Q&A – 50

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PR Friday – You know the drill. Post your PR’s. Talk about training. If you’re new, stop giving advice (this isn’t the CrossFit Discussion Board).

Last Week’s Challenge was to sign up for the Movember team. I want to sincerely thank everyone that has donated, especially those of you who donated $1 — a single doll hair. One doll hair may not seem like anything, but if everyone reading this did it, we’d destroy our goal.

Next Week’s Challenge: I hate asking people to donate, but if you have not donated, a doll hair will be appreciated; every doll hair counts. Please don’t feel pressured into donating 10, 20, or 50 doll hairs (some have). It is not embarrassing to donate a single doll hair; it’ll bind you to this community and I’ll do my best to help you if you should ever need it. Donate here. Thank you again.

Weekly Recap: The female post was a delightful discussion on whether obese female athletes do more harm than good. The first post of the Shoulder Health series focused on posture. If you’re wondering why there weren’t other posts this week, it’s because I’m working on some books. And yes, the second newsletter will come soon. Thanks for your patience.

Q&A — The last couple Q&A’s have been a bit weak, but this one is a real SLOBBER KNOCKER.

I read your post about wanting more questions, so I thought I’d shoot you this one. I am a 19 year old girl weighing 115 lbs and I have scoliosis with 22° of magnitude. I’ve decide to join the revolution and have been squatting my dick off for the past month. However, my back gives me some trouble when I squat. The muscles can sometimes become very tight and its pretty painful. I’m currently back squatting 5×5 at 85 lbs. I squatted in high school for volleyball before my scoliosis really became a limiting factor in my work outs. I’m also unable to dead lift due to back pain. Should I try another lift or is there a different way I should be squatting? Other than squatting and dead lifting, I don’t have any experience with olympic lifts. Any ideas or recommendations you have would be great!

Thanks,

Lauren

 

Dear Lauren,

Welcome to the Revolution! Your scoliosis is unfortunate, but there are a few things you can probably do to help. Are you squatting 5×5 regularly? Have you done a 3×5? Does the pain change depending on the amount of volume?

I coached a woman in her 30s that had some rotational scoliosis. I wrote about her in “The Texas Method – Part 1” (this was a post, which is different than the book). I said:

I’ve had a trainee increase on a LP, yet had pelvic asymmetry (rotational scoliosis in the lumbar) to the point where a 3×5 volume three times a week was giving her problems. Instead, we switched to a TM set up; the volume 5×5 (and lower weight) allowed us to work on positional issues as well as conscious neurological innervation, and the intensity day of heavier weight allowed us to push the weight up without worrying so much about the technique.

In her case, she had low amounts of pain when the week’s total work load was high (i.e. when we did a 3×5 three times a week). We were able to work on her technique with a lower weight on Monday’s 5×5, did some work with a 3×5 (depending on how she felt) on Wednesday, and really pushed the weigh on a heavier set of five on Friday.

Whether or not this applies to you, I don’t know. I would first suggest to stop doing the 5×5, especially if you’re doing it two or three times a week. You could try varying the volume/intensity throughout the week like I mentioned above. That might give you varied work to progress, but not pound you with work across the whole week to give you soreness. Feel free to send a video of your squats and I can check them for mechanical faults — if you’re doing something goofy then it’ll exacerbate the anatomical assymetry from the scoliosis. You may even need to cue something to work against existing assemetry in your technique.

All of that being said, if you still get pain from a 3×5 or the 5×5/3×5/1×5 Texas Method style approach, then I would stick to weights that do not cause pain and use assistance exercises to try and balance it out (in addition to the lighter squatting). Immediately start doing side planks after every training session, and more frequently if you have time. A chiropractor told me of a study (don’t know how good it was) that showed some improvements in scoliosis by doing side planks. Do them for 30 seconds three times on each side. If you cannot deadlift, see if RDLs work. See if you can do back extensions, and then see if you can weight them (hold a plate in your arms). Once you use these movements regularly, see if you can do lighter deadlifts and try to incorporate them back into your routine (only do them once a week, and if you need to do sets of three instead of five, and don’t do multiple sets at work set weight). Let us know how it goes. Oh, and are you low bar or high bar squatting?

 

Justin,

I have been reading and following 70’s big since you were at Rip’s gym in Texas.

I need some help on how to coach at a Oly meet. There have been several write ups on the site about lifting meets but not something specific about the coaches role ect.

My athlete got an invite to the Outlaw open in California. The first event is a Oly meet (his first as an athlete and my first as a coach.) I was hoping that you could point me in the right direction to reading material on how to warm up/starting weights/ ect.

Anything would be of great help.

Thanks,

Joel

 

Dear Joel,

I mentioned in my original response to you that there are some posts on weightlifting meets as well as coaching at powerlifting meets (Nationals, The Arnold, etc.). This response will just point out the basics.

1. Open with something that is a definite good lift. You want to build confidence in your lifter, especially on his first snatch of his first lifting competition. Realistically it should be something he power snatches; something he can hit if his balls fall out of his singlet mid-rep.

2. Don’t worry about PRing. This sounds counter-intuitive, but both of you should learn that what you do in the gym is irrelevant; meet PRs are different. The goal is to get the best out of your lifter on that day. That should mean going 6/6 and maybe matching some gym PRs. If he can set an overall PR, all the better, but having a good meet should be the focus.

3. Have a plan. Create a written plan on what you’d like to hit. Do this by opening low. If he balks and thinks the opener is too low, slap him in the face and yell, “YOU’RE IN MY WORLD NOW, GRANDMA.” Talk about what will happen if something bad happens. If you planned accordingly, then something bad could happen and he should still hit the opener (e.g. the aforementioned scrote episode). If the rep was very hard, then don’t make a 5kg jump, make a 2 or 3kg jump. Sometimes reps can appear hard as the result of something easily fixable, so you can make the projected jump and merely make a correctional cue. In general, don’t make more than a 5kg jump (unless you’re doing his last warm-up on the platform or something). I like to write out a best and worst case scenario — a low and high end projection. That way you don’t have to think about the next attempt when the judges are waiting for it.

4. Make sure he has all of his gear. Sure, he’s probably an adult, but I’ve had people go to the weigh-in table without their federation membership card. Shoes, socks, singlet, knee sleeves, belt, tape, membership card (if relevant), etc. — make sure it’s all there. Get a back up pair of shoe laces. This can probably be done with a phone call the night before unless you guys are having a sleepover.

5. Get him warmed up on time. This is an underrated thing for a new coach, but he shouldn’t be warmed up too early or too late. That means you count the attempts of people before him. If it’s a good meet, they’ll project this on a screen. If it’s a small meet, go look at the attempt cards over the judge’s shoulders. If you don’t know how they function, then go and talk to them about it before hand and have them teach you (the cards run up and down snake style). Each attempt before your guy will be about a minute. He probably wants to hit his last warm-up a few minutes before the actual attempt, so 3 or 4 attempts out. Keep in mind that some lifters may do all three of their attempts before your guy even opens. Factor in the possible attempts and adapt to the situation. This is mainly relevant for the openers since you won’t need to do any warm-ups after the opener. If you warm him up too early or he has to wait a long time between attempts, he could hit a light rep in the warm-up room (e.g. at nationals a few years ago when I was doing around 155kg on CJ, I did a rep in the back at 100kg).

Overall your job is to get him ready by counting attempts and give him attempts he can hit. That’s the minimum. If you have an effect on arousal levels (chilling him out, amping him up, etc.), then that’s better. Keep in mind that too much adrenaline in weightlifting can cause a new lifter to forget a cue and mess up. Only cue one thing at a time, and feel free to do so when he’s on the platform (e.g. “heels” or “chest up” as he’s adjusting his grip for the jerk).

 

broseph on November 2, 2012 at 5:06 pm said:
Dude, I was cereal when I asked what you bring for food when spending multiple days in the wilderness. Like, several pounds of jerky? Pemmican? A gun and knife?

Dear broseph,

What I take is dependent on how I’m getting there; do I have my truck? Packing it in? How long? If I have the truck, I’ll obviously have more stuff, but I don’t like the “not camping” style of camping where there’s a camper, generator, and home luxuries. Anyway, I might bring meat to cook on the fire with other refrigerated stuff like beer (PBR is solid with a camp fire) or fruit. A couple weekends ago I had scotch in the truck, so that was swell. Otherwise I’ll have jerkey, dark chocolate almonds, protein bars, and stuff like that. I try and get high calorie stuff so sometimes I’ll have candy and trail mix. I end up losing a little bit of weight when camping because I sort of conserve water and food in case something bad happens. But now that I have a 20L water can (thanks Marotta) I’m not worried about that with truck camping). I’ve never actually had pemmican but I definitely want it now.

I carry a Glock 26 and two knives on my belt or pockets. I always have my GR2 from GoRuck with me, so in that I’ll have water, food, 2 compasses, water purifying tablets, a Lifestraw, fire starters (mag, Exotac, matches), another knife, camp axe, spare mags, foot care stuff, first aid stuff, ponchos, emergency blanket, multi-tool, maybe extra layers depending on the weather, and a few other things. It just depends on what I’m doing. I’ll be getting some new guns and will probably want to carry a .45 in the woods and have a shotgun in the truck. Obviously I think carrying a weapon in general is necessary, but especially when out in the woods.

 

brian45 on November 2, 2012 at 5:50 pm said:
Question for Justin: I was doing my 5rm for front squat and on the video I noticed a slight rounding at the back in the thoracic (plus a bit of butt wink from my depth once below parallel) I understand some mobility at the shoulder would help this but on my last set I backed off and used a 15? box and my back position was much better. Do you have any recommendations and what are your thoughts on using the box? Thanks.

 

Dear brian45,

The thoracic extension is your fault. You need to lock that shit in place. That’s one of my fundamental cues for squatting (others would be “knees out” and full depth). Lift your chest in your chin and keep it there. I’ll be doing a video eventually about this. The front squat makes it difficult to keep thoracic extension, by make sure your elbows are “up and in”. Putting them “in” puts the shoulder into external rotation and therefore facilitates thoracic extension. If your elbows flare out to the sides when you are front squatting, you’re allowing them to internally rotate and thus flex the thoracic spine. So stop it. Obviously thoracic and shoulder mobility will play a role in this. If your internal rotators are tight, they will prevent you from getting externally rotated. Work on it.

As for the lumbar flexion (“butt wink” — fucking hate this term), you are docked 100 points for not searching the site, you fucker (“The Butt Wink“). Special Forces are not in your future. If you aren’t shoving your knees out when squatting, then it’ll allow for a flexed lumbar. If you are shoving them out and it still happens, you may be going too low. If knee shovage and depth are good, then your mobility is poor; work on it. AND A GOOD DAY TO YOU, SIR. (couldn’t find a video on YouTube, about 1:10 here)

 

snommisjay on November 2, 2012 at 6:07 pm said:
I understand that herschel walker never really lifted. How did he become so jacked and powerful?

 

Dear snommisjay,

Because he’s a gods damn genetic freak, man! I’ve talked a bit about this in “Play the Hand You’re Dealt” and “What’s Your Excuse?“. Basically there are people out there who are so athletic, so naturally physically talented, that they can do amazing things in spite of stupid training. For example, Walker has stated he’s done a thousand push-ups and 3,500 sit-ups a day in addition to an 8 mile run. He also is apparently a vegetarian who eats one meal a day and mostly east bread and soup. The obvious answer is that this guy is part alien, a total fucking non-human. Did you guys know he played in the USFL before the NFL and rushed for 2,411 yards in his third and final season there? Then he played in the NFL for 13 seasons. Dude is and was impressive. He also talked about making a comeback to the NFL at 50 years old but said he’d only play for two teams — because a 50 year old running back has the option to play wherever he wants (eye rolling). Anyway, he’s an interesting cat — read his wiki page. Herschel Walker is the epitome of what it means to be a freak, plain an simple.

 

themurr on November 2, 2012 at 7:06 pm said
I have a question. I ran the this:https://ultrahike.com/ a month or so ago, 26 miles, 6000 ft of elevation change, took me 7 and a half hours and was absolutely fantastic (best post race party ever). For future events of that sort I’m wondering how I should structure the lifting in the weeks before and how quickly I can get back into the swing of things after.

 

Dear themur,

Sounds like a serious event. As for incorporating your lifting into your training, it should function like any strength and conditioning program for an athlete. There is an off-season, a pre-season, a season or peak, an event (in your case), and then a recovery period. I’m not going to create a comprehensive plan, but your strength training frequency will be highest in the off-season and then will decrease as you get closer to the race. With the exception of the last one or two weeks before the race, you can still strength train twice a week, though you can modify what you do (e.g. A – squat/pull-ups, B – press/RDL). Total amount of exercises as well as volume would decrease as race date neared. Furthermore, you program structure will be dependent on what your weaknesses are. Off season might only include one long run a week at a steady pace to maintain structural adaptation to long distance running — I don’t know, it depends on you and what you need. But now you have a general plan.

 

This next thing isn’t necessarily a question, but it’s a comment a friend made to me about the Couch Thread. I thought it was funny enough to save and now I’m posting it here:

On a side note- I read the post about crossfit the other day, and the “CF white papers” lead me to the Couch thread- holy fucking shit. The Crossfit community had better not be granted actual recognition as a sect of humans at some point, because that shit is going down as a hate crime. The amount of whiny, bitchy, holier than though shit on that thread is UNREAL. The guys hating on Crossfit (and everything else, in general it seems) makes them actually sound like the CF community. It’s arguing on the internet in an epic fashion. It’s like the battle of 5 armies for assholes in their mom’s basement. (That’s right- a Tolkien reference). It’s like watching one realm of fucking dungeon and dragon geeks going after Twilight followers, with an outside interest being taken by Trekkies. Unbelievably entrancing. Seriously, I’ll bet I went through 150 pages of this nonsense, I can’t stop.

 

 

 

 

116 thoughts on “Q&A – 50”

  1. PR: 175×1 bench. Up 20 pounds in 4 weeks on new program, enough food, and with a coach yelling at me. Shooting for 200 by the end of the year.

    Off to donate to the 70’s Big Movember effort now.

  2. 360×5 on squat (370 PR). Should pass that next week.
    Pressed 180×3 for 2 sets. Both times I was losing stability at the top and I lost the bar forward as I came down, so it was a form issue. I’m 5lbs off of a bodyweight press for 5, so I’m definitely going to focus on this for now.

    Health PR? Successfully went from contemplating suicide on wednesday from being so sick and shitty feeling, to waking up amazing on thursday due to a massive intake of multi’s, fish oil, D, C and water.

  3. Squat: 195 kg (~ 430 lbs) x1x5
    Press: 74 kg (~ 163 lbs) x3
    Deadlift: 220 kg ( ~ 485 lbs) x1 (PR); 187.5 kg ( ~ 413 lbs) x5 (backoff set)

    BW: 94 kg ( ~ 207 lbs)

  4. Had a good bread & butter week.
    Pressed 200 for a couple triples, then some singles at 210.
    Trap is feeling better so I was able to pull 545×2 relatively pain free.

    Wife PR’d and nailed a BW bench at 155. It was awesome.

    brb still waiting for Justin to answer a Q&A about fucking magnets, how do they work?

  5. Allright–first kid (son) due Tuesday, and couldn’t participate in this weekend’s Garage Games Event I’ve been training with my gym for, so I figured today would be the perfect opportunity to test my pre-fatherhood Olympic lifts. I told myself if I totaled 450+ (lbs, clearly), ahahah Jr would be 70s big, below that 90’s skinny.

    Anyway, here goes:

    Snatch: 205 (pr)
    C&J: 250 (pr on both clean and jerk)
    Total: 455! The weightlifting gods have spoken…

  6. Equipment PR: I have a flat bench now! It is the addidas flat bench off of amazon, and I could not be more happy with it. I ordered it last sunday afternoon for less than $100 with free shipping, and it arrived by tuesday morning. The whole thing is steel, and the pad is super heavy duty foam, which did not deform in the least while I was benching on it.

    Med School PR: nailed the test this week, getting me my A in histology as well as several other classes. Looking good going into finals.

    In other news: Benched for the first time in over 3 months. Surprisingly, got a relatively easy paused 215, ten lbs off of my all time PR, with no pump up or music. My strength off the chest is way better as well, probably as a result of doing DB work for the past 3 months.

    Squat: squatted 335×1 and 315×4 in the past week. Looking to get a little bit of stuff at higher intensity, but not mess anything up.
    Deads: pulled over 400 for the first time in 3 months as well. 435 broke off the floor slow, but flew up to lockout. I can tell I haven’t deadlifted heavy in a while, because I popped a few capillaries in my neck on that pull, even though it didn’t feel that hard. Did 225×15 last night, it was jokishly easy, except on my hands.

    One week out from the gym meet I’m doing here in Tulsa. It’s a 1RM Squat, Bench, Deadlift, followed by max reps at 225 on bench and deadlift. I’ll be lucky to get two reps at 225 on bench, but I estimate around 30 for the deadlift rep out. Currently cutting down to 210 from 214, since the only weight classes are <210 and heavyweight, and I've seen some of the heavyweight guys that are going to be there lifting, and they are crazy. Really pumped for lifting for the first time in a while.

    Hope everybody else is doing well!

  7. Got a new 5RM on back squat at 335 but missed a 5RM on bench press (235) for the second week in a row. My body is a little beaten up, so I’ve decided to deload next week and recover through mobility work, light weights and swimming. I’m looking forward to Shoulder Health, Part II.

  8. Power snatch 185#
    Press 155×2#
    Front Squat 260#

    Got to hang with John Welbourn and crew again over the weekend (CF Football cert for 2nd time). My brain is so full it hurts.

  9. New volume PRs this week, and a new 1RM.

    Squat: 355#x5
    Bench: 280×3
    Deadlift: 390# x 5
    Press: 170# x 4 AND 195# x 1

    Still thinking I will hit 405# squat by December. Can’t wait for the week before Christmas to try.

  10. long time lurker, first time poster.

    PRs: last friday I pressed 150lbs for 5 which was pretty sick for me. Then I proceeded to Squat 320×3 which was also nice since my best tested squat is 335 for one.

    This week my gym completely moved everything around, AND I began my attempt at a Power/Speed cycle (of focusing on Olympic lifting.) I’m a very poor olympic lifter, so things are starting slowly.

    My setup is based on the olympic template from TM part 1:
    Monday (Volume) 5×3 of snatch, then 5×3 of C+J (both at 80-90% of PR), then 3×5 of Squats (87% of squat 5RM PR.)
    Wednesday (Medium Day) 3×3 Snatch, 3×3 C+J, Front Squat 3×3 @ 90% of monday’s weight
    Friday (Intensity): Snatch 1RM, C+J 1RM, Squat 5RM

    This week I failed my Squat intensity, by getting 320 for just one rep. It was after all the Olympic lifts though so maybe I just need to chill for a bit and get used to that stuff.

    I still want to include pressing/weighted pullups and deadlift because I like those lifts. Is there any way I could add Press/Pull and deadlift in there? Too much? Seems like my abilities outweight my ambition already.

    • Your 3×5 work is a big high, percentage-wise of the 5RM. This is explained in the Texas Method e-books. I realize you aren’t really doing one, but a 3×5 early and a 5RM late is pretty much it, just with the Olympic considerations. That’s why you missed it.

      And you can’t have it all in your program if you want it all to be at the highest performance. Your training days are pretty busy to be adding press, wtd pullups, and DL. I’d only have you deadlift mediumish on Friday (pulling heavy will just put you in a recovery deficit). I don’t like the idea of pressing/pullups on Wednesday, and I would only put one of them on Monday. You would need to modify this set up to get it all in there.

  11. No damn PRs this week. I’ve been sick since Monday, and missed my normal Intensity Day (Tuesday). Today is supposed to be my VD, but I’m still a little sick. I was thinking about sucking it up and hitting the gym anyway, but then I read Justin’s “Don’t Train Sick” post, and I think I’ll listen to him and wait until my Sunday Light Day.

  13. PBR by the campfire? Beer fortified with high fructose corn syrup? You’re not a kid anymore, you can do better.

    Bench 180×5
    Squat 220×5
    Deadlift 320×5

    Been focusing on getting 200g+ of protein per day, and feeling much better for it. I feel like at $2.79/lb for ground beef, the grocery store is paying me to eat. Hell, I don’t get a pound of food at any restaurant for $2.79, let alone a pound of beef.

    Some nagging aches and pains have subsided, and I don’t feel a recovery deficit so much as I have been recently.

  14. Completely lost it at “…if his balls fall out of his singlet”. Thanks for making me spit my PWO cheeseburger halfway across the restaurant.

    PR’s :
    Squat: 260#x5
    Deadlift: 295#x5
    Bench: 157#x5
    Power Clean: 125#x3

    As you can see, my numbers are legit, I have read SS:BBT3, been lifting on and off for 3 years, and recently purchased Adidas PowerLift trainers, so I’m kind of a big deal. Go ahead, ask me anything. Knowledge bombs are locked and loaded…

    • Do you find that the clickclacks are sufficiently outlined at the bottom of your squat? Having read SS and lifting in my Do Wins, I get some good sackleavage. The others in the gym appreciate it, I’m sure.

      Squat: 270# x 5 x 2 (PR)
      Deadlift: busted hand, not happening
      Bench: 160# x 4
      Power Clean: see above re deadlift

      Boom.

      We all start somewhere!

      • Re: clickclacks

        I joined a local college gym a few months back, and they have mirrors on the wall in front of the racks. I wasn’t used to this (no mirrors in my neighborhood gym), and the outline of my bell clangers in the bottom of the squat really threw me off at first. Now, it’s my cue “there’s my balls … now chest up hips up!!!”

  16. PR’s:
    Squat: 185#x5
    RDL: 145#x6
    Bench: 180#x5

    Still questing that 2-plate squat. Seen tremendous gains (+20# in a month) since I started 4×6 RDLs on Saturdays, but nowhere close to where I should be relative to my other lifts @ ~155# bodyweight, for that matter.

    Here’s my question—been feeling incredible tightness my right elbow (my mouse-jockeying hand, which may be relevant). It feels almost like hyperextension of the joint, but I know that can’t be the case when I’m feeling The Pain in intense flexion on a flat bench press (as yesterday). Wristwraps alleviate it somewhat. MobilityWOD suggests tack+floss the joint, but I don’t have any superfriends to assist. Can I self-palpitate this away? It occurs on both the internal and external points of the elbow joint, but is so deep in the joint that I couldn’t reach it with a finger if I tried. Where to start?

  17. Training PR: Due to reading previous posts and listening to the two Johnny Pain Podcasts, I started GSLP this week. I’ve done more chinups and pushups this week than ever before.

  20. Diet PRs: bought 21 lbs of meat for 41 dollars this week. I will weigh 100kg by spring, or die in the attempt.

    School PRs: all set to graduate from university with a major in biology, minors in exercise science and philosophy, and possibly an lpn license.

    weight room PRs: Squat 235×3 – 10lb pr since injuring myself earlier this year (hip). Tied my all time press pr and it felt easy thanks to better external rotation.

  22. I pressed 200 for a single. That felt like a big deal.

    I haven’t had a decent intensity day for a couple weeks due to work and stuff, but I’d rather maintain paused than go in reverse.

  24. Power Snatch PR of 90kg

    In general been trying to follow Outlaw as best as possible, but PT school is kicking my ass. Playing in the intramural soccer final on Monday, attempting to relive the glory days of being a collegiate athlete. After that is over I should hopefully be dialing in the training. Aiming for a 105kg Snatch and 130kg Clean and Jerk by the end of the year.

  25. Mon
    LB Squat 122.5kgx5 @7. 142.5kgx1 @7
    Bench 110kgx2x3
    pull up bwt (98kg) x 5×3
    RDL 107.5kgx5x3
    Side planks/foam rolling

    Wed
    Supposed to DL but trained at a shittier gym with hardly any plates!
    Press 70.5kgx3, 73kgx2, 75.5fail :(
    Chins 10
    Side planks/planks

    Fri

    LB Squat 127.5kgx5 @7, 145kgx1@7
    Close grip bench 100kgx4, nearly had 5th rep
    Pendlay row 87.5kgx5x3
    Hammer curl 24kgx12, 20kgx9
    Tricep pushdowns 85lbsx12x2
    45 degree back extensions 3×10
    Side planks.foam rolling

  26. Thanks justin for the herschel walker answer. I sort of assumed freakness to be all of the answer. PHENOMENAL athlete!

    Recent PRs.
    Bs 355×5
    Bp 210×5
    Dl 415×3

    Bw: 168-170

    Life is obstructing time to lift on regular basis. All workouts limited to pretty much 1 hr. Paramedic school plus full time work is killing workout time. And unfortunately, powerlifting meet is out the window in december.

  28. I am down to 229 lbs from 245 lbs. I was too sloppy so I had to cut back.

    I missed a press rep PR by one by only getting 157.5×4. It was due to shitty bar path.

    I switched to vanilla Texas Method with an assistance day. I will progress a 5RM until I can’t. Then I will progress 5 singles. When I can’t do that, I will go back to a previously difficult 5RM and start over.

  29. Week 3 of TM and I am feeling great.

    I won’t bore you withthe volume day stuff, but I hit 2 new PRs today for the 5rm

    I hit 365# squat x1x5
    and 155# press x1x5.

    I felt like I had more in me for both exercises. The squat was a 20# pr and I remembered the book saying something along the lines of being greedy is the bane of training. So I thought I would sit on the 20# pr and go big again next week. Can’t wait.

    Also did some weightlifting and feel like my form is really coming along in the snatch. did 185# power snatch x 3 x 3 today and did the same for clean and jerk working mainly on having fast feet. Feels like it is coming along nice. About to go donate my “doll hairs” to Movember.

  30. Only PR this week was weighted chins – 8x170lbs @ 140 lbs. New PRs when the winter bulk starts in a few weeks.

    QUESTION:
    During weighted chins I’m noticing that my right shoulder/chest touches the bar considerably earlier than my left side. I’m only doing barbell excercises – no dumbbell or other one-sided lifting work – and always check that I’m in the middle of the bar. What does it mean and how do I counter this problem? Is it muscle imbalance or is my posture screwed up?

  31. The Barbell Buddie$ continue to dominate in all phases. Then fucking Gary Sinise calls us out. So we had to show him whats up. Included are a 530 lbs squat and a 545 lbs deadlift. We are shooting for PRs Dec. 1st at a powerlifting meet. The fascists should have fear in their hearts because we have none in ours.
    #GangsaremorePowerful

  33. LP PRs: 285 3×5 squat (probably the best squat session I’ve ever had), 365×5 deadlift, 190 2×5 bench (only got 3 on the final set unfortunately), and 135 3×5 press which felt pretty easy.

    Life PRs: Got a holiday job, got a new phone, voted for the first time on Tuesday. All things considered a really solid week.

  35. Qualified for the American Open on Saturday.
    65 kg snatch – meet PR
    85 kg clean and jerk – meet PR and all time PR, this was my opener
    87 kg clean – all time PR, didn’t jerk this, very light headed
    90 kg clean miss – racked this and could not stand it up
    150 PR total

    Had four attempts at a 69 kg snatch today, but it was not to be:

  36. Press: 5×130

    Also, this is a tie back to Low Bar vs High Bar. I had once gotten Bicep Tendonitis from the bar placement, so I stopped, waited a few weeks and switched to High Bar. Recently I had the genius idea to try switching back to Low Bar and low and behold it came back!

    Since I don’t want to stop working out I’m doing the following:
    4×5 Front Squat
    4×5 Press (Bench Press aggrevates the tendonitis
    4×5 RDLs, or 2×5 DL or 5×3 Pwr Cleans

    Does this seem reasonable to you all?

    Also once my tendonitis goes away I’m going to switch back to HBBS’s in place of FSs and then begin to alternate BP and Press.

    Please let me know what you all think.

  37. Made all kind of PRs this week! Dead 400×6 press 155×6 squat 380×4 bench 235×5. Also when squatting with my team USA weightlifting shirt last week someone came up to me and asked if I train at the Colorado springs Olympic training center…

  40. Back to lifting this week after almost a whole month off due to APFT prep and a two week stint at Fort Sill.

    Cut back this week since I was off for so long. I’m not sure whats up with my squat form though. Got some elbow pain today and I’m sure it is from that or elbows flaring a bit during bench. Anyone know of a good coach in Kansas or close to Kansas?

    Built a firepit this week to cook lots of meat on.

    Also next week’s challenge completed today.

  41. Thanks for answering my question and shaming me for my laziness to boot. Well played Justin. That being said I filmed a front on shot of my squat to check my knee position, I would post it but if you are uncomfortable with “butt wink” I didn’t think this would get me back those 100 points either. That being said I will drop you some doll-hairs as a sign of good faith for your worthy cause,

    Working on a tri-phasic approach from cal dietz.
    Did 275 for doubles on bench
    Did 165 for doubles on press
    Did 415 for doubles on deadlift (cluster style 1+1 with 20 secs btwn attempts
    Did 185 for triples on front squat (working on form)

  42. hit two lifts this week that I missed on my previous attempt, and each felt so much easier, so…recovery PR?

    bench 175x5x5
    press 120x5x5

    continuing with linear progression on squat and deadlift as well
    squat 250x5x5
    DL 275×5

    bw 155-158

    bodyweight pr: I’m now heavier than my dad

  43. I hit 155×5 on the press today. I barely, and I mean barely, got that last rep up. I do find it funny that my volume days have crept to being more than 90% of the weight, in the previous cycle of TM, I comfortably got 5×5@140 and 1×4@155 (failure to 5RM), so I upped to 145 for volume. Third set, it wasn’t happening, so I backed off to 140, and kept going (so 2×5@145, 1×3@145, 3×5@140), and then today barely got the 155 up. Would it be better to try again for as many sets as possible at 145 as I did previously, and then repeat at 155 for intensity, should I up intensity to 160 and not worry about failing next cycle, or something else?

  45. No PRs this week, but I hit 295# x 3 and easily could have done 4 or 5. It’s not impressive or anything but my best is 335# x 3 so I was happy to see that my strength hasn’t completely gone to crap during the season.

    First rugby game ever last night. We won, absolutely dominating what has long been considered the best team in the league. And the coach declared me “man of the match.” I haven’t felt so proud in a long time.

    QUESTION: I have heard that NSAIDs can cause damage to the intestinal lining and tax the liver, but let’s be real now, after the beating I took last night, fish oil and mobbing aren’t going to cut it for getting me back into playing condition within a week, and definitely not enough to get me ready to squat on Monday. I know from past experience that NSAIDs have helped me get rid of problems in two days that fish oil and mobbing hadn’t solved in weeks. Is there anything wrong with taking ibuprofen for a day or two for a quick fix? If not, what are my options for getting myself healed quickly?
    Note: I eat (mostly) paleo (I include dairy and potatoes fairly regularly) and take tons of fish oil and vitamins, and drink lots of water. The areas that are most hurt right now are my right shoulder and both of my quads. Last time I had tissue bruised this badly it took two weeks to feel better. I don’t have that kind of time anymore. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

    • If your being real you need to know that a strength program like this is hardly “paleo”. Took me a while to realise this. “Squat shoes are not paleo blah blah blah” nor is half the shit I do like wearing pants and only wifeing 1 woman at a time….:)

      Long story short your likely going to need some help. A day or half day on NSAIDS probably wont have any damage, most studies I read was very much long term usage was the killer.

      Watch the fishoil intake. New thinking is there is exactly zero science supporting high intake. Your better off removing stressors (omega 6 etc) from the diet than adding fish oil.

  46. Squat: 340×2 (PR I guess, but I was going for 5, so I am disappoint)
    Bench: 220×5 (PR)
    DL: 335×5 felt good, so then I hit 365×1 for fun (PR)

    I think thoracic flexion was contributing to my recently shitty squat workouts (this one included). I did a few doubles at 325 and 315×5 after I only hit 2 out of 5 reps at 340. The chest up queue Justin mentioned above seemed to help quite a bit, so next week shouldn’t be shitty.

  47. Been following Outlaw programming for 6 weeks now and pulled a snatch and c&j from the floor for the first time since starting (all from blocks or the hang up to now).
    Snatched 170 lbs and clean and jerked 235, pr’s by 15 & 5 lbs.
    Back squat pr of 335 earlier in they week and a body weight pr of 199lbs- almost there.

  48. I have a question maybe for next weeks Q&A maybe its an easy reply. I have been rehabbing from back surgery with The diesel crew back rehab protocol, easy way to sum it up is lots of bird dog, planks, bridges, dumbell RDLs, band good mornings, anti latteral flexion and rotation work, along with hip and thorasic mobility.I have been doing good working out 7 days a week for a few weeks, 5 days a week for a few weeksand now I’m nearing the last few weeks of the program at 3 days a week before going back to regular barbell training 3 days a week. I’m excited to have come this farbut I’m still dealing with a good amount of back soreness. I understand that what I am doing is going to cause soreness since I am trying to over come the last year of my back being a mess and doing nothing physical for it, but I am wondering if there is any strategy to improving tissue quality in my low back to help speed this up. I have had sucess in other funky areas using foam rollers, soft balls, lacrosse ballsand other tricks but I’m unsure of safe ways to do the same in the low back. I don’t have 1 spot injury pain, just a general soreness and tightness that you would get from working out. I am overweight and have already gotten my diet and supplements under control, I’m sure that will help greatly as time goes on. I also take no pain medications. Any recovery advice for this area would be greatly appreciated.

    • Just wanted to add something incase this gets looked at. I have tried some gentle foam rolling, massage and some of the typical pt knee to chest stretches and they all seem to just piss my low back off. It seems right now the apropriate response is just continue with my workouts and stop trying to mess with the adaptation process in the area. Let me know if I’m wrong.

  50. Hey. Love the Crossfit Discussion point. Top.

    I didn’t hit a PR this week, that is scheduled for Dec 19th at my work Power Comp.

    I did, however, hit a protein PR this week. Since reading your post on Protein i have started recording my protein and was alarmed to see that it was shit. For the past 8 days or so i have hit over 250g protein a day. Training has changed for the better and I’m on target to be a beast soon enough.

    big up.

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