Congratulatons David! #3 114 lb class!

One of the lifters I train, David Cohn, recently made Powerlifting USA's top 100. A 400 lb squat, 275 lb bench press, and 425 lb deadlift combined for an 1100 lb total put David at #3 in the top 100 of 114 lb lifters in the country. A mere 79 lbs shy of the great Ervin Gainer who holds the #1 spot, and 29 lbs out of the #2 slot.

Since training with me David has totalled elite twice in single ply gear. His first meet he made a 1069 total with a 374 squat, 265 bench and a 430 deadlift. His second meet he made his 1100 lb total with a 400 squat, 275 bench and 425 deadlift. He weighed in at 111 lbs in both meets and he missed a 10 x bodyweight total by only 10 lbs at his last meet.

David trains 4x per week. We utilize the maximal effort method, dynamic effort method and repeated effort method in his training. Box squats, rack deadlifts, goodmornings, board presses, floor presses, bands + chains, LOTS of tricep and late work, and glute/ham raises are all staple exercises in his program. For conditioning and weak point work we have been using kettlebell swings and 1-arm long cycle clean and jerks with kettlebells the "AKC-way".

David is finishing up his meet prep cycle for the November 9-11 WNPF World Championships here in Atlanta. I don't want to jinx him but he should be in the 405-425 squat range, 285-300 bench range and 440-460 deadlift range. He's made a solid 300 bench in training so I know he's capable of it.

Congratulations on your accomplishment David!! Onward to 1200!!!

Scott

Rollins

Big Derrick and I had an awesome bench workout last night jamming Rollins "Clockwork Orange Stage". This quote really stuck with me after big D nailed an easy 455 bench (about a month or so ago his bench PR was 315).

"There's a lot of choices you can make. But it all boils down to two. Either you do, or you do not do. Some people came to play, some people came to drive away. Some people came to rock this muckerfucker, some people came to talk about rockin'. I think you know the difference by now. Animal inside, animal outside to. Animal inside, I'm an animal just like you." -Henry Rollins, from 'Thinking Cap' live.

There you have it folks. Shut the fuck up and lift something.

Scott

Keeping it Simple

I've been thinking alot about training lately, my training as well as the training of my athletes and clients. When I first started training people the exercises and training plan were simple. Use basic exercises like squats, deadlifts, presses, chins and rows and try to do more reps or more weight every few workouts. Want to get big and lean? Eat a lot of clean food. Carrying too much bodyfat? Eat less food. Keep junk food to a minimum. Add in some intensive cardio. We ran and marched a lot in bootcamp, and ate 3 balanced meals a day. There wasn't one fatass in my company, although there were 5 that could be considered overweight when our class convened on day 1.

As I started to learn from other trainers, coaches and experts in an effort to increase my knowledge base the exercises and training program became more complex to the point it gave me a headache trying to progress. Complex exercises, uni-lateral, ipsi-lateral, cuff complex, neuromuscular junctions, synaptic facilitation, tempo prescription, optimal carb to protein ratio shakes, branch chain amino acids, blah blah blah.

Now that I've learned from alot of trainers, coaches and experts the training program and exercises are simple. Focus on squats, deads, presses, chins and rows; get as muscular and lean as possible; train freakin' hard; eat a lot of clean food (if you count calories you're a dipshit, instead just try backing off on the coke a cola and snickers, I don't think you have to worry about eating too much chicken or spinach); listen to your body and know when to back off.

I've really taken the simplistic approach to training my athletes.

For strength, power and speed: we use barbells (sometimes with bands and/or chains on certain exercises), dumbbells, medicine balls, various odd objects, and different types of jumps and shock training. We use the maximal effort method, submaximal effort method, repeated effort method, and dynamic effort method.

For speed - we perform max effort sprints.

For agility - we work on maintaining speed during change of direction and we learn how to decelerate properly.

For conditioning - we perform tempo runs, sled drags, prowler pushes, high rep kettlebell work (the basic traditional exercises), and battling ropes.

We build and maintain both active and passive range of motion.

When we're feeling good we push it, when we're not feeling good we back off a bit.

When weaknesses emerge, we work hard to bring them up.

The younger the athlete and the earlier in the off-season there is more general and less specific work. The older the athlete and the later in the off-season there is less general and more specific work.

We learn from experts who've achieved real results and ignore charlatans with little experience and big internet balls.

It ain't freakin' rocket science.