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.