Today I found out how much of a grind this work out is. I didn’t get to work out until early afternoon. I also didn’t have any pre-workout drink. So immediately wasn’t feeling into it, I started with dead lifts. My warm up felt really heavy, I know that I’ve said that a few times in my blog, however my warm ups usually don’t feel heavy. Anyway, I worked up to 374. I wasn’t pulling good sumo so I put on some straps and pulled conventional. This made it feel a lot easier, so I go back to the question of whether or not I should pull sumo or conventional. I paired my dead lifts with chin ups. After my pulls I did some Bulgarian squats, why wouldn’t I have Bulgarian squats in the Bulgarian burst. Then I did dumbbell RDLs. Everything today was 5x6. My back tightened up really bad during my first work out, so after I was done I did a glute ham hang and then got hooked up to the Russian stem. There is a lot of real good information on electro-stim in my favorite book Supertraining, by Mel Siff.
My second work out started with safety squats. I use a cambered bar that I can really load up, I used 480 for 5x6, then I did Nordic ham curls paired with real heavy one arm dumbbell rows. I really enjoy dumbbell rows, especially using heavy loads. I used 140s, which was way to much weight if I needed to keep perfect form, but I am a firm believer of training the movement not the muscle. After my Nordic ham curls and rows I did piston squats. Just not feeling it today.
I didn’t get my 3rd work out in today. I’m just drained, this work out is a real grind. I do feel bad about not getting it in, but I’m sure that I’m producing enough stress on my body that I’ll supercompensate. So that’s all for today, I’m off to a relaxing Epsom Salt Bath.
Stay Strong
Tommy
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Hump day
I take a pre-work out supplement called JP8, it does not taste good at all, however it has around 200 mg of caffeine which is the reason I take it. A friend of mine is doing a study on the effects of energy supplements and work outs. You can read more about that if you click on the Mike T Nelson blog on the right of the screen. I hope that JP8 is not in his study; this stuff really gets me going, but is like drinking dirty urinal water. I cringe every time I drink it. Anyway, I took it today, and I think it did more harm than good. I started with Bench press my sheet said to do 5 sets of 6 at 275. During my warm up the weight moved good; however, once I picked up 275 and it felt like 340. So heavy! I did 3 sets of 6 then finished with the last 2 sets being 5. After bench I moved to DB incline bench, I worked up to 75s, this too felt extremely heavy. I paired those with DB shrugs using 140lb dumbbells. Between my 3rd and 4th set I took my heart rate, it was 150 beats per min. Now this is higher than it normally is when I lift, but doing so much work in such little time will increase my heart rate more than normal. So I thought it was just my hard work that was increasing my heart rate, until the next set, when I ran over to the garbage can and gave a good old fashion dry heave. My burps and the dry heave tasked like JP8. I didn’t feel comfortable finishing my work out with the garbage so far away, so I brought it closer. I finished my work out with DB flys and over head shrugs. The over head shrugs were interesting and I wanted to use more weight, but holding 45 lbs over my head felt pretty heavy.
My second work out started with push presses; I have problems with these because my shoulders are not very flexible. In fact, a few weeks ago I squatted 5 times in a week and I had real problems with my right elbow. I first thought it was just tendonitis, but then I figured it was because I’m a low bar squatter and I should be flexible in my shoulders, however, I am not. My elbow has started to flame up again making me think it is tendonitis and there is nothing I can do about it. So push presses 5x6, EZ bar curls 5x10 and 2 way neck 5x10. After those were done I moved to Arnold press and rev. grip curls. Then finished with curl + pump and the other 2 ways of the neck.
The rest of the day at work was used to debate the results of a death match between an African Elephant and a Silverback Guerilla. If you would like to weigh in on this debate, let me know your thoughts in the comments section at the bottom of this post. I came home to a pleasant surprise, there was a letter waiting for me from the U telling me I got into grad school. So I will start working toward my graduate degree in Applied Kinesiology: Sport and Exercise Science this summer.
My nightly work out was more of the same as always at my night gym. Weird looks when I pulled out my 3 board for 3 board close grip bench. This is a great exercise to really load up the triceps. The 3 2x6s stacked together laying on your chest will take your pecks right out of the bench, that paired with a close grip you can really jack up the volume on your triceps. After those I did some tri-push downs. While doing my push downs and sit ups I watched an older Personal Trainer try to teach a woman how to do kettlebell snatches and swings. Now I’m not 100% but I’m pretty sure he is not RKC, this woman looked like a fool doing these kettlebell exercises. Personally I’m not the biggest fan of them, however I do believe there is a place for them in the gym. I had my run in with a 70 lb kettle bell, doing swings to the tabata intervals….not fun, I am still kind of pissed at Y for talking me into them, I got her back with sled pulls/push though. I really wanted to ask the PT when he did his RKC and how was it. But I know I would have gotten the dear in the headlights look. I finished up with dips. These were extremely hard as well.
I am actually pretty excited that 275 was super heavy and dips were crazy hard. I am not worried about this because of the supercompensation principle. The more stress you put on your body, your body will adapt and overcome, actually become stronger. This is a great thing that your body does. To read more about this read this article on the SAID principle. It is now past my bed time so I will be hitting the sack.
Stay Strong
Tommy
My second work out started with push presses; I have problems with these because my shoulders are not very flexible. In fact, a few weeks ago I squatted 5 times in a week and I had real problems with my right elbow. I first thought it was just tendonitis, but then I figured it was because I’m a low bar squatter and I should be flexible in my shoulders, however, I am not. My elbow has started to flame up again making me think it is tendonitis and there is nothing I can do about it. So push presses 5x6, EZ bar curls 5x10 and 2 way neck 5x10. After those were done I moved to Arnold press and rev. grip curls. Then finished with curl + pump and the other 2 ways of the neck.
The rest of the day at work was used to debate the results of a death match between an African Elephant and a Silverback Guerilla. If you would like to weigh in on this debate, let me know your thoughts in the comments section at the bottom of this post. I came home to a pleasant surprise, there was a letter waiting for me from the U telling me I got into grad school. So I will start working toward my graduate degree in Applied Kinesiology: Sport and Exercise Science this summer.
My nightly work out was more of the same as always at my night gym. Weird looks when I pulled out my 3 board for 3 board close grip bench. This is a great exercise to really load up the triceps. The 3 2x6s stacked together laying on your chest will take your pecks right out of the bench, that paired with a close grip you can really jack up the volume on your triceps. After those I did some tri-push downs. While doing my push downs and sit ups I watched an older Personal Trainer try to teach a woman how to do kettlebell snatches and swings. Now I’m not 100% but I’m pretty sure he is not RKC, this woman looked like a fool doing these kettlebell exercises. Personally I’m not the biggest fan of them, however I do believe there is a place for them in the gym. I had my run in with a 70 lb kettle bell, doing swings to the tabata intervals….not fun, I am still kind of pissed at Y for talking me into them, I got her back with sled pulls/push though. I really wanted to ask the PT when he did his RKC and how was it. But I know I would have gotten the dear in the headlights look. I finished up with dips. These were extremely hard as well.
I am actually pretty excited that 275 was super heavy and dips were crazy hard. I am not worried about this because of the supercompensation principle. The more stress you put on your body, your body will adapt and overcome, actually become stronger. This is a great thing that your body does. To read more about this read this article on the SAID principle. It is now past my bed time so I will be hitting the sack.
Stay Strong
Tommy
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Day 2.....
Day 2….well lets start at the beginning. I woke up this morning pretty sore. Like I said earlier I haven’t done a lot over 5 reps. So that was my first struggle of the day. I didn’t get my first work out in by the time I wanted to. I started my first work out at 12:00, I started with back squats. Now the squat is one of my favorite exercise, I love it, however, I don’t love 5x8 of it. I used 365 paired my squats with pull ups. A minor tweak in my squat form in the final reps of my final sets turned out to be a bigger enemy than any weight today. After my squats my lower back clinched up tighter than hell. After I squatted I did step ups paired with reverse grip lat pull down; this hurt a lot because of my lower back. I finished with piston squats, I was supposed to pair them with weighted back extensions, however I didn’t feel that necessary beings my lower back was so tight. After my quick 40 min work out I did a glute ham hang. Now listen up! I will go to my grave singing the praises of the glute ham hang. 5 min hanging and relaxing will cure just about anything. Remember when you are hanging you must relax everything in your body, even your mouth. Monks in India found that they couldn’t reach true nirvana when they meditated, after a series of tests they found out that it was because they were pushing their tongue on the top of their mouths and never truly relaxed. So that loosened me up.
35 min. later I did another glute ham hang. This felt good then started my 2nd work out. Naturally coming of the first work out that tightened up my lower back bad I decided to do RDLs 5x8 working up to 315. Paired that with pull ups, I’m not very good at pull ups so I wanted to make sure I got them in early in the week when I can still feel my appendages. After my RDLs my back didn’t feel to bad so I did some good old reverse hypers paired with bent over rows. After those I did Nordic leg curls, although these are a body weight exercise I couldn’t finish them, my back and hamstrings were on FIRE! I paired my leg curls with straight arm pull downs. A protein shake ended my second work out.
I didn’t want to stand up after I got done with that; however some of the mascots came into the weight room. They are always fun to work with because they are just goofy as hell and we crush them when they come in. So I stood up for that. I drove home and went straight to the gym. At the gym I did leg presses. I was supposed to do 550, but that was way to light, even for the 3rd work out of the day, so I bumped up the weight to 770lbs. I paired that with low cable rows. At night I work out at (two letter California city) fitness. I always get some interesting looks when I go in there, however I don’t care I’ve got my Ipod on and my hood up so no one talks to me. I really like watching the personal trainers and criticizing them in my head. After my leg presses I did ball leg curls, I’ll quote a good friend of mine “it’s hard to look cool doing those” I did some dynamic lat pulls with the ball leg curls and then moved to cable pull throughs, this is when the looks really started to come..oh well.
And day 2 was done. We’ll see how I feel tomorrow. I wanted to soak in an Epsom salt bath tonight but I don’t have enough time. I’m going to hop in the shower and go to bed.
Stay Strong
Tommy
35 min. later I did another glute ham hang. This felt good then started my 2nd work out. Naturally coming of the first work out that tightened up my lower back bad I decided to do RDLs 5x8 working up to 315. Paired that with pull ups, I’m not very good at pull ups so I wanted to make sure I got them in early in the week when I can still feel my appendages. After my RDLs my back didn’t feel to bad so I did some good old reverse hypers paired with bent over rows. After those I did Nordic leg curls, although these are a body weight exercise I couldn’t finish them, my back and hamstrings were on FIRE! I paired my leg curls with straight arm pull downs. A protein shake ended my second work out.
I didn’t want to stand up after I got done with that; however some of the mascots came into the weight room. They are always fun to work with because they are just goofy as hell and we crush them when they come in. So I stood up for that. I drove home and went straight to the gym. At the gym I did leg presses. I was supposed to do 550, but that was way to light, even for the 3rd work out of the day, so I bumped up the weight to 770lbs. I paired that with low cable rows. At night I work out at (two letter California city) fitness. I always get some interesting looks when I go in there, however I don’t care I’ve got my Ipod on and my hood up so no one talks to me. I really like watching the personal trainers and criticizing them in my head. After my leg presses I did ball leg curls, I’ll quote a good friend of mine “it’s hard to look cool doing those” I did some dynamic lat pulls with the ball leg curls and then moved to cable pull throughs, this is when the looks really started to come..oh well.
And day 2 was done. We’ll see how I feel tomorrow. I wanted to soak in an Epsom salt bath tonight but I don’t have enough time. I’m going to hop in the shower and go to bed.
Stay Strong
Tommy
Monday, March 23, 2009
Day 1 Phase 1...
Day one of Bulgarian Burst is finished. I just finished my 3rd and final work out of the day and I am spent. I worked in Ridder arena today so there wasn’t much going on which was nice because I got to get my work outs in with little to no distractions. I took my pre-work out drink (JP8) around 10:30, this shit is so nasty that I have to stand over a toilet or trash can to drink it. However, it gets me going like nothing else, so I guess I’ll continue to drink it. I started my first lift at 10:50 this morning, it started with Incline bench paired with barbell shrugs, 5x8 for all of them. This was a lot tougher than I thought it would be, I haven’t done anything more than a set of 5 reps for a long time so 8 reps was kinda a-robic for me. The whole time I was benching I was burping up JP8, drinking that shit is bad enough one time that I don’t like to have to drink it down again and again. After my incline bench I went over and did DB bench press, paired with DB Shrugs. This time my eyes were bigger than my muscles, I benched with 90s for my first set and after I got done with that I thought to myself there is no way I’m going to be able to do 4 more sets of those. So I went down to 70s which turned out to be just right. When I finished that superset I did DB incline fly and Gopher U abs. I finished my lift around 11:30 right on time. I was all sorts of jacked up, feeling like a true superbeast.
I drank a protein shake and started my next lift at 12:10 with DB Push press, I used 60s and probably should have used 65s – 70s. I paired those with one of my favorite bicep exercises, DB Preacher Hammer curls, again I probably should have used more weight for those. After my 5x8 of those exercises I moved on to DB Military press and standing DB curls. It was interesting that I could have used more weight for almost everything in my 2nd work out. It’s crazy how much that 40 min. of rest really helps. After my military’s and curls I did Arnold Press and concentration curls. This about floored me gritting my teeth on every one of those Arnolds. I was glad to be done with my second work out. Once that was done I ate a spinach salad with various other goodies in it.
Work got done early today and I was able to get home around the same time as my wife which is always nice. She went off to the tanning bed and I got my 3rd work out in. I did the Perfect Push up and sit ups, close grip push ups and sit ups with a twist; and then regular push ups and side to side toe touches. I felt I needed to put more push ups in my work out beings there is an Army PT test coming up soon. The regular push ups were the hardest part, with no surprise after doing 100 of the other types of push ups. However I did see my heart rate getting up to around the 115 range.
Overall after the first day of Bulgarian Burst training I feel pretty good, I defiantly will be going to bed around 9 though to prepare for back squats, RDLs and Leg presses tomorrow. As for now, it’s time to make supper; it’s going to be taco night at the Miller’s.
Stay Strong
Tommy
I drank a protein shake and started my next lift at 12:10 with DB Push press, I used 60s and probably should have used 65s – 70s. I paired those with one of my favorite bicep exercises, DB Preacher Hammer curls, again I probably should have used more weight for those. After my 5x8 of those exercises I moved on to DB Military press and standing DB curls. It was interesting that I could have used more weight for almost everything in my 2nd work out. It’s crazy how much that 40 min. of rest really helps. After my military’s and curls I did Arnold Press and concentration curls. This about floored me gritting my teeth on every one of those Arnolds. I was glad to be done with my second work out. Once that was done I ate a spinach salad with various other goodies in it.
Work got done early today and I was able to get home around the same time as my wife which is always nice. She went off to the tanning bed and I got my 3rd work out in. I did the Perfect Push up and sit ups, close grip push ups and sit ups with a twist; and then regular push ups and side to side toe touches. I felt I needed to put more push ups in my work out beings there is an Army PT test coming up soon. The regular push ups were the hardest part, with no surprise after doing 100 of the other types of push ups. However I did see my heart rate getting up to around the 115 range.
Overall after the first day of Bulgarian Burst training I feel pretty good, I defiantly will be going to bed around 9 though to prepare for back squats, RDLs and Leg presses tomorrow. As for now, it’s time to make supper; it’s going to be taco night at the Miller’s.
Stay Strong
Tommy
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Bulgarian Burst
So tomorrow I start my Bulgarian Burst experience. Before I dive right in to how messed up I feel I'm going to drop a little knowledge on you and explain the nuts and bolts of this program.
So if you have been living under a rock for the past 20-30 years...or just don't keep track of the Olympics the eastern block has been ruling the Olympic sport world. Yes communism played a significant role in this, however so did sports science. The Bulgarians figured out that athlete's testosterone levels rise about 20 min into a work out and cortisol levels drop, (testosterone = good, cortisol = bad) then after about 40 min the amount of testosterone and the amount of cortisol reach about the same levels. So, we need to keep our work outs to 40 min. or so. On a side note this makes me really wonder how anyone can get anything done in 20 min. in the gym. Now, when you really get into lifting weights you will find out that it is hard to get a lot of high quality work done in 40 min. So we will work out 3 times a day.
This will do 2 things. 1, allow us to get a lot of really quality work done in the gym through out the day and 2, allow the volume of the work to go through the roof.
So, strength coaches measure work outs with 2 measure tools. Volume and Intensity. Intensity if the heaviness of the weight compared to your 1 rep max. and Volume is the total amount of tonnage lifting. You don't need a masters degree and 14 certifications to understand that there is an inverse relationship to volume and intensity. Say your 1 rm is 100 lbs of a given exercise. you can do 100 lbs one time. that would make your intensity be 100, however your volume would be very low. now if you did 70 lbs 10 times your volume would be 700 lbs, however your intensity is 70. I hope that opens it up a little bit for you. If you have more questions about volume and intensity check out The Lost Variable in The Quest For Power on XL Athlete.
Now when I work out 3 times a day, I can lift more weight in each given exercise, so when I continue to keep my intensity up I can still keep my volume up.
Before I get any questions about my diet. I am roughly 250lbs right now, I will not try to eat anything more to gain weight and I will not stop eating so I loose weight. If I loose weight great, if I don't, I'll be okay with it. As for supplements, I'll be taking a lot of whey protein, creatine, glutamine, a multi-vitamin, probotics, Omega-3s and CLA. I will also try to get as much sleep as I can at night, my wife might not think that is all too great, however she likes to sleep too. So, for now I think I'm all set to start this craziness tomorrow. Today, it's a beautiful day out so I think I'm going to go out and ride my bike!
Stay Strong
Tommy
So if you have been living under a rock for the past 20-30 years...or just don't keep track of the Olympics the eastern block has been ruling the Olympic sport world. Yes communism played a significant role in this, however so did sports science. The Bulgarians figured out that athlete's testosterone levels rise about 20 min into a work out and cortisol levels drop, (testosterone = good, cortisol = bad) then after about 40 min the amount of testosterone and the amount of cortisol reach about the same levels. So, we need to keep our work outs to 40 min. or so. On a side note this makes me really wonder how anyone can get anything done in 20 min. in the gym. Now, when you really get into lifting weights you will find out that it is hard to get a lot of high quality work done in 40 min. So we will work out 3 times a day.
This will do 2 things. 1, allow us to get a lot of really quality work done in the gym through out the day and 2, allow the volume of the work to go through the roof.
So, strength coaches measure work outs with 2 measure tools. Volume and Intensity. Intensity if the heaviness of the weight compared to your 1 rep max. and Volume is the total amount of tonnage lifting. You don't need a masters degree and 14 certifications to understand that there is an inverse relationship to volume and intensity. Say your 1 rm is 100 lbs of a given exercise. you can do 100 lbs one time. that would make your intensity be 100, however your volume would be very low. now if you did 70 lbs 10 times your volume would be 700 lbs, however your intensity is 70. I hope that opens it up a little bit for you. If you have more questions about volume and intensity check out The Lost Variable in The Quest For Power on XL Athlete.
Now when I work out 3 times a day, I can lift more weight in each given exercise, so when I continue to keep my intensity up I can still keep my volume up.
Before I get any questions about my diet. I am roughly 250lbs right now, I will not try to eat anything more to gain weight and I will not stop eating so I loose weight. If I loose weight great, if I don't, I'll be okay with it. As for supplements, I'll be taking a lot of whey protein, creatine, glutamine, a multi-vitamin, probotics, Omega-3s and CLA. I will also try to get as much sleep as I can at night, my wife might not think that is all too great, however she likes to sleep too. So, for now I think I'm all set to start this craziness tomorrow. Today, it's a beautiful day out so I think I'm going to go out and ride my bike!
Stay Strong
Tommy
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Why I do this to myself...
I often get asked why I put myself through all of this to become stronger. Why do I continue to beat myself up in the weight room. The answer to these questions took me some time, however I believe I have figured it out. With enough drive and balls you can stand up from your computer right now and complete a marathon. You will probably get hurt and feel like complete ass after, however if you REALLY wanted to you could do it. However, not a lot of people can stand up from their computer and walk up and dead lift 500 pounds, or bench press 400 pounds. You can have all the drive and determination in the world but if you haven't put in the time and work you will not be able to successfully complete the heavy lifts. This is why I do what I do.
Stay Strong
Tommy
Stay Strong
Tommy
In the beginning...
So this is my first blog and this is my first post in this blog. I’ve started this blog with a strange thought that maybe somewhere out there there might be someone that would like to read about me and what’s going on my life.
A little about myself. I am married to a wonderful woman named Alex, we met in college down in Mankato and have been married for a happy 2 years. I have been lifting weights since the 4th grade (1992). My dad put me in the weight room and I haven’t left yet. No, I did not stunt my growth, yes I am normal. I am in the National Guard. I am the 2nd Platoon Leader for Alpha Company, 2-135 IN RGMT. I have been in for about 5.5 years now and I have only been deployed once to Kosovo. I enjoy the military as well as the bonding that goes with it. I enjoy everything that deals with a lot of testosterone, I ride a motorcycle, I lift weights, I enjoy shooting my gun and drinking beer, not at the same time.
My life in strength and conditioning started when I was in 9th grade. My dad took me to the University of Nebraska – Lincoln and got us a tour of the weight room. I was hooked; I knew that day that when I grew up I wanted to be a Strength and Conditioning coach. I went to Waldorf College after high school to play football. I played for a year and a half there and then transferred to Minnesota State University, Mankato. After playing football at MSU I did an internship with Chuck Lobe. There I learned more about the S&C world and I met my good friend Jayme. After graduation I deployed, it was a long year but I’m very glad I did it. When I got back Chuck hooked me up with an internship at the University of Minnesota where I am still working. I work under some great strength coaches and I was fortunate enough to publish some articles on a great web site, check it out at www.xlathlete.com. I have also reunited with my boy Jayme at Velocity Hockey. It’s a fun place to work and we get to work with some pretty intense athletes.
So I think that should bring you up to speed with my life. In this blog I will write mostly about my work outs. I do some pretty interesting stuff. Last week I squatted real heavy 5 days in a row. Next week I begin my Bulgarian Burst training which will require me to work out 3 times a day 6 days a week. Should be interesting. I am doing all of this to see how it affects my body and to see how strong I can really get. Thanks for reading.
Stay Strong
Tommy
A little about myself. I am married to a wonderful woman named Alex, we met in college down in Mankato and have been married for a happy 2 years. I have been lifting weights since the 4th grade (1992). My dad put me in the weight room and I haven’t left yet. No, I did not stunt my growth, yes I am normal. I am in the National Guard. I am the 2nd Platoon Leader for Alpha Company, 2-135 IN RGMT. I have been in for about 5.5 years now and I have only been deployed once to Kosovo. I enjoy the military as well as the bonding that goes with it. I enjoy everything that deals with a lot of testosterone, I ride a motorcycle, I lift weights, I enjoy shooting my gun and drinking beer, not at the same time.
My life in strength and conditioning started when I was in 9th grade. My dad took me to the University of Nebraska – Lincoln and got us a tour of the weight room. I was hooked; I knew that day that when I grew up I wanted to be a Strength and Conditioning coach. I went to Waldorf College after high school to play football. I played for a year and a half there and then transferred to Minnesota State University, Mankato. After playing football at MSU I did an internship with Chuck Lobe. There I learned more about the S&C world and I met my good friend Jayme. After graduation I deployed, it was a long year but I’m very glad I did it. When I got back Chuck hooked me up with an internship at the University of Minnesota where I am still working. I work under some great strength coaches and I was fortunate enough to publish some articles on a great web site, check it out at www.xlathlete.com. I have also reunited with my boy Jayme at Velocity Hockey. It’s a fun place to work and we get to work with some pretty intense athletes.
So I think that should bring you up to speed with my life. In this blog I will write mostly about my work outs. I do some pretty interesting stuff. Last week I squatted real heavy 5 days in a row. Next week I begin my Bulgarian Burst training which will require me to work out 3 times a day 6 days a week. Should be interesting. I am doing all of this to see how it affects my body and to see how strong I can really get. Thanks for reading.
Stay Strong
Tommy
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