Harder, Better, Smarter, Stronger

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Getting strong and muscular isn’t something that happens easily. There are no shortcuts. You’ll learn a lot from getting under a bar, but you’ll learn more by being under that bar consistently. Don’t destroy your body and make sure to give it rest. Establish a solid strength base if you haven’t already. Don’t constantly switch programs. Avoid large amounts of volume. Read about programming, understand why the coach does that for his people, but understand how some of the principles can be generally applied. Don’t be a diet groupy. Don’t be or act like a zealot. Always get an informed opinion, but understand the difference between a blatant opinion and an educated guess based on the circumstances (you’ll find the latter here). Learn about basic anatomy and physiology. Keep an open mind. Always learn. And for fuck’s sake, have a good time doing it.

We’re all here to get Harder, Better, Smarter, and Stronger. Cheers.

Happy PR Friday
Post PR’s or training updates to comments. Welcome newcomers.

75 thoughts on “Harder, Better, Smarter, Stronger”

  1. First post.
    PRs in the last two weeks:
    Squat — 225×2
    Bench — 115×1 (hey, a PR is a PR)
    Also noteworthy: tried my first big-girl pull-up on Tuesday and cranked out TWO. Weighted dips today: bw+25×3. And I ain’t 90s skinny. BOOM.

  2. Things are finally coming together for me.

    PRs:

    Squat – 320 x 11
    Bench – 265 8
    Press – 160 x 7
    Deadlift – 320 x 6

    All those are greater than or equal to previous 5RM.

    I’ve also gained about an inch on all my measurements since October. About 3″ on my thighs.

  6. PRs:

    Squat 275 3×5(previous 1 rep max was 280)

    Deadlift 365 1×5 (previous 5 RM tie)

    PC 160 5×3 (crappy form, will be filming it to do a form check)

    Weight: I’m eating more than before (with what my budget will allow over here), but now that my squat and other lifts are pushing into uncharted territories, I’m having a hard time keeping the weight on. I weighed in at 196 with my clothes on yesterday.

    Other PRs:

    Ordered my first pair of weight lifting shoes. Should arrive tomorrow.

    My wife is giving SS a go! Pretty excited for her!

  8. PR’s this week (unless I set some more tonight)

    Squat – 405lbs x 2
    OHP – 145lbs 5×5
    BBR – 190lbs 5×5

    Doctor PR –
    I believe I have actually found a good doctor. I’ve been having alot of shoulder/tricep pain, he looked me over for about 15 minutes, took some xrays and said it’s a mobility/flexibility/posture issue. He never suggested any NSAID’s and didn’t say to stop lifting, instead he suggested I drop my squats to 315 for a two weeks, be careful with or skip benchpress/dips and prescribed me some physical therapy for the next month. He said after 2 weeks of it I should see sufficient improvement to move my squats back up and start hitting benchpress again. He wants to see me back after that, because he expects substantial improvement in a month. I guess I wasn’t expecting much walking in, but I’m pretty happy with that diagnosis.

  11. PRs:

    All Lifts: I reset my TM program a couple weeks ago, so I’ll be in PR territory in 2-3 weeks.

    New Goals Identified: I want to be able to bench 300 for sets across, squat 400 for sets across and deadlift 500 for 5 reps by the end of the year and maintain that level of strength for the next twenty years (I’m 24). That will make me feel like a strong person.

    Training Smart PR: I bought the TM ebook and learned that I’ve been doing one thing wrong. If you’ve been putting off ordering it, just go ahead and buy it right now. It’s very helpful. I suspected this was wrong and planned to switch this anyway, but it’s good to have it clarified after reading the book. I’ve been deadlifting for 5-rep PR attempt deadlifts on Volume Day. Yes, this has been fucking brutal and felt ridiculous because my body’s always shot by the squats by the time I get to deadlifting. I’ve only been able to add 10 pounds (from 385 to 395) in four weeks. Resolved: I’ll not deadlift on Intensity day tomorrow, nor on Volume Monday. I’ll deadlift next intensity day and hopefully hit a 5-rep PR with 395, then I’ll continue with 5-rep attempts for a couple weeks until I miss, then I’ll switch to doing tripples for a while. Hopefully this will get my deadlift up into the 450 territory for tripples, bringing me ever closer to the coveted 500 lb pull.

    Golf PR: I’m playing at a private club for the first time today. Golf is hard. Really really hard. Easily the hardest sport I’ve ever tried, and I threw discus in high school. There’s nothing like being defeated in a physical contest by out of shape middle aged guys to motivate someone to improve a skill set. I’m hoping to score 120 on the par 72 course for a two stroke PR.

    I still think you should deadlift today (assuming today is your Intensity Day). Just ratchet it back to 70% or something. Like a deload. And thanks for the kind words about the e-book.

    –Justin

  13. Many rep PRs this week. It was the last LSUS 10s week, so I feel short on a few. 73×9 push press (this is also a PR for 5!), 140×9 squat, 140×10 deadlift. And 75×3 hi-hang snatch, 93×3 hi-hang clean. Nothing objectively amazing…but continued progress is really encouraging.

  15. Deadlift 375×5
    Press 150x5x3
    Bench 240x5x3
    Split Squat (Don’t laugh! These are seriously hard as hell and good for the “squat retarded” like myself)160x5x3
    No PRs this week but I think they will be back next week.

  16. PRs:
    Squat: 385×3- The TM train just keeps rolling.

    Bench: 185×5,5,8

    After buying the ebook yesterday (I was initially hesitant on the price), I sat down and read the entire thing in one sitting. After reading the section on transitioning different lifts I realized that I never did LP for bench, which would account for the weird growth pattern I’d have. Decided to reset some and do a LP for it over the next month or two. Other three lifts are fitting in TM fine.

    Wondering if anyone else has tried this, and results?

    P.S.- Awesome book Justin. Really enjoying reading, as it built on the principles we talked about in the seminar, and gives me a consistent reference doc.

    So, I read this as you are going to LP your bench? I don’t know if this will be entirely necessary, but if you do it, the press could drop down too. You could bench MF and press W.

    –Justin

  17. SUPER ELITE FUNCTIONAL AMRAP CROSSFIT PR (injury) TO REPORT:

    My buddies status read:

    “Sidelined for the next two weeks with a back injury, must have been the 130 deadlifts I did yesterday.”

    Too bad my workout is his warmup.

  21. not a PR but a happy day, almost 3 weeks ago I hurt my low back at work, havent really lifted in that time. But I have been working lots of mobility and active recovery and yesterday I was able to speed squat 185×2 for 12 rounds. felt great!! It still dosnt feell 100% but considering 2.5 weeks ago Doing the dishes was a painful experience Its a big step.

  23. My wife and I competed in our second meet. It was an SPF event at Team Supertraining Gym, the “Strongest Gym in The West.” My wife squatted 236 lbs, benched 122 lbs and deadlifted 249 lbs. Her bench and deadlift were both personal records. She is considered a “Master” in the 123 lb “raw” category, which I find pretty impressive given she’s a newbie to the sport!

    I weighed it at 195 lbs, competing in the 198 category. (I used to weigh 145, and had my Bigmitzvah a couple weeks ago. Up to 205 yesterday. I’m 5’7”.) I squatted 429 lbs, benched 248 lbs, and deadlifted 457.5 lbs, for a 1135 lb total. I went for 264.5 lbs on the bench but got robbed on a spotter error. Bench is still super weak, though. Working on that.

    Weird weights are because
    everything was in kilos.

    Couple videos:

    Wife DL:

    My final squat:

    Nice job to both of you.

    –Justin

  24. Haven’t updated any PR’s on here in awhile, though I’ve had a couple in the past few weeks (various DL rep PRs, PC 115kg, BP rep and 1rm PRs).
    Hoping to PR my bench (>280) and dead (>523) tomorrow in my first low-key push/pulll meet at Hyde Park Gym in Austin. I’ll make sure to take some pics/vids.

  26. HBBS: 5-5-10 x 150 lbs

    Competing tomorrow at the Bull City Barbell Open. I realized that I’ve been thinking about this meet totally wrong, and it would be really fucking stupid to end up going 6/6 again and NOT hitting a PR on either lift. So, I pulled my head out of my ass this morning and decided to open higher than I was going to.

  29. Today´s PRs:

    Squat 182,5 kg (~402 lbs) x3
    Press 74,5 kg (~164 lbs) x3
    Deadlift 200 kg (~441 lbs) x3

    Two big PRs for me (first squat over 400 lbs, first deadlift with 200 kg). My press still sucks, especially considering that this was the hardest set I´ve ever done.

  31. Should be hitting my first squat over 400 lbs tonight (high bar)just to get a max effort before I switch gears with programs. Prob will mark the end of my linear progression as I have failed twice at 3 x 5 sets across at 360 going 5,4,4 and 5,3,5. Excited to start TM on Monday, glad your e-book came out just as I am making the transition

  33. @ anyone that knows :
    I live in the north houston / humble/kingwood area… anyone know of a trainer/coach in that area that is good for power/oly lifts?

  34. @maslow
    Play smart, focus on ballstriking, think your way around the course. Tee shot: get it in play no matter what club it takes. Approach: Advance it to around the green If you do all this you can shoot around 110.

    @philstablein
    See you tomorrow for hopefully more stuff you can put up here on Friday

    PRs:
    Pwr snatch 92kg
    BS 5RM: 147kg
    Push Press: 106kg

  37. @FilthyBrit…truly a sad day. Macho Man was special.

    Some 10RM this week (supposed to be a deload week for my 5/3/1-8th cycle but was feeling reckless…will deload next week)

    Press 175×10 easy
    Squat 340×10 not too bad
    Bench 265×10 easy

    Probably went a little lighter than I should have not having tried a 10RM before. Will do it again in a few months.

  38. Unfortunately, the only PR I have for this week is the size of the bruises I have on my forearms from turkish getups on Wed. Came close to getting a set of 5 on BP this morning. Sucks–two weeks in a row without a lifting PR. On top of that, running a race on Sunday so the first half of next week doesn’t look great either…

  39. Squat: 435 x 1 x 3
    Bench: 302.5 x 1
    Deadlift: 485 x 1 x 3
    Deadlift was supposed to be 485, but I felt kinda reckless today.

    Now I’m going to go do as much as I can to put a Chinese buffet out of business.

  43. Remember, Macho Men don’t die, they just get Raptured early.

    End of week 5 of the SS LP:
    Squat – 225x5x3
    Press – 115x5x3
    Clean – 125x3x5
    Bench – 195x5x3
    Deadlift – 225x5x1
    BW – 211 today. Not quite a PR, but very close.

    Also hit an age PR yesterday when I turned 26 for a single.

    Question: How do I know when I need to drop my poundage increases? Do I wait til I start missing reps and then drop, or should I drop before that?

  46. VICTORY

    Squat PR: 340×5,5,7->could have had more if I had not been a fuckstick and used a bar with a center knurl…by rep 4, the bar was half-way down my back.

    Deadlift PR: 290×5. I know it’s weak. Suck it.

    Bodyweight PR: 200.8 lbs. Finally a man.

    I’m taking my SS/Greyskull LP hybrid as far as it will go before I switch to TM.

  47. M/23/6’4″/220

    First time poster, long time lurker

    first week of TM, thanks to Justin’s ebook coming out exactly at the end of my LP, so no real PR’s today.

    squat 335×5
    deadlift 405×5

    grew out of my medium sized Crossfit t-shirt!

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