How can you drop chins man
They are the makers of men and thee premier physique definer imo
You gave me the wide grip upright row
I’m giving you the chin
Take the chin you manly bastard
3 Likes
My access to a chinning bar has been sporadic at best over the years, and I also just never really liked them. I always did cleans, bent rows, DB rows, etc etc, but chins always rotated in and out.
Gonna keep them in from now on and see what I can gain from them.
02/07/2021 PART 2
Start time: 2115
Garage temp: 25C
20 minutes of:
- 2 min stationary bike
- 20 KB swings @ 32kg/70lbs
- 2 min stationary bike
- 10 KB snatches/side @ 24kg/53lbs
- Repeat
Total rounds: 3 + 1:28 bike
Giant set, 2x15
- Standing barbell calf raises @ 120
- Tibialis raises @ 15
- Kneeling ab wheel
Notes:
- Too humid for skipping, plus there was a lot of haze in the air and I didn’t want to push my luck. Dragged the bike out into the garage instead. I quite like this with the bike, actually. Really wish I had a rower, though.
1 Like
No argument about regarding the awesomeness of weighted chins, but any consideration given to the good morning? That was my go to when deadlifts were not viable.
2 Likes
So what do you think of this prior to running?
This is becoming really good!
I second this. Also when I had not enough weight, I was doing staggered-stance RDL to torch on side at a time, with slow tempo
Then, snatches and leg curl will provide you lots of hammy stimulation
I would also agree with the chins. Even if you manage only sets of 5, whatevs! They are just amazing for strength and physique!
Not saying the snatch grip rows can’t be good but it’s not the same, these are very specific and target way more your traps and rhomboids than lats
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I’ll give it a think, but I’m getting lots of posterior chain stimulation already from various sources. Using weighted chins also just kinda… “fits” my current line-up. Not sure how else to explain it.
I think it’s been helping. One of my issues when I run is pitching forward, causing my low back to work unnecessarily, and the poor posture reduces hamstring involvement and puts stress on my knees. Doing these leg curls prone has really helped get my hips and hams firing and allows me a better running posture. Zero knee discomfort when I run now.
3 Likes
04/07/2021
Start time: 1345
Garage temp: 25C
Power snatch
- 95x5
- 110x5
- 125x5
B. Squat
- 195x5
- 225x5
- 255x5
Power clean & jerk
- 3x5 @ 135
Bench
- 3x15 @ 135
Dips + push-ups
- 1x18 + 1x15
- 1x16 + 1x14
Barbell reverse lunges + walking lunges
- 2x10 @ 135 + 2x15 @ BW
Notes:
- The one modification I will ALWAYS make to 5/3/1 is fitting supplemental work (except for Boring But Strong) into 3 sets. That means 5x10 becomes 3x15, and 5x5 becomes 3x8. I’m always crunched for time, so I’d rather shorten the sets and redistribute the volume. Works well enough for me so far.
4 Likes
04/07/2021 PART 2
Start time: 2015
Outside temp: 28C
Band leg curls
- 50 reps
5 rounds
- 600m “sprint”
- 5 min rest
Giant set, 2x15
- Standing barbell calf raises @ 120
- Tibialis raises @ 15
- Kneeling ab wheel
Notes:
- Wife and kid weren’t home, it was uncomfortably hot and humid enough to swim through the air, so I figured: why not torture myself? 600m is juuuust long enough that you’re unsure how hard you really need to push at what time, and the 5 minutes rest gives you time to fully recover, making you forget how much it sucks to push as hard as you can for 600m. I need to do more stuff like this, because my short-to-middle distance power is garbage. Short sprints? Solid. Long distance? Solid. This stuff? No bueno.
2 Likes
I like this. I remember reading a story Jim told about someone on the football team doing something similar: just doing like 50 reps of squats vs 5x10 one day to get it done. So many ways to approach it.
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This is why I’m always confused when I see some of the 5/3/1 questions that get asked. If people ACTUALLY read what Jim writes, they’d see how unbelievably flexible his programming philosophies are.
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The amount of people that have actually read one of Jim’s books vs watched a video of some guy poorly explaining it is wildly disproportionate. Trying to get ANY trainee to read a book these days is ridiculous.
Piracy is an issue too of course. When it didn’t cost you anything, you aren’t invested, so you “skim” at best. When you plunked down $40+shipping, you read cover to cover.
4 Likes
Yer like 5 times minimum 
3 Likes
07/07/2021
Start time: 1345
Garage temp: didn’t check
B. Squat
- 3x15 @ 195
Bench
- 135x5
- 155x5
- 180x5
Press + push press
- 1x14 + 1x6 @ 120
- 1x7 + 1x5 @ 120
EZ bar PJR pullover (dropsets)
- 1x8 @ 100, 8 @ 80
- 1x6 @ 100, 5 @ 80
- 2x45 sec triceps stretch
Chins + inverted row
- 2x10 + 2x15 @ BW
- 2x45 sec lat stretch
Snatch-grip upright row + band lateral raise
- 2x20 @ 60 + 2x20
Notes:
- Good and bad with this session. The good was that my MMC is finally starting to show itself, and I was pumped to the gills when this was done. The bad was that on the last few reps of my last squat set, I suddenly felt a slight tightness in my outer low back, and while it’s not painful now, it’s sure as shit pretty tight and stiff. Oh well, strains aren’t the end of the world. Nothing a little stretching and heat won’t fix up in no time.
3 Likes
08/07/2021
Start time: 2045
Outside temp: 19C
Band leg curls
- 50 reps
Running
- 6.3km
Fat-grip tricep bar curls
- 100 reps @ 35
Notes:
- Back was a little iffy at the start of the run, but dissipated as I continued. I can’t even locate the exact spot that’s bugging me because it’s so deep. Possibly some internal oblique? Trouble is, twisting doesn’t bother it, it’s when I bend on a 45ish degree angle away from the site. Ugh.
3 Likes
09/07/2021
Just spitballing some training thoughts.
Firstly, despite just starting this current training block, I already have the next one largely planned out. I used to be somewhat afraid of periodizing, because I wanted ALL my skills to continue to advance, but it’s just a recipe for disaster. Also, making the main goal the advancement of my “Big 5” (power O-lifts, squat, bench, weighted chin) has meant programming is a breeze; I just swap block focuses between either the power O-lifts or the latter 3.
Originally, the secondary part of each block would just be lesser barbell lifts with extra BW stuff, but I realized I needed more strength endurance work.
This, in turn, led me back to thinking about pursuing kettlebell sport as part of my training — KB sport, in competition, is a 10 minute “set” of double KB clean & jerks for AMRAP, or the biathlon, which is a 10 minute set of double KB jerks, followed by single KB snatches with a hand swap halfway through. The biathlon has a lengthy break between its two lifts.
Adding in that training would definitely suit the stength-endurance aspect, and would lead me to two strength and size blocks per year (squat, bench, chins, BB/BW extras), and two strength and endurance blocks per year (power O-lifts, KB sport lifts). The only downside would be that the KB sport lifts would need to be done with DBs, as I don’t have matching KBs in the weight I’d want to use. Not the end of the world at all, as I’d still get the desired benefit doing the moves with DBs instead.
The next piece I got to thinking about is how impressive I find endurance athletes. Triathletes, marathon runners, climbers, the above mentioned KB sport — there’s just something about humans being capable of doing that which I find so unbelievably impressive.
Don’t get me wrong, hefting hundreds of pounds overhead or off the floor is amazing as well, but there’s a certain determination and grit I attach to endurance events.
As I periodize strength work, I also periodize aerobic work, and during my aerobic endurance blocks, I think on my “long run” sessions (which are an easy-paced 10km), I’ll add 1km each week, so that by the end of the 11-12 week block, I’ll be running a half-marathon. I’ve never run that far before, but endurance work just… suites me for some reason. It fits. I can’t explain it. I’ve never been the fastest, or the strongest, but I’ve always been stubborn and proud enough to just keep fucking going.
The final piece I’ve been rolling over in my head is diet. Like I’ve mentioned, drinking 1-1.5 L of whole milk a day, plus honey, has been an excellent staple. It’s keeping me going well enough. However, I desperately need to get more meat into my diet. Right now it’s been sparingly eaten, but I’m just gonna commit to hunting down any and all sales and X% off stickers and eat whatever I can, aiming to get 2lbs a day as a baseline.
The combination of meats, milk and honey should cover most of my bases. The rest I’d fill in with eggs, fruit, bone broth and some oats or root veggies. I managed to eat like that for a few months earlier this year or late last year, and felt great. Want to get back to it.
5 Likes
Any specific numbers you’re working towards?
Not really, no. Training occupies nothing in my life beyond being a physically capable human being, and the specifics are just there to keep me focused and stop me from quitting.
1 Like
10/07/2021
Start time: 1350
Garage temp: 22C
Power snatch
- 3x5 @ 95
Power clean & jerk
- 135x5
- 155x5
- 175x5
Weighted chins
- worked up to BW+25 x5
- 3x5 @ BW+10
T-bar row (dropset)
- 1x15 @ 150, 125, 100
RDL + 45° hypers
- 2x10 @ 225 + 2x15 @ BW
- 2x45 sec hamstring stretch
EZ bar curls (dropsets)
- 2x8 @ 100, 8 @ 80
- 2x45 sec biceps stretch
Notes:
- This morning was rife with frustrations, so the first half of this workout was less than stellar, as it took a while for my mind to get in order. Once that happened though, it was smooth sailing.
- Gonna try and squeeze in two tabata sets of skipping later, because it’s strictly timed and skipping sucks; time is a bit of a luxury today.
1 Like
10/07/2021
Start time: 1800
Outside temp: 27C
Jump rope tabata
- 2 rounds, 2 min rest between each
Giant set, 2x15
- Standing barbell calf raises @ 120
- Tibialis raises @ 15
- Kneeling ab wheel
Notes:
- Short and not-so-sweet. I’m gonna keep this one in the back pocket for future use, because it was deadly.
3 Likes
One Tabata jump rope round has my calves trying to quit. Two would be God awful. Weird though how when they feel like they’ve shut off you can keep hopping.
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