Rebirth of the Juggernaut: Brute Force and Ignorance (Part 1)

Training Logs
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I appreciate the idea Sam. Lighting isn’t the issue; timing is. I can get great lighting if I shoot when it’s light out, but it rarely is when I’m training. At my current location, videos are going to be a no go, as my internet is so terrible that just trying to upload a 5 minute video takes an hour during the best times. If I were to film an entire workout and upload it, I’d be doing it for DAYS and the rest of my family couldn’t use the net, haha. I’ll be moving this summer though, so it might be something I look into. I tend to shy away from the basics, just because there are far more qualified people to cover it, but if nothing else I can film what I consider a workout and let people use that.

Treadmill
Walk (Start at 4.5, increase by .1 every 5 min, end at 4.8 after 20min)
Run 7.5 for 10 min, incline at 0

Notes; Still no pain in the knee. I’m really amazed at how well my cardio is holding up during the run. Guessing that the prowler really helped out.

General notes: Woke up at 195.0. Daily training for the week went well. Highest set of dips was 77. Did 70 NG chins a day minus Monday, and 100 band pull aparts a day minus Saturday. Starting Monday, moving up to 80 chins a day and keeping everything else the same.

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been following your blog , training logs,forum posts for awhile,based on your posts ,especially what you have done since that “little” thing with your knee i think you are more qualified that alot of the so called “internet fitness experts” who are posting videos on how to train,just think you need more time in a public gym to see first hand what passes for “weight” training now days

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384

Thanks man, that really means a lot. I’m gonna keep doing what I can to give back for as long as I can.

Single leg SSB box squat 305+chains
1x10+5+4 (rest pause)

(2) SSB box squats
1x100

Notes: Going for my usual 20, but I felt my right leg tremble on rep 19 and I knew when I had pushed my luck far enough. Still, 305+chains with 1 leg for 10 solid reps is pretty mind blowing to me, so I’ll take it.

Axle deadlifts 66lbs
1x100

Blast strap fallout hold
2:00

Notes: Abs are just destroyed these days. Guessing running and jumping is beating it up.

Reverse hyper 70lbs
100 reps

Notes: No more 1x100, I think it’s time to get back to some serious intention with these. Really focused on contracting my back to move the weight versus just going through the motions. Think I’m going to start hitting a normal sets and reps approach from here.

General notes: Woke up at 193.8. Think it’s the coming down from the carbs and salt from my cheat meal.

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Awesome progress as always. I earned a new respect for the axle curls btw. did a fraction of your reps and I thought my biceps and forearms might explode.

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Appreciate it dude. Those Poundstone curls are no joke! Glad you could appreciate the method to the madness.

Axle bench press
5xAxle
5x75
5x115
5x165
5x195
5x225
16x255
23x195

Notes: Was going for 20 on the set of 255, everything was moving smooth, but then I lost my breath on rep 15 and everything fell apart. 23 reps of bodyweight on the follow-up set seemed to redeem things to me.

NG chins w/60lbs
5x10

DB hammer curls 40lbs
5x10

Axle strict press 128
2x10
1x9
1x8
1x7

superset w/

DB lateral raises
5xpain

Notes: Rest periods were pretty short for the strict presses.

General notes: Woke up at 195.0. No real issues. Knee is feeling strong. Need to get another run in tomorrow.

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AM WORKOUT

Treadmill

Walk: 15 min (5 at 4.8, 5 at 4.9, 5 at 5)
Run: 15 min (5 at 8, 10 at 7.5)
Incline 0

Notes: I keep changing how I log this workout, because I have no idea what I’m doing. This is the longest I have run in a LONG time. I think I’m going to keep the walk at a 5 speed, because I caught myself semi-running at times, which isn’t the goal here. The 8 pace was killer, and I think next session I’ll try to do that for 10 minutes and then back down to 7.5, rather than going faster.

I just did the calculations and found out that an 8mph pace is a 7.5 minute mile, which is faster than I need to run in the first place, so I probably won’t try to advance beyond that speed for the rest of my recovery.

PM WORKOUT

Seated Zercher Axle Good Morning Off Pins
5xAxle
5x75
5x115
5x165
5x205
3x255
1x295
1x355
2x405 (+1 Rep PR)

Notes: I’m just f**king unhinged, what can I say. I honestly considered going for a third, but after the second rep I started “losing time” and blacking out. Finally sacked up and went without the sweatshirt today, and it felt better than with it. Much more secure. No real pain.

Axle deadlifts 66lbs
1x200

Notes: I think I’m going to start upping the weight slightly on these, mainly because holy crap this sucks.

Reverse hypers 90lbs
5x10

superset w/

Leg raises off flat bench
5x10

Notes: Finally back to “heavy” reverse hypers. Focusing on keeping them in control and trying to hold the rep at the top for as long as I can. The leg raises were pretty brutal as well. Pleased with this approach.

General notes: Woke up at 194.8 this morning. Cut out the squats since my legs are absolutely destroyed between my run, physical therapy, and this workout. Exhausting day, but got it done.

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question
i saw a post you made on maxing out on a lift
what is your thoughts on a " beginner" doing a 1 rep max vs doing singles as part of a training program
same question in relation to some one who has trained for an extended period of time

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Great question dude.

For someone just aiming to get bigger and stronger, I don’t see a ton of value in singles (either maxes or sub max). That said, I’ve just never been one of those guys that could wrap his mind around a sub max single performed for many sets to accumulate volume, even though I know a lot of people that do it and progress fine with it (ActivitiesGuy has been doing it with his deadlift). My mind just doesn’t work that way, and if I do sub max stuff, I still like to shoot for 3-5 reps at a minimum.

Maxing I find absolutely worthless outside of a competition. I realize I’ve been posting some balls out singles recently, but here is how I distinguish between a max effort set of 1 versus maxing out.

For max effort, the goal is to generate maximal STRAIN. It teaches the body how to strain as hard as possible under a load. Sometimes, the load is so heavy that one only needs to do 1 rep to do this, and other times several need to occur.

For maxing out, the goal is to lift maximal WEIGHT, and this necessitates being in a state of emotional arousal AND does not necessarily require maximal straining. If you watch Eric Lillibridge hit his max weights in comp, he almost never grinds, but he’s definitely lifting the max he possibly can. He is certainly amped up as well.

I’m finding a ton of value in max effort work these days, but the goal is to make sure you aren’t chasing numbers, and are instead chasing the strain. Has a touch of autoregulation to it.

Treadmill

Walk 15 minutes at a 5
Run 15 minutes at a 8
Zero incline

Notes: This was a pleasant surprise. Knee was feeling a little achy the past few days, but I really hit my stride during the run and just felt awesome. That’s actually a multi-year PR (probably dating back to like 2007) in terms of the longest I’ve ever run at that speed (but that’s mainly because I only ever have to run 1.5 miles, which takes less than 12 minutes at that pace). It’s just great to feel athletic again.

Woke up at 196.6. It’s a big jump, but I’m holding a lot of weight in my guts. Big meal yesterday.

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390

thanks for the answer makes sense
about 35 years ago i did a ramping program where you started at 12 reps increased weight each set
ex. 12/10/8/6/4/2/good days a couple or so of singles,then same weights going back as many reps possible{no grinders} so almost every week i was hiting singles,back then recovery was really good program worked really well

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Now that you’ve been messing around with different forms of zerchers and GMs, and the prowler plus strongman stuff do you think it’s more useful to strain on “non-classical” moves?( Not bench/squats/deads)

I remember a Louie article where he listed like 10 or 12 actual max effort workouts from Joey Bolonogne or somebody. I was surprised that like half the time the max effort exercise was something with the sled.

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Hey, look at that! I know that guy!

I’ve been pleasantly surprised how far the “lots-of-moderately-hard-deadlift-singles” approach has taken me, but I assume the progress escalator will not go up indefinitely, although I plan to ride it awhile longer yet (all the way to a 500 deadlift would be pretty nice). My working theory for the progress with this approach is that doing so many moderate-to-hard singles has improved my “neural efficiency” and refined my technique, to a point where I can get the most out of what muscle I do already have. Now that those things are better and I can pull a heavier weight, I am better positioned to build muscle, because I can handle a heavy enough load to stimulate some growth. That might be complete gobbledygook, but it makes sense to me.

I also should comment that I’ve been training this way mostly because I’ve found it enjoyable and it feels sustainable, not necessarily because it’s the best way to make rapid progress. I’ve done a lot of different stuff and this really seems to work for me mentally.

Back to your regularly scheduled training log.

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393

@cavemansam Sounds pretty intense. Jamie Lewis of Chaos and Pain had something similar as a squat finisher. One of those things on my lifting bucket list.

@FlatsFarmer (I was very tempted to say Flaterfamer, haha), I would say it depends on goals. Westside is making a lot more sense to me now than when I was a young punk, and I get why Louie didn’t want guys using comp lifts for ME work; it teaches one TO strain with the movement. When your goal is to train straining, straining is great, but when you want 3 whites, the last thing you want is to start grinding reps. Rather than reinforcing tough spots, the comp lifts were trained DE so that one always trained to move through that movement pattern quickly, and then the ME work trained one how to blast through any stopping points.

I apologize if the above was obvious, but to me it was a huge revelation, haha.

So that having been said, for a powerlifter, it’d be better not to use the comp lifts for ME work. Heavy singles, sure, but actually training with the goal of straining, not ideal. For a regular gym rat? They could get away with it, but I’m becoming of the opinion that the best lifts for ME work are once that start at the bottom of the ROM. You learn how to strain a lot more when you aren’t able to use stretch reflex to move the weight. Chain suspended, off blocks/pins, varieties of deadlifts, etc etc, seem to lend themselves better.

I can theorize the benefit of the sled as an ME movement (zero technique necessary) but I feel like there are too many variables to control (friction, footwear, cardio, etc). But, Louie knows what he is doing.

@ActivitiesGuy Appreciate you sharing your experience!

PM Workout

Prowler sprints 90’(ish) high handles
10xpowler+33lbs
4xpowler

Notes: Had some rain today, so the friction was nice. Added some weight and things were smooth for the most part. Knee is a little achy, but it gets pretty hard on my run days. Rested 20-23 seconds between trips. Conditioning seems to be pretty strong all things considered.

Small cheat meal this week; double orange chicken and beijing beef at panda. No rice; just wasn’t feeling carby. Might eat a little off menu this weekend to compensate.

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Hey guys T3hPwnisher, I figured I’ll ask you this since you’ve always been rather creative with training. I’ve a strongman event coming up on the 7th of May and the log is one of the events. I don’t have regular access to a log and for the most part, I don’t even know when I get to use them assuming I get to. I plan to work more on my strict overhead press meanwhile. I was wondering if doing heavy neutral grip dumbbell clean and presses would make sense as a skill/accessory work of sorts. I figured, the grip is somewhat similar and since the dumbbells are obviously not joint together, won’t it make it even harder? I’ll try it the next time I get in the gym but I figured asking for your opinion couldn’t hurt.

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I’m not ThePunisher, but…

How heavy is the log in the competition? And what’s your regular overhead press like? I have occasionally had the chance to play with a log when I visit my fiancee (for whatever reason, the gym she joined out there has a nice 145-pound strongman log). The very first time I used it, I had a harder time getting used to the “clean” it into position than I did pressing it, and within a session or two I could press the same weight on the log as I could on a bar (actually I could log press a little more). One thing that’s kind of neat about a log press is that a) the diameter of the log means you’re starting a little higher than a barbell press and b) if you use some leg drive and “throw” your chest upwards into the log, you’ll really get some good momentum off the chest.

Heavy neutral grip dumbbells might be the best simulation if you have no access to any neutral-grip pressing implements, and yes, I suspect that will be much harder than pressing the log. I’d think the toughest thing to get the hang of will be the clean, so you might want to watch a vid of some people cleaning a log to see how they do it.

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It’s ladder style with the weight starting at 70kgs with 10kg increments. I actually just competed in the novice version of this comp a week ago (you can check it out on my training log) and I’m moving up to amateur. I managed to get 70kgs and barely missed the 80kgs. My strict overhead press with a barbell is 65-ish kgs and my press w/ leg drive is 90kgs x 2. So far I’ve cleaned 90kgs on the log successfully on several different days. I suspect my issue is with the press aspect of it and perhaps getting my strict press up might help.

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@Beanything Implementwise, the keg and sandbag would be excellent substitutes. They’re both very brutal to clean and press, and the both have a neutral grip, which allows for some decent carryover.

Gymlift wise, neutral grip DB presses are pretty similar to a log. One of the bigger issues with the log compared to a barbell is the weight being out in front of you, which makes it difficult to get decent leg drive since the weight isn’t traveling in close to a straight line overhead. The DBs can create this a bit.

And then, finally, just getting stronger overhead works too. I have a buddy that only trained with a barbell prior to a show, but had a 250lb strict barbell press. When he got to a 12" beast metals log, he managed to clean and press it for 5 reps on his first try with 200lbs. Just pure brute strength got him there.

Strict is good, but make sure to know how to get the most out of your legs as well.

Axle strict press
5xAxle
5x66
5x128
5x148
11x168
11x148
14x128
6x8x128

Notes: Decent day. I gas so hard on the top set over overhead work. Just always something I deal with.

DB rows 105
9x8

Kelso shrugs 50
5x10

Notes: All sets performed in between sets of presses.

Axle curls
1x140

Notes: Still just absolutely terrible. Great pain tolerance training.

Band pushdowns
1x50

Kroc rows 105
1x25

Notes: Hitting strict DB rows earlier seems to really make these more effective. It primes my body to know what I want to be hitting and makes it so that I know when/how to really use some momentum.

General notes: Woke up at 196.0. Left knee still a little achy; going to take it easier on it today.

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Thanks for the advice T3hPwnisher! Here’s the thing, I don’t have any kegs/sandbags too. I guess I’ll just have to make do with what I have right now.

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Yeah, the reason I suggested those 2 is that they’re much easier to get to versus a log. Even if you didn’t have this contest coming up, I’d highly recommend getting 1 or the other, if not both. They’re cheap, and go a LONG way for strongman.

Meant the relate a training story from last night. In between sets of prowler sprints, a big coyote (about the size of a husky) started walking nearby the trail I was on. My wife was in the garage running on the treadmill, and I didn’t want this guy wondering in on her, so I snarled at him as best as I could and then chased after him with the prowler. Not the smartest move in the world, but I’m pretty sure I spooked him good between the noise the prowler makes and the site of some dude chasing after him with it, haha. Told my wife she should thank me for my service.

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@Benanything
I’ve only recently begun working with the log so take this with a little salt, but so far for me personally I’ve found my previous work practicing the power snatch had carried over the best to the log clean. Not the overhead portion, but the ground-to-sternum portion i find nearly identical.

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That’s a funny story about the Coyote haha! Do you live in a rural area or do they come pretty far into towns like urban foxes? We don’t have coyotes over here, but I saw a lot when I went on holiday to the US. Really cool animals!