Preparations for the Navy PRT/PFA End Extra Sweet

A background story to set this up, if I may.

Before I passed last April's PRT, I had three failures. What made that PRT different was that I had trained for it like an event, months before even to the point of doing a 2-week load cycle for the pushups and situps. After feeling so banged up from that, I took a longer layoff than I should have, got a bad bout of food poisoning, then topped it all off with a broken rib that sidelined me for two months. While I did get a medical waiver because of the injury, it did not waive me from the bodyfat measurement - - - which I failed. Per the Navy's instruction, if I failed this PRT then my Navy career was through. To add to that, my unit's PRT was to be run in May, the end of my contract was on April 6 and my next drill was April 13-14 (can't drill with no contract). So I told the Navy Operational Support Center (NOSC) here at Bangor that I wanted to do my PRT early - - - in March. Pressure!?!

Fast forward to this week. While I could see visual improvement, I didn't want to leave anything to chance. I was recovering from a week of being overtrained: last week, I had two sessions that my lower back no longer recovered quickly from, and this Monday was no different: deadlifting and squatting three times a week plus using an SSB had caught up to me.
I did a 10 set of 3 workout on Wednesday for three movements(Hammer ISO Rows, Hoist Neutral Grip Chinups, and trap bar shrugs) since I wanted to make sure my neck would stay large. Tuesday and Wednesday, I went low carb and the HIIT aerobics on the elliptical was still a go. Thursday morning, the morning of the measurement, I took some time off of work. Weighed in the bathroom at 232.5 lbs nude. Drank some very strong coffee (no sugar) and some Motrin (my erectors still felt puffy), took my son to the bus stop and headed to the gym. Without shoes, weighed in at 235.1. After 45 minutes on the elliptical, weighed in at 233.1. Headed to the dry sauna and did two 20-minute sessions. Afterwards, had to go to the bathroom bad, because I forgot that Motrin on an empty stomach is not good. After a shower, I weighed in at 230.1 lbs. Went to the NOSC to get measured but the Corpsman who was going to do it was administering the PRT to a few people at the gym. When I got there, she wasn't there. So I waited for a while, hungry and thristy. When she showed up, I got measured and passed with my lowest bodyweight in 4 years (229), lowest waist measurement (37.5), and lowest BF (20% by Navy standard). So, that was out of the way. to put it in some kind of perspective, I was 7 lbs lighter than April 2006 but had only lost one lbs of lean mass.

Yesterday was the exercise portion, which I was most nervous about mainly because of the run: I hadn't run since mid-December 2006. That, and the pressure. Oh, and I was running this by myself with noone to pace me. My goal was a Good-Medium (44 pushups, 55 situps, 13:23 1.5 mile run time) because that's what I got last time and I didn't want to look like I had slacked off. I got it. The run was better only in that I had to walk and sprint less of it, but it sucked because I had no practice and no pacing. I was running a 12:00 pace the first two laps, than started to slow down a bit and was winded by the 5th lap of 8. I ran a 13:10, 16 seconds slower than April 2006 but I'll take it.

I reenlist April 5th. I'll do a lessons learned later.

TBT Week 3 Workout 1

All Notation: Weights x reps x sets

Week 3 and 4 is 4 working sets of everything except for the high rep workout on the third day of each week, which is 3 sets of 15. After today, I can't wait until week 4 is over. Could be the extra set, the extra back work, the deadlifts catching up to me, or trying to do all of this while on a diet (somewhat . . . wink . . . wink) but after the triset, I was dreading the thought of doing the sumos. After that superset, I almost bagged the last two movements. I think the word I had in mind was OPPRESSIVE!!!

The good news is that I'm down 1.5 lbs from last week. The 220s are in sight.


Triset:
13" Front Box Squats: 100x5, 140x5, 180x5x4.
Assisted Wide Grip Pullups (Purple/Monster Mini Bands): BWTx5x6
GHR: (BWT+10)x5x6

Superset:
Sumo Deadlift: 145x5, 195x5, 245x5x4
DB Shoulder Presses: 35x5, 50x5, 55x5x4

Superset:
Bulgarian Split Squats: BWTx5, 20x5, 30x5x4
Preacher Curls: 65x5x4, 55x5, 40x5

Lunchtime aerobics was 30 minutes on the rowing machine.

Back Workout

All Notation: Weights x reps x sets
Hoist Assisted Neutral Grip Chinup: 78x20x3
Hammer ISO Row: 75x20x3

Aerobics was the elliptical for 30 minutes.

TBT Week 2 Workout 3

Yesterday's workout - - - All Notation: Weight x reps x sets.
Lunchtime:
Hoist Assisted Neutral Grip Chinup: 97.5x10x6
Hammer ISO Row: 90x10x6

Evening (Giant set, 2 min rest after each set):
Conventional DL: 200x15x2
Assisted Dips (Purple Band): BWTx15x2
Assisted GHR (Purple Bands):BWTx15x2
Static Lunge: BWTx15x2
Assisted Chinups (Green Bands): BWTx8x2
Incline Curls: 15x15x2
30 minutes, Elliptical, Level 13.

This should have been Friday's workout. But Thursday's workout left my erectors sore and exhausted until Sunday, probably because the snatch grip deads left my back exhausted and the SSB squats finished the job (note to self: squats before deads!!!). I think I've found a nice way to get the fat off and teach my body to tolerate more lactic acid: because I was already exhausted from the giant sets, I spent most of my aerobic session above 170BPM and sucked wind.

This morning, I weighed in at 231. Hooray!!!

TBT Week 2 Workout 2

Since I had to train my son yesterday, I split this workout up and did part of it at lunch. Since I did deadlifts without doing squats first, I loaded 5 more pounds on the bar than planned and pulled it solidly (If Bzycki's formula is to be believed, I'm within 15 lbs of a 300 lbs snatch grip deadlift). I was also able to do DB Presses with 60 lbs for 8, which was one of my goals structurally for a bigger bench - - - the weight felt easy, even though my grip was fried from the deadlifting. Barbell curls were also up, since now I'm doing the worksets first (Biceps should be warm from the deads, right?!?). The squats were right on. Today is a break for me, my lower back muscles are fried.

Oh, I forgot to mention one of my little side projects. After doing dumbbell rows for the longest time, I switched to Hammer ISO Rows and The Hoist Assisted Neutral Grip Chinup since I wanted to lift bigger weight. My plan was to begin with Ian King's 6-1-6-1-10-15 rep wave then follow it up with sessions of 6 sets of 10, 10 sets of 3, 3 sets of 20, 5 sets of 12, 2 sets of 30, then 4 sets of 15 before starting over. The DB work had pushed up my Hammer Row from 115 to 130 and in two weeks of doing the heavy work I've pushed it up to 147.5 lbs. The Neutral Grip Chin work has also gone up, from 152 lbs to 162.5 lbs. The one good side effect of this is that two weeks ago, I was doing DB Rows for a 70 lbs single and now, I can do a 75 lbs triple.

Lunchtime:
Superset:
Snatch Grip Deadlift: 145x8, 185x8, 215x8x3
Incline DB Bench Press: 40x8, 50x8, 60x8x3

Superset:
16" Step Up: 20x8, 30x8, 40x8x3
Barbell Curls: 70x8x3, 60x8, 45x8


Evening:
Triset:
12" SSB Box Squat: 125x8, 145x8, 185x8x3
DB Upright Rows: 15x8, 20x8, 25x8x3
GHR: BWTx8x3. Added Monster Minis for the last two sets because I could only do 5 otherwise: 2 sets of 8.

TBT Week 2 Workout 1

All Notation: Weight x Reps x Sets. No rest until the end of the set, then it is 60 seconds rest.

Triset:
13" Front Box Squats: 100x5, 140x5, 175x5x3. Just a 2.5% increase over last week.
Assisted Wide Grip Pullups (Purple/Monster Mini Band): BWTx5x5
GHR: BWTx5x5

Superset:
Sumo Deadlift: 145x5, 195x5, 240x5x3
Incline Blast Strap Pushups (Paused): BWTx6x5. The 240 felt easier than last week's 235. I always run out of steam on the last two sets and have to psych myself up to finish. Call me a masochist but there's a reason why I do sumos after the triset of front squats/pull/GHR: I want my hips to reach deep when all else is gone. Then my deadlift will go up.

Superset:
15" Lateral Step Up: 15x5, 20x5, 30x5x3
DB Hammer Curls: 35x5x3, 25x5, 20x5. Last time, it was hard to complete the heaviest sets at the end for the hammer curls, so I did the heaviest ones first.

TBT Week 1 Workout 3

This workout was done as two giant sets, with 2 minutes rest after each one. Arched back good mornings was to be the next to last exercise, but high rep deadlifts killed that idea fast. I was going to do the chinups to 15 reps using rest pause but after 8 reps (and the deadlifts), I had no pull left.

Conventional DL: 195x15x2
Assisted Dips (Purple Band): BWTx15x2
Assisted GHR (Purple+Monster Mini Bands):BWTx15x2
Static Lunge: BWTx15x2
Assisted Chinups (Green Bands): BWTx8x2
Incline Curls: 15x15x2

TBT Week 1 Workout 2

TRISET:
12" SSB Box Squat: 120x8, 145x8, 180x8x3
DB Upright Rows: 15x8, 20x8, 25x8x3
Assisted GHR (Monster Mini Band): 5 sets of 8 (75 seconds rest)

SUPERSET:
Snatch Grip Deadlift: 135x8, 165x8, 205x8x3
Incline DB Bench Press: 35x8, 45x8, 55x8x3 (75 seconds rest)

SUPERSET:
16" Step Up: 12x8, 25x8, 35x8x3
Barbell Curls: 45x8, 55x8, 65x8 (75 seconds rest)

Am trying to get the first 4 weeks done by March 27, which would be 2 days before I measure and gives me rest time until the PRT. That's a workout every other day. We'll see how that goes, considering how demanding this setup is right now. Surprises: 55 lbs DBs felt light for the incline presses, and the snatch grip deadlifts felt ok - - - I think the squats warmed me up. AS for the squats, what I need most from that depth is pop: Once I turn my muscles on, it's more like a gradual launch. Something I could fix with speed work and accomodating resistance, but that'll be later.

TBT Week1 Workout 1

My past two weeks have been spent still doing HIIT aerobics, testing on a lot of lifts, and just trying to find out what I wanted to do. Originally, I wanted to do a fat burning program but because of the way the Navy does bodyfat mesurements (which benefits those with a big neck), I didn't want to risk losing any mass. So I chose TBT again. Having accomplished a lot of my structural balance goals (Except biceps: for a 215 bench, my preacher curl should be 92 lbs but I'm now only 12 lbs away), I'm throwing my effort into getting my front squat as close to 85% of my back squat (I'm close, but not close enough), improving my pushups and biceps, and my low end deadlift. No ab work, so they can shrink. I learned from the error of my last great front squat work and the last TBT that I must do hip GHR work to keep my back squat strong, so I'm doing a lot of sumo DL work with a lot of weight, GHRs/unilateral leg work three times a week, and 12" box squat work once a week to maintain. To help me get leaner quicker, most of the workouts will be done in superset pairs, with no rest until after the last exercise of that pair. That might be a plateau buster for me: I'm stuck at 232.5 lbs. Right now, I have a 17.25 inch neck and a 41 inch waist so I either need an 18 inch neck with a 40 inch waist or a 17.5 inch neck with a 39 inch waist. The last might be more realistic.

TRISET:
13" Front Box Squat: 95x5, 135x5, 170x5x3
Band Assisted Wide Grip Pullup (Green Band): 5 sets of 5
GHR: BWT x 8 x 5 (60 seconds rest)

SUPERSET:
Sumo Deadlift: 145x5, 195x5, 235x5x3
Blast Strap Pushups (Feet raised 6"): 5 sets of 5 (60 seconds rest)

SUPERSET:
15" Lateral Step Up: 15x5, 20x5, 25x5x3
DB Hammer Curls: 15x5, 25x5, 35x5x3 (60 seconds rest)

This workout was just plain hard. Not so much the weight in itself but the cardio portion it turned into. Didn't help that the first triset took all my important DL muscles out, either: the second superset left me winded. On the plus side, this may be what I need - - - the better I get at clearing the lactic acid out, the better shape I will be in for the hard and easy stuff. Until I do, however, I have to swallow 7 more weeks of this!!!

2007 Virtual Meet: February 09

I had military work on the 10th and 11th so the only real day available to me was the 9th. After work and making sure the family was fed, that meant starting the lifting at about 9:30 PM Pacific Time. Since I have no real friends nearby and my wife was manning the camera, I had to make sure the pins were set on the rack. But despite all this, I was hyped and ready to go. What I will write will get revised when the results get published on Virtualmeet.net: I know about some of the lifts passing and am waiting on the others.

I warmed up with a 5-3-1-1 rep progression for a warmup, using a 13" box touch and go to get my depth dialed in the squat and 5 minute rest periods. After a final warmup set at 255, I went for a 295 opener and sunk it. The 315 went, too, but was tougher as I might have held it at the bottom too long to 1.) make sure I got depth and 2.) to make sure I didn't hit the pins. I bombed on my final attempt at 330 lbs, I just couldn't rise with it. No surprise there, really: with a 30 lbs carryover, my 14" box squat the Saturday prior hinted at a 315 max. I'm back to where I was and can now build from there.

I went 1 for 3 on the bench. My first attempt at 215 was well controlled, paused, and pressed ( I was happy, since I haven't been training with a pause.). I had nothing left to lift 225 on my second attempt. The third attempt was disqualified for two reasons: 1.) I had gone down in weight to 220, and I was told you can't go down on an attempt (that had never occurred to me) and 2.) the bar hit the left pin because I couldn't fully control the descent. In retrospect, I should have set my attempts at 210, 220, and 225 but now I know.

I'm gonna guess and say that I went 3 for 3 on deadlifts, since Kris told me that my deadlifts were smooth. I decided to pull conventional since I can pull more this way, and felt that the snatch grip deadlift/front squat work I have been doing would lend itself to a better conventional deadlift. Since I haven't been training this way, I based my first attempt on my squat and opened with 315, and that was easy. 345 also went up quickly. My wife (cameraperson) wanted to get to bed and I had to get up early in the morning to drive to work so I took my 365 third attempt 2 miinutes after my 2nd attempt. I put my all into this one, and got it: the most I have ever deadlifted is 400 super slow, and this was my fastest 365 ever. I think I've found what works for me for the DL: lots of GHRs and upper back work, twice a week deadlifting, snatch grip work, and front squats.

I'll post the videos as soon as Kris gives me the final word and a link. This was lots of fun and I can't wait for the next one.

SOB Training/Perfect 10

Perfect 10 (Week 2 Workout 1):
DB Shoulder Presses: 55x3x7
DB Rows (Elbows Out): 55x3x7
Preacher Curls: 65x3x7
GHR (Monster Minis on front hooks for resistance): 4 sets of 3
GHR (BWT+10 lbs): 2 sets of 3
GHR (BWT only): 1 set of 3

SOB Training (Day11):
14" SSB Box Squat: 115x15, 145x15, 155x15, 130x15.
Seated Cable Rows: 80x15x4
Close Grip Pause Pushups" BWTx15x4
Lateral Step Ups: BWTx15, 10x15,15x15, 20x15

Whether this cycle is finished in February or not (I will try to finish it), I will wrap it up on February 28 so as to throw myself into a fat burning weightlifting cycle. My next lifting day is the Virtual Meet.

SOB Training: Workout 5

All Notation: Weights x reps x sets.

Last heavy workout before the Virtual Meet. My goal, aside from the workout, was to test squat and get an idea for attempts. I do educated guesses most of the time but felt like this time I wanted to go and see where I really stood.

Flat Bench Press w/1 pair of chains: 105x5, 125x5, 145x5, 165x5x6. The first 3 sets were hard, then it got easier. Part of that was getting my leg drive down pat, the other I don't know. I might train this way until SOB is over. SOB has one leave a few in the tank rather than go to failure; I'm gonna fill the tank with a little chain.

14" SSB Bar Squat: 135x5, 165x5, 195x5, 225x5, 255x5, 285x1 (PR), 215x5x3. Considering that I have a 30 lbs carryover from box to free bar, I might be looking at a 315 final attempt. But 285 almost felt like it was gonna crush me. Of course, that's the SSB bar at work. But I know that I'm gonna have to hold this one up with nothing, not even a Manta Ray, for the meet. I'm hoping all the deadlifts and back work make for a nice little shelf.

Chinups (Green Band): 6 sets of 5.

Snatch Grip DL: 215x5x6. With all the squatting, I skipped the warmups and added 10 pounds to the bar. Supersetted the SGDL and chinups so I could hurry and shower and catch the Super Bowl. That, and I was just beat. I'll probably pull conventional for the meet, and I'll probably wing it. I don't know my carryover from the SGDL to conventional. Since I can pull a 265 double with a snatch grip, I'll probably open with 295 and go from there.

After dinner nutrition consisted of Kentucky Fried Chicken and beer. Yummy!!!!

The Week in Review

This was a chaotic week for working out, too many things popping up at odd times. But it was a good week.

Sunday:
This was all I had time for, or my lazy ass should have gotten up. I tested up to a 205 double and a 215 single, 5 lbs better than last time. Needed to pause the 215 longer, though, for this meet. I might take 205 for a second attempt at the Virtual Meet. I want to go for broke at 225 but we will see.

Monday:
Perfect 10 for lunch:
DB Shoulder Press: 45x10x3
DB Rows (Elbows Out): 45x10x3
Preacher Curls: 50x10x3
GHR in the evening(Purple Band): 3 sets of 10
Tested the Snatch Grip DL at lunch: 135x3, 160x3, 185x3, 215x3, 245x3, 265x2 (PR). Last two sets were done with an alternating grip. Then I did 7 sets of 3 at 230 lbs in the evening. I may have myself a 300 lbs SGDL at the end of SOB.

Tuesday:
Did nothing. With the overtraining tightrope I'm walking just doing SOB, I should have known testing two lifts in two days would be a disaster. I'm so edgy and headachey right now.

Wednesday (SOB Training: Workout 3)
RDL: 115x30x2. No puking here. My hands were the first things to go: after the 22nd rep, my forearms were on fire and I could not hold on to the bar. Then my lower back and hams followed. Rest paused the rest using 5 second breaks.

Static Lunge: BWTx30x2. I should have done these sooner, I think they will definitely add something to my squat. I felt these in all the right places.

DB Rows (Elbows Out): 25x30x2.

Pushups: BWTx30x2. Hard at the end, especially with my back tired.

Thursday (SOB Training: Workout 4): Have a car service appointment on Friday in Tacoma (between the drive back and forth and waiting in traffic to cross the bridge, I bagged Fridays workout) and I want my last heavy day before the meet to be Sunday, so I moved Perfect 10 to Saturday and did workout 4.

14" Front Box Squat: 95x3, 115x3, 135x3, 155x3, 175x3, 195x2 (PR), then did 170x3x6.

Wide Grip Pullups (Green Band): 10 sets of 3

Dips (Monster Mini-Black Band): 10 sets of 3

Standing Barbell Curl: 75x3x10.

GHR (Tested band combinations):
BWT only: 8 reps
Black Bands: 10 reps
Purple Bands: 12 reps
Purple/Black Bands: 16 reps
Green Bands: 18 reps
Green/Black Bands: 22 reps
Green/Purple Bands: 25 reps
Green/Green Bands: 5 reps. I had nothing left at this point even with the band tension.

Today:
Who was I kidding with the excuses. Got up early and knocked out Perfect 10 minus the GHRs:
DB Shoulder Press: 55x5x5
DB Rows (Elbows Out): 55x5x5
Preacher Curls: 60x5x5

Perfect 10: Week 1 Workout 2

All notation: weights x reps x sets

DB Shoulder Presses: 40x10x3
DB Rows (Elbows Out): 40x10x3
GHR (Purple Band): BWTx10x3
Preacher Curls: 45x10x3

SOB Training: Week 1 Workout 2

I patterned the exercises after a setup in The New Rules of Lifting, since I'm doing a few exercises in Perfect 10 that were supposed to be done this workout. Still sore from Monday and stressed from today's workday, I was still raring to go.

All notation: weights x reps x sets (180 seconds rest between sets)

Barbell Squats: 115x30x2. Did I do 30 straight? Hell no. On set 1, I got to 20, took 5 seconds rest, got 5, then another 5 seconds, then got the last 5. I have never done a 30 rep set of squats: After 20, I was so out of breath it felt like the bar wouldn't let me breathe any more. I puked after both sets, I think I've discovered a new mortal enemy!!!

Seated Cable Rows: 60x30x2.

Close Grip Pushups: BWTx30x2

Supine Hip Extension: BWTx30x2

Lateral Step-ups: BWTx30x2. A lot easier than 30 rep squats, at least on my stomach. My ass and hips were hammered.

Twisting Situps: BWTx30x2

Was gonna do HIIT, but had my son's basketball game to go to. Though, I would have needed major motivation for that.

Perfect 10: Week 1 Workout 1

All notation: weights x reps x sets

DB Shoulder Presses: 55x3x6
DB Rows (Elbows Out): 55x3x6
GHR: (BWT+10)x3x6
Preacher Curls: 65x3x6

SOB Training: Week 1 Workout 1

Yesterday, I abandoned TBT and decided instead on Chad Waterbury's SOB Training program. The reasons for this? I had already done this program and just could not get motivated to do this again. Also, I was plateaued at 233 lbs and felt I need a "buster". Lastly, after emails from Kris and John McDonald, I realized that I also had a jones for big weight and lots of it. As much as I have to train for PRTs, I have weightlifting goals (like a 300 bench) that I can't keep abandoning.

This program combines two elements and is trained every other day for 32 days. 2 out of every 4 lifting days are heavy with high volume (10x3, 12x2, 6x5 at 5-8RM) and the other two are low weight and high rep (4x15, 3x20, 2x30, 1x50 at 18-50RM). Since there is no room for much else and I've been putting in a lot of GHR work, I'm restarting Perfect 10 and am adding GHRs as a third movement, since I can do those a lot without feeling drained.

Here goes.

Lunchtime:
HIIT Aerobics (Elliptical: Level 18 for work sets a,d Level 9 for active rest): 4 rounds

Evening:

Flat Bench Press: 105x3, 145x3, 175x3x10. Reps weren't very explosive but good and steady. Felt good even mentally to have something heavy in my hands, to strain.

Chinups (Green Band): 10 sets of 3

14" SSB Box Squat: Tested first to 195x3 and 225x3 then a 2RM at 255. After converting that to a 262 1RM (Brzycki's Formula), did 225x3x8 to get my 10 sets at 85% 1RM.

Snatch Grip Deadlifts: warmed up from the SSB squats, I loaded up the bar to 245 lbs and pulled a 2 RM with it. Converted that to a 252 1RM, then pulled 215x3x9.

I'm seriously motivated after this.

Week 2 of Perfect 10

07JAN14: Day 1 (70 seconds rest between sets)(weight x reps x sets):

DB Rows (Elbows Out): 50x3x7
DB Shoulder Presses: 50x3x7. Like torture at the end. Come to think of it, heavy reps were always this way in the past so this may be exactly what I needed.

07JAN15: Day 2 (180 seconds rest between sets)

DB Rows (Elbows Out): 25x25x2
DB Shoulder Presses: 25x25x2. I barely made the first set, it burned. The second set: Made 16 reps, rested 5 seconds, did 5 reps, rested 5 seconds, did, 4 reps.

07JAN16: Day 3 (120 seconds rest between sets)

Was at the gym at Bangor because my son wanted to get some basketball practice in. My friend Desi was there so with the Virtual Meet on the horizon, I decided to test my bench using a one second pause, a spotter, and him watching my body.

Flat Bench Press: Worked up to a 175 for 5 reps, rested for 5 minutes.
1st attempt: 210. Got it slow but steady and clean. 5 minutes rest.
2nd attempt: 225. Desi called me on it. Ass came off the bench slightly and couldn't lock it at the top. Rested 5 minutes.
3rd attempt: 225. Ass came off again and I was too gassed to get it past the halfway point. I have my work cut out for me. Maybe, TBT might not be the thing to do. Need to handle the heavy stuff more often.

T-Bar Row: Worked up to a 140 triple.

Then I did the Perfect 10 thing:
DB Rows (Elbows Out): 35x10x4
DB Shoulder Presses: 35x10x4. It could be the program, or having gotten my CNS amped. But this was easier than last week. Maybe, I could have done 40x10x4!!!


07JAN18: Day 4 (90 seconds rest between sets)

DB Rows (Elbows Out): 45x5x6
DB Shoulder Presses: 45x5x6. This day, too, felt easier. I'm really digging the high frequency stuff for hypertrophy.

Perfect 10: Week 1 Workout 3

HIIT Aerobics (Elliptical): 3 hard rounds

DB Shoulder Presses: 45x5x5
DB Rows (Elbows Out): 45x5x5

Week 2 of both starts tomorrow: I'm practically recovered and am raring to go. I'm also back at 232.5 lbs from 3 weeks ago. My goal at the end of this and TBT in 8 weeks is mid 220s bodyweight, 240 bench, 285 snatch grip DL, 260 front squat.

TBT: Week 1 Workout 3

HIIT Aerobics (Elliptical): 3 hard rounds

Close Grip Pushups: BWTx15x2

GHR (Green Bands): 2 sets of 15

Reverse Curls: 35x15x2

Snatch Grip DL: 125x15x2. As if the high reps weren't hard enough, the 35s made for an even longer pull.

14" Front Box Squat: 90x15x2.

My wife, son, his best friend and I went to the gym on Bangor base. While they played basketball, I supervised my wife's workout and jumped in a few times on some stuff.

15 minutes steady state aerobics.

Hoist Assisted Neutral Grip Chinup (BWT 237.4): 77.4x15, 87.4x11, 97.4x10, 107.4x8, 77.4x15.

Last Two Days

All Notation: Weights x reps x sets

TBT: Week 1 Workout 2 (07JAN10)

HIIT Aerobics (Elliptical): 3 rounds hard

Dips (Test RMs): 15 reps with a green band, 8 with a purple band, 3 with a black band.
Dips (Work sets): 2 sets of 8 with a purple band

14" Front Box Squat: 85x8, 115x8, 135x8. Not easy.

Snatch Grip DL: 135x8, 155x8, 175x8x3. The last set had to be paused at the 5th rep due to my grip giving out. I love what these do for my back and grip, and I suppose my regular deadlift will be like cake afterwards. But this really is one looooong-ass pull!!!

GHR (Test RMs): 15 reps with a green band, 9 with a purple band, 6 with a black band.
GHR (Work sets): 2 sets of 8 with a purple band

Chinups (Green Band): 5x5. We did not get to the gym as we would have wanted because of snow and icy roads so instead of 3 sets of 8 on the Hoist, I got my 24+ reps this way.

Barbell Curls: 65x8x3.

For every workout Chins, GHR, 14" Front Box Squat, and Snatch Grip DL will stay the same except for the rep schemes. My GHR and biceps got better last time I did this so I'm hoping for the same this way. Should get me pretty lean, too, and conditioned. We'll see the results in 8 weeks.

Perfect 10: Week 1 Workout 2 (07JAN11)

DB Shoulder Presses: 35x10x3
DB Rows (Elbows Out): 35x10x3

Perfect 10: Week 1 Workout 1

All Notation: Weights x reps x sets

DB Shoulder Presses: 50x3x6.
DB Rows (Elbows Out): 50x3x6
Metabolic Overdrive (Elliptical): 3 rounds hard.

For the next 9 weeks (week 8 off), these are the two weaknesses I'm addressing via 4-10 different workouts a week (The last weeks of P10 have AM and PM workouts). The rep schemes from 6x3 to as much as 1x50. We'll see if 1) I can stand it and 2)it brings benefit.

TBT Week 1, Workout 1 (Test Day)

Today was to be 3 sets of 5 but, because of the almost 3 weeks off, I decided to test myself to get an idea for the weeks to come. I have got to keep the layoffs to a minimum, it took a bit of motivation just to get started. Because it was a heavy test day, I did no aerobics today. For this cycle, one for Kris' Virtual Meet but also for PRT measurement, there will be no unilateral work and all three days will have chinups and GHR. I'm also thinking of using my off days to bring up two key lifts: DB Shoulder Presses and DB Rows (I'll use Perfect 10 for that).

Close Grip Bench Press: 105x5, 125x5, 145x5, 165x5, 175x4, 195x1. Not bad, in line with what it should be for a 225 bench. If there's anything I learned from the last cycle, I won't lose much if I don't bench heavy but I had better be doing the work with other things. Like dumbbells.

Snatch Grip Deadlifts: 135x5, 160x5, 185x5, 210x4, 235x1. Whatever will make my pull harder. That, and it's my weakest deadlift variation.

14" Front Box Squat: 95x5, 115x5, 135x5, 155x4, 175x2.

Chinups: 1 Rep with purple bands, 2 sets of 5 with green bands. Because of the setup, setup for much higher reps is going to be out of the question. Will have to use an assist machine, when I can.

These three were done in between sets of everything else:
GHR: 3 sets of 5 with bodyweight.
Single Leg Calf Raises: 3 sets of 6 each leg.
Hammer Curls: 15x5, 20x5, 25x5, 30x5, 35x5, 40x2.

Total Body Training: Week 8 in 3 days

All Notation: Weight x Reps x Sets. Rest periods: 2 minutes on Day one and 3. 60 seconds on Day two.

I wanted to get this over with, and I don't want to work out while in New Jersey. So I committed myself to the daunting task of finishing this up in three days time. Barring Friday, where I did intervals in the morning, there will be no aerobics. Also since the weekend was here, I slept a lot more,and did a bit more. Here's how it went:

Day One (Friday night)(Supersets are paired up):

Hammer Front Pulldown (Weight is per movement arm): 35x12, 45x12, 55x12x3
DB Lateral Raises: 8x12x5

DB Shoulder Presses: 25x12, 30x12, 35x12x3
Barbell Curls: 35x12, 45x12, 60x12x3

Decline Twisting Situps: Repped Out at 18, 14, 12, 11, 10 reps
Cybex Donkey Calf Raise: 80x12, 100x12, 120x12

Sumo Deadlift: 135x12, 155x12, 175x12x3
Close Grip Pushups: Repped Out at 14, 12, 11, 10, 9 reps

A portent of things to come, I was so exhausted when it was all done. Question for myself at the end of the night was whether I would be able to pull again the next day.


Day Two(Saturday Afternoon)(Supersets are paired up):

DB Rows (Elbows Out): 25x8, 35x8, 40x8x3
DB Lateral Raises: 12x8x5

DB Bench Press: 35x8, 45x8, 55x8x3
DB Preacher Curls: 15x8, 20x8, 25x8x3

Decline Twisting Situp: Repped Out at 18, 16, 14, 11, 10 reps
Cybex Donkey Calf Raise: 100x8, 120x8, 150x8x3

Snatch Grip Deadlift: 135x8, 155x8, 185x8x3

Hammer ISO Shoulder Press: 45x8, 55x8, 65x8x3

A little easier on because it was lower reps and more dumbbell work. The Snatch Grip DL was the coupe de grace here. After this and a shower, I refueled at Chili's with an order of Southwestern Egg Rolls, a full rack of ribs, and a lot of Coca Cola. The I went to sleep late because my wife called, and The Matrix was on the TV. My back still has a pump, and squats are tomorrow. Great!?!


Day Three (Sunday Afternoon)(Supersets are paired up):

Weighed myself before I began, no shoes and no shirt: 232 lbs. about a 4 lbs drop in two weeks. I'm thrilled. I'm within striking distance of the 220s. But I'm so weak right now it's hardly a motivator. Should have gone to Starbucks. On paper, the pushups and squats will be the killer. Since my back did not feel up to the task, I did my squats on the Hammer V-Squat (Beginning resistance is 54lbs) machine.

Hammer ISO Low Row: 35x18, 45x18, 50x18x3
DB Lateral Raises: 6x18x5

Hammer V-Squat: 139x18, 159x18, 179x18x3

Pushups: Repped Out at 23, 18, 15, 13, 11 reps
BB Preacher Curls: 30x18, 35x18, 40x18x3

Decline Twisting Situp: Repped Out at 19, 17, 15, 12, 10 reps
45 Degree Hyper: Repped Out at 16, 14, 11, 10, 10 reps
Cybex Donkey Calf Raise: 80x18, 100x18, 110x18x3


So, with a whimper and a crawl, it was over. It was a good cycle. I could almost see why in his new book, Chad Waterbury takes out the last 4 weeks: it felt like cardio only worse. But I would do it again, it jacked my metabolism up. I'm back to a 225 bench, while barely benching because of all the DB, Blast Strap, and pushup work. My squat is back and with a faster launch, partly because of the GHR and all the front squats. I went from being able to do 2-3 reps on the GHR to now being able to do 8 reps. My waist is a little smaller but my back, arms, shoulders, and calves are thicker. I also have increased grip strength and more endurance. Triple Total Training is next after the break.

Workouts 06Dec12-06Dec14

Today, I am doing nothing but relaxing. With morning PT and the workouts themselves, the only thing keeping me sane is an added nap from 4:30PM to 6:30PM on most days. That and, since I want to finish TBT, I will finish it Sunday so that will be 3 workouts in a row. I don't want to workout while I'm in NJ next week.

06Dec12 (All Notation: weight x reps x sets):
Speed Intervals: 5 intervals of 2 minutes running at 7.3 MPH and 1 minute walking at 3.8 MPH. Heart rate did not hit 180+ until the last interval. That's great. I'll probably step it up on Friday.

Close Grip Pulldown w/V-Handle: 70x8, 85x8, 105x8x3

Hammer Pullover: 65x8, 80x8, 100x8x3

DB Lateral Raises: 6x18x3, 8x12x3

Seated Row: 70x8, 85x8, 105x8x3

Hammer ISO Low Row: 45x8, 55x8, 65x8x3

Decline Twisting Situps: 3 sets of 14 reps
Leg Lowering: 3 sets of 3
Birddogs: 3 sets of 20 seconds each
45 degree Hyper: 3 sets of 14
20 minutes on the elliptical as a cooldown. This took so long, and some of the movements do nothing for me. Considering that I deadlift twice a week, I'll move the Hammer low row to day 3 and only do the abs and laterals on the off day. That, and burnout is creeping up on me.

06Dec13 (All Notation: weight x reps x sets):
Since Monday's morning run was stopped due to rain, we all paid for it today with a longer run. The weather was colder, too. When I was done, it looked like steam was coming out of my wet clothes.

TBT Week 7 Workout 3:

Pushups: Repped Out at 22, 16, 12 reps.

12" Box Squat: 100x18, 125x18x3. The original goal was 135x18x3. 125 brought me down to earth. I performed 14 reps on my first set, took a 10 second breather at the top, then did the other four. Second set: 12 reps, rest 5 seconds, 3 reps, rest 5 seconds, 3 reps. Last set, 10 reps, then 4 reps, then 3 reps, then 1. Slept like a baby . . . . . had a hard time getting up this morning.

Preacher Curl: 30x18, 35x18, 40x18x3.

Hammer ISO Low Row: 35x18, 45x18, 50x18x3.

45 degree Hyper: Repped Out at 16, 14, 12, 10 reps.

Cybex 45 degree Donkey Calf Raise: 80x18, 100x18, 110x18x3.

Total Body Training: Week 7 Workout 2

Ran with the group this morning and got rained on while doing it. No worries, it was actually warm today. The cold snap is gone for now.

Evening Workout (All Notation: weight x reps x sets):

DB Bench Press: 35x8, 45x8, 55x8x3

DB Rows (Elbows Out): 25x8, 35x8, 40x8x3

Bulgarian Split Squat: 10x8, 20x8, 30x8x3

Hammer ISO Shoulder Press: 45x8, 55x8, 65x8x3

DB Preacher Curls: Worked up to a 25 lbs 8RM, then a 30 lbs 5RM, then did a set of 25x8.

Snatch Grip DL: Was going to test an RM but decided for future workouts to just play it safe and take a guess at a 1RM. I guessed 265 and calculated from there: 145x8, 165x8, 195x8x3.

Just Aerobics

45 minutes on the elliptical. Went to Barnes and Noble and bought The New Rules of Lifting; so far a great read. I might try that Metabolic Overload for a few of my aerobic days to lean out quicker. Ate sushi and hibachi fillet mignon chunks for lunch, and a big coffee and cookie at the bookstore. Not exactly bringing balance to the Force, but I had to have it and it was DELICIOUS!!!

Extra Back Work

Speed Intervals: 5 intervals of 2 minutes running at 7.3 MPH and 1 minute walking at 3.8 MPH

Close Grip Pulldown w/V-Handle: 55x18, 70x18, 75x18
Hammer Pullover: 50x18, 60x18, 70x18
LifeFitness Lateral Raise: 50x18, 60x18, 70x18
Seated Row: 55x18, 70x18, 75x18
Hammer ISO Low Row: 35x18, 45x18, 50x18
Decline Twisting Situps: 3 sets of 14 reps
Leg Lowering: 3 sets of 3
Birddogs: 3 sets of 20 seconds each
45 degree Hyper: 3 sets of 14

20 minutes on the elliptical as a cooldown.

Ouch!!!

After Wednesday's test on Squat and yesterday's test on Sumo DL, today I felt edgy and burned out. So no weights today. Heck, I didn't want to run with the group this morning but you know how the military is. How's that for motivation?!?

I did 30 minutes on the elliptical in the evening, and went to bed early. Thank god for the weekend!!!

Total Body Training: Week 7 Workout 1

All Notation: weight x reps x sets. Got up at the ungodly hour of 5:45AM to do 45 minutes on the elliptical machine and enjoy the free continental breakfast before reporting to work at 7:30AM.

Evening Workout:

Hammer ISO Front Pulldown (Weight per movement arm): 40x12, 50x12, 60x12x3

DB Shoulder Press: 25x12, 30x12, 35x12x3

DB Lateral Step Ups: 10x12, 15x12, 20x12x3

Close Grip Pushups (Arms Tucked): Repped out to 14, 14, 13 reps

Sumo DL: 135x12, 155x12, 175x12, 195x9, 225x6, 245x4, 265x2, 285x1. Started out trying to test out my 12RM. After 3 minutes of catching my breath after set 4, I went for the 1RM.

Barbell Curls: 35x12, 45x12, 55x12x3

Cybex Seated Calf: 40x12, 50x12, 60x12x3

All in all, a great workout that left me fiending for some sleep:)

Testing in Tennessee

Spent my Tuesday sleeping off jet lag and 3 days of little sleep. Today, I ran 1.5 miles in the morning with the unit I'm working for, and I went to the gym to see what they had and maybe test it. A lot of old Hammer machines (Great), some Lifefitness machines (not so great, save for the side lateral), and the free weights were enough. Surprisingly, they had a wide assortment of bars, some boards up to a 3-board, a step up box. Then I beamed when I saw a 12" box constructed out of 1 inch thick boards almost like Jenga. So I tested out on the back movements (at least 5-10 lbs stronger than I was a month ago), DB Bench Press of 70 lbs each arm, and a 245 double on 12" Box Squat. I've gained pretty good on this program, and all the GHR and squat rep work has made for a stronger squat out of the bottom. It's all in the exercise choices.

Now I'm beat, time for more sleep.

Total Body Training: Week 6 Workout 3

On to Week 7. Not a moment too soon, either. I at least wanted to do this before my trip to Tennessee next week. Don't know what equipment I will have to work with there.

Arched Back GMs: 115x12, 135x12, 150x12x2
Squats: 135x12, 155x12, 170x12x2.
Pullups (Green Band): 4 sets of 8. I cannot break 8 reps with these yet.
Bar Pushups (Feet Elevated): 4 sets of 12.
GHR (Purple Band): 4 sets of 12
Barbell Curls: 75x5, 85x3, 90x1 (5 lbs PR), 60x8x3

Total Body Training: Week 6 Workout 2

All notation: weight x reps x sets. Antogonist supersets for week 6. Rest was 60 seconds between sets.

Conventional Deadlift: 145x8, 175x8, 205x8x2. Better than last week's effort. Both faster and easier.

GHR (Monster Mini Band): BWTx8x4. Last time, I needed a light band to do these, so I'm happy.

Barbell Upright Rows: 30x8, 40x8, 50x8x2. Much prefer these with dumbbells, I could feel why the barbell version gets a bad rap. Not that hurt too much but it didn't feel totally right.

Barbell Incline Bench Press: 85x8, 115x8, 145x8x2.

Skullcrushers: 30x8, 40x8, 50x8x2

Incline DB Curls: 15x8, 20x8, 25x8x2

Total Body Training: Week 6 Workout 1

All notation: weight x reps x sets. Antogonist supersets for week 6. Rest was 120 seconds between sets.

Squats: 115x18x2. Better than last week and still just as hard. After this, I'm not looking forward to weeks 7 & 8: First day is 3 sets of 18!!!

GHR (Green/Black Bands): BWTx18x2. Used to need a green and purple band to do 15 reps, so this is an improvement for me.

DB Rows (elbows out): tested to a 55 lbs 1RM, then did 25x18x2. Did not have access to the Hammer ISO Row here at home, so this did the trick.

Pushups: Repped out at 22 and 18 reps. Done at a medium pace.

Lateral Step Ups: BWTx18x2. Truly beating the dead horse.

Barbell 21s: 50x21x2

Single Leg Calf Raises: BWTx7x5

Ok, NO BACKBLOGGING!!!

God, I haven't blogged in a while and so much built up that it's almost discouraging. I have to get better about this. It's been busy, in between training myself and my wife. So I'm gonna summarize short and sweet, then start tomorrow with my first workout of Total Body Training week 6. And I'll get back to seeing what everyone else is doing.

When I started in October, I was up to 245 lbs because of a lot of inactivity partially due to a broken rib. I am now down to 236 lbs but more solid. Last week, week 5 got away from sets of 5, 8, and 15 reps and introduced sets of 18, 8, and 12 reps. 18 rep sets of squats were pure torture but it broke my weight plateau of 238.

My changes to this program reflect my goal of a better PRT in April, since I was medically waived from the fall one and I want to impress the Navy. I've done nothing but pushup variations instead of benches, and lots of Blast Strap ones When I started back up in October, my bench had dropped to 205: it's back up to 225 but with more control. My squat is 275 and climbing, but I now have more depth and faster liftoff from the bottom. The program has two single joint movements every workout that are supposed to address the weakest bodyparts so I do a bicep movement and GHRs for those days, using various band combinations to allow me to hit all the rep ranges. Now I can do 6 reps on the GHR with no bands instead of 3 (Still no Kris, 20 something more reps before I can give him a go) and with all the front squats, that's what has probably helped my squat. All the dumbbell work and chinning has had an unplanned training effect on my grip: I can now do a 275 deadlift double overhand.

On the running front, I pulled a calf on week three of my running program and was almost ready to bag it when I read on a Navy running program used for people preparing for the SEALS that week 3 is for biking or swimming because a large number of BUD/S trainees injured themselves running in the third week. That kept me in it. So I walked the rest of that week, and started up again with no problem. I also changed my goal: I will work up to a 20 minute goal only but will train for 30 minutes next PRT. Last week was 4 circuits of 2 minutes running and 1 minute walking at 7.3 MPH (8 minutes running volume)and that was tough but the third day was good. This week is 6 circuits of 1.5 minutes running and 1 minute walking (9 minutes running volume) Since the run time dropped, I increased the speed to 7.5 MPH. I expect when I do next week's 5 circuits of 2 minutes running and 1 minute walking at 7.3 MPH, it will take less out of me because of that.

I have not done the elliptical on off days as planned. Instead, I have used those two days on the weekdays at lunchtime to do abs for 30 minutes. I'm still getting leaner, but now my midsection is getting stronger. I will start using the elliptical next week when I get home, starting at level one.

My wife recently had her checkup and her blood sugar is holding steady at normal, as is her blood pressure, and she's still progressing downward weight wise. She was able to do a 15 inch box squat with 115 for 8 reps last week, 185 for 3 sets of 5 on trap bar deadlifts, 35 lbs dumbell incline benches for 3 sets of 5. My goals for the near future for her is her first set of wheels for the bench (135 lbs) and 2 sets of wheels (225 lbs) for regular squat. I'm not telling her that, though: it's a surprise;)

BTW, I'm missing the Prilepin and Westside workouts but I think when their turn comes I will be better at it. This has been a good change.

My Running Program for April 2007 PRT

The following program is the one I'm currently following in preparation for the April 2007 Navy Physical Readiness Test (PRT). It is a combination of two 10-week beginners programs from Runners World, one designed to get you to 20 minutes of continuous running and one for 30 minutes. A program like this was what I used to drop my 1.5 mile running time from 15:22 (10/2005) to 12:54 (06/2006). Because of how that went, I changed things up a lot. Thanks to Kris at Tsampa.org for hosting the file. I have also included a race calculator from Santa Clarita Runners club to assist.

http://powervault.tsampa.org/caraballo/programs/28week_running_program.xls

http://www.scrunners.org/calculator.php?hrs=0&min=11&sec=23&distance=1.5&units=1&Submit=Calculate

A few explanations are in order, to explain my rationale for this programs structure. There are 3 running days on this program, vice 4. The other 2 or 3 days are spent on the elliptical and could even be walking days but it must be at least 30 minutes. Last time, I tried 4 days of running while I was lifting and ended up with banged up knees. 3 days did the job for me. Since I was doing intervals to build up my run time, I found that I need at least two sessions where I was doing 30 minutes of continuous work so that my steady distance running wouldn't suffer. The elliptical work filled the bill: it gets harder as the weeks go but tapers off towards the end, and it took the shock out of training. I'm training at running speeds between 7.3 and 6.9 MPH, but mostly at 7.3 MPH. I'm gunning for a Good-High on the run, so I need to hit a 12:23 time and the 7.3 MPH is a bit below that. I always run the first half below 6:40 (last run I ran it in 6:32) without stopping, so I calculated my low end speed off of that. I will run 7.3 MPH at all times until fatigue forces me to switch (so far, it hasn't), and then I'll adjust as I see fit. When I ran like this before, I was able to run longer before I had to walk.

The one other thing you will notice is that total run volume per session is included for each week. When I began training last time, the workouts were torture: the first week was 10 minutes of total running in 2 minute shots, and I was not in shape for either. It took me a long time to be able to run longer than 3 minutes, and it took even longer to improve that. Before beginning this program, walk for two weeks (I did more than that, thanks to a broken rib). Running volume for the 1st week is 6 minutes (since I can usually maintain good speed for a little longer than that without fail) and slowly builds up from there. The reason for the length of this program is that there is a more gradual buildup of run volume. After peaking at 20 minutes in Week 16, you get a short reprieve: the volume stays close to 20 minutes for 3 weeks but you're back to intervals vice one long run. The week before last, 29 minutes total run volume, is almost like running the course twice.

I am posting this as opposed to writing what I do each day for aerobics. But mainly I do this to show a progression and a plan. In most Navy PT that I have seen, people just run with no real purpose other than to last 1.5 miles or do the bare minimum, or with no rhyme or reason or quantifiable goal. This is my attempt. I will tweak it as I go and hopefully it will get better. As for why I'm not running continuously until the events, I don't need to except when I peak. I pound myself enough with the iron, too, and most sports don't require 3 miles of continuous running constantly. Now, if running a 5/10K, that would be different. Lastly, for weight loss, this works better for me because of the intensity.

BTW, I am on Week 3, 8 minutes total run volume per session. And I'm doing fine.

Backblogging

I'm trying to keep up but it's been tough. Not only have I been training but I have to manage around training my wife, too. We don't train on the same days: on her workout days I always make sure all the weights are ready and planned out, and that a full dinner is prepared so that after she's done working out, she doesn't have to wait to eat. She is ready to wrap up week 2 of Chad Waterbury's Total Body Training and so far, I think she is ready to surpass her old goals. We also got her down under 240 lbs, and her blood sugar profile has improved a lot. Yesterday's workout for her, BTW, looked like this

Antagonistic Pairings (Weight x reps x sets):
Flat Bench Press: 85x5x3
Dumbbell Rows (Elbows Out): 30x5x3
15" SSB Box Squat: 130x5x3.
Romanian Deadlift: 115x5x3
Lying Tricep Extensions: 35x5x3
DB Hammer Curls: 25x3, 25x4, 25x3

I will try to be more current. Try.

TBT Week 1 Workout 2

Lunchtime Run:
LifeFitness Treadmill, 1.0 Incline: 6 intervals of 1 minute walking at 3.8 MPH and 1 minute running at 7.3 MPH

Evening (The rest periods were 90 seconds between sets.)
Incline DB Bench Press: 45x8x3
DB Upright Rows: 15x8x3
15" Front Box Squat: 125x8x3
Arched Back Good Mornings (Wide Stance): 145x8x3
Assisted GHR (Green Bands): BWTx8x3
Hammer Curls: 25x8x3

Lunchtime Aerobics

LifeFitness Elliptical, Level 1 Hill: 30 Minutes

Lunchtime Run

LifeFitness Treadmill, 1.0 Incline: 6 intervals of 1 minute walking at 3.8 MPH and 1 minute running at 7.3 MPH

Lunchtime Aerobics

LifeFitness Elliptical, Level 1 Hill: 30 Minutes

TBT Week 1 Workout 1

Lunchtime Run:
LifeFitness Treadmill, 1.0 Incline: 6 intervals of 1 minute walking at 3.8 MPH and 1 minute running at 7.3 MPH. Tough, but not bad.

Evening (Now that I have an idea of weights to use, I just started over):
Blast Strap Pushups: BWTx5x3.
DB Rows (Elbows Out): 40x5x3
15" SSB Box Squat: Worked up to a 225 5Rm and a 235 4Rm.
Sumo DL: 215x5x3.
Assisted Dips (Purple Band): BWTx5x3
Barbell Curls: 60x5x3

TBT Week 1 Workout 2

Past three Lunches: 30 Minutes of Walking.

Evening (The rest periods were 90 seconds between sets.)
Incline DB Bench Press: Worked up to a 45 lbs 8RM
DB Upright Rows: Worked up to a 20 lbs 8RM
13" Box Front Squat: Worked up to 105 lbs 8RM, 125 lbs 5RM
Arched Back Good Mornings (Wide Stance): Worked up to a 135 lbs 8RM, 155 lbs 5RM.
BB Bicep Curls: Worked up to a 55 lbs 8RM
Band-Assisted Dips: Green Band x 15, Purple Bandx8, Monster-Mini x 3, Purple Band x 8

This workout left me tired, but I am starting to adjust. After all this time of low rep heavy work, the high reps are draining.

Next week, the running begins. I'll post something on that later.

Once Again, It's On

Today, I start Chad Waterbury's Total Body Training. My plan is to do that for 8 weeks, followed by 10x3 For Fat Loss, Triple Total Training, Quattro Dynamo, then SOB Training. A total of 26 weeks, which leaves me with 2 weeks to push up my pushups and situps and a week to deload. The programs are all full body, and the last program has a lot of high rep work: PRT is 29 weeks away and while I will accept a Good-High Grade (Last PRT was a Good-Medium), I might gun for an Excellent - - - my 1.5 mile run would have to hit 11:23. If you want the spreadsheets with all the programs, here's the link: http://216.17.22.84/...CW_Programs.zip. Save to Desktop.

Yesterday, I spent recovering from a cold but I did train my wife - - - she's doing the Total Body Training, too. She was down 2 lbs from a 3 weeks ago, and her blood work was better. I think she should get her own blog, but we'll see. Her number's yesterday were:

Flat BB Bench Press: 3 sets of 5 with a last set of 80 4RM.
DB Rows: 3 sets of 5 with 25 lbs.
14" SSB Box Squats: 3 sets of 5 with a top set of 115 5RM.
Romanian Deadlift: 3 sets of 5 with 85 lbs.
DB Hammer Curls: 3 sets of 5 with 20 lbs.
Single Leg Calf Raises: 3 sets of 5 with BWT, to get a hang of the movement.

These are my numbers today. Since I've been out of the game for a while. I'm just working to the max recommended RMs for the first week, then calculate a 1RM and continue to week two. The odd weeks (1, 3, so on) are straight sets; the even weeks are antogonistic supersets.

Flat BB Bench Press: Worked up to a 175 5RM, then repeated.
Barbell Rows: 95x5x3
15" SSB Box Squats: Worked up to a 225 5RM, then repeated.
Sumo DL: Worked up to a 235 5RM, then barely repeated it. SSB's fault.
DB Preacher Curls: 25x5x3.
Single Leg Calf Raises: BWTx5x3.

This was not in the program, but on my son's insistence I gave it a go and liked the idea no matter how sick it made me feel:)

Trap Bar Farmer's Walk: 160 lbs for 1 block (one end of the street to the other, put down 2 times)

I'm pretty out of shape. It is what it is. But if this workout was any indication, it's gonna be a welcome change. I felt thoroughly worked out and sweaty. It's on!!!

Beginning

It's great to be back!!!

First off, a primer. Last drill weekend, a Navy doctor waived me from the October/November Physical Readiness Test because while he told me that I could resume training at the beginning of October, it would not be enough time to get ready for the test. So I have about 29 weeks to prepare for the spring one. Good for me, because I'm out of shape. I 'm back at 242 lbs: while it wasn't major weight gain, I've lost some muscle and conditioning and I feel a little rusty.

Of course, this also made ponder my direction as far as weightlifting goes. My right shoulder is now loose and pain free again, as are some of my other aches and pains. What made me think was my weight: there really ain't much room for error or anything else. At this weight, my energy levels ain't as good and I snore more. I'm pretty sure my knees would ache less, too. After every PRT, my legs are hammered. I've always said my best bodyweight was around 196-206. I would like to be at a point where I'm always in great shape, not just when Navy physicals are happening. At a lighter weight, this layoff might have not been as bad.

But the other thing that made me think was my wife. She was recently diagnosed as the kind of diabetic that didn't need insulin shots but needed to watch it. She was getting close to me in weight (in good shape, she would be around 170) and after years of trying to get her back on the wagon, this was the motivation she needed to push her over the edge. Now, I'm training her and her body is starting to respond. I don't want that for myself, either.

My rib is about 95% better. I still feel a slight twinge when I turn to look behind me pulling out of a parking spot, but it's tiny. I can sleep on my left again and I was able to do 10 reps of Blast Strap pushups with no pain. I've spent this week doing level 1 on the elliptical and treadmill to start building towards a 12:23 - 12:00 1.5 mile run (sub-12 min if I can) to start out, and that's kicking my ass. I also started to test my lifts. Right now, since I want to get leaner, I'm leaning towards hypertrophy more than straight power. I also want to do something different. I have a spreadsheet of Chad Waterbury's programs that I'm looking at since a lot of his programs are full body, have variety, and cycle in heavy weights enough that I won't lose strength (heck, I might gain some). So after 4 weeks of 10-15 rep stuff to get my body up to speed, the Total Body Training cycle will be first.

BTW, I'm still doing Kris' virtual meet in February. That would be a great test of strength for me. The timing couldn't be better. And if ther's one last thing I learned from all this, the chicken and the trampoline, I will be smarter with my risk taking:)

The Season of My Discontent

I was gonna call this "Things 240 lbs People Should Not Do", but I digress if only for a moment!

First was the bad chicken. Now, while on my vacation of all things, an accident involving hubris and a water trampoline. August has not been my month.

The day after we arrive in Lake Chelan, WA, I was on an Aqua Jump (a big floating trampoline). Mind you, I can do a front flip on these things. Well, I gave a back flip a try. Got enough height. Got my tuck. Not enough rotation speed. I landed right on my head.

This story could have obviously ended much, much worse. But it didn't. I tightened up everything just in time. But I knew something was wrong the minute I tried to swim back to shore and something was moving around in my chest. I didn't go to a doc at that moment because I didn't want to ruin my family's vacation on the account of my stupidity. But yesterday, my first morning back home and my 36th birthday, was spent at my doctor getting a battery of tests done and x-rays. The good news was that there was no damage to my neck or vertebrae. But my suspicions were confirmed when they found left rib #5 fractured (I landed while still tucked).

I didn't get the Vicodin as prescribed: I'm iffy about anything that strong, and I can deal with the pain. It is, however, very annoying and inconvenient. I've been told to avoid vigorous activity for a month: no running, nothing that would involve my lifting my left arm, nothing that will cause me to twist or jostle, no jumping. I tried floor presses today and it was ok for a moment until I felt my rib starting to move. I tried SSB bar squats,too (since it keeps my arms close), and learned just as fast how much load the ribs bear even from above (most of the pain was in the bottom position). Dragging sled won't be a problem (belt around the waist), neither will walking. I can't sleep on my left side: I did and when I woke up the rib settled into place and made me double over. Damn if I sneeze or cough, can't laugh too hard. Since it was not caused by severe blunt trauma, the rib was still in one piece and should heal without surgery.

I could take the gung-ho route and train with it. But one month is a small price to pay compared to what could have been, or a badly healed bone. I won't sit still, but I will be smart about it.

Know Your Chicken:)

I came home Wednesday evening at 4:30 just hungry but knew I would have dinner in 2 hours. And I didn't want a protein shake. So I raided the fridge and found a juicy piece of chicken breast: smelled good, looked good, tasted great with some ketchup on it - - - just that. I always have a rule that anything one week old in the fridge gets tossed: my wife would tell me that evening that it had been in the fridge since I left for Virginia, which would have made it about 3 weeks old. To make a long story short and spare the graphics, I'm just now slowly getting over a bad case of food poisoning. 5 lbs and a lot of Gatorade and Imodium later. So, my training week will really begin when I get back from my one week vacation.

I did bench only today, since I have to get ready for vacation and didn't want to push my luck. Worked up to a 205 single with chains attached (a 10 lbs PR), then 15 reps with 135 lbs bar weight only.

DE Bench

Lunchtime:
Running Intervals (3.8 MPH walking, 7.2 MPH running on a 1.0 incline): 7 intervals of 1 minute walking and 1 minute running. My goal for this PRT is a 12:23 1.5 mile run, so this running speed should help get me there.

Evening:
Flat Bench Press w/80 lbs of chain (half on the floor at lockout): 45x3, 65x3, 90x3x8. One day, I will experiment less and work out more:) Anyways, while in Virginia on military business, I at least get 3 sessions of benching in and I noticed that while I could hit 240 (however slow and drawn out), I could not triple 225. I also found that I could do 20 lbs more than my max on the 3 board, and I'm sure more than that for 4 or 5. I also wanted to make my program shorter for a while: PRT's coming, I slacked off on aerobics for a little too long. So I dusted off Ryan Kennelly's program that helped me get 240 the first time but added the chains and started off at 40% of a 225 1RM (At week 13, the goal is a 225 triple with chains). The ME days will not be for benching, but for shoulder pressing.

Superset:
Blast Strap Pushups: 30 reps in 6 sets
Inverse Rows: 24 reps in 6 sets. 4 reps per set was all I could manage with the inverse rows, feet raised by 2 45s. I got 5 reps per set on the pushups, a 1 rep improvement per set. My goal is to do more in less sets over time.

Superset:
Chinups w/Lt Bands: Failure at 3, 3, 2, 2, 2 reps
External Rotations: 3x15, 5x15, 8x12x2, 10x10

Jump Rope: 10 minutes of jumping. A little something I picked up from Chad Waterbury's 10x3 For Fat Loss, something to push my metabolism up. You could just tell I was a beginner:)


Addendum: I never did get to do the meet. My transfer to my new Navy Reserve unit was completed just before I left for Norfolk, and I learned that they do not drill on the same schedule as the rest of the Reserve Center. They drill on the second weekend of a month, and sometimes the third, instead of the first weekend. So I had to pass on the meet since I had drill that weekend.

SSB Yoke Bar Review Update

I saw this posted on Elite FTS, by Jim Wendler as an answer on the Q&A. The question was in regards to the weight of the SSB Yoke Bar with the optional handles attached. The answer was 75 lbs. So now we know. That, and my speed work was miscalculated and my max test was, too:)

Totally Gonzo DE Bench:)

I was looking at Kris' blog when I read a routine called the Press-centric Raw Bench Routine. Intrigued, I tried a few things like doing the speed movement after the heavy movement, and flyes.

Bench Press with 80 lbs of chain (1/2 on the floor at lockout, deloaded at the bottom, all weights indicated is bar weight): 55x10, 70x8, 95x6, 115x4, 140x3, 165x2, 195x1. I'm seeing why Louie Simmons recommends 1 par of chains only for someone at my level of benching. With the lead chain included, I'm locking out an extra 50 lbs, and the nature of chains made every set a job. It took a bit for me to unrack the bar at 195 and since the chains move, my wrists were feeling it. 195 came down fast, but I was tight enough to send it right back up. Note to self: get wrist wraps.

Bench Press w/Light Bands: 120x3x8. As Kris mentioned, doing DE after a max should result in faster DE work. Sure enough, it was almost too fast. The first two sets were sloppy, so I had to adjust my tightness and slow the descent a bit.

Incline Flyes: 10x10, 15x10, 20x10, 25x10, 30x8.

Triset:
GHR DB Preacher Curls: 20x10x4
Band Pull-aparts w/Light Band: 4 sets of 2-4 reps.
Band Pull-aparts w/Monster Minis: 4 sets of 2-4 reps

Physioball "Y": 3x12, 5x10, 8x7, 10x5, 12x2.

ME Squat

So, why not DE Bench? The answer is that I decided that my last workout before the contest will be DE Bench, so I just scheduled all my workouts backwards from there.

Superset:
Sumo Deadlift: 135x5, 155x5, 175x5, 205x5, 225x5, 245x5. Not much speed, but really good form. I think while I'm gone I'll do those for speed day, too, instead of squats. The sumo has played second-fiddle to my conventional DL for way too long.
Blast Strap Pushups: 5 sets of 3, 1 set of 4. Ok, how do I go from being able to do 56 pushups tops to this?!? The handles were very close to the floor. I had to bust ass to keep my arms from wanting to spread out, and I was very shaky. The set of 4 was a case of me contracting my back harder and tucking a little better, but that only improved things by one rep. My stabilizers, evidently, need work.

GHR: 5 sets of 2. I'm not Kris:) The last two sets were done with a pair of monster minis. I'll get there.

Light Band Pullthroughs: 4 sets of 10

Situps: 4 sets of 50

Single Leg Calf Raises: 5 sets of 5. Humbled again, these are hard for me, too.


I lay exposed;(

Short Review: SSB Yoke Bar

The SSB bar is little longer than the Texas Power Bar (maybe a little longer) and weighs in at 60 lbs. The original SSB had a capacity of 1500 lbs and I'll gander a guess and say this one is close to the same capacity. It has a gussett that helps provide strength and stability to the sleeve and the bar. It has a strong, sturdy feel and is rackable. I bought mine with the extended handles since I felt it would provide easier balance and stability when using the bar, and allow me to put my hands lower to really give my shoulders a break. If you do barbell lunges or step ups, the handles are worth the extra $30US.

First thing I noticed when unracking the bar was that it took more effort to do so. That's because, as you all have read, the bars forward camber forces the weight (and the person) forward. If you've ever read Fred Hatfield's "POWER" and seen the picture of someone using an SSB while holding on to the rack, it is to that extent. It tried to force me forward even more than the Manta Ray, which also places the bar higher, does. As you can tell from the video, this bar practically humbled me. For all the back work I do, and I got thrown over at the bottom. I might have to learn this squat variation from the beginning as if it were different, rather than treating it like a squat with a different bar. Should be fun. That said, the bar is very comfortable: ample padding, and the bar stays put.

One flub in this video: I set the j-hooks a tad high. Thus, the tip-toeing to unrack it:)

http://powervault.tsampa.org/caraballo/video/ssb_experiment.wmv

DE Squat (+ Bench test)

Lunchtime (Weight is per movement arm):

Hammer MTS High Rows: 45x10, 55x8, 65x6, 75x6, 90x1, 80x6, 95x1
Hammer ISO Rows: 50x10, 60x8, 70x6, 85x6, 100x3, 90x6, 105x2.

Evening:

Band Bench Press w/Light Bands (test): 45x10, 70x8, 95x6, 120x4, 135x2, 155x1, 175x1, 195x1. As I'm 4 weeks out from the meet, I decided to use the same speed day setup I used to help me get my 240 bench the first time. Only now, my setup was a finger wider (now middle finger on the rings). 190 was my best before with a closer grip. Not only was this a 5 pound best but I could feel a big diffrence with all my prior work. I had a tighter setup, a faster launch from the bottom, the weight never felt as if it was gonna get stuck, and my lockout was good despite the bands. My planned speed days look like this: 50%1RM (based on a 240 bench) for 8 sets of 3 with light bands, rest 3 minutes, then [based on best band bench]85% for 6 reps, 100% for 1 rep, 90% for 6 reps, 105% for 1 rep, then 15 reps with 60%. I'm gunning for a 105% single of 225 lbs, with bands, on week 4.

SSB Box squats w/80 lbs of chain: 45x10, 75x8, 105x6, 135x4, 165x2, 180x2x8. A misnomer, since the last 5 sets were not very fast at all. The bar and chains changed everything: I had to fight to stay upright, and the chains pretty much exposed my lack of speed. Less bar weight next time.

Speed Deadlifts: 200x1x10.

Sled Pullthroughs: 5 trips with 50 lbs.

Sled Backwards walk: 5 trips around the neighborhood is 2 miles, I walked one of those and just about crashed to the grass.

Abs: just mixed up some movements in a circuit 4 times.

Gym

Enclosed is the picture of my home gym setup. The rack just needs to be mounted, and I need to get a bar holder, but it is essentially complete. It's an Elite R2 Rack and GHR for the main pieces. I have a curl bar, a Trap Bar, Texas Deadlift Bar, and an SSB Yoke Bar. Some things, like the weights, Elliptical, rubber flooring, and dumbbells were bought at a Busy Body fitness store in Tacoma. I have 80 lbs of chain and bands up to an average band, 1-5 boards, Blast Straps, and whatever I had before all this like a Manta Ray and a Sting Ray, a forearm bar, pushup bars, exercise ball, sled. Anything else will be very small like posters and a dry erase board. Place needs a boom box - - - that's upstairs.

ME Bench

I assembled the gym yesterday, the rack just needs to be mounted to wood. So I just got started using it today. I'll be working out for the next 4 days straight to get caught up, then be back at it Monday. These next two weeks will be experimental, with bands and chains. Then, the next two weeks in Norfolk, VA will be mostly straight weight, bands only for speed bench and squat. The Monday prior to the meet (August 7), I'll work up to a 3RM on the 2-board and do light accessory work. Whatever I get on the 2-board will be my second attempt, and I'll figure out from there what my 3rd attempt will be. I'm nervous, but excited. I'll get pictures up tonight.

Close Grip Pause Bench w/80 lbs of chain (numbers are bar weight): barx10, 65x8, 85x5, 105x5, 135x5, 165x1. An explanation: half of the chain is on the floor at lockout, so I was locking out an extra 40 lbs at lockout (maybe more with the lead chain, but I won't count that). I counted "one-two" at the bottom, then pressed. I was thinking of doing this with 40 lbs of chain only (20 lbs additional at lockout), but I thought "I can 3-board 20 more pounds than my max." My first time benching with chains, and it was demanding. I also finally got my leg drive figured out so my benching was solid.

Close Grip Pause Bench (Straight Weight): 165x3, 185x1. I attempted a second rep at 185 and got stapled. The 185 single was slow but I was happy to nail it.

5-board Press: 185x3, 215x3, 245x3. I could have done more but just wanted to establish a baseline.

Wide Grip Pullup w/Light Bands: 7 sets of 2.

Straight Bar Extensions: 45x10, 50x10, 55x10, 60x6.

3-Way Shoulder (Front raise/lateral raise/band pull-aparts): 4 sets with 5, 8, 10, 8 lbs. The pull aparts were done first with a light band to exhaustion, the switched to the monster minis and did the same. This smoked my delts.

Hammer Curls: worked up to 35 lbs 5RM, then 40x1.

Physioball "T": 5x8, 8x6, 10x4, 12x2, 8x4, 5x7

DE Squat

Manta Ray Parallel Box Squat: 45x8, 75x6, 105x6, 135x2, 165x2, 195x2x8, 225x1, 255x1, 285x1. I was supposed to stop at 255 but since I didn't squat on Monday, I wanted to end it on a better note. The 285 was smooth.

Speed DL (Conventional): 230x1x8, 265x1, 300x1. The 300 was smooth but after all the squatting, it was also a drain.

Back Extensions: 25x10x4.

Birddogs: 6 sets each side.

Weighted Ball Crunches: 25x8x4.

Seated Calf Raises: 60x10, 70x8, 80x8, 80x8.

ME Bench

Legs Up Pause Bench Press: 45x10, 70x8, 95x5, 115x5, 145x5, 165x5, 190x4 (4RM). The foure reps were real strong, but I had nothing for the 5th one.

3-Board Bench Press: 195x3, 225x3, 245x2. I could blame it on the prior heavy work, or I could have gone lighter on the prior two sets. I'm a little bummed that I didn't get the third rep but I have to remember that in the Elite Beginners Manual, there will be waves where the 2 and 3 boards are used as ME movements all their own. So, I'll be happy:)

Hoist Assisted Wide Pullups (BWT 240.3 lbs): 90.3x10, 100.3x8, 110.3x6, 120.3x4. Decided that everytime I hit 10 reps with a level of assistance, I wont use it the next workout. I did more reps today.

DB Overhead Press: 25x15x3

Reverse Curls: 30x15x3

Physioball "W": 5x8, 8x8, 10x6, 10x5.

I'm thinking of my next bench cycle, and it will have more full range movements. My main ME movement will be close grip pause bench presses with chains, and my DE movement will be arched bench press with bands. As such, I won't have to do boards or rack lockouts. I'll figure something out soon. Like a goal.

Extra Back Work

Hammer MTS Row: 40x10, 50x8, 60x6, 70x6, 85x1, 75x6, 90x1, 50x15

Hammer ISO Row: 70x6x3

Hammer MTS High Row: 55x10x4

DE Bench

Arched Bench Presses: 45x10, 70x8, 95x6, 115x4, 135x3x8, 155x2, 180x1.

2-Board Press: 180x3, 210x3, 240x3. The last 240 was painfully slow.

Hoist T-Bar Row: Worked up to a 155 lbs 1RM. I was at Bangor gym, no Hammer Strength stuff there and I felt charged up for back.

Nautilus Shoulder Press: 90x10x4

Superset:
DB Preacher Curls: 20x10x4.
External Rotations: 8x15, 10x12x2, 12x10

Extra Work:Lats

Close Grip Chinups: 5 attempts. I can get to the point where my upper arms are parallel to the floor. That's it.

Band Chinups w/Lt. Band: 7 sets of 2

Hammer Pullover: Worked up to a 130 lbs single.

Hammer MTS Front Pulldown: 40x15x3

DE Squat

Manta Ray Parallel Box Squat: 45x8, 75x6, 105x6, 135x2, 165x2, 180x2x10.

Speed DL (Conventional): 215x1x10.

Back Extensions: 10x10x4.

Birddogs: 6 sets each side.

Weighted Ball Crunches: 25x8x4.

Seated Calf Raises: 55x10, 70x8, 80x8, 80x6

Extra Work:Back

Until the meet, and especially to insure that my starting strength is where it needs to be for the meet, I'll be doing an extra workout for two lunches each week for back.

Hammer MTS Row: 40x10, 50x8, 60x6, 70x6, 80x1, 75x6, 85x1, 50x15

Hammer ISO Row: 65x5x4

Hammer MTS High Row: 65x5x5

ME Bench

Legs Up Pause Bench Press: 45x10, 70x8, 95x5, 115x5, 145x5, 165x5, 185x5 (5RM),

3-Board Bench Press: 195x3, 215x3, 245x2. Next week, I'm just gonna play it safe and try 245x3.

Hoist Assisted Wide Pullups (BWT 240 lbs): 90x9, 100x6, 110x4, 120x3. Forgot my bands, again.

DB Overhead Press: 35x10x4

Reverse Curls: 40x10x4

Physioball "W": 3x8, 5x8, 8x8, 10x3.

ME Squat

14" (Parallel) Manta Ray Box Squat: 95x5, 125x5, 155x5, 185x5, 215x5, 235x5, 265x5. I got my 5 reps with 265 but it was a struggle. I think I'm starting to get burned out on squats. My gains are slowing down, and it's draining me more. Time to switch up soon.

Arched Back Good Morning: 135x3, 165x3, 195x5, 225x3. I actually dropped 10 lbs over last week. Time to ditch this one, too. One more week. Could also be the harder squat workout. The Manta Ray really hammers your lower back because of how high it places the bar.

Bulgarian Split Squats: 20x10, 30x8x2.

Cable Woodchoppers (Bottom to top): 20x10, 30x10, 40x10
Cable Woodchoppers (Top to Bottom): 20x10, 30x10, 40x10. Felt too beat to even think of more weight.

Standing Calf Raises: 55x10, 70x10, 80x8x2

DE Bench

Arched Bench Presses: 45x10, 65x8, 95x6, 115x4, 135x3x8, 155x2. Weights were flying but must go faster.

2-Board Press: 185x3, 210x3, 235x2. I could blame a few things for not getting that third rep at 235 but I just didn't have it. On that second rep, I nearly lost my arch and had to really drive my feet into the floor to squeeze that rep out. Next time, I'll either do 235 again and try to get a third rep with good speed, or go for broke with 240.

Hammer Iso Row: 55x8, 65x8, 75x8, 85x8

Hammer Behind the Neck Press: 45x8, 55x8, 65x8, 75x4.

Superset:
DB Preacher Curls: 15x15x3.
External Rotations: 10x15x3.

Rope Pushdowns: 20x12x4. Pathetic but I got a nice pump out of it.

DE Squat

Parallel Box Squat: 45x8, 65x8, 95x6, 115x4, 135x23, 155x2, 175x2x10. It was god speed, not fast. But the DE percentages and weights are relatively constant throughout the program so while my feet didn't leave the ground now, I should be flying out of the box in the end.

Speed DL (Conventional): 195x1x10. These were pretty quick.

Back Extensions: BWTx10x4. Good for a pump.

Birddogs: 5 sets each side.

Weighted Ball Crunches: 25x8x4.

Seated Calf Raises: 50x10, 65x8, 70x8x2.

ME Bench

All benches were done legs up and no arch. That also goes for the boards. Let's see where this goes.

Legs Up Pause Bench: 45x10, 65x8, 85x5, 115x, 135x5, 155x5, 175x5 (5RM), 195x2. I felt like trying a last one to see where I was. About a 200 lbs calculated 1RM, something I could compare to my current arched bench of 225. Got to stop testing and stick to the workouts.

Legs Up 3-Board Bench: 195x3, 215x3, 235x2. If not for the 195x2 in the regular bench, 235 might have gone up a third time. It went up a bit, just couldn't finish the job.

Hoist Assisted Wide Pullups (BWT 243 lbs): 83x10, 93x7, 103x5, 113x3. Forgot my bands.

DB Overhead Press: 30x10, 40x8, 45x8, 45x6

Reverse Curls: 30x10, 40x8, 50x8, 50x6

Physioball "W": 3x8, 4x8, 5x8, 8x6.

ME Squat

14" (Parallel) Manta Ray Box Squat: 95x5, 125x5, 155x5, 185x5, 215x5, 235x5, 265x3. Since I want to improve my squat the most, I made this my ME movement. The 265 was good but the third rep was all I had.

Arched Back Good Morning: 135x3, 165x3, 195x5, 225x3, 235x3.

Bulgarian Split Squats: BWTx10, 20x10x2. As hard as I remember them to be, should have never stopped working on them.

Cable Woodchoppers (Bottom to top): 20x10, 30x10, 40x10

Cable Woodchoppers (Top to Bottom): 20x10, 30x10, 40x10

Standing Calf Raises: 55x10, 65x10, 75x10, 85x8

DE Bench

Yesterday, I was teaching my son how to curl and do deadlifts with a straight bar, then the Trap Bar. During the Trap Bar deadlifts, he wondered if one could walk with the bar. I then told him about the Farmer's Walk, and he wanted to give that a go. So I put a dime on each end (74 lbs total) and I walked with him about 100 feet before he had to put down the bar and catch his breath. He said he had no idea it would be that hard, but he liked it. Then he walked back. He then asked if I could do it, so I loaded a 45 on each side (144 lbs) and did the walk without stopping. My grip barely held on, and it felt like a sprint.

Today, my traps and mid-back voiced their displeasure. . . . . very sore. I might have to do these more often, just not the day before bench. I was at the gym I rarely frequent these days, the one on Bremerton base.

Bench Press: 45x10, 65x8, 95x5, 115x4, 135x3x8. Pretty good. Except the bench design made unracking the weight harder and the bench was a tad high so I had less leg drive. I almost feel like I got a calf workout!!!

2-Board Press: 145x3, 175x3, 205x3, 225x3. I forgot my band to hold it with so I borrowed an extra large weight belt to strap it on. I used up the first set of holes and it was so tight I could barely arch or flex my lats.

Hammer Iso Row: 45x8, 55x8, 65x8, 75x6, 85x5.

Hammer Behind-The-Neck Press: 25x8, 35x8, 45x8, 55x8, 65x6

DB Preacher Curls: 15x6, 20x6, 25x6, 30x6. Both curl bars were being used.

External Rotations: 3x8, 5x8, 8x8, 10x8, 12x8, 15x8, 20x3. Immediate goal is 20x8, then 25x8 thereafter.

Tested the floor press at home with the bar only, just to see what press I can compare it to for depth. When my triceps touch the floor, you can slide a 2-board under the bar.

A productive day.

Test Week Day 2

This was done at lunch.

Reverse Barbell Curl: Worked up to a 65 lbs single.

DB Shoulder Presses: Worked up to a 45 lbs 8RM and a 50 lbs 6RM. For structural balance, I'm about 15 lbs shy of where I need to be for a 225 bencher.

Conventional Deadlifts: 355 pulled cold. A little slow from the bottom but once I cracked the floor it flowed smoothly and felt good in my hands. The speed pulls will help, as is more box squatting. Lockout was very strong.

So far, the first three weeks will look like this, and any suggestions are welcome. Goal is a stronger squat, and to not only get my bench back up to 240 but maybe a little more.

DE Bench:
Bench Press: 8 sets of 3 at or below 60% 1RM
2-Board Press: 3 sets of 3
DB Rows: 5 sets of 8
Hammer Behind the Neck Press: 3 sets of 8
Preacher Curls: 3 sets of 6
Seated External Rotations: 4 sets of 8

ME Squat:
Parallel Box Squat to 5RM
Arched Back GM: 4 sets of 3
Band GHR w/Monster Minis: 5 sets
Scissor Kicks: 5 sets to Failure
Cable Woodchops: 5 sets of 10
Standing Calf Raises: 4 sets of 10

ME Bench:
Legs Up Pause Bench to 5RM
3-Board Press: 3 sets of 3
Band Pullups w/Average Bands: 5 sets to failure
DB OH Press: 3 sets of 8
Reverse Curls: 3 sets of 6
Physioball "W": 4 sets of 8

DE Squat:
Parallel Box Squat: 10 sets of 2 at or below 60% 1RM
Speed DL: 10 singles at or below 60% 1RM
Back Extensions: 4 sets of 10
Birddogs: 5 sets
Weighted Crunches: 5 sets of 8
Seated Calf Raises: 4 sets of 10

Test Week Day one: Bench

I will still do the meet, but my training will not be bench only as I once thought. I still want to be a complete powerlifter, and the idea of training squat/DL once a week won't cut it. The Elite Beginners thingy is still on with the addition of bicep work and rotator stuff. And an extra three weeks: after doing all sorts of stuff but the bench, the first three weeks will bring it back.

A quick note about this meet: 190 lbs and above is the Heavyweight division, and it is not drug tested. I'm not out to score a victory, but I have to start somewhere. By August 12th, I should have accomplished a lot bench-wise.

Flat Bench Press (with Arch): 95x6, 115x5, 135x4, 155x3, 185x3, 205x1, 225x1 (the fastest 225 I've ever done, with a less than 2-second concentric), 240x0 (it came down very fast, I had nothing left to lift it.). I Don't think I'm fully recovered from Saturday but I'm happy that I have more power from below now. This did not take as much out of me, either.

3-Board Press: 195x3, 225x3, 240x2. As suspected, my lockout needs work, no speed here.

Wide Grip Pullup w/Average band: Failure at 7, 5, 4, 4, 3 reps.

Rope Pushdown: 40x12, 50x8, 60x6,70x3

Preacher Curls: tested to a 70 lbs 2RM.

Navy PRT

I got home about an hour ago and took a long, very hot shower. I feel like some Margaritas and a steak tonight, I hope my wife does not want sushi!!!

I PASSED!!!

I reached my goals in the pushups (56, a 15 pushup improvement and in only one minute vice the 2 the Navy gives you) and situps (70, a 17 situp improvement I used all two minutes for), both Good-High per Navy regulations. I was looking for high 13s in the 1.5 mile run but surprised myself by running a sub 13 for the first time in over 7 years (12:54 minutes, a Good-Medium). I'm thrilled, because this is the first PRT I actually trained for and it payed off big time. I now have a base for the future I can build on, and I start that on Monday for the next 17 weeks. I learned a lot that I will be carrying into my next cycle.

I rested this week, except for walking twice a day and total rest on Friday. I also ate what a wanted within reason.

Thanks to all of you for your support. Thanks to Yeoman 1st Class Becky Work, who paced me and talked me through it. And a big thanks to my wife, who put up with me and my occasional grouchiness knowing how important this was. She told me I'd be fine, and I kept that in mind.

And now, I have a bench meet to prepare for Aug 12!

SE/RE Squat/DL

Lunchtime:
LifeFitness Elliptical, Level 13 Hill (Random): 30 minutes.

Evening:
Hoist Leg Press w/2-second pause: 325x6, 375x6, 425x6, 475x6, 525x6, 575x6, 625x6 (3RM).

Nautilus Nitro Abduction: 100x10, 110x10, 120x10
Nautilus Nitro Adduction: 90x10, 100x10, 105x10

Superset:
Pushups: 10 sets of 25 reps
Incline Situps: 10 sets of 18 reps

That's it until PRT. I'll just walk everyday, take Friday completely off, and not set foot in a gym.

ME Back/Bench

Lunchtime:
LifeFitness Elliptical, Level 13 Hill: 30 Minutes

Evening:
Arched Back Good Morning: 95x5, 115x5, 135x5, 155x3, 185x3, 215x3, 245x3 (3RM). Oh yeah, I'm happy. 255x3 is my goal.

Pullups w/Average Band: Failure at, 5, 4, 3, 3, 2 reps. I forgot a band. Maybe, I'll find out next time what a difference it may have made.

Chinups w/Average Band: Failure at 4, 3, 3, 2, 2 reps.

Superset (no pyramids):
Pushups: Failure at 42, 32, 22, 20, 18, 21, 20, 18, 15, 12 reps (220 reps)
Incline Situps: Failure at 22, 18, 16, 15, 14, 14, 13, 13, 12, 11 (138 reps). Today convinced me that Friday will be my last workout until the PRT. I walked away from the gym beat up and so tired that I could barely keep my eyes open on the road. Of course, I'm sure doing heavy back work prior to that didn't help, nor did not being fully recovered from Monday's session.

ME Squat/DL

Lunchtime:
LifeFitness Elliptical, Level 13 Hill (Around The World): 30 minutes. Oh, this was hard enough that towards the end it was hard to keep my speed above 6.4 MPH. But it's my last week before PRT, so I've gotta gun it!!!

Evening:
Hoist Leg Press w/2-second pause: 300x6, 350x4, 400x3, 450x3, 510x3, 570x3, 615x3 (3RM).

Nautilus Nitro Abduction: 100x10, 110x10, 120x10
Nautilus Nitro Adduction: 90x10, 100x10, 105x8

Superset:
Pushups: Failure at 56, 42, 30, 20, 12, 15, 15, 13, 12, 11 (226 reps).
Situps: Failure at 34, 25, 18, 15, 15, 13, 13, 13, 12, 12 (170 reps). First 5 sets were done using reverse pyramids for the pushups. T0day, I reaped the fruits of my labor: I got the pushup total I wanted, now to make it better and faster. The abs were a littler better, considering that the pushups also work the abs.

SE/RE Back/Bench

Lunchtime:
LifeFitness Elliptical, Level 12 Hill (Cascade): 30 Minutes

Evening:
Arched Back Good Mornings: 95x5, 115x5, 135x5, 155x5, 180x5x4.

Hoist Wide Pullups (BWT 237.3): Worked up to a 127.3 lbs 2RM. Forgot the bands, so I had to do these, and . . . . .

Hoist Neutral Grip Chinups (BWT 237.3): Worked up to a 147.3 lbs 3RM.

Superset:Pushups: Failure at 42, 30, 20, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12, 8, 8 (168 reps).
Situps: Failure at 34, 23, 15, 13, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10 (145 reps). Maybe it was all the back work, but I feel tapped out. I think I'll just take the weekend off, do this all of next week, then rest up until the PRT. Maybe do some mobility work to keep loose and some basketball.

PRT Training-Easy Day

Lunchtime Superset:
Pushups: 5 sets of 18
Situps: 5 sets of 18
1.5 mile run, 6.5 MPH, 1.0 Incline: 9 Minutes. I'm finding it hard to crack this barrier.

Evening Superset:
Pushups: 5 sets of 18
Situps: 5 sets of 18. Done throughout the night.

SE/RE Squat

Lunchtime:
LifeFitness Elliptical, Level 11 Hill (Kilimanjaro): 30 minutes.

Evening:
Hoist Leg Press w/2-second pause: 300x6, 350x6, 400x6, 450x6, 500x6, 550x6. After reading this from Marc Bartley's article on deadlifting, I wanted to give this a try and spare my shoulders for a bit. These are hard and they burn - - - I've done nearly 700 lbs for the same reps without a pause. I think I might do these on heavy day, too, but for a 3RM.

Nautilus Nitro Abduction: 95x10, 105x10, 115x10
Nautilus Nitro Adduction: 85x10, 95x10, 105x6

Superset:
Pushups: Failure at 42, 30, 20, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12, 8, 0 (160 reps).
Situps: Failure at 33, 18, 13, 13, 10, 11, 10, 10, 10, 10 (138 reps).

First 4 sets were done using reverse pyramids (thus the higher numbers). Example, the first set: 1 rep, pause 1 second, 2 reps, pause one second, 3 reps, pause one second, 4 reps, pause one second, 5 reps, pause one second, 6 reps, pause one second, 6 reps, pause one second, 5 reps, pause one second, 4 reps, pause one second, 3 reps, pause one second, 2 reps, pause one second, 1 rep. The pauses are held at the top of the pushup position. This would be a pyramid of 6; my goal is a pyramid of 7, or 56 pushups. I could do more pushups like this but it takes more out of me. On my last set, I couldn't do a pushup on my knees, either.

Volume is up, so that's great.

PRT training

Yesterday was my OFF day for pushups and situps. My goal was 10 sets of 16 for each, sprinkled throughout the day. After something I said in my last entry, I came up with an idea for my lunchtime aerobics. Whenever I run the Navy PRT, the pushups and situps seem to take a chunk out of me before I even get to the run. So I did 5 sets at lunch, then I jumped on the treadmill. The LifeFitness treadmills have a Fit Test setting that lets you set it for Navy PRT, and I set it for 6.5 miles per hour so as to get an under-14 min 1.5 mile run. In this fashion, I lasted 9 minutes. My breathing wasn't too bad, but I was just beat. It could have been the previous day's workout, or the new demands on my body, or motivation. By the 30th (my last aerobic workout), my goal is 14-15 minutes running.

I had a hard time getting up this morning, just like yesterday. Considering that I'm not deadlifting as much and I've adjusted the weights downward a bit to allow me to do this program, it's the pushups and situps volume that's doing it. In a few days, my body should get over the shock of it all and start adapting to the increased volume.

Should.

Yesterday's ME Back/Bench

Lunchtime:
LifeFitness Elliptical, Level 11 Hill (Kilimanjaro): 30 minutes. I think I've found the most difficult hill program I could use up until PRT. Hard enough that I had to work to maintain an above-7.0 MPH pace and was just pooped before it was finished.

Evening:
Arched Back Good Mornings: 95x5, 115x5, 135x5, 155x5, 185x3, 215x3, 235x3 (3RM). I wanted to know what my 3RM was so that I could estimate a max for GMs on SE/RE day, so I did this day vice a squat day. I had the pins set up for safety, but also when the bar touched the pins I paused slightly then began each rep. On the 235 set, my descent was too fast for the first inch or so and I had to slow it down carefully, then I maintained my tightness for the other two reps. Brzycki's formula estimates a 248 LBS 1RM, I'll take 250. Note to self: use a belt next time!!!

Nautilus Nitro Laterals: 70x5, 80x5, 90x5, 110x5x5.

DB Rows: 30x5, 35x5, 40x5, 45x5x5.

Superset:
Pushups: Failure at 30, 14, 10, 8, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10 reps (122 reps)
Situps: Failure at 32, 17, 10, 10, 11, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10 reps (130 reps).

Note on the superset: could not do the farmers walk or the inverted rows because this took a long time, so I will be making changes to my workout like taking out the farmers walk and the Nautilus Laterals and just doing 5 sets of each row to a max RM range. Besides, the pushups killed my delts.

This is a bootcamp setup. On the ON days (weight days), the sets are done to failure. On the OFF days (days I don't do weights), a similar total is done throughout the day and not to failure. After two weeks, stop. On PRTs, the situps and pushups would always take it out of me before the run. Now it won't: for GPP, this was murder. It's nice to find more ways in which I am still out of shape!!!

Wave 3

Before I start the Elite Beginners Program, this will be my last wave. After deadlifting as much as I have for the last two waves, this will almost be like a welcome break. There's no deadlifting at all. There are two days of GMs to take their place, so I could have a better DL without holding a weight in my hands and get that 295x5 squat and more at the end. Also, since I want an increased pushup/situp total for the PRT, I've dropped some movements to allow me to train them more often and with more volume. No calf movements, no biceps, and no bench pressing movements. OK, where the biceps movements once were I've replaced them with bodyweight back movements.

I will do my last workout of week two on May 28, so I'm recovered for the PRT next weekend. As for aerobics, I'll be tapering off that week by walking. After PRT, I'll finish this wave, take a week completely off, then test squat, DL, and bench 1RM.

I am doing a raw bench press meet on August 12 at Submarine Base Bangor, WA. I'm not training for it, since I'll be on a program, but this will be a way to get my feet wet. As for planned attempts, we'll see when I'm two weeks away.


Wave 3

ME Squat/DL
1.) Parallel Box squat (Manta Ray) up to 5RM
2.) Bulgarian Split Squat (3 sets of 10 steps each leg)
3.) Band GHR for 20-40 rep count
4.) Nautilus Nitro Leg Adduction (3 sets of 10)
5.) Nautilus Nitro Leg Abduction (3 sets of 10)
6.) Sit-ups (200 reps using regular situps)
Pushups (200 reps using regular and on the knees pushups)

SE/RE Squat/DL
1.) Hoist Leg Presses w/2 second pause 6RM
2.) Lateral Step Ups (3 sets of 10 steps each leg)
3.) Band GHR for 3-4 sets of 6-8 reps
4.) Nautilus Nitro Leg Adduction (3 sets of 10)
5.) Nautilus Nitro Leg Abduction (3 sets of 10)
6.) Sit-ups (200 reps using regular situps)
Pushups (200 reps using regular and on the knees pushups)

ME Back/Bench
1.) Arched Back GM from Pins up to 5RM
2.) Pullups: 8 sets of 2 w/Light Bands
3.) Sit-ups (200 reps using regular situps)
Pushups (200 reps using regular and on the knees pushups)
4.) DB Shrugs (4 sets of 6)
5.) Nautilus Nitro Laterals 5x5 (Wk1: 75%1RM, Wk2: 80%1RM, Wk3: 85% 1RM)
6.) Chinups w/Average Bands (4 sets to failure)

SE/RE Back Bench
1.) Arched Back GM
Wk1: 72% 1rm for 4 sets of 5
Wk2: 75% 1rm for 3 sets of 6
Wk3: 63% 1rm for 5 sets of 5
2.) DB Rows 5x5 (Wk1: 75%1RM, Wk2: 80%1RM, Wk3: 85% 1RM)
3.) Sit-ups (200 reps using regular situps)
Pushups (200 reps using regular and on the knees pushups)
4.) Farmers Walk: 3 trips of 100 ft each
5.) Nautilus Nitro Laterals
Wk1: 105 lbs for 4 sets of 5
Wk2: 110 lbs for 3 sets of 6
Wk3: 095 lbs for 5 sets of 5
6.) Inverted Rows (4 sets to failure)

Wave 2 Over

Lunchtime:
LifeFitness Elliptical, Level 11 Hill (Around The World): 30 minutes. I tried this level out because, being that the exercise portion of the PRT is a month away, I wanted to push harder. This did it: my heart rate was up to 150 in less than 4 minutes and was between 160-178 BPM for most of the time.

Evening:
One Armed Braced DB Press: 15x5, 20x5, 25x5, 30x5, 35x5, 45x5x5. Easier than last time.

Nautilus Nitro Pullover: 65x5, 75x5, 85x5, 95x5, 115x5x5.

Hoist Neutral Grip Chins (BWT 236.6): 96.6x10, 106.6x8, 116.6x6, 116.6x5. Better. I skipped the 150 lbs of assistance, since I did 10 reps with it last week.

Rack Pulls 2" Below the Knees: (Double OH grip, no belt)165x5, 195x5, 225x5 ; (Right Hand Over, Left Hand Under)255x5, 285x5; (Right Hand Under, Left Hand over, added belt)325x5 (5RM). I chalked up heavily, and pulled like my life depended on it. The last rep took it all out of me. I'm gonna sleep like a baby tonight!

Superset:
18" Incline Pushups: failure at 17, 11, 7, 4 reps
Barbell Curls: 60x6x2, 60x5; (Descending set)90x1 (1RM), 80x1, 70x1, 60x1, 50x1, 40x2, 30x1, 20x1. Maybe it was because it was done immediately after the rack pulls but my first set of pushups were too easy, blasted up most of the way. But I paid for it on the last 3 sets.

SE/RE Squat/DL

Lunchtime:
LifeFitness Elliptical, Level 10 Hill (Cascade): 30 minutes

This is for yesterday's workout. You'll notice that I did the assistance work before the squats. That's because when I went to the rack, some idiot was doing heavy curls in the rack with a spotter in front - - - WTF!?! Second time around, upright rows. There should be rules against this!!!

Nautilus Nitro Abduction: 85x10, 95x10, 105x10
Nautilus Nitro Adduction: 75x10, 85x10, 95x6

Nautilus Nitro Leg Extensions: 75x10, 85x10, 95x10, 105x10

Band GHR: 4 sets of 6. Did not try to fail - - - I still had to squat.

Parallel Box Squat w/2-Second Pause: 115x5, 135x5, 155x5, 185x5, 215x5, 245x4 (4Rm). Better than last week as far as form and an increase in reps but still slow. My shoulders were tight until the 3rd set, and they were tight this morning. Did 30-minutes of upper body sled work this evening and my shoulders felt awesome again. For my next wave, I've decided to do Manta Ray box squats for my ME movement and will do leg presses with a 2-second pause at the bottom for the other day (I read that Marc Bartley article with great interest). I need to give my shoulders a break from holding the bar up.

Superset:
Incline Situps: Failure at 25, 18, 15, 13, 9 reps.
Standing Calf Raises: 65x10, 75x10, 85x8, 95x8, 105x6

Passed (Part 1)

Measurement was yesterday. In June, I will do the run and pushups and situps.

I weighed in at 236 in the morning (no shoes, in uniform) at a height of 5 ft 9.5 in. I dropped 1/2 inch on the waist (from 39.5 inches to 39.0 inches) and gained 1/2 inch on the neck (from 17.5 to 18.0 inches). By Navy instruction, that put me at 21% BF so I passed that.

As always, deadlifting twice a week plus high-volume back work did the trick, especially while also trying to get lean. In that regard, the pressure is off and I can focus on my run instead of pounding myself into the ground some more.

And I'm not done. I would like to get it where I never have to worry about it again, the tens. Perspective: when I left the Navy in January 1999, I was 22% BF at 196 - - - the most weight allowed for my height is 191, but I could choose to measure if I don't pass weight.