Wednesday, January 30, 2013

I HAVE NEVER...

Wanted to try a new approach today.  No article, just a few thoughts jotted down about my training.  See which ones resonate with you.


I have never missed a lift from not being mobile enough.

I have never gotten a 4th white light for squat depth.

I have never done too many chin ups.

I have never eaten too many vegetables.

I have never missed a lift because I didn't run enough.

I have never finished a heavy squat or deadlift while wearing a belt and thought "my abs didn't feel worked from this."

I have never overworked my upper back.

I have never missed a lift from weak calves.

I have never dropped a deadlift, even after 2 years of using straps for all of my training lifts.

I have never had a warm-up that lasted longer than 5-10 minutes.

I have never had a warm-up that wasn't simply using lighter weights for the lift I was training.

I have never stretched for lifting.

I have never taken a pre-workout supplement.

I have never needed to know the difference between hypertrophy and hyperplasia.

I have never fasted intentionally unless I was cutting weight that day.

I have never performed an olympic lift, or a power clean.

I have never met someone that wasn't a "hard gainer".

I have never met a hard gainer that was drinking a gallon of milk a day.

I have never done too many kettlebell swings.

I have never deloaded too often.

I have never had a "sticking point".

I have never missed a lift from being too slow.

8 comments:

  1. Great stuff!

    "I have never met a hard gainer that was drinking a gallon of milk a day." LOL@ this. I tried that for a week and stopped. Useful as a teaching tool for people who complain about being hardgainers, but impossible in the long run.
    I have tried power cleans as anyone who has done SS, but it didn't seem helpful for PL.
    I've done intermittent fasting, but agreed that it's not necessary.
    Elaborate on "I have never missed a lift from being too slow." No Westside style speed days? And would you not agree that missing a bench press in the middle of a lift is because you weren't fast enough off the chest? Do you not count your KB swings as speed training?
    Too true on everything else though.
    By the way, what rep range do you use for KB swings?

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    1. I have done westside style speed days before, but never saw any benefit to it. In the times I've missed a lift, it was never because I was too slow, it was either because I was too weak or my technique sucked. I imagine speed has great benefit to geared lifters, but I see limited application to raw.

      I am sure missing a bench at the middle could be attributed to a lack of speed, but I have never done that. When I miss, I miss at the chest, or I get the lift. Most likely though, if someone raw misses at that point, I would say their technique fell apart.

      I don't count KB swings as speed training. I don't train them dynamically or like plyos, although the application is easily there.

      I use pretty much any rep range for them. Volume seems more important to me.

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    2. Oh yeah, and I did the gallon of milk for 6 weeks, haha.

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    3. Interesting. Thanks for the reply. Loved your DL tutorial video by the way.

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    4. Glad you enjoyed it, and thanks for reading.

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    5. Altgougg I am not Emevas, i haveI have used Kettlebell swings before, quite extensively. They're not speed work (although you can do over speed swings where you aggressively push the bell down with your hand after the upswing is done), but they are immensely as a hip hinge trainer when done properly.

      An explosive swing, done from the hips with minimal recruitment of your quads and where the arm is merely a pendulum from which the bell .ay swing freely, will work everything. A great swing is violently explosive and feels as if you are launching a cannonball from between your legs.

      Like Emevas said, go for volume. More is better. You really can't over train this. I did 1000 (terrible) swings with a 35lb bell, and it was a life changing experience. Currently I work with a 60lb bell and an 80lb bell.

      Also, they are probably one of the few implements that has the ability to actually push your heart rate past its maximum. I have actually done this a few times with the heavier 60lb bell which IMO is where the real work begins with these.

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  2. I pretty much agree with all of these, especially using straps, and the fact that you can never do too much for the back. Also using ramping sets as warm up was the best thing I ever get clued onto.

    Good read

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    1. Awesome you were able to relate. I had a lot of fun writing this. Hope to play with this format a bit.

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