Incline Bench Press
5 x 135
8 x 155
5 x 185
10 x 155
10 x 155
10 x 155
10 x 155
10 x 155
DB Row
10 x 60
10 x 60
10 x 60
10 x 60
10 x 60
Quick late night workout. I’ve turned my bench day into an incline day for a bit. Working on improving my OHP, and I haven’t been getting much out of my flat pressing lately.
EDIT:
On a shitty note, my strongman competition this Saturday was CANCELLED
They lost the venue (which included the bus, for the pulling event), and since it is now too short notice to find another venue it has been cancelled.
I guess I have some time now to prepare for my first show, and know 100% that I will be entering the next event in the area.
Just finishing up a deload week of 5/3/1 BBB and I’m liking the simplicity, but I might switch it up a bit to a 5/3/1 Beach Body Challenge or maybe do a round of Simplest Strength. I have a few days to decide but my program ADD is kicking in and I want to mix it up a bit.
Ya, this was definitely not the news I wanted to come home to last night. I had planned a workout with my strongman partner to hit some yoke walks and do some light, high rep log work just to drill in form for this comp. Partner called and told me about the comp being cancelled, so we just went back to our same old strength programs.
I went from not feeling ready for the competition and not wanting to do it, to being absolutely psyched for it and now bummed about not going. EMOTIONAL ROLLER COASTER!
But anyways, I’m going to start more frequently incorporating some strongman work into my programs and come in as prepared as I can for the next competition that rolls around (which may be not until Spring at this point).
I guess it wasn’t mean to be! Now time to grind the gym hard, practice some strongman specific events and hopefully turn some heads at my first competition, whenever that may be!
@Koestrizer Ya man, was definitely looking forward to it. But I guess that gives me some inspiration to hit it hard this winter and come into my first one ready to rock in the spring.
10/27/2016
5/3/1 BBB Day 4
Deadlift
5 x 135
5 x 225
5 x 305
10 x 225
10 x 225
10 x 225
10 x 225
10 x 225
Hanging Leg Raises
15
15
15
15
15
Pretty average workout. I’m still on my deload week, so nothing crazy went on tonight. Just got the reps in. Burned a good sized pile of brush in my backyard when I got home from work, so I was glad I only had a quick workout to get done tonight.
On a side note, we did get our first snow here today. The ground is currently white, but calling for the temp to go back up by the weekend so it won’t last long.
Well I finished all my prescribed workouts for the week yesterday since I did my Monday workout on Sunday…so decided to hit the gym for a little bonus workout.
GIANT SET
Straight Arm Band Pulldowns
12
12
12
12
Reverse BB Curl
45lbs x 12
65 x 10
95 x 10
95 x 10
95 x 10
Red Mini Band Pullaparts
30
30
30
30
SuperSet
Single Arm BB Shrugs
95lbs x 12
95 x 12
95 x12
Holding for a couple secs at the top since I was using such a light weight for these.
Looking at getting my peri-workout nutrition back in order for the winter to try and maximize my muscle retention/gain, and planning to go into a cut come the new year for the friendly T-Nation competition. I was hoping I could get a little feedback on the following:
~30mins Pre-workout:
200mg Caffeine, Either EAA’s or BCAA’s, Creatine, 1 cup white rice/oatmeal/cream of wheat or some rice cakes (~40g carbs - I like having a little food on my stomach prior to working out)
Intra-Workout
1 Scoop Hydrolysed Whey Protein, ~50g carbs of Maltodextrine or Dextrose
Immediately Post-Workout
2 Scoops Whey Iso
Withing 1hr Post Workout
Meal consisting of 8+oz meat, LOTS of veggies and a rice/pasta/potato side.
So I know these choices may not be the 100% best options but I’m trying to keep things relatively simple and inexpensive. I do not have access to Biotest products (do not ship to Canada) but decided if I’m going to spend a little extra that the Hydrolysed Whey would be a solid upgrade from standard whey?
If there are any suggestions on changing the timing/dose/supplement I’m all ears! I’ve also been known to major in the minors…so let me know if that’s what I’m doing here…
Maybe some knowledgeable folks like @robstein, @BrickHead, @The_Mighty_Stu , @Aragorn or others feel like tossing their 2 cents at me or just giving me a hard no. I’d appreciate any constructive criticism.
@littlesleeper good stuff man, that peri-workout nutrition has to be on point. I think you’re headed in the right direction, here’s my .02:
I think your pre-workout meal should be placed a little earlier, 45-60 minutes out to make sure you have time to get the nutrients in your blood for your workout. 1 cup oats/cream of rice with some whey would be good. Right now you have just carbs, and getting some protein in there will be helpful too. Keep the caffeine 30 min pre workout.
If you have that pre-workout meal with the carbs and protein 45-60 min out, I don’t think you need this many calories during your workout. You’d probably be good with straight BCAA’s. During my prep I wanted to save my calories for whole foods, so I had my pre workout meal, then during training had BCAA’s with a little added glutamine and creatine. Creatine timing is a big to-do, but IMO what matters most is just getting it in as all of the studies I’ve read have shown no significant difference in creatine timing before or after workouts.
Good call on the isolate post workout, I think you’d be ok with one scoop (~25g protein) for muscle retention/repair until your post workout meal. This would also be more cost effective.
Perfecto.
So, maybe adjusted to this schedule when all is said and done:
~45-60 min pre workout
Oats or cream of rice with 1 scoop whey
Thanks a ton man, it absolutely helps! I didn’t think I was going to be way out in left field with what I had in mind, and I do typically have some protein pre-workout as well that was my error for not recording it. I do love mixing protein with the cream of rice/oats…or even some Honey Nut Cheerios if I’m feeling like spoiling myself.
But I am definitely pretty lax with my timing etc, so I’m going to try to dial that in as (for the most part) my daily nutrition isn’t bad. But now with this T-Nation competition, my competitive side is showing and I want to make sure I’m not royally screwing anything up along the way!
I really appreciate the tips and explanations for each recommendation.
Hey @littlesleeper, my recommendations will vary a bit from Rob’s but they’re similar.
My suggestion is to listen to your body on when/how much your carb intake should be. While 60 minutes prior might be “ideal” timing if you find yourself getting sleepy or tired–I often do at that timing–then keep it where you are at 30 minutes prior. I do agree with a little more protein in the pre workout meal, but you don’t say how much you’re putting down in the BCAAs. General rule of thumb I like 5 g leucine (NOT 5 g BCAA total) + at least some complete protein as well.
Same goes for intraworkout carbs. If your body is carb friendly and/or you’re used to that amount then keep it–I know some guys will pound 100+ g carbs near the workout, I usually only do that in the very midst of a hard gaining diet, but I like to keep about 60 g carbs in the workout period. I do not like to go on only creatine/BCAAs if I am trying to maximize my muscle retention and/or gain some more. Since it sounds like you’re still in “offseason” mode before Christmas I would suggest you keep some carbs in there. If you’re seeing good pumps and good results with 50 grams, no need to change that. Definitely protein intraworkout–both literature and experience show it gives superior results in combo with carbs rather than carbs only.
Carbs are also dependent on your training style and duration.
In any case as far as post workout I say it depends on hunger–if you’re putting down 20 g protein and 50 g carbs during a non-marathon multi-hour training fest workout then chances are you don’t need an additional 40+ g protein immediately after and I would ditch that and simply use the post workout meal 60 minutes prior.
If, on the other hand, you’re pretty hungry afterwards then keep a scoop of protein and maybe a small amount of carbs (like a banana or some blueberries). Gauge by hunger levels.
If the peri-workout window is taken care of then I usually use hunger to gauge when to have the post training meal rather than a set time–this is subject to “reasonableness” obviously, not allowing the meal to be 3 hours afterwards. However, if you’re taking in a significant amount of calories during the workout, then it’s ok to wait 90 minutes or so for the post meal.
I should clarify that my typical meal timing leaves my pre-workout meal about 2 hours prior to the session, so my 60-80 g carbs starts in shake form, with 1/3 to 1/2 coming about 20 minutes prior to training. I do NOT like to have anything sitting in my stomach, although liquid sources like SWF/Plazma digests very easily for me.
I think I really need to start listening to my body better. I can’t say my peri-workout nutrition has ever been consistent enough for long enough to know what works best for me.
It seems every workout day the timing and amount of nutrition changes around my workouts. This is something I do plan on nailing down during my ‘off season’ so come January 1st I have a good idea of what my body works well with.
My workouts almost always end around the 1hr mark (+/- 10mins), so they are definitely not anything crazy.
As for intra-workout carbs, do you personally have a preference? (malto, dextrose, etc)
I have not personally had any stomach issues with a carb source so I’m pretty open to any/all at this point.
Thanks for the second opinion, this gives me a another method to trial run for a few weeks!
Ab Wheel Rollouts
5 from feet and 5 from knees (the rest from knees), 10, 10, 10, 10
So I was surprised that the widowmaker set didn’t hurt as bad as expected. However, those first 5 ab rollouts from standing REALLY got my abs working. I had never attempted them from standing before so I did a few for fun, but quickly realized I had more work to do before doing them for more than 5reps. Every set after the initial 5 reps were borderline painful. Kept things in moderation for that exercise, but I will no doubt be feeling some Ab DOMS tomorrow.
If they’re only and hour and not super high volume, 50g might be more than enough. Only way to tell is to experiment based on pump, performance, and belt size lol.
I personally like the Surge Workout Fuel formulation here, cyclic dextrin, but again I think it is individual. Every person has slightly different insulin sensitivity and what works for John Meadows–he’s stated that he disliks dextrose because of the crash and he prefers something like cyclic dextrin that keeps things a bit steadier while still getting in fast–doesn’t necessarily work for you or someone else. He hates vitargo but he knows a lot of people get great results.
That said I personally like to go with the science when my personal “lab” jury is out on my experiences.
Your supplements are fine. I look at whey protein as more of a food than a supplement. During my prep, I had whey protein for one of my meals (more like an afternoon, pre-workout snack) but sometimes would just have a 4 oz can of tuna instead, considering the kcal and protein content was nearly identical. I could have had any protein food with similar kcal and protein content. That goes for any diet though (eg, IIFYM).
I did not use any supplement except BCAA’s during workouts and that was only for the last six weeks or so, when I really started feeling worn down, one brand having no caffeine and another I bought for the last few weeks having caffeine (ON brand). Other than that, NO supplements. Maybe the BCAA’s made a difference in maintaining muscle, maybe they didn’t. I think they’re a good supplement to take though.
I do enjoy the taste and convenience of protein shakes so they will likely remain in my nutrition, but it makes sense that it can simply be exchanged with a protein food with similar kcal.
Did you typically structure your nutrition with carbs pre-, intra- and/or post workout?
My workout on a work day was after my fourth meal, which usually had a moderate amount of carbs. As time went on it didn’t or wouldn’t matter when I lifted on either week days or weekends because my carbs were getting lower and lower. When you’re down to 60 grams of carbs per day, i think it really is not going to make any difference when you eat them! Then there was the short lived Keto diet in the last week. Lol.
that’s jacked up for sure.
Then there was the short lived Keto diet in the last week. Lol.