Another awesome weekend, lots of push ups, squats, got in another 5.5 mile walk with the family, and about to head out to Texas De Brazil with my hunting buddy and then take in Lewis Black’s farewell tour.
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AM WORKOUT (0425 wake up via alarm)
5/3/1 BUILDING THE MONOLITH Week 6, Workout 1
SUPERSETS (press-squat)
Axle clean and strict press away
5x133
5x153
5x168 (continental)
12x133
Buffalo Bar Squat
5xBar
5x195
5x245
5x280
SUPERSETS (Squat-BPA)
Buffalo bar Squat
5x5x315 (1 min rests)
Band pull aparts
5x20
100 dips and 200 chins in sub 18 minutes
END OF REQUIRED WORK
2x10 standing ab wheel
BREAKFAST
Short walk w/dog
Notes:
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I am genuinely delighted I even got this workout in, to say nothing of how I absolutely crushed it. Stayed out a little later than usual last night chowing down at Texas De Brazil and watching Lewis Black. I ate well but not like an a-hole and wasn’t feeling overly full from the experience, but through the course of the evening I felt pretty ill and ended up passing some liquid and vomiting slightly. From what I can see, that stomach bug I picked up on Thurs hasn’t fully resolved, and putting away that much rich food re-triggered it. That happened around 0130, and when the alarm went off I did some bargaining with myself, saying that I’d just skip the squats, since that seemed the riskiest. But, when I got into the gym and hit a warm-up, things felt surprisingly solid, so I just rode it out. So glad I did, because I felt VERY strong through this workout. Perhaps 300g of protein from a bunch of red meat really IS the solution to pre-training nutrition.
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Happy with the solid clean performance on the sets of 153 for the press.
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Was happy with how tight I could keep the rests period so tight on the squats. This is the hardest workout of the program and it went so incredibly well. I really feel like this is my best run of BtM.
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Used the NG on chins the entire time in order to make up some lost time. Went with 3/6-3/6 per EMOM until about the 11th round, and then had to change things up a little. In 3 workouts, I was able to get the time down each time, improving density. If I run this again, that may be how I approach things from now on.
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Squeaked in those sets of ab wheel at the end.
EDIT: My facebook algorithm has figured me out.
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He’s Finally giving up on us. (Read in my best lewis black voice in my head that I read stuff with)
Love that guy. 
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Sorry, took the weekend off from much posting.
Sounds about right, haha.
I agree. And like you said, enough pushups and dips will do a fine job building whatever the press might miss.
Do you know why this was done? I think I remember someone…maybe Dave Tate, saying something about “chaos strength”? (Not sure I’m remembering the name or the term correctly.) Like if you’re just strong at picking up a perfectly balanced barbell with perfect form, when you go to pick up an awkward, uneven box and round your back, you won’t be strong at lifting in that position so you might hurt yourself. You should get strong at lifting a variety of implements in a variety of positions to avoid being weak in any scenario.
Anyway, if I’m right about any of that, do you know if that was the same mindset behind doing the SLDL with a rounded back? Or were they just trying to increase the ROM for their hamstrings?
Either way, appreciate the lifting history.
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No need to apologize dude: I get having a life.
Regarding WHY it was done that way, it’s one of those “any other way hadn’t be thought of yet”. You’re correct that Dave Tate had the “chaos training” idea regardining max effort good mornings, but for the SLDL, they were just looking to develop as much muscle as possible, and having that rounded back to start that you unrolled as you went would, in turn, allow all those muscles in the spinal erectors to REALLY fold and unfold, like a reverse abdominal crunch. An arched back would effectively rob you of an opportunity to hit those muscles.
If it was a GOOD idea…we can debate, haha. But dudes WERE wild strong with that approach. It’s similar to how ALL squatting was done up on the toes until Milo Steinbach introduced the world to the flat footed squat. Which was considered “cheating”, at first, haha. Or how the British and French came up with “the clean” as a means to protest against the dirty Germans who rested the bar on their guts/belts in order to press more weight overhead. Prior to the advent of the clean, it just made sense to rest the bar in the middle of the transition, ESPECIALLY since barbells didn’t rotate yet, and were just fixed solid implements.
So much of what we do is simply adapting to the evolution of new gear/ideas, but when we stand in the present we assume that it was all intentional. Same reason I don’t care about deadlifting off the floor, haha.
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Super Strength, Chapter 2, The Back, talks about it. Worth a read to get the rationale.
http://crasseux.com/books/super_strength.pdf
A few snippets:
“The keystone of the arch of a man’s strength is the “small” of his back. A man may have wonderful arms and fair legs; but if he is weak in the loins and in the lower part of the back, he can never be classed as a real “Strong Man.”
Strong in his world was this:
“But put that man in a big packing establishment where he would be required to carry a half-carcass of beef on one shoulder; or in the line of a varsity football team, and his big arm muscles would be but little good to him.”
“When a truckman or porter wants to move or up-end a square case containing, say 1000 lbs. of material” …
SLDLs/Jefferson Curls:
“The simplest of all exercises for developing the muscles which control the spine, is the one in which you stand with the legs stiff and straight, and then bend the body over by arching the spine, and touch the floor with the tips of your fingers.”
“In order to get any noticeable development of the back, it would be necessary to repeat that exercise several hundred times in succession; whereas, if you put a further tax on the back muscles, by holding a moderate amount of weight in your hands, you can, by making a couple of dozen repetitions, develop back muscles of much larger size and very much higher quality.”
EDIT: sorry for the length. It’s VERY hard to quote Calvert and keep him brief without being disingenuous.
My personal opinion (which nobody asked for, but I don’t know anyone with experience doing this with the spinal flexion) is that it is actually both safe and a good idea, but it needs to be worked into. I would follow his guidelines: “start with no more than 30 pounds” and “work from 10-20 reps, adding a rep or two every other session”.
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Just an interesting aside, but I ended up fasting for 24 hours after my last meal, simply because I was so satiated. No martyrdom: just didn’t want to eat.
I DID have 1.5 scoops of Metabolic Drive after training simply to have SOME protein in me post workout, but I feel like that shouldn’t count, haha. But if we count that, it was still a 14 hour fast and a 10 hour fast.
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Ah, that was it.
It makes sense to me…that doesn’t mean it works though, haha.
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AM WORKOUT (0425 wake up via alarm)
5/3/1 BUILDING THE MONOLITH Week 6, Workout 2 (Conditioning): “Middle Aged Mutant Ninja Turtle”
30 minutes of EMOM
- Boxing on the BAS
- 47.5lb KB swings
- Burpees
- Rope skipping
15 minutes of EMOM basement suicide sprints w/10 prisoner squats and 10 push ups
15 minutes of EMOM basement stair runs w/10 prisoner squats and 10 push ups
BREAKFAST
Walk w/dog
Notes:
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Wasn’t particularly jazzed to do this workout this morning, and didn’t have much pop in me for the boxing. I imagine the full day of unintended fasting paired alongside the slight stomach bug could be at play there. Still an hour of conditioning training done at an intense enough pace, and a very “tonic” workout in that regard as well. All this unweighted stuff has really been awesome for my recovery, and I feel like it’s maximized the growing benefit of BtM. I’ve definitely been guilty of training too much/too hard in the past, but at the same time there’s something to be said about the periodization effect of doing so. I pushed my body really hard, eased off the throttle and, in turn, let the gains come. Very similar to famine and feasting.
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Rope skipping was really not going well for me today. Not many good rounds. DID discover a small tear in the center of my rope, which may be the culprit.
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It was nice to work in the suicides and the stairs in one workout. In a more ideal setting, I’d alternate each round, but I was waiting for the Mrs to wake up before I went clomping up and down the stairs.
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Tang Soo Do on the schedule for later tonight, so lots of activity today. Also great to already get in 300 push ups and 300 squats.
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I ordered some dumbbell holders for my power rack off of Titan, so I guess I’m getting serious about this DoggCrapp thing.
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I’m suddenly more pumped to do something than I’ve been in a long time. What’s your plan for conditioning and extra work? I’m sure you’ve got one, and I’d like to plagiarize
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You know what the plan is, haha.
Good to have you along dude!
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Ha! Touché
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@TrainForPain My chaos is predicable, haha. What has me leaning toward DC is being able to have 4 days a week where I can get in more walking. As the weather improves, that’s what my real love is, and Dante himself is a fan of walking. I’ll strap on the vest on non-sunny days and otherwise try to get maximal sun exposure on days where the sun is out. That was REAL good for me last year. I may also do some strongman-ish stuff on weekends just to keep that part of me going. I’m not ready to say I’m retired yet, haha.
AM WORKOUT (0420 wake up via alarm)
5/3/1 BUILDING THE MONOLITH Week 6, Workout 3
SUPERSETS (pull-bench)
Low handle trap bar pulls
5x175
5x265
5x345
5x390
3x5x435
Axle bench press
5xAxle
5x136
5x191
5x216
5x5x241
KB rows
35+9+6x40kg (rest pause)
Poundstone Curls
100xAxle (91 unbroken)
END OF REQUIRED WORK
2x10 Standing ab wheel
Breakfast
VERY short walk w/dog (8 degrees out, a 72 degree swing from the temperature on Monday, dog is too old to deal with that nonsense)
Notes:
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I am honestly surprising myself with my performance in this final week. This is the workout I look forward to the least, and it was going to be challenging with those trap bar pulls AND that bench is heavy for me these days, but I really didn’t have any issues. I wonder if I stumbled onto something good here by starting the program with a feast and coasting into a famine for the final 2 weeks. Despite the reduced calories, I really still seem to have a lot of output in me. It’s like I’m still coasting on the fumes of the feast. However it works, I’ll take it.
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I deviated from the plan on the KB rows. Part of it was because time was running short, and part of it is because I flat out hate doing rows and wanted an excuse to do fewer of them, so getting to 50 as fast as possible seemed good. Loosened up the form and did them a bit more Kroc-row esque, but for the life of me I can never get that whole “put your whole soul into one set” thing people talk about when it comes to single arm rows. These were still tough and I got a good pump out of them, but they wouldn’t be a good habit for the whole program.
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1 rep PR on those poundstone curls. Not as much standing ab wheel as I’d like, but time was short.
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I am really starting to see some leanness shinning through on this famine. Big thing is I’ve gone back to what works: simple Metabolic Drive mixed in water. I was getting cute with some egg whites and bone broth before, trying to still equal out the protein content but create more food volume, resulting in me using less powder, but it really seems like there’s something special to be said about Metabolic Drive. Really, this whole Building the Monolith experience has been a good lesson on not messing with success. Training less, going back to my modified Velocity Diet/Apex Predator, all those things that worked before KEEP working. But, of course, with experiments we can validate that knowledge. And, of course, there’s the NiN lyrics “for once in my life I feel complete…and I still wanna ruin it”. It’s just who we are, haha.
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Alright, rough shell moving forward
DAY A1
Chest: Weighted dips (11-15 RP)
Shoulders: KB press (15-30 RP)
Triceps Close grip bench (11-15 RP)
Back Width: Weighted Chin (15-20 RP)
Back Thickness: Viking landmine row (10-12 SS)
DAY B1
Biceps: Axle curls (20-30 RP)
Traps: Axle shrugs against bands (20-30 RP)
Calves: Belt landmine calf raise (10-12 SS)
Hamstrings: GHR (15-20 RP)
Quads: SSB Front Squat (4-8SS + WM)
DAY A2
Chest: Incline bench (11-15 RP)
Shoulders: Behind the neck press (11-15 RP)
Triceps: Skull crusher (15-30 RP)
Back width: Chins w/chains (15-20 RP)
Back Thickness: Trap bar lift (2 sets of 5-8 or 9-12 SS)
DAY B2
Biceps: Kettlebell curls (20-30 RP)
Traps: Hise shrugs (20-30 RP)
Calves: Standing Barbell Calf raise (10-12 SS)
Hamstrings: Buffalo Bar Good Mornings (10-12 SS)
Quads: Buffalo bar squats (4-8 SS + WM) with pullovers
DAY A3
Chest: Dumbbell flat bench (20-30 RP)
Shoulders: Viking press (11-15 RP)
Triceps: Dip (15-20 RP)
Back Width: Chins against bands (15-20 RP)
Back thickness: Barbell row (10-12 SS)
Day B3
Biceps: EZ bar curl (20-30 RP)
Traps: Weighted hanging kelso shrugs (20-30 RP)
Calves: Belt loading pin calf raise (10-12 SS)
Quads: SSB squat against bands (4-8 SS + WM)
Hamstrings: Barbell SLDL (10-12 SS), order re-arranged per instructions
Not set in stone here. Already I’m thinking I wanna use DB RDLs at some point, which may replace the good mornings. But the logic for each day is to select movements that won’t require me to deconstruct/reconstruct the training space between exercises. So like, if I have to bench inside the power rack, I don’t want have to then change out the j-hook setting, bench and bar to later close grip swiss bar bench. This can allow me to pre-stage the training space ahead of time, so I can save time and train more.
Same logic on having landmine calf press the day after landmine rows: I can just leave the landmine loaded up between workouts and it’s ready.
Day B2 is particularly brutal: I basically have the bar on my back all day, outside of the curls.
I realize I have dips twice in the workout: once for chest and once for triceps. Probably dirty pool, but I like dips. Those might get changed out for swiss bar close grip work.
I DO have a lat pulldown which may get called into play for the back width work, but for now I wanna play around with accommodating resistance as a means to achieve a different loading pattern.
Tried to put some space between the two deadlift movements (trap bar and SLDL). I have barbell rows in here, which I hate doing, but they’re probably good for me.
Good to have a way forward. I finish up BtM this week, and have a week between that and my cruise. I’m thinking I’ll pilot one of the weeks, and while on the cruise, if I can sneak away for a workout, do what I can with what is there (access to machines: should work well).
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Hard life being a middle aged mutant turtle 
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Like the look of this, thinking to steal it, went to buy a landmine viking attachment and then got distracted by this now I’m thinking is that worth it so I can both viking row/press and hack squat on a tbar?
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It would certainly open up more training options! You’d want to rig up a way to get under the load somehow on squats.
I’m keen (always keen for new gym equipment, got a gym full of stuff I don’t use often enough!)
Looks like a good option, could probably ring something similar up in the garage.
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Keep in mind how little weight is loaded there, and how much weight you’ll be using to achieve the results of Dogg Crapp, and THEN realize you’ll have to somehow get that onto your shoulders for the squat. That’s what I’m referring to: they have that little stand thing to rest it on. You’ll want something similar.
I run into that issue with viking press from the floor: gotta clean it, and sometimes that clean can get NASTY, haha.
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That looks like something I would rig up.
But for a hack squat, why not actually do the original hack squat? Hold a bar behind your back, just above your hips. (Not the behind-the-back deadlift a lot of people do.)
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