Commanding My Body

[Commander]

Originally Posted by miker44

no doubt, i squat in my wrestling shoes, which is basically as close to being barefoot without being barefoot as you can get.......and i think youll also continue to see a rise in deadlift as you continue box squattting; the bottom of a box squat provides no momentum, much like the initial pull of a deadlift

Once you go barefoot, you'll never go back. And yeah, I hope to see some benefit from the box squatting. It felt great

Bodyweight: 194

2/28

warmup
Flat Bench 225x2
Pull-up BW+15x6
Flat Bench 225x2
Pull-up BW+15x6
Flat Bench 225x2
Pull-up BW+15x6
Flat Bench 225x2
Pull-up BW+15x6
Flat Bench 225x2
Pull-up BW+15x6
Flat Bench 225x2
Pull-up BW+15x6

Power Cleans
125x3
125x3
130x3
130x3
135x3
140x3
145x3
150x3

Plate Loaded Lat PD 95x10, 3 sets, focused on constant tension

[HardCory]

Originally Posted by Commander

Invisible shoes, lol!

I just wear socks, I would be completely barefoot but my home gym is typically 46 degrees F in the winter. Not fun.

I love it... The way the cavemen use to do it. That's the way I had been doing them, but I've gone back to shoes the past couple months because the floor at my gym is filthy and my socks were usually jet black when I was done. I started doing it shoeless because it was easier on my ankles believe it or not.

[Commander]

Originally Posted by HardCory

I love it... The way the cavemen use to do it. That's the way I had been doing them, but I've gone back to shoes the past couple months because the floor at my gym is filthy and my socks were usually jet black when I was done. I started doing it shoeless because it was easier on my ankles believe it or not.

Dirty socks are no fun, especially if your mom is coming over, lol!
I keep my gym reasonably clean so no dirty socks for me.

Lifting barefoot forces you to have better ankle mobility. When you have a shoe with a raised heel, it decreases the angle that your ankle has to bend to get your thighs down to parralel. Increased ankle mobility has benefits that work upward, meaning more stable knees.

Bodyweight today: 195

Average last week: 193.7
Average this week: 193.8

Calories changed midweek since gains were stalled, current macros:
Calories - 3914, fat - 121, carb - 477, protein - 238 = Nonworkout diet.

Workout days add 500 calories PWO shake.

Sunday March 1, 2009

Deadlift
120x3 power cleaned
120x3
206x2
256x1
306x1
356x1
406x1
426x3 Smashed PR of 411x3!

plyometrics, stretching

I don't know what my max is now, but it is most definitely higher than 430. And I am training on standard equipment which sits about 2 inches lower than olympic. This could translate to a few extra pounds if I do another contest.

I am so psyched, those of you following along with this journal know that I am not training my deadlift. What I mean of course, is that I don't do any deadlifting for reps and I don't do any assistance exercises. What I do perform, is occasionaly low reps (typically singles) to see where my strength is at. Well it is skyrocketing thanks to Smolov! Who knew? I thought Smolov was just for Squats, I was hoping to simply maintain my deadlift during Smolov, but I am getting more than I hoped for.

[Commander]

Bodyweight today: 195

Pull-up BW+15x2
Flat Bench 240x5
Pull-up BW+15x2
Flat Bench 240x5
Pull-up BW+15x2
Flat Bench 240x5
Pull-up BW+15x2
Flat Bench 240x5
Pull-up BW+15x2
Flat Bench 240x5
Pull-up BW+15x2

Dips BW+20 x10
Dips BW+20 x10

This is the most volume I have ever handled for 240 on flat bench (5 sets of 5). My PR is 245 for 5.

Smolov Switching Mesocycle
March 2, 2009

warmup for squat negative
120x10
170x5
220x1
270x1
290x1
320x1

Squat Negative - lowered for 12 seconds before having to set the bar on the pins
360x1 beltless

plyometrics, ab planks, stretching

With the recent talk of barefoot lifting, some of you may enjoy this article from t-nation:
http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_...o_get_stronger

[superbilt]

WOW! You are making awesome progress on all of your lifts. Looks like the pain of Smolov worked out great for you. I wish I could hit a 37lb pr on my squat.

The whole shoe thing is a confusing topic. I used chuck taylors when I box squat and Deadlift. Lately I have used boots for squatting but now I am giving olympic weightlifting shoes a try. I always feel stronger with Chucks on the squat but it makes it hard to get deep enough with a shoe with a heal I get deep enough but have a harder time sitting back.

[Commander]

Originally Posted by superbilt

WOW! You are making awesome progress on all of your lifts. Looks like the pain of Smolov worked out great for you. I wish I could hit a 37lb pr on my squat.

The whole shoe thing is a confusing topic. I used chuck taylors when I box squat and Deadlift. Lately I have used boots for squatting but now I am giving olympic weightlifting shoes a try. I always feel stronger with Chucks on the squat but it makes it hard to get deep enough with a shoe with a heal I get deep enough but have a harder time sitting back.

Thanks for checking in Superbilt! I am hoping to get another 20 lbs out of the second half of Smolov.

And yes, the program is working wonders for all lifts! However, I think I am done pushing so hard on my DL test days until Smolov is over.

It was a psychological thing for me, but now that I accept that my DL is going to continue to maintain or even increase during Smolov, I don't have to push so hard. Probably no more triples, just a heavy single here and there.

And about the shoes, no confusion for me, once I went shoeless, there was no going back. It feels much better to me. But to each their own.

[superbilt]

Originally Posted by Commander

Thanks for checking in Superbilt! I am hoping to get another 20 lbs out of the second half of Smolov.

And yes, the program is working wonders for all lifts! However, I think I am done pushing so hard on my DL test days until Smolov is over.

It was a psychological thing for me, but now that I accept that my DL is going to continue to maintain or even increase during Smolov, I don't have to push so hard. Probably no more triples, just a heavy single here and there.

And about the shoes, no confusion for me, once I went shoeless, there was no going back. It feels much better to me. But to each their own.

I know what you mean with the psychological thing when it comes to deadlifts. I always have been paranoid if I didn't deadlift I would get weaker but I think as you get stronger on the deadlift you have to lower your frequency especially if you are squatting heavy and other types of heavy back lifts.

The deadlift is a weird lift. Some people hardly train it and get stronger on it (westside) and others train it in one shape or form every week. I still haven't figured out what is best for me. I think that if you train your weaknesses it will help regardless. When it comes to RAW Squatting if you are getting stronger on the squat most likely you will get stronger on the deadlift.

As for the shoes I think I am gonna go back to using chucks because I need to take advantage of my hamstring and low back strength which is my best feature. Part of squatting is sitting back and then down with a heel I tend to struggle sitting back and lean over too much.

[Commander]

Originally Posted by superbilt

As for the shoes I think I am gonna go back to using chucks because I need to take advantage of my hamstring and low back strength which is my best feature. Part of squatting is sitting back and then down with a heel I tend to struggle sitting back and lean over too much.

I accidentally went to workout with shoes on the one day and I wondered why my squat felt so weird warming up....I looked down, I had shoes on, no wonder. Having a higher heel is definitely not cool and from what I've read it resticts ankle mobility which can lead to other issues.

[HardCory]

This program is legit, you're at 340 now, that's insane. I may have to give this a try.

[Commander]

Originally Posted by HardCory

This program is legit, you're at 340 now, that's insane. I may have to give this a try.

And that's just the first half! I plan to get at least 20 more pounds which would mean a 57lb increase in my max in 13 weeks!

Well worth the effort.

Bodyweight: 196

March 4, 2009
Smolov Switching Cycle

Flat Bench (all sets with cambered bar for more stretch) 225x2
Pull-ups BW+28 x5
Flat Bench 225x2
Box Squat (all sets down on an 11 inch box) 175x2
Pull-ups BW+28 x5 resting 30 seconds after all sets
Box Squat 175x2
Flat Bench 225x2
Box Squat 175x2
Pull-ups BW+28 x5
Box Squat 175x2
Flat Bench 225x2
Box Squat 175x2
Pull-ups BW+28 x5
Box Squat 175x2
Flat Bench 225x2
Box Squat 175x2
Pull-ups BW+28 x5
Box Squat 175x2
Flat Bench 225x2
Box Squat 175x2
Plate Loaded Lat Pulldowns 100x10
Box Squat 175x2
Plate Loaded Lat Pulldowns 100x10
Box Squat 175x2
Cambered Barbell Row 75x8
Box Squat 175x2
Cambered Barbell Row 75x8

plyometrics, ab planks, stretching

Those of you who have been following along, know that I was stating how great my knee was feeling even with squatting 4 times per week thanks to my stretching routine. Well, it seemed I was neglecting my IT band and it caught up with me. Ironically, I began to feel pain in my knee during the week off before my max test. So now I have begun some IT stretches.

However, the stretches by themselves weren't enough. So I have begun foam rolling after discussing the issue and researching it. My IT band was tight and it has really helped. When the IT band is tight, it pulls the patella laterally and causes pain when your knee is close to full flexion. My IT band is much more loose now and at full flexion my knee feels pretty darn good.