Persistence and Tenacity

This isn’t the deep post I started off flow writing but got stuck on.It’s a fun lighthearted post on feeder workouts. Here you are.

The Idea

My PT is somewhat like a feeder workout, but it’s really just chest,quads, and calves. Chest and calves being strong points made even stronger, and quads always have been decent.

Lifting last night my buddy talked about how feeder workouts, and hitting his weak points every day are making tons of difference.

I’ve experienced this in the past, and am seeing it right now whenever i run into my friend at the gym.

Shoulders: Bad Genetics or Lack Of Effort?

I’ll admit my shoulders are small. I barely train them. 6 – 8 months or so ago I did feeders for them for maybe a month, and saw a noticable increase in width/aesthetics.

All of the kids I lift with have better shoulders than me, both naturally, and because of training. One even doing less for his than I.

My traps overshadow my shoulders, and I was thinking how aesthetically shoulder width is a weak point.

Like I said in the 1500 reps daily post , once I came up with the idea I started immediately.

The Challenge/Feeder Protocol

I set my mind on 100+ reps of lateral raises every day for at least the next 10 days using 10lb dbs or heavier. Why 10 days? Why not? It’s the number that popped into my head first.

The rules will be the same as last time with laterals. Get them done by any means necessary. I can do them as extra work at the gym, tacked onto my home PT, or as a separate home based session. If I happen to go out of town the 10’s will come with me.

As I type this, I’ve just finished today’s laterals with a quick workout of 50,40,30,20,10 with my pair of 10’s and did a few extra reps for good measure. ( Reps for good measure, there’s a post in itself)

I’m going to have to play with my form and see if I can shift them more to delt, as I feel more traps from this 1st session. But mind you yesterday’s power clean fest has my traps more awake than usual and they’re a muscle I’m natural with.

I’ll find a form that works more as intended for shoulder width.

Look For Updates/ The Next Challenge

Look for an update about completion on the 30th. As well as the next feeder challenge. Off the top of my head I think high volume Hindu squats, abs, or continue the laterals, or add rear delt raises. Maybe run the 1500 again, or a session of walking or skip rope every morning. I’m not sure yet. The decision will be cemented on the 30th.

Get those PR’s and Gains!

-J

Stats

Currently I’m 245 lbs at 6′. My first 405 deadlift was at 17. It took me until just shy of 22 to hit 495(strapped) add a few more months and being 22 for me to hit it raw. I’ve yet to hit 545, the next 45 and 25 a side jump increment.

In prior posts I’ve mentioned grip as my main weakness over the years. Now it seems to be just below the knee to just above the knee. The grip has solidified, but now a new weak point in the lift to hammer.

Natural Squatting + A Surprise

For years my deadlift and squat moved hand in hand. As long as i could hold it, add ~40lbs to my squat and I could pull it. The two lifts very much trained each other for me or so I thought. When I stopped squatting very frequently(mental burn out from 180+days of daily squats) I assumed by pulling regularly that I’d be fine. Apparently take out the leg work, and my pull regresses.

Now I could start squatting every day, but I have no inclination to. I’m bored of it. Even barely doing the movement it has still been maintained more than 6 months of neglect later. I have short limbs, I’m built for it, but the deadlift is different. My short arms and stocky build don’t classify me as a natural puller. The deadlift needs work, it’s more of a challenge, and right now seeing it regress I’m more inclined to go full retard on it and brute force my way to some huge PRs.

Mood Bro + Hairs Up My Ass

I very much train by mood. I’ll hit whatever I feel like once I’ve stepped onto the gym floor. I never truly know my main lift for the day until then. I play around, and if something was very good, or very bad the day prior, or even that morning I may go back and hit it again. Often and generally for many days in a row.

So lately I’ve had a hair up my ass for all things fat bar. I bench fat bar, I power clean fat bar, and most importantly, and prioritized I deadlift fat bar. About 6 months ago I pulled 484 on it. At my gym a 220lber, younger than me just pulled 600(regular,not fat bar, don’t shit yourselves). Mix the two in my mind and I have a crazy goal(crazy to outsiders). Add about 80lbs to my max(regular bar), and use the fat bar instead.

Now remember I don’t want to squat, my natural easy to build lift, I want to bust the pulling issues in another way. I started doing low back practically every session, and while it’s been shooting up in strength, the pull hasn’t.I didn’t gain deadlift strength, I just added more strength to an already diesel bodypart. As I said the dead zone is around the knee. I can break a good deal off the floor and have the rep die at knee level(roughly).

Partials + Extra Range Reps

For years I had a weekly obsession of Saturday shrugs+partial squats. All done far heavier than my deadlift and squat maxes. They both give you some stupid strength. So suffice to say I’m not a stranger to doing partial movements.

Separate and related I’ve always enjoyed doing pulls with longer range too. Snatch grip deads, pulling from blocks, or the ultimate lift of elevated stiff leg deadlifts. I’ve noticed that these all seem to help my pull. I do either for a few weeks, even during dark times of deadlift regression, and soon after I hit a new PR.

Hopefully you are following my train of thought, I’ve had it explained to me that, and I’ve realized that my patterns of reason resemble chaos to others. Bear with me:

1. Longer range helps strength off floor.
2. My weakness is floor to above knee, particularly knee area(just below to above)
3. I decided to Power Clean standing on the blocks for a laugh
4. A Louie Simmons article where an anecdote of below knee to above knee high rep partials for a man not built to deadlift
5. 2+2 = Ding Ding Ding
6. Partials- I’ve done them for years, overloading the strong point for retard strength, time for……
7. Weak Point Partial Deadlift – Ding Ding Ding, moderate weight, high reps, brute force my way through the weak point with lots of volume- We Have A Winner

The Pump

These partials ended up making this one of the best workouts of my life. After the regular deadlifts were done I dropped the weight back to  roughly 300 and did 4 sets of 5 floor to above knee+ 5 mid shin to above knee, and on the last set added in some full range reps at the end. My traps were thoroughly stretched and sore, lots of time under tension. Breaking the weight off the floor pumped my quads, and my ass was on fire from the RDL like pumping in the second half of each set. My lats were fired up, this is a rarity, and my grip was thoroughly worked. Lots of time under tension.

Honestly top 5 sessions of my life. I felt pumps in places I rarely do. This post has now got me fired up, and I think its time to go kill it doing the exact same lifts right row. No reason you can’t pull with frequency, Bob Peoples did.

-J

 

Over the years my weakest link was almost always my hands and forearms.My grip was always lagging. Naturally my forearms are small,I don’t have the best insertions for size or strength,and for a six footer my hands are undersized.

For a long time I thought grip would not be my strength.

After high school I bought straps for the purpose of shrugging. My traps were always strong and easily developed. Hands were limiting my traps ability to soar. So I strapped up here always. I never made a habit of strapping up for anything else,and only rarely used them for another exercise. High rep heavy dumbbell rows or the occasional day when I didn’t want hands to limit deadlifts.

I continued to lift as best as my hands would allow.

Then in 2015 I found myself without weights for 8 months. I did lots of isometrics for my back,chins off a tree,flexing of the forearm simulating levering, and opened and shut my hands for 100s of reps at a time.

I came back to weights and within 8 weeks hit a lifetime 30lb deadlift PR.

Within another month or two I could hold that weight (455) no problem.

A month or two later I was kicked out of that gym for actually lifting weights.

New gym, on day two pulled 484 on a fat bar, lifetime PR was 495×2 strapped. Maybe I have ridiculous open hand strength from isometrics, wrestling snap downs and the head and arm hold. Maybe I don’t.

My lifetime PR in deads is still 515, I’ve gotten 545 to knee level many times.With a fat bar a week ago I’d gotten 515 to knee height. Grip is no longer the issue. I can hold more than I can pull now.

How did this happen though?

As far as I can tell, I just had to give it time. Physically I seem to be a late bloomer, I simply had to do my best training, use straps only when COMPLETELY required and wait a few years. I may even count strapped very heavy shrugs as grip work, go heavy enough and the straps won’t do all the work, your grip is still worked.

It seems I simply have to persist and endure for lengths of time, then my abilities skyrocket up almost overnight.

My power clean currently sucks. Lifetime and recent best of 255 @245. I am iffy with 225, even though I’ve got it for as many as 3, but own 205. 205 is an everyday max. I’ve got it for as many as 6 or 7 reps. But on a fat bar, seems unreasonable. Until last night. On a regular bar I cleaned up to 195, failing 225 about 5 times, then switched to the fat bar and dropped weight. Power clean and press. 114,164,then with 194 I failed to press,then push press it, but the cleans, fat bar, chalkless were easy. Dumbfoundingly so.

Well add 5 lbs, then celebrate that I can clean 200 on a fat bar, went and told my buddy what I did, then realized the bar weighs 24lbs it was only 199. I added the smallest micro plates the gym has, 1,25 each to an amazing 201.5 fail,fail,scream motherfucker. Get angry, and hit it fast. I simply wasn’t in the groove.

Then to get it on camera. Add weight, 2 plates a side , 204lbs, grab a buddy to film it. Hit it , ask that he got it, if he hadn’t I would’ve doubled or tripled it. He had. Then added weight and failed 224 twice, too bad. Would’ve been sweat to really crush it on the fat bar.

So how did someone who shouldn’t have good grip get it?

Simple, I kept training. I’d say the one biggest factor was the weightless work during those 8 months, but the last month or two of everything being done fat bar couldn’t hurt. If you want to shrug allow yourself to use straps, just don’t be a strap addict. Use your hands,if mine can surpass the rest of my musculature, so can yours.

I’d highly recommend using a fat bar as often as possible, although fat grips can work in commercial gym hell. For straps Spud Inc makes awesome ones. I’ve shrugged as high as 750, no issues. I doubt one could tear them.

Kill It – J

Background + Mistakes

I came from a wrestling background. And at around the same time as I was wrestling, in my mind I was going to be in the USMC. I imagined myself as combat arms, often times going all out and saying I’d be Spec Ops. Thus I took my PT seriously, and always wanted to be a physical workhorse. At the time I was between 175 and 195lbs.

As time went by I stopped wrestling, didn’t enter the military, and as I gained weight while lifting I made a huge mistake. I stopped doing the cardio, conditioning, and work capacity work. I allowed my stamina, and ability to do tons of work to regress. I’d become complacent.

So here I was focused too much on scale weight, and 1 rep maxes. Can I still sprint? Yes, but not near as many repeats as in the past. Can I still wrestle? Yes, but not without gassing hard.

I allowed myself to not do the work that I view as the suck, relying on my high rep calisthenics to be my conditioning. While high reps can work, they’re still only up and down, you need movement in the lateral plane too. Hell, remember how bad grass drills from football or the military were? How bad chain/line wrestling drills were? All that movement really sucked.

I know from experience aerobic work helps with ability to train hard in the weight room. As a senior in high school I ran bleachers for 5-20 minutes post-workout daily, and at the time hitting 20 lifts at 90% roughly EMOM was fairly easy.

I’d even noticed walking a few miles makes loads of difference. You could even blend weights with this by doing heavy sled pulls/drags, or carries.  Think Strongman, or Lumberjack. Weighted aerobics may be the best of both worlds.

But you can still go old school.

Lace the shoes, and hit the pavement.

I’ll admit, I need to start.

The Epiphany

For a while I stopped doing the volume in the weight room, that I’d done in the past. Combine this with not having taken cardio seriously for a few YEARS and I noticed that my work capacity was way down.

Then the last straw, my maxes started getting lower, or harder effort wise as I wasn’t doing the required smaller stuff to build strength over the whole system.

So, I started walking a bit more, then added some sled work at the gym, next came actual conditioning, stairs, jump rope, bikes, rowing.

I’m heavier now, running is still a bitch. I can row well, the fat man’s version of running, but running is not where it needs to be.

Will it affect my squat? No, not if you choose not to let it. I’ve done this in the past to good effect, sprint, lift, run.

Short+fast, then heavy, then slower +longer

A couple days ago my gym got AirDyne bikes.

Perfect tool, at a perfect time.

Structuring the Session

1. Warmup with Weighted Aerobics, Sled Work fits perfectly.
2. Light rep work for the intended bodyparts
3. Big lift, low reps
4. Big lift, back off sets,optional
5. Light rep work
6. Work capacity,conditioning, and/or cardio

An example:

1. Moderate weight sled pulls, a few trips
2. Hamstring pump, 1-4x 10-50
3. Squat up to heavyish 1-3
4. Squat rep sets, 1-5 sets of 10-20
5. More hamstrings, lower back, abs
6. Airdyne Tabata x 3, 4 minute rounds
7. Play a bit more (optional)

Will This Work + Programming

I’ve done similar things in the past, and to good success. I hate programming to the point that I don’t know when I’ll hit legs, or push at the gym right now. My focus really is on fat bar deadlifts, forearms, core,and conditioning.

Life has me lifting at the gym every other day for the most part. 50% or more of these are pull days right now. I press or legs when the mood hits. Often as lighter secondary work to the pull.

Every session right now has lower back work. If I remember I do abs as well.

Conditioning from this point on is mandatory. I can easily mix the machine I use, or don’t, and where on the conditioning-cardio-work capacity spectrum each days work falls.

For example: If I want easy, jump rope, to me it’s a more mentally stimulating version of a jog. If I want to feel like death Prowler sprints. Just pick the spot on the spectrum and hit it.

You can’t tap into your full potential without the conditioning to support it. This statement can be flipped to strength as well. You need to build a base of all physical attributes. I’ve neglected conditioning, maybe you neglect strength. No more though. Do the work.

-J

 

 

 

Based upon my personal experience I’ve been lead to the conclusion that simplicity in fitness is the way.

Simplicity How?

Not in the terms of streamlined workouts,although I personally do this, but in the manner of doing it your own way.

Too many people look for the perfect program, and in the process lose sight of the fact that they simply need to train hard.

One could do nothing but a few calisthenics and a little flexing and be far beyond fit,but its up to you to find what you believe in, and then do it.

Observe + Action

The action behind the program is far more important than the program itself.

Go to a park, see the fit guys doing chins, dips, and higher level bar work.

Go to a solid gym and see the strong powerlifters train, but then on the flipside observe the bodybuilders.

Check out the all-roundness of some crossfitters.

Look at a laborer’s work capacity.

Check out combat athletes the world over.

Can’t see this stuff in person? There’s always YouTube.

Look at someone who has the ability you want, figure how they got there, and then figure how you can get there making modifications as necessary based on your personality, needs, strengths, and weaknesses.

I personally would rather not lift, than follow a rigid program.

If i program at all, I primarily use guidelines,and if i decide to follow a proven program such as Wendler’s 531, I severely bastardize it, tweaking frequency being the most common culprit.

I like frequency of exercise, and like training my entire body.

Needless to say my manner of just going to the gym and hitting full body workouts or 2/3 of the categories(push/pull/legs, practically always including legs) each session and throwing in calisthenics at home for the rest may not work for you.

Seeing a random person at the gym and working in plus adding squats may not be your cup of tea.

Streamline

If i don’t want to do anything I streamline my training back to pushups and Hindu squats.  The gym is really icing on the cake, and extra credit in my mind. Whatever daily PT requirements I’ve set are also hit(calf raises).

I do the PT 7 days a week, year round.

Rain,sleet,snow, or shine, in sickness and in health like a mailman wed to his work.

If I want to do more I’ll  throw in some chins, or flexing for the back, and a little bit of neck work. Often I’ll flex the hell out of my forearms, open + close my hands 100s of times, or go outside and do something such as in the winter shovel snow(which I happen to enjoy, I always thought it built my work capacity particularly for the deadlift in a sustainable,fresh air, fun way).

Maybe I want to lift,and yet stay home. You can often find me doing ugly olympic lifts in the yard.

Like Our Forefathers

The idea of being fit in the simple ways of our forefathers has always struck me. I always did military style PT, and always did tasks such as raking, and shoveling. Personally I enjoy filling a pickup with yard waste.I got to observe my Grandfather be fit as hell as an old man simply having lived this way. Walking, some chins, yard work,swimming, going somewhere and more walking, etc. It’s simple,and a method that’s worked for time immemorial.

Mind you I’ve always enjoyed lifting, but have always done so in a way that I could based on time,availability of the equipment I need, and at whatever frequency I wanted.

I’ve lifted everyday for 6 months before, and have went periods of only lifting twice weekly.I’ve even found myself lacking equipment for 6 months,and yet in all these situations I’ve still made gains.

Resonate + Rocket Science

Just do what resonates with you.

You’ll find it mentally easy, and very enjoyable.

As long as you train you’ll be fine. Using enough intensity is all that matters,and even this can be a minimal amount while you still  get stronger, better cardio, and more work capacity. Destroying yourself isn’t a requirement, ever seen someone half asleep destroy a weight?

Training is not rocket science.

Any method can and will work. You’ve seen many. You may have tried many.

Just do you, and get  to it.

Train

-J Out

 

As word is bond, I have to write this post. This is not the post that I flow wrote, and used my allotted writing time on. That post is now scheduled to drop on Sunday evening, a time where it’s very fitting. So without further ado… A look at Isometrics.

Now I could bore myself, and you to tears with all sorts of scientific definitions, but I’ve decided not to.

Started to type them out, then deleted them.

Not My Voice.

You want the precise terms? Google.

Isometrics are old school, and old school didn’t bother about pussy shit.

What works works, and what doesn’t doesn’t.

And Isometrics Work.

So do their cousins such as Dynamic Tension.

What you use just boils down to what equipment you have, and what your goals are.

Science + Overcoming

Trying for a bigger deadlift and have a sticking point? Pull against an immovable object as near to that angle as you can.

According to science its all about the joint angle.

But how important is it though?

Ideal for this situation is said to be a light to moderate loaded bar set up under pins in the power rack. You’re looking to add a bit of movement, the breaking off the floor to sticking point, and pull hard there. Hell I’ve even seen this work for a kid as part of his deadlift routine.

But what if you don’t have the luxuries of a power rack, or weights at all?

For six months once my back work consisted primarily of two things:

1. One Arm Standing Rows- pulling against the inside of a door frame, doing my best to simulate db rows equipmentless.
2. Deadlift simulation- one or two handed, pulling againt the handrail of my complexes hot tub

My deadlift max went up 30-40 lbs in that time, and my consistency of my grip strength went up far more than that.

Was the angle close?

Not really.

But I trained as best I could given the circumstances. I put in effort. Isometrics were all I had, and I damn sure wasn’t going to get weaker.

As they say sometimes doing the work, and just showing up is the biggest thing.

Old School.

Holds

Want to build some weird strength?

Make your 1rm seem light?

Unrack the bar from the top and hold it.

Use anti-death measures such as pins, and/or a spot.

Maybe add in a bit of movement, partial reps.

Maybe add in progressively longer movements.

Isometrics still right?

Whatever.

It works.

Here’s an idea, lockout a heavy deadlift for time.

Maybe do some farmers walks with whatever you can.

How bout the man-maker of Heavy rack pull/Hand and Thigh lift held at the top for time.

Tell me that doesn’t make you significantly stronger.

And

Yielding + Dynamic?

While not technically isometrics some more concepts are taken from martial arts.

Throw some kicks or punches, but don’t throw them.

Push the punch against a wall.

Same concept with kicks.

Maybe slowly and controlled  throw a side kick or back kick and then hold for time.

Maybe do your best Sanchin kata, or maybe just emulate with block, punches, kicks of your choice.

Flexing

Simple, pick a pose.

The manliest ones are most muscular, and front double biceps.

In that order.

Get your Arnold On.

Like Him

-J Out

P.S.

Look up York Barbells old isometric work, which could be summed up as pulling/pushing against power rack pins in top/middle/bottom positions, and with pulls,squats, and presses.  Could be used for any exercise though. Bill Starr, Bill March,Paul Anderson, hell Louie Simmons mentions isometrics from time to time.Jamie Lewis at ChaosandPain.

What else?

Good Enough Resource Google-able knowledge dropping.

No Limits