What can I say… The incline press widowmaker won. I would love to say it’s because I feel like crap physically (which I do) or because mentally I thought I would fail so I did. Reality is I was just too weak (in this rep range)
The good news is that JW says ‘not to worry if you don’t hit 20’ in the book so I don’t need to readjust the numbers. The even better news is that I now have a widowmaker goal to crush so will make sure the next cycle is designed to do that
I skipped accessory work because my body has aches and chills all over so rather not add any stress. Also the last joker was a REAL GRINDER and probably a true 1rm for today.
NOTES
Went off plan and got in both Bench and Squat work today so I can have tomorrow as a rest day and I am happy to say I survived this week.
The Squat widowmaker was EASY as hell and the only real issues I had during that set was my wrist due to the low bar set up. The bench widowmaker however was close but no cigar. I managed 10 reps relatively easy despite the set up for the set being off (my wrist kinda rolled back during the unracking) but by 15 I was feeling the weight move slow. I took a deep breaths and think that screwed me over because my triceps and chest felt pumped as hell and reps 16 +17 were really slow and involved slight shaking.
All in all happy with the week considering the circumstances of stress and being unwell. Looking back at the performance of the week the only thing that looks worse then expected is the deadlifts and I think that may be due to the equipment and perhaps pulling from a deficit except that even with the upper body widowmaker sets not being 20 reps clean I may actually say illness has not affected me.
Hopefully the rest of this anchor involves a healthy me because I would love to go for broke on the 1s week and not having any excuses
5/3/1 Pervertor Anchor Week 2 Day 1 (conditioning? day)
Bench press: 2x20 with 40kg/88lbs, 1x20 with 45kg/99lbs and 1x20 with 50kg/110lbs
Bicep curls: 10kg/22lbs x 10,11,12-,17
Facepulls: 4x20
NOTES
Not much to report. A few Widowmakers, a few sets of curls and a facepulls. Looking forward to deadlifting tomorrow and hopefully any lingering effects of illness are gone
Goblet squats: 2x25 with 20kg/44lbs
DB RDL: 2x25 with 20kg/44lbs each hand
Seated Overhead DB press: 2x15 with 15kg/33lbs
Flat DB bench press: 2x30 with 15kg/33lbs
3x15 Lat pulldown
2x15 Low cable Row
NOTES
Today was nothing special to report. Main lift and supplemental felt decent/good, I got in accessory work near the top end of the suggested rep range. Tried something new and went for higher reps less sets for the accessory work while 20kg/44lbs is light as hell 25 rep sets done on goblet squats and RDL as a supperset is a killer.
It was nothing special… Until I passed out asleep in my room while waiting for my GF. 100% underestimated how much multiple 20 rep sets takes out of me and (as if it was possible) has made me respect your grinding even more than I did before
Seal rows:4x15 with 16kg/35lbs (Kettlebell)
Incline DB press: 2x15 with 15kg/33lbs
Bench press: 1x20 with 40kg/88lbs
3x15 Tricep pushdowns
Weighted crunches
NOTES
Not much to report. Got work in. did work and left.
This week is like a mini deload so waiting for next week to put it all on the line on the 1+set and the Jokers
5/3/1 Pervertor Anchor Week 2 Day 4 (conditioning? day)
Bench press: 1x20 with 40kg/88lbs, 1x20 with 45kg/99lbs
Bicep curls: 10kg/22lbs x 10,11,12-,17
Notes
Nothing special but as you probably guessed I’m wanting to make the most out of my last few weeks gaining (I may actually continue post this anchor) with upper body being a priority.
Widowmakers felt slightly harder than on Monday which is no surprise considering I have done a type of pressing 4 days in a row.
Squat: 90kg/198lbs x5, 102.5kg/226lbs x5, 117.5kg/259kgx5 | 5x5 with 102.5kg/226lbs
Goodmornings: 1x20 with 40kg/88lbs, 1x15 with 45kg/99lbs and 1x15 with 47.5kg/105lbs
Seal Rows: 2x15 and 2x20 with 16kg/35lbs
Seated Overhead DB press: 1x15 + 2x10 with 15kg/33lbs and 1x5 with 20kg/44lbs
Decline bench press: 1x30 with 30kg/66lbs
Weighted dips: 3x10 with 5kg/11lbs
Weighted pull ups: 6x5 with 5kg/11lbs
50 weighted sit ups
NOTES
Got in. Did the work. Got out. That’s all I have to say about today. Nothing fancy, the work felt good, the bar moved well.
Flat db press: 1x20 with 20kg/44lbs
Bent over rows: 1x20 with 50kg/110lbs + 2x10 with 55kg/121lbs
Single arm DB row: 1x20 with 20kg/44lbs
3x15 Bicep curls
3x15 Tricep pushdown
2x10 weighted back extensions
2x10 Leg extensions
2x20 Weighted crunches
NOTES
Today was a good day. Benching felt solid, accessory work felt fun and I am exactly where I want to be going into the 1s week. Excited and motivated to push hard next week
Deadlift: 122.5kg/270lbs x5 , 137.5kg/303lbs x3, 155kg/342lbs x3 ( ) | 1x1 with 165kg/364lbs and 1xfail with 170kg/375lbs | 5x5 with 122.5kg/270lbs
Goblet squats: 2x25 with 22.5kg/50lbs
DB RDL: 2x20 with 22.5kg/50lbs each hand
Seated Overhead DB press: 1x15 + 2x10 with 15kg/33lbs and 1x5 with 20kg/44lbs
Flat DB bench press: 2x25 with 17.5kg/38lbs
3x15 Lat pulldown
2x15 Low cable Row
NOTES
Not a good day at all. I only managed 3 with the 1+ set which is a big disappointment and managing a single as an all time PB feels meaningless considering I failed my 2nd joker set.
I have no idea why I missed the 1+ set but the set up just felt wrong (like tightness was non existent) I trained with my GF today and admittedly the mood/ energy was more relaxed then when I am alone but blaming that would be a cop out.
Anyhow moving on today’s performance has changed my plans for the TM for Leviathan. I don’t think it’s a good idea to add 5kg/10lbs to the TM after today even more so considering I will be reducing calories. I will 99% keep the same TM as this cycle and add 2.5kg/5lbs for the next cycle. No point pushing the TM when I am going to be reducing my ability to recover
5/3/1 Pervertor Anchor Week 3 Day 2 (Incline Press)
Incline press: 47.5kg/105lbs x5, 55kg/121lbs x5, 62.5kg/138lbs x4 | 1x1 with 67.5kg/149lbs and 1x1 with 70kg/154lbs | 5x5 with 47.5kg/105lbs
Seal rows:4x25 with 12kg/26lbs (Kettlebell)
NOTES
Another not so good day. Non session related (or just minor effect) but I seem to have randomly injured my big toe on my right foot. There’s slight swelling,redness and every step I take has to be on my heel because any pressure on the toe feels painful as hell.
Now back to the session. Ran out of time on accessory work so only managed the main lift, supplemental and the pulling work. The MR set was disappointing and I will keep the same training max for next cycle on this lift too.
Part of me wonders what would have happened if this week was a leader week and I had to hit 5 reps across everything including what is this week MR set. Would I have failed? Or would I have forced myself to grind out 5 reps. Perhaps the mindset and not having a rep target bite me in the ass this week.
All in all my biggest concern now is my toe and finding a way for it to be better before Saturday’s squats. God knows I will be stupid enough to train through the pain if needed but I would rather not have to, considering the pressure of walking is already horrible,.
I know that you and I are worlds apart (you are very far ahead of me) but I struggle with this too. However, I’ve learned to trust the process, and the fact that progress comes in waves.
Sometimes you’re riding the crest of the wave and everything is going well because you’re ready, and then you allow the wave to carry you forward to the next stage or level. At other times, you’re at the bottom of the wave, and it knocks you down. So you pick yourself up and repeat the stage or level you’re at, knowing that doing so will make you stronger and help you get back up to the crest of the wave.
So try not to beat yourself up about what would have happened if the demands on you had been bigger than they were today because beating yourself up simply isn’t necessary if you trust the process.
Squat: 102.5kg/226lbs x5, 117.5kg/259kgx5, 130kg/287lbs x6 | 140kg/309lbs x2 (2nd rep hit the safety pins so was wobbly grind), 142.5kg/314lbs x1 (not sure on depth tbh) | 5x5 with 102.5kg/226lbs
Goodmornings: 1x20 with 40kg/88lbs, 1x15 with 45kg/99lbs and 1x15 with 47.5kg/105lbs
NOTES
So today’s workout was short on accessory work due to having to bring the cat to the vet.
The main work felt good and happy with 6 on the 1+ set which is rep PR. Also happy with the jokers and setting a rep PR (only a double) with 3 plates and a potential 1RM PB. I say potential because I’m not sure the rep was to depth so next time I hit it and have no questions on depth I shall celebrate the PB.
Despite today being good I think I will keep the same training max for the next cycle. I’m thinking ahead to the cycle after next which will be a few weeks into a deficit and I think being conservative now will pay dividends with me at worse grinding a tad instead of failing if I set my current TM too high
Incline Bench press: 30kg/66lbs x20
Incline DB press:2x10 with 20kg/44lbs
Tricep extensions: 4x15
Seal Rows: 3x15 and 1x20 with 16kg/35lbs
Bicep curls: 3x10
Hamstring curl: 2x15
2x10 weighted back extensions
NOTES
So today was a good day… Until I got greedy. Managed a 1 rep, rep PR on my 1+ bench set and hit 85kg/187lbs smoother than last time. It felt smooth enough for me to attempt more weight which I then failed.
Accessory work today was all over the place, which I guess is what happens when I don’t have a plan going in.
Anyways now we enter the ‘cutting phase’ with reduced calories and I will be going straight into Leviathan Leader template for one cycle, then deload, then Anchor cycle to close out the dieting period.
I will post either later today or tomorrow my summery so far and plan in a tad more detail moving forward
The next 7 weeks will be a ‘cutting’ phase where I will lower calories. Main reasons are I am struggling to eat atm and I want to take time to trim abit of fat before re-commiting to a gaining phase again
Programming will be Leviathan which basically has me working up to a single with my training max then choosing the supplemental work. For lower body lifts I will probably do widowmakers, FSL and SSL and for upper body lifts SSL,FSL,SSL
I won’t be doing a 7wp test week before the leader but considering Leviathan is 85-90% TM I think I will be ok. Out of the TMs above I have heavier weights on all lifts, and I am confident of getting a triple. The reason for skipping the 7WP is that I want to get in and out of the diet phase as soon as possible and 7WP test is actually more intense for the main lift. Anyways if it goes wrong I will blame myself.
The plan will be 1 Leader, 7WP deload, 1 Anchor and then test maxes (which will probably mean lowering TM) and then going into a gaining phase perhaps with BBB again or another template for size.
Another goal for these 7 weeks will be to work on and improve shoulder mobility and get into a position where I can perform OHP with good technique and look at maybe having that as the 4th lift instead of Incline press.
Review of the last 3 cycles is a tad lacking because I suck at keeping track in detail. I know in the last week to end the Pervertor cycles I have hit a PB single on Squat, Bench and Deadlift. I have also hit a rep PR in those lifts so no doubts I am getting stronger.
Size wise I am currently 151/152lbs which is still small and light but when looking at my log title… It’s significantly bigger than 123lbs. I will probably look to get at around 140lbs-145lbs at the end of the 7 weeks but I’m less focused on the scale and more focused on maintaining my current strength and slowly stripping fluff off
Goblet squats: 2x15 with 30kg/66lbs
Hamstring curl: 1x20
Seated Overhead DB press: 2x15 with 15kg/33lbs
Weighted dips: 2x10 with 10kg/22lbs
Weighted pull ups: 4x10 with 10kg/22lbs (various grips)
Bicep curls: 2x15
NOTES
So I rounded up my first set instead of down like I did last cycle so the widowmaker set was 2.5kg/5lbs harder and the difference really mattered! The set looked more like a giant rest pause set then a straight widowmaker because the floor where I was deadlifting was slightly uneven so I had to reset after every rep.
The main work felt decent. I say decent because the bar moved well except for the last set at the TM. I was not at risk of missing the rep but guessing working up to a heavy single is something I will need to get used to. The accessory work was nothing special but addresses what needs to be adressed.
Also yesterday I did a bench widowmaker with 40kg/88lbs along with an hour of boxing and an hour of jiu-jitsu. I am also enjoying not being bloated 24/7
Incline press: 45kg/99lbs x3, 52.5kg/116lbs x3, 57.5kg/127lbs x3, 65kg/143lbs x1 | 5x5 with 52.5kg/116lbs
Seal rows: 5x10 with 20kg/44lb KBs (superset with 5x5 work)
Flat DB press: 2x10 with 25kg/55lbs
Tricep extensions: 2x15
NOTES
So today was a weird day. It felt much easier than yesterday’s workout the main work being done without rest, except to change the weight on the bar. The SSL work was however harder than anticipated but nothing drastically difficult.
Goodmornings: 1x20 with 40kg/88lbs, 1x15 with 45kg/99lbs
DB RDl: 2x10 with 30kg/66lbs
Hamstring curl: 2x15
Seated Overhead DB press: 1x15 and 1x10 with 15kg/33lbs and 1x5 with 20kg/44lbs
Weighted dips: 2x10 with 5kg/11lbs
Weighted pull ups: 4x10 with 5kg/11lbs (various grips)
Bicep curls: 2x15
NOTES
Today went well. The main work felt smoothish, only issue was technical and bar placement/ wrist issues.
The single felt good and the widowmaker was hard.
Nothing much to say. I will see how tomorrow goes and now that I have a gauge on how the program affects me on lower calories I will add conditioning work which I think won’t be too much to recover from.
) | 1x1 with 165kg/364lbs and 1xfail with 170kg/375lbs | 5x5 with 122.5kg/270lbs