For me Without the rotating rep scheme the program would have been incredibly monotonous, but the occasional change in both rep scheme and load made it much more enjoyable
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I would agree that the āEven Easier Strengthā version with the 2x5, 5/3/2, 6 singles, and set of 10 keeps things a bit more fresh. Funny, because 3x3 is definitely easier IMO, but Iāll digress from that tangent.
I took an impromptu deload in the middle of my current Easy Strength run, and when I come back Iām probably going to change movements. Sticking with 3x3, and doing the same stuff for a month, then changing again, makes a lot of sense to me right now. Good to see that itās Dan approved!
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AM WORKOUT (0420 wake up via alarm, pity party for 8 minutes)
JUGGERYOKE: CHAOS IS THE PLAN Week 5, Workout 5
EMOM Buffalo Bar Squat
25 rounds of 1x225+chains
Axle shrugs against strong short bands
6x3 (set every 30 seconds)
2xAMRAP
SUPERSET (press-abs)
Axle clean and strict press away
8x128
7x128
6x128
6+1 push pressx128
Hanging leg raise w/10 lat shrugs
3x5
Breakfast
Walk w/dog
Notes:
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Itās been so long since Iāve done a legit Famine that I forgot about how I tend to lose training motivation toward the end of it, but fully felt it this morning. I had set my alarm 5 minutes earlier than usual to give myself enough time to get through this dayās training session, because itās always a bear, but today I just flat out did NOT want to do it. So I set the alarm 30 minutes later, had a pity party, then made some compromises and did SOMETHING that was similar to what todayās intent was. I took the weights down, because Iām feeling pretty beat up, and managed to keep the intensity decently strong. I dig how deep I got on every set of squats while not needing to tap to straps. Setting up the shrugs was a total clown show: Iām feeling the reduced bodyweight when it comes to trying to get the bands stretched. VERY happy with the press. Itās awesome to see that moving in a good direction.
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Had to cut a few things short due to the time compromise, and the fact I got in 10 more sets of squats than usual. Managed to get the dog walked. We had a ton of rain last night, but we hit a break in it just in time.
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Mrs comes home today and life returns to normal, to include nutrition. Iāve already got 2 half racks of pork ribs and some bone-in lamb chops thawing in the fridge in prep for next week. Going to make the most of the super compensation effect and eat big and well leading up to the comp. Iām planning on keeping it carnivore DURING the comp as well, vs my typical carb binge strategy. I feel like Iām a bit too adapted at this point to try to introduce different foods for performance. Iām sure after the comp Iāll be feeling the need to eat big, but even then, I might celebrate with some carnivore feast and save the carbs for Sunday.
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Got in another walk with the kiddo last night, and had time to do some work on the smoker. Smoked 2 piedmontese grassfed āsteaksā that were originally cut from a sirloin roast, along with a bunch of steak tips for later in the week, and served it alongside what was left of my rotisserie chicken, some egg whites and some pork rinds.
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As usual i enjoyed the latest blog post.
It goes with what im going to call āthe Dan John convergence theoremā which states that all serious lifters tend to eventually align with Dan John eventually.
Except maybe Rippetoe lol.
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Have you thought about JM presses?
@jdm135 Thanks so much man! Dan can laugh all the way to the bank over Markās opinion, haha. We all know who has trained AND performed higher.
@bigpappafrance Sure have! I have thought of ANYTHING other than what is prescribed for that day, haha. But right now I am trying to be a good boy.
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AM WORKOUT (0425 āwake upā via alarm: in truth, I was awake for hours, mind just racing)
JUGGERYOKE Week 6 (final) Workout 1
Program Deviation: With competition this Saturday, I went back to week 1 weights and made this an EMOM workout to absolutely dominate them. Shows how far Iāve come in the program.
30 rounds EMOM (log-squat-dip on odd rounds, chin on even)
Log clean and push press away
10x3x150
Front squat
10x3x185
Dips
5x3x105
Chins
5x3x30
Max log clean and push press in 3 minutes
12 reps
Hanging leg raise+10 lat shrugs
5x5
As many rounds in 4 minutes of
3 KB throws w/24kb bell
5 squats
5 push ups
8ā¦ish done? I was gassed.
BREAKFAST
Walk with dog
Notes:
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Was definitely feeling the carb up meal last night. Couldnāt stop sweating. Led to me waking up at 0200 and having my mind race. Just solving problems. Thankfully all good things, and I woke up this morning filled out and peeled to the bone. 2 weeks off carbs with a mini-Famine really makes this dramatic. Gotta love the alchemy thatās happening.
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With the comp this weekend, Iām not going to get any stronger in a week, but I can definitely get hurt, so I went back to the original weights and proved how much better I got by crushing it with this EMOM workout. If I went a little heavier itād be a real ball-buster. Good to know for the future.
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Little bit of conditioning at the end was absolutely killer.
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Going for max log reps at the end was a great cap-off as well. Good to hit that stuff under fatigue.
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Got the day off work, so might get in some more walking/light activity.
Since yesterday was so nutty, here was the training
We actually went out for breakfast. Chain called āFirst Watchā. I ordered two different omelets, asked them to hold the veggies and then asked them to cook it in butter instead of oils and they were happy to comply. I get a little joy when I can find ways to āmake it workā. Panda Express all teriyaki chicken for lunch, and dinner was spaghetti with a bison meat sauce (we get some awesome organic one ingredient pasta noodles), garlic bread texas toast and for dessert some āHalfling Oatmeal Sweet Nibblersā from the DnD cookbook with some Fairlife skim milk to dunk and raw local creamed pumpkin spice honey slathered on the cookies for pure decadence. Great way to carb up.
Also got in 4 miles of walking that day.
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Those burpee chins are just bonkers, inspirational as always!
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Honestly a pretty good place for meathead food.
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@alex_uk Thanks man! Itās been a great off day bit of training.
@cyclonengineer Absolutely. My wife loves the waffle there, and I the omelets have lots of good stuff. When I was keto, it was really gold, but even carnivore itās solid. I got sides of fruit and shared it with the wife and kiddo.
Actually looked at the events for the comp and remembered why I signed up in the first place: it looks really awesome. Itās gonna be heavy for me, but that will be a good challenge.
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So, a few victories. One is Iām going to have the most awesome lunches this week
Air fried pork ribs and lamb chops. All about the meal prep train @tlgains
But big victory: I am FINALLY out of the medical machine.
In 2020, I got diagnosed with hyperlipidemia. While pursuing resolving that, I had to get seen by a Nephrologist because my Doc continued to only look at lab results and not me as an individual, which then had a liver enzyme flag, which then had me eventually become my own health advocate and get a hormone profile down, which answered a LOT of questions and then led to me spending 2022 getting multiple MRIs and exams to finally get the treatment I needed in 2023, which has been life changing.
Well I went in for my annual physical today, expecting to have to start the whole process over again with a new set of labsā¦but there are none. My current doc (who is amazing) is satisfied with everything heās seen: heās ordered no additional labs for me until I turn 40. I no longer have to prove my bloodwork or health: I am āhealthyā.
We are so excited in my household. Weāre finally out of the machine.
Also, 45 RHR, so thatās cool.
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Congratulations! (That needed far more than just a 
)
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Crushed it. Awesome stuff man. Iām so impressed with how you were able to swing your mentality from ābig strong guyā to ālean dangerous guyā and attack both. I think people take for granted what a mind game that is. I anticipate youāll say something somewhat self-deprecating (though, perhaps, not that alliterative) along the lines of it was no big deal because you just went all-in stupid either way, but it really is impressive.
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What @TrainForPain said because he is better at the word stuff than me
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Holy cow, much appreciated @Chris_Shugart and the T-Nation team
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Hell yeah!
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Alright, finally got a moment to sit down and respond. Been appreciating all the love here.
@LoRez Really appreciate that man! Been good to have you back.
@TrainForPain Thanks so much for taking the time to write that. No self-deprecating here: you know how much I like to lean into celebrating myself, haha. But going full open-kimono, I still very much struggle with āgiving upā that part of myself. I look at the numbers I move now and compare it to what I used to lift and think to myself āChrist, how was I ever that strong?ā But I then look at how I ālivedā to get there and realized it wasnāt living at all. Itās been an incredible path to get to where I am, but kinda like what the Greeks thought, the body is a reflection of habits, and right now my body reflects āhigh speed, low drag, lean and dangerousā because I feel like I finally cut out the ānoiseā and am operating almost entirely on signal now. And really, you were a part of that as well, having another family-man and Velocity Dieter to bounce ideas and experiences off of, so thank you so much for that.
@simo74 Always means so much dude. My wife was appreciative of the kind words you shared over on the other side of social media the other day too.
AM WORKOUT (0425 wake up via alarm, decent night of sleep)
JUGGERYOKE Week 6, Day 2ā¦but Day 3ās Workout (run out of order to support competition schedule): Pulls, Bench and Squats
SUPERSET CIRCUIT (pull-bench)
Trap bar high pulls
6x5x175
Incline Axle Bench
6x5x166
SUPERSET CIRCUIT (bench-abs)
Pause axle bench
6x1x256
Standing ab wheel
3x7
2x6
Buffalo Bar Squat (3 minutes on-1 minute rest-3 minutes on)
1x52
1x38
90 total reps: 4 rep PR from last attempt
BREAKFAST
Walk w/dog
Notes:
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Keeping up with the strategy this week, I dropped the weight on the majority of the exercises and went for dominance. I want to groove a pattern of success and things feeling easy. Pulled the high pulls hard and high, moved the incline bench strong, and had minimal rest between. Cut out the extra stuff (pull aparts primarily) to speed things up. I DID go up in weight on the pause bench compared to previous, primarily because I got a good thing going there.
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Oh my god that squat set. I hit several PRs. I got 36 unbroken reps in the first set, a 1 rep PR there, and 38 on the final set is a 2-3 rep PR, with 90 total reps being a 4 rep PR. And beyond all that, technique was solid, I felt strong, and it was legit an issue of getting beat by the clock vs anything else, but I could tell my technique was getting a little spotty at the end. In general, just such a fan of this part of the program: it answers a lot of questions.
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Got some Tang Soo Do tonight. Iāll be skipping the second session this week because it falls on a Friday, and I donāt want to do anything stupid right before the competition. Iām also getting Friday off work and possibly Thursday as well, so that will be good.
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I appreciate the kind words; Iām happy to just be a partner in crime.
I donāt know why you typing this is just making it hit me (probably because Iām way bored in the airport so Iām musing a lot this morning): I may be having dome cognitive dissonance because I compartmentalize everything. Now, I normally think thatās a very good and healthy thing, but in this case Iām taking too many interrelated variables and trying to consider them independent.
- I lift in the morning because then I have to be a recreational bodybuilder.
- I go on these long rucks with the dog because she needs her walks.
- I play my basketball because I need the outlet and to be a weekend warrior.
- I practice volleyball with my daughter or run with my son because thatās the exercise they need.
- I fall into these specific meal plans that end up being different than what Iām feeding the kids.
So all these things end up being conflicting because I donāt look at them through a single lens of āfamily athleteā. If I did, then I would have a whole day of strength, hypertrophy, endurance and conditioning just built for me and working as a system. Holy cow!
Sorry for using your log for this little philosophical breakthrough, but that just clicked.
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Dude, thatās absolutely outstanding! I love that I can be a conduit for that sort of positivity. You absolutely nailed it there too: youāve got the āwalk and playā going on which is ESSENTIAL to simply ābeing humanā, or, to put a play on words, āa human BEingā. Verb, not noun: a human that is in the process of BEING a human.
Getting the non-humanity thing done first thing in the day seems crucial to it as well. Lifting for the sake of self-improvement, though noble, is definitely against our nature. But you get that done, and end up spending the rest of the time ābeingā. Itās almost as though youāre healing from that moment: recover in many forms.
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