Hmmm that’s actually a good point, with Grey Man I never had the bar on my back more than 2x a week, sometimes only 1x a week. My gut reaction was “if I use the same DBs for SLDLs as I do for inclines, they won’t be heavy enough”, BUT immediately I had a great epiphany that I could do them Krypteia style and add a shrug at the top of each rep. That would really make them something gnarly, along with the big ROM like you mentioned. Good looking out as usual!
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BUT immediately I had a great epiphany that I could do them Krypteia style and add a shrug at the top of each rep.
Ooh, solid thought there! Get in some hamstring AND trap work. Together we are mighty, haha.
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10/16/25 - TB Grey Man - Week 3/Day 2
A1) Bench Press - 45x10, 89x5, 133x3, 170x3x4
A2) Axle Deadlift - 47x10, 157x5, 223x3, 267x3x4
B1) Axle Curls - 58x8x4
B2) Dips - 28x8x4
B3) Landmine Belt Squats - 155x8x4
45:25
Forgot to log this one yesterday. Strong session except I still have a bit of systemic fatigue that showed up on the pulls. No real problems, they just felt heavier than they should, even factoring in the axle. I’ve not been doing any vest walks this week after what I went through Sunday, but I’ve been making a point to get extra steps in on my non-lifting days.
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Looks good to me but agree with @T3hPwnisher. Alpha looks like such a well put together system. Even the strength work is biased towards mass, mostly doing 5/6 reps. Can’t wait to try this template out.
I know it’s within Mass Protocol but Alpha + Black conditioning looks like something I could do forever. Even if not trying to gain weight.
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10/18/25 - TB Grey Man - Week 3/Day 3
A1) Back Squat - 45x10, 133x5, 188x3, 241x3x4
A2) Axle Strict Press from rack - 47x10, 69x5, 91x3, 115x3x4
B1) Neutral Grip Landmine Rows - 122x8x4
B2) DB Inclines - 51x8x4
B3) Cambered Bar Good Mornings - 88x8x4
40:43
Same story as the other sessions this week, felt very strong on the press and assistance work but haven’t quite got my pop back on the squat yet.
I have to admit, I am getting the itch to signup for that February competition after all. I just know if I don’t commit to something soon that I won’t push myself as hard as I need to. I’m at the stage where I don’t really enjoy competing (or even the training for that matter), but I like the results, and when it’s over I feel I’ve done something worthwhile. Is that normal?
Anyway, I’m rambling now, but I am thinking that strongman competition in early Feb, there will be a kettlebell competition sometime in March that I’ve done before and want to give another go at, and then there should be that Tactical Strength Challenge in May or the Deadlift for Dogs fundraiser in June. That sounds like a nice busy calendar for the first half of the year.
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On Monday I did the first session of what was to be a run of Alpha, but I realized pretty fast I don’t have the desire to lift hard 4 days a week right now, so it’s back to Grey Man for the time being.
10/22/25 - TB Grey Man - Cycle 2/Week 1/Day 1
A1) Axle Bench Press - 47x10, 91x5, 135x3, 155x8x4
A2) Neutral Grip Landmine Rows - 78x5, 106x12x4
B1) Straight Bar Deadlift - 45x10, 133x5, 188x3, 239x8x4
B2) Ab Wheel - 5x5
C1) Axle Curls - 49x12x2, 42x12x2
C2) Dips (with 2 chains on weight belt) - 4x12
57:07
10/23/25 - TB Grey Man - Cycle 2/Week 1/Day 2
30 minute Heavy Hands walk
7 Likes
Definitely no shame in that. It’s what drew me to Mass Protocol in the first place. Bravo might be the solution in the future: to break from the heavy lifting is well appreciated, and makes the 4 days per week tolerable.
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The programs in Specificity are so shiny and sexy to me, but when I look back at my training history, the vast majority of my best progress came from doing 3 day full body templates. I think I will just have to switch straight from Grey Man to Operator if I do some kind of comp that needs a prep phase. But I really like Grey Man, I can set it up very close to those full body templates like in Keys to Progress and Super Squats.
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I’m with you. I use specificity like bitter medicine and keep it at 3 week chunks these days, kinda like “Softening Up” from that same Keys to Progress series. Let it re-sensitize me to the training. But even then, K. Black says you don’t have to do specificity if you don’t want to, and going between Operator and Grey Man will definitely get that intended effect.
I still have it in my head to also mix in a few other programs on occasion. Skip a Grey Man cycle for a Mass Made Simple cycle and then head right back into Operator, or do something similar with Super Squats. I guess BtM could work there too. Really just dig the skeleton that TB lays out.
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I’m the same way with Super Squats. When I bought that book I thought, just based on the reputation of it alone, that it was definitely not applicable to me right now and would just be for entertainment/informational purposes. BUT the author actually lays out a ton of ways for you to stretch out the progression and own the weight instead of just adding 5lb every session; 3x10, 2x15, working up to 30 reps in 1 set, maybe more I’m forgetting. That is definitely a bucket list program for me.
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10/24/25 - TB Grey Man - Cycle 2/Week 1/Day 3
A1) Axle Strict Press from rack - 47x10, 69x5, 91x3, 104x8x4
A2) Chest Supported Trap Bar Rows - 99x5, 110x12x4
B1) Cambered Bar Squats - 55x10, 121x5, 165x3, 213x8x4
B2) Ab Wheel - 5x5
C1) DB Incline Bench - 45x12x4
C2) Drag Curls - 46x12x4
58:15
Excellent session, probably the first time since my competition weekend that I’ve felt like myself again. Just a great mind-muscle connection on every movement, everything working as intended. That was the first time using the open trap bar for cambered squats and I really like it. It’s not quite like a safety bar squat, but pretty dang close. I can just kinda grunt it up way more than I can with a barbell. Definitely a keeper.
10 Likes
How long after, does it usually take you to feel normal?
@bigpappafrance Well I did 2 competitions in 2 days, so I don’t really have anything to compare that to for obvious reasons. I felt fine after the strongman show, but it was the ruck that really lingered with me. Not a soreness, just a flat feeling whenever I tried to squat or dead for like 10 days after. Kinda like going uphill in a car and pressing the gas, but nothing really happens, haha. I probably should have done a bigger “refeed” than I did, but oh well.
10/25/25 - TB Grey Man - Cycle 2/Week 1/Day 4
30 minute walk w/ 25lb vest
I’ll post the totals at the end of the month as usual, but this month I passed 3k pullups, 12k pushups, and 15k BW squats for my daily work totals. Good stuff
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10/27/25 - TB Grey Man - Cycle 2/Week 1/Day 5
A1) Axle Bench Press - 47x10, 91x5, 135x3, 155x8x4
A2) Neutral Grip Landmine Rows - 78x5, 111x12x4
B1) Straight Bar Deadlift - 45x10, 133x5, 188x3, 239x8x4
B2) Ab Wheel - 5x5
C1) Axle Curls - 43x12x4
C2) Dips (with 2 chains on weight belt) - 4x12
53:00
Very good session, shaved over 4 minutes off Day 1 just from knowing where I needed to rest and where I could push things. That’s how you make progress without needing to increase the weight (these Day 5 repeat sessions are still boring though).
10 Likes
10/28/25 - TB Grey Man - Cycle 2/Week 1/Day 6
30 minute walk w/ 25lb vest
10/29/25 - TB Grey Man - Cycle 2/Week 2/Day 1
A1) Axle Strict Press from rack - 47x10, 69x5, 91x3, 111x6x4
A2) Chest Supported Trap Bar Rows - 99x5, 116x10x4
B1) Cambered Bar Squats - 55x10, 121x5, 176x3, 229x6x4
B2) Ab Wheel - 5x5
C1) DB Incline Bench - 51x10x4
C2) Drag Curls - 50x10x4
55:58
That reduction in volume for week 2 is nice at first, but adding weight to everything catches up with you fast.
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10/30/25 - TB Grey Man - Cycle 2/Week 2/Day 2
30 minute walk w/ 25lb vest
10/31/25 - TB Grey Man - Cycle 2/Week 2/Day 3
A1) Axle Bench Press - 47x10, 91x5, 135x3, 166x6x4
A2) Neutral Grip Landmine Rows - 89x5, 117x10x4
B1) Low Handle Trap Bar Dead - 55x10, 143x5, 209x3, 255x6x4
B2) Ab Wheel - 5x5
C1) Axle Curls - 47x10x4
C2) Dips (with 2 chains on weight belt) - 6x10x4
55:17
I’ve had it in the back of my head for awhile that the trap bar makes more sense for my goals right now, so I just went for it today. I used the new open trap bar rather than the hex bar, I like it a lot. Zero balance issues, and I can really keep the weight in my hips. Still very much a hinge for me.
Daily work totals as of the end of October. Not counting conditioning as part of this experiment any longer as for most of the year, my conditioning was part of my program at any given time. This stuff is all on my own time. Be interesting to see where it ends up at the end of the year.
- 15,693 BW Squats
- 12,647 Pushups
- 3,238 Pullups
11/1/25 - TB Grey Man - Cycle 2/Week 2/Day 4
30 minute Heavy Hands walk
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This has been living rent free in my head since I read it. Training boredom isn’t something I can understand, but like the Terminator saying “I know now why you cry, but it is something I can never do”, I understand that it IS a thing.
If you are open to Frankensteining your Grey Man in a similar manner I’ve done, by making it A/B/A repeating, I thought that a way to compromise here would be to turn Day 5 into a “greatest hits meet day”. Take ALL the big lifts from A and B day and advance them 5% from earlier in the week, while cutting out the supplemental cluster. It will serve as a bridge between weeks, basically priming you for what’s coming next.
OR, simply take your favorite movements from the two days and combine it into a super day with a similar 5% advance.
Kinda like you gotta eat your vegetables on Day A and B before you can eat your dessert on Day C…which, as a carnivore, is a bad example, haha.
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I’m not sure exactly how you were interpreting it, but I was using boredom as an antonym of purpose, not as an antonym of fun. Training is certainly never fun.
My whole thing is, if you’re not progressing, you are regressing, so I don’t really see the point to repeating an exact session you have already done. That being said, I think I have cracked the code within the rules of the game as much as possible by decreasing the rest periods and adding small increases to that 3rd Day session under the guise of “rounding”.
If I was going to go totally off the reservation like you are saying, I would just skip that day entirely, and go 8-8-6-6-3-3, and make each cycle 2 weeks. I know some 5/3/1 cycles run through the whole thing in 2 weeks just like that. BUT, I’m making steady progress right now, and I feel great (which is really my top priority), so I’m being a good boy and doing what I am told, haha.
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Ah yeah, some training ennui. I appreciate figuring out a solution by meeting the letter of the law, haha.
1 Like