Rebirth of the Juggernaut: Brute Force and Ignorance (Part 1)

Training Training Logs
4029

@mr.v3lv3t Gotta appreciate the irony that the thing that makes us resilient to injury tends to also injure us, haha.

PM WORKOUT

DB rows 105
1x20

Keg bearhug carries (100lbs)
1x216’
2x180’

Notes: Just getting prepped for the Huss stone. Figuring out how high on my body to hold the weight and what style of grip to use. Interlaced fingers still tends to be the winner. None of these were death marches, but I was pushing myself until I was done. Upper back and hips are super pissed at me: training is getting turned up in the absence of running.

Went the whole week doing some sort of back work everyday. I think this will replace my “back day” idea for now.

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4030

This makes living a lot easier haha.

I’ve been having a thought regarding “main lifts” that I wanted to bounce off you. For someone whose goal is to become bigger and stronger, but not necessarily have a big ‘X lift’, do you think rotating main movements has value in a training approach, rather than the supplemental? I’d say in this case the program would be calling for only 1 main lift per day.

Just for context, I’m probably going to run 2-3 of Alphas programs back to back once my current training block is done. I’m pretty content to keep press, deads, and bench in place for the duration, but thinking of rotating between back/front/ssb squats at the start of each new one.

4031

@T3hPwnisher how long did the Monday Squat session take you? Ten sets of ten…

4032

@mr.v3lv3t I’ve had success with rotating main lifts though much of my training. Usually I do it after stalling with one. Swap to a new variation, ride it until I stall on that, then come back or go for yet another variation. I deadlifted with an axle for a year after spending several years using a deadlift bar, for example. Definitely viable.

@Voxel The workout itself would run about 1hr 40 minutes, but budget about 2 hours total for time spent rolling around on the floor feeling sorry for yourself. Even on the days with shorter rest, the workouts would be about equal because I’d spend more time feeling miserable, haha.

PM WORKOUT

SUPERSETS (press-pulldown)

Axle strict press
5xAxle
5x66
5x146
5x171
12x196
14x171

Lat pulldown 115
6x10

GIANT SETS (press-dip-raise-pull apart. Odd sets trap bar press, even sets axle strict press)

Trap bar press 105
3x10

Axle strict press 166
1x10
1x9
1x7

Dips
6xFailure

DB lateral raise 30
3x12
3x11

Band pull apart
6x12

Axle curls (unloaded)
1x101

Notes: 3:45 between heavy presses, 2:00 between giant sets. Smoothest set of 12 at 196 I’ve ever had. No grind for the final rep, and the backoff set showed how much I had left. Until I get my power keg, I’m not going to do much more keg pressing, since my light is too light and my heavy is too heavy for any real meaningful training benefit. Still liking the trap bar press. Feels like it answers a lot of questions.

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4033

Not sure if my schedule would allow for that. Or my recovery ability if I also want to keep climbing. Anyway, this is thinking about what to run in the future. I just read about everyone suffering on it and am like a kid who’s told the stove is hot. Have. To. Touch.

And I reckon the work is so hard that you’d not want to super-set your light deadlift technique sets in between the first three sets of squats (?)

1 Like
4034

I definitely wouldn’t engage in ANY other activity outside of the program, haha. I’d limp for 6 days after the squat workouts, recover just in time for deadlifts, and then have new pain to deal with. I remember getting the itch to get back into combat sports and realizing that, if someone were to kick me in the leg after the squat workout, I’d most likely spontaneously combust.

I’d do the squat and deadlift workout on Saturdays to be able to allocate enough time for them.

Supersets don’t work with their being prescribed rest periods. You’re either going to dip into your recovery period with the extra work, or you’re going to rest too long from the main work. Since they’re just technique sets, you can use them as warm-ups or cooldowns. I did the latter.

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4035

Thank you, bookmarked for later reference!

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4036

Right on, thanks dude!

I gotta say, it’s great being able to drop random questions your way and getting solid feedback/reasonable discussion in return. In light of a few recent threads, definitely reinforces the appreciation.

4037

@Voxel Awesome dude. Be sure to hit me up if you have any questions on it.

@mr.v3lv3t Always happy to help dude. That thread is pretty silly. It takes zero talent to be rude to people who are rude to you, and it ultimately is a sign that you consider them to be equals. If someone is truly “below” you, you ignore them. Otherwise, you help them, and you kill them with kindness. Silly to me that someone that models themselves as a professional and “enlightened” doesn’t grasp that.

1 Like
4038

LUNCHTIME WORKOUT

GIANT SETS (squat-clean-hyper)

SSB squats
9xSSB
9x135
9x225
9x315
9x390

Hang cleans 115
6x3

Reverse hyper 455
6x10

SSB STRIPSET
8x315
8x225
8x115
8xBar

Notes: 3:45 between first 5 rounds, 2:00 between last superset of cleans and hyper, 4:45 before the final stripset. It’s amazing the difference going from a hang has vs full ROM. I was definitely using momentum off the floor to carry the weight, because once that was taken away I didn’t have much. Tried 165 to start and could only muscle it. Same with 148. Settled at 115 and focused on explosiveness. Think this may replace clean pulls for a bit until I can get decent-ish at them. First day with 9s on the squats. Topset was absolutely perfect for weight. Ballbuster but I managed it. Stripset was just about the right prescription too. In all, an effective day.

Still doing daily back work. Past 2 days has been 20 reps of chins, and today was 20x105 on DB rows. Got my kid into the idea too, so I might actually get to double up on it when I bring them into the garage to get in some pull ups.

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4039

Hey man, random question here, but I’ve looked all over and couldn’t find the answer so I figured I’d ask.

So I’ve been getting a lot of those little blood dots breaking out in the normal areas after lifting. Normally I wouldn’t worry about it, but recently I’ve been getting a rash of some kind around said area (my left shoulder, armpit). I know you’re not a doctor, but being a fellow masochist of some sorts and having touched on the topic of these blood dots, I was wondering if you ever had this happen alongside of them as well. I’m at a loss and may go see a derm as soon as funds allow.

4040

not @T3hPwnisher but I also get these blood dots mostly in my forearms when heavy dead lifting. Its usually just some blood capillaries leaking from the pressure and it goes away pretty quick. Not seen them in my armpit before, was it after heavy pressing or a fly type movement ?

4041

Usually deads, overhead lifts and squats. It’s not the spotting I’m concerned about as much as the minor rash build. I can’t tell because I’ve had psoriasis in the past so I want to nip it in the bud if that’s what it is, but if others have had a mild rash pop out when the spotting occurs, I’ll feel a bit better. Will probably still see a derm when I can, but for the time being I wanted to see if I’m not alone haha

4042

No rash for me (not there anyway) and not from spotting.

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4043

@oldbeancam No rashes on my body, but often the ones on my face will turn into acne or something resembling it.

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4044

PM WORKOUT

Swiss bar incline bench 225
3x10

Axle bench press 276
2x10
1x8

Close grip axle bench 231
3x10

Dips
1x31
2x25

Standing ab wheel between sets (6x7, 2x6)

DB rows 105
1x20

Notes: 2:45 between sets of benching. Nice to see the incline bench taking off now that I’ve placed it first, but also incredibly telling that I’m still incline benching 5lbs less than my close grip bench despite the latter being 3rd in the workout. Definitely got room to grow. Walked the flat bench back 5lbs because I don’t want to go too heavy too early on it. Felt really strong this workout, like everything was dialed in.

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4045

Just in case you have been struggling with your security settings.

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5 Likes
4046

@oldbeancam I get blown out capillaries, but also seasonal flare ups of an unknown allergy. For me, they don’t seem to be related.

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4047

@T3hPwnisher
So based off what was said in another thread in regard to BBB not really being “real growth,” rather just acute cell volumization, once you stopped Deep Water did you notice a reduction is size? Not being snarky in either direction, I’m actually curious.

4048

@The_Myth That is fantastic! Reminds me of a comedy bit I enjoyed, where a comedian said he signed on to a bank that allowed him to set his own security questions and answers, so for the question he picked “What are you wearing right now?” and the answer was “I don’t think that’s appropriate”. I’ve always been tempted to use it.

@TX_iron the opposite honestly. It’s been almost a year since I stopped running the program, and I’m holding onto size, and more interestingly, shape that I never got to hold onto before. My arms and shoulder girdle specifically don’t stop looking filled out, and my left leg is finally starting to match my right again. My avatar photo was taken in August, which was like 8 months after the program, and the only time in my life I ever felt like my arms actually looked big.

I think we’re witnessing examples of becoming so smart it makes us all stupid. Like I wrote in the Flame Free thread, Pat Casey benched 622 in the 60s wearing a t-shirt. Billy Graham was 5lbs behind him, so it means Pat wasn’t just a once in a lifetime flash in the pan fluke. We learned how to get big and strong 50+ years ago: no one is going to make a meaningful discovery beyond that at this point. It’s all just tweaks.

LUNCHTIME WORKOUT

MAX EFFORT

Top down deadlifts
5x135
5x225
3x315
1x405
1x496
1x585
0x650

GIANT SETS (dead-hyper-squat)

(3) Axle deficit deadlift 346
3x10

Reverse hyper 360
3x10

SSB front squat 215
3x10

Notes: 2:00 between giant sets. Let fear get into my head on the ME work, and it showed. Too many variables against me. Trained a lot of days in a row due to my work schedule, and spent the morning doing yardwork. Trained earlier in the day than I usually do. All that said, I think it’s time to rotate this out of the ME rotation. It’s becoming too much of a circus act unracking the bar, walking back, and setting up for the pull. 585 felt heavy, and I should have read the signs on it, but it could very well be indicative of something greater. Just means I get to play around and come up with something else to do.

Also planning on keeping the food train running. Right now, Ivan Putski is my spirit animal

image

And yes, I realize the irony of that given my praying mantis arms.

Edit: I just realized that my solution may be the car deadlift simulator. Would help with comp prep. Have to consider it.

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