Background
Did some swimming and water polo in high school, excelled at neither. Began training with a bodyweight routine on 1/6/21 (before all that Capitol business transpired - makes the date easy to remember, haha) and have continued training with mostly a strength focus to the present, with barbells introduced around 3.5 years ago. Programs I’ve run (not really in order) include Starting Strength, lots of 5/3/1 templates, Deep Water Beginner, Candito’s 5-week Powerlifting Prep, some random Strongfirst programs during/between the holidays, and probably others. I’ve competed in 3 powerlifting meets but am far from ‘competitive’ in my weight class, strongman seems more compelling but I’ll need to get stronger to be able to use typical event weights near me. Been lurking here for a while and I figure I’m strong enough to become a citizen of the Testosterone Nation.
Stats
Age: 21
Height: 5’10"
Weight: 192
Squat: 375 (170)
Bench: 308 (140)
Deadlift: 440 (200, always been a conventional puller)
Strict press: 200 (with blue Fat Gripz)
Push press: 225 (with blue Fat Gripz)
Chin-up: +70x4
Drugs: Natty, obviously 
Diet: Vegan since August of 2022
Direction
Writing this a few hours after competing in my third powerlifting meet (170/140/200//510, 93- Junior), in which I rather easily met all goals I’d set for myself and set PRs for all lifts. However, I’ve become terribly bored with powerlifting training and am planning to return to a riff on Andy Baker’s ‘Conjugate Training for Strongman’ template because it got me pretty strong when I ran it last fall. Goals are to pull some heavy weight + have fun with variations, get my overhead strength back up to par after only benching for 9 weeks, and get (+stay) in proper shape conditioning-wise. Not really committed to moving my bodyweight one way or the other for the moment, it’ll kind of just be up to how much bread and peanut butter I’m willing to suck down and how strenuous my summer job will be.
Attack
Dynamic Upper: Jerks 10x3, press variation for 6x6, accessories
Dynamic Lower: Power cleans, squats (high-bar beltless to work as a good ‘builder’ movement and keep my chronic right hip bursitis at bay)5x5/10x2, accessories for legs + core
Max Upper: 1-3RM bench/press variation + backoffs, accessories
Max Lower: 1-3RM deadlift/maybe good morning variation, events/conditioning (thinking about putting @Jim_Wendler 's ‘Viking Day’ here to start)
Conditioning: Again, largely up to the work situation; I’m hoping to do at least one Tactical Barbell HIC per week in addition to my max lower day work. Also expecting to get a bit in by reducing my rest periods from my meet-prep 3 minutes (the boredom!!).
Other: This is Conjugate, I’ve already cooked up some ideas for rotating movements/progressions around. I want to give @T3hPwnisher 's ROM progression deadlift and Zeno squat protocols a shot at some point, but I’m going to run out the Olympic-style squats for as long as I can. I’ll also be continuing my application of Dan John’s ‘Even Easier Strength’ to weighted chin-ups/pull-ups; this has been more-or-less my only dedicated back work for 9 weeks and has been working pretty well.
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Hell yeah nice to see another powerlifter and a plus since we’re similar in age. Following along bro
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Welcome, following along too
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Conjugate Trial Cycle W1 Dynamic Upper - Sunday Late PM
NG chins: +35x2x5
Power jerk (Fat Gripz): 145x10x3 EMOM
Close-grip incline bench (Fat Gripz): 135x6, 6, 6, 4,115x5, 5 band pull-aparts 5x20 between sets
Close-grip cable row: 120x15, 15, 12, 9, 100x12
Dips: BWx22, 18, 10, push-ups BWx10, 10
Poundstone curls (Fat Gripz): 45x34
- As indicated by the title, I’m just feeling things out for the next (very busy!) 3 weeks as I finish up my bachelor’s program
- Left for the gym a few minutes after I got home from the train station with very little food in me and probably more systemic fatigue from yesterday’s meet than I’m willing to admit to myself
- Short rest periods will take some acclimation, I haven’t been this winded training for a while and it feels good to be training with this kind of effort again
- Went with close-grip incline for supplemental since it was one of the variations in my meet prep program that I sucked at + my incline has always been abysmal compared to my bench/press numbers (thanks T-rex arms!) + Dave Tate seems to like it
- Probably going to bump up rest periods for dips, came up with that mechanical drop set thing on the spot and 10 reps for pushups is just a bit embarrassing
- 9 weeks without an arm pump comes to a much-welcomed close
Do I just bookmark a thread here to follow someone’s training log?
3 Likes
Click this:
then this:
If you click watching you’ll get notifications/emails everytime someone posts which I’d imagine could get a bit annoying
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Appreciate the nod there dude! If you try out those methods, I hope you find some success.
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Thanks! Been following your blog for a good while, the Book of Bad Ideas has a spot in my iron game ebooks/pdfs folder
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Conjugate Trial Cycle W1 Dynamic Lower - Tuesday AM
NG Chins: +35x2x5
Power cleans: 145x10x1 EMOM
Squats: 195x5x5 E2MOM
Leg press: 388x20, 17, 16
Zercher back extension: +50x20, 13, BWx20
Standing cable crunch: 70x20, 20, 20
- Starting real light with the dynamic effort, planning to work in 60/65/70% waves then add 5/10lbs to my max a là 5/3/1
- Great pump from leg presses and back extensions, expecting to progress pretty quickly
- Ab work felt way too light
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Conjugate Trial Cycle W1 Max Upper - Wednesday PM
NG Chins: +35x5, +45x3, +55x2
Snatch push press: 45x2x5, 95x3, 135x3, 155x2, 185x6, 155x9 band pull-aparts 5x20 between warmups
Kroc row (strapped): 105x34 L+R
Dips: 23, 19, 12, push-ups BWx13, 11
Hammer curls: 30x15, 15, 13
- Arms and legs (hamstrings!) were pretty sore coming into this, part of the fun of getting back into some high volume. I’ll admit some disappointment that 4 hours of planting tomatoes plus a cycling commute for work this morning did little for ‘bloodflow’ (or whatever)
- Emergency Walgreens preworkout (as I wait for my PsychoPharma shipment…) had me sweating buckets
- Main movement was something I’d been wanting to try for a while, it felt fine on my shoulders (especially with the BPAs between, made for a lovely rear delt pump) but the shortened ROM from the widened grip combined with the leg drive made it feel a lot more like a jerk than any kind of press timing-wise. Definitely could’ve gone for 205 as my ME top sets are intended to be 1-3 reps, but I realized too late how easily 185 was moving and just decided to see it through. Planning to come back to it in 3 weeks, somebody somewhere recommended rotating a lower amount of exercises as an intermediate lifter on Conjugate and it’ll be nice to get a clear gauge on my progress.
- Also if it’s not apparent I’m using big plates (45s, 25s, 10s) for my main exercises because 1) Dan John likes to, 2) it feels cool, 3) it spares me the indignity of having to ask someone at another rack for the 2.5-lbers.
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Conjugate Trial Cycle W1 Max Lower - Friday AM
NG Chins: +35x2x5
High-handle trap bar pull: (in plates per side since I have no idea what the bar weighs) 1x5, 1.5x3, 2x3, 2.5x3, 3x2, 3.5x1, 4x1, 4.5x1, 4.75x1, 5x1, 4.5x3
Sled rope pull: 2x218x13yd (long as the rope got :/)
Sled belt drag: 238x50yd forward/193x50yd backward
Sled push: 148x50yd, 138x50yd
*Found my hardest workout of the week. This was as planned but after surviving my first Viking Day I’m quite certain of it, pretty excited to see where I can take this getting-in-shape-wise.
*First time putting 5 plates on any lift, which is exactly what I’ve been dreaming of doing all week for this session. Almost maxed out the pencilneck-sized trap bar
*All the 50yd runs were really more like 2x25yd with too long of a pause in the middle since my gym’s turf only goes that far and I kinda felt like I might die on the spot without such a pause
*Belt’s fitting noticeably looser than I’d like it to, will need to sort out some diet stuff after I’m back from out of town this weekend. Worth considering that I didn’t really eat anything until after 5pm yesterday (oops!) and I’m probably just being dramatic
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Dude, if you’re pulling hex plates, you’re pulling with a deficit too. Sure, it’s high handle, but it’s a longer ROM, haha. Plus, those plates definitely make pulls harder in general: you’re crushing it.
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Yeah I started with a 45lb Rogue bumper on then stripped it at 3 plates once the geometry of the situation dawned on me. My gym has a set of metal kilo plates that I might end up using if I chase this movement further, I think I’m a fan of it. Feels pretty weird straining for so long at the bottom without any real slack to pull out of the bar, but I think that’s the kind of thing that makes for quality max effort work 
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Conjugate Trial Cycle W2 Dynamic Upper - Sunday PM
NG chins: +35x2x5
Power jerk (Fat Gripz): 160x10x3 EMOM
Close-grip incline bench (Fat Gripz): 155x4, 135x6, 6, 5, 115x6, 5 band pull-aparts 5x20 between sets
T-bar row: 100x15, 15, 15, 12
Dips: BWx24, 20, 16, 9
Poundstone curls (Fat Gripz): 45x35
- Sticking with the 3-week wave loading theme and tapering my assistance volume by dropping a set every week but still progressing the weight
- Forgot how money T-bar rows are
- Was running on fumes (and stimulants) by the end of this, as I again hit this workout immediately following a weekend of travel and inadequate nutrition. Arms still felt balloon-like by the end of it
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I’m surprised the Hex Plates don’t drive you crazy. My gym has similar ones and its a nightmare to use on the platform. Even with a Bumper to raise the height a little, it never stays even and catches on the corner
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Like I said earlier I’ll probably go with the kilo plates next time, though the hex plates weren’t actually too bad since I’m doing low reps. Also I felt that there’s a bit more latitude with the starting position for trap bar, I’d never pull a conventional dead with them
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Conjugate Trial Cycle W2 Dynamic Lower - Tuesday AM
NG Chins: +25, 35, 45, 55, 70, 80 singles
Power clean: 160x10x1 EMOM
Squat: 205x5x5 E2MOM
Zercher RDL: 135x18, 16, 13
Standing cable crunch: 85x20, 20, 20
- Little bit bummed to have skipped leg press, but I was on somewhat of a time crunch and someone else was using it. Planning to hit a KB squat/burpee-focused conditioning session (someone say Tower of Babel??) tomorrow to make up for the missing volume.
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That will certainly do it! And suck, haha. I need to do that again sometime.
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Conditioning: Tower of Babel - Tuesday PM
Double kettlebell front squat: 24kgx1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 burpees BWx5 between sets
*Done in 10:21
- Lovely day in my part of the Prairie State and I had some time between classes, so I couldn’t find a good reason to put this off til after work tomorrow. Proper ass-kicker.
- Fuck am I out of shape, will definitely see if I can fit a weight vest walk in on Saturday
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Conjugate Trial Cycle W2 Max Upper - Wednesday PM
NG chins: BWx10
Gorilla glute press with EliteFTS mini bands: 45x5, 5, 95x5, 135x3, 185x3, 225x3 275x1, 295x1, 315x1, 295x3 band pull-aparts 5x20 between warmups
Kroc row (straps): 110x32
Dips: BWx25, 21, 16, 11
Hammer curls: 35x13, 10, 30x15
- Main movement was pretty much this, Dissection and all
(bonus points to anyone who can pick up on any other troglodytic metal references in this log). Felt pretty silly with the extremely low ROM but shit, 3 plates is 3 plates. Performed with a pause at the bottom, bands were cinched once around pegs.
- Thinking about giving carb cycling another shot; I’m the kind of person who will just not eat all day if I don’t have a structure to my diet, and I’m interested to see if I can start using carbs in a more targeted way while leaning out a bit. Saw a couple veins in my arms post-workout and got tempted
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