This year has been a really good year for me competitively. After having a dismal 2015 plagued with injuries and a couple of shitty meets, I feel like I’ve finally got my shit together and am moving in the right direction. I’ve squatted over 900 pounds at all three meets this year, my bench (my weakest lift) is starting to show signs of progress, and my back has been feeling bulletproof this year after almost a year and a half of causing me a ton of grief and misery. The changes that have helped me make significant progress are directly related to the two people who have helped me the most this year: Todd Brock and Dr. Ken Kinakin.
I had the opportunity to meet Todd Brock last year at the elitefts S4 compound and we immediately became great friends. Todd is the same age as me and trained and competed with Westside Barbell for twelve years. Todd was Chuck Vogepohl’s training partner — it can’t get much more awesome than training with powerlifting legend Chuck V.
Todd approached me and told me he thought that I had the potential to lift some pretty big numbers with the right direction and guidance. We started to work together last October and at my first meet in January I squatted my first 900 pounds (a 52-pound PR in less than three months). Even though Todd lives in Alabama and I live in Canada, we speak regularly, I send him all my training videos, and he adjusts my training and tweaks my technique constantly.
RELATED: Staying Motivated With No Chance of Winning the 2016 USAPL Raw Nationals Championship
My schedule is my biggest hurdle to overcome as my work schedule changes every week and I work 24-hour shifts on the Fire Department, which makes it challenging to be on any kind of consistent program, to say the least. We’ve worked through the hurdles and we’re consistently making progress with a 1000-pound squat in our sights in the very near future, even at the age of 51. Age is just a number if you train intelligently, and I will never use age as an excuse.
Todd flew up to Detroit from Alabama for my first 900-pound squat and also travelled to Columbus, Ohio when I competed at the Arnold this year. He is an incredible coach and I have no words to describe how much Todd means to me as both a friend and coach.
Last year I was having severe back pain anytime I squatted and deadlifted and I basically went a full year without doing any deadlift training. I would just show up at a meet, pull one or two warm-ups, and “gut out” some pulls. One of the lifters in our training crew suggested I go see Dr. Ken Kinakin in Mississauga because he was a powerlifter and knew how to fix powerlifters. I went to see Ken and it was the best thing I ever did.
At my first visit, Ken did some muscle testing to ascertain if my muscles were firing properly. Nothing in my back was firing properly and my abdominal muscles were also asleep and not working at all. Ken did a few different treatments including acupuncture with electric stimulation, chiropractic adjustments, and used two tools called the Dolphin Neurostim and an Erchonia Percussor. These tools released the muscle fascia and “woke up” the muscles so they were working again.
Once you have the treatment he re-tests the muscles to ensure they are responding and firing properly Seeing Dr. Kinakin has been instrumental in getting my back into proper working condition. At my last meet in Buffalo in August, I had no pain whatsoever during the meet, which was the first time in over a year. Dr. Ken and I have become best of friends and he travels to our gym for team training. I’ve helped him get ready for a meet last June where he went 9/9 and won his division. He is the strongest doctor I know.
Without Todd and Dr. Kinakin I definitely wouldn’t be lifting at the level I’m currently lifting. I feel privileged to have them both in my corner.
Currently, we're prepping for WPC Worlds this November in Baton Rouge, Louisiana where I plan on taking a run at my first 1000-pound squat. Training has been going really well and everything is on target. I won my division at the 2014 WPC Worlds in West Palm Beach, Florida and I’m hoping I can repeat again this year.
Here is a week 1 – 11 sample of how my meet prep looks for the World Championships:
Main Squat / Deadlift
Week 1
- SS Bar Parallel Box Squats, 4 x 5, 65% PM, 2 x 2, 80% PM
- DL Sumo 2” Deficit Speed 355 x 6 x 2
Week 2
- Speed Box Squat, 2 Chains, Briefs Only 440 x 8 x 2
- DL Sumo Speed Pulls, Bands 275 x 8 x 1
Week 3
- Full Suit Squat, Straps Down 780 x 3 x 2
- Full Suit Squat Straps down 625 x 34 x 3
- Arch Back Good Mornings light 225 x4 x 5
Week 4
- Full Suit Squat Straps Up 820 x 3 x 2
- Full Suit Squat Straps Up 640 x 2 x 3
- Arch Back Good Mornings, Light 225 x 4 x 5
Week 5
- Speed Box Squat, 2 Chains, Briefs Only 420 x 8 x 2
- DL Sumo Speed Pulls, Bands 315 x 8 x 1
Week 6
- Full Suit Squat Straps Up 825 x 2 x 2
- Full Suit Squat Straps Up 850 x 1 x 2
- Straps Down Squat 670 x 3 x 3
- Speed Deadlifts, Sumo, Mini Bands 425 x 6 x 1
Week 7
- Full Suit Squat Straps Up 840 x 2 x 2
- Full Suit Squat Straps Up 880 x 1 x 2
- Straps Down Squat 700 x 3 x 3
- Speed Deadlifts Sumo, Mini Bands 425 x 6 x 1
Week 8
- Speed Squat 720 x 6 x 2
- Speed Deadlifts, Sumo, Big Bands 365 x 10 x 1
Week 9
- Full Suit Squat Straps Up 900 x 1 x 1
- Straps Down Squat 625 x 3 x 2
- Speed Deadlifts Sumo, Big Bands 455 x 6 x 1
Week 10
- Speed Squat 450 x 8 x 2
- Speed Deadlifts, Sumo, Bands 315 x 10 x 1
Week 11
- Meet Day, November 10th
Main Assistance Work
- GHR 4 x 8-10
- Abs — Weighted leg raises, heavy crunches for pausing time, planks, side-bends. Pick one of four.
- Seated DB High Pulls 4 x 8-10
- Pulldown, Close Grip 5 x 10
Second Squat Day
Medium to heavy belt squats or medium to light front squats, 5x8. Alternate weekly.
Second Day Assistance Work
- Dimels 5 x 6 (2” Deficit)
- Pulldowns, Elbows Out, Medium Grip 5 x 8,
- Abs — Weighted leg raises, heavy crunches for pausing time, planks, side-bends. Pick one of four.
- Seated DB Shrugs 4 x 8-10
Main Bench
Week 1
- DB Low Incline, Mini Band Behind Back 4 x 10
- Take a weight to chest with shirt, to a last warm-up.
Week 2
- DB Floor Presses 4 x 12
- Close Grip Press with Shoulder Saver, Brock Shot, Against Micro Mini Bands 365 x 3 x 5
Week 3
- DB Low Decline, Mini Band Behind Back 4 x 8
- Shirt, 3-Board 455 x 3 x 3
- Shirt, 1-Board x 2 x 3
Week 4
- DB Floor Press 4 x 10
- Close Grip Press with Shoulder Saver, Brock Shot, Against Micro Mini Bands 385 x 3 x 5
- Pin Presses 3” Lock Out 3 x 3
Week 5
- DB Low Incline, Mini Band Behind Back 4 x 10
- Take a weight to chest with shirt to a last warm-up.
Week 6
- DB Floor Presses 4 x 8
- Close Grip Press with Shoulder Saver, Brock Shot, Against Micro Mini Bands 405 x 3 x 3
- Pin Presses 3” Lock Out 3 x 3
Week 7
- DB Low Decline, Mini Band Behind Back 4 x 8
- Shirt, 3-board 515 x 3 x 3
- Shirt, Chest 475 x 2 x 3
Week 8
- DB Floor Press 4 x 6
- Close Grip Press with Shoulder Saver, Brock Shot, Against Micro Mini Bands 425 x 3 x 2
- Pin Presses 3” Lock Out 3 x 3
Week 9
- DB Low Decline, Mini Band Behind Back 4 x 8
- Shirt, 2-board 525 x 3 x 3
- Shirt, Chest 505 x 2 x 2
Week 10
- DB Floor Press 3 x 8
- Close Grip Press with Shoulder Saver, Brock Shot, Against Micro Mini Bands 445 x 3 x 1
- Pin Presses 3” Lockout 3 x 3
Week 11
- DB Low Incline, Mini Band Behind Back 4 x 10
- Take a weight to chest with shirt to a pre-determined opener.
Assistance Work
- RR DB Bench Laterals 3 x 10
- Pushdowns 3 x 10
- DB Curls Hammer 3 x 10
- Pulldowns 3 x 10
Second Day Assistance Work
- Ultra Wide Grip Bench 4 x 8-10
- Overhead Presses, Light 5 x 12
- Partial Dips 4 x 10
- Rows 8 x 6-8
You can tell that this training is set up as a conjugate style training system and I can tell you that it works. All my lifts have been showing significant progress and are all going in the right direction. Todd isn’t opposed to making changes along the way depending on how progress is going. If he feels something will work better or bring up a weakness, he will make adjustments as we go.
I am extremely fortunate to have a great support system with our team of lifters that I train with at the Outlaw gym and to have the expertise of two of the most invaluable people to help me along the way in Todd Brock and Dr. Kinakin. Between our team, having great coaching, and a doctor who makes sure I’m tuned-up and ready to compete — it doesn’t get any better. I expect to have a great meet at Worlds and represent Team Canada with the utmost professionalism. See you on the podium.
1 Comment