This is definitely a little late, but better late than never, right? Life and especially work has gotten hectic the last week or two. I am still training, but have been forced to make adjustments. Hitting the gym on different days, at different times, and often for shorter lengths of time. It looks like the entire month of August is going to be choas in terms of trying to maintain a training schedule, but I'll power through.
Tuesday, July 22, 2013 - Bench - Reps
Bench
275 x 8 (all paused)
315 x 6
315 x 5
Close Grips
225 x 10
225 x 10
Super Wide Grip Bench
135 x 15
185 x 15
Definitely wasn't feeling it on this day. I hit 315 for 8 (almost 9) reps on my previous rep day, so the numbers clearly weren't there. I was pushed for time as well so I kept this workout short and sweet. The really wide grip bench was a great way to end the workout and really demolish the pecs.
Wednesday, July 23, 2013 - Deadlifts - Explosive
Deficit Deadlifts (off 3" block, no belt, and approximately 60 seconds rest between sets)
415 x 6 sets x 3 reps
Sumo Deadlifts
315 x 5
405 x 5
495 x 5
DB Rows
Pulldowns
KB Swings
Really good workout overall. The deficit deads were brutal because of the short rest times. Sumo deadlifts are continuing to improve as my form gets better. Got some good assistance work in after too.
Thursday, July 24, 2014 - Accessory Day
Seated Barbell Military
135 x 15
185 x 12
225 x 5
225 x 5
Upright Rows
3 sets x 15 reps
Lying Barbell Tricep Extensions
3 sets x 15 reps
Curls
3 sets
Very solid workout overall. I had been forced to miss my dedicated accessory day the past two weeks, so it was nice to be able to get in and have a dedicated day this week. Seated military presses felt really strong and got some good work in with the other exercises.
Saturday, July 26, 2013 - Squats - Heavy
Squats (walked out, no knee wraps)
375 x 3 (no belt)
415 x 3 (no belt)
465 x 3 (belt)
485 x 1 (belt)
485 x 2 (belt)
Just a terrible workout overall. Last time I threw on just the belt I hit 505 for an easy triple, with a lot left in the tank. Just overall fatigued at this point, so I called it a short day. The first set of 485 felt like complete shit, so I came back and hit it for a decent double. Rested up over the weekend so I can be ready to go next week.
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Kitchen Stuff - Easy Smoked Salmon
This is a new topic area that I am going to start trying to make frequent posts about. I am nutrition nut so hopefully I can pass on some of what I have learned throughout the past couple years, whether it be recipes, cooking tips, nutritional strategies, etc.
Over the past years I have experimented with about every different type of dieting methodolgy that is out there. I have learned from each of them and have learned what works for me, and what does not work for me. The two biggest influences on my current nutritional philosphy have been John Meadows and John Kiefer.
I am a huge John Meadows fan and I recommend anyone who is unfamiliar with him and his work to check out his website Mountain Dog Diet and consider signing up for the Express portion of his site. I'm a member there and it's definitely worth the money. You will see a very strong influence from his dieting strategies on what I currently do. Meadows is one of the few guys out there who put a strong emphasis on health, in addition to achieving phenominal performance and aesthetic based results. His work has lead to me putting a much greater emphasis on the quality of my food, particularly my protein sources, than I did so in the past. My protein sources now are limited to cage free chicken, grass fed beef, wild caught fish, cage free eggs, and raw and grass fed dairy. I also try and buy organic foods when I feel the extra money is justified.
Kiefer is the mastermind behind the Carb Backloading (CBL) movement and I have implemented CBL with great effectiveness, in terms of dropping fat while holding onto muscle. With that said, I do believe there are some significant flaws in the logic surrounding CBL and as such I have shifted away from following a CBL diet, at least as it is laid out by Kiefer. While I no longer follow a strict CBL diet, I took one invaluable lesson from it, and that is the importance of peri and post workout nutrition. Meadows actually hits on this pretty hard too, and his writings have certainly played a role as well, but it was CBL that really drove the nail home for me in terms of nutrition surrounding your workouts.
So now that I have given you a very short background on my nutritional journey and how I arrived where I am today, I am going to kick things off by showing you my favorite way to prepare fish, particularly salmon.
Wild caught fish, especially salmon, is a major player in my diet. My wife is a vegetarian and as a result fish is one of the few things we can fully agree on. So simply put, we eat a lot of fish. One of the problems people have preparing fish is that it's often difficult to grill and when baked it is often bland. Well I have found the perfect solution.
I purchased a smoker box for my gas grill from the world's most expensive cooking store, Williams-Sonoma for about $40-$50. From a quick Google search it looks like I might have even overpaid for mine. Mine is made of steel and has held up great for over a year now. This appears to be the same one I have and it's only $32 online at Williams-Sonoma. You may be able to find cheaper options, but what you don't want is one of the small boxes that are just meant to hold the wood chips and sit in the grill. What you want is a box that has two seperate compartments, one for the wood chips on the bottom and another on top for the meat or fish. This way the meat/fish and all of the smoke is contained inside the box. You end up with a much stronger smoked flavor and it also eliminates the frustration that is often associated with trying to grill fish. This is an example of what you do not want, an open faced smoker box that is not meant to be cooked on.
The box essentially allows you to turn any gas grill into a smoker and it produces the most flavorful and juiciest fish I have ever had. The salmon I make on my grill in my smoker box is better than any salmon I have ever had at any restaurant, and it's so simple to do. I have also done chicken and it is also great, but it is fish that I really love to cook with the smoker box. I have yet to try pork or steak, but I'm sure they would also be amazing.
Step 1:
Get a smoker box, a bag of wood chips, and some fish of your choice (as long as it's wild caught). Wood chips can be found at any grocery store and they are dirt cheap. I get the Publix store brand and it's either $1.99 or $2.99 a bag. You can mix up the type of wood from time to time to add some more variety to your fish as well. On this night I was grilling a salmon fillet that I had marianted in some EVOO, with blackening seasoning, fresh basil, and garlic.
Step 2:
Soak about 2 cups of wood chips in a bowl of water. This is important because you want the wood chips to smoke, not to actually catch flames and burn. I say soak the chips for at 20-30 minutes, but honestly the longer the better. Also note that it does not take a lot of wood chips. I could probably get away using even less chips, but they are so cheap I figure I'll use a little extra and make sure I get the full smoke effect.
Step 3:
Spread chips evenly across the bottom of the smoker box and then place the box on the grill and preheat the box. I generally have my grill turned all the way up to high, but your grill may be different.
Step 4:
After about 10-15 minutes you should see smoke pillowing out from under the lid of the smoker box and you'll know it's ready. So just take off the lid with an oven mitt, spray some non-stick (I just use a little EVOO spray), throw on the fish, and replace the lid. Now all you have to do it wait until it's done, probably about 15-20 minutes. The awesome thing is that you really do not have to worry about the fish drying out. If you could it a little longer then you'll just get a stronger smoked flavor, but still get a very juicy and tender piece of fish.
Here's the final result from that night.
A final tip, buy some steel wool to make cleaning the box a breeze and thank me later. Otherwise you'll be hating yourself when it comes time to clean the box.
Monday, July 22, 2013
Saturday, July 20, 2013 - Squats - Explosive
Squats (No Belt, No Wraps, Walked Out)
365 x 8 sets x 3 reps
** 60 seconds rest between sets
Front Squats
315 x 3
365 x 2
405 x dumped it
315 x 3
315 x 3
** Just felt shitty today. Not sure why, but I couldn't maintain my form. Everything was trying to roll forward on me and once I got to 405 I could no longer fight the weight back and had to dump it.
Tsunami Bar Squats (Elevated Heel)
185 x 15
225 x 15
275 x 12
** I don't know what the actual bar weighs (it's significantly less than 45 pounds) so I just pretend it's a normal 45 pound bar to make record keeping easy.
Pullups
Thoughts
Really good workout overall. My lower back was fried halfway through the back squats which may be why I couldn't maintain my positioning on front squats. Disappointing front squats especially because I was expecting to PR on them.
First time squatting with the tsunami bar and I have to say I was impressed with it. If you're not familiar with the tsunami bar, check out the video below of Dale using the bar. The whip the bar gets when you hit the hole and reverse the weight is crazy. It really overloads the bottom position of the squat and absolutely fries the quads. Did these with a high bar setup and with a mat under the heel to put even more focus on the quads.
365 x 8 sets x 3 reps
** 60 seconds rest between sets
Front Squats
315 x 3
365 x 2
405 x dumped it
315 x 3
315 x 3
** Just felt shitty today. Not sure why, but I couldn't maintain my form. Everything was trying to roll forward on me and once I got to 405 I could no longer fight the weight back and had to dump it.
Tsunami Bar Squats (Elevated Heel)
185 x 15
225 x 15
275 x 12
** I don't know what the actual bar weighs (it's significantly less than 45 pounds) so I just pretend it's a normal 45 pound bar to make record keeping easy.
Pullups
Thoughts
Really good workout overall. My lower back was fried halfway through the back squats which may be why I couldn't maintain my positioning on front squats. Disappointing front squats especially because I was expecting to PR on them.
First time squatting with the tsunami bar and I have to say I was impressed with it. If you're not familiar with the tsunami bar, check out the video below of Dale using the bar. The whip the bar gets when you hit the hole and reverse the weight is crazy. It really overloads the bottom position of the squat and absolutely fries the quads. Did these with a high bar setup and with a mat under the heel to put even more focus on the quads.
Friday, July 19, 2013
Wednesday, July 17, 2013 - Deadlifts
Block Pulls (no belt)
405 x 3
495 x 3
585 x 4
635 x 2 (wore belt on this set)
495 x 10
Pendlay Rows
135 x 15
185 x 10
185 x 8
Pullups
3 sets
SSB Squats (no belt)
135 x 12
185 x 12
225 x 12
Pulldowns (pronated grip)
3 sets of 15
Thoughts
By far the worst workout I've had in a while. I think I was just fatigued. Last time I pulled off the blocks I worked up to 675 x 3 and 725 x 1 with a belt. I was expecting 5 plus reps on the 585 set. Even my grip was giving out by the end of my 585 and 635 sets, which never happens to me. Rows and pullups went about as shitty as the pulls, but I was able to get some good work in. Anyways, I'll just scratch this one up as an off day, especially since training has been going great overall lately.
405 x 3
495 x 3
585 x 4
635 x 2 (wore belt on this set)
495 x 10
Pendlay Rows
135 x 15
185 x 10
185 x 8
Pullups
3 sets
SSB Squats (no belt)
135 x 12
185 x 12
225 x 12
Pulldowns (pronated grip)
3 sets of 15
Thoughts
By far the worst workout I've had in a while. I think I was just fatigued. Last time I pulled off the blocks I worked up to 675 x 3 and 725 x 1 with a belt. I was expecting 5 plus reps on the 585 set. Even my grip was giving out by the end of my 585 and 635 sets, which never happens to me. Rows and pullups went about as shitty as the pulls, but I was able to get some good work in. Anyways, I'll just scratch this one up as an off day, especially since training has been going great overall lately.
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Monday, July 15, 2013 - Bench - Heavy
Bench (Slight pauses on all reps)
275 x 3
315 x 3
355 x 3
355 x 3
355 x 3
Buffalo Bar Bench Press (extremely slow decents and all reps paused)
145 x 15
195 x 15
235 x 8
Prontated Dumbell Bench
65 x 20
65 x 15
Skull Crushers
75 x Repped Out to Failure
75 x Repped Out to Failure
75 x Repped Out to Failure
Band Pull Aparts Supersetted with Band Pushdowns
3 sets
Notes
My body felt completely wrecked going into this workout due to a long day out on the lake wakeboarding Saturday. So with that said, I am pumped I was able to work up to 355 for three triples on a day I was clearly less than 100%. The reps were all a little bit slower than I would have liked, especially on the third set, but on a day like today, I'll happily take that performance.
This was the first time I have ever benched with the buffalo bar and they are brutal! The added range of motion at the bottom puts a lot of extra stress on the pecs. Not to mention the thickness of the bar makes for a good forearm workout. I can see a lot of benefit coming from these, so I will definitely be adding them to my workouts every couple weeks as an assistance exercise.
275 x 3
315 x 3
355 x 3
355 x 3
355 x 3
Buffalo Bar Bench Press (extremely slow decents and all reps paused)
145 x 15
195 x 15
235 x 8
Prontated Dumbell Bench
65 x 20
65 x 15
Skull Crushers
75 x Repped Out to Failure
75 x Repped Out to Failure
75 x Repped Out to Failure
Band Pull Aparts Supersetted with Band Pushdowns
3 sets
Notes
My body felt completely wrecked going into this workout due to a long day out on the lake wakeboarding Saturday. So with that said, I am pumped I was able to work up to 355 for three triples on a day I was clearly less than 100%. The reps were all a little bit slower than I would have liked, especially on the third set, but on a day like today, I'll happily take that performance.
This was the first time I have ever benched with the buffalo bar and they are brutal! The added range of motion at the bottom puts a lot of extra stress on the pecs. Not to mention the thickness of the bar makes for a good forearm workout. I can see a lot of benefit coming from these, so I will definitely be adding them to my workouts every couple weeks as an assistance exercise.
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Saturday, July 13, 2013 - Squats - Reps
Squats (Walked Out)
415 x 10 (No Belt)
465 x 5 (Belt)
Pause Squats (Walked Out) (No Belt)
285 x 3
325 x 3
375 x 3
375 x 3
375 x 5
Glute Ham Raises
3 sets holding 25 pound plate
Thoughts
I was a little rushed for time, but very good workout overall. The set of 10 on squats was a real grinder and I don't think I had quite fully recovered for the 465 set, otherwise I believe I could have grinded out more than 5 reps. The paused squats were a great addition to the workout and 375 x 5 is a big PR for me. The pause squats really help me to find my strongest position in the hole and to focus on my movement patterns coming out of the hole. I have a tendency when I start to struggle to shoot my ass up and lean over, and essentially turn my squat into a half squat/half good morning. The pause squats really help me to break this habit.
415 x 10 (No Belt)
465 x 5 (Belt)
Pause Squats (Walked Out) (No Belt)
285 x 3
325 x 3
375 x 3
375 x 3
375 x 5
Glute Ham Raises
3 sets holding 25 pound plate
Thoughts
I was a little rushed for time, but very good workout overall. The set of 10 on squats was a real grinder and I don't think I had quite fully recovered for the 465 set, otherwise I believe I could have grinded out more than 5 reps. The paused squats were a great addition to the workout and 375 x 5 is a big PR for me. The pause squats really help me to find my strongest position in the hole and to focus on my movement patterns coming out of the hole. I have a tendency when I start to struggle to shoot my ass up and lean over, and essentially turn my squat into a half squat/half good morning. The pause squats really help me to break this habit.
Thursday, July 11, 2013 - Deadlifts - Heavy
Deficit Deadlifts (No Belt)
425 x 3
515 x 3
565 x 2
565 x 2
565 x 2
Sumo Deadlifts
425 x 3
425 x 3
425 x 3
Pullups
Pulldowns
Thoughts
A really good heavy deadlift day. My back and forearms were pretty sore before I even started due to some wakeboarding on Tuesday and I could definitely feel it in my pulls. There was definitely more back rounding than I would have liked and my grip was noticably fatigued, but I was very happy to hit three doubles with 565 with no belt. I am still trying to get a feel for sumo deadlifts and as a result I am keeping the weights really light for now and am going to start adding them in occasionally just to to see what happens.
425 x 3
515 x 3
565 x 2
565 x 2
565 x 2
Sumo Deadlifts
425 x 3
425 x 3
425 x 3
Pullups
Pulldowns
Thoughts
A really good heavy deadlift day. My back and forearms were pretty sore before I even started due to some wakeboarding on Tuesday and I could definitely feel it in my pulls. There was definitely more back rounding than I would have liked and my grip was noticably fatigued, but I was very happy to hit three doubles with 565 with no belt. I am still trying to get a feel for sumo deadlifts and as a result I am keeping the weights really light for now and am going to start adding them in occasionally just to to see what happens.
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Monday, July 9, 2013 - Bench
Bench
225 x 3 reps x 8 sets (less than 60 seconds rest between sets)
Incline Barbell
225 x 12
275 x 7
315 x 2
225 x 12
Seated DB Military
50 x 19
50 x 12
Thick Rope Pushdowns
80 x 20
100 x 18
100 x 15
Reverse Grip Bench
135 x 15
185 x 9
185 x 8
Notes
Today was explosive training day for bench. Kept the weights low and the rest times even lower. One of my training partners and I just alternated our sets back and forth with no added rest time. I probably knocked out my sets with 30-40 seconds between each one.
First time doing heavy incline barbell work in a while and it felt pretty good. The incline at our gym is the one thing I hate in our gym, but you have to work with what you have. The bench isn't straight. It literally rounds off at the top of the back. Regardless, I know I have a lot more in me as far as the incline goes, but I am happy with those numbers for today.
The reverse grip benches were added at the end just to get in a little more tricep work. It's an exercise I really like to do, but I do not like going heavy with them, due to the akwardness of the exercise. My triceps were absolutely fried after the rope pushdowns, so I figured it was a great time to throw in a few sets of reverse grip benches.
225 x 3 reps x 8 sets (less than 60 seconds rest between sets)
Incline Barbell
225 x 12
275 x 7
315 x 2
225 x 12
Seated DB Military
50 x 19
50 x 12
Thick Rope Pushdowns
80 x 20
100 x 18
100 x 15
Reverse Grip Bench
135 x 15
185 x 9
185 x 8
Notes
Today was explosive training day for bench. Kept the weights low and the rest times even lower. One of my training partners and I just alternated our sets back and forth with no added rest time. I probably knocked out my sets with 30-40 seconds between each one.
First time doing heavy incline barbell work in a while and it felt pretty good. The incline at our gym is the one thing I hate in our gym, but you have to work with what you have. The bench isn't straight. It literally rounds off at the top of the back. Regardless, I know I have a lot more in me as far as the incline goes, but I am happy with those numbers for today.
The reverse grip benches were added at the end just to get in a little more tricep work. It's an exercise I really like to do, but I do not like going heavy with them, due to the akwardness of the exercise. My triceps were absolutely fried after the rope pushdowns, so I figured it was a great time to throw in a few sets of reverse grip benches.
Monday, July 8, 2013
Saturday, July 6, 2013 - Squats
Squats (No Belt, No Wraps, Walked Out)
375 x 3
415 x 3
465 x 3 x 3 sets
Pullups
3 sets of 7
Leg Press
3 sets of increasing weight x 25 reps
Straight Leg Deadlifts (standing on 3" block)
225 x 15
315 x 15
Ab Work
Thoughts
Nothing fancy here, just some heavier volume, but overall a very good workout. Squats were not as explosive as I would have liked, but it was just one of those days. I am also still learning how to walk out heavier weights. It sounds stupid, but there is a big difference between taking the weight straight out of the mono ready to lift and walking the weight out and having to then establish your starting position.
I have never gone to 465 without a belt before, so hitting three triples with that weight was a good day.
My left adductor is still a little sore, but I can tell that it is improving. Hopefully in the next couple weeks it will be back to 100 percent.
375 x 3
415 x 3
465 x 3 x 3 sets
Pullups
3 sets of 7
Leg Press
3 sets of increasing weight x 25 reps
Straight Leg Deadlifts (standing on 3" block)
225 x 15
315 x 15
Ab Work
Thoughts
Nothing fancy here, just some heavier volume, but overall a very good workout. Squats were not as explosive as I would have liked, but it was just one of those days. I am also still learning how to walk out heavier weights. It sounds stupid, but there is a big difference between taking the weight straight out of the mono ready to lift and walking the weight out and having to then establish your starting position.
I have never gone to 465 without a belt before, so hitting three triples with that weight was a good day.
My left adductor is still a little sore, but I can tell that it is improving. Hopefully in the next couple weeks it will be back to 100 percent.
Friday, July 5, 2013
Wednesday, July 3, 2013 - Deadlifts - Explosive
Deadlifts (straight bar and no belt)
8 sets of 365 x 3 with 60 seconds rest between sets
Barbell Rows
225 x 10
225 x 10
Pullups
3 sets to failure
Hammer Strength Machine - Low Rows
3 sets of 15 focusing on really squeezing at the top
Thick Bar Pulldowns
3 sets x 15 reps
KB Swings
40 kg x 20
48 kg x 20
Core Work
Apparently I didn't get the memo that everyone is suppose to take the day before the fourth of July off from training. Doesn't matter if I had gotten it anyways, because my ass would have been there anyway.
I was running about 30 minutes late today due to work and fully expected to see the rest of our team well into their warmup sets when I arrived at the gym. Instead I walked into a wasteland. Even my wife couldn't make the trip today because she was bed ridden from a debilitating migraine.
Sometimes it's nice to train alone though. I plugged my iPhone into the sound system there at the gym and went to work. Today was explosive deadlifts and since I was training alone I was really able to focus on maintaining shorter rest periods. Every consecutive set started 60 seconds after the previous set ended. Sometimes training with five to eight other people can make it difficult to pop off one set after the other, but that certainly wasn't an issue today.
First time in a good while that I used a regular straight bar and not a deadlift bar for my pulls. I love pulling with a regular bar because it forces you to really become conscious about getting everything tight before you even start the pull. Training with a straight bar is a great way to build explosiveness off the floor.
I also did a couple sets of conventional barbell rows and was quickly reminded why I had decided to drop them from my training in leau of pendlay rows. I simply cannot get the same type of targeted muscle activation in my back from a conventional barbell row that I get with pendlays.
8 sets of 365 x 3 with 60 seconds rest between sets
Barbell Rows
225 x 10
225 x 10
Pullups
3 sets to failure
Hammer Strength Machine - Low Rows
3 sets of 15 focusing on really squeezing at the top
Thick Bar Pulldowns
3 sets x 15 reps
KB Swings
40 kg x 20
48 kg x 20
Core Work
Apparently I didn't get the memo that everyone is suppose to take the day before the fourth of July off from training. Doesn't matter if I had gotten it anyways, because my ass would have been there anyway.
I was running about 30 minutes late today due to work and fully expected to see the rest of our team well into their warmup sets when I arrived at the gym. Instead I walked into a wasteland. Even my wife couldn't make the trip today because she was bed ridden from a debilitating migraine.
Sometimes it's nice to train alone though. I plugged my iPhone into the sound system there at the gym and went to work. Today was explosive deadlifts and since I was training alone I was really able to focus on maintaining shorter rest periods. Every consecutive set started 60 seconds after the previous set ended. Sometimes training with five to eight other people can make it difficult to pop off one set after the other, but that certainly wasn't an issue today.
First time in a good while that I used a regular straight bar and not a deadlift bar for my pulls. I love pulling with a regular bar because it forces you to really become conscious about getting everything tight before you even start the pull. Training with a straight bar is a great way to build explosiveness off the floor.
I also did a couple sets of conventional barbell rows and was quickly reminded why I had decided to drop them from my training in leau of pendlay rows. I simply cannot get the same type of targeted muscle activation in my back from a conventional barbell row that I get with pendlays.
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
Monday, July 1, 2013 Training Recap - Bench - Reps
Bench
275 x 3
315 x 8 (missed on 9)
2 Board Bench
335 x 6
Floor Presses
225 x 10
275 x 5
315 x 5
315 x 1 (stopped here)
I didn't feel great warming up, but the top set on bench felt great and 315 for 8 reps is a PR for me. I absolutely hate to miss reps and I almost had 9, but couldn't quite lock it out. I am not a huge fan of board presses, but decided to do a set just for a little overload since 315 felt so good.
I am becoming a big fan of floor presses, as it is a lift I haven't really utilized to a great extent in previous training cycles, but that is changing. I allow the my arms to completely come in contact with the floor on each rep, to the point that the weight actually deloads to some extent before I press the weight back up. The weights felt good today, but for some reason on the second set of 315 something tweaked in my left pec, so I cut it off there.
It's nothing serious, and it's not the same pec I previously tore, but it was sore the day after. I don't expect it to keep from benching next week.
Finished the workout up with some tricep work, being careful to keep stress off the pec, so lots of isolation movements for high reps...
Lying Tricep Extensions with Straight Bar
kept reps at 15 and continued increasing weight until I could no longer get 15
Cable Extensions using the rope attachment
2 sets of a million reps
275 x 3
315 x 8 (missed on 9)
2 Board Bench
335 x 6
Floor Presses
225 x 10
275 x 5
315 x 5
315 x 1 (stopped here)
I didn't feel great warming up, but the top set on bench felt great and 315 for 8 reps is a PR for me. I absolutely hate to miss reps and I almost had 9, but couldn't quite lock it out. I am not a huge fan of board presses, but decided to do a set just for a little overload since 315 felt so good.
I am becoming a big fan of floor presses, as it is a lift I haven't really utilized to a great extent in previous training cycles, but that is changing. I allow the my arms to completely come in contact with the floor on each rep, to the point that the weight actually deloads to some extent before I press the weight back up. The weights felt good today, but for some reason on the second set of 315 something tweaked in my left pec, so I cut it off there.
It's nothing serious, and it's not the same pec I previously tore, but it was sore the day after. I don't expect it to keep from benching next week.
Finished the workout up with some tricep work, being careful to keep stress off the pec, so lots of isolation movements for high reps...
Lying Tricep Extensions with Straight Bar
kept reps at 15 and continued increasing weight until I could no longer get 15
Cable Extensions using the rope attachment
2 sets of a million reps
Recap of Last Week's Training
Been really busy as of late so the updates are lacking, but I am going to try and fix that starting now. Training is back at full force following last month's meet, so there will be a lot more training related posts to get us started. I also have some other ideas on how to get this blog more active.
Here's a simple recap of the rest of last week's training. I didn't include any of my assistance exercises in the wrietup, simply in an effort to keep things a little more concise.
Wednesday June 26, 2013 - Deads - Reps
Deficit Deadlifts with No Belt (Standing on about a 3" block)
315 x 3
405 x 3
495 x 8
I felt pretty winded from the start of this workout, so I was very happy with the performance on that final set. Deadlift form is feeling right on point and all of my pulls are feeling very smooth.
If there is one thing I hate, it is pulling reps on deadlift. Anything five and over leaves me completely gassed and I could literally still feel the effects of that set at the end of my workout. Some will say I need to improve my GPP, which is always something that is worth trying to improve, but for those who can do a set of high reps on deads and recover in 5-10 minutes, I believe you are not even coming close to pushing yourself hard enough.
Thursday, June 27, 2013 - Assistance
Standing Overhead Press - Olympic Style
185 x 10
205 x 5
135 x 15
135 x 11
I do all of my standing overhead pressing in an olympic style. No need bend and a close grip. I am not claiming my lift would pass in an olympic weightlifting competition, but it would be close. I see so many people do standing overhead presses in a push-press sytle, using a shit-ton of leg drive. Unless your training for strongman competitions, you're wasting your time in my honest opinion. I am going to write more about this later.
Saturday, June 29, 2013 - Squats - Explosive
Squats (Walked Out/No Belt/No Wraps)
8 sets of triples with 325
Front Squats (No Belt)
315 x 5
365 x 3
365 x 3
First explosive squat day of this training cycle and it was a good one. The bar was moving fast and as the sets went on the weight continued to feel lighter and lighter and each set was more explosive than the last.
Fairly heavy front squats today and 365 was a new PR on front squats without using a belt. If you have never tried front squats without your belt, I encourage you to ditch the belt next time and see just how much harder they really are.
Here's a simple recap of the rest of last week's training. I didn't include any of my assistance exercises in the wrietup, simply in an effort to keep things a little more concise.
Wednesday June 26, 2013 - Deads - Reps
Deficit Deadlifts with No Belt (Standing on about a 3" block)
315 x 3
405 x 3
495 x 8
I felt pretty winded from the start of this workout, so I was very happy with the performance on that final set. Deadlift form is feeling right on point and all of my pulls are feeling very smooth.
If there is one thing I hate, it is pulling reps on deadlift. Anything five and over leaves me completely gassed and I could literally still feel the effects of that set at the end of my workout. Some will say I need to improve my GPP, which is always something that is worth trying to improve, but for those who can do a set of high reps on deads and recover in 5-10 minutes, I believe you are not even coming close to pushing yourself hard enough.
Thursday, June 27, 2013 - Assistance
Standing Overhead Press - Olympic Style
185 x 10
205 x 5
135 x 15
135 x 11
I do all of my standing overhead pressing in an olympic style. No need bend and a close grip. I am not claiming my lift would pass in an olympic weightlifting competition, but it would be close. I see so many people do standing overhead presses in a push-press sytle, using a shit-ton of leg drive. Unless your training for strongman competitions, you're wasting your time in my honest opinion. I am going to write more about this later.
Saturday, June 29, 2013 - Squats - Explosive
Squats (Walked Out/No Belt/No Wraps)
8 sets of triples with 325
Front Squats (No Belt)
315 x 5
365 x 3
365 x 3
First explosive squat day of this training cycle and it was a good one. The bar was moving fast and as the sets went on the weight continued to feel lighter and lighter and each set was more explosive than the last.
Fairly heavy front squats today and 365 was a new PR on front squats without using a belt. If you have never tried front squats without your belt, I encourage you to ditch the belt next time and see just how much harder they really are.
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