Month: February 2017

Small Technique Change

Last weekend I wrote about how I was given some technique pointers on power cleans by our gym’s highland games competitor. It dawned on me that I didn’t say what the main advice was.

He suggested I try hook gripping the bar. Now I’ve tried hook gripping on deadlifts once, and immediately wrote it off. Keeping an open mind I jumped back in and was instantly better at cleans.

Since then I’ve been playing with some Olympic lifts every session.

With that one little suggestion I’m now much better at the lifts.

I’ve now hit 225 power cleans in a wicked fatigued state. It’s now a weight that I own. This means I’ll be hitting PRs very soon. Hell 255 was very close for a couple misses that same day, so I was near hitting PRs on a day where I had little “pop”.

I’ve hit a power snatch PR using it already.

Simply changing how I hold the bar has made a ton of practically instant improvement. I couldn’t tell you if my bar path is better, or if I’m now using lower body power instead of arms, hell my cleans still look like in the word’s of an old coach “retarded caveman heave” form. The effort involved is less though. I have improved.

The last few days of them brought me to the realization, one that I’ve been having frequently as of late, that I will hit some crazy lifetime numbers. I just have to keep going.

Never quit, and you’ll progress quite far.

-J

Train For Yourself

What You Need To Hear

It’s strange and amazing how the universe will put something you need right in front of you at the right time. Yesterday I was reading Lift Run Bang, a solid lifting blog, and came across a comment.

Here it is screencapped:

( It’s from this post)

While I may not agree entirely with that blog or the comment, you can glean ideas from anyone, I very much agree with that commenter’s mindset, do what you want, it works for you.This has worked well for me.

In the past my deadlift was maintained through shrugs. Heavy cheat form,body english heaving shrugs. With straps, and using weight well past my deadlift max.

I haven’t done these in a long time.

Yesterday I got my 495 deadlift back, and decided to shrug at the end.

I had intended to go 5×5 with 495 here, I always found deadlift 1rm+ for any rep range to be beneficial.

I was mentally checked out at this point, and the first 3 sets were hard. Not doing shrugs may just be what was missing from my deadlift. The retarded back strength they built may be what my pull was missing.At that point not wanting to be in the weight room any longer I got pissed and combined the last 2×5 into a set of 10. It was easier than the first 3 sets. Anger can still help with shrug strength.

Still I was not happy to see one of my pet lifts regress.
Hopefully partial squats aren’t in the same boat. I’ll have to test, and readd those too.

As I said yesterday I want to live at the gym.

It’s time to get back to my basics, crush it in the manner that was and is truly me, and truly mine.

How I Trained In The Past

I used to be ribbed for squatting everyday. I squatted most weight sessions between 2011 and 2015, and I did so every day for the first 6-7 months of 2016. Those 6 months saw my squat raise more than it had in years going from 405×1 to 455×2.

Shrugs were done 1-3x a week. Always on Saturday which were in essence retard strength days. Saturdays were partial squat and shrug days. I generally shrugged mid week as well. The partial squats were started at the bottom from the pins, and the heavy cheat shrugs often turned into max out hand and thigh lifts. These movements gave me a lot of core thickness, and more physically resilient.

I’ve gotten away from them.

My Mentality and “Split”

I don’t compete, or particularly identify with any strength sport. Lifting is, and probably always will be me just about me getting stronger.

I should be gaining the strength then by whatever means I like.

I need to get back to training in the way that’s me.

So each session would look something like this:

  • Legs- Squats :Front or Back mostly, Partials 1x wk, sometimes a non squat movement.
  • Push- Rotate through movements, normally I  bench with the most frequency.
  • Pull-Rotate through movements, I’ve been liking fat bar work, and lat pulldowns.
  • Assistance Work- Whatever I feel like, or needs work( Can cover any of the 3 parts)
  • Condition- Rotate through movements, lately this has been incline treadmill sprints.

I am not wed to any order for covering all aspects either. If I want one prioritized, or am dreading one I’ll most likely do it first. I almost never do pull before legs unless its light for both. I will however squat and then deadlift.

Become Hardier, Do More!

Honestly doing full body sessions makes it hard to lift with a partner.

I got a laugh out of a buddy the other day saying to me “I like training with you, but I really can’t, cause I never can tell what you’re actually training.”

While bodybuilding splits can work for people, those that use them are losing out on a lot of physical ability that bombing a part once a week and being sore for days keeps them from realizing.

My recovery allows for decent amounts of full body volume on a daily basis. The frequency gives me far better results, and mentally I like doing lots of whatever I like doing. I imagine that most who would actually give this a fair shot would find the same thing.

I can’t imagine that God or evolution would intend for us to be anything but enduring, easily recovering powerhouses. We in the past were far hardier than we are now. Don’t be one of those that have backslid. I know that it took me years,and seemed like it wouldn’t happen at the outset,  but if I can do it so can you.

If I lift with a buddy I still tack on the other two movement parts (legs,push,pull) that I didn’t just do with them, and I don’t feel sore in the part we trained together either the next day. Also I make sure to condition.

Train how you want, but evaluate, are you really just doing as everyone else does? Are you where you need to be, and are you in a shape that says robust? Are you not an embarrassment to all the strong individuals who have come before you? Make sure you’re not, and if you are, change it. It’ll take as long as it takes though. Live for the journey.

It’s 2017, a new year. Fuck compromise, it’s my year, my time. Make it your year too.

-J