"The Josh Strength Method" programming by Josh Bryant in Preparation for Boss of Bosses 2

It all started in August of 2014. One of my good friends living in San Jose, CA participated in a powerlifting meet hosted by Dan Green at Boss Barbell Club called "Boss of Bosses," which was/is a USPA sanctioned meet. I promised him I would go to the one the following year (2015) so that we could do a meet together. 

October 11 2014, I participated in another USPA meet called "The Ross Shreves Classic," which was in the Dallas, TX area. I totaled 1441 with a 501 Squat, 324 Bench and 616 Deadlift at 220lbs. This actually gave me a Class 1 total which qualified me for the Saturday meet at Boss of Bosses 2 (You had to be invited or qualify with a Class 1 total, otherwise you had to lift on Sunday).

My buddy signed us both up as soon as registration was available. We planned it out. I would lift on Saturday and he on Sunday, that way we could help each other out, give cues, get timing right with warmups and attempts. It was all set. I sat down on my laptop and sifted through training logs, reviewed lifting videos and looked at several spreadsheets.

I wanted to be really successful and put up some big numbers, but I didn't really want to have to worry about my programming. I had a few prospects of who I might look into to hire for my programming, but one day I was looking through the Jailhouse Strong Instagram page and I decided I didn't need to look any further. Josh Bryant has countless dudes putting up huge numbers. Bench, Squat, Deadlift, Farmers Walks, Dips. It didn't matter. All his clients were/are crushing it. So, obviously I went to his website. (I was already really familiar with Josh, having followed him on Elitefts as well as purchasing his book "Built to the Hilt".)

http://www.joshstrength.com/  

It didn't take me long to find his contact page (its at the top of the homepage, under Contact Us...simple enough) And I emailed him right away. It didn't take him long to respond. I stated that I wanted help to peak for the meet. Instead of saying "Of course! We'll get you started!" Josh sent me a disclaimer.

Let me tell you about the program and you can decide if you are a good fit. The online training is for serious inquiries only. The program is designed for people who are committed to their goals and following the program exactly. If you are someone who just does this sporadically, it's not for you. If you are willing to work hard and need guidance to go to the next level, you are a perfect fit. 

This dude is serious. 100% respect immediately and I hadn't even exchanged more than one email with the guy. On top of that, he set up a phone consultation. From the sound of it, he wanted to get a feel/gauge me and see if I was serious. I was.

After the phone consult, he set me up with a 12 week program. However, it is not a cookie cutter program or a template that he just gives you and says good luck. No, Josh dishes out the program one week at a time and wants your feedback on it.

Since I won't be revealing any of the nitty gritty of the program, I'll just point out a few unique features that Josh implemented for me specifically. (I'm sure it is subject to change)

• 4 day split. 2 Upper, 2 Lower. Heavy Bench Day, Heavy Squat/Deadlift Day and then "lighter" (I use that term loosely) Upper body/Bench Day and a "lighter" Squat/Deadlift Day. 
• Heavy Bench Day has a crap ton of work/volume. I haven't worked that hard on a Bench day, ever. 
• Heavy Squats and Heavy Deadlifts on the same day. I know some people do this, so it's not like a big secret. But, I had never done it. I always had the two separate. 
• Speed work for all the main lifts, but, not like the typical Westside style of having a specific day just for them. More or less it was simply reduce the load from the main sets by 20-30%. Using the same weight for 3 weeks, bust it out for a couple sets of triples or doubles. 
• Deloads every 4th week. 

As we set off, I was feeling pretty good about the programming and definitely seeing some strength gains. His program is tough, definitely not for the sunday-driver-worker-outers. About 6 or 7 weeks in I felt a little twinge in my glute/hamstring area during heavy squats. After the main work, I did my speed sets and the top 1/4 of the squat after hitting the hole started to become painful. Standing up completely was difficult. I slightly tore my hamstring up high in the proximal area. Now, before anyone starts making assumptions about Josh and his programming, this was all my fault. I drive a lot for work. I average about 800-1000 miles a week. That takes it toll on your body, especially the lower extremities. When you don't take proper care, rehab, pre-hab, things start to degrade really quickly. I neglected my flexibility a little bit and that's what caused this issue.

Despite several therapy modalities, the only real answer was to lay off it. Unfortunately, I had already purchased a plane ticket and paid for the entry fee for Boss of Bosses 2, so this wasn't an option. Instead I toughed it up, wrapped up my leg with Voodoo Floss Bands for squats and deads (which sort of work like little miracle bands), and endured the pain for just a little while longer. Josh did a great job modifying the training to work around it. I couldn't low bar squat without severe pain, so instead we decided on using the Safety Squat Bar Because you have to stay considerably more upright to squat with it, less forward lean means less tension on the hamstring. Deadlift still sucked, but I had to do them. Despite still having hamstring issues up to the meet, I was feeling pretty confident I could put up some descent numbers without feeling embarrassed. Josh and I discussed openers and what was realistic for my third attempts. (Little fun fact: The heaviest squat I achieved in training with the SSB was 470lbs two weeks before the meet)

I set my goals for a 540 squat, 391 bench, and 644 deadlift. He didn't call me crazy.

Boss of Bosses 2

At weigh-ins friday morning, August 28th (24 hour weigh-ins), I felt like the skinny dude I remember myself as in high-school. There were absolute monsters in line to be weighed and gear checked. Doubt began to creep into my mind and all I could think "Am I in over my head?" "Do I deserve to be here?" But, that soon was overturned because everyone was really friendly and helpful. I weighed in at 234.5lbs. Oops. A little slim for a 242-er.

Saturday (29th) seems like a blur now. We showed up, warmed up and were on the livestream in no time. I hit my 540 squat without much pain and relatively easy. However, I squatted slow just to be sure I didn't make my hamstring worse. I still had to survive for Deadlift. I hit a 385 bench quite slowly. I adjusted my 3rd attempt from 391 because I didn't move my second attempt as fast as I had hoped. Deadlift was a rollercoaster. In the warm up room, my hamstring was hurting pretty bad. Locking out was very painful. My first attempt on the platform blew up without pain (until I walked around for a few minutes and it started hurting again). 2nd attempt I hit 628 and it was slow. My third I called for 644. I put tension on the bar and began the pull. I stopped. Said "No thanks" and walked away. No regrets. My hamstring was not going to take it.

1552 and some change. I was/am happy with my performance. Here's the video.

Now, I am going to rest up because I have another meet (The Ross Shreves Classic) Oct 10th, in Dallas.

Then, I am planning on continuing my journey with Josh as my guide. I'm hiring him to do some off season work and who knows where it'll go from there. The dude is a maniacal genius. He even stated that he thinks he can get my squat to 600 and deadlift to 700 really quick. I'm stoked.

As always, questions or comments...Let me know!

The Bench Press (Little Fun Facts)

The Bench Press is probably one of the most popular movements/exercises in the fitness industry. It's revered as the pinnacle of what strength is to the standard gym rat.

"How much ya Bench?" is all too common of a question.

Quite frankly, I've never enjoyed the bench press. Nothing is really satisfactory about laying down on my back and pressing a weight away from me. However, I do like the reaction of common folk when they ask for my bench number (even though it isn't impressive in the powerlifting community with a paltry 375).

Anyway, on to a few things that I've discovered in my pursuit for a larger bench press. Tips and tricks if you will.

1. Bench with a comfortable grip width. The legal width, index finger to index finger is on the smooth rings which are 32 inches apart. That does not mean everyone should bench with their index fingers on the rings. You should use a grip that will prove itself in longevity. Do what makes most sense for comfort and painless movement.

2. Wide grip does not equal power. Coinciding with the first tip, using a wide grip doesn't always make sense. Some guys with long arms can't bench wide. I certainly can't. Common advice says to bench as wide as possible to get the most leverage, and I don't think that is necessarily true. My advice is use a comfortable grip where you get the most explosiveness off your chest. Longer armed individuals (especially long forearms) also have to take into consideration that their elbows have to go a lot further below their chest. That extra range of motion can be quite the B-word on the shoulder capsule.

3. A good arch and leg drive save your shoulders. Being able to meet the bar with your chest and decrease the range of motion of the movement is not only beneficial for power, it also benefits the shoulders. Developing a good setup with a decent arch and good leg drive will aid this.

4. Squeeze the glutes. Imagine you are trying to pinch the leather on the bench with your booty. It helps keep your arch and prevents your back from fatiguing as well as helps keep your legs tight and stable.

5. Forearm curl the lockout. If you use a suicide/thumbless grip this does not apply to you. But, if you're having trouble with the last few inches of lockout, imagine you are doing a forearm curl with the barbell (curling it towards your feet) and your triceps should engage hardcore. (This is actually an old Bill Kazmaier trick).

6. Pressing with a bent wrist vs a straight wrist.

Left: Bent Wrist -Right: Straight Wrist

There's a common debate between how one should "correctly" press with their wrist. Most say straight, but a lot of people use a bent wrist and perform some impressive presses. I think it's individualistic and mainly depends on the size of the individual's hands. I've seen a lot of guys with small hands that tend to use a bent wrist. I've never been able to use much of a bend in my wrist because I don't feel any power transfer. It feels like my tightness of my back, pecs, shoulders, triceps and forearms just bleeds out of my wrists if they are bent. So, my advice to you is to perform pressing movements with a straight wrist if you don't already do so. If you're hella strong and use a bent wrist, great! Do what works for you. 

7. More triceps. Develop your back arms. They have a lot more longevity and tend to not be as abusive to the shoulders when they are highly developed comparatively to the pecs. 

8. Use a slingshot. More importantly than overloading, use a slingshot to protect your shoulders. If you love dips but the range of motion bothers your shoulders, slap on a slingshot and do them. It'll help. For longevity reasons, I can not stress enough the importance of protecting your shoulders. 

Overall, my main point is to look at the bench press with the future in mind. Do you want a big ass bench by any means necessary now, or do you want to be able to keep benching into your late adulthood? 

An Intermediate Guide to Accommodating Resistance

So, you've seen instagram and facebook posts, tweets and several articles mentioning "bands and chains" on notable barbell lifts. Just what exactly are they doing?

The principle these people are using is called Accommodating Resistance: which is defined as the increasing of resistance through a range of motion while performing a movement. (In a majority of cases, the barbell lifts; bench, squat, deadlift.) Example: When performing a squat with chains attached to the bar, as you squat down, the chains pile up on the floor. This lightens the weight on your back until you proceed to squat up again when the chains then begin to come off the floor and progressively increase the weight on your back.

If you are having trouble with the top portion of your bench press, or the lockout portion of your deadlift, or if you want to just add some extra stimulus for leg growth, these are great tools to use.

There are several implements to use for accommodating resistance and each have their merits. However, I will rate them based on ease of use, applicability and calculation of weight used.

1. Chains. Chains are easy to use and easy to calculate. They weigh a certain amount and you can measure how much you are adding to your barbell very simply. Setting up is easy. Use some sort of lead, be it with a chain or straps (demonstrated below). Attach the chains to the lead at the proper height to where they are almost fully off the floor when you are at the top range of your motion and they should completely or nearly completely deload onto the floor when you are at the bottom end of your motion. They can also be used for deadlifts, simply by looping them over the barbell or attaching them via carabiner (It's exceptionally good for working the lock out portion).

The picture on the right demonstrates a misguided use of chains. It's not necessarily wrong, but the amount of weight deloading isn't significant. Only a few links will deload to the floor.

2. Bands. Bands aren't nearly as easy to set up as chains, nor are they as simple to calculate the weight being added. However, they do provide an interesting stimulus and using them can cause tremendous power output. Setting up bands can be tricky. You can use a dumbbell to loop the bands around on the floor and then attach them directly to the barbell. Or, if your rack or bench has band loops, use those! Most sites like elitefts.net  provide a band calculation chart that shows how much tension the band is creating at what length they are being stretched. For deadlifts, I find simply looping the band over the barbell and placing both ends under my feet to be a really simple and effective way to use them (also good for lockouts).

One can also use the bands to do a reverse banded lift. Which means the bands are suspended from above and looped around the barbell. They then stretch when you are in the bottom position of your movement and deload some of the weight, which then reloads as you move toward the top end.

3. Single Ply Squat Suits and Bench Devices like the Slingshot
Squat suits can be beneficial in keeping everything around your hips compressed. In reality a squat suit should allow you to squat a little extra weight by accommodating some of the resistance with the material it is made of, especially when down in the hole. The slingshot is a nifty little device that you loop onto your arms for bench pressing (or most pressing movments, like pushups or dumbbell pressing). The material stretches out when you bring the weight to your chest, deloading some of the resistance. As you raise the weight, the material has less stretch and the weight progressively reloads.

Accommodating resistance is a great tool to use to add a little extra stimulus for strength gains and muscle growth. It should be treated as such, extra stimulus, not the end all be all to strength training. Nothing beats straight weight on a barbell. And you should be well experienced in the principle movements before attempting using any of these implements.

The Gorilla Mecca Method

The Gorilla Mecca Method

Strength takes time. The stronger you get, the more time it takes to get even stronger. Interesting enough, not a lot of people get that, especially newbies.

So, this is the method that I have been using for a while and with enough cycles, I think it has a lot of potential to get me brutally strong. This macrocycle is 16 weeks long, divided into four 4 week mesocycles, each of which has a 1 week microcycle. The first mesocycle is 4 weeks of 10’s of the major lifts. The second mesocycle is 4 weeks of 8’s of the major lifts. The third mesocycle is 4 weeks of 6’s and 5’s of the major lifts. Then the fourth mesocycle is 3’s, 2’s, and 1's of the major lifts to peak. A final week can be used to test for maxes or the macrocycle can be repeated.

The week has 6 days of workouts. A rest day can be scheduled in between any of these days.

Bench Press

Tricep Press

Squat

Light Bench

Light Tricep

Deadlift

The first bench day is dedicated to benching, obviously. The keys to benching for the 10’s and 8’s weeks are as follows: Do not completely lockout (the triceps will be worked the next day). Keep tension in the pecs. Lower the bar slow to the chest and explode up. The last two mesocycles each rep should be paused on the chest and fully locked out. On the tricep press day, use an EZ Curl bar or you can choose to use a barbell and closegrip press. The keys here: lower the weight slowly and explode up, locking out completely. Try to use the triceps exclusively. Squat day is for squatting. Light Bench and Light Tricep days are exactly like their heavier counterpart days, just lighter weights. Deadlift day is for deadlifts.

Supplemental Exercises: These movements should closely mimic or compliment the main movement for the day. These should be placed after the main movement and prioritized based on weakness.

For Bench Day; Wide Grip Bench-for pecs. Close Grip Bench-for delts and triceps. Incline-pecs and delts. Overhead Press-shoulders.

Tricep Press; Tricep Extension w/EZ Curl, Rope, Straight Bar, Dips.

Squat; Wide Stance Squats-for hips. Olympic Highbar Squat-for quads. Pause Squat-for strength out of the hole.

Deadlift; Deficit Deadlift-for lacking strength off the floor. Block Pull-for erectors and lockout strength. Rounded Back Deadlift-for erectors and lockout strength. Stiff Leg Deadlift-for hamstrings and glutes.  

Accessory Exercises: These movements are used for weaknesses, lagging body parts and for joint health.

These include; Curls, Shrugs, Rows, Lat Pulls, Pull-Ups, Grip Work, Flys, Delt work.

The following table illustrates how one would organize the days with supplemental and accessory work.

Bench	Tricep Press	Squat	Light Bench	Light Tricep	Deadlift
Wide Grip	Tricep Ext	Wide St Squat	Inc-Close Grip	Tricep Ext	Block Pulls
Inc-Close Grip	WeightPull-Up	Stiff Leg Deads	DB Incline	Pull-Ups	Oly Squats
OH Press	Barbell Row	Shrugs	DB OH Press	Lat Pulls	Shrugs
DB Laterals	1-Arm Row	Weighted Abs	DB Laterals	1-Arm Row	Weighted Abs
DB Front Raise	Curls	Calf Work	DB Rear Fly	Curls	Calf Work

So now that you have an idea of how to go about piecing together your training, let’s talk about numbers and percentages. Your starting point will be determined based on how well you perform reps below your max single. The less “in-shape” you are for reps, the lower the percentage you can start with. Ideally you can start with 60-70 percent for your sets of 10. From there, you’ll add about 1.5%-2% per week for each major lift which equals to about 10-15lbs each week for deadlifts, 10lbs each week for squats, and 5lbs each week for bench.

Let’s look at how the program will add up with the main lifts. This is the current cycle I'm in. 

Supplemental work rep ranges mimics the main work. Example, after 4x8 bench, I'll move on to incline bench for 3x8. Accessory work is usually done for the higher rep ranges from 10 all the way up to 40. 

Further depth can be discussed with me via email if need be. 

Boss Barbell Strength Method, Linear Progression, and Deloading

To start off:

I deleted my old google+ profile with my old email and unknowingly deleted everything that was attached to it, including my old blog. I'll take this as an opportunity to start fresh with new information and experiences that I have learned, especially in the past year or so.

With that being said, let us move on to the topic at hand: Boss Barbell Strength Method

For the past year I have embarked on a sort of new strength quest I label as the "Enlightenment Period" of my training. I hired Dan Green November of 2013 to participate in his Boss Barbell Strength Method, aka BBSM. Dan's program is brutal and simple. I say simple because it is not difficult to understand the process and his goal with you. As a powerlifter, you focus on your skill of the three lifts: Squat. Bench w/Pause. Deadlift. And the supplemental work is usually a variation of said lifts: Olympic Squats with a Pause. Front Squats, Deficit Deadlifts, Deadlifts from Blocks, Stiff Leg Deadlifts, Wide Grip Bench, Close Grip Bench, Overhead Press. With his 10 week program my lifts went from: Squat 475, Bench w/Pause 295, Deadlift 600-to-Squat 510, Bench w/Pause 335, Deadlift 615. Decent Progress.

That is about as revealing as I'll be with BBSM. If you'd like to find out more, go to http://bossbarbellclub.com/

The biggest revelation I had in this time frame was that the quads are a very important part of squatting. I always used the "westside" style of squat, which basically was a goodmorning now that I think about it. Now, I will forever put front squats in my training. Even with a wide stance, you can be a quad dominant squatter. Instead of sitting the hips way back, you can sit them straight down. A great example of this is a lifter named Robb "Buddha" Philippus. He is a Raw Squat w/out Wraps World Record holder in the 308 class with 854lbs. He also has posted a 600lb front squat video on his instagram. Check him and his big ass quads out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yb1dZ2uoJQc

As I've gone along, I decided to take a linear approach to my training. My program has consisted of high volume, low intensity work focusing on the major lifts/barbell work and it slowly progresses to high intensity, low volume. There are four phases each lasting 4 weeks. A high volume phase with Sets of 10, a moderate volume phase with Sets of 8, a strength phase with Sets of 6-5, and a peaking phase with Sets of 3-1. Supplemental work has consisted of: Wide Grip Bench, Close Grip Incline, Seated Overhead Press, Tricep Press w/EZ Curl Bar, Wide Stance Squats, Highbar Pause Squats, SSB Squats, Front Squats, Stiff Leg Deadlifts, BB Shrugs, Lat Pulls, Rows, Etc.

I have provided a couple of graphs to illustrate my program.

Bench	Squat	Deadlift
9600	12600	12300
9800	13000	12750
10000	13400	13200
10200	13800	13650
8320	11360	11280
8480	12000	11640
8640	12320	12000
8800	12640	12360
5600	9720	7950
5700	7470	8175
5800	6375	8400
5900	6525	8625
3600	4095	5310
2745	4185	5445
1860	1940	2480
1260	1980	1270

This first graph, and the numbers corresponding to the left, is an example of Total Volume (in lbs) in work sets of the main lifts for 16 weeks. Bench as Red, Squat as Green, Deadlift as Purple.

Bench	Squat	Deadlift
335	535	635
71.5	58	64
72.5	60	66.5
73.5	62	69
75	64	71.5
77	66	73.5
78	70	76
79.5	71.5	78.5
81	73.5	81
82.5	75	83
84	77.5	85.5
86	79	87.5
87.5	81	90
88.5	85	92.5
90	86.5	95
91.5	90	97.5
93	92.5	100

This second graph illustrates the percentages progressively over the 16 week period of my maximums of each lift (Provided on the left with previous maxes up top).

The bench press is probably the most linear of the lifts because I can successfully progress in weight and the rep ranges I can perform tend to stay in a very linear fashion. Squats take slightly larger jumps between 4 week periods because I tend to not be able to perform high rep ranges, especially in the 75 percent or more. I find my deadlift to be very efficient, which is why I can push the intensity from an early start and work a decent amount of reps in the 85+ range.

In the beginning of the first and second phase, the idea is to use weights that would be a challenge to perform, but not too difficult to finish the sets. Then by the end of 4 weeks, the final week would be difficult to finish, but still leave a couple reps in the tank. The strength phase is all about performance and really getting technique dialed in for the peaking phase. After the peaking phase, maxes can be tested the following week if desired.

I find that with the fluctuation of volume, a deload isn't needed until after the peaking phase is complete. Week 1 of each phase is sort of a small deload in itself because the volume is decreased from the previous phase. However, I am unique and every individual out there requires different needs.


Please comment with any questions.