Upper 9/19/11

Close-Grip Incline: 45 x 15, 95 x 10, 135 x 10, 155 x 10, 185 x 10, 205 x 5, 225 x 5, 245 x 3, 265 x 3, 235 x 6, 215 x 10

Seated DB Military Press: 4 sets of 15

Preacher Curls: 4 sets of 8

Shoulder Raise: 3 sets of 12

Tricep Extensions: 3 sets of 15

Hammer Curls: 3 sets of 10

Not an incredible workout by any stretch, but no injuries or pain this time. Getting back to a somewhat more normal schedule after having been chaotically off track due to constant travel, LSAT prep, and school. Not the best workout ever, but solid volume pressing and a step in the right direction.

pseudo events 7/10/11

Axle: 110 x 3, 160 x 3, 200 x 3, 220 x 1 (stopped due to recurring pain / tweak in right pec minor.)

Squat: 135 x 3 x 2, 225 x 3 x 2, 275 x 3, 315 x 3, 365 x 3 x 3, 335 x 3 x 2, 315 x 3 x 2

Sled drag: 400 x 50' x 6 sets

Later in the day:

Chest supported row: 4 sets of 10

Bent over row: 4 sets of 12

Seated row: 4 sets of 15

Shrug: 3 sets of 25

Rotations curls: 3 sets of 20

Fat bar curls: 4 sets of 8

Cable curls: 4 sets of 15

Tricep extensions: 8 sets of 15

Lateral raise: 3 sets of 15

Ab machine: 3 sets of 20

Pec rehab: light weight x lots of reps x lots of sets

So events went poorly. I am pretty pissed to have aggravated my pec minor for the third time in three weeks. It was hot as fuck and horribly humid, plus I felt drained from being sick yesterday. I decided to come home, eat, and rest for a few hours and went back in the gym and did some high(er) rep accessory work to make up for my less than stellar performance earlier in the day.

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Deads 7/5/11

Front Squat : 135 x 5 x 2, 185 x 3, 225 x 2, 275 x 2

High Pull : 135 x 2, 185 x 2, 205 x 2, 225 x 2, 245 x 2.

Deads: 315 x 2, 365 x 2, 415 x 4 x 4, 465 x 2, 515 x 8

Bent Over Row: 225 x 8 x 3

Shrug : 225 x 25 x 4

Facepull: 3 sets of 15

Leg Raise: 3 sets of 10

Very happy with this workout. Decided to work high pulls from the floor in place of cleans to give my elbows and shoulders a break. Also really like adding in the dynamic front squats.

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Events 7/3/11

Axle: 120 x 3 x 2, 190 x 3, 210 x 3, 240 x 2, 270 x 1, 290 x missed (caught it out in front strained right pec minor)

Farmer's deads: 245, 295, 315, 335, 350

Farmer's walk: 245 x 50' x 2 sets

Prowler: lots of sets

Sled drag: 500 x 50' x 2 sets

Also did some sledge hammer swings with Prowler sets.

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squats 6/30/11

Box squat: 135 x 5 x 2, 185 x 3, 225 x 3, 275 x 3, 315 x 3

Stopped after not many sets of squat due to knee, hip, and back pain. Decided to play it smart and do some stretching/foam rolling and not push it when I was feeling pretty much completely mentally and physically worn down.

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Bench Deload 6/29/11

Strict Overhead: 45 x 10, 95 x 8, 115 x 8, 135 x 8, 155 x 6, 175 x 6, 195 x 6, 185 x 4, 175 x 5, 165 x 5, 155 x 5, 145 x 5, 135 x 8

Incline DB Press: 3 sets of 20

Wide-grip Bench: 45 x 15 x 4

Tricep pressdowns: 2 sets of 30

Lots of rumble rolling, lots of static stretching

This workout was all about shoulder volume, both of my pecs are feeling a little strained. I decided to do all of my chest work as rehab/prehab stuff to get better for next week on account of this workout was supposed to be a deload anyway.

Deads 6/28/11

Front Squat: 135 x 5 x 2, 185 x 3, 225 x 3

Cleans: 135 x 2, 185 x 2, 225 x 2, 275 x 2

Deads: 225 x 3, 275 x 3, 325 x 3, 375 x 2, 425 x 2, 475 x 1, 525 x 1, 560 x 1, 585 x 1, 600 x 1

Pendlay Rows: 3 sets of 8

Pulldowns: 3 sets of 10

DB Shrugs: 3 sets of 20

Standing Barbell Curl: 3 sets of 15

Rotational Curl: 3 sets of 12

Absolutely awesome day of deadlifts! I broke my previous raw conventional PR of 575 twice in the same workout. I decided to dial back the volume and intensity of the accessory work a little bit on account of pulling so heavy though.

Events 6/26/11

Axle: 110 x 5, 160 x 3, 200 x 2, 225 x 2, 235 x 2, 250 x 7

Board Press: 135 x 8, 225 x 5, 275 x 5, 315 x 5, 405 x 1

Farmer's walk: 240 x 60' x 3 sets

Sled Drag: 500 x 50' x 4 sets

Power Stairs: 300 x 9

Stones: 270 x 3, 330 x 1

Reverse Hyper: 3 sets of 10

Lateral Raise: 3 sets of 10

Hammer Curl: 3 sets of 10

Band Crunches: 3 sets of 15

Decent day of events, only bad thing was my back severely cramping up on stones, had to shut it down after just 2 sets rather than risk an injury. Also mildly tweaked my right pec on my last set of board press, but neither was a major issue.

Squat 6/24/11

Squat:

135 x 5, 225 x 3, 275 x 3, 315 x 2, 365 x 2, 405 x 2, 455 x 1, 485 x 1, 425 x 3 x 2

Good Mornings:

135 x 8, 155 x 8, 185 x 8

Band Leg Curls:

purple band x 3 sets of 10

Leg raise on bench:

2 sets of 10

TKEs: 2 sets of 10

This workout had me feeling like a little bitch. One set the right knee would hurt, the next set it was the left knee, and when neither hurt, the right hip did. Oh well, some days are like that. I guess I got up to somewhere between 90 and 95 % today so I won't complain. Just have to take what wasn't there today and push it hard on Sunday at the Jungle.

Bench 6/23/11

Close Grip Bench:

135 x 5, 185 x 3, 225 x 3, 275 x 2, 315 x 1, 350 x 1, 380 x 2, 360 x 3, 315 x 5

Wide Grip Bench: (elbows out)

155 x 12, 155 x 10 x 2

Front Shoulder Raise:

3 sets of 10

Side Shoulder Raise:

3 sets of 10

Cable Pulldown Abs:

3 sets of 10

This was not a very complex workout. Went for some heavier top sets. Substituting in a wide grip body-building style bench in place of pec flys. Decently happy with today's workout.

Deads 6/21/11

Cleans:

135 x 3 x 2, 185 x 3, 205 x 2, 225 x 2, 275 x 3

Deads:

275 x 3, 315 x 2, 405 x 1, 455 x 2, 500 x 2, 535 x 6

T-Bar Rows:

90 x 15, 135 x 12, 180 x 10, 225 x 8

1 arm DB rows:

110 x 10 x 3

Band Crunches:

2 sets of 15

Blast Strap Knee Crunches:

2 sets of 10

This was another great deadlift workout at the Jungle. I am very pleased with how my pull is coming along, also happy that cleans are going reasonably well even though I haven't done them in a long time

Squat 4/29/11

Squat: 135 x 5, 185 x 3, 225 x 3, 275 x 3, 315 x 3 x 6, 365 x 3, 415 x 3, 315 x 3 x 4, 295 x 3, 275 x 3, 245 x 3, 225 x 3

Ab wheel: 2 sets of 10

Side Bends: 55 x 10 x 2

Decided to punish myself on squat today and really work on depth. The weights were relatively light, but my form looked like a bag of broken assholes without a box under me. Doing a free standing squat to depth really wrecked my shit tonight. I will be hurting for a few days.

Bench 4/27/11

Pause CGB: 135 x 6, 185 x 3, 225 x 2, 245 x 2, 275 x 2, 300 x 2, 315 x 2, 330 x 2, 290 x 9 (touch and go)

Wide Grip Pause: 250 x 6 x 2

DB Military Press: 50 x 15, 60 x 12, 70 x 8, 65 x 12

Lateral Raise: 25 x 12 x 3

Incline Fly: 20 x 15 x 3

Tricep Extension: 3 sets of 15

Preacher Curl: 5 sets of 10

Hammer Curl: 4 sets of 8

Left shoulder and right elbow were both hurting a lot. Decided to keep the weight down on the accessory lifts. Felt good enough on the working sets of bench today. So far I like the rep scheme and intensities of the program.

Deadlift 4/26/11

Dead: 135 x 5, 225 x 3, 315 x 3, 365 x 2, 405 x 1, 470 x 2, 510 x 6, 365 x 3 x 10

Bent Over Row: 245 x 5 x 3

Shrug: 295 x 20 x 3

One arm DB row: 2 sets of 10

Facepull: 2 sets of 10

Lat Pulldown: 5 sets of 6

Decline situps: 3 sets of 10

Felt a lot better about this workout. Coming back after missing 510 the week before and hitting it for 6 gave me a lot of confidence in my pull again.

Bench 4/20/11

Paused CGB: 135 x 5, 185 x 3, 225 x 2, 245 x 2, 265 x 2, 290 x 2, 305 x 2, 315 x 2, 275 x 8 (touch and go)

Wide Grip Pause: 245 x 6 x 2

Dead Bench: 285 x 1 x 6

DB military press: 3 sets of 12

Incline Fly: 3 sets of 15

Lateral Raise: 3 sets of 12

Hanging Leg Raise: 3 sets of 10

Ab Wheel: 3 sets of 10

This was a fairly tough workout, had to do it after deadlifting the day before since I am traveling later in the week.

Deadlift 4/19/11

Dead: 135 x 5, 225 x 3, 315 x 3, 365 x 2, 405 x 2, 470 x 2, 495 x 1, 510 x miss, 365 x 3 x 8

Sumo Speed Pulls: 225 x 3, 245 x 3, 275 x 3, 295 x 3, 315 x 3, 335 x 3, 365 x 3

Pullups: 3 sets of 5 (elbow really hurting)

Bent over row: 235 x 5 x 3

Lat Pulldown: 5 sets of 6

Shrugs: 275 x 20 x 4

TRX Fallouts: 3 sets of 10

Pretty crap workout. Didn't feel good on the pull, elbow was killing on pullups. Jsut had to push through.

Events 4/17/11

Log Press: 90 x 5, 140 x 3, 180 x 3, 200 x 3, 215 x 10

Strict Press: 140 x 8, 160 x 5, 180 x 3, 200 x6

Farmers Walk: 260 x 60', 280 x 60', 300 x 60'

Atlas Stone: 270 x 2, 310 x 1, 360 x 1 x 4

Arm over Arm pull: 300 x 60' x 4

This was an awesome events day for me. I managed to tie a log PR with 215 x 10, set a new rep PR on strict press with 200 x 6 (one better than my previous rep PR), hit a farmer's PR, and did more reps with the 360 stone than I have in any previous workout. I was very pleased with events today!

Low Body Deload 4/16/11

45 degree raise: 4 sets of 10

Leg extension: 3 sets of 15

Leg curl: 3 sets of 10

Calf raise: 3 sets of 20

Ab machine: 3 sets of 15

Hanging leg raise: 2 sets of 10

Unweighted goodmornings: 3 sets of 10

This was a light workout. I felt after heavy squats last week and heavy deads earlier this week that I needed a deload. this was supposed to be my deload week on the 5/3/1 program so I went with it. This workout only took about 25 mins, it was just a continuous superset.

Bench 4/14/11

Close Grip Pause:

135 x 10, 185 x 5, 210 x 3, 230 x 2, 250 x 2, 265 x 2, 280 x 2, 300 x 2

Touch and Go: 275 x 5

Wide Grip Pause: 225 x 6 x 2

Dead Bench: 265 x 1 x 5, 265 x 9

DB Military Press: 3 sets of 15

Lat Pulldown: 4 sets of 10

Incline Flies: 3 sets of 20

Lateral Raise: 3 sets of 10

Ab Wheel: 3 sets of 10

I did not take a deload as planned since we are starting a new program for bench. The numbers were very light this workout so I felt like that was a deload in and of itself.

Deadlift 4/12/11

Deads: 135 x 5, 225 x 3, 315 x 2 x 2, 405 x 2, 445 x 2, 475 x 2, 505 x 4, 365 x 3 x 6

Lat Pulldown: 3 sets of 12

Face pull: 3 sets of 15

Bent over row: 230 x 8 x 3

Shrug: 275 x 15 x 3

Decline Situps: 3 sets of 15

Got in some good pulls, but still feeling very weak at the start of the pull. Hamstrings were still pretty sore from Sunday. Wanted to die after the down sets.

Events 4/10/11

Log: 90 x 5, 140 x 3, 180 x 3, 210 x 3, 240 x 1, 250 x 2, 200 x 12

Farmers Walk: 210/hand X 180', 210/hand x 190 '

Stones: 270 x 5, 310 x 3, 360 x 1

Squats and Cleans 4/8/11

Hang Clean: 135 x 3, 185 x 3, 225 x 3, 275 x 2, 305 x 1, 265 x 3

Box Squat: 135 x 8, 225 x 3, 315 x 3, 405 x 5, 455 x 3, 495 x 3, 535 x 3, 405 x 12

Leg Extension: 3 sets of 10

45 degree raise: BW x 15 x 2

Decline situp: 2 sets of 20

Calf raise: 2 sets of 20

KB scorpions and overhead lunge: 2 sets of 8 each side

Split squats: 135 x 8 x 2

DB shrugs: 75 x 25 x 3, 95 x 15


Cleans were not awesome, probably on account of continuing right elbow pain. Box squats felt great today. I decided to add in split squats to help with my leg drive on throws, I also decided they are hard, therefore they suck, so I will keep doing them.

Bench 4/7/11

Close Grip: 135 x 5, 185 x 3, 225 x 3, 275 x 2, 305 x 5, 325 x 3, 355 x 1

Pause Close Grip: 225 x 8 x 2, 225 x 9

DB military press: 50 x 12, 55 x 12, 60 x 10

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

Lateral Raise: 20 x 10, 25 x 10, 30 x 10

Seated Cable Pulldown Abs: 100 x 10 x 2, 120 x 10

Good workout except for this damn nagging medial epicondylitis. Press felt strong, wanted to go for more on bench, but I need to make sure the pecs are healthy before I try to really push it.

Conditioning 4/6/11

3 KB complexes

10 min full blast on elliptical

Deadlift 4/5/11

Powerclean: 135 x 3 x 2, 185 x 3

Conventional Deads: 135 x 5, 135 x 3, 225 x 3, 315 x 3, 405 x 2, 465 x 1, 515 x miss, 405 x 5, 455 x 5, 475 x 7

Sumo speed pulls: 205 x 3, 295 x 3, 315 x 3, 335 x 3, 365 x 3

Bent over row: 225 x 8 x 2, 225 x 10

Pulldown: 3 sets of 8

DB shrug: 65 x 20 x 3

Single leg bridges: 3 sets of 10

Hanging leg raises: 3 sets of 10

Ab wheel: 3 sets of 10

This workout was both good and bad. I really wanted a big deadlift PR, but instead I couldn't budge 515. I think my low back is still worn out from heavy stones on Sunday. I decided I was gonna sack up and hit some decently heavy reps so I hit some sumo speed pulls and then came back for 3 sets of conventional.

Events 4/3/11

Log press: 140 x 4, 170 x 3, 190 x 3, 210 x 2, 230 x 3, 250 x 3, 220 x 5

Carry and drag:

220 keg/ 325 sled, 220 keg/325 sled/250 keg

Truck pull:

2 times (no lead rope)

Stones:

310 x 1, 330 x 1, 360 x 1, 360 x 1, 360 x (didn't want to shit my pants so gracefully bowed out at the lap)

It was a really good training day, we had a lot of fun, lots of joking around, a big stone PR for me. Trying to get used to pressing the log without staggered feet, so the reps were not as good as my split stance, but it will get better. Destroyed some Quaker Steak afterwards!

Conditioning and throwing 4/2/11

20 mins hill climb on elliptical

3 KB complexes

10 mins full sprint on arc trainer

Throws with 12# and 16# shot

Did 4o mins of conditioning work at the gym followed by some throwing with Troy, Chuck, and Sarah.

Squat/Cleans 4/1/11

Hang clean: 135 x 5, 185 x 3, 225 x 3, 275 x 3, 315 x 2

Box Squat: 135 x 5 x 2, 225 x 3, 315 x 3, 405 x 3, 455 x 3, 505 x 2

45 degree raise:
BX x 12 x 3

Pulldown abs:
3 sets of 15

Leg Extension:
185 x 12, 235 x 12, 290 x 12

DB shrugs:
75 x 25, 85 x 25 x 2


Had to make this a short workout. Only had 50 mins after work. Felt very explosive on cleans and squats this week.

Chest/Shoulders 3/31/11

Close Grip Bench:

135 x 5, 175 x 3, 205 x 3, 225 x 3, 275 x 3, 305 x 3, 320 x 3, 225 x 6, 225 x 7, 225 x 8

Seated DB military press:

60 x 10, 70 x 10, 65 x 10

Lat pulldown:

170 x 8, 180 x 8, 190 x 8

Incline flies:

25 x 10 x 3

Side shoulder raise:

25 x 8 x 3

Hanging leg raises:

3 sets of 10

Not a long workout, kept the pace up, still feeling a little worn out. Right elbow is really hurting, but I managed to work around it, hopefully will give it a chance to heal up. Followed the workout with 30 mins of steady state work on the elliptical.

Recovery/Conditioning 3/30/11

30 mins elliptical A.M.

3 KB complexes, 2 sets medicine ball throws, 50 swings with heavy KB, 15 mins stationary bike P.M.

Nothing much, hit some high/low complexes with the kettlebell, tossed around the medicine ball, just got moving, kept the blood flowing. Definitely want to pick up the conditioning work to get ready for the summer competition schedule.

Deadlift 3/29/11

Dead:

135 x 5 x 2, 225 x 3, 315 x 2, 375 x 3, 430 x 3, 485 x 3

Dimmel deads:

135 x 10 x 4

Bent over row:

135 x 10 (stopped due to elbow pain)

Pulldown:

6 sets of 12

Face pull:

4 sets of 10

Reverse grip curl:

4 sets of 10

Ab wheel:

4 sets of 10

This was a get in, get the 5/3/1 numbers as prescribed, and get out quick workout. I felt really drained going in, knew it was gonna be a grind, but pulled it out. I am still feeling the effects of picking the farmers 6 times on Saturday as well as good stone reps. Hopefully next week my back will be fresh and I'll have a better pull. I had done 25 mins of hill climb on the elliptical earlier in the day, and after this workout did 3 sets of 25 on DB shrugs and jogged 15 mins at 5.5 mph and 5% incline on the treadmill. A decent training day, nothing spectacular, but I did what I was supposed to (BW at an even 260)

Bench 3/28/11

CGB:

95 x 15, 135 x 10, 175 x 8, 215 x 6, 245 x 8, 295 x 7, 265 x 10

Cybex Chest press (wide grip):

3 sets

Incline flies:

30 x 15 x 3

Seated DB military press:

65 x 15 x 3

Decline DB press w/ situp:

55 x 12 x 3

KB complexes, Medicine ball complexes, Burpees

I decided to keep this a relatively light day being that it was 2 days after a contest. I had taught a 45 minute bootcamp class at work a few hours earlier with lots of DB work, core, and bodyweight exercises. I feel like I got in some good rep recovery work and decent conditioning at the end of the workout. Sore, but making strides! (BW sitting at 261)

Quad Cities Contest

First off, I want to say I had a lot of fun at this contest. I thought it was a good challenge, but very doable. That said, I am a touch disappointed with a 4th place finish, but I realize there is a lot of work left for me to do to achieve better placings against strong competition.

The first event was the press medley. I finished the first 3 in just over 17 seconds, I managed to clean the 280 log, but I realized that any attempt to press it up would more likely result in me going down as I was seeing stars at this point. I was actually very pleased with the split I got although Bryan managed to edge me out by .07 seconds on this one. This went far better than expected.

The second event proved troublesome. On the 280/hand farmers walked I got a good first pick, but 6 steps into it my left hand gave out. I ended up with about 6 drops along the 80' course and finished in a pathetically slow 48 seconds. I was really displeased with this because farmers walk had gone really well for me in training for this contest. I guess I have more grip work to do in the coming months.

The third event was the duck walk/sled drag medley. I got a decent pace on the duck walk which is the worst part of it for me, but got a really fast pull on the prowler sled drag. I finished in a little over 20 seconds. Not a spectacular time, but much better than I had done in training.

The fourth event was the one I was most looking forward to, the truck pull. I got off to a fast start and easily got down the course finishing in just under 27 seconds. I was not surprised as this has always been a good event for me.

The last event was the one I had dreaded most in training for the contest. It was the 270 atlas stone over a 48" bar for max reps in 60 seconds. I had only been getting 5 to 7 reps in training on account of my overly deliberate lapping and re-gripping of the stone. At the contest, however, I managed to one-motion 8 of the 11 reps I got. It was truly unbelievable. It felt like an out-of-body experience. All I could focus on was going as fast as I could, I just heard Corey yelling at me the whole time. I don't know what was responsible for my turn around on this event, but it felt good. I felt manly.

Overall, I was pleased to have done as well or better than expected on 4 of the 5 events. I was able to finish every event but the press medley (which I did not expect to anyway) and I had a great time. I want to give a sincere thanks to my teammates who helped me at the contest. Bryan, Corey, and Ian, you guys are awesome. I'd also like to thank Bryan's lovely wife, Cassie, for coming out and taking lots of pictures, and my beautiful girlfriend, Brittany, for all of her encouragement and support. I also owe a huge thanks to Jesse Jobe for allowing me to train at his gym and for his advice, support, and encouragement, and to the rest of the Steel Jungle crew for all they do to help in my training. I am very excited to build on what I accomplished and learned at this contest and to venture into new territory as a LW competitor this summer.