seen all the rack used for half squat before but there were some legitimately strong guys.
Got a great question from supmann on bb.com, figured it would be good to post up here.
[quote]supmannn wrote:
Cool log. Just wondering, what is the ROTC PT like? Tons of non functional body weight endurance stuff, or are they a bit smarter than that? I’m guessing it’s more focused on endurance and things like that… how do you balance your strength training with your required ROTC PT?
I’m going for a +300 score on the APFT and it’s pretty tricky trying to balance my APFT training with my strength training and my Crossfit style metcons… can’t do a long distance run after my squat day, can’t do a long distance run after my deadlift day, can’t do heavy squats or deadlifts before running, sprints can mess up my legs and make me unable to finish a squat or deadlift workout, too many push ups and I miss my reps for my press work out, intense metcons can mess with things… I have tons of respect for marathon runners and powerlifters, but even more respect with people who are able to balance a 500+ lbs deadlift with a sub 3 minute Fran time with a sub 13 minute 2 mile run and 80+ push ups and sit ups.
[/quote]
Took me forever to write this up, my ‘S’ and 1 and 2 key are broken right now so it’s a lot of Copy and Paste.
The only unit PT that I’ve taken part in is our own, but we generally split up the PT group into Balanced, Cardio and Muscular Endurance/Strength. For MS2s and below PT is three days a week and for the MS3s it’s five days. A cadet can pick which group to go with each day depending on their weakness. Inevitably this leads to people avoiding the thing they suck at but that’s up to the MS4s to enforce. My first three years the groups were led by 3s as part of their leadership training but it didn’t work nearly as well due to every cadet trying to outdo the last with excessive plans with no rhyme or reason.
Balanced PT Timeline usually look like this:
0600 - 0610: M3 led warm up
0610 - 0620: Ab Circuit (supine bicycle, flutter kick, crunches, all that bull****)
0620 - 0635: Pushup, maybe some pullups and other upper body thrown in
0635 - 0710: Ability Group Run or Interval, possibly with more abs at the end
I can definitely sympathize with you because I struggle with it all the time. One of the best plan I think for any beginning cadet or soldier is 5/3/1. I would personally set it up like this.
MONDAY
Bench 5/3/1
Blast Strap Pushup (Olympic Rings or Pushup handles work too) - 50 reps, increase over time
Tricep variation - 3x10-20
Pullup or Chin - one set in between every set of bench, pushup and triceps. Pick 50-60% of your max rep (ex. if you can do 10 pullups, do et of 5-6)
TUEDAY
Deadlift 5/3/1
KB Swing or Back Extension - 50 reps, increase over time
Single Leg variation 3x10-20
Decline Situp 5x10-20
THURDAY
Military Press 5/3/1
Dip (Regular or Blast Strap) - 50 reps, increase over time
Bicep variation - 3x10-20
Row variation - same as pullups, pick a weight and do sets of 8 across in-between each set
FRIDAY OR SATURDAY
Squat 5/3/1
KB Swing or Back Extension - 50 reps, increase over time
Front Squat or Single Leg variation - 3x10-20
Hanging Leg Raise - 5x10-20
Accessory Work: You probably don’t need much more on this template but I would never frown at anyone for doing extra shoulder prehab like Face Pulls and DB Power Cleans.
From what I’ve seen in ROTC, the kid who tart out skinny and weak who build up a good endurance base AND THEN focus on strength have a lot more success than the other way around (cough me cough). Fat guys don’t have this luxury so they might a well do both at the same time.
The true beauty of 5/3/1 is that you can pick your battles on your main exercises very easily. You’re always going to run into days where you had to do 00 - 300 pushups with drop-sets and pyramids in the morning at PT and you’re supposed to do a rep out on bench. Having a flexible template like this makes those situations a lot more bearable.
Generally I’ve found it best to do strength and cardio on the same day- if it’s interval or hill work, then strength in the AM or afternoon followed by sprints later on. If it’s more distance work then that in the AM and strength in the PM. I always face a challenge with conditioning in December/January/February since Upstate NY is definitely not outdoor running friendly in the depths of winter.
Definitely a big topic, might revisit it later.
Deadlift (Tuesday 30NOV10)
samson141 from the T-Nation forum dropped by the college gym for some deadlift help, went really well but unfortunately I wasn’t able to put on much of a good show.
Deadlift
315x1
(planned) 410x1, 390x2x3
Something is deeply messed up with my right glute. It’s most likely either piriformis or referred lumbosacral pain but I won’t get the chance for any kind of manual therapy until I go home after finals. Fortunately I’m 95% pain free with squatting.
It was a huge help. More so when I thought because not only did I get my Deadlift checked, but learning how to do Good Mornings was a great help too. My hamstrings were killin me the next day though. Good times 
Thanks a lot for the help. Really appreciate it
Glad I could be of some help to you man. If you ever want to drop by again just let me know. Keeping a training log online is a great way to keep yourself accountable.
Accessory (Thursday 02DEC10)
Close Grip w/Chain
175 x 11
Been stuck at the same weight for three workouts now- fortunately it’s just about time to switch my training based on the gym back home.
Pullup
12 (failure)
These took a big hit with the weight gain- need to get back up there.
Board Press
205x3
215x3
225x3
235x3
245x3
Nifty PR, very soft touch. Was very happy with this.
Ring Inverted Row
4x10xBW
[u]Band Pushdown[/u
Squat (Friday 03DEC10)
Squat
265x12
Front Squat
225x8
Seated GM
65x10
85x10
95x6
265 felt like death incarnate (just a bad day, I still don’t think I’m anywhere near maxing yet) but I can’t complain since Alex is doing Smolov right now. It really is brutal to watch. Got some plate pushes in too but not nearly as many as I wanted.
