Month: October 2018

Neck Strength = Vitality

No muscle group when activated brings about the feeling of aliveness that is brought about by a well worked neck.

In a pinch hand self resisted isometrics will do, but this while building significant strength does add tension at rest over time. You can neck isometric your way to migraines if this is what you train daily for too many days in a row.

(Neck harness can cause similar. I’ve come to like it best as a feat of strength, and not as a builder of strength. I prefer the wrestler and yoga style neck work.)

It’s better to more regularly do variants with more range of motion, and/or that build looseness for longevity reasons.

I prefer the following as neck work staple, and neck work SHOULD be a staple :

Throw a pillow or towel on the floor, and from your knees do front neck bridge variants ; front to back, “around the world” (rotating 360° each direction), and side to side. For these the forehead is the main point of contact.

After enough reps have been done (do the right amount, use your own judgement) place your hands on the floor, and kick up into a headstand. Hold it for awhile.

(I usually count to 250 or 300, which while counting under load isn’t nearly as long as one would expect. Range is 100 count to 500 count, with occasional timed sets to keep me honest about time held.)

Nothing keeps the neck healthy, mobile, and strong (while building size) like this simple floor based neck routine.

The feeling immediately afterwards is glorious…you feel vigorous, full of vitality, and deeply primal.

If you’re currently doing neck work give this a shot. If you’re not currently doing neck work start…by giving this a shot, and making it habit.

I can tell you this ; the headstand has likely kept me alive, and that front bridge work from the knees is great “feel the muscle” type work especially for shoring up the gaps in strength left by the headstand, and accelerating hypertrophy.

-J

Don’t Sleep On Them Heavy Bent Over Rows Bro

Bas Barbell spoke of a time where he was bent rowing heavy and not worrying about deadlifts.

Chaos And Pain recommends heavy bent rows as base work for military pressing.

With military press (off of a clean, often from the deadhang) as the main lift, and semi burnt out from hitting it frequently yet still finding myself in the gym…I decide to bent row.

10×3 with the last set a rep out.

Being that set 10 still is in the area of 12 reps I’m obviously not going heavy yet…pulling double overhand with thus far 265 relatively strict for sets 1-9.

I can see this moving up quickly to deadlift weights hitting it “hard”, 10 sets in about 30 minutes.

Great way to move up grip strength on a barbell. (Maybe I’ll up the volume and hit some strapped some not. Imagine dual 10×3 in the same session, strapless first then strapped second. A one movement back day.)

I’m seeing separation between side and rear delts, and my upper body is vastly improving.

I can tell I’m getting glute/ham work near the end, and definitely on the rep out set. Who says you need to specifically train legs?

Best not to sleep on them heavy bent rows.

It’s a powerful (usually neglected) movement.

(Without deadlifting but cleans and bent rows I hit a rep PR on deadlifts already. 10/19/18 9×405 with reps in the tank baby!)

-J

10/14/18 Physical Performance Dream

This time it was deadlifts…again.

The gym I was at only had machines and ez curl bars.

Must’ve been longer than the normal ez curl bars as I pulled my top sets in a sumo, though very narrow sumo stance.

50×365 nearer to pausing than touch and go. A large portion of the dream was spent trying to find plates to make 405 for another set.

I’d done two at 365, again bad math had struck, and I noticed that the dude saying he’d loaded it didn’t.

Still 30, then 50 reps at 365 is awesome endurance.

More impressively it was all double overhand.

It might be a sign that I should be bodybuilding with sumo stance deadlifts. In real life I’m training almost naught but back and legs.

-J

Curl Strength From Back Work & Tire Flipping

Since this video in February of 2017 I can likely count on a few hands (my hands and one or two others hands) how many times I’ve done curls in just about any capacity…

There was a couple weeks of daily curling, a short feeder run, and occasionally testing if I could hit a 135 strict curl.

I’ve only been able to curl 135 on one to three occasions since that video…

Today (10/14/18) I got the urge to try, and hit singles at 95, 115, and 135 late in a high volume back workout.

I got 155 to the 90° sticking point, lowered it, and got it with the smallest amount of momentum with a “cheat” curl. Based off of the 135lb rep I thought I’d have a good shot at a strict 185lh curl.

(Also backed off with an easy 5×115, I think curls are meant to be 5rm-8rm.)

I’ve written before on “contrarian arm training” ie just letting compound movements get your arms stronger.

Presses for triceps, tire flips, and likely underhand rowing for biceps.

My curl is up (and my pullups easily maintained at 5 reps) from a steady training regimen of mostly hang cleans, a goodly volume of bent rows, and tire flips to end every session be it 2x or 7x weekly.

Sets of 5-8 on barbell curls feels very old school. I’m thinking if non-specific work is doing this well, a bit of curling will push me quickly up to repping a plate, and hitting 185.

Today showed me I have serious potential to “win the gym” at curling…the gym thing I’ve near wholly neglected over the years.

Aside : “Win the gym” – I was told by this petite college chick that I win the gym at flipping the tire. Expanding on the concept I generally win the gym at anything involving putting a barbell overhead, oly variants, and likely soon to be barbell curls. Fat bar stuff is my forte, there’s no argument I win the gym there, and cold lifting is where I not only win the gym, but rub loser faces in it as I’m so many levels above them it’s sad…for them.

A lot of old timers had seriously heavy max curls, maybe it is ok to train arms…as long as you’re progressively getting bigger and better 1rm-8rm.

-J

Contrarian Arm Training

Here it is short and sweet :

•Hang cleans for forearms.
•Tire flips for biceps.
•Heavy pressing variants for triceps.

What you want more?

Ok, I’ll feed you fuckers.

I’ve never been big on doing curls.

Effectively I’ve never done an “arm day”. Hell, I’ve always viewed such things as laziness. An “arm day” isn’t a day at all. It’s undeserving of your post workout shake and meal and dessert and McDonalds and Gatorade, etc.

What arm development I have has come solely from compound movements.

I view most as having or going for an overdevelopment of the arms in relation to the rest, I prefer say the torso to overpower the arms.

My 17″ish arms aren’t small mind you, but my torso makes them look it.

I’ve built myself the way my leverages combined with compound movements will.

I say choose the compound to hit your arms vs the isolation.

Hammer curls, “cheat” curls, reverse curls, high rep heavy wrist curls, and JM presses the only “arm” work I’ve liked anyway.

(I do like grip work. I hate most curls for the biceps always prefering overload “cheat” curls or more forearm centric variants. Still arm work is usually byproduct of a compound exercise.)

Currently my biceps are growing as everytime I hit the weights I end with tire flips.

As my pressing moves up so will my triceps.

Forearm growth will occur by doing hang cleans regularly with metal not bumper plates. Pauses, no dropping with that “rough” catch from the drop at knee or waist height, oh yeah, forearm growth.

Fin.

-J

(I wrote this about 2 weeks back, but it expands out well to what I just wrote today.)

Tire Flip Lift Equivalencies : Tire Part 4

I’m talking with this kinda light skinned mixed race with hauntingly shaded white-blue eyed 50 year old bodybuilder about the tire.

“It’s not as hard as it seems. I could teach just about every male here how to do it. The effort done right is equivalent to a speed deadlift, 60-65%, for a triple. You know continentals, strongman?”

“Yeah”

“Done wrong or heavy enough, it’s like a pseudo continental.”

I tried to talk him into flipping it. Described the steps in a theatrical manner. Sadly he wasn’t game.

It did give me a laugh his opening with “You ever do that fresh, at the start?”

“No, I like using it as a finisher. It’d be too easy then. The tires not big enough. My high school had a bigger one.”

And he was yet another person to think I’m a Midwesterner.

“Well you do have those big tractors in the Midwest.”

“I’m not from the Midwest.”

A chick recently guessed I was from Minnesota.

Iowa has been a popular choice for “guess my back home”.

I guess I just seem country boy.

Easily flipping that tire must just be part of that image.

Whadda ya think about that?

-J

Why Squatting Was So Easy Yesterday

I’ve known for a long while that jumping, and explosion in general before heavy efforts acts as a priming technique.

It makes you ready to perform.

I’d done 7 sets of presses, hang cleaning the bar to shoulder.

7 lightish dead hang cleans is very similar to the equivalent number of broad jumps.

My body had been primed quite well for that squatting.

A note : olys are “heavier” and slower than a jump. A moderate or lightish weight oly variant is closer in stimuli to a jump than a max oly.

If my lifting science is on point it’s power vs speed-strength or would I be describing strength-speed?

No matter, it’s best to think through your lifting in layman’s terms anyway.

Layman Terms For Speed Of Effort :

•Explosive
•Quick
•Moderate
•Slow
•Grind
Etc.

And at each stage still try to move as fast as possible (unless purposely going superslow for the muscular effect).

The science of all of it stifles gains far more than it grants them.

On the opposite end if the spectrum the partial range overload will also make you stronger.

With partials and explosive work you likely don’t need to train the full range of motion lift heavy, or even at all.

Some partial squats and a bunch of cleans from the dead hang has made my squat go up.

-J

Update : 10/10/18 – same with front squats. 3×275 was far too easy.

Shoulder Feeders To Start The Day/Shoulder Feeders For Carrying Yourself With Confidence

Shoulder Feeders To Start The Day

(written a few weeks back)

What do you do with the last 2 minutes before you walk out the door?

A feeder session seems the obvious answer. Shoulders. Why? Because they’re more badass than curls.

1 quick set of lateral raises.

It works exceedingly well despite only using a pair of 10s.

The fact your traps take over is a ok.

Traps activated feel good, improve your posture, and make you feel more animalistic.

That’s exactly what you want before opening the door and stepping out into the world.

Shoulder feeders always do good things for me.

Last year a month of them upped my press, both military and bench.

7-10 days of them this time around brought my shoulders up a level. Once I got back into the weight room the frequency dropped to 2 or 3 days a week.

I needed them this morning. It gave a solid boost. Any time I go out aside from the gym it makes sense to do.

There are short term and long term benefits.

Shoulder Feeders For Carrying Yourself With Confidence

(the recent rewrite)

It takes about a minute, and a pair of 10lb dumbbells will do.

A moment before you put on your shirt and step out the door you’ll take those dumbbells and do one high rep set of lateral raises.

I usually do 50-60 reps, and hold the last rep at the top for a few seconds.

It pumps the traps and the deltoids, and helps you stand a little straighter.

Placebo or not, on “work” days doing this before stepping out the door has made a noticeable impact on how I feel, how I get shit done, and the responses I get from the world.

I’m standing tall, unphased by bullshit, and look damn good.
I notice and am noticed.

-J

Postscript (which includes some funny anecdotes from today) :

I felt like throwing em both up as I unintentionally wrote it out a second time. Try it. You will carry yourself better.

Fuck it, may as well throw up some music.

Was banging my head to this between lever squat sets, and this Native American looking chick on another leg machine was looking at me, head banged for a moment, and smiled at me. Gave me a good laugh.

Also I had the funniest broken equipment thing happen.

So the gym has essentially no clips, hang clean and press without clips is best using only 2 plates per side for everything over 135. I started to load the bar with a pair of 45s, realized I’d need 3 plates a side with this, saw the 25kg plates, realized a 25kg+10lb each side would give me the 175lb I wanted and pulled the plate off. The rotating sleeve came with it. Look at the end of a barbell, for it to rotate there’s a nut there screwed in. That was very loose to say the least. And up to the desk it was… “y’all got a wrench” while presenting the sleeve and nut. My asking the gear head at desk if he wanted me to bring up the rest of the barbell too caused a PMS like outburst from him. There’s so much I could say cause of that. “My Impressions Of Roiders” sounds like an article for another time.

Eggs Are The Superfood

Eggs are vilified by the media, it’s crazy to think but in a dystopian future they could be outlawed.

There’s a power in the raw yokes.

Would I even be exaggerating to call them nature’s concentrated manhood?

Drink them.

It truly is the superfood.

Even in the most expensive parts of America you can find them somewhere by the 5 dozen count for $10 or less.

Nothing is going to pack as much nutritional punch nor be as inexpensive to implement as body overhaul by egg.

Hell, even at prices more expensive I’d still suggest an egg habit of at least 3 daily.

That is a raw suggestion. I’m inclined to say cooked doesn’t count towards that number, that cooked eggs are solely extra credit.

I’m at 3 weeks of raw egg milkshakes now.

It’s the best dietary thing I’ve ever implemented.

I’ve learned my lesson.

-J

This Gym & It’s Tire : Perception # 3

Okay. It’s still boggling my mind, but people at this gym view flipping the tire as this object of Herculanean effort.

I likely could make a post every week on this subject as it comes up that frequently.

Yesterday : I somehow talked a dude into giving the big one (cause who gives a shit about smaller size tires) a shot.

It’s my opinion just about every male at this gym could get it…that dude at 5’10” 185lbs got it simply being talked through how to do it.

Took him til his 2nd attempt.

Today this petite and curvy little college chick told me that I win this gym at the ability to flip the tire.

(Picture a 5′ pretty faced latina with curves, it’s a close enough description.)

Hilariously she’s apparently seen big dudes fail to get it over, even seeing tears from said big dudes who had failed to do so.

There’s this crazy odd object mental block to everyone in the building but me.

(And the dude who was game yesterday, but I removed his mental block, and talked him through it.)

A 275lb roided out bodybuilder made a big deal of it, suggesting only some 300lb+ strongman competitor was the only one on location to ever do so…

Yet I talked a normal 185lb male into flipping it. Hell, I’ve heckled a 165lb buddy into doing so with a larger tire with more worn down tread.

165lb male, flipping a bigger and harder tire. Perspective.

It’s amazing how a small amount of ribbing and 30 seconds of technique how to makes so much difference.

The 185lb dude yesterday told me that the story of my 165lb buddy flipping a harder tire caused a mental switch in his brain as to it’s possibility for him.

I told the chick today that I could talk/heckle almost any male at this place into flipping it.

As she was 5′ and petite I don’t think I could get her to flip it successfully with my 30 seconds of coaching, I do think there’s at least one female at this place that could.

I’m serious. There’s some diesel females here.

I’ll just start taking the compliments. I am after all King Of Awkward Strength.

-J