NaterMania

hmm, your time might be better spent on assisted static holds in the cross position rather than on presses then.

you may use bands for assistance or put your feet on a bench in an L position.

Yea, I've been thinking about that, and I think it's a good idea. One thing I've been doing is setting the rings wide apart and doing support holds, it's similar to the arm strain during the cross so it is helping my elbows. Plus it's the hardest thing I've ever done to my chest, I think. I'll probably start working some of my statics during the off days, just more as some rehab work than anything. As I keep getting stronger I'm able to switch over more and more to the bodyweight stuff, it's great! I can't wait until my elbows are rehabbed, I'll be cutting out regular bench altogether and just working with my thick bar, and do planche work instead of the regular bench. I'm excited! I should be able to switch over completely by February, I'm guessing.

Saturday training! My first 3-a-day. Well folks, this was quite awesome.

10 am: Explosive work.

All work is with 72.5 lb plate loaded kettlebell. I will post a picture or video soon. It's quite outstanding, it has the exact shape of a kettlebell, apart from the hard edges

2 sets 20 kettlebell swings

2 sets 10 cleans

2 sets 6 snatches.

This was done with minimal rest between sets, though I was talking to my friend between exercises and took longer than I needed to. Still, it probably didn't even take 15 minutes. I'd say 10, but I don't know for sure

Then I jibber-jabbered in the parking lot with my friend for 20 minutes, and then I went inside and did one clean and press with 205. Nothing hard, but I'm afraid of hurting my elbows. Plus I don't practice these at all so I am not confident in my form. I didn't like how my right elbow felt, just a slight oddness, so I knew that was that. I'll stick with the kettlebells and just do form work with the bar for about a month.

6pm: Heavy Full ROM work.

Well. I intended to do this at 3 pm, but an excursion to trade out my gf's phone got in the way. Fortunately that in turn led to Gelatto. Dulce De Leches (or something like that) Tasty!

Warm up: Cart wheels, jump rope, handstands, pullups, dips.

Work out:

Group 1: After each set of bench I did a BW back exercise, in the order listed. Only one set of FP and FLP was done total.

Flat Bench: Set 1: 269 lbs, 4 reps. Set 2: 267, 4 reps. Reps were done TUT, so I dropped weight to do 4,2,X(explode ASAP)

Front Pull: Full Lay, 2.5 lb ankle weight per leg. 5 reps.

Front Lever Pull: Full Lay, 2.5 lb ankle weight per leg. 5 reps.

Group 2:

3" bar bench press: Set 1: 247 lbs, 4 reps. Set 2: 247 lbs, 4 reps. Set 3: 247 lbs, 4 reps. TUT, like Flat Bench.

Pull ups: Set 1: 100 lbs, 2.5 reps, Neutral grip. Set 2: 100 lbs, 2.5 reps, Reverse (Chin-up) grip. Set 3: 2 half reps and 2

negatives, regular grip.

Bottom Starting Position Dips: Set 1: 100 lbs, 4 reps. Set 2: 100 lbs, 6 reps.

Group 3:

Deadlifts: Set 1: 440 lbs, 4 reps. Set 2: 440 lbs, 4 reps. Set 3: 440 lbs, 4 reps.

Squat: Due to excessive talking, I ran out of time and didn't do these. Stupid!

Wide Ring Holds: 20s holds, plus some dips. Got WAY stronger from last time on this.

11pm: Heavy Partial ROM work.

Well, this one was supposed to be around 8-9 pm, but nope! Had to go pick up GF's friend Judy from the airport

Shoulder Press Lockouts: Set 1: 220 lbs, 10 reps. Set 2: 300 lbs, 10 reps.

Flat Bench Lockouts: Set 1: 510 lbs, 14 reps. Set 2: 517, 12 reps.

Deadlift Lockouts: Set 1: 517 lbs, 12 reps.

Leg Press: Set 1: 830 lbs, 10 reps. Set 2: 1200 lbs, 10 reps. Set 3: 1425lbs, 10 reps. Getting stronger!

Thick Handle Deadlifts: Set 1: 185 lbs, 10 reps. Set 2: 185 lbs, 10 reps. Still had to rest pause the first set slightly to reset grip, but getting better!

01Dec2009

Well. I shaved my head, and I did my first walk. 50 minutes. Not bad. I stopped at 50 to help spot a friend... what can you do

I figured that since I was already at the gym I should go ahead and shoot a video on the front pull and front lever pull. On looking, I move a bit too far beyond parallel, but that's because I am used to having my weights on my ankles. I will shoot another one with the weights, it will look better. I also did the following workout:

2 sets 3 reps SLS, +25 lbs.

1 set 2 reps SLS, +35 lbs.

1 set 10 second deep planche lean on ground, followed by 10 good PPP, the last 8 were with the momentary bent arm planche at the bottom. They felt good!

1 set 10 seconds swiss ball planche lean, followed by 3 straight arm presses from swiss ball flat tuck planche backwards to swiss ball pushup position. These feel good, I will continue them.

1 set 4 reps front pull

1 set 4 reps front lever pull

1 set of 2 each, first front pull and second front lever pull. These are on my video. Audio is questionable I may have to annotate it on Youtube and shoot a better video to replace it at some point. I found that I can do slightly bent full lay yewkis as well, though they are not in the video. I'll do that when I am fresh, with better form. Edit: Audio came through very clean! Excellent!

Here's the video:

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BIg boy inded

You frikkin monster I imagine if your weight loss project works as intended you'd be one hell of a mean machine :twisted:

lol that lady that walked by was like 'WTF! :shock: is this guy doing!'

Nice job Slizzardman

Thanks guys! Yea, I didn't know she was there until I watched the video, it is pretty funny Everyone knows me as the "Monkey Man" lol That's what Andy always calls me. He's this bodybuilder who trains there, big guy. Drug-free, he competes in the natural bodybuilding. Just got his pro card and took 4th place in his very first pro competition! You can see the difference between how he looks and how I look, in terms of the muscles. His are very round and smooth, and mine are a bit more sinewy.

I can also outlift him by a good margin It makes me laugh inside a little bit to see a guy that big with a strength level so low. He's bigger than the strongmen at his height who wrap 1/2 in ch thick steel bars around their wrists but he really isn't that strong! He needs to gain like 10-20 lbs by march, and I told him the only way that's going to happen is if he starts doing more strength-type work with instability, like the thick bar benches and curls. We'll see.

Razz, I have a pic from when I was a lot leaner, around 200 flat. I was actually stronger than I am now, too. Well, not in the straight arm stuff, but overall I was considerably stronger. I'll find it and post it when I have the time later.

03DEC2009

Session 1:

Each kettlebell set is done with one arm and then the other, switched on the fly. 1 minute or less rest between sets, 90 seconds rest between exercises. Kettlebell is 72.5 lbs, not including the handle, which is probably 1 lb.

2 sets 15 reps kettlebell swings

2 sets 10 reps kettlebell cleans

2 sets 6 reps kettlebell snatches

6 sets HeSPU

Hands elevated 4": 5 sets. 2, 1, 1, 1, 1 negative.

Hands on floor: One slow rep starting from headstand and lowering slowly back to headstand.

Gym:

2 sets planche lean. Setup was I used the incline situp bench as a foot pad and put my hands on a flat bench, so that I could see myself in the mirror. Body was essentially flat and parallel with the ground. Wrists were at iliac crest or so, I believe.

Set 1: hands 45 degrees out. This was uncomfortable. 15 seconds.

Set 2: fingers pointed out, perpendicular to body line. I was able to push much further forward, making the hold much, much harder. 8 seconds.

Swiss ball planche: 1 set 15s.

1 set back lever: rings were anchored 4" wider than my shoulders. 4 seconds flat tuck, extended to straddle for 4 seconds, went back to flat tuck for 4 seconds, lowered to ground. I think I held the straddle too long, my elbows didn't feel pain, but it feels like they did more than they should have. I'll have to be more careful.

2 sets wide ring supports, rings set 2.5x shoulders, with ~3 foot straps. Hands held close to sides, arms straight. THese are still tough, but I am getting better. 2 sets of 15 seconds!

1 set weighted dips. 100 lbs for 6 slow reps, full ROM, starting from bottom position.

1 set weighted RING dips. 45 lbs for 5 reps, with a 10 second rest between reps 4 and 5. Damn, these are hard!

03DEC2009

Session 2:

5 sets of 5 reps, 3" barbell. 135, 185, 225, 251, 251 lbs.

5 sets of weighted ring pullups. 45 lbs, 45 lbs, 70 lbs, 70 lbs, 70 lbs. Tougher than the bar due to rotating handles And I felt the need to go a little easy on the elbows after the earlier back lever work, which I did another short set of before one of these pullup sets.

2 sets FX PPP. Hands out to side. 8 reps, 7 reps.

wrists at belly button, feet elevated 8 inches above palms. These were tough!

2 sets rings front pull, 5 reps, 5 reps, full lay both sets

2 sets rings front lever pull, 5 reps, 5 reps, full lay both sets.

3 sets of 3 natural leg curls, damn. these are tough!

2 sets of 3 reps SLS + 25 lbs.

6 sets of bottom position squats. 225 x5, 245 x5, 266 x1, 266 x2, 266 x2, 266 x3. With these you start from the bottom position of a parallel squat. You either need a power rack or something to suspend the bar. I used the ring straps Let me tell you something, these are REALLY HARD. It takes a bit more strength to start 266 from the parallel position than it does for me to do a parallel or ATG squat with 300.

3 sets 5 reps 3" barbell curl. 95 lbs, 115 lbs, 115 lbs. Holy mother of GOD. This is an outstanding elbow strengthener! You have to do it to believe the amount of work the inside of the forearm has to do, both near the wrist and the elbow. I have a new addition to my favorite barbell exercises!!!

2 sets thick bar deadlift. Well guys, because those thick bar curls are so unbelievably hard on the grip and elbows, I had to do 4 sets of 4-5 reps. Two of those sets were rest paused between each rep! Ridiculous!

Hey just out of curiosity what are you studying? if u dont mind telling that is

I'm going for my psychology BS right now, after that I'll do the counseling MS and possibly Ph.D before I go back and get my BS in exercise science and eventually go to grad school for kinesiology. I'll be 40-50 by the time I have all those, but then I'll be able to offer a more holistic practice. I definitely plan to get certified in naturopathic medicine as well as whatever else seems to be appropriate. I plan on eventually creating and expanding a holistic wellness center that combines all aspects of wellness to treat both physical and psychological disorders. I think it is a great failing on the part of the medical and wellness community that the professionals themselves are not calling for this.

Here's what I looked like on my ship a few months before I got out of the Navy. 8-9%, not quite my best, but I was probably overall at my strongest here. I could curl 205(my bodyweight) on a straight bar with good form, deadlift 505 for a double completely raw, no chalk or anything, do like 30 deadhang wide grip pullups, and punch hard enough to rip cheap bags.

Very nice physique Especially your arms are evil :twisted:

An important thing to remember is that that gym I took the picture in is ON my ship, on frame 20 at the deepest point. That means it's like 30 feet from the hull of the ship if you go straight forward, and about 50-60 feet from the bull nose, the absolute front-most part of the forecastle, which in turn is the front-most part of the ship. The bow, if you will. That means that we are constantly moving up and down in the gym and that makes every exercise inherently unstable and much more difficult. I attribute some of my excellent strength gains during that time to the unstable nature of the exercise.

Søren said:

Very nice physique Especially your arms are evil :twisted:

Thanks I do miss them, but it's coming back with a vengeance!!! I absolutely was the strongest with my arms. Completely out of proportion to my bench especially, which was like 385 at best. My shoulder injury held me back big time!

I'm sorry to hear that.. Shoulder injuries are some crap, but unfortunately they are not always easy to avoid Just got rid of one myself too

Can't wait to see your end results!

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This is my current level of progress with the HeSPU. I did WAY better than my last workout! Also, if you watch up to the two minute mark, you will see something funny And by funny, I mean that it certainly makes ME laugh!

Full workout:

08Dec2009 session 1

6 sets of Wall HeSPU, 4" hand elevation.

3,2,1,1,2,1 reps. 2-5 minutes between sets.

Kettlebell work: 72.5 lb kettlebell

2 sets 15 reps/arm swings

2 sets 10 cleans/arm

2 sets 6 snatches/arm

minimal rest, took about 10 minutes. Would have been faster if I wasn't shooting the video

1 planche lean, very far forward for 10 seconds.

1 set of elevated FX PPP. DAMN, these are hard. Feet were on chair, hands were pointed out to side on my HeSPU blocks to allow for full ROM. RIght shoulder is weak on this.

I have also been using my chest expanders, which you can see hanging on the wall in my kettlebell swing and clean videos Good stuff.

08Dec2009

Session 2:

Note: all "XR" exercises are actually being done on the Jungle Gym 2, which has rotating handles. This makes things even harder.

3" barbell flat bench: 5 sets of 5 reps.

145, 205, 251, 251, 251. Got all the sets with no spot, and felt stronger. Great improvement!

XR Front Pull: Perfect form. Just that little bit of straightening out makes it harder, not to mention the rotating handles.

set 1: 5 reps

set 2: 6 reps

XR Front Lever Pull: Perfect form.

set 1: 5 reps

set 2: 5 reps

Weighted Ring Pullups: Whoo! Tough. All sets are with 75 lbs additional weight.

Set 1: 3 reps

Set 2: 5 reps

Set 3: 5 reps

Set 4: 4 reps

Weighted Ring Dips:

Set 1: 75 lbs, 2 reps. WOW. Too hard.

Set 2: 45 lbs, 7 reps.

Set 3: 45 lbs, 6 reps.

Set 4: 45 lbs, 7 reps.

Set 5: 45 lbs, 6 reps.

4 sets deadlift, 440 lbs. I'll add more weight next time.

Set 1: 4 reps

Set 2: 4 reps

Set 3: 4 reps

Set 4: 4 reps

3 sets Weighted SLS: +25 lbs.

2 reps per set. This was immediately after the deadlifts Probably should have done these the other way around.

3 sets GHR

5 reps per set. Better hip extension this time!

3" barbell curls

Set 1: 4 reps

Set 2: 4 reps

Set 3: 3 reps

1 set inverted situps +25 lbs, 12 reps.

1 set 10 body levers.

AND, here are my kettlebell videos.

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slizzardman said:

I'm going for my psychology BS right now, after that I'll do the counseling MS and possibly Ph.D before I go back and get my BS in exercise science and eventually go to grad school for kinesiology. I'll be 40-50 by the time I have all those, but then I'll be able to offer a more holistic practice. I definitely plan to get certified in naturopathic medicine as well as whatever else seems to be appropriate. I plan on eventually creating and expanding a holistic wellness center that combines all aspects of wellness to treat both physical and psychological disorders. I think it is a great failing on the part of the medical and wellness community that the professionals themselves are not calling for this.

Damn thats alot of studying you are planning to do! Good luck

Razz said:

slizzardman said:

I'm going for my psychology BS right now, after that I'll do the counseling MS and possibly Ph.D before I go back and get my BS in exercise science and eventually go to grad school for kinesiology. I'll be 40-50 by the time I have all those, but then I'll be able to offer a more holistic practice. I definitely plan to get certified in naturopathic medicine as well as whatever else seems to be appropriate. I plan on eventually creating and expanding a holistic wellness center that combines all aspects of wellness to treat both physical and psychological disorders. I think it is a great failing on the part of the medical and wellness community that the professionals themselves are not calling for this.

Damn thats alot of studying you are planning to do! Good luck

I do like the general idea of a more holistic approach towards health. It is however an immense project and I wonder if so many years of school really is the best way of going about it. It is hard to be an expert in so many fields. I am an MD in primary care, and we try to do our best with a holistic and empowering approach towards health, but for example cognitive behavioural therapy, which is an amazing psychological treatment of many psychiatric disorders, really is hard enough to do well that you pretty much have to devote yourself to it. Thus, we leave that to specialists.

I don't think that is true. I think a shift in perspective is in order. For example: Having people do specialized lifts like hip lifts and back lifts, some basic upper body work, etc, can be done in 10-15 minutes, and you can be catching up during that time. Sessions are an hour, which leaves 45 minutes for specific counseling AND incorporates a success habit right into the session. By success habit, I mean a) being consistent with something besides making it to the appointment, b) using lifts that allow fairly rapid progression as well as great health benefits, and c) creating an environment that changes the patient's view of their ability to change their physical and mental condition, and with it their lives. You HAVE to combine something like that WITH the therapy, basic life skills training, and if necessary prescription drugs. This will always be more effective than a single, "specialist" approach.

It's like modern western medicine, in which the doctors are very adept at identifying the symptoms a patient is having. Unfortunately, they do not have in-depth knowledge of WHY that person is having pain. Sure, they have the medical model that says "oh, look, your knee is losing cartilage. You're going to need to get that replaced." BUT THEY DON'T SAY A GOD DAMN WORD WHEN THE PATIENT IS WALKING IN WITH FEET POINTED OUT LIKE A FUCKING DUCK! What SHOULD happen in that situation is that the doctor should take one look at the gait of the patient, and say "Ok, look. Here's why you're having pain. I've got two choices for you: 1, get that cartilage removed with surgery. It's going to hurt, you're going to have a long recovery, and you'll be a bit limited in what you can do. Or 2, you can teach your body how to work right. It will take a little bit of time(but less than the recovery from surgery by far), it will be less expensive for you, it will prevent FUTURE problems as well as allow your body to recover from your current condition, AND you will probably be restored to full functionality, without pain. What do you want to do?"

I am taking more of a pot shot at exercise doctors like sports medicine practicioners and physical therapists here than GPs, which I am assuming you are. You guys seem to be doing better, it's primarily control drug companies have over research funds that limits you guys in what is available to you. They don't want research about alternative medicine to be done, because they know that almost every drug in existence came from a medicine man or woman's knowledge of local plant life somewhere. It would be bad for business, and that's their fault. The research is being done slowly, and you guys are doing the best job you can, and I have no real quarrel with that. What I DO resent and bridle at is the huge number of unnecessary surgical procedures, from back fusions to knee replacements, carpal tunnel, etc. It's disgusting, because the knowledge is there, but the doctors don't look for it. After all, they spent a ton of money, time, and effort to get their license. Why should they go re-educate themselves when they don't HAVE to?

You're right that you really do have to learn the therapy methods on their own, because it is a lot to absorb and to become good at, but once you have that it isn't that hard, in my opinion, to efficiently add elements to therapy that greatly increase the effectiveness. I do see things differently, but typically my ideas work. I know they are pretty good because I have personally used them on myself. I have had more problems than most, psychologically speaking, and my triumph over them gives me perspective that people who have never been there lack. Of course, I always had the advantage of knowing who I wanted to be for as long as I can remember, so that certainly had a lot to do with my ability to move beyond a lot of my issues.

Update: I got perfect scores on my first three final exams!

Just got back from the gym doing heavy partials.

Military press lockouts: 305x 10.

bench press lockouts: 515x 15.

bent over row partials: 425 x 14.

deadlift lockouts: 515x 15.

leg press quarter reps: 1425 x 1 rep, then lost it. Took like 7 minutes to break down, raise, and reset the thing. Next set was 1425 x 10. Last two reps were very small, barely past the safety stop.

pullup partials: 135x 2 slightly more than half reps, neutral grip, 2 more quarter reps. Slow but steady improvement!

Congratulations on your exams! That's amazing really