Weird thing. I’m noticing that the lower body weights are feeling heavier than expected and that I’m not able to perform as well.
I’m not feeling too fatigued. Things just feel heavy
Not sure what’s going on but I don’t like it
So little information meaning so SO many possibilities
First thing is to see if there is any changes in bodyweight or caloric consumption? You are running a programme which is designed to gain weight/ Muscle and not necessarily add total to the bar. Very plausible that you are getting weaker due to the unwillingness to eat to recover
Second possibility is the hip shift and whatever is causing it. Now hear me out and this will be anecdotal. Over the last few months my squat literally got worse over the span of a 7-14 days (granted I was ill and other things which made me not worry), and then while the other lifts were going good my squat felt off. Everything felt heavy and technique wise something was just off… Fast forward now after having changed to higher reps and deloading I have noticed that my right tibia is externally rotated and looks completely different (which I am sorting out). What I’m saying is if there is something that is making your movement/ technique shift it can also easily add up and make lower body lifts feel weird.
Get rid of the subjectiveness of this and look at it objectively
- When the last time you took a full deload (as in followed a protocol for it or just did not go to the gym for a week)
- You overanalyse everything, by your own admittance so how are you managing general stress? Everyday worries and stress affect recovery
- How are you performing on all other things (upper lifts and also conditioning)
2 Likes
I honestly don’t know. I’ve weighed myself three times (same time, same clothing) first time was 104.8lbs, second time was 106, third time was yesterday morning 103.8.
So I’m up 1lb from the time I last weighed myself at school (beginning of December)
Calorie consumption ostensibly hasn’t changed but I could be mistracking things since I eat differently here (ie the lamb chops I thought were 700kcal might be 1000)
Now that you mention it, this could be plausible. I’ve never done a program with such high reps. Maybe little technique deviations are compounding.
The other thing I’m noticing is that I go into sessions feeling like I haven’t slept enough and more lethargic. The only change I’ve made is shift my sleep schedule forward 30min and it’s been a week. I should be adjusted
I had a deload the week before starting the program
It’s break and research is on pause. Stress is as low as it can get
Upper lifts are going fine.
I’ve been lazy about conditioning
Week 2: Day 5
Jumps: 3x5-25lb KB
Deadlift: 1x5-60,70,80; 1x3-95,100,105; 4x10, 1x7-90kg
DB row: 5x10/side- 25lb DB
Deadbugs: 3x10/side
Good mornings: 3x12-40kg
KB RDL: 3x5/side-45lbs w/ 3030 tempo
Conditioning: 3x(8devil’s press-20lb DBs+50 jumping jacks)
- this was freaking AWESOME, the top set felt heavier than I would have liked, but the sets at 90kg felt amazing- did get tension headache though, a bit disappointed I couldn’t get the 5x10 but this is the most I’ve done with 90kg, rest of the stuff went well, took a bit of will to do conditioning
5 Likes
Can I use yesterday’s session as an excuse to skip my conditioning workout today?
Nothing is really sore but everything is tired. Also have a compressed chest feeling
To whom exactly do you owe justification?
Listen to your body.
3 Likes
You don’t need excuses.
2 Likes
Week 2: day 6
ended up feeling better so did something easy
Thrusters: 10x5-30kg EMOM, 10x4-35kg EMOM, 3x3-40kg EMOM
Curls: 3x5-20kg
- obviously not much but still happy to get 100 thrusters in, got blood flowing
@Bagsy I don’t understand how your biceps are so strong…
2 Likes
Does. Not. Compute.
Nice work.
1 Like
@hustlinghat93 either the weights at my school are light or I really have gotten weaker. This morning, I could barely get 90kg for a double when a month ago, I did 90kg for 9x3 
I’ve also never felt squats in my low back like this before. I did 70kg for a set of 20 before and now 60kg for 20 isn’t happening bc of burning in low back
I don’t think I’m going to continue with BBB anymore. I don’t care about hypertrophy, I want strength
@TriednTrue you have no idea just how amazing that game theory prof is.
For one, he let me play music 5 min before the final
There was one time when I was feeling really down. He sent me a really encouraging note.
He’s also helping me with a model I’m writing even though I told him it’s for fun. We’re actually meeting next week to discuss it. It’s actually technically still break
1 Like
Changing programs will not necessarily solve this.
I personally have had issues with barbell movements at a commercial gym back when I use to train at a Uni gym which had Olympic barbells and bumper plates. Maybe the bar itself is the issue.
I corrected that for you. Not in order to be a dick but so you know that what you want is very nuanced so the program you follow has to be tailored for that goal
Also regarding changing programs… sometimes you need to give them time to work and only compare results at the end and not during a cycle.
Most point left for last. These type of comparisons are not always good indicators of progress.
Maybe you are physically beat up atm? Maybe the week you hit that 9x3 you were at the peak of a program? Maybe hydration levels or sleep or any other factor which can affect the difference of a rep were off?
Please do not take this wrong but I think you are close to the point where you will forever be running into a wall. The only programs which would suit your want of being stronger at the same bodyweight are peaking programs. The issue with that is you cannot run peaking programs after peaking programs and you can’t maintain your peak for a substantial amount of time.
4 Likes
That’s interesting. My school gym does have bumper plates and nice bars
The weird thing is that my low back has never felt so good on deadlifts
Yeah… I honestly like the BBB program set up though. I usually avoid doing high rep squats and deads. This is a nice change of pace and gets me out of my comfort zone
Not really. I’m at minimal stress levels and my workload (gym and life) is the lowest it’s been in months. I also don’t get the post workout brain fog or loss of coordination I had been getting after lower body workouts
It has also been said in this thread repeatedly: Do not do BBB if you are not putting on weight. You will not be able to recover. This is not a mystery.
8 Likes
The thing is that I seem to have put on weight unconsciously. I’ve been weighing in 2lbs heavy
To be clear, I’m not complaining. I look the same, if not bettet
Yeah, but that could be anything. To put it another way, if you do BBB, you should be TRYING to put on weight. It only gets harder.
5 Likes
Anna I was taught that in order to get stronger you have to make the muscles bigger. You can do it anna!! Eat like a pig!!
2 Likes
That’s freakin’ sweet; he sounds like one of those once-in-a-colege-career professors. I had a physics professor my first semester of uni who was similarly helpful and available.
1 Like
Not a substantial change. The only program I’ve run that’s off the shelf that doesn’t warrant a sustained surplus would be Athlete Lean, Athlete Strong
1 Like
After replying, I figured I’d read the last few posts in your log. What does the third B in BBB stand for…?? 
1 Like