Strength Quest #55: Back to the Grind…with a New Nutrition Plan

  By Christopher Lopez | March 13, 2012 - 12:17 am | Diet and Nutrition, Fat Loss, Mass Building, Performance, Strength Gain, The Strength Quest, Training, Try This Your Next Training Session

So as you may know, I took a couple weeks off from higher intensity training, and kept training pretty low intensity (mainly body weight), as I’m trying to nurse a bicep injury.

But Today, I felt pretty good, so I hit the weights again. Summer is coming, so it’s time to tighten u a little and put that training and nutrition plan into over drive.

Here was my Pull/Push along with the NEW NUTRITION PLAN (by top strength coach Jason Ferruggia) I’m trying out.

I’m always one to try and learn new things in the training and nutrition world, and although this way of eating goes against EVERYTHING I though I knew about eating correctly (even my own successes with fat loss nutrition), I decided to give it a go anyway! We’ll see what happens…and I will keep the blog updated.

Anyway, today was day one of eating this way and here was today’s training session!

SESSION: PULL/PUSH – Low Volume, Heavy Weight

Barbell Row:
285/1, 1, 1, 1, 1

Close Grip Bench Press:
285/1, 1, 1, 1, 1

Close Grip Pullup:
Body weight + 60# of chain/5

Barbell Deadlift:
405/1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1

Weighted Dips:
Body weight + 90# / 6

NOTES: It was a good session considering I was under-eating most of the day (see THE RENEGADE DIET above). I felt energetic and strong (as some of my lifts increased) but I did start to get tired toward the end of my session since I’m used to carbs being present during my workout. No big deal, as I am sure my body will adjust.

We’ll see how I feel in the am!

Stay Strong,
CJL

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It’s been a couple weeks…

  By Christopher Lopez | March 11, 2012 - 7:38 pm | Deload / Recovery

So the last two weeks, I decided to decrease my training volume tremendously. I trained without an agenda, and just went with the flow and feel of my body at the time of training, which is a good change from my norm (…and change is good!)

I concentrated on body weight exercises and moderate to slow rep speed to get a full stretch in my muscles, as well as a proper contraction.

The fact that I sparingly added weight to my exercises, but still trained acted as an “active recovery” instead of just sitting around and taking it easy. Active Recovery aids in proper blood flow, and muscle function after a few weeks of intense sessions. It’s great to use when trying to nurse injuries or trying to give your nervous system a break.

I feel pretty good now and primed to start upping the intensity again.

Let’s see what this week brings!

Train, Kick Ass, and Take Names!!
CJL

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Strength Quest: #54: The Craziest 95 lb. Dumbbells you’ve EVER Seen.

  By Christopher Lopez | February 24, 2012 - 1:34 am | Mass Building, Performance, Strength Gain, The Strength Quest, Training

I wanted to use heavy Dumbbells for my Incline Bench Press, and didn’t want to use the Barbell tonight…but I only own Dumbbells that go up to 65.

The result?

Whipping up some sweet 95 lb dumbbells using Olympic Dumbbell Handles.

Homemade 95 lb Dumbbells. Heavy. Awkward. Cumbersome. Awesome.

They were awkward to get overhead, and a little bit tougher to control than typical dumbbells because of different center of gravity. But that’s what made them awesome to use!

Sometimes you just have to improvise and get the work DONE!

(By the way, I don’t recommend with dumbbells in this fashion, as the clips I had in place really didn’t hold the plates in place too well…that was another thing I had to watch for to make sure the plates didn’t slide off and knock me in the head…kind of dangerous.)

Here was the Session:

SUPERSET: 3 x 10-12
Incline Dumbbell Bench Press — 95′s/12, 95′s/9, 95′s/9
Incline Dumbbell Flies — 65′s/10, 65′s/10, 65′s/10

REST PAUSE SET: 1 x /12-15, 8-6, 4-2
Decline Barbell Bench Press — 225/7-2-3

RUNNING THE RACK:
Rep Out: 50s, 45s, 40s, 35s, 30s, 15s

STATIC HOLD:
Reverse Grip Pullup — 40 Seconds

NOTES: Again, I wouldn’t recommend using heavy weight with Olympic Handles. For me it was a last ditch effort to try and hit some heavy dumbbell presses, and it just happened to work. The hardest part was trying to put them down without dropping or throwing them because they were so awkward. But I managed.

Load up that bar and throw it around!
CJL

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Strength Quest #53: Bodyweight Metcon

  By Christopher Lopez | February 23, 2012 - 1:16 am | Conditioning, Fat Loss, MMA and Fight Conditioning, Performance, The Strength Quest, Training, Try This Your Next Training Session

This session was TOUGH. Not even going to describe it.

Here you go:

Tabata Protocol: 20 Seconds for Reps, 10 Second Rest
All exercises completed in order is 1 Round. I did 8.

40″ Box Jumps
TRX Split Squat Right Side
TRX Split Squat Left Side
TRX Leg Curl
Hand Stand Pushups (with wall support)
TRX T Raise
TRX Alligators
Battling Ropes

NOTES: 8 Rounds of kick-ass, fat burning, metabolic conditioning. Give it a shot…it will be a nice (not so easy) change of pace from your normally-heavy weight sessions. If you don’t have a TRX, you can do similar bodyweight exercises or get one fromHERE. If you don’t have a rope, do some sprints, or another strenuous aerobic activity…or you can grab one from ROGUE FITNESS.

Now, Get pumped and get to work.
CJL

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Strength Quest #52: Get DENSE

  By Christopher Lopez | February 21, 2012 - 12:47 am | Density, Mass Building, Strength Gain, The Strength Quest, Training, Try This Your Next Training Session

Density is the theme of today. Gotta train the nervous system to contract EXTRA hard, especially when you’re tired, and feel that lactic acid building up. You’d be surprised what would happen if you keep on trudging though even when your muscles start to burn. As long as you’re eating enough, you’ll soon forge spongy tissue into dense and powerful muscle.

Here was the session:

Dumbbell Row – 10 x 10
110/10 x 10

Pullups – 3 x 10
40#/11, bodyweight/10, bodyweight/9

Weighted Close Grip Pushups – 11 x 10
20# (chains around neck)/11 x 10

Cable Kick Backs – 3 x 10-12
50/10, 60/10, 70/10

Hanging Leg Raise – 10 x 10
Bodyweight/10 x 10
(this one hurt!)

NOTES: Great session here. Wasn’t sure about the Dumbbell Rows, but after about set 5 I started to get into a groove, and I finished them up. The weighted close-grip pushups will murder your triceps, especially if you do one extra set…

Until the next one, shut up and lift something heavy…
CJL

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