Thursday- Squat

Today felt good. I didn’t feel like I had a lot in the tank, but everything felt strong.

• Squats- Warm-up sets, 75% x 5, 80% x 5, 85% x 5
• Lunges- 4 x8
• Good Mornings- 3 x8
• Hammer Curls- 4×8

Lower body is going to be sore tomorrow! I can already feel it.

Now go train, and train hard!

Josh

Wednesday- Squat

Today was quick and the final squat session of this phase. Today’s training looked like this:

• Squat- Warm-up sets, 75% x 5, 85% x 3, 95% x 5
• Good Mornings- 4×8

Today was easy and hard at the same time. I was so tired I didn’t even feel like training, but I kicked myself in the butt and got after it. I am working on my squat form and this is the best my form has felt thus far. My knees do not feel beat up, which is a great thing. I also did 30 minutes on the treadmill later in the day.

Now go train, and train hard!

Josh

Saturday- Squat

Great day of training today, despite little man screaming at me the whole time, lol. Here is what today looked like:

• Squat- Warm-up sets, 80% x 3, 85% x 3, 90% x 7
• Squat- 5x8x 57.5%
• Romanian Deadlift- 5×8
• Band Legs Curls- 3×15
• Calf Raises- 3 x20

I was tired after today, but everything felt great. Started to try and go heavier on the Romanian Deadlifts, which was  a bad decision, because I couldn’t get the same stretch and feel in my low back and hamstrings. So, heavier is not always better, no matter what our ego tells us.

Now go train,a nd train hard!

Josh

Wednesday- Squat

I had to make it quick today. My little sis grew up on me today and graduated from high school. Here is how today looked:

• Squat- Warm-up sets, 75% x 5, 80% x 5, 85% x 5, 87.5% x 5
• Romanian Deadlift- 4 x8

That was it. Had to motivate. Going to pick up a little more volume on Saturday with an accessory day.

Now go train, and train hard!

Josh

Thursday- Squat

I was a day off this week due to having a root canal done on Wednesday. It sucked by the way, don’t let anyone lie to you. I just didn’t have the focus in the gym today, so I was disappointed with my session despite no real set backs. Here is how it looked:

• Squat- Warm up sets, 75% x 5, 85% x 3, 95% x 3
• Squat- 5 x 10 with 50% 1RM
• Romanian Deadlift- 3 x 10
• Ez-Bar Curls- 4x 15, 12, 10, 8 (This is my summer vanity move, haha)

That’s it. Short and sweet, which was good because I just wasn’t into it.

How go train, and train hard!

Josh

Monday- Squat

Once again, everything felt solid and good, which makes me a happy guy. The weather is starting to stay warm so I broke out the sled for the first time this year. I am sure my neighbors at the aprtment will be looking at me weird, but I don’t worry about that stuff. I have a perfect spot to drag the sled in between buildings, but the ground changes up from all grass to grass and dirt half way through, which makes the seconds half a bitch. Here’s what my training looked like:

• Squat- Warm-up sets, 80% x 3, 85% x 3, 90% x 6
• Box Squats- High (18 in)- 60% x 4 sets x 8 reps (these felt way better than last week!)
• Band Good Mornings (Strong + Light)- 3 x 10
• Dumbbell Curls- 30 x 3 sets x 10 reps
• Sled drags- 80lbs x 150 ft, 125lbs x 150 ft, 150lbs x 150 ft (legs and glutes were screaming after this one!)

Dragging the sled felt great. It has been a while. It’s going to be a staple after every session. I need the GPP work.

Now go train, and train hard!

Josh

 

Exercise of the Week:

If you have access to a sled then you already know that it can kick your butt. There is no limit to what you can do with it. However, if you don’t have access to a sled, then you are not without options. How many times have you seen a tire laying around on a street or in someones yard? Do what you have to (make sure it is legal) to acquire that tire. Drill two holes through one end of the tire. Now, get you some rope (about 8 ft worth) and run it through the holes. Now, you have your own home made sled. You can weight by sliding smaller plates inside the tire or find a heavy object that will sit on the tire while you drag it. Once you are set up, try this out a few times per week:

• Forward drag with rope held at chest- 3 x 100 ft
• Backward drag with rope at waist level- 3 x 100 ft
• Forward drag with rope looped around belt- 3 x 100 ft

This is great for GPP. For conditioning, keep the weight low to moderate and keep the distances and time longer. For strength building, keep the weight heavier and the distance and time shorter. Give it a try!

Sunday- Squat Day

I always dread squat day, but at the same time, I enjoy it. So, it’s a love-hate relationship. Everything felt a little heavy today. I think this was in part contributed to not getting much sleep last night and doing a lot of work yesterday. Either way, it was still a great session. I reintroduced box squats to my routine. I had used box squats exclusivelyfor about 2 years before having to take off from lifting for about 6 months. It is a great tool and helped my free squat get stronger than ever. My posterior chain was screaming, despite the fact that I was on a high box. So, now I know where I need some more work. I will be adding in box squats after free squats and see how thingsplay out. However, don’t tell my posterior chain though, they still aren’t speaking to me.  Today looked like this:

• Squat- Warm-Up sets, 75% x 5, 80% x 5, 85% x 6
• Box Squats- 18 in. box- 5 x 10 x 60%
• Good Mornings- Band (Strong+Light)- 3 x 10

That was it. Short, but effective. Still getting stronger and that is a great thing.

Now go train, and train hard!

Josh

Squat Day

04/13/2009

I have been feeling beat up over the last 2 weeks. I attribute this to a lack of sleep and combining my deadlift and military press days into one session. In reviewing my numbers, I also believe I have been deadlifting a little too much, so I will be adjusting my approach during the next phase. This being said, I went in yesterday and just did my main lift:

Squat- 3 warm-up sets, followed by 5/3/1 protocol.

The rest of this week is a deload week, so I will be doing very little. I am trying to go into next week feeling rested and ready to attack things. This will be Phase 5 using the 5/3/1 protocol. If you haven’t heard or seen anything relating to the 5/3/1 system, I highly suggest checking it out. It was developed by Jim Wendler of Elite Fitness Systems (link to the right of my blog).  It is a very simple training system which requires minimal equipment. It is very idiot proof and is used not only by recreational lifters, but also by some of the top professional powerlifters today. I highly recommend picking up the manual if you need a simple program that provides great results. I don’t feel anywhere near as beat up with it as I did using the Westside Barbell split.

By the way, picked up two more weapons today. My dad had two huge stones out back of his house that I have been eyeing for a while. I’m not sure of the weight, but I am guess in the 75-100 lb. range. Not a bad weight, but they are very oddly shaped, which is going to be challenging for carrying or overhead pressing. I’m looking forward to it. I’m hoping to get some news on my tire this week as well. I’ll keep you posted!

Now, go train, and train hard!

Josh