My DeFranco's Progress (copy from EXRX.net)
I've been planning to do a review of my progress at DeFranco's. I have just finished 6 weeks of training (7 weeks, but the 2nd week was off) and 12 sessions out of the 24 sessions I signed up for. It seems like a good time to look over my progress.
This is just a review of my progress, but it's not in isolation. I've also been training MMA hard, so it's hard to split out the results. I also came off a vacation layoff of a few weeks, where I lost some strength that would be easy to regain. But I clearly have to chalk up most of my strength gains to DeFranco's.
When I started 7 weeks ago, I was a bit concerned they didn't do a movement screen, an injury screen, or do much more besides a basic interview about my goals. That concern is long gone. My workouts seem to be tailored to find my weaknesses and strengths, and my trainer has noticed when I'm hurt before I can tell him. So I can't fault their observation and method.
Progress
A run-through of some of the exercises I've done, and the progress on them. Not everything is here, I cherry-picked the stuff that looked interesting to check or which is easy to measure.
Bench Press
8/25 - 1 x 165#, barely (but cleanly) getting the rep.
10/2 - 3 x 3 x 155#
10/9 - 3 x 3 x 155# fat bar
Not as impressive, but my benching has always been weak. I previously set a 3RM of 70kg/155#, but the reps were struggle. These 155# reps were much smoother, and I know I could have done more if I was doing a single 3-rep set. Also, I'm still having trouble transferring power from my planted feet, but I'm still getting the reps. It's an improvement.
DB Bench Press, Neutral Grip
8/25 - 20/12/8 rep sets with 40# DBs. Total reps 40 x 40# DBs.
10/6 - 17/13/9 rep sets with 50# DBs. Total reps 39 x 50# DBs.
These have really been an eye-opener to me. Pushing to failure nearly week after week with these, I had no idea I could progress so quickly. I'm also pleased with how much these seem to feed into my bench press. I've got a lot more of a stamina reservoir when I push the ME bench presses. I don't gas out on them.
40 x 40 vs. 39 x 50# means I'm one-rep short of a 25% strength gain for the same overall reps.
Chinups (Dead Hang)
8/25 - 8/6/3 rep sets. Total reps 17.
10/9 - 10/7/5 rep sets. Total reps 22.
My PR all-time is 11 reps, and I'm closing back in on that. My weight is stable around 185# so this is pure strength-endurance improvement. A good indicator exercise - +5 reps is almost a 30% jump.
I also did 2 x BW+25#, but that day I rushed the rest period and rolled too hard at MMA, so although it low, it's still not bad. Haven't re-tested my max since then.
Box Squats
9/8 - 3 x 135#
9/29 - 3 x 155#
10/6 - 1 x 175#
This is my first box-squatting experience, so it's no surprise I improved quickly. But I'm closing in rapidly on my previous maximum back squat, too.
Bulgarian Split Squats
8/27 - 2 x 10 x 10# DBs.
9/18 - 1 x 8 x 10# DBs, 1 x 8 x 15# DBs.
The improvement here is more smoothness of reps and balance than in raw weight. But my strength is improving, or my balance wouldn't have improved. Also, I've learned to get my weight centered on the front leg better.
Assorted Back Work
Face Pulls went from 3 x 15 x 30# to 3 x 15 x 50#.
Back Extensions on the GHR went from a hard 4 x 10 x BW to an easy 10 x 10 x BW.
Pulldowns (Close Grip, Thick Handle) went from 3 x 10 x 120# to 3 x 10 x 130#.
Seated Rows (Close Grip) went from 3 x 10 x 100# to 3 x 10 x 120#.
I could toss in my new PR on Seated DB Power Cleans too. My back strength has gone up, and my stamina has shot up. Some improvements aren't huge (10# in 6 weeks isn't a big jump) but it's worth noting that they have all improved - my stamina and strength have gone up steadily, and the exercises feed into each other.
Assorted Other Work
Russian Twists with a barbell went from 3 x 10 per side x 45# bar to 55#.
Box Jumps went from 10 x @ 27" up to 10 x @ 35".
Pull Throughs went up to from no extra weight to 10 x unit+40#.
Again, not huge jumps here, but it's an improvement even though the emphasis is on getting the reps in and sub-maximal work. The impressive amount of ab work they have me do is clearly helping my overall stamina and my core muscle strength.
***
Overall, that's a nice improvement. I'm sure I could have done pretty well on my own these weeks, doing WS4SB at home and trap bar deadlifting. But my form has improved, my strength is improving, my stamina is up. When I try exercises at home like planks, I can knock off my PRs without bothering to rest between reps. My single-leg strength isn't test much, but I can feel the improvement.
I'm ironically weaker at my MMA class, because I'm always tired and sore. But that's helpful because I'm less likely to muscle an escape or a submission. In the long run, it'll give me the muscle I need to succeed but I'll learn to only apply it as I need it.
Appearance wise, I keep getting told I look bigger, and the legs and seat of my pants is getting too tight. Huh. Squat butt strikes.
I'm a little concerned that they don't do regular deloads, and I'd begun to realize how much I need them. BUT, they are cycling the intensity - my reverse hypers may always be explosive 3 x 10, but sometimes it's 50#, sometimes 70#, sometimes 90#. Sometimes I do singles, sometimes 3 x 3. I days with just hypertrophy work, I do days with only a few exercises. I'm reserving judgement on this, because I think deloading is a good idea. But maybe they're cycling my weight and reps eough that it won't matter. We'll see...but 7 weeks with lots of PRs and no new injuries is noteworthy.
I'm very pleased with my progress. I was interested to see if I'd make a huge jump in strength. I didn't, which makes me satisfied I was doing a good job. But I can see how much stronger I can get, and I'm eating up PRs steadily and easily...I'm not striving for new PRs, I just sort of overtake them. That's worth every drop of sweat and every penny.
This is just a review of my progress, but it's not in isolation. I've also been training MMA hard, so it's hard to split out the results. I also came off a vacation layoff of a few weeks, where I lost some strength that would be easy to regain. But I clearly have to chalk up most of my strength gains to DeFranco's.
When I started 7 weeks ago, I was a bit concerned they didn't do a movement screen, an injury screen, or do much more besides a basic interview about my goals. That concern is long gone. My workouts seem to be tailored to find my weaknesses and strengths, and my trainer has noticed when I'm hurt before I can tell him. So I can't fault their observation and method.
Progress
A run-through of some of the exercises I've done, and the progress on them. Not everything is here, I cherry-picked the stuff that looked interesting to check or which is easy to measure.
Bench Press
8/25 - 1 x 165#, barely (but cleanly) getting the rep.
10/2 - 3 x 3 x 155#
10/9 - 3 x 3 x 155# fat bar
Not as impressive, but my benching has always been weak. I previously set a 3RM of 70kg/155#, but the reps were struggle. These 155# reps were much smoother, and I know I could have done more if I was doing a single 3-rep set. Also, I'm still having trouble transferring power from my planted feet, but I'm still getting the reps. It's an improvement.
DB Bench Press, Neutral Grip
8/25 - 20/12/8 rep sets with 40# DBs. Total reps 40 x 40# DBs.
10/6 - 17/13/9 rep sets with 50# DBs. Total reps 39 x 50# DBs.
These have really been an eye-opener to me. Pushing to failure nearly week after week with these, I had no idea I could progress so quickly. I'm also pleased with how much these seem to feed into my bench press. I've got a lot more of a stamina reservoir when I push the ME bench presses. I don't gas out on them.
40 x 40 vs. 39 x 50# means I'm one-rep short of a 25% strength gain for the same overall reps.
Chinups (Dead Hang)
8/25 - 8/6/3 rep sets. Total reps 17.
10/9 - 10/7/5 rep sets. Total reps 22.
My PR all-time is 11 reps, and I'm closing back in on that. My weight is stable around 185# so this is pure strength-endurance improvement. A good indicator exercise - +5 reps is almost a 30% jump.
I also did 2 x BW+25#, but that day I rushed the rest period and rolled too hard at MMA, so although it low, it's still not bad. Haven't re-tested my max since then.
Box Squats
9/8 - 3 x 135#
9/29 - 3 x 155#
10/6 - 1 x 175#
This is my first box-squatting experience, so it's no surprise I improved quickly. But I'm closing in rapidly on my previous maximum back squat, too.
Bulgarian Split Squats
8/27 - 2 x 10 x 10# DBs.
9/18 - 1 x 8 x 10# DBs, 1 x 8 x 15# DBs.
The improvement here is more smoothness of reps and balance than in raw weight. But my strength is improving, or my balance wouldn't have improved. Also, I've learned to get my weight centered on the front leg better.
Assorted Back Work
Face Pulls went from 3 x 15 x 30# to 3 x 15 x 50#.
Back Extensions on the GHR went from a hard 4 x 10 x BW to an easy 10 x 10 x BW.
Pulldowns (Close Grip, Thick Handle) went from 3 x 10 x 120# to 3 x 10 x 130#.
Seated Rows (Close Grip) went from 3 x 10 x 100# to 3 x 10 x 120#.
I could toss in my new PR on Seated DB Power Cleans too. My back strength has gone up, and my stamina has shot up. Some improvements aren't huge (10# in 6 weeks isn't a big jump) but it's worth noting that they have all improved - my stamina and strength have gone up steadily, and the exercises feed into each other.
Assorted Other Work
Russian Twists with a barbell went from 3 x 10 per side x 45# bar to 55#.
Box Jumps went from 10 x @ 27" up to 10 x @ 35".
Pull Throughs went up to from no extra weight to 10 x unit+40#.
Again, not huge jumps here, but it's an improvement even though the emphasis is on getting the reps in and sub-maximal work. The impressive amount of ab work they have me do is clearly helping my overall stamina and my core muscle strength.
***
Overall, that's a nice improvement. I'm sure I could have done pretty well on my own these weeks, doing WS4SB at home and trap bar deadlifting. But my form has improved, my strength is improving, my stamina is up. When I try exercises at home like planks, I can knock off my PRs without bothering to rest between reps. My single-leg strength isn't test much, but I can feel the improvement.
I'm ironically weaker at my MMA class, because I'm always tired and sore. But that's helpful because I'm less likely to muscle an escape or a submission. In the long run, it'll give me the muscle I need to succeed but I'll learn to only apply it as I need it.
Appearance wise, I keep getting told I look bigger, and the legs and seat of my pants is getting too tight. Huh. Squat butt strikes.
I'm a little concerned that they don't do regular deloads, and I'd begun to realize how much I need them. BUT, they are cycling the intensity - my reverse hypers may always be explosive 3 x 10, but sometimes it's 50#, sometimes 70#, sometimes 90#. Sometimes I do singles, sometimes 3 x 3. I days with just hypertrophy work, I do days with only a few exercises. I'm reserving judgement on this, because I think deloading is a good idea. But maybe they're cycling my weight and reps eough that it won't matter. We'll see...but 7 weeks with lots of PRs and no new injuries is noteworthy.
I'm very pleased with my progress. I was interested to see if I'd make a huge jump in strength. I didn't, which makes me satisfied I was doing a good job. But I can see how much stronger I can get, and I'm eating up PRs steadily and easily...I'm not striving for new PRs, I just sort of overtake them. That's worth every drop of sweat and every penny.