View Full Version : JTS Seminar in Chicago
I'm up and almost out the door. Heading to the JTS Seminar in Chicago. Getting ready to learn from and hang with some the Animal Family and extended family. Brandon Lilly, The Lilliebridges and Stan Efferding. Not to mention Chad Wesley Smith and Ed MF'n Coan! I can't wait. I already packed up my ego and threw it in the drawer, won't be needing it today. Gotta drop the ego and relearn from the best. I'm actually psyched to learn just HOW wrong everything I do is... the one drawback to having a gym in your garage. No one to tell you your form sucks! Lol. I'll post a write up afterwards. It's today and tomorrow, so it won't be before Monday. Later bros.
http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i466/pierce76/image-1_zpsad2d5f9b.jpg
Left to right: Eric Lilliebridge, Ernie Lilliebridge Sr, Ed Coan, Paul Carter, Me, Chad Wesely Smith, Caitlyn Trout, Brandon Lilly, Pete Rubish and Ernie Lilliebridge Jr
I'll post more about the seminar later. Need to eat...
Looking good with the shaved head B. Can't wait to hear how it all went.
Ernie Lilliebridge JR
06-11-13, 2:03 am
thanks for posting the pict :-)
Looking good with the shaved head B. Can't wait to hear how it all went.
When don't I look good?
thanks for posting the pict :-)
Thank you to you and all the coaches for putting on such great event. Looking forward to coming down to Jakked in July and having you come up here in August!
This past weekend I was fortunate enough to go to the Juggernaut Training Seminar in Chicago, IL. The instructor were; Brandon Lilly, Chad Wesley Smith, Caitlyn Trout, Paul Carter, Ed Coan, Pete Rubish and the Lilliebridges (Ernie Sr, Ernie Jr and Eric). It was a 2 1/2 hour drive each way and I wasn't able to stay down there over the weekend, so I had to make the trek twice! I think the 10 hours in the car was as rough as the training!
Saturday:
The day started with Brandon Lilly talking about the Cube Method, his 365 Strong concept and a lot of personal stories. This really helped me out! Getting to hear the reasons why guys like him got into the iron game and the personal battles they fight every day helps keeps things in perspective. After everything I have been through this past year and having to take 2 months off for injuries and sanity, it was Brandon that I talked to who kept me grounded and made me realize the changes I needed to make, in myself and my training. Without his guidance, I wouldn't be back here right now. I owe a lot to that man, he's sort of taken me under his (huge) wing and helped steer me in the right direction. After listening to him and training with him I will definitely be running the Cube next month! So begins another chapter in my training.
After Brandon wrapped up, Chad Wesley Smith talked about sport specific training and coaching. This was a very technical discussion with TONS of great information. I'll be honest, a lot of it was way over my head and didn't relate to my training. I did try to pick up as much as possible though. He talked a lot about the CNS and what to do to avoid burning out. Mentally and physically. He made a great analogy that really put it in perspective. Your CNS is like a cup. And any amount of stress will add to it, not just the stress from physical training. If you have a bad day at work, or you and your spouse are fighting, or your kid is sick... this is all stress. You can fill your cup and fry your CNS without every touching a weight. So those days when you've done a deload and you're ready to kill it in the gym, but the weights feel ten times heavier and everything goes wrong? Look back and see what is going on in your life. Stress is stress. Mental stress will burn you out just as fast being under the bar.
After this we split into three groups: bench, squat and deadlift. My group started with bench training with Eric Lilliebridge, Brandon Lilly and Paul Carter. This was an experience in pain I wasn't expecting! I've always had trouble with my setup on bench because of my ridiculously short legs and my chronic lower back problems. I can't arch (at all!) and getting leg drive when your feet don't touch the floor isn't exactly easy. So I've always adjusted to do what I can and stay as tight as possible. Then Paul Carter got a hold of me and tortured/trained me (I hate you Paul... seriosuly). We worked on setting up and staying tight enough that he couldn't push us off the bench. It was amazing how quick I was able to adjust the things that I could. I can't wait to see how well I'm able to carry over these things into the gym. I knew my form sucked but didn't realize just how bad. This is why I wanted to come to this seminar. Everyone thinks getting to train in my garage is awesome! "You can lift whenever you want and you don't have to worry about other people"! Yeah, but when your form sucks, there's no one there to tell you either. I kid a lot but I'm very thankful to Paul, Brandon and Eric for the info and tips they were able to pass on. Even though I ended up more sore from trying to set up on the bench than I was from pulling or squatting!
After bench, my group went to deadlift with Ernie Lilliebridge Jr, Pete Rubish and Mr. Ed Coan. And yes... I said "Mr." Ed Coan, because that's how you address the greatest powerlifter of all time. We started with 135x3 and Ed helped us tweak our form. Mine was a lot better than I thought! I was expecting to have him completely tear it down and start over. Then we moved on to 225x3. More small tweaks, then up to 315x3. They jumped to 385 so I moved over to Pete Rubish's group. My max is 405 and I've only ever hit that once, and I was 5-10 lbs heavier then. So I went to Pete and hit 365x3. That weight has never felt that easy. We bumped it up to 405 and I crushed it! Pete smiled and calmly said that I had WAY more in me. Now this is funny because if you've ever seen Pete's videos on YouTube, you know how I shocked I was to see him smile... or be calm! Lol. He asked what I wanted on the bar and I told him to load it and not tell me. I sat down away from everyone to get centered and Pete came and got me when it was time. Chalked up, ran up to the bar, gripped it and ripped it. Easy. He told me to go sit down again. I had no idea what weight I had just done. So I sat and waited. He came and got me, and I repeated the process... crushed it. Had a little hitch at the knee but I'll take it! Next weight, I wasn't so lucky though. Got it to the shin and lost it. Turned out here was what I did (from warm up through failed attempt):
135x3
225x3
315x3
365x3
405x1
425x1 (20# PR)
445x1 40# PR)
465x0
Holy hell! A 40 lb PR! This is another reason I hate training alone. If I was at home in the garage, after tying my max at 405 I would've went for 415 and then called it a day. Never in a million years would I have jumped to 425 then kept going! So we finished up and I talked to Pete for a while. He trains at a gym about 20-30 minutes from my house, and when I asked him about me coming up every few Saturdays to deadlift with him, he liked the idea! Another huge step in my training! So I wrapped up the day foam rolling, climbing in the car and driving 2 /12 hours home.
Sunday:
After a night of no sleep (too damn psyched about everything) I drove back down to Chicago. Sunday started out with a big Q&A with all the coaches. This was probably my favorite part of the weekend. We got a lot of information and some funny stories that had me rolling on the floor! I couldn't even know where to start explaining everything they covered. Some of the things that really stuck with me were these:
Eric and Ernie Sr - Don't give up. It takes a long time to get to where you want to be.
Paul Carter - work on keeping balance in your life and you'll have balance in your training.
Ed Coan - on meet day, you're only gonna do what you can do.
Brandon Lilly - "A guy can have big arms, a big chest and big legs and be weak as shit. But I've NEVER seen a guy with a big back who was weak!"
After the Q&A I had one of those moments that I'll never forget but I'm not sure that it actually happened. We broke for lunch and I was sitting on the curb outside eating my almond butter sandwiches, bananas and Raw Revolution bars when Ed Coan walked out. He stopped and started talking to me. I don' think I've ever laughed so hard in my life. Ed seriously needs to do stand up comedy. He has the funniest and driest sense of humor on this planet! After 15-20 minutes I realized something... I'm sitting on the curb eating lunch and shooting the shit with Ed Coan! In fact, after he left to get something to eat I texted that fact to some now former friends who absolutely hate me! Lol.
When we came back from lunch we split back into our groups to hit the last training station that we didn't do the previous day. For us it was squat training with Ernie Lilliebridge Sr, Chad Wesley Smith and Caitlyn Trout. This was another big surprise to me. From a technical aspect, my form was damn good. Once again, I was expecting to be torn down and built back up from scratch. The reason my squat sucks is my weaknesses. Upper back, core and hips. Three of the important things you NEED for a big squat. So over time I know I can bring my squat up. Even training on my own in the garage. It was really cool the way they helped us with squat. Chad pulled us all together and told us they were gonna see how we squat and help tweak OUR squat form. Not tweak it to the way they want us to squat. This was a really good way to train people and it shows why Chad is such an amazing coach. The squat is one of those movements that has so many little things to make form different from one person to the next. So finding out how they wanted leave our form (stance, hand placement, etc) alone and work on the things that are important (tightness, breathing, depth and speed) was certainly a lot of help. I just worked up to about 30# from my max and called it a day. No point in pushing too hard and tweaking something. Plus I was sore as hell from Saturday's training and the drive. We wrapped up and sat around visiting. I wish the weekend never had to end. I learned more in two days than I have in three years. Thank you to Brandon Lilly for telling me about the seminar and thanks to Chad and all the coaches for taking the time to help out so many athletes.
smoothballer
06-11-13, 9:16 am
Sounds like a priceless experience
Sounds like a priceless experience
Oh yeah! Outside of family things, it was easily the greatest experience I've ever had!
Sounds like a great event where Animal was well represented. We will be bringing some of these athletes to NJ at the end of this month and next month: http://forum.animalpak.com/showthread.php?41124-Train-w-Animal-Powerlifters-in-June-July
Man, what a heck of an experience Bruiser! Thanks for sharing the pics and awesome write-up. And big congrats on the PRs (2 in one day on the same lift!) It's amazing what that little bit of expert knowledge will do for your lifts.
Sounds like a great event where Animal was well represented. We will be bringing some of these athletes to NJ at the end of this month and next month: http://forum.animalpak.com/showthread.php?41124-Train-w-Animal-Powerlifters-in-June-July
It was amazing. I'm still a little in awe of it all. I wish I could make it out to NJ for that!
Man, what a heck of an experience Bruiser! Thanks for sharing the pics and awesome write-up. And big congrats on the PRs (2 in one day on the same lift!) It's amazing what that little bit of expert knowledge will do for your lifts.
Other than family stuff, it was easily the greatest experience I've had. Not just as a PL but as a person, getting to visit and hang with those guys and be treated like we've been friends forever. That's why this is the greatest sport.
Pete Rubish
06-11-13, 5:11 pm
I knew you had a PR in you on Saturday, especially considering how focused you were. In my opinion, you never want to break your concentration when you're building up to a personal record. It's better to just walk away from everyone, pace back and forth in a corner, and mentally prepare yourself for the next lift.
But definitely a hell of a seminar. Was pretty cool lifting with Ed Coan Saturday night at Quad's Gym. I pulled 660 for a double off a 4 inch deficit with Ed yelling at me. I know the camera crew shot a lot of good video of us that night, not sure when it will be released, but should be some awesome footage.
I knew you had a PR in you on Saturday, especially considering how focused you were. In my opinion, you never want to break your concentration when you're building up to a personal record. It's better to just walk away from everyone, pace back and forth in a corner, and mentally prepare yourself for the next lift.
But definitely a hell of a seminar. Was pretty cool lifting with Ed Coan Saturday night at Quad's Gym. I pulled 660 for a double off a 4 inch deficit with Ed yelling at me. I know the camera crew shot a lot of good video of us that night, not sure when it will be released, but should be some awesome footage.
Yeah, that was something else. Now I'm looking forward to getting to come up to Madtown to train with you guys. Probably come up in a couple weeks. That's gonna be huge for me. We'll have to make time for sparring or grappling sessions too! Some of the younger guys at Sharkbite have issues with my "intensity level"... Lol.
I read Paul's recap and it sounded like Ed was having a little fun at your expense (no surprise there). Can't wait to see the footage.
Eric Lilliebridge
06-11-13, 7:40 pm
The JTS Seminar was awesome. It was an honor to be a part of it and helping coach people also having my dad and brother there with me. I unfortunately only got to coach on the bench press but really would have liked to help around on all 3 lifts. It was really cool getting to meet a lot of new people who are interested in the sport of Powerlifting and was a lot of fun teaching them. The biggest issue it seemed that most people had on the bench is they just didn't know how to set up properly and weren't tight enough on the bench. The main thing Brandon Lilly, Paul Carter and myself tried to help the most on was getting everyone comfortable with a good bench set up so that they could start training it on their own and using that technique in their own training. I hope everyone else enjoyed the seminar as much as I did and the Lilliebridges are looking to do a seminar on our own sometime in the next couple months, so be on the look out for that!
Awesome recap B, glad you were fortunate enough to make the trip.
Universal Rep
06-12-13, 10:00 am
The JTS Seminar was awesome. It was an honor to be a part of it and helping coach people also having my dad and brother there with me. I unfortunately only got to coach on the bench press but really would have liked to help around on all 3 lifts. It was really cool getting to meet a lot of new people who are interested in the sport of Powerlifting and was a lot of fun teaching them. The biggest issue it seemed that most people had on the bench is they just didn't know how to set up properly and weren't tight enough on the bench. The main thing Brandon Lilly, Paul Carter and myself tried to help the most on was getting everyone comfortable with a good bench set up so that they could start training it on their own and using that technique in their own training. I hope everyone else enjoyed the seminar as much as I did and the Lilliebridges are looking to do a seminar on our own sometime in the next couple months, so be on the look out for that!
Haha, youll get ur chance on 7/14/13 in Jersey... Ya can help out on all three lifts at the ABC if ya like.
Ernie Lilliebridge JR
06-13-13, 3:00 am
Well as many of you know Team Lilliebridge was at the JTS seminar this past weekend 6-8-13 / 6-9-13, it was a blast! I had the pleasure to hang out with the Legend himself MR. Ed Coan and teach deadlifts ( conventional and sumo) with him and Pete Rubish. Also with us Paul Carter, Chad Wesley Smith, Caitlyn Trout, and Brandon Lilly. I really enjoyed being able to coach / teach I do wish I was able to assist on all 3 lifts but was only able to focus on the deadlift. I had 3 groups of lifters. My last ground was the best. You would never guessed my 1st two groups where guys and they were okay but need a lot of help lol. But hey that’s what I’m here for. My last group of girls was just amazing! They all knew how to pull with very good from, and with some minor adjustments that I gave them I had 4 of the girls hit PRs!!! Also had 5 guys hit PR’s as well :)
Some of the key points I was teaching were.
. Set up is everything!
. Speed is key
. Don’t rush the setup
. Get your belt set right
. Use chalk
. Get close to the bar
. Get your grip set
. Deep breath
. Keep your head and chest up!
. Drive your feet through the floor!
After the Seminar we all meet up at Quads Gym (south) Ed Coans home gym.... Man that gym is freaking amazing~ !
RAW squats:
Hit a top set of
. 665 x 1 very easy!
Every set felt super fast and easy. Not bad for not eating all day! I had may more in me, and with Ed Coan running the Mono lift I felt like I could have hit a PR!
Next up while I was in the middle of squating my 605 set and 665 I had to walk over and show up Pete Rubish and Paul Carter on how to deadlift off a 4 inch deficit.
1. 635 x 2 easy and dead stop reps
2 665 x 2 super easy and dead stop reps ... yes I won that round :)
naturalguy
06-14-13, 8:17 am
I wish I could have gone to that, thanks for the write up Bruiser
Universal Rep
06-14-13, 9:01 am
Also had 5 guys hit PR’s as well :)
Some of the key points I was teaching were.
. Set up is everything!
. Speed is key
. Don’t rush the setup
. Get your belt set right
. Use chalk
. Get close to the bar
. Get your grip set
. Deep breath
. Keep your head and chest up!
. Drive your feet through the floor!
No doubt fellas hit PRs training with all you... Great advice.
I wish I could have gone to that
Yeah I would have liked to be there myself, I know this years has be hard for you to get to places, not much travel at all......lol
Ernie Lilliebridge Sr
07-02-13, 2:18 am
Thanks for the write up and posting pic! Had a blast with you and the crew, can't wait for the big ANIMAL ABC next month in Madison, WI.
Thanks for the write up and posting pic! Had a blast with you and the crew, can't wait for the big ANIMAL ABC next month in Madison, WI.
No problem at all. The ABC is gonna be insane this time! I'm also gonna stop down at Jakked on July 13th to train with you guys too.
Ernie Lilliebridge Sr
07-03-13, 1:46 am
July 13? Awesome! It's your favorite, heavy squat day! The one lift you didn't get a PR in at the JTS Seminar. Let's change that!