[quote]JoeGood wrote:
Thats still a fine weight for front squats dude.[/quote]
CONCUR!
[quote]Canada_K wrote:
This was a disappointing workout. Squats felt really, really heavy. I squatted 245 for 2 a month ago. Today I was stapled to the floor. So I mad eup for it by amping up the volume. I really wanted to deliver more, but I just didnt have it today.
Sigh.
[/quote]
I should imagine that it is more down to not having done them for a while than any real loss of strength. Do them again next week and you’ll probably make that straight back.
Today I’m going to slip back into “editorial” frame of mind. My literary/ethical muse regularly takes a rancid dump on my cranium, and this one has been cooking away for some time. Once you’ve read it through, consider sharing some of your own “aha” moments. Only truly life changing ephiphanies need apply.
My ?AHA? Moments
There have been a few pivotal moments in my life, where I?ve heard something that affected me so deeply I literally said ?AHA!? and re-oriented my world view on the spot. It?s a rare thing, and I remember them pretty vividly. They still rock my world to this day.
?Our children didn?t choose us as their parents. They were stuck with us, through no fault of their own.?
- Dr Phil
That?s right, folks. We didn?t become parents because we had any great qualifications. Just because you love your kids doesn?t mean you’re any good at parenting them. And nobody is checking to make sure you don?t suck. And if we do suck, what can our kids do about it? They have no recourse. The best that kids of lousy or neglectful parents can hope to do is to survive the experience and get out.
The moment I heard this I decided I wanted to be the kind of parent that, after my kids were grown up, they would look back on their lives and say to themselves ?If I?d had a choice I?d still choose that guy to be my dad?. I started looking at my little guys and asking myself, ?If I were them, what would I want my dad to be doing?? I started considering their perspective, and their needs (notice I didn?t say anything about ?wants? that?s a whole other issue).
?Don?t eat carbs and fat together at the same meal.?
- John Berardi
This one rocked my world, and on this forum I don?t need to explain why. I may have been converted to the idea right then and there, but it took me YEARS to successfully integrate it into my life.
?Do you smile when your kids walk into the room??
- Oprah Winfrey
What is the first thing that your kids are greeted with when they walk into the room? Do you yell at them to take off their shoes, criticize them about their rumpled clothes, or order them to hurry up because you have to leave for soccer in 15 minutes? What is the expression they see on your face? What are they feeling when you greet them?
Right after I heard this I decided my children needed to know that first and foremost I loved them and was happy to see them. And I can do that so easily just by giving them a big smile each and every time they walked into the room. After that was established we could worry about the other stuff.
Yes, there are many times where they really do need to take off their shoes, straighten their clothes, and hurry to get to soccer. But by starting out with a smile, it also put me in a more generous frame of mind. Think about it; is the kid more likely to do as you asked if he?s upset and defensive, or if he feels good?
It takes a hundred ?attaboys? to cancel out a single ?you idiot?. Since I know a couple of those second ones are going to slip out, I feel I might as well bank as many of those first ones as I can.
?You have to learn to follow the rules so that you can learn how to break them?
-John Berardi
I just heard this one last weekend. It does more to explain how we grow beyond being a newbie trainee than anything I?ve ever heard. When you first start training and eating, you need to follow a strict program, and a detailed diet plan. You need to learn the rules, and follow those rules religiously. Even though you are bombarded by alternatives, opinions, and, more importantly, advice from advanced trainees who are telling you ?stop being a slave to the rules, go by feel?.
Well, you don?t know how to go by feel. It takes, freaking YEARS! So learn the rules. Follow the rules. You?ll know when you?re ready to start free forming things when you get there, and don?t let anybody rush you.
“There’s a difference between lifting a weight, and owning a weight.”
-Rob Fortney
This is a really interesting way of looking at max lifts. When someone asks Fortney how much he can lift he doesn’t quote the best weight he’s ever managed once. He quotes the weight he can reliably, and repeatedly, score a solid single. I think that’s an important distinction. My best ever deadlift is 370. But I OWN 315. Even on a bad day, I can usually manage a triple. Quite frankly, I’m prouder of the 315. I believe this kind of thinking is less likely to push me into an injury.
excellent post Kent, right now my daughter is the only thing that makes me smile.
Wonderful stuff, Kent. Have you been following Strick’s and Bulldog’s threads?
Long post today. Last week was max effort week. I was mentally ready to push myself so i enjoyed it a lot. There is one very key difference between how I execute this program and how it was likely intended. If the program says 2 waves of 6/3/1, then I go as heavy as I can for 6, as heavy as I can for a triple, and then max out for a single… twice. Ya’know, hitting it bodybuilder style.
Chances are, this was instead supposed to emulate Wendler’s 531, where you keep significant energy in the tank for the set of 6 and the triple, building to a stellar max effort. I just can’t pass up the opportunity to go ba##s to the wall on every set. I’m probably missing the point, but I like the workload. I’m probably also missing the opportunity to actually increase my max strength…
JUST THE FACTS MA’AM
Overhead forward lunge - 6x95, 6x95
Front Squat - 5x205, 3x225, 2x245, 10x135, 4x275, 2x225, 1x230
BB split squat - 6x145, 6x145, 6x145
A1 BB step up - 7x95, 8x95, 8x95
A2 Reverse hyperextension - 13, 12, 12
T pushup - 7x10, 6x10, 6x10
A1 Bench - 5x205, 3x215, 2x225, 5x205, 3x215, 2x225
A2 T Bar row - 9x90, 3x135, 2x145, 7x90, 5x115, 3x135
B1 Renegade row - 6x60, 6x60, 5x60
B2 Dumbell punches - 5x75, 5x75, 5x75
B3 Rollout - 10, 9, 6
Overhead rear lunge - 6x95, 6x95
Deadlift - 6x295, 3x315, 1x335, 4x295, 2x315, 1x315
GHR - 4, 4, 4
A1 swissball leg curl - 12, 12
A2 Side plank - 60s, 55s
Scarecrow - 8x30, 8x30, 8x30
A1 Military press - 6x125, 3x140, 1x150, 6x125, 3x140, 1x145
A2 pullup - 6x35, 4x45, 2x55, 6x35, 3x50, 1x60 (PR)
B1 see-saw presses - 6x55, 6x55, 5x55
B2 chinups - 8, 7, 7
B3 Hanging Leg raises - 7, 6, 6
Rob Fortney has this great quote. “It’s one thing to be able to lift a weight. It’s another thing to be able to “own” a weight.” That’s a really neat shift of the brain for me. Since I heard that I’m less interested in getting another couple pounds off the floor, and more interested in being solid in the lift.
I got a similar brain adjustment during a conversation with a buddy who just won his natty pro card in the IDFA (Canada’s natural bodybuilding federation). He was telling me I probably wouldn’t be all that impressed by how much he lifts because he’s not shooting for the heaviest possible weight. Instead he’s really focusing on the mind-muscle-connection (I hate that term), the flex, the squeeze, the WORK, rather than the weight.
Clearly it’s something worth thinking about.
I got a bunch of cool crafts from my sons for father’s day. That pretty much makes life worth living.
Many of us , not all seem to mold the 5/3/1 to our liking which is why Lord Wendler added all these caveats to his newest installment such as singles on week 1 and 3 and more voluminous assistance work.
I understand that quote by Fortney totally, like I own a 435 DL I can lift 455, I own a 205 MP I can lift 215, even on my shittiest sessions I know I can get those up, not so much the latter.
Training looks great bro, I hope you had a great Fathers day
Nice work Kent- I like all the unilateral work.
Front squats take practice you’ll get better weights with repeated effort
that video was high-larious and the qoutes are all hmmmm
beradi is a smart guy.
Too busy! I’m dying over here, which is why I’m not in everyone’s logs like I should be.
It’s deload week.
JUST THE FACTS MA’AM
Overhead forward lunge - 6x45, 6x65, 6x85
Front Squat ? 10x135, 4x205, 10x155, 5x185, 10x135, 5x185
BB split squat ? 10x95, 10x95, 10x95
A1 BB step up ? 15x65, 15x65, 15x65
A2 Reverse hyperextension ? 10, 8, 6
T pushup - 7x10, 6x10, 6x10
A1 Bench ? 15x135, 8x185, 10x165, 5x205, 10x165, 5x205
A2 T Bar row ? 12x135, 8x185, 10x135, 6x185, 10x135, 5x185
B1 Renegade row ? 12x35, 10x40, 10x40
B2 Dumbell punches ? 12x50, 12x50, 12x50
B3 Rollout ? 10, 7, 8
Nice work in here. I liked reading about what your kids see when they get home. Made me remember to stop and put away the ‘stuff’ I take home from work that makes me look so tense and have a smile for the most important people in my life 
What does Just The Facts Ma’am mean?
Is it a program?
Are you going to get ripped from it?
I don’t have kids.
But I smile when I see my fish when I get home.
<3
The ladies are in the house!
Nikki - Whenever I’m doing a boring run down of workout stats, I always title it with “Just the Facts Ma’am”. WHich is aline from an old cop show. Bonus points if anyone can name it. Right now, post diet, I’m kinda just pushing weight and watching what I eat. Not pushing hard for any goal, just trying to keep my shape. Deep down in m heart of heart I really wanna get ripped up HARD, but it’s just not in my head space at the moment. I’ll have to settle for just moderate sexiness.
Coyotegal - Your avatar is incredibly distracting… and the fact you think about your kids makes you a good mom by definition.
nyc - I hate unilateral work… which is why I do it. Berardi has been an idol of mine for years. I’m a moderator at his website. Meeting him is a life-time high point. Having dinner with him was over-the-top cool.
Matty - Father’s day rocked. I’m a lucky guy. And the weights you “own” make me feel like a little bitch.
Cav - Yes I follow strick and dogg. Those two were among my first man-crushes when I initially wandered in here. I haven’t posted much in their logs lately because eventually it sounds stupid that all I cna say is fawn over how strong they are.
Brett - I am in the middle of doing a LOT of front squats. And yet the poundages I’m handling are kinda feeble. Progress in strength for me is a big battle, likely BECAUSE I’m not physically large. That’s the way it goes for the road I’ve chosen!
C_K, a 4 x 275 front squat is completely adequate.
185 lb front squat is your idea of deload?? And a 205 bench??? Pal, you’re way tougher than you think you are!!!
As for naming the old cop show, here’s a little hint to our contestants: “Thank God it’s Friday!”
OK, another post disappeared…apologies if it shows up twice.
The answer is Dragnet.
Did you know that Sgt. Joe Friday never actually spoke that line? The closest actual line from the show was “All we want are the facts ma’am.”
Not sure why I know that…I’m a font of useless information.
See, I’m 19. I… I didn’t know that answer.
=)
Ahh you see why I said nice work on the unilateral work.
Its good to do stuff you need good example.
and I see your front squats are creeping up nice work.
Well, I finished off my deload week Sunday. I was a little stressed out because I had in my head I wanted to take another run at a modified 531 starting on Monday, but I hadn’t laid out the program yet. I’m one of those people that doesn’t like to “free-form” things when I lift. I like to print off 3 months worth of workout sheets in advance and not think about it again.
Well, my kids decided to have fun exploring some of th ehouses under construction in the next neighborhood and son #2 took a belly flop from the 2nd floor and broke his wrist. We got to the ER at 10pm and as of right now (6:15 am) there’s still no end in sight. So I had plenty of time to cook up my next program.
The reason I’m not upset about the wait is because the doctors were busy all night trying to save another little boy’s life. I guess we’re lucky. My guy is in a comfy bed and they gave him the really good meds.
Time to go, they’re going to yank and cast his wrist.
Ouch, that happened to me when I was 15…not fun hope hes ok.
Hope the little guy is feeling better soon.