How often do you hear that someone forgot how to squat? How many times has one of your teammates or lifters gotten off the barbell and tell you how they are having a hard time deadlifting or benching after being off for a few days or, Odin forbid, a week? I hear it all the time, pardon my sass, but that’s bullshit. Unless you have suffered a major injury that has completely changed the bio mechanics of your body, the concept of forgetting how to “train” comes from a neglect of visualization. When something as been stripped away from you for long enough, all you do is think about these things day and night. I spent countless nights, weeks, and months thinking about every single movement. Squats, presses, stones, yokes and all those beautiful movements that haunted my dreams every day as I was forced to do nothing but bird dogs and walking . Is this an extreme mind set? I think so and I’ve said this a few times before, one of the most important ways to come back from serious injuries is to dance on that line of positive insanity which does not allow your confidence to crumble underneath your self doubt. I’ve been training in competitive sports and the weight room for 11 years and on this day I wouldn’t let my mental rust talk my mind out of a 415 squat.

The Squat:

I set out with a realistic goal of hitting a 400+ squat as a top single on my lower body day. As I’ve mentioned in my previous training logs, volume via reps is still not in my cards and I  remain on a high set/low rep scheme. As I warmed up, the goals were clear, pain free, perfect form and 10 consistent squats all culminating into a tasty 415 pound squat. In my previous years I would always celebrate a PR with a classic MDLP roar, yelling and many curse words and its not that that side has gone but it’s different nowadays. Hitting a post injury 415 squat is my job, does that make sense? It’s not that I’m downgrading the weight on the bar or that I don’t realize the value this weight has post spine injury and bicep tear. On the contrary, I’m taking this as the best squat session I’ve had since 2016 and owning it. But as a good friend of mine once told me, there are times when its optimal to be a silent professional. I was excited, elated, emotional and passionate with this major squat but at the same time full of confident expectations that it would be mine. No pain, no fear, perfect form and without hesitation… I hit this bad bitch full force and it felt amazing. I don’t know if many of you reading this have ever been seriously injured (and I hope none of you ever will be) but I will tell you this, training post injury is one of the greatest gifts you will ever feel. It reminds you that your purpose has never left, that you are a mean machine of revenge, and most importantly, that after all those months of questioning and guessing… you’re one step fucking closer to your destiny.

The Dead:

After a great squat session and a post injury PR I did not want to get greedy. With my bicep only 16 weeks post surgery I still remain judicious (love stealing Brians words haha) with how far to go with it. I stayed at 315# for 6 sets of double over hand hook grip (having used normal double over hand during warm ups). Deadlifts remain strategic as I plan to add weight on this movement every week based on my bicep. Back felt great, wedge was locked in and my goal was to make each rep look smooth and pristine. My focus is not to move anything fast or explosively during this healing process. As much as I could rip 315 off the ground, speed is currently not in my rehab toolbox nor a  good gauge on where my body needs to be. I’m Looking forward to adding weight on the Deadlift every week and 405 pounds feels closer and closer.

Warm up:

• Big 3
• Banded McGill Squat 6×3
• KB swings 3×20
• Banded flies and reverse flies x 30 each

Work Load:

• Buffalo Back Squat 10×1 (buffalo  bar is 55# ..empty barbell 3 x 5,145,195,235,285,305,325,355,375,395,415)
• Deadlift 6×1 315#
• GHR 8×5
• Single leg RDL 4×5/5
• Sled Monster Walks 4x100ft
• Sled Drags 1 x 1,000ft

Never Stray From The Way

MDLP