If you don’t have a Ninja Woodfire yet. This is your sign.
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01apr25: Cycle 3 Week 3 day 2
AM Cardio:
30 min LISS
PM Strength:
Bench:
215x6 RPE 8
215x6 RPE 9
215x6 RPE 9
215x6 RPE 9
Barbell row:
190x8 RPE 8
190x8 RPE 8
190x8 RPE 8
DB Inc press:
70x10
70x10
70x10
Wide grip Lat pulldown:
160x10
160x10
160x10
Overhead Cable Ext:
65x13
65x13
65x12
EZ Curl
70x11
70x11
70x11
Dba raise + 10 rear delt flies
15x12
15x12
15x12
100 light pushdowns
PM conditioning:
Walk with pup, 55lb pack
Notes:
- okay, today felt heavy. 215x6 is a decent set for me, doing it multiple times definitely took some effort. Videos show bar speed was better than I thought the first 3 sets, thought a definite slow in the 4th.
- Barbell rows feeling good out of nowhere lol.
- Accessories felt strong
@T3hPwnisher completely agreed, I value this time more than any conditioning I would do. She actually dug out an extra ruck so she’s rucking with me now when we do it, which is great.
@unicornsandrainbows you aren’t helping my wallet…. Haha! Thanks for the recommendation
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@QuadQueen question for ya!
I take vitamins everyday. Not a lot, but with my morning shake I always have
- fish oil
- D3
- generic multi
- Creatine
And then before bed I take some magnesium.
The Mrs asked me to get her some too. (I’ve got the little weekly container thing, she bought herself a matching one).
Is there anything she (or i, for that matter)SHOULD be taking that my vitamin stack is missing? I’m not deep into the vitamin game by any means lol, but I didn’t know if there were some female specific things that I just have no idea on
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Great question!
For her, I’d suggest that instead of the generic multi, that she do a prenatal multi, even if pregnancy isn’t in the plans right now. It will be beneficial for her to get the folic acid and little bit of extra iron and DHA so that her body is baby ready if/when that time comes.
Otherwise, have her do exactly what you’re doing. The only addition that both of you could potentially consider is a pre and/or probiotic for some gut health benefits, but you could do a 30 days on/30 days off cycle with it, so that your natural gut flora also gets a chance to flourish.
With supplements, less is more, and your current game is solid!
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Tell her there’s a little group of strong women who’d all love to be her “internet friends” over here too!!
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Thanks for the advice!
She says “I’m slowly feeling the need to get my own Internet friends just to tell when my husband is saying BS stories about me.”
Also, any recommendations on the pre/pro biotic front?
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I mix it up, so I switch brands, looking at which strains they have and then varying them accordingly. Some solid choices are VSL#3, FitBiomics, and Transparent Labs. I sometimes throw some Culturelle in there (you can get that at Costco) too. There are a lot of good ones out there. I’d just suggest staying away from the super cheap or gummy variety.
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03Apr25: Cycle 3 Week 3 Day 3
Seated press:
155x6 RPE 8
155x6 RPE 9
155x6 RPE 8
155x6 RPE 8
Hi bar squat:
250x5 RPE 7
250x5 RPE 7
250x5 RPE 8
250x5 RPE 8
Sumo block pull 4 pavers
375x6 RPE 8
375x6 RPE 8
375x6 RPE 8
Superset
Flared db bench: 60x10, 60x10, 60x10
Wide grip lat pulldown: 150x11, 150x11, 150x11
Conditioning:
Ruck with dog, 40ish min
Notes:
-press was tough. Was going down until bar touched collarbones, and that last couple inches is just brutal. Switched on the 3rd set to about an inch above collarbone, felt dramatically easier.
-humidity came to play today, literally wiping moisture off of my plates. Can practically drink the air.
- I dream of a world where hi bar feels natural. And the thing is, I can kind of get into a groove with hi bar, where it actually feels okay to me, but looking at myself, the forms just awful lol. Good (relative) form for me on this just feels wrong
- Sumo feels so easy that I kind of want to try it from the floor. I am NOT built for sumo, so I’m assuming that the moment I drop from the blocks the bar just won’t move lol
@QuadQueen you had me at Costco hahaha. Thanks for the help!
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This is the Michael Jordon effect. The people that make high bar look good do so from a combination of being born with the right leverages for the lift combined with years of hammering it to the point that it appears effortless and smooth. All the hard work happened BEFORE the squat. But it leads people to think “Hell, that looks so easy: I should be able to do that too!”
It looks natural because they employed unnatural effort and genetics to get there. We square pegs won’t fit that round hole.
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Home gym update:
Wife said she wanted to get some kettlebells because she uses them for her army PT test. I ran to start spending money before she could speak any further. We’ve got a pair of 16, 20, and 24s being shipped to the house from REP.
Also, double KB front squats are a killer for quads, and I may start throwing those in. But I thought to myself “I really have shit leverages for any forward loaded lift. I should get a slant board.” So got one on the rogue website. But shipping would be a lot, and if I got two other things then they would all ship free…. So I also picked up a sled and a pulling strap
Wife later said she meant “like drive to dicks sporting goods and get a 45”
I regret nothing
8 Likes
05Apr25: Cycle 3 Week 3 Day 4
CGBP:
185x6 RPE 7
185x6 RPE 7
185x6 RPE 7
185x9 RPE 8
Deadlift:
405x6 RPE 8
405x0
Inc rolling tricep ext:
35x12
35x12
35x12
35x10
Superset:
Cable pushdown: 55x15, 55x15, 55x13
Face pull: 55x15, 55x15, 55x15
Notes:
- CGBP feeling great. Dig this.
- I think I pulled my left glute warming up on deadlifts. Hurt like hell, my leg would basically buckle under certain positions. Nothing torn or anything, but was not beneficial to deadlifts. Hit one set; but after that i couldn’t get the bar to budge, called it there. 405 honestly didn’t feel bad, except the whole glute thing.
- The glute thing is really kicking my rear at the moment. Limping around and just kinda falling every now and then. Very irritated lol.
- Wife and I have a big date day planned in DC, so imma be hobbling around all day, hopefully some blood flow helps
@T3hPwnisher oh I have LONG since given up on making it “pretty” haha, but I’d like to be able to use it as an accessory to low bar for quads, and honestly I’m just not sure if I’m able to do it even halfway decent enough to justify that. I AM hoping that slant board I just picked up will help me in that aspect.
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Hey brother, I’d look into this. I got it recommended from another Powerlifter whose used it for most of his strains and muscle tears. I used it myself when I had a muscle rupture with some but this second time around has been much better. I just strained the same spot about 12 days ago I’m just about back up to 100%.
I did this in conjuction with Ice for 30 Minutes (Recommended from a PT) 4-5 times a day for a week. After about a week I went down to just after the gym and at night for 15-20 mins before dropping it entirely the last couple days.
Thought it’d help you get back in fast, dunno if you’ve used it before
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Thanks for sending this my way! I’m definitely limping around, but hoping this clears up in a few days. I’ll take a look at it when I get home and then give it a shot
07Apr25: cycle 3 week 4 day 1:
Squat:
350x6 RPE 9
365x1 RPE 8
385x1 RPE 9
405x1 RPE 9
Standing crunch:
50x15
50x15
50x15
Glute medius planks:
Lots of
BW hip thrust
15
15
Notes:
- went for a 6RM. Realistically, undershot this attempt a little. Probably had 360 for 6. Was worried with my leg from Saturday. It’s still hurting pretty good, so I didn’t know how it would hold up. Did a few singles after, which moved alright. I wouldn’t fall 405 a Max, but definitely all I was going to hit today with my leg not at 100% and already doing the earlier squats.
- RDL hurt, lunges hurt, everything hurt. Spent the rest of this lift just trying to get blood to my hips
- Happy with the day over all. Was worried I wouldn’t be able to squat at all, but still managed some decent work for my heavy week.
https://youtube.com/shorts/WITdOZxGUB8?si=5HFmL5YAhoaEnoeR
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08Apr25: cycle 3 week 4 day 2
Bench:
230x6 RPE 9.5 (Recent PR)
245x1
255x1
225x2
Barbell row:
205x8 RPE 8
205x8 RPE 8
205x8 RPE 8
Db Inc:
75x10
75x10
75x8
Wide grip Lat Pulldown:
180x10 (PR?)
180x7
180x7
Db curl:
30x10
30x10
Cable pushdown:
2x15
Notes:
- bench moved well, but not entirely happy. I’m not on track to hit my goals at the rate of strength I’m getting, feel like I’m still just barely scraping back to pre-deployment territory. Not sure if I want to continue with my programming, or hop onto something a conjugate plan from Albersworth.
- All my accessories felt very strong though, which is a good sign in my book.
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woo woo PR party
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10Apr25: cycle 3 week 4 day 3
Seated Press:
165x6 RPE 9
165x6 RPE 9.5
155x6 RPE 8.5
135x12 RPE 8.5
Hi bar squat:
135x5
135x5
225x3
225x3
255x1
275x1
295x1
315x1
335x1 (hi bar PR)
345x1 (PR again)
355x1 (PR) (legit surprised at how these are feeling)
365x1 (PR)
375x1 (PR, honestly just confused at this point)
385x1 (PR) (rep was tougher, but I thought I had more in the tank. Then I racked the bar and promptly fell over, just lightheaded as hell. Called it there.)
Called the workout there due to time. This was a ton of fun.
Notes:
- press felt good. 165x6 ties my standing PR, and I did it seated, which actually feels a little bit tougher to me.
- Hi bar felt good. I’ve noticed hi bar feels much better when I’m only doing 1-3 reps, have trouble staying vertical after that. I think the heaviest I’ve ever done hi bar before was 315. Just kinda got a hair up my ass today to see what I could do. Happy to be stronger, especially given that this was without knee sleeves. I remember when a 315 squat seemed like the ultimate goal, now’s it’s a weight I regularly blow past with variations. Nice spot to be in.
- Okay I wrote that above at like 335. Revision: wtf just happened with hi bar. I can’t hi bar like this. Shit, this is almost matching my low bar. And no sleeves. I am confused
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amazing work today. congrats.
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Squats looked really good. Last rep was deff a tough rep but still a solid squat. Quality
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Very epic
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