My Own Training Sessions

I've finally kicked it into gear this week training wise. Since the meet I did in September, I took about a week off and eased back into the training with a real low-moderate volume of work and a moderate intensity. Things are starting to pick back up with my goals of increasing my lifts (squat, bench, dead lift) and getting my work capacity (conditioning) up a bit as I'm a bit sluggish as of late. Here's a glimpse:

Tuesday Upper Body Workout:
A: Bench Press: worked up (45lbs, 135, 185, 245 x 3, 275x3, 305x6)
-as you can see I'm easing back into things with the intensity
B1: Incline Dumbbell Bench Presses: 4 sets of 8 with 110lbs rested: 30 seconds
B2: Seated Dumbbell Cleans: 4 sets of 8 reps with 30lbs rested: 60 seconds
C1: Close Grip Push Up: 4x12 rested 30 seconds
C2: Cable Face Pull: 4x12 rested 30 seconds
(in the next upper body workout i'll increase the pulling work and decrease the pushing)

Thursday Lower Body Workout
A: Barbell Back Squat: worked up (in 45lb increments) to 360x 3, 415x 3, and 465x3-5, used full rest periods
B: Rack Dead Lift from knee level: 4x6 w/405lbs rested 2 minutes
C: Dumbbell Split Squat: 3 sets of 8 reps rested 90 seconds
D1: Cable Pull Through: 3x10 rested 30 seconds
D2: Reverse Crunch: 3x12 rested 30 seconds

nothing special here, just slowly getting into some heavier weights and starting to push it on the assistance and auxillary exercises. I'll be playing with the sets/reps/ and rest periods on the auxillary exercises to work on bringing up my level of conditioning or work capacity. you'll also see one or two short conditioning or "extra" workouts in the logs as well.

Four Daily Steps To Eating Correctly

1.when you wake up look at the clock... you have 20 minutes to get something in your system... start by consuming some cold water because you're usually mildly dehydrated upon waking... make sure your meal includes 1.)animal protein 2.) fats (the brain is made of fats & needs fats to begin optimal daily functioning) 3.) fiber, from first option -green vegetables 2nd -fruits 3rd option -grains if your skinfold readings in the Sub-Scapular region and Supra-Illiac region permit you to do so (according to Charles Poliquins Biosignature Modulation)

2. continue this meal combination every 2-3 hours... your body is like a fire, put logs on the fire frequently to keep it going. protein then fats then fiber (choose the source in aforementioned order, grains Maaaybe if you're one lean or active bastard i.e. Chris Pronger, Reggie Bush, not Joe Fratboy)

3. if you plan on training or participating in some sort of sport or even plan on going to a rock show & getting into a mosh pit then apply the following -have a meal 60 minutes before hand (this could mean a meal of steak, avocado, and cucumbers, or as simple as an apple & a bowl of nuts if time is limited- consume 10 grams of bcaas before training & 10 grams either during or after for numerous reasons. consume your bodyweight x about .25 in grams of protein, so if you're 200 lbs have 50 grams post workout (def doesn't have to be exact, but try and get it somewhere around this recommendation)-build up in dosage of glutamine using the same principle as the protein (Chris Grayson, 2007)

4. continue consuming your normal food combinations about an hour after your prescribed post workout drink & continue your meal combinations every 2-3 hours that you're up for the day

I hope this helps, maybe i'll post a list of some good food choices for meal combinations at a later time...

265 lbs- 200 and Ripped! A brief outline of how...

December '06 & January '07
meal 1: 3 whole omega-3 eggs/ 3 whites, 1 apple,
1/4 cup blueberries
meal 2: shake (2 scoops blend protein, fish oil, greens powder) (in ice water)
meal 3 (pre-workout meal): 8 oz. grass fed sirloin/ 1/4 cup almonds/ green veggies
meal 4 (post w/o shake): 50 grams whey/50 grams glutamine/ 20 grams glycine
meal 5: 8 oz. hormone free chicken large serving of greens topped with other veggies (peppers, mushrooms, etc.)
meal 6: usually same as 5 20-45 grams of fish oil per day

February '07- April '07
meal 1: 3 whole omega-3 eggs, 3 whites, 3 oz. turkey breast, various veggies, sometimes 1 apple meal 2: shake (2 scoops blend protein, fish oil, greens supplement)
meal 3: 8 oz grass fed sirloin, 1/4 cup nuts, lots of greens
meal 4 (post w/o): 50 grams whey/ 50 grams glutamine, 20 grams glycine
meal 5: 8 oz chicken/ greens
meal 6: 8 oz. chicken or fish/ greens

May '06- June 22nd '06
started out at 205lbs/ 7-8% bf
2 gallons of water per day
m1: 8oz sirloin/ 1/4 cup nuts/ Greens
m2: 6 oz sirloin/ greens
m3: post shake (50g whey/50g glutamine/50 grams Vitargo powder
m4: 8 oz chicken/greens
m5: 6-8 oz. fish (salmon, tilapia, mahi mahi)/ greens
m6: 6 oz fish/ greens
every 5th night i ate a carb dinner to replace glycogen and pleasure my mind which consisted of: -lean protein source -1 large sweet potato w/cinnamon -1 cup steel ground oats -2 apples

The final week of the show i kept my diet the same just manipulated some sodium and water and started my carb re-feed friday night before the show and continued all day during the contest (competed June 21st, 2007)

Mid June-August 6th- stuck to the same basic principles but ate as much as I wanted at all of my meals. I had two cheats per week instead of one (I made sure to start the cheats with the oats, sweet potatos and fruits).

I started my next contest prep the same day I started coaching my football team for doubles, I figured it would be great motivation as I could train balls to the wall in a stripped down weight room with some high school kids who love to get fired up
-Added in sled dragging & tire flipping in the morning every other day-2 strength sessions in the beginning of the week-2 density training sessions later in the week

diet
m1: 8 oz. of red meat, fish oil, greens
m2: same for the most part
m3: usually post workout drink
m4-6: chicken or fish, greens, fish oil
every 5th day I had the refeed during the 2nd half of the day focusing on wild rices, sweet potatos, oats, milk, and other various items
water loaded/depleted week of the showkept diet the same week of the show except for I fat loaded instead of carb loaded the morning of the show & ended up looking waaayyy leaner.

Main supplements used (since most people think these are more important than the food you put into your body! hah)
-Magnesium Glycinate
-Zinc Supreme
-Twice Daily Multi
-Liquid Fish Oil
(All by Designs For Health, the highest quality pharmaceutical grade supplements)

I initially lost a lot of weight in 2006 when I was 265lbs on a traditional body building diet (lean proteins/ complex carbs) and this got me down to about 210 lbs. I ate "bulked up" until December of 2007 by eating the traditional body building foods (egg whites, oatmeal, tuna). This got me nowhere but 25% body fat. I was back up to 245lbs and ticked off.
I seeked the help of Ben Knapp and Chris Grayson (http://chrisgrayson.blogspot.com) and these guys opened my eyes to eating correctly. The human body is made out of essential amino acids and essential fatty acids (notice I didn't say essential sugar molecules). So as you can see I focused my efforts on eating quality red meats, fatty fish and fish oils, raw nuts, avocados, etc. and ate smart carbohydrates such as cucumbers, baby spinach, brocolli, apples, oranges at times, sweet potatos post workout, waxy maize post workout, blueberries, etc... The commonality between all of these foods is that they're what humans are made to eat, not a packet of maple brown sugar oatmeal or reduced fat enriched chocolate soy milk.
So keep it simple with your diet. Drink MORE water, eat quality meats, nuts, oils, and vegetables. Do this full tilt and get back to me in two weeks! I dare ya!

That's it for now, maybe i'll post a sample training week from this time period at a later time...

DO WORK

Training Session: October 15th, 2008

A good friend of mine was in town for the day today and wanted to get a workout in. He's a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Marines, so i figured he'd be up for something a little bit more challenging than a treadmill and some e-z bar curls (note the sarcasm). Anyways, here's what he did:

Warm Up:
-Warrior Lunges x 6 per leg
-Lateral Squats x 6 per side
-Walking Spiderman x 6 per side
-Cradle Walk x 6 per side
-High Knees 10 yds
-Bear Crawl 10 yds
-30 yard build up runs x 4

Segment 1:
A1: Backwards/ Forwards (alternate each set) Sled Drag w/ 140lbs on grass x 20 yards rest: 0
A2: Burpees x 8 reps rest: 0
A3: Bear Crawl x 20 yds back to start line rest: 0
A4: 20lb Med Ball Slam x 10 reps rest: 3 minutes
-Each set came out to take between 40-55 seconds

Segment 2:
A: Plate Pincher Walks(Farmers walks done holding onto a 45lb olympic plate in each hand)
-He went as far as he could in a ten minute period, breaking as needed to re-grip
-Ended up breaking six times in the ten minute period
(If you're looking to get your conditioning up along with your grip/ upper back strength, these are a phenominal exercise)


That's it for my first post, I'll have some more interesting stuff to post shortly along with some videos. For now check out my youtube page: www.youtube.com/strengthcoachdan