Becoming Canis dirus - SvenG's Training Log

Training Training Logs
2694

Belt update: The Rogue Lever Belt arrived today. Black on black, just like my car, haha! It’s pretty slick.

I must’ve been exceptionally bloated when I measured my waist, however, because it doesn’t feel super tight on the smallest setting—I may have to punch new holes already. Or maybe I should just eat EVEN MORE and get bigger!

From what I understand, lifting with a belt requires some skill or practice or whatever, so I’ll probably just mess around with it through the weekend to figure out if I really need to I deface it with newly punched holes…

I confess I’m very excited about it. I know it’s not a magic pill for my deadlift issues and whatnot, but something Pwn said recently in another thread really resonated with me. I forget where it was, exactly, but it was something like, “If you go lift with a belt, then come back and lift more without it than you did previously, it’s not a crutch—it’s a tool you’ve used to get stronger.”

That’s a terrible paraphrase, @T3hPwnisher, sorry about that—hopefully you all get his point anyway!

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2695

idk, there’s a solid 20kg difference between belted deadlift and not belted deadlift

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2696

I agree with Anna, I get a good 30-50lbs on my deads or squats out of having a belt. I think you’ll notice a jump in weight pretty immediately

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2697

Guess I’m gonna have to dig up my Lever belt I used only twice in the 3/4 years I’ve had it.

If I could like this multiple times I would.

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2698

5/3/1 for Hardgainers - c17w2d7

Saturday - 17 September 2022
Workout: Easy conditioning, 0530-0620 (50 minutes)

1-pump burpees + 28-kg KB swings - 2x(25 + 25), 25-second rest between
Bike@120-140 bpm - 10 minutes
Weighted vest walk - 30 kg - 15 minutes

Fasted. Weight room is already setup for daily work. That stuff, and BB curls, will follow at points throughout the day.

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2699

I’m someone who hasn’t noticed an increase instantly, just better lower back recovery and no pain during the actual lifts. I’m still playing with tightness though.

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2700

This is what I’m looking for. If I get a boost in weight on the bar, all the better!

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2701

I stubbornly held off a bit too long. It’s not that I had any real lower back problems, I just went from “my back hurt a little bit on that rep, I’m just gonna do one more and then stop” to actually continuing until muscular or cardiovascular fatigue.

It’ll be interesting to see how you get on as I may end up buying a similar belt to you instead of using the one in the gym I sometimes have to wait for.

1 Like
2702

5/3/1 for Hardgainers - c17w2d7

Saturday - 17 September 2022
Workout: Calves & daily work + BB curls, 1225-1300 + 1505-1515 (35 + 10 minutes)

Towel hop tabata - 4x40/10

3 rounds of:
c) Pendlay rows - 125 lbs - 10, 10, 25
b) Clean & press - 125 lbs - 10, 10, 10
c) Seated CR - 210 lbs - 30, 25, 20

Towel hop tabata - 4x40/10

BB curls - 137 (rep PR)

Ate breakfast with an extra pumpkin spice Two Good yogurt, cut the grass, and promptly ate more—I was starving! Think that’s still an effect from yesterday’s pressing. Took my son to basketball practice, got home and went straight into this, so now my daily work is done.

Goal is 137 unbroken BB curls before this evening’s activities, so stay tuned for more…

Edit: Took 7:13 for 137 unbroken today. No pauses at the top, but definitely wasn’t in a hurry. Not sure slow and steady(-ish) helped much—the forearm pump continues to amaze me with just how incredible (and incredibly painful) it is. At least there’s filet mignon on the menu tonight!

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13 Likes
2703

5/3/1 for Hardgainers - c17w2 - summary

So last week was as draining as ever, but I made it through. Feeling kinda ambivalent about those deadlifts—or maybe a bit deflated—but I still know I made the right call on Thursday, I meant what I said in the edited post, and I will be modifying the weights this week, too. That said, 405 feels farther away then ever—ugh!

On the up side, I ate really well this week and I hit my assistance rep goals, so that’s a big win. Just need to rinse and repeat in that respect this week, particularly because I’m not sure what the following week in St. Alban’s will bring.

Right, so the last week of my second Hardgainers cycle starts today. My goals are:

  • Complete all 4 lifting workouts
  • Hit 100 reps for each assistance category
  • Complete 3 days of easy conditioning & direct calf work
  • Row something heavy every day
  • Get something heavy from floor-to-overhead every day
  • Continue to eat properly

Still not looking forward to any of it. In fact, the only thing I’m looking forward to is being done with Hardgainers, haha! But it’s actually been pretty awesome, so really that’s just me whining.

There’ll be a travel deload the week following while I’m in the UK, and I’m not sure what I’ll be launching into upon my return. It’s supposed to be an anchor of some sort, but that 5/3/1 Bodybuilding template that @antiquity pointed out is looking really attractive at the moment… I’ll use the time away to figure it out, I guess.

Okay, that’s that. Just need to buckle down and focus on this week for right now—the rest will sort itself out when the time comes!

7 Likes
2704

5/3/1 for Hardgainers - c17w3d1

Sunday - 18 September 2022
Workout: Easy conditioning, 0845-0935 (50 minutes)

1-pump burpees + 28-kg KB swings - 2x(25 + 25), 25-second rest between
Bike@120-140 bpm - 10 minutes
Weighted vest walk - 15 minutes

Fasted. Up late because I had to be, went to bed feeling awful, cancelled my morning alarm before I fell asleep. Didn’t get up until almost 0730, which is crazy. Finally got moving, though, so now easy conditioning is done. Rest of it will follow as time allows.

At least those steaks were awesome—the knife fell through them like they were butter!

7 Likes
2705

Steak is my cure for everything. Nice work!

1 Like
2706

5/3/1 for Hardgainers - c17w3d1

Sunday - 18 September 2022
Workout: Calves & daily work + extra conditioning, 1155-1305 + 1610-1655 (70 + 45 minutes)

Towel hop tabata - 4x40/10

3 rounds of:
a) Kroc rows - L/R - 65 lbs - 10, 10, 25
b) Sled ground-to-overhead - about 70 lbs - 10, 10, 30
c) Seated CR - 210 lbs - 30, 25, 20

Towel hop tabata - 4x40/10

Pwn’s The Last Castle - AMRAP, 20 minutes
a) Farmer’s walk - 25 yards - 2x87 lbs
b) 6 alternating DB snatches - L/R - 45 lbs
c) Farmer’s walk - 25 yards - 2x87 lbs
d) 10 KB swings - 28 kg
Rounds: 6; Time: 21:01

Drilled two new holes in my belt. Couldn’t even get it fastened on the new tightest setting, but it felt pretty good on the other hole. Wore it for the circuit, just for kicks—but man, it changes things! Didn’t notice my back on the sled ground-to-overheads, so that’s cool, but breathing was harder than expected. Maybe that’s how it’s supposed to be? I dunno…

Thinking maybe now it’s still too tight—it was pinching just under my ribs and there’s a touch of bruising there already. Either way, I was glad to release it after every set.

I’m going to wear it for The Last Castle on what was the original tightest setting—just for kicks again, but also for comparison. Maybe I didn’t need new holes after all?

Edit: Somebody please tell me that belted lifting is an acquired taste so I just need to stick with it! Or tell me that I’m really stupid for wearing it for today’s work—that’d make me feel better, too! But, crap, even on the looser setting this thing just plain hurts…

And, yes, you read that correctly: only 6 rounds in 21 minutes. Took the belt off after that and finished off 8 rounds in 29:12. I know I would’ve been moving slowly anyway—it’s just that kind of day—but the belt wasn’t helping. That’s gotta be some kind of negative PR right there. Ugh!

9 Likes
2707

5/3/1 for Hardgainers - c17w3d2

Monday - 19 September 2022
Workout: Squat, 0520-0655 (95 minutes)

Indigo-3G - 0455
Surge - 0525-0638

Warm-up
Throws
Box jump - 24 in - 10

Begin: 0539; End: 0653; Duration: 74 minutes
Squat - 145x5, 175x5, 205x5 | 240x5, 270x5, 300x5 | 240x20
HLR - 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10
Chin-up - BW - 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10
Dip - 60 - 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10

Assistance totals:
Push - 100 reps
Pull - 100 reps
Single-leg/core - 100 reps

Semi-fasted: black coffee upon waking, then Indigo-3G and Surge as above.

I’m hurting, folks, and that squat “5+ PR set” was pretty awful, but 100 reps of each assistance move is the big win today.

Squat-HLR-chin-dip circuits until I ran out of squats. Warm-up rounds in 18 minutes, main in 26 minutes, WM round in 12 minutes, 6 of which was the actual WM. That was incredibly painful today. I was moving like the undead after that, so eventually finished out with 3 HLR-chin-dip rounds in another 18 minutes (!).

Used the belt for the main work and the WM. It didn’t hurt as much today, though I am definitely bruised and the front part of my obliques are sore. I think that’s a good thing, generally speaking. It definitely made a difference on the squats—I felt stronger descending into the hole, and I feel like my usual sticking point on the way up wasn’t quite so sticky. But I’m gonna have to learn how to breathe with it because that was part of the problem on the top set—though 300 lbs also just felt incredibly heavy today—and on the WM. I was on my hands and knees for a good two minutes with my chest heaving like a freight train after I released the belt following that 20-rep set.

That just leaves daily work for later today. Hoping to hit that up before lunch, but we’ll see how the day goes.

15 Likes
2708

Awesome amount of work!

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2709

5/3/1 for Hardgainers - c17w3d2

Monday - 19 September 2022
Workout: Daily work, 1210-1230 (20 minutes)

3 rounds of:
a) Clean & press - 125 lbs - 10, 10, 10
b) Pendlay rows - 125 lbs - 10, 10, 25

Done. Gotta eat up today, 'cause I’m dying here.

3 Likes
2710

Same here on using the belt. I don’t feel stronger as such but I am more confident in the hole as you are, so my ROM may have increased a bit. The past 2 weeks have been haphazard and haven’t done a proper squat session in that time. Thankfully I won’t be doing a 20 rep set though. Fair play to ya!

1 Like
2711

You take one holiday and a bit of leisure time and return to 60 new posts. @SvenG my friend, you’re either working out too much or are just too popular.

How is your back?
Anything else I missed?

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2712

5/3/1 for Hardgainers - c17w3d3

Tuesday - 20 September 2022
Workout: Bench, 0525-0645 (80 minutes)

Indigo-3G - 0500
Surge - 0538-0624

Warm-up
Throws
Box jump - 24 in - 10

Begin: 0543; End: 0642; Duration: 59 minutes
Bench - 120x5, 150x5, 175x5 | 200x5, 230x5, (255x5)x5
Pull-up - BW - 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10
Seated DB press - 2x45 lbs - 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10

Assistance totals:
Push - 100 reps
Pull - 100 reps
Single-leg/core - 0 reps

Semi-fasted: black coffee upon waking, then Indigo-3G and Surge as above.

Crushed it!

Bench-pull-up-press rounds, warm-ups in 13 minutes, main in 46 minutes. Pull-ups were tough from the start, but then they got really tough after Round 6, and tougher still in Rounds 9 and 10. I got 'em all, though—clean and without any rest-pausing. Could feel the fatigue in my shoulders by the end, but my last bench set was as strong as my first—the last few reps of the sets at 255 were a bit slow, but I was never in danger of missing.

Daily work and the sled later today.

11 Likes
2713

Thanks for checking in, @Koestrizer! Always nice to have you along.

My back is feeling decent—not sure that it’s 100% yet, as deadlifts are still feeling weak, but that could just be in my head at this point, too.

I’ve started lifting with a belt, so that’s new. Only two or three workouts into using it at this point, so I’m still adjusting, but I’m hoping it’ll help me lift (and deadlift, specifically) with more confidence that I’m not going to mess myself up beyond repair.

2 Likes