10 AM, Iron Sport. In mid-January I tweaked my lower back hard on a 308-lb front squat. It put me out for 4 months. I started gradually working my way back in, trying a few different things. I did a crossfit session (what the FUCK was I thinking) that made me puke nicely. Upon leaving the place I was at (not Iron Sport) I stepped off the stair and rolled my right ankle so fucking hard, it swelled up to the size of a fucking cantaloupe. OK. That was six weeks ago. Now I am going to attempt once again to train. It's been a rough year and I hate how out-of-shape I've become.

I slacked all winter/spring and wanted to die when I started lifting again. Started too heavy out the gate and could barely walk for a week and a half. Been back at it nearly 2 months now, and I'm still only maxing what used to be a warmup set. Feels bad.

Good luck tomorrow. Wish we had a place like Iron Sport up here.

I had a nice puking session on wednesday. It's been a rough few months for me with training myself, the last month being the worst. I skipped a month of MMA training and even before that I was making it once a week. I decided to take on one of the worst days of the week on the hottest day of the year (at the time) and I felt like I was going to die. It was like 300 degrees in the gym by the end of the class. I walked outside, made it to my car, and then reenacted the Exorcist.

Originally posted by: pudge

308-lb front squat

Holy hell man.

thats a big boy front squat , i max 365 normal. if your working out with that as a front, your a beast.

That's not even my best, my PR front squat is 180kg (396 lbs). Hit that 3- 3 1/2 years ago.

I was, up until my blowout, good for a steady 160 kilo (352-lb) single, maybe a double on a good day. I got careless and let my air out too soon and just bent the wrong way. Made the lift, it was the third rep of a 3-rep set, but just fell apart after that.

Today was good, though. I did not puke but I worked up a good effort.

Power Snatch + Overhead Squat, worked up to 75 kilos for a 1+1 single, then did 3 full snatches with 80 kilos, so about 80% of my best- not bad for the first session in 6 months. Then I did straight up barbell push presses, began light with 95 lbs for 5, then worked to 135 x 5 for 5 sets. Strict push-press form and lock-out, triceps were roasting pretty good. Then I hit the Back Squats, 7 sets total, working to 225 lbs. x 5 for 5 sets. First two sets sucked the most but I got my technique back and smoked the last three sets.

Again, all of this was light due to me missing so much time, but I definitely have the lifting bug again. Thursday I'm going to work cleans, Romanian deadlifts, and some rows. Maybe with the axle for some grip work thrown in there too.

Still sore from Monday, today's training...

Power Cleans + Overhead Press:

in kilos:

50 x 3+3
60 x 2+2
70 x 2+2
80 x 1+1
85 x 1+1 (push press)
90 x 1+1 (push press)
95 x 1+1 (power jerk)

Romanian Deadlift + Barbell Shrug:

70 kg x 5+5 for 4 sets

Dumbbell Clean & Press (Pulcinella Press) + Seated Cable Row superset:

40's x 1+1/1+2/1+3/1+4/1+5 followed by 130 x 10
40's x 1+1/1+2/1+3/1+4/1+5 followed by 150 x 10
40's x 1+1/1+2/1+3/1+4/1+5 followed by 170 x 10

The clean & press exercise I used was one I learned from Steve Pulcinella. You do one hang clean movement with the dumbbells, and press, then lower. Clean again, do 2 presses, then lower. Keep going until you work up to one clean + 5 presses. It's fucking brutal. What's even more brutal is that I used to be able to do this with 75's.

Think I'll make this my training log since I don't like any of the lifting sites around.

Monday, July 5, 2010

Iron Sport today. Was mad because I woke up late, but I still managed to get a solid session in.

Squat Snatch: (kg)

50 x 3
60 x 2
70 x 2
75 x 2
80 x 1
80 x 1
80 x 1

These looked/felt better than my 3 singles at 80 last week. Improvement... can't come fast enough but I'll take it.

Snatch High-Pull: (kg)

70 x 3
75 x 3
80 x 3
85 x 3
90 x 3

Nice, I was pulling these to my chin. Wondering why I don't get that kind of pop when I am attempting a 90-kilo snatch, if I did I'd be power-snatching it on a regular basis.

Push Press: (kg)

50 x 5
60 x 5
70 x 5
75 x 5
80 x 5

Form was nice and strict with no double-knee dip, strong lockouts.

Back Squat, rock bottom: (kg)

70 x 5
90 x 4
110 x 3
130 x 2
140 x 2
140 x 2

It's bodyweight for two doubles, I'll take it. Again, hate that these weights are so much lighter than what I used to handle, but it'll come back in time.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Got a late start today, no surprise there. Hit some really bad traffic too on the way down, so I had limited time to work out.

Power Cleans: (kg)

50 x 3
60 x 3
70 x 2
80 x 2
90 x 2
90 x 2
90 x 2

Clean High-Pull: (kg)

80 x 3
85 x 3
90 x 3
95 x 3
100 x 3

Bent-Over Rows, didn't do much with these. My back was just toasted., so I think I did one set at 70kg x 8 and one at 90kg x 5, then I had to run.

Made what I did do count though, very explosive and lots of energy.

Strongman training tomorrow @ Iron Sport. 11:30 or so. Should be funsville.

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Oof... Today was a reality check. I have a long way to go before I can be competitive again. It wasn't a bad workout at all... just, my numbers are way down from where I was at my peak. Fuck it, gotta have something to strive for, right?

Log Clean & Press: (lbs)

Empty log (100 lbs) x 1 clean, 5 presses
Empty log x 5 cleans, 5 presses
144 x 1 clean, 5 presses
144 x 5 cleans, 5 presses
144 x 1 clean, 3 push-jerks
210 x 1 clean, missed the press, made it on a second attempt
210 x 1 clean, 1 press, missed a second attempt.
230 x 1 clean, missed press, tried it three times and missed.
220 x 1 clean, missed press. Cooked.

The overheads used to be my best event, be it a log, axle, or bar, but it's going to take time for that strength to return.

Front Squat: (kg)

50 x 5
70 x 5
90 x 3
100 x 3
110 x 2
120 x 2
130 x 1

Now this, on the other hand, was decent. I was only 10 kilos off the mark where I injured myself and I probably could have done 140 kg if I wanted to. My goal is to hit my old PR by my birthday, which is December 5, and the weight will be 180 kilos.

Snatch Balance: (kg)

40 x 3
50 x 3
60 x 2
70 x 2
80 x 1
90 x miss
90 x 1

A snatch balance, for you non-O-lifters, is where you take the bar on your back like you're going to squat, but you move your hands to where your snatch grip is, and then drop into a squat snatch lockout. It's explosive and it's designed to help you keep that bar balanced overhead. Then you stand and rack the bar or drop it to your traps and rep it. The miss I had, I shouldn't have missed, it was just a little too far behind me and I lost it. Meh.

Ab Strap Pulldowns: (lbs)

120 x 20
130 x 10
140 x 10

Tricep Rope Push Downs + Overhead Extension: (lbs)

60 x 10+10
70 x 10+10

Gassed.

you're a madman

I wish I could agree, but I was doing a lot more than that a few years ago.

Definitely have to start trying snatch balances. I wish my gym had a lighter log. I'm pretty sure the one we have is like 200lbs. I feels heavy even if you just deadlift it. I've cleaned it a few times, but can't press it for shit. King Joe's has smaller logs, but I haven't messed with them yet.

You know where to go, Huckleberry.

The log at Iron Sport is 12" in diameter- pretty thick, but it only weighs 100 pounds. It's also the type of log most likely to be used in a contest.

The old log we had at IS was 8" in diameter, hard as hell to press, and it weighed 180 empty. That was the one I learned on when I started. I managed to put up 305 on that one once. My best on the 12" is 285.

Monday, July 12, 2010

I did not get the start I had hoped for. I woke up on time and got to the gym, only to realize that I forgot to pack my gym shorts. So I had to go to K-Mart and buy a cheap pair for $9. Plus I had to be back in Pottstown by 3 to help a friend move some furniture and then Frost Giant practice. Half of what I planned to do has to be spread out among my other workouts this week now.

Still, I am proud to introduce into my training log this week video clips, so now you can all see how weak I've become. Well, not really that, but I'll be able to better track my progress on the road back. So, here's what I did today.

Power Snatch: (kg)

40 x 3
50 x 3
60 x 2
70 x 2
75 x 2
80 x 2 misses
80 x 2 misses

I just couldn't lock out 80 no matter how hard I tried. Could be fatigue, could be bad technique. I had the power but I just couldn't coordinate the finish. The 75 set was really strong and I just hit a wall.

Snatch High Pulls: (kg)

80 x 2
90 x 2
100 x 2
100 x 2
100 x 2

These were fairly strong. Below, my first set at 100 kilos;



Overhead Squat: (kg)

50 x 3
60 x 3
70 x 2
80 x 2
90 x 1
100 x miss

Better than I expected on the 90 kg lift-



and almost got the 100 but it drifted a bit forward.



Next stop, Thursday with cleans, push-presses, and if the weather holds, some tire flips and arm-over-arm prowler drags.