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Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Squat Dec 29th

Dec 29th 09
Squat

Tired lil beat down but wanted to get the work in prior to leaving tomorrow for 6 days

This is going to be a bit weird for a bit. I am going to be working anything that doesn’t hurt the hip and slowly work my way deeper trying to get a new stance left leg pointed out more and wider, try and go lower each week but what ever doesn’t hurt the hip to the point of having bone pain that keeps me up at night, more rep work and work my rear end more and less rest

Anderson squat pin #8 wide stance few inches above parallel
135 x 3
225 x 3
315 x 3
405 x 1
455 x 1
495 x 1
These were harder then they should be but felt OK. My hips have not worked like that in a long time the closer stance didn’t use them as much and is why In have these honkin ass quads now but they cause the hip to bind. Im hoping nice slow work back into these will fix that we will see. I think after a bit I will have to throw some front squatting in again or narrow stance squats at a reasonable load to keep the quad strength up for the DL

20” box squat
315 x 10 x 3 2 minutes rest
These were easy cheesy but that was the plan I will now slowly lower the box and keep the reps and load the same then add load as I can if there are no bad hip reactions

Sled sprints 30 yards
90lbs x 5 sets 1 minutes rest
These were a bit sore on the hips not horrible I will up the sets then the distance slowly

Reverse hyper 3 sets

Left leg press downs 3 sets

Abs 3 sets

That’s it nothing special at all but going to ease back in. Next session will be a heavy DL session in Kansas with one of our sponsored athletes Sam Cox. It will be my last heavy pull from the floor prior to the meet Ill go as high as I can and feels easy.

Monday, December 28, 2009

Bench Dec 28 2009

Dec 28th 09
Bench

Everything went very well added a bit of load to everything again and with less pain Ill keep going up and should be pushing big weight again soon and hopefully pain free

Full range
Bar x 10
95 x 10
135 x 5
185 x 5
225 x 5

Cheese head press
Slow eccentric 5 count pause
275 x 3
315 x 1
345 x 1 x 5 PR 10 lbs up from last week

Dynamic Gymnast Ring Rows
Body weight x 6 x 10 sets
then DB rows 50 x 20 x 2 sets

Foam Press with Dbl over red bands
225+ dbl red bands x 3
280+ dbl red bands x 4 PR for reps and load
225+ dbl red bands x 9 pr for reps

Band pull aparts,
curls,
left leg band presses
Crazy ropes 20 reps
3 sets for all


Saturday, December 26, 2009

DLing 12.26.09

Dec 26th 2009 DL day

DL Conventional from floor warm up
135 x 5
225 x 3
315 x 3
405 x 3
495 x 1
585 x 1
615 x 1 easy cheesy

Rack Pull above Knee
675 x 1
705 x 3 x 5sets added 10 lbs from last time (these were a joke)
765 x 1
855 x 1 first one I had to work for

Push Press
A few at some, was feeling hungry and week

OH press strict
190 x 5 x 3 sets
Just added another 5 lbs and ran with it, pretty easy just keep ging

Left leg band push downs
3 sets of 10

Ass blaster version 6.2
3 sets

Monday, December 21, 2009

Dec 21 09 Bench

Bench
Full range
Bar x 10
95 x 10
135 x 5
185 x 5
225 x 5

Cheese head press
Slow eccentric Long pause
275 x 3
315 x 1
335 x 1
Just made these up today essentially all the cheese head does is make it more comfortable to rest the load on you during the long pause

These were easy as they should be and no real shoulder pain just as they should be

Gymnast Ring Rows
Body weight x 6 x 10 sets


Foam Press with Dbl over red bands
225+ dbl red bands x 5
275+ dbl red bands x 3
225+ dbl red bands x 6

Band pull aparts and curls
3 sets

That’s it not bad felt OK
Just going to try and work on nothing that hurts the shoulder and bringing the triceps strength up on Mondays

Barbell Push up

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Dec 19th 09 squatting

Dec 19th
Squat
Bar x 5
135 x 5
185 x 3
225 x 3
275 x 3
315 x 2 x 2 add wraps on second set
405 x 2
455 x 1
495 x 1
525 x 1

Bottoms up and playing with stances to find something with minimal pain
A lot x only up t 315

Well?? Hmmm? looks the squatting pain and what I kind of expected and for the time being I may be a push pullers as I may not be able to squat the loads I expect of myself without causing major pain in the hip due to the bones and how I am now constructed after being glues and taped back together.

I think I pin pointed when this happened as well I was squatting 550 like nothing like it was everyday and had hit 575 then I added in some extra rep work at the end was going over and using the same loads Troy was squatting for the day and dive bombing in the bottom trying to slowly add mobility and stretch things out, due to how my bones are constructed NOT a good idea I was essentially hammering bones on one another in the bottom, it was good for a week or two then I instantly went from squatting 525 raw no wrpas on any given day and then heavier to 405 being hard and painful, Jay thinks in may be I badly bruised bone or jacked my labrum up.

The reason I was doing it is again squatting is never not painful to me when brought to parallel. Its not hard or doesn’t feel heavy it just hurts like a mother!!! So was hoping by adding a bit of mobility to the hip to take away that pain, in hind sight bad idea and that smaller then now pain while still painful pain may be the best I can hope for with my bone structure.

The hard thing is you cant look at other people or a text book for me. I am not like pretty much any other living person in how I am constructed so it’s a matter of rewriting my own text book, but I guess that’s half the fun I have to finding my and blazing my own path.

We did Craig's the test. We're looking at 45 degrees of retroversion. The head of the femur almost points backwards, where as a regular person points sideways. This is why all the binding and why I hit a wall just about parallel. Its not soft tissue getting tight its what it feels like and bones hitting one another.

I will not stop squatting and already squatted 525lb yesterday. I will for a while be trying top figure a new stance and way I possibly may be able to squat as well as trying to strengthen the left leg which cannot on its own lift my body weight up two stairs when the leg is at a parallel angle, meaning I am squatting 500lb + on nearly one leg.

so for the time being goals have shifted to getting the squat figured out, getting the left leg and hip pain free so I dont lose sleep, getting them stronger so they can at least lift my own body. ... See More

during that continue pushing the deadlift to reach the 800lb mark I want, getting the bench back up and competing, though likely badly LOL, in my first highland games

I aint stopping by any means and still want a 1900lb raw total if I can find a way to squat but I have to find a way my not by any means normal pelvic and hip structure will accept it with only major amounts of pain and not excessive LOL while doing so I will squat loads I am able easy and pain free 400lbs or so for sets and reps controlled what ever doesnt make me cringe and push everything else. try and fix the other stuff

Friday, December 18, 2009

Assistance day Dec 18 09

Dec 18th 09
Pressing assistance day
Felt weak today but got the work in

Zhealth

Push Press
Up to an easy 120K

Strict press
85k x 5 x 3 sets
Still just doing the slow progress not rushing this add a bit each week

Band pull downs
Orange bands 5 x 10 sets

Lock outs above head against orange bands
Bar x 5
95 x 3 x 2 sets
95 x 5 hard

Band pull aparts 3 sets

Scap depression on dip handles
5 sets

that’s it

Fibromangina: A Mandemic!!!


Fibromangina?? Why I have never heard of this you say. Of course you haven’t, that is because this is a brand new hot off the presses release of a disorder I just uncovered and coined last Saturday. I stumbled upon my finding due to a dear friend, and training partner, who was suffering a most severe case. One that if left un-treated could have spread, and very well led to permanency which is a punishment worse then death.

Despite its infancy in being just unveiled you may be surprised that it, let’s call it a disease, has already reached the stage of being classified as a Mandemic.

So what is fibromangina you ask? How do I catch it? How do I get rid of it? All very good questions and I will do my best. The frightening truth every man is a carrier from birth. We have found that the disease lies dormant in the male species until somewhere between the ages of 12-20, and after the ages or 60-75 it simply withers away and can become a much less threatening Oldmannisfemininis.

Out of simplicity, and until further studies are done, we have classified it as a disease affecting men ages 18-65. These are the years we have recorded, and just by happenstance, seen with our own eyes by happenstance with the most full blown cases. That is not to say they don’t occur, or begin sooner or later. Just that it is rare and usually in an earlier more tolerable stage, none the less threatening to mankind however if left untreated.

Fibromangina at this early stage of study, while different, we are classifying as a bacterial disorder due to the similarities with other bacteria in how it reacts in the human body. As we all know some bacteria is good. We actually need it to live a healthy and strong lifestyle. Without it we would literally die. Fibromangina is much the same. It is only when you let it spread that it becomes problematic. If you let it continually and excessively surface it will them spread and fester. It will quickly take over all aspects of your life without the subject suffering it ever noticing. This is what makes the disease so hard to diagnose and contain. The patient himself cannot even begin to diagnose their own disease. It is up to friends, acquaintances, and educated passer by’s to ID the disorder and alarm the full blown male to seek immediate professional help

Fibromangina, again is in all of us from birth, when in control it is a crucial and needed part of our lives. Fibromangina is the strain of bacteria in the male that is responsible for simple male grooming, washing of one’s behind when it become excessively stinky. Changing of ones clothes. Doing of ones laundry, when you have one or less clean article of clothing left. Clean being the male definition. Meaning not that the article has been worn, but that the smell or appearance of the article is not personally offensive to one’s self. It allows us to feel physical and emotional pain, not saying that we do or should listen to it, or show it, but it allows that stimulus to happen. Even all the way down to control of things like shedding one single tear when our favorite dog gets ran over by a trash truck, and immediately another dog comes over and drags it off to be eaten for lunch. Without fibromangina these simple subconscious acts would not take place in the male human.

It is when fibromangina is left unchecked. When the male, does not on a daily basis fight it down with his, well natural maleness, that things go sour. When fibromangina is let to fester we start to see ailments like the well documented metro sexuality, or more complex and disturbing disorders like maleskinnyjeanitis. A new yet growing affliction I am afraid.

In cases like that of my friend and training partner the fibromangina was a very complex. All seemed well. To keep his identity secret and spare humiliations we’ll call him Josh. Josh was always a driven strapping young man. Josh was always athletic through his younger years. A large man who enjoyed football, prono, and books about war. Training, women, and parties galore. He excelled in collegiate football. Got his degree and moved on to a job consulting and working in the training field. He was self driven and self confident. Had always trained, had a wife, and a beautiful daughter. Liked fast gas guzzling cars, pushing himself in all he did. Seeing how much he could accomplish in life, work, his personal relations, and in the gym.

What happened? How did Josh’s fibromangina go out of control, become unchecked? Like many of the cases we see. Ill spare the details, but figuratively it was one incident. Josh was figuratively kicked in the junk. Smack dab and hard in sack, by life one day. Again, like many when such a thing happens he lost sight of his fibromangina, largely due to the fact I had not yet discovered the disease. Anyway, Josh instead of fighting and getting head strong like a man and sticking to what he knew, what he loved, and what he was good at, tucked his tail and ran. Ran himself right into the grasp of fibromangina.

Josh sold his training facility. Searched and took a job as a TELEMARKETER!! ( a far cry from the self driven, strong business consultant, coach, and facility owner of past). Went and got excessively prettied up to impress his also fibromanginic higher ups. It was all a downward spiral from there. I sat by and watched Josh spiral further and further into a fibromanginic hell.

I watched the disease take over every single aspect of his life. He had no drive for his work. Who would at telemarketing, but still Josh had always been driven. I figured if he was going to be a telemarketer, he’d make telemarketing hard core! He stopped drinking stout beer, and replaced it with fruit laden colored cocktails. We’d go to eat and instead of a steak or burger Josh would order the extra small salad hold the meat and dressing, WTF!! We’d talk football, training and women, Josh would change the subject to global warming, Brad Pitt’s new shirt, or some other useless trash one would find in cosmo, or on E. He ate like a bird, talked like a 14 year old girl, and the last straw, Trained like a, well hell I wouldn’t even call it training. It was something more akin to body pump class. He’d come in, this former stud, and have every excuse in the world. “Oh I can’t that hurts, that’s way to heavy Ill get big and blocky with 95 lbs on the squat. Can’t I just do some stretches and some arm curls?

Like most advanced fibromangina cases he talked a lot about the good old days, and talked big of things to come. He would set goals of dropping some body fat, of getting strong and competing again, and all the while would do the opposite. He’d have seemingly no tangible excuse aside from, “its hard, I hur,t I don’t like to eat good food.. boo hoo.”

He was full on in the grasp of FIBROMANGINA!! I finally ID’d it last week when he came to train. Josh rolled up 50 lbs over weight from his diet of salads, latte’s, fruity cocktails and a training like someone in an infomercial. He got out of his now, ford fusion, with his fruit smoothie in one hand, his head band in the other. Sporting a light blue hoody and wearing skinny pants. He looked like 300lbs of disgusting once was male, stuffed into a sack of femininity made to hold no more then 150lbs.

Bingo a light went off. Fibromangina!! I said. While there is no known sure fast cure yet, as I had just diagnosed the disease seconds ago, I had to do something and had to do it now. We hadn’t even started training yet and he was saying how his hips hurt, and his tummy was a lil upset. I hauled back and did the one thing I knew might help. The same thing that got him into this position in the first place, thinking maybe the cause could be the cure. I kicked him square in the junk. I let him have it in every way I knew how. I told him straight, and told him to his face. I made him see what he had become, what his fibromangina had done to him.

I’m happy to say, while it’s still a day to day battle, in less than a week Josh is making huge progress. He’s has already went on that day to squat 405 x 3, and later hit an all time PR of 500 in the deadlift. He is making arrangements to get a new job, one that he is meant to do, one he can sink his teeth in and make his bitch. We even went and celebrated his refound manhood with a burger, wings, and a beer. Even his wife called to thank me.

All the ways in which and fibromangina can show itself in each individual are still largely under investigation, and we find more each day. We are finding many of once thought distinct disorders actually belong under the large umbrella of fibromangina left un unchecked. I will not, and cannot name them all at this time. There is simply too much study yet to be done. I only hope this will lead all men and their women to take warning and help me fight this disease. Help to ID it in all its forms, fight it with me, and help find cures or vaccines.

I ask you please join me and spread word of my new group that is seeking government funding to help further ID and fight this debilitating male disease “Help Stop Fibromangina

Thank you. The cause, prevention and cure is in all of us. Let it be known. Together we can make men, men again, and send fibromangina and all it’s varied faces back to the depths at which they belong

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Dec 16th bench day #2
Going to slowly work up on this day very slow and controlled and keeping shoulders TIGHT

Bench
Warm up
225 x 5 x 5

1 arm cable rows and band pull aparts 8 sets

then torture yoga stuff and jay making me whine like a lil school girl. My hips is hurting on almost a constant basis from all the work were doing, even keeping me up at night but I am assured that thats normal and necessary as we ask the hip to do what it hasnt in years and maybe not done since the accident when I was 7 years old. I have to keep my eye on the big picture.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

DL training Dec 15.09

DL day Dec 15.09

135 x 3
225 x 3
315 x 2
405 x 1
495 x 1
585 x 1
615 x 1
Felt light and easy today as they should

Rack Mid shin
585 x 1
635 x 3 x 5 I think this was a 50 lb PR for sets and reps last set was damn hard I hate this staring position But great training day not ham string pain

675 x 1 got it but I was cooked after the other volume

Left leg step ups
Ass blaster version 6.2 ( made up a new arse training exercise)
Abs
All 3 sets

Monday, December 14, 2009

Dec 14 09 Bench

Dec 14 09 Bench

Benchin with releasers
(very slow eccentric two controlled presses)
Bar x 10
95 x 10
135 x 10
185 x 5
225 x 5
275 x 3
315 x 2
315 x 2 + 50
315 x 1 + 50 x 3
315 x 1 slow eccentric
315 x 2 presses

Gymnast Ring scap Rows
Body weight x 5 x 11 sets
I liked these a lot

Pin Press half way up
225+ dbl red bands 3x3

Band pull aparts and band curls

that’s It Im going to do a separate day light and slowly work up to get some volume in with perfect presses in the groove.

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Leucine and Muscle Growth

We had a fun question on the forum today and I thought I would share it here for maybe more talk and well just to share it maybe others will find it interesting.

Originally posted here

Tony asks:

So exactly how does leucine (sp?)cause the body to lay down or synthesize more muscle tissue? Is this even true?


For that matter how can a muscle tell if it needs to get bigger? Can it tell? Or is that something handled back at central command (el braino and nervous system)? Is it a hormonal trigger caused by the breakdown of muscle?


Me:
I am NO scientist which you all know but Ill do my best here. the last ISSN I went to Leucine was like the resounding theme. From my understanding Leucine is the on switch for protein synthesis in the body. Lets think of the body as a circuit with a power source, a switch and a light bulb. Light bulb = muscle tissue power = other aminos, and even then some things that carry along with that calcium, creatine water etc.

You create a stimulus (training) and event that does damage to tissue, and even everyday life causes muscle tissue damage and then turn over which is why protein synthesis is needed all the time, But with hard training you create an event that requires adaptation to that event does lots of damage and calls for attention. The presence of leucine in the chain is like I said above simply the ON switch a Nice big switch that turns the action or repair flushing of old bringing in of new aminos to repair and rebuild the damaged one.

So Leucine is great and much needed a nice big dose to turn that BIG switch on all over the body open up the cells for the turn over make the cell wall penetrable and permeable, BUT that stuff is useless without 2 things. A stimulus to require and ask for the demand of a great amount of protein synthesis in the muscle (the light bulb), and the other stuff( the power) the other aminos that actually do the work, fill the gaps and turn that light on and other micro and macro nutrients.

This is where people / companies go wrong in saying add leucine to any food and make good food crap. Well yhea leucine is great but with out a reason ( training/ a stimulus / damage) and with out the power ( other aminos etc ) its worthless. If you have big dose leucine and NO on the other EAA's sure you just turned a BIG ass switch on but its like turning a light switch on after only having ran the wire to the bulb and not one to the power source. Not a thing is going to happen as you dont have power, or even worse you may rob power from other places to repair the damaged stuff.

This is also where from the talks Leucine fell short on the pulsing of it and it seems more important to get the THE aminos. After a BIG done of Leucine one large enough to turn all the switches on the protein synthesis switch stay on for many hours. The only reason it seemed to stop was it ran out of power ( the other required goods) the switch was still on due to the leucine in the blood stream but al,l the power had been used up.

So yes luecine has some very cool and almost drug like effects when used in a nice big dose. im thinking it was 4-6 grams but after that you better turn your attening to the actual building blocks, other aminos and macro nutrients as once you turn the swtich on is does no good to go push on the switch again as its already on.

As far as muscles bigger. I don't think the muscle can tell and yes this is something handled by central command as you put it. What this takes is events. Hard events that cause the body to say WTF!!! that's was hard. the body doesn't like things to be hard, that's not safe, that could mean injury or death. The body thankfully for us seeking strenght and growth, is Lazy and wants our daily life to be easy. So the body after one event says WTF was that shit Tony better not do that to me again. Whats he trying to do man lets get all sore so he knows better. But then Tony does it again and again so the body then say's Damn something is happening I better change, adapt and grow the parts he is putting this huge demand on bigger and stronger as the things he is doing look like they are going to be a life long occurrence. So the body grows stronger, bigger in muscle, bones and neural pathways to make the consistent demand you put it easy and not a threat. This is how we adapt and grow and why it takes time to grow muscle. Its not from a single event but from consistent training and convincing the body it must adapt and evolve to be safe and make that new stimulus easy.

The leucine, other EAA's, carbs, fat, water, micro and macro nutrients are all then tools and materials the body then uses to create that adaptation

Wow does that help LOL that was fun!!!

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Squat day Dec 10th 2009

No wrap week Made slight progress again back to 5 plates with only minimal pain

Foam rolling and Zhealth warm up.

Squat just work to something
Bar x some
145 x some x 2
195 x 3 x 2
235 x 3 x 2
325 x 3
375 x 1
415 x 1
465 x 1
485 x 1
495 x 1

Bottom up squat couple inches from parallel
315 x 3
365 x 3
405 x 1
425 x 3 x 3 (10 lb increase)

SSB squat brace squat
425 x 3
485 x 8 no wraps

1 arm tire flips and got stuck inside our big tire LOL


**************





The Beauty of the human Machine is that we are multi faceted in how we function from head to toe, skin to bone, emotion to muscle. As one system fatigues from work placed on it another pitches in momentarily to take up the slack. Let your exercise choices reflect this natural function of the human body.

Sometimes things in life kick us in the gut, knock us down, and piss us off. It is those that turn that event and emotion into fuel and use it against itself to better their situation that make progress and succeed. Life isn't always a bowl of cherries. It's about what you make out of what your served day to day that tastes so sweet.

Running long distance is a characteristic of animals on this planet that are eaten. Being powerful and running explosively for short distances is a characteristic of the animals that do the eating. I don’t know about you but Id rather be an eater, then eaten :)


Life. Are you living it? Or merely existing in it?

Positions Explained: Clean vs. Deadlift


As a power lifter and one who prides himself on a big and ever increasing deadlift I have become a student of the positions one needs to reach to achieve proper and efficient from in the dead lift. I have become as well a firm believe through teaching the correct positions first and foremost the rest of the things will work them selves out in time.

By knowing and achieve each position your are then best able to transition to the next, and as well by knowing them first you then have the ability to ID what went wrong when you miss a lift or something feels heavier then it should.

In the same light, since joining Charles here at Staley Training Systems I became a student and now teacher of proper O-lifting form. Included in that is the clean. The same thing can be said about the positions of the two.

Coming again from a power lifting / Deadlifting background the relation of the positions of the proper clean and proper deadlift perplexed me. More so then the similarities in the positions of these very like lifts was the small yet huge in execution difference. I thought it would be helpful to quickly break down and explain the positions of a proper deadlift and proper positions of the pull portion (minus the catch) of the clean for those trainee’s and athletes like myself that use both in their programming and help you to be able to view them as the similar but yet very single entities they are.

(Note: I am going to give generic form on the deadlift and not take into account slight variances in body structure that would warrant adjustment. Still the basic premise of the lifts is the same)

The differences are slight but evident.

In the deadlift you are positioned with the hips higher, looking to get the hamstrings wound tight like a drum, and weight shifted toward the heels to achieve a strong tight starting position at the point you need to produce the maximum force in the lift.

In the Clean you use more Knee flexion, the hams are not strung tight yet as you are looking to achieve that at the power position.

In the DL you start the pull HARD with Hip and knee flexion looking to gain a mechanical advantage and get your body behind the bar as far and fast as you can to utilize body weight against the bar.

In the clean you initiate the pull with knee flexion and simply maintain the hip angle to obtain the power position. The Power position shoulder in front of bar hams would like a Bra strap ready to burst. From the power position this is where you GO! Hit extreme power and hip flexion to jettison the bar in a straight close line up the body.

In the DL when the bar reaches the top of the knee, the same place as the power position in the clean you should already be firing glutes as hard as possibly to get your hips under your torso and shoulders as far behind the bar as possible to make the lockout as smooth and easy as it can be.

Achieving lock out when the hips have reached full extension past the point at which a clean will go and knees are locked.

Below is a video walk through as well that may help you graps the difference between the clean which is a LIFT with the bar going up in a steady controlled fashion to reach a position where the bar, by forceful hip flexion can be launched to the shoulders.

The DL which is more of a pull backward utilizing as much of the rearward pull of the body weight to get the shoulders behind the center of gravity pulling on the bar as soon as possible.

Friday, December 11, 2009

OH Press dec 9th 09

Friday Dec 9th

Got good sleep last night which transferred to good training

Push press
20 x some
40 x 10
50 x 5
60 x 5
70kg x 5
90 kg x 1
100kg x 1
110 x 1
120 kg x 1
124kg x 1 miss load
135 x 1

Went good except my weak lockout, the bar shot up and stalled an inch short of locked but I got it, Nice to hit pretty much 300 again and it felt light.

Bar bell press strict
82.5kg x 5 x 3 sets
Increased another 2.5 kilo going well

Band Pull downs
10 sets 10

Lat raise, curls, band pull aparts x some

that’s it

Some 2009 B&B highlights

Iron Radio with Guest Chad Aichs


EVENT: Iron Radio With Guest Chad Aich
TOPIC:
DATE & TIME: Friday, December 11th at 2:00pm Eastern
FORMAT: Simulcast! (Attend via Phone or Webcast -- it's your choice)
TO ATTEND THIS EVENT, CLICK THIS LINK NOW...
http://br.st/2iF
As Well Visit http://IronRadio.org for past episodes and other great pod
casts.

It's going to be a great show and remember we are all about audience participation. Go enter questions NOW!! at the link above. You can then listen in real time, or come back and listen to the recording to see if your question was answered. Questions can be on anything for anyone, the guest or any of the hosts.
See you there!

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Deadlift Dec 7th 09

Going light every other week. Hamstring has been acting up since well before the 725 pull and its touch and go today more touch then go

Deadlift from floor
Decided to see how fast I could work up tio a nice simple 615
135 x 5
225 x 3
315 x 3
405 x 1
495 x 1
585 x 1
615 x 1
The last was easy but right leg with the strain was shaking back and forth ham string doesn’t like being pulled tight

Clean pulls
135 x 3
225 x 3
These just felt bad today so I aborted

SLDL for reps
325 x 30
Just decided to see how many I could get. I had 30 in my head, most id done was 20 with 405 so got to that and stopped. Man anything past 20 at any load sucks.

If Id have done the above with some PVC pipe and no shirt on and a wallet chain it would have been a new crossfit world record I think

Pull through
Abs
Left leg step ups
All for three sets

Then my Yoga outside in the sun LOL



then I had a few of these with milk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BovQyphS8kA

Monday, December 7, 2009

INBD Dec 7th 09

INBD Dec 7th 09

YTA’s 3 sets trying to make these habit

Bench close grip with tendo unit and Dbl over red bands
Bar x 10 x 3
95 x 5 x 3
135 x 5 x 2
185 x 2
225 x 1
245 x 2 x 5 sets
Speed = about the same as last week a bit more constant. I tried wide grip on the last set and of course much faster.

But all of them close and wide caused some pain in the back of my shoulder. it’s the speed much like last time that causes pain. I can pause and press slow with zero pain its just hard because well its slow

Bench Paused straight weight none explosive
315 x 1
335 x 1
365 x 1

Ultra close Grip bench 225 x 5 x 7 sets
Super setted with
DB rows run the rack
110 x 1
100 x 10
90 x 10
80 x 10
75 x 10
70 x 10
50 x 15

Few lat raises etc that’s it

Like I said going to change bench training no exploding add eccentric training in as it doesn’t hurt at all

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Squat day Dec 5th 2009

Squat day Dec 5th 2009

This week with wraps I’m alternating to give the knees a break. Still things hurt so just went to something I could manage

Bar x some
145 x some x 2
195 x 3 x 2
235 x 3 x 2
325 x 2 no wraps
325 x 2 with wraps
375 x 1
415 x 1
465 x 1 x 2
484 x 1
485 x 4

Bottom up squat couple inches from bottom where I SUCK and these did suck but felt very productive and safe on knees
135 x 3
225 x 3
275 x 3
315 x 3
365 x 3
405 x 1
415 x 3 x 3

Man all hips and arse sit way back and just have to drive up. I need to work on these and getting hip healthy

Abs, left leg step ups, pull troughs’ a few sets

Squat
70kg x 5
100 kg x 5
120 kg x 5

that’s it. In and out then BBQ time
Squatting is NOT a high point of my week right now DL feels great squatting just hurts doesn’t feel heavy just painful but Ill get it worked out

Friday, December 4, 2009

Money Can’t Buy You Progress


No matter what people want to believe money will not, and cannot buy you love as in the popular song, or progress in the gym. If it could then like most things you purchase with money you would own it for the life of you, or the product, and that JUST isn’t true when it comes to accomplishments in the gym or on the platform.

The fault I see time and time again is that people try and believe this is true. They hit a new PR and somehow feel they now have a right to that new load any time they step foot in the gym. Now yes, this can be true at very early stages in a lifters training life when linear progress still works, but that soon will fade. Soon you will hit a spot where you cannot live on the laurels of days past. You will hit a point where you must earn your right to lift, not only new loads, but as well the loads you have prior on a daily basis.

You have no iron god given right to a load you had done prior when the moons and stars were aligned and then sun even shined on your rear end for a moment and allowed you to hit that new personal best. That PR was earned from long past work and dedication with loads lower then it and so will the next PR be.

This is where patience and discipline come into play. Where punching that clock on a daily basis is a must, and you have to take each training session for what it is. Have the discipline to come in with a plan you aim to strike at, but as well the maturity and patience to earn that days training. A realization as well the further you go, the stronger you get, the further and further from one another the PR’s will become.

Eventually you will see months between PR attempts. Months between attempts even at the same loads you have done prior. This is where progress comes NOT from trying to go for new loads week after week, tearing yourself down physically and mentally only to regress. Progress comes from weeks and months of hard disciplined back breaking work, refining ability, stacking reps and sets of lifts you have done prior again and again. Looking to do them with just a bit more snap, a bit more ease. One more rep, one more set. Working through fatigue and hitting loads that you have done prior but in a fatigued state from having hit that same load 8 times before this attempt.

This is where you have to truly become a student, and love the journey your on. Progress is fun, training is FUN for everyone when its easy. Like Dave Tate once said in a seminar I hosted. “It’s easy to go from shit to suck, anyone can do that. It’s the going from suck to good, and then good to great that is hard.” To open the same seminar he had a great analogy. He held up a 5 lb plate and asked what it meant to the audience. Most said a nickel, a 5lb plate, change etc.. No! he was right in saying as, I paraphrase ,“This 5 lb plate can represent weeks, months, even years of hard work as you get more advanced. Busting your ass day in, day out, at things you’ve already done, earning your way up to add one more little nickel to the bar”

Wake up people. You have no right to anything when it comes to resistance training, not even the accomplishments you have done prior. You don’t own them. You have to keep at it HARD even to sustain the ability to do them let alone do more. You must walk in each day with a clean slate and a rough plan. Progress later in training is made when you go in with the mind set of putting perfect work in with loads you have done prior.

Earn your way each and every day you go to the gym to higher loads. If it’s there and you know it, strike while the iron is HOT. Though it is only after you make your current 80% ability your bitch that you have the right to even try 85% and so on, and so on. You have to gain a level of maturity and no when to step up and take your shots, and when to back off and take your lashings with loads you have done prior. Confident and knowing that by putting the work in you WILL earn your way to new heights at some point in the future.

No progress is made by you going in and failing while trying to hit 90%, 95%, 100%, or 105% on a day you aren’t able. You’re better off, and will make more progress backing the hell off and taking what you have that day getting some quality work in. Walking away proud of the fact you gave what you had that day, and maybe even a lil bit more, but you didn’t fail. You worked hard, you strained and succeeded.

Again early in training age its easy. One single training session can be considered an event that will cause a stimulus for adaptation. The beauty as well at this stage is you heal just as fast as you reach that stimulus. Each is short and quick. This is why most people see love the so called newbie gains.

Just know those are short lived. The longer you’re in it, the longer these adaptation causing events get. It may take weeks or months of stacking consistent training one on top of another, on top of another, with the accumulated fatigue, load, and volume, to create a stimulus enough to warrant adaptation in an advanced trainee. As well at this stage it’s going to take near as long, or as long for that adaptation, evolution, and growth in the human body to occur. Meaning the work you do today, tomorrow, next and last when at a higher level may not show its true teeth for weeks, or more likely, months down the road.

Again this takes discipline, maturity, patience, and awareness of your body. This is something you will see and find in damn near every single person/athlete and more so coach that has made it, or brought people from beyond mediocre to having made accomplishments worth recognition. If you don’t have it in you then maybe this isn’t for you. Or if you know you love training, lifting, but cannot control your own stupidity and pig headedness in your programming, that’s fine and very normal.

Recognize this. Turn your head off and find yourself a qualified coach to do the programming and thinking for you. What ver you do. For the sake of all the gods of iron and steel stop the stupidity and crying of lack of progress in your training and get in there punch the clock and start using loads you can handle and only move beyond that when you have earned the right to ON A DAILY BASIS.

Friday Dec 4th

Zero motivation but got the work in
10” Log clean and press
All weight is without log Im not sure what it weighs
+30 x 5
+40 x 5
+66 x 3
+ 86 x 2
+96 x 1
+110 x 2 x 2
+130 x 1

Push press
70kg 2x2
90 kg x2
100kg x1
110 x 1
115 kg x 1
120kg x 1

Bar bell press strict
80kg x 5 x 3 sets

Pull Over with bands
3sets
8 minute EDT
Just slowly adding 2.5 kg a week to this

Hammer curls and triceps extensions high rep 8 minutes
25lb db 60lb tri
10 = 3
8 = 2
6 = 2
5 = 3
Total 70 reps
New load

that’s it

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

DL Day Dec 1st 2009

I had a revelation. Food + sleep makes Phil Strong

135 x 3
225 x 3
315 x 2
405 x 1
495 x 1
585 x 1
615 x 1
Messing around a bit with form still round back but a bit lower arse sitting back more. I think I likes it but need to move the bar just a touch more away from me to start

Rack Below Knee
585 x 1
675 x 3 x 5 up 20 lbs from last time
Oops miss loaded I was meaning to use 665 which I did but then I used the 5lb each collars none the less I smoked these then earned some heavier singles

735 x 1
755 x 1 smoked it, thought about calling it but I wanted one more to bad
775 x 1 got it hard pull but I struck While the iron was hot

Left leg step ups
Abs
Reverse hyper
3 sets

that’s it good day, more food and rest.


Monday, November 30, 2009

I am back on the mandatory half gallon whole milk, half jar of peanut butter, and dark chocolate on top of other food I eat diet. I have been losing weight and getting achey etc. and with it strength. I was making great progress and feling good when I was doing this so back on it.

YTA’s 3 sets trying to make these habit

Bench, close grip with tendo unit and Dbl over red bands
Bar x 10 x 3
95 x 5 x 3
135 x 5 x 2
185 x 2
225 x 1
245 x 2 x 5 sets
Speed = 1= .50/.38. 2 = .46/.34, 3 = .38/.32, 4 = .44/.36, 5 = .40/ 30

First set fastest then a drop off second rep a lot slower all were paused

These felt safe. Small bit of discomfort in shoulder not pain but could tell I better not go heavier today. Using all close grip for a while lay off shoulder and I am MUCH weaker here have to bring triceps up

db rows
4 minutes with 90 lb DB
Total = 41

DB Press
110 x 9 x 3 sets

Alt DB press ( hold resting DB at lockout)
1 set 90’s
1 set 70’s
These got hard to hold the lockout good for my girly tri’s

Triceps 1 set 20
Biceps 1 set 25

Lat raise, abs, band pull aparts 3 sets

Energy kind low but OK

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Saturday Nov 27th 2009

Squat

Squat is pissing me off the bench I can handle despite a rotator cuff injury I have bounced back well and hit a nice PR in a meet and am making progress. The squat damn thing is UP and down for year and all dependent on knee and hip health from the way my hip is duct tapped and bailing wired together. I was making great progress hit some all times Prs and shit got to hurting and its like ive taken 15 steps back but Ill keep chipping away and I will figure this out and will be squatting in the 600’s raw.

Thinking of getting an MRI of the left hip structure soon to finally see just what kind of things we have in there. It should be interesting from looking at my xrays of when I was a lil tike they were pretty neat and patch work. All these lil bones taped and wired together and all the extra non human looking bone structure that formed LOL

Im upping it 5-10 lbs a week and will do what it takes to get a meet PR come February. May not get the 1700 I was hoping for unless I have to wear wraps which give me a LOT due to taking pain away but we will see. Id rather go without if I can

Squat
145 x 5 x 2
235 x 2 x 2
325 x 2 x 2
415 x 1
435 x 1
455 x 1 465 x 1
475 x 1
485 x 1
405 x 2

SSB supported squat
445 x 5
515 x 4
565 x 2
445 x 5 no wraps

These feel safe and helpful ill stick to them and at least do a set or two each week

Left leg set ups
3 sets

Abs 3 sets

that’s it.


Thursday, November 26, 2009

Turkey Day Training

Turkey day 2009

Been fighting some kind of sickness only got like 3 hours sleep last night and havent been eating so no real mission today just put some work in not miss anything

Jerks
Bar x 5
40kg x 5
50 x 5
64 x 3
70 x 2
80 x 2
90 x 2
95 x 1
102 x 1
105 x 1

Push Press
231 x 1 x 2
243 x 1
254 x 1
265 x 1

Snatch grip push press
70 x 8

Clean and strict press
70 x 5
75 x 5

Clean and push press
90 x 5

Dbl KB clean and push press
25kg x 5 x 2
32 kg x 5 x 2

Suspended reverse pushup row with supine hams string and hip extension under variable tension LOL

A few x some playing around having fun.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

This week Nov 25th 09

Nov 24 09 DL day

Nov 24 09 DL day

Back is highly fatigued and I’m a bit run down so I only went up to the 615lb which is my base line warm up load to hit every day and then skipped the rack work this week and did some clean pulls.

135 x 3
225 x 3
315 x 2
405 x 1
495 x 1
585 x 1
615 x 1

Clean pull
255 x 3 x 2
305 x 3 x 2
355 x 3 x 2
Thats it

Monday, November 23, 2009

Pressing Nov 23rd

OK had to go close grip so shoulder wont hurt and had to drop the load as well so shoulder wouldn’t hurt and Id stay retracted and depressed hardly use any chest or should all triceps
YTA’s 3 sets

Bench with tendo unit and Dbl over red bands
Bar x 10 x 3
95 x 5 x 3
135 x 5 x 2
185 x 2
225 x 2
275 x 2 x 2
The first rep would fly the second Id get shoulder pain trap would shurg and id grind it out, dropped the load and went FAST
225 x 2 x 2

Close grip floor press
225 x 6 x 6
This fried the triceps and shoulder felt great

db rows
warmed up with sets of 3 with 50 and 70lb db during the above
then 110 x 3 x 8 sets

yta's 2 sets

Couple curls and push downs. While talking to Josh

Looks like I will go close grip for awhile and add in some DB pressing a few sets to still hit the chest and shoulders some after ward lighter to keep that up to par. In the long run it will help. Its allowing me to heal and attacking my weakness. I can pres 50+ lbs more just by moving my hands out 4 inches
__________________

Friday, November 20, 2009

OH press day.

Whole body is aching so motivation on a ten scale was about a 2 went and and did what I could

press outs up to 215lbs
OH BB tri extensions
Rows
band pull aparts
few tri band push downs and curls thats about it

then sometimes i get a lil carried away but his below is just ridiculus

How Can You Have Your Pudding?…

We live in a society that now more then ever wants to have their pudding without first eating their meat - to have their cake and eat it, too. In other words they want all the accolades with none of the work. Even worse, they somehow have this notion that they deserve it; that by some unidentified force they have been born with a right to expect to be blessed with any trait or possession those who came before them have had and more, with none of the work that was required to earn it.

This is possibly never more true then when it comes to training and nutrition. We are now more then ever in a society, as it pertains to every aspect of life, but most certainly the physical realm, of weak willed, impatient, weaklings that feel that they deserve the same accolades and accomplishments as those of us who bust our butts every day, day in and day out.

They feel they have a God given right to all their hopes, dreams, and desired abilities just due to the fact their Mommy and Daddy had a few drinks in the back of a sedan 19 years ago and nine month later they were blessed to waste some of our precious oxygen. A population who feel they have a right to everything, and when they don’t get it with only an inkling of the work needed put forth, piss and moan that, “The man's getting me down.” or “I don’t have the genetics, your so lucky” etc. etc., blaming anything and anyone but their own feeble efforts.

We live in a world full of people who have a keen eye for seeing athletic or physique accomplishment, achievement, and possession, while at the same time seemingly having a pair of blinders on that block out the work, struggle, and sacrifice imparted by those they champion to reach extreme heights.

I touched on this in-part in my article “Champion The Journey Not The Destination” as a broad explanation of where people are going wrong in what traits they look up to in those they place on pedestals. Now I go bit further and flesh out just a few quick examples from my own life that I hope will clarify this a bit further and serve as a wake-up call to a growing population of those in search of, and worse, in expectation of, the “easy” way, to their wildest dreams.

Food/Eating: Now I'll be honest, I get a pleasure of nearly daily posting on my face book page what I call my “Food Porn” series.

I purposely post pictures of the most dense, calorie crammed meals I can for others to view and comment knowing I’ll get responses running the gamut from lust to disgust. One comment that never fails to rise, whether it be in person or on my food porn series is, "Man if I ate like that I'd be a blubbering fat pig! Your soooo lucky! You must have the genetics of a Greek god!"

Um??? Not unless THIS is a Greek god:





Yhea, that’s me at roughly 20 years of age prior to me topping the scales at around 315lb of untrained adipose tissue. What did it take to make a transformation then? How can I now eat what then made me look more like the Goodyear blimp then a muscled pimp, if not my supreme genetics? Hard work, dedication and a love of the journey.

Everyone wants similar results and champions me for transforming my body from what it was to various forms of slender, svelte, ripped and rugged. They all want the magic recipe, but when laid out in simple plain speak, none of them want to face the music and believe reality. Instead they travel from expert to guru, pill to potion, in search of the “one” that will assure them they can get what they want with no back-breaking, will-wearing effort.

Where do they end up? The same damn place as they were prior or worse. Wake up people. Yeah, I can eat a ton of calorie dense foods, none of which are or should be labeled, “Evil” as many do, they are simply fuel. Fuel that the body I have built in years of sweat, and the activity I demand of it, requires.

They neglect to see the years of low carb living, the plates of salads and greens, chicken breasts, and olive oil or the now mounds of food I don’t GET to, but MUST eat to keep my progress inching ever so slowly forward; the calorie bombs I have to eat, not get to, to maintain the weight and performance I demand.

They see me deadlifting 725lbs for a new PR, a new record, and champion the accomplishment, and desire to reach it themselves, or even better yet hate on it for “poor form” which always makes me smile...

What they fail to see is, of course, the big picture. Everyone loves the glamor, the flashes, lights, and dreams of a great accomplishment. They all want to desire it, and have it given to, or imparted on them - blaming my success again on superior genetics.

What they blind and plug their ears to is the truth. The truth of a man who fought from the age of 7 for even his life. Having had his leg ripped off, pelvic shattered in 17 places, the main artery in his leg severed, and the leg as a whole hanging by just a thread of an adolescent hamstring; while the ambulance rushed him and his mother to the ER explaining along the way how he would not survive the trip let alone be able to save the leg.

They don’t want to see the hours in surgery, months in bed rest, and years of recovery. They blind themselves to the tears, the fighting, the never taking “you can't” for an answer. Always pushing more, proving himself and others wrong. The years and reps at 135, then 225, then 315, all well prior to reaching 500lb let alone 725lb accomplishment. The aches, the pains, the timeless hours spent laboring in sweat with a smile on my face. Knowing only where I will be, not a clear path of how to reach it. Guessing sometimes right, sometimes wrong but always pushing on the path closer to the goal.

People love to ogle at my paintings, drawing sculpture, and state how they only wish they had such a gift.

http://philstevens.com

What they fail to see is a kid who dropped out of high school drawing. A kid who struggled, and hell still does, to make a decent stick figure. They fail to see the years of formal and informal training. The all-nighters reading, learning, and practicing his craft. The weeks and months of drawing, painting, paperwork and preparation to get into graduate schooling all of which came prior to the moment in time they champion as a gift.

Why? Why do they fail to see such things? It proves the only thing they have to blame for their lack of reaching their dreams is their own neglect of living the life and actions it takes to grab them. That they don’t have the spine to live in the joy of ever pushing forward to something greater than themselves all the while being kicked in the gut and knocked down many more times then they reach new pinnacles.

People live only in the minute, and seemingly don’t have the mental capacity to recognize the journey. They see only the snap shot and not what comes many year prior or after the action. They don’t see or want the sacrifice, the work, or the repercussions of the actions, only the prize with none of the sacrifice before or after.

It’s time to wake up. Accomplishment ain't easy, so you better learn to enjoy the ride and to champion and enjoy the journey, yours and those you look up to. No one is going to give you a thing in this world you don’t earn through actions. You were not born with the rights to great achievements, traits or possessions and furthermore nothing you have done yesterday gives you the right to them today.

Achievement, accomplishment is a constant journey from first to last breath, so you better learn to love and learn to live it or learn to live without it.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

DL Day Nov. 17.09

I am going to go back to the triples I used a month or so coming up to the 725 pull I think they really had a lot to do with me getting the 725, using the lower load and getting the volume in going to bump it about 10lbs from where I was then and work up My back needs a break from the limit loads.

DL Conventional
135 x 5
225 x3
315 x 3
405 x 3
495 x 1
555 x 3 x 5 sets
635 x 1

SLDL
315 x 10

I said screw the hurt shoulder LOL It feels much better today

Nice punch clock Training session

Monday, November 16, 2009

Nov. 16th 2009 Bench

1A) Dbl Over red bands with Tendo
Bar x 10
95 x 10
135 x 5
185 x 3
225 x 2
275 x 1 x 10 second set best, then 3, 4and 5 were close to 90% then dropped like a rock 52%, 52%, 41%, 47%, 35%

1B) For the sets above DB Rows
50 x 5 x 5
70 x 3 x 5

2A) Feet elevated BB pushups
40lb vest 2 sets
BW 3 sets

2B) chest supported DB rows
100 x 2 sets
80 x 3 sets

A few curls and push downs

I pinched a nerve in my shoulder benching I cant lift my damn head or turn it without pain. JAY!!! HELP!!

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

DL Nov 11th

Power Cleans warm up
Bar
40kg
50
70
80 x 1 x 2
90 x 1 x 2
100 x 1
105 x 1
110 x 1

DL from floor warm up
315 x 2
405 x 2
495 x 1
585 x1
615 x 1

Rack pull above knee
585 x 1 x 3
635 x 1
675 x1
725 x 1
765 x 1
805 x 1

I was way to far out in front on the heavy stuff later but was still able to hit them fine

that’s it in and out in an hour. OK session, High intensity low volume

Watching the cleans when they got heavy I lost patients and got the arms involved in the lift. Bad Phil LOL

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Squat 11.7.09

Squat 11.7.08

Sometimes training kicks us in the gut, knocks us down, and piss us off. It is those that turn that event and emotion into fuel and use it against itself to better their situation that make progress and succeed. Training isn't always a bowl of cherries. It's about what you consistently make out of what your served day to day that tastes so sweet.

Yhea today pretty much licked balls, But I took what was there today and did what I was capable and maybe a bit more. The use of knee wraps to help my knees heal has helped (that’s the positive they felt perfect today) but they in ways have made me weaker. I have hit 575 with them and prior 545 without. Today everything was heavy as hell only on the lower body hips down. 455 was feeling like max effort which SUCKS it should be candy I was doing 465 for 5 triples a few weeks ago. It could also be the whole back half of me is worn out and beat to hell from all the 700lb plus pulling

Anyway onward and upward I have a bit over three months to get the strength back and think a lot will come quickly just getting used to not squatting with the wraps again I know I have been pushing things hard in them its just a matter of learning to express that strength without them

-Squat with double over orange bands paused on box for a second
This was roughly 250lbs of tension at the top as it was lifting 125 lbs DB’s
Bar x 3 x 3
95 x 3 x 2
135 x 3
155 x 3
175 x 3
205 x 1 x 2
225 x 1 x 2
245 x 1
These were hard but good had to fight the whole way and my weakness is not getting out of the hole but a few inches up

Squat
315 x 1 , 3
365 x 1
405 x 1 x 2
455 x 1 x 3

Squat with double over orange bands not paused
225 x 1
225 x 5 x 5

Few GHR’s



Friday, November 6, 2009

Nov 6th OH Press and Chins

Nov 6th OH Press and Chins

Strict Press
40kg x 5 x 2
50 x 5
60 x 5
70 x 5
77kg x 5 x 3

Jerks
77 x 1
80 x 1
90 x 1
95 x 1
100 x 1
105 x 1
110 x 1
115 x 1 x 2
120 x 1
All were pretty good left (good shoulder feeling a lil goofy and triceps were done)

Behind the neck push press
100 x 3
Yhea triceps shot

Behind neck snatch grip PP
90 x 5
Yhea they are done stopping now

Neutral grip Pull Up = 16

that’s it, really need to keep working the weak triceps. It was weird going totally strict on the pressing I wanted to bend the legs if even just a tad, it will take getting used to


Deloading For Dummies


We all know by now, or should know we cant be the summit year round. That every peak has two valleys. That progress is anything but linear. Its full of ups and downs, times we push it hard as well as times we deload in order to reload for another push.

I have been asked by several clients and friends of late if I would write an article on deloading. Not so much the scientific benefit behind it’s use, as that been covered by people much more qualified then I in those fields, But more specifically the how to’s and general reasoning’s for the types of deloads I employ on myself and my clients.


In my world, two primary reasons and ways that I tend to use deloads...

The first, the event deload, is most easily scheduled and performed is that of deloading for a meet or, event of some sort. This is particularly easy for strength, or meet type athletes who have specific events they gear their training toward. My recommendation for those trainees who are not in a sport or activity that requires then to peak for several events a year is to fabricate their own events. 3 to 4 events a year with specified goals of your own choosing that you peak and deload for, or 3-4 scheduled weeks off to allow for rest and recovery. This could be placed around your life schedule, holidays, vacation etc.

For those who those who are seasonal athletes etc deloading is a bit different and more complicated and we wont even touch on that hear as it is more broken down to in and off season training rather then a specific deload for the purpose of peaking for a single event, though they can incorporate this type of schedule into their off season training protocol.

The event deload plain and simple is to allow you full recovery at which end you will then have the ability to express the full potential of the weeks and months of hard work you have put in. It is not until you are fully recovered that this will be possible. Many new to this worry and fret over getting weaker if they don’t train, I assure you if you have been training hard you need it, and even if you have not pushed your self hard enough there is Nothing you can do in the final week to make yourself stronger, the best thing you can do is fully recover so you can again express the strength you do have.

Some people take a full week and become a slug. If their weight class allows it cramming their pie whole with as much dense food as possible, usually in the form of carbohydrates etc, some have to watch it and make weight. None the less this method on no activity does have its merit and I have used it with some success but I find no activity lead me to yes recover but actually get a bit sore in the joints etc .

What I have found the most beneficial is as many calories as one can allow, increased sleep and rest, as little unneeded activity as you can muster with the exception of a very light and brief session of training each day for about 30 minutes. When I say Light I mean under 25% of your max on any given exercise and only a few reps. 5-10 nothing taxing but just working the full range of motion you have get some movement in and blood flow.

I personally like to break this into some kind of complex usually to kill a few birds with one stone. I may load say 40k on a bar and do a few rows, then 3 DL’s. Then I will clean the bar and do a few front squats, then push press the bar a few times and lower it on my back, do a few back squats, then a few GM’s and ditch the bar, rinse and repeat. Something like this for a few sets. Go in and don’t tax your self at all just a very relaxed session of getting some moving in. I find this in myself ,and those I coach, works best. By the end of the week we have greater recovery, joints feeling like butter and we are itching to rip a house down and put some loads on the bar.

The second , is a deload mixed into your training or event preparation to halt stagnation, and aid further progression. Progress, training again is anything but linear and in order to keep continued progress and not burn out one needs to have weeks where we deload or lower the training stimulus and allow some of the accumulated fatigue to dissipate in order to keep our training at a level we know is required to reach the progress we have set as our goal. If ones performance drops and they continue to PUSH it, over force the required training load son yourself or an athlete in your hands you are asking for nothing but problems that can lead to a greater time down to fully recover or an injury. Don’t kick the dead horse.

Instead I do one of two things:

-Pre schedule a deload every 4-8 weeks, err on the side of caution. Most elite performers don’t halter due to not enough work its due to not enough rest. You must evaluate you, or your client honestly to see which they fit in. If they/you are the type that lives on the razors edge all the time, schedule one every 4 weeks. If you or they are the type that has to be pushed consistently and does give their 100% then more sessions/time will be needed to create an event that will trigger adaptation / progression go 8 weeks for somewhere in between.

-Go by instinct. This is the method I prefer and use but it takes a bit of mastery and maturity and I honestly falter at times. It is tough, more so with yourself, then others to back off. For this method you must evaluate how you feel, your level of energy, enthusiasm, sleep, weight loss, appetite, and most importantly performance on a daily and weekly schedule. For each athlete I have to take it on an individual basis of course, for my self I am getting better at realizing what I need. If I am cramming my pie whole, losing weight, enthusiasm starts to consistently be low and most importantly performance is off on two consecutive sessions its time. I have done enough work to be considered an event that I need to recover from to make progress.

Unlike most of gym population you don’t train MORE, again kicking the dead horse, when you cant reach your usual expected progress,. Do the opposite. Deload. Recover and come back for round two.

For this method there are as many ways to accomplish this as there are ways to make someone scream out your name, but the two I use are as follows:

1: Keep the intensity High and drastically drop the volume.

- this is the method I prefer to use most often. For when I or an athlete is just a bit ran down. When enthusiasm is still there but performance has dropped for a few sessions but not much else has been effected. Sleep is still good, there are no excessive aches, weight loses, etc. Just a nice little recheck to get the ball rolling again.

-For this I simply drop everything but the few foundational exercises, or max effort exercises and we go to one single set for those at 90% of the intensity we have been . All the assistance work, rep work, sweat work etc is dropped in order to lower the volume and aid recovery.

- If last weeks workout was for example was Squat for 5 triples at 500lbs, zerchers for 3 sets of 10 and step ups for 3 sets of ten and a set of heavy ab work. This week we would simply warm up and do 1 triple at 450 and walk away. Do the same for all other session that week get plenty of rest and food.

2: Have Fun and work at about 50-70%

- this method I use for when I or we are zapped. Something happened and got away from us and a few very hard but productive sessions really took their tool. Performance has dropped, we are as enthused as Hugh Hefner at a convent, appetite is shot / or we are losing weight despite our eating big, and sleeping has been effected.

- For this I have tried a vast array of things but the one I found that works better then any, better then even taking a week of is GO have fun. Come to the gym and do what ever it is you find enjoyable and fun. Do things you normally do not do in your training. Play around with machines, Maybe go play a game of basketball instead, or go hiking or kayaking, go play dodge ball. Get outside in the park and throw things and get some fresh air. What ever.

-Get the picture? Train but do something you will have fun with, laugh, smile . You will find that even though you are training technically, just the novelty and the choice of doing what ever activity you will enjoy on a given day instead of doing your usual training you have lost the usual enthusiasm for. will aid your recovery. FUN is a huge recovery aid for you whole body, mind, nervous system, muscles and more. Get out have fun, don’t push things much over 70% and see how you feel in a week. More then likely you’ll be refreshed and ready to roll. If not in an extreme case your not 100% then take another like week and note this for future reference and adjust training accordingly or take a second week like the one I outlined above and then get back to your regularly scheduled program.

That’s that. A look into what I employ, and the reason for it, as far as deloads go. The things I have found to work. Give them a whirl and let me know how they work and by all means, let me know what has worked for you and your clients. I am always looking to learn more.


Originally Published on Staley Training . com