September 4, 2013 - Deads

I'm back!

Sorry for the huge delay (an entire month) since my last post, but life got crazy and I have been out of town more than I have been in town. Regardless, I have been training as much as possible, and while not with the consistency and focus I would like, training has been going decently well. Yesterday however marked my return to full out training and what better way to kick it off than with some good heavy deadlifts.

Deads
405 x 3
495 x 3
585 x 5
495 x 10

I believe both of those bolded sets are PR's, but I'm not 100 percent sure. Either way a pretty good day of pulls considering the month I had prior to this. Had a pretty nice nose bleed going on those two sets as well.

No real assistance work as I managed to screw something up in my shoulder wake boarding this Labor Day weekend so I have a limited range of motion in my right shoulder. It's improving every day, so hopefully it'll be good to go come next week for some heavy benching.

Last Week's Training Recap

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.