Choose Your Environment Wisely

For the sake of this conversation we're going to be talking about training. But, keep in mind that these principles can be applied to ANY endeavor.

It doesn't matter if you're training for football, hockey, mixed martial arts or strength sports; the environment you train or practice in makes all the difference in the world. If you want to be the best at what you do then why not surround yourself with like minded individuals who have the same desire and intensity that you do??? If you want to be a top conditioned hockey player, go train under Charles Poliquin. If you want to be a top conditioned football player, go train under Elliot Hulse or Joe Defranco. If you want to be an MMA "Endurance Machine" go train under my friend Chris Grayson in Chicago, Illinois. You get the picture.

Two individuals could be training for football using a similar conjugate periodization model. But I'd be willing to bet my lunch money ($10 at Whole Foods)the person with the better environment is going to get quite a bit more out the program than the other guy.

My reason for this post is pretty simple. I am currently home in the Detroit area for the Hollidays and have a chance to train at Ben Knapp's Powr Performance in Westland, Michigan. The place is not very big, but what it's lacking in size compared to nearby commercial gyms it makes up and then some in Attitude and Positive Environment. The couple weeks leading up to coming to Powr Performance I took it somewhat easy knowing that all hell would break loose when I got to the Detroit area.

Eight like minded individuals got together this past saturday for a heavy lifting session at PPerformance. None of us are world class athletes or lifters but we all have a burning desire to get stronger and in better shape. With all of these like minded individuals together you could really throw some fears out of the window of training by yourself or in a commercial gym (not having a spot, not having someone coach you on a lift, d-bags staring at you from the tread mills while reading men's health, etc...) Basically you can "disconnect" yourself from everything you know and focus on the task at hand. I'll let the video do the rest of the talking (these lifts are not ground breaking in the strength sports world but they're personal improvements for everyone involved due to the environment that was created)...


Kevin and Mike here in the video hit squats close to 100lbs more than they've every gotten I believe



(until next time, re-evaluate your goals and ask yourself "am I putting myself in the right environment to reach these goals?" if not do something about it)

Survey Category: Maximal Strength/ Sport Conditioning

Training Log 12-23-2008

Lower body lift: Band resisted dead lifts, anderson front squats, glute-ham raises, sled drags



I'll get better at making these more entertaining as I learn how to use the camera and computer program better.

Video Training Log 12-22-09

I Don't Make This Stuff UP...

I just wanted to display and describe these photos to show you guys/girls that I don't make this blog information up and I'm not some dill-weed who reads a muscle magazine or men's health. I don't have many books since I'm a college student who works at a bar and spends all his money on good food (see older posts). But I believe the books that I have are some of the better resources out there. From Dr. Jonny Bowden to Dr. Verkhoshansky to Tim Ferriss I don't have a lot but I have quality material. Why make stuff up when you can learn from the experts and interpret the information for your own use?



If you read the linked blogs by Chris Grayson and/or Ben Knapp they always make a point that "what gets measured gets improved." I took this advice about two years ago and have a record of every single training session I've put myself or others through. You may not think so, but writing your plan and results down can really take your progress to the next level. If you put a training goal down on paper and formulate a map to get there, you're more likelely to progress at a quicker rate. For instance, if you're supposed to hit a 300lb training bench press in two months according to your plan, you're going to be more apt to do what it takes in those two months to get there. And if the 300lb bench press does not go up then you can look back at your training logs and see what may have prevented you from getting there and fix it in the next training cycle. This could go for other things besides training. Some others that come to mind are: Eating regimen, business notes, finances, and logging which pick up lines work at the bar and which ones don't.



Here's another view of my logs, time for a new binder!


Here we've got another shot of coaching/physiology books and books from a couple of my favorite authors. I highly recommend "The Edge Effect" by Dr. Eric R. Braverman which is about eating and adjusting activity for optimal brain chemistry. I also recommend all books by Dr. Jonny Bowden especially his brand new book "150 Most Effective Ways to Boost Your Energy" as this kind of combines a lot of information from his previous books and puts it together in a fashion that is highly applicable to anyone's lifestyle.



Here we've got some physiology text, strength training journals and russian strength training manuals (the base of lots of today's most successful strength training methods, that's why the Soviets kicked everyone's ass in the Olympics for so long)



Books of varius topics of strength, pathophysiology, motivation, brain chemistry, coaching, and "ROMO" NFL linebacker Bill Romanowski's story. It sounds funny but "ROMO" is packed with alot of behind the scenes info on the strength and conditioning scene in the NFL.

October-December Training

After a power lifting meet in September I needed a new training goal since I'm not planning to compete until late spring/ summer 2009. Since I'm becoming OCD with what and when I eat as it relates to human performance and body composition I came up with a goal for this training period. I haven't been in the low single digit body fat range since last september so I figured I'd get back down there WHILE maintaining or increasing my max strength on the big three lifts. Here's a base of the program and the results:

October 2008: 210 lbs at 14 percent body fat
December 5th, 2008: 201 at 7 percent body fat
(according to brozek 7 site skin fold equation done by exercise physiology professor)

Training Protocol:
disclaimer: this training program is not specific to any particular sport, so don't get your panties in a bunch. This was for the sole purpose of recruiting lots of muscle twice per week and training anaerobic glycolysis 2-3 times per week. If you're not familiar with anaerobic glycolysis, you may have experienced it after running a few sprints or playing drop in hockey for the first time in a while and felt some flegmy waste products build up in your throat.

Weekly Split:
Monday: Heavy Bench/ Upper Body Strength
Tuesday: Heavy Squat or Dead Lift/ Lower Body Strength
Wednesday: Off or recovery drills
Thursday: Barbell Complex Workout
Friday: Off or Recovery Drills
Saturday: Full Body Circuit Lift
Sunday: Off for the first few weeks/ DB Complex starting mid November

Sample workouts:
Upper Strength
A1: Bench Press: work up to 3 rep max
A2: Pull Ups: work up to 3 rep max with added weight
B1: Dumbbell Floor Press 4 sets of 4-6 reps
B2: Face Pull: 4 sets of 10-12 reps
C1: Dips: 3 sets of 8-10 reps
C2: Hammer Curl: 3 sets of 8-10 reps

Lower Strength
A: Barbell Back Squat: work up to 1rm
B: Knee high step up: 4 sets of 6 reps
C: Back Raise: 4 sets of 8-10 reps

Barbell Complex sample
A1: over head squat x6
A2: military press x6
A3: good morning x6
A4: high pull x 6
A5: bent over row x6
A6: romanian dead lift x6
done in a row with no rest, used between 85-115 lbs
This did not tap into my recovery much if at all and I usually came out feeling better

Full Body Lift
A1: Squat or Dead Lift Variation x 10-12 reps (heavy as possible)
A2: Weighted Chin Ups 8-10 reps (heavy as possible)
A3: Lunge variation x 8 reps
A4: Standing DB Push Press x 8 reps
I rested between 30-60 seconds between subsequent sets and rested 1-2 minutes between sets. Ten minutes of this will have you breathing harder than a spinning instructor flipping a tire for the first time.

B1: usually a walking lunge or pull through x 10-15 reps
B2: bodyweight chin ups x as many reps as possible
B3: usually a pull through x 10-15 reps
B4: push ups x as many reps as possible

Lifts:
Squat: Maintained a 505lb 3 rep max
Bench: 330 3 rep max (10 lb increase)
Sumo Dead Lift: 510 training max (pulled 507 conventional style in september)

Diet:
The diet was/is pretty much what I've outlined in previous blog posts. My breakfast and first couple meals consist of dark meats, eggs, nuts, oils, cheeses while the meals later in the day consist of lighter colored meats, salad greens, brocolli, greek yogurt, cashew butter, occassional apples and blueberries

sample day:
Breakfast: 10 oz. burger patty, small bowl of cashews, fish oil
Snack between class: Roast Beef, Walnuts, Mozzarella Cheese
Lunch (usually pre workout meal): 4 eggs w/turkey and chopped veggies, fish oil
Post workout drink: 50grams whey concentrate, 30g bcaa/glutamine, 10-20g glycine
Dinner: Turkey or Chicken, large salad
Snack: Greek Yogurt, Cashew Butter, Blueberries (all mixed together w/cinnamon on top)
Last Meal: (i work late at night so I'm up for this usually) chicken or turkey at work with a large plate of broccoli, walnuts or cashews on the side and fish oil capsules.

Not to mention plenty of water ALL day long.

I'll post some pictures next week of the body composisition progress from the training experiment.

Get Fired Up!

I'm not about getting fired up All of the time, but when it's time, it is time. Jim Wendler made a post on Elitefts the other day about albums that you need to train to. That got me thinking about what I would list for this. One of the only things I enjoy as much as training is music. I've got a binder of a few hundred ticket stubs of concerts I've been to since I was 14 years old and have well over a couple grand spent on cd's. I know not everyone has the same musical taste as me and that is fine, this is just what fired ME up.

In no particular order:

Pantera- Official Live 101 Proof
Life Of Agony- River Runs Red
Bloodbath- Resurrection Through Carnage
Devil Driver- Self Titled
Fear Factory- Demanufacture
In Flames- Clayman
Snapcase- Progression Through Unlearning
Superjoint Ritual- Use Once And Destroy
Sepultura- Live: Under A Pale Gray Sky
Soilent Green- Confrontation
Tomahawk- Mit Gas
Strapping Young Lad- City
High On Fire- Blessed Black Wings
Dream Theater- Images And Words
Lamb of God- As The Palaces Burn
Anthrax- Stomp 442
Cannibal Corpse- The Wretched Spawn
Gojira- From Mars To Sirius
Machine Head- The More Things Change
Mnemic- Passenger
The Red Chord- Fused Together In Revolving Doors
Seemless- What Have We Become
Sevendsut-Home
Trouble- Manic Frustration

These are just some that came to mind. I'm interested in what you guys like, so if you wouldn't mind post your suggestions in the comments section.

Things to Come...

I plan on putting this blog on steroids within the next couple of weeks as I have a three week break from school. Here's a brief summary of what to expect:

I will either be getting my camera fixed or purchasing a flip cam

-Video training log of what I do week to week
-"Back to Basics" lifting and conditioning series with Mike Coval. This is going to be a series of videos and logs of Mike's progress in strength, conditioning, and body composition from October up to his current progress. Mike's a volunteer strength and conditioning coach with our basketball team (WMU) and has an unquenchable thirst to get stronger.
-A series of questioning authority in America (health policies, big pharma, mainstream fitness, etc...)

If anyone has anything they'd like to see please post or email me at dannya5199@yahoo.com or SCDgaragetraining@gmail.com

Struggling Economy: Putting Good Food On The Backburner?

This video here is what gave me the idea for this brief post. Note: I'm not condemming these people in the video as they admit that what they did is not healthy one bit (i.e. Tang for vitamin C, losing 14lbs in one month without the help of a badass strength coach, etc.)

With the economy the way it is, most everyone is looking for the most affordable ways to survive. I totally agree with this principle for the most part. The one thing I cannot compromise on is; buying nutritionally empty foods just because they are "more affordable." Why would you want to compromise your health in an already stressful financial time period? These piss poor food choices will just add more stress to your body.
As I'm a 2-3 time per week grocery shopper at a local farmer's market and Meijer here in Kalamazoo, Michigan I witness alot of peoples food selections. Not to brag but I'm a full-time college student who works part time as a bar back and door man at a local bar (we have a playmate coming in tonight!!!) and I still find a way to purchase quality foods to put down my throat. If I can do it under these circumstances, I think most people could if they really put a decent effort forth.
If you care about the health of yourself and loved ones, then here's some ideas to help you afford quality foods in a financially tough era (warning: lots of sarcasm, you may feel stupid after reading this):
-Buy the Ford instead of the Hummer!
-Walk or ride a bike instead of driving short distances!
-Buy an elitefts t shirt instead of Affliction!
-Save on a gym membership and set up a garage gym with homemade equipment
(unless you're training under a badass strength coach like Chris Grayson at Grayson Training Systems or Ben Knapp at Power Performance)
-Don't go to the bar 5 nights in a row (for my college peers)
-Don't buy shots for the girls that you're NOT going to get any from anyways (for my college peers again)
-Shave your head instead of buying your metrosexual hair gel!
-Cancel the tanning membership!
-Buy Chuck Taylor's instead of Diesel brand shoes
-Build a garden
-Raise your own cows and chickens
-Punch yourself in the face everytime you want to go get fast food because it's "more affordable"
-Get a better Job!
Those are just a few tips, but i'm sure with applying 1-3 of them you'll see fantastic results!

A short list of "economically practical foods"
Whey Protein Powder (comes out to be about 35 cents per serving!)
Nut Butters
Eggs
Cottage Cheese
Baby Spinach
Carrots
Apples
Oranges
Steel Cut Oats
Olive Oil
-Once again "Real Food" (seems to be an ever occuring theme ehh?)

My point is, your health is alot more important than the kind of car you drive, brand of clothes you wear, or how impressive you are to girls (or guys for you hot ladies that follow my work)... If it's not important to you, its probably pretty important you family and friends. So think about it and let me know this makes sense or if I'm just pissing people off.

No Excuses! Busy as Hell & Getting It Done!

A good friend and former football player of mine, Max Sall is in his freshman season of wrestling at Ohio State (Nice work!). If you know anything about wrestling then you know that there are weight classes and that practices are frequent and grueling.
Max came to me today saying that practice and lifting is "kicking his ass." He would never admit to this during football so this must be for real! He said he is ingesting some bcaa's around training time and his helping him a little bit. He also says he's considering consuming a post workout shake of 15-30 grams of whey protein. His breakfast consist of a "detour" bar, a banana, and some nuts. Other than that he's not eating too much in fear of not making weight. He also say's that he'd like some help eating to maintain energy levels and ultimately his weight class.
I gave Max some simple advice on how to eat properly and fairly inexpensively while competing very hard at wrestling and devoting the rest of his time to classes. Here's a summary of what we decided on, and so far it's working pretty well:

-Nut Butters (cashew, almond, peanut)
-Raw Unsalted Nuts
-whole hard boiled eggs
-Fish Oil
-olive oil
-Organic Honey
-Ezekiel Bread
-Coconut Oil
-Whey protein powder
-Berries
-Greek Yogurt
-baby spinach
-steak
-chicken
-any "free range" meats Max can find locally
-I'd get a "Greens" powder such as Designs for Health's Paleo Greens or Biotest's Superfood to drink with breakfast and dinner to keep your immune system up during the physiologicaly stressful wrestling season since eating tons of veggies won't be too practical.

We then came up with a meal plan using these foods that I'm not going to detail as much. We made breakfast, lunch and his two mid meal snacks mostly consisting of protein and fats to keep blood sugar stable and keep Max mentally ready for a grueling practice session. His snack after lunch about 90 minutes before practice I alotted a space for some carboyhdrates such as berries, honey and ezekiel bread. We couple this with some hard boiled eggs, nuts, and greek yogurt. Max makes a branched chain amino acid drink to drink before and during practice. He uses 10 grams before practice, 10 grams during practice and another 15-20 after practice. Max says this has helped sustain his energy levels during these 2-3 hour sweat-a-thons. After practice he'll have a whey protein drink of about 40-50 grams and follow that up with a meal when he gets back to the dorms. This meal he takes down a meat source, a bowl of fruit and some vegetables. He'll then have a protein/fat snack later in the evening before bed.

Max is due to report back to me over the upcoming holliday break. So far he's making his weight class no problem and his energy levels are up. We may go visit BK at Power Performance so we might have some live Max training footage and diet update.
BK is the real deal with the nutrition aspect of things, give his blog a look: http://benknappgaragetraining.blogspot.com

Max isn't letting a hectic lifestyle get in his way, are you?