The third week of the Juggernaut Method is also known as the realization week. You execute an 'as many reps as possible' for the last set, which is 10lb heavier than your prior 10rep max. I've only done the third week for two lifts so far. They are the Military Press and the Squat. I was happier with my squat performance (15 reps).
The reason I haven't been able to complete the third week is because I've given in to injury in the shoulder. It's a rotator cuff muscle that is blown out - the one you use for overhead movements. I kept lifting despite the shoulder being out because I felt strong in other planes of movement. But I've decided now to wait it out until I'm 100%. It's been a week since then, and will be about half a week to a week longer if I'm lucky. I've been working on abs and arms in the meantime.
Monday, February 17, 2014
Sunday, February 2, 2014
Juggernaut Log Update
I finished the first week of the 10 rep range wave. It's the hardest week of the program because of the massive volume. It's 5 sets of 10 with 60% of your PR. This is hard on the joints, and in each lift left me a bit crippled for a few days. The military press took out my shoulders, the squats took out my knees, the bench press took out my elbows, and the deadlift took out my shoulders.
It was a really tough week to get through, but I knew in order for the periodization to work, I had to get the workouts in. This coming week is difficult as well. I am going to take a deload on the 4th week of the program. I've found that the high volume of the first week didn't require much accessory lifting. I cut out both front squats and incline barbell bench press, and didn't even do any dumbbell benching. I found my hands were too shredded to do any other lifts. I stuck with muscle-ups and straight hanging leg raises.
I read about a version of the program called the Inverted Juggernaut, which has you doing 10 sets of 5 for the first week, reversing the sets and reps, enabling you to get the high volume without having to do sarge large sets.
It was a really tough week to get through, but I knew in order for the periodization to work, I had to get the workouts in. This coming week is difficult as well. I am going to take a deload on the 4th week of the program. I've found that the high volume of the first week didn't require much accessory lifting. I cut out both front squats and incline barbell bench press, and didn't even do any dumbbell benching. I found my hands were too shredded to do any other lifts. I stuck with muscle-ups and straight hanging leg raises.
I read about a version of the program called the Inverted Juggernaut, which has you doing 10 sets of 5 for the first week, reversing the sets and reps, enabling you to get the high volume without having to do sarge large sets.
Saturday, January 25, 2014
The Juggernaut Method
For the past six months I've been on 5/3/1, the last two of those with the incorporation of 8/6/3 on some lifts. I saw about 10-30lb increase in PRs over that time on all of my main lifts. The program was still working, but I could tell some lifts were about to plateau like Military Press, and both Squats and Deadlifts were becoming more taxing. I just came off a deload week, so I'm fresh, and decided I'd go a new route since now is a perfect time for that - it being right after a deload and the end of a month.
I like this program for its reps disparity, utilizing higher bodybuilder type numbers. There are chances to do as many reps you can with a weight, which is found in 5/3/1 too, but from the layout of Juggernaut, it looks like it sets you up more for getting a ton of reps, whereas with 5/3/1 I could get 1 or 2 extra reps if I wanted, but often opted out. I feel Juggernaut depends on those do as many as you can reps versus 5/3/1 having a structure despite it. Because depending on how many reps you achieve, the program will become more difficult to allow you to progress faster.
The only thing I'm weary of is doing high volume on shoulder work, and I may scale it back. The program runs for 4 months as one cycle, which is a long time, but also includes a deload for each month, which I plan on using.
I've struggled in the past to adhere to deloads. I've often found myself with the willpower to keep going week after week, but eventually your body gives up. The key is to know just when your body will give up, so you can stop beforehand without cutting yourself too short, which would stop gains. I've always felt best when listening to my body and not pushing it too hard, and the deloads allow for the recovery necessary to have the proper intensity throughout periodization schedules.
The program, The Juggernaut Method, looks both challenging and hypertrophy inducing (muscle building). I'll update how the program works out for me. The creator of the program is Chad Wesley Smith. I might try the Cube Method after these 4 months.
I like this program for its reps disparity, utilizing higher bodybuilder type numbers. There are chances to do as many reps you can with a weight, which is found in 5/3/1 too, but from the layout of Juggernaut, it looks like it sets you up more for getting a ton of reps, whereas with 5/3/1 I could get 1 or 2 extra reps if I wanted, but often opted out. I feel Juggernaut depends on those do as many as you can reps versus 5/3/1 having a structure despite it. Because depending on how many reps you achieve, the program will become more difficult to allow you to progress faster.
The only thing I'm weary of is doing high volume on shoulder work, and I may scale it back. The program runs for 4 months as one cycle, which is a long time, but also includes a deload for each month, which I plan on using.
I've struggled in the past to adhere to deloads. I've often found myself with the willpower to keep going week after week, but eventually your body gives up. The key is to know just when your body will give up, so you can stop beforehand without cutting yourself too short, which would stop gains. I've always felt best when listening to my body and not pushing it too hard, and the deloads allow for the recovery necessary to have the proper intensity throughout periodization schedules.
The program, The Juggernaut Method, looks both challenging and hypertrophy inducing (muscle building). I'll update how the program works out for me. The creator of the program is Chad Wesley Smith. I might try the Cube Method after these 4 months.
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
How to Become Strong, Fit, and Desirable - Willpower Harnessing
Welcome to 2014, friends. With the abundance of information available at one's fingertips, the onslaught of ideas and advice doesn't leave one with definite answers, and the answers that do rise to the top - their underpinnings become lost. People walk around today wondering how to lose weight and become more attractive. I will share that answer, but the fruit I share is not always consumed. We walk around as self entities with knowledge, and a lack of knowledge is dangerous, and this can prevent us from learning new things - even if those things are things we already know. There is a power in the articulation of a concept just right in that it sparks revolutions.
In my own personal experience before I attained said knowledge of making one strong, fit, and desirable, I'd wish for strength, and although it was something I always wanted, I would have moments where the concept would flare up in my mind and these moments were crucial for me in building power. I didn't know what I was doing at the time, and so I would try ideas that would leave me injured, a lack of results, or just frustration and ultimately defeat.
If I want to write a story, and I have no materials on hand, I'm forced to just think about my ideas in a mental brainstormed web which I transverse to and fro upon. If given pen and paper, I'll scribe my story and ideas. A human body without a manual as to how to use your muscles leaves you blind. If you have an abundance of energy albeit in a good mood or with anger, you could manipulate that energy by exercising, therein recycling the energy to the body. Anatomy is a wise investment in learning as it tells you the muscles functions and allows you to comprehend how the body works as a whole and in more localized compartments.
Broadly, if you're playing a game of chess, you'll be thinking of your next move, and life is very much that way. There are seven days in a week. Accounting for each of these seven days, how will you spend your time? The more efficient you are with time, the quicker you get to your goals. As humans we want things immediately, and that means taking the straightest most efficient path. You can still stop the smell the flowers, but remaining on that path is crucial and good enough.
Muscle is shapely and provides curvature, strength, and function. It should be developed as otherwise it is atrophied. Although as a beginner you may think of training only one muscle or two or three. Of course it's fine to start anywhere, but imbalances will arise quickly. Each muscle has an antagonistic muscle that should be worked and developed. This is a matter of looking at a scale with two weights and making sure they're evenly weighted.
In a world where people complain of bad backs and bad knees, it shows how important it is to keep the body developed. The legs and lower half of the body are very important. The glutes help maintain an erect torso. The hips are the most powerful part of a human. Hamstrings are incredibly strong and can effortlessly be loaded with hundreds of pounds. For the upper body, strong shoulders and a strong back are essential for health and aesthetics.
Exercise is based off movements in which our muscles contract and stretch. Progression is what tells the muscles to grow larger, and tells our nervous system to become stronger for strength. For progression, the most efficient path is weight training. Access to weights, whether at home or at a gym are mandatory. To increase the poundage of the weight used in an exercise is to spurt more growth. It's like watering a flower and giving it sunlight.
Just as we wash our hands every day, wear clothes every day, and eat every day, we can exercise every day. It's that simple. The food we eat is like fuel in a car. We pull the nutrients through food that we require, and thus eating the right foods for ourselves is important as well as the quantity. Generally a diet of meat, vegetables, and water is healthy. Other goods may be consumed, but pay attention to nutrition and quantity. If you like chocolate and alcohol, by all means have some.
We only live once as far as know, and so we should live life to its fullest. There are a number of weight training routines that you can adhere to and see marvelous gains. Think about the number of days you're willing to attend a gym, and build your routine off that. If you only have two days available a week, I would recommend an upper body/lower body split (one day of each). If you had 4 days available, you could do a bench press day, an overhead press day, a squat day, and a front squat day. You would do more than just those exercises, but there are a few key exercises that are the most important to progress in, and you should know that not all exercises are meant to have progression (lateral raises, face pulls, good mornings).
The 4 most important exercises are the Squat, Deadlift, Bench Press, and Overhead Press (or Military Press). If you were good at those lifts alone, you would be very strong and very fit. The Squat requires mobility, leg strength, and hip strength. The Deadlift requires stability and a strong back. The Overhead Press requires strong shoulders and balance. The Bench Press requires strong stable shoulders and strong elbows (triceps). So that's knees, hips, back, shoulders, and elbows. Focus on those areas and you'll be strong all over.
In my own personal experience before I attained said knowledge of making one strong, fit, and desirable, I'd wish for strength, and although it was something I always wanted, I would have moments where the concept would flare up in my mind and these moments were crucial for me in building power. I didn't know what I was doing at the time, and so I would try ideas that would leave me injured, a lack of results, or just frustration and ultimately defeat.
If I want to write a story, and I have no materials on hand, I'm forced to just think about my ideas in a mental brainstormed web which I transverse to and fro upon. If given pen and paper, I'll scribe my story and ideas. A human body without a manual as to how to use your muscles leaves you blind. If you have an abundance of energy albeit in a good mood or with anger, you could manipulate that energy by exercising, therein recycling the energy to the body. Anatomy is a wise investment in learning as it tells you the muscles functions and allows you to comprehend how the body works as a whole and in more localized compartments.
Broadly, if you're playing a game of chess, you'll be thinking of your next move, and life is very much that way. There are seven days in a week. Accounting for each of these seven days, how will you spend your time? The more efficient you are with time, the quicker you get to your goals. As humans we want things immediately, and that means taking the straightest most efficient path. You can still stop the smell the flowers, but remaining on that path is crucial and good enough.
Muscle is shapely and provides curvature, strength, and function. It should be developed as otherwise it is atrophied. Although as a beginner you may think of training only one muscle or two or three. Of course it's fine to start anywhere, but imbalances will arise quickly. Each muscle has an antagonistic muscle that should be worked and developed. This is a matter of looking at a scale with two weights and making sure they're evenly weighted.
In a world where people complain of bad backs and bad knees, it shows how important it is to keep the body developed. The legs and lower half of the body are very important. The glutes help maintain an erect torso. The hips are the most powerful part of a human. Hamstrings are incredibly strong and can effortlessly be loaded with hundreds of pounds. For the upper body, strong shoulders and a strong back are essential for health and aesthetics.
Exercise is based off movements in which our muscles contract and stretch. Progression is what tells the muscles to grow larger, and tells our nervous system to become stronger for strength. For progression, the most efficient path is weight training. Access to weights, whether at home or at a gym are mandatory. To increase the poundage of the weight used in an exercise is to spurt more growth. It's like watering a flower and giving it sunlight.
Just as we wash our hands every day, wear clothes every day, and eat every day, we can exercise every day. It's that simple. The food we eat is like fuel in a car. We pull the nutrients through food that we require, and thus eating the right foods for ourselves is important as well as the quantity. Generally a diet of meat, vegetables, and water is healthy. Other goods may be consumed, but pay attention to nutrition and quantity. If you like chocolate and alcohol, by all means have some.
We only live once as far as know, and so we should live life to its fullest. There are a number of weight training routines that you can adhere to and see marvelous gains. Think about the number of days you're willing to attend a gym, and build your routine off that. If you only have two days available a week, I would recommend an upper body/lower body split (one day of each). If you had 4 days available, you could do a bench press day, an overhead press day, a squat day, and a front squat day. You would do more than just those exercises, but there are a few key exercises that are the most important to progress in, and you should know that not all exercises are meant to have progression (lateral raises, face pulls, good mornings).
The 4 most important exercises are the Squat, Deadlift, Bench Press, and Overhead Press (or Military Press). If you were good at those lifts alone, you would be very strong and very fit. The Squat requires mobility, leg strength, and hip strength. The Deadlift requires stability and a strong back. The Overhead Press requires strong shoulders and balance. The Bench Press requires strong stable shoulders and strong elbows (triceps). So that's knees, hips, back, shoulders, and elbows. Focus on those areas and you'll be strong all over.
Saturday, January 4, 2014
Why People Don't Exercise and The Solution
I've thought long and hard about this problem. It greatly bothers me as I think all should benefit from some level of fitness. If I were to ask how to set up a board game of Monopoly, the answer could be followed in these steps:
1/Unfold the board so that it's face up.
2/Deal out the money and assemble the bank.
3/Organize the land.
4/Place the Community Chest and Chance cards.
5/Choose player game pieces.
6/Roll to see who goes first.
For someone who doesn't know how to exercise, the steps they take, if they ever enter a gym, are usually to gravitate towards what looks easy, lift light weight with bad form, and leave without having hit their body significantly, and soreness and mild injuries arise, and it's the end of it.
Here are the steps I recommend:
1/Enter gym written down routine that follows a program suited to your goals.
2/Do exactly what's written down at whichever pace you desire.
3/After workout, log results to ensure consistency is met and for future use of programming routines, and to educate yourself on which weights are too heavy or too light on each exercise.
4/Eat clean and an ample amount, get rest, use recovery tools.
5/Progress your weight training by 5lb/10lb on each lift (daily{beginner}, weekly{intermediate}, or monthly{advanced}).
6/Substitute lifts periodically for variations.
7/Take a very distant perspective to fitness. A cup of coffee can be made in 5 minutes. A strong skillfull athletic body is built slower. Bone density increases over time. Muscle enlarges and provides curvature. Mobility and flexibility are attained.
A great part of fitness is the discipline required to maintain the greatest efficiency. You learn about the human body, and how the joints articulate, and how to use leverage to your advantage. The physical progress keeps you mentally focused and reinforces the discipline of living a clean life to be able to enjoy the most out of life.
The body conserves energy throughout the day, and it needs to be expelled somehow, and the greatest use of that energy is to use it to rebuild your body stronger and healthier. Once that energy is expelled, stress levels are lowered and life feels more relaxing. While you sleep, your body repairs. If there's nothing to repair, then you can consider that day lost. And those days add up, and thus utilizing your time efficiently results to an effect of time traveling as you can attain so much in such little time if all your energy and effort are directed correctly.
1/Unfold the board so that it's face up.
2/Deal out the money and assemble the bank.
3/Organize the land.
4/Place the Community Chest and Chance cards.
5/Choose player game pieces.
6/Roll to see who goes first.
For someone who doesn't know how to exercise, the steps they take, if they ever enter a gym, are usually to gravitate towards what looks easy, lift light weight with bad form, and leave without having hit their body significantly, and soreness and mild injuries arise, and it's the end of it.
Here are the steps I recommend:
1/Enter gym written down routine that follows a program suited to your goals.
2/Do exactly what's written down at whichever pace you desire.
3/After workout, log results to ensure consistency is met and for future use of programming routines, and to educate yourself on which weights are too heavy or too light on each exercise.
4/Eat clean and an ample amount, get rest, use recovery tools.
5/Progress your weight training by 5lb/10lb on each lift (daily{beginner}, weekly{intermediate}, or monthly{advanced}).
6/Substitute lifts periodically for variations.
7/Take a very distant perspective to fitness. A cup of coffee can be made in 5 minutes. A strong skillfull athletic body is built slower. Bone density increases over time. Muscle enlarges and provides curvature. Mobility and flexibility are attained.
A great part of fitness is the discipline required to maintain the greatest efficiency. You learn about the human body, and how the joints articulate, and how to use leverage to your advantage. The physical progress keeps you mentally focused and reinforces the discipline of living a clean life to be able to enjoy the most out of life.
The body conserves energy throughout the day, and it needs to be expelled somehow, and the greatest use of that energy is to use it to rebuild your body stronger and healthier. Once that energy is expelled, stress levels are lowered and life feels more relaxing. While you sleep, your body repairs. If there's nothing to repair, then you can consider that day lost. And those days add up, and thus utilizing your time efficiently results to an effect of time traveling as you can attain so much in such little time if all your energy and effort are directed correctly.
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
Wrist Wraps - How To Up Your Bench Press
I don't think the 'tools' of weight lifting are that well known. It seems very little information is directed their way. From what I've read on wrist wraps, they're good for injuries of the wrist, and shouldn't be used as a crutch. A similar thing is said with wearing a belt - that you should only do it on your heaviest sets. The same can be said for wrist straps, but these rules can be broken obviously, and should be. Why not explore, and see why things are done the way they are, and also see if perhaps the popular opinion is incorrect, which is common.
So far I've used the wrist wraps on Barbell Bench Press, Barbell Military Press, Standing One-Arm Dumbbell Overhead Press, Barbell Incline Bench Press, and Dumbbell Rows. I found them to create a stability that you do not ordinarily have, which is similar to a belt. I found an easier route to muscle contraction while wearing them. I've felt this way in the past while using wrist straps, but ultimately used wrist straps in a way that delayed my grip strength and technique. That said, there are still situations where the wrist straps are 100% necessary, like a Rack Deadlift with 100lb over your Deadlift PR, and you're going for sets and reps.
On Bench Press, I lifted 10lb over my PR using the wrist wraps for the first time. I think they're for real, and can even be useful for push-ups, especially if you have a weak wrist or two. I recommend the Shiek extra long wraps. They go on pretty quickly. They'll cut off blood circulation if you either wrap them too tight or have them on too long. It's easy to keep them loose between sets though. I found my Military Press especially a much tighter technique.
It doesn't matter what lifting tools you use within the gym - a belt, chalk, straps, or wraps. Outside of the gym no one knows it, and if you can increase your safety, stability, strength, and muscle mass then it's worth it at some point.
So far I've used the wrist wraps on Barbell Bench Press, Barbell Military Press, Standing One-Arm Dumbbell Overhead Press, Barbell Incline Bench Press, and Dumbbell Rows. I found them to create a stability that you do not ordinarily have, which is similar to a belt. I found an easier route to muscle contraction while wearing them. I've felt this way in the past while using wrist straps, but ultimately used wrist straps in a way that delayed my grip strength and technique. That said, there are still situations where the wrist straps are 100% necessary, like a Rack Deadlift with 100lb over your Deadlift PR, and you're going for sets and reps.
On Bench Press, I lifted 10lb over my PR using the wrist wraps for the first time. I think they're for real, and can even be useful for push-ups, especially if you have a weak wrist or two. I recommend the Shiek extra long wraps. They go on pretty quickly. They'll cut off blood circulation if you either wrap them too tight or have them on too long. It's easy to keep them loose between sets though. I found my Military Press especially a much tighter technique.
It doesn't matter what lifting tools you use within the gym - a belt, chalk, straps, or wraps. Outside of the gym no one knows it, and if you can increase your safety, stability, strength, and muscle mass then it's worth it at some point.
Saturday, December 28, 2013
How To Deadlift 495lb - 5 Plates
This year I raised my Deadlift PR by 55lb, pulling 495lb yesterday morning. I posted earlier in the year about my Deadlift history. The middle of last year was my first time pulling 405lb. The year before that I was pulling 315lb (for 8 reps). To think I could be pulling 585lb at the end of next year sounds insane, but it's possible.
For at least the first half of the year, I was plateaued around 450-465, and my lift wasn't that clean looking, and my technique began to dissolve a bit. I solved the problem first switching to a mixed grip, which I find sets my back and locks it into place much more than double overhand with straps. I tried pulling with a mixed grip and straps, but it feels a little awkward, and makes the bar unnecessarily larger in circumference.
So after adapting a mixed grip, I found my hands were falling apart as they were destroyed after every lifting day, and was preventing progress. I didn't understand why my hands were getting so beat up as I had good hand care, but the answer was ultimately chalk. I do a lot of research, and it's easy to bypass little tips and heeded warnings. I assumed chalk would be too messy and would get me kicked immediately from my gym. But it turns out, it's pretty easy to not spill much chalk and benefit greatly.
Chalk is a drying agent. Our bodies are 50-65% water, and when your hands dry up, they become hard like armor, and prevent things from hurting you because you don't have soft fleshy bits exposed. The chalk also enhances your grip. You have so much friction from the chalk and the bar that nothing can budge your grip. It's truly a safety tool in the respect that you'll be less likely to drop the bar (in bench press for example). Pull-Ups require less effort as your grip is more cemented to the bar. Hanging straight leg raises are easier to perform. All lifts are enhanced including squats to prevent the bar from moving.
The inclusion of a belt is also an essential tool. The first time I pulled 420lb my spine was hurt in a minor fashion that affected me for a few months. I pulled 420lb for a dozen singles without using a belt, but since having the belt, I use it for practically every rep. It protects your spine and gives you the confidence to pull, knowing you'll be safe. You'll still need good technique, but there's less chance of injury. My other favorite aspect of wearing a belt is that your recovery time improves because the lower back doesn't get as taxed and thus doesn't need to recover as hard.
You might think that wearing a belt too often may not develop the lower back, but the muscle still gets worked - just in a shorter ROM (range of motion) because of the belt, and in a safer ROM.
For at least the first half of the year, I was plateaued around 450-465, and my lift wasn't that clean looking, and my technique began to dissolve a bit. I solved the problem first switching to a mixed grip, which I find sets my back and locks it into place much more than double overhand with straps. I tried pulling with a mixed grip and straps, but it feels a little awkward, and makes the bar unnecessarily larger in circumference.
So after adapting a mixed grip, I found my hands were falling apart as they were destroyed after every lifting day, and was preventing progress. I didn't understand why my hands were getting so beat up as I had good hand care, but the answer was ultimately chalk. I do a lot of research, and it's easy to bypass little tips and heeded warnings. I assumed chalk would be too messy and would get me kicked immediately from my gym. But it turns out, it's pretty easy to not spill much chalk and benefit greatly.
Chalk is a drying agent. Our bodies are 50-65% water, and when your hands dry up, they become hard like armor, and prevent things from hurting you because you don't have soft fleshy bits exposed. The chalk also enhances your grip. You have so much friction from the chalk and the bar that nothing can budge your grip. It's truly a safety tool in the respect that you'll be less likely to drop the bar (in bench press for example). Pull-Ups require less effort as your grip is more cemented to the bar. Hanging straight leg raises are easier to perform. All lifts are enhanced including squats to prevent the bar from moving.
The inclusion of a belt is also an essential tool. The first time I pulled 420lb my spine was hurt in a minor fashion that affected me for a few months. I pulled 420lb for a dozen singles without using a belt, but since having the belt, I use it for practically every rep. It protects your spine and gives you the confidence to pull, knowing you'll be safe. You'll still need good technique, but there's less chance of injury. My other favorite aspect of wearing a belt is that your recovery time improves because the lower back doesn't get as taxed and thus doesn't need to recover as hard.
You might think that wearing a belt too often may not develop the lower back, but the muscle still gets worked - just in a shorter ROM (range of motion) because of the belt, and in a safer ROM.
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