Barley1 - 915 at 47

[barley1]

Physical Labor
Six Rounds w/12lb weighted vest

Chins x 6
KB Swing 60lbs x 10
Dips x 10
DB Thrusters x 8
Med Ball Throw 15lbs x 6
Zercher Carry 165lbs x 80 feet

Putting in the work. The familiar feeling of wanting it all to end, the desire to quit, crept up during the second round. I didn’t listen and kept going.

Zerchers with a weighted vest on are extra horrible. I’ll add somewhere between four and 12lbs to the vest next week and run the same sequence/weights.

Weight: 174.2lbs
Calories: 2200ish

[barley1]

Mystery Program Week 3, Day 1

Zercher Squats 3x5 @175lbs
Close grip Bench Press 3x5 @155lbs
RDL 3x5 @185lbs
Incline DB Row 46lb DBs x 10, 10, 7
Incline Fly 46lb DBs x 10, 10, 7
Shrugs 70lb DBs x 12, 10 rest pause, 6

Used more weight than last week with today’s faster than last week, but still relatively slow, eccentric. Definitely still feeling stronger.

I wonder: when using a specific tempo on the negative, or a static hold, are you at RPE 10 when you can no longer perform the rep as dictated?

For example, with a, say, ten second eccentric, rep seven is kinda jerky. I try another, but know that I’ll have to speed up the descent to make the rep. I descend in six seconds and grind on the concentric. Is that RPE 10 or something else?

Weight has been trending up, probably due to a lack of activity. Walking outside in winter is tough.

Weight: 174.8
Calories: 2500

[barley1]

Power

Complex A
RDL 200lbs 3x4
Power Clean 100lbs 3x5
Jump Squat 40lbs 3x5
Broad Jump 3x5

Complex B
Incline Bench 165lbs 3x4
Plyo Pushup from bench 3x5
Med ball chest throw 3x5
Speed DB Press 30lb DBs 3x12

Holy smokes, I’m a broad jumping fool! I’m easily sailing over the rubber mat that I barely made it halfway across a few months ago.

Power cleans are moving well and I think there’s room for a good deal of improvement.

Med ball throws cover almost the length of my basement before rolling into the wall.

There’s nothing more satisfying than seeing progress and I am certainly seeing progress. Best course of action seems to be sticking with this setup another couple weeks, adding weight and dropping a rep each week. In the meantime, I’ll I think about what comes next for power development.

Calories: 2400ish
Weight: 174.4 lbs

[FlatsFarmer]

Technical Eccentric RPE 10? I don’t know exactly what you call it, but it’s pretty cool.

It’s like “easier” than a real all out max, but you still get to try your hardest during the lift. And then it’s recreate-able for next time, so you can actually train it.

And when you stop doing it and just lift regular you automatically lift more weight!

Why didn’t we start using these earlier?

[barley1]

Thanks for the response–I appreciate the thought that goes into your replies.

The accentuated negatives/holds are part of a Thibs program. The final set is supposed to be an RPE 9-10. I have no earthly idea what that looks like with, say, a 10 second negative.

I usually stop when my form/speed changes for 1-2 reps.

I mean, I could get an additional rep or two by speeding up a bit more and further relaxing my form… but, for the sake of those sweet, sweet GAINZ, should I?

[barley1]

Week 3, Day 2

Back squat 185lbs x 6, 6, 7
Bench Press 155lbs 6, 8, 9
Deadlift 225lbs x 6, 8, (doubled length of hold) 8
Arnold Press 30s x 10, 10, 6
Face Pulls 12, 13, 11
Lateral raises x 10, RP + 5, RP + 2

Static holds mid-rep today. I especially noticed how much stronger I felt on the big three.

Quick back of the envelope calculations say I was doing these lifts with roughly 65-70-percent of my 1rm, but was stronger than predicted on all three. On both bench and deadlift, I hit more reps than planned, and on deads I added fifty-percent to the duration of the hold on the last set–they simply felt too easy otherwise.

Effort is always difficult for me to judge in the moment, only in retrospect. My brain can’t judge the level of effort and focus on hitting a number of reps and/or rep performance; I need to rerack and collect my thoughts before planning for the next set. In the moment, I can work to failure thinking I’ve got four reps in the tank, then stumble around seeing stars. Or the opposite can happen, where I think I’m killing it, set the bar down, and realize I’m not even breathing heavy.

Weight: ???
Calories: Fell off the wagon a bit, probably 2700 or ao

[barley1]

Physical Labor
Six Rounds w/20lb weighted vest

Chins x 6
KB Swing 60lbs x 10
Dips x 10
DB Thrusters x 8
Med Ball Throw 15lbs x 6
Zercher Carry 165lbs x 80 feet

Zercher carries with a vest on are absolutely terrible. The vest keeps the bar a few inches farther from my chest, putting additional strain on my core.

I bumped the weight in the vest by eight pounds this week. Everything felt easier, but by no means easy, than I remember from last time. I’ll bump the weight in the vest once more–either four or eight pounds–before creating a new circuit.

I’m struggling more than I have in a long while with all the holiday food. Struggling is, perhaps, too strong a word, but junk food is everywhere. Coworkers give me candy, students give me cookies, the chef at my school bakes me muffins… plus all the random stuff people send my family–half-eaten bags of chocolates on the counter… you get the idea.

It’s not like I’ve fallen off completely, or even that much, I’ll get some enjoyment out of half a cookie or so, or a single truffle. I’ve noticed that, most of the time, the enjoyment from these foods fades after a few bites and I’m happy to stop eating them.

Normally I wouldnt mind if this happened once or twice in a week, but this shit is everywhere, every single day, and I simply can’t get away from it. Gah! I’d like to create a tradition of passing out holiday sirloin.

Calories: about like yesterday
Weight: 175.4

[barley1]

Mystery Program, Week 3 Day 3

Back squats 165lbsx 12, 185lbs x 10, 195lbs x 8, 165lbs 10/5/3 Rest Pause
Bench Press 145lbs x 12, 155lbs x 10, 165lbs x 8, 145lbs x 10/6/4 Rest Pause
Romanian DL 165lbs x 12, 185lbs x 10, 205lbs x 8, 165lbs 12/6 Rest Pause
Goblet Squats 80lb x 10, 10, (no rest) 8 superset with
Banded Leg Curl x 12, 12, (no rest) 10

Today, I noticed that I feel much more stable in the bottom position than three weeks ago. I also noticed that I hate higher reps and have unconsciously avoided them my entire lifting career. With higher reps, my strength quickly falls off a cliff… things feel good on one rep and I grind the next. They also hurt more.

Luckily, I think this program switches to Clusters and sets of six almost exclusively the next two blocks.

My son’s birthday party yesterday led to eating cake and pizza. I preloaded with a protein shake ahead of time and avoided losing complete control, waking up two days later in a different city, covered with powdered sugar and donut crumbs.

I’m looking forward to the 2024 T-ransformation Challenge just to get out of this eating funk. It’s easier to clean things up after the holidays. I’ll keep doing my best in the meantime.

Weight: ???
Calories: ???

[nateschmidt24]

Hey man,
Just read through your log I was searching for anyone doing Fiready. I just finished Week 1, Day 2 this morning! Looking forward to getting after it for the next 12 weeks!

[barley1]

Of the programs I’ve run, Fiready is, hands down, my favorite.

Parts of it were absolutely brutal, like the physical labor workouts during block two, but I feel like a physically and mentally stronger person after getting through it.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Please feel free to post any questions, thoughts, or observations here. It’ll help me relive my earlier glory.

[barley1]

Week 3, Day 1

Zercher Squats 2x6, 1x5 RP +1 @175lbs
Incline Bench Press 3x6 + 4 @150lbs
RDL, toes elevated 3x6 + 4 @185lbs
Incline DB Row 46lb DBs x 10, 10, 8
Dip BW + 20 x 10, 8, 7
Shrugs 70lb DBs x skipped

Today was eccentric focus, with varying slow speeds on each rep. It was very difficult to judge the appropriate weight. Incline bench and RDLs were too light, so I added four regular speed singles at the end of the final set, stopping as failure seemed imminent.

Been watching some Renaissance Periodization videos. I find Dr Mike a bit grating and hopelessly unfunny; he does seem to have become a believer in controlled rep speed, pauses, and working to failure. Keeping him in mind, I really dialed in the technique after realizing I’d misloaded my weighted vest for dips. I paused in the stretch position and really slowed the eccentric. Holy hell did that make a difference! My chest/arms gave up the ghost in a hurry.

I completed a power workout two days prior, nothing exciting enough to log.

Weight: 174.2
Calories: ???

[barley1]

Physical Labor
Six Rounds w/24lb weighted vest

Chins x 6
KB Swing 60lbs x 10
Dips x 10
DB Thrusters x 8
Med Ball Throw 15lbs x 6
Zercher Carry 165lbs x 80 feet

Adding just four pounds made this circuit into a different animal. It’s not the weight of the vest during the exercise so much as the constant compression on my ribcage that makes it hard to get enough air. Nowhere was this more apparent than Zercher carries. The vest also forces the crook of my arms up and forward, placing crazy demands on my core.

I had to psych myself up a bit to finish the carries each round and ended considerably more winded than last week.

Regardless, after five weeks of this, it’s probably time for a new conditioning circuit.

Weight: 175
Calories: 2400ish

[barley1]

Week 4, Day 2

Back squat 165lbs x 6 down to 155 x 6, 6
Bench Press 135lbs x 6 up to 145 x 6 or 7, 6
Deadlift 185lbs x 6, 6, 5
DB Shoulder Press 30s x 12, 11, 7 (supersetted with)
Face Pulls 12, 12, 11
Lateral raises x 12, 12, 11

Today’s workouts involved several holds during the concentric portion of lifts.

I had to reduce the weight a ton AND was still shocked by how holds in the middle and top third get increasingly difficult, after feeling easy early in a set–so much so my chest cramped on the last set of bench presses and I had to heave the bar into the supports.

My legs currently feel like lead.

I slowed the shoulder presses way down and held the stretch for three seconds. It got tough. Quick.

The thought of doing this again makes me a little apprehensive. I’ve missed that lately–the fear.

Calories: Christmas Eve cals
Weight: 175.2

[barley1]

Power

Complex A
RDL 215lbs 4x2
Power Clean 110lbs 4x4
Jump Squat 40lbs 4x4
Broad Jump 4x4

Complex B
Incline Bench 180lbs 4x2
Plyo Pushup from bench 4x4
Med ball chest throw 4x4
Speed DB Press 40lb DBs 4x9

I feel like I’ve become more powerful using this template. After five weeks, though, it’s probably time to change this up a bit, just not sure how.

I’ll have to think on it a bit.

Same goes for the conditioning workouts… time for some quick modifications to get me another six weeks or so.

Cals: no idea
Weight: no idea… back to the tedium soon

[barley1]

Week 4, Day 3

*Anderson squats 95x8, 125x8, 135x6, 165x7
Floor press 95x8, 115x8, 135x6, 165x6
Block Pull 225x8, 265x8, 285x6, 305x6
Goblet squats 80lb DB x 10, 10, 9 supersetted with
Leg curls, Red Band x 12, 12, 11

Anderson squats and floor presses were brand new movements for me today. FTR, I’m not a better presser than squatter.

I got better at the Anderson squats set to set, finding that pushing my hips back and opening my stance a bit more was key to getting into position. Position seemed to be everything. I didn’t start tight with 95lbs, struggled to get eight, and was worried that might be all I had.

135 flew up while my first attempt at 165 stayed glued to the pins. I reracked, focused on pushing my hips back on the setup, hit six, took a couple breaths, then barely completed one more to approach RPE 10.

Floor press was also new, but felt far more natural, like doing exactly half a bench press.

I think there’s plenty of room to progress with both these movements over the next 3 weeks.

Goblet squats are getting too easy with 80lbs, so I added a two-second pause at the bottom. Goblet squats used to be a movement I was terrible at. I could barely use a 40lb bell, my squat was so unstable in the bottom. This program, or the program before, cleaned up my squatting mechanics… Time to try a 90.

Weight: Festive
Calories: 2500

[barley1]

Physical Labor
Five Rounds w/28lb weighted vest

Chins x 6
KB Swing 70lbs x 10
Dips x 10
Lunges x 10/leg
Renegade row 40lbs x 10
Trap Bar Farmer’s Carry 225lbs x 80 feet

This was pretty terrible. I’m not a fan of lunges, so swapping them in automatically increased the suck. So did adding renegade rows–I’d forgotten how strenuous those are.

Trap Bar carries are weird; with each step, the weights fight me side to side, especially as I fatigue and breathe heavy.

This was about my limit for chinups. The last few were…less than pretty. It’ll be another few workouts before I add more weight to the vest.

Weight: 176
Calories: 2200ish

[barley1]

Week 5, Day 1

Zercher Squats 4x6 @175lbs
Incline Bench Press 4x6 @160lbs
RDL, toes elevated 4x6 @ 200lbs
Incline DB Row 50lb DBs x 10, 10, 8
Dip BW + 30 x 9, 9, 7
Shrugs 70lb DBs x skipped for time

Last workout of 2024. Still getting stronger.

The workouts are getting looong. This approached 1.5 hours, so I skipped shrugs to spend the evening with family, who will probably spend their time belittling my underdeveloped traps. So is life.

My weight has been up for a while. I’m definitely eating more and moving less, but enough to account for roughly five pounds in a month? I dunno. All the more reason to jump into 2024 with the T-ransformation Challenge.

I’ll post a pic soon.

Weight: 176.6
Calories: 2500ish, but the night is young

[barley1]

Power

Descending complex A
-Top half squat from pins 225x3, 3
-Back squat 195 x 3, 205 x 3
-Power clean 120 x 3, 3
-DB Jump squat 30s x 5, 5

Descending complex B
-Bench press from pins 205x3, 185x3
-Bench Press 175x 3, 3
-Plyo Pushup from floor x 3, 3
-Speed DB Press 40s x 10, 10

This workout was not for me. I modeled this after the Canadian Descending Complex from a Thibarmy article. In my limited setup, there were too many movements, too much rest, and too much having to move equipment around. Gah.

Next time, I’ll try:
-jump squat, back squat, power clean
-plyo pushup, bench press, speed bench press

Weight: 179
Calories: 2400
Steps: not many

[barley1]

In for the 2024 Challenge!

Goals:
-visible abs by May
-lose fat through increasing
activity vs. caloric restriction
(at least for the most part)

Currently 179lbs (mostly water and sadness)
45 years old
5’11"

[barley1]

Week 5, Day 2

Back squat 165lbs x 6, 6, 6
Bench Press 155lbs x 6, 4+2, 5+1
Deadlift 195lbs x 6, 6, 5
DB Shoulder Press 40s x 10, 8, 6 (supersetted with)
Reverse fly 8, 7, 8
Lateral raises x 9, 6+3

Long pauses in multiple positions again today. I really focused on nailing the holds, which, unsurprisingly, made me unable to complete as many reps. This was especially apparent with bench press; I needed to rest-pause to finish all six repetitions.

Holds during deadlift are weird. The hold itself, especially right off the floor, becomes increasingly difficult during a set. I fail when I become unable to maintain a tight position, but could probably finish the rep if there were no pause.

This program is approaching, or maybe on par with, the Surge Challenge in terms of difficulty. Two years ago, I’d probably have quit.

Not this time.

Weight: 176.6
Calories: 2500ish
Steps: 6500 (goal: 6000)