Lifts & Chicks: I Crush 'Em RAW

[Alpha Zulu]

This will be my new journal. I have kept other logs in the Workout section but will be logging here from now on because I have decided to compete in my first meet this year and it looks like it will be sometime in the May to July timeframe (I still have to decide which fed I want to compete in/which meet will work best with my summer schedule of vacations, etc?). I also workout to look big/lean and want to put on a lot more size, but I figured if I am doing PL meets along the way, I might as well log here. Let's get started with some background:

BASIC STATS
Age: 24
Height: 5'8"
Weight: 170 lbs
BF: ~14%


BACKGROUND
I am naturally light; I entered high school at around 115 lbs (same height too), never having lifted a weight. HS football and lacrosse introduced me to lifting and I got up to about 160 with some OK stats (225 bench, 325 squat, 385 dead, 4.6 forty, 30 inch vertical). I was a good athlete and good at both sports at the HS level but being 5'8" and a lightweight limited my options for collegiate sports to small DIII schools that I had no desire to go to. So I pretty much gave up the training (I would lift light and easy, but nothing worthwhile). I entered college in Sept. 2003 weighing all of 120 lbs...at least I was ripped, but the fact that my body would like to have its cruising weight hover below 130 lbs if I don't do anything about it is something that I absolutely hate and am constantly trying to overcome. Over the next two years I put on a little bit of muscle (~12 lbs) and strength, but I wasn't serious about not being a skinny bitch anymore.

After my 2nd year of school is when I started becoming more serious about lifting and diet and all that. Over the next 18 months (until about Jan. 2007) I pushed my weight up to a high of 177 and was getting much stronger (and fatter, but I honestly didn't give a **** because I was gaining so well). Unfortunately, the planets aligned and I suffered a herniation of L5-S1 and a small tear in the labrum of my right shoulder in the same month. I tried to work around them but when a lot of compound movements in both the upper body and lower body are left out, not much progress is made. In Feb. 2008, I was still trying to work around a lot of these problems when I discovered a great office near my house that combined an MD, a chiropractor, and a physical therapist. They worked wonders. I started being able to lift heavier and by around May 2008 I was feeling pretty good. Unfortunately, I was back down to 140 lbs (once again, ripped but small).

Since then I have made a big commitment to eating a lot and lifting heavy and have put on about 30 lbs, albeit some of that was fat. My lifts have shot up, I am setting PRs again, and I am feeling great. So great in fact, that I am going to do a meet in the summer and hopefully another one at the end of the year.

I hope I will have some subbers to come along for the ride, help me out, and maybe learn something from me, or but most of all, gather some motivation from reading my logs, as I am very committed to reaching my goals right now.

I was only updating my other log once a week because non-disclosure agreements with Eric keep me from logging the workouts, but I will try to post daily in here, with any highlights from that day, etc...

[Kiknskreem]

Sub a dub dubbed.

[Alpha Zulu]

I tend to break up my log posts into three sections, Training, Diet, and Miscellaneous, so a little info on each:

TRAINING
This will generally include lifting, cardio, and any mobility/stability/flexibility rehab stuff that I do.

I have been lifting on either an upper/lower split or 3x full-body for a while now. Up until about 8 weeks ago I was doing a full-body routine, but have been training under Eric Cressey for the past two months. This has gotten me close to 100% in terms of my recovery from my injuries and I have been making great gains in my lifts in that time too. It is a conjugated routine, with a lot of Westside influence, but certainly a lot of differences as well.

Some current lifts:
Squat: 315x7
Bench: 240x2
Deads: 315x3 (injury is the limiting factor here)
OH Press: 135x5
Front Squats: 265x3

Obviously, my goal is to get stronger but here a few more specific items:

Procedural Goals
Focus at the gym and lift with renewed intensity. I am usually pretty dialed in at the gym, but will use the motivation added by deciding to compete to hopefully push out a few extra reps or pounds here and there.
Stretch intensely. Eric does not have me doing a lot of static stretching, but I tend to half-ass the stuff he does include, which I need to fix.
Increase conditioning/work capacity with GPP and cardio. I have noticed that my time between sets has increased as my weight has gone up. Eric now has me doing two GPP sessions per week and daily 10-20 min light cardio sessions to fix this issue (and drop a little BF)

Short-Term Goals (Feb. 1, 2009) - Will post new goals to start each month
Get comfortable pulling from the floor again. This is a combination of a mental issue and a form issue. Mentally, I am still dealing with a little bit of fear of beginning a pull and feeling that damned disc slip out of place. The physical part is that I am having a little bit of trouble pulling through with the hips/glutes and this is leaving my back to do a lot more work than it should, which is definitely risky for someone in my position. At the knees, my pulls are golden, but as I drop lower, form starts to deteriorate. So that is priority #1 for the next few weeks.
Bench: 245 for a triple
Chin-Ups: BW+55x6
Neutral Grip Pullups: BW+70x4
10" Box Squats: 275x3

Medium-Term Goals (July 1, 2009)
Total 1000 in a meet. I think this is pretty conservative but at this point I have no idea where my deads will be in 6 months because they are still problematic.
Bench: 275x1
Squat: 375x1, 225x20
Deads: 350x1
Front Squat: 315x1

Long-Term Goals (Jan. 1, 2010)
Bench: 300x1
Squat: 400x1
Deads: 500x1 (If I am able to pull safely)
OH Press: 200x1

DIET
I have been eating to gain weight for the last 8 months and went from 140-170. At my peak intake I at around 3500-3750 kcal day if averaged, since I eat more on days that I lift, but over the past few weeks that has come down a little bit. The weight gain has stalled and my appetite has started to wane. I am going to take the next several weeks to tighten up a little bit, cut back on some of the food, and let my appetite start to build again. Hopefully I won?t drop too much weight, but cutting some fat won't be a bad thing either.

I tracked everything I ate this past week and my average came out to about 3130 kcal per day.

I don't use much as far as supps go: multi, vit. C, fish oil, cissus, and creatine (although not taking it at the moment).

Procedural Goals
Continue to track daily intake
Keep diet clean. I don't think clean eating is any better for body composition reasons, but I generally feel much healthier and have more energy when I eat clean. "Dirty" foods bloat me, give me an upset stomach, and generally make me lethargic, so I will try to keep it clean. I also value my long-term health, so that is another reason I want to get back to cleaning up my intake.
Achieve more diet variety. I tend to get into ruts where I eat the same foods over and over. I need to end this because I lose my appetite for some of these things if I eat them too frequently. For that reason, this is a really important goal. So any food ideas are certainly welcome.
Limit myself to 6 drinks per week. I really like beer but the calories certainly add up quickly when I don't pay any attention to how much I am drinking each week. So I am going to give myself a limit. I can spread it out or drink it all in a single sitting, doesn't really matter to me, I just want to limit the empty calories that come along with alcohol. I have always been a drinker, so this one will be a tough goal as well, but I have stuck to it over the last two weeks (not an easy task with all the great college football and the NFL playoffs).

Body Composition Goals
April 1, 2009: 160 lbs, 9-10% BF
Jan. 1, 2010: 180 lbs, 12% BF

MISCELLANEOUS
This is where I group everything else: my motivation levels, my sleeping habits, stress that might be carrying over into the gym, any lifting/diet related reading I have done, reinforcing good habits and trying to rid myself of bad habits, etc...

At this point, my motivation is quite high, as high as it has been in months but I have a few things I need to work on.

Procedural Goals
Fix my sleeping schedule and get 8 hours of good sleep each night. I have been sleeping like crap lately. Must improve that.
Start doing more education and reading.
Find time each day to relax (this means being productive with my other obligations so I have that time).

I guess that's a pretty substantial introduction, but I plan on keeping this journal up indefinitely so I figured I might as well put some effort into it.

[Alpha Zulu]

Sub a dub dubbed.

Thanks Kik...You will be a valuable contributor.

[/JV/]

What a journal title.

You have some great goals set for yourself. I found your dedication and intensity in your previous journal to be very motivating (and I've learned a lot from you, too), so I'm looking forward to keeping up with this one as you get ready for meets and nail your goals.

[Alpha Zulu]

What a journal title.

You have some great goals set for yourself. I found your dedication and intensity in your previous journal to be very motivating (and I've learned a lot from you, too), so I'm looking forward to keeping up with this one as you get ready for meets and nail your goals.

Thanks, I enjoyed your contributions to my other journal and am glad you are along for this one.

And don't worry, as soon as I figure what meet I want to do, I will be working hard to convince you to compete as well.

[/JV/]

Thanks, I enjoyed your contributions to my other journal and am glad you are along for this one.

And don't worry, as soon as I figure what meet I want to do, I will be working hard to convince you to compete as well.

Good luck with that. But when you decide, let me know the details of the meet. I'd at least like to go to support you and see what a PL meet is like. Never been to one.

[Alpha Zulu]

Good luck with that. But when you decide, let me know the details of the meet. I'd at least like to go to support you and see what a PL meet is like. Never been to one.

I still keep pushing you to just bite the bullet...I think you'd do quite well, but regardless, coming along for support (and spots) would still be very appreciated.

[Alpha Zulu]

I will try to start each entry off with a little enlightenment in the form of some motivation, education, etc...

Today's Enlightenment
Since injuries have been a pretty big obstacle for me and are something I am sure we all deal with from time to time in this game, I'll start this journal off with a great post from Glenn Pendlay in response to a thread from a guy with some shoulder issues. The last paragraph is particularly motivating.
Source: http://www.elitefitness.com/forum/we...ce-524363.html

I will put my 2 cents worth in here, im no doctor but have a bunch of experience with injuries. In fact, over the last twenty years, i would hazard to guess that I have had more injuries than most other 10 lifters put together. A couple of decades of competitive wrestling, scottish highland games, powerlifting, and olympic lifting done both without a coach most of the time, and hell bent for leather to improve at ANY cost will do that to you. multiple torn ligaments in both knees, several shoulder dislocations, torn rotator cuffs in both shoulders, completely torn pec, broken and smashed toes, that is just a small start to the list.

First thing is, most injuries heal if you leave them alone. Thats a fact.

If you train hard enough for long enough, you are likely to undergoe some sort of injury, thats also a fact. And with or without surgery, once you injure something, it is unlikely to ever be quite the same. another unfortunate fact.

But heres the thing. 95% of the stupid stuff we do to ourselves in the weightroom can be trained around if we are smart. And 95% of the time, in the end it doesnt really effect the outcome of our training much if we are smart.

If you have the cash or the insurance get it checked out, never hurts. I never did. never had money or insurance, so I had to train around stuff. sometimes I did it smart, sometimes i did it stupid. For instance, the morning after I completely tore my right pec in half, tore the pec at about 10pm at night and trained again at 8am the next morning, I snatched 308lbs. It hurt, but I was determined to not let the injury interfere with my training cycle so I just ignored the injury and went on training. That was stupid. On the other hand, I also at one point squatted 606lbs for a set of 11 (supposed to do 10 but the video later showed I had lost count) with no belt, no wraps, high bar completely ass to ground and close stance even though I had a couple of torn knee ligaments and severe tendonitis and calcification of the left patellar tendon. I did that by being smart, using exercises like the reverse hyper and the good morning and various other things to build the squat without actually having to squat heavy all the time and aggravate my knees. you get the picture.

my advice is to STOP immedietly doing the flat bench. You are not going to lose muscle by stopping benching. Sure you will get temporarily less "skilled" at the bench press, but nothing that wont come back quickly with a little practice. If it hurts, dont do it. switch for a couple of weeks to inclines and military press, exercises that evidently dont hurt. After a couple of weeks maybe try some light benches. see if they hurt.

who knows, you might never be able to bench heavy all the time again. you might still be able to move the bench poundage up though. Kind of like my squat, you might be able to do dumbell benches, military or push press, and inclines heavy, practice light benching every week, and once a month or so do a heavy set of 5 or something and continue to get stronger.

play it by ear and be smart. once the inflammation goes down from whatever is wrong, all may be well and you may have no further problems. these things have a mind of their own and you are basically along for the ride. Be smart, train around it, and youll get to the the end of the line just fine.

Another couple of quick notes. I went for about 3-4 years without being able to raise my right arm above shoulder level because of pain, pain caused by injuries to the shoulder in high school wrestling. I honestly probably couldnt have done a shoulder lateral with more than a 15lb dumbell. this was roughly from the time i was 17 years old to the time i was 21 years old. each rep I ever did on the bench press was very, very painfull. but at the beginning of this period i bench pressed between 275 and 300lbs. at the end of this period i did a 400lb bench press in competition without a powerlifting "bench shirt". At about 25 or 26 years old i bench pressed 512lbs, with completely pain free shoulders, completely lifetime natural and also with no powerlifting "bench shirt". this was done in competition so there was a pause on the chest. At the age of 32 I military pressed 392lbs very strictly very easily also with no shoulder pain. At that age I also did a 440lb push press, also with healthy shoulders. I just mention this to give you hope. I was an idiot and overcame what was most likely a much worse injury than you have. Your getting some good advice and should do much better.

and i promise this time, last thing. this is to those who would say that training balls to the wall and getting injured here and there along the way is stupid and you will regret it. bull.

for one thing, at 36 years old, even without training seriously or steadily (honestly without training much at all for the past 3 years) I can still walk up to 400lbs and deadlift it for a set of 20 with no warmup. stupid yeah, but it impresses the newbies and mullets. I can still do things most people cant. I still weigh about 270lbs on a 6'2" frame and still look at least kind of "big". Not like I used to look, but again, at least enough to impress the "newbies" and mullets. I go thru life in better shape than those who have never trained. I am in better shape than those who have never trained, and can physically do things they cant.

Do I have some aches and pains? yeah. but listen to those who have never trained and never done anything. all the complaining about back pain and whatever else their atrophied bodies have going wrong makes me a bit sick. I have a lot less wrong with me than your average couch potatoe who never actually used his body.

Might I pay for what I have done at some point 20 years in the future? Sure I might. but I tell you what, it was worth it. I pushed my limits. I might not have gotten quite to the point I wanted to, but I got all I could out of my body, and I believe that with all my heart. It was a fun ride. It was a great ride. It was worth it. Physically at least, I LIVED!!! who wants to go thru life and tell the grandchildren, "yeah, if i had wanted to, I could have benn great". Ill never say that. I knew what I wanted and I gave it my best shot. gave it all I had. I will grow old KNOWING what I had in me, never wondering.

Ill get off my soapbox now. I guess this thread struck a coard in me.

Be smart and youll laugh about this in 5 years, if you remember it at all.

Glenn

Training with Cressey
Month 3, Week 2, Day 1

Warm-Up: ~30 min of foam rolling and dynamic mobility

Lifting
Today I was doing rack pulls from the bottom pin. Doing these last week, I really used my lower back to do the pull instead of hips and glutes. Back was really sore for about three days afterward. In honesty, I was probably close to re-injuring because the lumbar muscles fatigued so easily when pulling like that, causing a lose of extension. So today we dropped the weight substantially and I just did some form work at 275. It really paid off though as I felt my hips taking a much more active role. Not perfect yet, but getting there. This is also low enough of a pull that I need to initiate the lift with my quads, which is something else I didn't do last week that I did today.

The rest of the workout consisted of single-leg work, core work, and a lot of mobility/rehab type exercises. Very tiring workout and I slept like crap last night, so I wore down quickly. My mind was not completely in it either, but I still improved on all the lifts after the rack pulls.

15 min light cardio and some light static stretching to wrap it up

Misc: My diet is holding together nicely. I have impressed myself with my ability to keep it clean and to the plan the past 15 or so days. I need to send a small diet log to Eric because he wants to weigh in on it a bit; as soon as I type that up (hopefully tomorrow) I will post it here as well.

[Alpha Zulu]

Today's Enlightenment
I'll continue on my Pendlay road (he used to post a lot on this board and one day at work I had nothing to do so I read through most of the threads he posted in and marked my favorites). Much shorter and to the point today
Source: http://www.elitefitness.com/forum/we...ut-525019.html

Eat a good diet, get your bench press up 50lbs, your squat and deadlift up 75 or 100lbs each, and double the amount of pullups you can do and see if you dont like the way you look in the mirror a lot better.

13-Jan-2008

~15 min of GPP: essentially several pairs of exercises supersetted and done without much weight but quickly.

20 min light cardio

Light static stretching

Misc: Stressful, long day at work. I was thankful I wasn't lifting today and just had this quick little session because I got to the gym much later than usual. I haven't been doing too well with my goal of getting to bed on time (won't get it tonight either) so that really needs to be worked on.

I sent Eric the last four days of my diet, which are pretty representative of how I usually eat (includes lifting and non-lifting days for both the week and the weekend). Once I figure out how to attach a file, I will post it up...There used to be a button used to attach files, anyone know what gives?

[/JV/]

Guess they took that capability away. Check the Posting Rules in the lower left corner of the page. Too bad, I'd be interested in seeing it. Alternative I guess would be to upload it somewhere else and link to it.

Do you like the GPP stuff? Find it effective? Reading what jdmalm is doing with his tabata work has me interested to try something like that sometime.

Oh, and I like the Pendlay words of wisdom. Nice idea including some of that in here.

[Alpha Zulu]

Guess they took that capability away. Check the Posting Rules in the lower left corner of the page. Too bad, I'd be interested in seeing it. Alternative I guess would be to upload it somewhere else and link to it.

I will see if I can figure something out.

Do you like the GPP stuff? Find it effective? Reading what jdmalm is doing with his tabata work has me interested to try something like that sometime.

Well, this has a little bit of a different purpose than Tabatas or other metcon-type work. I would say this GPP is more focused on facilitating recovery than building conditioning. And for that purpose, it works well. There have been workouts here that left me feeling pretty run-down but going in and getting a light lift/sweat going usually makes me feel much better.

But since I stopped doing the HIIT once or twice per week, I certainly have noticed my rest periods going up a little bit so I am making an effort to start really burning through these GPP sessions to hopefully gain a little bit of that back. I think I will treat them like a Crossfit workout and see if I can improve my time whenever I do them. That might get me gassing a little more.

[qoute]Oh, and I like the Pendlay words of wisdom. Nice idea including some of that in here.[/QUOTE]

Yeah I figured it would be interesting to include a little grain of something interesting with each entry and I have been fascinated by some of the Pendlay stuff recently so I started with that. I'll diversify for sure though.

[Alpha Zulu]

Today's Enlightenment
This is very similar to the foam roller series I am doing prior to every workout - some minor differences exist. I would highly recommend it. Eric has gone as far as to say that coupled with my dynamic mobility work, it is the most important thing I do.


14-Jan-2008: Training with Cressey
Month 3, Week 2, Day 2

Warm-Up: ~30 min of foam rolling and dynamic mobility

Lifting
Great session today. I started off a little slow and was worried I was going to have a weak workout, but things picked up nicely. A couple of the highlights:

Close-Grip 2-Board Press: 4x8 with 185. (I just used a half foam roller in place of the boards as it was 4 inches across; I am going to probably be making some board in the near future.

Chin-ups: 4x6 with BW+45

15 min light cardio and some light static stretching to wrap it up

Misc: I had to get up early to go to work so got less sleep than I should have, but the sleep I did get was very restful so I felt good all day. My shoulder was also bothering me a tiny bit after all the pressing today, but I think I just wasn't keeping my shoulders retracted enough. Will have to be extra mindful of that.

[Alpha Zulu]

[QUOTE=Alpha Zulu;273398061]Today's Enlightenment
Just some comedy from the Rippetoa Q&A. That forum is valuable for both the training advice and the man's one liners. Here he is describing what to do during extended rest times between heavy sets.
Source: http://strengthmill.net/forum/showthread.php?t=1965

I'd just rest, drink your coffee, and brag to your buddies about all the pussy you get.

15-Jan-2008

~15 min of GPP

20 min light cardio

Light static stretching

Misc: Good day today. I had one of the best night's sleep I have had in a while last night. Hopefully I will repeat that tonight. Big day with speed pulls and box squats tomorrow.

Eric got back to me on diet. He said it looks decent and essentially to just start reducing carbs from my carb dominant meals and replace them with vegetables. So whenever I stall with just cardio, I will start doing that as well.

[Alpha Zulu]

Today's (well yesterday's) Enlightenment
This is probably one of the coolest posts I have seen on bb.com and fitting because I was squatting for the first time in the log. It was in Glyder's log, who was a big Dante/DC guy, and ipso facto hardcore on 20 rep squats (aka widowmakers) and beating the logbook. He missed a few reps and Gollum, who actually trains with Dante, came in and had this to say. I have found myself repeating the last line before big sets.

I have a problem with the widowmaker.

I dont see 20 reps.

I see a lost rep.

That makes me......unhappy.

I have a mission for you. Next squat day leave the weight the same, 225 and I want to see 20 reps. I dont give a **** if you have to pause at the top for 10 breaths. I want to see 20 reps. If you can do 16, you can do 20. Bring the gatorade, make sure your pre-workout nutrition is in order, write out a will before you leave the house. Then lock that bar into your traps and dont get out from under it until you have 20.

Lets get serious. Lets get ugly. Beat the logbook.

16-Jan-2008: Training with Cressey
Month 3, Week 2, Day 2

Warm-Up: ~30 min of foam rolling and dynamic mobility

Lifting
Highlights

Speed Deadlifts: 15 singles, 20 seconds rest between reps with 235.

10" Box Squats: 265x3 (only 10 lbs off my goal)
Here's a set with 255:


10 min light cardio and some light static stretching

Misc: For the first time in forever, I felt great pulling from the floor and didn't feel like I was one rep away from hurting myself again. My form is improving and I am not using my back nearly as much. Yes, it is probably still taking a little more of the load than it should, but the difference just over last week's effort (which was with 10 less lbs too) was noticeable. I had a faster bar, more glute, and was much less fatigued. My hamstrings are sore today, not my back.

The low-box squats were also good. Last week I did 250 as my highest set and struggled. Added 15 pounds to that and nailed it today.

A little off-topic discussion: I fully expected the city to be in chaos by now. I went out on Pennsylvania Ave last night, which I expected to be ground zero and there were less people around than on a normal Friday night. Maybe the weather has prevented Obama-con from reaching its full potential. Maybe its just too early and a lot of people have not arrived. I will say this though, the bar I went too was decently crowded and the people that were there, some of whom were from out-of-town, were getting wild. Girls dancing on bars, bartenders taking bottles and pouring free liquor down peoples wide open gullets, etc... I only drank 2 beers btw, I have a big workout today...

[/JV/]

Will you be venturing out on Tuesday?

[Alpha Zulu]

Will you be venturing out on Tuesday?

Very doubtful. I'd like to hear the address so I will likely just be watching it on TV.

[Alpha Zulu]

Today's Enlightenment
http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_...rs_are_fatties

Dave Gulledge is a national level powerlifter. This was all over the interwebs a few years ago and was really eye-opening. I always use it as justification for strength training being the best way to get huge...He dieted down to the 270s from 320 and looked about as thick and dense as a human being can be. His back is just sick.

17-Jan-2008: Training with Cressey
Month 3, Week 2, Day 4

Warm-Up: ~30 min of foam rolling and dynamic mobility

Lifting
Highlights

Floor Press: 225x4
Hammer Grip Chins: BW+60x4 for 4 sets

15 min light cardio and some light static stretching

Misc: Decent day in the gym. I wanted to get two sets on floor press with 225 but on the second set I hit the uprights and lost my groove and only got 2 reps. Other than that a good session all around that wore me down real nice.

Rotating a few new exercises in this coming week, which will be nice.

[Alpha Zulu]

Weekly Update 18-Jan-2009

Weight: 167.4 lbs
I've been hovering in the 167-170 range for a while now. I guess its time to drop a few calories here. Hopefully at around 160 I will have tightened up enough.

Training
Very solid week in the gym. Making some great progress on all my lifts but that was all overshadowed by the fact that I actually felt pretty good pulling from the floor. I am fairly confident I can get my deadlift back up now. I will see how it holds over the next two weeks and then maybe set some goals if I think sustainable progress is possible.

I have a few new lifts rotating in this week as well as some heavy benching, so I need to be focused and dialed in each day.

Diet
Diet is on point and according to the plan, but I guess I am eating at right around maintenance right now since my weight is pretty stagnate. So I will be cutting a few carbs out and doing it slowly. I am not in any rush and do not want to halt my gains in strength (or loss any size).

Misc
My motivation is staying high and I am going full bore. Training is great, diet is great, my mindset is great, and I have been getting the "education" bug again, finding myself reading a lot more on training the past few weeks. I think I went over my beer limit of 6 for the week by 1 or 2 but I will go ahead and chalk that up to the fact that I have been touring the city the past couple of nights and enjoying something I have a couple of miles from my home that others are traveling hundreds of miles to be a part of.

I mentioned in an earlier post that my sleep had not been great recently. Well this week, for some reason or another, I have been sleeping like a baby, so I hope that continues.

Philly lost today, thankfully. I hate that team more than any other and would have hated to see them go to (or God forbid) win the Super Bowl.

Big week ahead, gotta make sure I keep this head of steam I have established for myself.

[Alpha Zulu]

Today's Enlightenment
This is from "Madcow." I don't know who he is IRL, but along with Glenn Pendlay, Mark Rippetoe, and Matt Reynolds, he is one of the guys that has really helped push the whole Bill Starr school of training through to the levels of internet (and other) popularity it has. This is a good thread on Oly lifting too so you might want to read the whole thing Joe.
Source: http://www.elitefitness.com/forum/we...me-440219.html

I love the guys with dedicated "arm days" in their splits. I wouldn't even get out of bed, no less go to a gym for arms.

19-Jan-2009: Training with Cressey
Month 3, Week 3, Day 1

Warm-Up: ~30 min of foam rolling and dynamic mobility

Lifting
Highlights

Deadlifts: 305x5
*These are bittersweet for me. They felt great and to be pulling from the floor (relatively) heavy with confidence and without fear of injury is awesome and something that I thought was going to be months away, if ever. But now I am looking at this saying "I used to be stronger." Well, this is the second time in 2 years I have done anything over 300 so I just need to keep some perspective on the whole thing and know that small, healthy steps over time will get me where I want to be. Can't get greedy or impatient.

15 min light cardio and some light static stretching

Misc: Not a whole lot else going on. I usually lift M, W, F, Sat but will be going M,T,W,F this week because of some other obligations this coming weekend. I hope it doesn't affect me too much.

Got 24 waiting for me on the DVR...

[/JV/]

Yeah, that's a good thread on OL workout programs. The advice seems to be what I've heard--do the oly lifts first, then strength work. The specifics give me some ideas if I go more in that direction. Which would also require finding another gym with the proper equipment.

It's great that you're feeling confident on deadlifts and you're working your way up without fear of injury. Try to enjoy the little successes and know that bigger and better ones are on the way.

Several seasons ago, 24 was by far my favorite TV show. I still watch, but I'm not as excited about it as I used to be.

[Alpha Zulu]

Yeah I just need to keep my perspective on things and be patient.

Agreed that 24 was best seasons 1-4. But I think this one if off to a good start and I will always be a huge fan. Its a great show.

[Alpha Zulu]

Today's Enlightenment
If you don't get jacked up watching this vid (esp. the 2nd attempt), you don't have a heartbeat.


20-Jan-2009: Training with Cressey
Month 3, Week 3, Day 2

Warm-Up: ~30 min of foam rolling and dynamic mobility

Lifting
Pretty good day today. I was worried that the 5 sets of deadlift without the usual day off (and a hard time getting to sleep last night) would hurt me, but I did alright.

Bench Press: 235x3 for 2 sets (after speed work)

Close-Grip 2-Board Press: 4x8 with 190 (last set was damn hard)

Chin-ups: 4x6 with BW+50

15 min light cardio and some light static stretching

Misc: Back to work tomorrow...I was working from home the past two days. And also I have to be in early and will likely be there late. Oh well, after I finish the day on Thursday I should be OK and hopefully will even get out a little early on Friday.

Diet is still on track, although I underate just a little today at dinner because I ran out of the bean salad I was eating. Time for bed.

[Alpha Zulu]

Today's Enlightenment
Back to Pendlay, but today with a little bit of his programming philosophy. I believe Pendlay actually wrote the three main chapters on programming in Practical Programming, but there was some sort of falling out between him and Rippetoe so his name got reduced to a contributor instead of an author.
Source: http://www.elitefitness.com/forum/we...ze-438092.html

thats a pretty solid program. if you wanted to stay on it longer term, you could start out just working up to one top set, but keeping the exercises and reps the same.

Then in a month or two, when the gains start drying up, go to 3 sets of 5 all with the same weight as your 3 work sets. when you do this, i would keep the squats at one top set on one of the days. after a month on this, you could go back to one top set, or change the reps in some way, like going to a couple of sets of 3 for several weeks.

after this, going to a similar program, but with 5 work sets might be an idea that would work... again, running this for 4 or 5 weeks, then dropping the volume down again.

whenever you change the volume, or start something new, start conservatively on the weight, and make small steady jumps from week to week.

21-Jan-2009

~15 min of GPP

20 min light cardio

Light static stretching

Misc: Long day at work today and nose was to the grindstone the whole time (makes the extended hours go by faster at least). Even worse I was in at 7:30am which is earlier than usual for me, so I am extra tired. Thankfully, if was just a nice and easy active recovery day for me.

I need to be there at 7:15am tomorrow too, so I am hoping to get to bed soon. I am a creature of routine...I really hope the sleep schedule alterations don't make much difference in my workout tomorrow.

I think I might be noticing a little bit of a leaner image staring me back in the mirror today, but who knows.

[Alpha Zulu]

[QUOTE=Alpha Zulu;275074271]Today's Enlightenment
Another gem from Rippetoe. I read this at work the other day and it brought the lulz. I thought I was going to be yelled at...The Q was from a guy's whose arms were short to the point that the bar was crushing his junk when he locked out on deadlift.
Source: http://strengthmill.net/forum/showthread.php?t=3018

You have short arms. In fact, a pretty good way to define "too short" -- in terms of arms -- would be if your deadlift smashes your balls. Damned if I know what to do about that, if you're sure your grip is narrow enough.

22-Jan-2009: Training with Cressey
Month 3, Week 3, Day 3

Warm-Up: ~30 min of foam rolling and dynamic mobility

Lifting
Highlights

Speed Deadlifts: 10 singles (20 seconds rest between reps) with 245.

10" Box Squats: 280x3 for two sets -GOAL ACHIEVED
*My goal was to get 275x3 by the end of the month and I busted out more sets with 280...and I still have a week left in the month to bring it up more. Good stuff. (This is the first time I have worked with monthly goals and it is really keeping me focused, I recommend it).

10 min light cardio and some light static stretching

Misc: DLs continue to feel better with each session.

I am starting to feel a little beat up/taking a little longer to recover. I guess it had to happen sooner or later; my 11th consecutive week of going full-bore ends with tomorrow's session. I will alert Eric to my status and see what he says. Regardless, in the past it would take me about 3-4 weeks to get to this point so going 11 says something about the quality of the programming.

[/JV/]

Nice job reaching your box squat goal for the month. That's some good weekly progress. Looks like you're in good shape for the others as well. I like the idea of the monthly goals to keep driving yourself forward.

This far into your training program, do you feel your strength is being tested, or do you still have some room before it becomes really challenging?

[Alpha Zulu]

This far into your training program, do you feel your strength is being tested, or do you still have some room before it becomes really challenging?

It really depends on the exercise...Some moves, I am only doing for two week blocks but there are one or two exercises that have been included every week. Most, however, are done in four week blocks. For those, the first week is sort of a feeler effort, but with multiple sets I still am pushing really hard in the last couple sets since I have gauged my strength. The second week I have a much better grasp of how I do with that particular exercise and in whatever rep range I am working in. By the third and fourth weeks, it is damn hard because I am trying to forge new ground and I have a really good idea of what I can handle well and what I can barely handle and need to grind out. The last set, specifically the last rep, of the box squats yesterday was about as hard as it gets without missing. I think if I were to look at it, I am probably averaging 1 or maybe 2 misses per week in weeks 2 through 4 of each block.

There are also certain things, like speed work for example, where I am given the weight to work with.

[Alpha Zulu]

Today's Enlightenment
I am not too sure what my views are on bodybuilding. I certainly respect the hard work it takes but just don't know if I would ever do it. Regardless, I think everyone who lifts has to have some appreciation for Arnold. He was incredibly driven and worked his ass off. This vid always pumps me up.


23-Jan-2008: Training with Cressey
Month 3, Week 3, Day 4

Warm-Up: ~30 min of foam rolling and dynamic mobility

Lifting
Highlights

Floor Press: 210x6 for 2 sets
Hammer Grip Chins: BW+50x6 for 2 sets

15 min light cardio and some light static stretching

Misc: Not the greatest day in the gym. Reps and sets were added and I think that threw me off a little bit. I just was not feeling strong and my head was elsewhere as well. I've had a lot of kick ass workouts recently so I will just take it for what it is; they can't all be stellar.

I told Eric about feeling a little beat up and run down. He said that was to be expected since I have gotten a lot stronger, so we will need to start deloading a bit more aggressively than we have been. Up to this point, it has just been a very small drop in volume every 4th week. Certainly, those weeks never felt like much of an off-loading period, so I imagine it will be pretty easy to cut the work from them.

[Alpha Zulu]

Weekly Update 25-Jan-2009

Weight: 168.3 lbs (+0.9lbs)
My body has an interesting sense of humor. Most of December, I couldn't get the scale to move up. Now that I am trying to drop a few pounds, it is going up...


Training
OK week in the gym. My sleep/work schedule was out of whack all week and I think that may have thrown me off a little bit. I still managed to put up some decent numbers and even hit the box squat goal a week early but felt weak at times.

I am not sure I will be hitting the other goals I set for myself this month but I will certainly put my best effort in this week. There will be a decrease in volume this week too, I am hoping that let's most of this worn-down feeling pass.

Diet
It looks like I am going to have to cut the calories back a little bit. I already feel like I am eating less than I was just 3-4 weeks ago but on paper it really is a pretty small drop off in total intake thus far. I am making very small adjustments each week as I am not really in a hurry to drop any of this fat and would rather do it slow and not overshoot the mark then go quickly and lose a lot of strength and size. Diet has been very clean too, which is good from an overall health standpoint as well.

Misc
Not much to report here. Work should be light this week so I am hoping to be able to relax, sleep, and get some other things done in my down time. I felt like all I did this past week was wake-up, go to work, workout, go to sleep and start over. It'll be nice to be able to unwind a little bit.

[/JV/]

That's interesting that there's sometimes quick rotation of exercises. I'm sure there's a specific reason for every exercise he's having you do. In general, is that to work on weak areas that you/he identified or do you need lots of different stimulus to progress that just the main exercises don't provide? (Or perhaps it's way more advanced than that.)

Are you just doing fixed sets now? What did you/do you think of going 1 rep short of failure? Benefits/drawbacks?