27 May 2013- A week later my take-A-ways from Ohio...

Thoughts, Motivations, and take-A-ways from the LTTS 6
So i have had a week to go over everything in my head from the seminar. like i told my Brother and numerous other people i pulled way more out of that Weekend in Ohio than i ever imagined. Some thoughts from the past week in no particular order:

-I need to buy a house so i can have my own home gym. Walking back into my gym during "prime Time" was aggravating and depressing. Cleaning up after others simply so i can do train. The gym filled with guys that are doing more posing than training. I have made comments in the past and even made fun of guys at work for their mis-direction in their training (too much bodybuilding and not enough strength work) but now i seem to see things in a new light.
-Not say i have it all figured out, far from it. But i appreciate a lot more where my training has taken me and where it will take me.

-being in a room full of guys with thick meaty traps changes your view of what strong looks like or actually is.
-I have never met a larger group of athletes /Coaches more willing to pass on their knowledge to other athletes.
-Since i have come home i truly appreciate what an honor it was to have Buddy Morris pass on information to me.
-Harry Selkow is one of the coolest and most genuine Dudes I have ever met. I am proud to call him a friend.
-Ed Coan & Steve Goggins are true legends in the sport of power lifting but they will talk to you like a regular dude and are both super funny.

-The Time that JL Holdsworth spent with me working on my Deadlift - i will probably spend a good number of years trying to pay that back by teaching what he showed me to others. It was one of those moments that left a mark on me.
-Team Ladewski is a phenomenal couple. The one simple trick with the hand wraps that Matt showed me was huge. The Time that Julia spent with my Girl was great for me to watch and i was just as inspired watching her truly learn what i have been trying to communicate. (I really am a crappy coach for begninner lifters)
-When it comes to all the lifts i knew all the cues and positions. But now i know when i truly have everything locked in.
-Going through the squat was a humbling experience. I have been squatting since i was 13. It was the first time that i actually felt like i had made the bar apart of me when i squatted.

-My Hip Mobility is deep in the SUCK category. I will simply hammer this until i turn it around.
-I do not have nearly enough Trap /Neck development.
-The next LTTS i go to i plan on trying to talk to every EFS athlete in attendance if even for 3 min. There was a few guys i would have liked to talked to but did not get a chance. Jeremy Frey, Dave Kirschen, Mick Manley and Marshall Johnson are high on that list.
-When Ed Coan walks by and slaps you on the shoulder and gives you a smile and a nod it makes you feel pretty cool.
-When Harry Calls you out in front of half the room, even when you are expecting it to go down that way, your mind locks into focus instantly. I Know you are proud of me Coach, but next time there will be 20 in the tank. Still i am more than happy (but not content) where my pull ups are at.
-If Ed Coan is at the next LTTS i want to ask him so many questions that Stevie P tells me to shut up. To be honest i did not know what to ask him and it bugs me. That and the fact Stevie P made me feel bad for not saving Eddie a seat at lunch.(Note: he made everyone feel bad actually)
-To be honest i have a lot to learn because during the Q&A I did not know what to ask, that in and off itself tells me i am ignorant.
-If Matt Ladewski is walking around barefoot on Harry's advice, there must be something to this shoeless thing he has going on.

-The presentation from Dave Tate is far reaching for me. I will not get into details but i am forming timelines and minor preliminary goals in my head.This includes setting lifetime lifting numbers for all 3 lifts.
-I am going to be drifting well out of my comfort zone in the next year. I have to see how far i can push my mind through sheer force of will. I have some unfinished business and i have to see what i am made of and learn a variety of things before taking another shot.  Not trying would be worse than failing a second time. At least this is what i have come to realize. But if time has passed me by at least i will know it.
-I need to stop training or at least lifting by myself all the time. If not a full team of lifters at least a few different people i get together with once in a while.
-I learned i do a lot of things correctly in my training. Some simply by my self education. Some by my 20+ yrs lifting and training and being self aware. But i need to keep learning and re-enforcing and understanding the correct things i am doing.
-After this weekend it is time for me to stop hitching and get back on the mats. I need to get over myself and start training BJJ again.
-DUDE is now apart of my vocab
This is not a complete list by any means. I am thankful and very happy that for as much as i pulled out of this seminar it was actually a charity event for the MAW. Thank you to every coach hat was there whether they helped me or not.

Keep Moving Forward, Keep Getting Strong(er)

27 May 2013 -Mjolnir

i would like to say that i got my shoulder figured out in the past few days. But i can't. Lol. Did see the Physio this morning and what she did helped A LOT. But i have a massage Therapy appointment scheduled for Wednesday. I needed this sorted out by Sunday. I have a Bench meet to PR in. Either way i am going, just one might be a little more painful and require me to Warrior the Fuck Up. Oh enough bitching. This is what i have been up to.

24 May 2013
1115 hrs

Cable Row
1 x 15 x 75
1 x 15 x 90
1 x 15 x 105
1 x 15 x 120
1 x 15 x 135
Head Harness 3 x 50 x 20 lbs
Banded Good Morning (Orange) 20, 15, 15
Horizontal Shrugs 2 x 15 x 45 lbs

The whole idea of this was a recovery session to push some blood through my upper back. it worked. everything felt great until i cooled down. Oh and i had to drive to Ottawa and back again. But i have figured out driving with a Lax Ball jammed into my back alleviates and lessens the ache. Even relieves it over long amounts of time. Took a day off from the Eccentrics on the Leg Press.

25 May 2013
0925 hrs

Pull Ups 2 x 15
Push Ups 2 x 15
Bosu Situps 2 x 15
Facepulls (Black band) 2 x 15 (slow and hold at contraction for a 2 count)
Red band Pull-A-parts 2 x 15 (super slow tempo)
Rev Hyper 1 x 15
Seated Calf Raises 2 x 15 x 80 lbs
Standing Leg Curls 2 x 15 x 40 lbs
Leg Press (Single Leg Eccentric) 2 x 10 x 90 lbs

That is it. in and out on 25 min. With my shoulder Locked the push ups felt twice as hard as normal. My body also felt pretty fatigued. i made sure to nap a few times over the weekend to catch up on sleep and ate A LOT. Once again as i warmed up the ache subsided only to return an hr or so after training. I finally broke down and took some Ibuprofen in the evening hoping it might help relax things and get a muscle release.

At this point I also am "grenading" my back with the Lax ball, The Peanut, The Rumble roller, The PVC pipe, and the Foam Roller. My upper /lower back, my lats, My IT bands. The rest ofmy body has never felt better except for my left shoulder blade.

26 May 2013
1745 hrs

Facepull TRX 3 x 25
Deadlift
2 x 3 x 135
2 x 3 x 185
1 x 3 x 225
4 x 2 x 225
GHR 2 x 10
Head Harness 3 x 25 x 25 lbs

The girl wanted to go to the gym. I decided to give the new camera a spin and do some technique work. I am going to spend a few weeks trying to lock in the "Mjolnir Technique" that J.L. Holdsworth taught me at the seminar. I have Dubbed it the Mjolnir Technique because when i do it right i feel like i can lift THOR's Hammer.

27 May 2013
0540 hrs

Back Ext 3 x 10
Black Band Face Pull 20 ,10
Red band Face Pull 15
Red Band Pull-A-Parts 20

Bench
2 x 5 x Bar
2 x 5 x 95
Head Harness 2 x 25 x 25 lbs
Leg Press Eccentrics 
2 x 10 x 90 (Single Leg R Only)
1 x 10 x 140 lbs (Single Leg R then L)

My plan was to work up to 135 lbs today and simply do Technique Work. The last two sets of 95 i totally locked in my technique only to severely aggravate my Shoulder blade. So i shut it down. Finished up in the weight room and then went and did Lax ball /Rumble Roller work for 30 min. I did pick my predicted weights for this weekend. I dropped my Opener slightly but everything after that is a PR weight. So one to get me in the meet and 2 more to see what i can do. But i will still wait and make game day decisions dependent on how warm ups go.

Physio Therapy Notes & News:
-I went through some of the major points for me physically from the seminar. She studiously wrote them all down.
-We went though my upper back issues. She needled my trap and then did some other release work. But would not go near my Rhomboids with needles, something about poking holes in my lungs. i tried to explain blood in my lungs i can handle. But no go.
-She did check my Thoracic spine also for issues.
-i would say i am back up to 70% better. After the massage therapy appointment i should be closer to 90% and by Sunday i will be 100%
-My PT agreed with the Eccentrics.
-When i see my PT next week if i have no issues from Benching this weekend i will get her to quickly check out my hip mobility.
-Oddly enough i bumped into my former PT and she agreed with them also.
-Other than Sat /Sun i have not taken any meds for my neck. Just lots of active work to beat the area up in an attempt to try and get it to release.
-My Dog has crazy old gas. It is really kind of funny because as a dog no F**ks are given when she farts.
-The Eccentric work after just a week i have noticed an improvement already.

Keep Moving Forward, Keep Getting Strong(er)

23 May 2013 -Recovery work and some other notes...

This song has totally been stuck in my head since Ohio as well as the Florida Georgia Line song.

So the last two days of training have been super light. Almost non-existent. But for good reason. It seems PR Pull Ups + Benching my Opener + Driving 3 days in a row = A totally locked Left Shoulder Blade /Rhomboid. It also hasn't helped that my sleep has been sideways so i am not all that rested all of a sudden.

I have been beating the crap out of it with PVC Pipe, Lax ball, Rumble Roller and Peanut (2 x Lax balls taped together). But for some reason it just will not totally relax. The brutal regime will continue. It has to at this point, i started to get a headache this afternoon. The dull ache did start to radiate down my arm and up my neck but i am keeping it at bay for the most part. OK enough whining.

I have also done some light Pull Downs, and Shoulder retractions as well as Banded face Pulls with a Hold.
After poorly teaching The Girl how to do GHR's we did the upper back regime, As well as some 45 Deg back ext. I will watch some vids and come up with some cues for for her.

Ich Liebe Dich!

So one of the things i gotfrom Coach X was do Eccentric work on my ACL

yesterday and today
Leg Press- Single Leg Lowers
2 x 10 x 70 lbs (not counting the weight of the leg press sled because who cares? you can't remove it)

I use 2 legs to push the weight back up. Tonight was only the second night and i can already feel the muscle around my knee contracting harder. I am not going to get too crazy with these. 1-3 sets a day depending on soreness. Next week i will also start doing them on both legs. For now I am doing just the recovering leg till i get a feel for it.
The Glute work will continue tomorrow and i also will get a up to about 70 % on the Rowing action for a few sets. I really need to work this upper back issue out, only 9 days until the Toronto super show. Next week will be a total de-load, which translates to me probably doing A lot of swimming.

Up early tomorrow to do something actually worth reporting.

Keep Moving Forward, Keep Getting Strong(er)

22 May 2013- Ohio, LTTS 6,Chalk Bowl to the bar...Day 2

Getting up the second day was easy. I was so damned pumped to get to the S4 EFS Compound to train. I had seen plenty of video and pics but another element came into play today. Something i really did not see coming. We arrived at around 9 am and i figured we would be getting there in time to see the coaches finishing up. Nope. They were in full swing.

We were quickly told things would be delayed until 1030. That was perfectly accpetable to all the participants showing up to be coached. It was organized chaos. Loud heavy metal. Tons of weight being pulled, pushed, and squatted everywhere.
Harry walked by me at one point and slapped me on the shoulder saying "Just let me finish up and we will get to it"
That was when it hit me. These guys were here for US. This is a Charity event for the Make-A-Wish Foundation so they are all donating there time, for free. That alone is awesome beyond words.

Matt Kroc Squatting, Julia Ladewski working the Monolift

But for them to be there to help all of us improve was nearly overwhelming. Then for some odd reason i thought back about all the blood, sweat, and tears i had fought for the past 7 mths. Yeah i have pushed hard. Really hard because in my mind there was no stepping down or giving up. Their never is. i got that from grandfather when i was really young. "Just grow a bigger set of nuts and do it" -this coming from a D-day Dodger.
Anyhow, I remembered that this was an unwritten but spoken goal before Surgery with my girl. I was going to this seminar and here I was. I had to go outside for fresh air, TWICE. I had crossed a major thresh-hold /goal just by being in this compound and being able to do what i was about to do.

In the middle of all this, Chad Aichs is Benching 800 lbs

Dave Tate had said it best the day before during his presentation:
"Life is what happens when you go from the Chalk Box to the Bar. There is going to be adversity. Train to be ready for what happens between the box and the bar. When you get to the Bar, Don't NOT show Up. Make it, Miss it, or get hurt. You are going to learn"

Dave Tate Squatting Hard and Heavy, blocking out everything.

I have definitely learned these past 7 months and i was about to learn a metric shit ton more.

Mtn Dog John Meadows Squatting

Jeremy Frey helping out Josh McMillan w/his Deadlift Suit

The Chaos 

more...

Now just add Heavy Metal and you might have an idea of the intensity

So after all this around 1030 things spooled up for us participants. First on the docket was how to Squat w/ Coach X Buddy Morris, along with Julia & Matt Ladewski.
I discovered how bad sitting for 2.5 days really is for hip Mobility. I really should have attempted some of my normal warm up. I did start to warm up and eventually hit depth with my Low back in the proper position . Buddy also showed us an easy Hip Mobility series that we have been doing multiple times a day since Ohio and i am starting to feel A lot better over all.

Harry was coaching his group next to ours with Intensity and Panache!

When i wrestled that buffalo to the ground this is how i tied him up!

They also went through the basics of Squatting to a box and what to focus on. As i came up to be one of the last squatters of the session Buddy points at my knee.
Buddy "You have ACL surgery? Patellar Graft?"
Me "Yes. 7 mths ago"

Coach X explaining how an NFLer was never to play again but all of last season doing what he is recommending to me.

He rolls his eyes and then goes on the most informative rant, lecture, speech i have had in ages. I am now more aware as to what has been done to my body. he also touched on how to fully protect my knee with some things i had only briefly been doing in limited quantities. The next 8 weeks of my leg trg are now changed. I will be hammering my technique but first things first before i add weight to the bar. Get my knee even closer to its original state.
Buddy "How old are you"
Me "36"
Buddy "Just a young pup you will be fine"
My Girl "It is his birthday tomorrow"
Buddy "well happy birthday there is my gift to you."

Happy birthday!

I immediately went outside and made notes. If what he recommends only works half as good as he said it would (which is doubtful) i will be smashing my PR by the end of the year for sure. what he told also explained A lot of anomaly's I have been experiencing.

From the Squat we went to Lunch.

Front gate

Pulled Pork and Corn Bread!

Stevie P and Ed Coan imparting Knowledge

So after lunch i went down the Warehouse to pick up our order. Their was a slight mix up with our order but the Customer service at EFS is beyond awesome. The ladies in the Warehouse were more than nice, they invited us in to watch while they printed our shirts and talked to us. My girl was super impressed with how friendly and generally awesome they treated us.

I also ventured back in the gym to see Harry. We had unfinished Business. Exactly as i had run the scenario through my head Harry put me on the spot and in a competition type atmosphere. It was show time. Up to the bar. I raced to 12 and then stalled. I ground out 6 more Pull ups but had nothing left in the tank. My grip was there for days but there was no more pull to be had. 20 Pull ups was not falling on this day. The journey for that PR continues. Harry was still very proud of me. It meant A lot to me just having him there for that attempt. The next time i am in that facility there is no doubt that 20 pull ups will be crushed.

My Proud Coach and Friend Harry.

So with Lunch over it was back into the Gym to start training /learning Bench or The Bench Press. This time we had Team Ladewski (Matt and Julia) along with Mandy Bennett and Bret Carter. As a group we started a little slow but once we got into the swing of things it went really well. I must also say Mandy and Bret really impressed me. Both very professional and confident.
Mandy took some extra time helping a few of the girls talking them through their set up and explaining what she does when she sets herself up to bench.
Julia also talked my girl through her setup. By the time Julia was finished with her, My girl new EXACTLY how she should feel when she got her set up near perfect.

Matt coached her up to 95 lbs which she handled stronger than she ever has. Matt also convinced her to go for 105 lbs which she handled very strong. Strong(her) than she handled 100 lbs back in Nov 2012, but her butt did come off the bench so it is a no lift. But it did prove to her the strength is there in probably just a few more weeks of training.
For me, I now feel like i have the beginnings of a solid Bench Setup. I finished with my Opener for the Toronto Super show which is 2 June 2013 in Toronto. Handling it felt extremely good.

Hand Off from Mandy, Julia Coaching me along.

Two other major improvements for me came out of this session.
1. Matt Showed me an awesome way to wrap my wrists for Bench. I have enough time to solidify and get the technique down in time for the meet.
2. Julia spotted my sticking point. The exact point where i got stuck with 260 lbs a yr and a half ago. She told me how to fix it. This will take a little longer but by 20 June in Ottawa i should have it hammered out.
Most raw Benchers have issues off the chest. For me it is right at lock out. The only conclusion i am can come to is that nearly 2 decades of doing Thousands of push ups for my job has paid off in an odd way.

Mandy Spotting and Bret Coaching 

So from here despite everyone being tired and grimy we pushed onto the Deadlift. Mandy gave invaluable cues for setting up the Sumo Style Deadlift. For my girl i know her direction was invaluable and she has alot of new direction to work with. Bret gave direction for the Conventional DL.
He corrected my damn near Oly Snatch grip width. On his direction i brought my hands as close as i could with just enough room for my knees.
 Matt also watched on gave cues where it was required. At one point it became clear that i was protecting my knee which despite being able to still pull 365 with this flawed technique, it needed correcting.

Myself, JL Holdsworth, My Girl, Dave Tate (CEO of EFS & Visionary behind the whole weekend)

It just happened JL Holdsworth was walking by. Matt Grabbed his attention, had him watch me. JL took me aside and in less than 5 min i felt like Thor approaching the bar it felt that powerful. He altered and adjusted my setup so as i lock onto the bar 315 lbs damn near starts to hover. What he did is show me how to apply my physical leverages to the bar.

ME "So i am just using brute strength to get it off the floor?"
JL "DUDE, it's all Brute strength. What you need to do is change your leverages."

JL "When i do this 225 lbs hovers, 135 lbs i just have to look at it and it levitates."
So i am very excited to soon be smashing my Deadlift into new levels.

Harry Coaching Deadlift set Up. When he yelled "UP!" guys tore the weight off the floor with speed and aggression.

So after the Deadlift wound down which was insane because guys were smashing PR's all over the place. Participants had brought their "A" games like Dave Tate had instructed the previous day. Finishing strong.
From here all the Coaches gathered at one end of the gym for a Q&A session.

Steve Pulcinella had everyone in the room in stitches with one of rants /stories. I thought Dave Tate was going to burst a blood vessel he was laughing so hard. At one point Steve Goggins and Ed Coan were asked what they had done for their longevity. Steve Goggins answered first and said he had never been seriously injured. Again half the coaches nearly died. What he really meant is he never has had an injury requiring surgery. But the initial reaction was priceless.

Team Ladewski & Team Harsh-Steel

My Goal is to learn more before the next Seminar so i know the questions to ask. I know i don't have all this figured out but worse still i am still learning the questions to ask.

A true Legend in Powerlifting Steve Goggins

Dave thanked us all for coming and said Once again he had learned even more as a coach than he thought possible.

Harry and my Girl

The Weekend ended with a very tear jerking moment when Marshall Johnson asked for a moment of silence.  The Relentless Powerlifting Meet raised money for a young boy with cancer. That young Boy passed away the weekend before. Marshall was very close to him.Marshall's message to us was take advantage of the time you have with family and friends.
Will i go back? Of course. I had an excellent time and it was a phenomenal experience.

Keep Moving Forward, Keep Getting Strong(er)

22 May 2013 -Ohio, LTTS 6, & an incredible learning experience...Day 1

I am going to break this down day by day and try to stick to the highlights. this will probably get long. So go grab a cold drink first. Lol.

Bridge Windsor - Detroit

16 May 2013
We left my parents place just North of Toronto around 10:30 am. Smooth driving all the way down to the border and even crossing the border i did not get pulled over and searched like last time. For good measure i made sure to keep my bayonet at home this time just in case.

Detroit

We rolled into Columbus around 7 pm. The first thing we notice...WHITE CASTLE (as much as we joked, we did not go in for any sliders, next trip, maybe.)

Columbus Ohio -White Castle

We checked in. Went for dinner at Buffalo Wild wings then when we were headed back to the our hotel we swung by the Marriot where we knew the coaches and EFS athletes would be staying. A total fan boy move but we played it low key. (We did actually see a few EFS personalities outside)
Early to bed because we knew we had 2 long days ahead of us.

17 May 2013
Buddy Morris
First up at 9 am was Coach X Buddy Morris. He was intense, informative and a great way to start the day. he dropped the odd F bomb which i thought was great. No Pics as i was too busy trying to scribble the jewels of wisdom he was spitting out.
Some general things he covered (no specifics because, well, he makes his money off this stuff)
-he raised some great thoughts on trg plyometrics
-always work in a recovery block into your training
-re-thought the way i view Stress
-progress, gains, and energy are Finite
-a cool trick to measure how beat up your CNS is
-training is a long term process
-lastly something i will simply call S.A.S. but this is a concept i have done for the past few yrs but will make sure i try to always take it into consideration.
Mind Blowing #1
Julia Ladewski
Julia was next up. Very easy on the eyes and very easy to listen to without putting us to sleep at 10:30 in the morning. She also was tanned, Jacked, and looked like she could Bench Press a truck and a metric Ton. Her presentation was Youth Athletes: Are we contributing to the problem?
Not having Kids or training them i sat with an open mind and ended up learning alot. She raised a tremendous amount of questions in my head. As well quantified A lot of observations i see even in 18-20 yrs olds. Next to Buddy's presentation hers was the presentation i pulled a metric ton of Information from. Things for myself to look at in my own training as well when others ask me for help.

At this point i need to interject. One of the reason i was attending the seminar was to meet up with my Pull Up Coach, Mentor, and Friend Harry Selkow. After the Buddy Spoke i did hang out in the back with the crowd as JL Holdsworth, Harry, and Buddy all chatted and exchanged golden nuggets of training advice. You can and will learn as much if not more between presentations at the LTTS.
    Well after Julia Spoke my girl dragged me over to make sure I met him. I will admit I was slightly nervous. We had only chatted via email chatter. Well that nervousness was gone in about 0.04 seconds after he saw me. Harry's eyes went wide, he apologized and excused himself from the group he was in and he nearly knocked over 6 people to get to me. We exchanged a huge manly bear hug, Then my Girl got the same the same Bear Hug. We started chatting about Julia's presentation, to which Harry halts me and then says "Lets go talk to her!" Instantly i was relaxed and felt right at home. We chatted right up until the next presenter.

John Meadows
John Spoke Briefly on Mountain Dog Training and then did an extensive Q&A with the room. John is a walking super hero. Every comic book you have ever read he is the embodiment of. He is HUGE, Jacked and tanned all the time. His knowledge of training and nutrition is extreme and far reaching as his physique is freaky. It should also be mentioned he does all this with health limitations which is even more incredible. I simply sat and listened through most of his presentation because writing one thing down you missed 2 other caveats of training gold.

We went off at about 1 pm for Lunch and returned for another Mutant super hero of a presenter.

Let me also say that every EFS Coach and presenter that could be present for the presentations was in the room with us learning. Which is a HUGE point. These are some of the best in North America if not the world at what they do. They NEVER stop learning.

By Lunch time the following had happened:
-My overall physical strength had increased by 10% and i had gotten 5% faster just by learning to Buddy talk.
-Julia increased my GPP by 5% and my ROM /stability by 15% with her presentation.
-By the end of John Meadow's Presentation my bodyfat had dropped 2% and my lean muscle tissue had increased by 5%
-Meeting Harry Selkow had increased my overall awesomeness by 45%
Realize all of these numbers are qualitative and Un-testable but i stand by them.

By this point my Girl had already managed to try to snuggle up to Stevie P and when i came over he was begging me to take her away (jokingly i think)

Stevie P was super cool and was more than willing to have his photo taken the next day. Notice his super awesome Tornado necklace. He swears it makes him feel 100% healthier. 

Matt Kroc
"The tragedy in Life is not setting goals too high and failing to reach them, it is setting them too low and achieving them"
If you have not seen a video of this guy train or read an article of his you should. Very inspirational and a little crazy. His topic was Destroying Limits Through Psychological Conditioning. Some of his material was not entirely new to me because i have read almost everything he has every posted online but to see it in one presentation all laid out turned on some light bulbs and reminded me of some other things i had forgotten.

One of Kroc's slides, it also sums up the mindset he spoke of

After Matt Kroc's presentation i stepped out from room for some fresh air. I had noticed that sitting 2 tables behind me was Ed Coan and Steve Goggins. I just so happened to step out and see Mister Coan.
Me: "Um Mister Coan can i trouble you for a picture?"
Coan: "Eddie. Sure No Problem.

Dave Kirschen happened to be hanging out so i told him to jump in as well.

Dave, Me, Eddie

It should be noted that Ed is considered by many, myself included to be the all time best Powerlifter.

Fred Duncan
I will be honest i had only read one article from this guy before the seminar but he definitely proved to be a solid presenter although he did look like a super hero like the previous 3 presenters. His topic of Peri-Workout Nutrition was very well researched and he presented some very controversial arguments in regards to nutrition that go against almost everything i have ever read. His argument make sense and it is good to question the status quo once in awhile.
Gabriel Naspinski
I had read a few of his articles on EFS and he proved to be another thought provoking presenter. He reinforced somethings i had already learned and also exposed how much more i had to learn in regards to establishing and writing Training templates. He really understands the science behind establishing a program for the long term.
Dave Tate
First off he was introduced by Chad Aichs, a man who would make Shrek look small if he were real.

Mr. Aichs

Dave's Topic was Live - Learn - Pass On. His personal motto and the EFS Company Motto. I will not get into the presentation other than to say he is the master of the Metaphor. He made everyone laugh multiple stories. Parts of his presentation he has written articles about but reading does not compare with his presentation at all. Inspirational and uplifting. He did touch on business points, life, and the reason why beanie toques became a stylish in Powerlifting.

Dave Tate. Yes surprisingly no one wanted to sit front row. But i did.

He left us for the evening by saying:

"I give you Permission to be Excellent" -Dave Tate

It was about 7:30 in the evening when we got back to the hotel.

Harry had invited us to come back later in the evening to hang out at the hotel so there was no was i was going to turn him down. I got to sit with my girl, Harry, Mike Hope, Eddie, Matt & Julia Ladewski.

Harry put me on the spot telling Eddie that i was doing 20 pull ups for him the following day and told mike Hope and Eddie about this recovery training log i have been pumping out. Harry really is a great coach and inspiring human being. 

Matt was walking barefoot, at Harry's suggestion. Harry NEVER wears shoes, ever. Marshall Johnson walked by earlier in his socks carrying his famous Fuel Jerry of Water. I suspect that also might be Harry's influence.

At around midnight we all turned in. The coaches were training at 0800 hrs and we were scheduled to start at 0930 hrs, i some how doubted that we would be as on time as we were on day one. day two was the meat and potatoes days.

Keep Moving Forward, Keep Getting Strong(er)

14 May 2013-Put your Back into it...

12 May 2013
0940 hrs

I ran the logical thought train  through my head and decided i would apply last week's squat to Jim Wendler's  5/3/1 Template before the Seminar. Why? It gives me easy, safe numbers to work with before the seminar. I may simply repeat these numbers in two depending on how i feel after the seminar at EFS this coming weekend. I powered through my warm up with purpose, took my time Squatting  and then powered through my assistance work. All in all everything felt solid and good.
Warm Up:
Rollovers, Rainbows, Mtn Climbers,Leg Swings, Monster Walks, Banded Side Step 2 x 10
 (no rest, finished once and started right over again)
Between warm up Squat sets:
Red Band Pull-A-parts 1 x 30
Bench Jumps  3 x 5 reps
Single Leg Jump - Two Leg Landing 2 x 5 reps (each leg)
Red Band Tricep Pull /Push Downs 2 x 100

Squats
1 x 10 x Bar
1 x 5 x 135
1 x 5 x 145
1 x 3 x 185
1 x 5 x 185
1 x 5 x 215
1 x 5 x 245
Head Harness 6 x 15 x 44 lbs
My Squats are still slow as Maple Syrup in a Canadian winter but the strength is there. The idea behind the Jumping in the early stages is to hopefully wake some of my fast twitch fibers up. The strength is there to handle the wait but the Pop to come out of the bottom is not there. I also might be squatting too deep and losing my tightness. I guess i will find out this weekend.

If you are wondering about the 44 lbs on the head harness it is because my gym has non-regulation KB's (real Russian KB's are 35 /53 /70 lbs i think, i am not caring enough to look it up). I usually use the KB's when i am in the field house trg, the hook up nicely.

Good Mornings 
1 x 10 x bar
1 x 10 x 95
1 x 10 x 115
3 x 10 x 135
Super set:
TRX Lunges 2 x 10 (L then R leg)
Step Ups 2 x 5 (L the R leg)
GHR 3 x 10
Bird Dogs 4 x 10
So a little over an hour for all of that. I found out the next day the field house (where they keep the GHR) is closed for the week. If i had of known i would have skipped the Good Mornings and done triple the reps on the GHR. Ah well. Trying to work some single leg stuff and the Bird Dogs in to create balance. The groin is feeling better but i can still tell there is imbalances. I cannot go heavy long term until this gets sorted out.

13 May 2013
0540 hrs
So i have been complaining /talking about my low back for a few weeks now. The day started out well enough but by the end of the day i needed to do some emergency Foam Rolling, Stretching and Lax ball work on my hips, glutes, hamstrings, and low back. Which is exactly what i did not want to be doing 5 days out from a lifting seminar. This is how it goes sometimes and at least i know well enough to recognize the signs and symptoms early to alleviate real damage /debilitation. OK so on with Monday and how things played out.
Warm Up:
Back Ext, Side bends, Rainbows, Rev Hypers, Leg Raises 1 x 15 (no rest)
Black Band Pull-A-parts 3 x 20

Bench
2 x 5 x Bar
1 x 5 x 95
1 x 5 x 115
1 x 3 x 135
1 x 5 x 150
1 x 5 x 175
1 x 9 x 200

Super set
Close Grip Bench
5 x 8 x 150
Machine Row
1 x 10 x 145
1 x 10 x 170
1 x 10 x 120

A weird Super set i know, but i only needed to do 3 sets on the machine row. why the 120 lbs at the end? because i misread my book (i wrote my numbers down in a weird order, i must have been having a stroke or something Sunday night.) so they got completed oddly. felt pretty good to do a really slow set of 10 reps with such a light weight. i will have to remember this. The Bench training felt fairly solid. None of this irritated my back and actually my tight hip was not a real issue like it sometimes can be cause glute cramping while i set up. This keeps me on track for what i want to Bench at the meet 2 June.

Super set: 
Black Band Tricep Push /Pull Downs 6 x 35
Barbell Rows 3 x 15 x 135
Trap Machine Shrugs 
4 x 10 x 125
4 x 20 x 80
Another strange Superset i know. I just work things in a circuit until stuff is completed. I can say today as i type this my Traps are still pumped.
THE LOW BACK STORY:
So at lunch time i went for a Long slow distance swim.
Nothing crazy, just try to relax and swim. I swam for a solid 30 min nice and easy. Felt great. I wasn't energized but I was not tired either.
I get back to the office and bend over to fill my water bottle about an hr later. My low back feels like a guitar string being over tightened. So i slowly straighten up and relax. OK close call #1. I had a few more close calls after i got home, simple bending to get stuff. I could feel my back was not happy. No pain or stiffness but my low back felt like a box of rice krispies ready to be torn open.
 I went for a long walk with the girl and the dog. That loosened my back and then my right glute started acting up. AHAH! now i see the culprit. So i attacked it with the Lax ball, the foam roller, the PVC Pipe and stretched. The Lax Ball seems to be the best weapon. The stiffness seems to be in my Glute /pirformis. I worked it out to the point that when i went to bed i was no longer in fear of impending low back doom as i slept.

14 May 2013
0610 hrs
Tread Mill 30 min /Inclines 5 -Max /Speed 3.5-5.0 (15 min/km to 12 min /km approx)

TRX (Circuit)
Single Leg DL 3 x 10
Lunges 3 x 10
Face Pulls  3 x 10
Rollouts 3 x 10
Head Harness 3 x 30 x 30 lbs
Orange Band Triceps 3 x 30

Back Ext /Rev Hyper (no rest) 2 x 10 /2 x 10

So with my back feeling better but still questionable Wind sprints and Hill Sprints were out of the question.i went with my normal line of questioning that i have used for months now:

"What can i do today?"

 So i went for a Long Slow Distance on the Treadmill. Felt very good actually. Hoodie and track pants and sweating out the demons. The TRX work was just to get some movement and create balance. The Low back work felt great but in a limited capacity. I think this is partially brought on by chronic dehydration so that is getting sorted out. I did go home after this and do another Lax Ball /PVC Pipe Session to further help recovery along. Tomorrow is scheduled to be Deadlifts but i think i will do OH Press instead, i don't have access to the platform. As well the only 2 times i have popped my SI joint have been in the weight room so i will not tempt fate this week. I will have a chance to DL this weekend and otherwise i would be missing out on my OH Press session for the week.

So as i am away until next don't expect anything until next week. But i am sure i will have a crap load to talk about when i get back.

Keep Getting Strong(er), Keep Moving Forward