Training Log - Inspired by Evo

Yea, There really needs to be a "Certification of Useable Training Techniques" - CUTT. :D It's a start.

Got back from Atlanta. What a great trip. Visited one of my friends. He has this sweet loft downtown. It used to be an old cotton mill. Really, REALLY cool place. My wife sure knows how to pick a hotel. We had a great room, full kitchen, the bedroom was round (I mean perfectly round) with windows on 3 sides, great views of the city. Ate at the Brazillian Steak House. (best place ever) Also at at The Vortex, they have really good burgers.

Any how, I am very recovered and had a great training day. Today was a max squat day.

1. Low Box Squat (12.5") - I used a new attachment that they built over the weekend. The box hooks right on the power rack, really one of the best ideas I have ever seen. It can be adjusted in 1" incriments. Very cool. They watched me to see how everything worked out. Did sets of 1 -
  1. 45
  2. 135
  3. 185
  4. 225
  5. 275
  6. 315
  7. 365
  8. 405
Felt good. Went up till it felt good. Still very strong reps though. Nothing too "maximal" yet.

2. Zercher Squats - Off the same 12.5" box. 5 sets 6 reps
  1. 135
  2. 185
  3. 185
  4. 185
  5. 185

The we were haveing this great discussion about how to hang the bar off of your back with this fat strap and do zerchers or good mornings. So -

3. Good Mornings - Bar hanging from a fat strap that I had hanging around my traps. Did sets of 6.
  1. 135
  2. 185
  3. 225
  4. 225
  5. 225
What a great exercise. Felt my spinal erectors like crazy since the bar swings away from the body at the bottom. (about 2 feet away) Felt like a million bucks after that.

4. Reverse Hypers - Stayed lighter, used it as more a recovery exercise than a work exercise. 3 sets 10 reps 150lbs.
5. Banded abs on the glute hame raise. Used the purple band. 3 sets of 10 reps. Ripped my abs to shreds. We discussed that we should all do more abs exercises using the bands.

6. Sled drag. 150lbs. 3 trips down and back pulling backwards. 3 trips down and back pulling forwards with a stiff leg style march. Sled feels a lot better this week than last week. Definitly getting in better shape.

All in all this was a great workout. I loved the new box, and the good mornings with the strap. My spinal erectors are lighting up as I sit on my theraball typing this. Is sign of good training day.
 
Speed press day. Felt good, Spinal erectors are sore as get out though, So -

3 sets 10 reps reverse hype. Felt much better after that. Ready to train.

1. Speed Bench - Used a fat bar, easier on the shoulders and elbows. Used 155 lbs. sets of three. Used the Tendo, kept speed in the mid .7 mps range. Stopped after 2 sets in a row of the low .7 mps. Felt good.

2. DB High Incline Press. Bench was about 15 degrees from straight up and down. Did sets of 10.
  1. 25
  2. 40
  3. 60
  4. 85
  5. 85
This felt ok. DB's will take some getting used to again.

3. Hammer Skulls - 4 sets 10 reps 40 lbs DB
4. Hammer Curls - 4 sets 10 reps 40 lbs DB

4. Seated Iso Cable Row - 4 sets 10 reps - 225, 250, 275, 275
5. Sit-Ups Hangin' of the GHR - 4 sets 10 reps

6. Lat pulldown - 3 sets 10 reps, using different grips on whatever bar was there. 130, 150, 150.
7. Reverse Flys - 3 sets 10 reps, 20 lb DB.

Hunted down the resident flexibility / KB expert. She took me through some stretches for the QL. (great inprovement in soreness in like 5 min) This was exactly what I needed.

Today felt pretty good. Sore from yesterday. But ya gotta do the work when feelin' good.

PWO - The Usual.

Gym Conversation -

1.Upon waking, what is the main goal of the day? Avoid severe head injury.

2. Using the Tendo to measure speed. How to choose the best speeds to train. Using with snatches & cleans.

3. For the most part, parents of student athletes are a pain in the AZZ. Therefore they should not be allowed to attend practices.
 
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Speed squat day.

1. Box Squat - 225lbs sets of 2. Used the Tendo to measure speed. Kept it in the mid .7 mps range. did sets till I hit 90% of my fastest lift.

2. GHR - 4 sets 10 reps

3. Walking Lunges - no weight, I lunged the length of the indoor turf. Don't know how far? 20 yards or so?

4. Reverse Hyper - Stayed lighter, lotta' back got done on monday. 3 sets 10 reps, 150lbs
5. Banded abs on the GHR - 3 sets 10 reps
6. Land Mine Rotations - 3 sets 10 reps

This was a pretty good day. Sore from the lifting on monday. Not so much now. Good workout often clears up the ol' soreness.

PWO - the usual

Gym Conversation -

1. Restless Leg Syndrome???? Are we just making things up so we can feed people drugs????

2. Speed manipulation on the squat. We thought that a rotation of some sort between mid .7, .8, and .9. That way speed will be trained with varying weights.

I watched some KB training. I will try some of this soon enough. Seems like really good for core, stability, and general conditioning.
 
Max press day.

1. Log Clean and Press - worked up to 206lbs. It was a very smooth rep. I stopped, Core and Shoulders don't feel like they have enough stability yet to push very hard. So -

2. SA Banded KB Bench press - 52lbs. 3 sets 10 reps

3. SA Banded KB Overhead press - 45 lbs. 3 sets 10 reps

4. Pull-Ups - 5 sets 5 reps. Varied the grips.
5. Ab-Rolly-KB-Thingy - It is a technical term. Part of the CUTT Certification.:D Did 4 sets 10 reps.

6. Banded GHR Abs - 3 sets 10 reps

I trained grip with the CoC. Used the fat ones and the regular ones. Grip Training may get added in more.

PWO - the usual

Gym Conversation - not much entertaining stuff today.
 
Max low body day.

1. Deadlifts - worked up to a single, 200kg. This felt tighter, stronger, and faster than the last time I did deads.

2. Overhead Squat - I did 4 sets 0f 5 reps.
  1. bar
  2. 40kg
  3. 50kg
  4. 60kg
  5. 60kg
Not bad for the first time doing them. Shoulder flexibility was good, core training has been going well.

3. Snatch Drops - 4 sets 5 reps
  1. 40kg
  2. 50kg
  3. 60kg
  4. 60kg
This also went well. My drop was pretty fast. I held tight at the bottom for a second or so before squatting up.

4. Snatch Complex - 5 reps each. RDL, Bent Row, High Pull, Hang Snatch, Overhead Squat, Good Morning, Bent Row. All done with a snatch grip and never putting the bar down. I did 3 sets.
  1. 55lbs
  2. 65lbs
  3. 75lbs
This is always fatiguing, I felt pretty good though. Definitely in ok condition. Still have a bit to go though.

5. GHR - 3 sets 10 reps using mini-band.
6. GHR Band Abs - 3 sets 10 reps. Used purple band for first 2 sets. Green for the last. (will only use green next time)

7. Rev Hyp - 3 sets 10 reps. 150lbs, 200lbs, 250lbs.
8. KB Side bends - 3 sets 10 reps. 45lbs

Today was a pretty good day. I feel that my core strength and stability is really coming along. I also feel That my shoulder stability will be where I need it to bee soon. All in all, things are heading in the right direction.

PWO - The Usual

Gym Conversation - What is the best / most versatile way to attach bands to the top of the power rack? We came up with a set up using 3 pegs and 2 black mini-bands. Had a lot of ways to increase and decrease the tension. Tons of different exercises.
 
Today was "I feel like a friggin' stud" day. Speed press. Lotsa fun.

1. Fat Bar Speed Bench - sets 0f 3, 175lbs, kept speed in mid .7 mps. did sets w/ 45 sec rest till I hit under 90% of the fastest lift.

2. KB Hangin' off of bands, hangin' off of the fat bar bench - super stabilizing day. used a 45lb KB on each side. did sets of 10. Weights are including the KB.
  1. 135
  2. 155
  3. 175
  4. 175

3. Standing DB OHP. Sets of 10.
  1. 25
  2. 40
  3. 50

4. Band Around Back Hammer Skulls - Go triceps, purple band, sets of 10.
  1. 25
  2. 25
  3. 30
  4. 30
5. Hammer Curls - SS with the above mentioned skulls 4 sets 10 reps 40lbs

6. Pull-ups - 3 sets 5 reps various grips
7. KB Abs Rolling Thing - 3 sets 10 reps. 35lb KB

8. Iso Cable Row - 2 sets 10 reps 225, 275
9. Rev Hyp - 2 sets 10 reps 150lbs
10. Rev Fly - 2 sets 10 reps 15lbs

Sled Draggin' - 75lbs, 1 trip with all
  1. Rotations
  2. Overhead Forward Abs Walk
  3. Overhead Backward Delt Walk
  4. Face Pulls
  5. Regular Rows

What a great day. My general condition is coming along well. Stability work is going well. Core training is going well. I'm starting to feel a little strong. We decided that I should gain wieght up to 280. Then decide if going to 290 is a good idea or not. Time to get the belt out. I may test some lifts in the next couple of weeks or so.

PWO - The Usual

Gym Conversation -

1. Better ways to train stabilizing muscles.

2. Using bands for people who want strength, but do not want to load their body with heavy weights.

3. Using bands for better ways to train stabilizing muscles, technique, weak muscles / areas on specific lifts, power training.

I gotta say that the people here are great, very smart, very motivating. I danced a lot between sets to classic rock and 80's rock songs.
 
Sometimes Things Take a Huge Leap Forward

There have been a few times in my training career when I have learned something, and all of a sudden a whole new world opens up, everything is clearer, and I can see a way to train that is much better, that I could not have possibly have imagined before that day. Today was one of those days.

I will start with my first exercise.

1. Speed Squat - 225lbs, sets of 2. Used the tendo to measure speed. With the same weight as last week I was averaging .1 mps faster than last week. That put my training speed today in the mid .8 mps. That alone is a good thing. This is where the first part of my revelation happened.

One of the guys says. "you know you can also measure max power with the tendo." Which in itself is an interesting statement. We then talked about how to decide the proper speed to train at based upon the highest power output for a certain weight. Since faster does not necessarily mean more power this provided a great way to assess the actual speed I should be training at. That was stage 1 of the revelation.

2. Good mornings with a strap attached to the bar and wrapped around my traps. (EVO. I will remember my camera one of these days. I have not forgotten you.) Sets of 6.
  1. 225
  2. 225
  3. 245
  4. 275

This might be one of the best exercises I have ever done for back and hamstrings.

3. Round Back Deadlifts - I did sets of 10.
  1. 135
  2. 185
  3. 185
  4. 185
  5. 185

Spinal erector freak out day. Another great exercise. (I know what the name sounds like. It is not exactly what you are picturing)

4. Abs on the GHR - used the green band. 3 sets 10 reps.

The following is probably going to be one of the greatest jumps forward in my training that I have ever experienced. We continued talking about measuring the power of lifts, the question came up "Why do we have a max and speed days on the days that they are on?" Well, just because we said so really. It could probably be on any day. Now though we can use the tendo to assess the efficiency of the nervous system on each training day. Then change the training day based upon where our nervous system is at.

One of the guys here can peak his power at the times where he has a highland games contest using this method. I will be using it for a little different reason so the testing exercises will be different. There may be some other changes along the way while I figure out the best application of this plan.

Here is how I will do it in the beginning.

Every training day I will test power before the workout. For the upper body days (currently the DE and ME Press days) I will use a medicine ball chest pass. For the lower body day I will use a squat jump with 50kg.

Once I have set personal best power production I will have a basis of comparison. So training will be planned as follows.

If I am within 92 - 100% of my highest power output, I will do a speed day since my nervous system is in good shape.

If I am between 85 and 92% of my highest power output, I will do a max day.

If I am below 85% of my best I will do a work capacity day.

This allows me to train exactly where I need to be for each training day. I will also be able to spot overtraining, or mistakes in programming much sooner based upon the power tests. Like if I have 2 weeks below 85% there will need to be some thought about what is happening with training, enough sleep, nutrition, or anything that might be lacking.

This is very exciting for me since it will be the first time I will be training based upon where my nervous system is at, no just off of "this is what is supposed to be done on this day." I am very excited about it. This is one of the most exciting days I have ever had.

PWO - The Usual

Other Gym Conversation - One of the guys went to the local Golds Gym. He said he had to shower afterwards to get all of the weakness off of him. And I quote "Golds Gym is the house of weakness!!"

Got a new lead for a potential client as well today.
 
This marked the first day of starting off with a test. I did the same workout that I planned because I currently have no basis of comparison. I will on my next upper body day though.

I tested power production for a kneeling med ball (7kg) chest throw. I did 2 sets of 4 reps. I will be using the average power production of each of the 2 sets. The set with the highest number will be the one that I base my workouts off of. The average of the first set was 125 watts. The average of the second test was 124 watts. So for the day 125 was the best. My best single throw was 135 watts.

As I said I will test on my next upper body day and base the workout off of the results.

This was a max press day.

1. Parallel Grip Bench Press - 315. This is one wobbly bar. Stabilizing was an interesting task.

2. KB Band Hanging press - sets of 10. 2 with 45lbs. 2 with 50lbs

3. OH KB Band Hanging Press - 2 sets 10 reps 45lbs

4. OH Log Press - My shoulders were torched at this point. 3 sets 10 reps.
  1. 96
  2. 116
  3. 116

5. Overhead Log Triceps Extensions - 3 sets 10 reps. 96 lbs.

6. Bent over DB Row with Purple Band - 3 sets 10 reps 50lbs.

Then another guy and myself went out to sled drag. All exercises were done with 150lbs and were done back to back.

  1. Rotations - 1 length each side
  2. Overhead Forward Walk - 2 lengths
  3. Backward Quad Walk - 2 lengths
  4. Forward Walk - 2 lengths
  5. Face Pulls - 1 length

I feel good after this week. I am excited to have a good way to test the efficiency of my nervous system and base workouts off of that. I think a lot of progress will happen as a result of this. It has been about a month and I am happy with the current progress.

PWO - Kool-Aid - we all went to a chinese food place for lunch. I really like Chinese food.

Gym Conversation -

1. More ways to use bands.

2. Ways to use this power testing method for training different types of athletes.

3. When are the traditional Olympic lifts a good idea for an athlete? Rarely.

4. Why is the American Olympic Weightlifting communities mantra "you are strong enough, get better technique?" Because they must be confused.

My drop-offs for the power test are going to be. 95-100% = Speed Day. 90-94% = Max Day. 85-89% = Work Capacity Day. 84% or below = Go home and eat food for the rest of the day.
 
You have some of the best gym conversations I've seen
Click to expand...

Yea. We have a riot.

Today was a max squat day. The last day I will know what the workout is before the test.

Today the power test was a squat jump with 50kg. 2 sets of 4 with the average of each being the base for comparison for the next test. The 1st set average power was 610.25 watts. The 2nd set average was 610 watts. Similar. That will be the comparison for the next workout.

Actual workout.

1. 12.5" Safety Bar Box Squat - Worked to a couple sets of 1 at 330. (I forgot how hard the SS bar is.) I did 3 sets of 3 with 225, 245, 275 after that.

2. SS Bar Good Mornings - Sets of 5.
  1. 150
  2. 170
  3. 200
  4. 200

Go Spinal Erectors.

3. Power Shrugs - sets of 3
  1. 70kg
  2. 100kg
  3. 120kg
  4. 140kg

4. GHR - Purple band, 3 sets 10 reps.
5. GHR Abs - Green Band, 3 sets of 10 reps.

6. Reverse Hype. 3 sets. 10 reps
  1. 150
  2. 200
  3. 250
I forgot to put the collar on one side for the last set and one of the weights fell off on the 9th rep. (Dumba**)

Sled Drag - 1 lap each exercise. 150lbs
  1. backwards pull
  2. forwards pull
  3. overhead pull
  4. rotations

PWO - The Usual

Gym Conversation -

1. Why sled drag is good for football players.

2. Focus on getting abs tighter on log clean and press.

3. If rule #1 is "no head injuries." Rule #2 is "your back is not strong enough."

4. For me to do the moonwalk and actually look cool doing it I would have to lose like 140lbs and get a bunch of plastic surgery. Which would make me lame. Therefore, the moonwalk is lame.
 
This was the first day where the power test was going to decide my workout. I did the med ball kneeling chest throw as the test. I was at 85.8% of last time. That means Hypertrophy / work capacity day. I would list the results but I am now keeping my tracking tablet at teh gym.

What timing. This testing thing is going to be very, VERY good.

So, Hyp. WkCp day.

1. DB Bench - Sets of 12
  1. 50
  2. 75
  3. 95
  4. 100
12 reps is more than usual. It went well though.

2. OHP - sets of 10
  1. 95
  2. 105
  3. 115
  4. 115
  5. 115
  6. 115
Still good. I did not push very hard on these.

3. Rev. Grip Bent Row - 3 sets
  1. 60kg
  2. 70kg
  3. 70kg

4. Shrugs - 2 sets 15 reps. I don't know what the weight was.

Sled Drag - 1 lap each. 75lbs
  1. Rev. Fly
  2. Cornholios
  3. OH Backwards Pulls
  4. Face Pulls

Did more work / recovery type of stuff. I probably needed this day. I am very happy that I am able to test. I would have normally done a speed press day with heavy assistance ex. I think I will really be able to keep from dipping into any overtraining with this system.

I slept goofy last night and woke up with a sore neck. So I spent about 30 min in the Massage room with the therapist. Got work done on my upper back, neck, and shoulders. I am now feelin' pretty good.

PWO - The Usual

Gym Conversation -

1. If rule number 2 is "your back isn't strong enough," rule #3 is "always listen to the coach" (the head trainer here).

2. If rule #3 is "always listen to coach," rule #4 is "you are not in good enough shape"

3. Shrugs are like the test of manhood. And I quote "I just did 15 reps with 315" "oh yea, I can do 20" "$50 says you can't do 50"

4. How many times have you passed out from pushing yourself to the limit.
  1. Me - 1
  2. Coach - 1
  3. The Godfather of the Gym - A LOT of times

5. Never ask me to prove myself by maxing a leg press. Just lay down in the street and I will run you over with my car a bunch of times.
 
I normally do not train on Wednesdays, but after yesterday I had to admit that I need to make sure that I am doing enough recovery work.

Today I headed to the pool, spent about 30 min stretching and doing some basic calisthenics. I like to stretch in the pool because there are a greater number of flexibility exercises possible since it is easier to stand on one foot and hold positions that are not possible for any length of time on dry land.

I used the foam roller (we keep one in the bedroom) to roll lats, IT band, back, hip flexors, and quads. These are the areas on my body that are prone to tightness and could stand for some extra work.

I am going to use the above work 3 - 5 days per week. (I may roll 7 days.)

I am going to yoga with my wife on her sunday class. It's something that will be a good thing to do to keep ROM and increase my ability to recover.
 
All the recovery work has been great so far. My 50kg squat test was 103.3% of the best I have previously set. I was feeling like a beast anyway. So Power day it is.

1. Foam rolling warm-up. Lats and IT band. Getting into better habits.

2. Speed Squat - went a little different route. Instead of picking a weight I kept increasing the weight by 20 lbs per set starting at 84kgs.

I measured the max power I had during each lift. Just kept increasing the weight until I hit a set where it went down instead of up.

Worked up to 157 kg. Hit peak power at 139kg (305.8lbs) 1036 watts. What does this tell me? I am most powerful at speeds between .70 and .76 mps. I should train my speed squats in that range. I will retest after 4 weeks of training and get a new measure to work off of. (on a side note, 2 weeks ago my speed squat was 225lbs at the mid .7 mps range. I am happy with the bump.)

3. Stiff Leg Deadlift - I have pretty good flexibility so I just do these off of the floor. I did 5 sets 6 reps. Weights were -
  1. 135
  2. 225
  3. 275
  4. 345
  5. 345
This was actually pretty easy. I am still keeping weights a little light since I have only been training again for a short period of time.

4. Walking Lunges - 2 sets 2 lengths of the turf each (20 yards). 30lb KB. My butt cheeks are sore.

5. Abs Hangin' off the GHR - 3 sets 10 reps. Used the black miniband for one set. BW for the rest.

PWO - The usual.

I felt like a machine today. Speed squats were awesome. Everything felt great.

Gym Conversation -

1. The first and last power readings on my 50kg squat jump test were 666 watts. That must mean that I am a bad M-in F-in dude.

2. The entire gym is now using the sled drag. Since they are smart.

3. The most important thing is to surround yourself with the best people. After that, everything works out.

4. The one thing that can cripple anyones workout. Bad attitude, and people around with a bad attitude. We decided that if anyone comes around with a bad attitude, we will just throw them out through the window, then shower to get the stench of negativity off of us.

5. How many ways workouts are better due to the tendo unit? There are more than we could count.
 
Last night I foam rolled lats and IT band before bed.

Today I warmed up with some foam rolling. Still lats and IT (thats what is tight.)

7kg med ball chest pass power test. 110% of my previous best. Yea. So power day it is.

1. I did the same test with speed bench press today (did sets of 3 instead of 2 though) as I did with the squat yesterday. My next 3 weeks of speed days will be based upon the results of these tests. I started at 60kg and increased 5kg per set until my power output went down due to heavier weight slowing me down. Highest power output was 620 watts at 102kg. So my speed press weights will be based off of that. I will be keeping track of power output over the next 3 weeks to see how things go.

2. DB Bench Press - sets of 5
  1. 80lbs
  2. 100lbs
  3. 120lbs
  4. 130lbs
This felt great, I felt very stable, glad I have been doing the band stability work.

3. Wide DB Row - 4 sets 10 reps, 40lbs.

4. Sit-Ups - 50 reps

Today went very well. I will be back into normal training next monday. Meaning that I will have more exercises, as well as pulling the sled. The testing takes some time. That is why I will only do it once every 4 weeks.

PWO - The Usual

Gym Conversation -

1. Gym rules so far
  1. No Head Injuries
  2. Your Back is NOT Strong Enough
  3. Always Listen to Coach
  4. You are NOT In Good Enough Shape
  5. We do not Celebrate Mediocrity, We Mock It.
  6. Do You Know the Definition of Power?

2. Is teaching squat technique with plates under the heels a good idea? Sometimes, depending on flexibility.

3. Power training does not involve sets of 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 , or 15+. It rarely involves sets of 4 and 5.
 
Went to yoga with my wife today. This was one of the best ideas I have had.

I think I will yoga 2 - 3 X per week. Foam roll 4 - 6 X per week. Massage 1 - 2 X per month. And hit the pool 2 - 3 X per week.

This will top off my restoration and recovery plan. As long as I am consistent, I should be able to really increase my training workload over the next month or so.

I am very happy. Things are falling into place. I have a good core of people around me that can assist every part of my training now. My motivation is very high, and I think I will be getting results at a faster pace than I had previously thought.
 
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