The first 90 days have literally flown by. I arrived here with no problem and after a couple days of checking in and getting over the jet lag, I got to work. My weights and squat stands were delivered two days after I arrived, and I set out trying to figure out where I could set up a platform. There are two gyms on the base: “Big Guns” and “Little Guns.” Neither were viable options as Big Guns is a two-story gym with the bottom being locker rooms and racquetball courts, and Little Guns is primarily a dojo with a giant sparring mat that takes up almost 80% of the gym floor. Fortunately for me, the building I work in is quite big and there is just enough room to sneak in a 6’x6’ platform. Japanese plywood comes in 6’x3’ sheets, so I am lifting on a slightly smaller platform—in reality, not a big deal at all. It’s actually quite convenient having a platform five feet from my office. I really don’t mind being at work for extended periods of time if it includes lifting. I have speakers for my iPod and a chair to sit in between sets.



The living arrangements here are outstanding—some of the best I have seen in my career. My place is a one-bedroom apartment with a fully furnished kitchen. As you can see from the picture, the view doesn’t suck much either. I am back using a Foreman grill again so I have this nostalgic feeling like its 1998 and I am living in Leucadia by the beach again. I have forgotten how handy a tool that thing is, but I highly doubt my wife is going to allow it back into the house when I come home. Anytime you can take a frozen solid chicken breast and turn it into lunch in 10 minutes, you have to admire that.



Like I mentioned in the previous article, I have access to the Yokosuka Naval Base Commissary about 90 minutes south of us. Every other Friday I come down off the mountain to visit the hospital to pick up supplies, get a haircut, grab a Starbucks and a Cinnabon (everyone has a cheat food) and hit the grocery store to replenish the fridge. I will be honest, it’s a real treat for me and I get excited the night before these trips, like its Christmas Eve. The goals that I have laid out for this tour are, of course, adding kilos to my total and adding some quality pounds to my frame in order maximize my potential as a 94kg lifter.

I have, for the most part in my life, eaten pretty well. The one problem I have is that I tend to under-eat due to time constraints or laziness, and I believe that has probably hindered my gains over the years. To keep myself honest, I found a software program to track every calorie I consume (Fitday.com) and I have been using it religiously since day one. It took about a week to realize that I do in fact under-eat. My first two-week daily caloric totals were pitiful, and I felt like I was already losing weight from the extra training I was doing.

First Two-Week Daily-Caloric Totals:
Cals: 2,663
Fat: 139
Carbs: 120
Protein: 262

Since Then:
Cals: 3,722
Fat: 182
Carbs: 115
Protein: 400

As you can see, I have added almost 1,100 calories per day to my diet. I have also taken Greg’s advice and eaten pretty close to his recommendation, two grams of protein per pound of bodyweight, with great results. My diet consists essentially of eggs, chicken, beef, almonds, vegetables, and protein shakes with oatmeal. Not a lot of variety, but I consistently get what I need. As far as supplementation goes, I take fish oil, glucosamine, MRM BCAA powder, MRM whey, and Muscle Milk from time-to-time. I am incredibly happy with the diet and the gains so far. On December 1st, in shorts I weighed exactly 92 kilos (202.4lbs) on the nose. On January 1st I weighed 92.1 kilos, and on Feb 1st I weighed 92.7 (204 lbs). I might be kidding myself, but I don’t see much gain in body fat percentage either.



My recovery thus far has been good and I have yet to succumb to ice baths. I feel this is probably because this has been the first time in a long time I can sleep eight or nine hours a night. I live 500 yards from my office—no more 50-minute commute each way every day. And my days are for the most part stress-free, thanks to my wonderful wife who can raise our children basically on her own with me being gone as much as my job requires. I am very active with the foam roller, and have taken up the art of stretching for the first time in my life in hopes of keeping my flexibility and mobility rolling along.

Now to the training aspect of my last 90 days, saving the best for last, as this has been the most fun. In April of 2007 I discussed training methodologies with a friend from Minnesota named Duane Hansen. I was looking at his training log and I emailed him about his program because it was composed of just the snatch, clean and jerk, and the front squat. I was just finishing up with a Joe Mills 20/20-type routine and looking for something new. Duane has been lifting since he was in his teens and he’s very knowledgeable about the design and structure of lifting programs. He basically turned me onto the idea of maxing out in the lifts every other day, then on the opposite day to work with weights about 80-90% of the previous day’s best. I really liked the way the program was designed and I did pretty well with it. Coach Burgener will be the first one to tell you that if you can get away with doing only the two lifts and front squats, then do it. He will also be the first to address weak points with lifts like snatch balances and others.

When I first arrived here I started training twice a day, three times per week. On the two remaining days of the week I trained once. After a couple of weeks of training, Duane emailed me and asked if I was ready to get to work. Here is how my program is laid out now:


Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday

A.M. Snatch and C/J: 10 singles @ 80%-85% of max.
P.M. Snatch and C/J to a max, then back off 10/15kg for 2-3 singles
Front Squats: With the top C/J weight of the day, 1x3 or 2x2

Wednesday

A.M. Snatch and C/J: 10 singles @ 80%-85% of max
P.M. Snatch and C/J: 90% of Tues max for 2 singles
Front Squats: With previous night’s best C/J weight minus 10kg, 2x5

Sunday

A.M. Snatch and C/J: 10 singles @ 80%-85% of max
P.M. Work up to 100% of Saturday’s max. If possible hit a couple of singles.
Front Squats: With previous day’s C/J max minus 10kg, 2x5

This is done for two weeks. The third week is a back-off week where I dump the A.M. workout all together and take singles around 80-90% in the evening. This took a little while to get used to, especially lifting after the morning session, but it has already paid off. The idea, from my understanding, is to basically overtrain the lifter, and when he is done from the back-off week, he is ready to go absolutely mad on the platform. The results so far have been great: I took my snatch from 104 to 112.5, and my Clean and Jerk jumped from 125 to 132.5.

For the next 90 days, my goals are (of course) to add kilograms to my total, and I need to improve the rack position on my clean. I have a very odd setup that involves me popping the bar to my chest, and jerking it from my upper chest rather than from the correct position. This is due to not getting the bar racked far enough back when I clean it. I will also be going home for three weeks to spend time with my family, get some lifting in up at Coach Burgener’s, and of course get me some cold Tecate and a whole bunch of In-N-Out.