Good job. That last day is a killer too. It’s like he doesn’t want you to ever forget this one…and you probably won’t.
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Finishing off with fond memories of a fun time 
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Isn’t it just, that 20 rep squat was just plain nasty. Everything else just sucked. I will remember it for a long time and it will remind me, never again!
Indeed lots of “fun”.
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To fight off soreness get plenty of water, electrolytes and food. Replace what the workout used up. After that, be sure to move around some. Even something really easy like walking, just to get the blood pumping in your legs and keep you from getting too stiff.
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Thanks Flats, already had 2 bananas in my pwo shake, do you think it worth adding salt in somewhere, or buying electrolyte tabs? I’ll smash the water and go for a walk as well thanks.
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For a few quid(?) some electrolyte tabs or even a Gatorade or two would be great. My workouts this summer were killing me and I definitely felt better all “topped off.”
A bunch of guys have talked about Great results from a little extra salt. Sometimes I put a dash in my Gatorade powder. Just be careful if it’s your first time messing with salt direct like that. It only takes a little! You don’t want to drink so much salt water that you shit your pants.
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I just down a teaspoon of the stuff, lol. But
is this actually a thing that happens? Like because of osmosis or something?
I’ll see how tomorrow feels but might get some electrolyte tabs, like you say they’re cheap and probably better than drinking salt, particularly if the end results is ruining my pants!
I’ve thrown more salt on dinner than usual in the meantime.
Well done on the quid, that’s the correct British idiom!
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That’s what I will say next time…it was the salt water… I mean I am joking…clearly joking.
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We are one in the same.
Congrats on making it through @alex_uk Definitely a feeling of accomplisment when it’s over.
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I’m not 100% sure exactly what happens, but people who are into “detoxing” and “cleansing” sometimes use salt+water to “flush” themselves.
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Thanks @T3hPwnisher it definitely surprised me, didn’t really grasp what it would be like from looking at it on paper. Happy for it to be done.
People are weird.
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Building the Monolith write up:
Starting caveat, I did not do Building the Monolith, I did the lifting portion of BtM I did not eat 1.5lbs of beef or 12 eggs a day, I did not follow the cardio (did 3 low impact short cardio things a week but not Jim’s recommendations). I also added lifts that weren’t in the program and giant setted most of the work, so essentially it was an entirely different program. That said I did every rep of every exercise prescribed at every percentage recommended.
Started off at: 208
Weighed in this am at: 212
Total gain of 4lbs in 7 weeks. I added a lot of this from week 4 onwards (I think) due to realising that I wasn’t even being true to the intent of the program and eating like a horse, corrected and ate properly and gained.
Because of the above stupidity I gained more fat and less muscle. I would like to think 1lb of that might be muscle…but I’m noticable less lean. As a side note I am 60lbs up from when I very first started lifting (151lbs at 20) and I would hazard a guess that not a huge amount of that is fat gain, so gaining muscle isn’t going to be easy at this point and 6 weeks is nothing.
The lifting: sucked. I hated high rep chins, I hated 5x5 squats, I didn’t hate 20 reps as much as I thought I would (I’m far happier to endure for 1 horrible set than I am going slightly easier and doing multiple sets). An enlightening point of this program is how hard the accessories were, accessories for me have always been almost recovery after a hard main movement, that is not the case in BtM. It’s a simple lesson I’ll carry forward - work harder.
No idea what impact this will have had on strength but I can’t see it being, negative, neutral at worse. I would say this program is worth doing but I have no desire to repeat it, did I mention it sucked? I can only imagine how much more it would have sucked with the diet.
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Awesome work man. Impressed with the way you’ve stuck to it through some difficult times.
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The conditioning on the off days even moreso. The LAST goddamn thing I wanted to do after 5x5 squats on Monday was weighted vest walks on Tuesday, haha.
Great stuff man. Been awesome to see you growing through this log. And 60lbs bodyweight gained is nuts! Especially so for a dude that has to really put away the food to grow.
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Thanks dude, looking forward to reading your run through when it happens!
Yea I can imagine, not just the legs but upper back and wearing a weighted vest, especially in the first couple of weeks of soreness!
Thanks, great to have you along, for the ride, nice to know the program you are on has been tried, tested and is worthwhile, stops any second guessing and changing.
Yea that’s 60lb over around 10 years (owing to a gap in the middle) I remember having to eat so, so hard (fortunately I could drink milk back then) when I had an active job (labourer style work) being sedentary has definitely helped, although long term can be good for me.
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Not even that: I just wanted a day off. It coulda been any sort of workout and I’d still not wanna do it. It’s why I’m big on telling people BtM isn’t a 3x a week program: it’s a 6x a week program, and it beats you to hell everyday because of that.
You’ll have to document your eating strategies sometime for the perpetual “hardgainers”. You’ve definitely figured something out.
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Why didn’t you do it within the first 2 years?
Joking aside, the 10 years bit is something I wish more beginners with little muscle mass would realise. Physique changing quality lean weight gain, 10 years of consistency, hard work in and out gym. If you don’t wanna commit to that then give up now!
Good work buddy.
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Haha, true, slacking!
Yea its definitely a long game, only those with perseverance succeed.