Longtime lurker and reader of @T3hPwnisher so figured I would join. His blogs have really helped me to develop a better relationship with exercise and food, and for that I am thankful. Fanboying a bit here - no shame.
I’m coming off a bit of a break and I am going to be starting the “Chaos is the plan - just take the thing off the floor and put it over your head” program. I train outdoors in my tiny backyard but have a nice collection of toys - axle, keg, circus dumbbell, a few sandbags, an atlas stone, a big cinder block, a bunch of kettlebells, and a chin/dip station.
9/30/24
Axle Clean & Press each rep:
44x5
66x5
77x4
88x3
99x2
110x1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1 (10 minute block at top set)
Assistance throughout -
Pullups: 2 sets of 5, 4 sets of 3, 4 sets of 2 (30 reps total)
Face Pulls: 3 sets of 15
24:18
6 Likes
Holy cow dude, this is awesome! I’m excited to see how this goes for you. Great to have you on the forums.
1 Like
Thanks @T3hPwnisher I actually gave this a shot earlier in the year, had very good results and reached out to you on Reddit about it, but abandoned it when I had a few competitions that demanded a little more specificity. I have nothing on the horizon now so hope to run this at least through the end of the year.
10/1/24
1-arm KB Snatch + KB Clean & Press (35lb) - 144 total reps in ladders of 1-5 in 28:50
Not a terribly exciting workout but it’s been pouring down rain as part of this east coast hurricane and KB’s are the backup plan for when I can’t train outside.
2 Likes
10/2/24
Axle Muscle Snatch - 73x5 for 10 sets
Dips - 13, 12
Inverted Rope Rows - 13, 12
BW Tricep Extensions - 20, 20
BW Curls - 20, 20
Heels Elevated Squats (w/ 50lb sandbag) - 20, 20
29:10
- This was an excellent workout - total proof of concept of the training plan. 50 hard reps of floor-to-overhead, with high ROI assistance work sprinkled throughout. And I finished it in less than half an hour on my lunch break.
- Those axle muscle snatches might be one of my new favorite movements. One of those “what muscle does that work - all of them” movements.
- On that note - snatches and curls in the same session?! The old olympic lifter in me would have never.
- I realized I should have included some squats, lunges, pushups, or burpees in yesterday’s workout. Just because I’m stuck inside isn’t a reason to skip assistance work. Need to remember that for next time.
3 Likes
Love seeing the realizations you’re coming to as you go through the process here, and an axle muscle snatch sounds absolutely horrific. The approach does seem to be self-regulating: as the workouts go on, we notice what we’re missing and what we’re hammering too much. Dan John talked about using a wall calendar and just logging what we do in the week and then tallying it up to see what is getting attention and what is NEEDING attention. I kinda like that.
1 Like
10/3/24
Keg Clean & Press (~100lb) - 15 total reps
Stone Clean & Press (65lb) - 15 total reps
Rope Chins - 22 total reps in sets of 2-3
Pushups - 74 total reps in sets of 6-10
Heels Elevated Squats - 105 reps in sets of 10-15
29:36
- I did this as a 30 minute EMOM. Every minute I C&P’ed one of the 2 objects, then did a set of the BW grunt work. It probably averaged out to a 1:1 work to rest ratio, which felt about right.
- The keg and stone were a good pairing. Because of their shape and the mechanics of the lift, the keg is harder to clean (you have to get 1 end of it over your head) while the stone is harder to press (it’s way out in front of you).
- Rope chins will never not be awesome.
5 Likes
10/4/24
Axle Clean & Press each rep -
44x5
73x5
84x5
95x5
84x5x3
Assistance work throughout:
Rope Chins - 3, 3, 4
TRX-style Face Pulls - 10, 10, 10
TRX-style Flyes - 10, 10, 10
Dips - 10, 10, 10
Inverted Rope Rows - 10, 10, 10
Reverse Lunges (+20lb plate) - 12, 12, 12
28:53
- Week 1 is in the books. I’ve still got my fat grip dumbbell handle, sandbags, and heavier kettlebells that have yet to make an appearance. There’s literally no way to get bored with this protocol.
- I had a little doubt that I wasn’t doing enough lower body assistance, then I realized that my hamstrings are quite sore this morning. If I did the math, I’m sure I did hundreds each of snatches and cleans. That will do it.
- On that note, I can probably scale back the upper assistance slightly, and just focus on a few exercises per workout.
- I’m not saying this way of training is “better” than anything else, but it’s absolutely what I need right now. It’s very primal - the guy pressing sandbags and kegs in his backyard and doing chinups off ropes? That’s a dangerous dude that you’d think twice before messing with. There’s a time and place for dialed in, “squat/bench/deadlift with spreadsheets” training, and I may return to that at some point, but I’m having a ton of fun with this and am looking forward to training again. It has been longer than I can remember that I’ve felt that.
4 Likes
So awesome to hear what a good fit this protocol is for you. Its exactly what I had in mind. Something liberating yet effective at its core
1 Like
10/7/24
Sandbag Clean & Press (50lb) - 100 reps in 20:47 going 1…10…1
- Short on time this morning and just needed something with no setup or cleanup
- My smaller sandbag is actually a filler bag for a larger one. It’s kinda flat and rectangular and the technique is similar to wrestling a baby alligator.
- There’s a guy on FB near me selling some atlas stones that look pressable. Very tempting…
3 Likes
10/8/24
Double KB Clean & Press each rep (35’s) - 2, 3, 5, 10, 3, 5, 10, 5, 10, 10 (63 total reps)
Pullups - 5, 5, 5, 5
Pushups - 15, 15, 15
Heels Elevated Squats - 25, 25, 25
29:26
- Pretty standard workout - nothing much to report. Doing the sets of pullups after the sets of 10 cleans (when the chips fell that way) was not fun though.
- Picked up a 95lb atlas stone for a deal last night. I’m pretty confident I can get it overhead based on what I’ve done with similar sized sandbags, but my goal is to rep that thing one day like it’s a pebble.
4 Likes
10/9/24
Atlas Stone Clean & Press:
65lb x 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3 (18 total reps)
95lb x 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1 (6 total reps)
Inverted Rope Rows - 10, 10, 10
Dips - 10, 10, 10
Reverse Lunges - 20, 20, 20
29:22
- I REALLY like stone lifting. And they are dirt cheap. I may try to build a little collection as I get stronger and better at them and make them one of my primary goals.
- My grip is getting stronger. The pulling work on the rope used to tire me out quick - it doesn’t even faze me now.
3 Likes
10/10/24
Axle Muscle Snatch - 77x5 for 10 sets
BW Curls on ropes - 20, 18, 15
BW Tricep Extensions on ropes - 20, 18, 15
Abs (various exercises) - 4 sets of 10
28:07
- It was 44 degrees outside this morning. Not the most fun holding on to the axle in those conditions.
- Snatches are awesome. Between these and the KB snatches I think I’ve got that movement pattern covered.
- Sometimes just arms and abs is the right call for assistance work.
3 Likes
10/11/24
Axle Clean & Press each rep:
66 x 5
77 x 4
88 x 3
99 x 2
110 x 1
Axle Clean once & Press away:
99 x 10
88 x 10
77 x 10
Rope Chins - 4, 4
Pushups - 12, 12
Heels-Elevated Squats - 20, 20
TRX-style Face Pulls - 15, 15
26:21
- Had some indecision on what to do this morning. Honestly, for the axle C&P, I’m thinking of just picking 6 workouts, rotating through them by rolling dice at the top of the workout, and letting fate decide. I was close to doing “Spinal Tap” because I like getting some work at the heavy percentages, but I also want to do a 10x10 style workout at some point. Why choose?
@T3hPwnisher some random takeaways after being in the weeds of this for a couple weeks now-
- I think the secret ingredient to this is really that third sentence- “never repeat the same workout”. Yeah, if you go full Pavel mode and only do barbell clean and press away 5’s you’re going to run out of steam pretty quick, both from a mental standpoint and a physical stimulus. However, if you break out a new toy every day and use a roll of the dice to determine your sets and reps, you are going to become very strong and conditioned in a variety of planes and domains. You become someone who can pick up any kind of object and put it over his head from one rep to 100, and your physique will become the embodiment of that. It’s honestly pretty cool.
- This is the most budget friendly program possible. My kettlebells, axle, stones, sandbags, and keg were all Facebook finds. And they all fit in my shed. No fancy equipment needed.
- This is total bro-science, but I think the heavy-weight/low-rep/high-tension stuff is more for building that total body, prime mover mass, while the lighter-weight/higher rep stuff (especially kettlebells) is better for bringing up the smaller muscles. Nothing to back this up other than my own experience/my body’s feedback at what tires out and gets sore during and after certain workouts.
- I think assistance work should be relatively quick and easy on this. If you need to do 100 things to fill in the gaps, odds are you aren’t pushing the main course hard enough in some kind of effort to save room for dessert, which totally misses the point.
- I think, on the topic of variety, it’s important to have some implements that need to be “lapped” first like stones and logs, versus implements that can be extended like barbells and kettlebells. This is gonna help for lower body development.
- Muscle snatches are underrated for chest (yes, chest) and shoulder development. That wide grip really facilitates a big stretch.
- I think it’s important to clean the majority of the reps for total body development. This isn’t just a “press specialist” program. It will make you good at pressing but that’s the byproduct, not the sole intention.
4 Likes
That’s a lotta pressing, good work.
1 Like
Dude, I’m you’re biggest fan. Thanks SO much for this feedback. Resonates so well with what my intent was. The “chaos is the plan” portion of the program really does seem to be the magic. We can repeat, just not twice in a row, and it forces us to improve over a wide spectrum, just like you noted.
100% with you on some workouts lapped and some not. Just like you stated, it’s sneaky leg work that way.
“Being that which does”. Absolutely! Whatever horrible creature can pull this off is going to be fierce. And I love that observation on budget friendly training. Something I hadn’t considered, but that makes this even more of a “take this and go” training manual. Love it.
This is why I really dig setting a timer for assistance work. You get 10 minutes to go do whatever it is you feel like you need to do. Really helps prioritize.
Yup! I’m currently moving away from this in order to specialize the press, and it’s killing me, haha, but when you can wrangle up a weight that does NOT want to be wrangled, you’re gonna be in a good way.
2 Likes
@Greyhound90 thanks man. I checked your log and saw you’re doing 20 rep squats… good luck. I did that recently and got to 98kg. I wanted 100kg but couldn’t put it together. Maybe one day.
@T3hPwnisher appreciate the kind words. I’ll try to check in periodically. This has really reignited my fire for training, which is awesome. During my stone workout the other day I had “Medieval Battle Music Compilation” from YouTube playing on the Bluetooth speaker. Call it method acting haha. Also, I think it’s probably too early for physique changes, but I can definitely feel soreness in areas I am not used to, so I think that’s a positive sign for growth.
3 Likes
10/14/24
3 rounds of 1 minute work/3 minutes rest: 100lb Keg Clean & Press each side, then 40lb Circus Dumbbell Half Snatch AMRAP (alternating hands) for remainder of minute: went 8, 10, 11 for the snatch reps
3 round circuit:
Sandbag Clean & Press (50lb) - 10, 10, 10
Pullup - 5, 5, 5
Pushup - 15, 15, 15
Heels-elevated Squat - 25, 25, 25
28:36
- I liked this workout. I think it’s important to lift against the clock occasionally as opposed to just a set number of reps. That can be taxing though (like holding down the sprint button in a video game), so it has to be used sparingly. The governor here was having to switch hands.
3 Likes
10/15/24
1-arm KB Snatch (35lb) - 8 sets of 10 (alt. sides each set)
Armor Building Complex (2x35lb) - 10 rounds
Inverted Rope Rows - 5 sets of 10
Dips - 5 sets of 10
29:24
@T3hPwnisher how could someone possibly recover from lifting kegs/sandbags/kettlebells/stones/axles overhead everyday? Why, with smoked beef back ribs, that’s how! Foreground is pork “country style” ribs, which is codeword for a slice of pork shoulder. No sauce on either, just a light dusting of some homemade rub.
5 Likes
Oh my goodness, you have perfectly captured “Chaos is the Plan” right here, haha. Outstanding work!
1 Like
10/16/24
Atlas Stone Clean & Press (65lb) - 10 sets of 1
Double KB Clean & Press (2x35lb) - 10 sets of 3
Axle Muscle Snatch (77lb) - 10 sets of 5
29:20
- No appetite for assistance work today, so just picked a bunch of implements and got after it. Thought I may have bit off more than I could chew for the first few rounds, but by the midway point I felt like I could do this all day.
- Have a line on someone selling a viking press handle/landmine nearby for cheap. Just need to get our schedules aligned so I can pick them up. I can see that being awesome for thrusters especially.
- Brought home over 40lb of the freshest meat you can imagine from my friend’s farm yesterday, and for less than $275. It’s all who you know.
6 Likes
