MoshxDeLaney

Thanks man! I was actually feeling really weak and fatigued last week, so I'm taking this week off to let my body recover. I've been putting in a lot of extra hours at work, so between that and skipping the recommended deload week for the last few cycles, I was definitely feeling it. I also just broke up with the girl I thought I was gonna marry and am pretty beat up over it, so I don't feel too bad about taking a week off. I start my new job next week as part owner of the contracting company for which I used to work. The hours will be long and it's incredibly physically demanding work, and as such my training may suffer a bit at first, but I'll eventually get things on track. Also, just realized I forgot to post my squat workout from last Friday, so I'll do that now.

Looking strong man, keep it going. Do you have any goals set yet for your meet? Also, on a totally unrelated side note, I love the colloquial differences between American English and British English, such as kickabout, arsed and niggling.

5/12/2011 BW: 235.5 bench press - 45x6, 6, 95x6, 135x6, 155x3, 185x5, 210x5, 240x8+1 assisted incline press - 45x6, 95x6, 135x5, 185x3, 225x1+1 assisted close grip press - 45x6, 135x6, 185x5, 225x3, 255x5 dumbbell row - 100x10, 10, 7 (per arm) I was all messed up today. My sleep schedule got really thrown off last night. I went to a hardcore show which ended up going until 1 AM, so I didn't get home and in bed until almost 2. I normally get up at 4 AM to be at work by about 5:50. Today I was off, but I had a meeting at work from 7-8. So after the meeting I came home and napped from about 9-12:30. Only ate a small meal before the meeting (Clif bar and half of a field roast sausage) to maximize sleep time. After my nap I went and got a big lunch with a few friends, then hit the gym about two hours later. So my sleep being thrown off really threw off my eating as well. That having been said, I was pretty happy with my work out today. I got about 3/4 of the way up on the 9th rep with 240 but just couldn't lock it out. My incline sucks. I don't know if it's just because I wasn't doing it for so long, but I even put it before close grip to give it some prioritization. Every time I bomb off my chest. I want to do some dead benching (starting from a dead stop just off my chest in a rack), but I know it will tear up my shoulders. I'll see what I can come up with. PR on close grip presses, stoked about that. They're consistently moving up. I was wiped by the time I got to rows, and by the third set I just had nothing left in the tank. After that I did some light rotator cuff, trap and neck work.

5/10/2011 deadlift - 70kgx6, 5, 90x3, 110x3, 128x5, 148x5, 178x9 glute ham raise - BWx10, 9, 7, 6, 4 lunge - 40kgx8, 65x10, 10, 8 standing cable crunch - 150x10, 10, 10, 10, 10 Did two sets of 21 tire flips/20 sledge hammer hits then sprinted around the perimeter of my yard (which is really big) twice then called it a day. I had trouble getting motivated today, but I got in and got it done. I've also cut back my food intake a bit, so that might have something to do with it. Time to shed this winter coat. BW: 235

5/9/2011 military press - 20kgx6, 20x6, 30x5, 40x5, 50x3, 55x3, 60x5, 65x5, 75x5 wide grip pull up - BWx12, 9, 6, 6, 5 dip - BW+25x12, 12, 12, 10, 9 neck curl - 5kgx10, 10x8, 15x12, 12, 12 Did some light shoulder rehab stuff, then box jumps. Jumped onto a 32.5" box, 4 sets of 10, rapid fire. Rested about a minute and a half between sets. BW: 234

5/6/2011 squat - 20kgx6, 20x6, 50x5, 70x3, 100x3, 120x5, 135x3, 150x3 good morning - 20kgx8, 50x6, 70x10, 10, 10, 10, 8 standing cable crunch - 140x10, 10, 10, 10, 10 superset with wide grip pull up - BWx7, 7, 7, 7, 5 barbell curl - 20kgx6, 30x10, 10, 8 BW: 234.5 Changed up my squat form a bit. It felt really good on the warm up sets but I wasn't able to hold it on my final set. I'll just have to keep working on it, getting a higher amount of volume on warm ups. Elbows and forearm extensors were a little sore today for some reason so I decided to go with a lighter weight/higher rep scheme on curls. Got a really good sweat going and really hammered my posterior chain so I didn't bother with any cardio. Which might just be another way of saying I got lazy, but whatever.

5/5/2011 bench press - 45x6, 45x6, 95x5, 135x3, 155x3, 185x3, 205x5, 230x3, 255x5 close grip press - 135x6, 185x5, 205x4, 225x3, 255x4 incline press - 95x5, 135x5, 185x4, 225x1+1 forced rep dumbbell row - 4x10@95 BW: 235 Thought I could get 6 reps at 255 on bench but my form started slipping and as soon as that happened I knew I wouldn't get it. My incline bench still sucks. I did it with dumbbells so long, and it's just a totally different beast with a barbell. I should probably start putting it before close grip from now on.

5/2/2011 standing military press - 20kgx6, 20x6, 40x5, 45x3, 50x3, 64x5, 72x3, 80x3 wide grip pull up - BWx11, 8, 7, 6, 5 dip - BW+25x12, 12, 10, 10, 10 neck curl - 15kgx12, 12, 11 BW: 234.5 Really pumped on hitting 3 reps with 80 kilos. When I maxed out on my major lifts 3 weeks ago 80 was the heaviest single I could hit, and I knew I had more in me, it just didn't happen that day. Celebrated by doing hill sprints afterward. Let me begin by clarifying; I loathe running. That having been said, I don't hate sprinting quite as much as jogging, but it's still definitely on my shit list. I did 20 sprints up the hill, resting only as long as it took me to walk back down. After about 3 I was breathing pretty heavily. I know I've mentioned the hill before, but it was awhile ago and I don't feel like looking back to see what I said about it. I would estimate the length of the sprint at about 100-120 meters. The incline is probably about 15-20 degrees, quite steep when running up it. 5/3/2011 deadlift - 70kgx5, 100x3, 120x3, 155x5, 175x3, 195x4 glute ham raise - BWx10, 8, 6, 4, 4 lunge - 65kgx10, 10, 8 hanging leg raise - BWx12, 12, 10 BW: 235 I had my friend with me again today. I think teaching him to deadlift was actually more difficult than teaching to squat. Getting him to learn so many different steps in such a short amount of time was a bit overwhelming for both of us. He's definitely already much more flexible in his hamstrings than he was when I taught him to squat, though, which is promising. Anyway, I felt really good about the deadlifts. I'm doing all of my training completely belt free now, and I'm enjoying it. Quads were noticeably fatigued today from the hill sprints yesterday. We had to cut our workout a bit short because my friend had a prior engagement, so no cardio today, but I think it was a good day in the gym overall.

Yeah, nothing to do but move forward and hope they're smoother next time.

4/29/2011 squat - 20kgx6, 50x5, 70x3, 95x3, 115x3, 130x3, 145x4 good morning - 70kgx10, 10, 10, 8, 8 standing cable crunch - 130x10, 10, 10, 10, 10 superset with wide grip pull up - 7, 7, 7, 6, 5 barbell curl - 45kgx6, 6, 5 BW: 235 Squats felt off. Not really sure exactly what the problem. I think maybe I wasn't staying tight enough and I wasn't putting my weight on the outsides of my feet enough. I was having a hard time concentrating in the gym. My mind has been wandering a lot recently. Everything else felt pretty good though. Dinner afterwards consisted of two chipotle burritos a bag of their tortilla chips and two Tofutti drumsticks. Livin large

4/28/2011 bench press - 45x6, 45x5, 95x5, 135x3, 165x3, 190x3, 215x3, 245x7 close grip press - 95x5, 135x5, 185x5, 205x4, 225x3, 250x4 incline press - 135x5, 155x5, 185x4, 230x1+1 forced dumbbell row - 95x10, 10, 10, 9, 8 (per arm) Did a few sets of random upper body movements in which I felt I might be weak. BW: 234.5 Notes: Incline press felt really weak today, not really sure why. Maybe I was just fatigued. Hit PRs on my top sets of flat bench and close grip though, so I call it a success.

If you're in NJ, I guarantee that you could find a training group that's within a reasonable distance from where you're at. I strongly suggest going to http://www.marunde-muscle.com and visit the forum - lots of people post about where to find strongman and powerlifting groups who have all the good stuff for training, and almost overwhelmingly, people will be inviting to offer for you to train with them if you're nearby. There are tons of small "facilities" that range from big gyms down to garage setups, and as the east coast is a hotbed for strongman activity, I have the feeling you'll get lucky if you post around asking about training groups! Thanks man, I'll check it out. I've looked for powerlifting gyms on the powerlifting watch site, but they're all in north jersey. I'll give Marunde's site a try though

Another thing I would recommend is actually doing deadlifts (I assume that's what bothers your sacrum most), but do them very light for high reps. When I say very light I mean start out only using the bar for the first day. Try 4 sets of 25. Do that for a couple of days, then maybe after 3 or 4 days try 3 sets of 25 with the bar then a set of 25 with 5 or 10 kilos on each side. The next day do 2 sets with the bar, 1 with 10 kilos on and 1 with 20 kilos on. Continue this pattern for 10 days. Keep the reps at 25 and the sets at a total Pf 4 or 5. It should hurt, but you should be able to tell the difference between re-injury and blood flushing. If at any time it feels like re-injury stop doing it

Yeah man, I spend a lot of time eating, but I just don't think I would get what I need out of that many protein shakes. I think whole foods are really the way to go for the most part. Also, with the brown rice I'll cool up a bunch at the beginning of the week and store it in containers for my lunches. It's easier than doing it everyday. I wish I could refrain from physical stuff before workouts all together but unfortunately I bend down and pick heavy boxes up all day at work

That's awesome, I wish I lived closer to a strongman facility. I also wish I had a training partner

So I got curious about my daily caloric intake and just took an inventory of a typical day's worth of food for me. My eating varies slightly from day to day, but it's fairly uniform. On an average day I'm taking in between 5,000 and 5,500 calories

4/26/2011 deadlift - 50kgx5, 70x3, 100x3, 120x1, 145x3, 165x3, 185x5 glute ham raise - BWx10, 8, 7, 6, 6 lunge - 65kgx10, 8, 8 hanging leg raise - BWx12, 12, 10, 9, 8 Got home from doing my deadlift work out a bit ago. I recently started adding in some sort of cardio after every one of my weight work outs. I did tire flips 3 days last week and yesterday and my PC was a little burnt out, and I really didn't feel like hill sprints at all, so I found a big tote bucket, filled it up with some spare mulch I have, and did a Hussafell stone type carry for a length of my driveway, part of which goes around a circle. The implement only weighed about 60 pounds (yes, I brought my scale outside and weighed it), but it was just wide enough so that I couldn't quite lock my fingers. I would estimate the distance at about 300 feet or so. I did this for five rounds. Not particularly taxing cardio wise, but it was pretty fun nonetheless. BW: 236 Notes: my posterior chain is still completely fatigued from all the tire flipping I've been doing. I think I need to keep that to one or maybe two days per week, and definitely not the day before I deadlift. Still not using a belt at all and resting 90 seconds between accessory work sets.

That's crazy. Sometimes I wish I had a desk job so I could just eat non stop. I literally just don't have more time to eat during the day. I'm running around all day at work unloading palettes and things like that. I'm not sure how many calories I take in, I never count really, I just eat, but I think I probably take in more than you might think. I'll have to count someday and get back to you on that one.

4/25/2011 military press - 20kgx6, 20x5, 30x5, 40x5, 50x3, 60x3, 68x3, 77x4 pull up - BWx10, 7, 6, 5, 4 dip - BW+25x12, 10, 10, 10, 10 neck curl - 15kgx12, 12, 10 Did 3 supersets of 21 tire flips and 20 sledge hammer hits. It got really hot today, about 85, and I was definitely feeling it. I was pouring sweat. My hamstrings and hips were also really tight from my squat session on Friday and the multiple tire flipping sessions I did last week. BW: 235 Notes: I typically do my pull ups from a straight bar on the top of the squat rack. Today I did them from an actual pull up bar, which I on the reverse side of the dip bar, shoved up against the wall. I pulled the apparatus out so I could use it. It's super wide and the handles on the end angle downward. It had been a long time since doing pull ups from a bar like this. I wasn't able to get as many reps, but I felt a much better stretch and contraction in my lats

Try doing some reverse hypers for the lower back. If your gym doesn't have a reverse hyper machine (which is likely; I wish mine did), you can use a elevated swiss ball or just face backwards on a regular hyperextension bench if you have one. Youtube it if you need to, I'm sure you can find a way to make it work no matter what your set up.

It comes in handy sometimes! lol Yeah, I'm the opposite way round, this is more squatting for me! I'm glad I'm doing more mobility work/stretching now otherwise I think I'd just stiffen up doing 3x/week. I do enjoy the light day on wednesday, it's a good warmup for the deadlifts. And can't complain about the assistance, enjoying it. The best thing though, is just having a program that tells me exactly what to do again. I was dementing myself trying to plan assistance before. There's lots of stuff I wouldn't normally do, like the fact friday uses so many muscles heavily that you're going to be using again Monday. So it's good to just do something I normally wouldn't! It seems to be working so far can feel myself thickening up! Things are still light yet though, can't wait to start hitting PB's. First up is a 5RM on bench 2 weeks on Monday. Patience Exactly. Think of it not as a race, but a journey. As good as hitting PRs feels, you learn a hell of a lot more from failed attempts and perfecting form

I think everyone is severely lacking in the water department in comparison to me haha. I'm just a thirsty guy, always have been. I can drink water until my stomach is so full I feel like I'm going to vomit, and still feel thirsty. I actually think I have some sort Pf glandular issue, as I'm also a very slow eater because I have to chew so much. I should really get that checked out. As far as the peanut butter goes, I do eat that sandwich an hour before I start lifting. I definitely had to get used to it though

Yeah, I was never one to use a belt until I injured my sacrum. I've never used any other type of supportive gear. I work out in shorts, a t shirt and chuck taylors. As far as my diet I'll give you a typical training day: 4 AM - 2 packets 365 brand oatmeal, 1 field roast applewood sage sausage, 3 dates, 1 cup orange juice, 1 cup green tea 7:30 AM - kale smoothie: 2 cups almond milk, 1 kale leaf, 1 scoop protein powder, 1 serving wheat grass powder, 1 tbsp flax oil 11 AM - 1.5 Tofurky kielbasa links, 1 cup cooked brown rice, 1 small-medium yam, 2 servings coconut milk yogurt 2:15 PM - pre workout meal: peanut butter and agave nectar sandwich on whole wheat bread, 1 cup almond milk 5 PM - post workout: 2 cups chocolate almond milk, 1.5 servings nitro fusion, 1 piece of fruit 7PM - large green salad made with spring mix, avocado, carrots and 1/3 of a field roast celebration roast. This is really the only meal that can be vastly different day to day. Sometimes it's a double quarter pounder Amy's veggie burger with daiya cheese on a whole wheat bin, sometimes it's a giant burrito from chipotle Also, I drink about 20 ounces of water after each meal, as well as sipping it throughout the day. I drink one electrolyte drink during my workout. Recently I've been making my own based on a recipe from the Thrive book. I try to drink As much water as I do of the electrolyte drink during my workout. I probably drink close to two gallons of water every day

Ok, kinda what I figured. Then keep doing what you're doing man

4/22/2011 squat - 20kgx5, 50x5, 70x3, 90x3, 105x5, 120x5, 135x6 good morning - 70kgx10, 10, 8, 8, 8 standing cable crunch - 120x10, 10, 10, 10, 10 superset with wide grip pull up - BWx6, 6, 6, 6, 6 barbell curl - 45kgx6, 6, 6 After lifting I did 5 sets of 10 rapid fire jumps onto a 32.5" box BW: 233 Notes: Brought my buddy to the gym again today. This should be a regular thing now. I forgot how hard it is trying to teach proper squat form to someone who is rather out of shape and has basically zero lifting experience. I did a lot of demonstration which I think actually took something out of me for my actual work sets, but I'm glad to help a friend. Normally I will throw a belt on for the final set of each of the 4 major lifts, but I've decided not to rely on the belt anymore. It was clearly giving me some assistance, as I probably could have hit 8 reps at 135 kilos with the belt on. I feel in the long run it will definitely pay off