Scurn's Maximal Strength Log

Training Training Logs
1

I’ve been the standard idiot lifter for a long time. In fact I had never deadlifted until July of this year. A combination of doing my own thing and not knowing the proper techniques very quickly led me to a lower back muscle strain. I let it heal and then promptly did it again 3 weeks later. Since then I’ve worked with some personal trainers to correct my issues and done a ton of reading to figure out what I want.

This log chronicles the first official program I have followed. It’s a relatively unknown program written by Dave Tate called Developing Maximal Strength. He wrote it for http://www.precisionnutrition.com/ so I won’t be giving out the specifics.

The program is a M-W-F-Sa routine that focuses on squats and bench without much direct deadlifting. Dave wrote it with supporting exercises that he claims will increase your deadlift numbers without having to deadlift all the time. This is one reason I chose the program since I had various weaknesses that really compromised my deadlift form that I wanted to work on without derailing everything with another injury.

The basic setup is:
M - Squat Max Effort Day
W - Bench Max Effort Day
F - Squat Dynamic Effort Day
Sa - Bench Dynamic Effort Day

Weeks 1-3
Preparation weeks designed to introduce the concepts of ME and DE days.

Weeks 4-9
Max Strength. The meat of the program.

Weeks 10-12
Deload and 1RM max tests on bench/squat.

This log starts with week 4. I have everything in my training log but decided to start here with the online version.

2

Goals:
Follow a structured program for once in my life.
Understand the methodology behind the program and how my body responds to this style of training.

Weaknesses:
Glute Strength (which led to my injuries according to the physical therapist.)
Grip Strength

Another advantage of this program is Dave put 12 minutes at the end of each session to do exercises of your choice. I decided to use these 12 minutes to target the particular weaknesses I feel are holding me back the most.

Glute Strength:
If you haven’t read Dispelling the Glute Myth by Bret Contreras you should. Here I’ll provide the link:

In just three weeks of following his advice I’ve eliminated all of my back pain and feel extremely solid in all my lifts. My deadlift form has vastly improved and so have my numbers. I chose Barbell Hip Thrusts and Barbell Glute Bridges for my 12 minutes on the squat days. I’m already a little worn out when I get to them but I wanted to have 2-3 days of solid rest before hitting these muscles again.

Grip Strength:
There are a lot of good articles here about grip strength. My favorite is Massive Forearms, Strong Grip by John Sullivan.

I’ve tried out a lot of his exercises and I routinely do plate pinches during my rest periods and do my pullups with rock rings instead of the bar. I chose to do a superset of Zottman Curls, Reverse Wrist Curls and Wrist Curls at the end of my bench days. If I have extra time I’ll throw in some Lever Bar work after the supersets. Like the glute exercises I have a lot of rest until the next session that really tests my grip.

3

Progress Tracking:
All measurements are made relaxed before the workout session.

November 9, 2009
Weight: 204.5lbs
Chest: 44.5"
Bicep: 15.25"
Waist: 36.25"
Mid-Thigh: 25"
Calf: 17"

Deadlift
Rack Pull Mid-Shin: 3RM 255 11/9/09

Bench Press
2-Board Press: 3RM 295 11/11/09
2-Board Press: 1RM 315 11/18/09

Squat
Wide Stance Box Squat, 3" Below Parallel: 1RM 235 11/13/09
Close Stance Box Squat, 3" Below Parallel: 3RM 235 11/23/09

4

November 9, 2009

Warmup:
Forward Sled Dragging 2x50steps
Backward Sled Dragging 2x50steps

I don’t have access to a sled at my gym so Dave recommends using a treadmill and just pushing the belt yourself. I’ve found a particularly stiff one that works pretty well.

Mid-Shin Pin Pulls:
Bar x 5
65lbs x 5
95 x 5
115 x 5
135 x 5
155 x 5
175 x 3
185 x 3
195 x 3
205 x 3
215 x 3
225 x 3
235 x 3
245 x 3
255 x 3
265 x 2,1
135 x 5

I really had no idea where my 3RM was since the last time I got hurt it was with just 155lbs. I’ve only done SLDL since then and was unsure of the carryover. I feel like I could have done more but my grip was destroyed by the total volume and I failed 265 because I just couldn’t hold on anymore. Was using a double overhand grip with no straps the whole way. Next time I’ll ramp it up a lot faster in the lighter weight.

Natural Glute Ham Raises:
2x8, 2’ rest
Bodyweight 2x8

I have to do the cheat version with a 3 second down and then a small amount of pushup at the bottom. The amount of push needed has decreased substantially, some day I’ll be a big boy and do it all on my own.

Hanging Leg Raises:
4x12, 90" rest
5lb Dumbell held by my feet
12,10,8,10

Good Mornings:
4x12, 90" rest
65 x 5
85 x 12,12,12,12

It doesn’t seem like a lot of weight but I use this mainly to work on hamstring and hip flexibility. I started with just the bar and try to get parallel with the floor while maintaining my arch. Each week I’ve added 10lbs.

Rock Ring Pullups:
2x8-12, 90" rest
Bodyweight x 12,8

Barbell Hip Thrusts:
2x10, 90" rest
135 x 5
225 x 5
255 x 10,10

Barbell Glute Bridge:
2x10, 90" rest
325 x 10,10

I’ve been doing these glute exercises for about 5 weeks now and starting with just 135lbs the weight ramped up really quickly. They have also had the most effect on how everything feels both in and out of the gym.

5

November 11, 2009

Warmup:
Facepulls 55lbs x 15
Pushups x 15
External Shoulder Rotation 25lbs x 15
Front Plank x 60"
Side Plank x 30"
45 Degree Back Raises x 15

2-Board Press
3RM, 2-4’ rest
Bar x 5
95 x 5
135 x 5
185 x 5
225 x 5
275 x 3
285 x 3
295 x 2,3
305 x 2,2

I feel I learned from my pin pull experience and got to my target weight much quicker. When I failed at a weight I rested and then gave it another shot. I feel really good about that last rep at 305. It was going really slowly and my spotter reached in to raise it up but I yelled him off and finished the rep.

Close Grip Incline Press
3x5, 2’ rest
First finger on the smooth part of the bar and the last set should be to failure.
Bar x 5
95 x 5
135 x 5
155 x 5
165 x 5,5,5

Side Lateral Raises
3x8, 90" rest
17.5lbs with Fat Gripz on the dumbbell handles.
17.5 x 8,8,8

Cable Row
3x10, 2’ rest
150 x 10,10,10

Superset
2x10 for each exercise with 90" rest after the final one.

Zottman Curls
Fat Gripz on the dumbbell handles.
25 x 10,10

Reverse Wrist Curls
30lb Barbell x 10,10

Wrist Curls
45lb Barbell x 10,10

My plan for these supersets is to hold the weight on the wrist curls constant while increasing the Zottmans, basically a post fatigue superset with exercise difficulty in descending order. I just got my Fat Gripz and while the dumbbell weight is kind of pathetic the effect certainly wasn’t.

6

November 13, 2009

Warmup
Forward Sled Dragging 2 x 50steps
Backward Sled Dragging 2 x 50steps

Wide Stance Box Squat, 3" below parallel
Establish 1RM
5x2 @ 45% of 1RM, 1’ rest
Bar x 5
95 x 5
135 x 5
185 x 3
205 x 1
225 x 1
235 x 1
245 x 0
110 x 2,2,2,2,2

Straight Leg Deadlift
3x8, 90" rest
Fat Gripz
Bar x 5
95 x 5
135 x 3

Just the bar
175 x 8,8,8

Standing Ab Pull Downs
2x15, 90" rest
120 x 15,15

Back Raises
3x10, 90" rest
50lb Dumbbell x 10,10,10

Narrow Grip Chin Ups
2x8, 90" rest
Bodyweight x 8,8

Barbell Hip Thrusts
2x10, 90" rest
135 x 5
225 x 5
265 x 10,10

I decided to drop the barbell glute bridges. I haven’t really been feeling them do much lately. I’ll need to pick another exercise out of Bret’s article that is at the same level as the hip thrusts. The glute bridges are a “lower” tier according to him and I guess I’m moving up.

I’m also glad this week is almost over. Maxing every day so far has really burned me out. I definitely feel like I should be able to squat more than that but I just couldn’t get off the box with 240. All in all I’m happy with my numbers for this week.

7

Good work so far man. Keep it up and do everything you can to recover. That much ME work can be very draining but if you keep your food intake and sleep in check you will be fine. Good luck.

8

[quote]jflagg wrote:
Good work so far man. Keep it up and do everything you can to recover. That much ME work can be very draining but if you keep your food intake and sleep in check you will be fine. Good luck.[/quote]

Thanks. It’s definitely been a tough week and the first time I’ve felt a little overloaded. Been pretty strict about my bedtime to make sure I have time to recover. Fortunately next week is a little easier although this weekend I did more cardio than anyone should.

9

November 14, 2009

Warmup
Face Pulls 60lbs x 15
Push Ups x 15
External Shoulder Rotation 25lbs x 15
Front Plank x 60"
Side Plank x 30"
45 Degree Back Raise x 15

Bench Press
8x3, 1’ rest
Bar x 5
95 x 5
135 x 5
185 x 3,3,3,3,3,3,3,3

Tricep Press Down
3x5, 90" rest
95lbs x 5,5,5

Rear Lateral Raises
3x10, 90" rest
Using the Fat Gripz
20lbs x 10,10,10

Dumbbell Bent Over Row
2x10, 90" rest
Using the Fat Gripz
45lbs x 10,10

Dumbbell Farmer Walks
Using the Fat Gripz
55lbs Dumbbells, 90" rest
5 Sets of doing as many laps as I could back and forth in the weight room until the weight dropped out of my hands. Resting and then going again.

This was designed to be a light day in the program so not a lot of weight in the movements. I also started using my new Fat Gripz on pretty much everything I could so the weights might seem a little light but I plan on adding weight with each new session as my grip catches up. The farmer walks were to burn out my grip and eat up the time until my cousin finished his eliptical jogging.

10

November 15, 2009

I’m sure I’ll get crap for this but I ran a half marathon today. It was the Big Sur Half Marathon on the Monterey Peninsula here in California. It’s one of the most amazing coastlines in the world and the rest isn’t too shabby either. There are also world famous golf courses like Pebble Beach and other attractions but I didn’t have much time for that.

A year ago I promised my mom that I would run a full or half marathon with her if she trained for it. It didn’t matter where or when. I would run it since she’s wanted to for her entire life but family and work have always stood in her way. Well this year she joined a running group that utilizes walk/run intervals and worked her way up to 14 miles.

We completed the 13.1 miles with a time of 3:04:24. It may be slow to you but she was openly crying as we crossed the finish line and that’s the only thing that really mattered to me.

11

November 16, 2009

Warmup:
Forward Sled Dragging 2x45steps
Backward Sled Dragging 2x45steps

Squats:
Scheduled Day Off

Natural Glute Ham Raises:
2x8, 2’ rest
Bodyweight 2x8

Super slow lowering with the push up off the ground.

Hanging Leg Raises:
4x12, 90" rest
5lb Dumbell held by my feet
12,11,12,11

Good Mornings:
4x12, 90" rest
45 x 5
85 x 5
95 x 12,12,12,12

Rock Ring Pullups:
2x8-12, 90" rest
Bodyweight x 8,8+4

Single Leg Hip Thrusts:
2x10-20, 60" rest
Bodyweight x 10,13

Weighted Bird Dog
2x10-20, 60" rest
10lb Dumbbell, 5lb Ankle Weight
15,15

Standing Abduction
2x10-20, 60" rest
25lbs x 15,15

Fortunately the half marathon and a recovery day lined up really well. If I was doing squats it would have been a sad sight indeed. Not a whole lot of soreness other than my feet, psoas and mid-back/traps. I have a bad habit of clenching my fists and raising my shoulders when I run so everything was basically flexed for the full 3 hours. There’s a deep tissue massage later today that can’t come soon enough.

12

Man, you seem to have a really structured program, and you’re adherence is impressive. Good luck with everything.

13

[quote]WhiteFlash wrote:
Man, you seem to have a really structured program, and you’re adherence is impressive. Good luck with everything.[/quote]

I come from a science/engineering background where closely following a set recipe is the difference between a working project and a failed one. I originally tried to make my own routine. Spent about a week reading how to articles here, identifying exercise<->muscles worked on exrx.net and balancing everything. Basically I majored in the minors and at the same time put way too much in the workouts and burned out in a couple weeks. So I rebooted and picked a workout from an author I respected that made sense to me and had a good amount of discussion motivating why it is set up the way it is. I’m still trying to find the right work weights for some of the exercises but like Jim Wendler points out, if you keep adding 10lbs every 2 weeks you’ll add 260lbs in a year. Who can complain about that.

14

November 18, 2009

Warmup:
Facepulls 60lbs x 15
Pushups x 15
External Shoulder Rotation 25lbs x 15
Front Plank x 60"
Side Plank x 30"
45 Degree Back Raises x 15

2-Board Press
6x1, 2’+ rest
The goal is to set a new 1RM and do six sets of one at that weight.
Bar x 5
95 x 5
135 x 5
185 x 5
225 x 3
275 x 3
295 x 3
305 x 1
315 x 1,1,1,1,1,1
135 x 8

I made sure to get help out of the hooks but after that I didn’t need anything. Sure the weight was moving slowly but it never stopped.

Close Grip Incline Press
2x5, 2’ rest
First finger on the smooth part of the bar and the last set should be to failure.
Bar x 5
95 x 5
135 x 5
175 x 5,4+stuck

On the last rep I got squashed coming out of the bottom and had to get help from a random Samaritan. I wasn’t expecting that at 175.

Side Lateral Raises
3x8, 90" rest
20lbs with Fat Gripz on the dumbbell handles.
20 x 8,8,8

Cable Row
2x8, 2’ rest
155 x 8,8

Superset
2x10 for each exercise with 90" rest after the final one.

Zottman Curls
Fat Gripz on the dumbbell handles.
30 x 10,8

Reverse Wrist Curls
30lb Barbell x 10,10

Wrist Curls
45lb Barbell x 10,8

15

November 20, 2009

Warmup
Forward Sled Dragging 2 x 45steps
Backward Sled Dragging 2 x 45steps

Wide Stance Box Squat, 3" below parallel
8x2 @ 60% of 1RM, 1’ rest
Bar x 5
95 x 5
135 x 5
145 x 2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,4
135 x 5

Added an extra set to really focus on exploding out of the bottom. This is my weakest area. If I can get a little above parallel I know I’ll finish but the start just sucks some times.

Straight Leg Deadlift
3x10, 90" rest
Fat Gripz
Bar x 5
95 x 5
135 x 5
155 x 4

Regular Bar Grip
175 x 5
185 x 10,10,10
135 x 5

My straight leg deadlift has really improved. With 185 I can almost tap it on the floor while maintaining my arch. My hips/hamstrings have become a lot more flexible with a little foam rolling and dynamic stretching exercises.

Standing Ab Pull Downs
2x15, 90" rest
110 x 15
130 x 15,15

Back Raises
3x10, 90" rest
55lb Dumbbell x 10,10,10

Rock Ring Chin Ups
2x8, 90" rest
Bodyweight x 8
5lb Dumbbell x 6
Bodyweight x 4

Barbell Hip Thrusts
2x10, 90" rest
135 x 10
225 x 10
275 x 10,10

16

November 21, 2009

Warmup
Face Pulls 60lbs x 15
Push Ups x 15
External Shoulder Rotation 25lbs x 15
Front Plank x 60"
Side Plank x 30"
45 Degree Back Raise x 15

Bench Press
8x3 @ 50% 1RM, 1’ rest
Bar x 10
95 x 5
135 x 5
155 x 5
160 x 3,3,3,3,3,3,3,3
135 x 10

Tricep Press Down
2x5, 90" rest
75 x 5
100lbs x 5,5

Rear Lateral Raises
3x10, 90" rest
Using the Fat Gripz
20lbs x 10,10,10

Dumbbell Bent Over Row
3x10, 90" rest
60lbs x 10,10,10

My Fat Gripz don’t fit on any of the dumbbells over 30lbs at my gym so can’t use them here.

Dumbbell Farmer Walks
Olympic Bar w/ 10lb plates (~65lbs) and Fat Gripz
5 x 15-20" holds in the rack

Olympic Bar w/ 10lb plates
5 x 20-30" holds in the rack

Because of the short handles on the dumbbells I have to use the squat bar in the rack for my farmer walks using one bar in each hand. The long lever arm adds some interesting issues if your grip is a little off center and it definitely showed my little fingers are weaker than the others. The bar would routinely start lowering there first. Pretty much every hold went until the bar was about to drop out of my hand.

17

November 23, 2009

Warmup:
Forward Sled Dragging 2x40steps
Backward Sled Dragging 2x40steps

Squats:
3RM Close Stance Box Squat, 3" Below Parallel, Rest as Needed
Bar x 5
95 x 5
135 x 5
185 x 3
205 x 3
225 x 3
235 x 3
245 x 0.5
135 x 5

The set with 235 was pretty brutal. Felt like 10 second reps and the last barely seemed to move at all. Did 3 at my wide stance 1RM weight though so I’m happy. The attempt with 245 got up to about parallel then started coming back down so I called it a day.

Pull Through:
2x6-8, 2’ rest
40 x 5
85 x 5
113 x 5
145 x 8,8

Hanging Leg Raises:
4x12, 90" rest
5lb Dumbell held by my feet
12,12,12,12

Good Mornings:
4x8-12, 90" rest
Bar x 5
85 x 5
105 x 12,12,12,12

Wide Grip Pulldowns:
2x8-12, 90" rest
135 x 5
165 x 12,12

Barbell Hip Thrusts:
2x10, 90" rest
135 x 5
225 x 5
265 x 5
285 x 10,10

18

November 25, 2009
In Austin for the week and working out at Hyde Park Gym.

Warmup:
Facepulls 60lbs x 15
Pushups x 15
External Shoulder Rotation 25lbs x 15
Front Plank x 60"
Side Plank x 30"
45 Degree Back Raises x 15

Close Grip Incline Press
Find 3RM, Rest as needed.
Bar x 5
95 x 5
135 x 5
185 x 5
225 x 0
205 x 3
215 x 3
225 x 1.5
135 x 10

Close Grip Floor Press
1x5, 2’ rest
Bar x 5
95 x 8
145 x 5
185 x 5
205 x 5
135 x 10

Side Lateral Raises
3x8, 90" rest
20lbs with Fat Gripz on the dumbbell handles.
20 x 10,10,10

Cable Row
3x10, 2’ rest
120 x 8
140 x 10,10,10

Dumbbell Holds
Fat Gripz, 70lbs
20", 20", 17", 15", 15"

70lb Dumbbell
30",30",30",30",30"

Just holding a dumbbell in each hand at my side for as long as I could. After my grip was shot I took off the Fat Gripz and just held the dumbbell handle for another 5 sets.

I read Starting Strength by Rippetoe this past week and have made a few changes to my form. The big one was the squat which moved the bar lower on my back and set my wrists and elbows under the bar. I have also learned what I was taught were SLDS’s are actually RDL’s… somewhat embarrassing.

19

November 27, 2009

Warmup:
Forward Sled Dragging 2x40steps
Backward Sled Dragging 2x40steps

Squats:
Close Stance Box Squat, 3" Below Parallel
10x2 @ 50%, 1’ rest
Bar x 5
95 x 5
135 x 2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2

Romanian Deadlift:
2x8, 2’ rest

Using Fat Gripz
Bar x 5
95 x 5
135 x 5
175 x 2

Gripping the Bar
175 x 3
195 x 8,8
135 x 5

Decline Russian Twists:
2x15, 90" rest
15lb Dumbell held with straight arms
15,13

45 Degree Back Raises:
3x10, 90" rest
Body x 5
60lbs dumbbell x 10,10,10

Chin Ups:
2x8, 90" rest
Body x 8,5

Single Leg Hip Thrusts:
2x10-20, 90" rest
Body x 10,10

Bird Dogs:
2x10-20, 90" rest
Body x 10,10

Standing Cable Abduction:
2x10-20, 90" rest
25lbs x 10,10

By the time I got to the chin ups I was pretty exhausted and did what I could from then on and then got out of there. Too much turkey and good food I guess but at least I was able to get done what I needed to. I also tried out a hook grip for the first time with the RDLs. It was a little uncomfortable but a lot stronger than my usual double overhand. I’ll keep using standard overhand until my worksets and then hook grip if needed to get used to it before my next 1RM tests.

20

November 29, 2009

Warmup
Face Pulls 60lbs x 15
Push Ups x 15
External Shoulder Rotation 25lbs x 15
Front Plank x 60"
Side Plank x 30"
45 Degree Back Raise x 15

Bench Press
8x3 @ 50% 1RM, 1’ rest
Bar x 10
95 x 5
135 x 5
155 x 5
165 x 3,3,3,3,3,3,3,3
205 x 3,3,3,3
135 x 5

Was feeling really good and the weight was moving quickly. Dave says to do a couple extra sets with a heavier weight on those days.

Tricep Press Down
Week Off

Rear Lateral Raises
3x10, 90" rest
Using the Fat Gripz
20lbs x 10,10,10

Tbar Row
1x6, 90" rest
Bar x 5
45 x 5
90 x 5
135 x 5
160 x 6
45 x 8

Used the Tbar to get more comfortable with a hook grip.