11/8/23
It was windy.
While filming, luckily the 2x215lb press made it on camera.
The back off press set of 14x170lb press did not…well technically it did, til the camera was knocked over by a gust of wind between the 10th and 11th reps.
You can hear me breathing after rep 12, 13, and 14, hear the bar set down, hear me ric flair “whoo”…the camera face down on the grass.
I just deleted the file…
I realize I should make more talking videos.
The barbarian brothers video is doing decent, I expect it’ll break 1000 views soon, my best long form talk yet.
It’s over 800 and gets 25-50/day.
Maybe some more subscribers will come from me stating properly – it’s weakness to run to the argument of “steroids”, that all would be better believing in inherent human awesomeness and having either no frame of reference for what is considered good (the kid doing a weighted one arm pullups in a barn principle) or knowing only world records with the instructions “go forth, see how far you can go”.
…..
Now to talk training ;
The fastest pressing gains I ever made were at about my 18th birthday, a tad before as I recall – as around my birthday the hockey coach/gym teacher started locking students out of the weight room (so as to have his own personal gym to do his dumbbell inclines)…I was pressing and incline pressing on alternate days, pressing five or six days a week depending on which press fell on saturday.
I’d incline at home, otherwise just volume squats on both saturday and sunday, the five full body days monday through friday at school.
I’d read 5/3/1…
This is 2012, Jim Wendler had no frequency options back then…
Besides, I’m too stubborn to follow another’s programming as written anyway – BUT, I can use a guideline, bastardize whatever “as written”, make it my own, and then run with it.
I programmed the press and incline press both with 5/3/1 percentages, alternating between the two five or six days a week.
My incline went up FAST.
Like 1×175 to 12×185 in two months fast.
(guesstimate – I don’t know where that log is, maybe I still have it)
…..
The above all said, today’s 2×215 was an improvement from the baked in 1-2×205 that I’d been good for.
Both sets, today – day 18, and the 2×205 – day 2, were done as is – no warmup, just set up the bar, clean, press for as many.
Now the following would require me to do some heavier cleans, as backyard lifting – this a fairly stiff bar, a particle board platform…it is like -10% to all pulls, everything clean, deadlift, snatch feels 10% heavier here than in a gym with nice level flooring and always well lit (fuck the heating lol).
But, the daily press – all the military sets, which should be half of them at least – note : dude mix in see saw for volume days, heck z press could work here with programmed numbers or as volume too…
These are to be done with 5/3/1 percentages, as nicely spit out to me by the same black iron beast calculator I used all those years ago.
I’d drop the warmup sets because.
But I’ll do the three 5/3/1 sets, most days will rep the third set (it’s how I did it as a teenager) and may or may not have Wendler’s blessing to use his calculations at BULGARIAN FREQUENCY.
(All this IF I run this approach, I’m not necessarily so inclined to “math my gym/lifting”.)
…..
You don’t have to do a program as written.
You have to own up to your gains, whether you get them or not.
I prefer doing my own stuff.
5/3/1 press, with rep outs, some back off sets, extra cleans, and daily HERE. I. COME.
(Again IF I run this approach. See that “mathing” thing lol.)
Persistence & Tenacity
Meal 1 – Early Dinner :
The bag of popcorn chicken ~110g protein, dipped in ketchup, a quart of coffee milk, so ~150g protein in a light to medium filling sitting – I could still eat.
Meal 2 – Later Dinner
Have to still eat the nine eggs, nicely they’re on sale this week – cost $1 for this, will microwave if need be.
No excuses, get nine eggs in every day.
Oh, and I did a second session – that saw me press 2x220lbs! Meaning 255lbs is closer than I’d hought.
This set ALSO no warm up, but with amping up via jennifer lopez “on the floor”, pulling off sweater and sadly headphones right before walking up to the bar, and stomping before the clean with plenty of gutteral yells throughout the set lol.
And heck, who knows if I’ll actually start doing a cycle of 5/3/1 within a week or less – it’s an idea, how easy both 2×215 and 2×220 were today threw a wrench in the “I’m going to struggle to hit 255 thing” – a false belief.
I’m STRONG.
Getting strongman strong.
Where to go with it.
Persistence & Tenacity
255, then 275, then 300lbs.
Somewhere on that route should take off viral.
I’m pressing AND cleaning, plus outside, plus not world class elite strongman – I say I’ll go viral, make a living from filming myself lift.
Fuck a dream, have it as reality.
Here’s the 2×220