Chemical Warfare

A blog recommitment is a slow process.

SUN - Press Day

Military Press

45x10

65x5

85x5

100x3

110x5

125x5

140x5+(6)

Pullups

8 sets of 6, 1 set of 2

Ring Pushups

5 sets of 10

Bengals suck.

FRIDAY - DEADLIFT DAY

DL

135x5

185x5

225x3

235x5

275x5

310x5+ (10)

GM

185x8x5

Ab Wheel superset with Cable Crunches

BW x 15 / 70 x 15, 3 times through

I'm still getting used to the belt on the deadlifts. I feel like it really changes my form, and allows me to get away with my torso collapsing forward on my last few heavy reps. It may however be that my form has always broken down that way, and I'm only now noticing it, because I have a thick piece of leather wrapped around my midsection.

Sean is Dead

Well, at least I thought he was. Turns out, just sleeping. I trained alone today.

FRIDAY - "SQUAT" DAY

As I said before, my hip flexors have been hurting me when I squat, so the mission of today was to figure out what I can do without pain. I fucked around with a bunch of different stances etc. Every variation of back squats I could come up with hurt me, so I tried front squats. With just the bar, these felt ok. So I did

Front Squats

45x5

95x5

With this heavier weight, I could feel it starting to irritate my hip, so I quit doing that. I pretty much gave up on squatting, and decided to go heavy on the Good Mornings. If it's good enough for Louie Simmons, it's good enough for me. I didn't feel like figuring out what my "true" 5/3/1 weights would be, so I just took a stab at it:

Good Mornings

95x5

135x5

165x3

195x5

225x5

235x5

Last set is here:

Yeah, that's fucking right. I listen to All Things Considered stories about Of Montreal to get me fucking psyched.

I think my form was pretty good. Probably could have gone lower on the fourth one. However, this is heavier than I've ever gone on GMs, so I think it was pretty good for that. I'm glad I can find a way to put something heavy on my back every week.

Then I thought maybe this would be ok:

DB Goblet Squat

40 x 15

This started to irritate my hip as well, so that was it.

Ab Wheel

+2 chains x 10 x 3

DB Side Bends

60 x 12/side x 3

I made Teresa take these pictures of me:

Consider this post a BLOG RECOMMITMENT. Prepare for the onslaught of slow, methodical progressive overload AND HARD FUCKING WORK.

War on the Terraces

Updates have been lacking for a while. Nobody reads this, but I'm at least gonna start holding up my end of the bargain, and get it back together.

Pushed the prowler today. I felt like crap, and I got worn out a lot faster than I usually do. This was a bit of a wake up call for me. I need to get back to regularly including conditioning in my life, and I need to clean up my diet a lot. Also, I had to dookie, and I think that influenced how I felt a lot.

Lifting is probably going to get cut back to twice a week for the next couple weeks, with a mid-week prowler pushing day. This is because I need more time to study for my exam on Nov. 4, which I really want to pass, because I hear kids are expensive, and I really need a raise. I've also been feeling beat up lately, and think that maybe backing off a tad on the volume won't hurt anything. I'm going to make a conscious effort to keep up with the foam rolling and stretching at least a little bit everyday though. I say this a lot, but this time I mean it. My hip has been hurting me when I squat, to the point now that it's affecting my performance, so I think it's important I keep up with the shit like stretching that I hate.

Here's a video of some various stuff I've done in the gym lately. I've been taking more videos, cause Sean hasn't been around much lately, and I like to have some sort of feedback.

The things depicted below are, in order,

Squats 295 x 3+ (2) shoulda had this, but couldn't stand up out of the hole for some reason

Good Mornings 135 x 12 wanted to check my form, personally I think it's pretty good

Good Mornings 185 x 8

Deadlifts 340 x 1+ (5) happy with this

Sorry the good mornings are so boring, but fuck you.

Bad Romance

THURSDAY - BENCH DAY

Bench
45x10
85x5
105x5
125x3
135x5
155x5
175x5+ (5)
205x1
225xmissx2

So, I've never benched 225, which is some weak ass shit. I started 5/3/1 with a max of 205, and I thought that at this point, I would be able to bench 225. I purposely only hit the required reps on my 5+ set, then moved up to 205, which I got relatively easily, and then promptly got stapled by 225. I took a bit of a rest and missed it again. This was probably all an ill conceived plan anyway, and I should've just stuck with the program, but I really wanted it. The weight felt very heavy in my hands, so maybe some of it was just a mental thing, being scared of the weight. I don't know, but it sucks. My own fault.

DB Rows
90x8x5

DB Bench
80x5x4
80x4

Went to XU to lift today, 'cause my membership is up soon, and I wanted to do some heavier DB pressing than I can do at home currently.

BB Shrugs
225x12x3

Hammer Curls
50x5

Nailed to the X

So I started volunteering as a wrestling coach at the school I'm student teaching at because:

• As a social studies teacher I'm basically required to coach a sport
• I miss wrestling
• I regret never committing to it when I was in high school
• I should not have quit my senior year
• Wrestling is the manliest high school sport

I started showing up to pre-season conditioning last Friday, and I'm pretty psyched for this. My biggest current problem, as I've already bitched about to Clayton, is that for pre-season work they do some light jogging, then P90X, three times a week.

I guess I should start by giving P90X a fair appraisal: to train a lot of guys in a relatively small gym, it's not bad. The tempo is alright to build up some stamina (as long as you work to keep up), and a lot of the guys are untrained enough that they'll benefit from just about any program. There's a good variety of exercises, so I guess you get different movements in.

But it's pretty dumb.

First of all, the host says dumb shit like "This isn't Ab Ripper 100, or 200, this is AB RIPPER THREE HUNDRED AND THIRTY NINE" and it's this for an hour:

So dumb

Man I hate this guy

We did chest and back today, and it was about 5 different variations of push-ups, each supersetted with either a chin-up variation or a DB row variation. Then you do the whole circuit over again. Target is about 25-30 push-ups in a minute-ish. For kids who need to build mass or strength (which is pretty much every single kid there) there's not much, just some endurance training and gut check.

Leg day was even worse, just a bunch of different DB lunge variations (again shooting for 15-20 reps) and the occasional wall-sit supersetted with chin-up variations (Chin-ups on leg day? makes perfect sense). No posterior chain work, and lunges were going in every direction so it'd be difficult to add serious weight to them (most kids held 10-25 lb DBs).

We've done the 10ish minute ab workout after every day, it's just a bunch of dumb crunch variations, no core stabilization or anti-rotation.

The program is basically a laundry list of every dumb thing a crappy trainer would make their clients do in a crappy gym. TO THE POWER OF THE X.

I talked to the head coach and pitched him the idea of a strongman day, where we'll do farmer's walks, prowler/car pushes, sandbag loading, tire flips, etc. which will be pretty awesome. Starting that next friday.

I've got that 80 pound sandbag , so I'm thinking I'll take them out to the parking lot and have them do a 50 yard carry for time, lapping and shouldering the bag every parking space line they cross. Should be tough and get some explosive posterior chain work in.

I'm also thinking a medley, something like 20m prowler push, 30m farmers walk, 40m sandbag carry, 50m run. Have them compete against each other for best time.

I'm open to other ideas, I just want some more strength-oriented stuff to cycle in to give these guys something more interesting.

Truly Stupid Paid (C5 - Deload)

SATURDAY - SQUAT DAY

Squat

45 x 5

135 x 5 x 2

160 x 5 x 2

190 x 5 x 4

190 is about 55% of my 1RM, I spent some time working at that weight to try to improve on my form. I think it looks a lot better.

Bulgarian Split Squats

BW x 10/side

BW x 15/side x 3

That was it. I had other stuff to do.

Ride Big (C5-W3-D4)

Push Weight

THURSDAY - BENCH DAY

Bench

45 x 10

80 x 5

100 x 5

120 x 3

150 x 5

170 x 3

190 x 1+ (7)

This is one more than I got last cycle with the same weight. Progress.

DB Bench, WG Cable Rows

60 x 12, 135 x 10

60 x 12, 135 x 10

60 x 11, 135 x 10

60 x 11, 135 x 10

60 x 11, 135 x 11

Farmer's Walks

155/hand, about 40 yards, 7 trips

It's ~20 yds to one end of my yard, then turn, and go back. The turn is the worst part, because the weight keeps turning even when you stop and tries to rip itself out of your hands.

5/3/1 (C5-W3-D1)

SATURDAY - SQUAT DAY

Squat

45x10

135x5

160x5

190x3

240x5

270x3

305x1+ (4)

I thought that these were good, until I looked at the video, and saw that every one of them was high. I'm gonna spend some time squatting to a box to relearn depth. This really pisses me off though. I should know by now what a parallel squat feels like, and I should be able to hit it every goddamn time. Weak fucking sauce.

Oh, and I probably should have known better than to go for that 5th rep, but I really wanted it.

No assistance today. Instead we went outside to chainsaw a tree and chop some wood for a couple hours.

Unsilent Death

Get this. Listen to it. Rot your brain.

UPPER BODY DAY

Band Pull Aparts:

I, T, Y x 20 x 3

Overhead Press: Done with minimal rest.

45 x 10

45 x 10

65 x 10

65 x 10

95 x 10

95 x 10

115 x 8

115 x 8

Pullups:

10

+25 x 10

+25 x 10

At this point I grabbed one of the V grip handles you'd use for cable rows and tossed it over the bar. The idea here is to pull yourself up to the bar so that your chest touches the bar, your body being somewhere between parallel to the bar and 45 degrees. Basically a close grip pullup, helpful for pulling a leg in on a wrestling shot. Unfortunately the only pullup bar at Lexen is a bar duct taped to a rack, just next to the top bar on the rack. Not much room, but I tried to make it work.

Gorilla Pull Ups

V Handle Pullups:

4 sets of 10

Standing KB Press: One arm at a time.

(12kg x 10 ea) x 2

(16kg x 10 ea) x 2

25kg x 8 ea -> 12 kg x 20 ea

Shrugs:

135 x 20

135 x 20

185 x 20

225 x 10

JM Press:

95 x 8 x 3

Gripper:

2 plates & 2 quarters x 20 +20s hold

2 plates & 2 quarters x 20 +20s hold

2 plates & 2 quarters x 20 +20s hold

Neck Harness:

25 x 50

45 x 10

45 x 10

New Fall Headwear!

OCSA Training

Is going swimmingly. Had to miss Wednesday night's Sumbission Wrestling class for Sara's birthday, but I was able to make it in on Thursday. Although everything is brand new to me considering its the opening week of the new gym, Thursday was uncharted territory for me. We started at 6 with BJJ, moved onto MMA at 7, and then Boxing at 8.

The MMA class was mostly situational drilling, like starting on the bottom of Referee's Position and fighting off attacks from the back, and conditioning. One of our guys, Chris Farrington, has a fight in two weeks, so half the guys sparred with him for 4 rounds while the other half focused on conditioning. We kit kettlebell swings, ring pullups, body squats with medicine balls, jumped rope, and sparred No Gi.

By the time we hit the Boxing class I was pretty tired and hungry, I'm not used to going more than a couple hours without eating something. For future reference I'm going to need to bring a shaker cup with whey powder if I want to really blast a 3 hour block. Colin Bumgarner, our Boxing coach, is an 11-0 pro who holds the Ohio and Indiana Heavyweight title belts. He guided us through some light shadowboxing, simple combinations, and super light sparring. Although I went into the class knowing next to nothing about boxing, I left with what I feel are solid building blocks going forward. Colin is an amazingly positive and clear cut coach, and if I felt myself improving over the course of our initial hour, I can hardly imagine how helpful he'll be going forward.

Positive Mental Attitude.

And I Said

HEYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAYAAAAAAAAAAAAAY

Song rules.

BENCH DAY

Band Pull Aparts:

I, T, Y for 3 sets of 20

Static Stretching

Bench Press: Done with a pause on the chest, explosive movement up.

Bar x 15

Bar x 15

95 x 10

95 x 10

135 x 10

135 x 10

155 x 10

185 x 5

Overhead Press:

Bar x 10

65 x 10

95 x 10

95 x 10

95 x 10

DB Row:

65 x 10

105 x 10

120 x 10

DB Bench:

55 x 10

65 x 10

75 x 10

Pullups:

10

+25 x 10

+25 x 8

10

ASSISTANCE DAY

Cook Brothers Crew wanted to lift. So we did.

Shrugs:

135 x 10

225 x 10

225 x 10

225 x 10

225 x 10

Safety-Squat Bar Lunges:

95 x 8 each

95 x 8

95 x 8

Gripper:

2 plates & 2 Quarters x 20 + 20s hold

2 plates & 2 Quarters x 20 + 20s hold

2 plates & 2 Quarters x 20 + 20s hold

DB Cleans:

20 x 10

20 x 10

25 x 10

Lateral Raises:

25 x 10

25 x 10

Neck Harness:

45 x 10

45 x 10

45 x 10

Roman Chair Abs: On the GHR

10

10

10

Standing DB Press: Palms in

35 x 10

45 x 10

55 x 6

SQUAT DAY

Foam Roll / Dynamic Stretching with Bands

Cambered Bar Low Box Squat: Pause on the box.

45 x 10

45 x 10

95 x 10

135 x 10

225 x 3

225 x 3

Deadlift: Conventional

135 x 10

225 x 10

275 x 10

At this point we shot the shit with Chuck V. for 10 minutes or so. Because whenever I can talk to a World Record holder, I can. We discussed how he is either going to remain at the top or give up the sport, because middling about isn't worth it to him anymore. We also discussed him doing BJJ/MMA at our gym when he's done powerlifting, as he said he'd like to pick up a few things. Super nice guy. Blows my mind that he gives us nerds the time of day.

Downside, my legs got cold and tight.

365 x 1

405 x1

Belt Squat:

2 Plates x 10

2 Plates & 2 Quarters x 10

4 Plates x 10

4 Plates & 2 Quarters x 3

GHR:

10, 10, 10

Neck Harness:

35 x 30 + 15s Hold

35 x 30 + 15s Hold

35 x 30 + 15s Hold

Gripper:

2 Plates & 2 Quarters x 20

2 Plates & 2 Quarters x 20

2 Plates & 2 Quarters x 20

Ohio Combat Sports Academy

Day 1

Today was the first day at the new school.

Had a solid BJJ class followed by Lou Demas and his two beast sons teaching us solid wrestling technique.

Followed that with Prowler pushes (40 yards, 5 trips with 2 plates), Prowler Plyo Pushes (Push with your hands, like a bench, 10 pushes with 2 plates, 4 trips).

5/3/1 Cycle 5, Week 1, Day 3 (C5-W1-D3)

Too lazy for an interesting title, but this is the best Crass song. I'm not counting Reality Asylum as an actual song.

TUESDAY - DEADLIFT DAY

Deadlift

135 x 5

175 x 5

210 x 3

225 x 5

260 x 5

295 x 5+ (11)

Seated Good Morning

95 x 10

115 x 10

115 x 10

Never done these seated before, but we felt like trying something new. I didn't feel like I was necessarily doing anything, but at the same time, it wasn't easy either. We'll keep them in for a cycle and see.

Good Mornings (standing)

185 x 6

185 x 6

185 x 8

Ab Wheel

3 sets of 15

KB Windmills

3 sets of 16 kg x 6/side

On our military press day, Sunday, I missed my reps for the first time since we started 5/3/1. I was supposed to get 140 x 5+ on my last set, and only hit three. This is doubly frustrating cause I got 140 x 5 on my 3's week last cycle. I'm not going to reset my max yet, but I will keep my max the same for next cycle, provided that I don't miss any more of my reps this cycle. I think some of it just had to do with being worn out. I squatted Saturday in Cleveland, did Prowler races with my sister until I felt like I was going to die, then woke up Sunday, pushed the Prowler 0.8 miles, got in my car, drove home, and then tried to set a PR in the military press about 30 minutes after getting home. Not making excuses, but that also doesn't read like a recipe for success either. I'll get my shit together.

I Am No Feeble Christ

NOT ME

Oh, I haven't updated. I've been busy. Cry about it.

UPPER BODY DAY

Band Pull Aparts: I, T, Y : 3 sets of 20 each

Swiss Bar Bench:

Done with a pause on the chest, explosive movement upwards.

Bar x 15

95 x 10

95 x 10

135 x 10

135 x 10

185 x 6

Done with the pause and explosive movements, first with hands on the outer handles, then immediately on the inner handles.

95 x 10(Outer), 10 (Inner)

95 x 10 / 10

Triceps toasted.

Dumbbell Rows:

Done with a full range of motion. Allowing my scapula to be pulled out fully, and then bringing the weight up to my chest.

65 x 10

95 x 10

120 x 10

DB Military Press:

These were done seated, palms facing inward towards each other.

45 x 10

55 x 10

65 x 10

Shrugs:

135 x 10

135 x 10

225 x 10

225 x 10

275 x 10

Circuit: x 5 without rest

Pullups : 10

Overhead Press: Bar x 25

DB Cleans : 25lb x 10

LOWER BODY DAY

Foam Roll, Stretch with bands.

Cook Brother Crew in full effect today, getting some volume work in.

Box Squat:

Done with a straight squat bar onto a parallel box. Pause on the box for a one count, explode up.

Bar x 10

Bar x 10

95 x 10

95 x 10

135 x 10

135 x 10

185 x 8

185 x 8

225 x 6

Deadlift:

Conventional stance, from the floor.

135 x10

225 x 10

225 x 10

225 x 10

225 x 10

225 x 10

315 x 8

365 x 8 (Psyched on that)

405 x 1 (Toasted at this point)

Powerpohl:

If you couldn't tell from the name and the video, Chuck Vogelpohl invented this. And that means it works. It also means its brutal and is a step away from masochism. The Powerpohl can be used in a variety of ways, including walking, deadlifts, and Iso holds.

We did Iso holds, basically standing straight up, attempting to use the mirror as a guide and keep the Pohl parallel to the floor. It requires you to flex your glutes and spinal erectors to an extreme degree. It proved to be a solid way to end the day, and I could feel the soreness creeping in as early as that evening.

Iso Hold:

+90lb x 20 seconds

+100 x 20s

+100 x 20s

Circuit: x 4

Gripper: 2 plates, 2 quarters x 20 + 20s hold

Pincher: 15lb x 20

Neck Harness: 35lb x 25

Cable Crunch

100 x 10 x 3

Although my strength training is basically at a maintenance or low gain phase, my Jiu Jitsu is gaining steam rapidly. I'm filling in the gaps of knowledge lost through too much time away, and picking up new techniques every day. The Cook Brothers Crew will be moving gyms in the next couple of weeks, from Columbus MMA to Ohio Combat Sports Academy. Downgrade in websites, but it will likely be a big upgrade in terms of instruction and intensity.

Once we make the transition to OCSA we will be going full tilt in BJJ, Catch Wrestling / No Gi, Boxing, and some Greco / Judo. Our Catch/No Gi coach is a guy who has made No Gi his priority, and has trained with the best Catch Wrestlers in the county. The Boxing coach is an undefeated pro boxer who currently trains a lot of the cats going to OCSA, including my brother, and has helped them immensely. And the Greco Coach used to train Dan Henderson and Sokoudjou out in California. So, yeah. Big fucking time.

In addition to all that we will have a Prowler, a pullup bar, rope, and other CrossFit related junk. It's going to be a big change, and I think one for the best.

Rise and Fall

I know I've gone and pulled a Drew on all our loyal readers by getting "too busy" to update, but I will start to remedy that:

TUESDAY - DEADLIFT DAY

DL

135x5x3 - waiting for Sean

170x5

205x3

255x5

285x3

320x1+ (6)

GMs

155x10x3

175x8

175x10

Ab Wheel/Cable Crunch Superset

BWx15/80x12 - twice through

Then went and pushed the Prowler

Loaded with 90 pounds, we pushed it some distance.

I made 2 trips, then Sean did 3, then I did 4, he did 5, I did 6, then Sean gave up. I was pretty psyched he gave up, cause I was really not looking forward to making 8 trips.

Hate Me Now

THURSDAY - BENCH DAY

Lifted @ X due to the heat.

Bench
80x5
100x5
120x3
140x3
160x3
180x3+(7)

DB Row
60x10
80x10
100x7
80x15
80x13
80x10

DB Bench
80x5
70x8
70x8
70x7
65x5, 55x4, 45x4 (My brilliant plan to do a drop set of 5, 10, 20 reps was foiled by the fact that I was more tired than I thought)

Chest Supported Row
140x15
180x10
180x10
180x10
180x12

Pullups (various grips)
5
5
5
3

Pushups on a Swiss Ball

10

5

5

Reverse Grip Inverted Row

10

8

6

Sean was 40 minutes late, so I started without him, and then just stuck around and messed around while he finished lifting. So that's why the end of my workout is a bunch of stuff I don't normally do.

These Ends Justify My Means

WEDNESDAY - DEADLIFT DAY

Deadlift

135x5

170x5

205x3

235x3

275x3

305x3+ (5)

I tweaked my bicep a bit the other day. Nothing major, and I'm sure it's fine, but I pulled all sets double overhand today just to be safe. My 305 set felt very strong, but my grip was definitely limiting me, as I obviously assumed it would.

GMs

155x10x5

Ab Wheel superset w/Standing Cable Crunch

BW x 15, 75 x 15

5 times through

KB Windmill

16 kg x 6/side x 2

Gripper - Captains of Crush Trainer

5/hand

This was easy on my right hand, but very difficult on my left, and I couldn't quite close it all the way on my last rep.

I Am Fucking Damned

POST TOURNAMENT DAY

As is obvious, I've failed to update much recently. My days have become pretty hectic, now that I'm basically training 6/7 days a week, and I've either got little time or energy to update. But today's Sunday, and I've got some constructive energy, so I'm going to do my good Marxist duty and create something through work.

Yesterday was the Ohio Grappling Challenge's Second Submission Only tournament. As it's name implies, the only way to win is by submission. There are no points for positioning, takedowns, or anything. No time limits. There's a 20 minute period that starts on the feet, and 5 minute periods from there on out where one man starts in the other's guard, which is determined in the first OT period by coin flip, and switching positions from there on out. Its a cardio battle, so you need to pace yourself.

Additionally, I basically picked the worst format for my rusty skill set. I'm a wrestler, I need those points. But I also need experience, and I'm eager to compete, so I entered.

My gi division, which was White Belts from 150-164.9lbs was stacked. 20 kids. Long story short, I won it. Gi choked a few kids, armbarred another, hit some kimuras, and basically stomped the shit out of people. I even managed to hip toss a kid straight to his back. WHATS UP WRESTLING. I basically bruised my way through it, getting the takedown, getting mount, and roughing people up. Technically shit Jiu-Jitsu, but I won, so fuck you.

I was in the Intermediate No Gi division, which is normally for blue belts and/or whites with wrestling experience, and I guess they figured the Gi White Belts weren't in it, because they started the No Gi while I was still in the Gi tourney. Weak. So I ran over after winning Gi to almost immediately hop into my first No Gi match.

I won my first 2 No Gi matches, one easy one via armbar, and a rough 15 minute battle where I out wrestled a better JJ kid and won by kimura. I was pretty much toast by my final match but I felt confident that I could win No Gi as well. I was faring well against a basic mirror image of myself until he got me in a kneebar, and I had a decision to make. Do I tap, or should I fight this and try to escape? Is this going to be one of those submissions that don't hurt until my knee is already blown out? Why is my leg bending like this? I was content with fighting it until I heard my instructor yell, "DREW! CAREFUL! DREW!" Then I figured, fuck this. I don't have health insurance, and this shit isn't worth getting hurt over.

So 2 medals, went 6 or 7 and 1 or something. Good day. Found out where I stood in terms of my BJJ game (poor) and where my strength and conditioning were (better than most of these mooks).

So I made a point today of hitting the weights with intensity, but I wanted to mix thing up and go overall a little lighter than a normal Squat Sunday.

Warm Up:

Dynamic Stretching, Foam Rolling.

Sled Drag:

Down the driveway to the bump in the road near Columbus MMA. 60-70 yards or so, I don't know. Each trip done with a bit of rest in between. 30 secs or so. Each 45 lb plate had a 5lb'er in between so I could get them on and off easier.

3 plates: 4 trips

4 plates: 2 trips

5 plates: 2 trips

6 plates: 2 trips

6 plates + 84lb weight vest: 2 trips

I was toasted after this.

DB Bench:

45 x 10

60 x 10

80 x 10

Pullups:

5 sets of 10, mixing up the grip.

Abs:

Cable Crunch: 3 sets of 10 @ 100

Neck Harness:

25 x 15

35 x 15

45 x 10

Random Pictures of the gym:

Crappy red Monolift, Belt Squat on the right, Pulldown stack in the middle, 4 Way Neck Machine in the left corner.

GHR in the foreground, Back Extension next to it, Reverse Hypers on the Right

Racks, Benches, and Weight.

Swiss Bar with shipyard chains, from a workout I did last week.

Dumbbell Rows.

A Comedy of Errors

Lifted today at the Colorado University Rec Center. This was rad, because they had a lot of stuff I don't usually get to use.

FRIDAY - DEADLIFT DAY

DL

89 x 5

133 x 5

177 x 5

199 x 3

265 x 5

300 x 5

285 x 5

You might notice that these weights look weird. I used the olympic lifting platform they had in their weight room, so I also had to use the bumper plates. They were in kgs, and I really fucked up my math. The set with 300 I thought was 255 or so, but when I noticed how heavy it seemed, I re-added the weights and realized how bad I am at math. 285 was supposed to be my 5+ set, but I didn't bother with the + this workout.

Trap Bar DL

135x10

225x10

225x10

275x10

I'm assuming the bar was 45 lbs. This was a bit different. Definitely involved my quads some more. It was weird having the weight out to my sides, but I liked it.

They also had a GHR at this gym, which I was really psyched to finally get to use. Unfortunately, I've never watched anyone actually perform a GHR, so the movement I ended up doing was actually a back raise. I knew I had to be doing it wrong, since it seemed much easier than Drew had told me it would be.

Back Raise

7 sets of 10

I did get a wicked low back pump though.

Box Jump

Penis Height Box x 10 x 2

Belly Button Height Box x Fail

I got one foot up, but it wasn't meant to be.

Hanging Leg Raise

15

Wrist Roller

4 sets w/10 lbs

1 set w/15 lbs

At this point, I had left Teresa walking alone on the treadmill for about an hour and a half, so I shut it down for the day. Shoulda done more ab stuff, but didn't really feel like it anyway. I'm on fucking vacation.

If It Is To Be, It Is Up To You

This was the slogan of the Genesis Health Club in Salina, Kansas where I got my lift on today.

THURSDAY - MILITARY PRESS DAY

MP

45x10

65x5

80x5

95x3

100x5

120x5

135x5+ (5)

Chins

10 sets of 5 (PR)

Reached my first chinup goal. Next is 5 sets of 10

Dips

12

12

12

12

14

DB Rows

90x10

This place had DBs that went up to 120, which surprised me. I tried to row that, but it wasn't happening. I did the one set with the 90s, then quit cause I felt like absolute asshole. I spent the whole workout with my heart beating out of my chest, being short of breath, and feeling like vomiting. This is entirely due to this dumb fucking energy drink that Drew got me, which I drank a quarter of before I lifted. Never fucking again.

What you do here, men, makes you extraordinary.

Today I went to the rec center gym to 1) get my deload lift in, and 2) go swimming because I'm tired of having my balls sit in a swamp of disgusting.

I had a plan going in that I would do 30 BB thrusters at 95, 115, and 135 each, going for time. Started out alright, but quickly found that I don't have the wrist flexibility to rack the weight on my shoulders for the front squat if I want them in close enough for the press. I tried to gut it out and got about halfway through with all my weights, but my wrist started feeling pretty shitty so I cut that short and spent the rest of the time dicking around.

Did some DB thrusters but by then my wrist was having some trouble stabilizing the weight so after a couple sets cut that out. Switched to seated DB overhead press which worked alright, got 3 sets of 10x65.

Mixing in with that I did some dips, and a little wrist stretching and rehab. Prob. most effective was grabbing a small 2 pound medball with my fingertips and rotating my wrist.

I'm also planning on submitting an entry for this month's Now You Try competition, so I did 4 or 5 sets of 10-12 pull-ups. I focused on dropping all the way down while trying to keep my shoulders tight, hoping to avoid bringing back my old shoulder injury which was mostly successful. Right now the number to beat is 21 in 2 minutes, which I think I should be able to do.

Clayton and I were talking the other day about how slow our squats were, and I've been doing some plyo coaching at St. X so I decided to go to the pool and throw together a little plyo leg workout.

Started with 3 sets of 10 underwater pushes against the wall, trying to max distance. That's a little high volume for plyo work, but I got ok rest swimming back between and getting reset, and my distances were pretty consistent through the sets. Also some old asshole with long hair and a bald spot kept walking/pushing his ugly wife in circles around the section with their faces uncomfortably close the whole time, so I'd have to wait for them to get out of my way.

I moved to the 4 1/2' section (to get away from the ugg couple and decrease resistance) and did a few sets of vertical jumps (though I stayed in the pool). I really want to try to jump out of a pool now, I'm p. sure I can do it.

After that I did a set of alternating single leg squat jumps, then went back and did another set of underwater pushes.

I probably looked like an idiot for most of this, but I give zero fucks. My legs actually feel pretty tired now, so I'll count it as a successful experiment.

While in the pool I also stretched a bit and relaxed, then hit the whirlpool and sauna.

Title is from the speech the head football coach gave the players the other day. Holy shit I wish I would've not been a bitch, got huge, and played football when in high school.

Break the Chain

MONDAY - SQUAT DAY

5/3/1 Cycle 4, Week 1

Squat

135x5

155x5

185x3

200x5

235x5

265x1+ (11)

Lunges - 60 lbs dbs + 1 chain

10/leg

10

6

6

6

GMs

185x6x3

Sean better get his work in this week.

Cry Havoc

WEDNESDAY - BENCH DAY

Bench

75 x 5

95 x 5

115 x 3

145 x 5

165 x 3

185 x 1+ (5)

Inverted Row (feet on bench)

BW x 10 x 7

BW x 12 x 3

I was able to do 50 of these with added weight last week, but this week I was having trouble touching my chest on my final reps, even on my first sets, so I left them unweighted.

Pushup (Neutral Grip)

20

20

20

20

17

Face Pull

70 x 10

80 x 6

60 x 15

70 x 12

The floor of my garage is slippery, and it becomes difficult to brace myself as the weight goes up on this, so I had trouble finding a weight that was heavy enough, where I could still balance myself.

Tate Press

40 x 8

40 x 8

Pull after every push. The uge.

This next week is supposed to be my deload week, but since I will be on vacation soon, I am skipping it and beginning my next cycle and splitting the first week up over the next two weeks. The net result will still be a reduction in net load and volume, so I don't think it will really matter.

"When you are born, you are set forth to die. The fact that you live or don't live between these two dates depends solely upon your own will, opportunities and desires. The weight exerciser, of course, indicates that he chooses to live." Joseph Curtis Hise

This quote is rad, as is the blog I stole it from.

I AM THE LORD YOUR GOD

KNEEL BEFORE ME AND PRAY

TUESDAY - DEADLIFT DAY

Deadlift

135x5

165x5

195x3

245x5

280x3

310x1+ (5)

365x1 (PR)

I obviously wasn't supposed to go for a PR today, but 365 was the weight from Sean's last set, and when I went to unload the bar, I wondered like any man with testosterone coursing through his veins, whether or not I could pick it up, so I tried. I was also interested in whether or not I could get it, since I have dutifully been adding 10 pounds to my working max each cycle, as Wendler says to do in 5/3/1, and 365 happened to be the weight my deadlift numbers were based on for this cycle. Turns out I actually have gotten stronger.

RDL

205x10x5

Lunges

60x10/sidex3

Ab Fallouts

BWx5x3

Our rings are homemade, and are not really adjustable. They hang a lot lower than the blast straps in this video, so at full extension, one's torso would only make about a 15 degree angle with the floor. This is tough, and I could only barely get to full extension on 1 or 2 reps. My entire last set was basically garbage.

Standing Cable Crunches

80x10x5

Plank w/feet in rings

1:00 x 2

Our Only Hope

IS VENGEANCE!

100th post.

MP/BENCH DAY

Warm Up:

Band Pull Aparts: I's, T's, Y's x 20 x 3

Static Stretching

Military Press:

45 x 10

45 x 10

65 x 8

85 x 5

95 x 5

95 x 5

115 x 3

135 x 2 -> 95 x 12 (quick drop set)

Pullups: (I found a dip/pullup belt amongst a box of stuff at Lexen)

Bodyweight x 10

+25 x 5

+25 x 5

+35 x 5

+45 x 5

+65 x 1

+80 x 1

+90 x 1

Btw, those are real pullups. All the way up, all the way down. No half rep, kicking my legs bullshit.

DB Bench:
55 x 15

60 x 15

65 x 10

Chest Supported Row: Using a monster mini band wrapped around the bar.

1 plate x 1o

2 plates x 10

2 plates x 10

The idea here is that you're maintaining tension at the top of the lift, which is a point on the CSR where the weight seems to taper off. So now you've got tension where before you didn't, at the most crucial part of the lift.

CSR w/ Monster Mini

JM Press:

95 x 8

115 x 8

135 x 6

Gripper:

2 plates x 30 +20 second hold

2 plates & 2 quarters x 10 +20 second hold

2 plates & 2 quarters x 10 +20 second hold

Cable Crunch:

90 x 15

100 x 10

100 x 10

Tomorrow will be my first day of Bjj/MMA since I've come back. I'm not exactly sure on how I'm going to organize my training / lifting schedule, so for now it's going to be a haphazard roll with the punches kind of thing until I get accustomed to the new routines. Probably going to a 3 day a week lifting routine, one lower body day, one upper body day , and one strongman/athletic day. We'll see.

But Life Goes On

I will be the one who won.

SATURDAY - SQUAT DAY

Squat

135x5

155x5

185x3

225x3

255x3

285x1+ (6)

We both spent all day doing yard work, were beat, didn't even and had no desire to do lunges. Somehow we decided that Prowler pushes would be a better alternative.

Each trip was ~40 yards, alternating between low and high handles

Empty Sprints x 2 trips

+90 x 4 trips

+190 x 2 trips

Then we dragged it like a sled, facing forwards

+100 x 4 trips

It took me about two hours after this to stop tasting bile in my throat. I felt like dying.

SUNDAY - MILITARY PRESS DAY

MP

45x10x2

60x5

75x5

95x3

115x5

130x3

145x1+ (4)

Pullups

+30x3

+20x3x4

BWx5x5

Added weight, and did fewer total reps, 'cause I felt like it.

Dips

12

12

12

12

10

Lat Pulldowns

100x10

100x10

110x10

110x7

100x12

These were all done very slow and controlled. I concentrated on keeping my chest up, initiating the movement with my lats, and pulling my shoulder blades down and together.

Seated DB Cleans

22x12

22x12

I tried my best to do them like in the video, but I don't have a moustache that awesome.

Sandbag Complex

Row

Clean

Front Squat

Push Press

Back Squat

Good Morning

3 times through. I just did a BB complex, but w/our 80 lbs sandbag. It sorta worked, in that it wore me out, but some of these movements don't really lend themselves to being done with a sandbag.

Likeness of Vanity

SQUAT DAY

Warm Up:

Foam roll and static stretching.

Sled Drag:

3 plates with 5lb spacers x 6 trips up and down the parking lot

Cambered Bar Box Squat:

Bar x 10

Bar x 10

95 x 10

135 x 8

135 x 8

185 x 8

225 x 3

225 x 3

275 x 1 (Thought I'd triple this, but it wasn't going to happen today)

225 x 3

245 x 3

Safety Squat Bar Deadlifts:

I don't know what else to call these. As we were warming up Chuck Vogelpohl walked over and asked, "You guys squatting?", received an affirmative answer, and then just walked away. This is a sign, and that sign means that he's got something for us to do. This is why I literally could not be at a better gym.

So, the gist of this workout is as follows: Grab ahold of a deadlift bar and pull it up, placing your head in between the handles of the SSB and allowing it to rest on your shoulders. One partner will unrack the bar on the monolift while another will spot the SSB, making sure it doesn't fall off your back. Once you're upright, with a bar in your hands and the SSB on your back, lower the bar to the ground while maintaining proper form (head and chest up, back arched, hips down). Then deadlift the bar back up again. It will tax your Posterior Chain at incredible levels, as you cannot allow yourself to "get loose" or relax for one moment, or you're going to end up falling down amongst a pile of metal.

The bar we used to deadlift was a shortened bar, but it seemed thicker. I'm not sure of its weight, so as usual, I'm going to add it up as if its 45.

SSB Weight of 95 / Deadlift bar weight of 135 x 6

115 / 155 x 6

135 / 175 x 6

Ben at the bottom, Riddle showing how to spot this lift.

Near the top

Hips down, head up, back arched.

Chuck said after this lift, "You've got some scoliosis, don't you?" I laughed and explained my situation and surgery, and he replied, "Thats why your form is so good." Hard to round a back with a rod up your spine.

Reverse Hypers:

Two 35lb plates on each side x 8

Two 35s x 8

Two 35s x 8

Abs: 2 sets, straight through

Cable Crunch: 90 x 10

Wheel: 10

Swiss Ball Crunches: 50

4 Way Neck Machine:

45lb plate each way x 10

Just back x 20

Gripper:

2 plates x 30 +10s hold

2 plates x 30 +10s hold

SCRATCH AWAY SCRATCH AWAY

The Crime of Being

BORN

TUESDAY - DEADLIFT DAY

DL

135x5

165x5

195x3

230x3

265x3

295x3+ (10)

RDL

185x10x3

205x10x2

Ab Wheel/Suitcase Deadlift/Standing Cable Crunch

BW x 10 /135 x 10 per side/60 x 15

3 rounds, minimal rest

WEDNESDAY - BENCH DAY

Bench

45x10

75x5

95x6

115x3

135x4

155x3

175x3+ (9)

Inverted Rows (feet elevated)

BW x 10 x 5

+1 chain x 10 x 5

Neutral Grip Pushups

20

20

16

16

15

Face Pull

63x12

68x12

68x12

Once again, pull after every push.

Ended the day with farmer's walks in my backyard. 135/hand, 10 trips, about 15 or 20 yards each.

I worked out alone both days, so I made this video of my 3+ set of deads and bench. I turn the deadlifts into RDLs a little bit at the end, and I bounce the weight off the floor too. No fucks. On the real though, I should probably reset my back and get my air again after each rep.

All That I Have For You

IS HATE

ATHLETIC DAY

Warm Up:

Foam roll all over.

Stretched with bands.

Kettle Bell Work: 3 sets of 8 for each

Alternating 1 Handed Swings: 24kg

Figure 8s: 24kg

Standing 1 Handed Overhead Press: 24kg

Tire Work: 3 sets, done one after the other

Sledge Swings: 10 each side

Flips: 10

Rope Pull: 3 sets

2 plates x 3 times up and down

It sucked. The rope is fairly thin and hard to hold onto, which is kinda the point. This was done for grip work primarily, and any arm/back benefit is just gravy.

Plyos!: Done as a circuit, 3 sets

Box Jumps (from a seated starting position) to a box set bellybutton high: x 8

Push Ups - Both Hands on a Medicine Ball: x 15

My legs are getting torn up from all of this. Some night time foam rolling is definitely in order.

Pullups:

10

+1 Chain x 10

+2 Chains x 8

Ab Wheel: 3 sets of 10

4 Way Neck Machine: 45lb plate, each way x 10

Hard life.

Abuse Excuse

DEADLIFT DAY

No partners, going solo, which means no photos.

Warm Up:

Foam roll everything.

Dynamic and static stretching.

GHR:

3 sets of 10

Pin Pull (4th Pin, just under the kneecap):

135 x 10

225 x 10

315 x 5

405 x 1

455 x 1

505 x 1

An obvious PR. I was trying to get 500 for the sake of it after getting 495 last week, but I could only find one 2.5 plate. They're not plentiful at Lexen.

Sled Drag:

Down the parking lot past CMMA and back is one set. Steady but quick pace, not at all like the more warm up based walk we do on squat day. The point here is movement.

3 plates and 5lb spacers x 1

4 plates and 5lb spacers x 1, x 1

This was awful. My legs were on fire after that last set, I was drenched in sweat, and I could barely breathe. My quads were full of blood and my hams were absolutely burning up, this thing totally smashed my legs. Definitely something I'm going to keep up.

Shrugs:

135 x 10

185 x 10

225 x 10

4 Way Neck Machine:

45lb x 10 each way

Abs:

Cable Crunch: 90 x 10 x 3

Pullups:

3 sets of 10

It Hurts To Be Alive

This is how the prowler makes me feel.

SUNDAY - MILITARY PRESS DAY

MP

45x10

60x5

75x5

95x3

105x3

120x3

140x3+ (5)

Pullups

4 sets of 5, 8 sets of 4

Dips

12

12

12

12

10

Dave is in town and lifted with us:

Slosh Pipe Overhead Press

10

10

We put this together a few weeks back, cause Sean read about it on the internet.

Hammer Curls

40x10x2

Fat Grip BB Curls

65x10x2

Then we watched the last 30 minutes of a really boring world cup final, and went back out to push the prowler. We made 6 or 7 trips, tried a few different things, like dragging it, and generally just beat ourselves up. Dave literally could not walk up the stairs. A few hours later, after we saw Predators, which was awesome, he summed it up pretty well: "While I was pushing that thing, it was the worst thing in the world. But now I just want to do it again and get better at it."

Telltale sign CBC hangouts are occurring.

See God

BACK IN BUSINESS

I've been busy. New job. New routine. Kevin had surgery on his face, and Ben just had a fight. So I've been going from work to the gym to my fam's house with little time to update this shit. (Btw, Ben pwned the shit out of a Muay Thai fighter. Wrestled him and GNP'ed his way to a Unanimous Decision. John Fitch style.)

Excuses.

Quick recap of last week: I'm lifting after work, around 6:30, and I'm working out by myself, trying to figure out how to proceed outside of the MMA crew. Well I managed to make myself puke and tear off callouses from both of my hands. Rough week.

I'm thinking of doing a basic ME lift 3 times a week, Bench/MP, Squat, and Deadlift, and then having one athletic/strongman day a week. The assistance work will vary greatly, and will likely incorporate a lot of athletic movements. I'm looking to build strength but also explosiveness and speed. I think a willingness to change the assistance work and an attentiveness to my needs will really lead to success in this program.

This idea is pretty basic but was spurred on by a discussion I had with Matt Wenning last Sunday about training. He told Ben and I that he figured the best way for fighters to train is to be all encompassing. ME work can't be ignored, but straight powerlifting training will slow you down. Speed and explosiveness have to be built, and endurance also can't be ignored. He said the key is to find and attack weaknesses in the gym. So that's what I'm going to do. Be attentive to my plan, my weaknesses, and attack the shit out of them.

And here are my past two workouts, followed by a photo dump from the CBC strength weekend a few weeks ago.

SQUAT DAY

Sled Drag: 4 plates w/5lb plates as spacers. 5 trips. Not fun.

Buffalo Bar Box Squat:

Bar x 10

Bar x 10

135 x 8

135 x 8

185 x 8

225 x 5

225 x 5

275 x 1

My form is improving, and I think my strength is too, thanks to Wenning's coaching on how to properly box squat. My numbers suck, but thats just a matter of time and work.

Ben squatting, Wenning in the back.

Cambered Bar Chain Suspended Good Mornings:

135 x 8

185 x 8

225 x 8

First time doing these, and they were a lot of fun. I love GMs, and I love that everyone else seems to hate them.

Ben on the demo, Riddle coaching.

Swinging Snatch:

16kg KBs x 8 - Three Sets.

GHR:
4 sets of 10

MILITARY PRESS DAY:

Band Pull Aparts: I,T, Y 20 each, 3 sets.

Military Press:

Bar x 10

Bar x 10

65 x 10

95 x 10

115 x 5

135 x 1

135 x 1

155 x 1 (Push Press. Turns out not doing MPs every week will weaken that lift!)

Pullups:

10

10

1 Chain x 10

2 Chains x 10

2 Chains x 10

10

Lexen doesn't have a dip belt (or even a dip station), and I don't either, so I just loop thin chains around my neck to load pullups. I believe they weigh about 40lbs a piece, but I don't know for sure. They're the chains in the Good Morning picture above.

Sled Work:

Press / Pull : 2 total trips down the driveway @ 3 plates (5lb spacers).

I just made this up and it may be a bit complicated. So I set up the sled with a long rope/belt thing coming off of it. The first trip is performed by looping the rope around you, facing away from the sled, hands on the rope at bench spacing. Explosively push the rope forward, thus pulling along the sled. There's now slack in the rope, so walk forward until its taut, and then press again. Do it quickly and explosively.

Then turn the sled around, this time facing the sled. grab the rope with both hands, whatever way is comfortable. Then pull the rope towards your face, like a basic face pull. Then walk backwards until the rope is taut, and pull it again.

Both pushing and pulling is one trip. This shit is rough.

DB Tricep Extension:

55 x 10

55 x 20

75 x 15

95 x 15

4 Way Neck Machine:

Each direction x 10 with a 45lb plate

JM Press:

95 x 8 x 3

Abs: 3 sets

Cable Crunch: 90 x 15

Wheel: 10

CBC TRAINING EXPO PHOTO DUMP

French's Ammonia.

A bit removed from "Ammonia Rage", closer to

"Ammonia Cuddles."

REDWOODS

TEARDROP

DEPTH

CROTCH

LIFTING FACE

Easily the best picture of Claytron ever.

Those abs don't help hold onto those Farmer's Walks.