When i was a teenager I’d have 100% done sarms and steroids had I worked out and/or known about them. Luckily I did not. I didn’t spend much time, or any really, thinking past tomorrow at that age and I was always down to ingest something that would be fun or make the experience better.
Kids now days seem to be just as irresponsible as I was, except now they have everything at their finger tips.
To be fair to the youths, I was and still am something of an idiot in this regard.
In general, people want shortcuts, but young kids in particular especially do.
When you’re 16 and I tell you “Take 6 months to run this program and put on 20lbs”, 6 months to a 16 year old is 3% the life you have experienced on this planet. That seems like FOREVER. Tell a 36 year old to take 6 months and it’s a blip to them.
So kids are ALWAYS going to want the fastest, shortest way and won’t tolerate a plan based around taking your time and being patient. And the supplement industry preys on them.
I started lifting at 12 and I can tell you, during that time and throughout my sophomore year of high school, I was obsessed with supplements. I read Muscle and Fitness and FLEX magazine and saved up money working for my grandpa to buy Muscletech’s NANO Vapor Pre-Workout and Anabolic Halo Post Workout. I thought that supplements were the answer, but was very anti-steroid and I genuinely thought Lou Ferrigno, Jeff Monson, Bob Sapp, Brock Lesnar, and Mark Coleman were all natural (my odd list of heroes) when I started. Finding Scooby1961’s channel as a sophomore really helped right the ship for me. I stopped buying into supplement scams and understood that lifting and eating were the most important things for building muscle.
When I was a senior in high school, one of my friends who was just a few weeks into lifting was looking up prohormones on the internet. I’ve always been kind of a Boy Scout type guy, and tried to talk him out of it. But he was convinced that I wasn’t natural, that our fairly in shape teacher wasn’t natural, and that I just didn’t want him to catch up with me lmao… the shortcut thing Is real and it’s sad. It’s absolutely the wrong mindset for getting into lifting/bodybuilding, because it’s such a long term thing. If you have a short-term mindset, you will NOT make it.
5/3/1 Forever came in the mail today and I instantly just started reading. What a phenomenal book! I feel a lot better about programming a year of training and better understanding periodization thanks to Jim’s “Leaders and Anchors” approach. I ended up messaging my brother-in-law everything I’d learned so far, and it was a complete novel. I’m sure he’ll never read it lol
So what I’ve learned is that I’m doing a leader program right now with the BBB Challenge. And for the challenges, Jim schedules 3 leaders, 2 anchors. Makes sense since the challenge is 3 cycles long. I’m thinking for my Anchor that I’ll run twice to follow this challenge is the 5/3/1 Widowmaker! He’s not very clear as to how much assistance work to do per day on this program, but from what I can surmise, anchors generally use 50-100 reps of each. I’m thinking Kroc Rows or chins to superset with the pressing movements, curls, and face pulls for pulling assistance. Dips, Tricep Extension, Tricep Pushdowns, and lateral raises for push. Lunges, sit ups, hanging leg raises for core/single leg. Any feedback on this topic is appreciated. I thought the Kroc Row fits the theme of the program well. So do Poundstone curls, now that I think about it.
BBB Challenge Day 14
Bench 215x5, 245x3, 270x1
Press 80 5x10
Db Row 90 5x10
Db Curl 3x10
Tricep Extension 3x10
Face Pulls 3x10
Today’s workout was an absolute banger. Supersetted everything after Squat as usual. The soreness that comes from BBB is no joke. My brother-in-law warned me that it always made he and his brother Super sore and he was sure right! I’ve been consistently sore every day. It honestly feels great though, like I really hammered the muscles.
I got caught up talking to one of my gym buddies for about 5 minutes after my 4th set of deadlifts, so it messed up my pace a bit… so my punishment was that I did 20 reps of both deadlifts and then leg raises in my final superset. It was absolutely brutal. According to my Apple Watch, my heart rate got up to 172 Bpm during that final superset. I love the feeling of pushing myself. It gives me life.
BBB Challenge Day 15
Squat 225x5, 255x3, 285x1
Deadlift 215 4x10, 1x20
Hanging Leg Raiders 4x10, 1x20
Good work going on, along for the ride.
Thank you! Happy to have you aboard matey!
Forgot to update my log Thursday, so I’m going to post Thursday’s workout here and I’ll be back later to post today’s workout.
My workout schedule will be different this week. I’m taking another trip to the great white north on Friday. So, I’m going to take a rest day tomorrow and donate plasma as I normally do, then do all the week’s weight workouts Monday-Thursday. I’ll probably be crazy sore for that drive on Friday (16-17 hours) but I just gotta get it done. Thankfully it’s the deload week, so it shouldn’t be too crazy.
I did this workout later than I’ve been accustomed to lifting lately, but I really feel like I breezed through it. I feel like I’m adapted and ready for the heavier weights of the next cycle!
I started off trying to do the Bench paused, but I remembered in the article that Jim recommends doing all the reps fast and lo and behold, it felt WAY better. It felt like more stress was placed on the pecs themselves and I also got a better pump, which doesn’t matter but it feels good. Paused Bench just seems to switch the Emphasis to my shoulders and triceps for some reason. So that was a valuable lesson for me going forward. My new mantra: “Just do what Jim says, how he says to. He’s right.”
Bbb Challenge Day 16
Press 120x5, 135x3, 150x1
Bench 145 5x10
Chins 5x10
Preacher Curl 3x10
Rope Tricep Pushdown 3x10
Face Pulls 3x10
Got a really good workout in today. Just excellent. It was the feeling of a great lift for sure. Got the deadlift work done with no issues except that I had to use a mixed grip, because as I guessed last week, 4 plates would be a little more than what my grip could handle. I tried but it was slipping once I got to about my shin. So I used a mixed grip and got a very clean rep. Maybe if I got some chalk it could remedy this. I used chalk last time I was in Canada and managed 350 for 15 reps, so I think it’s a big difference maker. My squat form felt perfect today. Lower back fatigue was nowhere near as bad as last week.
BBB Challenge Day 18
Deadlift 315x5, 360x3, 405x1
Squat 150 5x10
Snatch Grip Shrugs 235 5x10
Sit Ups 5x20
Also on a supplementation note, I’ve started taking 5 grams of creatine with 5 grams of leucine mixed in water pretty much right after my workout. I don’t know if there’s actually a benefit from taking creatine at the same time as I’m stimulating mTor with Leucine, but in my head I like to think it’s helping to shuttle it to the muscles haha. Also, this drink is disgustingly bitter.
My sleep has been very bad lately so I was crazy tired and worked way late yesterday so I decided I would combine its workout With todays workout. It’s no big deal. Just the deload week and I need to get the work done.
BBB Challenge Day 21
Squat 120x5, 150x5, 180x5
Deadlift 215 5x10
Bench 115x5, 145x5, 170x5
Overhead Press 80 5x10
Db Row 90 5x10
Db Curl 3x10
Overhead Tricep Extension 3x10
Face Pulls 3x10
Probably too heavy on assistance for a deload when you combine workouts. This was a ball Buster even with the lighter weights. That’s maybe a touch much, but I’m young so why not lol
Cheers Dave,
Considering you went through several programs lately, and have produced great results to show:
Which is, in your opinion, the one program you would stick with, in case you were forced to choose?
Which program produced the best gains, in your opinion? Or was it an additional effect by rotating different programs?
Any program you would never do again?
I think the easiest program to follow over a long term period of time would be 5/3/1 since it has so many variations and a pre-planned progression system and is truly designed to take you through the long haul. I think the most effective for Hypertrophy in the short term would probably be Fortitude Training followed by Deep Water. I definitely think you get a good effect by cycling programs.
My current opinion on what I think is good in training is 5/3/1 variations as the training “base” or “foundation” and then cycling in a Fortitude Training and a Deep Water during the year to really push yourself in shorter bursts to bring on extreme periods of new growth.
I don’t think there’s a program I’d never do again. I’ve liked everything I’ve ran in the past year. I haven’t mentioned DoggCrapp or 30-10-30, because I believe you could incorporate those into 5/3/1, specifically on assistance and supplemental work while keeping the spirit of the program in tact. Which is how I will keep them in the loop in the future. I think that’s really the best way for me to have my cake and eat it too, so to speak.
Haven’t updated my log really since getting to Canada but I’ve been getting my workouts in! Additionally, I’ve been going to Jiu Jitsu classes this week as well as club wrestling. The boring but big sets are feeling brutal so far, being 60% of my new adjusted training maxes. Next month will be a true grinder. I felt like almost a max effort set on my last set of bbb military Press. Feels great talking a rest day after how brutal yesterday was with squats at 5 in the morning, club wrestling at 6:00 in the evening and then jiu jitsu from 7:30-9:00. I’m sore and exhausted lol
-I started writing this entry last Thursday and never got around to finish it. I’m going finish writing my training from last week here and I’ll write a new post with this weeks training tomorrow
Sunday
Military Press 110x5, 125x5, 140x5
Bench 175 5x10
Chins 5x10
Db Curls 3x10
Tricep Extension 3x10
Face Pulls 3x10
Monday
Deadlift 285x5, 325x5, 370x5
Deadlift 255 5x10
Hanging Leg Raises, Sit Ups, Weighted laying leg raises Circuit
Wednesday
Bench 190x5, 215x5, 245x5
Military Press 100 5x10
Barbell Rows 185 5x10
Barbell Curls 3x10
Tricep Extension 3x10
Face Pulls 3x10
Thursday
Squat 200x5, 235x5, 265x5
Squat 185 5x10
Sit Ups 4x25
Another week of lifting in the books. Got more wrestling and bjj in as well. Really making the most of my time up here in Canada, both with my wife-to-be and in my training! My conditioning for grappling was way better this week. I’m adapting fast. It’ll be exciting to start competing at some point after I get moved in up here. The weights also felt a lot more manageable this week but still very brutal, especially on squats and my bruised knee, but no excuses. I got everything done, full ROM on every movement.
Sunday
Military Press 115x3, 135x3, 150x3
Bench 175 5x10
Chin Ups 5x10
Db Curls 3x10
Tricep Extension 3x10
Face Pulls 3x10
Monday
Deadlift 305x3, 350x3, 390x3
Deadlift 255 5x10
Hanging Leg Raises 5x10
Thursday
Bench 205x3, 230x3, 260x3
Overhead Press 100 5x10
Chin Ups 5x10
Barbell Curl 3x10
Band Pushdowns 3x10
Face Pulls 3x10
Friday
Squat 215x3, 250x3, 280x3
Squat 185 5x10
Sit Ups 5x20
I’ve been eating like a monster. Especially on days where I lift in the morning then superset wrestling practice with jiu jitsu at night. Probably 5k+ calories on those days.
How do you balance your BJJ and weight training? I’ve got no time to start up with bjj currently but it is something I’ve been gaining an interest in - would like to make all these muscles do something practical for a change lol.
Honestly, getting up really early to lift and then doing bjj in the evening isn’t so bad, it almost feels like different days. Also eating a ton of food helps support it. Bjj honestly doesn’t feel as taxing as you might think it would. Depending on how you manage recovery in terms of sleep and food, it might actually help you make more gains. At least in my opinion.
I helped my brother-in-law write out a time saving 5/3/1 workout to do in the mornings now that he has a little less time before work. So this week’s sessions will look a little bit different since I’m helping him beta test it and make sure it’s good. This program will be a peak at the anchor I’ll be running next as the base is 5/3/1 and Widowmakers.
This is my “ones” week and I actually just hit a HUGE deadlift PR today! We are doing PR sets before the Widowmaker, so I did exactly that. My previous deadlift lifetime PR was 405x4 and today I got 415x5!! I still can’t believe it! I loved the weight like it was nothing and even had a rep or two in the tank! I hadn’t attempted PRs in months, just following BBB, hitting my weight and reps every week, and never missing a meal. It really shows the proof is in the pudding when you just get in the gym and do the work and are consistent. The gains keep coming!
PR sets + Widowmakers really feels like a match made in Heaven. I’m going to love this Anchor.
Deadlift 305x5, 370x3, 415x5
Deadlift Widowmaker 305x15
Pull Ups Rest Pause 30,8,4
Band Pull Aparts 4x20
Got a really bad toe injury at jiu jitsu on Tuesday. The mats were really slippery and when I stood up to try to break the coach’s guard, my toes slipped and bent all the way and then popped back. I checked real quick to make sure no bones had popped through the skin or toes pointing the wrong way abs just kept going and finished off the jiu jitsu session. Later that night, the wife and I went to her friends birthday party at the bar. Toe was in minor pain, but not that bad until I was playing beer pong, went walking to pick up the ball and I just felt a sudden excruciating jolt of pain. When I got home, I checked my foot and my pinky toe was swollen and purple. It’s still purple and red with some minor swelling on the top of my foot. The pain is either less intense now or I’m just used to it. Not much I can do besides wait for it to heal. It hasn’t really held back my lifting at all. I probably won’t do Calf raises for a few weeks, but that’s it.
The two workouts here are from yesterday and today. They both went really well, and are from the same program I wrote for my brother-in-law. I’ll be on my deload next week and on my 8th week of The BBB Challenge, despite this slight detour this week.
Wednesday
Bench 215x5, 240x3, 275x1
Bench Widowmaker 215x13
Barbell Row* 135x25,16,10
Overhead Tricep Extension* 60x18,12,8
Poundstone Curls x74
Band Pull Aparts 4x20
Thursday
Military Press 115x5, 140x3, 155x3
Military Widowmaker 115x15
Chin Ups* 25,14,8
Lateral Raises* 35x12,8,4
Dumbbell Curl* 25x23,12,8
Kroc Rows 52.5xR: 54, L:56
Sit Ups 4x25
*Rest Pause