Using Isometrics to build strength in the Power Lifts

Check out my Article posted on 360cut.com! http://www.360cut.com/store/pg/28-Using-Isometrics-to-Build-Strength-in-Power-Lifts.aspx#.UdG0qfnCaSo

Conjugate Method

So I've never trained at Westside, nor have I really hardcore followed the conjugate system but I understand it. I get the picture and I can understand the difference between the max effort method, the dynamic effort method and the repetition method. The problem I see is that people on the interwebz look at videos from westside and Elitefts and look for the best possible max effort movement for their style of lifting. Whether it's shirted bench, single ply squat or raw deadlifts.....Your not doing it right!!!

The conjugate method, especially the westside version of it, (No, westside did not invent it, Louie even says he didn't) is designed to work your weak points, the specific lifters weak points. These weak points are different for everyone and such max effort movements should be different for everyone. For instance, I have a weak lock out on my deadlifts, I can pull anything off the ground but locking it out stalls, max effort movements for me would include deadlifts with chains, rack pulls etc. A lot of people have weak pulls from the ground, max effort movements for them would include deficit pulls, good mornings etc.

Yes I am not blind enough to see there are many max effort movements that help the entire movement and improve on multiple weaknesses, but the point is to find YOUR weakness and improve that. Your only as strong as your sticking point!

The Army Strength Athlete

There are multiple reasons multiple people join the Army, some join for benefits, some join to give their life meaning, and even some join just to get into shape. This was not the case when I joined the Army. I was a benefit guy that benefited more from the Army then just the school help. I joined when I was playing defensive line for the Minnesota State University, Mankato football team. I had been training for college football for as long as I can remember, knowing it would all lead up to one day playing in college. In college I was on a small enough scale (Army wise) that I could defiantly get away with both trying to get big and strong for football and still succeed in the Army’s physical training program.

The Army mandates that National Guard Soldiers take the Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) once a year, twice while on active duty orders, such as deployments. The APFT consists of 2 minutes of pushups, 2 minutes of sit ups and a 2 mile run. There are standards based on the Soldiers age to determine if the Soldier passes or fails, each event is scored on a 100 point scale, 60 being just passing and 100 being a good pass, or “PT stud”. So if a Soldier scores 100 points in all three events he/she gets a score of 300, if a Soldier scores 60 points in all three events that Soldier gets a score of 180. If the Soldier drops below the standards of the PT test he/she is subject to remedial PT and possibly kicked out of the Army.

I have never been a 300 guy, I’ve scored well, 250+ but never a 300. I possess the upper body strength to max out the pushups, do real well in the sit ups but the run is always what gets me. Currently at my age (29) I have to run 2 miles in 17 minutes, this is not a problem but to get 100 points I have to run it in 13 min. Naturally I am closer to the 17 minute range than the 13 minute range, however, I have never failed a PT test.

You see when we are all born we are born with a specific percentage of muscle fibers. These fibers are broken down to fast and slow twitch fibers. There are nearly dozens of different types of muscle fibers but we all have a specific percentage of slow and a certain percentage of fast twitch, then comes the ever popular type IIb muscle fibers, these fibers are trainable. These fibers can switch to act as either fast twitch fibers or slow twitch fibers. As a former football player my IIb fibers have learned to act more as fast twitch fibers than slow twitch and thus my difficulties with the 2 mile run.

So when I got done playing football it was just a natural fit for me to merge into strength sports. I have competed in both powerlifting and strongman. I enjoy training and I don’t enjoy training without a goal. My inability to succeed in a 2 mile long slow run has made the PT test not as appetizing to me as others. Deadlifting 700 pounds however is appetizing to me, pressing a 330 pound log over my head is downright delicious. I enjoy strongman and hope to soon be awarded with a Pro Card from the ASC making me a professional strongman. However, I am still in the military and will continue to be in the military for a while.

Currently I’m deployed in Kuwait in support of Operation New Dawn and the draw down in Iraq, this is interesting because believe it or not they don’t get a lot of strength athletes that come around here. Although they do keep gym records, when I got here the deadlift gym record was 585, the squat record was 600 and the bench record still stands at 500. Within the first 6 weeks here I had re-set the records to 650 deadlift, and 725 squat, they don’t follow any powerlifting feds so the squat was a little high, but they counted it. Currently my weight is 275 lbs.

So with my upcoming goal of winning my Strongman Pro card and my everlasting thrust for strength you could imagine that I’m a little different looking than most Soldiers. Trying to get as strong as humanly possible all the while still being able to go for a 2 mile run in a passing time has stretched me both ways. The Army is attempting to fix the APFT to be more “combat like” however, that seems to be deadlocked. Not to mention the Crossfit community runs rampant around the military. My issues with crossfit can be saved for another post, however I have never figured out why they continue to ask if I want to crossfit….does it look like it?!?

When it comes down to you as a strength athlete in the military I have to run long distances. It may not be the best thing for my pursuit of strength but it is what it is, this is the life I have decided to live. That will not deter me from going into the weight room and lifting heavy. Today my training partner said to me that when I lift it’s like a spectator sport because everyone stops doing whatever they are doing and watches me squat 600+ pounds. Am I the ideal Soldier? Absolutely not. Should all Soldiers train like me? Absolutely not. Should there be some sort of mix between strength and endurance for military members? Absolutely! I think that is the biggest point people miss, they see me and they think I want everyone to look and lift like me, I don’t! There is nothing wrong with Soldiers getting cock strong though.

So in conclusion I have rambled quite a bit; however, if the reader can take anything from this realize that human beings aren’t cookie cuts. But if there is a standard it must be met, sometimes you just have to show off your athleticism and surprise some people!

New Training Log

Tommy Miller's Training Log

Here is my new training log, I'm posting on the USAPL forum to get myself out there a little more. Just an FYI

Benchin

Bench Press
Bar x 5
135 x 5
225 x 5
275 x 3
315 x 1
Added Titan Katana
385 x 3 3board
405 x 2 2 board
425 x 1 2 or 1 board I don't remember
445 x 1 1 board
455 x 1 1/2 board, couldn't touch, jacked my shirt up way to much
455 x 1 1/2 board.

20 min cardio
Short and sweet today!

Squat

Squat
barx5
135x5
315x5
405x3
495x1
Added Suit and light wraps
585x1
635x1
655x1
tightened wraps
675x1
705x1! new PR

RDL 275 3x6
Incline GH Raise 3x6

20 min restorative bike...

Below is a video of my 705 squat....pretty pumped about it, I had Kevin call my depth on the 635, 655, 675 and 705 so I think it's legit!

Friday

Just did some cardio and sauna on Thursday.

Friday.
Bench Press
barx10
135x5
225x5
275x3
315x1
Added Titan Katana size 50
385x3 - 3 board
405x3 - 3 board
425x2 - 2 board
435x2 - 2 board
455 2x1 - 1 board
455 x 1 - 1/2 board

DB Bench Press 3x 8 @ 95 neutral grip

Dips 2 x 8 W/ 25# plate

3 weeks out and freaking out a bit about my training, haven't squatted real good yet. going to switch to a 4 day split, monday will be heavy singles on squat, and assistant DL exercises. Tue will be Singles on Bench with some tri work. Thur will be heavy singles on DL with squat speed stuff and Friday will be bench press speed work with shoulders and arms. thoughts?

Wed.

Squat
worked up to 2 singles @ 655

Deadlift
worked up to 3 singles @ 515 with straps down.
My Deadlift suit is proving very hard to learn. But I will continue to try.

I think I'm done Bulgarian Bursting, I'm 4 weeks out and for some reason I'm not adapting to the volume like I did before I took a 10 day break. I haven't had a good squat work out since before the cruise, I'm going to work with Cal today to try to find a good way to taper myself for my meet.

Friday, Monday, Tuesday

Friday
1
Snatch Grip DL 5x5 @425
Leg Press 5x5 worked up to 9 plates on each side
2
PUll ups P/W shrugs 5x5
Back ext + row 5x5 P/W hex bar shrug 3 x 100
3
Rev Hyper 5x5

Monday
Had a really rough weekend with my buddy Tim so didn't feel the greatest Monday morning.

Squat
585x5
450 3x5

Tuesday
1
3 board Bench
worked up to 500 for 2
2
Fat Bar push press with Micro mini bands 195#
P/W
Bar Curl 135#
Green band military press + 20#
P/W
DB HAmmer curls 85#
3
Tri push down 120#
JM DB Press 70#

Wed. Thurs

Wed.

wanted to go heavy but was really soar from Monday's 3s so I went up to 655 for 2x1 I had my buddy Kevin call my depth, it seemed a lot lower than I hoped :) In my second work out I put on my DL Suit for the first time. It was a struggle. AFter getting it on I tried to pull 545 but it didn't feel right at all, so I dropped the weight down to 450 and hit 3 easy singles with the straps down. I do feel a lot of rebound out of the bottom though, I'll get used to it and it will be all good.

Thursday,

Benched with a 1 board today
405x1
425x1
435x1
445x1
455x1, near miss

445 flew off my chest but 455 got stuck a little bit.

2nd work out
Jerk 6x1 @240
P/W
Bar curls 6x3or4 @ 132 or so
Green band military press 6x3

3rd Work Out
Close grip floor press
315x1
335 4x1
Tri Push down 6x3 @ 115#

A couple of so/so days of training, it's a little sad but oh well. I'm thinking about taking my training log to the USAPL forum to get my name out there a little bit more. IDK still thinking about it.

Busy Day

Last night I got an e-mail saying that a huge project that my buddy Kevin and I are doing needs to be pretty much done by Thrusday, so naturally I didn't get a lot of work done today beings I was working on that project.

1st Work Out
Bench
Shirt and a 2 board
405 x 3
435 x 3
Raw
350 + 50#of chains x 3
340 +50# of chains x 2
340x3

2nd Work out 6x3
Cowboy bar military press
P/W
Unks

Like I said unfortunately I didn't get a lot of stuff done today, but hopefully I didn't toast my nervous system too much on bench and will be able to hit some big singles on Thursday. Also, I bought a used Titan Katana shirt and a new Titan Super Centurion squat suit today, both a size smaller for when I get down to comp. weight. I've determined that I can not get too bloated anymore between meets, especially if I am getting this new gear, I need to train in that gear and stay down near my comp weight. That is all...

Obsessed

I woke up at 4:40, I was so excited to train again....

1st Work Out
Squat:
full gear
585x3
610x3
Raw
495 3x3

2nd Work Out, everything was done 6x3
Pull ups NO BAND ASSIST!!!!!
P/W
Shrugs 635
TRX Rows w/ weight vest...weight???
P/W
One Arm shrug, used the bar with 635 on it, just grabbed one end of it.

3rd Work Out
Ball leg curls
P/W
Incline GH Hyper
went easy because I want to pull real heavy on Wed.

It feels good to be back in the weight room and training again!

Last day of working out in 2009

1st Work Out
Bench Press singles
Gear: Titan Fury Shirt, EFS Wrist wraps, old belt found in the weight room
405, 415, 425, 435, 445 yet another new PR

2nd Work Out
Jerk 5x1 worked up to 220
P/W
Straight bar curl 5x3 155
Curl to press 65# 5x3

3rd Work Out
Close grip floor press 275 + 60# of chains 5x3
JM DB Press 70# 5x5

A good way to bring in the new year, the 17th PR in the last 8 weeks. 5 lbs away from my original 2010 goal, that might need to be redone. I am going on a cruise tomorrow for some well needed R&R 3 times a day 6 times a week for 8 weeks will wear one out. So I'm pumped about all my PRs because I am currently in a state of overtraining, so the idea is after my cruise I will be supercompensated a little and be stronger! Next work out isn't scheduled until January 11th where I will continue to Bulgarian Burst!

Lowerbody Singles

1st Work Out
Squat
Worked up to 2 singles @ 675

2nd Work Out
Deadlift
Pulled Conventional toady
Worked UP to 585!
New PR, a training goal I've been working on for quite some time. I then got home and found my new Inzer Max DL suit waiting for me! I tired it on and it is extremely tight, it will take a while for me to "slip" into it.


3rd work Out
Wide grip pull ups 5x5 used micro mini, it's my safety blanket
T-bar Rows 5 plates on the end 5x5
Back ext rows 135 5x5

I tried to get video of my 585 but my phone recorded the video and then told me that it was recorded in an unsupported format, such is life...Next time I hit it I will take a video of it.

5x3

Monday
Got back late and all I had time for was my squats
Worked up to 585 x3 (suit and knee wraps)
4x3 @ 445 W/ choked green bands and 30 lbs on chains

Tuesday
1st Work Out
Bench Press 5x3 @ 315 W/ 60 lbs on chains
20 min walk, 4 mph 1.5 incline

2nd Work Out
Neutral Grip Shoulder Press @ 165
P/W
Straight Bar Curl 135
Band shoulder press green bands W/ 15lb weight
P/W
Hammer Curls 85
5 min EDT
Straight Bar curl @ 85
P/W
Neutral Grip Shoulder Press 135

3rd Work Out
Close grip fat bar floor press 275
Tri Push Down 120
P/W
WTD dips 45#

Sauna for 20 min. The new sauna in the locker room is really nice...i mean really nice

pre-Christmas training

Wed of last week
Squat,
Worked up to 675, killed it, 705 got stuck on the way out of the hole.
Deadlift,
Hit 545 for 1

Thursday
Bench 5x1 @ 405
2 min Chest Iso Hold

Here is a video of my 675 squat any thoughts?

5x3 Upper Gear

1st Work Out
Bench
warmed up then added shirt off a 2 board, 405, 435 and stalled out at 455, set up was wrong, board was wrong...the whole lift was wrong,
took off shirt and hit 315 + 60# of chains for 2x3
Fat Bar Incline Bench, 275

2nd Work Out
Push Press 225#
P/W
Fat Bar drag curl 125#
Band military press, standing on green bands and doing a military press w/ them
P/W
Hammer Curls 85#
DB Side raise 50#
P/W
Hammer Curls 85#

3rd Work Out
Close grip 4 board press 385#
Tri Push Down

Pissed about my bench, but it is what it is...

5x3 Lower, geared up

Squat
Warmed up
added suit and loose wraps 585, 605, 605
took off the suit and warps and hit 495, 495

2nd Work OUt
Bar shrugs
P/W
Pull ups
Back ext. rows 70#
P/W
one arm shrugs
Dynamic Lat pull 255#

3rd Work Out
Rack Pulls worked up to 585 for last two sets
SL Rev Hyper 250#
Incline GH Hyper, inclined as far as I could!

I will add my gear on both the 5x3 days and the 5x1 days, need to get used to it!

finals...

So this week has been finals week, thus the disorganization of my updates.

5x1 benching went well, i got to put my shirt on again!
hit 365 off a 2 board and it flew up
385 off a 1 board...made it look stupid
405 off my chest was like nothing
415, the first one I jacked my shirt up and hit 415 real easy,
the second one I didn't jack my shirt and it was more of a struggle.

The 5x1 bench work out signified my 100th work out in the past 6 weeks. Wow how the time has flown so Ben, my training partner brought an ice cream cake from DQ and we took a good healthy bit of that cake down, that really messed up our 2nd work out, jerks and log press


5x5 lower today,
SSB squats to a 12 in box 505 5x5
did a lot of back work in my 2nd work out
3rd work out did some snatch grip RDLs....good stuff

Finals is over so I am half way done with my masters degree!

A lot of Catch up

Tuesday was 5x3, nothing really new. I even kinda went light due to the finals load. Bench went well as did my shoulder presses.

Wednesday was 5x1 lower

1st WorkOut
Worked up to 2 solid 615 squat singles with my suit on and straps down. Very nice.....
Back was back...whatever,
I pulled 535 for 2 singles too I can tell my squat has gone up a lot but I'm always so gased when I get to my pulls that I think they have gotten better.

I'm going to continue to load up until the beginning of January, I'm going on a cruse Jan 1-8 and I don't plan on touching a weight during that time. so hopefully I will supercompensate a little. Then it's back at it Bursting untill my meet in Feb. I will just continue to drop volume lower and lower until I peak myself. I dig it.