My brain also likes system and order. I would automatically try and simplify this though, as evidenced by the fact that as soon as I saw it, I started trying to figure out how I would do it.
Well if you had my raw layout you could probably continue. Iām not done yet, so the above is WIP-status
I likely will continue in my head anyway. I enjoy the organising of systems far more than a sane person should.
And for the record, I would probably plan 20-25 minute blocks for every āmain movementā like āHeavy Squatā, and a few 10 minute blocks for accessory work like core.
Oh, we plan sessions very differently in that respect. I can afford a ninety minute session. I look at movements I want to do/need to do and try to pay some mind to the gym layout and plan from there.
That is very apparent. This can easily lead to the phenomenon āparalysis by analysisā.
I have to agree with @dagill2, it seems like youāre overcomplicating things. Letās wait what you come up with in terms of progression protocol etc. though.
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Haha, you want me to post it? I was just going to design the sessions when they came up - and not outline the entire thing. Iāll post yesterdayās session later today, hopefully itāll provide some idea.
2020-03-09
Bench (Reverse Pyramid)
Ramp to a slightly heavy 5, 5@70
Reverse pyramid
5-8, 6@75
6-9, 8@67
9-12, 10@60
Close-grip floor press (3x8-10)
10@40, had more to give
10@50
9@55
Smith Incline (10/8/6-8)
10@39 (bar is 9)
8@44
6 or 7 @ 49, this was to failure so I lost my count
Chest Dips (2x6 1+1/2 reps)
6, unweighted
6 w 10kg
Rehab:
Landmine Press
2x12-15
Push Ups
3x3, super slow
Well a program without a pre planned progression is not a program but a list of workouts. A workout without pre planned rep ranges is a list of exercises.
So yeah I was going to wait for more details, haha.
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Maybe it is just semantics, but that would imply that not having progression means something is wrong with the plan. I would counter-argue that there are other ways to measure progress that donāt fit into a normal āprogramā which require numbers to go up.
Haha, oh well, itāll manifest itself over time but Iāll @ you when it has stopped being an amorphous blob and is more concrete. But, to give an idea, you can look at the above.
When I do flat benching, itāll be a reverse pyramid, 5-8/6-9/9-12 and Iāll increment weights whenever I hit the top-end of 5-8.
For the assistance, Iām still trying to find my weights but Iāll bump the weight for close-grip floor press when I hit 3x10, and the incline I just go for a weight where Iāll fail within 6-8. I donāt really program the dips and just use whatever is left-over in my reserves.
I have two weekly squat sessions, one high-bar, one low-bar. The goal with high-bar is more hypertrophy oriented, and low-bar is doing pristine reps that are heavier. I havenāt decided on a rep scheme for either but Iām thinking 15/12/8/20+ for the former and 4x4-6 for the latter.
My workaround for high-reps when my breathing is labored will be doing fewer reps and maybe introduce a pause.
Deadlift will primarily be 3x9-12 or 2x12-15, with one workout a month thatās heavier. Maybe something like 5/3/2-waves.
I might just use the pyramid for pretty much all my main lifts though, but I really dislike it for overhead press. My delts fatigue far quicker than everything else on that lift, and there Iād be more keen on doing some form of mechanical ādrop-setā. Start by pressing, ramping to a 5RM and then after that ramping to a 5RM on the push-press.
Again, this hasnāt crystalized as of yet.
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I think, semantically, the point @Koestrizer is making is that unless you have a planned way to measure progress then you are basically not building towards anything specific and are just exercising - not training. You can pick any progression model you want, either beating your previous weights, or doing the same weight for more reps, or decrease rest periods, or do more sets (although allegedly the latter one isnāt a super meaningful way to progress anything other than work-capacity) but without some progression thought out beforehand, so that you can measure progress between sessions, you are in effect flying blind!
Not semantics, that is exactly what I am saying.
@Voxel beat me to it, that
Is exactly what I meant. Progression can mean lots of things and even can come in lots of measurement forms but if there is no plan for how to progress, the program is at best suboptimal.
I know, I essentially agree for the most part. But being someone who switches from one extreme to the other, I think it is possible to get stuff done in a more intuitive fashion sometimes.
Iāll stay tuned then ;).
When planning just Imagine your goals, break them down in smaller achievable steps and translate that into a program.
Imagine someone (like me) would ask you āwhy?ā to every detail in your program and be ready to answer the question. That way you make sure that your program doesnāt contain junk and it is goal oriented.
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For me, not having every session building on the last in some form would absolutely cause problems for compliance and motivation on crap days. YMMV.
2020-03-12
DB Incline (12/10/8/12+)
12@24/h
10@28/h
4@30/h, oof, missed 4 reps.
12@26/h
The first rep at 30 I barely got up. Incline benching with DBs is weird with my Mothra wings. Once I get it up, and can go wide and use my chest more I can go at it pretty well but that first rep is always super āexpensiveā and really limits the weight I can use
Bench (6 close-grip + max medium-grip + max wide-grip. 1 set)
6@70
2
1
BTN Press 4x4-6
5@40
4
4
4
Kind of interleaved with the squats but not really a super-set or anything.
High-bar Squat (15/12/8/20+)
15 @ 60, only good set
12 @ 80
8 @ 100
20 @ 80
Ego-lifting. I know exactly what quad sensation Iām trying to stimulate and I only managed to do that on the first set. If I repeat this workout Iāll run 60/70/80-90/60 as my weight-selection.
Leg extension 2x12-15
12@20/l
6+6@20/l
Seated Calf-raises 3x12-15
???, I did it, 5 second hold in bottom and 5 second eccentric but I lost my rep count every single time and just went to failure each time. 15 kilo plate on each side of the machine. No idea what the machine āweighsā.
It was an okay workout. I mean, it was fun. The idea is just to consistently hit the movement patterns which is why there is a single set of benching in there. Iād want to repeat the high-bar squat again, but I must admit Iām horrible at programming workouts and much better at programming code.
@Koestrizer I think Iāve found a program Iād be keen to run, but I expect the gyms will close down soon so Iāll either continue this intellectual exercise or start it and run it for as long as I can before that happens.
With regards to this mess, I have gotten as far as planning out Squat/Push (todayās workout), Squat/Legs, Bench/chest/tris (Mondayās workout),
and OHP/lats/rows/pull would have been
| OHP/lats/row/pull | |
|---|---|
| A1. Overhead Press 3x6-8 | |
| A2. Bent-over BB Row 3x6-8 | |
| B1. Flat DB BP 3x10-12 | |
| B2. Lat pulldown 3x10-12 | |
| C1. Decline BP 3x12-15 | |
| C2. Seated row 3x12-15 |
| SQ/legs | |
|---|---|
| Squat | 5-8 / 6-9 / 9-12 |
| Front Squat / Frankenstein | 4x4-6 |
| Walking Lunges | 3x6-8 |
| Leg Extension | 2x12-15 |
| Calves | 3x12-15 |
| DL/legs | |
|---|---|
| DL | 3x9-12 |
| Front squat | 4x4-6 |
| Leg Press | 2x12-15 |
| Walking Lunges | 3x6-8 (heavy) |
| Calves | 3x12-15 |
My hamstring is finally starting to feel okay again. The last few days are the first days where Iāve been able to go on a walk without feeling in pain after, and havenāt had unexpected stabs in the muscle. Last night was the first night I didnāt feel as if I needed to sleep with a heated pillow against it. That tookā¦ a while.
Other good news today is Iām really excited to go to the gym. Why? I do not know, I just feel really keen!
2020-03-13
| Set 1 | Set 2 | Set 3 | Set 4 | Set 5 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A. | Military Press | 10@40 | 10@35 | 10@35 | ||
| B. | Squat | 10@100 | 10@100 | 10@100 | ||
| C. | Bench Press | 10@55 | 10@55 | 10@55 | ||
| D. | Seated Barbell Press | 8@40 | 8@40 | 7@45 | 8@40 | 8 - 4 - 2@35 |
| F1. | Seated DB Lateral Raise | 8@5 | 8@3 | 8@3 | ||
| F2. | Seated DB Front Raise | 8@5 | 8@3 | 8@3 | ||
| F3. | Seated DB Cuban Press | 8@5 | 8@3 | 8@3 | ||
| E1. | Restart DB Lateral Raise | max | max | max | ||
| E2. | Standing DB Lateral Raise | max | max | max |
How best to describe this. Imagine that āa blender that had gravel run through itā was a feeling you could have in your body. That was my right shoulder. When I did the upright row part of the DB Cuban Press that wasā¦ not a symmetric movement.
2020-03-14
DL
2@160, PR
8@140
14@105
Walking Lunges (barbell front-racked)
3x6/leg @ 60kg
Snatch-grip DL
8@120
5@120
8@100
The DL PR apparently did a number on my cognitive abilities so I thought I was doing SGDLs with 100kg for the first two sets and were kind of surprised how heavy they felt and how poor my form was and just chalked it up to hitting a heavy PR but in reality I was doing 20 kilos more than intended.
Leg-extensions
3x12 @ some weight
Abductor machine
???
Seems I can progress despite my recent bout of chronic routine changing.
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After giving it some thought, and internal debate, Iāve resigned to going back to what I did before BBB Beefcake.
- It worked, I was progressing. I was recovering.
- It was adequately stimulating*
- My hip could, consistently, recover while squatting twice weekly.
- It was somewhat of my design, so there was no authority to resent.
- It didnāt impede my climbing.
- It left room for other activities outside of training.
*I am reminded of a quote by Wendler, which was (in full),
While many will not admit it, training three days a week is probably a better option. However, too many people feel they need to train more to satisfy some emotional issue. I have no desire to fill the emotional needs of a lifter if progress is sacrificed. So if you are constantly having issues with training four days a week, it is time to change.
ā Wendler
and item number 2 is only tangentially related in the sense that if I can fulfill my emotional needs somewhat, without sacrificing progress, then I feel comfortable training like that even though there might be other programs that would conceivably be better long-term.
So, something like,
| OHP | Exercise | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Warm-up 1 | General Shoulder Stuff | |
| Activation | Push Press | |
| A1. | Overhead Press 4 x 4-6 | |
| A2. | Bent-over BB Row 4 x 6-8 | |
| B1. | Flat DB Bench or Flat Bench 3 x 9-15 | |
| B2. | Weighed Chins or Lat Pull-down 3 x 10-12 | |
| C1. | Decline Bench or Dips 3 x 12-15 | |
| C2. | Seated Row 3 x 12-15 | |
| D. | Landmine Press 2 x 9-15 | Rehab: Slow, mindful, reps |
| E. | Push-ups 3 x 3 | Rehab: Slow eccentric (6s+) |
| SQ | Exercise | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Warm-up 1 | Pull-down Abs 3-4 x 12-15 | |
| Warm-up 2 | GHR 3 sets | If I can find it |
| Activation | Clean | |
| A. | Back Squat 4 x 4-6 | |
| B. | Front Squat 3 x 4-6 | |
| C. | RDL 3 x 10-12 | |
| D. | Leg Extension 3 x 9-15 | |
| E1. | HLR 50 reps | |
| E2. | Seated Calf-raise 50 reps |
| BP | Exercise | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Warm-up 1 | General Shoulder Stuff | |
| Activation | Push Press | |
| A. | Bench 4 x 4-6 | |
| B. | Close-grip Floor Press 3 x 8-10 | |
| C. | BTN Press 3 x 4-6 | |
| D. | Smith Incline 10/8/6-8 | As written Week 1. Week 2: 10/8/6-8-10DS. Week 3: 10/8/6-8RP. Week 4: 10/8/6-8DRP. Repeat |
| E. | Dips or Decline Bench 2 x 6-8 | 1 + 1/2 reps if dips |
| F. | Landmine Press 2 x 12-15 | Rehab: Slow, mindful, reps |
| G. | Push-ups 3 x 3 | Rehab: Slow eccentric (6s+) |
| DL | Exercise | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Warm-up 1 | Pull-down Abs 3-4 x 12-15 | |
| Warm-up 2 | GHR 3 sets | |
| Activation | Snatch | |
| A. | Deadlift 4 x 4-6 | |
| B. | Back Squat 3 x 9-12 | |
| C. | Bent-over BB Row 4 x 6-8 | |
| D. | Walking Lunges 3 x 6-8 / leg | |
| E. | Leg Press 2 x 12-15 | |
| F. | Farmerās walk | If I can get them to buy a trap-bar |
Should see me through the next 6-8 weeks, then Iāll re-evaluate. Might want to hit my triceps more (monkey arms). And traps.
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@anna_5588 I think you wouldāve enjoyed breakfast soup this morning. Squid-rings and cod.
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