I’m enjoying the way I have the kettlebell rotations set up. One week is intervals for technique and capacity training, and barely any assistance, the next is testing one of the 3 lifts for time, and greater assistance. It makes the weeks like this one feel almost restorative. However, I once again forgot to count reps on the exercise. Darn.
Making sure to include grip work on these weeks too. The barbell crushes are executed by: standing at lockout with the bar, then letting it unroll to your fingertips, then forcibly “crushing” your hand closed. Similar to grippers, but more easily loadable. I like ‘em. The lockout holds are just standing at lockout and holding the bar. Pretty simple.
Jumped on the Poundstone curl train too, but I don’t have an axle and I’d rather train a hammer grip; gotta get those brachialis and brachioradialis gainzzz.
Very soon it will be pool noodle season. Get one, cut parts of it to the length of the handles on your tricep bar and slip them on for some cheap fat gripz to really make this just absolutely stupid. The fat grip portion of the curl really makes them come out, and I think with your bar you’ll find something magical.
Happy to share dude. Pool noodles are the dirty secret of strength training, haha. They’re also awesome to put on the pins of power racks to save the bar
Beaut of a session. I think I just need to accept that these barbell sessions are gonna take awhile; I’ve been clocking them at about 75 minutes per session including warm up. Oh well.
Those landmine rows kicked my ass. That superset is a great way to end a session.
Right now I’m focusing on power variations of the Olympic lifts, front squats and bench for the barbell. I’m also doing a day of kettlebell sport training (snatch, jerk and clean & jerk [AKA long cycle]).
Power O-lifts are just 5’s pro with 3x5 FSL, with a variation for the FSL work to train weak points.
Front squats and bench are using Volume & Strength from Forever (kinda). Front squat supplemental is high bar squats rotating 3x8, 2x12 and 4x6 SSL on 3’s, 5’s and 1’s week respectively. Bench supplemental is 2, 3 and 1 count pauses on 3’s, 5’s and 1’s week respectively.
Assistance is chins and rotating horizontal pulls for pull assistance, while push assistance is DB flye-presses and EZ bar bent arm pullovers, following the same rep cycling as back squats.
KB days swap between various interval methods to train quality reps and aerobic capacity for the KB sport test, which is 10 minutes of max reps. I always include some type of rotating hinge movement, once again using the same rep cycling as other assistance. On lighter weeks, I’ll include dedicated grip and biceps work.
The overall theme in geared towards big barbell lifts for weight, and KB work for reps, with a focus on “athlete-ing the lower” and “bodybuilding the upper”. Right now the O-lifts are on maintenance and I’m pushing the squat and bench, next cycle will be swapping the focus.
I also always include 2-4 cardio sessions a week, varied in length.
No training today (aside from a bike session tonight), just wanted to chat about some things.
Firstly, my hunger is spiking like crazy. I’m still getting satiated quickly (always have), but I’m hungry like 30 minutes after eating. This is very odd for me. I’m gonna assume something I’m doing is working and my body is demanding more calories, because this is new for me.
Secondly, I came across Canada’s Special Forces Operator training program. I was pleasantly surprised by how it was laid out. There’s all your usual stuff from the military — push-up, pull-up and sit-up testing, running, rucking, etc — but they also want you testing your squat and bench numbers with a set weight, which I found cool. Additionally, the training utilizes lots of strength work done in a circuit fashion, and well “muscular intervals” (basically BW conditioning circuits with some running added). Some of the strength exercises they choose are a little oddball (like a sumo deadlift into a highpull, or push-ups into a T position), but overall I was impressed. I might borrow some of the layout for my Summer training.
Thirdly, my duty vest is causing me immense pain. I went digging online and found the vests my company issues, and they’re one of the cheapest offered by the distributor. The plates are fine, and they actually chose a fairly high-level of protection (low-caliber round, as well as full stab and slash resistance), but the vest itself is SO poorly constructed. Unsymmetrical for starters, and it was clearly designed for people that are either 1) fat, or 2) shaped like a rectangle. If I fit it “properly” (ensuring the bottom of the vest is at navel level), when the shoulder straps are tightened it just narrows the upper half of the vest and puts uncomfortable pressure on my upper back, chest and solar plexus. The vest, when viewed from the side, would look like an A, whereas I’m shaped like a V. It’s super uncomfortable, and I find myself slouching to give my chest room to breath, but this forces my gut out and hurts my low back. There isn’t really any way to fix it, I just needed to bitch about it.
I’m with you on the appetite front man. I don’t know why but I’m ravenous a few times throughout the day and my body craves carbs. Not ideal since I’m still working on losing weight, but maybe it means I’m actually building some muscle in the process. Your physique update kinda made me wanna chase big and beefy instead of lean and mean, but I’m thinking I need to get closer to the 2nd before I try to chase the first.
Yep, that’s the end goal for me too. I just got a little too beefy without getting bigger or faster on the same scale. Hoping I can hit about 190 pounds (gotta drop 10) and then will try and beef up through the summer/fall/winter. I’ve been as big as 220 but it was pretty rough looking.
Cut the assistance this time. I went into this workout just completely shot from 1) not eating enough throughout the week, and 2) being stressed. Those two factors drained me, and by the time I has finished benching it was already pushing an hour.
I need to rethink assistance anyways, because this just feels like a lot of work by the time I finish benching. Like I said last week though, I probably just need to embrace the suck and trim rests a bit (because I know those tend to extend when I’m not focused), and accept these will be slightly longer.
I know the 5/3/1 protocol is 25-100 push/pull/legs or core, but I might do low back/hamstrings on front squat days, back and grip on KB days, and push on bench day. I’m already doing so much other work, with limited recovery capacity, so I suppose 1x/week of extra stimulation will suffice.
I’ve always viewed this as actual work like DB bench and rows. Looking at BB the Upper/Athlete the Lower helped me. Jim prescribes the assistance every day. It didn’t make sense. But I think I finally figured it out. It doesn’t have to be hard. My extra work is a bodyweight circuit of RFESS, push ups and BPAs. Nothing strenuous but it’s hitting some of the smaller stuff that I typically neglect.
@ChongLordUno thanks, brother! Trying to follow your example: keep it simple, keep consistent, keep progressing.
@anna_5588 it was definitely a welcome change. Temperatures around here should start on an upwards trend in the next few weeks. I hope.
@Frank_C you’re absolutely right. In Jim’s own words: it’s assistance. It doesn’t fucking matter. Obviously it does help, but if it’s detracting from the main work, which does matter, then get rid of it.
28/02/2021
Start time: 1330
Garage temp: -3C
Single kettlebell snatch
8 min continuous, swapping sides @ 4 min, 24kg (53)
Single kettlebell jerk
1 min work/1 min rest, alternating sides every set, 24kg (53)
V-handle landmine row
1x12 @ 175
SS W/ weighted sit-up 1x12 @ 25
1x12 @ 175, 150, 125, 100 (dropsets)
SS W/ weighted sit-ups 1x12 @ 25
Standing barbell “crushes”
3x6 @ 150
Standing barbell holds
2x20 sec @ 225
Tricep bar “Poundstone” curls
60+20+20 @ 35
Notes:
This didn’t feel like a lot of work during, but writing it out I now realize that it was a fair amount. My forearms were blown the hell up after all this. Felt like Popeye.
Did some mental rearranging of these KB days so that I’m always practicing one of the lifts for a continuous set each week. Might make it an EMOM type thing, however. Good way to get continuous sub-max intensity reps, while the interval work will be a way to build capacity and develop rep rhythm.
I’ve come to the conclusion, again, that I really just don’t care about the powerlifts. They feel like assistance lifts for me, because I care the most about the Olympic lifts. I’ve always liked them the most. There’s just something about hauling weight over your head that feels great. I might just fully commit to them and the KB sport lifts, and revive my “How much, how many, how fast, how far” plan from last Summer. Focus on the “how much” for the O-lifts (or at least my brute-forced power versions), the “how many” for the KB lifts, then the “how fast, how far” would probably be running and/or rucking.
Not much to say. Decent session, still don’t care about bench, and don’t care about squats aside from building leg strength. Bench is definitely getting tossed next cycle in favour of general upper body assistance for the power O-lifts.
Rearranged a few things to spread my sessions out amongst my three days, thus eliminating most of my kettlebell work in the process. Kettlebell work is fun, but with such limited training time, I had to be brutally honest about what I wanted; ultimately, I care about the barbell lifts and endurance training (cardiovascular/aerobic).
I really dig those pause push presses. 3-count pause in the dip; really helped me explosively drive the weight up.
Those curls were fucking brutal. Biceps felt like balloons after, but it was painful.
Been reading Alex Viada’s book “The Hybrid Athlete” after I saw @omats recommend him in @Frank_C’s log. I highly suggest anyone interested in combining strength and aerobic training check it out. Alex is a high-level powerlifter and triathlete. Some of the book is just basic anatomy/physiology and how it applies to strength and endurance, but it’s also chalk-full of training tips and guidelines. I’m loving it so far.
