Bench
185 x 10
175 x 10, 10
Cable Row
160 x 10
170 x 10, 10
Dips
BW x 10, 10, 10
DB Meadows Row
(Done with two DBs)
40 x 10
35 x 10, 10
OH Rope Extension
100 x 10, 10, 10
DB Curl
30 x 10, 10, 10
8 Min AMRAP
The bar has some sharp knurling.
Squat
185 x 10 x 3
Deadlift
275 x 6 x 3 sets
Walking Lunge
35s x 10 ea x 3 sets
Lying Leg Curl
125 x 10 x 3 sets
Conditioning
5 Rounds for Time (11:07)
My back is still angry. It doesnāt seem to be improving. It feels fine on squats, but I can be stiff afterwards. I feel it on deadlift and have to brace like hell to make sure I donāt let anything move and aggravate it further.
Ran into an old co-worker while I was as the gym. We used to be personal trainers at the same gym back in 2007/2008. We both turned 40 last year so age and training changes came up. Once again, Iām trying to work out in my head the pros and cons of continuing to squat and deadlift. I know I can smoke my legs without them. I also know of a smaller college here that doesnāt squat. Theyāve replaced it with split squats and even max on it. Itās not a bad option and I could use DBs to avoid the downward pressure on my spine. I think I always end up going back to squats because single-leg exercises take twice the effort/time to complete. I also donāt like the leg press option because it takes longer to load and unload than it does to do the actual work.
Oh, well. Muscles will continue to be trained and conditioning will improve.
Seated DB OHP
35 x 10 x 3
Pull-Ups
BW x 8 x 3
Incline Press
135 x 10, 10, 7
Incline DB Row
55 x 10 x 3
Barbell Curl
70 x 10 x 3
Lat DB Raise
30 x 12, 10
25 x 12
And now for the fun part.
For Time: 21-15-9 reps
FRONT SQUAT
135 x 8 x 3 sets
RDL
135 x 10 x 3 sets
STEP-UPS
25s x 8 ea x 3 sets
TOES TO BAR
6, nope. Felt like I was going to slip.
MACHINE CRUNCH
3 x 10
MACHINE TRICEPS EXTENSION
95 x 20
110 x 15
125 x 12
STATIONARY BIKE
10 minutes. Wasnāt feeling the high intensity stuff today. Legs were still sore from previous workouts.
Bench Press
175 x 12, 10
165 x 10
Cable Row
180 x 8 x 4 sets
Dips
12, 12, 8+2+2
DB Meadows Row
35 x 12 x 3 sets
Iāve seen these called DB Rear Delt Rows. Itās the same concept as Meadows Rows where you drive your elbows up and out to make the rear belts and upper trap do the work.
Skipped arms.
Conditioning
4 Rounds for Time (13:08)
Plyometric Warm-Up
Squat
185 x 12 x 3
Clean Pull
185 x 5
205 x 5 x 3 sets
Walking Lunges
35s x 12 ea x 3
Lying Leg Curl
125 x 12 x 3
Didnāt have the time or energy for conditioning. My legs are toast.
Wonāt have time for this with the workout, so did it a day early.
Seated DB OHP
35 x 12 x 3 sets
Weighted Pull-Ups
Incline Press
135 x 12
125 x 12
115 x 12
Incline DB Row
55 x 12 x 3 sets
Lateral DB Raise
25 x 12, 12, 12, 10
EZ Bar Curl
70 x 12 x 3 sets
Elliptical
20 minutes while watching basketball
Leg Extension
6 reps at each weight moving the pin down like a reverse drop set
70, 85, 100, 115, 130, 145
Leg Press
450 x 10
540 x 10, 10
RDL
185 x 5 x 4 sets
Reverse Lunge
30s x 10 ea x 3 sets
Hanging Leg Raise
3 x 15
I guess Iām already on week 3. Did this during my small town police officer shift.
Bench Press
175 x 10 x 4 sets
Seated Row
160 x 10 x 4 sets
Light if I just cruise through it. Decent work if I use a 21x1 tempo (2 sec eccentric, 1 sec stretch, fast contraction, 1 sec hold)
Dips
BW x 10 x 4 sets
DB Meadows Row
35 x 10 x 4 sets
Overhead Triceps Extension
100 x 10 x 4 sets
DB Curl
30 x 10 x 3 sets
Skipped the last set because my right forearm is very angry with me.
So the progression for this program through three weeks is supposed to be 3 x 10, 3 x 12, 4 x 10. Unfortunately, I am unable to add weight this week. I guess Iām supposed to increase the weight from the 3 x 12 to 4 x 10 week, but itās just not there. Itās a strange progression to me. To convince myself Iām not that pathetic, I focused on the fact that I did 40 reps this week compared to 36 last week, so thatās still progress.
Almost forgot. Youāll notice thereās no conditioningā¦again. Iām struggling to balance the lifting and conditioning with this program. Iāll try to get to the gym and do yesterdayās conditioning today (writing this on 3.17). I donāt know how Iām supposed to do Olympic lifts as part of a conditioning workout AFTER leg training. Iām out of shape in terms of volume, so these workouts are leaving my legs shot. It would be stupid to try to do āDeath by Snatchā in that state (Death By workouts are EMOM and you do 1 rep/calorie on minute one, two reps on minute two, three reps on minute 3, and so on until you fail to keep the pace.) The 'Death by Snatch" WOD was on lower body 1 last week and lower body 2ās WOD was supposed to be 5 Rounds of 5 pull-ups + 5 clean & jerks.
Edit: conditioning did not happen
Squat
195 x 10 x 4 sets
Hang Clean Pull
185 x 5
205 x 5
225 x 5, 5
245 x 5
Switched to these to save my back. I was able to drop the bar on the safeties instead of guiding it all the way to the floor.
Split Deadlift?
135 x 10 ea x 3 sets
Split squats holding the bar between my legs instead of putting it on my back. Supposed to be 3 x 14 but I overestimated myself and didnāt want to change the weight.
Lying Leg Curl
125 x 14 x 3 sets
**Conditioning: 5 Rounds for Time
Time: 12:26
Right patellar tendon is lit up today. Lunges have been bothering it with the forward stress so I tried split squats. It turns out that it hurts the itās the trail leg. Iāll have to switch to the rear foot elevated version.
Called a huge audible on leg day. Still havenāt found the combination of exercises that I can do pain free.
Leg Extension
85 x 20
100 x 20, 20
Seated Leg Curl
70 x 20
90 x 20, 20
Leg Press Calves
270 x 20, 15
Leg Press
270 x 20
360 x 15 slow
Death by Assault Bike
EMOM for 15 minutes
Probably couldāve finished round 16 but I didnāt want to puke. Things really picked up around minute 10. Prior to that was pretty easy. After that sucked.
I have decided to forfeit my natty status and have begun treatment to raise my testosterone. Iām trying what they call Testosterone Augmentation Therapy and will be taking enclomiphene with the hopes of naturally boosting my levels. I am also beginning a six month run of sermorelin.
My test isnāt low but it has dropped about 110 points since 2020. My free test was lower than doc likes so here we are. Iām doing this because I still battle depression although Iām on meds, I have zero energy, my brain shuts down at the slightest mental stress, sex drive is crap, and sleep sucks. I pretty much feel drained 24/7. Doc thinks this can help and sheās seen peopleās test increase 300 points on enclomiphene and never needed to switch to TRT. Hopefully it works because itās cheaper and has less side effects like blood thickening and I may not need an AI to keep estrogen in check.
Here is my physique check-in first thing this morning looking flat and relaxed.
Bench Press
185 x 8 x 3
Cable Row
200 x 6 x 3
Dips
BW + 10 x 8 x 3
DB Meadows Row
45 x 6 x 3
Conditioning
Supposed to be 12 min AMRAP, cut it to 10:30.
Right knee sucks. Everything causes pain.
@TrainForPain I saw an Insta post by CT about one if his most successful performance training methods and it was the star complex referenced in 6 Weeks to Superhero (turns out it was the editorsā idea to name them that).
I looked that up for more info and saw your post once the article was moved to a forum post from the old format. You said you ran it once upon a time. Whatās the split(frequency supposed to be? Maybe I missed it.
The complex he shared on Insta was:
The coincidence or irony is not lost on me that you referenced playing basketball and feeling slower in your post. I can relate. It seems that years of not playing sports has resulted in me moving like a sloth.
The timing of this is interesting, as well. I was just thinking about my training at the USOC Training Center when my vertical was at its best. With my current knee pain, variety is my enemy. There are a few things I can do without pain so maybe I should just do this l those well.
Iām interested in the squat complex but not sure how to make it a stand alone leg day.
One of my all-time favorite programs!
When it was first published in T-Nation (ready for an Abe Simpson story?), it was April 2011. I remember because Iād been injured and was leaving the Army and wanted a challenge to feel good about myself again. This program delivered and holds a special place in my scarred, hypertrophied heart.
Anyway, when it first launched, it was all about the frequency. It was 4 main days a week plus a lats/ biceps day. On the main days, you would just do the movement patterns:
The progression model was pretty linear. It was 6 weeks, and every complex was meant to run 4-6 sets and each exercise in the series was like 3-5 reps. The idea was to work your way up in reps/ sets over 3 weeks, add a little weight and start at the bottom of the range and do it again for the next six weeks.
In his more recent posts, CT talked about doing just one complex a day and adding a handful of hypertrophy exercises at the end. So you would do the squat complex and then maybe a few sets of like GHR and lunges. I havenāt really run a block that way, but sometimes Iāll stick a day of complexes into a regular routine when I feel crappy. I donāt know why I donāt do stuff like that more often.
Something I think would be cool is a hybrid split where you do like a PPL, then 2 days of complexes. If you really just wanted to go athletic for your lower body, you could do pure bodybuilding days for your upper body and just complexes for the lower.
love this reference!
You read my mind. I think Iām headed this direction. I need to find ways to train my legs without aggravating my knee (patellar tendon again). My training way back in 2007 at the Olympic Training Center was this:
Push Day
Squat
Squat and Press
Reverse Lunge
Incline
Dips
Skull Crusher
Reps started at 3x10 but worked into 5x5 over the weeks.
Pull Day
Clean Pull
Hang Clean Pull
RDL
Bent-Over Row (anyone elseās lower back tired from reading this?)
Curls and maybe one other thing (pull-ups?)
The cool thing about the program was that I did each session twice a week, but everything was 20% lighter the second time. It helped with recovery and was a nice change after killing myself early in the week. These sessions took 2 to 3 hours some days and Iād do half before lunch and the rest after. Iām obviously not doing that these days, but the 20% weight reduction might be a good option since Iām doing all this fun conditioning stuff. Iām also leaning towards one leg session done twice a week since so many exercises are bugging me.
Thanks for the response and clarifying some of the details!
