Let’s talk big picture for a minute. Why? And how will you know you’ve regained it?
62 days isn’t long, especially on two a weeks, especially if you have to also factor in testing time at the start and end. Also: it sounds like you may have another decent lay off after again (although I may be reading that wrong).
If it were me, I’d pick one very specific challenge and go all guns blazing at that rather than try and do 2 years steady, sensible progression in less than 3 months.
Edit: TL:DR: Do a 6 week program that scares the fuck out of you. Super squats, Mass Made Simple, Building the Monolith, Deep Water, etc. Something where the end goal is to complete the program with as much fight and fury as you can muster because you won’t hit long term goals in a short time frame.
All these dumb-as-rock body building stuff since late August lol. 3-5 sets of one exercise per part, 10-12 reps. Upper body definitely looks nicer, but my legs, not so much. Lol
I just thought jokers would be a nice way to get work in (5/3/1 reps) and poke at touching the weights I used to be at, which aren’t that heavy anyway - 100kg x 10 squat, 120 x 1 squat, 140 x 1 sumo
I just wanted to get as close as possible to the weights I was lifting pre pandemic. But yeah, I don’t think they’ll make a huge difference considering the big picture. No reason to rush. I know I can get back to a BB again in the future. I just gotta be patient.
I’ll look into those you mentioned. Super squats sounds like a really good challenge, so does BTM and deep water. And yes, they do scare the shit out of me
Love the simplicity of Super squats, but they sound brutal on the knees?
Yes, you read that right. Not sure how fast I can get back to a BB after 2 months
Yes, but also do what you can to set yourself up for success when you do get back to it.
My thought process here is that the big win for you here will be a mental game and completing any of these “challenge” programs (I’ve just given a few examples, there’s plenty more out there) will do just that. Any gains you make on 2 cycles of vanilla 531 will be forgotten before you get access to a barbell again whereas if you complete Deep Water or whatever, you’ll be walking like a pavement cracking motherfucker (copyright @T3hPwnisher) everytime someone mentions a barbell.
I don’t know, honestly, it’s not something I’ve ever really factored into my program choices. Which isn’t to say you shouldn’t, just that I don’t.
That’s actually a CT Fletcher original. But I fully support the content of your statement.
Of all the things Super Squats is hard on, “the knees” is not one of them. You’re talking 60 reps of squats, MAX, every week. That’s if you run it 3x a week. With this being only 2x a week, it’s 40 reps. It’s a LOW volume routine that creates crazy growth. Definitely be one of my votes.
This is probably just semantics, but I personally don’t like the idea of “writing” jokers into your routine, EVEN if it’s included with a qualifier that “I’ll only do them if…”. It’s setting yourself up to use them too much. I’ve done them a few times and it’s a struggle not to do it all the time, ESPECIALLY when you’re starting out with your “too-light TM”. If you write it, you’re just more likely to use it. Does that make any sense?
Also take into consideration not only is your strength is down but probably your conditioning. Implying your ability to tolerate training volume is lowered.
Mass Made Simple could be a good one if you’re looking for something that scares you and isn’t long-term, not that I’ve done it or that you asked for my input
Squat holding 2 45 lbs DBs up to shoulders
10 x 2 sets
Holy crap, that was harder than expected. The position was kinda like a front squat position, so really not used to it. Couldn’t tilt forward like I do on lowbar
Split squats 55 lbs same side, 10 reps per leg, 3 sets
Pretty bummed today. Sat there in the garage for 5-10 minutes looking blankly into space with everything already prepared. Glad I just went to autopilot mode.
Pull ups 10, 10, 8, 8, 4
OHP 32.5 lbs 10 x 3 sets
Side laterals
17.5 lbs x 15 + 5 lbs x 20, 5 sets
Hip huggers + Rear Flyes
42.5 lbs x 12 + 5 lbs x 15, 4 sets
