Dynamic Warm-ups
1) Strict Presses – Up to several sets of 235×3
2) Barbell Close Grip Bench Presses – Up to 290x2
3) Neutral Grip Pullups – bw+25x3x6
4) Parallel Bar Dips – bw+110x2x8
5) Chinups – 75 reps total
6) 3" Thick Bar Curls – 80x3x8 (5 sec negatives)
7) Isometric Abs
32 Minutes of Stretching
Comments: Back at it after the deload. With the Y closed tomorrow, I moved this workout up to today. Got most of the workout done before the Y closed at 4:00 and finished up the rest at Jenkins’. Overhead was flying up today, only issues came with lockout on some reps. Quite pleased with how these went. Went right in to some benching. A little rough on the first set but just plain crushed it on all the sets. Dip belt was being used so I took one of the ab slings and wrapped it around my neck to attach weights for neutral grip pull-ups. Certainly made them harder than they should have been but I was going against the clock. Dip belt was free after that so I could get in my dips right before the Y closed. Starting to get challenging again. Went over to Mike’s to finish the workout so a bit of a break in-between (drank a shake and ate some almonds). I was not looking forward to the chin-ups with the short rests. Goal was 75 reps total. Got a bunch on the first set but I suck at endurance and I ended up just get a few reps until finish. Tried out the new thick bar for curls. Figured since an axle isn’t that thick compared to my hands that this would be better suited for me, especially with it being the same handle thickness as my circus dumbbell. Strange using that thick of a bar. Finished up with abs and stretching.
Monday, December 31, 2012
Saturday, December 29, 2012
December 28, 2012 – Day 3, Week 4 & December 29, 2012 – Day 4, Week 4
December 28, 2012 – Day 3, Week 4
Dynamic Warm-ups
1) Savickas Presses – Up to a few sets of 120x3
2) French Presses – 70x3x15
3) Band Pull-Aparts – 3×12 w/ Monster Mini Band
4) IYT’s – 5’sx3x12
5) Rope Cable Face Pulls – 90x3x10
6) Incline Tate Presses – 30’sx3x12
7) Hanging Leg Raises – 3×15
25 Minutes of Stretching
Comments: Been trying to keep food intake high with handfuls of raw almonds throughout the day. Had pizzas a top of dinner the past two days. Easy stuff again. Like speed work for the z-pressing. Not much changing for most of this workout as it is already a light one for assistance to begin with. I've been doing the I's wrong so this was the first time doing them correctly so that was an interesting challenge. Moved through this as quick as I could to finish up the workout.
December 29, 2012 – Day 4, Week 4
Dynamic Warm-ups
1) Deadlifts – Up to several sets of 365x1
2) Dumbbell Shrugs – 90’sx2x15
3) Bent Over Dead Stop Rows – 165x2x5
4) Glute Ham Raises – bwx3x8
5) Farmer's Walk – 232x100’
6) Atlas Stones – 315x6 (58”)
Comments: Was going to be training at IronMill to shoot some video for my next article but we were snowed in when I woke up so not happening this weekend. Snow let up around noon so I was able to do some shoveling and make it out for the last deload session. New deadlift jack at Catalyst so happy about that. Worked up to speed pulls with 365lbs. Just dropped the weight from lockout to cut down on fatigue and to make me pull faster (if that makes sense). Last one felt perfect. Light weights and less sets made the assistance stuff go by quickly. Should have done something to warm-up for farmer's as going right in to it was kind of rough. Out of good tacky and the stone was really cutting into my stomach and thighs. Easy but not digging the pain. Might just have to skip that stone from now on haha.
Dynamic Warm-ups
1) Savickas Presses – Up to a few sets of 120x3
2) French Presses – 70x3x15
3) Band Pull-Aparts – 3×12 w/ Monster Mini Band
4) IYT’s – 5’sx3x12
5) Rope Cable Face Pulls – 90x3x10
6) Incline Tate Presses – 30’sx3x12
7) Hanging Leg Raises – 3×15
25 Minutes of Stretching
Comments: Been trying to keep food intake high with handfuls of raw almonds throughout the day. Had pizzas a top of dinner the past two days. Easy stuff again. Like speed work for the z-pressing. Not much changing for most of this workout as it is already a light one for assistance to begin with. I've been doing the I's wrong so this was the first time doing them correctly so that was an interesting challenge. Moved through this as quick as I could to finish up the workout.
December 29, 2012 – Day 4, Week 4
Dynamic Warm-ups
1) Deadlifts – Up to several sets of 365x1
2) Dumbbell Shrugs – 90’sx2x15
3) Bent Over Dead Stop Rows – 165x2x5
4) Glute Ham Raises – bwx3x8
5) Farmer's Walk – 232x100’
6) Atlas Stones – 315x6 (58”)
Comments: Was going to be training at IronMill to shoot some video for my next article but we were snowed in when I woke up so not happening this weekend. Snow let up around noon so I was able to do some shoveling and make it out for the last deload session. New deadlift jack at Catalyst so happy about that. Worked up to speed pulls with 365lbs. Just dropped the weight from lockout to cut down on fatigue and to make me pull faster (if that makes sense). Last one felt perfect. Light weights and less sets made the assistance stuff go by quickly. Should have done something to warm-up for farmer's as going right in to it was kind of rough. Out of good tacky and the stone was really cutting into my stomach and thighs. Easy but not digging the pain. Might just have to skip that stone from now on haha.
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
December 26, 2012 – Day 2, Week 4
Dynamic Warm-ups
1) Squats – Up to a few sets of 300×3
2) Olympic Pause Squats – 235 for sets of 6
3) Weighted Crunches – 100x3x12
4) 12″ Log Cleans – 176x2x5
5) Land Mines – 25x4x8
27 Minutes of Stretching
Comments: While the weights are easy this week, I am still working hard. Attacking the weight problem with more food. Adding in bowls of homemade chilli and almond butter sandwiches in-between my usual meals and weight gain shakes. Quite glad this was an easy workout. While the weights felt light, I felt off. I broke in to a cold sweat starting the working sets on the squat. Not sure what was going on there but I pushed onward. Same deal as last time with the rests (except after the last set of squats). Workout was quick.
1) Squats – Up to a few sets of 300×3
2) Olympic Pause Squats – 235 for sets of 6
3) Weighted Crunches – 100x3x12
4) 12″ Log Cleans – 176x2x5
5) Land Mines – 25x4x8
27 Minutes of Stretching
Comments: While the weights are easy this week, I am still working hard. Attacking the weight problem with more food. Adding in bowls of homemade chilli and almond butter sandwiches in-between my usual meals and weight gain shakes. Quite glad this was an easy workout. While the weights felt light, I felt off. I broke in to a cold sweat starting the working sets on the squat. Not sure what was going on there but I pushed onward. Same deal as last time with the rests (except after the last set of squats). Workout was quick.
Monday, December 24, 2012
December 24, 2012 – Day 1, Week 4
Dynamic Warm-ups
1) Strict Presses – Up to several sets of 165×3
2) Barbell Close Grip Bench Presses – 200 for sets of 3
3) Neutral Grip Pullups – bwx3x6
4) Incline Chest Supported Dumbbell Rows – 45’sx2x12
5) Incline Curls – 20’sx3x8
6) Isometric Abs
32 Minutes of Stretching
Comments: After so many tough weeks, starting a deload week. Good timing with my schedule being out of whack with the holidays. Hard to get excited for a purposely easy workout. Some aches in my shoulders and biceps but everything was super easy. Took about a minute rest between each set and each exercise so I got done quick. Part of it was just to keep it interesting and the other bit was that the gym was closing soon. Went home to stretch.
1) Strict Presses – Up to several sets of 165×3
2) Barbell Close Grip Bench Presses – 200 for sets of 3
3) Neutral Grip Pullups – bwx3x6
4) Incline Chest Supported Dumbbell Rows – 45’sx2x12
5) Incline Curls – 20’sx3x8
6) Isometric Abs
32 Minutes of Stretching
Comments: After so many tough weeks, starting a deload week. Good timing with my schedule being out of whack with the holidays. Hard to get excited for a purposely easy workout. Some aches in my shoulders and biceps but everything was super easy. Took about a minute rest between each set and each exercise so I got done quick. Part of it was just to keep it interesting and the other bit was that the gym was closing soon. Went home to stretch.
Sunday, December 23, 2012
December 18, 2012 - December 22, 2012
December 18, 2012 – Day 1, Week 3
Dynamic Warm-ups
1) Strict Presses – Up to several sets of 245×1
2) Barbell Close Grip Bench Presses w/ 50lbs of Chains – 275 for sets of 3
3) Parallel Bar Dips – bw+105x3x6
4) Neutral Grip Pullups – bw+10x5x8
5) Incline Chest Supported Dumbbell Rows – 85’sx3x12
6) Chinups/Incline Curls – bw/30’sx3x8/15
7) Isometric Abs
28 Minutes of Stretching
Comments: Felt confident this time going in to this workout. I tend to do better with singles. Much harder to screw up on them. Played around with hand spacing on these to find where I am strongest. I think my hands were too wide last week. None of the reps this week or last have felt like that first week of triples with 225lbs. Did the warm-up set on benching like last time. Rushed these a bit, especially the last set as I had some kid (who I don’t think was all there) try to strip down my weights. The reps still felt good though it is definitely getting tougher. Dips are still going strong. I did more warm-up sets than last time to get ready for the big weights. Neutral grip pullups were quite tough with the increase in reps. Incline chest supported rows were good too. The superset came back with a vengeance this time. Same reps for chins but more reps on the curls. Overall, I’m enjoying the feeling the extra volume is having on my upper back. Finished up with the iso holds.
December 19, 2012 – Day 2, Week 3
Dynamic Warm-ups
1) Squats – Up to several sets of 450×1
2) Olympic Pause Squats – 325 for sets of 6
3) Weighted Crunches – 100x3x12
4) 12″ Log Cleans – 230x3x5
5) One Legged Romanian Dumbbell Deadlifts – 90’sx2x3
6) Land Mines – 25x4x8
26 Minutes of Stretching
Comments: As with the pressing, I felt good going in with the singles on squats. Can put all my focus on just one rep. I was also working on hand spacing for these as well, trying to find the setup that felt the best. Weight was light for the pause oly squats but again fatigue struck. First set felt tougher than the last time but I was in control. Back relaxed on one of the reps of the second set which made it really tough to recover. At this point, the crunches are just there. Active rest if you will. Log cleans again as my next possible contest has log press. Feeling much easier this time, no exhaustion at all. Dumbbell deads were good but quite a bit tougher than last time. I still did them with no rest between sets but it was quite challenging to do so. Landmines finished up the workout and I did them in between putting weights away.
December 21, 2012 – Day 3, Week 3
Dynamic Warm-ups
1) Savickas Presses – Several singles with 200
2) French Presses – 110x3x15
3) Band Pull-Aparts – 3×12 w/ Monster Mini Band
4) IYT’s – 5’sx3x12
5) Rope Cable Face Pulls – 90x3x10
6) Incline Tate Presses – 50’sx5x13
7) Hanging Leg Raises – 3×15
28 Minutes of Stretching
Comments: This workout is starting get serious, at least with the z-presses and tates. Pressing was quite easy still. Only issue was on one set where the weight got out in front of me and made for a tougher than usual lift. French pressing was quite exhausting, with noticeable fatigue on the last few reps of each set. Unsure if this is from the heavy pressing this week and not recovering enough or what. As last time, I tried to keep the rests shorter than last time. On band scap stuff I tried gripping the bands closer to make the tension greater. Tates were markedly tougher this time with the increased weight and reps. Guess I should have kept my mouth shut about them being really easy last time haha. Finished up with some easy leg raises.
December 22, 2012 – Day 4, Week 3
Dynamic Warm-ups
1) Deadlifts – Up to 495 for many sets of 3 with short rest
2) Dumbbell Shrugs – 165’sx3x15
3) Bent Over Dead Stop Rows – 295x3x5
4) Glute Ham Raises – bwx3x8
5) Frame Carries – 610 for sets of 100’
6) Atlas Stones – 385 for sets of 6 (58”)
Comments: With how things went last week and with my deadlift max down quite a bit, this workout had an adjustment. No heavy triple this time, just many many sets of three with 495lbs. Best these have felt though. Probably has a lot to do with not doing a heavy triple beforehand as well. Went to Jenkins right after this to continue the workout. Shrugs were good but way tougher than last time. I’d used the heaviest pair at the gym and I thought they were only 150lbs so quite big jump from last time. My bad. Did several warm-ups for the rows. Feeling better with these. Glute hams easy but still feeling some tension in my right hamstring. Next was farmer’s but I figured it would be easier to just use the heavy frame for carries. Did these outside where it was close to freezing and high winds were howling. This plus the thick handles made it interesting. Still easy enough. Stones were tough. I didn’t want to go another round with our dirtiest stone so I went up to the next weight, the 385lbs. Every reps was hard fought. The tapes slid off my right arm halfway through so I had to ditch it. Got some nice bruises now. I was supposed to do another event but I was running late to a family engagement and had to leave.
Dynamic Warm-ups
1) Strict Presses – Up to several sets of 245×1
2) Barbell Close Grip Bench Presses w/ 50lbs of Chains – 275 for sets of 3
3) Parallel Bar Dips – bw+105x3x6
4) Neutral Grip Pullups – bw+10x5x8
5) Incline Chest Supported Dumbbell Rows – 85’sx3x12
6) Chinups/Incline Curls – bw/30’sx3x8/15
7) Isometric Abs
28 Minutes of Stretching
Comments: Felt confident this time going in to this workout. I tend to do better with singles. Much harder to screw up on them. Played around with hand spacing on these to find where I am strongest. I think my hands were too wide last week. None of the reps this week or last have felt like that first week of triples with 225lbs. Did the warm-up set on benching like last time. Rushed these a bit, especially the last set as I had some kid (who I don’t think was all there) try to strip down my weights. The reps still felt good though it is definitely getting tougher. Dips are still going strong. I did more warm-up sets than last time to get ready for the big weights. Neutral grip pullups were quite tough with the increase in reps. Incline chest supported rows were good too. The superset came back with a vengeance this time. Same reps for chins but more reps on the curls. Overall, I’m enjoying the feeling the extra volume is having on my upper back. Finished up with the iso holds.
December 19, 2012 – Day 2, Week 3
Dynamic Warm-ups
1) Squats – Up to several sets of 450×1
2) Olympic Pause Squats – 325 for sets of 6
3) Weighted Crunches – 100x3x12
4) 12″ Log Cleans – 230x3x5
5) One Legged Romanian Dumbbell Deadlifts – 90’sx2x3
6) Land Mines – 25x4x8
26 Minutes of Stretching
Comments: As with the pressing, I felt good going in with the singles on squats. Can put all my focus on just one rep. I was also working on hand spacing for these as well, trying to find the setup that felt the best. Weight was light for the pause oly squats but again fatigue struck. First set felt tougher than the last time but I was in control. Back relaxed on one of the reps of the second set which made it really tough to recover. At this point, the crunches are just there. Active rest if you will. Log cleans again as my next possible contest has log press. Feeling much easier this time, no exhaustion at all. Dumbbell deads were good but quite a bit tougher than last time. I still did them with no rest between sets but it was quite challenging to do so. Landmines finished up the workout and I did them in between putting weights away.
December 21, 2012 – Day 3, Week 3
Dynamic Warm-ups
1) Savickas Presses – Several singles with 200
2) French Presses – 110x3x15
3) Band Pull-Aparts – 3×12 w/ Monster Mini Band
4) IYT’s – 5’sx3x12
5) Rope Cable Face Pulls – 90x3x10
6) Incline Tate Presses – 50’sx5x13
7) Hanging Leg Raises – 3×15
28 Minutes of Stretching
Comments: This workout is starting get serious, at least with the z-presses and tates. Pressing was quite easy still. Only issue was on one set where the weight got out in front of me and made for a tougher than usual lift. French pressing was quite exhausting, with noticeable fatigue on the last few reps of each set. Unsure if this is from the heavy pressing this week and not recovering enough or what. As last time, I tried to keep the rests shorter than last time. On band scap stuff I tried gripping the bands closer to make the tension greater. Tates were markedly tougher this time with the increased weight and reps. Guess I should have kept my mouth shut about them being really easy last time haha. Finished up with some easy leg raises.
December 22, 2012 – Day 4, Week 3
Dynamic Warm-ups
1) Deadlifts – Up to 495 for many sets of 3 with short rest
2) Dumbbell Shrugs – 165’sx3x15
3) Bent Over Dead Stop Rows – 295x3x5
4) Glute Ham Raises – bwx3x8
5) Frame Carries – 610 for sets of 100’
6) Atlas Stones – 385 for sets of 6 (58”)
Comments: With how things went last week and with my deadlift max down quite a bit, this workout had an adjustment. No heavy triple this time, just many many sets of three with 495lbs. Best these have felt though. Probably has a lot to do with not doing a heavy triple beforehand as well. Went to Jenkins right after this to continue the workout. Shrugs were good but way tougher than last time. I’d used the heaviest pair at the gym and I thought they were only 150lbs so quite big jump from last time. My bad. Did several warm-ups for the rows. Feeling better with these. Glute hams easy but still feeling some tension in my right hamstring. Next was farmer’s but I figured it would be easier to just use the heavy frame for carries. Did these outside where it was close to freezing and high winds were howling. This plus the thick handles made it interesting. Still easy enough. Stones were tough. I didn’t want to go another round with our dirtiest stone so I went up to the next weight, the 385lbs. Every reps was hard fought. The tapes slid off my right arm halfway through so I had to ditch it. Got some nice bruises now. I was supposed to do another event but I was running late to a family engagement and had to leave.
Sunday, December 16, 2012
December 15, 2012 – Day 4, Week 2
Dynamic Warm-ups
1) Deadlifts – Up to 560×1 (supposed to a triple)
2) Deadlifts – 495 for sets of 3 with short rest
3) Dumbbell Shrugs – 140’sx3x15
4) Bent Over Dead Stop Rows – 285x3x5
5) Glute Ham Raises – bwx3x7
6) Sled Drags – 670 for sets of 77’
7) Atlas Stones – 365 for sets of 6 (58”)
8) Yoke – 750 for sets of 50’
Comments: I wasn't as nervous as I was this time last week as I knew the workout was doable. Perhaps that confidence was to my disadvantage. Same plan as last time, just earlier in the day. Had a bad case of indigestion during this workout. I was feeling alright warming up, just a tad slower than last week. Only got a single with the heavy triple. Couldn't budge it for another rep. Can't tell you how angry and defeated I felt. A heart-breaker moment if there ever was one. Almost killed the whole workout. Took a lot of willpower to keep it together and continue. You can imagine how worried that had me for the sets with 495lbs. The first set felt like death but some how I continued and did set after set after set. Just about vomited doing the last rep of the last set. Shrugs were still pretty easy. Had to use the plate loadable handles since the gym only goes up to 120's. Noticeably tougher but still really easy. Beat feet over to the other gym after the shrugs. I was solo again as Jenkins wasn't feeling well. Did several warm-ups for the rows. No issues in my arms this time. Glute hams were pretty much the same as last time. Kind of thankful for that as my right hamstring was really hating me at this point. Sled drags were on the menu for tonight. Loaded up the prowler with a lot of plates and pull on the turf. Went down and then back for about 77' total. Not bad, my foot work was good. Coming back was noticeably harder than the first leg. No help again for stones so I just used tape this time. I knew that 335lbs would be way too easy so I wen with the 365lbs stone. The thing has got to be the worst stone to lift. The thing was poorly cured and was never sealed so it is just covered in dirt and dust, with pieces of concrete coming off of it. Despite all of that, it was really strong lifting. I would never have thought that my stones would still be this strong after the vicious deadlifting. I looked like I had belly flopped into freshly poured cement by the time I was done. Much easier clean up this time and already had the yoke ready to go. Did picks to warm-up. No quad cramping this time but my knees were sore. I did the two runs with 750lbs without issue. First run was tough but the second was much easier. Almost as long of a workout as last time. Went home and ate seven t-bone steaks.
1) Deadlifts – Up to 560×1 (supposed to a triple)
2) Deadlifts – 495 for sets of 3 with short rest
3) Dumbbell Shrugs – 140’sx3x15
4) Bent Over Dead Stop Rows – 285x3x5
5) Glute Ham Raises – bwx3x7
6) Sled Drags – 670 for sets of 77’
7) Atlas Stones – 365 for sets of 6 (58”)
8) Yoke – 750 for sets of 50’
Comments: I wasn't as nervous as I was this time last week as I knew the workout was doable. Perhaps that confidence was to my disadvantage. Same plan as last time, just earlier in the day. Had a bad case of indigestion during this workout. I was feeling alright warming up, just a tad slower than last week. Only got a single with the heavy triple. Couldn't budge it for another rep. Can't tell you how angry and defeated I felt. A heart-breaker moment if there ever was one. Almost killed the whole workout. Took a lot of willpower to keep it together and continue. You can imagine how worried that had me for the sets with 495lbs. The first set felt like death but some how I continued and did set after set after set. Just about vomited doing the last rep of the last set. Shrugs were still pretty easy. Had to use the plate loadable handles since the gym only goes up to 120's. Noticeably tougher but still really easy. Beat feet over to the other gym after the shrugs. I was solo again as Jenkins wasn't feeling well. Did several warm-ups for the rows. No issues in my arms this time. Glute hams were pretty much the same as last time. Kind of thankful for that as my right hamstring was really hating me at this point. Sled drags were on the menu for tonight. Loaded up the prowler with a lot of plates and pull on the turf. Went down and then back for about 77' total. Not bad, my foot work was good. Coming back was noticeably harder than the first leg. No help again for stones so I just used tape this time. I knew that 335lbs would be way too easy so I wen with the 365lbs stone. The thing has got to be the worst stone to lift. The thing was poorly cured and was never sealed so it is just covered in dirt and dust, with pieces of concrete coming off of it. Despite all of that, it was really strong lifting. I would never have thought that my stones would still be this strong after the vicious deadlifting. I looked like I had belly flopped into freshly poured cement by the time I was done. Much easier clean up this time and already had the yoke ready to go. Did picks to warm-up. No quad cramping this time but my knees were sore. I did the two runs with 750lbs without issue. First run was tough but the second was much easier. Almost as long of a workout as last time. Went home and ate seven t-bone steaks.
Saturday, December 15, 2012
December 14, 2012 – Day 3, Week 2
Dynamic Warm-ups
1) Savickas Presses – Many singles with 185
2) French Presses – 100x3x15
3) Band Pull-Aparts – 3×12 w/ Monster Mini Band
4) IYT’s – 5’sx3x12
5) Rope Cable Face Pulls – 90x3x10
6) Incline Tate Presses – 45’sx5x11
7) Hanging Leg Raises – 3×15
24 Minutes of Stretching
Comments: I knew what to expect this time with this assistance based workout. Left shoulder has felt a little off since Monday and I had an adjustment done on it yesterday that seemed to make it feel better for a while. Z-pressing started off a little rough with the working weight. Actually getting a sweat going this time. I made a correction by tensing a few seconds before the press and that made it much smoother. French presses went better than last time. Decent pump from these and less elbow irritation. Took shorter rests than last time. Most of the workout was the same from last week so I tried to take shorter rests periods than before while still putting in the work. Tates were stupid easy this time, shockingly so I'd say. Guess I'm a quick learner. Finished up with leg raises. Stretched a little to finish the day.
1) Savickas Presses – Many singles with 185
2) French Presses – 100x3x15
3) Band Pull-Aparts – 3×12 w/ Monster Mini Band
4) IYT’s – 5’sx3x12
5) Rope Cable Face Pulls – 90x3x10
6) Incline Tate Presses – 45’sx5x11
7) Hanging Leg Raises – 3×15
24 Minutes of Stretching
Comments: I knew what to expect this time with this assistance based workout. Left shoulder has felt a little off since Monday and I had an adjustment done on it yesterday that seemed to make it feel better for a while. Z-pressing started off a little rough with the working weight. Actually getting a sweat going this time. I made a correction by tensing a few seconds before the press and that made it much smoother. French presses went better than last time. Decent pump from these and less elbow irritation. Took shorter rests than last time. Most of the workout was the same from last week so I tried to take shorter rests periods than before while still putting in the work. Tates were stupid easy this time, shockingly so I'd say. Guess I'm a quick learner. Finished up with leg raises. Stretched a little to finish the day.
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