The Great Squat Experiment: Week 7

Josh Trammell

Tuesday, 11/18/14

Still recovering from food poisoning, but I wanted to get in the gym and see what I could do. Wasn't going in expecting much - my goal was to come in, work up to 315-365, see how it felt, and if I felt like crap, leave, if I felt good, go a little heavier.

Low Bar Squats (Beltless)

 - 365 x 1, 1, 1, 1 - was very out of the groove. A couple of adjustments plus just working at this weight loosened me up and things felt better. Felt good enough to move up.

 - 385 x 1 - felt good, moved up

 - 405 x 1 - felt easy

 - 415x2 - new 2RM. No video, unfortunately. Wasn't prepared to set a PR after food poisoning.

Paused Low Bar

 - 365x3

Called it quits. Who says you can't set PRs after getting sick and not eating much at all for 3 days?

Wednesday, 11/19/14

Low Bar Squats with a Belt

 - 365 x 1 (add belt), 1,1

 - 405 x 1

 - 425 x 1

 - 450 x 1 - PR +5lbs



Conventional Deadlifts w/ Belt

 - 365x1

 - 405x1

 - 455x2 - PR 2RM - Not really KK/ Pete Rubish like. First time I've videoed these. Felt good though.

Sumo Deadlifts w/ Belt

 - 365x1

 - 405x1

 - 455x3 - PR +1 rep



 - 435x3

Thursday, 11/20/14

Felt very exhausted going on. That's why, typically, the day after deadlift days is a Pause squat to reduce absolute volume/loading and compression on the spine.

Pause High Bar Squats

 - 355x1

 - 375x1 - could've gotten 2, but it would've been a real grind. Decided against it.

 - 355x3 - PR 3RM +10lbs I believe

 - 315x3

Short ab/decompression/stretching circuit, and called it quits.

Friday, 11/21/14

4-second Eccentric High Bar Squats w/ Belt (That's a mouthful...)

 - 365x1, add belt, 1

 - 385x1

 - 405x1

 - 415x1



 - 385x3

Not a particularly big fan of these, but I never work on the eccentric phase of the lift, so I figured it was time to do so. Plus, it is a nice change of pace.

Saturday, 11/22/14

Felt absolutely wrecked going into this session. Tired, worn down, not really ready to get a lift in, honestly.

 Low Bar Squats w/ Belt

 - 365x1 - add belt

 - 345x1 - moved down to get my groove

 - 385x1 - felt horrible

 - 405x1, 1 - both sets felt awful. This is something I did earlier in the week, without a belt, with ease. Just called it quits here. Still got quality work in that 85%+ range, so it's all good.

Sunday, 11/23/14

Front Squats

 - 315x1

 - 355x1 +10lb PR. Haven't done these in like 6 or 7 months, so I was very pleased with the speed of this on camera. Also pretty obvious that there are some left-right differences in front rack flexibility from this video. Not very comfortable looking front rack, probably due to the fact that I just haven't done them in a while.



 - 315x3 +40lb PR

'Speed' Sumo Deadlifts

 - 345x 1 x 10 sets - about 60-90s rest between sets, focusing in on maximal velocity off the ground to lockout. Felt decent.

Paused Bench Press

Haven't been able to bench press due to elbow pain, but I got my compression cuff in, so I wanted to test it out.

 - 225 x 3 x 3 sets - not too bad. Had a couple reps where the left elbow just gave out on me, but I'm still probably good for about 270 right now. Could've done all sets for 5 reps. Decently happy with that. Need to get my speed back, but everything else was fine.

Monday, 11/24/14

Remedial circuit and recovery work. Nothing of note to post about.

The Great Squat Experiment, Week 6

Josh Trammell

Wednesday, 11/12/14

 Wide(r) High Bar Squats w/ Belt

 - 315x1 - Add Belt

 - 315x1

 - 365x1

 - 405x1

 - 415x3 - PR + 10lbs - around a 10 RPE though. Went a little too hard. Was pissed from the struggle all last week though.

 - 385x3

Narrow Sumo + Belt

 - 365x1 - Add belt

 - 405x1

 - 455x2 - ties previous PR at a narrower stance

 - 425x3

Felt like crap, so I stopped.

Thursday, 11/13/14

Beltless Low Bar Squats

 - 365x1

 - 395x1

 - 405x3 - Rep PR + 2 reps (also, PR + 20lbs)



 - 375x5 - Rep PR +2 reps



Felt like crap, but it appears fast on video, so I'll take it.

Friday, 11/14/14

Birthday Pause Squats (low bar)

- 365x1

- 395x3 - PR + 40lbs (haven't done triples for weight in a while)



- 365x3

Saturday - Monday:

Ate at my favorite restaurant for my birthday, and managed to get food poisoning in the process. Thus, no training happened on any of those days.

The Great Squat Experiment: Week 5

Josh Trammell

I will preface this log by saying I spent around 20 hours driving in a car from Monday - Wednesday afternoon. Hips were destroyed, didn't get any lifting in, generally felt like crap that first workout back. Anyway, here it is.

Thursday, 11/6/14

 Beltless High Bar Back Squats

 - 365x1

 - 395 x miss (what the hell?) - hips shifted out behind the bar. Got pissed. Took another shot at it

 - 395 x 1 - kept hips in a better position, less shifting, more lifting. Still pissed though

 - 335 x 5

Friday, 11/7/14

Beltless High Bar Squats

 - 365x1

 - 385x1

 - 405x1 - get recruited by powerlifting team, turn them down

 - 365x3

 - 315x3, 3-second pauses at the bottom of each squat, cause I felt like it

Conventional Deads (no belt)

 - 365x1

 - 405x1

 - 405x5x3 sets - PR + 20lbs and 2 sets

- Starting to get the hang of conventional pulling. Took a while. Turns out my build favors a KK/Pete Rubish-ish type of pull. Almost enjoying conventional now, after hating it for so long.

Going to play around with 2 deadlift days: 1 conventional (for volume), 1 sumo, where the intensity will be upped. See how that goes along with all the squats.

Saturday, 11/8/14

Staying on the strugglebus...

Pause Squats - beltless

- 315 x 1

- 345 x 1

- 365x2 - PR +1 rep (cheap, I know)

- 335 x 3

Sunday

The strugglebus continues!

Beltless High Bar

- 365x1

- 385x1

- 405x1 - a little slower than normal, still haven't fully come back from that dang car ride.

- 365x3

- 315x3

Monday - Recovery/Pump Day

1A) Kossack Squat -> crossover Step-Up 3x12/leg
1B) Chest Flies 3x12 (5-10s eccentric for the stretch)
1C) Rear Delt Flies - 3x12

2A) Bar Hangs x a decently long time
2B) Bear crawls focusing on neutral spine and breathing
2C) Half Kneeling Chops - 3x8-10/side

Week 5 sucked.

The Great Squat Experiment: Training Log, Week 3 (or 4?)

By: Josh Trammell

*Note: This is a little over 3 weeks into the training cycle I'm currently in, experimenting with very high frequency, every-day max (EDM) style squatting. I won't go into the specifics of the plan here (future article will), but here's my log from the last week.

Previous videoed PRs:

385lb Belt Pause Squat x 1

Beltless, 415lbs x 1 High Bar Back Squat

Competition Stance Low Bar Squat 435lbs x 1 with a belt

445lbs x 1 Competition Stance Low Bar Squat, with Belt

Wednesday, 10/29/14

Beltless, Low Bar Back Squat:

 - 365lbs x 1

 - 395lbs x 1

 - 420lbs x 1 - +5lb Beltless PR

 - 385lbs x 4: +1 rep PR @ 385lbs

 - 355lbs x 3

Thursday, 10/30/14

Beltless High Bar Back Squats

 - 365lbs x 1

 - 390lbs x 1

 - 365lbs x 5 - +2 rep PR

Bench

 - 225lbs x 1

 - Elbow decided to crap out on me. Called it a day here. No use in aggravating it any more.

Friday, 10/31/14

 - Beltless, Paused High Bar Squats

 - 355lbs x 1

 - 375lbs x 1 +10lb PR

 - 385lbs x 1 +20lb PR

 - 335lbs x 3 new 3 rep PR

Conventional Deads:

 - 365x1

 - 405x1

 - Add belt: 405x5 (7 RPE)

Narrow Sumo:

 - 365x1

 - 405x1

 - 455x1 - tied Beltless PR with a narrower stance. Oh, and I haven't pulled sumo in around 6 months

 - 425x3 - 7 RPE

Sunday, 11/2/14

Safety Bar Squats

 - 330x1

 - 380x1

 - Add Belt: 410x1 - +60lb PR

 - 350x6 + 35lb PR

 - no belt: 310x5

S&C Internships: The 'Difficult' Coach

By: Josh Trammell

For part I of the S&C Internship series, click HERE.
For a fascinating look into the world  (and exploitation) of your fellow interns, check out this book: Intern Nation: How to Earn Nothing and Learn Little in the Brave New Economy

Let me introduce you to Coach Jay*. Coach Jay is an archetypal example of a coach who just couldn't care less about you. He's a dick and he knows it. 

"Stop bein' lazy man! You keep that up and you'll be an intern for the rest of your life." 

(said in front of the ENTIRE football team)

He went on to tell the intern to "go eat some donuts."

Obviously, this is a rather extreme example of a coach who really doesn't give a crap. But, while this is extreme, there are difficult coaches out there, and the goal of this article is to present some options on how to deal with those same coaches.

Option 1: Avoid the Coach in Question

...I would not recommend this option, for the simple reason that you'll be spending the next 2-3 months (or longer) working with this person. Also, you're an intern, which means you're not worth much - there's no reason to dig yourself an early grave.

Perfect example: after the coach in the intro did this to one of the interns, I actively avoided him...for about a week. Unfortunately, this coach used me as an example of what NOT to do when coaching a particular movement for another intern (even though I was teaching it the way another coach requested). I'm definitely human too, and this was a huge mistake that I quickly corrected.

Option 2: Ask for Advice from the Coach in Question

Once I saw how badly option 1 worked, I changed tactics. For every exercise I wasn't 100% clear on, I approached Coach Jay and asked him how he wanted it performed. Everything from depth for front squats to bench press, coaching cues, and so on.

This approach works much better than the first. For starters, by going to the coach for guidance you are establishing him as the expert and presenting yourself as being a humble intern. 

Many interns (myself included) go into the internship thinking they know everything about everything... and while you may know a lot, context is important and you may suck at applying what you know in a team sports context with lots of constraints. So, shutting your mouth and listening while establishing that coach as an authority is a very valuable skill.

Option 3: Does the Coach have an ego? Yes? Show off.

This one may sound funny, so I'll just use another personal example to illustrate the point.

Coach Jay was a former NFL pro for a few years before turning to coaching. He has a lot of confidence (rightly so) and thinks he can do pretty much anything he tries. Awesome.

One day, another intern and I were practicing some handstands, and he comes up and says "Hey man I can do that too. That's easy."

"Sure thing Coach Jay."

"What, you don't believe me man? Watch me."

He proceeds to kick up to a handstand...and falls over. He decides to try again...and gets the same result.

"Dang man! This is harder than I thought. Can you show me again?"

"You want me to show you the same thing, or do something else?"

"Show me something else man."

"Alright Coach."

I then proceed to do the following: Handstands Galore

Coach Jay tries it again...and fails. 

"Mad respect dawg." Bro hugs ensue. 

...And that's how I got Coach Jay's respect. Seriously. Immediately after that, he started talking to me, asking how I was doing, etc. 

Is this option appropriate for most coaches? Probably not. BUT, in certain situations this may work (but KNOW the coach's personality first).

Option 4: Always be seen Working

You'd think this would be obvious, but from stories I've heard from other internships and about past interns, apparently, it's not. One of the biggest keys to getting on a coach's good side is to be working AT ALL TIMES when you're out on the floor. 

Towels need to be picked up? Pick them up.

Weights on the floor? Pick them up.

Working out? Don't rest for 10 minutes between your sets while that coach is around (even if you are a powerlifter).

Does an athlete need a weight gain shake? Make him a weight gain shake.

The point: ALWAYS be moving around, doing something. Don't wait to be told to do something, show some initiative. This, more than anything else, will get you noticed and respected.

Is this stuff simple? Yes. Should I really have to write about it? No. Some of you will run into difficult coaches, and my hope is that you remember these lessons (and my blunders) and find a way to make it work to your advantage. 

*Fictitious name for a real coach.

Have some questions? Want to learn more about S&C internships and what they're all about? Shoot me an email at jtfitnesssystems@gmail.com and I'll help you out as much as I can.