Bobcat on Cressey's Max Strength

[quote]BlackLabel wrote:
Damn man, lookin ripped.[/quote]

Thanks, ripped has never been much of a problem. I cleaned up my diet a few years ago and stay lean even when I get dirty now. i weighted myself tonight and was only 164. My peak was 180 about 3 years back and thats where I want to be.

Wish my chest, shoulders and arms grew like my back and legs.

Tonight’s workout…

I struggled for the first time. Just no energy due in part to a hectic schedule the last few days and not enough eating. Also think I may have taken energy work a bit further than I should have yesterday and foam rolled my triceps this morning( these not listed in Cressey’s book so I suppose they could have been fatigued from those)

1.) BP-215 lbs, 8x3
2a.)Incline DB Press-75 3x10
2b.)Cable row-100x10, 90x10, 90x10, 90x10
3a.)y raises-10lbs, 3x12
3b.)lying ext rotation-10lbs, 3x10

I really thought I’d be able to do more on the bench tonight, but I was off from the start; even while warming up. Honestly, the only thing I did well was the rotator and lower trap work.

I was just happy to get through the workout today. In the last 5 days I’ve ahd to visit the funeral home, attend a funeral, take a sick animal to the vet twice and had my 13 year old dog laid to rest.

My mind hasn’t been in the right place to train and today’s workout was makeup for missing yesterday’s due to the funeral and such. I hate missing days when I’m seeing results and now have to figure a way to get back on schedule without hurting my recovery too much.

Anyway, today’s workout…

Front Squats-195x6, 195x6, 205x6, 205x6, 195x6, 195x6
Rack Pull-275x6 (all sets)
BG Split Squat-50x6, 55x6,55x6, 55x6
Reverse Crunch-3x12

Pull throughs will have to be made up tomorrow. Also, nothing felt good or right today despite getting more to eat and doing the warm up.

If anyone has tips for keeping the elbows high and bar in place on front squats please share! My legs seem more than strong enough for what I’m doing, but keeping the bar in place is extremely difficult; it always wants to roll away.

Rack pulls were light as the problems with front squats slowed me down a great deal. Split squats were way off as well.

Hopefully tomorrow goes a little better.

Well, I’ve pinpointed the root of the problem from yesterday. About five hours after working out I began to feel incredibly ill. It seems I now have the Flu and in a bad way. Figures, anytime I make progress there is some sort of setback to deal with. I may start the program over, as much as that would suck.

I finally got back to the gym after 6 days of little eating and no physical activity. Honestly, I can’t remember the last time I was so sick for so long.

I had to rethink my plan because I’m playing in a basketball tournament in 6 weeks and don’t like the idea of walking around with the soreness that would come from cluster sets on front squats and incline presses.

I love maximum strength and will restart the program after the tournament. I’d rather give it 100% and after last week, I can’t see myself getting as muich out of it as I would have otherwise.

The program I am following will be quite similar to what is laid out in the book though. I am going to do Joe Defranco’s 6 week vertical jump program for my lower body , which is much like the max strength program (more of an emphasis on range of motion, many of the same exercises). My upper body days will focus on rowing more so than pressing and I am including lots of work for the external rotators and lower traps. I’m also going to do lots of core stabilization work.

Yesterday:
A.Trap Bar DL off 4’ box
185x6, 225x3, 225x3, 225x3, 185x6, 185x6
B.One Leg Squat-3x8
C.Hamstring Curl-110x8, 110x8
D.Reverse Hyper-100x10 (all four sets)

Today:
A1. Incline BP- 185x5, 175x6, 175x6, 175x6
A2. Weighted Pull Up-25lbsx6 (all four sets)
B1. Band Push-up-3x12
B2. Cable Row-100x15,90x15,90x15,90x15,80x15,80x15
C.Landmine-45x10, 45x10, 55x10, 55x10
D.Cable Ext. Rotation-7.5x12 (3 sets)

My college gym has relaxed it’s restrictions on the use of bands & chains! What a glorious day.

1.)Speed Squat off box + green band- 115x2, 115x2, 135x2 (too heavy), 125x2, 125x2, 125x2, 125x2, 125x2
2.)1 leg squat-8,7,6
3.)DB Swing-40x15,12,10
4a.)Reverse Crunch-4x15
4b.)plank-2 by 30 sec

The gym was pretty crowded which made things difficult so this was a so-so workout. I was pleased with the squats b/c they were quite fast. I actually felt like I was squatting and not falling to the box which is tough when you are trying to complete 2 reps in 2 seconds. I wanted to go heavier, but my one attempt at 135 was a little too slow.

I also tried some woodchoppers, but the floor was too slippery (maybe another pair of shoes would help) for me to use any kind of weight.

time to eat.

Tonight’s workout…

1.Close Grip BP-185x4,190x4,195x4, 175x7(died on the last set).
2a.)Chest Supported row-6 sets, 70x6
2b.)Standing DB Press (neutral grip)-60x12,60x12,60x11,60x10
3.1-arm motorcycle row-33.5x12 (all sets)
4.Cable Ext. rotation-12.5x8,8 7.5x10

I was pleased with the close grip bench press. The movement has always been a struggle for me, but tonight I had no trouble keeping my elbows in. Also, getting a liftoff makes a huge difference on these.

Chest-supported rows were done with strict form. My numbers on rowing exercises seem to be headed in the right direction. In the past I’ve always used a little body english to move the weight so this is an adjustment; a good one though.

Great workout considering i could have taken a nap with no trouble upon arriving at the gym tonight.

Today’s workout…

1.)Trap Bar DL of box- 245x3,225x2,195x6,195x6,195x6
2.)BB Side Lunge-95x8,95x8,115x6
3.)One leg Squat-BWx8,6,6,6
4.)Leg Curl-125x8,125x8,135x6
5.)Reverse Hyper-150x10 (4 sets)
6a.)Prone Bridge(3 sets, 30 seconds)
6b.)reverse crunch-3x15

I’m using higher volume this week and will cut back next week. Not a bad workout. Side Lunges are an experiment; we’ll see if they help my other lifts. I dropped the height I use for one leg box squats; one step closer to doing full pistols.

1.)Incline BP-185x5,185x4,185x4,175x5,175x4
2a.)Cable Row-100x15,100x15,100x15,100x13,90x15,90x15
2b.)DB Press-75x8,75x8,75x8
3a.)land mine-55x8,55x8,55x7,45x10
3b.)fatman pullup-bw 3x8
4.tibialis work-no added weight (3x15)
5.Scarecrow-2x12 (7.5 lbs)

I was a little rushed at the end today so exercises 4 and 5 didn’t get their due. Also, before anyone jumps all over me for doing working the tibialis anterior, know that I am trying to strengthen my ankles. I may also due some strength and mobility work for my ankles with flex bands later this evening.

Another day, another workout. I’m feeling a bit rundown already this week. Usually i enjoy training with higher volumes, but I’ll be glad when this week is over. One more workout and I can cut back a bit. The core exercises are really starting to show. My abs look the best they have in years thanks to all the heavy pulling, squatting and stability work. Playing a little basketball certainly helps too.

Lastnight’s workout…
1.)Speed Squat w/ green band
135lbs for 10x2.
2.Box Squat With green Band heavy
185x2, 195x1, 185x2 (these were tough, band tension was high due to having to choke bands)
3.)BB Reverse Lung-135x6,135x6,155x4,155x4
4.)Back Extension-BWx20,BWx20,BWx20
5.)High to low cable chop-30x12,30x12,30x12
6.)Prone Bridge-1 minute

I forgot my foam roller today so I had to alter my warm-up a bit. Squatting was definitely hard work. I always thought speed squats were easy until I started doing them with bands. Huge difference; they are actually rather exhausting when done with short rest periods. I hadn’t done reverse lunges in about 8 weeks but my technique is much improved and the weight is heavier than before.

Looking good man.

Whew, I am g

I’ve been doing WS4SB for a year now and just ordered this book. How you liking it? I think we may be close strength wise. Im 6’1 185-190ish right now. 1RM Box Squat: 265, Deadlift 405, Bench 225 … really trying to get up to a 1000 total. How are you liking it so far? I noticed you were also doing WS4SB before… this program definitely seems like less volume than WS4SB. I’m interested in trying something new though.

[quote]gabex wrote:
I’ve been doing WS4SB for a year now and just ordered this book. How you liking it? I think we may be close strength wise. Im 6’1 185-190ish right now. 1RM Box Squat: 265, Deadlift 405, Bench 225 … really trying to get up to a 1000 total.

How are you liking it so far? I noticed you were also doing WS4SB before… this program definitely seems like less volume than WS4SB. I’m interested in trying something new though.[/quote]

The max strength program is awesome. I enjoyed WS4SB too, but I seem to get more out of the structure of Cressey’s program. My biggest problem for WS4SB is that I was not getting anything out of the RE days. I found that I would improve my 20-30 rep max quickly and drastically, but it never carried over into a better max effort lift.

The other thing I like about max strength is that it focuses so much on correcting imbalances and forced me to learn some new exercises. I can’t wait to get back on the program.

4 weeks more weeks of lifting geared towards improving my ability on the court, then I can go back to working on getting stronger.

Yesterdays Workout
Broad Jump-5x5
Snatch Grip DL-185x3,185x3,165x5,165x5 (focused on form)
Side Lunge-115x8,115x8,115x8
BB rollout-3x8
Leg Curl-130x4,120x6

Today
1a)Incline BB Press-190x4,190x4,190x4,165x10
1b)Cable Row-110x12,120x10,120x10,120x10,120x10
2a)Standing DB Press-65x4,60x6,50x10
2B)Pull-up-25x6,25x5,BWx10
3a)Y Trap Raise-10x10,8x10,8x10
3b)Lying Ext rot-10x5,8x8,5x10
4a)Reverse Crunch-3 sets x15
4b)Tibialis work-3 sets of 10, 10 lbs.

Good Workout Tonight

1.Box Squat W/ Green Band-7x2 (135 lbs)
2.Reverse Lunge w/ front squat grip-135x8,155x6, 155x6
3.Glute-Ham raise-8,6,5 (bw only)
4.DB Swing off plates-30x8,35x8,35x8
5.Overhead Med Ball Toss-8,7,5
6.Cable Woodchooper-3x10 each side (32lbs)
7.Prone bridge-1 minute

I enjoyed tonight’s workout. the grip on reverse lunges was new, and actually seemed to make the exercise easier. I may try forward lunges with that grip next week as the forward lunge is more difficult for me than the reverse. I’m going to have to look up glute-ham raises again to make sure I’m doing them right. It felt like every muscle from my glutes down to my calves was going to pull off bone, which leads me to believe something wasn’t right. DB swings were fast and the med ball throws were fun (although it would be easy to break your neck by failing to get out of the way when the ball drops)

My body seems to be getting back on track after the volume of last week. the volume of tonight wasn’t exactly low, but I felt strong and fast and decided to take advantage of it.

Tonight was fun; made my first attempt at reverse band bench press and loved it. My chest and triceps were screaming on the last couple sets. I used medium bands (green) and was getting about a 135 lb deload at the bottom.

1.Reverse Band BP-285x8,305x5,285x7,285x5
2a.Cable Row-120x10,120x10,120x10,120x10
2b.Pushup w/ mini band-3x10
3a.Poor Man’s shoulder horn-8x18,10x12,10x12
3b.Rev. Crunch-3x12

Also, my gym just got a jumpstretch platfrom with a sumo base. Christmas has come early!

Today:

1.Broad Jump-6x4
2.Snatch Grip DL-5x5 with 185
3.Rack Pull-315x3,345x2
4.BG Split Squat with front foot elevated-
40lbs, 3 sets of 6
5.Rev. Hyper-150, 2x10

Monday Workout
1.)Close Grip Incline BB press-185x1,195x1,190x1,195x1,190x1,195x1,205x1,195x1,205x1, 195x1, 190x1

2a)Close Grip Decline BB press-
165x8,165x8,165x8,165x8
2b.)T Bar row-70x8,70x8,70x8,70x8

3a.Cable Ext rotation-12x8,12x8,12x8
3b.)hammer curl-35x8,40x7,35x10

Tuesday Workout
1.)Rhythm Squats w/ green band
43 reps at 115 lbs, 44 reps at 95 lbs
2.)Box Squat-115 lbs, 6x2
3.)Glute Ham Raise-4x12
4a.)2 Ab circuits (sprinter situps, v-ups, rev. crunch)
4b.)prone bridge-2x30 seconds

Rhythm squats are killer with bands; far superior to doing them without bands. The band tension I was using was pretty high as my gym doesn’t have band pegs for adjusting. Just for giggles I tried a box squat at 185 lbs without bands after my speed squats today and I nearly killed myself (my feet came off the floor and the bar flew off my back). I wasn’t expecting that. It will be interesting to see where my squat is when I test in a few weeks.

Also, I’m starting to understand why Charles Poliquin dislikes box squats for athletes. My hips have become incredibly tight and sore over the last couple weeks. I have been stretching a ton and it only seems to help a little.

Lastnight:
1a.)Rev Band BP w/ green band
285x5,305x4,305x4,315x4,285x9
1b.)cable row-120x10,130x8,130x8,140x8
2a.)Low Inc DB Press-75x10,75xs10,75x9
2b)Inverted Pullup, BW-3x10
3.)Poor man’s shoulder horn-8x12,12x10,15x8

Not a great workout. My schedule has been pretty hectic over the last 48 hours. Hopefully I’ll be back on track today.

Today:
1.Depth Jump onto box-5x3-4
2.SumoDL-295x1,295x1,295x1,295x1,295x1,315x1,315x1,295x1
3.Speed Dl w/ mini bands-135x2,135x2,135x2,155x2,155x2,155x2,155x2,155x2
4.BG Split squat-50x8,60x6,70x5
5a.Side Bridge-3x30 sec
5b.Rev crunch-3x15