My Gains since August

Last time I did measurements was in the summer and here is my progress.

Then(Aug 4th):
weight: 285
Calves at 19.25"
Biceps: R-19.5/L-18.5
Chest 51"
Butt 51"
Forearm: 15"
Thigh: R-30" L-29"
Neck: 18.5"


Now:
Weight: 310 (bodyfat only up .5%)
Calves: 19.5"
Biceps: R-19.75"/L-19"
Chest 54" (3" gain holy shit)
Butt: 52.5"
Neck: 18.75"
Thigh: 32.5"
Forearm: 15.5"

Not bad. I like good, solid, steady gains. I'm really impressed with my chest measurement, but I guess that is what hapens when you actually train your upper body.


Yesterday was an accessory day, so I just did:

Power Jerks
up to 225x3

Single Arm Power Snatch
worked up to 130x3

Finished with tris and hypers

PRs and Compliments

Today was a pretty good day for me. I hit PRs and got a great compliment. My intern for the past few months came in today to drop some stuff off. He saw me in the Personal Training room and came in to say bye. I was told that he learned more from me in the last four months than he did the entire time in college. That makes me feel that I'm doing the right thing.

Trap Bar Deadlift
135 x some
225x5
315x5
405x3
455x3
495x3
545x3(Rep PR!!!)

Single Arm Snatch
worked up to 130x3

Seated Box Jumps
Hit a PR here too, but I can't put up a height because I didn't take the time to measure it.

I finished with footwork drills for throwing and called it a day.

Bad Squats and Good Mornings...

Today has been hellacious to say the least. Water pump went out last night so I had to get up early to shower at the gym. Wake up was 3:45am and the drive into work was 19 degrees. Oh yeah, you read that right, 19 degrees in FLORIDA, its killing me.

Started seeing clients at 6am, had a straight run of them until 11am, headed over to see my son's end of the year Christmas Show thingy-majigger. First I was late, then as I'm walking up my son sees me and freaks out. He starts crying and the whole nine yards. Christmas thing gets over, then we go to the mall to go see Santa and he wants nothing to do with it. Picture was bad, not to mention I make Santa look like the size of an elf in the picture. Rushed back to work, saw one more client, trained, then saw my last client of the day. I was supposed to see two more, but I've got to get the pump fixed before sundown.

TRAINING:

Squats
worked up to 465x1. I planned on doing 3 here, but the weight felt shifty and I wasn't feeling it. I called it a day and moved onto supplementary lifts.

Good Mornings:
135x5
225x5
275x5
315x5(added Belt)
365x5
405x5 (Rep PR!!!)

At least I got some quality Good Mornings in after the crap squats I did.I had to go change and see one last client and did some Lunges with her to finish up the day.

Notice how I did not mention eating anything? Yeah, I did not, so that's probably why I felt like garbage on the squats. Now I'm gonna go fix the pump and try to eat.

Deadlift PR, Short Workouts, and Hematomas

Had a great weekend with the wife. Awesome campsite, awesome state park, tons of wildlife, and an overall great time. We ended up spending a lot of time walking around, shooting the shit, and just enjoying each other's company. This weekend was the first time that I have actually felt hungry for the first time in weeks, so I hope my body is finally back in agreement with me.

I didn't make enough time to train today, so I hit up my main lift and called it a day, for more than one reason. Last week I bit it on a box jump. We are talking hematoma, good sized gash, scraped shin, the whole nine yards. It is the first time I've missed a box jump and man, did I pay the piper for it.

Conventional Stance Deadlift
135x10 or so
225x5
275x3
315x3
365x3
405x3(added belt) On the descent after the first rep I ran the bar down my shin, re-injuring the spot and making it worse. Of course, it was only the right shin.
465x1(planned on 3 here, but the shin was REALLY throbbing)
495x1
515x1(10 lb PR!!!)

I always feel like I have more, but I am totally happy with 5 and 10lbs here and there. I don't want to get in the habit of missing lifts. After this I called it a day. I could have fit in my Supplementary Exercise, but after re-injuring the shin, I called it quits and hit the cold plunge.

I'm going to ice as much as I can for the shin, then later tonight I'm going to try and evacuate some of the blood. I have way more swelling than I am comfortable with. This was really pointed out to me when I wore a pair of socks close to the injury and there was a 1/2" dent from the compression of the sock. Trip to the pharmacy and the problem will be solved.

4th Anniversary

4 years ago today my wife and I were married. It sure doesn't feel like 4 years. Hell, it feels just like yesterday that my son was born and that was 2 1/2 years ago. Just like any other relationship, there have been ups and downs. Thankfully, the ups have been far superior to the downs.

She has stuck with me through the end of my degree when I was working two jobs, when I was working so much I slept in my truck two nights out of every week, and through the 14 hour work days. She is the one who has to hear me complain about bad training days, the nagging injuries, and my bad mood when I get home. It is a suprise that she hasn't smothered me in my sleep.

For her anniversary gift she wanted to go camping (I hit the jackpot, right?). So we are going to be going to one of the State Parks here in North-Central Florida to spend the next few days together. I'm excited about going swimming and I'm sure she'll want to go walk on the nature trails. I'll chalk the walking up to GPP. You're probably thinking, "What is this jackass doing swimming in the middle of December?" My answer. Natural springs. These things stay 72 degrees year round, so this will feel warmer than the air temperature. Now when I get out it'll be a different story, but I'm feeling tough enough to be dumb.

Now to go pick up the flowers from the florist and I'm on my way home to finish packing. I'm checking out for the weekend

Sticking With a Program

I see, over and over again, people switching their programming up way too soon. Everyone wants to gain as much as they can as far as size, weights, etc... but no one wants to stick with a program for longer than a month. We live in a society where everything is instant and when we don't get instant results in the gym we throw a hissy fit and switch it up because, "Its a problem with the program". I say bollocks, you being a gigantic weenie is the reason you are not getting results.

For the past year I adhered to the Conjugate Method of training(Notice I didn't say Westside here). You read that right, I followed the same exact protocol for an entire year and saw continuous results. Traditional/Linear Periodization says that you have to switch up training styles every 4-6 weeks to see results and I'm calling shenanigans. Now here is where people who hold the certifying bodies up as the gold standard are going to get butt hurt.

Let me ask you one question, "If your goal is to gain strength, what happens to your strength when you switch back to an "Endurance" phase or even a "Hypertrophy" phase?" It is going to go to crap. Stick with your programming longer. Now I'm not saying stick with a 5x5 for the rest of your life. Give your programming some time, seek the advice of people that are bigger, faster, and stronger than you. Success leaves trails, so follow them. Which leads me to my next point...

When seeking the advice of someone that has written programming for you, take it as it is. I see people trying to change up protocols that are tried and true all the time. If you write your own programming, by all means change it up. Let us take Jim Wendler's 5/3/1 into account here. Jim gets bombarded every friggin' day about questions about changing up his programming. He has written the program a certain way for a reason, he knows what he is talking about. If you think you're such a training guru write your own damned program and sell it. Give the programming a chance, wait three months, then if you feel as if the programming is inadequate, or there is something you want to change about it, do it! Wait another three months and compare the results to the previous training cycle's. If they are not as good as before, then you know where you went wrong.

Find what works for you. There is no golden standard when it comes to one method being vastly superior to another. Some people get better results from the Westside Template, others do better on 5/3/1. Hell, Doug Hepburn used his Program A/Program B protocol for years before he switched it up. Every person is different. If you are built to be explosive, using the Conjugate Method might not do you all that much good, but if you are slow but strong, the Dynamic Effort Day will do you some good.

All in all, JUST BE PATIENT. It took Andy Bolton almost three years to put 5 lbs on his deadlift when going from 1003 to 1008. You keep that in mind and you'll do fine.

Strength/Power Compounds and Inspiration

Yesterday we had our monthly staff meeting which is comprised of Exercise/Housekeeping/Education. We had some guy come in from a equipment company trying to give us a workout with his new equipment. Originally he was supposed to workout the entire staff for an hour, but could not get all the equipment he needed. So then it rested on my shoulders to take half of the Personal Trainers for half of the hour while he wroked with the other half. I decided to use this opportunity to show how bright my team was, so in our meeting we came up with a 30minute ass kicking of a workout. Now mind you, we have trainers that do corrective exercise, to "functional" trainers, and even a couple of animals. Here is how it panned out.

All done with a partner:
Deadlift 6 reps
Tuck Jumps 20 reps
The rest period was however long it took your partner to complete the set. You had to complete 3 total rounds. Of course, I pair up with a guy that has springs for legs and endurance for days. I seriously got 60s of rest between sets if I was lucky.

My weight broke down like this
405x6 + 20 Tuck Jumps
455x6 + 20 Tuck Jumps
495x3 + 20 Slow Tuck jumps
I just did not have the gas in the tank with those short rest intervals so I had to call it at 3 reps at 495

The next compound was upper body based and was also done with a partner:
Dumbbell Floor Press 8 reps
Plyo Pushups 20 reps

These were torture. I don't Bench Press that often. It doesn't carry over to my sport and I just don't care how much I Bench Press. The Incline and the Overhead Press are what I implement in my training, so these blew.

After this we all went and played around with the new equipment that was described as being functional. ***NOTE***: If you are trying to sell me something and you want to seem legitimate, don't use the word functional. When someone uses the word functional when describing their exercise style or the equipment they are trying to sell, I immediately shut off. Functional has become this "hot" word in the industry and I hate it. The term has become so bastardized and so trendy that just hearing the word makes my stomach want to turn.

INSPIRATION:

We have a guy on our team by the name of Andy and he is a phenomenal asset. He has been in tons of gyms, has more experience than 95% of our trainers, and is in better shape than most people half his age. Yesterday he gave a presentation on inspiration. He talked about sources of inspiration that he draws from, went over the hierarchy of needs and a ton of other stuff. He told a story of Marine who was involved in a parachtuting accident that left him with a set of 12" rods on either side of his spine, a cage on the spine, and did not have the ability to walk. He wanted to stay in the Marines, so he started to walk with a walker, then went to canes, then to shuffling. Within a year he was able to pass his Marine Corps PFT and just over three years later ran a marathon.

I liked the story, but personally I don't get too excited about running. If you fall in the same boat, you should look to Jason Pegg and Bob Youngs for some inspiration. Sgt. Pegg was injured in an IED blast in Afghanistan that basically left him with no left elbow. He spent 18 months in Walter Reed Medical Center as a result of his injuries. Now he Squats 900+ and Deadlifts 700+.

Bob Youngs was diagnosed with Leukemia and during his battle he was read his last rights and his family was told that he would not make it through the night, twice. Bob was an Elite class powerlifter and went from one of the strongest men around to someone who could barely support his own bodyweight. His book Extraordinary Resolve details the experience. If you want more info I'll put the links at the end.


Links:

Jason Pegg's Log:
http://asp.elitefts.com/qa/training-logs.asp?tid=173&__N=The 1000lbs Pursuit

Bob Youngs' Log:
http://asp.elitefts.com/qa/training-logs.asp?tid=61&__N=Bob Youngs

Extraordinary Resolve:
http://www.flexcart.com/members/elitefts/default.asp?m=PD&cid=114&pid=3646

Putting the "Nut" in Nutrition and Squat PR

http://adamsadmonitions.blogspot.com/

You should check this blog out. It is IFBB Pro and GNC Sponsored Athlete Michelle Adam's blog. This woman knows what she is talking about when it comes to nutrition. She has been a huge influence on my thoughts on nutrition and is a veritable encyclopedia of nutrition and supplement knowledge. The best part about it? She spits it as plain and as simple as possible, plus she is easy on the eyes.


Ahhhh, the Christmas season is here with jackasses who waited until the last minute to get things and people in a huge rush that ruin your good mood. Thankfully, I have a wife that stays on top of things and we have the vast majority of our Christmas stuff done already. I just got my last few thing ordered and ready to go, gotta love free 2-day shipping.

I even ordered myself a little something a CD from both Sleep and Electric Wizard. I love this stuff, it is the deepest, nastiest, thickest metal you could ever wish for and I love it. Imagine someone took toxic sludge and poured it over the guitar and bass strings, and that is the music you get out of Sleep and Electric Wizard. Apparently this is the kind of music potheads like, whatever. I think it just sounds good.

Training 11/6/10

Squats
Bar x a few
135x10
225x5
315x5
365x5
405x5(added belt)
455x3(added wraps)Rep PR!!!

I need some new knee wraps, so if anyone has some suggestions, I'm more than open to them. Called it quits after that beacause of lack of time.

Being Effective vs Showing Off

One of the things that has perplexed me throughout my career as a Personal Trainer is the use of flashy exercise rather than using effective exercise. Now I'm all for exposure, it was one of the things that made me as busy as I am now. But, the exposure that I used was letting others see me workout. I used Zercher Squats, Box Jumps, Heavy Squats and Deadlifts. Tell me, which one of those doesn't transfer over to the sports that I compete in?

I'm talking about the Burpees with a BOSU Ball in the hand, or the "18 million part to get one rep" kettlebell exercises. Next time you are doing an exercise, ask yourself, "Why am I doing this?". If you are working with someone who does your programming, like a Personal Trainer, or even a more experienced friend, ask them that question. If they can't come up with a better answer than, "Oh, because its hard as hell." or "This is going to work your biceps." you need to find someone else to do your programming. Everything you do, or someone has you do should tie in DIRECTLY with your goals. Other wise they, or you are just trying to show off.

I know the first argument is going to be, "Well I'm training metabolically!". Guess what smart guy? When training metabolically it doesn't take kettlebells, sandbags, and BOSU Balls. If you can't have your ass kicked with your own bodyweight in a metabolic sense, you need to find another way to train. Sprint up hills, do Tabata work, pick 5 bodyweight exercises and do them for 60 seconds each back to back.

The next argument is going to be, "Matt, you Squat and Deadlift with 400+ lbs almost every time you're in the gym, isn't that just showing off?" or "Matt, why are you doing all those Box Jumps? They're just for show." When I compete I use maximal effort with every throw and I have to be explosive, therfore my training should reflect the way I compete.

It drives me up the wall to see some people train ther clients in a "flashy" manner and not get them results. So the next time you see someone standing on a BOSU having a medicine ball thrown at them, then doing a woodchop and throwing the medicine ball back, don't pay them any attention. That's all they are there for anyway-attention, not getting bigger, or faster, or stronger.

RANT DONE

Learning Lessons the Hard Way and My Body Hating Me

It is officially day 3 of my deload week and I still feel like shit. I'm sore, I don't feel like eating and no matter matter how much sleep I get, I'm exhausted. Last night I felt like eating, but this was after going through the entire day of drinking nothing but water and an energy drink. So today I'm going to do some SMR and call it a day. If you have never used a Yamuna Ball for SMR you should. Just have someone run you through how to use it and it works better than a foam roll most of the time.

I am going to have to start putting deload weeks into my programming. This is the lesson I'm learning the hard way. It used to be that I'd only deload when I felt problems coming on, but this time I got hit with it out of nowhere. This past year has been a roller coaster with big highs and equally deep lows, but if I'm gonna push my body this way I have to suck it up and get it done.

Since it has been officially one year since I was able to start lifting heavy here is the progress

Squat: 225=>500 +275
Deadlift: 315=>505 +190
Power Press: 185=>275 +90 (without actually putting Power Presses in the programming)
Power Clean: 225=>285 +60 (without actually putting Power Cleans in the programming)
Power Snatch (insert joke here): ?=>225
Single Arm Snatch: 90=> 130x3

Not too shabby for one year and the back of a 100 year old woman