I have many issue, some mental but most physical. Due to shoulder issues (needs replaced) I can't grab a squat bar, have tore both pecs, have had one hip replaced, the other hip needs replaced and I have degenerative bone disease that I am working very hard to halt. It's safe to say I am FUBR.
JL Holdsworth sent me a text the other day and said he just learned some new shit and what me to stop out... He thought it could help me.
I went over to his place and we spoke for some time tweaked a couple things and then I went back home, took a quick nap and went off to the gym.
I applied what he told me. I was planning on doing speed work. This is why there is a 25 pound bumper on the bar first. I only use 3-4 plates with the bumper for speed work and use the bumper to push the plates out more so I can add chain and not have them bunch up on the leg of the mono-lift. Once I got to 3 plates I said, "fuck it" and decided to work up to a max effort lift. I JUST did this Saturday and hit a 5 pound PR so this wasn't the wisest thing I've ever done in my life.
It keep feeling good so I figured I would try for another PR. This would be the first rep you see in the video. I did shake some but that was due to not doing a couple steps JL told me to do. The weight felt easy.
The final rep in the video was the last set. This was 90 pounds more than Sat and was very solid. After I unracked it I about shit because I have had a serious shaking problem for close to 20 years. I have been told it was due to weak abs, nerve damage, disc degeneration, compression, hip damage, etc. I have been told and tried everything to fix this and after so many years just figured fuck it. My threshold was around 600 at the top (albeit with bands, chains, weight or any combo). When I got in that range the shaking was way to unbearable that I would just stay under that and do as many reps as I could. When I stood up with this weight I couldn't believe how stable I was.
In short, I think JL's shit is working.
Time will tell but for now, hitting a real PR is awesome!
I know I will be asked what he had me do and will say for now this is not some special program or seminar series. It's not a promotion for anything. He doesn't do online training or any of that. I would like to tell you what we did but don't really understand it enough to say. It's very individual so I am not sure what I would say would matter. He is also just testing this stuff out right now so I could be an outlier at the same time I may got right back to shit next week. I will keep listening and doing what he advises and play it day to day. If this turns out to be for real and what I think it is - everyone should know me well enough to know I will share what I learn. Right now I would rather not share what I don't understand especially when it is dealing with maximal weights.
* Just so this is not seen as a cheese dick post. Yes, it was a huge PR but I do feel I have been strong enough to do this throughout several training cycles over the past 10 years. The limiting factor wasn't standing up with it or even sitting down for that matter. The limiting factor was getting the fucker out of the rack and setting up with it. That was the limiting factor that last 4 years of my competitive squat life as well. I also always way stronger than displayed because I wasn't able to set the fucker up or get it out of the rack. For example if my last PR was 640 for a single. I know I did 585-600 for 10-15 reps as it was under the threshold.
The bar I used is called the Spider Bar. This is a special bar I had created because I am unable to hold the cambered squat bar on my back (due to shoulder issues noted above), so I had a yoke put on it. This bar is more unstable than a yoke bar or barbell on your back. That is the nature of the cambered bar as displaces the weight on your body differently while also changing the positioning of the weight. For most people this is a harder bar to use (they have to use less weight) than a yoke or straight bar. I wouldn't say that is the same case for me because I only have two bars I can squat with (the yoke bar and the spider bar). However this is harder for me than the yoke bar due to it being harder to stabilize.