Spring 2006

[xblitz44x]

Hah, thanks. If I post a picture of myself in a year and I'm huge but missing my two front teeth, you know what happened.

 

[BiggT]

Lifted today

Tues. 4/18/06

Flat Benchin' : 135x10, 225x5, 300x5, 325x5, 350x5, 350x4 (fuck), 315x10 (decent night on the flat bench, wanted 2 sets of 5 at 350, but I'll take this, I want to do some singles next week, but not max singles, still heavy, but higher volume than I could do all out)

Barbell Rowin' : 135x10, 225x5, 265x5, 295x5, 310x5, 225x10 (good, solid, and smooth, the 310 set was a challenge, I didn't breakdown, but it was a weight I can give respect to on these. I need to chill out with these now and do them once a week and chin the other day, they aren't even supposed to be a lift I am pushing, so I can't be doing them multiple times a week)

Incline D-Bells (105's x 8, 8, 8)....triceps were FRIED, I have always been a close-ish grip bench presser, ever on my 'regular' bench presses, so I felt how gased my tris were.

Get ready boys and girls....Cambered bar triceps pushdowns, lol....3 sets of 20, it was nice out and unlike most normal people , the nice weather puts me in such a good mood that I never want to leave the gym, I get such a high from working out. I figured this was harmless enough and my triceps were already mush.

Good night overall. Post workout I had a pound of LEAN London Broil , some rigatoni, some green beans, and a lot of milk.

 

[Protobuilder]

Dood. Your arms are gonna' git HYOOGE!

Nice weight on rows. Post a vid brutha.

 

[Cynical Simian]

Yeah, 300+ on the strict JS/Pendlay/not-a-glorified-shrug rows really stood out to me too. Good stuff, BiggT.

 

[Protobuilder]

And he does all that with one prosthetic leg. He doesn't like to talk about it though.

 

[Tweakle]

Nice looking workouts, and thats some good benching right there. I love the two hard sets then one set of ten rep scheme, getting that muscle burning always feels more satisfying than finishing on a heavy set of 5

that much milk would have me doing HIIT sprints to the restroom but I know what you mean about it making a difference, for me it was 12-18 whole eggs a day added to my shakes that gave me some crazy strength gains last time I was eating big

 

[silver_shadow]

Nice looking workouts, and thats some good benching right there. I love the two hard sets then one set of ten rep scheme, getting that muscle burning always feels more satisfying than finishing on a heavy set of 5

that much milk would have me doing HIIT sprints to the restroom but I know what you mean about it making a difference, for me it was 12-18 whole eggs a day added to my shakes that gave me some crazy strength gains last time I was eating big

and this didn't make you do HIIT sprints to the restroom?

 

[WoNderWoMan25]

Dropping in quick. All this talk about milk is interesting. You all are a walking advertisement for my family business (a dairy)... I LOVE IT! Like they say, Milk does a body good... I can't think of one downside to drinking a gallon a day. Just stay away from all the ice cream & milk shakes. And as soon as you lower the fat content (whole milk to skim) you're going to see the sugar go way up.

 

[xblitz44x]

I never realized there was a difference in sugar content.

 

[blut wump]

I never realized there was a difference in sugar content.

It's just question of ratios. For any given volume, if the fat content has been removed then protein and sugar must, correspondingly, rise to make up for the missing fat.

 

[BiggT]

Thanks for all the comments, everyone.

Day off from the gym today, just downed a couple PB, banana, and honey sandwiches with a quart of milk as a mid-afternoon snack.

 

[WoNderWoMan25]

I never realized there was a difference in sugar content.

Based on an 8oz serving-
Whole milk has 6 to 8 grams of sugar and eight grams of fat ... while skim has no fat and 12+ grams of sugar.

 

[nelmsjer]

Some damn good posting last night, guys. Great thread.

Protobuilder, I about shot eggs through my nose on the prosthetic leg comment.

BiggT, only "girls" do cambered bar tricep pushdowns. Real men do kickbacks. Geesh...I thought you knew about training.

 

[silver_shadow]

Based on an 8oz serving-
Whole milk has 6 to 8 grams of sugar and eight grams of fat ... while skim has no fat and 12+ grams of sugar.

this is very interesting. there used to be a controversial member Nelson Montana (most folks here will easily remember him) on EF. i remember a post of his (as usual a controversial one) about how whole milk is a better choice than skim. part of what he said had something to do with this.

 

[blut wump]

If the value bothers you then drink less. It's the exact same milk but with the fat volume/content removed. Removing the fat doesn't turn it into an inferior addition to your diet. That's akin to suggesting that leaving the pork fat at the side of your plate has increased the protien content of your meal.

 

[silver_shadow]

If the value bothers you then drink less. It's the exact same milk but with the fat volume/content removed. Removing the fat doesn't turn it into an inferior addition to your diet. That's akin to suggesting that leaving the pork fat at the side of your plate has increased the protien content of your meal.

no i'm not saying i followed NM's advice... but that is what the guy said... just wanted to share that.

 

[BiggT]

Last night's workout.....Thurs. 4/20/06

Squat Clean (Nelmsjer's thread made me want to do these) : 135 x 3 sets of 2 power clean, then 135 x power clean and 10 front squats. Then, squat clean singles at: 185, 205, 225, 245, 265, 280, 290, 300, 310, 320.

Olympic Squat (135 x 8, 225x5, 315x5, 335 for 5x5 with about a min and a half between sets)

Jump Shrug (315x5, 405x5, 455x5, 495x5, 495x5)

Decline Situps (3 sets of 25)

Overall good night. I haven't squat cleaned in a while, the 320 is near my PR, which I think is 325, but it is sort of a PR by default because I've power cleaned 320 in the past, so if I trained the squat clean at peak strength levels for a big single, I think it would have been a little higher.

The squats were good....Mon's are getting heavy, so I am going to make the second session a day between 70-75%.

 

[nelmsjer]

Sweet. I squat cleaned today, too. Really enjoyed it. Would you mind hitting my thread and commenting on the regrab?

Oh. And you're still a monster.

BiggT: "I haven't done squat cleans since I was 12, so I thought I'd play around with them today and did 500..." Dammit, man.

 

[Protobuilder]

That's a nice bit of volume for the legs, man. Are you actually getting air on 495 jump shrugs? LoL Crap.

 

[BiggT]

That's a nice bit of volume for the legs, man. Are you actually getting air on 495 jump shrugs? LoL Crap.

It actually wasn't too bad.....I'd normally been power cleaning, then squats to a triple of Monday's planned 5, then heavy front squats.

I'm at a point where I can't have 450+ on my back twice a week, so I am gonna work with 70-75% on Thurs. I didn't do heavy fronts this week because of the squat cleans, and in terms of front squatting alone, there weren't super-taxing.

I got on my toes good with the 495 jump shrugs, I figured they are a hell of a calf workout too.

I may do a little bit of a deload next week, because I want to keep pushing, and that won't be possible if I blow myself out next week.

Around 4 or 5 tonight, I plan on doing B-T-N push presses, close-grips, OHP w/ d-bells for some assistance, chins, and I will stick in biceps after so I don't have to do them over the weekend.

 

[Tweakle]

I had to goolge squat cleans and I'm impressed. As someone who's never done any kind of oly lifting it's interesting to see the results you're getting

 

[BiggT]

I had to goolge squat cleans and I'm impressed. As someone who's never done any kind of oly lifting it's interesting to see the results you're getting

I think you'd be good at them, you're a freaky strong squatter and puller.

 

[BiggT]

Friday 4/21/06

Behind-the-neck push press: 135x10, 185x5, 225x5, 225x5, 225x5 (I liked these, I haven't been feeling extra explosive, and I didn't want to fuck up jerks, so I went with these)

Close-Grip Bench: 135x8, 228x5, 260x8, 285x8, 310x8 (these were all pretty smooth, tris felt tired and I grinded the last 2 reps of the last set out)

D-Bell standing OHP : 3 sets of 8 with 60's (just a little strict pressing, I didn't do back-off sets on PP or CGBP, so I wanted to add something)

Chins: 3 sets, bodyweight x 8, 7, 7

Standing alt. d-bell curl : 45's x 8, 3 sets of 8 with 55's

I was good to go...I am not lifting over the weekend, and I may consider a week of reduced volume, so I can push another 3 weeks.

I had a grand total of 2lbs of salmon today, so if I die of Mercury poisoning over the weekend, you guys will know why.

 

[Guinness5.0]

Standing OHP w. DBs is a humbling lift. Also very easy to abbreviate when typing.

 

[que_66]

Thanks for all the comments, everyone.

Day off from the gym today, just downed a couple PB, banana, and honey sandwiches with a quart of milk as a mid-afternoon snack.

^^That's like 3 weeks worth of my food allowance....

 

[Tweakle]

you've got good strength and you seem to bounce back fast, those are great numbers for close grips , and doing them after overhead work must have been doubly tough. how long do your workouts usually take?

good shit get video!

 

[BiggT]

The heavy squats and pulls take around 2 hours, if I squat like yesterday, at a lighter % with less rest it is about an hr and a half. The upper body workouts are about an hr and a half, maybe a little more.

I have a digital camera that I thought recorded until a few weeks ago, lol....If I can't borrow a camera off someone, I am gonna think about pricing them.

 

[que_66]

I had a whole wheat tortilla w/1 tbsp Simply jiff & 1 tbsp honey. Spead the honey & PB on the tortilla, roll it up and mmmmmm

I was just too lazy to go all the way to the store for a bananna.

 

[BiggT]

I had a whole wheat tortilla w/1 tbsp Simply jiff & 1 tbsp honey. Spead the honey & PB on the tortilla, roll it up and mmmmmm

I was just too lazy to go all the way to the store for a bananna.

Thats okay, it's close enough.

What kind of whole wheat tortillas do you use?? What I notice with tortillas, and I can't understand why, is the regular flour ones have a lot more fiber than the whole wheat.

 

[que_66]

Thats okay, it's close enough.

What kind of whole wheat tortillas do you use?? What I notice with tortillas, and I can't understand why, is the regular flour ones have a lot more fiber than the whole wheat.

I have "La Banderita's" right now. It was the only "healthy" tortilla they had at the store. I'm going to be checking the other stores to see if anyone carries one that possibly has a little less sodium.

They don't taste bad, they have no cholesterol & are 98% fat free. Besides, once you get the PB & honey smeared on it you don't taste the tortilla anyway.

Calories: 121
Total Fat: 1g
Sat fat: 0
Trans fat: 0
Cholesterol: 0
Sodium: 200 mg
Carbs: 23g
Fiber: 1g
Protein: 4g
Calcium 6% rda
Iron: 5% rda

 

[BiggT]

Thanks for the breakdown....that's a decent amount of protein.

 

[que_66]

For Dinner I had 2 slices Ezekiel bread with 1 tbsp Skippy Natty PB & 1 tbsp Sugar Free Pancake Syrup instead of Honey. it tastes just as good and has fewer calories.

 

[BiggT]

For Dinner I had 2 slices Ezekiel bread with 1 tbsp Skippy Natty PB & 1 tbsp Sugar Free Pancake Syrup instead of Honey. it tastes just as good and has fewer calories.

I had 48 grams of whey and a half a pizza, lol.

That recipe is very creative.....the hunny is fuel though, lol....what brand of sugar-free syrup do you use?? I can't find one without a horrible aftertaste for the life of me.

 

[blut wump]

I had 48 grams of whey and a half a pizza, lol.

That's my kind of meal.

I'm a great believer in the goodness of honey, too. I also sometimes make my own bread. You get a high degree of control over what you're eating but, usually, it tastes so good that quantity becomes an issue.

 

[que_66]

I had 48 grams of whey and a half a pizza, lol.

That recipe is very creative.....the hunny is fuel though, lol....what brand of sugar-free syrup do you use?? I can't find one without a horrible aftertaste for the life of me.

**bangs head on desk repeatedly to remove image of steaming hot pizza**


I like the Maple Grove Farms Cozy Cottage Sugar Free Syrup, I don't think it has much of an aftertaste at all. Most sugar free stuff is gross but I like this one. SugarFreeSyrup

 

[BiggT]

Thanks for the link, Que

BW, homemade bread would do me in, I probably just eat it until I burst internally, lol.

No workout today, deloading this week, I am lifting tomorrow and Friday...full body. I am going to push HARD for 4 weeks then, lots of squatting, LOTS of olympic lifting, I will still push the flat bench too just because I am having fun doing it.

 

[SgtSlaughter]

Very Impressive work ethic and consistancy bro!

Great to see more OLY lifters on the board too, i have yet to do the OLY OH Squat though... waiting til' I get the gym to myself for ego's sake ... lol jk... this weekend i'm aiming on throwing it into my routine as the base for leg day.

Reading through here makes me want to ditch my egg whites and ANPB for a fat steak right about now, lol... damnit!

Keep up the great work bro.

 

[BiggT]

Deloading this week.....I am lifting Tues/Fri

Tuesday 4/25/06

Squat Clean : 135x power clean for 3 doubles, then 1 squat clean and 10 front squats, then squat clean singles at 185, 225, 255, 275, 300, 315

Olympic Squat: 135x10, 225x10, 315x10, 405x1, 455x1, 485x1

Flat Bench: 135x10, 225x5, 300x1, 335x1, 365x2x2

Decline Situps: 3 sets of 25

Good night....I flew through the squat cleans through 275, then gave 300 and 315 some respect.....squatting felt NICE not to push multiple 5 rep sets, 485 was nice and solid, I am definitely over 500 easily on these, I kind of wish I tried to match my 515 PR, but today really wasn't designed for any all-out attempts and I don't want to start with any joint issues right now. Flat bench wasn't taxing at all, I moved pretty fast through the workout overall.

My deloading isn't the most mathematical thing you'll see....basically my goal is to do significantly less work this week than I did during any of the last 3 weeks.

I'll train on Fri, then start building my volume again.

 

[Tweakle]

Less work, but more weight sounds like my deloads. Nice squatting, with the momentum you've built up I wouldnt doubt you could match or break that PR next time you go for singles. Good stuff

 

[Protobuilder]

Another nice showing.

What made you decide to deload at this point? You don't appear to be approaching overreaching, or at least you haven't mentioned any signs. I guess this deload, whether "necessary" or not, will help you continue to push farther?

Speaking of your deload strategy . . . FYI: just last night I read a bit of Zatsiorsky and he mentioned a "60% rule" where an easy week/session should be roughly 60% of your normal training volume.

While I'm throwing out tidbits . . . I think I read it from Dan John, he mentioned that one of the best lessons he'd learned, but frequently forgot throughout his training career, was that if you get a PR or hit your training goal, go home. Your body is ready to continue pushing forward. And if you miss a PR, go home. You're not ready to train. Something to think about.

 

[BiggT]

Another nice showing.

What made you decide to deload at this point? You don't appear to be approaching overreaching, or at least you haven't mentioned any signs. I guess this deload, whether "necessary" or not, will help you continue to push farther?

Speaking of your deload strategy . . . FYI: just last night I read a bit of Zatsiorsky and he mentioned a "60% rule" where an easy week/session should be roughly 60% of your normal training volume.

While I'm throwing out tidbits . . . I think I read it from Dan John, he mentioned that one of the best lessons he'd learned, but frequently forgot throughout his training career, was that if you get a PR or hit your training goal, go home. Your body is ready to continue pushing forward. And if you miss a PR, go home. You're not ready to train. Something to think about.

Thanks for the cpmments, man.....I am deloading this week because I want to keep pushing, If I kept going now, this week would be good, I'd get through the next feeling like shit, and I'd be screwed the week after that.....sometimes it is good to reach the week you feel like shit though, which is what I plan to do when I start loading heavily next week.....I'll be spending about $150 at the grocery store this week to get stocked up and prepared.

Good point with Zatsiorski, I will add up the math after Fri just for curiosity's sake....I am sure this should be WELL below 60% of last week's work.

Do you like reading Dan John's stuff? I like him a lot, the reason being because he has put in so much time under the bar himself and everything he says with regard to training is accompanied by a personal experience (or many).

 

[Protobuilder]

I'll be spending about $150 at the grocery store this week to get stocked up and prepared.

Best money-saving scheme yet: buying a cheap deep-freeze. Now, when they put boneless skinless chicken breasts on sale for $1.49/lb., I buy a dozen packages. Ditto for salmon, 93% ground beef, top sirloin, KC strips, etc. I'm thinking about buying small fryer chickens or a small turkey, and cooking 'em in the crockpot, and just picking out all the meat and eating it or freezing the rest. Would work good w/ the turkey, but i'd use the oven not the crockpot. LoL

I honestly think that out of all the voices out there--and there are MANY--Dan John stands head and shoulders above them. I like his positive attitude and basic, bread-and-butter, athletic approach to training. He's got athletic experience and is a trainer so he knows what he's talking about. And he's not some bodybuilding pump guy. Just good, solid, old-fashioned good training advice. Even on stuff like nutrition and rest, he's basically right, IMO, w/out going into all the scientific bologna. I think that if you started someone out following Dan John's common-sense training philosophy, you'd build one helluva' athlete.

 

[BiggT]

Today's workout Fri 4/28/06

Felt good today, this week was plenty for me to deload and I feel ready for next week to push hard.

Front Squat: 135x5, 225x5, 275x5x5 (nice and smooth, no set was very taxing)

D-Bell Snatch: (5 reps w/ right arm, then 5 reps w/ left arm) 65, 75, 85, 95, 100 (I love this lift, haven't done it in a while, but it is probably the most explosive lift I can think of, and great for conditioning, and works up a great sweat)

Incline Press: 135x8, 225x5, 255x5, 275x5, 225x17 (all the 5's were really easy, I didn't want to push more weight today though, so I repped out at 225 for shits and giggles)

Weighed 242 and change. I left the gym feeling pretty recharged.

 

[Protobuilder]

225x17 on incline . . . christ.

Question -- how do you come back from the deload? I mean, are you going to back off from where your weights were the week before the deload and then reramp? Or do you just pick up where you left off and make the week after deload the next logical step in your progression? I ask b/c I'm debating whether i should deload next week--I'm not feeling real fatigued and some lifts are still going up, but I'm getting some aches & have been pushing for about 6-7 weeks now. I'd like to deload, but then pick up the next week right where I left off.

 

[nelmsjer]

DB snatches.... absolutely outstanding exercise. I've done 5 reps with 80's....your 100 is eye-opening!

 

[que_66]

.........and where are the posts regarding your diet?

 

[BiggT]

PB,

it really varies with me. The logical thing is to take the same lifts from the load and knock a little weight off, but still start with more than when I began the last load and shoot to end up higher than when I finished the last load.

I don't know what I am going to do next week, I need to think it over. I really want to do more olympic lifting. I am going to also train full-body, that's my all-time favorite way to train, I just did it like I did last load because I needed to for the mental freshness. I will post up my general plan tomorrow night.

Nelmsjer,

I love D-bell snatches, thanks for the comments, I actually thought I was pretty decent at this lift until I found out Jesse Marunde uses a 150lber for sets of 10, lol.

Que,

Today for breakfast I had a Fritatta (4 whole eggs with 2 potatoes) and 4 slices of bacon and a quart of milk.

A few hours later, I had 48g of whey with 2 cups of skim milk, then a few hours after that I went to Wendy's and had a double hamburger, a grilled chicken sandwich, and a baked potato, I washed it down with skim milk.

 

[nelmsjer]

You make me hungry.

 

[que_66]

Que,

Today for breakfast I had a Fritatta (4 whole eggs with 2 potatoes) and 4 slices of bacon and a quart of milk.

A few hours later, I had 48g of whey with 2 cups of skim milk, then a few hours after that I went to Wendy's and had a double hamburger, a grilled chicken sandwich, and a baked potato, I washed it down with skim milk.

I think I gained weight just reading that.

 

[BiggT]

Loading starts tonight. I've decided since I am pushing my full clean, I will push front squats as the squat movement, it just makes the most sense to me, even though back squats were going really well. I'll also be training my B-T-N push press hard just because it is a damn cool lift. I'll use inclines and incline d-bells on the light day, and I will also use flat close-grips, my bench was going well, and I am such a closer-grip bencher, that CGs aren't much different than my regular bench grip, so it should work well.

I'll be training full body, 3 main days and 1 extra day for snatches and some chinning.

As far as goals, just get a big squat clean and a big overhead. Size-wise, I am sitting between 240-244, depending on when I weigh myself, and I would like to stay right here. If I gain, then I gain, no big deal, but this weight feels great, I can eat a lot of what I want and make progress in the weightroom, and I feel quick and explosive, and I also feel great out of the gym, not excessively bloated or weighted down or anything, I am not ripped or sporting a 6 pack, but my stomach is flat and I'll have no problems taking my shirt off this summer.....so I plan to push my full clean and overhead pressing and eat the same way I have been and we'll see what happens.

 

[Protobuilder]

this weight feels great, I can eat a lot of what I want and make progress in the weightroom, and I feel quick and explosive, and I also feel great out of the gym, not excessively bloated or weighted down or anything

Damn. You'll probably win the lottery on your way home tonight, too. LoL

my stomach is flat and I'll have no problems taking my shirt off this summer.....

Then the mission is complete. Now, back to Madden & potato chips!!

Kidding aside, the new loading plan sounds interesting. Are you eliminating the gay day? B/c I don't think snatches + chinning = gay.

 

[BiggT]

Damn. You'll probably win the lottery on your way home tonight, too. LoL



Then the mission is complete. Now, back to Madden & potato chips!!

Kidding aside, the new loading plan sounds interesting. Are you eliminating the gay day? B/c I don't think snatches + chinning = gay.

Yeah, the gay day will be no more. I will stick in some hammer curls or barbell curls or something after the last workout of the week, thats about it for the gayness though.

 

[que_66]

........I am not ripped or sporting a 6 pack, but my stomach is flat and I'll have no problems taking my shirt off this summer......

You get to eat bacon & pizza AND have a flat stomach?

 

[mm107]

damn bigtt. Nice consitancy. Always on point and pushing/pulling some serious damn numbers. Simply Amazing. KEEP IT UP BRO!!!

Kill that shit

 

[WoNderWoMan25]

I think I gained weight just reading that.

And if you worked out like that, you'd gain too - a whole lotta muscle.

I stop over here from time-to-time... to be inspired. Another leg night tonight! Supersets and dropsets, here I come!

 

[que_66]

And if you worked out like that, you'd gain too - a whole lotta muscle.

I stop over here from time-to-time... to be inspired. Another leg night tonight! Supersets and dropsets, here I come!

Me too. He's old school and that's refreshing and inspiring in today's world.

I just like to give him crap about his diet.

 

[*Bunny*]

I just like to give him crap about his diet.

Good girl Q... ... Nice log biggT ... dropping by to say hi
Crack the whip on Q-Tip anytime ...

I'm Not EVEN going to comment about the food ... hurts my belly to think about it

Happy Training

 

[BiggT]

Thanks for the comments, everyone, I appreciate it....

Today, Mon. 5/1/06

Behind-the-neck push press: 135x8, 185x5, 225 for 5 sets of 3

Squat Clean: warm-ups with the bar and 135, lots of warming up actually, and really drilling my speed under the bar, was thinking about a post by Nelsjer that Glenn had commented on and really paid attention to my speed pulling myself under the weight....then I did 200x3, and 245 for 4 sets of 3. Then singles with 275, 285, 295.. These were fast, and I have the warm-ups and triples to thank, I had a lot of speed and I am good for a big clean PR when I am ready to peak.

Front Squat: 285 for 5x5. These were all easy and just a place to begin loading.

Decline Situps: BWx35, BWx35 (I need to stop being a slacker and add some weight to these)

Overall a good, soild night to build from. Weighed 241 and some change.

Post workout had 48grams of whey with 2 cups of skim milk....then an hour or so later had pork chops, mashed potatoes, mixed veggies, and a salad....washed it down with more milk.

 

[xblitz44x]

I'm sure you feel the same way... but sometimes I think it would be cheaper to just buy a cow.

 

[SgtSlaughter]

Sendin' props again over to ya BiggT! Nice job with focusing on getting speed under the bar for clean to squats... A quick Clean looks and feels damn good!

I'm sure you feel the same way... but sometimes I think it would be cheaper to just buy a cow.

^^^ A small farm would be nice too

 

[nelmsjer]

Inspiring, brother!!! Can't WAIT to see where you end up on cleans!

 

[Tweakle]

whaaaaaaaa??? No more arm blasting? You're gonna regret that when it's tank top season

I like this journal, you have a no-nonsense approach to lifting and you're proof that it works.. looking forward to seeing what the tweaks to your routine do for bringing up your BTNP

 

[Protobuilder]

Decline Situps: BWx35, BWx35 (I need to stop being a slacker and add some weight to these)

Yeah, yeah. You said that 6 weeks ago. LoL

It'll be fun watching you go for that big clean, brother. You've got it in you, no doubt.

 

[BiggT]

Thanks boys....went to the gym today 5/2/06

Dumbell Snatch: (5 reps right arm, then 5 reps left arm) 60, 90, 95, 100, 100, 105,

Snatch Pull (135x5, 225x5, 255x3, 265x3, 275x3)

Chins: Bodyweight x 8, 8, 6, 6

Good night, dumbell snatches were real explosive, and it felt good to pull a barbell with a snatch grip for the first time in a while. If anyone's wondering, I use straps on the snatch pulls.

 

[Protobuilder]

Snatch pulls feel great, IMO. Dunno what it is, but they just feel nice. Kinda' like that BTN push press/jerk. Just a nice, smooth movement.

Cross-journal Q&A -- so, what %1RM do you like to work w/ during your deload? Or, subjectively, how "intense" are the reps/deload workouts?

 

[BiggT]

Snatch pulls feel great, IMO. Dunno what it is, but they just feel nice. Kinda' like that BTN push press/jerk. Just a nice, smooth movement.

Cross-journal Q&A -- so, what %1RM do you like to work w/ during your deload? Or, subjectively, how "intense" are the reps/deload workouts?

I don't have a rule set in stone regarding it. I just make sure my total weekly workload is a lot less. A lot of times, I just work up to a 5 with 80% of my best 5 from the training cycle, and cut out all stuff like shrugs, chins etc. I ramp the weights, rest shorter between sets, and none of the sets are very taxing. If my joints feel good I'll work up to about 80% and then try a heavier single or 2 or a couple doubles, but not true limit sets, and they are not very intense at all. With the olympic lifts, I just slash the weight so I can get under the bar as fast as possible and keep rest times safely under a min. I try to get myself refreshed, then I am ready to either load again or try an intensity phase.

Another thing I do during a deload is say I was training flat bench, during the deload I will bag it and try to hit a heavy incline....but that is the only time I use "heavy" weights during a deload, is if it is a movement where "heavy" isn't really heavy compared to what I had been doing....like Back Squat/Front Squat, Flat Bench/Incline, Front Squat/Overhead Squat, Squat Clean/Power Snatch.

 

[Jim Ouini]

Already been said but great journal Biggt - not only because the weights and exercises are cool to see but it's very informational to see different ways to run a DF program - I remember MC2 saying how his DF program was not meant to a cookie cutter be all end all with everything written in stone...

By the by, I recall a post between you and Coolcolj where you guys were discussing 'saving deadlifts for intensity phase since squats work the same muscles' - what's the thought behind this? Is deadlifting just too taxing at a certain level - like maybe 2.5 x BW - to include in a volume phase?

 

[BiggT]

For me, deadlifts are too taxing to load with.....I remember tha tthread, and I was saying at times I use them at the end of a loading phase when I am getting ready to backoff and I am still feeling a little 'too good'.....For 5's on deadlifts, I've used 525 in the past, and tripled 550, and pr is 605.....compared to my other lifts, these numbers are really high and they tend to burry me quick......Plus, I remember being so taxed by deadlifting in a loading phase, that I wasn't even fast enough to get under a 225 clean a couple days later, just CNS burnout at it's finest.....

What I prefer is to load heavily with frequency in squats and lots of olympic lifts, The pulling from the floor trains the same muscles for me (I DL conventional and with a hook grip)...I obviously don't use as much in the o-lifts as I can deadlift, but between cleaning and snatching, and clean/snatch pulls, I can use so much volume and frequency that the fatique can build, bu it builds over 4-5 weeks, rather than blowing myself out after 2 weeks of heavy ass DLs......and then I think CCJ and I were talking about doing deads once deloading was over and you're training heavy, but with lower volume and frequency in more of a peaking mode.

DLs work best for me with low volume and frequency, they aren't a lift I can use when I'm looking to pull from the floor 4, 5, 6 times a week etc.

 

[Jim Ouini]

I think I found that to be true in my last 5 x 5 run - I missed my squat in Week 4 of volume, weights I thought I was going to get based on Week 3 performance. Deadlift 5 x 5 in Week 3 was a struggle, though, and probably fried me.

When I hit intensity phase I still didn't feel springtime fresh even after a week of reduced volume and ended up aborting the run.

The next time I run it I think I'm going to try some clean pulls during volume and maybe switch to dead during intensity. Thanks for the info.

 

[mm107]

Damn BIGTT, amazing numbers man, keep it up seriousy, your a damn house man.
Congratz on those numbers! Thanks for logging to, because i get alot of ideas from here.

 

[BiggT]

Wed....5/3/06

Power Clean: warm-ups, then 20 singles @ 200 with less than a min. between sets.

Front Squat: 185x5, 225x5, 235 x 5x5

Incline D-Bells: 60'sx10, 100'sx8, 105'sx8, 110'sx8, 115'sx8

Weighted decline situps: (held 45lb plate out over my face) 2 sets of 18

Great night, moved quick through the cleans and front squats, incline DB was nice and smooth. Weighed 241......off tomorrow from the gym.

Squat cleans, front squats, strict OHP, and some arm work to end the week on Fri.

 

[anotherbutters]

When you said you were going to add weight to the situps, I wasn't expecting you to go from BW to a 45lb plate

Great journal BiggT. Like others have said, it's nice to see someone using their own scheme for loading.

 

[que_66]

How many farm animals did you have for snacks today?

 

[BiggT]

Thanks, AB, don't know if I told you in the past, but great handle and avatar, I'm a long-time South Park fanatic.

Que, yesterday, I had just about a lb of ground beef and a little over a lb of chicken, and 6 eggs, and a gallon of milk, plus other stuff.

Thurs. is my usual pizza night, so I will post up that.

 

[WoNderWoMan25]

Thanks, AB, don't know if I told you in the past, but great handle and avatar, I'm a long-time South Park fanatic.

Que, yesterday, I had just about a lb of ground beef and a little over a lb of chicken, and 6 eggs, and a gallon of milk, plus other stuff.

Thurs. is my usual pizza night, so I will post up that.

mmmm, yummy. you DO know how to eat!

i just read that jay cutler eats about 5 lbs of orangy roughy (a white fish, i think) PER DAY when preparing for a show. 5 lbs of fish could easily last me a month.

 

[BiggT]

Yeah, fish is great stuff, it's one thing that never gets tiresome to me even when broiled with just a little salt and pepper......I am a big fan of obscene amounts of Sushi too, although it gets pricey to do it multiple times a week.

Orange Roughy is good, it is a white fish, very mild too, and good for home-cooking because it won't leave the whole place smelling like fish the rest of the night.

 

[Cynical Simian]

So that's Cutler's secret...I'm gonna go buy an old-school thermometer. (Orange roughy has high mercury levels.)

As always, nice workout, BiggT...looking forward to seeing the PRs in the next few weeks. And thanks for the more detailed explanation of your general loading/deloading protocol.

 

[WoNderWoMan25]

So that's Cutler's secret...I'm gonna go buy an old-school thermometer. (Orange roughy has high mercury levels.)

Thought that the larger the fish, the higher the mercury levels? And that orange roughy was on the smaller side.

If not, then yes. 5 lbs/day would make him a genetic freak and that's his secret

 

[WoNderWoMan25]

Yeah, fish is great stuff, it's one thing that never gets tiresome to me even when broiled with just a little salt and pepper......I am a big fan of obscene amounts of Sushi too, although it gets pricey to do it multiple times a week.

Orange Roughy is good, it is a white fish, very mild too, and good for home-cooking because it won't leave the whole place smelling like fish the rest of the night.

Sushi/sashami - make your own!! I love too! Some salmon, shrimp, brown rice, sesame seeds, avacado.... Whatever else ya want. And soy sauce and wasabi!!

<sigh> getting hungry just thinking about it. can't wait until the 28th. my cruise ship has a 24-hour sushi bar on it. yeay!!

 

[Cynical Simian]

Thought that the larger the fish, the higher the mercury levels? And that orange roughy was on the smaller side.

It's more a function of lifespan, since the longer a fish lives, the more heavy metals accumulate. Average size is often a good proxy for that, but there are exceptions, like Mr. Cutler's favorite fish, which has an extremely long life.

http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~frf/sea-mehg.html

On a side note, I love how food is a pretty much constant topic here even though BiggT isn't very obsessive about his diet.

 

[anotherbutters]

Thanks BiggT. Whenever you talk food, you remind me of Desperate Dan eating his cow pie.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/387517.stm

 

[Ilovetolift]

Biggt, You said you ate a lb of chicken an lb of beef a galon of milk(skim) and 6 eggs, what else did you eat during the day?

 

[que_66]

On a side note, I love how food is a pretty much constant topic here even though BiggT isn't very obsessive about his diet.

My stomach lives vicariously thru BiggT's diet posts.

 

[BiggT]

AB, cool pic, I've never heard of Desperate Dan before, lol.

Que, glad I can help you out.

Ilovetolift...lets see if I can remember, I don't write down my diet....

I woke up at 7 and had a 6 egg omlette with chicken, and some salsa and a little sour cream. I had 2 servings of oatmeal and a quart of milk.

A little later (probably 9:30 or so) I had 48 grams of whey with 2 cups of milk.

At noon, I had the rest of the chicken a hard roll and a salad and some crystal light.

At 2:30 I ate a PB and J sandwich on whole wheat and 2 bananas and a quart of milk

I lifted at 5, then I had 48 grams of whey in 2 cups of skim milk, then around 7:30, I had a pound of ground beef (I made patties and foreman grilled them), a box of brussels sprouts, and a bag of instant rice and more milk. After that I just drank crystal light and water the rest of the night.

 

[Protobuilder]

You hungry bastard. LoL

Did you get my PM w/ that Ditillo book? No big deal, just didn't know if maybe your PM box might be full. Want to make sure you saw it.

And what's up w/ the jelly bro? Don't you know simple sugars make you FAT? LoL

 

[silver_shadow]

Thanks BiggT. Whenever you talk food, you remind me of Desperate Dan eating his cow pie.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/387517.stm

LOL desperate dan is one of those brit classics... thx for reminding me

 

[blut wump]

Oddly enough, appearing in a comic called The Dandy. He was always one of my favourite characters but I preferred the sister comic, The Beano.

 

[BiggT]

You hungry bastard. LoL

Did you get my PM w/ that Ditillo book? No big deal, just didn't know if maybe your PM box might be full. Want to make sure you saw it.

And what's up w/ the jelly bro? Don't you know simple sugars make you FAT? LoL

Check your PM's, just sent you one...I was almost sure I sent you one back the other day, but maybe it didnt go through....good read though as far as the info is concerned. I see what you mean about needing an editor, Ditillo certainly doesn't have a writer's flare, but he sure seems to know his training. Good solid stuff, the kind of things you patiently pound away at all year and grow before people's eyes.

I hear you on the jelly, the half tablespoon I used instantly caused me to gain 52 lbs of pure FAT overnight and the Dr's say I will never be able to lose it, lol.

 

[mm107]

Check your PM's, just sent you one...I was almost sure I sent you one back the other day, but maybe it didnt go through....good read though as far as the info is concerned. I see what you mean about needing an editor, Ditillo certainly doesn't have a writer's flare, but he sure seems to know his training. Good solid stuff, the kind of things you patiently pound away at all year and grow before people's eyes.

I hear you on the jelly, the half tablespoon I used instantly caused me to gain 52 lbs of pure FAT overnight and the Dr's say I will never be able to lose it, lol.

LMAO, damn only 52? I havnt had a PB + Jelly sandwich in such a long time, you just made me crave one lol

Damn BIGTT you eat like a horse, I love it, atleast im not the only nut that can eat 1lb of beef and 1lb chicken same night =]

Nice work, keep it up.

Also whenever you can can ya come on over and comment on my vids, i want some1 with your expierience to letme know about my form.

Thanks BIGTT!

 

[WoNderWoMan25]

It's more a function of lifespan, since the longer a fish lives, the more heavy metals accumulate. Average size is often a good proxy for that, but there are exceptions, like Mr. Cutler's favorite fish, which has an extremely long life.

http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~frf/sea-mehg.html

On a side note, I love how food is a pretty much constant topic here even though BiggT isn't very obsessive about his diet.

Good info - thanks.

Re- food. I was just told that I was 'severely undereating' so I'm coming over here for inspiration. BiggT - my sushi was SLAMMING last night!

 

[BiggT]

mm107, finally was able to update my software and view them, I will post on your thread in a little bit, I tried for 2 days to view them, lol.

WW, good to hear about the Sushi.

 

[WoNderWoMan25]

Well, I got over my 105 flat bench-press mental block last night, and actually put a 35 pound plate on each side. (benched 115 nine times - woot!)

I DESERVED THAT SUSHI!!!

 

[Guinness5.0]

benched 115 nine times - woot!

Nice job!

 

[BiggT]

Well, I got over my 105 flat bench-press mental block last night, and actually put a 35 pound plate on each side. (benched 115 nine times - woot!)

I DESERVED THAT SUSHI!!!

Nice work....mental barriers with plates are very common.....if you used a 25 and a 10 on each side you probably had it in you for quite a while.

 

[WoNderWoMan25]

Hey!! You're probably right - I had the same problem when we switched from four 45 pound plates on the leg press machine to two 100 pound plates.

<walking around mumbling something about 'light weight, light weight'>

 

[que_66]

AB, cool pic, I've never heard of Desperate Dan before, lol.

Que, glad I can help you out.

Ilovetolift...lets see if I can remember, I don't write down my diet....

I woke up at 7 and had a 6 egg omlette with chicken, and some salsa and a little sour cream. I had 2 servings of oatmeal and a quart of milk.

A little later (probably 9:30 or so) I had 48 grams of whey with 2 cups of milk.

At noon, I had the rest of the chicken a hard roll and a salad and some crystal light.

At 2:30 I ate a PB and J sandwich on whole wheat and 2 bananas and a quart of milk

I lifted at 5, then I had 48 grams of whey in 2 cups of skim milk, then around 7:30, I had a pound of ground beef (I made patties and foreman grilled them), a box of brussels sprouts, and a bag of instant rice and more milk. After that I just drank crystal light and water the rest of the night.

How big is your refridgerator?

I'm suprised you don't just bench press the cow & drink straight from the pipes........or have you tried that and discovered that the cow wiggles too much?




"Moo's of relief echoed across the countryside as the herd learned that BiggT would be drinking Crystal Light and water for the rest of the night....."

 

[BiggT]

Yeah, I should just move to a farm.....yesterday's workout...Fri 5/5/06

Squat Clean: lots of warm-ups with the bar and then 135, 225x3, 4 triples with 245, 285x1, 295x1, 305x1....all was well with these, was getting under the weight nice and fast, so far so good.

Front Squat: 265x5, 275x5, 285x5, 295x5, 305x5, these went well, nothing felt remotely heavy until 305, but I have a lot more in me

Strict standing OHP to the front: 135x10, 185x5, 195x5, 205x5, 210x5, 210x5, 185x11....good lift for me to work static overhead strength, these felt a little heavier than I would have liked, but still I made all my reps......I need to keep these, incline barbell and dumbell, and close-grips in my routine to keep my pure strength up

Decline Situps: BW plus 45lb plate x 20, 20

 

[Ilovetolift]

Whats a squat clean? Thats an impressive front squat.

 

[BiggT]

Whats a squat clean? Thats an impressive front squat.

It's just the full version of a clean....a power clean is caught in the power position, which is in a high front squat above paralell. A squat clean is caught in the deep bottom position of a full front squat. You can handle more weight in the squat clean because you do not have to pull the bar as high to catch it in the bottom position as you do in the power position.

 

[blut wump]

I feel so sheepish. When I was doing Power Cleans, I was catching them while up on the balls of my feet, with the occasional one hitting me full in the chest. You can guess I was completely self (mis)taught.