Eric Cressey's Maximum Strength

So like I mentioned in the previous post, I'll be embarking on Eric Cressey's vessel of pain, the Maximum Strength program. Unless you've been stuck in a transatlantic cargo container for the past 10 months, you've certainly heard of this great training resource by now. If not, don't worry, because you can just come back here every now and again and take a look at some updates while I follow along Cressey's program.

First, a Little Background on the Book

If you aren't familiar with Eric Cressey, just know that this guy is seriously strong. Case in point:

Here you see him deadlifting around 650lbs at a bodyweight of 190lbs! That's just a little bit insane if you ask me. 

Now, you may not be looking to be the strongest dude or dudette in the gym. You may not feel the need to dunk from the foul line, lift an SUV overhead to retrieve soccer balls or carry Oprah up a flight of stairs, but you'd be mistaken to disregard strength as an aid to any of your weight training/health goals whatever they may be. If you want to get bigger, strength (with the appropriate diet) will induce bigger muscles. If you want to lose fat, the effort to gain strength will have you sweating like a politician in the middle of a sex scandal. Aside from aesthetic reasons, wouldn't you feel better reassured that you can pick up your cat/kids/german Shepherd/50lb box of shoes your wife made you lift if you knew your back was not going to give out on you. I'm glad you agree. 'Cause if you keep doing silly swiss ball crunches, Eric will send his cronies out to get you:

The Workout Plan 

Well, to put it simply, it's tough as balls. And not just because you're lifting a lot of heavy weight and doing a lot of isolation work, but because you have to foam roll your legs before every workout. Trust me when I say that rolling your IT Band and Quads can be worse than getting a dumbbell to the face.

Man, I love YouTube.

Back to the point, Eric lays out a nice workout that lasts 16 weeks and is split into four, four-week phases. Within each phase, the workouts vary slightly week to week, and vary a good amount from one phase to the next. So no, you're definitely not going to get bored here.

Starting the Workout on Monday...and So's My Wife!

When I told Kate that I would be starting this workout on January 19th, I asked if she wanted to come along for the ride for next 16 weeks. To my surprise, she said yes. It's like I proposed all over again, although it didn't take quite as long for her to say yes this time around. Typically, we go to the gym together, foam roll and do some mobility drills, then off we go in our separate ways for an hour.  So I was pretty excited to have a partner that won't induce tea-baggin' nausea during a bench press session. It'll also help to have somebody to push you on those days when it feels like life has been completely sucked out of you and the gym is the last thing on your mind.

Keeping Track of Our Workout

To make sure we keep track of our progress, I'll be posting updates throughout the next 16 weeks. I'll put info on what foods we'll be eating, how the workouts go, and some tools to make life easier and more efficient in the gym. Hopefully somebody can learn something useful.

And off we go...