Getting through and getting done | 31 Aug 2012 Training

Getting through, or getting done?

Okay, so maybe not the greatest title. I was lifting today though and I was warming up some overhead work and I was wondering why I was bothering with it. After all, there are going to be exactly zero gains from pushing a 45 lb bar over my head, even for hundreds of reps. It simply will not transfer over to my pressing max. 

So I slapped on some 45s and started lifting. Not a work set, but it didn't feel like a warmup. It was odd, but good. I realized that much of my warmups were simply a "get through" activity. I do them, and that's nice, but they are of minimal importance overall. I can't remember anyone especially strong discussing the utility of warm up sets, or how their warm up made them strong. Almost everyone strong concedes to the idea of a warmup, and I'm not knocking that. I'm just saying let's not conflate useful and necessary. 

I ran down a list of things I'd rather just get through in my mind. See if you can add more.

• Foam rolling and mobility work in general especially when I'm not hurting
• Warmup sets
• Chalky protein shakes
• Family reunions
• In-class worksheets
• Anytime feelings are discussed in depth
• Lines at any place

See, these are things we don't really actively do- we just get through them. Endure for the little while, then we can do the fun thing. It's a spinoff of the Pareto Principle- 20% of the work produces 80% of the results. But if you completely cut out the other 80%, you're robbing yourself of a potential 20%, and who really wants to only ever be at 80%? Plus, especially in lifting, not doing the 80% has the potential to prevent you from hitting the best 20% you can. 

Now, it may seem like I'm saying two different things, but what I'm trying to get across is that the little things don't need to be mindfully done. Sometimes they can be cut out. But you should be initially aware of what you're doing and that it has purpose. If you can't tell someone a good reason why you're doing tri-setted bosu ball dumbbell kickbacks/high pulls/ chest flyes, maybe you shouldn't be doing them. If you are doing mobility work and you've never had a problem touching your butt to your heels, maybe you can do it every other day, or three times a week. 

Getting done though, that's the stuff you want to be perfect at. Strong sets, purposeful movements, and proper recovery are all big components of getting strong. These will slowly but surely add up over time. These are things that drive the results of what you do. Do them perfectly- maybe not with perfect form, but don't neglect doing these things. 

Anyway, I finally got back in them gym after almost a month off. It was great to be back.

Overhead pressing
Strict press- 45 x10, 135 x8, 185 x8, 205 x5
Push press- 225 x3, 245 x1

Shrugs
405 x10
495 x5
585 x3
675 x3
765 x3 (would have done more sets but forgot chalk)

Cable crunches
Spud long strap
130x 3 x15
supersetted with scapular pullups
bw x3 x6

And done. 

Pressing and Accessories

Klokov Press
45 x20
70 x15
95 x8
120 x8
155 x4
185 x3
210 x1
Will be trying for 225 soon. That'll be a fun day.

OHP (strict up until the top few reps)
225 x3
230 x3
235 x3
245 x3

185 x8 x2 (fast as possible in pairs, I dubbed this, the double tap- so 2 x2 4 times)

Cable Shrugs
300 x12
360 x12
400 x12
These have another name, but I forget it. Long hold on last reps

Incline Press Machine
135 x3 x10

Some random hamstring mobility stuff.

Workout 23 July 2012

Squats
135 x10
225 x8
315 x8
405 x5
455 x3
500 x3, 4, 4

I was originally going to go for 20 total reps with 500, but this is still a lot of reps with 500+. I don't think even when I squatted over 600 I did more than 10 reps with 500+. I don't think I could hit 555 x5 right now, but I moved to low bar and my hamstrings and butt are getting more involved, which is helping with the terrible hamstring inflexibility/pain I have been dealing with. Stretching helps, but not that much. I was surprised with how fast my low bar is- 455 was quicker than I was expecting. I did squat some on Saturday- 365 x8 x3- high bar, but slower than 455 was here. Insights into things for me. I was also planning on doing some overhead pressing, but my wrists were destroyed.

TRX Squats s/s with TRX planks
10 reps/ 15 sec
10 reps/ 15 sec
10 reps/ 20 sec

I hate these, hence why I do them.

Jumps
Standing x5
Broad x3

Fin. KB swings are stuck around 400 every other day in 30-50 rep sets. I think I'll go to 200 every day- it will be a balance of some conditioning without destroying my gains.

20 July 2012

Squats
135 x8
225 x8
315 x8
365 x8 x3- these were too slow, done in double set- 3 reps, 6 breaths, 3 reps, rack, then the next set. 4 times through.

KB Swings
650 x62 lb
Yeah, these suck, but I'm starting to be able to crank out sets of 50 with more ease.

19 July 2012

Reverse Grip Incline Bench
45 x15
95 x12
135 x8
185 x3 x3

Face Pull
105 x12
125 x12
145 x3 x12

Klokov Press
135 x6
165 x5
185 x3
205 x1- Wasn't expecting to hit that as easily as I did.

Push Press
225 x3
255 x1

Close Grip Bench
225 x4 x6

Jumps
15 total, regular, broad, box, depth

Shoulders are feeling pretty healthy. I brought my grip in too close on the push presses, nearly destroyed my wrists.

16 July 2012

weighted hamstring stretch
45 x3 x30 sec

klokov presses
45 x20, 15
65 x12

deadlifts
185 x10
275 x5
365 x5
455 x1
545 x1
My hamstrings are the real limit right now- they're tighter than they've ever been. Doing lots to try and up mobility.

dimel deadlifts
135 x3 x8

lots of stretching.

12 July 2012 Workout

Man, pressing is killer after almost a month off. Never gonna let that one happen again.

klokov presses
45 x15
65 x15
80 x12
95 x10
115 x3 x8
sticking to higher reps here until I get this pattern down. A little funky, but it works

z-presses w/ fat grips
115 x5
125 x3
135 x6 x3
lower reps, higher sets. Goal is to hit 250 x6 x3 by the end of the year (with fat grips)

reverse flyes
20 x3 x15

ropes
2 rounds of 30 seconds dueling ropes


Also, have done around 1800 kb swings with the 62 lber in the past three days. It's killer.

Updates 10 July 2012

10 July 2012- Squatting

jump squats
135 x5
225x5
squats 
315 x8
405 x5
495 x3
545x1
I was going to do more with 545, but I was trying to stay unbelted, and I don't think a second rep would have gone well. Next week I'll try and get in a double, maybe 3 singles with 545
jumps
box x5
broad x5
depth x3
trx planks
20 sec- out front, semi superman
30 sec- hands by side, more of a pushup

I'm also doing a lot of kb swings- just got a 62 lb one for cheap. Doing them for conditioning/ back rehab. Helping a lot. I don't think I'll squat over 600 until this fall when I'm back in a gym with bars that can actually handle that kind of weight.

Also, I wanted to take time and endorse the Swole at Every Height Blog . I am an avid support of the SAEH movement. Swole is not a choice- it is who I am.

Accessory to the Crime 3: Overthinking and Learning

Accessory work is probably the least important part of your program.

Just needed to get that out of the way, but that doesn't mean that it's not something you should do. Accessory lifts can enhance the training stimulus and create a training load that allows for progression. However, as much as I love weak-point examination and form evaluation that doesn't mean that you necessarily need to add in a special exercise in that regard. Odds are you simply need to practice the lift more.

Whether you're actually training for powerlifting or just training to be awesome, you need to be willing to drop out the ideas you have about accessory work. Jim Wendler has a template to go along with 5/3/1 which consists of only doing the 5/3/1 lifts then getting out of the gym. I think it's a great idea for people to break their addiction with the petty lifts. The Boring but Big program is a similar idea that helps add volume to the program while not branching out into any exotic and probably less useful lifts.

So, in light of this bare-bones approach, and with some inspiration from the Boring but Big template, I've been playing around with a few templates. There's a two-day and a four-day template that have worked very well.

Two-day template


Day 1:
Squat- warmup, work up to a 5 rep-max
Deadlift pattern- I like regular deads, trap bar deads, or dimel deads. Start week 1 with something light, and go  5 sets of 5
Bench- warmup, work up to 5 rep-max
Overhead Press pattern- start light, go 5 x10

Day 2:
Overhead Press- warmup, work up to 5 rep-max
Bench pattern: Flat, incline, dumbbell, etc, start light and try 5 sets of 10
Deadlift- warmup, work up to a 5 rep-max
Squat pattern- try pause squats, close stance squats, box squats, etc. 5 x10

For progression, add 5-20 lbs to the pattern movements every week. Also, every week you want to change to attempting a different rep max- the simplest is a 5/3/1, but you could do any permutation of reps, though I wouldn't go for a 55 rep max or anything like that. I also think that with the deadlift pattern you can add more sets- 5x10 being the goal. I just hate high rep deads, and it's why I do them.

Now, with the rep maxes, you may wonder how to go for them. What I would suggest is choosing a lift to focus on each cycle, and hitting it hard, being super aggressive. So if you chose squats and your prior 5 rep-max was 315, you try and get 365 for a new 5 rep-max, and you go for it- don't rack the bar until you get 5 reps. Then go hard for the next two weeks with aggressive 3 and 1 rep max lifts.

The four day template is just the two-day template but each lift and it's similar pattern is done on a different day. That's two lifts every day, 4 days a week. It gets you in and out quickly, and keeps you focused on the important things. The only other things you're allowed to do on this program are short, simple mobility work, and conditioning. I recommend walking- an hour a day 5-7 days a week if you're walking. Walking is great, but if you would rather do the prowler/ hill sprints/ battle ropes or whatever you like, add them in once or twice a week.

Bellsheiko Results

So, after dropping some weight while running two cycles of the Bellsheiko bench program, I did a write up over on powerliftingmind.com. Go ahead and read it- Ryan is a strong, strong dude, and thanks to this program I'v completely redesigned my approach to bench training.

A few things:

I'm finishing this semester, so I'm going to have some free time to write another blog post about accessory work (I have 3-5 more potentially).
I'm going back to Texas this summer to work, which is awesome.
I'm eyeing a couple competitions in Texas this summer which I will hopefully post an elite total. We'll see, it'll be tough, but possible.
I'm mixing in more strongman training to up my conditioning and general strength, I think it's working.

So, exciting things in the future.