Friday, October 28, 2011

T-LOG: WEDoct26-THURSoct27

Wednesday, October 26th, 2011


I think I slept in an awkward position because my left shoulder is really bothering me.  I tried benching but as soon as the weight got to 365 it hurt when I lowered the bar to my chest.  Close-grip incline it is.  It doesn't hurt to touch it off the chest when I'm at an incline.


Close grip incline BP: 275 x 12 x 4 sets
Strict Wide grip chins: 3 x 33reps
Handstand Holds 2 x 50 seconds






Thursday, Ocotber 27th, 2011


Today is normally my deadlift day but I deadlifted on Tuesday...and fairly heavy on Tuesday.  I would rather deadlift heavy, or at least try to deadlift heavy, than to squat and move light weights fast and aggravate my quad further.  I enjoy the CAT squatting and see a lot of value in it.  It is going to see a large incorporation into my non-competition prep training, but for now, being injured, moving heavy weights as fast as I can AND also moving lights weights as fast as I can in the squat is only prolonging my quad injury ( I believe).  So, I'm going to deadlift heavy again because I like lifting in a state of fatigue, I want to save my quad, and it's fun.  Anyone who has followed my training or known me for a while knows that I never like training fresh....the only time I feel fresh is competition day...which is also the only time I will ever take more than one day off.....my CNS gets a great rebound.


Deadlift: 245x5, 335x4, 425x1, 515x1, 605x1, (add belt) 700 x 1 x 2 sets ( they both felt much better than any of Tuesday's deadlifts, the only reason I stopped is because I didn't want to get greedy, I am thinking of pulling again on Saturday).  Downset 630 x 7.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

T-LOG: MONoct17th-TUESoct25

Monday, October 17th, 2011


I decided to change my week a little bit to see if I took a day to stretch, foam roll, and to relax a little bit if my quad would feel better.  So I decided to do my 'Tuesday squat session' this evening so that tomorrow I could really focus on getting loose and foam rolling.


Morning Session(10:30am):


Bench Press: 400 x 5 x 5sets


Handstand Holds 40s x 4 sets
w T-bar Chins x 26
X 4 sets




Evening Session(8:15pm):


CAT Squat: 455+chains@60lbs x 5 x 6 sets in under 25 minutes






Tuesday, October 18th, 2011


FOAM Rolling on the quads x 50 passes each leg
w GHD situp x 15
w Inverted ring rows x 35
ALL X 4 ROUNDS


Clearly I am not good at taking days off and I went far too aggressively with the foam rolling.  My left quad(the good quad) developed a crazy new pain not allowing me to squat or even raise my knee towards my chest.  I believe that I have simply worked out some bad kinks... as when I went to see a specialist to massage and treat my legs, one of my calves hurt so much I could barely walk and my original injuries were highly aggravated...injuries were much much worse...and then a few days later everything felt great.








Wednesday, October 19th, 2011


Bench Press:  365+chains@60 x 5 x 5 sets


Handstand Holds x 40s x 4sets






Thursday, October 20th, 2011


Conventional Deadlifts: 245x5, 335x3, 425x2, 515x1, 605x1, (add belt) 675 x 1 x 6-7 singles (I lost count).


DB bent over rows: 165 x 25 x 1 set each arm


Upside Down Ring Shrugs: 1 set of 140 reps ( hands went numb and got dizzy)


Strict GHD situp(curl up): 4 sets of 20






Friday, October 21st, 2011


Bench Press: 405 x 1 (shoulder felt odd...decided to switch to our new Incline bench)


Incline Bench Press:  140kg x 5 x5 sets (using olympia bumpers which are not calibrated and much heavier, fe;t a little more like 345-355lbs)


Handstand Holds x 40s x 4 sets


StrictWideGripChins: 33 x4 sets






Saturday, October 22nd, 2011


Very quick session..had duck out for a wedding.


CAT Squat: 475+chains@60lbs x 5 x 5 sets in under 25 minutes


wore my rehbands for this one.  :)






Monday, October 24th, 2011


Bench Press: 365lbs x 8, 8, 8, 7, 6
CloseGripIncline bench: 275 x 11 x 3 sets


Handstand Holds x 40s
w SWGChins: 33
X 3 sets


Tuesday, October 25th, 2011


Since my right quad is healing slowly, I thought I'd deadlift twice this week and squat once.  


Conventional DL: 695lbs x 1 x 3 sets, downset 625 lbs x 6 (tried to get video but camera stopped working mid set....)


GHD sit ups: 3 sets of 20
Inverted Ring Shrugs: 1 set of 140


*****Oddly, I am thrown off of the calendar by switching my days...I know MON WED FRI as Bench days, TUES SAT as Squat days, THURS as DL days.  Is today Thursday?





Sunday, October 16, 2011

T-LOG: FRIoct14-SAToct15

Friday, October 14th, 2011




Bench Press: 375 x 7 x 4 sets


Handstand holds: 4 x 40secs
w t-bar chins: 25 x 4 sets






Saturday, October 15th, 2011




Front Squat: 135x5, 225x3, 315x2
Back Squat: 405x2, 405x2, 25 minutes of CAT squatting @ 455 x 5 reps x 8 sets
100 Walking Lunges
Inverted Ring Rows: 37 x 3 sets

Thursday, October 13, 2011

T-LOG: THURSoct13th

Thursday, October 13th, 2011


I woke up this morning with my legs feeling even tighter than yesterday, my hamstrings in particular.  So tight that when I reach down to grab my shoes I get rebounded up to a standing position ( those who have had this will know what I mean and those who have never squatted or deadlifted a high intensity with a high volume will not).


So I was not sure how my deadlift would go.  I was thinking more that I would simply continue my 20lb incremental increase and do singles at 730lbs( if I could even move that)...and I was almost thinking of just saving it for Saturday instead since I am planning on doing Sam's (or Dr. Squat's) recommended compensatory acceleration workout(properly this time 5 by 5 in 25 minutes)...I could have deadlifted that day instead....but being the Jay Nera that I am and not liking to take days off I thought I would give it a try and see how it goes rather than lay down and cry all day.


Deadlift( ON MY NEW OKIE) : 245x4, 335x3, 425x2, 515x1, 605x1, (add belt) 655x1, 700x1, 730 x-, 730x1
*****I never really felt a difference in the bar and I moved about 20 lbs less than I had hoped...but my legs feeling so tight and sore I'm not too disappointed.  I'm going to reset my singles down to 660 and progress each week from there(660-680-700-720-740-760...)  There is still plenty of time to get my deadlift up and I should be focusing on healing up right now anyways.


DB bent over rows: 165 lbs x 20 x 2 sets each arm


Inverted Ring rows: 3 sets of 35 reps


DB reverse lateral raises: 40's x 40 reps


GHD Situps: 4 sets of 15


hang upside in my moon boots for 1 minutes x 2 sets









Wednesday, October 12, 2011

T-LOG: WEDoct12

Wednesday, October 12th, 2011




Well, my legs are extremely sore from yesterdays workout.  Who would have thought?  40 reps in 25 minutes with 60% does not sound that bad.  I mean 4 sets of 10 reps in 25 mintues with 60% would not be that bad so sets of 5 wouldn't be any different.  A major difference is that aggression at which a person is standing up.  With compensatory acceleration the most important part is the acceleration on the accent.  So it's not quite the same as a 4 by 10 workout, but still, I am more sore than I would have thought.  I hope that it doesn't hinder my deadlift workout tomorrow because I am FINALLY GOING TO GET TO USE MY DEADLIFT BAR!!  I am hoping to pull around 750+ AT LEAST but who knows how it will go.


Today, I did a very quick bench workout.


Bench Press: 385lbs x 6 x 4 sets


Handstand Holds x 40secs x 4 sets


DB front raises: 45's x 30 x 2 sets




While I was working on the Crossfit side tonight, Big Mike Sinclair came in to max out his deadlift.  Here is the video of his MASSIVE 785 pull.  It gets a little rough around the knees but the man muscles through it.  I think he's going to be the first guy in the Ottawa crew to pull over 800....and hopefully as soon as his next meet in December.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

T-LOG: MONoct10-TUESoct11

Monday, October 10th, 2011


Still building reps in the bench and avoiding heavy lifting.


Bench Press: 365lbs x 7 x 5 sets ( these sets felt very good.  I felt as though I could do about 9 reps each set)
Handstand Holds x 40s x 4 sets
V-bar Chins: 25 x 4 sets




Tuesday, October 11th, 2011


After talking with Sam Byrd last night about healing up, not lifting too heavy and compensatory acceleration in the squat, I thought I would lift lighter weights in the squat for a while to let my quad heal up.  My chiropractor Dmitry Bichet was also telling me to do more higher repetition squats so that the muscles would get more muscle contractions at an intensity that would not risk a greater tear in the muscle belly.  And since this has worked greatly with my tricep......


Byrdman likes Dr. Squat's 5 x 5 @ 60% in 25 minutes, focusing on controlled decent and speed on the way up.  I like this, it sounds fun, but it is simply not enough volume at such a low intensity for me and my bulgarian mentality to feel as though I have done anything.  I have a hard time understanding how a person can squat in the mid 700's only training with weights that are in the mid 400's.  But as A GENERAL RULE ON TRAINING PHILOSOPHIES(or with regards to anything) of mine goes, if the person hasn't done aything impressive or at least coached someone impressive(demonstrated to some capacity of their competence) don't listen to them.  Well, Sam knows how to squat, he's gotten over a major quad injury, and he just squatted some big weights in the Animal Cage and since I started powerlifting him and Kirk Karwoski have been my favourite squatters.......So, YES,  I'm open minded to what he has to say..... and I'm going to lift at 60% for some compensatory acceleration(although I'm adding a little more volume so I don't go crazy).
Byrdman in the Animal Cage a few weeks back squatting a raw knee wrapped unofficial WR of 825lbs





Back Squat: 430lbs(60%my 1RM) x 5 reps x 8 sets in 25 minutes


***This was actually not a bad training session.  By the 3rd set at around 7 minutes my legs were feeling pretty full of blood and the decent was feeling smoother.  By the 6th set my lower back was getting a mean pump(no belt and not conditioned for high reps, 40 reps, in a short period of time, even with such a light load).  We'll see how my legs feel tomorrow.







Monday, October 10, 2011

T-LOG: WEDoct5th-SAToct8th

Wednesday, October 5th, 2011


My left tricep is in a lot of pain and I cannot stretch it nor press down in anyway that involves the lats yet I can press straight without too much pain.  So I did light bench pressing...the hardest part was unracking the weight.


Bench Press: 315 x 12 x 5 sets


Hand Stand 30s holds x 4 sets


DB Front raises: 40's x 30 x 2 sets








Thursday, October 6th, 2011


I was extremely excited for today because I was SUPPOSED to get my Okie deadlift bar today from UPS.  Needless to say....I did not.


Conventional Deadlift: 245x3, 335x3, 425x1, 515x1, 605x1, (add belt) 655x1, 710 x 1 x 4 sets
( My 1st set was very fast and strong off of the floor and then I lost the spring off of the floor in subsequent sets...I am hoping that using the Okie will help me practice with more weight)
Video of set 3



Video of set 4



GHD Situps(very strict and conrolled curling): 3 sets of 15 reps








Friday, October 7th, 2011


Tricep is getting a little less sore.  It still hurts to stretch it and last night trying to do levers on the rings and such during class irritated it a lot.  Benching still does not seem to hurt though.


Bench Press: 335 x 8 x 7 sets


Handstand Hold 40s: x 3 sets
DB Front raises: 40's x 30 x 2 sets
Rear Delt laterals: 40's x 50 x 2 sets








Saturday, October 8th, 2011


Well, the quad is still giving me a lot of issues.  Last week I accidentally misloaded and did a triple with 625, so the scheduled singles with 645 does not intimidate me nor my right quad today.  PLUS...since I am no longer competing at the WPC Worlds in Latvia, and my next competition allows kneesleeves...I am going to be wearing my rehbands and already know that things are going to feel better.  ( Knee sleeves give me a better sense of how deep I am...without them I bottom out in the squat and go very very deep...).   I still need to be careful of my right quad though, so controlled decents and not too fast up.


Front Squat: 135x5, 225x3, 315x2
Back Squat: 405x2, 455x1, 495x1, (add rehbands :))545x1, (add belt) 585x1, 620x1, 645 x 1 x 3 sets  ( They all felt easy and farely smooth with a little technical variance as my sore quad pushes me back into my hamstrings, ...but on my 4th set unracking the weight, my left quad started spazzing...and being the old man that I am becoming I decided not to say 'fuck it'...and cut my workout short...boring).  I think I would have had 7-10 singles in me before I started to feel a bit of a grind with this weight.







Wednesday, October 5, 2011

T-LOG: FRIsept30-TUESoct4

Popped my tricep doing skull crushers yesterday.  I think having not done them for a while, the extra stretch from the movement, and the ballistic way in which I was doing them = one unhappy tricep.  Not benching for a bit.

Quad update: 
-Rec Fem feels completely healed at the proximal insertion, so nice deep squats feel fine around the hips.  
-VMO tendon no longer hurts when I simply flex my quad
-pain in the muscle belly around the rec fem and lateralus(hard to pin point, but i think its the lateralis) has been kicking around....this quad has been quite recalcitrant and is really inhibiting both my progress and confidence....

Bottom line:  Injuries are fucking annoying.  But like most things that can blossom into a beautiful fruition.... they are fertilized with shit.  That is....  the bullshit adds character...or something like that.


 I am contemplating not going to the WPC Raw World Powerlifting Championships in Riga, Latvia, this November 18-22 for a few reasons.  It may not be as big as the 1st Raw World's in Russia because there are many huge meets around the same time and if my favourite lifter Andrey Belyaev(2028lbs raw no wraps @ 220) is not there then I do not want to make the trip.  Right now, my injuries are making me feel as though I will not be able to post the numbers I want to post.  Raw Unity 5 is only 9 weeks after and the 220 class is going to be amazing.  I am almost certain that 2000@220 is going to be broken by someone at that meet and I would like to be one of them.  So I am considering trying to make myself healthy so that I can defend the RUM Middleweight title against the likes of Sam Byrd and Jeremy Hamilton whom I expect will both be gunning for 2000 as well.  I would like to be the first North American to move 2000@220 legit.

After 6 months, Willbo and I are also expanding our club, Dynamo Fitness, another 2000 square feet and focusing on the business should be a priority for the next couple of months.  We want our Crossfit O-Town to keep growing and to make money doing something we love....so although I love powerlifting and chasing my own personal goals moving weight... I have to look at the big picture a little bit and understand that the lifestyle I am creating will allow me to chase other aspirations in the future.  It's not like holding off competing means holding off from training...


Tuesday, October 4th, 2011

Front Squat: 135x5, 225x3, 315x2
BackSquat: 405x2, 455x2, 495x1, 545x1, (add belt) 585x1, 625 x 3 ( misload was supposed to be 615), 615 x 3 x 4 sets

This is not bad.  With the injuries my quad has been going through I am happy with this today.  My technique is still a little bit hindered by the injury forcing my body to move away from the quads and towards the hammies and back more than I want.  Squatting the 625 for a triple by accident was actually kind of refreshing...reminds me of when my clients don't know how much weight is on the bar and I say "just shut up and go" and then they hit a huge PR simply because they don't know any better ;)




Monday, October 3rd, 2011

Bench Press: 135x8, 185x3, 225x3, 275x3, 315x1, 365x1, 385x1, 385+chains@60 x 3 x 6 sets

Skull Crushers: 165 x 15 x 1, .... on my second set around my 8th rep I felt a very different spasm/pull on the long head of my tricep.  A lot of pain any time I simply stretch my tricep or try to push down on anything.  Even hanging in a pullup position hurts slightly.  Ask me how exciting this is.


Saturday, October 1st, 2011

Front Squat: 135x5, 225x3, 315x2
Back Squat: 405x2, 455x2, 495x1, 545x1, (add belt)585x1, 605x1, 630 x 1 x 9 sets



Friday, September 30th, 2011

Bench Press: worked up to 440 x 1 (bar was misloaded a set before with 5 lbs heavier on one side so my shoulder was a little sore), decided to do some volume work 315 x 13 x 3 sets

Handstand Holds x 30 s x 4 sets
T-bar chins to belly x 25 x 4 sets