Do not compete against the Hog…
He just becomes even stronger, just because it’s a competition.
Some sort of wager, although I don’t know for what. Maybe see who can pull more in 6 months? 8 months? A year? It’s just awesome that you can pull 455 from a deficit. your max is easily 475-485 right now, maybe more. Possibly 5 bills!
That’s exactly why I want to compete against him… real men always perform better in competition, and I like to count myself among those men…
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10 July 2018 - Deathlift Bodyweight: 217lbs
Conventional Deads 3x5 365
Squat Stance Deads 1x3 365
Sumo Deads 1x5 365, 1x10 315
DB Rows 2x50 40lb DB
Side Plank 2x0:45 each side
Notes
Pretty shitty day today. Nothing felt good, my back was rounding with 365, and I forgot to record any of my sets. I decided that conventional deadlift officially sucks dick and I’ll be doing sumo from now on. It’s way easier on my back and I can do more weight.
So starting on Monday or Tuesday I’m starting a 6x2 cycle for deads. Lookin’ forward to it. After watching one of my coaches from track go through a 6x2 cycle, I’ve decided to tweak it a bit. Instead of taking the 6x6 80%, to 5x5 85%, 4x4 90%, 3x3 95%, 2x2 100%, I’m going to be a lot more conservative while working down in sets. My 5x5 will probably be 83%, 4x4 around 88%, 3x3 around 93%, and 2x2 around 97%.
This way, I won’t risk as much injury and I won’t be burning as much fuel as I work up in weights. I think one of the reasons I started failing for bench and squat is because I was trying to handle weights that just grinded me down to a nub, session after session for several weeks. So, instead of being in peak shape for a 2x2 or 1x1, I was destroyed.
Going lighter after my 6x6 won’t take away from my strength gains; those are made while working up to a 6x6 and 5x5; everything after 5x5 is essentially just displaying strength, not building it. There’s no point for me to waste displays of strength on a 3x3 when my goal is a maximal 1x1.
Other than that, I got nothin. Today sucked ass. Tomorrow is a rest day. Hopefully I can come into the gym on Thursday with a mental and physical tenacity that I was missing today. I was nervous for deads because it’s been months, and then they beat my ass. It wasn’t good. I’ll come back ready, I’ll come back stronger, so I’m not worried. Just one of those days where the weights won, they got the best of me. I’ll be back tho
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Been MIA for a while. This is what I’ve done. I can’t remember exact workouts, except for one.
Squats: 345x9, 365x2, 275x10. Good Mornings 165 2x10, 1x10 175
OHP 135x16 (PR)
Bench: 3x7 225. Close grip: 275x1. DB Bench: ?
Overall my last few workouts haven’t been great. I’ve been busy as hell lately too, but my squat workout tied a PR (345x9). 365x2 was easy as was 275x10. Hoping to keep that going. I’m going to abandon the plan that I made, too.
I had an epiphany that I really haven’t been enjoying training lately. I need to get back to doing what I enjoy, which is AMRAP sets on the big lifts. I want to give my deadlift some time off so I will. Other than that, I have nothing to say. I hope to start breaking my old PRs soon in bench + squat + OHP. In a few months I will deadlift again. Til then, I’ll probably just do RDLs on squat day to keep my back strong.
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16 July 2018 - Bench Bodyweight: 218lbs
Bench 165x5, 195x5, 220x13 (5+)
DB Bench 1x15 80lbs, 1x10 85lbs, 1x8 90lbs
Bodyweight Dips x5 + Tricep Extensions x20 (40ish lbs) for 3 sets
2 mile walk
side planks 1 min
Bird Dogs
DB Leg Raises 10lbs
Notes
A pretty fun session aside from not getting a PR on bench. The important thing is that I’m stronger than I was a year ago.
I finally learned how to do dips. They used to hurt me because I went too low, but going to parallel feels good. I actually did ~15 reps on the first set which is cool.
The mission this year is to get up to 230. I’m eating more protein than I ever have before on a daily basis which rocks. My legs are still slightly sore from last Friday’s squats. I believe this is because the following days included a long shift at work and 5 hours of sleep two nights in a row. My recovery got off to a slow start but I’m taking today and tomorrow off anyways for other reasons, so squatting on Thursday should be fine. OHP on Friday after work, then work Saturday and possibly some bench or another OHP day on Sunday. I might just do a back workout on Sunday though, I haven’t decided yet.
Thursday’s workout will be a 310x5+ for squats, which I hope to get ~15 reps for. I’m eating big today and tomorrow as usual so I should be locked and loaded come Thursday evening. I fixed my squat form so that my knees and back experience 0 pain or discomfort.
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19 July 2018 - Squat Bodyweight: 215lbs
Back Squat 235x5, 275x5, 310x12
Paused Squats 3x3 275, 1x3 295
Notes
Ran out of time today. Really weird schedule gave me about 45 minutes to lift. I’m still trying to get back into the swing of things and get the 5/3/1 train out of the station. I need to start eating more, believe it or not. I’m in the same spot that I was a year ago. I didn’t think it was possible for me to eat more, but as soon as I made a conscious effort to get bigger and stronger, I was able to make it happen.
A few additional goals for this year are 365x10 squat, 265x10 bench, and 405x10 deadlift. I’d love to squat mid 400s, bench low to mid 300s, and deadlift upper 400s. As long as I’m healthy, I’m happy. The numbers don’t mean too much to me anymore for now at least
Blasphemy Lava 
Nah I’m about to think the same, I’m looking a bit on the nutty guys log he does some double progression 5 sets of 8 increase by some 20 lbs and start over and doing supersets.
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More and more I’m starting to understand why some people train like that. You burn calories, have fun in the gym, take on a challenge, etc, but the focus isn’t on the numbers. That’s cool.
I’m more concerned with rep PRs right now. Last time I concerned myself with one rep maxes I ended up driving myself into the ground. Last time I focused on rep PRs, I got much stronger. So that’s what I’m on now!
21 July 2018 - Mantathalon Bodyweight: 216lbs
Bench: 215lbs x14
Chin Ups: Bodyweight x16
OHP: 110lbs x22
Barbell Curls: 110lbs x7
Weighted Dips: BW + 55lbs x10
@Frank_C I think this is 69 total reps (lol). I thought curls would be one of my best movements, but no. I was counting on ~15 reps from curls and ~30 reps of OHP and I failed both of those! The dips, chin ups, and bench were just as I expected. Not great, not awful. Right on track with the rest of my training with those exercises.
@losthog let’s create one of these for lower body/full body. I like doing these challenges before work because it was fun, quick, and didn’t tire me out for the rest of the day. We could do 2 leg movements, two back movements, and two pressing movements. Or we could do all lower body, it’s up to you
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I’m working on designing a 3 week full body unilateral plan. I’m working off a Jim Staponni plan and incorporating more core and some stuff from t-nation.
I’m thinking 4-5 days training
4 days ( focus split 2/2 upper/lower)
Or
5 days (3lower/ 2 upper). Or some sort of bodybuilding type split.
Post what you got…I’ll post mine up soon
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23 July 2018 - Skwaaaats Bodyweight: 214lbs
Back Squat 255x3, 290x3, 330x10 (tied PR)
Good Mornings 2x8 185lbs, 1x8 195lbs
Hammer Curls 1x8 50lbs, 2x8 45lbs
DB Rows 1x15 65lbs
Conditioning
2 mile walk
Notes
Solid day today. Didn’t start lifting until 8:45pm, didn’t finish until 9:55. Kind of a shit schedule today, but we got it done. I used to be a late night lifter, but working all day makes that late night shit kinda hard.
330x10 ties a PR from last fall so I’m in a decent spot. Maybe I should’ve started my maxes a little lower, but my training max is 365 which is already very conservative. I’m taking all AMRAPs to mechanical failure, not muscular failure. I’m not trying to collapse with 300+ pounds on my back.
I’ve been thinking about combining my bench and OHP days and doing a 4 day split. One day will be a bench emphasis and one day will be an OHP emphasis. Squats 2x/week for the win.
Right now, I’m thinking:
Sunday: OHP emphasis + bench 3x8 75%
Monday: 5/3/1 squats
Wednesday: Bench emphasis + OHP 3x8 75%
Friday: 5/3/1 Squats
Saturday (optional): Challenge/sprints/cardio
I also FW what you’re doing with the unilateral work @losthog. I think single leg squats especially are a great way to improve mobility. It forces your legs into angles that bilateral movements don’t. (Mini rant: I think most people use “mobility” and “flexibility” interchangeably which is wrong. Mobility is having a healthy ROM in which you can produce force. Flexibility is just being stretchy. Being too stretchy and loading weight onto your body can force you into bad positions that you aren’t capable of stabilizing and producing force from. End rant)
Long story short, I’m going to do a 4 day split with 2 upper 2 lower. Combining bench & OHP, and throwing in some unilateral work on leg days. I’m interested to see how giving this much attention to hamstrings and (now) unilateral work will help me over the course of the next few months. I’m also doing side planks and bird dogs at the beginning of every workout, which of course is more than I did for the last year. I’m probably going to test my back squat and possibly my bench and OHP in about a month just to see where I’m at. I haven’t tested since March, so I’m curious now… I hope you guys are doing well. I still feel bad about being MIA for what felt likes a year last week. Sorry!
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I’ve been very fond of the emom on DH
You could try that working on technique 10 min emom about 55% x 3 reps increasing a bit every week until the speed and power breaks then reset and work back up.
OHP emphasis followed by emom bench.
That is IF doing 3x8 75% is to demanding and you are thinking of doing something different.
EDIT: OH nice tied squat PR. Well done Mate.
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I decided to look up the results of the Mantathlon this morning. You had to beat me my 1. I added your score for history’s sake.
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Hahaha. Sorry bro. I have the advantage of being a little lighter so the chins and dips were easier on me than they were on you. I’m definitely going to try it again at some point, maybe even this Saturday. That was a lot of fun.
Not a bad idea. I’ll give 3x8 75% a try for a week or two first. I gotta admit though, those are just arbitrary numbers. It might be a tad heavy but I’ll give it a shot. And thanks… I wish I was stronger now than I was 6 months ago, but I’m not, yet. Between focusing on front squats and dealing with my stupid SI joint, I should just be happy I didn’t regress
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25 July 2018 - Bench Bodyweight: 216lbs
Bench 170x5, 195x5, 220x13 (5+), 205x5
OHP 3x6 135lbs
Chin Ups +25lbs 3x6
Tricep Extensions 42.5x25, 50x15, 57.5x15, 10
DB Rows 75lbs 3x15
Concentration Curls 2x10 30lbs
Notes
Aside from the actual + set, today was good. I’m tempted to go back to 6x2 for bench because that worked pretty well, but I know better than to do that. It’s smarter to stick to a program for months at a time than bounce around. I still feel guilty for dropping dark horse as quickly as I did, even though I believe I had a good reason to do so.
@mortdk 3x8 75% turned out to be a little too much. 3x6 was solid though. I wonder if I should drop the intensity and increase the volume for those sets, or if 75% is a good number. I suppose it depends on how well I recover.
Yeah. Overall not a horrible day, but I’m ready to squat again. Squats are easily my favorite lift right now with my bench being on a months-long plateau and deadlifting being nonexistent in my training
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CT has said everyone is different when it comes to rep maxes and percentages. Some people can bust out 10 reps at 75% and others hit 4 reps.
The percentages are a guide but not an end all be all when it comes to strength. Pick the volume you want and then pick the weight that coincides with that.
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Really much depends on the goal, if it’s about building muscles then lower the weight and do sets of 8-10 focus on time under tension.
If it’s strength then you have to pay attention to the recovery issue, more than anything.
You could keep the weight at slowly build it to 3x8-10.
Or go a bit on the DH way and do emom sets.
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27 July 2018 - Squats
Was sprinting and jumping for about 3 hours before my squat workout today so it was rough.
Back Squats 275x5, 315x5, 355x5 (1+)
Good Mornings 185x12, 205x10, 225 3x8
Front Squats 2x10 135 (no SI joint issue here)
High Bar Squats 3x5 275lbs
Notes
The running and jumping was really fun. The wall I posted two videos of is the same size that they have on the TV shows. The squats were eh. I started my cycle on the 1+ for fun, but I think I’m going to restart it. 315x5+, 335x3+, and 355x1+. I think I could have gotten 355x7-9 if I was fresh, so I’m going to redo this cycle and aim to have my 1+ on a Saturday morning or Sunday afternoon.
Lots of volume today, no training tomorrow. I might go walk/jog/sprint depending on how I feel. Maybe a bike ride. Either way my legs will be sore tomorrow and I’ll need a little cardio. I have OHP 140x5+. I’d love to get 15+ on that.
When I first started 5/3/1 for bench, I was getting 12-15 reps on each 5+ after the first cycle, and my bench went up fairly significantly (275 to 315 in about 7 months). I would absolutely love to have those results for OHP too. I think That’d put me close to a 2 plate OHP!!
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That looked fun! You definitely made that wall look anticlimactic for the TV show. And from what I’ve seen fatigue shouldn’t be a factor because 90% of their course is grip and pull up strength.
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It was a ton of fun I spent probably 80% of my time doing the walls. I went up the salmon ladder a few times, which was surprisingly easy. I went up once doing strict pullups and several times doing kipping (kip? idk) pullups which was infinitely easier. I would imagine that the hardest part of being on the TV show is controlling your nerves and trying to stop your hands from getting sweaty. If given chalk, I’m pretty sure any of our gang here on TN could dust the people on TV.
Since I did the warped walls so many times and then squatted afterwards, my legs are fucking TRASHED. Two days later and they still hurt. I probably won’t squat until Wednesday or Thursday which will be a 315x5+… goal for that is probably going to be 13-15. I got 310x12 I think last 5+, but I think something was off. Hydration has been lacking lately so I need to fix that this week. Tomorrow is OHP day, 140x5+ which I’d like 15-20 on. Building this strict press has been a lot more enjoyable than I thought it would be. I’m glad I get to re-experience the newbie gains using a simple approach like I did with squats and bench last fall. This is nice. I hope you all had a good weekend, mine was pretty alright.
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