Got a question?

If you’re interested in getting the body you want, the performance you want, or any other goals related to fitness and nutrition then the VTS Summer Special may be the thing for you.

I’ll be opening up 10 spots this month for new trainees at a discounted consulting price - $300/12 weeks or $125/4 weeks.

This will also be used as a new study for nutrition - in particular testing methods that allow you to eat a little bit more freely and enjoy things such as pizza, cheesecake, and cinnabons (amazing) - at specific times (no this is not a free for all to eat all the tasty stuff that is normally termed “garbage”).  

I’ve tested it in my own training and seen my strength continue to go up while my bodyfat goes down and managed to set a new APC world record this weekend in the 181 lb raw squat (and happened to look the prettiest - even got called “Pretty Boy” all meet by a few of the female organizers :embarrassing: when you’re trying to be all macho in front of the other competitors).  

So, if this sounds like something you’d like to try out, shoot me an e-mail or message on here and we’ll get things all set up.  Hope to see some new faces in my training clientele and help you meet and exceed your personal goals, in a much less stressful way.  

The Viking

Shameless promoting but reblog if I’ve managed to help you in any way to get closer to your goals or you know someone who might be interested!  Go pillage stuff and become part of the Viking Clan.

Got a question?  Ask away.  Anything and everything is fair game today.

Well last day of really going heavy before the meet so I came to do some work.  Made some technical changes that had some good carryover and really am finding my groove.  Didn’t have anything to eat before training which is a bit rough but things still went well.

Warmups (progression I’ll use in the meet)

155 - 2 sets of 6

245 - 1x5

335 - 1x3 - this felt best out of everything all day.  Not sure if we were filming or not but if so I’m definitely going to review the film and try to figure out what I did different here.

405 - single

455 - single (put wraps on for this since I hardly ever use them I figure I need to get some reps in before the meet)

505 - single (this will break the 181 raw APC record for the meet April 7th)  It felt pretty easy and definitely not heavy though it wasn’t as fluid as I need to be.

Shut it down here and left with confidence high but felt as though I’d of been able to go around 540-550 which is what I will attempt for my 3rd attempt at the meet providing I feel decent enough to do so after the cut which is still going to be a big drop.  All and all was happy with the day and how things are going.  I’m dialing my technique in more and more every session.  I’ve moved my stance in some and gone more moderate and really been spreading the floor well.  I think I have my rate of descent dialed in for the most part but just need to be consistent with it.

So that’s my last heavy squat day before the meet, next week I may work to an opener or may just stay down and do some technique work, we’ll see how I feel.  Really need to get healthy and feeling good before the meet.

Train hard, train smart.

The Viking

Generally it’s upon work-load though it also depends where I am in my training phase. I could care less about hypertrophy - and in doing so I never have an issue putting on size. Simply lift heavy shit, eat lots of food, and you’ll grow. I basically let my weight travel up until I get to the upper range of my ability to make weight and then I’ll tighten lower the carbs slightly, up the volume (usually during an accumulation phase), and get my bodyfat down a bit and a bit lower in the spectrum of my weight range. Then I repeat the process of allowing my weight to go up, all the time making increases in strength and then holding on to as much strength as possible while coming back down. Essentially I recomp my body as a stronger self. 

No my accessory isn’t much like the stuff in 5/3/1. My accessory work is based upon MY weaknesses and changes as I fix weaknesses and new ones arise. I don’t see a point in doing a template created for someone else when I know what I need to work on. Yes I’m still powerlifting - I have a meet April 7th where I intend on breaking the APC world record in the squat, deadlift, and total for the 181 lb class. 

I generally don’t do much stuff geared towards hypertrophy as I said. Sure I may be in higher rep ranges because I feel as though I get better carryover on certain lifts doing various things. I know that I get better hamstring activation and strength carryover with slightly higher reps, and I know I get better tricep work with singles, doubles, and triples. The thing is, I know what works for me. When training my clients we find what works for them because undoubtedly they are not me, nor do they have my training history, nor my body-type or leverages. Finding what works for you will have you making progress above the norm. 

You say you’re weak because of shoulder issues….I say you’re weak because you’re too lazy to fix them. Hard truth but it is the truth. I’ve had surgery on one shoulder, torn a hamstring, torn apart my ankle, torn all tendons in my wrist and had glass embedded in my hand for 3 months, cracked my head open, broke 9 ribs (all from lacrosse in college) and herniated my L5 disc with my L4/L3 rotated on the axis (from rowing for so many years in conjunction with a shitty job of taking care of my body). Since herniating my disc in October I’ve managed to fix it enough to still add close to 100 lbs to my total without having to have surgery simply by studying, reading up everything I could on fixing it, and doing the necessary shit to fix it. You have shoulder issues? Stop being lazy, and find out how to fix them and address the problem instead of forever being relegated to shitty strength because of a fixable injury. 

Here’s the thing though, if you want to succeed - have a reason for the things you do. 

Prowler sprints? Sure. Now answer why. 
More volume? Sure. Now answer why. 
Shoulders suck? BFD. Find out why and how to fix them, and then ask yourself why did they get messed up, and how can I keep it from happening. 

Have a reason why you do the things you do. “I love the feel of testosterone” is probably not a good reason, nor is “chinese hookers are awesome.” (that last one may be an acceptable reason). 

Why do prowler sprints? Because they can help promote recovery, help improve hip mobilization, help work capacity. 
Why add in safety squat bar chain suspended good mornings? Because they suck ass but they teach me to strain and hold my arch while teaching me better hip extension that has solid carryover to my deadlift when done for singles and in my squat when done for 5’s. 
Why fix your shoulder? Because it sucks operating less than what you are capable of. 

Have a reason, have action, have results.

There is no such thing as a dumb question.  I’m here to help, and continue the dissemination of quality information in the health and nutrition industry so please, please ask what you may without fear of judgement.  We all started somewhere, once upon a time I was a young dumb 16 year old that thought he knew everything, yet even today I find myself constantly learning both in these industries and outside it.  NEVER LIMIT YOURSELF because you were afraid to ask a question.  So I’ll open it up, and say ask away.  Girls, guys, polar bears, and llamas, it really doesn’t matter what you are, I like to think I have an answer, or at the very least can admit when I don’t and will help you find one and help people sift through all the garbage that gets posted here, and everywhere on the internet that is simply misleading about health, training, and nutrition.  

Be strong, be smart, always learn.

The Viking

Know why you’re doing something.  If you decide to add reps, add weight, add an exercise, add more distance, more volume, or change something in a program (especially someone else wrote), ask yourself “why?”.  Why are you changing it.  If you can’t answer it, then don’t change it.  If you can honestly give a valid answer then go for it, see how it works out, and make an assessment as to whether or not your change affected you positively or negatively.