Yesterday Mike Barbato and I went to see Marty for an update on how we have been progressing with our training. I have to admit we both felt tired and were a little nervous. I can’t describe the feeling but once you walk into Marty’s shed, your in the zone and it’s go time.
We started off with the bench press. Mike and I have been working on paused reps, where we bring the bar down to sternum and pause for a second then explode the bar up. This makes benching a lot harder! I ended up pressing 225 with a pause, I’m very happy with this.
Next on the agenda was the Dead lift. Now, I have been having some issues with the Dead during my training. I just did not feel that I was getting the groove down. Both Mike and I were taking turns, doing only 1 rep pulls as if we were in competition. Like I said earlier, I was in the zone and I felt strong as hell. Marty kept stacking on the plates, I did not know how much weight I was pulling all I could remember is Marty saying just get up there and pull. I ended up pulling 370!! I will hit 400 I know it.
Marty told us to start dead lifting on a plate, putting us slightly higher off the ground. This is going to make the first couple inches of the dead lift much harder, but if you can get past that part it’s all gravy after that.
I wanted to work on my back squat. I have not back squatted since high school and I have been only doing rock bottom FS for the past 14 weeks. My front squat max was 235. The back squat felt very natural for me. I doubled my body weight, ended up squatting 300. I could have squatted more too, but did not want to push it, this is after we dead lifted anyway.
Now for one of the best PR’s that has been something that I have been working on for a long time. I FINALLY PRESSED THE 44K!! I figured I was on a roll, why not give it a shot. The Beast is not so far away.
Last week Marty switched up my training routine based on the fact that I have little over 6 weeks till go time. The movements have stayed the same, Deads, FS and Bench press. Only, this time I am dong paused reps. For example, on my FS days, for the past 8 weeks I have been going butt to calf on my squats. The latest video shows me doing 225 at rock bottom. Now, I am stopping once my hip gets just below the knee. At first it was a little weird because I’m used to going all the way down. Now, I am finding that it’s getting easier and my legs are looking and feeling like logs. One thing to consider if you are trying these, you must have good form, if not gravity will take that bar down and there is nothing you can do about it.
Here is what I did:
135 for 6-8 reps/165 x 5/185 x 5 and 205 x 5. On my 3rd rep at 205 I felt the bar coming off, but held it together.
For my bench press day, I widened my grip on the bar at least one fist width. This grip feels great, I feel much stronger. I am really now getting the groove of the press down very well. Sternum to nose, slight C curve. I’m really focusing on corkscrewing my lats and breaking the bar now.
Again, pause reps on the bench, SLOW, SLOWER THEN BLAST OFF is what I’m thinking.
135 x 5/155 x 5/ 175 x 5/ 185 x 5. My chest was on fire after this session.
My dead Lift I have taken back a bit. Pulling 185 x 5 x 2 and still focusing on perfect reps each set. These felt solid this time.
Snatches and Pull ups are moving along nicely. I have Will William’s TAPS bar in my office set up. So, between clients I will jump up there and bang out 15 with no problem. I will probably do this 4 x’s day.
Again, between clients I will grab my 24k and rep them out. On the snatches I’m focusing on that pause at the top, making sure my chest is open and my shoulder is packed nicely. You will be amazed at how many snatches and pull ups you can hit in 1 day between clients. These do not necessarily have to be done at the gym during your primary lifts, for me it’s all about variety. As the Grillman says, “Remember MUSHIN: No mind,no emotion, just do it.”
After speaking with Marty today, he decided that I should take today and treat it as if I were doing all 3 lifts in competition. I was going for my 1 rep max on Front Squat, Bench Press and Dead lift.
I have been killing the FS. I honestly never thought that when I started this program I would be doing rock bottom FS with 215. Hopefully it’s not making me shorter. In fact today that was my goal, 215 x 1, I ended up doing 225 x 1!! I always warm up with Goblet Squats and kneeling hip flexor stretch from RKC.
Bench Press has been pretty solid too. Remember that I have not benched in over 4 years before I started this program. Once Marty had me hitting 185 x 5 and 195 x 3′s I felt the groove of the press really clicking. So, when I went into the gym today and only had to to sets of 1, I was ready to break the bar. I hit 215 with solid form, then went to 225 with no problem at all.
What is solid form on the Bench press? Digging those heels into the ground, lifting the butt, squeezing the glutes, putting my body in a slight decline position. I keep reminding myself that it’s very similar to a pull up. I initiated the movement by breaking the bar and igniting the lats. I keep the elbows in as I lower the bar to the chest, similar to the pull up.
Dead Lift has been a little up and down for me. The new duck stance position has been a challenge. Still trying to keep the butt down as I pull the weight up. I can tell you this, my pistols are easy now. In addition, my SLDL form has drastically improved. It’s very simple, the duck stance really attacks the legs. It makes you force the knees out and drive through the heels. I pulled 235 with pretty good form. I know that I could have pulled more, but I did not want to get ahead of myself. I need more work on this lift.
Will Williams has been letting me use his TAPS bar. So, I set it up in my office where I teach so between clients I will jump up there and bang out 15-20. Sometimes I will pull a 16k for 5-8 reps as well during my day.
I have gained 1 pound of muscle a week for 8 weeks so far. I feel stronger than ever, but this is only the beginning.
I took 3 days off and headed to Naples, FL. Before I left I talked to Marty and he said, eat for 3 days then grip and rip it on Monday. I don’t know about you guys, but this was very hard for me to do. I mean, the eating wasn’t, I enjoyed that and accomplished my goal of gaining 3-4 pounds. When I went into the gym, I was very disappointed. The set up was horrific. Everything was like 2 feet apart. The power rack, was literally against a lat pull down machine and a smith machine on the other side.
When I started do do my FS, I had to make sure I didn’t hit anyone. This is not the way to start off a training session. Trying to get a spotter, you have to be kidding me. Everyone in the gym was over 65 years old.
I was very happy to come home and get back on track with my training. Sometimes you have to take a step back, that was it. I’m back baby.
I will start off by saying that I am always eating. I’m eating right now as I type this. I can’t eat enough. Luckily I’m heading to Florida to see my mom. I will put on at least 3 pounds this weekend. Veal cutlets, steak, pasta, bread and wine for sure.
My training is going very well. I was lucky to see Marty and the whole Purposeful Primitive team last week. Everyone seems to be kicking ass. My biggest frustration is the Dead lift, but I understand that baby steps are required in order to perfect my technique and pull 400. Last week I pulled 225 for 4 sets of 3′s, it Felt really good. I am finally on 3′s, which is a hell of a lot better than 5′s. My leg strength is insane! As I have mentioned before, my SLD are solid and my pistols are awesome.
I posted a video on my website DV8Fitness.com of my Dead lifts. I will also try to upload the same video on this post as well. The session you are viewing, I tried to pull 325 for 1 rep, just to feel the weight. It felt lighter than before, but my ass came up during the movment.
Check it out and give me some feedback brothers.
Comrades,
This week has been crazy busy, but I always make time for my workouts. Here is a quick run down on how week 4 went
Front Squats- 165 x 5 x 1. I have not had to take a step back as far as my FS. I’m still on track and feeling good with my technique.
Bench Press- 175 x 5 x 1. Bench Press has been really good. It feels great to press again. I have been warming up with DB presses and 135lbs for a set of 8 before each session.
Dead lift- 215 x 3 x 4. I am always starting out with a set of Goblet Squats with a 12k bell. Then into a set of FS with 135lbs, practicing my leg drive.
So far I have taken a smart step back in my BP and Deads. I have found that it is imparative to take it slow and to not focus so much on the numbers every week. Speaking to Marty at the beginning of every week helps. The conversation sets the tone for my upcoming training sessions.
I’m only on week 4 and have kept up with my weight gain. I’m up 4 pounds so far and feel good. Anyone who says the eating is easy when your trying to put muscle on is not eating enough! It’s been tough. I drink 1/2 gallon of Raw milk every day. Still eating lots of meat, fish and eggs.
There is no question, that my strength has increased. I am doing pistols with my 32k with no problem. I would like to pistol the bulldog soon. This week i will post a video of myself executing the 3 movements. Looking forward to training with Marty again this week.
Just thought I would share what I had last night for dinner. I defrosted some veal that I got at Marty Gallagher‘s. It was ground up, I added Garlic powder, pepper, salt, 1 egg, parsley and some about a half a cup of bread crumbs. I mixed them all up and made some nice patties. Little bit of vegetable oil in a pan and cooked for a couple minutes.
Great in the morning as well.
I have to say, ever since Marty told me to force my knees out during the Dead lift, my lifts have become better and feel more solid. I’m with Chris on this, I think I have finally found my Dead lift. I have been fighting this duck stance ever since we started, but now it is finally sinking in. 205 x 5 x 3 felt solid. Pavel would kill me if he found out that I have been dead lifting in front of a mirror for the first couple weeks, shame on me. It just dawned on me this week. So, this past week I did all my lifts away from the mirror, big difference. Here is something to think about, for a lot of us, if we stop and take a look down at our foot position when we are standing, most of us are in the duck stance. I know I stand like this as well as Will.
Bench press this week went very well. I always feel like I need to do more though. I give everything I have during the sets and reps that day, but I feel I need more. Should I warm up with 2-3 sets of DB presses first? Right now, I only do a set of 8 reps slow. The groove of the press feels better every week. My glutes are sore as shit after I press too.
Front squats are my bread and butter every week. My legs feel like jello after these sets. Usually on the FS day I practice pistols as well. Last week I did a 65lb pistol with no compensations at all, down and up. I would like to pistol the Bulldog this year.
This past weekend they had an MMA expo in Philadelphia which I went too. They had BP, Dead lift competition as well. Very cool to see how many different dead lift styles are out there. I did not notice those who were BP do the groove that we all are working on. It seemed that they were all going straight up with the bar.
Stay tuned for a video on how my 3rd week went.
Today started with a conversation with Marty Gallagher. So far I’m on track, BUT I need to eat more food!! During our conversation I just happen to be stuffing my face with Eggs, bacon and steakhouse rye bread. I’m eating again as I type this, stuffed Salmon, rice and spinach. Later tonight a protein shake before bed.
The training session today was quick but very effective. Front squats started off the 3rd week of my plan. I warmed up with Barbell TGU (60lbs), 3 R/L slow, keeping my body linked the entire time. I love the Get up because you can break down each movement and make an entire workout out of it. I started from top down, but only to half kneeling. I focused on breathing into my belly and driving through my heel on the way up. I then proceeded into Goblet Squats, one of my favorite movements, created by Team Leader Dan John.
Front Squats- 155 x 5 x 2. This entire workout took about 30min. The only other guy in the gym spent 15min looking at himself in the mirror, I swear. My 2 sets felt solid. Question? How important is the hand position in the FS? It is very uncomfortable. My warm up set was with 135lbs and I tried the crossover position Barbato did when we were at Marty’s. It felt better, but when I start squatting more weight I don’t know.
Overall great session. I have to say, my pistols (1 leg squats) are feeling easier and easier.