Today was week 2 of Circa max. It usually takes me a week to get used to the bands and get my timing right so this week went a lot better. At first I wasn't moving the weights very well but when I got my suit on they started to go. I worked up to 455 with a blue and a green band on each side, this moved faster than last week's 425. A faster 30lb PR has me feeling really confident going into the meet.

After I squatted I pulled in my suit and my briefs...it didn't go so well. I've made the decision that I am going to deadlift just in briefs. It isn't worth not totaling.

Accessory work looked like this:

High incline GHR's with an orange band 5x8

45 degree back extensions 4x10

Seated box jumps with a weight vest 4x3

Half foam crunches on a bench 3x10

Sunday is max effort bench day. I felt pretty good which is unusual for a Sunday morning, it probably had something to do with the sleep that I got the night before. (take this time to note my sarcastic tone) I decided to do a max single from my chest again. Probably wasn't the best idea but I got a PR of 345. I went for 365 and dumped it into the rack on lockout. After that I put on the slingshot and did a close grip set of 5 at 315 then a double at 365. My upper body is definitely getting stronger and shoulders are coming along. After the bench we did:

triceps extensions with the fat bar off of pins. 5x5

Close grip pulldowns- 4-5 x 6

Bent single arm lateral raises- 3x8

Darts- 4x8

cable crunches with the tricep rope.  3x a bunch

Monday is usually max effort lower body day, but since we did circa max on Friday I did some mobility work and stretching for my hips. Followed with:

Belt squats- 3-4x6

Banded hamstring curls 3x20

standing bent lat pulldowns 3x10

Kneeling banded cable crunches with tricep rope- 3x15

Rolled out

Today was dynamic effort bench day, Sunday definitely caught up to me today. I still used the monster mini's and increased in weight this week however I used the sling shot to save my shoulders and kept it to 6-8 sets of triples, alternating between pinky and index fingers on the ring.

Close grip pulldowns 4x6

Bent single arm lateral raises 3x8

darts 3x10

Crunches on the inverse curl machine. 2x a bunch

Tonight I am going to come back in and do a lot of rehab on my shoulder. Lots of rolling out, bamboo bar, more triceps and abs.

The first few training days haven't really been much to write about so I'll start with this past week's speed bench.

8x2 with monster-mini bands.

Added some weight and did 2 singles at the end to total 10 sets. The monster mini's add about 100-120lbs of tension at the top.

Incline bench 1x5 1x3 3x1

Neutral grip pulldowns 10 sets of 6

dumbell T series 3x8

fatbar tricep pushdowns 3x8 1xfailure

wide stance cable crunches 3x15

side cable crunches 2x15 each side.

Today was the start of circa max. We used a blue and a green band on each side, which adds anywhere from 300-350lbs of tension at the top.  We squatted with our suit bottoms on only, straps were down. I worked up to 425 bar weight for a single, it moved slow as hell but I got it. That is a big PR for me.

Next I did some deadlifting in my suit for the first time. I worked up to 425 for a few singles, the hardest part about it was getting down to the bar. I am definitely going to pull in my suit at the meet I just have to adjust it to where I can get in a good position.

High incline Glute ham raises, 3x6

standing band crunches on the glute ham. 2x 10

Later tonight I'll do some more glute hams and crunches, some rows, and some rolling and stretching.

Today was dynamic effort squat day, I felt like crap today but got some good sets in.

I did 6 sets of doubles with 425 then two singles at 515, the speed on the two singles wasn't very good, after that I did 5 sets of singles for some heavy speed pulls.

Then:

Inverse curls 2x3 1x6 1x15

chest supported shrugs 3-4x10

back extension on the inverse curl machine 3x 10

crunches on the inverse curl 3x10

Next week starts circa max, cant wait.

Today was Dynamic Effort Bench day. For this we decided to do 5's instead of  3's because next week we will be starting a wave of bands.

Bench 5x5

KB tricep extensions 4x10 1x12

Fat bar pull downs 5x12

pronated palm KB front raises 4x10

feet elevated push ups 2x10 1x6

grip work with dumbells 4x 45sec

Friday was our dynamic effort squat day. I squatted with straight weight  and the straight bar. I worked up to 405 and did about 5 or 6 sets of doubles. I moved the bar really well, gotta lock my upper back in better. After we pulled for speed, again with straight weight, and for about 6 or 8 singles at 315. Again I was moving the bar pretty well. The rest looked like this:

Bent over barbell rows: 3x6

Inverse curl: 4-5 sets of 6-10

Half foam crunches on a bench: 3x12

Sunday was Max effort bench day. I decided to do a straight bar from my chest with index fingers on the power rings. I pressed 335 and missed 345 twice. My technique looked terrible however, gotta stay tight on the bench and spread the bar. My shoulders are starting to feel a little better they didn't just give out on me this time once the bar hit my chest. I think If I had made some better choices as far as sleep and beverage over the weekend I would have pressed a bit better. I followed this with:

KB triceps extensions off of a bench: 4x10

Fat bar Pull Downs: 4x10

Pronated Palm KB Front raises( holding the bell out straight) : 3x10

crunches on the inverse curl machine 3x???

Feet elevated push-ups 3x10

Today was Max effort day for the lower body. I did a rack pull from pin 1.  I worked up to 555 for a single and missed 605 twice. I probably should have taken a smaller jump looking back at it but I really want to pull over 600!!

Assistance work:

Inverse curl- 3x6 3x3 I worked up to some heavy triples on these, I'm experimenting to see how strong I can get my hamstrings with this beast! My goal is to be able to do an unassisted rep by the end of the year. So far my best is 115lbs for a few sets of triples. With this machine the lighter it is the harder it is! http://www.westside-barbell.com/videos.html

I super-set the inverse curls with some neutral grip shrugs on the chest supported row 3x8

I flipped the lever arm on the inverse curl machine down low, standing I put the pad on my back and did a good morning for about 4 sets of 8-10

Then I put the arm back up and did some wide stance crunches on it for 3x10

Circa Max starts next week so I will be taking straight weight for the rest of this week. I'm definitely excited for this meet.

So because its the deload before everything starts getting heavy until the meet I decided to do something different today besides the normal Dynamic Effort bench. I did an upper body drag with the sled for about 1000 yards going 100 yards for each movement doing 10 movements. Then I came in and benched with the bamboo bar. For those of you who don't know what the bamboo bar is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuU4GojGdkE its an incredibly useful training tool for p/rehab and building stability especially in the shoulders. Total I did about 100 reps. Then I did a couple sets of dead bugs for time. After that I just rolled out and got some Chipotle'!

Friday was Dynamic Effort lower body, it was the last week in our wave using the cambered bar, chains and orange bands over the plates. I went pretty heavy the week before and did some singles working up to 315 with 200lb of chain and about 100lb of band tension. So this week I took it back a bit and stayed at 275 with about 120 lb of chain and the same amount of band tension.

Squat 6x2

We also finally have our new inverse curl machine working! This machine was invented by Louie Simmons of Westside Barbell and is going to be a staple in a lot of our lifters training regimen at AP, you can check this machine out at http://www.westside-barbell.com/videos.html its gunna build some strong ass hamstrings! We stopped counting how many sets we did of these because we all wanted to see how heavy we could go with them. I worked up to a triple with 100lbs on the arm. With this machine the lighter it is the harder it is.

Seated KB shrugs 4x15

Hip thrusts on the belt squat 4x15

seated barbell sit ups 3x5

Saturday was Max Effort Bench day. We did a reverse band bench with doubled up orange bands from the top pin. The bands take off about 135 lbs of tension from the chest and a hell of a lot less at the top! I worked up to 415 straight weight and felt pretty good so I took it down to 405 and started to add chain. I worked up to 405 and about 80lb of chain. The last rep was good and its a deload week so I shut it down.

KB tricep extensions 5x6

Chest supported row 4x 8

leaning lateral raise 4x 10

bamboo bar bench I didnt keep count of the sets but I worked up to 2 25 lb and 1 35lb kettle bells on each side  and did a couple sets of twelve, then a downset.

Standing Cable crunches 3x32 (12 straight, 10 on each side)

Today was max effort squat day, I'm feeling pretty smoked so I drug a heavy sled for 1,000 yards and did a couple high rep sets on the inverse curl machine and called it a day. My training will probably be very light this week and then the suit is going on again in one week. Then we start Circa max.

Hey AP Nation if you couldn't tell after my last meet I didn't keep up on my training blog. To recap the meet Squat-650.2 Bench-501.5 Deadlift-545.5 Total- 1697.2lbs all of which were PRs.

Now I am preparing for the SPF Ohio State Championships on May 12th. My training has been going well, I just started to put my gear back on a few weeks ago from November.

Today was a speed bench day, I'm in the 3rd week of my wave using chains. I have also been using Mark Bell's Slingshot this wave, it has helped my shoulders pretty significantly.

I used 3 chains on each side and  185 on the bar for 6 sets of triples.

KB extensions from the floor 4x15

Chest Supported row 4x12

Single arm lateral KB raises 5x8

Bamboo Bar bench- 2x20 4x15 3 different grips

Standing band crunches- 4x15

Grip work with the Kettle Bells 2x 1min.

We all have them.

Every year around this time, we set goals, plans and a time table.  However, how often do you meet your benchmarks in time?  Most people do not.  “It’s too hard,” some say.  “Or there is always next year.”

Then what’s the point of this year?  Don’t be lazy.  We all have been there but few of us have pushed our limits.  Few of us have found a new level of competition, motivation and pride (Core values of Absolute Performance).

My first weeks at Absolute Performance (AP) were incredibly difficult.  They were too hard. The running felt like marathons.  The lift sessions felt like rolling boulders up mountains.  Every day was a challenge to reach my limits.  Every day was a challenge to break through them.

The first thing an athlete learns when he/she comes into AP is “Mental Toughness,” an important quality for any person to have, athlete or not.  This is step one in every training program here at AP.  Our staff, led by Tom Corradino, ingrains this trait into every member of the AP Nation.

Mental Toughness will get you to accomplish any goal you set for the New Year.  AP will work with you to set goals, plans, and a time table, you can attain within in a year.

Make this year, the year.

Reach your goals.

#ApNation

Written by David Sarubbi

Third and last week of KB and Chain for speed. Speed felt better but forearms and elbows still tight. Although this exercise is hard I like it because it forces you to stay tight and utilize the stabalizing muscles in the back while benching. Also teaches you to squeeze the lats tight on the bench because of the oscillating effects of the hanging KBs. Speed is important in this exercise, but so is control so the bar doesn't get away from you.

185 + 20lb KB + 20lb Chain  9 x 3

Decided to rep test 225 after my sets. After hearing from Louie and Westside that they are starting to do some hypertrophy work after upper body days main lift I decided that would be a good idea since my chest is the weakest point of my bench. Not my best number at 19, but then again I'm not training for endurance. I will say that when I picked up 225 and began (after almost 6 months since the last time I reped 225) it felt super light. I was happy about that.

225 x 19 reps

Did some heavy JM Presses into the rack afterwards

145lb 4 x 8-10

High rep tate press 50 lbs

3 x 12-15

heavy wide grip Lat Pulldown

4 x 12

then finished with DB front Raise 3 x 15 ea arm and DB Bent Lat Raise 3 x 15

Decided to do ME chain suspended good mornings with 1 chain attached to each side. Haven't done this movement in a while and it was good to see if my GMs have increased and the massive amounts of reverse hypers have been helping strengthen my back. placed three 1" pads underneath my feet to increase the range of motion (wanted to make sure start was at parallel). Worked up pretty heavy and felt good:

315 x 1

365 x 1

405 x 1

455 x 1 failed miserably, but decided to man up and just do it

455 x 1

Afterwards I came up with the great idea to hit my quads and hip flexors hard by doing sets of low box narrow stance squats

315 3 x 8

I am still feeling this Thursday.

Did some Chest supported rows of the belt squat machine (never done before good exercise)

3 x 12

4 x 20 Reverse Hypers (back felt very tight)

Finished with some Band Ham Curls 3 x 15 and hip flexor raises with chain 3 x 15ea

Rolled out and did some speed work.

4x3 185

3x10 dumbell presses

3x10 KB triceps extensions

pronated palm anterior delt raise 3x12

superset with

palm out lateral raises 3x10

lat pulldowns with the inverted lat bar 3x 10

half foam bench crunches 3 x10

AC is feeling great.

Friday is DE squat day. I'm deloading so I didn't do too much today:

3-4x2 365 in briefs

I also did speed pulls in my briefs

4x1 315

I moved the bar well with both squatting and pulling. I'm ready.

Accessory work:

45 Degree back extensions 3x10

banded hamstring curls 3x12

sit ups on GHR 3x10

I also came in on saturday and drug a light sled for about 10 min then did some upper body work with it. After that I rolled out with a softball and the foam roller very thoroughly, then I stretched with a band and did some static stretching as well.