I always was under the impression that a “speed bench” day would be 6x2 @40-50% of your max weight (or something in that nature?) That 250x2 would be a good max effort day though, wouldn’t you say?
In my current set-up, I have realized that I don’t need “speed bench” day because I am still a beginner when it comes to controlling my bodyweight. I do whatever is most important to me, for example: If I lose speed on Bench Press I’ll add in the the speed day but right now I have very good acceleration speed. I just focus on the supporting muscles around Bench and have seen positive gains in terms of musculature and strength on the Bench. In the summer 250 x 3 was the most I did if I can surpass or reach that point I’ll be happy.
I am going to add Sled Dragging to my training as I have just bought a sled online. I have also purchased James Smith’s new book and plan on implementing what I learn to my training.
I am going to be adding a misc. day to training where I am going to sprint (acceleration and will work Max V. in March), sled drag and work on the discus and cleans. This will occur on Saturdays and maybe if I have a chance I will have mini-sessions on Tues and Thurs where I can work on just one quality in a misc. day.
I see… Good luck, keep workin hard!
Thanks man…
- Submaximal Effort – Bench Press
66% of 1RM wk. 1: 6 x 4 @ 185 (I like these because they are heavy enough for me to find my groove and improve my technique but light enough to not be a great CNS stressor)
2a. RE Exercise – Dips
BW x 10
BW x 10 (Triceps are still burning from Tuesdays workout)
-
Lats – Wide grip Pull-ups
(still not keeping count) -
Shoulders – Alternating DB Incline Press –
30’s x 15
30’s x 20
40’s x 18 ( I like these I do them real fast and explosive) -
Triceps – JM press
(didn’t do) -
SE – DB Push-ups
BW x 18
BW x 22
BW x 21 (Oh I think I like these
) -
RC – Seated Cuban Press – 2 sets
(didn’t do)
Comments: Decent workout, tomorrow I am going to do sprint work on my 10-20m accelerations then i am going to throw the discus, I am going to schedule what I am going to do tomorrow and I am going to type it here in an hour or so…
Dynamic Warm-up
General Warm-up phase
Body squats x 10
Jumping jacks x 15
Seal jumping jacks x 15
Front skips — 20 yards down & back
Stationary side lunge x 8 each leg
Side shuffle, 20 yds. down & back
Stationary leg swings (front & back) x 10 each leg
Stationary leg swings (side to side) x 10 ea. leg
60% Build-up sprint (arm & posture focus) — 30 yds. down and back
Lunge walk x 10 steps down and back
Backpedal x 20 yds. down and back
Squat jumps x 5
75% Build-up sprint — (knee drive focus) — 40 yds. down and back
Hurdle Mobility Phase — 4-5 hurdles
Walking over/under — front (2 sets)
Walking over/under — sideways (2 sets)
Leg swings over hurdles (2 sets)
Trail leg pick-ups over hurdles (2 sets)
Or
Ground-Based Mobility Phases
Back bridges x 10
Iron cross x 10 each leg
Rollovers into V sits x 10
Birddogs (on all 4’s) — 10 each arm/leg
Fire hydrant circles (on all 4’s) — 10 fwd, 10 bkw ea. leg
Prone scorpions x 10 ea. leg
Mountain climbers x 10 ea. leg
Groiners x 10
Acceleration work:
25m x 8 or until quality of sprint diminishes
Throwing:
Standing throws x 5
Half Spin throws x 5
Full Spin throws x 5
I didn’t do anything today because of snowed in, but I recieved my drag sled it was a hastle to put together because of how awkward and heavy it was but not that bad the sled is supposed to weigh 35 lbs. but i think it is more of 45-50 lbs. It was nice though I assembled it threw it in the back of my car and took a picture: check attatchment. The James Smith book should be coming in on the 25th according to shipment tracking. EFTS is a slow service but have quality stuff. I bought the sled for a total of 129.95 from newyorkbarbells.tv and they shipped it the next day very nice.
Session 1 – ME UB + MX Intensity Iso + RE UB - 01/24/06
- Max Effort lift –Pin Press Bench press
wk. 2:
250 x 1 (easy)
270 x 1 (little struggle but easy) Matched my old PR before football season while shoulders were in pain.
280 x 0 (got half way because of back arch then couldn’t go on)
2a. MX Int. Isometrics – Overcoming Isometrics – Bench Press - (didin’t do because my shoulders wer killing me)
2b. RE Assistance – Horizontal Pull –Barbell Bent Over Row
115 x 4
115 x 10
115 x 10 (strengthening my lats is a must)
3a. Triceps – DB Incline elbow out extensions- (I tried doing them and my shoulders were killing me)
3b. Shoulders – Side Raise
3 x 10 @ 15’s (felt good but my rotator cuff is messed up or something like that)
- RC – side lying dumbbell abduction to 45 degrees – 2 sets - didn’t do
Comments: Doing 250 x 1 on the Bench made me realize that 250 is my workout weight during Max Effort. Next week I am deloading the strain shoulders have is too much which I think was aggravated by the Iso-hold bench press and the overcoming isometrics which I am not doing this week. I didn’t do much today but I am expecting to have a good lower body DE/ME day tomorrow. After my deload I am going on a 3+1 program and my goal is to Bench 290 before my next deload week.
Session 2 – DE/ME LB - 01/18/06
-
DE –Hang Clean
3 x 3 @ 135 -
ME – Box Squat
360 x 1 (Failed on second attempt, my starting strength is very weak)
Comments: I am deloading for a week and a half I feel so tired and lethargic and I want to take care of this shoulder problem, so I am laying low)
to buy one of these here would cost me about €200.
i am tempted though. thing is i could buy a mig welder for that price and knock one together myself…
decisions, decisions…
I think i will go with the welder because we are building a new house with a huge garage and i can then make up my own powercage.
Buying anything into ireland (from overseas) is so expensive so a cage would cost at least €1000…
could be an interesting project too…
true, good luck with that decision, im happy with mine
I am going to be running more then lifting as track is coming up in 8 weeks and my goal is to run an 11.5 and I have also adapted some of the high/low principles. The next 3 weeks is going to look like this and for my deload I am going to cut volume in half (3+1). I am taking a break from isometrics and in my next cycle i am going to add DE and isometrics.
day 1: Speed
day 2: tempo or sled dragging
day 3: weights - lower
day 4: tempo or sled dragging
day 5: weights - upper
day 6: Speed
day 7: off
DE/ME Lower Body day - 01/30/06 (supposed to sprint but weather is bad move sprint to wednesday)
DE Clean Grip Deadlift/Shrug- 225 lbsx5x3
ME Box Squat – 365 x 1 b[/b], 290 lbsx3x2
SE Clean Grip RDL/Shrug – 225 x 7, 225 x 6, 225 x 1 (last set going for 5 but I had no grip)
SE BSS – 95 lbsx3x7 (I forgot to do a 5% drop off for each set)
RE GHR – 15, 12, 10 (Coeccentrics only w/ a little push at the bottom)
Comments: I felt good and rejuvinated today, tomorrow I am going to do tempo runs if the weather is bad I’ll just take a day off. Good Box Squat PR I got back in my Squat groove but I still struggle with Box Squats, so weak off the box. Overall, I had a good day and I am going to be sore tomorrow and if weather is just right tomorrow I’ll be on the track in sweats doing tempo’s.
Visit #1: Stonehill College
Initial Reaction: Very large school in terms of land and very laid back, academic standard is raised to another level but I feel it is a good fit. They are D-II and give athletic scholarships based on need, whatever you need they will give it to you and I am sure I would pick up some other grants offered by the school, in terms of my ethnicity and academics. In terms of the school and all the services they offer me I think it is a 5/5 grade.
Weightroom: I saw the weightroom wasn’t very big but decent sized, I am a little shocked at how the football team is going to fit into the weightroom at the same time. The o I didn’t have a chance to see the S and C program but they had a GHR that could be used as a Reverse Hyper without weights though probably could do some band resistance though. Weightroom was 3/5 problems are the size and the S&C’s philosophy he believes in getting bigger and stronger but doesn’t believe his job is to make the players faster but he does do all the important lifts plus plyometrics.
First school is 8/10. I have Iona and Wagner from Fri-Sun, I’ll be in NY hopefully I’ll be back in time for the Superbowl.
ME UB Day - 02/02/06
ME Pin Press- (pin was set to about <1" above my half way point, I think it was on pin 7)
265 x 1 (easy)
275 x 1
290 x 0 (started moving but got stuck I jumped up weight too fast) (shoulders and tricep heads were screaming while I attempted this)
280 x 1 b[/b]
285 x 1 b[/b] (it was moderatly difficult but I didn’t need full arch to push it up I never knew 5 lbs to 290 would be such a great difference)
290 x 0 (I can’t even budge it on this try)
250x4x1
SE BB Bent-over rows
155 x 6
150 x 6
145 x 6
140 x 6
SE DB Row
75 x 10
75 x 8
75 x 7
Comments: Short workout but strong PR’s feel good, haven’t felt good about the Bench Press in a long time, left out the RE movements if I have a chance I will fit them in during my weekend in NY. My Bench is weak off the chest and in the middle, off the chest is just Lats and the middle are weak triceps and front delts.
Sprint workout - 02/06/05
Dynamic warm-up (J. Defranco’s)
Blasted a few sprints w/ the sled (weightless), most were done from a falling start.
I was running until I pulled something in the instep of my foot and I called it a day.
Comments: Anyone that hasn’t experianced running with resistance, that isn’t a track athlete needs to try it because i just blasted my VMO mustle. Tomorrow I am going to drag the sled as a tempo workout w/ +50 lbs on it because I only have these 2 random 25 lbers in my house.
Sled Dragging - 02/07/06
Short Dynamic warm-up
Sled had 50 lbs on it so it was about 85-95lbs total, I dragged it on uncut grass which created extra resistance.
Backward Sled drag 30-40 yards
Forward Sled drag 30-40 yards
Backward Sled drag 30-40 yards
Forward Sled drag 30-40 yards
Backward Sled drag 30-40 yards
Forward Sled drag 30-40 yards
Rest was about 30-90 seconds each.
Comments: Tough shit anyone who hasn’t dragged needs to I thought it was going to be easy as my quads are strong but I was wrong. The Backward sled drag was tough but the forward sled drag was easier which means I need more weight for the forward sled drag. The sled gives me alot of variability like now I can do explosive pull-throughs, going to do tons of new stuff. Tomorrow I have my DE/ME LB day as long as my quads dont hurt that much I’ll be fine.
DE/ME LB day - 02/08/06
DE Deadlift/Shrug
225x5x3
ME Parallel Box Squat-
370 x 1 (PR +5 lbs),
380 x 1 (PR +15lbs),
390 x 1 (PR +25lbs) I did 365 last week
Free Squat:
310x3x2
RE GHR – 15, 12, 10 (Co-eccentrics only w/ a little push)
Comments: Launching off the box felt good when doing squats fel unusually explosive as I found my groove. next week I am going to try 395 x 1 if easy going to add 5 or 10 lbs till I call it a day. What do you guys think of knee raps my coach wants me to wear them but I don’t think the weight I use is heavy enough to use them. Today was a great day, tomorrow I am going to do tempo runs because my VMO is shot from squats and backward sled drags. I have 5 months till pre-season camp starts LETS GO!!!
ME Upper Body day - 02/09/06
weight x reps or weight x set x reps
ME Pin Press (about 1 inch off my chest)
245 x 1
265 x 1
270 x 0 (got it up half way but couldn’t lock it out)
240x4x1
SE BB Bent-over rows
175 x 6 (PR w/ sloppy last rep)
170 x 6
165 x 6
160 x 6
RE Dips
BW x 16 (could have had more but felt my pecs like being stretched and ripping off the bone)
Comments: Had a decent workout, next week I am maxing out on the Bench Press which should be good, the only thing that is holding my Bench Press back are my weak lats and triceps which I am going to kill next week during sled dragging sessions. I won’t be around till sunday because I am going to an official visit this weekend, should be fun
Sled Dragging – 02/16/06 – On cement
All numbers +45-55 lbs (weight of the sled)
Forward Sled drags – 40 yards down and back with 90 lbs on sled, 40 yards down/back with 160 lbs on sled
Backward Sled drags – 40 yards down and back with 45 lbs on sled, 30 yards down/back w/ 125 lbs on sled
Sled Pull-throughs – 30 yards down w/ 90 lbs on sled, 30 yards back w/ 160 lbs on sled (Felt real good)
Sled Row – 40 yards down and back w/ 160 lbs on sled (took 1 mini break down and 2 mini breaks back)
Comments: Overall good workout…