Well, here we are.
2015 is about to end and the New Year's resolutions will start sounding off.
The best way to resolve to do anything is to take aggressive action NOW. The most successful people out there don't have more time than you or even more opportunity than you do, they simply take more action.
For example, I got tired of not moving the weights I wanted so I attacked the powerlifts with extra volume, extra dedication and extra intensity.
I challenged myself on the spot and squatted 5-6 days a week for 5 or 6 weeks and finally squatted over 400 lbs which I hadn't done since my ACL surgery when I was 26 years young (now 39).
I missed 500 + lb deadlift a few times this year (beltless) and I experimented with using a belt and different training protocols.
Watch the Video to see my 505 lb deadlift and my thoughts on training with what I've learned this year.....
Training harder and pushing the envelope was also a great way to identify weak areas.
My abs are going to need a lot more work. I have begun using a weight belt again which I haven't done in some 10-12 years or so.
I feel the abs pushing hard against the belt and I used to NOT want to wear a belt at all. I felt like I was cheating with the weight belt. But, at my age, there is no need or time to push the envelope every single opportunity I can. It's a bit of a safety precaution and I do feel the added stability with the belt so I'll continue wearing the belt when maxing out.
I'll be doing more deep breathing, more mobility and more ab work as I just mentioned.
A few years ago I pulled 525 without a belt where in my training I don't recall going much heavier than 405, focusing on speed and technique. From a safety stand point, I am working harder on squatting the weight up, remaining more vertical, as shown in this Video with Kirk Karwoski.
When maxing out, I don't expect the deadlift to look picture perfect, BUT, I expect it to be better, so I am always working on improving form and technique.
After the new year I will return to a more balanced program where I am not squatting 5 - 6 x week and working much harder on mobility.
Wishing ALL of you the best holiday and new year EVER!
QOD / Question of the Day: What BIG training / life lessons did you learn this past year?
Leave your comments below, I am psyched to read them!
Live The Code 365
--Z--
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8 Responses
Wow Zach, squatting 5-6 times a weeks for 5 weeks is very inspirational for most guys that know that working their legs is very important, but shy away from doing squats to maybe once every 2 – 3 weeks. I hope your example will make people more motivated and do squats and dead lifts to at least once or twice a week.
Mitch, so true, I want to inspire people to do some HARD work and LOVE it!
The Big training/life lesson I learned this year was to Trust God. Everything in life can be going every which way possible and even when you can’t see any way, to trust that he’s making one. To work hard and smart, and leave the results up to God. Also, i have realized the power of positive thinking. that what you say about yourself and think about yourself really do matter and really do affect every area of your life and if you change what you think about and what you talk about, especially self talk, then you can change the course of your life. i am not trying to push anything onto anyone as they read this , I am simply stating what I have learned this year.
God Bless!
Jace, great words from your heart, thank you for this 🙂
I learned the same kind of lesson this year. I have been focusing the last 2 months on lifting heavy as that “was” my weak point. Part of it is probably my age (41) but I learned that, although my body was recovering VERY well from the extra training sessions, if I am going to be lifting heavy more often I need to do twice as much mobility.
I ADORE these kinds of lessons…
#enjoyingthejourney 🙂
Juliet, so true on Mobility. I am likely going to start dedicating a full training session to mobility and working on my shoulder health.
It’s not enough to mobilize during warm up / post training alone, the body needs more, especially as we accumulate “mileage” in training.
Wishing you & the fam an AWESOME new year!
Zach was it a squatting program you followed or just put together?
I put it together and went by feel, as time passed I started to organize it in a more structured manner.
I’ll post a blog for this soon, my man!