Getting Mobile Day 5

Bench
275x1
290x1
305x1
315x1
275x5
225x10

Dips
10; 10; 10

Facepulls
75x20
75x20
75x20

Jackknives
12; 12; 12

Calves
270x33

Notes
I benched with my ribs down, glutes contracted and abs braced today.  This is going to be a game changer.  There is a  lot more to the position than I just listed, but essentially I benched in a manor  consistent with everything I've been doing the past couple weeks.   The power was immediately apparent.  Speed on 315 was crazy.  The limiting factor was my core/glutes.  I felt my "nether regions" (mid/low back, abs, glutes) contract/spasm like crazy during this lift.  I felt nothing in my arms. It was like my body pushed a button and my arms were levers.

I need a ton of reps under the bar to get comfortable with this, but I feel it is the right approach for me.  I don't give a flying fuck if everyone thinks a big arch and disconnected rib cage is the "right way" to bench.  I'm going to be compact and solid.

Getting Mobile Day 4

Rectus Femorus Stretch/Glute Bridges: 20, 20, 20

Piriformis/X-Band Walks w/ Mini: 6/6, 6/6, 6/6, 6/6, 5/5, 5/5, 5/5

Band Pull-Aparts/Wall Scap Slides
(progress: can actually get into position on wall slides now)

Bird-Dogs

RKC Plank: 30 secs; 30 seconds; 30 secs

90/90 Split Squat: 3 per side w/ 10 second iso hold at bottom
(this is already hugely better than my first time)

Scapular Depressions on Lat Pull-Down: 160x8; 160x8; 200x3
(awesome awesome movement... could literally feel my shoulders being pulled into alignment)

Wide Grip Pull-down: 120x8; 120x8; 120x8
Ribs down, focus on scap retraction

Scarecrows:  2.5x12-15 sets
Got into position for the first set and my body popped into what I believe to be a neutral back position for the first time.  I just kept doing sets over and over this to reinforce the position.

Curls: 120x16; 120x16; 120x16

Half-Kneeling Cable Lift: 60x8; 50x10; 50x8

Notes
Long-ass and exhausting workout.  I'm reteaching my body how to brace itself on literally every exercise. Its really not possible to just run through this shit.  Every rep of every exercise I'm making sure the right stuff is braced, contracted and that my body position is correct.  Very tiring but it feels awesome afterwords.  I'm already seeing positive changes in my alignment and posture.

I'm not worried about loading or any of that shit for the time being.  Right now I'm getting a ton of mileage out of doing everything correctly.  I will progress on everything as fast as possible while maintaining the integrity of each movement.

I threw in some upper body stuff because I'm not sure what the next couple of days will hold with the hurricane coming in.

Post work-out meal:  1/2 lb bacon; 6 eggs; 2 avacados.  Feeling good.

Getting Mobile Day 3

Warmup:
Foam rolling, rectus femorus stretch/glute bridges, piriformis stretch/clams

Windmills:
61x5/5
61x5/5

Single Leg Glute Bridge
BWx10
BWx10
BWx10

90/90 Squats
4 sets w/ 5 second iso hold

KB Suitcase Carry
70x60 yards
70x60 yards
70x60 yards (last one with 35lb kb in waiter position).

Notes
GF in town so I needed to do an abbreviated workout.  She has better kettlebell form than me on everything haha.  Anyways, just got loose and did some random stuff.  I'm feeling my glutes much more on stuff, though the right side seems to be lagging.

Last week I went back and forth with Gabe coming up with a master split.  I am hoping to start that next week.  (If the hurricane doesn't keep me out of the gym - which is a very real possibility.).  I've had 5 sessions in the gym learning how to effictvely stretch/activate and re-learning many core movements.  I'm already seeing improvement.

Getting Mobile Day 2

Lower Warmup:
Foam Rolling/Lacrosse Ball
Rectus Femoris/Glute Thrusts... starting to feel the glutes better on these
Piriformus/Clams ... a little better but left side is harder to "wake-up"
Butt Kicks
Knees to Chest
Walking Lunges

Upper Warmup
Dislocates
Upper Back/Chest w/ Lacrosse Ball
Pec/Lat Stretch
Facepulls
Scarecrows w/ 2.5 lb plates
Wallslides... Can't do these yet. Lower back comes off the wall.

Bench
225x5; 185x8; 185x8; 185x8; 185x8

In Between Bench Sets: 90/90 Split Squats
1; 1; 1; 1; 1; 1.... last one I finally managed to keep my lead leg parallel.

Suspended Rows
BWx8; BWx7; BWx7

Push-ups.. the right way
BWx15; BWx15; BWx15

Jackknives
BWx10; BWx10; BWx10

Half-Kneeling Wood-Chops
55x10; 55x12; 55x12

Notes
Doing all this shit is taking a lot out of me.  Its not much on paper, but I'm trying to be ultra aware about my body positions on all movements.   Bracing/maintaining a tight core on everything is tiresome. The most exciting thing today was I did a split squat on my 6th try.  I was shaking and spasming with effort, but I looked in the mirror and shin was perpendicular to the ground w/ everything else in the right position.  It is amazing how much space split squats immediately create in my hips. Feels fucking amazing.

Getting Strong by Getting Mobile Day 1

Warm-up
Myofascial Release:
Mostly foam roller, some lacross ball

Stretch/Activate:
3 sets Hip Flexor/Rectus Femoris paired with Glute Bride x 10
3 sets Piriformis Stretch w/ Band paired with Side Clams/Fire Hydrants
X-Bands Walks

Core:
RKC Planks 2 x 30 seconds

Strength/Hypertrophy:
Hip Thrusts - BWx10;  BWx10;  BWx10
90/90 Split Squats - BWx2; BWx1; BWx1.  See http://robertsontrainingsystems.com/blog/the-90-90-split-squat/

Notes
Very humbling night.  This took 1 hour and I was working my ass off the entire time.  This session looks like nothing - and it really is nothing, but I cannot overstate the effort I put into doing this shit right.  For the first time, I'm truly trying to tune into what is going on with these exercises.  Years of sitting at a desk, at the libary, at home, have royally fucked my posture.  This shit is painful to get through, and I'm no stranger to hard work or discomfort in the gym.

Gabe was right - "its not just WHAT you do, but HOW you it."  Every warm-up/lower body exercise I post I am studying intently before performing it in the gym.  Side Clams for instance.  Easiest the gayest/most pussy "exercise" known to man.  They are simple to do, but are you really feeling your gluteus medius being activated?  I certainly wasn't.  I don't even know what the fuck my gluteus medius is. So, I kept taking the lacrosse ball to my piriformis and stretching that shit until I could start to feel the glute medius activated during the clam.  And this actually excited me.  By the time I got to Planks my glutes were already so fried I was shaking uncontrollably.

The finale of the night was the 90/90 split squats.  Essentially, this exercise entails putting one foot in front of the other and touching your knee to the ground (see the video for the actual cues).  Guy pulls 495x2 one month ago.  Guess what?  He can't do a split squat correctly.  Its not a strength issue, its that my body literally can't get into that position.  It took every ounce of effort I had to do those 4 total reps, and my front knee was still traveling a little bit.

With that said, I left the gym feeling invigorated.  The muscle fascia around my hips felt like it was pummeled with a meat pulverizor.  But it felt good.  Tons of open space in my hips.  I have a long way to go, but I love having a firm direction in my training right now.  This is Day One. I cannot fucking wait to truly fix some of these issues,no matter how long it takes.  I never lose sight of why I'm truly doing this: a raw, natural, elite powerlifting total.  Here I come mother fucker!

ALL GLUTES ALL THE TIME

SUNDAY GLUTE WORKOUT

Myofascial Release:
GLUTES, IT Bands, Rectus Femoris, Low Back, and crushed the shit out of my Hip Flexors

Stretch/Activate:
Hip Flexor/Rectus Femoris paired with Glute Bridges
Piriformis paired with Side clams/Fire Hydrants

More GLUTE Activation:
Hip Thrusts
Single Leg Hip Thrusts

Hypertrophy:
Single Leg Hip HyperExtension on Low Band
Single Leg Hip HyperExtension on Low Cable (better than bands)

Core:
Split Stance Low Cable Lifts w/ Rope - 50x6/6; 50x6/6
RKC Plank: 30 seconds?  See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TKktamzq4o&feature=plcp

Notes
Actually starting to feel my glutes work on some of the exercises.  I'm not moving up to heavy glute work until I can actually feel my glutes working when I squeeze the fuck out of them doing this easy stuff.

Core work is fun - there are a ton of cool exercises I'm going to start doing.  Gabe and I were talking and he said something like - "you're basically going to be doing glutes, abs and arms."  Pretty much.

But for real - glutes and some sort of core work WILL be done everytime I train.  Which is like 5-6 days a week usually.  I'm of the opinion that if you have a weakness, you hit that shit hard and you hit that shit frequently.  If you suck at something you certainly shouldn't do it less.

Still Here - Ready to Kick Ass

Like clockwork, Tuesday I woke up sick as hell.  This was after many weeks of not enough sleep and a long weekend of traveling/drinking.  So anyways, my hip was fucked and I was sick as hell all week.  Also, I read somewhere that if you get sick and have inflammation unrelated to the sickness, the inflamation will not go down.  Apparently the immune system goes into overdrive to fight bacterial/viral infection and ignores other shit.  I found that to be true.

Being out of commission at least gave me the chance to do plenty of reading on correcting postural imbalances.  I'm happy to report that I still don't know shit about movement or anatomy.  But I know a little more than I did before.  This is what I did this afternoon:

Foam Rolling/Myofascial Release:  Back, quads, IT Bands, Piriformis, Hip Flexor.

Stretching/Activation:
3 sets Psoas/Rectus Femorus stretch paired with Glute Bridges
3 sets Piriformis stretch (with band) paired with Side Lying Clam
2 sets lateral xbands

Mobility/Dynamic Movement:
Knee Hugs
Pull-back Butt Kicks
Overhead Reverse Lunge

Strength:
RDL: 135x8; 185x6; 185x6; 185x6
Band Pull Through: 8; 8

Conditioning:
Side-stepped corrective sled dragging

Core Work:
Band Resisted Dead Bugs
70lb KB 1 Sided Farmer Walks:  30/30 yards x 3 trips

Notes
No pain leaving the gym. My lower body felt warm - fatigued in new places, but it felt really nice in a strange way.

All of the glute activation exercises got my legs shaky as hell.  In fact, by the time I was done with activation I felt like I had a decent leg workout lol. I've done RDL's over 400lbs before, but actually doing them correctly with 185 today was a challenge.  Again, lots of lower body shaking once I actually used my glutes.  I felt like cable pull-throughs sucked.  Bands on the other hand were perfect. The tension is highest when  you have to lockout and squeeze the glutes.  Definitely keeping these in the rotation.

So this will be my lower body template moving forward.  As time goes on, I can imagine I will need to spend less time with activation and more time with strength stuff.  But for the time being, I need lots of activation.  It seriously took me a while to actually feel my glutes firing on all of these exercises.  The basic lower template will be:

Foam Rolling/Myofascial Release
Stretching/Activation
Mobility/Dynamic Movement
Strength/Hypertrophy
Conditioning
Core Work

Update

I have a hip impingement caused by a pretty severe anterior pelvic tilt. My posture has limited my training for a long time.  5 years ago, I  regularly squatted 500 lbs. I can't do this anymore because: 1)  I have  postural imbalances that create hip/knee issues and 2) life gets in the way of programming.  Because of the mobility/postural issues, I never can string enough good weeks or months in a row to make squat progress.  I can't get up to speed quickly enough before something in life gets in the way.

The thing is, physique-wise I'm much more developed than 5 years ago.  Much more.  The potential for strength is there, which makes this so frustrating.   As I've gained more experience, I I've figured out ways to work in enough mobility stuff to get me by. But instead of fixing the underlying structural issues, my thought process was always "What do I need to do right now so that I can train hard tonight."

I've read a lot of Mike Robertson's stuff tonight trying to formulate a plan.  He had great quote in his Hips Don't Lie article:  "I can't tell you how many times I've heard someone say, "I've trained like this for years and never had an issue, so I don't know what happened." You've constantly reinforced bad posture and poor movement patterns, and at some point your body is going to break down. It's the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back."  This happened to me 8 weeks ago when I squatted 185 and the hip impingement first reared its head. Finally showed up after (more or less) ignoring my anterior pelvic tilt for so long.

There are ebbs and flows to training. Sometimes you're getting bigger, sometimes you're getting stronger, sometimes you're conditioning and leaning out, and sometimes you're doing God knows what.  In the end however, you're always trying to make progress towards a more bad-ass version of yourself.  At least thats how I look at it.

So, I have to fix this shit. I'm not entirely sure how to do it yet, but I do know its going to take a long time and its going to fucking suck.  Essentially, I have to turn the photo on the right into the photo on the left:

Obviously this will be no easy task.  The first major obstacle is I don't really know shit about anatomy. Before correcting an imbalance, you must assess.  That isn't easy when you've got a shitload of issues going on.  My imbalances have been built through years of strength training. And I do all the "right"stuff. My problem is ignoring little issues over time that have finally grew into more complex problems.

The Plan

I am immediately dropping squatting.  I have no choice - its the only thing that actually makes my hip hurt.  I put it through unnecessary trauma tonight that I need to recover from. Next, I need to figure out how fucked up I really am.  Generally, I understand that from the front, my hip flexors are pulling my pelvis down because they are short and tight. From the back, my erectors are pulling the back side of the pelvis to produce anterior tilt as well.

This means I need to potentially strengthen: Rectus Abdominus, External Obliques, Gluteals, Hamstrings.  And this means I need to potentially stretch:  Psoas,  Iliacus, Rectus Femoris, TFL, Spinal Erectors.

My high level approach is this.  Over the next 2 months I will do the general shit that is prescribed to fix an anterior pelvic tilt.  In December when I am home, as long as it isn't $1000, I'll stop by Cressey Performance in Boston to get some more individualized/professional assessments. I run with that. In January, I'll have the option of driving down to iFast to get more individual work from Robertson/Hartman.  Again, as long as an assessment and all that stuff isn't $1000.  I need people that know what the fuck they are doing.  I can figure out the major shit, but I would love to have someone experienced actually take a look.

10/15/12 - Strength Training

Squat
365x2
405x1
315x4... hip hurt
315x1... hip hurt

Good Morning
135x8
135x8
135x8
135x8

Leg Press
270x20
270x20
270x33 (PR)

Calves on Leg Press
270x25
270x20
270x20
270x20

Notes
Frustrating session due to hip pain.  I'm going to talk about it in detail in my next post.  I had no pain warming up to an easy 405, but randomly on my 4th rep at 315 it starting throbbing.   Squats feel easy as fuck right now, but I can't squat any longer because I'm on the brink of a labrum tear. . . if I haven't done it already.  I know I frequently change my training styles and routine. Another one is about to begin.  This is out of necessity though.  I can't work around my mobility issues any longer.

10/09/12 - Training

Bench
275x2
300x1
250x12
250x5 (50% set)

Bent Row
135x15
135x15
135x15
135x15
135x15
135x10

Dips
45x8
45x8
BWx10

Curls
65x20
65x15
65x20

Pull Aparts
40; 20

Notes
Intensity was off the charts tonight.  I have a new training partner that loves to train balls to the wall.  I've been lucky to awesome training partners in the past.  Chris in NH, Connor in STL, and now Steve in DC.

Steve is running 5/3/1 right now.  He hit 230x13 on bench tonight and 330x10ish on squat last night.  I like training with people that work their ass off. All three listed above train hard as fuck.  This keeps you honest on the days you might otherwise slack off a little bit.  It also makes my good days that much better.  Of course I want everyone to do well, but i sure as hell don't want to be surpassed by anyone haha.

I think training with Steve will be a positive venture over the next couple of months.  The only possible detriment is going too hard.  This is where higher reps really help.  You can only get so beat down doing sets of 10-20.  Next post I'll detail my training plans an dgoals for the remainder of the year.

10/08/12 - Training

Squat
330x2
365x1
315x10
315x1 (50% set cut pulled)

RDL
135x15
135x15
135x15

Calves supersetted w/ ab work
4-5 sets each

Conditioning: Low bar Prowler Pushes
135 lbs x 60 yards x 11 runs
235 lbs x 60 yards x 1 run

Notes
Worked out with another bro at the gym.  It was a lot of fun until I paused my last rep on the 315x10 set, came out of the hole, and my hip was killing me.  Fuck.  Tried to ignore it and do a 50% set, but no go.  Completely frustrating.

A 50% set is you do one big higher rep set, and then wait 60 seconds and try to complete 50% of the reps you achieved from the first set.  It would have been nice to actually have tried it.  Anyways, my buddy said my bar speed at 315 looked exactly the same as at 135.  It felt easy. That is what frustrates me - I can tell my body is strong right now, but I'm unable to fucking squat.  I took a barbell to my hip flexor for like 20 minutes after our session. Seemed to help a little but then again I really can't tell if its my hip flexor or my actual hip joint.

Conditioning was intense.  We only rested long enough for the other person to go down and back.

Down Week Day 4

10 Minutes Agility Ladders: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbSh5gHyFi8

15 Minutes Sled Pulling/Pushing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMRJTWl_Tp4

5 Minutes Jungle Gym fun: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHJpu4OJM8A

Notes
This was on Saturday afternoon.  I took a video of the agility ladders so I can compare in a month or so once I build up some speed. Yes, they are slow. I'm not posting it because I think they are impressive haha.

The rope climb is fun. I have confirmed that if my life ever depended on climbing a rope and doing pullups at the top, I'd be alright.

Overall though fun little session

Down Week - Day 3

Squat
225x5
255x4
275x3
295x2
315x1
315x1
315x1

Continuous Circuit 1 (Bench, calf raise, t-bar row)

135x15
135x15
135x15

270x20
270x20
270x20

90x10
90x10
90x10

Continuous Circuit 2 (Curl, Tibialis Anterior DB Raise, DB Rear Lateral)

45x10
45x10

50x20
50x20

30x10
15x30

Notes
Didn't get into the gym until 9pm last night.  I was out straight with work, class, and a paper from 8-8.  Did this session and then continued on the paper from 10 to midnight.  I got a lot accomplished though so good day overall.  This is my "down week" but I needed to squat light tonight in preparation for Monday's session.  On Monday I'm squatting with another bro at the gym.  The primary purpose of last night's session was to reduce soreness that will come from Monday's session.  I'm a huge believer in higher frequency (but low intensity) when returning to the squat after time off.

My hip felt fine.  315 felt a little weird on my back, but I took videos and the bar speed was smooth and fast.

Down Week - Day 2

KB Swing
70x15; 70x15; 70x25

Goblet Squat
70x8; 70x8; 97x8

Chins
8; 8

Pushups
30; 30

Band Pull Aparts
25; 25

Curls
bar x 50

Notes
Moved quickly and got a nice sweat going.  I was doing supersetts, etc.  I actually felt my abs worksing on the 97lb goblet squats... Maybe that tells me something haha.

Down Week - Day 1

10/2/12

10 mins KB work

15 mins sled pushing/pulling

Notes
I'm going to ramp up the conditioning over the next 1-2 weeks to get me back in fighting shape for another 6-8 week hypertrophy run.   This cycle however I'll limit the lifting to 3-4 days per week to make time for more conditioning work.  Once I get going, I enjoy interval style conditioning just as much as lifting.

I've been thinking about what worked and didn't work during Big Beyond Belief.  The standard template is 6 days per week.  I don't think it was necessarily the high frequency that facilitated mass gains.  I think it was the reps.  4-5 sets of 15 reps with 60-90 reps will give you an incredible pump.  I now believe that people who casually dismiss "the pump" have never really trained for a pump.  Do some high rep shit, 15-30 reps with low rest and tell me that shit isn't getting you bigger.