sunday my granddaughters hit the pantry to bake their daddy a birthday cake
2 boxes brownie mix
1 bag toffee pieces
1 bottle of chocolate sprinkles
1 bottle of chocolate candy pieces
1 can chocolate frosting
{i keep stuff like this on hand in case i forget somebodies birthday}
came out so sweet not much was eaten
Chase your unreasonable goals with an unreasonable amount of effort, tenacity, intensity and ferocity
I WILL CONSUME THIS
somedays you just gotta
@cavemansam That sounds like the exact recipe for diabetes, haha.
As for the prowler; yeah, I can imagine a slower push feels easier on the knee. Less ballistic on all of the structures inside of it. I could get away with slow pushes WAY early in my recovery.
(4) SSB box squats +3 sets chains
1x100
Notes: Going to try to deload more seriously this week. Plan is to ROM progress this down and add small amounts of weight along the way. Have to focus on moving slow and smooth with this. I moved quickly out of habit a few times and I could feel things slipping around. Iām still not actually authorized to do this officially (for those that are following my log as a model for recovery).
(6) Axle mat pulls 123
100 reps
Blast strap fallout hold
2:10
Reverse hyper 100lbs
4x15
Neck harness 45lbs
1x82 up and down
1x36 side to side
General notes: Woke up at 195.6. Iāve worked up to a 8" box for 1 legged jumps in my physical therapy. Things are moving along smooth, but itās hard to avoid the temptation to push stupidly hard.
it has been a bad few weeks
smashed my finger 3 weeks ago,can barely grab the bar,pulling movements sucked,knees really going to sāt
then sunday hits ,both my sons doing good,grandkids doing good,saw 3d ultra sound of next grandkid
so when granddaughters wanted to bake daddy a cake [8 year old twins}
if you do it do it right
it was a good day
somedays you just gotta
Great article as usual, really enjoyed the read. Iāve yet to read something which I disagree with you on, canāt wait for that. Sometimes I do wonder, am I just a sponge who absorbs whatever information I read.
deloads
have you always done them
how have they changed over the years
do you plan them
or go by feel
@Benanything First, I have been screwing up your name thinking it was āBE anythingā, so that explains why I kept screwing up tagging you, haha.
Consider it the joy of youth! Right now, your slate is pretty clean an you have a whole lot to absorb, sort out, and shift through. As you grow older, you get more cynical, jaded, and set in your ways. They both have their pros and their cons. Thanks for being a reader!
@cavemansam I first started doing deloads around 2006 or so, when I got big into Pavel Tsastoulineās āBeyond Bodybuildingā book, specifically the 3-5 program. I would follow the deload protocol diligently, and I made some GREAT progress. Then, I read somewhere that deloads werenāt necessary, so I stopped doing themā¦and I stopped making progress. Spun my wheels for years before I started bringing by regular deloads.
My method has changed over the years. With the Pavel program, I would do 70% of my total volume for 2 workouts (training 3 days a week) before returning back to 100%. This would happen every 4th week. When I did 5/3/1 the first time, I would deload every 4th week as recommended in the first edition, except for my ROM progression mat pulls, which were every 8th week. Then, when I started using my own approach to training, it was every 8th week, and at that point my deload approach was to basically take the week off, with only some very light pump work to get blood flowing.
Presently, I am deloading every 7th week for bench and press, with a deload on squats as needed, and no deloading on seated good mornings (with that being the ME method, the weight doesnāt matter, just the strain, so it sorts itself out).
Hope that helps!
Deload bench
Incline DB press dropset rest pause 105s
(4)1x8
(3)1x5
(2)1x4
(1)1x4
(0)1x4
(0) 1x13x50s
Notes: With no first set of axle bench, I figured I could up the weight on the DB presses. Left shoulder is feeling a lot better on these. Next time, need to wear my squat shoes, as the heel helps with driving.
D-ring lat pulldown 190
1x9+3+3 (rest pause)
Notes: This was intense. Right elbow was screaming a little at the end.
DB hammer curls 50s
4x8
T-bar row dropset
10x5plates
10x4plates
10x3plates
10x2plates
10x1plate
Notes: Still a pleaser. Really happy to have rediscovered these.
General notes: Woke up at 193.8. Havenāt been eating as well at work; schedule has been screwy. Iām finding a few parts of these workouts I like, but for the most part itās just not clicking well. However, my body is feeling much more recovered. I think this might be a good ātraining vacationā approach to throw in every few months; a week of lower volume and higher intensity of effort sortāve stuff.
AM WORKOUT
Seated chain suspended buffalo bar good mornings
5xBar
5x100
5x140
5x190
3x230
3x280
1x320
5x340
Notes: I am listing this under AM workout, but I actually did THIS part after work. I tried hitting this first thing in the morning, but just had no gas in me. Just like deadlifts, I need a few meals in me to break the weight off the chains. Whereas in the morning I couldnāt move 280, this afternoon I did some damage. Iām going to make this a regular approach to this training day; hitting the assistance work in the morning then the heavy stuff in the PM.
(5)Axle mat pulls 123
100 reps
Reverse hyper 110
5x10
superset w/
Leg raise off bench
5x15
General notes: Woke up at 195.8. Right elbow a little pissed off, but otherwise feeling fresh.
PM WORKOUT
Treadmill
Running 30 minutes at 7.5mph
Incline 2
Notes: Sticking with the speed while increasing the incline. This has moved down from challenging to taxing. My cardio and body is holding up, itās just my tolerance for monotony that is getting hit. I might ramp up the incline 1 more time and then head back to 1 and up the speed.
AM WORKOUT
Treadmill
Running 30 minutes at 7.5mph
Incline 3
Notes: Kept garage door closed for maximal suckage. Really reaching my limit on tolerance here. Think my plan to bring the incline back down and the speed up will be good on the knee.
Also did some grippers in there. Iāve been getting lazy with my grip training now that my other training is getting more and more normal.
PM WORKOUT
Prowler 70āish (high handles)
2x110lbs
2x90lbs
2x70lbs
2x50lbs
2xunloaded
Notes: Wouldnāt call this a dropset, as I was taking about 30 seconds between each trip, but it was still an asskicker. Getting more and more comfortable with pushing heavier on the prowler.
General notes: Woke up at 196.0. No cheat meal today; wife is running a race this weekend and we normally celebrate by going out to eat, so I moved things around. Plus, had a 4 hour headache today that just sapped my appetite. Took some excederin and it went away instantly. Need to keep that at my desk.
DELOAD
Axle press DROPSET
10x146
10x126
7x106
7x86
7x66
10xAxle
Notes: The topset wasnāt AMRAP, just enough to get the blood flowing before the rest of the dropset. Left shoulder is still painful, but I think itās mending.
NG Chins DROPSET
7x105
5x80
5x55
5x30
10xBW
Notes: Still destroys my right elbow. I think Iām gonna be done with heavy vertical pulling soon. Maybe stick with it for the lat pulldown since I seem to still be able to get a good lat contraction with it, but for chins I just feel like Iām moving weight vs working the muscle. Might instead switch to 5 minutes max chins or something similar.
Axle curls
1x170
Band pushdowns
1x50
Kroc rows 105
1x35
General notes: Woke up at 194.8. Honestly, my nutrition has been off point for like the past week or so. Just not feeling the urge to eat as much as I need. Iām not moving off menu, just off dosage. Although I guess with this being a deload week that should be expected.
Also, with all the Sports Authorities closing I was able to get a discounted landmine. Iāve got 2 now, which will make car deadlifts even easier to set-up.
I just wanted to drop by, and tell you how on point your last few blog posts have been, for some reason I canāt interact, and respond to you on your blog. Anyway I print them off and use your rants as tools to give to young lifterās Iām working with. Iāve got everyone in my gym following your blog, itās funny to walk out of my office, and here guys discussing your blog out on the gym floor, good stuff lately, keep it up Bro !
As far as lifting, Iām only a handful of years ahead of you, and Iāve had to readjust my goals, and type of training, as my body revolts against heavy low rep training, Iāve been lifting heavy, and steady for going on 25yrs, with my only layoffs coming during periods of rehabilitation, LOL, Lately itās all about getting lean, looking good, and moving what I can, on days that my body allows ; ) Keep the hammer down. later !
@AnytimeJake Hey thanks man, I really appreciate that. Iāve noticed a bit of a spike in my readership, so I think I have you to thank for that. Always happy to share what Iāve learned.
Iāll be heading down the same path Iām sure. Just gonna keep grinding until there is nothing left. Donāt know any other way to do it, haha.
Treadmill
30 minutes running 8mph
Incline 1
Notes: This sucked less than incline 3 at 7.5, so it looks like my progression theory may hold true.
Woke up at 195.8.
Singled legged SSB Box Squats 305+chains
16 reps
Notes: Little bit of a scare today. I apparently was rotating the pin I was holding onto, and on rep 9 I ended up pulling it out of the rack at the bottom of the rep. At least the system worked, because all it meant was that I sat back down on the box and took a moment to contemplate how I got there. The best part was getting out from under the bar, putting the pin back in place, and then completely dead squatting the weight back up. Very intense. Rested for a second after that before getting the rest of my reps.
(3) SSB Box squats 75lbs+chains
1x50
Notes: After the above issue, knee was feeling pretty spotty, so I took things light.
Blast strap fallout holds
2:15
(4) Axle deadlifts 123lbs
100 reps
General notes: Woke up at 194.8. Cut out the reverse hypers just to take things a little easier on the knee, but things are feeling pretty solid.
AM WORKOUT
Axle bench
5xAxle
5x75
5x115
5x165
5x200
5x230
16x260
23x200
Notes: Wore my HD elbow sleeves to take some pressure off the right elbow, and it seemed to help. The FSL wouldāve been even crazier, but I misgripped the axle at the start and my left hand was in much closer than my right, so it was uneven. The weight was still just flying off my chest, and with a better set-up I imagine I woulda been further into the 20s, but Iāll take that as a bad set.
DB hammer curls 45
5x10
DB lateral raise 10
5x15
Notes: Performed in between sets of benching.
Incline DB bench DROPSET/rest pause
(4)1x20
(3)1x12
(2)1x9
(1)1x9
(0)1x9
Notes: Iām stopping at 20 on the first set just to be able to get in a few more quality reps on the latter sets. Arms were fatiguing before chest or delts on this; might start cutting the rep range a touch.
Chins for 5 minutes (all sorts of grips)
72
Notes: Taking time away from heavy vertical pulling to rest up my elbow, and this seemed to work well. About a year ago, I could only do 53 in 5 minutes, so this is nice progress.
T-bar row DROPSET
10x5plates
11x4plates
12x3plates
13x2plates
14x1plate
General notes: Woke up at 197.2. Crazy spike on weight, most likely just sodium.
PM WORKOUT
Treadmill
Running 30 minutes at 8mph
Incline 1.5
Notes: Going to slowly work back up to 3 and then see where I want to go from there. My wife has noted that my running style has improved simply by nature of not thudding as loudly on every footfall, but part of me thinks that the raising incline is meeting my feet. Either way Iāll take it. Running immediately post squat day is terrible.
1 Like
Seated Chain Suspended Buffalo Bar Good Mornings
5xBar
5x100
5x140
5x230
3x280
1x320
2x370
Notes: First time Iāve ever gone heavy with this variation. It was feeling like a good day, stars lined up, so I decided to see what I could do. In truth, I realize Iām not quite getting the 3-4 sets around 90% that would make this REAL ME work, but itāll do.
Car deadlift simulator 1 plate per side
1x100
Notes: Felt like I was ready to throw these back in. Be a decent way to get some knee flexion in that isnāt squatting. It was tough, but not bad on the surgical site. Just really happy to have this movement back, because itās awesome.
Reverse hyper 110
4x15
superset w/
GHR sit-ups
4x12
Notes: Once again, another classic brought back. I was really worried about this one, since Iām suspending myself by the surgical site, but everything held up well. Still made sure to keep my core super tight to keep from shifting weight to the knees, but it worked out. This is good as well, as I have a physical fitness test coming up where sit-ups are part of it.
General notes: Woke up at 195.2. Elbows and shoulders are feeling better. Not 100%, but definitely moving in the right direction.
1 Like
Treadmill
Running 30 minutes at 8mph
Incline 2
Notes: Ran with garage door closed. Suck factor didnāt seem as high as before. Made an effort to not check the clock often.
Woke up at 195.4 this morning.
Running on pavement
2.6 miles
21:16
Notes: First time back at my workās monthly run. The 2.6 miles is quoted to me, but Iām not sure where the actual start/stop points are. Still, this is about the time I was clocking in prior to my injury, so Iāll call that a win. Had a pass a bunch of people and take corners slowly, which cut into my time a touch.
The first minute or two, my stride was pretty jacked up. The treadmill has been forcing decent running mechanics on me, but without it, it was basically āplant left foot, stride right, plant left, stride rightā. However, once I got a little warmed up and confident, I felt like I was running normally.
Just happy to keep getting closer to normal.
Woke up at 193.8 this morning. Weight has been all over the place this week.
Prowler 70āish (high handles) DROPSET
2x110
2x90
2x70
2x50
2xProwler
Notes: Much better than last week. Friction was still intense, but conditioning was real strong. No rest at all, just hammered it out.
Hit some grippers this afternoon too. My right elbow is pissed, so I might need to cut the grip work for a bit.
Oh geez, forgot the most important part; cheat meal this week was a large dominos pizza (-1 slice for the Mrs). Brooklyn style crust, double sausage. It went down WAY too fast. I think I needed those carbs.
Axle strict press
5xAxle
5x66
5x131
5x151
12x171
17x151
DROPSET
8x131
5x116
7x96
7x86
8x66
Notes: Left shoulder is feeling much better now. Think I got out of the danger zone of the impingenemnt risk. Had to slightly alter grip angle. Right elbow is pissed, but that wonāt be hard to fix.
Kelso shrugs 50lbs
1x15
4x10
Notes: Performed in between sets of presses
5 minutes NG chins (various widths)
78
Axle curls
1x100
Notes: Hitting these after the chins was murder. Something new to work on.
Band pushdowns
1x50
Kroc rows 105
1x27
Notes: Ran out of gas on these. Iām not a fan of just the one set of these, but itās been good to let me heal.
General notes: Woke up at 196.2. Considering thatās with a large pizza in me, itās pretty nuts.
Great article as usual. I felt like it really applies to me and thatās probably one of the main reasons why I use T-Nation. Tons, and by tons, I basically mean everyone I know in real life uses Instagram and most of them have what they call a ātraining/gym logā account. Seems pretty silly to me to be honest. Most people on Instagram will not give you tips/advice on how youāre progressing and how on earth does a 15sec clip serve as a good form of progress tracking. Itās utterly ridiculous I tell you. Sorry for the mini rant but I gotta say, you hit the nail right on the head.