531 Lower and a funny story

Tuesday May 25

Warmup (including overhead band side bends 4x12)
Deadlift work up to 380x5, 430x3, 480x1 then 385x5 or 6
Good mornings (arched back, squat stance) 2x6/ 205, 245
Seated 3-way band leg curls (green band) 3x18
Band good mornings (ol' blue) 3x15
Hammer Hi-row 3x20-25
Skull crushers (BB) 5x8/ 95, 115, 135, 165, 185 (actually they were to the throat)
Barbell curls 5x8/ 70, 80, 90, 100, 110

I trained at Area 51 today and overheard the following conversation:

Dude #1: This place sucks. They moved everything around.
Dude #2: Yeah, now I gotta do the neck machine in front of everybody (sounding disgusted)
Dude #1: And they moved the benchpress next to the cardio equipment so when I'm throwin' up 350, some idiot better not come off the treadmill and bump me!
Dude #3: (to Dude #1) Maybe you should get to 350 first...

Classic.

Stay strong,
Ed T.

Something from (almost)nothing

Monday May 24

Walked in the morning (need new shoes)

Warmup
Benchpress work up to 4x4 w/ 235 S/S with
Inverted rows (bodyweight) 3x16, 14, 13
Push-ups 3x40, 30, 30 S/S with
Retract-row-rotate w/ mini-bands 3x max reps
DB curls 5x12 S/S with DB triceps extension 5x12-15
Overhead crunches(on lat pulldown) 4x15

I trained in a small key club I found about 3 miles from my house. It is spartan but has everything one needs. It has (literally) 10 pieces of equipment (including 3 flat benches) and some dumbbells. I had a great workout. I have decided to substitute some submaximal-effort work in place of the (usual) dynamic effort work. My bar speed is not an issue so I have decided to work this in. In the past I have learned that if I take a few weeks from DE work, my speed may slow a bit but after adding a cycle of it back to my training, I can return to where I was.

I have read an article by James Smith (aka "The Thinker" on www.elitefts.com) wherein he referenced some SE work in his own training. That is where the idea came from. He writes that DE work is very central nervous system (CNS) intensive and SE work is less so; allowing one to recover quicker before performing another CNS-intensive training later in the training cycle (week). Therefore one should be able to demonstrate greater strength on a second day (in this case, a ME day or in my case a 5-3-1 day). I used that percentage based on what he wrote. Smith's stuff is very thought-provoking and I would encourage others to read his stuff.

Stay strong,
Ed T.

531 Lower/ Upper

May 21, 2010

W/4B
Warmup
Squat work up to 355x5, 400x3, 445x1 then 365x5
TKEs sets of 15 each leg in-between squat warm-ups (about six sets)
Floorpress work up to 230x3, 260x3, 295x6 (3) then 235x5
Dips 3x20, 20, 18

See the previous post. After moving stuff all week I had to get some training in. I combined the 531 Upper with the Lower since I had missed upper day earlier in the week. It didn't go bad.

"Public service announcement". If you are on Facebook, please join my group, 'The House' is comin'. I will be putting all updates on the gym project on there.

Stay strong,
Ed T.

531 Lower

Tuesday May16

W/ 4B
Warmup
Deadlift work up to 355x3, 405x3, 455x7 (3)
Good mornings 2x8/ 185, 225
Seated band leg curls 3x12 (blue band)
Band good mornings 3x15 (blue)
Underhand grip lat pulldown 4x12
Overhead band crunches (blue) 4x10-15

It has been a long week. After I pulled Tuesday, I spent the rest of the day moving stuff for the new gym. And that turned into Wednesday. And that turned into Thursday. So I got a lot of GPP(General Physical Preparedness a'la work capacity) work in. Thursday we carried, actually dragged, 4'x6' rubber mats, out of a building to put into storage. 60 of them. Backwards. About 100' each trip. And that included falling down. Barf. But hey its for a good cause.

Stay strong,
Ed T.

DE Upper

Sunday May 16

W/M4 @ A51
Warmup
Benchpress w/ mini bands work up to 145x3 x9 sets. Used 3 grips
3-Board benchpress 3x5/245, 275, 315. Used medium grip
CSR 3x8/ 90, 135, 180
Seated DB cleans 3x10/ 30, 40, 50
Hammer curls 3x12/ 30, 40, 50

J$ and The Mole were there too. $ was doing some shirt work and The Mole was doing mole stuff. I had not intended to train today but my plans fell through at the last minute and I figured today was as good a day as any! Especially when one considers how goofy my schedule has been of late. The weights felt easy today and my bar speed was good. It was a good day.

Stay strong,
Ed T.

531 Lower

May 14 (Friday)

@Area 51 again w/M4
Warmup
Squat work up to 330x3, 375x3, 425x3 then 345x5
RDL 3x8/ 185, 225, 275
3-way band leg curls 3x15 (average band)
Band good mornings 3x15 (avg. band)
Lat pulldowns 4x15
3-way band crunches (overhead band) 10 to front, 10 to each side 30 total (1 set) repeat 3x

Having bands gives us several options as A51 has limited equipment.

Buy bands,
Ed T.

531 Upper

May 13 Thursday

w/M4
Floorpress work up to 225x5, 240x5, 275x5, 315x1, 335x1
Dips 59 reps 4 sets (two weighted 45, then 90 pounds)
CSR 4x12/ 90, 135, 160, 160
Face pulls 3x15
Reverse pec deck 2x15
DB rollbacks 3x8/ 30, 40, 50
Hanging leg raises 3x8

Trained at Area 51 today, a flaccid, pseudo fitness center that plays piped-in music. I told Matt that I never thought I would train while listening to The Outfield again. He was disturbed that I even knew who The Outfield was. I found out that Larry Pacifico has opened a small private gym, with a monolift, very close to my house. I told Shawn and Matt about this and we may try to get in there for some trainings. It's so close to my house that it would be great to get in there rather than the half-hour plus drive I had this morning.

Tomorrow, we squat.

Stay strong,
Ed T.

More Neon Lites outtakes

After one of his patented 'Gut Buster' work-outs, Big Pimpin' gave 935 pounds the universal sign for 'you're-number-one.'

One excruiatingly boring afternoon, Cosmo wondered aloud what the springy Hula girl on his desk wore under her grass skirt......Now we know.

The Golddigger gets in some GPP on a Saturday afternoon. 'No pictures please, I'm supposed to be at work.'

'Unknown' SHW was spotted doing back extensions during his bodybuilding phase. Best known for his phone call, "Edward....why, three days before my bench meet...are my shoulders so sore I can't raise them over my head???" Dunno. Sounds like a bodybuilding problem.
I had a few more pictures than I thought, oldies but goodies. Here Brookszinski takes charge of a 785 pound rack pull.

Stay thirsty my friends,

Ed T.

Sad Day

'It's a long road and a little wheel. And it takes a lotta turns to get there. Thank you dammit.'
-Charlie Daniels


"I never thought I would see the day when the gym would close. Actually I thought it would be sooner than later but it is what it is.

But what a great day! Saturday there was Jim Cash and Joey V. (The Mole) and Brad Olson and Big Pimpin' AKA Shawn Brookszinski, The 4Board, Epstein and me all either squatting or deadlifting. Usually if there are that many guys together they are benching or doing curls in the power rack. I was squatting with Epstein. Matt was doing box squats to the left of us and Brad was squatting on the right with Jim, Joey and Shawn all pulling next to him. I looked around half way through our warmups and realized it. We didn't plan it that way but it sure was kool! I have some fond memories of days like these. I remember when we all came in shirt work and played bench fags for the day (sorry Brad). It reminds me what it was like in the early 1980s when I had just started training at the old House of Health in downtown Dayton. What a great group of guys that was! Boz, Gary, Brian, Karl (God bless him), Dave and Damon(still a friend today) and too many other faces I don't have names for. Jim and Marilyn Rainey had a GYM by God and to my young eyes these men were larger than life to my young eyes. There I fell into the arms of the Iron Maiden, where I have been ever since!

I made many acquaintances at Neon Lites and some good friends. I had some ugly days too, as an employee and a member. Cosmo Buckman and I planning our first million or our (in)famous 'discussion' wherein we both admitted that we thought each other's ideas, boss to employee, were 'stupid'. (I never had a boss I could do that with. And still have a job!).

Or when ADawg, the morning guy, challenged RE, a woman D1 basketball player to a race and nearly lost. He took a long time living that down! Actually, I always enjoyed it when the women I trained would lift and guys would ask them to stop making them look bad! (Buncha sissies. If they did a third of the crap the women did they could kick ass too.) Man, I had/ have some fantastic clients to work with. Strong women who would walk through a wall to reach their goals. They could teach the boys a thing or two about getting stronger! Or Big Shawn not wanting to become a member and paying by visit 'since I only train every two weeks or so'! Shawn taught me how to benchpress and kept me from killing myself in the process. THANKS buddy! Matt would probably rather I forget the 'old days' when we spotted him while he leg pressed a gazillion pounds. And the new nicknames I came up with for him every time we trained. Then there was the day when Matt realized that the deadlift was his lift. He continues to improve and will total Elite soon.J$ really did NOT care for the EARLY Sunday morning workouts but he showed up. And only ONCE did he throw weights at me. He taught me a lot about competition. And how rare is it to have the opportunity to train with someone like him; first class all the way. I remember when we trained together, during warmups, Matt and I would quietly go over our 'monologue'; how we were going to aggrevate Jim that day. Then play it like Abbot and Costello. And as we trained that day and coached and chided and cheered each other, I breathed it all in and inhaled deeply. I felt a little sad and a bit nostalgic. Days like these, far and in between as they seem to be anymore make me remember why I do what I do and that on days like these, there is nowhere else I would rather be. Training with these men has made me a stronger lifter and a better one. One way to get stronger is to seek out and train with others who are stronger than yourself. And once I did that, training with Shawn, then Matt, later Jim and then Epstein, we all got better. That is when my learning curve truly went up and we all were breaking PR's. Good times indeed. So all in all I have great memories from Neon Lites (that's how I would sometime answer the gym phone to aggrevate the manager and placate the occasional inquiry; 'Yeah. Y'all install neon lights?' Yup, that's us buddy, whaddaya need?!?). And no doubt, with the great friendships I have made and people I have met there, with a crew like this looking over my shoulder, the only way to get is, strong(er).

The best is yet to come,

Ed T.

531 Squat & Deadlift

Friday May 7
Did 3 rounds of circut training consisting of about a dozen exercises for sets of 20 reps. Each one took about 9 minutes with about 3 minutes rest in between. Did this in lieu of a barbell complex because my elbows were sore. Trying to get away from doing the Prowler the day before I squat (not a good idea by the way).

Saturday May 8
Squat worked up to 305x5, 355x5, 400x5

Sunday May 9
Deadlift worked up to 330x5, 380x5, 430x5

Skimped on supplemental and assistance work because I was moving...

Which leads to the next sad tale,
Ed T.

Deload 531

For Thursday May 6, 2010

W/ Epstein
Warmup
Benchpress work up to 3x5/ 220, 240, 260
Blast strap pushups 61 reps (2 sets)
Incline Tate press 2x20/ 35, 40
DB rows 2x15/ 135
Face pulls 3x15/ 7, 8, 9 (Cybex)

On Wednesday I pushed the Prowler 8x30 yds w/ 140#. I did it in a neighborhood school parking lot which I entertained the neighbors I think.

A change is gonna come,
Ed T.

And now...

...For the rest of the story!



First off, congratulations to Matt 4board on a 1670 total at the SPF Iron House Classic April 24. Matt went 630-410-630, setting PRs in the squat and deadlift. He had some issues with his benchpress attempts and was left with his opener. Matt felt he left a little on the platform with his squat. He attempted a 650 deadlift and got it most of the way up before he started to pass out and couldn't complete the lift. That's still a helluva pull! The prognosis was his massive traps (largest seen in the state of California, according to some) cut off the blood supply to his head. Keep your head up GoldDigger! Good things to come!



Anyone who reads this tome may notice that training days have shifted to Monday through Saturday. I did it to have one day a week off from the gym. Between working there and training there seven days a week, it got to be a bit much.

I am going to continue with the 531 program for the squat, floorpress and deadlift and a dynamic effort benchpress day. The DE work will continue to cycle every three weeks (coinciding with the 5-3-1). On the deload week, I will be using a modified repetition method; meaning I will stop a rep or two shy of failure in whatever exercise I use. Also during the deload week, I have been using the benchpress for 3x5 with slightly higher percentages than what is called for. This keeps me familiar with the bench (so I do not find myself simply good at floorpressing!) I have a goal in mind with my floorpress and at the point I reach it, I will consider switching to another exercise (maybe benching). Two days a week I have devoted to conditioning with the various methods; the Prowler (barf), complexes and circuts and hill sprints. (I am still looking for the "perfect hill".) And I have learned not to do the Prowler the day before I squat. It does affect my squat in that my legs feel heavy (and it has woken me in the middle of the night with severe debilitating leg cramps too). We also "start" the new week on Friday with the squat, putting it in its rightful place at the top of the weightlifting chain. (So technically the lifting week would be Friday-Monday-Tuesday-Thursday. I guess I could move the squat around but that makes too much sense. Maybe later someone can talk me out of it but Friday always seems to have been "Squat Day". It just feels right.)

Check out Kirk Kawoski's unedited view of squatting at the end of the powerlifting movie, "Power Unlimited"; "Strap on your #$%^, leave your *&^%# at home, put a bar on your back and bend your knees." Outstanding.

Stay strong,
Ed T.

Deload Week

Saturday May 1
warmups
Squat work up to 185x5, 230x5, 275x5 S/S with (mini band) pull aparts 3x30 (during warmups)
Pull through squats 3x15/ 100, 130, 160 S/S with Lat pulldowns (3 grips) 3x15/ 150
Reverse hyper 3x12/ 290, 380, 470
Overhead crunches 4x8/ 10, 12, 14, 15

Monday May 3
Warmup
Flat DB press work up to 2x15/ 105 then 1x15/ 80
Dips 2x15
DB rollbacks 3x8/ 40 S/S with Pushdowns 3x15/ 40-60
Lat pulldowns (4 grips) w/ prison bar 150-180 S/S w/ Seated rear delt raises 3x15/ 25, 30(2)

Tuesday May 4
Warmup
Deadlift work up to 200x5, 250x5, 300x5
GHR 3x15, 15, 10
Reverse hyper 3x10/ 180, 270, 360
Straight leg situps 3x10/ 35, 45(2)

Thursday

April 29

Trained with Epstein
Warmup
Floorpress work up to 240x5, 270x3, 305x1
Blast strap pushups (feet up) 2 sets 52 reps
Incline Tates 50x8, 60x8, 70x5
DB rows 2x8/ 135
Face pulls 3x12/ 80, 100, 120
Tire swing 3x10 each side
Felt tired and crappy overall

April 30
Prowler 8x30yds. 140 "Back to Joisey"

Tuesday

April 27

Warmup
Deadlift work up to 375x5, 425x3, 475x1
Weighted GHR 33 reps total w/ 45#
Rear delt flyes 4x15 S/S w/ Prone trap extensions 3x12/ 5, 8, 10

Monday

April 26

Warmup
Floorpress 9x3, 3 grips, worked up to 135x3 x3 sets with 2 sets of chain per side (about 40% of my 1RM floorpress). Took the chains off and did 6x3 with 185.
Dips 2x25
DB rollbacks 3x8/ 30, 40, 45 S/S with Tricep pushdowns 3x15 light
Lat pulldowns 4x15 4 different grips 150
Seated rear delt raises 3x15/ 20, 25, 30
Side bends 3x15/ 45
Overhead crunches 3x15

This was my dynamic effort benchpress day and I tried something different that Louie Simmons had written about. Using the floorpress is just another way of doing DE work. I think it will work fine.

Friday

April 23
W/ Epstein

Squat work up to 345x5, 390x3, 435x1, 465x1
GHR 3x15
Rev.hyper 2x8/ 400, 490
Side bends 2x15 ea. side/ 45
Ball crunches 3x15

531 day, did another single for fun. According to Brad Olsen it was "legal, depending where you're lifting in!" Parallel is fine with me.

Wednesday

April 21
W/ Kevin Epstein

Floorpress work up to 225x3, 255x3, 290x3
Blast strap pushups 2x33, 24
Incline Tate press 3x12/ 50, 55, 60
DB rows 4x8/ 115, 125, 135, 145
Face pulls 3x15/ 70, 100(2)
Straight leg situps 5x12/ 25, 35, 45(3)
Tire swings 8# sledgehammer 3x8 ea. side

April 22
Prowler "The Hell that is New Jersey" 8x30 yds 140