Fighting an Injury....But Flipping Tires...700lbs too...

As the title suggests....more info to come...

770lbs tire is a bitch, but it's mking my knee feel better...

stay tuend for this strong ass mother fuckers come back!


Chris

Deadlift Training from 4/15/2010 475lbs for 10 reps (No Belt)

Deadlift (Warm-Ups) 210x5, 265x5, 315x3
Deadlift (Work-Sets) 370x3, 420x3, 475x10
Skipped Accesory Work...

Given my slow recovery from that friggin sinus infection, I was quite happy with this performance. Still performing deadlifts without a belt and loving it. I really felt the abs on the last couple of pulls.

475 for 10 reps is a Personal Record I believe, I don't remember ever pulling this weight for this many reps. That's the cool thing about 531 is you eventually start handling weights for multiple reps that at one point you feared to pull for a double or triple...

Overall I fellt pretty good, the only thing that felt weak towards the end was my quadriceps of all things. Perhaps I will start incorporating some box jumps & leg extensions to address this.

That's all folkd, thanks for stopping by.

Making Savage the Body,

Chris

Good Bench Press Workout all things Considered...

(Numbers Based Off 405lbs 1rm/365lbs Training Max)

Bench Press (Warm-Up) 145x5, 185x5, 225x3

Bench Press (Work-Sets) 255x3, 295x3, 330x6,5,4

Assistance Work Consisted of Various Blast Strap Movements Focused on the Shoulder Girdle

My head cold/sinus infection finally caught up with me hence the crappy workout.

Normally I would have expected 330 for 8-10 reps...Not This Day!

No big whoop...will nail it next week I guess.

Also, I think I forgot to post my Squat Workout and Military Press Day. On Squat I just went for the bare minimum of 5 reps ass to grass with like 395 or something. With the sinus infection my face felt like it was gonna blow off.

The Military Press Workout turned out to be like 175 for 12 or something like that, again the sinus infection killed me...

I did perform Deadlift tonight with pretty good results, I will post those tomorrow. Note to everyone, the sinus infection seems to be gone so my face doesn't hurt to touch anymore...good news!

Anyway, thanks for stopping by.

^ I Felt Like This ^

Keep it Dark, Keep it Heavy!


Chris

Deadlift Workout and My thoughts on past deadlift workouts...

Belated Post...(from 04/05/2010)

Deadlift (No Belt - Warm-Ups) 205x5, 265x6, 315x3
Deadlift (No Belt Work-Sets) 345x5, 390x5, 445x12
No Accessory Work

Been fighting off a head cold, so overall I am quite happy with these results. These high rep deadlift workouts with no belt is really paying off in the upper back mass. It's almost time for XXL shirts...

Random thought on pulling:

So, up until 7 months ago I was a strict Westside junkie. Every week was Max Effort Squat, Max Effort Bench, Dynamic Effort Bench, and Dynamic Effort Squat. I pulled from the floor once every other month or so.

In hindsight I think this was a mistake, as until recently I secretly feared pulling anything over 405 for reps which I believe hindered any sort of mass building effects that heavy pulling can have.

I have pulled 600 lbs in training and other weights over 500 from the floor many times, but every single time there was an element of doubt in my mind.

Doubt caused from the lack of pulling from the floor with any substantial weight.

So now that I have worked up through the 531 progression and routinely pull weights over 400 for multiple reps, I find my confidence in the lift going up as well, which can only lead to good things if you ask me...

Anyway, just a random thought for you.

Chris

Bench Press Workout - Taking 310 for a Ride...

Bench Press (Warm-Up) 145x5, 185x5, 225x3
Bench Press (Work Sets) 235x5, 275x5, 310x11
Super-Sets 30 Seconds Between
KB Rows 4x10
Chain Suspended Tricep Extensions BWx4x10

As far as bench press workouts go this was a good one. With a jacked right shoulder I was still able to post a Personal Record, so I won't complain.

This marks the beginning of my 7th cycle on the world famous Jim Wendler 531 Program and I am still loving the results. If you are into truly developing your raw strength, this is the shit for you my friend!

The accessory work was just thrown together because I was pressed for time. I think next week I will introduce some heavy rowing into the fold. I absolutely loathe Barbell Bent Rows but feel they will help with this shoulder issue. I believe I have a muscle imbalance due to neglect, time will tell...

Thanks for stopping by,

Yours in Strength,

Chris

Barbell Squats - Full Range Barbell Squats with a Rant

Barbell Squats Full-Range (Warm-Up) 185x5, 225x5, 275x3
Barbell Squats Full-Range (Work Sets) 340x5, 385x3, 430x8(PR)
No accessory work, will Flip Tire & Sledgehammer hit tomorrow

As you can tell by the post title above I now perform my squats to full depth (i.e I can't physically go any lower...) some people refer to these as Ass to Grass Squats but that sounds fruity so I call them Full Squats, but I digress...

How I Got Here from There...
Authors Rant/Recent History/Philosophy

In my previous powerlifting life I was a full on Westside Barbell follower and used those methods to get pretty strong. But I still felt like something was lacking. With all the variations, percentages, box heights, board heights, bands, chains, etc...not to mention I was not ever really into using gear. I felt I was complicating a very simple concept.

"Lift Heavy Shit, Get Stronger..."

I personally feel that RAW strength trumps geared strength all day.

Disclaimer: Now dont get me wrong, I could really give a rats ass what anybody else feels, and I'm not about to try and convince you otherwise...if you agree fine, if you dont fine...do what makes you happy.

With that said, I made some adjustments to my lifting style. Here they are in bullet form:

* Deadlift every week (varying percentages)
* Deadlift with no Belt
* No More Boxes, Bands, Chains, etc...Just me and the weights
* Full Squats only (No more Ego-Strokin' Parallel or Above)
* Overhead Pressing Weekly (Thank God I Did, it fixed my left shoulder)
* No More 'Weekly' templates (I now use a 'rolling' template, works great!)

Basically I got sick of saying "Dude I Squatted 625 for a triple to the High Box..." then having to throw in the disclaimer that there was no friggin way I could do it in the traditional 'Ass to Grass' fashion...

-or-

"Yeah, I can benched 550lbs...", but thats with a totally geeked up single ply Inzer Rage X...RAW, I wasn't even close...

These disclaimers just ate at my pride I guess. I knew I was strong, but there was always a disclaimer.

Some of you jive turkeys will say, well then just get on the platform and show what you got. Well, I dont really feel compelled to drop a chunk of change to compete in one of the hundreds of federations out there and bring home some crappy battle axe or mace anymore.

I lift for my piece of mind.

To boot, I don't feel a meets results are a great indicator of your strength anyway. With all the variables involved in a meet from nutrition, to timing, to gear adjustments, to yadda yadda yadda...I know from personal experience that my meet weights aren't really me, and I got the training logs and a "well checked ego" to prove it.

My personal philosophy is to be strong all the time, not just one or two times a year...

End Part I - Tune into Part II for how I got to where I am now...

Military Barbell Press - Jim Wendler 531 Military Barbell Press

Military Press (Warm-Up) 85x5, 105x5, 125x3
Military Press (Work Sets) 155x5, 175x3, 195x10
Push Press (Dynamic Singles) 225x5x1

This is the 3rd week (6th cycle) of Jim Wendlers 531 program leading into a deload week (and me going to Switzerland for a few days). Today was Military Barbell Press which up until a couple months ago I never really did...

Outright hated them cuz I absolutely sucked at them!

Overall felt pretty good, will throw a pretty cool accessory workout tomorrow that I came up with, be sure to check back in...

Deadlift Training - Jim Wendler 531 Deadlift Training 3/11/2010

Deadlift Training (Still No Belt)

Deadlift (Warm-Ups) 205x5, 260x5, 315x3
Deadlift (Work Sets) 390x5, 440x3, 495x8
(No Assistance - Will Flip 500 lbs tire Coupled w/16 lbs Sledgehammer hits Tomorrow)

Good Workout! Nagging middle back muscle issue appears gone, performing Deadlifts without a belt has helped my core strength tremendously in both the Squat & Deadlift... so this is good news.

495lbs flew to rep #6 then 7 & 8 were a bit of a drag, but clean.

This is my sixth cyle of Jim Wendlers 531 Program since switching from straight Westide Training. I am quite happy with my progress thus far...

More updates to come, stay tuned....

Jim Wendlers 531

since last post, I have swapped from Westside Style Powerlifting to 531 and gotten stronger.

If this whim hold I will post scans of my logs to show progress. To note, I recently RAW Squatted 505 and smoked it, never did that on westside....


More to Come....

I'm Back Mother Fah'Qer's

Stay tuned, I'm back, Psuedo injry free and ready to move massive weights...all drug free....because otherwise my numbers aren't really that impressive!