Varying Squat Stance for Quad Development

I joked to someone this week, “I’m all lats, pecs, and hamstrings.” In contrast, my quadriceps, tricep, and glute development are abysmal. So I revisited a specific type of squat I’ve done once or twice in the past. For me, this variation is about as quad-intensive as I can get. It involves a wide stance with toes turned out fairly significantly. This allows me to achieve a fairly deep, quad-dominant squat – so much so that 135lb for sets of six is a decent challenge for me.

READ: Don’t Be That Guy With Chicken Legs

At the suggestion of my colleague Christian Thibaudeau, I’m also going to implement a similar squat but with the difference that I’ll seek to overload only the top part of the motion, as this top range is typically underloaded with a parallel squat. However, in the jerk (which is my weakest link in the Olympic lifts), the leg drive is performed with a shallow squat, so it makes sense to do at least some partial squats to achieve this overload.

“For me, this variation is about as quad-intensive as I can get. It involves a wide stance with toes turned out fairly significantly.”

Aside from that, I’ve been training hard with good consistency, and have been feeling healthy to boot. Next week I expect to ramp up the Olympic lifts in preparation for my May 2nd competition.

That’s all for this week. Hope you had a Merry Christmas, and if you have any questions or thoughts on this week’s article, please leave your comments below!

This Week’s Training

Weekly Training Volume: 57,207lb (Last Week: 58,470lb)

Significant Lifts:

4” Block Pull: 475×1

Monday, December 22, 2014

Bodyweight: 201 lb

Volume: 16,393 lb

Average Weight Per Rep: 153.20 lb

Hang Snatch

Set 1: 44 lbs × 5

Set 2: 44 lbs × 5

Set 3: 44 lbs × 5

Notes: IQ: 44

Clean and Jerk

Set 1: 44 lbs × 2

Set 2: 44 lbs × 2

Set 3: 88 lbs × 2

Set 4: 88 lbs × 2

Set 5: 110 lbs × 1

Set 6: 110 lbs × 1

Set 7: 110 lbs × 1

Notes: IQ: 78

Squat

Set 1: 45 lbs × 5

Set 2: 95 lbs × 5

Set 3: 135 lbs × 5

Set 4: 185 lbs × 3

Set 5: 225 lbs × 2

Set 6: 315 lbs × 1

Set 7: 325 lbs × 1

Set 8: 335 lbs × 1

Set 9: 315 lbs × 1

Set 10: 315 lbs × 1

Notes: IQ: 159.4

Trap Bar Deadlift

Set 1: 225 lbs × 10

Set 2: 315 lbs × 8

Set 3: 315 lbs × 8 (Video Below)

Notes: IQ: 280.38

45-Degree Back Extension

Set 1: 120 lbs × 10

Set 2: 120 lbs × 10

Set 3: 120 lbs × 10

Notes: IQ: 120

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Bodyweight: 200.2 lb

Volume: 12,594 lb

Average Weight Per Rep: 125.94 lb

Bench Press

Set 1: 45 lbs × 5

Set 2: 95 lbs × 5

Set 3: 135 lbs × 5

Set 4: 185 lbs × 3

Set 5: 205 lbs × 2

Set 6: 225 lbs × 2

Set 7: 230 lbs × 2

Set 8: 230 lbs × 2

Set 9: 235 lbs × 2

Set 10: 235 lbs × 2

Notes: IQ: 155

Chin Up

Set 1: +25 lbs × 4

Set 2: +25 lbs × 4

Set 3: +25 lbs × 4

Set 4: BW x 10 reps

Notes: IQ: 213.81

Tricep Pushdown

Set 1: 60 lbs × 8

Set 2: 60 lbs × 8

Set 3: 60 lbs × 8

Notes: IQ: 60

EZ-Bar Curl

Set 1: 75 lbs × 8

Set 2: 75 lbs × 8

Set 3: 75 lbs × 8

Notes: IQ: 75

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Bodyweight: 200.6 lb

Volume: 13,600 lb

Average Weight Per Rep: 151.11 lb

4″ Block Pull

Set 1: 135 lbs × 5

Set 2: 135 lbs × 5

Set 3: 225 lbs × 5

Set 4: 315 lbs × 3

Set 5: 365 lbs × 2

Set 6: 405 lbs × 1

Set 7: 435 lbs × 1

Set 8: 455 lbs × 1

Set 9: 475 lbs × 1

14.5″ High Bar Box Squat

Set 1: 45 lbs × 6

Set 2: 95 lbs × 6 (Video Below)

Set 3: 135 lbs × 6

Set 4: 135 lbs × 6

Set 5: 135 lbs × 6

Set 6: 135 lbs × 6

Back Extension

Set 1: 120 lbs × 10

Set 2: 120 lbs × 10

Set 3: 120 lbs × 10

Friday, December 26, 2014

Bodyweight: 202.8 lb

Volume: 14,620 lb

Average Weight Per Rep: 123.89 lb

Close Grip Bench Press (Pinkies On Rings)

Set 1: 95 lbs × 8

Set 2: 135 lbs × 6

Set 3: 185 lbs × 4

Set 4: 205 lbs × 4

Set 5: 205 lbs × 4

Set 6: 195 lbs × 4

Set 7: 195 lbs × 4

Notes: IQ: 162.05

Incline Dumbbell Press

Set 1: 80 lbs × 8

Set 2: 120 lbs × 8

Set 3: 120 lbs × 8

Set 4: 120 lbs × 8

Notes: IQ: 110

Seated Row

Set 1: 150 lbs × 8

Set 2: 150 lbs × 8

Set 3: 150 lbs × 8

Notes: IQ: 150

Military Press

Set 1: 45 lbs × 5

Set 2: 65 lbs × 5

Set 3: 85 lbs × 5

Set 4: 105 lbs × 3

Notes: IQ: 71.66

Bicep Curl (Dumbbell)

Set 1: 70 lbs × 10

Notes: IQ: 70

A big believer in practicing what he preaches, Charles Staley trains and competes just like his clients. Every Friday you can read what Charles has done in his workout sessions.

The post Varying Squat Stance for Quad Development (Athlete Journal 121) appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

The Promotion

One of our head instructors, Dominic Passaniti, recently received his black belt under Phil Migliarese. With the black belt comes the ability to give stripes and new belts. The instructors thought it would be a great idea to hold our own promotions just for our students. We wanted it similar to the way Phil and Ricky Migliarese do it at Balance headquarters. We thought that would be the best way to go – challenging, yet rewarding.

RELATED: Promoted to Purple Belt! (Athlete Journal 55)

Dominic started everything off with lining everyone up and explaining how the promotions would go. He then brought them out in groups and lined them up down the mat. The first group was our newer group of white belts. The second group was our more experienced group of white belts. Finally, there were the blue belts.

Each person rolled about five or six rounds, depending on his or her rank. After one round, a fresh person tagged in and took a turn. The instructors walked around and watched the groups roll, checking their technique and making sure they were putting in hard work. Everyone definitely was.

My Experience

I must say it was nice being on the other end of promotions. I enjoyed being the one handing out the beatings rather than getting them. Rolling for my purple belt at Balance was probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I got beat up by a bunch of purple, brown, and black belts. It was nice being the higher rank at our promotions. I thought I would have wanted to punish the students more because of the beating I got. I just couldn’t do that, though. I definitely held back a little bit on certain people. I guess I’m a lover at heart.

“I scanned the line of people and thought to myself every single person in that line was genuinely good. I never would have met them if it wasn’t for jiu jitsu.”

After everyone was done rolling, Dom lined everyone up again. It was time for the promotions. Frank called out the names he had on his clipboard (which was awesome) one by one. A lot of our white belts earned stripes that day. Some of them even got multiple stripes because they were long overdue.

Next up were some belt promotions. Two of our students, Ruben Jorge and Brendan Peterson, received their blue belts. They are always at the school, working hard and putting the time in. Ruben and Brendan definitely earned those belts. Finally, a bunch of our blue belts received their stripes. They’re getting closer and closer to purple.

A Sense of Gratitude

As I stood in the instructor line across from the students, I felt so thankful. First of all, the instructor line?! Little old me? I never would have seen that one coming when I started training. The second thing I was thankful for was our amazing students. I scanned the line of people and thought to myself that every single person in that line was genuinely good. I never would have met them if it wasn’t for jiu jitsu.

I’m so grateful for jiu jitsu and all of the doors it’s opened for me. I’m also grateful for Scranton MMA and the opportunities I’ve been given.

Jess Papi is a purple belt at Scranton MMA and also pursuing her degree in communications. Read her entries every week for insights on competing, training, and juggling BJJ and life.

The post On the Other Side of a Belt Promotion (Athlete Journal 64) appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

When your efforts are extreme, they will also be temporary. Intensity is meaningless if not consistent. It’s not what you do today, it’s what you do day in and day out.

Training is a process, not an event or an experience. Like a farm, today’s yield is the result of yesterday’s work. It’s much more about everyday habits than occasional stunts.

Look at the Big Picture

To better appreciate this, think about your nutrition. Let’s say last week, on Monday, you ate “perfectly” (whatever that means for you). But Tuesday through Sunday, you ate terribly. In the big scheme of things, does it matter how well you ate on Monday? Obviously not. In fact, it’s what you do on average that really matters.

“For the past few weeks I’ve been using the safety squat bar, which feels absolutely fantastic and productive, particularly in terms of quad activation, which is a challenge for me.”

This is why, in my training journal, I record and document not only my daily volume, but weekly volume as well. Through the process of doing this, I know what my average weekly volume is, and therefore, on any given week, I know if I’m on track or falling behind.

As the new year approaches, I’d like to encourage you to do some thinking about your average daily habits, and look for opportunities to improve them. Only slight improvement, mind you. Because remember: if you can’t do it everyday, it’s not going to have any real value for you.

This Week’s Training

Weekly Training Volume: 58,470lb (Last Week: 38,295lb)

Significant Lifts:

• Military Press: 135×1
• Clean & Jerk: 135×1
• Deficit Pull: 455×1
• Safety Squat: 245×2
• Dumbbell Bench: 200×6

A few things might jump out at you here, the first being that I did my first real clean and jerks in about five years. Yes, I’ve been cleaning lately and have done some push presses, but on Thursday of this week I did some actual clean and jerks. I only worked up to 135lb, but that was fairly easy and pain free, so I’ll take it as a win. As of this writing, I’ve been playing around with Eric Auciello’s ideas on the jerk with great interest – more on this next week.

READ: A Step-by-Step Guide to the Perfect Jerk

Also, for the past few weeks I’ve been using the safety squat bar, which feels absolutely fantastic and productive, particularly in terms of quad activation, which is a challenge for me. For any given number of reps, there is about 100lb of difference between my competitive low bar squat and the safety bar. That alone tells you that it’s targeting a weakness.

That’s all for this week. I hope you had a Merry Christmas, and if you have any questions or thoughts on this week’s article, please leave your comments below!

Monday, December 15, 2014, 11:51 AM

Bodyweight: 201.2 lb

Volume: 12,315 lb

Average Weight Per Rep: 168.69 lb

Squat

Set 1: 45 lbs × 5

Set 2: 95 lbs × 5

Set 3: 135 lbs × 5

Set 4: 185 lbs × 3

Set 5: 225 lbs × 2

Set 6: 275 lbs × 2

Set 7: 315 lbs × 1

Set 8: 315 lbs × 1

Set 9: 315 lbs × 3

Notes: IQ: 166.85

Trap Bar Deadlift

Set 1: 225 lbs × 10

Set 2: 385 lbs × 1

Set 3: 315 lbs × 5

Notes: IQ: 263.12

45-Degree Back Extension

Set 1: 120 lbs × 10

Set 2: 120 lbs × 10

Set 3: 120 lbs × 10

Notes: IQ: 120

Tuesday, December 16, 2014, 1:20 PM

Bodyweight: 200 lb

Volume: 14,545 lb

Average Weight Per Rep: 121.20 lb

Bench Press

Set 1: 45 lbs × 5

Set 2: 95 lbs × 5

Set 3: 135 lbs × 5

Set 4: 185 lbs × 3

Set 5: 205 lbs × 2

Set 6: 225 lbs × 2

Set 7: 225 lbs × 2

Set 8: 225 lbs × 2

Set 9: 230 lbs × 2

Set 10: 235 lbs × 2

Notes: IQ: 154

Chin Up

Set 1: 6 reps

Set 2: 7 reps

Set 3: 7 reps

Set 4: 7 reps

Notes: IQ: 200

Military Press

Set 1: 45 lbs × 10

Set 2: 65 lbs × 8

Set 3: 85 lbs × 6

Set 4: 105 lbs × 4

Set 5: 125 lbs × 2

Set 6: 135 lbs × 1

Notes: IQ: 73.70

Bicep Curl (Dumbbell)

Set 1: 70 lbs × 8

Set 2: 70 lbs × 8

Set 3: 70 lbs × 8

Set 4: 70 lbs × 8

Notes: IQ: 70

Thursday, December 18, 2014, 1:17 PM

Bodyweight: 201.6 lb

Volume: 14,350 lb

Average Weight Per Rep: 149.47 lb

Clean and Jerk

Set 1: 44 lbs × 5

Set 2: 44 lbs × 5

Set 3: 65 lbs × 3

Set 4: 95 lbs × 1

Set 5: 115 lbs × 1

Set 6: 135 lbs × 1 (Video Below)

Notes: IQ: 61.25

1.5″ Deficit Deadlift

Set 1: 135 lbs × 5

Set 2: 135 lbs × 5

Set 3: 225 lbs × 3

Set 4: 315 lbs × 2

Set 5: 365 lbs × 1

Set 6: 405 lbs × 1

Set 7: 435 lbs × 1

Set 8: 455 lbs × 1 (Video Below)

Notes: IQ: 227.10

Safety Squat

Set 1: 65 lbs × 5

Set 2: 115 lbs × 5

Set 3: 155 lbs × 5

Set 4: 205 lbs × 3

Set 5: 225 lbs × 3

Set 6: 225 lbs × 3

Set 7: 245 lbs × 2

Set 8: 205 lbs × 5

Notes: IQ: 166.29

Back Extension

Set 1: 130 lbs × 10

Set 2: 130 lbs × 10

Set 3: 130 lbs × 10

Notes: IQ: 130

Friday, December 19, 2014, 7:29 AM

Bodyweight: 201.8 lb

Volume: 17,260 lb

Average Weight Per Rep: 138.08 lb

Close Grip Bench Press (Pinkies On Rings)

Set 1: 95 lbs × 8

Set 2: 135 lbs × 6

Set 3: 185 lbs × 4

Set 4: 185 lbs × 4

Set 5: 185 lbs × 4

Set 6: 185 lbs × 4

Set 7: 185 lbs × 4

Notes: IQ: 155

Bench Press

Set 1: 225 lbs × 2

Set 2: 225 lbs × 2

Notes: IQ: 225

Bench Press (Dumbbell)

Set 1: 170 lbs × 8

Set 2: 190 lbs × 4

Set 3: 200 lbs × 6

Set 4: 170 lbs × 8

Notes: IQ: 180

Seated Row

Set 1: 100 lbs × 8

Set 2: 150 lbs × 8

Set 3: 150 lbs × 8

Set 4: 150 lbs × 8

Notes: IQ: 137.50

Tricep Pushdown

Set 1: 40 lbs × 8

Set 2: 50 lbs × 5

Notes: IQ: 43.84

Hammer Curl

Set 1: 90 lbs × 8

Set 2: 90 lbs × 8

Notes: IQ: 90

A big believer in practicing what he preaches, Charles Staley trains and competes just like his clients. Every Friday you can read what Charles has done in his workout sessions.

The post Extreme Effort Is Only Temporary (Athlete Journal 120) appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

This Week’s Lessons

I learned a lot in classes this week. Frank went over transitions between different guards. He showed us how to switch from half guard, to deep half, to X guard, to kiss of the dragon, to 50/50 guard, to single X guard. It was a long sequence of guard transitions, with some sweeps added in for flavor. I enjoyed it, and I want to start drilling transitions like that more often so my guard gets more fluid and effective.

“I never regret drilling the stuff I need to work on and sharpening the skills I’m already good at.”

Dominic took the opposite approach for his lesson plan this week. He showed us a series of pressure passes, which were interesting. Out of the three passes he showed, one confused the heck out of me. It took me a long time to understand the principles of the pass. I love those moments of being confused by jiu jitsu. It makes me want to get the move down perfectly.

I don’t remember all of the passes exactly, but I do remember some of the bits and pieces of each one. I think as long as I took those bits and pieces from the lesson, it was a good day. It’s something else to add to my own personal collection.

Rolling and Speed Drills

Rolling was a lot of fun this week. I feel like I’m already starting to get my endurance back, but just a little bit. I still have a lot of work to do. I find myself breathing heavily and getting tired more quickly than I used to. I’m determined to get back in shape, though. I want to be able to roll round after round without taking a rest round or feeling like I might die.

“I want to get to the point where I have a few solid takedowns that I know I can always hit so I can be more confident when I compete.”

I get especially tired when we do speed drills. Those are such a pain in the butt while I’m doing them, but it’s always a good feeling when I’m done. I never regret drilling the stuff I need to work on and sharpening the skills I’m already good at. Speed drills are a great tool for improving your skill and making you more confident while you’re rolling.

Back to Judo

Remember a few weeks ago when I said I wanted to start doing judo again? Well, it took me a little while, but I finally got my butt to class this week. I can’t make it to all of the classes because I teach during them, but I think one or two a week is good. I want to take more judo classes so I get comfortable on my feet. I spent most of my blue belt career pulling guard in tournaments, but it never worked out in my favor. I want to get to the point where I have a few solid takedowns I know I can always hit so I can be more confident when I compete.

My Next Competition

Speaking of competing, I already have something lined up for February! On February 21st I have a super fight against Samantha Fisher from Pereira BJJ. I don’t know much about my opponent or all the details yet, but I‘m excited for this. I’ve been wanting to do a super fight for a while now.

RELATED: Judo Training for Maximum Efficiency with Minimum Effort

For those of you who don’t know, a super fight is like a highlighted match between you and an opponent. It’s not like a tournament with a bracket. It’s just you and that one person competing against each other, and whoever wins the match gets bragging rights or some kind of prize. I’ll be training my butt off for this match. God gave me talent, and it’s my job to sharpen it and give the glory to Him.

I’d like to leave you guys on that thought, so I’ll see you next week!

Jess Papi is a blue belt at Scranton MMA and also pursuing her degree in exercise science. Read her entries every week for insights on competing, training, and juggling BJJ and life.

The post Building Confidence as a BJJ Practitioner (Athlete Journal 63) appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

All of us already have a set of habits, paradigms, proclivities, or beliefs that govern our decision-making under the bar. For example, I’ve written volumes about a belief that many people hold, which is that pain equals gain. The more something hurts, the better it must be.

RELATED: The Truth Behind “No Pain, No Gain” in Weightlifting

If you happen to hold this point of view, you’re likely to manage your workouts differently than someone who holds a contrasting belief (for example, that “performance equals gain”).

Paradigms → Decisions → Consequences → Results

Needless to say, if you operate from accurate, productive paradigms, you’ll make good decisions that will lead to good results. If you operate from incorrect assumptions, you’ll make faulty decisions and suffer unwanted consequences. Let’s examine a few common belief patterns so you’ll have a concrete understanding of this sequence of events:

Belief Pattern A

• Paradigm: “John” is (unconsciously) overly enamored by novelty. He’s always looking for the newest, coolest training system, diet, or training equipment.
• Decision: Every time John becomes aware of a new system, diet, or tool, he immediately discontinues what he was previously doing in favor of the new discovery.
• Consequence: John never makes any progress because he never does anything long enough for it to work. Interestingly enough, he always has a convenient excuse: his current methods are behind the times.

CAUTION: Beware of Snake Oil Salesmen (Especially Ones With Science)

Belief Pattern B

• Paradigm: Jenna believes she is weak and needs to be a tougher person, mentally and physically.
• Decision: Every time Jenna encounters pain during a workout, she chalks it up to personal weakness and continues despite the pain.
• Consequence: Jenna is nearly always injured, which reinforces her paradigm. She’s caught in a vicious cycle, and she’s completely unaware of it.

RELATED: The 3 Fitness Mistakes Almost Everyone Makes

Belief Pattern C

• Paradigm: “Joe” is fascinated by, believes in, and has extensively studied periodization.
• Decision: Joe plans his workouts months in advance. Every exercise, set, rep, and weight is pre-planned.
• Consequence: When Joe inevitably encounters a workout he isn’t able to complete by the book, he gets frustrated and immediately starts writing a new macrocycle, convinced he made an error on his last plan. Like John and Jenna, his faulty paradigm is self-replicating.

RELATED: You’re Not Ronnie Coleman – Don’t Be Afraid to Tweak

Like John, Jenna, and Joe, we all have productive paradigms and faulty ones. How can we reinforce the former and eradicate the latter? Simply by increasing our own self-awareness.

I’d love your input on this discussion, so if you’d like to share your own paradigms- good or bad, current or former, leave a comment below.

This Week’s Training

I only ended up completing three workouts this week, partly because I’ve been feeling under-recovered, but also because I’m changing to a Mon-Tue-Thu-Fri schedule next week. No particularly noteworthy lifts this week, and no video this week, I’m afraid. I’ll be sure to have some interesting video content in the coming weeks.

“If you operate from incorrect assumptions, you’ll make faulty decisions and suffer unwanted consequences.”

I thought I would point out something I’ve been working on lately, which is hitting multiple heavy sets of 1-2 on lifts such as the squat. In the past, if I managed to hit a big single on the squat especially, I’d be done for that lift. Once I’ve already hit a certain number, it’s unappealing for me to repeat it – I guess because there’s no glory in repeating something I’ve already done. But the key to progress is increasing volume and work capacity, so as of late you’ll see me hitting several heavy, low-rep sets on key movements.

That’s all for this week. If you have any thoughts on this week’s article, please leave your comments below!

Weekly Training Volume: 38,295lb (Last Week: 57,359lb)

Significant Lifts:

• Squat 355×1
• Power Clean/Push Press 165×1
• Deadlift 435×1

Monday, December 8, 2014

Bodyweight: 200.8 lb

Volume: 12,028 lb

Average Weight/rep: 148 lb

Squat

Set 1: 45 lbs × 5

Set 2: 95 lbs × 5

Set 3: 135 lbs × 5

Set 4: 185 lbs × 3

Set 5: 225 lbs × 2

Set 6: 275 lbs × 1

Set 7: 315 lbs × 1

Set 8: 345 lbs × 1

Set 9: 355 lbs × 1

Set 10: 335 lbs × 2

Set 11: 335 lbs × 2

Set 12: 315 lbs × 2

Notes: IQ: 188

Power Clean

Set 1: 88 lbs × 3

Set 2: 110 lbs × 3

Set 3: 132 lbs × 3

Set 4: 154 lbs × 2

Set 5: 176 lbs × 1

Set 6: 198 lbs × 1

Set 7: 198 lbs × 1

Set 8: 198 lbs × 1

Notes: IQ: 137.86

45-Degree Back Extension

Set 1: 120 lbs × 12

Set 2: 120 lbs × 12

Set 3: 120 lbs × 12

Notes: IQ: 120

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Bodyweight: 200.4 lb

Volume: 15,267 lb

Average weight/rep: 127.22 lb

Power Clean & Push Press

Set 1: 45 lbs × 5

Set 2: 88 lbs × 3

Set 3: 99 lbs × 3

Set 4: 110 lbs × 2

Set 5: 121 lbs × 2

Set 6: 132 lbs × 2

Set 7: 143 lbs × 2

Set 8: 154 lbs × 1

Set 9: 165 lbs × 1

Notes: IQ: 100.80

Bench Press

Set 1: 45 lbs × 5

Set 2: 115 lbs × 5

Set 3: 155 lbs × 5

Set 4: 185 lbs × 5

Set 5: 205 lbs × 3

Set 6: 205 lbs × 3

Set 7: 185 lbs × 5

Set 8: 185 lbs × 5

Notes: IQ: 155

Chin Up

Set 1: 1 reps

Set 2: 2 reps

Set 3: 3 reps

Set 4: 4 reps

Set 5: 5 reps

Set 6: 6 reps

Set 7: 1 reps

Set 8: 2 reps

Set 9: 3 reps

Notes: IQ: 200.4

Bicep Curl

Set 1: 60 lbs × 12

Set 2: 60 lbs × 12

Set 3: 60 lbs × 12

Notes: IQ: 60

Workout Notes

IQ: 127.22

Thursday, December 11, 2014

Bodyweight: 200.6 lb

Volume: 11,000 lb

Average weight/rep: 161.76 lb

Deadlift

Set 1: 135 lbs × 3

Set 2: 135 lbs × 3

Set 3: 135 lbs × 3

Set 4: 225 lbs × 3

Set 5: 315 lbs × 2

Set 6: 365 lbs × 1

Set 7: 405 lbs × 1

Set 8: 435 lbs × 1

Notes: IQ: 219.11

Safety Squat

Set 1: 65 lbs × 5

Set 2: 155 lbs × 5

Set 3: 205 lbs × 5

Set 4: 205 lbs × 5

Set 5: 225 lbs × 1

Notes: IQ: 153.40

Back Extension

Set 1: 130 lbs × 10

Set 2: 130 lbs × 10

Set 3: 130 lbs × 10

Notes: IQ: 130

Workout Notes

IQ: 161.76

A big believer in practicing what he preaches, Charles Staley trains and competes just like his clients. Every Friday you can read what Charles has done in his workout sessions.

The post Examine Your Operating System (Athlete Journal 119) appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

This Week’s Training

I did have to improvise on Friday. I got in my ten sets of squats, which felt surprisingly easy. I even threw in a training max since the squat felt so good. Then it was time for the bench press.

“I would rather take my time and hit every rep with decent form than butcher my technique, miss reps, or skip sets.”

One mistake I made when choosing my lifts for this cycle was overshooting my training max on my bench press. Your training max should be around 95% of your competition max, as the competition max is something you hit after a deload – where you’re fully rested and ready to psych up. My ego got the better of me, and I chose a training max too close to my competition max.

RELATED: Why I Always Hit a Daily Training Max

I figured this out about the first week, when my chest was torn to pieces from lifting so heavy – but nonetheless, I kept chugging along. My ten sets of bench last week were harder than expected, but I just increased my rest time to ensure I got all of my reps in.

This week was a little different. I got to my ten sets of bench (195lb x 3 reps) and soon realized this would be a grind. I’m big on having confidence under the bar versus grinding out a rep with janky form (I’m assuming), so I opted to hit ten singles at the same weight instead. Powerlifters are one-rep athletes, so I always choose more sets of singles than fewer sets of doubles or triples. It may not have been what I wanted, but when you work in a rep range or follow a template, changes must always be made to accommodate yourself.

Rest Intervals

I didn’t miss any bench reps, and I didn’t feel defeated. Speaking of missing reps, I’ve included my rest intervals below for one of my workouts to further elaborate on my training philosophies.

Let’s take a look at Friday’s bench press rest times:

1. 60 seconds
2. 60 seconds
3. 120 seconds
4. 120 seconds
5. 180 seconds
6. 240 seconds
7. 240 seconds

Above is how long I rested in between sets of bench, and this changes every week. I don’t rest a specific amount of time in between sets. I rest as needed. Shorter rest periods have been proven to build strength and size. The one thing I don’t do is miss reps in the gym. I never take a rep in the gym unless I’m 100% confident I will hit it. I never have to second-guess my abilities, and I have more gym confidence.

RELATED: How to Use EFT to Overcome Challenges in the Gym

Therefore, I rest until I know I can hit my next set. I would rather take my time and hit every rep with decent form than butcher my technique, miss reps, or skip sets. Listening to my body has been the most successful strategy for me, but everyone’s bodies and training goals are different.

Here’s my meat and potatoes for the week:

Monday

Squat

135 x 5 (4 warm up sets)

185 x 3

225 x 3

275 x 2

230 x 9 (4 working sets @ 70%+ 10lbs)

Bench

135 x 5 (4 warm up sets)

175 x 3

165 x 6 (6 working sets @ 70% + 5lbs)

Tuesday

Deadlift

135 x 5 (2 warm up sets)

225 x 3

255 x 1 (9 singles @ 65-70%)

Pendlay Rows

185 x 5 (5 sets)

Wednesday

Yoga

Thursday

Squat

135 x 5 (4 warm up sets)

185 x 3

225 x 3

275 x 2

245 x 7 (5 working sets @75% + 10lbs)

Bench

135 x 5 (4 warm up sets)

185 x 3

175 x 5 (7 working sets @ 75% + 5lbs)

Friday

Squat

135 x 5 (4 warm up sets)

185 x 3

225 x 3

275 x 2

260 x 5 (7 working sets @80% +10lbs)

Bench

135 x 5 (4 warm up sets)

185 x 3

205 x 2

185 x 4 (8 working sets @80% + 5lbs)

Saturday

Rest

Sunday

Squat

135 x 5 (4 warm up sets)

185 x 3

225 x 3

285 x 2

275 x 3 (10 working sets @85% + 10lbs)

295 x 1 (training max for the day)

Bench

135 x 5 (4 warm up sets)

185 x 3

205 x 2

195 x 1 (10 working sets 85% +5lbs)

205 x 1 (training max for the day)

My training week flew by, and most days felt easier than weeks prior, despite being heavier. I did have to change my lifts on Friday, but the improvisation was necessary.

The first three weeks and first wave of Smolov are in the books. Next week I’ll be testing my max on the squat and bench, and who knows, might even test my deadlift max. Stay active!

Ryan Seaver is a novice powerlifter who found his love for the sport after six years of going to the gym religiously. Follow Ryan’s journals to learn how to get started as a competitive lifter.

The post A Killer Training Week (Athlete Journal 13) appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Finals and a Long Break

It’s finals week at the University of Scranton, which is good and bad at the same time. It’s bad because I’ve had to stay up way past my bedtime every night this week to study and finish up some last-minute assignments. It’s good because after I’m done taking my finals I get six whole weeks off from school!

RELATED: 5 Ways Competition Preparation Is Like College

I love having a long winter break. It gives me enough time to mentally recharge for next semester. It also means I get to train as much as I want and no one can stop me.

Back to Rolling

Speaking of training, I’m finally back to rolling again. My elbow isn’t 100% better just yet, but it’s good enough to start pushing myself. It’s still a little sore if I extend it fully, but I don’t do much of that type of motion anyway. As long as no one puts it in an armbar, I’ll be fine.

“I completely forgot about my injury and rolled like no one’s business. I was passing and sweeping, and I even stood up at one point and hit a decent double leg.”

Monday was my first day back to speed drills and rolling. For the past couple of weeks I hadn’t been training like I normally do, so my endurance decreased a lot. I was so excited to get back to training hard that I didn’t even take that into account. I went as fast as I could while I was drilling and it got my heart pounding out of my chest. I felt like I was going to throw up after doing that. I probably should have eased my way back into it, but I was just so excited. It’s going to be a challenge to get my endurance back to where it was, but I’m up for it.

GET BACK ON THE MATS: 3 Steps for Returning to BJJ After an Injury

My first roll after the hiatus was a blast. I went in feeling cautious about my elbow, but at about one millisecond into the roll I didn’t even care. I completely forgot about my injury and rolled like no one’s business. I was passing and sweeping, and I even stood up at one point and hit a decent double leg. I did a lot more than what I thought I could do. I was huffing and puffing the whole time because I’m so out of shape, but I still had a lot of fun.

What’s Next?

For the next couple of weeks I will be focusing on getting back in fighting shape. My goals are to get my cardio back to where it was, keep up on lifting weights and getting strong, and keeping up on stretching after class. Honestly, the hardest one will be remembering to stretch. I like yoga and I want to be flexible, but it takes up so much time. I always feel like I could be doing something more important. But stretching is important and I have to keep that in mind.

RELATED: Yoga Is for All Athletes: Start Your Yoga Practice Today

I’m actually excited to work on my cardio, though. It’s something that I took for granted when I was rolling on a regular basis, but I’m eager to get my heart pumping and get a good workout in every day.

Before I close, I would like to congratulate every from Scranton MMA who competed at the UGC King of the Mat tournament last Saturday. Everyone did an awesome job and I was proud to coach them that day. The team did so well that they won the first place team title! Very cool.

Thanks for reading. Until next week!

Jess Papi is a blue belt at Scranton MMA and also pursuing her degree in exercise science. Read her entries every week for insights on competing, training, and juggling BJJ and life.

Photo courtesy of D-Kline Design Photography.

The post Back on the Mats During Finals Week (Athlete Journal 62) appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Quantifying and Documenting Your Training

One of the great advantages of weight training is that it allows for objective quantification and documentation of not only the stressors you subject your body to, but also your body’s reactions to those stressors.

With that in mind, it’s a shame to not take advantage of this unique opportunity. It’s basically a science experiment of one, after all. You can increase the weight and see what happens. Or you can lift the same weight for more reps and see what happens.

“In my own training, I’m constantly looking at my volume and average intensity for each exercise, and also workout to workout, month to month, and so on.”

There are a number of different philosophies about how you should ideally progress the volume, intensity, and density of your training from week to week and month to month, but before you even get to that point, you need to be monitoring and documenting these factors to begin with.

The Two Most Important Factors

The two most important things that serious lifters should monitor are the volume (quantity) and intensity (quality) of the loads they lift. Tracking volume is done by multiplying the weight lifted by the number of reps you lift it for – simple enough. Average intensity is determined by dividing volume by total reps performed.

In my own training, I’m constantly looking at my volume and average intensity for each exercise, and also workout to workout, month to month, and so on. On a given week, I might notice that I’ve performed much more volume. In such a case, the next thing I’ll do is look to see if that additional volume was at the expense of intensity or not. If so, it’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it’s important to know.

“One of the great advantages of weight training is that it allows for objective quantification and documentation of not only the stressors you subject your body to, but also your body’s reactions to those stressors.”

One way to more fully appreciate the important of these numbers is to look at these numbers for a lifter who is much stronger than you. Those numbers will be much higher – in every single case – no exceptions. This means that if you want to get much stronger, your numbers will have to somehow get much bigger.

So if you’re not doing this already, I strongly urge you to start tracking these variables, with an eye on increasing both gradually over time.

This Week’s Training

I managed to hit a few very nice numbers on key lifts this week. One thing you might notice is that I’m performing overhead work twice a week, and placing those exercises first in the workout. This is in preparation for my weightlifting meet I’m scheduled to do on May 2nd.

RELATED: 7 Strategies for Success in Your First Olympic Weightlifting Meet

Very soon (within three weeks or so), I’ll be continuing this progression through the addition of even more sport-specific drills such as push presses, push jerks, and ultimately, clean and jerks. For now however, the objective is to build basic overhead strength in mobility, since I haven’t focused on that for several years at this point.

That’s all for now. Enjoy the videos and please leave your comments and questions below!

Weekly Training Volume: 57,359 lb (Last Week: 32,840 lb)

Significant Lifts:

• Low Bar Squat 345×2
• Power Clean 220×1
• Block Pull 475×1

Monday, December 1, 2014

Bodyweight: 199.6 lb

Volume: 12,376 lb

Ave Weight/Rep: 150.92 lb

Squat

Set 1: 45 lbs × 5

Set 2: 95 lbs × 5

Set 3: 135 lbs × 5

Set 4: 185 lbs × 3

Set 5: 225 lbs × 2

Set 6: 275 lbs × 2

Set 7: 315 lbs × 2

Set 8: 345 lbs × 2 (Video Below)

Set 9: 325 lbs × 2

Set 10: 325 lbs × 2

Notes: IQ: 185

Power Clean

Set 1: 88 lbs × 3

Set 2: 110 lbs × 3

Set 3: 132 lbs × 3

Set 4: 154 lbs × 2

Set 5: 176 lbs × 1

Set 6: 198 lbs × 1

Set 7: 220 lbs × 1

Set 8: 209 lbs × 1

Notes: IQ: 140.06

Deadlift

Set 1: 405 lbs × 1

Notes: IQ: 405, no belt

45-Degree Back Extension

Set 1: 120 lbs × 12

Set 2: 120 lbs × 12

Set 3: 120 lbs × 12

Notes: IQ: 120

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Bodyweight: 200.4 lb

Volume: 14,978 lb

Ave Weight/Rep: 120.79 lb

Military Press

Set 1: 45 lbs × 10

Set 2: 65 lbs × 8

Set 3: 85 lbs × 6

Set 4: 105 lbs × 4

Set 5: 115 lbs × 2

Set 6: 115 lbs × 2

Set 7: 115 lbs × 2

Set 8: 85 lbs × 10

Notes: IQ: 78.18

Bench Press

Set 1: 45 lbs × 5

Set 2: 95 lbs × 5

Set 3: 135 lbs × 5

Set 4: 185 lbs × 3

Set 5: 205 lbs × 2

Set 6: 215 lbs × 2

Set 7: 225 lbs × 2

Set 8: 235 lbs × 2

Set 9: 240 lbs × 1

Set 10: 185 lbs × 8

Notes: IQ: 154.57. No belt

Chin Up

Set 1: 7 reps

Set 2: 7 reps

Set 3: 7 reps

Notes: IQ: 200.4

Hammer Curl

Set 1: 80 lbs × 8

Set 2: 80 lbs × 8

Set 3: 80 lbs × 8

Thursday, December 4, 2014

Bodyweight: 200 lb

Volume: 13,915 lb

Ave Weight/Rep: 176.32 lb

4″ Block Pull

Set 1: 135 lbs × 5

Set 2: 138 lbs × 5

Set 3: 225 lbs × 5

Set 4: 225 lbs × 5

Set 5: 315 lbs × 3

Set 6: 365 lbs × 2

Set 7: 405 lbs × 2

Set 8: 435 lbs × 1

Set 9: 465 lbs × 0

Set 10: 465 lbs × 1

SET 11: 475 lbs × 1

Notes: IQ: 249.16

Power Snatch

Set 1: 45 lbs × 5

Set 2: 65 lbs × 3

Set 3: 95 lbs × 3

Set 4: 115 lbs × 2

Set 5: 135 lbs × 1

Set 6: 155 lbs × 1

Set 7: 165 lbs × 1

Notes: IQ: 86.87

Safety Squat

Set 1: 155 lbs × 5

Set 2: 155 lbs × 8

Set 3: 205 lbs × 5

Notes: IQ: 168.88

Back Extension

Set 1: 135 lbs × 10

Set 2: 135 lbs × 5

Notes: IQ: 135

(Video of this entire session with commentary below)

Sunday, December 7, 2014

Bodyweight: 201 lbs

Volume: 16,090 lb

Ave Weight/Rep: 176.32 lb

Military Press

Set 1: 45 lbs × 10

Set 2: 65 lbs × 8

Set 3: 85 lbs × 6

Set 4: 105 lbs × 4

Set 5: 125 lbs × 2

Set 6: 125 lbs × 2

Set 7: 125 lbs × 2

Set 8: 95 lbs × 8

Notes: IQ: 81.19

Bench Press (Dumbbell)

Set 1: 100 lbs × 10

Set 2: 140 lbs × 10

Set 3: 170 lbs × 8

Set 4: 190 lbs × 8

Set 5: 190 lbs × 8

Set 6: 190 lbs × 8

Notes: IQ: 160

Life Fitness Dual Pulley Row

Set 1: 60 lbs × 10

Set 2: 60 lbs × 10

Set 3: 60 lbs × 10

Notes: IQ: 60

Bicep Curl (Dumbbell)

Set 1: 80 lbs × 8

Set 2: 80 lbs × 8

Set 3: 80 lbs × 8

Set 4: 80 lbs × 8

A big believer in practicing what he preaches, Charles Staley trains and competes just like his clients. Every Friday you can read what Charles has done in his workout sessions.

The post Monitoring and Tracking Your Intensity Quotient (Athlete Journal 118) appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Time to Heal

I acquired some injuries while competing at the Goodfight two weeks ago. I ended up spraining an elbow and a toe. It was my big toe, which is always a pain to train with. It was nothing too serious, though. It just required me to turn down my training a little bit.

RELATED: My First Competition as a Purple Belt

When I got back to training after the tournament, I had to go super slow and easy so I could let my injuries heal. I didn’t want to aggravate the joints even more and make the situation worse. As the week went on I was able to do more and more every day. It’s definitely feeling a lot better since the day of the tournament. With the combination of resting and icing the joints every day, I’ll be back to the grind by Monday.

A New Sweep

In class this week, Dominic went over a sweep that could be done from multiple places. It’s a simple sweep where you kick the knee out on one side and elevate their other leg to dump them over. I honestly can’t remember the name of the sweep (or even if it has a name), but I’m sure all you jiu jitsu heads know what I’m talking about. Dom showed us how to hit the sweep from butterfly guard, from the knees, and from standing. After a few repetitions, I got it down pretty solid. It’s one of those sweeps that I could use all the time, but always forget that it’s there. I have to remember to keep that one tucked away for future rolling!

RELATED: How to Train Strength for Closed Guard and Passing the Guard

Frank wasn’t able to make it to advanced class to teach on Monday, so he let me take his spot! I don’t normally get to teach these classes. It was a nice change of pace to show something a little more advanced. After some deliberation, I decided to show a series of moves leading up to the rolling back take. I can’t help but love that move. It’s fun to do, it works like a dream, and it looks flippin’ sweet. It was a good class, and everyone picked up on the techniques nicely. Maybe Frank will let me teach more advanced classes once in a while (cough cough wink wink).

Back to Judo

After a long hiatus, I have decided to get back into judo. I used to do judo all the time when I first started training, but I got cocky and thought I didn’t need to take classes anymore. I’ve noticed that my takedown game has been slipping quite a bit, so I want to make an effort to improve my technique.

RELATED: Judo Training for Maximum Efficiency and Minimum Effort

In case you hadn’t heard, Scranton MMA has the best judo in the area. Hands down. I’ve been a fool not to take judo classes at my school. So, this is a public record stating that I need to work on my takedowns and go to judo class. If I start slacking off, Sensei Tom can use this as incriminating evidence to get me back on the judo mat!

Well, that’s all for this week, folks! I’ll see you next week.

Jess Papi is a blue belt at Scranton MMA and also pursuing her degree in exercise science. Read her entries every week for insights on competing, training, and juggling BJJ and life.

The post Healing Time Can Be Learning Time (Athlete Journal 60) appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

I typically refuel with liquid carbs and protein after my weigh-in, as they are delivered the fastest. I don’t want to feel bogged down with food, but I still need the energy, so this type of cocktail works best for me.

Squat

I don’t think I spent enough time warming up for the squat. My first attempt at 281lb was supposed to be achieved without batting an eye, but I didn’t hit proper depth. I’ve talked about the importance of hitting your first squat, as it sets the tone for the whole meet. This was my first time missing my first lift of the meet, and my heart sank. I was butt hurt for all of two minutes, when I realized I had to get back in the zone.

I went through my mental cues: tighten up my whole body, and squeeze that bar with all my might. I decided not to make the jump to 314 on my second attempt, as I couldn’t afford to miss another lift. With that being said, I still wanted to go up, so I decided to change my second attempt to 292lb. I must have squatted to the ground because there was no way I was going to miss my second lift on depth.

“I’ve talked about the importance of hitting your first squat, as it sets the tone for the whole meet. This was my first time missing my first lift of the meet, and my heart sank.”

I decided to jump up to 314lb on my last attempt, despite my desire to hit the 330 I had planned. The meet wasn’t going as planned, so I went out for my 314 attempt and grinded it out. It was rough! I was so paranoid about hitting depth that I dropped it low once more, and almost got stuck in the middle. This has never been a sticking point for me, as typically coming out of the hole is the hardest. I ended up squeezing the bar even harder and pulling it into my back/the ground, thrusted my hips forward, and peered up at three white lights. Ahhhh!

Bench Press

At this point my lower back was already killing me (as it’s always been a problem for me), so I rolled out, did some mobility drills, and yoga’ed it out. (That’s a word, right?) After warming up on the bench, I knew my opener was going to be a piece of cake. I wasn’t going to have a repeat of my first squat attempt. A couple of commands were missed by my competitors, so I made sure I was going to hit all three verbal cues for the bench.

RELATED: Heal Your Lower Back With These 5 Yoga Poses

I went out and hit 203lb with ease, and then I took a big jump to 231lb. This felt great, so I figured what the heck? I decided to go for 242lb on my last attempt, and barely missed it by an inch. I had great control going down and exploded off the chest. I was about an inch away from locking it out, and pressed with all my might, but I wasn’t successful. I was happy with my bench, but watching a video of my third attempt on my iPhone made me cringe – I was so close!

Deadlift

It was now time for the last lift of the meet: the deadlift. For me, this is time to get hyped up on preworkouts. I made the mistake during my first meet of taking stimulants before the bench, and I couldn’t bring the bar to motionless on my chest since I was so shaky and antsy. Either way, lesson learned.

My lower back was dying, and I could barely pick up 225lb. I rolled out, got some more protein and creatine (liquids) into my system, and tried my best to focus. I decided to use a belt on the deadlift, which I have never even tried in the gym. I figured the belt would help stabilize my lower back and get super tight with the added intra-abdominal pressure. I barely warmed up for the deadlift, as I figured I didn’t have much left in the tank, so I might as well save it for the judges.

RELATED: 15 Practical Strategies to Increase Your Deadlift

I was going back and forth on what I should do for my attempts, as I wasn’t feeling the most confident. Eventually I settled on keeping my first two attempts as is. I trained so hard for this, so I figured I might as well be giving it 110%, even though I wasn’t feeling like it. I walked out, got some air, and braced myself. 314lb never felt so easy. I then decided to make a big jump up to 369lb, which was a nine-pound PR for me.

I went through the motions once more, and felt great picking it up. That s*** was heavy! I then told the referees I would hit 380lb. Why not throw on another ten? Even though I was feeling crappy, I decided to change my attempt at the last minute and go for 385lb. Oops! I might have made the bar budge, but it wasn’t happening. Maybe if I was 100%, but at the end of the day who knows?

Here’s my warm ups for the week. I clearly took it pretty easy:

Monday

Squat – Training up to opener

Bar x 5

135 x 5

185 x 5

225 x 2

245 x 2

275 x 1

285 x 1 (3 sets)

Bench to opener

95 x 5

135 x 5

155 x 5

185 x 3

195 x 2

205 x 1 (3 sets)

Deadlift to opener

135 x 5 (2 sets)

225 x 3 (2 sets)

275 x 2

315 x 1 (3 sets)

Tuesday

Bench

95 x 5

135 x 5

165 x 3 (3 sets)

Squat

135 x 5 (2 sets)

185 x 5 (2 sets)

225 x 3 (3 sets)

Deadlift

135 x 5 (3 sets)

185 x 3 (2 sets)

240 x 3 (3 sets)

Wednesday

Bench

95 x 5

135 x 5

165 x 2 (2 sets)

Squat

135 x 5 (2 sets)

185 x 5 (2 sets)

225 x 2 (2 sets)

Deadlift

135 x 5 (3 sets)

185 x 3 (2 sets)

240 x 2 (2 sets)

Thursday

Rest

Friday

Meet Day

• Squat – 315
• Bench – 231
• Deadlift – 369

Saturday

Rest

Sunday

Rest

Next week I’ll reflect on the meet as I get ready to enter the offseason. I won’t be competing for a few months, but I will still be testing my max leading up to my next powerlifting competition. Stay active!

Ryan Seaver is a novice powerlifter who found his love for the sport after six years of going to the gym religiously. Follow Ryan’s journals to learn how to get started as a competitive lifter.

The post My Last Powerlifting Meet of 2014 (Athlete Journal 9) appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Tournament Day

The day started with an eight o’clock wake-up and a two-hour drive to King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. When we got to the venue, I weighed in and sat with the rest of the team to make sure everything was in order. We had four competitors from our school, including two who were first-time competitors, so I wanted to make sure they were feeling good and knew what was going on. Shortly after we settled in, I decided to get my gi pants on and start warming up with our other female competitor, Courtney.

After a little bit of waiting it was finally time to fight. My division had three women. It was a pleasant surprise to have three purple belt women at a smaller tournament like that. The other two ladies fought first, so I had some extra time to stretch and receive some wisdom from the boyfriend/coach Frank.

RELATED: From the Experts: How to Attract and Retain Women in BJJ

My First Match

When my first match got called, I felt ready and confident. My opponent and I walked out to the center of mat, listened to the referee explain the rules, and shook hands. The referee started the match and we both gripped up for our takedowns. I attempted to snap her down a few times, but I failed. She ended up going in for a hip toss, and I was able to take her back off of it.

After some fighting, she was able to slide her hips to the floor, so I climbed up for mount. Because she had my foot trapped, I was able to get the rolling back take. I have been drilling that one for a long time, and it felt so good to hit it in a tournament. I finished the match with a rear naked choke, but she gave me a good fight. I definitely give her props because I can tell she put in a lot of work.

RELATED: The Rear Naked Choke – What Happens When You Get Choked Out

After my first match, the ref let me know that I could take my time and we would start the next match when I was ready. I think I took about fifteen minutes, which was long enough to clear my head, but short enough so that I didn’t cool down all the way. I felt ready to take on the next challenge.

Second Match

My second match was against a woman I already know and have a lot of respect for, Gillian Silver. I knew we were bound to have an epic battle. The match started with some grip fighting and some takedown attempts. It was refreshing to actually stand up with both of my opponents, rather than having to fend off the guard pull.

“The reason I respect Gillian so much is because she works hard in silence and lets her talent shine through during competition. You can tell how hard she works just by rolling with her.”

She was able to get double underhooks and take me down. Luckily, I landed with my closed guard. I was able to shoot a decent armbar, but it just didn’t cut it. After a scramble I ended up inside her guard, where she shot a great armbar. I tapped, and we hugged.

The reason I respect Gillian so much is because she works hard in silence and lets her talent shine through during competition. You can tell how hard she works just by rolling with her. Plus, she’s a genuinely nice person. I like nice people.

Going Home

Scranton MMA ended up taking six medals home that day. Our first-time competitors, Chris and Courtney, put in the work and had the guts to get out there, which constitutes a champion in my mind. One of our blue belts, Tyler, fought his heart out and won his matches with a humble attitude. We truly have a great team at Scranton MMA.

READ: The Gentle Art of Humility: Ego and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

My next competition will be the Ultimate Grapplers’ Challenge in Reading, Pennsylvania on December 6th. We plan on bringing a big group of first-time competitors that day, so it should be a lot of fun. Thanks for reading, guys. I’ll see you next week!

Jess Papi is a blue belt at Scranton MMA and also pursuing her degree in exercise science. Read her entries every week for insights on competing, training, and juggling BJJ and life.

Photos courtesy of D-Kline Design Photography.

The post My First Competition as a Purple Belt (Athlete Journal 59) appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Training volume is defined as the total volume of work you perform in a given timeframe (measured as weight x reps). While it cannot be indefinitely increased in a linear fashion, you should do your best to increase your volume over time, to the best of your ability.

How I Track Volume

I track volume not only from week to week and session to session, but also for each exercise. So for example, if my squat volume was 6,150lb yesterday, the next time I squat I’ll seek to beat that number, just by a little. I’ll also try to maintain as much quality volume as possible – so in other words, I won’t just add low-intensity back-off sets to drive my numbers up.

Now the impossibility of continuously adding volume linearly over time might be at least partially solved by regular (perhaps every three to six weeks) changes in exercise menus. In my own case, while my core lifts tend to stay constant long-term, the assistance movements I use change more frequently. New movements require (in some cases) different muscles, and in all cases they involve different motor-recruitment patterns.

“As the old saying goes, ‘You can’t master it until you measure it.’”

A final consideration is that linear increases in volume can be sustained for longer timeframes by employing regular deload or contrast weeks (e.g., every four weeks). Through the use of this “three steps up, one step back” pattern, your ability to recover is reinforced, permitting higher workloads over time.

If you aren’t already doing so, start documenting and tracking your daily, weekly, and monthly volume, and execute each new workout with your volume in mind. As the old saying goes, “You can’t master it until you measure it.”

RELATED: Turn Up the Volume: The 2 x 7 x 52 x 10 Rule

This Week’s Training

I’m quite happy with how this week went down. I did a lot of high quality work. In particular, I’ve been working hard on accumulating several doubles and/or triples on the core lifts. In the past, I’d tend to work up to a big single and then move on. For me, that’s enough volume to maintain strength, but probably not enough to improve.

Very soon, now, I’m going to be incorporating a bit of targeted mobility work. Next week I’ll explain what and why

That’s all for this week. Enjoy the videos and please leave your comments and questions below!

Weekly Training Volume: 56,692 lb (Last Week: 62,316 lb)

Significant Lifts:

• 360 Squat
• 210 Power Clean
• 405 Deficit Pull

Monday, November 3, 2014

Bodyweight: 200.2 lb

Volume: 13,340 lb

Squat

Set 1: 45 lbs × 5

Set 2: 95 lbs × 5

Set 3: 135 lbs × 5

Set 4: 135 lbs × 3

Set 5: 185 lbs × 2

Set 6: 225 lbs × 2

Set 7: 275 lbs × 2

Set 8: 315 lbs × 2

Set 9: 360 lbs × 1

Set 10: 325 lbs × 2

Set 11: 315 lbs × 2

Set 12: 315 lbs × 2

Trap Bar Deadlift

Set 1: 135 lbs × 5

Set 2: 225 lbs × 5

Set 3: 315 lbs × 6

45-Degree Back Extension

Set 1: 120 lbs × 10

Set 2: 120 lbs × 10

Set 3: 120 lbs × 10

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Bodyweight: 199.6 lb

Volume: 14,337 lb

Bench Press

Set 1: 45 lbs × 5

Set 2: 95 lbs × 5

Set 3: 135 lbs × 5

Set 4: 185 lbs × 3

Set 5: 205 lbs × 2

Set 6: 225 lbs × 2

Set 7: 235 lbs × 2

Set 8: 235 lbs × 2

Set 9: 235 lbs × 2

Set 10: 215 lbs × 3

Set 11: 215 lbs × 3

Set 12: 205 lbs × 3

Chin Up

Set 1: +25 lbs × 5

Set 2: +25 lbs × 5

Set 3: +25 lbs × 5

Set 4: +25 lbs × 5

Military Press

Set 1: 45 lbs × 5

Set 2: 65 lbs × 5

Set 3: 85 lbs × 5

Set 4: 95 lbs × 3

Set 5: 95 lbs × 3

Set 6: 95 lbs × 3

Bicep Curl

Set 1: 65 lbs × 10

Set 2: 65 lbs × 10

Set 3: 65 lbs × 10

Thursday, November 6, 2014

Bodyweight: 198.8 lb

Volume: 9,855 lb

Power Clean

Set 1: 95 lbs × 5

Set 2: 95 lbs × 3

Set 3: 115 lbs × 3

Set 4: 135 lbs × 3

Set 5: 155 lbs × 3

Set 6: 175 lbs × 1

Set 7: 195 lbs × 1

Set 8: 205 lbs × 1

Set 9: 210 lbs × 1 (Video Below)

1.5″ Deficit Deadlift

Set 1: 135 lbs × 3

Set 2: 135 lbs × 5

Set 3: 225 lbs × 3

Set 4: 275 lbs × 3

Set 5: 315 lbs × 1

Set 6: 365 lbs × 1

Set 7: 405 lbs × 1 (Video Below)

Set 7: 450 lbs × 0

Set 8: 450 lbs × 0

High-Bar Squat

Set 1: 45 lbs × 5

Set 2: 95 lbs × 5

Set 3: 135 lbs × 5

Set 4: 185 lbs × 3

Set 5: 225 lbs × 3

Set 6: 275 lbs × 3

Sunday, November 9, 2014

Bodyweight: 199 lb

Volume: 19,160 lb

Bench Press (Dumbbell)

Set 1: 110 lbs × 10

Set 2: 150 lbs × 10

Set 3: 170 lbs × 8

Set 4: 190 lbs × 8

Set 5: 190 lbs × 7

Set 6: 190 lbs × 7

Set 7: 170 lbs × 7

Set 8: 170 lbs × 6

Set 9: 170 lbs × 6

Life Fitness Dual Pulley Row

Set 1: 60 lbs × 8

Set 2: 60 lbs × 8

Set 3: 60 lbs × 8

Set 4: 60 lbs × 8

Military Press

Set 1: 45 lbs × 10

Set 2: 65 lbs × 10

Set 3: 75 lbs × 10

Set 4: 75 lbs × 10

Set 5: 75 lbs × 10

Seated Bicep Curl (Dumbbell)

Set 1: 70 lbs × 8

Set 2: 70 lbs × 8

Set 3: 70 lbs × 8

Set 4: 70 lbs × 6

Set 5: 70 lbs × 6

A big believer in practicing what he preaches, Charles Staley trains and competes just like his clients. Every Friday you can read what Charles has done in his workout sessions.

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