Max Intensity Upper 1-9-22

 Max Intensity Upper Day

Bench Press- worked up to heavy triples

Press Behind the Neck- worked up to heavy triples

Cable Crossovers for high reps

Press downs for high reps

Band Pull Aparts for high reps

Standing ab pulldowns with bands

Sunday Training

Dynamic Squats/Deadlifts

12 sets of 2 reps box squats with straight weight

Speed Pulls with chains attached to bar 6 x 1 rep

Normally we would focus on our low backs and hamstrings after this but my CNS was fried so I called it a day after the speed pulls. Training 6 days a week plus extra workouts means sometimes when feeling beat up just getting in and hitting the main lifts and calling it day. This should be done sparingly.

Saturday Training at DFBC

Saturdays are our Max Effort Bench Press Day. On our Dynamic bench days we focus heavily on our working our chests and triceps. On Max Effort we really hammer our pressing and shoulders.

But sometimes when the weather is nice we will hit our max effort lift and then head outside and do strongman training. This Saturday the weather was beautiful so that's what we did.

Our max effort lift was bench press with chains. We warmed up with straight weight then added some chains. We then added bar weight and then chains until we got to a certain amount. For 300 lbs and over benches we used 80 lbs of chain and for sub 200 we used 55 lbs of chain.

After we hit 3 singles at >90% we grabbed a strongman log, farmers walk handles, sled, and some plates and went outside. We started with log clean and presses working 3-5 reps up to a max single. After that we did 50 yard farmers walks for several trips working up in weight. We followed that up with some throws using a 10 lbs bumper like a discus. We finished with sled drags starting light doing movements like front raises and reverse flys and finishing with heavy weights. 

All in all it was fun but tough work. 

A Look at our Gym and Current Training Routine

            Our training methods can vary at times but generally follow a pretty set pattern of alternating between a “bodybuilding” phase for three months as a sort of off-season and a powerlifting/strongman phase the rest of the year broken into three cycles of three months each. Our strength/power phase is based around conjugate training as popularized by Westside Barbell. Hands down there is no gym in the world like Westside Barbell and the endless number of world record holders that gym has had speaks for itself. While our training is heavily influenced by the training methods developed by Louie Simmons we do not train “Westside Barbell”. The only people who train Westside are the members of that gym who train there. I (Jason) have never trained at that gym. I have trained with people who were current and former members there and learned a lot from them but I would never claim to train Westside Barbell.

            Instead I call what we do the Gall Method largely because it is based around the past seven years of Missy and I training and experimenting and seeing what has worked and what has not worked. It is also based around the abilities and limitations of our home gym- the Deadlifter’s Fortress Barbell Club.

            Thankfully through Missy and I’s hard work we have built up our gym to the point that our only real main limitation is space verses our equipment. We have a power rack, two flat benches, an FID bench, a pulldown/low row combo, leg press, cable crossover, leg extension/curl, 45 degree back raise, and dragging sled. We also have numerous barbells as well as a safety squat bar, strongman log, and farmers walk handles. We have boxes for box squats and block pulls as well as bands and chains for accommodating resistance. We have steel and bumper plates and dumbbells. We are constantly updating and improving our gym and look to be adding more strongman logs and specialty bars in the future.

            Our current training is 6 days a week with one day of rest. Everything is trained twice a week. Basically there are two push days (chest/shoulders/triceps), two pull days (back/biceps), and two leg/low back days. When the weather is nice and we can go outside the weekends will also have strongman events after our normal training- followed by a nice cookout with pounds of steak, pork, and potatoes.

Sunday- Dynamic Effort Squat/Deadlift then train legs with focus on Hamstrings and low back.

Monday- Back/Biceps with a focus on mid back lower lats

Tuesday- Repetition/Dynamic Bench Press day then train chest/shoulders/triceps with a focus on chest

Wednesday- Max Effort Squat/Deadlift variation then train legs with a focus on quads

Thursday- Back/Biceps with a focus on upper back

Friday- Beer and pizza day

Saturday- Max Effort Bench Press variation and then chest/shoulders/triceps with a focus on shoulders

A sample Sunday might look like-

10 sets of 2 reps Speed Box Squats with a Safety Squat Bar with chains

Block Pulls with the bar below the knee working up to a heavy single but not a max

Arch Back Good Mornings 4 x 5-8 reps

Leg Press 4 x 10 -15 reps

Leg Curls 4 x 10

45 Degree back raises 3 x 10

Monday might look like-

Close grip underhand pulldowns 5 x 8-15

Dumbbell Rows 4 x 5-10

Tbar Rows 4 x 5-10

Face Pulls 4 x 12 reps

Straight arm pulldowns 4 x 12

Dumbbell Curls 4 x 10

Cable curls 4 x 15

Tuesday might look like-

Bench Press working up to heavy 8 reps

Speed Bench Press 5 sets of 5 reps with chains

Incline Dumbbell Presses 4 sets of 10 reps

Cable side lateral raises 4 x 15 reps

Dumbell side laterals 4 x 10 reps

Dumbbell Extensions

Vbar pressdowns

Wednesday might be-

Olympic style squat working up to 3 singles over 90%

Romanian Deadlifts

Leg Presses

Leg Extensions

Leg Curls

Lunges

Thursday Might look like-

Wide Grip Pulldowns

Seated Rows

Bent Over Barbell Rows with a snatch grip

Bent over reverse flys

Shrugs

Barbell Curls

Incline Dumbbell Cable Curls

Friday Might look like-

Several bottles of Peroni Beer and several slices Romeo’s Pizza Supreme to get our bloat on for Saturday

A Saturday might look like-

Floor Press working up to three singles at over 90%

Seated shoulder press 4 sets working up to heavy set of 8-10

Log clean and press 3-4 sets of 5 reps

Cable Crossovers 4 sets of 10-20 reps

Supersetted with

Dumbbell lateral raises 4 sets of 8-15 reps

Front Raises with a plate 4 sets of 10 reps

Skullcrushers 4 x 10 reps

Triceps pressdowns with rope 4 x 15 reps

*note we train our rear delts on back day

Nothing earth shattering for those who are familiar with conjugate training- our main difference is the back and biceps are trained on their own days sort of like a glorified extra workout and on our dynamic bench day we do heavy reps before that. Since we mainly use bench press variations during max effort day the heavy bench press reps on speed day help hone in good technique as well as added hypertrophy for the chest.

My Training Plan

This is the training program I have designed to get me ready for my first competition. Unlike many strength based training programs I incorporate many bodybuilding principles into my training protocol. A bigger muscle is a stronger muscle. I not only train the four big lifts (bench press, squat, deadlift, overhead press) and events (farmers walk, axel clean and press, medleys, etc) but also each body part. Here is how it breaks down.

Sunday Or Monday
Main Lift- Bench Press
Bodyparts- Chest/Triceps

Example
Bench Press- Work up to a 5 rep max.
Bench Press- Drop set, as many reps with 225 then 205, and finally 185.
Close Grip Bench Press- 4 x 5-8 reps
Dumbbell Flys- 4 x 8 reps
Triceps Extensions with Dumbbells- 4 x 8 reps
Triceps Pressdowns with Rope- 4 x 8 reps with last set being a 5 x drop set.

Monday or Tuesday
Main Lift- Deadlift
Bodyparts- Back/Biceps

Example
Deadlift- Ramping up in weight until finally doing as many reps as possible with 495
Bent Over Barbell Rows- 3 x 8 reps
Wide Grip Pulldowns- 3 x 8 reps
Close Grip Underhand Pulldowns- 3 x 8 with last set being a triple drop set
Seated Rows- 3 x 8 reps
45 Degree Back Raises- 3 x 8 reps
Dumbbell Curls- 4 x 8 reps
Barbell Curls- 4 x 8 reps done in an explosive fashion

Tuesday (if I trained Sunday and Monday)
Light Leg Day
Leg Press 5 x 8 reps
Hack Squat 3 x 8 reps with last set being a triple drop set
Leg Extensions 4 x 12 reps
Leg Curls 4 x 8 reps

Wednesday- Off Day

Thurdays
Main Lift- Overhead Press
Body Parts- Shoulders and Upper Back

Example
Strict Press- 4 x 8 reps
Push Press- Work up to a 3 rep max
Behind the Neck Press- 3 x 8 reps
Lateral Raises- 3 x 8 reps
Wide Grip Upright Rows- 3 x 8 reps
Bent Lateral Raises- 3 x 8 reps
Thumbless Shrugs- 4 x 8 reps
Farmers Walk Handle Shrugs- 4 x 8 reps

Friday or Saturday
Main Lift- Squats
Bodyparts- :Legs and Calves
Squats- work up to a max single
Squats- back off sets of 12 reps (number of sets varies)
Leg Press- work up to 1000 pounds and hit as many reps as I can.
Lunges- 3 x 8 reps
Calf Raises Standing- 3 x 12
Seated Calf Raises- 3 x 12

Later in the Day
Events Training
Farmers Walk
Axel Clean and Press
Viking Press using my hack squat machine
Medley
Stone lifting
Keg Carries

I will also be doing 45-60 minutes of cardio  x 3 days a week first thing in the morning. I may also do some conditioning work in the evening if I need more work using lighter strongman events like sled drags or farmers walk.

Keep in mind my example training sessions are subject to change. I may only do the main lift for that day or I might drop the main lift altogether and just do the bodybuilding training if I need a light day. It all depends on where I am at and what I need work on.

As I progress thru the off season I will likely add at least one event training lift to each session.

Right now my focus is on fixing my weaknesses. I have identified the following areas I need work on.

Pressing Strength- I have never had strong shoulders. While they have gotten stronger I still need a lot of work in this area. I also need to work on my core to keep better stabilized with the weight overhead.

Grip Strength- I have never really had to train my grip before. Specifically I need to work on grip endurance. Farmers walks, dumbbell pinch holds, thumb-shrugs, and axel bar work will be my plan of attack to improve my grip.

My weight- I will not be able to outdo some of the other competitors with limit strength (in the press and squat) so I need to focus on being faster. I am not a fast person but I am fast under a heavy load (no snickers please). Medleys (along with deadlifts) have proven to be one of my strongest events. Being lighter will allow me to move faster and not get winded as quick.

Power Out of the Hole on Squats- I need to build explosive power out of the bottom of the squat. Paused hack sqauts and deep Olympic style squats will help to improve this area. Box jumps will also be utilized to help in this area.

Getting used to the events- I have little experience training the strongman events. That is probably my biggest weakness at the moment. As I progress I will be doing more and more event training.

The Education of a Strongman

Well I went and did it again. I set my deep-set eyes on a lofty goal and this time nothing will stand in my way. I am going to make a run at Strongman competition. You may not be intimately familiar with the sport but you have almost certainly seen it on television. The big scary guys who flip over giant tires, press logs overhead, and deadlift cars. What many people do not know is that strongman competition is a world wide sport that has hundreds if not thousands of competitions a year from local amateurs all the way up to the professionals. While you only see the hulking behemoths on television, there are actually weight divisions for smaller competitors as well as women, teens, and masters (people over the age of 50 I believe).

This will not be my first foray into strength athletics. I began training (seriously) in 2008. My main focus was on powerlifting at the time. I will be the first to tell anyone that despite being a big man I was not a natural at the sport. I struggled for quite a bit of time to work up to respectable weights. Finally in 2010 I competed in two powerlifting competitions. Aside from the people there and Missy, I have not told anyone about that before. I kept it a secret because I was honestly not sure how well I would do and didn't want the added pressure of my friends and family knowing. I didn't do great but I didn't do horrible either. My first competition my nerves got to me and I bombed out on the squats by cutting them too high. My second competition I hit depth but lacked the confidence to use bigger weights to really make a good showing. I had really just winged things going into the competition. I was training on my own and no longer with the powerlifting team I had been training with.

I vowed to reorganize my training and take things seriously and hit a meet in 2011 and really make a top showing. An injury and two surgeries forced me to sideline those plans, among other things. While I returned to training full time in late 2011 I never really looked to compete again. I briefly tossed around the notion that I could try for Olympic Lifting but it quickly fizzled out. While I have all the respect in the world for Olympic lifters I just couldn't continue training with the light loads required to master the lifts. I love being strong. I love lifting heavy ass things. I love the strain. I like looking strong.

Starting in the summer of 2012 I wanted to do something in the field of strength athletics. My first idea was to organize a strength competition among my circle of friends. Many of them are hardcore lifters and I thought it would be a fantastic thing. Unfortunately getting a level of commitment from people proved impossible. Everyone talks a good game but when it comes down to it most people fizzle out really fast.

My 34th birthday is in exactly five days. I know that I don't have an eternity to try and make a mark. I really feel though that I am entering into my prime. I am stronger now than ever before. In the past week I have hit personal records (PR) in the big three lifts, bench press, squat, and deadlift. Hopefully today I will hit a pr in the overhead press. My endurance is getting better and better and I am sticking with and following through with all my plans regarding cardio/conditioning.

The iron is hot and I plan to strike. The strongman season unofficially goes from May to October. There are still some competitions in between but the main ones are during those months. That gives me an off-season of 5 months to prepare for my first competition (possible longer depending on the schedule of events). In January there is an event an hour or so away that I plan on attending. It will give me a good idea of the competition I can expect to face locally and it will let me see what events I might do well in and what I might struggle in. Then I can work on fixing my weaknesses and perfecting my strengths.

I will make another entry to detail my actual training program I plan on using and how I plan to address my obvious weaknesses.

Legs 10-14-13

Leg Extensions 3 x 12 reps
Leg Presses 4 x 8-10 reps
Hack Squats 4 x 8 reps*
Leg Curls 4 x 8 reps

*This was a triple drop set.

45 minutes of cardio

No squats or stiff leg deadlifts today. It is vacation week and just trying to get in and get in some quality training.

10-15-13

Did some bench pressing just to get in the gym and move around a bit. Hitting more chest work tomorrow with my back training. No cardio today. Going to hit an hour tomorrow.

Arms and Calves 10-13-13

Biceps-
Alternating Dumbbell Curls 4 x 8 reps
Supersetted with
Cable Hammer Curls 4 x 8 reps
Barbell Curls- 4 x 8 reps
Cable Curls to Forehead- 4 x 8 reps

Triceps-
Gall Presses- 4 x 8 reps
Dumbbell Skullcrushers- 4 x 8 reps
Rope Pressdowns- 4 x 8 reps*
*last set was a quadruple drop set

Calves-
Seated Calf Raises- 4 x 8 reps
Standing Calf Raises- 4 x 8 reps

Cardio- 45 on stationary bike

Notes- Nothing makes my triceps "pop-out" more than rope pressdowns. The last drop set especially really hits  them hard. I feel for overall triceps width this is one of the best movements. On the other hand because of a metal plate and screws in my right hand barbell curls are proving to be very ineffective for me. To use any real weight it ends up hitting my upper forearms more than my biceps. Dumbbell Curls on the other hand are very effective because I can control the movement of my wrist and use heavier weights comparatively.

Delts 10-12-13

Note-We were slated to train our calves with our delts but Missy has suffered a back injury so she could not train her shoulders so I decided to hold off on calves until the following day when we train our arms.

Military Press- 4 x 8 reps then I worked up until I hit a 2 rep max pr.
Dumbbell Side Lateral Raises- 4 x 8 reps
One Arm Side Lateral Raises- 4 x 8 reps
Bent Over Rear Lateral Raises- 4 x 8 reps
Barbell Shrugs- 4 x 8 reps


The military press pr was pretty awesome because I hit 2 reps with 20 MORE pounds than my previous best 1 rep max. I haven't been performing much heavy overhead pressing work as I have been focusing primarily on side and rear deltoid development. This was quite dumb thing for me to do honestly because while side and rear lateral work is good  nothing beats heavy overhead pressing. It makes up one what I consider the 5 fundamental lifts in weight training (the others being squat, bench press, deadlift, and bent over barbell row).

It is a good thing Missy skipped this training session. I tweaked my mid back slightly during the session. It feels fine now but it would have really aggravated her existing injury if she had done the same.

Leg Training 10-9-13

When we train our legs we are referring to primarily the quads and hamstrings. While it is almost impossible to train the upper legs without indirectly working the calves, we do our actual calf training when we train our shoulders. We do this because generally we are so "drained" after training our legs that calves were being done as an after thought. We would end either just doing a couple of lazy sets or not doing them at all. By training them on a separate day we can really work them hard which is a necessity when it comes to calves. Everyday every step we take hits the the calves directly so they are used to high volume stimulus with a relatively heavy weight (bodyweight). Doing a few lazy sets of calf work on a seated calf machine will do not a damn thing for them. Instead you have to really push the heavy weights with big lifts like standing calf raise machine and calf raises on a leg press machine.

But enough about calves, last night was all about building big upper legs.

DEEP Squats- 4 x 6-8 reps
Hack Squats- 4 x 8 reps*
Leg Presses- 4 x 8 reps
Leg Curls- 4 x 8 reps
Lunges**

*The last set was a triple drop set. This was super intense and really smoked my legs.

**I am including this lift in here even though we did not perform it. We both went VERY heavy this session after having not gone (too) heavy for the past month. Both of our legs were like noodles by the end. Trying to do lunges would of been damn near impossible because of balancing issues with our legs so fatigued after the three big compound lifts.

This serves to prove a point that doing an endless amount of lifts is not necessary. As you notice I did not perform leg extensions. While leg extensions are a nice isolation exercise for the quadriceps, what really builds big quads is squats and leg presses. Sometimes you need to drop the small stuff and really focus on moving some heavy ass weight on the big stuff. Trust me if you are really pushing the poundages and doing a drop set or two, a few compound leg exercises is all you need to think you are on the stairway to heaven (or the highway to hell).

Back Training 10-8-13

Last night we trained our backs along with hitting our biceps for a couple sets. We train our arms on a separate day but like to hit them with a few sets earlier in the week (Triceps with Chest and Biceps with Back as they already play a big role in training those bodyparts).

Warmup
Wide Grip Pulldowns/Chins - 3 x 8 reps

Close Grip Underhand Pulldowns - 4 x 8 reps
Seated Rows with V-Grip-  4 x 8 reps
One Arm Rows- 2 x 8 reps*
Barbell Bent Over Rows- 4 x 8 reps
T-Bar Rows- 4 x 8 reps
Dumbbell Pullovers- 4 x 8 reps
Cable Curls to Forehead- 4 x 8 reps

*I tried a new setup on these and I simply did not like it. I could not get a good contraction in my lats so I decided to just move on to the barbell rows.

Missy did the same minus the bent rows and tbar rows because she has been fighting a back injury the past week. Instead of the barbell rows she did a pulldown where you place an incline bench away from the pulldown machine and lay back on it to perform the lift. I will look up the name later.

Special Note- I rotate deadlifts in our training. Week 1 is no deadlifts at all but heavy barbell rows and tbar rows. Week 2 we do deadlifts for 4 x 5-8 reps and go lighter on the barbell rows and tbar rows. On Week 3 we max out on deadlifts and drop the barbell and tbar rows altogether but instead perform back raises. 

Chest Training 10-8-13

We are starting a new 12 week training cycle so I thought I might post up some sample training sessions. For myself it means training 6 days a week (each week I hit one bodypart twice a week) and 6 days of cardio as well. Yesterday was chest training. We also usually hit one or two triceps exercises with chest.

Bench Press- 5 sets of 5-10 reps plus a final drop set.
Incline Bench Press- 4 sets of 8 reps
Dumbbell Flys- 4 sets of 8 reps
Cable Crossovers- 4 sets of 8 reps
Rope Pressdowns- 4 sets of 8 reps*

*last set was a drop set.

Missy performed the same training but did Gall Presses instead of the rope pressdowns.

I then did 30 minutes of cardio on stationary bike.

On bench presses I worked up to a new 5 rep max so I was pretty happy. I actually almost got it for 6 reps. It was so close. I had it maybe 3 inches from lockout and held it there for what felt like an entirety. I still think if I had been a little tighter on my setup I could of made that 6th rep easily.

Tonight's training is back with one or two bicep lifts as well. I can't wait.

QFS Healthy Recipe Series- Eggs and Grits

This recipe is a personal favorite of mine. It is my go-to meal because of its versatility. It is both easy to make (10-15 minutes tops) and quick and easy to eat. The ingredients can easily be modified to fit your goals whether they be to shed some body fat or to pack on some quality mass.

Ingredients-

Large Eggs
100% Liquid Egg Whites

Grits

*Optional (but highly recommended)
Spices

I am going to post up how I prepare them. Keep in mind I am on a cutting phase. Depending on your current goals you can adjust the ratios of each ingredient.


1 Cup of Liquid Egg Whites
2 Whole Eggs
1/4 Cup Dry Measurement of Grits
Spices to Taste*

*Just a fair warning. A (VERY) little bit of the California seasoning goes a long way. If you plan on wanting sex for the next three days limit the use.

I start by spraying a non-stick pan with no-stick cooking spray. I then set the stove to just over medium heat and let it heat up.

I then measure out the grits and place it into a medium sized microwave safe bowl like the one below-

I mix in the three spices above at this point (I also use them later as well). I then add water. How much you use is up to you but I tend to use more than they recommend on the carton. For 1/4 cup of dry grits they recommend 3/4 cup of water but I use twice that. This may be because I microwave it rather than prepare it on the stove.

I stir the mixture together and then place it in the microwave for 4 minutes, then I stir it again and place it in there for another 2-3 minutes. Sometimes it cooks faster than others for whatever reason.

While the grits are cooking I break two whole eggs into a bowl and whisk them. I then pour in the liquid egg whites and add some the spices to this mixture as well. I whisk again.

This is about how it looks. Again do not use too much of the California seasoning unless you want bitched at for how much it stinks up the house. Trust me.

When the pan is nice and hot I pour in the egg mixture. I like for mine to cook fast. I am not going to explain how I cook the eggs because I fucking suck at it and usually burn them so don't listen to me. Missy does a fantastic job but I try to do them myself since she prepares so many of our other meals.

So shortly after the grits are done the eggs should be done as well. I will take the eggs and place them directly in the bowl of grits.

Next comes the very complicated step of mixing the eggs and grits together. At this point I take a taste and decide if I need to add more spices. If I feel like making people really uncomfortable I add more California seasoning so that my breath proceeds me by about 15 feet.

After it is all said and done it looks like this.

The way that I prepare it has the following nutritional profile.

Calories-     395
Carbs-        29g
Protein-      40g
Fats-          11g

As I said depending on your goals you can easily adjust the amount of eggs, egg whites, and/or grits to get the desired nutritional profile. For instance if I wanted to maintain weight I might utilize the following.

1/2 cup of grits
2 whole eggs
2 cups of egg whites

Which would yield

Calories-   650
carbs-       58g
Protein-    68g
fats-         11g


The possibilities are endless.

My favorite Back Routine

This is my personal favorite back routine. Sometimes the sets and reps will change but I like this group of lifts. Tend to hit the entire back very well.

Deadlifts- 6 sets x 1-8 reps
Bent Over Barbell Rows- 5 sets x 6-10 reps
Close Grip Pulldowns- 5 x 8-15 reps
Seated Rows- 5 x 10-15 reps
One Arm Pulldowns- 5 x 8-12 reps

I usually cycle the deadlifts on a 4 week wave.

Week 1- Moderate weight for rep ranges of 5-8.
Week 2- Perform singles working up to a one rep max.
Week 3 and 4- No deadlifts. Instead I go heavier on the bent over rows.I will then do heavy bent over dumbbell rows as well.

If I do deadlifts I might only go up to 225 or 255 on bent over rows. On weeks 3 and 4 I will work up to 315 or more. Then for the bent over dumbbell rows I will go very heavy on week 3 to say 180 to 200 and then on week 4 I will do then with very strict form two arms at once with a lighter weight.

I am a big believer in the one arm pulldowns. They are a great finisher for the back.

My Favorite Training Splits

If you have been following this blog or my previous training blog you will know that we change up our training split every so often. Sometimes we do this because we want to experiment with new methods. Recently we felt that training our legs one day a week was not enough. We decided to do two training sessions a week. One of the days would focus on more quad dominant lifts while the other day would focus on more hamstring dominant lifts. We will try this new method for a few months and see how it works. Sometimes we change things up simply to keep things fresh. The human body has a tendency to adapt to stimulus after repeated exposure. Small adjustments made to your routine might be just the thing you need to break through a plateau. Below is a list of some of our favorite routines.

Current Routine-
Sunday- Chest
Monday- Quad Dominant Leg Day
Tuesday- Shoulders/Arms
Wednesday- Back
Thursday- Hamstring Dominant Leg Day
Friday- Arms
Saturday- Off

Sometimes we will do some light back work on chest day and some light chest work on back day. It just depends on how we feel that week.

3 Days On and 1 Day Off
Day 1- Chest and Back
Day 2- Shoulders and Arms
Day 3- Legs
Day 4- Off
Then Repeat

This is a good split if you are a big fan of supersets utilizing opposing body parts. The chest and back work well in this regard.  5 Supersets of bench press with wide grip chin ups will really get you're heart rate up. This split pairs a pushing muscle group (quads, chest, triceps, etc.) with a pulling muscle group (lats, biceps, hamstrings, etc.). A variation would be pairing all your upper body pushing muscles on day 1, all your upper body pulling muscles on day 2, and your legs on day 3.

Day 1- Chest, Shoulders, Triceps
Day 2- Back and Biceps
Day 3- Legs

The theory behind this is that when you train say your back you're biceps will also come into play quite a bit so it would make sense to train the biceps on that day as well. While in theory this works well a lot of people find that the first muscle group trained that day will be hit hard but the rest become an after thought. This can be quite true. Say on day 1 you train your chest first and hit it really hard with a lot of bench pressing movements. During those lifts the shoulders and triceps will be heavily utilized during the lifts fatiguing them. You may find that by time you start training your shoulders they are too taxed to really work them hard.

Another split we like is the two heavy and two light days a week split based around the 3 powerlifts  (bench press, squat, deadlift). It might look like this.

Sunday- Heavy Bench Press Day followed by chest, shoulder, and triceps work.
Monday- Off
Tuesday- Light Squat/Heavy Deadlift Day followed by leg, back, and biceps work.
Wednesday- Off
Thursday- Light Bench Press Day followed by chest, shoulder, and triceps work
Friday- Heavy Squats/Light Deadlifts followed by leg, back, and biceps work.
Saturday- Off

The benefits of this routine is that it allows for ample days for recovery (3), hits each bodypart twice a week, and never has two back to back heavy training sessions. This is a great layout for those looking to really build some strength while packing on some mass. I like to alternate between this layout and the one we are currently doing. Spending four months on each split before switching.

If you really want to push your training to a higher level you can do the 3 days on 1 day off double split routine.

Day 1 AM- Chest  PM- Arms
Day 2 AM- Back   PM- Shoulders
Day 3 AM- Quads PM- Hamstrings
Day 4- Off
Repeat

This means 12 training sessions a week. It would be hard for most people to make it to the gym twice a day 6 days a week but for those who live in the gym like we do, it can be a good alternative.

An even tougher split would be the one favored by Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Monday AM- Legs   PM- Chest and Back
Tuesday - Shoulders and Arms
Wednesday AM- Legs PM- Chest and Back
Thursday- Shoulders and Arms
Friday AM- Legs    PM- Chest and Back
Saturday- Shoulders and Arms
Sunday- Off

All I will say that this kind of split is not for the faint of heart. I am running out of time right now, but I will expand upon some of these double split high volume routines in a later entry.

Do you have what it takes?????

-Note this entry is not in relation to the personal training service. This entry is about finding people who want to train with the Deadlifter's Fortress Team. If you are interested in Quickstrike Fitness Solutions and personal training do not let this entry scare you off. This only applies to people wanting to train in a hardcore atmosphere and style.-


So do you have what it takes? The Deadlifter's Fortress is looking for some new blood who want to be a part of the "team". Being a part of the team includes training in a hardcore gym atmosphere and getting pushed to limits you thought weren't possible. You also will get a nice team shirt and a custom gym bag after a year. But before you get too excited you need to know what will be expected of you.

1. We have four main training sessions a week. I usually train 6 days a week sometimes more than once a day. If you are interested in training more than by all means train more. The main sessions are currently Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. These are not set in stone per se in that we can work to accommodate everyone's schedule.

And when I say we have four main training sessions a week, that means your ass is there for all four. Being tired or sore doesn't mean a damn thing at the Deadlifter's Fortress. We do understand there are things like work and family obligations that can arise but if you regularly miss training sessions your ass will be bounced off the team before you can say "but wait." I have no use for you if you are not there in the gym pushing yourself. And if you claim you can't make a training session because you have work and some other excuse and I find out you are lying you are gone no matter what. There's no place for lying.

2. You must be ready to train harder than you ever have in your entire life. Call it a personality disorder or maybe a sick fetish, but I will try my hardest to break you. I will do everything in my power to make you quit. I will have you grind out set after set past the point of exhaustion. There is a reason we keep a big bucket in the gym, it is because you will throw up at some point. It is not unusual for me to do 50-100 set training sessions at times.

I will not yell at you. I will not be mean. I am not some wannabe drill instructor. Instead I will just smile and say "ready to stop?" I will pester you. I will tell you that you are getting tired. I might even say "man I am beat, maybe we should cut this short." It is a trick though. I want you to fold up. You will go home and I will be back in the gym an hour later grinding out more sets. Do this once and I will give you another chance. Do it a second time and I might warn you. But if you fold up like a pretzel 3 times, well then you might want to go join Planet Fitness or some other place more accepting of losers.

I won't do this forever. It is kind of like a hazing period. I want to make sure you have what it takes to keep me going if I ever start to fold up.

3. You have to respect the equipment. I have worked my ass off, borrowed, begged, bartered, and done vile things to get our equipment. It is not complete but it does contain everything you need to bodybuild or powerlift. I am constantly looking for new equipment and constantly adding to what we have.

We also ask for a small donation each month to help with the upkeep of the gym and equipment. I will not post the amount on here but trust me, it is so minor that it is not a factor.

4. Be prepared for getting out of your comfort zone. There is no air conditioning in the gym. It does get hotter than hell in the summer. But you are here to train right? So if this is at all a concern for you than you are definitely not cut out for this.

That is really the only rules we have. Basically if you come prepared to work harder than you ever have, won't give up, won't miss sessions, respect the equipment and owners, than you have a place here. We offer you the same things we expect of you. Cursing, grunting, screaming, loud music, chalk, blood, and sweat are all encouraged in our gym. We do not have any requirements for competing but we do like to hold informal gym competitions and we do expect participation in that.

If you think you have what it takes then contact us via Email or on Facebook.

Legend of Physical Culture: Don Reinhoudt

Don Reinhoudt

What can I say about this man? Pretty much his records speak for themselves. He currently holds the highest raw (without the use of squat suits or bench shirts) powerlifting total (combination of your bench press, deadlift, and squat) in history. He made this historic total in 1975 with a bench press of 610 lbs, squat of 931 lbs, and a deadlift of 850 lbs. He is the only man to win the International Powerlifting Federation's World Superheavyweight Championship 4 years in a row. He set and broke over 40 powerlifting records during his lifting career and still holds the record for the highest raw squat without knee wraps of 934 lbs. 

To really add to his legendary status he also was the 1979 Worlds Strongest Man champion, as well as a runner up in the 1978 championship. In 1979 he beat out a young Bill Kazmaier, a man who would go on to win the competition 3 years in a row. He competed in the 1980 event but suffered a career ending bicep and hamstring tear during one of the early events. 

Big Don Getting Ready For A Big Bench Press

Born in Brocton, New York in 1945 Don was a standout basketball player, football player, and shot putter at Fredonia High School. He started lifting weights at age 18 while attending college. Initially he competed in weightlifting before switching over to powerlifting in 1969. Despite his imposing stature (being 6'3" and competing at 375 lbs.) Big Don was one of the kindest people you would ever meet. 

I believe this photo was taken during a car lift competition at the WSM

One of the things I find most interesting about Big Don is that his coach and training partner were the same person, his wife. This is taken from an article written by Terry Todd in 1978-

"And while I'm on the subject of the various things which helped big Don set 20 world records and dominate the superheavies for the last four years, I want to be sure to give the proper credit where credit is due, because he didn't do it alone. He couldn't have done it without his coach. He couldn't have done it without his longtime training partner, and he couldn't have done it without his masseuse. Fortunately for Don and fortunately for lifting, his wife not only isn't jealous of these close relationships, she couldn't be jealous of them because they were with her. You see, Don's wife coaches him, lifts with him, and when she has a couple of hours to kill, rubs him down. (Rubbing him down would be rather like painting the Titanic, I'd imagine.)

For years, Don and Cindy have trained together, coaching one another in their basement gym as well as on the platforms of the world in international competition. In my time I've seen many close personal relationships in lifting, but I've never seen one as close as theirs."

My wife, Missy, and I have been training together since November of 2011. She has been by far the best training partner and now coach that I have ever had. I rely on her feedback constantly to let me know if I am heading in the right direction. I know that I can trust her judgment and I also know that I can rely on her to be consistent in training. 

Here is what I could glean about Big Don's training style. He trained four main sessions a week, 2 for his lower body (squat and deadlift) and 2 for his upper body (bench press). This is quite common among powerlifters allowing for one heavy and one light training session a week for each of the main lifts. Unusual for a powerlifter, he almost always wore straps when deadlifting and never trained his grip separately. Like most powerlifters in his day he would run through 12 week cycles, starting with lower weights and working up to higher weights. He is an example of how he cycled his squats and deadlifts in the five weeks leading up to one meet. 

First Week:
Squat -
245 x 5
445 x 2
645 x 2
760 x 2
805 x 3
865 x 1

Deadlift -
245 x 5
445 x 2
645 x 2
760 x 2
805 x 3


Second Week:
Squat -
245 x 5
445 x 2
645 x 2
760 x 2
810 x 3
875 x 1

Deadlift -
245 x 5
445 x 2
645 x 2
760 x 2
810 x 3


Third Week:
Squat -
245 x 5
445 x 2
645 x 2
760 x 2
815 x 3
885 x 1

Deadlift -
245 x 5
445 x 2
645 x 2
760 x 2
820 x 1


Fourth Week:
Squat -
245 x 5
445 x 2
645 x 2
760 x 2
820 x 3
900 x 1

Deadlift -
245 x 5
445 x 2
645 x 2
760 x 2
860 x 1


Fifth Week:
Squat -
245 x 5
445 x 2
645 x2
760 x 2
825 x 3
920 x 1

Deadlift -
245 x 5
445 x 2
645 x 2
760 x 2
880 x 1

I really admire this man a lot. It says something when you hold a record for almost 40 years. Raw powerlifting in gaining in popularity so I am sure at some point his record might fall but there will never be another Big Don. A true legend and all around great guy. Still very active in helping out the strength community. 

Legends of Physical Culture: Bruce Wilhelm

Note- the Legends of Physical Culture is a new series I am writing for this blog that details important people in the history of strength based athletics. It will cover people who have competed in bodybuilding, powerlifting, weightlifting, strongman, throwing sports, and even sports such as football. I feel it is important that we look back to the early pioneers of these competitions so we know how they were shaped. When the information is available I will also post the way that they trained (often times this is based more on hearsay than facts so keep that in mind). Many of these men competed in multiple fields of strength based sport. This first entry in the series covers Bruce Wilhelm, a shot and discus thrower, Olympic weightlifter, and winner of the first and second World's Strongest Man Competition.

Bruce Wilhelm

Born in Sunnyvale, California in 1945, Bruce Wilhelm would become a track and field star athlete for his high school. In 1963 Bruce won the California Interscholastic Federation's California State Meet shot put championship and was a runner up in the discus competition. He would go on to attend Stanford University competing in shot, discus and wrestling. He finished the 1965 season undefeated in wrestling with 21 victories. 

He placed in the top 10 US Men's shot rankings for 1967, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, and 1973, and still holds #251 on the All-time World Shotput Records. After the 1972 Olympics Bruce committed himself to the sport of weightlifting. Wilhelm became a weightlifter, and was the US National AAU Super Heavyweight Weightlifting Champion for both 1975 and 1976. He won a silver medal for the United States at the 1975 Pan-American Games in the +110 kg division, and placed 5th at the 1976 Olympic Games.

Much of this information is courtesy of Wikipedia

Big Bruce Getting Ready for a Lift

Billed as 6'2" in height and 320 pounds, Bruce Wilhelm was a big man with a big personality as seen in his victories at the first and second World's Strongest Man competitions(1977 and 1978). These first few World's Strongest Man competitions were much different than what they have later become. They were largely contested by Americans and included powerlifters, weightlifters, throwers, pro-wrestlers, football players, and even arm wrestling champions. For the first few events the winner would be determined by a one on one tug of war match at the end. For the 1978 finals Bruce Wilhelm was pitted against legendary powerlifter (and eventual 1979 WSM champion) Don Reinhoudt. 

 

There was some legitimate animosity between the two competitors. Don Reinhoudt was a very humble and likeable man and Bruce was a bit of a loudmouth and cocky person. He kept calling Don Reinhoudt a fat boy and seemed to not respect him as an athlete. For his part, Don had a lot of respect for Bruce but did not like the attitude Bruce had towards their fellow competitors. For most of the even Don was beating Bruce though by the last even Bruce had regained the lead. Having watched the even myself, there is no doubt that Don was the much stronger of the two men but Bruce was likely the much better overall athlete. 

Rather than describe the actual tug of war match I will simply post a link to a youtube video of the event. I would highly recommend taking the six of so minutes to check out the video. It is a great back and forth battle. 

It would seem that after 1978 Bruce Wilhelm retired from competing but has remained very active in the strength athletics world. He has written numerous books and articles on training. I am going to post up a few tidbits from things he has written over the years. 

This is a routine he said he used in preparation for the World's Strongest Man.

Tuesday
Power Snatch – up to 330 or 352 x 1.
Snatch Grip Hi-Pull – up to 396 for 2 sets of 3 reps.
Stiff-leg Deadlift – 474 x 10.
Back Squat – 683 for 2 sets of 3.

Thursday
Bent-Leg Good Morning – to 396 x 5.
Push Press – 462 x 3.

Saturday
Power Clean and Jerk – to 452 x 1.
Clean Grip Hi-Pull – 507 x 2 sets of 3.
Back Squat – 485 x 5 sets of 3.

 Now this was posted in an article he wrote on deadlift training so I am not sure if this is simply what he did for his deadlift and his complete training regime. There is only one upper body lift but the majority of the early strongman events focused solely on lower body strength. He did say that doing heavy bent leg good mornings really improved his deadlift and I have found the same to be true for me. My deadlift has never been stronger than when I did very heavy good mornings. Unfortunately for me I have found that good mornings tend to bring about upper back spasms so I have had to avoid them (and my deadlift has suffered as a result). 

 I would highly recommend looking into more things that Bruce Wilhelm has written. He is a pioneer of strength athletics and holds a wealth of information. 

Coming Next- Bruce Wilhelm's rival, Don Reinhoudt.

 

4-4-13 Diet and Training Log

Diet

Pretty much the same. I had chicken and potatoes for meal 3 rather than having egg whites and oatmeal. For dinner I had tilapia and rice. Calories and macronutrients are staying consistent each day.

Trained Shoulders and Light Arms- (light meaning we did one biceps and one triceps exercise- our main arm day is Friday).

Dumbbell Shoulder Presses-         5 x 8-12 reps
Side Lateral Raises-                     4 x 8 reps
Bent Over Rear Lateral Raises-    4 x 8 reps
Wide Grip Upright Rows-            5 x 6-10 reps
Barbell Curls-                              5 x 6-8 reps
Rope Pressdowns-                      5 x 10 reps

I took it (somewhat) easy on the shoulders today. Things got screwed up last week so I ended up training my shoulders really heavy on Friday. Sunday I trained chest and that hit the shoulders again pretty well. I am hesitant to say it was easy though because both Missy and I went really heavy on each lift and really pushed ourselves hard. Hitting all bodyparts twice a week now. Once a week a very thorough training session and the other time it is just an exercise or two to get some blood to the area. So tomorrow we train our backs and I will probably throw in some dumbbell bench presses and some flys. Or will I????

4-3-13 Diet and Training Log

6:00 AM- 1 cup of egg whites. 1/2 Cup of Oatmeal.
9:00 AM- 1 cup of 1% milk, 1 Scoop of Protein Powder. 1 Slice of Ezekiel Bread.
12:00 PM- 1 cup of egg whites. 1 Whole Egg. 1/2 Cup of Oatmeal.
3:00 PM- 1 Cup of 1% milk. 1 Scoop of Protein Powder. 2 Slices of Ezekiel bread with no sugar jelly and natural peanut butter.
6:00 PM- 3 Rice Cakes. 1 Scoop of Protein Powder.
8:30 PM- 6 ounces of Chicken Breasts. 6 ounces of Red potatoes.

Trained Legs Today (Quad Dominant)-

Leg Presses-            5 x 8-18 reps
Leg Extensions-       5 x 12 reps
Front Squats-          2 x 8 reps
Hack Squats-          3 x 8 reps
Lunges-                   4 x 8 reps

We will killed it today. I posted a video on my facebook account of my last set of leg presses.