November 13, 2007

Explosive OHP:
45 x 10, 135 x 5, 225 x 3, 245 x 2, 275 x 3, 255 x 3

20 degree incline Dumbell press:
55 x 10, 75 x 10, 90 x 10 x 2

Shoulder Raises:
20 x 10 x 2 (front and side)

Chest Supported Row:
65 x 10 x 3

Seated Cable Row:
200 x 10, 180 x 10 x 2

Rotator Cuff:
5 x 5 x 3

Hammer Curl:
30 x 10, 40 x 10

Tricep Extensions with Rope:
130 x 10 x 2

Wood Choppers:
130 x 10 x 2 (each side)

Forearm Pulldowns:
90 x 10 x 2

Spider Curls:
25 x 10, 40 x 10

Dumbell Shrugs:
100 x 10 x 3

Good workout today. Got back into OHP which I need to do badly. Felt pretty good. I think I am getting my strength back. Took some Gaspari Super Pump and a Cytolean before the workout so I felt pretty jacked throughout. I am really excited to have had such an intense workout. My focus in the gym is a lot better. I did a lot of super sets and I was really only lifting for about an hour and a half. I feel a lot more mentally strong, and I actually was happy to be hitting the weights. I think a big part of it is seeing some huge fuckers at the Big Iron meet and I know I have to lift harder, eat better, and train smarter to get that big and strong.

November 11, 2007

Barbell Back Squat:
45 x 10, 135 x 5, 225 x 3, 315 x 2, 365 x 2, 405 x 1, 405 x 1, 440 x 1, 480 x 1

Rack Pause Good Mornings:
135 x 5 x 2, 185 x 5 x 2, 225 x 5

Static Ab Hold:
3 sets x bodyweight x max time (unknown)

Kneeling Pulldown Abs:
220 x 10 x 3

Went up to the APF Hussey Classic in Omaha all day before the workout. I ate a shit-load of food all day and felt really motivated and strong. I wanted to get in a good squat workout. Pulled out all the gear and suited up for the first time in 10 months. Felt pretty good out of the hole, but I don't get a lot of power out of my old Inzer Champion suit. Hopefully I will get a really good suit and start working all my ME squat up at Big Iron Gym. I was really impressed by all the lifters I saw and it got me really pumped for training.

The Road to Recovery

So I have not posted in a very long time. I have been training during the past few months, but somehow I lost track of everything I have been doing. Basically I backed off a lot on squat and deadlift and let my back heal. Things definitely are not 100% but I am feeling like surgery can definitely be avoided if I stay smart. I have done a lot of tire flips and slater stone pickups to keep my back and legs strong, and I am seriously considering getting back into powerlifting to regain my base strength and help with strongman in the spring. At any rate my passion for lifting is as strong as ever. Recently I was asked to write a descriptive essay for an English class. I chose to describe my experience during a set of squats and all the things it made me think of as a lifter. I got an A on the essay so it must have some value.

Beyond Human Strength


As I look at my reflection in the mirror I see the crazed look in my eyes, the sweat glistens on my forehead, veins pop out of my neck, chaos breaks loose, but somehow I am collected. The fix is in my hands and with every motion I satisfy my addiction. It is a compulsive drive within that pushes me. “Just one more,” I say. Again and again I push it; “One more” always “One more.” I am addicted; not to crack, heroin, alcohol, sex, caffeine, or vicodin, but something more primitive, something more primal that makes me jitter for a fix. I am addicted to iron, or more precisely, I am addicted to the pursuit of strength.

I step up towards the squat rack. It is white with gray metal rails and black plastic-covered pegs that hold the bar. The floor beneath me is made of gray rubber mats with some white and blue speckling throughout. The floor is also partially covered in white dust from lifting chalk and a little bit of what appears to be dried sweat. At this moment though, none of this matters. The set is at hand. This set is what I have been waiting for all day. These few repetitions of squat are where I prove my mettle.

Reaching out, I grab the bar. It is cold and rough, but the blood is flowing hot through my body. I grasp the bar tightly securing my thumbs over my index fingers. My knees bend as I step forward sinking myself below the bar perched so loftily in the rack. The bar and the massive load on it enrage me sitting so there so coolly. It’s as if the bar shouts out, “Gravity is on my side! You can not win!” I feel the anger filling me, pushing me into a physical and mental zone most people can not reach. The music in the background is loud and angry which is exactly how I will be throughout this set. I position my body under the bar; drawing my shoulder blades tight together, I dig into the bar with my upper back. The bar rests in the groove between my trapezius muscles and my rear deltoids. Pushing hard with my legs, I stand up completely. Begrudgingly, the bar yields. The cumbersome weight now rests solely on my back. I take a few steps back.

With the massive weight bearing down on me, a capillary in my left nostril bursts, blood is slowly streaming out, dripping down from my nose, across my mouth, and into my goatee. I refuse to stop; my addiction will be satisfied here and now. From somewhere slightly above my kidneys, a powerful hormone unleashes itself, buttressing the force of my muscles and my willpower. “Aaahh!” I shout. The adrenaline courses through me, moving faster with every heartbeat. Blood flows into my muscles, my heart rate and breathing quicken, my pupils narrow, and the surge takes hold of me.

It’s the surge that’s the best part. It rushes over me enveloping my body like a cyclone of equal parts blind rage and placid tranquility. Everything in the world dies out. The music in the background is silenced, the shouts of my training partners fade out, and even my own yells don’t register. There is nothing in my field of vision, just white all around. Thought shuts off and instinct kicks in. This is nothing new. I’ve done it a thousand times, but every time its life or death. Lock it out or get buried under it. Here is where hot blood meets cold steel. This is where adrenaline and gravity battle it out, where the iron will and the iron barbell collide to see who is more forceful.

All thoughts of executing the lift fade out. Somehow I know to maintain the arch in my lumbar region. I know to keep my head up, my eyes focused straight ahead. Instinctively, I breathe hard, driving the air into the depths of my lungs far down into the diaphragm, holding it there to increase my intra-abdominal pressure. My abdominal muscles stay tight; likewise, my spinal erectors stiffen. Unconsciously, I tell my self, “Sit back, spread the floor.” Downward I descend until my hip joint sits below my kneecap; my hamstrings are parallel to the floor. Now I drive hard with my legs pushing as if I wanted to bust through the floor with my feet. Up and up, I strain hard under the weight pushing with everything I have until finally I stand erect once more.

“One rep down, seven more to go,” I tell myself. Twice more I descend, and twice more I stand up. The pain takes over my whole body. It tries to make me stop, but I don’t let it. “The pain is lying,” I tell myself. In a strange way it feels good to hurt so badly. There is a sadistic joy in the way it hurts. The pain becomes almost a souvenir by which I commemorate the brief journey to the outer limits of my potential. My mind tries to shut it out, my thought drift away. Still I know I am safe, my body knows what to do. I find that I am not thinking so much about the lift, as what it means.

All my life I have been fascinated by strength. I always looked at the guys lifting the big weights and knew that is what I wanted to do with my life. From my youngest days I sought to be the biggest and strongest I could be. I love to lift, but it is more than an interest or hobby, it is part of who I am. It is something I can not live without. At times it seems like I kill myself just to satisfy my addiction to weightlifting.

From somewhere I hear a shout, “Three more, Joe. Three more!” A thought creeps into my head, “I think it must take a very different sort of person to want to put several hundred pounds on their back and sit down with it just to see if they can stand back up,” but I do not let this thought dissuade me. It occurs to me that this is my world, my life, my addiction, my passion. I live on the border of control and insanity. Life is short, but with every repetition I live an eternity in a split second. Everything I love and hate; all of my beliefs and all my doubts come together, and in that short time all thought is relevant and yet highly transitory. I have spent years working toward this moment. Twelve hours a week spent in the weight room learning the technique, and countless hours scouring books, journals, magazines, and internet websites looking for information on how to construct my routine, how to do more, how to get better. This is the payoff; here is where I prove the value of my hard work and dedication.

“Stay tight, one more rep!” I hear from what seems like miles away. My legs feel like someone is holding an arc welder to them. Inside I feel a tremendous sting in my lungs. I feel like a drunk in a planetarium because I see stars and everything seems to be spinning. This is where I realize it is more than the here and now. There is more to this passion than the gray rubber mats that cover the weight room floor. It is more than the palms of my hands covered in chalk, blood, and calluses; more than the smell of a freshly cracked ammonia capsule turning from white to red as the chemical reaction takes place, the odor of it stinging my nostrils, clearing my mind, filling me with rage for the big lift. This is not just part of my life, it is my life. The moment at hand, this is all the protein shakes I choked down for that extra rep; all the late nights I passed up on so I could train harder the next day. This is my rebuttal to all the people who said I couldn’t do it.

This is the life I chose; a life in pursuit of super-human strength. It makes me different. Some people look at my dedication with admiration, while others can never understand my passion for lifting. Some even taunt me with questions like “Why would anyone want to be that strong anyway?” Instead of breaking them in half I go home and rip a phone book in half to beef up my grip. It’s an odd paradigm to live in. Every time I drive past a big rock I look at it and ask myself if I could pick it up. When I see an all-you-can-eat buffet I look at it as a challenge, not an offering. Pain becomes a friend and pleasure becomes the enemy. I lift heavy things, only in the pursuit of lifting things heavier still.

“Finish!” I hear the shout. Exhausted but determined, I strain. From somewhere deep within I feel the push, my legs straighten all the way. I step forward and instinctively lower the bar. Instantly, the strain is gone, the bar is in the rack, the lift is over, and the music is back on. The shouts of encouragement I could barely hear only a second before have changed into clearly audible congratulations from my training partners. “Great set,” they say, “Isn’t that a new personal best?” The world is no longer white. Everything emerges once more into focus, but slightly obscured by the stars in my eyes. Suddenly, I am surrounded once more by the sights and sounds of the weight room. The rack and that God-awful bar, all seven feet long, forty five pounds, 1 and 3/8” thick, slightly textured come into focus. The six forty-five pound weight plates on each side of the bar appear - the cargo from my journey to that outer realm of ability.

The set is over; I look back into the mirror. The sweat is still there. The veins still slightly protrude, but they will subside eventually. I’ve had my fix. I have satisfied my addiction for the time being, but passing this goal means the bar gets set higher next time. I look into the mirror and then I look at the bar. It strikes me how oddly similar they are in function. With the mirror I look at myself. Under the bar I look within myself.

DE Squat

Squat:
45 x 10, 135 x 5, 225 x 5, 275 x 3, 315 x 3, 365 x 2 (stopped due to bulging disk)

Snatch Squat:
135 x 3

Hammer Curl:
25 x 20, 2 sets 30 x 15, 35 x 12, 40 x 10, 45 x 8, 55 x 6, 60 x 5

Pull down abs:
80 x 10, 3 sets 110 x 10

Hanging Knee Raises:
3 sets 8 x bw

Hamstring Curls:
2 sets 10 x Ave BAnd

So I fucked up my back again. I am pretty sure I will go under the knife. I can not live like this any more. I was so loose in my hips and hamstrings before I squatted. I had my belt on, pushed my abs out, arched my back, and sat back in the squat. I still managed to get hurt. I have absolutely no confidence in squat or deadlift anymore. I am very scared to even work legs at this point. Without consistent access to heavy spinal traction and a reverse hyper, I see no solution except having the disk surgically removed along with the bone fragments and having the vertabrae fused.

Mobility and Core

Went in and did stationary bike for 20 minutes. I did a full range of hip and hamstring mobility work as well as some shoulder prehab. I felt really good and loose. I did some standing pulldown abs, and some 45 degree oblique work.

Lats, Traps, and Biceps

OHP:
135 x 3, 225 x 3, 275 x 2, 290 x 0

One Arm Dumbbell Rows:
80 x 10, 85 x 10, 95 x 10

Lat Pulldowns:
200 x 8, 210 x 8, 220 x 8, 230 x 8

Standing Neutral Cable Rows:
210 x 10, 3 sets 250 x 10

Reverse Flies:
25 x 10, 2 sets 30 x 10

Hammer Curls:
30 x 10, 35 x 10, 40 x 10

EZ Curls:
2 sets 110 x 10

Tate Curls:
2 sets 90 x 10

Jump Shrugs:
225 x 10, 315 x 10, 405 x 10


I know I did some kind of core as well, but I can't remember what. I thought I was going to have a heart attack. I took my normal pre-workout drink, but I also took 200 mg Caffeine, 100 mg Ginseng, and 25 mg Ephedra. Worst idea ever. I was tweaking something terrible. I lost my balance bad on 290 OHP I got my arms straightened but couldn't lock my legs back out. It all hit at once so I felt like shit for 30 minutes and then I felt better. I thought the workout was pretty easy, but I'm still feeling sore two days later.

DE Press

Strict OHP:
135 x 3, 185 x 2, 185 x 3, 3 sets 155 x 5

Explosive OHP w/ Mini Bands:
135 x 5, 185 x 3, 225 x 3, 245 x 2, 225 x 3, 205 x 5

Neutral Grip Dumbell OHP:
55 x 10, 2 sets 60 x 8

Bent Press:
55 x 6, 70 x 5, 75 x 5

Overhead dumbbell Tricep Extension:
3 sets 10 x 35

Shoulder Raises:
10 x 25, 10 x 30

Rotator Cuff Press:
3 sets 5 x 10

Continental Clean & Pushpress:
3 sets 5 x 135, 3 x 185

Kneeling Pulldown Abs:
3 sets 10 x 230

Torso Rotation:
2 sets 10 x 90


This is all I can remember. I thought it was a pretty good workout.

ME Squat

Dynamic Warmup

Squat:
135 x 5, 225 x 5, 315 x 3, 365 x 2, 405 x 1, 455 x 1, 425 x 2, 405 x 2

Hamstring Curls:
3 sets 10 x Average Band

Hip Extensions:

2 sets 10 x Average Band

Pullthroughs:
2 sets 10 x Average Band

Hatfield Raises:
3 sets 10 x 25

Side Bend Abs:
2 sets 15 x 210

Standing Pulldown Abs:
3 sets 10 x 120

45 degree Back Raise:
3 sets 10 x BW + 25


There may have been more, its been 5 days since this workout. I've been too lazy to post all week because I've been kiling myself in the weightroom. This is all I remember doing. I found my low back to be too weak in my squats so I'm working hard on it right now. I probably need to start deadlifting again.

Hip/Hamstring mobility

I only had about 20 minutes in the gym due to my friend Garrett's car troubles putting me in a pinch for time. I went in and did a bunch of dynamic leg stretching to get ready for squat the next day. It felt good and I felt really loose. I think these short prehab workouts are the way to go on my 'off' days.

Lats, Traps, and Biceps

Hang Clean:
5 x 45, 8 x 135, 3 x 185, 2 x 225, 1 x 245, 3 x 265, 3 x 265

One-Arm Dumbbell Rows:
10 x 80, 10 x 85, 10 x 90

Dumbbell Cleans:
3 x 70, 1 x 90, 3 x 80, 3 x 90

Neutral Dumbbell Holds:
65 x 30 seconds, 70 x 30 seconds

Dumbbell Shrugs:
10 x 95, 10 x 100, 10 x 105, 10 x 110

Overhead Shrugs:
3 sets 10 x 135

Lat Pulldowns:
5 x 120, 5 x 160, 5 x 170, 5 x 180, 5 x 190, 5 x 200

Forearm pulldowns:
10 x 80, 2 sets 10 x 110

Reverse Flys:
3 sets 10 x 25

Band-Assisted Chins:
2 sets 5 x BW - Ave Band

Hammer Curls:
10 x 30, 10 x 35, 10 x 40, 8 x 45

Spider Curls:
10 x 25, 10 x 30, 10 x 35

Over/Under Curls:
3 sets 12 x 80

Forearm Circuit:
3 times: 10 x 10 (flexion), 10 x 10 (extension), 10 x 20 (seated hammer curl)

Static band crunches:
3 sets 5 x average band (held for 5 sec each)

Wood Choppers:
2 sets 15 x 120


So I pretty much went in and tried to kill my upper back, arms, and core for about 2 1/2 hours. Watching NSM this weekend got me really motivated. I felt really good about the hang clean and dumbbell clean. I am very sore today after that workout. I felt sort of puss doing band-assisted chins. but I have to build myself up to real pullups to get the Lats I want. My Lats hurt a lot today so I know I hit them hard. I have learned to activate them more in the press and work them harder when pulling. I am so psyched to train hard until school starts and train even harder when my workout partners get back. I can't wait for the day when all 3 of us can enter a contest and make podium finishes in our weight classes. Also I am pumped about the bad-ass professor that might start training with us.

A Trip to Nebraska's Strongest Man

So I was unable to compete in this years Nebraska's Strongest Man due to recovery from a bicep injury, but I went up with some friends to watch my training partner and be a handler for him and cheer him on. This was one of the happiest days of my life. I never felt more at home than I did around the athletes and some of the spectators there. Chuck put on an amazing performance and won his division. he beat out some very stiff competition and performed pretty much flawlessly. I was so happy for him. He is a great friend and a wonderful training partner and I can't think of anyone who works harder or who deserves it more. Chuck has worked through and overcome a lot of injuries to make it this far and I am really motivated and inspired to get past my injuries so I can compete at that level in the near future. Being around that kind of hard-core bad assery all day and seeing huge guys man handle heavy things has me in the right frame of mind for some awesome workouts the rest of the summer. I was so happy for Chuck. I was also very glad my other friends came out and saw what Troy, Chuck, and I train for. I think awareness of the sport is the best way for it to grow and get closer to mainstreamness. It is truly exciting and always interesting. There is so much possibilty for variance in competitions so it would be great to see more public recognition. I feel great about training and I know I have to push myself harder since my workout partner is the reigning Nebraska's Strongest Man.

ME Press

OHP:
45 x 5, 135 x 5, 185 x 3, 225 x 2, 245 x 2, 265 x 1, 280 x 3, 300 x 2 (failed), 270 x 4, 250 x 3

Hammer Curl and Press:
3 sets 55 x 6

Close Grip Bench w/ mini bands:
135 x 10, 175 x 10, 155 x 10, 135 x 10

Explosive One Arm OHP:
80 x 5 (each arm), 85 x 3 (right arm), 85 x 1 (left arm)

Bent Press:
60 x 8, 60 x 5, 70 x 5

EZ Curl Tricep Extensions:
3 sets 90 x 10

Overhead Cable Extensions:
140 x 5, 120 x 10, 120 x 8

Kneeling Pulldown Abs:
170 x 10, 190 x 10, 210 x 10, 230 x 10

Shoulder Raises:
2 sets 20 x 10 (front and side)

Rotator Cuff Rotation and Press:
2 sets 10 x 3

Spiders:
45 x 40, 2 sets 135 x 20

Plate Pinched Wrist Curls:
3 sets 10 x 10 (flexsion and extension)

Push up and Row:
3 sets 30 x 6

Dumbbell Wrist Curls:
2 sets 25 x 10


This was an excellent workout. I set two PRs for reps (280 x 3, 270 x 4) on OHP and nearly had 300 for 2. I felt very explosive and things felt easy. I tried explosive one-arm OHP but I quickly lost steam and moved to bent press instead. I felt a lot of Lat activation on the bent press. I need to remember to do these more. My chest kind of hurt on band bench, but I did 4 sets anyway. Everything else was pretty standard, but I was elated to hit reps solidly on OHP.

ME Squat

Back Squat:
45 x 10, 135 x 5, 225 x 3, 315 x 2, 405 x 1, 440 x 1, 465 x 1

Power Squat Cleans:
3 sets 135 x 6

This was all I did today. I only had 45 minutes in the gym, but after getting stretched out and ready to go I really got about 35 minutes. I wanted to see where my squat was so I decide to max out once I felt good and loose. I was very happy with what I did and I am glad to see that I have not lost anything. the last time I went over 425 was back in late March so I am thrilled to be doing over 455 still. I did power squat cleans going ass to the grass. these are very difficult from a conditioning standpoint. The first set I did a ful c&j on every rep, but the last two sets I only pressed it on the very last rep of the set. I had very little time in gym before they closed, but I'm glad I went in and did something, and I think the lifts I did give you the most bang for your buck.

DE Upper Body

OHP:
45 x 10, 135 x 8, 185 x 5, 195 x 5, 205 x 5, 215 x 5, 225 x 5

Neutral Grip Dumbbell Bench:
90 x 10, 2 sets 80 x 10

Shoulder Raises:
3 sets 20 x 10

Lat Pulldowns:
7 x 190, 6 x 200, 6 x 210, 6 x 220

Standing Neutral Cable Rows:
3 sets 10 x 220

Reverse Flies:
3 sets 20 x 10

Hammer Curls:
3 sets 35 x 10

Tricep Pressdowns:
170 x 10, 190 x 10, 210 x 9


Training Strongman with Chuck in the afternoon showed me I have a long way to go before I am ready to compete. I decided to peel my sore ass off the couch and go into the gym later that night and do a DE upper body day. I chose two primary and one supplemental movement and one isolation movement and worked the exact opposition grooves for the same amount of reps as well. the workout was short, intense, and very productive. I think the combination of both workouts was incredibly effective because even two days later my entire body is incredibly sore.

Strongman Events

Log Press:
150 x 5, 150 x 4, 200 x 4, 200 x 2, 230 x 1, 230 x 1

Farmers Walk:
420 pounds total x 60'

Tire Flip:
550-600 pound tire 60' in 50 seconds

Picked up kegs loaded to various weights, Picked up Concrete slab in the likeness of the husafell stone

The events absolutely kicked my ass. I was in no kind of shape for the intensity of the events and the heat we trained them in. My cardio sucked sweaty donkey balls, and my low back felt extremely puss. I had a hard time just breathing doing the tire flip. I damn near was unable to make the last flip because I was so winded. The log press was a huge learning experience. Chuck had told me the clean was very difficult and it proved to be just that. I worked so hard to get 230 to my chest that by the time I went to press it I just missed locking it out both times. I sucked in the farmers walk because my hands have lost all their calluses since I have not been deadlifitng. I also really struggled just to stand up with the weights. But this was a tremendous learning experience. I had so much fun even though I did not do very well. I am more motivated to train and compete than ever before. Also I was so happy to see Chuck hit 2 PRs that day with a 270 log press and 210' in the farmers walk. He was also only 2/10s of a second off his best tire flip time even though he stumbled badly on one flip. I really think he has a great shot at the NSM and he's been training really hard and deserves it. I learned that I need to get my low back stronger, get stronger lats and abs, and practice the events more so my conditioning improves. After training we laid into the USA Steak Buffett pretty well and I felt like we both got our moneys worth. The thing about that hardcore training is you just want to eat everything in sight afterward. I am very excited about helping Chuck at the contest this weekend and seeing the guys I'll be competing against next year.

Maximum Dynamics Upper Body

OHP:
10 x 45, 5 x 135, 2 x 225, 1 x 245, 1 x 275, 2 x 290 (failed)

OHP w/ mini bands:
135 x 5, 155x 5, 175 x 5

Reverse Band Bench:
225 x 5, 315 x 5, 365 x 3, 405 x 2, 455 x 1

Hammer Curl and Press:
3 sets 5 x 60

Overhead Triceps Extension:
3 sets 10 x 70, 15 x 70

EZ Curl:
3 sets 5 x 70

Hammer Curl:
10 x 20, 10 x 25, 10 x 30, 10 x 35, 10 x 40, 6 x 45

Shoulder Raise:
2 sets 10 x 20 (front and side)


So yes I went in and flexed some patriotic muscle on the fourth. I was feeling jacked for OHP and I felt good. I got 290 to arms length, but did not re-lock my knees so I can't count it. I know its there. Now I just have to hit it with confidence. I did reverse band bench for the first time with Average bands. This felt good, very similar to benching in a shirt. I may have to use the safety catches to lower the band and take some tension out next time though. I did not have a long time to work out so I did what I could. I went on the 80/20 principle and kept it as compound as possible. I felt good throughout. Today I feel extremely sore in my Lats and Abs, so some lift must have hit them hard in there yesterday.

Traps and Biceps

Barbell Shrugs:
10 x 135, 10 x 225, 3 sets 10 x 315

Overhead Barbell Shrugs:
3 sets 10 x 135

Dumbbell Hack Shrugs Seated:
4 sets 10 x 70

Standing Dumbbell Shrugs:
2 sets 10 x 90

Hammer Curls:
2 sets 10 x 30, 8 x 35, 8 x 40, 6 x 45, 6 x 55

Seated Spider Curls:
3 sets 10 x 25

Reverse Grip EZ Bar Curls:
2 sets 10 x 70

Tate Curls:
3 sets 10 x 70 (each arm)

Cable Curls:
2 sets 10 x 110, 3 sets 10 x 80



Got a little pissed today. Found myself in a ridiculous argument and saw that all my plans for the night were not going to materialize (seperate incidents). So I went in and decided to move some weights. Usually I would have worked Lats and Forearms too, but I'll save that for press. Hack Shrugs felt good. You just sit really far forward and let the dumbbells get behind you and then shrug away. They really get your traps to flare out to the back.

Chest/Shoulder Prehab

Bench:
10 x 45, 5 x 135, 3 x 225, 2 x 275, 1 x 315, 1 x 350(failed)

Incline Bench:
5 sets 10 x 45

Dumbbell OHP (strict):
10 x 50, 10 x 45, 10 x 40, 10 x 35, 10 x 30

Shoulder Raise:
10 x 15

Plate Swims:
Some weight x some reps

Hammer Curls:
2 sets 10 x 25

Overhead Tricep Extensions:
2 sets 10 x 25


I was feeling sluggish when I went in to this one so I decided to take it as a prehab workout. I don't feel sore today so I will try again Monday or Tuesday.

Lats, Traps, and Biceps

Chest Supported Incline Row:
10 x 50, 3 sets 10 x 55

Standing Cable Row:
2 sets 10 x 200, 2 sets 10 x 220, 2 sets 10 x 240

Close Grip Pulldowns:
2 sets 10 x 140, 2 sets 10 x 160

Reverse Flies:
10 x 20, 10 x 25, 10 x 30

Dumbbell Shrugs:
6 x 105, 6 x 110, 6 x 115, 6 x 120, 6 x 125

Dumbbell Jump Shrugs:
10 x 125, 10 x 120, 10 x 115

Overhead Shrugs:
15 x 45, 2 sets 10 x 135, 15 x 135

Hammer Curls:
10 x 20, 10 x 25, 2 sets 10 x 30, 8 x 35, 8 x 40, 6 x 50

Tate Curls:
2 sets 10 x 70 (each arm)

Over Under Curls:
3 sets 12 x 90 (switched grip after 6)

Neutral Dumbbell Hold:
65 x 30 seconds, 70 x 45 seconds


This was a really good workout. I went in, got to work, and felt good throughout. I am feeling a big difference in my Lats and forearms and its becoming apparent that I am working them more, and correctly. I did no forearm isolation. I am saving this for Friday or Saturday.

DE Squat Volume

Box Squat:
15 x 45, 5 x 135, 5 x 155, 5 x 175, 5 x 195, 5 x 215, 5 x 235, 5 x 255, 5 x 275, 5 x 295

45 Degree Calf Raise:
3 sets 10 x 450

Kneeling Pulldown Abs:
15 x 180, 15 x 200, 15 x 220

This was the whole workout. I got tired of waiting for some Chinese guy to quit dicking around with the 45 degree raise so I plan on working 45 degree back raise and side bend obliques with Lats and Biceps today (June 27). I was tired, but I squatted loose thanks to rediscovering some, uh, lets call it partner assisted hip and low back mobility/ GPP work, that had been missing from my routine for the last few weeks. I did heavy calfs and some abs and called it since I had to work early. Two more days of my shitty job and then I get a better one where I can get enough sleep and not beat myself up all day. SO for now any leg workout is a good one.

Incline Volume

Incline Bench:
10 x 45, 5 x 135, 3 x 185, 5 x 245, 5 x 235, 5 x 225, 8 x 215, 8 x 205, 8 x 195

Neutral Grip Explosive OHP:
5 x 60, 5 x 65, 5 x 70, 5 x 75, 5 x 80

Partial Static OHP W/ Mini Bands:
10 x 95, 3 sets 5 x 115

Hammer Curl and Press:
3 sets 6 x 55

Shoulder Raises (front and side):
2 sets 10 x 25

Incline Flies:
10 x 25, 10 x 30, 10 x 35

Overhead Tricep extension (w/ dumbbells):
2 sets 10 x 35

OH Tricep Cable Extension:
3 sets 10 x 150

Static Stretch Band Crunch Holds:
5 sets of 5, each held for a 5 count

Wrist Curls:
2 sets of 10 extension and flexion with 10# plate

COC holds:
3 holds of 30 seconds with Trainer

This was a nice workout. I felt completely jacked throughout. Everything in my life is going smoothly now and I feel extra motivated and encouraged to lift. I took my thyroid medicine for the first time in 2 1/2 years today and my energy felt much better. I shocked up for this one and got a serious pump. I know the incline volume will hurt for the next few days, but I want larger upper pecs and pec-delt tie ins. I did partial range OHP with the mini bands choked around the bottom of the squat rack. I just wanted to blast the triceps overhead and indirectly work the lats and abs for support. This was extremely difficult and I will be sure to mix these into my regular training.

Lats, Traps, and Biceps

Dumbbell Shrugs:
10 x 80, 10 x 85, 10 x 90, 10 x 95, 10 x 100

Overhead Barbell Shrugs:
3 sets 10 x 45, 3 sets 10 x 95, 3 sets 10 x 135

Overhead dumbbell shrugs:
3 sets 10 x 25

Lat Pulldowns:
10 x 140, 10 x 160, 10 x 180, 10 x 200

Standing Cable Rows:
2 sets 10 x 200, 2 sets 10 x 220, 2 sets 10 x 240

Standing Hammer Curl:
10 x 20, 10 x 25, 10 x 30, 10 x 35, 10 x 40, 10 x 45, 5 x 50

Incline Seated Spider Curl:
3 sets 10 x 25

Standing Reverse Grip EZ Curl:
2 sets 10 x 70

Reverse Flies:
3 sets 10 x 25

Neutral Grip Holds:
65 x 1 min, 70 x 1 min 5 sec, 75 x 45 sec.

Forearm extension and flexion:
2 sets 10 x 20, 10 x 25

Bicep and forearm dynamic rotation:
3 sets 10 x 15

A very bicep heavy weekend workout. The only new or special thing here were the neutral grip holds to blast my lats and get them used to being under tension. I took the idea from Chuck because he does log holds to work his Lats for the log press. Things went well and the bicep feels 100% again. Felt extra motivated that day. Everything is coming together nicely.

ME Press

Incline Bench:
10 x 45, 5 x 135, 3 x 185, 2 x 225, 2 x 265, 2 x 255, 2 x 245, 2 x 235

OHP:
10 x 45, 5 x 135, 3 x 185, 3 x 135, 6 x 225, 6 x 225, 8 x 225

Hammer Curl and Press:
3 sets 6 x 55

Neutral Incline Bench:
10 x 65, 10 x 70, 8 x 70

Incline Flies:
3 sets 10 x 25

Shoulder Raises:
2 sets 10 x 20 (front and side)

Standing Cable Rows:
10 x 140, 10 x 160, 10 x 180, 10 x 200, 10 x 220

This was an alright workout. My shoulder got a little fucked up on my first sets of incline because I forgot to tuck my shoulders and elbows. So it was feeling a little sore and tight throughout the workout. I think I was sluggish at first, but I got to thinking how shitty my weekend went and I started throwing around the weight. I finished strong and it felt good. I did no tricep isolation to sav emy elbows. I did no abs but I will do some tonight along with elliptical. I liked incline flies for improving my pec delt tie ins and helping my static bicep strength especially where I was injured.

Lats, Traps, and Biceps

Lat Pulldowns:
10 x 130, 10 x 140, 10 x 150, 10 x 160, 10 x 170, 10 x 180

Standing Cable Rows:
10 x 140, 10 x 160, 10 x 180, 10 x 200

One Arm Dumbbell Rows:
10 x 80, 10 x 85, 10 x 90

Dumbbell Shrugs:
10 x 85, 10 x 120, 10 x 125

Overhead Dumbbell Shrugs:
10 x 20, 10 x 25, 10 x 30

Overhead Barbell Shrugs:
4 sets 10 x 45, 2 sets 10 x 95, 2 sets 10 x 135

Hammer Curls:
10 x 25, 3 sets 10 x 30, 8 x 45

Standing Overhead Curl:
3 sets 10 x 50

Cable Torso Rotation:
2 sets 10 x 70

45 degree oblique raises:
2 sets 10 x bodyweight, 1 set 10 x BW + 20

Forearm extension and flexsion:
3 sets 10 x 20

Finger Tip dumbbell holds:
2 holds w/ 25 for 15 seconds each hand

This was a pretty standard pull workout. I found out about overhead shrugs from an article on T-Nation so I tried them and they work very well. I decided to work obliques today in my ab work but only did 2 exercises since I'll be installing office furniture for 6 hours tomorrow at work I want to be able to bend somewhat. My bicep is feeling really good and my forearms are starting to look pretty jacked. I had a lot of stuff pop out in my wrist today and its feeling better.

DE Squat

Warmup:
Hip and Hamstring stretching, lunges, good mornings, zercher leans, squat cleans

Box Squat:
10 x 45, 5 x 135, 3 x 185, 3 x 225, 3 x 275, 3 x 315, 3 x 365, 1 x 405

Squat Cleans:
3 sets 6 x 135

Box Jumps:
4 x 30, 3 x 50, 3 x 50, 3 x 55, 3 x 60

45 degree calf raise:
3 sets 10 x 270

45 degree back raise:
3 sets 10 x bodyweight

Kneeling Pulldown Abs:
20 x 150, 20 x 170, 20 x 190

Farmer's Walk:
120 x 240', 125 x 240'


This was a different workout than what I'm used to. I had thought about doing box squats with bands, but due to the tools in the power rack curling this was not possible. I decided to just work regular box squats and just did triples going up. I felt very good on these and they were feeling really strong. I think my form is getting better and I'm really learning how to breath into my stomach and push out against my belt to stay tight. I felt especially strong on 365 so I decided to try a set at 405. I got the first one up easily but I was seeing stars so I decided to rack it on account of not having a spotter. I did 3 sets of squat cleans after the box squat. I was going ass to the grass and taking a fairly narrow stance. I tried to pull myself under the bar and bounce out of the hole. These were challenging from a conditioning standpoint because I took little rest between sets, but this is how I need to prepare for the rigors of strongman. I felt these working my quads which I need to get some work on since wider stance box squatting places more stress on the hamstrings. I did box jumps after the cleans using the 12" box. These felt very explosive and I was easily 3-4" inches over the box with all the weights. I decided not to do any pullthrough or goodmornings today to give my low back and hamstrings a break. I did my 45 degree back raise and its getting to be too easy with just bodyweight so I'm going to have to start adding bands or weight. I only did one ab exercise again today because I was feeling so drained, but tomorrow I will do a lot more since its only lats and biceps day.

DE Press

Incline Bench:
10 x 45, 5 x 135, 2 x 185, 3 sets 5 x 225

Static Standing OHP (w/ mini bands):
3 sets 5 x 135

Explosive OHP:
5 x 135, 2 x 185, 7 x 225

Standing Hammer Curl and Press:
5 x 50, 2 sets 5 x 55

Neutral Dumbbell Incline:
12 x 60, 10 x 65, 8 x 70

Incline lateral shoulder raise:
3 sets 10 x 15

Standing Nuetral Grip Front Shoulder raise:
2 sets 10 x 25

Standing Cable Rows:
10 x 140, 10 x 160, 10 x 180, 10 x 200

Zottman Curls:
12 x 20, 12 x 25, 12 x 30

Spiders:
30 x 45, 44 x 65, 60 x 85

Hanging Knee Raise:
3 sets 10 x bodyweight

This workout was a big change for me. I am starting to feel close to 100% with my right bicep so I am getting back into OHP and dumbbell work. I did some incline today and I know for a fact that I need to work hard on this. I have almost no power on my incline. I did sets of 5 with 225 and even though I didn't struggle, they certainly weren't easy. I can throw 225 around on flat bench like bitch weight. I can do 25 reps with it, but I'm sure I can't do more than 8 or 9 on incline. This tells me that my upper pecs are small, weak, and imbalanced which could be setting me up for an injury. In fact last November I had a bad strain in my left upper pec that kept me from benching for 2 weeks. I think I am going to base the core of my upper body work around incline for the next 4-5 weeks because my wrists aren't feeling quite up to a lot of OHP volume. I did try a set of 225 to failure going explosive with the overhead but I couldn't get the 8th rep. I have done 10 before, but its been a while since I have done a lot of straight bar OHP. I am going to take it slow and do whatever I can to make my upper chest and shoulders strong. I did some incline lateral raises today and found these to be excellent for hitting the lateral and rear heads of the deltoids. They are very tough and you have to use a lighter weight. You also have to make sure that the front of the weight is lower so it hits more on the middle and rear heads. I did spiders again and they are awesome. I did them lighter for more reps and my forearms got jacked. I have been working a lot more forearms lately and I am really starting to see a difference. Today's workout was tough and felt different but in a very good way. I think I could stand to do a lot more of this dumbbell stuff and definitely more incline and OHP with bands.

Back and Biceps

Close Grip Triangle Handle Pulldowns:
10 x 90, 10 x 110, 10 x 130, 10 x 150, 10 x 170

Hammer Curls:
2 sets 10 x 20, 2 sets 10 x 25, 10 x 35, 10 x 40

Dumbbell Cleans:
4 x 55, 3 x 60, 3 x 65, 3 x 70, 3 x 75

Dumbbell Shrugs:
10 x 85, 10 x 90, 2 sets 10 x 95, 2 sets 10 x 100

Standing Cable Rows:
10 x 110, 10 x 130, 10 x 150, 10 x 170, 10 x 190

Chest Supported Rows:
3 sets 10 x 50 (on dumbbell incline bench)

Spiders:
3 sets 16 x 95

Reverse Grip Curls:
2 sets 10 x 70

Full Forearm Rotation:
2 sets 15 x 10

Forearm extension and flexion:
3 sets 12 x 20

This was my first good Back and Bicep workout since my injury 4 weeks ago. I am feeling close to top form with my right bicep, but I can feel some adhesions and scar tissue in there so I am having to break it up and take it easy for the next few workouts. I tried two new exercises today; chest supported row with dumbells on the incline bench, and spiders which I just learned about today in an email from elite. Both worked well, but spiders are the real deal, these kicked the shit out of my forearms. I will definitely make these a staple in my grip and forearm training.

ME / Volume Squat

Warmup:
Hip/Hamstring Stretching, Ballistic toe touches, Zercher leans, Squat Cleans, Lunges, Side hurdles, Speed squats, Good Mornings

Back Squats:
10 x 45, 5 x 135, 5 x 185, 3 x 225, 3 x 275, 1 x 315, 1 x 365, 2 x 405, 10 x 315,
12 x 275, 20 x 225

Standing Good Mornings:
3 sets 10 x 135

45 degree Calf Raise:
3 sets 10 x 270

Weighted Leg raise:
2 sets 8 x 15

Side Bend Abs:
15 x 180, 15 x 210

Standing Pulldown Abs:
10 x 90, 10 x 110

45 Degree Back Raise:
2 sets 10 x bodyweight


This was a difficult workout. I decided to get into some squat volume. I thought I should still work a few heavy reps so I did 2 at 405. I think I'll keep up the volume and maybe try to do 2 sets of 2 with a fairly heavy weight before the volume work just to maintain my strength. I thought I was going to pass out or throw up on every high rep set. I was dizzy off my ass and sweating profusely. I did 3 sets of Standing Good Mornings following the squats, but I decided 2 sets of most everything else was enough. This workout kicked my ass which tells me I need to do more of these.

ME Press

Bench:
10 x 45, 5 x 45, 5 x 135, 3 x 225, 2 x 275, 6 x 315, 8 x 275, 4 x 255

Standing Neutral Grip Overhead Press:
6 x 50, 6 x 60, 6 x 65 (Static), 10 x 70 (explosive)

Seated Neutral Grip Military press:
3 sets 10 x 50

Close Grip Board Bench:
3 sets 10 x 185 (2 board)

Shoulder Raises:
2 sets 10 x 20 (front and side)

Hammer Curls:
10 x 25, 2 sets 10 x 30

Standing Cable Rows:
10 x 120, 10 x 140, 10 x 160, 10 x 180

Kneeling Pulldown abs:
10 x 180, 10 x 200, 10 x 220

Standing Crunch Holds (w/ average band):
3 sets of 5 each held for a 5 count

Tricep pressdowns (w/ average band):
5 sets of 10


This workout went pretty well. I came in a little lighter than usual but I really have not been eating much lately and I have been walking a lot and working more cardio, so I'm not sure what to make of it. I do know I was adequately hydrated so water weight was not an issue. The gym was really hot today so I started feeling light-headed. I took a pretty decent break between sets and the workout went a little long. I planned on doing a 6, 8, 10 on bench going 315, 275, 255, but I really was not feeling set on the 255 and set it down after 4 so I wouldn't hurt myself. 315 for 6 reps is my best set to date so I am very happy with that. I am feeling better about the strength of my bicep. I was able to do hammer curls up to 50 pounds with the right arm today and I was able to clean 70 pound dumbbells up to my chest to do overhead press without a problem. I will give myself one more rehab workout on Wednesday to be sure I am ready to start training it again, but I will take it slow and be careful then and afterward. I think that since my bicep is getting better I will mix OHP and Neutral Grip work for DE and ME days to where I am always doing one or the other but not both in the same workout. I want to get into some incline work and back away from flat bench for a while just to balance out my chest and shoulders. I am thinking about maybe doing neutral dumbbell flat bench or one arm bench, but I think I want to get away from heavy barbell benching for the next 4 weeks. I think I make more progress on bench by not training it than when I go through a heavy cycle. I may throw a 225 rep test in after 2 weeks, but I'm not sure. I am thinkng my training in general may be getting into more volume work and conditioning because I really want to get in better shape and drop 25-30 pounds of fat over the next 4-5 months. Now that my bicep is getting better its time to conquer my Lats.

Mobility and Core

Incline Bench:
3 sets 10 x 45 (Narrow to Wide grip)

Overhead Press:
Basic warmup movements, 3 sets 5 x 45

Dumbbell Bench:
2 sets 10 x 35

Dumbbell Seated Shoulders:
2 sets 10 x 15

Shoulder Work:
Raises and plate swims with 5's

Hip and Leg mobility work:
Squat Cleans, Zercher Squat leans, Step ups, Lunges (all with bar only)

Standing Pulldown abs (on Lat Pulldown):
10 x 70, 10 x 90, 10 x 110

Obliques (on 45 degree raise):
3 sets 10 x bodyweight (each side)

Hanging Knee Raises:
3 sets 10 x body weight

Torso Rotation (on cable pulley):
2 sets 10 x 80 (each side)

5 minutes on concept II rower (1100 meters)

This workout was fast and not heavy at all. I wanted to get in and get some blood flowing for my ME squat on Saturday and DE Press on Sunday. This way I can eliminate lactic acid and feel looser the next 2 days. I decided to do some varying grip incline with the bar, some shoulder raise and press with the bar, some light dumbell bench and military press both done in the neutral grip. I did a good bit of hamstring and hip mobility so I will be looser for squat tommorow, plus I want to be more mobile when I get back from this bicep injury. I think working more mobility and core can only keep me healthier and make me better at strongman. I decided to do 4 abdominal exercises because I really want to work my core so it gets larger and stronger. I did two oblique exercises that I had not done in a while. I think the rotation and the work on the 45 degree will be nice additions to press downs and suitcase deadlifts. I want my core to be extremely stable for yoke carry and farmers walk, and the only way to do it is to work it heavy and often. I tried the concept II rower at the end of the workout and at first I thought it was easy, but after 5 minutes my whole body was burning. I got the idea from reading through Svend Karlsen's training log and I think I will keep up with it. It works the whole body and is fairly low impact. I want to bring up my conditioning so I think I will add rowing every other day adding one minute to the time until I am doing 15 minutes. I will add this to 3 sessions of 20 minutes on the elliptical each week to give me the GPP I need for lifting and strongman. No more excuses. I will come back from my injuries and I will be healthier and stronger than ever.

Bicep Rehab (Round 2)

Lat Pulldown:
10 x 70, 10 x 90, 10 x 110, 10 x 130, 10 x 140, 10 x 150, 8 x 160, 8 x 170

Standing Cable Rows:
10 x 90, 10 x 130, 10 x 140, 10 x 150, 10 x 160, 10 x 170, 10 x 180

Hammer Curls:
2 Sets 10 x 10, 10 x 20 (right arm only) 10 x 20, 2 sets 10 x 30 (both arms)

Plate pinched wrist curls:
(2 5's) 3 sets of 10 (flexion and extension)

Dumbbell wrist curls:
3 sets 12 x 20 (both ways at the same time)

Top dumbbell finger grip pinches:
3 sets each hand held for 20 seconds with 20 pound dumbbells

Dumbbell Shrugs:
10 x 85, 10 x 90, 2 sets 10 x 95, 2 sets 10 x 100

This workout went well enough. I was kind of pissed going in and needed to blow off some steam, but my mind kept drifting away. I felt pretty good with my bicep I know its getting better but it is still a little sore and tight. The pulldowns went well and didn't put any stress on it this time. I feel like my back has gotten weak after 2 weeks of minimal activity. I want the thing to grow and since I'm not going to enter the strongman contest anymore I want to work a lot of volume for my Lats. I did standing cable rows which feel great for me and really hit the lats. These sets went well and I really felt like I was pulling from the elbows which is important in trying to build a yoked back. I did dumbbell shrugs which I feel are great for getting me in shape for farmers walk and log clean. Although I will not be competing soon, I still need to be preparing myself for the future. I feel like my traps are getting bigger, and the collars on my shirts have been feeling tighter lately. Hammer Curls were a nice surprise as I was able to do 2 sets of 10 with the 30s going both arms at the same time. Although this is relatively light I feel like it is progress considering how bad my arm felt 2 weeks ago when I pulled it. Hopefully given another 2 weeks I will be able to get back into full Lat and bicep training. I really want to start doing one arm rows and bent over barbell rows again, but both stress the bicep where it is hurt. I finished up the workout with some grip/forearm training which is good because I need my forearms stronger so my wrist can heal. I had done some rice digs yesterday and that had them already a little tired so todays work really left them dead. I have to go get some rice to throw in a bucket. After doing those digs yesterday I am a true believer, they will get your forearms jacked.

ME Press

Bench:
10 x 45, 5 x 135, 5 x 225, 3 x 275, 2 x 315, 1 x 345, 1 x 360 (failed), 5 x 315

Overhead Press:
explosive: 10 x 45, 5 x 135, 3 x 225, 3 x 245
strict: 3 sets 5 x 135

Continental Clean and Press:
3 sets 3 x 135

Squat Clean and Jerk:
3 sets 3 x 135

Shoulder Raises:
2 sets 10 x 20 (front and side)

Tricep Press downs:
2 sets 10 x 120; 3 sets 10 w/ mini band

Barbell Fallouts:
3 sets 10 x 135

Shoulder traction w/ mini band

Reverse Hyper (for traction):
3 sets 5 x 50 (swinging under head)

Hanging traction leg pulled


Today I was back in Bellevue for a dental appointment so I decided to go over to my old highschool with my brother and grace the Chieftain Strength House of Pain for a workout. It was fun going in there because it has been several months and they have some excellent equipment. There are seriously 20 racks you could squat in. Today was ME Press so I decided to put on a little show for the kids with some big benching. I think some fatfuck freshmen shit himself when he saw 315 fly off my chest. I was a little disappointed not making 360 because I had absolutely nailed 345 and I was able to rep out 315 pretty easily today. I was having a bit of a problem though because I left my wrist wraps in Lincoln and the pair they had was an old pair of Titan redlines with the thumbloops busted off and the velcro coming unglued so they were no use. And the benches were a lot softer than I am used to which made it difficult to dig my shoulders in. But in any case 345 flew up and 360 nailed me to the bench so I have to get my speed up. Fortunately my old weight lifting coach had some athletic tape in the office so I was able to tape up my wrist for the overhead press. I only did a few sets because doing them explosively puts my bicep in a bad position so I didn't do a lot and didn't go heavy. I did some static work so I wouldn't have to do a lot of tricep isolation. I decided to play around with some continentals and squat cleans too. These were fun and the continentals turned some heads. I was glad to get in some OHP because I don't want to get too slow while I rehab this bicep injury. I did fallouts for ab work because they did not have the right set up for most of the other ab stuff I like. But they must have worked well because I really feel it. I tried some tire flips after the workout and the 500 went up and over no problem, but reaching down for the 800 I learned my bicep is no where near ready. Hopefully this doesn't take more than 2 more weeks because I am losing out on a hell of a lot of back and bicep work right now.

DE Squat

Warmup:
Hamstring stretching, Ballistic toe touches, Goodmornings, Squat cleans, Zercher Leans, Explosive kicks, 45 degree raise

Box Squat:
W/O Bands: 10 x 45, 5 x 135, 5 x 45, 5 x 135
W/ Average Bands: 3 x 135, 8 sets 2 x 225

Zercher lift (from ground):
3 sets 2 x 95

45 Degree Calf:
5 sets 10 x 270

Seated Good Mornings:
5 sets 10 x 135

45 Degree Back raise:
5 sets 10 x bodyweight

Seated Calf Raise:
3 sets 10 x 185

Side Bend Abs:
15 x 180, 15 x 200, 15 x 220

Kneeling pulldown abs:
15 x 180, 15 x 200, 15 x 220

Bicep Rehab:
a few sets for the right arm with 10 pound dumbbells


Today went pretty well. I have decided that in order to get my back healthy and my hips looser I am going to change things up. I have decided to follow the Elite 12 week guide to box squatting with bands for my DE days. Now that I have 2 average bands and I am buying a second light band on the free shipping sale. I plan on making band squat and deadlift a staple in my DE lower body work. I will follow this progression on DE days and replace my ME work with volume for the next 4 weeks until my back is feeling better. On ME days I will do sumo deadlifts with bands once my bicep is feeling good. I decided to work my back a lot today and did 5 sets of good mornings seated which is very taxing on my hips and low back. These areas need a tremendous amount of work. They are very weak and prone to injury and soreness. I did more calf work today because quite frankly I am afraid of injuring them the same way I did with my bicep. I did some rehab for the bicep with just 10 pound dumbbells. It does not feel sore, but it feels tight which worries me that it could pop again. At the bottom of the curl it feels as though its on the verge of going out again. Tommorow will be 2 weeks since my injury so I am a little frustrated that it is taking so long, but I definitely do not want to re-injure it so I have to go slow and listen to my body. Box squat with average bands is very tough. They pull you down hard from the top and stick you to the box. There is about 115 pounds tension at the bottom so the start is slower than you'd think with just 225, but it gets up to about 190 at the top which makes you have to start fast. The lock out feels a lot like squatting in a suit and wraps in that the top 1/2 keeps getting heavier. I think this lift has a tremendous value to powerlifting, but I think more explosiveness is never bad in strongman. I will be interested to do some reverse band deadlifts once my bicep is feeling better, but I really don't want to risk it going out with up to 500 pounds in my hand and having to worry about what that might do to my back.

Time to make a decision

It has become clear to me that with the current problems I am having due to injuries it would be extremely unwise to compete in either the Nebraska's Strongest Man or the Cornhusker State Games powerlifting this July. I am extremely disappointed to say this because I have been training very hard the last 8 months or so to prepare just for this contest. I was really looking forward to getting some competition experience. Obviously the contest would be tough for me being in the heaviest division and going for the first time, but I was hoping I would do decently and hell maybe getting my teeth kicked in by some of the more experienced guys would get me motivated for next years contests. However, I do not believe that presently it is a wise decision for me to continue to push myself through injuries just to compete. I would either have to continue to train the way I am now to stay strong and injured, or take time off and come in healthy but weak. Neither seems like a good call to me. I think for the time being I have to get more aggressive with my rehab work for my back, wrists, and biceps; continue to work on foam roller and mobility work; bring up my cardio which is attrocious; and eliminate the muscle imbalances and flexibility issues that are causing me to injure myself. For now I feel like the best thing is to back off and get healthy while improving my conditioning and losing a good deal of adipose mass. I am too fat and out of shape for strongman and if I ever want to be a serious competitor I have to be in better shape. I guess I'll just have to watch Chuck kick ass out there this July maybe with Troy and I working his corner so to speak we can give him a better chance to win. At any rate today's responsible decision is a brighter tommorow.

Bicep Rehab Work

Lat Pulldowns:
10 x 80, 10 x 100, 10 x 120, 8 x 140

Standing Cable Rows:
10 x 50, 10 x 100, 10 x 110, 10 x 120, 10 x 130, 10 x 140, 10 x 150, 10 x 160

Upright Rows:
10 x 50, 10 x 70, 10 x 90, 10 x 110

Dumbell Shrugs:
2 sets 10 x 90, 2 sets 10 x 95

Wheelbarrow Shrugs:
3 sets 10 x 360

Neck:
2 sets 25 x 90 (each way)

Kneeling pulldown abs:
10 x 150, 10 x 180, 10 x 200, 10 x 220

Hammer Curls:
10 x 25, 10 x 30, 10 x 35 (left arm); 3 sets 10 x 10 (right arm)

Standing Dumbbell curls:
3 sets 10 x 25 (left arm); 3 sets 10 x 10 (right arm)

Barbell Curls:
3 sets regular and reverse 10 reps with straight curl bar

Plate pinch wrist curls:
3 sets 10 x 10 (2 5's) forward and reverse

Standing Dumbell wrist curls:
3 sets 10 x 20 (forward); 3 sets 10 x 25 reverse

Holds and wrist curls holding top of dumbbell with fingers


This workout was tough from a mental perspective. It is truly torture to go into the weight room and want to give it your all, but hold yourself back so you can recover from an injury. I had to go really light with my right bicep, but I wanted to give it some work so it can recover. I am really worried about it getting small and weak while I recover and I think after hearing from Chuck I am going to need my biceps a lot for the log clean and press. I decided to go with 10s for all my dumbbell work with the right arm so it could get some blood flowing and hopefully loosen up a little. I am really frustrated because a major goal of mine is to bring up my lats, biceps, and traps as I feel these are weak points. However I had to be extremely careful in working my Lats so as not to stress the bicep. I did pulldowns at first but I was feeling some discomfort so I decided to stop. I elected to perform standing cbale rows instead and I was able to do a lot of these with no stress on the bicep. I felt like I was pulling very well with the lats and I feel very sore in them now. I did dumbell shrugs and wheelbarrow shrugs because that is the way the traps will have to work in the farmers walk and log clean so I feel that I have to have them prepared to work in the proper path of production. I think that is a large factor in the bicep injury that I got. I do not feel that my bicep training was frequent or intense enough nor was it giving me the SPP to perform the lifts I was going to attempt. I think I need to carefully examine my training on a functional basis as I prepare for strongman competition and really perform lifts that are going to aid in the events. I think I need to work some rotation and / or arm wrestling to help strengthen my biceps in the area where the injury occurred once I have healed. I am finding my time in the gym somewhat depressing because I can not perform at the level I want to with this injury and I do not have my work out partners there to push me. It is absolute hell to have to tip-toe around an injury. I hope I get well soon and I can get back to serious lifting.

DE Press

Bench (with mini bands):
45 x 10 (no bands), 135 x 5, 185 x 5, 225 x 3, 2 sets 260 x 3, 3 x 245, 3 x 230

Strict OHP (with mini bands):
6 Sets 135 x 3

Standing Neutral Press:
1 set 10 x 40 (stopped because of bicep strain)

Neutral Incline:
1 set 10 x 60 (stopped because of bicep strain)

Shoulder Raise:
2 Sets 20 x 10 (front and side)

Tricep Press Downs:
60 x 10, 120 x 10, 140 x 10, 160 x 10, 180 x 10

This workout went well enough for my bicep being as it is. I was very frustrated trying to do neutral grip work because my bicep felt strained. I had to do strict overhead work with bands because my bicep could not take the strain from going explosively. Bench with bands felt good and was explosive. I am realizing that this injury is only aggravated in certain planes of motion so I have to learn how to work around it. I did tricep press downs so I wouldn't hurt myself and they went alright but they are hell on your elbow so I have to avoid doing too many. I am just getting really depressed in the weight room because everything was coming together so well and now one shitty little strand of muscle is holding everything back. I am going to start rehabing this thing tommorow. I will go light and try to get it loose and warm.

ME Squat

Warm Up:
Good Mornings with bar, Ballistic toe touches, Front and Side hip stretches, Elbow to Ankle lunges, Zercher squat leans, Squat Cleans, Lunges

Back Squat:
10 x 45, 5 x 135, 5 x 185, 5 x 225, 3 x 275, 3 x 315, 1 x 365, 1 x 405

Box Squat:
3 sets 3 x 315

Standing Good Mornings:
4 sets 10 x 135

45 Degree Calf Raise:
5 sets 10 x 360

Side Bend Press Downs:
15 x 200, 15 x 220, 15 x 250

45 Degree Back Raise:
3 sets 10 x Bodyweight, 1 set 20 x Bodyweight

Knee Raises:
3 sets 10 x Bodyweight

This was a so-so workout. I had to be careful to not strain my right bicep so I was very cautious throughout. I picked up a 3" wide ACE Bandage at Walgreens before my workout and wrapped my right Bicep before I went in. I felt like my warmups got me good and loose and my squats felt pretty good for the most part. I had anticipated doing a 4 x 4 workout with 405 in the back squat but I was feeling very dizzy throughout the lift. I decided to play it smart and switch to box squats with less weight. I guess I must have been very dehydrated because I weighed in 5 pounds under and I am very thirsty still. It was pretty damn hot in the gym today and that didn't help.

During box squats I felt a slight twinge in my back so I decided to stop at 3 sets instead of 5. I did some lying back traction and that decompressed the spine so I was good to go on good mornings. I have decided that I will do these Standing on ME days or do cable pull throughs, and on DE days I will do seated Good Mornings or band pull throughs. This will give me 4 assistance exercises to rotate over each 2 week cycle so that will be a good change in stimuli while still hitting supplemental low back and hamstring work. I plan on doing 45 degree raise every low body workout but using bands on DE days and either bodyweight or plates on ME days. I think these are great for my low back and are helping to build my weak and undersized glutes.

I decided I should throw in some calf work on low body days because I think tire flip, yoke carry, and farmers walk will all recquire a great deal of calf strength and explosiveness. Although I feel like my calfs get a good deal out of cleans, OHP, and squats, they are never particularly sore so I have decided to work them more. Ab work went extremely well today and my core felt very strong. I think I will be getting a good deal of GPP tonight because I am going to carry a 95 pound mini fridge up 3 1/2 flights of stairs to my girlfriend's room.

Hopefully with the wrap and some blue heat and advil my bicep will be good enough for some DE Press tommorow and some rehab work the next day.

Out of Commission but Under Construction

So I am out of commission for the time being due to what I believe is a slight bicep tear. I am not sure but there is not major swelling or bruising and its not excrutiating so I think it won't be a long recovery. At any rate I can't do much lifting for the next few days so I've set about building some Farmers Walk Handles for strongman training. The good news is I got all the supplies for the handles today and I think when they're all done the total material cost will be under $45 for the pair which isn't bad at all considering a comparable set from elite would cost over $200. I am fashioning them out of 6 x 6 landscaping timbers and 1" steel pipe so they should be very sturdy and last a long time. It will be nice to have them with a little thicker grip and handle than we'll likely use in the contest because then it will feel that much easier. So far they have been pretty easy to make. The only real head ache was getting the right drill bits. Now that is taken care of and I am well on my way to having my own high quality set of farmers walk handles. The only down side to this is I won't be able to go heavy with them for a while as I am waiting for my bicep to heal.

ME Press

Warm up:
Plate Swims with 5s

Overhead Press:
10 x 45, 5 x 135, 3 x 185, 2 x 225, 1 x 245, 2 x 275, 2 x 275, 2 x 260

Bench:
10 x 45, 5 x 135, 3 x 225, 1 x 315, 3 x 330, 3 x 315, 5 x 300, 10 x 275

Strict Standing Neutral Press (Static Log with Dumbbells):
10 x 50, 10 x 55, 8 x 60, 6 x 65

Aichs Press:
3 Sets 8 X Bar + Light Band

Shoulder Raises:
2 sets 10 x 20 (front and side)

Rotator Cuff Rotation and Press:
2 Sets 5 X 5

Overhead Plate Press:
5 X 90, Attempted 135 but stopped when something popped in my right bicep.


Well this workout started and ended horribly. I was feeling really good going in today, but I quickly ran into trouble with the overhead press. I was really fired up, but I lacked explosiveness on almost all of the reps. I don't know if I was overhyped and not making the press on account of technical errors or what, but it went shitty for the most part. I managed 2 sets of 2 x 275 but it should have been a lot easier than it was. I think maybe catching the press in an olympic style split stance may be something I'm just not used to and is causing me problems with firing my CNS efficiently. Hopefully this does not become a lasting trend.

I dropped down to 260 after the sets with 275 hoping to get in a few 4 rep sets but the first 2 reps went like shit so I racked it and said "Fuck it off to bench." Bench was perhaps the lone high point of my workout. I had originally planned on doing 3 x 325, 3 x 315, and 3 x 310 as the bulk of my bench work, but after my less than stunning performance in the overhead I decided to go a little heavier. I took very few warmup reps becuase I was feeling good and loose. My arch is getting a lot better on acount of doing some arch work with my foam roller and some PVC pipe for thoracic lumbar mobility. I easily smoked all the reps on Bench. I felt very fast and strong here and a lot of people in the gym, even Shinya, were asking me how I do so much and questions on technique.

Neutral Press went well too I suppose. I kept the weight a little out in front of me so it would feel more like the log. I think I now have a really good idea of just how much Lat and Ab involvement there is in the log press. I kept these all very strict so I could get a little more shoulder work and use this as my supplemental tricep work. I decided to try the Aichs Press or at least the way that I understand it. I put my light band under the top of the bench and grabbed it with my thumbs. Then I unracked the bar and tried to press it down as much as I could. I did this for 3 sets of 8 reps and it felt pretty good. I hope this will help teach me how to press in a lower groove because I've had problems with the bar coming too much back over my face at the top off the press.

I did my shoulder prehab work with no problems. I should have gone and done abs and called it a day. But I decided to do some overhead plate press because its a strongman type event. I do my set with 90 no problem. I get set to do 135 and squeeze too hard with my biceps because I popped something in my right bicep. I hope its nothing to serious. I immediately stopped for the day and went down to IPC to get an ice wrap. I kept that on for 25 minutes and took a hot shower, some ibuprofen, and rubbed some blue heat on it. I guess my girlfriend will have to rub it down for me later. I imagine she'll enjoy it anyway. Hopefully I can still squat tommorow, but I think deadlift may be out of the question. I'll skip my next pull workout and hopefully it will be good to press in 4-5 days. I guess I'll have to go light and be smart. You just have to make sure that You don't turn a small injury into a bigger one.

ME Back and Biceps

ME Pull

Dumbbell Cleans:
2 x 80, 2 x 85, 2 x 85, 2 x 90, 2 x 90, 2 x 95, 2 x 100, 2 x 105

Lat Pulldowns:
5 x 210, 5 x 220, 5 x 230, 5 x 240, 5 x 250

Dumbell Rows:
6 x 80, 6 x 85, 6 x 90, 6 x 95

Jump Shrugs:
10 x 315, 10 x 405

Olympic Curls:
5 x 135, 5 x 155

Standing Barbell Curls:
5 x 70, 5 x 90, 5 x 110, 5 x 100, 5 x 90, 5 x 80, 5 x 70

Hammer Curls:
10 x 40, 10 x 40, 5 x 50, 5 x 55, 5 x 60

Kneeling Pulldown Abs:
3 sets 15 x 210

Wrist Curls with EZ Curl Bar:
3 sets 12 x 60

Farmers Walk:
125 pound dumbbells. One trip down the length of the gym and back. The second trip four times the length of the weight room.

This workout went alright. My back and legs are a little tired from all the work yesterday so I didn't feel very explosive for the dumbbell cleans. They went well until the last set which was very sloppy. I don't know if this is due to fatigue, lack of explosion, or lack of lat and bicep strength. In any case I got it up so it'll have to do for now.

I decided to do low rep sets for Lats but to go really heavy. I have to get these bigger and stronger if I want to make big gains in the press. I have decided that my goal for the summer as it pertains to my Lats is to be able to do 3 sets of 8 pullups by the time classes start again. This may not seem like much but it would be huge for me and once I can do regular pullups I will be able to hit my Lats even harder.

I wanted to do jump shrugs because I feel like they hit my traps really well. I got through the first set just fine, but unracking the 405 proved a little rough on my back. I did the set anyway but I decided to play it smart and walk away after that. I felt like dumbell cleans, olympic curls, and farmers walk would give me enough extra trap work so I'd be fine.

I performed Olympic curls today which I know is totally gay and brotacular, but I feel like I can legitimately justify these in the context of strongman. These are an underhand clean essentially which is caught in a split stance, but from a physiological standpoint the movement is very similar to flipping a tire because you are trying to explode up while geting your knee out under it. In fact a lot of my training I am modifying to improve SPP for strongman. I am doing dumbell cleans and hammer curls so I am ready for the log. And I have been doing straight bar curls for the tire flip. And of course I got in some Farmers Walk.

The farmers walk went alright. My hands were all sanded and softened up for the lady friend so it basically blistered and ripped the shit out of them. I think I am really boned though when it comes to strongman with 260 in each hand. 125 practically gave me a heart attack going about 500 feet on the last carry. Plus my grip was really shitty, but I think a lot of that has to do with all the grip shit I did earlier.

Something doesn't seem right

Something has been bothering me all day. I worked out at campus rec this afternoon and while I was there I had noticed some changes. No they did not have new equipment or get rid of all that cardio shit in the weight room. Nonetheless something was really different. Aside from the fresh coat of paint, which looked like it had been put on by some epileptic kids under the supervision of Hellen Keller and Muhamed Ali, something was very different. There were 7 new phillips 42" HD Plasma TVs in the weightroom. Now these were donated by MTVu so they technically did not cost Campus Rec anything, but they would have cost over $11,000. I realize that is not a ton of money for a company like MTV, but for that much money we could have had 2 ELiteFTS collegiate squat racks, a glute ham raise, a Westside barbell pro roller reverse hyper, a Hammerstrength Jammer, a Fat Bar, a band pack, and a set of chains. So while the bros may be thrilled to come back to the rec in august and bench and curl while watching bullshit shows like Grey's Anatomy in HD, I'll look at those beautiful TVs in disgust thinking about what could have been.

DE Squat May 14

DE Squat

Warmed up with ballistic and dynamic movements. Did some toe touches with alternating hand rapidly, Lunges bringing elbow to knee (or at least trying to), snatch squats, zercher squat leans, squat cleans, lunges, and lying hip and back stretches.

Box Squat with Bands (Mini + Monster Mini):
2 sets 5 x 135, 2 sets 3 x 185, 2 sets 2 x 245 (according to the info on elite this probably added 70 pounds at the bottom and 130 pounds at the top.)

Barbell Back Squat:
5 x 135, 3 x 185, 20 x 225, 20 x 185, 20 x 135

Seated Good Mornings:
3 sets 10 x 135

45 Degree Back Raise:
5 sets 10 x bodyweight

Seated Calf:
3 sets 10 x 90

45 Degree Calf:
2 Sets 10 x 270 (explosively)

Standing Ab Hold With Band:
10 X Average, 8 x Average, 6 x Average (All held for 5 count)

Side Bend Press Downs:
15 x 190, 15 x 200, 15 x 210

Attempted Farmers Walk with Straight Curl Bar 180 pounds per side. Gave up after losing balance on each side. Will try again tommorow.

This was a good workout. I felt good through all of it. I didn't hurt my back or wrist today. In fact I didn't even wear wrist wraps for my squats. I did some band box squats because my speed out of the hole has been poor in my squats. This was not done as heavy as the last time I did them. These felt good and I was able to sit back really far on the box. I came up fast with all of these and I was not rocking off the box at the bottom which has been a problem in the past. I decided to do some 20 rep sets on squat because I want to get my CNS firing more effectively on squat and you can only coordinate these motor patterns with a lot of good reps. I have not been squatting a lot lately and I need to get back in to it. I decided not to do my speed dealifts today because I don't want to fuck up my back and I got a lot of volume with the legs already. Instead I did 45 degree raise and seated good mornings which worked my back a lot as well as my hips, glutes, and hamstrings. My back felt pretty solid throughout this workout. I even took my belt off for my last set of 20 on squat. I need to do this more in the future because I think the belt is keeping my back and abs weak. I went really deep on the 20 rep sets because I want to get more hip and hamstring flexibility and Shinya was squatting next to me going ass to the grass with 425 so I'd have felt like a pussy if I didn't. I saw "Back's not important" and his buddy working rows and I laughed. I hope this squat volume will help me improve my flexibility, coordination, conditioning, and make my legs grow. I will try to do 20 rep sets every other week on dynamic day, and I might start doing a "by the numbers" workout on ME days after the strongman contest. I hope this extra leg work will help bring up my GH and Testosterone levels. For my next ME squat workout I plan on doing the "Offroad Workout" (4 x 4 with 405) so we'll see how that goes. Gotta Eat More!

Thoughts on training

Here are some observations that I have made over the last two weeks as pertain to my training:
1. My bench max has gone up 80 pounds in the last year and I really haven't trained bench that much. Now technically I did register a 395 bench in a Titan Fury shirt at a USAPL meet in April 2004, but this press was largely (I can not understate this) due to the shirt. When I got back in to benching last spring on a regular schedule I barely managed a 275 bench. I do not know how much of this was due to lack of CNS coordination, but I can assume that since my max only went up 40 pounds over the course of last summer with conjugate training it must have been due to weakness. However weakness is deceptive, because more benching could not fix this problem. Last week I blasted up a 355 bench easily and I have maybe done bench every 10 days or so for the last 4 months. So where was I weak?
My triceps? Definitely I have been hitting triceps hard with close grip presses, rack lockouts, reverse band work, band work, board presses, tricep extensions, skull crushers, band press downs, basically anything that would work my tris except faggoty kick backs.
My Delts? Yes indeed, these were pathetic, but thanks to my training with Chuck I got into overhead pressing and have made great progress here.
My Back? This was and still is the biggest thing holding me back in the presses. I have made progress, but there is so much work to be done. I realize now that you can't just do a few sets of pulldowns half-assed after pressing and call it good. The lats, traps, and rhomboids are huge muscles and require as much if not more attention as their opposition groups. These muscles must be large and strong in order to get max usage of the triceps. I busted my self in the head doing one arm dumbell press because my lats are weak. You have to hit these frequently and with intensity. I have to get my lats strong because right now I can barely hoist my fatass up for three pullups which is just pathetic.
My Grip? This is still an area that I am working hard on. If you can not hold the bar tight and in line with your arms you will miss the press or lose potential pounds on it. I have been working with COC grippers, an imtug gripper, and am working with wrist curls and hammer curls to improve my grip.
My Speed? This is perhaps the most important aspect of any lift. You have to be fast enough to lift any weight. There is a fine threshold where you simply do not generate enough speed to overcome the gravitational pull on the weight. In order to lift a weight on the border of this speed threshold you would have to be generating your maximal strength output. Speed will blast you through a sticking point. You must be able to control and utilize momentum to lift heavy weights. Lifting explosively with overhead press and olympic lifts, following the dynamic effort method for two workouts a week, and training against accomodating resistance forms is the only way to get faster. If you lift slow you will be slow and it will be hard to make gains. I think my bench has gone up because I have gotten faster from band work and overhead press and because I have learned how to train dynamically to increase my speed.
2. My low back is dog shit:
My low back sucks! Not only do I have two discs that occasionally like to bulge, it is as weak as an underweight crippled kitten. My low back is always tight, sore, and feeling on the verge of going out. So what should I do? Basically I need to quit sucking my father's cock whining about it and make some progress here. Solution:
Foam Roller: This should be a simple fix. I bought a foam roller fom Elite and have been using it regularly. It has helped to break up scar tissue and loosen me up. Also by foam rolling my calfs and hamstrings I have been able to take out some tightness and strain there that was pulling on my back.
Traction: I have to decompress my spine to avoid any stress on the discs, This has to be done by hanging, band traction, and supine extension.
Massage: My wonderful girlfriend just got me a massage pad which has been great so far, but occasionally I think I may have to dig in my back with a carabiner or some brass knuckles to break up scar tissue.
Work the shit out of it: Plain and simple the damn thing just needs work. I have to start doing more 45 degree raise, pullthroughs, and seated good mornings. My back isn't going to get stronger with hopes and dreams alone. I have to get it strong and quickly.
3. My squat just isn't what it used to be:
My squat is not very strong right now. I haven't lost a ton, but it is frustrating that I have not made much progress. This is the biggest and most important lift. I have had trouble because of poor hip mobility and hamstring tightness, but I am working very hard on these areas. I am trying to get more explosive with my squats but I do have to be careful because of the discs in my back. Box squat has been good, but I have to do some regualr back squats. I have been using dynamic and balistic hamstring and hip stretches before my squats because they get me loose and don't drain my strength like static stretches. These are better for post workout and isolated mobility work. The good news: squat always goes up with consistent work. Last year my 3 x 5 squat workout went up 90 pounds in six weeks. I am going to hit these hard, get loose, and get faster.
4. Deadlift is inconsistent:
This has been strange for me this year. All last summer I was basically unable to deadlift because of my shitty back. I get into training in September and my back feels better I do 2 or 3 deadlift workouts and I pull 485, no problem. I do a few more workouts working reps over the next few weeks. One week I decide to pul heavy again so I jump from 455 to 505 and blow out my back really bad. My disc must have been bulging because I had awful nerve pain in my back and leg for the next 4 days. I take 10 days off legs and 4 weeks off deadlifting. I start again light and work on it for a few more weeks. By early december I pull 16 reps of 365 for a set and I'm feeling strong. I work deadlift for speed mostly over winter break never going over 425. My back feels good when we get back to school in mid-January thanks to training smart and getting in some revers hypers when I was in Bellevue. We don't work deadlift for a long time and my back gets really weak. By mid semester we start pulling again. Initially this is okay because we don't go heavy too much. Actually the sunday after spring break I pulled 485 again, but the rest of the workouts are not too heavy. I get through maybe two weeks pulling conventional and something happens. I am suddenly unable to pull conventional anymore. My hamstrings had gotten tight for no apparent reason. So I have to pull sumo which makes me feel like a fat pile of crap. This is good for strengthening the hips so I am willing to go with it, but I am almost 100 pounds weaker than I am with conventional so I have to get my hammys loose so I can pull regualr again.

These are just some observations that I have made about my training over the past year. I am pleased with my progress and the knowledge that I have gained about training in this time. I am very happy with my workout partners because they inspire me and push me to work harder. I need to make progress and do it quickly. I believe that I have the potential to do great things in powerlifting and strongman, but the window of oppurtunity closes quickly in these sports. Already guys my age like Kevin Nee and Arild Haugen are making a huge impact at the highest level. I have to be dedicate, disciplined, and focused if I ever want to accomplish some of the feats these men already have. I may never be Worlds Strongest Man, but I will never stop believing that I CAN be and I will work harder every day to get closer to having the chance. Train Hard, Train Smart, Lift Big, Eat Big, Rest Up, Live It and Love It.

Summer Lifting

DE Press

Incline Bench:
6 sets 2 x 215

Overhead Press:
6 sets 2 X 195

Standing Neutral Press (log with dumbbells):
3 x 65, 3 x 70, 3 x 75, 3 x 80, 6 x 85

Close Grip Bench:
3 sets 12 x 185

Shoulder Raise:
2 sets 10 x 20 (front and side)

Lat Pulldown:
10 x 140, 10 x 160, 5 x 180

Hammer curl:
10 x 30, 12 x 30, 16 x 30

This was a really good workout. It felt like a true dynamic effort workout. I felt very fast in my incline and overhead sets. Neutral grip press went well and was a nice supplemental exercise because it did not hurt my wrist or shoulder. It was a little different working doubles, but it forced me to be technically sound on all the reps. I decided to throw in a litle lat and bicep work at the end because those areas are lagging, but I plan on doing a full back and bicep workout on Tuesday. As a side note my legs are still a little sore from last Wednesday's workout so it is apparent to me that I have not been hitting squats and deadlifts hard enough. Monday will be dynamic legs and it will be nice to have all my gear back that has been stuck in my locker this week.

Summer Lifting

Conjugate Pull

Dumbell Clean:
3 x 85, 3 x 105

Standing Rope Pulldowns:
10 x 120, 10 x 120

Lat Pulldown:
4 sets 10 X 12(whatever weight that ends up being, it felt like a lot more than 120)

Bent over Row:
5 x 135, 5 x 155, 5 x 175

Barbell Shrug:
3 sets 10 x 225

Seated cable row:
4 sets 8 x 12(whatever weight that is)

One arm dumbbell rows:
4 sets 15 x 55

Standing EZ Curl:
2 sets 10 x 110

Plate Curl (2 5's pinched together):
3 sets of 10 (flexion and extension)

Hammer Curl:
3 sets 10 x 35

This was overall a good workout. I wanted to do dumbell cleans in the neutral grip for a few more sets, but my low back and legs were so fried from yesterday that I really had nothing. The same was true for bent over row. My hamstrings, glutes, and spinal erectors were really too sore to do a lot of sets. Today I kind of made a conjugate workout because I wanted to get some volume and some heavy work at the same time. I have come to realize that my lats, traps, and biceps are all not only pathetically small, but also weak proportionately to their oppositional groups. This will be a huge focus of my summer training just trying to bring up these weak points.

ME Lower Body

Squat:
10 x 45, 10 x 135, 5 x 225, 3 x 315, 1 x 365, 1 x 405, 1 x 425, 3 x 365, 3x 365, 4 x 365

Sumo speed pulls:
5 x 275, 5 x 275, 3 x 315, 3 x 315

Good Mornings (standing):
10 x 135, 10 x 135, 10 x 135

Side Bend Press Downs:
3 sets 15 x stack

Kneeling Pull Down Abs:
20 x 200, 20 x 220, 10 x 250

45 Degree Raise:
3 sets 10 x Bodyweight

This was another good workout. My back felt pretty good through all of it, and I managed not to fuck my wrist up because I finally learned how to cast my wrist wraps. It was nice to chalk up, feel the music, and get under the iron and give it a ride. This was my first regular squat workout in over 6 weeks since the last time I maxed so I decided not to push it with singles or reps because I didn't know how much I could take and I certainly didn't want the little crotch stain in the ATO softball T-shirt spotting me with upwards of 450 pounds on my back. It kind of sucked having to use a CREC belt and I won't have mine back until next week when I can get into my locker again. I never realized how accustomed I had become to my own belt until I had to use another. I imagine I will be really sore the next few days. My hamstrings practically locked up as I was walikng up the stairs on my way out, and not from dehydration mind you as I was able to drink 64 ounces of gatorade over the course of my workout. Also I found today that I must have been doing something right in my press workout yesterday as my lats and traps are extremely sore today. That is something that hasn't happened to me in quite some time.

Summer Lifting

ME Press

Overhead Press:
10 x 45, 5 x 135, 3 x 185, 3 x 225, 1 x 245, 2 x 275, 1 x 285 (failed), 3 x 255, 3 x 245, 3 x 235

Bench:
10 x 45, 5 x 135, 3 x 225, 1 x 275, 1 x 315, 1 x 335, 1 x 355

Neutral Grip Dumbbell Incline:
10 x 70, 5 x 75, 5 x 80, 5 x 85, 5 x 90, 4 x 95

Shoulder Raise:
2 sets 10 x 25 (front and side)

Overhead Tricep Extension with EZ Curl Bar:
4 sets 10 x 70 (2 narrow, 2 wide)

This was a pretty good workout after a full week off. It was kind of difficult to monitor my rest intervals between sets with out Chuck and Troy there. This workout was fairly short ( less than 1 1/2 hours ) and very intense. I had to find a lot of inner motivation without my workout partners there to push me with their hardcore bad-assery, but the music was great over on East Campus. It was nice to workout without a bunch of bros curling and benching and not having to deal with the emo bullshit music they usually have playing over at city campus.