View Full Version : Questions. Answers. Partying with BOSS... Dan Green
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Hi Dan. First I want to congratulate you on all your success and wish you a speedy recovery. Your training videos and the intensity with which you lift really motivate me to push myself as hard as possible.
I attended your "Train like a Boss" seminar last May in Miami. I learned a lot from it and was wondering if you had any plans to hold another one in south/central Florida?
My main question is concerning my squat. My bench and deadlift have been progressing nicely and my technique for both has come a long way. With my squat however, it has been a frustrating year and a half. I feel I can move the most weight squatting lowbar so that is how I squat in competition. I have been able to hit rep PR's on squat but have been unable to progress my one rep max. I tried maxing 6 months apart and missed both attempts. The problem seems to be my hips shooting back when I'm fatigued or under maximum load and causing a goodmorning like effect. I know you and others have said this is probably due to a lack of quad strength. Since attending your seminar last May I have been low bar squatting on Monday followed by paused high bar squats. On Wednesday I have been front squatting. I have made huge progress on both of these lifts and I know I have gained some quad strength, however it hasn't carried over to my low bar one rep max. I'm not sure if its a technique issue or just an overall strength issue. I know without seeing my squat it may be hard to evaluate, but any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated. I don't know if I should change anything or just keep pushing hard as like I said I am hitting new rep pr's and maybe its just a mental issue as to why it hasn't translated into a one rep max pr. Thanks Dan
My first guess would be a technique flaw, which, without watching you squat, is impossible to assume. But there are a finite number of typical mistakes and most result in overly using the back to lift (hips rising first)
1--if you film yourself and the bar drifts forward on the descent, then this is an indication of a lack of concentration or a lack of upper back tightness. Sometimes, the breathing motion is the issue, for example if your shoulders shrug to breathe--this is incorrect--but you do not let the bar settle before beginning the descent, then you will likely pitch forward over the toes
2--if you descend and then at the reversal the bar path shifts forward, then often this is a mobility issue of either the hips or ankles. Make sure to stretch out the calves/ankles before squatting in both a straight legged position and a knees bent position to target the achilles and soleus. If the knees can't travel forward due to restriction, then your hips will be forced back and out from underneath you momentarily and cause you to pitch forward. If the hips are immobile, you may lose low back tightness and/or shift the hips back--again overusing the low back
3--If the knees collapse in then this will also cause the overuse of the back as it takes the gluten out and puts the stress on the quads and back.
4--Lastly, if you do not brace against the belt, then you can loosen at the reversal and have a severe loss of power.
My guess would be one of the first two, given the regimen of exercises you follow, but you can analyze for yourself or link me to a video.
As for another training option, try as a deload every 3rd or 4th week to just hit hack squats (machine) for about 4 sets of 20 reps (4 x 15-25) This means 2 warmup sets, 1 work set, and 1 all-out set. This will help the quads in a very functional way for the squats. This was a method I liked then later learned that Sam Byrd did as well, and his squats are still the most impressive to me. He looks like he is on a hack squat when he squats too! no coincidence there
My first guess would be a technique flaw, which, without watching you squat, is impossible to assume. But there are a finite number of typical mistakes and most result in overly using the back to lift (hips rising first)
1--if you film yourself and the bar drifts forward on the descent, then this is an indication of a lack of concentration or a lack of upper back tightness. Sometimes, the breathing motion is the issue, for example if your shoulders shrug to breathe--this is incorrect--but you do not let the bar settle before beginning the descent, then you will likely pitch forward over the toes
2--if you descend and then at the reversal the bar path shifts forward, then often this is a mobility issue of either the hips or ankles. Make sure to stretch out the calves/ankles before squatting in both a straight legged position and a knees bent position to target the achilles and soleus. If the knees can't travel forward due to restriction, then your hips will be forced back and out from underneath you momentarily and cause you to pitch forward. If the hips are immobile, you may lose low back tightness and/or shift the hips back--again overusing the low back
3--If the knees collapse in then this will also cause the overuse of the back as it takes the gluten out and puts the stress on the quads and back.
4--Lastly, if you do not brace against the belt, then you can loosen at the reversal and have a severe loss of power.
My guess would be one of the first two, given the regimen of exercises you follow, but you can analyze for yourself or link me to a video.
As for another training option, try as a deload every 3rd or 4th week to just hit hack squats (machine) for about 4 sets of 20 reps (4 x 15-25) This means 2 warmup sets, 1 work set, and 1 all-out set. This will help the quads in a very functional way for the squats. This was a method I liked then later learned that Sam Byrd did as well, and his squats are still the most impressive to me. He looks like he is on a hack squat when he squats too! no coincidence there
One other thing I failed to add after mentioning technique is that during your warmups you should play with the tempo at which you descend and recover. You should always feel like you can drive your chest up/push with your back first and that your legs stay underneath you as you do. This way the squats are driven by the gluten first not the quads. The quads and lower back transfer the forces and therefore work heavily, but the first motion out of the hole needs to be to push the weight up and back with the back. The other option is shooting the hips back...
Hey Dan, do you think its plausible to safety bar squat for a whole meet prep and then hit the straight bar at the meet with no issues? Also, have u ever worked with anyone who has digestive issues and can't eat enough calories to maintain or even grow. Any suggestions related to that?
Thanks as always !
For the digestion I'd start with some digestive enzymes as a supplement, then maybe get some kind of work done by a doctor if you want to establish which foods are causing you problems. If you can just pick the right choices and get your cals, a Dr visit would be well worth it.
Don't just use the safety bar only, at least have a couple sessions on a regular bar to get the rust off at the end even if you're stronger from the SSB. There've been a couple people at Boss who've suffered upper body injuries then just trained the SSB for 4-6 weeks and then gotten way way stronger upon returning to the regular bar
FarmBoyStrong
07-28-17, 12:34 pm
One other thing I failed to add after mentioning technique is that during your warmups you should play with the tempo at which you descend and recover. You should always feel like you can drive your chest up/push with your back first and that your legs stay underneath you as you do. This way the squats are driven by the gluten first not the quads. The quads and lower back transfer the forces and therefore work heavily, but the first motion out of the hole needs to be to push the weight up and back with the back. The other option is shooting the hips back...
Thank you for your advice. I appreciate that you take time out of your day to help lifters become better at this sport. I will definetly take your advice and really work on my technique. Here is a link to a video of my squat. https://instagram.com/p/BXGNeyAl9Ug/
Thanks again Dan.
Dan,
I've read through this thread and learned a ton! Thank you! Per your advice I have been studying the easternbloclifting blog as well. It's awesome. Below I have a basic outline of a routine that would be focused on gaining strength and size. I'm not competing or peaking for a meet. Main goal is to gain mass and progress in my lifts. I would like to compete, one day, but for now I know that I need to put on size and learn the lifts. Could you give me some feedback and possibly critique my set/reps scheme and give recommendations on percentages or how to progress? Thanks man!
Day1: heavy bench press 3x8-4, wide grip bench 3x8,20 rep touch and go set, triceps (cg bench/floor presses)
Day 2: Front Squat-Heavy 4x8-4, hack squat 4x15, calves/abs
Day 3: Military Press 3x8, DB incline bench, Flys, rows
Day 4: Conventional Deadlifts 3x8, deficit deadlifts 3x8-6, rows/biceps
Day 5: Rest
Day 6: heavy squats 3x6-4, Pause squats 3x8, high bar 1x20, SLDL-heavy 3x8-6
Thank you for your advice. I appreciate that you take time out of your day to help lifters become better at this sport. I will definetly take your advice and really work on my technique. Here is a link to a video of my squat. https://instagram.com/p/BXGNeyAl9Ug/
Thanks again Dan.
It's a little tough to tell from the video, but it looks like your bar path is drifting forward on the way down, which indicates the need for more upper back tightness as you initiate the descent as well as the need to set your weight in the heels a little more before initiating. In other words get your hips back a little and push the bar back with the upper back as well (keep the chest forward or up). Your flexibility is good and you're getting a solid stretch reflex at the bottom... just that the bar is already drifting forward before the bottom
Buckfever
07-30-17, 12:22 am
Were you ever this strong on conventional before? That seems like it's coming up really good.
Dan,
I'm sure these sort of questions get old! Thanks for
Any guidance you can provide. I like your no-nonsense approach
Dan,
I've read through this thread and learned a ton! Thank you! Per your advice I have been studying the easternbloclifting blog as well. It's awesome. Below I have a basic outline of a routine that would be focused on gaining strength and size. I'm not competing or peaking for a meet. Main goal is to gain mass and progress in my lifts. I would like to compete, one day, but for now I know that I need to put on size and learn the lifts. Could you give me some feedback and possibly critique my set/reps scheme and give recommendations on percentages or how to progress? Thanks man!
Day1: heavy bench press 3x8-4, wide grip bench 3x8,20 rep touch and go set, triceps (cg bench/floor presses)
Day 2: Front Squat-Heavy 4x8-4, hack squat 4x15, calves/abs
Day 3: Military Press 3x8, DB incline bench, Flys, rows
Day 4: Conventional Deadlifts 3x8, deficit deadlifts 3x8-6, rows/biceps
Day 5: Rest
Day 6: heavy squats 3x6-4, Pause squats 3x8, high bar 1x20, SLDL-heavy 3x8-6
FarmBoyStrong
07-30-17, 1:28 pm
It's a little tough to tell from the video, but it looks like your bar path is drifting forward on the way down, which indicates the need for more upper back tightness as you initiate the descent as well as the need to set your weight in the heels a little more before initiating. In other words get your hips back a little and push the bar back with the upper back as well (keep the chest forward or up). Your flexibility is good and you're getting a solid stretch reflex at the bottom... just that the bar is already drifting forward before the bottom
Thank you again for your advice. I did a few light singles today starting with my hips further back and chest more upright like you suggested. It made a world of difference!! It was a subtle change but made my squat feel like a completely different movement. Again this was light weight so I'm looking forward to tomorrow's squat to see how it feels with a little more weight on my back. Again thank you very much for your advice!! I look forward to seeing you compete again.
Dan,
I've read through this thread and learned a ton! Thank you! Per your advice I have been studying the easternbloclifting blog as well. It's awesome. Below I have a basic outline of a routine that would be focused on gaining strength and size. I'm not competing or peaking for a meet. Main goal is to gain mass and progress in my lifts. I would like to compete, one day, but for now I know that I need to put on size and learn the lifts. Could you give me some feedback and possibly critique my set/reps scheme and give recommendations on percentages or how to progress? Thanks man!
Day1: heavy bench press 3x8-4, wide grip bench 3x8,20 rep touch and go set, triceps (cg bench/floor presses)
Day 2: Front Squat-Heavy 4x8-4, hack squat 4x15, calves/abs
Day 3: Military Press 3x8, DB incline bench, Flys, rows
Day 4: Conventional Deadlifts 3x8, deficit deadlifts 3x8-6, rows/biceps
Day 5: Rest
Day 6: heavy squats 3x6-4, Pause squats 3x8, high bar 1x20, SLDL-heavy 3x8-6
Seems like you have too many compound lifts of the same type on most of the days.
For the squats if the back squats are high reps just do one back down set of 20 if the squats are lower than accordingly follow with low rep pauses
For the bench days they seem ok. The front squats and hacks are very similar just like you have all back squats on day 6, which (1) I don't think will go well after a ton of deads on just 48 hours rest and (2) could be mixed with the fronts/hacks
The programs I've laid out in past pages as well as the ones on the link I sent should work well without modification. Try one of those! You can't do everything in one training cycle, and you won't get the progress you want--the results everybody wants do not come in 12 weeks, they come in years of many 12 week cycles! Just follow one, then move onto a second, this will work best
Were you ever this strong on conventional before? That seems like it's coming up really good.
Reps right now are at an all-time high. 760x4 and 738x5 are best and on calibrated weights. Otherwise my bests were 735x4 and 775x2 on metal weights and 738x3 and 783x1 on calibrated weights.
The only issue is with my squat strength being lower, I'm slow off the floor. So basically my back strength is very good right now.
Thank you again for your advice. I did a few light singles today starting with my hips further back and chest more upright like you suggested. It made a world of difference!! It was a subtle change but made my squat feel like a completely different movement. Again this was light weight so I'm looking forward to tomorrow's squat to see how it feels with a little more weight on my back. Again thank you very much for your advice!! I look forward to seeing you compete again.
That's great! give it time because every motion requires strength to execute. So this is the beauty of linear progression. Do the form with a gradually heavier weight each week but feel free to be a little flexible with the volume. Move the weight with the intent to accelerate it maximally and let the volume build the muscle. That way in time your technique will not limit your strength.
Altered Beast
08-02-17, 10:43 am
Dan,
Curious if you build your lifters' programs based on if they're high rep or low rep dominant? How would you set up for a low rep dominant lifter?
Seems like you have too many compound lifts of the same type on most of the days.
For the squats if the back squats are high reps just do one back down set of 20 if the squats are lower than accordingly follow with low rep pauses
For the bench days they seem ok. The front squats and hacks are very similar just like you have all back squats on day 6, which (1) I don't think will go well after a ton of deads on just 48 hours rest and (2) could be mixed with the fronts/hacks
The programs I've laid out in past pages as well as the ones on the link I sent should work well without modification. Try one of those! You can't do everything in one training cycle, and you won't get the progress you want--the results everybody wants do not come in 12 weeks, they come in years of many 12 week cycles! Just follow one, then move onto a second, this will work best
Thank you for the response! I hope your training is going as well as you would like.
Seems like you have too many compound lifts of the same type on most of the days.
For the squats if the back squats are high reps just do one back down set of 20 if the squats are lower than accordingly follow with low rep pauses
For the bench days they seem ok. The front squats and hacks are very similar just like you have all back squats on day 6, which (1) I don't think will go well after a ton of deads on just 48 hours rest and (2) could be mixed with the fronts/hacks
The programs I've laid out in past pages as well as the ones on the link I sent should work well without modification. Try one of those! You can't do everything in one training cycle, and you won't get the progress you want--the results everybody wants do not come in 12 weeks, they come in years of many 12 week cycles! Just follow one, then move onto a second, this will work best
Dan, I definitely like the split 5 and 6 day split you mentioned you have done on previous pages. Would you change it if squat was your weak point?
Hi Dan
Is deloading worthable doing in intensification/strength phase?
Im worry about my neuromuscular adaptations , this is possible to lose this when im deloading for week and only working on 50% of my 1RM?
Dan,
Curious if you build your lifters' programs based on if they're high rep or low rep dominant? How would you set up for a low rep dominant lifter?
Yeah I'll customize for that if it seems needed. First I'd ask if it's really that or if they just have trouble staying tight for more than one or two reps, which is a specific issue to work on. A lot of time people just aren't willing to address what causes them to actually falter with reps be it muscular fatigue, bad form or heart/lung power.
Modifying is simple enough though, you just arrive at the desired volume via more sets of fewer reps.
Dan, I definitely like the split 5 and 6 day split you mentioned you have done on previous pages. Would you change it if squat was your weak point?
No it's a great program to build the squats. The biggest thing is what you put in, and not just effort and pushing through "discomfort", but dedication to form, from the first warmup set to the last set. You can't just use a good program to get stronger if your form isn't up to par. It takes time to master form on squats, but it's doable. It is, however, only doable if you actually work on it and are willing to wait on the big PRs. Not everyone is. And not everyone understands form...
MRmichael.hooker
08-03-17, 2:46 pm
The programs I've laid out in past pages as well as the ones on the link I sent should work well without modification.
Any way to get a copy of that link you sent?
You can't do everything in one training cycle, and you won't get the progress you want--the results everybody wants do not come in 12 weeks, they come in years of many 12 week cycles! Just follow one, then move onto a second, this will work best
THIS. This is one of the reasons why you're the Boss
No it's a great program to build the squats. The biggest thing is what you put in, and not just effort and pushing through "discomfort", but dedication to form, from the first warmup set to the last set. You can't just use a good program to get stronger if your form isn't up to par. It takes time to master form on squats, but it's doable. It is, however, only doable if you actually work on it and are willing to wait on the big PRs. Not everyone is. And not everyone understands form...
Thanks, Dan. Better to do it right from the beginning as opposed to a plateau or injury later. I appreciate the advice
Any way to get a copy of that link you sent?
THIS. This is one of the reasons why you're the Boss
He referred me to www.easternbloclifting.blogspot.com
MRmichael.hooker
08-04-17, 9:30 am
He referred me to www.easternbloclifting.blogspot.com
Thanks!
Thanks, Dan. Better to do it right from the beginning as opposed to a plateau or injury later. I appreciate the advice
The best way to build the form is in these 3 stages, which should take place over the course of any 1 set as well as in the long term:
1--move the weight from point A to Point B (and through Point C (sticking point)) so that if at any point you were to freeze, that you're in a balanced position and therefore a strong position from which you can generate power and not just rely on momentum to carry you through
2--move the weight from point A to point B with maximal acceleration. IE lift the weight as though it's a much heavier weight. This will in fact be part of preparation to in fact later lift a much heavier weight. This is known as Compensatory acceleration Training or CAT and was originally written about by the great Fred Hatfield. It's not to be confused with the Westside accommodating resistance (Bands/chains). Literally just accelerate the weight through the entire concentric ROM
3--Optimize the speed of the eccentric. lf you've obeyed first 1 then 2, then eventually, during the pursuit of maximal acceleration on the concentric, you will naturally begin to optimize the speed of the eccentric. This should happen on it's own!
This can happen from rep 1 to rep 5 on a given set, or just generally improve over the course of your career assuming dedication to these tenets. Do not be the guy who does these backward: First dive bomb the squat then try to recover fast, and then try to fix the positions... This feels great until the weights get heavy and you can't muscle through them so you either plateau (best case scenario) or get hurt (worst case)
Take your time, it's well worth it
The best way to build the form is in these 3 stages, which should take place over the course of any 1 set as well as in the long term:
1--move the weight from point A to Point B (and through Point C (sticking point)) so that if at any point you were to freeze, that you're in a balanced position and therefore a strong position from which you can generate power and not just rely on momentum to carry you through
2--move the weight from point A to point B with maximal acceleration. IE lift the weight as though it's a much heavier weight. This will in fact be part of preparation to in fact later lift a much heavier weight. This is known as Compensatory acceleration Training or CAT and was originally written about by the great Fred Hatfield. It's not to be confused with the Westside accommodating resistance (Bands/chains). Literally just accelerate the weight through the entire concentric ROM
3--Optimize the speed of the eccentric. lf you've obeyed first 1 then 2, then eventually, during the pursuit of maximal acceleration on the concentric, you will naturally begin to optimize the speed of the eccentric. This should happen on it's own!
This can happen from rep 1 to rep 5 on a given set, or just generally improve over the course of your career assuming dedication to these tenets. Do not be the guy who does these backward: First dive bomb the squat then try to recover fast, and then try to fix the positions... This feels great until the weights get heavy and you can't muscle through them so you either plateau (best case scenario) or get hurt (worst case)
Take your time, it's well worth it
I'm blown away you took the time to write that out man. Thank you and I will take your advice!
Altered Beast
08-07-17, 10:27 am
Yeah I'll customize for that if it seems needed. First I'd ask if it's really that or if they just have trouble staying tight for more than one or two reps, which is a specific issue to work on. A lot of time people just aren't willing to address what causes them to actually falter with reps be it muscular fatigue, bad form or heart/lung power.
Modifying is simple enough though, you just arrive at the desired volume via more sets of fewer reps.
Thanks! My muscles seem to only be able to handle a certain amount of reps at each percentage. I've seen the best strength gains in the 1-3 rep range starting at a certain percentage.
pfabrizi1
08-07-17, 10:49 am
Right now my goals are to increase my conventional deadlift over 800 and keep increasing my bench toward the end of the year. As for squats I'm still getting back with those, my quad is healed but not strengthened enough. I've improved my foot and hip strength but still my fibularis (due to fallen arch) is bound up and messing with my lower leg when I squat more than the quad tendon is limiting things, so that's still one more hurdle to work past before I can really feel ready to push the squats. And until I can push the squats, it makes more sense to focus on conventional pulls as I can't build up my quads yet.
I plan to compete again next year, but for now just trying to build up my weak points--conventional deads and bench. My squats and sumos felt great before my injury worsened, so I'll just wait till it's time then push them up again.
Awesome man, those conventional pulls are looking really crazy. Do you feel that conventional pulling is overall a much better mass builder than sumo pulling?
Also, have you ever run a training cycle where your primary lifts are all things like block pulls, front squats, etc. to build up more mass and strength as opposed to using the competition lifts? Got a meet coming up in 12 weeks, so I'm keeping my training the same as it's been since I've been making good progress, and I can't say I have much experience in planning out a training cycle specifically for a meet... but I'm looking to put on some real mass after this meet so I'm interested in your take on this or how you would typically train for a mass-specific training cycle.
Awesome man, those conventional pulls are looking really crazy. Do you feel that conventional pulling is overall a much better mass builder than sumo pulling?
Also, have you ever run a training cycle where your primary lifts are all things like block pulls, front squats, etc. to build up more mass and strength as opposed to using the competition lifts? Got a meet coming up in 12 weeks, so I'm keeping my training the same as it's been since I've been making good progress, and I can't say I have much experience in planning out a training cycle specifically for a meet... but I'm looking to put on some real mass after this meet so I'm interested in your take on this or how you would typically train for a mass-specific training cycle.
For mass I specifically like things that stretch the full ROM of a muscle. Front squats are a great example for quads as well as hack squats as a big mass builder. For triceps skull crushers from just behind the head or the 1-arm DB behind the head extension. All lat exercises should focus on ROM. For hamstrings RDLs are the gold standard. For upper back and traps block pulls and rows are great, but hang Cleans are best for traps.
Buckfever
08-13-17, 9:16 pm
804X4 conventional? So that's how it's going to be.
Altered Beast
08-14-17, 10:39 am
804X4 conventional? So that's how it's going to be.
Ed Coan's favorite Powerlifter! Can't imagine why, LOL!
Unreal.
I agree with all the positive words written by everyone else. After all the injuries and your surgery, you've come back even stronger. You're a great example to us less experienced lifters on how to approach injuries and -more importantly- how to be patient, trust the process, and gradually build yourself back up to the heavy weights.
And I know that you are especially known for your exceptional sumo DL, but 800+ conventional is INSANE. Do you find that there is a very large carry over in strength between conventional and sumo? Or maybe your back strength is just incredibly strong, and once you are able to regularly train sumo again, you will be pulling even more than 800 easily. Either way, INSANE!!!
804X4 conventional? So that's how it's going to be.
Yep that was a PR so I guess my strength is moving in the right direction
Ed Coan's favorite Powerlifter! Can't imagine why, LOL!
Unreal.
Thanks man
I agree with all the positive words written by everyone else. After all the injuries and your surgery, you've come back even stronger. You're a great example to us less experienced lifters on how to approach injuries and -more importantly- how to be patient, trust the process, and gradually build yourself back up to the heavy weights.
And I know that you are especially known for your exceptional sumo DL, but 800+ conventional is INSANE. Do you find that there is a very large carry over in strength between conventional and sumo? Or maybe your back strength is just incredibly strong, and once you are able to regularly train sumo again, you will be pulling even more than 800 easily. Either way, INSANE!!!
In the past I've been close to 800 conventional. But right now it's easier to train my back than my legs so I've been just focused on the "pet" goal of an 800 conventional. I should see a nice carryover from the conventional strength, but maybe not. I was seeing a lot of improvements in back strength the past few months, but only 2 weeks ago was the first squat day that really felt productive where I could use a decent weight (518) and also load my legs equally with my back not just use the hips and back to compensate for the knee's quality or use a knee-dominant position but with only 100kg bar weight. So basically hitting 760 x 3 sets of 3,3 and 4 just 2 weeks prior but slightly tearing my teres on an awkward second rep, and then deloading the deads then next week when it was still tight and painful, I was able to rack up 2 strong squat days in a row, and then transition all that new-found leg strength into the recent deadlift day which was 760x1, 804x1 no straps, then 804x4 w/straps
Hey dan, when prepping for a meet, would you recommend increasing volume on accessory lifts as you do on the competition lifts? It always seemed to me that if I go and bench more reps/sets of a weight than I did previously, and do the same volume of accessory work, I've undergone more stress than before. But...I've been wondering about gradually increasing accessory volume before tapering and peaking, but am concerned about not being able to properly recover.
Hey dan, when prepping for a meet, would you recommend increasing volume on accessory lifts as you do on the competition lifts? It always seemed to me that if I go and bench more reps/sets of a weight than I did previously, and do the same volume of accessory work, I've undergone more stress than before. But...I've been wondering about gradually increasing accessory volume before tapering and peaking, but am concerned about not being able to properly recover.
You're on to the right track here... Progressive overload is the name of the game. Building a bigger foundation is the key to peaking better. My advice is building up a foundation of lighter stuff then building more volume of heavier stuff. The lighter (accessory) stuff helps you to tolerate the heavier stuff better, so build that base first or as you start building the main volume.
For the digestion I'd start with some digestive enzymes as a supplement, then maybe get some kind of work done by a doctor if you want to establish which foods are causing you problems. If you can just pick the right choices and get your cals, a Dr visit would be well worth it.
Don't just use the safety bar only, at least have a couple sessions on a regular bar to get the rust off at the end even if you're stronger from the SSB. There've been a couple people at Boss who've suffered upper body injuries then just trained the SSB for 4-6 weeks and then gotten way way stronger upon returning to the regular bar
Have you or any clients ever had those food intolerance tests done, and if so did it help a lot?
Buckfever
08-16-17, 2:43 pm
I find your videos very inspiring. Man you're coming back strong on the Squat!!!
Have you or any clients ever had those food intolerance tests done, and if so did it help a lot?
Just myself and one other. The other one it helped her dramatically, but she is not a powerlifter, just a general fitness trainee. For me it was very helpful to learn about all my food allergies and how extensive/strong each was. Sometimes mild allergies still affect you more than you think
I find your videos very inspiring. Man you're coming back strong on the Squat!!!
Thanks man, I'm just trying to get strong and feel good. I'm not really "squatting" per se, just doing them on the safety bar, which really helps my back strength the most. It's only a matter of time before I start pushing the regular squats though; my knee cap is starting to sit more and more in the normal spot, the more I'm able to actually squat. Right now it's slowly migrating up from being too low post-surgery. This is normal because the tendons are so tight that it's easier for the muscle to stretch more to accomodate. But as the tendon loosens up and I'm able to create more tension in the quad muscle, it slowly moves up to it's proper position
Altered Beast
08-18-17, 12:11 pm
Thanks man, I'm just trying to get strong and feel good. I'm not really "squatting" per se, just doing them on the safety bar, which really helps my back strength the most. It's only a matter of time before I start pushing the regular squats though; my knee cap is starting to sit more and more in the normal spot, the more I'm able to actually squat. Right now it's slowly migrating up from being too low post-surgery. This is normal because the tendons are so tight that it's easier for the muscle to stretch more to accomodate. But as the tendon loosens up and I'm able to create more tension in the quad muscle, it slowly moves up to it's proper position
Dan, did you major in Human Physiology??? You sound like a scientist! LOL!
Dan, did you major in Human Physiology??? You sound like a scientist! LOL!
No lol I just majored in economics in college. I've learned a lot from reading. I've studied anatomy pretty well and I've been a personal trainer for 11 years. Lots of different clients and lots on the other end of the spectrum from weightlifters. I've also hurt myself a lot of times so I've gotten very real experience with injuries. All my knowledge is what I've learned and synthesized together myself
Pt_carlzon
08-25-17, 12:40 pm
Hi!
So i saw a old seminar highlights video of you
And it cut short!
I really admire your knowledge and skill in lifting
But if you do a strength phase
Like 12 x 4. How do you progress? Just go heavier each workout?
Squats 12 x 3, Hack Squats 15-20 x 2, Extensions, Curls
Bench 8 x 3, Db Incline 12 x 4, Flyes
Deadlift 1 top set, 12 x 4 bent over rows, 4 sets pullups
Db Press 12 x 4, Laterals, Front Raises, 15x7 Skullcrusher, 10x4 Pressdowns, Dips 3xAMRAP
Something like this was written before in this forum.
Is this a good routine for a strength phase?
And will you hit 900 squat, dead or 600 bench ome day?
Hi Dan,
Did you ever have problems (pain) with your iliosacral joint(s)?
If yes, what did you do to solve these problems?
Hi!
So i saw a old seminar highlights video of you
And it cut short!
I really admire your knowledge and skill in lifting
But if you do a strength phase
Like 12 x 4. How do you progress? Just go heavier each workout?
Squats 12 x 3, Hack Squats 15-20 x 2, Extensions, Curls
Bench 8 x 3, Db Incline 12 x 4, Flyes
Deadlift 1 top set, 12 x 4 bent over rows, 4 sets pullups
Db Press 12 x 4, Laterals, Front Raises, 15x7 Skullcrusher, 10x4 Pressdowns, Dips 3xAMRAP
Something like this was written before in this forum.
Is this a good routine for a strength phase?
The problem with that question is it's very simple. Nothing will always work as far as a set program. What needs to be in place is PROGRESSIVE OVERLOAD. This means that the workouts must always create a new stimulus for the body to keep wanting to adapt. This means either adding sets or reps to the same weight or reducing rest time, increasing weight, adding additional volume or additional other exercises. Basically do more, lift more, or do it in less time. A good way to progress in the long term is by adding work in the form of added down sets (high reps after main sets), added secondary exercises. Basically building a bigger base. More training days per week. Increasing the frequency of the workouts by adding in more days (lighter days first), like adding in some lighter deadlift days or squat days between the heavier days, etc.
And will you hit 900 squat, dead or 600 bench ome day?
That's the plan
Hi!
So i saw a old seminar highlights video of you
And it cut short!
I really admire your knowledge and skill in lifting
But if you do a strength phase
Like 12 x 4. How do you progress? Just go heavier each workout?
Squats 12 x 3, Hack Squats 15-20 x 2, Extensions, Curls
Bench 8 x 3, Db Incline 12 x 4, Flyes
Deadlift 1 top set, 12 x 4 bent over rows, 4 sets pullups
Db Press 12 x 4, Laterals, Front Raises, 15x7 Skullcrusher, 10x4 Pressdowns, Dips 3xAMRAP
Something like this was written before in this forum.
Is this a good routine for a strength phase?
And will you hit 900 squat, dead or 600 bench ome day?
The problem with that question is it's very simple. Nothing will always work as far as a set program. What needs to be in place is PROGRESSIVE OVERLOAD. This means that the workouts must always create a new stimulus for the body to keep wanting to adapt. This means either adding sets or reps to the same weight or reducing rest time, increasing weight, adding additional volume or additional other exercises. Basically do more, lift more, or do it in less time. A good way to progress in the long term is by adding work in the form of added down sets (high reps after main sets), added secondary exercises. Basically building a bigger base. More training days per week. Increasing the frequency of the workouts by adding in more days (lighter days first), like adding in some lighter deadlift days or squat days between the heavier days, etc.
Hi Dan,
Did you ever have problems (pain) with your iliosacral joint(s)?
If yes, what did you do to solve these problems?
Yes I've had it dislocated for 4 months and terrible sciatic nerve pain because of it. I wasn't able to get relief from anything except sitting basically. Standing was excruciating and got more painful by the minute, and lying on either my stomach or back was worse.
Basically nothing helped until I returned to lifting out of frustration--basically a loss for anything else to help. Fortunately one day I did some deficit deadlifts and the tension on the hamstrings pulled it back into place! After that it hurt mildly for a few months as though the ligaments had been stretched out too much (because they were) but the nerve pain was basically gone. Most people dislocate theirs in an anterior motion but mine happened in a posterior motion, so a little different than most
Altered Beast
08-31-17, 2:16 pm
Yes I've had it dislocated for 4 months and terrible sciatic nerve pain because of it. I wasn't able to get relief from anything except sitting basically. Standing was excruciating and got more painful by the minute, and lying on either my stomach or back was worse.
Basically nothing helped until I returned to lifting out of frustration--basically a loss for anything else to help. Fortunately one day I did some deficit deadlifts and the tension on the hamstrings pulled it back into place! After that it hurt mildly for a few months as though the ligaments had been stretched out too much (because they were) but the nerve pain was basically gone. Most people dislocate theirs in an anterior motion but mine happened in a posterior motion, so a little different than most
That's a blessing!
I pray I don't get seriously injured; however, I have been over training my posterior chain to see what I could take and now I've got pain in my low back/hammys at all times. Going to leave work early (I'm taking tomorrow off for my Bday/Holiday weekend) and go see my chiro before he has to leave at 4:00. Just hope it's not a damn disc issue! A friend/training partner is struggling with 2 bulging discs and he can't Pull or Squat anything remotely heavy as he keeps aggravating it. I'd hate that.
Always something. LOL!
That's a blessing!
I pray I don't get seriously injured; however, I have been over training my posterior chain to see what I could take and now I've got pain in my low back/hammys at all times. Going to leave work early (I'm taking tomorrow off for my Bday/Holiday weekend) and go see my chiro before he has to leave at 4:00. Just hope it's not a damn disc issue! A friend/training partner is struggling with 2 bulging discs and he can't Pull or Squat anything remotely heavy as he keeps aggravating it. I'd hate that.
Always something. LOL!
I've mentioned this before, but your friend would be a good candidate for some reverse hypers. Even if he doesn't have a machine, even if he can just get on a table and do the motion with just his legs 3x15 he'll start to get relief from that
Altered Beast
09-05-17, 10:46 am
I've mentioned this before, but your friend would be a good candidate for some reverse hypers. Even if he doesn't have a machine, even if he can just get on a table and do the motion with just his legs 3x15 he'll start to get relief from that
Yes sir! He has been utilizing a Rogue version (which is still not a Westside RH) at his gym and can only hit it twice a week or his back acts up.
Should it be light weight, moderate weight, etc?
Yes sir! He has been utilizing a Rogue version (which is still not a Westside RH) at his gym and can only hit it twice a week or his back acts up.
Should it be light weight, moderate weight, etc?
Light or even no weight (just your legs no pendulum)
My gym has one of the older rogue westside reverse hypers, and I just can't get the hang of that thing. It has the level platform and roller pad for the feet, and is just awkward as all hell, and smashes my lower abs where you have to lay across it. Sucks, too, because I'd definitely benefit from it, but just can't manage to make it work.
My gym has one of the older rogue westside reverse hypers, and I just can't get the hang of that thing. It has the level platform and roller pad for the feet, and is just awkward as all hell, and smashes my lower abs where you have to lay across it. Sucks, too, because I'd definitely benefit from it, but just can't manage to make it work.
You might want to give it another try or get someone to help you with it--you should be laying right off the edge where your stomach is on the edge like that. Just something to get used to. I haven't used the ones with the rollers, but on ours sometimes I will tie the pendulum forward and out of the way so you can do the motion with just your legs and not the pendulum. Because you want your legs to actually swing forward in order to stretch your lower back though, that is the position--stomach on the edge and hips off the edge
Sc0rpi0n
09-14-17, 1:10 pm
Sup Boss, hope everything's going good.
Sorry in advance for a really long post, maybe grab something to eat, but I really can't shorten it if I want a great advice. Which I do lol thanks in advance if you read it all.
I went to my first meet back in May, almost June, finished 4th (already wrote this here a while back, alongside the sleepy left arm and leg), but wasn't pleased with how I did on squats, plus my form on deads broke after the first attempt, so I focused more on both static and dynamic stretching, and perfecting those 2 lifts as much as I could. I implemented front squats on different day then my regular squat day and it helped A LOT, so thanks for that.
Anyway, I have a couple of questions, since I gained some knowledge on how my body works and what to implement things on a weekly basis, so I'd like to hear your thoughts and maybe some suggestions.
On Monday, I do regular bench press (everything paused), close-grip (sometimes paused), spoto press (can't always find help, but sometimes board press), flat dumbbell press and I thought about adding dips on that day.
On Tuesday, low bar squats, after that either high bar squats (paused or not), pin squats (just above parallel), barbell rows (sometimes controlled, sometimes really heavy, focusing on just moving the weight up as fast and aggressive as possible) and I thought of doing pull-ups on that day.
Wednesday was a shoulders and triceps day, but I changed it to only shoulders, because I do seated barbell press, dumbbell lateral raises, rear delt fly, facepulls and I thought about adding incline bench press on that day, after the barbell press.
Thursday is deadlift day, regular deads and if it isn't too heavy, I do almost always deficit deads and then choose between block pulls, paused deads or snatch grip deads, after that one-arm dumbbell row always.
On Friday I bench again, but more for volume (thought about this being a speed day or something in between), then floor press and after that front squats, either paused or not and I thought about doing light triceps accessory work on this day, like barbell and dumbbell skullcrushers, cable pressdown (pushdown, whatever) and maybe some one-arm overhead extensions. I made a lot of progress with both form and weight in these couple of months on squats and deads, because I moved front squats on a separate day, implemented paused squats and deads, plus moving the barbell row away from deads, since that was too hard on my lower back.
Basically, what I'm asking is this:
1) What are your thoughts on this program? (before the potential changes that is)
2) What are your thoughts on the changes I want to make? (dips, pull-ups, incline bench press and pushing "small" accessory work for triceps to the end of the week)
3) Any suggestions for some changes other than what I mentioned?
4) (more of a general question) I'm maybe going to a meet in about 8-10 weeks, so when should I drop accessory work and is it everything or just different variations of the main lifts?
When it comes to reps and sets, I basically follow a linear progression style of training, you told me a while back it's a smart way to do things so I stayed with it, still doing good. For the accessory work, for bench, squats and deads (close-grip, paused squats or deads, deficit or block deads, pin squats or bench press) I do 2-4 sets, 2-5 (maybe 6 for close-grip benching) reps. All of the other things, dumbbell and cable stuff are 10-15 reps usually.
Oh and the reason for these changes - I want to focus more on my bench now. Sorry for the awfully long post, but I wanted to give you a good insight in what I'm doing, what I want to focus on and what I'm thinking I should change, so you could give me as much precise answer as you can.
Thanks!
Sup Boss, hope everything's going good.
Sorry in advance for a really long post, maybe grab something to eat, but I really can't shorten it if I want a great advice. Which I do lol thanks in advance if you read it all.
I went to my first meet back in May, almost June, finished 4th (already wrote this here a while back, alongside the sleepy left arm and leg), but wasn't pleased with how I did on squats, plus my form on deads broke after the first attempt, so I focused more on both static and dynamic stretching, and perfecting those 2 lifts as much as I could. I implemented front squats on different day then my regular squat day and it helped A LOT, so thanks for that.
Anyway, I have a couple of questions, since I gained some knowledge on how my body works and what to implement things on a weekly basis, so I'd like to hear your thoughts and maybe some suggestions.
On Monday, I do regular bench press (everything paused), close-grip (sometimes paused), spoto press (can't always find help, but sometimes board press), flat dumbbell press and I thought about adding dips on that day.
On Tuesday, low bar squats, after that either high bar squats (paused or not), pin squats (just above parallel), barbell rows (sometimes controlled, sometimes really heavy, focusing on just moving the weight up as fast and aggressive as possible) and I thought of doing pull-ups on that day.
Wednesday was a shoulders and triceps day, but I changed it to only shoulders, because I do seated barbell press, dumbbell lateral raises, rear delt fly, facepulls and I thought about adding incline bench press on that day, after the barbell press.
Thursday is deadlift day, regular deads and if it isn't too heavy, I do almost always deficit deads and then choose between block pulls, paused deads or snatch grip deads, after that one-arm dumbbell row always.
On Friday I bench again, but more for volume (thought about this being a speed day or something in between), then floor press and after that front squats, either paused or not and I thought about doing light triceps accessory work on this day, like barbell and dumbbell skullcrushers, cable pressdown (pushdown, whatever) and maybe some one-arm overhead extensions. I made a lot of progress with both form and weight in these couple of months on squats and deads, because I moved front squats on a separate day, implemented paused squats and deads, plus moving the barbell row away from deads, since that was too hard on my lower back.
Basically, what I'm asking is this:
1) What are your thoughts on this program? (before the potential changes that is)
2) What are your thoughts on the changes I want to make? (dips, pull-ups, incline bench press and pushing "small" accessory work for triceps to the end of the week)
3) Any suggestions for some changes other than what I mentioned?
4) (more of a general question) I'm maybe going to a meet in about 8-10 weeks, so when should I drop accessory work and is it everything or just different variations of the main lifts?
When it comes to reps and sets, I basically follow a linear progression style of training, you told me a while back it's a smart way to do things so I stayed with it, still doing good. For the accessory work, for bench, squats and deads (close-grip, paused squats or deads, deficit or block deads, pin squats or bench press) I do 2-4 sets, 2-5 (maybe 6 for close-grip benching) reps. All of the other things, dumbbell and cable stuff are 10-15 reps usually.
Oh and the reason for these changes - I want to focus more on my bench now. Sorry for the awfully long post, but I wanted to give you a good insight in what I'm doing, what I want to focus on and what I'm thinking I should change, so you could give me as much precise answer as you can.
Thanks!
Hey, this is actually pretty hard to read and figure out what you're doing exactly. I can't seem to find anything in here about dips and I've looked through three times. But here are my thoughts: you're doing more than you need to. Your split of exercises is fine, with the lone exception that you shouldn't always do deficits first. That's ok for 6-8 weeks or every 2nd/3rd week but you need to pull off the floor as your main lift going into a comp. Linear is a specific progression where you progress the lift by the same increment of weight each week, this works well for primary/secondary lifts. The accessories need only be progressively overloaded, which means doing more weight, reps, sets with more density and/or frequency. As for your exercises--they're fine. As for making adjustments, 95% of this is "what are the first two lifts each day" after that is accessory training--don't overthink it. Just train the body parts that need it. The other thing you're confusing--which is why you've included so much--is that as I've written recently, you don't need to have every exercise in each program. The first two exercises are 95% of this. Anything you want to add in beyond that can wait till your next 6-, 8- or 10- week cycle and then be utilized as one of the two main lifts so you can actually put some effort into it. For me, this is what I'm doing with my deads. When I compete, I never get to do Conventional first in my training. Only third or some days second. I have to focus on sumo. Right now I don't have a meet, so I can focus on Conventional, and it's actually going up well as a result. But I'm not ALSO trying to train sumos--they aren't going anywhere. I can get them again next cycle.
Hope this helps. I'd say try to write this out just the main exercises (2 per day) and see how that looks. If you have more questions for me at that point I'll be happy to help more
Sc0rpi0n
09-16-17, 3:31 am
Hey, this is actually pretty hard to read and figure out what you're doing exactly. I can't seem to find anything in here about dips and I've looked through three times. But here are my thoughts: you're doing more than you need to. Your split of exercises is fine, with the lone exception that you shouldn't always do deficits first. That's ok for 6-8 weeks or every 2nd/3rd week but you need to pull off the floor as your main lift going into a comp. Linear is a specific progression where you progress the lift by the same increment of weight each week, this works well for primary/secondary lifts. The accessories need only be progressively overloaded, which means doing more weight, reps, sets with more density and/or frequency. As for your exercises--they're fine. As for making adjustments, 95% of this is "what are the first two lifts each day" after that is accessory training--don't overthink it. Just train the body parts that need it. The other thing you're confusing--which is why you've included so much--is that as I've written recently, you don't need to have every exercise in each program. The first two exercises are 95% of this. Anything you want to add in beyond that can wait till your next 6-, 8- or 10- week cycle and then be utilized as one of the two main lifts so you can actually put some effort into it. For me, this is what I'm doing with my deads. When I compete, I never get to do Conventional first in my training. Only third or some days second. I have to focus on sumo. Right now I don't have a meet, so I can focus on Conventional, and it's actually going up well as a result. But I'm not ALSO trying to train sumos--they aren't going anywhere. I can get them again next cycle.
Hope this helps. I'd say try to write this out just the main exercises (2 per day) and see how that looks. If you have more questions for me at that point I'll be happy to help more
If I understood correctly, I'm basically doing everything at once. The problem is I see myself having a problem with some part of the lift and I try to do everything that I can to fix it and I end up doing a lot of accessory work alongside the main lift itself.
So basically the point you're trying to make is "more is not always better" and that I should cut my accessory work in say half because I'm overdoing... well everything? I think I understood what you're trying to say.
I'm just eager to progress and when I see something not going good I can't help myself and do a ton of things to make it better and apparently that's where I burn myself. Apparently gotta learn to be more patient with the progress I guess.
Thanks as always!
If I understood correctly, I'm basically doing everything at once. The problem is I see myself having a problem with some part of the lift and I try to do everything that I can to fix it and I end up doing a lot of accessory work alongside the main lift itself.
So basically the point you're trying to make is "more is not always better" and that I should cut my accessory work in say half because I'm overdoing... well everything? I think I understood what you're trying to say.
I'm just eager to progress and when I see something not going good I can't help myself and do a ton of things to make it better and apparently that's where I burn myself. Apparently gotta learn to be more patient with the progress I guess.
Thanks as always!
Accessory work will not fix a flaw in technique it can only support the volume of the main lift. The main lift is what makes you get stronger and the main lift can only get better by focusing on doing the lift better and not just more.
Accessory work is like taking supplements: they work great if they supplement a good diet, but can't fix a shit diet.
Altered Beast
09-18-17, 10:49 am
Accessory work will not fix a flaw in technique it can only support the volume of the main lift. The main lift is what makes you get stronger and the main lift can only get better by focusing on doing the lift better and not just more.
Accessory work is like taking supplements: they work great if they supplement a good diet, but can't fix a shit diet.
/\ Quote of 2017!
Warvet99
09-18-17, 3:28 pm
Boss,
Big inspiration brother. I'm sure you get asked this a lot but far as nutrition goes on what you eat to stay lean as a powerlifter? I know it's probably the same stuff as any diet but do you watch your carb or fats? Or are you lucky and just stuff anything down? I know as a power lifter your concern is performance but it is nice to have some physique to where you don't look like complete shit.
Thanks bro.
Altered Beast
09-19-17, 12:09 pm
Boss,
Big inspiration brother. I'm sure you get asked this a lot but far as nutrition goes on what you eat to stay lean as a powerlifter? I know it's probably the same stuff as any diet but do you watch your carb or fats? Or are you lucky and just stuff anything down? I know as a power lifter your concern is performance but it is nice to have some physique to where you don't look like complete shit.
Thanks bro.
Not meaning to hijack the thread, but Dan will eat 3 full sized burritos in one sitting! LOL! He's blessed with a fast metabolism and eats like a horse.
He puts in massive amounts of volume and it seems to torch any fat accumulation on him.
/\ Quote of 2017!
just a little perspective... gotta master the lifts
Not meaning to hijack the thread, but Dan will eat 3 full sized burritos in one sitting! LOL! He's blessed with a fast metabolism and eats like a horse.
He puts in massive amounts of volume and it seems to torch any fat accumulation on him.
Extra meat burritos never regular lol... But that is for further out from a comp, not for getting extra lean, just for maintenance
Boss,
Big inspiration brother. I'm sure you get asked this a lot but far as nutrition goes on what you eat to stay lean as a powerlifter? I know it's probably the same stuff as any diet but do you watch your carb or fats? Or are you lucky and just stuff anything down? I know as a power lifter your concern is performance but it is nice to have some physique to where you don't look like complete shit.
Thanks bro.
I definitely eat a lot in maintenance and indulge in my favorite foods, but I have always trained very hard with a good amount of volume to require this. For getting jacked this is pretty key but: instead of trying to simply map out the training and diet, you have to push harder in both. You can only make progress by increasing what your body can handle whether it's lifting or eating. I definitely believe, as does Stan Efferding, that you must train your metabolism. Eat a lot, and eat a limited variety of foods. This is essentially vertical dieting. If you eat chickens, then start training harder and eating even more chickens. If it's beef then eat more beef. I also am of the belief that to eat the most you must eat fast as well--fuck manners just down your food basically. Your metabolism will adapt to what you teach it.
Now, as for comp prep where I need to lean out a lot in order to make weight... As a lifter performance is first, so I need carbs, but I eat a limited amount throughout the day and a lot during and following my workouts. I keep protein high, usually upward of 300-350g/day. What I drop off significantly for fat loss is dietary fat.
For example,
breakfast: 1/2 cup oatmeal with chocolate or banana Animal Whey mixed in, plus 1 whole egg and 1/2 pint of liquid egg whites. This is about 25-30 g Carbs and 80 g Protein
Lunch: 1/2 cup white rice and 8 oz chicken or steak (depending on desired fat content). Again about 25 g Carbs 50 g Protein
afternoon snack: sip on rest of egg whites and maybe some non fat greek yogurt 50-65 g Protein
Afternoon meal: Same as lunch
Training: mixture of 2 scoops Animal Whey and 1-2 scoops gatorade in a shake 25-50 g Carbs 50 g Protein
Post Training: Cinnamon Toast Crunch in Skim Chocolate Milk Carbs: hundreds of grams Protein 20-30 g
Warvet99
09-20-17, 4:23 pm
I definitely eat a lot in maintenance and indulge in my favorite foods, but I have always trained very hard with a good amount of volume to require this. For getting jacked this is pretty key but: instead of trying to simply map out the training and diet, you have to push harder in both. You can only make progress by increasing what your body can handle whether it's lifting or eating. I definitely believe, as does Stan Efferding, that you must train your metabolism. Eat a lot, and eat a limited variety of foods. This is essentially vertical dieting. If you eat chickens, then start training harder and eating even more chickens. If it's beef then eat more beef. I also am of the belief that to eat the most you must eat fast as well--fuck manners just down your food basically. Your metabolism will adapt to what you teach it.
Now, as for comp prep where I need to lean out a lot in order to make weight... As a lifter performance is first, so I need carbs, but I eat a limited amount throughout the day and a lot during and following my workouts. I keep protein high, usually upward of 300-350g/day. What I drop off significantly for fat loss is dietary fat.
For example,
breakfast: 1/2 cup oatmeal with chocolate or banana Animal Whey mixed in, plus 1 whole egg and 1/2 pint of liquid egg whites. This is about 25-30 g Carbs and 80 g Protein
Lunch: 1/2 cup white rice and 8 oz chicken or steak (depending on desired fat content). Again about 25 g Carbs 50 g Protein
afternoon snack: sip on rest of egg whites and maybe some non fat greek yogurt 50-65 g Protein
Afternoon meal: Same as lunch
Training: mixture of 2 scoops Animal Whey and 1-2 scoops gatorade in a shake 25-50 g Carbs 50 g Protein
Post Training: Cinnamon Toast Crunch in Skim Chocolate Milk Carbs: hundreds of grams Protein 20-30 g
Thanks brother makes sense. I'll deff keep in mind more food plus harder training.
MRmichael.hooker
09-29-17, 8:51 am
Hey Boss, got a training question for ya (who would've thought, ha). Have you/do you ever train bench/ohp on the same day? Right now my split is: Day1- Squat , Day2- Bench, Day3- OHP, Day4- Deads, Day5- Upper Accessory. I'm wanting to add in a day of Lower Accessory, primarily hamstrings and glutes and thought about combining Bench(chest) and OHP(delts). Do you see any issues with this? For recovery/injury prevention sake, I have always separated Chest & Delt days to give my shoulders/rotator more recovery time, whether it be training for bodybuilding or powerlifting.
Hey Boss, got a training question for ya (who would've thought, ha). Have you/do you ever train bench/ohp on the same day? Right now my split is: Day1- Squat , Day2- Bench, Day3- OHP, Day4- Deads, Day5- Upper Accessory. I'm wanting to add in a day of Lower Accessory, primarily hamstrings and glutes and thought about combining Bench(chest) and OHP(delts). Do you see any issues with this? For recovery/injury prevention sake, I have always separated Chest & Delt days to give my shoulders/rotator more recovery time, whether it be training for bodybuilding or powerlifting.
Definitely nothing wrong with this. Training shoulders is simple in that they should respond well to added volume so long as it's mostly higher reps. The last program I had guys in the gym follow had two bench days and two shoulder days which were done after lower body lifts. One was military press 6 x 8 reps the other was seated DB press 6 x 12 reps. So really all the shoulder training was lighter but for volume. A workout I've liked is on my light bench day I did paused wide grip bench with feet up for 3-4 sets 6-8 reps then 3 x 12-15 reps seated military press. Great workout. I've also done Flat DB bench followed by seated military press for both reps and heavy sets of 1-3.
In the end I've trained shoulders as frequently as 3-4x per week. As long as the form is good it should be no problem
MRmichael.hooker
10-02-17, 7:54 am
Definitely nothing wrong with this. Training shoulders is simple in that they should respond well to added volume so long as it's mostly higher reps. The last program I had guys in the gym follow had two bench days and two shoulder days which were done after lower body lifts. One was military press 6 x 8 reps the other was seated DB press 6 x 12 reps. So really all the shoulder training was lighter but for volume. A workout I've liked is on my light bench day I did paused wide grip bench with feet up for 3-4 sets 6-8 reps then 3 x 12-15 reps seated military press. Great workout. I've also done Flat DB bench followed by seated military press for both reps and heavy sets of 1-3.
In the end I've trained shoulders as frequently as 3-4x per week. As long as the form is good it should be no problem
Sounds good, I appreciate the response. Deads & Squats have both plateaued a little and wanted to add in another day to focus on some different things to help. Thanks man
Sounds good, I appreciate the response. Deads & Squats have both plateaued a little and wanted to add in another day to focus on some different things to help. Thanks man
Any thought as to what's stalling the deads and squats?
MRmichael.hooker
10-02-17, 11:07 am
Any thought as to what's stalling the deads and squats?
Honestly I'm not sure. I started back after an intercostal tear had healed early this year. Starting point was around 335 for deads and 235 for squats. Both are back to 500-515 now, but since that point the lifts seem very slowly moving. Just trying to get both back to at least 600. Diet has been pretty much on point. Bench keeps climbing nicely, just dead/squat that's slowed down. Last 7 weeks I've been working with a tad higher reps, 8-5 range. Next 6 weeks will be starting to go back lower, 2-4 reps and then finally down to testing a new 1rm on each lift.
Honestly I'm not sure. I started back after an intercostal tear had healed early this year. Starting point was around 335 for deads and 235 for squats. Both are back to 500-515 now, but since that point the lifts seem very slowly moving. Just trying to get both back to at least 600. Diet has been pretty much on point. Bench keeps climbing nicely, just dead/squat that's slowed down. Last 7 weeks I've been working with a tad higher reps, 8-5 range. Next 6 weeks will be starting to go back lower, 2-4 reps and then finally down to testing a new 1rm on each lift.
I guess that sounds like a reasonable plan then... just a matter of time it sounds like. Sometimes it can be tough to push hard on both squats and deads since they use many of the same muscles...
Buckfever
10-03-17, 10:51 pm
I just saw both the PRs the conventional and the stiff legged. I don't even know you but I have to say I'm proud of you. Congratulations!!!
Altered Beast
10-04-17, 11:29 am
I guess that sounds like a reasonable plan then... just a matter of time it sounds like. Sometimes it can be tough to push hard on both squats and deads since they use many of the same muscles...
I've discovered whichever of the two you're naturally built for is the one you should train more often as it will carry over to the other lower lift. Don't neglect the weaker of the two but put more training emphasis on the stronger one so it:
1. Bumps your total.
2. Increases both of the lower lifts.
3. Increases confidence.
Just my two cents.
MRmichael.hooker
10-04-17, 1:05 pm
I've discovered whichever of the two you're naturally built for is the one you should train more often as it will carry over to the other lower lift. Don't neglect the weaker of the two but put more training emphasis on the stronger one so it:
1. Bumps your total.
2. Increases both of the lower lifts.
3. Increases confidence.
Just my two cents.
Yeah I did notice when I was running smolov my deadlifts were climbing as well. Sort of why I was wanting to combine chest/delt training into one day. To open up a day during the week to add in an additional lower body accessory day.
Something like
Squats -- Bench/OHP -- Deads -- OFF/Cardio -- Lower -- Upper -- OFF/Cardio
I've discovered whichever of the two you're naturally built for is the one you should train more often as it will carry over to the other lower lift. Don't neglect the weaker of the two but put more training emphasis on the stronger one so it:
1. Bumps your total.
2. Increases both of the lower lifts.
3. Increases confidence.
Just my two cents.
This really depends on your body type. Some people are excellent squatters and dead lifters, some are just one and not the other. Generally, I just think about how I'm targeting back strength and how I'm targeting quad strength... and then just kinda see what happens from there.
I just saw both the PRs the conventional and the stiff legged. I don't even know you but I have to say I'm proud of you. Congratulations!!!
Sounds good lol, thanks
Crazy question- What do u think of only do Bench Press one day/Deadlift one day/Squat one day? Doing about 15-20 sets of each and that’s it. No accessory work or anything. Like on monday I went to gym and only benched. Did about 17 sets of only flat bench. Worked up to a few doubles and then backed off the weight and repped out. Didn’t do any thing else. Thoughts on only doing the main lift and nothing more. I figure that the whole muscle gets worked by flat bench any way. Iam not training for anything but I like the fact that it doesn’t take forever to do a workout. Thanks.
Altered Beast
10-09-17, 12:35 pm
This really depends on your body type. Some people are excellent squatters and dead lifters, some are just one and not the other. Generally, I just think about how I'm targeting back strength and how I'm targeting quad strength... and then just kinda see what happens from there.
Interesting! I'm of the same opinion, I just prefer more of a conjugate approach and hit a variety of similar movements throughout the week to prevent stalling. Everything is periodized off course, but I just prefer to hit a variety of movements. I'm horribly ADHD, LOL!!!!!!!!!!!! Amongst other things =)
No where near your level yet, but so far this approach is slowly pushing me to the more advanced levels of Powerlifting. The intermediate level is tough to get through, but fun!
pfabrizi1
10-18-17, 11:47 am
Hey Boss, I'm about a week and a half out from my meet (10/28) and thus far I've hit all my expected numbers in training with my last heavy pull being the only thing left do to tomorrow. I'm looking to open with a 545 squat, 405lb bench, and 640 pull @198, and up that to 570/425/670, and if all goes right then 610/440/695 or 700...
I'm flying solo with no handler or coach or anything really just me and my family that's coming to watch so I'll also be wrapping myself, so I want to be as prepared as possible beforehand and not have to make too many decisions on the fly. My openers are all easy numbers for me and I've hit all the second attempts for easy singles (except for DL... due to grip), and hitting any of my third attempts would qualify me for the XPC next year. Do those sound like reasonable jumps between attempts to you? This is only my second meet so I don't have a lot of experience with attempt selection and all that...
Second question would be what to do the week of the meet. Tomorrow is my last real lift of my prep (deadlift), this past week being all heavy doubles for PRs. I was thinking of doing a lighter dl workout Monday, and lighter squat/bench on Tuesday and then rest up till Saturday. What would you recommend?
Superman55
10-18-17, 12:38 pm
Hey Dan, hope all is well and you are healthy. What are your thoughts on the decline barbell bench press? Wide grip, close grip… Does it matter for carry over to the bench? Any thoughts or Merrit on putting it in a program?
Crazy question- What do u think of only do Bench Press one day/Deadlift one day/Squat one day? Doing about 15-20 sets of each and that’s it. No accessory work or anything. Like on monday I went to gym and only benched. Did about 17 sets of only flat bench. Worked up to a few doubles and then backed off the weight and repped out. Didn’t do any thing else. Thoughts on only doing the main lift and nothing more. I figure that the whole muscle gets worked by flat bench any way. Iam not training for anything but I like the fact that it doesn’t take forever to do a workout. Thanks.
You know... that sounds a little bit crazy
I wouldn't do it that way. At the very least I'd divide the 17 sets across the three days and do all 3 lifts each of the three days you train. That's getting a little more reasonable. But I'd do that with one day heavy, one day light, one day medium. Or 5x5 bench, then day 2 military then day 3 incline. Basically DUP style training
Anyway given all the info on the thread I wouldn't do what that
Interesting! I'm of the same opinion, I just prefer more of a conjugate approach and hit a variety of similar movements throughout the week to prevent stalling. Everything is periodized off course, but I just prefer to hit a variety of movements. I'm horribly ADHD, LOL!!!!!!!!!!!! Amongst other things =)
No where near your level yet, but so far this approach is slowly pushing me to the more advanced levels of Powerlifting. The intermediate level is tough to get through, but fun!
Well if you've been making progress that's the name of the game. And if you've been doing it long enough it means you're doing enough, but not too much... that's where the injuries set you back
Hey Boss, I'm about a week and a half out from my meet (10/28) and thus far I've hit all my expected numbers in training with my last heavy pull being the only thing left do to tomorrow. I'm looking to open with a 545 squat, 405lb bench, and 640 pull @198, and up that to 570/425/670, and if all goes right then 610/440/695 or 700...
I'm flying solo with no handler or coach or anything really just me and my family that's coming to watch so I'll also be wrapping myself, so I want to be as prepared as possible beforehand and not have to make too many decisions on the fly. My openers are all easy numbers for me and I've hit all the second attempts for easy singles (except for DL... due to grip), and hitting any of my third attempts would qualify me for the XPC next year. Do those sound like reasonable jumps between attempts to you? This is only my second meet so I don't have a lot of experience with attempt selection and all that...
Second question would be what to do the week of the meet. Tomorrow is my last real lift of my prep (deadlift), this past week being all heavy doubles for PRs. I was thinking of doing a lighter dl workout Monday, and lighter squat/bench on Tuesday and then rest up till Saturday. What would you recommend?
Your last week approach is perfect. Your attempts are a little heavy imo. I take weights I've hit for doubles for second attempts and open pretty light. This is in order to best set myself up to hit the best third attempt possible. Whenever I've opened light I've had great meets. When I've opened heavier I've had bad meets. There's so much that can be off on the first attempt like your strength, the equipment, the judges, your flexibility, etc. and I never want to grind my opener. Make it, make any adjustments for the second. Concentrate, be aggressive on the second and set yourself up for a strong third attempt with confidence.
The only exception is on deads, because you've already set your subtotal so now my strategy is to make my strategic total on attempt 2. Do the math, then pick an appropriate opener to set that second attempt up. Use the third to go heavier for the win or a big PR
Hey Dan, hope all is well and you are healthy. What are your thoughts on the decline barbell bench press? Wide grip, close grip… Does it matter for carry over to the bench? Any thoughts or Merrit on putting it in a program?
Yeah regular grip is great for handling slightly more weight and Close Grip is really great because it's a simpler bar path than the flat Close Grip. Basically keeps the triceps under load better. Lastly, Kaz loved the decline JM press which is basically like doing a pressdown without having stability issues trying to hold down a heavy cable while standing
Pt_carlzon
10-28-17, 10:48 am
Hi!
My squat had totally platued
I can do good singles up to my max but everything over 1 rep
But even 70% for a Triple or a 5 feels like slow motion
Can you recommend any set, reps or routine to get back on track to improve my max?
pfabrizi1
10-30-17, 2:10 pm
Hey Boss, thanks for the meet prep advices. Unfortunately the meet was cancelled two days before the meet was supposed to be held which sucks, but things happen. So I've pretty much got my next 6 weeks of training all planned out with the exception of a good secondary bench press movement. I've focused on close grips for too long so I'd like to steer away from that for a while. What would be another go to bench press movement for you?
Hi!
My squat had totally platued
I can do good singles up to my max but everything over 1 rep
But even 70% for a Triple or a 5 feels like slow motion
Can you recommend any set, reps or routine to get back on track to improve my max?
There are a million good squat programs to follow, what's more important is what is the problem with your technique that's causing you to struggle with reps but not singles (right? I think that's what you're saying here--you struggle with reps)
Can you link a video of you doing reps? It sounds like a form thing here
Hey Boss, thanks for the meet prep advices. Unfortunately the meet was cancelled two days before the meet was supposed to be held which sucks, but things happen. So I've pretty much got my next 6 weeks of training all planned out with the exception of a good secondary bench press movement. I've focused on close grips for too long so I'd like to steer away from that for a while. What would be another go to bench press movement for you?
First of all: did you still just do a mock meet to test where you're at?
As for bench: Incline is great for your chest. Anything from 25-45 degrees is great. You can go steeper for shoulders too, but the low-medium incline is huge for me because I can touch the mid-upper chest and really get the pecs
I also like the close grip variation of a 2-board close grip with a very very light touch (no leg drive or bounce this way) or, similarly, spoto press where you just hover 1-2 inches over the chest then press. This as a close grip is great. Just make sure you're over the chest on both of these not touching low over the upper abs.
Good luck man
Hey dan, quick question about planning attempts, specifically when chasing a record. It turns out that both my bench and deadlift are right on the cusp of a USPA state record, but it’s one of those deals where it’s definitely not assured that I’ll be able to hit the numbers. Beyond opening light, would you recommend going for broke on the 2nd, or make a smaller jump and plan it on the 3rd? I’d hate to end up with a crap total if my 2nds are too high, but don’t want to waste my energy before going for the record attempts, either.
And on a totally unrelated note, what do you think of that jimmy g trade??
Pt_carlzon
11-01-17, 2:36 am
There are a million good squat programs to follow, what's more important is what is the problem with your technique that's causing you to struggle with reps but not singles (right? I think that's what you're saying here--you struggle with reps)
Can you link a video of you doing reps? It sounds like a form thing here
Max https://instagram.com/p/Ba6GVm6g98T/
5 reps https://instagram.com/p/BZOUW-5A69i/
10 reps https://instagram.com/p/BaBppBHArLf/
But if reps is the problem
Would recommend to do like 5s for multiple sets and progress towards a new 5rm
pfabrizi1
11-01-17, 10:04 am
First of all: did you still just do a mock meet to test where you're at?
As for bench: Incline is great for your chest. Anything from 25-45 degrees is great. You can go steeper for shoulders too, but the low-medium incline is huge for me because I can touch the mid-upper chest and really get the pecs
I also like the close grip variation of a 2-board close grip with a very very light touch (no leg drive or bounce this way) or, similarly, spoto press where you just hover 1-2 inches over the chest then press. This as a close grip is great. Just make sure you're over the chest on both of these not touching low over the upper abs.
Good luck man
Thanks again Boss.
I decided against doing a mock meet, as I had basically tested my 1 and 2 rep maxes in the two weeks before my deload week. So rather than do a mock meet I took the deload week as it was, and decided to jump back into training this week to not waste any time, since I have a pretty good feel of where I'm at.
I'll add in inclines as a main movement for these 6 weeks and then try the 2 board close grips for the following 6, I definitely need help on my incline.
I'd planned on competing at Boss of Bosses next year, but I need to find a meet somewhere in-between to qualify now.
Thanks again Boss.
I decided against doing a mock meet, as I had basically tested my 1 and 2 rep maxes in the two weeks before my deload week. So rather than do a mock meet I took the deload week as it was, and decided to jump back into training this week to not waste any time, since I have a pretty good feel of where I'm at.
I'll add in inclines as a main movement for these 6 weeks and then try the 2 board close grips for the following 6, I definitely need help on my incline.
I'd planned on competing at Boss of Bosses next year, but I need to find a meet somewhere in-between to qualify now.
Sounds good man, we'd love to have you next year!
Hi Dan,
my current setup:
Day 1: Bench, Incline DB, Latwork, Rows, Triceps, Biceps
Day 2: Squat, Hams, Quads, Calves
Day 3: Press, Close Grips, Latwork, Rows, Triceps, Biceps
Day 4: Deadlift, Deficit, Quads, Calves
Day 5: Off
Day 1 and 3 are very long timewise compared to the days for the lower body. Is it ok to put the isolation work (Pushdowns, Curls, ...) for arms on day 2 and 4 (to the lower body)?
Thank you very much!
Hi Dan,
my current setup:
Day 1: Bench, Incline DB, Latwork, Rows, Triceps, Biceps
Day 2: Squat, Hams, Quads, Calves
Day 3: Press, Close Grips, Latwork, Rows, Triceps, Biceps
Day 4: Deadlift, Deficit, Quads, Calves
Day 5: Off
Day 1 and 3 are very long timewise compared to the days for the lower body. Is it ok to put the isolation work (Pushdowns, Curls, ...) for arms on day 2 and 4 (to the lower body)?
Thank you very much!
I would keep the arm stuff where it is but divide up the lats/rows so that's spread across the 4 days instead of all on just 2 days. For example if "lat work" is pull-ups then just push that from day 1 to day 2... I like a high frequency of upper back training like this. You could push the curls each day as well... I just wouldn't push the tris.
Pt_carlzon
11-08-17, 1:53 pm
Dan can I get some feedback? :)
Max https://instagram.com/p/Ba6GVm6g98T/
5 reps https://instagram.com/p/BZOUW-5A69i/
10 reps https://instagram.com/p/BaBppBHArLf/
But if reps is the problem
Would recommend to do like 5s for multiple sets and progress towards a new 5rm
Yo dan had a not so quick question. You helped me with with my program maybe a year or two ago and I was gettin close to hittin 1500 which has been my goal since I started more of a powerlifting routine. I was following your 5 day split u laid out and was seeing steady gains but tweaked my shoulder and it's been pretty up and down since. I found that the only thing that flaresit up is low bar squats. My work and life schedule have changed quite a bit and can only train 3 times a week. I'm also coming off a 6 month layoff where I was gettin to the gym maybe once a week a good week was twice . Been using the safety squat bar for squats and every time I switch back to low bar it's stronger so I know I'm seein gains from the Ssb and it doesn't bug my shoulder. Any recommendations for a 3 day full body program? It seems to be the only way I can get my lifts in but I have no experience running it. Was wondering if I could do linear with something like that or more or a 5x5 or what. Any insight would be huge You've been the only cat I've followed and have had the best gains from it thanks again for the time dan.
Superman55
11-14-17, 6:38 pm
Hey Dan! On which day do you/ would you program Stiff Leg DL? Squat day would give me more frequency, but DL day obviously more volume. Which do you prefer or have you found works better? Please write a program so I can pay you back for all the help you're giving out here and so I can stop asking questions. Lol. Thanks again.
Altered Beast
11-15-17, 2:36 pm
Hey Dan! On which day do you/ would you program Stiff Leg DL? Squat day would give me more frequency, but DL day obviously more volume. Which do you prefer or have you found works better? Please write a program so I can pay you back for all the help you're giving out here and so I can stop asking questions. Lol. Thanks again.
Don't mean to steal from Dan, but from following his IG page he seems to hit stiff legs from a deficit on Squat training days to help increase leg drive for the Squat. He has been lately pulling from blocks or hitting more regular deficits after Comp Deadlift.
Follow him on IG! He always posts insano lifting videos!
Superman55
11-15-17, 3:17 pm
Don't mean to steal from Dan, but from following his IG page he seems to hit stiff legs from a deficit on Squat training days to help increase leg drive for the Squat. He has been lately pulling from blocks or hitting more regular deficits after Comp Deadlift.
Follow him on IG! He always posts insano lifting videos!
I absolutely do. And appreciate the input. However, I also know that back in the deadlift party days they were done as the 4th lift.... floor, blocks, deficit, stiffs.... so that's why I asked.
Dan can I get some feedback? :)
Overall the one thing that stands out is just a bit of shifting forward on the toes. Sometimes your weight is on the toes before you descend. Sometimes you fail to tighten your upper back as you initiate the descent and this causes the bar to shift forward over the toes. Your flexibility at the bottom is good so that does not seem to be the factor.
It's always hard to see very much from the side angle, unfortunately. You carry your elbows pretty high and lower them during the reps, but it's inconsistent. I think this is part of the problem. The elbows should be down and the wrists should be under the bar (and wrapped) although I can't see if they are--but I assume they aren't because you are keeping your elbows high for support. The problem with the elbows being high and the hands being behind the bar or worse--the starting strength on top of the bar position--is this causes you to push the bar forward and cave the chest. You're clearly going forward not allowing the bar to settle downward into the hands. This allows the chest to stay up and the bar to stay back.
Yo dan had a not so quick question. You helped me with with my program maybe a year or two ago and I was gettin close to hittin 1500 which has been my goal since I started more of a powerlifting routine. I was following your 5 day split u laid out and was seeing steady gains but tweaked my shoulder and it's been pretty up and down since. I found that the only thing that flaresit up is low bar squats. My work and life schedule have changed quite a bit and can only train 3 times a week. I'm also coming off a 6 month layoff where I was gettin to the gym maybe once a week a good week was twice . Been using the safety squat bar for squats and every time I switch back to low bar it's stronger so I know I'm seein gains from the Ssb and it doesn't bug my shoulder. Any recommendations for a 3 day full body program? It seems to be the only way I can get my lifts in but I have no experience running it. Was wondering if I could do linear with something like that or more or a 5x5 or what. Any insight would be huge You've been the only cat I've followed and have had the best gains from it thanks again for the time dan.
I'd go with more like a 5x5 probably. I like the DUP style of a heavy day, light day and medium day for each "lift". But I also like the simplicity of the upper/lower split. With your schedule I'd basically do 2 main lifts per workout and try to get one upper day, one lower day and one upper/lower split day. I'd just keep it more fun/random. I'd pull from a series of combos I like so I'll just recommend a few workouts I like:
Front squats 5x5
Conventional Block Pulls (4-5") 5x3
Bench 5x5
Military Press 5x(5-8)
Safety Squat Bar Squats 5x5
Good Mornings or Stiff Leg Deads (3-4)x8
Front Squats 5x5 or 3x8
Military Press (or Seated DB Press) 5x5 or 6x8
Power Cleans 5x5
Seated DB Press (4-5)x(8-10)
Low Bar Squats 5x5
RDLs 5x(5-8)
Front Squats 5x5
RDLs or Stiff Leg Deads 5x8
Deficit DL 5x(3-5)
Block Pulls (2-4") (3-4)x(3-4)
Paused DLs (3 sec) 5x5
Paused Squats (5 sec) 3x4
Military Press 3x5
Close Grip Bench 3x5
or of course my favorite DL workout:
Deadlifts (1-2)x(4-8)
Block Pulls (1-2)x(3-6)
Deficit DLs (1-2)x(4-8)
Just work on stuff like rows or triceps or abs after... accessory training is secondary on a time crunch. Good luck and let me know if you have questions
Hey Dan! On which day do you/ would you program Stiff Leg DL? Squat day would give me more frequency, but DL day obviously more volume. Which do you prefer or have you found works better? Please write a program so I can pay you back for all the help you're giving out here and so I can stop asking questions. Lol. Thanks again.
They can be done after either of those days. Right now i do them on squat day--not for more leg drive... for low back strength on deads of course--The point of them is to build more work into your week so they can be done on any day that you finish the main lifts and want to train your back more... you should train your back frequently, and this is a way to build it up. Use a weight that you can handle well for sets of 10 at first then work on 8s and later 6s. Try 2 warmups and two work sets for 4 sets total.
Don't mean to steal from Dan, but from following his IG page he seems to hit stiff legs from a deficit on Squat training days to help increase leg drive for the Squat. He has been lately pulling from blocks or hitting more regular deficits after Comp Deadlift.
Follow him on IG! He always posts insano lifting videos!
Right now I'm squatting then hitting SLDL on Monday, training rows and bodybuilding back exercises Tuesday and deads and deficit deads on Friday. Starting next week I'll be doing a 4 week wave of paused deads on Fridays in place of the deficits.
Just to clarify, the SLDLs aren't to benefit leg drive in squats. They are simply to target more workload for the lower back and hamstrings. Just more deadlifts per week to build the back with.
I absolutely do. And appreciate the input. However, I also know that back in the deadlift party days they were done as the 4th lift.... floor, blocks, deficit, stiffs.... so that's why I asked.
Those were the days when training went best if I made it through 4 lifts like that! They are great after either back squats or front squats and as the final lift on a heavy deadlift day...
Altered Beast
11-17-17, 11:10 am
Right now I'm squatting then hitting SLDL on Monday, training rows and bodybuilding back exercises Tuesday and deads and deficit deads on Friday. Starting next week I'll be doing a 4 week wave of paused deads on Fridays in place of the deficits.
Just to clarify, the SLDLs aren't to benefit leg drive in squats. They are simply to target more workload for the lower back and hamstrings. Just more deadlifts per week to build the back with.
Understood! Very happy to see that your surgery went well and there is zero pain!
I'm running an intermediate program from Mike T and it has me Squatting twice a week, Pulling twice a week, Bench Pressing three times a week and Overhead Pressing once a week. It's working great but is seriously tough! During the work week I've got 60-75 minutes to train sometimes less so this program is absolutely perfect for me.
So to your point, getting in more back work is making a difference for me as well.
Understood! Very happy to see that your surgery went well and there is zero pain!
I'm running an intermediate program from Mike T and it has me Squatting twice a week, Pulling twice a week, Bench Pressing three times a week and Overhead Pressing once a week. It's working great but is seriously tough! During the work week I've got 60-75 minutes to train sometimes less so this program is absolutely perfect for me.
So to your point, getting in more back work is making a difference for me as well.
Yeah it's just one of those things that people take for granted--there's this dogma that you can't deadlift frequently and that the lower back is extremely slow to recover. But two big epiphanies for me were:
1--train something MORE frequently and it will recover faster, train something LESS frequently and it will recover more slowly.
2--You can train a lift again BEFORE you feel fully recovered from the previous training session. This is how you build up more capacity and makes all the difference. It is so critical. What helps is if the concept of workout-recover-repeat makes sense then just think about it on a bigger scale train-train again-train again-recover-recover. It's basically like taking the 5 day cycle of training and recovering and turning that 1 workout into a 3 week "training" phase and following it with a 1-2 week "recovery" phase. It's just a scale. If you think about it in reverse--to scale it down--it's the same as doing bench--dumbell incline--dumbell flyes--dips, then going home to recover. Why did you do 4 chest exercises in a row without a full recovery in between each one?? Just the same as if Monday you do deadlifts, tuesday you do stiff leg deadlifts and wednesday you do bent over rows. It's like a 3 day long workout...
Altered Beast
11-20-17, 11:01 am
Yeah it's just one of those things that people take for granted--there's this dogma that you can't deadlift frequently and that the lower back is extremely slow to recover. But two big epiphanies for me were:
1--train something MORE frequently and it will recover faster, train something LESS frequently and it will recover more slowly.
2--You can train a lift again BEFORE you feel fully recovered from the previous training session. This is how you build up more capacity and makes all the difference. It is so critical. What helps is if the concept of workout-recover-repeat makes sense then just think about it on a bigger scale train-train again-train again-recover-recover. It's basically like taking the 5 day cycle of training and recovering and turning that 1 workout into a 3 week "training" phase and following it with a 1-2 week "recovery" phase. It's just a scale. If you think about it in reverse--to scale it down--it's the same as doing bench--dumbell incline--dumbell flyes--dips, then going home to recover. Why did you do 4 chest exercises in a row without a full recovery in between each one?? Just the same as if Monday you do deadlifts, tuesday you do stiff leg deadlifts and wednesday you do bent over rows. It's like a 3 day long workout...
I'm with ya 100%! I'm constantly sore but hitting the lifts so frequently somehow enhances recovery and can reduce soreness immediately after training (then other muscles get sore, LOL!).
What's funny as hell to me is, the Russians and Eastern Bloc lifters figured this out through experience and sports science in the 50's-70's; but somehow, it STILL really hasn't caught on the States! The top lifters out there have it figured out, but 99.5% of lifters will tell you not to Deadlift more than once a week. I'm having trouble figuring out where this stigma came from.
Elite242lbs
11-21-17, 5:18 am
Hi Dan, I want say that I am very impressed of your knowledge and wisdom. Seems like you are a fantastic coach as well as lifter. My question is in regards to knee wraps since you use the same wraps, the Titan signature gold wrap.
I was wondering if you had any wrapping technique you prefer or any advice on how to wrap?
Initially I began to self wrap or have some inexperienced person with wrap my knees and I would at least 60 pounds out of them. I used the technique Chris Duffin shows on his youtube video on how to knee wrap. Didn’t have any issues yet bc they were wrapped farely light. Best competition bare knee raw squat was 606lbs at the RUM qualifier when Eric Talmant was running things. My next meet I wore wraps for the first time, with shitty wrap job I got a 672. I was sold on knee wraps. I could train without pain and the carryover was exciting.
Still using the same technique for the most part, I had someone else wrap who knew how to wrap good and painfully tight and I could not hit depth for the life of me. Also has forced me to slow down my descent but the pop isn unrealistic. 720 flew out of the whole regardless. I had a coach that said is was impsossible for a wrap not to let you hit depth. Well, figured later on my own with practice that wrapping too high was not letting me hit depth. I seem to be fine now, but I only wrap my knees not my leg, I actually bought a pair of new ones at 3m that I can’t use bc I have too much material behind the knee so I’m sticking with the 2.5m for now since I am less than 2 weeks out. I’m leaving a lot of wrap left over even with the 2.5m. I feel I’m not getting the most out of the wraps. I see other advanced lifters wrap higher than me with no problems. What can I do to improve my wrapping after maybe 2-3 years or more with these wraps. I am 5’10 260lbs with a moderate stance. What is your take on this? Am I wrapping too tight? I’ve tried the red sling shots and most recently the 3m overkill but those seems kinda flimsy and seem to break and tear easily.
I'm with ya 100%! I'm constantly sore but hitting the lifts so frequently somehow enhances recovery and can reduce soreness immediately after training (then other muscles get sore, LOL!).
What's funny as hell to me is, the Russians and Eastern Bloc lifters figured this out through experience and sports science in the 50's-70's; but somehow, it STILL really hasn't caught on the States! The top lifters out there have it figured out, but 99.5% of lifters will tell you not to Deadlift more than once a week. I'm having trouble figuring out where this stigma came from.
It's from the modern day era of bodybuilding training splits which are basically body part splits. In the "golden" era, as you'd see in Arnold's encyclopedia, they did full body training or upper lower splits, and would do each body part/lift 3x per week. Training frequency going up followed by volume going up leads to strength and mass...
Hi Dan, I want say that I am very impressed of your knowledge and wisdom. Seems like you are a fantastic coach as well as lifter. My question is in regards to knee wraps since you use the same wraps, the Titan signature gold wrap.
I was wondering if you had any wrapping technique you prefer or any advice on how to wrap?
Initially I began to self wrap or have some inexperienced person with wrap my knees and I would at least 60 pounds out of them. I used the technique Chris Duffin shows on his youtube video on how to knee wrap. Didn’t have any issues yet bc they were wrapped farely light. Best competition bare knee raw squat was 606lbs at the RUM qualifier when Eric Talmant was running things. My next meet I wore wraps for the first time, with shitty wrap job I got a 672. I was sold on knee wraps. I could train without pain and the carryover was exciting.
Still using the same technique for the most part, I had someone else wrap who knew how to wrap good and painfully tight and I could not hit depth for the life of me. Also has forced me to slow down my descent but the pop isn unrealistic. 720 flew out of the whole regardless. I had a coach that said is was impsossible for a wrap not to let you hit depth. Well, figured later on my own with practice that wrapping too high was not letting me hit depth. I seem to be fine now, but I only wrap my knees not my leg, I actually bought a pair of new ones at 3m that I can’t use bc I have too much material behind the knee so I’m sticking with the 2.5m for now since I am less than 2 weeks out. I’m leaving a lot of wrap left over even with the 2.5m. I feel I’m not getting the most out of the wraps. I see other advanced lifters wrap higher than me with no problems. What can I do to improve my wrapping after maybe 2-3 years or more with these wraps. I am 5’10 260lbs with a moderate stance. What is your take on this? Am I wrapping too tight? I’ve tried the red sling shots and most recently the 3m overkill but those seems kinda flimsy and seem to break and tear easily.
Great questions and great observations of your own experiences with wraps
First, how to wrap and second how to squat in tight wraps:
First thing is to pre-roll the wraps fairly tight. I use the free-standing roller from Texas strength systems. Start just at the base of the knee. First roll is right on the top of the shin bone. Do a total of four revolutions in a spiral going up about 60% higher on each revolution. Should just cover the top of the quad tendon. Fifth and sixth revolutions should form an X across the knee cap. Revolution 7 should be a tight circle around the top just a little higher than revolution 4. Depending on how tight you get it you should be able to make an 8th and/or 9th revolution to tie off. You can put revolution 8 up higher or back lower. Depends how you like the wrap.
Hey dan, do you have much experience in pressing with a football bar, and have you found it to carryover well to benching with a barbell? My gym just got one a few weeks ago, and I toyed around with it a couple times, but it’s a lot more difficult since it’s the type with a fat gripped handle. I can bench 275 for 8-10 reps, but struggled to hit 205 for 8 on the football bar with a medium grip. With the narrow grip, 205 was difficult for a single rep, where I recently close gripped 285 for 7 with a barbell. I feel like working this in every other week should help build some solid tricep strength, but was wondering if you had any real world experience with it.
Hi Dan, I want say that I am very impressed of your knowledge and wisdom. Seems like you are a fantastic coach as well as lifter. My question is in regards to knee wraps since you use the same wraps, the Titan signature gold wrap.
I was wondering if you had any wrapping technique you prefer or any advice on how to wrap?
Initially I began to self wrap or have some inexperienced person with wrap my knees and I would at least 60 pounds out of them. I used the technique Chris Duffin shows on his youtube video on how to knee wrap. Didn’t have any issues yet bc they were wrapped farely light. Best competition bare knee raw squat was 606lbs at the RUM qualifier when Eric Talmant was running things. My next meet I wore wraps for the first time, with shitty wrap job I got a 672. I was sold on knee wraps. I could train without pain and the carryover was exciting.
Still using the same technique for the most part, I had someone else wrap who knew how to wrap good and painfully tight and I could not hit depth for the life of me. Also has forced me to slow down my descent but the pop isn unrealistic. 720 flew out of the whole regardless. I had a coach that said is was impsossible for a wrap not to let you hit depth. Well, figured later on my own with practice that wrapping too high was not letting me hit depth. I seem to be fine now, but I only wrap my knees not my leg, I actually bought a pair of new ones at 3m that I can’t use bc I have too much material behind the knee so I’m sticking with the 2.5m for now since I am less than 2 weeks out. I’m leaving a lot of wrap left over even with the 2.5m. I feel I’m not getting the most out of the wraps. I see other advanced lifters wrap higher than me with no problems. What can I do to improve my wrapping after maybe 2-3 years or more with these wraps. I am 5’10 260lbs with a moderate stance. What is your take on this? Am I wrapping too tight? I’ve tried the red sling shots and most recently the 3m overkill but those seems kinda flimsy and seem to break and tear easily.
Alright... continuing above (had to take a break for a bit)
The 9 revolutions is what I ordinarily get out of my Gold's. Sometimes 9.5 if I'm leaner. I use 2.5 m wraps and this is very tight. You may prefer moderate tightness though. With a medium stance you'll get more resistance from the bands, which is a double edged sword. IF you are skilled you'll hit depth a rise explosively. If you can't get that extra stability from the torso, then too tight of wraps will mess you up. But in the end the skill is how tightly you can stabilize or stiffen the torso. A stable body will push the hips down allowing you to load up on the wraps. An unstable torso and hips will let the pressure of the wraps push the hips too far back and ruin the lift.
So in the end the stronger your torso and more skilled your descent, the more weight you can lower into tight wraps and there lifts the tighter you can wrap the more you can squat. It's all about torso strength--bracing the abs hard on the belt and maintaining extension in the spine.
Lastly, a tip for wrapping tight: as you circle around the leg, stretchbthe wrap first and then lay it down hard over the leg. Do not circle the leg and then "cinch" the wrap after it's in place. Not as tight all around and just creates too much twisting at the knee.
Pt_carlzon
11-27-17, 9:10 am
Hi Dan!
Just got a new PR on my paused bench
Question 1:
https://instagram.com/p/Bb_60WylaTQ/
I clearly have a sticking point. Is it technique or which excercise should I train to destroy it?
2. My PR is 105kg paused, 115kg touch and go @ 85kg bw
Is it possible to do 140kg in a year?
Hi Dan!
Just got a new PR on my paused bench
Question 1:
https://instagram.com/p/Bb_60WylaTQ/
I clearly have a sticking point. Is it technique or which excercise should I train to destroy it?
2. My PR is 105kg paused, 115kg touch and go @ 85kg bw
Is it possible to do 140kg in a year?
In the video the sticking point was technical. The problem was the bar path going straight up and not up and back. When it's straight up it overloads the delts (like a front raise) and therefore stalls. You need to press the bar back over the upper chest sooner, as that is where you'll have the best strength. Touch the base of the chest and press back over the collarbones or upper chest.
140 in a year is a tough goal but a reasonable one. You'll mainly need to increase your benchinfnand pressing volume as well as clean up thr form!
MRmichael.hooker
12-04-17, 2:27 pm
Hey Dan, happy belated birthday man. I saw on IG that BBBC got decorated with some balloons lol.
So 2018 will be the first year I’m going to try and really shift from a bodybuilding split/focus towards pure powerlifting. Having a little challenge trying to come up with a split because I’ve done mostly BBing or power-building for so long that it’s hard not to set up splits like Chest, Back, Shoulders, Arms, Legs. So what I’ve came up with to see how I feel/progress is below:
Mon- Bench work (Accessory would vary between floor press, board press, incline press)
Tues- OFF
Wed- Deads (Sumo) & lower back/hams (hypers, stiff leg DL, deficit DL)
Thur- Arms/Grip (Close Grip & dips would be a big focus point of tricep work)
Fri- Back & Front Squats
Sat- Shoulders
Sun- Deads (conventional) & upper back
My thoughts are with this split- I’d get 2 days a week to work on different areas of all 3 big lifts.
Anything you’d suggest changing in here? Trying to learn more on powerlifting and trying to set myself up for success next year. Thanks in advance Boss
Hey Dan, happy belated birthday man. I saw on IG that BBBC got decorated with some balloons lol.
So 2018 will be the first year I’m going to try and really shift from a bodybuilding split/focus towards pure powerlifting. Having a little challenge trying to come up with a split because I’ve done mostly BBing or power-building for so long that it’s hard not to set up splits like Chest, Back, Shoulders, Arms, Legs. So what I’ve came up with to see how I feel/progress is below:
Mon- Bench work (Accessory would vary between floor press, board press, incline press)
Tues- OFF
Wed- Deads (Sumo) & lower back/hams (hypers, stiff leg DL, deficit DL)
Thur- Arms/Grip (Close Grip & dips would be a big focus point of tricep work)
Fri- Back & Front Squats
Sat- Shoulders
Sun- Deads (conventional) & upper back
My thoughts are with this split- I’d get 2 days a week to work on different areas of all 3 big lifts.
Anything you’d suggest changing in here? Trying to learn more on powerlifting and trying to set myself up for success next year. Thanks in advance Boss
Seems like a reasonable approach. two things:
1--you'll have to establish a rep scheme to put all this in a template that allows you to swap the various lifts as you've described as well as control the intensity and volume. DUP is a good place to start with this. Just think of a rep scheme for each workout. It could be all the same like 5's for each workout then 3's next month, or you could have a heavy, medium light split with for example bench being sets of 5, tris being sets of 8, shoulders being sets of 10... or whatever. You'll have to build up and establish the work capacity to do all these first, and then you'll be able to increase the intensity.
2--the upper body split essentially puts bench last in the week, which I'd reverse. You basically have arms then shoulders then bench, which I'd offer is backward. Swapping bench and arms would solve this.
Otherwise I like where you're going with this. Remember though: build workload and volume as the first priority, and intensity second.
Altered Beast
12-05-17, 3:12 pm
Dan,
Just curious what you'd recommend to your lifters to open up tight hip flexors? I'm hitting some stretches that is really helping but figured I'd ask you and your advice could possibly help expedite the process.
Currently having hip flexor pain in the hole which is causing me to slow down once I reach depth instead of rebounding off of my own body. My chiro quickly discovered how tight my hip flexors were and specific stretches have been slowly easing the pain.
MRmichael.hooker
12-06-17, 12:31 pm
Seems like a reasonable approach. two things:
1--you'll have to establish a rep scheme to put all this in a template that allows you to swap the various lifts as you've described as well as control the intensity and volume. DUP is a good place to start with this. Just think of a rep scheme for each workout. It could be all the same like 5's for each workout then 3's next month, or you could have a heavy, medium light split with for example bench being sets of 5, tris being sets of 8, shoulders being sets of 10... or whatever. You'll have to build up and establish the work capacity to do all these first, and then you'll be able to increase the intensity.
2--the upper body split essentially puts bench last in the week, which I'd reverse. You basically have arms then shoulders then bench, which I'd offer is backward. Swapping bench and arms would solve this.
Otherwise I like where you're going with this. Remember though: build workload and volume as the first priority, and intensity second.
Ok sounds good. I appreciate the advice. I had set it up based on Monday being the start of the week, but based on when I have my rest day, it doesn’t make sense. Also for the main lifts, I am going to be running 5/3/1 again because I’ve had good success on that in 2017. As far as accessory lifts go, I was going to follow a similar approach but on higher reps. Maybe something like 10/6/3 to cover multiple bases. So I can continue to get stronger at things like front squats, close grip, pull ups (upping the reps), etc. Things that will transition into the main lifts more. And I’ll be able to gauge it better with it being on a % based instead of just “5x5” or whatever
Dan,
Just curious what you'd recommend to your lifters to open up tight hip flexors? I'm hitting some stretches that is really helping but figured I'd ask you and your advice could possibly help expedite the process.
Currently having hip flexor pain in the hole which is causing me to slow down once I reach depth instead of rebounding off of my own body. My chiro quickly discovered how tight my hip flexors were and specific stretches have been slowly easing the pain.
I think the couple stretches I'd go for would be the "couch" stretch which is a lunge on one knee but with the back knee flexed. I like to be in the lunge and then grab the back leg like a quad stretch. I lean forward with the other hand on the ground.
Second stretch would be a lunge again but with a heavy rubber band around the upper thigh of the kneeling leg (back leg). The band is anchored straight ahead to a post or something, creating a forward pull on the upper thigh to increase stretching on the hip flexor.
Lastly I do a PNF stretch where I lie with my hips just at the edge of a training table. one knee comes up toward the chest and a partner pushes the other leg down. The PNF part comes where I will push the down knee up into their hand for several seconds then relax and allow them to push it further into a stretch. This one I also focus on drawing my stomach in, which really really stretches the psoas
In the end though I'm extremely tight in the hip flexors.
I like to do straight leg setups on the GHR and these are good for strengthening the area really well
Ok sounds good. I appreciate the advice. I had set it up based on Monday being the start of the week, but based on when I have my rest day, it doesn’t make sense. Also for the main lifts, I am going to be running 5/3/1 again because I’ve had good success on that in 2017. As far as accessory lifts go, I was going to follow a similar approach but on higher reps. Maybe something like 10/6/3 to cover multiple bases. So I can continue to get stronger at things like front squats, close grip, pull ups (upping the reps), etc. Things that will transition into the main lifts more. And I’ll be able to gauge it better with it being on a % based instead of just “5x5” or whatever
Sounds ok. In the end I find that certain rep ranges just work for certain exercises and others don't.
For example I really like 6's or 8's on stiff leg deads but never do lower reps. On pull-ups however I could go weighted for sets of 3-5 or upwards of 20 reps just bw and both are great.
You'll find what rep ranges work for each exercise, but just takes experience to figure it all out for you
Altered Beast
12-11-17, 2:12 pm
I think the couple stretches I'd go for would be the "couch" stretch which is a lunge on one knee but with the back knee flexed. I like to be in the lunge and then grab the back leg like a quad stretch. I lean forward with the other hand on the ground.
Second stretch would be a lunge again but with a heavy rubber band around the upper thigh of the kneeling leg (back leg). The band is anchored straight ahead to a post or something, creating a forward pull on the upper thigh to increase stretching on the hip flexor.
Lastly I do a PNF stretch where I lie with my hips just at the edge of a training table. one knee comes up toward the chest and a partner pushes the other leg down. The PNF part comes where I will push the down knee up into their hand for several seconds then relax and allow them to push it further into a stretch. This one I also focus on drawing my stomach in, which really really stretches the psoas
In the end though I'm extremely tight in the hip flexors.
I like to do straight leg setups on the GHR and these are good for strengthening the area really well
Excellent! I'll look into the couch stretch that seems to be a go to for many.
Need to add weighted situps on the GHR back into the mix. Been sticking with the ab wheel lately because it kicks my big ass, LOL!!!!!!!
Pt_carlzon
12-12-17, 9:38 am
Hi!
How much do you take for a strength phase and peak program?
Excellent! I'll look into the couch stretch that seems to be a go to for many.
Need to add weighted situps on the GHR back into the mix. Been sticking with the ab wheel lately because it kicks my big ass, LOL!!!!!!!
I draw from these ab exercises:
ab wheel
Straight leg sit-ups on the GHR (DB behind the head)
Incline sit-ups (DB on chest)
Leg Raises (either on elbow supports or hanging from elbow hangers)
L-support on dip bars (just hold for time)
Hi!
How much do you take for a strength phase and peak program?
Unfortunately I really don't do programming for people anymore... I stopped that two years ago except for one friend and one VIP client lol
Hi Dan,
I have two questions.
1. I train on an upper/lower split without scheduled rest days. How should I plan my back work. Right now I do it on my lower days togehter with legs and biceps. I know you like high frequency back training. Do you do it every session or every other day? I always liked back training after pressing because of shoulder health but not sure if it is to much if I am doing it every day.
2. What are your thoughts about rest pause training - both for the main movements and for accessorie exercises like lats, laterals and pushdowns. Is this a good method to add size and volume in a short time frame?
Thanks for your help, Dan.
Altered Beast
12-18-17, 12:34 pm
I draw from these ab exercises:
ab wheel
Straight leg sit-ups on the GHR (DB behind the head)
Incline sit-ups (DB on chest)
Leg Raises (either on elbow supports or hanging from elbow hangers)
L-support on dip bars (just hold for time)
Thanks! I'm very familiar with all of these movements as I used to train them regularly when I had more time to train!
Got a two year old son and six month old daughter. Most of the time I only have the time and energy to hit the programmed barbell movements and bounce.
Hi Dan,
I have two questions.
1. I train on an upper/lower split without scheduled rest days. How should I plan my back work. Right now I do it on my lower days togehter with legs and biceps. I know you like high frequency back training. Do you do it every session or every other day? I always liked back training after pressing because of shoulder health but not sure if it is to much if I am doing it every day.
2. What are your thoughts about rest pause training - both for the main movements and for accessorie exercises like lats, laterals and pushdowns. Is this a good method to add size and volume in a short time frame?
Thanks for your help, Dan.
Hey man, as for the first question, I don't think every day is too much frequency, but every other session is fine too. I just know that the extremely high frequency does work.
As for the second question, rest pause is great. It works easily for most squatting motions just standing under the bar and taking more breaths. Sometimes the final set of incline bench or close grip I'll rack, rest 10-15 sec then rep a few more then repeat one more time. It also works for curls and shoulder isolation as well.
In the end it's a simple but effective tool for intensifying the effect of the lift.
Thanks! I'm very familiar with all of these movements as I used to train them regularly when I had more time to train!
Got a two year old son and six month old daughter. Most of the time I only have the time and energy to hit the programmed barbell movements and bounce.
Yeah man just get the big stuff first and put the other stuff in a circuit and time it. That's how I get my cardio sometimes.
For example get 4 lifts in:
tate press on incline 4 x 15
DB chest supported rows on incline 4 x 10
superset these to finish in 10 min
DB alt curls 3 x 12
DB laterals 3 x failure
superset these to finish in 6 min
this was a simple format when I'm dropping weight. More work in less time to get lean
Hi Dan,
I have two questions.
1. I train on an upper/lower split without scheduled rest days. How should I plan my back work. Right now I do it on my lower days togehter with legs and biceps. I know you like high frequency back training. Do you do it every session or every other day? I always liked back training after pressing because of shoulder health but not sure if it is to much if I am doing it every day.
2. What are your thoughts about rest pause training - both for the main movements and for accessorie exercises like lats, laterals and pushdowns. Is this a good method to add size and volume in a short time frame?
Thanks for your help, Dan.
I stole dans philosophy of training back every day for my last meet prep, and it was awesome. Light rows with heavy bench, pull-ups after squats, heavy rows with light bench, high rep lat pulls after deads. Hit 3-4 sets of each and you’re golden.
Altered Beast
12-21-17, 1:49 pm
Yeah man just get the big stuff first and put the other stuff in a circuit and time it. That's how I get my cardio sometimes.
For example get 4 lifts in:
tate press on incline 4 x 15
DB chest supported rows on incline 4 x 10
superset these to finish in 10 min
DB alt curls 3 x 12
DB laterals 3 x failure
superset these to finish in 6 min
this was a simple format when I'm dropping weight. More work in less time to get lean
Thanks! I'll have to start giving these ideas a go! It'll help my big ass drop some additional adipose as well =)
Im watching your latest video- getting back on the grind. I was wondering what your symptoms were when you initially tore your quad?
MRmichael.hooker
12-24-17, 8:28 am
Hey Dan. Just signed up for one of the 1-on-1 spots when you’re in Fayetteville in Feb. Pretty stoked. Thanks for the awesome opportunity
pfabrizi1
12-26-17, 10:51 am
Hey Dan. Just signed up for one of the 1-on-1 spots when you’re in Fayetteville in Feb. Pretty stoked. Thanks for the awesome opportunity
Awesome man I signed up for the seminar, unfortunately not a 1 on 1 (moneys a bit tight with the holidays and all). Its gonna be awesome!!
MRmichael.hooker
12-28-17, 5:56 am
Awesome man I signed up for the seminar, unfortunately not a 1 on 1 (moneys a bit tight with the holidays and all). Its gonna be awesome!!
Nice! I wanted to do the seminar too but it just would’ve been too hard with the kids. 2.5 Drive each way. So the mother in law would have had to watch the boys from like 5am-7pm. It was actually green lighted by the wife. “You should just sign up for the 1 on 1 and the boys and I can just go on base (Fort Bragg is close by) until you’re done.” .... I had the credit card out before she could finish that sentence lol. I won’t know what time mine is until closer to the date but we might be able to meet up if you’re still down there
I stole dans philosophy of training back every day for my last meet prep, and it was awesome. Light rows with heavy bench, pull-ups after squats, heavy rows with light bench, high rep lat pulls after deads. Hit 3-4 sets of each and you’re golden.
Basically like Arnold's rule for calf prioritization--train the body part every chance you get. Good work man!
Thanks! I'll have to start giving these ideas a go! It'll help my big ass drop some additional adipose as well =)
Yep once you get the heart rate up it'll get pretty uncomfortable at first but way better after 3-4 times. Then you'll push all your training faster
Im watching your latest video- getting back on the grind. I was wondering what your symptoms were when you initially tore your quad?
Just to be specific it was initially a quad tendon tear of the intermedialis tendon (not the muscle). Later it expanded to part of the medialis tendon (VMO). The main symptom was just a sharp sharp pain right in the knee cap! After the vmo tendon tear, if I squatted down the kneecap would pull to the right and the vmo would pull to the left--pretty disconcerting... for BOB2 it was extremely painful to warmup and squat... but you do what you gotta do sometimes.
Hey Dan. Just signed up for one of the 1-on-1 spots when you’re in Fayetteville in Feb. Pretty stoked. Thanks for the awesome opportunity
Awesome man! Definitely looking forward to it
Awesome man I signed up for the seminar, unfortunately not a 1 on 1 (moneys a bit tight with the holidays and all). Its gonna be awesome!!
Seminar will be talking and lifting... it's pretty thorough and I think you'll learn a lot and enjoy yourself man! Looking forward to meeting everybody!
Altered Beast
12-30-17, 1:27 am
Dan,
Just curious how you'd program Stiff Leg Deads in your training program. Was going to stick with the percentages/reps recommended for Pause Deads but switch to Stiff Legs. Pause deads seem to not do anything for me! Ever since I've added in Stiff Legs and hammered my posterior chain, my lockout has started to become much smoother.
Elite242lbs
01-03-18, 10:39 pm
Alright... continuing above (had to take a break for a bit)
The 9 revolutions is what I ordinarily get out of my Gold's. Sometimes 9.5 if I'm leaner. I use 2.5 m wraps and this is very tight. You may prefer moderate tightness though. With a medium stance you'll get more resistance from the bands, which is a double edged sword. IF you are skilled you'll hit depth a rise explosively. If you can't get that extra stability from the torso, then too tight of wraps will mess you up. But in the end the skill is how tightly you can stabilize or stiffen the torso. A stable body will push the hips down allowing you to load up on the wraps. An unstable torso and hips will let the pressure of the wraps push the hips too far back and ruin the lift.
So in the end the stronger your torso and more skilled your descent, the more weight you can lower into tight wraps and there lifts the tighter you can wrap the more you can squat. It's all about torso strength--bracing the abs hard on the belt and maintaining extension in the spine.
Lastly, a tip for wrapping tight: as you circle around the leg, stretchbthe wrap first and then lay it down hard over the leg. Do not circle the leg and then "cinch" the wrap after it's in place. Not as tight all around and just creates too much twisting at the knee.
I appreciate your intricate response. As far as torso strength, I don't think there would be much of an issue. SSB squats have been part of my routine and I believe those would punish a weak torso.
*In case anyone suffers from an injury such as mine, and the doctors cant figure what happened.
I had a very painful injury around the back and side of both knees and legs, called a Morel Lavalle lesion. First time my doc sees it, says its not on his medical book. A very tight wrap seems to have contributed from what I understand. It Was described to me as an explosion/rupture of the fascia on both my legs, right leg more severe. Thankfully, I was able to complete the meet.
Dan, do you always wrap your own knees? I've found that wrapping my own knees kills my fingers but maybe with more practice i will be able to with more ease? I imagine wrapping your knees lets you decide exactly what the wrap needs to be. I don't like a very high wrap, so the eighth and ninth wrap would be a couple more revolutions going back down to the knee?
MRmichael.hooker
01-04-18, 9:22 am
*In case anyone suffers from an injury such as mine, and the doctors cant figure what happened.
I had a very painful injury around the back and side of both knees and legs, called a Morel Lavalle lesion. First time my doc sees it, says its not on his medical book. A very tight wrap seems to have contributed from what I understand. It Was described to me as an explosion/rupture of the fascia on both my legs, right leg more severe.
Thanks for sharing this man, great info
Hi Dan, just wondering what you do with someone who benches unevenly when the weight gets heavier?
My left shoulder and arm move out of my tuck way earlier than my right. I have injured my AC on the left shoulder so I'm guessing that has contributed to it.
killwirk
01-14-18, 1:53 pm
Hi Dan,
I made my own powerlifting routine coupled with some bodybuilding accessory work. I focus on the squat/bench/deadlift/front squat/military press and their sets/reps rotate every two weeks as follows. Any advice on this routine would be great, thanks.
(reps x sets)
Week 1:
Monday
Low bar back squat - 2x6
Front squat - 2x6
Conventional DL - 2x6
Db romanian DL - 12,12,10,10,8
Leg extensions - 12,12,10,10,8
Tuesday
Normal Grip Bench Press - 2x5
Military Press - 2x5
Db row - 8x4
Flat db chest press - 8x4
Db shoulder press - 8x4
Db bicep curl - 12,12,10,8
Skullcrushers - 12,12,10,8
Side,front,rear delt/lateral raises - 3 sets each - 15,12,10 reps.
Overhead plate raise - 1 set of 50 reps.
Wednesday
Low back squat - 5x8
Front squat - 5x8
Romanian DL - 5x8
Pull-Ups - 8x4
Chin-Ups - 8x4
Thursday
Normal grip bench press - 8x4
Military Press - 8x4
Barbell Row (overhand grip) - 8x4
Barbell bicep curl - 12,12,10,8
Tricep Pushdown - 12,12,10,8
Side,front,rear delt/lateral raises - 3 sets each - 15,12,10 reps.
Overhead plate raise - 1 set of 50 reps.
Friday
Low bar back squat - 4x6
Front squat - 4x6
Conventional DL - 4x6
Db romanian DL - 12,12,10,10,8
Leg extensions - 12,12,10,10,8
Saturday
Normal Grip Bench Press - 4x5
Military Press - 4x5
Db row - 8x4
Flat db chest press - 8x4
Db shoulder press - 8x4
Db hammer curl - 12,12,10,8
Skullcrushers - 12,12,10,8
Side,front,rear delt/lateral raises - 3 sets each - 15,12,10 reps.
Overhead plate raise - 1 set of 50 reps.
Sunday is a rest day.
Week 2:
Everything is the same as Week 1, except instead of doing 2x6/5 and 4x6/5, I'll do 3x6/5 on Mon and Tues and 5x6/5 on Fri and Sat for those main lifts I'm focusing on.
I try to make progressive weight increases for every lift and accessory exercise as I go along.
I also do abs and cardio alongside this.
Like I said any advice on this routine would be great e.g. any areas I should focus on more or add anything etc.
I also am 27 years old, 5' 11' height, weigh around 76kg/167lbs, 1rm at the moment - bench 105kg/231lbs, squat 170kg/375lbs, deadlift 180kg/400lbs, I don't know my 1rm for military press or front squat. These are just added details incase they help.
Sorry for the long post, but want to give you the best possible information of what I'm doing.
Thanks.
Will Kirk
Altered Beast
01-15-18, 11:44 am
Hi Dan,
I made my own powerlifting routine coupled with some bodybuilding accessory work. I focus on the squat/bench/deadlift/front squat/military press and their sets/reps rotate every two weeks as follows. Any advice on this routine would be great, thanks.
(reps x sets)
Week 1:
Monday
Low bar back squat - 2x6
Front squat - 2x6
Conventional DL - 2x6
Db romanian DL - 12,12,10,10,8
Leg extensions - 12,12,10,10,8
Tuesday
Normal Grip Bench Press - 2x5
Military Press - 2x5
Db row - 8x4
Flat db chest press - 8x4
Db shoulder press - 8x4
Db bicep curl - 12,12,10,8
Skullcrushers - 12,12,10,8
Side,front,rear delt/lateral raises - 3 sets each - 15,12,10 reps.
Overhead plate raise - 1 set of 50 reps.
Wednesday
Low back squat - 5x8
Front squat - 5x8
Romanian DL - 5x8
Pull-Ups - 8x4
Chin-Ups - 8x4
Thursday
Normal grip bench press - 8x4
Military Press - 8x4
Barbell Row (overhand grip) - 8x4
Barbell bicep curl - 12,12,10,8
Tricep Pushdown - 12,12,10,8
Side,front,rear delt/lateral raises - 3 sets each - 15,12,10 reps.
Overhead plate raise - 1 set of 50 reps.
Friday
Low bar back squat - 4x6
Front squat - 4x6
Conventional DL - 4x6
Db romanian DL - 12,12,10,10,8
Leg extensions - 12,12,10,10,8
Saturday
Normal Grip Bench Press - 4x5
Military Press - 4x5
Db row - 8x4
Flat db chest press - 8x4
Db shoulder press - 8x4
Db hammer curl - 12,12,10,8
Skullcrushers - 12,12,10,8
Side,front,rear delt/lateral raises - 3 sets each - 15,12,10 reps.
Overhead plate raise - 1 set of 50 reps.
Sunday is a rest day.
Week 2:
Everything is the same as Week 1, except instead of doing 2x6/5 and 4x6/5, I'll do 3x6/5 on Mon and Tues and 5x6/5 on Fri and Sat for those main lifts I'm focusing on.
I try to make progressive weight increases for every lift and accessory exercise as I go along.
I also do abs and cardio alongside this.
Like I said any advice on this routine would be great e.g. any areas I should focus on more or add anything etc.
I also am 27 years old, 5' 11' height, weigh around 76kg/167lbs, 1rm at the moment - bench 105kg/231lbs, squat 170kg/375lbs, deadlift 180kg/400lbs, I don't know my 1rm for military press or front squat. These are just added details incase they help.
Sorry for the long post, but want to give you the best possible information of what I'm doing.
Thanks.
Will Kirk
Just curious what your daily calorie intake is. With all of that insano volume you need to eat!
pfabrizi1
01-17-18, 12:42 pm
Nice! I wanted to do the seminar too but it just would’ve been too hard with the kids. 2.5 Drive each way. So the mother in law would have had to watch the boys from like 5am-7pm. It was actually green lighted by the wife. “You should just sign up for the 1 on 1 and the boys and I can just go on base (Fort Bragg is close by) until you’re done.” .... I had the credit card out before she could finish that sentence lol. I won’t know what time mine is until closer to the date but we might be able to meet up if you’re still down there
Yea man for sure keep me posted when your session is we can meet up maybe grab some burritos with the Boss if he has some free time in between things lol. I'm just counting down the days!
Dan,
Just curious how you'd program Stiff Leg Deads in your training program. Was going to stick with the percentages/reps recommended for Pause Deads but switch to Stiff Legs. Pause deads seem to not do anything for me! Ever since I've added in Stiff Legs and hammered my posterior chain, my lockout has started to become much smoother.
Sounds good man. As most good lifters know, you gotta do what works for you. Stiff legs have always been a staple for me. There are a number of ways to do them so the percentages are tough, but I'd certainly start lighter like in the 40-50% range. I'd recommend in the beginning 3-4 weeks of sets of 10s, then a phase of 8's then 6's... maybe 4's if you see fit. I like 10-8-6 and never really get down lower than that. I use them as my Lighter day and do them after squatting. I find that this compliments the heavy deadlifting well in that I recover faster by working the back more frequently and I respond to the heavier training better--especially at the end when I peak and the deals are heavy. The buildup of SLDLs causes a good response to the peak and without them I'd likely start getting strains as the weights rose.
In an accumulation or strength phase they can also be done more than once in a week. But basically to progress them I always just add 10-20 lbs from one session to the next for the top work set. Never get carried away with these remember why you are doing them--muscle mass and strength from the added workload and frequency of pulling they bring to the program
I appreciate your intricate response. As far as torso strength, I don't think there would be much of an issue. SSB squats have been part of my routine and I believe those would punish a weak torso.
*In case anyone suffers from an injury such as mine, and the doctors cant figure what happened.
I had a very painful injury around the back and side of both knees and legs, called a Morel Lavalle lesion. First time my doc sees it, says its not on his medical book. A very tight wrap seems to have contributed from what I understand. It Was described to me as an explosion/rupture of the fascia on both my legs, right leg more severe. Thankfully, I was able to complete the meet.
Dan, do you always wrap your own knees? I've found that wrapping my own knees kills my fingers but maybe with more practice i will be able to with more ease? I imagine wrapping your knees lets you decide exactly what the wrap needs to be. I don't like a very high wrap, so the eighth and ninth wrap would be a couple more revolutions going back down to the knee?
I almost always wrap myself just because I know I get it tight, but I get it to feel exactly the way I want. Sometimes for a meet I'll have a helper to tie off the end wrap to save my fingers. I'll likely be able to have my training partners get it for me in the future though as we've now trained together for enough years where they've learned the wrapping as well... but my next meet I plan to compete just in sleeves
:^D;1457739']Hi Dan, just wondering what you do with someone who benches unevenly when the weight gets heavier?
My left shoulder and arm move out of my tuck way earlier than my right. I have injured my AC on the left shoulder so I'm guessing that has contributed to it.
Three things that I find very helpful:
1. warmup with band face-pulls/pull-aparts. This engages the rear debts and external rotators to get them turned on and stronger
2. Bottoms up KB press--basically hold a kettle bell by the handle with the KB upside-down. Press overhead with one arm while keeping the elbow pointing forward. If your elbow wants to flare, then you will likely see the same problem when you bench
3. Fix the tricep/delt strength imbalance... I've been finishing my main bench day with 3 sets of push-ups on a "wobble" board, which is essentially a wooden board 2x8 with a knob on the bottom (I just bought a spherical fence post topper ($6) and screwed it into the middle of the board) The board balances on top of the knob and then I do pushups on it. It's a challenge to stabilize at first, but it really gets my left arm (MY weaker arm) to engage more and it's largely minimized my benching imbalance. For some people just benching with dumbbells can prevent or fix a left-right strength imbalance
Everything here seems ok as far as a program for gaining strength, but I'd guess that if your goal is gaining muscle mass and bodyweight that this might be a little too much training. I like the frequency, but it can be hard to sustain. I tend to gain strength and size best when I remove some of the training volume and frequency after periods of high training frequency and volume such as what you laid out
Just make sure you eat enough and keep the program in line with your goals
Hi Dan,
I made my own powerlifting routine coupled with some bodybuilding accessory work. I focus on the squat/bench/deadlift/front squat/military press and their sets/reps rotate every two weeks as follows. Any advice on this routine would be great, thanks.
(reps x sets)
Week 1:
Monday
Low bar back squat - 2x6
Front squat - 2x6
Conventional DL - 2x6
Db romanian DL - 12,12,10,10,8
Leg extensions - 12,12,10,10,8
Tuesday
Normal Grip Bench Press - 2x5
Military Press - 2x5
Db row - 8x4
Flat db chest press - 8x4
Db shoulder press - 8x4
Db bicep curl - 12,12,10,8
Skullcrushers - 12,12,10,8
Side,front,rear delt/lateral raises - 3 sets each - 15,12,10 reps.
Overhead plate raise - 1 set of 50 reps.
Wednesday
Low back squat - 5x8
Front squat - 5x8
Romanian DL - 5x8
Pull-Ups - 8x4
Chin-Ups - 8x4
Thursday
Normal grip bench press - 8x4
Military Press - 8x4
Barbell Row (overhand grip) - 8x4
Barbell bicep curl - 12,12,10,8
Tricep Pushdown - 12,12,10,8
Side,front,rear delt/lateral raises - 3 sets each - 15,12,10 reps.
Overhead plate raise - 1 set of 50 reps.
Friday
Low bar back squat - 4x6
Front squat - 4x6
Conventional DL - 4x6
Db romanian DL - 12,12,10,10,8
Leg extensions - 12,12,10,10,8
Saturday
Normal Grip Bench Press - 4x5
Military Press - 4x5
Db row - 8x4
Flat db chest press - 8x4
Db shoulder press - 8x4
Db hammer curl - 12,12,10,8
Skullcrushers - 12,12,10,8
Side,front,rear delt/lateral raises - 3 sets each - 15,12,10 reps.
Overhead plate raise - 1 set of 50 reps.
Sunday is a rest day.
Week 2:
Everything is the same as Week 1, except instead of doing 2x6/5 and 4x6/5, I'll do 3x6/5 on Mon and Tues and 5x6/5 on Fri and Sat for those main lifts I'm focusing on.
I try to make progressive weight increases for every lift and accessory exercise as I go along.
I also do abs and cardio alongside this.
Like I said any advice on this routine would be great e.g. any areas I should focus on more or add anything etc.
I also am 27 years old, 5' 11' height, weigh around 76kg/167lbs, 1rm at the moment - bench 105kg/231lbs, squat 170kg/375lbs, deadlift 180kg/400lbs, I don't know my 1rm for military press or front squat. These are just added details incase they help.
Sorry for the long post, but want to give you the best possible information of what I'm doing.
Thanks.
Will Kirk
killwirk
01-17-18, 5:53 pm
Just curious what your daily calorie intake is. With all of that insano volume you need to eat!
Honestly, I don't really track my calorie intake, as a guess probably around 2,000 plus, I just make sure I get a fair but of carbs and protein in. I didn't actually realise it was that much volume, but I guess now looking it at it again there is a fair bit.
Just curious what your daily calorie intake is. With all of that insano volume you need to eat!
This is always a key element. Not just eating enough and taking in enough protein, but doing it throughout the day and doing it consistently day in and day out. Intensity is critical but so is consistency. Anybody can be a tough guy or badass for a workout or two, but can you also back it up with the force feeding that you'll ultimately have to be doing as well. And then continue to do it for years... But that's what you're recognizing with that comment. Can't just stunt on instagram lol, gotta be dedicated to make progress and for a long time for it to really impress
Honestly, I don't really track my calorie intake, as a guess probably around 2,000 plus, I just make sure I get a fair but of carbs and protein in. I didn't actually realise it was that much volume, but I guess now looking it at it again there is a fair bit.
Yeah as I said above... it takes a lot of eating and intensity in training to make big progress, and it has to be consistent. The next big thing is sleep. Better and more sleep is key
Yea man for sure keep me posted when your session is we can meet up maybe grab some burritos with the Boss if he has some free time in between things lol. I'm just counting down the days!
Looking forward to meeting you guys!
Altered Beast
01-22-18, 1:14 pm
Sounds good man. As most good lifters know, you gotta do what works for you. Stiff legs have always been a staple for me. There are a number of ways to do them so the percentages are tough, but I'd certainly start lighter like in the 40-50% range. I'd recommend in the beginning 3-4 weeks of sets of 10s, then a phase of 8's then 6's... maybe 4's if you see fit. I like 10-8-6 and never really get down lower than that. I use them as my Lighter day and do them after squatting. I find that this compliments the heavy deadlifting well in that I recover faster by working the back more frequently and I respond to the heavier training better--especially at the end when I peak and the deals are heavy. The buildup of SLDLs causes a good response to the peak and without them I'd likely start getting strains as the weights rose.
In an accumulation or strength phase they can also be done more than once in a week. But basically to progress them I always just add 10-20 lbs from one session to the next for the top work set. Never get carried away with these remember why you are doing them--muscle mass and strength from the added workload and frequency of pulling they bring to the program
Many thanks!
My current program has me start out at 68% and at the end of the training cycle at 80% or so. It's sets of 3 until the last 3 weeks it drops down to doubles. For me personally, my posterior chain gives out with heavier reps so I figure I'd stick with this programming. I also switched to Romanian DL's as they really hammer my glutes/hams better than stiff legs.
Should I possibly add some lighter drop sets for higher reps?
This is always a key element. Not just eating enough and taking in enough protein, but doing it throughout the day and doing it consistently day in and day out. Intensity is critical but so is consistency. Anybody can be a tough guy or badass for a workout or two, but can you also back it up with the force feeding that you'll ultimately have to be doing as well. And then continue to do it for years... But that's what you're recognizing with that comment. Can't just stunt on instagram lol, gotta be dedicated to make progress and for a long time for it to really impress
I agree 100%! Drinking enough water, eating all throughout the day and getting in 7-8 hours a night is the toughest part. Training is easy!
killwirk
01-22-18, 4:54 pm
Everything here seems ok as far as a program for gaining strength, but I'd guess that if your goal is gaining muscle mass and bodyweight that this might be a little too much training. I like the frequency, but it can be hard to sustain. I tend to gain strength and size best when I remove some of the training volume and frequency after periods of high training frequency and volume such as what you laid out
Just make sure you eat enough and keep the program in line with your goals
Hey Dan,
Thanks for the reply. Yeah sorry the program is structured primarily for gaining strength as that is my end goal, the accessory exercises are there more for personal preference as I like to do the odd bodybuilding stuff. I will admit though that there is a fair amount of volume involved (more than I thought). Do you suggest reducing the volume in the case of the bodybuilding stuff and adding in a deload week to balance out the periods of the high training frequency etc.?
And I agree with the eating enough point.
Thanks,
Will
Many thanks!
My current program has me start out at 68% and at the end of the training cycle at 80% or so. It's sets of 3 until the last 3 weeks it drops down to doubles. For me personally, my posterior chain gives out with heavier reps so I figure I'd stick with this programming. I also switched to Romanian DL's as they really hammer my glutes/hams better than stiff legs.
Should I possibly add some lighter drop sets for higher reps?
I agree 100%! Drinking enough water, eating all throughout the day and getting in 7-8 hours a night is the toughest part. Training is easy!
For the stiff leg deads, I started doing them as sets of 10 from a 4" deficit. I believe initially these were at 40-50% which I HIGHLY recommend. The program was from ELITEFTS, an old program I think titled Finnish Deadlifting.... or something like that. These have been a staple of mine ever since.
Hey Dan,
Thanks for the reply. Yeah sorry the program is structured primarily for gaining strength as that is my end goal, the accessory exercises are there more for personal preference as I like to do the odd bodybuilding stuff. I will admit though that there is a fair amount of volume involved (more than I thought). Do you suggest reducing the volume in the case of the bodybuilding stuff and adding in a deload week to balance out the periods of the high training frequency etc.?
And I agree with the eating enough point.
Thanks,
Will
I'm personally not a big fan of deload weeks, it kinda says you're training too sloppy. Too many reps with compromised form really, or your recovery isn't being prioritized--read: eating, sleeping. I wouldn't reduce the bodybuilding stuff. Being able to pump up is important I think. It should help more than hurt. Especially if the BB exercises are ones you like since that probably implies that those are ones where you've figured out how to make those exercises work well for you and that's such a big key. If you can figure out which of the main strength exercises you can make work for you, then focus on mastering those exercises and they will work for you for a long time. Don't worry about doing all the variations, just the 4-5 or so that you have a good feel for and a good sense that they're helping you get strong. An exercise on paper can be done many different ways by different people. For example, when I do paused deadlifts, I understand the context for them so I utilize them for massive gains in muscle mass. I use them for hypertrophy, not power, so I know the key is time under tension. And I understand the additional bodybuilding tenet that a stretched muscle will grow the most, so when I pause, I allow my back to gradually stretch and I never rush the 3 second count--time under tension in the stretch position--builds a ton of mass! But if you think they're for something else, you might just focus on being powerful, or being too tight in the pause, or rushing and not appreciating the time under tension factor. Like I said, you need to master the exercises and make them make you strong. And trust me there are plenty of exercises that I can't get a good feel for so I just move on...
Altered Beast
01-29-18, 11:00 am
For the stiff leg deads, I started doing them as sets of 10 from a 4" deficit. I believe initially these were at 40-50% which I HIGHLY recommend. The program was from ELITEFTS, an old program I think titled Finnish Deadlifting.... or something like that. These have been a staple of mine ever since.
LOL! Sounds absolutely awful but doable. I've got 3" of mats setup with with screws in them to hold em all together, I'll use that for sure!
I hit the heavier RDL's on Mondays and hit higher rep/lighter weight RDL's on Saturdays after Squats. What percentage range/rep range would you recommend for an 8 week period? My training cycles are 9 weeks and the 9th week is for setting PR's or I just start a new training cycle and slightly increase my training maxes; just to give you an idea how I structure things.
LOL! Sounds absolutely awful but doable. I've got 3" of mats setup with with screws in them to hold em all together, I'll use that for sure!
I hit the heavier RDL's on Mondays and hit higher rep/lighter weight RDL's on Saturdays after Squats. What percentage range/rep range would you recommend for an 8 week period? My training cycles are 9 weeks and the 9th week is for setting PR's or I just start a new training cycle and slightly increase my training maxes; just to give you an idea how I structure things.
I don't do them based on percent just always 3-5 sets up to a top set (depending on the number of warmups) and I don't do a light/heavy just stick to a certain rep range. I'd recommend first month sets of 8 then second month sets of 6. Twice a week is great, you'll see really good progress
Altered Beast
02-01-18, 11:32 am
I don't do them based on percent just always 3-5 sets up to a top set (depending on the number of warmups) and I don't do a light/heavy just stick to a certain rep range. I'd recommend first month sets of 8 then second month sets of 6. Twice a week is great, you'll see really good progress
Okay, thanks! Should I hit both days from a deficit or one day from the floor then the other from a deficit?
I figure I can go a bit heavier from the floor and get a better stretch with lighter weights from a deficit.
Pt_carlzon
02-02-18, 4:00 am
Hi!
I wonder what you trained before you start "powerlifting" or training to become strong in the 3 big ones?
Because I think I need more mass and like Efferding and Coan I read that you had a "bodybuilding"-style of training before.
The other quesiton is. When you do a Hypertrophy or Strength Phase. Do you "hunt" Rep PRs like repping to out. Or how do you progress from week to week?
Thanks man! I am a huge fan of yours. Hope you do well in the cage.
The Untamed
02-03-18, 1:07 am
What would you recommend to relieve SI joint pain beside stretching psoas and glutes ? Cant squat or deadlift right now..... Thanks a lot Boss that would help immensely
MRmichael.hooker
02-03-18, 8:52 am
Thanks again for the awesome opportunity yesterday man. You and your wife were both great to meet.
pfabrizi1
02-11-18, 6:55 pm
Thanks again for the awesome opportunity yesterday man. You and your wife were both great to meet.
Must have been an awesome experience man, I'm jealous! Wish I woulda done a 1 on 1 AND the seminar bc was so great.
The NC seminar last weekend was great Boss, I had a great time thanks to you and Sparkle for the experience! I unfortunately couldn't do any lifting as I have a pretty seriously strained psoas (takes a long time to warm up nowadays) that affects pretty much every lift in one way or another, but the knowledge I gained was incredible. I started implementing your programming, and paid super close attention to the corrections you made on other peoples lifting to apply to myself and it's been great so far.
Your knowledge on programming and your corrections of people's technique were pretty mind-blowing, obviously we know that you know your stuff but to see it in action is inspiring... Do you have any books/articles you would reccomend reading on programming and technique?
MRmichael.hooker
02-12-18, 10:15 am
Must have been an awesome experience man, I'm jealous! Wish I woulda done a 1 on 1 AND the seminar bc was so great.
It was awesome for sure. Every lift now I'm trying to think about the advice I was given and it's working well. I really wanted to come to the seminar as well (and even got crap from Sparkle for not, lol) but it just would have been a nightmare with the 2 boys and 3 hour drive each way.
Okay, thanks! Should I hit both days from a deficit or one day from the floor then the other from a deficit?
I figure I can go a bit heavier from the floor and get a better stretch with lighter weights from a deficit.
This program is more of a heavy/light both days from deficit, but the way you described it is a pretty obvious choice too. It's more conjugated whereas the recommended one is phasic: first deficits then later a heavier phase both days from floor
Hi!
I wonder what you trained before you start "powerlifting" or training to become strong in the 3 big ones?
Because I think I need more mass and like Efferding and Coan I read that you had a "bodybuilding"-style of training before.
The other quesiton is. When you do a Hypertrophy or Strength Phase. Do you "hunt" Rep PRs like repping to out. Or how do you progress from week to week?
Thanks man! I am a huge fan of yours. Hope you do well in the cage.
Yeah I don't remember where in the thread it is, but I laid it out before... basically
Bench 3x8
Incline DB Bench 4x(10-12)
Incline DB Flyes 3x8
Dips BW 3xAMRAP
Squats 3x(8-12)
Lunges/leg press/step-ups 3x10 (choose 1)
Leg Ext/Leg Curl (superset) 3x25 each
Skull Crushers 7x10-15 + drop sets
Tri Cable Pressdowns 4x10 up to heaviest then strip set
Dips BW 3xAMRAP
Deadlifts 3x(8-10)
Bent Rows 4x(12-15)
Pullups 50
Preacher or Standing Curls 4x(8-12)
DB or cable conc. curls 3x8
Power Cleans 5x5 plus heavier sets if I felt like it
Seated DB Presses (3-4)x(8-12)
Front/Side/Bent Lateral Raises (4-6)x(10-12)
Machine or DB Shrugs 3x20
Yeah I don't remember where in the thread it is, but I laid it out before... basically
Bench 3x8
Incline DB Bench 4x(10-12)
Incline DB Flyes 3x8
Dips BW 3xAMRAP
Squats 3x(8-12)
Lunges/leg press/step-ups 3x10 (choose 1)
Leg Ext/Leg Curl (superset) 3x25 each
Skull Crushers 7x10-15 + drop sets
Tri Cable Pressdowns 4x10 up to heaviest then strip set
Dips BW 3xAMRAP
Deadlifts 3x(8-10)
Bent Rows 4x(12-15)
Pullups 50
Preacher or Standing Curls 4x(8-12)
DB or cable conc. curls 3x8
Power Cleans 5x5 plus heavier sets if I felt like it
Seated DB Presses (3-4)x(8-12)
Front/Side/Bent Lateral Raises (4-6)x(10-12)
Machine or DB Shrugs 3x20
As far as the other Question I do like to rep to max reps kinda like Dorian...It's pretty powerful stuff I just do NOT encourage going to failure either in missing reps or in form breakdowns as this isn't productive for strength. I'm usually able to maintain my form to the end so I can grind pretty hard, but I do have to check myself... It hurt me on bench (not as in injuries but in stalled progress)
As far as how to progress there's a million ways... add weight, add reps, add sets, decrease time (density)... okay there are at least 4 ways
What would you recommend to relieve SI joint pain beside stretching psoas and glutes ? Cant squat or deadlift right now..... Thanks a lot Boss that would help immensely
That can definitely suck. See a chiro if you can. Rest. Avoid deep squats or whatever aggravates it and use alternatives that don't like maybe a hack squat with a narrow stance... You'll have to figure out what allows you to train around it. Maybe sumo instead of conv or vice versa
Thanks again for the awesome opportunity yesterday man. You and your wife were both great to meet.
My pleasure man! Definitely enjoyed ourselves in NC!
Must have been an awesome experience man, I'm jealous! Wish I woulda done a 1 on 1 AND the seminar bc was so great.
The NC seminar last weekend was great Boss, I had a great time thanks to you and Sparkle for the experience! I unfortunately couldn't do any lifting as I have a pretty seriously strained psoas (takes a long time to warm up nowadays) that affects pretty much every lift in one way or another, but the knowledge I gained was incredible. I started implementing your programming, and paid super close attention to the corrections you made on other peoples lifting to apply to myself and it's been great so far.
Your knowledge on programming and your corrections of people's technique were pretty mind-blowing, obviously we know that you know your stuff but to see it in action is inspiring... Do you have any books/articles you would reccomend reading on programming and technique?
For a book I'd recommend Josh Bryant's Built to the Hilt.
For technique I like that seminar format so the differences for different people help to illustrate good forms that are different, but fundamental mistakes can be addressed and separated from correct idiosyncracies
The Untamed
03-01-18, 5:34 pm
Boss, any tips for people who over extend their back on the way up on squat ? ( I arch my back as I push but on the eccentric I can stay neutral)
Buckfever
03-06-18, 8:25 am
Congrats on the milestone!!! Beautiful comeback from the injury.
Boss, any tips for people who over extend their back on the way up on squat ? ( I arch my back as I push but on the eccentric I can stay neutral)
It's ok to extend the back like you're describing. Some people are stronger via the erectors than with with core. This is ok... But, the trick is not to sit back too far or lean over too much while descending. I coach a female who has had to work very hard to undo this exact problem.
Our focus has been on these cues:
Extra tight upper back from the unrack, walkout
Initiate descent: break at the knees and keep the chest high--otherwise she sits back too far
During the descent: stay balanced in the mid foot not too much in the heel
This is all critical so the quad is loaded on the descent and at the bottom. If it isn't then when the quad pushes, it just pushes the hips back and you'll arch/good morning heavily. If the quads stay loaded i.e. the legs stay underneath you, then you'll drive out of the hole without losing position nearly as much. You'll "stand up"
Congrats on the milestone!!! Beautiful comeback from the injury.
Thanks man,
now I'm looking forward to hitting the platform March 31 for my first full meet back
Altered Beast
03-07-18, 11:23 am
It's ok to extend the back like you're describing. Some people are stronger via the erectors than with with core. This is ok... But, the trick is not to sit back too far or lean over too much while descending. I coach a female who has had to work very hard to undo this exact problem.
Our focus has been on these cues:
Extra tight upper back from the unrack, walkout
Initiate descent: break at the knees and keep the chest high--otherwise she sits back too far
During the descent: stay balanced in the mid foot not too much in the heel
This is all critical so the quad is loaded on the descent and at the bottom. If it isn't then when the quad pushes, it just pushes the hips back and you'll arch/good morning heavily. If the quads stay loaded i.e. the legs stay underneath you, then you'll drive out of the hole without losing position nearly as much. You'll "stand up"
How's her ankle mobility? I had trouble letting my knees come forward for the longest time due to having super tight ankles/achilles. That forced me to sit back really far as well, plus being short waisted with long legs you have to sit back further than most anyways. Damn Squat!
How's her ankle mobility? I had trouble letting my knees come forward for the longest time due to having super tight ankles/achilles. That forced me to sit back really far as well, plus being short waisted with long legs you have to sit back further than most anyways. Damn Squat!
Hers is ok. Not bad but not great. Her problem was just a reluctance to allow the forward travel from a mental standpoint and the difficulty in putting her spine at the right position--not over-sitting back
Pt_carlzon
03-09-18, 5:23 am
First congrats to 900lb!
Do you have any goal of what total you want to make in march?
I have some instability with the bar when i squat
It feels uneven and always my elbows points down and back during the rep
https://instagram.com/p/BgGFrKZnTG4/
Any cues to fix that?
MRmichael.hooker
03-09-18, 10:00 am
First congrats to 900lb!
Do you have any goal of what total you want to make in march?
I have some instability with the bar when i squat
It feels uneven and always my elbows points down and back during the rep
https://instagram.com/p/BgGFrKZnTG4/
Any cues to fix that?
Hey man, I know I'm obviously not Dan, but he gave me some help on squats that really helped me with feeling even and tight and in a good position every rep. I'm sure he'll have more insight, but here's what cues he gave me that's REALLY helped my squat as of late - you're doing the same thing I was. You hop under the bar, get your back close to it and then start getting tight and into position. What I've been doing now (at the advice of the Boss) is as soon as I grab the bar, I'm pulling myself into position. So the entire time I get closer and closer to the bar, I'm tightening my back and grip. Think of it like you're doing a pull up into the bar. By the time the bar is on my back/rear delts, I don't think I could get any tighter. I'm already into position and the bar isn't going anywhere.
Pt_carlzon
03-14-18, 3:50 am
Hey man, I know I'm obviously not Dan, but he gave me some help on squats that really helped me with feeling even and tight and in a good position every rep. I'm sure he'll have more insight, but here's what cues he gave me that's REALLY helped my squat as of late - you're doing the same thing I was. You hop under the bar, get your back close to it and then start getting tight and into position. What I've been doing now (at the advice of the Boss) is as soon as I grab the bar, I'm pulling myself into position. So the entire time I get closer and closer to the bar, I'm tightening my back and grip. Think of it like you're doing a pull up into the bar. By the time the bar is on my back/rear delts, I don't think I could get any tighter. I'm already into position and the bar isn't going anywhere.
Great advice! Thanks man
Altered Beast
03-14-18, 1:03 pm
First congrats to 900lb!
Do you have any goal of what total you want to make in march?
I have some instability with the bar when i squat
It feels uneven and always my elbows points down and back during the rep
https://instagram.com/p/BgGFrKZnTG4/
Any cues to fix that?
Knowing Dan, he'd want to know where you get stuck. That will directly reveal weak points and you'll know what to do to fix them.
First congrats to 900lb!
Do you have any goal of what total you want to make in march?
I have some instability with the bar when i squat
It feels uneven and always my elbows points down and back during the rep
https://instagram.com/p/BgGFrKZnTG4/
Any cues to fix that?
It's not perfectly clear from the angle in the video, but it looks like you're squatting high bar not low bar... so the elbows moving around doesn't really matter. That's pretty normal for a lot of high bar squatters. If anything you just have a couple reps where you just allow yourself to loosen the upper back and get slightly forward, but you're also doing a set of lots of reps so that will happen
Hey man, I know I'm obviously not Dan, but he gave me some help on squats that really helped me with feeling even and tight and in a good position every rep. I'm sure he'll have more insight, but here's what cues he gave me that's REALLY helped my squat as of late - you're doing the same thing I was. You hop under the bar, get your back close to it and then start getting tight and into position. What I've been doing now (at the advice of the Boss) is as soon as I grab the bar, I'm pulling myself into position. So the entire time I get closer and closer to the bar, I'm tightening my back and grip. Think of it like you're doing a pull up into the bar. By the time the bar is on my back/rear delts, I don't think I could get any tighter. I'm already into position and the bar isn't going anywhere.
This is definitely a good approach for ANYBODY to get tight... and getting tight is ALWAYS a good thing. And even though that might seem therefore like "beginner" advice, the fact is that the most masterful lifters are the ones usually who demonstrate SUPERIOR fundamentals... simple and plain! The basics are never beneath somebody
Great advice! Thanks man
Also, as for the question for goals in March, I'll be competing at 242 in sleeves and looking to hit PRs in all 3 lifts. I certainly feel strong enough for it and now I'm not dealing with a bunch of limiting injuries.
Pt_carlzon
03-20-18, 10:15 am
Also, as for the question for goals in March, I'll be competing at 242 in sleeves and looking to hit PRs in all 3 lifts. I certainly feel strong enough for it and now I'm not dealing with a bunch of limiting injuries.
Thats awesome Boss!
Thanks for all the answers to my questions! I have alot more knowledge of lifting and getting stronger now, because of you!
Buckfever
03-26-18, 4:17 pm
Sorry to see the injury, when's the surgery?
MRmichael.hooker
03-26-18, 4:22 pm
BOSS Dan Green, I'm sorry to hear about the injury man. I hope everything heals well for ya
Altered Beast
03-27-18, 1:18 pm
Was it the bicep muscle/tendon or the forearm extensors? That nasty pic on IG makes it look like your forearm muscles where ripping off of the bicep on the lower end of your arm!
This will be VERY easy to recover from! Get well and pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease no more overloading with straps =) I'm willing to bet that 900 pounds had something to do with this....
Was it the bicep muscle/tendon or the forearm extensors? That nasty pic on IG makes it look like your forearm muscles where ripping off of the bicep on the lower end of your arm!
This will be VERY easy to recover from! Get well and pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease no more overloading with straps =) I'm willing to bet that 900 pounds had something to do with this....
The injury was a ruptured bicep tendon. Surgery was good. That was 3.5 weeks ago and I'm rehabbing it now. Shouldn't be to tough of a recovery. There really wasn't any overloading in my training and the straps were there because of the pain I had been experiencing in the bicep tendon before the rupture. In July I had a deadlift workout where I injured the bicep tendon when the bar got away from me on a set of deads. That (evidently never got better and was my bicep tendon and not the forearm flexor as I'd originally thought) was the original injury and the MRI showed this as well--it had sustained some tendon damage or tendinosus then, even though the rupture wasn't until march this year. I'd trained with straps since July because it mitigated the pain and stopped it from being aggravated. I was hoping enough rest would allow it to recover, but it never really did, so when I did my first (and last) planned deadlift workout between the Cage and my next meet, it ruptured.
Oh well... I'll be back before too long
vince318
04-23-18, 12:00 pm
Hoping your recovery is quick! On a side note, will there be any seminars around Louisiana area again anytime soon?
Altered Beast
04-23-18, 1:30 pm
The injury was a ruptured bicep tendon. Surgery was good. That was 3.5 weeks ago and I'm rehabbing it now. Shouldn't be to tough of a recovery. There really wasn't any overloading in my training and the straps were there because of the pain I had been experiencing in the bicep tendon before the rupture. In July I had a deadlift workout where I injured the bicep tendon when the bar got away from me on a set of deads. That (evidently never got better and was my bicep tendon and not the forearm flexor as I'd originally thought) was the original injury and the MRI showed this as well--it had sustained some tendon damage or tendinosus then, even though the rupture wasn't until march this year. I'd trained with straps since July because it mitigated the pain and stopped it from being aggravated. I was hoping enough rest would allow it to recover, but it never really did, so when I did my first (and last) planned deadlift workout between the Cage and my next meet, it ruptured.
Oh well... I'll be back before too long
Just your body telling you to ease up for a bit! No biggie and I bet you'll be stronger when you come back.
Fair enough! Good ole bicep tendons always seem to cause us lifters issues. Glad to hear it won't be nearly as difficult as your quad tendon rupture to rehab!
Altered Beast
04-23-18, 1:41 pm
Dan,
More Squat issues I'm afraid!
I've been trying getting a slightly close grip and putting the bar super low on my back. Due to this my shoulders, forearms and spine/low back are jacked up! Evidently, my body didn't like the pressure on that area of the spine.
*Was thinking about going back to my original grip. It's rather wide and bring the bar up to the medium level as in not so high but not so low. I have been getting wider too which has helped other issues, but now I have this new issue to reconcile.
God Bless!
Hoping your recovery is quick! On a side note, will there be any seminars around Louisiana area again anytime soon?
I'm afraid not. just two more planned for the year one in England one in Canada. We were in Louisiana last year but not this year
Dan,
More Squat issues I'm afraid!
I've been trying getting a slightly close grip and putting the bar super low on my back. Due to this my shoulders, forearms and spine/low back are jacked up! Evidently, my body didn't like the pressure on that area of the spine.
*Was thinking about going back to my original grip. It's rather wide and bring the bar up to the medium level as in not so high but not so low. I have been getting wider too which has helped other issues, but now I have this new issue to reconcile.
God Bless!
Bringing the bar lower and hands closer is a good thing, but remember two things:
1--It should rest on top of the rear delts. Any lower and you'll have to cave your posture too much trying to "muscle" the bar into place so the advantage is lost
2--When you walk out and pause at the top between reps try not to stand all the way up aka perfectly vertical spine. This will cause you to lose your shelf and put the pressure on the arms too much. Maintain a slight forward inclination of the torso at all times (maybe 10-15 degrees) and this will assure your shelf is there so the delts and back hold the bar--not the arms.
Lastly, for sure wrap your wrists
Altered Beast
04-30-18, 11:06 am
Bringing the bar lower and hands closer is a good thing, but remember two things:
1--It should rest on top of the rear delts. Any lower and you'll have to cave your posture too much trying to "muscle" the bar into place so the advantage is lost
2--When you walk out and pause at the top between reps try not to stand all the way up aka perfectly vertical spine. This will cause you to lose your shelf and put the pressure on the arms too much. Maintain a slight forward inclination of the torso at all times (maybe 10-15 degrees) and this will assure your shelf is there so the delts and back hold the bar--not the arms.
Lastly, for sure wrap your wrists
Thanks!
Widening my grip and bringing the bar up a little bit helped tremendously last time I Squatted. The slight forward inclination helped as well and the bar felt comfortable on my back for a change.
Buckfever
04-30-18, 1:29 pm
Good to see you starting up again, how long till you can fully load the bicep?
vince318
05-01-18, 2:10 pm
Question on back strength overpowering leg strength by far. How would you go about strengthening someone's legs for someone whos back overpowers the legs by far while still progressing all 3 lifts? Drop the deadlift all together ( for a while ) or lower volume and just increase high bar/front squats/leg work?
Pt_carlzon
05-25-18, 8:58 am
Hi
So basically all my training cycles looks like this
I do pretty good first 3 weeks and then I feel like my workout are getting less and less productive. It just like im almost "grinding" every week after I had like 1 hard set.
So basically if it looks like this
Squats
12 x 105kg
10 x 110kg
10 x 115kg
10 x 120kg (Some grind here)
6 x 2 x 125kg (Felt like it was alot more here!)
5 x 130kg (Burned out and my knee start to feel funky
1RM 150kg
So I always feel like my brain is fried. I loss appetite, sleep worse, feel less motivated and so on.
So how would you plan it to break through and catch a new PR. First 3 weeks I felt stronger than ever, but I end up weaker.
Question 2. How do you do if you plan like 5x130kg but you feel even on 50% of your max that you feel slow and not good.
Less weight? or what?
Thanks man!
Thanks!
Widening my grip and bringing the bar up a little bit helped tremendously last time I Squatted. The slight forward inclination helped as well and the bar felt comfortable on my back for a change.
The difference of finding the sweet spot for the ball and not is like night and day--makes all the difference if you can stabilize the weight effectively and efficiently or you'll never squat well
Good to see you starting up again, how long till you can fully load the bicep?
Everything is functioning normally and pain free, but it will still be about 3-4 weeks before the tendon is at full recovery (12 weeks total)
For now I'm back squatting and front squatting and benching with no limitations, and I'm starting to add in deadlifts, military presses and this week some back work like rows and curls
Question on back strength overpowering leg strength by far. How would you go about strengthening someone's legs for someone whos back overpowers the legs by far while still progressing all 3 lifts? Drop the deadlift all together ( for a while ) or lower volume and just increase high bar/front squats/leg work?
More the second route. Take a step back with the squats so that you can work on form at weights that allow it: between 60-85% most likely and make up for the lost intensity with front squats and high bar and hack squats would be my approach. Fronts between the 5-8 rep range, high bar at any rep range and hack squats between 12-25 is my preference
Hi
So basically all my training cycles looks like this
I do pretty good first 3 weeks and then I feel like my workout are getting less and less productive. It just like im almost "grinding" every week after I had like 1 hard set.
So basically if it looks like this
Squats
12 x 105kg
10 x 110kg
10 x 115kg
10 x 120kg (Some grind here)
6 x 2 x 125kg (Felt like it was alot more here!)
5 x 130kg (Burned out and my knee start to feel funky
1RM 150kg
So I always feel like my brain is fried. I loss appetite, sleep worse, feel less motivated and so on.
So how would you plan it to break through and catch a new PR. First 3 weeks I felt stronger than ever, but I end up weaker.
Question 2. How do you do if you plan like 5x130kg but you feel even on 50% of your max that you feel slow and not good.
Less weight? or what?
Thanks man!
Linear periodization requires that you lift the lighter weights like they are the heavier weights--without compensatory acceleration you'll just train for efficiency and this doesn't transfer over to max weights well. If your goal is to lift 160kg then every rep at 105kg must be accelerated with the force required to lift 160 kg. This way you are "practicing" for strength every rep and you are doing it enough (workload) to gain muscle and coordination as a result. If you just think you will "push harder" when it's heavier... you won't! Every rep and every set stabilize the weight then accelerate the concentric every time. The endurance will help build the stabilizers, but you must lift with power.
Second you need to have secondary lifts that strengthen your weaknesses or you will always fail for the same reason when the weights increase.This means high bar, block pulls, close grip, military press, etc. It can also help to do some overloads like the pin presses or block pulls or heavy walkouts so that you will feel the heavy weights and increase your stabilizers that way.
Last, if you show up exhausted, finish your warmups and then skip the work sets and come back next time to do the workout. A forced deload is fine... once every 3-4 weeks at the most.
vince318
06-01-18, 7:56 am
More the second route. Take a step back with the squats so that you can work on form at weights that allow it: between 60-85% most likely and make up for the lost intensity with front squats and high bar and hack squats would be my approach. Fronts between the 5-8 rep range, high bar at any rep range and hack squats between 12-25 is my preference
Thanks for the response!
Altered Beast
06-05-18, 2:59 pm
How's everything in your world, Dan? How are you liking the Vertical Diet?
N. Motta
06-07-18, 6:04 pm
Hey Dan
Couple technique issues, wondering if you could make some suggestions of how to remedy or cues to try and smooth them out.
Hip shift when I squat. As weights get progressively heavier, I have a tendency to track to my right, on the way up. I religiously use a lower body mobility routine from Joe Defranco, but the symptom usually shows itself pretty regularly. *Raw squatter, medium stance, wedged shoes.
Shins not quite as perpendicular as I'd like, during deadlifts. (Sumo). The sequence I've used to get tight and set up for years, typically yields a shin angle at the start of the pull, that has my knees slightly over the bar. I've noticed that with a lot of really strong people who pull sumo (cheat) they achieve a damn near perpendicular angle, with their tib/fib, to the floor. When watching footage of my sets, I feel it somewhat prevents me from pulling up and back, if only slightly.
Appreciate your time
How's everything in your world, Dan? How are you liking the Vertical Diet?
Still rehabbing my bicep a little bit. The bicep is still not creating supination well, so it's proving to be a slow process. The supinator of the forearm is doing too much of it and has continued to be strained.
Not really dieting in any kind of way right now actually.
Hey Dan
Couple technique issues, wondering if you could make some suggestions of how to remedy or cues to try and smooth them out.
Hip shift when I squat. As weights get progressively heavier, I have a tendency to track to my right, on the way up. I religiously use a lower body mobility routine from Joe Defranco, but the symptom usually shows itself pretty regularly. *Raw squatter, medium stance, wedged shoes.
Shins not quite as perpendicular as I'd like, during deadlifts. (Sumo). The sequence I've used to get tight and set up for years, typically yields a shin angle at the start of the pull, that has my knees slightly over the bar. I've noticed that with a lot of really strong people who pull sumo (cheat) they achieve a damn near perpendicular angle, with their tib/fib, to the floor. When watching footage of my sets, I feel it somewhat prevents me from pulling up and back, if only slightly.
Appreciate your time
The best things I'd recommend are to do one-legged exercises like lunges or step-ups as a warm-up before you squat and also weighted after to bring the glute strength up.
During warmups or after squats do some paused squats.
For the deads start doing some block pulls either on their own day, following squatting, or following sumos off the floor. Use a 3-4" block height and you should pull between 2-5 reps mostly. Heavy. This will optimize your starting position for when you pull off the floor again.
N. Motta
06-11-18, 10:19 pm
Right on, appreciate the advice. Thanks for your time.
Nmowery
06-12-18, 11:40 am
Hey dan,
I feel like this may have been asked before, but I can’t find it in however many pages this thread is - but anyways, do you have any specific tips on how to maintain tightness in the upper back while squatting with a safety bar? I’ve been using it as often as possible to save shoulder stress, but I’ve noticed that it’s much harder to keep my upper back locked in tight than it is with a barbell.
Pt_carlzon
06-22-18, 8:17 am
Hi Dan!
I try to learn to stay tighter in the back
This is my max weight in sumo
https://instagram.com/p/BeQHxD4Fz1e/
What cues would you use for better statt?
And what excercise to fix the back?
Hey dan,
I feel like this may have been asked before, but I can’t find it in however many pages this thread is - but anyways, do you have any specific tips on how to maintain tightness in the upper back while squatting with a safety bar? I’ve been using it as often as possible to save shoulder stress, but I’ve noticed that it’s much harder to keep my upper back locked in tight than it is with a barbell.
I don't really have any advice there actually! That stress on the upper back is really the key benefit from the SS Bar. I prefer to round my upper back slightly to INCREASE the stress. That's what I benefit from most, and it carries over to the deadlift extremely well
Hi Dan!
I try to learn to stay tighter in the back
This is my max weight in sumo
https://instagram.com/p/BeQHxD4Fz1e/
What cues would you use for better statt?
And what excercise to fix the back?
Your form is pretty good, in order to get better form you need to just get stronger in the hips and upper back. Block pulls sumo from 10 cm boxes very heavy for triples or sets of 5.
You can also pull from a very small deficit to get a stronger start position. Just maybe 1-2 cm tall
Well hey, that’s good to know...I tend to do most of my squatting with the SSB, and can really tell the difference in getting my back locked in when I do get under a barbell.
Edgar Benegas
07-02-18, 12:32 pm
Hey guys I was wondering if anyone has had a bad lower back strain and if so how'd you make a comeback, I strained mine doing my warm-up deadlifts, I couldn't walk for a couple days and I've had pain for 3 weeks now but I'm cleared to start again, as my tips on strengthening the back slowly, I was thinking starting with core workouts such as planks and such.
Thanks again
Altered Beast
07-02-18, 3:15 pm
Hey guys I was wondering if anyone has had a bad lower back strain and if so how'd you make a comeback, I strained mine doing my warm-up deadlifts, I couldn't walk for a couple days and I've had pain for 3 weeks now but I'm cleared to start again, as my tips on strengthening the back slowly, I was thinking starting with core workouts such as planks and such.
Thanks again
See a chiropractor immediately! One that can provide a variety of treatments besides adjustments.
MRmichael.hooker
07-11-18, 11:33 am
See a chiropractor immediately! One that can provide a variety of treatments besides adjustments.
x2
MRmichael.hooker
07-17-18, 1:13 pm
Hey BOSS, actually had a question about the BBBC deadlift socks. They are the first ones I've looked at that offers sizes (19", 24", 27") and wasn't sure what a standard size in deadlifts socks are? The only pair I've bought are the Animal ones and they are just one size. Thanks man
Altered Beast
07-18-18, 10:03 am
Dan,
Saw a Quote from Stefi Cohen where she was Quoting you. Something a long the lines of, "training readiness and meet day readiness aren't the same thing." I don't remember the exact Quote except for the small excerpt, but was curious precisely what you meant. You really can't train to summon strength on meet day, except when the meet day actually arrives; therefore, how would you prepare or enhance that effect on meet day?
Wish I could find that damn Quote, LOL! Sounded very very interesting.
Hey guys I was wondering if anyone has had a bad lower back strain and if so how'd you make a comeback, I strained mine doing my warm-up deadlifts, I couldn't walk for a couple days and I've had pain for 3 weeks now but I'm cleared to start again, as my tips on strengthening the back slowly, I was thinking starting with core workouts such as planks and such.
Thanks again
Yeah, the back strains happen from time to time, but I would focus on simple core exercises like you said and just build up slowly. Two things that should help: do some light-moderate high bar squats before you deadlift to improve the hip flexion. This will get you in a better start position for the deadlifts after. You could do squats at 45-55% of your max for 3-4 sets 10-12 reps first, or just do a couple light sets.
Second, start doing stiff leg deadlifts--light--for sets of 10 for 3-5 sets 1-2x per week. This builds great back strength and awareness and builds a huge base for the heavy lifts to progress. Do them as their own workout or after squats/deads
Hey BOSS, actually had a question about the BBBC deadlift socks. They are the first ones I've looked at that offers sizes (19", 24", 27") and wasn't sure what a standard size in deadlifts socks are? The only pair I've bought are the Animal ones and they are just one size. Thanks man
Hey that's a good question! But I'd recommend the 24" unless your legs are particularly short or long
Dan,
Saw a Quote from Stefi Cohen where she was Quoting you. Something a long the lines of, "training readiness and meet day readiness aren't the same thing." I don't remember the exact Quote except for the small excerpt, but was curious precisely what you meant. You really can't train to summon strength on meet day, except when the meet day actually arrives; therefore, how would you prepare or enhance that effect on meet day?
Wish I could find that damn Quote, LOL! Sounded very very interesting.
Basically I was telling her that during training, sometimes she'd feel like her strength wasn't increasing because weights felt harder than she expected them to, but, the reason that during training you wouldn't lift as much is because you are in a state of constant fatigue from the frequent training sessions. Because strength is a product of skill and muscle mass/strength, she's increasing strength on both fronts, but because she's fatigued, her expression of the strength is suppressed a little. When the meet comes, however, the training will have set her up for a reduction in fatigue, which is the "readiness" part of it. Her strength grows steadily, but by tapering the training for the meet, you're ready on meet day to express your strength fully
Altered Beast
07-25-18, 10:15 am
Basically I was telling her that during training, sometimes she'd feel like her strength wasn't increasing because weights felt harder than she expected them to, but, the reason that during training you wouldn't lift as much is because you are in a state of constant fatigue from the frequent training sessions. Because strength is a product of skill and muscle mass/strength, she's increasing strength on both fronts, but because she's fatigued, her expression of the strength is suppressed a little. When the meet comes, however, the training will have set her up for a reduction in fatigue, which is the "readiness" part of it. Her strength grows steadily, but by tapering the training for the meet, you're ready on meet day to express your strength fully
Understood! Most interesting indeed and it makes perfect sense.
Another question, anything you'd recommend to help expedite healing of a partially torn oblique muscle? I planned on deloading this week anyways but didn't want to have to do so because of an injury! I'm performing some good ole fashioned cardio though and the pain is down 70-80% already. I start my first of two strength phases next week and would enjoy being healed up! Was at least wanting to hit some light work this week to keep blood flowing, oh well!
Altered Beast
07-25-18, 10:34 am
Understood! Most interesting indeed and it makes perfect sense.
Another question, anything you'd recommend to help expedite healing of a partially torn oblique muscle? I planned on deloading this week anyways but didn't want to have to do so because of an injury! I'm performing some good ole fashioned cardio though and the pain is down 70-80% already. I start my first of two strength phases next week and would enjoy being healed up! Was at least wanting to hit some light work this week to keep blood flowing, oh well!
*Correction, not a partial tear. My doctor said since there was no bruising it was probably a level 2 or 3 strain. Inflammation is the concern that I have to control for healing.
MRmichael.hooker
07-25-18, 5:04 pm
Hey BOSS. How would you recommend progressing with bands? Is it something where I add more bands/stronger bands, add more weight, or both? I’ve been training with bands for about 6 months now
Understood! Most interesting indeed and it makes perfect sense.
Another question, anything you'd recommend to help expedite healing of a partially torn oblique muscle? I planned on deloading this week anyways but didn't want to have to do so because of an injury! I'm performing some good ole fashioned cardio though and the pain is down 70-80% already. I start my first of two strength phases next week and would enjoy being healed up! Was at least wanting to hit some light work this week to keep blood flowing, oh well!
Basically compression is the best thing for expediting healing and avoiding aggravating it. The belt is easy enough to use for this during training, but outside of training wrap it with some ace bandages. You can also wrap it with the ace bandages AND use the belt while training
*Correction, not a partial tear. My doctor said since there was no bruising it was probably a level 2 or 3 strain. Inflammation is the concern that I have to control for healing.
Oh just saw this was a second post... same thing though, compression is the key
Hey BOSS. How would you recommend progressing with bands? Is it something where I add more bands/stronger bands, add more weight, or both? I’ve been training with bands for about 6 months now
You should add bands to accommodate bar speed. If you're too fast then add more band tension. Otherwise, stick with a band and focusing on adding weight. Using band tension that's about 25% of your max at the top is generally about right for most lifts
Pt_carlzon
09-07-18, 4:00 am
hope everything is well
so when doing a strength phase
would this split be good?
squat 5 x 3
pause squat 5 x 3
bulgarian split squat 10 x3
bench
front squat 8 x 3
deadlift 5 x 3
deficits 5 x 3
stiff leggs 8 x 3
rows 12 x 4
And progress from that with heavier weights?
So basically going for a 5RM in week 6 or so?
Altered Beast
09-07-18, 3:27 pm
Where ya hiding????
MRmichael.hooker
10-01-18, 11:05 am
Hey Dan,
Don't really see ya around on social media or here lately, thought I'd check in and see how things are going for ya.
hope everything is well
so when doing a strength phase
would this split be good?
squat 5 x 3
pause squat 5 x 3
bulgarian split squat 10 x3
bench
front squat 8 x 3
deadlift 5 x 3
deficits 5 x 3
stiff leggs 8 x 3
rows 12 x 4
And progress from that with heavier weights?
So basically going for a 5RM in week 6 or so?
Yeah this looks pretty good. The one thing I'd add in, that I've always done, is between the paused squats and bulgarian split squats I would do more deficit SLDLs. This is huge to have a second, lighter deadlift in the week. You will really benefit from that and without it it's going to be hard for the back to recover. Always need to increase workload to increase strength and muscle.
Where ya hiding????
I'm back now, but was just taking a little down time, recharging a little
Hey Dan,
Don't really see ya around on social media or here lately, thought I'd check in and see how things are going for ya.
Yeah everything is good, I was just taking a little down time. I'm back to training now... feeling good
Altered Beast
10-31-18, 2:03 pm
I'm back now, but was just taking a little down time, recharging a little
At your level, it's absolutely necessary! Glad you're back around. This place seems like a ghost town lately!
How's the bicep??
At your level, it's absolutely necessary! Glad you're back around. This place seems like a ghost town lately!
How's the bicep??
Has a pretty gnarly scar, but that's about it. It's all good now, I barely think about it other than trying to get the left to curl as much as the right still
MRmichael.hooker
11-15-18, 10:33 am
BOSS, do you have a rep range you like to stick with when it comes to shoulder work? I guess more specifically military pressing and OHP? Most of my dumbbell work for shoulders sticks around 10-12 reps and generally keep my actual shoulder pressing movements between 4-10.
Pt_carlzon
11-28-18, 5:07 am
Hi Dan!
Great to have you back
1. So if I have a great squat session on monday
I feel that my friday deadlift session gets compensated because of tired cns/legs
Do you experience this?
2. do you set up a weight to hit before a workout
Or do you more auto regulatrate?
3. My shoulder press is totally stuck
Any routines you have done that worked the best?
Sgt Rock
11-20-20, 6:24 pm
You’ve got very respectable lifts. Very. Unfair to call you
the guy in the Program. Your a power lifter not a bodybuilder.
Joe Ladnier. One of the original Cage lifters. Is the only person
I can think of that was a National champion BBER. Then at just
19 won the PL Nationals. Beating the ICON Fred Hatfield.
2100 plus at 220. With garbage gear. Same day weigh ins. Walk out squats
Same bar all 3 lifts. That takes nothing away from today’s lift.
This has been and will be argued forever. My point is that the Lad
is still the only Animal to be at the top of BOTH. I was the first deadlift only guy.
Now many companies try to copy the Cage. Lifters like you make it impossible!
My boy Higa. Damn Vinny must be 80! Jk. I bet most don’t know we tattooed a few
LEGAL glutes one year. The AC ticketed 150k. Before 1000 on Sunday one year.
It’s not just about the weight but relating with the people. I get emails 13 years later from the FORVM lol
I’m in the HOF. I’ve nothing to prove.
I pulled elite pounds all 4 ways
Both hook. Reg grip. Sumo and conv. It mattered to ME
I pulled 3 times body weight in 6 classes. It mattered to ME. In the Cage it’s about the FANS
FANS ARE FAMILY. It won’t last forever. Smell the roses.
I hope you get 20 more man. I really do.
I still get asked to moderate and write. My undeniable GOATS
Are
Ed Coan
Lamar Gant
Yours? I’m curious to see. It’s not about
now vs then. It’s about apples to apples
NOBODY has sniffed EITHER. Apples to apples
Your thoughts? I respect them
For me. Partying I stopped after the Corps
Sparring. Krav Naga is a bigger high than partying for ME
But that’s put food on my table for 20 years too.
Best of luck. Btw. You’re the only sumo guy I’ve seen that takes
advantage of the stretch reflex at the bottom. It’s VERY tough to teach sumo
Guys watch his start. In slow mo
It may look minimal. Remember. Failure at lockout is just 3 issues
Technical
Strength
Lack of speed
You CAN out run the lock out
Stretch reflex HELPS. With proper knee. Shin. Torso placement. Watch Dan
He does 30 things. At EXACTLY the same time EVERY REP. That’s KEY!!
Don’t believe me? ASK HIM YOURSELF. FOR THE RECORD IVE NEVER MET HIM!
Dan. I’m Rock. It’s my pleasure.
Semper Fidelis
Sgt Rock USMC
HOF 2014
Support National Disabled Heroes Day
2-2-22. For the forgotten 22.
Altered Beast
11-23-20, 10:30 am
Sarge, hate to break it to ya but Dan hasn't been on here in years. The animal athletes are no longer required to post here on the FORVM.
There's some of us still left, but it feels like after nuke went off and we are the remnants, LOL! Thought you'd appreciate that metaphor.