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This week was week #2 of my Grid Style Training Program. Basically I am treating it like I have with all my sports in the past. It’s a daily and weekly research project. Grid Style is a little more complex than the other sports that I have competed in with a ton of more variables. This week was full of learning experiences and wins.
The first thing that I have to say is that training for competition is a whole new deal for me. The weekly gainzzz are coming at a rapid rate now that I have something on my radar. There are a couple of reasons for this as I see it. First, I am focusing on rest, recovery, nutrition, and mobility now that I am planning on competing. The other reason is that I am just more excited. Now there is a purpose in my training other than just training. Some people are great at training without competing. I am not one of those people. I thrive on competition.
This week I learned that Farmers Carry destroys my CNS. Well at least heavy Farmers Carry! I used a PR 261lbs per hand for 25m, and I completed four sets. Needless to say I was wrecked, but I didn’t realize how wrecked that I would be. I performed these on Monday, and on Tuesday I had the worst workout of my life. 125k Clean & Jerks felt heavy, so I just performed some Rowing and mobility work.
After some good nutrition with some extra calories that night along with some rest, I was recharged for Wednesday. I actually completed some heavy power cleans up to 142k/312lbs just to make sure that Tuesday’s poor performance was just a CNS thing. The good thing is that I was totally recovered by Wednesday, so it was just a one-day set back that I can avoid with some program shifts and adaptation over time.
Here is what my workout looked like this week:
12/21
Push Press 110/k2x5sets, 90k/5, 100k/5
Pull-ups 6-3-2-3-2(last 2 supinated)
Toes 2 Bar 10 x 2
Push-ups 15
Hollows 10 x 2
Rower 1000m 3m 58 sec
12/22
Snatch Push Press to OH Squat 50k/2+1, 70k/2+1,80k/2+1
Snatch 90k/3, 100k/2, 110k/1
Farmers Carry (weight is per hand) 180lb/1, 225lb/1, 261lb/1, 200/1
Rowing 1000m
12/23
Weak today
Clean & Jerk 110/2, 125/2, 110/2
Front Squats 185k/2
12/24
Clean & Strict Press 82/1+5, 84k/185lb/1+5
P. Clean 130/1, 142/2
CG Bench 300lb x 5 all pauses, 275lb/5
Pull-ups 7 strict chest to bar
Rowing 250m repeats with 1-minute rest x 4
12/26
Jerks from rack- 160k/1, 165/m x 2
Back Squats 240/1, 255/1
Deadlift 635/1
Mobility Work
Yesterday’s workout was a huge win for me. I was able to Jerk 160k/352lbs, High Bar Back Squat 255k/561lb, and Deadlift 635lb all within about a two hour workout. With such a short time back, these are great markers to be hitting. Here are some of the strength goals that I would like to hit before focusing on work capacity, cardiovascular, and speed:
Snatch 135k/297lb
Clean & Jerk 165k/363lb
Back Squat 280k/616lb
Bench Press 405lbs
Deadlift 700lbs
Strict Press 275lb
Push Press 150k/330lb
Farmers Carry 300lb per hand 25m
I believe that I can reach these sometime in January. Then I will still continue getting stronger, but the focus will be work capacity, new skills, and speed. Each week, I am simply increasing volume slowly. When I notice myself getting beaten down, I up the recovery and drop the volume slightly. When I reach that peak strength level, my workouts will become a little more advanced. Right now, straight linear periodization is all that I need to get things back on track.
Here is what my workouts will look like this week:
Monday
Snatch Push Press to OH Squat 40/2+1, 50/2+1, 60/2+1, 70/2+1
Snatch High Volume 75%/2, 80%/2, 85%/1, 90%/1×2
Clean & Jerk 75%/2, 80%/2, 85%/1, 90%/1×2
OH Carries 20m x 2reps x 3 sets for max weight
Skills and Rowing
Tuesday
Front Squat ss Jumps 5 RM ss Box Jumps
High Rep Front Squats 140k/6 and 120k/12 for time add 2-3 reps ea week
Farmer’s Walk
GHDs & Row 1000m
Wednesday
Standing Press 5RM, then -5&-10% for 5
Closegrip Bench 5RM, then -5&-10% for 5
Skills and Bro Session
Met Con
Thursday
Warm Up Snatch then Snatch Ladder or P. Snatch EMOM 70%/3, 80%/2, 85%/1 x 2 Snatch Ladder
Warm Up Clean then Clean Ladder or P. Clean EMOM 70%/3, 80%/2, 85%/1 x 2 Clean Ladder
Rowing 1000m
Friday
Jerk 1RM, then 5RM unbroken
Squat ss Jumps 5RM in ea
Deadlift 3RM
Saturday
Standing Push Presses 5RM, then -5&-10% for 5
Structural Balance One arm Squats and Waiter’s Squats
Skills
Met Con & Bro Session
As you can see, it is mostly strength oriented, but I will be adding a little more cardiovascular, work capacity, and skills sessions in this week. I love this style of training. I feel strong, in shape, and better conditioned. When I leave the gym, I feel better. CrossFit along seems to really crush my CNS for days. Maybe it is because of my natural genetics and size. I really love CrossFit for most people, but it just seems to battle my genetics.
The Grid Style allows me to get strong, and it requires a degree of work capacity. It is exactly what I needed for a long-term sport. I am so grateful that I found it.
2015 is going to be an exciting month for us. We hope that we can help as many people reach their goals as possible. Here are a couple ways that we can help you:
1. If you are a weightlifting purist and are searching for a team and coach, try out the Mash Mafia Weightlifting Team. I am going to keep the prices the same for the first couple of weeks, and then they will increase to reflect the quality. To check out the online team, click on the link below:
2. If you are looking to get a hold of your nutrition and/or workouts, check out the “Eat and Lift What You Want” Online Team. To check it out, click on the link below:
If you want to host a Learn 2 Lift Clinic(options of Eat & Lift What You Want, Coach McCauley, or traditional Learn 2 Lift), email me at: Travis.Mash@MashElite.com.
I am excited to partner on some of my seminars with Coach Don McCauley, Level V Senior International Coach and with Adee and Hayden from Team WAG. Lots of great options so let’s get your facility some education in 2015.