Nice training in here man! That 440 double looked rediculously easy, almost like a damn warmup! I’ll x2 the comment that your home setup looks badass man. Looking to make mine a bit better as well.
[quote]VikingsAD28 wrote:
I start at the end of October, no specific date set. I made a down payment and he just said to email him in October when I am ready, that way I can finish the Juggernaut method and then retest my maxes before starting.
I really like TJM, some people complain that it is too volume focused and not enough intensity, but in my experience my max strength responds well to volume. I know I am going to end up benching and squatting PRs in a few weeks, deadlift and overhead remain to be seen but I believe I will have PRs there too, just a bit more modest than what I expect on bench and squat.[/quote]
Well, if you respond well to volume, it should be interesting to see how you respond to Josh’s prescriptions. As you can see, he is real big on using the assistance work to get stronger and balance out your training better. Some days I’ve been sore in places I didn’t know it was possible to be sore, lol.
Hey man, I’m bilingual: I can speak in both imperial and metric.
Those deadlifts looked pretty comfortable, given that that was your sixth set at that weight. What did you think of paused, olympic, SSB bar squats? Sounds like a trifecta of evil to me!
They weren’t too bad. The weight was relatively light, so they didn’t kick my ass too much.
Week 4 Day 1
Deload
Paused bench press 225x3x5
CG bench press 190x3x3
WG paused bench press 185x2x5
Lat pulldowns 3x12
Scap retractions 3x15
Other stuff
Notes: Not much to say here. The real work of this training cycle likely starts next week. Can’t wait to see what Josh has planned for me.
Didn’t realize it has been a week since I posted. Not much to say during deload weeks other than I did some exercises with lighter weights.
Back to work.
Week 5 Day 1
Paused bench press 315x2,340x1.5 (m’fer)
Bench press (touch and go) 300x5
CG bench press 245x3,285x3,305x3 (rep PR)
WG paused bench press 285x2x5 (was supposed to be 6)
Lat pulldowns 5x10
Scap retractions 4x15
Arm stuff
Abs
Notes: Well this was not the greatest way to kick off the stretch run of training to the meet. During warm-ups everything from 225 onward was starting to feel heavy. The working set double with 315 wasn’t too bad (vid below), but it certainly felt heavier than how 330 did a couple weeks ago. Everything started off fine with 340 and I’d say the bar speed on the first rep was maybe a touch slower than a meet opener. This had me feeling more confident - then the second rep was a total clusterf**k after the pause. About half-way up (again) my elbows flared about as badly as they have ever done in the past. Needless to say there was no way I could finish the rep since I was so out of position from a leverage standpoint.
The drop set to 300 was pretty bad too as I hit a wall at rep #5. I contemplated just saying screw the rest of the f’ing session, but luckily I stayed with it and everything else turned out OK - even got a rep PR with 305 on close grips. Time to regroup.
P.S. Ignore the mess in the background.
Week 5 Day 2
Squat w/ belt 360x3,390x3 (very light wraps)
Squat 345x3x3 (added belt on last set)
Deadlift w/ belt 420x2,455x2
Deadlift 405x3x3
Pause squat 305x1,345x1,365x1
Abs
Notes: Decent with the squats today, but lower back was feeling really exhausted by the last set of 345. Deadlifts on the other hand were absolute shit. The first work set with 420 felt way heavier than it should and 455 was virtually a grinder. So two crap sessions in a row. Ugh. Gotta get my shit together.
Nice training - looks like our training set-ups are getting more similar!
[quote]Adam-F wrote:
Nice training - looks like our training set-ups are getting more similar![/quote]
Thanks Adam. These past couple of sessions weren’t great, but gotta keep on truckin’.
I often find that I’m sluggish coming off of a week of deloading. And man, I had so many godawful training sessions during my last cycle that it was ridiculous, but it all came together on meet day. As you say, keep on truckin’. Just get the work done here and getting the reps only really matters on the platform!
Week 5 Day 3
Olympic SSB pause squats 285x2x3
CG 2-board bench press 275x2,315x2,345x2(pr)
Reverse grip barbell rows 200x3x8
Barbell hip thrusts 255x3x12
Pistol squats BWx3x6
Triceps pushdowns (Monster mini) 4x45
Abs
Notes: The streak of shit sessions ended at two. SSB squats were pretty easy, despite the fact the fact that my lower back was uber sore. It’s not a lot of weight mind you, but this lift has always been really owned me haha. Top set of 345 for a double was not too difficult at all and was something I really needed after that rough bench session on Wednesday. I had to skip out on the weighted chins this week because they were giving me a bad tension headache for some reason. I did a double take when I looked at the schedule and saw 4x45 for the pushdowns. My triceps are still ablaze as I type this.
The close-grip board press from today (345x2)
Week 6 Day 1
Paused bench press 320x3x2
Bench press (touch and go) 300x6
CG bench against mini bands 225x1,250x1,275x1
WG paused bench press 285x2x6
Lat pulldowns 5x12
Scap retractions 4x15
Triceps pushdowns 4x30
Concentration curls 2x12
Abs
Notes: Good session. Based on last week’s less-than-stellar performance, Josh decided to lower my working weight and get in a little practice, so to speak, with a fairly heavy weight. Good bar speed on all the sets and the weight felt light in my hands - definitely a difference from last week. I hadn’t benched against bands in quite a long time, so it was a little strange at first. Top set with 275 and the doubled minis was difficult, but I still had a little left in the tank. Rest of the session after the paused wide-grip benches was the usual stuff. I’ll post a video of a set or two with 320 just to give an idea of how things went.
I’m not surprised you did a double take when you read that you’d be doing 180 reps of triceps extensions! Chasing the pump man - good stuff.
I still find it amazing that Josh has you doing so many different bench press variations in one session, but damn it seems to be working!
Nice stuff nov
very jealous of that bench fo sho’
Thanks guys. Bench used to be my absolute worst lift, now it is the only one that seems to be moving in the right direction, lol.
Here’s the third set from last night’s session.
Yes, I’m a little behind in posting. I tweaked my back last Friday and I’ve been all kinds of pissed off about it. I will probably be unable to lift at the meet at the level I am capable of, but will still be doing all three lifts; however, the squat and DL will likely be paltry numbers - not tokens, but nowhere near PR territory. As a result, I’m going to be pouring my efforts into getting a good # for the bench press. I might not eclipse my all-time best of 370, but I should be close.
Week 6 Day 3
Foam rolling, stretching, band GMs, etc
CG 2-board bench press 275x2,315x2,350x2 (pr)
Chin-ups BWx3x8
CG decline bench 200x2x15
Notes: This was all I could do after torquing my lower back on Friday. I was pleased that I could still maintain my arch on bench press without a problem, and get a 5-lb pr to boot.
Week 7 Day 1
Warm-up with mobility work, stretching and foam rolling hips, lower back, etc
Paused bench press 325x3x2
Bench press (touch and go) 300x7
CG bench against minis 210x2,230x2,250x2
WG paused bench 285x2x7
Lat pulldowns 5x8
Scap retractions 4x15
Arms
-no abs, back no likey
Notes: Corresponded with tom63 about some rehab work to get my lower back in working order again and I’ll be damned if after one round I didn’t notice a bit of improvement. Bench press felt nice and strong and still no ill effects from arching that I could tell. That 7th rep on 300 was pretty tough, but nowhere near as rough as the 7th on the 2nd set of wide-grip paused benches. I forgot to put the safety pins in and let’s just say I wasn’t too far from having to be rescued or attempt to roll the bar down my torso if I had actually missed it. Remember: safety first kids. A video of 325 will follow shortly.