M1 W3 Deadlift Day

Fall 2008 Training
Mesocycle 1 - Week 3
Deadlift Day

Beginning Thoughts:

I got in like 5 hours of sleep last night but I was well fed for this workout...

Workout:

Deadlift Singles:
@ 92% of 1RM = 355 lbs x 1 rep x 3 sets
@ 95% of 1RM = 365 lbs x 1 rep x 2 sets
@ 97% of 1RM = 375 lbs x 1 rep x 1 set

Speed Deadlifts:
@ 65%
+ Bands
245 lbs x 1 rep x 10 sets

Bulgarian Squats:
30 lbs x 8 reps x 3 sets

Dumbbell Rows:
65 lbs x 8 reps x 3 sets

Cable Rows:
130 lbs x 10 reps x 3 sets

Cable Wood Chops:
25 lbs x 12 reps x 3 sets

Videos:

Deadlift Singles:

Overall Impression:

Happy Halloween everyone!!! 

I hope everyone has a great weekend!!!!!!!!! 

M1 W2 Extra Workout #2

Fall 2008 Training
Mesocycle 1 - Week 2
Extra Workout #2

Beginning Thoughts:

Since this "week" is actually 10 days because of my over-anxiety to begin working out ahead of time (remember I took a 5 day study break for mid-terms?) I managed to fit in another Extra Workout. Focus was the same but I did a few more exercises and quite a few supersets. Broke into a nice sweat too 

Workout:

Overhead Squats:
70 lbs x 3 reps x 5 sets
90 lbs x 3 reps x 3 sets
I won't be increasing the weight next time around. Infact, I'm gonna be reducing it a bit to work on technique more. Vids to come..

Pull-ups:
BW x 2 reps x 5 sets
BW x 3 reps x 3 sets
Supersetted with OH Squats

Unilateral RDLs:
45 lbs x 15 reps x 1 set

Dumbbell Swings:
20 lbs x 20 reps x 1 set

Push-ups:
BW x 15 reps x 2 sets
Supersetted with both Unilateral RDLs and Dumbbell Swings.

Dumbbell Figure 8:
5 lbs x 20 reps x 3 sets

Dumbbell Iron Wall with Twist
25 lbs x 12 reps x 2 sets

Videos:

Overhead Squats:

Overall Impression:

I think I've improved my overhead squats a bit. I hope that by reducing the weight next week and just focusing on technique a bit more it will help in honing in the "groove" for me. 

I hope everyone's having a good week....The weekend is still (very unfortunately) quite a few days away. 

Cheers 

M1 W2 Squat Day

Fall 2008 Training
Mesocycle 1 - Week 2
Squat Day

Beginning Thoughts:

I did not feel like working out today. My mood was bad and I had a very late night last night. Also, I had a slight fever and a bad stomach upset. I was in no mood to workout...

Workout:

Front Squats:
Cluster Sets
(225 lbs x 1 rep x 5 mini-sets) x 5 sets

Good Mornings:
105 lbs x 6 reps x 2 sets
135 lbs x 6 reps x 2 sets

Unilateral RDLs:
45 lbs x 7 reps x 2 sets

Dragon Fly Crunches:
12 reps x 3 sets

Pull Throughs:
70 lbs x 10 reps x 2 sets

Barbell Curls:
70 lbs x 6 reps x 2 sets

Videos:

Nothing for today.

Overall Impression:

I hate front squat cluster sets. **** this....miserable workout. Most of it was done half-assed. I hope tomorrow's extra workout goes smoothly.

M1 W2 Extra Workout

Fall 2008 Training
Mesocycle 1 - Week 2
Extra Workout

Beginning Thoughts:

I was looking over some of the kettlebell exercises on several websites but then I realized that the lightest kettlebell in my gym is 45 lbs. So I guess I have to build some strength before I do anything. Therefore, I just did the kettlebell exercises with light(er) dumbbells.

Workout:

Overhead Squats:
65 lbs x 3 reps x 5 sets
85 lbs x 3 reps x 3 sets

One Arm Dumbbell Swings:
20 lbs x 15 reps x 1 set

Dumbbell Halo:
20 lbs x 10 reps x 1 set

Dumbbell Seated Figure 8:
5 lbs x 15 reps x 3 sets

Dumbbell Iron Wall with Twist:
25 lbs x 12 reps x 2 sets

Videos:

Overhead Squats:

Overall Impression:

These "core" exercises killed me. I think I have really improved my overhead squat form. Tomorrow is an off day and then I'm gonna be doing my Press Day. 

I hope y'all have a good weekend! 

M1 W2 Deadlift Day

Fall 2008 Training
Mesocycle 1 - Week 2
Deadlift Day

Beginning Thoughts:

I've taken a week off because of exams and stuff. I'm back now. No more skipping.

Workout:

Deficit Deadlifts:
315 lbs x 2 reps x 4 sets
335 lbs x 2 reps
315 lbs x 4 reps x 2 sets

Speed Deadlifts:
@ 55%
+ Bands
215 lbs x 1 rep x 8 sets

Bulgarian Squats:
30 lbs x 6 reps x 3 sets

Dumbbell Rows:
60 lbs x 8 reps x 3 sets

Cable Rows:
130 lbs x 10 reps x 2 sets

Cable Wood Chops:
25 lbs x 12 reps x 2 sets

Videos:

Deficit Deadlifts:

Overall Impression:

I hope everyone's having a good week! 

M1 W1 Extra Workout

Fall 2008 Training
Mesocycle 1 - Week 1
Extra Workout

Beginning Thoughts:

I was creaking and groaning like an old man today walking into the gym. I was sore as hell.

Workout:

Overhead Squats:
Light Bar x 5 reps
45 lbs x 3 reps
55 lbs x 3 reps
60 lbs x 3 reps
65 lbs x 3 reps
75 lbs x 3 reps
85 lbs x 1 rep
95 lbs x 3 reps

Box Jumps:
5 reps x 2 sets

Military Press:
95 lbs x 10 reps x 2 sets

Hammer Strength Pull-ups:
3 reps x 2 sets

Push-ups:
10 reps x 2 sets

Reverse Crunches:
12 reps x 2 sets

Videos:

Overhead Squats:

Overall Impression:

I am looking forward to the weekend 

I hope everyone has had a good week and y'all have a fun weekend!

M1 W1 Squat Day

Fall 2008 Training
Mesocycle 1 - Week 1
Squat Day

Beginning Thoughts:

Guess who weighed in at 200 lbs today? WTF indeed....

Workout:

Front Squats:
Cluster Sets
225 lbs x (2 reps x 4 mini-sets) x 3 sets
185 lbs x (2 reps x 4 mini-sets) x 1 set
135 lbs x (2 reps x 4 mini-sets) x 1 set

SSB Good Mornings:
Weight of bar is unknown
+25 lbs per side x 6 reps x 4 sets

Unilateral RDLs:
45 lbs x 7 reps x 2 sets

Dragon Fly Crunches:
12 reps x 3 sets

Pull Throughs:
70 lbs x 10 reps x 2 sets

Barbell Curls:
70 lbs x 6 reps x 2 sets

Videos:

Front Squat Clusters:

Overall Impression:

Front Squat clusters were very tiring. I stopped after 3 sets and reduced the weight. Next week I have to do (5x1)x5. I will use 225 lbs again. On the whole I have still progressed greatly because last time I did this exercise (Phase 2 of Maximum Strength) I used 175 and 165 lbs. 

I plan on doing an extra workout tomorrow morning. Tomorrow night I will be driving with some friends to Dallas to chill at my friend's house for the weekend. It's fall break and I need a break from Trinity. Sad news is that I have 4 exams and 1 presentation next week  Good news is that I plan on watching Max Payne and Body of Lies this weekend - oh and I might even see Eagle Eye. Yes, movie buff here 

I hope everyone is having a good week 

M1 W1 Press Day

Fall 2008 Training
Mesocycle 1 - Week 1
Press Day

Beginning Thoughts:

Next week is going to bury me alive in terms of school.....2 exams, 1 huge paper, 1 presentation and 1 graded homework all due within the span of 5 days. 

In other news: I just ordered 10 lbs of whey from Protein Factory 

Workout:

Speed Military Press:
@ 50%
90 lbs x 3 reps x 6 sets
+ Bands 
90 lbs x 3 reps x 2 sets

Pull-ups:
Cluster Sets
(4x2)x5

Close Grip Bench Press:
185 lbs x 5 reps x 3 sets
155 lbs x 7 reps x 2 sets

Facepulls:
70 lbs x 12 reps x 3 sets

Tricep Extensions:
25 lbs x 10 reps x 3 sets

Bar Rollouts:
8 reps x 2 sets

Videos:

Banded Speed Military Press:
http://s81.photobucket.com/albums/j2...t=13102008.flv

Workout:

Good stuff done today....

Cheers, y'all!

M1 W1 Deadlift Day

Fall 2008 Training
Mesocycle 1 - Week 1
Deadlift Day

Beginning Thoughts:

I hadn't eaten much today...Just some breakfast tacos and peanut butter.

Workout:

Deficit Deadlifts:
275 lbs x 3 reps x 2 sets
305 lbs x 3 reps x 1 set
275 lbs x 5 reps x 2 sets

Banded Speed Deadlifts:
190 lbs x 1 rep x 10 sets

Bulgarian Squats:
30 lbs x 7 reps x 3 sets

Dumbbell Rows:
55 lbs x 10 reps x 3 sets

Cable Rows:
120 lbs x 12 reps x 2 sets

Cable Wood Chops:
22.5 lbs x 10 reps x 2 sets

Videos:

A few Deficit Deadlift clips and one Banded Speed Deadlift Clip:

Workout:

I was dead tired after my workout. It was draining as hell. I am gonna be waving the volume a bit over the next 3 weeks but so far it was quite do-able. The Deficit Deadlifts were very difficult. Regarding Banded Speed Deadlifts, I hope I set up the bands right. The vid might not have been approved of by YouTube so please have some patience, guys...

I hope everyone has a good week! 

Future Training....

I wanted to update this journal. 

I am taking this week off. I have finished maxing out on all my lifts last week. I've put up the vids if anyone is interested. 

For reference, here are my numbers pre and post Maximum Strength:

OLD Lifts | NEW Lifts

Box Squat: 315 | 345

Deadlift: 365 | 385

Military Press: 160 | 175

Pull-up 3RM: +25 lbs | +15 lbs

Bodyweight: 175 lbs | 195 lbs

My plans for the future: I will be following a 3 day a week workout routine from now on. 3 days a week are formal workouts. I will (almost 99.99999% of the time) be working out on a 4th day. On this extra workout I will be playing around with some different exercises...sort of like a GPP/Recovery day. 

My workout outlay is:
Sunday: Deadlift Day
Wednesday: Squat Day
Monday or Friday (depending on the week): Press Day

I will be varying volume weekly (just like how I did in Maximum Strength):
Week 1 = High Volume
Week 2 = Medium Volume
Week 3 = Very High Volume
Week 4 = Low Volume

I will also be rotating exercises every 4 weeks. 

I won't get into details about my next mesocycle, but I will outline how the exercise selection and the procedures will go:

Deadlift Day:
- Heavy deadlift variations - like deficit deads, snatch deads, etc followed by speed work (and maybe bands too if you feel i should use those). 
- For accessory work I would do some bulgarian squats or lunges or uni box squats.
- Next I would do some rowing work. 
- Lastly I would do ab/core training. 

Squat Day
- Some Squat variation and/or speed work if you'd like
- one unilateral leg exercise
- Some hamstring/PC type work - pull throughs, glute ham raises, etc 
- Ab/core training

Press Day
- Press variation - with or without speed work..for example, for the first month I could do speed pin presses and on weeks 2 and 4 I would follow those speed presses with a couple of heavy doubles or triples.
- Bench variant - Incline bench or floor press or board press or close grip press, etc. 
- Pull-ups
- Tricep work
- Ab work

Extra Workout
- Mobility Drills
- Overhead Squats
- Circuit work 
- Jump Rope (maybe)

---x---

This is how my plan roughly looks. Let's see how things go because I will make changes as I go along. 

My next workout will be this Sunday. See you guys then....

MS P4 W17 Moving Day 2

MAXIMUM STRENGTH by Eric Cressey

Phase 4: Peak
Week 17 - Low Volume
Moving Day Two

Beginning Thoughts:

I decided to just nail this day. Box Squats, Pull-ups, Deadlifts and Broad Jump. After today I am done with MS.

Workout:

Box Squats
- 345 lbs x 1 rep

Deadlifts
- 355 lbs x 1 rep - pretty hard
- 365 lbs x 1 rep - hard
- 385 lbs x FAIL x 3 attempts

Pull-ups
- +10 lbs x 3 reps
- +15 lbs x 3 reps

Broad Jump
- 6'3
- 6'6
- 6'7

Videos:

Box Squat and Pull-ups:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgEfqDwRf8g

Overall Impression:

So today was sort of saddening and yet pleasing. Here are my overall gains from MS compared to 4 months ago. 

Code:

                         4 Months Ago                           Maximum Strength Body Weight                 175 lbs                                  195 lbs Deadlift                    365 lbs                                  365 lbs Box Squat                   315 lbs                                  345 lbs Military Press              160 lbs                                  175 lbs Pull-up 3RM                 +25 lbs                                  +15 lbs Broad Jump                   6'5                                             6'7

Since my DL showed no improvement, I am going to work on getting the bar off the floor. Doing all those rack deadlifts with 365 lbs didn't help much when I couldn't even clean the bar off the floor. I will be doing Deficit Deadlifts and Snatch Grip Deadlifts from now on. 

My next program is 90% finalized. I will be posting it when I fully confident that this is what I am going to be doing.

As for the rest of this week: I am just gonna do some random work. I will be doing some light(er) lower body work and more aggressive upper body work. 

I hope everyone has a good week 

MS P4 W17 Moving Day 1

MAXIMUM STRENGTH by Eric Cressey

Phase 4: Peak
Week 17 - Low Volume
Moving Day One

Beginning Thoughts:

I decided to make this day into a Moving Day. So I did 2 lifts today. Well, before I begin, I weighed in today at 190 lbs. I felt good and I got 10 hours of sleep last night 

Workout:

Military Press
bar x 15 reps
95 lbs x 4 reps
135 lbs x 2 reps x 2 sets
155 lbs x 1 rep x 2 sets
175 lbs x 1 rep
155 lbs x 4 reps to failure

Pull-ups
BW x 5 reps
+ 25 lbs x 1 rep

Videos:

Military Press 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfasP-SDByY

Overall Impression:

A new 15 lbs PR on my Military Press. It was a hard lift and I am glad I nailed it. 

Tomorrow I will decide what to max-out on....

Video Time

Ok, so here are 11 videos:

OH Squats: http://s81.photobucket.com/albums/j2...t=OHSquats.flv

ANDERSON SQUATS

225 lbs: http://s81.photobucket.com/albums/j2...nSquats225.flv

235 lbs: http://s81.photobucket.com/albums/j2...nSquats235.flv

245 lbs: http://s81.photobucket.com/albums/j2...nSquats245.flv

255 lbs: http://s81.photobucket.com/albums/j2...nSquats255.flv

265 lbs: http://s81.photobucket.com/albums/j2...nSquats265.flv

SSB GOOD MORNINGS

Bar: http://s81.photobucket.com/albums/j2...Morningbar.flv

+20 lbs: http://s81.photobucket.com/albums/j2...dMorning20.flv

+40 lbs: http://s81.photobucket.com/albums/j2...dMorning40.flv

+50 lbs: http://s81.photobucket.com/albums/j2...dMorning50.flv

+50 lbs: http://s81.photobucket.com/albums/j2...Morning250.flv

Cheers 

MS P4 W16 LB2

MAXIMUM STRENGTH by Eric Cressey

Phase 4: Peak
Week 16 - Low Volume
Lower Body Two

Beginning Thoughts:

This is for Wednesday. I know I just did a lower workout yesterday but since I only did deadlifts and a few reps at that, I decided to go in today.

Workout:

Anderson Front Squats
225 lbs x 1 rep
235 lbs x 1 rep
245 lbs x 1 rep
255 lbs x 1 rep
265 lbs x 1 rep
I stopped at 265. I will have videos of all of these sets later tonight...

SSB Good Mornings
bar x 6
+20 lbs x 6 reps
+40 lbs x 6 reps
+50 lbs x 5 reps x 3 sets

Cable Wood Chops
17.5 lbs x 12 reps
22.5 lbs x 12 reps
27.5 lbs x 12 reps x 2 sets

Overall Impression:

Great workout. Anderson Squats were ****ing awesome!!!

Tonight (Thursday) I am gonna do some solid Upper Body Work.

Looking forward to maxing next week...

MS P4 W16 LB1

MAXIMUM STRENGTH by Eric Cressey

Phase 4: Peak
Week 16 - Low Volume
Lower Body One

Beginning Thoughts:

This is an update for Tuesday. I was in a great mood and thought I should max-out a week in advance...

Workout:

Deadlifts
155 x 3
225 x 2
255 x 2
315 x 1
335 x 1
355 x 1
405 x fail

Overall Impression:

Shitty workout. But, I maxed out too early. I'm gonna give this a shot again next week....