Not a guess, Broscience 
(thats what I call my guesses hahaha)
2 Likes
03/14/2017
Phase 1: Week 3
Workout 2: Back, Biceps, Abs
Kroc Row
55 x 8
75 x 8
105 x 8
145lbs x 8 x 4 Drop Set 105lbs x 15 (No Straps)
Superset
BB Bent Over Row (Yates)
225 x 8 x 3 Drop Set 135lbs x 12 (Straps)
Chinups + 25lbs
8, 6, 7 Drop Set BW x 5
Superset
DB Pullover
70lbs x 10 x 3 R/P 5
BB Curl
115 x 8, 8, 8, 6 Drop Set Wide Grip 45lbs x 15
Superset
DB Incline Curls
25lbs x 8, 8, 7 R/P 4
One-arm High Band Curl
Blue Mini Band x 8 x 3 Drop Set Red Band x 8
Skipped abs today
1 Like
03/16/2017
Phase 1: Week 3
Workout 3: Shoulders, Traps, Calves
Seated DB Shoulder Press
85 x 8
85 x 7
85 x 7
85 x 7 Drop Set 70lbs x 5
I did reverse crunches and regular crunches between sets to catch up on what I skipped on Tues.
85lbs is getting near the max weight DB that I can pop up to my shoulder for these presses. Might have to move the standing BB OHP to the first movement next week to pre-exhaust, then hit the slightly lighter DBs after.
Superset
Standing OHP
155 x 6 x 3 Drop Set 135 x 5
DB Lat Raise
35 x 8 x 3 R/P 6
Superset
35lb Plate Front Raise (to fully overhead)
8reps x 3sets Drop Set 25lb Plate 8reps
Rear Delt Fly/Hang and Swings (25lb DBs)
8/12, 8/12, 8/12 R/P 6/12
Rear delts were on fire. Love these.
Giant Set
SGHP
185 x 6 x 2
Seated Calf Raise
Barbell on knees, toes on bumper plate
185 x 12 x 2
Ab Wheel Rollout
BW x 10reps x 2sets
I did my first cycle through this giant set then I heard my pot of beans/lentils boiling over. Ran upstairs, what a frickinā mess. Took 10mins cleaning it all up. Came back down, did one more cycle through it, but I was cooled down and nothing felt good, so I threw in the towel.
1 Like
03/17/2017
Happy St. Pattyās Day yāall!
Took the day off to work on our kitchen. Giving this counter top refinishing kit a try (~$100) rather than replacing it (~$1000). Figured it would be worth a shot. Got all the prepping done, and 2 coats of primer so far. Still lots to do. Then eventually sand/paint cupboards and replace hardware, and then tile floor. Cheap renos that add decent value to the home.
Slipped in a workout while the paint was drying.
Phase 1: Week 3
Workout 4: Legs, Abs
Squats
45 x 10
135 x 5
225 x 5
275 x 5
315 x3
365 x 3
405 x 7
405 x 5
385 x 6
385 x 6 Drop Set 315 x 5
Well pushed the weight up a bit with the 405lb sets. I donāt feel like much squat strength has been lost which is good. Deadlifts are going to be the true test to see if I held on to my strength.
Superset
Front Rack Reverse Lunges
135 x 6each leg x 3
Not heavy or difficult for the legs, but kept the sweat coming and I like getting in some unilateral work.
Leg Extensions
100lbs x 12
125 x 12 x 3 Drop Set 100 x 12
Thereās the quad pump!
Superset
Lying Leg Curls
50 x 10
75 x 10
100lbs x 8, 8, 7 Drop Set 75 x 7
Romanian Deadlift
225 x 8 x 4 R/P 5
Giant Set
Hanging Leg Raise
10 x 3
Kneeling Banded Crunch
Red + Blue Mini Bands x 12 x 3
Plank
75s x 3
Well, not getting any better at the planksā¦these were the toughest part of my workout!
3 Likes
This was delicious.
My 405 x 7 from today:
145lb DB for Kroc Rows earlier this week:
Iām on a diet so I only ate 1 burgerā¦maybe it was a 3/4lb burgerā¦but stillā¦only one.
Also, yay, healthy(ish) cereal! Thanks for the idea @robstein, still need to try your little recipe though.
5 Likes
03/20/2017
Not a terrible weekend in terms of nutrition. Kept my late night snacking to a minimum, only had ~4-5 drinks all weekend (yep, weakness of mine), and did some LISS and foam rolling for recovery.
My back and legs are still feeling quite beat up from Fridayās squats. Iāll be doing some more recovery work for them this week.
Iām not sure if it is in my head or not, but I feel like Iām already noticing some physique improvements from this BB split. Iām just starting Week 4 of the program today, but am looking a bit bigger in the mirror.
I just took some progress pics this morning, so Iāll upload some side-by-side shots this evening for a true comparison. I was sitting at 205.0lbs this morning, so weight has been pretty consistent here.
At the beginning of the prep I had anticipated 205lbs being my sticking point for weight loss, and that seems to be true. I have introduced some moderate LISS into my weekly routine (3-4x /week for 20-40mins) and that pushed me down to 205lbs from ~208lbs.
I think my next step will be to add 10-15mins of HIIT post-workout and to commit to the 5/2 Diet for Lifters. I have had good success with this in the past, and often incorporate one of the low days (Wed - Off Day) into the week, but donāt really track my cals, just make sure I eat one small meal in the morning and one small meal in the evening. I think it is time to run the nutrition plan to a T and get its full benefits.
One obstacle I have is this week being my birthday week (Wed). Going out for dinner/bowling with Momās family on Wed, then desserts/snacks with Dadās family on Thursday, then my wife has organized a party with my friends on the weekend. This is going to make things a tad more difficult to stay on track, but we will see.
I think we are getting close to the 10 weeks remaining mark of this T-ransformation Challenge, so plan is to get down to 195lbs. I wonāt be shredded, but Iāll be a good level of leanness that I will try to maintain for a few weeks to drop my body fat set point, I think thatās a thing.
5 Likes
Love that cereal, I eat it every day! If you can try it with the egg whites, itās awesome, very filling and low cal. I like to add some walden farms 0 cal maple syrup for a pancake taste too.
03/21/2017
#YESTERDAY
Phase 1: Week 4
Workout 1: Chest, Triceps, Calves
Bench
45 x 10
135 x 10
185 x 8
225 x 3
275 x 3
315 x 3 (MISS ON 4th) ā feeling pretty weak on bench. I was honestly expecting to hit 5 clean reps here.
315 x 3
295 x 4
295 x 3 DROP SET 225 x 9
Superset
DB Low Incline Bench
85lbs x 6
85lbs x 8
85lbs x 6 Drop Set 70lbs x 5
Low Incline Flyes
45lb plates x 5
45lb plates x 4
45lb plates x 4 DROP SET 35lb plates x 6
Giant Set
Dips
+70lbs x 8, 6, 5 Drop Set BW x 5
Triceps Band Pressdown
Red+Blue Mini Bands x 6, 6, 6
Lying Tricep Extensions
135lbs x 5, 5, 5
Superset
Seated OH Triceps Extension
70lbs x 10, 10
Standing Calf Raise
225 x 15, 15
Poor bench performance kind of set a shitty tone for the rest of the workout.
Also, Iām starting to get a little anxious about the Strongman Competition that is coming up. Iām fortunate enough to own my own atlas stones, log, farmers walk implements and chain yokeā¦and I am not taking advantage of any of them.
I think Iām going to finish off this week of the BB split and head back towards a strongman oriented training approach. I think this BB training style definitely has a place in my yearly training, but Iām not sure now is the time to try it (a couple months out from my first ever strongman comp). I think we will see how this season goes and maybe Iāll implement it again come off-season. Right now seeing my numbers drop is bugging me. This could be partly due to the weight loss, but knowing Iām not pushing my strength is leaving me unsatisfied with my trainingā¦and if you arenāt enjoying your hobby, fix it.
I am thinking about two options for starting next week:
- Revert back to my beloved 5/3/1. Do a leader/anchor style with 5 Pro, FSL/PR and Joker Sets, SSL. Then maybe use SST as a guideline for my supplemental.
OR - Do a Brian Alsruhe style program where I would do the following:
Monday - Squat
Tuesday - Conditioning and Olympic lift based
Wednesday - OHP
Thursday - Rest day
Friday - Deadlift
Saturday - Yoke and Bench Press
Sunday - Rest / Make-up day
Each Squat/OHP/DL day would have some form of conditioning and strongman variation added to it as well.
Iām thinking option 2. I really need to get some time under the implements to feel comfortable with them. My conditioning is another obvious weakness of mine which has never come easy to me.
2 Likes
Great physique! Nothing to add there, outstanding work.
Option number 2 in my opinion. If I recall right, then your contest isnāt that far out anymore, is it? I donāt know if 5/3/1 is the best option there, although I admit that my understanding of 5/3/1 is very āantiqueā and I donāt know what leader and anchor even means.
This. I think specificity is king, especially in strongman.
3 Likes
Option two, and um, holy wow, no homo
4 Likes
@Koestrizer - Thanks for the comments man. I agree, but I always appreciate the validation from other experienced lifters as sometimes I get tunnel vision and miss some obvious issues with my programming.
@MarkKO - Awesome, thanks for the reassurance. Haha thanks man, even though the scale hasnāt moved substantially there has been some progress made which is great to see.
Iām anticipating the additional conditioning involved in Alphaās typical workout will definitely aid in the stripping of some additional fat.
2 Likes
#TODAY
Phase 1: Week 4
Workout 2: Back, Biceps, Abs
Kroc Row
105 x 10
155 x 6 x 4 DROP SET 105 x 10
These are getting easier.
Superset
BB Bent Over Row
255 x 5 x 4 Drop Set 225lbs x 8 (Straps)
Chinups + 70lbs
4, 3, 3 Drop Set BW x 8
Superset
Straight Arm Band Pulldowns
Red + Blue Mini Bands x 12 x 4
BB Curl
135 x 5, 5, 5, 4 Drop Set 45lbs x 20
Superset
DB Incline Curls
35lbs x 7, 4, 5 DROP SET 25lbs x 7
One-arm High Band Curl
Blue Mini Band x 6 x 3 Drop Set Red Band x 8
Giant Set
Reverse Crunches
15, 15, 15
Crunches
20, 20, 20
Ab Wheel
10, 10, 10
1 Like
Wow! You look awesome! Great job!
2 Likes
LOOKING GREAT on that progress btw.
This. You had a nice deload now get to that strongman prep!!
Hahahaha I just made a list of stuff to google today. This was part of that long list.
2 Likes
@ChickenLittle - Thanks for the encouragement, much appreciated!
@BOTSLAYER - Thanks man, I am REALLY looking forward to it.
Iām not the one to explain this as I have never run this strategy of 5/3/1 before, this is the post that I refer to when looking for the explanation on it (which I now see I even regurgitated incorrectly):
Great post by @Ramo here:
"Leader (2 cycles): less intensive work on main lift (e.g., 5s pro), higher volume supplemental (e.g., BBS, SSL), lower volume assistance
Anchor (1 cycle): higher intensity on main work (e.g., PR set, Jokers), less supplemental work (nothing, FSL), higher volume of easy assistance
TM testing between and at the end. Conditioning tailored to what you need.
Concept is simple. Like in many training approaches, youāre moving from a higher volume, less intense base block to a higher intensity block. Just different terminology."
4 Likes
Solid progress, looking full, all you need now is to start an instagram account with coach attached to the title, charge a ridiculous price and buy your mansion haha well done boyo! finished package is gonna be a strong showing.
4 Likes
03/23/2017
Phase 1: Week 4
Workout 3: Shoulders, Traps, Calves
Strict BB OHP
45 x 5
95 x 5
115 x 5
135 x 5
165 x 5
185 x 5
205 x 5 ā Tied a previous 5RM
225 x 1 ā Wow, thought I was going for 3 on this set, and barely eeked out one. More volume than usual on my pyramid up to this weight.
205 x 3
185 x 5
165 x 5
135 x 5
Felt good to get some OHP volume in. I actually enjoyed the pyramid that way as wellā¦hmmmm.
Superset
Seated DB OHP
50lbs x 10, 12, 12, 10
DB Lat Raise
35 x 8 x 4
Superset
45lb Plate Front Raise (to fully overhead)
5 reps x 3sets Drop Set 35lb Plate 5
Rear Delt Fly/Hang and Swings (35lb DBs)
5/10, 5/10, 5/10
Workout ended there. I had a birthday dinner to go to. ~45mins. Great shoulder pump, rear delts were fried.
2 Likes
Hate you. Gotta build my home gym up soon.
If you have stones in contest, you should probably be hammering those.
3 Likes
The events havenāt been posted yet, to my knowledge. I plan on putting some sufficient work in with the stones regardless because I bought them at the start of winter and havenāt given them any love yet. things are finally starting to warm up out there!
Also this morning for breakfast I made Robās little recipe from his thread:
This was very good! I honestly wasnāt sure about the whole onion, garlic, syrup combo, but it was good and wife-approved.
Although my wife and I may have added this yearās homemade maple syrup on top rather than a 0cal syrup. But still, good recipe to have in the back pocket.
4 Likes