Rebirth of the Juggernaut: Brute Force and Ignorance (Part 1)

Training Training Logs
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@mr.v3lv3t Sanity is a terrible disease: hope it clears soon.

@flappinit Only 1 non-treadmill run so far, at the very start of the process. This was the first bout of knee pain I dealt with, and I imagine it was junking up the achilles that forced me to use some bizarre technique for the last 2.5 miles. I tend to respond better to the treadmill, since I can set the incline and it “rises” to meet my stride. Since getting the meniscus trimmed out, my knee doesn’t handle downhill well, so for outdoor running I either have to plan my course VERY well or go run on a track. I do the latter when prepping for my 1.5 mile runs, but doing it for a 10 is awful, haha.

My wife has a legit commercial treadmill at least. I don’t feel like my stride length is compromised, but part of that too is that I have a crappy stride. But the OTHER part of that is that I’m sawed-off at 5’9, and most likely don’t run into the same issue that you and your fellow giants do, haha.

Mrs gave me the advice to not run any further in my prep. That should actually work well, since my comp is next week, so I don’t wanna do anything stupid week of, and then after that would be the week before the race.

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Honestly if I’ve learned anything from your log it’s that you’re pretty well aware of what works best for you, so no argument there. But yeah, I think it’s a tall person problem too.

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I thought the comp was November? Time flies. Look forward to the write up.

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@flappinit Absolutely appreciate input either way, especially with the triathlon background. I felt a quick call in that direction a while back, before it dawned on me that my “brute force” approach to competition could result in drowning during the swimming portion, haha.

@dagill2 Yeah, mid-Oct. Nothing on the horizon for Oct, but I JUST signed up for an Apr comp that’s looking pretty awesome.

PM WORKOUT

MAX EFFORT LOWER

Deficit axle deadlift against strong short bands
3x136+bands
1x226+bands
1x276+bands
1x365+bands (10lb PR)
1x376+bands (10lb PR from PR set within session)

GIANT SETS (dead-hyper-squat)

(3) Axle deficit deadlifts 366
3x10

Reverse hyper 370
3x10

SSB front squats 210
3x10

Notes: 3:45 between hard pulls, 2:00 between giant sets. Didn’t have the straps set well on the set of 366, so really dialed them in and made the most of the set of 376. Had NO idea you could hitch against bands like that, but I’m apparently magic. Once again, the warm-ups felt stapled to the floor, and somehow got harder from there, but I just kept finding more deeper inside of me.

Giant sets were rough. Post comp will be a good time to introduce a little variety.

On that note, I’m signed up for the Kansas City “Brawn and Brews” comp on 4 Apr. This is a show tailor made for me.

Keg press medley: 200, 225, then 275 for max reps
Hussafel: 280lbs, 60’ down and 60’ back for time
Car deadlift: Max reps with NO up command (Is it Christmas?)
48" stone over bar: 260lb stone

Tie breaker event is arm over arm sled drag. I have no plans to train for that, because screw that event.

With my Bartos Power Keg coming for my birthday (because my wife is awesome), I’m excited about getting my keg press up, and the rest are great events for me, and in general. This might actually re-light the fire.

Also, realized I haven’t deloaded my press in quite a while, so this week will be good for that.

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Got a chance to listen to Alphas appearance on Mark Bells podcast driving to the mountains yesterday. Was just what the doctor… probably didn’t want ordered.

Funny enough that I read your most recent blog post after leaving this comment.

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Hey man. Liftangryordie500 seems like he is having a tough time. Check his log to see what I mean. It seems like he looks up to you. Maybe you could say something?

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Helluva grind on that last rep dude. I enjoy you popping in on threads like the failure one to remind people that you ascribe to a different kind of failure than most other people, and not only do you push past where tons of people throw up their hands and scream to stop, but everything after that point is where you get your results from. Reminds me of a Muhammad Ali quote where someone asked him how many crunches he can do, and he said something along the lines of “I don’t know, I only start counting when it hurts.”

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Bit of a random question for you: I recently bought insane training by Mat Kroc, only to find it’s essentially just a poor mix up of all the stuff I’ve already read on this site. Is there a better book out there by the legend?

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@mr.v3lv3t Definitely heading in the right direction. And I hope you got to watch the video that post was inspired by. I try to do it justice, but it’s just amazing to watch.

@cstan097 He’s definitely had a rough go. I’m always happy to help when he reaches out, but part of him looking up to me may also stem from the sincerity I grant him in our discourse, and it would unfortunately violate that sincerity for me to try to talk him away from many of the conclusions he’s drawn. When he makes it through the other side of this, he’s going to be unreasonably strong in many ways.

@flappinit Always appreciated dude. That quote from Ali is pretty crucial. “Super Squats” helped with that mentality for me as well: the idea that all the growth is in that 20th rep. It’s amazing how much further you can dig when you bypass your governor.

@dagill2 Nah, you found the book alright. Something worth noting is that the percentages on the bench program in the book are different than the one in the article here on the site. May be differences with the others as well. I believe the powerbuilding and bodybuilding programs were unreleased as well. Something of a letdown, as I expected a book on “Insane Training” to be a bit less based on percentages, but it apparently worked for Kroc.

AM WORKOUT

TREADMILL RUN

Incline: 1
Speed: 6.6 mph (9:05 mile)
Distance: 6.55 miles
Time: 59:32

Notes: This was awful. Wanted to quit from about mile 2 and on. This is the pace that would be necessary for a sub 2hr half-marathon, which means my wife is nuts for how often she’s done that. Left achilles/calf is getting tight during the runs, but not as much pain as last time, and right foot went numb for a long time. Gutting this out as well as I can.

PM WORKOUT

PRESS DELOAD

GIANTSETS (Press-dip-raise-pull apart: odd sets behind the neck press, even sets axle strict press)

Behind the neck barbell press 120
3x10

Axle strict press 160
3x10

DB lateral raise 30
6x11

Band pull aparts
6x12

Notes: 2:00 between giant sets. Think this is gonna be the last heavy workout before the comp. I’m feeling pretty beat up, and time off and good food should go a long way. Cannot wait to be done doing continentals, because they’ve been beating the hell out of my thumb joint.

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LOL 2hrs for a half marathon seems like something that should be easy for most people, until you try and do it!!

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My friend qualified for the Boston Marathon, and due to the stretches of downhill and the insane requirements for qualification, he needed a 3:15 marathon time just to qualify. That’s a sub-7.5 mile pace for 26.2 miles. Crazy.

Also, the world record for half marathon was broken recently. 58 minutes. A 4.5 mile pace for 13.1 miles. Don’t ever get to feeling like you’re fast. I ran 1.5 miles in 8:45 and was feeling fast, but nope, compared to anyone competitive I might as well be paralyzed.

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Yep competitive runners are insanely fast. I guess its like any sport, in that the top few % are so much better than everyone else. Think about how strong some top level weightliftiers or powerlifters are compared to us mere hobbiests and its the same with running.
When I ran at the local club a few years ago, there were guys who would run 5000m (3.1miles) in 15-16 mins, this is fast like really fast (my best was just under 20). But the record for 5000m in 12 mins 37 seconds. That’s 2 - 3 mins faster, that is time for them to boil the kettle and make a cup of tea before guys who were 5 mins quicker than me to even finish !! Freaky.

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This was pretty much my thoughts. I expected some insane training. It’s essentially an instruction book on the main lifts, plus some fairly basic submaximal progression schemes. Probably more of what I needed, less of what i wanted.

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The phrase “it’s a marathon, not a sprint” loses its effectiveness when you look at the pace of elite marathoners and realise they are essentially sprinting for all 26.2 miles.

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I have seen that video, but I’ll need to rewatch those portions to pick up on what I missed the first time through.

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This is never a problem for me. I feel good when I’m running a lap in 1 minute at the gym (6 min mile pace), but then I realize my wife runs that pace for miles at a time.

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Hey @T3hPwnisher do you think that the Juggernaut has been re-born yet ? What were you hoping to get back to after your knee reco and are you there yet ?

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Oh man, the Juggernaut was reborn on post 1. It was all about finally getting the surgery and being cleared to train the rest of my body, as prior to that I was in purgatory. It wasn’t about coming back to where I was but to WHO I was.

That said, I am defintiely stronger than I was pre-injury. Just got more aches than before.

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So does that means it’s time for a log title change.
How about “If you want peace, prepare for war”

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Always a classic, but I am not one for changing log titles. Helpful to think of it as B.C./A.D. at this point.

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