L The Pirates Road to Strength

[snrygo]

What's 2-1-1 stand for?

[L The Pirate]

What's 2-1-1 stand for?

its just the ratio we are using for this block addressing the 3 components, strength-power-hypertrophy

[snrygo]

its just the ratio we are using for this block addressing the 3 components, strength-power-hypertrophy

sweet

[L The Pirate]

2-1-1 block week 2

After talking with a few ppl i trust and Having a good talk with z the night before this workout I decided I am just gonna eat and not worry bout the minute details. Gonna stop weighin everything including myself for the next month. Yesterday was my heavy squat day and first day without my scale(s)

Squats

Warmups then:

4x3@275
*plus set* 1x5@275, PR

Bar felt heavy and I just didn't have the energy but the session still went well. 4 weeks ago I could maybe double 275, today I did four sets of three and followed that up with a fiver. This was basically 90% of my 1RM. Had to work hard to earn it today but it went well.

Deadlift, single at 9.5

Did 135x5, 225x3, 315x1, 365x1
Bar just felt hella heavy on the 365 which it def shouldn't have but squats were taxing so I put 390 on for my "attempt".
390x1. Just heavy nonsense but some days your on and some your not so today tht was my 9.5

Wide grip pull-ups
3xmax
10,10,10

Hard but rewarding session today. Not everyday is gonna be amazing and with this session at 90% I'm satisfied with the effort and will to get it done that I had.

Didn't weigh anything yesterday and had some wings,pizza etc.

[ErickStevens]

Didn't weigh anything yesterday and had some wings,pizza etc.

[xRequiem]

in to see how you respond to DUP.

do you pay for having Dr. Z write you a schedule?

[L The Pirate]

in to see how you respond to DUP.

do you pay for having Dr. Z write you a schedule?

Thx bro good to have you in this! I am a client of Dr. Z's, I also consider him a friend as well at this point. Great great guy.

Progress has been great so far, really enjoying the challenge and frequency.

[arian11]

Thx bro good to have you in this! I am a client of Dr. Z's, I also consider him a friend as well at this point. Great great guy.

Progress has been great so far, really enjoying the challenge and frequency.

Nah, we are all his guinea pigs running in his hamster wheel. You should see how different his programming was that he had me run back in 2010.

[L The Pirate]

Yessssssir. Day 3 of just eating and not counting a thing. A guy could get used to this....

Nah, we are all his guinea pigs running in his hamster wheel. You should see how different his programming was that he had me run back in 2010.

Haha he mentions stuff to that effect when we chat, he says himself its always evolving and what he does with one individual may vary greatly with the next. Hence why this is so personalized for the individual. The overall theory of that particular block may be the same but the nuts and bolts will vary greatly.



2-1-1 Block Week 3

I opened a callous on my hand and that mother is right in one of the grooves i bench/pull with. Deep too, not sure if ill need a stitch but im not gonna wait and find out. Liquid skin went on-then gauze-then athletic tape. Letttts go!

Squats:

Warmups then:

4X7@240

These went fine, reps 5-7/8 are always a bit of a mental screw, I had some form breakdown tightness-wise on those reps,not filling belt as well etc...Im in no rush on these, if it takes 45 seconds to do 7 right, thats what i will do from now on.

Bench

Warmups then:

4X1@165

I THINK i am starting to develop some leg drive!! I can feel it in my quads when i press, and after i got that feeling on my second single and starting try to replicate that, the singles were FLYING up. Gonna try to replicate again tomorrow on my heavy bench day.

Deadlift

Warmups then:

5X1@335

Using the new tighter conventional form and stuff is harder than it should be. I know it will pay off in the long run however, as i can already feel it way more in my lats then previously.

Accessory:

Weighted Hyperextensions
3x10@25

I was done and had to head back anyways.

[fgfan1]

Leg drive on bench? Methinks I'm doing something wrong (and probably am) because as far as I'm concerned I have none.

Nice work L.

[xRequiem]

what does your routine look like? I was thinking of trying DUP for bench at a 1:1:2

[L The Pirate]

Leg drive on bench? Methinks I'm doing something wrong (and probably am) because as far as I'm concerned I have none.

Nice work L.

Thx bro, appreciate it. Yea its still pretty bad (as in if you kick my leg while im pressing it would move) but its slowly getting better. I find i can stay pretty tight if i lift my butt off the bench to unrack and keep the pressure on my lats/traps and legs then put my butt down i stay tighter. will see how that translates on heavy bench tomorrow.

what does your routine look like? I was thinking of trying DUP for bench at a 1:1:2

This block is basically a 2-1-1 ratio of strength/power/hypertrophy. I squat 4/week Bench 3/week, deadlift 3/week, and OHP 2/week.
It works between low-mod-high percentages. Thats basically the gist without giving the plans details further. Last block before this one I was doing a pure volume block.
PS-Z will go on his ******** page (DUP Revolution) if you construct something and post it he does give input, hes awesome like that.

[L The Pirate]

2-1-1 block week 3
Weight: who gives a.......

Squats:
Warmups then:
3x1@255
Since these were lighter singles I focused on stayin really really tight and exploding out of the hole.

Bench
Warmups then:
5x3@175
*plus set* 1x7@175, PR

Yesssssir another week another bench PR. Set was ugly as I lost all tightness when I unracked and the spotter came in when I was 3/4 up on my 7th even tho i said dont touch my bar unless I scream for you. Doesn't matter I had it either way. If I ha started tight and stayed tight prob coulda had 8.

Standing strict military press @9
Warmups then:
1x4@115, 8
2x4@120, 9
2x4@115, 9

Getting hang on RPE

Accessory:
Wide grip neutral chin ups
3x12
Dips
3x12

Good session.
Anyone know and can describe what leg drive on bench should feel like? I feel it in my quads primarily wanna make sure I am on the right track.

[InspecktaDeck]

Anyone know and can describe what leg drive on bench should feel like? I feel it in my quads primarily wanna make sure I am on the right track.

You wana drive with your heels just like the other lifts. Spread your legs really wide so your butt cant come up. Its hard to explain and havent quite figured it out myself. Ill start pushing as soon as I unrack, but not 100%. Lower the bar, and when you touch your chest drive as hard as you can while pushing. This will really help you when you get along pause command. Of course the other way is on the toes, under your body as much as possable. Ive never benched like this tho and couldnt really explain it very well.

[L The Pirate]

You wana drive with your heels just like the other lifts. Spread your legs really wide so your butt cant come up. Its hard to explain and havent quite figured it out myself. Ill start pushing as soon as I unrack, but not 100%. Lower the bar, and when you touch your chest drive as hard as you can while pushing. This will really help you when you get along pause command. Of course the other way is on the toes, under your body as much as possable. Ive never benched like this tho and couldnt really explain it very well.

Thx bro. All tht makes sense to me. I've found the tightness through the heels if I push from heels as I'm scooting my butt up the bench after setting my traps, har to replicate on every setup right now tho. Gonna try the wider leg setup as I've been trying to keep them tight and under for arch purposes. With my crap bench ill take whatever I can to improve. Thanks for the input

[arian11]

You wana drive with your heels just like the other lifts. Spread your legs really wide so your butt cant come up. Its hard to explain and havent quite figured it out myself. Ill start pushing as soon as I unrack, but not 100%. Lower the bar, and when you touch your chest drive as hard as you can while pushing. This will really help you when you get along pause command. Of course the other way is on the toes, under your body as much as possable. Ive never benched like this tho and couldnt really explain it very well.

Thx bro. All tht makes sense to me. I've found the tightness through the heels if I push from heels as I'm scooting my butt up the bench after setting my traps, har to replicate on every setup right now tho. Gonna try the wider leg setup as I've been trying to keep them tight and under for arch purposes. With my crap bench ill take whatever I can to improve. Thanks for the input

Yea I've seen people do both way effectively. Feet under body and close to bench. And feet farther away and out wide. The first way gives you a bigger arch but I've heard the 2nd way gives you more leg drive. Personally I do feet tucked under as much as possible and close to the bench. And I try to setup as tight and possible with butt squeezed the entire time. This basically makes it impossible for my butt to come off the bench. Then I think about driving up the bench, which you can see a small movement in my body when you watch my videos.

[HoneyBadger300]

Yea I've seen people do both way effectively. Feet under body and close to bench. And feet farther away and out wide. The first way gives you a bigger arch but I've heard the 2nd way gives you more leg drive. Personally I do feet tucked under as much as possible and close to the bench. And I try to setup as tight and possible with butt squeezed the entire time. This basically makes it impossible for my butt to come off the bench. Then I think about driving up the bench, which you can see a small movement in my body when you watch my videos.

Small movement, right... Bench like me, wussies.

[L The Pirate]

2-1-1 Block Week 3

Squats:
Warmups then:
4X4@265

My hip felt horrible, and quite frankly for me, these sets were barely passable. Just never found a groove, couldn't get my hip smooth no matter how much leg swings, knee's, dynamic stretching i did. Some workouts suck, this squat session def qualified for that. They were at least parallel, not so sure they were below cause of hip.

Deadlifts
Warmups then:
3X1@295

really easy stuff, i feel alot tighter on my setup after Z was helping me with it. Weights all feel heavier because of dramatic shift in technique but I know it will pay off big time in just a little while here.

Accessory work:

Bent Over Rows
3X8@155

Face Pulls
3X12@110

Standing cable crunch
3X12@100


I broke a piece of my hip when I was 17. Been bothering me more and more lately, sometimes my dynamic warmup is enough and im good sometimes it just never gets right and I know im leaving pounds on the table by ignoring it. Made an appt with the best sports chiro in the area-works with atheltes getting ready for the NFL combine etc.. and a bunch of powerlifters/bodybuilders. So we are gonna fix it, and im confident the squats will jump 15-20 pounds right away just from starting to work on it.

[L The Pirate]

2-1-1 block week 3

Bench press
Warmups then:
5x7@165

Eh. They felt ok

Close grip bench press @8
1x8@120, 7
1x8@125, 8

Standing military press @9
95x8, 8
100x8, 9
105x8, 9

Accessory work:
Seated low row
4x8@135

Hanging bent leg raises
3x12

Ok workout. Got heavy squats tomorrow.

[L The Pirate]

2-1-1 block week 3

Squats
Warmups then:
4x3@280
*plus set* 1x5@280, PR

Did some foam rolling and hip opening stretches early am and I think that helped alot. Another squat PR. Form was even better on this 5 plus at 280 than last weeks at 275. Very happy with this squat session, felt good and strong.

Deadlifts
Warmups then:
3x1@380

New conv form starting to feel pretty good. Pretty quick off the floor which is my weak point. These went well.

Wide grip pull-ups, strict
1x10
1x8
1x8

Really good session this am. Feeling good heading into week 4

[snrygo]

Why the mad face?

[L The Pirate]

Why the mad face?

Not sure.....don't remember adding it wen I logged from my mobile. It's done it before haha

[fgfan1]

Sorry to hear about the hip, but at least you are getting in worked on, which is a good idea. Nice work in here lately. Your program looks good.

[HoneyBadger300]

I'm pretty excited to see you get that hip fixed.

[L The Pirate]

Thanks guys. I'm looking forward to the first visit next week. Finally get this worked on.

2-1-1 week 4

Squats
Warmups then:
4x6@250

Went ok. Last set was semi rough

Bench press
Warmups then:
4x1@180

These went well. Nice and strong. Still playing with where my feet will go and have drive using the legs.

Deadlifts
Warmups then:
3x1@335

Super light and easy.

Fine session. Got it done nothing out of ordinary. Wife pulled 195 at the end of her workout after squatting,OHP, and deadlift sets. Was nice. She's gonna out pull me soon

[MITCHAPAL00ZA]

squats looking really legit as of late. I havent been going so heavy lately myself due to some injuries so props for keeping the weight up

[L The Pirate]

squats looking really legit as of late. I havent been going so heavy lately myself due to some injuries so props for keeping the weight up

Thanks brotha, they are slowly coming along. But i think at the end of this block im gonna see a sizeable jump in my squats(hopefully) hope you can get that injury healed up -you were doing some work in your log!



2-1-1 Week 4

weight: who gives a.....(two weeks in a row, no scale no weighing food. pretty damn freeing)

Squats
warmups then:
3X1@265

eeaaaaaasy. Hip felt good today and because of that, these were a breeze.

Bench
Warmups then:
5X3@180
*plus set* 1X5@180, PR?

Heavy bench didn't go awesome today, but i did the work. Wouldve liked a rep or two more on the plus, but like Z says, different loads, different days just do your job.
still screwing with foot positioning. Had to scream at the spotter to step off on reps 4 and 5 which he did thank goodness. Could i have gotten 6? Maybe, but the goal on plus set is not to fail or get help. So i stopped at 5. shoulder was bothering me a tad as well.

Standing Military Press, Strict, @9
warmups then:

5X4@120
minimal rest (2 min) between sets kept it at 9, i could added 5 for sure, but with shoulder, playing it safe.

Ran out of time so i had to tri-set some accessory work.

Accessory:

Tri-Set

Dips X Neutral Chin-ups X hanging straight leg raises
3X10

[L The Pirate]

2-1-1 block week 4

Had a looooong two days, not my usual sleep or food intake. Got to gym today waaaay later than usual, no coffee. Oh well.

Squats
Warmups then:
4x3@275

Last set had a few semi toughies. Only because I thoroughly believe I "play down or up to my competition" for some reason even tho this is around 89% it interprets this session as not that hard even tho it is. Anyways done and done.

Accessory work:

Anderson squats
3x3@225

Tried these out went pretty light. Not bad. May work in as accessory after heavy day

Hypers
3x10@25


All I had programmed was squats threw in some light stuff in preparation for a heavy Saturday.

[MITCHAPAL00ZA]

thats some nice squatting. had to google anderson squats. sounds legit AF. My gym in my hometown had that bar but I never tried it, maybe once im home...I take it you must lift in a pretty legit gym if they have that laying around eh? thats one thing I really miss about being home, that gym up there was super legit, albeit bare bones.[check it out if u want (http://www.albanystrength.com/gym.html )] Now that im back at school and it being "resolution time" and all the gym is swamped with quarter squatters, cardio bunnies, and a ton of half serious lifters. not the greatest atmosphere.

[L The Pirate]

thats some nice squatting. had to google anderson squats. sounds legit AF. My gym in my hometown had that bar but I never tried it, maybe once im home...I take it you must lift in a pretty legit gym if they have that laying around eh? thats one thing I really miss about being home, that gym up there was super legit, albeit bare bones.[check it out if u want (http://www.albanystrength.com/gym.html )] Now that im back at school and it being "resolution time" and all the gym is swamped with quarter squatters, cardio bunnies, and a ton of half serious lifters. not the greatest atmosphere.

Na man, the video you probably saw showed them doing it with a safety bar correct? I just use a regular bar, set the pins/hooks at parallel, load it up with the weight, then get set underneath and go. Gonna go heavier and for singles/doubles as accessory work. I lift in a crappy commercial gym...I just get to bang weights/use chalk/etc cause the head trainer loves westside and let's powerlifters get away with alot So i know the feel of what you are currently going through