I know a 33 ACT and 1440 SAT isn’t bad, but it’s not as good as I know I could have done if I prepped more diligently, felt better on the day of the test, and got math more easily. But no, I wanted to play the victim, be depressed, and not prep as well as I should have. I procrastinated so much and wasted so much of my free time it was insane; especially because I didn’t have that much time to begin with. I knew I should have been prepping, but I always let something get in the way. I’m just beating myself up over the fact that I know I didn’t do nearly as well as I could have.
Besides, I need that 1550+ for a full scholarship to a great school. I’m not even expecting Ivy Admission. If Yale rejected Kyle Kashuv, there’s no fucking way I’m getting in.
I got a 28 on ACT math, and 34-35 on every single other section. If I knew math better I could have had a 35 ACT and been done with these tests.
My only solution is to make preparation a priority over everything else. Honestly, if I don’t get a decent ride to a good school, I’m going to join the military; because priority number one is getting out of my house and establishing a stable, profitable career for myself. My girlfriend has objected to me taking this course of action; but I do not care.
If joining the military is any sort of possibility for you, you cannot be having any sort of suicidal ideations. I’m very serious about that. I would put that idea out of your head until you make serious progress with regards to your mental health. That goes for any first responder/law enforcement job.
From what I understand, there’s three general reasons why a pedigree of a school matters-
1- You plan on pursuing higher education.
2- You plan on going into a VERY competitive field or want to work for a company that is at the very top of the field.
3- The social connections you build from the school will have a direct influence on your career.
If none of those apply to you, then the pedigree shouldn’t matter, so paying a ton of money to go to some private university that is ranked 40th and below is a stupid idea.
Go to a state/public school instead. Or go to community college for a couple of years, bust your ass and get awesome grades, then transfer over to a good state university- you’ll save even more money then.
Prospective employers are interested in your job history and your grades, but only if those grades are in courses that have a direct connection to the job you’re applying for. If you don’t have a job history, then grades are useful only because there’s nothing else to judge you by.
If you’re not sure what career/field you want to pursue, then just find the cheapest/best school you can find (in that order), go there, and get a 3.6+ GPA.
Alright, general log update — used the bathroom upwards of 20 times and puked my guts up yesterday. I must have caught something from the food on the prom boat. I knew something was fishy. Pun intended. Pushing training back until I’ve gained those 7-8 pounds back.
@T3hPwnisher I haven’t considered this, but I’ll definitely look into it.
@magick those three things DEFINITELY apply to me. Which is why I need the high SAT/ACT score:
I can’t go to a top rated University unless I’m in that 99% percentile. My ACT score is in that 98% percentile.
@alex44938 honestly, a bad curve and a crappy day probably did me in. Math was -1 770.
Honestly, getting into the Ivy’s is a secondary goal for me - meaning that if NYU offered me a full ride I’d take it over acceptance into Yale/Harvard. But, I’d still like to have the option of going to an Ivy if I so choose.
I’m torn between engineering and law. And to be honest the fact that I’m a much better writer/debater than I am an engineer is off-putting to me.
Alright, calling this cycle…fuck it. My strength has dropped considerably in the last 2 months and I have not set a squat PR in the last two months, so I need to establish a new training max for that. The good news is that Deadlift PMT is on the menu and my Training Maxes for my upper body lifts couldn’t be more perfect.
Nothing’s working for my lower body lifts, so that means I’m free to do whatever I want with them.
Here’s the plan:
Floor Press TM: 195
Press TM: 155
Squat TM: TBD
Day 1 - Deadlift PMT
Kroc Rows x 50 (each arm)
HLR x 25-50
Day 2 - Floor Press
RE Push-up Work, 3 sets x AMRAP
Face Pulls/Band PA x 100
Day 3 - Squat
1 x FSL AMRAP
HLR x 25-50
Day 4 - Press
1 x FSL AMRAP
Band Tri. Ext. x 100
Band PA/Face Pulls x 100
@T3hPwnisher when you ran your PMT cycle along with 5/3/1 you simply did your regularly scheduled PMT workout on your deload week, correct? I’m going based on the fact that you ran cycles in increments of 7 steps, and on week 8 you pulled from the floor.
When I started running it alongside 5/3/1, I shortened the ROM progression cycles to 6 weeks. I’d pull from 6 mats high, work my way down to 2, skip straight to the floor from there, and deload on the 7th week.
It was honestly pretty rare that I ever ran 5/3/1 for squats unless it was completely within a 5/3/1 program. I just never found it something that suited me. So in that regard, I’d push squats hard, but not in the confines of 5/3/1. I’d be doing something like a Westside Barbell conjugate day, or like my current approach of ramping to a topset of 10, 8 or 6. Even did it with some 10x10s.
On my most recent approach? You can check out the one that talks about “The Deep Water effect”. It describes my current training cycle.
Basics are I use a giant set of squat, box jumps and reverse hypers. The box jump and reverse hypers are static, but the squats ramp up. I stay at the same rep range for each set, so on 10s week it’s 10s through all sets, 8s it’s 8s, etc. I’ll start with the bar, then on the next giant set add a 45 per side, and keep this up until I reach the max I can hit for that rep range (if I can’t make a full 45lb plate jump between the last attempt, I’ll add as much as I can while still staying in the rep range). Once that topset is done, I do a backoff set with the weight I used in the previous set. Those lighter sets at the beginner and the giant set structure in general helps to accumulate a decent amount of fatigue before hitting the topset, which makes lightweight feel heavy and puts less stress on my knee.
I also rotate between buffalo bar squats, SSB squats and SSB front squats. Buffalo bar squats get priority, so they phase in every other workout. It’ll go
Week 1: Buffalo bar for 10s
Week 2: SSB for 8s
Week 3: Buffalo bar for 6s
Week 4: SSB front squat for 10s
Week 5: Buffalo bar for 8s
Week 6: SSB for 6s
Repeat. This way, I’m never far away from the Buffalo bar (which I detrain on rapidly otherwise), but I still give my knee a break with easier variants, AND, it’s still a long while before I come back to an implement I had used with a rep range I had seen previously, which gives me a longer time to progress and hit a PR. By the time I come back around for Buffalo Bar for 10, I’ve had 5 weeks of training, so I can put up more weight on that lift.
I’m really digging this approach. I’m hitting all the variants I want to hit, all the supplemental movements I need, I’m progressing, and my knee doesn’t feel beat to hell.
Honestly, I’d probably rotate between box/low-bar/front squats if I were to take this approach because I lack access to specialty bars. any suggestions?
That wouldn’t be a bad way to do it at all. Could always do high bar/low bar/front squat too. You’d have to figure out the supplemental work with the lacking reverse hyper as well, because having my lower back absolutely hammered by the time I hit that topset is a variable. You might work in some band good mornings or something similar.
EDIT: Kettlebell swings wouldn’t be a bad pick either actually. Maybe a little too much speed focus when paired with the box jumps, but it’s something. Also, trying to box jump after that topset is ALWAYS fun, haha.
I’m too good at band good mornings because I do them all the time. KB Swings torch my glutes, hamstrings, and lower back, so I’ll do these. What would you keep the reps/weight to on these?
any suggestions?