Built for Battle Q&A

Yeah seal rows / flat chest supported rows are the best option

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By the way, this program is a solid block of awesome. Lifts going up. Conditioning much better. Oh, and my fucking biceps are growing biceps :muscle:

I guess that makes sense; if your biceps are having intercourse, they’re bound to procreate.

Thanks! I’ll be here all week.

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Yep, absolutely

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Glad to hear. I’m suprised myself at own effective it is :slight_smile:

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Today was my second training. Moderate load, 3 warm up rounds of 5’s + 5/4/3/2/1 woking rounds = 55:22min (warm up rounds take about 22min). My rests between the working sets was less than 1:30min. How long does it take a typical build for battle session for you?

That sounds about right.

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A 90 seconds rest between movements? Isn’t that excessive? Particularly on an easier day??

Well, I guess the things are getting serious… Highest level of engineering in my training experience lol !

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Thats pretty’s epic man

If you’re going to B4B you’re going to use every plate in the gym. That’s how it is.

How’s everyone doing on this programme?

This is week 1 for me. I’ve done plenty of CT programmes before, especially BDW for best part of a year, and this is as inspiring, although it is a challenge for my humble home gym. I have just invested in some mini-Olympic plates (0.25, 0.5, 0.75, etc) to eek out the recommended 3RM percentages. But I’ve had to swap out the horizontal row for a weighted pull-up due to equipment shortages.

Couple of early observations:

  • I have a long-standing issue with my lower back so I did fear the zerchers. However, I have found that a wider stance and constant core contraction has averted any issues so far. I also use a Swiss bar for this (and the bench) and it seems to fit more snuggly in the cradle than a regular bar.

  • Though my conditioning isn’t great, I can generally keep to 1 - 1.5m assuming I can get the equipment ready for the next round. I also do the last round on 5-4-3-2-1 with ALRAP given it’s only a single.

  • I also intend to keep my current Sat morning strongman circuit as a swap out for the Sat session, which I think works well given this is the second circuit day anyway.

Great to hear your thoughts and tips.

JB

I’d be interested to hear how you set it up in a home gym

I have a half rack, where I load up the Swiss bar as if I were benching. However, I can also unhitch the bar for zerchers from here and squat. Then reset bar, slide the bench in and it’s ready for benching. For the muscle snatch and snatch high pull, I have the BB on a pair of stands set at thigh level. I have a parallel pull up bar suspended on Olympic rings for the pull up. Pretty low tech really but it does the job.

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Love it! Thanks for the response. I have a full rack, so pulling out the front isn’t as easy, but I can go with the same concept.

I was thinking I can do things like row, dead (any version), power clean, front or zercher squat, bench and overhead press really all with one bar - then pullups are right there so I’m pretty covered.

Does it wreck your mojo having to adjust everything between sets in the circuit?

In theory, you could certainly work with one bar for the pulls, snatches, rows, etc. I find it fine with muscle snatch and snatch high pull because there is not a huge weight differential. However, add a row and that’s 3 changes, which might become a bit onerous.

In truth, the changes are a drawback of the programme. You need to calculate your percentages in advance and then ensure you have the weights to hand to ensure quick turnaround each exercise. Sometimes I’ve felt a bit distracted by this and felt my mind is thinking about getting a load right rather than focussed on the movement itself. I think it will come with practice. I also aim for 1 to 1.5m between exercises so this does mean I can’t afford to faff about looking for plates, or checking my training diary constantly to ensure I have the right load.

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I hear you, and thanks for the insights again.

I don’t even like figuring out percentages in the first place, but the program does look enjoyable overall (I liked superhero). Definitely let me know how you are liking it after you settle in in a week or two, if you don’t mind!

Ditto!

No worries, mate. So far, no one else has updated this thread so I am not sure how well it is being adhered to. I envisage it must be a tricky programme to follow in a commercial gym where equipment is at a premium.

I’m so glad that I go to a gym where I can walk in at 10am and be the only person there

Coach,

Or someone else who is familiar with these type of lifts, can you clarify are you supposed to be doing some of the lifts from a dead stop? For example, deadlifts and muscle snatch, would you re-set after each rep rather than touch and go?

Thanks