Oooo boy, gotten myself into it.
So I’ve been working quite a bit and don’t have anything pressing at the moment so I took today off, got taxes done, organized some stuff, sent some emails, and, most importantly, started my new lifting program. Going to layout my workout then go into depth about my plan and things I’m still working out, might be kind of long, this is your warning.
SBS RTF W1D1
Some kb swings and shoulder warmup
Squat: 135 x 10, 225 x 5, 275 x 2, 315 x 1, 365 x 1, 285 4 x 5, 1 x 15
Slingshot bench: 230 4 x 7, 1 x 16
RDL: 230 4 x 7, 1 x 19
Quad extension: 150 3 x 10
The program:
3 6 week blocks each followed by a deload
Inside of each block are 2 waves where volume starts higher and intensity starts lower, the waves end in the inverse fashion. Example of block 1, wave 1. week 1 Main work is 4 x 5, 1 x amrap (goal 10). Week 3 main work is 4 x 3, 1 x amrap (goal 6).
This can be run with a variety of days and a bunch of other tweaks but I’m going to run it 4x and do it as close to plan as possible. That being said, I’m doing some intentional spiritual bastardization.
This program is called “reps to failure” because you are supposed to take the last set to failure. Obviously the concept of “failure” is a bit opaque but the program defines it 3 ways:
- actually fail the last rep
- get to the point where you cant do another rep
- technical failure
The author doesn’t recommend 1 and is a bit ambivalent between the latter 2, leaving some discretion to the implementer. I haven’t made a hard decision, I’ll probably play it by ear to a certain extent (more on this to come).
The bastardization I’ll be doing is, if I hit the rep target + 5 reps, I’ll be stopping short of any of those definitions. Couple reasons for that. 1) I’m in a cut and I want to continue in it, going completely all out is going to get me hurt or I’m going to justify bad eating. 2) the progression algorithm is visible in the spreadsheet, the weights change fixed percentages based on the AMRAP sets, and target + 5 is the most change that can happen.
Program also gives the option to work up to a 90% single on the main and auxiliary work, I’m planning on doing it for the main work but likely not regularly for auxiliary.
That is the meat of the program, also recommended is upper back work 2-4x a week, I’ll be doing a variety of rows, pull-ups and pulldowns to accomplish this.
Other accessory work is supposed to be things that meaningfully benefit the main work, honestly, I need to revisit this section to get a bit more insight.
The actual lifting:
So, I’ve barely been back squatting but everything felt good getting to 365 then the first set of 285 felt a bit hard, nothing too problematic though. Felt fine until the last set when I was shooting for 10+, I hadn’t felt that grind in a long while, unpleasant but pretty clean.
Could’ve grinded out some more but they would’ve been ugly, not worth it.
Slingshot felt good but this is where the failure portion actually reared it’s head. Around rep 9 my right tricep started fatiguing quickly, rep 15 I hit the j hooks, same on 16. I figured if I was that out of position I was failing technically and called it.
RDLs felt great except for the fact that I was moving too quickly and drinking too much water. My weak stomach was trying to mount a mutiny, so I slowed down giving myself close to 3 min of rest. Crushed the last set, could’ve done a ton more.
In general, I kept rest to 2 min or less except on the AMRAP sets which were between 3-4, might actually stretch these a bit longer as I was feeling it.
Fun day 1, kicked my ass but I got through it all and this is probably the hardest day.
Starting weight: 271.2
