Conditioning

10 minute walk

5 hill sprints

10 minute walk

This was hard.  Esp considering it was 102 outside with unreal humidity.

Training

Pause Squats high bar no belt no wraps-
225 x 10
245 x 5

315 x 5 sets of 5

Manual Side Laterals - holding 5 pound dumbbells + manual resistance from a hot chic 4 sets of 30

1 legged Calf - 4 sets of 15 per calf

Notes - Pretty fun little session.

10 things every sound training program should have - Part Douche

6.  A proper warm up - This might sound too simple or even 1970ish (I still think of people in bright pink and blue tights with headbands on when I hear the term "warm up") but it's an important part of kicking off your training.  A general warm up to get you sweating, then the usual warm ups on the movement you are about to perform.  I used to not think much about warming up but I have come to realize just how important a solid warm up is.  Waking up your nervous system and getting the joints lubed up are critical in having a top shelf training session.  I don't really care what you do to get warm, but take 10 minutes out from the time you get into the gym to do the treadmill or walk or even go through a stretching routine.  Getting your joints greased and your nervous system primed before a training session has tremendous benefits.  You'll "wake up" better for the workout and reduce your chance of injury.  

7.  Bodyweight movements - To me, there is something about bodyweight movements that has benefits that are often hard to describe.  When I spend a ton of time doing bodyweight movements I find I get less dinged up, feel better from a mobility standpoint, look better, and feel fresh (not in a Massengill way dammit) most of the time.  When I train people I use a lot of difficult bodyweight movements like speed skater squats, chins, dips, suspended push ups, etc.  In my opinion bodyweight movements are the perfect compliment to your loaded bar work.  You've probably never heard anyone talk about getting overtrained from bodyweight stuff, and yet you can get big and strong as hell doing it.  Second, it's also a great equalizer.  I find most guys don't do chins.  Especially the "strong" guys who are well, fat guys.  If you're strong, you should be able to do some damn chin ups/pull ups.  For reps AND weighted.  If you can't, you're too fat or too weak, or both.    

8.  A plan for stagnation or lack of progress - This one is less difficult than people make it out to be.  Once you hit a wall you have a few choices....  

-  Keep training through it - I've done this before.  Few and far between has it ever turned out to be a good idea.

- Reset everything - Take the weight you have been using and reduce it by 5-10% and start over.  Reramping if you will.  This works very well.

- Take a week off.  This has generally been my preferred choice.  Mentally, I like getting away from the weights long enough that I start to crave lifting again.  I only have to do this a few times a year but it works for me.

Everyone is different so everyone will gravitate to different methods here.  Some guys are hard headed and like to keep banging their head against the wall to see if it will break down (their head or the wall I suppose).  This works for some guys, and not so well for others.  I found it to be less than ideal for me.  I found that a lot of my injuries came when I went too long not being able to break past a plateau, and kept pushing hard.  The times when I was smart (which are few and far between) I would back off the weight or just take a week off and start over lighter.  Generally I would break past a sticking point that way.  

I remember being stuck in a rut for a decent period when I was around 16 or 17.  None of my lifts had moved in months and I was very frustrated.  I ended up with a stomach bug and did the technicolor yawn for a few days, lost weight, and couldn't lift.  It took about a week and a half before I could get back to the gym.  To my surprise I broke tons of PR's the very first week of training.  Even at a lower bodyweight.  The reason why was fairly simple.  I was simply burnt out, needed to recover, and once that happened the strength I had been training for came to the surface.  Recovery is incredibly underrated in training, so when things are going wrong for weeks on it, shut it down, start back slow again and you'll most likely move past your old numbers.  

This topic relates to the other topic about deloads (I said there would be overlap) in a way.  Just remember, every routine is going to need an ebb and flow to it, and part of that ebb and flow is knowing what to do when stagnation sets in.    

9.  A 2:1 pull to push ratio - This one is pretty easy.  Do twice as many reps for your pulling as you do for pushing.  Some guys think this is the number of exercises but it's really about workload.  If you do bench and do 100 reps on it that day, and you then do pulldowns and rows for a total of 50 reps, you're still behind even though you did a 2:1 ratio in terms of pulling to pushing.  Just make sure you do twice as many, or near twice as many, reps for pulling as you do for your pushing.  There are a zillion reasons why you should do this from shoulder health, to posture, to lower and upperback health on and on and on.  Either way, just keep track of it and do your best to meet that standard.  It doesn't have to be all rowing and chins either.  Bent laterals and band pull aparts work well in this regard too.

10.  Balance - This isn't just about your training routine, but about life in general.  Obsessing over the gym and meals and supplements can and will eventually reek havoc on your life.  I know I've been there.  I still love to lift just as much as I ever did, but I don't live by the clock eating every 2.5555 hours, making sure every meal has so many grams of protein in it, obsessing for weeks over my lack of arm size, not taking jobs because I thought it would interfere with my lifting, etc.  I smartened up of course.  I quit sweating that shit and started living life.  I've had guys tell me they turned down sex because they thought it would effect their workout in a negative way.  This is retarded on a degree that is hard to comprehend.  

Look, if you are preparing for a bodybuilding show I know for a few months you will have to dig down and sacrifice.  If you are training for the NFL combine or training camp or for an MMA fight you have months where everything else has to take a backseat to training for a while.  This is a part of balance too.  However, if you are just a guy or gal who lifts and doesn't compete, yet live your gym life like you are competing you are slightly mental.  And this is coming from a guy that is squatting with a torn bicep and that arm in a sling.  

You get one life.  Live an interesting life.  Do interesting things.  Lifting is not that interesting in the grand scheme of things.  If you have a chance to go somewhere you've never been, and it's a once in a lifetime thing and you turn it down because you don't want to miss lifting for that week, you are a F'n moron and should have your ass kicked 6 ways till Sunday.  Lifting will always be there.  Don't miss out on the interesting things in life for some iron on the bar.  One of the best things I ever read in that regard was from Keith Wassung.  He said he had a squat session planned but his little girl came to him and asked him if he would have a tea party with her.  He went and had the tea party.  Why?  Because spending time with his flesh and blood was far more important than any squat session.  That, is balance.  Make sure you have it in your training and life.  Because your training will improve with balance, not regress.

Training

1 arm Db Floor press - 35 x 20, 60 x 20, 80 x 20, 100 x 20

Manual Resistance Side Laterals - 4 sets of 40

1 Arm Db Curls - 30 x 20 x 20

1 Arm Db French Press - 30 x 20 x 25

Cardio - 20 minutes steady state

Training - Pause Squats

Cardio - 2 hill sprints and 20 minutes of steady state

Pause squats - 225 x 5, 275 x 5 sets of 5 long pauses

1 legged Calf - 2x10

Training

Today -

1 arm floor press - 30 x 20, 60 x 20, 80 x 30, 100 x 20, 20

Manual Resistance Side Laterals - 100 reps

20 minutes of steady state and 2 hill runs

Felt pretty darn good after all of this.

10 things every sound training program should have - Part I

So I had a guy ask me this past week if I would take any requests for articles.  I said sure, and he asked me if I would name of 10 things I thought every good training regiment should have.  This is by no means a "complete" list.  Just a list of things that came immediately to mind.   There will be some overlap in each section but that's ok.  It reinforces the mantra of maximizing your training economy.  And that's always a good thing.

1.  A progression model or scheme - I always come back to the sailor analogy.  No sailor gets on a boat without plotting a course and just drifts aimlessly off into the ocean.  Well, not unless he wants to die.  Whether you are training for a meet, bodybuilding, football, MMA, etc you should have a rhyme and reason as to why you are doing what you are doing, and what the goal is.  Sure some guys just call Monday "bench day" and then Tuesday "arms day" and get big and strong and all of that jazz.  But that doesn't mean it is the most efficient way to train.  You need a plan where you can constantly reference something in the way of measurable progress on the bar.  Doggcrapp constantly tells people to "beat the log book", i.e. constantly get more reps than you did last time or up the weight.  Periodization models have you moving more weight the using fewer reps over a given time.  Bill Starr used a total tonnage model.  The key here is to have something you can in fact reference as measurable progress on the bar.  Period.  If you change exercises every few weeks, and bounce your rep ranges around all the time, how do you know when you progressed, and what caused the progression?  Be smart in your programming.

                                                           Not the sailor of sailors




2.  Pre-habilitation work - I have become a staunch believer in pre-hab work now.  The problem is, you don't always know what overuse injury is lying around the corner.  Then you end up in rehab, not pre-hab mode.  So what to do?  Narrow it down to some of the most common ones we see with training.  

IT Band - Foam rolling + stretching + Single Leg Work (lunging in various directions) - 

Foam roll before and after squats and deads and on days when you do conditioning.  Stretch the IT band and hip flexors and do single leg work.  A lot of IT band problems arise because of dominant leg issues.  If you are using a lot of volume in your training be aware that your dominant leg could end up hurting because of this.  So make sure to use single leg movements to identify your dominant leg, and to try and bring your weaker limb up to speed.  

Shoulder - Shoulder dislocates + cuff stretches + Cuff strengthening 

If you have lifted weights for 17 minutes or more, you have probably experienced some sort of shoulder pain.  Shoulder prehab work is not hard to work into your pressing day and as the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.  Use a band to do shoulder dislocates for 2-3 sets of 15-20.  Do cuff stretching before you press and cuff strengthening after your heavy pressing work.  Stretch your pectorals and lats as well.  Tight lats and pecs often play a big part in shoulders going bad.  You can stretch these in between sets of presses and pulls.  

Lower Back - Piriformis and hip flexor stretching + Upperback and abdominal strengthening 

If there is a constant that I have noticed over the years when it comes to low back "pain" it is that there is no low back problem at all.  Very rarely do people have something actually wrong in the lower back.  The erectors are some of the strongest and most durable muscles in the body.  Maybe the MOST durable.  Generally what I have come to find is that most people have a problem in the piriformis muscle (tightness or strain) and this causes a lot of pain to radiate up and down the lower back.  The pain FEELS like a lower back strain, but the actual cause is generally the piriformis.  If you don't believe me, the next time you think you have "strained" your lower back, sit in a chair and cross your leg on top of the other.  Now push down on the knee of the cross leg.  This will probably cause the pain to increase.  This is because your piriformis is the culprit.  If you spend a few minutes a day doing this simple stretch your "low back pain" will get better quickly.  Strengthening the abdominals and upperback significantly will also work wonders for keeping your low back healthy because of posture.  Do you think being overpronated in the shoulders and hunched over does good things for your low back?  No, probably not.   Lots of upperback and rear delt work will improve your posture and will also help to distribute the load better across the torso, alleviating some of the load the lower back has to do.  In other words, getting your yoke as diesel as possible actually serves a prehabilitation purpose as well.  

Tennis/Golfers Elbow - Forearm stretching + forearm strengthening 

This one is a little newer for me but I've talked to a lot of guys that struggled with this for long periods and let me tell you, it can be a bitch-n-a-half.  Picking up a gallon of milk out of the fridge will send shock waves through your arm and elbow.  This is not fun.  Lots of guys say "I don't need forearm work with all of the gripping I do."  That gripping is actually part of the problem.  An overuse of those areas combined with the forearm not being able to keep up with the tremendous amounts of poundage the other large muscles of the body can move repetitively and BAM, you have tennis/golfers elbow.  Take a few minutes before and after each pulling/pushing session to perform some forearm stretches and some really basic forearm work like wrist curls.  This will go a long ways in terms of keeping your elbows from feeling like they have blow torches on them every time you press heavy.   

                                                   This should become your friend


3.  A select number of compound movements you can do pain free - This comes back to what I always refer to as training economy.  The most bang for your buck.  Whether you are a bodybuilder or powerlifter or just a guy training to look better for women (or dudes, not that there's anything wrong with that /Seinfeld reference) maximizing training economy is always smart.  So finding all of the big movements that you can do, pain free, that maximizes your training economy is of utmost importance.  

Now if you aren't a competitive powerlifter, you don't need to squat/bench/deadlift if one of those lifts causes you some sort of "bad pain".  If you fell out of a tall building onto your back and it's all Lee Majors back there now, then you don't need to squat and deadlift with a loaded bar if that causes you discomfort.  I am currently training a young lady that suffered sports injury to her spine that prohibits her from loading the spine, as in a barbell squat.  Since she just wants to get in more awesome shape, I don't need a barbell squat.  I use speed skater squats, lunges of various kinds, and a host of other things that work awesome for her.

So be smart about training economy in terms of picking lifts that are pain free and joint friendly for you, that also offer the most training economy.  If that means smith machine decline is the only pressing you can do heavy and pain free, and you aren't competing in powerlifting, then do it.  I could give a shit less what some guys who think they are king shit have to say about it.  And you shouldn't give a shit either.  Train in a way that is best for you.

If this the best thing you can do, then tell everyone else to go smell camel testicles.  

4.  A built in deload period - I'm not big on deloads.  So why is this in there?  Because I do believe it has to be in there somewhere.  I am just not big on the once a month deload.  I know some guys do really well with if.  I always found that it set me back.  Once I got the train out of the station and moving fast on the tracks, I always liked to ride it out until the coal was pretty much gone.  And THEN I would take a week or so off.  Some guys say that the every 4th week deload keeps you from overtraining, but I found about week 4,5,6 in a training cycle is generally when I start really getting into the groove of things.  So I always planned to think about a week off about every 8-9 weeks, rather than 4.  When I was running DoggCrapp training I would sometimes run for months on end.  I didn't feel burnt out, I wasn't injured, and I kept making progress.  Like I always say, strike the iron when it's hot.  

Try the every 4th week deload and see if you like it.  Then play around with a 6th week or 8th week.  Make notes of how many good vs bad training sessions you had during certain weeks and how you felt.  This will help give reenforcement on what is really working in that way, for you.

5.  A conditioning plan - This has nothing to do with post shampoo stuff.  As Dave Tate noted lately, the days of the fat-ass, bloated, can't walk without breathing heavy powerlifter are gone.  First off, no one wants to see that shit, second, the guys getting the exposure in the sport LOOK like they are strong.  Not like they live at a buffet 10 times a week.  

One of the reasons I chose the name for this blog, regardless of all of the negative connotations that come with the term "functional strength" is something Jim told me that made perfect sense.  He said that when he squatted a grand that he realized not too long after that, that all of the strength he had built was completely worthless for anything except waddling up to a bar and squatting it.  He couldn't move, he couldn't breath, he felt like shit.  And this is what non-functional strength is.  If you breath heavy walking up a couple flights of stairs, I don't care how strong you are, when you get put into a situation where the oxygen is sucked right out of you, all of that strength will be rendered meaningless.  

You don't have to train like you are trying out for the Olympics 200 meter team, but you need to do something that lets you get more work put in at the weight room, and something that makes you feel better as well.  As I like to say "you can't kick much ass in a grave."  

So what can you do?  

Hill sprints 2X a week - after lower bodyworkouts

Walking with a weighted vest, or if you're really a fat ass, just power type walking, 3X a week

Sled pulling

Prowler Pushes

Sledge Hammer on tire stuff

Pick something to do a few times a week and go after it hard for 20 minutes or so.  And don't bitch about your lifts taking a hit.  I swear lifters are some of the biggest crybabies in the world sometimes.  Yeah they will take a hit.  Why?  Because you're out of condition.  They will come back in short order once your body adjusts.  Second, even if it means 10 pounds off of your bench, a more physically conditioned body is better in every way.  

Find a hill, run up it.  Rinse and repeat until you become more awesome.  Or stay a heavy breathing fat ass.  All up to you.

Training - Squats and ab stuff

Did a walk for 20 minutes last night and felt like I was going to pass out.  It's crazy how much surgery takes out of you stamina wise so fast.

Tonight - Squats, abs

High bar squats -

135 x 10,
225 x 4 sets of 10

Crunch - 3 sets of 20

Got light headed after the crunches and fell onto the bench after I stood up.  Look I have knowledge, but I never said I was smart.

Chuck Miller goes elite raw at 198

My man Chuck went 540-335-600 raw at 198 this weekend.  Hopefully Chuck will give us a write up on the meet.  Congrats good buddy.  A triple bodyweight squat or pull is the very F'n definition of strong.  So you have officially lost your "I'm just an ok lifter" card pal.

In all seriousness, I am beyond elated.  I have known Chuck for over a decade and he's an even better person than he is a lifter, and that is saying a lot.  I know how hard Chuck has worked for this and all of the things he has had to overcome to get here.  I don't know of anyone more deserving of the kudos than you my friend.

New goals, new plans

Well, I'm still slightly loopy from my pain medication and my wife is typing this for me.  But I wanted to get some thoughts out on the blog about my goals and plans for the next twelve months.  

For the next several months I will be concentrating on conditioning, leg work, neck work, lower back, abs, and hamstrings. I'm going to put in a concentrated effort to get my bodyfat down to a legit 6-7%.  I will probably be  instituting a 5x5 day of squatting with low percentages then another day of single leg work with an emphasis on glutes and hamstrings.  I will be doing steady state two to three times a week and hill running twice a week.  

This plan may change as I encounter road blocks with the program and I will document any of that here.  

My goals for the next twelve months will be to get to 240-250 very lean and get as close as possible to the standards that Jim and I laid out for "What Constitutes Strong".

So you will be seeing me working with lower percentages and higher reps during this time.  

The plan is to increase hypertrophy through the high rep/heavy weight program with a variation on conditioning throughout the program.  As I get more of this ironed out I will post it here. 

Thanks again to all the meatheads who showed me some love in the time of my injury.  I appreciate your support and encouragement.  I hope I can repay everyone with more quality articles in the future.  

I am excited about my new focus and will attack it with the same fervor that Aretha Franklin attacks some Macdonalds. 

When life gives your lemons, put on some Slayer and smash something...

First I want to say, I appreciate all the well wishes regarding my torn bicep.  At the same time, I want to say I'm not depressed about it, or down about it.  It doesn't even bother me.

I know a lot of guys that would be down about it, that live their lives through the iron.  I used to be that way.  A long committed and wonderful marriage along with three of the most beautiful kids I could have ever been blessed with have a way of changing that.  

Yeah it sucks that I won't get to go to Ohio and total 1740ish (I'm pretty sure 635-455-650 beltless was in the bag) but life goes on and I will regroup.  I will use this time and focus on a goal I can sink my teeth into for a while, like getting even leaner and in better condition.  I will squat a lot, do a ton of neck work, and run my legs off.  So I will refocus for now.  

I don't live in the moment of these things for very long anymore.  You accept the hazards and risks that come with the things you partake in.  And you shouldn't bitch and moan about them when they happen.  Can you imagine a fighter being depressed that he got hit, or had a black eye after a fight?  It is an accepted part of that sport.  If you lift heavy weights for enough years or play sports, you are going to get injured.  It's not about if, but when.  I have two torn biceps, a permanently separated shoulders, a torn adductor, a torn pec-minor, constant elbow pain, and two torn calves.  These came from fighting, football, lifting and host of other things.  I have always thought that injuries were just as much a part of doing these things are succeeding in the goals associated with them.  I'm not saying I ever tried to get injured on purpose, just that I knew it came with the territory.  

And each time that has happened I have sat down and figured out what it was I could do during that time to make myself better in some way, shape, or form.  For now I think that means dropping even more bodyfat, getting my conditioning top notch, and working the areas I can.  I look forward to this and will start my new "diet" Friday, the day of my surgery.  This way I am focused on a goal, not on what I can't do, but what I CAN do.  

If you were driving across the country and decided you would take highway-whatever the entire way, then came across a washed out bridge during your travels, would you shut it down right there, and wait on someone to repair the bridge?  No.  You would turn around and find a new way, a new path.  A new adventure.  You should look at your lifting "life" no different.  Every time you hit a road block, reroute.  Find a new purpose and a new goal.  I'm excited about my new goal.  I'm already working on my plan of action.

So it's time to download the Slayer and break my foot off in a new goals ass.  

Deadlifts -

Deadlifts -

135 x 10
225 x 3
315 x 3
405 x 3

500 x 1
550 x 1
605 x 1
635 x 1 - Tore bicep

Well there goes that.  Got 635 with some to spare but right at lockout the right bicep popped and I knew right away what it was.  I tore the left one years ago so I've been through this before.  Obviously I won't be doing the August Pro-Am but shit happens and you move on.  At least I did it on a PR.

Thanks for the donations

I've had some people make some nice donations the last few weeks.  I want to say thank you to you guys.  I appreciate it very much.  I got nothing to sell, no supplements, no e-books, and probably not any original ideas (although Wendler and I rip each other off all the time apparently) so I consider anything I get a real blessing.

Thanks again meatheads.  It's much appreciated.  :)

Jim goes 1760 raw

My buddy Wendler did a meet this past weekend and went 1760 raw (belt and wraps).  He didn't tell me his weight because Jim is riddled with apathy and didn't care.  If his shoulder hadn't been totally FUBAR I think he could have gone 1800 fairly easily.

So a big congrats to Jim.  Enjoy your vacation hombre.

http://asp.elitefts.com/qa/training-logs.asp?qid=124324&tid=63

Whatever happened to "supplements"?

Over the last few weeks I have cut down on the amount of protein powder I have been using, and the last week or so I haven't had any at all.  My digestion has improved, my bloating is gone (with it that horrible gas), and I have more money in my pocket.

To simplify things even more, I have gone to 3 squares a day for the most part, with maybe a 4th meal (no it's not Taco Bell) here and there when I feel like I need it.  At first I was really hungry but after a few days that subsided and now I feel fine.  I feel like my body has adapted and my energy levels are good.  I load up on carbs at lunch on lifting days, and on non lifting days I keep it all very moderate.  Around 2 P.M. each day I have some green tea or coffee and that satisfies my appetite.

So I started thinking, what happened to supplements being.............supplements?

What I mean is, a supplement is supposed to be just that.  If you can't find a way to get enough food in, you supplement your diet with that.  The last time I checked I wasn't living in a third world country.  I can eat 24/7 and yet there I was, throwing down a couple hundred dollars a month on protein powder that I honestly never noticed made any difference in my training.  So why was I continuing this warped pattern?  That's a good question.

If your muscular gains or fat-loss is simply a matter of calories in vs calories out, then why do those calories have to be split over 5 or 6 or 7 meals?  Of course, the reasoning behind this by a lot of people is nutrient absorption.  This stems from years of bodybuilding mags telling people the body can't use more than 30 grams of protein in a meal.  Thus the only way to get in enough protein per day is to eat 6+ times a day.

We really believed this shit?

Let's be real here, the supplement companies drive the fitness industry now.  So if they want to push a "study" that supports their claims, they will.  No matter how ridiculous it seems.  I think we're all smart enough to use some common sense to know that you can't apply a hard and fast rule (like 30 grams of protein per meal) to that many people.  Inmates are known for being jacked and strong.  Are those guys getting 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight in prison?  Highly unlikely.  Do they probably have higher test levels than most?  Most likely.  So get you some test and eat 3 square a day.  My point is, you can go back a long ways and find totally jacked lifters that didn't eat 6 times a day shoveling pounds of protein powder down their throat.  Look up Chuck Sipes if you think you don't think so.  

So why is the supplement industry so full of busts, when it comes to supplements then?

Because it's really all about the dollar.  And supplement companies prey on the wishes and wants of aspiring bodybuilders, powerlifters, and athletes.  If someone thinks that a supplement can give them an edge, they will use it.  And they will spend a significant amount of money on said supplements.  Eventually we learn this highly touted supplement really doesn't do what they said it will do.  The consumer is out of hundreds of dollars, and the supplement company is hundreds of thousands or millions richer, with no repercussions for selling us a complete pile of shit.  Doesn't really seem fair does it?

But I don't want to place all of the blame on the supplement industry here either.  The consumer is part of the problem too, and so are "internet gurus" and trainers all over.  I've heard guys say you need 400 grams of protein to grow.  I tried that.  Did I get "bigger"?  Sure.  Fatter, and felt like shit.  And then when I dieted down I was basically the same size as before.  A complete waste of time.  I've done the same thing not worrying about protein intake and grown the same.

I've come to realize over the past few years that carbohydrates are really the key to gaining mass, not protein.  So long as your protein intake is in a GOOD ballpark range, it's really the carbs that drive the mass gain.

Don't think so?  Try to gain mass on protein and fats only with no carbs.  Get back to me and let me know how that goes.

Ok so my point in all of this is, logic and simplicity is thrown out the door in training and nutrition now.  Because everyone thinks there is some magic bullet being developed that is going to make them into 250 pounds of ripped mass with a 600 bench and 900 squat.  There is no supplement that is going to do that.  There is no training program that will do that.

If you want a "supplement" that is really going to work, decide whether or not you want to use anabolics and go from there.  That is not an endorsement of them, just the fact that you're going to spend less money on them than OTC supplements, and actually get the results you desire.  Otherwise I suggest you rely on good food and hard training, and put some money back in your wallet by not buying a bunch of shit off the shelves or on the net.

This isn't going to make me any friends in the fitness/supplement industry but I'm a nobody anyway.  But I hate to see some young guy spending all the money he works for on supplements that don't do anything food won't do (actually they do less) so I hope they will read this and take it to heart.  Use that money to invest in some mutual funds or romancing a fine piece of trim.

We all need to be smarter about this shit than we are.  Chocolate milk has been shown to be pretty much a perfect post-workout drink.  If you lift 3 times a week you can grab one at the store for a buck fifty.  That's $4.50 a week.  Or $18 a month.  Or you can spend a few hundred a month on something else that does well, virtually the same thing, i.e. give you some simple carbs and protein after your workout.

If I had to narrow down the supplements I will still take it's pretty simple.  A good multi-vitamin, and some BCAAs mixed with gatorade for during the workout.  That's about it.

Yesterday I got hungry in between lunch and dinner.  I had a turkey sandwich.  I could hear the half full canister of protein powder crying about it from the pantry.  

Training - Squats

Bodyweight - 245

Rehabbing the adductor this week even more.  So upping the volume to get some work in..........

Squats - 135 x 10, 225 x 5,

315 x 5,5,5,5,5

365 x 3,3,3,3,3

405 x 1,1,1,1,1

1-legged Calf - 3 sets of 10

Adductor was sore but didn't feel any twinges on any of the squats.  So next week I will push the weight a little more.

Weekly Q&A Thread

Something I am going to start doing is simply putting up a post like this for a weekly Q&A.  You can ask anything from why I am so ugly and stupid looking to diet, training, movies, music, football, MMA, anything.  

So fire away if you got anything.

Training - Pressing

Bodyweight - 245

Seated Pulldown Ab Machine - 210 x 17

Incline Press - 135x15, 185 x 5, 225 x 5, 275 x 3, 315 x 5, 225 x 15

Close Grips - 225 x 5, 315 x 1, 365 x 1, 385 x 1

Tit Machine - 2 sets
Pushdowns - 4 sets

Notes - Tired as hell.  Not a good session.

Training - Deadlifts

Weight - 248

Well I know I posted that I was going to take the week off but I called myself bad names in the mirror long enough that I ended up manning up and going into the gym and pulled.  

Deadlifts - 135 x 5, 225 x 3, 315 x 3, 405 x 3, 500 x 1, 550 x 1, 585 x 1, 605 x1, 550x3, 515x3

All these were smoked.  Super fast, super easy.  Thought about 620-630 but had a little twinge in my adductor on the 605 so I played it smart and just did the back offs after that.

Shrugs - 315 x 30

Pulldowns - stack + 15 x 14 x 6

Hammer Curls and Various Forearm work for the tennis elbow

Notes - Well I'm glad I went in because I had a great little session.  I think I'm going to split the squat and dead up for now to increase the volume on both.  My squats feel out of groove, like I'm not getting enough practice in.  Plus with this adductor strain I will need the volume.  The weight gain was nothing more than me overeating on carbs for the last 4-5 days.  We had a big UFC party and I ate two cakes over the weekend.  That's not a misprint.  

Thoughts about life, training, crap and stuff

Fold em
I'm taking this week off of lifting I think.  I've only got 5 weeks of training time left but my training cycle has not been going well, I just went to the ER for a UTI, my elbow and adductor are killing me and I still feel like shit.  Like I wrote in that other article, sometimes you hold em and sometimes you fold em.  I'm gonna fold em this week, try to feel better and then see if I can have a nice run to to finish the month up.

UFC
Carwin was robbed.  That fight is stopped 99% of the time.  He landed 47 strikes with Lesnar doing nothing but turtling up like a bitch.  I laugh at the people who talk about what a warrior Brock was for coming back to get the sub.  Get a clue.  Carwin wiped himself out going for the finish.  The ref kept saying he was going to end it if Brock didn't improve his position.  He never improved his position and the ref never called it.  Makes no damn sense.  Either way, giant holes were exposed in Brock's game.  His stand up is shit and so much for him being some freakish athlete.  Carwin had no trouble stuffing his take down attempts when they were both fresh.  Funny how throwing a guy the same size as him in there neutralized all of his "freakish" ability eh?

Avatar
I finally saw Avatar.  It was solid.  I wasn't blown away by the story of course because it was about as straight forward as you can get (Pocahontas is the SAME story).  But it was really eye popping.  I am usually a high brow movie guy but I sometimes allow myself to enjoy eye candy.  This was one of those occasions and it did not disappoint.

Worst service evar
AT&T has the worst service ever.  Cell phone service sucks and we tried to get their U-Verse.  The guy that was supposed to install it never even showed up!  NEVER EVEN SHOWED UP.  No call, no nothing.  Just didn't show up.  Wow.

Stupid jobs
My wife sent me a link for a job for fitness writers.  They want two articles a week of 400 words.  No pay.  Kiss my ass.  If I'm gonna do it for free I'll just do it here.

Joke of the week -

A man was dragging a young boy into the woods as it neared dark.  The kid cried

"Mister please don't hurt me.  I'm so scared."

The man looked at the kid and said "You're scared?  I gotta walk back alone!"

Hope everyone had a great 4th!  

  

Training - Squats and Injuries -

Well I have not been feeling too great for the last several days but I had been sucking it up and working through it.

Today that would catch up to me.  I worked up to 515x3 on squats then pulled my left adductor on the 3rd rep. I shut it down after that and went home.  But the constant pain in my abdominals and painful urination caught up with me and I went to the ER and I tested positive for a urinary tract infection.  I guess peeing brown for a day is not normal?  Who knew?

Anyway I should be good in a day or so and I will do some light squats tomorrow and maybe do the pulling portion of my workout.  I should be fine and will do some rehab work for the adductor this week and then squat heavy again maybe in two weeks.

Training - Pressing - Week 5 / Phase 2

Bodyweight - 240

Incline Press - bar x 50, 135 x 15,10, 225 x 8, (wrap elbows) 275 x 12, 225 x 10

Close Grip Bench - 225 x 3, 275 x 3, 315 x 1, 365 x 1, 225 x 20

Db Bench Press - 50's x 30, 20, - phone call - 50's x 25

Notes - Right elbow is just completely trashed.  I may need to get a shot in there at some point.  Been icing it and taking anti-inflammatory but nothing has helped.  Have to rethink this.