No f***ing around

[Time+Patience]

I just can't get with higher rep front squats, the breathing is very tough, but I also can't go low with the reps on front squats. I still have to play around with them and find that happy medium and never go away from that. I still always try to play around with front squats, but can't get them just right, well maybe every once in a while.

Your affinity for the front squats is what makes you an interesting man my friend.

[Coke]

Fine day with those lifts dude.

[Kiaran]

Bummer about the miss on the bench, bro. Definitely reset. You might also think about swapping out some of your assistance lifts for others at this point. Try some new things to strengthen up those weaknesses.

[jed]

Bri - good stuff the last few workouts. Glad to hear sparring with the higher belts was fun and took little effort. Sucks that you missed on bench again. You should throw up a vid of your form sometime.

[brihead301]

Nice squats man, I wouldn't worry too much about the bench. You went along time without stalling on 5/3/1. Maybe you just need to switch it up a bit? Straight sets, DB presses, etc..

Nah, I ain't sweatin it. I'll just do a reset. BJJ is my main goal rather then overall strength anymore. Thanks bud!


I'd probably reset. You said it yourself, you're in it for the long run, so in the grand scheme of things, this is just a minor speed bump. A reset will do you good, and you can get back to beating PRs. That's awesome that you did great at BJJ after the break.

Yup, 2 steps forward and 1 step back. Thanks man!


how often are you switching up you accessory work?

I switch up like every cycle or two usually.


I just can't get with higher rep front squats, the breathing is very tough, but I also can't go low with the reps on front squats. I still have to play around with them and find that happy medium and never go away from that. I still always try to play around with front squats, but can't get them just right, well maybe every once in a while.

Your affinity for the front squats is what makes you an interesting man my friend.

Haha thanks man. Yup, I love those high rep front squat w/short rest times. They make me wanna puke sometimes, but I do love them! I don't know how I came to like them so much, but I do and I'd never go back to not doing them!


Fine day with those lifts dude.

Thanks bud!


Bummer about the miss on the bench, bro. Definitely reset. You might also think about swapping out some of your assistance lifts for others at this point. Try some new things to strengthen up those weaknesses.

Ya, I think it's a mix of the long break, plus my elbow injury setback....I ain't sweatin it much, I'll get there. I'm always trying new things for assistance too. Thanks for the words man.


Bri - good stuff the last few workouts. Glad to hear sparring with the higher belts was fun and took little effort. Sucks that you missed on bench again. You should throw up a vid of your form sometime.

Maybe I will post a video sometime of my bench. Thanks for the words man!

[brihead301]

12/16/10

No Gi jiu-jitsu

- Intense warmup
- Learned some awesome mount escapes
- 25 minutes of rolling

12/17/10

- Christmas party at my BJJ school where me and my teacher ended up having a drunking BJJ match. I almost tapped him out, but he beat me in the end!

12/18/10

Gi Jiu-jitsu

- light warmup
- Sparring the entire class

12/20/10 - cycle 13, wave 1

Deadlift

135 x 5
225 x 3
285 x 5 (65%)
325 x 5 (75%)
370 x 8 (85%)

Big superset #1 - SLDL/back hyperextensions/hanging leg raises

225 x 10/bw x 10/bw x 10
225 x 10/bw x 10/bw x 10
225 x 10/bw x 10/bw x 10

No gi jiu-jitsu

- Lots of repetitious drilling
- 15 minutes of sparring

[Off Road]

Good reps at a good weight on those deadlifts Bri.

[StLRPh]

you always do a great job with exercise selection, especially with the supersets. great work

[gatorman2k6]

Great work lately Bri! That's pretty funny that you almost made your instructor tap while you both were drunk. I wonder how he would have reacted if you had?

[mchicia1]

Nice deadlifting in here.

Your benched has stalled a couple of times right? Maybe you need a spark...try 30 lbs/30 days to get you over the hump then go back to 5/3/1. Or switch things up and try the 3/5/1 routine. The extra singles on the 3's week may be all you need.

[Clover]

Impressive deadlifting as usual Bri!

[borracho]

Nice job on the DLs dude...you always seem to pop in my head when I try and go for my higher rep sets...you def seem to set the bar on those. Cheers to you and happy holidays bud!!!

[Coke]

Nice job throughout Brian.

[Kiff]

Solid DEADS!!

[jed]

God damn Bri. I'm just as jealous of your deadlift as you are of my bench... 370x8 is f**king killer dude. Lol @ the drunk match w/ your instructor! That's pretty awesome.

[NickAus]

The BJJ must be coming along well.......awesome stuff!!

[brihead301]

Thanks fellas. I'm not too concerned with stalling out on lifts anymore. I'll just reset over and over again if necessary. BJJ and maintaining my current strength level are my main concerns. I'm not really worried about hitting new weight PR's at this time anymore. So just keeping consistent with where I am is fine with me...any weight progression from now on is just a bonus!

12/21/10

Gi Jiu-Jitsu

- light warmup
- 50 minutes of sparring!! I love classes that involve nothing but sparring. I caught this big, strong guy who always kicks my ass in a really cool armbar. I don't even know how I pulled off this highly technical version of an armbar, but I did....and on this strong ass dude too!!

12/22/10 - cycle 13, wave 1

OH Press

45 x 8
105 x 5 (65%)
120 x 5 (75%)
135 x 5 (85%)

Superset #1 - OH Press/chinups

95 x 10/bw x 10
95 x 10/bw x 10
95 x 10/bw x 10

Superset #2 - DB Incline press/CG Cable rows

55s x 10/130 x 10
55s x 10/130 x 10
55s x 10/130 x 10

Gi Jiu-jitsu

- Easy warmup
- armbar/triangle drilling and learned some cool new variations
- 15 or 20 minutes of sparring

[borracho]

BJJ and maintaining my current strength level are my main concerns. I'm not really worried about hitting new weight PR's at this time anymore. So just keeping consistent with where I am is fine with me...any weight progression from now on is just a bonus!


Thats really cool that you're able to select a few goals and stick with your guns...that'll keep you healthy and motivated for a long time and hopefully injury free as well. That being said, I am sure you'll continue to gain since you're so consistent with both. Cheers to you in the new year dude...hope to see more BJJ and lifting in this journal in 2011.

[gatorman2k6]

Everyone's goals are different, so more power to ya. As soon as I saw that you were just looking to maintain your strength, while improving your BJJ, I immediately thought of how Wendler tells you to set out goals. Great work Bri!

[Coke]

Awesome news man, you kickin' ass that way is what you've been working so hard for.

[brihead301]

Thanks fellas. Happy holidays to you all!

What better to do on Christmas eve then a nice squat session? I can't think of anything better!

12/24/10 - cycle 13, wave 2

squat

45 x 10
95 x 5
135 x 5
185 x 3
225 x 3 (70%)
260 x 3 (80%)
ADD BELT
290 x 4 (90%)

front squats

160 x 10, rest 60 seconds
160 x 10, rest 60 seconds
160 x 10, rest 60 seconds
160 x 10, rest 60 seconds
160 x 10

Superset #1 - dragon flags/hanging leg raises

bw x 10/bw x 10
bw x 10/bw x 10
bw x 10/bw x 10

[gatorman2k6]

Great work Bri! I'm about to go do my Christmas Eve session too.

[Clover]

Nice squatting Bri! I'll be doing a christmas eve session too.

[Coke]

Great squat work and all man...wish you the best in 2011!!

[brihead301]

12/27/10 - cycle 13, wave2

Did my first reset in bench. I did a 10% reset midcycle, but it should work well.

Bench

45 x 10
135 x 5
160 x 3 (70%)
185 x 3 (80%)
205 x 7 (90%)

Superset #1 - CGBP/BB Rows

140 x 10/145 x 10
140 x 10/145 x 10
140 x 10/145 x 10
140 x 10/145 x 10
140 x 10/145 x 10

DB lateral raises

20s x 10
20s x 10
20s x 10

No jiu jitsu today. It got snowed out. I was fully ready to drive my rear wheel drive mustang to class in the snow, so I'm pissed it got cancelled!

[gatorman2k6]

Great work Bri! 7 reps at 205 is awesome. I know you'll do fine with the reset. Sucks jiu jitsu got canceled, but it sounds like a good thing considering what you would have driven to get there haha. That is exactly why I got an AWD car....now I just need my winter tires to arrive.

[Coke]

Like the session Brian...look forward to see you keep raising up on all levels in 2011.

[StLRPh]

nice work on everything

[-JM-]

Go ahead Bri. Thats some solid benchin' mate!

[NickAus]

Looking very good bro!!

[brihead301]

Thanks for the words everyone. I've been thinking, it's actually the first time in 13 cycles of this program that I've needed to reset in bench, so a 10% reset is no big deal. I haven't had to reset in deads or squats yet! That's about 15 months or so of straight progress (slow, but steady progress!)

Flynn, you changed your name! How did you do that?

This was one of those days where I was so effing tired...I didn't feel like doing s***!!! But I somehow always force myself to get my ass to the gym even when I feel like that.

12/28/10

Gi-Jiu Jitsu

- warmup
- learned some butterfly guard stuff
- 20 minutes rolling

12/29/10 - cycle 13, wave 2

Deadlift

135 x 5
225 x 3
305 x 3 (70%)
350 x 3 (80%)
390 x 3 (90%) - felt some back tweakage, so I didn't go crazy on these

Superset #1 - back hyperextensions/hanging leg raises

bw x 10/bw x 10
bw x 10/bw x 10
bw x 10/bw x 10
bw x 10/bw x 10
bw x 10/bw x 10

Gi-Jiu Jitsu

- warmup
- learned some more butterfly guard stuff
- 30 minutes rolling

[Keith]

In the 13 cycles, how much have your big 3 lifts increased (based on 1 RM cal.)?

[StLRPh]

I testament to consistency and sticking to the same program for long periods of time

[mchicia1]

You must be a machine by now with all that training.

[brihead301]

Thanks fellas! Yup, consistency is the most important aspect of this game IMO!


In the 13 cycles, how much have your big 3 lifts increased (based on 1 RM cal.)?

Well, the percentages are always based off a 1RM, and I've added 5 lbs. to that 1RM every cycle so far for 13 cycles. Currently in this cycle (cycle 13), my percentages are based off:

squat: 325
Bench: 255
Deadlift: 435
OH Press: 160

Note, I did do a 10% reset on OHP once at around cycle 9 or so....so if I wouldn't have done that, that 1RM would be much higher.

Anyway, calculating bacwards for the squat, bench, and dead (which I haven't reset yet), my starting 1RM's were:

squat: 260
bench: 190
Deadlift: 370

But of course those numbers were 10% less then my actual 1RM (like Wendler says to do).

So how much did my ACTUAL 1RM's increase by???? I have no clue! I just used the starting 1RM numbers, and added 5 lbs. each cycle....when I stall (like I am now in bench), I just simply reset 10% and keep going foward.

[StLRPh]

amazing progress

[Off Road]

It doesn't matter what your true 1RM is, the numbers definitely show a huge increase in strength and That's all that really matters. Great progress.

[Kiff]

Seriously nice progress!

How long is 13 cycles? Sorry i have a lot to learn about Wendler ;)

[brihead301]

Thanks all!

I started this program on 7/27/09, and it's now just about 1/1/11....so that's about 17 months....

I had a few bumps in the road here and there....a few repeated cycles due to having to take breaks, but for the most part I've been following the program exactly as laid out.

So for me, it's been 17 months on this 5/3/1 program. I don't plan on switching anytime soon either.

[Kiff]

Thanks all!

I started this program on 7/27/09, and it's now just about 1/1/11....so that's about 17 months....

I had a few bumps in the road here and there....a few repeated cycles due to having to take breaks, but for the most part I've been following the program exactly as laid out.

So for me, it's been 17 months on this 5/3/1 program. I don't plan on switching anytime soon either.

Even better considering you focus on your martial arts as well mate :)

[Keith]

Even better considering you focus on your martial arts as well mate :)

That and dropping a lot of body weight. Very impressive progress, Brian. You should be proud.

[NickAus]

Great progress, good to see someone really stick to something and reap the benefits!!

[Kiff]

That and dropping a lot of body weight. Very impressive progress, Brian. You should be proud.

Ah yeah that too ;)

[Coke]

You have done very well man, props!!

[Brian C]

Awesome year for you Bri! Great work on 531. All the best coming up. Happy New Years bro...Go Birds!!!!

[brihead301]

Appreciate all the comments guys! Keeping this journal definitely helps inspire me to train harder!

12/30/10

No-gi Jiu-jitsu

- moderate warmup
- learned some guard passing stuff
- 10 minutes of rolling

Was gonna skip class, but decided not to. I'm not gonna get my blue belt any quicker by skipping classes!

12/31/10 - cycle 13, wave 2

OH Press

45 x 10
110 x 3 (70%)
130 x 3 (80%)
145 x 3 (90%) - I push pressed all of these. I realized that I'm going nowhere past 145 no matter how many times I reset, so I just figured I'd move on as I'm supposed to, and just do push presses when the strict presses are too heavy for me. I could progress longer this way.

Superset #1 - OH press/pullups

95 x 10/bw x 10
95 x 10/bw x 10
95 x 10/bw x 10

Superset #2 - DB incline press/cable seated rows

55s x 10/130 x 10
55s x 10/130 x 10
55s x 10/130 x 10

Happy new year everyone...time to go get *****faced tonight!!

[Kiff]

Well done mate top work!

Adding a bit of a push can help get over the plateua for OH pres :)

[Coke]

Always dig the supersets, fine day for the shoulder presses.

[brihead301]

Thanks fellas! Much appreciated as always!

1/3/11 - cycle 13, wave 3

First session of 2011!

Squat

45 x 8
95 x 5
135 x 5
185 x 3
add belt
245 x 5 (75%)
275 x 3 (85%)
310 x 3 (95%) - Very easy today, especially with the belt! I have usually just been shooting for a triple on the 5/3/1 day each cycle, but I felt as if I could've gotten a good 7 reps or so if I tried. I can't wait till next 5/3/1 day of the next cycle. The big 3 plates is coming up again!

Front squat

160 x 10, rest 60 seconds
160 x 10, rest 60 seconds
160 x 10, rest 60 seconds
160 x 10, rest 60 seconds
160 x 10, rest 60 seconds

Superset #1 - Dragon flags/hanging leg raises

bw x 10/bw x 10
bw x 10/bw x 10
bw x 10/bw x 10

No-gi Jiu-jitsu

- moderate warmup
- lots of basic submissions drilling
- learned the peruvian neck tie
- 10 minutes of sparring

[Off Road]

Excellent with the "easy" squats.

[Keith]

Pffft, you were telling me how you were still chasing a 315 squat?? It'll be EASY to hit once you reach that number. Those front squats are sick! Do you get a ton of DOMS from them?

[StLRPh]

great job Bri, I think transitioning to the Push Press is pretty solid idea as well

[Coke]

Like those squats man, big day with 'em.

[NickAus]

Looking great bro!!

[brihead301]

Thanks a lot fellas! I can't wait to hit the big 3 wheels again. I know I can do it now, but I'm just patiently going along with the program. Patience is the way to go with getting stronger IMO.

1/5/11 - cycle 13, wave 3

Bench

45 x 10
135 x 5
175 x 5 (75%)
195 x 3 (85%)
220 x 4 (95%)

Superset #1 - CGBP/BB rows

140 x 10/145 x 10
140 x 10/145 x 10
140 x 10/145 x 10
140 x 10/145 x 10
140 x 10/145 x 10

DB OH Presses

55s x 10
55s x 7
55s x 8

[Off Road]

Nice reps on the bench.

[StLRPh]

great job on the "1"s week

[ELmx479]

Looking good man, all of your lifts are coming along pretty damn well.

[Clover]

Nice benching Bri, the patience is paying off slowly but surely.

[borracho]

. Patience is the way to go with getting stronger IMO.


I know this...I just reaaally need to put it into practice. I think thats one of my biggest down falls. This is my new goal for the year..practice patience.
And **** YEA on those squats dude! Thats awesome!!!!

[NickAus]

I REALLY like your supersets bro!!

[Coke]

Way to keep in the groove Brian.

[brihead301]

Thanks a lot fellas. Remember, I did a 10% reset on bench, so I should be up to 240 on my "1's" day now...but I kept stalling, so I had to back up the weight a little bit. Yes, patience is good...mainly because of injury prevention. Believe me, I want to add more weight on the bar, but I've hurt myself enough times that I've learned to respect the weights. So I just follow my extremely slooooowwww progression.

1/6/11 - cycle 13, wave 3

Deadlift

135 x 8
135 x 5
225 x 3
325 x 5 (75%)
370 x 3 (85%)
415 x 1 (95%) - My all time best was 420 @ 220 lbs. bw.....so I'm getting close to my all-time best.

Big superset #1 - SLDL/back raises/hanging leg raises

225 x 10/bw x 10/bw x 10
225 x 10/bw x 10/bw x 10
225 x 10/bw x 10/bw x 10

I got some sh***y eye infection, so I have to wear my glasses for the next week instead of my contacts....so no Jiu-jitsu till Thursday....damn!!! Oh well, it's deload week after my OH Press day, so I'll enjoy the down time.

[LuNa]

Nice numbers on this wave Bri. Sorry to hear about the eye infection. Down time is good though, especially after these lifts.

[Off Road]

Must feel great to hit (or close to) old PRs with much ligheter body weight.

[gatorman2k6]

Great work lately Bri! Strong lifts all around. That sucks you got an eye infection, but like others have said, the down time will do you some good.

[Coke]

Big lifting going on with the deads bro.

[mchicia1]

You are the epitome of consistency man...that is admirable.

[StLRPh]

great show of patience, wish I had it :)

[Keith]

Dude, your numbers are looking great! Pressing 220x4 and pulling 415 is awesome at a much lighter body weight! Congrats, Brian. Too bad about the eye infection affecting your BJJ class.

[Kiff]

Dude your nailing workout after workout after workout. Solid stuff.

[borracho]

You are the epitome of consistency man...that is admirable.

Hell yea he is...awesome work man. Pulling (almost) what you pullled 40lbs heavier is awesome...next wave!!

[-JM-]

Fine deading Bri! Thats a PR for that bw weight, eh? I know you dont count it that way but credit where credits due.

Belated Happy New Year btw!

[brihead301]

First off, Flynn....there you are. I was wondering WTF happened to you? You changed your name!

Second, thanks fellas. It's always great to read these inspirational comments! Yes, patience is one of my strong points with regards to lifting!

1/11/11 - cycle 13, wave 3

OH Press

45 x 8
120 x 5 (75%)
135 x 3 (85%)
150 x 3 (95%) push pressed them, and it was fairly easy to do so

Superset #1 - OH Press/chinups

95 x 10/bw x 10
95 x 10/bw x 10
95 x 10/bw x 10

Superset #2 - Incline DB press/close grip seated cable rows

55s x 10/140 x 10
55s x 10/140 x 10
55s x 10/140 x 10

Finally, I can get back to doing Jiu-jitsu tomorrow....but I'm extremely busy from now until halfway through february, so my training is really going to suffer for the next month or so....work trips...a snowboarding trip to Colorado. All fun stuff, but sucks it's going to get in the way of my training. Oh well, gotta live a little.

[borracho]

I am sure you'll stay at least where you are in regards to both training...wouldnt sweat it. Do you have your own boarding equipment? I've always avoided boarding cause I knew if I tried it once I'd be hooked, and well...I tried it in December and am hooked! I was looking into getting my own **** but the more I look the more I get nervous about taking the plunge cause there is SO much to choose from...guess I'll continue renting this season and do more research and pick stuff up after the season.

Good job on the OHP! Not too far away from a BW OHP!

[Keith]

First off, Flynn....there you are. I was wondering WTF happened to you? You changed your name!

7 months later...



OH Press

45 x 8
120 x 5 (75%)
135 x 3 (85%)
150 x 3 (95%) push pressed them, and it was fairly easy to do so

Why did you push press them instead of doing an overhead press?

Screw training, lol. Have fun in life while you can. You're not breaking any records so have a blast on the snowboarding trip, I know I would. Great to hear you're back to BJJ. Speaking of, guess who else joined a BJJ club?! Instead of telling you, I'll wait for you to ask who... adds to the suspense.

[brihead301]

I am sure you'll stay at least where you are in regards to both training...wouldnt sweat it. Do you have your own boarding equipment? I've always avoided boarding cause I knew if I tried it once I'd be hooked, and well...I tried it in December and am hooked! I was looking into getting my own **** but the more I look the more I get nervous about taking the plunge cause there is SO much to choose from...guess I'll continue renting this season and do more research and pick stuff up after the season.

Good job on the OHP! Not too far away from a BW OHP!

Thanks man! I've been snowboarding for probably about 13 years or so now. It's well worth it to get your own equipment. I started out with sports authority cheap-o equipment, and even then it was worth it simply so I didn't have to pay for the equipment rental every time, and wait in all those lines. But a couple years ago, I broke down and got good gear - burton board, bindings, and some nice boots! It made a WORLD of difference. I got 50x better just from spending the money on good gear. I'd say if you're serious about snowboarding, spend about $1000 and get yourself some quality equipment!


7 months later...




Why did you push press them instead of doing an overhead press?

Screw training, lol. Have fun in life while you can. You're not breaking any records so have a blast on the snowboarding trip, I know I would. Great to hear you're back to BJJ. Speaking of, guess who else joined a BJJ club?! Instead of telling you, I'll wait for you to ask who... adds to the suspense.

Nah, he was still Flynn about a month ago.

I can't strict press more then 145, and I haven't been able to get past that point no matter how hard I try for several months now. I decided to switch to the PP for anything 145+ and progress from there.

Absolutely....life is all about fun my friend!

[Off Road]

Good switch to push press. Get used to driving up that heavier weight.

[Coke]

The snowboarding trip sounds awesome, there is more to life than the weights, they can wait, lol.

[brihead301]

Thanks Off Road....and yes, Terry there is more to life then weights....there's Jiu-jitsu!

[gatorman2k6]

Good job with the push presses Bri! Have fun snowboarding. I've only gone once and I was terrible. All my friends go, so I really need to man up and try it again.

[Kiff]

GJ m8 love the oh push!

[Keith]

Nah, he was still Flynn about a month ago.

I can't strict press more then 145, and I haven't been able to get past that point no matter how hard I try for several months now. I decided to switch to the PP for anything 145+ and progress from there.

Absolutely....life is all about fun my friend!

I kid, I kid, I know he only changed it a few weeks ago, just yankin' your chain.

Gotcha. Once you stall with push presses, you should then switch to jerks, then go back to an overhead press. Sounds like a good little cycle, lol.

[LuNa]

I can't strict press more then 145, and I haven't been able to get past that point no matter how hard I try for several months now. I decided to switch to the PP for anything 145+ and progress from there.!

Good thinking, i am doing the same for my press and it is slowly moving.

[brihead301]

I never did jerks before....I'm going to have to look into them for after I stall on the Push presses. Thanks for the suggestion Keith!

[jed]

Jerks are fun as hell, dude. Definitely give them a shot. Add in the full cleans before them for an outstanding full-body lift. Great to see you doing so well, man! Definitely am excited to see you start repping the heavier stuff on squatters.

[NickAus]

Looking forward to some BIG push presses!!

Looking good bro!!

[brihead301]

Thanks fellas. My goal is to squat 315 x 20. When I squatted 310 last cycle, although I only did 3 reps, I felt as if I could have done about 10....with the belt on it seriously made it feel THAT much easier! So hopefully I'll complete this goal by 2012. Also, I'd like to push press 185 eventually too! Thanks for the words!

No-gi Jiu-jitsu

- moderate warmup
- basic submission drills
- 25 minutes of very good rolling
- 1 hour private session with one of the instructors

Deload is almost over, so I'll be back at the weights on Monday!

[Off Road]

315 x 20 is a great goal and definitely counts as a "Big Boy Lift." I'm rooting for you Bri, go get it.

[LuNa]

Thanks fellas. My goal is to squat 315 x 20. When I squatted 310 last cycle, although I only did 3 reps, I felt as if I could have done about 10....with the belt on it seriously made it feel THAT much easier! So hopefully I'll complete this goal by 2012. Also, I'd like to push press 185 eventually too! Thanks for the words!

No-gi Jiu-jitsu

- moderate warmup
- basic submission drills
- 25 minutes of very good rolling
- 1 hour private session with one of the instructors

Deload is almost over, so I'll be back at the weights on Monday!

That is an impressive goal. A belt does make a big difference. Im sure with the way you are going you will get it before 2012.

[jed]

You would be the #1 freak I have ever known when you squat 315x20. Looking forward to that!!!!!!

[brihead301]

Squat
225 x 13
240 x 11
250 x 10
160 x 20
230 x 13
245 x 12
255 x 10
240 x 10
250 x 11
260 x 8
240 x 15
250 x 12
265 x 6
240 x 20
255 x 5
270 x 3
255 x 6
270 x 3
245 x 11
260 x 3
275 x 4
250 x 11
265 x 7
280 x 3
255 x 12
270 x 5
285 x 3
260 x 10
275 x 5
290 x 3
265 x 8
265 x 10
265 x 11
280 x 5
295 x 3
270 x 5
285 x 4
300 x 3
270 x 7
290 x 4
305 x 3
275 x 5
290 x 4
275 x 6
290 x 4
310 x 3
280 x 6
295 x 4
315 x 3
285 x 6

Bench
170 x 14
180 x 13
190 x 10
140 x 20
175 x 13
185 x 11
195 x 7
180 x 12
190 x 10
200 x 8
185 x 12
195 x 10
205 x 6
185 x 12
200 x 8
210 x 5
200 x 8
210 x 5
190 x 11
205 x 8
215 x 5
195 x 10
205 x 7
220 x 5
200 x 9
210 x 6
225 x 2
215 x 3
230 x 1
210 x 5
210 x 5
220 x 4
235 x 1
215 x 5
225 x 3
240 x 0
215 x 6
225 x 3
240 x 2
215 x 5
230 x 2
215 x 4
205 x 7
220 x 4
200 x 10
210 x 5
225 x 3

Deadlift
315 x 12
335 x 10
350 x 5
325 x 12
340 x 10
360 x 7
235 x 5
330 x 13
345 x 3
365 x 7
330 x 12
350 x 9
370 x 7
335 x 13
355 x 10
375 x 7
355 x 10
375 x 7
340 x 11
360 x 9
380 x 5
345 x 8
365 x 8
385 x 6
350 x 11
370 x 8
390 x 6
355 x 5
375 x 8
395 x 1
355 x 11
355 x 11
380 x 5
400 x 3
360 x 10
385 x 3
405 x 3
365 x 8
385 x 3
410 x 2
370 x 8
390 x 3
370 x 8
390 x 3
415 x 1
375 x 8
395 x 3
420 x 1

OH Press
100 x 12
110 x 10
115 x 9
105 x 11
115 x 9
120 x 7
95 x 5
110 x 11
115 x 7
125 x 7
115 x 10
120 x 7
130 x 4
120 x 8
125 x 7
135 x 4
125 x 7
125 x 8
130 x 6
140 x 3
130 x 6
135 x 5
145 x 1
130 x 6
140 x 4
145 x 0
120 x 9
125 x 8
135 x 4
125 x 8
125 x 8
130 x 6
140 x 3
130 x 6
135 x 4
145 x 0
130 x 7
140 x 3
145 x 2
135 x 5
135 x 5
145 x 3 pp
150 x 3 pp
140 x 6 (3 strict, 3 PP)
150 x 5 pp
155 x 4 pp

[brihead301]

1/17/11 - cycle 14, wave 1

Squat

45 x 8
95 x 5
135 x 5
185 x 3
215 x 5 (65%)
250 x 5 (75%)
280 x 6 (85%)

Front squat

165 x 10, rest 60 seconds
165 x 10, rest 60 seconds
165 x 10, rest 60 seconds
165 x 10, rest 60 seconds
165 x 10

Superset #1 - dragon flags/hanging leg raises

bw x 10/bw x 10
bw x 10/bw x 10
bw x 10/bw x 10


No-gi Jiu-jitsu

- moderate warmup
- learned some basic double-leg takedown theory and defense to it
- 25 minutes sparring

[Off Road]

Intense squat volume, as always. Nice job Bri.

[StLRPh]

how did you enjoy the takedown drills?

[brihead301]

Thanks OR..

StLRPh, I hate them. I just plain hate wrestling and takedowns. I know it's kind of a necessity for tournament Jiu-jitsu, but I just hate it. I have no choice really to do the drills when the instructors decide to teach takedowns for a class, so I do practice the stuff, but I 100% prefer just focusing on my ground game.

[StLRPh]

I understand and at one time agreed 100% but as you know, gotta get 'em on the ground for the BJJ to work :)

[brihead301]

Very true....but even if they take me down, and I have a solid ground game, they are still gonna be in trouble!

[KoSh]

Nice squatting bri... And no-gi is what I'm talking about!

[Keith]

StLRPh, I hate them. I just plain hate wrestling and takedowns. I know it's kind of a necessity for tournament Jiu-jitsu, but I just hate it. I have no choice really to do the drills when the instructors decide to teach takedowns for a class, so I do practice the stuff, but I 100% prefer just focusing on my ground game.

Interesting. Sounds like you need to learn some Judo. If you get into a half decent Judo club at some point, I can almost guarantee you won't dislike take-downs then.

[gatorman2k6]

Great squatting Bri! I'm impressed with your front squats as usual.

[NickAus]

When defending double legs make sure the side they attack you get your under hook in on their outside arm and get your legs back quick, if you dont get that under hook they can still get your back even if you sprawl if they are good.
You have many options with that under hook although if its to deep they can use it against you so turn in and keep your elbow at your side.

Sounds like your doing as well there as you are with lifting bro!!

Good stuff!!

[jed]

Damn bro. Loving the squats!!! Definitely closing in on me for sure. Plus you're what, 25 lbs lighter than me? Grrr!

[Coke]

Good stuff with the squats and fight training man.

[brihead301]

Thanks for all the comments fellas! Nick, those are some good pointers about the double-leg defense. I don't train wrestling takedowns/defenses all that much. I honestly don't care for it at all.

I do think Judo is awesome. The only things I don't like about Judo are:

1.) Getting thrown down a millions times really starts to suck after a while
2.) It requires a gi, whereas BJJ has a no-gi option

Still, after I get much better at my ground game, I will focus more on my takedowns....most likely I will go the judo route.

Anyway:

1/18/11

Gi Jiu-jitsu

- moderate warmup
- learned some omaplate defenses
- 30 minutes sparring

I have another tournament coming up in January 29th....and then another on March 12th....I'm shooting for 4 tourneys this year! I can't wait!

[Keith]

I'm looking forward to your tournament. I can't wait to compete in martial arts, sounds like a ton of fun.


I do think Judo is awesome. The only things I don't like about Judo are:

1.) Getting thrown down a millions times really starts to suck after a while
2.) It requires a gi, whereas BJJ has a no-gi option

Getting thrown at the beginning is what sucked because you haven't mastered falling, but as you become more experience, it was nothing.

[StLRPh]

good luck in the tourneys, what division(s) are you competing in?

[brihead301]

Good point Keith....I'm sure that If I were to take a Judo class, I would get very good at falling.

StLRPh, thanks man...I'll be doing the white belt division for Gi. For no-gi, I'll be doing beginner.

[brihead301]

1/19/11 - cycle 14, wave 1

Bench

45 x 10
135 x 5
155 x 5 (65%)
175 x 5 (75%)
200 x 10 (85%) - PR +1 rep! I reset 10%, so my 1RM, which I am basing the percentages off is 235 lbs. This was my first reset in bench so far in this program....13 cycles and just doing the first reset is pretty good progress IMO. Although my overall 1RM is tough to increase for bench, the lower weights are MUCH easier now. Last time I used 200 lbs. I struggled to get the 9th rep....yesterday, I banged out 10 reps easily...I had a few more reps in the tank! That's progress IMO.

Superset #1 - CGBP/BB Rows

145 x 10/150 x 10
145 x 10/150 x 10
145 x 10/150 x 10
145 x 10/150 x 10
145 x 10/150 x 10 - an increase of 5 lbs. from last cycle on both of these lifts....I didn't even notice the increase. I think I will stick to the modified version of BBB for a while, and just add 5 lbs. to these assistance lifts every cycle.

DB OH Press

55s x 10
55s x 9
55s x 8

[Off Road]

Over a year before a reset is great. And then a rep PR on top of it. Good stuff Bri.

[mchicia1]

Nice progress everywhere man. Every new lifter should look at your journal.

[StLRPh]

excellent PR! I think Judo would be an excellent addition to BJJ. Steve Maxwell (BJJ Blackbelt that's won some world championships) has a studio in Philly that does Judo, BJJ, and several other things as well.

www.phillyjudo.com

I doubt you want to change schools but an all in one shop it very nice.

[borracho]

Nice job on the bench man! Thats awesome progress and shows what patience will do.

[Coke]

Doing fine bro, staying on the move in a big way.

[NickAus]

Congarts on the PR bro, nice!!

BTW wrestling is THE BEST SPORT ON EARTH, combines everything!! Ha ha!

Good luck with the comps bro Im sure you will kill it!!

[LuNa]

Great bench session. Thats what the program is all about, consistent progress which you are doing perfectly.

Best of luck with your tournament, will be great to hear you got on.

[brihead301]

Thanks a lot for the comments fellas!

Nick, Wrestling is cool....but I'd argue that BJJ is better :indian:....just my opinion though.

1/20/11

No-gi Jiu-jitsu

- INTENSE warmup. My teacher's instructor put him and his BJJ class through HELL the previous night, so he decided to take it out on us last night. 30 straight minutes of HELL!
- learned a few half-guard passes
- 15 minutes of positional sparring

All I wanted to do was go home and sleep after that class, but a female friend of mine asked me to go out to a bar with her....so I did....and I ended up only getting 4 hours of drunken sleep instead. Balls, I'm tired. And it's deadlift day today :evillaugh:.

[Keith]

Nick, Wrestling is cool....but I'd argue that BJJ is better :indian:....just my opinion though.

MUCH better, lol.



a female friend of mine asked me to go out to a bar with her....so I did....and I ended up only getting 4 hours of drunken sleep instead. Balls, I'm tired. And it's deadlift day today :evillaugh:.

Did you get anything out of that or what?

That's awesome benching, dude. I didn't know you could bench that much. I know you don't care, but I'm sure you could smash your 1 RM now.

[brihead301]

Nah, trust me...when it comes to 1RM's with bench and OHP my 1RM sucks.... I get stronger at the lower weights, and therefore I can bang out more reps easier...but the 1RM just doesn't move! With the OHP, I switched to Push presses...with bench....eh, I dunno I just reset it!

[Kiff]

Progress comes in all forms amte, good to recognise them, nailing lower weights and reps easier than last week or last year is sometimes better than hitting a new 1rm! IMO! Good work buddy.

[gatorman2k6]

Great work lately Bri! 200x10 is some strong pressing. Glad to see you are doing more BJJ tournaments too.

[brihead301]

Thanks a lot fellas! And BTW, thanks for that link Stlrph...I'm considering taking up some Judo!

1/22/11 - cycle 14, wave 1

Deadlift

135 x 5
135 x 5
225 x 3
285 x 5 (65%)
330 x 5 (75%)
375 x 8 (85%) - ouch these were f***ing hard to do!

Superset #1 - SLDL/back raises/hanging leg raises

225 x 8/bw x 10/bw x 10
bw x 10/bw x 10
bw + 5 x 10/bw x 10
bw + 5 x 10/bw x 10

Good day, but tweaked the back a bit again. I'm good though!

[brihead301]

1/22/11

Gi Jiu-jitsu

- moderate warmup
- went over a nice half guard sweep
- 15 minutes of rolling
- 1 hour private lesson with the purple belt

[Coke]

Based on a friend of mine I have known for years outside the gym and later in the workplace, he told me that Judo classes are vicious, especially at the onset - they love to make examples out of the new guys.

But the way I look at it, getting thrown around really isn't a bad deal if you can learn to counter attack.

Good luck in the entire scheme of things Brian, what you are doing is no joke.

[LuNa]

Wow, nice deadlifts. 375x8 is no joke.

[gatorman2k6]

Nice deadlifting Bri!

[Kiff]

Looking good in here mate!

[brihead301]

Thanks everyone! This is all very fun to me, so it doesn't even seem like effort at all! Thats the beauty of being passionate about something!

1/24/11 - cycle 14, wave 1

OH Press

45 x 8
105 x 5 ( 65%)
125 x 5 (75%)
140 x 6 (85%) 1st 3 strict, next 3 push pressed.

Superset #1 - OH Press/pullups

95 x 10/bw x 10
95 x 10/bw x 10
95 x 10/bw x 10

Superset #2 - Incline DB press/close grip seated cable rows

60s x 10/140 x 10
60s x 10/140 x 10
60s x 10/140 x 10

[StLRPh]

Why not do push press throughout? Might be easier to gauge progress is your technique is consistent.

[NickAus]

Great OHP work, looking on track still!!

[Off Road]

Nice pressing Bri.

[brihead301]

Thanks fellas! I only push press when I can't do strict presses anymore. Ideally, I'd rather strict press everything, but doing the extra little push helps me to hit my goal reps. Come next cycle I most likely will be push pressing more anyway, because I can't strict press any more then 145 x 1.

[gatorman2k6]

That's a good idea with the strict reps and then the push press reps. That way you can keep progress going a little bit further. When's the BJJ tournament? This weekend right?

[StLRPh]

I wonder if it's your setup? You can bench quite a bit better than me but I have a little higher OH Press. Keith Wassung has a really good article on OH press

[KoSh]

Yeah, my military press is garbage... Probably because I've never really trained it.

I bench 315 but can only mp 185.

Of course, I plan on that being over 200 pounds the next time around. :)

You're not alone brotha!

[Off Road]

Something I like to do is Push Press the first rep and then Strict Press the remaining reps. That first Push gets it off my chest, then I can use muscle rebound to get the rest of the reps off the chest. That way I'm getting enough work at the bottom position to keep progressing.

[brihead301]

Thanks fellas. Also, thanks for the suggestions...I'm going to stick with what I'm doing though for a while to see how far I can get using the PP, and then I will look at other options.

1/27/11 - cycle 14, wave 2

Squat

45 x 10
95 x 5
135 x 5
185 x 3
230 x 3 (70%)
265 x 3 (80%)
295 x 4 (90%)

Bench

45 x 5
135 x 5
165 x 3 (70%)
195 x 3 (80%)
210 x 5 (90%)

Superset #1 - Front squat/CGBP

185 x 10/185 x 7
185 x 10/185 x 7
185 x 10/185 x 7

Going to Colorado on Feb 7th, so I have to double up on all my sessions in order to complete this cycle in time...I don't feel like restarting from the beginning of the cycle like I have in the past. I'm just kinda improvising on the assistance lifts.

[StLRPh]

Very nice effort

[KoSh]

Doubling up looks like fun. I bet you'll have some DOMS for sure :)

Good work bro.

[jed]

Damn Bri, you have been lifting some solid ass weight in here. Really glad to see you got one more rep of 200 for benching! And DAMN dude, you are a f***ing tank at deadlifting! I may have you in squats by a bit, but you are leaps ahead of me in deads! Good stuff dude :) What's over in Colorado for ya? Just some more fun in the sun/snow?

[LuNa]

Doubling up on sessions sounds great :p. Im pretty sure your OH press will move with the push presses added.

[Coke]

Doubling up will be killer but worthwhile in your case, have a great time when out in Colorado man.

[brihead301]

Thanks all! Ya the doubling up isn't too bad. I just wanted to get this cycle done before I leave on 2/7. I'll just be doing some snowboarding in CO...so I'm looking forward to that fo sho!

1/31/11 - cycle 14, wave 2

Deadlift

135 x 5
225 x 3
310 x 3 (70%)
350 x 3 (80%)
395 x 3 (90%)

OH Press

45 x 8
115 x 3 (70%)
130 x 3 (80%)
150 x 5 (90%) - push presses

Superset #1 - BB OH press/chinups

95 x 10/bw x 10
95 x 10/bw x 10
95 x 10/bw x 10

No gi jiu-jitsu

- moderate warmup
- drilled some wrestling stuff
- takedown sparring

meh...I hate training takedowns, but whatever...

[brihead301]

2/1/11

Gi Jiu-Jitsu

- moderate warmup
- learned some turtle guard reversal techniques
- 15 minutes of sparring

[brihead301]

2/2/11

Gi Jiu-jitsu

- Moderate warmup
- learned a new open guard sweep, and transition to armbar
- 15 minutes of getting the s*** beat out of me by a bigger dude....that sucked

[Off Road]

My congrats, you know how to get out and enjoy life with all the trips you take and activities you do.

[borracho]

lol...I've done the double up to get 4 days of sessions into 2 days...SUUUUUCKS...guess it builds character.
Have fun on the trip man! I just got my boots in last night. Dogfunk.com is the ****...ordered em Monday night and had them by wednesday. Gonna start breaking them in tonight and we're heading to the mountain tomorrow/saturday hopefully...assuming I can figure out how to mount the bindings on to the board.

[StLRPh]

you're doing great Bri, keep at it

[mchicia1]

Bench and Press aren't that related I find. I think my max is only like 185 but I can bench quite a bit more than that.

[brihead301]

lol...I've done the double up to get 4 days of sessions into 2 days...SUUUUUCKS...guess it builds character.
Have fun on the trip man! I just got my boots in last night. Dogfunk.com is the ****...ordered em Monday night and had them by wednesday. Gonna start breaking them in tonight and we're heading to the mountain tomorrow/saturday hopefully...assuming I can figure out how to mount the bindings on to the board.

Thanks man! Ya, I can 't wait...I've never been to the west coast before.. I live on the east coast, and have only snowboarded on this side. It's gonna be sweet!


you're doing great Bri, keep at it

Thanks bud!


Bench and Press aren't that related I find. I think my max is only like 185 but I can bench quite a bit more than that.

Ya, but they do use a lot of the same muscles, even though there is such a big difference in the numbers. It's all pushing ya know....At least that's what it feels like to me.

[brihead301]

2/3/11 - cycle 14, wave 3

Squat

45 x 5
135 x 5
185 x 3
225 x 3
250 x 5 (75%)
280 x 3 (85%)
315 x 3 (95%) - Back to 3 plates again finally!!! It's been almost 2 years since I did 3 plates!!!! My best of all time in squatting was 325 x 5, when I was 220.

Bench

45 x 5
135 x 5
175 x 5 (75%)
200 x 3 (85%)
225 x 3 (95%) - I was exhausted by this point!

Superset #1 - Front squat/CGBP

185 x 10/185 x 5
185 x 10/185 x 5

Done at the gym...beat as hell!

No-gi Jiu-jitsu

- moderate warmup
- drilled the basic armbar from mount
- learned some counters to the armbar from mount
- 10 minutes of sparring hard

[StLRPh]

strong workout Bri

[NickAus]

Great squats!!

Well done bro!!

[Time+Patience]

I haven't been in your journal for a while, but I come in and see this nice display of 3 plates for squats! Excellent. Progress is coming along. I always love the goal of having so many plates on each side. It just looks so damn pretty.

[mchicia1]

Congrats on the triple plates man. Thats great.

[Coke]

Big workout and fight game training Brian...glad to see you rock 3 plate squats again.

[LuNa]

Congrats on the squats dude, that is great that you are close to being back at your old strength. 3 plates is awesome!

[brihead301]

strong workout Bri

Thanks!


Great squats!!

Well done bro!!

Thanks bud!


I haven't been in your journal for a while, but I come in and see this nice display of 3 plates for squats! Excellent. Progress is coming along. I always love the goal of having so many plates on each side. It just looks so damn pretty.

I hear ya about the pps man. Next step 5 pps with deads, and 4 pps with squats...bench, eh 3 pps
may never happen!


Congrats on the triple plates man. Thats great.

Thanks bud, appreaciate it!


Big workout and fight game training Brian...glad to see you rock 3 plate squats again.

Ahhh, and it felt good. Thanks!


Congrats on the squats dude, that is great that you are close to being back at your old strength. 3 plates is awesome!

Damn right...it's much better being 180 with the same strength levels that I had when I was heavier. I love it! Thanks man!

[brihead301]

2/5/11 - cycle 14, wave 3

Deadlift

135 x 5
225 x 3
330 x 5 (75%)
375 x 3 (85%)
420 x 1 (95%) - It's been a while since I videoed a lift, but I wanted to get this particular one on camera. This is my all time best deadlift ever. I did 420 once about 3 years ago, when I was fat. I pulled my neck that day. This is the first time since then that I even attempted it. It was fairly easy, but I was suprised how much I use my back and not my legs after watching this video. Regardless of that, here's the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtjJbf67UrE

OH Press

45 x 5
125 x 5 (75%)
140 x 3 (85%) - push pressed
155 x 4 (95%) - push pressed

Short and sweet...now it's deload time, and I will do that by snowboarding in Colorado for the next week. See ya'll in a week!

[jed]

Been doing some fine ass lifting in here bri! Great to see 225x3 on the press, and 315 for reps on squats! Looks like you had a huge past few workouts, getting close to your squat all-time highs and tieing a DL PR. Good stuff man!!

[Coke]

Very nice man, props on those lifts.

[LuNa]

Thats a heavy deadlift, especially conidering the form. There is a lot of weight to gain by using more legs. Congrats though, seeing you got it, at this BW and feeling that it was easy thats some serious progress.

[StLRPh]

deadlift looked pretty easy but yeah there's a lot of back in that one.

[Off Road]

Very strong stiff-legged deadlift :)

[brihead301]

Thanks fellas! Just got back from my snowboarding trip on Sunday. I did nothing but drink beer, eat pizza, and snowboard in the Rocky mountains for a week straight. Damn, going back to work wasn't easy, and I took a nap right afterwards. I set my alarm so I could hit the gym and than go to BJJ, but when I woke up I was so friggin tired I ALMOST just went back to sleep to skip training altogether.....but good thing I'm not a huge vag, and I got my lazy ass out of bed and went to train!

2/14/11 - cycle 15, wave 1

Squat

45 x 5
95 x 5
135 x 5
185 x 3
220 x 5 (65%)
250 x 5 (75%)
285 x 6 (85%) - Easy stuff...could've done 10 - 15 probably.

Front Squat

165 x 10, rest 60 seconds
165 x 10, rest 60 seconds
165 x 10, rest 60 seconds
165 x 10, rest 60 seconds
165 x 10

Very strict with the rest times. That sucked, and I'm sore as hell today.

Superset #1 - dragon flags/hanging leg raises

bw x 10/bw x 10
bw x 10/bw x 10
bw x 10/bw x 10

No-gi Jiu-Jitsu

- warmup
- learned some guard passes
- 15 minutes of rolling

[brihead301]

Squat
225 x 13
240 x 11
250 x 10
160 x 20
230 x 13
245 x 12
255 x 10
240 x 10
250 x 11
260 x 8
240 x 15
250 x 12
265 x 6
240 x 20
255 x 5
270 x 3
255 x 6
270 x 3
245 x 11
260 x 3
275 x 4
250 x 11
265 x 7
280 x 3
255 x 12
270 x 5
285 x 3
260 x 10
275 x 5
290 x 3
265 x 8
265 x 10
265 x 11
280 x 5
295 x 3
270 x 5
285 x 4
300 x 3
270 x 7
290 x 4
305 x 3
275 x 5
290 x 4
275 x 6
290 x 4
310 x 3
280 x 6
295 x 4
315 x 3
285 x 6
300 x 5
320 x 3

Bench
170 x 14
180 x 13
190 x 10
140 x 20
175 x 13
185 x 11
195 x 7
180 x 12
190 x 10
200 x 8
185 x 12
195 x 10
205 x 6
185 x 12
200 x 8
210 x 5
200 x 8
210 x 5
190 x 11
205 x 8
215 x 5
195 x 10
205 x 7
220 x 5
200 x 9
210 x 6
225 x 2
215 x 3
230 x 1
210 x 5
210 x 5
220 x 4
235 x 1
215 x 5
225 x 3
240 x 0
215 x 6
225 x 3
240 x 2
215 x 5
230 x 2
215 x 4
205 x 7
220 x 4
200 x 10
210 x 5
225 x 3
205 x 8
215 x 5
230 x 2

Deadlift
315 x 12
335 x 10
350 x 5
325 x 12
340 x 10
360 x 7
235 x 5
330 x 13
345 x 3
365 x 7
330 x 12
350 x 9
370 x 7
335 x 13
355 x 10
375 x 7
355 x 10
375 x 7
340 x 11
360 x 9
380 x 5
345 x 8
365 x 8
385 x 6
350 x 11
370 x 8
390 x 6
355 x 5
375 x 8
395 x 1
355 x 11
355 x 11
380 x 5
400 x 3
360 x 10
385 x 3
405 x 3
365 x 8
385 x 3
410 x 2
370 x 8
390 x 3
370 x 8
390 x 3
415 x 1
375 x 8
395 x 3
420 x 1
380 x 5
400 x 3
425 x 1

OH Press
100 x 12
110 x 10
115 x 9
105 x 11
115 x 9
120 x 7
95 x 5
110 x 11
115 x 7
125 x 7
115 x 10
120 x 7
130 x 4
120 x 8
125 x 7
135 x 4
125 x 7
125 x 8
130 x 6
140 x 3
130 x 6
135 x 5
145 x 1
130 x 6
140 x 4
145 x 0
120 x 9
125 x 8
135 x 4
125 x 8
125 x 8
130 x 6
140 x 3
130 x 6
135 x 4
145 x 0
130 x 7
140 x 3
145 x 2
135 x 5
135 x 5
145 x 3 pp
150 x 3 pp
140 x 6 (3 strict, 3 PP)
150 x 5 pp
155 x 4 pp
145 x 5 (3 strict, 2 pp)
155 x 3 pp
160 x 2 pp

[KoSh]

You always confuse me with these huge blocks of text... hahaha

[Off Road]

Sounds like you had a great trip. Nice session on the return.

[StLRPh]

Squat
285 x 6 (85%) - Easy stuff...could've done 10 - 15 probably.

Should have gone for 20 :evillaugh:

[Coke]

Way to resume things after the sweet vacation guy.

[Time+Patience]

That deadlift looked very easy. I'm happy to see that you noticed the strong amount of back involvement and minimal leg involvement.

3 pps on bench is so damn tough. I'll probably hammer away at those for a while when I can again. I'd love to play around with 300+ on a regular basis.

[NickAus]

Great dedication!!

[brihead301]

Thanks a lot for all the comments and support fellas. I've been so damn busy at work lately, I hardly have time to update this thing or check out your journals....but eh, whatcha gonna do?

2/16/10

Gi-Jiujitsu

- warmup
- learned some basic side control postion switching
- learned a new sub from Kesa Gatama
- 15 minutes of rolling

[brihead301]

2/17/11 - cycle 15, wave 1

Bench

45 x 6
135 x 5
155 x 5 (65%)
180 x 5 (75%)
205 x 8 (85%)

Superset #1 - CGBP/BB Rows

145 x 10/155 x 10
145 x 10/155 x 10
145 x 10/155 x 10
145 x 10/155 x 10
145 x 10/155 x 10

DB Lateral raises

20s x 10
20s x 10
20s x 10

No gi Jiu-jitsu

- warmup
- learned some butterfly guard sweep/counter
- 15 minutes of rolling

[Off Road]

Staying busy is a good thing. Keeps you interesting :)

[jed]

Sounds like that vacation was kickass bro. Beer, pizza and snowboarding would be friggin amazing for a single day, let alone a whole week!!! Great workouts after the break too man!

[Coke]

Glad to see you constantly on the move in order to raise up.

[brihead301]

Thanks fellas!

2/18/11

- open mats Gi Jiu-jiujitsu

[brihead301]

2/19/11

Gi Jiu-jitsu

- Warmup
- Was a long time ago....forget what I learned :)
- sparring!
- Private lesson

[brihead301]

2/21/11 - cycle 15, wave 1

Deadlift

135 x 5
225 x 3
290 x 5 (65%)
335 x 5 (75%)
380 x 5 (85%) - I've finally reached the point on Deadlifts where I'm not going to be doing any more then just the prescribed reps. They are getting hard!

Superset #1 - SLDL/Hanging leg raises

225 x 10/bw x 10
225 x 10/bw x 10
225 x 10/bw x 10

No gi Jiu-Jitsu

- warmup
- learned a cool triange/reverse triange/omaplata/sweep combo
- 15 minutes of good sparring

[mchicia1]

Cycle 15...

Can you list your cycle 1 vs this current cycle for the 1's week? I am curious.

[brihead301]

http://www.wannabebig.com/forums/showthread.php?117358-No-f***ing-around/page13

This is the page of my journal where I started the 5/3/1 program.

And on page 97, you will see that I keep an updated list of the final set of each day, no matter if it's the 5's, 3's, or 1's week....I just note the weight I used and how many reps I was able to get.

[mchicia1]

Cool...

You were a lot heavier too back then right? So you are surpassing your old lifts while dropping like 30 pounds? Thats pretty cool.

[brihead301]

I think I was at my heaviest of about 220 right before starting the 5/3/1 program. Yes, I am just about at the same strength level I was at back then, and I am now 40 lbs. lighter. My bench and OH press aren't quite where they were before, but my deadlift and squat are actually stronger now then they were back then.

[-JM-]

Strong deads Bri. You have come a long way. 14 or 15 cycles and only now are you having to just go for prescribed reps. You havent had to really lower any training maxes throughout?

When you gonna test those maxes? :evillaugh:

[NickAus]

Doing very well bro!!

[Coke]

Those deads are real nice guy.

[brihead301]

Thanks fellas. Flynn, nope still not gonna test my maxes....once I get to the point where I can only lift 1 rep, I'll then know what they are!

2/22/11 - cycle 15, wave 1

OH Press

45 x 5
110 x 5 (65%)
130 x 5 (75%)
145 x 5 (85%) - 3 strict, 2 push press

Big superset #1 - OH Press/pullup/Incline DB bench/Seated cable rows

95 x 10/bw x 10/60s x 10/140 x 10
95 x 10/bw x 10/60s x 10/140 x 10
95 x 10/bw x 10/60s x 10/140 x 10

[Off Road]

Strong deads and nice press session.

[hug dog]

Wow, you are stil at it. I have taken 2 long breaks and you are still plugging away.

Not sure if you remember but we were about the same weight when I started now you are 180ish and I am still 220ish. I guess I have myself a role model. :)

Nice to see you can drop weight and still be strong. I sure hope I am back longer then last time.

[brihead301]

Thanks Off Road!

Hug Dog, Ya man long time since I was 220. I've been running the 5/3/1 program for almost 2 years now, and that's how I was able to get back to the same strength I was at when I was 220. It's a great program, but it takes a long time. It's good stuff! Thanks bud.

[brihead301]

2/24/11 - cycle 15, wave 2

Squat

45 x 8
95 x 5
135 x 5
185 x 3
235 x 3 (70%)
270 x 3 (80%)
300 x 5 (90%)

Front Squat

165 x 10, rest 60 seconds
165 x 10, rest 60 seconds
165 x 10, rest 60 seconds
165 x 10, rest 60 seconds
165 x 10

Superset #1 - Dragon Flags/hanging leg raises

bw x 10/bw x 10
bw x 10/bw x 10
bw x 10/bw x 10

No gi jiu-jitsu

- lots of hip escapes
- lots of drilling of the basic subs
- 10 minutes of sparring

I'm starting to get pretty good at this Jiu-jitsu!

[gatorman2k6]

Great work lately Bri! I like your consistency. I need to man up and get all my sessions in. Keep up the great work!

[Coke]

I'm starting to get pretty good at this Jiu-jitsu!

Glad to hear it, you put in work dude...good day for the squats too.

[hug dog]

Looking solid in here. Question.

Doesn't the front squats hurt your wrists? Do you cross your arms or how do you hold your weight?

[LuNa]

Nice squats, deads and presses Bri. Looking really solid.

[brihead301]

Thanks fellas....about Front squats....2 things:

1.) They used to hurt my wrists, but I've adapted to them over time, and now they don't hurt anymore
2.) I don't use the cross-arm grip, but keeping the elbows high and keeping my pinkys hanging off the bar allows me to comfortably hold the bar

2/25/11

Gi jiu-jitsu

- open mats for 2 hours, couldn't have had more fun

[brihead301]

2/26/11

Gi jiu-jitsu

- warmup
- went over some spider guard sweeps
- 20 minutes of rolling. I was actually winning against my teacher for about 35 seconds (legitimately), until he then whooped my ass as usual.

[brihead301]

2/27/11 - cycle 15, wave 2

Bench

135 x 5
170 x 3 (70%)
190 x 3 (80%)
215 x 5 (90%)

Superset #1 - CGBP/BB rows

145 x 10/155 x 10
145 x 10/155 x 10
145 x 10/155 x 10
145 x 10/155 x 10
145 x 10/155 x 10

DB lateral raises

20s x 10
20s x 10
20s x 10

No gi jiu-jitsu

- drilling armbar - triangle - armbar
- 30 minutes of rolling

[StLRPh]

very nice work as always, always fun to feel like you're doing something right while rolling :)

[borracho]

Awesome job on the squats! Both back and front squats are lookin good man.

[mchicia1]

Kind of off topic here..

Have you been in any recent street fights of late? You've been training BJJ for 1.5 years now right? Just curious how that carries over to self defense/bar fight situations.

[Kiff]

Kind of off topic here..

Have you been in any recent street fights of late? You've been training BJJ for 1.5 years now right? Just curious how that carries over to self defense/bar fight situations.

This! ;-)

Sweet work as ever your one devoted bloke!

[brihead301]

Thanks fellas!

Honestly, I'm not much of a fighter. I never was. I just really love training BJJ. My sole purpose of lifting anymore is to keep me in shape for BJJ. If I could train 10 times per week I would, but the most I can do is 5 times a week, which is still pretty good.

The reason it's such a cool art to train is because you get to spar every single class, and it's not like Karate point sparring or anything. It's actual 100% LIVE sparring. The opponent is actually fighting back. The addictive part comes when you realize that all these moves and techniques actually WORK. 1 year ago, I couldn't do anything except flail around like a fish out of water and gas out quickly. Now, I can spar for like 20 minutes straight, and remain totally relaxed while watching the new guys wear themselves out trying to beat me. This is only after about a year or 1.5 years of training too. I can't even begin to imagine what it will be like in a few years from now!

As for street fights....no. No street fights for me. I assume if someone wanted to fight me, and the fight went to the ground, that I would do better then if I was totally untrained, but honestly that is the least of my concerns. This is purely just for sport for me.

[Off Road]

Great attitude Bri.

[Coke]

Awesome seeing you get to this level Brian, always like to hear about your fight game training.

[NickAus]

Thanks fellas!

Honestly, I'm not much of a fighter. I never was. I just really love training BJJ. My sole purpose of lifting anymore is to keep me in shape for BJJ. If I could train 10 times per week I would, but the most I can do is 5 times a week, which is still pretty good.

The reason it's such a cool art to train is because you get to spar every single class, and it's not like Karate point sparring or anything. It's actual 100% LIVE sparring. The opponent is actually fighting back. The addictive part comes when you realize that all these moves and techniques actually WORK. 1 year ago, I couldn't do anything except flail around like a fish out of water and gas out quickly. Now, I can spar for like 20 minutes straight, and remain totally relaxed while watching the new guys wear themselves out trying to beat me. This is only after about a year or 1.5 years of training too. I can't even begin to imagine what it will be like in a few years from now!

As for street fights....no. No street fights for me. I assume if someone wanted to fight me, and the fight went to the ground, that I would do better then if I was totally untrained, but honestly that is the least of my concerns. This is purely just for sport for me.

Flying arm bar!! j/k.

You are showing impressive fortitute to keep at it and will/ are reap(ing) the rewards!!

You must be pretty fit now!

[KoSh]

Jealous that you're still training. With coaching football and everything else going on in my life I haven't had a single opportunity to train in almost 6 months. I miss it. I'm going to try to train a bit over the summer and get rid of some of the bulking flab.

[brihead301]

Ya, I'm kinda lucky that I have this much time to train. I like being able to get a full 5 days/week in. Thanks for the words all.

3/2/11 - cycle 15, wave 2

Deadlift

135 x 5
225 x 3
310 x 3 (70%)
355 x 3 (80%)
400 x 3 (90%)

Superset #1 - back raises/hanging leg raises

bw+10 x 10/bw x 10
bw+10 x 10/bw x 10
bw+10 x 10/bw x 10
bw+10 x 10/bw x 10
bw+10 x 10/bw x 10

Gi Jiu-jitsu

- warmup
- learned to take the back and get hooks in
- 15 minutes of rolling

[NickAus]

Great pull and core day again!!

[Coke]

Solid work with the deads and all.

[hug dog]

Nice workout. Really easy to follow. 380 x 5 last week 400 x 3 this week. I am guessing 385 x 5 next week? What is the name of the workout?

[brihead301]

Thanks guys.

Hug, it's Wendler's 5/3/1 program. It's a great program. I've been following it for about 19 months now, and I've gained a lot of strength from it....slowly but surely. This is probably the best program I've ever followed in all honesty!

[Brian C]

Yo Bri! Its been awhile but dam your training is looking better than ever! I'm glad to hear how comfortable you are on the floor now. It's a good feeling when you can see clearly what your opponent is attempting and can defend/counter without a pant of a breath. I probably roll once every 2 weeks still to keep familiar. I miss it for sure. And your commitment to 531 is awesome. Wendler should give you a spotlight look in his book:)

[brihead301]

Haha, thanks Bri. I actually wanted to find out how I could contact him directly, because I wanted to give him props on his program. I've been running it for close to 2 years now, and I don't see myself switching anytime soon!

How long have you been doing BJJ for again? What belt?

[NickAus]

I agree Wendler should interveiw you or something!!

[brihead301]

Haha, that would be cool as hell!

3/3/11 - cycle 15, wave 2

OH Press

45 x 8
120 x 3 (70%)
135 x 3 (80%)
155 x 3 (90%) - push pressed all 3

Big superset #1 - OH press/chinup/Incline DB press/seated cable rows

95 x 10/bw x 10/60s x 10/140 x 10
95 x 10/bw x 10/60s x 10/140 x 10
95 x 10/bw x 10/60s x 10/140 x 10

Needed a day off from BJJ, so I skipped. It felt weird not going, haha.

[Off Road]

That press is getting up there. Nice work.

[borracho]

Love that latest super set! And doing great with the DLs and OHPing too!

[Brian C]

Haha, thanks Bri. I actually wanted to find out how I could contact him directly, because I wanted to give him props on his program. I've been running it for close to 2 years now, and I don't see myself switching anytime soon!

How long have you been doing BJJ for again? What belt?

I started in 2002 and was a blue belt. I really wanted to hit purple, but kindve strayed from the sport when I got involved with powerlifting. My partner is a brown belt, and is who I roll with. So I still learn a lot from him, and have even submitted him on occassion :P I think what I might do is after the next meet, I may drop down to about the 190 area so im more limber and quicker and try and train more in BJJ along with PLing. Basically just training with him because I cant afford another gym membership( already have 2).

[brihead301]

Thanks fellas! That's good to hear that you're keeping up on the BJJ Bri, even though you aren't in a class.

3/4/11

Gi Jiu-jitsu

- open mats. 1 hour sparring session

[brihead301]

3/5/11

Gi Jiu-jitsu

- A full class of nothing but sparring. Of course, it was the day where I was hungover as hell from drinking my ass off the night before!

[brihead301]

3/7/11 - cycle 15, wave 3

Squat

45 x 5
95 x 5
135 x 5
185 x 3
225 x 3
250 x 5 (75%)
285 x 3 (85%)
320 x 3 (95%)

Front squat

165 x 10, rest 60 seconds
165 x 10, rest 60 seconds
165 x 10, rest 60 seconds
165 x 10, rest 60 seconds
165 x 10

Superset #1 - dragon flags/hanging leg raises

bw x 10/bw x 10
bw x 10/bw x 10
bw x 10/bw x 10

No gi Jiu-jitsu

- moderate warmup
- drilling some basics
- learned an ankle lock
- 10 minutes of sparring

[Kiff]

That is a huge leg session! Was that before you spar!?

[brihead301]

Yup, I always lift before I go to class. Lifting first, cardio second.

[Off Road]

That's a huge session with sparring at the end. Nice squat weights too.

[borracho]

those front squats are gettin pretty intense! Nice job on the regular squats too!

[StLRPh]

You got a lot of squatting in there, makes tired just looking at it

[hug dog]

My workout makes we sweat like crazy and i am exhausted afterward. I couldn't imagine how I would feel after a workout like that. Nice job.

[Kiff]

yup, i always lift before i go to class. Lifting first, cardio second.

machine.

[NickAus]

Relentless!!

[Coke]

Like those squats Brian.

[brihead301]

Haha, come on....it wasn't that bad. We all train hard as hell around here! Thanks for the comments though as always!

3/8/11 - cycle 15, wave 3

Bench

45 x 5
135 x 5
180 x 5 (75%)
205 x 3 (85%)
230 x 2 (95%)

Superset #1 - CGBP/BB Rows

145 x 10/155 x 10
145 x 10/155 x 10
145 x 10/155 x 10
145 x 10/155 x 10
145 x 10/155 x 10

DB lateral raises

20s x 10
20s x 10
20s x 10

[Kiff]

Nice work, like the supersets

[mattburns]

Looking strong in here pal, 19 months on 5/3/1 is immense!

Can see you've got a heck of a lot stronger like, such a great program.

[Coke]

Looks good bro. Check your PMs, just sent something to you.

[brihead301]

Thanks guys. Ya, it's great that I'm still on this program. I haven't yet stalled on squats or deads, and now that I made the switch to push presses as my top set of OH presses, I'm still moving forward in that too. I had to reset bench once, but I don't see myselft getting past 250 with this program. Bench is the one lift I really have no clue how to get strong at....but I'm not really sweating it.

3/9/10

Gi-jiu Jitsu

- warmup
- learned some spider guard techniques, and the reversals to them.
- 15 minutes of sparring

[brihead301]

3/10/11 - cycle 15, wave 3

Deadlift

135 x 5
225 x 3
335 x 5 (75%)
380 x 3 (85%)
425 x 1 (95%) - 5 lb PR!!! This is the most I've ever deadlifted in my entire life for the first time....and it was pretty damn EASY!!!

Superset #1 - back raises/hanging leg raises

bw + 10 x 10/bw x 10 - no rest between supersets or individual lifts the entire 4 sets
bw + 10 x 10/bw x 10
bw + 10 x 10/bw x 10
bw + 10 x 10/bw x 10

No-gi Jiu-jitsu

- jump rope
- drilling all kinds of basic subs and sweeps
- learned a few techniques from the knees
-10 minutes of sparring

[StLRPh]

:strong:

[Coke]

No need to sweat the bench, funny thing is if you put in the work with whatever level you are at, it does wonders. In other words, if you do any benching it is going to show, no matter how heavy you bench - just my observation. Keep on with everything man, what you are doing is great.

[NickAus]

Nice PRs in here!!

Great work man!!

[-JM-]

425 x 1 (95%) - 5 lb PR!!! This is the most I've ever deadlifted in my entire life for the first time....

Hey congrats Bri!! Thats a great buzz. ......and you still resist sticking another 5lbs on for another single. Awesome mate.

[brihead301]

Thanks fellas. I feel the same way as what you are describing Coke....

And Flynn, haha you've been trying to get me to test my 1RM ever since I've started this program about 20 months ago! I just don't have the urge to do it though. I just stick to the numbers that the program calls out for, and I'm not finally at the point where I'm hitting All-time PR's in the squat, deadlift, and OH press! In one more month I plan on hitting another 5 lb. PR in deadlift ;).

[Off Road]

Nice deadlift Bri

[brihead301]

3/11/11

Gi jiu-jitsu

- open mats for about an hour or more

[brihead301]

3/12/11

- Total of about 4 1/2 hours of BJJ
- Regular class at 11:30
- Private lesson at 12:30
- 2 hour break
- 2 1/2 hour seminar by a 38-year long training black belt.....got my next stripe on my belt!

That was intense!!!

[brihead301]

3/14/11 - cycle 15, wave 3

OH Press

45 x 5
95 x 3
130 x 5 (75%)
145 x 3 (85%)
160 x 2 (95%) - push pressed. This was the most weight I ever had over my head....even though it was push pressed, it was still an all-time PR!

Superset #1 - OH Press/chinup

95 x 10/bw x 10
95 x 10/bw x 10
95 x 10/bw x 10

Superset #2 - Incline DB press/cable rows

60s x 10/140 x 10
60s x 10/140 x 10
60s x 10/140 x 10

No-gi Jiu-jitsu

- warmup
- drilling flow rolls
- learned some escapes
- 10 minutes of sparring

Dead yesterday!!!

[Off Road]

Great job putting big weights overhead!

[KoSh]

Nice, bri. You're still chugging along quite nicely!

I have to admit, I'm not planning on testing out after my first cycle of the Juggernaut Method. I was planning on doing the full 16 and testing... But.. I think I'm going to do the full 16 and restart again.

Probably take whatever numbers I end up with at the end using the Juggernaut formula and take 90% of that and re roll through.

Not sure I can go more than two 16 week cycles without testing, though. :)

[StLRPh]

Nice PR Bri, now to get bodyweight overhead!