Upping Squat Routine Again

Read more John Broz tonight.
Awesome stuff.

link is http://www.fortified-iron.com/forum/index.php?s=8ef969e700276b63f99ebca959739b3e&showtopic=235183848&st=0

Need to take next step toward squatting every day.
As sore as I am right now, the third day needs squatting. To deal with soreness I'll have to lower the weight even more, probably to something like 185, for 5 sets of 10.

So the next three days squatting will look like this.

Saturday: Back Squat 325 x 5s x 5r (Tonnage = 7,875)
Sunday: Back Squat 225 x 10s x 5r (Tonnage = 11,250)
Monday: Back Squat 185 x 10s x 10r (Tonnage = 18,500)
Tuesday: off

Wednesday: Repeat

It's neat that the difficulty varies inversely with the tonnage.

Today's workout (SORE CALVES)

One thing I'm getting from all this squatting I didn't anticipate, sore calves!

The calves role in squatting is intense, but lots of people don't appreciate it because it's isometric.

Have also done 165 pushups in past 24 hours. For me, this is a lot.
My benching might be a little off, but it was required in order to win a bet.

Today, to follow up yesterday's workout, I did the same day 2 step to slowly implement the Broz protocol as last time.

It was

Back Squat: 225 x 10s x 5r
Pushup: 10s x 5r

2 weeks off from benching, then 250lb bench

BAM!

I'm taking 2 weeks off from benching.
Just going to do a sh*t ton of push-ups and weighted pushups, gtg style.

In 1.5-2 weeks I'll come back, perform one bench workout, then the following workout I'll push for a 250lb bench.

My bench is way too weak, whether considered by itself or relative to my other lifts.

I will achieve a 300lb bench by the end of the year.
Because it never hurts to review goals, my end of the year goals (which I think I'll accomplish by October) are:


Bench: 300lbs
Squat: 400lbs
Deadlift: 500lbs

John Broz, end of week 1

Did the 3rd workout in my new intro-level John Broz program.
Squatting 322.5 for 5x5 yesterday definitely felt more difficult than 317 a week ago.
But that's the way it's supposed to be. Still adjusting to the volume.

Yesterday I:
BS: 322.5 x 5s x 5r
OHP: 150 x 5s x 5r
Bicep Curl: 87.5 x 5s x 10r
Reverse Hyper: 4s x 10r


Was very excited about the 150 OHP. That's a sort of bench mark. Anything from here is uncharted territory.

The bicep curls aren't all strict, still some body english on a few reps in the later sets. I won't move up in weight till I can eliminate the body english. I'm not really pushing higher weights right now, this is just for volume as an assistance exercise.

The reverse hypers aren't f*cking me up like they were in the beginning.

Today I'll do a workout of:
Back Squat: 225 x 10s x 5r

The goal of the workout obviously isn't to go heavy. It's just to, again, introduce more volume in the goal of reaching daily squatting a la John Broz.

John Broz, one bad dude

Starting slowly, very slowly, to incrementally approach John Broz's standard of squatting every day.

Had been squatting 2-3 times per week.
Now, after every lifting day, I'm following with a squatting day. I squat lighter on these days, but the volume is much higher. And it's the volume that's the goal on these days for now.

So, after my last workout, the next day I squatted 225lbs for 10s x 5r.

Broz's theory is that when the volume is high and you're hitting squats every day then squats become just second nature, just like walking.

Broz actually shoots for a PR EVERY WORKOUT!

I'll continue 5x5 for awhile, hopefully passing previous high of 335, before shooting for new maxes every workout.

After his 1RM (whatever the max is that day), Broz continues to do singles, doubles, or triples at 90% of the max. He stops when he has done 50 working reps.

Broz doesn't go a day without squatting 220kilos (440 lbs!).
His training philosophy blows my mind.

Good Lifting Today

Workout Today:
BS: 320 x 5s x 5r
Inc Bench: 185 x 3s x 5r
Bicep Curl: 87.5 x 5s x 5r
Reverse Hyper: 4s x 10r

Good lifting today.
Back squats went up real easy, especially on later sets with focus on explosion and intensity.
Incline Bench was tough, but grinded my way through.


Tomorrows the day I begin my first gradual implementation of John Broz's Bulgarian training style.
Even though tomorrow would not normally be a lifting day, I'm going to go back squat 135 x 5s x 10r.
The point isn't to move a whole lot of weight. The point is volume, insane volume. To begin squatting every day.

Maybe there's something to John Broz's style. Today, despite biceps being sore, I had more success with reps than last time when biceps were fresh. (Same weight, same rep/set scheme).

And if we're really going to implement Broz's style, should probably get to pushups every day as well.

Went Up So Easy

Lifted today.

B Squatting 317.5lb x 5s x 5r never felt so easy.

OHP 147.5 x 3s x 5r, hit every rep.

And reverse hypers (4s x 10r) were pleasant rather than soul-wrenching beatdowns.

Almost made my bicep curls (87.5 x 5s x 10r, but then had to cheat on last 2 reps of set 5.

Still, overall amazing.

This must be what steroids is like.

What explains the excellent form tonight?
A few potential causes come to mind.

-Been sleeping well.
-Switched to steak as primary source of protein.
-Reintroduced some carbs into my diet via pierogies.
-Been very happy lately.

Maybe it's one of, or some, or all of the above.
Or, maybe it's just something they put in the water.

Manly Dinner

Had perhaps the most manly dinner ever tonight.
Cooked up some chopped sirloin steak, huge amount of onions, and pierogies.
Drank with a monster glass of whole chocolate milk.

Some pretty decent chopped sirloin steak is only 2.99$/lb at Wegmans. I may be switching from sausage/hamburger to steak.

Lower back was sore as f*ck today. Almost had me wondering if the reverse hypers are doing something bad.

Plan for tomorrow:
-40 minutes slow on Elliptical. This is more active recovery than an actual workout. Just want to get blood flowing. Class schedule doesn't actually leave enough time for a real workout.

Very excited about workout goals for Wednesday.
Back Squat: 317.5 x 5s x 5r
OHP: 147.5 x 3s x 5r
Standing Bicep Curl: 87.5 x 5s x 10r
Reverse Hyper: 4s x 10r (NOT GOING BEYOND THIS NO MATTER WHAT)

Will need to eat big and sleep big until Wednesday to prepare for this workout.
If everything feels good then I will do a max deadlift on Saturday. Goal will be:
Deadlift: 460

17 April 2010 workout

Back squat: 315 x 5s x 5r
Incline Bench: 182.5 x 3s x 5r
Reverse Hyper: 4s x 10r

Skipped bicep curls in order to make a dinner date. (Lame, I know).
And "lame" applies both to bicep curls in general and to skipping out early on the workout.
If it weren't for the powerlifting meet that oddly features the standing bicep curl as an event then I wouldn't bother training this lift.

Reverse Hypers will F You UP!

Did reverse hypers for the second time today.
Despite using no weight, my back is so sore right now I don't think I'd be able to run more than two miles.

Should I keep doing Reverse Hypers?

The formula is simple.

(Using all positive numbers)

Benefit-to-Deadlift/Impairment-to-Running * Desire-to-reach-Deadlift-Goal/Desire-to-advance-running

This gives me (using 1 as strong negative, 3 as neutral, 5 as strong benefit):

5/4 * 5/5 = 1.25*1 = 1.25

(Score greater than 1 would suggest continuing, 1 would be neutral, less than 1 would be a score suggesting quitting).


So the numbers say I should continue.
And I'm intrigued by two things:

1) I had NO IDEA my back was this weak. I just assumed it was stronger since I could pull 455.

2) In the long-term, a stronger back should be beneficial to running.

Day wrap up

Lifting Session:

Reverse Hyper: Did about 10 reps with no weight. Felt weird. Going to have to practice and get used to it.
BS 310 x 5s x 5r
Incline Bench 180 x 3s x 5r
Standing Bicep Curl 85 x 5s x 10r

All reps of all sets completed with good form. Glad to finish out the 85lbs the first time attempted.

Running:

Only ran about 2.5 miles. (To Firehouse and back).
Curbing distance down right now while increasing volume. Planning on two runs tomorrow, each of 2-3 miles.

Big Deal:

Registered for USMC marathon today. 202 days till the race. I ran about 2.6 miles tonight. All I have to do is increase my endurance by 900-1000% and I should be fine.
:)

Changes I'm introducing starting tomorrow (11 April 2010)

1) starting tomorrow I'm switching to incline bench. (Lon Kilgore recommends this on CF journal right now).

2) starting tomorrow I'm introducing reverse hypers. (Will begin and end each lifting session with them).

3) going to be consuming at least one protein shake per day in addition to the sh*tload I usually eat

4) as soon as I'm up to 5 miles per day of running (will be within next 2 weeks), it's back to GOMAD. Will do 1/2 GOMAD until then.

Lon Kilgore article

Lon Kilgore had an excellent article up on the Crossfit Journal. (Subscription required).

One paragraph is especially relevant here, I'll cut and paste it below.

The paragraph makes me hopeful that my squat will have some carry-over to my emerging running ability.

That said, it works out nicely the other way around.
Apply all the energy into the weight work and move the
squats up 40 percent or more and there will be more
muscle to carry the athletes over those distances later
on in the spring. In fact, I’ve had success with football
players who listened to me and didn’t bother with any
form of running until just a month before summer
practices started. When an athlete is using 450-500 lb.
in the squat, he’s going to be able to run not only longer
but faster. All he has to do is get his cardiovascular
system fit, which can be done in a rather short period of
time. Then he’s good to go.

Res Ipsa Loquitur

Res Ipsa Loquitur

John Welbourn

"If you're not trying to get better, you're getting worse."

-John Welbourn

Laying it out (clarified goal statement)

Just to keep mini-goals and strategic goals straight, I'm laying them out right here.

Major Goals (DEADLINE OCTOBER 31, 2010)

A) DEADLIFT 500 LBS
B) SUB 4 HOUR MARATHON


Minor Goals (DEADLINE JULY 31, 2010)

A) FIT INTO SIZE 34 LUCKY JEANS
B) 105/50 BLOOD PRESSURE

Unusual, but interdependent, Metrics and Mini Goals

"blood pressure of 160/95 is pathological, 120/70 is normal or healthy, and 105/55 is consistent with an athlete's blood pressure"

-Crossfit Journal


I am advancing steadily toward my two strategic goals:
a) 500lb deadlift
b) sub 4 hour marathon


Mini goals along the way provide both a close target and a way to feel accomplished in the near term.

My two mini goals (deadline August) will be:

a) to shrink waist to the point where I can fit into size 34 lucky jeans
b) to lower my blood pressure to 105/55


Both goals are best met by dropping bodyfat. Contrary to long held opinion, it has been discovered that adipose tissue is not inactive. It's very active, especially in influencing cytokines, and factors into blood pressure.

More later.

Can a largely unfit person train to have a 300lb-bench/400lb-squat/500lb-deadlift while also going from a total-novice bad jogger into a sub-4-hour marathoner?
Most exercise types intuitively say no. The marathoners and weight lifters I know don't believe it's possible.

At the end of the day I don't care about the tally. I am going to accomplish these things. I just enjoy the mental exercise of plotting out some of the factors involved.



Reasons for:
1) Carry-over of angiogenesis and arteriogenesis
a) Arteriogenesis (widening of blood vessels) developed from lifting should allow for more efficient transport of fuel to muscles
b) Arteriogenesis (development of new fine blood vessels within muscle) developed from running should also enhance fuel circulation




Reasons against:
1) Adaptions for lifting big (carrying more mass, having wide legs) are a hindrance to running.
a) weight is a hindrance in that more weight is more taxing
b) size is a hindrance in that s greater size results in an increasingly less-than-optimal running physique/mechanics

2) Diet that satisfies endurance demands may not satisfy lifting demands. Not sure at moment what diet is optimal.

3) Even if it's muscle, more mass is a strain on the system. Less relative surface area resulting from more absolute mass = greater challenge staying cool.

4) Cannot simultaneously employ optimal lifting and running schedules. Lifting 3x week doesn't allow for recover from runs. Running 5-6 days/week doesn't allow for recovery for lifting. Forced to use a b*stardized system of lift 2x/week and run 3-4 times/week.

Nutrition and Purpose, in all seriousness

9:30am: wake up

9:55am - 10:30am: run a slow relaxed hilly 3.3 miles outside

11:30am: Eat 7 pieces of jalapeno pizza at Pizza Hut lunch buffet.



Is my poor diet the mark of a true athlete?

Seen in the context of my sloth and poor nutrition, it's obvious that the only motivation for my running is the enjoyment of running. This purity of purpose has to mean something, something big.

3.3 MILES!

Ran a little further today.

That's the exciting part about being a novice. NEW RECORDS EVERY WORKOUT!

3.3 miles.

My legs were still a little sore from squatting and running 2 days ago, but the endorphins, the mood lift and the runners stitch are worth it.

Still think I'm track to pull 500 in the USAPL meet in 3 months.

8 April 2010, Lifting/running, 305 x 5 x 5, followed by 2.8 mile run

Lifted today.
Back Squat: 300 x 5 x 5. (HIT IT!)
OHP: 145 x 4, x 3, x3. (MISSED IT!)
Standing Straight Bar Bicep Curl: 82.5 x 5s x 10r (HIT IT. No cheating required.)

rested for a couple hours.

Ran 2.8 miles.

Going to only increase squats by 2.5 lbs, rather than 5lbs, from here on out. It's difficult to do this much volume while running.

Douglas Coupland . . . And Running

"I thought of this: I thought of how every day each of us experiences a few little moments that have just a bit more resonance than other moments--we hear a word that sticks in our mind--or maybe we have a small experience that pulls us out of ourselves, if only briefly--we share a hotel elevator with a bride in her veils, say, or a stranger gives us a piece of bread to feed to the mallard ducks in the lagoon; a small child starts a conversation with us in a Dairy Queen--or we have an episode like the one I had with the M&M cars back at the Husky station.

"And so if we collect these small moments in a notebook and save them over a period of months we would see certain trends emerge from our collection--certain voices would emerge that have been trying to speak through us. We would realize that we have been living another life altogether, one we didn't even know was going on inside us. And maybe this other life is more important than the one we think of as being real--this clunky day-to-day world of furniture and noise and metal. So just maybe it is these small silent moments which are the true story-making events of our lives."

-"Life After God" by Douglas Coupland. Pgs 254-55.

It's 4:51am and I just read the above passage. (Was up all night working on a school project).
It made me think about my running.
This past week I've been running 2 days on, one day off. Not running like I did years ago, with goals of beating certain times and keeping certain paces.
No, I've just been running to have fun. Running barefoot in my Vibram five fingers.

Anyway, reading the above passage, I realized that those times every day when I've been running have been the happiest moments of my days.
Following Caballo Blanco's advice I constantly strive to keep my running easy. And I do.
And while running easy I find myself thinking of funny scenes from movies I haven't seen in decades.
I find myself thinking about how wonderful Roza is.
I find myself spacing out for blocks at a time.

That's the pattern I come up with when I follow Douglas Coupland's advice and seek a pattern in those special moments.

Why do I feel this way while running?

-Maybe it's because it doesn't involve seeking anyones approval. Forget seeking, I'm alone out there. There's not even anyone's approval to stumble across.

-Maybe it's because I'm engaging in an action that I know has no negative cost to myself or anyone else.

-Maybe it's because my slow speed and clumsy gait are funny to watch and even funnier to execute.

I don't know.
:)

What is it with Douglas Coupland?

Is there something about the years between age 18 and age 22 during which we're especially impressionable?

These are the years when I found the authors that influenced me the most; Kurt Vonnegut, Hunter S. Thompson, Martin Amis, Douglas Coupland.

These were the years when I couldn't make myself believe in religion anymore, when I accepted my atheism.

These were some of my best motorcycle years.

These were the years when I became painfully libertarian.



These things had such a profound influence on me, but they were all so f*cking random.

If I hadn't taken an odd English class titled "Apocalypse Eventually" I might not have found those authors.
If I hadn't taken Econ 309, I never would have become a libertarian.
And motorcycles? God only knows.

Even in retrospect I have a poor understanding of my Black Swans.

awesome new recipe

Invented an awesome new recipe tonight. And by "invented" I mean I bastardized huevos rancheros. Anyway, it was simple, cheap, had lots of protein, had low GI index and tasted good. So in my book it's a keeper.

Recipe:

(serves one)
-add coconut oil to pan
-turn oven to medium heat
-add red peppers and onions and fry to taste
-add 1/2 can refried beans
-add pre-cooked meat if desired
-Once everything is cooked, add 2 eggs. Stir everything together and continue to cook for five mintues.
-add salsa

VOILA!

Q: BUT, DOG! DON'T REFRIED BEANS HAVE LOTS OF CARBS?

A: Sort, of. The beans digest slowly, so the carb statistic is misleading. Essentially, it's a low to mid carb meal.

So, how's the barefoot running going?

In what is without doubt the least ambitious running program of any non-handicapped person, day 4 of my running found me tackling about 1.8-2.0 miles at a very slow and comfortable pace.

Why am I running such puny distances and what is my plan?

Why: A couple reasons.

1) Because running with bare feet has to be entered into very gradually, to allow for feet to toughen up

2) Because I'm terribly out of shape

3) Because I want to be able to continue lifting, especially squatting, while running. Over doing it and being unable to lift due to running soreness is unacceptable.

4) Once I'm up to about 5+ miles, the caloric expenditure might just be enough to allow me to do GOMAD again.



The plan: gradually build up a base of cardio-respiratory fitness. Very gradually.

The tactic:

1) If it's not easy, slow down till it's easy.
2) If it feels easy, try to make it feel light.
3) If it's light and easy, and I'm feeling good, maybe try to speed up a little bit. If it stops being light or easy, slow down till it's easy again.

Goals:
-Run that Richmond race in a month.
-Run the USMC Marathon in October in sub 4 hours

I am a hypocrite

I stand by Rippetoe firmly in our shared belief that bicep curls are retarded.

They don't hit that many muscle groups, so the hormone response is small.
It's not an especially functional exercise.
And bicep curls have the 90's small connotation.

And yet today, there I was, doing them in the mirror like some sort of 90's small tiny-armed douche.

Why was I doing this?

Because the local power-lifting competitions have stupidly substituted the "strict standing bicep curl" in place of the squat. I have a couple ideas why.

-Easier to judge. Curls don't have the depth issues that squats do.

-Draw in new participants. By picking a popular exercise, one lots of people think they're good at, you might pull in new contestants.

Sure these are tangible benefits. BUT AT WHAT COST?

Dios mio.

Workout today was:

Back Squat: 300 x 5s x 5r
Bench: 190 x 5s x 5r
Bicep Curl: 82.5 x 5s x 5r

David Goggins is a fiend.

David Goggins is a fiend. And a new hero of mine.
He's a Navy Seal who is constantly competing in endurance events to raise money for children.

This is the story about his first 100 mile race. WHICH HE DID HAVING NEVER BEFORE RUN A MARATHON.

Enjoy Pain
by David Goggins

A lot of people think that I have been running my whole life. The fact is that I hadn't even ran a marathon until November 2005. I came off of a deployment from Iraq and I heard that several SEAL/s had been killed in a combat situation. I wanted to do something to raise money for their families. Being a SEAL, I knew that selling hot dogs and having a bake sale wouldn't do it. So, I googled the 10 hardest events in the world and the Badwater 135 came up. I called the race director and explained the situation. He was somewhat amused that I had never even ran a marathon and wanted to attempt one of the hardest foot races in the world. After talking with him he made it very clear that this race wasn't to be taken lightly and that I would have to qualify in order to participate in the race. I had to qualify by running 100 miles in 24 hours. It just so happened that there was a race in San Diego the following weekend. It was a 24 hour race where your run straight for 24 hours around a 1 mile track. So, six days later my wife and I grabed a lawn chair, lunch box cooler, myoplex, and ritz crackers to take to the race. That's right... only those items. Also keep in mind that I weighed a lot at the time.
I took off running and felt good for about 70 miles. Then I stopped to take a break. That was the first problem.....I sat down in the lawn chair and my blood pressure went crazy due to poor nutrition. I sat there for about 10 minutes and I had to go to the bathroom really bad. When I attempted to stand, I quickly realized how bad of shape I was really in. I was so dizzy that I couldn't stand for a second. So, after retaking my seat in the chair I looked at my wife and told her that I had to go to the bathroom. She looked at me confused. So, I told her more clearly... "I'm going to take a s*** on myself in this chair."
And so I did...
I then saw the blood running down my leg when I urinated.
My wife being a nurse informed me that my kidney's were shutting down and that I needed to go to the hospital. I told her that I had 30 miles left.
She helped me up and we started walking around the track at a 35 minute mile pace. I asked her If I would complete the 100 miles in 24 hours at this pace and she said no. So, I did what I had to do and some how by the grace of God started running again. I completed 101 miles in just under 19 hours. I had broken all the small bones in my feet and my kidneys were failing. My wife drove the car onto the race course and put me into the back of the car. We live on the second floor of an apartment complex and we had to somehow get up the stairs. So, I draped my arms around her neck from behind and she had to practically drag me up the stairs. After she me in the shower and she saw that I was urinating dark dirt brown, she begged me once again to go to the hospital. I looked her in the eye and said....
Just let me enjoy this pain I'm in.
And I did. I enjoyed how hard I had just pushed myself and I wanted to feel every bit of that.
Posted by David Goggins at 5:13 PM 22 comments Links to this post

Running? Surely you jest.

No, I don't jest.

I'm going to start running.

I was inspired by the book "Born to Run" by Christopher Mcdougall.


Cons to running:
-interfere with recovery from lifting


Pros to running:
-sleep better
-bigger appetite
-might drop some fat


Maybe I'll face challenges training creatine/phosphate pathways while simultaneously training fat oxidation pathways. But f*ck it. Maybe I won't.

Whatever David Goggins is doing seems to be working out ok.

There's a part in "Born to Run" where Caballo Blanco says "I saw a 90 year old man run 30 miles up and down a mountain. You know why he could do that? Because nobody told him he couldn't."

Maybe I can't traing my 500lb deadlift while also training to run. But maybe I can. Only one way to find out.

***************************************

I've only had 1 or 2 lifting workouts since I've been incorporating running. So far it's resulted in some pretty incredible soreness. But that's probably to be expected with taking up any new activity.

I look forward to the challenges ahead.