Work for today:
Clean and Press: 5 x 4 @ 60kg
Deadlift: 4 x 3 @ 130kg
Bench: 5 x 10 @ 60kg
Seated press: worked up to 52.5kg x 6
Wendler rows: 3 x 20
Double db clean and press: 6 x 8 @ 12kg
Walking lunge: 5 x 20 @ 20kg.
Notes:
No press PR today because I had to do bench first and fried my pressing muscles. No drama, just a busy gym.
Trying to bring together a plan for January. I need fairly basic and proven exercise selection. I’m thinking:
Squat
Bench
Deadlift
Seated press
Row
Pull up
Farmers walk
Possibly a couple of wildcards like curls (if I’m going to try and get big, I might as well get some guns), and db clean and press.
If you want to get big, you may want to ditch the squat, bench and deadlift at least as main focuses. I think you may get more out of lots of squatting variety, incline presses and rack pulls.
Front squats/hack squats, incline bench/incline DBs/weighted dips, weighted pullups/chest supported rows/one arm rows, RDLs/SLDLs. If the focus is hypertrophy, those variations are all superior, in my opinion, to the S/B/D. NOT that you can’t get big with just those, of course! Of the big three, though, flat bench has been literally useless to me for the entirety of my lifting experience. I’m a shoulder/tricep bencher, just can’t get pec involvement without incline/decline or dumbbells.
Or if you’re dead set on squatting and benching, do 21s. I’m not even kidding. Greg makes us do them for squats and the pump is insane. Probably would work for bench too.
I forgot to write ab work, but was definitely planning to include some. Remember I only lift 2 days a week, so I reckon I can use 10 movements tops without this turning into a confused marathon like my current program. I’m not sure I can justify a third “push” in there.
“Big” is a relative term, but I’ll go with it. I had a similar thought process to you, however I’d also like to keep some basic proficiency at the main lifts. I also know I can do the main lifts almost indefinitely without getting bored. Deadlifts have never got me big, even when I wasn’t shit at them. I will probably use an “easy” approach like the Kroc Deadlift program I’m currently doing for some basic proficiency that doesn’t take much time, then supplement with a variation for higher reps to build some muscle. I was thinking RDLs, even though the idea bores me to tears. Rack pulls on the other hand, that’s something I could get on board with and could potentially work much better towards my goals. My back is piss weak, I should probably fix that.
I will absolutely do most of those movements. I probably won’t add weight to pull ups though, my “pull” is far too weak for that. And incline pressing/dips bug my shoulders, luckily flat bench hits my chest more than anything so I don’t need them so much.
Day 1:
Deadlift (Kroc deadlift program)
(Trap Bar?) Rack Pulls: 3 x 10, increase volume weekly
Double db clean and press: increasing volume to Deep Water volume over 10 weeks
Loaded carries: a few.
Day 2:
Bench 531, BBB
Abs/pull ups superset, 5 rounds, increase rounds
Chest Supported Rows: 3 x 10
Squats: increase volume to deep water volume over 10 weeks
Crying: 1 set to failure.
It’s extremely high volume, but only on a few basic exercises. Very little/any “fluff”. The aim afterwards would be to transition to full “Deep Water” volume on the 2 Deep Water lifts.
Glad I just ate a lot of food even though it’s midnight here. I’d be hungry seeing that pic. How’d you prepare that? I assume you prepared the chicken first and added the veggies a short while after, and then added everything to the rice in the end? Also, had to google courgette
Sorry, forgot to translate. I also mean capsicum instead of pepper.
I pretty much followed ChickenLittles method. Rice cooked separately and stirred through at the end. No cheese because I don’t tolerate it well. It’s an incredibly versatile method that can give you a massive range of flavours.
Edit: just to summarise:
Cook rice
Saute off veg
Push to side of pan and cook meat
Add flavour
Mix rice back in.
Add meat
I get what you are saying about not adding any more. Could you not do a simple conditioning session on a third day. Something like 10 burpees, 20 push ups, 30 bodyweight squats and then 1 min skip or plank. Rest enough to get breath and then repeat as many times as you want for time. 5 rounds of this is usually enough for me. The conditioning is good and you pump some blood through your legs and chest which helps with recovery.
I aim to do 2 conditioning sessions a week of “something”. Usually something pretty mindless as it’s done at silly o clock in the morning, and I have very little brain power at that time. Bodyweight circuits are likely to feature.
