Legs are back!

Man it feels good to get back under the bar pain-free. It seems like injuries have been a common theme of my last 6 months. I have taken some time off from compound movements with my lower body and finally feel able to start getting back in a squat rack.

Around Thanksgiving I couldn't even do a rep with 275 without my back feeling like a gnashing of my teeth. Seriously, I tried multiple times to do 275 and was so beaten by not even being able to do one rep with what I used to use for a set of 12 for a warmup. Progress is to be made on this, but I am encouraged by my last two leg days.

1/14/2011
Back squat
the bar x 10
135 2x12
185 2x10
225x6
275x6
315 x 4,1

I felt like myself again. I had my max squat PR in March 2010 at 445lbs, obviously raw.

I felt so good I did squat again on the following Monday. I am going to continue the really low volume leg days and continue to inspect my form to make sure it is flawless. As my confidence increases, so will the volume.

1/17/2011
135 2x10
185 x 10
225 x 10
275 x8
315 x6
345 x 1-----> could have gotten more but wanted a heavier set
355 x 2

I am really pleased with my legs coming back and even happier about the soreness in my quads.

what are you currently working on? how are those resolutions going?

Underground Strength Challenge 2010

Thanks to Luke and Jake Beggs for the solid design above. We had the Inaugural Strength Challenge at the Underground Fitness Center last night. Participants were weighed in and then attempted one repetition maxes on squat, bench, and deadlift. Each participant was allowed three attempts for all three lifts. Then each person then could see how many FULL bench press repetitions they could accomplish with their bodyweight. The last event was a grip test for MAN HANDS with 315lbs on our fat bar with a double overhand grip.

We had the following 11 competitors: Clay Brady, Mike Spitnale, Luke Beggs, Andrew Lewis, Rob Sinnott, Luke Ranta, Tyler Brewer, Brett Borders, Jake Beggs, Derrick Bellmann, and Nic Norwood. Here are the results (all weights are in pounds):

Heaviest Lifts

Squat

Luke Beggs 480

Rob Sinnott 445

Tyler Brewer 410

Bench

Rob Sinnott 375

Jake Beggs 345

Luke Beggs 320

Deadlift

Luke Beggs 525

Tyler Brewer 505

Brett Borders 505

Jake Beggs 495

Heaviest Total

Luke Beggs 1325

Rob Sinnott 1295

Jake Beggs 1225

Strongest Pound-for-pound- compared weight lifted to competitor's bodyweight

Squat

Luke Beggs 242%

Tyler Brewer 212%

Jake Beggs 207%

Bench

Jake Beggs 186%

Nic Norwood 179%

Rob Sinnott 163%

Deadlift

Clay Brady 274%

Jake Beggs 267%

Luke Beggs and Nic Norwood 265%

Highest Percentage Total

Luke Beggs 669%

Jake Beggs 660%

Nic Norwood 644%

Most Bench Press Repetitions with Bodyweight

Nic Norwood 27 reps at 140lbs

Jake Beggs 25 reps at 185lbs

Luke Beggs (200lbs) and Rob Sinnott (230lbs) tied with 17 reps each

MAN-HANDS GRIP

Luke Beggs 33.62 seconds

Tyler Brewer 27.3 seconds

Rob Sinnott 24.9 seconds

Awesome event, a bunch of Personal Records (PR) were made!!!!!!!!!! Thanks to every one that came out.

Leg Day- 1/5/10

Man, that is weird typing "10" in the year spot of the date...

For leg day had two real solid partners, Luke Beggs and Matt Cook. When I train legs, even on your most motivated day, you at least need a spotter/ some one to yell at you.

Warm-up
leg extensions 4x12 pretty light weight
leg curls 3x15 just getting the blood flowing

dynamic warm up
over unders
bw squats
chest stretch- torn up from yesterday, too tight a chest won't let me get under the bar like i want to

back squat
45x a lot
135x12
225x 10
315x3
365x6
385x6
405x6

RDLs
225 x8
245 x8
265 2x8

1-legged leg press
3 plates each side 2x8 each side
4 plates each side 1x6 each side

superset leg extensions (3x12) and leg curls (2x10)

machine calf raises 5x6-12 increasing weight=less reps

Leg Day before the holidays

Got some new CDs for Christmas... working out to music helps me bust get to new levels.



Planned workout for today before I head to Louisville for a couple days then Georgetown.

Back squat
135 x12
185 x10
225 x8
275 x8
315 x3
365 x6
405 2x6



front squat
225 x8
265 2x8

RDLs
275 3x12

leg ext and leg curl= as many as possible with stack on machine, superset 4 sets with no rest

say what you want but these guys have mastered their craft (sing'n and make'n the beat)...


shouldn't you? if you are going to train, train right

LEG DAY

Today was leg day... here is the pain I got to experience:
Back Squat
135x10
225x8
275x 6
315x 2
335x 6
365x 4 ----> my eyes were red from busted capillaries in my eyes, solid
345x 6
315x10 ---> this one made me dizzy, excellent

Leg press
8 plates on each side 1x6
8 plates plus a 25 on each side 2x6

Leg curl---- not your normal leg curl check out set three
150 2x12
125 1x6 On this set you lift the weight to your butt with both legs, drop one leg straight, and fight the weight on the way down. This is different than lowering the weight slowly. If you can slowly lower it then you are in control. Fight the weight on the way down and it will really tear your hamstrings up to get you results. Your one-legged leg curl descent should take around 3 seconds and don't let the weight slam at the bottom, catch it with the other leg that you made straight. Slamming the weight will piss off the guy in charge of the gym and is annoying to me.... it could also crack a plate

I recommend a protein shake or chocolate milk after wards with a good foam roll and stretching session to engorge your hammys with blood for repair.

Try it out and let me know what you think

GOALS GOALS GOALS

Alright alright alright, I preach about goals... setting them, writing down a descriptive plan on how you are to achieve those goals, and what you should do once said goals ARE attained.

If you don't know where you are going,
you'll end up somewhere else.
- Yogi Berra

You know you need to be realistic. Take sombody that has been working out consistently for two years and is benching 135lbs in January can't realistically set a May goal of 225lbs for sets. Eventually, for sure 225 is a sweet goal, but you have to push yourself yet have an idea of what is conceivable in the amount of time you are considering. Set checkpoints... where you expect to be at certain points and have both long and short term goals.



Writing down your goals keeps you accountable and you also have a visual reminder of what you set out to do. Writing them down should serve as a motivational boost every time you see that sheet of paper. It helps keep you focused on what you set your mind to achieve.


You have heard or maybe even YOU have set a goal, achieved it and became complacent, and then drifted away from it. If your goal was fitness oriented, once you achieved it did you maintain that level of fitness or drop off dramatically. We all have ups and downs but to get your body fat percentage to a certain level while pushing around a certain amount of weight and then letting it drop doesn't make sense.

Why achieve a goal just to have to get back to it at the same time next year? Goals should be progressive... you should constantly be focused on becoming better. Share some of your current fitness goals with me in the comment section!

LEG DAY

the plan for today is to become nauseated while doing legs. I am going to do 6 sets of back squat, leg press, and THEN front squat... although I don't expect to be worth much by the time I get to front squat.
I was relatively happy with deadlift on Tuesday. I haven't done any deadlift in *gasp* about a month and a half but I hit 365 for 6 then 8 and then 405 for 6, which are all good for me. About a year a half ago I tried 405 on deads and just got it twice with terrible form. My form was better this week and hopefully the good dead day is followed by a solid leg day today.

There will be a lack of twitter updates, I can't seem to get to the site from this computer.

Check out an article on rest periods or rest in general from Dan John here. I don't time my rest periods, but I also don't like for my workouts to last longer than an hour and a half so I push myself to keep a quicker pace. Coach John has some very useful comments about sleep, training, and life... you should check it out.

STAY STRONG

Back Squat versus Front Squat

I was doing some random searches on research engines through UK's library today and I came across some pretty useful information comparing front squat and back squat. (Pictures from http://www.stadion.com/)

Both are very useful in building knee and hip extensor muscles (quadriceps and glutes) as well as strengthening your core muscles. However, "performing back squat results in a higher amount compressive forces on the spine and knee extensor movements" according to Gullet et al in this study.

A higher amount of compressive forces could possibly be harmful in the long run, with a higher probability of spine or disc problems in someone with incorrect form. Gullet et al (2009) found no substantial difference in the amount of shear forces generated in either variation of the squat. Shearing force is physical stress that is perpendicular to the horizontal surface of an object where compressive force is the amount of force running down through an object.

(above) Compressive Force (http://www.back.com/)

Shearing Force-->

Gullet et al found that "front squat was as effective as the back squat in terms of overall muscle recruitment, with significantly less compressive forces and knee extensor moments... the results suggest that front squats may be advantageous compared with back squats for individuals with knee problems such as meniscus tears, and for long-term joint health."

However, in a study by Yetter and Moir (2008) that examined front and back squat's ability to improve 10 through 40m sprint times they found that the heavy back squat group not only had significant increases in speed time found when compared to the control group for the 10 and 20m distances... BUT the heavy back squat group also had significantly better sprint speeds times than heavy front squat at the 40m distance. Nonetheless, I would have liked to have seen a higher number of subjects than 10. Yetter and Moir's study.

For functional ability as far as strengthening your knee and hip extensor muscles as well as your core I would prescribe a person to participate in both front and back squats, as long as their form is correct. For any one with meniscus tears, bad form that has yet to be corrected, or previous back problems, I would recommend front squat. For an athlete I would throw into their program some front squat early in the off-season to continue to confused their muscles and give their backs a different type of force to deal with while still training the same muscles. Once the pre-season approached I would transition the athlete back to back squat.

STAY HUGE

References

Gullett, J., Tillman, M., Gutierrez, G., & Chow, J. (2009). A Biomechanical Comparison of Back and Front Squats in Healthy Trained Individuals. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 23(1), 284-292.

Yetter, M., & Moir, G. (2008). The Acute Effects of Heavy Back and Front Squats on Speed during Forty-Meter Sprint Trials. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 22(1), 159-165.

Maxed Out

I set a goal of 415 to max out on squat by May and took another step toward my goal by getting 405 today. I took the worst way to get it though. I grabbed somebody to spot me that was out of the norm so that distracted me a little... mentally to get into the 400 pound club was more of a challenge than I thought it was going to be. I warrmed up with 135, 225, and 315. Since 315 was around 77% of my hopeful max of 405 I figured it was a solid last step before trying my max.

I tried 405 the first time and wasn't warm enough because I dropped it... pretty much called out by the people watching me... they didn't have to say a word, but when they looked away after I fell that was enough of an insult.... I waited around two minutes after putting the weight back on the rack. I felt much better getting under the weight.

I got under it and all I had to do was stand up. down and up. 405 without hitting a sticking point. it was heavy but I didn't slow down.
I glanced at my spotter and since I had already failed once and then got into the 400 pound club by getting 405, I figured I would go ahead and try 415, you know, get a feel for it. dropped with that weight as well. I got 405 today and have my sights on 415 for May.

my biggest competition is the bald guy looking back at me in the mirror.

Maxing Out on Bench and Squat only is getting closer

I approached today looking at my lifting sheet not really seeing much improvement in my bench press or squat. Steadily getting my reps, but now blowing any day away.

I moved up to five sets of four this week for my core lift. Yesterday I got 315, 335, 345, 355, 365 on back squat. I got all my reps except the 365 I only achieved 2. Fatique set in... freaked by doing the weight??? I'd say both


I will remind you that my goal by May is 415 for my one rep max and that I got 395 this past December.

I will get it

Back to today, the lift at hand... bench press. I got 275 for four sets of four and drilled the second to last set with ease enough to make me want to jump 10 pounds on the last set.... I got 285
for all four reps. I have to push myself more on these sets, but I am happy with the weights I got the past two days. I am capable of more

After bench I completed five sets of six with one-legged romanian deadlifts with 120lbs and seated dumbbell shoulder press five sets of 6, two 80lb dumbbells for all five sets.

Did 8 sets of core exercises (russian twists and 2 point planks) and some triceps (rope pushdown for three sets of 10 and two sets of weighted dips, ten reps with fifty extra pounds)


a solid first two days of the week I'd say

Update on max out numbers and Super set routine

I completed a one rep max on back squat and front squat yesterday... I hadn't maxed out on back squat since May, but my strength has stayed fairly consistent. It actually has to have gone up. In May I got 375 on back squat with a belt, and yesterday i got 375 BUT the study that was being done called for the lifters to not use a belt.
Using a weight lifting belt increases intrabdominal pressure, allowing a lifter to lift more and is a lot safer than to max out not using a belt. But since using a belt increases the pressure in your abdomen, it allows your body to stay more rigid, which would allow you to lift more weight... up to 15% more! So getting the same weight that I did in May just without the use of a belt means that I have increased my strength, so nothing to be pissed about.

I had never maxed out on front squat before. I usually work out with 185 or 195 for 4 sets of 6-8. BUT I was able to get 275, so i am amped about those weights.

For another study he wanted me to complete a 10 rep max on leg curl, deadlift, and back squat. I did the leg curl and played around with a couple weights before getting 150 ten times. I also had to follow the protocol of one second concentric, two seconds eccentric (one second up, two seconds down), so I know that I was moving the weight in a controlled manner.

On a completely different note, I was training one of my most motivated clients last Tuesday... He is wanting weight loss and increased strength. While the two are very difficult to achieve at once, because to achieve greater strength you have to build muscle whcih means you have to consume more calories that you burn, and he wants to lose weight, which is the exact oppostie of the formula to build muscle mass... I believe when working with a detrained person, the two are possible to achieve at once. His body is in such a state of shock at the workouts, that all the calories he is burning lifting weights and strengthening his core with me, will help shed the fat off of him while his strength has already improved substantially.

His work out this past week was:
leg press
DB chest press
Lat pulldown

3x 10 on all and each set of these exercises was supersetted with the following core developing exercises:

Medicine ball wall throws 3x 10 with a ten pound ball
Supine Medicine ball chest throws 3x10 w/ a ten pound ball
Alternating supermans 3x 12 each side

I hope he continues his current regimine of lifting twice a week and running the other days to eventually prepare for a marathon. He has the drive for a total body transformation.

I posted a poll, take it and see the results. Let me know if you need anything.