My thought process, exactly. Thanks!
1 Like
05Jan23
BW: 224 lb
Abs
Arms
Rows
Sprints on the Echo Bike
III
3 Likes
06Jan23
BW: 223.9 lb
Deadlift (conventional)
300x8
315x8
330x8
Bench Press (2 ct pause)
135x10
140x10
145x10
DB Press
40x12
35x12
35x12
Bent-over reverse fly
20x16
20x14
III
3 Likes
07Jan23
This was supposed to be a day off, but I felt stiff and sore so just went in the weight room and messed around a bit with some back and arm stuff. Good pump; no harm, no foul.
I’m starting to feel some chest congestion and sore throat…
3 Likes
happy new year mate, god to see you still working hard.
1 Like
Thank you, sir. And same.
1 Like
10Jan23
BW: 224.3 lb
Squat
275x8
290x8
300x8
285x8
Incline BB Bench
140x8
150x8
160x8
150x8
I cut out the second half of this session. I’ve been pretty sick for three days and was drained. Glad to have gotten the squats and presses in, though. The squats were killer and had my low back screaming. I’m considering altering my long-term plans based on all of the recent setbacks.
3 Likes
16Jan23
BW: 224.3 lb
Behind-the-neck presses
95x10
95x10
95x10
Bench Press
115x12
115x12
115x12
Wendler Rows
90x15
90x15
BB Curls
55x10
55x10
Squat*
245x14
245x7
DB Pullover
30x20
Stiff-legged Deadlift
185x15
DB Pullover
30x20
Calf Raises
BWx20
BWx20
BWx20
Crunches
x20
*I was aiming for 20 reps on the squats. I had plenty left in the tank strength-wise, but at rep 11 my lower back cramped up so badly I thought I was done. I forced three more reps before having to rack. A cramping lower back seems to limit a lot of high-rep stuff I try to do. I guess I was too ambitious with my weight choice. I’ll drop down to 225 and try again on Wednesday.
3 Likes
17Jan23
30 minutes on the Echo bike
3 Likes
Ok @simo74 what do you think? Did I start out too heavy or did I just puss out? Reading through your log, I see the lower back was the limiting factor for you, as well. 245 is nowhere near my 10-rep max, so I thought I was giving myself plenty of running room. I’m just trying to decide if I should drop down to 225 lb and start from there, or give 245 another try.
I started this before I was “ready,” because I’ll never be “ready,” and I needed to shake myself up a little bit. Any advice is appreciated.
Where is 245 in comparison to your current max ??
Unless you know in your head your just had a really bad day drop it.
If it was me I would drop it back, start light and give yourself room to progress. The fatigue and soreness gets real after week 4, so no point rushing towards the pain.
1 Like
Thanks. My current e1RM is around 400 lb and last week I did 300x8@RPE8, but there’s no way my back could handle that right now. I thought 245 was pretty conservative. But I want to be able to do this thing and to progress some throughout, so I think I’ll drop it to 225 for workout number 2 and see how that goes. Just have to grit my teeth through the low back pain, I guess.
I also couldn’t believe how much my bench was affected by doing the BTN presses right beforehand. I was taking 90 sec rest in between each set to keep the overall length of the workout manageable.
Appreciate the advice.
Are you doing the 3 big breaths between every rep with the squats
Yep. I’m trying to do everything by the book, and I read through that section of your log several times to make sure I’m not missing anything. I took a video of my set; I’ll see if I can get it uploaded. I probably just gave up too quickly. My back hurt like the blazes of hell, but I should have done better.
1 Like
[quote=“hillbillyk, post:358, topic:276330”],
My back hurt like the blazes of hell, but I should have done better.
[/quote]
This was a big factor for me too, legs felt ok but back fatigue was horrible. Drop in to 225 get a good 20 and then add from there. You can always add more than 5lbs session but to be honest you wont need to. Remember this is not about sqaut strength it is a hypertrohy program to add weight. The numbers in the bar dont really matter as long as they keep going up. Also make suee you are eating like it is a second job.
18Jan23
Workout 2/18
BW: 224.1 lb
BTN Press
100x10
100x10
100x8
Bench Press
120x12
120x12
120x12
Wendler Row
95x15
95x15
BB Curls
60x10
60x10
Squat
225x20
DB Pullover
35x20
SLDL
190x15
DB Pullover
35x20
Abs
Okay, so I think I figured out the game a little bit here tonight. I think my problem with squats during that first session was my expectations. Being a long set of squats, I assumed that my leg/hip fatigue would be what made the set difficult. Or my poor conditioning would be the issue. So when I stopped due to back pain, I thought that was a separate issue that was causing me problems. Turns out, back pain is the thing that I’ll have to overcome each time. By knowing that, it will (hopefully) help me be able to steel myself against it.
Even at only 225 lb on my back, I was ready to rack it at about rep 13-14 due to my lower back feeling like the worst cramp I’ve ever had. So I now understand the mental part of this a little better, in that you’ve just got to figure out a way to endure that pain for a little while.
I need to figure out how to get in a rhythm with the breathing portion of these squats. I’m definitely doing the three big breaths in between every rep, but it’s kind of disjointed and a lot of times I end up taking an extra breath because of it; there’s no need to make the set even harder. So as I get some experience and can find a rhythm with the breathing, I think that will help me to better focus on the lifting.
But yeah, the back pain. Damn.
Thanks @simo74 for the assist.
5 Likes
Nice work! I’m pumped to see where this takes you.
1 Like
Thanks, man. I know this program is kind of a hot topic around here right now. I’ve had the book for a long time and just kind of decided to start it up without any prep and see if I can hack it. I have no expectations, but am kind of using it to cap off my “bulk.” I’ve been gaining - inconsistently - since August. After I finish this it’s time to get back to proper strength training and trim off some fat.
1 Like
20Jan23
Workout 3/18
BW: 224.1 lb
BTN Press
100x10
100x10
100x8
Bench Press
125x12
125x12
125x12
Wendler(?) Rows
100x15
100x15
BB Curls
65x10
65x10
Squat
230x20
DB Pullover
40x20
SLDL
195x15
DB Pullover
40x20
Abs
I’m still working on the breathing technique during the squats; I think I’m getting better, but watching the tape back I can see sometimes I’m taking one breath too many, sometimes one breath too few. I think I’m fulfilling the spirit of the squat set, though. To be honest, though, by the end the breathing part of breathing squats turns into an overly dramatic extended grunt. Those last 5-7 reps feel like someone is twisting knives they’ve jammed into my erectors. I’ll try to post the video.
I’m also bummed about how low my bench press is on this program. Doing it right after the presses has a huge effect on it. I guess that means I might be a shoulder-dominant bench presser? It’s no big deal, just a little humbling.
III
4 Likes
2 Likes