BrotherIron Strength Training Journal

[BrotherIron]

I thought it would be a good idea to write my journal down here for myself and anyone else who may be interested. I have combined Oly Lifting (my focus), PL, and SM into one regimen. I am still working out the kinks in it to keep progress continual and keep injuries at bay.

I train in 4 week waves where the 4th week is a deload week. The deload week gives my CNS a break. I train using percentages for my big 4 movements which are Squats, Push Press, Deadlift, and Bench. The percentages are as follows; week1 65/75/85%, week 2 70/80/90%, week 3 75/85/95%, week 4 40/50/60% (deload). I add weight each wave, anywhere from 5-10lbs for the lifts. On all assisting exrcises I use a 6-4-4-2 rep scheme and switch out the exercise every wave. This allows me to continue to make progress, push myself, not get stale, and always have fun which is important. On all Oly movements I use alwaysstick to triples. The purpose is to keep my form good which helps build proper motor pathways and also keep from getting injured which easilytakes place when form becomes sloppy. I have combined different principles but loosely I have based my training off the Russian Conjugate System.

I have to wrap my left wrist b/c it's bothering me and have had to take it easy on cleans which has allowed me to really work on technique. And 1 wave ago I pulled my left lat while deadlifting using an over/under grip. I have since switched to hook gripping on my deadlifts which seems to have taken care of the imbalance which takes place with the over/under grip, causing my injury.

Here is my next wave:
Legs
Back Squat (Oly Style)
Front Squat (Oly Style
Box Squats
Glute Ham Raise
1 Leg Squat on Bench

Shoulder
Push Press
Hang Clean
Bradford Press on block (performed seated on a medium block)
Bicep
DB Zottman Curl

Back
Traditional Deadlift
Snatch Pulls
Squat Good Morning Combo
1-Arm DB Row

Chest
Flat Bench
Tricep
Close Grip Bench
JM Press
Weighted Dips

There may be some changes made to the Wave but thats it more or less.

[BrotherIron]

Ot 27, 09 ~ Legs

Well SS and I went and checked out Quest and I trained legs there today. The gym is nice but not the best for Oly lifting. They have 1 portable platform which you have to share with everyone instead of the 6 platforms at John's. But I will say this, everyone was extremely nice there and very encouraging during my lifting.

WAVE 7 WEEK 3
LEGS:

Back Squat~ 167.5kgX5, 187.5kgX3, 205kgX1

Front Squat~ 105kgX5, 119kgX3, 132.5kgX1

Jefferson Lift~ 100kgX6, 130kgX3, 140kgX3, 150kgX2

SLDL on platform~ 100kgX6, 120kgX4, 130kgX4

Nothing to tear underwear over but a good workout none the less.

Tomorrow SS is going to talk to John and either everything will get resolved or we'll be training at Quest.

[BrotherIron]

Oct 28, 09 ~ Shoulder/Bi

Well I didn't train biceps today. I'll hit them on Sat with chest/tri. We trained at Coffee's. SS told John that she wants to focus on BJJ and he acted like he didn't even hear her. He asked her if she thinks she'll be ready to compete this Dec at the Amercian Open. She was like WTF? I just told you I don't want to compete and he just didn't want to hear it I guess. We've come to the decision that we'll train at LA Fitness 2x week and 2x week at Coffee's. That way SS can still do some strength training and also oly lifting.

WAVE 7 WEEK 3
SHOULDERS:

Push Press~ 87.5kgX5, 97.5kgX3, 105kgX2

Squat + SnatchGrip (Behind Neck) Press~ 60kgX6, 80kgX4, 90kgX4, 100kgX2
My left shoulder was not feeling good so I wan't able to try for my 105kg like I wanted to this week.

Standing 1-Arm DB Press~ 60lbX6, 65lbsX4, 75lbsX4, 85lbsX2
This didn't seem to bother my left shoulder so I was able to push it.

Hang Clean~ 40kgX3, 50kgX3, 60kgX3, 70kgX3
Worked on technique since my left shoulder isn't feeling good.

No Biceps

Well what can I say, I need my deload week to get here fast. My body seems to be just shutting down from the beating it's taking this go round.

[BrotherIron]

Oct 31, 09 ~ Back

Well I didn't push myself quite as hard as I was supposed to on my last set on Deadlifts and didn't do 5reps on my first set but none the less I was quite happy with my numbers and how my left lat felt. I think I'm almost back to 100% and ready to start hitting it hard again.

I did have a great workout at John's and it would appear I'll be training there 3x wk and 1x wk at LA Fitness which is fine with me.

WAVE 7 WEEK 3
BACK:

Deadlifts~ 175kgX3, 195kgX3, 210kgX1
I hook gripped the first 2 sets and used straps on the third set. I was supposed to do 215kg for the last but didn't want to press my luck and instead did 210kg (464lbs). 210kg felt easy as hell and I could have done the 215kg but I'm glad I didn't push it. I'll hit it next go round.

Clean Pulls from Hang~ 90kgX3, 100kgX 2(3), 110kgX3

Standing Good Morning~ 80kgX6, 90kgX4, 100kgX4, 105kgX2

Hyperextensions~ BWX 3(10)

That's it and I must say I'm really looking forward to my deload week and coming back strong.

[Adina Zanolli]

We're glad to have you here, BrotherIron!

Yukon will be by later to give you a formal welcome, but I just wanted to say we're glad you're here!

[YukonCrazy]

We're glad to have you here, BrotherIron!

Yukon will be by later to give you a formal welcome, but I just wanted to say we're glad you're here!

Welcome to MD Training Journals!

I am your Forum Leader here. If you have any questions or concerns, let me know.

I see you do deadlifts, I love deadlifts! Your programs looks sound, add some intensity and determination and you will make the gains you aspire to achieve.

I encourage you to check a few of the other journals in this section, you will never know what you will find. There is all kinds of great stuff going on in here!

Make this thread as you wish. It can be about a lot more than just posting training sessions.

Good Luck!

[BrotherIron]

Welcome to MD Training Journals!

I am your Forum Leader here. If you have any questions or concerns, let me know.

I see you do deadlifts, I love deadlifts! Your programs looks sound, add some intensity and determination and you will make the gains you aspire to achieve.

I encourage you to check a few of the other journals in this section, you will never know what you will find. There is all kinds of great stuff going on in here!

Make this thread as you wish. It can be about a lot more than just posting training sessions.

Good Luck!

Thanks. My goals at the moment are a 300kg Deadlift (traditional) , 180kg Front Squat (Oly Style), 250kg Back Squat (Oly Style), 160kg Clean, 160kg Push Press at my new lower weight.

I always post everything in my journal. How I'm feeling, what I'm eating, and just day to day things I deal with.

[BrotherIron]

We're glad to have you here, BrotherIron!

Yukon will be by later to give you a formal welcome, but I just wanted to say we're glad you're here!

Thanks. I'm happy to be here and hopefully I'll be able to help some who would like to incorporate Oly Lifting into their training regimen.

[bherman]

great stuff! keep up the progress.

i hope ur body gets better, and it looks like ur doin ur part to so ur body doesnt digress even more. i got a bad wrist from football and throwing so i stopped cleaning and just snatch now. the wrist has been reletively good.

keep it up!

[BrotherIron]

Nov 2, 09 ~ Legs

Finally, my deload week has come and I'm welcoming it. This is a much needed break on my body.

WAVE 7 WEEK 4
LEGS:

Back Squat~ 100kgX5, 120kgX5, 130kgX5

Front Squat~ 60kgX5, 70kgX5, 80kgX5

Jefferson Lift~ 80kgX5, 80kgX5, 90kgX5

SLDL on Platform~ 60kgX5, 70kgX5, 80kgX5

[BrotherIron]

I have decided to switch over to a 3 day split since it only has me dropping 1 tricep exercise. This opens my Sat to event training if I want. As some of you know I am contemplating competing in SM and this will allow me to do that. I will also start doing cardio 2x week (Tues/Thurs) for 30min.

Wave 8 will look like this:

MONDAY
LEGS:
Squats
Front Squats
Box Squats
Glute Ham Raise
1 Leg Squat on Bench

WEDNESDAY
SHOULDER:
Push Press
Hang Clean
Bradford Press on Blocks
CHEST:
Flat Bench
TRICEP:
Close Grip Bench
JM Press

FRIDAY
BACK:
Deadlift
Snatch Pulls from Floor
Squat + Good Morning Combo
1-Arm DB Row
BICEP:
DB Zottman Curl

I think this will be better. Time to go back to basics, a push/pull/legs system. Tried and true. Simple but effective. I will also continue my Carb Rotation and all Training Days (Mon/Wed/Fri) will be HIGH Days and all other days will be LOW days. I won't be counting carbs at all on my HIGH days. I'll be taking in carbs in all meals except my last on HIGH Days. On Low days, I'll only be taking in 2 Carb Meals.

[BrotherIron]

Nov 4, 09 ~ Shoulder/Chest/Tricep

I must say this was exhausting. It's not easy training all pushing movements and exp training chest after shoulders but I like this and I'm going to start adding my watered down Gatorade back into the mix.

WAVE 7 WEEK 4
SHOULDER:
Push Press~ 55kgX5, 65kgX5, 72.5kgX5

Squat + SG Press~ 45kgX5, 55kgX5, 65kgX5

Squat Clean from Hang~ 40kgX3, 50kgX3

CHEST:
Flat Bench~ 175lbsX5, 190lbsX5, 225lbsX5

TRICEP:
CG Bench~ 155lbsX5, 165lbsX5, 175lbsX5

Rope Pressdown~ 60lbsX 3(5)

That is it. I'm actually going to be breaking down my Cleans b/c I'm way to slow and therefore have to break them down and go in stages; first pull, second pull, third pull (which is done from high blocks). This will make me a much faster lifter b/c I have to fix motor pathways to increase speed. So that's going to be it for cleans for sometime until it's time for the third pull which is a clean off the high blocks (which is hard as f'n hell).

[BrotherIron]

Nov 6, 09 ~ Back/Biceps

I decided since I was a bit pressed for time I would train at LA Fitness. SS has a tourney tomorrow so I didn't have time to get to Coffee's today. This is the end of the deload. Next week I start the 3 day split.

WAVE 7 WEEK 4 Deload
BACK:
Deadlifts~ 225lbsX5, 275lbsX5, 325lbsX5
Hook grip on all three without straps. It was easy and I'm finding my hook grip to feel quite normal at this point.

Clean Pulls from Hang~ 155lbsX 3(5)

Hyperextensions~ BWX 3(10)

BICEPS:
Preacher Curl~ 65lbsX 3(10)

[BrotherIron]

Nov 9, 09 ~ Legs

Well this was the first time for me to do 3 different kinds of squats in one workout. I must say it was brutal and it sucked the life out of me. I wasn't able to even attempt GHR (glute ham raises) b/c I was so damned tired. I did Bodyweight Step-Ups instead. As long as I don't use weight, other than my own, I'm ok with step ups. I also only wear a belt for back squats, I don't wear one any other time while doing legs.

WAVE 8 WEEK 1
LEGS:

Back Squat (Oly Style)~ 150kgX5, 170kgX5, 187.5kgX5
As always I go below parallel on all of these squats and stay upright. My stance is only shoulder width at best and feet are ducked out a bit (pointed outward).

Front Squat~ 95kgX5, 109kgX5, 122.5kgX5
I ended up doing an additional set b/c I did a set with 104kg by accident. I front squat hams to calves (ATG).

Box Squats~ 60kgX6, 80kgX4, 95kgX4, 110kgX2
This was the first time doing Box Squats in forever. I did them on the Medium Block (which is right below parallel). Also, I didn't touch and go. I sat for a count of one one thousand before exploding back up.

Step-Ups~ BWx 4(10)
I didn't have anything left in me and tried to do a GHR but failed miserably so I opted for Step ups with bodyweight.

I must say not wearing a belt for anything but back squats taxed the shit out of my lower back but thats ok. I have all tomorrow to rest and recover.

[Srokus]

Hey man, I got a question. Whats the difference between a Oly Squat and a normal Squat? I think I know but for my knowledge's sake I just want clarification.