Biggest Guy in Class: How to Rebuild a Monolith

Training Training Logs
441

Yes, I value having my bicep intact :joy:

Nah just kidding. I have tried it a few times, it just feels unnatural (I fully admit this may be down to me not practicing it enough though). Also, I’m pretty sure my hook grip is stronger than my mixed grip. I’ve been hook gripping right from the start of my lifting career - that being said I may go on YouTube and quickly revise my technique to make sure I’m doing it right.

Probably a smart idea. Maybe I should do “biceps hell”? I could do 5x10 of something stretchy like incline curls and then superset with some sort of preacher curl.

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442

There’s always Poundstone curls.

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That’s 100 reps of BB curls in a row, right? Am I strong enough to do that? Like I can only get 15-ish reps with 45 lbs… or is that the idea?

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An axle is preferred, which tends to be lighter.

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You’re probably way better off sticking with hook. I’ve noticed I have a “side” that feels better when pulling heavy, but I can do double over up to about 300 for a few reps so I do that for the majority of warm ups.

Maybe it’s because my hands are disgustingly calloused, but I feel like I barely have to grip the bar with mixed. I just kind of hold it there. I’ve noticed there aren’t a whole lot of people here who pull mixed. I feel like the odd man out.

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Hmm, well I haven’t got one, so looks like I’ll have to improvise. Might just use a BB. I’ll do some experimenting.

Yes, I’ve noticed this too… it almost seems to have waned in popularity somewhat?

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Yesterday’s bench session was done at midnight in the dark - didn’t finish till past 1 am. This seems to be becoming something of a trend for my bench workouts, for some reason -

Anyway yesterday I had been up since 5 am and had just returned from like a 6 hour trip, so it probably wasn’t my finest workout ever. Tired as all hell. And my diet for the day consisted of takeaway burgers and protein shakes, which was… interesting, and healthy. Since it was really late, I decided to do the main sets and BBB then, and do the assistance work today before my cardio. The session:

19/01/21

Bench

Warmup: 20kgx11
Set 1: 51x5 (5 @75%)
Set 2: 58x5 (5 @85%)
Set 3: 64.5x4 (5 @95%) - missed that last rep. I told you I was tired!
BBB: 51x10, 9, 8, 7, 7 superset with BB rows 51x10, 10, 10, 10, 12 (only pushed the last set to failure).
Malcolm X: 5 reps bench w/12 reps rows, 4 reps bench w/10 reps rows

Notes:

  • As I mentioned, only did the first bit of the session.
  • Missed that last rep on the top main set of the day - probably down to being tired.
  • Screwed up my BBB sets as well, so I Malcolm X’ed it, just quickly trying to get the remaining reps done. Had a good feel in the pecs though, I have to say - felt juicy af, if I do say so myself.
  • I’m not sure whether I should lower the weight on bench like I did for press, or just keep it going like it is now. I suppose I have a week to decide.

Anyway, I plan to do a nice chill assistance session today, and then some cardio (sprints). Now it was meant to be a control day today, which I didn’t realise until I was neck-deep in carbs… so whoops. Not too much damage done though. That being said, I think I could benefit from making my control day a bit higher carb - I don’t think I’m gaining enough weight. I’ll report on today’s training later, and take some measurements tomorrow morning.

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448

@T3hPwnisher by the way, just read your latest blog post - really great post!

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Thanks dude!

Regarding not having an axle, give this a view

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Report from yesterday: just did my remaining assistance fluff.

20/01/20

Assistance

Alt. BB lunge, 40kgx2x12/leg
Pullovers 2 sets
Superset x3: BB curl w/ skullcrusher
3 sets decline situps

Followed by cardio: interval running, from Coach Thib’s “Running Man” article:

Screen Shot 2021-01-21 at 11.31.32 AM
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Did the Week 1 workout from the “Good Shape” category - might use this as a permanent fixture for the next few weeks, doing this twice a week as recommended by Coach Thib for muscle gain, and doing some LISS on the remaining day. Would be nice to have some structure to my cardio after all.

Also, quick physique update today morning:

Shoulders: 48.25 inch
Chest: 45 inches
Arms: 14.5 inches
Waist 30.5 inch controlled, 31.75 relaxed
Hips: 37.5 inches
Legs: 21.5 inches

I don’t know my exact weight because I got a new scale and it seems to give a different figure. I need to find my old grubby one lol. But I think I’m up a few pounds.

How much of this is due to increased glycogen and water and how much is down to actual muscle/fat gain is anyone’s guess - it was the day after a lower carb and lower calorie control day though so should have flushed some of that. Bit concerning to see the waist come up .75 inches while the chest is only up about .5 inches, which is not a favourable ratio, but whatever, it’s early days yet. Everything else is much the same, but miraculously the arms are up .25 inches. And after reading Pwn’s latest blog post I think I know the solution - train harder. I’ll keep the Malcolm X sets on the bench day, since they really up the intensity, and I’m not too far off hitting 5x10, so it’s not a bad tradeoff I think. If nothing else it’s a nice experiment.

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Yesterday and today’s training (or lack thereof!)

21/01/21

Confession, completely forgot cardio until it was too late and I had stuffed myself with food before bed. Had plenty of time throughout the day but just delayed it. Lesson learned - do it at the first possible chance.

22/01/21

AM WORKOUT (0350) (0300 wake up via alarm)

Squat
Warmup: 20kgx10, 40x5
Set 1: 59x5 (5 @65%)
Set 2: 68x5 (5 @75%)
Set 3: 77x5 (5 @85%)
BBB: 59x10, 10, 10, 10, 10 (BBB time 12 mins)

Assistance –
SUPERSET (chins-dips): 50 reps Chins 10, 6, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 4 (9 sets) with 50 reps Dips 13, 10, 9, 9, 8 (5 sets)
2 sets pullovers

Notes:

  • Yes, I’ve gone from benching at midnight to squatting at 4 am. I seem to be turning into @T3hPwnisher with the wacky workout timing. Next thing you know I’ll be doing 300-rep sets on my deadlift. Due to the timing, had to make a special effort to be quiet - I must have succeeded because nobody in the house even had any idea I was training!
  • Lessons learned with early am workouts: 1. have protein shake immediately upon waking to let it digest as you get ready; 2. Have proper post-w/o meal (I just had another shake and had to leave the house).
  • Rest on the chins-dips superset was slightly lower today. I seem to be running into problems with my chins though - numbers aren’t increasing much and I can feel a slight bit annoying asymmetry in the movement and in the back, which is annoying.
  • General feeling on early morning workouts: I like it. Have always traditionally trained later in the day, but this might be better.
    -Pros of early session:
    -1. With later workouts, you can’t guarantee how the day will wind up being or indeed if you will even have time to train. With morning workouts, though, you don’t have that.
    -2. You also can then instantly go into “recovery and relaxation” mode, lying around the house chilling to music or whatever. If I try do that when I have workouts later in the day, I just tend to become sluggish, and I end up feeling a bit less sharp (and there is also the neural aspect of it - toning down adrenaline and cortisol at the wrong times and so on and so forth), so I have to save it for after; but then if the workout is late, you might not get any such time.
    -3. It just generally feels better to get the session done in the morning - I’m sure there’s an actual explanation to do with dopamine being elevated throughout the day or something.
    -Cons of early session:
    -1. Post-workout nutrition can be a challenge since the house is all shut down, but is even more essential due to the semi-fasted state you are in. Possible solution: prepare post-w/o meal night before.
    -2. Have to be very quiet - while doable with squats and press, this may be a challenge with deadlifts (dead stops especially) and bench.
  • As you can see the cons are mostly just logistical, and I think the benefits outweigh the negatives. I will probably be doing more early morning sessions going forward, especially when the year starts to get busier.
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452

Regarding chins getting harder, you’re gaining weight aren’t you? If so that could be why.

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I am, I think (currently having some weighing scale issues), but from what I can tell it shouldn’t be so much as to make a difference - it’s in the single digits, only a matter of lbs. Maybe that’s still to blame though.

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Holy moly, it’s been a while since I’ve logged. Just been so busy lately I didn’t have the chance to do much more than scan the forums. Anyway, I’ve got 3 workouts to report on now. Will post them all below.

First:

23/01/21

Press. Did this in the dark, as is fast becoming the norm for me…

Warmup: 20kgx5
Set 1: 35x5 (5 @65%)
Set 2: 40.5x5 (5 @75%)
Set 3: 46x5 (5 @85%) (cocked this up and almost blacked out, still got 5.)
BBB: 32.5x10, 10, 9, 7, 8 superset with BB rows 62.5x10, 10, 10, 10, 10 (rows not failure, just bang out 10).
Malcolm X: 6 reps press, 8 reps rows

Assistance -
Some alt. BB lunges 42.5kg (not balancing right at all, so didn’t really get quality sets)
Pullovers x2
Superset x3: BB curls w/ skullcrusher
Thought I’d do abs the next day with cardio but forgot.

Notes:

  • Cocked up a few sets pretty bad what with almost blacking out and all, which affected performance. Just wasn’t feeling it lol.
  • Had to Malcolm X it a little, but not too much, which is good.
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455

Cardio 24/01/21: interval runs, 60 sec jog 30 sec sprint, 6 rounds. Nice workout, tough though.

Will post the other sessions tomorrow!

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The remaining sessions:

25/01/21

Deadlift (second session to report)

Warmup: 60kgx5
Set 1: 81x5 (5 @65%)
Set 2: 93.5x5 (5 @75%)
Set 3: 106x5 (5 @85%)
BBB: 81x10, 10, 10, 10 (grip reset after 8), 10

Assistance -
Superset: 50 reps Chins 9, 6, 5, 5, 4, 4, 5, 4, 5, 5 (52 reps, 10 sets) with 50 reps Dips 15, 9, 9, 8, 9 (5 sets)
Pullovers 2 sets

Notes:

  • Decent session, grip caused problems for a bit but not too bad.
  • Main sets on leads felt a little heavier than I would have liked but I don’t think there’s anything to that.
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26/01/21

Bench (0610h session) - third session to report.

Warmup: 20kgx10
Set 1: 46x5 (5 @65%)
Set 2: 53x5 (5 @75%)
Set 3: 60x5 (5 @85%)
BBB: 46x10, 10, 9, 8, 9 superset with BB rows 46x15, 13, 11, 10, 15
Malcolm X: 4 reps bench, 11 reps rows

Assistance, done next day 27/01/21:
Alt. BB lunge 42.5x2x12/leg
Pullovers 2 sets
Giant set x3: BB curl – skullcrusher – situps

Conditioning: 4 mins Tabata burpees. Normally I do my running but no time today.

Notes:

  • Only thing of note to report is that the assistance was done the next day as I was short on time. Usually the day after the bench session is a control day, but I kept my normal eating on that day, and shifted the control day to the next day.
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28/01/21

Control day today, and did 4 minutes of Tabata burpees as conditioning. Normally I run, but I had no time today either unfortunately.

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And that brings us up to date - now for today’s squat session. We have now entered week 5 of the program! Almost finished. Excited to see my results - I’ve been doing that thing again where I avoid the mirror, so it’ll be a bit of a surprise.

29/01/21

Squat

Warmup: 20kgx10, 40x5
Set 1: 63.5x5 (5 @70%)
Set 2: 72.5x5 (5 @80%)
Set 3: 81.5x5 (5 @90%)
BBB: 63.5x10, 10, 10, 10, 10 (BBB time: 11 minutes. Really quick here.)

Assistance –
Superset: 50 reps Chins 12 (ties PR), 6, 5, 5, 4 (almost 5), 4, 5, 5, 5 (51 reps, 9 sets), with 50 reps Dips 13, 19, 8, 7, 7, 6 (6 sets)
2 sets pullovers

Notes:

  • BBB was super quick today. The squat BBBs in general have not been taking me as long. I’m not sure if this means they’re too light? Anyway I’ve basically just been pushing the rest intervals down to compensate, hence the speed.
  • Dips not quite as good as they had been the last two sessions where I was dipping, but not horrible either.
  • Been neglecting my band work as usual. Shoulders haven’t gummed up into a gelatinous mess yet though so hey. I think all the pulling volume I’m doing is helping them survive the constant dips, pressing and benching, but I really should be doing my pullaparts and face pulls. Need to be more onto this.
  • Going to step up the eating a little for these two final weeks - scale hasn’t been moving like I want it to, but that being said my measurements seem to be doing ok. As I said I’m excited to see the results.
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460

Couple of sessions to report. See below.

First session:

30/01/21

Press

Warmup: 20kgx5
Set 1: 38x5 (5 @70%)
Set 2: 43x5 (5 @80%)
Set 3: 48.5x5 (5 @90%)
BBB: 35x10, 7, 7, 7, 7 superset with BB rows 65x10, 11, 10, 8, 10. (used full 20 mins there)
Malcolm X: 7 reps press/9 reps rows, 5 reps press/8 reps rows

Assistance –
Walking alt. BB lunge, 42.5x2x12/leg. (Felt good here)
Pullovers 2 sets
Giant set x3: decline situps – BB curls – skullcrusher

Next session was cardio, 31/01/21: it was dark, so I just did 10x short (40m) sprints and walked back after each. Couldn’t really see where I was going so probably not quite as fast as I could have been, lol.

Next session:

01/02/21

Deadlift

Warmup: 60kgx5
Set 1: 87x5 (5 @70%)
Set 2: 99.5x5 (5 @80%)
Set 3: 112x5 (5 @90%) (felt heavy. Concerned about next week)
BBB: 87x10, 10, 10, 10 (had to reset grip after after 6), 10 (had to reset after 7 and 9) (grip struggling) (BBB time 18 mins)

Assistance —
Superset: 50 reps Chins 10, 6, 5, 5, 5, 4, 5, 4, 5 + 1 rest-paused (9 + 1 rest-paused sets), with 50 reps Dips 10, 8, 7, 7, 7 (51 reps 6 sets) (slightly longer rests, increasing from 2 mins on. Really cooked on chins.)
Loaded stretch, bottom chin-up position: +20kg, 15 sec
1 set pullovers

Notes:

  • Slight change of assistance, just shaking things up.
  • Felt a bit beat up going into this one.
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