Squatting, Lots and Lots of Squatting

No really, like, too much squatting.

20 mins of cardio on the stationery bike like normal in the AM and extra mbility stuff

Early PM Session

parallel box squat (no warmups ass to grass today): 315×1, 365×1, 405×1, 425×1, 455×1, 465×2x1 I thrw my briefs on at 365 and I ratcheted my belt up pretty tight for those last sets. I felt super strong, like I could have squatted another 100 pounds. It must be the briefs, which felt super tight. I must be doing something right, since these briefs were loose when I weighed 270 and now they’re tight. Also, I was trying to get/stay super tight on the box, and really pushing out into the briefs.

back extensions: bw+25 x 3 x 10

leg press: 6 plates x 10, 7 plates x 10

one arm db row: 85 x 2 x 10

PM Conorditioning session

Deck of Cards with air squats and pushups, got it done in 34 minutes

Jim Wendler’s 531

First, go buy Jim’s book, because Jim and Elite have been nothing but the best in every dealing I’ve ever had with them.

Second, go read this article about 5/3/1. The program is unimportant but the concepts he lays out are critical. If you took the lessons he lays out there and applied them to any program, you’d make progress. Not that 5/3/1 isn’t a good program…

Third, really, go buy the Ebook.

Just. Keep. Going. Or, Why I Love/Hate Conditioning

Conditioning is not satisfying. It does not feel good. Worse, it’s a constant moral challenge; the body is sending constant signals to stop and the internal monologue is incessantly self defeating.

It’s not like cranking out a max deadlift, or even a rep PR on the squat; there’s no instant gratification. The little successful bumps that each rep signifies aren’t as discrete. There’s only success in the end, when you’re done.

You must realize these things, take stock of them and continue on. You must. Keep. Going.

That’s what I hate about conditioning work. But it is also what I love about it; conquering myself, rising above self defeat and meeting the moral problem that is quitting myself.

Sometimes I need to have challenges for myself and meet them whether they make sense technically speaking or not. Doing hundreds of pushups or bodybuilders may not make the most sense structurally, functionally or physiologically, but sometimes it has to be done.

I remind myself of the Marine recruits at Paris Island and San Diego; the training they do isn’t always the most cutting edge, high tech program and they can’t opt of training because they don’t feel recovered or they’re not ready to give their optimum performance They just. Keep. Going. Same goes for our warriors training in far-away vacation spots like Afghanistan and Iraq who find the time and guts in between facing other human beings in mortal combat. No offense, but if you can’t Just-Keep-Going with a nice clean bed, supplements, food and personal safety then you’re probably being some kind of pussy.

One of my favorite quotes is from perhaps Germany’s greatest poet, Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe:

Whatever you think you can do or believe you can do, begin it. Action has magic, grace, and power in it.

That’s how a smarter man than I am says just fucking do it. Just. Keep. Going.

Weekend Trizzaining Update

Thursday

Tabata Front Squat 95# lowest reps = 8 I kind of pussed out on these and didn’t go balls out. Next week I will dominate it.

Friday

bench, pinkies on rings: 45×10, 135×3, 185×2, 225×1, 275×1, 295×1, 315×1, 330×2x3

close grip 2 board: 225×22 I was shooting for 35 because someone in the gym said I couldn’t do it.

pinkies on rings 1+1/2 reps: 205×10

db low incline: 65×2x15

random laterals

YTWLs with 8 pound dbell

reverse curl 95×2x10

Then for conditioning, 125 8-ct bodybuilders

Saturday

nothing

Sunday

12 sprints up a grassy hill from the little rock at the bottom to the big rock at the top.

It felt turble, but not in any particular muscle. I jusft felt heavy, tired and queesy.

Midweek Updates

Monday

military press: 185×3x3

weighted chins: bw+40×4x5 I’m pretty pleased with these; chins are getting strong.

incline barbell, 1 1/2 reps: 135×3x12

leg press shoulder press: I think I used an empty sled for a couple sets of 15.

conventional dead: worked up to 485×3

For conditioning I just did 5 rounds of 10 25# db’s swing and 10 hanging pikes. The pikes were much harder than the swings and my abs still hurt. I wish I would have just done the sumo deadlift high pulls and hang snatch like normal.

Tuesday

The Bear circuit, 135×5x5 for time. It actually turns into 25 singles for time, but whatever. It consists of hang clean, front squat, push jerk, back squat and push jerk, in that order, without letting go of the bar. I think I Went just under 22 minutes.

Wednesday

deep box squat: 135×1, 225×1, 315×1

parallel box squat, briefs: 365×1, 405×1, 425×1, 435×3, 445×2,1 I stalled on that third because of bad form. If I would have been able to reset on the box and fight it, I would have got it. Oh well. I’m going to stick with this weight. I need to remind myself that strength is on a holding pattern and stop trying to make weight increases every wave, I’d be just as well working on getting all three work sets in with this weight before I go up. Also, I might have to start doing this on a four week wave with a deload instead of a three week wave.

leg press, to pin 2: 5 plates x 5, 6 plates x 10, 6 plates and quarter x 10, 6 plates per side + one quarter per side + one extra quarter on one side x 10. I refuse to load the leg press in increments less than 25. It’s a leg press for f!@#’s sake.

superset with back extension: bodyweight x 2 x 15 I bumped up the reps and only did two sets. I make sure not to hyperextend at the top and hold for a short pause.

I wanted to do a max set of pullups but I did the at the end and after 8 I just quit. I probably could have gutted out several more, but I just didn’t have it in me. Training is about what you can do when it counts, not in the gym.

For conditioning I did the deck of cards with flutter kicks and pushups again. I might have to buy myself a kettlebell and I’d do swings instead. I got it done in just a touch under 30 minutes.

Sunday Night Conditioning

Circuit Work – 35 seconds each, three rounds, 2 minutes between rounds

1. Jumping Jack
2. Mt Climber
3. toy soldier
4. lunge
5. bike
6. squat
7. pushup
8. situp
9. pistol
10. YTWL
11. flutter kick
12. 135# trap bar pull

This wasn’t as hard as it should have been because I’m not giving 100% on each set. I’m going to stay at 35 seconds each for a while until I’m confident that I’m giving it all I’ve got on each one.

Inactive Recovery

I did absolutely no physical activity yesterday. The most challenging thing I did all day was get in and out of my car.

Today hasn’t been much better, but I guess I’m going to do something tonight in the gym. Probably a skills developement/structural circuit, but maybe more or less. We’ll see.

Benching, Conditioning, Chocolate Milk

I got quite a bit training wise tonight. The only thing that seems to have suffered are the biceps, which I don’t give a shit about anyway.

Morning I did about 20 minutes on the bike at 135-140 bpm.

bench, pinkies on rings: 135×5, 185×5, 225×1, 275×1, 305×1, 315×1, 315×5 That’s a rep PR so I didn’t bother to do more sets. Also I’m very lazy.

invert row: bwx2×15

reverse curl: 95×8 I think this was a heavier bar so it was really 100 and explains why I couldn’t get my reps. 85×10,13

YTWL: 8’s x 6

prestretcher crunches: 70×3x10

Conditioning

100 8-ct bodybuilders for time

elapsed time was 20:16 which seems like I was flying.

Tabatagasm

Tabata Front Squat

20 seconds on: 10 seconds off

8 total rounds

95#

I felt terrible. It was almost an hour ago and I’m still sweating and I have a pump places I didn’t even work, like my biceps.

I also did some cardio this morning, for the record.

If I Look More Jacked, Here’s Why

I’ve written before about how there are two types of people in the gym; folks who need to be reined in a little bit and people who need to be prodded along. The latter need to be turned into the former if they ever want to make progress. Too many people never learn how go hard and really work.

I call this component “temperment” or “disposition” and for the record, while I think it has a significant genetic or developmental component, it’s definitely trainable.

Tonight I had one of those moments where I got it in my head to do something and proceeded to do it, despite hesitation and trepidation that I wouldn’t be able to succeed. For my conditioning I took a deck of cards and for every red did a set of flutter kicks and every black a set of pushups. If my maths are solid, that adds up to 380 pushups and 380 flutter kicks in 33 minutes.

Nearly 400 pushups seems like a lot. It’s one of those things that looking back I find it hard to believe I did. It makes a lot of other hard things seem possible. I know I can train myself to accomplish anything. Like Ronnie Coleman says “Ain’t nothin’ to it but to do it.”

Anyway, this morning I did 30 minutes of cardio on the bike at about 130 bpm and some mobility work.

I don’t know if it was the earlier session or that I remember to stretch my hip flexors and internal rotators, but my hips felt great on the low box during warm-ups for my PM workout.

low box safety bar squat: 150×1, 200×1, 240×1, 290×1

parallel box safety bar squat: 340×1, 340×5 This set was hard and it tweaked my hammie a little, I wore a belt for these.

incline back extension: bwx3×10 with short holds on each rep superset with

leg press: 5 plates x 10, 6 plates x 10, 6 plates + quarter x 10

pullups: bwx14 This is an all-time rep PR on pullups, and at a bodyweight of 250ish no less.

preacher curl: 95×10

face pull: 8 x 15

I think that’s all I did, then I went and did the card thing. It took me a lot longer to train today than normal of late, but I did some actual accessory work instead of moving right on to conditioning after squatting.

Had a good shop-talk with one of the regulars and I might type up a mini article about it at some point.

Also, I stretched my tri’s and chest/shoulders real well after conditioning.