Training and Random Thoughts

I mentioned in a previous log that my leg training wasn't going well at all.  That being said, it went surprisingly well. I went light on squats and went for reps and had a pretty good warmup. I think with the extra recovery I'm now giving my legs, I think they won't hurt as much. I have a second back session on Friday, so looking forward to that and making step by step improvements to that bodypart.

As I scroll through Instagram and Facebook the one thing that annoys me is the "Fitness meme" culture. Look, guys.....we get it, you've broken down life and success into percentages. You've made a mockery of lions and think you can walk with them (they're wild animals. They will fuck you up), and i especially like how everyone dreams.

Just. Fucking.Stop.

In powerlifting percentages are GUIDELINES. Not hard and fast rules. You think your training, diet and real life gives a good goddamn fuck about your "Life is 99% work and 1 percent sleep" bullshit?

No, it doesn't. Your training will be an ebb and flow and if your diet is on point, you'll be ok. You'll be tired as fuck if you don't sleep, so please stop with the dumb shit. Take a damn nap.

I still see reading is a fundamental attribute that most people don't use. Proof of that is when people post one-sided argument websites pushing an agenda that's usually along party lines OR they post parody websites that you should damn well know ain't real! Stop that too!

This has to have been the shittiest football season I've ever watched. Mainly because one team is mediocre and the other is just flat out terrible. I'm talking about the Huskers and Bears. Nine wins is not, I REPEAT IS NOT, the pinnacle of success in college football. In fact it shouldn't even be a measuring stick. Conference wins and National Championships is what matters. Super Bowls matter. Not the second place finish. So miss me with the nine wins arguments. Besides, if the Bears had the Huskers record, they'd be in the playoffs.

Ok, time for work. Drop a comment below or on my Book of Face page.

Show Plans and Training.

I haven't done a post in quite awhile. Mainly because I'm just lazy as all hell on the blogging tip. Mainly because of life changes.

Life changes like.......

-Graduating college
-Working a lot
-Working a lot

So what about training?

Well it's been good actually. I've made the transition back to bodybuilding from powerlifting. I got hurt during a USAPL meet here in town and just decided that I need to step back from the max poundage a bit. So since April I've been bodybuilding. I feel like I've started from ground zero and I've built something respectable. Now that I'm in the tail end of my offseason,  I feel like this is the best I've been in awhile.

I'm not super lean, but I'm not out of shape either. But you can tell I lift. I'm not a believer in being the most leanest guy in offseason. I don't believe in being fat either. So take it for what it's worth.

My current split for the past few weeks have been

Mon: Legs
Tuesday: Chest/shoulders/arm flush
Wed: off
Thurs: Back
Fri: Legs (secondary workout)
Sat: Chest/shoulders/ arm flush

The "arm flush" is just a quick superset to get some blood in the arms. Nothing crazy on that end. I drop back to once a week Legs and chest and Back and shoulders/arms twice a week for four weeks or so.

My main goal for show prep is just to be in shredded condition. Period. I have the size, I have the shape. I just need to bring the condition and the chips will fall where they may. Shows are in July and August. so I'll keep this up as much as possible until show time.

Lets get in on!!

Squat training

Leg Curl:
4 sets. Enough to pump up my hams for squats.


Squats:
135/10
185/8
225/5
275/3
315/2
365/1
405/1
425/2
455/2

Home after to eat.

Monday Squats and the Sole Competitive Appearance of Sexual Chocolate

Seated Leg Curl:
4 sets

Squats: 
Bar/15
135/10
185/8
225/5
275/3
315/1
365/2,2,2,2,2

Leg Press: 
3pl/15
4pl/12
5pl/10,10

Seated Leg Curl:
4 sets

This was a bit up there in volume for the tail end of a meet prep when I usually keep things to minimum. At this phase I just make sure the bar is moving pretty good and I only do assistance to keep blood moving around.

Well What Happened Was.........

So my plans on the competitive side had a couple things in it.. 1.) Compete at a USAPL meet to get a total 2.) Take that total and go to USAPL Raw Nationals and qualify for the raw meet at the Arnold. 3.) Also do one or two more meets to try and qualify for Raw Unity.

Well, it seems as of now, Nationals is out. I simply cant afford it. Other meets are out as well as I simply cant afford those. So I'm looking to do well at the Nebraska State. Hoping I can nail down two other part time jobs (in addition to the one I have) but it ain't looking to good.

I'm not starting a gofundme.com campaign, so don't worry. Something will turn the tide I hope, but as of now, one meet only. So get your popcorn ready, because you'll only see Sexual Chocolate in his singlet once this year.

Assistance work and Larry's "Feel old" fact of the Day

BTN Press:
Bar/30
95/15
135/10
155/8
185/6
225/1 (questionable second rep)

Laterals: 
30/12
40/10
50/10

Pulldowns:
4 sets

Pressdowns: 
150 reps total.

Moving dat dere blood around. Not really pushing assistance a ton, but making sure I get in the work to keep me healthy and still keep the smaller muscles strong.

It's how old?!?!?!?!?!

If you were any red blooded american male in the 1990's, you no doubt had a Super Nintendo. Main reason was because Sega Genesis sucked a humongous one in terms of graphics. But today, in 1994, we were introduced to one of the greatest baseball games ever made..............

KEN GRIFFEY MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL!!!!

Behold the power of the SNES! And this was when Griffey was good. Not always injured.

Squats tonight!!!

Bench day

Bench:
Bar/ a lot
135/12
185/8
225/3
275/2,2,2,2,2

Asst work:
Chins: 8,8,8,8,8
Dips: 10,10,10,10,10
(All done with bodyweight)

Pressdowns: a lot

Weight on the bar was light, but got a good sweat going. I actually feel good about my bench for the first time in awhile. It's slowly coming together. Technique is getting better. Just trying to make sure each session is productive.

Squats, Raw Unity and a word about coaching and getting coached.

Training: 
Squats:
Bar/20
135/10
185/8
225/5
275/5
315/3
365/1
405/1
455/1
500/1

Asst work:
RDL:3 sets
Leg Press: 3 sets

I know people say that 500 looked good when I posted it. But it felt slow to me. Gotta get faster out the hole. Sore all over today as well. Glad I have off work on Wednesday so I can recover a little bit more.

Raw Unity:

I've been trying to get qualified for this meet for the past two years. I was actually invited to come even though I didn't hit the total, but I declined because the timetable didn't match up with school. So I passed. So my goal for this year is to qualify for Raw Unity 2015. I need a 1703 total. Not impossible, but will take some work and discipline. I made a promise to myself to do everything to get into next years RUM, and I meant it. My last name may not be Lillibridge, Lilly or any other bigger stronger lifters, but I will let my own total do the talking. First step is this USAPL Nebraska State  meet coming up in a couple weeks. I have been training for that and I haven't really looked past that meet. If I don't hit the total there, there will be other meets. So we'll see how it goes.

Coaching:

I'm no stranger to this iron game. I've been around a bit. One thing that is irking me is the amount of "coaches" there is now. I won't harp on do and don'ts, but there should be some guidelines for picking one.

-Who have they coached?
-What have they accomplished?

I realize there are exceptions. Not everyone needs to be superstar stellar to be a good coach (they usually make the worst ones) but they should have a steady track record for helping people hit their goals and also should have walked the walk themselves at some point. I don't care of its bodybuilding or powerlifting. Quit giving your money to "wack-a-mole" trainers and coaches who promise you the world. I won't go into who are some of the more credible coaches are, but if you look, read and think, you KNOW who knows their shit.

The role of a client:

Do the work that you paid to get. Period. Your coach is not a mind reader, therefore you have to *gasp*, open up your mouth and talk to them when you have concerns or something is legitimately not going right. Also, if you have a coach, odds are you have a decent amount of cash (blanket statement, but having a coach is a LUXURY), so eat the food you need to eat and get the supplements you need. The work you do will show onstage, and with so many getting coaches nowadays, lots of them will not hesitate to fire you as a client if they feel you'll bring discredit to their name.

Bench Day

Bench:
Bar/30 some odd reps
135/15
185/10
225/8
added blue Sling Shot
285/6
315/3,3 (full pause)
335/6 (full pause)

Incline Press: 2 sets
Dips:4 sets
Chins 4 sets
Pressdowns: 100 reps

Late one that day, but fairly quick. Gym is emptying out because of Spring Break so it leaves a lot more space to work with. Happy Larry Dance.

Training Catch-Up, a Little of Outside Stuff and a Good Video

Monday
Squats:
Bar/15
135/10
185/8
225/6
275/4
315/1
265/1
385/1
315/4

Leg Curls: 4 sets
Leg Press: 2 sets

I was actually supposed to go heavier for reps, but guess what? I'm not strong enough to handle it and stuff just felt very off that day. I can tell things went South by how my body feels right now. Sore knees and lower back. I should've just stayed with 315 and went for sets of 5-8, but that was my mistake.  So the work continues to get better in the squat. Still feel my best total is coming. Just don't know when.

Bench and Deadlift training:

I'm actually happy on how these are turning out. I'm pulling exclusively from a deficit and getting better each week. I just have to deal with those hexagonal plates the rec have. They throw me off a bit. Bench training is going strong. I have to add in more heavy triceps for reps. Pretty pleased overall.

Life:

School is fine.

Video:
A talk with Ed Coan and Steve Goggins. YES!

Past Couple Days Training

Monday: Squats
Bar/ 12 (should've done more)
135/12
185/6
225/6
275/3
315/1
365/5,3 (not good)

Leg Curl:
80/12
110/12
125/12,12

Leg Press:
3pl/12
4pl/12

Squat(yes, again)
135/8
225/8
315/4

Wednesday: Bench
Bar/20
135/10
185/5
225/3
255/1
290/5 sets x 2

Incline Press:
135/10
185/10
225/6,6

Pressdown: Triceps exploded
CG Bench:A bunch

Redeemed myself Wednesday after a couple shitty workouts. Moving forward.

Sunday Assistance Training

DB Press:
30/35
45/15
60/12
85/10,10

Laterals:
30/12
40/12
50/8,8

Front Raises:
25/15
50/10,10,10

Pressdowns:
90/30
130/30
160/20

CG Press:
135/15
185/12
225/12,10

Dips:
BW/22,21

Doing work. April is approaching. I want some big numbers this year.

Squats

Day: Monday
Weight: 240

Seated Leg Curls:
665/20
80/15
110/12
140/12
160/10

Speed Squats:
Bar/15
135/10
185/5
225/3
275/2
315/1
340/3,3,3,3,3,3,3,3

Pause Squats: 3 second hold
225/3,3,3,3 (will increase over time)

RDL:
135/10
225/8
275/8
315/6

Leg ext: two sets

Good session on Monday. Was definitely feeling it in my legs after. Need to work on my drive and set-up under the bar. It's an ongoing process.

Bench Day

Bench:
Bar/21
135/10
185/5
225/1
240/3,3,3,3,3,3,3,3

Flat DB Press:
70/10
105/10
125/14

Dips:
BW/10,10,10,10

Pulldowns:
120/12
150/10
180/10

Moving forward. Didn't want to train last night but got pushed a bit by a couple people. Good session.

Squats

Weight: 240
Meet: USAPL Nebraska State

Leg Curl:
80/15
95/12
110/10
140/8

Squat:
Bar/15
135/10
185/7
225/5
275/3
315/1
365/1
415/2,2,2,2,2

Stiff Legs:
135/10
185/10
275/8,8

Leg Press:
2 sets

Leg Ext:
2 sets

So I'm doing this meet for two reasons. It's local and with this I would have competed in almost every major fed/coalition. USPF, APF,SPF(dear God why?), UPA(GREAT meets) and the XPF. All thats left is USAPL and USPA. I'll get to a USPA meet hopefully sometime this year.

First day is always the hardest. Haven't had anything over 400 on my back since November. Nice wakeup.

Shoulder & Assistance work

Overhead Press:
Bar/30
65/12
95/10
135/10,10

Laterals:
30/12
35/12
40/12,12

Chins:
BW/ 10,10,10,9,10

Close Grip Pulldown:
120/10,10,10

Dips:
BW:12,10,10

Pressdowns:
Until my triceps looked like Bertil Fox's

Machine Curls:
Max pump achieved with two sets

Nothing more. Meet prep starts today. Fun times in the resort town of Lincoln.

Past Weeks Training and the parallel between Lifting and Journalism

Past week training:

Shoulders: Sunday:

Behind The Neck Press: 

Bar/ LOTS of reps

95/12,12

135/8

155/6

185/5,5

Laterals:

25/15

30/15

40/10,10

Plate Raises:

25/15

50/12,12,12

Rear Delt Flyes:

4 sets

Pressdowns: Until my arms felt like Kevin Levrone’s

Squats: Monday:

Seated Leg Curl: 

40/12

70/12

100/12

120/10,12

Squats: 

Bar/12

135/12

185/12

225/8

275/2

315/3,3

Leg Press:

2pl/15

3pl/15

5pl/10,12

Leg Extension:

105/12

135/15,15

Chins: 2 sets

Dips:2 sets

Bench: Wednesday:

Bench Press:

Bar/40

135/14

185/10

225/5

275/5

315/3,3,3

Incline Barbell:

135/12

185/10

225/8

245/5,3

Machine Flyes:

3 sets

Dips: 4 sets

Chins:3 sets

This week was better than last week, but still only so so in the strength department in my opinion. It’s coming back though. My technique stinks a bit(I’m being generous) and I’m fixing some minute things on the bench so I can become better at the lift. One thing I’m noticing is that I do too many reps on the lighter sets. I need to bring those down and really exert myself on the work sets. As it stands now, I’m keeping the volume up and pushing forward. 

My squats……..lets just say they are a work in progress. My set up sucked and I have to use back to low bar. It’s going to come. I just have to be patient. 

How Journalism and Lifting are Damn Near the Same. 

I want people to stay with me here for a moment.

We had a speaker yesterday, a sports journalist from ESPN by the name of Shelly Smith. She went into sports journalism when not very many women were in the field. She spoke of getting better by doing reps. So being the meathead I am, I immediately picked up. So here are some things that came to mind as I was listening to her speak. 

You have to do things all the time to get better at it.  

Shelly explained that she doe’s live shot (where she is live on location reporting) and she has been doing live shot after live shot after live shot. This resounded with me. Anyone that knows me knows I have training ADD. I flip flop programs. But the one thing that I do believe is that to press more, you have to press more. To squat more, you have to squat more. The same with journalism. You have to do things repeatedly and refine your approach each time. 

Mistakes happen

Smith also explained that mistakes happen. Her and my professor said it’s what you do after is what matters. I’ve had day’s where I have a REALLY bad session. I mean a complete shit show. Instead of going in a corner and crying, I sit down and analyze what happened. Did I drink enough water? Food intake at a decent level? Did I sleep? What about stress? It’s how you recover from the mistake and keep on rolling is what matters. 

Have Passion:

While she didn't explicitly say this, I picked up on it. Shelly Smith enjoys her fucking job even though she’s only at home for a couple days. You have to love what you do. Will everyday be perfect? No, but if you keep going, what you do won’t feel like a job. I love training and will continue to love training until the day I leave this earth, so theres that.

Have a Social Life:

I'm bad about this. I just have little desire to go out and get drunk on the weekends like so many others do. But if Smith can have a relationship and still have fun in life, then I can get off my ass and be more social. Don't take that as Larry is going to be out tweaking, because it’s far from that. 

Social Media is good, but be careful:

I will not expound on a certain incident in powerlifting this week. It doesn't concern me, however I will say this. Be careful how you use social media. Smith uses it for possible news leads and to network for information for her job. Not as an emotional sounding board(points finger at myself. I've gotten better). Use twitter and Facebook for tips and news in strength training, nutrition and physique building. Connect with people who will make you better. Not to pout your feelings into the Universe. 

Be Observant:

Smith related a story to my class about how she was at a Denver Broncos press conference shortly before they played the New England Patriots. She observed Peyton Manning sitting down on the FLOOR studying practice film. He was using every last bit of time to prepare for the AFC Championship. Pay attention to what your training program is doing. It’s not meant to be just blind walking. Even if you are using a pre set program. Pay attention to what your body is telling you. Be observant of aches and pains and the like. 

That’s some of the lessons I learned from yesterday. Hopefully I can impart to you some of the same things Ms. Smith imparted to me, even though she didn't realize it. 

Delt Training

Behind the Neck Press:
Bar/ a lot of reps
95/12
135/8,8
155/6
185/6,6

Laterals:
25/15
30/10
40/10,10

Rear Delt flyes:
4 sets of 12

Pressdowns:
Until my triceps looked like Kevin Levrones.


DAT'S IT!!

Chest day

Chest:

Decline Press:

Bar/40

135/15

185/2

225/10

275/8

315/3 (WTF?!)

Flat Bench:

135/5

185/5

225/5

275/5

315/3 (Another WTF!)

Dips:

BW/13,13,13

Machine Flyes:

90/20

120/12,12

Good session yesterday. Strength was down a little bit but will come back soon. Not too worried about it. 

Leg Day: First Week Back

Leg Curls:
65/15
85/15
95/15
110/10
125/10,10

Squats:
135/12
185/10
225/10
275/8
315/8
335/6

Leg Press:
3pl/12
4pl/12
5pl/10
6pl/10

Leg Extension:
3 sets

First week back was a bit rough but it went well. Really tried to emphasize the negative portion on each rep after listening to a podcast with Ben Pakulski and John Meadows. Legs are a bit wrecked and my endurance went down some, but this block of training will yield some good changes.

Happning and stuff like that

I haven’t made a blog or an update in quite awhile and the reason is simple. I just didn’t feel like it. After sitting in front of a computer for the majority of my days in school and working for Flex Magazine, I just simply didn’t want to waste my Christmas break on a computer. And I don’t regret my decision one bit. I just used my smartphone and enjoyed break back home

Surviving “Chiberia”       

Ok folks, unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know Chicago was damn cold. Like insanely cold. Yes, Lake Michigan froze over some. Yes you had to bundle up. But really, IT’S CHICAGO. Half of the assholes where I live at don’t dress at all for the weather, so they deserve to get frostbite and have a foot amputated. Meanwhile me and the other smart people just decided to, you know, DRESS FOR THE WEATHER and go about our daily damn business. I did drink some rum to warm up though after I got home. Say yes to the Kraken people.

Training

I ramped up training volume and intensity quite a bit before I left for home and while I was at home. I haven’t really discussed what I’ve been trying to do, so here goes

After WPF Worlds, I took about a week off and started another Cube cycle. I knew after the first week that it wasn’t going to work. So instead of pushing I went into a hypertrophy phase to get some variation, volume and just something different.

-For the sessions I used John Meadows “Mountain Dog” system. I strongly suggest getting a membership to his site and employ some of his techniques and methods. Will bring a new dimension to your training.

-I’ve been pushing the volume up there to the point I was pretty run down and lost a lot of motivation. So as of right now I’m taking this week off. The reason is two fold. First week of classes so I can get used to a new schedule and I just needed a break. I start back training on Sunday and I’m starting to get a bit hyper from not training. I’m looking to add more muscle, but I’ll also get back to employing the classic lifts. I haven’t pulled since the meet because the thought of deadlifting absolutely horrified me. Now I’m ready to pull and row........A LOT!

-I’m not sure what I’m doing on the powerlifting front although I am actively looking for meets. USPF National’s in Pittsburgh is a strong possibility. No bodybuilding shows until after I graduate though. So I may not see a stage until 2015. Thats fine as I have my goals on and off the stage.

My training split will resemble the Cube Kingpin split. Tuesdays and Thursdays are basically fucked because of class, but Monday, Wednesday and Friday are pretty cool as far as training schedules go. The rotation will be centered using mountain dog precepts but I will be using the classical lifts. I plan to go back into using the cube around 10-11 weeks out from Nationals. So either I will compete or hold a mock meet here in Lincoln and smash some five guys after. But I’d rather smash some shit on the platform. And considering I’ve never had a run of good luck at Nationals, I’m looking forward to some redemption.

School

It’s going to be a bitch. Plain and simple, but I’ll try and sprinkle in some levity here and there. I’m in some pretty difficult classes and the only thing thats driving me right now is knowing I’ll be crossing the stage in August. The most difficult class I'll have is an advanced broadcasting class that will produce two live newscasts a week which can be streamed (information forthcoming). Will this help with my bodybuilding journalism stuff? No idea, if it does, great. If not, then that's fine too. I'll just move on.