Back to barbell benching. Experimented a bit with my grip width. Another new joiner in the gym today so no quality logging.
Bench 5x6-8
4@80
5-6@75
8@70, felt easy
?@70
A nice and controlled eccentric with the bar just barely grazing my t-shirt. Also saw the most insane-o bridge ever in the gym today. Ass was decimeters above the bench. Guy proceeds to squat 20 kilo less than he benched.
I donāt think this is too unusual in regular gym goers. At lower levels (<100kg), I suspect that bench responds pretty well to training like a typical gym goer. Possibly better than the slow, sensible, intelligent programming most people on this site follow.
I regret trying this, my hamstring was not ready, which was evident not during but after I went and filled up my water bottle. I can feel the injury even more now, after the session. Iām willing to guess that the next exercise was a gamble with the benefit of hindsight but I got lucky. Shouldnāt be long until I can deadlift normally again. Itās hard to exercise self-restraint, especially since I assume that adrenaline kicks in and you just donāt feel muscular pain the same way.
Trap-bar
8@150
6?@170
8@170
This was cool. Didnāt know I had that in me. Also nice to see that despite using straps, my grip is not going to be an issue for a long time. #climber
Front Squat 4x4-6 (8s eccentric)
4x5@50
Week 3 (yeah, I missed a week because of the injury): 5-8 second eccentric with 3 sec pause at midrange of concentric motion
Honestly wanted to cry before starting a few of these sets. So, great exercise selection?
Bent-over Row (parallel to floor) 3x10-12
6@70
12@50
10@55
@T3hPwnisher how did you run BBB Beefcake with regards to the main lift?
The article is written after Forever came out, so I see there being so many different interpretations that I can make, either
Original BBB from before Forever (5/3/1 sets and percentages)
Original BBB as described in Forever (5/3/1 percentages, all fives)
Forever BBB, (3/5/1 percentages, all fives, which I presume is 5ās PRO)
Given this paragraph in the article
In the case of BBB, the supplemental work is hard (as in a lot of volume is done with a ābigā movement.) Because of this, the main work (main sets of the program) must be done in a limited manner.
Alternative 1 is the most limited. But, since Iām operating off of your recommendation I want to hear what you had in mind.
Edit: revisited your reddit post, found this,
For the mainwork, stick with sets of 5 across (donāt go for AMRAP sets) and really push yourself on the supplemental work.
Itās worse, last I did an 8s eccentric with a 3s pause on the concentric. This week (final) itāll be 8s eccentric with two 3s pauses. One during the eccentric movement (so more like 11s eccentric) and once during the concentric.
Last week was the first week where the lifting I was doing made me want to cry in the gym. I really, really, did not want to go back under the barbell. I had a friend count out all the seconds and reps which was good because I genuinely forgot what rep I was on (asked between each one)
Weight is up ever so slightly but barely enough. Like, Iām even a bit unsure itās up. So, thereās room to gain more. True to my word: 4000+ calories tomorrow. And then the week will be 3200/2700 (on/off)
At the knives edge of having a cold break out. Was out of breath before I even entered the gym, swimming in sweat afte my normal warm-up and got a headache midway through the session.
Week 5 (new target rep range 4-6)
My goal was to set RMs for starting BBB Beefcake but I couldnāt go as heavy as Iād hoped.
Back squat
2@120, these were pushing my injury a bit so I backed off. Again. I had several more reps in me, itās more of an injury issue. Think I can maybe swing three reps at 130. Possibly more still with a belt.
6@110, still a bit too intense on the hamstring. Again
8@105, some pain. Was too intense in rehab yesterday
8@105, some pain
6@105, I had 8 in me. Donāt know why I didnāt go for it.
Overall disappointing
Front Squat
4@80, questionable depth
4@80
6@75
7+4@70, asked my friends to call out two numbers each. Did 7, racked for a few breaths, did 4.
Much better than last time
With my hamstring feeling as it did I knew I had no business doing RFESS today either. Thereās a lot of unilateral leg work in BBB Beefcake, so that particular exercise would be a no-go for a little while longer. Lunges in place with weight might work though.
Leg extension 3x8-25 Swiss-ball ab curl 3x10-12
Despite improving from last week I just felt like shit throughout and as such it felt like a shitty session even though it wasnāt one. Meh.
To clarify, Iāve never run Beefcake. When I ran BBB, Beefcake wasnāt a thing, so I ran BBB as outlined in the first edition of 5/3/1. This meant PR sets for the mainwork. However, for BBB, Iād run 5s pro (the all 5s that you mentioned).
I never cared for 3/5/1, but it works. I did it for Building the Monolith, and with BBB Beefcake itās probably a smart move, as week 2 gives you a break before week 3, and week 4 before week 6.
BBB Beefcake, 6 weeks, deload
BtM (noticed the article says you can run it twice, but thatās not what pwn recommended. But, itās something I might do)
Deep Water Beginner
Deep Water Intermediate
As my schedule has changed this is actually a viable layout for the foreseeable future.
Iām just waiting for my hamstring to heal up.
Or, Iāll just screw waiting. I did 2@120 today with plenty left to give if it werenāt for my hamstring. A while back I was doing 7@120 with a belt. Now Iād be comfortable doing that without a belt.
Basing my 1RM off of that I get something between 144-147 kg depending on the calculator. Letās pick the lower one and a TM of 85%
TM=122.4
Then, four weeks from now (starting next week) Iād be squatting 5 reps @95% and thatās
116.28
Thr higher projection would have me squatting
118.70
So in either computational branch in reality we are talking 117.5 kg on the bar.
I donāt see that as unfeasible. I see it as highly likely. The only thing that I might not get as much out of initially is the unilateral work but thatāll catch up as the weeks go by. Ideal? No. And Iām not sure itās worth waiting around for an ideal start-point. Like, for the unilateral work I could start with walking lunges and then eventually add weight and replace it with alternating lunges and eventually RFESS.
