Definitely not luck…
@anna_5588 By your own admission you got “fat” eating philly cheesesteaks as a snack: let’s not change the narrative 
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yep. I was still fat though and could definitely eat my way back there (even with clean foods) if I wasn’t careful
We will have to agree to disagree
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Snap
I’m 6 foot, which feels absolutely average, but everyone tells me is tall.
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How tall is the cornish giant?
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Turn of phrase. I appreciate the hard work it takes. It such hard work it is currently beyond me 
@alex_uk - what is the Brian Alsruhe programme? I know you have run it a few time (dark horse right?)
Whats the set up behind it? I’ve never heard of it before now.
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@carlbm In the past I’ve run dark horse, I’m going for next level linear this time, which is new to be but incredibly similar in many ways. Set up is below.
@jdm135 - 6’2
So it begins… Day 1
Conditioning… so dearly wanted to skip this, I hate conditioning with a passion, it’s such a necessary evil.
O2 sats and HR 5 mins post:
Still recovering from Covid - pushed hard on that conditioning. Felt sick and dizzy with a severe exertion headache the rest of the time:
Deads (testing day):
Squat jumps: 5 X 4 sets
Deads: 4 X 60, 100, 120, 140kg
Band crunches: 10 X 4 sets
Burpees 6c: 5 X 4 sets
Volume:
Squat jumps: 5 X 2 sets
Deads: 112.5kg X 10, 5
Band crunches: 10 X 2 sets
Burpees 6c: 5 X 2 sets
Lied to myself and told myself that I’d call it after volume work, after volume work I sicked up in the back of my throat, had a little lie down on the garage floor and either fell asleep or passed out, came too felt like this:
and completed some accessory work:
Ng chins:
1,2,3,4,5,4,3,2,1
S/s
Dips:
2,4,6,8,10,8,6,4,2
As quick as possible.
First step done.
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@carlbm realise the above does naff all to explain the program. It’s a 4 X 4 week blocks that waves: test, heavy, medium & light across the 4 big movements (each block reduces number of reps) you work up to a certain RM then base your volume work of the top set (certain number of reps, depending on RM, for a certain % of days max) then accessories and either start or end with conditioning.
I’ll be running variations of the big 4 all the way through, rather than standard, as that’s Brian’s recommendation for strongman.
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Next level linear is an awesome program. I wound up wearing myself out a bit by the end, but an extra serving of meat a day would’ve probably cured that. Good luck man!
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Haha awesome advice thanks dude, there is going to be some serious eating going on over the next year, fat gain will be largely ignored during this period, unless it significantly impacts my ability to move well and/or biomarkers to a dangerous degree (they seem resilient to my usual awful dietary habits).
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Weak one: me
Week 1 day 2:
Conditioning:
Emom - 10 x 6c Burpees X 10 mins.
Didn’t want to row, really wanted to treadmill it and phone it in but the treadmill is loaded up with crap… So Burpees…yay.
Went for 10 thought this isn’t too bad average 30 sec work to break from 1-5 mins, then went south quick and was desperately wanting to drop reps but thought of the shame of posting that here and finished it off, Last two sets basically no rest with a jump that probably got about 1 inch jump, must have looked like a fish flopping around dying on the deck of a boat.
“Heavy” ohp work:
Wide grip neutral chins: 4 X 4 sets
Axle ohp: 28.5, 38.5, 43.5 X 6 48.5kg X 5 - failed last rep, seriously rubbish stuff!
Ab rolls: 5 X 4 sets
Air squats: 10 X 4 sets
Volume:
Wgnc: 4 X 2 sets
Axle ohp: 28.5kg X 9 X 2 sets
Ab roll: 5 X 2
Air squats: 10 X 2 sets
Accessories:
db Lat raise drop into front raise drop in to ohp.
Juraez valley rep scheme starting at 10-1, finishing at 6-5. Fluffy pump work rather than hardcore stuff but honestly everything else felt toasted didn’t really need any access work but wanted to keep the habit up this was painful in the right way.
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Good to be back at it?
You will progress quickly. You know this. Relax and trust the process.
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Long answer incoming here because your question hit upon a thought I had during this session.
No, not even a little bit, I genuinely dislike training these days, it’s why my hiatus was so long, yes I’m incredibly busy but the reality is I just have no love for it, so I made no time for it. I finally understand @T3hPwnisher - I honestly couldn’t wrap my head around his mentality, it actually bugged me, but I see it now, and it’s powerful.
I’m doing this because I want the results, I’ve seen what happens when I don’t do this and I don’t like it, I like it even less than I like training, which leaves me with one option. And because I’m doing this not because I like it, but even though I don’t like it, it’s a real position of strength - I now accept that I will dislike training and so my training needs to be as effective as possible, so I can spend less time doing it, since I dislike all of it I’m not going to ditch harder exercises for easier, I’m just going to suffer as quickly as possible and get it done.
That’s not to say I won’t ever enjoy it and I’m certain I’ll enjoy the result and the momentary elation of a pr (followed by the long struggle to beat another arbitrary goal that immediately follows). But really it’s kind of liberating in a weird way.
Absolutely, thanks Carl, my frustration is just the regression which was avoidable but do the crime pay the fine!
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I feel this so much.
When people like Dave Tate talk about how good it feels to stand up with a heavy squat, or people talk about training everyday because they love it, I can’t relate at all.
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There was definitely a time where I loved this stuff, but I can’t for the life of me, now looking back, figure out why. Honestly it’s like a switch flicked over in my head. Who knows maybe one day it’ll switch back, but I don’t care if it does or doesn’t - work with what I’ve got to get what I want.
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I had this during my 6 week 20 rep squat experiment. I swear - the only thing that made me complete that was the fact I’d told people on this forum I was doing it. And the year before I failed the 10,000 kettle bell swing challenge. I did not want to be that guy. And it was AWFUL. I hated every moment of it. From the eating, to the gut wrenching fear of the work outs to the recovery that took DAYS and walking like I just got shot.
BUT - man did I grow. And now I include a massive part of that work out in my leg day. Because it works.
There was a video of Jim Wendler a while back and he says something like;
You can tell a new lifter from an old lifter. The new lifter normally likes the dead lift. It is their favourite lift they can do the most with. It makes them feel strongest. Older lifters don’t have a favorite lift. They hate all the lifts equally.
At the time I just thought it was a bit hammed up. But honestly the more I train the more I get it. I don’t have a favourite lift. I just have lifts I hate the least. But no part of me gets excited for pulling a max effort set of 5-8 dead lifts followed by 2nd max effort at “first set last”. At no point do I sit there and think - Man I can’t wait for those front squats. They might make me want to puke but I really enjoy that. Or 90kg log - reps in 60 seconds. Great idea. Start the clock.
No - none of that makes me happy. What makes me happy is knowing I can dead lift/squat/press X amount.
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Holy cow yes!
WARNING: RAMBLE AHEAD
This is it. You’ve come to a big realization and I’m happy for you for that, even if it’s a terrible realization, haha. People that want to have the most fun possible while training are people that want to get stung by a wasp that looks really silly. Trying to make misery as fun as possible is just making fun worse: it’s not making misery better. Go be miserable for a bit and then spend your time having fun.
And like you noted, it’s honestly the BEST investment in that regard. When we train, we are miserable for 90 minutes and then get to spend the remaining 22.5 hours of our life feeling AWESOME because we experience the benefits of that training. When we don’t train, we spare ourselves that 90 minutes of misery…just to feel awful ALL the time because we are not meeting our potential
I’m arrogant and vain because that’s the “fun” of training I get to experience. If I walk by a reflective surface and I look awesome, I’m going to take time and stare: f**k people who think that’s shallow. That’s the “fun” I bought myself. I got a new GHR off facebook marketplace and threw it into the back of my truck and got it down my basement steps without worry of blowing out a back or really having to strain myself: that’s the fun.
You are going to be dangerous now.
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I heard the idea once (by me, but I assume I stole it from someone originally) that you get to choose your misery. You can choose your misery now and go train, or you get lumbered with whatever misery life throws at you for not training. Whatever health problems, quality of life issues, self esteem issues, etc. At least by training you get to choose the suck.
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Sartre would refer to that as the tyranny of freedom.
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