This Week So Far

Hey all,
Haven't been on, but I have still been training. Been doing Down and Up Mass by Jim Stoppani because I wanted to get some more volume in. Here are the logs from the last 3 workouts. I will be hitting the gym tonight to get legs in.

Tuesday - This was a great workout. I don't remember this being as hard the first time I went through it. I was sore that day which is not a norm for me. The volume felt great and each set was a rest-pause drop set. This is why it looks like 2 full sets and 2 partial sets.

 

Wednesday - Killed back this day. Hit it from so many angles that every time I had to pull myself up at work my back cramped up pretty good.

 

 Thursday - Shoulder Day. I was concerned about going to heavy with my one shoulder having some pain when pressing above my head but it went pretty well. Also, I didn't use the smith machine for my Barbell Shoulder Press.

 

I am really enjoying the extra volume so I am going to keep going at this. I have legs tonight and then starting on Sunday I will be using pre-exhaustion techniques instead of the rest-pause drop sets. As always feel free to contact me with questions and to find this program and many more go to www.jimstoppani.com 14 day free trial and free membership to military members who sign up with a .mil email address.

God Bless and Get Big

Travis

June 20 & 22, 2014 Training Logs

Hey all,
Here is the training logs for this past Friday and This morning. Great challenging workouts.

Friday was a heavy squat day. It felt good pushing heavier weight. I had set out to keep all rest periods to 60 seconds but due to allergy congestion it happened to be around 90 seconds on most sets. This workout includes me doing 8 reps with 315 lbs. The last two reps were grinders made me work for every inch. The last set of lunges I went until I couldn't continue and then dropped the weight to finish the set. Then the last set was supposed to be doing 50 reps with 135 lbs without racking the bar. I only made 45 reps and it took all that I had to make it there. Afterwards, I kicked myself because I missed it by 5 reps. This is something I will continue to try and improve on. I warmed up with squats and the bar and doing five 10 second pauses in the hole to stretch out. Followed by 135 lbs with two 5 second pauses and then repping out 8 reps. I went up quarter/plate until 225 lbs then I went up to 315 lbs for the start of my working sets.

This morning I got to the gym and decided that I wanted to do a higher volume overall than what I had been doing  so I modified what I was supposed to do by adding in 2 extra shoulder exercises, 1 extra biceps exercise, 1 extra triceps exercise. I warmed up with some bar weight shoulder presses and stretching. All rest periods were 60 seconds. The only thing not in my logs is at the end of the bench dips I dropped the weight and repped out with body weight until failure.

So after today's workout I have decided to stop the program I am on due to the fact that I don't feel like I am getting enough overall volume. I am still going for a power lifting goal of increasing my Bench, Squat, and Deadlift but I am going to use the program that I started the year off with and that is Down and Up Mass by Jim Stoppani. I saw great growth in my legs and overall strength during this program. Remember, feel free to ask me questions and let me know if you like the picture logs or when I type them out.

God Bless and Get Swole

Travis

Weekend Training Logs

Hey all,

So this weekend was a good weekend. Friday night was the power-lifting team and it was only me and Dustin the guy who organized the team. It was a good time though going over mobility and stability work. I learned a short routine that I can use as a warmup or as a standalone mini workout. This is the stability routine

Half lunge into a knee to chest stretch with toe raise 5 times each leg

Half lunge into a glute hip stretch optional toe raise 5 times each leg

Half lunge into a standing opposite arm quad stretch 5 times each leg

Half lunge with torso twist (twist both directions each lunge) 5 times each leg

Worlds greatest stretch 3 times each leg

High knee walking stretch 20 steps

Frankenstein walking stretch 20 steps

Shuffle step with trailing leg explosion 10 iterations each leg

Cross step shuffle with trailing leg explosion 10 iterations each leg

Stabilization 12inch box jumps (Standing jump onto box with pause and step off the box)

1 leg forward stabilization 12inch box jumps (I couldn't do 12 inches so on level surface) 3 reps/leg

1 leg Side stabilization 12inch box jumps (I couldn't do 12 inches so on level surface) 3 reps/leg

Saturday was a rest day, so on Sunday morning it was repetition/weakness training. It was a really good workout and I added to it at the end to give me a little bit more work.

Warm up

The above Stability Routine

Dumbbell internal/external rotation 

15lbs X 10 reps X 2 sets

Smith Machine Military Press

Bar Weight x 30 Reps
20lbs x 20 reps


Working Sets
Smith Machine Military Press (Still working with shoulder)
70lbs X 12 reps
70lbs X 12 reps
70lbs X 13 reps

EZ Bar Curl
65lbs X 12 reps
70lbs X 10 reps
70lbs X 10 reps
70lbs X 10 reps

Calf Press On Leg Press
290lbs X 20 reps
360lbs X 20 reps
360lbs X 20 reps

Walking Lunges (These kick my butt so I am going to incorporate them more)
8 reps each leg
8 reps each leg
8 reps each leg
8 reps each leg

Dumbbell Lateral Raise
15lbs X 10 reps
20lbs X 10 reps
25lbs X 10 reps
20lbs X 10 reps
20lbs X 10 reps

Pullups (Assisted weight so at 240lbs of resistance)
6 reps
7 reps
6 reps

Farmer's Walk (Weight is per hand)
80lbs X 36 steps
80lbs X 36 steps
80lbs X 36 steps
80lbs X 36 steps

This day felt really good. Had a great relaxing and restful day that followed. Looking forward to seeing more growth and more results. Any questions feel free to ask.

God Bless and Pick Stuff Up

Travis

Training Logs for June 12 & 13 2014

Hey all,

So I spaced off writing my logs for yesterday. I have been writing them on my lunch break and I was kinda busy and didn't do it. So here are the logs for yesterday and today.

Yesterday I did bench press repetition work. It was good and quick.

Warm up
Dumbbell Internal/External Rotation
3 sets of 15 reps with 20lbs

Incline Bench Press
bar only X 30 reps
95lbs X 12 reps
135lbs X 10 reps

Working Sets
Incline Bench Press
190lbs X 8 reps

Incline Dumbbell Bench Press
40lbs X 20 reps
40lbs X 20 reps

Barbell Close Grip Bench Press
155lbs X 12 reps
155lbs X 12 reps
155lbs X 12 reps

Machine Fly (Machine doesn't have weight just numbered plates)
13 plates X 15 reps
13 plates X 15 reps
13 plates X 15 reps

Cable Triceps Push Down
50lbs X 100 reps

Smith Machine Shoulder Press (Still going light trying to rehab my shoulder)
50lbs X 12 reps
50lbs X 12 reps
50lbs X 12 reps

Today's Workout was Heavy Squat Day It felt good under the bar today. Looking forward to seeing some new growth with new exercises and pushing harder.

Warm Up
Barbell Squat
Bar only 5 10 second Pause reps for stretching
135lbs X 10 reps (first 2 5 second pause reps, last 8 repping it out)
185lbs X 5 reps
225lbs X 5 reps
315lbs X 3 reps

Working Sets
Barbell Squat
365lbs X 2 reps
365lbs X 2 reps
365lbs X 2 reps
365lbs X 2 reps
365lbs X 2 reps

Barbell Good Mornings (first time doing this one so weight is a little light)
95lbs X 10 reps
115lbs X 9 reps
115lbs X 9 reps

Leg Press
290lbs X 28 reps
380lbs X 21 reps
380lbs X 21 reps

Dumbbell Lunges (I hate these but that just means I am going to do them more, weight is dumbell each hand)
25lbs X 12 rps
25lbs X 12 reps
25lbs X 12 reps

Hyper-extensions- Back Extensions
1 set of 60 reps (still didn't make it straight through but getting better)

Seated Leg Curls
100lbs X 50 reps
100lbs X 50 reps

That was it but trust me it was a killer workout. I am loving pushing it hard and like I said I cannot wait to see the strength and muscle gains. Gotta keep pushing and striving to be better that I was yesterday.

I am also still seeing aesthetic improvements. My wife helped me take measurements last night which is something I haven't done since January. Not great changes but progress and I am happy with it. Like always you can send me questions if  you have any. Check out my body space Here if you want to. I still need to update my progress picture.

June 4, 2014 Training Logs

Today's workout was a heavy day for Bench Press training. It goes as follows.

Warmup
Floor Press
Bar Only 40 reps
135lbs x 15 reps
185lbs x 10 reps
225lbs x 8 reps

Working Sets
Floor Press
265lbs x 2 reps
265lbs x 2 reps
265lbs x 2 reps
265lbs x 2 reps
265lbs x 2 reps

Bench Press
165lbs x 15 reps
165lbs x 15 reps

WideGrip Lat Pulldowns
190lbs x 13 reps
190lbs x 12 reps
190lbs x 11 reps

Cable Tricep Pushdowns
90lbs x 25 reps
90lbs x 25 reps
90lbs x 25 reps
90lbs x 25 reps

Dumbell Shrug (2 second Sqeeze)
80lbs x 15 reps
80lbs x 15 reps
80lbs x 15 reps

Barbell Shoulder Press (Seated Smith Machine)
50lbs x 10 reps
50lbs x 12 reps
50lbs x 14 reps

It was a really good workout and the Shoulder presses were so light because I am still trying to rehab my right shoulder. I think I am going to have to get it looked at. This was also my first time doing floor presses and the working weights are based off of percentages. A whole new animal to me but like I said it was good.

God Bless and Get Swole

Travis

Power Lifting

Hey All,

I am back again with another post from my workouts. I know that I haven't been keeping this up to date but I plan on it being more of a regular thing now that I am devoting myself to power lifting more. I have been following a few power lifters for a while now and I have been drawn to the work ethic of one Brandon Lilly. Brandon has been through a rough year and with his performance this last weekend, I have to say congratulations to him and to thank him for being an inspiration. It takes courage to get up on the platform in a power lifting meet and to call out 110lbs for your squat. He did post a 705.5lbs Deadlift and 501.7lbs Bench Press. To give a quick back story, Brandon collapsed under a squat in January and had to have multiple surgeries to repair his knees. Brandon is a beast and an inspiration.

That being said, I have decided to follow Brandon and his method for power lifting which is called the Cube Method. This program has been used by Brandon and his clients with great success. I hope to use it and increase my personal bests on all my lifts. The basic cube method is that you work your 3 main lifts each week but each week it is rotated to what type of training for that lift. Whether it be repetition work, explosive work, or heavy work. I don't want to go into too much detail because it is his method and his work.

Today, I did my first day of the cube method and here is what it looked like. Today was dead lift repetition work. Started off with a warm up and then into the working sets.

Warm Up
1" Deficit DeadLift
135lbs x 15 Reps
185lbs x 10 Reps
225lbs x 8 Reps
275lbs x 8 Reps

Working Sets
1" Deficit DeadLift
355lbs x 8 Reps

4" Block Pulls
405lbs x 3 Reps
405lbs x 3 Reps

Saftey Squat Bar Olympic Squats
225lbs x 8 Reps
225lbs x 8 Reps
225lbs x 8 Reps

Cable Squat Pull Throughs
70lbs x 10 Reps
90lbs x 10 Reps
110lbs x 10 Reps
130lbs x 10 Reps

Hyperextensions (Back Extensions)
1 Set of 50 Reps

I left the gym with a huge pump in my lower back and soreness in the glutes. I absolutely loved today's workout and cannot wait for future ones. If you have any questions feel free to hit me up.

God Bless and Lift Strong

Travis Miller

Squats and Leg Work

This morning was Leg day. The day many people dread and others love to hate. I always have mixed feelings about leg day because to tell you the truth it scares me a bit. But as Kris Gethin says "Do what you Fear!" My fear of leg day comes from letting my Squat form get loose and sloppy in the past and tweaking my back. Recently I started pushing myself on Squats to focus more on form and function. I now focus much more on increasing abdominal pressure to ensure my body is tight and protecting the spine. Keeping with my have fun with it theme, this morning I started with squats and keeping it heavy at 70% of my 1RM (rep max) for 4 Reps. Rest time for heavy squats is whatever it takes to recover. This is normally 2-5 minutes because you want you CNS (central nervous system) to recover. I followed up the squats with bodybuilding style accessory exercises keeping the rest periods down to a minimum I try and aim for 40 secs but make sure to keep it under 1 minute. This keeps the lactic acid and the blood pump in the muscle which ignites the growth response. Workout logs below

Squats
Warmup sets
135lbs X 3reps sitting and stretching pause reps to loosen up the hips and muscles.
2 sets 135lbs X 10 reps get blood flowing
1 set 225lbs X 8 reps
Working sets
6 sets 355lbs X 4 reps

Leg Extensions
2 sets 250lbs X 12 reps
2 sets 250lbs X 10 reps
1 set 250lbs X 8 reps

Narrow Stance Leg Press
3 sets 400lbs X 12 reps

Wide Stance Leg Press
3 sets 400lbs X 13 reps

Kneeling Leg Curls
4 sets 75lbs X 12 reps
1 set 75lbs X 10 reps

All my secondary work is reps to failure which is why there are different sets with the same weight for less reps. The more you push the more fatigued the muscles become and the less reps you can do unless you increase your rest periods.

As always if you have any questions feel free to ask.

God bless
Travis

Update

Hey all,

Just wanted to give you an update on my power lifting. Today I got to lift with a couple friends as a fun day. We had a deadlift party. This was an idea I got from Metroflex Long Beach. They had posted earlier in the week that they were going to do one on Thursday morning. The gym I go to was closed on Thursday, so I decided to see if people wanted to do on on Friday. Another reason that I wanted to do this is that Jim Stoppani offered a challenge on his Facebook page for people to do 25 reps on deadlift with 250 lbs. Deadlift, of course, happens to be my favorite lift so I could not pass up the challenge. He also stated that if you recorded it and posted it on his Facebook page that he would give you a lifetime membership to his personal website www.jimstoppani.com. This was just more motivation for me to try it out. I also decided that if I made the 25 reps that I was going to go for a PR on the deadlift at 500 lbs. My previous best was 475 so it is a good jump up in the 3 weeks that I have been focusing on maximal strength. Below is both videos, I hope you enjoy them.

God Bless
Travis Miller

Happy Thanksgiving

Hi all,
Just wanted to take the time to say thank you for all your support. That on this day set aside to be thankful, I am thankful for all my family and friends. Remember this day isn't just about all the wonderful food. It is about reflecting on all aspects of our lives and giving thanks for everything whether it is a straight up blessing or it is a trial that forces you to be stronger in your life. Be thankful for it all.

A few things I am thankful for:
1. God - I am thankful for Jesus Christ being my Lord and my Savior. His grace and mercy are wonderful.
2. Wife - My beautiful and wonderful wife who supports me through it all. She is an awesome woman who bring sweet joy to my life.
3. Kids - My 3 wonderful kids who constantly bring me joy and challenge me daily.
4. Family - All my family who reminds that I have been loved for 36 years.
5. Friends - Friends bring laughter and inspiration, help and care, and many more things.
6. Leaders - My leaders in church and at work who are there to help me in my endeavors.
7. US Military - These men and women who selflessly sacrifice for a greater purpose. This includes their families who also give up so much.
8. The Iron - These items of various weights are always true to who they are...200 lbs is always 200 lbs.
9. Role Models - These are those people who have achieved what I am looking to achieve and they provide so many of us great information.
10. Thanksgiving food - Yes this is something I am thankful for....I call this Epic Cheat Meal Day.

God Bless.....remember to be thankful

Travis Miller

P.S. Oh Yea, Second week of my power lifting journey went well.....Tomorrow is deadlift Friday...getting together with friends and hitting the gym.....gonna be a blast.

Stop Being Schizophrenic with Your Workouts

Hey all,

Sorry I haven't been on here. I have been working out but I have not been consistent. I was jumping from program to program every couple of weeks. I was trying to find one that was going to get me to my goal. My goal of getting to 10% body fat by Christmas. This seems like a decent goal with a firm date and a tough but attainable and measurable result. However, I was not happy with what I was doing to get there and so I was confused on what program I wanted to do. There is so much information and so many programs to try that give great results, but it can get chaotic when you try to process all of it. I had to find something to fix this issue.

Well the other day Cory Gregory, the President of Muscle Pharm, put out a twitter Q&A session. I sent him a tweet asking @MusclepharmPres Do you ever feel like a schizophrenic when deciding workout routines? Ideas on overcoming? I expected a response because he is good at interacting with his followers and the response I got really got me thinking. This is what he responded: @TravisMiller1 yea thats why I try to have a goal at the end of the plan helps me focus. It is not a deep revelation or an awe inspiring piece of knowledge, but it got me thinking.

Then he also has been blogging at #StayMotivated and when I went back and read a few of the posts that I missed. I came across this one.I-could-feel-it-in-air. I realized as I read it that my goal of 10% body fat is an aesthetic goal and I am not an aesthetic person. Yes, I do pose in front of the mirror and I like to flex my biceps and look at the V-Taper that is building as my body fat decreases, but I have never cared about aesthetics or showing everyone my physique. I had forgotten what I really loved to do in the fitness world.

So the solution to my schizophrenic workout mindset......evaluate and set proper a goal(s). This is what I have done and I have a plan, which is still under construction details wise. I really like the power lifting aspect o f weight lifting. Do I want to set world records and become one of the strongest men in the world? That is not part of my goals at this time, but if it happens then it happens. So with a goal set and a date set, I am working out the specific strategy to work toward those goals. I have the program I am going to use to reach my goals chosen.

Before I tell you my specific goals I am going to give a quick overview to the world of power lifting to those who don't know. Power lifting is based around 3 main lifts. Bench Press, Squat, and Deadlift. The goal is to max out for 1 rep (1RM) on all three lifts. To the best of my knowledge, during a meet or competition they have placings for each of the main lifts and an overall which is a combined weight of all your lifts. So for example, say someone has a bench of 300, squats of 450, and deadlift of 500 they would have a combined of 1250 lbs.

So to my specific goals, I plan on holding a personal meet....IE this is my deadline for my goal on the 3rd of January. Based on my past performance my goal is a combined of 1300 lbs. This is based off my best lifts in the past where bench was 295, Squat was 350, and deadlift is 455. The squat is an approximate because I never had as spotter to go for a true 1RM. So my estimated combined is 1100 lbs.

I know, I know, you cannot base a goal on an estimated starting line. So this is where the strategy comes in to play. This upcoming week, I am going to do all three lifts to find out my 1RM on each one of the lifts. This will allow me to adjust and finalize my goals on the lifts and combined. The second part of the strategy is the program I am going to used to get me to my goals. One of the role models that I have had in fitness is Mike O'Hearn. Mike O'Hearn is a huge fitness Icon. He has a program that he follows called Power Bodybuilding. It incorporates the three may lifts in a power lifting routine followed by secondary bodybuilding routine. I am sure that I had mentioned this in the past because I was following this program earlier in the year.

So I ask you once again, to stick with me and keep checking in. ...I will keep you updated with my current 1RM for all three lifts and if I need to adjust my goal for January 3rd then I will update you with that information too.


God Bless,
Travis