I’m curious how many people will read that and think it’s just a bunch of excuses.
[quote]nkklllll wrote:
[quote]PlainPat wrote:
[quote]Spidey22 wrote:
I think you’re underestimating yourself. PlainPat just made you a solid program. But I mean on my Upper Body days I hit:
Flat BB 2 sets
Paused CGBP 2 sets
Incline DB 2 sets
Chest Flies 2 sets
Upper Back 3-4 sets
Lats 2-3 sets
Delts 3-6 sets
Biceps 2-3 sets
All in under an hour. Sometimes 45 minutes if I super-set. I keep track of my rest periods, roughly 2-4 minutes between big lifts, 30-60 seconds between everything else[/quote]
I dont get the whole lets get in and out of here quick as possible… like if you really fucking wanted to get big/strong youd spend as long as you need. [/quote]
I don’t see him saying “get in and get out as soon as possible.” He basically said that training was sapping his energy and motivation so he decided to switch things up. What’s wrong with that? It’s like when golf season would end for me. For up to 6 weeks after season was over, I might only hit a ball once a week because it was just mentally and emotionally taxing. I might take even more time off if season ended poorly.
[/quote]
Taking a deload week off or changing it up is entirely different than the example you gave. I dont want to personally insult you but if someone said to me that they had a shitty powerlifting meet and they only lifted 1x a week for 6 weeks after or not train at all for months after I would tell them that theyre a pussy and obviously don’t want it bad enough at all. Because anyone who really wants it would be right back in there the next week because they realize they only have an allotted amount of time in the sport/alive to spend and they have to maximize this time to their absolute potential. And anyone who gets so discouraged by doing shitty or finds themselves lacking motivation due to failure should rethink their life path. Because anyone whose really great at this at least, is so driven by failure and pain and hate that it would push them ever further.
[quote]LoRez wrote:
I’ll be honest, I’m pretty tired of thinking about this stuff at this point.
I spent the last several days reading pretty much everything I could find on Greyskull LP, Greyskull Powerbuilding, Greyskull LCI, and a few other things. Nevermind reading a lot of stuff on here.
Regarding the “too much time in the gym” thing, I was spending 45 minutes to an hour in the gym as is, getting in around 25-28 sets. The bigger problem was I was doing that 5-7 days a week. Even though I switched to a squat focus in February, this has been pretty consistent if I’m in town and not sick for a long enough time that I’m just worn down.
I’m craving a change and a break more than anything.
Now, granted, what I came up with was pretty hackneyed. I found a couple solutions to smaller problems (high-rep lat pulldowns, 3x12 BTN presses, and a way to do progressive rear-delt work) and tried to piece it together with some real work on squats and deads. Half of the problem is equipment limitations… I can’t do machine rear-delt flyes or pulldowns at home… I can’t do squats or deadlifts or bench pressing at work.
Pat’s program is pretty solid. My biggest problem, and it’s because I’m a little slow, is I’m “convinced” I’m too much of a beginner strength-wise that I think I need more frequency than once a week.
GSLP looks like this:
Every 2 weeks:
Bench 3 times
Press 3 times
Squat 4 times
Deadlift 2 times
It’s all about setting either a weight or rep PR every workout.
2 sets of 5. 1 set of 5+. Increase the weight every session (2.5 for bench/press, 5 for squat/dead). Reset by 10% and set rep records when you fail to get 3x5.
Additional suggestions per the actual program:
Curls every bench day
Weighted chins every press day
Bodyweight chins throughout the day, every day
After I realized I can do heavy-ish presses without it hurting my shoulders (see video above, and the fact that I wasn’t hurting today), that’s probably really close to what I’ll do.
And yeah, ab work, skullcrushers and hamstring work (RDLs if at home, leg curls if not) will probably get tacked on.
But right now, I’m just tired of thinking about this.[/quote]
I dont dislike that plan but everyone lately seems to think high frequency is the way to go when 90% of lifters I know personally do better on a once a week scheme for everything or once every two weeks for the more advanced. I mean I train with guys who lift in the animal cage and i regularly get training advice for someone whose benched 500 raw naturally (and i actually believe him) and they goof on me when I train deads more than once a week even If im just doing accessory block pulls or SLDLs on a squat day.
[quote]LoRez wrote:
[quote]PlainPat wrote:
I dont get the whole lets get in and out of here quick as possible… like if you really fucking wanted to get big/strong youd spend as long as you need. Youd realize that youre alive, you only get one shot, so if you really fucking want this like you say you do youll spend 3 hours a day if you have to because when youre about to die theres no going back and being like wow i really wish I spent another hour in the gym to reach my goals [/quote]
You’re right.
Here’s what was important to me. I wanted to be an awesome piano player. I spent 15 years focusing on that before I got to where I wanted to be and got burnt out.
I wanted to be a successful software engineer. I’ve spent 25 years doing that.
I wanted to have a solid base for most realistic SHTF scenarios (e.g., job loss), and I’ve spent years making sure I had that.
I wanted to be well versed in history and generally well read, and I’ve been working on that for however many years.
I wanted a stable home-life and a decent relationship, and I’ve spent several years on that too.
Now, once all of that is in place…
I want to be big and strong. But all of the other stuff is more important. And what I’ve been doing in the gym has affected some of that stuff negatively, so I’m fixing that problem.
If I never really get big and strong, it’s really not something I’ll regret.
Obviously your goals are different than mine.[/quote]
Im just saying that if you really want to look like how you posted you want to like that physique, those guys who acquired that were not taking <1 hour in the gym and not 100% committed to their goals. So if that physique is truly a goal, and those numbers you posted, no one got to that by not putting themselves 100% into their training and doing so intelligently but also with intensity and passion. Sacrifices have to be made to reach that level.
[quote]PlainPat wrote:
[quote]nkklllll wrote:
[quote]PlainPat wrote:
[quote]Spidey22 wrote:
I think you’re underestimating yourself. PlainPat just made you a solid program. But I mean on my Upper Body days I hit:
Flat BB 2 sets
Paused CGBP 2 sets
Incline DB 2 sets
Chest Flies 2 sets
Upper Back 3-4 sets
Lats 2-3 sets
Delts 3-6 sets
Biceps 2-3 sets
All in under an hour. Sometimes 45 minutes if I super-set. I keep track of my rest periods, roughly 2-4 minutes between big lifts, 30-60 seconds between everything else[/quote]
I dont get the whole lets get in and out of here quick as possible… like if you really fucking wanted to get big/strong youd spend as long as you need. [/quote]
I don’t see him saying “get in and get out as soon as possible.” He basically said that training was sapping his energy and motivation so he decided to switch things up. What’s wrong with that? It’s like when golf season would end for me. For up to 6 weeks after season was over, I might only hit a ball once a week because it was just mentally and emotionally taxing. I might take even more time off if season ended poorly.
[/quote]
Taking a deload week off or changing it up is entirely different than the example you gave. I dont want to personally insult you but if someone said to me that they had a shitty powerlifting meet and they only lifted 1x a week for 6 weeks after or not train at all for months after I would tell them that theyre a pussy and obviously don’t want it bad enough at all. Because anyone who really wants it would be right back in there the next week because they realize they only have an allotted amount of time in the sport/alive to spend and they have to maximize this time to their absolute potential. And anyone who gets so discouraged by doing shitty or finds themselves lacking motivation due to failure should rethink their life path. Because anyone whose really great at this at least, is so driven by failure and pain and hate that it would push them ever further.[/quote]
You’ve obviously never experienced extreme mental burnout from your sport. Good for you, but there are plenty of collegiate and professional athletes who do, and who spend very little time around their sport while they feel that way.
Even olympic lifters do it. Ilya Ilin, current 94kg world record holder didn’t perform the competition lifts for a year. And hasn’t competed in two years. Why? Because he wanted to do other stuff.
[quote]LoRez wrote:
I’m curious how many people will read that and think it’s just a bunch of excuses.[/quote]
You could always just say “fuck it” to progression in of itself and just make lifting a completely automated part of your day, deloading whenever you feel like it and increasing weight whenever you feel like it and vice versa.
That’s pretty much what I do nowadays. I just want to consistently go to the gym more than anything else right now, largely because I believe that we need to be lifting something heavy everyday to keep our body happy and healthy. Ideally we’d also be doing some sort of intense physical activity 2-4 times a week as well, depending on the intensity of said physical activity.
I’ve decided that weight-lifting is the simplest thing in the world. You really are just… lifting things up and putting them down. Over-complicating it is for athletes who are serious about weightlifting and what it does for them. I am not an athlete. I don’t see a need to over-complicate anything. I literally just lift things up and put them down. And if I feel like I can go heavier next time, then I go heavier. If not, then I stay with exact same weight I lifted up last time. Every once in a while, I’ll deload.
Heck, it’s not even auto-regulation. I often stay at a weight I moved last time even if my body says “fuck that shit, you’re tired.” I just reply back with “fuck you, you did it last time and you’ll do it today.” More often than not, it’s just your mind playing tricks with you and you’ll do it. If not, then I deal with it then. Maybe then is the time for that deload you haven’t done for almost 4 months.
Week 1:
Monday: Press 5,5,5+; Weighted Chins 2x6-8; Squat 5,5,5+
Wednesday: Bench 5,5,5+; Curls 2x10-12; Deadlift 5+
Friday: Press 5,5,5+; Weighted Chins 2x6-8; Squat 5,5,5+
Week 2:
Monday: Bench 5,5,5+; Curls 2x10-12; Squat 5,5,5+
Wednesday: Press 5,5,5+; Weighted Chins 2x6-8; Deadlift 5+
Friday: Bench 5,5,5+; Curls 2x10-12; Squat 5,5,5+
Every day, bodyweight chins, either throughout the day or ladders once a day.
–
That’s one of the suggested GSLP layouts.
My thoughts, based on what you guys have said: do that. Then, optionally, depending on how I feel, do some additional volume:
Bench days: skullcrushers, close grip (flat/incline)
Press days: overhead holds or lockouts, delt work
Squat days: paused squats, overloads
Deadlift days: RDLs, SGHPs, rows
My pulldowns are essentially weighted chins, so I might as well just do the weighted chins. The only thing I need for the office gym for is the rear delt flyes. Since I’m actually AT the office 5 days a week, just find a day or three and do them.
–
Magick: I agree with the “just want to get some work in” + consistency; with the previous autoregulating “training max” style, I had the choice of how hard I really wanted to push on a day… it was just structured in a way that required a lot of time even on the easy days.
Spidey: you’re right about the fact that I did build a decent work capacity, and what I switched to was a 180. I was making progress, but I was pretty maxed out on frequency, volume AND intensity. Honestly, I think I could handle it fine if I had less other stuff going on in my life.
So, for now, I’m trying to keep the intensity high, and drop one of the other two. What I proposed in the earlier post meant dropping both. I think keeping the GSLP plan in this post, and tacking stuff on after the main work makes for a decent middle ground.
Pat: I’m just not that serious right now, right now. I expect that to change once I get a few things sorted out (moving across the country, finding a new place with my girlfriend, and all the job-related adjustments). Right now I just want to keep moving in the right direction… but not quite at 100 MPH for now.
Secondly, why do people talk about 100 MPH like it’s fast? Putting it into realistic numbers… instead of traveling at 160, I’m trying to back off to somewhere around 120.
Also, yeah, I’d love to get back to benching normally sometime soon.
nkklllll: You seem to have a decent idea where I’m coming from.
[quote]nkklllll wrote:
[quote]PlainPat wrote:
[quote]nkklllll wrote:
[quote]PlainPat wrote:
[quote]Spidey22 wrote:
I think you’re underestimating yourself. PlainPat just made you a solid program. But I mean on my Upper Body days I hit:
Flat BB 2 sets
Paused CGBP 2 sets
Incline DB 2 sets
Chest Flies 2 sets
Upper Back 3-4 sets
Lats 2-3 sets
Delts 3-6 sets
Biceps 2-3 sets
All in under an hour. Sometimes 45 minutes if I super-set. I keep track of my rest periods, roughly 2-4 minutes between big lifts, 30-60 seconds between everything else[/quote]
I dont get the whole lets get in and out of here quick as possible… like if you really fucking wanted to get big/strong youd spend as long as you need. [/quote]
I don’t see him saying “get in and get out as soon as possible.” He basically said that training was sapping his energy and motivation so he decided to switch things up. What’s wrong with that? It’s like when golf season would end for me. For up to 6 weeks after season was over, I might only hit a ball once a week because it was just mentally and emotionally taxing. I might take even more time off if season ended poorly.
[/quote]
Taking a deload week off or changing it up is entirely different than the example you gave. I dont want to personally insult you but if someone said to me that they had a shitty powerlifting meet and they only lifted 1x a week for 6 weeks after or not train at all for months after I would tell them that theyre a pussy and obviously don’t want it bad enough at all. Because anyone who really wants it would be right back in there the next week because they realize they only have an allotted amount of time in the sport/alive to spend and they have to maximize this time to their absolute potential. And anyone who gets so discouraged by doing shitty or finds themselves lacking motivation due to failure should rethink their life path. Because anyone whose really great at this at least, is so driven by failure and pain and hate that it would push them ever further.[/quote]
You’ve obviously never experienced extreme mental burnout from your sport. Good for you, but there are plenty of collegiate and professional athletes who do, and who spend very little time around their sport while they feel that way.
Even olympic lifters do it. Ilya Ilin, current 94kg world record holder didn’t perform the competition lifts for a year. And hasn’t competed in two years. Why? Because he wanted to do other stuff.[/quote]
LOL, mental burnout is not a real physical thing. It’s a feeling you create in your head through emotions, fear, doubt, and laziness. Youve obviously never wanted something so bad that mental burnout doesn’t exist. Failure only pushes you further into the void.
I want you to go ask any top bodybuilder, powerlifter, or strongman if they ever got so burnt out that they stopped training and took time off from the sport. Not from injuries but from mental burnout. I can tell you right now that those who are the best do not get mentally burnt out because their passion and fire allows them to overcome those mental barriers that regular human beings put up.
[quote]LoRez wrote:
Magick: I agree with the “just want to get some work in” + consistency; with the previous autoregulating “training max” style, I had the choice of how hard I really wanted to push on a day… it was just structured in a way that required a lot of time even on the easy days.
[/quote]
You could just go into the gym and do SS, except with the rest periods shorter than normal.
That’s pretty much what I’m doing. If I’m not waiting on equipment and don’t run, then I finish in under 40 minutes. 45 or so if I do shoulder prehab things.
Which… reminds me. I forgot to do shoulder prehab stuff today, lol.
BTN Press
95 x 5, 5, 12
Chins
BW x 8, 6 (clearly need to work on these)
Squats w/Oly Shoes
200 x 5, 5, 5
It’s hot today and I had no food in me yet since I got in early to help with an interview, but these squats are pissing me off. It’s like my body forgot how to squat. Not that it ever figured out Oly shoes in the first place, because even before, I never really made that transition.
Last 2 reps were pretty bad. I’m just going to reset to 180 and work back up. This is stupid.
Heavier BTN press didn’t seem to bother my shoulders during the lift. I’ll find out later today though. That’s one of the most annoying parts.
It might help to just do body squats when you don’t squat. To me at least, the very act of squatting seems to be more important than the amount of weight I squat when it comes to maintaining squat form.
But if I don’t do any squat for anymore than 3-4 days… my body essentially forgets how to do them properly. So I just do body squats at the morning or at night or when I have time.
I understand about the priorities and burnout. I’m at the end of a cut, and a lot of the time, I’ll think “Did I lift today?” in the afternoon and seriously try to figure it out amongst the monotony.
The past month and this month have also been kind of important for me to focus on other things as well.
2 things that have helped:
-ELEL/EMEM: The last couple Jade Teta articles talked about cycling eating less and exercising less with eating more and exercising more. It’s focused more on metabolism, but I went from lifting 4x/week and HIIT 2x/week to no HIIT (maybe a walk, instead) and resting every other day w/ the usual 2 days rest at the end. This obviously gave me more time to focus on other things, but also give my body a bit of a break AND help my metabolism (the ELEL cycle yielded another 2 lbs lost, despite no change in diet for a month). I also think making less time in the gym as part of a focused, disciplined approach, helps keep me fresh for the denser times.
-Playing with rest periods and music: I actually prefer lifting with no music and take a while to recover, but occasionally, I’ll go a week or two rocking the headphones and try keeping rest periods to 30s. I finish my routine like an hour earlier and just feel like I have so much other time.
anyway, I’ll probably do GSLP in a couple months, myself, so GL w/ it (going to do a SS cycle as soon as my strength starts going up before GSLP)
All that being said… none of your other goals require the internet, and you probably spend more time on here than in the gym, so you could try disconnecting for a while too.
EDIT: Remembered 2.
[quote]PlainPat wrote:
[quote]nkklllll wrote:
[quote]PlainPat wrote:
[quote]nkklllll wrote:
[quote]PlainPat wrote:
[quote]Spidey22 wrote:
I think you’re underestimating yourself. PlainPat just made you a solid program. But I mean on my Upper Body days I hit:
Flat BB 2 sets
Paused CGBP 2 sets
Incline DB 2 sets
Chest Flies 2 sets
Upper Back 3-4 sets
Lats 2-3 sets
Delts 3-6 sets
Biceps 2-3 sets
All in under an hour. Sometimes 45 minutes if I super-set. I keep track of my rest periods, roughly 2-4 minutes between big lifts, 30-60 seconds between everything else[/quote]
I dont get the whole lets get in and out of here quick as possible… like if you really fucking wanted to get big/strong youd spend as long as you need. [/quote]
I don’t see him saying “get in and get out as soon as possible.” He basically said that training was sapping his energy and motivation so he decided to switch things up. What’s wrong with that? It’s like when golf season would end for me. For up to 6 weeks after season was over, I might only hit a ball once a week because it was just mentally and emotionally taxing. I might take even more time off if season ended poorly.
[/quote]
Taking a deload week off or changing it up is entirely different than the example you gave. I dont want to personally insult you but if someone said to me that they had a shitty powerlifting meet and they only lifted 1x a week for 6 weeks after or not train at all for months after I would tell them that theyre a pussy and obviously don’t want it bad enough at all. Because anyone who really wants it would be right back in there the next week because they realize they only have an allotted amount of time in the sport/alive to spend and they have to maximize this time to their absolute potential. And anyone who gets so discouraged by doing shitty or finds themselves lacking motivation due to failure should rethink their life path. Because anyone whose really great at this at least, is so driven by failure and pain and hate that it would push them ever further.[/quote]
You’ve obviously never experienced extreme mental burnout from your sport. Good for you, but there are plenty of collegiate and professional athletes who do, and who spend very little time around their sport while they feel that way.
Even olympic lifters do it. Ilya Ilin, current 94kg world record holder didn’t perform the competition lifts for a year. And hasn’t competed in two years. Why? Because he wanted to do other stuff.[/quote]
LOL, mental burnout is not a real physical thing. It’s a feeling you create in your head through emotions, fear, doubt, and laziness. Youve obviously never wanted something so bad that mental burnout doesn’t exist. Failure only pushes you further into the void.
I want you to go ask any top bodybuilder, powerlifter, or strongman if they ever got so burnt out that they stopped training and took time off from the sport. Not from injuries but from mental burnout. I can tell you right now that those who are the best do not get mentally burnt out because their passion and fire allows them to overcome those mental barriers that regular human beings put up.[/quote]
I never said it was a physical thing. It’s called mental burnout because its mental. I don’t know how much time you’ve been around professional, or even collegiate, sports, but I’ll repeat: it is not uncommon for athletes to want to take time away from the sport. These are top level, elite players who sometimes need a break from the monotony. You may think I’m insane (which you clearly think I have no idea what I’m talking about) but all you have to do is look at several top level olympic athletes (all I have to do is point out 2 examples to show you’re wrong, Ilya Ilyin and Dmitry Klokov) Or any number of professional athletes in the US. This mindset is prevalent among golfers and tennis players. I know several pro’s who have told me that there were times when they hated the sport, didn’t want to play, found no enjoyment out of it. What got them out of this place? Not playing the sport. Realizing that there were things they could do outside of the sport.
It is vastly different for bodybuilders, strongmen, and powerlifters because there is so much less money in it that when someone does experience burnout, they just stop and find something else because their livelihood isn’t connected to it. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t end up pretty big, or pretty strong if you take time off every now and then. If that were true, then every time someone got a little injury that forced them to change their training they would immediately be miles behind their competition. But that isn’t true. But that isn’t how it works. Guys strain muscles and get overuse injuries all the time and still arrive at competition going head to head withtheir competition.
You two should take your argument to BSL or GAL.
LoRez, you’ll find most (the majority) on here struggle to find a balance between their lifting goals and real life. It’s usually the young ones that scream the loudest about wanting it bad enough.
I’m like you in that there are about a half dozen to a dozen things more important, that take priority, over how much I can lift or what bf% I’m at. It’s a constant struggle to prioritize. There’s nothing wrong with taking a week and hiking, fishing, biking, swimming, etc… to re-energize whether it be in an effort to be the best at your profession or an Olympic weightlifter.
Keep working hard and you’ll reach your goals. Two step forward and one back is still progress. It’s a life long journey.
[quote]usmccds423 wrote:
You two should take your argument to BSL or GAL.[/quote]
good point.
You should post a video of your Squat form. Oly shoes take awhile to get used to, and sometimes even though you think you’re Oly Squatting, your still ‘Westside Squatting’ without thinking about it in Oly Shoes (at least that’s what I did/do sometimes accidentally).
[quote]nkklllll wrote:
[quote]usmccds423 wrote:
You two should take your argument to BSL or GAL.[/quote]
good point.[/quote]
Nope lol bowing out of the conversation think the idea of mental burnout is stupid as fuck.
Moderate-incline Bench from Pin 4
167.5 x 5, 5, 7
Curls
(40 + bar) x 2 x 10
Deadlifts
280 x 5
First set of benching was hard. Didn’t really feel like pushing much on deads tonight.
Going to see Godzilla in a couple minutes.
Where’s pin 4 in relation to the ROM (upper arm parallel to ground, just above that, etc?)