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Andy Bolton: Recent Strength Training...

Andy Bolton's Training Log No Responses »

Apr 152012

Monday night Bench Press Training from 9th April 2012

A. Bench Press (raw):

150kg 1 170kg 1

B. Bench Press (shirted to 3 board)

290kg 1 317.5kg 1 330kg 1 345kg 1

C. Bench Press (against purple bands)

100kg 2 110kg 2 117.5kg 2

D. Seated Shoulder Press

3 sets 12 reps

E. Rear Delts:

4 sets of 10 reps

C. Mini band rotator cuff work:

3 sets of 10 reps/side
That’s it. All done
Had a bad cold so cut things short.

Wednesday night Squat and Deadlift Training 11th April 2012

A. Squats (to box)

140kg 3 160kg 3 170kg 3 180kg 3 185kg 3

B. Deadlifts (from low boards,no belt)

180kg 3 215kg 3 235kg 3 255kg 3

C. Floor Deadlifts (no belt)

100kg 8 140kg 3

D. Leg Press

280kg 10

Andy Bolton Strength Training - 20th to 25th February 2012

Andy Bolton's Training Log No Responses »

Feb 282012

Monday night Bench Press Training from 20th Febuary 2012

A. Bench Press (all raw):

190kg x 2, 200kg x 1, 205kg x 2

B. Rear Delts:

4 sets of 10 reps
C. Mini band rotator cuff work:

3 sets of 10 reps/side
That’s it. All done
Had a bad cold so cut things short.

Wednesday night Squat and Deadlift Training from 22nd Febuary 2012

A. Squats with knee wraps and belt:

warmed up and then did 330kg x 1, 370kg x 1

B. Deadlift from low boards no belt

185kg x 5, 205kg x 5

C. Deadlift from floor no belt

Rested

D. Leg press

Rested

Just testing myself raw before I start to add some equipment
Saturday 25th Febuary 2012

Today I tried some Rolling Thunder

Worked up to 90kg

This felt pretty tough as I am still fighting a bad cold so decided to cut
the workout short.

5 Tips For Competition Day

Powerlifting No Responses »

Jan 242012

5 Tips For Competition Day

By Andy Bolton

In this article I’m going to share 5 tips with you
that you can use to MAXIMIZE your PERFORMANCE
on competition day.

So if you want to make sure that you don’t waste
all that hard work you put in training in the gym -
read on and use these tips at your next meet.

Note: Even if you aren’t a competitive powerlifter,
many of these tips will still work for you the next
time you plan to go for a big gym lift/PR.

5 Tips For Competition Day

1. Pack Your Bag The Night Before

There is nothing worse than waking up the day of
your powerlifting meet and realizing you can’t find
something that you really need.

You just don’t need that kind of stress on competition
day.

The solution is easy – pack your bag the night before.

I like to write a check list of everything I need and
tick it off as it goes in my bag.

Call me a geek, but it works!

2. Take A Good ‘Handler’ With You

Your ‘handler’ is the guy (or girl) who will look after
you on meet day.

A good handler will carry your bag, help you load the
bar in the warm up room, help you call your numbers…

You get the idea.

The bottom line is that you want this person to be
good.

Don’t take a lemon to the meet because they’ll stress
you out and do more harm than good.

So choose your ‘handler’ wisely (a current training
partner who knows you well is a perfect choice).

3. Open Light

Ed Coan once said that the only reason anybody bombs
is because they open too heavy.

Sounds simple and it is.

It’s also very true.

I’ve done in excess of 50 powerlifting meets in my
career and I’ve bombed twice. If I’d opened lighter
this wouldn’t have happened.

We all make mistakes.

However, what I find amusing is the guys who bomb
80% of the time. What the hell are they playing at
except for making a joke of the sport?

The tip here is to open light… something you could
triple on a bad day is a good starting point for
beginners and intermediates.

If you are more advanced, you may take a more
aggressive approach and open with a single you know
you can get even on a bad day.

With that said, I can not really ever see the point in
trying to open with a PR. What’s the point?

You have 3 attempts – might as well use them (and
ensure you don’t bomb).

4. Stretch Your Hip Flexors After Squatting And
Benching

After 3 big Squats, chances are your hip flexors will
be tight.

So stretch them out.

This will loosen them up and help you get a bigger arch.

After Benching, do the same because it’ll help you get
a better set-up position on your Deadlifts.

5. Stay Hyrated

I don’t like to eat much during a meet.

However, given that meet will last 3 hours and maybe
5 or 6 – not eating or drinking would be a disaster.

So, what’s the solution?

Easy… drink a lot during the meet and add BCAA’s
and Carb powder to your fluids.

That way you stay hydrated (essential for maximum
performance and avoiding injuries) and you get some
calories in.

If you do want to eat some solid food, go for easy to
digest foods like Rice Crackers and Raw, Organic Honey.

It’s 2012… the days of white bread Bacon Butties with
Tomato sauce at meets needs to stop!

If you liked this article, please hit the Facebook ‘Like’
button and leave a comment/question.

Off Season Training For Strength Athletes

General Strength Training No Responses »

Dec 072011

Off Season Training For Strength Athletes

By Andy Bolton

Powerlifters and guys who just want to GET STRONG often
ask me about ‘off season training’.

In this article I will talk to you about how you can structure
your off season training.

Firstly, let’s get one thing straight…

Unless you compete in a sport — you do not have an off
season. If you just train to get strong, you don’t have an
off season.

Secondly, if you are a typical powerlifter who does 3 or
4 meets a year, all evenly spaced out (so one every 3 months or
so) — you do not really have an off season.

However, with that said, every STRENGTH ATHLETE needs
periods of easier training and periods of harder training.

You cannot train balls to the wall as hard as possible 52
weeks of the year, for the rest of your life.

If you try — you will break down, either physically or
psychologically.

So don’t try it, instead, follow these 5 principles for
constant progress…

1. Have 3 to 4 weeks of the year off from training

If you go on holiday a couple of times a year and then take
a week or two off when you feel over-trained or have just
done a competition, you will easily take this amount of
time off from training.

Do not take anymore entire weeks off because they will
do more harm than good. After 2 consecutive weeks off
from training you can really start to lose strength and
WORK CAPACITY.

So some time off is good to let the body and mind heal, but
not too much.

2. Take a de-load every 4th week

If you use a Max Effort, Dynamic Effort and Repetition
Effort approach to your training (like the boys at Westside do)
you should have an easy week every 4th week.

On this 4th week, just do assistance work and omit
the main lifts.

Or do the main lifts to a moderate intensity and omit the
assistance lifts.

The point is to reduce the volume and intensity and let
your body heal and recover.

3. Use the cycling approach

This is how I train.

When you use a cycling approach, you automatically build
easier weeks into your training because every cycle starts
out with several easier weeks and builds up in intensity as
the weeks go by.

Here’s an example squat cycle I’ve done in the past:

Week 1: 227.5kg x 5 (easy)

Week 2: 250kg x 5 (easy)

Week 3: 272.5kg x 5 (moderate)

Week 4: 300kg x 5 (moderate)

Week 5: 330kg x 5 (pretty tough)

Week 6: 362.5kg x 5 (very hard)

Do you see how that works?

Starts easy and ends hard. After a cycle like that you do
not need to take a week off — instead, simply start another
cycle.

By the way, for more help with your squats, click HERE.

4. Do something different

This is a great option is you are feeling like you need a
change of pace, but don’t want to stop lifting.

Try to do something that will still help you towards your
goals, or at least maintain your strength.

For example, if you want a bigger SQUAT and DEADLIFT,
but want 3 weeks off from squatting and deadlifting — don’t
sit on your ass and do nothing for 3 weeks.

Instead, do exercises that build the squatting muscles
(Hamstrings, Quads, Gltues and Lower back).

You could do Glute Ham Raises, Leg Presses, Sled Drags
and Prowler pushes.

This allows you the change of pace you needed, whilst
still training.

Best of both worlds

5. Use higher reps for a few weeks

This is a method I like to use after a big competition. Instead
of taking a month off, I take a week off and then get back
in the gym.

But instead of doing the same old singles, doubles, triples
and 5′s that I use when doing my serious strength training –
instead I go with sets of 8′s and 10′s for a few weeks.

This allows me to carry on training, add some muscle
mass and allows my body to recover.

So there you have it. That’s how to work “off season” training
for the strength athlete.

It’s not so much off-season as knowing when to put your foot
down and when to back off.

For more information about training program design and how
to structure your strength training, check out The Phase That
Launched 1000lbs DVD by clicking HERE.

Please hit the Facebook ‘Like’ Button and leave any comments
or questions you may have and I’ll do my best to answer
them.

Andy B.

Bench Press Training: 5th December 2011

Andy Bolton's Training Log No Responses »

Dec 062011

By Andy Bolton

Monday night Bench Press Training from 5th December 2011:

A. Bench Press:

140kg x 3, 160kg x 3, 170kg x 2

B. 2 Board Bench Press:

177.5kg x 2

C. 4 Board Bench Press:

185kg x 3, 192.5kg x 1

D. DB Shoulder Press:

3 sets of 15 reps

E. Lateral Raises:

3 sets of 10 reps

F. Rear Delts:

3 sets of 10 reps

G. Mini band rotator cuff work

3 sets of 10 reps/side

That’s it. All done.

Everything RAW at the moment

Strength Training - 1 Top Set Or Several Sets At The Same Weight?

General Strength Training No Responses »

Nov 302011

Strength Training – 1 Top Set Or Several Sets At The Same Weight?

By Andy Bolton

Andy Bolton

People often ask me whether they should do 1 top set
or several sets at the same weight.

My answer goes something like this…

Most of the time just do 1 top set.

For instance, let’s say you want to work up to a 5 rep
max (RM) on your squats. You have a goal of 315lbs
in mind.

Here is how I’d warm you up for that:

bar x 5 x 2

95lbs x 5 x 2

135lbs x 5 x 2

225lbs x 5

275lbs x 3

315lbs x 5

The goal of the warm up is simply to set you up for
your top set.

Now, on cold days, you may need more warm up
sets. I favour adding more lights sets, as opposed to
increasing the reps.

On really warm days, you may need less warm ups.
For instance, in the example above, if you were
feeling really warm, you may only need to go 225lbs x 3
and 275lbs x 1, before attacking 315lbs x 5.

Do you follow what I’m saying?

Now there are two major exceptions to this rule of
“ramping up”.

Firstly, if you need to add muscle mass, you may choose
to do more sets at the same weight, or more reps on
your warm up sets.

The reason for this is because to add muscle you normally
need more volume. So adding sets and/or reps is the
logical route to take.

Secondly, beginners often do well on several sets at
the same weight because they do not have the
technique dialed in enough to safely go for heavy 5 and
3 rep maxes.

So for your heavy squat, bench press and deadlift training,
stick to one heavy set most of the time. It is how I’ve
trained for 90% of my career and my 1214lbs squat
and 1008lbs deadlift show that it works pretty dam well

To find out more about how I put up those numbers and
to see how you can plan simple and highly effective
strength training cycles that will get you STRONG and help you
to avoid injury, get yourself a copy of my training DVD.

It is the best quality training DVD on the market. Period.
Check it out by clicking the link below…

The Phase The Launched 1000lbs Training DVD

Squat And Deadlift Training: Wednesday 23rd November 2011

Andy Bolton's Training Log No Responses »

Nov 252011

A. Squats with knee wraps and belt:

warmed up and then did 160kg x 5, 180kg x 5, 200kg x 8

B. Deadlift from low boards no belt

165kg x 5, 185kg x 5, 200kg x 5

C. Deadlift from floor no belt

145kg x 3, 165kg x 3, 185kg x 3

D. Leg press
250kg x 12, 290kg x 12, 330kg x 12

Just easing my way back into training and doing some raw
squats for the first time in a while. Very very sore lol

Andy Bolton

How To Work Out Your Weaknesses And Get Strong: Part 4

General Strength Training 10 Responses »

Nov 172011

How To Work Out Your Weaknesses And Get Strong: Part 4

By Andy Bolton

Today we are going to talk about the weakness that is holding back
not only lifters, but the entire western world!..

NUTRITION

Let me tell you the cold harsh truth right now – without your
HEALTH, you are NOTHING.

Seriously, without health – nothing else matters.

So why is it, when I go to Powerlifting meets I see lifters stuffing their
faces with white bread and cheap cheese and Ham sandwiches or
chocolate bars?

Why is it Heart Disease and Cancer are gripping the world in a horrible
way (I think 80% of us are statistically going to succumb to one of
these diseases at some point).

Scary, eh?

Why is it that I see guys training for 3 hours (with great technique
and the “best” training programs)… but they don’t drink anything
during that session?!

In other words… they are chronically dehydrated!

I have been guilty of neglecting my nutrition in the past, but it is
now something I take very seriously.

I’d like to share a few principles with you today that will improve
your STRENGTH and your HEALTH.

Does that sound like something you’d like to do?

If so, please read on, print these principles out and stick them
somewhere where you’ll see them every day and live by them.

When you do… you’ll feel, look and PERFORM much better.

10 Principles For Improved STRENGTH and HEALTH

1. Get Hydrated

Drink at least 2 litres of water (excluding peri-workout nutrition
per day). The bigger you are the more water you will need.

Try adding a pinch of Celtic Sea Salt or Pink Himalayan Rock Salt
to every litre of water you drink. This little secret will vastly
improve your hydration levels.

Better hydration = better performance. Period.

2. Peri-Workout Nutrition Rules

It is amazing how many lifters still drink nothing around training
time. To ignore peri-workout nutrition is RETARDED.

And for those coaches still recommending Skittles and Mars Bars
post workout – SHAME ON THEM.

Get with the times.

Here is what a proper athlete drinks to fuel himself BEFORE,
DURING and AFTER training…

- 1 hour before: 1/2 litre water, BCAA’s, Carbs

- During training: 1/2 litre water, BCAA’s, Carbs

- Immediately post workout: Protein, Carbs

Pretty simple really, isn’t it? Start doing it and your strength will
rapidly INCREASE. Guaranteed.

3. Get your 5 a day (minimum)

Okay, this one isn’t sexy – but it’s vital for your health.

So just man up and do it.

Eat 5 portions of Fruit and Vegetables a day. MINIMUM.

5 of each would be better!

Emphasize variety and a wide selection of colors throughout the
week. So don’t just do Bananas and Potatoes (all yellow)… do
bananas, strawberries, spinach, cherries, oranges and so on.

Get it?

4. Quality Matters

Unfortunately, food quality is not always good these days – so
get the best quality that you can afford.

Don’t drink tap water – go for bottled water (or filtered).

Go Organic whenever you can – this way you get less chemicals
and other crap and more vitamins and minerals. It’s a ‘no-brainer’.

You get the idea. Organic is really important.

5. Eat A Variety Of Protein

Grass fed Beef

Organic Chicken

Wild Alaskan Salmon

Don’t eat chicken 8 times a day like some Bodybuilders do – it’s a recipe
for boredom and the lack of variety is not healthy.

With meats in particular – quality is super important, hence the “grass
fed”, “wild Alaskan”, “organic”

6. Eat Plenty of Healthy Oil

Have 2-4 table spoons a day of the following:

- Coconut Oil

- Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Have 2 to 4 teaspoons a day of this:

- Fish Oil

7. Choose Healthy Carbs

White Bread and white pasta are OUT!

Brown rice, spelt pasta and sprouted bread is in. Make the change and
feel the difference.

8. Have A Large, Raw Salad Every Day

This is very important.

Here’s how to do it:

Have this salad with Fish, Chicken or Meat…

- Green Leaves (spinach, lettuce etc)

- Tomato

- Cucumber

- 2 to 3 vegetables of your choice

- Olive Oil, lemon juice

When we cook our food we destroy the enzymes and some of the
vitamins and minerals. One raw salad a day will help you to get
plenty of enzymes, vitamins and minerals into your body – all
VITAL for HEALTH.

9. Get Some Sun Or Vitamin D

Less than optimal Vit D levels have been linked to many diseases.

Unless you work outside in the sun, topless, for at least an hour a day -
you are probably deficient in Vit D.

Buy a Vit D supplement and take it daily. Go for Vit D3 and get at least
1000IU’s per day.

10. Get Some Maca Powder

This supplement is a great natural enhancer of Testosterone.

So it’s great for your strength and your performance in the bedroom

Get 1 dessert spoon a day minimum (add it to a shake or smoothie).

Listen up.

What I’ve just shared with you is very POWERFUL. Get your nutrition
right and your strength will fly through the roof.

If you found this useful, please hit the Facebook “Like” button because
everybody needs and deserves this simple information.

It’s not hard to do, but most of us don’t do it.

My challenge to you is to STEP UP and cut out the tinned, packaged,
processed crap and start putting GOOD FOOD into your body. Your
Squat, Bench, Deadlift and HEALTH will thank you for it.

For more stuff that will help your squat, bench and deadlift – you can
check out all of my programs by clicking HERE.

How To Work Out Your Weaknesses And Get Strong: Part 2

General Strength Training 4 Responses »

Nov 092011

How To Work Out Your Weaknesses And Get Strong: Part 2

By Andy Bolton

If you missed part 1 of this series, you can check it out here:

http://www.andyboltonstrength.org/2011/11/07/how-to-work-out-your-weaknesses-and-get-strong-part-1/

Now let’s get into part 2…

Pulling Big

Here we are going to look at technical weaknesses.

At first sight, the three powerlifts (squat, bench press and deadlift)
may look like easy moves to master.

However, you only have to go to your local commercial gym or
“fitness and health center” to see that most people performing the
Squat, Bench and Dealift are doing so with lousy form!

And what does lousy form mean?

It means LESS STRENGTH and MORE INJURY RISK.

Not good.

So, if you want MORE STRENGTH and LESS INJURY RISK (and I’m
guessing you do, otherwise you wouldn’t be reading this) – pay
careful attention to the tip I’m about to share with you because
it is vital on all 3 lifts…

How To INSTANTLY Improve Your Squat, Bench And
Deadlift

Tightness is the key to strength.

If you don’t know how to get tight – you will never reach your
strength potential.

The other day, a friend of mine (who is also a powerlifter) asked
me what mistake I see most lifters making.

I replied…

“That’s easy – they are too loose under the bar”.

In other words – they don’t know how to GET REALLY TIGHT.

Let me tell you – you must practice getting tight on very single
set you do. I don’t care whether it is 95 pounds or 995 pounds,
you must get tight.

And it is only through repeated practice that you will learn to
stay tight with heavy loads.

Here is a drill that my friend Pavel likes to get people to do
to learn to get tight. Do it with me right now.

It’s a 3 step drill that goes like this…

1. Sit down, relax your body and now FLEX YOUR RIGHT
BICEP as hard as you can – but only focus on the bicep

Feel the tightness

2. Stay sat down, relax your body and now FLEX YOUR RIGHT
BICEP and your RIGHT FIST as hard as you can.

You will notice much more tightness when you squeeze your
fist as well as your bicep.

3. Here’s the best part and the true lesson in tightness that I
want to teach you today.

Stand up.

Yes, just do it – STAND UP.

Now do the following as hard as you can:

- Claw the floor with your toes

- Tense your Quads

- Squeeze your Glutes

- Flex your Abdominal muscles

- Tighten your Lats

- Squeeze both fists

and now….

- FLEX YOUR BICEPS

If you do this correctly and with meaningful effort – you will feel
incredible tightness. (Your body will probably shake with the
effort).

It is this tightness that you must try to recreate throughout your
body on your squats, bench presses and deadlifts.

Many people try to find weaknesses that are more advanced than
they are.

If you cannot get tight – you do not need to be worrying about
hamstring weakness on your squats or tricep weakness on your
benches.

Tightness is king.

Work on it.

For the next 30 days, work on tightness and mastering
your technique on your squat, bench and deadlift and watch your
STRENGTH GO WAY UP.

Have fun and I’ll be back with part 3 soon.

For more help with your squat, bench press and deadlift form,
check out my books and DVD’s right HERE.

Please click the Facebook “Like” button and leave a comment. If
you have any tips for GETTING TIGHT – leave them in the comments
box for everyone to learn from.

Also feel free to leave any questions you have in the comments
box and whilst I can’t promise to answer them – I’ll do my best
if I have the time.

Talk to you soon,

Andy

How To Work Out Your Weaknesses And Get Strong: Part 1

General Strength Training 5 Responses »

Nov 072011

How To Work Out Your Weaknesses And Get Strong: Part 1

By Andy Bolton

There is a saying in STRENGTH TRAINING that goes like this:

“You are only as strong as your weakest link”

And you know what? It’s very true.

A great example is when I pulled over 1000lbs for the first time
and then it took me several years (and several missed attempts)
before I beat that first 1003lbs pull with a pull of 1008lbs.

Now I’ll be honest with you…

If I’d better assessed my weaknesses, I would have pulled1008lbs
much sooner than I did.

Once I worked out what my MAJOR WEAKNESS was – MY GRIP, the
solution was simple. Train my grip hard and the results will follow.

Sure enough, 1008lbs fell easier than 1003lbs did once I hit my grip
work hard.

The question is… WHAT IS YOUR MAJOR WEAKNESS(ES) right now?

Before I help you to find out your weaknesses, let me just highlight a
trend I see in the strength world that is holding many lifters back right
now…

It could very well be holding you back too – so pay attention to what
follows.

Every aticle I see on strength training at the moment is talking about
the next best Bench variation, or the best hamstring movement, or the
best way to get a bigger deadlift without training the deadlift.

I could go on – but I think you get the idea.

95% of the advice on strength training is related to the actual movements
that make up your strength training program.

And you’d think that makes perfect sense.

However, it doesn’t because IT MISSES THE BIGGER PICTURE.

Allow me to explain…

You can have the best training program in the world – but if you aren’t
SLEEPING properly, your results will be less than optimal.

You can perform your squats with perfect form – but if your mind is weak,
you will never be TRULY STRONG.

You can hit your triceps with every assistance exercise under the sun – but
if your nutrition is lame, your results will be less than optimal.

See what I’m getting at?

Most people’s focus (including that of many strength coaches) is too NARROW.

Over the next couple of weeks I’m going to write several articles on
ELIMINATING YOUR WEAKNESSES and you’ll get each article for FREE (just
keep an eye out for my emails).

The aim is to help you correctly identify your weaknesses by looking
at everything that impacts your strength – NOT JUST YOUR EXERCISE
SELECTION AND TRAINING PROGRAM.

I have a little exercise for you to do before I next speak to you.

Here it is…

How To Start Figuring Out Your Weaknesses And How To
Unleash Your True Strength

Simply put – when you eliminate your weaknesses you “take the
brakes off” your training progress and you will start to progress
faster than ever.

Here are some areas to think about before I talk to you again. Rate
yourself on a scale of 1 – 10 for each area, based on how good you
think you are at each (10 is best, 1 is worst):

- Technical Mastery of your chosen lifts
- Training Program Design
- Mind-set
- Warm Ups
- Pre-Hab
- Assistance Exercises
- De-load weeks
- Nutrition
- Recovery Protocols

When you see that list, do you now see why it is stupid to just look
at exercise selection and training program design when you are looking
for weaknesses?

Yet that is what most people do!

Anyway, don’t worry about it – I want to help you and over the course
of the next couple of weeks I’m going to give you some great advice
that will show you how to you identify and eliminate your weaknesses
more successfully than ever before.

Keep an eye out for part 2 (I’ll email it to you) and hit the
Facebook “Like” Button below and leave a comment.

Older Entries

Andy Bolton: Recent Strength Training...

Andy Bolton Strength Training - 20th to 25th February 2012

5 Tips For Competition Day

Off Season Training For Strength Athletes

Bench Press Training: 5th December 2011

Strength Training - 1 Top Set Or Several Sets At The Same Weight?

Squat And Deadlift Training: Wednesday 23rd November 2011

How To Work Out Your Weaknesses And Get Strong: Part 4

How To Work Out Your Weaknesses And Get Strong: Part 2

How To Work Out Your Weaknesses And Get Strong: Part 1

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