110kg power clean (PR) 105kg power clean + hang clean (PR) 90kg push press single

article on push ups.

http://articles.elitefts.com/training-articles/what-you-don%E2%80%99t-know-about-the-push-up/

104kg power clean from the blocks just above knee.

Paleo plus raisins!

The time has come once again to experiment with weight gain. For many years I have been teaching people the Paleo way. Through my experience it is a great way of eating moving away from the typical American shit diet to improve health and stay or get lean. Paleo to me is not hunting squirrels at the park and roasting them or gathering dandilions, but just eating lots of meat, typically very high fat and a ton of vegetables. Healthy and lean? Yes. Ridiculously jacked and strong? No. I think it about time to work on that a bit. Last year I was pounding the milk down. Like three gallons of whole milk worth per week. Not doing that again. I was kinda chubby, pretty bloated all the time and had to pee a lot. So after I cut my milk, I lost quite a.few pounds and leaned out. This time, I am gaining weight still Paleo, no milk, leaner than with the milk. I am adding just more sweet potatoes and more raisins. Higher carbs. Fat will probably be.the.same until I start to get noticeably fat. http://jasonferruggia.com/how-many-carbs-should-you-eat-per-day-to-build-muscle/ I set a goal of gaining 1#/week at the start of this for 15 weeks. This should put me up to 180# by the time this squat deadlift cycle ends...somewhere around February 2013. I am still going to avoid garbage food. Must be said.

Update 3/19/2013:
I did not gain 1# per week.  That was freaking hard!  I actually had to take it easy on the raisins.  They gave me gas.  (what doesn't give me gas?! ) Haha.  Maybe just too much over the course of the day.  I probably just need a few in the middle of a heavy workout day, or just post workout.  So I did get up to 175#...That was amazing.  So I decided to take some of the weight down in preparation for the CF Games Open.  Pull ups were damn hard.  Get stronger in one area, get weaker in another.  Once the Open ends, it's back to get huge and strong. 

Barbell and Gymnastics

Today I hit 2 PR's!  Whoa, it has been a while.

106kg Clean and Jerk

12 consecutive muscle ups.

Shakeology

Recently a friend asked me about my views on this product called 'Shakeology', and if it works.

Everything works.  This is good vegetables blended up..and if you are replacing fast food or generally shit food with a bunch of vegetables it will definitely work.  Since you will be spending big money on this product, you will probably not want to spend as much eating out, and drinking a ton of bad calories because you wouldn't want to waste money and you want to see results.  This product will work great for people who don't have time to prepare meals and don't mind spending the money.

There is no substitute for eating fresh vegetables.  Fresh vegetables can be blended up the same way as Shakeology.  Of course they will not taste the same.  With many of these kinds of diets, shakes, slimfast, special K, all you do is replace a bad meal with one with vitamins and protein and fiber.  Here is my version of shakeology: 
   
Sometimes you just don't want to eat your veggies. Drinking them can be quicker and easier.
Dark leafy greens, chunk of banana, whey and water.

How did it taste?  like blended greens, chunk of banana, whey and water!  I am sure you already assume that the shakeology isn't going to taste like fuh-king Jamba Juice!  But you'd still drink it for the results.  Sometimes you just have to override bad taste, discomfort, and 'i don't want to' for the sake of nutrition, fitness/health, and exercise.  Trust me, there are many days that I don't want to train because I hurt.  Overridden!  I do something, just not nothing.

So my advice was :

Sure try the shake, but work on getting your priorities straight.  Practice preparing your own meals, so when you go broke from buying a bag of shakeology a week, you will not be overwhelmed when you quit the shakes.

Remember everything works.  Just follow the instructions.

First post of 2012. (5 months late!)

It has been a while since I have written anything, but I have had situations and questions that have come my way that I want to divulge.

As a coach, many of the questions that come my way are "how can I improve?"or "what did you do to get where you are now?"

I think my answer is to these questions is:  'do things right'.  I am a bit of a technician.  It's the way I teach, the way I learn, and the way I train myself.  There are many ways to do something wrong and only a few ways to do something right.  Study the right way to do something and (try to) never do it wrong.  Progress slowly.  I am not the one in the gym to push beyond my technique.  Remember, Mechanics, Consistency, Intensity. 

So as far as general training advice.  This is what you have to do in no particular order:

-Eat right.  Lots of meat and vegetables.  Eliminate grains and sugar and alcohol ideally.
-Sleep an adequate amount ~8 continuous hours a night.
-Drink lots of water.
-Lift heavy things (barbells, kettlebells, dumbbells, stones, kegs, people, sandbags, anything.)
-Lift lighter things with a higher volume.
-Lift  medium sized things at a moderate volume.
-Push or pull against gravity at a variety of angles off various apparatuses, add weight sometimes.
-Balance your training between your left and right side and your front and your back side and your upper and lower body.
-Train bilaterally, unilaterally and with odd shaped/sized objects.
-Train your grip.
-Increase your neck strength.
-Emphasize the posterior chain (hamstrings, butt and back) in your training.
-Train clean and jerk and snatch.
-Improve your front squat, deadlift and push press before you try to clean and jerk heavy.
-Improve your snatch-grip deadlift and overhead squat before you try to snatch heavy.
-Mobilize everything: hips, shoulders, wrists, ankles, and spine.
-Get or stay flexible.
-Play on the rings a bunch for upper body strength.
-Run, jump, climb, crawl, roll, skip, bound...move your body from point A to point B in various ways.
-Take your shoes of more often.
-Do not stress.
-Do not get injured.
-Enjoy what you are doing.  The journey is the fun part.
-Breathe.
-Be Patient.