Cube Week 2 - Camp pendleton

On to the 2nd week of CUBE and i some how seemed to have fucked up the rotation for Bench and Deadlift. I don't know how this happened but i did week 3 for Bench and Dead so that means week 3 will have to be what I was programmed for week 2. Not a big problem at all and easily fixed...
Week 2 went by pretty fast and the weights are still relatively easy as i continue to tweak my technique.

Day 2 Explosive Squat

Squat (40 seconds rest in between sets)
1x10@bar
2x10@145
1x5@235
1x5@285
9x3@330 last 2 sets were beltless

Reverse Bands Orange Bands
1x5@330
1x3@415
2x3@415 + red minis
First time ever using bands for squatting

Olympic Squat (ATG)
1x5@235
1x5@285
1x5@305
1x5@325
1x5@345

Reverse Hypers
3x12

Planks
2 sets

Hip Thrusts w/ bands

Day 2 Heavy Bench (fucked up rotation, was supposed to do Repetition Bench)

Bench
1x10@bar
1x10@bar+chains
1x10@135+chains
1x8@185+chains
1x5@225+chains
1x2@275+chains
5x2@275

Close Grip Bench
8,5@225
8,6,6@185

Dumbbell Bench Press
1x8@50
7,6@60

Lat Pull Down
20,12,12 - Progressively added weight after each set

Seated Dumbbell Press
2x20

Rear Deltzzzzz

Day 3 Explosive Deadlift (again, fucked up rotation)

Deadlift
2x5@135
1x3@225
1x3@275
1x3@315
8x3@340

Deficit Deadlift 4"
1x2@340
1x2@405
1x1@455
1x3/4@475 Plates i was standing on top of started sliding causing me to lose balance and almost falling sideways so let go of the bar 3/4's of the way up

Front Squat (used rehband knee sleeves)
1x5@135
1x5@225
1x5@275
1x5@315

Shrugs
4 sets

Good Mornings
1x8@135
2x8@225
1x8@275

Day 4 BB day w/ shoulder emphasize

OHP
1x10@95
1x10@105
1x10@135
1x8@155
1x1@185

Behind the Neck Press
1x10@95
2x10@115

Bench Press
5 Sets working on technique

Seated Dumbbell Press
1x12@45
1x12@52.5
1x11@60

Cube Week 1 - Camp pendleton

Welp, with 10 weeks to go for my next meet I had to restart my training program. Still running Cube Method to set me up and have me peaking for the meet - Camp Pendleton Open. As of now I am unsure if i want to drop down to 165 or stay as a 181'er so for now i will just clean up my diet and see where it takes me. The main goal is to be at my strongest come meet day and hit some big number; ideally i would love to have a 1450 total which is very much achievable so long as i stick to the plan.

From here on out I will be updating this blog once a week and putting together all of the weeks training in one post.

Day 1 Heavy Squat Day

Squat

2x10@Bar (55lb texas power bar)

1x5@145

1x5@235

1x5@325

1x2@415

2,2,2,2,3,@440

Paused Squat

3x5@325

Reverse Hyper

20,12,12@90,180,180

Band Leg Curl

15,35,40

Planks

3 sets@60s

2 set@60s +45lbs.

Lunges

3 sets

Day 2 Explosive Bench Day

Bench

2x8 @bar

1x10@135

1x5@185

8x3@205 Technique improved by a lot. Just need to make sure butt is planted on bench and that im on the ball of my feet

Floor Press

1x3@135

1x3@185

1x3@205

1x3@225

1x3@245

Incline DB press

3x15@55

Dips

4 sets

Tricep pull downs

2x20

Lat Pull downs

3x12

Curls

2x15

Day 3 Repetition Deadlift Day

Deadlift

2x10@135

1x10@225

1x8@315

1x8@425 reset after each rep

Deficit Deadlift

2x3@425

Front Squat

1x8@135

1x8@185

1x8@225

1x2@275 Felt sharp pain on upper back near trap and called it quits. almost dumped the weight because it was too much of a hassle to rack it.

RDL

1x10@135

1x10@225

1x10@275

2x2@325 lost grip (double over hand)

Back Raises

50 reps

Day 4 bodybuild

OHP

1x10@bar

1x10@95

1x10@115

1x10@135

1x9@155

1x3@185

Behind the Neck OHP

3x6@95

Upright Rows

3x10@95

Seated DB press

1x12@45

1x12@50

1x12@60

Pull Ups

5 sets

Still taking Promera sports Peak 400 for some intense training and gluta-tren for recovery.

 

Week 6 Day 1 Repetition Deadlift Day

RECONSTRUCTING THE DEADLIFT

Transitioning from single ply to Raw has probably been the hardest thing to do for me. Worried that all my lifts will go down significantly my first goal was to match my single ply numbers before i concentrate on another aspect of my powerlifting venture. It took about 8 months to match and beat my single ply numbers as a raw lifter. As a matter of fact i surpassed them by tenfold. NOW that that's out of the way the next thing is to work on technique. Doing this will take me 1 step back but once it's all said and done i'll be ahead by 2 steps or more. "1 step back, 2 steps forward". Last week I started with bench and squat and had no problem, in fact tweaking my technique on them made a world of a difference by making weight that would usually feel heavy feel light. Today, not so much on my deadlift. Tweaking my deadlift technique was a different story. What did i do different? I brought in my sumo stance by about 2 inches.  While it did improve leverages, it did make setting up hard as fuck causing me to have a bit difficulty pulling off of the floor the first inch or two. With the help of my friend Dean we came up that the shims of my leg are too close to the bar and slightly stepping back by 1/2" as well as "bringing down my lats" helped a bunch and made deadlifting much easier. Reconstructing the deadlift is probably going to be the hardest thing i'll be doing these next few weeks since my numbers will plummet but once i get used to the motion of setting up properly i should be (at my previous DL numbers) surpassing previous DL numbers.

Deadlift (sumo)

2x10@135

1x10@225

2x8@315

1x6@405

4x2@405 - lowered rep count to focus more on setting up instead of repping out

Some sort of Standing hip thrust using bands
4 sets

Pull ups

5 sets

Good morning w/ cambered bar

4x10

Dumbbell rows

4x12

I definitely have the strength to pull some big numbers but working on technique has brought down my deadlift for the time being. Once i get it all sorted out i'll be at a much happier place with my deadlift. :)

Gluta-tren and peak 400 taken 10 minutes before training. good stuff...

Week 4 Day 3 Reps Squat

Squats after squats after squats and then more squats

Repetition Squat day it is!

Squat (Low bar)

2x8@135

1x8@225

1x8@315

1x4@405

1x6@445 - This is a new rep PR and a very BIG one for me considering I still had much more in the tank

Front Squat

2x8@135

2x6@225

3x3@315

Dumbbell Lunges

1x12@50

1x10@50

2x8@50

Side bends

3 sets

Squat

50 reps with out re-racking the weight - stopped to catch my breath at 25 and again at 40.

Very good squat session and each rep was deep AF. Peak 400 kicked in hard (maybe because i took 2 scoops).

Note: Gluta-tren has seen to be helping a lot with recovery

Week 4 Day 2 Explosive Bench

Explosive Bench

Bench
2x6@135
1x3@185
6x2@235 - All reps paused

Bench with Bench Shirt
Contemplating getting back into single ply so did a few sets with the shirt on
2x4@135 Had a bit trouble getting into the grove and touching chest
1x4@185 Did some adjusting and found the grove
1x3@225 Easy and effortless
2x3@275 Easy and effortless and speed was beyond fast

Close Grip Bench
4x8@225

Incline Dumbbell
1x15@45
2x15@50

Dips
5 sets

Tricep Cable Pull Down (increasing weight with each set)
1x26
1x23
1x20
1x10

Seated Over Head Press
1x10@bar
3x10@95

Rear Delts (seeated)
4 Sets

Lateral Raises
3 sets

Peak 400 taken at arrival of gym.

Week 4 Day 1 Heavy Deadlift

Somedays you suck and some days you suck even more. 

Somedays you hit PR's and somedays you suck

 We'll today was a day where I sucked even more. I failed my work sets on Deadlifts - not being able to complete one single set. Im not one to make excuses but this is what happens with having a heavy workload at work, lack of food, lack of rest, lack of motivation, giving up on yourself, and mixing feelings into your training. It all adds up and takes a toll on you. This is a recipe for disaster. Well no more. No more of this fucking bullshit. I won't allow this to ever happen again as long as i'm in control

Deadlift (conventional, no belt)
2x10@135
1x6@225
1x6@315
1x2@405
1.5,1,0@495 FAIL DEADLIFT IS FAIL
Set 1 - First rep on first with "ok" speed, 2nd rep ripped a good chunk of a callous on right hand making me lose grip halfway up and dropped the bar. BOOM! blood everywhere.
Set 2 - First rep was coming up with good speed until i started feeling pain where i ripped the callous and threw me off causing me to grind out the rep. 2nd rep couldnt even lift it.
Set 3 - At this point i completely gave up on myself and couldnt even get it off the ground past an 1"
1x1@405 didnt feel good at all

Snatch Grip Deadlift (decided to keep these light)
5,5,3,5@225

Barbell Bent Over Rows
2x10@135
1x5@185
1x5@205
1x5@225
Grip was an issue on all these sets/reps =(

Dumbbell Rows
2x10@35

Dumbbell Shrugs
4 sets

Planks
3 sets@60 seconds

Cable Pull throughs
4 sets@light weight

Piss poor training session and felt like walking out of the gym after each exercise to call it a day. I didn't and followed through the training session...

Note: peak 400 taken 30 minutes prior to training. dont feel like it did shit today but hard to tell since there were a lot of things that factored into todays training.

Week 3 Day 3 Explsive squat

Been a bit busy these past few days causing me to not post the latest training sesh...

Thursday squat.. Not much to post this time since i already forgot how my day went so i'll just skip all the way to logging my training.

Squat (High bar and no knee sleeves) Focusing on "explosiveness" and minimal rest periods in between work sets
2x10@bar
1x6@135
1x6@225
1x6@315
5x3@340
340x3 Work set Click this shit mutha fuckas

Squat + chains (hi bar, knee sleeves)
1x6@225
3x5@315
2x5@225 - As deep as possible with 3 second pause

Good Morning
2x5@225
1x3@275
1x2@315
Decided to work up to a moderate to heavy double

Leg Press
1x15@2plates each side
1x15@3plates each side
1x15@4plates each side

Leg Curls
4x25@i dont know what the fucking weight was since i forgot to log it in

Note: peak400 30 minutes prior to work out and gluta-tren taken before bed.

Week 3 Day 2 Heavy Bench

99 problems but a bench ain't one.  Seriously! 

With only 3 hours of sleep and trying to function from t hat was plenty hard today. Not one minute passed with out my mind wandering off to la-la land and thinking about sleeping. It's actually quite amazing how i got through the day and performed well at work given the circumstances. As i was exhausted I was dreading training today and was even thinking of postponing it for tomorrow but then quickly realized that wont work since i'm set to squat thursday. Oh wells, on to training it was then. The second i stepped foot into the gym and took my pre-work out (peak 400) my mind set changed and felt rejuvenated filled with vast amounts of energy. I felt like training and destroying the weight. I was set to bench heavy today and bench *heavy i did(i put an asterisk since heavy is defined by the percentage i used of my max).

The initial plan was to board press but since i got there a bit too early and my new training partners, Travis and Conrad, weren't there to help me with the boards, un-racking some heavy ass weight, I wasnt really comfortable with getting some randoms from the gym to help i decided to skip it today and substitute it with regular bench.

ME bench aka heavy bench day. The main focus was to pause all reps and get 3 minutes max rest. 

Bench Press

1x15@bar

1x6@135

1x6@185

1x6@225

5x2@285 Speed was great and even better than what i would expect for a heavy day.

Floor Press 

Rigged up a set up so I can floor press. The platform is raised by about 4" so I stacked plates on the floor to raise where I will be laying down. Pins are turned inward to allow to be placed at a lower setting since the pins are a weird design. Red mat places on top of the plates so I can be comfortable. 

Just my luck. After setting up for floor pressing Travins and Conrad show up. It was also their ME day so we all floor pressed. Although their rep scheme was a bit different than mine, it didn't matter. 

1x15@bar paused

2x8@135 paused

1x8@185 paused

1x3@225 paused

1x3@245 paused

1x1@275 touch and go. tried going for a double but no budge

3x3@245 paused

Dumbbell Bench press (Neutral grip)

First time using a neutral grip but i think i did fairly well

1x8@60

2x8@50 Unhappy with the first set I dropped the weight to 50 lbs and worked on form 

Perfomed this exercise with Travis and Conrad so they coached me on this. 

Lat pull downs

1x12@140

1x12@130

JM press

2x20@95

1x8@115

i prayed to baby jesus afterward to ease the soreness that i'll be getting from these. 

Seated Dumbbell Press

30 second rest between each set was a bit much for me but i still did it. Definitely need to work on endurance lol

1x12@35

1x12@45

1x10@55 missed 11th rep and shoulders were pumped like whoaski!

Rear delts (seated and leaning forward) - like i've said in the past. These are a staple and i try to do them on bench days 

3x10@25

A much needed training session to get me up to speed and WAKE me up. I had so much energy through out the session it almost felt as if i was on crack. Not that i've ever done it, just a metaphor.

Note: Took peak 400 at arrival of gym. Like always gluta-tren before bed. Gluta-tren seems to be aiding in recovery alot. 

Note 2: song of choice was evanescence - bring me to life 

Week 3 day 1 Rep Deadlift

Being that it's international Bench monday I decided to Bench. Just kidding. Bench monday is faggotory shit. Instead I choose to go against the grain and Deadlift. There's nothing like beginning your week with slamming weights to the floor and 45 lbs. plates clanking against each other.
Funny thing is I wasn't feeling like training today due to exhaustion from work but with the help of peak 400 i was ready to go within minutes.

Deadlifts for reps today!

Deadlifts (conventional) (beltless)
2x8@135
1x8@225
1x8@315
1x8@430 -  New conventional rep and beltless PR
Bar speed was flying in all sets and i was extremely happy with the way i performed. Im also getting back in to motion of gripping and ripping

http://youtu.be/tz9CKjlByq0

4" Block pulls
1x3@430
1x3@460
I really need to work on being a bit more explosive as i pull off of block but with time and practice i'll get there.

Cable Pull Throughs
4x12

Dumbbell Rolls
1x10@65 each side
2x10@75each side

Planks
4 sets - :20, :30, :30, ;30 seconds
New to me and will be experimenting with these

Side Bends
3x8

Cable pull downs
4 sets

Great training thanks to peak 400 for giving me the push i needed today

Note: peak 400 taken at arrival of gym. Will take gluta tren before sleeping.

Week 2 Day 3 Heavy Squat

A hot date under the bar for some unfinished business.
After last weeks squat training i was left a bit disappointed since finding out my squats were a tad too high for my liking. Since friday of last week i've been anxious to get back under the bar for my next squat day to fix what i didn't like in my squat - depth! This time i made sure i had nothing to get between me and mrs. depth. I made sure to lower the safety pins lower than what i had them previously and do some light stretching before warming up for squats. With this strategy I was able to make depth my bitch which resulted in a squat victory.

Today training - Heavy Squats.

Squat w/knee sleeves (using low bar)
I know i said i'll be doing high bar squatting during the beggining of this training cycle but I forgot to mention that heavy day are always set for Low bar.
2x5@bar
1x5@135
1x5@225
1x3@315
1x2@405
5x2@455
1x1@495
Making sure all squats were past parallel. It seems that the depth was getting lower and lower after each set. This is a plus for me. I should note that since this was a heavy day rest periods between sets were 3-5 minutes


http://youtu.be/FXiOIP0aAHA

Leg Press
1x15@3 plates each side
1x15@4 plates each side
1x10@5 plates each side

Good Mornings (close stance)
2x10@135
1x8@185

Since time was scarce today I had to cut my training a bit short by eliminating 2 accessory work outs. This isn't too much of a big deal to me since i did the most important parts of todays training.
Accessory work wasn't done with much weight since im planning on increasing the weight each week as the training goes.

What made this a great squat day was that i had a double double from in-n-out 5-10 minutes before working out and a delicious steak with a side of potatoes right after training for dinner. Hehe, i'm such a fatty...


but i'm a strong fatty.

Note: I took peak 400 right after my first warm up set of squatting. Gluta-tren to be taken as recovery before bed.

Note 2: Song of choice was Dilated Peoples - Back again

Week 2 day 2 Reps bench

Tuesdays are usually my rest days but since this week(ending of the week) will be quite busy i had to find a way to not miss my training and keep at it. The end result was to train back to back to back, deads on monday, bench on tuesday, and squat wednesday to leave thursday and friday empty so i can do what i need. This makes it a bit tough since it'll wear me out since i wont have enough recovery time in between. Still, it wont hold me back on giving it my all as i have a set goal to meet come january 11 and i wont have any obstacles deviate me from it. 

Reps, reps, and reps today for bench this time. The goal for today was to work up to a challenging weight for 8 reps. 

Flat Bench Press

In order to bring my bench up i will be doing more paused reps than touch and go through out my bench days.

1x10@bar

1x10@135

1x10@185

1x8@225

1x8@265 - New PR for paused reps

Every rep was paused for 2 seconds. I may increase the pausing to 3-4 seconds on my following bench days or i may just keep it at 2 seconds. It'll depend on how i feel that day.

Incline Bench Press (grip was in between close and medium grip)

1x12@135

1x9@185

3x4@225 - the goal was to get a 12 rep total 

Close grip bench

1x10@135

2x3@225

1x10@185

Pin Press/Dead Press

1x10@bar

1x6@135

1x3@185

1x2@185 - Unable to lock out the 3rd rep and it really tired out my triceps

1x0@185 - Exhausted triceps lead me to be unable to press it 2" past the pins =(

1x5@135 - struggled a bit but fought through

Tricep Press downs

100 reps - 20@45, 20@55, 20@65, 20@75, 10@70, 10@65

triceps were beat after this

Seated DB Press

3x15@35

Cable Pull downs(abs)

4 sets @25 resp - I forgot the weights. lolz

Aside from the gym being packed and the benches being taken up by the bench jockeys I was still able to get a good training session. 

Note: peak 400 taken at arrival of gym. im loving this stuff so far. Gluta-tren will be taken prior to bed, Same, im loving it too. I have the orange creme flavor and it's great.

Note 2 : song of choice was AC/DC - TNT

Week 2 Day 1 Explosive Deadlift

"Cherish every moment with your family, friends, and loved ones. Never take them for granted because one day they might not be there. 
I know ive failed in this with my mom. Neglecting her for quite some time but after coming into realization of what i've done it's time to fix this and rejoice with her."

I had posted the quoted statement on my personal Facebook page because this morning it finally hit me how much I miss my mother who just so happens to be my biggest supported. I don't want to give much insight to this as I see it very personal but for sometime now i've been ignoring my mother for a stupid reason. Coming into realization to this made for an unpleasant morning and emotional day for me to the point where i simply wanted to give up on everything. I didn't want to work, wasn't looking forward to training, I just wanted to give up. I had to give myself a little pep talk to bring myself back, back to the person I was before. To pardon myself and ask for forgiveness for the way i neglected her. I havent done so yet but i plan to do it this week and this is what i'm looking forward to. This has brought me back to refocus on what i strive and to get me back on track...

Now that that's said I want to move on to my training and leave that subject alone for now.

Today's training called for Explosive (DE) Deadlifts using the stance i would when i compete. Pretty much deadlift the way i compete on the platform(sumo).
My 2 new buddies, Conrad and Travis, were there deadlifting so i joined in on we rotated turns to deadlift. It made for a fun deadlift day and had people turning heads as each rep hit the ground.

Deadlift(sumo)

2x10@135

1x8@225

1x3@315

8x3@345 I was aiming for 30 seconds rest between each set but since we had a rotation going for deadlifts some of the sets had rest periods that were a bit longer
This is a video of my 7th set
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTTWx6BpIQg&feature=youtu.be

4" block pulls (Snatch grip)

1x8@285

1x7.5@285 - i count the 8th rep as .5 since i lost grip at lock out and had the bar slip off of my left hand. (I had a surgery on my index finger due to sliting a tendon and a few ligaments. Grip hasnt been the same but i'm not letting that stop me) This caused me to be pissed off

1x8@285 - Being pissed made for the weight to be easy and fast and although i struggled with grip a bit on the last few reps I didn't give up. I now have a beautiful torn callus under need my left index finger.

Squat(close stance/low bar)

1x8@bar

1x8@135

1x8@225

I was going ATG and because my quads are still sore from thursdays squat training each rep was brutal no matter the weight. This isnt normal for me but since i took 3 weeks off from training along with a meet week after it made for me to get really sore getting back into training.

Barbell Shrugs
My grip isnt up to par to what it should be so weight isn't anything exciting as i try to work my way up and fix my grip issue which is only a problem when doing reps.

1x20@135

1x15@225

1x15@245

Lat pull downs

3x10@120

No core/ab work today since i ran out of time.

Note: Peak 400 was taken at 25 minutes prior to training. Gluta-tren to be taken prior to sleeping. So far im loving these 2 supplements by Promera sports and have nothing but good things to say. I've been taking this for more than a week and half so i'd expect it to get better from here.

Note 2: Choice of song was Drowning Pool - Bodies. What a perfect song for Deadlifting.

Week1 day 4 (Bodybuilding)/Accessory day

I hadn't planned on training today since i cleared up my afternoon to go to a party with my girlfriend but since i never got a confirmed time I was up in the air trying to decide if I should wait for a confirmed time as i fiddle my fingers together or disregards and continue with my training. As i was trying to figure out what to do a certain video popped up on my facebook newsfeed that caught my attention. The video was George Leeman's most recent vid: http://youtu.be/tdJKF5UvjZY. As i was watching the video it made my decision on what to do ever so clear as well as inspired me much more, motivated me more and at the same time made me realize how much I can relate to him to an extent. **I'll touch up on this subject on a later blog post of mine as i don't really see it fit for todays post**. Anyways, the decision was clear. To go train and continue progressing forward. 

Before i have anyone saying i'm a bad guy for disregarding my gf and ditching her for training, I will beg to differ. You see had i waited for a confirmed time then i would have been sitting around doing nothing for the next 3 hours doing nothing but just being a couch potato. The option i chose actually worked out better because after training I went home, showered, ran some errands and then went on my merry way to the party my girlfriend had invited me to. What do you make of this? I don't really fucking care...

Onto todays training. Cube has me set for a bodybuilding day where i pretty much aim to focus on lagging muscle groups. I do it a bit different. I actually use this 4th day of training to work on accessory for either upper or lower. I rotate every week(week 1= upper accessory, week2=lower accessory, so on and so on) as i see it beneficial this way to instead of training to look pretty for girls, I train to make the most out of my main lifts as well aiming to strengthen certain areas in the lift where i see a weak point. This is why i refer to it as accessory day. 

*Todays focus was Upper accessory.*

Standing Barbell Over Head Press
My legs were sore from thursdays squat session which had me on the verge for switching these out for seated BB OHP but i stood to my ground, man'ed up and stayed on track.
1x15@bar

1x10@95

1x8@115

2x8@135

2x5@155

I do all my sets strict and never using any leg drive.  My wobbly legs from the soreness made this a bit harder than usual but i enjoyed every second of it.

Dumbbell Incline Bench Press

1x12@45

2x10@55
I really focused on the negative part of this and went slow on the descend 

Dumbbell Flat Bench Press

3x10@45
again, slow on the descend but i made sure to explode back up

Seated Dumbbell Press

3x14@45

not much commentary for these bad boys other than these suck after doing 2 variations of DB benching. I dont mean that in a bad way but more of a good since i really had to push every single rep of these.

Seated Rear Delt Flies

2x10@25

Upright rows

1x10@65

1x10, 1x12, 1x10@95 - Each of these were done with a 2 second hold at the top part of the row

Curls for gurls
why? Because chicks dig guys with big arms. IDK, i just felt like doing them

3x10@35,25,20

I got some really super duper cool pumps on my arms after these. haha

Tricep extensions

1x30@45

1x25@55

1x8@65

A good training session again to go in the books.
Was todays decision to train rather than waiting for a time from my girlfriend? yes and no. Yes because I try to stay on top of my training as much as I can and do so as best as i can and no because it later lead to a "argument" with me and my girlfriend. I try to be my best for her but right now i feel as i failed on this aspect.

Note: Took Peak 400 35 minutes prior to training. It gave me a boost at the gym that i very much needed today. Gluta-tren was taken mid day yesterday and early morning today to help aid in recover from Thursdays squat session.

Note 2: I didnt take my ipod so no choice of song today. Instead I was clearing out my mind.

Week1 day 3 Reps Squats

Opps, i dun goofed. Yesterday i had mentioned today was going to be my rest day. I was mistaken and for some reason i totally blanked out and forgot thursdays are my squat days.

I often get asked what's my secret for being to squat 500+ in the 165 raw and 181 raw weight class. It's simple actually and it really is no secret. The way to get a strong squat is by....get ready for it...SQUAT. Just squat with straight weight and don't over complicate it by doing stuff you don't understand such as band training, chains, SSB, box squatting, etc,. Now, everything I just mentioned has its place and can be used to increase your squat but remember it's just a tool and just like every tool out there you have to know how to properly use it to benefit out of it. With that said, if you have to ask me how to get to a 500+ raw squat then chance are you shouldn't be using what was listed and should simply focus on squatting with straight weight and squat deep.

Enough of all that bologna. Now lets move on to todays training - Rep day.

Squat
2x10@135 - First set was done at low bar/2nd set switched up to high bar
1x8@225 high bar/no belt
1x8@315 high bar w/belt
1x8@425 high bar - speed was great up until the 7th rep where i slowed down and 8th rep where formed broke and grounded it out.

Front Squat
The best accessory for squatting is by squatting more
2x10@135
1x8@225
2x3@315

Oly squats
More squats for accessory work
1x50@135 Originally i was planning on doing 100 but had to stop at the 50th rep since i was about to pee myself. Note to self: dont hold your pee and think youd be done with your set first. BAD IDEA

Dumbell Lunges
Im starting to incorporate DB work in my training and experimenting to see if it'll help me reach my goal.
12,10,8@45

Cable pull downs(abs)
5 sets with varying weight and switching from a closed stance to a wide stance.

I was done. I packed up my stuff and was making my way to the locker room when half way there it hit me. It hit me that i'm not really done. I cant have a succesful squat day with out hitting hammies. so off i go back to the weight room.

Stiff Leg Deadlifts
These were todays choice for hamstrings
3x10@ 135
I kept the way really low to work on getting the blood flowing and a pump while keeping each rep as strict as possible.

Now I was done.

So there it is. All laid out how my squat days usually go. It doesnt matter if its a DE, ME or Rep day. The concept stays the same but the weights and reps changed.

Note: I don't know what caused it or what i did(probably because i didnt stretch) but as i squatted on with my workset i had some pain in my groin area that caused me not to go as deep as i wanted to. I'm not exactly pleased with it but at the same time i'm not disappointed. I would still say todays training was a success but for future squatting i will make sure to go as deep as possible on each rep. No excuses.

Note 2: Gluta-tren was taken last night prior to sleeping which i felt aided in recovery from yesterdays bench. No soreness at all and was feeling good all day. Peak400 was taken at arrival of gym.

Another fucking note: choice of song was AC/DC - Highway to Hell

Week 1 day 2 Explosive bench

Monday during deadlifting I had met 2 fellows by the name of Travis and Conrad. After chatting it up during our rest periods we decided to bench together Wednesday(today) since each of our program has us all benching wednesday. Although both of them are using  Conjugate method while I use Cube method; both have similarities which allow us to train together at a similar pace. I now have 2 new training partners that have brought a new joy to my training and from waht was demonstrated today i know they'll be able to push and further my training as I will do the same to them.

Anyways, today i was set up for an explosive bench day(DE) so weight was sub maximal to the point where speed was consistent on each rep and "fast".

Flat bench
I was planning on floor pressing for a main movement but the rack is elevated by 4 inches or so which makes it a struggle so flat benching was sufficient enough.
2x10@bar
2x3@135
8x3@225 - All work set reps were paused at the bottom for 2-3 seconds and speed was extremely fast exploding out of the hole.

Flat bench with chains (50lbs each end)
I then decided to do a few sets and reps at the same weight for my work sets but with the addition of chains.
3x3@225 + chains - Coming out of the hole the speed was still there up until the very end where i would lock out did the weight slow down.

Hammer Strength machine
Normally i dont use this but since the guys i trained with do I decided to give it a go and use it as accessory
2x10@2 plates on each side
5,3,5,6@3 plates each end

JM presses
you have to love this when done correctly. Good for hammering the tris..
4x6@135

Pull downs Using the rope
3x10

Lat pull downs
3 sets of 15-20
I was mainly focusing on getting the blood flowing and getting a good pump

Seated dumbbell presses
These were done with very strict form through out each set and rep
1x15@30
3x8@60
1x10@35

Rear delt flies
IMO, It's always a must to hit the rear delts when doing shoulder work to ensure to not have a lagging area on your  deltoids. Plus i also find it to be good for benching.
3x10@25

Hammer Curls
Rarely do i work on biceps but to ensure i dont end up with spaghetti arms that look like they were barely boiled I work on them every now and then.
3x10@25,35,45

Unfortunately i didn't do any core work since i ran out of time. I will most likely do them tomorrow on my day off.

Another successful day of training to mark off.

Note: It's important to add that today i received my package from Promera which consisted of Peak 400 and Gluta-tren. Peak 400 was taken 30 minutes prior to training and although it may be too early to tell I felt it gave me the push I needed since I was a bit exhausted from work today. Gluta-tren will be taken as recovery so for today since i'm still a bit full from dinner I have no choice but to take it prior to bed.

Other note: Song of choice was Misery Business by Paramore

Week 1 day 1 Heavy Deadlifts

Knee high socks, red chuck taylors and an ipod filled with music. Yup, You guessed it. Heavy deadlift day.

After a week of fucking around at the gym and just going to "hang out" it was time to get back on the grind and restart training for the next meet. Todays training consisted of a heavy day also known as ME (max effort) for deadlifts or like i've started to call them - DEATHLIFTS.   Normally i follow a percentage scheme and rep scheme but i do a bit of alteration on the percentages to better suit my needs and how i feel that day of training.


I tend to do a variation of the main lift followed by 3-5 assistance work outs to better improve my weakpoints.

Deficit Deadlifts (conventional) off of a 45 lb plate
1x8@135

1x5@225

1x4@315

1x2@405

5x2@460

Snatch Grip Deadlift

1x8@225

1x8@275

1x2@315 - I was aiming for 8 reps but failed halfway up on the 3rd rep due to grip not being strong enough. Although this was snatch grip I still feel the need to strengthen my grip for the future. I will need to fap more to accomplish this. 

Barbell Rows

It's been a while since i've done these so the numbers arent to spectacular. They will go up in due time

1x12@135

3x6@185

Dumbbell Rows
3 sets of 10 with strict form. Weight varies to keep form in check

Good Mornings (wide stance)
If you're not doing good mornings then fuck you. With that said, the plan was to work up to a heavy triple

1x8@135

1x4@225

1x4@275

1x3@315

Dumbbell Shrugs
3 sets which consisted of 25 reps, 23 reps, and 22 reps

Side Bends

why? because it's still important to hit your core with at least 1 exercise every training day
3 set of 10

All in all it was a good training day and it felt great to be back. I finally found a 24 hour fitness where they have round plates opposed to those shit hexagon rubber plates and where PT's won't give me any grief for deadlifting. This will now be my stomping grounds for Deadlifts. 

Note: Song of choice - Lights by Ellie Goulding