Lower Body 10/07

Hey guys,

Did lower body today. My current routine is quite low volume:

Squat: 405x5, 455x3x3
RDL: 250x6x3
Ab pulldown (with rope): 100x8x3
Duration: ~50 min

Felt pretty good about the squats. Not my best but I'm also not training near failure these days either. I tend to go farther from failure on the accessory lifts as well, but definitely hard enough to serve their function. I've also been pulling the reps down on my main, compound lifts (particularly bench, squat, and deadlift). I really would like to enter a PL competition next semester so strength is still a significant priority. But always training for size too ;)

- Josh

Phase 1 - Day 4

From January 30th, 2013
~Band Warmup
~Bar Bench: 135x5; 185x5; 225x5; 275x3; 315x1
~3-Board Press: 315x3; 315x3; 325x3; 325x3; 335x2; 325x2
~Lat Pulldown: 160x10; 200x8x 3 sets
~Green Band Pressdown: 3x10
~TRX Arm Work: 3x10 of curls and pressouts

Nothing to memorable about this workout, was upset that I couldn't hit 335x3 and had to back off on the last set, but looking forward I'll be including more floor press/lockout work

Phase 1 - Day 3

From January 29th, 2013
~Ring Warmup
~Chain Deadlift(weights written are at the top w/ 70lbs of chains)
     205x5; 295x3; 345x3; 385x3; 435x3; 485x2x 3sets
~Reverse Hypers: 90x8; 180x8; 270x8x 2sets
~Glute Ham Raises: 3 sets of 6reps(5second negative)
~Core: 3minutes of V-Ups

Phase 1 Day 2 - Top End Overload Squat

Just for reference the 'day' in the title will be referring to major training sessions, not the calendar date.

Today was obviously Squat Day, and it went fairly well considering I haven't had a bar on my back since early December.  Knee pain subsided throughout the warmup and early sets, and my lower back stayed strong throughout the session.

Day 2 - Squat

-Dynamic Warmup, including some foam rolling of inner thighs and calfs
-Banded Squat w/ ~90lbs of Tension at the top, complete deload of band at bottom of rep:
     135x5
     185x5
     225x5
     275x5
     315x4
     365x4
     405x3
     455x3  for 4sets,
*3-4min. between sets      *weight recorded is including band tension at the top of the rep

I worked up to fairly comfortable triples because I didn't want too much volume just yet, plus I plan on focusing mostly on the Deadlift and Bench for this meet.  Depth might become an issue once I start training at higher intensities, but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

Second Set:

-Glute Ham Eccentrics: 4sets x 5reps of 4-5seconds each  (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPXpKNpcZVw)

-Back Extensions: 4sets of 12reps  

I did these mainly to decompress my spine, a technique I've been using after any heavy loading day and find it to be very effective in keeping up my flexibility and recovery rate

-Terminal Knee Extension + Lever: 4sets x 5reps

This exercise looks harder than it actually is, but I was trying to include core in another accessory lift and came up with this:

Try to keep your hips forward throughout the movement(squeeze your glutes) and the feel of the movement is as if you are bringing your belly button to the ceiling.

Overall a solid training session, and will likely do some prowler work or sled drags tomorrow for recovery purposes.

~Jim Scheller

Upper Body - Recovery

One of my Coworkers suggested I do some gymnastics work for stabilization, core, etc... So I jumped into their workout today, was surprised with how much I could still do being ~4years removed from any gymnastic movements.

• Ring Pushups w/ toes on a box - 5sets(s) x 6reps(r)
• Handstand Pushups - 4s x 4r
• Tricep Ring Dips w/ hands supinated throughout - 4s x 5r
• Parallel Bar L sit to Planche(bent knees) to L sit - 4s x 1 w/ 5sec holds in each position
• Side bends on GHR machine - 2s x 5r each side
• Dragon Flags - 2s x 10r  *slow reps

Overall it was mainly a way to get blood flowing throughout my upper body while not taxing my muscles too much.  Tomorrow will be a top end overload day: squat or deadlift, depends how everything feels in the morning.

Phase 1, Day 1 - Top End Overload Bench

Since some of you will be competing in the PL meet at the end of March, as I hope to do as well, I've decided to chronicle my journey in an 'EliteFTS' style of blogging.  I'm hoping this will also keep me consistent with my own training, and create a forum for commenting and advice.

Day 1 - Bench
-Dynamic Warmup
-Bar Bench w/ ~80lbs of chains at the top *for convenience I'm just gunna write the total weight at the top*
     125x5
     175x5
     215x5
     265x5
     305x5
     315x4
     315x5  for 3sets,
*3min. between sets

First set:

The weight moved pretty well, and aside for some slight flaring on last reps of sets, was aiming for 95% at the top, trying to get comfortable under heavy loads again.
In case the embed didn't work: http://youtu.be/8I-aZzLroYc

-Bamboo Bar w/ 25lb dumbbells  suspended from each side
     4x10

This was mainly done because the facility I train/work at has it and wanted to give it a go.  Felt really awkward at first but found my ground and could see its benefit toward staying tight, especially pressing off the chest.

-Green Band Tri Pressdown Paired w/ Core Work
     4x12  + 30sec Planks/Side Planks in between sets

Overall a solid training session.  Comment w/ any questions or email me at jms674@cornell.edu

Some Tips

Hey Everyone,

Some members have reached out to me recently so I figured I would post what I typed up for them to the blog:


~Trying to gain mass? it's all about the negatives, 3 seconds down at 8-10 reps per set
~Trying to get stronger? stick to 5 reps but don't max out often
~Trying to lean out? perform sprints about 3x/week, 30seconds on, 2-3minutes off.  Intensity should be high i.e. huffing and puffing
~Dynamic stretches before, PNF stretching after.  Dynamic are leg/arm swings, skips, things of that nature.  PNF stretching stands for proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation stretching and you perform it my stretching the muscle for 20seconds, contracting said muscle in the stretched position for 5 seconds, and then holding the stretch again.  There are many articles about it online
~If you have the capacity, perform the Clean and Jerk.  Research it, watch it, learn it, implement it.  Here's a great link about it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bc-0lFV1KWQ
~30g of protein should be the upper limit per meal, going above that causes diminishing returns and you'll just piss out the nitrogen
~Have to train often? 'ice baths' should be around 50*-60* and should not be used for more than 15 minutes
~Supplements? I started using advocare and like it, it's simple, effective, proven, and safe, and I mainly started taking it because it's approved by the NCAA. I'm not trying to pull a fast one on y'all but I also started selling it, here's my link and I would hook you guys up with my discount:  http://www.advocare.com/120724657

Hope this helps for now, I'm much better at asking specific questions, feel free to comment/debate any of these.

Also, in spirit of the Olympic Games, here's a motivational link: http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/sports/Best-Olympic-Bodies-78237352.html