Barley1 - 915 at 47

Training Training Logs
345

Lower Body

A. Front squat Ramp to 5RM,155 X 4, 135 x 8
B. RDL Ramp to 5RM, 185 x 6, 165 x 8
C1. Gob squat x 6 @ 80, 90, 100
C2. Banded leg curl x 7, 8, 10

Stronger today, but not much. I looked in my workout notebook and saw the last time I was seriously doing front squats was almost a year ago. That also explains some of the ridiculously low numbers.l, so I feel somewhat better. But not much.

RDLs are probably the best hinge movement for me. They were certainly moving better than last time. And goblet squats, too, with which there’s always a point I can’t load more onto the DB and/or have to do stupidly high reps.

Anyhow, onward I go. Travel in six days.

346

Upper–Summer Maintenance Routine

A. Incline bench press Ramp to 5RM @ 175, 145 x 9
B. DB Row Ramp to 5RM @ 100, 86 x 9
C. Dead hang chin BW x 6, 6, 7
D. Dips x 6 @ +15, +30, +45
E. DB Curls 26lbs x 9
F. Tri Extension 50lbs x 9

Jup. Slow, steady progress all the way across. My weight has hovered around 167 these past few days, with a few bigger meals thrown in, meaning I’m lighter than a month ago, but eating more and moving less–right now between 8-10k a day.

I have no explanation.

I guess I should be grateful, smile, and keep eating the occasional piece of cake.

Since January, I’ve been eating higher carb, lower fat and am frequently shocked at the volume of food it takes to hit my daily goal–which I’ve been inching upwards; I’m now at 23-2400. A surplus on August will be a chore.

Fishing tomorrow; I’m headed to Italy on Friday.

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347

Summer Maintenance Routine

A. Front Squats, Ramp to 3RM @ 165, 3x2 @ 150
B. Incline bench press Ramp to 3RM @ 185 (stopped at 1), 3x2 @ 165
C. RDL Ramp to 3RM @ 215

Did t really have a plan today. Vacation is approaching fast, so I cobbled together a full body workout. My shoulder got a little cranky with the incline pressing, so I didn’t push.

For future programs, I’m going to treat RDLs as the main hinge–I can actually progress them, something I struggle to do with conventional and trap bar pulls.

Not sure about tomorrow–maybe I’ll do a Gap-style workout for arms and delts; I don’t really have a plan. It’s kinda freeing.

Weight: 167.2
Steps: 10k
Cals: 2400

Edited twice because word processing window is fickle af

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348

And… I’m back.

I went to Italy for two weeks, caught Covid, goofed off, and have now been out of the gym for one month and three days.

I’m planning on using 3-4 weeks to ease back in, using about 1/3 my previous volume, and keeping about 2RIR. I’ll use this bridge to ease into Thib’s Jacked Athlete 31, maybe even initially running that at a lower volume.

Jeff Nippard suggested returning from a layoff using about 60-percent of previous working weights for two sets of five. Since I last lifted during a cut, I used very rough estimates.

Today:
All lifts paused two seconds at full stretch
-Close stance back squats (heels 8" apart): lots of warmup, 135 x 5, 5
-Bench press: 135 x 4, 4
-NG Chin BW x 3, 3
-DB RDL 26lbers x 5, 5

The weights felt ridiculously heavy today, but I managed to stay far from failure. I did remember, however, how I prefer close stance squatting. The movement feels much more like a leg press and seems less stressful on my aging knees and low back… to be fair, I have to use less weight, which probably isn’t a bad thing.

Worse than the weights feeling heavy, I was winded from the warmup sets and sucked wind, hard, after each low effort working set. Thanks, Covid.

Weight: 164
Not tracking cals yet

349

All lifts paused two seconds

Goblet squat: lots of warmup, 80lbs x 5, 5
-Dips: BW x 6, 6
-DB Row 60lbs x 8, 8
-DB curl 20lbers x 6, 6

This felt like it required a lot of effort, even though I was nowhere near failing any exercise at any point. My endurance is improving, but still lacking.

I hope this type of low volume, relatively low effort reintroduction is the ticket to those sweet, sweet regainz of what I lost.

Cals: 2300ish
Weight: 165 ish

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350

Bridge Program to Jacked Athlete 31

-Front squat: lots of warmup, 105lbs x 5, 5
-Incline Bench Press: 115 x 5, 5
-TBDL 135bs x 5, 5
-Incline DB row 40s x 5, 5

I felt stronger today, endurance wasn’t as bad. Front squats have been a problem for a long while; now seems like a good time to take another run at them. My personal best was a few years ago and, like, 205 for two.

Relatively speaking, I’m naturally much better at upper body work. I’ve also decided to take another run at deadlifts, starting with my hips high. No time like the present to work on my weaknesses.

I’ve been walking an additional 45 minutes (about 5,000 steps) a day, slowing upping the time. I lost my pedometer/fitness watch in Rome, so I’m recording time instead of distance.

Calories: 2300ish
Weight: 166

351

Bridge Program to Jacked Athlete 31

All lifts paused two seconds at full stretch
-High bar back squats (heels 8" apart): 155 x 5, 135 x 6
-Bench press: 145 x 5, 5
-NG Chin BW x 4, 4
-DB RDL 30sx 5, 5

My cardio is coming back faster than my strength. The good news is that I’m not blindly stumbling around gasping for oxygen after every set, even the warmups–you know, the ones with an empty bar. The bad news is that 700lb squat is gonna take a while. :smile:

I think I’ll stick with my current approach for another two weeks, then begin Jacked Athlete 31 at half the volume, adding sets each week. DB RDLs are gonna give way to a barbell; goblet squats will be replaced with low bar squats.

Weight: 166

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352

Bridge Program to Jacked Athlete 31

All lifts paused for two seconds:
-Front squat: lots of warmup, 115lbs x 5, 5
-Incline Bench Press: 125 x 5, 5
-TBDL 165bs x 5, 5
-Incline DB row 50s x 5, 5

Squeezed this in after a day of kayaking and fishing. Still lots of room for regaining to my previous precovid strength. My cardio continues bouncing back much more quickly.

I’ll get there.

Weight: 169lbs (ate a pizza yesterday, so mostly water, I reckon)

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353

Bridge Program to Jacked Athlete 31

All lifts paused for two seconds:
-Front squat: lots of warmup, 125lbs x 5, 5
-Incline Bench Press: 135 x 5, 5
-TBDL 185bs x 5, 5
-Incline DB row 60s x 5, 5

I’m officially 46 now. Yay? I guess?

I’m also done with travel and have a loooong uninterrupted block of time to focus on middle-aged jackedness.

I may throw in a gap workout tomorrow, then start getting after it, in earnest, beginning Monday.

I’ll start Jacked 31 from Thib’s website using two working sets, adjusting volume upwards as needed.

Weight: 168

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354

Jacked Athlete 31 ((Yesterday)

Seven second eccentrics:
-Close stance, high bar back squat: 135lbs x 5, 5
-Bench Press: 135 x 5, 5
-TBDL 165bs x 5, 5
-DB row 80s x 5, 5

I tried to dial in my form, keeping the eccentrics slow and smooth. I felt like I succeeded, ending each set around 2RIR, except for the DB Rows, which were a tad heavy.

The movements felt challenging, in a good way, while using shockingly light weight. I hope starting with less than eyeball-bleeding intensity gives me something of a longer runway for progress before inevitably hitting a wall and burning out.

Weight: 168

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355

Jacked Athlete 31

Five second pauses during eccentric:
-Front squat: 95lbs x 5, 5
Incline Bench Press: 115 x 5, 5
-RDL 135bs x 5, 5
-Incline DB row 50s x 5, 5

Today’s weights were embarrassingly light–I’m almost ashamed to post them; the long pauses quickly created a lot of fatigue. I went bambi-legged the final squat pauses.

I focused on dialing in technique again today, keeping a couple reps in the tank. I really hope, that by showing restraint now, I’ll reap some benefit in later weeks.

Weight: 168 (oddly my weight belt is tighter than a few weeks ago, but I weigh the same)

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356

Jacked Athlete 31

Friday

-Close stance, high bar squat: (w/u), 145 x 6, 165 x 6, 185 x 4
-Bench Press: (w/u), 145 x 6, 165 x 6, 185 x 3*
-RDL: (w/u), 135 x 6, 165 x 6, 185 x 4
-NG chins: BW x 6, 6, BW +10 x 4

Monday:
Six second eccentrics all lifts:
-Close stance, high bar back squat: 155lbs x 4, 4, 4
-Bench Press: 155 x 4, 4, 4
-TBDL 185bs x 4, 4, 205 x 4
-DB row 80s x 4, 4, 4

*I got a bit ambitious on Friday, as is my wont, with bench press. Instead of grinding up an ugly fourth rep, I stopped the set early. Mike Israetel would be pleased.

Today’s weights felt light; everything moved well. Almost too well. In retrospect, I maybe could’ve added a few lbs here or there. Then again, I could argue I’m wisely showing restraint during my comeback.

In any case, I approve of the psychology behind the first few weeks of this program. By shortening the pauses or speeding the eccentric, plus dropping a rep each week, I get to handle greater and greater weights over time. It’s a very satisfying approach, even with these light loads. I may add one more week, using the same lifts but at almost regular speeds or with a very brief pause.

I spent the weekend with a group of guys I’ve known for years, mostly fishing and eating–a lot, like multiple desserts and ice cream. Now it’s time for old barley1 to clean it up and get back to work.

Let’s go.

Weight: 167 on Fri; after a weekend of indulgences, 171 Mon am

357

Jacked Athlete 31

Four second pauses during eccentric:
-Front squat: 115lbs x 4, 4, 4
-Incline Bench Press: 135 x 4, 4, 4
-RDL: 155bs x 4, 4, 4
-Incline DB row 60s x 4, 4, 4

Getting it done. I like this plan so far, wuth the weights escalating weekly. I feel like I’m regaining my lost strength pretty quickly without grinding myself into dust with Herculean efforts.

Weight: 170lbs

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358

Jacked Athlete 31

Friday

-Close stance, high bar squat: (w/u), 165x5, 185 x 4, 190 x 3, 200 x 2
-Bench Press: (w/u), 155 x 5, 175 x 4, 185 x 3, 195 x 2
-RDL: (w/u), 165 x 5, 185 x 4, 195 x 3, 205 x 2
-NG chins: BW x 5, +10 x 4, +15 x 3, +20 x 2

Not sure what to make of this. Squats were more challenging than I thought they should be; everything else, especially RDLs and chins, felt much easier.

Ah, life.

In any case, I only did four work sets. I’m still trying to show restraint and should be able to add weight for another week or two before moving on to a bodybuilding/recovery week. Afterwards, I’ll return to three more weeks of strength programming.

Weight: 171… (still? It’s like I permanently gained 4lbs last weekend. I ate more than normal, but in excess of 14,000 cals over maintenance? Nope. No way. Weight is weird.)

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359

This has happened to me before. I generally up water intake to an insane level if I am holding onto weight that I don’t believe was fat gain. Usually does the trick for me.

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Thanks, man. I’ll give this a shot over the long weekend.

I’m still surprised by the unexpected responses I have to diet and training.

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361

Jacked Athlete 31

Five second eccentrics all lifts:
-Close stance, high bar back squat: 185lbs x 3, 3, 3, 3
-Bench Press: 175 x 3, 3, 3, 3
-TBDL: 205 x 3, 3; 225 x 3, 3
-DB Row: 90 x 3, 3, 3, 3

All the weights felt just about right. I’m going to depart from the plan next week and do four or five sets of doubles, with a faster eccentric–4 seconds–before beginning the bodybuilding week.

I completed a gap workout on Saturday: arms and delts. The plan called for hamstrings and calves, but… I didn’t really see the point. My hamstrings get fried from RDLs and were cramping today; they don’t “feel” neglected during the week.

Weight: 170

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362

Jacked Athlete 31

Three second pauses during eccentric:
-Front squat: 135lbs x 3, 3, 3, 3
-Incline Bench Press: 155 x 3, 3, 3, 3
-RDL: 185bs x 3, 3, 3, 3
-Incline DB row 66s x 3, 3, 3, 3

Today, the weights felt just right; I finished each set around 1-2 RIR and performed each rep with the focus on solid form.

Next week, I plan on an eztra strength week, aiming for four sets of two with a one-second pause. This will allow for a bit more weight and help me better jusge weights for the cluster sets next block.

Considering I’ve been rebounding from a month off, and a nasty bout of Covid, I’m pleased with the steady progress I’ve been making. It’s hard to determine where my strength levels are vs where they were at the beginning of summer. I left for Italy in late June after a loooong cut; running the Eternal Warrior plus 14k daily steps in a deficit left me far weaker than when I started.

Plus some lifts just seem to respond well to me being fatter. My best front squat was, maybe, 205 x 2. As low as that is, it’s currently a pipe dream while weighing 170.

Weight: 170ish (still drinking extra water)

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Jacked Athlete 31

-Close stance, high bar squat: (w/u), 185 x 3, 195 x 2, 205 x 1, 200 x 3, 210 x 2
-Bench Press: (w/u), 175 x 3, 185 x 2, 195 x 1, 190 x 3, 200 x 2
-RDL: (w/u), 185 x 3, 200 x 2, 215 x 1, 210 x 3, 220 x 2
-NG chins: BW+10 x 3, +20 x 2, +30 x 1, +20 x 3, +30 x 2

This time around, it felt like squats moved waaay better and that there’s more room for progress. Same with RDLs.

Benching and neutral grip chins felt closer to my limit, but still finished with a rep or two in reserve.

What’s weird? I think that, right now, I’m embodying the difference between building strength and demonstrating it. Using these progressions, with all the slow negatives and pauses, I thought I’d be crushing PRs when lifting with a regular tempo. I’m nowhere close. In fact, there’s surprisingly little difference between the weights I use for tempo lifting and the regular.

But, I am progressing with the slower reps and pauses…maybe it just takes a while to transfer that strength to regular reps–I need practice.

Tomorrow is arm day!

Weight: 170ish

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Jacked Athlete 31

Monday
Four second eccentrics all lifts:
-Close stance, high bar back squat: 205lbs x 2, 2, 2, 2
-Bench Press: 195 x 2, 2, 2, 2
-TBDL: 225 x 2, 2; 245 x 2, 2
-DB Row: 96 x 2, 2, 2, 2

Today
1 second pause during eccentric:
-Front squat: 145lbs x 2, 2, 2, 2
-Incline Bench Press: 165 x 2, 2, 2; 175 x 2
-RDL: 205lbs x 2, 2, 2, 2
-Incline DB row 70s x 2, 2, 2, 2

Did an arm workout over the weekend to add to my somewhat limited sex appeal. This week’s weights felt fine. I’m still leaving a tad in the tank, feel good overall, and believe the next two months will include some dramatic progress.

Next week is bodybuilding week–the “1” in “Jacked Athlete 31.” It feels like it’s time; I’m looking forward to the change of pace.

Weight: a bloated 173 (I bet I’m 171 tomorrow am)

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