Flow's Log (New and Improved)

[quote]IronAbrams wrote:
That’s really cool man.

What are the criteria and price tag for the USAW cert?[/quote]

You have to be able to perform the olympic lifts (which I’m pretty familiar with), coach someone in doing them (I coached a few people in snatch high pulls and hang cleans), and be able to pass a written portion describing the olympic lifts.

I think I’ll cram a few hour long sessions of form practice in in the next few days, and I’ll be fine at fudging the demonstration portion of the test.

I haven’t been able to prep appropriately because of schedule and the odd times that the oly platforms aren’t occupied by the athletic teams on campus.

I think the cost is somewhere around 350$~, but, fortunately, that has been a non-point for me because SGA is funding it.
:slight_smile:

[u][i]11-20-08[/u][/i]

AM Weight: 199.2 lbs. :confused: Fuck me.

Back Pain: 1 out of 10

Right Pec Pain: 0 out of 10

[u][i]Lower 2[/u][/i]

Foam Rolling in the AM
Dynamic Flexibility

A. Front Squat
45Xreps
95X3
115X3
135X3
155X1
175X1
185X5,5,5
195X3 Post Back Injury PR

B. Good Morning
145X8,8
155X8

C. Single Leg Squats
BWX8

D. Pallof Press
65X(15,15,15)/side

I really did NOT want to be in the gym today. Mentally, I was just not with it. I’ve been studying a lot and I’ve been under some stress lately, so that’s part of the loss of motivation.

It is what it is, though.

I was probably good for 5 on 195X3, but I lost tightness on rep number 3 and today was not the day for pushing myself. Falling forward in squatting isn’t something I’ll be messing around with anytime soon :expressionless:

Next week I’ll do 4X5 with 190.

Good mornings felt good.

I realized today that mirrors only fuck me up. I’ll be squatting facing away from the mirror from here on out. The power racks are almost always crooked, so I get a distorted picture of my alignment.

Sound like over analysis? Yeah, it probably is. All I know is that being able to ‘feel’ the lift is a hell of a lot more important than seeing a representation of what you’re doing that may or may not be accurate.

[u][i]11-21-08[/u][/i]

AM Weight: 200.0 lbs.

Back Pain: 1 out of 10

Right Pec Pain: 0.5 out of 10
One instance of pec pain during inverted rows. I have a feeling that going beyond 0 degrees in humeral extension during rows prompts my pec do work that my subscapularis should be doing.

Alternatively: my tight and inhibited subscapularis can’t do its job, which is why I get pec pain during rows when I “go too far back”.

[u][i]Upper 2[/u][/i]

A. Push press

Military press warm up
45Xreps
65X5
85X3
Push pressing. . .
115X2
135X1
150X5 PR
155X5 PR
150X5,4 Volume PR

B. Inverted Rows
BWX3
+25X8,6,6 PR & Volume PR

C. Kneeling DB Row
80X10,10,10 Volume PR

D. Cable Lateral Raise
35X15
40X15
45X15

E. Barbell Shrugs
225X15
235X15,15 + 1 rep held at maximum contraction until grip and trap failure (does that even make sense?)

F. Preacher Curls
60X10,9,8
Felt much stronger on these

G. Donkey Calf Raise
+90X15,15

I did some extra “beach work” today because I had more energy.

The Push pressing went very, very well. I need to get used to keeping my feet stable on the ground. I think I can add some more weight quickly once the form really irons out.

I PRed or set a base-line PR in everything today. I guess that’s an okay day in the gym.

I still suck though.

Oh yeah, we tested grip strength and vertical jump distance today in my Ex. Phys. Lab.

My vert was a measly

19 inches

My grip strength was a measly

48 kg.

Yeah, so I’m weak.

At least there wasn’t any surprises. Some guy had a 44 inch vertical jump in the previous section of the same lab. That is some INSANE ups.

[quote]Flow wrote:
Oh yeah, we tested grip strength and vertical jump distance today in my Ex. Phys. Lab.

My vert was a measly

19 inches

My grip strength was a measly

48 kg.

Yeah, so I’m weak.

At least there wasn’t any surprises. Some guy had a 44 inch vertical jump in the previous section of the same lab. That is some INSANE ups.[/quote]

Anyone with a 44 inch jump should consider becoming a pro athlete.

That’s pretty freakish. Don’t even want to know what mine is, I haven’t really jumped since high school.

[u][i]11-22-08[/u][/i]

AM Weight: 200.2 lbs.

Back Pain: 1 out of 10
Tightness after the oly lifting

Right Pec Pain: 0.5 out of 10
Slight tightness during the 2nd pull of cleans. Again, overactive pec and shitty subscap. I’ll be reading about how to fix this tonight.

[u][i]Conditioning; Oly lifting Complexes[/u][/i]

There is no way for me to quantify or even remember what I did. Lots of clean pulls, snatch pulls, full cleans, full snatches, and a TON of overhead squatting.

I’ll add a little bit of note regarding the certification.

The class is being directed by the same individual that coached this guy:

for eleven years- since Farris started Oly lifting at a VERY young age.

So I feel pretty confident in the direction I’m getting.

I’ll have the certification at 11AM tomorrow.

Have a great Saturday evening, everyone!

Good luck man.

I remembering reading some interviews with Farris leading up to the Olympics, he seemed like a pretty down to earth guy. Crazy thing was that he broke the American record in his weight class and didn’t even get a Bronze.

[quote]IronAbrams wrote:
Good luck man.

I remembering reading some interviews with Farris leading up to the Olympics, he seemed like a pretty down to earth guy. Crazy thing was that he broke the American record in his weight class and didn’t even get a Bronze.[/quote]

Thanks! It ended up going very well.

[u][i]11-24-08[/u][/i]

AM Weight: 201.0 lbs.

Back Pain: 1 out of 10
Tightness

Right Pec Pain: 0 out of 10

[u][i]Lower 1[/u][/i]

Dynamic Flexibility (foam rolling later)

A. Box Squats
45Xreps
95X5
135X3
165X3
185X3
215X5,5,5,5

B. Rack Pulls
295X6,6,6
All double overhand

C. DB Lunges
60X8/side
65X4/side then grip gave out

10 seconds later

65X4/side then grip gave out

10 seconds later

65X4/side then grip gave out

D. Single arm push up holds
BWX(30s,30s,30s)/side

Today went well.

Tore my first callus, so that’s cool.

[u][i]11-25-08[/u][/i]

AM Weight: 201.0 lbs.

Back Pain: 1 out of 10
Tightness

Right Pec Pain: 1 out of 10
Tightness and a slight blip of pain during warm ups

[u][i]Upper 1[/u][/i]

AM Foam Rolling

Dynamic Flexibility

A. Bench Press
45Xreps
95X3
115X3
135X3
145X3
165X1
175X5
185X5 PR
175X5,5

B. Semi Supinated Chins
BWX6,6,5

C. Neutral Grip Incline DB Press
55X8,8,6 PR

D. Face Pulls
90X12,12,12

E. Reverse Grip Triceps Pressdowns
60X(10,10,10)/side Volume PR

Despite all the stress that comes along with a car accident I was in yesterday, I PRed in bench. I’m climbing the ladder back up to my previous strength. I’ll be there in a few weeks, then it’s uncharted territory.

Oh yeah, I didn’t eat for half of today either.

Also, I passed the USAW test. Horay.

[u][i]11-26-08[/u][/i]

AM Weight: 200.6 lbs.

Back Pain: 1 out of 10
Tightness

Right Pec Pain: 2 out of 10
Tightness and slight pain once or twice throughout the day. I need to address this specifically.

Foam Rolled this morning. Going to hit the high points of dynamic flexibility and activation drills in a few.

I wanted to post a new dynamic flexibility warm up plan

Single leg Glute Bridge 8/side
Band Lateral Walks 10 strides each direction
Warrior lunges 8/side
Arm Circle ~15
Alternating Lateral Lunge 6/side
Scap Wall Slides 12
Squat-to-stands 8
Piriformis Stretch 15s
External Rotators Stretch 15s/side

Also, I’m going to start doing rotator cuff work on the 2nd upper body day of each week. That way it doesn’t interfere with any of the big exercises.

Specifically:

Prone DB Internal Rotations
3X10-12; focusing on right side

This is to get my right subscap up to par before I fuck my pec up again.

I can’t believe this shit.

[u][i]11-27-08[/u][/i]

AM Weight: 2001.4 lbs.
EDIT: LOL I’m not changing that. Yes, I needed a crane to get in the gym today.

Back Pain: 1 out of 10
Tightness

Right Pec Pain: 1 out of 10
Feels better than yesterday, but still tight.

[u][i]Lower 2[/u][/i]

Foam Rolling
Dynamic Flexibility

A. Front Squats
40Xreps
90X5
110X3
130X3
150X3
175X1
190X5,5,5,5 Volume PR

B. Good Morning
155X8
160X8
165X8

C. Single Leg Squat (high box)
BWX(5,8,8,8)/side

D. Swiss Ball Front Planks
BWX40s,40s,30s

Trained at home, so I added +5 lbs. to every exercise to make the weights true-to-life.

Front Squat: Need to get my elbows up and stay tight. It’s clear that I’m doing the bracing thing well, because my stomach is pushed out the whole time I’m under the bar. It’s kind of second nature now. I can brace my core without altering my breathing, and I noticed a while back that after I sprint my abs are consistently “tight” while I get my breath back.

Good Mornings: These look nasty. . . I need to work on getting more ROM.

Single Leg Squats: Focusing more on form, which is why I’m getting the high box out for these for a while. Really focusing on gripping the floor with my toes.

All the gyms are closed today, which is sad because the ridiculous excess of food begs a good day leg day.

Ok, off to eatz.

[u][i]11-28-08[/u][/i]

AM Weight: 202.6 lbs.

Back Pain: 1 out of 10
Tightness

Right Pec Pain: 0 out of 10

[u][i]Lower 2[/u][/i]

Foam Rolling
Dynamic Flexibility

A. Push Press
40Xreps
80X3
90X3
110X3
130X1
150X5,4
155X2
135X6F@7

B. Inverted Rows
BWX5
+25X8,8,8 Volume PR

C. Kneeling DB Row
80X(10,10)/side
82.5X10/side Volume PR

D. Prone internal rotations
15X(15,15)/side

Had to come back for the beach work in the PM

A. DB Curl
15X10
30X12,10,10

B. Lateral Raises
20X12,12,12

The only thing I have to comment on is the push presses. . . I timed the rest intervals at 3 minutes, and hit the set right at that mark. In the gym, I usually take 4-5 minutes of rest between sets, so, although I didn’t realize it until afterwards, I was cutting my rest intervals by as much as 30-40%. That’s likely the predominant factor in my poor performance.

Ok, well I swapped up the training routine, and I’ll be posting it later after work. I mostly changed the rep ranges around and swapped up the assistance exercises that I’m tired of.

Have a good Saturday!

[u][i]11-29-08[/u][/i]

AM Weight: 200.8 lbs.

Back Pain: 2 out of 10
Tightness and some pain when I reached for something in my car.

Right Pec Pain: 1 out of 10
Tightness

[u][i]Conditioning[/u][/i]

20s sprint
40s rest
X5

Almost puked after this. :expressionless: Swallowed it. Too much information? Something wasn’t sitting well with me.

[u][i]11-30-08[/u][/i]

AM Weight: 200.4 lbs.

Back Pain: 1 out of 10
Tightness

Right Pec Pain: 1 out of 10
Tightness

Foam Rolling
-Adductor magnus in left leg flairs up, as usual. Feels better though.
Dynamic Flexibility
-Love the overhead squats with a broom stick. I’ll start doing these daily and see what they do for me.

[u][i]NEW TRAINING SPLIT[/u][/i]

S Off
M Lower 1
T Upper 1
W Off
R Lower 2
F Upper 2
S Conditioning

L1
Box Squat
Rack Pull
Single Leg Deadlift from low box
Single Arm Pushup Hold (feet closer than before)

U1
Bench Press
Seated Cable Row
Standing Dumbbell Overhead Press
Dumbbell Skull Crusher
FS’s Westside External Rotation thingamajigs

L2
Front Squat from Pins
Front Squat
Good Morning
Goblet Squat S/S Pull Through
Swiss Ball Plank Hold S/S Reverse Crunch

U2
Wide Grip Pullup
Swiss Ball Smith Machine Push Up
Kneeling Dumbbell Row
10-15 minutes for lateral delts, biceps, and whatever else

C
Sprinting
Tire Flips
Sled Drags
6-10 total trips of whatever event with short (60s) rest intervals
2:1 Rest-work ratio to maintain conditioning

[u][i]12-01-08[/u][/i]

AM Weight: 200.0 lbs.

Back Pain: 1 out of 10
Tightness

Right Pec Pain: 1 out of 10
Tightness

[u][i]Lower 1[/u][/i]

Foam Rolling
Dynamic Flexibility

A. Box Squats
45Xreps
95X5
115X3
135X3
155X3
175X3
205X1
225X5,5,5,5 Volume PR

B. Rack Pulls
295X6
300X6
315X6 (mixed grip)

C. Single Leg Deadlift to Box
20X10/side
40X(8,10,10)/side

D. Feet close single arm push up holds
30s/side,30s/side,20s/side

Box Squats: Felt solid. I’m getting better off the box. Next week I’ll do 4X4 and go for a few sets with ~245

Rack Pulls: Fuck double overhand and slower reps because of resetting grip. I’m doing mixed grip and I’m going to buy some grip trainers.

SL DL Box: Felt good about these. When I force external rotation on my left hip, I really feel the muscles that are weak and relatively inactive fire. As I stand here typing this, they feel a slight ‘burn’, as if they are very fatigued. This exercise is a keeper.

Single Arm Pushup holds: Cut the last set short because I was shaking like a bitch and I don’t want to annihilate my core this early in the week. I still have front squats from pins to deal with.

Alright, off to eat. Have a great day!

[u][i]12-02-08[/u][/i]

AM Weight: 198.6 lbs.
Bit of a mishap that is outside the scope of the log yesterday. Heh

Back Pain: 1 out of 10
Tightness

Right Pec Pain: 1 out of 10
Tightness

[u][i]Upper 1[/u][/i]

Foam Rolling
Dynamic flexibility

A. Bench press
45Xreps
95X5
115X3
135X3
155X3
180X5,5,5
185X5 Volume PR

B. Seated Cable Row
Weight setting unclear, so just remembered #
10X12
12X10
13X8,8

C. Standing Dumbbell overhead press
25X6
50X6,5,5

D. Lying Strict Dumbbell Skull Crusher
20X10,10,10

E. Incline External Rotation thingies
15X12,12,12

Progress.

Pec feels better than before, so I think the prone internal rotations were a smart addition.

Have a good one!

[u][i]12-04-08[/u][/i]

AM Weight: 202.6 lbs.

Back Pain: 1 out of 10
Tightness

Right Pec Pain: 0 out of 10
NADA

[u][i]Lower 2[/u][/i]

Foam Rolling
Dynamic Flexibility

A. Front Squat from pins
45Xreps
95X5
115X3
135X3
155X3
175X3
185X2
175X3,3,3

B. Front Squat
175X5

C. Good Morning
160X8,8
165X8

D. Modified low box single leg squat
BWX(10,10,10)/side

E. Back Extension
+35X12,15

F. Pallof Press
70X(15,15,15)/side Volume PR

Pin Front Squat: These are VERY difficult. I suck at explosive power and generally creating lots of force quickly. These will be helpful for staying tight in the bottom position. The toughest part is getting the bar right up into your neck at the start.

Front Squat: I could not stay tight on these. The pin front squats took everything out of me, so I think I’m going to stick with those as my main exercise and ditch the standard front squat for a few weeks.

Modified SL Box Squat: I chose these over the s/s I planned on because I think they’re more specific to my goals right now.

Alright, today was a decent session. Nothing too interesting, but quite a bit of difficulty :slight_smile:

I was thinking that I should add more conditioning sessions in, after seeing Nate Green’s training on his website. I might start slowly adding 15-20 minute blocks of HIIT stuff every few months until I have one after all of my work outs and two or so on off days.

Have a good one!

Hmmm…it’s never occurred to me to try Front Squats from the pins. That might be a nice change of pace. At the very least something to experiment with for a few weeks. I’m kind of getting burnt out on regular front squats.

Where did you get those from? An article here?

Anderson Front Squats are amazing… one of the hardest exercises IMO.

Gotta do some regular fronts on Friday, I just realized that I haven’t done a single one since my thumb injury.

[quote]AngryVader wrote:
Hmmm…it’s never occurred to me to try Front Squats from the pins. That might be a nice change of pace. At the very least something to experiment with for a few weeks. I’m kind of getting burnt out on regular front squats.

Where did you get those from? An article here?[/quote]

Marauder (Christopher Drummond) recommended I try them after seeing how I lose tightness sometimes during front squats. I can honestly tell you that the reps are 100X easier on Anderson/Pin Front Squats if you are PERFECTLY tight at the bottom.

The reps where I was perfectly set up- tight, pushed out abdominals, knees forced out to get glutes going, lats flared, bar pushing against neck, and eyes up went much better than those where I did any one of those things poorly.

I actually stood up before the last rep of 175. The 2nd rep was so much of a grinder that I didn’t think I could possibly get another. I had to uhh. . . slap myself in the face to get that last rep. In retrospect, that was pretty retarded. :slight_smile:

If you check out my previous front squat sessions these aren’t really heavy weights for me to be front squatting. It’s just THAT hard to get the damn weight moving at the bottom. I loved it.

Thanks for stopping by the log!