VeganEssentials

Squat once per week, pick whatever of the following routines feels good on that particular day depending on how strong I feel -

1. Heavy Day

Warm up with front squats up to a heavy single, usually 3-4 sets with reps as follows - 1x8, 5, 3, 1 (example: 1x8 @ 135, 1x5 @ 225, 1x3 @ 275, 1x1 @ 315).

Regular back squats, medium stance, low bar position on back, 6 total sets as follows - 1x5, 5x3 (example: 1x5 @ 225, 1x3 @ 315, 1x3 @ 405, 3x3 @ 455). Alternatively, if I'm feeling like testing my max or close to it, a heavy day would be more like this: 1x5, 2x3, 3-4x1 (example: 1x5 @ 225, 1x3 @ 315, 1x3 @ 405, 1x1 @ 455, 1x1 @ 475, 1x1 @ 500).

Overloaded squat lockouts (roughly 8-12" ROM from bottom to top lockout position) or Good Mornings. For the lockouts, I'll do 3-4 sets @ 100% to 175% of my 1RM with a full squat, done anywhere from 1 to 8 reps per set depending on the weight and my energy level at that point. For Good Mornings, I'll either work up for 3-5 sets to a heavy triple or do something like 3x10 just to wrap things up with some higher reps.

2. Medium Day

Front squats to warm up as before, but normally working to about 85% - 90% of max at most, sometimes only around 75% for a few reps. Usually followed up with overhead squats, done for 3-4 sets up to a few heavy doubles or triples. My overhead squat max is only about 40-45% that of my full squat max, so the word "heavy" is relative to the fact that I'm not very proficient with them (yet!). So, for example, I may do overheads as follows: 1x5 @ 135, 1x5 @ 175, 2x2 @ 205 or something like that.

Back squats, again with medium stance and low bar position. Medium rep ranges on this day (for me, anyhow - 10 is what I consider high-rep), so it may be something like 1x5, 2x3, 3x5 (example: 1x5 @ 225, 1x3 @ 315, 1x3 @ 405, 3x5 @ 405)

Whatever feels good will wrap things up. It may be some lying leg curls to stretch out if I'm exhausted (something like 3x10), some Good Mornings done in medium to high reps (1-2 warmup sets, then work to 3x5 or 3x10), or stiff legged deadlifts done 3x8-10 (no warmup needed).

3. Light Day

Rarely do front squats or overhead squats on light day, so I normally just jump into back squats right away. Will either do speed doubles @ 10x2 or go for higher rep endurance work (3x10) depending on the mood and energy for the day. For speed work, it would be something like 1x8 @ 135, 1x5 @ 225, 10x2 @ 315, each rep done deep but coming up as fast as possible to where I have to work to keep the bar from coming off my traps when I hit the top. For endurance, it'd be something like 1x5 @ 135, 1x5 @ 225, 3x10 @ 315 just for a good kick in the pants and to be gasping for air when I'm done. Normally, no extra work will be done on light days, just the goal of the squats and that's it.

For rest between sets, it'll be anywhere from a short 90 seconds on the speed squat day to 3-4 minutes on heavier days depending on how quickly I recover. If I'm coming back quickly it'll be around 2.5-3 minutes, if I'm dead beat after a set, 3-4 minutes is the norm.

I often vary the routines and alter them from session to session, but that's pretty close to what I'll normally do for one of my 3 general squat workouts.

Ryan

Would it be proper if I said anything other than squats?

http://media.putfile.com/Fords-Strongman-2006

Here's a video clip that inadvertantly features me in two of the events - you'll get to see me in the sled pull (watch as I fall behind about halfway!) and the tire flip (notice the stall-out near the end where it's obvious I had to take a bit to catch my breath!), lurking in the background during the other events and posing for some group shots near the end. Once I get more pics I'll post them up here!

Ryan

In the end, I came out 11th out of 26 - the level of competition was much higher this year than it was last year, no question about it. I came in much stronger than last time, but everyone else did as well plus a handful of new people that did very well in some events.

Event rundown -

1. Log press went exactly as I'd expected with 215, 235, 255 to start. Went for 275, but it was either too heavy or I was too spent so I could only get it to the top of my head and no higher. Tried twice, but couldn't get it to work. Still, I tied for 2nd as the next highest press was 275 spilt between two others, so that was my best event!

2. Sled pull, my nemesis from last year still whipped my arse this time but not anywhere nearly as badly. Grass was not slick like last time and I borrowed some cleats for the event to get an edge, but it still took me just a fraction under 54 seconds to complete it. I got halfway down the course very smoothly, but lost my steam and rather than letting my legs do the work, I ended up using my back to row the 550 lb. sled down the last 30 or so feet of the 75 foot course. Disappointing, but I know for sure what I have to work hard at for next year. That one put me way down on the list due to my time being so slow - I'd have had to be under 40 seconds to be competitive in this one.

3. Stones, made 3 as I'd hoped for, 4th one did not budge at all. Again, no tacky was allowed so there was no way to get extra grip on the smooth stones - chalk was the only option, which doesn't help all that much. I don't feel bad about not making more as only 2 people in the event made it past the 3rd stone, and only one person completed the entire run of 5. My problem here is that I fumbled with the 250 lb. stone for about 10-15 seconds before I could get a grip (dropped it twice because it slipped out of my hands), and this cost me big on the event. I should have made them in around 25 seoconds without my errors, and it definitely cost me one or two placings in the final standings. Now I'll be training stones without any tacky more frequently until 300+ is a snap!

4. Tire flip - my lack of endurance hit me big time, plus I used my imperfect technique that made it harder for me as well (I tend to straight deadlift tires instead of leaning into them and letting my legs to the bulk of the work). Came in at 46.28 seconds total. I had to catch my breath twice on the last 2 flips, plus I came up about 12" short of completing the course with a full flip so I had to upend the tire one last time to cross the finish line. This in all cost me about 7-10 seconds and another shot at being 1-2 placings ahead in the final standings. Lesson learned - get a pair of synthetic cleats and learn how to lean into the tire more to pick up speed!

5. Farmer's walk - I did well as expected, but there were a lot of guys who flew down the course this time. Time completed - 26.40 seconds. I lost about 2-3 seconds when the jug in my right hand slammed into my right leg, causing my to drop it just about 15 feet shy of the finish line. Again, I'd have placed higher if I hadn't lost the time to about 4-5 others with this error, but nothing I can do about it now! Still, a good run even with the fault, so next year it'll be even better.

Hope to have some pics of everything in the next few days. My wife took a few, a friend's wife took some more, and I may spring the $20 to get the shots that the professional photographer took over the course of the day. All in all, definitely fun, and next year I'm promising myself to make top 5!

Okay, I realized today that I have a contest in less than 2 weeks and I've barely been training lately, so I should probably get my arse in gear and start being serious for a bit!

The glorious 30 minute workout is all I had time for tonight, so I made the most of it -

Overhead pressing -

1x8 @ empty bar single-arm

1x5 strict press @ 135

1x3 strict press @ 185

1x3 push press @ 225

1x3 push press @ 255

2x8 push press @ 225

1x7 push press @ 225 - attempted 8, died out after the 7th. Even rested about 20 seconds, unracked again and tried, but the bar barely cleared the top of my head. Close to meeting a new goal, though...

6 minutes left, hit the Hammer Strength shoulder press since I can close-grip it and work my triceps more. Shoulders were already on fire, did 2x10 @ 200 lbs. which nearly killed me even though it isn't very heavy. Time was up, that was it for the day, should be doing rows and DLs tomorrow.

Haven't had my shoulders actually feel like they're on fire in a long, long time. Almost forgot how damned painful it actually can be!

I'll be there, but stuck behind our tables for the majority of each day, unfortunately. It'll be my 5th year with still never getting to see any speakers because I can never get away long enough!

Your points make sense, but the logic of the whole STC training does seen reasable --> that by exerting a signficiantly greater load than normal in a small period of time creates a high degree of POWER. utlimately, this is what builds the muscle.

But, there are other ways to do this, and in manners that have better practical application. For example, I've heard good things about occasional training with isometrics (pushing or pulling against immovable objects, often done with a barbell in various positions of a lift inside of a power rack) as you can do somewhat of the same thing in various angles of a lift rather than just one position. You can still succeed without necessarily having to overload if you still exert maximum effort particularly in the areas that are sticking points. If excessive overload was required for maximum gains, the 99.99% of people who never train that way would be getting inferior results, so anything that claims that it is the BEST way to make gains would seem to be pulling our leg with that one. Yes, there's a need to always overload in time to continue to progress, whether it be through adding more reps or increased weight, but anything that promises great resulsts in reduced time seems to be aimed at those who want the easy way out. Things that make heavy claims usually tend to disappoint. I've used the example of lifting programs that are boastful of the possible results being much like overhyped diet pills - if anything of that nature worked as well as it claims for everyone, people would have to pay big money for it and EVERYONE would use it! The claim that someone added nearly 30 lbs. of lean mass in a short time made me laugh so hard I nearly fell out of my chair - the only way that could be done in a short span is with steriods, and even then, that's stretching the limits of what you could gain even with taking them!

Also, the term power seems to be misused in the article - power by definition is very different from an overloaded time under tension, basically the exact opposite of what the article would state. Here's an article that explains more regarding how power is defined:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/ridgely11.htm

Power in a lift can best be personified through those that do olympic-style weightlifting. They're inarguably the people who have the greatest power output through any single lift, and they have found in past testing that anything that did not exert at least a partial movement done quickly only hurt their performance, so all lifts are done with maximum speed as increasing time under tension does not do well for increasing maximum power output. But, I digress...

If the program works for you, then by all means it has done well. But, since everyone is different there's usually a great chance that it will produce superior results for only a small fraction of those that use anything that deviates from the methods that have proven to be universally best. Nevertheless, keep us posted how it works!

I'm pretty skeptical of this type of training for numerous reasons -

1. Holding any position just shy of lockout (particularly with bench or overhead work) can be disastrous if you have any issues with keeping stable or if you manage to strain yourself and lose the weight down back on yourself. Both of those lifts aren't the greatest to do in this manner unless you've got a great spotting system or someone who can get you out of harm's way in a moment's notice.

2. Static contractions work well when locked out because they contribute to building tendon and ligament strength because you can easily overload the weight when locked out. Without locking out and doing a hold, you'll have to use far less weight to keep the weight held at a position, and in that event you're going to build less overall strength because you're using less weight than you're capable of. What would be more effective is taking, say, 120% of your normal max in a lift and doing lockout reps with it or holds.

3. Nothing builds overall size and strength than taking a lift through a full range of motion. There's no point in being able to hold a 300 lb. bench just shy of lockout if you can't make a full bench with 200 lbs., unless you're specifically working to strengthen your lockout for the full range. It just isn't very functional.

4. I'm trying to imagine how in the heck you'd strengthen your back well with holding something just shy of lockout, be it rowing or deadlifting. Both would have some serious injury potential to hold in a position without hitting lockout or lowering the weight just beforehand, so that'd be a bad idea overall.

5. Everyone here knows that I'm an huge advocate of leg work and I argue that squatting is not bad for the knees if done properly, but somehow the knee shear of having a crapload of weight on a leg press held just shy of lockout does NOT sound like a good plan to me if you want to stay injury-free. That, and I'm really, really skeptical about the notion that you'll make anything near the following claims from doing this:

Increased static strength 51.3%

Increased their full range 1-rep max 27.6%

Increased their full range 10-rep max 34.3%

Added 9.0 pounds of new muscle (one subject added 28.9 pounds!)

Lost 4.9 pounds of fat

Added ½ inch to their biceps

Added 1.1 inches to their chest

This list reads like a really bad supplement ad for the latest overpriced powder of some sort, and that's the kind of hype that turns me off when it comes to credibility of a program or product. 99.9% of the time it is BS.

It's one of those things that sounds semi-plausible in theory, but there's just too many holes in it to consider it as being the basis of training. Perhaps something fun to do once a month for variety's sake, but as the foundation to getting bigger and stronger I'd say to forget that one. There are a lot of wacky training ideas that claim to be based on "science" that really don't do a lick of good, so always be cautious about a program that claims to do something that sounds too good to be true.

At least this thread has maintained much better civility than honey discussions over on the VF forum!

Even when we could agree that honey wasn't vegan, people were still at each other's throats. For some reason, honey seems to always be the hot button for starting some heated discussions

I also agree, the first video is the better form of the two. The second one has the bar drifting out away from the body at an angle, which isn't really a good thing (you're getting more torque on your spine without any real benefit). When I start going above 275 lbs. I usually tap the floor on each rep and use a bit of leg to get the pull started, but once it clears mid-shin height I pull entirely with the back and keep leg and torso movement to a minimum. Exercises don't necessarily need to be picture-perfect to be beneficial, so long as they're done with decent form and don't put you in the way of a potential injury.

If you do heavy rows, you can feel as your body "shifts gears" a bit midway through the movement - about halfway up you can feel the lats doing more work than at the initial pull, and this is where it will count most to make them do the bulk of the work even if you have a bit of kick-up in the initial pull off of the floor.

Some of the stuff on the 2nd site is kind of goofy - such as their DB clean and press, which is sort of a squat-curl-press that's not really a very good example of a clean in any way that I've ever seen. Not to mention the woman they use in the deadlifit video lets the bar drift away from her body a bit much at times, which again is not a really great idea. Some bad or very unorthodox form on much of what I see in their clips.

When the shoulders were at their prime about 2 months ago it was this -

185x8, 215x5 and 230x2 strict, 275x3 and 295x1 for push press. After the long layoff, I'll wouldn't be surprised if it is about 10-20% less right about now. Someday it'll be 300+ done strict and 350 with a push!

Wannalift makes a good point about load capacity - at one point I would have never considered such a thing, but always consider the fact you may one day want it to safely support 800+ lbs. The last thing you want is to ever have more weight on the bar than a rack can safely support, so it is better to spend the extra $100 or so to get a better model that will last than worry about safety or having to buy a newer, stronger rack as you start lifting heavier.

The music all depends on the mood and how my day has been going. I'm more of a pre-workout music guy than one who likes to listen to anything when I lift (I find that music breaks my concentration). On the way to the gym, it could be any of the following:

Clutch

Archers of Loaf

Descendants

Dinosaur Jr.

Z-Trip

Big Black

Bad Brains

Tuscadero

Jack Dangers

DJ Shadow

DJ P

Fugazi

Sugar

Pixies

MF Doom

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds

Cut Chemist

Versus

Sebadoh

Built to Spill

Belle & Sebastian

Pet Shop Boys

Slayer

DJ Spooky

Edan

Viktor Vaughn

...and tons of other stuff. All depends on the handful of CDs I grab on my way out and what sounds good on the way to lift!

First day back in the gym after nearly a week off, and it was a mixed day of good and bad. Sensless met me as I was about halfway through benching so we got to lift together for the first time in a while.

First, the good - did a bit of benching and hit some PRs to make for a good session on that part. Started with close grip (hands about 18" apart) -

1x8 @ 135

2x3 @ 225, 2 second pause on chest with each rep

1x3 @ 255, 1 second pause on chest with each rep

1x4 @ 275 touch and go

1x3 @ 290 touch and go - only expected a double, made all 3 fairly easily

Decided to see if I could finally hit 315 on regular grip bench just so I could feel 3 plates per side, and after an ugly 10 second battle I succeeded. However, just as I was about to lock it out I twisted my torso slightly and felt a twinge in my lower back. Not a good thing.

Was supposed to do DLs next, but after warming up with 4 sets and getting ready to work speed with doubles at a light 405 I felt a sharp pain when I'd start the pull and had to quit right away. I rested a bit, stretched out, and gave it another shot but it hurt again and I realized I must have done a bit of damage on that stupid bench. So, I missed out on the DLs and GMs that I'd planned on getting in, and if the back turns out to be sore for a while I may have to bail on my comp at the end of April. If I can get a full recovery in the next week I'll be sure to keep training for it, but I ache every time I stand up or sit down, so lifting will be out of the question for a few days minimum. Heading to the chiro on Friday to get some X-rays and therapy for it and I'll know more at that time if it is just a minor strain or something worse.

Let's just say that I don't plan on benching with a wide grip again for quite some time....

For compassionategirl and anyone else looking to send Plenty Magazine a letter regarding their pro-farming stance, they can be written to at letters@ plentymag.com. Hopefully if enough people write in they'll eventually change their stance, or at least offer views from more than one side in the future.

I didn't delve too deeply in the letter since I assume it wil be skimmed and then discarded, but I felt that at least if I sent them a general letter stating why I wasn't pleased with the way they run their magazine perhaps they'd want to find out exactly why

Who knows if they'll take my letter seriously, but at least I got it out of my system and let them know exactly what I think!

Sensless made 315 within 2 minutes of the time that I did it, and with less of a struggle.

Every time I hit a PR, he's there to make it right afterward. I'm not lifting with him ever again!

Lifted with Sensless tonight, hit a 315 bench so I could finally say I made 3 plates per side and be proud of it! This was after hitting 275x4 and 290x3 for close grip pressing, so who knows, there may have been more left in me if I'd have cut it shorter.

It wasn't easy, though. Just like last time when I hit 300 for the first time, it was about a 10 second fight from start to finish, and only when I got about 3" from lockout did it fly up on the last little bit. Needs work, but by summer I aim to be hitting that weight up for sets of 4 or more!

While I was at the Natural Products Expo this past weekend I picked up a free copy of a relatively new environmentalist magazine called "Plenty". Normally, you can find a fair amount of decent articles in eco-friendly publications, but this one really shocked me - there was an article titled "The Compassionate Carnivore" as well as features on the joys of beekeeping and what fish you can eat "without worrying that you're contributing to the extinction of the species". Everything in the magazine has a very distinct pro-meat stance to it when it mentions anything food-related, so I felt the need to write them and say what they needed to hear -

"I picked up a copy of your magazine at the Natural Products Expo in March, and although I applaud your efforts to promote an eco-friendly lifestyle, I'm a bit perplexed at the excess of articles featuring promotion of animal products as being ideal sources of food. Many other environmantalist publications are now realizing that promoting a plant-based diet is a great way to be earth-frienly while maintaining compassion for all living things, so I'm not quite sure why all I could find in your magazine were features on raising cattle, beekeeping or what fish to eat. There was little to no mention of alternatives for those who live a compassionate lifestyle, which was quite disheartening. Also, you may want to have the person who wrote the artilce "The Compassionate Carnivore" do a bit more research into what compassion truly is before making a person who contributes to the outright slaughter of animals out to be a saint. Whether or not the animals raised have more room to live does not change the end result - they are all killed to serve their use as a commodity to be consumed rather than being allowed to live their natural lives, the antithesis to compassion. Stating that Sandy Lerner is in favor of animal rights (page 70) is absurd - to be true to the definition of animal rights, nobody in favor of such a thing would knowingly raise an animal purely to become food in the end as it is completely contradictory to the cause. It's a disservice to those who campaign for true animal rights to be associated with such a person, and I urge you to have your contributing writers research more regarding the issues they write about before throwing around "in" terminology just because it sounds fitting to the aire they're trying to portray their subjects in. I respect Lerner's desire to prevent extinction of species by giving them an environment to thrive, but these animals should not have to pay with their lives just so someone can eat a burger and feel better because their cattle were free-range instead of factory farmed. Anyone with her sort of financial abilities [NOTE - she was married to the founder of Cicso Systems and is likely worth tens of millions of dollars considering her ex-husband is a billiionaire and has been one of the world's richest people since she was with him] could easily raise animals on their own purely for conservation without having to justify killing them for more food, but that wouldn't make for as exciting of an article, I suppose.

I know that this is too long to print in a future issue and you most likely would not want to rattle what your magazine is apparently focusing on, but I believe that it needed to be said that environmentalism and veganism/vegetarianism are not mutually exclusive and do work well together. There are plenty of non-environmental publications that try to assuage guilt of consumers by telling them that they can sleep better at night because their food lived a little more comfortably before being slaughtered in a terrorized state. I'd much rather read a publication that caters to all types of people who care about our planet and not just one who wants to justify cruelty under the guise of benevolence. All you need is to find someone who can tackle articles without the pro-farming and pro-speciesist bias that I've seen throughout the issue I read and perhaps you'll be able to have features for those of us who truly do live a compassionate lifestyle.

Sincerely,

Ryan Wilson

Co-owner, VeganEssentials.com"

Leg day today, but not a great one. Stresses have had me all over the place lately, so it was mediocre at best.

Warmed up with a few sets of power snatches and overhead squats

Front squats -

1x5 @ 135

1x3 @ 225

1x1 @ 275

1x1 @ 315 - much easier than last time I made this weight. Started racking with my knuckles pushing the bar into my neck to keep it more stable than with hands in a clean position, which definitely helped. A few more sessions of these and I should be able to get to around 350ish without much difficulty.

Regular squats -

1x3 @ 225

1x3 @ 315

1x2 @ 405

1x1 @ 455

2x3 @ 405

1x1 @ 455

1x1 @ 475

1xfail @ 500

I haven't missed 500 in months, so that's not a great sign as to how I'm faring these days. Like I said, lots of stress means bad training.

Did a few more front squats -

1x3 @ 225

1x1 @ 275

1x1 @ 315, this time it took a bit of fight.

Finished with overhead squats -

1x8 @ 135

1x5 @ 155, felt a bit of pain under my left kneecap on the last 2 reps, not good.

1xfail @ 175, came down fine but let it drop on the pins at bottom of the squat position

Now the knee is sore and strength is down in general, so lifting isn't quite as fun as normal. I'm considering taking a month or two for a layoff to recover and get the rest of my life in order enough to where I don't keep freaking out about everything and worrying constantly, which might be for the best. It may mean missing my Chicago comp in 5 weeks, but if I can come back refreshed and be in good form again it'll be worth it. We'll see how I feel when I get back from Anaheim next week since I'm headed out to the Natural Products Expo on Thursday and probably wouldn't get to train before then anyhow. Need time to think about this one...

I'm always happy to know that I helped motivate someone with training, so thanks for the kind words, Robert! Good to hear that the training leading up to your comp is going well, so keep up the good work and do us proud when the day comes!

Today was a goof-off day in the gym. Stressed, bad sleep and a bad start to training put me in a foul mood, so I just had fun and that was it.

Started off with clean and press, cleaning each rep, but my cleans were terrible and I bailed out early -

1x5 @ 135

1x4 @ 185

1x3 @ 205

1x2 @ 225 - then I missed the next clean three times and called that lift quits. Terrible!

Barbell flat benching in the power rack, starting at bottom position about 5" off of chest height -

1x10 @ 135

1x5 @ 225

1x3 @ 295

1x3 @ 315

1x1 @ 335 - PR

Attempted 365 twice, didn't move either time, got a ways to go on that one. Should be able to hit 315 at any time now for a PR flat bench with the way these have been going.

1x3 @ 315

1x10 @ 225

Cable side shrugs -

2x20 each arm with full stack plus the one extra plate for it

Behind the neck push jerks in the power rack -

1x5 @ 135

1x5 @ 185

1x3 @ 205

1x2 @ 215

1x2 @ 225

Never went above 185 with these, but I figured that I'd go above and get to 225 today and it went pretty well. I think I'd have been good for 250, but I'd hate to bail and drop the bar on the pins in the rack. Better to work my way up for a few more weeks, then I can see it being the easiest way to get a lot of weight overhead

That was it for today. Nothing much, but better to have some fun and still do something good than blow off a workout just because it starts off terribly. Should be squatting Monday night, back with details once I'm done!

There's not really a "best mimic" for lifting weights. Just like anything else, the things that give the best results are those that require the hardest work, and with a barbell there's no shortcut but you'll unquestionably get the most return for your time and energy invested.

I mean, you could ask someone to sit on your shoulders while you squat them and it'd be more awkward than a barbell of the same weight and you'd build better overall strength for it, but does anyone really want to have to find people or other odd objects to lift each and every single time they train?

Besides, the gorilla may be able to lift 1000 lbs. simply due to genetics, but if that gorilla hit the gym and trained weekly to do the same movement, I bet he'd lift twice that amount after a number of years. You can't keep getting stronger unless you progressively add resistance to your training, so that's where everything else other than a weight set or odd heavy objects will fall short. No amount of playing with bands, pulleys or anything else will give you the overall strength from head to toe that a simple barbell set can because nothing hits so many muscle groups at once and builds pure, quality strength.

Like I've said, you can build SOME strength with gimmicks and gadgets, but if you want to be truly strong, there's a best way to do it, and that's with free weights.

A 2nd for free weights.

Bands, tubes and other things of that nature can never mimick moving a real object to anywhere near the degree that a barbell or dumbbells can, and unfortunately the carryover strength won't be too great from such things as well. Being able to deadlift a 500 lb. barbell off the floor will help you to be able to move a big-screen TV quite a bit, but pulling against tubes that may be 200 lbs. of resistance at the start and 400 at the finish won't be the same. If you've ever pulled on a band of sorts, the resistance at the start when there's no tension is nowhere near the same as when you finish the full pull, and since when in real life is anything going to give an assist at the start of trying to move it? There's a place for everything, but if you can only pick one thing, weights are the absolute way to go, no question about it.

Just look at information about any of the strongest people who have lived. Either they trained with weights or had extremely demanding physical labor jobs where they moved thousands and thousands of pounds of various items each and every day. Both will work, but I don't feel like being a dockworker so I'll take the weight set any day!

Deadlift make-up day today -

Started with some olympic lifting to get warmed up. Some cleans, front squats, push jerks and power snatches with a light weight of 95-135 lbs. for about 5 minutes to get the blood flowing, then did 2 power snatches with 185 lbs. to finish off with this. Headed to do deadlifts, did the following:

1x5 @ 225

1x3 @ 315

1x3 @ 405

2x2 @ 475 - working with contest weight to get the feel for it again

1xfail @ 475 - just not used to going remotely heavy again yet, got to ease back into it a bit more.

1x3 @ 405

Next, did some 1-arm BB power cleans, 2 sets of 3 each arm @ 135 just for the hell of it.

Wrapped up with some good mornings -

1x10 @ 135

1x10 @ 225 w/ dead stop with torso parallel to floor where bar hits pins

1x5 @ 315

1x10 @ 315

1x5 @ 315

Haven't done GMs in a month or so, just testing the waters again with this one to get the feel going again.

Not as good as I'd hoped today, but it'll only get better as time goes on. Probably going to be training solo in the garage this weekend, will get some log and farmer's hold worl done on Saturday or Sunday.

Veg News is a great magazine - we've been friends with Joe and Colleen, the creators of the mag for quite a few years now and they definitely turn out a top-notch publication. If there's any vegan mag I encourage supporting, they're the one!

But, I can't leave out Herbivore Magazine, either - another great mag done by vegans for vegans.