IMPORTANT

Don't fall for that crap that people are peddling on the message boards, in magazines or on TV. Get your shit in order, and get your training in order. Start kicking ass, and take out the crap that doesn't matter. Start doing and believing in the stuff that works, and do it today and forever. You want science and studies? Fuck you, I've got scars and blood and vomit.

This is a call to arms for some of you. It is for me too. Stop all the things that make you a pussy and steal your energy. Get your life back. 

- Jim Wendler

Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - Rest and Grip Work

I'm. SORE. It feels really great.

Gripper work with the BB SA
Right - 5 x 10
Left - 5 x 5

Monday, July 29, 2013 - Squats @ method

Back to the gym.  Everyone was so welcoming and kind.  It felt great.

Back Squat
bar x 5 x 2
135 x 5 x 2
165 x 5
195 x 5
205 x 5
225 x 3 x 5
205 x 3 x 5

Sunday, July 28, 2013 - A New Beginning

Been a long, long while. I'm not going to talk about the past. Just looking to the future. Baby steps for now...

10x5 Pushups
20x5 Slingshot Pushups
Back rollouts and shoulder work

Wednesday, March 21, 2012 - Bench Press

Day 2 of the 30in30. I have included a video of a 202.5 working set using my Metal Militia setup and tracking the bar from the top of my stomach to about over my chin. I'm pleased with the consistancy of the bar path and the fact my elbows don't go below parallel. I'm going to continue to work on my setup and arch. I felt strong with this form as well.

Bench Press
Bar x 5, Bar x 5, 135x5, 135x5, 135x5, 155x5, 175x5, 195x5, 202.5x3, 202.5x3

KB Banded Axle Bench Press
95x5, 95x5, 95x5

Deadhang Chinup
6, 6, 6, 6

Monday, March 19, 2012 - Bench Press

Day one of the 30in30. For personal information I will be completing all of the training with my index finger on the power ring, a closer grip but not so close that I lose carry over.

Shoulder mob before and after the workout.

Bench Press
Bar x 10, 135x10, 155x5, 175x5, 185x3, 185x3, 185x3

Skull Crushers with straight bar
75x10, 75x10

Blue Band Tri Pushdowns
10, 10, 10

Deadhang Chinups
5, 5, 5

Metal Militia

I picked up a ton of powerlifting gear from a retiring bench press specialist in Colorado Springs. One thing he gave me was a Las Vegas Bench Press seminar DVD. I have already watched it twice and will watch it a few more times. I figure once I start dreaming about it at night I will have it down.

The setup and actual bar path were something I wasn't doing and I will incorporate this in my training. I have tried it twice now and I really like it. I will include video from every workout to make sure I am progressing on form as well as weight.

Here is a video of some of the NY Metal Militia crew training.

www.wannabebig.com - Chris Mason 30 in 30

Since I have hurt my back and can't squat or deadlift right now I figured I would work around the problem and focus on my bench press. I tried Chris Mason's 30in30 program last year and had some success taking my raw bench to 305. I'm not near that now so I based the program off of a 270 1RM. 270 is something that I can hit easily and figured basing the program off of that would be a good start and not beat myself up too much as the program progresses.

Everything on the 30in30 can be found HERE.

Below is a snapshot of the program.

Monday
•
Bench Press - 3 x 65% x 3 reps
Skull Crushers - 2 x 10
Triceps Pushdowns – 1 x 10
Squat – 2 x 5
Lat Pulldown (curl grip) – 2 x 10
Calf Raise – 2 x 10, to failure
Machine Ab-Crunch – 2 x 10, to failure

Wednesday
•
Bench Press – 2 x 75% x 3 reps
Triceps Pushdown – 1 x 10
Deadlift - 2 x 3
Ab-Crunch – 2 x 10, to failure

Friday
•
Bench Press – 2 x 85% x 2 reps
Dumbbell Bench Press - 1 x 30 (or more reps, to failure)
Skull Crushers – 2 x 8
Triceps Pushdowns – 1 x 10
Leg Press – 2 x 6
Lat Pulldown (curl grip) – 2 x 10
Calf Raise – 2 x 10, to failure
Ab-Crunch – 2 x 10, to failure


Training points - For everything other than the bench work, try to progress by performing 1 more rep, or the same number of reps with a small increase in the resistance each session. Again, stop 1-2 reps short of failure unless otherwise noted.

Follow this schedule exactly for week 1. Then, for weeks 2 and on, you should increase the loads used for benching by 5 lbs per set (per day) if you’re starting 1RM is 150 lbs or less. If your starting 1RM is 155 – 295 lbs, use 10 lbs per set. For 300 – 395 lbs increase the loads by 10 lbs per set for the Monday and Wednesday sessions, and 15 lbs for the Friday sessions.

Finally, if you’re starting 1RM is 400 lbs or more, use a 15 lbs increase for the Monday and Wednesday workouts, and 20 lbs for Fridays.

Beginning Bench Press = 270 lbs

Week 1
•
Monday – 270 x 65% = 175 lbs
Wednesday – 270 x 75% = 202.5 lbs
Friday – 270 x 85% = 229.5 lbs

Week 2
•
Monday – 175 + 10 = 185 lbs
Wednesday – 202.5 + 10 = 212.5 lbs
Friday – 230 + 10 = 240 lbs

Week 3
•
Monday – 185 + 10 = 195 lbs
Wednesday – 212.5 + 10 = 222.5 lbs
Friday – 240 + 10 = 250 lbs

Week 4
•
Monday – 195 + 10 = 205 lbs
Wednesday – 222.5 + 10 = 232.5 lbs
Friday – 250 + 10 = 260 lbs

Week 5
•
Monday – 205 + 10 = 215 lbs
Wednesday – 232.5 + 10 = 242.5 lbs
Friday – 260 + 10 = 270 lbs

Week 6
•
Monday – 215 + 10 = 225 lbs
Wednesday – 242.5 + 10 = 252.5 lbs
Friday – 270 + 10 = 280 lbs

First Post of 2012 - BENCH PRESS

Wow, the first post of 2012. It has been a wild ride this year that's for sure. Hopefully things get better soon. Here is a good start though...

These are the best videos on Bench Pressing out there. I wanted these all in one place so I can access them in the future.

Jim Steel and Squats

Some random ideas right now regarding programming after spending a little time on Jim Steel's blog.

85% 60 total reps
93% 10 x 1
85% for 5x5
95% for 6 sets of 1

week 1: 80% 5x2, 60% x 12
week 2: 85% 5x2, 65% x 12
week 3: 80% x 2, 85% x 2, 90% 2x1, 80% 4x3, 65% x 12
week 4: 80% x 2, 85% x 2, 90% x 1, 95% x 1, 70% x 10
week 5: 60% x 5, 70% x 2, 80% x 2, 90% x 1, 100% 2x1, 60% x 12

Kirk Karwoski Training Routine

I found this at www.basbarbell.blogspot.com. This is Jim Steel's personal site and is chalk full of information, very much worth checking out.

The full article from Jim can be found here at:

http://basbarbell.blogspot.com/2011/10/kirk-karwoski-training-routine.html

Kirk's training routine.

Day 1- Monday- Squat- working up to a heavy set. He would cycle 8's for awhile, then 5's, then 3's and 2's as the weeks went on. Because he was so strong, his volume was still pretty high, and the tonnage was also. Kirk would hit some hack squats after squatting, but only if his knees werent bothering him. Basically, he would squat and leave.

Day 2- Tuesday- Arms- close grip bench press, ez curls, db curls. Heavy on all of this. He cycled the close grip and worked HEAVY on the db curls, strict with the 80's and up.

Day 3-Thursday- Deadlift- same kind of cycling as the squat, but usually lower reps becuase of grip issues. Lots of doubles and triples here. He then would do Kirk Shrugs. They were for his grip and trap development. He also at times, did some t-bar rows, focusing on squeezing at the top. He felt like they contributed to his back development.

Day 4- Saturday- Bench Press- lots of sets of 5 here, heavy and pausing. Eventually, before a meet, he would do heavy doubles and singles.
Incline press- heavy sets of 5 here
Lateral raises- he would work these on a machine, just a few sets.

No pressing, lat pulls, pushdowns dips, etc. He just liked barbells, and training heavy.

Time to start working on intensity...

A workout I missed posting - Rack Pulls.

This one was done the week of November 13th. Not sure what day it was though. It was a fun one. This was the first time I did knee high rack pulls. It was a BLAST!!!

Deadlift (Speed Pulls)
135x5, 225x5, 275x3, 275x3, 275x3, 275x3, 275x3, 275x3, 275x3, 275x3, 275x3, 275x3

Rack Pulls (Just above the knee)
135x3, 225x3, 315x3, 405x3, 495x3, 545x3, 585x3, 585x3, 585x3, 585x3, 585x3, 585x3

Tuesday, November 29, 2011 - SSB Smolov Day 6

SSB Squats
Bar x 10, 160x5, 210x5, 240x5, 270x1, 300x5, 300x5, 300x5, 300x5, 300x5, 320x1, 340x1, 360x1

Bench Leg Raises x 100

Monday, November 28, 2011 - SSB Smolov Day 5

SSB Squats
Bar x 10, 160x5, 210x5, 240x5, 265x5, 280x9, 280x9, 290x9, 290x9

Rhino Squats/Deadlift (I just had to try these and they are amazing!)
SSB x 110 + Bar x 135 x 5

1000m Row - 3:45

Saturday, November 26, 2011 - SSB Smolov Day 4

SSB Squats
Bar x 10, 160x5, 210x3, 240x3, 280x3, 297.5x1, 315x3, 315x3, 315x3, 315x3, 315x3, 315x3, 315x3, 315x3, 315x3, 315x3

Thursday, November 24, 2011 - SSB Smolov Day 3

SSB Squats
Bar x 10, 160x5, 210x5, 260x5, 295x5, 295x5, 295x5, 295x5, 295x5, 295x5, 295x5

Tuesday, November 22, 2011 - SSB Smolov Day 2

SSB Squats
Bar x 10, 160x5, 210x5, 240x3, 280x7, 280x7, 280x7, 280x7, 280x7

Russian Twist - 25x10x2

Overhead Press
45x12, 95x5, 115x5, 135x5, 155x7, 175x1

Monday, November 21, 2011 - SSB Smolov Day 1

Ryan and I decided to kick off a cycle of Smolov using the Safety Squat Bar. I'm working off of a 370 1RM. I have a 39o with it but since it's the SSB and Smolov I dumped 20 pounds of the max for programming.

SSB Squats
Bar x 10, 160x5, 230x5, 260x9, 260x9, 260x9, 260x9

Medball Situps x 50

Bench Leg Raise x 40

KB Rows x 10

Saturday, November 19, 2011 - Turkey Trot

I went to the Turkey Trot competition to support the two method teams. What a blast and a great showing by method.