Tag Archives: workout

May 13 2013

5.14.13 SWOD

Warmup

Dynamic

  • EMOM (Every Minute On the Minute) Flat Bench– 8 sets of 3 @ 50-60% 1RM
    • This weight should feel fairly light. Focus on slowly lowering the bar to your chest and subsequently exploding with full force/velocity on the way back up.

Volume (Rest periods should be 60-90 seconds b/t supersets)

Today’s volume workout marks the start of another 4-week cycle on a slightly different set of movements. However, the main principles and movement juxtapositions are the same. VERY IMPORTANT– choose lower, easier weights this week and we’ll continue to work up to heavier weights over the next three weeks.

Motivation

  • CT Fletcher at it again— classic quote: “Before you go, can I ask you a question? *pauses* What the FUCK IS YOU WAITIN’ FOR?!??”
  • There should be an app that just plays CJ Fletcher quotes on repeat. It could integrate with your bröötal death metal music and would serve to pump you up like nothing else.
May 8 2013

5.9.13 SWOD

Warmup

Dynamic

  • EMOM for 7 minutes (Every Minute on the Minute)- 3 Box Squats @50-60% 1RM

Volume- (rest 60-90 seconds b/t sets)

  • [Superset 2- Legs/Traps]  4 sets, 8-12 reps

This will be the final week we do this particular volume workout so make it count! Push yourself to the limit here, and make those weights pretty heavy. If you’ve got some extra fuel left in the tank on the third set of each exercise, keep pumping it up until you’ve given all you can give. 12 reps? FEELS REAL GOOD.

Motivation

  • Prison is meant to be a place of social rehabilitation. Here’s a video of a prison powerlifting competition. It’s amazing that the simple act of moving around heavy objects can help re-direct the internal aggression of a lot of these inmates and really add a positive aspect to their lives.
  • Here’s a couple awesome quotes from the video:
    • “Right now I feel powerful, I feel positive, and I don’t feel that there’s anyone in this prison in any weight class who can outlift me on any given day.”
    • “A year and a half ago, the rivalry between the whites and blacks… was pretty bad. And this time they’re rooting for each other. They want everybody to succeed.”
May 6 2013

5.7.13 SWOD

Warmup

Dynamic

  • Dumbbell Bench- 8 sets of 3 explosive reps @ 50-60% 1RM
  • If you’re not sure of your dumbbell 1RM, just choose a weight that is fairly easy to do and allows you to work on movement control and explosiveness.

Volume (add 5-10 lbs to weights used from workout last week)

This is the last week we’ll use this workout for volume day; we’ll be switching it up the movements next week to change it up, keep the muscles guessing.

 Motivation

  • Arnold cruises around the town, comments on everything he sees to hilarious effect.
May 5 2013

5.6.13 SWOD

Warmup

Strength

  • Clean and Jerk
    • 3 sets of 3 @ 50% 1RM (warmup sets)
    • 5 sets of 3 @ ~70% 1RM
  • If this movement is new to you, use a very low weight and focus on technique. Power in this movement is derived primarily from hip explosion, so make sure you thrust with your pelvis (seriously) as the bar comes up and you come to the catch portion.

Conditioning

Monday’s workouts are always some of the toughest: this one should get you in gear to dominate the week. Seriously, what in life can bring you down after you beast through a workout, push yourself to your limits, and get those muscles as swole as a schoolbus? Nothing, that’s what.

Motivation

  • Here’s a pretty sick highlight reel of some Olympic athletes competing. It’s pretty amazing to see how much weight these athletes can move despite their low bodyweight. Technique and explosiveness is what enables these athletes to do this; they are moving that bar with a good amount of velocity
May 2 2013

5.3.13 SWOD

Warmup

Strength

  • Incline Bench
    • 3 warmup sets, 5 reps each @ 50% 1RM
    • 5 working sets, 5 reps each @ ~70% Flat Bench 1RM
  • Weighted Chin-Ups: 5 sets of 3, heavy weight, but don’t go to absolute failure
    • If you don’t have a belt for weighted movements, you can just grab a dumbbell between your feet.
  • For both of these exercises, rest around 3 minutes between working sets.

Conditioning GODDESSWOD- “Aphrodite”

Choose weights on the strength portion where YOU KNOW you can hit every rep, every set. Modify conditioning weights as appropriate to your strength level.

This Friday’s conditioning workout is named for the monumentally beautiful and seductive goddess, Aphrodite. Aphrodite was one of the only true 10’s in history (besides Ariel from the Little Mermaid)– hence all the reps are 10 today. She is the goddess of love, desire, and beauty thus it comes as no surprise that all the other gods atop Mount Olympus would get fully torqued every time she walked around. And get this, she had a “magical girdle” that “compelled anyone she wished to desire her.” It’s essentially the equivalent of Cupid in jock strap form, and I need to get my hands on one. For now, these will do.

Post times and weights to comments.

Motivation

  • Two things: first, I saw Pain and Gain last night, and it was extremely entertaining, unpredictable, and flat out ridiculous. If you haven’t seen it yet, I highly recommend you do. I won’t give away details, but the fact that its based on a true story is kind of mind boggling. 
  • I also discovered that Marky Mark Wahlberg sells his own line of supplements through GNC called “Marked.” I checked out his pre-workout, and the formulation honestly looks like one of the best I’ve seen out there (contains creatine monohydrate, beta alanine, some caffeine, and BCAA’s and is ‘banned substance free’). So I bought it; about to down my first 20 scoops right now, WISH ME LUCK:
  • UPDATE: Marked may be one of my favorite pre-workouts I’ve ever done. Gave me a noticeable boost in power output, increased my mental focus, and did not have any sort of crash. I’ll keep using it and see if it continues to deliver.

May 1 2013

5.2.13 SWOD

Warmup

Dynamic

  • EMOM for 7 minutes (Every minute on the minute)- 3 power snatch @ 50-60% 1RM
    • Today is a good day to work on snatch technique if you are new to the movement. Stick to a very light weight (I’m talking just the bar), and take a video of yourself to verify form.
    • Keep in mind, snatch is an EXTREMELY DIFFICULT, extremely complex movement, probably the hardest weightlifting movement to master. Olympic weightlifters spend their entire lives trying to perfect this movement

Volume- (rest 60-90 seconds b/t sets)

Today’s workout is the same as last week’s, just lowered the reps. Increase weights by at least 5-10 lbs from last week. You should be getting stronger and bigger already if you’ve been keeping up with the workouts and eating well.

Here’s my 6 week progress pics (#DATINSTAGRAM). I’ve gone from 205 lbs to 197 lbs, but have maintained/added some muscle mass on my traps, chest, upper back, and arms. I’ll do a more comprehensive progress article in a few weeks.

 (Spring Break 2k13)

(6 weeks in)

It’s been pretty crazy so far to see the actual physical results I along with my friends have been getting from this program.

Motivation

  • CJ Fletcher’s nickname is the “strongest man you’ve never heard of.” He’s also batshit insane (in a good way), and this video should help you pull your head out of your ass and train like there’s no tomorrow:

As a corollary, I do believe there is such a thing as overtraining, which is why I’ve gone to such great lengths to devise this whole workout template. Regardless, this video still revs you up.

Apr 29 2013

4.30.13 SWOD

Warmup

Dynamic

  • Incline Bench– 8 sets of 3 @ 50-60% 1RM
    • This weight should feel fairly light. Focus on slowly lowering the bar to your chest and subsequently exploding with full force/velocity on the way back up.
    • Rest 45 seconds between sets

Volume (add 5-10 lbs to weights used from workout last week)

All lifts are the same as last week’s volume workouts; only change is a decrease in the number of reps. Continue to add weight to the exercises. Rest 60-90 seconds between supersets to maximize hypertrophy.

Post weights to comments.

Motivation

  • This montage of sick clips from the movie “Pumping Iron” set to some BROOTAL Metal should get you out of bed.
  • If you haven’t seen this 1970’s documentary  depicting bodybuilding in its Muscle Beach glory days and starring the man himself, you need to watch the whole thing. Which, thanks to the interwebs, is all on youtube.
Apr 28 2013

4.29.13 SWOD

Warmup

Strength

  • Deadlift– work up to a 3RM
  • Here’s how I work up to a 3RM: 135 x 3, 225 x 3, 275 x 3, 325 x 3, 375 x 3, 405 x 3, 700* x 3
  • Remember to take at least 3 minutes rest between heavy sets.

Conditioning

Choose weights appropriate to your strength level– you should NOT be going to failure, esp. during the early rounds, with the weight you choose.

Get your mind in the right place because today’s the day to hit that new deadlift 3 rep max. A lot of guys like to use smelling salts before their final attempt. I’m a big fan of beans.

Post weights and times to comments.

Motivation

  • If you want to feel alive, stop what you’re doing right now, and start doing this:

*one day

Apr 26 2013

4.27.13 ARWOD

Recovery

Motivation

Apr 24 2013

4.25.13 SWOD

Warmup

Dynamic

  • EMOM for 7 minutes (EMOM = Every Minute On the Minute)

Volume (Increase weights 5-10 lbs from last week)

Same workout as last week, just added an isolated oblique exercise to the ab circuit. Rest periods between supersets should be 60-90 seconds for max hypertrophy.

Motivation

  • This image comes to us courtesy of one our SwoleFIT brothers in Japan, Andoryu0126. I’m sure we’ve all been minding our business, adding full pallets to our semi-truck of swole, and seen this foul play occur at the other end of the gym.
  • Oftentimes, it is tempting to walk over and give unsolicited advice. Instead I recommend maintaining your distance, recording a video on your smartphone, and using it as conversational fodder at the bars later.