Training Today:
Bottom Up Press:
40kg x 1/1 x 2
36kg x 1/1 x 5
Cossack Squat w/ 8kg in rack x 5/5 x 7 +hip flexor stretch

Renegade Row
100lb x 8/8 x 4
Wall Slide x 10 x 4
SLDL 24kg in opposite hand x 6/6 x 4


"Cardio"
Battling Ropes x 1:00
Burpee + tuck jump x 10
4 rounds

Yesterday's Training:
Ring Muscle Ups +20lbs:
Superset with Airborne Lunge (single leg squat) +20lbs:
17 Muscle Ups and 40 AL's on each leg in 15:00

Superset
Pullup +30lbs: 12,9,7,6
Plyo Pushup +30lbs: 10, 8, 6, 6 (could have done more but wanted to be more explosive)

Finished with some med ball work and Jump rope.

Later did a bunch of swings.
Today: Long cycle with a pair of 24's for 20:00 with breaks, no counting.

Bottoms up!

This week is like a play week--still going to focus on moving better, but my mind needs a break from hard training.
Monday:
Bottom Up Press:
32kg x 3/3 x 5
32kg x 1/1 x about 10

Bottom Up Carry 50ft
20kg
24kg
32kg
40kg
48kg (only made it about 15 ft with this one)

Gripper closes: #2 for a bunch of singles on each side and a 10 second hold on the right--grip was very strong today and I also climbed the rope a few times.

Later that evening I did a bunch of snatches with a slick handle and no chalk and some medicine ball throws. Worked up a good sweat and went home. I'll probably do some get-ups today (tuesday).

Training from the last few days

Jiu Jitsu has been going well, rolled with a lot of brown and black belts past few days who were heavier than I and I did well so I am going to put some more focus in my jiu jitsu skills over the next few months--while trying to maintain everything else--which is a lot.

Wednesday:
Ring Muscle Up +20lbs
17 in 15:00min
Cossack Squat:
20/side in 15:00 +20lbs (done as active rest for muscle ups)

Pullup: 20lbs x 12,11,10,7
Plyo Pushup: 20lbs x 10,10,10,10

Thursday and Friday:
Lots of get-ups and windmills with a 16kg--seriously, it wasn't much and I rolled a lot of jiu jitsu and hit the heavy bag.
Will do something fun tomorrow.

Hill Sprints!

So, hill sprints completely rock. I hit about 15 hill sprints on a 75m steep hill. In terms of effectiveness for being "in shape," this is probably better than what 95% of the U.S. does in a given week.
Sad but true. Sprinting up a hill is good for you. Here is the secret hill sprint workout program:

Find Hill
Step 1: Sprint Up Hill
Step 2: Walk down hill (saunter, even)
Repeat until strong, fast, and "in shape."

My recent training log is going to be sporadic and incomplete. On purpose. I am working on something big and I am not finished experimenting. When I finish the experiment I will publish what I have done and what the results were, until then, I will keep you abreast of 80% of my training.

Warm up with Z, foam roll, windmill, get-ups, and Olympic Lifts

SLDL: 80kg x 6/6 x 4
BUP:
24kg x 5/5
32kg x 3/3 x 4 (Not used to doing more than one rep so this was good.)

Handstand Pushup x 5 x 5
Renegade Row: 100lbs x 8/8 x 5

32kg swing x 10/10 x 4

RKC Snatch Test-Revisited.

There are a number of reasons I don't like to do the snatch test. Ok well maybe just one: It's hard. 100 reps with a 55lber in 5:00 is a good measure of fitness. I didn't feel like running sprints today or having to drive just to get a workout. So I came back to my nemesis. I keep a pair of 24kg KB's at home for instances were I don't feel like going out, and believe me, a pair of 24kg bells is plenty for ANYONE to get a good workout. Of course just getting a good workout is not the main goal, but you can accomplish a lot with just that pair of bells. I needed conditioning work, so, enter the snatch test.

The past times I've done it to re-certify and there was no real pressure, I can finish at a slow pace and still make 100 reps in 5:00. Today I wanted to instead see just how fast I could make my 100 reps. So I went as fast as I possibly could.
So I almost killed myself without slowing down and finished in about 3:30. Which, let me tell you, is fast.

The point is, practice is important, but being a well rounded athlete with a complete program will really give you an edge no matter WHAT your endeavor happens to be. I attribute this fast time to my training which is well rounded giving me the strength to move the 24kg quickly, and the conditioning to do so at a constant (fast) pace.
What does your training do for you?

Training update for the week.

Tuesday I hit some sprints and a lot of agility training. Changing direction at speed, and being able to move freely is a very undervalued skill today but is great for overall "fitness."

Wednesday was supposed to be a pretty heavy training day, but that didn't happen. I ended up doing a lot of get-ups, windmills, hip complexes, stretching, z drills, handstands and swings. Hit the heavy bag afterward for a while. This is a great example of listening to your body. This isn't carte blanche to start slacking off and being a sissy, but you should try to train smart. I decided it was a good idea to push the training back a day rather than push my body to do something it wasn't readily willing to do.

Today:
Double Snatch+Press: 32kg x 5+3 x 5 (snatches were easy, presses were more challenging, possibly from the handstands yesterday)

Pullup: 20lbs x 10 x 5
Cossack Squat: 60lbs x 5/5 x 5

Ring Pushup: 20lbs x 15 x 3
Sled Power Pull: 200lbs x 10 pulls x 3 sets

Aaaaaand Done!

Training today was slow to start. But in my experience you can't force it, or you'll just end up hurting yourself...

Extra z and foam rolling

Power clean: 225x1x3

Sldl. 130lbsx8/8x4
Press 88lbsx4/4x4

Lots of ring work
Renegade rows
Ab wheel
Call it a day. Feeling good.

It should be noted that I did a bunch of getups and windmills during my warm up, as I usually do.

Training Update:

Wednesday I didn't do a lot of training, mostly bodyweight and rehab stuff.
Pullups: 3 x10 @ 40lbs
Front Squat: 48kg x 10 x 3

Sled Push/Drag for 10:00

Thursday: Turkey Day Mental Toughness Workout
Long Cycle Clean and Jerk: Double 24kgs x 220 reps. Brutal.

Friday: Rolled Jiu Jitsu with a 240lb brown belt for 1 hour 1-on-1.

Saturday (Today): Bodyweight sandbag clean and Push Press x 100 reps.
This was really hard, my forearms exploded about halfway through and it took me about an hour but I can't be too sure. Very tough. Finished with some sled drags.

I'm going to do a bunch of restorative training for 1-2 weeks until I feel good enough to start deadlifting heavy again--it's psychological but I'm going to work hard on unilateral exercises for the most part. That being said...

Power Clean:
225 x 1 x 5
Front Squat:
225 x 3 (I just did this on my last power clean to get a groove)

Superset
Bottom Up Press: 32kg x 3 x 5
Single Leg Deadlift: 100lbs x 8/8 x 5

One arm Military Press: 80lbs x 5/5 x 5
Bodyweight Row + 20lbs x 12, 12, 12, 10, 10

One arm Swing VO2 style
32kg bell
:15/:15 @ 10 reps per set
10:00 = 200 swings

Training update

Last week was a deload week and it felt great to lift easy weights, I bent a lot of steel and tore a couple phone books and hit the heavy bag a lot, but nothing to write home about.
This week I am supposed to have a muay thai fight on friday so I am still going to cut back on the training:
Yesterday I did a lot of Get-Ups and double snatches. Finished with some Long Cycle with a pair of 32's for 15 sets of 5, with 1:00 rest between sets.

More heavy bag today, nothing heavy this week.

Front squat
275x4
Sldl
48kgs x 8/8xe
Bodyweight row
+20lbs x 12x3

Another day, another rep PR5

Great training today, I noticed that I was very calm throughout--not psyched up at all, just calm.
Pullup:
4 chains + 15lbs x 5
4 chains +25lbs x 3
4 chains + 35lbs x 7
4 chains + 35lbs x 5

Ring Pushup
60lbs x 10
70lbs + Purple JS band x 5
85lbs + Purple JS band x 6, 5
Supersetted Pushups with
Double Snatch
32kg x 5,5,5,5,8

Pinch Grip lifting
70lbs on a 4" block x 1/1 x 3

Feeling really strong this week

Sweet PR today

Hit a nice rep PR in the deadlift today.
Warmed up with Power Snatches and Overhead squats

Deadlift:
395 x 5
415 x 3
460 x 5 *PR

Bulg Split Squat
95 x 8/8 x 3
Bodyweight row on rings
+40lbs x 8 x 3

Played around with some one arm snatches and windmills with 95, 115, and 135. Which after all that was probably not a good idea but I managed to nail a 1 arm snatch with 135 and then grab a 32kg bell 2 hands anyhow style.

Finished with a smoker and then heavy bag
1:00 battling ropes
10 burpees
5 rounds

Deadlifts felt so money, I will hit triple bodyweight this year.

Training from Friday:

Front Squat:
185 x 3
205 x 3
225 x 10

Back Squat (focused on speed):
225 x 10
185 x 5
135 x 5 x 3

Band Swing:
48kg + Green JS x 10 x 5
Renegade Row: 32kg x 8/8 x 5

I also worked on a Ton of Power Snatches and overhead squats both friday and saturday--technique is feeling very solid.
Apart from that I just recently built myself a loading pin so I'm going to be working on some more grip stuff as well.

Training from yesterday
Warmed up with barbell power snatches and overhead squats.
Also did some high box jumps and pistols.

Pullup
20lbs x 5
40lbs x 3
50lbs x 3
65lbs x 7,4

Ring Pushup
40lbs x 10
60lbs x 10
60lbs + Purple JS x 8, 8, 7

Double Snatch
32kg x 5 x 5

Squat Jump for max height x 10
Battling Ropes x 45 seconds
x 5 rounds

Felt awesome. Really happy with pullups and pushups.

Deadlift:
355 x 3
385 x 3
420 x 7

One arm row: 48kg x 10/10 x 3
SLDL: 48kg x 8/8 x 3
Short rest periods during that superset

Later on did 10 pullups followed by a 400m run, 3 times
then did 5 x 50m sprints.
Done and Done-kept one in the tank on deadlifts.

More training updates:
Continued to do my power snatches and overhead squats as a warm up and it felt good going up to 60kgs.

Front Squat:
135x5
155x5
165x5
175x5
185x10
Haven't front squatted in quite a while so I was happy with this.

Single leg Deadlifts 2x24kgs x 6/6 x 3
Ring Row: 15x3

Finished with some fun single leg bodyweight stuff.

Jiu Jitsu and Muay Thai both that day so training volume went down.

Saturday:
Shadow boxing x 1 minute x 15 rounds
Mobility work

Litvinov (sort of)
10 Squat jumps for max height followed by a 75m uphill sprint x 5 rounds (which was plenty!)
done, stretch, back on monday.

Day 2 of this training block went like this:
Note: Before each training session I will be doing a combination of Power snatches and overhead squats with a bar going up to 70-80kgs depending on how I feel.

Pullup:
10lbs x 5
20lbs x 5
30lbs x 5
40lbs x 5
45lbs x 10
(I didn't think I would get nearly that many reps as I haven't trained weighted pullups for a while, but, then again, the TSC results were a nice surprise too)

Ring Pushup
20lbs x 10
40lbs x 10
40lbs + Purple JS Band x 10 x 2 (Brutal!)
After each set of push ups I knocked off 10 double swings with a pair of 40s to head height.

Finished with some 48kg one arm swings supersetted with burpees
Another good day, still a bit sore from monday deadlifts.

Training Today: Starting a pretty heavy cycle for 4 weeks.
Deadlift:
255x5
295x5
315x5
335x5
355x11
All pulls were double overhand except for last set. Glutes and hams were on fire.

Double MP: 32kg x 5 x 3
One arm Row: 48kg x 12 x 3

48kg swing x 8/arm with wool gloves
10 burpees
3 rounds
Finished with 100 sledge strikes

Tactical Strength Challenge--The Return!

So I decided to test myself, I have no appreciable injuries and I was only a little bit lazy. Here are my scores:
Deadlift: 525
I was very happy with this deadlift because I haven't pulled that heavy in a lonnnggg time. First attempt was at 495 and that felt really good so went straight to 515 and then 525. My form was ugly, no doubt, but this is a MAX MAX lift. 10 lbs shy of triple bodyweight.
Pullups @ 22lbs x 16. This was not great but I'm still ok with it. I actually rested for a good 30 seconds hanging from the bar and squeaked out 2 more reps--probably not smart as it torched my grip for snatches.

5:00 Snatch test @ 32kg
109 reps--Very happy with this, I must confess that my form was less than crisp but I was focusing on easy breathing and flow. It worked out to my favor because I can actually walk today. I also used a GS bell, smaller handle made this much easier.

Deadlift: 525
Pullups: 16
Snatches: 109

Training Update

Last weeks training looked like this:

Wednesday:
Ring work (front lever progressions, think heavy pulling)

Pullup x 10
Double KB Front Squat x 10 @ 24kgs
Burpee x 10
Repeated 7 times, resting after Burpees for 1-2 minutes depending on how I felt--I was able to finish fairly quickly

Thursday:
Clean and Press 32kg x 5
Clean and Jerk 32kg x 10
switch arms and repeat on right side
5 swings per arm as crisp as possible
Repeated this little circuit 5 times, I was happy to get the presses on the last set.


Friday:
Lots of Get-Ups to windmill and many sets of 15 pullups throughout the day.
My goal is to try to build up to around 30 pullups in a row on the straight bar.
I also did a few short sets of one arm swings with the 48kg before going to jiu jitsu.

Saturday:
A few get-ups on each side and then "VO2 Max".
Ok, so it wasn't really VO2 max, but it was challenging. Here's what I did.

:30 work/:30 rest
15 reps per set @ 24kg
For 20 rounds

This was pretty tough, but I was surprised to be able to finish my reps. Felt so happy that I jumped down and immediately busted out 25 burpees to really Finish. Heart rate was 209 after the burpees, but after 1 minute of rest it was back down to 144 so I was pleased with my recovery.

More to come next week, stay tuned...

Movement. More important than weight?

I love to lift heavy things. It makes me feel cool. But more important than lifting something heavy is to move efficiently. Maybe the amount of weight is not as important as how the force is applied.
I never thought I would say that.
But it's true. Revisiting the Swing and Get-Up has been truly eye opening for me. In the last few weeks I have unlocked my hip flexors unleashing the power of the glutes and hamstrings and also truly found my lats.
I haven't gone heavier than 16kg for the Get-Ups. The swings I have stuck with one arm swings at 40kg.
Yesterday I did a fun little workout focusing on movement--not on weight.
Ladder from 16kg to 48kg.
Get-Up 16kg x 1/1
Swing 16kg x 8/8
Repeat with 20kg, 24kg, 28kg, 32kg, 36kg, 40kg, 48kg and all the way back down 40,36,32,28,24,20,16.

The movement was the same. Strict, crisp, connected. This session consisted of 240 swings and 30 get-ups. The swings were rest from the get-ups and vice versa. I did take a short break (60 seconds or less) after the 48kg swings.
The movement was the same.
So the next time you enter the gym, garage, shed, yard, wherever you train, ask yourself; How is my movement?

The Swing is the center of the universe

Brett Jones had a great quote at the RKC in San Diego recently regarding the Swing and the Get-up;
"The swing is my favorite, Get-up more favorite"
Lately my training has been primarily that. So this leads me to look at the swing with more attention.
The snatch gets a lot of hype but the swing is the center of the universe. If you don't have a swing, you don't have a snatch. just doing swings is enough. You think the swing is too easy? How about one arm swings with a 40kg for sets of 8/side on the minute for 12 minutes. Oh right, that's what I did today--and it was brutal.

You get a higher cadence than with the snatch, you can use more weight. The swing is king.
Now that I got that out of my system here's what else I did today.
Bottom Up Press
24kg x 8/8 x 3
24kg x 5/5 x 5
Bottom Up Squat
24kg x 5/5 x 5
Bottom Up Windmill
24kg x 1/1 x 3

Did the swings later and then hit the heavy bag.

On monday I did tabata one arm swings with a 32kg getting 5 reps per set and immediately followed that with tabata burpees and got 8 reps per set.
So:
Tabata one arm swing @ 32kg (switch arms each round)
10,10,10,10,10,10,10,10
Tabata Burpee
8,8,8,8,8,8,8,8
THAT was tough but it's going to be my new benchmark because it was really, really hard.

Lots of Get-Ups and One arm swings since my last post. Nothing heavier than 24kg for the get-ups. Mostly doing arm bar + get-up + arm bar with brettzel in between. Today I did more of the same...
16kg arm bar + get-up + windmill + arm bar x 1/1 x 5
Rope Climb x 5 (+20lbs)

Bottom Up Press + Squat: 24kg x 2/2 x 4
Beat up the heavy bag for a while.
2nd session
Foam rolling, prep work, z drills, 1 get-up per side.

Tabata 1 arm swing @ 32kg
10,10,10,10,10,10,10,10
Tabata Burpee
8,8,8,8,8,8,8,7
Done Back-To-Back---That was freaking brutal. I am afraid of doing that again

Some cool stuff yesterday...

Z drills and prep stuff--if you are curious about what I do just shoot me a message or leave a comment.

TGU (KS Style)
16kg x 1/1 x 3
24kg x 1/1 x 2

Double Bottom Up C+P+FS
24kg x 1 x 8
24kg x 2 x 1

Bottom up Press + windmill
24kg x 1/1 x 2

Single Bottom Up C+FS+P
24kg x 5/5 x 2

Some cool combo work all done with double 24kgs:
Snatch x 8
Press x 8
Clean x 8
Front Squat x 8
That was probably the most challenging

Then I did:
Snatch x 8
Clean and Press x 8
Front Squat x 4
Swing x 8
Also very difficult

Then I did some armor building:
1 clean, 1 front squat
2 clean, 2 front squat...
up to 5, and I did that twice

Finished with some crisp one arm swings and burpees for a few rounds until my lungs exploded.

The bottom up work was done GTG style throughout a long period of time while doing paperwork/computer stuff.

More Bottoms Up fun

Warmed up with Z drills and joint mobility, ASLR, etc. (If you are curious about what anything is just leave a comment or shoot me a message and I'll give you the rundown.)

Get-Up (KS style)
16kg x 1/1 x 8
Pullup
7x8
1x10

Double Bottom Up Front Squat + see saw press: 5 + 3 x 3

Bottom Up Press + Front Squat:
32kg x 1/1 (right/left) x 3
Bottom Up Front Squat + Press:
32kg x 1/1 x 3

One arm Swing: 40kg x 10/10
L Sit on Parallettes: 20 seconds
Did that for 8 rounds with minimal rest only after L-Sit; focused on explosiveness and dropped to 7 reps/side on swings at round 5

Stretching and Z drills to cool down.

Advanced Bottom Up Drills

Played with lots of variations today--doubles and singles. Liked the Bottom up Press and Front Squat combo the best.
Work up to 5 of each with a 24kg and you should be set. Really helps you stay tight through the body.

Article: High Tension Techniques

http://www.dragondoor.com/articler/mode3/536/

Secrets to boost your heavy lifts.

Post Fight Recap

Had my pankration fight today and my opponent bowed out at 175lb advanced class. So I ended up fighting a really big 187lb fighter. I weighed in at 172.5 so there was nearly a 15lb weight difference!
The head of the competition offered me a refund or he said I could fight this guy. I didn't go there to lose.
This was a true test for me. (note: advanced means that you have been doing pankration for at least 24months--I started in march of this year)
Right from the start I asserted myself landing a lot of quick switch kicks and ended up putting him to the ground with a couple of brutal clinch knees (the referee should have given me a TKO right then but instead gave the guy about 30 seconds to recover). My opponent was definitely physically intimidating at his size (Taller and more muscular) but I was physically dominant during the fight and my clinch was very strong. To his credit he was a great wrestler and took me down a few times but I was able to reverse him powerfully (I credit strong hip and core strength).
In the end I had done a lot more damage and the final straw was throwing him into the judges table and landing a solid kick to his ribs while he was down. Ultimately I am grateful for the mishap because I was more challenged fighting a bigger, faster opponent.
I think my strength and conditioning played a huge part in my victory.

Fight Details: August 22nd

The National Guard Armory
7401 Mesa College Dr.
San Diego, Ca 92111
From 6:00 AM To 8:00 AM

I'll be doing the advanced Pankration tournament at noon. Come check it out, should be a good time.
Nothing worthy of posting regarding training. Mostly resting and hitting the pads/heavy bag lightly along with some mobility and Z drills, don't want to burn out before fight.

Lots of mobility and Z drills today

Box jumps @ 40" x 8 x 3 sets

Goblet Squat @ 24kg superset with corrective drills and hip flexor stretch.

Burpee+Pullup Combo x 100
I started with 5 on the minute and then pushed a little harder toward the end to finish in a little under 18 minutes.
This sucked.

Later in the day ran sprints barefoot
10 x 80m
then Hit the heavy bag for 30 minutes
Good day, going to take the lifting easy tomorrow and focus on striking.

The necessity of relaxation.
I've been training hard for a while for all of my athletic endeavors and it's important to recognize when you need a break. Physically and mentally.
So that's what I've been doing this past week. Nothing crazy but I've been eating whatever I want (nothing too bad) and exercising how I want. Mostly just playing. Don't get complacent, but don't overstress yourself, it's counterproductive.
I also notched a deck of casino cards, never done that before. Looks like a shark bite to me.

Taking the week off...sort of.

This week is a good off week, but I wanted to make sure I use my time wisely..
Here's what I've been doing...
Handstands
Pullups
Airborne Lunges (essentially a single leg squat with non-working leg behind you.
Z drills, Joint mobility
KB swings
Hitting the heavy bag
Next week I'll ramp back up again, but this is a great place to be during my rest week.

Fight Recap

I won my fight on friday night. Here's how it went down...
The commission was an hour and a half late so there was a delay--no big deal.
My opponent, after watching me warm up, requested that the rules be changed to allow headgear and shin guards. --I was not happy about this.
I protested but the athletic commission cannot force a fighter to fight even if he had agreed beforehand. So I was forced to wear headgear but not shinguards--he wore both. There was fear in his eyes.
The fight begins and I throw a knee to the chest and we clinch up and trade a few knees. I nearly throw him out-of-bounds trying to throw a slingshot knee. My opponent throws a few kicks at my head that I block with my elbow. A minute and 10 seconds in to the fight he throws a right kick that I check with my shin and immediately follow with a left kick to his body, right cross, left hook angled upward and knock him out. With headgear. Everything feels good and I'm looking forward to fighting again.
I feel like my conditioning was good although the fight wasn't long enough for it to be truly tested. Taking the week "off" but I'll do some light kettlebell work.

Fight Night coming up

I haven't been inactive, just nothing exceptional to blog about training-wise.
My fight is coming up this friday--anyone in the area should come out for a night of combat.

Battle of Champions Event
San Diego Swiss Park 2001 Main Street Chula Vista Ca 91911
Friday July 31st at 8:00pm Gates will open at 6:00pm

Mostly rehab and prehab stuff with some KB-yoga. I'll beat the crap out of the heavy bag and go for a swim later.

I was feeling sick for a few days so I took off training--did some mobility work and stretching but that was it.
Tuesday:
Ring Muscle Ups
1 Ladder to 5 + 5
Pistols
Bodyweight x 10/10 x 2
Long Cycle C+J:
2x24kg, 2:00 @ 10 rpm w/ 1:00 rest x 3
1:00 @ 12 rpm x 2, 1:00 rest between

Yesterday:
Ring Muscle Up x 100
Overhead Squat x 50
Pistol x 50/side

This was done in sets from 3-5 interspersed with rehabilitative work, corrective exercise, and stretching.

Sprinted on the beach 100yds x 5 as a finisher and swam.

ASLR
Single leg deadlift: 2x24kg x 5/5 x 8
Ring Muscle Up: 4 x 8

Pullups x 15 x 1

Smoker:
:36 work/:36 rest
Snatch Left
Snatch Right
Burpee
went for 12 minutes + 20 burpees.

Deadlift:
395 x 5 x 1
405 x 5 x 2

Ring Muscle Up:
6,5,5,5

Goblet Squat: 32kg x 10 x 2
Plate curl: 25lbs x 9/9

Lots of muay thai sparring--fighting on the 31st

Training lately has really been uninteresting. But very beneficial. I think there's a lesson hidden there.
Saturday I deadlifted light. 375 x 5 x 2
Long Cycled: 2x24kgs for one 4:00 set
5 rounds:
48kg Swing x10
Burpee x 10

Monday:
Deadlift:
385 x 5 x 1
405 x 4 x 2
Ring Muscle Up: 8,5,5,5
Plate Curl: 25lbs + 1 chain for 2/1, 1/1

Training is very specific--will do some long cycle today (tuesday). Not at all sore from deadlifting which is good.

Adding weight to the Bottom Up Press

Progressing, in many ways. Here's what I did today:
Thick Bar DL:
225 x 5
285 x 1
295 x 1
305 x 1
Oly Bar DL:
355 x 5 x 1
385 x 5 x 2
A lot of pulling today and felt strong all the way through--awesome.
Bottom Up Press:
32kg x 2/2
32kg + 10lb chain x 3/3
32kg + 20lb chains x 2/1
32kg + 30lb chains x 1/0
Huge new PR for BUP--the chains are a great way to progressively add weight as shown here:



Slow Muscle Ups on Rings: 8, 5, 5
Plate Curl: 25 x 8/8, 6/6, 5/5

Punches and kicks on heavy bag.
Overall great strength day.

Been training a lot of fighting this week so training has been mostly more of the same...
Deadlift
Ring Muscle ups (These build a very solid muay thai clinch!)
A good 50% of my training right now is corrective work.
More deadlifting to come today.
Yesterday I also did a few sets of long cycle.

Deadlift:
355 x 5, 375 x 5
385 x 4 x 2

BUP: 32kg x a lot of doubles

Hub lift: 35 x 2/2 x 5

Muscle Up: +10lbs x 6,6,6

Plate Curl: 25lbs x 10/8, 8/7, 6/5
Hang from fat bar with leg raise until death.

Deadlift:
375 x 5 x 2 (felt REALLY easy, I've been pulling 3x a week and I'm not burnt out on it, ramping up slowly, feels good)
Bottom up Press:
32kg x 2 x about 5 sets

Muscle ups on rings: 8, 6, 5
Going to hit 10 soon with no kip whatsoever.
BJJ at noon.
Muay Thai tonight.
Feeling good--bodyweight is around 179 and strength is up.

Deadlift: 365 x 5 x 2
Bottom Up Press: 32kg x a ton of solid singles

Slow controlled ring muscle ups: 6 x 4 sets
Plate Curls: 25 x 8/8, 8/6, 6/5

Long Cycle Clean and Jerk: 20kg x 50 reps, untimed.

Muay Thai tonight!

Deadlift: 350 x 5 x 5
BU Press: 32kg x a lot of singles
Press: 40kg x 1/1

Goblet Squats and bodyweight pullups as a finisher

3 hours of Jiu Jitsu in the evening so took the training easy.

Bottom Up Press: 32kg x a lot of singles, some doubles
ABC Pullups x 5 sets

Muscle Up on rings x 5 x 3

Plate curls: 25 x 6/6 x 3

Muay Thai for 2 hrs.
Finished muay thai with tabata burpees.
10, 10, 10, 9, 9, 8, 8, 8. Shooting for 8 sets of 10 but that is going to be really tough.
Hoping to get outside to do some sled work and some heavy gs today.

2x 24kg Long Cycle:
5:00 @ 8rpm --new personal best for time
2:00 @ 10rpm

Rope climb x 5 no feet
plate curls 25lbs x 6/8 x 3

Hill Sprint: 75m x 15 trips (this sucked, and I was sucking wind)

Yesterday hit some light bottom up pressing with the 32kg for a lot of singles and doubles supersetted with mobility work; then went to BJJ for 2.5hrs. Going to rest today.

Bottom up press tips

Also got some training in:
LCCJ: 2x24kgs 2min @12rpm x 3 sets

Litvinov Hill Sprints: double 28kg snatch x 8 followed by 75m hill sprint x 3 sets
finished with some extra hill sprints.

Mostly mobility and recovery, but got some real work in too...

Strict Muscle Up: 5 x 5

Sledge Levering and Plate curls
Long Cycle C+J: 2 x 24kg: 15/15/15 didn't have a timer working.

Burpee x 30 as fast as possible

Recovery

A lot of things can come up on you all at once; my hip was killing me on sunday and the next day I felt sick as a dog--so no heavy weights for me. Foam rolled for a good half hour swam for a while and stretched. It's important that when things look grim, you look to do what you can; for me this is rehab/prehab and recovery work. So even though it's a huge bummer that I can't train--life goes on, and I'll work on what I can until I'm back ready to hit it hard again.

Long Cycle w/ 28's
1 min of work @6rpm
1 min rest
repeated 15 times
This was a "skill" workout, not trying to get smoked.
Long cycle w/ 24's
3 min @ 8rpm
3 min @ 8rpm

Dan John inspired Clean + FS "progressive complex" (I came up with the name myself, genius, I know.
Done with double 24's without setting bells down. Ever.
1 Clean
1 Front Squat
2 Cleans
2 Front Squats
3/3
4/4
5/5
6/6
progressed up to 6 reps of each, this catches up with you quickly and surprised me at the difficulty.

Ran a few sprints earlier in the day: about 5 x 50m

Thursday:
KB juggling @ 24kg
Slick handle snatches w/ 24kg x 35/35 (grip was toasted)
Slick handle swing w/ 24kg x 40/40 (grip was even more toasted)
Played tennis and did some hill sprints.

Friday's plan is to do some light kb work and pistols;
BJJ @ noon, Muay Thai at 7pm.

I also did some long cycle with a couple of 20kgs for 6:00, longest set I've ever done for long cycle.

Been busy getting stuff together for my business move so I have had abbreviated sessions this week...
Monday:
Deadlift: 405 x 1 x 20 (short rest, a lot of solid, easy pulls)
Hub Lift: 2x35lbs x 2 x 3
Jerk: 2x24kgs:
3:00 @ 12rpm
3:00 @ 8rpm
3:00 @ 10rpm
BJJ for 2 hours

Tuesday:
24kg long cycle x 3:00/side
rest :30
24kg jerk x 3:00/side
rest :30
24kg clean x 3:00/side
Finished with some kb juggling, mostly figure 8's.

Wednesday (today):
Bottom Position Rack BP
185 x 5
205 x 2
225 x 1 x 2

KB Front Squat:
64kg x 8 x 2
80kg x 5 x 2

Rope Climb: 25' x 5 trips no feet
Muay Thai for 1.5hrs
Maintaining weight at 179 and don't feel too much weaker.

Me and Valery Fedorenko.


Now a qualified AKC club coach. Learned a lot; felt great. Lots of interesting things to think about and drills to help me achieve some higher numbers and better times for my jerk sets (going to pick those up again with my new knowledge).
Valery was a great instructor and I'm glad I went through it. I was also lucky enough to meet Catherine Imes there as well who was an excellent instructor.

Quick workout:
Bottom position rack BP:
185 x 5
205 x 3
215 x 1
225 x 1 x 2
KB Front Squat:
64kg x 8 x 3
88kg x 5 x 3

Clapping Pullup x 10 x 3
Med ball lateral throw x 8/8 x 3

Muay thai for 2 hrs
Finished Muay Thai with tabata burpees; hit 10 reps/set for the first few, finished with 9's. When I can hit 10's and still be explosive for all 8 rounds I will be strong and well conditioned.

Deadlift:
365 x 5 x 3
385 x 5 x 1

One arm Barbell Military Press:
85 x 5/5 x 4 (last few reps turned into side press)


Keg Clean and Press x 6
Keg Zercher Squat x 6
Rest 1:00 and repeat for 10 rounds. 1:00 work 1:00 rest, finished early on some sets so took more rest. Biceps and shoulders are fried from holding the keg in zercher position and my body and legs are cooked. This is not fun with a 120lb keg. I do not recommend this circuit for anyone who isn't completely crazy.

20kg Pistol x 5/5
Handstand Pushup x 8
repeated 5 times

Long Cycle Clean and Jerk
5:00 @ 20kg (didn't count reps, went fast though)

Tabata burpee w/ 20lb weight vest.
That was brutal. Ouch.

TGU: 16kg x 1/1 x 2
Lots of Joint mobility and Z drills

Double 28kg bells:
Press x 6
Squat x 8
rest and repeat 4 times (The front squats immediately after the presses helped me find a strong abdominal bracing effect and shoulder work.

Bodyweight Pullup: 3 x 10

One arm swings: 28kg x 5:00 switching every 15 or so--set it down a couple times.
Heavy bag work and a tennis match.

PR Deadlift:
One of my all-star clients, Cora pulled an easy 270lbs the other day...

She would kill me if I mentioned how old she is, but it makes it all the more impressive.

My training today:
TGU+OHS+Arm Bar: 24kg x 1/1 x 3

24kg Snatch: 100 reps in just over 3:00. This would qualify as an easy pass for the RKC standard snatch test.


Kicked the heavy bag and worked some combos for 20:00.

Flat Bench: 185 x 5 x 5 (Done from chest in power rack--dead stop style)
Front Squat: (Also done dead stop style from bottom position in power rack)
185 x 5
235 x 5
265 x 2,3
Supersetted with DB Row:
140 x 8/8 x 3

Med Ball Lateral throw 8lbs: 8/8 x 3
Flag 5 x 3

Burpee :30
Jump Rope :40
rest :10
repeat 10 times and fall down.

Tonic Lifting

Lots of mobility work, Z drills

Deadlift:
355 x 5 x 4 sets

One arm Military Press:
40kg x 1/1 x 11 sets (done in just under 15 min, all the reps were very easy)

Med Ball Lateral Throw: 8lbs x 8/8 x 3
Flag: 5 x 3

Sandbag Clean and Press x 10
Sandbag Squat x 10
rest 1:00
repeated 3 times

Happy Memorial Day!

Friday:
No BJJ or Muay Thai, some shadowboxing
Double Clean+Press
28kg x 5 x 5
Double Clean + Front Squat
28kg x 5 x 5

See Saw Press
28kg x 5/5 x 2

Swing 28kg x 50/50

Friday:
Band resisted hill sprints with partner
About 20-30 sec of work followed by 1:00rest (including walk back down)
Done for 12 min--brutal.

50m sprint x 4

Litvinov Sled work
28kg double snatch x 8 + 40m sled push
rest 3:00
repeat 4 times.
Stretch and DONE!
Very simple, but not easy.
Going to play tennis later :)

Ouch

So it's been a while since I've posted and here's the recap:
Saturday I won the Pankration tournament for my weight class (175). Then 15 minutes later I also won the No-Gi Jiu Jitsu tournament. It was an awesome day and I felt like my strength and conditioning really carried me to the top.
The bad news: Jammed the hell out of my left thumb during on of the BJJ matches so I'm on IR for probably a week (might be broken, going to get an X ray tomorrow if pain doesn't subside). Today was a tonic training session--not a normal day.

Dead Start BB Flat Bench (done from chest in power rack):
185 x 5 x 5
KB Row:
88 x 15/15 x 5

Jumping Pistols: 5/5 x 5
MB lateral Throw: 8lbs x 8/side

Tabata Burpee high Jump: 8 sets of 9
Burpees felt good-felt very explosive and got good hang time on each rep.

Now That's...a whoopin'

Round 1


Round 2


Round 3

Cut

Weighed in at 172.5lbs...time to eat!


This is what 172.5lbs looks like:





Diet, exercise, and perseverance.

Online Training and pre-fight jitters

I've had a few clients of mine have to stop seeing me due to reasons beyond their control. Our schedules just wouldn't mesh with kids/work/family etc. They still wanted the guidance and care that I could bring to the table in their training. So I wrote out programs for them--it was only fair that I do it for free after their past loyalty. Long story short, they were very happy with the results and told their friends. So I'm going to offer online training for anyone who needs my guidance to reach their fitness goals. One thing I've had a lot of success doing is "making do with what you have, where you are." Even though I have a lot of fun toys at the gym, I've gotten some pretty fantastic results from bodyweight and dumbbells only.

On a personal note, my body is electric right now, weigh ins are in 24 hours and I feel as if I could take on the world right now.

Played around with some grip stuff and a 16kg kb today just to stay loose for the fight...
Lots of Z and Joint mobility
16kg get up x 1/1 x 2

hub lift:
double 35's x 2 x 3 (new PR, never lifted 2 35's at the same time)
45lbs x 1/miss *PR surprisingly the left hand went up but failed on the right (and I'm a righty)

Going to hit the pads lightly tonight at Muay Thai (no sparring)

Probably my last real "training" day before the fight saturday...
TGU: 28kg x 2/2 + armbar
Snatch 10/10 x 2
JM and Z drills
Windmill 5/5 x 2

Keg shouldering 120lbs x 2:00 on 1:00 off x 4 rounds. Felt pretty good once I got the hand positioning figured out. I'll get a vid of some of this fun conditioning stuff sometime soon, right now eyes are on the prize.
May go for a swim later.

Scaling back for this week...
TGU: 16kg x 5/5 x 2
Pistol: bodyweight x 5/5 x 2

BB hang power clean + Jerk + Slow negative military press:
185 x 3 x 1
205 x 2 x 1
225 x 1 x 2

DB row: 125 x 7/7 x 4
MP: 32kg x 2/2 x 4

32kg KB
5 snatch
5 clean
5 squat
5 swing
switch arms, repeat other side
repeated twice
followed immediately by 20 burpees
BJJ later-technique only

Saturday Conditioning:
TGU+Armbar 16kg x 3/3 x 2
Pullup: bw x 10 x 2

15:00 circuit:
10 double clean
10 burpee broad jump
10 med ball slam
10 tuck jump
100 rope jumps
repeated for 15:00

Leg and lung burner- kept a pretty decent pace (like a fight would be). Resting tomorrow. Will train light monday and wednesday; rest thursday friday before the fight!

Thursday:
Snatch 24kg
40/40
followed by swings, 40/40
Stretch and inversion.

Friday:
TGU @ 16kg x 8/8, 5/5, 2/2
Pullup: b/w x 10 x 3
Cossack Squat: 16kg x 8/8 x 2
BJJ for an hour,
Muay thai tonight if I feel up to it.

Thursday:
TGU to kneel:
28kg x 3/3 x 3
light swings between sets of getups

Kb juggling 28kg about 10 min

KB complex:
7 swing
7 C+Press
7 Front Squat
7 Snatch
repeat with other arm
Sprint 50m
rest 2:00, repeat 3 times
Finished with overhead walk x 50m each arm x 2 trips

Friday (today):
Single leg deadlift 5x5 @ 24kg (easy)

Wide Grip Pullup:
24kg x 2 x 15
Pistol:
bodyweight x 5/5 x 15

One arm row:
125lbs x 5/5 x 3
MP
40kg x 1/1 x 2, 2/2 x 1

Conditioning:
1:00 sandbag clean x 5 + carry 40ft
10 burpees
1:00 sandbag clean x 5 + carry 40ft
rest 1:00
repeat 3 times
DONE!
Muay thai later tonight.

Warm up, lots of Z.
TGU:
16kg x 8/8--this told me a lot of things.

Power Clean+Push Press
210 x 3 x 3

Hang Power Clean
210 x 3 x 3

Front Squat:
285 x 3 x 4

KB Complex w/ double 28kgs:
Snatch x 5
Clean x 5
Clean + Push Press x 5
Swing x 5
Burpee x 5
rest 1:00
repeated 3 times
Finished third set with 15 EXPLOSIVE burpees.

BJJ tonight

Thursday's training:
2 arm jerk @ 28kg
2:00 on @ 12rpm
1:00 rest
repeated 5 times

Friday:
One arm C+P: 40kg x 1/1 x 10
One arm Row: 130 x 6/6 x 5
Pistol: bodyweight x 10/10 x 5

BJJ for an hour at noon
Muay thai for 2 hours at 7pm.

Feeling good.

Solid

I was feeling a bit sore so I took it easy in the gym.
Clean and Press: 40kg x 2 x 12
Wide Grip Pullup: 12kg x 5 x 12
Rest 1 hour for client
UST: 32kg x 10:00 for max reps
Started out by knocking out 10/10/10/10/10 without setting it down as fast as possible--this gave me a good head start.
Then at minute five I begged for death--I was over 120 reps though so I figured it was smooth sailing to 200 total.
I was wrong.
Grip gave out.
Back gave out.
I almost gave up.
Seriously I don't know why I do this. Oh right, Jared Savik. I'm going to be sore for days I already know it. Thanks a lot.
Ended up with 184--I was down to doing 3 on the left side and really gave it hell on the right side to a solid finish the bell stayed in the palm of my hand the fingers hurt so bad.
In other news, I ripped 4 callouses clear off my hand.
184, Jared. 184.

Update: It's a little after 6pm and my hands and body just plain hurt--off to Muay thai. Thanks again, Jared.

Joint mobility warm up
Snatch 24kg x 25/25
More joint mobility

75m sprint up hill w/ 20lb vest
15:00 on the minute
Each trip took about 12 seconds, the walk back down took about 40 which left about 8 seconds of rest.
My lungs and legs were on fire by the end.

Saturday: Torture.
SSST: 248 reps with the 24kg in 10:00. Truthfully I don't see how I could have moved the bell any faster without compromising form and complete lockouts.
Sunday: Nada, Rest and Relaxation.
Monday:

Hang Power Clean+Push Press:
155 x 5
175 x 5
185 x 5
195 x 5
215 x 1 x 2

EDT 15:00
Bulgarian Split Squat: 175 x 3/3
2" Rope Pullup: 35lbs x 5
completed 6 rounds + another set of pullups

Double 24kg jerk:
:45/:45rest, 10:00 (hit at least 15-20 reps per set)
Swing @ 24kg 50/50 x 1

BJJ Tonight.

Playing with the Big boys

Today was a slow start with a huge finish:

Training:
Lots of Z +Joint mobility warm up

Rope pullup: BW x 10 x 5
Snatch:
6:00 @ 15 rpm one hand switch
5:00 @ 15 rpm one hand switch

Sandbag Clean, carry 40ft, drop, repeat
6:00 nonstop
pick it up, carry it, drop it, pick it up and walk again. This took a lot of mental toughness--sandbag weighs somewhere in the ballpark of 150lbs.

Muay Thai tonight: Sparred with some big dudes today (230, 250lbs) including a guy who is one of Tim Sylvia's (former ufc heavyweight champion, yes that guy) training partners. I'm still alive, landed some solid shots and knockdowns. In other news, I'm down to 179.8lbs.
First fight is May 16th in san diego--should be nice to fight someone who only weighs 175.

32kg Jerk
3:00 @ 6rpm
3:00 @ 6rpm
3:00 @ 6rpm
1:00 @ 21 rpm

Sled Push to the death 10:00

Double 40's all day

Meant to DL today but it just didn't feel good so I played--still hit the posterior chain hard though!

Double 40kg flips:

Best was 6 flips, worst was zero. Somewhere around 6 sets
Double high pulls: 40kg x 10 x 3 (focusing on height)

Gorilla Cleans: 40kg x 10 x 3

48kg flips:
5 sets, best was around 12 reps, worst was zero (hey, sometimes you just miss)

Thick BB Complex @ 155lbs.
7 RDL
7 Row
7 Push Press
10 Jump Squat
1:00 rest between rounds x 3 rounds.

Muay Thai tonight

All Double 32kg's today

Juggling for about 10 min with rest breaks mixed in some double snatches

Gorilla cleans x 10/side x 3 sets w/ shadow boxing active recovery (these were tough, but fun)

LCCJ: 2:00/1:00 rest x 3 rounds felt pretty good here, the rack position continues to be the hardest part grip held up surprisingly well.

One arm Jerk: 32kg x 2:00/side x 1 set (sprint style)
50m sprint x 5
Farmers walk to the death (back to the car which was well over 150 yds)

Good weekend--moved around a bit, no real training but I did some hub lifting and did some bike sprints on saturday.

Today's Training:
Hang Power Clean
205 x 2 x 2

Hang Power Clean+Push Press
205 x 1 x 18

Hub lifting: 44lbs x 1/1 new PR (I've been doing a ton of hub lifts lately-used a 25lb plate with chains--great for adding weight.)

SLDL to targets + lunge complex
Hip Flexor Stretch

One arm LCCJ
48kg x 2/2 x 5 without setting the bell down
GTG pullups all day

5 rounds
2:00 w/1:00rest
:30 sandbag shoulder+carry 20 yards, repeat
:30 2"x50' battling ropes
I really kicked it into high gear and my heart rate was around 205bpm.

Thursday:
50m sprint x 5
KB juggling, single and double 32's

Snatch 28kg x 1:00/side x 3

Double Jerk 28kg x 2:00 x 3

One arm LCCJ: 32kg x 20:00--switched after every 5 for the most part--towards the end I was switching every rep or 2.
50m sprint x 1
Later that day I tore a deck of cards: They were smaller than standard size and it took me well over 5 minutes--bummer, but I did it.

Friday:
Pistol: 10/10 x 2
Pullup: 15 x 3
BJJ for an hour
BB Complex on 2" bar:
150x5 each of
RDL
Row
Power Clean
Push Press
3 sets

Muay Thai scheduled for tonight

*Note:
I'm going to be doing more conditioning work for the next few weeks; I have a pankration fight on may 16th and I have to get down to 175 (pretty light for me!) So for now, my training will reflect that...

Double Jerk:
48kg x 2 x 3
Double Jerk
40kg x 10 x 2

Pullup: Bodyweight x 15 x 6 (spread throughout workout/day)

SLDL: 24kg x 5/5 x 5
Hub Lift: 35lbs x 2/2 x 4
Plate pinch: 2 x 35lbs x 1/1 x 4


7 rounds:
48kg swing x :30
Plank x :30
rest x :30

Muay Thai Tonight

Monday Training:
Hang Power Clean:
205 x 3/3 x 3

GTG pullups all day: Somewhere in the ballpark of 20-30 sets of 5-8

Jiu Jitsu for 2 hours in the pm.

Today:
Hill Sprints with 84lb vest--10 x approx 50m
84lb vest walk with 10 jump squats on the minute for max height.

Ultimate Clean and Jerk 10:00 @ 40kg

This was pretty tough. The unfortunate part is that I had some left in the tank at the end. Finished with 81 reps. I've practiced a bunch of one arm jerks but almost no long cycle for any duration--definitely should have been better prepared. I think with some work I can hit 90+ reps.

I'm teaching myself to juggle. For the record, this journey began on Monday, April 6th. The initial reason was because a smart person told me that it was a good way to improve my vision. I think that my hand-eye coordination will improve and it will make the mechanoreceptors in my hands more active/agile.
Also it makes you look cool and will probably make women like me.

Training Today:
Z drills, foam rolling

Single 32kg TGU x 4
Double 32kg TGU x 1
Double 40kg TGU: Failed Couldn't get off the ground to sitting--can't generate enough momentum.

Double 40kg Jerk x 6 x 4, did 10 reps on the 5th set
Rope Pullup x 10 x 3

Double 24kg Jerk: 1:00work, 1:00 rest x 3-- 25-30 reps per set.

*Double 40kg jerks were hard, mainly because of the sheer size (but the weight was freakin' heavy too!)

Human Tricks

Training for Wednesday:
Hang Power Clean: 185 x 5 x 5
Bulgarian Split Squat: 135 x 5, 185 x 5 x 3
48kg 2 hand swing x 1:30, rest, 1:00
Muay Thai Practice that night. Probably do some jerks today.

Double 32kg TGU

Big things are happening...

This weekend I went to the IKFF Cert with Steve Cotter and Ken Blackburn.
It was excellent. Great instruction on some different training modalities and a lot of really excellent bodyweight training/conditioning. The comprehensive warm up alone was worth the price. I was also lucky enough to meet Jared Savik and pick up his book on Girevoy Sport- which is a great reference.
I have a lot of new ideas to take my training and that of my client's to the next level and I will post about it as soon as I have it all organized.
Time to go to work! Taking the day off from real training today but might play with the kettlebells.

Monday:
SLDL x5/side x 3
Swing x 10 x 3

Superset for 10:00
32kg jerk x 10
Sandbag pickup to bearhug and carry x 80ft

Striking on heavy bag for one hour.
Tuesday:
LCCJ: 2x 24kgs 1:00w/1:00 rest for 20:00

Wednesday:
MP: 40kg x 1/1 x 5 (nice and easy, no elbow pain)
Front loaded Bulgarian Split Squat: 165 x 5/5 x 4

Inverted Rope Row
Ab Wheel
Muay Thai

Update:
Took a couple days off but trained a little bit anyway (if that makes sense).

Thursday: Swim 50m, rest until recovered, x 20
Friday:

Single Leg Deadlift
Swing
Hip Flexor stretch

Inverted Rope Row: 10 x 3
TGU: 40kg x 1/1 x 3
BJJ for an hour

Saturday: KB Juggling
Sunday(Today): 10 min set of snatches @ 16kg, easily hit 60 reps/side with good pacing. Grip was the only limiting factor. This was easy on the rest of my body and I was never out of breath so I recovered almost immediately. I'll try to do some variation of this every day at a low intensity to just hit the groove.

I also went to a 2-day movement workshop with Theresa Nesbitt, M.D. at Essential Strength. She is really smart. Like REALLY smart. Anyone in San Diego, (or southern california for that matter) would be well served to work with her.

Done back-to-back circuit
Single leg deadlift x 5/side
Goblet Squat x 10
Swing x 15
rest
repeated 3 times

5 sets
TGU x 1/1
Inverted Rope Row x 10


Ab wheel
2" Wrist roller, extension only

Hill sprints with 84lb vest

Muay Thai tonight at 7pm.

Today's Training:
Prep, mobility work
Armbar + TGU to high bridge x 3/3 x 2

20 minutes
Double 28kg jerk x 7
Double Swing x 10
Rested about :30 between sets but sometimes shorter or longer
The last Set I did 15 Jerks as fast as possible

Sled Push:
Heavy: 25 yards x 4
Medium: 25 yards x 2
Light: 50 yards x 2

Monday Training:

Deadlift:
405 x 5 x 2
445 x 2 x 2

10 rounds
Burpee x 5
Tuck Jump x 10
Burpee+Tuck Jump x 5

Striking practice at night

Friday Training:
Prep work

ASLR
single leg deadlift
swing
hip flexor stretch
repeated 3 times with 32kg

Inverted Rope row: 10 x 5
Plyo Pushup: 10 x 5 (maximum height and kept body rigid)

BJJ at noon

Muay Thai at 7
Finished the day with some full contact sparring with mma gloves and did well against someone in my own weight class--fighting big guys all the time really pays off later.

They can't all be winners, I started out today feeling sluggish and slow so I built up to it and focused on some skill work...

TGU: 28kg x 1/1 x 15:00 not too bad, the last 5:00 felt more solid than the first 10:00.

Single Leg Deadlift
Goblet Squat
Swing

28kg windmill
28kg double swing
light juggling

20 burpee+tuck jumps just to get my blood pumping.

All in all, not a bad day--just do what you can with what you have.

Wednesday:
TGU: 24kg x 1/1 x 10:00
Rope inverted row 10 x 5

25:00
24kg jerk x :30
rest :15
24kg swing x :30
rest :15

Muay Thai at 7pm

Speed trick

Regular tuesday session today, the jerks didn't feel too awesome so I didn't get too crazy with it.

double 28kg jerk x 1:00
Single 28kg jerk x 1:00 L/R
1:00 rest
repeated 5 times

Sled push --Barefoot
+ 56kg, 6 x 25 yards, rest 1:00 between sets

+28kg, 2 x 25 yards
2 x 25 yards

I can already feel a difference since starting the barefoot sled pushes--you can really feel your leg driving being funneled through your feet and I feel stronger during martial arts when being barefoot is a necessity. Try some barefoot sprinting or sled pushing--you will not regret it.

Deadlifting? Oh boy!

After ripping my hamstring in half--I say that it is completely healed and rehabbed properly. I credit a lot of the corrective exercise to ASLR, Single Leg Deadlift, and swings. Training today...

Deadlift
387 x 5
437 x 3
457 x 2
457 x 1
477 x 1

So happy, hamstring felt fine, back felt fine, I rock.

TGU: 24kg x 1/1 x 5

16 rounds
double 24kg jerk x :30
:10 rest
swing x :30
:10 rest

At the buzzer finished with 20 burpee +tuck jump.
2" rack mounted wrist roller and side planks.

BJJ--grappled for a solid hour, felt good.

I'm most happy with the deadlifting, it is proof that I did this the right way and it feels GREAT!

The elbow is on the mend

Elbow is feeling better. Managed to use it a little bit today-- I guess some of the rehab I've been doing has worked. Good job, Max.

Superset
C+P: 24kg x 5/5 x 2, 32kg x 5/5 x 1, 40kg x 1/1 x 2
Inverted 2" rope row: 10 x 5
Face Pull: Purple band
Swing x 10

BJJ at noon.


Muay Thai at 7pm.

The sled work I did on thursday caught up with me and my legs feel like jell-o today.

Muay Thai felt great last night--unfortunately my sparring partners did not feel the same way. I was really feeling good with my kicks last night and no one could go a full 3 minute round with me. I switched to boxing only and still felt dominant, I have been practicing a lot and it is nice to see such rapid improvement.

Today's Training

TGU: 28kg x 5/5 x 2 (5 TGU's without setting the bell down)

Single Leg Deadlift: 28kg x 8/8 x 3, 56kg x 5/5 x 2
Goblet Squat: 28kg x 10 x 5
Swing: 10 x 5

Snatch: 28kg x 10/10, 10/10, 10/10 (hands couldn't take much more today

Sled Push: 25 yards, rest :40, 25 yards, rest 1:00 x 3 rounds
40 yard sprint x 5
Farmers walk to the car well over 150 yards.

A client of mine hit some awesome numbers in her TSC Training so I thought I'd post them here;

Deadlift: 252 (more than 2x bodyweight)
Pullups: 9 (she'll hit 10 for sure in competition)
Snatch: 118 reps (didn't set the bell down the whole time-it was inspiring)
She's awesome, and I'm very proud of her hard work.

On to my training:

Inverted Rope Rows: 10 x 10 sets
Pistols: 24kg pistol 5/5 x 10
Overhead Squat: 5/5 x 10

Then a little complex to finish
C+P R/L
10 swings
on the minute
10 rounds. Nice little closer.

Finished with some 2" rack mounted wrist rolls (extension only--feels okay on the elbow)

Off to muay thai now.

Training:
Prep work
28kg Jerk
1:00 x 12 reps x 8 sets (rest 1:00 between sets)
Really found my groove on these easy 1 min sets. I am realizing that it is foolish for me to try for long sets while my technique is still so beginner.

28kg snatch:
25/25 untimed--slow paced

Heavy Sled Push:
4 x 25 yards (the last trip took about 30 seconds--it was agony.
Stretch

Training:

Prep work

Single Leg Deadlift
Goblet Squat
ASLR
Hip Flexor Stretch
Goblet Squat

TGU+armbar+windmill: 1/1 x 5
Deadlift: 405 x 1 x 5 (nice and easy, fast pulls--just needed a light day)

Superset x 5:00:
Farmers Walk: 160lbs/arm x 50ft
Burpee: x 10
Got 5 rounds in and went over the time a bit to finish out the set; on a side note, it's really hard to turn with the new long farmers bars.

BJJ for an hour and a half; I got picked up and slammed from overhead and didn't get knocked unconscious--why I got slammed in jiu-jitsu, sparring, is beyond me, but I now think Jason Lambert is a dick. Good job dude; get pissed off and slam a 180lb dude who just choked you.

I'm not bitter. If I can make things interesting with a 50lb weight difference against a guy who has 23 mma wins, I call that a victory.

Does it come as any surprise that BJ lost the fight?
What do you think?

Prep work

Superset x 3
ASLR
Single Leg Deadlift 24kg x 5/5
Goblet Squat 24kg x 10
Swing x 20
Hip Flexor stretch

TGU: 24kg x 1/1 x 2 each rep took about 1:00+
Swing x 20
BJJ for an hour

Muay Thai tonight--body is feeling better with this work.

Wednesday:
Prep work

Superset of 3
Single leg deadlift: 24kg x 6/6 x 5
Goblet Squat: 24kg x 10 x 5
Swing: 24kg x 20 x 5

TGU: 24kg x 1/1 x 3 (+3 reverse lunges per get-up)

Muay thai at 7pm--felt great, expending less energy and landing more strikes

Thursday

Snatch
28kg x 20/20, 15/15, 10/10, 10/10, 10/10, 10/10 Tried to make every set as easy as possible

Jerk
28kg x 20, 20, 20, 10, 10--ample rest between sets
1:00 sprint-22 reps

Finished with a smoker involving double snatches, swings, and burpees

Technique training today...

28kg snatch (waiting on a second gymboss timer so I have one when I'm not at the gym.)
30/30
20/20
20/20
Focused on pacing and form

28kg jerk
3:00- 30
2:00- 20
1:00- 20
Felt pretty solid--surprisingly MUCH easier than double 32kgs.

One arm long cycle-All done without putting bell down
28kg x 20/20, 10/10, 10/10, 10/10, 5/5, 5/5, 10 swings per side x 3
Didn't time it.
Finished with 6x 50m sprints (barefoot of course)

The Hardest Thing

New Article by yours truly. Enjoy.

The Hardest Thing

Monday Training:
24kg TGU 2/2 x 5
24kg Single Leg Deadlift 10/10 x 5

DL: 315 x 5 x 5 (very easy, just hitting the groove)

Sled Pulls: 5 x 50m
Swing: 50 x 2 sets
BJJ tonight

thursday-friday

Thursday I had a great session with Steve Cotter learning some of the finer points of the Jerk and playing with some juggling and bodyweight stuff.

Jerk:
2x32kgs
3:00 for 17 reps
3:00 for 18 reps

1:00 for 18 reps

I was still feeling pretty toasted after wednesdays training but my rack felt more solid as did my conditioning.

Today:
KB Yoga, goblet squat, etc
BJJ at noon
Muay thai at 7...now.

Much needed rest this weekend!

Great day

I've come to realize that the most efficient way for me to get stronger is going to be to optimize my movement patterns--hips, knees, shoulders. My training for the next month at least will at least partially reflect that. Right now I have a 500 horsepower engine mounted on a paddleboat shaped like a duck. So...

Lots of mobility
Goblet squat
Hip flexor stretch

ASLR
Single leg RDL
Goblet Squat


24kg Swing: 50 x 8
TGU: 1/1 x 8


Muay Thai:
Though my strength training will be rehabilitative, I'm still going to bring the intensity on the fight side;
Tonight we had a mini-tournament and I got 2 knockouts (out cold), and a TKO from a leg kick. Combos felt good, movement felt good, punches and kicks felt crisp.

10/10 today.

Back from a long trip

I'm back, elbow is feeling slightly better, but I'm going to take a few light weeks, the world won't end.

TGU: 24kg x 1/1 x 5
Front Squat: 155 x 5 x 5 (5-10 second hold at rock bottom working on hip mobility)

Later...
5 rounds
48kg swing x 10
burpee x 10

Today I'll hit some sprints and handstand walks.

On the road...

Out of town until at least saturday, trained today nice and easy though...

Double 24kg juggling.
Double 24kg Get-ups. x 4 (2/side)

Jerk:
Assistance drills: 10 second rack, 10 second dip, 10 second catch, 10 second lockout.
then:
2 min
2 min
1 min
1 min: 31 reps in 55 seconds--I was flying and probably not standing all the way up with every rep but it felt good.

50m sprint x 4
stretch

Bon voyage.

Lots of mobility work today, then training.

Front Squat:
155x10
175x8
185x8
205x8
225x8

TGU:
24kg x 1/1 x 5

Band resisted partner sled drag (partner trails behind giving resistance and jerking side to side).
5 sprints with adequate rest between.

Muay Thai later tonight.

Short training today, let's not get too crazy...

2x24kg Jerks
3:00 x 1
3:00 x 1
1:00 x 1
1:00 x 1

First set was done with long holds in each position, rack, catch, overhead.
Last 2 sets were all out sprints--I like those much better, my rack position is still not restful, I would rather do more jerks than rest at this point, but I'm working on it.

50 yard sprint x 8
Stretch.
Rack walk x 100yards back to car.

Don't confuse strength with conditioning

In an attempt to rest my elbow. today looked like this:

TGU: 24kg x 1/1 x 5 (nice and easy, slow and controlled, about 1:30 per rep, this is what the get-up is all about)
Goblet Squat, ASLR, Hip flexor stretch

Back squat (cleaned from the floor, jerked overhead, set on shoulders)
100kg x 20
110kg x 20

Stretch

PM Session:
10x 3:00 heavy bag rounds (mostly kicks)

10 rounds:
10 grasshoppers (like a sit-out in wrestling)
10 tuck jumps
10 burpees


That's how you separate strength and conditioning. It felt good to just go all out on some nasty bodyweight conditioning.

Training update

Friday:
KB Yoga, for 15 minutes
BJJ for an hour at noon
GTG pistols all day
Muay Thai from 7-9pm.

Saturday:
Down to the beach with Robert Budd and we went to town with stones and kb juggling. Finished with a few band resisted sprints of varying resistance, some were more like a march and others were a sprint. The juggling was a lot of fun and we worked mostly with double 24's but also did some passes to each other back and forth which is seriously fun.

Underground Strength Coach

I spoke with Zach Even-Esh the other day on the phone and let me tell you, that guy knows what it takes to get strong. I did a phone interview and afterward he asked me if I wanted to be on his Expert Panel at Underground Strength Coach and I quickly agreed. There is a lot of cool, old school, strength and conditioning information there and I am thrilled to be a part of it. Check it out.

Training today will be some light energy systems work and possibly some kettlebell snathes/jerks.

Scrap the plan

The plan was just not happening today. I just felt exhausted in some ways. So I just changed it up.

Turkish Get Up: 24kg x 1/1 x 5 : Done very slowly and deliberately
Lots of mobility work

Front Squat: 225x 10, 12--these actually felt pretty good mechanically after all the mobility work

No Muay Thai tonight, I just need a day off it seems. I'll be smart and listen to the body.

Double your fun

Light training today, but fun.
Double 24kg kb's for everything.

Double Juggling, flips, transfers, hand to hand.

Double Snatches

Double Bottoms-up pressing

Jerk: 3 min @ 10rpm x 2 sets
1 min @ 30 reps

20 double swings and a loooooong farmers walk to finish

When in doubt, keep it simple

Cold today, so a long warm up with the light kb's, mobility stuff and then to business.
Deadlift:
383x5
403x5
403x5
403x5
First time over 400lbs since july of '08, I am a happy boy.
Jump Squat: 185x 50, 30
(stole this one from steve cotter, love it.)

Rolled BJJ for 1.5hrs.
8/10 for monday, probably some jerks/snatches tuesday.

Bull Strength Manual

My friend Joe Hashey just finished a Massive manual set to release tomorrow, sunday at high noon. If you want a huge arsenal of full body exercises to ensure than you never get bored while still getting ludicrously strong, I highly recommend it. There is a lot of innovation that is worth the book alone. Check it out!

Bull Strength

Training update and notepad:

Tuesday: Juggling, windmills, goblet squats, kb yoga

Wednesday I felt wiped (not enough sleep) so I took it easy and worked some bodyweight stuff, handstands, front lever pulls, skin the cat and gtg pistols.

Thursday:
Did some 3 minute jerk sets with double 32kg, this was my first time at this and it was painful. Averaged about 18 reps, not pretty but I made it the whole time, shows me what I need to work on (flexibility in the rack)
Then some sets with the 24kgs at 3:00 and a sprint to finish at 1:00 I hit 28 reps (very happy with that!)
Then Lifted stones down at mission gorge (mostly stone loading but some push presses) and ripped my forearms up again (awesome).

Friday: KB yoga, goblet squats, 2x24kg jerk sets, 3:00, 1:00
Rolled BJJ for an hour at noon
Muay thai for 2 hours at 7. I got kicked in the head by a ufc fighter tonight which was eye opening, don't worry didn't get knocked out, kept on coming, I was just a bit surprised.
I should probably rest tomorrow

Notepad: We all know to keep track of our workouts, but I am starting to find a lot of value on keeping a notepad handy for all walks of life. I stole this idea from Mike Boyle. In fact, I wrote down the idea for this post in my notepad. I just started this recently but am already seeing the benefits of staying on top of things. If I have a thought, I write it down so I don't have to maybe remember it later. So long story short, you should get a notepad and just write your thoughts down throughout the day. All of them. Trust me it works.

Angles

If you train alone and have access to a video camera, it's probably a good idea to take some video of your lifts. I noticed today that I could have a slightly better arch in my back during deadlifts and I addressed that during the next set and it got better. Side view is good for most things but it depends on the lift. Give it a try if you lift alone and don't have someone to watch "spot" you.

Deadlift: 383 x 5 x 5, last set did 6 (no problem, 400+ next week)

Zercher Squat:
337 x 3 x 3 (video of 3rd set--that was tough! I might have to do these on a separate day from DL's)
Handstand Pushups
4 x 10

Long Cycle Clean and Jerk: 24kg kb's x 5:00 (most difficult part is the rack position)

BJJ for an hour and a half 7 hours later.

8/10

Busy and training update

Right to business:
Wednesday:
Presses weren't going well so I hit a few 32kg BU Presses
Double Swing: 2x48's x 5 reps to prep for...
Double High Pull/Snatch: 2x40's x 2 snatches+8 high pulls x 3 sets

Renegade row with feet elevated: 48kg+chains x 4/4
Farmers walk to the death + Ab wheel.
Heavy bag work 7 hours later: 4 x 3 min skill rounds, 4x3 minutes power punching
10 x :15 work/:40 rest punch out drill

Thursday:
Lifted stones. Big F***in stones. In a quarry. Loaded a 300+lb granite clam shell shaped stone that tore the hell out of my forearms. The manliness that ensued was indescribable. A few lift and carries as well. 10/10

Friday:
"KB yoga" goblet squat, cassock, hindu pushup, windmill, armbar. Kept the weight super light.
BJJ for an hour and a half.
At jiu jitsu something amazing happened; Brad a 250lb black belt caught me in an armbar, but before he could finish the move, I lifted him over my head, just like loading an atlas stone. The surprise in his eyes will be looking back at me in my dreams. It was a great feeling and it tells me that maybe something I'm doing might actually be practical.
Heavy bag drills 7 hours later:
6x3 minute skill practice (kicks and punches)
3x3 minute power punching
10 rounds of:
50 straight punches, as fast as possible
10 dragon twists

The combination of dragon twisting and straight punches really helped me use the power from my legs in my punching. I will experiment more with strength drills+heavy bag.
9/10 for friday.

Play the cards life deals you the best you can:

Hurt my foot at muay thai on friday (didn't do any walking/training this weekend) so I used this as an opportunity to do some things I'm not used to--skipping grappling tonight, ready to go again on wednesday.

Deadlift: 365x5x4
Walking see-saw press: 28kg x 8/8 x 4

TGU+armbar+windmill: 28kg x 1/1 x 2

Zercher Squat (deadlifted from floor):
242 x 5
292 x 5
312 x 5

Heavy Bag: 8 x 3 minute rounds with 30 seconds rest between (punches and left kicks only-not risking my right foot)

Never gone that heavy on zercher squats before, felt pretty strong. I attribute it to all the heavy double racked pistols, very similar groove.
9/10 for the zerchers mostly.

More training:

Thursday: 24kg KB juggling, a lot of hand to hand and some fig 8's.

Friday: Goblet squats, windmills, "KB Yoga"
BJJ for 1hr-rolled with a 230lb guy who usually stomps me and he told me I felt strong; and I did, felt awesome and I kept good control.

Off to muay thai for another 1.5hrs.

Train hard, fight easy.
9/10

Training and agony

First, the agony



Superset:
40kg Press + TGU x 1/1 x 3
Double swing: double 48's+40lbs of chains: x 6, 10, 10, 10 reps

40kg windmill x 2/2

Pistol: 40kg held in rack x 3/3 x 2, 1/1
BU Cleans: 48kg x 2/2 x 3
BUP: 40kg 1/1 *PR for my left hand (used a gripper in opposite hand per usual)

Renegade row: 48kg+chains x 5/5
Immediately followed by plyo pushups

Farmers walk with same kb's superset with burpees to let grip recover.

Muay Thai later
9/10.

This is what you do on a "rest day"

A deadlift-Finally!

Started the day like this:
Power snatch
60kg x 3
70kg x 1 x 3
Power Clean+Jerk
100kg x 2
110 x 1 x 2
Failed at 110 for a few reps, which was annoying so I decided to do a few zercher squats when I missed the clean.

Deadlift:
352 x 5 x 3, Don't laugh, this is the first time I have touched anything over 300lbs since August of 2008.

Handstand Pushups and Pullups to finish.
GTG pistols all day
7/10 for the day

Marine RKC and Tire Insanity

Had a blast assisting at the RKC at Pendleton marine base. Did some juggling with the 48kg which was a first. I also Bottoms-up cleaned the beast for about 10 seconds, and believe me, I tried to press it, I really did, but it didn't want to be pressed that day.

That was Thursday-Friday.

Today:
20lb sledge, check
20lb weight vest, check
500lb tire, check

Set the gymboss for :45 work/ :30 rest and 25 rounds.
I proceeded to alternate between tire flips, burpees, sledge strikes, and any combination to continue to allow me to keep working.

I really just needed an angry, all-out training session today.

Pulls and Strikes

It should make sense, that on a day where you are going to be doing a lot of striking (push) that your training for that day should be more pulling than pushing. A lot of athletes will bench heavy, overhead press heavy, and then wonder why they can't punch later. Keep it simple, and have purpose in what you're doing. If you're going to roll jiu-jitsu (a lot of pulling) maybe do more pushing in your training session. Everyone is different, of course, and some people can handle more than others in that respect (recovery, genetics, etc).

On to the training:
120 yards on the power wheel, I'll post a vid later, this was brutal.

TGU: 48kg x 1/1 x 5 (elbow didn't love this near the end so I didn't increase weight)
Pistol: double 16kgs x 4/4 x 3 (left knee didn't like me today so I didn't push it)

Double Swing: 48kg+20lbs of chains per hand (total 252 lbs) x 6, 6, 8, 6
Renegade Row: 48kg+20lbs of chains per hand x 5/5 x 4

Farmers walk to the death x 2 sets with same weight.

Muay Thai later.
8/10, solid on the swings but my elbow and knee weren't 100%.

Back to the Barbell--again!

Have not olympic lifted since august '08. A bad hamstring tear left me weak, demoralized and unable to do anything with my legs. Ready to start up with it again.

Power Clean+Jerk
100kg x 2
110kg x 1 x 5

This was a surprise that I was still able to pull that weight, I guess those double 48kg swings have been doing something after all...

Pullup: 24kg x 5 x 4 (Taking it easy, elbow is almost back to 100%)
Band Pushup: Green x 20 reps x 3 sets
Explosive Heavy Bag Squat + throw and catch: 8 x 4

Pistols: GTG style all day. I'm going to give myself a break from what I've been focusing and deload (while practicing other tricks/skills)

8/10 so far--going to spar later so it could get better.

Sleds and strikes

Here's the video:


Thursday Training:
28kg double snatch x 10, immediately followed by a 120 ft sled drag. (I'll post a vid of this soon) 5 sets of that with adequate rest between sets.
28kg double snatch x 5 + 50 yard sprint x 5 sets
50 yard sprint x 3 sets

Finished with a round of pullups and a farmers walk uphill back to the car.

Friday:
Bent Press + Overhead Squat: 48kg x 5/5 x 5
One arm swing: 40kg x 20/20 x 2

Jiu Jitsu at noon
Muay Thai at 7pm. Lots of striking.
10/10 for the day, body is totally smoked, recovery day tomorrow.

More fun with tension

Not a brutal day at the gym, at least not at first...
40kg press + OHS 3/3 x 3
Double BU Pistol: 12kg x 3/3 x 1, 16kg x 1/1 x 1
Pistol: Double Racked 24's x 1/1 x 3

Snatch: 48kg x 14/14 w/ wool gloves new PR* by 4 reps per side.
Snatch 48kg x 8/8 I was pretty much toasted after the set of 14

Farmers walk: 48kg + Chains x 200 feet x 1, 100 feet x 1.

Will work on striking later.
9/10.

Juggling and Sprinting- A powerful union.

Took a 24kg down to the beach today and went to town.
Any and all flips I could imagine and some windmills and overhead squats.

Finished with some sprints. Somewhere in the ballpark of 20 sprints varying protocol.
For example:
10 yards forward, 10 yards backward, 30 yards forward= one sprint
10 yards side shuffle, 10 yards side shuffle, 30 yard sprint=one sprint
10 snatches per arm, 50 yard sprint
10 yards forward, 10 yards backward, 50 yards forward= my favorite

10/10, a rest day on paper but a little extra conditioning is always good.

A new focus

Yesterday was an average training day until much later...
TGU: 48kg x 1/1 x 2
OHS: 48kg x 5/5 + windmill x 4

Double Swing: 48kg x 8 x 5
Renegade Row: 48kg x 7/7 x 3

Farmers walk to pain

Later that night I went to the Compound MMA gym in oceanside.. After a brief tour we worked a few techniques and then sparred. I did very well with the exception of one monster of a man who I later found out was Jason Lambert, a pro UFC fighter. I weigh about 184 currently and he is now around 225+. I'm going to have to see where this takes me. At the very least I have a new reason or purpose for training.
10/10.

Rolling

Bent Press:
146lbs x 2/2 x 3
Pistol:
2x24kg kbs held in rack for 1/1 x 3
1 x 24kg kb held in rack for 5/5 x 1

Double Swing
48kgs x 10 x 3
Renegade Row:
48kgs x 6/6 x 3

Clap Pushup +40lbs of chains worn a la bandoleer x 20 reps x 2 sets.

Rolled BJJ for 45 minutes sparring.