I know I have a bunch of other logs out there, but I swear, this will be the last for a while. If you’ve been following me, then you know my training history, but to be kind, I will give a brief recap.
Height: 5’6.5"
Weight: 185 lbs.
Body fat percentage: ~13%
Squat: 385 lbs. X 2
Bench: 310 lbs. X 2
Deadlift: 400 lbs. X 2
I played football for 9 out of my 18 years of life. During my quest to become a better football player, I found the sport of powerlifting, which eventually lead to me training with Ed Coan for a little over a year. During my time with Eddie, I competed once in the USPF and squatted 363, benched 281, and deadlifted 419 raw (just a belt, no knee wraps) at 198 and 17 years old.
As the title may imply, I’m training to become and officer in the U.S. Army. I will be attending The University of North Georgia in the fall on a 4-year Army ROTC Scholarship, which will guarantee active duty if I choose to commission as such. I plan on commissioning as an infantry officer and will accept nothing less than that.
My goals for my APFT are at least a 280 out of 300 possible points. I’m hoping to run a 14:00 2-mile, perform at least 80 push-ups, and at least 80 sit-ups in 2 minutes, all at around 180-185 lbs.
In this log you will hear about my training and the daily life of an ROTC cadet at the top senior military college in the nation. So let’s get started.
CS
P.M. 17 June 2013 - 5/3/1 Squat (Week 3, Day 1, Cycle 2)
Warm-up
- PVC roll everything
- Stretching
- Jump rope
Squat
2 X 10 X 45
2 X 5 X 135
1 X 3 X 185
1 X 1 X 225
1 X 5 X 255 (75%)
1 X 3 X 290 (85%)
1 X 1 X 325 (95%)
Notes: Everything felt easy today.
Metabolic Conditioning
7 Rounds for Time
3 Thrusters (95 lbs.)
5 Dips
7 Body weight squats
9 Box jumps (24 in.)
Time: 13:12
Summary: Today was a good day. I like that my program will allow me to maintain progress with the main lifts, but still get my conditioning in. Looking forward to tomorrow’s WOD.
CS
this is legit the like 5th new log you’ve posted every time I check out your log its always a new one lmao
[quote]PlainPat wrote:
this is legit the like 5th new log you’ve posted every time I check out your log its always a new one lmao[/quote]
Lol I know. I haven’t been able to make up my mind the last two months until now.
CS
[quote]CSEagles1694 wrote:
[quote]PlainPat wrote:
this is legit the like 5th new log you’ve posted every time I check out your log its always a new one lmao[/quote]
Lol I know. I haven’t been able to make up my mind the last two months until now.
CS[/quote]
I know that feel
A.M. 18 June 2013 - Ruck March
Time: 35:00
Distance: 2.50 miles
Weight Added: 25 lbs.
P.M. 18 June 2013
Warm-up
- PVC roll everything
- Stretching
- Jump rope
Power Clean
1 X 3 X 75
1 X 3 X 115
1 X 3 X 135
1 X 3 X 115
Notes: I went light today to try and get my form down.
Metabolic Conditioning
4 Rounds for Time
400m row
30 push-ups
5 pull-ups
Time: 13:50
Summary: Pretty intense workout today. The rowing is what killed me, but I pressed on. I’ve finally devised a better training template for my workouts which I’ll post soon.
CS
New Training Template
This will be for my P.M. workouts. My running and ruck marching will remain the same.
Warm-up
- PVC roll everything
- Stretching
- Joe DeFranco’s Agile 8
- Jump rope
Dynamic Effort Warm-up
Box jumps and med ball throws.
Skill Work
This will be stuff I’m not good at, like ring dips, muscle-ups, etc. for about 10-15 minutes.
Main Lift
Squat, bench, deadlift, and overhead press and their variants.
Accessory Work
1-2 exercises for 2-3 sets of 12-15 reps; nothing crazy.
Metabolic Conditioning
Typical CrossFit MetCon.
CS
P.M. 20 June 2013 - Deadlift: Week 3, Day 3, Cycle 2
Warm-up
- PVC roll everything
- Stretching
- Agile 8
- Jump rope
Deadlift
2 X 5 X 135
1 X 3 X 225
1 X 5 X 280 (75%)
1 X 3 X 325 (85%)
1 X 3 X 355 (95%)
Notes: Felt good today so I went for some reps. I probably had 5-6 in the tank.
Metabolic Conditioning
5 Rounds for Time
100 double leg jump rope jumps
10 burpees
400 meter row
Time: 21:22
Summary: Another tough workout today. I’m enjoying the metcons after my main lift. They’re really challenging and they make me want to work harder.
CS
P.M. 24 June 2013 - Squat: Week 3, Day 1, Cycle 2
Warm-up
- PVC roll everything
- Stretching
- Agile 8
- Jump rope
Squat
1 X 10 X 45
1 X 5 X 95
1 X 5 X 135 (40%)
1 X 5 X 170 (50%)
1 X 5 X 205 (60%)
Metabolic Conditioning
AMRAP in 15 Minutes
5 front squats (95 lbs.)
10 calorie row
15 kettle bell swings (25 lbs.)
Rounds completed: 6
Summary: This workout wasn’t as challenging as past workouts, but it still got the job done.
CS
Haven’t posted the last couple of workouts because they’ve just been kinda “blah.” I’m going back to my original template (kind of). I’m still doing 5/3/1, but with Joe DeFranco’s Westside for Skinny Bastards assistance work and CrossFit MetCons on the days that I don’t lift. I still need the conditioning, but I need the athleticism too. My running is still going to be on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and ruck the other days. Also, a lot of repetition ab work, pull-ups, and push-ups will be included.
CS
A.M. 27 June 2013 - Ruck March
Distance: 2.79 miles
Time: 40:00
Weight Added: 30 lbs.
P.M. 27 June 2013 - Deadlift: Week 4, Day 3, Cycle 2
Warm-up
- PVC roll everything
- Stretching
- Agile 8
- Jump Rope
Deadlift
1 X 5 X 150 (40%)
1 X 5 X 185 (50%)
1 X 5 X 225 (60%)
Walking Barbell Lunges
3 X 12 X 65 (each leg)
Pull-throughs
1 X 12 X 48
1 X 12 X 60
1 X 12 X 72
45 Degree Back Raises
3 X 12 X BW
Low Pulley Pull-ins
4 X 15 X 60
Summary: Good workout today and I felt good about going with the WS4SB assistance work.
CS
P.M. 20 June 2013 - Squat: Week 1, Day 1, Cycle 3
Warm-up
- PVC roll everything
- Stretching
- Agile 8
- Jump rope
Weighted Box Jumps w/ 20 lb. Vest
1 X 3 X 24"
1 X 3 X 30"
1 X 1 X 32"
1 X 1 X 34"
1 X 1 X 36"
1 X 1 X 38"
Notes: The 38" jump took me three attempts before I finally landed it, but I got it. Also, I think the amount of volume that I did kinda screwed me over for my squats. Whoops.
Squats
1 X 10 X 45
2 X 5 X 135
1 X 3 X 185
1 X 5 X 225 (65%)
1 X 5 X 260 (75%)
1 X 5 X 295 (85%)
Notes: The first two sets were easy as pie.The last set was kind of tough, which I wasn’t expecting, but I had a feeling that working up to a 1RM in a weighted box jump would have an effect on my squats.
Bulgarian Split Squats
1 X 10 X 20s
1 X 10 X 25s
Glute-ham Raises
3 X 3 X BW
Notes: I suck at these, so I just tried to get some reps in.
45 Degree Back Raises
3 X 12 X BW +10
Decline Sit-ups
4 X 10 X BW +10
Summary: Overall, it was an awesome workout. The obvious PR in the box jump definitely helped the morale of the entire day.
CS
Not to be critical but in these few posts, you changed your programming 3 times…just saying
By the way, I tried a similar thing about a year ago where I combined a WOD or MetCon with my training - although I was not doing 5/3/1. Had to be very selective with the WOD so as not to overlap what I trained that day or what I would be training the next. Gave up after a month or so…It makes sense on paper but it’s difficult in real life. Best to ya.
Hmm, so a guy with training A.D.D. decides to do CrossFit, sounds about right. If your goal is to score a 280 on the APFT, why not do a baseline APFT to see where you are? I don’t want to be a prick, but you posted this on the internet for all the world to see, and, as an actual Army Officer I feel I would be doing a disservice not to mentor you into a better plan.
Being a tactical athlete is about maintaining a fitness level that allows you to be ready for anything. It doesn’t mean you should be good at exercise. Do you want to be able to do a 12 mile road march, followed by a 300m shuttle run and still be able to qualify expert with your M4? That’s a fucking applicable goal to train for! However, too many military people fall in to the CrossFit mindset that they need to be good at exercise. I would encourage you to read up on militaryathlete.com, check into the THOR program used by SF, or the RAW program used by Rangers if you truly want to become a “Supersoldier”. I wish you luck on your future endeavors.
What he said. Good luck.
[quote]armygrunt82 wrote:
Hmm, so a guy with training A.D.D. decides to do CrossFit, sounds about right. If your goal is to score a 280 on the APFT, why not do a baseline APFT to see where you are? I don’t want to be a prick, but you posted this on the internet for all the world to see, and, as an actual Army Officer I feel I would be doing a disservice not to mentor you into a better plan.
Being a tactical athlete is about maintaining a fitness level that allows you to be ready for anything. It doesn’t mean you should be good at exercise. Do you want to be able to do a 12 mile road march, followed by a 300m shuttle run and still be able to qualify expert with your M4? That’s a fucking applicable goal to train for! However, too many military people fall in to the CrossFit mindset that they need to be good at exercise. I would encourage you to read up on militaryathlete.com, check into the THOR program used by SF, or the RAW program used by Rangers if you truly want to become a “Supersoldier”. I wish you luck on your future endeavors.[/quote]
[quote]armygrunt82 wrote:
Hmm, so a guy with training A.D.D. decides to do CrossFit, sounds about right. If your goal is to score a 280 on the APFT, why not do a baseline APFT to see where you are? I don’t want to be a prick, but you posted this on the internet for all the world to see, and, as an actual Army Officer I feel I would be doing a disservice not to mentor you into a better plan.
Being a tactical athlete is about maintaining a fitness level that allows you to be ready for anything. It doesn’t mean you should be good at exercise. Do you want to be able to do a 12 mile road march, followed by a 300m shuttle run and still be able to qualify expert with your M4? That’s a fucking applicable goal to train for! However, too many military people fall in to the CrossFit mindset that they need to be good at exercise. I would encourage you to read up on militaryathlete.com, check into the THOR program used by SF, or the RAW program used by Rangers if you truly want to become a “Supersoldier”. I wish you luck on your future endeavors.[/quote]
Thanks for the advice and for your service. I know that my training has been extremely sporadic over the last couple of months and I’m not too happy about it either, but I’ve finally settled on something that I like. I’m still training for my APFT. I know where I’m at and I know where I want to be. And like you said about being a tactical athlete - I’m developing (or at least attempting to) a program that will combine all the necessary physical qualities of a “supersoldier.” I’m running, ruck marching, doing push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups, dips, and all kinds of other things like that. Now obviously, there’s some things that I can’t train for, so that’s what college is for. I’m sure that with trial and error, I can develop into a tactical athlete.
CS
Just don’t try to re-invent the wheel. There is a plethora of good programming out there for you to utilize, created by people who work with hundreds of tactical athlete’s. My undergrad major was Exercise Science, but do you think I have the time or energy to come up with a new program? Hell no! Ive got more important stuff to spend my time on. I try to stay educated on what people are doing, what works, what doesn’t but I barely have enough time to come up with a PT plan for my Platoon, let alone myself.
With your prior training ADD, I would recommend doing something short like an 8 week program that lays out what you do everyday. Rob (militaryathlete.com) has a lot of cheap, awesome programs on his website that are tailored specifically to our unique population (tactical athlete’s). I would recommend starting there.
[quote]armygrunt82 wrote:
Just don’t try to re-invent the wheel. There is a plethora of good programming out there for you to utilize, created by people who work with hundreds of tactical athlete’s. My undergrad major was Exercise Science, but do you think I have the time or energy to come up with a new program? Hell no! Ive got more important stuff to spend my time on. I try to stay educated on what people are doing, what works, what doesn’t but I barely have enough time to come up with a PT plan for my Platoon, let alone myself.
With your prior training ADD, I would recommend doing something short like an 8 week program that lays out what you do everyday. Rob (militaryathlete.com) has a lot of cheap, awesome programs on his website that are tailored specifically to our unique population (tactical athlete’s). I would recommend starting there.[/quote]
What’s your branch in the Army?
CS
P.M. 2 July 2013 - Bench: Week 1, Day 2, Cycle 3
Warm-up
- PVC roll
- Stretching
- Shoulder mob
Med Ball Throws
10 X 1 X 12 lb. ball
Bench Press
2 X 10 X 45
1 X 10 X 95
1 X 5 X 135
1 X 5 X 185 (65%)
1 X 5 X 215 (75%)
1 X 5 X 240 (85%)
Notes: All the sets were easy today. I’ve started to turn my sets into multiple singles, which I like. Also did 3 pull-ups in between each set.
Flat Dumbbell Bench Press
2 X 20 X 60s
T-Bar Rows/Reverse Dumbbell Flies Superset
2 X 12 X 50, 1 X 12 X 75/3 X 12 X 10s
Trap Bar Shrugs
1 X 15 X 135
1 X 15 X 185
1 X 15 X 225
Dumbbell Curls
4 X 12 X 20 (each arm)
Summary: Another good session today; looking forward to running tomorrow, too.
CS