Thursday, June 30th - Lift

STRENGTH DAY

Conventional Deadlift - 455x5 (vid); 315x5; 315x5

Box Squat - 315x6; 315x5

Notes

-Only had about 35 minutes today, so I'll finish my upper body stuff tomorrow.

-Deadlifts felt like they were grinding much more than the vid shows.  Overall very pleased with the bar speed though.  I think I just need to get used to what it feels like to go heavier in deadlifts again.

-Hips may be a tad high, but whatever.  I'm doing mobility foam rolling and static stretching like 2-3x a day.  I will continue to do this so hopefully my flexibility keeps improving.

-I feel like an animal pulling conventional... bye bye sumo.

-Dropped the deadlift weight because didn't feel like anymore 455 sets would accomplish anything.  Also wore straps for the 315 sets.  Har har!

Wednesday, June 29th

HILL SPRINTS

7 x Long Hill 

60-90 Second rest

Notes

-Finishing was a struggle today.  It takes a lot of self-talk to stay motivated with these week in and week out.  As I am constantly increasing the number of sprints, each week is a new challenge.

-These are getting me in kick ass physical shape, but also really help with mental toughness.

GOLF

1 over par through 6 holes

2 birdies

1 large bucket of balls

Notes

-Best day  on the golf course this year.   I was really striking the ball well and my putting stroke was confident (I was actually making some putts.)

-Short game work is paying off.  Holed out a chip for birdie on the first hole...It was a short chip with 2 hops in the fringe.  Used my 7 iron.  Pin about 10 feet on the green.

-Tempo work went well on the range.  I saw a Golf Channel Academy lesson where on the back swing you count:  "One AND" and then on the downswing you count: "Two."  This promotes a smooth backswing and transition.

-Moved my stance closer to the ball with my driver.  Started hitting it more like a 6 iron.  Some great results... overall better consistency, but the driver still needs a bunch of work.

6 Iron on the Range

This was on Sunday.  Going to work on slowing my tempo down today and post another video.

Tuesday, June 28th

LIFT

Pullups 5x6 (30 total) supersetted w/ Dips 3x15; 14; 10 (69 total)

Standing Calf 180x3x14 supersetted w/  Abs Ball Roll-Outs 3x13 supersetted w/ Rotator Cuff stuff 7.5x3x10 and more Rotator Cuff Stuff

Notes

-Decided from here on out I'm switching pull-up grips on every set.  I had been doing traditional overhand grip on all sets because I thought they were "better for me."  I can do way more reps with other grips, and I think by getting better with the other grips it will help my overhand pull-ups anyways.

-I have also decided I am no longer doing anything that doesn't feel good on my joints because some strength training author and their e-army followers think its the legit way to do things.

For that reason I'll be using straps on all bent barbell rows from here on out. I have kickass grip strength and have never failed any deadlift or other lift because of my grip.  Overhand BB rows hurt my bicep tendons.  It makes them feel like shit.  Straps take a ton of pressure off my biceps....and let me lift more weight, which is the whole point. 

Doing regular pullups today with my hands in the same stretched position as the overhand BB rows absolutely killed my bicep tendons.  They hurt in a bad way - and I know the difference.  I won't use straps for pullups, but this is another reason I'm varying the grip.  Is appeasing the imaginary strength Gods worth developing bicep tendonitis?  Fuck no.  I'm going to start loosely wrapping my knees too.  It feels better and I really don't give a shit.

Monday, June 27th - Heavy Day

LIFT

Squat - 405x4; 415x3; 415x5

Bench - 285x3; 285x3; 285x4

BB Row - 225x6; 225x6; 225x6

Close Grip Incline - 155x10; 155x10; 155x10

Seated Calf - 160x3x10

Notes

-I love the current setup of my routine.  I feel so refreshed going into each heavy day 2x a week.  

-I felt super tight on Squat this week.  Bar felt amazingly solid on my back, hence went up in weight.

-Bench was strong, left a couple in the tank.

Friday, June 25th

LIFT

Pull-up 5x5 (25) supersetted w/ Dip 5x13 (65)

DB Curl 40x3x9 supersetted w/ DB Rear Lateral 12.5x3x10

Decline Abs 3x22 supersetted w/ Hyperextensions 3x10 

Incline DB Fly 45x2x12; 35x16 supersetted w/ BB Curl 50x3x16

Notes

-The Puuuuuuuuumppppppppp!!!!

HILL SPRINTS 

Long Hill x 6 Sprints 

Notes

-I have now officially doubled my work capacity with hill sprints from when I have started.  

-Speed and recovery increase each session

DRIVING RANGE   

Target: 105 yards, no wind.

52 Degree M/B Wedge: 14 out of 15 on

1 miss short

Finished the bucket with short irons.

30 minutes short game work

 

Thursday, June 23 - Lift

STRENGTH DAY

Conventional Deadlift - 405x2x5; 405x7

Seated Military Press - 155x3x5

Flat Bench - 225x3x8

Box Squat (parallel) - 315x3x5

Ab Ball Roll-Out (smallest ball) - 3x12 supersetted w/ DB Calf Raise 50x3x16

Notes

-Strength felt average.  I am keeping deadlifts and MP at 5+ reps (Monday I have moved to 3 reps for bench/squat).  I feel like I still have plenty of room to grow with both of these exercises.

-No longer ramping up bench to a heavy set on Thursday.  I did this for 4 weeks in a row to quickly progress and get my strength back up.  Now that heavy Monday worksets are at 275+, I'm dropping down to save my joints.

-I switched to conventional deadlifts 5 weeks ago.  I pulled sumo every deadlift session for over 3 years. Today was the first day I felt I could "rip" the bar from the floor pulling conventionally.  Hence, the angry 405x7 finish.  :)

-Ab rollouts have progressed nicely.

How Many Calories Does Walking 9 Holes of Golf Burn?

1095.
I wore my Adidas Micoach over 9 holes because I was curious exactly how many calories I was burning.  The final stats were:

• 1095 calories burned
• 2.38 miles walked
• 2 hours, 5 minutes
• 91 b.p.m. Avg. Heartrate

 This was a slightly slower day than normal, and on a short course. Nonetheless, it is nice to know that I burn ~500 calories per hour when carrying my bag playing golf.  Here is the graph over 2 hours:

GOLF - Thursday, June 23

+7 (9 holes)

1 of 6 fairways hit

3 of 9 greens

Didn't play very well.  I was striking the ball good, but had trouble off the tee.  Should have been a few strokes lower because I was putting the ball decently...but that's golf.

Tuesday, June 22 - Golf, Sprint, and Lift

Today was awesome.  I had a period of about 4 hours where I was continuously active and working up a sweat.  I went from the golf course, to the hill sprints in the park, then directly to the gym.  I also did mobility work this morning. Jim Wendler has a great article called "The World's Simplest Training Template."  Three components make up the template:  stretching, lifting and sprinting. Very basic stuff, but really these three things lay the foundation of any successful training program.

 

GOLF

• Hit a small bucket with only my 7 iron.  It was fun.  I basically messed around and hit a bunch of different shots - low hook, high fade, low fade, and then tried to hit about 12-15 high draws.  This is probably the most challenging shot for me.  By the end I had a high draw working pretty well, but the draw was weak - about 3-5 yards.
• Played 3 holes (all I had time for).  Bogey, Bogey, Par.  Missed two short makeable putts for par.  Short game is coming along nicely though... I gave myself a shot for par, which is important.
• Stopped by golf galaxy during lunch to pick up a couple of gloves... Next thing I know I'm in the stimulator testing the Titliest D2 and the Ping G15.  I was hitting both well - about 285-300 on the fly with 300+ roll-out (according to the stimulator anyways).  The Ping stock stiff shaft wasn't stiff enough though so I was getting a ballooning ball flight. Absolutely loved the feedback on the D2 - I could feel everything.  More to come on this later... I've caught the new driver bug.

 HILL SPRINTS

6 long hill sprints

+1 from last session

Felt slow as hell... probably from the heavy squat session last night

These continue to get easier with each workout

LIFT

Pullups - 5x5 (25 total) supersetted w/ Dips - 5x13 (65 total).

DB Rotator Work - 7.5x2x8 supersetted with DB Curl - 45x2x8 supersetted with DB Rear Delt - 2x8

Decline situps - 3x20 supersetted w/ Seated Calf Machine 160x3x10 supersetted with  Standing Reverse Calf - 45x3x8

Notes

-Thanks to Gabe for recommending the shoulder prehab stuff.  This is really something I should be doing all the time if I bench week in and week out.

Monday, June 20th - Lifting

HEAVY DAY

Morning weight:  247 (-1)

Squat - 405x3x5

Bench - 275x2x3; 275x5 (feeling gooood)

BB Row - 225x3x5

Close Grip Incline *New Exercise* - 135x3x8

Calf Machine - 3x165x15, supersetted w/ Ab Ball Rollouts (Small Ball) - 3x11

Workout Time:  65 Minutes, 18 sets.

Notes

-Mini Deload last week paid off with today's workout.  Overall strength felt great

-I am scaling back the intensity of assistance (BB Rows and switch to lower load exercise of close grip incline) as I continue to increase the weight on the main lifts.

-Bench felt better with each set, so I decided to pound out a couple of extra reps.

-Squat strength was very solid, but I knocked the pins like 3 times unracking the weight and also was a little wobbly. Overall tightness was crap and it pissed me off having the weight keep me off-balanced.  I've probably had 250-300 heavy squat workouts over the past 5 years.  This is not something I should have a problem with.

As such, I have not earned going up in weight next week in the squat.  I will add a rep to each set.  Need to focus on keeping tightness out of the rack and give my body another session adjusting to heavier weight.

Saturday, June 18th - Conditioning

Hill Sprints

Large Hill x4 Sprints

60-90 seconds rest period

12 minute total workout.

Notes

-Still in a mini deload so I reduced the volume of sprints by 1, and also lowered my intensity.

-I did lower rest period a little bit just to see how I reacted.

-I can feel my recovery really start to increase in between sprints.  

-Think these are making my legs grow too

Thursday June 16th, Lift

DELOAD

Dedicated to Matt Johnson

Deadlift - 275x2x5

MP - 115x2x5

Pull-up 2x6 superset w/ Chin  2x15

Notes

-Last Monday really destroyed me.  It was the 4th week in a row of increasingly heavy lifting

-Deload was the right thing to do.  Gave my joints and mind a little rest.

Wednesday, June 15th - Driving Range

THE RANGE
(Click to Expand)

This is a shot of the main driving range at the Highlands Golf and Tennis Center in Saint Louis, Mo.  http://www.highlandsgolfandtennis.com/  I took this picture today around 7:00 p.m., right before my practice session began.  The Highlands is a first class practice facility. 

PRACTICE

•  15 shots to 25 yards
• 15 shots to 105 yards
• 15 shots to 120 yards

RESULTS

25 Yards:  58 Ping M/B Wedge off fairway

9 close

3 missed long 

3 missed short

105 Yards: 52 Ping M/B Wedge off mat

12 on

2 missed right

1 missed long

120 Yards: Ping S59 Wedge off mat

10 on

1 missed left

2 missed short

2 missed right

There was a 1 club wind in my face on the range tonight.  The grass on the main range was closed due to heavy rain the past 3 days.  I don't like hitting off the mats, but I just try to make sure I am hitting the ball clean as you aren't really penalized for fat shots off a mat.

Overall I hit the ball solid.  Alignment was off with my 52 - everything was to the right, even though most ended up on the green.  I think I've let me stance open up a bit too much on my wedges.  The 58 should have been a lot better from 25 yards.  For shorter targets I am categorizing my shots as either "close" or a miss.  I should obviously be able to get a 25 yard shot on the green, but it really is only a "good" shot if it is relatively close to the pin.

THE SWING

Decided to take a video tonight.  I've never seen my own swing before.  I didn't realize it at the time, but the sun made most of the shots pretty hard to make out on video.  In this shot however, my silhouette mostly blocks the sun until follow through.  Click the arrows on the bottom right of the video box to expand the screen.

Tuesday, June 14th, 2011 - Hill Sprints

THE HILL 

(Click to expand pictures)

This hill is located in Forest Park in Saint Louis. The building you see at the top of the hill is the Saint Louis Art Museum.  www.slam.org/

THE WORKOUT

5x Sprint up at 90%.  

Fast walk down.

2 Min Rest

Total Workout Time: 17 mins

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

I noticed a definite improvement in speed this week over last week.  I added 1 more sprint today (last week was 4 hills).  Performance definitely took a hit on the 5th sprint.

Each one of the large humps on the graph shows my heartrate while sprinting up and walking down the hill.  The lighter colored sharp spikes show my actual speed up and down the hill. Notice how my speed dropped on the last run, yet my heartrate still reached the same level as previous sprints.  Hopefully next time I do these sprints I won't see that drop in speed.

This graph does a great job illustrating the affects of High Intensity Interval Training (H.I.I.T.) on the cardiovascular system. The high sharp spikes are when I am literally sprinting up the hill.  Notice that my heartrate doesn't peak until well after I am done sprinting (when I am actually walking down the hill).  This is what makes sprinting and other High Intensity Interval Training (H.I.I.T.) so tough... Sprinting is anaerobic, however the cardiovascular system cannot keep up with the intensity of the exercise.  I am in a state of oxygen debt while sprinting up the hill.  My heart doesn't catch up until after the exercise is complete.

Basically, hill sprints done correctly are hard as hell.  This hill is a beast.  It is about 250 yards.  Long enough and steep enough to completely destroy your legs and lungs.  The only better H.I.I.T. workout I have done is on the Prowler, and even the Prowler doesn't beat this hill by much.

Monday, June 13, 2011 - Heavy Day

Strength
Squat - 405x5 (buried); 375x2x5
BB Row - 275x3x5 (like to bench usually 2nd, but all were taken)
Bench - 275x2x5; 225x8
BB Incline - 185x2x8; 135x10
Standing Calf Machine - 150x3x16  Supersetted w/ Stability ball roll-outs - 3x8

Conditioning - Complexes
95 Pounds.  8 reps each exercise.  3 total circuits.
Squat Thrusters; Lunge; Sumo Deadlift, Bent Row, Push-up

Workout time:  1 Hour 15 minutes.  21 work sets.

Notes
-Solid workout to start my blog off.  Stamina was good today considering this is 4th week in a row of heavier weight on the compounds.
-Squats felt great.  Bent BB rows were funny because my legs were convulsing mid-set after the heavy squat work.  Bent rows hit the posterior chain hard whether you can feel it or not.  Tonight's workout reminded how they can significantly effect recovery.  Bench strength was ok, though I was out of the groove on all sets. 
-Dropped the volume on the big lifts and went heavier in squats on my first set then was prescribed.  Felt good when warming up, so I figured why not.  The whole point is to lift heavier weight, right?
-Going to back all of the barbell work off to ~60% on Thursday.  I feel totally fine, but I know the fatigue this sort of workout creates.

Lifting Routine

My current routine is a modified 5x5 that is designed to maximize recovery while still allowing me to lift heavy on a frequent basis.  I am very comfortable with 5x5 routines in general, but I am trying something new with this setup.   So far it has been working great.  I like having all of my heaviest stuff on a couple of days verses having a loaded barbell in my hands every time I'm in the gym.  That wears me down fast. I have good success with full body routines, especially during cuts.

I am currently on a summer cut.  My end goal for this cut is to break 230. Morning weight today was 248 (yikes).  I will post the diet in more detail over the next couple of days, but I am attempting to lose 2 pounds of bodyfat a week.  That means I need a deficit of about ~1000 calories a day.

Best lifts
Squat: 512.5 (competition)
Bench: 320 (competition); 315x4 gym
Deadflit:  560 (competition); 495x6 gym
Row:  295x3
Seated MP:  200x5

Monday - Heavy Day.  Straight Sets.

Squat          5x5

Bench          5x5

Row            5x5

Incline          3x8

Calves/Abs  6 sets

Conditioning:  Complexes

Tuesday              

Pullups

Dips      

Curls            5 sets

Laterals        5 sets

Calves/Abs   10 sets

Conditioning:  Hill Sprints

Wednesday - Off

Thursday - Medium Day. Ramped Intensity

Deadlift         3x5 (Straight)

Bench           3x5

Box Squat     3x5

MP               5x5

Calves/Abs   6 sets

Conditioning:  Complexes

Friday   

Pullups

Dips      

Curls             5 sets

Laterals         5 sets

Calves/abs    10 sets

Conditioning: Hill Sprints

Saturday - off

Conditioning: Long run

Sunday - off

Deadlifts and Sandies

 "There is no point in being alive if you cannot do the deadlift." 

-John Pall Sigmarsson. World's Strongest Man in 1984, 1986, 1988 and 1990.

"What other people may find in poetry or art museums, I find in the flight of a good drive."

-Arnold Palmer.  Seven time Major winner, 62 career wins.

 This blog is an amalgamation of my two favorite past times:  powerlifting and golf.  Most would probably find the two sports to be worlds apart.  I am drawn to them for the same reasons.    At the end of a meet, you simply add the weight that you lifted on that day.  At the end of a match, you simply add the strokes you took on that day.

There is no one to blame but yourself in powerlifting and golf.  You either lift the weight or you don't.  You either get the ball in the hole, or you don't.  Both sports require mental toughness.  There are few things as intimidating as unracking a 500 lb squat.There are few things as nerve racking as a sliding four foot par putt.  

I have found both to be surprisingly helpful to the other.  Golf is a thinking man's game first, but it certainly helps to be strong.  When you combine strength with good technique, great things can happen on the golf course.  Power has become a huge advantage in the game of golf.  Golf helps me stay flexible in the gym, and all of the walking with the bag on my back burns hundreds (thousands over a week) calories.  Walking is a great way to improve general physical preparedness without sacrificing your recovery.  

Both sports take years to get good and you can continue to improve over the course of your life.  That is probably the most attractive thing to me about both powerlifting and golf.  If you remain relatively healthy, you can find enjoyment in both well into old age.