I mentioned that people have sent in stuff to be posted, so I decided to throw some together. First is Brent S. out of Amarillo and trains with a pretty good coach and lifter named Ryan who was at the Starting Strength Seminar this past weekend. Brent or Ryan are welcome to talk about Brent’s progress in the comments.
Last set of 410x5x3 from Brent Story on Vimeo.
Ian from CrossFit Centurion sent in this video of who they call The Scott who gained a good bit of strength. You will see him do some singles on the high bar squat, bench press, deadlift, and press. Note the attire.
This is Sean and his brother displaying their milk collection and showing their enthusiasm for 70’s Big. Sean attended the seminar this past weekend, and will turn into a good lifter.
Brother’s face is the best.
Brent made that pile of plates look fake, fucking badass lift there! and good bar speed!
Scott is pressing really well, but how come the squat is similar to the bench press?
Well, if we are going to get into it, he could press more with a more narrow grip. If I remember correctly, he came from a bodybuilding background, so squatting regularly may be new to him. And yes he would be stronger if he squat in the back squat we teach (the bar is a bit lower), but that is what they used.
–Justin
Those were some great lifts.
Sun, I was thinking the same thing, but maybe it has something to do with it being a high-bar squat? Or it”s just a matter of him being stronger at certain lifts than others. I”m sure someone else can better clarify. Either way, Scott is really strong and seems like he still has a ways to go.
Thanks for the comment SUN. I feel that I have done pretty good on all of the lifts and have a few more pounds in me. I wish I had done a linear progression earlier when I was still playing sports…oh well.
Ryan is one of the best coaches I have ever been around… and he is also a great lifter. he has put on at least 40# and is a beast now, and the Douche Bag can deadlift more than I can haha.
Brent”s damn strong, but he started the ss novice progression in earnest a few months ago. He”s shooting for 500x5x3 while still on the novice programming. Lately he”d been doing an 80% day on Wednesdays for squat and is now doing Justin”s GPP program because he thinks he needs to get in “shape”. Oh well, we”ll try and be smart about it and not let recovery get to be an issue. As you can see he”s already a big guy (around 275)so he has just been eating for recovery and maintenance. You should see the guy press, but he”s got some old shoulder injuries we”re tip toeing around. He also has some disc problems in his neck that I suspect to be the culprit behind his lagging deadlift. That and he”s scared of me. Haha. If anyone is close to Amarillo come on by. We”ve got around 15 guys and a few gals on either the ss novice program or Justin”s GPP program, so there”s some like minded folks and we”re all learning together
As far as the Starting Strength Seminar this past weekend in Wichita Falls, it was a damn good time and the best money I”ve spent on a seminar and this one actually has a test! Unlike some other “certifications”… And as Sean posted yesterday, Rip was doing a good job of being Rip and we all learned a ton. If you are lifting with the intention of getting stronger, you”d be dumb not be working one of these seminars into your schedule. I went out to the last Basic Barbell Seminar in December, and the expanded format was awesome, with much more time spent on the anatomy and programming lectures as well as a lot more time under the bar at working weights with experienced coaches watching. And every single person got up to working weights on the squat, deadlift, press, bench press and power clean and then got up in front of the class and did their last set with Rip coaching. Whether you lift by yourself or coach others, I cant recommend the seminar enough. Justin, when are yall coming up with a “level 2”? Now that would be cool! Haha
That”s a really impressive bar speed, Brent, and a very nice total, Scott. Great job to the both of you.
Where do you get that skwat shirt?
Also, that”s Clay filming Brent. He”s turning into quite the Manimal himself…
Does anybody else have problems wearing a belt during deadlifts? I””m chubby and the belt pinches the shit of my gut when deadlifting.
Justin,
I””m 6””1″, 245. Right now my work sets are as follows:
BS – 355@3sX5r
BP – 245@3×5
DL – 355@3×5
SP – 160@3×5
PC – 225@5×3
I have a powerlifting meet at the end of March, and I also have a Army PT test the second weekend of April. I””d really like to do well on both. Any ideas of what program I should be following? CFWF? CFFB? I don””t know. Thanks in advance for your help.
You could have a day of conditioning every week. Make it follow your PT test more closely as the date nears, but are you in danger of failing the thing?
–Justin
Brent, that was awesome.
Ryan, what are you talking about…I am already in shape, shaped very well might I add. haha like a tire, I think it is a little bad when I breath like a monster playing fun games in the bed room!!!!
Thanks for the comments; I think I”m stronger on press movements because thats all I did in high school, I never did squats unfortunately. I re-did my PR”s 4 weeks later after really focusing on calories (chocolate milk) and lifting heavier. I have another video;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTp23kJCdNQ
This time I went from;
350 to 405 Squat
340 to 365 Bench
425 to 435 Deads
215 to 235 Press
First off, Brent and Ian…holy crap!
Justin,
Are you going to post any videos of you competing?
I guess I could, assuming I actually hit some lifts at this meet.
–Justin
Nice beard, Scott!
That”s quite an improvement for 4 weeks.
Brent, that is some serious weight you are throwing around.
I got my shoes in yesterday and pulled in them for the first time today. Best purchase I have made so far, even better than the belt (which is taking for freaking ever to break in).
Can anyone answer when you do a reset how far down do you drop? Do you do a percentage or just a gross amount of weight?
This is in Practical Programming and/or Starting Strength.
–Justin
DIE DIE DIE MY DARLING
the Misfits WERE great but do yourself a favor and do NOT GO SEE THEM today… terrible
anyways great lifts
@Snyder
Which shoes did you buy? I”m ordering the Rips when I get paid.
msrupt, 90%… if your last completed work weight was 300, drop down to 270
@Dan
I got the Rogue Do-Wins. I originally ordered the Rips, but they were too narrow in both the heel and the toe. I had to go a full size up for them to be wide enough but then they were way too long and just weren”t comfortable.
The Scott and I have been Crossfitt”n for about a year when we came upon this wonderful site and now our focus has changed from 90”s skinny man to 70”s Big! Scott has only been lifting heavy for 4 months…he”s made huge gains and he”s still growing. We are starting a lifting club here in Sacramento in the next month with a future focus on competing. And yes,we”re both real men (215+). Thanks for the great site and all the helpful information you disseminate.
nice lifts!When I grow up I”m going to submit some vids too!
Brent, don”t worry about breathing loud. Race cars are loud. Jets are loud. Guns and dynamite are loud. In other words Power=loud. Haha
I saw “submissions” and got happy. Then I got sad. Then I got mildly happy again.
I submitted some photos today, hopefully we can see more tomorrow. I like these.
-Sami.
@snyder
did you ever lift in the Rips? i”m facing a similar internal debate between the Rips and Rogues…
My Rogues have been backordered for 2 months (cause there are lots of size 8 ladies out there waiting for shoes????) I tried to switch them to the Rip model only to be told I”d have to wait even longer… Damn you Rip for being all cool and stuff.
But since my only real meet this spring is next week, I said, hell, send the Do Wins.
Now UPS has lost them.
Sigh.
@WannaBBurly
No, I did not. I wore them around the office for all of about 3 minutes before I had to take them off. My feet went numb in about 20 seconds when wearing them. Some have had luck with them stretching a bit, but I didn”t want to take the chance. If they were wider, but still snug, I would have tried lifting in them. Bill would have taken them back, but I didn”t want to use them then return them and have them be unsellable.
The good thing is that Bill will take them back as many times as needed to get the fit right. If you can, you might try getting both so you can compare the fit directly then return the ones you don”t want. That would have saved me about 6 weeks in courier time and waiting for new shipments to arrive.
@snyder: I received my rip”s shoes last night and I found them similarly tight. I usually fit sizes somewhere between 11 and 12 for normal shoes, but these 11.5”s are quite tight. I doubt even the 12s will be comfortable.
As I”m getting more into olympic lifting, I”m considering exchanging them for the do-wins. does anyone have any sizing info on those? Should I go for the 11.5? I borrowed a pair of older do-wins from Bob White and they are quite comfortable at size 11. This whole sizing issue is very confusing.
Inspired by seeing the video of me making 70sbig.com I did back and front squats today.
3@265
3@295
3@325 + 6 reps.
Then front sqauts,
10@220
10@215
10@205
10@195
10@185
Currently, I am in the middle of the “5,3,1” program by Jim Wendler however, I am looking forward to Rips starting strength program and tweaking a few things, I am going to try low bar squats. Thanks again. BTW, I have tried lifting in adidas and rogues and prefer my Rips over the adidas and rogues.
@mjmetro
I should have stated earlier that I am extremely particular about shoes. What is completely intolerable for me may not be a big deal for someone else.
I normally wear a 9.5 running shoe (Asics and Brooks) and a 9 in Chuck”s. I tried the 9.5 Rip”s and that was too narrow. The 9 for Do-Wins fit a tad bit snug, but after lifting once, they felt great.
As much as I wanted the Rip”s to work, they just didn”t. I decided I”d rather have a shoe that isn”t 100% ideal (heel height) than one that I didn”t even want to wear.
Snyder,
If ya want a lower heel try taking it to a good shoe or boot shop and having them lowered. I had a 1/4 inch taken off of my Rogues and like them a great deal.
damn it, still not sure what to do… thinkin about ordering some 0.75 shoes (VS or Rogues) and the Rips and trying them both out…
@Buddy Holly,
Hey man, nice to see some other guys in the area! I”m over here in Davis and you”re welcome to come lift at my place anytime. Also, if you want to go to a serious gym here in town check out the Team Super Training Gym on 3rd between T and U street. It”s run by Mike Bell and they”re all Louie Simmons guys.
@Ryan
I”ve thought about that and just might do it. How much did it cost you? Do you have any pics of the shoes post surgery?
Snyder,
The guy only charged me 5 bucks. I was surprised. Other places may not be that way. I don”t have any pics but I guess I could take some and post a link. Look out for
it tomorrow.
holy bbq sauce thats an awesome pic! where did you get the skwat! shirt i NEED it!?!
Jesco,
Thanks for the info…yeah, anytime you”re interested you should drop by our gym: Crossfit Centurion in Rancho Cordova. Scott and I will have to take a look at the Team Super Training Gym. We want to try and get a little local powerlifting competion going here in about 6 months…will keep you posted.