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Thread: A Middle Aged Adolescent (who cannot possibly be the only one)

  1. #81
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    • starting strength seminar april 2024
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    The following is being forwarded to my primary care physician, which probably means I’m out of luck if I have a sore throat or ingrown toenail any time in the next two years.

    Dear Dr. [Jones]:

    Per the Cleveland Clinic’s (and nominally your) e-mailed request for feedback on our recent appointments, I have some reflections on two particular exchanges that passed between us.
    We are new to the Cleveland area, and the appointments on October 26 and November 3, for me and my 13 year old daughter, respectively, were preliminary physical exams to establish us as patients in the Cleveland Clinic system.

    During my appointment, I mentioned that I’m a barbell strength athlete and that part of my diet was taking in 200 grams or more of protein per day.
    That will damage my kidneys, you informed me.
    The opposite is true, I replied. I didn’t have proof with me, but I said I belong to an online community in which experts have shown that this is not the case.

    At my daughter’s appointment, I sat in to provide the background information necessary for creating her computer profile. After we had established that she was an athlete, a rower and an equestrienne, one of your screenings was for scoliosis. As you examined her back, I pointed out that she was capable of deadlifting more than 200 pounds.
    ‘Yes, but is deadlifting 200 pounds really necessary for a 13 year old?’ you asked.

    “. . . we find no significant evidence for a detrimental effect of high protein intakes on kidney function in healthy persons after centuries of a high protein Western diet.”
    So say William F Martin, Lawrence Armstrong, and Nancy Rodriguez, writing in NUTRITION AND METABOLISM in 2005. The quote comes from the paragraph below:
    Recent trends in weight loss diets have led to a substantial increase in protein intake by individuals. As a result, the safety of habitually consuming dietary protein in excess of recommended intakes has been questioned. In particular, there is concern that high protein intake may promote renal damage by chronically increasing glomerular pressure and hyperfiltration. There is, however, a serious question as to whether there is significant evidence to support this relationship in healthy individuals. In fact, some studies suggest that hyperfiltration, the purported mechanism for renal damage, is a normal adaptative mechanism that occurs in response to several physiological conditions. This paper reviews the available evidence that increased dietary protein intake is a health concern in terms of the potential to initiate or promote renal disease. While protein restriction may be appropriate for treatment of existing kidney disease, we find no significant evidence for a detrimental effect of high protein intakes on kidney function in healthy persons after centuries of a high protein Western diet.
    from: Dietary protein intake and renal function

    I mentioned my being part of an online community of strength enthusiasts. Prominent in the STARTING STRENGTH and BARBELL MEDICINE fold is Dr. Austin Baraki, a physician specializing in Internal Medicine at the UT Health Science Center in San Antonio, Texas. He received his doctorate in Medicine from Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, Virginia. A former collegiate swimmer, he is now a successful powerlifter and strength coach. He writes:
    “The idea that a high dietary protein intake causes kidney damage in previously healthy human kidneys is completely false and has no scientific support whatsoever. There is no evidence that any level of dietary protein intake causes injury to non-diseased human kidneys, and indeed high protein diets often improve metabolic parameters and risk factors for chronic diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure (70-73). When looking at patients with pre-existing kidney disease, some of the literature suggests a very small beneficial effect of limiting dietary protein (~0.58 g/kg/day) on slowing progression of disease; however, other studies have shown no significant difference in disease progression, leaving no conclusive answer in the literature (47). Unfortunately, very few of these studies were randomized controlled trials, they were often too short in duration, and typically use serum creatinine measurements as indicators of disease progression (a parameter that, itself, can be affected by dietary intake and muscle mass). However, studies of very-low protein diets (<0.28 g/kg/day) have actually shown increased risks of death in these patients, possibly due to deterioration in nutritional status and progression to sarcopenia (74). In fact, there is evidence that dialysis patients require intakes as high as 1.4 g/kg/d just to maintain nitrogen balance on non-dialysis days (73).from GainzZz™ in Clinical Practice Part IV | Barbell Medicine

    To the question, ‘Is deadlifting 200 pounds really necessary for a 13 year old?’ the answer is, ‘Absolutely.’
    • Strength training is recommended for children as young as six by major professional organizations.
    • Weight and strength training has been shown to be much safer than running, jumping, or participating in most sports.

    The benefits of strength training on young children are well documented. Appropriately prescribed and competently supervised youth resistance training programs offer significant health and fitness benefits to boys and girls:
    • Enhancing overall muscular strength and local muscular endurance
    • Strengthens muscles, ligaments, tendons
    • Improves bone mineral density
    • Improves body composition
    • Positively influences aerobic fitness
    • Improves blood lipids
    • Improves motor performance skills (e.g., jumping and sprinting)

    The above is from a broad summary written by Matt Wattles for EliteFTS.com.
    From: Strength Training for Young Athletes — Benefits, Appropriate Starting Age, and Lifting Heavy Weight / Elite FTS

    That can’t represent a radical breakthrough in medical science. If you don’t have time for the article, then at least skim Wattles’ sources, which include The American Academy of Pediatrics, THE JOURNAL OF STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING RESEARCH, JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF ORTHOPEDIC SURGERY, and PEDIATRIC EXERCISE SCIENCE.

    The deadlift is a vital component of sport conditioning. It trains the ability to maintain a rigid lumbar spine under load, using all the muscles of the trunk: abs, obliques, intercostals, and all of the many posterior muscles of the upper and lower back. This rigid trunk is a conduit for the forces generated by the quadriceps, hips, and hamstrings, and is vital for both performance and safety.
    (paraphrased from Rippetoe, Mark; STARTING STRENGTH The Aasgard Company, 2013)

    The deadlift is one of five major barbell exercises that [Little Darling] trains to develop strength and athleticism. She is one of the more powerful rowers on a team that includes high school students down at The Foundry, and after a winter of barbell training two years ago she went from inept beginner to winning the Most Improved award and making the travel squad on her tennis team.
    That she has worked carefully and methodically over a number of years to deadlift 200 pounds is a source of some pride for her. If you learned that a young runner had won a race, would your response be, ‘Is that really necessary for a 13 year old?’

    If I were the kind of person who drew rash conclusions on topics I knew little about, I would fear that as a professional you were overlooking the proven medical benefits of strength training. Luckily, however, you’ve assured me that the Cleveland Clinic takes an ‘evidence based’ approach to medicine. Yellowing with age on the bulletin board are no doubt reports like 2003’s piece from THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PREVENTIVE MEDICINE, stating:
    “Current research has demonstrated that strength-training exercises have the ability to combat weakness and frailty and their debilitating consequences. Done regularly (e.g., 2 to 3 days per week), these exercises build muscle strength and muscle mass and preserve bone density, independence, and vitality with age. In addition, strength training also has the ability to reduce the risk of osteoporosis and the signs and symptoms of numerous chronic diseases such as heart disease, arthritis, and type 2 diabetes, while also improving sleep and reducing depression.”
    From: From: The benefits of strength training for older adults. - PubMed - NCBI
    By R Seguin and ME Nelson

    More recent studies on ‘prevention and management of type 2 diabetes by decreasing visceral fat, reducing HbA1c, increasing the density of glucose transporter type 4, and improving insulin sensitivity, . . [and enhancing] cardiovascular health, by reducing resting blood pressure, decreasing low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides, and increasing high-density lipoprotein cholesterol.,’ must glut your inbox nowadays as well.
    From: “Resistance training is medicine: effects of strength training on health,” Westcott, WL., CURRENT SPORTS MEDICINE REPORTS July-August 2012
    Resistance training is medicine: effects of strength training on health. - PubMed - NCBI

    (Continued)

  2. #82
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    (from above)

    I must say, however, that the Cleveland Clinic boasts probably the most spectacular website I have ever seen. The access to your comprehensive range of ‘institutes’ is instant, and you would appear to have every aspect of modern health care under thoughtful scrutiny, from strategically placed tiers of care to outcome reports and the manner in which you link physicians and specialties.
    Truth be told, I was looking for a quote along the lines of the Clinic’s ‘encouraging patients to take an active role in their own health,’ but could find nothing. Incredibly, the term ‘Preventative Medicine’ yielded no search results.
    It occurs to me . . . hey, wait a minute . . . like this is the conclusion to an episode of THE TWILIGHT ZONE, that this entire tirade of mine has been based on a silly assumption. The Cleveland Clinic has no interest in patients playing any part in their own well being.
    Our Institutes will take care of everything, the website promises, ominously.

    Go ahead and label the [Griswold] family files, ‘Subversive.’

    Dual Progression: High Reps and Isotonic-Isometrics
    Week of: 11/13/17
    MONDAY
    1. Squat: 3 sets of 8 reps Tom: 335 JC: 140
    2. Press: 3 sets of 8 reps Tom: 145 JC: 75
    3. Deadlift: 1 set of 10 reps Tom: 400 JC: 190

    4. 3 sets heavy pull ups; 4 with 67lb kb
    5. Isotonic-Isometrics PRESS 3 sets of 1 six-second hold
    Holes (#6 - 10) 170, (#9 - 13) 155, (#12 - 16) 190
    JC - dips
    6. barbell curls: 115+
    7. abs: banded pull downs

    TUESDAY - Conditioning
    sled pull 2 miles; 50, 25

    WEDNESDAY
    1. Squat (80% of Monday’s weight) x5, 2 sets Tom: 267.5 JC: 112.5
    2. Bench Press 3 sets of 10 reps Tom: 210 JC: 92.5
    3. Isotonic-Isometrics SQUAT 3 sets of 1 six-second hold
    Holes (#10 - 16) 310, (#15 - 22 [top]) 335, (#21 - #3 upper holes) 410
    4. Power Cleans 3x3 Tom: 185 - 225 JC: 95+
    5. 4 sets of heavy shrugs 510+
    6. abs: hollow rockers

    FRIDAY
    1. Squats: 3 sets of 8 [90% of Monday’s weight] Tom: 302.5 JC: 125
    2. Press: 3 sets of 8 [90% of Monday’s weight] Tom: 130 JC: 67.5
    3. Isotonic-Isometrics DEADLIFT 3 sets of 1 six-second hold; [blue mats and 2”x4’’’s]
    Holes (black beams - #6) 360, (#6 - #1 close holes) 390, (#10 top - #5 close holes) 500
    GREEN FLYWHEELS!
    JC: Romanian deadlifts (off rack) 3 sets of 5 reps 155

    4. 4 sets of hanging (gymnastic) rows, with vest
    5. Isotonic-Isometrics BENCH PRESS 3 sets of 1 six-second hold
    Holes (#4 - 9) 215, (#8 - 13) 240 or 245, (#12 - 16) 325
    JC: close grip bench press, T-Bar
    6. 3 sets 5-6 barbell curls
    7. abs: weighted sit ups; ab-mat

    SATURDAY - Conditioning
    swim 1 mile

  3. #83
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    Do we really have to breathe so dramatically?

    This treasonous thought crossed my mind the other day, mainly because I was not breathing dramatically, very much on purpose because I wanted to succeed in my presses and deadlifts. This was Monday morning; as has become routine, after I’ve toughed through my big-money sets of squats, the rest of the workout seems far easier, mentally and physically. In the presses, I’ll start each set with a big chest of air, lose a bit at the top of each of the first three reps, but then only take a half or a third of a breath each rep or two to keep going. If reps seven and eight are a little dicey, I’ll hold the bar up top and draw a slightly larger - but not huge - breath to get solid, execute one, and repeat for the other.
    In the deadlift, if I took a maximal breath at each rep, I’d never make it through the set. Monday, as I warmed up, I loaded 225. I pulled and didn’t even feel it, which was lovely. Another plate on each end made 315. I braced up and pulled it - and got a head rush.
    That was dopey, I realized. The plan for the day was 400 for 10. To make that happen, I had to get down into position on each rep, brace up, but then make sure I did not have a ton of air in my chest. Not only did I not want any head rushes, I didn’t want each rep to require any great amount of recovery. Each time I grabbed the bar, I took a partial breath, or if I drew a giant one to get in position, I let some of it go.
    The lifting was no problem. In fact, I just said that a week or two ago, didn’t I? It was the gasping for breath that was the problem, especially in the squats At the 325 mark, 10 squats were an ordeal, and quite honestly, I figured I’d be going further with my 10’s than that. The other day, 335 for 8’s was reasonable, but still, I wonder if I’m overdoing the giant chestfuls of air.

    Rip tells us in STARTING STRENGTH that during a lift, the spine is supported by intra-abdominal pressure. A weightlifting belt ‘adds to this effect,’ as lungs full of air, held by the Valsalva maneuver, and the muscles, ribs, and guts of the torso create a rigid cylinder.
    The Valsalva maneuver is important to maintain blood supply to the brain under a heavy bar. Rip makes the analogy to a fighter pilot in a jet pulling a heavy G-force turn. Without the increased blood pressure from a Valsalva hold, the vascular column would not supply enough blood to the brain for the pilot to remain conscious. For an athlete, the effort in lifting a 405 pound bar, as he puts it, could impede circulation to the point that a Valsalva is necessary to maintain the flow of blood to the brain.

    OK, so we follow the directions: get in position, tighten the gut, and take a big breath in order to lift. Why the head rush after the deadlift, then? What explains all those (admittedly funny) videos of powerlifters keeling over?
    It’s a rapid series of reactions: increased intrathoracic pressure compresses the heart, and with it the vena cava, which delivers deoxygenated blood to the heart, as well as the aorta, which sends newly oxygenated blood out to the body. As their functions are reduced, the volume of blood handled by the heart is reduced.
    The reduced cardiac output reduces blood pressure. The baroreceptors, the body’s pressure gauges, signal the sympathetic nervous system, ‘Hey, fix that.’ (This is comparatively low key at first but related to the ‘fight or flight’ reflex, which the the sympathetic nervous system also controls.)
    Raise the blood pressure and the aortic pressure, the sympathetic nervous system says, and let’s get this blood where it has to go. Jack up cardiac output and increase the peripheral vascular resistance, which is to say, ‘Pump faster and squeeze the vessels,’ the latter of which is probably like putting your thumb at the end of a hose to make it shoot further and faster.
    The body’s trying to get the job done in difficult conditions. When the straining deadlifter lets his breath go, the compression of the heart chambers, vena cava, and aorta disappears. The venous blood returning to the heart rushes in like a dam burst, and is then instantly pumped out as an increase in cardiac output and a wave of new aortic pressure. Since the body was busy restricting the blood vessels, this wave of high pressure seems all the more dramatic.
    The baroreceptors sound the alarm again - but this time to the parasympathetic nervous system, the body’s tempering, mellowing mechanism. The heart rate drops, as do the constriction and undue speed in the blood vessels, so much so sometimes that - briefly - not enough fresh blood makes it to the brain to keep the lights on.

    We now have two extremes. According to Rip, if a lifter does not does not draw and hold a stabilizing breath, he’s in danger of damaging his spine and the surrounding supportive muscles.
    On a cardiovascular level, if his spine happens to manage the load, but the lifter is not performing a Valsalva, the impeded blood flow in his contracting muscles (in a heavy dead or squat) could be enough affect his overall circulation and shut off the lights.
    That’s why we should take a big breath, hold it, and bear down with the muscles of the trunk - not just the ones lifting or holding the weight - presumably to impede, or contain, blood in the head and neck.

    The other extreme is when a lifter overdoes it, like I did with that 315 the other day.
    The trick, therefore, is not to put too great a squeeze on. The body must be set properly, like Rip says. The breath has to be big enough to hold that position, but it doesn’t have to be at super-max, blow-your-head-off capacity. That’s how I got through the 400 for 10, by staying out of the red zone.

    This raises two more lines of inquiry: Is there ever a max weight heavy enough to require the hugest breath and the hardest internal strain you can manage? In other words, does a massive Valsalva maneuver enhance the ability to exert force against external resistance?
    I know lifters get fired up and summon massive amounts of strain, inward and outward, but at a certain point, this must be a case of getting carried away. I suppose a lot of top level powerlifters would disagree with that.

    Secondly, here’s the same principle on a lesser scale: I’ve never gotten sleepy after a squat, whether I’m hitting a big single, heavy set, or a long set. Still, I’m taking massive breaths. I wonder if they’re getting to be too much, that the breathing and bracing my trunk at max capacity is making each rep more exhausting than it should be.
    Yes, I know this is dangerous, but it’s a thought.

    In the isotonic-isometric rack work, as I’m setting up my squat and deadlift holds, I’ll definitely takethat classic, maximal 10-gallon inhalation to lock and load a flat, solid back, but then the next breath, for the rep itself, will be at 75%. The breath is not nothing, but I’ve learned that a head-pounding strain does not make a hold any better, and I don’t want the wobbles after it’s done.
    In the rack presses, I’ve gotten sleepy, as I’ve mentioned before. I can see the chain of events that makes this happen: if I hit a Valsalva maneuver and drive a heavy load overhead for several seconds, I’ve really given my heart a heavy task. The Valsalva puts the clamp on the heart, vena cava, and aorta, which means that not only is my heart pumping a reduced amount of blood, it’s trying to send it uphill to my shoulders and triceps. Something has to give, which the other uphill battle, to my noggin.
    It’s nice to know my heart has its priorities right: ‘Dude, I’ll get the lift. You don’t have to be awake for this.’
    I’ve discovered that in the rack work for presses, I can’t just warm up with weights approaching my working weight. Things are getting heavy enough that in each range I have to hit the real McCoy for a second or two in order to find the right Valsalva balance for the hold.

    The bench press seems to be the exception to all this, especially in rack work and heavy conventional sets. I’m lying down, so (I suppose) the heart has a comparatively easy job maintaining the flow, so the Valsalva doesn’t create pressure drops large enough to freak out the baroreceptors.
    I’ll take the ten-gallon breath and keep it for the hold. In my conventional 5’s, or 3’s, I remember, I’d make a point out of drawing a maximum breath for each rep. The 10’s with 210 the other day were like the other presses: start with a full chest, leak a bit at the tops of reps One to Three, and then 75 percent breaths up through Eight. By rep Eight, my head was pounding a bit, perhaps because I was lying down. After a brief stop, I took a large breath and hit Nine with a throb in my skull, so for Ten I drew a far smaller breath. I had no throb, and the rep didn’t seem any less powerful.

    This is the issue to ponder, particularly in the bench press and squat: the proper position is very closely associated with enormous breaths, but what’s really getting the job done, the position or the breath? Can the breaths be reined in a bit, to tune performance?

  4. #84
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    Dual Progression: High Reps and Isotonic-Isometrics
    Week of: 11/20/17
    MONDAY
    1. Squat: 3 sets of 8 reps Tom: 345 JC: 142.5
    2. Press: 3 sets of 8 reps Tom: 150 JC: 77.5
    3. Deadlift: 1 set of 10 reps Tom: 410 JC: 195

    4. 3 sets heavy pull ups; 4 with 67lb kb
    5. Isotonic-Isometrics PRESS 3 sets of 1 six-second hold
    Holes (#6 - 10) 172.5, (#9 - 13) 157.5, (#12 - 16) 192.5
    JC - dips
    6. barbell curls: 115+
    7. abs: banded pull downs

    TUESDAY - Conditioning
    sled pull 2 miles; 50, 25

    WEDNESDAY
    1. Squat (80% of Monday’s weight) x5, 2 sets Tom: 275 JC: 115
    2. Bench Press 3 sets of 10 reps Tom: 215 JC: 95
    3. Isotonic-Isometrics SQUAT 3 sets of 1 six-second hold
    Holes (#10 - 16) 320, (#15 - 22 [top]) 345, (#21 - #3 upper holes) 425
    4. Power Cleans 3x3 Tom: 185 - 225 JC: 95+
    5. 4 sets of heavy shrugs 510+
    6. abs: hollow rockers

    FRIDAY
    1. Squats: 3 sets of 8 [90% of Monday’s weight] Tom: 310 JC: 127.5
    2. Press: 3 sets of 8 [90% of Monday’s weight] Tom: 135 JC: 70
    3. Isotonic-Isometrics DEADLIFT 3 sets of 1 six-second hold; [blue mats and 2”x4’’’s]
    Holes (black beams - #6) 370, (#6 - #1 close holes) 400, (#10 top - #5 close holes) 515 GREEN FLYWHEELS!
    JC: Romanian deadlifts (off rack) 3 sets of 5 reps 155

    4. 4 sets of hanging (gymnastic) rows, with vest
    5. Isotonic-Isometrics BENCH PRESS 3 sets of 1 six-second hold
    Holes (#4 - 9) 220, (#8 - 13) 245, (#12 - 16) 335
    JC: close grip bench press, T-Bar
    6. 3 sets 5-6 barbell curls
    7. abs: weighted sit ups; ab-mat

    SATURDAY - Conditioning
    row 6000 meters

  5. #85
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    I’ll follow up on issues from two previous posts, since this is a holiday week and I’m not trying too hard.

    1. The sensibly sized breaths this past Monday on my heavy squat sets made an enormous difference. The 8’s with 345 pounds felt better than any of the rounds from the three or four Mondays preceding. At the rack I would engage the bar with a giant breath, the same as ever, to set my chest and back, but when I stepped back and got started, the breaths were more moderate, and I was able to maintain my upper body position.
    I must have fallen into a trap with the lighter weights in the previous weeks, just bulling through the reps by sucking a little extra air. By the time the weights got heavier, I couldn’t bull through, and all the increased boiler pressure wasn’t making it to the crankshaft.
    Most interesting is that it’s now easier to get to full depth. I had been compressing myself into a giant ball of tension as I dropped.
    For the record, I will say that the last rep or two, particularly in the third set, were pretty dicey, so the breaths were plenty big, to get the job done.

    2. Our family doctor was very gracious upon receiving my letter (the blog post from two weeks ago.)
    My wife agreed to bring it to her appointment, since she was turning in the kid’s shot record as well. To her surprise, the doc tore into the envelope right away, so she braced herself for an awkward moment.
    ‘I knew he’d be sending something,’ the doctor, also a she, said. As she read, she admitted, ‘You know, in med school, they never taught us anything about nutrition.’
    ‘Tom studies this stuff quite a bit.’
    ‘Even if they did, 20 years ago, it wouldn’t matter now, because everything’s changed so much.’
    My wife filled her in on some of my exploits over the years, as well as the weights I’m lifting now.
    The doc said, ‘I realized by the end of the appointment that he was a top-one-percent kind of guy. I should have said something. ‘

    The doc explained that most of the unusual statistics revealed in her exam room are from guys slamming five or six beers a day along with five or six Red Bulls. When I mentioned my 200 grams of protein, that’s where her mind went.
    I didn’t recount this in the letter, but after the exchange about protein and kidneys, the doctor took a tone of I’m not going to argue about it. ‘I’ve been doing this for 20 years, and I know by now what I can and cannot convince people to stop,’ she said.
    It was so condescending, the idea that simply leaving the subject out in the open was sufficient to make her point, that I was genuinely taken aback. What the Hell, I thought, it’s not like I’m chewing betel nut. That was also the moment I decided, All right, sweetheart, you’re about to see some academic papers.
    In hindsight, I realized that I had rolled in wearing a flannel shirt and Carhartts, which probably looked a lot like the uniform of the Red Bull and beers crowd.

    My suspicion is that to get past any lingering tension, my wife and the doctor, like women can do sometimes, chattered like songbirds to make everything seem wonderful. They went on at some length about how swell a guy I am, and while I’m generally in favor of that kind of discussion, this was mainly to save everyone the administrative headache of changing primary care physicians.
    ‘Please tell him his letter was absolutely well received,’ the doctor assured my wife, ‘but I’ll still mark his file as ‘subversive.’

    Dual Progression: High Reps and Isotonic-Isometrics
    Week of: 11/27/17
    MONDAY
    1. Squat: 3 sets of 8 reps Tom: 355 JC: 145
    2. Press: 3 sets of 8 reps Tom: 152.5 JC: 80
    3. Deadlift: 1 set of 10 reps Tom: 420 JC: 200

    4. 3 sets heavy pull ups; 4 with 67lb kb
    5. Isotonic-Isometrics PRESS 3 sets of 1 six-second hold
    Holes (#6 - 10) 175, (#9 - 13) 160, (#12 - 16) 195
    JC - dips
    6. barbell curls: 115+
    7. abs: banded pull downs

    TUESDAY - Conditioning
    sled pull 2 miles; 50, 25

    WEDNESDAY
    1. Squat (80% of Monday’s weight) x5, 2 sets Tom: 285 JC: 115
    2. Bench Press 3 sets of 10 reps Tom: 220 JC: 97.5
    3. Isotonic-Isometrics SQUAT 3 sets of 1 six-second hold
    Holes (#10 - 16) 330, (#15 - 22 [top]) 355, (#21 - #3 upper holes) 440
    4. Power Cleans 3x3 Tom: 185 - 225 JC: 95+
    5. 4 sets of heavy shrugs 515+
    6. abs: hollow rockers

    FRIDAY
    1. Squats: 3 sets of 8 [90% of Monday’s weight] Tom: 320 JC: 130
    2. Press: 3 sets of 8 [90% of Monday’s weight] Tom: 137.5 JC: 72.5
    3. Isotonic-Isometrics DEADLIFT 3 sets of 1 six-second hold; [blue mats and 2”x4’’’s]
    Holes (black beams - #6) 380, (#6 - #1 close holes) 410, (#10 top - #5 close holes) 525 GREEN FLYWHEELS!
    JC: Romanian deadlifts (off rack) 3 sets of 5 reps 157.5

    4. 4 sets of hanging (gymnastic) rows, with vest
    5. Isotonic-Isometrics BENCH PRESS 3 sets of 1 six-second hold
    Holes (#4 - 9) 225, (#8 - 13) 255, (#12 - 16) 340
    JC: close grip bench press, T-Bar
    6. 3 sets 5-6 barbell curls
    7. abs: weighted sit ups; ab-mat

    SATURDAY - Conditioning
    swim 1 mile

  6. #86
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    I’m getting into dangerous territory.
    Leading the charge are presses and squats, where I’m hitting 8’s with weights that used to be the subject of my Texas Method and HLM Fahves. The bench and deadlift are not quite there yet, but they’ve been rounds of 10 with weights that have never seen those kinds of reps.
    I’ll be dropping the deadlifts to 8 reps with 430 this coming week. I can do 10; I was doing 10 with 420 this past week, but the rests between reps Eight, Nine, and Ten were getting a little long, up near 10 seconds as I was sucking air.
    152.5 was dicey for 8 presses; we’ll see what happens with 155. You’ve been through this kind of set: you blaze through most of it and then pause to tee up the last rep or two. In the first round, I got six and then teed up for the last two, but after that I only got fives and then had to will myself each time through three hard drives. Presses have been the first lift to falter in this progression, but then again, these are strict. The last time I was doing 5’s with 155 was with the 2.0 wobble.

    The 365-pound 8’s in the squat could be a soul searcher. I want to hit these, however, because this number is an important landmark. In the Fall of 1982 or the Spring of ’83, as a freshman in college, I used to catch a certain amount of flak for being the virgin I was and not getting annihilated every night like everyone else in the dorm. Most of the guys had given up on me, but one particular neighbor decided he was going to call my bluff. He’d demand to know what I thought I was accomplishing and let the room go silent as he waited for an answer.
    Finally, I convinced him to come see - and this was when I hit 365 for three sets of 10. I knew from the outset I was going to eat this guy’s lunch. First came bench presses, and as we started with 135 for a warm up, his arms quivered like guitar strings. Later, the loading and unloading one end of the bar with 365 was the greatest amount of weight lifting he had ever done in his life. (I’d do my set, and then we’d strip the weight down to 135, so he could run his knees forward and dip uncomfortably, like a fish out of water. Then we’d load all the plates back on again, just to enhance his appreciation for the feel and sound of iron.)
    This was flabbergasting to him. He was the one bluffing me, as it turned out; we were pretty much the same size, and since he had played high school baseball purely on innate ability, he had no idea what hard work could accomplish.

    It was a personal growth experience for each of us, for me a benchmark I’ve always remembered - and now, damn . . . I’m turning 53 in a week, and 10’s with 365 might be a little steep. I’ll let two reps slide for old age, but I want to hit 8’s, in case the college kids out there think I’m some kind of virgin.


    The isotonic-isometrics would be helping even more if they were a little further along. I’m progressing on them just fine, based on when and where I started, but had I begun them earlier I’d be that much stronger, and the proof would be even higher conventional sets. 50 years ago, my old high school coach would complete an isotonic-isometric progression and have that strength available as he started a conventional reps program.
    I now see the logic of that. My long term hope is that after this 10-8-6-4 progression, I can stay heavy and run through 5-3-1 for a while, as the rack work continues to push me along.
    I was thinking about all this the other day as I was warming up for squats. Normally, the bottom range of my rack presses would be with 175, but I was wondering how on earth my coach could boost 440 off his shoulders. I had 225 on the rack, so out of curiosity, I heaved it as a press hold.
    It wasn’t 175 at the level of my eyebrows, but after holding 225 at my schnoz for a few seconds I know there’s more in there.

    The best way I can tell I’m making progress is in how my Fridays feel. A few weeks ago, I wrote about the sheer hair-on-fire and wind-sucking brutality of 10 squats with 315 and 10 presses with 140, as I first reached these weights on a Monday. On the past two Fridays I’ve hit 310 and 320 for 8’s, and I don’t even feel them. 10 reps would pose no problem. In the presses, 135 and 137.5 for 8’s similarly lack drama.
    This is a version of Starr’s Heavy-Light-Medium routine, where Fridays use 90 percent of Monday’s weights. It’s an Old School approach which reflects a great wisdom: Friday’s lesser weights are not about backing off and resting from what you’re - presumably - ‘really’ - doing on Mondays; it’s that Mondays are out of the norm. They push the performance envelope. Fridays trail a few steps behind, but they mark your true position. They anchor you to the ground you have won beyond dispute.

    People on HLM routines will confess to loving Fridays. They make for laid back, enjoyable workouts, or if you’re beaten up enough that 90% feels like a handful, that classic line pops into your head: ‘Thank God it’s Friday.’
    Fridays deserve more respect, however. You can give those old weights their proper due, with perfect execution. Survey your domain, knowing it was once a battlefield.

    Dual Progression: High Reps and Isotonic-Isometrics
    Week of: 12/4/17
    MONDAY
    1. Squat: 3 sets of 8 reps Tom: 365 JC: 147.5
    2. Press: 3 sets of 8 reps Tom: 155 JC: 82.5
    3. Deadlift: 1 set of 8 reps Tom: 430 JC: 205

    4. 3 sets heavy pull ups; 4 with 67 lb kb
    5. Isotonic-Isometrics PRESS 3 sets of 1 six-second hold
    Holes (#6 - 10) 177.5, (#9 - 13) 162.5, (#12 - 16) 197.5
    JC - dips
    6. barbell curls: 115+
    7. abs: banded pull downs

    TUESDAY - Conditioning
    sled pull 2 miles; 50, 25

    WEDNESDAY
    1. Squat (80% of Monday’s weight) x5, 2 sets Tom: 292.5 JC: 117.5
    2. Bench Press 3 sets of 10 reps Tom: 225 JC: 100
    3. Isotonic-Isometrics SQUAT 3 sets of 1 six-second hold
    Holes (#10 - 16) 340, (#15 - 22 [top]) 365, (#21 - #3 upper holes) 455
    4. Power Cleans 3x3 Tom: 185 - 225 JC: 95+
    5. 4 sets of heavy shrugs 520+
    6. abs: hollow rockers

    FRIDAY
    1. Squats: 3 sets of 8 [90% of Monday’s weight] Tom: 327.5 JC: 132.5
    2. Press: 3 sets of 8 [90% of Monday’s weight] Tom: 140 JC: 75
    3. Isotonic-Isometrics DEADLIFT 3 sets of 1 six-second hold; [blue mats and 2”x4’’’s]
    Holes (black beams - #6) 390, (#6 - #1 close holes) 420, (#10 top - #5 close holes) 540 GREEN FLYWHEELS!
    JC: Romanian deadlifts (off rack) 3 sets of 5 reps 160

    4. 4 sets of hanging (gymnastic) rows, with vest
    5. Isotonic-Isometrics BENCH PRESS 3 sets of 1 six-second hold
    Holes (#4 - 9) 230, (#8 - 13) 257.5, (#12 - 16) 345
    JC: close grip bench press, T-Bar
    6. 3 sets 5-6 barbell curls
    7. abs: weighted sit ups; ab-mat

    SATURDAY - Conditioning
    row 6000 meters

  7. #87
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    Florida
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    happy birthday Sensei. May the coming year bring you many gains and enough protein to supposedly destroy a thousand kidneys.

  8. #88
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    Washington, DC
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    Thanks, T. You're there one who gets the real congratulations - on the commissioning. How does it feel to wear blue and not green?


    Here’s a business announcement that might stir a little controversy: the training for my strict presses has been switched from standing to seated presses. I managed to pinch something in my lower back while pressing last Friday, so the next few mornings were pretty stiff and painful upon waking up. I’d have to start the day with some ‘box’ squats on the staircase and then a few twisting kettlebell pick ups in the garage, to loosen things up and get blood flowing through the area.
    The decision to put my bench inside the rack and rig a backing has been a little surprising to me, first when I considered this heresy, but also soon after I made up my mind, when I wondered what took me so long. Here’s my thought process:

    A Rippetoe 2.0 Press, or an Olympic Press, involves a whole-bodied springing motion at the beginning of the lift, to help put the bar in motion, as well as a ‘layback’ at the end, in which the lifter’s shoulders drop away from the bar to aid the locking of the elbows.
    A strict press takes the bar from its stationary position on the shoulders to its finish overhead with the arms fully extended and the elbows locked. The torso remains still during the lift, and the bar’s motion is not affected by any part of the body other than the shoulders and arms.

    These are both perfectly legitimate, equally valid means of training, though they serve different purposes. The Press 2.0 integrates efforts from practically every body part - legs, hips, torso, shoulders, arms - so in addition to the strength it develops, it provides a very important foundation for numerous athletic activities. Its drawback (for people past the novice stage) is that the bodily motions at the bottom and top preempt the muscles doing the pressing.
    This is a deficiency the strict press can address. The shoulders, arms, and back are fully engaged from beginning to end and reap all the benefits conventional reps have to offer.

    My mistake was in mixing these two approaches. The full bodied wobble in the 2.0 requires a tightening of the thigh, rear end, and abdominal muscles - mainly to create a line of tension for the springing motion, but also for the sake of safety, particularly to protect the lower back. While standing, I started my strict sets with everything tight and solid, but while fighting for reps, I lost that foundation.
    It’s time for a safer plan. I’ll stand for presses only when I can actively brace everything the way I should. This will be for any 2.0 Presses, strict one-rep max attempts, or isotonic-isometric holds. In a 2.0 set, each rep is stabilized beforehand. A strict max or rack hold is a singular event, and I can keep things together that long.
    For strict reps that isolate my upper body, a seated position will provide stability.

    Dual Progression: High Reps and Isotonic-Isometrics
    Week of: 12/11/17
    MONDAY
    1. Squat: 3 sets of 8 reps Tom: 375 JC: 150
    2. Press: 3 sets of 6 reps Tom: 157.5 JC: 82.5
    3. Deadlift: 1 set of 8 reps Tom: 440 JC: 210

    4. 3 sets heavy pull ups; 4 with 67 lb kb
    5. Isotonic-Isometrics PRESS 3 sets of 1 six-second hold
    Holes (#6 - 10) 180, (#9 - 13) 165, (#12 - 16) 200
    JC - dips
    6. barbell curls: 115+
    7. abs: banded pull downs

    TUESDAY - Conditioning
    sled pull 2 miles; 50, 25

    WEDNESDAY
    1. Squat (80% of Monday’s weight) x5, 2 sets Tom: 300 JC: 120
    2. Bench Press 3 sets of 10 reps Tom: 230 JC: 102.5
    3. Isotonic-Isometrics SQUAT 3 sets of 1 six-second hold
    Holes (#10 - 16) 345, (#15 - 22 [top]) 375, (#21 - #3 upper holes) 470
    4. Power Cleans 3x3 Tom: 185 - 225 JC: 95+
    5. 4 sets of heavy shrugs 520+
    6. abs: hollow rockers

    FRIDAY
    1. Squats: 3 sets of 8 [90% of Monday’s weight] Tom: 337.5 JC: 135
    2. Press: 3 sets of 6 [90% of Monday’s weight] Tom: 142.5 JC: 75
    3. Isotonic-Isometrics DEADLIFT 3 sets of 1 six-second hold; [blue mats and 2”x4’’’s]
    Holes (black beams - #6) 400, (#6 - #1 close holes) 430, (#10 top - #5 close holes) 555 GREEN FLYWHEELS!
    JC: Romanian deadlifts (off rack) 3 sets of 5 reps 162.5

    4. 4 sets of hanging (gymnastic) rows, with vest
    5. Isotonic-Isometrics BENCH PRESS 3 sets of 1 six-second hold
    Holes (#4 - 9) 235, (#8 - 13) 265, (#12 - 16) 350
    JC: close grip bench press, T-Bar
    6. 3 sets 5-6 barbell curls
    7. abs: weighted sit ups; ab-mat

    SATURDAY - Conditioning
    swim 1 mile

  9. #89
    Join Date
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    On Dec 12, 2017, at 11:07 AM, Nunedog wrote:

    [Coach],

    Like old times, I have a question or two, if you have a moment.

    All is well. My numbers are way up; I’ve absolutely blundered onto something here, the combination of our (your) Old School 10-8-6-4 progression and the isotonic-isometrics making a huge difference in my training weight rep counts. On Monday, I hit 375 for three sets of eight reps in the squat - though in the last set I was gasping and pleading in my head with the Gods of Iron: ‘Okay, okay; you give me these last three reps, and I swear next week, 385 will be 6’s.’
    My bench press is off the charts. I’m still on 10’s - with 225 last week. I should track down all the old guys on Facebook and remind them, ‘You doubted me, didn’t you?'

    My questions are about the isotonic-isometric standing presses, which are the first holds that are getting hard to complete as intended. Do you approve of the modifications I’ll describe, and do you have any additional thoughts?

    Isotonic-Isometrics PRESS 3 sets of 1 six-second hold
    Holes (#6 - 10) 180, (#9 - 13) 165, (#12 - 16) 200

    That was this past Monday’s program. That four rack-hole distance between top and bottom in each range represents about nine inches. The lowest range of motion is from my collarbones to about my eyes. Then, do you see that I drop the pins one level, so that the ranges overlap slightly? The second range goes from my nose to a bit above my head. After another overlap, the last range goes from the crown of my head to two or three inches below a complete lockout.

    I can still handle the bottom range pretty well. In fact, the recent 2.5 pound increases each week have probably underserved it; I was tiptoeing along because the next two ranges were getting difficult.
    I know you’ve said in the past that the bottom range can decrease from my eyes to about my lips as the weight gets heavier. I can probably get a little further along before I need to do that.

    That long distance between pins would seem to be the culprit in making the middle and top ranges miserable. Boosting that 165 from a dead stop at schnoz level is a pin press, an event in itself, which was costing me my ability to drive against the upper pins. The same has been true for the weights nearing 200 up top. I could barely move the friggin’ bar; driving it for six or eight seconds more - while trying to remain conscious - has been a little dicey.

    I think I have a solution - or I did up top. Knowing 200 would be hideous to start, I just moved the pins up one level, losing the overlap and decreasing the distance to cover. The result was a pretty easy lift and hold. My reaction was, ‘That’s what [Coach] was talking about when he was hitting 500-plus up top, a smaller range of motion and tighter focus.’ I should be handling way more, which I think I can now.

    Focus is the larger issue here; my focus should be the driving against the pins for maximal recruitment, and NOT so much the pin press and pushing through the range of motion, right?

    At the bottom, I’ll decrease the range by dropping the top pins. At the top, I’ll decrease the range by raising the bottom pins.
    However, I screwed up the middle range the other day. When I failed the 165-pound hold, I decreased the weight but didn’t rest long enough, and didn’t get a full count . . etc, etc. I THINK the top pins at the sticking point are the important part, so I’ll raise the bottom ones, I suppose . . . . What do you think?

    Any thoughts would be much appreciated. An Alberta Clipper is roaring in off the Lake. I took the kid to school today in a driving snow squall, thankful this was not Washington, DC, where everybody would be falling down dead in this weather. It’ll be in the teens in the garage tomorrow morning; do you want to come up and hit a few sets?

    Thanks,
    Tom

    Two days later, I got a reply, which for the sake of privacy I’ll paraphrase rather than quote. He’s pretty busy spoiling a new grandchild, and while I anticipated he’d agree with what I’m doing, he’s also always been good for an unexpected insight. He did not disappoint, which to me is particularly interesting. It’s an immediate flashback to the training of 50 years ago.
    In a number of e-mails, Coach has been surprised and impressed by the numbers I’m putting up at my age. So am I, I’ve replied. In fact, I don’t know if I happen to have a knack for this or the truth is that isotonic-isometrics just friggin’ work. I’m not over the hill yet; you might be surprised at some of the latest and greatest science on aging and cell signaling and the chronic conditions barbell training can alleviate, I told him. I also mentioned a conversation I had with Dr. Jordan Feigenbaum, an authority in this business, who told me I could probably train at a top-tier level until I’m 65.

    He agreed that the leverages in the top and bottom ranges were very advantageous, especially compared to the middle range. He used the term ‘fulcrum position’ to describe the the beginning and end of each range, which are where the lifter hoists the bar off the lower pin, and where he drives it up against the upper pin. When it comes time to change a fulcrum position in either of these ranges, an inch or two can make ‘hundreds of pounds of difference,’ particularly in the squat.

    The middle range, right at the sticking point of the press, and with its ‘bad’ fulcrum positions, definitely is rough, so much so that in his experience, he didn’t worry about increasing the weights when his athletes hit a wall in their progress. That was the first of the new insights, since his description of Hoffman’s program made it seem as though the weight had to rise at all costs.
    That can be one of the options, he said. If you shorten the range (in any case) you can keep going up in weight. The other option, which I think I might try, is to keep the weight the same for a bit and fool around with the size of the range. I’d start with a given weight and drop the top pins, just to get the six-second hold done the first time around. Then, either by moving the pins or adding or subtracting slats of wood under my feet, I’ll gradually increase the size of the range to where it belongs. Once that weight has been aced as intended, I’ll move up.
    This was Paul Anderson’s approach. Coach is quite taken with the great champion. Apparently Anderson had a 700 pound bar, under which he dug a hole deep enough for him to climb in and first do sets of one-eighth squats. Every week or two, he’d fill the hole in a bit, and eventually he was fully squatting the 700, which at the time was a world record.

    Don’t worry about the middle range, was his message, since the weights will keep climbing on the top and bottom. If you stop and think about the Olympic Press, he also revealed, the whole idea of the ‘hip kick’ was to blow by the middle range of motion and take advantage of the increases you’ve developed in the top and bottom ranges. The elegance of the lift devolved over time, however. A rule stated that the bar had to be in continuous motion, but lifters started to fool people by performing massive laybacks, creating the illusion of constant motion. Any kind of consistent judging became impossible.
    If the judges back then had the instant replay technology we have now, Coach said, the Press might still be an Olympic event.

    Move the pins, get some slats of wood, or dig a hole. There’s always an answer with a power rack. That’s it for this week’s time travel.

    Dual Progression: High Reps and Isotonic-Isometrics
    Week of: 12/18/17
    MONDAY
    1. Squat: 3 sets of 6 reps Tom: 385 JC: 152.5
    2. Press: 3 sets of 6 reps Tom: 160 JC: 85
    3. Deadlift: 1 set of 8 reps Tom: 450 JC: 215

    4. 3 sets heavy pull ups; 4 with 67 lb kb
    5. Isotonic-Isometrics PRESS 3 sets of 1 six-second hold
    Holes (#6 - 10) 185, (#9 - 13 -12-) 160, (#13 - 16) 205
    JC - dips
    6. barbell curls: 115+
    7. abs: banded pull downs

    TUESDAY - Conditioning
    sled pull 2 miles; 50, 25

    WEDNESDAY
    1. Squat (80% of Monday’s weight) x5, 2 sets Tom: 307.5 JC: 122.5
    2. Bench Press 3 sets of 8 reps Tom: 235 JC: 105
    3. Isotonic-Isometrics SQUAT 3 sets of 1 six-second hold
    Holes (#10 - 16) 325, (#15 - 22 [top]) 385, (#21 - #3 upper holes) 485
    4. Power Cleans 3x3 Tom: 185 - 225 JC: 95+
    5. 4 sets of heavy shrugs 520+
    6. abs: hollow rockers

    FRIDAY
    1. Squats: 3 sets of 6 [90% of Monday’s weight] Tom: 345 JC: 137.5
    2. Press: 3 sets of 6 [90% of Monday’s weight] Tom: 145 JC: 77.5
    3. Isotonic-Isometrics DEADLIFT 3 sets of 1 six-second hold; [blue mats and 2”x4’’’s]
    Holes (black beams - #6) 410, (#6 - #1 close holes) 440, (#10 top - #5 close holes) 565 GREEN FLYWHEELS!
    JC: Romanian deadlifts (off rack) 3 sets of 5 reps 165

    4. 4 sets of hanging (gymnastic) rows, with vest
    5. Isotonic-Isometrics BENCH PRESS 3 sets of 1 six-second hold
    Holes (#4 - 9) 240, (#8 - 13) 270, (#12 - 16) 355
    JC: close grip bench press, T-Bar
    6. 3 sets 5-6 barbell curls
    7. abs: weighted sit ups; ab-mat

    SATURDAY - Conditioning
    row 6000 meters

  10. #90
    Join Date
    Dec 2015
    Location
    Washington, DC
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    starting strength coach development program
    After last week’s blog post, my e-mail exchange with my old high school coach continued. We were discussing how to address difficulties in isotonic-isometric rack training, and he made an important additional point, which will no doubt be a big help soon.

    I had sent a message about reaching a roadblock in the middle range of my standing press work. I could no longer go up in weight.
    That happens in the ’90 degree,’ or middle, range, he said. Don’t worry about going up in weight. You can decrease the size of the range, raising the lower pin or dropping the upper by a hole or two. Master the hold at this lesser distance, and then work your way back to the original.
    Then he introduced another variable, time. If my usual hold is six seconds, I might have to settle for four seconds at a new weight. The full six would happen the next time around.

    Conceivably, I could combine all three variables: weight, distance, and time. Imagine that I’ve arrived at a new weight for my middle press range, which is usually a distance of four rack holes. I drop the top pins to make it three, and with this weight hit distance ‘3H’ for four seconds.
    The following week, I hit 3H for six seconds.
    The weight stays the same in week three, but the range in now 4H, or its full size. I hit the hold for four seconds.
    Finally, in the fourth week, I drive the full 4H for the full six - and after this, it’s time to increase the weight.
    That’s really getting into the weeds, but it does represent incremental progress. I’d have to be pretty happy with much larger gains in the top and bottom ranges, as well as my conventional reps, to dilly-dally so slowly in the middle.

    As the end of the year approaches, it’s time to take stock of 2017’s training. A year ago, I made the following post:
    Five percent increases would mean numbers like:
    SQUAT - 450
    PRESS - 210
    BENCH PRESS - 302.5 or 305
    DEADLIFT - 535

    I came pretty close, hitting
    SQUAT - 445, for three singles in one workout
    PRESS - 217.5
    BENCH PRESS - 305
    DEADLIFT - 530
    I also hoped for a 265 pound power clean and managed 270.

    I would think there’s reason to be hopeful for another five percent increase in 2018. That would mean:
    SQUAT - 467.5
    PRESS - 230
    BENCH PRESS - 320
    DEADLIFT - 557.5
    POWER CLEAN - 285

    Those would be some great numbers. All I want for Christmas is a happy and healthy New Year. Merry Christmas, everyone!

    Dual Progression: High Reps and Isotonic-Isometrics
    Reduced workload: Christmas week

    MONDAY - OFF

    TUESDAY - Conditioning
    sled pull 2 miles; 50, 25

    WEDNESDAY
    1. Squat - work up to one set of 3 reps with 395 (Tom) and 155 (JC)
    2. Bench Press - work up to one set of 4 reps with 240 (Tom) and 107.5 (JC)
    3. 3 sets of pull ups 35, 53 lb kb’s

    4. Isotonic-Isometrics PRESS 3 sets of 1 six-second hold
    Holes (#6 - 9 drop) 190, (#9 - 13 full) 160, (#13 - 16) 210
    JC - dips
    5. Isotonic-Isometrics DEADLIFT 3 sets of 1 six-second hold; [blue mats and 2”x4’’’s]
    Holes (black beams - #6) 400, (#6 - #1 close holes) 445, (#10 top - #5 close holes) 575
    JC: Romanian deadlifts (off rack) 3 sets of 5 reps 167.5
    6. 3 sets hollow rockers

    FRIDAY
    1. Press - work up to one set of 3 reps with 162.5 (Tom) and 85 (JC)
    2. Deadlift - work up to four reps with 460 (Tom) and 220 (JC)
    3. 4 sets of horizontal rows
    4. 3 sets of barbell curls

    5. Isotonic-Isometrics BENCH PRESS 3 sets of 1 six-second hold
    Holes (#4 - 9 full) 240, (#8 - 13) 275, (#12 - 16) 360
    JC: close grip bench press, T-Bar
    6. Isotonic-Isometrics SQUAT 3 sets of 1 six-second hold
    Holes (#10 - 16) 330, (#15 - 21 drop) 390, (#21 - #3 upper holes) 500
    7. abs: weighted sit ups; ab-mat

    SATURDAY - Conditioning
    swim 1 mile

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