BW: 149.2
waist: 33"
Stronger & Leaner for Longer 2.0
Week 1 / Day 2
Ten rounds of:
Back squats
185 x 3
Chest-supported rows
185 x 3
RDLs
155 x 3
OHPs
85 x 3
First time doing this routine without the down-time, It’s a keeper.
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BW: 150.6
waist: 33"
Mini cheat day yesterday after spending half the day buying/leasing new car. Wife loves it. We can afford it. All that matters.
A little cardio this morning. Getting ready for the Seahawks game.
AM Cardio
Incline treadmill walk
2.5 miles / 43:16 minutes / 312 calories
Average weight this week was 150.3. Not a bad place to improve from. Will probably drop the post-BJJ workout on Tuesdays and Thursdays to get the recovery process started sooner (I’m getting home from the gym at 10pm, which is much too late). Still deciding on how/where/if to make up that work - which was mostly shoulder and arm specialization stuff as well as another round of cardio.
Still tinkering with my post-Berlin program (after Feb 14). Current plan is to do something like this:
Monday:
OHP/Incline press/Flat bench - HPMASS medley (ramp up w/triples)
Deadlift/Chins superset (8x3)
plus 3 sets of 15-20 HLRs mixed in between exercises
Friday
Chest supported row/DB row superset (4x8)
Straight arm pulldown/Lat pulldown superset (4x8)
Squat/Dips superset (8x3)
plus 3 sets of 15-20 Ab cable crunches mixed in between exercises
Woke up 153 and change plus 33.25" around the waist! What a couple of extra slices of rosemary and olive bread can do to me is amazing. Wheat belly, indeed!
Nothing but pre and intra-workout carbs today. Decided to take my new-found mass for a spin on the HPMASS upper body pressing routine I’d planned on starting next month.
Here’s the full workout, warmups and rampups. Took me a just under 90 minutes because of the micro-setting during the two-stage incline work.
OHP
bar x 10
50 x 10
60 x 8
65 x 5
70 x 5
75 x 5
80 x 3
85 x 3
90 x 3
95 x 3
100 x 3
105 x 3
110 x 3 → note: this was 88% of peak TM (125) from Feb 2019
High incline bench
110 x 3
115 x 3
117.25 x 3
120 x 3
45 degree incline bench
122.25 x 3
125 x 3
127.25 x 3
130 x 3
135 x 3
140 x 3
Flat bench
140 x 3
145 x 3
150 x 3
155 x 3
160 x 3
165 x 3
170 x 3
175 x 3 ->note: this was 90% of peak TM (195) from Feb 2019
Sets of twelve band pull parts during rest periods, which started at about 45 seconds up to 2 minutes by the final flat bench sets. This feeler session will make it easier for me to get the right levels next time.
Ideally, I’ll average 6-8 sets per exercise - toward the higher end on the OHP early (the priority lift) and the lower end on the flat bench late. 6-8 sets between the two versions of incline press.
I’d like to get this down to about 45 minutes of work. Then add my deadlift/chins circuit to finish for about 75 minutes total. The pull side of HPMASS, which I’ll trot out on Friday, is almost certainly going to come in under 45 minutes. I’ll slap my back squat/dips circuit on the end of that.
The New New New Plan: HUBL HP MASS
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That was a lot of pressing my friend.
I like your little circuits, seems legit.
Where or how did you come up with those?
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Thanks! Folllowing an old CT program (or at least part of one) called HP MASS for the upper body pressing work. I’ll probably broaden the intervals so I’m not doing more than 6-8 sets per “station” though!
The pull/back supersets are something CT wrote about in an article on Vince Gironda and his 8x8 protocol. If you superset with an exercise on the same muscle group, you do 4x8 instead.
And the dead/chins and squats/dips circuits are something I cobbled together from Chad Waterbury’s 10x3 and 8x3 work - as well as some strength circuits inspired by Martin Rooney (old school MMA strength coach).
The idea is to have a base workout for full body strength and work capacity, and then add on the focus work (the HP MASS and Gironda 4x8 supersets) - which I actually do first, since upper body size and strength are my priority this year.
BW: 152.4
waist: 33"
Weight coming back down from spike earlier in the week. Did make up work from Monday.
Ten rounds of
Deadlifts 3 reps @ 215 (70% of peak TM)
Weighted Chins 3 reps @ BW+25
With the chins I was able to do 1.5 reps for the first eight sets, but had to settle for single reps on the final two sets. Went beltless on the deadlifts; felt form start to slip a bit after set eight. Pretty convinced it was a work capacity issue, which is partly the point with these circuits.
Workout took about 40 minutes for 10 rounds. Combined with the upper body push and pull work, this workout probably needs to be trimmed down by 2-4 rounds to save time and limit overall fatigue.
Then again, I’m actively considering switching to a 4x/week training. For a variety of reasons, I’m thinking that four 45-minute sessions a week might end up being easier to recover from than two 90-min sessions a week - and easier to work into my schedule.
This would mean:
Mon: HP Mass Push
Tue: Deadlift/Chins circuit
Thu: Back squat/Dips circuit
Fri: Gironda 3D Back Supersets + Shoulder width/Chest flye SupersetAlso trying actively to be a little less concerned about my weight. I find that even though I don’t like the 33"+ waist, the rest of my upper body doesn’t mind being above 150 at all. So I’m hoping a little more diet consciousness - especially on non-lifting days - and a little less reliance on cardio will work to get me gradually closer to 145 or so over the next month.
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BW: 152.6
waist: 33"
BJJ Day
Felt a little sluggish all day. Jiu-jitsu only tonight. Tutored first class. 24 minutes of Live Training in second class. Cardio was fair to ok. Managed to hit a perfect Roger Gracie-esque back take from the closed guard - a major goal for years. Felt really nice to make very specific technical changes and see them work instantly. I’ll be working on this fanatically for the rest of the year.
For you grappling guys and gals (esp in the gi).
Will try to do the Gironda Pull Supersets + Squat/Dips circuit tomorrow. Especially curious to see how the workout times out. That could play a major factor in whether I’m able to go 2x/week or need to consider 4x/week.
If you can make it 4 days a week do it man.
That way you can put all effort into “one program”, you’ll probably recover better and on weeks where things don’t play together you could occasionally pair the programs as you do now.
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Juggernaut Training System (Chad Welsey Smith) released two videos on their YT about training with BJJ. It could be worth checking them!
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BW: 151
waist: 33" (wheat belly reigns!)
Squat/Dip + Pull Day
Six rounds of
Squat 3 reps @195 (71% of peak TM)
Dips 3 reps @ BW+35
Snatch Grip High Pull (SGHP) / Muscle Snatch superset
65 x 8 / 55 x 8
65 x 8 / 55 x 8
65 x 8 / 55 x 8
65 x 8 / 55 x 8
Chest-supported row / DB row superset
Went too heavy on these - spend the entire superset backing off! - aiming for sets of eight
185 x 6 / 75 x 8
180 x 4 / 75 x 4
170 x 5 / 65 x 6
160 x 6 / 55 x 8
Straight-arm pulldown / Wide-grip pronated pulldown superset
60 x 8 / 80 x 8
60 x 8 / 80 x 8
60 x 8 / 80 x 8
60 x 8 / 80 x 8
Biggest back pump I can remember about midway through these sets. Good, good work.
Very nice session. About 75 minutes total which is as good as I could have hoped for. I’m thinking I might be able to split the difference between 2x and 4x/week into a 3x/week program.
I don’t mind running a little long on Friday, especially if my Monday and Wednesday sessions are <45 minutes.
Mon: Push
Wed: Deadlifts & Chins
Fri: Squats & Dips + Pull
I think I’m going to see if I can make it work with 3x. As you suggest, that will still give me a full push day. And since upper body strength is my main 2020 goal …
I’ve seen some of Chad’s videos and subscribe to him on YT. I enjoy following him especially as he’s competing in BJJ .
“But as you get to intermediate and advanced as a natural, and remember that, as a natural, after about three to five years of hard training you’ll hit your peak. So if you’re a natural and you’ve been training for two, three, four years … you’re probably not going to grow for 15 more years. You’ve probably got a couple of years left.” John Meadows, on why natties need to train intensely for muscle growth.
Yes I love John but 3 to 5 years might not cut it for 99% of people.
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I hope I didn’t take him out of context. HIs argument was essentially that natural lifters risked wasting valuable growth time if they didn’t train intensely enough during the window of optimal, hypertrophy. HIs window seems to be around 7-10 years (“after two, three, or four years of training … you’ve only got a couple of years left”).
I took his advice mostly as an admonition against wasting time during my first few years of serious lifting (I’m arguably just starting my third year). This is when the “gains” will come more readily, so I should take full advantage of that.
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BW: 153 lbs
waist: 33.25"
Cardio yesterday/Sunday and a weigh-in of 154.4, tied for my heaviest weight in months. Put in 2.75 miles on the incline treadmilll (409 cal) + 2k on the rower (108 cal) + six and a half ungodly uncomfortable minutes and one and a half miles on the gym’s new stationary bike “experience.”
Upper Body Press Day
OHP
bar x 10 x 2
65 x 9
75 x 6
85 x 6
95 x 3
100 x 3
105 x 3
110 x 3
115 x 3
120 x 3
High incline seated press
120 x 3
125 x 3
130 x 3
135 x 3
140 x 3
Low incline bench press
140 x 3
145 x 3
150 x 3
155 x 3
Flat bench press
155 x 3
160 x 3
165 x 3
170 x 3
175 x 3
Post-train cool down cardio
Row tempo intervals
2.0 km 10:30 minutes 108 calories
Actually felt very good until the final set of flat bench, when I had to do a little digging to get it back to the rack. I think I was a little distracted and didn’t give myself a good set up. All the same, the triple at 120 in the OHP and taking the seated high incline press to 140 were both nice marks to make.
Cardio and jiu-jitsu tomorrow morning and evening. A gold star for me if I can get my dumb ass to bed before midnight for change!
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For me ungodly minutes is spend on the rower, that thing is freaking hard.
Bulking?
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BW: 154.4
waist: 33 1/4"
Cardio BJJ Day
Took a light 2.5 miles on the treadmill this afternoon. Felt sluggish and heavy because I am.
Incline treadmill walk
2.5 miles / 45:43 minutes / 260 calories
BJJ Training
Tutored first class / 21 minutes Live Training second class
Good training. Classic half guard still reliable - esp. Old School/Gordo sweep. From the top, good pressing through to half guard and attacking from there. That said, need to work more on attacking quarter guard (Roger choke & rolling back take top options).
Deadlift + Weighted chins circuit tomorrow.
Haha! Not on purpose, at least.
I’m a little all over the place, diet-wise. I’ve been eating out of anxiety more than usual (buying a new car, starting a whole new set of work responsibilities) and doing a little less cardio than I did last year (which was a little fanatical, in retrospect).
I’d still like get my waistline down to 32" (even 32 1/2" would be ok). But upper body strength and hypertrophy are top goals for this year. So I’m making sure I fuel my workouts; I used to skimp on workout nutrition if I overate the day before. Now each day is its own day; workout days get treated the same way (high carb and high protein) regardless of whether the number on the scale is what I want or not.
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Playing around with a maximum muscle potential calculator for fun. Interesting results.
At 5’ 5" and 154 16-17% BF, my MMP is about 172 1/2 at 12% BF, which is about as lean as I’d want to get.
What was especially interesting were its body part projections at that weight and BF. Here are current vs. projection/max target
chest: 38" vs 42 1/2"
flexed bicep: 14" vs 15 1/2"
thigh: 22 1/2" vs 23 1/2"
calf: 14" vs 15 1/2"
forearm: 11 1/2" vs 12 1/2"
My neck was actually rated slightly overdeveloped (15 1/2" vs 15 1/4")! Credit to 15 years of jiu-jitsu for that!
The question is how close can I get to those body part size goals with a minimum impact on waistline (i.e., under 32 1/2"). I’m increasingly weight-on-the-scale agnostic. Looking good and feeling good are goals enough.