Topic: Max's Log

[Max G]

i've started to incorporate some of the concepts from t-nation's training lab; the use of concentric-only movements to provide a non-fatiguing addition of muscular stress will come in handy during the winter when i do another mass gain period.

Wednesday:
-a little movement/conditioning (30 min)

lifting
-sumo deadlift
135x5
225x3
275x3
295x3
315x3
295x2 (rested 30 sec between reps)

-one arm db row
65x5
75x5
90x5x3
 (each set followed by 5 reps of explosive band rows)

-one leg squat/step up (concentric only)
bwx8x3

-seated calf raise (starting to condition calves for work during mass gain period)
90x12x4

[Max G]

lifted in the daytime, played around on trampolines for awhile at night, and then did some qm/pushup variations before bed.

Thursday:
-dips
bwx5
30x5
45x5
50x3x5
45x3
...(followed by 5 explosive press reps with bands)

-YTWLF sequence
10x5x2

-Bent leg body levers
bwx3 (legs nearly straight all reps)
bwx3 (legs nearly straight 2 reps)
bwx3 (legs nearly straight 1 rep)
bwx3 (legs bent all reps)

-wrist curls
(reverse) (palms up)
30x10.......50x10
40x8.........60x10
50x4.........70x8
30x10.......50x10
40x8.........60x10

[Max G]

pull+legs stuff today. didn't push quite as hard as i might have with the MN national jam tomorrow.

Friday:
-back squat
45x10
135x5
155x5
185x3
225x3
245x3x2

-Oac
bwx5x2 (regular)
15-10-5 sec negative (gripping base of forearm)
bwx3 (no eccentric; gripping middle of forearm)

-good morning
165x5x2

-EZ bar preacher curl
45x10
65x7
75x3

-standing calf raises
225x6x4

[Max G]

couldn't make it to day 2 of the MN jam; i'm sure it was fun though. did an upper body circuit; i'll do sprints tomorrow methinks.

Sunday:
circuit
(resting 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60 sec between rounds)

5 pull ups
5 pushups + rock forward at bottom
...11x

[Max G]

will probably run/sprint/do some night parkour later on...just finished lifting. Did some low impact technical work in the night. practiced balance, linking movements, and fluidity. Also played around with slow motion parkour, where i did normal movements as slowly as possible and incorporated slow, controlled movements that i normally might not have in faster motion.

felt a bit sluggish at the start of squats, but some activation and warming up helped.

Monday:
-movement practice (1 hour)

-back squat
45x10
135x5
155x5
185x3
225x3
245x3x3

-Oac
bwx5x2 (regular)
15-15-10 sec negatives (gripping base of forearm)
bwx4 (gripping middle of forearm)

-Good mornings
165x5x3

-reverse ez bar preacher curls
55x10
65x9
75x4
55x10

-seated calf raises
100x12x4

[Max G]

just did some lighter parkour stuff. felt great on bench press today though.

Tuesday:
-light movement drilling (1+ hours)

lifting
-bench press (each set followed by 5 explosive press reps with bands)
45x10
115x5
135x5
155x3
165x3
175x3x3

-face pull
112.5x15x3

-single leg squat/step up (concentric only)
bwx10
bwx8

-bent leg body lever
bwx3 (legs very nearly straight all reps)
bwx3 (legs very nearly sraight all reps)
bwx3 (legs nearly straight first 2 reps)

-wrists (getting healthier; i can pretty much hold a support position on a wall now!)
(reverse)....(regular)
30x10.........50x10
40x8...........70x10
50x4...........70x10
30x10..........80x8
40x8
30x10

[Max G]

felt pretty good today. having some form of band/explosive exercise for a small number of reps in between my main lift's sets seems to be helping to get my muscles warmed and activated. In between squat or deadlift sets i've been doing explosive jumps from a deep lunge position for 2-3 reps when i feel it will help.

also went and did hill sprints for the first time in 3-4 weeks..it took me a long time to get back into them because they suck/are good for me and each day that i go without doing them, they become substantially harder.

Wednesday:
intervals
50 yd hill sprint
...11x

lifting
-sumo deadlift (followed by jump lunges)
135x5
225x3
275x3
295x3
315x1
320x1
295x1x2

-one arm db row
65x5
80x5
95x5x2

-ez bar preacher curl
55x10
65x9
75x5

-standing calf raise
185x8x4

[Max G]

i'll be doing some amount of calf work every day up until i officially start my fall/winter mass gain to work on mind-muscle connection and build up their condition a little bit. went to the Great Minnesota Get-Together that is the State Fair and ate tons of deep fried food and tasty goodies.

this workout was a lot more body part/little stuff-oriented.

Thursday:
-dips
bwx5
30x5
45x3
55x3x4
(dropped back down)
bwx5
30x3
50x3

-L sit
15-10-10-8 sec

-YTWLF sequence
10x5x2

-calves
(leg press machine)...(seated)
180x12                    90x12x3
230x12
250x12
260x12
270x12

-wrists
(reverse).......(regular)
30x10...........50x10
40x8.............70x10
45x8x3..........80x10x2
45x10

[Max G]

was feeling good on squats today; maybe all those excess calories i pounded down at the state fair are coming in handy...

Friday:
-back squat
45x10
135x5
155x5
185x3
225x3
245x3
255x3
245x3x3

-Oac
bwx5x2 (regular)
15-15-10-10 sec negatives (gripping base of forearm)

-good mornings
170x5x3

-reverse ez bar preacher curl
55x10
65x8
75x5
55x10
65x9

-calves
(seated)
135x8x4
...followed by a couple sets of one legged squeezes at top for mind muscle connection)

[Max G]

was going to lift and do more parkour. or a circuit. or something. but instead i did about 45min to an hour's worth. worked on balance, roll, landings for the first portion, then linking movement.

Saturday:
-movement practice (45 min)

[Max G]

lifted in the day, did sprints in the night. this was pretty much my last day for a little while. from now on i'll be focusing on overhead pressing. I have about a week before classes start and will be busy with trying to meet people/find my way around campus/participate in "welcome week" activities, so i won't officially start my winter mass gain until middle of next weekish. I'll be focusing on finding where/when i can lift, sprint, do pull ups when i want to do circuits, and how that all fits into my schedule. Oh and figuring out weights to use for certain exercises that require machines.

oh and good news! i can now do entirely straight legged body lever reps (some say dragon flag, but this is coach sommer's straighter body variation)

Sunday:

lifting
-bench press
45x10 (felt good and explosive.)
115x5
135x5
155x3
165x3
180x3
165x3x2

-face pull
132.5x15x3

-body lever
bwx3 (legs straight 1st two reps)
bwx3 (legs straight 1st rep)
bwx3 (legs straight 1st rep)
bwx1 (legs straight)

-wrists
(reverse).....(regular)
30x10...........60x10
40x8.............70x10
45x8x4..........80x10x2

-calf press machine
90x6x4 (one legged)
90x30x2 (two legged. these were quite the burners towards the last 5-10 reps)

sprints
-50 yd hill sprint
....12x

[Max G]

so looking at my welcome week schedule, i will have almost no time to lift for the next 6 days or so.. that being the case, i decided that it works out. My joints could use some rest, and it gave me an excuse to carb up via mac 'n' cheese and brownie bars i made. I then pushed harder than i ever have in the gym, trying out 20 rep squats for the first time!

the activation work i did between sets coupled with plenty of carbs in my body resulted in me just getting more and more aggressive after each set. I actually got more intense after i hit my requisite weight+reps for the day (255x3), and instead went 20 lbs higher, and then finished with 20 rep squats. They were great, and i had this weird maniacal laugh going on, and was dripping quite a bit of sweat. The only thing i didn't like was that my arms lost feeling around 15 reps...

and now that i think about it, i have to give pretty much all credit to my shitty pre-workout nutrition...i was training on about 4-5 hours of sleep, so it's not like i was well rested or anything.
Monday:
-back squat (alternated with 2-3 vertical jumps)
45x10
135x5
155x5
185x3
225x3 (what's amazing is that this didn't feel light the first or second time..yet the second time i cranked out 20 reps haha)
255x3
260x3
265x3
275x3
225x20!!! woo

-Oac
bwx5x2
3-3-3-2-2-1 reps (gripping towel with one hand)

-reverse preacher ez bar curl
55x10
65x8
75x6
55x10
65x6

-calves
(seated)........(toe presses)
135x10..........180x15x3
135x9
135x8
135x7

[Max G]

not much time for exercise..i've just been focusing on meeting people, exploring campus, and taking part in the camp-esque activities that we've been doing. managed to slip away to do some parkour for like 30 min. it was productive

Tuesday:
-movement (30 min)

[Max G]

finally managed to get to the rec center to lift. they had some weird set ups, but i'll get used to it.

Saturday:
-back squat
45x10
135x5
165x5
185x3
205x3
225x3
245x3
265x3

-good morning
170x5x3

-Oac
bwx5x2
3-3-3-2-2 (top rung used)

-zottman curls
30x5x2
35x5x2

-rotary calf raise
50x15x4

[Max G]

i've gotten tons of NEPA (super cool code for non-exercise physical activity) these days! I've been eating as much as i want at each meal, but walking for 1-2 hours a day on top of lifting has actually left me as light as when i first came to the U of MN.

Sunday:
-press
45x10
65x5
85x5
105x3x2 (lordy this is meager...)

-dips (because of my layoff i added these to just groove the movement)
bwx5
30x5
40x5
45x5

-YTWL
10x5x2

-body lever negatives
20secx2 (starting from top)
16secx2 (starting from 45 degrees)

-wrists
(reverse)....(regular)
45x5x5......65x10
               85x6 (went too high...)
               75x10x2

-smith calf raise
135x15
145x15
155x15

[Max G]

probably too active to help in weight gain today..oh well. i sketched out my general set up; i will be trying to ellicit strength gains in as many lifts as possible while inducing as little volume-based fatigue as possible. I'll be trying to bring up the size of my calves during this period. I'll be training them 4 days a week, alternating focus from soleus to gastroc each time.

Monday:
-longboarding (1.5 hours)
-parkour (35 min)
-pick up basketball (30 min)

lifting
-back squat
45x10
135x5
155x5
185x3
225x3
245x3
270x3

-Oac
bwx5x2
10secx2 negative (holding 2nd rung)
bwx3 (holding 1st rung)

-Good morning
170x5x2

-rotary calf
100x6........80x12......50x15x3
110x6x3.....80x10
                80x12x3

[Max G]

lifted, and did some spare time parkour. had first day of classes, so depending on homework and me deciding to take it easy (likely) i may get out and do a little more.

*i feel like i should note for the incredibly splendid, very good looking young folk (at heart or actually) who take time out of their busy, productive days that although i write down my workout as if i did my calves last, i am actually doing them first, as i want to improve them most out of anything at the moment, and so train them when fresh.

the general format (this is more of a note to myself) for my calf plan is to focus on gastroc or soleus on alternating days using just one exercise, and emphasizing volume first. The idea is to have 15 sets each of 6 or less reps, 8-12 reps, 12-15 reps, and 5 sets of 15+reps per week. After this approximate requisite of volume is achieved (basically i just have to pick light enough weights) then i will up the loads from workout to workout as the means of progress.

Tuesday:
-OH press
45x10
65x5
85x5
110x3

-Alternating Zottman Curls
35x10x2

-YTWL
10x5x2

-db wrist curls
(reverse).........(regular)
20x8x2............35x10x2

-L sit
15-10-10-8 sec

-Standing Calf Press
270x6x2 (was a bit too heavy)
250x6
250x5
----------
160x8x2
----------
90x12
----------
50x20

[Max G]

lifted in two separate sessions, felt great because of all the carbs, and did some spare time parkour and longboarding. will have to get back to my studies in a sec unfortunately. Also coached a buddy on sumo lifting

Monday:
-spare time movement (20 min? maybe a tad more)

-deadlift
135x5
225x3
275x3
295x1
305x1x3

-one arm db row
60x5
75x5
85x5
95x5

-one leg rotary calf
50x6x4
30x12x5
20x15x3
30x50 (two legged)

-one legged squat/step up
8x2

[Max G]

today was light in all regards: light eating, light exercise, and (light hearted..but what day isn't?). Did a bit of parkour (maybe 30 min). What's nice about the U of MN is that there are so many spots that vary so much, a 30 minute session everyday here is far more productive than 30 min back home. I'm only limited by creativity, and unfortunately, time. such is the way things are i guess.

Thursday:
-movement practice (30 min)

[Max G]

haven't been able to update. here's the catchup..basically i've been lifting, and doing some degree of parkour most days/everyday. I had a bit of a shitty day yesterday (could've been much worse though, so i'm thankful): i jammed my pinky pretty hard-don't think it's broken; just swollen-and then spilled pretty hard on two hills while longboarding. as a result i'm pretty cut up, but at least i'm not in a cast.

Friday:
-back squat
45x10
135x5
175x5
225x3
255x3
275x3

-Oac
bwx5x2 (regular)
10sec negativex2 (gripping second rung)
bwx4 (gripping first rung)

-Good Morning
175x5x2

-Standing Calf raise
205x6x4
155x12x5
135x15x3
95x31 (rest-pause)

Saturday:
Rested

Sunday:
circuit
rounds of 5 pullups + dips (resting 30, 40, 50, 60 sec)
rounds of 4 pull ups + dips (resting 30, 40, 50, 60, sec)
rounds of 2 pull ups + dips (resting 5, 5, 5, 10 sec)
....55 pull ups and dips total

-db wrist curls
(reverse).......(regular)
20x9x2........40x10x2

-body levers
1 full + 10 sec negative
1 full + 10 sec negative
3 bent leg reps