(13 WEEKS OUT) T-LOG:TUESaug16-SATaug20

TUESDAY, AUGUST 16TH, 2011


I wanted to front squat today but my left collar bone is still a little fucked up.  So safety squat bar it is.


Hellraisers: 475x 5 x 8 sets








WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17TH, 2011


Because of my collar bone issue I cannot perform any horizontal presses.  Even push ups hurt.  So i am stuck with a many chin ups and variants and handstand pracice.


(Ring Chins(pull apart): x20   with  30 second handstand)  x 5 rounds


(Strict wide grip chins x 20 with 30 second handstand)  x 3 rounds


(ring inverted rows x 33     with    30 second handstand )  x 2 rounds








THURSDAY, AUGUST 18TH, 2011


Conventional Deadlifts: 635 x 1 x 8 sets, 545 x 10 touch and go
( I was a little disappointed with this session.  I was hoping to do around 12-15 singles w 635 but my technique off the floor wasn't feeling right today and it was messing up my pull




FRIDAY, AUGUST 19TH, 2011




(Ring Chins(pull apart): x20   with  30 second handstand)  x 5 rounds


(Strict wide grip chins x 20 with 30 second handstand)  x 3 rounds


(ring inverted rows x 33     with    30 second handstand )  x 3 rounds






SATURDAY, AUGUST 20TH. 2011


My knee has been bothering me a little bit this last few weeks.  I think that last Saturdays 1035 lb quarter squats put a lot of pressure on my tendons.  My right knee(rec fem and VMO) at the distal insertion are annoying me.  A body squat feels a little off.  So today.....


STRETCHING AND FOAM ROLLING




****  between the collar bone and my right knee I am getting very impatient.  I have been hobbling along with injuries since RUM4.  If it isn't one thing it's something else.  Right now with the collar bone and my knee all three lifts are suffering and this is very discouraging.  Usually I can focus on at least one lift when something is injured.  I am 12 training weeks out from my next competition in Riga, Latvia and not feeling so pumped about my training cycle which is supposed to start on Monday.  We will see how these injuries come along.  I have a big total that needs to get accomplished at either WPC Worlds or RUM 5 and a lot of big names to compete against such as:


at WPC WORLDS(Latvia) in November:
 Konstantin Posdeev who squats high 700s and pulls in the 800s
 Zahir who squats above 700 ,benchs above 500, and pulls in the 800
Andrei Kisel who if uninjured will go around 740-550-740
Andrey Belyaev who is going to perform some great feats maybe 740-560-830




at RUM 5(Texas) in January:


Sam Byrd who is hungry and likely to go around 760-475-750
Jeremy Hamilton who I suspect will go around 716-507-793

 ........  my goals are around 727-740 squat, 473-484 bench, and a 750-780 deadlift.  If I can get 2000 this year i will be a very happy man.  I suspect that my next two competitions a total of less than 2000 will not win anything.  I have not back squatted since the begining of May(expcept for my comp in June where i attempted 705) and the heaviest load I've have handled is a 545 front squat.  Since then I have been doing a lot of the front squatting and Hellraiser squatting.  This has placed a lot of over-emphasis on staying upright in the squat...which has also placed a lot more stress on my quads and knees.  My right knee does not like me right now...we will see if we can become friends again.

T-LOG: WEDaug10-MONaug15

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

My collar bone is hurting from a misracked front sqaut mishap last saturday. I took the day off. Sort of. After work I felt as though I needed to train so after eating dinner I headed back.
Conventional Deadlift(off 2 mats+60lbs chains): 605x1x5sets


Thursday, August 11, 2011

Conventional Deadlift(off 2 mats+60lbs chains): 605x1x3sets, 695xfail



Friday, August 12, 2011

BP: 365x1....ouch
325x5x5paused
SWGChins x36
W Ring Pullaparts x25
TIMES 3 Rounds



Saturday, August 13, 2011

Front Squat: 475x2,3,2
Safety 4quat: 515x3x2sets
1/4 Squats: 1035x15x3sets
Deadlift: 605x1x2sets



Monday, August 15, 2011

*shoulder still very sore
Ring Chins x 20 w Handstand holds
X 5 rounds
SWGchins x 30 w Handstand Holds
X 3 rounds
Ring inv rows x 33 w handstand holds
X 3 rounds
Sent from my BlackBerry device on the Rogers Wireless Network

T-LOG: MONaug8-TUESaug9th

TUESDAY, AUGUST 9th, 2011


In a bit of a rush today.  My collar bone is killing me from front squatting on Saturday.  There was one set where I missed the hook on the left side when racking it and it put a ton of pressure on my collar bone.  I seem to have strained a muscle in my upper pec.  Stretching the pec and alsolifting the shoulder seem to irritate it.  We will see how it feels tomorrow.  I may have to skip it since Monday's session seems to have irritated it further.

HELLRAISERS: 515x3 x 7 sets

Thats it!!  That's ALL!!  And its more than enough on the body.  I am a little worried that I am not challenging my legs enough with these squats but I am definitely taxing my back enough and hopefully this will transfer to my deadlift.


MONDAY, AUGUST 8th, 2011


bench Press: 370+chains(60) x 3 x 5 sets, 320x5x5paused

SWGChins: x 35
Ring Pull Aparts: x 25

T-Log: WEDaug3-SATaug6

Saturday, August 6th, 2011




BBQ at Crossfit O-town today after the last class (1030-1130) which is when I usually train so I am training very early before the first class at 930.
Up at 630 training at gym by 7:15.

Front Squat: 495x3 x 2 sets  ( I was hoping to do sets of 4 but the weight just felt REALLY heavy on my shoulders today and it was difficult to breath, not sure if it's because I was training so early or if i'm just not as strong as I think I am right now lol)

Safety Hellraiser SQ: 515x3 x 2 sets

1/4 squats: 1035 x 15 reps

Conventional Deadlifts: 650 x 1 x 2 sets

Kettlebell Swings: 3-poot x 25 x 2




Friday, August 5th, 2011



Bench Press: 365x5,5,5,5,4,3,
315 x 5x5 paused

Ring chins x 30
W ring dips x 30
W ring pull aparts x 25
ALL X 3 rounds




Thursday, August 4th, 2011

Conventional DL: 645 x 1 x 9 sets
KBS: 3-poot x 25 x 2 sets
GHD Situp: 21 x 3 sets



Wednesday, August 5th, 2011

Bench Press: 365+chains@60 x 4 x 8 sets. 315 x 9 x 3 sets

SWGChins: x 35
W Ring Dips x 30
W ring pull aparts x 23
ALL X 3 Rounds

T-LOG: MONjuly25-TUESaug2nd

Monday, July 25th, 2011

Bench: 405 x 7 singles, 325x 9 x 3 sets  ( still nursing the shoulder and just taking it easy)

Ring Chins x 25
w Ring Dips x 25
w Ring Pull Aparts x 23
ALL X $ ROUNDS




Tuesday, July 26th, 2011

Front Squat(no belt): 495 x 3 x 3 sets

Hellraisers: 465 x 5 x 3 sets




Wednesday, July 27th, 2011

Bench Press: 385 x 3 x 8 sets, 315 x 8 x 4 sets

Ring Chins x 26
w Ring Dips x 26
w Ring Pull Aparts x 23
ALL X 3 Rounds




Thursday, July 28th, 2011

Conventional Deadlift: 620 x 2 x 5 sets

GHD Situps: 25 x 2 sets

KettleBellSwings: 3-poot(106lbs) x 25 x 3 sets




Friday, July 29th, 2011

Bench Press: 405 x 1, 425x1, 440x -, 335+chains x 7 x 4 sets, huge drop set 405-365-315-275-225-185-135 rep out

WGSchins x 34
w BP 225 x 25
w Ring Pull Aparts x 25
ALL X 3 Rounds




Saturday, July 30th, 2011

Front Squat: 455 x 5 x 3 sets
Hellraisers: 465 x 5 x 3 sets
Deadlift: 625 x 1 hold




Monday, August 1st, 2011

Bench Press: 405 x 2 x 5 sets, 315+chainsx7x4sets

SWGChins: x34
w Ring Dips: x 30
w Ring Pull Aparts x 25



Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011

Front Squats: 475x 4 x 3 sets

Hellraisers: 485 x 4 x 4 sets

GHP situps: 20 x 3 sets

The Nera Safety Squat aka HELLRAISERS

  (First off, I would like to say that this is specific to raw olympic stance squatters, although it will help wide stance as well.  I definitely do not recommend this to equipped lifters with their astronomical weights.)

A problem which many people encounter when trying to squat heavy, especially to proper depth, is maintaining their back position.  'Back position' to some may simply mean keeping your back straight(lordotic or close to) and/or to others, maintaining a specific torso angle with relation to the floor or what not( ie chest up).  Regardless of the definition, everyone will agree that maintaining back position is of the upmost importance in the squat. 

 An exercise which many people turn to to strengthen their back for the purpose of improving their back squat is THE GOOD MORNING.  The good morning exercise has many benefits but is highly overrated for helping the back squat(there are benefits for the deadlift but it is far down the line in my books as far as squatting is concerned).

The good morning is an exercise that when performed properly looks a lot like a squat gone bad.  It is a movement that strengthens the muscles in such a way as to get back into position when squat technique fails.  THE GOOD MORNING IS A GREAT EXERCISE IF YOU PLAN ON SQUATTING WITH BAD TECHNIQUE ALL THE TIME.

In the video below as you can see it looks like someone falling in and out of bad position in the squat. ( i do not know the guys in the video, they may be equipped lifters or doing goodmornings for another purpose, I just chose the video at random)

Why not focus on squatting properly?  Building STATIC strength in the back on the decent, forcing one to stay upright, tall and with a big chest while pushing them onto their toes which they are fighting against, and then they have to focus it all on the accent as well.

DOES IT NOT MAKE MORE SENSE TO GET STRONGER AT STAYING IN POSITION THAN TO GET STRONGER AT GETTING BACK INTO POSITION ...BECAUSE YOU WERE TOO WEAK TO STAY IN POSITION IN THE FIRST PLACE??.....  sounds kind of like a kid who spends hours trying to figure out how he could cheat on an exam when he could spend that time studying and probably actually end up doing better than if he cheated...and a lot less consequences...ie the kid gets caught, expelled=hurt your back (good/bad analogy you judge,you get the point).

The HELLRAISER

It is called that because yes, you guessed it, it's like raising hell.  It is not fun and you will rarely ever look forward to doing a heavy set.  It's simply an ANTI-SAFETY SQUAT

SAFETY SQUAT BY DEFINITION:http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/drsquat10.htm

"Now here is a GREAT way to do squats right! The specially designed bar makes it easier to get deep enough into the squat position, easier to keep your back straight, and with far less danger of injuring your lower back or knees.

Safety squats are also more comfortable because of the padded yolk that's resting on your shoulders. This special bar is called a "safety squat bar," although it has become widely referred to as the "Hatfield Bar" because of my longstanding endorsement of its benefits. It allows you to use your hands to both hold yourself in a perfect, upright squatting position as well as "spot" yourself if the weight becomes too heavy."

I AM TELLING YOU TO NOT USE YOUR HANDS...thus it is HARDER to get deep, harder to keep your back straight and more dangerous...you cannot hold yourself in an upright squat position and you cannot spot yourself.....you HAVE TO RELY ON TECHNICAL DECENT AND ACCENT...AND HAVE A STRONG BACK!!

Not everyone can do hellraisers.  The Hellraiser's effectiveness is based on one thing.  That when you don't use your hands(because most people doing safety squats push up at the handles) the handles push your chest down and the bar pushes your head forward along with your weight distribution onto your toes.  SO IF YOUR SAFETY SQUAT BAR DOESN'T PUSH YOUR HEAD FORWARD AND YOUR CHEST DOWN WHEN YOU ARE SIMPLY STANDING...IT IS TOO EASY A BAR for this exercise.  I cannot stand relaxed with my bar loaded any weight over 2 plates.  I have to consciously hold my chest up.  Once I get to 4 plates it is very labourous and I have to talk myself into doing the sets....and I squat over 700 lbs with no wraps.  But at 500 pounds on the safety squat bar...the safety squat doesn't feel so safe.

I am not 100% sure, but I beleive that the bar I use is from ELITEFTS.  All that really matters is that it pushes your head forward as if you got stuck in prison with a big strong nightmare of a cell mate ...if you know what I mean.

A good way to check the bar is to check whether or not the handles go straight down when the bar is racked and that the articulation in the bar is at the same angle as the handles.  The longer the bar is at the bend, (the further the distance between the part of the bar on your back and the part of the bar holding the plates are from each other), the more it will push you forward.


When you watch the video, note how the handles push down and desperately want to point to the ground....it is not fun.  

I find Front Squats, Zerchers, and Hellraiser's to be the best at shaping a person's squat.

I hope this helps some of you guys reach new PR's!  Any questions feel free.  I wrote this because I couldn't sleep and I often get messages about my squatting and assistance exercises...it's a little vague but I hope it helps ( I would also like to note that this has helped my deadlift a LOT in the past year and a half and also to not do this without safety pins bc dumping the weight would be very difficult).

Head tall, chest up, whole foot....UPSTRONG!!

REBUILDING MY SQUAT (T-LOG JULY 23rd 2011)

For the last 8 weeks I have been catering to an injured rec fem.  I babied it before CPF Raw Nationals on June 24 but having attempted a 700 plus pound squat my leg did not exactly love me.  So I set some rules for myself to follow in rehabilitation.  Now anyone who knows me knows that I am not one to go through the motions of doing something and I HATE not to train.  So I set some parameters for myself that still allowed meet to feel as though I was getting something done.


WPC Raw Worlds in Riga, Latvia are not until mid-November so I do not need to get very serious until about mid to late August.  Until them I ruled that I would NOT full range back squat until August and that I would not squat anything over 65% of my backsquat UNLESS extremely partial ROM.  So for the first few weeks where I could barely even perform a full range body-weight squat, I relied on heavy heavy partials.  I would load up the bar to its maximum and do partial reps until my head would feel like it was about to explode.  Anywhere from 15-20 reps, only moving a few inches, would light every muscle in my leg and back up...and I probably went from 5'9 to 5'7 in the process.  And then I would doing sets of 100-150 body weight squats(unless it hurt) and 100-150 walking lunges(no weight) just to flood the area with blood.

1135 lbs

As my ROM increased without pain I incorporated 'Hellraiser' safety-squats and front squats.  With these squats putting you at a mechanical disadvantage in the squat I am able to not have to load the bar so heavy to feel as though I am stimulating change and also I can rework my squat technique.


The front squat allowed me to focus on my quad and upright position in the squat.  Because it requires a high degree of hip flexion it allows me to really test out my rec fem without loading as heavy as I would need to in the backsquat.  The front squat is, in my opinion, the most important movement for people to learn before they learn the actual back squat.  If you can front squat nicely...you can back squat nicely.


And the next lift I love to do is the HELLRAISER(click me for article) aka the Nera Safety Squat.  This really loads the upper back and forces you to focus on staying upright.  It is a war the entire time.  500 lbs no hands is just as difficult as a regular 650 back squat.  I never look forward to doing a set of hellraisersbecause they are grinds the entire set.


The front squat forces you to stay upright and tight during the entire squat and also builds the quads ability to squat.  Many people, especially wide stance squatters, focus on the hip extensors and back, whereas I prefer to squat as a quad dominant lifter...quad dominant lifters also rarely ever have to question whether or not they make depth.  :P


The Hellraiser is a beauty to couple with the front squat because it still forces you to stay upright, but instead of threatenning a drop forward of the weight...it threatens to roll your head into your chest...into the floor!!  Most people push up on the bar with their hands...but if you eliminate this it forces you really control your decent and maintain an upright posture...otherwise the bar will literally push your head forward and your chest in...its not a good feeling....people wonder how i've grinded through some heavy squats...hear is the answer.


By the end of the two exercises the legs are lit, the back is fired up like a motherfucker, and the squat technique is crisp.




SATURDAY, JULY 23rd, 2011


FRONT SQUAT: 495x3, 545x1, 495x3
(for not having even back squatted anything over 500 in the last 8 weeks...this is pretty good.  When I am feeling stronger I will post a 600lbs front squat or at least a 6 plate front sq)


HELLRAISERS: 505lbs x 3, 415lbs x 10


Kettlebell Swings(overhead): 3-poot(106lbs) x 25 x 3 sets


495x3



545x1



495x3



505x3



415x10