Squat Day April 22

back squat to box, 2 and a half holes showing: worked up to 225 x 5,5,7

These felt ok, which is a marked improvement form debilitating hip pain. There also fairly close for depth, which is surprising. I’m pretty sure this box setting is the same one I was using for safety bar.

reverse band safety bar (I can’t remember for sure if I dropped the box height one hole; I was supposed to): two plates plus blue efs reverse bands x 21 reps

pullup: bw x 5,5,6 superset with

reverse hyper: 2 plates per side x 3 x 10

band clams and iso hip thrusts

Deadlift and Military Monday, April 20

Sunday is my “normal” day to deadlift but by time I got done with errands I didn’t feel like it and in my defense I worked a 16 hour shift the day before and didn’t get off until 2am. No harm, no foul as I made it up on Monday.

block pull: 4 mats 225×1, 275×1, 3 mats 225×1, 275×1, 2 mats 225×1, 275×1, 1 mat 275×5,5,10 (+belt)

military press: 135×5,6 superset with

pullup: bw (a lot) x 5,7

band hip thrust: orange band x 15,18 superset with

reverse hyper: plate per side x 10, 2 plate per side x 20

side plank on lowest box (maybe 5 inches?) 30sec x 2 per side alternate with

isometric hip thrust: 30 seconds

front plank on lowest box: bw x 60sec

I don’t know why my military felt so bad and has been so weak lately. It never used to bother me but in the last few months it’s started to irritate my wrists (even with an open grip) and feel funky in my shoulders.

Squat Wednesday April 15 and Bench Friday April 17

Wednesday 4/15

SSB box squat to parallelish box (one notch down from highest setting:) 25’s x 2-3, 45’s x 1, 45 + 25 x1, 2 plates x 1, 2 plates +25 x 1, 2 plates + 25 + 10 x 5,5,6

invert row: bw x 2 x 10 triset with

isometric hold hip thrust: bw x 45s, 45s triset with

reverse hyper: 45 per side x 15, 20

ADSR: 2 plates x 1 trip per side

side plank on tall jump platform: 60s per side

random other sled work

 

Friday 4/17

bench, inside orange power rack: 45×2, 95×2, 135 x 1, 185×1, 225×1, 245×1, 275×1, 280 x 5,5,7 I switched to the rack because I won’t always have a spotter due to my work schedule. Safety first, plus this way I can set up farther underneath the bar to more easily give my own lift-off’s.

push up, hands on lowest platform box thing: bw x 15

invert row: bw x 10

sled presses/sled reverse flies: One plate x 75 reps (broken up into sets of 25 alternating)

 

 

Deadlift 4/12 and Military 4/13

Deadlift, Sunday April 12, 2015

box pull, four mats under bar: 225×1, 275×1

box pull, three mats: 225×1, 275×1

box pull, 2 mats: 225×1, 275×5,5,10 (added belt)

This is down within two inches of the floor.

orange efs band hip thrust, feet on short box: bw x 20, 17

reverse hyper: one plate per side x 10, one plate + 25 x 10, 10

side plank on bench: 2 x 30 sec per side, alternating

ARSD: plate + 25 x 3 lengths left then right

skip step drag: 2 plates + 25, random amounts I don’t know how to describe these. Step forward with one foot then take a short stutter step and then repeat a long step with the original foot.

Monday, April 13, 2015

military press, yellow coded needle thread bar: 45×5, 95×2, 135×1, 155×5,5,6 These sucked. I haven’t been able to get my wrists in good position for these for a while now. I use the same open grip I’ve used for years.

log press: empty x 10, 10’s x 10, 10, 12

reverse hyper: 1 plate per side x 10

pull up: bw x 6, 6, 5, 5

side plank, on bench: 2 x bw x 39sec, L-R, alternating

front plank, on bench: 45 sec

ARSD: 2 half lengths per side, alternating x 45 + 25

lateral walk sled drag: one length per side x 45 + 25, one length per side x 2 plates + 25

skip step drags: 2 plates + 25 x 1 half length per side, 3 plates + 25 x 1 half length per side, one trip per side

Bench April 10, 2015

bench, ring between index and middle finger: 45×5, 95×2, 135×1, 185×1, 225×1, 275×5,5,6

These felt okay, but just okay. The only thing I don’t like about a competition bench is that I can’t get far enough underneath the bar to comfortably give myself lift-offs. For every other purpose a competition bench is awesome, and the bench position is great when your giving lift-offs it’s just not my cup of tea for doing it myself.

pushup: bw x 15,15,15 superset with

ring invert rows: bw x 15, 15, 10

reverse hyper: 2 plates x 10

ARSD: plate + 25 2 trips, altrernating sides on each length. I also wore my funny Rockport walking shoes for these which makes it feel different than when I wear my other minimalist shoes.

sled face pulls, rows and presses

 

Squat Training Wednesday April 8, 2015

Had a decent squat workout tonight and a nice little PR.

SSB box squat, one down from the highest setting: 45’s x 1, 45 + 25 x 1, 2 plates x 1, 2 plates + 10 x 1 (belt), 2 Plates + 25 x 5,5,6 (PR)

Reverse hyper: 90 x 2 x 15

prowler push, no weight: 6 lengths (four lines on concrete) with 60 sec rest

Believe me, I felt kinda stupid pushing an empty prowler but I know last week the pushes didn’t go to well even with 25’s. Just getting into position and trying to move fast was hard enough.

ARSD: plate + 25 x one trip per side

Fwd drag from ab pulldown position: plate + 25 x 1 trip, 2 plates + 25 x 1 trip

Training Sunday, April 5

I got another “deadlift” workout in. I’m still basically doing a block pull and working my way down to the floor. On the plus side I had almost no back pain on these, just a little diffuse discomfort. I checked and I’m low enough now that I don’t need to mess around with the block and putting the mats under my feet. Now I can put three mats under each side of the bar and stand on the platform and be on the same height I pulled at this week. I’m hoping next week I can get one mat even closer to the floor. These felt super strong on the singles, it wasn’t until I started pulling reps that I can feel a little something in my back. I don’t think it’s bad form, since I’ve pulled hundreds if not thousands of rep deadlifts, I think I’m still building up strength/endurance in those muscles that are keeping my back stable.

Block pull, low box: 225×1 (no mats). 275 x 1 (no mats), 1 (1 mat), 1 (2 mats), 1 (3 mats), 1 (4 mats), 5,5 (4 mats), 8(4 mats, added a belt)

 

reverse hyper: 2 plates x 2 x 10 superset with

pullup: bw x 5,3

 

ARSD: plate + 2 1/2 + 25 x 1 trip per side

These sled drags were pretty tought today. I was feeling them down in my ankle/peroneal muscles. Between the way they make me feel in weird places (peroneals??) and the general improvement in my back since I started doing these, I think I’m on the right track.

Side note: I had a family thing for Easter and I worked late so I didn’t get out of bed very well so I was rushed for time. Otherwise there are a few other things I would have liked to have done.

A Really Good Squat Day

Tonight I had a training session that almost took me back to the good ol’ days in the dungeon gym in Beyer Hall with the ISU Weight Club. I spent some time today going through back issues of the Attack and I’m not sure whether that motivated my workout or my workout fueled my nostalgia. Either way, I’ll take it.

Safety bar box squat, to the highest setting on adjustable box: bar x 3, 25’sx2, plate x 1, plate + 25 x 1, 2 plates x 1, 2 plates + 10 x 5,5,7 This box height is between two and three finger widths high.

reverse band safety bar box squat, blue EFS bands to one hole shorter box than above: 2 plates x 20 These were hard. Definitely a gut check like I was looking for here. The reverse band death-sets I used to do back in the day are some of the training I look back on most fondly. I didn’t wear a belt for these.

Also, I’ve found that wearing my Chuck’s makes a big difference in my squatting. I’d really like to work some more overtime so I can buy a pair of actual squat shoes. Anyone care to make a recommendation?

reverse hyper: 45 x 10-12 These are just some extra/prehab/whatever you want to call it for my back.

pullup: bw x 2 x 3

prowler push: 2 plates x 1 three lines in the cement, ~ 30 feet?) , 2 25’s x three lines

These freakin’ killed me. I’m so out of shape and the concrete is so uneven I found myself having a hard time getting the prowler even moving for the return trip with 2 plates, so I had to drop it down to quarters.

anti-rotation sled drag (ARSD): 45 x 3 consecutive lengths of the parking lot aka a trip and a half

I don’t know if it’s a standard nomenclature (I also don’t care) but I refer to a down and back as a trip and I consider a trip two lengths (the down and the back). Anyway, I digress.

Tonight definitely kicked my ass and I feel like I’m finally on the road to making progress again.

I also didn’t go bananas with my post-workout nutrition and use it for an excuse to eat a pig trough of junk food. I had a kaiser roll with a 93% lean turkey burger and a little bbq sauce and then about 80 grams (uncooked) of sweet rice with another turkey patty and a dollop of cheese dip (

Sled Drag March 31, 2015

My main effort was a bunch of sled dragging this session for about half an hour. That anti-rotation sled drag (ARSD) really seems to be doing something.

I did the ARSD, rows, facepulls, curls, tricep extensions and belt drags.

I’ve also been experimenting with doing a couple sets of reverse hypers, just for it’s purported restorative effect on the back. I only use a plate or two on the Rogue with the short strap my gym has.

It’s Funny Because It’s True!

I found this link today on EliteFTS and this was my favorite part, because you can replace “strength and conditioning” and “personal training” with almost anything and it’s still true:

The problem I have lies in the lack of respect for the strength and conditioning industry and its pioneers. Everyone wants a quick fix—a special program, but that just doesn’t exist. So, once they determine that there are too many people who know more, and too many resources to read, they must find something new to latch on to. Insert the latest and greatest workout—we must reinvent the wheel if we can’t quite understand the wheel. In my opinion, it’s all just marketing to a generation who needs to be told what is good, bad, cool, popular, healthy, etc. Invent a new program, link with Reebok or Nike, pay some celebs to endorse it, air it on TV, kinesieo tape your face, and Boom! There it is. Because the general public knows so little, it’s quite easy to impress them. They hear so much bullshit on TV, radio, Facebook, and from personal trainers that they will believe anything you say as long as you 1) Say it with authority, 2) Have some stupid letters by your name, and 3) Use words they are unfamiliar with. The best part is NOBODY EVER ASKS WHY. Whenever I have a client do something, I tell them why. However, if I didn’t, they wouldn’t ask. I could tell someone to take his shirt off and scream when doing bench because it increases neural drive by 15 percent, and before you know it, his shirt would be off and he’d be yelling like Christen Bale’s rant on the set of Terminator Salvation.