What the hell, I'll play along....

[Andy Baker (KSC)]

Damn, nice fucking jerk. That does seem a little out of balance. I've got a strict press of 235 and have jerked 275 behind my neck. I haven't done a ME jerk in the front in many years so not sure what I could do, but probably not 300.

Not sure what % of 1RM you use for your bench speed work but I only use 40-50% for benches. If you are doing more than that, it may not have the same effect on your presses. Let me know how it works for you.

[TravisRussellDC]

Well, my 1 RM bench is somewhere in the low to mid 300's. Probably around 330 or so right now. I can move 225 fast any day of the week. I was sticking around 185 for speed work but I found that I was pressing the weight up fast enough to cause my upper back to lose contact with the bench at the top of the press. So, I've been more prone to stay at 225 for my speed days and throw in some plyometric push ups if I feel like I need some more explosion.

[TravisRussellDC]

10/4/08 - Event Day

2" axle - Clean and push press 200x2, 220x1, 240x1
- Power Jerk 270x1, 280x1
I had planned on jerking the 280 for at least a double, maybe 3 or 4. But todday was the first time I jerked in the new weightlifting shoes and I got a little off balance with the 280. So I stopped with the single. Although I do have to say that the rack and initial drive felt so strong and stable that I definitely had it in the tank to hit more reps. But, safety first.

Yoke Walk - 560 for 60 feet, 640 for 60 feet, 740 for 50 feet.
Haven't done a heavy yoke in many months. I don't like heavy yoke. Even though I'm pretty good at it, it is one of my least favorite events because of the way my mid back tightens up the next day.

Tire Flip - 600 lb tire for about 4-5 warmup flips, 1000 lb tire x 2 flips

Stone Loading - 240x1, 265x1, 300x1
The stones felt much better off the floor than previous attempts after tweaking my low back in May. I think that next session I should be able to get back to the 330 and I hope to be back to the 360 by November/December.

[TravisRussellDC]

10/5/08

Press (speed): 95x5, 135 for 6 sets of 3

Bench Press: 135x5, 225x5, 245x3, 275x2, 295x5

Pull ups: BW x 5, Weighted Pull ups: 35 for 3 sets of 5

Kept it kind of quick today. I think I could have used a day of rest in between the events and this workout. But hey, sometimes you just do what you can.

[TravisRussellDC]

10/9/08

Squats: 135x5, 225x5, 315x2, 365x2, 405x5
First time I've hit 405 since tweaking my back in May. Felt really good and much more stable. By the way, I love weightlifting shoes and I don't know why I waited so long to get a pair.

Stiff Legs: 315x5, 365x5, 365x5, 365x5

Glute/Ham/Gastroc: 3x5

Ab Wheel: 2x10

[TravisRussellDC]

10/11/08

Events day

12" Log Press: 200x1
I hate the log, with a passion. I was actually going to use the log as a warmup for the 240 fixed axle which is why I stopped at 200. But, my elbow was bothering me while turning the 2" axle, so I left it alone.

Farmers' Carry: 260 lbs in each hand, 150 feet with 2 turns.
We were messing around with the camera so I had a buddy of mine shoot it for me. Notice the Symphony X playing in the background.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9i4Vk-ZJ4os

Sled Drag: 500 pound sled, 50 feet on rubber mats.
The rubber mats make this a beast to do. Plus the fact that I only weigh about 230-235 means that I don't have the mass to work in my favor. Great leg work, especially 2 days after squatting. And, I've got Dream Theater covering Iron Maiden in the cd player. \m/ oo \m/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfN7DkXV104

Keg/Sandbag Load: 2-200 lb kegs, 150 lb sandbag, 2-250 lb kegs to 54"
This is the best my low back has felt pulling anything off the floor since May. I'm still a little off my top speed, but at least I was more comfortable. More Dream Theater playing Iron Maiden.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTkE8NGMMtw

[TravisRussellDC]

10/12/08

Speed Bench Press: 135x5, 185x5, 225 for 6 sets of 3

Press: 95x5, 135x5, 160x2, 170x2, 180x5, 180x4 plus 1 push press
Press is the most frustrating exercise for me right now. I really want to be able to press body weight and I'm too far away from it for my satisfaction.

Pull ups: body weight x 5, 10, 10
My shoulder was a little sticky today and my left elbow is still bothering me so I took it easy on the pull ups today.

Cable Rows with rope handle: 135x10, 135x10
These are my guilty pleasure. I've never liked barbell rows, despise T-Bar Rows, and my gym only has 120 pound dumbbells which isn't quite heavy enough for me.

[TravisRussellDC]

10/14/08

Speed Squats: 135x5, 225x5, 275x5, 275x3x3
I usually keep my rep/sets at 6 sets of 3 for speed work. Apparently I wasn't paying attention on my first set because I didn't realize I did 5 reps until I stepped out of the rack. On the bright side, this was the fastest I have ever moved 275, felt like 135. Apparently fixing my hip mechanics and using the foam roller on my TFLs in conjunction with getting adjusted pretty regularly has helped my squat tremendously.

Dead lifts: 235x5, 325x5, 415x1, 465x5
I took a full pause between each rep with the 465, even standing up between reps and resetting. I could tell my hips were coming up a little too high on the last couple of reps. But this is the best my back has felt in months. It keeps getting better and better. I should be back to repping in the 500s by December.

Ab Wheel: 1x10 kneeling, 1x5 standing, 1x3 standing, 1x6 kneeling
My goal is to be able to perform reps with the ab wheel standing. I'm not able to go all the way down just yet. I set myself in the monolift so that the wheel would hit the frame so I can progressively increase the ROM until I'm doing them free standing.

Russian Twists: 25 pounds 2x5 each side
These suck. I haven't don't them in so long, I forgot how hard they were.

[TravisRussellDC]

10/17/08

Bench Press: 135x10, 135x10, 185x5, 225x5, 265x2, 225x10
Bench did not feel good today. My left elbow was bothering me and I think it's time to start backing down a little.

Pull ups: body weight 3x5

Cable Rows: 135x10, 135x10 with a rope

Went home and started stripping out the left tricep and bicep along with some forearm fascial work. You should feel the knots in my left tricep.

[TravisRussellDC]

10/18/08

Events Day

Axle Press: 130x5, 180x2, 200x1 Push Press, 220x1 Push Press, 240x1 Push Press

My left elbow started bothering me again so I quit early.

Tire Flip - 1 run of 60 feet
Took it nice and easy since I think this week is going to be a deloading week.

Medicine Ball Toss: Tossed a 35 lb medicine ball over the top of the yoke 10 times.
One of the guys at the warehouse brought this in to do some conditioning type work. Whatever. It's not what I was there to do today.

Arm over arm pull/Prowlder push: I don't even know what kind of weights we used for this. I think the sled was 35 lbs plus 3 45s pulled 50 feet with a rope while standing. Immediately onto the Prowler with 4 plates on it. Whatever that translates to. Again, decent for conditioning, but not what I was in the mood for today.

Stone loading: 245x1, 265x1, 300x1, 330x1
Nice easy singles. Got back to loading the 330. Felt good off the floor. I'll try the 345 next time and my goal was to be back to the 365 by December. Then I'll start working on full runs again.