Just Another Training Day

Here are 2 videos I shot yesterday while training at my friend Shane's house. We hit some axle presses working up to a heavy single. Then we hit a few runs on the yoke (no video posted). We finished with a killer conditioning session on the tire.



Long video (Did some cool music editing though to keep it from getting too boring)

Moved In and What's Cooking?

So we finally got moved in our new house (actually only I am living here until after we get married). It didn’t take too long to get moved in actually. When you have 2 strength coaches, a sexy fiancé and a case of beer moving stuff isn’t that bad at all.

Sexy Fiancé


Stuff



Now that I am out of my apartment I’m loving my larger kitchen. So much so that I’ve been pulling out the cookbooks and trying out some new stuff. I fixed some turkey meatballs with light Ragu sauce and a side of veggies the other evening. Talk about a killer meal.



I got these out of the Men’s Health “Muscle Chow” cookbook but placed my own twist to them (they were bison meatballs in the book).



Baked Turkey Meatballs

Ingredients:
1 pound lean ground turkey
2 egg whites
½ cup toasted wheat germ (I used untoasted-all I could find)
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
1 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon minced garlic
½ teaspoon McCormick Salt Free All-Purpose Seasoning
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

How to make:

Step 1. Preheat oven to “400 degreez” – ( the “z” in honor of the Juvenile album I purchased in 7th grade). Lightly coat a baking pan with cooking spray. Wipe away any excess with a paper towel.

Step 2. Put all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and knead with your hands until everything is mixed well.

Step 3. Shape into approximately 16 golf ball-size meatballs and place on baking pan.

Step 4. Bake for 15 minutes, turning once after 7 minutes.

I also heated up some light Ragu sauce and poured over them. We had a side of zucchini, onions and mushrooms.



Give this and try and let me know what you think. Got any new recipes for me to try? Let me know in the comments!

Hit a new Deadlift PR!

Step 1. Pick a day you want to attempt your new PR. Now take about a week off of training before that day.

Step 2. Take time each day to think about the lift. Mentally rehearse pulling the weight. Think about the smell of your gym, the sound of Pantera blasting from the speakers, the way the bar feels in your chalky hands. Picture yourself in your mind pulling the weight (you’re new PR) and how it feels. Its heavy but it breaks off the floor and you lock it out with ease.

Step 3. The day before increase your carbohydrates especially in the evening. The day of eat a large breakfast and keep your carbohydrates high through the day until its time to lift.

Step 4. Chug a Spike about 30 minutes before hand. Start sipping on a protein/carb mix such as Surge or Organic fat free chocolate milk. Mentally rehearse the lift over and over.

Step 5. Foam roll your quads/hip flexors, low back, upper back and hit some thoracic extension.

Step 6. Perform a basic dynamic warm up and be sure to include:
- Static hip flexor stretch
- Glute bridges
- KB swings
- Face pulls
- Perform some jump squats or vertical jumps. Explosive as possible for 3x3.

Step 7. Warm-up (lets pretend your previous 1RM is 300 pounds)
Warm-up set 1: bar with training plates if possible x 8-10 — feel the groove
Warm-up set 2: 135 x 5
Warm-up set 3: 185 x 3
Warm-up set 4: 225 x 1
Warm-up set 5: 265 x 1

PR Attempt: 310 x 1!

Step 8. Congrats you pulled a PR. Now skip the fist bump and grab a beer!


These recommendations are for educational purposes only. I advise readers to take full responsibility for their safety and know their limits. Don’t lift heavy weights if you are alone, inexperienced, injured, or fatigued. Don’t try this if you do not know how to properly deadlift and have experience. I am not responsible for any form of injury, personal loss or illness caused by the utilization of this information.

Busy, Busy, Busy!

I am currently in the process of moving to a new home. Due to this I haven't had much time to write.

Since I have no content I will leave you something for your viewing pleasure.

Enjoy!

Kicking It Old School - The Training

Here is the second part to my “Kicking It Old School” post. If you haven’t read the first part then check it out (down below).

So now that you know what nutritional approach I took I will show you what my training looked like. I know my nutritional approach then had some major flaws, as so did my training. However just like with my nutrition I was doing some things right. This following page out of my journal was from the exact same week as the “Kicking It Old School – The Diet”. I began my journey with some shitty exercise selection and workouts no doubt. It continually improved from reading books on training, trail and error, etc.

This is the type of training I used to take my body weight from 135-185 during high school. Given I did vary my workouts my basic philosophy stayed the same and I learned more each year about training. This was from my junior year and this page was taken when I weighed 155 pounds. I began my junior year at 155 and began my senior year at 171. So this was roughly 4 months into my junior year right after football season ended.

12-01

Monday- (Upper - Push)

Bench Press 3x6-8
Incline 3x10
Pec Dec 3x10
Dips 3x12
Close Grip Bench 3x12
Cable Press Down 3x15
Shrugs 3x20

Tuesday- (Lower)

Deadlift 3x6-8
Leg Curls 3x10
Leg Ext. 3x15
Calf Raises 3x20
Run 400’s

Wednesday- (Biceps and Abs)

Standing Curl 3x10
Preacher Curl 3x10
Alternating Dumbbell Curl 3x10
Hammer Curl 3x10
Sit ups 3x25
Crunches 3x25
Leg Raises 3x12

Thursday- (Lower)

Squats 3x6-8
Leg Curls 3x10
Leg Ext. 3x15
Calf Raises 3x20
Run 40 yard sprints

Friday- (Back, Shoulders)

Push Press 3x6-8
Pull Ups 3x8
Shoulder Raise Lateral 3x15
Rear Delt Fly 3x15
One Arm Row 3x10
Upright Row 3x12
Bent Over Row 3x12
Behind Back Shrug 3x20
Seated Row 3x20

As you can see there are some good things here (bench, deadlift, squat, push press, pull ups) as well as some crappy stuff (leg ext/curls, too many exercises/volume, no single leg work, a day for biceps and abs, too much isolation, set/rep parameters). Same as with the nutrition I wouldn’t do it the same today. But all in all it shows sticking to the heavy basics and lots of food is where it’s at for size, strength and performance.

What did your training approach look like when you began training? Has it changed much since then? Let me know in the comments!

Kicking It Old School - The Diet

Recently I have begun cleaning and packing to move to our new house. During this time I came across a ton of old workout and nutrition journals. Let’s take a peak into what I was doing during one of the phases in which I gained the most muscle.

For those of you who don’t know I began weight training seriously in 8th grade. That was over 10 years ago. During that time I haven’t taken over a couple planned weeks a year off from training. In that time I managed to take myself from a bodyweight of 135 pounds to the heaviest weight of 205 (a little too much fat). I am currently hanging out around 190.

Keep in mind this meal plan isn’t what I would currently recommend for my clients or anyone looking to gain muscle. This is what I used to take my body weight from 135-185 during high school though. Given everyday wasn’t the same and I learned more each year about nutrition. This was from my junior year and this page was taken when I weighed 155 pounds. I began my junior year at 155 and began my senior year at 171. So this was roughly 4 months into my junior year right after football season ended.


Tuesday: 12-11-01

7:00am
1 Cup Oatmeal
2 Eggs
Carnation instant breakfast in 16 oz. milk
multi-vitamin

8:00am (lifting and conditioning – Lower Body)

9:20am
2 Scoops Protein in 16 oz. milk


11:30am
2 Scoops Protein Shake in 16 oz. milk
Balance Bar

3:15pm
Two Big ham sandwiches (wheat bread + cheese)
32 oz. milk

4:30pm
2 slices pizza
3 Yogurts
16 oz. Milk

6:00pm
Steak and Baked Potato and Salad

7:30-9:30pm
Drink 64 oz. Milk in time frame

10:00pm
Can of Tuna
Bedtime

As you can see that is a lot of food and over a gallon of milk. Was it perfect? Hell no. There are no fruits or vegetables except the salad with dinner (I am actually surprised to see that). There are definitely better ways to gain muscle. However most people hit the gym hard and wonder why they aren’t getting any bigger. They aren’t eating. You have to eat and eat big to get big.

Stay tuned to what my training looked like during this time as well.

What did your nutritional approach look like when you began training? Has it changed much since then? Let me know in the comments!

What I've Been Up To

• First of all I have been helping my fiancé plan our wedding (actually she does most everything but I do what I can). For those who don’t know I am getting married to the most amazing and gorgeous girl ever on Sept. 19.

• We are going here for our honeymoon. I can’t wait to spend 7 days in Jamaica with my new wife!

• My fiancé and I are in the process of buying a house. We close this Friday and the current resident has 7 days to get out…then it’s ours!



• I spent the past weekend in STL watching baseball. The highlight of the weekend was spending 30 minutes lost in the projects at 11:30 on a Saturday night. It was probably one of the most dangerous places in the US we could have been at that time. Crazy!

• My training is going good. Progressively getting stronger and working on my weak areas. Trying to decide on when and what to compete in next. Powerlifting or Strongman…I can’t decide.

• I’ve also been playing around with a new para workout nutrition protocol. I also like what I am seeing. I believe it’s similar to what the new “I, Bodybuilder” program on T-Nation is going to recommend. Just going off of what I’ve read from Thibadeau.

• My soccer players and golfers are getting into season right now. I cant wait to see them kick everyone’s ass this fall. (One hit a 375 yard drive this past weekend)

• There is a sweet ass hill in my soon to be backyard. Can’t wait for early morning hill sprints!

• Deer season (bow) is coming up. The past few years I haven’t been able to do much hunting because of work and school. Now that I am done with school I’m planning on hunting a little more. Time for some free lean protein! Hell yeah!

• I have a brilliant idea I am working on. I am not calling myself brilliant, just the idea. I am hoping to get it going in the next 6 months or so.

So that’s some of what I’ve been up to.

What have you been up to? Let me know in the comments!

Motivational Kick In The Ass #4

My little sister, Alex, busting out a set of chin ups.


"We're a species that seeks comfort and rejects pain. As a weight trainer intent on success, whatever the sport or goal may be, we must reverse this outlook. We must seek pain and reject comfort. When I speak of pain, I don't mean the type that causes injury, but the type caused by effort."

-Robert Fortney