Past week.

I suppose I should take the time to log what I've been doing... Haven't really gotten around to it because I've been so busy working on the gym at UrbanEvolution! Pretty soon, this blog will be defunct (the actual blogger content.. will probably maintain in some semblance on PKTO and PKVA, but not regularly). Eventually, the UrbanEvo website will house an education-based blog for Parkour and strength training written by yours truly. Also, expect some big things in the future, for anyone who cares.

Last Friday: Loaded up the barbell at UrbanEvo with all the weight we had at the time (385lbs) and DL'd it with ease.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/video/video.php?v=1339436496955&ref=mf

Monday: I loaded the bar with 345 and squatted singles. No video, but I did take a photo of the bar:
http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs585.snc3/30854_743437209437_72600567_43272530_6915313_n.jpg

Then 90lb sled sprints uphill in our parking lot:
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs525.ash1/30854_743437409037_72600567_43272533_2618193_n.jpg

Today: 435lb DL attempt (couldn't even get it off the ground). Got 415 without a problem, though. Then floor press, 185 for a triple. Then clean and jerks with 95lbs for metcons.

"Dynamic Effort" Box Squat/Box Jump and Some Other Crap

Box Squat / Box Jump Superset:
1x8 135lbs / 1x3 36" Jumps
1x5 225lbs / 1x3 36" Jumps
3x3 315lbs / 1x3 36" Jumps

DB Overhead Press:
1x8 2x50lbs
3x6 2x60lbs

DB Bent-over Row:
1x8 2x60lbs
3x5 2x70lbs

Strict Curls:
3x8 60lbs
---

Felt really good and strong today. I've started to do box squats just slightly above parallel because I feel that more accurately simulates how low you go for a jump than an actual squat, so when we're doing dynamic work like this, there's no reason to go deep. A super deep box squat doesn't seem that different from a regualr free squat, anyhow. All the same, I'm pretty happy that 315lbs on box squat feels so light. I can triple 315 on free squat fairly easy now, and I think since I'm not on an actual program right now (seems more appropriate for dieting/maintenance during the "on" season to not worry about progressing), I'm just gong to try to increase reps on 315 until a set of 5 feels as easy as a set of 8 on 225.

Was good to get some shoulder work in, since it's been neglected lately. And first time I've pushed the weight on those lifts, too.

Deadlift/Bench

Deadlift w/ Chains:
1x8 135lbs
1x5 225lbs
1x5 275lbs
1x3 315lbs
5x1 365lbs

Bench Press:
1x8 empty bar
1x5 135lbs
1x5 185lbs
1x1 225lbs

DB Bench:
2x8 2x60lbs

Power Pull/Handstand Superset:
3x8 pulls/1 handstand hold for max time
---

So, one set of chains is definitely not enough when it comes to deadlifting. Left my belt at home today, so did it completely raw, and well.. 385 felt easy, nevermind that there was an extra 40lbs at the top. It should help my lock-out, though, so I'm going to keep this in for a little bit.

"Power pulls" are really just plyometric pull-ups. No clap, nothing fancy, just pull, hands come off, then catch and return to deadhang. Was fun.

Banded Box Squats!

For the record, last Wednesday, I did a failed 435 DL attempt, a failed (and nearly locked out) 425 attempt, and on Friday, I did chained bench. Nothing major.

Today, I got a handful of exercises in.. in particular, what felt to me like a dynamic effort day (surprisingly):

Banded Box Squats:
1x5 135lbs + Light Bands
1x5 225lbs + Light Bands
3x5 275lbs + Light Bands

Then I took one of my connector chains, hooked it up to the Smith machine, hung a Double-D grip from it, and did foot-elevated inverted rows close-grip (stolen from DeFranco's site), then proceeded to figure out that this is a MUCH easier (technically speaking) and MUCH more difficult (muscularly speaking) way to perform unilateral gliders.

Squat/Pull

Squat:
1x8 empty bar
1x5 135lbs
1x5 185lbs
1x3 225lbs
1x3 275lbs
1x1 315lbs
1xFail 365lbs
1x1 355lbs

Ice Cream Makers:
3x10
---

Thought I had 365, and I didn't, but I managed to get 355 out. I'm off of 5/3/1 for a little bit while I retest and get some things in order.

Deadlift/Bench DELOAD

Deadlift:
1x10 135lbs
1x5 185lbs
3x5 225lbs

Bench:
1x8 empty bar
1x5 95lbs
3x5 135lbs

DB Incline:
2x10 2x35lbs

Box Jumps:
5x3 36 inches

Squat/Pull DELOAD

Squat:
1x8 empty bar
1x8 95lbs
1x5 135lbs
2x5 185lbs

Ice Cream Makers:
2x8 BW

Handstand Push-ups/Front Raise Iso Holds Superset:
2x6 BW / 2x20 sec 2x20lbs
---

Light, short, to the point.

Thu/Fri

Thursday, April 8, 2010
Power/Speed/Agility

due to my work schedule, I've had to adjust my training schedule.. so Wednesday is now a "work my ass off" day, with no work-out at all (not even time for light cardio!).. which is fine, sicne I think I need a day of full-on rest anyhow.. Thursday is now my speed day AND another BJJ night.. So.. we'll see how this goes.

A whole new set of drills today. Suicides with vaults, rolling with a quick change of direction.. Those two are the major ones that're new. More "Parkour-specific" agility drills floating around in my mind, but the suicides are probably the most useful (and the least trained). The challenge is in where you place the vault. I started it at the end of the suicide, so you're at a full sprint already (or close to one, anyhow)... And slowly moved it closer and closer to the turn of the suicide until I had to vault right out of it.

Eventually, I'mg oing to be throwing in the ladder drill into the suicide. So it'll be a suicide, ladder into a vault.. No clue if it'll be helpful, but I think any time you're training moving into vaults from something else, it gives you an advantage that most traceurs don't have... Though it's not liek we're competing, but a lot of people don't train moving from one thing to another quickly in an intelligent manner.. 'Flow' training is an entirely different beast than agility/quickness.

Friday, April 9, 2010
Deadlift/Bench

Deadlift:
1x8 135lbs
1x5 225lbs
1x5 280lbs
1x3 320lbs
1x2 355lbs

Bench:
1x8 empty bar
1x8 95lbs
1x5 135lbs
1x5 160lbs
1x3 180lbs
1x3 200lbs

DB Incline:
1x8 2x55lbs
1x5 2x55lbs

Single-Arm Row:
2x6 80lbs, each arm

Isolateral Low Row:
2x8 2x70lbs

Strict curls:
3x8 60lbs

Abs (Windshield Wipers):
2x20 BW
---

Forearms, grip, everything dead.. DL feels really weak lately. Could be that this is the lowest I've been in weight.. pretty much ever. Hovering in the 148-150 range. I feel good at this weight, though. I mean, aesthetically. Abs pop a little more. I'm around 9% BF on every scale I've used so far. Going to see if I can't be around 6-8% when I go back to the Bahamas at the end of May.

Fri/Mon

Friday, April 2, 2010
Deadlift/Bench

Deadlift:
1x8 135lbs
1x5 225lbs
1x3 260lbs
1x3 300lbs
1x3 340lbs

Bench:
1x8 empty bar
1x5 95lbs
1x3 135lbs
1x3 150lbs
1x3 170lbs
1x5 190lbs

DB Incline:
1x12, 8 2x50lbs

Tucked Front Lever Pull-ups:
2x10
1x6

Knee Step-out Jumps:
3x2 max distance, each leg
(max recorded: 8'8")

Standing Ab-Wheel Roll-outs:
1x5
---

Thursday was my power/speed/agility day. Recorded the plyo series. will put it up soon. DL was weak today.. I had the strength go for five at the end, but not the physical energy (no food). Bench was good, though. Obviously takes less energy.

Light day today.. "Light" used.. well.. lightly. All my vanity work was done on Wednesday when I was "working out" with Super-Hot-Coworker.

Standing ab-wheel roll-outs were to a wall. Almost at full extension, but not there yet. I seem to be using my lats and hip flexors to come back more than my abs.. But I think the standing ab wheel roll-out only really changes the abs AT full extension (that super plank position).. Other than that, it really just seems like a parlour trick.. The goal is to be able to do it, not to be able to do it as an effective ab exercise. If that were the case,t he band-resisted kneeling roll-outs are best.

Monday, April 5, 2010
Squat/Ice Cream Maker

Squat:
1x8 135lbs
1x5 225lbs
1x5 240lbs
1x3 270lbs
1x5 305lbs

Ice Cream Makers:
3x8 BW

Lat Pull-down:
1x8 8-stack
2x6 10-stack

Handstand Push-up/Front Raise Iso Superset:
1x10 BW / 1x10 seconds 2x20lbs
1x8 BW / 1x10 seconds 2x20lbs
---

Cutting the volume down by quite a bit, but increasing the intensity in a way. Ice Cream Makers are easier than anticipated, although I'm not perfectly straight. All the same, it just took somet ime getting comfortable with the technique. Hopefully, the front lever comes sooner than anticipated.

A new 5RM PR for squat (finally going over on the 5/3/1 prescription for thsi lift!). 305 for 5. Feel strong today. I think it's partly cause the warm-up was significantly less volume.

Squat/Pull

Squat:
1x8 empty bar
1x5 135lbs
1x3 185lbs
1x3 225lbs
1x3 255lbs
1x3 290lbs

Single-Leg Front Lever/Pull-up/Lat Pulldown Tripleset:
(aka.. Andy is friggin out of his mind)
4x Hold for max time/8 pull-ups/8 pull-downs at 8stack

Ice Cream Scoopers:
2x3

Handstand Push-up / DB Front Raise Iso Hold Superset:
1x10 / 30sec 2x15 hold
1x8 / 20 sec 2x15 hold
1x5 / 10 sec 2x15 hold
1x6 / probably like.. two seconds.. 2x15 hold

BB Shrugs:
3x8 315lbs
---

I AM DYING. First of all, the Spike I took this morning has wreaked absolute havoc in my heart. It is in grievous amounts of pain. I needed to take a fifteen minute break after squatting before I felt okay to keep training.

Since I've decided getting a front lever is on my list of things to do (a clean one, folks), I'm incorporating it more and more into my training.. even if my rhomboids are dying. The ice cream scoopers, though (this is an exercise like a knee-to-elbow, except you keep yourself straight the entire time and bring yourself into a front lever, then drop back down), I could only perform three before falling to the ground. Not fun. But impressive (to me, anyhow) that I could do it at all.

So far, I haven't had a single day where I can go above the prescribed reps in 5/3/1 for squat. I just don't have the energy.. and training at 8AM today because of how my schedule is right now.. doesn't help at all. My squat is probably the lift suffering the most from the deficit. It may also be the lift that I calculated closest to my true 1RM.. since I'm pretty sure (though have never attempted) I could do at least 425 on DL and 240 on bench.

I also haven't put any unilateral work in on squat day in forever.. This is partly due to forgetfulness. the other part is just not having the energy beyond squats. I imagine I should be fine, though.

All the same, today wiped me out. I can't wait for my midday nap, assuming I can squeeze it in today (super packed Monday). Boo mornings. BOO!

Wed/Fri

Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Power/Speed/Agility

This was supposed to be the day that I recorded the first part of my plyometric series for traceurs. I left my camera at home, and the group room that I do these drills in was being painted anyhow.

However, I did solidify my approach to how I will be filming this thing. The first video will be outlined as such:

Introduction
- Explain plyometrics briefly and its application to Parkour.
- Explain deceleration and why it is important to begin drilling these skills first.

Drills
Lateral Bounds w/ Pause
Basic Landing
Forward Bound to Elevation w/ Pause
Lateral Landing
Single Leg Depth Drop
Single Leg Lateral Depth Drop/Jump
Multiple Forward Bound w/ Paused Landing
Backpedal Hops

That should round it out pretty well before we go into some basic agility stuff from these drills.

Friday, March 26, 2010
Deadlift/Bench

Deadlift:
1x8 135lbs
1x3 225lbs
1x5 245lbs
1x5 280lbs
1x7 320lbs

Bench:
1x8 empty bar
1x5 95lbs
1x5 135lbs
1x5 155lbs
1x8 175lbs

Accessories
Rear-Leg Elevated Power Cleans:
3x3 60lbs, each leg

Incline DB:
2x10 2x45lbs

Tucked Front Lever Pull-ups:
2x10
1x4

Isolateral Low Row:
2x5 2x70lbs

Strict Curl:
3x8 60lbs

Wrist Isometrics:
3x25 secs 40lbs
---

I feel pretty strong today. Hit 320 for seven on DL, 175 for 8 on bench.. I think both of those are rep PRs. Oddly enough, this is the lowest in weight I've been in months and I did this work-out fasted (with 350mg of caffeine in my system, but still).. I am, however, beat the crap up. Lots of ab work in BJJ last night.

Two new exercises came about.. The first is a Bulgarian Split-squat style power clean. It's really just powering through a deadlift on one leg, but it's an incredible accessory to developing power off the floor in a DL.. theoretically, anyhow. we'll see how it goes. If the weight weren't so light, I'd just do a speed pull, but the clean seems to work out best the way I'm doing it. The other exercise is just a tucked front lever pull-up. super short range of motion, so I'm not sure how beneficial it is. each set, I tried to tuck my legs less and less, but it obviously made it more difficult to maintain good form. All the same, it all worked out pretty well.

Wed/Fri

Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Power/Speed/Agility

Didn't do a whole lot different this day. Box jumps, broad jumps, T-drill, some deceleration stuff, some ladder stuff. Also attempted some quadrupedal jumps with changes in direction. It's a little bizarre, but seems actually at least a little useful.

Friday, March 19, 2010
Deadlift/Bench DELOAD

Deadlift:
1x8 135
1x5 140
1x5 185
1x5 225

Bench:
1x12 45 (empty bar)
1x5 95
1x5 115
1x5 135

Crossover Step-up:
2x10 2x15lbs

DB Bench:
3x8 2x40lbs

Chest-Supported Row:
3x8 45lbs

Malek Row/Cable RDF Superset:
3x8 70lbs/3x8 30lbs

Weighted Abs:
3x10 6-stack wood chops, each side
3x8 6-stack Pallof Press
---

Yeah, deloading is boring. But severely needed. Interestingly enough, I've maintained my weight the entire week. It was not intentional. I suppose I just ended up refeeding as my body needed to recover. I'll try to hit it again full force with this new phase.

Three Days

Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Power/Speed/Agility

I don't quite remember what I did this day.. Box jumps, broad jumps (max at 8'3"), T-drill, some ladder stuff. And more deceleration work. Blogger is now blocked at work, so I have to log here,then copy-paste when I get home to my actual blog. Kinda sucks. Hence why I haven't been recording. I believe I also did some suicides.

Friday, March 12th, 2010
Deadlift/Bench

Deadlift:
1x8 135lbs
1x5 185lbs
1x5 225lbs
1x5 260lbs
1x3 295lbs
1x1 330lbs

Bench:
1x8 45lbs (empty bar)
1x5 95lbs
1x5 135lbs
1x5 150lbs
1x3 170lbs
1x3 190lbs

Knee Step-Ups
2x6 45lbs, each leg

DB Bench
2x20 2x45lbs

The Guns:
2x6 80lbs Strict Curl
2x6 40lbs Explosive Strict Curl
2x6 70lbs Strict Curl
---

That's all I can rememebr for Friday, but I don't think it's all I did. Higher rep DLs suck. I hate them. Bench is getting strong, though.

Monday, March 15, 2010
Squat/Pull-up DELOAD

Squat:
1x8 45lbs
1x5 95lbs
1x5 135lbs
2x5 155lbs

Bulgarian Split-Squat Jumps:
2x5 BW, each leg

Hyperextension:
3x10 30lbs barbell behind back

Pull-ups:
3x6 BW

Lat-Pulldown:
3x8 4-stack

Handstand Push-up/Front Raise Superset:
2x5 BW / 2x8 10lbs, each arm

Abs Routine
---

Deloading is boring. Whole work-out took like.. 35 minutes. I spent another twenty on stretching. At least there's BJJ today. And I know my body desperately needs a deload, so I'm not going to cheat myself out of some rest.

Squat/Pull-up

Squat:
1x5 135lbs
1x5 185lbs
1x5 230lbs
1x3 265lbs
1x3 295lbs

Box Jumps:
3x3 42"

Miltary Press:
2x8 155lbs

Pull-ups:
3x8 BW

Supinated Lat Pull-down:
3x8 8-stack

Handstand Push-up/Front Raise Superset:
1x10, 1x8 BW / 2x8 15lbs, each arm

DB Shrugs:
2x10 2x90lbs

Selectorized Lat Raise:
3x6 70lbs

Abs:
3x10 25lbs behind-head sit-ups
---

Overhead pressing = Big nono. Hurt my shoulder again. Gotta remind myself that I can't do this movement, especially not heavy. Also made the mistake of taking a Monster, then a Spike an hour later. This is the second time I've done this. This is the second time I've puked from it.

That all said, today was the first "money day" of the 5/3/1 protocol. The "1RM" set I did for a triple, so that was nice. Not sure if I could've done it beltless, but I'm relatively certain I could. Actually, I've done 315 for a triple beltless before.. though that kinda hurt.

Weight loss is chugging along.
---

I should add that I got bored at work and got in a second work-out with our resident bodybuilder Malek. Light work-out, but it toasted me. We did the following (a back work-out):

T-bar Close-Grip Row:
5x8 100lbs

Free-Motion Lat Row:
1x8 120lbs
3x6 140lbs

Supinated Close-Grip Lat Pull-down:
3x6 12-stack

Wide-Grip Pronated Lat Pull-down:
2x8 10-stack

And I suppose I should add that tonight was also a BJJ night. Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and occasionally Saturdays.

Deadlift/Bench

Deadlift:
2x5 135lbs
1x3 225lbs
1x3 255lbs
1x3 290lbs
1x3 330lbs (this was rough)

Bench:
1x8 45lbs (empty bar)
2x5 95lbs
1x3 140lbs
1x3 160lbs
1x4 180lbs

Single Leg Hip Extension/Broad Jump Superset:
3x12, each leg / 3x6 max distance (not measured)

Plyo Push-up / Bent-over Cable Chest Fly Superset:
3x5 24" box / 3x8 5-stack for each arm

Laché to Muscle-Up
8 attempts, 3 successes

Malek Row / Cable Rear Delt Fly Superset:
3x12 90lbs / 3x10 15lbs each arm

THE GUN SHOW:
2x12 50lbs Strict Curl
Tricep Stretch
2x8 45lbs Preacher curls
Tricep Stretch
2xF 20lbs DB curls
---

Yeah, "GUN SHOW" was stolen from Jordan. I quite like it better than "vanity lifts." The laché to muscle-up set-up was fun and through some "Parkour-related" stuff in. Always nice. teaches me that I need to learn how to deal with momentum better, though its useful application is.. limited.

DLing 330 for a triple was difficult. I did it, but I had to set the bar down and stand up each time just to relieve the tension in my back. Probably some residual soreness from BJJ last night, nothing more than that. Bench was cake, though I'm unsure why 180 for 3 or 4 is so much of a struggle when I should still be able to do 185 for five. It might be because the other work sets are so close to the top weight..? Dunno.

I think this accessory work is far superior to most of what I've done before. Bodyweight stuff to save my knees a little, but very dynamic work. And since the motor units are fired up after the heavy lifts, the power's all there.

I've realized that Friday is my highest volume day, and Monday doesn't even come close.. but that's probably how I'll keep it.

Power/Speed/Agility

Today was very similar to last week, except I started playing around with some more drills. My box jumps feel sloppy, but it may be because I wasn't warmed up enough at all. Kong drills again. Then broad jumps (didn't pay attention to the actual measurements, but the distance for a precision jump is 9'4" max). Remember people: a broad jump is measured toe to heel. a precision is measured toe to toe.

For the speed and agility drills, I did the T-drill again and some forward and lateral ladder drills. Then I began to work on deceleration drills. I'm starting to think that this is where we should be introducing plyometrics to beginners because it teaches us how to absorb impact better (as well as use the stretch-shortening cycle more effectively to our advantage). In my drilling, I noticed that my feet arches and ankles actualyl aren't as accustomed to impact-absorption as once thought. all the more reason to continue with this type of training.

I also performed many lateral jumps (to work deceleration at different angles), as well as quick changes of direction from landing. Allt his to further flesh out how I would approach teaching deceleration to newcomers. After a few weeks of this, I will probably do a short video series on plyometric training for Parkour, assuming this really hones in what I'm going for. Right now, I'm very happy with what I'm doing, but I'm also pretty bad at it. I'm slow, clumsy, and can't get my foot work right. If this training makes me better at it (which it should), then its application outside will be even better. As time progresses, I'll be incorporating more and more "Parkour-type movements" into these SAQ drills.

Squat/Pull-up

Squat:
1x8 empty bar
1x8 135lbs
1x8 185lbs
1x3 215lbs
1x3 250lbs
1x3 280lbs

Pull-ups:
3x8 BW

BSS Jumps:
2x5 2x10lbs each leg

Lat Pull-down:
1x10 8 stack
1x8 10 stack
1x6 12 stack

Pull-throughs:
3x8 6.5 stack

Military Press:
2x8 135lbs

Front Raises/Handstand Hold Superset:
2x8 15lbs, each arm/5 push-ups+30 sec hold
---

Hurt my shoulder with the military press. Owie. Gonna have to rest from overhead movements for a bit, I think.

true 1RM for squat si 345lbs. Minus 10% is 310 as the working max.

Deadlift/Bench

Deadlifts:
1x8 135lbs
1x8 185lbs
1x5 235lbs
1x5 270lbs
1x5 310lbs

Bench Press:
1x8 45lbs
1x8 95lbs
1x5 130lbs
1x5 150lbs
1x5 170lbs

Farmer's Walk:
1x40ft 2x105lbs DBs

DB Bench Press:
3x8 2x55lbs

Chest-Supported Row:
3x8 70lbs

Malek Row/Dual Cable Rear Delt Fly Superset:
3x10, 8 90lbs/15lbs each cable

Vanity Lifts:
3x8 60lbs Strict curl
3x6 45lbs Seated curl
2x8 15lbs Hammer curls, each side

Abs (2 sets):
6 Ab-wheel roll-outs with Orange band resistance
30 sec Pallof Press isometric hold with orange band, each side
---

Forearms/grip killing me. That's what I get for putting all the heavy pulls in one day. Good thing, though. Been awhile since I've done any grip work,a nd here I don't even need to do dedicated grip training.

Aside from that... Today was the first of the "official" 5/3/1 set-up.. Next week will start Squats on the second week of the 5/3/1 cycle. I just wanted to play with the chains this week, so I did 5/3/1 under that. Deadlifting 310 five times after those other sets was a bit tough, but doable.

I'm doing the weight just as Wendler prescribed.. I took my max for DL and bench (405 and 225 respectively) and subtracted it by 10%. That left me with 365 for DL and 200 even for bench. Those are my working maxes at this point in time. So there will be slow sloooow progress, but hey, I'm just looking to maintain, after all, right?

I'm back down to 157... Hopefully, it keeps up. Slow and steady.

Power/Speed/Agility

So today was my first power/speed/agility day. I started it off with a few box jumps.. 30 inches, 36 inches, then 42 inches. Then I set them up to do a series of depth jumps. Then I decided to do kongs for distance with the 36 inches. Best was a 7 foot exit distance with a two-step entrance.

So after that, I moved into the group room to set up the speed/agility portion of the day. I set up short hurdles to do some ladder-style drills and lateral hops.. and I set up some cones for a T-drill. I'd do the ladder drill, T-drill, then lateral hops.. twice each.. before reversing the hurdles to do everything leading with the other side instead.

THIS KILLED MY CARDIO. Also realized that I'm slow and clumsy as fuck. However, I did get better as I kept doing the drills.

That's all for today. Nothing major.

The New Program

So it's been awhile since I've posted up much of anything. I was on DeFranco's Built Like A Badass program for awhile, and that was part of it. Another part is that afterward, I started to drift aimlessly. My best lifts went up to 345 squat, 225 bench, and 405 deadlift. At this point, I have absolutely no interest in getting stronger. I'll go for strength again, but right now, athleticism and strength maintenance are what I'm after... That means getting better at Parkour (or at least the components that make a good traceur), and getting my conditioning level back to something workable. I'll also be starting Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu shortly, and this new program will have to be modified to accomodate for that.

The program will be set up to include two full body strength days a week (on Mondays and Fridays) with the main lifts following Jim Wendler's 5/3/1 loading protocol. Steady-state cardio will be included 5-6 days a week to help drop weight (as I've returned to 160, even though it's a great deal more muscle these days than beforehand). Wednesdays will consist of power, speed, and agility drills formatted in a manner to first develop maximal power and speed, work agility, then condition like crazy. Once BJJ starts, I'll figure a way to factor that in. Accessory lifts on the strength days will actually be rotating so as to include bodyweight exercises, loaded, short plyometrics, isometric holds, etc. For instance, today looked like this:

Box Jump
6x3 42"

Squat
8x45lbs
8x85lbs at top (referring to added chain weight)
5x185lbs at top
5x225lbs at top
5x265lbs at top

Bulgarian Split-Squat Jumps
3x5, each leg

Pull-ups
1x12
2x6

Lat Pull-down
6 x "10" on the weight stack
8 x "8" on the weight stack
10 x "6" on the weight stack

Military Press
8x45lbs
8x95lbs
8x135lbs
2x6 135lbs

Plate Press / Handstand Hold Superset
3x8 / 3x30 secs

Lateral Raise / Handstand Hold Superset
2x8 15lbs / 2x15 secs
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Now, I know this sounds like a huge amount of volume, but what I'm realizing is that it's impossible to make decent progress without hitting the muscle groups multiple times.. Heavy first, then at lighter weights and higher reps. Something like Rippetoe's Starting Strength or Wendler's actual program... just wouldn't be very effective for me at this point in time. It's almost too simplistic. I can't work my shoulders with one lift and be done with it. That's pretty much asking for a rotator cuff tear at some point. So the shoulders get hit with a few different exercises.. But overall.. Monday is set up for a push with the legs, and the vertical movements for the upper body.. While Friday will consist of the pulls for the legs/lower back.. and the horizontal movements for the upper body.

Because of the high variability of this program, I'll be recording pretty much everything every time other than cardio days. So everyone gets to see me posting regularly again. My current goal is to just drop down to 145lbs, maintain my strength levels (for the most part), and hopefully increase my power, speed, etc. I'll probably rotate accessory exercises every two weeks.. though some exercises may stay longer (especially if they're fun), and some may only be there for one week.