Reactive Training Systems

briangodsen · Senior Member

RE: Brian's Training Log

briangodsen · Senior Member

2/20/2009
Volume Block Week 2

1-Board (paused).
9 warm up sets.
275 x 4 x 6 @ 8
(14 mins)

Iso-Mio Bench.
245 x 5 x 5 @ 8
(12 mins)

Press.
135 x 5 x 5 @ 8
(11 mins)

Chin ups.
bw+25 x 12 x 3

Abs.

briangodsen · Senior Member

2/22/2009
Volume Block Week 2

Deadlift (no belt).
4 warm up sets.
405 x 4 x 5 @ 8
(16 mins)

Reverse (light) band squat (no belt).
4 warm up sets.
365 x 5 x 5 @ 8
(17 mins)

Glute-ham.
bw x 10 x 3

Reverse Hyper.
6 plates x 10 x 3

Abs.

Starting to adjust to the volume. Still exhausting though.

briangodsen · Senior Member

2/24/2009
Volume Block Week 2.

Pause Bench.
7 warm up sets.
250 x 4 x 6 @ 8
(14 mins)

2-Board (paused).
275 x 5 x 5 @ 8
(12 mins)

Incline Bench (paused).
2 warm up sets.
205 x 5 x 5 @ 8
(11 mins)

Chin ups.
bw+50 x 8 x 4

Abs.

Bench felt really good today, but then again, it wasn't much weight either. Still, things are right where they should be. I can't wait to be done with this volume stuff.

briangodsen · Senior Member

2/25/2009
Volume Block Week 2

Squat (no belt).
6 warm up sets.
335 x 4 x 6 @ 8
(20 mins)

Safety Bar Squats (no belt).
1 warm up set.
265 x 5 x 5 @ 8
(15 mins)

Glute-ham.
bw x 10 x 3

Reverse Hyper.
4 plates x 10 x 3

Abs.

briangodsen · Senior Member

2/27/2009
Volume Block Week 3

1-Board (paused).
10 warm up sets.
300 x 2 x 8 @ 8
(19 mins)

Iso-mio bench.
260 x 3 x 6 @ 8
(12 mins)

Press.
1 warm up set.
145 x 3 x 6 @ 8
(12 mins)

Chin ups.
bw x 29 x 1

Abs.

Bench felt heavy today, but I guess it's a big jump in weight from last week to this week. I think it was just a cumulative effect of all the volume from last week catching up to me. Arnold chin-up challenge here I come.

briangodsen · Senior Member

3/1/2009
Volume Block Week 3

Deadlift (no belt).
4 warm up sets.
455 x 2 x 8 @ 8
(20 mins)

Stiff Leg DL off 6 inch box (no belt).
Worked up to 315 x 5

Reverse Hyper.
4 plates x 10 x 3

Abs.

briangodsen · Senior Member

3/3/2009
Volume Block Week 3

Pause Bench.
5 warm up sets.
275 x 2 x 8 @ 8
295 x 1 x 1 @ 8
315 x 1 x 1 @ 9
325 x 1 x 1 @ 9 (25lb PR)
(25 mins)

2-Board (paused).
295 x 3 x 6 @ 8
(15 mins)

Incline Bench (paused).
2 warm up sets.
225 x 3 x 6 @ 8
(15 mins)

Chin ups.
bw+25 x 10 x 3

Abs.

I decided at work today that there is no reason I shouldn't be benching 400lbs. My bench sucks, and there's no reason it should other than my own self doubt. I resolved today to change my thinking towards the bench, and get moving on having it suck less. The sets felt so good that I got a little carried away and worked up to a single. It was far and away the best bench session I've ever had. All the weights felt light, and the 325 was rock solid with a long pause. I was raised to believe that you will do what you will yourself to do. Today was no exception.

briangodsen · Senior Member

3/4/2009
Volume Block Week 3

Squat (no belt).
6 warm up sets.
375 x 2 x 8 @ 8
(15 mins)

Safety Bar Squats (no belt).
3 warm up sets.
285 x 3 x 6 @ 8
(12 mins)

Glute-ham.
bw x 10 x 3

Reverse Hyper.
4 plates x 10 x 3

Abs.

Squats felt pretty solid today. Glad all the volume work is over. Looking forward to hitting some nice PRs next week.

briangodsen · Senior Member

3/7/2009
Intensity Block Week 1

1-Board (paused).
6 warm up sets.
275 x 3 @ 8
295 x 3 @ 9
315 x 3 @ 9 (PR)
295 x 3 @ 8
295 x 3 @ 9
295 x 3 @ 9.5

Iso-mio bench.
225 x 4 @ 7
245 x 4 @ 8
265 x 4 @ 9 (PR)
265 x 4 @ 9
245 x 4 @ 9

Press.
135 x 4 @ 7
145 x 4 @ 8
155 x 4 @ 9 (PR)
155 x 3 @ 10
145 x 4 @ 9

Abs.

Felt great to be off the volume work and hitting PRs again. Bench feels stronger than ever and I'm finally making some progress on my press. The arnold was a pretty good time. Wade benched 534 at the USAPL raw challenge and totaled 1680 despite hurting his leg in the squat.

briangodsen · Senior Member

3/8/2009
Intensity Block Week 1

Deadlift.
4 warm up sets.
435 x 3 @ 7.5
475 x 3 @ 8.5
515 x 1 @ 9.5
495 x 1 @ 9

Stiff leg DL off box.
315 x 5 x 4 @ 8

Glute-ham.
bw x 8 x 3

Abs.

This was an awful workout. No two ways about it. I think it was probably a combination of not pulling anything over 455 for 3 weeks, and being on my feet all day Friday and then biking 20 on Saturday. I don't think I can get away with doing lower intensity high volume work on the DL if I'm not using a belt. I'm just not handling heavy enough weight. That's something to think about next block when setting up my programming.

briangodsen · Senior Member

3/10/2009
Intensity Block Week 1

Pause Bench.
10 warm up sets.
270 x 3 @ 8
285 x 3 @ 9
300 x 3 @ 10 (10lb PR)
285 x 3 @ 9
285 x 3 @ 10

2 Board (paused).
275 x 4 @ 8
295 x 4 @ 9
315 x 4 @ 10
295 x 4 @ 9
295 x 4 @ 10

Incline Bench (paused).
2 warm up sets.
205 x 4 @ 8
225 x 4 @ 9
235 x 4 @ 10
185 x 8 @ 10

Chin ups.
bw x 10,10,7

Didn't have much energy today, but things still went pretty good. Did each rep on chin ups from a dead hang, which was much harder. I think if I did the DS method of chest to bar with a pause, I could do maybe 5 total. Not all chin ups are created equal.

briangodsen · Senior Member

3/11/2009

Squat.
7 warm up sets.
375 x 3 @ 8
405 x 3 @ 8
425 x 3 @ 9 (5lb PR)
395 x 3 @ 8
395 x 3 @ 9

Safety Bar Squats (no belt).
3 warm up sets.
275 x 4 @ 7
295 x 4 @ 8
315 x 4 @ 8
275 x 8 @ 9

Glute-ham.
bw x 10 x 3

Reverse Hyper.
4 plates + Avg band x 10 x 3

Abs.

Squats felt really smooth and solid today. I feel like 500 is right around the corner. Mike was pulling today and hit some crazy numbers: 500+doubled monster minis for an easy single, 605 x 5 off a 4 inch platform that looked real easy, and 640 x 4 off a 4 inch platform. Oh, and he didn't wear a belt for anything. Just sick.

-- Edited by briangodsen at 15:09, 2009-03-12

BobW · Senior Member

Wow, Youngstown, OH.

That was like the evil big city where I grew up - West Middlesex, PA.

You've got some great, consistent & solid lifting going on.

Squatting 500?

That will kick-butt, man.

briangodsen · Senior Member

Haha, well, at this point its more like the small dying city, but we've got some gems here and there. I actually grew up in Western PA as well. I was reading your log the other day and was thinking about what I could do to help. I'm certainly not one of the stronger guys on here, but I may have some insight on staying healthy. Both my parents are health and phys-ed teachers, my brother and my gf are in school for physical therapy, and I'm very fortunate to train at Jump Stetch and have Coach Hartzell around. From what I understand, DISH is fairly common, but occurs mostly in people over 50. While it's symptoms have been known for years, it was only formalized as a specific condition a little over 10 years ago. Because its a form of arthritis, and the symptoms are very similar to common aliments, it is often misdiagnosed.

I'm betting you know more about it than I do, so I hope what I said was correct. You said that you've been using ART to basically "hold off" the calcification process thus far. I definately see this being an effective way to improve tissue quality. I also understand that the common treatment given to people with dish is "mild activity" designed to stretch and move the ligaments and tendons of the body. This activity is designed to help keep them functioning properly. Now we're talking my area of expertise. Using the bands is an excellent way to help stretch and strengthen the ligaments and tendons of the body. There are things you can do with the bands that you simply cannot simulate otherwise. If you haven't seen the videos with Coach, do a youtube search for "Dick Hartzell". EliteFTS did a great series with him with tons of good basic stretches. If you have seen these, I'm sure I have alot more videos I can share. I watched a video the other day where he took an elderly man with multiple sclerosis who was confined to a wheelchair and using the bands, vastly improved his strength, flexability, coordination, and helped him to stand on his own, and walk with some assistance. I'm rambling, so here's what I would do if I were you:

1) If you haven't got an x-ray to verfiy the diagnosis, consider doing this. You may have allready done this, or it may not be feasible to do, but it is an option.

2) Do you have any bands? If you don't, you should because I see them as invaluable for you.

3) What does your typical stretching pattern consist of before lifting, after lifting, on your off days, etc? There is just as much that can be done programming-wise in your stretching as can be done in your lifting. Think of it as RTS programming for your health. In return, you'll feel better, be able to train more often, and make greater gains.

These are just some preliminary thoughts. I hope I can make a difference for you.