PR Friday, Motivation, Not Dying, etc.

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PR Friday

Post your weekly PR’s or training highlights to the comments. We can also talk about sports and food or anything else. We should also make fun of Jake Briskin for apparently eating the same three meals over and over for the past few months.

Motivation

70’s Big boils down to having fun while training hard, but some times times may get difficult. There are hundreds of reasons your training can deteriorate, and even more reasons that can prevent you from striving for success in life. Most of the time your mindset is the primary culprit or beneficiary. I saw this picture yesterday and felt kind of bad about myself. Then I heard he had an assistant, was majoring in creative writing, and probably paid for some credits. I’m still impressed that he has a successful acting career and wants to get an education, despite this.

In any case, I have an interest in successful people. I came across this article about a guy who graduated from California State University with two degrees in three semesters (no summer school). If you aren’t impressed, his degrees were in Computer Science and Mathematics. He talks about fully committing himself to a given goal and eliminating anything else that would inhibit the process of achieving that goal:

Think about what would happen if you elevated one of your goals or projects to the level of “mission” or “purpose” and became deeply committed to it for 30-120 days, ruthlessly triaging out of your life everything that wasn’t connected with that purpose. Some type-A behavior patterns would naturally emerge, such as being driven, hard-working, and busy. But the negative side of type-A (aka “hurry sickness”) need not be present. That type of behavior is in fact induced by a lack of clear focus, trying to label too many things as urgent AND important instead of taking the time to discover the core of what’s most important and meaningful to you.

Too often people will create excuses, avoid risk, and convince themselves that they aren’t capable of something. I think that life success is more important than training success, but training can create the foundation to other successful routes. If you’re struggling with decisions in life or a commitment to training, evaluate what’s important, where you want to go, and push forward with a committed mindset. There isn’t such thing as luck, so start putting the time in. I know I will.

Strength Makes You Harder To Kill

You’ve seen quotes about how strength can help you survive in various ways. Well, there is actually some research that shows how strength can improve a man’s survivability. Dr. Kilgore has been using an article from the British Medical Journal since it was published, and has even put it on a t-shirt (use the code “70BG” without quotes to get 10% off any order over $25). The article, Association between muscular strength and mortality in men: prospective cohort study, is a great step towards mainstream health and fitness appreciating the utility in strength.

Conclusion Muscular strength is inversely and independently associated with death from all causes and cancer in men, even after adjusting for cardiorespiratory fitness and other potential confounders.

There have been several sites that summarized the article, such as this one, and they had this to say:

After adjusting for known risk factors for cancer, heart disease, and death, the men with the lowest level of muscle strength had:

* 1.46 times greater risk for death
* 1.59 times greater risk of death from cardiovascular disease
* 1.24 times greater risk of death from cancer

Cardiovascular fitness did appear to have a stronger beneficial effect than strength training. The benefits of strength training carried across all age groups. It also appeared to provide benefits even if a participant was overweight or obese.

The large sample size and variation in age and medical conditions in this longitudinal study makes the findings very interesting. Additionally, this study used 1RM leg and bench presses to measure strength as opposed to the often used hand grip test (there is a correlation between hand grip strength and overall strength which is why it’s used in epidemiological studies — and it’s easy to implement). This study continues the trend in other related studies that strength is inversely related to mortality rate.

This isn’t profound to what we do; this website has a mantra of strength as a primary goal and then using that strength to get conditioned for something. Yet this BMJ adds to the growing mantra that strength = health.

64 thoughts on “PR Friday, Motivation, Not Dying, etc.”

  1. 3x245lbs Front Squat PR last night. I feel that 3x120kg (about 265lbs) is attainable this weekend as the 245 was medium-difficult.

    Also have been putting a lot of work into fixing my clean technique since it somehow went from “good” to “suck” sometime in Oct-Nov.

  4. Got a front squat PR this week. I was going for 5 x 3, and hit the first 3 sets with a buddy at 245#. He was done with his work, so I loaded it to 275# for my next 2 sets of 3 reps. No problem! Probably should have done 5 x 3 x 275# for the entire work out… will do that next time.

  6. Doing Lascek’s Strength & Conditioning program. Due to colds and flu that seemed to last at least a month between the family and I, training hadn’t been great. Getting back into it hard now. Reset all lifts and all felt good this week.

    Have the army PT test coming up in 2 months (and I haven’t done hardly any running in months it seems). For the conditioning part I am starting intervals this week. I started with 2x400m and am going to add 1 a week. After one month do you think I should switch to 800s? I’d appreciate any thought and comments.

  8. Welp, of all the reasons I imagined my name appearing in the first paragraph of a 70sBig post, this was not one of them.

    Later today: squat 375×5, press 165×3. I’m looking into some new recipes. Roasted a 6lb chicken yesterday and ate the whole thing in about six hours.

  9. PRs:
    Bench: 255 3×5
    Deadlift: 355 x 5
    BB Row: 170 3×8
    Chins: 30# 7, 6, 5
    Clothing: on Wednesday I was sitting at my desk and felt something leathery on my inner thigh. I realized I’d ripped through my suit pants. I decided to remain seated as much as possible the rest of the day. Joseph A Bank is no match for squats and milk. This little habbit of getting bigger and stronger is going to end up costing me a lot of money in replacement clothing, but it will be worth it. I also don’t have any jeans that allow me to sit down comfortably and winter has set in, not that I have any shorts that fit either. Basically I just crank the heat and don’t wear pants.

    I’ll be back to my previous squat level of 305 when I lift tomorrow after working back up from a 10% deload. I’ve been steadily weighing 190-192 the past three weeks. That makes it 30 lbs gained since I started strength training. I just bought 10 gallons of milk. Hopefully all that will get me up to around 200 lbs.

  10. Power Snatch: 155, think I would be good to 160 or 165, but I felt like leaving some in the tank since I heard what people have said about not getting greedy.

    Hang Power Snatch: 135×5, Couldn’t Power Snatch this 3 months ago.

    Bar Muscle-ups: 5

    Bad news though, I broke my left foot last night doing sprints. Rolled it over and SNAP. Don’t run hard in the cold. Anybody have any ideas or experience training with a broken foot? What can I still do and how should I go about it to keep from too much imbalance?

    Did you go to the doctor?

    –Justin

  11. Deadlift: 415 (w/ straps)

    My grip has been a problem w/ my deadlifting, but I really wanted to push past my previos PR this week.

    Picking up heavy shit off the ground makes me feel primal. And awesome. 70s Big FTW

  12. No PRs, still getting back into the swing of things post-new baby. The motivation write-up hits home. I’ve been finding it hard to get to training these last couple weeks, mostly sleep deprevation being the cause. Trying not to beat myself up over it too bad. Also, the fact that it was 3 degrees this morning and my barn where my weights are is not insulated has an impact on training. I like avoiding the globo it at all possible, so that hurts the old motivation some. I’ll get back to a regular schedule someday. In the mean time, I just have to make the 1-2 days a week I do get to the gym really count.

    Food PR – Made Guiness beef stew from a recipe that bsmtih9 sent my way Tuesday night. Used half a 4.25lb beef roast, a turnip, some carrots, parsnips, 2 onions, and some cabbage. Poured it over a baked potato, and that shit was rockin. The wife also enhaled it. I’m contimplating doing a write-up on it if bsmith isn’t planning to, it was excellent, many thanks!

    I then took the other half of the roast and cut that super-thin and made cheesteak sandwhiches for the next night. Leftovers for lunch have been good this week!

    Oh yea, and watched every second of the 45-3 drubbing my Pats put on the Jets! Haha!

    This week also starts the 70s BIG fantasy football playoffs, good stuff. Myself (PR Sundays (10-3)) and 70sMurphness(10-3) have 1st round byes. And we have Mountanous Traps (7-6) vs Swoleasfuck (7-6) as well as Jackwagons (8-5) vs Monster Glutes (6-7). Good luck to those guys.

  13. 5,3,1 WK1
    MONDAY: 12/6
    Deadlift 515x.90=460, 65%, 5@315, 75%, 5@350, 85%, 5@395+4
    Cable Rows 5×9@215
    Narrow Pulldowns, 5×10@195

    TUE: 12/7
    Bench 320X.90=290, 65%,5@185, 75%,5@220, 85%,5@250+7
    DB Bench, 5×10@100
    Dips 5×10@30

    THU: 12/9
    Squat 465X.90=418, 65%,5@271, 75%, 5@315, 85%, 5@355+7
    Front Squat 5×9@225
    Lunges, 5×10@100

    FRI: 12/10
    Press 215x.90=195, 65%, 5@125, 75%, 5@145, 85%, 5@165+5
    DB Press, 5×10@65
    Shrugs 3×10@115

  14. Hit a new PR in the Deadlift this week pulling 475 which is 10lbs more than my previous PR. My goal is to get to the 500s and I can see it coming soon. Weight is 180lbs.

    For those of you with grip issues on the deadlift I found a skinnier bar at the gym I work out at. Made a huge difference. Make sure it weighs 45lbs though some gyms have lighter bars for some reason.

    Squatted today… after doing some work sets in the mid 300s I saw one of the 90s small personal trainers load the bar with 135 and do some gruesome half squats. Can’t believe some people pay these people good money to teach them horrible fundamentals.

  16. Also has there ever been an update from John Spuke, our 70s Big Warrior that was tearing it up a year ago in Afghanistan?

    I e-mailed him and never got a response. Hope he’s doing well.

    –Justin

  20. Everything is in pounds:

    Body Weight: 189.5
    Bench Press: 245 X 1
    Back Squat: 195 X 5
    Deadlift: 305 X 5
    Press: 140 X 1, 135 X 5

    My numbers are steadily increasing and will eventually get back to pre-surgery levels!

  23. Some sort of PR: Left San Diego around lunchtime on Wednesday in a $400 car. Arrived in West Texas around 5am. Ate some meatloaf sandwiches and hiked to the top of Texas’ tallest mountain, Guadalupe Peak (8750′) a little after sunrise, despite 65mph winds and zero sleep (winds that would have blown non-adult males clean off the cliffs). Scared the hell out of a mountain goat that refused to have a head-butting contest. Drove home to Austin by dinner. Crappy phone pic: http://i56.tinypic.com/2ccm9n8.jpg

    Great post today. Franco’s latest movie, 127 hours, is a must-watch for outdoor enthusiasts. The main character, Aron Ralston, has accomplished quite a bit as well in his own right as well.

  24. Chun – I use the term “Texan Beer” because when I’m away from TX, certain things remind me of home. Shiner is your best bet. Lone Star is also acceptable if you’re (very) poor and/or in high school (I kid, mostly). However, Bud Light is not acceptable, since we’re already making fun of Jake Brisket today and you don’t want to be added to that list. If you haven’t been to TX and established memories already, just use the chili to think about how awesome we are down here.

  25. Had a shitty training week that I turned around at the end this afternoon. I went to Tucker’s Gymnastics Cert at CrossFit Durham over the weekend, which was amazing. I won’t talk about here except to say that everyone should listen to Tucker and not train like an asshole and do stupid things like flop around on pullup bars and rings when you don’t know what the fuck you are doing. Or, hey…go ahead…because that Fran time is really important, and have fun with your SLAP tear while you’re at it. Been there, done that.

    Regardless, the cert messed up my training schedule and had me sore in various places that I haven’t been sore in for a while because I have not been doing a fuck ton of gymnastics lately.

    Squats:
    3x5x185lbs – And then today…
    3x5x190lbs – Failed during my first set

    Bullshit. I have 190 for 5 easy. I went back and forth with Rip after the set at 185 as to whether I should keep going up by 5lbs or switch to 2.5lbs. I stuck with 5lbs. Irrelevant. I was slow from the first rep. I know I am not eating enough, I know I am not sleeping enough. It was going to be a shit set no matter what.

    So, I was very super grumpy, and I spent 2 hours and 20 minutes in the car after that driving to Winston to train…getting grumpier for the first hour and then finally telling myself to stop acting like a fucking pussy and have fun. So, I managed to do something right with my Oly coach and crushed the shit out of my cleans. Worked up to 65kg, which I am never allowed to do, and I was pulling the bar ridiculously high. I know it was good because I even tolerated him giving me positive feedback, which I’m never okay with. So, I’m pretty sure there is a huge clean PR out there waiting for me if I am ever allowed to put weight on the bar again.

    I’m not sure what I weighed today, but I know that I am getting too fat for some of my shirts now, not just my pants. In a way, this is good because it means my boobs are even bigger.

    F/35/5’8/148.5lbs

  26. Training has been all over the map lately, dealing with injuries/being sick. But now I’m back, started on Justin’s strength and conditioning program. Linear progression weights have been reset and I am feeling strong and motivated.
    To the 70’s big guys: Thanks for all you have done, you are constant motivators to us all (no homo). Now it’s time to hammer out some deadlifts… PR’s soon to come.

  28. @Jake, I should say that I commend your most awesome girlfriend for putting up with your eating habits for this long, considering that one of those three meals was chili.

  29. Pulled 550# on DL for the first time since college, 14 years ago, due to a host of injuries in the interim. My goal was to do this by New Years. Now my new goal is to hit 600# DL and 550# backsquat by March 1st. BS is 475# right now.

  30. Big plans for the weekend include first attempts at core lifts after cervical disc replacement 3 weeks ago. My goal is to go very light and as many reps as I can with great form with full range of motion.
    I also had one of those moments of clarity the other day. I realized that being good at Crossfit workouts and having great workout times is extremely counterproductive for my strength and endurance goals. If I go back to Crossfit wods it will be in the 8 to 10 minute range without high repetition, poor form movements. If I am smart about this I can get stronger and have good endurance. The Division IAA FCS Playoff are this weekend. Go North Dakota State Bison!!!!

  31. Deload week on 5/3/1. Chomping at the bit to hit it for my next cycle. After doing some thinking, I realized I’ll just stick with the standard increases because I’m not a special snowflake.

    Only fun thing this week:

    Squat PR: 135×50

  35. Quite a few pr’s the last week. I might have mentioned some of them here earlier but right now i’m too drunk to care.
    (it’s 03.00 in the morning here in Sweden)

    DL: 1*180kg (397lb)
    Bench: 1*95kg (210lb)
    Squat: 3x120kg (265lb)
    Press: 1x60kg (132lb)

    5/3/1 is really well working for me. :)

  37. Cool story: James Franco is from my hometown of Palo Alto (that’s Spanish for “tall stick”). He’s a pretty cool guy, he came and sat in on a creative writing class I was in my junior year. All the girls were freaking out.

  38. Squat PR: 430. was pleased.

    I have three fantasy football teams. On the worst one, I have Reggie Wayne and Pierre Garcon. Garcon has kinda sucked this year, so watching him rip it up last night was a nice surprise. Doesn’t really matter because that team sucks balls. I click on over to 70s Big to see how my game is going (I’m the Jackwagons) and I notice the guy i’m up against has…. Reggie Wayne and Pierre Garcon. Damnit! My only hope is that Flacco will rip apart the Houston crap pass D and that Jones-Drew will finally add some TDs to the yards he’s been piling up. Ah well.

  43. Not a PR per say but I’m 2 weeks back on the barbells after nearly 2 years off of serious lifting and a year after pinching a nerve in my back and losing half of my left tricep.

    I’d also like to add I’m a reformed dieter. Back up over 200 pounds and getting strong again.

    All thanks to Gant’s help and ridicule.

  47. @Dan: Great job, man. Best of luck matching that progress in 2011.

    Monday – Squat 475×5
    Friday – Deadlift, just felt like pulling singles. 455×1, 475×1, 495×1 for a 20lb pr. Finish with 505×1. Finally broke the 500lb barrier.

  48. No PRs in the last week cause I’ve been sick.

    Finally switched to low bar today because of tendinitis issues and cause my quad dominance was ridiculous from all of the oly lifting I’ve been doin in the last year.

  50. Squat 3x5x95kg (209.4lbs) PR
    Dead 5×112.5kg (248lbs) PR

    Squats were not my best work, but i’ll take it. Only 5 more kilos till i crack a hundred – about bloody time, too :(

    Pretty happy with the deadlift PR. First crack at it, i had to stop after 3 with a bit of pain in the groin. Really wanted to at least get the last 2 reps though, so i moved my belt down a bit and had another crack. They were going up ok, so i just kept on trucking and got the set of 5. No groin pain, either – bonus!

    On another topic, can anyone recommend a good free program to edit videos for YouTube? I’ve videoed a couple of workouts and want to clean them up a bit.

    You mean edit movie files and so that you can upload them? There is a crappy program called Windows Movie Maker if you have Windows. It isn’t that great, but all of my YouTube vids have been edited with that. It will let you do the basic stuff, but don’t expect anything fancy.

    –Justin

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