Chris Anderson's Training Log

10/29- Squat and bench

Squat- 6x2@360
Bench- 1x1@225

Notes: The program I am beginning has me squatting and benching twice a week, and deadlifting and pressing once a week. However, my elbows decided they hate me after squatting, and instead of doing the 6x3 I was scheduled to do, I decided to rack it and leave after one rep. It felt like absolute shit. I think I am going to get some elbow sleeves and see if they help. In the meanwhile, I will continue to take fish oil TID and do as much pulling volume as I can.

I will do a meet write-up after I get back from eating. Hopefully the Keough gets my video done soon, or I will be sadface.

Alright, here we go. First, a recap of my attempts (PR indicates personal record, AR indicates NASA Teenage 198lb American record):

Squat-
446- GOOD
457- GOOD
473- GOOD
479- GOOD, PR, AR

Bench press-
259- GOOD
276- GOOD, PR
287- GOOD, PR

Deadlift-
507- GOOD
529- GOOD, PR, AR
551- GOOD, PR, AR

Total: 1311- PR, AR
Unofficial total- 1318

So, a 6lb PR on my squat, a 23lb PR on my bench, and a 27lb PR on my deadlift, for a total PR of 82lb, 89lb unofficially. A 1300lb total and 550 deadlift are good milestones for me.

Overall, I did a lot of things well for this meet that contributed to my success. First and foremost, I stuck to my plan. Every single one of these attempts, with the exception of the 4th squat, was pre-planned and written out in advance. I had been planning my attempts for about three weeks; writing them down on a notepad, and changing an opener here, lowering a third attempt there, and so on and so forth until I had attempts that I knew I could hit, but would set me up for a good total. I also stuck to my plan throughout training; following my peaking program to the letter and never losing sight of my goals. I missed a grand total of two reps in my training.

Another change I made was in my warmups at the meet. Previously, I had started warming up very early, spreading my warmup sets out throughout all three rounds of the previous flight. This time, I waited until the 2nd round of the previous flight began, and I went through my warmups a lot quicker, which is more like I did in training. I hit my last warmup single right as my flight started for every lift. My timing for getting ready for my attempts was also improved, specifically during the squat; timing the wrapping of your knees can be challenging, and I didn't feel rushed or that I began wrapping them too early for any of my attempts. The result was that my squat felt better than it ever had, and it set me up well for the rest of the meet.

I made a few key training adjustments, as well. Specifically, I made it an emphasis to train the bottom of my lifts (read my article for more information ), especially with the pause on the bench press. Thus, I felt much more comfortable with a heavy weight on my back or in my hands in the hole or off my chest. I practiced the competition lifts more often than I had the previous year of training, and my technique was much more sound as a result.

The final key factor that I believe was a direct benefit to my performance was my weight. I was able to keep my weight very close to my weight limit throughout my entire training period, and I really didn't have to cut at all. I then put seven pounds on after weigh-in, giving me a good bloat and plenty of glycogen and ATP storage, so I had energy throughout the day.

Speaking of energy, I also had enough caffeine, beta alanine, and DMAA to kill a small child throughout the day; I just mixed everything into my Gatorade and sipped it constantly. This kept my energy high, but because I didn't take it all at once as I previously have done, I didn't experience any crash. I also don't take much caffeine in day-to-day, keeping my tolerance fairly low. Jamie Lewis gets credit for this one, as he uses massive amounts of stimulants during his meets.



As for things I didn't do so well...fuck you. I'm awesome. Let me bask in my glory before I ship to Basic Training and become a weak ecto faggot, losing all my gainz and doing the work of the devil, i.e. cardio.

10/30- press #1

Press- 6x3@160
Shrugs- 2x10@315, 2x3@405
Leg press calf raises- 5x20
Band pull-aparts- 5x20

Notes: These Spud straps are incredible; they're thick, solid, tight, and very motivational. The only problem is that they are a rather slick material, and with the absolutely shitty knurling on the bar I was using, they were slipping a bit. So, I will probably keep my shrugging to Sunday or Saturday, when I will be at a different gym with bars that have sharper knurling.


Also, an update on what my training will be like this fall/winter:

I am now using a basic block/linear periodization Russian program with a few modifications that I have made. The original program is this:

Monday- bench/squat
Wednesday- deadlift
Friday- squat/bench

With volume increasing with the same intensity for the first four weeks, and then volume decreasing and intensity increasing the last 5 weeks; the alternate bench and squat days stay the same intensity and volume, so the volume and intensity is different on each day throughout the program.

However, I changed the program to look like this:

Sunday- bench
Monday- squat
Tuesday- press
Thursday- deadlift
Friday- bench
Saturday- squat

With the same basic rep/set schemes for all of the lifts. I feel like this layout will help me increase my overall training frequency while allowing me to recover with no problems.

I'm pretty sure this is the same program I am going to run. I was going to run Smolov for squats, but it seems that lately I've had good gains using a linear program, so I am going to continue with that. I also want to make sure I maintain my strength gains, and that is hard with Smolov if you don't keep the volume and intensity up. I was actually going to split my days up something like yours as well. We will have to compare our results at the end.

11/1- Deadlift #1

Deadlift- 6x3@425
Rows- 5x10@135

Notes: didn't have much energy for assistance work after this. I will probably have to use straps later on in the cycle, as these bars are *still* godawful and I can feel it slipping on almost every rep. The reps themselves were plenty fast, though; as long as I eat and sleep right, this program should deliver the gainz.

11/2- bench light #1, squat heavy #1

Bench- 6x2@225
Squat- 6x3@365

Notes: I am going to lower the training maxes a bit, as I had to use wraps for my last three sets on squats. A lot of it has to do with the fact that I pulled yesterday, and I wasn't expecting to have to squat today (normally I would do it tomorrow, but I have drill this weekend), but this program is just going to get harder and I have no reason to risk missing a rep early in the cycle. I'm not even training for a meet, so I'm better off starting light and working my way up.

11/4- bench

6x4@225
Face pulls
Pullups
Curlz

Notes: still need to lower my training maxes. I'm pretty much using my actual bench PR for this program, so I'm not surprised that thy angus is not ready yet. Benching on Friday, doing PT/PRT this weekend, and then benching again today is not an easy thing, either.

11/5- squat

Squat- 6x2@360
Shrugs- 5x10@315
Neck work
Rotator cuff work
Leg press calf raises

Notes: Decided to do some higher rep work on shrugs today, for two reasons: 1. I'm working towards doing a lot of volume this entire block anyway, as I want to make this a true accumulation block, and 2. I need to break in my spud straps more and I figured higher reps might help do that. I'll probably alternate between heavy stuff and high rep work on my assistance lifts, as I feel like it.

11/6- press

Press- 6x4@145
Rows- 5x10
Band pull aparts- 5x20
Curlz

11/8- deadlift

6x4@390
Shrugz: 2x10@315, 1x10@365, 3x5@405
GHR- 3x10
Band pull aparts- 1x100

Notes: The 1x100 was more like 1x50, 1x15, 1x15, 1x10, etc, but whatev.

11/9

Bench- 6x2@205
Dips-
1x10@bw
1x5@+25
1x5@+45
1x5@+70
4x5@+90

Pullups- a fuck ton, around 60 total
Leg press calf raises
Cable reverse flies

Notes: First time doing dips in a long time. Did better than I thought I would. My pullup performance has gone up dramatically; I used to struggle to get to 30 total reps.

11/10

Squat- 6x4@325
Curlz- lots
Rows- 3x15
Neck work- 5x20
Face pulls- 5x10
Cable external rotations- 5x10


Video to come.

11/11

Bench- 6x5@200
Shrugs- 5x10@315
Face pulls
Pullups

Post lift gainz were two Chipotle burritos and Cold Stone ice cream.

11/12

Squat- 6x2@360
Rows- 10x5@135
Pullups
Curlz

11/13

Press- 6x5@140
Pullups- 3x5@+25
DB curl and press- a fuck ton
GHR- 1x10, 3x5+10
Reverse hyper- 3x10
Neck work- 5x15
Calf work- 2x10, 1xburnout

Notes: I didn't count sets or anything for the DB curl and press, but I ended with triples with a 70, then backed down to a bunch of sets of five with a 55. I have no idea if it will help my press a whole bunch or not, but I absolutely love this movement. I need more unilateral work, and I felt my midsection working quite a bit. This will be a staple until I either get bored of it or get hurt doing it.

I am at over 10k reps on bodybuilding.com now.

Someone just told me that "my trolling on tnation has been great lately." They think you're me.

Oh god, that is hilarious. I'm currently interrogating Max Misch about his comment on Janis's video and his propensity to refer to himself in the third person.


I've posted a couple of our team videos and one of your squat videos when somebody asked about a narrow stance squat, even though I outright said that it wasn't me. lawl.


EDIT: I don't even troll in that forum; I'm fairly serious in that forum, even though I do joke around a fair amount, but nothing that could be construed as trolling.

11/14

GHR
Reverse hyper
Push press
Curlz
Pullups
Curlz
Curlz


Light workout today.

How in the hell are you curling a 70 lb dumbbell?

Chris Anderson wrote:

Oh god, that is hilarious. I'm currently interrogating Max Misch about his comment on Janis's video and his propensity to refer to himself in the third person.


I've posted a couple of our team videos and one of your squat videos when somebody asked about a narrow stance squat, even though I outright said that it wasn't me. lawl.


EDIT: I don't even troll in that forum; I'm fairly serious in that forum, even though I do joke around a fair amount, but nothing that could be construed as trolling.

Sauce for the lazy?

Nathan Poage wrote:

How in the hell are you curling a 70 lb dumbbell?

It's a cheat curl, obvi. The entire movement is rather "cheaty".

Nathan Poage wrote:

Sauce for the lazy?

u wot m8

Chris Anderson wrote:

Nathan Poage wrote:

Sauce for the lazy?

u wot m8

Please provide links for those who do not wish to track down the posts in question.