A Little Bit of Everything

As many of you know I enjoy training and am always striving to make myself stronger. Truthfully, I don't really care what I look like (as long as I stay moderately healthy), I just care that I am strong as shit. With this being said, the majority of my training programs I follow consist of a whole lot of heavy shit and a whole little of cardio. For many years I was writing my own programs and playing around with this and that. I got to a point where I felt like I was only doing the things I did best and so I felt it was time for a change. I started dabbling in other training programs written by those in the industry I look up to. A few of these examples would be Dave Tate, Eric Cressey, Mike Robertson, etc. So over the past couple of years I have went through a handful of training programs and seen some great progress.

After completing Cressey's Maximum Strength, Wendler's 5/3/1, Tate's Strong(er) Manual, and The Juggernaut Method, I was able to figure out the aspects of each program that really worked for me and the aspects I wasn't so sure about. To be truthful, different things work for different people so I would never take away from these programs, I just was able to learn what parts worked for me. They were all great programs and have been proven over and over again to make people better.  I have come to a point now where I have combined aspects of each program into one and am experimenting with it right now. So far so good. I will keep updating on my progress, or lack there of and eventually give a description of the program.

As far as what I have learned from these previous programs...
I realized that even when dealing with maximal strength there is a HUGE importance in muscle endurance. In my past, I included a lot of low rep schemes in every exercise I did and saw myself getting weaker in later sets. When I started including sets of 8, 10, or 12 of assistance work, my main lifts started to increase.

Corrective work is extremely important! This type of work really focuses on the weak points of the body and can fix the little issues to make the bigger lifts more successful. I hammered my hips with mobility and strength exercises and saw my squat and deadlift shoot up.

Everyone has a limit. I completed 16 weeks of the Strong(er) program and I definitely found my limit. With this program there is a lot of maximal effort work with not a whole lot of back down time. My lifts sky rocketed for about 6-7 weeks then my body hit a wall and I actually started to see a decrease in strength. I pushed my body to its limit without giving it the proper rest time. I learned deload weeks are key!

As far as gaining maximal strength, percentage based lifts aren't the best for me. Working at percentages I found that I was able to do a lot more reps than expected which showed me which energy systems in my body were dominant. I still use percentages on main lifts right now, but I have decided to increase weight for my last one or two sets. This increase is strictly by how I feel and how the previous sets move. So far, I have felt a lot better about it.

Those are the biggest things I have learned so far. Remember, there is no perfect program. Everyone is different and that is why it is so important to keep track of what you are doing so that you can find the things that work best for you and maximize your results.

P.S.  I hit a squat PR this past weekend so the first four weeks of this combination seems to be working for me.

Hiatus

Well hello there! Welcome back Chance.

I have taken a long blogging hiatus and probably lost the only three people that actually read this anyway...but HEY! I'm back now! Just for an update on what is going on, I am currently working on putting a business together. Brad, Brian, and myself have joined to create the Complete Performance Institute. We have conducted group workouts at a couple different sites and are now getting increasingly close to signing a lease on a space of our own. Plans are to turn this space into a trainers dream. Most of our equipment is purchased and the idea is set, its just a matter of getting it off the ground. I will keep you updated as more unfolds. Check us out at our website for more information on us as well as helpful training and nutrition advice.

I am also working on my fitness as well and trying to get myself as beast mode as I can. I have a few current goals I am working towards and hope to hit them by my birthday which is May 5th (presents encouraged). I plan to update my training on here as well so that all you interneters out there can keep me on my game. Even though no one reads this I will still feel like someone else is holding me accountable and I don't want to let the masses down. :crickets:

Well, I am back now and will try my damndest to keep consistent on posting to this page. Stay tuned and spread the word!