Brent: The Arkansas Razorbacks are a bunch of fucking losers. They couldn’t make a touchdown if the goalie was a paraplegic.


Chris: Goalies are in soccer, Todd.


Brent: Ooh KAY.

There are some other colorful terms that Chris is fond of using, but I don’t think they’d be appropriate to share here, but if you’d like to know more, call me, we’ll talk about it (<– this is also one of Chris’s sayings, often said in the middle of a conversation).


Oh, and the infamous WHAT ELSE ISN’T A SPORT that some of you may have seen in some of the comment threads actually originated from a night during which Chris had been drinking. Mustache Mike (not to be confused with Big Mike, who you’ve all been acquainted with) ascertained that figure skating wasn’t a sport, and Chris grew increasingly agitated as he interrogated Mike about what else wasn’t a sport.


Mike and Chris are currently training partners at WFAC. They follow a Texas Method-style program, with a volume day on Tuesdays, a light day on Thursday, and an intensity day on Saturday. Mike has observed that almost invariably, Chris comes into his Saturday workouts with the odds stacked against him. He got drunk Friday night, or he has to train in a hurry because of work, or he doesn’t eat an optimum amount of pre-workout calories because life gets in the way.


Chris, however, is a competitor.


Chris and AC are similar in that when they commit to something, they put all of themselves into it. It’s why AC gets so intense that he’s brought to tears before a 3rd attempt squat. Chris is the same way. Fight a +17lbs PR 650lbs deadlift for like 10 seconds and make it to above the knee? Ooh KAY. When Chris commits to a lift, he’ll throw everything he has into the effort, and if he fails, he’s gonna go down swinging for the fucking fences.


One particular Saturday, Chris went into the workout under shitty conditions, as usual. He takes his last squat warm up and decides to load 545lbs on the bar. He’s not sure how many times he’ll squat it, or if he’ll even be able to squat it at all today, but before he gets under the bar he turns to Mike and says one of his new trademark lines -


“I’m feeling reckless.”


And then he squats it for a PR set of 5.





Mike and I have agreed that Chris is a fantastic training partner. It’s hard to find someone who trains as hard as he does and has the raw desire to BEAT ‘EM. He’s overcome setbacks and has only gotten bigger and stronger. His performance is consistently excellent. Whenever I train with Chris, my motivation fucking sky rockets.





I’ll have what he’s having.

Brent: so i want to get more yoked, man


Justin: Oh yeah? What are you planning on doing?


Brent: probably some shrugs, Bill Starr style. i want bigger traps


Justin: (sigh) Your traps are big enough. You have the traps of a 215lbs guy on a 175lbs body. Maybe you should hit some other areas.


Brent: what do you mean?


Justin: I don’t know, maybe the rest of your upper body OTHER than your traps?

We’ve had some other disputes regarding this.

Brent: look, all i’m saying is, i don’t see why there’s a problem with me wanting to be yoked like a bull


Justin: There isn’t, but a big yoke requires the body of a bull, not a calf.

Well, here is my response to THAT:





Shrugging for 17 reps isn’t really standard ops for me. It was kind of a special day since I was training at the WFAC with Mike, and I wanted to get a PR set of 10 in. I typically have been doing these shrugs for a top set of 5 once a week, but I wanted to have some fun. I wasn’t counting reps; I think I was more concerned with telling myself I WANNA BEAT ‘EM. BEAT EM. BEAT EM. BEAT EM! with each rep. I figured at some point that I’d done about 10, and so I did two more “just to be sure.”


I asked Mike if I got 10. He said, “Seventeen. Close though.”


As my friend Chris says, I was feeling reckless.

“I would vote to eliminate two preseason games and then keep it at a 16-game season because the longer you’re out there playing, the more your body breaks down,” Chicago Bears tight end Desmond Clark said. “When you get into December, you’re like walking zombies. You can’t feel your joints.”

The players are TURNING INTO ZOMBIES! OMG!!!1111@!@!11!224ehjr09fujdlvkn


NFL players have resorted to eating BRAINS and the NFL wants to increase the season? I always knew there would be a zombie outbreak, and now I know the source of its inception. (GASP)…Is this a dream? I’m gonna need a kick. But…how can you kick me without any gravity?


All right, the point is that the only thing left to seal the deal on the 18 game season is playing nice with the player’s union. Let’s just assume this will happen, much like we have to assume the whole “death, taxes, and Brent Kim will be shrugging” thing. NFL players get injured enough as it is in the 16 games they already have. A quick search yielded this bit of research about injuries in the Canada West Universities Athletic Association. Regardless if it’s good research or not (I only skimmed it), we know intuitively that players are more likely to be injured in a game, on turf, if they are veteran players, if they are fatigued, and if they have a pre-existing injury. Injuries can remove a player from participating in practice and games, or it can be a less severe injury that the player has to deal with depending on their position.





The point is that football players are injured enough, and now the work load is going to be increased to a point that will be more difficult to handle, genetic freak or not. It’s obvious that pre-season games don’t garner the same physical effort or intensity as real games, and the real games are where guys are more likely to get hurt. Owners don’t realize that this will be debilitating to their investments (the players), and players will find a way to survive: steroids or other drug enhancement.

I admittedly don’t know a great deal about steroids. There are different drugs for different things, whether you want size, strength, body composition changes, and so on. They also help an athlete recover more efficiently from a work load. If a player were on a drug that achieves this, then they could stay healthy throughout the season, do their job, and continue getting paid. The average person just assumes steroids mean getting bigger and stronger, and they just assume that will equate more injuries because of crazy amounts of strength. Well, newsflash, players are gonna be genetically freaky without steroids.





Certain types of drugs can also help mend an injury whether it is surgically repaired or not. Take the following two injuries into consideration. One third of players who experience an achilles tendon injury will never play again. Of the guys that do play again, half of them don’t play at the same ability. Apparently players who tear their patella tendon will be out for at least six months. These injuries introduce a few reasons why a player would want to use drugs; A) if they are using them as a preventative tool, they could be less apt to having an injury to begin with, B) if they do get the injury, drugs may be something that allows them to get back on the field to compete, help their team, and earn money, and C) if the season is going to be longer, then injuries will be more likely for lots of reasons (fatigue, soreness, overtraining/under-recovery, accumulated injuries, etc.) and drugs may be worth trying to those who hadn’t thought about it before.


Personally, I don’t really care if people use steroids or not. I’m just saying that if the league is going to increase the length of the season, it will undoubtedly injure more players. As a result, more guys will look to prevent and return from injury any way they can. Do you care if NFL players, or professional athletes for that matter, use steroids? Would you use them if you were in the same position? Do you think Brent has injected D-bol into the base of his traps? Tell me more.

The 20 year-old Aleksanyan opened with a pretty solid 190kg snatch. Steiner, who hasn’t competed since the 2008 Olympic games, took the same weight as his opener. Steiner racked the weight solidly overhead but had a hesitation in the bottom of the snatch before he stood up with the good lift. Chigishev, who was beaten by Steiner by 1kg at the 2008 Olympics, opened with a beautifully easy 195kg. Even though Chigishev has gained 6kg since the Olympics, he still weighs 15kg less than the other two lifters, but looks extremely strong and powerful (especially with his beard). Aleksanyan hit 195 for his second attempt all though he had to wrestle with the squat. Steiner lost his second attempt of 195 behind, much to his chagrin. He went for it again on his final attempt, but looked slow on the pull and never racked the bar. Aleksanyan called for 197 on his third and final attempt, but didn’t pull the bar high enough for a no lift. Chigishev lumbered to the bar for his second attempt of 200kg, and it almost looks like the bar flies out of his hands before he racks it. Easy second attempt for Chigishev. He asked for 205 on his third attempt, pulled the bar, racked it, and squatted it with some trouble, but it looked good for his third made lift. This was significant for Chigishev because he is only 6kg away from his best of 211kg, and he’s doing it 2 years out from the 2012 Olympics. Look for him to storm into those games looking for retribution for his missed opportunity in 2008.


The score sheet thus far…
Steiner — 190, 195x, 195x
Aleksanyan — 190, 195, 197x
Chigishev — 195, 200, 205


Looks like Chigishev is gonna roll with this one, right? Not so fast my friends…


Clean and Jerk



Steiner opened with a white lighted 230kg clean and jerk that seemed some where in the range of medium to heavy. Chigishev opened with pretty standard 235, although I would have expected him to be a little faster on the clean (the front squat was easy, though). Steiner calls for 236 on his second. The clean required some extra oomph but it was never in doubt, but he had to wrestle the jerk into place once he racked it. Nevertheless it was still good for a 2-1 good decision. Not to be out done, Aleksanyan hit 237 for his opener. The clean wasn’t picture perfect, but he rocked the piss out of his jerk. And here’s where things get a little hairy…


Chigishev came back out for his second attempt of 240, and he was ready to do work. You could tell he was going to hit his lifts and force the other two lifters to push it for a medal advancement. He cleaned the weight and started squatting it up when his thigh comes up lame. He missed the lift and would sit out for the rest of the competition. Chigishev was sitting on a 440 total. Ain’t too shabby, but now his European Championship was in jeopardy. Aleksanyan smells blood so he calls for 246 on his second attempt to go into the gold medal position. He has a victorious, yet tough clean, and then left the jerk out front. No lift. Aleksanyan follows himself to repeat the 246 on third attempt. This is fucking competition after all. The clean and front squat were equally painful, and then he held the jerk overhead for a wonderful instant…but he let it drift forward and he tried to hang on but it drove him into the ground. No lift. A valiant effort by the 20 year old who was crushed by his defeat.


But don’t forget about Steiner. He’s been watching in the back this whole time and has One. More. Lift. He had found himself in a eerily similar situation to the 2008 Olympcis. All Chigishev can do is watch from the warm-up room. The room is tense as Steiner approaches the bar. The clean is racked, and Steiner is stuck, seemingly pinned at the bottom. He battled with the bar, and by god Steiner is a fighter, and the crowd roared as he ground out a dead stop front squat with about 550 pounds. Steiner, who is known for his come from behind victory, knew he was close. He dipped, he drove, but it wasn’t enough. The bar fell to the floor as he agonized over his loss.


Clean and jerk results followed by total

Chigishev — 235, 240x, 440T
Aleksanyan — 237, 246x, 246x, 432T
Steiner — 230, 236, 251x, 426T


Nice lifting all around, and quite the drama in the clean and jerks. Good show.

The Super Total is this month’s challenge. Some of you dudes were being a pain in the ass about stuff not being heavy enough in the challenges, so now is your chance to do a challenging lifting day. The details for the Super Total are here.
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Since I haven’t been talking about it, I’ll extend the 70′s Big Face Picture Challenge until Labor Day weekend. To learn how to make the face, go here, and go here for info on the picture submission contest (including where to send the picture). Winners will receive posters from Killustrated.com.

Jacob is pretty good at it

Also, you can receive a 10% discount on any order over $25 at Killustrated.com by using the code “70BG” when you check out. There are some sweet posters and cool shirts.
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PR Friday
Let us know if you’ve had any PR’s whether you think you are strong or not. If you don’t have any PR’s, let everyone know how your training is going. The discussion probably makes everyone’s work day go faster on a Friday.
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Random Video — Kendrick Farris clean and jerking 211kg in training.

Last night I did a complex that I created. I haven’t been able to train a lot recently (lots of travel, contracting the plague, etc.) and don’t have access to a gym for a few days. I wanted some light, but thorough work on my body so that when I do get to a gym, I’m not too far behind. I also wanted to use a complex for some conditioning workout in the garage so that the Florida weather would provide extra stress. Turns out it was plenty.


I ended up doing five reps each of power cleans, front squats, presses, back squats, bent over rows, deadlifts, power jerks, back squats, and RDLs. I did that three times with 60kg (134 lbs.). The first set took me about 4 minutes. I rested 4 minutes in the garage (I wanted to have to recover in the heat/humidity), and the next set took me about 3.5 minutes, but I was sucking wind. Then I rested 5 or 6 minutes and finished the last set in about 4 minutes. Barely. Then I sprawled out in the A/C for 20 minutes.


I wouldn’t recommend doing something like that in your first conditioning workout. I have pretty good work capacity for a lifter and I also can adapt to things pretty quickly, but it still kicked my ass. If you haven’t been doing any conditioning, then it doesn’t take much stress to induce an adaptation. It’s always better to ease into things. Since my body went through that shock, I had a headache throughout last night.


In order to be “in shape”, the average lifter won’t need more than one or two conditioning workouts if you plan them well. Barbell complexes are already set up so that you don’t have to do a lot of planning or tweaking. If you have wanted to add some conditioning to your program and didn’t want to do any running, give complexes a try.

Arnold and friend hit up some barbell complexes