Monday 1/28/19 – Day 1
BW: 172.4
–
High Bar Squat w/ Belt:
225×6@5
235×6@6 x 2 sets
250×6@7 x 2 sets
–
Press w/ Belt:
105×6@6
110×6@7
115×6@8 x 3 sets
–
TnG Bench AMRAP@8 + 5min Density Block:
AMRAP@8: 145×16@8
5min Density Block: 135×8,8,8,8,8
–
Barbell Bicep Curl:
45lb x 15,15,25
–
Rope Tricep Pushdown:
90lb x 15 x 3 sets
—–
Tuesday 1/29/19 – Day 2
BW:173.0
–
Deadlift w/ Belt:
250×6@6
260×6@7 x 2 sets
275×6@8 x 2 sets
–
Bench w/ Belt:
175×6@6
185×6@7
200×6@8 x 3 sets
–
Leg Press AMRAP@8 + 5min Density Block:
200×16@8
200×8,8,8,8,8
—–
Wednesday 1/30/19 – GPP/Conditioning
BW:174.0
–
Dumbbell Chest Supported Row 7min Density Block:
60s x 8,8,8,8,8,8,8,8
–
Stability Ball Plank 7min Density Block:
60s,60s,45s,45s,45s,30s
–
Dumbbell Bicep Curl:
30s x 15,12,10
–
Rope Tricep Pushdown:
90 x 15 x 3 sets
–
Seated Calf Raise:
60 x 15 x 3 sets
–
Incline Treadmill Walking:
30 minutes x 4.3mph x 5% grade
—–
Thursday 1/31/19 – Day 3
BW:172.8
–
Safety Squat Bar Squat w/Belt:
190×8@5
200×8@6
210×8@7 x 3 sets
–
Incline Bench w/ Belt:
125×8@6
135×8@7
145×8@8 x 3 sets
–
DB Seated Press AMRAP@8 + 5 min Density Block:
30’s x 20@8
30’s x 10,10,10,10,10
—–
Friday 02/01/19 – Day 4
BW:173.2
–
2″ Deficit Deadlift w/ Belt:
185×8@5
205×8@6
225×8@7 x 3 sets
–
Close Grip Bench w/ Belt:
155×8@6
165×8@7
175×8@8 x 3 sets
–
Pendlay Row AMRAP@8 + 5min Density Block:
135 x 16
135 x 8,8,8,8,8
—–
Saturday 02/02/19 – GPP/Conditioning
BW:173.8
–
Lat Pulldown 7min Density Block:
105 x 12,12,10,10,8,8,6,6
–
Hanging Knee Raise 7min Density Block:
BW x 8,8,8,8,8,8
–
Barbell Bicep Curl:
60×15 x 3 sets
–
Lying Tricep Extension:
60×15 x 3 sets
–
Standing Calf Raise:
100×15 x 3 sets
–
Incline Treadmill Walking:
30 minutes x 4.3mph x 5% grade
Tag: exercise
Training Log 01/20/19 – 01/26/19
This post will mark the first of an ongoing content series where I post my own training, both in written form and with video highlights of certain lifts. The current plan is to make a weekly post highlighting the previous week’s training.
I also keep a log at Exodus Strength that has content dating back to February of 2018, including an intro post that details my training history up to that point. Feel free to check it out here.
As a quick recap, however, my last powerlifting meet was in August of 2018. Click here for the video, and here for the write up. After my meet I did a cut and lost about 25 pounds. I may write about the cut in detail at some point, but here’s a quick post of my results.
Since ending the cut towards the end of October 2018, I’ve been basically just cruising from a training perspective, still working out on a daily basis but not doing much of a formal program other than incorporating some tempo work to help calm down some of the tendons in my hip.
This week marks my first week back into formal training. I’ll spend about seven weeks in a hypertrophy block, at which point I hope to feel good enough to go after some strength gains at my new low bodyweight.
Monday 1/21/19 – Day 1
BW: 174.4
–
High Bar Squat w/ Belt:
225×6@5
235×6@6
245×6@7
245×6@7
–
Press w/ Belt:
105×6@6
110×6@7
115×6@8
115×6@8
–
TnG Bench AMRAP@8 + 5min Density Block:
AMRAP@8: 135×16@5-6
5min Density Block: 135×8,8,8,8,10
–
Dumbbell Bicep Curl:
20s x 15; 25s x 15 x 2 sets
–
Rope Tricep Pushdown:
60×15; 70×15 x 2 sets
—–
Tuesday 1/22/19 – Day 2
BW:172.6
–
Deadlift w/ Belt:
250×6@6
260×6@7
275×6@8
275×5@8
–
Bench w/ Belt:
175×6@6
185×6@7
200×6@8 x 2 sets
–
Leg Press AMRAP@8 + 5min Density Block:
150×16@6-7
150×8,8,8,8,8
—–
Wednesday 1/23/19 – GPP/Conditioning
BW:173.0
–
Dumbbell Chest Supported Row 7min Density Block:
45s x 10,10,10,10,10,10,10,10
–
Stability Ball Plank 7min Density Block:
60s,45s,45s,30s,30s,30s,15s
–
Dumbbell Bicep Curl:
25s x 15 x 3 sets
–
Rope Tricep Pushdown:
70 x 15 x 2 sets
70 x 20
–
Seated Calf Raise:
50 x 15 x 3 sets
–
Incline Treadmill Walking:
30 minutes x 4.3mph x 5% grade
—–
Thursday 1/24/19 – Day 3
BW:172.6
–
Safety Squat Bar Squat w/Belt:
185×8@5
195×8@6
205×8@7 x 2 sets
–
Incline Bench w/ Belt:
125×8@6
135×8@7
140×8@8 x 2 sets
–
DB Seated Press AMRAP@8 + 5 min Density Block:
25’s x 20
25’s x 10,10,10,10,18
—–
Friday 1/25/19 – Day 4
BW:172.6
–
2″ Deficit Deadlift w/ Belt:
175×8@5
200×8@6
225×8@7
225×8@7.5
–
Close Grip Bench w/ Belt:
145×8@6
155×8@7
165×9@8
170×8@8
–
Pendlay Row AMRAP@8 + 5min Density Block:
135 x 16
135 x 8,8,6,6,6
—–
Saturday 1/26/19 – GPP/Conditioning
BW:174.0
–
Dumbbell Chest Supported Row 7min Density Block:
55s x 10,10,10,10,8,8,8
–
Stability Ball Plank 7min Density Block:
60s,60s,45s,30s,45s,30s
–
Dumbbell Bicep Curl:
25s x 15 x 2 sets
25s x 20
–
Rope Tricep Pushdown:
80 x 15 x 2 sets
80 x 20
–
Seated Calf Raise:
60 x 15 x 3 sets
–
Incline Treadmill Walking:
30 minutes x 4.3mph x 5% grade
The Basics, Part I: What is Fitness? (and How to Improve It)
The Basics Series is our starting point for those who may be new to exercise and training. In this series we will define and discuss some fundamental concepts in health and fitness.
What is Fitness?
Do you know what Fitness is? What does it mean to be fit? If you look around on the internet, television, magazines, etc, or if you ask the opinion of the people you know, you are probably going to get a wide variety of responses, which will likely leave you feeling more clueless than before you started looking.
We will discuss two common issues with defining fitness and then attempt to make the water a little less muddy with some steps to take to find what is right for you.
The Vagueness Issue
Webster’s New World dictionary defines fitness as “the condition of being fit; suitability, appropriateness, healthiness, etc…“, and subsequently defines fit as “in good physical condition; healthy”…
…(pauses for dramatic effect)…
….and there you have it, folks! Thanks for tuning in, and we’ll see you next time.
The problem with these and other common definitions of “fitness” is that they are too vague; they don’t actually tell us anything that we can use to improve our own fitness. What is “good physical condition”? What is “healthiness”?
The Complicated Issue
On the complete other end of the spectrum, some popular fitness brands have defined “fitness” as a combination of ALL of the following (very abridged on my part) standards:
Train, practice, and develop the “Ten General Physical Skills”, which are cardiovascular/respiratory endurance, stamina, strength, flexibility, power, speed, coordination, agility, balance, and accuracy (you know what each of these are and how to improve them…right?)
Being able to perform well at ANY AND EVERY TASK IMAGINABLE (seems reasonable….right?).
Be competent in using each of the body’s three energy systems (because training ten different physical skills over an infinite number of possible tasks clearly isn’t enough.)
So, by this definition, I can be fit as long as I…
…train my cardiovascular/respiratory endurance
…train my stamina
…train for strength
…develop flexibility
…train for power
…train for speed
…practice coordination
…train agility
…train balance
…train accuracy
…train my phosphagen energy system
…train my glycolytic energy system
…train my aerobic system
…somehow train all of these different physical skills in a manner such that my training is completely random but yet still intelligent enough to actually develop improvements in these skills in order to LITERALLY BE ABLE TO PERFORM WELL AT ANY AND EVERY PHYSICAL TASK IMAGINABLE!
The issue with this view of “What is fitness?” is the exact opposite of the issue with the vague definitions, but the resulting problem is the same. While there is definitely no shortage of information, the individual is still left with nothing useful to use because he or she is likely paralyzed by the amount of information and doesn’t know where to begin.
There has to be a better way…
Fitness is Specific
The problem with “fitness” is that it cannot be generalized very well (see the second definition above – “JUST DO LITERALLY EVERYTHING!”). Fitness is specific to the activity being trained.
We will cover the Principle of Specificity in more detail in another article, but, to briefly summarize, the principle of specificity, or the SAID principle (specific adaptation to imposed demands) states that the type of demand placed on the body will dictate the type of adaptation to occur. In other words, the type of exercise will dictate the type of improvement in some physical quality. Running will make you better at running than cycling will.
This means that “to be fit” means “to be well prepared to do something specific”. It would be reasonable to argue that an NFL linebacker is fit to play football, and that a Boston Marathon competitor is fit to run very long distances. Both of these athletes have high levels of fitness. Is an NFL linebacker fit to run a marathon? Is a marathon runner fit to tackle a 200 lb NFL running back? Absolutely not.
Their fitness is specific.
“…what do I do with this information?…”
Remove the term “General Fitness” from your vocabulary, and always be specific when discussing fitness, because there are different types of fitness (see example of NFL linebacker vs marathon runner above).
“Well, what kind of fitness is most important, and what should I do as exercise to improve that fitness?”…you might ask. “I’ve read so many articles that seem to contradict each other about what type of exercise to do!”
The answer to this question is completely dependent on the individual. There is no such thing as the best type of fitness, the best type of exercise, or the best training program. Your situation will be different from someone else’s situation. Your situation RIGHT NOW will be different than your situation LATER ON.
There are no absolute, hard and fast rules. It all depends.
“…okay. So where do I begin?…”
When deciding what type of exercise program you should follow, ask yourself the following questions…
-Do I have any specific fitness goals? If so, what are they?
If you’ve always wanted to run a 5k, then I would look for a running program. If you want to learn how to swim, I’d find a pool. So on and etc…
-Does my job have fitness requirements? If so, what are they?
This could be an explicit requirement (ex – annual fitness assessment) or an implicit requirement (physically demanding/dangerous job where certain types of fitness will increase chances of success/survival).
-Do I have any current medical conditions that would be directly improved by improving a certain type of fitness?
EX – Resistance training for osteoporosis, aerobic training for improved cardiovascular function, etc…
The answers to these questions should provide you with some direction in determining what type of fitness is important for you and how to go about improving it. This is, in our opinion, a much better method of determining what to prioritize than just trying to “get better at everything because we want to be prepared for anything”…whatever that means.
“But Those Don’t Apply…”
If you answered “No” to all of the above questions, then is it even necessary that you embark upon an exercise routine to improve some aspect of fitness? Probably not! There are millions of people all over the world who never exercise regularly and still manage to live a long, productive, and fulfilling life. However, health circumstances are almost certain to change, exercise and physical activity have numerous positive benefits, and the drawbacks/risks are practically non-existent. So even if you answered “no”, it is still probably worthwhile that you start exercising.
But you already knew that. 😉
“….just tell me what to do….”
So what should you do if you have no specific fitness goals, no job related fitness requirement, and no medical conditions that would be improved by exercise, but still want to incorporate some physical activity? Likely the best place to start is the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, put together by the US Department of Health and Human Services.
The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans provides evidence-based guidance to help Americans maintain or improve their health through physical activity.
Click HERE to learn about the current guidelines in detail.
In short, if you are just starting out, aim to meet the following:
-150-300 minutes per week of moderate-intensity physical activity
OR
-75-150 minutes per week of vigorous-intensity physical activity
OR
-An equivalent combination of moderate-intensity physical activity and vigorous-intensity physical activity.
AND
-Two or more days per week of moderate or greater intensity muscle-strengthening activities that train all muscle groups.
We’ve created a FREE, entry level program designed from the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. It’s suitable for all ability levels and requires no equipment. Check it out HERE.
Conclusion
In this article we’ve briefly touched on some common definitions of Fitness and the drawbacks associated with them. We’ve touched on how fitness is specific, and that the right “type of fitness” for you is completely dependent on your own individual situation. We discussed some useful questions to ask yourself when contemplating setting up your own training program. Finally, we shared a few recommendations that we prioritize along with a free program to give you a place to start.
Thank you for reading!
What are your thoughts on the definitions of fitness?
Let us know what you think in the comment section!
-STS