Eccentric Training for Athletes

Need to mix up your current routine or break through a plateau? Check out this article by John Gaglione for more info.

Eccentric Training for Athletes by John Gaglione

Get big or die tryin'.

Fact vs. Fiction: The Truth About Training Frequency

Are you scared to death of overtraining? Or are you one who won't leave the gym until you collapse because anything short of that is soft. Find out the truth about training frequency in this article by Mike Robertson.

The Truth About Training Frequency by Mike Robertson

Get big or die tryin'.

Isometric Training for Athletes

Check out this article for a quick and simple guide on how to use isometric training with your athletes!

Isometric Training for Athletes by John Gaglione

Get big or die tryin'.

Training Different Muscle Fiber Types

I had a conversation with a friend the other day and I came to realize that, unless you study the body, the vast majority of people really don't understand muscle fiber types and why you train different muscle groups differently. The conversation was from a body-building/muscle hypertrophy standpoint, but the same can be said for performance training, as well.

So here's the story: Muscles in your body are made up of different type of muscle fibers, with the type denoting how quickly they can contract and, related to this, the different bioenergetics of each fiber. The muscle-fiber continuum is: Type I, Type IIc, Type IIac, Type IIa, Type IIax, Type IIx, with Type I being the slowest to fire but also the slowest to fatigue, and Type IIx being on the exact opposite end of the spectrum.

But why is this important to know if you are just trying to lift for aesthetic reasons? Well, because of the differences in how quickly each muscle fiber type fatigues, each type also displays different rep ranges, or more specifically times under tension, by which they optimally perform hypertrophy.

A couple examples are the hamstrings and calves. Hamstrings are predominantly Type II, fast twitch fibers in the majority of people, unless they have trained themselves to perform otherwise. This means that with hamstrings you really shouldn't go about 12 reps in a strength training set because they will begin to lose their fast-twitch characteristics. Calves are comprised of two main muscles--the gastrocnemius and the soleous. The gastroc is comprised of mainly fast-twitch muscle fibers, so it responds to heavier sets of less reps, while the soleous is more slow-twitch fibers, so it responds better to higher reps at lower weights.

As a basic rule of thumb, you can identify whether a muscle is fast-twitch or slow-twitch dominant by asking yourself, "Is the muscle used for form or for function?" In other words, it is a postural, tonic muscle, or is it an explosive-movement, phasic muscle?

Answer that question for yourself and apply those answers to your training to see increased results.

Get big or die tryin'.

End on Perfection

I have been watching the Parisi Speed School DVD series and right now I have finished the first disc of the combine training DVD. There is a ton of great content on these discs, but one thing that really stuck out to me was something Martin Rooney said at the end of this past disc. They were demonstrating the L-drill and he said at their facility they have a rule where if an athlete performs a PR in any test that athlete is done training for the day. The reasoning was that they wanted the athlete to end on a high note and also because they wanted the athlete's Central Nervous System to feel what a perfect time felt like.

I think over the past year my mindset has changed a lot such that I am now more accepting of an idea like this. Whereas before I would continue to push myself if I was having a great training day in an attempt to see how far I could go, I wonder if this would be a better training philosophy. Martin was saying this comment in reference to speed training, and I wonder if the same is applicable to strength training as well.

I think the biggest thing to take into consideration here is the technique being used. If you hit a strength or speed PR using perfect technique, and then hit the same time/weight but with flawed technique, I think it would make sense to either lower the weight or slow down the drill such that the final set/rep can be done perfectly. Clearly it doesn't make sense to end on anything less than perfection both from a motor-learning standpoint and also from an adrenal standpoint, the latter meaning if you continue to crank out sets at extremely high intensities until you execute perfect technique, you are only setting yourself up for injury and extreme fatigue.

Overall, I would say this training philosophy makes sense, but I think it needs to be put into perspective as well, more so for strength training than for speed training. Reason being, if after you warm up you hit, let's say, a 10-rep PR on squat and you got that tenth rep easy, meaning you probably could have hit at least three to five more but you stopped because you are testing 10RM, maybe you go up in weight and see if you can't hit another 10 at a higher weight. I guess you could create a thousand different hypothetical situations in which you could excuse yourself from this philosophy, but, as a general rule of thumb, I think it makes sense for both speed and strength training.

Get big or die tryin'.

Train LIke a Man!

Our country is facing a health crisis, and I'm not talking about obesity. It's time for men to start training like men.

Train Like a Man! by Martin Rooney

Get big or die tryin'.

Why You Need More Power

Tired of moving at a snail's pace? Maybe you should stop training at one.

Why You Need More Power by Kasey Esser

Get big or die tryin'.

Make Training Your Sport

One thing I have noticed that my life is lacking since finishing basketball my senior year is a competitive aspect, and I think this is the reality for the vast majority of adults. While you go to the gym to train, most people don't have a purpose as to why they are training, so why not give them one?

Instead of doing your traditional 3x8 for your weights and then hit the treadmill for a twenty-minute job, how about you spice up your training and add a competitive edge to it. I'm not talking about seeing if you can go up 5 pounds on each exercise either. I'm thinking you should take every single exercise you would normally do during a workout, say your Friday workouts, and do one set of each in rapid succession. Then go each a second time and possibly a third, fourth, or fifth time as well. Time how long it takes you to get through those circuits and keep your time each week. Your workouts leading up to your Friday workouts will be preparing you for that competition day, and you will find yourself more excited to work out on those days as well. After a month or two, switch up your Friday routine and set a new time goal for yourself. After a few months, go back through an old Friday workout and see if your time has improved. This will be a great way to mark progress throughout the year as well.

Get big or die tryin'.

Negative Work for Positive Mass Gains

If you are trying to put on muscle mass, one thing that needs to be considered for each exercise is the tempo at which you are performing it. I know NASM and many other certifying agencies and textbooks want you to believe that 1 to 5 reps builds power, 3 to 7 reps build strength, 8 to 15 reps is for hypertrophy, and more than 15 reps in one set is for muscle endurance, but this is just not true. What these sources are actually trying to provide is a recommended "time under tension" for each training goal. However, because most people don't carry a stopwatch to gauge how long they have been lifting during a particular set, a rep count is used instead.

With this in mind, you can see why popping out a quick set of 12 reps isn't letting you pack on the pounds you are desiring. Next time you lift, instead of repping out sets as fast as you can with as much weight as possible, try adhering to a 3-second eccentric contraction (or negative) and then move the weight up (or down) as fast as possible during the concentric contraction. You will have to use less weight, probably anywhere from 20 to 40% less than you would normally use, but you will experience just as much fatigue as you would with greater weight and your muscles will have a greater time under tension, which will lead to greater growth.

Be warned, the eccentric contraction is what causes the most damage to a muscle fiber, so even though you are using less weight, with an emphasized eccentric like this you could experience significantly more muscle soreness a day or two post-workout than you normally would.

Get big or die tryin'.

Easy Ways to Increase Grip Strength

One thing I have noticed since I started working with the general public is that most people's grip strength is horrendous. Not even terrible. It's absolutely, positively awful. So, if you are suffering from this condition, consider making these simple changes in your training routine:

Get rid of the wrist straps

I explain why in this video



Do more pulling exercises
People do too many pressing exercises as is, but in addition to the benefits of strengthening your back and improving your posture, adding in additional pulling exercises is a great way to build grip strength, especially if you are using thicker handles or bars.

No more ab straps
Instead of using ab straps and hanging from your elbows to do hanging knee raises or other suspended ab exercises, get rid of the ab straps and hold on to the bar with your hands. For an additional challenge, wrap a towel around the bar and hang on to the towel.

Pause before you rack
Before you rack the weight after a set of rows or lat pull-downs, hold on to the bar for an additional twenty to thirty seconds.

Throw some kettlebells into your training
High-quality kettlebells have a thick handle and, if your are performing the exercises properly, you should be squeezing that hard enough so the bell doesn't swing and the horn doesn't rotate in your hand. This will set your forearms on fire if performed correctly.

There are some very simple modifications you can make to what you are already doing in your daily training in order to increase your grip strength.

Get big or die tryin'.

Charlie Cates
Self Made, Owner

Charlie Cates is a human performance specialist and the owner of Self Made (http://selfmadefitness.com/) in Chicago, IL. He is a Certified Personal Trainer and Performance Enhancement Specialist through NASM and has worked with competitive and everyday athletes of all ages and ability levels, from 9-year-old kids to NFL MVP's. He can be reached via e-mail at charlie@selfmadefitness.com.

This article may be reproduced with biographical information intact.

Breaking Plateaus

Have you hit a plateau in your strength training? Regardless of how "plateau-proof" a program may seem, eventually a plateau is inevitable. One thing that I have found to really help me break through these moments is to drop my working max for all of my core lifts, or at least the ones I feel like I am stagnant in, by 10%. Doing this allows me to work with weights that are well within my strength capabilities while still feeling taxed during the training session. Using this number as my working max, I bump my working maxes up by 5 to ten pounds after I finish each phase, allowing me to slowly work back to where I was when I plateaued. While this may seem like I taking steps backwards, the mental and physical relief of not having to work with maximum weights every day allows me to start making progress again and come back to my original working maxes stronger than before.

Get big or die tryin'.

SMS: A Year In Review

I initially wrote this program solely for my own use after having read “5/3/1” by Jim Wendler. I wanted to put my own spin on it, however, so I messed with the rep ranges and tweaked what I felt was unnecessary. After having spent the summer working in at Fitness Quest 10, I was in the mindset of doing total body lifts each strength session. I wrote that into SMS 1, and while it definitely served its purpose to build a base, I quickly realized that I much preferred a more traditional upper/lower/push/pull-type split.

I brought that split out in SMS 2, going with a lower, push, pull, arm split. In SMS 3 I got rid of the arms day and instead put half of Day 2 and Day 4 together and made one of those wholes the new Day 2 and the other the new Day 4. This was the split that was followed through SMS 6. With the start of the second half of Year 1, I made the switch from prescribed sets to timed sets. This brought a whole new intensity to the SMS series, with workout volume often doubling. With SMS 9 and SMS 10 came complexes to the core lifts each day (squat, bench, deadlift, and standing military). I also added isometrics to SMS 10. Those were tough. Then in SMS 11 and SMS 12 I cut back on the volume by removing the second pair of supplemental lifts. After going through a year of this training I have learned a lot in regards to programming.

The number one thing I learned from writing the SMS series is just how important having a deload week is to the overall progression of the program and of the athlete. (Just as a side note, I refer to anybody who does the SMS training series as an athlete.) Up until this point, I hadn’t ever taken a deload week in my training. At the start of the program I was questioning why I was doing it, as I was not feeling the need at all to lighten the weights. But as the year progressed, I looked forward to those weeks more and more. If you are interested in learning more of the science and theory behind the deload week, read my article “Deload To Reload” at http://selfmadefitness.com/selfmadearticles.

The second important thing I learned from SMS is how powerful auto-regulation is. I hadn’t ever done timed sets before this program, and I must say, I don’t know if I will ever go back to doing prescribed sets again. As I mentioned above, the volume of my workouts increased significantly, especially for the working sets of my core lifts. The feeling I had after completing the workouts during the first week of SMS 7 was very similar to how I was feeling after I would complete a Cratos workout. For more information on both timed sets and Cratos training, visit the above link and read the articles “Timed Sets for Auto-Regulation” and “Cratos Training”.

The third important thing I learned from SMS is to cut back on the supplemental lifts and keep those to one pair. After I did that in SMS 11, I was able to attack the first pair of supplemental lifts so much harder because I knew that I only had hips and abs after that. It also allowed my lifts to be completed in under an hour, which was a huge psychological boost knowing that I was getting stronger in less time. I didn’t feel that I lost any gains by cutting out that second pair. On the contrary, I felt as though I was getting stronger than before because I was able to lift harder during the single pair and recover faster as well.

Some questions that I still have to answer about SMS are: If I am switching up deadlift and squatting styles, why I am not switching up bench or military press styles? How beneficial is the military press day? Is there a way to mix the old and the new—the Russian conjugate periodization with the new way I learned to train athletes at FQ10? Where do Olympic lifts and kettlebells come into play in SMS, if at all? These are all questions that need to be answered before I write and release SMS², but suffice it to say, if I learn as much about programming during this next year as I did during this last, we could be dealing with something very big. If you aren’t on this program, do yourself a favor and get on it. SMS² coming at you in the next year.

Get big or die tryin’.

Charlie Cates

Self Made, Owner

Charlie Cates is a human performance specialist and the owner of Self Made (http://selfmadefitness.com/) in Chicago, IL. He is a Certified Personal Trainer and Performance Enhancement Specialist through NASM and has worked with competitive and everyday athletes of all ages and ability levels, from 9-year-old kids to NFL MVP's. He can be reached via e-mail at charlie@selfmadefitness.com.

This article may be reproduced with biographical information intact.

Video Blog: Why I Don't Use Wrist Straps

Build Your Pyramid

Pyramid sets are an effective tool for adding both bulk and lean muscle to one’s frame. While pyramid sets are most popular among those lifting for purely aesthetic reasons, such as bodybuilders, they can also be manipulated to successfully train muscle endurance in athletes. Traditionally, pyramid sets consist of starting at a low weight for a high number of reps for any given exercise and then, over the course of the workout, proceeding to decrease the number of reps for each set while increasing the amount of weight moved until you work your way down to double- or single-rep sets. I would like to add a twist to this traditional format and explain how you can not only achieve more volume in a shorter period of time, but you can use pyramid training for any and every muscle group.

First of all, instead of using a pyramid set template for one lift at a time, try pairing two exercises together that work like muscle groups and performing pyramid sets by alternating back and forth between the two exercises. Secondly, instead of switching the weight between sets as the reps change, pick a weight that is difficult for you to hit for your highest rep count and stick with that weight. You shouldn’t be failing on the final rep, but you should feel like you only have a rep or two left in the tank. Third, have one exercise start on the high end of the pyramid and the other exercise start on the low end. Finally, after both exercises work their way to the opposing ends of the pyramid, have them turn around and work their way back.

An example of this exercise scheme would be to pair an incline barbell bench press with a dumbbell flat bench for somebody who is trying to add mass to his or her frame. For this example, the reps are going to move by 2’s and the highest rep count will be twelve. Depending on what your goals are you can alter both the rep limit and how much the reps move by; for endurance you would have a higher limit as well as rep movement per set, while for strength you would have a lower rep limit and rep movement per set. For both exercises in this example you would choose a weight that you could rep out about fourteen times. Pick one exercise to start with, say the barbell incline press, and hit that for twelve reps, then immediately move to dumbbell flat bench and hit two reps. Rest 10 to 30 seconds, then hit the incline press for 10, followed by four on the flat bench. Then it’s back to incline for eight and flat bench for six. Catch the pattern? Eventually you’ll get to two on the incline press and twelve on the flat bench. After this, rest 90 to 120 seconds and then start again, this time beginning with two on the incline press and twelve on the flat bench, working your way back until both exercises are at the same reps as when you began.

Depending on how strictly you adhere to the rest times, this workout will take ten to fifteen minutes, and you will have gotten in a TON of volume in that time. In fact, you will probably have done more real work in that ten to fifteen minutes than most people do in their entire workout. If you are pressed for time but still want to get a lot of reps in, I would highly suggest throwing in pyramid sets.

Pyramid sets can be very effective for working muscle groups other than the chest too. For the back you can pair lat pulldowns and a row variation. For the legs you could do hamstring curls with lunges, dumbbell step ups with cable pull-throughs or dumbbell swings, or, if you are feeling really hyped, you could pair a back squat with a front squat. This type of training can also add the much-desired size to your arms that you have been working so hard for. You could pair cable pressdowns with hammer presses for your triceps, and incline dumbbell curls with a narrow-grip barbell curl for your biceps. You could pair a seated dumbbell shoulder press with a dumbbell lateral raise for your shoulders, too. For your abs you could do something like cable crunches with hanging toe touches. Obviously there are an infinite number of pairings you could do, but these are just a few examples.

One last twist I would like to provide you with is to keep the reps the same throughout, say anywhere from six to ten, but alternate the weight each set. This would be really good as a finisher, especially for arms. You could start at fifteen pound dumbbells and curl them six times, then move up to twenties, then twenty-fives, and so on until you fail to hit six reps without resting in between each set. Then you would immediately drop the weight and work your way back down the weight rack until you get back to the fifteens you started at.

So whether you are only able to spend twenty to thirty minutes at the gym a few times each week, you are trying to add mass to your frame, or you are trying to develop muscle endurance for athletics, consider switching up your current training regimen to include pyramid sets. The workouts are intense and taxing and you will be getting a very large bang for your workout buck.

Get big or die tryin’.

Charlie Cates, CPT, PES

Self Made, Owner

Charlie Cates is a human performance specialist and the owner of Self Made (http://selfmadefitness.com/) in Chicago, IL. He is a Certified Personal Trainer and Performance Enhancement Specialist through NASM and has worked with competitive and everyday athletes of all ages and ability levels, from 9-year-old kids to NFL MVP's. Athletically, he was a 4-year member of the Williams College men’s basketball team, which made a run to the national championship during his senior year. During this time he also worked intensively with the team’s off-the-court training, helping to develop All-Americans and a National Player of the Year. He can be reached via e-mail atcharlie@selfmadefitness.com.

This article may be reproduced with biographical information intact.

The Big Three

**Disclaimer: When it comes to nutritional advice, I have found that eating to one’s metabolic type is absolutely the most efficient way to not only achieve your compositional goals, but also to feel and function the best you ever have. However, there are some people who do not believe in eating to their metabolic type, and because of such, this article takes more of a one-size-fits-all approach to nutrition and weight gain. Understand that any food allergies or intolerances you have to the foods listed below should be recognized and respected, and therefore the advice given in this article is to be taken only by those who are physically able to handle the foods discussed without any type of allergic or other reaction needing medical treatment.

When it comes to making compositional changes in your body, nutrition is everything. Exercise creates an environment for change, but the food you put in to your body is what actually forces it to change, along with proper rest and recovery. Understanding this, you realize that while the number of sets and reps you do in the weight room does have some importance, for your training to be of any real use you have to back it with a very solid nutritional base as well as adequate rest. In addition, when it comes to adding size, there are three foods that add mass like no other: peanut butter, eggs, and cow’s milk.

Peanut butter is one of the most versatile foods known to man. You can literally spread it on any solid food and you will have a mass-building concoction. My favorite peanut butter dish for adding size is the classic peanut butter sandwich, plain and simple. No jelly, no fluff, just two pieces of bread separated by an enormous slab of peanut butter. What makes these so great is how easily they are prepared, stored, and transported. You can whip up five sandwiches in under two minutes in the morning and be set for lunch and snacks throughout the day. If you are looking to add mass you are going to have to eat a lot and eat often, so foods that can be prepared quickly and brought to the gym, to school, and to work are must-haves. The fat in peanut butter is great as long as you are buying quality peanut butter, not Skip or Jiffy. Always look on the ingredients label and find the peanut butter that says, “Ingredients: Peanuts.” If they throw salt in there too it isn’t going to be the end of the world, but make sure to steer clear of any jars that have Hydrogenated Oils, Partially Hydrogenated Oils, or Vegetable Oils listed under their ingredients. Hydrogenated and Partially Hydrogenated Oils are code words for trans fat, and Vegetable Oils, well they are basically poison to the human system.

ggs are the second must-have food if you are trying to add size. Not egg whites or eggs in a carton, I’m talking whole eggs, yolk and all. Yes, whole eggs contain saturated fat. Yes, whole eggs contain cholesterol. That stuff is GOOD for you! Regardless if you are trying to add size or not, you should be eating whole eggs. I eat eight whole eggs every morning as a part of my second breakfast. Also, there are so many variations on how you can prepare eggs that I would be incredibly surprised to find somebody who gets bored eating them every day. Eggs are literally the perfect protein source, too. They are the gold standard that all other protein sources are judged from and have been judged from for years. Another “secret” about eggs is that you can buy bags of pre-peeled hardboiled eggs from Trader Joe’s. This is an absolutely incredible product because all you have to do is keep them in the fridge and you can stockpile nature’s perfect protein snack. These are especially great for people who don’t want to take the time or have the patience to boil and peal their own eggs. Just make sure to eat them pretty quickly, which, if you are trying to add mass, shouldn’t be a problem.

Finally, the number-one food substance to take in if you are trying to add mass is cow’s milk. Cow’s milk was designed by nature to turn a baby calf into a giant cow, so clearly it has the ability to add size. Now, in a perfect world all milk would be raw milk and you wouldn’t have to worry about whether to get skim or 2% or what have you, you’d just go straight to the utter. Unfortunately, raw milk is banned in most states for no other reason than pure ignorance, so check your state laws to find out if raw milk is able to be sold in your area. If it is, buy it and drink it, a lot of it. 5/3/1 and Super Squats suggest drinking a gallon a day. That’s a ton of milk, but like I said earlier, if you are trying to add size you are going to have to take in a ton of calories. Raw milk has all of the enzymes and healthy bacteria that spur muscle protein synthesis, which are some of the best reasons for choosing raw milk over pasteurized milk. Among those enzymes is the lactate enzyme, which is what those who are lactose-intolerant are missing, and therefore those who are lactose-intolerant easily handle raw milk. A friend and former teammate of mine who is lactose-intolerant couldn’t ever drink pasteurized milk, but when I got him started on raw milk he was able to handle that just fine.

If you can’t get raw milk you should go for organic whole milk. This milk will still be pasteurized so it won’t have the enzymes and bacteria that you want, but it will still have a lot of the fat and protein. If you can’t afford organic whole then get regular whole milk, and if you aren’t drinking whole milk then you are just kidding yourself when you say that you want to get bigger. Milk is a great choice to put in your post-workout shake or just to drink right out of the jug during and in between meals.

So there you have it, my top three food choices for adding mass on to your frame. If I was going to throw in a wild card I would put in a fatty beef or steak from grass-fed cows, but I think these give you the most versatility as far as what you can do with them and their convenience. One thing that I have been making lately is a shake consisting of 6 ounces of whole milk (raw milk isn’t sold in Illinois), ½ scoop of whey protein, two giant knife-fulls of peanut butter, ½ a banana, a tablespoon of flax seed, and a couple handfuls of walnuts. I LOVE these shakes and they are a quick and easy way to get in plenty of calories, fat, and protein. Look for a video in the next month or so on my YouTube channel where I make one of these shakes.

Get big or die tryin’.

Charlie Cates

Self Made, Owner

Charlie Cates is a human performance specialist and the owner of Self Made (http://selfmadefitness.com/) in Chicago, IL. He is a Certified Personal Trainer and Performance Enhancement Specialist through NASM and has worked with competitive and everyday athletes of all ages and ability levels, from 9-year-old kids to NFL MVP's. Athletically, he was a 4-year member of the Williams College men’s basketball team, which made a run to the national championship during his senior year. During this time he also worked intensively with the team’s off-the-court training, helping to develop All-Americans and a National Player of the Year. He can be reached via e-mail at charlie@selfmadefitness.com.

This article may be reproduced with biographical information intact.

Walk In As King

Need motivation? The ability to do whatever you set your mind to is inside of you, you just need to find that strength. Check out this article by Chris Vaughn on how to bring swagger in to the weight room.

Walk in as King by Chris Vaughn.

Get big or die tryin'.

This Past Week (6/27-7/3)

This past week was my deload week for SMS 8. After going really hard for the previous three weeks it felt really good to have a less intense week in the weight room. Monday was my squat day and I used this session with the lighter weight to really push my range of motion on every set. Also on Monday I put up a new article on the site, "Timed Sets For Auto-Regulation", which explains the theory and method behind SMS 7, SMS 8, and SMS 9.

Tuesday morning I did plyos and then had to make a trip to Chicago. On the way back I listened to two podcasts by Sean Croxton of Underground Wellness. These podcasts can be found on iTunes, and if there is one source for nutritional and wellness information that I could point you to I would point you to these podcasts. Every time I am in my car I plug in my iPod and listen to this blogtalk radio show, and every time I learn new and exciting information.

Wednesday was my bench day, and because my shoulder still hasn't completely healed, the lighter day was much appreciated. Thursday I deadlifted, and once again the lift went really well. I was in a great mood after my lift, then I picked up my phone and found out that the job I was supposed to begin two weeks later had fallen through. This really sent me for a loop, and as much as I tried to not stress, I have to admit that I was out of whack the rest of the day. I tried doing a yoga session to de-stress, but that didn't work at all as my mind struggled to grasp my new reality.

Friday I finished out my deload week on a strong note with a solid lift despite my new-found unemployment. I had my second plyo session of the week on Friday as well. Later that day I put up SMS 8 for sale in the Store on my website. This program can be downloaded right to your computer for only $10!

Saturday I ran hill sprints in my court for 20 minutes. My current routine for hill sprints is to find a hill that I can sprint up in 6 to 8 seconds when I'm fresh. Then I sprint up and walk or jog down for twenty minutes, trying to get 30 sprints in during the twenty minutes.

Well, that's all for this past week. Now it's time to go live this one.

Get big or die tryin'.

This Past Week (6/13-6/19)

This past week was a great training week for me. On Sunday I played basketball for the first time since the end of the season, roughly two and a half months ago. It was great to get that type of aerobic workout again, and while my skills weren't up to par I had a lot of fun running up and down and doing something competitive.

Monday I finished Week 1 of SMS 8 and I had the chance to train at my high school weight room. This final day went very well as I hit all of weights I had aimed to. Later that afternoon I performed a plyo workout so I could keep my conditioning up.

Tuesday I deadlifted again, and while it had only been three days since my last deadlift session, the timing of the rest of the week worked out such that this would be the only day I could get in to deadlift. If the YMCA wouldn't get pissed when I used the platform for the purpose it was designed to be used for or used chalk when I lifted then this wouldn't have been an issue. However, this is not the case, so I had to rearrange my schedule to make sure I could get my lifts in.

Wednesday morning I went in to bench. I got through my med ball warmup and the warmup sets on the bench feeling alright, but when it came time to hit my working sets, which were singles on this day, I got stuck just off of my chest at a very manageable weight and had an intense pressure in my head. After fighting to rack the bar, I dropped 10 pounds and tried again, only to get stuck once again and become unable to lock out a weight that I haven't missed in almost a year. This is when I decided that today just wasn't a day to lift and so I left the gym to recover. I went home and mowed the lawn again and felt great after that. I am not sure what happened on this day, but I feel like the weights I have been using for my working sets may be too high, even though I have been able to hit them. This was a learning experience for me and I am now applying these lessons to my sessions and am feeling much better. I also played basketball Wednesday night and felt great during that run.

Thursday I squatted and had my leg lift, which went significantly better than the previous day's training session. Friday was the final day of Week 2 of SMS 8 and, just like the previous day, the ability to cut back my weight on my working sets and go for high quality reps led to an incredible lift. After Friday's lift I felt the best that I have post-workout since the beginning of SMS 7.

I also read the book "Rock Iron Steel: The Book of Strength" by Steve Justa this past week. It was a very interesting read and gave me a lot of good ideas on how to mix up my training. I recommend this book to anybody who is looking for a different means of strength and endurance training.

That's all for this past week. Now it's time to go live this one.

Get big or die tryin'.

This Past Week (6/6-6/12)

This past week was a very big week for me. On Sunday I graduated from Williams College, which means that all of my effort and focus can FINALLY be put towards Self Made and training. This was also a transition week from my testing week to SMS 8.

After graduation I didn't do anything for Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday. I just took those three days to let my body fully heal so I could start up hard again on Thursday. On Thursday I began SMS 8. Starting mid-week made the timing of everything challenging, but I had a plan so I would be on track by Week 3.

Thursday was my squat day and I could feel that the extra time off definitely helped. This first day of SMS 8 went really well and I felt great the entire lift. I also did my first plyo workout in over two weeks later that afternoon.

On Friday I had Day 2 of SMS 8, which was my bench workout. This day was put together somewhat last minute as I thought I was going to be deadlifting on Friday but the gym I do my deadlifting at ended up not opening until the following Monday. The session went well and the training day turned out great so I was really happy with everything. Then after my lift I went home and mowed the yard.

Saturday ended up being my deadlift day and I was very pleased with how this day turned out and how the session went as well. This lift was my only workout of the day, but I was feeling a little gassed from hitting it hard the past two days.

That's all that happened this past week. Now it's time to go live this one.

Get big or die tryin'.

This Past Week (5/30-6/5)

This past week was my testing week for my squat, bench, and deadlift. These sessions were the only training sessions I did all week as it was Senior Week at school and I wanted to be able to spend as much time as I could with my friends. I also wanted to give my body some good time to heal up as my shoulders, knees, and hips were not exactly feeling perfect.

My first testing day was Tuesday. I tested my squat on Tuesday and while I didn't hit the weight I was hoping to I know that I have definitely gotten stronger since Spring Break. Back in January I set the goals for myself of hitting at 500 squat, 450 deadlift, and 350 bench. I missed 470 on the squat twice, so clearly this goal was a little bit out of reach on this day.

Wednesday was my bench day and while I had set the goal of 350 I could feel that it was unrealistic to think that 350 would be lifted. I did, however, bench 315, which was a 15-pound PR for me, so I was pretty happy about that.

Thursday was my deadlift day and I could feel that a big weight was coming this day. My deadlift has improved significantly over the course of the past 7 months, and I truly believed that a 500-pound pull was well within reach. I chose to pull Sumo style as I feel I am stronger and under better control when pulling this way compared to Conventional. Well, long story short, I hit my 500 pull without the aid of straps, and I was VERY happy about this.

That was my last test for the week so I definitely ended on a high note.

Wednesday I also had some more work done on the site and things are really starting to come along in that regard. I also sent out the June issue of The Source on Thursday. If you haven't signed up for my free monthly newsletter yet, you can do so by clicking here and filling out your name and e-mail address.

Well that's all that happened this past week. Now it's time to go live this one.

Get big or diet tryin'.