Dave G's Metcon For Muscle Log

Training Training Logs
41

September 12th, 2022 - Phase Two, Week One, Day One* (already did Day 2 this week - did them out of order due to work travel)

I’m away from home for the week on a work assignment and, as such, I had to train today in commercial gym. It was decently equipped but due to the overall layout of the place plus the number of people there I was not able to be as efficient as usual in getting through the workout. Typically I train at home where I am able to set up all of the exercises in advance and do a specific warmup for each before starting the timed session. I could only set up one circuit at a time today and some of the equipment was spread out across a large floor space. This added about five or six minutes to my training time.

A. Above Shoulder Two DB Carry: 30’s x 120 seconds

B1. Push Press: 185 x 5, 5
B2. DB Lateral Raise multi ROM: 15’s x 5/5/8; 5/5/5
B3. Overhead DB Carry: 30’s x 60 seconds, 60 seconds

C1. Dip: BW + 135 x 5, 4
C2, DB Bench Press multi ROM: 70’s x 5/5/7; 5/5/2
C3. Two Push Up Strict Burpee: BW x 60 seconds, 60 seconds
(C1: I had planned to use the Decline Bench Press option for this cycle but there was no decline set up at the gym that I had to train at this week so I went with Dips)
(C2: my estimated load to use for this exercise was a bit too heavy to get the prescribed reps on the second round - I’ll decrease this a bit next week)

D. Dip Top Position Hold: BW x 75 seconds, 30 seconds, 15 seconds with timed15 second rests between holds (big improvement here over last week - got 30 full seconds more on the first hold and was able to get the accumulated 120 seconds in fewer sets)

E. DB Bench Press Loaded Stretch: 25’s x 90 seconds, 30 seconds with 15 second rests between bouts of work
(significantly better performance here than last week)

My total workout time was 32:15.

42

September 14th, 2022

I’m still away due to work but I had some time to get in a short conditioning and abs work session. I planned to do several rounds of a barbell complex and as I was warming up I did some Power Cleans which were feeling good so I worked up to a couple of moderately heavy sets on that prior to starting the complexes. Finished up with a few rounds of ab exercises.

A. Power Clean: 135 x 5, 155 x 3, 175 x 3, 173 x 3, 185 x 2, 205 x 1, 205 x 1

B. Barbell Complex: Deadlift / RDL / Power Clean / Front Squat / Push Press / Back Squat / Bent Row : 8 reps each @ 95 lbs

  • 4 rounds with 120 seconds rest between rounds

C1. Standing Cable Crunch: 75 lbs x max reps
C2. Landmine Twist: 25 lbs x 10 reps/side
C3. Swiss Ball Crunch: BW x max reps

  • did 3 rounds with no rest between movements and 30-60 seconds rest between rounds
43

Dude, you look freaking jacked! Much better than I’ve seen you look in the past!

44

@Christian_Thibaudeau

Thanks man! I’ve been doing your programs - both through the online coaching as well as programs that you’ve posted on T-Nation and on your own website for years, almost exclusively. I’ve done pretty much all of the ones you’ve published actually. So you can take some credit for the improvements over the years for sure.

I saw your response in Lonnie’s log where you said that getting 16 rounds on the Physical Labour day is in competitive crossfit territory and I managed to get over 18 rounds last week even after increasing the weights from the week before. This is without ever having trained ‘crossfit’ style in my life. For years I’ve done your strength and hypertrophy programs and added in conditioning work where I thought I could without hampering recovery too much. I’m pleased that it has had such positive results. At 48 years old I think I can say without exaggeration or hyperbole that I’m in the best shape of my life. Much of that is owed to your work. Thank you, Sir.

45

September 15th, 2022 - Metcon For Muscle - Phase Two - Week One - Day Three

A. Farmer’s Walk: 155 lbs (trap bar) x 120 seconds unbroken
(A. increase of 35 lbs from last week)

B1. Muscle Snatch: 115 x 5, 5
B2. Snatch Grip Iso-Dynamic Shrug: (1212 tempo) 115 x 20 sec hold + 15 reps, 20 sec hold +15 reps
B3. Farmer’s Walk: 155 lbs (trap bar) x 60 seconds, 60 seconds unbroken
(B1. started a bit light here to get the technique right as I never train these)
(B3. increased by 35 lbs from last week)

C1. Pendlay Row: (3010 tempo) 210 x 5, 5
C2. Chest Supported DB Rear Delt Raise multi ROM: 10’s x 5/5/10, 5/5/10
C3. Barbell Zercher Carry: 105 lbs x 60 seconds, 60 seconds unbroken

D. Chin Up Iso-Hold: BW x 40 seconds, 20 seconds, 15 seconds, 15 seconds, 15 seconds, 15 seconds
*again, pretty much the same as last week

E. Pull Up Hang Stretch: BW x 90 seconds, 30 seconds
*same as last week

Total workout time: 28:45 (almost 3 minutes longer than last week but this was a new phase so some of the exercises were different; I increased the load significantly on the Farmers Walk; and I’m still traveling for work so I had to do this in a different gym that wasn’t ideally set up for this style of training)

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46

How do you like using the trap bar for farmers carries? Was thinking of using mine instead of KBs, it just takes more effort and time to setup and use lol. But if it’s better, I may try it next time

47

@SpearsHF

I really prefer the trap bar to any other method for Farmer’s Walks. With DB’s or KB’s the implements tend to bounce off of the legs and I end up adjusting my gait to try to compensate for that. The trap bar allows a more natural gait plus you can generally use heavier loads on the trap bar than you would with two DB’s or KB’s.

I have one of the Biotest Dead-Squat bars that they were producing several years ago. It is a great bar and its my go-to for Farmer’s Walks. An additional advantage to the Dead-Squat bar is that it is designed to fit into the J-hooks or safety pins of a standard squat rack which makes loading and unloading super easy. I just set it up on J-hooks around thigh level, load it up, and initiate my carries from there.

48

Awesome, thanks for the feedback. I’ll try it out that way next time. I’ve also found with a DB or KB, I have to slow down the gait a lot more just to try and stop the bounce.

I have the Rogue TB1, and it’s also rackable which is a must have feature imo. I even use i much for presses and such. Great feature.

49

A1. Snatch Grip High Pull: 165 x 3
(had a lapse in concentration and did 5 reps on each of the first 4 sets instead of 3 reps - not a big deal but it slowed me down a little)

A2. Barbell Curl Walk: 65 x 20 steps (the prescribed load is 20-30% of bodyweight but, given my current bodyweight of about 183 lbs this would mean somewhere between about 37 and 55 lbs and 65 lbs actually felt very light so I stuck with that)

A3. DB Clean and Press: 50’s x 5

A4. Two Hand Anyhow Walk: 35’s x 10 steps/hand (the prescribed load is 20% of bodyweight which I took to mean 20% in each hand therefore I went with 35’s in each hand)

Completed 16 rounds in 29:52. As noted, I mistakenly did 5 reps on each of the first 4 sets of SGHP instead of the prescribed 3 reps which slowed me down a bit. I also use straps on the SGHP to keep grip from becoming a factor (and because it was 31 degrees Celsius here today and I was sweating profusely in my non-airconditioned garage which led to slippage issues on the bar) so this too slowed things down slightly.

Great workout. Definitely spent by the end of the 30 minutes.

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50

September 18th, 2022 - Metcon For Muscle - Phase Two - Week Two - Day 1

A. Above Shoulder Two DB Carry: 35’s x 120 seconds
(A. increased from 30’s to 35’s this week)

B1. Push Press: 185 x 5, 5
B2. DB Lateral Raise multi ROM: 15’s x 5/5/10; 5/5/6
B3. Overhead DB Carry: 35’s x 60 seconds, 60 seconds
(B1. Same as last week, not quite getting 3 second eccentrics here so staying at this weight)
(B2. got three more total reps this week)
(B3. increased by from 30’s to 35’s)

C1. Dip: BW + 90 x 5, 5
C2, DB Bench Press multi ROM: 60’s x 5/5/5; 5/5/5
C3. Two Push Up Strict Burpee: BW x 60 seconds, 60 seconds
(C1: decreased the load a bit due to being at failure on the last set last week rather than having 2-3 in reserve, still near failure at this weight right after the carries)
(C2: my estimated load to use for this exercise was a bit too heavy last week so I decreased to 60’s today and still it was tough)

D. Dip Top Position Hold: BW x 75 seconds, 30 seconds, 15 seconds with timed15 second rests between holds
(D. pretty much the same as last week)

E. DB Bench Press Loaded Stretch: 25’s x 75 seconds, 45 seconds with 15 second rests between bouts of work
(E. bit of a decrease in performance versus last week when I got 90 sec/30 sec)

My total workout time was 25:45.

51

September 19th, 2022 - ‘off’ day, bit of calf, ab, and forearm work only

A1. Standing Calf Raise: 3212 tempo, 225 x max reps
A2. Bodyweight Calf Raise: 3212 tempo, BW x max reps
A3. Jump Rope: 120 seconds
A4. Standing Calf Loaded Stretch: BW x 120 seconds unbroken

  • did one round of this with no rest between exercises which amounted to over 6 minutes of total work

B1. Ab Strap Knee Raise: 3112 tempo, BW x max reps
B2. Standing Cable Crunch: 3112 tempo, 70 lbs x max reps
B3. Suitcase Carry: 45 lbs x 60 seconds/arm

  • did 2 rounds with no rest between exercises and 60 seconds rest between rounds

C1. Cable Wrist Extensions: 5 lbs x max reps
C2. Behind Back Wrist Curl: 45 lbs x max reps
C3. Double Pronated Barbell Hold: 135 x 45 seconds, 45 seconds
*no rest between exercises, 60 seconds rest between rounds, did two rounds, the extensions and curls were very high rep sets; the holds were tough at a light load having taken no rest after the wrist extensions and curls

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52

September 20th, 2022 - Metcon For Muscle - Phase Two, Week Two, Day Two

A. Prowler Push: 2 minutes unbroken with 50 lbs loaded on the Prowler. Again I had to substitute Prowler pulling for pushing as I had to do this in my yard again and the damn thing just will not push decently on grass.

B1. Barbell Lunge: 165 x 5/leg, 5/leg
B2. Goblet Squat multi ROM: 100 x 5/5/8; 5/5/7
B3. Sled Drag: Prowler + 50lbs x 60 seconds, 60 seconds
(B1. increased by 10lbs from last week)
(B2. same weight but 4 more total full ROM reps than last week)

C1. RDL: 345 x 5, 5
C2. Leg Curl multi ROM: 100 x 5/5/10; 5/5/6
C3. KB Swing: 70 lbs x 60 seconds, 60 seconds
(C1. increased by 10lbs from last week)
(C2. same weight but 4 more total full ROM reps than last week)

D. Zercher Squat Hold: 65 lbs x 60 seconds, 25 seconds, 20 seconds, 15 seconds with 15 seconds rest between the holds
(D. decreased the weight a bit from last week - started with the same load as last week but had some weird low back tightness so I dropped it a bit)

E. Bulgarian Split Squat Iso-Hold: Left leg forward: 90 seconds / 15 seconds rest / 30 seconds; Right leg forward: 75 seconds / 15 seconds rest / 45 seconds /
(E. significantly better than last week)

Total workout time was 31:20 vs 30:10 last week. I increased the loads on some movements and the total reps on others. I was feeling oddly nauseous (which never happens to me) after the Zercher hold as my pace was pretty quick up to that point so I took almost a full 4 minutes rest before starting the Bulgarian Split Squat Stretch hold.

53

Amazing work on leg day. That’s a really fast time. I’ve found just running in and out of the garage, and getting in/out of my home gym leg curl setup usually adds a few minutes to the overall workout. You smoked it though.

I have the same sled issues with my yard: every time it hits the SLIGHTEST bit of uneven ground, it wants to dig in. I find dropping my hips lower when that happens helps to lift the front end a bit and overcome that.

But congrats man, hammering out that workout in 30 mins is just as impressive as your 345 slow eccentric RDL!

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54

@SpearsHF
Thank you very much! I was definitely feeling fatigue by the end of the session - in fact, the fatigue was accumulating quickly throughout the session. I just aim to keep the exercise technique as tight as possible and keep going, knowing that the sessions are fairly short relatively speaking.

While I really like the convenience of training at home I do miss the the turf at the gym where I used to train. That place had a 100 ft turf and the gym was usually not all that busy. It closed down during Covid though. There are a few other gyms in town with turf but they are super busy and not very well designed so the Metcon workouts would be a nightmare to try to do at those places. The sled just plain sucks on the grass though.

You’ve been doing some impressive work too, man. Keep up the good work.

55

September 22nd, 2022 - Metcon For Muscle - Phase Two - Week Two - Day Three

I took yesterday off from training entirely. It was a scheduled rest day on the Metcon plan but I usually do a bit of calves, abs, and forearms work on the off days. Yesterday, however, I hit the beach right after work then did some yard work. It was a great day to be outside and it just felt like the right thing to do.

Back at today though for ‘Pull’ day.

A. Farmer’s Walk: 160 lbs (trap bar) x 120 seconds unbroken
(A. increase of 5 lbs from last week)

B1. Muscle Snatch: 125 x 5, 5
B2. Snatch Grip Iso-Dynamic Shrug: (1212 tempo) 125 x 20 sec hold + 15 reps, 20 sec hold +15 reps
B3. Farmer’s Walk: 160 lbs (trap bar) x 60 seconds, 60 seconds unbroken
(B1 & B2 increased by 10lbs on each)
(B3. increased by 5 lbs from last week)

C1. Pendlay Row: (3010 tempo) 215 x 5, 5
C2. Chest Supported DB Rear Delt Raise multi ROM: 10’s x 5/5/10, 5/5/10
C3. Barbell Zercher Carry: 110 lbs x 60 seconds, 60 seconds unbroken
(C1 & C3 increased by 5 lbs)

D. Chin Up Iso-Hold: BW x 40 seconds, 20 seconds, 20 seconds, 15 seconds, 15 seconds, 10 seconds
*again, pretty much the same as last week

E. Pull Up Hang Stretch: BW x 90 seconds, 30 seconds
*same as last week

Total workout time: 27:15. This was about a 90 seconds faster than last week but I was traveling for work last week and the gym I was in required a different set up than the one that I use in my garage gym so it is difficult to say whether the time difference represents a performance increase or not.

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56

September 23, 2022 - Metcon For Muscle - Phase Two, Week Two, Day Four

A1. Snatch Grip High Pull: 170 x 3
(increased by 5lbs from last week)

A2. Barbell Curl Walk: 70 x 20 steps
(increased by 5lbs from last week)

A3. DB Clean and Press: 50’s x 5
(same weight as last week)

A4. Two Hand Anyhow Walk: 40’s x 10 steps/hand
(increased by 5lbs/hand from last week)

Completed 18 rounds plus the SGHP and BB Curl Walk of the next round in 29:58.

Thankfully the temperature in my garage gym was quite a bit cooler than the last several Physical Labour sessions so that helped with keeping the pace high.

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57

Absolutely!

How long do your training sessions usually take you? <30 minutes seems both flying and appealing, especially with so much work packed into that half hour.

58

@TrainForPain

Thank you for checking in.

The Metcon For Muscle workouts are generally taking me somewhere in the neighbourhood of 30 minutes to complete however, that is just the actual training time. I spend about 20 minutes setting up each exercise in advance and warming up on each as I go. During this time I drink my first dose of Surge Workout Fuel. I start the timer only when I’m ready to hit the actual workout. Since everything is laid out in advance I don’t spend much time on set up when I switch from one circuit to the next, in most cases.

I train at home and I’m able, for the most part, to set up each exercise for the entire workout in advance. My space is limited a bit so I might have to move some barbells or other implements around a bit when switching from one circuit to another but I have enough barbells, plates, and other implements that I can pretty much have everything loaded and ready to go during my warmup.

Prior to starting the Metcon For Muscle Plan my lifting workouts would generally take between 60 and 75 minutes to complete. Those workouts included more heavy lifting and rest periods than the Metcon workouts though. In the last year or so, prior to starting the Metcon plan, I had reduced the number of lifting sessions I do in a week from five or six down to four. I find this is working well given my advanced training age and advanced age in general. On ‘rest’ days I typically do conditioning work along with some calves, abs, and/or forearm work. Occasionally I’ll rotate through a phase where I work on Olympic lift technique on ‘rest’ days for a training block.

I am really enjoying the relatively brief and intense Metcon For Muscle workouts and I’m looking forward to seeing what the paid portion of the programming looks like going forward. I feel like I’ve added a bit of muscle on the plan (despite not eating in any kind of big caloric surplus) and my work capacity has definitely increased. With caloric restriction in place the Metcon plan will undoubtedly result in some rapid fat loss as well.

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59

I appreciate the thoughtful response!

If you’re getting stronger, more muscular and better-conditioned, you’ve found the fabled treasure! You certainly have strong lifts and great work capacity.

I’m similar that I’m not recovering as well/ just losing interest (if I’m being honest) with the longer workouts as I get older, so your sessions are cool to see and measuring minutes is a cool metric… especially since you can divorce setup and it’s your actual work time.

I like seeing your secondary sessions, as well. The concept of “free” sessions, or pump work, or whatever we want to call it was huge for me. I get in the work I have to each week, and then I still get to do whatever fluff stuff I feel like - very liberating.

I didn’t really realize the program was evolving. That speaks a lot that you’re happy to continue to the paid version. Will they just send you the next block as it comes up, like in the good old days of internet coaching? That’s kind of exciting in a nostalgic way.

60

@TrainForPain

I’m not sure what the paid portion of the Metcon program will look like in terms of costing, how the workouts will be posted, or how long it will run. It seems like an announcement is forthcoming about how this and the other paid training plans being run by Thibaudeau and Darden will work. I’m interested in each of the plans and will pick one once the details are known. At this point I’m inclined to continue with the Metcon plan for a while before switching to another but that may change once the details are known.

My decision on how to proceed in the short term will have to take into account that I will be away for work on an intense training course for three weeks from Oct 11-28. This is going to mess with my training schedule significantly. The course is about 4-5 hours away from my home and I’ll be staying in a hotel from Sunday night to Friday each week. I will get home on weekends but with the travel time each way, it will be a very short turn around. The work training days will be from 10-14 hours long and the start and end times will vary from day to day. I will have access to a decent gym that will allow me to do most of what is in the training plans (the current ones anyway) but I will not have much control over when I’ll have time to schedule the workouts. Now that I think about it, I may be limited by the hours that the gym is available as well. Meal planning is going to be a bit of a shit show too. For three weeks things will be difficult but after that I’ll be be able to dial in on whichever plan I choose.

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