Why I Lift Weights

Weightlifting has gotten a bad rap, really. When people want to get into shape, they pick a fad program like P90X or some other cardio-based activity that promises results in little time. Running is very popular now, as well as Crossfit, which preaches functional training and all around fitness. All of these activities take effort and commitment, don't get me wrong. You can't get the same results running or doing Crossfit as you can with weight training, however. Endurance-based exercise burns a lot of fat, but it isn't particularly anabolic; I don't need to cite the various scientific data out there confirming my statement because all it takes is a pair of eyeballs. How many runners have you seen with a strong, muscular body? How many Crossfitters have done well in anything other than Crossfit?

The thing with weightlifting is that it's hard. It requires years of devotion and mental fortitude. It requires intelligent programming. If you succeed in getting stronger, it is because you pushed yourself. You have to add weight to the bar. Nothing else really matters. You have to see that progression; you get a dopamine fix every time you witness your squat weights go up five pounds. You can't lift four-hundred pounds in two weeks. You can get in decent running shape in as little as a month. Hell, two years ago, my father enlisted me in Cincinnati's Thanksgiving run, which is about seven miles. I hadn't ran in years, and my only exercise came from my job at the orchard. I ran about six times before the race, and I managed to finish without stopping. Cardiovascular endurance comes quickly. Strength does not.

I've been lifting seriously for almost a year and a half now, and what I mean by seriously is that I've been focusing on the four major strength lifts (the squat, the press, the bench press, and the deadlift) during that time. I remember being sore from deadlifting 135 lbs; my last deadlift workout, I did a triple with 385 lbs. My press has went from 95 lbs to 170; my bench from 190 to 270; my squat from nothing (I didn't do squats) to 305 for 3 reps. My body weight has increased from 175 to 200. The little aches and pains that I used to have (such as a sore lower back) have vanished completely. I'm stronger, fitter, more confident than I ever have been, and that's because weightlifting changes not just your body, but also your mind. I've never missed a workout in a year and a half. Honestly, my progress is not particularly great--I struggled with my squat form for almost a year, and suffered from hip tendonosis and knee pain, but I never quit.

What I really want to convey is that weightlifting is not some meathead, narcissistic activity. It might not be as hip as the latest infomercial or Crossfit. But it is honest. As Henry Rollins said, "the iron doesn't lie." I'm a better person for lifting weights, and it's my belief that there is no better way to stay fit. Strength takes years to develop, and it is the end of all things. So throw away those fancy running shoes and pick up something heavy. Our ancestors didn't prance around the woods, effeminately darting after deer. They sprang up from cover, stabbed Bambi with a spear, and lugged his heavy ass home to eat. So eat meat, lift weights, and be merry. That's my new year's advice. 

Weightlifting: Strategies for Achieving a 600 lbs Deadlift and a 225 lbs Overhead Press

Here's a photo of Arnold breaking his back.

My two weightlifting resolutions are to pull 600 lbs and strict press 225 lbs. To add some context, my best deadlift and press as of Christmas day are 490 lbs and 190 lbs respectively. That's an addition of 110 lbs to my deadlift and 35 lbs to my press! Anyone experienced in weightlifting will tell you that improvements of that magnitude are not realistic for anyone but a rank beginner. Well who gives a shit about what's realistic! Donald fucking Trump is President and the Chicago Cubs are the reining World Series champions, so I believe anything is possible in this strange parallel universe. As a big FU to those parties, both of which are intent on destroying the world, 2017 is the year I get serious. There is a method to my madness, which I'll attempt to explain below.

Deadlift strategy: gradually accumulate volume resulting in a 10 lbs increase in four weeks time. That's the main outline, how exactly I will implement that strategy depends on day to day factors, like how I feel, how much coffee I've drank, or whether or not I've consumed ten lbs of raw meat or choked a chocobo, etc, etc. I'm going to pull 3 or 4 times a week using the following lifts: the power clean, sumo deadlift, conventional deadlift, rack pulls, one arm cleans, and snatch grip deadlift. Rep range will stay around 5 reps or lower in most cases. There will be at least one conventional deadlift day in which I will either try to pull a new 3 or 5 rep max or perform 30 reps with greater than 320 lbs. The focus on variation will keep things from getting stale while also contributing to my eventual victory. Having not focused on the deadlift much during my four year weightlifting career, I know there is a lot of room for growth, especially considering that I am built for the deadlift, having long arms that nearly hang down to my knees. Squatting will not be neglected, despite the focus on the deadlift. I'll try to squat 2 to 3 times a week, concentrating on form and leg growth rather than achieving a new 1 rep max.

Here's some random woman deadlifting 515 lbs.

 

Strict Press strategy: Frequency and frequent 1 rep maxing. The strict press loves volume. I'm currently pressing 4 times a week, switching between the strict press, dumbbell press, behind the neck push press, and the clean and press. Usually I'll work on doing a lot of pyramiding sets of 5. Because the load is relatively light, you can max on the strict press very often. Form is really important, because moving big weights depends a lot on your back bend and your hip drive. Right now, I do a single with 175 every strict press workout. My goal is to gradually increase that weekly max.

Bill Starr pressing over 300 lbs.

Weightlifting: Box Squatting

Box squats are an exercise a lot of people have written off as useful only for geared powerlifters. Lifters who compete in squat suits have to fight against the elastic tension of the suit as they descend; they have to learn to sit back and use the stored energy of the suit for the ascent. Raw lifters don't have much to gain from box squats, since the movement removes the stretch reflex (the bounce out of the hole, so to speak). I agree that having a big box squat does not mean you'll be able to squat the same amount of weight without that box under your ass. However, if you don't care about your competition squat (and let's be honest: most people shouldn't) the box squat allows some advantages over the raw squat.

First, you can control how deep you descend. Deep squats can be very hard on your hips--for years I've done deep squats, and I've developed a hip issue on my left side where my hip cracks and pops painfully after working out. After stopping deep squats and replacing them with squats to a high bench, my hip pain has been greatly mitigated. Most of the great lifters in weightlifting and powerlifting eventually had hip surgery, including Ed Coan and John Grimek. If you're not chasing a world record, maybe you shouldn't go deep.

Second, deep squats really work the glutes and hip flexors more than the quads. If you're trying to build strong legs, squatting from a high box will really stress those muscles, in my experience. I do my squats to a high bench, with the bar in the high position. I keep tension in the muscles as I descend. When I touch the bench, I pause for about a second before pushing with the legs to lock out the weight.

You could just do half and quarter squats without the bench, however, I do think there are benefits to touching the box. If you favor one side when you squat, lowering to a box and then pushing off evenly with both legs is easier. Of course, hitting the depth that you want is also easier with a box under your ass.

In conclusion, I'd try box squats if you're having hip issues. At some point, you have to consider your general health. Weightlifting is fun, but you can't keep doing an exercise that's causing you pain and furthering the degeneration of a chronic issue. I ditched the bench press earlier this year because I couldn't press without pain. Now I've done the same to deep squats.

Conan Brothers Q&A

HarveyDillingersGhost asks "Who's the greatest author of our generation?"

Arnold: What the fuck. You guys think we read or something?

Dave: The Millennials have yet to produce a great author, in my opinion. If we look back on Generation X, there are some interesting choices. I'd vote for David Foster Wallace, since Infinite Jest is one of the best books I've ever read, and it's gigantic, messy, and overly ambitions, and perhaps the best example of post-modern literature I can think of, without citing one of Thomas Pynchon's unreadable volumes. Kinda funny that I've always bounced off of Pynchon, since he's the author that I think Wallace most resembles. Wallace has an excellent readability to his work, almost like he's conversing with you, that makes all the fancy math and lengthy sentences flow better than Pynchon's prose.

Arnold: Look at you, putting up middle class white guys as examples of great authors. What about Toni Morrison, motherfucker?

Dave: If you had to read Beloved, you'd realize it's fucking terrible.

Arnold: I dug the cow sex scenes. And the milk-taking.

Dave: Christ, you're a deviant. I didn't think you could read.

Arnold: Think again, motherfucker!

RogerEbertLives! asks "What's you guys' favorite cult film?"

Arnold: What the hell, are all the goddamn nerds emailing us this week? Give us some weightlifting questions!

Dave: I mean, what even qualifies as a cult film? I would say The Matrix was a cult film, as well as The Big Lebowski, and both of those are from mainstream directors, though I guess they may not have been at the time. Brazil is pretty good. It has style and humor, both of which are important for a dystopic science fiction film, since those get bogged down too often by gloom and doom. It has Robert De Niro as some weird rebel air conditioner repairman. With a mustache.

Arnold: If we're gonna pick a Robert De Niro film, then I gotta say Raging Bull. Dude got fat for the end part by eating Italian food four times a day. Gotta watch those carbs, people.

Dave: Time Bandits is excellent as well, since I brought up Terry Gilliam. Definitely a movie best watched stoned.

Arnold: That's the one with all the midgets in it, isn't it. Goddamn movie gives me nightmares.

Dave: You're like five-seven. You're damn-near a midget yourself.

Arnold: You're maybe a half-inch taller than me, so who's the pot calling the kettle black?

Dave: I never tire of your sayings. Never change, Arnold.

Arnold: Hell yeah I'm never changing.

BeastMode asks "Why do so many programs have you squatting three times a week, but only deadlifting once, for one set of five? Can I deadlift more than that, or will my body fall apart?"

Dave: Here you go, Arnold, a weightlifting question.

Arnold: About time. Thing is, people are too obsessed with programming. Five by five programs are very popular right now, and while they're a great option for novices, they're not the only way to train. The reason you only deadlift once during a three-times a week squatting program is because you're squatting three times a week, and therefore getting plenty of back work. Now, I don't think that kind of programming is ideal for developing a big deadlift, though the squat will build the deadlift to a degree. I'd rather squat twice a week and deadlift for at least ten or fifteen reps once a week. You can deadlift for sets across; your back won't explode. I don't think deadlifting is any harder to recover from than squatting, although I see a lot of opinions voicing the opposite. The important thing to remember is try shit yourself. Don't take the word of some internet guru. You're a beautiful flower, a special snowflake. Different people respond to different stimuluses.

Dave: Yeah, the chorus of "Do the program," that gets shouted around is a little tiring. Now, newbies probably shouldn't mess around too much with their routine for the first couple months. But once you're in the intermediate stage, then you should find out what works and what doesn't.

Arnold: I never squatted three times a week or every day. Twice a week is more than enough for me. Similarly, three sets of five or five sets of five didn't work to bring up my bench after novice progression. I needed triples, some heavy work in addition to volume.

Dave: Are three answered questions enough for this week?

Arnold: Yes. I'm feeling lazy.

Weightlifting: A beltless 450 for 3 Deadlift

 

I've finally started setting PRs again in the squat. I hit 315 for 6 and 310 for 7 in the beltless low-bar squat this week, and while those are still far away from my belted low-bar maxes, I'm getting closer. Squatting without a belt, doing paused high bar triples, and heavy box squats have really made me get comfortable with pushing myself again, likely because those squat variations all suck. In weightlifting (and in life), if you hate doing something, make it harder to make yourself harder. PR sheet below:

	1RM	2RM	3RM	4RM	5RM	6RM	7RM	8RM	9RM	10RM
Low Bar Squat	415	380	365	350	360		340	320		315
High Bar Squat	390	365	350	345	340		315	320		300
High Bar Squat (Paused)	365		315
High Bar Squat (No Belt)	365	335	325	325	330			285		250
Front Squat	315	300	300	275	270	255	245	225	215	225
Bench Press	315	290	280	275	270	260	255	245	245	235
Bench Press (Paused)	300	280	265	255	245	240	245	230	230	225
Overhead Press	195	185	175	170	170	160	155	150	140	145
Deadlift	510	470	455	425	410	415	410	390	405	360
Deadlift (No Belt)	460		450			400	405		365	340
Sumo Deadlift	455	435	405	420	410					315
Clean	235	225	220	195
Push Press	230	205	205	195	185
Incline Press (low angle)	255	245		225	235	225	215	210		205
Close Grip	295	275	270	265	255	250	245	235	230	235
BTNPP	225		205		160
SGDL	405		365		315
Wchins			45	50	50	35	30
Snatch	155
Clean & Jerk	215
Power Clean	240		215
Clean and Push Press	205	175	185		160
Reverse Grip BP	230	225	185	215	210		205
LB SQ no belt	380	350	335		315	315	310	300

Weightlifting: Bench Press 200 lbs for 17

 

After about a month of doing a bodybuilding routine, I've realized that I lose interest in weightlifting if I'm not focusing on increasing my strength. I gained a bit of muscle in my arms and back, however, and I'm about five pounds lighter than I was before. Here's to hitting heavy PRs again, albeit with a four day routine instead of the six day routine I was doing before. Recovery is usually an issue.

Conan Brothers Q&A

Nothing like squatting hairy and almost naked in a Speedo.

LarryDaCableGuysHairytwat asks "What do you guys think of the Bulgarian Method? Should I be squatting every day?"

Arnold: For those not in the know, the Bulgarian Method is a high frequency training program for Olympic Weightlifting. They lift everyday, often twice a day, using only the Snatch, the Clean and Jerk, the Front Squat, and power versions of the lifts. No assistance exercises. I think they actually remove back squats as well.

Dave: The idea is that the body will eventually adapt to any stress placed upon it. There is no such thing as overtraining. More is better, specificity rules, etc...

Arnold: I think it's a little extreme to cut out back squatting, since back strength is often the limit on a Front Squat, but how many Olympic champs have I produced?

Dave: Nada. You don't know what the fuck you're talking about.

Arnold: I'm still not convinced that the Bulgarian Method isn't a commie ploy to fuck us over. "Yeah, sure, that's how we train."

Dave: Are they communists? I don't think so.

Arnold: They're all commies, Dave.

Dave: To answer the question, I say give it a shot. I'm in the middle of a squat every day program right now, just because my squat sucks and I want to bring it up. I take a couple singles to a max daily. Twice a week, I might do a couple back off sets. It's actually not that hard, and my quads are exploding.

Arnold: We like high frequency training. I think overtraining is bullshit. However, you have to eat and sleep enough if you're going to go all out. Also, I think you need to be strong in all areas--explosive strength, leg strength, back strength, upper body--so I don't know that you need to cut out Bench Presses and Deadlifts even if you're an Olympic lifter.

Dave: The old guys trained everything.

Arnold: The old guys were the last successful American lifters, keep in mind.

HipsterMuchacho asks "Football season is starting up. I just listened to a guy on NPR talk about how he can't watch football, particularly the NFL, with a good conscience anymore. He wrote a book about his struggles. What do you guys think?"

Dave: I'm not really much of a football fan.

Arnold: Both Dave and I are baseball fans, but I caught the program HipsterMuchacho was talking about. The guy cited the violence, the concussion problems, the race issues, the low pay for cheerleaders, the outdated gender reinforcement. He cited how cities struggling to pay police departments and schools will fund stadiums for a billion dollar industry.

Dave: Dude, you listen to NPR?

Arnold: Yeah, when driving to work.

Dave: You deal drugs to high schoolers. When do you drive to work?

 

Arnold: When I'm dealing drugs to high schoolers. When the hell do you think?

Dave: I think there's a certain population that considers football to be the last remnant of traditional American masculinity. I might actually agree.

Arnold: This country is pussified. That doesn't make all the shit the NFL pulls right, but, Jesus, do they have to take away our contact sports? Nobody's forcing anyone to play or watch football.

Dave: Yeah, I guess if you're worried about all that, don't watch it.

Arnold: Do we need a book about it? Christ, write about something more interesting. Like weightlifting.

Dave: Or boobies.

GamerGuss asks "What are you guys playing right now?"

Dave: Dark Souls 2.

Arnold: It's kinda hard.

Dave: It's not quite as bad as the first game. Still has the creepy world and solid combat mechanics. I wish the graphics were as good as in the previews, especially since we're running it on a PC.

Arnold: Graphics never look as good as in the previews. It's in industry tradition. They run everything on a hypothetical space computer from the future.

Dave: I need to get me one of those.

Arnold: Once we win the Olympia, we'll buy everything we want, Dave. All the years of drug and dietary abuse will be worth it.

Dave: Till we keel over at forty-five.

Arnold: Live fast, die young, motherfucker.

Dave: And that's it for today. Stay strong, Internet.

Weightlifting: Olympic Weightlifting for Beginners

I had to use a picture of former Russian lifter Klokov because America sucks at lifting.

Due to the popularity of Crossfit (or so the internet tells me) Olympic lifting has underwent something of a renaissance, though I doubt you'll find too many people in your globo gym snatching or clean and jerking, since most people are terrified to do either without rubber bumper plates. Because of a shoulder injury, I cannot bench press anymore, so I decided to forgo powerlifting for the moment and work on learning the Olympic lifts. It's been an interesting experience so far, though I have yet to put any impressive weights overhead (unless you consider 210 lbs impressive, which you shouldn't). Unlike the powerlifts, you can't simply muscle up a heavy snatch or clean. The art is in moving under the weight; it requires quickness, agility, and decent form. Certainly strength is required, yet unfamiliarity with the lifts means that if you're a beginner, you're probably not cleaning or snatching a decent percentage of your squat. Below, I'm going to discuss some initial problems I've had and their solutions, as well as lay out a program to follow.

Snatch problems (haha! Keep your minds clean, folks): The snatch is pretty hard, I must admit. My two biggest problems are a soft lockout and not moving under the bar. Both are connected, I imagine; when you don't get under the bar enough, you catch it with bent elbows. Plus, I have ridiculously long arms, which means I have to use the widest grip. The tendency to over pull is great and must be recognized. Currently, I've snatched 165 lbs in a power snatch style, meaning that I've caught it around or above legs parallel to the floor. I need to work on quickly squatting down as soon as the second pull starts. Practice makes perfect, so I snatch three times a week and start my workouts with this lift. I'd recommend searching youtube for videos of elite lifters snatching, and then using the pause button to really nail down the form in your mind.

Clean and Jerk problems: Really, I don't think this lift is particularly hard, at least compared to the snatch. There is a desire to press the bar, but it's not hard to overcome. Really, I just need to work on my clean, which is around 235 lbs. My best front squat is 315 lbs. Your clean and jerk should be about 85 percent of your best front squat, so saith the internet, so I should be cleaning around 265 lbs. Just like with the snatch, it's about moving under the bar. I certainly pull it high enough.

Programming: Obviously I'm no expert at these lifts, but this is how I've gone about learning them. I try to do the Olympic lifts and squats three times a week, and then work in upper body days in between. Switching to the Olympic lifts will not do much for your upper body if you're doing them right, so it's important to press, do strength pulls, and add arm work. Here's the program I've concocted:

Sunday: Snatch for 8-10 singles, working up to a heavy weight. Clean and jerk for 6 singles following a similar progression. Back squat for five sets, starting with 5 reps for lighter sets, then working up toward triples or doubles.

Monday: Strict press for 5 sets. Lat work, choosing from snatch grip rows, dumbbell rows, or chin ups for 3 sets of 8. Barbell curls added unless choosing chins.

Tuesday: Same as Sunday, except Jerks omitted for heavy cleans, and front squats added. Usually I do 4 sets of 3 for front squats.

Wednesday: Same as Monday.

Thursday: Same as Sunday.

Friday: Off.

Saturday: Optional upper body day.

So that's how I've went about tackling the Olympic lifts. I'll give a report on my progress in a couple months.

A Year of Weightlifting in Review: 2015

In conclusion to my third year of dedicated weightlifting, I thought I'd perform a bit of self-reflection and examine what occurred this year and what I accomplished. The goal is to always be getting stronger; as long as progress is made, no matter how incremental (and progress is always incremental after you've passed the novice stage), you know that you are on the right track. I got stronger this year, although I haven't accomplished a couple benchmarks I thought I would. Let's see what I did.

In the beginning of the year, I experimented with squatting every day, which you can read about here, here, and here. It was difficult and boring, but ultimately necessary; I had some big issues with my squat, namely hip shifting, that daily squatting solved and allowed me to make bigger gains. The volume and practice equalled a whole extra year of training. I put forty pounds on my high bar squat, thirty on my front squat, and thirty on my low bar squat. At three years in, that's nothing to sneeze at.

What's really changed my training lately is an approach called PR everyday, which I stole from John Phung. I use this method for my pressing and squatting, but not my deadlift, which is a different beast. You make a table of different lift variations (front squat, high bar squat, belted high bar squat, low bar squat, etc,) and different rep ranges (1 rep max, 2 rep max, 5 rep max...) and then you try to set a PR nearly every workout. It's not as difficult as you might imagine. I've gotten to the point where I PR very frequently. You need to be conservative in your approach, that's all. This approach drives long-term progress and staves off boredom. I highly recommend it. Check out John's blog for more information.

The biggest thing I learned this year is that different lifts require different training techniques in order to progress. Let's look at the powerlifts:

The Squat: The squat can handle high volume, high frequency training, but it helps to find your sweet spot. For me, squatting twice a week with moderate volume and high intensity seems to be the best approach. Switching squat styles also helps; I spent most of the year squatting high bar, and have now switched to low bar for a period.

The Deadlift: Despite being built for this lift, I only gained about 15 lbs on it this year, mostly due to programming difficulties. Frequent pulling might increase your daily max, but you get burned out pretty quickly. I've since switched to simple linear periodization, which cycles intensities, and it seems to be going well. Plenty of old guys pulled high volume every week, so it's best to find what works for you. My deadlift programming is still a work in progress.

The Bench Press: I have disproportionately long arms, which makes bench press progress hard to achieve. Upper body lifts seem to like high volume, high intensity training, but you have to be careful on the bench; I was on my way to pressing over 300 lbs, but suffered pec tendon inflammation that forced me to stop benching for a month. It's better now, yet I still haven't hit the magic 300 number. I press three times a week, cycling between the overhead and the bench.

In conclusion, this year I've taken my squat from 380 lbs to 410 lbs (I plan on squatting 420 by the end of the month), my bench press from 280 lbs to five singles with 290, and my deadlift from 455 lbs to 470 lbs. I'm not exactly proud of that progress, but it's not terrible. Here's to achieving some big benchmarks for 2016: a 450 squat, a 505 deadlift, and a 315 bench press. Time to gain my winter weight.

The offseason was the fat season for Lee Priest.

Weightlifting: Working with 5/3/1

5/3/1 is a basic monthly progression weightlifting system created by Jim Wendler, a former powerlifter and strength coach. It's a simple, no-frills precentage-based program for those that just want to make progress without racking their brains. I'm not criticizing it; it's currently the program that I'm using, since it fits my needs. With a 3 month old infant and physical job, it's hard for me to recover from heavy training, so I've cut my lifting days down to four days a week. 5/3/1 usually uses the squat, deadlift, bench press, and press, but I've programmed the front squat, clean, weighted chin up, and the press. You start by taking ninety-percent of your one-rep max in each lift, and then programming a 4 week cycle. For example:

Front squat: 90 percent of 1 rep max: 285
Week one: 65 percent (185) for 5 reps, 70 percent (200) for 5 reps, 75 percent (215) for 5+ reps.
Week two: 75 percent (215) for 3 reps, 80 percent (230) for 3 reps, 85 percent (245) for 3+ reps.
Week three: 85 percent (245) for 5 reps, 90 percent (260) for 3 reps, 95 percent (270) for 1+ reps.
Week four: deload 50 percent for 5 reps, 55 percent for 5 reps, 60 percent for 5 reps.

Add weight and start again.

However, I use the percentages as more of a guideline than a hard and fast rule. Who wants to bring a calculator with them to the gym? For example, this is what I actually did with my front squat.

Front squat: Max 315.
Week one: (Warm up 135*5, 185*5), 205*5, 225*5, 245*5.
Week two: (Warm up 135*5, 185*5), 205*3, 235*3, 265*5 (personal record).
Week three: (Warm up 135*5, 185*5), 225*5, 250*3, 295*3 (personal record).
Deload.

So my percentages were considerably heavier than recommended, yet I still hit two PRs. If you're just starting out with 5/3/1, I'd start like Jim suggests. Other than the main lift work, you should do some assistance. My chosen lifts are dumbbell rows, barbell curls, dumbbell presses, one legged squats, and the deadlift. I usually just do 3 sets of 10 with one minute in between sets, except for the deadlift, which I pyramid up to a heavy triple or set of 5. There are numerous ways to modify this flexible program, so just do a quick google search or get creative. That's all for now.

Weightlifting: Running the Hill

 

I googled Running the Hill and Kate Bush came up, hah.

So I burned out on Juggernaut AI after running it nearly the entire year. Despite recommending the program several times on Pointless Venture, I'm now doing my own thing again. The mental freedom to decide what to do in the gym was the impetus that I needed to keep weightlifting. Focusing on the powerlifts gets boring; I'm overhead pressing a lot more now, along with doing power cleans.

I made this routine up yesterday to avoid doing sets of eight or ten, which I loathe. I call it Running the Hill. Simply, you start with a light weight, do a rep, add weight, do a rep, rinse and repeat until you get to a near max and twenty reps, with no rest in between singles other than the time it takes to change plates. So this was my squat workout:

135, 155, 175, 185, 195, 205, 215, 225, 235, 245, 255, 265, 275, 285, 295, 305, 315, 320, 295, 300. 

Once I got to 320, I decided to take a little weigh off, since 320 felt pretty heavy, but I added weight again for my last set. After doing the initial run, you need to get a little more volume, and start on a hill that's not as high, but just as long. So I did 225 for five, 230 for five, 235 for five, and finally 240 for five, completing the workout. I'm sore as hell today, and I managed to do forty reps of squats. I think this little routine is good for the squat and bench, but might be a little too much for the deadlift. Maybe decreasing the hills to ten reps instead of twenty would be a manageable modification.

Weightlifting: Goals for the Rest of 2019

I googled "goals are stupid" and this pic came up, so I had to use it.

We have exactly two and a half months before 2019 goes the way of the dinosaurs, so I thought I'd kick myself in the ass a bit and set a few goals to hit in the weightlifting arena. I've had a decent year pumping iron (360 lbs squat for five reps) despite suffering another SI joint injury. Recently I've been hammering away on my bench while trying to build back my lower body strength, and this upper body focus has had a great effect on my physique (You're just going to have to take my word for it, internet; my wife has forbidden any posting of naked pics). So my first two goals are pressing numbers I want to hit, while my last is a bulking goal.

Numero uno: Bench Press 315 lbs. My best bench is 300 lbs, which I hit about two years ago. Recently, I've pressed 255 for five reps and 275 for three. Last Sunday, I did a close grip bench with 275, which went up like nothing. So I know I'm hovering around 300 right now. My strategy is to press four times a week, rotating the following lifts: Incline bench press (low angle), military press, close grip bench press, and wide grip bench press. Reps and sets don't really matter--we're going to keep the reps low and the intensity high in order to get that extra fifteen pounds. I think if I hit 275 for five, then I'll be able to press 315.

Numero dos: Military Press 200 lbs. My best strict press is 195 lbs. So what's a measly five pounds, right? Man, the press goes up so damn slowly. I hit 195 last year, and the year before I hit 190, so I'm progressing at a rate of five pounds per year. Adding another strict press day is about the only thing I think will help, so I'll probably do that after benching on Saturday, my last press day.

Numero tres: Gain ten pounds. I weighed in this morning at 195 lbs. I've weighed 205 before, but I was much fatter than I am now, and I'd like to add quality weight, not blubber, so I need to eat more good food. I'll do this by making breakfast a bigger meal and making sure to eat at least five meals a day. The extra food needs to be protein not carbs, so I'll double down on Greek yogurt and eggs rather than junk like cereal.

 

Lee Priest had a reputation for dirty bulking in the offseason, but he honestly doesn't look that fat in the first picture.

Weightlifting: 500 lbs Deadlift

The first step in my 600 lbs challenge. Bodyweight was 194, also used a weightlifting belt. Felt pretty easy, though you can see me strain right off the floor.

Some Words on Weightlifting Routines

Three years into my obsession with weightlifting and strength training, I thought I'd say a little bit about routines. A a novice, you have the idea that there is a perfect routine that'll make you stronger and bigger than any other one. This is how programs like the Ed Coan deadlift routine and Arnold Schwarzeneggar's training cycle get spread around, as though following these respective programs will make a neophyte deadlift 800 lbs and win the Mr. Olympia. It takes genetics, years of hard work, and a whole lot of drugs to achieve a world record in powerlifting or to become a champion level bodybuilder, which really should be obvious. But nothing is obvious to the novice. The novice consults the internet, as he does in all things, and he finds links to beginner programs like Starting Strength or Stronglifts 5 by 5. Maybe he realizes that he needs to start small and work his way up to an advanced program. The aforementioned Starting Strength is a popular choice. The beginner uses five exercises (the low bar squat, the bench press, the press, the deadlift, and the power clean) and performs 3 sets of 5 three times a week, then he adds weight, usually five or ten pounds, until he can't add any more. This is called linear progression, and it's a fine way to begin a strength training career. But it's not the only way. In fact, I really don't think it matters once you understand the basics of training. Yet the novice has quickly become a zealot. He's gained ten pounds or so, has increased his numbers in those five lifts, and he feels as though he knows everything. He's a regular on the Starting Strength forums, and has joined the cult of personality formed around the program's creator, mediocre powerlifter and average Texan Mark Rippetoe. Rippetoe's philosophy is that you are not a special snowflake. You respond to training the same way that everyone else does; therefore, you need to program exactly like everyone else. Once you're finished with your linear progression, you should tackle an intermediate program like the Texas Method, which focuses on weekly or monthly progress. This is the only way to get strong, just like the low bar squat is the only way to squat. Accessory movements are a waste of time. Deadlifting more than once or twice a week is a waste of time. There are objective truths, is what Mark Rippetoe wants you to think.  There is only The Program, and nothing else.

All that's a bunch of bullshit. If you have the determination and the genetic talent, you can lift weights however you want. You can do ten sets of ten; you can workout every single day for hours on end. The routine doesn't matter; there is no best way to lift weights except the way that makes you progress. Plenty of people have no set routine. I don't anymore. I know what exercises I'm going to perform on a given day, but the reps and sets and variation are dependent on how I feel. And it's working great. My training has focused on setting personal records nearly everyday; I got this from John Phung, and it's really revitalized my training. Do what makes you want to lift weights, is what I'm saying. Performing a strict routine that has you doing the same rep ranges every workout is mind numbingly boring. Experiment, like people used to do before the internet consolidated all of human knowledge. Every time I weened myself from a program written by somebody else for somebody else, I've made progress. This is my advice, for whatever it's worth.

   Franco didn't give a shit about 5 by 5, and neither should you.