Hump day review

     Hey people, back again. Back for another ramble, back for another training session, and back to see you smiling online faces... I think I see you out there.

Yesterday's Training:

Squat 1 x 5
Worked up to a set of 225

     This week is all about relative intensity. Since I'm severly low-balling my 1RM I'm staying around the 85%+ range. I'll hit one more set of 5 on Friday... then the real test begins. The first week of the Base Mesocycle! I'll let you know how that will all work out. Post any questions, comments and burpees below... and BECOME UNBREAKABLE!!!


Verizon 4G LTE - Weightlifter from Revolution Pictures on Vimeo.


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12.3, squatting and DOMS

     Good morning people. I hope you didn't miss me too much, it was a busy weekend and start of the week. However, this doesn't mean I haven't been getting some great training sessions in. So much so that I... am... sore! Let's see what we got.

Saturday's Training:

OFF

     It wasn't supposed to be off, but decided I really needed it.  After 5 days of taxing the hell out of my lower extremities I needed the moments off, especially if I wanted to tackle Open WOD 12.3.


Sunday's Training:

Open WOD 12.3
18 min AMRAP
15 Box Jumps 24"
12 Push Press 115lbs
9 Toes to Bar
Results - 6 + 23

     Sitting here now, my triceps are screaming! Not only that, but my shoulders and lats are a bit sore... but not as bad as the triceps. Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness, is going to be the word of the day.


Monday's Training:

Back Squat
215# 2 x 2
     Not too bad, and most of the week will be like this. "Relatively" heavy with low volume. Next day of training is Wednesday, and I can wait untill then! Post any question, comments or concerns below... and BECOME UNBREAKABLE!!!



OLY // SNATCH from NVR STOP on Vimeo.

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3 in a row

     Good morning everyone. No need to say good morning to my glutes/hamstrings... they've been awake and moving for the past 3 days. It's the price we must pay. Anywho, here's what happened:

Yesterday's Training:

Squat

165#  3 x 8
185#  x 5
195#  2 x 2
225#  x 1

     Actually, I did this wrong. I was supposed to do a different rep scheme. Not by much, but at least I had the weights correct. If you've been paying attention... that's 3 straight days of squatting. Now I get to follow this with 3 straight days of lunges (awesome). Stay tuned... and BECOME UNBREAKABLE


CrossFit Generation - Open - 12.2 from CrossFit Generation on Vimeo.

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Ivan Drago

     Hey again folks. Still getting into the intro here on my Russian-powered squat program. Odd, now all I want to do is walk around and tell people, "I will break you." Just like Ivan Drago from Rocky IV... I guess it's working. My un-insprining squat numbers aside... here's what we had yesterday.

Back Squat

155# 3 x 8
165# x 5
185# 2 x 2
195# x 1

     Yes, exact same as yesterday. The difference is I'm going into the squat session already nice and sore. However, I think because of my level of soreness my technique was a little more dialed in today. A similar squat prescription, but now we're going to bump up the weight. Stay tuned for tomorrow.

     Post any thoughts, questions, comments, burpees, shouts-out or etc. below. Harness your power, be strong... and BECOME UNBREAKABLE!


Greatest Training Motivation - Rocky VI Montage! from heppsanhometraining on Vimeo.

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Day 1

      Squatting... it does the body good. Howdy folks! As promised, here is my journey through Somolov, with a little bit of yesterday's nastiness. I'll be doing the exact same thing today, the only difference... I squatted yesterday.

Back Squat
(Weight[lbs] sets x reps)

155# 3 x 8
165# x 5
185# 2 x 2
195# x 1


Standing Press
95# 2 x 5
115# 2 x 2
#135 2 x 1

     Technically the 2 sets of 135 singles is a PR, as that is my 1 RM. I'll probably be going back and forth between a push and pull movement. That is until I reach the point that all I have energy for is squatting.

     Post thought, comments, questions, and burpees below... and BECOME UNBREAKABLE!


CrossFit 858: Opens 12.2 from Sean Horton on Vimeo.



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Smolov

     Hey people. It's time to get back into the rambling. What better way to do that to put some crazy challenge in front of me... right? Well, let the Russian inside of me roar, we're about to go squatting!

     For the next few weeks, or 13, I'll be giving the Smolov Squat Program a go. What is this? Well it's the Russian version of Squat Hell, and not for the faint of heart (perfect for a Froshinator). Let me give you an idea on what is about to happen.

     Basically it starts with a 4 week "base-cycle". This will be preparing my body for upper levels of volume and intensity. You think a 5 x 5 is bad? How about a 4 x 9 at 70% of your 1 RM? That not bad enough? Then try to follow that up with 5 x 7 at 80%. Now we're talking! The 4 week gut check finishes with finding a new 1RM. Many brave soles that have attempted this walked away with a 50lb+ squat PR... and that's just 4 weeks in!

     After thrashing the body, it's time for some much needed physical and mental recovery. Thus, enters a 2 week switching period, focusing on speed, speed and more speed! Verture down Westside Barbell way and work on some Dynamic Effect lifts, Box Jumps and above Max Negative Squats (just the eccentric portion). These 2 weeks are not programmed, it's up to the lifter to make this happen.

     Now the final stage begins. Using your new found 1 RM you will keep the percentage very high in the "Intense Phase", lasting another 4 weeks.  Gone are the days of super crazy volume, like sets up 7 and 9. But say hello to an intensity like Chuck Norris' stare. You will eventually work toward 5 sets of 5 using 95% of your new 1RM! Can someone say, "&$^^%$*(%"?!... that's what I thought.

     Again, some poeple have walked off with a 100lb jump in their squats, and even a hefty increase in their Deadlift (without pulling once in 13 weeks).  I'll try to add in some upper body variation throughout the program, but looking through reviews many have dropped it all together, saving their engery for under the bar. Another to get ready for is eating, eating, eating. It will become my new chore. It won't be Paleo... but it will be calories. It's time to move some weight!

     So there you have it. Some craziness is in my near future. I'll be trying to ramble each day, so I can let you know of my training and progress. Feel free to offer words of encouragement, post questions/comments, or anything else you can think of. Lastly, today is my 1 year anniversay to my lovely wife. It was a great year (sans the 6 months deployed), and I can't wait for many more.

     Just Squat, hold the burpees... and BECOME UNBREAKABLE!



Daily Training - Test Week Jan 2012 from Santa Cruz Strength on Vimeo.


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Reset

     Hey again everyone, I've been UBER busy last week. Getting training in (others... not myself), wedding, parties, running around, and a lot of 4 am wake-ups. Now that is all finished, and I'm ready to get back to me. Here's me "plan"

     As I said before, I'll be making a bit of a switch to Powerlifting. I will do one WOD a week during the open (which starts today), but after that 5 weeks, it's all about the bar. Getting under the bar is a great way to force adaptation to heavier loads, especially for a beginner like me. Heck almost everyone is a beginner, or maybe a novice. You rarely run into an advanced or elite powerlifter unless you specifically search them out.

     I am not trying to become one of those, I just want to train. I will be squatting... anytime I see the barbell, coupled with pulling 1-2 times a week and alternating pressing movements 3 times a week. I'm not going to get fancy with accessory work or strength/speed waves. I don't need to complicated a program when just starting (and neither do you).

     So, I will try to get 3 or more rambles in a week. Some weeks will be better than other. I want to give you a sneak peak into what I'm doing, or maybe some other interesting facts I run across my journey. Keep in mind I just reset all of my lifts to basically nothing. Sometimes you must take a step back to move forward.


Yesterday's Training:

Squat 3 x 5 95lbs
Press 3 x 5 45lbs
Deadlift 1 x 5 135lbs
Starting Bodyweight: 165 lbs

     Now doesn't that seem easy? It really was. Even though its uber light weight, you still must be tight under the bar and deliberate with your movement. I'll be adding weight in a normal linear fashion untill I can go no further. So let the journey begin!



KRAFTAKT (CANON 7D) Trailer with Lou Ferrigno from André Rößler on Vimeo.


... and do burpees :)


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After the high

     Hey folks. Hope you read my recap of the 6th battle for the cup event. It was a blast, and I can't wait for next year. However, we've road the high of the podium place, and now it's time to make a decision. Is this my only shinning moment? Or is this just the begining?

     I'll tell you what it's time for. It's time to get strong! As much as I love CF, I have been bit by the Iron Bug. I think there's great things about CrossFit, I also things there's weird stuff, I also think there's stuff that could cause injury (and has). This is why we have launched Adamas Training. We want you strong, and stong first. We also want you conditioned... but not so much as it would hurt strength. We're not reinventing the wheel, we're basing this on proven techniques and proven programming.

     Enough rambling about that, we're going to be going live with that in just a week or so (I'll let you know). Now, about what I want. Again, I want to be strong(er). I don't need to over complicate this with dynamic days, assistance work... WODs. Simple linear programming will do. This means every day I get under the bar, I add weight. I add weight untill that is no longer possible to complete 3 sets or 5 reps. Then we can get crazier with the programming.

     How is this so effective? It's all about adaptation. If you want to lift heavier weights, you must lift heavier weights. Your body will adapt, that's its job! No one makes 50 lb jumps between PRs. This is a game of pounds at a time, and a 5lb PR is till a PR!

     Time will come again that I wreck my body all weekend long (can anyone say Battle for the Cup 7?), but if I want to hang with the big boys I need to big boy... I need to be a man... a strong ass man! So let's start moving the iron. I'm resetting all of my lifts in order to come back strong. And even though I'm handling weight that is almost 30% of my old 1RM, I will soon be handling over 100%. Patience, persistence and strength... that's all you need.

     Post questions, comments and thoughts below. As always, get under the bar, lift the weight... and do burpees!


Elitefts - Valentines Training Video from Elitefts on Vimeo.

3,2,1 GO!

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