Perform Better 16kg Kettlebell: First Impressions

Last week I decided to buy a 16kg (35.2 lb) Perform Better "First Place" Kettlebell.  Let me just get this out now:  I'm pretty sure I've bashed kettlebells and the kettlebell crowd dozen of times in the past...  and I'm pretty sure I'll keep on bashing the kettlbell crowd in the future. I wanted a kettlebell for a few specific reasons.

First, mobility.  Using a weight to dynamically stretch is awesome.  I found goblet squats and swings do a great job of opening my hips and improving squat flexibility. While at iFast, Gabe commented my squat depth looked much better than it had a few weeks earlier when I posted some squat vids.  This is directly attributable to the stretching, mobility, and dynamic work I'd been doing.

Second, joint health.  I'm specifically thinking about my shoulders here. Barbell lifts (especially flat bench) put the shoulders in a constricted plane over and over again.  I've read, and been told, that KB's do a great job keeping your shoulders healthy and mobile.

Third, GPP and active recovery.  I'm a huge proponent of active recovery.  More is better - within reason.  Many of the top powerlifting and strength coaches promote short extra workouts to increase work capacity, enhance recovery, and bring up weak points.  See e.g., Louie Simmons; Glenn Pendlay; Boris Sheiko.   I won't be taking this to the gym. I want something I can do at home on off-days to get the blood flowing. GPP benefits will be moderate because I'm going to keep my work with the kettlebell moderate..  I'm not looking to become a hardcore KB enthusiast.  A 35 lb ball isn't going to make me "stronger."  This is just another tool to help me on the journey towards being a yoked mother fucker.  Plus, the Russians love these things.  Russians are fucking strong and destroy everyone in barbell strength sports.  So maybe there is something to them.

I plan to use this 2-3x per week at most.  As I said before, I'd like to use it in a moderate fashion.  Maybe two times a week I'll do swings and C&P's, and the other day I'll go outside and walk around with it.

Cost
The Perform Better KB is easily the best value on the market at this time.  The 16kg bell is $59.95, and shipping is free.  Dragon door is literally twice the price.  I'm no kettlebell expert, but I can't think of one good reason why ordering a $125 KB from DD is worth it when there are quality alternatives on the market. (DD used to be the only game in town).

Lifeline USA was also recommended to me.  They have the 16kg KB listed for $69.99 plus $15 shipping.  ($25 more than Perform Better).  These would be a solid choice as well, but from what I've read on KB forums, Perform Better and Lifeline use the exact same manufacturer.  The only difference is the company stamp.


Ordering and Shipping
One of the main reasons I went with Perform Better is their reputation for great customer service.  My experience is limited to one transaction, however the ordering and shipping went as smoothly as anything else I've bought from an online business.  I ordered on a Tuesday afternoon, and my KB shipped 2 hours later.  It arrived on Thursday afternoon.  I don't see how shipping (especially free shipping) could get any faster.  This is as good as Amazon Prime.

Quality and Feel
Well, it's a big, black, iron kettlebell.  The finish is extremely solid.  Most of the good kettlebell companies have a matte black finish that shows the slightly porous surface of the iron.  This is what I wanted.  You can just tell the finish will hold up well - much better than the smooth finishes on KB's in Wal-Mart that are prone to paint chipping.

There are no small jagged edges on the handle.  I've read this can be a problem on lesser quality KB's.  Obviously the handle needs to be smooth or there is risk your hand will get all cut up.

The rubber bottom, another problem area with KB's, is extremely stout.  I can't imagine the rubber sole coming off anytime soon.  It is fastened very tightly, and the KB sits perfectly upright.

The Perform Better KB weighed in at 34.6 on my digital home scale.  Either the scale or the KB is off a little (maybe both).  Either way, even if the KB is truly 34.6 lbs, I would say that is within an acceptable tolerance range for a large cast iron object.

Overall
I'm extremely satisfied with the price, quality, and fast service of Perform Better.  Now its time to see if I'll actually like swinging this thing.  Haha.

Meet Report

Weigh in
I weighed in  at 238.7 pounds Friday morning around 11:30 a.m.   I cut 11 pounds of water in 22 hours by low carbing, not eating, not drinking, using the sauna and hot baths to sweat, caffeine and over the counter diuretics.

• 12:00 p.m. Thursday - Last meal and water.  Low carb - huge romaine taco salad (beef, cheese, guac, lettuce, salsa).  On reflection, I should not have used taco meet.  It is loaded with sodium, which should be minimized 72 hours out from weigh in.
• 5:00 p.m. - 150 m.g. pamabrom, 5 hr energy.
• 5:30 p.m. - light workout with 135 pounds
• 6:00 p.m. - started 20 mins in 180 degree sauna, 5 minutes out.  4 total cycles.
• 9:00 p.m. - scalding hot bath.  Submerged as much as my torso/head/hands as possible.  This was good for another 2 lbs.
• 11:00 p.m. - 100 mg pamabrom, 10 fiber tabs, 2 tbsp peanut butter.
• 7:00 a.m. Friday - 150 mg pamabrom, 10 fiber tabs, 5 hour energy.
• 8:30 a.m. - small coffee (I was "backed up."  This did the trick)
• 11:30 a.m. - weigh in.
• I drank 4 gatorades and a liter of pedialite in the next 20 minutes.
• Spent an hour at all you can eat pizza buffet.  Forced myself to eat/drink the rest of the day.

I'm happy with the amount I loss.  Make no mistake, forcing yourself to endure 90 minutes of the sauna when already dehydrated literally fucking sucks.  I started having crazy thoughts about water later in the night.  I think I would have been good for 15 pounds easily with better sodium loading.  Matt Kroc has two good articles on cutting water using the sweating technique without prescription drugs here and here.  I had no reason to get as extreme as Kroc.

Saturday Morning

I normally don't eat breakfast, but I got up at 7:30 and force fed myself thick cut bacon, greek yogurt, and muscle milk.  I felt refreshed, not withstanding the drunk retards that came into my apt building screaming about the cardinals winning at 2:00 a.m.  (When I came out to tell them to stfu, they said "dude aren't you a cardinals fan?!?!?!?)

I got to the Eagle Gym around 10:00 a.m.  After rules, squats, and the first flight of bench, I didn't start warming up until 1:00 p.m.  I had plenty of protein, gatorade, and beef jerky in the interim.  I felt fucking GREAT warming up.  I immediately felt I was going to have good day.  

Eagle Gym is small, beat-up, cramped, and they put on a kick-ass meet.  Warming up with the big boys had my adrenaline pumping like a mother fucker.  A huge peavey system blared metal as we warmed up.  When I say blare - I mean it was loud as fuck.  You had to lean and shout to communicate with someone standing next to you.  There were no stands, all the spectators just crowded around us.  I can't really describe how pumped this atmosphere made me.  I was a slightly below average bencher in the 2nd flight at this meet, but with 50 people watching just feet away, my form was ultra tight and crisp.  My last warm-up was 275.  I remember thinking it was easily the lightest 275 ever felt.

Bench

I opened with 315.  Confidence soared after warm-ups.  Three plates flew up.  Based on my opener, I knew I had a legit shot at hitting an all time bench PR.  I told the old man keeping track of attempts I'd take 340 for my 2nd lift.

340 was a grinder, but I wanted the PR.  I got the "cns spasms" mid-lift, but overall it wasn't too ugly.  I got a couple compliments for sticking with the lift.

I missed 350 about 3 inches off my chest.  I'm a "fast" lifter, so if its a pound beyond my max, I'll get stapled.  Missing 350 didn't bother me in the least. I hit a PR, and I knew 340 was close to my max, or was my actual max.

Deadlift

Warm-ups only felt average.  The max effort bench (and miss) took a lot out of me.  My lower back felt slightly fatigued from bench.  Still, one of the strongmen from the gym said my pulls were super easy looking during warm-ups.  I stopped with 450.

520 went up without issue.  The old man taking attempts said it looked fast - I told him said it didn't feel that way.  I decided to go for 560 - a five pound all time PR.  I hit 560 on my second attempt and it was hard as hell.  I could tell I was close to my limit, and at this point I had a couple options.

There are two camps when it comes to a third attempt deadlift at the end of a meet.  The first says, "go for broke," or "do something crazy."  Its the last pull of the day, so what do you have to lose?  I've always thought this is fucking stupid.  The entire point of powerlifting is to perform successful green light lifts.  Though I'd just hit a 5 pound all time PR, I knew I'd be pissed if I went for something huge, missed, and left pounds on the platform.  That is a shitty feeling. I opted for the second option and attempted a weight I knew was possible.

570 was loaded for my final attempt.  It was slow the second it left the floor.  My only thoughts were "speed" and "fuuuuuuuccck."  The entire lift was a grind, but I never let it slow. I locked the mother fucker out.  Powerlifting meets are awesome at times like this.  No one knew who I was, but as I was grinding and my head rose, I saw the crowd start to rise with me.  People stand, hands go up, and the yelling swelled as I neared lockout.

I couldn't be happier with this meet.  I hit a 5 pound all time PR in bench, and a 15 pound all time PR in deadlift.  I'm taking next week to rest, recuperate, and come up with a plan going forward.  Before this week I was a little "lost" on whether or not I was going to pursue powerlifting in the short term.  After this meet however, lifting heavier weight is the only thing on my mind.

My Final Week Before Powerlifting Meet

I randomly decided to do a push/pull meet this Saturday.  Ordinarily, I plan for a meet months in advance, but it coincides nicely with my training as I planned to max deadlift and bench anyways this week.  Fuck it, it's just lifting weights.

Last night - 10/24/11

I spent a lot of time thinking through how different routines treat the final week before the meet (hence the post below).  Nothing has been written for my routine - Dan John's 40 Day program - which calls for deadlifting and benching 5x a week.  Even so, the same principles outlined below should apply.  This is a high frequency routine, so I should perform the movements at least twice during the final week.  I've pulled strategies from many of the approaches to come up with this for my own final week:

Daily:  Stretching, mobility work, and shit tons of protein.  This is what I normally do, and its crucial to maintain mobility for a properly leveraged deadlift.

Monday

Bench - 135x5; 185x3; 225x1; 255x1; 275x1; 285x1 (all paused)

Deadlift - 225x1; 225x1; 225x1; 225x1; 225x1 (extremely focused work on setup)

Tuesday - Off

Wednesday - Off

Thursday

Bench - Singles at 185 (approximately 55% of estimated 1rm)

Deadlift - Singles at 185 (just working on setup, flexibility, and form)

Friday - Off (weigh in)

Saturday - Meet at 10:30 a.m.

Openers and Goals

I've never tried to peak off this type of routine, so here is what I have tentatively planned (subject to change on the day of the meet).

Bench - 300, 325, 340.

Deadift, 515, 570, 585-600.

No matter where my strength is the day of the meet, I'll push my body to the max.

Peaking for a Powerlifting Meet: The Final Week

I've  highlighted three approaches to the final week before a meet. The first, from Jim Wendler's 5/3/1 for Powerlifting.  He recommends no lifting at all the week of the meet:

"-Week before the meet so no training

 - Assistance work/conditioning (minimal, if at all)

You can end the meet preparation training however you want. You can have a one-, two- or even three-week deload—whatever you want. I usually recommend only a one-week deload (so week four will lead right to the meet on Saturday). You can really do nothing on that week (actually recommended) or just the bare minimum to keep your mind healthy. This isn't the week to retake your openers. You‘ve already done that numerous times, so don‘t be a pussy."

Lyle McDonald highlights the "classic raw powerlifting" approach that has the lifter benching relatively heavy in the final week before the meet, but ends heavy deads/squats much earlier:

"-10-14 days out: last heavy dead
-7-10 days out: last heavy squat 5 days out: last heavy bench. So Monday, maybe to the opener (90% max) for a single. So light squat before it since squatting does hit the shoulder girdle and will affect your bench.
-5 days out: last heavy bench. So Monday, maybe to the opener (90% max) for a single. So light squat before it since squatting does hit the shoulder girdle and will affect your bench.
-2 days out: light squat,bench,dl. Maybe 60-70%, it should be a warm-up and get someone to call competition commands for the practice. It'll keep you loose, keep your groove, etc."

Finally, in Jack Reape's Cycle, Peak, Taper, Dominate, he recommends an approach somewhere in between the two:

"Gene Bell once told me that you can't make yourself stronger in the last two weeks, but you can let yourself get stronger... 

For a Saturday meet, on week 14 you'll do a light bench press workout on Monday. This is a great time to use chains over bands for speed work as they're easier on the body. Do some light and limited raw squats, and some lat work. Tuesday and Wednesday, don't do a thing but relax, walk a bit, and stretch. These are two days to review your training and make your final meet plan.

You had goals at the outset of the cycle and laid out a plan to get there. If your training went well or not as planned, adjust accordingly. Get it right in your head because after Wednesday night you're done thinking about it. Thursday you go to the gym and do your first two warm-up sets of bench and squat which will feel good.

Friday, you do your first three warm-up sets of bench and squat, preferably at the meet site. These will feel better than the day before. You'll feel amazingly fresh physically, and your adrenaline will rise. You need to suppress this adrenaline rush by distracting yourself and by putting the meet forcibly out of your head. I strongly advise wearing regular clothes and not warm-ups until you weigh in or start to warm up the next day."

So who is right?  Well, it obviously depends on what type of training you've been doing in preparation for the meet.  Low frequency, high intensity training (like 5/3/1) likely benefits from a total week off, or at least an extremely light week.  Each individual workout in 5/3/1 is stressful on the body.  Thus, one need significant time away from the barbell to recover from the high intensity sessions in the weeks immediately preceding the meet.  Keep in mind that Jim Wendler's powerlifting background involved heavily equipped lifting.  Training with gear almost certainly requires extra time off due to the stress of supporting supra-maximal loads.  Westside type training will fit into this category as well.

The "classic raw powerlifting" approach calls for heavier lifting the final week.  Classic powerlifting routines were simpler and focused on performing the competition lifts at high frequency.  A common routine was a Mon-Wed-Fri split, with all three competition lifts performed every day (excluding the deadlift).  See e.g., Bill Star's 5x5 routine.  Training intensity is likely to be lower on an individual day, thus less time is needed to recover from a a single workout.

Sheiko, and Smolov, classic Russian powerlifting routines, have the lifter performing considerable volume in the final meet week.  Sheiko has moderate volume on Monday and Wednesday working up to 75% of the lifters max.  Smolov is just insane - requiring the lifter to perform 4 triples at 95% the Monday before the meet.

After reviewing a cross section of the "spectrum" of powerlifting styles,  a couple of trends emerge.  First, almost all of the plans drop frequency by one third to one half in the final week before the meet.  Therefore, how many days one should lift (if any at all) is dependent upon training frequency leading up to the meet.  It is no surprise that intensity is lower across the board the final week (except Smolov).

Second, almost all accessory work and GPP is dropped during the final week. This makes sense.  Supercompensation works best during both reduced workload and intensity.  You aren't going to bring up weak tri's or a weak core during the last week, but you can inhibit supercompensation by introducing stimuli your body must recover from.

The takeaway seems to be the weight one uses is less important than simply performing the movements in some fashion the final week.  This is especially important in high frequency routines where neural efficiency has greatly increased in the weeks leading to the meet.  The final week should be used to let body heal, and give it a gentle reminder of the bar path it will follow Saturday morning.  

Diet Update

The last couple of months I've tried a bunch of diet variations, and read everything I can in the intermittent fasting/leans gains/backloading/ low-carb genres.  I've finally settled on a basic eating template I can realistically adhere to that compliments my schedule and life.  There are three reasons I've decided this is the right setup for me:  lifestyle, performance, and body composition.

Lifestyle.  Breakfast is a waste of time, money, and calories.  I love getting up, taking a shower and heading out the door.  I'll never go back to eating breakfast. Ever.  Drinking a 75gram  protein shake during lunch is awesome as well.  Again, it saves me time and money.  There is zero food prep at night or in the morning.  I've also come to appreciate the extra 30 minutes of work I get in now that I don't worry about reheating and eating food.  I have time at night and enjoy putting back a big meal post workout.  It's fun and relaxing.  I have something to look forward to all day.

The setup outlined below is a realistic plan.  I need something as easy and convenient as possible.  I'll never be a 6 meal a day/tupperware guy.  Maybe I lack the discipline, but I don't really fucking care.  Who wants to live an existence that is largely dictated by eating and planning a meal every 2.5 hours?  The year is 2011.  We no longer have to hunt and kill our food, so why make it more difficult than it has to be?

Performance.  I'll never choose a diet that substantially impacts gym performance.  If you can't lift hard, then what's the fucking point?  For that reason I'm not taking an anabolic diet type approach.  I think the success of the 6 day low carb, 1 day refeed setup is highly individual.  I've done it before.  It works, but I don't like the poor gym performance at the end of the week, and frankly I don't like the "pressure" of maintaining a constant state of ketosis.

With that said, I've found that I'm fine with 1-3 days of low carb.  I don't need carbs everyday to train hard.  I'm taking a semi-backloading approach on my heavy lifting days.  Two days a week (Monday, Thursday), I'll  eat carbs post-workout if I feel like it.  The insulin spike stimulates growth and blocks protein degradation after an intense day of squats/deads/presses.  Glycogen will be fully restored as well.  Saturday night I'm eating and drinking whatever the fuck I feel like.  Pizza? Cool.  16 budweisers? Cool.  2:00 a.m. Taco Bell?  Cool.

Body Composition.  My body doesn't handle carbs well.  I get fat when I'm sloppy with my diet, which invariably means I'm eating shit carbs at all times of the day.  I've seen the pattern happen with myself over and over again.  There is a ton of science to back-up the IF/backloading/low carb type stuff.  I'm not going to rehash it because I suck at repeating science off the top of my head, and anyone reading would be much better served by just checking out something like this.

I'm leaning out so I know this approach is working.  The scale isn't moving a ton, but I'm also deadlifting 5x a week right now.  My upper back, formerly my most well developed body part, has reached new levels of yoked.  Whatever I'm doing is working, so that's all that matters.  Its not v-diet fast, but the v-diet sucks balls unless you literally want to daydream about stealing the croutons off the girl's salad sitting 3 tables down from you.

DIET

Morning
-6 grams fish oil.  2 capsules Controlled Labs Oximega, 4 capsules Sam's club.
-3 tabs Controlled Labs Orange Triad
-1 Scoop Controlled Labs Greens
-6 Sam's Club Fiber Tabs
-2.25 grams Aniracetam
-3 grams Taurine
-20 mg ephedrine/coffee
-(By the time I get to school, my body is in a euphoric state from all this stimulating, vitamin and anti-oxidant packed goodness)

Lunch
-3 scoops Myofusion Whey Blend

Afternoon
-Either almonds, peanuts, beef jerkey, or slim jims.  I shoot for 300 calories and try to make sure it is an all protein/fat snack that won't spike insulin.
-20 mg ephedrine

Pre-workout: 45-90 mins before (depends on day)
-3 scoops protein
-6 grams fish oil
-6 fiber tabs
-some sort of caffeine

Workout
-5-6 scoops of XTEND BCAA's

Post workout
-1 gatorade
-1-2 scoops whey

Dinner
-Meat and vegetables.  On lower-carb days, I'll stick to higher fat, more filling type red meats.  On backloading days I'll get a chipotle burrito, or something like that.   I'm not getting too specific here because its not rocket science.  Lots of protein, and then manipulate carbs according to the workout day.

Late Night Snacks (10pm)
-Natural Peanut butter or cheese.

Bed Time
-3 capsules Prima-force ZMA

October 21, Day 39

Not Being a Pussy Day

Goblet Squats

45x25

Speed Pulls

275x3; 275x3; 275x3

Speed Bench

185x3; 205x3; 205x3; 205x3

Farmers walks

80/80 x 130 yards; 80/80 x 100 yards; 80/80 x 60 yards

Notes

-After reading Chaos and Pain this afternoon, I decided not to be a pussy and go in and lift.  I was curious to see what pulling/benching would be like after a heavy day yesterday.  Surprisingly, I felt great.  

-Using the 80s for longer farmers walks was awesome.  I'm going to go longer and longer with these.  Trying to go heavy-heavy with DB's just doesn't seem as effective.  It becomes more of a pure grip exericise because the counterbalance is shit.  I feel the longer distance is a brutal total body exercise. This seems like a sweet spot for the time being.

October 20, Day 38

Lift Fucking Weights Day

Warm-up

Normal  static/dynamic stretches.  45x20 goblet squat.

Deadlift

315x2; 365x5; 405x3; 455x3

Front Squats

135x3... fuck front squats

Bench

245x5; 265x3; 275x5 (ALL PAUSED BITCH)

Hammer Chins

9; 6

Dips

18

Ab Wheel 

8


OH Waiter Walks
45 x 60 yards right; 45 x 60 yards left


Workout Time: 50 minutes

Notes

-Extremely pissed going into the gym tonight.  Aside from the law school stuff that put me in a bad mood, I was not looking forward to doing the same fucking workout I've done for the past 38 days.  

-I've developed the following annoying nagging injuries during this routine:  illiopsoas tendinitis from deadlifting 5x a week (diagnosed by med school friend); strained right trap; strained right side neck; sore elbows; very sore/tender right front delt.

-All my reps were slow as hell and I've lost all pop... I'm beaten down.  This was my last heavy workout.  I'm going to max sometime next week.  I expect to seriously injure something during my attempts.

October 18, Day 36

2x5 Day

Deadlift

275x5; 275x5

Bench

205x5; 205x5

Ab Wheel

8

Farmers Walks

110/110 x 50yds; 110 x 50yds; 110/110 x 50yds

October 17 - Day 35

2x5 Day

Deadlift

335x5; 335x5

Bench

225x5; 225x5

Hammer Chins

8; 6

Dips

16; 12

Notes

-Still feeling beat up even with a day off.  Super compensation here I come.

October 15 - Day 33

2x5 Day

Warm-up

I doubled the stretching and dynamic I normally do.  I felt very sore and beat up, so I took my time and got nice and loose.

• Couch stretch, Psoas/IT band stretch, kneeling stretch, hip circles, mountain climbers, knee raises, butt kicks, asian squats, shoulder dislocations.
• 3x10 bw box squats to progressively lower boxes (20, 16, 14).
• 45x20 goblet squats

Deadlift:  315x5; 315x5

Front Squat (all front squats always cleaned from ground: 135x5; 135x5

Bench:  225x5; 225x5

Hammer Chins: 8

Dips: 15

DB Swings: 45x50

Notes

-I felt like shit going into the gym tonight.  8x115 hang cleans and 60 lb 1 arm dumbbell walks left my upper back/traps/core sore as fuck.  Yes pathetic.  I only went in to get some reps in.  I didn't even plan on using my normal 2x5 weight.

Enter the genius of Dan John (I'm on day nine of this 2 week mini-cycle):  "Day Nine is often the day when people see the reasoning behind the program. This is the day where the weights seem to often be just “far too easy.” That is the sign of progress in this program. I remember actually thinking I misloaded the bar and I had to double check my math as the bar seemed to be far too light to be right."

My body felt beat up, but the weight felt like nothing.

October 14 - Day 32

10 Tonic Reps

*Warmup*

Couch Stretch, IT Band/Psoas, Hip Circles, Mountain Climbers, Shoulder Disclocations, some other stuff I can't name

Complexes

1 set of 8 reps at 115 of  Bent Row, Hang Clean, Press, Back Squat, Good Mornings

Deadlift

185x10

Bench

155x10

Chins/Pullup supersetted w/ Dips

6; 6

14; 14

Ab Wheel 

5

1 Arm DB Suitcase Carry

60 lbs x 90 yards right; 60 lbs x 90 yards left

Notes

-Therapeutic day in the gym tonight.  Decided to do complexes as a warm-up.  Dan John lays this out in his Mass Made Simple e-book.  In about a week I'll start doing 3 sets of these before every workout, but I'll probably drop the weight to 95.  115 was a tad much for the first time.

-Just wanted to try the suitcase carry.  The first 45 yards I was like this is easy and pointless. The next 30 yards I started to think "wow I can really feel the opposite side obliques working."  The last 15 yards was mostly filled with thoughts of  "crap" and "mommy."

October 13, Day 31

LIFT

6 Singles

Deadlift

315x1; 345x1; 365x1; 385x1; 405x1; 425x1

Front Squats

135x2; 155x2; 165x2

Bench

225x1; 235x1; 245x1; 255x1; 265x1; 275x1

Hammer Chins

11

Notes

-Really didn't feel like working out at all.

-Had an olympic lifting bro check out my clean/front squat form.  He gave me some good tips.

October 11 - Day 29

LIFT

2x5 Day

Deadlift

275x5; 275x5

Bench

185x5; 185x5

Hammer Chins supersetted w/ Dips

7; 7

14; 14

1 Arm OH DB Carry

40 lb x 35 yards R/L;  40 lb x 35 yards R/L; 40 lb x 35 yards R/L

Notes

-Pretty sore today.  Scaled it back, but my reps were still fast.

-Added 1 to chins and 2 to dips.  I'm stronger at dips when I squeeze the bar super tight.

-Not sure how beneficial the OH DB carries are.  They are a nice little change of pace though.  I need to do more research on farmer's walks.  Pretty sure they are more intense than I gave them credit for, and they are impacting recovery.

October 10 - Day 28

LIFT 

2x5 Day

Deadlift

335x5; 335x5

Front squat

135x3; 155x3; 155x3

Bench

225x5

Pullups supersetted w/ Dips

6; 6 

12; 12

DB Swings

40x50

Notes

-Starting to feel a little beat up for the first time of this program.  I actually think its the front squats

-Realized after seeing Matt's blog that I'm basically a pussy with the swings.  He is doing 13 more pounds and like 50 more reps than I've  been doing.  So I did 40lb for 50 swings.  Definitely was huffing and puffing like a mofo.  It will be a while before I can challenge him.

October 8th - Day 26

LIFT

5-3-2 Day

Deadlift

315x5; 365x3; 385x2

Front Squat

135x5; 155x3; 185x2

Bench 

225x5; 255x3; 275x2

Farmers Walks

110/110 lbs x 60 yards;   110/110 lbs x 60 yards

Notes

-Found out my front squat form gets better as I add weight.  Also realized I've just generally been a pussy when it comes to front squats.  It's still a squat, it's still going to suck.  My form is slowly getting better.  Wrist flexibility is terrible (I mean terrible).  It substantially affects my bench press because it weakens them so much.

-Farmers walks are awesome.  They are tough with DB's because the weight isn't counter balanced with a long bar.  I was trying to figure out why they were so much easier at iFast with the actual farmer's handles.  It finally hit me last night.  Then length of the bar really affects stabilization.

October 6th, Day 24

LIFT

Deadlift

135x10; 135x10

Bench

135x10; 135x10

Chins

4; 4; 4
 

Dips

8; 8; 8

DB 1 Arm Overhead Walk (continuous)

35left x 40 yards; 35right x 40 yards; 35left x 40 yards; 35right x 40 yards

Notes

-I was pretty beat up from yesterday, though my recovery routine actually worked.  I wasn't sore, I just had nothing in my tank.  I made sure every rep was perfect.

October 5th - Flag Football

Flag Football

Played a 40 minute game of flag football tonight. On the first play of the game their fastest player intercepted, and I managed to run him down from cross field.  It was cool except for the fact I literally pulled both of my groins at the same time.  Seriously.  My own fault for getting their late and not warming up.

I played the rest of the game and had to stretch in between every play.  I seriously felt "old" for the first time of my life. 

Recovery

I could barely walk getting into my apartment.  I decided to take 90 minutes to get myself back in working order. I call this, "JB's Ultimate Recovery Routine."  Here is what I did, in the order I did it:

• 10 grams fish oil
• 8 tabs ibuprofin (200mg x 8 = 1600mg)
• 24 oz Gatorade
• Foam rolling everywhere needed
• Deep static stretching
• 2 scoops Isolate Protein Shake (~50g protein)
• Contrast bath: Cold 5 minutes
• Contrast bath: Hot 5 minutes
• Contrast bath: Cold 3 minutes
• Contrast bath: Hot 3 minutes
• 2 scoops Isolate Protein Shake (~50g protein)
• Bourbon on rocks
• Massage from gf
• Hot Shower
• ZMA

I accidentally reversed cold/hot.  Apparently, you are supposed to start with hot.  Right now my legs feel MUCH better than when I got home.  I still expect to be sore tomorrow... but if I'm anything less than crippled, then my routine worked.

October 4th, Day 22

LIFT - 2x5 Day

Deadlift supersetted w/ Dips

315x5; 315x5

12; 12

Bench supersetted w/ Hammer Chins

225x5; 225x5

6; 6

Workout time: 16 minutes

Notes

-gym was closing

-better pop than yesterday

-might add a little weight to deadlift.  315 has been my "standard."  Now that I'm in week 3 of the program, I might go a little more by feel... but only on the "upside."  Going by "feel" and using less weight than normal is a surefire way to suck.  The pendulum always needs to swing towards "more weight and more reps."  Not everytime - but most of the time.

October 3rd - Day 21

LIFT 2x5 Day

Deadlift

315x5; 315x5

Front Squat

135x5; 135x5

Bench

225x5; 225x5

Pullups supersetted w/ Dips

6; 6

12; 12

Farmers Walks

105/105 x 35yards;  105/105 x 60yards;  105/105 x 35yards

Notes

-lost a little pop due to inconsistency.

-front squats are finally feeling a little easier 

-Farmers walks with dumbbells are a lot harder than specific handles made to be carried.

September 30 - Flag Football

I played two 40 minute games of flag football on Friday.  I could barely walk all weekend.  It felt great. 

I played both offense and defense, and I did it well enough for the guys to ask me back to play the rest of the season.  I'm definitely doing it.  \After the first drive my job on defense was to cover whoever was their biggest and fastest receiver.  When the games were over, I realized I've basically trained to be strong and fast for a long time.  Guess what happened when I got on the field?  I was really strong and fast. 

I'm looking forward to playing the rest of the season.  Hopefully training isn't impacted too much, but if it is, I really don't care.