February 13, 2013 – Overhead Training & February 14, 2013 – Squat Training

February 06, 2013 – Overhead Training

Dynamic Warm-ups

12" Log Jerks
90x5
90x5
130x3
160x3
190x1
220x2
230x2
245x2
260x2
235x6

12" Log Clean & Jerks
205x6
205x6

12" Log Jerks w/ 40lbs of Chains
240x1
240x1
240x1
240x1
240x1
240x1

Dumbbell Overhead Extensions (standing)
115x12
115x12
115x12

Incline Chest Supported Dumbbell Rows
105’sx8
105’sx8
105’sx8
105’sx8
105’sx8

Band Triceps Pressdowns
MBx25
MBx25
MBx25
MBx25

30 Minutes of Stretching

Comments: Feeling a bit better with the log. Not amazing though. Certainly getting under it a bit better and the crushing feeling is going away. Felt like my skull wanted to escape my head on some of those reps though. The clean every rep sets were noticeably tougher but better balance wise. Just about uppercut myself on the first rep of the second set again. More rack work against the chains. Getting a lot tougher already. Finished up with overhead triceps work and chest supported rows. Really felt good doing those. Finished up with bands to keep the elbows happy.



February 14, 2013 – Squat Training

Dynamic Warm-ups

18" Box Squats
45x10
95x5
145x5
195x3
235x3
285x3
325x1
375x1
420x1
470x3
340x3
340x3
340x3
340x3
340x3
340x3

Front Squats
60x3
110x3
160x3
200x1
240x5
240x5
240x5

Side Handle Car Deadlifts (short rests)
Car+130x1
Car+130x1
Car+130x1
Car+130x1
Car+130x1
Car+130x1

Single Leg Dumbbell Squats
70'sx8/8
70'sx8/8
70'sx8/8

One Legged Dumbbell Romanian Deadlifts
90'sx3/3
90'sx3/3
90'sx3/3

Isometric Prone Abdominal Holds
bwx1 minute
bwx1 minute
bwx1 minute

33 Minutes of Stretching

Comments: This workout took a while, probably longer than last time. After last time, I tempered the goal weight for the cycle and I'm using smaller jumps for the heavy sets, so only up 15lbs from last time. Definitely not easy but doable. Harder than the pulls are feeling at this point. Speed work even felt better, actually felt fast. Actually felt better as the sets went on. Front squats weren't quite as easy as last time. Felt some twinges in my upper back on the left side. Haven't felt it there in some time. Decided to put car deadlifting in on this day in place of ssb dead squats. More time to recover between deadlift, squat and events hopefully. Took some time to set it up. Probably should have done some warm-up pulls as the first single was the toughest one haha. After that, I did single leg work and abs and a lot of stretching.

February 11, 2013 – Deadlift Training

Dynamic Warm-ups

Deadlifts
135x5
185x3
225x3
275x3
315x3
365x1
415x1
465x1
525x3
415x4
415x4
415x4
415x4
415x4
415x4
415x4

Deadlifts w/MMB’s dbl (+80lbs)
365x1
415x1
465x1
495x1

3" Platform Deadlifts
425x3
425x3

Glute Ham Raises
bw+25x8
bw+25x8
bw+25x8
bw+25x8

Spread Eagle Sit-ups
bw+10x8
bw+10x8
bw+10x8

Reverse Hyperextensions
50x20
50x20
50x20

29 Minutes of Stretching

Comments: After doing event training a few days earlier, wasn't sure how this would go. I was worried I overdid it. I didn't feel as fast warming up as last time but I put that out of my mind and just did it. Actually felt good enough to add some weight to my planned triple. Very much the same as last week in that it wasn't super easy but it wasn't super hard. For the sets after that, I just shouted “speed” to myself before pulling. Didn't feel tired this time. For band pulls, I started with the same weight and added 50lbs each time until it felt like I was slowing down. Felt slightly easier than 455lbs felt last week so I went for 5 plates. A bit slower than I would have liked but still within what I planned and there was no doubt I was going to miss the lift. Platform pulls felt kind of tough as my glutes and hips were still quite sore and getting down to that position finally hit those spots. Added weight to glute hams and sit-ups. Hammies really liked the added weight. Did super light reverse hypers to finish up the day. Going to keep it that way like I'm doing with the last exercise on my upperbody days.

February 10, 2013 – Bench Press Training

Dynamic Warm-ups

Close Grip Barbell Bench Presses
45x10
95x5
135x3
175x3
215x1
245x1
275x3
290x3
305x3
325x3
290x5

Wide Grip Barbell Bench Presses (paused)
255x6
255x6

Close Grip Barbell Dead Presses (short rests)
290x1
290x1
290x1
290x1

Parallel Bar Dips
bwx3
bw+50x3
bw+100x5
bw+100x5
bw+100x5
bw+100x5
bw+100x5

Dumbbell Front Raises
40’sx3
40’sx3
40’sx3

IYT’s
5’sx12
5’sx12
5’sx12

33 Minutes of Stretching

Comments: Lower body still feeling stiff and sore but didn't really hamper the workout. Benching felt alright. Felt a lot slower than it actually looked on camera. Again, assistance work was quite easy. Wide grips felt fine , with the second set being easier than the first, and dead pressing was flying up again. Dips were easier than last time. Weird doing front raises for low reps. Finished up with IYT’s for the tiny back and shoulder muscles and stretched a lot.

February 09, 2013 – Event Training

Dynamic Warm-ups

Uphill Yoke (10 second runs)
340x94'0"
430x78'2"
520x74'1"
570x67'2"
620x59'4"
670x54'4"

Side Handle Car Deadlifts
Carx1
Car+50x1
Car+100x11 (60 seconds)

Atlas Stone Loads to 58"
240x3
315x1
335x1
365x1
385x1
420x0

Comments: Wasn't even sure if I wanted to do anything today. Tired, and incredibly sore still from squat day. Got to get back into doing the events with regularity with Spring coming up. Did the speed runs on yoke again. I like them and I learned from last time. All sets were uphill and I took plate jumps until I got to over 500lbs. Actually did markedly better on the light weights warming up then I did the first time back in November. Car deadlifts was interesting. I wasn't sure if I wanted to keep it as part of my deadlift day or what. Decided to try out some singles and when I got to a good weight, hit as many as I can without killing myself. I got nine with the work weight in one clip and then got two more before calling it. Did stones too. Plan was to see how I was feeling and see if I can hit a decent stone. 385lbs went up too easy to call it a day so I tried the 420lbs stone. No dice but it was a lot better than last time. Couldn't even lap it then. Getting back to form, even though I was fatigued from pulls and squats this week. It's coming back, just not there yet.

February 06, 2013 – Overhead Training & February 07, 2013 – Squat Training

February 06, 2013 – Overhead Training

Dynamic Warm-ups

12" Log Jerks
90x5
90x5
125x3
160x3
195x2
210x2
225x2
240x2
255x2
235x5

12" Log Clean & Jerks
190x6
190x6

12" Log Jerks w/ 40lbs of Chains
225x1
225x1
225x1
225x1
225x1
225x1

Dumbbell Overhead Extensions (standing)
105x12
105x12
105x12

Incline Chest Supported Dumbbell Rows
105’sx6
105’sx6
105’sx6
105’sx6
105’sx6

Band Triceps Pressdowns
MBx25
MBx25
MBx25
MBx25

31 Minutes of Stretching

Comments: Quite odd coming back to log pressing after a hiatus from jerks. Strict pressing tends to bother my lower back when I get fatigued (hence benching for the shoulders) so sticking with jerks to keep the overhead strong and to get used to moving under the weights again. I'm always shocked with how awkward the log feels on my chest, even with light weights when I come back to it. Feels like it is going to fold me over backwards or crush my lungs. Form was slightly off but hit all the planned weights. Taking a page from Jenkins in training the rack work first and heavy to get the press up and save the lower back for lower body stuff. Used lower weights for clean and jerks every rep. Only thing I've been doing with log has been lightish cleans for reps. Pretty easy, just a little off on my balance locking out the weights from a clean. Just about uppercut myself on the first rep of the second set haha. Not trying to push this, just want to stay familiar and work up to a decent weight come contest time. Went on to do more rack work against light chains. Add a bit of a challenge by having the chains complete come off the ground to make lockout even tougher. Most of the reps felt good and easy. Finished up with overhead triceps work and chest supported rows. Really felt good doing those. Finished up with bands to keep the elbows happy.



February 07, 2013 – Squat Training

Dynamic Warm-ups

18" Box Squats
45x10
95x5
135x5
185x3
225x3
275x3
315x1
365x1
405x1
455x3
340x3
340x3
340x3
340x3
340x3

Front Squats
50x3
100x3
150x3
190x1
230x5
230x5
230x5

Safety Squat Bar Dead Squats (short rests)
305x1
305x1
305x1
305x1
305x1
305x1
305x1
305x1

Single Leg Dumbbell Squats
65'sx10/10
65'sx10/10
65'sx10/10

One Legged Dumbbell Romanian Deadlifts
80'sx5/5
80'sx5/5
80'sx5/5

28 Minutes of Stretching

Comments: This workout took a while. Didn't look like it would on paper haha. I'm switching to box squats over free squats as I'm not worrying about squats. Deadlifts are contested way more often and I feel that my pull and hamstrings felt their strongest when I was doing frequent box squat with the bar on my back, either heavy or for speed work. I can use more weight here than I can for a good morning as well and I can use my heavy duty ratchet belt to keep my lower back in a tight position. I can really sit back and hit the hamstrings without the issue of falling forward. Obviously I'd change this training if the contest require squats. I initially set the workout to go off of my 570lbs PR but thought that perhaps I should readjust since I haven't done box squats since late 2011. I decided to see how the weights felt a go from there. 405lbs didn't feel too bad so I stuck to my original goal. 455lbs was tougher than I would have liked for a triple but too late now haha. The adjusted goal would have just been 10lbs less. Really felt the hamstring working on these, more so than when I was squatting free style. Speed work even felt better, actually felt fast. Went to front squats after that. This is my compromise to keep full range free squats in the mix. No point in doing high bar squats when I can front squat and hit the same muscles but put more emphasis on my weak points. I did have to warm-up for these as the depth and movement are very different from box squats. Felt surprisingly easy. From there came dead squats with the ssb. Jenkins' ssb is heavy duty, custom made and is 85lbs empty. I used the straps rather than pins. Had them set lower than I usually do so I really had to squeeze under it. Not bad but boy were these tough. The thing that sucked the most this workout was actually the assistance work. One leg stuff can eat it, I'm so very sore from doing them. Range of motion wasn't the goal, just constant tension. Just wanted to sleep when I was done haha.

Update - February 03, 2013 – Bench Press Training & February 04, 2013 – Deadlift Training

I figure I should elaborate on the last post. I was making good progress on the program but my schedule had changed and it was making it harder to complete the workouts. The workout before the last deload did something as I was having twitches in my back and hamstrings. Made me apathetic and hampered things more. Chiropractor said that my hips were a bit more out of alignment than usual. Certainly feeling better after the adjustment. Going to try and work around it and I'm certainly keeping ideas from training with Mr. Bryant as they were working and I may have his assistance again when things aren't so chaotic. The workouts week is going to be bench, deads, off, overhead, squat, off, events. Main thing I'm aiming for is getting the deadlift and overhead lift up. Swallowing my pride and basing my deadlift off of a 600lbs max with how the weights have been feeling. Changing squats to box squats as I feel that my hamstring and deadlift were strongest when I was doing them. Overhead is going to be just jerks as strict pressing tends to put more stress on my back. Deload will be every four weeks. Contest I'm planning on is April 06, 2013. Might do a Pro/AM in Louisiana in May as well. Just have to see.

February 03, 2013 – Bench Press Training

Dynamic Warm-ups

Close Grip Barbell Bench Presses
45x10
95x5
135x3
185x1
225x1
250x3
265x3
280x3
300x3
315x3
290x4

Wide Grip Barbell Bench Presses (paused)
250x6
250x6

Close Grip Barbell Dead Presses (short rests)
275x1
275x1
275x1
275x1

Parallel Bar Dips
bwx3
bw+45x3
bw+90x5
bw+90x5
bw+90x5
bw+90x5
bw+90x5

Dumbbell Front Raises
35’sx6
35’sx6
35’sx6

IYT’s
5’sx12
5’sx12
5’sx12

30 Minutes of Stretching

Comments: Trying this again, slightly different cycle. Benching didn’t feel too bad, weights felt heavy but moved fast. Just used to doing a few doubles as of late. Hopefully I can form it up next time. Assistance work wasn’t bad, most of it was quite easy. Hopefully it means big things to come. Wide grips felt fine and dead pressing was flying up. Only real challenge with dips was getting used to the volume again and keeping my balance as most sets felt like speed work. Decided to give front raises a try for shoulders. Pretty challenging even at this weight. Probably because of my orangutan arms. Finished up with IYT’s for the tiny back and shoulder muscles and stretched.



February 04, 2013 – Deadlift Training

Dynamic Warm-ups

Deadlifts
135x5
185x3
225x3
275x3
315x3
365x1
405x1
455x1
500x3
415x4
415x4
415x4
415x4
415x4
415x4

Deadlifts w/MMB’s dbl (+80lbs)
365x1
405x1
455x1

3" Platform Deadlifts
405x3
405x3

Glute Ham Raises
bwx8
bwx8
bwx8
bwx8

Spread Eagle Sit-ups
bwx8
bwx8
bwx8

28 Minutes of Stretching

Comments: Well, starting again. Really apprehensive going in to this after the last time I tried a heavy deadlift workout. Just told myself to brace and pull fast. 500lbs for triple wasn’t super easy but it wasn’t terribly hard either. I’ll take it as a place to build from. For the sets after that, I just shouted “speed” to myself before pulling. A little tiring but still feeling fine. 365lbs with the bands felt like a joke, 405lbs felt like I had weight and 455lbs felt like a good note to end it on. I was debating between doing platform pulls or car deadlifts as that is coming up at the contest. I decided it would be worth my while to do platform pulls to work my start, especially with it being 22 degrees outside and snowing. Might just do that on event day instead. Platform pulls felt fine. First set was easy but I gripped it wrong on the second so it really hurt my hand’s skin on that set. Did glute hams and sit-ups to finish up the day. Plan on adding a bit of weight to those next time so should be interesting.

January 27, 2013 – Day 4, Week 8 & January 28, 2013 – Day 1, Week 9

Had to make some changes. The circumstances have changed from when I had started the 12 week program with Mr. Bryant and I can't keep to the schedule any more. These are the last two workouts I did. I took off the rest of the week to rest and heal.

January 27, 2013 – Day 4, Week 8

Dynamic Warm-ups

1) Deadlifts – Up to several sets of 345×1

2) One Arm Barbell Shrugs – 95x2x15

3) Bent Over Dead Stop Rows – 200x2x5

4) 45-Degree Back Raises – bwx2x5

27 Minutes of Stretching

Comments: Super unmotivated going in to this workout. Back still tight and twitchy. Only had access to the Y for the weekend which made an already boring deload workout more so as no events. Really just going through the motions here.

January 28, 2013 – Day 1, Week 9

Dynamic Warm-ups

1) Strict Presses – Up to 265×1

2) Barbell Close Grip Bench Presses – Up to 335x2

3) Neutral Grip Pullups – bw+35x3x6

4) Parallel Bar Dips – bw+135x2x8

5) Incline Chest Supported Dumbbell Rows  – 75'sx3x12

6) Dumbbell Hammer Curls – 55'sx3x12

7) Isometric Abs

30 Minutes of Stretching

Comments: Still feeling blah going into the workout after the deload. Plan was to hit a triple with 265lbs but that didn't come close to happening. I knew that last time I did these was really not the typical but I still thought I'd get more than a single. All the benches were being used downstairs so I had to do my benching on the upstairs benches. Starting to slow down on these but unsure if it's due to apathy or the weights are getting tough. Pullups didn't feel so bad and I just did the weight I did on dips since three plates was easier to configure. Nice to do the chest supported rows again. Curling was tough. Finished up with abs and stretching.