Weekend Update: 2 for 1 Special

Tuesday:

Squat: 435x5, 315x16

Bench Press: 245x5 singles

Friday:

Front Squat: up to 365x1

Dead Lift: 528x1, 572x0

RDL: 375x5,5; 265x15

Pretty damn good week of training this week.  I finally got 435 for five.  Next time I do rep work I’ll use 445 and stay with it until I can do five.  I’m kind of doing the same thing with the 315 except I want to hit 20.  Then I’ll move up to something in the 345-365 range.

I went a little off the res on Friday.  I’ve been kind of just plodding along and letting my numbers increase organically instead of forcing them to go.  Not Friday.  I actually missed my first attempt at 365 on Front Squat.  I had the bar a little too high on my neck which must have been pinching my jugular.  Unracking the bar I felt fine but once I sat down with it I started to see black.  In that situation there is no being a hero.  I threw the bar forward onto the safety pins and fell backwards a little.  With a little prodding from Jake I got back on my horse and made that shit happen.

Dead lifting felt great up to 528.  By then I was starting to putter out strength wise.  I was debating between going to 550 or 572.  I threw caution to the wind and the wind threw it right back at me.  I got the bar off the ground but lost my posture bad and just let the bar go.  Even today (Sunday) my glutes are all locked up from it.  Live and learn.

I was a mixed sack of emotions last week, which was my last, at NX Level.  I was excited about what lies ahead; nostalgic about all my great NX Level memories, and genuinely sad about leaving the people that I’ve built friendships with over the past six year.  I had a number of clients express how much of a positive impact I had on their lives and how I inspired them to be better than they were.  This is the highest compliment anyone could have paid me.  What they may not know is that I found my passion through them.  Seeing the look in someone’s eyes after I help them feel or move better is like a drug to me.  Thank you to all who made my time at NX Level some of the best years of my life.

Tuesday:

Squat: 405 x 5 singles

Bench: 245 x 10 total reps

Thursday:

Clean and Press: 176x1; 154x2x2

Single Arm Row: 100x8x4

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Single Arm DB Press: 40x10x4

Friday:

Snatch: 176x1; 154x3 singles

BTN Push Press: 176x5x5

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Trap Bar Dead Lift: 375x5x5

It’s done.  It’s finally done.  Well, not totally done, but it’s a gym.  The flooring is all put in.  All that really needs to be done is for it to be insulated and then it’ll be a year round operation.  Huge props to Amy’s dad, Don, for helping me.  He’s a bricklayer by trade so he was the brains and much of the brawn behind the operation.  I just did what I was told.  He told me what to buy, where to cut, and how to do a lot of stuff I’ve never done.  And we did it and I’m super proud of it.  Amy also had a sign commissioned for me.  I’d say I’ve got it just about made in the shade.  All it needs now is for some action takers to start pouring out their sweat to get better than they were yesterday.  That, and a few other pieces of equipment.  All in due time.

The Hometown He-Man Crushtorium.

The cardio equipment.

With a fully functioning gym only a few steps away I’m going to be experimenting a lot with my volume.  It’s not going to be much of a problem to do more sessions per week and even multiple sessions per day.  I’m going to think about what exactly it is I want to accomplish and develop a plan from there.

The Olympics are in full swing and I’m pretty excited.  In other words I’ve got Olympic Fever!  I love watching weightlifting and wrestling for obvious reasons.  I wrestled in high school and have always enjoyed performing the Olympic lifts, the Snatch and the clean and jerk.  Other sports I’m keeping an eye on are swimming and triathlon.  I trained a few swimmers who competed in the trials and also trained a woman competing in the triathlon but I'll watch just about anything that's on.  I wish good luck and great skill to all those competing but I gotta throw out a USA!  USA!  USA!

I hope everyone has had a great couple of weeks.  I’ll be back soon with some content instead of these boring ol’ weekend updates.  Thanks for staying tuned in.

An Open Letter To My NX Level Family

Dear NX Level Family,

As many of you know I will be moving to Chicago at the end of July and will no longer be employed with NX Level.  It was a hard decision for me to make, but one that I feel will be extremely fulfilling.  The camaraderie and friendship  that I have built with all of you, I know, is not something that can or will be found just anywhere.  As such, I want to take this opportunity to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for the caring, kindness, and compassion you have shown myself and the rest of the NX Level staff over the years. 

The last six years have been extremely rewarding and at the same time, very humbling for me.  Through you I have found a passion for strength and conditioning and helping others achieve their fitness goals.  The fact that you have trusted me to help you improve your performance, your health, and your quality of life is not something I take for granted.

As I begin the next chapter of my grown up life I will take with me and cherish the lessons and generosity that you have shown me.  And even though time and distance will keep us apart I feel great satisfaction that I can always call on any of you as a friend, and you me.

My Deepest Thanks,

Troy Dequaine

Senior Performance Coach and Assistant Director of Performance

Weekend Update: Training, Bachelor Party, and the Final Move

Tuesday:

Squat: up to 485x1, 405x3 paused

Bench Press: 245 x 10 singles

Friday:

Deadlift: 550 x 3 singles

RDLs: 375x5, 265x10

Bent Row: 155x8x4

Abs

This was another good week of training.  The 485 squat felt smooth with fairly good speed.  I really like the three week cycles I’ve been doing with my squat where week one is a 1RM, week two is rep work, and week three is five singles with week one’s weight.  But I think the biggest reason my squat is feeling good is that I’ve been staying somewhat conservative with it and not forcing the weight.  I just let it come and if it feels good I’ll do some more.  Hopefully I get back into the 500 range.  My goal once I’m there is to never get so weak that I can’t squat 500.  Long term goal is 600 raw, but I like where I’m at.

Deadlifting felt awesome.  I didn’t do a ton of warm-up reps, just one or two per warm-up set.  The first two 550 singles were great with no hitch or slow down.  The third one I got loose with my air before I pulled and ended up having to strain a little to get the rep.  No biggie, just need to focus better.

Bench press is still usual bench press.  I’m trying some different things as far as getting my right shoulder to not feel like a pile of goo and so far it’s been feeling on the better side of ok.  Not out of the woods yet but definitely better than where it was.

My diet recently has been pretty solid during the week and haphazard at best on weekends.  My only goal right now with that is to get stronger, maybe a little bigger, but stay in the 200 range.  By the end of the week I’m usually around 197 or so and then the weekend will push it back up to the 202 range.  Once my strength gains start to slow down I’ll readjust what I’m doing, but until then I’ll be staying the course.

I went up to Wisconsin Dells this past weekend for my good friend Lance’s bachelor party and it was a blast to say the least.  Between Friday and Saturday night there were about 14 guys that made the trip.  Friday we went to the local casino.  I didn’t play, I’m not much for gambling, but had a blast drinking beers and watching the other guys play.  One thing I don’t like about casinos is the level of sadness in there.  If you could harness that sadness into energy you’d be a billionaire.  Lots of miserable looking people in that place.

Saturday afternoon we all went paintballing.  I’m not going to lie; I’m the shit when it comes to paintball.  We got challenged by another bachelor party in an elimination game.  At one point there were three of their guys against me at about 15 yards apart behind wooden walls.  Long story short I got all three of them out.  Don’t really know how but I did it.  I’m like the John Rambo of paintball.  At least that game I was.

This weekend I’m making the final move to Chicago.  I’m definitely excited for this next chapter in my life.  I’m going to be with the woman I love and have great opportunities career-wise.  It should be an exciting ride.

Other than that nothing is new on my end.  I hope everyone had a great weekend and has a take no prisoners-style week. 

Weekend Update: Training, Up North, and Freedom

Tuesday:

Squat: 135x5, 225x4, 315x3, 405x2, 475x 5 singles

Bench Press: up to 245x 5 singles

Independence Day at Iron Alley:

Power Clean: up to 205x3x3

Military Press: 165x3x3

Bent Row: 185x6x4

Friday:

Front Squat: 135x5, 185x4, 225x3, 275x2, 315x 3 singles

Trap Bar DL: up to 527 x 3 singles

Training two heavy days per week has been going really well.  My numbers are slowly moving in the right direction, my body weight is staying consistent and I don’t feel trapped in by my program.  It’s flexible enough that if life gets in the way one day I’ll be able to get it in another day.  Training only twice heavy per week also makes me look forward to training.  And when you only have two times per week to get your shit done you’ve got no choice but to put out in those two sessions.

Bench press I’ve been playing ultra conservative on.  I decided this week to bump my training max (the heaviest weight I’ll use in a training session) to 245.  It is going to stay there for a while.  My shoulder feels ok while pressing but does stay sore for a few days afterwards.  I still think my trap is the main culprit in this, but I’ll never know until I put a real concerted effort into getting all the knots out.  That may take a few rough massages though.  Much more than just a lacrosse ball can provide.

I’m beginning to think that the slow cooker is one of the better inventions ever.  I don’t use it as much as I could or should but I’ve never been disappointed by it.  As long as you take the time to sex the meat up with some spices and what not I’d probably never get bored with using it.  I’d never give up grilling meats, but I definitely need to start experimenting with slow cooking more.

With the impending move to Chicago I’ve been shedding myself of some of my earthly possessions.  I’ve gotten rid of a lot of clothes that I haven’t worn in a long time and a lot of clutter that I haven’t used in years.  Let me tell you, it feels good.  It’s almost like losing a lot of weight.  Once all that useless clutter is gone you feel like you can move about better, breathe better, and live easier.  There is definitely a good feeling at having plenty, but in the end it’s just stuff. 

I’ve been looking into minimal living and I’m nowhere near that but the thought of it is attractive, especially the travelling aspect of it.  I am an over packer.  Every time I pack for a trip of more than a few days I get a case of the “just in case” syndrome.  I bring things that I think I’ll need but more often than not end up just leaving in my suitcase.  I bring too many clothes, too many accessories, and too much other stuff that I just don’t need.  So I’ll be practicing consolidation and trying to bring less on the trips that I have planned coming up.

On Wednesday we celebrated our nation’s independence from British tyranny.  I celebrated by lifting at my friend Joe’s new home gym, Iron Alley.  I wore my American flag karate pants and no shirt.  

Very nice set up he has there.  He has a rack stand which is just the business end of a squat rack.  It holds the bar and has a chin up bar and a dip attachment.  He also has a platform, some bumpers, a TRX and something that not a lot of home gyms have, a glute ham.  With that equipment one has almost limitless options. 

Lifting is like packing in a way.  A lot of people try to pack in all this stuff that they don’t really need thinking that it could be the magic bullet that delivers them there goals.  Consistent, hard work on 2-4 core lifts and a few supplementary lifts and one can attain almost any goal whether it be performance or aesthetic based.  Keeping what you need and getting rid of what you don’t is a good thing to put into practice in many areas of life, not just lifting and packing.

I’m on my way home from up north where Amy, her son Tavian, and I spent the weekend with my mom, Stepdad Pete, grandma Donna, sister Stacy, and her boyfriend Manny.  It was definitely what I needed.  Nice and relaxing time on the boat, swimming in the river, and hanging out by the fire pit.  Lots of food, drinks, sunshine, and great people is the recipe for a great time. 

I hope everyone else had a great weekend and is ready to kick the absolute shit out of Monday.  Make it great.