Built for Bad: Strength Circuits Recommendation

Training
21

[quote]No regrets wrote:
Great program CT, I can’t wait to try it. I do have one question regarding conditioning after the workout, I know that you said that loaded carries after the workout would be great so I was also wondering if some of the other conditioning exercises from predator conditioning were acceptable as well? Also do you think it would be a good idea to do abs between exercises in the circuit? Thanks for all the help![/quote]

  1. I don’t know predator conditioning so I can’t comment. But I see carries more like a muscle-building tool than a conditioning one. I do not like adding too much conditioning work to a program designed primarily to gain size and strength

  2. No abs work during the circuit… it’s not super smart to weaken the corse before deadlifts and high pulls

22

Did day 1 today. Went weaksauce though and literally tanked before I could do the last 3 circuits. I think I was distracted with switching weights and doing mental math on loading for each station. Gym rats swarming around didn’t help either.

I could see how intense/enjoyable this would be if one were to literally have a coach moving you through the circuit and adding weights so all you need to do is just grip and rip…

CT - is it possible to shave off 2 exercises and do a circuit of 3? Or go through each movement first rather than circuit (you mentioned in livespill this was an inferior alternative though). I was literally having concentration issues and couldn’t complete the wrkout…

23

[quote]-Sigil- wrote:
Did day 1 today. Went weaksauce though and literally tanked before I could do the last 3 circuits. I think I was distracted with switching weights and doing mental math on loading for each station. Gym rats swarming around didn’t help either.

I could see how intense/enjoyable this would be if one were to literally have a coach moving you through the circuit and adding weights so all you need to do is just grip and rip…

CT - is it possible to shave off 2 exercises and do a circuit of 3? Or go through each movement first rather than circuit (you mentioned in livespill this was an inferior alternative though). I was literally having concentration issues and couldn’t complete the wrkout…[/quote]

Keep the format as it is, do not take out exercises or only do a partial circuit.

If calculating the weight is trouble, just go up by 10 or 20lbs each set

24

Ok thanks - I will try deadlift, DB press, SGHP from hang (same bar as deadlift), seated DB ohp, weighted chins. Only using one barbell and switching dbs is easy. Maybe bump up DB exercises to 6/5/4/3/2?

25

[quote]-Sigil- wrote:
Maybe bump up DB exercises to 6/5/4/3/2?[/quote]

Why?

26

hey CT, you said if you finish the program in under 30 mins you can add arms, correct? I’m planning on doing the rope hammer curls exercise you show here:

Is this added to the circuit (So done 5 times 5-4-3-2-1)? Or done after the 5 circuits are finished (once)?

27

[quote]tito wrote:
hey CT, you said if you finish the program in under 30 mins you can add arms, correct? I’m planning on doing the rope hammer curls exercise you show here:

Is this added to the circuit (So done 5 times 5-4-3-2-1)? Or done after the 5 circuits are finished (once)?[/quote]

If you finish in less than 45 you can use the remaining time to do arms

28

[quote]tito wrote:
hey CT, you said if you finish the program in under 30 mins you can add arms, correct? I’m planning on doing the rope hammer curls exercise you show here:

Is this added to the circuit (So done 5 times 5-4-3-2-1)? Or done after the 5 circuits are finished (once)?[/quote]

But when I did arms during that workout I did 1 set of cruls (6-8 reps) at the end of each circuit

29

Tu manque de bras ct…lol

30

Always felt DBs were less intense/stable than barbell, so need slightly higher reps. Like last circuit a 1RM DB overhead press feels awkward?

31

@CT:

I had to think it through, but today I was able to complete all 5 circuits as outlined in the article in 42 mins. I was worked over, but not destroyed - it’s a great feeling. Here’s what I did with a power rack and one barbell:

Completed warm-ups alternating floor press and high pull since they were similar weights; then I did my DL warm-ups. I didn’t see need to practice pull-ups or push press but I may start to do so as weights move up.

Floor press / high pull: 135x3, 165x3, 185x1, 205x1
DL: 225x2, 255x1, 285x1

WORK SETS

Clean DL: 315x5, 325x4, 335x3, 350x2, 375x1 (low hips start position)
Floor Press: 225x5, 235x4, 245x3, 255x2, 260x1 (this lift really needs some work!)
SGHP: 225x5, 235x4, 245x3, 260x2, 275x1 (On the multiple rep sets, I would do rep 1 from floor and next reps from hang with reset)
1 power clean from floor then Push Press: 135x5, 145x4, 155x3, 165x2, 175x1 (starting weight low to allow for fatigue/progress)
Pull-Ups: BWx5, BWx4, BWx3, BWx2, BWx1 (On 1-3 rep sets I would do 2-5 sec hold at top) Add weight from belt in next WO.

To make it work with just one bar I would DL close to the power rack with J-hooks at height of floor press. On the last rep of DL, I took one step forward and dropped on J-hooks, quickly lowering weight to Floor Press work set weight. Then, after racking last rep of Floor Press, stand up, lower to floor and SGHP. Adjust weight for clean/push press. Then do pull-ups. While ‘resting’ for next circuit, add weight back to bar for DL and start all over. I was moving quickly, but it’s certainly not impossible as I finished all work sets in the time allotted.

This is a great way to train - I will be trying it for the next few weeks as I think there is a lot of progress to be made :slight_smile:

Thanks CT!

Cheers,
Muts

32

I know it’s not optimal to take one exercise out but I did and will be doing the following as the pull up bar is pretty far from the rack: Squat, BP, HP from hang, power clean+push press - ~35 mins and I ended the session with 25 chin-ups+25 dips asfastaspossible style

33

hey CT, is it possible to replace bench press with weighted dips to account for the lack of available gym equipment (and to allow quicker transition between exercises)?

34

[quote]alivirk wrote:
hey CT, is it possible to replace bench press with weighted dips to account for the lack of available gym equipment (and to allow quicker transition between exercises)?[/quote]

Yes, that is an acceptable substitute

35

@CT could you do them as a specialization phase for a month?

I really want to bring up my legs so I thought I could do this for a month in this fashion

A) Front squat in rack

B) Back squat outside of rack

C) Trap bar deadlift

D) Sumo or high pull

Thank you

36

[quote]nickj_777 wrote:
@CT could you do them as a specialization phase for a month?

I really want to bring up my legs so I thought I could do this for a month in this fashion

A) Front squat in rack

B) Back squat outside of rack

C) Trap bar deadlift

D) Sumo or high pull

Thank you[/quote]

No, the purpose is to hit the whole body. Doing a circuit of lifts all hitting similar muscle groups, 5 days a week is too much to recover from

37

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:

[quote]nickj_777 wrote:
@CT could you do them as a specialization phase for a month?

I really want to bring up my legs so I thought I could do this for a month in this fashion

A) Front squat in rack

B) Back squat outside of rack

C) Trap bar deadlift

D) Sumo or high pull

Thank you[/quote]

No, the purpose is to hit the whole body. Doing a circuit of lifts all hitting similar muscle groups, 5 days a week is too much to recover from[/quote]

On a similar note, CT…

If you wanted to bring up leg strength and mass, would you recommend setting it up like this:
A1. Trap-Bar Deadlift
A2. Bench Press
A3. Back Squat
A4. High Pull
A5. Push Press

My point really was that the original circuit only had one main leg pressing movement, and I wanted to know your thoughts on adding another in the circuit.

Would it be helpful at all? Or would the overall total volume just burn you out quickly?

38

I am going to try this today with this set up. One bar on the power rack for push press also use this same bar for high pulls as the weight is similar. One bar on floor for deadlift, and one bar on Bench for slight incline bench. Nooone at my gym goes near the power rack in the mornings so shouldnt be a problem. CT would it be possible to do 3 days of layers then a day off then 3 days of the Built For Bad Circuit? Just curious. Thanks

39

Thanks coach for this article :wink:
After 6 week, do we need a deload week before start again or a new workout ?
After the first 6 weeks and the deload (if we needto) ,can we try with another wave loading scheme like 7-5-3 ?
Can we alternate some mouvements with the same muscles. For example monday:bench,tuesday: dips, wedneday: bench, thurstday : dips,friday:bench ?

Do you explain with your knowledge why this training work ? because it’s usual to have some day of rest to make gain in muscle mass, i’m little confusing…

40

[quote]Colbstar wrote:

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:

[quote]nickj_777 wrote:
@CT could you do them as a specialization phase for a month?

I really want to bring up my legs so I thought I could do this for a month in this fashion

A) Front squat in rack

B) Back squat outside of rack

C) Trap bar deadlift

D) Sumo or high pull

Thank you[/quote]

No, the purpose is to hit the whole body. Doing a circuit of lifts all hitting similar muscle groups, 5 days a week is too much to recover from[/quote]

On a similar note, CT…

If you wanted to bring up leg strength and mass, would you recommend setting it up like this:
A1. Trap-Bar Deadlift
A2. Bench Press
A3. Back Squat
A4. High Pull
A5. Push Press

My point really was that the original circuit only had one main leg pressing movement, and I wanted to know your thoughts on adding another in the circuit.

Would it be helpful at all? Or would the overall total volume just burn you out quickly?[/quote]

That doesn’t look bad, but I’d prefer a regular deadlift in that case … actually the best mix would be deadlift + front squat if you are efficient at the front squat.