PR for New Year bench press plan

Found it at Elitefts.com and decided to try it. It required flip flopping my DE/ME days but no biggie there.

Wednesday 12-21
Amp'd warm-up followed by BSYCNS
A. Close grip incline press: worked up to 245x2

B1. Rack lockouts (approximate 2-inch range of motion) medium grip: 315x3, 365x3, 405x3, 425x2, 335x5 (wide grip)
B2. Band pushdowns w/monster mini band: 6x15

C. Swiss bar press: 5x3/ 85, 105, 125, 145, 165 all med. grip then 75x15x3 sets alternating grips

D. technique bench press w/ reverse bands: choked light bands 155 = 0 245x5x6 sets (w/mini band around wrists) Next time needs to be a little heavier.

Saturday 12-24
Same warm-up as Wednesday
A. bench press: 155x3x6 sets using 3 grips then 185x3, 205x3, 215x3 all wide grip and pull-a-parts in between x10 for most of the warm-ups and some of the work sets

B. Flat DB press: 100x15, 16

C1. Incline Tate press: 4x8/35, 45, 50 (2)
C2. band pushdowns: 3x15 w/monster mini band

D1: Shoulder series: all seated front plate raise 45x12, side raise 25x12, shrug clean and press 30x10
D2. Shoulder horn: 2x20/2.5 lbs.

Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ed T.

My shortest blog post ever

Squat: worked up to 300x2x8 sets then 350x1, 375x1, 400x1, 405x1x3 sets
Rack pulls w/mini bands doubled over the bar: 8x3/185

Then home,
Ed T.

Extra workout and ME work

Thursday 12-15
Beat on a tractor tire w/ an 8 lb sledge hammer 3x10 each arm rest 60 sec then repeat

Swiss bar press: bar x10 w/close/medium/wide grips then 85x5, 105x5, 125x5, 145x5 all medium grip then drop to 85x10x5 sets alternating close/medium/wide etcetera

AND

Band pull-a-parts w/monster mini x10 x4 sets alternating with mini band (underhand) x10 x3 sets

FOLLOWED BY

DB curls 4x8-10 and one big drop set

ME Lower 12-16
Amp'd lower warm-up
Vertical jumps 3x4 (happy to note that my jump is up a few inches - yea!)

Partial deadlifts (plates on boxes approx 5-inches off ground): worked up to 405x1 w/o belt. Added belt and draped 2 5/8 chains over the bar with 405x1, then w/2 sets of chain over the bar 405x1, 3 sets of chain w/405x1, 4 sets of chain w/405x1, then 435x1 w/4 sets of chain on bar, then 365x3 same set-up. (The way the chains hung off the bar they were hanging off the ground at the top).

High box squat (approximate 18-inch box): worked up to 335x5 added belt then 385x5 medium stance w/safety squat bar

GHR 3x12 and Ab pull downs 3x10

Reverse hyper: 200x15, 300x15x2 and Seated band leg curls 3x12

ME upper 12-17
Amp'd upper
Reverse band bench press (old strong bands) wide grip: worked up to 475x1, missed 500x1 at the top, took 500 again w/the Maddog Slingshot and got it (hard to touch and a tad out of position on my chest - touched too high), 525x1 w/MDSS, got greedy and went for an all time PR (560) and missed half way up...weak ass triceps.

Standing press: 3x15/185, 225, 275

Low cable rows medium pronated grip: 5x10/125, 150, 175, 200, 225, 150x20

Shoulder series: front plate raises - 3x12/35, 45 (2) and Seated side raises - 3x12/15, 20, 25 and Shrug clean and press x8/15, 20, 25

Band pushdowns: 4x20 w/ a light band

Weak ass triceps suck,
Ed T.
                        

Update

You know you've been at work too long when you are cleaning the toilet and try to keep time to the song "Cocaine" with a toilet brush tapping on the toilet bowl. Yesterday, I was told box jumps were "bad". Not because, as I sarcastically suggested, one could fall off the box, but because it was, drum roll, "bad for the knees". I thought it was a joke when it was told to me but it wasn't. It was fecal matter disseminated at a "seminar".


Training has been fairly consistent, missed a day here and there and I am not getting all the conditioning in that I planned to do. But I did manage to do this:

ME Upper 12-03-11
Lower sled work 6x150' w/90 lbs forwards and backwards
GHR: 20 reps
Ab pull downs: 3x8-10
Benchpress w/mini bands doubled around the bar, wide grip: worked up to 285x1, missed 305, added my trusty Slingshot and hit 325, missed 345 then did 285x5 w/The Shot
JM Presses 4x5 up to 225 supersetted with Band pushdowns 3x20 w/mini band
DB Incline press: 70x20, 90x8
Low pulley rows w/wide V-bar: 7x8/150,175,200, 225, 250, 275, 300 then 175x26 (to beat 4board)
Dips: 75 reps in 5 sets

DE Lower 12-05-11
Amp'd lower warm-up
Core work incl. 20 GHR's
Squat: Work up to 250x2x12 sets w/45-60s rest between sets
Rack pulls (pin 3) w/doubled light bands on bar (approx. 325 lbs. tension): 135x2, 185x2, 225x2x8 sets
Dimel deadlifts: 4x10/135, 185, 205(2)
Reverse hyper: 5x8/150, 300, 390, 480, 570(2)

ME Upper 12-10-11
Did something to warm-up but what I do not recall...
2board press wide grip: work up to 275x2, 315x1, 335x1, 355 miss, 295x3, 305x3
Bench press: 205x18 wide grip and 205x10 close grip
Incline Tate press 8x8/work up to 60 in 5 lb increments then back down <60 sec rest
Shoulder series: front DB raise-25, 35, 45 and Side raises-15 (2) , 20 and squeeze, clean and press-15, 20, 25 for 3 sets of 8-12 reps each (this sucked)
Low rows w/H bar: 6x10/125, 150, 175, 200, 225, 250x8, 150x20

DE Lower 12-12-11
Amp'd lower
Lateral jumps (over bench) 3x6
Squat: worked up to 275x2x12 sets
Rack pulls (pin 3) w/doubled monster mini band on bar: worked up to 225x2x8 sets (approx. 250 lbs band tension)
GHR: 3x8/10, 20, 30
Reverse hypers w/foot bar: 5x8/ 300, 440, 530 (3)

DE Upper 12-14-11
This effort consisted of several sets of benching w/ just the empty bar, then slowly adding weight up to 205x3x3 sets. Then 215x3x6 sets. All using 3 different grips w/ a mini band doubled around the wrists for the working sets. Rest was <60 seconds. Did mini band pull aparts in between 10 at a time for a total of approximately 150 reps.

Suspended lockouts all close grip with an approx.8-inch range of motion. Setting this m#!%^&*()+$%^ up almost caused me to lose my freakin' mind. Don't ask me why, but today it would have been easier for me to send someone to the moon that get this %^&*($ set-up. Worked up to 295x5, 315x5, 335x2, dropped to 245x5.

Lat pull downs w/prison bar, wide grip: 120x8, 140x8, 160x8x6 sets and band pushdowns in between sets; 3x20 w/light band and 2x20 w/monster mini band.

Shoulder horn: 2x20 w/2.5 and Band pushdowns 2x50 and lotsa pec stretching.

Today feels like a bad Johnny Cash song,
Ed T.

ME Lower/Upper

Friday - ME Lower
Foam/LX rolling
Amp'd lower warm-up
a. Reverse band deadlifts (strong bands) work up to 495x1, add belt 545x1, 585x1, 605 miss, 475x3
b. High box squat (above parallel) w/safety squat bar 5x5/245, 295, 335x4, 385, 405 medium stance all sets

Saturday - ME Upper
Foam roll
Amp'd upper warm-up
a. Fat bar floor press (w/ mini bands doubled around the bar giving approx. 150 lbs. band tension at top      according to our resident engineer) medium grip 175x3, 225x1, 265x1, 225x3

b. Overhead pin press (@chin) medium grip worked up to 165x3, 185x1 second rep drifted behind head and lost it. Tried it again 185x2 missed the third dropped to 145x5

c. DB flat press 2x25,20/75

Deadling with time constraints and other issues has restricted time available so that's why the workouts look short. They are.

Stay strong,
Ed T.

DE Lower/ DE Upper

Tuesday 11-22-11
Foam/LX rolling
Amp'd lower body warm-up
Broad jumps 3x5
a. Box squat: 10x2 @ 325
b. Speed pulls: 8x1/ 315
c. Dimel deadlifts: 2x20/185
d. Reverse hypers: 6x8/150, 300, 390, 480, 570, 620 w/short strap trying to hold the weight @ the top for a "count"
e. Front planks 2x40s and Pull down abs 2x20/80, 100

Wednesday 11-23-11
Foam/LX ball roll
Agile 8 warm-up
a1. Bench press: work up to 9x3 w/205 (3), 215 (6) w/3 grips and a mini band doubled around wrists
a2. Chin-ups 6 sets of 5 reps various grips

b. Flat DB press: 2x12, 13/105

c1. JM press w/fat bar: 4x5/85, 135, 175, 185
c2. Band pushdowns (light): 4x20 (15 last set)

d1. Bradford press w/fat bar: 4x12 (last set drop weight to first set and do as many reps as possible)
d2. Row and (externally) rotate: 4x8 reps (micro mini band)

Happy Thanksgiving!
Ed T.

ME Lower/ ME Upper

Thursday
Foam and LX ball rolling

BSYCNS warm-up (incl. lateral jumps 3x5)

a. Reverse band squats (doubled monster mini bands) work up to 455x1 add belt, 500x1, 550x1 (PR), 580x1, 605x1

b. Seated good mornings w/safety squat bar 4x5/ 155, 205, 245, 295

c. Dimel deadlifts 2x20/135

d1. Band good mornings 3x20 average then strong band
d1. Front planks 2x60s


Saturday
Foam/LX rolling
BSYCNS warm-up (incl. box jumps 3x5)
a. Pin Press w/fat bar pin 19 (@ chest): worked up in triples to 305x1 (PR) then 315x1. Moved to pin 16 (approx. three inches off chest): 265x1, 315x1, 340x1 (PR). All wide grip.

b. Seated pin press (bar @ forehead - I know cause I hit myself on the head at one point...) MG: worked up to 195x3, then 225x1 (too big a jump) dropped to 180x3

c. 5-Board press CG (index finger one inch from edge of knurl) 275x5, 295x5, 315x4, 265x8

d. Barbell rows - wide grip: 6x6/133, 183, 221, 271, 311, 363x5 added straps at 221 (used kilo plates)

Got nice PRs Thursday and Saturday. And, as I was asked what "BSYCNS" means, and I forgot to explain it; it stands for "B%$^h Slap Your Central Nervous System." It is one of the warm-up options from the Amp'd warm-up series and it works as advertised!

All the Amp'd warm-ups are very effective. I have tried approximately a dozen of them. I have also used some with clients successfully as well. I went over my last few training cycles and have been able to make some changes in this cycle based on what I learned there. Two other big changes are the aforementioned  new warm-up programs and the regular massage therapy. The latter has so far made movement much easier for me! A lot of aches and pains have diminished and/or gone. Highly recommended.

Stay strong,
Ed T.

Training has only been 3x per week due to business/personal reasons as of late. But it is going ok. Added a little more sled work and the Prowler has seen a comeback.

11-04-11 ME Lower
Amp'd lower body warm-up
Front plank 2x60s
a. Broad jumps 3 sets of 5 reps average 7+ feet per jump
b. Cambered bar box squat (on a low box) worked up to 425x1 then 345x3
c1. GHR 5x5/10, 20, 25, 30, 35
c2. Pull down abs 6x10-12/ 85, 95, 105, 115, 120

Later that day...
a1. Reverse hyper w/short strap 4x12 w/ feet wide and close and foot bar
a2. Low pulley rows 3x12 pronated grip

Prowler 6x30 yds/90 (2), 180 (2), 270 (2)

11-05-11 ME Upper
Amp'd upper warm-up
a. 4Board press close grip worked upto 315x3, 350x1 then 295x3x2 sets
b1. JM Press worked up to 275x3, 295x2
b2. Band pushdowns 8x15
c1. Seated DB cleans 2x15/30, 40
c2. Lat pull downs 6x6 changing bars every couple sets
d. Hammer curls 3x8/35,40,45

Prowler 10x30 yds w/90 lbs. high/low handles

11-09-11
Joe Defranco's Agile 8 warm-up
Core work
a1. Bench press 9x3 @ 205 using 3 grips w/mini band around wrists
a2. Chin-ups 7 sets of 4 reps

b. DB floor press 100x10, 100x13

c1. JM press 3x5/135, 185, 225
c2. Band pushdowns w/monster mini band 3x20

d1. Bradford press (fat bar) 3x10/85, 95, 105
d2. Band pull-a-parts 3x20 (mini band)

Part 2
Drug out the old "dead and bloated" barbell complex...should have left it buried.

11-11-11
Foam roll
BSYCNS warm-up
a. Sumo rack pulls (pin 1) work up to 455x1 w/o belt (!) then add belt 495x1, 525 miss (Matt pulled 565)

b. High box squats w/safety squat bar wide stance 5x3/265, 325, 355, 405, 445

Part 2
a. Dimel deadlifts 2x20/135, 185
b. Reverse hyper w/short strap 4x10-15/150, 240, 390, 480
c. Front plank 2x60s

11-12-11
Foam roll
BSYCNS warm-up
a. Reverse band bench press (new strong bands) WG work up to 470x1 w/mini band doubled around wrist, 500x1 w/wrist wraps (no band), 530x1 w/wraps and Slingshot, missed 560 half way up, 430x5 (80%) w/ SS and mini band around wrists again (Matt got 520 and missed 540)

b1. DB floor press 2x20/70 (70% of wednesday)
b2. Hammer Strength High row change grip each set 4x15/90, 180 (3)

c1. Patterson (overhead) Pin press (bar at forehead level) MG 5x3/135, 155, 175, 195, 205 (! PR yea!)
c2. face pulls 2x20/50, 55

d1. Rollbacks 4x8/40
d2. Band pushdowns (mini) 4x20

11-14-11
Agile 8
Broad jumps 3x5 (hitting 8 feet now)
Core work
Box squat w/briefs 10x2 @ 300
Speed pulls 275x1x2 sets, 315x1x8 all sumo (w/briefs)
Prowler 6x30 yds 90(2), 180(2), 270(2)

11-15-11
Upper body sled 55 lbs for 6x150 feet
a1. GHR 4x10, 10, 15 (2)
a2. Reverse hypers 5x10/150, 240, 330, 420, 510

11-16-11
Foam roll and LX ball
a1. bench press 9x3 @ 205 (3 sets) then 215 (6 sets) 3 grips w/mini band doubled around wrists
a2. Chin-ups 8 sets of 4 reps

b. DB bench press 2x15, 14 w/100 lb DBs

c1. JM press 4x8/135, 155, 175, 195x7
c2. band pushdowns w/light band 4x12

d. Finished with a set of triceps creepers w/3 bands

I really should better keep up with this...Anyway, Got a message last week for the first time and cannot believe how unbelieveably well I feel!!! The two days following the message were ME days and the warm-ups were quick and easy and the weights flew. My goal is to use message therapy to aid in recovery and ensure correct movement patterns in my lifts. Onward and upward!

Stay strong,
Ed T.

10-26 to 10-29

Wednesday - DE upper
a1. Bench press: work to 9 sets of 3 reps (3 sets @ 155, 3 @ 165, 3@ 175). Change grips every set.
a2. Monster mini band pull-aparts: 9 sets of 10 reps

b. Bench press 2x20/ 175 close and super wide grips

c. Standing press w/Swiss bar 4x8 then 4x10

d. Tricep creepers w/3 mini bands 15-20 reps per band. One set

Friday - ME lower
Amp'd lower warm-up
a. Rack pulls against doubled mini bands from pin 3: work to 405x1, 425x1, 445x1, 465 miss

b. Belt squat wide stance: work up to 230x5, 230x5, 270x3 then 230x5

c1. CSR: 4x12/100, 110, 125, 135
c2. 45* back raise holding weight on chest: 25x8, 35x8, 45x8, 75x6, 75x10

d. Reverse hyper long strap wide feet: 300x6, 500x6, 590x8, 680x8
e. Planks - front: 3x60s

Saturday - ME upper
Amp'd upper warm-up
a. Floor press medium grip: worked up to approx. 60% of shirted max with triples then started adding chains for singles.
275 plus one set of chain x1
275 plus 2 sets of chain x1
275 plus 3 sets of chain x1
275 plus 4 sets of chain miss

b1. Close grip reverse band bench press: 275x3, 365x3, 415x3, 425x2, 345x13 (?)
b2. Pull a parts w/ monster mini band 6x10

c1. Weighted dips 4x10 w/45 lbs
c2. Lat pull downs w/external rotator bar 3x15

Had another big group on Saturday. JD worked up to 275 plus four sets of chain. Then because we were out of chain, twenty pounds was added to the bar and he missed. Still not bad. He got 455x3 in the close grip band press. Two weeks out from his meet and he is on track. We were fortunate to have Crom training with us today and perhaps that is where the good fortune came from...

Friday it was just JD and Chuck Norris and I. JD got the 465 that I missed and Chuck missed 405 then came back and got it.

Things to remember:
Think about why the exercise you are doing is in your program. Don't make the assistance exercise a max effort exercise. And pay attention to what is going on so no one gets hurt.

Stay strong,
Ed T.

ME Upper

Saturday am
Amp'd upper
Pin press (approx. 3-inches off chest): worked up to 335x1 then raised pin height another three inches and worked up to 385x1, missed 405 all wide grip
Reverse band close grip bench press (average bands): 5x5/225, 275, 315, 365, 335
Dips: 100 reps and Low cable rows DD-handle: 6x12 work up to 225 then back down again
Hammer curls 3x12/30-40-50 and Band pushdowns (monster mini band) 3x30

Large group in today. Training went very well and we got John the post man to listen to DMX.

Stay strong,
Ed T

DE Upper/ ME Lower

Wednesday
Amp'd full body warm-up
Bench press w/doubled mini bands: 9 sets of 3 reps w/155, 3 grips
Bamboo bar: 2x20/50, 90 close grip and competition grip
Standing press w/Swiss bar: 4x12 all close grip then 5x10 alternating grips w/lighter weight
And Chin-ups: 5 sets neutral grip

Chin-ups got cut short when a client showed up very early. Hate to turn money away so...

Friday
Amp'd lower warm-up
Reverse band squat (w/doubled light bands) work up to 505x1 adding a belt, 555x1, 580x1 (pr), 600x1
High rack pulls: 335x5, 425x5, 515x5, 605x5, 655x5
GHR: 4x12
Reverse hyper w/foot bar: 3x15-20/ 300
And Chest supported rows: 5x8 w/light weight, changing grip each set, from a dead stop at bottom and holding for 2 sec @ top
Planks: 2x45s

It was a good day.

Stay strong,
Ed T.

SE Lower/ DE Upper

Monday: 10/17
Amp'd lower warm-up
Core work (planks, med ball twists, etcetera)
Squat: work to 325x2x10 sets

Part 2
Amp'd total body warm-up
Speed pulls: work to 255x1x10 sets (5 conventional and 5 sumo) against short mini-bands.Then added short monster mini bands and did 2 pulls, one conventional and  one sumo @ same weight.
RDL's: 255x6, 285x6, 325x6, 355x6

Wednesday: 10/19
Amp'd total warm-up
Bench press w/doubled mini bands: 155x3x9 sets, 3 grips
Bandbell bar: close grip x20/ 50-lbs, competition grip x20/ 90-lbs
Swiss bar military press: 4x12 all close grip then 5x10 @ 70% of heaviest weight used (rotating close, medium and wide grips)
Chin-ups*

*had a client show up early so that cut training short.

Been using the AMP'd warm-up series and they work well. Shorter but more effective warm-ups than I had been doing. As for the "speed squats", well, I am doing free squats and doing them as fast as possible. I am using slightly higher percentages since I do not see myself in gear anytime soon. The plan is to start jumping again on a regular basis.

Stay strong,
Ed T.

ME Lower/Upper

Friday
Deadlifts w/bar on blocks (plates 4-5" off ground): worked up to 495x1, 525 miss
Belt squats 4x10/90, 140, 180, 230x7 (cable broke)
reverse hyper w/short strap: work to 390x8, 470x6, 560x6x2 sets
Ab pulldowns:4x8/ 100, 110, 120 (2)
Band ab pulldowns 2x20

Saturday
bench press 275x1, 315x1, added slingshot, 335x1, 355x1, 370 miss 325x3, 330x3
Dips: 105 reps (7 sets) AND Pull-a-parts 4x20, 20, 20, 40
GHR: 2x10

Stay strong,
Ed T

DE Upper

Wednesday 09/28/11
Bench press w/doubled mini-bands 9x3/ 135 (3), 145 (3), 155 (3) 3 grips AND Chin-ups-various grips 11x3 reps and GHRs 3x10

5-board bench press 5x5/ 275, 285, 295, 305, 315

One-arm DB press w/Fat Gripz 4x12 AND CSR-v-grip 5x8/100, 145, 170, 180, 190

Planks 3x60s

Stay strong,
Ed T.

ME Lower/ DE Lower

Friday 9/23/11
Roll
Cressey lower body warm-up

Box squats-low box-safety squat bar w/choked average band-worked up to 375x1 (taking into consideration extra weight of ssb) plus band tension (about 140 lbs @ top)

Speed pulls-sumo style-w/doubled mini's on bar 255x1x8 sets

Back raises 3x6 against doubled light band

Reverse hyper-short strap 6x8/150, 300, 390, 480 (3 sets)

Lat pulldowns w/external rotator bar 3x15/125 AND Face pulls 2x20/35 lbs

**did split stance Paloff press iso-holds 3x20 sec R/L in-between squat warm-ups

DE Lower Monday September 26
Jumps-Kneeling 4x4 and Standing vertical jump 4x4

Squat 225x2x8 sets then 275x1, 315x1, 365x1

Rack pulls pin 2 against doubled light bands  woked up to 225 for 7 sets of 2 reps (tore the palm of my hand in the sixth set, taped it up but couldn't hold the bar with tape to continue)

Reverse hyper-short strap-300x15-20, 350x20x2 sets

Seated band leg curls (light band) 3x18-21-24 (6-7-8 each way) AND lying leg curls 55x20, 60x14, 65x10

Stay strong,
Ed T.

DE Upper

Wednesday
AMPd upper body warm-up

Bench press w/Swiss bar-medium/wide grips only-9x3 @ 175
Chin-ups 10x3 reps different grips

5-board press-close grip-worked up to 355x2 then 295x5 (Old Josh did 385x3)

One arm DB press (w/fat gripz) 3x15/ 35, 40, 42.5
Chest supported rows-pronated grip 4x10/90, 135, 160, 180

Banded scarecrows 2x8

One arm farmers' carry 8x100' w/100 lb handle

Stay strong,
Ed T

ME Upper/ DE Lower

Saturday September 17
DB floor press 100x5x8 sets AND DB curls 30x10x12 sets (by the time we warmed up to the first working set of 100 lbs)
Single arm DB supine triceps extension 3x10/25, 30, 35 AND Low incline flyes 3x15/30
Dips 100 reps (9 sets)

Trained with Old Josh, New Josh and Alex Trebek today. Nobody liked the 100 rep dip challenge. I don't know why...

Monday September 19
Some mobility work
Ab wheel rollouts 3x8
Sled 6x150' 90 lbs. 3 forwards and 3 backwards
Belt squat 5x5 onto parallel box w/ 205
Rack pulls w/doubled mini bands 175 8 sets of 3 reps
Reverse hyper long strap 3x20/90, 180, 270
Seated band leg curls 3x15 (average band) AND Lying leg curls 3x10-20

My back was absurdly tight today so I got accquainted with our new belt squat machine (its bad ass). Rack pulls felt fine and I actually felt better as the day went on. Musta slept funny...

Stay strong,
Ed T.
Stay strong,
Ed T.

ME Lower-Friday

Friday
w/Rollin
Foam roll and Pull-aparts 5x20
Good morning w/csb and 4 sets of chain (approx. 160 lbs total) worked up to 315x3, 355x2, 375x1 and 400x1 (felt like my head was gonna pop off)
GHRs-3x6/10,25,35
Sled pulls 6x50 steps 4 forwards/2backwards 90+135+180  (2 each)
DB shrugs 100x15, 120x15, 140x10, 150x10
Straight leg sit-ups 6x10/25, 35, 45, 75, 100 (2 sets)

Rollin ended up with 315 and spent the better part of the next 30 minutes walking around like he was stoned (a condition which he attributed to the "feeling like one's head was going to pop off good am's" and not a night at Stan's Star Bar in downtown X). Thankfully he recovered by the time we got to sit-ups!

Stay strong,
Ed T.

Raw is War

Friday-Shawn brought in a couple friends (Quentin and Roarky) from out of town and the result was an impromptu bench press contest. Quentin from NY did a feet up (!) single with 365. Then worked up to a PR with 425. All raw. he gave 430 a ride but it was not in the cards that day. Still very strong press and no doubt more in store from Quentin.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001978666139#!/

The above link should be to the Hose of Health2 facebook webpage and on that are some videos from their training including Quentin's PR, some bencing from Roarky and Shawn's own PR-a nice 480 benchpress raw. He left a few pounds on the bar no doubt. Quentin followed up his press with a 550 raw deadlift! Ol' Shawn did not enter that part of the "event" as the warm-ups were spaced too close together for him...He attributed his "sucessful day at the beach" to his pre-workout regmine at the training table; a six pack of Snickers and a foot long "big red smokey". So be warned...

Stay strong,
Ed T.

DE Upper

Wednesday 9-14
Part I
Bench press 3 grips 175x3x9 sets w/sets of chain and one set of mini bands choked at bottom of rack (only loads at top)
Lockouts-pin 12-close grip work to 405x3 then 325x3 and 345x3
Chin-ups (neutral grip) 5x4 reps ? (might have done more) AND One arm DB press w/Fat Gripz 4x10/35,40,45,50
Chest supported rows 3x15/90,115,135
Part II
Sled pulls all upper body 8x125' 70 lbs
Ab pulldowns 5x10/80,90,100,110,120
GHr 2x10

Stay strong,
Ed T

ME Lower-ME Upper

9-9-11 w/ Rollin and Brandon
Sumo deads against pro short monster mini bands. Plates resting approx. one inch off ground. Woked up to 285x1, added belt and briefs 325x1, 375x1, missed 400
Front box squats-high box 6x5-6 (can't count) worked up to 355x5

9-10-11 w/ a bunch of folks; Stan, B-dawg, Andrew, New Josh
Close grip benchpress w/ 3 sets of chain (approx. 120 lbs) 225x1, missed 275, went 2x3 w/ 225 and 235
(B-dawg hit 275 and Stan got 315 or 335 before he got hurt...)
Tate presses 8x8/30-60 then 5 sets @ 60 AND Low cable rows w/ DD handles 150x12, 175x12, 200x12, 225x10, 250x8-10 and 175x15
Dips 95 reps in 7 sets

Been sloughing off on the assistance/ supp work. Lazy. Dust mode. Whatever you want to call it. Training going ok when I am motivated to do it. Don't worry. It will bite me in the nether reigon soon.

Stay strong,
Ed T

DE Wednesday

September 7, 2011
Benchpress 12x3 w/185 and 1 set o' chain-3 grips AND Chin-ups sets of 3 various grips 39 (?) total
Benchpress one set super wide grip and one set close grip x20 reps each 135
Suspended lockouts (approx. 4-inches range o' motion) wide grip 345x3, 375x1 (ugh) then 315x3 AND GHRs 3x10

September 8
Sled-upper body movements-8x150' 70#
Lat Pulldowns w/ external rotator bar 3x15/120, 140, 150 AND GHRs 3x10
Hanging leg raises 4x5

Still here. Weight holding approx. 235 (depends on the scale used lol). Training going well actually despite being very busy at work.

Stay strong,
Ed T.

8/15 to 8/18

8/15/11
"An epic two part'er"
Roll and mobility work
Box jumps 6 sets of 4 @ 80%
Squat 275x2 x10 sets
part 2
Rack pulls (pin 2) w/quaded monster mini band 10x2 @ 225
Seated band leg curls 3x15 and Reverse hyper 3x20
hanging leg raises 4 x5 (toes to bar)

8/17/2011
w/Rollin
Sled-lower-6x100' 90# (forwards/backwards)
Bench w/2 sets of chain 175 3 grips and Chin-ups 8x3 reps
Chain suspended lock-outs work to 335x3, 275x5, 295x5 medium grip
Chin ups 2x4 and 5 and Seated front plate raise 3x12/25-45 and Seated side raises 3x12/15-25 and Seated clean and press 3x12/20-30 used Fat Grips on DBs
Band pushdowns 2x50 reps

8/18/2011
Roll and mobility
Kneeling squat to jump 7x4 reps
banded scarecrows 3x8

Sooner or later, the crap floats to the top and gets removed from the tank. Or, using my fish tank as an analogy I'd call it "skimming the scum" off the top. And today that happened and the right people got bumped up. Congrats Mikey Gunz.

Stay strong,
Ed T

Not retired

Just sick like a dog. About 2 days after the last post I came down with a "viral intestinal infection" which I think was a fancy way to say stomach flu. Either way, I hit the motherlode of illness; fever, chills, sweating, aching, headaches, dehydration, nausea, diahrerra. And those were the highlights. I slept for four days at one point. And one month (and twenty-two pounds lighter) I started training again. It was everything I could do just to get out of bed. I had no energy and the smallest effort left me drained. It was so bad at one point that I was "forced" to go to the doctor's office. His good news was I was not dying. The bad news was this crap could linger for several weeks. And it has.

Around the fifth of August, I drug the sled (light) approximately 20 times over 200' using upper and lower body lifts. On the sixth, I got married. (Which someone nameless suggested I should be well prepared for via all the sled dragging I was doing.) That was a wonderful day in the midst of it all. I now have a beautiful bride and an ornery 14 year old! We are quite the crew ;-)

On the ninth I started  training again (offically I guess). Sled drags for (upper) conditioning then some jumps, squats and pulls. On the tenth; more sled work (lower), speed bench 45% for seven sets of five reps and chin-ups in between. Some corrective shoulder work with a mini band and band pushdowns to finish it off. On the eleventh, more jumping.

August 12, 2011 ME Lower
Upper sled work 6x150 feet w/ 70
Lower sled forwards/backwards 6x100 feet 135x2, 180x2 and 225x2 (both forwards). All wearing a weight vest; started with 20 pounds and worked up to 40 by the last trip

Walked approximately 0.50 mile wearing a 60 pound vest and ankle weights

Crunches on a stability ball 4x20 and Reverse hypers 5x15/90, 140, 180, 230, 270 (used foot bar)

August 13, 2011 ME Upper
Trained with Andrew
Fat bar benchpress-medium grip worked to 275x5 then 295x3
Low incline Fat bar benchpress 3x10/175, 195, 225
Pin press (#13) close grip with fat bar 3x10/225, 255, 275x7 and BB curls with Fat Gripz 3x12/45-65
DB concentration curls w/Fat Gripz 3x10

And watched movies at the drive-in Saturday night!

Stay strong,
Ed T.

ME Lower-ME Upper

Friday-July 15-trained with Jack Daniels
Warm-up
Squat mornings (bar suspended from straps approx 36" from floor) safety squat bar worked up to 355x1
Split stance DB squat 5x6/side 50-85 and 50x12 (last one)
DB rows 3x10/100-120
Back raises against monster mini band 3x10
Reverse hyper-long strap wide feet-4x10/300-390-480-570
Leg raises w/ankle weights 5x10
OH crunches (long strap) 100x12, 120x12, 90x20 and 70x the length of a Dr Dre song

Saturday July 16-large group (Rollin, DD, Paul K., Andrew, Brain, Damon from Az.)
Warm-up incl. sled pulls w/DD 6-8 trips forwards and backwards 90# approx 150'
Floor press w/ Swiss bar-wide grip-225x3, 275x1, 295x1, 315 miss 245x8*Rollin hit 335 and Damon hit 365. Rollin missed 370 but came back to win the rep contest with 275x13, Paul K second w/ 11 at 225 and me third with 245x8.

Rollbacks 4x12/ 40, 45, 50, 60x8
One arm (light) band pushdowns 3x20/side and Band (average) face pulls 3x30

Bandbell bar overhead press 2x25/ 50 close/wide

Quote de jour
Andrew asked why is the Swiss bar called the Swiss bar. I said I did not know. Brain chimed in,"Uh maybe it's because the handles are neutral. You know, like Switzerland..."

Best explanation I heard.

Stay strong,
Ed T.

July 11-July 13

Monday
Lotsa mobility work then a tri-set of weighted OH crunches, Back raises and Face pulls repeated thrice
Kneeling jumps 25 total
Squat 275x4x6 sets
Rack pulls w/doubled light band @ pin 3 185x2, 225x2, 250x2x5 sets
Part 2
One-arm cable rows 3x12 and GHR (pin 3) w/monster mini band 3x6 supersetted w/ Reverse hyper 3x12/90, 140,160
Finished with abs: v-sit-ups 2x15 and Ab wheel rollouts 2x15

Tuesday-did an extra workout but don't remember what I did

Wednesday
Warm-up
Bench w/doubled mini bands 135x3x9 sets, 145x3, 155x3, 165x3 and Pull-aparts 4x20

4board press-index finger approx. one inch from edge of knurl 275x3, 315x3, 335x3

Band pushdowns (light) 4x20

Low cable rows H-bar 5x12/150-250 and Halbert raises 3x15/20-30 and Seated front plate raises and seated side raises (both light)

Kinda been out of it all week. My best friend's mom died. Known her for almost 30 years. Long week.

Stay strong,
Ed T.

ME Lower/ME Upper

Friday July 8
Mobility work
High box squat (about 1-2 inches above parallel) safety squat bar with light bands worked up to 410x1 (pr) then 445x1 and 390x3

Rack pulls w/doubled mini bands (pin 3-plates about 6 inches off floor) 335x1x8 sets

Lunges 40 reps/side and Lats-pulldowns w/DD handle 5x12/150, 160, 170, 180, 190x11

Band good mornings (average band) 5x15 and Hanging leg raises 3 sets

Saturday July 9
Quite the crowd for a Saturday morning; me, 4board, Andrew, Brain and Jack (Daniels) came straight from the bar(!).

Decline bench press-medium grip-355x1 (pr). 4Board got 385. Andrew and Brain both got 335. Jack got 365.
Low incline DB press 5x8/50-95 and Face pulls 4x15/30-50
Tate presses 8x8/several sets w/60's and CSRs w/underhand grip 5x10/75,100,120,145,170

Bandbell bar bench press 2x20, 16/50, 100
Hammer curls 3x10/40-60

All in all a good day(s)

Stay strong,
Ed T.

DE Upper and Stupid Thursday

Wednesday July 6
Warm-up-lotsa mobility work and Weighted OH crunches and back raises 4 sets
Bench press w/2 prs. of chain/side w/175 15 sets of 3 reps varying the grip every set
Pull-aparts 5x20

Suspended Lock-outs-CG-3x5/275, 315, 365x4 325x8 w/1-2 in the tank

Part 2
Mobility work again
Barbell rows 275x8, 315x8, 365x6
DB military press 4x10
DB side raise 4x10
Rear delt raise 4x10

Stoopid Thursday
RE was running 10 yard sprints in the parking lot. We had makeshift cones (i.e. water bottles) set up and I was the human finish line. She was running in an emptier part of the parking lot with not a lot of traffic. A car approached me from behind and RE said "look out". I saw it and we both watched in awe as the driver slid into the parking space inches behind me. Apparently we had masterd the secret of invisibility and were thus exposed to such hazards. She asked me if I was going to say anything and I said, nothing repeatable and we saw the three rejects from a "People of Walmart" outtake stagger out of the car. Between the three of them they had five arms and five legs and maybe one brain and that belonged to the ten year old in the backseat that they took into the bar with them...

RE was finishing with the Prowler challenge and because it was later in the day, my landlord was gone and I get along well with my neighbors, I asked the guy from the business next door if he minded that RE pushed the Prowler back and forth in front of our stores. He didn't and she went to work. So while she's toiling away in the heat a car slowly approaches her from behind. I told her and she got out of the way in plenty of time and we slid the Prowler aside. Then preceded to watch as the braindead driver squeezed her car into the fire lane where we had parked the Prowler in between the Prowler and the curb (no mean feat in and of itself) to let some other braindead lard%#$ out at the beauty shop! Absolutely incredible. Stunning.

RE and I were both mucho impressed with the decline of American intellect.

Musta been the heat,
Ed T.

Extra workout

Tuesday July 5 2011
a1. Face pulls 4x25/30
a2. OH crunches 4x20/65-95
a3. Band good mornings (light band) 3x20

In the spirit of summer, we invoked the image of David Lee Roth and people jumped! Rollin was hittin the drop ceiling (he was mad the ceiling tiles were back in place because he can't reach the rafters now). Brandon strapped on ankle weights and chased Rollin's leaps. RE worked up to an easy 33" box, just shy of her PR, with room to spare. AE hit 36.75", a two-and-one-half-inch PR. Then calmly announced to everyone that he had just weighed in at 282.

RE's training

After the warm-up and the sprints, hops and jumps

Hang clean 91x5, 96x5, 106x5 (w/bridge circut 3x)

Sumo deadlift 211x1 (w/TKE's 4x15)

Reverse lunge w/ front squat grip 3x10/67, 77, 87

Weighted GHR's (pin 3) 3x8/10,12,12

AE's training

After the sprints and the jumps

Low box squat w/safety squat bar 435x1 then 365x3

Static lunges 2x8/side and Bridge circut 3x

It was a good day,

Ed T.

The Marines have landed

Happy Independence Day!!!

My favorite holiday. Watched the classic "1776" in honor of this great country. The gym offered free Steve-weisers to some lucky members who came to train today. And Saturday we were graced with the presence of Sergeant Buckman who came to train while he's in town. Yea!

Saturday July 2, 2011
Floor press-medium grip 275x1, 315x1, 335x1, 280x5
Standing chest press 2x15/225 (close/wide grip)
CSR 6x12/90 (3), 135 (3) and Dips 100 reps-8 (?) sets
Bandbell bar overhead press 2x20, 15 or so/50, 70

Monday July 4, 2011
Mobility work
A. Overhead crunches 4x20/50-80 and Back raises 4x10
B. Sled 6x light all forwards
C. Chin-ups 5x6 reps w/average band and Face pulls 4x25 w/mini band
D. Gun show (what's more American than curls???)
*Back felt tender still so took it easy

Happy July Fourth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ed T.

Still here

Currently juggling clients. RE is home for the summer; AE is a thrower from Cedarville; AW is headed to Bluffton College to play football and I have the usual "normal" suspects to round out the line-up. IU from Stanford was home for a while and went back to take summer classes. Should see her again before the summer is out. So its been pretty exciting at the gym. 4Board and a couple other guys participated in the Ohio Police Olympics in the powerlifting segment. M4 set pr's all across the board and brought home the best lifter award. Don is a 90 kg lifter who only pulled and Brain is the same Brain who trains with our "group" and went 100 kg raw. Both brought home some hardware as well.

A week later, another group was at the SLP Ohio Bench press/ Deadlift Championship in Hamilton. Brookszinski set a state record with a 685 raw pull as a SHW. His nephew set a state record with a 420 bench press as an equipped 181-pounder. Newcomer Rollin pushed 350 and pulled 550 raw as a light 220. He just missed a state record 590 pull. Your humble scribe, moi, benched 430 and pulled 555, both pr's at 125 kg's. I left a little on the platform but was good with that. The press was made using my old Metal Viking single ply shirt and I (uncomfortably) pulled (conventional) in a Metal Pro Squatter (better suited for sumo pulls). I want to let the legs out on the suit a little so its not so tight and I think it will be plain bad-ass!

The week of the meet I usually do some light sled pulls, etcetera at least up until Wednesday. But this time around I had so much going on non-lifting wise that I was seriously worried about losing weight and not being "ready". So I decided to do things slightly different this time. I went into full bloat mode and tried to get plenty of sleep. I ended up weighing in at 251.9 dressed (shirt, shorts, shoes). After discussion with Brookszinski, I concluded that the extra weight (leverage) would help with the bench and literally, "let 'er eat!"

Anyway, I opened at 405 in the bench and got it easy. I took 430 next for a pr and brought it down a little high and it slowed at the lockout but I thought I had it but it was no go. Sympathetic on-lookers all said I had it but WTF the judges didn't think so, so I asked for it again and the third time was a charm.

I opened at 500 in the deadlift. Initially I had trouble getting to the bar. It took me a second to get set up but once I did the weight flew up. We figured I couldn't hold my air which was because my belt had been too tight. Next attempt I pulled an easy 535 for a pr. I conservatively took 555 and we estimate I left about 20 pounds on the platform. But the best part was everyone had a good time and we all went home in one piece. Thanks to 4board and Brandon W for helping out everyone at the meet. Greatly appreciated!

So how's my training been since...read on.

Monday June 27

Sled 6x30m 3 forwards/3 backwards 90 (2) and 135 (4)

Static lunges 2x15 and started cramping bad

Step-ups 2x10 side

Later that day...

Pulled sled 6x30m 90 3/3

Blue band good mornings 3x20 and OH crunches 3x15/80, 90, 100

Seated green band leg curl 2x30 (10 each way) and 2x15/ 90

Retract-row-rotate 2x30s (one set micro minis and one set minis)

Physically the worst thing I had going was my glutes were tight which tightened up my lower back. Did a lot of ham and piriformis stretches/ rolls and that helped tremendously.

Tuesday

Farmer walks 100-lbs 8x the length of the building with Indian Chuck

Wednesday

Trained with Rollin

Bench press 13x3 w/175 3 grips and Pull-aparts 5x20

DB floor press 90x15 and 100x14 and Neutral grip chin ups 6 sets of 7 reps (used blue band)

Tate presses 5x12/40, 45, 50, 55, 60 (10)

Bandbell bar overhead press 2x20/ 20, 40 and GHR 2x10

Friday July 1

Trained with M4 and Rollin

Zercher squat-we went up to 365x1 holding the bar in our arms. M4 and I tried 405 but couldn't hold it. then I remembered I had the WSBB Zercher harness and the 405 was pried form the clutch of the Invisible Welder. 405 begat 455 that begat 500 (a pr). I took 520 and M4 went to 545. I took 550 and he took 580. I took 585 and according to him, "got two reds" for my efforts, leaving him, "Zercher squat champion". Rollin learned how to use a belt and got 405 and was happy.

Front squats to a low box (12-inch) 4x6/ 135, 185, 205, 225

Reverse hyper 4x12/ 150, 300, 390, 480 and Lat pulldowns-wide grip-various bars 4x12/ 120, 140, 160, 170 and straight leg spread eagle sit-ups 2x12/ 25, 35 and OH band crunches 2x15/ side

Stay strong,

Ed T

June 6-11

Monday June 6-DE Lower
Warm-up
Vertical jumps-10 reps added 5-lb ankle weights and did 10 more
Squat work up to 355x2x8 sets
Speed pulls sumo w/EFS Pro Short Mini bands over bar 245x1x2sets, 295x1x2 sets, 315x1x2 sets

Tuesday June 7
AM training: warm-up, sled-lower, GHRs (pin 5) 2x10 then 3x6,5,6 holding 10-lb behind head

PM training: warm-up, Sled-upper, reverse hyper 4x10/150-480, Low cable rows 4x12-15/125-200, Overhead band crunches and side bends 4x15/2x15-side

Wednesday June 8, 2011
Usual warm-up
Bench w/ chains (2 sets) work to 155x3, 165x3, 175x3x6 sets 3 grips

Suspended Lockouts-medium grip work to 365x3, 405x3, 425x3, 385x5, 395x5

Assisted chin-ups (strong band) 6x8 reps changing grips and tri-set: seated front plate raise 35, 45(2), Seated side DB raise 25, Seated clean and press 25, 30(2)   3x12 each exercise
And some other stuff I can't remember (lost my notes)

Friday June 10, 2011
AM training: Reverse band deadlift work to 570x1, added belt 640x1, 705 miss (twice)
TKEs 4x15-20 (monster mini)

PM training: Box squats w/cambered bar 355x5, 405x5, 445x3 and Band good mornings 3x25 and seated band leg curls w/ankle weights 3x30 (10 each way)

Saturday June 11, 2011: "The Bulgarian Work-out"
AM (trained with Brandon)
usual warm-up (no sled)
Floorpress-medium grip worked to 275x3 bar weight only and started adding chains-up to 4 pair and did singles

Flat DB bench press 100x15 rest 2-3 minutes and 100x13

CSR (change grip ea. set)5x12/ 75, 125, 135, 145, 155
Rollbacks 5x8 reps/35, 45(4)

Bandbell bar bench 2x20/ 50-lbs. super wide and close grip

PM: Rolled and did doubles (bench) to 275, 315x2 4-board, shirt on 365x2 4-board (?), 405x2 3-board, Ttam observed that we could do doubles off boards all day long...ok. Got the message. 405x1 to chest.

Notes:
Friday everything felt heavy and it showed. 705 should have been a pr but I could barely get it off the floor. Saturday went well. The floorpress was a huge pr. I rested about two hours and with Ttam's help we did shirt work. Since I don't have anything that fits me well yet (still waiting on my new shirt to come in), I have been using an old Metal Viking single ply. It still works.

Stay strong,
Ed T.

ME Lower/ME Upper

Friday June 3, 2011
Trained with Rollin
After the usual warm-up, we did some sled pulls, eight total trips up to 225 pounds

Reverse band squats (doubled monster mini bands over top of rack) work to 455x2, 495x1 add belt, 545x1 w/belt, 585x1 add suit w/straps down, 605x1 same a little high

Rack pulls from pin 2 315x3, 405x3, 455x3, 500x3 all with suit on straps down

Took a break did more rolling and mobility work then
Back raises 4x8/25-45 pound barbells on back

GHR 2x20 pin 1

Reverse hyper 3x8-10/200, 290, 380

Part one was a gut buster in terms of work done. But everything felt good and thats what matters.

Saturday June 4, 2011
Trained with Rollin again (also called what if we had a shirt day and nobody came)
The Usual Warm-up
Reverse band bench (new strong bands) medium grip worked to 490x1, added Slingshot and did 530x1 (PR) then 550x1 (!) and took a shot at 565 but missed it half way up (too slow came to a grinding halt)

Pin Press-chin level 175x3

Bandbell bench 3x15/ 90

BB rows work to 275x8x3 sets
Roll backs 3x8/ 35 45 55
Band pushdowns (to finish) 4x20 (new light band)

Rollin put up a 515 reverse band bench!

Stay strong,
Ed T.

DE Upper

Wednesday June 1, 2011
Part One
Roll, mobility and lower body sled work

Benchpress 9x3 w/ 3 grips 155-165-175 pounds
Pull-aparts mini band 3x35, 35, 30

Lockouts Pin 12 WG worked up to 455x1, 490x1, 380x5, 400x5

Flat DB Press 65-pounds x4 minutes
Part Two
Roll and Upper sled 6x 55 pounds
CSR 3x12/ 115 (?) changing grips each set
Band pushdowns mini band 2x50

Bandbell bar military press 70-pounds 3x15, 15, 14

Stay strong,
Ed T.

DE Lower and Focus

Monday May 30, 2011
Warmed up and did approximately 20 jumps onto various sized boxes. Distinct lack of enthusiasm on my part.

Tuesday May 31, 2011
Same warm-up
Pulled sled upper body work 6-8 passes w/ 65 pounds

Squat work to 335x2 x9 sets Felt fast and easy.

Neutral grip Pull-ups 8x5 reps w/ blue band

Part two several hours later consisted of rolling, etcetera, lower body sled work and then...
GHR Pin 5 body x5, 4x5 w/ 10-lbs behind head (barf)

As coincidence (?) would dictate I read an article today on staying focused and driven when, for whatever reason, you feel like crap when it comes to training. The takeaway was four part; one-Focus on your goals, two-Remember your critics, three-Surround yourself with like-minded people and lastly, When all else fails take a break. Good advice. Check out the full article by Matt K. on http://www.t-nation.com/ .

Keep on truckin',
Ed T.

ME Upper

Saturday May 28, 2011

Big group in today. Some of us were working shirts in anticipation of the upcoming meets. It was, as my little Irish friend 4-board would say, "time for the whorin' of the gear" (said with an Irish accent). After a thorough warm-up, I proceeded to start the fashion show which was the parade of bench shirts. My body has sufficently changed since my last meet that the best I can manage is a fair fitting single ply Metal Viking shirt. We warmed up to a single then donned the shirts and it went like this for me.

Benchpress: 3-board 315x2, 365x2, 405x2, 2-board 405x2, 1-board 405x1 (got way outta the groove, corrected it and pressed it aborted the second rep)

Pin press: from forehead MG 135x1, 165x1, 185x1, 205 miss, moved grip out took a second shot at it and missed again. 155x3

Bandbell benchpress 2x20/ 50

Band Face pulls 4x20

Band pushdowns 4x20

So, once again, I have a little work to do. I (again) ordered another shirt. Maybe it will be here, maybe not. Either way, I will wear the Viking and slay them all, Conan-style lol.

Stay strong,

Ed T.

Blackout!

I really hadda...

Felt like it. Dumbass that I am I decided to pull off a 1" mat today, wearing briefs. Couldn't wiggle my fat arse into position without feeling like I was going to explode and/ or pass out. PK said I turned purple. In retrospect, I/ we should have pulled with the weights on mats...not us. That would have been the correct way to work up to an opener. Ah well, if I can get through that fubar'd mess, I can do anything. But I got ahead of myself.

After the most thorough of warm-ups, we, PK, LB (for Limp Bizkit, cause he leans to his side, ghetto-style like he's "rollin'"...) and I performed approximately 30 jumps. What kind of jumps? Well the kind where you jump as high as you can.

Then we pulled off the mats. I worked up to 500x1 conventional with briefs on and a second single pulling sumo. It was awkward and while they said it came up quick, I was not pleased. Just for %^&'s sake, after we got done, I moved the mats and easily wiggled down. Did I say I was an idiot?

Followed that with Safety squat bar high box squats 5x5 working up to 425x5. Reverse hypers 3x15 with 150, 300, 390 and a supaset of Low cable rows and hanging leg raises 3x20 and 3x15 respectively.

And now for your musical pleasure...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEWidc49nYQ and

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYnFIRc0k6E 

So I can grab my crotch repeatedly but I can't say #$%^ or %^&*??? Where's the justice in that?

Rollin',
Ed T.

DE Upper/ Extra Workout

Wednesday May 25, 2011
Warm-up consisting of rolling, mobility, pull-aparts and 2x10 GHR (pin 5)
A. Benchpress-3 grips-against doubled mini bands 9x3/ 135, 155, 165, 195x1, 235x1, 275x1 (all WG)

B1. Lockouts pin 13-WG worked to 415x3, 435x3
B2. CSR 4x12/ 100, 135,150(2)

C1. Pushdowns 8x8/ 50-110 pounds changing attachments every 3d set
C2. Pull-aparts 2x AMRAP in 60 sec.

D. DB Flat benchpress 65# x 2 minutes

Thursday May 26, 2011
Played around with the Indian clubs several different exercises for several minutes
Battling ropes for several minutes
Flat DB press 45 pounds for about 5 minutes

Stay strong,
Ed T.

ME Lower/ ME Upper

May 20, 2011 (Friday)
Trained with The Ram and The Brain
My warm-up consisted of some foam rolling and me flapping my gums at my friend Bill for the better part of a half hour until the Ram said he was ready (dirty look too...).
Low Box Squat-wide stance w/ cambered squat bar (eleven or twelve inch box-below parallel-basically wherever The Ram set it at, I lowered it more. Richard-like move I know) worked up to 480x1

Speed pulls against doubled mini bands worked up to 235x1x4 sets, 255x1x2 sets then 275x1x2 sets

Med ball throws overhead backwards 16 lb ball 3x5 reps

Depth jumps trying to minimize ground contact time 4x6 (raised box height one each each set-second box that is)

Reverse hyper 6x10/ 150, 300, 390, 480, 570, 660
Pull-aparts 4x25

May 21, 2011 (Saturday)
Trained with Anthony The New Guy
Warm-up
Floor press w/ Fat Bar and Pro Short Mini-band on the bar-MG: 185x3, 225x1, 245x1, 265x1, 275x1 (add 40 lbs. extra for the Fat Bar)

Pin Press (from chin) MG 135x3, 160x3, 170x3

Bandbell Bar bench 2x20/ 20, 90

DB rollbacks 3x12/ 40, 50, 55
Face pulls 3x20/ 50, 55, 60

1-arm band pushdowns 3x30

SL sit-ups 3x20/ body, 25, 35
GHR 2x10

stay strong,
Ed T

What happened after Friday the 13th...

Not much. I'm still alive. Still training. Happy to report that business is good; new members, sales, lots of inquiries. All good stuff.

The House of Health2 helped sponsor the Xenia Outback Strongman contest May 14th and it was a great experience for me personally. My family came to watch and everyone had a good time. The gym was well represented with five members participating in the event. Doug Madewell, Shawn Brooks and Josh Reynolds all took first in their respective classes. Keith Roach and first timer Kevin Myers (aka "Maverick") both placed second in their classes as well. Doug, Shawn, Josh and Keith all qualified for the Strongman National meet in the fall. So hats off to all of them for outstanding performances!
Some meet videos.
Josh:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fR4A7LwatAY
Keith:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6GDDrEX33s&feature=related
Doug:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUSR4KKUcNw&feature=related
Shawn:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzQqj-x_Nf8
(I couldn't find any meet footage of Shawn but here is a nice training video from about a month before the meet).

And while I could not locate any meet footage of Kevin, I did find this photo of him as he came into the gym the other day...

So like I mentioned I have been training. Here is the update:
May 14, 2011 (Saturday) ME Upper
The usual warm-up
Suspended lock-outs-WG: 275x3, 315x3, 365x3, 405x1, 425x1, 445 miss

Seated Pin Press (from forehead)-MG: 155x1, 175x1, 195x1

Bandbell bar-overhead press: 2x20/ 20, 40

Halbert raises 3x15/ 30
Band pushdowns (new) light band x20, (new) average band x15x2 sets, (new) light band x23

May 16, 2011 (Monday) DE Lower
Warm-up (long version) the usual including upper sled drags 6x and abs
Kneeling jumps: from floor x2 reps x5 sets, kneeling onto small box x2 x5 sets, kneeling to medium box x2 x5 sets

Squat: 290x2x6 sets then 325x1, 365x1, 405x1

GHR: 4x5-7/ 25, 35 (3)

Reverse hyper: 4x8/ 150, 300, 390, 480
TKEs 3x15-20 w/ monster mini band

Suitcase farmer's walk w/ DB 75 lbs. 8x (4 each side)

May 18, 2011 (Wednesday) DE Upper
Da' warm-up
Benchpress 9x3 w/ 3 grips and 2 sets of chain 155-165-175

Lockouts-WG 405x3, 455x1, 485x1, 500 miss, 395x5
CSR 6x12/ 90, 145 (5 sets)

Pushdowns 6x8/ 75-125 <60 seconds rest
DB rear delt raises 3x15/ 25

Spider crawls 2x30 seconds with micro-mini band

The spider crawls are a rehab/ prehab thing I picked up from Elitefts.com. I tried to find the link but now I can't. if you go to their website you should be able to locate it there.

Jester OUT!

ME Lower

Friday May 13, 2011
Warm-up incl. upper body sled work 6x 40 yds-light wt., 20 GHR, 2x15 back raises, 2x15 OH crunches and Pull aparts 5x20 w/ mini band

Deadlifts w/ Texas Power Bar and 4 sets of chain per side: Worked up to 405x1, then 425x1

Part II of training began approximately an hour after Part I concluded

Box Squat w/ Safety Squat Bar off a high box (1-2-inches above parallel) 4x3/ 315x3, 355x3, 405x3, 455x4

Band Good Mornings 3x20 new average band
Seated band Leg Curls 3x15 new light band

Done. It's unworldly hot and humid and the end of a long day. And I'm tired. As an aside, the pulls were originally supposed to be off of a plate but the chain would end up coming entirely off the floor and swinging me and the weight so I decided it was not a good idea and got rid of the plate. Used the thicker bar because it wouldn't bend as much as the deadlift bar with the chains hanging on the ends.

Stay strong,
Ed T.

Extra workout & conditioning & DE Upper

May 10 (Tuesday)
Warm-up the usual
Indian clubs for 4-6 minutes total (1 and 2 pound clubs)
Rope for 4-6 minutes (sux!)

CSR 4x12/ 135 <60 sec. rest
WG SA lat pulldowns work up to 125x12
Lat stretches and traction for shoulder

Farmer's walk 6x to end of building w/ 128 (side)

May 11 (Wednesday)
Roll, mobility work, GHRs, Ball crunches, Back raises and OH crunches

Benchpress 155x3x2 sets, 165x3x2 sets, 175x3x2 sets 3 grips then 225x1, 275x1, 315x1 added Slingshot*

Pushdowns 8x8 <30 sec. rest 80-pounds using straight and V-bars

Rear delt raises 20x15, 25x15x2 strict form

Pull-aparts using monster mini band 38 reps in 30 sec., rest then mini band 48 reps in 60 sec.

Did some very high rep, very light DB movements (flat presses, curls, side raises) rested approximately 2 minutes then did some pre-hab shoulder movements (lying external rotation and 1-arm lying DB shrug) five sets total, high reps, non-stop.

Notes
All told, training took an hour. Had some issues getting set-up with the Slingshot and unracking the bar and solved it but not satisfactorily. The bar speed was decent but could've been better without the cluster%$#^ that went on prior.

Stay strong,
Ed T.

A Special Day

Monday May 9, 2011

I was trying to train all morning and never did. People stopped in, the phone rang etcetera. Then I finally got going. Handed off to M4 who was doing Reverse Band Benchpress and got a nice 25 pound PR (545?). Talked Mark Bergman into trying it out and he put up 460. In the afternoon a gentleman in his late fifties came wearing a "House of Health" tank top. Obviously I don't sell those currently so I deduced he had been around awhile. Sure enough, he was the first place. We named names, remember this guy, remember that guy, etcetera. I mentioned that he had just missed Mark B, another OG (like that?!?). I showed him some old photos we had on the wall of original HOH members. He easily named them off except for a small black and white picture. he asked me to take it down so he could get a closer look and I obliged him. He studied it intently for several minutes, asking me, 'you don't know who this is?', 'don't recognize him, huh?' Nope, no I do not I replied. So he takes the picture, holds it next to his face with the same toothy grin of the young lad in the photo and laughs, 'it's me!' Holy cow! How about that?!? I didn't know what to say. Still don't. he said I saw your ad in the local paper and had to come by to see what was going on. He said he really liked the place and what we had done with it and that he would be back! Soon, I hope. What a great day!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks Dave!

And I trained too but I couldn't top that. I did some jumping; from kneeling to a small box to a medium sized box and did several reps.

Squat 6x4 reps w/ 265

Good mornings w/ cambered squat bar 3x5/ 135, 225, 275

Reverse hyper 2x10/ 150, 240

- David Williford -

Stay strong,

Ed T.

Max Effort work

ME Lower Friday
a1. Reverse band squat (used doubled light band hanging from top of rack) worked up to 405x3, 455x1, 495x1, 545x1 added belt, 610x1 belt and Metal suit w/ straps down, 620x1 same, then 485x2, 505x2, 530x2

b1. Back raises w/ monster mini band 2x10
b2. GHR pin 4 2x15

c. Reverse hyper 2x15/ 180, 270

d. Ab Wheel rollouts 3x15

ME Upper Saturday
a. DB benchpress 3x17, 15, 10 w/ 100-pounds

b. Overhead Pin Press (from da nose Pin 1) worked up to 165x3, 175x2, 125x5 medium grip

c. Bandbell bar 2x20/ 50, 70

d1. Halberts raises 4x12/ 25, 30, 35 (2)
d2. Pushdowns w/ V-bar 3x8/ 100, 120, 130x6 then band pushdowns (light band) 2x25-ish

Notes
ME Lower day-Trained with M4 and Paul K. Paul got a nice 565x1 with a belt. Matt showed off and kept doing triples. My 610 was high. The 620 was better (and a PR). Saturday (ME Upper) I was solo. Rested about 3-5 minutes between sets in the DB press, trying to set a new rep record. Fell short. (Old record was 47 reps in 3 sets).

Having fun with the Bandbell bar and the Indian clubs. They make my shoulders feel better.

Stay strong,
Ed T

DE Upper/ Jumping

For Wednesday May 4, 2011
a1. Benchpress 9x3/ 145 w/ monster mini band using 3 grips
a2. Face Pulls 4x12/ 55-85

b. Bandbell bar 2x20/ 50, 70

c1. DD-handle pulldowns 4x10/ 140, 160, 180, 190
c2. SA WG Lat pulldowns 120x12, 122.5 x12

d1. DB press 4x10/ 25-40
d2. Side raise 4x10/ 25, 30 (3)
d3. Rear delt raises (face down on bench) 4x10/ 25-40

e1. Band pushdowns 3x20 w/ light band
e2. DB curls 3x8/ 30, 40, 50

Thursday May 5
Worked up to seated jumps onto a 30-inch box (sit back, stomp and jump) from a 11-inch box
Indian clubs 1-pound clubs for 3 minutes and 2-pounders for 3 minutes
Seated cleans 67x3, 89x3, 109x2

Notes
Thought my jumps were good until someone came in and did a 34-inch jump off the 11-inch box. The fact that he outweighs me by about 40 pounds did not help either.

Thanks Doug.

Listening to Van Halen's "Jump" will not make you jump higher. But man did David Lee Roth have some vertical...

Stay strong,
Ed T.

ME Upper and some jumping

Saturday 4-30-11
Roll, mobility work, 100 P/A's and 20 GHRs
Lockouts pin 13-wide grip 275x3, 315x3, 365x1, 405x1, 335x2, 355x2, 375x2

Overhead Pin Press chin height (pin 2) medium grip worked to 155x3

Bandbell bar 2x20/ 50

Face pulls 3x15/ 50, 60, 70
Pushdowns w/ V-bar 3x15, 60, 80, 100

Farmer's walk 10x 128 (?) pounds 20 yd "sprints"

Notes
Trained all by meself today. So picked stuff I would not look bad doing if I were found crushed under weight.  

Monday May 2, 2011
Warm-up
Some jumping onto boxes and seated from a box and then had to cut out early to go to track practice. In the rain. Never really got going.

Start earlier,
Ed T.

Big Pimpin''s Circle Max part duex

"Tied to the whipping post"
Second in the series of unbelievably insane weight lifting is this entry by our Eastern European connection (via Greene County), Brookszinski. Follow Thor's Hammer as he prepares for his latest excursion into the land of giants, also known as The World of Strongman...

Friday April 29, 2011
Warm-up: consisting of laps around the gym (looking for 'new' magazines, checking out the leftover cookies from "Free Cookie Thursday", not to be confused with "Free Cookie Tuesday"), inspecting the plumbing, trying to figure out a way to get water out of the cooler without a cup and the time honored tradition of "Finding-the-Perfect-Training-Chair" (which he did).

Box squat work up to blue, green and purple bands (approximately 350-pounds of band tension via strong, average and light bands) 135x2, 315x2, 405x2, 455x2, 500x1 (PR!), took off the average band and did 585x1 (250-pounds band tension), then took off the light band and did 675x1 (200-pounds band tension)*

*I think the 585 and the 675 were PRs as well!!! And all sets were done with Inzer briefs, no belt and camo shorts.

Battle Royale to follow in May! Stay tuned!!!

Get Strong,
Ed T.

ME Lower

Friday April 29, 2011
Trained with Brain again today
Warm-up incl. 100 p/a's and 20 GHRs

Rack pulls from pin 2 w/ mini bands doubled around bar 275x1, 315x1, 365x1 added belt, 405x1, 455 miss (welded), dropped to 315x1, 325x1 and 335x1

Shrugs 3x10-15/ 315, 405, 495 no belt or straps

Reverse hyper w/ foot bar 4x8/ 150, 300, 390, 480x15 ish

Sled pulls forwards and backwards 8x40 yds/ 115
Straight leg sit-ups wide feet 3x18, 15, 18
Ab Wheel 3x15

Notes
Going from 405 to 455 was a bit too much. I was probably closer to 425-430. I overestimated myself (lol!). Dropped down and did three singles at 73, 75 and 78 percent respectively. The sled drags really pumped up my legs. I felt like I was doing the Brookzinski body mass workout, "El Deluxo Bloat-O". When the weight starts to "feel" heavy, make smaller jumps i.e. be smart and Don't Miss!

Stay strong,
Ed T.

4-25 to 4-27 2011

Sunday the 24th was Easter ("Happy Easter" to all the heathens out there). My little Rinny got baptized Saturday night so Sunday we feasted. I walked back and forth to the kitchen countless times in an effort to get some cardio in.

Monday 4-25-11
Kneeling Squat-to-stand jumps-worked up to 55x1, faltered with 65, did 6 sets of 2 (knees in and knees out)
Squats-225x4, 270x4, 295x4, 315x4x4

Reverse hyper-2x20/ 180 w/ long strap and wide feet

GHR-weighted 25x6, 35x6, 45x8x2 sets
Hanging leg raises-with Ab Straps 3x8 toes to bar

Tuesday April 26, 2011
CSR-4x12/ 135 <60 sec.

Straight arm WG pulldowns-work up to 2x12/ 120
Vertical and horizontal lat stretches 60 sec.

Farmer's walk 8x50 yds (to the end of the building which is 50-60 yards) 128-pounds/ side 60 sec. rest

Wednesday April 27, 2011
Benchpress-9x3 w/155, 165, 175 (3 ea.) 3 grips 2 sets of chain on the bar
Pull-aparts-w/ monster mini band 10x10 (got carried away)

Bandbell bar benchpress-2x20/ 20, 40

DB extensions-8x8/ 35, 40 (4 sets), 45 (3 sets) <45 sec.

Seated front plate raise-33, 44 (2)
Seated side raises-20, 25(2)
Seated clean and press-20, 25 (2)
All 3x12
Low cable rows-pronated grip 2x20

BB curls 3x10/ 55, 65, 75

Notes
Not a bad week. Missed Thursday. I have to train early in the day or I get distracted and the next thing I know its 8 pm and I haven't done squat! The jumping is going well. I slipped and just couldn't get under myself with the last set (i.e. weak and slow lol). But I think it is working.

Stay strong,
Ed T.

ME Upper

Saturday April 23, 201
The usual warm-ups
Benchpress w/ doubled mini-bands-wide grip-225x1 or 3, 250x1, 275x1, 300x1*, added Slingshot ("everyone over 40 needs one") 315 miss, 320x1

JM Press 4x5/ 95, 115, 135, 155 (3)

DB low incline press 2x15/ 65, 75
CSR-wide grip 90x8, 135x8, 180x8, 205x6, 215x6, 225x6

Front plate raise 2x15
One-arm side raises 2x12/ 25, 30
Rear delt raises 2x12/ 35, 45

Hammer curls 2x10/ 40, 50
Band pushdowns 2x50 (mini band)

Notes

The 300 was a PR. With bands, once you start adding weight to the bar, getting slightly out of the groove can screw the press up (the 315 miss). I brought it down too high, corrected, got it off my chest then let it drift back to my head and could not get under the bar to grind it out. It reminded me of shirt work. It emphasizes using your lats to place the bar where you want it (start and finish), bar speed and finishing the lift. Using the Slingshot also reminded me of something Big Pimpin' told me, "Use the shirt (or gear), don't let it use you." Meaning to master the equipment (whatever it is) and do not let it dictate how you lift.

The rest of the workout went great (and fast). Condensed everything after the JM Press into approximately 30 minutes.

Stay strong,

Ed T.

Big Pimpin''s Semi-Circa Max

Thursday April 21, 2011
Warm-up (consisted of walking around the gym, reading old issue of PLUSA, eating a protein bar, checking out the new log press bar and trying out all the office chairs to see which one was most comfortable)

Box squat with strong, average and light bands 405x2, with strong and average bands 500x2*, with strong bands 585x2

*ripped cargo shorts (still got second rep), walked around gym more, cussed, ate more of protein bar, looked at squat bar in new PLUSA, cussed some more, talked to Doug

Deadlifts 625x1 overhand grip with straps (very very easy)

I think I saw BP doing some hammer curls after that. I'm not sure because I was getting extremely hungry which may have affected my vision.

Big Pimpin' is gettin'...

Strong(er),
Ed T.

PS BP and I discussed the possibility of putting together his workouts that I have recorded here for a training manual of sorts. Let me know if anyone is interested and we can go from here.

The week of 4-17 to 4-22

Sunday 4-17-11
A day of rest in most cultures. In mine, a day for a leisurely (30+ minute) stroll through my fifedom.

Monday 4-18-11
Trained with the 4Board
Warm-up incl. 100 pull-aparts and 20 GHRs
Box Jumps 3 sets of 2 reps on small box, then started jumping with DBs, 20s x1, 25s x1, 30s x1, 35s x1, 40s x1, 45s x1, 50s x1, 60s x1, 45s x3 x 2 sets

Squat 225x3, 245x3, 265x3x 5 sets

Safety squat bar Good Mornings 175x5, 225x5, 265x5, 285x5

Reverse hypers 4x8-10/ 90, 180, 270, 360
Straight leg sit-ups with band 4x10

Notes
We trained to the dulsa tones of Johnny Cash, "Live at San Quentin", because a member requested it. There's nothing like a good prison song to get the blood going. And the expression on 4Board's face...priceless.

Tuesday 4-19-11
Warm-up then
Sled pulls (forward/ backwards) 6 trips approximately 30 yds w/ 90-pounds.
Lat pulldowns-wide grip-6 sets of 8 reps changing the bar every few sets
Face pulls 3x12-15

Wednesday 4-20-11
Warm-up incl. pull-aparts (100) and GHRs (20)
Benchpress 7x4 reps 210 (4 sets) then 245 (3 sets) using 3 different grips

Pin press (off chest) 3x5/ 225, 245, 265 medium to wide grips

DB extensions 8x8/ 30, 35, 40 (6 sets)
Low cable rows (wide V-bar) 6x8/ 150, 175, 200, 225, 250, 275

DB front raise 3x10/ 15, 20, 25
Side raise same as above
Rear delt raise same

Notes
M4 almost had his back broken (and a possible pec tear) when a 150-pound gazelle named Keryn jumped on his back when he asked for volunteers to put weight on his back while he was doing suspened push-ups. Sissy.

Thursday 4-21-11
Warm-ups (the usual and then some)
Box jumps low box 3x2 reps and medium box 2x2 then seated jumps onto medium box 1x2 (from a 15-inch box), 1x2 (from a 15-inch box) and raised medium box 1-inch, 2x2 (off of a 13-inch box) onto raised medium box. (Clear as mud, right?)

Friday 4-22-11
Trained with a new member, a 220/ 242 raw powerlifter, BR
Warm-ups the usual and a little more

Low box squats w/ safety squat bar (13-inch box) (weights reflect SSB weight) 265x3, 315x3 added belt, 355x1, 405x1, 415x1, 355x3x2 sets

Seated Good Mornings w/ safety squat bar (weights reflect SSB weight) 5x5/ 175, 205, 235, 265, 285

Back raises w/ mini-band 3x10
Seated low cable rows (H-bar) 3x20/ 150, 175 (2)

DB swings 5x10/ 40-60

Notes
The 415 was a PR.

Stay strong,
Ed T.

ME Lower/ ME Upper and some PRs

Friday April 15, 2011
Warmed up

Reverse band Deadlift-strong bands-(225 = 0 on the floor with bands choked at top of seven-and-a-half-foot rack) 315x5x2, 405x3, 455x3, 495x3, 565x1, 610x1 (bar weight 430) added belt, 655x1, 700x1*, 565x3     *PR
TKE's 3x15

Box squats-w/ cambered squat bar-below parallel box (approximately 2" to 3") 5x5/ 135, 185, 225, 245, 265

Pull-through squats 4x15/ 25, 50, 75 (2)
OH crunches 4x8-10/ 90, 100, 110(2)

Band good mornings (average band) 2x20

Notes

PR! Yea! The 430 was a PR that ended up at 475; a 50-pound increase. The 700 broke another PR by 80-pounds. I was pretty jacked about that. I "think" the cambered squat bar weighs about twenty pounds more than a regular bar (if anyone cares).

Saturday April 16, 2011

Warmed up (the usual)

Floor press w/ 2 sets of chains/ side-medium grip 225x3, 255x1, 295x1*, 240x3

Log Press 120x10, 130x10, 140x10

DB rows 5x8/ 110, 115, 120, 125 (2)

JM Press 4x12/ 45, 50, 55, 65

Incline rear delt raises 4x15/ 15-30

Notes

The 295 was a small PR but one that was a few years old. My shoulder was bothering me a bit so I stopped with the PR. I finally learned how to do the JM Press at the Westside seminar in March and have been playing around with it since (and boy am I weak!)

Must get strong(er),

Ed T.

DE Upper & Jumping

Wednesday 4-13-11
Warm-up incl. 100 (mini) band pull-aparts, 20 GHRs and Weighted overhead crunches 2x15
Benchpress-9x3 w/ 145 w/ short mini bands-3 grips

DB extensions 8x8/ 25, 30, 35 (4 sets), 40 (2 sets)

Close grip pulldowns w/ DD-handle-6x8/ 150, 160, 170 (4 sets)
Pull-aparts (monster mini) 2x failure 30+ reps per set

Wide grip straight arm pulldowns work up to 110x12 rest 2 minutes and repeated
Vertical and horizontal lat stretches

Seated front plate raise 3x12/ 45
Seated side raise 3x12/ 20
Seated clean 3x12/ 20

Two-handed mini band (doubled) 3x15 ea.
BB curls 3x15

Notes
Training took approximately one hour. First time with bands in a long time. Warmed up real good and wore elbow sleeves and everything felt fine.

Thursday 4-14-11
What I will refer to as the 'conjugate warm-up'; meaning it was a composite of whatever I felt like doing for approximately ten minutes because I didn't want to warm-up at all.
Broomstick wall squats 2x15+
Mini-band pull-aparts 3x35
GHR 20

Kneeling jumps 5x2 (one rep knees in and one rep with knees out)

And Matt Fubar is back! (and immobile as ever)

Stay strong,
Ed T.

DE Lower

April 11, 2011 (Monday)
Broken up into two parts
Warm-up (incl. pull-aparts, back raises 2x15, band overhead crunches 3x15, reverse hypers 2x15)

Part 1
Box jumps-onto a 20-inch box-3x2 then 5x2 with DBs (15-35) then seated jumps onto a 20-inch box 3 sets of 2 reps and seated onto a large box 2x2

Squats-work up to 224x4 x2 sets, 245x4, 265x4 x3 sets <60 seconds rest between sets

Part 2
A. GHR 4 sets just shy of failure total of 89 reps
B. Weighted Decline Sit-ups 4x10/ 10, 25, 35, 45
C. DB Shrugs 3x15-20/ 100, 110, 120
D. Reverse hyperextension 2x15-25/ 90, 180 w/ foot bar

Notes

Jumping went well. I didn't push up the DB weight because as I reminded myself, this wasn't a max effort jump day. I got caught up in the moment...Squats were fast and light and the assistance and supplemental work felt good too.

Karen, my evil step-daughter, is training twice a week in the middle of track season (she only wants to throw but has gotten roped into doing everything). We do not do ME-type work because of her age (13). A heavy training session consists of three-to-five reps in the main exercise and we always leave something 'in the tank'. In other words, this is not severely taxing work. Physically she is mature for her age (5'8" and 140-pounds). We do a lot of bodyweight exercises and only recently introduced her to weight training. She has an obviously weak posterior chain and a previous overuse injury in her right shoulder; the testament to the perils of doing a single thing year round (swimming in her case). We are resolving that dilemma, but that's another story.

Here is Monday's session:

1. Deadlift working up to 179x3 (overhand grip) with Band (mini) Pull-aparts 4x25
2. One-arm DB Push Press 4x6/ 15, 20, 25, 35 with Glute ham raises 2 sets just shy of failure
3. Chest supported rows 3x10/ 35 with Front planks 4x30 seconds
4. Deep vertical and horizontal lat stretches and band shoulder traction

In case anyone missed it...she pulled 179x3...and she said, "Dad that was easy."

Yeah, I'm proud.

Stay strong,

Ed T.

ME Upper

Saturday 4-9-11
Still no 4Board...
Warm-up

Floor press-medium grip-at 225 started adding one set of 5/8-inch chains per set and doing triples. Went up to 225x3 plus 4 sets of chains. Ran out of chains. Added 20-pounds bar weight (245) and did a single. Added 20 more pounds and got stuck three-quarters of the way up. Dropped to 185 (bar weight) and the chains and did one more triple (approximately 78-percent).

Flat DB press 110x10x2 sets
CSR-wide grip-3x10/ 95, 140, 165
DB Rows-three point-110x10x3 sets

Press 2x10/ 100, 120
Push ups 2x failure (23, 24)

Band Pushdowns-average band 3x15
Band Side Raises-mini band 3x15/ side

Notes

I think the floor press was a PR. I have to dig further into my log books. Everything felt pretty good today. The attempt at 265 was like hitting a wall. Again, I will attribute a large part of the problem to being slow. The 245 came up fast. I figured on getting the 265 then determine a PM from there. Ooops.

Stay strong,

Ed T.

ME Lower

4-8-11 (Friday)
No 4-Board today
Usual warm-up incl. 2x15 OH crunches and 2x20 Band good morning (light band)
A. Box squat-parallel box-worked up to 315x2, added Metal Squatter w/ straps down and belt 355x2 x7 sets w/ <60 sec. rest

B. Deadlifts with Fat Bar-conventional-worked up to a PM (percieved max) of 475x1 after an easy 405x1 then did 335x2, 355x2, 365x2 (70-75-77 percents of 475)

C. Staright-leg deadlifts on a 4-inch box 185x6 x3 sets
D1. Hanging leg raises 2x failure (25+19)
D2. Lying leg curls 2x20, 15/ 60, 65
D3. Reverse hyper 3x15 (with long belt and wide feet) 90, 180, 270
D4. Paloff Press Iso-hold 3x3 w/ 10 sec. hold per side

The squats felt awkward and I just couldn't get my groove until maybe the last set. The pulls were easy. The Fat Bar feels like it puts a little more weight "out front" but it wasn't anything unbearable. I was pleased that my grip didn't offer me any problems. I just had to remind myself to pull into my body "harder" and the weight came right up. (Like a big ol' teeter-tooter).

Stay strong,

Ed T.

April 3 to April 7

4-3-11 (Sunday) -walked approximately 40 minutes moderate pace

4-4-11 (Monday)
Warm-up (incl. 100 pull-aparts and 20 GHRs)
Box jumps worked up to a 31-inch box for 3 sets of 2 reps (16 total jumps/ reps)
Squats 225x3x3, 245x3x3, 265x3x3

4-5-11 (Tuesday)
Warm-up (the usual)
A. Benchpress work up to 155x3x3 sets, 165x3x3 sets, 175x3x3 sets w/ two pair of 5/8-inch chain per side. Used 3 different grips.

B. 4-board press with medium grip 275x3, 315x3

C1. Tricep extensions 8x8/ 25-35 then 35 for all sets (5 total)
C2. Standing front DB raises 3x15 (tight form)
C3. Face pulls 2x 1-2 shy of failure (30-something reps per set)

D1. Flys 2x20/ 25, 30
D2. Hammer curls 3x15/ 30-40
D3. Pushdowns 2x40 (monster mini band)

E1. Hammer Strength Hi-Row 3x12/ 90, 140, 180
E2. Dips 35 reps 2 sets

Notes

Monday - I am trying to get my training done in the morning because otherwise I frequently have happen what did so today. The gym gets busy and my training gets pushed to the side. So part two of Monday's training never occurred. Instead of doing traditional dynamic effort work, I am using between 50-60 percent for 20-24 reps and doing my squats in sets like 10x2 or 12x2 or 4x5 or 5x4 or 6x4 or 4x6, etcetera. This is called flat-loading. The jumping serves to replace the DE work.  

Tuesday - Typical dynamic effort work. Letters D and E occur during the twenty minutes of free time I give myself at the end of my training day. If I feel froggy, I can get a lot done. If I do not feel like doing anything, I can do that too. It works pretty well. I can do something as simple as extra foam rolling or some sled work or whatever.

4-6-11 (Wednesday)
Usual warm-up then
Wide grip lat pulldowns for 5 sets of 8 reps using a weight I could do 12-15 reps with <60 seconds rest.

4-7-11 (Thursday)
Warm-up
Kneeling jumps close x2 and wide x2, w/ dowel on back close x2 and wide x2, add barbell then 25x2x2 (one close and one wide), 35x2x2 (one close and one wide)

Upper body sled pulls 50-pounds 6x (approximately 100-feet)
Notes

For the jumps I only rest as long as I feel I need to completely recover (doesn't take long) and jump as "hard" as I can each rep. You can jump from kneeling straight up or resting back on your heels or from a rock. I try to mix it up and usually go by how I feel. Jumping the day before my lower body work-outs helps prevent "Delayed-Onset-of-Muscle-Soreness" (DOMS). "Close" or "wide" refers to foot stance. Jumping with my feet wider is a bit easier because all I have to do is rotate my hips to stand. "Close" jumping requires me to get past my thighs to stand; its a bit harder.

Jump strong,

Ed T.

ME Upper

4-2-11 Saturday w/ M4
Usual warm-up
A. Reverse band benchpress-wide grip-worked up to 480x1, added the Slingshot and did 500x1, 525x1, 535 miss *The 525 started to drift towards my head on the press and I was able to push it back towards my feet and finish it. Decided to take the 535 which was a miss when I couldn't lock out the right side by an inch. We had trouble setting up the bands so the bar hung evenly on both sides and that may have had an effect on the outcome. (That and the fact that if I was faster I could've nailed it lol) M4 got 500x1 Slingshot-less

B1. Verical press 275x12x3 sets
B2. Lat pulldowns-Prison bar 2x12/ 130, 150, DD-handle 2x15/160, 170, H-handle 1x12/ 170

C1. Face pulls 4x15/ 40-70
C2. Straight leg sit-ups 2x20

D1. Pushdowns 2x20/ 70
D2. OH band crunches 2x20 (green band)
D3. GHR 20

E1. OH side band crunches 2x15 ea. (green band)
E2. Lat stretches and shoulder band traction

Good stuff

Stay strong,
Ed T.

ME Lower

4-1-11
Warm-up (da usual)
A1. Kneeling jumps 4 (2 close stance and 2 wide stance)
A2. Kneeling jump to squat to jump onto box (19-inch) 4 (2 close and 2 wide)
A3. Box jumps: medium box x1, tall box x1, medium box on 3-inch platform x1, tall box w/ same platform x1

B. Deadlifts-against mini-bands-weights on 4-inch blocks 285x1 added belt, 325x1 added briefs, 375x1, 415x1, 465x1 (slow and ugly) *used EFS Pro Short Mini-bands

C. Good mornings-arched back w/ cambered squat bar-5x5/ 150, 210, 230, 250, 270

D1. Hanging leg raises 3x20
D2. Reverse hypers 3x20/ 90, 180, 205
D3. Ab Wheel roll-outs 2x20

I didn't jump yesterday so I worked it into the warm-up. It went well I think. Didn't push the height, concentrated on being as fast as possible.

Stay strong,
Ed T.

Katsup 3-26-11 to 3-30-11

3-26-11 ME Upper
Trained with M4
Warm-up (incl. 100 pull-aparts and 20 GHR and mobility work)
A. 3-Board press-closer grip-275x3, 315x1, 345x1 added Slingshot, 365x1 same, moved to a medium grip 385x1 w/ SS

B1. Flat DB press work up to 105x10x2
B2. Seated cable rows-"big" V-bar 3x10/ 150, 200, 250 switched to H-bar 3x10/ 175, 200, 225

C.  Press 3x5/ 95, 120, 135

D1. Push-ups 80 reps (4 sets)
D2. Barbell curls 3x15/ 25, 35, 45 55x10
D3. Hanging leg raises 3x15
D4. Back raises 2x15

We used the Slingshot under the boards and it doesn't offer a lot this way because it simply offers more support in the bottom of the lift. It still helped.

3-27-11 Walked around da hood for approx 45 minutes.

3-28-11 DE Lower
Warm-up (the usual)
A. Box jumps 5x2 @ 60% of last week's jumps <90 sec. rest (wore ankle weights 5-pounds each?)

B1. GHR 4 sets leaving a few in the tank 26+19+18+20
B2. Standing Pull-down abs 6x15/ 70-115 and back down again
B3. Static lunges 2x8/ 35, 40
B4. DB shrugs 2x15-20/ 110, 120

3-29-11
Warm-up
WG Lat pulldowns 6x12/ 150 changing bars every other set
Sled upper body 6 trips w/ 45
Broomstick squats 50 reps

3-30-11 DE Upper
Part Juan
Warm-up
A. Benchpress 155x3x3, 165x3x3, 175x3x3 using 3 different grips <60 sec. rest

Later that day...
Part Duex
Trained with John Adams
A. DB rollbacks 8x8/ 20, 30, 40, 50, 55, 35x8x3

B1. DB Press 3x10
B2. DB side raise 3x10
B3. DB rear delts 3x10

C1. Band pushdowns 4x20/ light band
C2. Flys 2x25
C3. Face pulls 2x1-2 shy of failure 50#

Yes I trained with "the" John Adams.

Stay strong,
Ed T.

New tricks-ME Lower

3-25-11 (Friday)
Trained with M4 aka "The Gear 'Ho"
Warm-up (incl. 100 Pull-Aparts, 30 Back raises and 30 Overhead crunches-light)

a. Reverse band squat (double looped light bands around top of rack) 315x4 or 5 x3 sets (Started this high because while 225 would hold the bar in the catches, more weight was needed to be able to squat it. 315 felt about like nothing in the bottom of the squat) 365x3, 405x3, 455x3, 495x1 added belt, 545x1 added Metal Squatter w/ straps down, 585x1, 605x1, 495x3 x2 sets (78% based on a 635 PM or percieved max)

b1. GHR 3x8 w/ monster mini band

b2. Straight leg sit-up 3x15+ (body/ 25/ 25)

c1. Reverse hyperextension 90x10, 180x10, 270x10, 360x10

c2. TKE's 2x15-20

Going back to a ME/ DE type template. The reverse band squats were completely new to M4 and I. They were a lot of fun however. Stay tuned. More stupidity to follow!

Stay strong,

Ed T.