The new thread title is bloody awesome. Let’s GO
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Great to read this update, the vulnerability and strength from within!
Appreciate the tag, and coudos on being ‘back’. Epic moving so many houses of things, then the draining tasks associated with reno’s (alas if you want something done right, it’s often easier to just do it yourself!)
Are you land based for a while now?
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Work For Today: JuggernautAI Week 2 day 1
Overhead Press: 45x10, 95x5, 115x10, 110x10, 110x10, 105x10
Various grip chins: 10, 10, 7
Barbell shrugs: 245x10, 255x10, 275x10
DB rows: 85x10, 95x10, 110x10
DB fly: 15x10, 25x10, 25x15
BB curl: 50x10, 55x10, 70x10
Banded Tricep Pushdown: Gx10, GOx10, GBx10
Notes:
- week 2, but also day 2 just due to me starting at the end of last week.
- holy Volume. I am not used to pushing so many sets for such high reps, I really burnt out on that a lot faster than I thought I would. 1st set of 115 overhead press felt like a warmup, by the 110 set my shoulders were dying lol.
- program called for 3x10 pull-ups. I gave it a good attempt, but lats just failed on me on that third set. Still, I think this is the first time I’ve done more than 1 double digit Pullup set in a workout, so that’s neat.
- all the other work for today was the program trying to gauge my strength, so it went the same way. 1 set of 10 with 4 RIR, 1 set with 3RIR, 1 set with 0-1 RIR. Didn’t really work for the fly’s, but everything else felt good. Little boring of training, but I get the program needing to establish my base numbers.
- I seriously do not like long rest periods. 2 minute rest periods have me antsy. 3 minutes and I feel like I need to bring a book with me. It’s making me realize that I probably had some strength gains on the table from me always rushing into the next set, but also I think those short rest periods were awesome for conditioning, so I’m still happy with them.
- this program definitely has me training differently, and with notable increase in exercise variation. We will see how I respond to that, but it excites me, and that’s half the battle.
- also exciting, just put in an order for more gym equipment. 80lb noubells set, Rep 4100 adjustable bench, and Rep GHR. Should be here in a couple weeks, will really help me expand my exercise variations.
@simo74 appreciate the kind words, it’s been a ride. Glad you like the new log title, the last one you made up for me was awesome.
@throwawayfitness thanks, appreciate you cheering me on
@SkyzykS lol, we went with a Uhaul BECAUSE the navy lost all our stuff last time. We found it 4 months later, literally just because we were nice to a driver so he went rogue and just started walking around warehouses until he found where they had misplaced it. Never again haha
@littlesleeper dude, that song is like my wife and I’s anthem right now lol. The first time I heard it I just busted up laughing, 1000% just hits home with us haha
@boilerman trust me brother, you and me both were waiting for it lol.
@raven78 get to a new ship in a few weeks, looks like we will be in port for a good while, so as long as I don’t get cross decked to another ship, I should be land based for the better part of a year. After that, I have no idea, but if I were a betting man I’d say I have at least 1 more deployment during my commitment. If not, fine by me, but if so, I fully expect it to be a solid experience, better than my last. (As far as the home renovation goes, my old man is mr.fix it on just about everything, his advice has been worth its weight in gold)
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I’ve always leaned toward supersets for this same reason.
Until I did a stretch of 10×10 with a recommended 4 min. rest period. The first couple sets were sleepers. Then the middle bunch made the 4 min. rest seem shorter and shorter. By the last three sets it was the fastest 240 seconds I’ve ever experienced.
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Work for today: JuggernautAI Week 2 Day 2
High bar squats: 45x5, 135x5, 190x10, 185x10, 185x10, 185x10, 185x10
Deadlift: 135x5, 225x5, 275x8, 290x8
Superset:
Heel elevated goblet squat: 35x10, 53x10, 53x15
Various grip chins: 8, 8, 7
SSB Good Mornings: 120x10, 130x10, 155x10
Band Pull Throughs: Bx10, Gx10, Gx15
Ab wheel: 10, 10, 10
Notes:
- the high volume continues. I don’t think I have ever done 5x10 squats in my life. It’s funny, but high bar as an accessory lift somehow just made my form click. When I was focused on moving heavy weights treating it as my main squat, I could never make it feel “right”. Now that they program it as accessory work for quads, I bring in my stance a tad and focus on using my legs, next thing you know form feels perfect.
- deadlifts felt very light. Honestly, all the weights felt light. But I think the program has me ramping up, so it’s a bit like first starting 531, and I’m trying not to be impatient with the lighter weights
- already went rogue on the program, skipped calf raises, because i am fat which means I of course already have blessed calves
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Work for today: JuggernautAI Week 2 day 3
Pull-ups: 10, 10, 8 (still didn’t get my 3x10, but added a rep on my final set from last session)
Bench: 135x10, 140x10, 150x10
Extra wide grip bench: 125x10, 135x10, 145x12
Dips: 8, 9
DB Row: 80x10, 80x10, 80x10
Barbell curl: 50x12, 50x12
Banded tricep pushdown: GOx15, GOx15
Notes:
- this training is really just a different ballgame than what I’m used to. The weights are light, enough that it honestly would make me a bit skeptical, if it weren’t for the fact that I’m still sore the next day.
- I think the light weights is actually a benefit in some ways. My form is immaculate, and my mind muscle connection is on point. Take DB rows for example. 80x10 feels easy. Too easy. So for me to feel like I’m working, each reps gets a 1 second squeeze at the top, a slower descent than usual, much more feeling of my back working. By the end of that set, which took me twice as long as a normal set of 10 reps takes me, I’m actually putting forth some good effort, and I can just feel blood pooling into my back muscles. Same thing 100% with curls. 50lb curls are nothing, but if I’m going slow and just squeezing the hell out of my bicep, I get a pretty solid pump. I know this is the start of the program and that weights are going to build, but I really do think that the time of more bodybuilding style work will pay dividends when it comes time to drop my reps and up the intensity
- bench moved crazy easy. First time normally barbell benching in a while, and I find that I have spent so much time with an axle that now a thumbless grip is the only way to make bench feel “right”. Never used to do that, but it just feels so much more solid on my shoulders.
- wide grip bench is odd to me. Fairly strong at it, and I saw that I’m actually still within IPF limits on bench grip width, but man it just feels weird to grab the bar that far apart. Shortened ROM, less triceps. I can see the benefit for powerlifting, but I think more than ever that athletes should stick to medium or close grip bench as their main mover
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Inch By Inch It’s A Cinch
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I’m in the same boat right now with the program I’m running. The weights are light and I’m staying far from failure… but I’m still sore as hell the next day??? It’s a very strange feeling.
I looked at JAI a while back and it seemed pretty interesting, but I opted against subscribing to it. Any idea how long you’ll be running it for?
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I’m not too sure how long I’m going to run it. The program has me on a 6 month cycle, with like 3.5 months of volume work, 1.5 months of strength, and then a month of peaking. Right now, I feel like I should give it a full 6 months. The program is designed over that time, I think I should give it a good run before making judgements.
…. Now if it’s been 3 months and I just feel like I’m spinning my wheels, I might completely bail, but I’m going to give it a minimum of 12 weeks before I allow myself to jump ship lol
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Makes sense, and I’m kind of in the same boat haha. I have a 12 week program scheduled for me through my coach and have zero expectations as to what is going to happen at the end. I’ll definitely be interested to see where this program takes you!
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Work For Today: JuggernautAI Week 2 Day 4
Deficit Deadlift: 135x5, 225x5, 285x8, 315x8
Low bar squat: 45x5, 135x5, 185x10, 190x10, 195x10
CGBP: 125x10, 135x10, 145x10
Heel Elevated Goblet Squat: 60x10, 65x10, 75x10
DB RDL: 45x10, 50x10, 60x10
Band Pull Through: Gx12, Gx12
Weighted Sit Up: +15x10, +25x10, +35x10
Notes:
- did deficit DLs standing on a 25lb bumper plate. Really liked the movement, honestly felt like I got a ton of leg drive into it at the bottom.
- squats felt good
- got my Nuobell DBs in today, so had fun testing them out. Really pleased I can bump the weight on goblet squats now. DB RDLs are awesome, I can go slow and just get this crazy stretch, I really dig it.
- AM weight of 208.1, which is honestly pretty awesome given that I haven’t watched my diet at all in the past 3 weeks, I’m getting better at just eating intuitively
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Work For Today: JuggernautAi Week 3 Day 1
Press: 45x5, 95x5, 120x10, 115x10, 115x10, 115x10, 110x10
Pull-ups: 10, 6
Db lateral raise: 20x12, 20x12, 20x12, 20x12
Db row: 80x12, 80x12, 80x11, 80x11
Db bench: 45x10, 55x10, 65x12
BB Curl: 50x12, 50x12, 50x12, 50x12
Tricep Pushdown: GOx15, GOx15, GOx15
Notes:
- looks like the way this program is going, I have slight increases in weight each week on the main lifts and added volume, and just added volume on accessory work. I think when I go from the hypertrophy phase to the strength phase, that changes a bit.
- happy with Press. Notable increase in volume and weight this week compared to last
- stomach was a bit off today, which always makes my pull-ups feel like garbage. The program had me call it after 2 sets given the crappy performance. Kinda weird to me how feeling crappy effects pull-ups more than anything else.
- love having these DBs, DB bench felt really good. Can’t remember the last time I did this movement.
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Work For Today: JuggernautAI Week 3 Day 2
High bar squat: 45x5, 135x5, 185x2, 200x10, 190x10, 190x10, 190x10, 190x10, 190x10
Deadlift; 135x5, 225x3, 320x8, 345x8
Superset;
Goblet squat: 60x12, 60x12, 60x12
Pull-ups: 8, 8, 5
DB RDLs: 50x10, 50x10, 50x10
Superset:
Band Pull Through: 3xGx12
Ab wheel: 3x10
Notes:
- definitely caught some sort of stomach bug, had the rumble guts going on for two days now. Almost skipped this workout, glad I didn’t.
- 60 reps of squats is no joke, especially with 2 minutes rest in between. Funny how 10x200 can seem easy, then not 10 minutes later 10x190 takes it out of you.
- note on these squats: I am burying these. Treating high bar like a quad builder, so the reps and deep with knees tracking as far as I can push over the toes. Ironically, it feels strong for me, but importantly I can feel my quads working, which hasn’t traditionally been the case on squats.
- deads moved well. I can move more weight on deads than the program is wanting me too. Trusting the program here a bit, chomping at the reigns for more but I think there’s a method to the madness that I want to let play through.
On a side note, this is the last week I have off until starting work, and tomorrow we truly start our last project, little kitchen remodel. Spent all day today removing the old backsplash, not sure how the hell they stuck it on before but it was a pain and a half to get off. Hopefully put in a new backsplash over the next two days, then install a bit of lighting, replace the sinks, some paint work, and I can officially put away my tools lol
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I saw this and thought of your log. A local guy that is big into engineering (really an understatement. He custom builds world-record breaking airplanes from scratch) has “Back to Work” as his theme. He says it many times in every video he produces.
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Is that for sale somewhere? I freaking love it!
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Hopefully this link is okay?
He has a couple others that say it too!
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Works perfect, thanks!
Edit: Now my engineering nerd side has taken hold and I’m just digging into this guys bio lol. Cool stuff
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Thought you might appreciate his work. He is currently building a house that has a depth-changing pool. It’s amazing. Guy doesn’t have an engineering degree either. His Youtube channel follows his airplane and house build.
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As a Poli Sci major currently working on Nuclear Reactors, I very heavily relate to and appreciate this lol
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Work For today; JuggernautAI Week 3 day 3
Barbell rows: 45x10, 135x10, 135x10, 135x10, 145x10, 155x10
Bench: 45x10, 145x10, 150x10, 155x10, 160x10
Db bench: 50x13, 50x13, 50x12, 50x12
Db lat raise: 20x13, 20x13, 20x13
Ring Pull Ups: 8, 7, 5, 4
Barbell curl: 50x13, 50x12, 50x12
Banded pushdown: GRx15, GRx15
Notes:
- tried some ring pull-ups today after seeing @flipcollar banging some out. They felt awesome on my shoulders, felt like I could get a stronger contraction in my back, but man they were difficult too. Definitely a good one to play with every now and then.
- bench felt good. 160x10 was honestly still an easy set, program doesn’t really have me struggling yet on bench, but it’s been about a 10lb increase by week, so that should soon change lol.
- still not sure how I feel about this program, pros and cons definitely. I don’t love all higher reps, I feel like I’m missing out on pushing some heavy weight. Also staying pretty fall from failure on everything, which just doesn’t mess well with my own ideas of hard work. On the other hand, high volume on the compound lifts makes me feel like my muscles are being inflated with a bike pump, the workouts aren’t really taxing psychologically, and my lower back hasn’t felt this good in years.
- other weird note, but my appetite is through the freaking roof. Idk if it’s the volume, all the work I’ve been doing around the house, or some other factor, but I feel like I could eat a horse and ask for seconds
- barbell rows: I still hate them. They just feel weird. That being said, after not doing them for a long time, I did it again and found them easy. Weird and easy, but still easy. Back is definitely stronger than last time I did these, thanks to all the heavy DB rows I’m guessing. Not planning to do BB rows again for awhile, that movement just doesn’t mesh well with me.
- Adjustable bench and GHD are (allegedly) arriving tomorrow. Super excited to GHRs, inc db bench, and chest supported row. Really been wanting to include all 3 of those in the workout rotation, excited to be able too
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