Upcoming News From Stepan HQ!

Hey Fitness Friends,

Thought I'd share some of the big, upcoming things going on here at Stepan Fitness HQ.

Starting in October feel free to join Melissa and myself twice a month (2 Saturdays a month) for a special conditioning day. This will be free to all of my curret clients and only $10 to non-clients that would like to join us. Basically, you'll be running through one of Melissa and my conditioning days with us. It'll be fun, it'll be hard, it'll kick booty and you'll love the results. As always, feel free to contact me for more information.

Also, Here are the upcoming fitness, health and nutrition seminars. I don't have the dates finalized yet, feel free to contact me for more info.

1.) How to eat to get the body you want, the health you desire, and the performance that you deserve.

2.) The Foam Roller. Getting the most out of a wonderful tool.

　

And, of course the upcoming self-protection seminars.

1.) Self-protection 101: The key ingredients.

2.) Surviving the 2 most Common Street Attacks, and thriving.

3.) Ground Survival 101: Surviving and trhiving in a real world ground attack.

Alright, like I said, contact me for more information. And, as dates are finalized on the seminars I'll be sending out more info as well. See you all soon.

Yours in strength and health,

Brett

Monday part 4: midsection, kind of

Got through the first set of the good mornings and the weighted sit-ups, then my right hip seized up on me.

Monday part 3: Lunges

Lunges felt too easy tonight!

Monday part 2: Back Squats

Nailing the 10th of 10 sets of 10 reps. Upped the weight, cut down on the rest time, made it harder and better.

Monday September 29th part 1: deadlifts

Nailing the final set of 10 reps for the deadlifts.

Saturday September 27th wrap up

Today I hit  sets of 6 reps for clapping pull ups and a crap load of hill sprints. Felt awesome.

Friday part 5: midsection

Nailed the midsection tonight!

Friday part 4: triceps exetension push ups

Another 20 pound jump in weight, made it tough, but still kicked some butt.

Friday part 3: parallel bar dips

The final set of parallel bar dips for the evening.

Friday part 2: Feet Elevated Push ups

Here's the final set of feet elevated push ups with an additional 100 pounds of resistance. First two sets went well, this set went really well and I added 2 reps at the end.

Friday September 26th part 1: Atlas Push ups

A little pissed at myself for this set. After 2 strong sets, this one didn't go as well as it should have. Here's the final set of Atlas push-ups using 100 pounds of additional resistance on the power push-up.

Thursday part 4: midsection

Upped the weights again on both the good mornings and the sit-ups. Feeling awesome.

Thursday part 3: Barbell Concentration Curls

Not my prettiest set, the 20 pound jump in weight took it's toll, but still strong.

Thursday part 2: Lateral Raises

These were feeling great tonight!

Thursday September 5th part 1: Military Press

Here's the 10th and final set of military press from Thursday's training.

Tuesday part 4: midsection

Cranking out some hard midsection training.

Tuesday part 3: Clean Grip High Pulls

Finishing off the posterior chain with a pretty nice set of high pulls.

Tuesday part 2: Bent Rows

Hitting the 4th and final set!

Tuesday September 23rd part 1: 1-arm pull ups/ v-sit pull ups

Here's the 4th and final set of 1-arm pull ups and v-sit pull ups.

Monday part 3: Lunges

Finishing off the night with 3 sets of 10 on each leg. Hitting the lunges with two 53 pound kettlebells. Felt good!

Monday part 2: Deadlifts

I love this workout. Pure pain from start to finish. These aren't the prettiest deadlifts I've ever done. Here's the 10th of 10 sets of 10 reps with 315 pounds. Feeling awesome.

Monday September 22nd part 1: Back Squats

Here's the final set of 3 sets of squats. Feeling strong and good.

Saturday part 5: Midsection

The final round of the 3 sets of weighted planks, 3 set of v-ups midsection training. This one was really tough. Went up in weight on both movements and really gave it my all.

Saturday part 4: Triceps extension push ups

Got the power push up set to add 60 additional pounds of resistance, and nailing all 3 sets of triceps extension push ups.

Satruday part 3: parallel bar dips

Added on the 20 pound weight vest for dips tonight. Felt awesome. Here's the final set.

Satruday part 2: Feet elevated push ups

Hitting the 3rd and final set of feet elevated push ups. Had the power push up set to add an additional 100 pounds tonight, the first time for this movement, and it felt awesome.

Saturday September 20th part 1: Atlas Push ups

Hitting the 3rd of 3 sets of Atlas Push ups with the power push up set to add 100 pounds of additional resistance.

Friday part 4: midsection

Hitting the final part of the 3 sets of good mornings, 3 sets of sit-ups with no rest midsection work. Keep on moving up in weight, and these felt pretty easy!

Friday part 3: Barbell Concentration Curls

Love this version of the curl. Talk about hitting the biceps hard.

Friday part 2: Lateral Raises

After 100 reps of push presses, how do you finish off your shoulders. 3 sets of 10 reps for lateral raises. Here's the final set.

Friday September 19 part 1: Push Press

10 the of 10 sets of 10 reps in the push press. Feeling really strong today. This felt very easy.

Tuesday Part 4: Midsection

Cranking out the midsection work. Good 3 sets of planks with the 45 on the back, and 3 sets of v-ups. No resting throughout the entire thing. Awesome stuff.

Tuesday part 3: Clean Grip High Pulls

Changing from sets of 3-5 reps to sets of 10 reps was tough at first. Now I'm really loving it. Here's the 3rd of 3 sets.

Tuesday part 2: Bent Rows

Here's the 4th of 4 sets of Bent Rows. Feeling awesome!!

Tuesday September 16th part 1: 1-arm pull ups/V-sit pull ups

Here's the 4th of 4 sets of 1-arm pull ups right into v-sit pull ups. These are just getting stronger and stronger. I love it!!

Feeling a little artistic

I was feeling a little artistic and thought I'd try to get a good picture. The camera went off before I was posed or ready. But, I think it turned out pretty well :)

Monday part 4: midesection

Nailing the final set of the old Good mornings and weighted sit ups combination. Using 135 for the good mornings and 110 for the sit ups. Feeling easy, except for the heavy breathing, lol.

Monday part 3: Barbell lunges

What do you do after you've done a crap ton of deadlifts and Squats? Well, you hit some good lunges. Really kill that lower body. Here's the final set of the night.

Monday par 2: Squats

Ah, the king of exercises for a reason. I love squats. Here's the 10th set of 10, hitting 10 reps on each set. A ton of work and pain, but worth every cent. These felt good even though the last one's a little high.

Monday September 15th part 1: Deadlifts

Hitting the final set of deadlifts for the evening. Really working on technique.

Saturday September 13th Clapping Pull ups and Hill Sprints

Today was a mixture of 5 sets of 5 for clapping pull ups and a really good session of hill sprints.

Friday part 5: midsection

The final part of the no resting round of weighted planks, v-ups, weighted planks, v-ups, weighted planks and v-ups. Used an additional 45 pounds for the planks.

Friday part 4: Triceps extension push ups

Here's the final set of triceps extension push ups. Hitting all 10 reps on each set with a 20 pound weight vest on.

Friday part 3: parallel bar dips

I love dips, I'll admit it. And I love the added flexibility in the shoulders from doing them on the rings. Here's the final set of parallel bar dips from tonight. Nailed 10's across the board.

Friday part 2: Feet elevated push ups

Here's the final set of feet elevated push ups. Nailed it with an additional 90 pounds from the power push up. Hit 10 reps on every set.

Friday September 12th part 1: Atlas Push-ups

Hitting the final set of Atlas push ups on the parallets using 100 pounds on the power push up. Naild 10 reps on the first couple of sets. Didn't hit that on this set, lol.

Thursday part 4: midsection

Hitting the 3rd part of the no rest round of good mornings, weighted sit ups, good mornings, weighted sit ups, good mornings and weighted sit ups. Feeling strong and good. 125 on the god mornings and 90 pounds on the sit ups. Shout out to the Simpsons episode, "Lisa's Substitute" that's playing in the background.

Thursday part 3: Barbell Concentration curls

Here's the 5th of 5 sets.

Thursday part 2: Lateral Raises

After 10 sets of military press, how do you follow it up. 3 sets of lateral raises. Here's the final set of 10 reps.

Thursday September 11th part 1: Strict Military Press

Going old school with this one. Feet together, ram rod straight body. Here's the 10th of 10 sets. I nailed 10 reps on all of them except the last two where I had to settle for 9 reps.

Tuesday part 4: Midsection

It's Tuesday, that means it's time to end the training with a nice round of 60 seconds of planks (with a 45 pound plate on the back) right into 10 v-ups, back to the planks, back to the v-ups, and finally back to the planks and back to the v-ups. No resting in between. Here's the 3rd time through on each one.

Tuesday part 3: Clean Grip High Pulls

Nailing the final set for the high pulls. Putting up  185 pretty strongly.

Tuesday night part 2: Bent Rows

The 4th of 4 sets of bent rows tonight with 275 pounds.

Tuesday September 9 part 1: 1-arm and V-sit pull ups

Here's the final set of pull ups from Tuesday night's training. Combining 1-arm pull ups and v-sit pull ups. 2 reps less than the last video, but also the 4th set instead of the 2nd set.

Monday part 4: midsection

Because of the 10 sets of deadlifts tonight there's not good morning's this evening, so it's just sit ups. Here's the 3rd of 3 sets, done with almost no rest between sets.

Monday part 3: Lunges

After 3 sets of 10 for squats and 10 sets of 10 for deadlifts how do you really make sure your lower body has been toasted? You simply add in 3 sets of 10 for kettlebell lunges, that's how. Here's the 3rd set using two 53 pound bells.

Monday part 2: Deadlfts

I love this training!!

After 9 sets of 10 reps each with 315, here's set number 10. I literally hit the limit here and even though I only put up 6 reps, I can honestly say I pushed with everything that I had. Good set.

Love the missing skin on the thumb, both forearms, both shins and both knees. I may sound sick, but it's more reasons why I love the deadlift.

Monday, September 8th part 1: Squats

These sucked today. I'm not sure why but as soon as I'd hit parallel, my hamstrings felt like they were going to explode. Here's the 3rd of 3 sets of 10. Kept it at only 295 for this week.

Friday part 5: midsection work

Tonight's midsection work was (without any rest) a1 minute plank with a 35 pound plate on the back right into 10 v-ups, back to the weighted plank, back to the v-ups, back to the weighted plank, back to the v-ups. Here's the final run through of both.

Friday part 4: Triceps Push ups

Hitting the final set of triceps push ups for the night!

Friday part 3: Parallel Bar Dips

I have to say, after training these on the rings, my range of motion is so much better. Hit 10 reps on each set, have to add weight next week.

Friday part 2: Feet elevated push ups

The final set of Feet elevated push ups with an additional 90 pounds of resistance, thank to the power push up. First few sets I was able to hit 10 reps, this one I only get 7 or 8.

Friday September 5th part 1: Atlas Push-ups

Hitting the final set of Atlas Push ups. Using the Power Push-up for added resistance, using three of the 30 pound cables for an additional 90 pounds of resistance. First few sets, made 10 reps with some hard pushing, on this last set I think I made 7 or 8.

Thursday part 4: midsection work

Here's the 3rd of 3 sets of this combination.

Start with 10 Good mornings, then immediately go into 15 weighted sit-ups, immediately into 10 good mornings, immediately into 15 weighted sit ups, the 10 more good mornings and 15 more weighted sit ups. All with no rest.

Thursday Part 3: Barbell Concentration Curls

Here's the 5th of 5 sets of these bad boys :)

Thursday part 2: lateral raises

Feeling fried after the push presses, but still rocking the lateral raises. Here's the 3rd of 3 sets.

Thursday September 4th part 1: Push Press

Here's the 10th of 10 sets of push presses from last night's training. Kept the same top weight for all 10 sets and really pushed for everything I had. I may have failed after 8 reps on this last set, but I can say, I truly put 100 percent into it.

Tuesday part 4: midsection work

Alright, start with a 60 second long plank with a barbell plate on your back, then immediately hit 10 v-ups, and repeat for three sets with no rest at all. An awesome circuit.

Tuesday part 3: Clean Grip High Pulls

I'll admit it. My wheelhouse with any Olympic lift or their variation is in the 1-5 rep range. Sets of 10 threw me out of my comfort zone, which is probably really good for me.

Tuesday part 2: Bent Rows

After the 1-arm pull ups/ V-sit pull ups combo, this one really hit me hard. Kept the weight a little light, but put everything into it. Here's the 4th of 4 sets of 10.

Tuesday September 2nd part 1: 1-arm pull up/ V-sit pull up combination

Here's the second of 4 sets of this combination. Starting out with 1-arm pull ups on each side, then moving immediately to V-sit pull ups. Great combo. Awesome for the back, core, arms, grip and everything else.

Monday part 4: Midsection work

The aftermath of the midsection work. It was: without any rest at all: 10 back extensions, 20 weighted sit ups, 10 back extensions, 10 weighted sit ups, 10 back extensions and 10 weighed sit ups.

Monday part 3: Lunges

After nailing the 10 sets of squats, I kept this one a little lighter, and still collapsed at the end, lol. Here's the 3rd of 3 sets of 10 reps per leg with the lunge.

Monday part 2: Back Squats

Hitting these hard. This is the 10th of 10 sets of 10 reps with 315 pounds for the back squat. Kept the 315 for all 10 sets, and really worked it into the ground.

Monday September 1 part 1: deadlifts

Started out the training today with deadlifts. Working on 3 sets of 10 reps, keeping the weight around 70 percent or so of my deadlift max. Felt strong and good.

Monday September 1st Back from the back off week

Alright, we're back from the back off week and ready to kick some major ass. I made sure to follow the old "thesis, antithesis, synthesis" formula for our new training program. We've been working either exclusively with bodyweight training from gymnastics and acrobatics or almost exclusively with those type of exercises for about four cycles now. And we've been keeping the reps and sets pretty low as well.

Now, it's time for a huge change. This cycle is still going to have some bodyweight work, but it'll primarily be built around the barbell. And, I'm stepping out of my strength and power wheel house of working in that 1-5 rep range and adding reps and adding sets.

Looking forward to how the drastic changes will work and the results to come.