Getting better at being better

New Rob and Old Rob met this morning at the bathroom mirror and the convo went something like this:

O.R.,"Man, what's your body fat %? Did you eat somebody?"
N.R.,"18%, but I have a plan to lower it and not take away from my 5 days of resistance training."
O.R., "What you got for me?"

I decided to quit my security job--- due to lack of sleep, killing or completely omitting my 5th workout a week, and wanting to focus more on training and family--- and get some specific strength gains this year. I also want to get back to 10-12% bodyfat, because after my weighted vest experiment i realized that it was creeping up and I don't want to look like a slob and 1/2.

My split now is:
Monday: Deadlift and back
Tuesday : early= sprints, plyos, olympic lifts like snatch, clean for speed
later= chest, triceps, and straight arm shoulders
Wednesday: legs
Thursday: early= olympic lifts like those above and sled push/pulls
Late= back and biceps
Friday: Shoulders, triceps, and a straight arm chest movement

Today was the first day of olympic lifts and explosive cardio:
5 minute jog to warm up on treadmill

snatch
2 warmups, 3 workings sets of three reps

clean from floor
pretty warm already--- 3x3, really trying to focus on the catch

sled push/pull- distance 20 yards each way
180lbs on sled- three trips back and forth, rest while training partners completes his trip (roughly 25 seconds)

legs were destroyed from my leg workout yesterday, I posted it at www.straighttothebar.com

I foam rolled afterwards and feel good to hit back and biceps in about an hour

Living heavy stuff, being aware of injuries, and having the right training mentality

There is something to be said about being able to pick up a couple times your body weight and yell at the mirror. I like to help people move... almost as much as i like to see 12 crossfitters try to carry one couch through a door. They get so confused when they can't use momentum and an extra little kick thing to move something inanimate.

I have recently been getting the itch to look around for a strongman comp and train for one. Now that I have finished my masters I want to train for something. I had been just pushing to be stronger, lift heavier things, and that was it. To a point, that is measureable, but it isn't exactly guided toward a peak performance date or anything. I try to keep up with Chase Karnes over in Paducah as he has been competing some, check out his site for some good articles and videos.

This is on my mind because I had deadlift tomorrow. It is such an all-encompassing lift. Total body strength is employed and if you don't stand up, you didn't get it. You can't really cheat too much on deadlift. You can do that little hitch while arching your back and dragging it up your legs, but those guys usually don't deadlift for very long due to injuries.

Speaking of injuries, this past couple weeks I have been getting pretty banged up. I felt something like an unravelling feeling in my groin while doing my dynamic warmup before deads two mondays ago. Deads went fine, but after back and front squat on wednesday I had a knot in my groin. I took it easy the rest of the week and stretched out and now it is gone and hopefully gone for good.

Last Wednesday, I was finishing shoulders so I was doing standing 1-arm dumbbell shoulder presses and got 7 reps with 75lbs with my right arm. On rep 3 with my left arm it stalled and my torso twisted a little bit and I felt my core under my rib cage on the left side. Felt like somebody frog punched me in the ribs. I finished the rep, of course, but felt that tear for the rest of the week. I took the core out of back (did a lot of machine work) on Friday and rested yesterday and today. It is no longer sore to the touch so I am going to treat deadlift like normal tomorrow night. I made the necessary adjustments to my training, but didn't just take days off that I was supposed to train. We'll see how it works.

I have developed a training mentality over the last 12 years that I have been training. I have been through a bunch of different exercises, know which ones are good, which ones suck. I don't know it all by any means, but I can give you an opinion with reasons to back it up. I hate when somebody throws out an opinion followed by," well because man, just because."
I push the limits when I train, but don't go for a new 1-rep max every day. The goal is to have vision for the next couple months, year, ahead of time and plan out your routine to get to where you want to be at the end-point. I have focused my intensity, with knowledge of where I want to be in the future, but patience to be realistic in that gains don't exponentially increase overnight.

Stay Strong... get stongER

The Goose Bump Phenomena

You ever lift and a song comes on that literally gives you the goose bumps? It's like a jolt of energy that makes you feel like you can pick up any weight and toss it around for reps.

Or you feel like your caffeine "kicks in" and you throw the headphones in and go into another world?

I have termed this feeling as the goose bump lift. You are feeling good with any and all numbers, your program, and you laugh when you hear about the thought of some people hitting a plateau... plateau??? what is that?

Have you felt like this lately? I am all for pushing through the pain and working hard, but have you worked hard and felt euphoric simultaneously anytime recently? If day in and day out you limp through a workout, have the same ol' playlist of bon jovi and smashing pumpkins, realize you are talking more than working out... maybe it is time for a change in attitude. You are probably getting worse physically as well.

It's hard to get motivated to lose weight and/or increase strength when your workout becomes routine.

Yes, you should have a time slot for your workout in your day.
Yes, you should have a plan once you get to the gym.
BUT you should not let your workout become the same old thing week after week.

Some workout refreshers:

1. Go at a different time so you can cut down on the idle talking that diminishes how much you get done in the gym
2. Delete every song on your mp3 player and load a new play list. I like http://www.pandora.com/ for new ideas of songs.
3. Old workout partner more of a anchor than a motor? Find some one new that actually wants to go to the gym.

Strive for the goose bump lift.... if your body doesn't want to be in the gym, you probably won't go.

Thanksgiving- some thoughts to chew on

The more fat a meat has, the better natural flavoring it has, right? That is why deer meat needs a lot of seasoning and can be pretty tough most of the time... it is a very lean meat.




Where am I going with this? If some ridiculously diesel cannibal overpowered me and cooked me, I would want to be the toughest, most-meaty meal he/she ever had. I wouldn't want to be a squishy, enjoyable dinner. I would want him/her to have to use all kinds of ketchup, seasoning, and milk to get me down.

On what I am eating for Turkey day:

I am going to focus on meat and veggies... I can get all of those carbs every other day. If you eat a ton of carbs AND desert, well, any gains you made the last couple weeks you just flushed out with your mass overeating. I am not going to quote a study, but I guarrantee people eat more when they are around other people overeating... large family dinner anyone?

Enjoy yourself, but don't hate yourself the next day.

Make time to workout, even if it is a bunch of sprints early one morning before a shower, do something. Don't use a holiday weekend as an excuse to be another sedentary American.

Today's workout:

incline bench press

flat cable flies

DB shoulder press

straight arm front raises SS with cable lateral raises

dips, pushups, and pushdowns

I'll let you know weights, sets, and reps afterwards

Chew on that

Randomness Updates

Some updates to read while you listen to this song:

1. Congrats to Luke Beggs on his second place finish in the novice middleweight class at the kentucky muscle extravangaza this past Saturday in Louisville. He looked freaky lean to say the least

2. Congrats to his little brother, Jake Beggs, who got his second first place finish in a month in the teen division. (Freak in the middle).

All of the guys that have competed recently are now in the off-season so I am looking forward to seeing their ridiculous strength gains.

3. I am going to be the guest speaker on Scott Bird's twitter chat this week. We are going to focus on "Fixing your Squat," check out more details at http://twurl.nl/1p4y18 and also check out Scott's website http://www.straighttothebar.com/ , there are a ton of forums and articles to read up on. If you are on twitter, my name is StayKYStrong and you can include #sbgym in your tweets to participate.

4. I am going to do an experiment for the first two weeks of December... We have a weighted vest here... weighs about 40lbs... and I am going to wear it for two weeks straight, any wear I go, aside from the shower and sleep. This will automatically make my bodyweight 260ish pounds and will constantly load my body, hopefully causing hypertrophy.

I got the idea from the avian muscle study that hypothesized hyperplasia of skeletal muscle(growth of muscle fibers) is possible. For those unfamiliar, in this study researchers strapped weight on one of a bird's wings for consecutive weeks and then examined muscle fiber number afterwards. Now there are obvious red flags in that the aformentioned study:

-They examined avian muscle, which is different than human muscle

- the reserachers killed the bird and counted muscle fiber number and compared it to the other wing. I will not be commiting suicide after the two weeks in which I wear the vest.

-There will be no way to prove hyperplasia with this, but I will be taking bodyweight, circumference measurements, and body fat percent measurements before and after. I will also have another gym employee participating in the two weeks prior to see his results. This is what I think of when I am bored.

I will definitely tell you all about any and all results.

Let me know any comments in the the comment section, talk at ya later.

Stuff that crossed my mind during deadlift

I get all kinds of thoughts across my mind during deadlift.... here is some stuff that hit me today, relevant or not

1) You should deadlift without a belt and straps every once in a while. Get your man grip up, you know? I did four sets today without straps today and it actually let me slow down some and really focus on my form. You also have to leave your ego at the door because you can do more weight with straps. I didn't use a belt today, but kept my form strict to really work my core. Unequipped lifting has its benefits

2) While talking about deadlift and not using straps, I also used an alternate grip. I tried it both ways (ha); the first set of 6 I used a left over and right under hand grip and the second set I reversed the grip. I used an overhand grip on all warm-up sets

3)you should never talk to another man that you don't know in the bathroom

4)on that note, people that get stage fright make me laugh

5) high testosterone should be wanted by all

6) force yourself to grow... don't say," i've tried everything" bc you haven't. Hamstrings too small? deads, RDLS, eccentric leg curls, leg presses with a high foot placement... do it all and do them all to failure. quit cutting your leg workouts short! get a solid recovery shake and stretch with foam rolling afterwards. Stay active the next day to prevent stiffness and lessen soreness.

have a great Wednesday

Lift for you

As I was in between sets on flat bench today, sweating, it hit me. I lift for me. I don't lift to beat Bill Bench or Scott Squat. Right now, I could honestly care less what they hit on anything. I don't care what they weigh, what they can push, what they can pull.

I am lifting to get better than I was before. I have been on a self-improvement project the last three weeks. I wanted to fix my shoulder problem (pressure building up on heavy bench and shoulder press). I decided to set a barbell next to my desk and stretch whenever I thought about it. I also took chest and shoulders presses down to once a week each ( I still completed straight arm lifts for shoulders and flying movements for chest).

Flat bench today was painless and I am optimistic about getting 295 for 6, 5, 4. I told myself three weeks ago that I would hit back twice a week and streetch my shoulders out for five weeks and I will stick to that.

Why lift if you don't want to improve? Why do something with less than total effort?

Before my last set I couldn't have cared less about anything else but pushing as hard and fast as I could. I set a goal to help my shoulder problem and approached it with a program that I thought would have a good chance at working and it has so far been helpful.

I lift for me. I sweat for me. I push myself for me. I get better for me. What are you doing for you?

More posts and videos to come... School starts

So this past week I had to go to the american red cross CPR/AED instructor training course Monday-Thursday 8-5, and then squeaked a lift in every day. I am now certified to certify other people!
I will not have this large of a pause in random rants, videos, exercise information, etc EVER again. So you think I would have had time to blog about something Friday... right? I got to help freshman move in at UK and was trying to get all of the paper work ready for my staff to return tomorrow. HR here has had some problems adding some people to payroll so hopefully I will stroll into the gym tomorrow and every one will be added...

In other news, my buddy, Danny Amon, texted me about hitting deadlift today... so why not? We used the traditional stance, and completed the following for deadlift:
135x10
225x6
315x4
365x3
405x6
425x6
455x6

the last one was my favorite because I was going to add two tens to each side and Amon said,"the two tens won't fit, why don't we just throw on a 25 on each side?" and that's how my new pr for deadlift happened.

Do something that would motivate somebody else today

what is your workout for deadlift? let me know in the comments

WHERE ARE WE GOING, AMERICA?

I took up a security job at a local bar to make some extra cash and it allowed me to partake in one of my favorite hobbies- people watching. Standing outside, over-looking a patio is a prime location for people watching, with minimal negatives.

I got to see every one go in one door, make the around the bar circle inside, and come out the door that I was posted up by. I also had the luck of being near three awkwardly placed steps that can be hours of entertainment on all-you-can-drink night.

What could possibly be the problem with this? With the full-time job, training some on the side, hanging out with my wife during the week, and hanging out with my wife and daughter on the weekends has left me little time to attend any bar night, which is fine. However, in my missed time on the bar scene I had forgotten or missed what the current frat-boy style was...

Now I can't be fooled by the thought that all women, or any women for that matter, would enjoy the companionship of such a deflated, tight shirt wearing, feminine look'n guy. No muscle mass, brighter colors than most women were wearing, the multiple hippi bands, necklaces, scarfs, sunglasses when it is night, I think I forgot to mention no muscle mass. If your going to wear a shirt that is tight, GREAT, but have more to show off than a rib cage or a showcase for adipose tissue.

Have women forgotten the meatheads? Say it ain't so...

There were a couple of club members there that could probably rattle off some perfect pushups or perform a jump squat onto the bar if prompted, but it makes me wonder... is the species dieing? A male that would rather move weight from a to b only to be able to move it from a to b quicker tomorrow or move more of it to the same location... are these meatheads becoming extinct???

There is no way. I realize that I work in a gym all day and then go home to an apartment that has a supplement shelf in the pantry, but I did not think things had gotten so bad. I can't be that sheltered.

I think next week I am going to bring up a certain max bench, squat, deadlift total is needed to enter for the males. This will work two-fold. It will all only testosterone filled gents to find their mate and the women will thank me because they will actually sense male phermones in the air, not the latest guy perfume. It's a win-win.

The only plus of the place being filled with soft, pudgy, poor excuses for a male is that it makes things a lot easier to escort some one out of the bar when they have no marbles.

To the meatheads remaining, we must train our children to lift weights, do sprints, and eat a ton of chicken and steak to prevent further decay into extinction.