Got it.
7.23.18
Woke at 238.4 lbs.
Simple Guaranteed Strength & Size Test Day
2 LAP DYNAMIC WARM UP
AB CIRCUIT
Back Ext 2 x 15
Side Crunch 2 x 15
Toes to Bar 2 x 10
RFESS
95 x 8 ea x 3 sets
Thought I was going to do 125 this week. Boy, was I wrong. I’ll be starting even lighter than this because it felt like sets 4 and 5 might be a struggle with my left leg.
TRAP BAR DEADS (high handles)
225 x 5
315 x 8 x 3 sets
TRAP BAR RDLs
135 x 8
155 x 8
175 x 8
BOX SQUAT
Removed from program. No need for these after trap bar deads.
DB FARMERS WALK
50s x 1 lap + about 60 ft to and from the rack (940 ft) in 3 bouts
CONDITIONING
Jog 1 mile 9:32
Jogging didn’t kill me! It still wasn’t enjoyable at all but I didn’t get a lower back pump and my legs felt the same throughout the run. I wasn’t running for time - just doing a light jog. I’ll try to run sprints tomorrow.
I’m not sure if it was the breathing technique shared by @anon96032531 or if I’m just in better shape than my last slog, but the breathing part was much easier. Thanks for the tip! I got into the rhythm of breathing with my steps. In-in-out worked well with left-right-left. Regardless of conditioning level I could tell a big difference by forcibly exhale.
4 Likes
Program Notes
So I figured out that I was way too optimistic with my strength on RFESS. I’ll drop my week 1 weight to 85 lbs (from 125).
Trap bar deads felt fine. I remembered that I hate this first phase because sets of 8 feels like high reps!
I probably keep doing RDLs with the trap bar because I’ll already have it out and loaded. I put 185 down for my week 1 weight. That might not be fun but it’s doable. I wanted to slack off after the other leg work that precedes these.
I think I’ll stick to lighter farmers walks for longer distances this time around. Last time I used straps and loaded the trap bar. I ended up dropping them because they were too demanding.
I’m not worried about dropping box squats. My legs were already shaky and my quads get more work than usual with trap bar deads. I’m also keeping conditioning a priority. I’ll probably do my sprint type training on Tuesdays before hitting up the foam rolling class. I’ll still have three days to recover before my next leg session. I’ll try to squeeze in light cardio at least one other day of the week and I’ll do sprints, fartleks, or AirDyne tabatas on Fridays.
Wednesday is upper body test day to dial in those lifts and then it’s game on!
I forgot to mention that I have a significant strength imbalance in my legs. My left leg is weak so that will be a priority as well. I don’t really want to go back to physical therapy but I’ll be doing stuff to improve my left hip strength in all planes.
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Good call dude. No point in destroying yourself, especially this early in the program
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Great stuff Big J
You’re really good to find out what works and what doesn’t.
RFESS or Bulgarian SS are crazy hard.
Good call about the box squat.
1 Like
7.24.18
I think I weighed myself this morning…maybe? I think it was 237.?.
Recovery/Conditioning Day
2 LAP DYNAMIC WARM UP (6:30)
FARTLEK RUN
Run 20 sec / shuffle jog 20 sec
3 rounds, each round had 3 runs, 2:30 rest between rounds
Total Workout Time: 16:38
STRETCH & ROLL CLASS
And some hip work
Nice recovery day. I feel good. My wife also tagged along for class so we got to spend some time together.
I also just crushed a half pound pepperjack cheeseburger with a fried egg on top. It was heavenly.
3 Likes
I gotta say that this is the program and setup for me. Lifting Mon & Wed gives me the opportunity to go to foam rolling class on Tuesdays. I have a foam roller but I struggle to use it. Going to the class forces me to do it.
I’m also going to try to hit my conditioning on Tuesdays and Fridays. Two days a week with good effort should be enough for me to improve. Anything extra (like yesterday’s mile) is just icing on the cake.
3 Likes
7.25.18
Woke at 240.2 lbs.
I decided to eat more food and drink less alcohol yesterday. It looks like I at least ate more salt…or I’ll have a big trip to the bathroom this morning.
On a scale of 1-10 my DOMs from Monday’s leg session is a 7. It hurts to move. Yesterday morning sucked but it just got worse as the day moved on. I even took a nap. I forgot how much some good leg soreness can drain the life from you. I’m glad leg day isn’t until Friday.
2 Likes
Simple Guaranteed Strength & Size Test Day 2
3 LAP DYNAMIC WARM UP
No planned conditioning today so I ran a couple extra build up runs. I needed them to get my legs going anyway.
OHP
95 x 5
105 x 8 x 3 sets
LAT PULL DOWN
140 x 8
160 x 8 x 3 sets
PENDLAY ROW
135 x 5
195 x 4+4 Way too heavy!
160 x 8 x 2 sets
PUSH UPS
BW x 15 x 3 sets
20 reps is going to be a grind which goes against the principles of this program. I decided to do 15. I’ll do 18 next phase and 20 in phase three. That will be my progression.
HANG SGHP
155 x 8 x 3 sets
8 reps sucks! I also want to throw in some arm training. I don’t want to add exercises so I’ve decided I’ll do 3 sets of these on Wednesdays and 3 sets if bi’s and tri’s on Saturdays.
I’m still sitting here at the gym so I think I’ll get out my Xercuff and do some band work for my hip. My daughter is eating lunch in the Kid Zone and they’re not done yet. I might as well be productive.
And on that note, my hip hasn’t been hurting nonstop the past week! I suspect higher frequency squatting and deadlifting might’ve been a factor. The plan is to run this 12 week program without conventional deads and squats while doing specific hip strengthening exercises. I’m beginning to think I’m going to be alright. I still don’t know what to do with my shoulder though…
5 Likes
Look what popped up on Facebook.
7.26.18
Went to bed at 242.2 lbs and woke up at 238.4 lbs. I woke up to pee twice and went again upon officially waking. I guess that was lot of urine. I actually didn’t look like a fat piece of crap in the mirror too. Bonus!
Today is supposed to be a day off from the gym. I’m due to officially do day one of the program tomorrow after work. My wife is running a 50k tomorrow and it starts at 9 pm to avoid the hit. I’m waiting to hear back from her about training. It won’t make a big difference if I lift tonight or tomorrow. I’m still sore from Monday but tomorrow is only 3 sets of 8 on everything so I’ll be fine if I do it tonight while still sore.
I’m hoping most of the soreness is due to shock from the RFESS. If that’s the case then I can expect some great strength gains due to improved efficiency and neurological adaptations. I set the program up to hit 205 for a single in week 12. I worked the math backwards and that had me starting with 125 this week. My test day revealed that 125 is way too freaking heavy. I’ll be starting 40 lbs lighter at 85 lbs 
Wrong way! Are you still planning on racing Marky Mark to 260+lbs?
I’m going to be heading north with you guys for a bit as well and venture in to some new territory for weight PRs as well.
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I want to keep my gain to a pound or less a week. I’ve been in the 237’s most mornings when I don’t eat too late. I didn’t eat late last night so 238 is actually up a bit. If everything is consistent next week then hopefully we see 239 on the scale first thing in the morning.
I saw your post about hanging around 220. Might as well make it 225-228!
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Ha ha hadn’t thought about it like this before. Time to start eating and rack up some weekly PR’s
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I decided to train tonight so there’s no rushing or stress for my wife tomorrow. Glad it’s over but I could’ve used another day to recover from Monday’s session.
Simple Guaranteed Strength & Size W1 D1
2 LAP DYNAMIC WARM UP
RFESS (30 sec rest between legs)
45 x 5 ea
65 x 5 ea
85 x 8 x 3 sets
TRAP BAR DEADS (HIGH HANDLES)
225 x 5
315 x 8 x 3 sets
TRAP BAR RDLs
185 x 8 x 3 sets
DB FARMERS WALK
50s x ~170m
50s x ~130m
(1 lap total + distance from rack to track)
CONDITIONING
Run straightaway, walk curve x 6 (3 laps)
Walk 1 lap
Running sucked. My first run felt better than expected but I deteriorated in a hurry. I really wish I didn’t have to run on leg day but if I moved it to upper body day then I’d basically have four leg workouts. I also can’t run on the weekends since I’m lucky to squeeze in a 30 min upper body session during lunch.
4 Likes
7.27.18
Woke at 239.0 lbs.
Rest day and I needed it. I was ready for bed even I got off work at 5.
My wife will be starting her 50k race at 9 tonight (40 minutes from now). That girl is nuts.
Hopefully I’ll squeeze in my upper body workout tomorrow at work.
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Good luck to your wife, an ultra is a massive commitment and a great achievement.
1 Like
7.28.18
Woke at 239.2 lbs.
My wife finished 10th overall and was the 3rd female finisher. I think there were 91 people running the 50k. They also had 5k, 10k, and 50 mile races. Her time was 4:57:27 and she averaged a 9:34 min/mile pace. Her goal was to start out at a 9:30 pace and she thought she might pick up the pace from there. She started a little slower. The was at a 10:45+ pace at the 7.77 mile mark. I think she’s happy with her performance. She has a few marathons under her belt but hasn’t had a good one yet. I think she’s run three of them and there’s always an unforeseen problem.
During her first marathon she strained her hamstring really bad. During her second attempt she felt like crap but blamed the heat. We found out a couple weeks later that she was about six weeks pregnant during that attempt. And on her last attempt she had problems with asthma. She was on track to qualify for Boston until that crept up.
I’m happy for her that she’s had two good races in a row without any major issues. She trains hard and has great training runs; things just fall apart for her on race day. Hopefully she’s able to put that behind her now.
6 Likes
Simple Guaranteed Strength & Size W1 D2
Completed at the Work Gym
NEUTRAL PULL UPS
BW x 10
OHP
45 x 10
95 x 5
105 x 8 x 3 sets
superset with
LAT PULL DOWN
170 x 8 x 3 sets
PENDLAY ROW
160 x 8 x 3 sets
superset with
PUSH UPS
BW x 15 x 3 sets
CABLE CURLS
80 x 10B/10T/10F
This hurt my shoulder so maybe it’s biceps tendonitis
CABLE FLY
50ea x 10T/10B/10F
CABLE PRESS DOWN
100 x 10T/10B/15F
This program allows for one assistance/supplemental exercise on upper body day and it can be changed weekly. I plan to use it to hit some “show” areas that have been neglected for awhile like arms, delts, and pecs (especially with decreased bench work).
I think I finished in less than 30 minutes but then I got distracted talking to a couple of Sergeants who came in for a morning session.
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Tell your wife she is amazing. Quality just quality.
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