I tested all my 3RM yesterday. It was a hell of a workout, I’m fairly experienced so I can go quite close to the threshold and keep form locked in. I will say though after the workout I was amped af. Even on my very last set I was pumped, doing jumps and jogging in place. I felt fantastic. I woke up this morning though to a totally different story. I felt like had been hit by a truck. I went to the chiropractor, got adjusted and felt a bit better. Ate shit loads of food. By the end of my work day I felt pretty good. Then came the actual work. Holy hell was that an absolutely brutal session! It took me nearly 2 hours (I couldn’t do everything in a circuit, I train at a smallish Strongman Gym and I would be a huge douche if I took over that much equipment). I barely scrapped through the damn thing. I have to do it again tomorrow?!
Damn Coach what are you doing to me? Haha. If I can survive this for 3 weeks I will be impressed. I’ll give it all I’ve got until I can’t.
Do you guys have any experience with this program? I’d be interested to hear for some of you more experienced guys on here.
I’m doing the number 3 set of lifts. The strength/powerlifting one. I replaced front squats with a comp squat because front squats only train my core and I always feel like I wasted a session. Maybe I’ll do bands instead so I can lower the weight a tad
I did it for a couple weeks. I would set your 3rm where failure is defined as a form breakdown, i.e. when your 4th rep is at all grindy, you’re there. I can eek out 6-7 reps with the 3 rms I used but reps 4-6 would be slow and a grind.
I’m at the end of week 7. I did Group 3, took 3 days off, then did Group 1, and now back to Group 3. I’m 53 years old (Natty) so I take a day off after day1, making it an 8 day cycle. I have a garage gym and I can set up 5 stations. I’m going too fast I think, but I like the conditioning that I’m getting. My body hasn’t been this hard in years, but I’ve gained 6-7 lbs.
Group 3 for me is:
Tire deadlift
Log press
Front squat
Swiss bar floor press
Lat bar pulldowns.
I’m keeping the assistance work close to CT’s plan.
That’s the thing. I’m working off true 3RM numbers. I train almost exclusively as a powerlifter. I can crank out true 3RM with “perfect” form. As in a 4th rep would staple me to the floor
So you can do 3 reps with a weight with zero grinding and perfect form, and the next rep will just staple you to the floor, instead of just being grindy and slow? That is strange, dude.
Depends on what you call “grindy” all my reps I think are “grindy” but my form is solid on every rep I do. I’ve been training powerlifting for years so it’s not difficult. Even my dynamic days when I do conjugate have grindy reps.
I don’t call a rep grindy unless form is compromised or it was so slow I almost busted a nut
I need to see if I can recover after this first week. If yeah then I’ll keep going. But if I have recovery problems then this really sounds like a great idea. A day of 3RM on the big 3, and rows AND ohp, makes for one truly hell of a workout. I suppose less advanced lifters would do much better tbh.
Im not sure it’s that strange. I think it might be something in the way powerlifters train. I’m similar, I either get a rep and its technically sound or I miss it. I MAYBE have 1 grindy rep at the end of a set, between a normal rep and failure, if the reps are 5 or higher.
It’s true. If you can get 4 reps with x weight then it is not a 3RM. It’s a 4RM.
I suppose it’s all in how you train though yeah? A more bodybuilding (over 5-6 reps) type of training is going to have a totally different feeling and mindset. Strength training though is a different animal. If the 1-5 rep range isn’t really hard then you’re not going heavy enough
I have to watch what I do with any program. Right around age 50 my recovery really dropped off some. Plus, I’m so beat up that I just got tired of hurting all the time. I work graveyard too, so I sleep 5 hrs or so a day for 4 days, then sleep 8-10 hrs for 3 days. Most of the time I still feel like I’m 20 (which is great), but I know I’m not.
Had to drop out. Week 2 day 1 I did hit a Deadlift 3RM PR! Holy shit did I not expect that.
What I did. Week 1 I did only the first 3 workouts, I didn’t do the Wednesday extra stuff. I skipped day 4 and 5s workouts because my body was absolutely shelacked.
Came in week 2, still not 100% after 4 days of rest. Hit some PRs. Day 2, I got to the first set of 5 in the squat. Did 1 rep. Foam rolled and walked the hell out. Again I’m out for a couple of days.
I don’t know why. Maybe @Christian_Thibaudeau will chime in. I’ve been doing his programs for about 5 years. I’ve only ever not finished based on lack of motivation (I’m a true 2A).
Never have I gotten absolutely destroyed by one.
@jcmcnorton have you done Built for Bad? That’s a much more difficult program for me as compared to this. 95% 1RM on “light day” and hitting 100% the very next day, only to repeat.