PR Friday
The weekly tradition continues. Post your PR’s or training updates. I PR’d by completing every lift in the universe while loading a moving truck yesterday for 7 hours. Squats, presses, deadlifts, cleans, continental cleans, farmer’s, pinch grip, curls, rows, RDLs, good mornings, curls, curls, curls, curls, curls, curls, and curls.
Chris at the seminar in Tucson earlier this month
Weekly Challenge
Last week’s challenge asked you to “put 25 to 35 pounds in a pack, wear it on your back, and walk for 30 to 60 minutes non-stop on at least one day”. When I made this ‘challenge’, it was more so to give you an appreciation of the military. However, in light of my interests in hiking, survival, guns, and EDC, it’s an activity that would only help your ability to “go”. Under any worst case scenario — zombies, nuclear war, the apocalypse, alien invasion, etc. — you will need to have basic survival and movement capabilities, the kind that revolve around carrying your supplies and moving the fuck out. Did anyone complete the challenge? I would expect a report of sprouting more chin hairs, cause there’s something manly about carrying relatively heavy shit around.
Next Week’s Challenge:
Go out of your way to help a stranger by lifting something heavy. Do not accept a reward.
I know, I know, it almost sounds like we’re starting a fight club or something. My ‘job’ is centered around helping people, but I help people I don’t know all of the time. I’ve returned wallets full of money, helped push cars and trucks out of the road, picked things up and put them down, and laughed when a girl fell on the stairs. Last year while visiting in Texas, in a 12 hour period I helped push two vehicles to a gas station. Do it.
Weekly Recap
On Tuesday there was a quick post on obscene levels of motivation from Ben and CC as well as a post on using crappy equipment. The latter post’s comments were full of people erroneously equating a cheap econo bar with a Texas deadlifting bar. On Thursday I linked to a preview post for the lifting at the 2012 London Games that Peter Upham wrote. Thursday was a quick post on the new “70’s Big Insiders Newsletter” that will be sent out several times a month; read more here.
Q&A
milktruckcopilot asks:
Justin,Why do you not program in deadlifts when you are designing training schedules for the military?
Dear milktruckcopilot,
It depends on the person’s job, where they are in their op schedule, and what the unit requires them to do. Without knowing any other information, a combat arms position in the military has the goal of being able to perform optimally in the job or mission, staying alive, and — arguably most importantly — keeping other people alive. Heavy deadlifts are both locally and systemically stressful to the point that they will interfere with other training and cause a compounding recovery deficit over several weeks. It’s possible to do lighter deadlifts and keep them in the program, but nobody ever does that. The deadlift is an ego lift; a weak guy can pull more weight with shitty technique whereas on the squat, nobody is going to squat the heaviest weight with terrible technique.
In this situation I prefer to use the RDL since it will develop strength/musculature in the posterior chain that will create balance in the hip/thigh strength and musculature (to result in increased performance and injury prevention). Again, this doesn’t apply in all cases, but usually will to guys in the military or anyone doing decent rucking twice a week.
ChadTheMeatBeast asks:
I’ve read all the way back in 70s big history to page 85. A couple of questions:1. What are your training/fitness goals currently?
2. You stated you were experimenting with reduced salt, potassium, and seeing how they affected your blood pressure. Did you ever have any results?
3. With respect to your post “Lessons From A Workout”, can someone do 3 back-off sets rest-pause style for all the big movements while on a linear progression?
I know you like context so:I am 28, 6’3″ and 245, squat twice a week, bench/press 1.5 times per week via greyskull lp a/b style, and deadlift once. I eat at least 1 gram of protein a day. I have been doing this since March 2nd when I jumped back into lifting after being sedentary for 1.5 years.
Squat- 305x5x3
Bench- 215x5x3
Press- 150x5x3
Deadlift- 365×5
>
I’m just looking to gain some swollertrophy but I’m enjoying my linear strength gains. I’m most concerned about strength.
Dear ChadTheMeatBeast,
1. RE: my training goals
I work with a lot of military guys, so I’ve been doing some kind of “rucking” (moving with a pack) at least once a week, and usually twice. I used the GoRuck as an event to funnel my training into. Other than that, I strength train and do a little conditioning to maintain or improve those capabilities. I plan on doing a lot of hiking and climbing very soon, so my training will accommodate that. I also travel a lot, so “training plans” usually go down the shitter. Generally speaking, I have a moral obligation to set the example for 70’s Big readers, and that includes being strong, conditioned, nutritionally sound, and healthy. Aside from the outdoorsy stuff, I may get into a couple different martial arts (probably Judo and an efficient striking art — anyone feel free to give suggestions). I’ll eventually do some Oly meets within the context of this other stuff. I’m more interested in learning new activities or sports, and would be interested in competing in something different in consecutive weekends (would make interesting content for the site).
2. RE: potassium and blood pressure
I think that potassium is important, but it’s minor when compared to hyperinsulinemia (high levels of insulin, insulin resistance), which causes high blood pressure. This is directly related to types and amount of carbohydrate content, and another reason why the Paleolithic diet is a good outline to follow. If you have high blood pressure, my suggestion is to shift to paleo — and this is completely doable as a lifter.
3. RE: lifting question and referenced post
I appreciate your thoroughness regarding your personal question as well as your reading. There are some pretty decent things that I’ve written that get lost in the archives.
My suggestion would be to pick one particular exercise that you use for the “rest-pause style back off sets”. Typically when I think about using these, they are for the smaller lifts or movements like bench, press, and curls. You could use them on the larger lifts, like squat or deadlift, but I’d make sure the weight is light enough where there is no form degradation on any rep. Like I said, just pick one movement. If you add three sets to every lift, you’re getting 18 to 24 additional reps on all of your movements — it could get to be as much as 70 extra reps. The tonnage would creep too high and you’ll most likely have issues recovery. My suggestion is a) use one movement at a time, b) if you use large compound movements, use minimal weight, and c) probably stick to smaller compound movements.
Ad-libbed question I’ve received in person recently:
We are skinny guys who are trying to gain weight. We see that online it is recommended for us to drink lots of milk and eat lots of food. Okay, cool, we’re doing that, but we’ve grown fat in our mid-section a bit. Tha phuck? How should we be eating to gain quality weight?
Dear skinny dudes of the world,
To give some context, the guys I’m referring to are in their early 20s and weigh 180 or less (one of them has worked his way up to about 180). The reason that milk helps people gain weight is because a) it’s sole purpose is to make baby mammals grow and b) it helps provide the calories to a person who has trouble consuming them. I skinny guy has done something in his life to be skinny, and that typically involves not eating or training well. The training should consist of a linear strength progression with compound strength movements (squat, press/bench, deadlift, row, pull-ups, etc). Let’s worry about the diet.
My suggestion is to bring down the milk and put a focus on quality meats and fats, eat potatoes, some veggies, and be sure to vary it up. This is just a paleo approach with an exclamation point on eating enough. The two fellas in question have been training consistently for several months, have seen gains in their lifts and body size, do mobility regularly, have weightlifting shoes, and will be getting belts soon. They are students of the game, and I expect them to solidify their training with proper eating. I think it’s good for really skinny guys to use those first couple of months to go all out on eating a lot (they have sent before and after pictures of them eating two pounds each of barbecued meat). Now, I encourage them to clean the intake up.
“Cleaning their diet up” means they will reduce milk to one or two glasses a day, but make sure to eat plenty of meat and quality fats like coconut oil, olive oil, butter, and avocado. Generally speaking, grass fed meat and butter will be better, but you get what you can get when you’re young and on a budget. They’ll aim to get most of their carbs through potatoes, veggies, and some fruit. They are free to eat nuts and seeds, but will put a preference on the fats listed above. One of them mentioned how his training improved when he started eating vegetables, so I recommended they get a standard multi-vitamin. They also haven’t been taking fish oil, so they’ll be starting on that as well.
All in all, they are merely shifting to a paleo diet by eliminating processed foods and trying to eat nutrient dense foods with quality proteins and fats. The thing with skinny guys is that they’ve lived their whole life skinny. It’s not possible for them to get jacked in the next several weeks. Skinny guys have to commit to the long haul; consistent training with consistent recovery (nutrition and mobility) will yield muscular improvement. I always cite the example that if a person squats twice a week for the next year, that’s about 100 squat workouts. Even if the weight only increased every week or two, such a person would still have accumulated a year of squatting and their body and musculature will improve as a result.
There is no shortcut. Train hard, but train smart, and you’ll magically become tanned with your swollertrophy.
Deadlift 160kgx5. YEAH!!
This was my pre-9-month-hiatus 1RM (with shitty technique then).
Today the 4 first reps were good, and the last not so good, but not shitty.
Didn’t do last week’s challenge. The next is a little tough. You can help somebody any-given day. But help him with lifting something heavy? It doesn’t depend from us.
I pussed out on the rucking this week, but a skinny lady asked me to take the 100lb plates off the leg press for her… So I’ll get the ruck next week.
I was also wondering about your sodium/potassium experiment- thanks for the update.
Signed up for a meet. Going to switch up my training to add more singles and doubles to prep for the meet so I should be hitting PRs soon.
I completely failed this weeks challenge, but I would like to start rucking once or twice a week with my pup. Although, I am concerned that any extra activity will cut into my strength training, see below. I have been working on my mobility though, and I have seen some great results. Once a night for the past week I’ve done the Couch Stretch for 3 minutes a side. I had been experiencing some crazy pain in my psoas and lower back that has been greatly diminished. And here I was thinking I had some sort of disc problem…
The skinny dude question/answer sounds like it’s written for me. I don’t eat nearly enough to support my current level of activity and it shows in my lifts and recovery. I’ve been seriously/consistently training for 6 months now and my lifts have slowed to a crawl and some days I just don’t have anything in the tank to maintain, much less progress. (I did 3×5 squats @215lbs three sessions in a row before moving up to 220lbs, and now 220 is killing me) For reference, I’m 32, 5’8″ @ 150lbs. I’d like to see better progress, but I am also happy that I’ve been able to stay consistent for such the last half a year.
I eat paleo now, I don’t forsee being able to afford to eat another full meal every day, and I don’t want to resort to milk. My carb intake is probably pretty low, so do you think it would be wise to eat a whole sweet potato with every meal? Right now I eat less than one a day on average. Thanks for all the advice.
Justin,
I have noticed that you rarely/never mention eating fish when giving nutritional advice. I would think that fresh caught salmon would be the perfect food for providing protein and fat. Perhaps taking fish oil means that you can eliminate it from your diet but I doubt a supplement could ever replace actual food. FWIW, I do both.
I’ve strung together three good weeks of eating, sleeping and training well, and the results are clear. I feel strong in the gym and am making steady progress on lifts. Even though this site advised against it, I’ve been doing front squats once a week and back squats once a week. If I ever get the chance to train a 4th day, I’ll add in another back squat day. I’ve really wanted to improve my front squat ability, not for any reason other than that I want to be good at another lift and I think it’ll help boulder up my quads and upper back.
Deadlift: 425 6×1; 350 2×3
Front Squats: 215 5×5
Back Squats: 365 6×1; 305 4×3
Bench: 275 6×1; 245 3×3
OHP: 150 7×1; 135 3×3
Power Clean/Press–150 and 135 3×3
Chin Ups: 12, 10, 8, 6, 6
I’ve got a fun semi-athletic activity planned for tomorrow: Class IV/V whitewater rafting.
300 lb Jerk earlier this morning.
Now have some work to do to get the clean up to that same level.
Good luck with the rest of your move. I didn’t have time for this week’s challenge but I like the themes… eat clean, do new lifts and activities, and promote gentlemanly conduct at all times.
I was supposed to squat 270 for 1 or more reps last night as part of 5/3/1, hit 3 pretty easy, so I decided to load up 315. Got two, had to ditch the third halfway up. So, PR on squat and PR on having to ditch a squat for the first time. I’ll take it.
I completed the weekly challenge. I put a 16kg kettle bell in a bag and walked 5k Monday to Friday. It wasn’t so bad. I was surprised that my abs felt it. I was expecting more of a stiff back. On the plus side I am now more ready for our bath salts induced
Zombie Apocalypse.
No PR.
I think I got a technique PR this week. I haven’t been benching due to a shoulder issue, I decided to experiment with foot placement, grip, eye placement, etc. I was actually inspired by one of the bench press attempts that was shown on that 3 hour video if Mike’s lifts earlier in the week.
Anyway, I discovered that if I squeeze my armpits, as if with a tennis ball in there, my triceps and arm feel like they are in that externally rotated position everyone talks about, but I could never grok. Some shit, huh? Does that sound right to you more experienced guys(and gals)?
Oh, and can I say how aggravated I am by this LBEB site? A total ripoff of 70s big , without the humor, intelligence and subtlety. The even picked a lifter and want to donate money to her(wait, am I mad at that?)
Of course I agree with the general concept, but Justin, your eyes must bleed when you see that site.
Running smolov jr for squat and OHP concurrently. Hit 340x8x4 this morning and about to go press 175x8x4. Going pretty well, hope to have video of OHP 220 @185lbs this or next week.
squat 5rm
340, ten pound pr
bench
14@ 165, which is my bodyweight
Deadlift
255 for 32 reps
Overall good week of training. Also on recovery days would it be ok to front squat instead of back squat at a lower weight?
BS 315×3 then x2
Just starting TM. going to stick with 315 ’til I get a single set of 5, (got singles one week, then doubles last week, a triple today…) then will start moving the weight up for 5’s for my intensity days.
Maybe not optimal for the program, but my ego and confidence are benefitting greatly from having 3 wheels on!
I just broke 315×1 a few weeks ago so I am like a kid who learns to fly in a dream; I want to keep doing it to convince myself I won’t wake up and have lost it!
Endurance PR: 100 mile ultra-marathon (was carrying a pack so kind of counts towards the challenge), 21,000ft of vertical gain, 29 hours 43 minutes, 26th out of 48 finishers/80+ starters. Resulted in a sore feet PR. Raised over a grand for charity though in memory of my grandparents, so worth every blister.
Lost of bunch of weight in the run up to this, going for a meat PR now with ribs to start putting it back on.
Squat 468 3reps
Bench press 320 3reps
Deadlift 507 2reps
Texas method program
@ dave h, holy smokes, that’s the real deal! That is awesome!
Clean and Jerk – 225 x 2
Squat/Life: got my first pair of Oly shoes yesterday and was fired up to try them out yesterday, so when I got home, I threw them on and decided to test them out with a couple of air squats. When I dropped down for my first rep, I completely tore through the seat of my work pants from crotch to waist.
Oly Shoes 1 – dress pants 0
ALL I DO IS RDL ALL DAY.
RDL RDL RDL RDL RDL RDL RDL RDL RDL RDL RDL RDL RDL.
PR on icing my groin:
4x/day last three days, already done 2x today and going to hit 5x plus some ice cup massage sucka!
Didn’t do the ruck challenge this week but I did have to pack a BOB because there was a forest fire less than 3 miles from my apt here in Colorado. Good exercise in finding out what is necessary for survival and what is not.
No PRs, but back to a nice three day a week routine at a great gym.
Squat: 295×3- having trouble with form degrading. Felt light just not good.
Push Press: 160×8, 170×6. PR? Meh.
Bench: 175×15- had a spotter bro helping me, so I did 15 reps instead of 8. As I finished he says, of course “All you dude!”
RDLs don’t hurt as much anymore, after a month of including them as assistance. Thank goodness!
Next week: dead lift PR!
Question for Justin. What is you opinion on pre workout stimulants? I don’t use stimulants of any kind normally, but occasionally when going for a PR some caffeine helps get me cranked up. Useful? Worthless? Not something worth worrying about?
400×3 deadlift today.
I set a squat PR which causes me to graduate from novice to intermediate based on Rippetoe’s chart.
Justin, you asked for martial arts recommendations. I did Tae Kwon Do for about 9 years. If you want to learn kicks, TKD is hard to beat. Strikes with the hands and elbows are taught, and punches are legal in comp, but not emphasized. The emphasis is kicks that are practical for fighting, fast and powerful, waist height or lower.
Also, on the martial arts front, if you are interested in striking I would either recommend a sparring based karate style or phillipino martial arts(which have the added bonus of working with weapons).
god stroup is such a faggot
255 5rep on High Bar Back Squat
72lbs for a 5 rep weighted chin up
Ditto on the heavy deads not being great for military guys. I was following Starting Strength for part of my time in Iraq and I did not like patrolling with baby deer legs
Challenge: No ultra-marathons, but I did a 20 mile backpack with a 30lb pack two weeks back.
PRs: Deadlifted 265×10 (Wendler). Will finally pull 2xBW in a couple of weeks.
On the seafood point, I highly recommend Trader Joe’s canned Wild Pink Salmon. It’s only $4 for 14ounces, and it’s a shitload of omega 3 fatty acids – waaaay cheaper than grass-fed beef, for example. You can make a bitchin’ breakfast hash with it, beaten eggs, and some small red taters.
No challenge, still doing those band pulls (I think it’s helping?)
PRs–
squat 250# x3
snatch 130# x3
jerk 165# x3
push press 145# x3
and 5 strict pull-ups in a row. I know it’s not much, but I’ve been stuck at only 3 for way too long, so this seemed huge to me.
Drive safely! Don’t forget about FRIED PIE just outside of Dallas.
This site gives me a boner. That’d be cool to see how you did in martial arts.
no pr unfortunately. Been trying to work on my deadlift technique. Hard to find the right position. See a lot of edvice on not to squat the weight up and not to drop the hips. Seems logical but I can’t get into the groove of it.
@ mikeinnola, where do lift?
well last week on TM
squat 195kg x 1 (regress, i have done triple with that just 5 weeks a go=/ until i fucked things up) so no pr
bench – 105kg x 5 easy – PR
deadlift 200kg x 3 – no PR
switching gears to 531 due to work =/ not happy with it, yet i think it will suit my goals for now (losing a bit of weight keeping my strength up) i will come back leaner and better conditioned to TM again for sure..
oh and i recommand taking up boxing/ or savate if you can, great great MA,and with no useless fluff.
@ bluecheese
Elmwood right now, but I’m looking for another place. Where u at, bra?
“Help a stranger by lifting something heavy.” Is this some kind of ploy to get us to help you move?
No real PR’s lately, but I did my first bodyweight pull-up (between 275 & 300lb) a few weeks ago.
I was so excited about it while at the gym that I couldn’t wait to get home and make a Facebook status about it. But when I logged in to FB, I saw my friend’s status telling everyone that she had 2 babies at the same time. She really stole my thunder.
I had a PR in the deadlift @ the APF North Dakota Powerlifting Championships. I deadlifted 567.5 lbs and I benched 325(no PR). Some other members of my gang The Barbell Buddie$ lifted too. We are an anti-facist lifting gang who kicks ass in all we do. Heres our highlight video. I’m the motherfucking whaleshark.
We have only begun our reign.
PR’s this week
bench #200 x9
squat #300 x8
mikeinnola, I’m training at the anytime fitness on Vets. Its not too bad. Only one squat rack, but Im normally the only one who uses it. But, the manager is now onto crossfit, so more and more xfitters have been showing up and hogging the barbells.
I’m cleaning my diet up right now, eliminating starches as much as possible. This is fine for meals, but I got trouble replacing my shakes.
I have to shakes with casein, whey and oats per day. Each shake packs roughly 50g of protein and 65g of carbs.
Any idea on replacements for this?
bluecheese, I know, we need a good gym near the east end of Veterans. Check out Final Fitness in River Ridge. All racks, platforms and bumper plates. Tires to flip, all that. Just a little out of the way, is all, for me.
I worked out at Final Fitness for a while after katrina. Carter’s a good guy. Its just out of my way for regular training. BTW Carter trained Chad Jones after his car accident.
Hey guys n gals. A couple PRs. I also figures out that my left glute is way weaker than my right, resulting in some recent hip and lower back pain on my left side recently. No bueno.
PRs: Deadlift 415×3
HB squat 335×3
Chins +45×10
I’m also more like 175 now. I started the summer around 170
Thanks for the post on skinny guys. I feel sometimes its a little hard to get in as many calories without the milk but ill definetly focus on that and eating more potatoes. Do you think a beef jerky is a decent snack for this diet? I understand its not a whole lot of calories or fat but will it work on the go? I sometimea find it hard to get the time to sit down and eat a meal before training sometimes unless i cooked alot of leftovers the night before. I find i have no energy of i dont eat about an hour or so before my sessions
I managed my first 3x5x220# today, I felt like trash but I ground it out. Mental fortitude PR too :)
Squat
3 x 5 x 132.5kg
Press
3 x 5 x 73.75kg
Wtd Chins
3 x 5 x 10kg
7.5kg away from my 3 plate goal, 132 felt like a grinder, gonna hit up some food and rest and hit it next week
Tried Trap Bard Dead Lifts for the first time. Did 500lbs beltless. My Barbell DL max is 465 with a belt (as of 2 or so weeks ago), I don’t know how any of that translates into strength gains. Just thought it was rad to pick up 500lbs for the first time. Got a headstart on that challenge, already helped an old lady push a laundry cart over a ledge to the laundry-mat. There was no time for rewards as I was in a rush to get home and she spoke no english. Rockin and rollin on fasted conditioning and eating super clean. Been 5 days of a lot of brown rice, oats, chicken, and beef – nothing much more. Though I did pick up some jerky for quick, in between meat-snacks.
Training PR: I started 100% oly training 4 weeks ago using the Pendlay beginner program. With that, I also went back on an LP with my squats. So far so good. I suck at snatches but I just need alot of practice. My back and traps are getting impressive.
Doctor PR: Went to the doctor for a physical. I had gained 10#s since last year and 20 in 2. He normally gives me grief about my weight, this time he said that it was probably ok since I have OBVIOUSLY put on alot of muscle mass. SWOLE SON!
Deadlift PR 142kg x3. Would’ve likely got five but had to switch to mixed grip after two which was my first time doing that, and it kinda threw me off. Got the two singles after to make it up, so I’ll hit five straight next week.
Squat 155kg/341lb x 5 – matched PR but with a rep in the tank and at a lighter boy weight
Bench 105kg/231lb x 5 – ditto squat comments.