powerlifting Archives - Page 4 of 8 - Kabuki Coaching and Education

Week 2 Meet Prep | Moving Right Along

September 20, 2016

Not much change from last week as far as exercise selection goes, just adding more weight and pushing more reps. Foundation has been built now it is time to push my strength by pushing more weight. This approach has always worked for me and although it may not be what some people preach I have seen some of the best lifters in the world do it this way and it has always worked for me. It has taking me a little bit of time to figure out how long i can push it for but as of right now everything is right on track and moving right along.Here is week 2 training recap:SundayBack and Shoulders[wpdevart_youtube width="640" height="385" autoplay="0" theme="dark" loop_video="0" enable_fullscreen="1" show_related="1" show_popup="0" thumb_popup_width="213" thumb_popup_height="128" show_title="1" show_youtube_icon="1" show_annotations="1" show_progress_bar_color="red" autohide_parameters="1" set_initial_volume="false" initial_volume="100" disable_keyboard="0"]VuR6wr4FZNs[/wpdevart_youtube]MondayLow Bar Squats- 635lbs for 3 RepsHigh Bar pause Squats- 435lbs for 5x3Sumo Pulls w/ Chains in Front- 484lbs 10x1 (50lbs in Chains)Ab Wheel- 4x10WednesdayClose Grip BP- 415lbs x5x5Tempo Close Grip BP- 335lbs 4x5JM Press- 5x10Dips- 4x15s/sFace Pulls- 4x12[wpdevart_youtube width="640" height="385" autoplay="0" theme="dark" loop_video="0" enable_fullscreen="1" show_related="1" show_popup="0" thumb_popup_width="213" thumb_popup_height="128" show_title="1" show_youtube_icon="1" show_annotations="1" show_progress_bar_color="red" autohide_parameters="1" set_initial_volume="false" initial_volume="100" disable_keyboard="0"]Lfc2NcBDLCA[/wpdevart_youtube]FridaySumo Block Deads- 725lbs x1, x1, x2SLDL's- 405lbs 4x6Belt Squats- 4x8DB RDL's- 3x8s/sBand Abs- 3x12SaturdayDuffalo Bar BP- 450lbs x3Tempo Duffalo Bar BP- 400lbs- 4x3Incline BP- 335lbs x4x6DB OHP- 75lbs x10, 95lbs x8, 125lbs x2x6DB Incline Flyes- 3x12s/sMachine OHP- 3x8...

By Kabuki Strength

Athlete

Meet Prep Week 1 | Finding a Good Starting Position

September 8, 2016

Finally, the meet prep has begun and the 1st week went exceptionally well. The hardest part for me is picking the right numbers, to begin with, I have a good round about number to begin the cycle with but I also let my warm ups dictate my working sets for the first. This week is what establishes my base for me and it sets up the rest of my meet prep for good or bad. The way I have things setup is pretty simple, for my main movements I will be working up to a top set and for my secondary day I worked up to a repeatable weight that can be built upon for the upcoming weeks. This gives me a good amount of mixture between intensity and volume and it actually makes me push my strength curve through the cycle as my base building was done in the offseason. Here is week 1 training recap:SundayBack and Shoulders[wpdevart_youtube width="640" height="385" autoplay="0" theme="dark" loop_video="0" enable_fullscreen="1" show_related="1" show_popup="0" thumb_popup_width="213" thumb_popup_height="128" show_title="1" show_youtube_icon="1" show_annotations="1" show_progress_bar_color="red" autohide_parameters="1" set_initial_volume="false" initial_volume="100" disable_keyboard="0"]dYI3-pzAAHI[/wpdevart_youtube]MondayLow Bar Squats- 615lbs for 3 RepsBack Down Sets- 505lbs 2x3High Bar pause Squats- 415lbs for 3x3Sumo Pulls w/ Chains in Front- 462lbs 10x1 (50lbs in Chains)Ab Wheel- 4x10 WednesdayClose Grip BP- 365lbs x5, 385lbs x5, 405lbs x3x5Tempo Close Grip BP- 315lbs 4x5JM Press- 5x12Dips- 4x15s/sFace Pulls- 4x12[wpdevart_youtube width="640" height="385" autoplay="0" theme="dark" loop_video="0" enable_fullscreen="1" show_related="1" show_popup="0" thumb_popup_width="213" thumb_popup_height="128" show_title="1" show_youtube_icon="1" show_annotations="1" show_progress_bar_color="red" autohide_parameters="1" set_initial_volume="false" initial_volume="100" disable_keyboard="0"]UbjmL5l4UMI[/wpdevart_youtube]FridaySumo Block Deads- 660lbs x3x3SLDL's- 315lbs 4x8 (double overhand grip)Belt Squats- 4x8DB RDL's- 3x8Band Abs- 3x12SaturdayDuffalo Bar BP- 420lbs x5Tempo Duffalo Bar BP- 385lbs- 4x5Incline BP- 335lbs x4, 315lbs x3x5DB OHP- 75lbs x10, 95lbs x8, 125lbs x2x6DB Incline Flyes- 3x12s/sMachine OHP- 3x8...

By Kabuki Strength

Athlete

Week 14 Offseason and Week 15 Deload

August 29, 2016

Why deload? I know recently the word deload has gotten some scrutiny, I can understand that because most people probably don't work hard enough to merit one, let alone taking one every 4 weeks. It makes sense that the more you can train and push and not get hurt the better you will be, it's just finding that fine line between too much and not enough. I would rather be a too much kinda guy and not deload, but the high volume I train at requires me to take a deload. I earned it but my deloads are not what I would consider a walk in the park rest week. The purpose of a deload for a high volume, high fatigue program, is to reduce the fatigue but not take time off so you can still make progress. I deload volume not so much intensity, meaning I will drop my volume in half for deload but still keep the weights relatively heavy. So if the week before was squats 5 sets of 6, the deload week would be 2-3 sets of 2-3 reps at a RPE 8 so weights heavy enough to still get some kind of stimulus. I have found that this model works great for my style of training if I was running a different program I may not need that type of deload, but I can guarantee some type of a deload week is crucial for progress in any program it's just up to you to find the right way to do it so progress can still be made. Here is week 14 training recap:SundayBack and Shoulders[wpdevart_youtube width="640" height="385" autoplay="0" theme="dark" loop_video="0" enable_fullscreen="1" show_related="1" show_popup="0" thumb_popup_width="213" thumb_popup_height="128" show_title="1" show_youtube_icon="1" show_annotations="1" show_progress_bar_color="red" autohide_parameters="1" set_initial_volume="false" initial_volume="100" disable_keyboard="0"]DR7jfdXh24I[/wpdevart_youtube]MondayDuffalo Bar Squats- 602lbs for 4 RepsDuffalo Bar Tempo Squats- 422lbs for 4x3Sumo Pause Pulls- 440lbs 10x1Ab Wheel-...

By Kabuki Strength

Athlete

Week 12 Offseason | Mindset

August 16, 2016

I've been watching the Olympic over the past week and while I can say I don't care much for the sports until the Olympics are on but I do appreciate the amount of work each athlete puts into the perfection of their craft. For sports that are extremely irrelevant and for athletes that don't make a lot especially team USA athletes, they truly put their hearts and souls into it. Yes they compete every year throughout the year but to devote 4 years of your life to one event and a small chance to be the best in the World is unreal. They plan their training out, diet out, recovery, rehab, everything is planned to allow them to peak on this stage. The amount of discipline this takes is second to none, especially considering the average person can't even stick to a diet for a week. I learn a lot from watching these games, a lot about perseverance, determination, and the mental toughness it takes to succeed at the highest levels of life, sports, etc...

By Kabuki Strength

Athlete

Week 11 Offseason | Weights are Starting to Get Heavy

August 4, 2016

There comes a transition phase from offseason to meet prep. This phase comes towards the end of your offseason right before you deload into your meet prep. This is where you get to see where all your hard work has paid off. You begin to lower the reps and increase the weight so you can one get use to handling heavier weight and two so you can see if you've gotten stronger at your weaker lifts. If strength comes from your offseason and you picked the right exercises than 9 times out of ten your main lifts will go up. This is why it is so important to pick the right exercises, to have a plan, and to take your offseason just as serious as your actual meet prep. Lifters are getting to strong and to good for you to just sit back and take your offseason light heartedly if you do you will be left behind fast. Just a few more weeks left in this productive offseason and I am looking forward to the prep. Here is week 10 training recap:SundayBack and Shoulders[wpdevart_youtube width="640" height="385" autoplay="0" theme="dark" loop_video="0" enable_fullscreen="1" show_related="1" show_popup="0" thumb_popup_width="213" thumb_popup_height="128" show_title="1" show_youtube_icon="1" show_annotations="1" show_progress_bar_color="red" autohide_parameters="1" set_initial_volume="false" initial_volume="100" disable_keyboard="0"]ddHzxGajuKs[/wpdevart_youtube]MondaySSB Squats- 548lbs top set of 5, 430lbs for 3x5 back down sets4" Block Sumo Pulls- 646lbs x3, 686lbs x2, 606lbs x6Hatfield Squats- 4x8Leg Curls- 4x12s/sAb Wheel- 4x10TuesdayBack and BicepsWednesdayDuffalo Bar BP- 420lbs x4x6Incline BP- 295lbs 4x6DB OHP- 4x8s/sDB Incline Flyes- 4x12Macine OHP- 4x12s/s Banded Abs- 4x15[wpdevart_youtube width="640" height="385" autoplay="0" theme="dark" loop_video="0" enable_fullscreen="1" show_related="1" show_popup="0" thumb_popup_width="213" thumb_popup_height="128" show_title="1" show_youtube_icon="1" show_annotations="1" show_progress_bar_color="red" autohide_parameters="1" set_initial_volume="false" initial_volume="100" disable_keyboard="0"]idRViNZw8jw[/wpdevart_youtube]FridayConventional Deads- 585lbslbs 4x32" Deficit SLDL- 475lbs 4x5Belt Squats- 5x10Ab Wheel- 3x12SaturdayCG Pause BP- 375lbs- 4x6Floor Press- 335lbs- 4x6CG Larsen Press- 4x8DB Rolling Tri Ext- 4x12s/sDB Hammer Curls- 4x8DB Curls- 3x12s/sAb Wheel- 3x12...

By Kabuki Strength

Athlete

Week 10 Offseason | Carb Cycling Approach to Dieting

July 29, 2016

Everyone has a diet they live by and really enjoy. This takes time and some trial and error, like I always say there is no one diet that always works. A diet you like and enjoy is one you stick to and can start to make it a lifestyle, more than a diet. This is when things change and your mind and body start to click and work as one. Than all you have to do is worry about training your face off.My favorite diet for weight loss has to be carb cycling, this allows you to have all the macros throughout the week and it allows you to have days with higher calories and ones with lower calories. This is great for training and for fat loss at the same time. You treat your high carb days as muscle building high volume days, then you have medium carb days for training days to optimize performance and lean out, and the low days strictly for fat burning. In the video below i talk about it in more detail. Make sure you subscribe to my channel for more videos and updates.Here is week 10 training recap:SundayBack and Shoulders[wpdevart_youtube width="640" height="385" autoplay="0" theme="dark" loop_video="0" enable_fullscreen="1" show_related="1" show_popup="0" thumb_popup_width="213" thumb_popup_height="128" show_title="1" show_youtube_icon="1" show_annotations="1" show_progress_bar_color="red" autohide_parameters="1" set_initial_volume="false" initial_volume="100" disable_keyboard="0"]euI9OPyAIOA[/wpdevart_youtube]MondaySSB Squats- 503lbs 4x54" Block Sumo Pulls- 650lbs 4x4Hatfield Squats- 4x8Leg Curls- 4x12s/sAb Wheel- 4x10TuesdayBack and BicepsWednesdayDuffalo Bar BP- 400lbs x4x6Incline DP BP- 4x8Machine OHP- 4x8s/sDB Incline Flyes- 4x12DB Side Raises- 4x12s/sSeated Rear Delts- 4x10Single Arm Single Arm Raises- 4x 12 ea arms/sBanded Abs- 4x15[wpdevart_youtube width="640" height="385" autoplay="0" theme="dark" loop_video="0" enable_fullscreen="1" show_related="1" show_popup="0" thumb_popup_width="213" thumb_popup_height="128" show_title="1" show_youtube_icon="1" show_annotations="1" show_progress_bar_color="red" autohide_parameters="1" set_initial_volume="false" initial_volume="100" disable_keyboard="0"]0sWFilDucS0[/wpdevart_youtube]FridayBlock Conventional Deads- 585lbslbs 4x42" Deficit SLDL- 5x6 Belt Squats- 5x10Ab Wheel- 3x12SaturdayCG Pause BP- 355lbs- 4x6Floor Press- 315lbs- 4x6CG Larsen Press- 4x8DB Rolling Tri Ext- 4x12s/sDB Hammer Curls-...

By Kabuki Strength

Athlete

Week 9 Offseason | New Mesocycle

July 23, 2016

New mesocycle has started off with a bang, sitting at 18 weeks and things are feeling good. Yes I plan my meets out this far ahead of time. I actually plan out my base training as soon as a meet is over. This phase I drop down into the 6, 5, and 4 rep range, it is a transition from a strictly hypertrophy phases to a moderate hypertrophy/ strength phase. The biggest mistake athletes make is not having a good transition bet higher reps to lower reps. It takes time for your body to readjust to heavier weights, especially if you go from 8's to 3's, everything will feel heavy and look sloppy. You have to make small progression from phase to phase in order for you to transfer things the way you have in mind. Keep these things in mind when you are planning your phases out. I start back into SSB squats and I brought in the buffalo bar for a pressing day. Conventional pulls will stay the same and continue to rotate through as I will push these weights more and drop reps before I drop it out and start pulling sumo around 10-12 weeks out. I am also keeping in my close grip day, just moving from touch and go to pause reps. Really excited to push through this phase and start getting into really weights. Here is week 9 training recap:SundayBack and ShouldersMondaySSB Squats- 440lbs 4x64" Block Sumo Pulls- 606lbs 4x6Hatfield Squats- 4x8Leg Curls- 4x12s/sAb Wheel- 4x10TuesdayBack and BicepsWednesdayDuffalo Bar BP- 380lbs x4x6Incline BP- 4x6 275lbsHammer Strength OHP- 4x8s/sCable Flyes- 4x12DB Side Raises- 4x12s/sFace Pulls- 4x10Single Arm Single Arm Raises- 4x 12 ea arms/sBanded Abs- 4x15[wpdevart_youtube width="640" height="385" autoplay="0" theme="dark" loop_video="0" enable_fullscreen="1" show_related="1" show_popup="0" thumb_popup_width="213" thumb_popup_height="128" show_title="1" show_youtube_icon="1" show_annotations="1" show_progress_bar_color="red" autohide_parameters="1" set_initial_volume="false" initial_volume="100" disable_keyboard="0"]DcVduxFJe7Y[/wpdevart_youtube]FridayConventional Deads- 545lbslbs 5x42" Deficit SLDL- 5x8Belt Marches- 4x50s/sBelt Squats-...

By Kabuki Strength

Athlete

Week 7 Offseason | How to Know When to Deload

July 8, 2016

Wrapping up week 7 of training and it was brutal which was the plan. From past experiences I know how far i can push things before I need a deload, unfortunately it has taking me a few injuries to figure it out. They were more like a forced deload but when I look back at my training logs I can see the trend of how many weeks before the injury occurred. I typically deload every 5-7 weeks, if all goes well and i plan things out right and take my recovery more seriously I can push 7 weeks which is what i was able to do this time. Sometimes I pick to heavy of weights and need to deload sooner, so its all based on how I feel. There are always a few ways to tell when you need to take a deloadFeeling unmotivated to hit the gym Feeling beat up or moving slow Feeling under the weather Feeling lethargic and muscles feeling heavyIf you start to feel any of these symptoms it is definitely time to deload and if you keep a detailed training log you can better predict these times so that your training plan doesn't get interrupted. This is my last week of this hypertrophy mes0 cycle and I am pretty happy with how things went with both the weights and volume and with how my weight has climbed. As of this morning I am sitting at 252lbs upon waking so I have about 8 more pounds to go that I will be putting on during this next meso cycle.Here is week 7 training recap:MondayDuffalo Bar Squats- 550lbs x6 and x3, 510lbs x4x22" Block Sumo Pulls- 4x5Leg Press- 4x8s/sAb Wheel- 4x10[wpdevart_youtube width="640" height="385" autoplay="0" theme="dark" loop_video="0" enable_fullscreen="1" show_related="1" show_popup="0" thumb_popup_width="213" thumb_popup_height="128" show_title="1" show_youtube_icon="1" show_annotations="1" show_progress_bar_color="red" autohide_parameters="1" set_initial_volume="false"...

By Kabuki Strength

Athlete

Week 5 Offseason | Switching Things Up | Nutrition Mistakes

June 30, 2016

Week 5 is a wrap and I made a few changes to the exercise selection, as you'll see below. With such a long offseason I have the ability to work on a lot of things but I know I can't fix everything or to think I could fix everything would be very overwhelming and would cause a very sporadic and jumbled program. When you are programming for yourself, you have to pinpoint what you really need to fix. So really take the time to diagnose what needs the most work and just hammer that. Designing a plan to fix everything in one offseason would cause chaos in your training and you'll end up working out for 3-4 hours and in a week you'll be worn out and start dreading the gym. You can't fix everything in one workout or one training cycle.Diet update, as of today I my calories are up to 5000-5500 and one cheat meal a week. My weight is climbing pretty rapidly which is what i am going for this go around. I want to get to my weight and just sit there as long as possible so my body can get use to it and recomp from there. A big mistake I see a lot people make is they gain weight, get that weight and than immediately diet back down without letting their body get use to the new add size so they diet it off faster and will look the same every time. Its all about patience.Here is a recap of this weeks training:[wpdevart_youtube width="640" height="385" autoplay="0" theme="dark" loop_video="0" enable_fullscreen="1" show_related="1" show_popup="0" thumb_popup_width="213" thumb_popup_height="128" show_title="1" show_youtube_icon="1" show_annotations="1" show_progress_bar_color="red" autohide_parameters="1" set_initial_volume="false" initial_volume="100" disable_keyboard="0"]-hnFqNOWtOA[/wpdevart_youtube]MondayDuffalo Bar Squats- 4x82" Block Sumo Pulls- 4x6Pause Squats- 4x5Leg Press- 4x8s/sAb Wheel- 4x10WednesdayCG BP- 5x6Tempo CG BP- 4x5, 3secs down, 3secs pause and...

By Kabuki Strength

Articles, Chris Duffin, Methodology

#SMEP for Success | Single Minute (9min or less) Exercise Prep

June 28, 2016

As the founder of a popular movement website called www.Kabuki.MS I feel it’s my duty to tell you that I want you to limit the amount of exercise prep that you perform. Yes, I said limit your exercise prep, not do more. In recent years I’ve seen a trend for mobility, movement priming, and other means of exercise preparation. While this trend is very positive over the just ‘grind through the pain’ mentality of the past, by many it has been taken too far. Just like anything else people seem to jump right to the “if a little bit is great, then more must be better” approach.If you are doing 45min of prep work and 30min of training, then you're doing something wrong! In fact your preparation work should not exceed 10min. Keep it to 9min or less of preparation work prior to training! We call this the #SMEP approach or Single Minute Exercise Prep. So why isn’t more better? Simply put, it just isn't adding value and is actually taking away from the time you could be spending training. Training provides a stress response and thus adaptation. In the lifting world we call this GAINS. Yes, DEM GAINS are what we are looking for, and the cumulative effect over time yields improvement in performance. Improved performance is the reason we are in the gym or on the athletic field to begin with. And if you are training well, the movements done in training will not have the negative effect on the body, or even be the actual “prep work” in your warm-up. This leads us to our first key point.KEY POINT: Evaluate your training and movement- If you need to do tons of prep or recovery work in excess of 9min just to be able to train…. You might want to look at your training or your quality of movement.Once you...

By Chris Duffin