AM Fasted Weight =

Let me start off saying that last week was anything but normal. I had some kind sinus infection/head cold that stuck around from Wednesday to Saturday. I was never out of commission, but I also was not 100%.

On top of that, I had a 4 day road trip from Thursday-Sunday that took me to New Jersey with Freak Athletics founder Adam Linkenauger. We had an amazing trip thanks to guys like Paul Reddick, Tom Clarke, Zach Even-Esh, Joe Meglio and a few others.

Despite those factors, I did the best I could and only missed 1 meal on Saturday. I ran out of food on Sunday, so I did a modified Intermittent Fasting experiment and got right back on my normal schedule yesterday morning.

Here’s the recap of my week in the weight room:

  • Monday = Calves & Arms: Not much here…I do remember that we hit 19 sets for triceps! The pump was HUGE! We are still using the grip4orce on ALL bicep exercises, and I can tell my grip strength is increasing a ton (or maybe we’re just breaking in the grip4orces!)
  • Tuesday = Legs: We introduced box squats to our program for the first time ever, so this was a very fun day! Started with leg curls as usual and moved to box squats, followed by banded leg press. This week we progressed to BOTH the mini bads and the monster minis (doubled) before hitting a grueling set of 15 reps on the hack squat with a pause at the bottom of each rep. We finished with barbell stiff-leg deadlifts.
[tube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXT-lsdlvg4&context=C3b98b3bADOEgsToPDskKQDlx-nVUjrjtURZV–4j9[/tube]
  • Thursday = Chest/Shoulders: By this point, i was at my worst, health-wise. I felt like my head was going to explode during most sets, but I was able to maintain my strength. This to me is the biggest indicator of whether or not one should train when feeling under the weather. If your strength levels are negatively affected, you should call it a day and head home for some much needed rest and recovery. Fortunately, like I said, I was able to maintain and even go heavier on a few movements!
  • Saturday = Back: This was completed at Apollon Gym in Edison, New Jersey and I have to admit that I felt right at home! It was a bodybuilder/powerlifter’s paradise. I didn’t like their chest supported rowing machines so I improvised and used a cambered bar on a incline bench so I could really target my rhomboids and upper back. It felt awesome, and I wish I had a video for you but I don’t…maybe next time:) The workout looked like this: Meadows Rows, Chest supported rows, DB Pullovers, 1-arm lat pulldowns, and banded hypers followed by abs. The 1-arm pulldowns felt so good, my lats were cramping!

I’m back to full speed and full strength, so here’s to a great week of strength of growth! Hit me up with your questions/comments!