Go Long, Get Strong

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My New Blog


Myself and Shane Skowron are working together to put together a website dedicated to athletes training for endurance and strength simultaneously.  The idea is to form a website to provide information, resources, testimonials and a community atmosphere for people interested in getting stronger while becoming better at endurance.

The two of us have spent the last couple years training for the two, myself being an ultrarunner and powerlifting enthusiast and him doing ultras and olympic weightlifting. This website is not dedicated to just ultras or just barbell training. We want to provide information to 5k runners, triathlon athletes, CrossFit and the like. The goal is to build an atmosphere where more and more people are welcomed to start training like we do. It's unfortunate that so little information is available to athletes who want to train for both, and therefore decided it was time to change that.


My blog will no longer be at this website although you will still be able to access it. This is a big step for my training and for athletes who train like I do, so I'm really excited. I hope you'll come along for the ride.

Bench press, deadlift, dip, chin

Bench Press
Worked up to 5x205#

Deadlift
Worked up to 7x375# (PR)


1RM strict bent row testing
Worked up to 165 with good form


25# Weighted Chins SS with weighted dips
6/8
6/7


COMMENTS

• General: Unfortunately I do not think 5/3/1 is right for me increasing my upper body movements. I like the program for my squat and deadlift but I think my first instinct was right and that was to go back to Madcow. I've completed 2 cycles now of 531 with no bench PR's which is discouraging. I'm making some big changes.
• Nutrition: OK. Carb curfew went to shit but I ate clean food.
• Body: Feel really good. My pulls were lightning quick it felt like
• Sleep: 8-9 hours
• Reflections: OK day minus my bench. I'm going to take next week off even though I did that about 3 weeks ago and re-focus my energy. I want to get what I'm doing wrong right once and for all. That means nixing the assistance work (to a point, not fully), focusing only on the barbell movements first and getting back to a LP training style with my pressing movements. I'm sick of not making any progress and clearly I am not making any as of late so something needs to change. I'm going to run tomorrow, I have to stay at school because my moms coming down to drop some stuff off so I will probably get about an hour in tomorrow. I plan to run at least 4 times next week while I'm off from the weights for a week. I will plan a really good long run for next Saturday, or possibly some kind of timed event to prepare for the 6 hour thaw in a few weeks.

Press, curls, seated db press, shrugs

Press
Worked up to 5x150#


Curls
3x10x80# EZ bar curl
2x8x50# db curls


Seated DB Press
5x10x45#'s


KB Shrugs
2x12x88#'s



1 mile run and 1 hour walk



COMMENTS

• General: I was really hoping for a 6 rep press set for a lifetime PR but I fell just short. Overall pretty good cycle of 5/3/1 but I think I'm going to make a final change and stick with it for the next 3 months.
• Nutrition: Clean
• Body: OK but I'll be sore tomorrow I think. Need to recover properly.
• Sleep: 7.5 hours
• Reflections: Nothing much. Hoping our website will be ready to go in a few more days.

Bikram yoga, back squat, core

90 minute Bikram yoga class (hot yoga) in the AM

_


Back Squat 5/3/1 week 3 of cycle
Worked up to 5x320# (tied a lifetime PR)


Romanian Deadlift
3x5x231#


Ab Wheel
3 Sets of 5 roll outs and back


COMMENTS

• General: Knocked one more thing off the "bucket list" today trying Bikram yoga. Amazing work out, unlike anything I've ever done and I look forward to continuing doing it, especially this summer. It's really cheap to do in the AM near my hometown so I will continue to do it when I return home and may try to do it while I'm at Springfield. The 5 rep squat was the most I've squatted for 5 since last June.
• Nutrition: Not great today. Lots of meat but a bit too much junk.
• Body: OK. The yoga really aligned me and fixed my back in areas that were bothering me.
• Sleep: 8 hours
• Reflections: Back at school. I'll train tomorrow with some fasted cardio and some type of conditioning. On top of everything I'm happy to announce I will be moving my blog URL to an actual website I am going to become a part of. More information will be coming in the next few days but I can tell you that if you are interested in the way I train (for endurance and strength) then you will be very excited to see what I have in store.

2 workouts I missed

Friday:

Worked up 10x355# deadlift (PR)

Worked up to 7x195# bench press (PR)


Supersetted a couple weighted dips and pullup sets with a 15# vest for hypertrophy

Tabata Run for conditioning


Saturday:

Conditioning:

4 individual rounds of

10 ring pullups
5 50# thrusters
Sprint to stop sign and back at Dan's house

Best time was 1:21, worst was like 1:30



COMMENTS

• General: Forgot to blog the last few days. Went heavy on Friday and felt really good. I got a free sample preworkout in the mail from bodybuilding.com and although I'm never one to use things like that I decided to try it and it made a huge difference in my energy level. Don't think it's something I'd take a lot of but it was a fun experience.
• Nutrition: Good Friday, had ice cream Saturday
• Body: OK just really sore right now in my upper body
• Sleep: Not too good
• Reflections: Not much, supposed to rest tomorrow but it looks lke I'll be doin a couple miles.

Prowler sprint metcon

AMRAP 5min Prowler touches in the SC weightroom going from 2 designated points

13 touches

Swam 500m in class earlier and walked 45 minutes on the treadmill

COMMENTS

• General: Fair amount of movement today. Felt good during the prowler sprints. I really see those impacting my running significantly, especially as I train for the Wapack. The power I will develop in my legs from programming these should help me cruise over hills.
• Nutrition: Clean
• Body: Sore in biceps, triceps and shoulders.
• Sleep: 8-9 hours
• Reflections: Not much. Active recovery tomorrow.

Last 2 days

Monday:

Back Squat
Worked up to 7x300# (PR)

70# Kb swings
2x10

RDL's
3x5x220#

______________
Tuesday:

Press
Worked up to 145x6 (tied a PR)

Did 5 sets of bicep curls with varying weights/ exercises


Seated DB shoulder press
5x10x42.5#


COMMENTS

• General: Pretty good week of training so far. Disapointed I didn't PR with the press but it'll come in time I hope. Not much to comment on.
• Nutrition: Good yesterday and so-so tonight. Mom came for a visit at school and ate some junk at dinner.
• Body: Good.
• Sleep: It's been shaky.
• Reflections: 2 things- started taking a few new supplements. I already take in whey protein and creatine on a daily basis but I now have BCAA's (again), l-glutamine, green tea extract and a multivitamin. I will report back with how those work. Also been getting kind of depressed again, hoping to shake it but it may affect training somewhat over the next week. I've actually been using outside problems as motivation to train so we'll see how it plays out.

Long Run

2:24 min run at Lithia Springs in South Hadley, MA. Spent about 1:45 running and then the last part was a lot of walking, mainly to find out where I was.

COMMENTS

• General: Good run minus me getting lost again. These trails are really easy to get lost on just because they lose their markings in places and there is 4 different main trails throughout. Very mountain-y terrain similar to the Fells. When I got lost I descended the mountain towards the lake in the picture above OFF trail (basically scaled it)... pretty intense, stupid and unsafe but I'm good like that.
• Nutrition: Drinking tonight, will probably eat a bit of crap but it won't deter me from eating clean for the next week like it has recently.
• Body: Hamstrings and back are sore. Made the run tough at times
• Sleep:9 hours
• Reflections: Won't be able to long run next weekend. Planning on trying out a couple other places around Springfield so I can add a few more places to my arsenal. May go back to Mittineague now that the storm damage is probably cleared up.

Bench Press, Deadlift, chins, pullups

Bench Press
Worked up to 9x185# (Ties a lifetime PR, PR for recent months)

Deadlift
Worked up to 10x335# (PR)

Supersets of dips and chin ups
15/12, 10/8, 12/7


COMMENTS

• General: Good end to my first real week of 5/3/1. I think it may be more practical some weeks to pair the bench and deadlift together on Friday as opposed to doing the bench on Saturday, as it is for me tomorrow and next week. Two solid PR's, I had 10 in the bag with bench which has been a goal of mine for some time but I hit the pins on the 9th rep and knocked the rep down. By the time I locked it out I was gassed. Excuses excuses....
• Nutrition: Clean. pretty much flawless.
• Body: Overall I feel good. I like doing individual muscle groups as I think it'll benefit me a lot to not work my upperbody until next Wednesday for recovery and growth purposes.
• Sleep: 9 hours.
• Reflections: All in all pleased with this week of strength training. Tomorrow I'm going to Lithia springs to get a run in. I've got enough supplies packed for at least two hours on the trails and as an added bonus I'm going to see how far I can go with no food to see how my body responds. I'll be carrying food with me though. Looking ahead to next week I have my MTEL test so I probably won't have time to long run unless I push it to Sunday but that's up in the air as of now.

Press, Ez curls, seat db press, conditioning

5/3/1 Press (5 week) cycle 2:
5x65#
5x80#
3x95#
5x105#
5x120#
9x135# (PR)


EZ Bar Curls 5x10
10x65#
4x10x70#

Seated DB Press 4x10
2x10x40#
10x37.5#
10x35#

Conditioning:
5 Rounds for time
15m prowler push
8 burpees

Not timed

COMMENTS

• General: Lifetime PR on the press if I recall correctly, can't remember ever getting 9. Awesome conditioning WOD, one I'll do again for sure. Triumvirate assistance was good today as well. Overall great training day
• Nutrition: Clean as fook
• Body: Back is tight but OK. Legs are very sore.
• Sleep: 7-8 hours
• Reflections: Nothing much. Absolutely definite long run in Lithia Springs this weekend.

Movin the legs

10 200m Sprints with a 30 second Rest for time- 10:46


1 mile warm up and 1 mile cool down before/after workout


COMMENTS

• General: Pretty busy today with everything, only had about 90 minutes to work out. Honestly OK with it as I hate running by myself in Springfield for the most part unless I'm at trails in the surrounding area. It's monotonous and boring so I got some speed work in and called it a day. Truth be told my Tuesday work out will probably be more high intensity stuff instead of mileage running until I lose some weight.
• Nutrition: Clean
• Body: Back pretty sore.
• Sleep: 10 hours. I was really tired last night.
• Reflections: First 5/3/1 press day tomorrow on the real program. Going to have a huge pump by the time I'm done ;). I will condition tomorrow as well.

Back Squat, RDL's, sit ups

Back Squat
5x135#
5x185#
3x205#
5x250#
10x285# (PR)

Romanian Deadlifts
5x135#
5x155#
5x175#
3x5x207#

Weighted Situps
2x12 GHD sit ups, 25 regular sit ups, 25 20# weighted sit ups


Pullups
3x8

Neck Work
3x60x10#

COMMENTS

• General: First day of 5/3/1 and I couldn't be more pleased. Got in and out of there in 50 minutes with enough time for some mobility. Less volume, more intensity and that's where I want to be. Lifetime PR on the 10 rep back squat I'm pretty sure. RDL's are bomb. Lots of hamstring tension which should help all my lifts, and my running.
• Nutrition: Clean. Doing it
• Body: Feel good.
• Sleep: 7-8 hours. I was nearly on suicide watch after the superbowl so I couldn't fall asleep.
• Reflections: Running tomorrow, get some mobility in while I'm at it. I'll do about an hour of fast running tomorrow afternoon.

Ready to go

COMMENTS

• General: Beginning 5/3/1 programming today and starting it off big. Didn't train this weekend really minus the swim. Good call on my part taking it off because my hip feels a lot better. In general I'm so pumped up for the next 11 weeks of training to kill it and start seriously working towards my goals for the year in a structured manner.
• Nutrition: Bad this weekend. I'm going to start going shopping while I'm down here to buy better food choices now that I have money.
• Body: Feeling pretty good from what I can tell. I think the light week definitely benefited me.
• Sleep: 8 hours. Superbowl.... don't wanna talk about it.
• Reflections: Been doing a lot of research for what I'm going to do after college recently. I know I want to stay in school after I get my bachelor's degree and just get the masters while I'm still young. I'm feeling pretty good about the plans I'm making and it looks like I may be headed out to Colorado for 2 years (or more.... who knows) after I graduate in 2 years. I've got a lot of focusing to do on school now to make this work out for me, especially if I want to be a GA and save a ton of money in grad school, but this makes me really excited. I found a small Physical Education masters program out there that is a 45 minute drive to the state park where Hardrock 100 is held. Can't even begin to imagine the possibilities. Obviously time will tell but I thought it'd be cool to share this on my blog.

Not Much Going On

Yesterday:

Worked up to a 315x1 back squat. Did some pullups and 8 prowler pushes that were about 15 yards


Today:

20-25 minutes of hard swimming, doing some recovery laps throughout

COMMENTS

• General: Opted not to run today because my hips been nagging for over a week now and running clealry doesn't help it. I'd rather just see it get better. I was going to go for a 405 back squat last night but it was apparent after 315# that I wouldn't hit it as it was a grind doing 3 plates so I called it after that.
• Nutrition: It's been OK. Some junk in there.
• Body: Overall good. Back feeling pretty much healed some days. My hip isn't painful but it's not 100%
• Sleep: good, don't remember how much
• Reflections: I have 11 weeks of training scheduled that I wrote up today. Basically 2-3 runs a week (Tuesday and Saturday with an option of a Wednesday run) and 4 days a week of 5/3/1. I'm not going to run a Madcow variant like I was considering. I'll run 2 cycles back to back with no deload week using the triumvirate assistance work, take a deload week and then do 3 weeks with the bodybuilding assistance, followed by another deload week. It's a decrease in volume from what I'm used to and I'm looking forward to seeing results in my lifts coming up soon.

Supposed "Week Off"

Monday:
No training

Tuesday:
AMRAP 10:
20 KB Swings (55# db)

5 rounds + 7 kb swings (PR by 10 burpees and 7 swings)


Wednesday:

5/3/1 Deadlift
5x185#
5x225#
3x275#
3x345#
3x385# (PR)


Glute Hamstring Raises w/ 3 second pause at top
3x6

Couple sets of pullups and curls, just trying to get blood flow not going for performance.


5 Rounds:
40 yd prowler shuttle push
10 box jumps
(not timed)


Thursday:
5k run in the AM, empty stomach right out of bed. Hit it in 23:04 for 7:40 miles. Ran at SC loop course


COMMENTS

• General: I had every intention of taking the whole week off but I'm stupid and I really missed training. I took 5 days off completely from weight lifting which definitely seemed to help me. I did prowler pushes for the first time which will become my staple of conditioning training, it's absolutely BEASTLY. I bet it will improve my hill running significantly. Deadlift was probably too heavy, my form seemed to slip so I think I'll go back down a bit.
• Nutrition: It's been really good all week. I'm trying to lose some weight.
• Body: I was beat up at the beginning of the week but minor injuries seem to be feeling better. My hip and knee are both feeling better. my hamstring has been bothering me since the beach run but it felt good on my 5k run today and deadlifting last night, I just can't stretch it too far.
• Sleep: 9 hours almost every night.
• Reflections: I'm pretty much set on my training for the upcoming 2 months. I'm either going to stick with 5/3/1 or run 5/3/1 on my lower body lifts while I use Madcow to improve my bench and press. I'm undecided on this as of now. I'm going to follow the triumvirate assistance work. If you check that link you can plug it in and see a loose model. Basically it's 4 days of training a week with 2 assistance lifts each day that hit that muscle group in a different way. An example would be 5/3/1 bench press followed by 4 sets of chin ups and dips. This is going to severely decrease the volume of my strength training but I think it's for the better. I'd like to emphasize intensity from here on out. Get in the gym, get what I need done then get out and recover. It will also give me a lot more opportunities to put miles under my feet. I'm planning on following a 7 week split, where I will follow 2 cycles of 5/3/1 (skipping the deload week on the 4th week) then deloading on week 7. That basically takes out 6 deloads each year because I personally do not think I need to deload THAT often. Looking ahead to the rest of the week, I think I'm going to do a squat session tomorrow followed by some brief conditioning, nothing to heavy. I sort of want to see how my old 1rm feels now that I did all those reps during Smolov even though I didn't finish. I'm headed to Lithia or somewhere new Saturday for a long run.