Messed up since I shouldn’t have done squats with dips and rows yesterday. Should have been military press according to program. Today I didn’t feel good about testing my TM for press due to dips and rows done yesterday.
Did press along with front squats and leg curls though.
Been doing Triumvirate this week with FSL AMRAP (down set). It’s a nice change in pace from Beefcake.
Finishing week 2. Is it just me or is BBB not good for pushing your max rep? Seems like it’s just for building size. I feel like I’m liking AMRAP because it’s pushing the ceiling for your lifts.
That is 100% what it’s for. It’s why you rotate programs every 2 to 5 cycles.
I disliked BBB for this reason. I felt like I was missing out not setting PR’S on “+” sets.
But this a preference. You can and will still get stronger. Not as much. But you will.
Edit : and of course this is why. BBBs main goal is size. Not strength.
Yeah, okay makes sense. Yeah, I feel conflicted now about BBB…but I get it. I guess because I’m still not satisfied with where my lifts are at I’d rather focus on pushing my max reps vs adding size.
It goes hand in hand. A bigger muscle is a potentially stronger muscle. It’s why periodization is used.
I’m gonna 2nd that. Don’t see this a “time not getting my maximum strength returns” - more as “time spent preparing for maximum strength returns”.
Its the leg work that will pay dividends.
Wrapping up first cycle of Triumvirate. I haven’t noticed any strength gains really on the main lifts. At best I seemed to have maintained what I had before. So not exactly encouraging but it’s felt like I’ve hit a wall for a while now. I did eat poorly yesterday though due to a bunch of obligations butI don’t think that accounts for it but doesn’t help.
Starting cycle 2 and first workout was good.
For cycle 1 in the first week I did the following for press:
5+ 105 lbs - x11
AMRAP - 80lbs - x14
However, for today’s workout I did:
5+ 110 lbs - x11
AMRAP - 85 lbs - x15
I was expecting to get x10 but was able to squeeze out that 11th rep and beat my AMRAP set too from previous cycle.
I think I just had a really bad cycle 1 so my lifts feel more back to their normal levels. I was concerned about poor performance last cycle.
It happens. I had it all the time - bad weeks or a few bad weeks. And it feels like you’re going back wards. But its just on of those things. Its why you have too look at your 3 month average. If over the course of 3 months you’re stronger then that’s the measure. Screw weekly - or even monthly. You can have an off month with work and family.
Whats your weight like? Still going up?
Weight is between 154-155 lbs. I feel like my lifts have been pretty stagnant though. We’ll see how it goes. I mean, I don’t like eating past a certain point and so it’s been a challenge in that department. I also got tired of tracking everything I’m eating, so I’ve stopped doing that. Maybe that’s excessive anyway, but I’m not as clear about my protein intake, etc.
At the very least I’m maintaining things, but would like to see some new PRs…even if they’re small. Now that things are slowing down progress wise I think it’s harder to stay focused. It’s easier during the newbie gain phase.
You are at a cross roads. This is were it gets hard. And you need to focus more. The longer you stick in this game the more you need to apply to get results. Its easy when you’re new. Hit any decent programme and get bigger / stronger.
That’s running thin for you. You need to make sure the food it right now. Not to any great detail. But at least have a good idea. Other wise you’ll stop making progress what so ever and then you’ll stop.
Start with simple - 6 eggs and 1lb of meat a day. This is easily done. And is about 180g of protein. Put a load of health cards like rice and potatoes in there, some veg and you’re golden.
Sorry for the late reply. I totally get what you’re saying. I’m sort of trying to assess my goals at this point. I want to get stronger, but not sure if I’m committed to the point where I’m eating 1 lb of meat a day and 6 eggs. I just don’t see myself eating that everyday. So, I know I’m not eating optimally. So far I seem to be making some progress on Triumvirate, but it’s slow. I don’t mind slow progress, but I’m worried I’m just going back and forth, back and forth.
I still want to maintain the muscle I’ve gained (as little as that may be) and ideally slowly put on more. I think with the pandemic it’s been easy for me to stick to weightlifting, since I just workout in my basement and I’m home all the time. My plan was to keep lifting for another year and see where I’m at after that. The main point of this training log was to get me into a routine of lifting and stick to it, which it has accomplished. Now I’m getting into the phase where you get past newb gains and like you said it needs more focus, etc.
You got it sorted dude. The beginning is always sexy and exciting because you just keep growing. The middle is what sucks, because once that is done, it’s just the long slow grind.
The “secret” is this though: as long as you are working hard, you’re NEVER going backwards. Growth is always happening: you just have to have your eyes open to observe it. It’s not always going to be more weight on the bar: it might be more reps, it might be better recovery between sets, it might be faster bar speed, it might be better control over the implement, it might simply be more muscle added, it might be better work capacity, etc etc. This is often why dudes will have a plateau for years and then, out of nowhere, blow it away by 20lbs. There was SOMETHING holding them back that, after enough time grinding away, they finally worked through it and were able to tap into all that OTHER good stuff they had been building that whole time.
Monotony can be broken up by switching up goals here and there. It can even be subset of goals.
“I wanna get big and strong” becomes “I want to press 200lbs overhead no matter what”, and NOW we have a new vector to focus on. It becomes periodization, because the other lifts fall into maintenance and now we drive up the press. And once that is done, we’re jacked and strong as hell and we turn that into other goals.