I’m asking if you have any regarding active recovery. Always open to new information
Sorry, I watch too many blood sport debates and I’m already kind of abrasive. I don’t usually get asked for advice either to be honest.
I use Active Recovery loosely, which is why I defined the action in the OP, and is verbatim from a CT post, which I can reference if you want to read that. I consider levels and modalities of GPP to be equivalent to AR. We can call it Active Rest, Neural Charge, GPP, Injury Prevention, Prehab, Rehab. But the term is defined by the action and its intent.
If there is nothing to support this, why are so called Physical Therapy professionals using exercise post surgery/injury?
There is a lot of great information from Louie Simmons on the value of GPP as well.
Empty post. Had posted a pic but it’s pretty bad quality. I’ll post something else here later.
Using exercise post-surgery keeps the muscle from atrophying and ROM consistent and keeps scar tissue from forming. I’ve had 2 surgeries for tears.
I’m saying I’ve yet to any legit data that show AR actually promotes faster recovery or hypertrophy
Okay.
Micro Cycle 2/10
Dip Day 1/6/25
Didn’t get a lot of sleep last night.
Pre Pre Workout
- 6 oz lean beef
- 1 large cup of coffee
Pre Workout, about an hour later
- 1 C4 packet in a pint of water
- 1 Thermotab
Training Session
Dip
- BW x10, 25x5
- 50x3, 60x3, 70x3
- 80x1
- 90x5x4
- Last couple reps of Sets 3-5 were grinders. Losing that tight bottom position as well. Had to take extra rest time after set 4.
Dip, 3 second pause at bottom
- 45x8
- Failed rep 6, took a Rest Pause, Failed rep 2
- 50x3, RP, Failed rep 2
- Not exactly what I wanted to do today.
Bench press
- 135x6 regular grip
- 95x8 wide grip
- Feeling weak all around today.
Time: 53 minutes
(Optional)
Incline Tate press
- 30x10
- 30x10
Pushdown
- 60x8
Time: 1:04
Notes:
- A lot of reps to Failure today.
- Not what I was looking to do. This was the first session of this program where I did not feel really strong. I know I went too hard on the extra stuff yesterday.
- No worries, have some adjustments that can be made to continue moving forward. Re-reading CT’s article for course correction.
- Might move Wednesday Deadlift session to Thursday for an extra day of rest.
- Next week I will start rotating my sessions a little differently, 3 lifts one week, 4 lifts the next, and so on. This is just due to resuming regular schedules post-holiday.
Post Training
- 5g creatine
- 1 Thermotab
- 1 orange
- 1 banana
Play time with the kiddo.
Meal 2
- 4 chicken legs
- 2 servings of rice
Played with the kid for a while longer until nap time. Put him down and napped for about 30 minutes myself. Feeling well rested after that.
Meal 3
- 5 cups 2% milk
- 5g creatine
Meal 4
- cooked up 2 big pork steaks and 4 potatoes baked in olive oil.
- honestly the kid ate at least half of that, no joke
Then drilling wrestling with the boy for an hour or so.
Made leaps and bounds on his Fireman carry last night, I’ve really drilled into him sinking the pin deep after completion. He’s coming along well on his Half Nelson. We’re working on a duck under and finishing a single leg as well, but we really hammer the Fireman carry more than anything else. Gonna be a force.
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Ever try ring dips / pull ups ?
Yes. Actually before I started prepping for this program I was running a day each week out of Dr. Darden’s Chin-Dip-Run article.
My Saturdays looked like the following:
Ring row (feet atop a free-standing heavy bag)
- 5 reps, 2 sec up, 1 sec pause, 2 sec down
Run @ 80%
- 80 yards
Ring dip
- 5 reps, 2 sec down, 1 sec pause, 2 sec up
Run @ 80%
- 80 yards
3-5 total sets
Then my other training day I just did Deadlifts or Lunges and Incline Press or Dips, one work set to failure and maybe some Shrugs or Rear delts.
I’ve worked pull ups every so often but the rings I have access to aren’t high enough so I’d be doin L-sit pull ups and I am not at that level. I like skin-the-cats as well.
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I like ring work a lot combined with heavy carries prowler drags and a few hypertrophy exercises
Yeah agreed 100%. They pair well with walking lunges for me.
Micro Cycle 2/10
Rest Day 1/7/25
Hell of a time sleeping again last night.
After waking
- some water and a mug of coffee
Doing some reflection on training:
- I have done a little reading on some other forums this morning, and learned that people often include their bodyweight when calculating percentages for weighted dips and chins. This would put 90 pounds at around 92.5% and not 80% as I’ve been using it.
- In Micro Cycle 1, 5x3 @ 90# was hard at the end but doable. Micro Cycle 2, 5x4 @ 90# was nearly impossible with a lot of grinders. 5x5 isn’t going to happen.
- This also explains why 8 reps w a pause @ 45# was a top accessory set in Micro Cycle 1, because that’s about what 80% probably really looks like.
- Anyways, no real paradigm breaking realizations here, lol. But I will course correct and re evaluated percentages.
- I’m also going to go up a notch on the Incline Press and simply skim 10 pounds off the top.
- Glad this is all occurring in the first couple weeks of my first run.
- Great program outline. Very simple.
Meal 1
- 8 oz lean steak
- 1 serving of cottage cheese
Meal 2
- 1 banana
- 4 chicken legs
- some leftover rice, maybe 1-2 servings
- some onion & pepper sautéed
Youth wrestling practice tonight. Little guy went to his mother’s for a couple days, so he’ll come to Youth practice with me on Thursday. Going in today to assist coach.
Snack
- banana
Meal 3
- 1 pork steak
- pound and a half of potatoes
- 5g creatine
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Micro Cycle 2/10: Deadlift Day 1/8/25
Pre Breakfast
- Trying a new Pre-Workout Protocol based loosely on Poliquin’s “Preparing for the Ultimate Workout” protocol
- C4 packet in a pint of water
- 1 Thermotab
Breakfast
- large mug of coffee
- 6 oz lean beef
Training Session
Weight: 176 (fairly inconsistent scale so this is an avg of 3 weights)
Deadlift
- 135x10, 185x5
- 205/225/245x3
- 265x1
- 285x5x4
- 2-3 minutes between sets, 3 min toward the last few sets
Deadlift, 2" deficit
- 205x8
- 225x6
- These felt super light after the heavier work.
Bent over row, 2" deficit
- 135x8
- 145x6
- Great control on these today. Marked improvement from last week.
Pulldown w V bar
- 110x10
- 120x9
- 120x6
- Kept away from failure. Terminated sets while I still had firm control.
Time: 55 minutes
Notes:
- Very good session. Everything was smooth and controlled.
- No fluff or wasted sets or reps; however, I could drop the Pulldowns and probably not be missing out. Still trying to balance the extra work.
- In the next Micro Cycle I’m going to increase Accessory volume (Secondary and Tertiary exercises) and nix the bonus work.
Post Training
- 1 orange
- 1 Thermotab
- 5g creatine
Meal 2
- 4 chicken legs
- 2 servings of rice
Meal 3
- 5 cups of 2% milk
Meal 4
- 5g creatine
- 1 pork chop
- 2 servings of rice
- 1 tbsp butter, used to heat up that rice in the skillet
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Micro Cycle 2/10: Rest Day 1/9/25
Up early today. Big mug of coffee, didn’t get a lot of sleep. Getting a head start on work before I go pick up the little man. Expecting a huge Southern winter storm this evening. Hopefully I don’t die. Will be back to the house for breakfast around 8 or 9am.
Breakfast
- another big mug of coffee
- 6 oz lean beef
- 1 serving of cottage cheese
Meal 2
- 1 quart of whole milk
- 5g creatine
Meal 3
- 1 quart of whole milk
- 5g creatine
So far this Arkansas snow storm has been underwhelming but apparently it’s suppose to really blast off soon. I doubt I’ll get to the gym tomorrow morning as scheduled, so if I’m lucky I’ll be Pressing on Saturday.
Meal 4
- 3 chicken thighs
- not quite 2 servings of rice
- 3 year old kid literally ate all of 2 bone-in chicken thighs, a full half pound of meat & skin. Little savage. Had a little sautéed onion & bell pepper. He loves his rice too, he had about a serving.
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Some things to consider with the V bar… lats lose tension and activity at around 120 degrees of elevation…the V bar is nearly 180 if fully extended. At that elevation other muscles are doing the work. Training at too great of lengths also increases fatigue mechanisms. The lats don’t need the “stretch” to grow. Food for thought.
Hey I appreciate that. I was actually thinking that through as I was performing them. I did not know that about the 120 degree of elevation, but now that you bring it up it coincides with what I was contemplating during my past few sets.
Honestly with this program the optional work has been pretty pointless. I am going to try Scott fly/press after Inclines to close out Cycle 2. As I mentioned in my last session notes, I’m going to drop the bonus work going into Micro Cycle 3 (and beyond) and start building up the Accessory volume to what is published in the program.
The one thing I may consider keeping are bent over rows with elbows flared, pulling the bar to the chest (I just call them delt rows); like doing a posterior delt fly but by rowing a BB. These feel nice after pressing days.
I also think that by dropping that superfluous volume to 0, it’ll give me a chance to assess actual weaknesses instead of just throwing shit at a wall for no reason.
I’m very interested to see what happens in the transition from Cycle (Week) 4 to 5, as I increase the weights and decrease that volume quite significantly. Should be a lot of fun.
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You have a chest supported T Bar?? Primo for upper back with some abduction, Great way to look at it, btw. Keep up the grind amigo
I do not, but I like Incline DB rows.
Thanks brother.
Any nutrition comments based on what you’ve seen?
Thoughts on pre/intra/post-workout meals/shakes?
Also curious on @QuadQueen’s perspectives on nutrition.
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Micro Cycle 2/10: Rest Day 1/10/25
A lot of snow so won’t be getting to the gym. If I had a scoop shovel I’d be fine but I don’t.
Morning
- 1 mug of coffee
Breakfast
- another mug of coffee
- 6 oz lean beef (bottom round steak)
- 1 serving of cottage cheese
Building Lego with the kid. Spent about 40 minutes outside working on an epic snow castle.
Spent some time reviewing Deadly Weapons, studying a few Fireman’s Carry variations and watching a couple new pins. Time for some Bret Hart.
Lunch
- 5g creatine
- about 10 oz of skin on chicken thigh meat
- a tablespoon of olive oil over the top (after cooking)
Chillin while kiddo sleeps. Will do some writing and contemplating. Getting cabin fever with all this snow; it makes me miss South Dakota where it can snow 2 feet and life doesn’t skip a beat.
Snack
- quart of whole milk
- 5g creatine
Continuation of snow fort building. Coming along nicely. Should be easily defensible against the inexperienced neighborhood kids. I have decades of veteran snow fighting experience. The insurgents have none.
Suppose to be a hard freeze tonight, with the peak cold being around 6am. I don’t see getting to the gym tomorrow.
Dinner
- 1 bone-in pork steak
- 1.5# red potato
- bacon fat for roasting potatoes, probably 1 tablespoon & a half
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I’m not very active on here these days, so forgive me in advance for being sporadic. I’m intrigued by your log and looking forward to seeing your results. I love and hate CT’s Power Look program. It’s freaking hard - especially that awful week 4 with the 5 sets of 6. I hate those sessions but I think that’s where the growth occurs. The weeks after feel great with the increased loads and decreased volume.
Good luck!
Dude thanks for stoppin by!
This program has been a lot of fun so far.
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