Reactive Training Systems

This is my first attempt at a training log. I'm 23 years old, live in Youngstown OH, and train at Jump Stretch Fitness. Over the past 5 years, I've made the transition from distance runner, to lazy college student, to powerlifter. The story goes something like this:

Senior year of high school I finished 12th in the state in the 1600 with a 4:32. Not a spectacular performance, but decent. I had a full academic scholarship to college, so I said to hell with distance running; leave the 80 mile weeks to the Kenyans. I did nothing the first semester but sit around, watch TV, and dick around on the internet. I think I put on 20 pounds, which isn't saying much considering I started college at 120.

The next semester I met Dan Evans. Dan told me that we were going to start lifting weights, because we were both out-of-shape pussies. Since Dan was much bigger than me, I complied. For the next 16 weeks we did god-knows-what, but something is better than nothing, and it took my 145 lb bench to 175.

During the summer I worked construction. I laid shingles on 120 degree roofs during the day, and lifted at the YMCA at night. This made me approximately as big and strong as a small kitten.

When fall started I moved into a dorm suite with 18 other guys. Most of them were large mammals; so much so that they actually had their own set of weights. I spent most of this semester focusing on hitting a 200 pound bench, mainly because I didn't know that the squat and deadlift existed. Finally in the spring I succeeded in benching a whopping 205 at around 145 lbs. My life was complete, and I could die in peace.

Nothing happened until the end of summer when I broke up with my girlfriend and my life took on new meaning: get as big and strong as ****ing possible. That fall I discovered all sorts of wonderful things: overpriced GNC whey protein, creatine, squats, deadlifts, and Arnold's New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding. Once again, something is better than nothing, and I managed to put on about 20 pounds, in addition to being able to deadlift 315 for 3 reps, and bench 215. I could also squat 275 for half a rep, but that was pushing it.

Not much happened in the spring, and it wasn't until summer that I finally reached the elusive goal of benching 225 with the help of the MM2K bench program. Awesome.

In fall of 2005, the **** hit the fan. All was going well until I broke my ankle playing intramural soccer. Weightlifting stopped. Drinking began. Bronchitis soon followed. Rock bottom was December 24th when I stepped on my scale at home and it read: 145 pounds. I was 145 my freshman year, and here I was, right back where I started. That seemed to be how it went all through college. 1 step forward 2 steps backwards.

I finally had enough. I went to GNC, bought a bunch of weight gainer, and started hitting the weights with a renewed sense of purpose. Around this time, I read an article titled "The Road to 600" by Dave Tate. It was the first of many articles I would read. When I read it, my mind exploded. I had no idea there were people out there who could bench 600 pounds. It changed everything I knew about the bench, and lifting in general. I started the MM2K bench program again with a friend named Tim. Tim was small as well, but shared a strong desire to get strong. For 8 weeks I ate like my life depended on it, and lifted like a madman. I put on 25 pounds in the first month. By the end of 8 weeks I was 178 benching 265. I had put on 30 pounds and another 50 on my bench. After this, I started to wise up a little. I realized that nutrition played a vital role in my success, and that training partners were invaluable. I stared to read. Everything. Most of it was bull****, but I didn't care. There was good information out there and I was going to find it and use it.

Dave Tate and John Berardi had by far the biggest impact. Between the two of them I had my training and nutritional needs covered. By the end of that summer I was about 185. I could squat 315, bench 275, and deadlift 405. Then, in the fall, my intensity started to dim. Tim had moved away and I couldn't find anyone to lift with. I was trying to keep pushing, but I was alone, lifting in a ****ty gym that had zero intensity.

By pure chance, I met a kid that winter who shared my love of the iron. He knew all about Westside, Louie Simmons, and powerlifting. He worked at a place called Jump Stretch, which, conveniently, was about half a mile from where I worked. He told me he trained with a group of guys, and that, if I wanted, I could come in on Sunday morning and lift with them. I'll never forget that Sunday morning. Leaving my apartment, I made it about 1 block before getting a flat tire. I have never changed a flat so fast in my life. If NASCAR had taped my performance, I would be a pit crew leader.

I got to the gym 5 minutes late, afraid my window of opportunity had passed. Despite my untimely entrance, everyone seemed happy to have a new member of the crew. It would be my first experience with speed benching, one that I rather enjoyed. After we finished, one of the guys named Wade asked how much I could bench. I mumbled 275, and he told one of the guys to put 280 on the bar. Now, let me tell you a little about Wade Likens. Wade is about 350 pounds, and recently benched 685 in a USAPL meet. He is a large, large man, so naturally, I did whatever Wade said. He told me to get under the bar and press the weight. Sure enough, I tried, and failed. After this, Wade said, "Do you know why you missed it? Because you thought about the weight. Weight," he said, "is just a number."

This was the first of many lessons I would learn over the next year and a half. In addition to meeting Wade, I also met the man, the myth, the legend, Dick Hartzell, owner and CEO of Jump Stretch, and creator of the Flex Bands. Somehow, Coach found out that I was a computer guy. To keep it simple, Coach, is not a computer guy. He should not be anywhere near one, at any time, forever. So, he enlisted my help in transferring some old VHS, 9mm, and Betamax (I'm not kidding) tapes over to digital. Since that point in time, I've sort of become his liaison to the technology world.

In return, he's shared with me a wealth of information that I can only describe as phenomenal. If you've ever had a chance to meet him, you know what I mean. Coach is the craziest son-of-a-bitch genius you will ever meet. He does not know how to run a business. He loses his wallet roughly 5 times a day, but if you've got an incurable injury, he will have you on your feet running sprints inside of 10 minutes. I could write a ten page paper on the unbelievable **** I've seen him do, but needless to say, the man knows his stuff about injury prevention and rehabilitation. Most, if not all of it, flies in the face of conventional wisdom and popular thinking.

So that about brings things to present time. I'm not an elite lifter. I'm still relatively new to the sport. I bombed out of my last meet, which royally pisses me off. To date, my best competition lifts are a 545 squat, a 350 bench, and a 530 deadlift at 209 pounds. I just started a completely new training protocol, and I'm lifting by myself, which is my main reason for writing this log. I figure if I post what I'm doing along with everyone else, I'm not really doing it alone. If you have a band question, I have a band answer.

-Brian