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

Based on that vein pattern I am thinking that was about 3:27 :joy:

@simo74 That’s no joke about the time I actually made it into the gym. Eerie, haha.

EARLY AM WORKOUT

(3) Incline DB Bench 105s
1x13
2x9

Axle bench press 210+chains
2x10
1x9

Swiss bar incline bench 210
2x10
1x7

Pull ups between sets of benching
3x9
6x8
1x10

Dips
1x46
2x42

Poundstone Curls
100xAxle

GHR
1x12

Notes: 3:00 between sets of benching, 2:00 between sets of dips. Got up at 0315 so I could squeeze in this training session before work. I used to train like this all the time and I honestly missed it: really felt on my game. I can’t perform as well as I can with a few meals in me, but still feel more ā€œaliveā€.

That’s the second cycle in a row I hit 2x10 and 1x9 on the bench, but considering I’m dropping weight, I hit this earlier in the day with fewer meals in me, and I’m now pressing at an incline level I haven’t done in a LONG time, I’ll consider it a victory. Still playing around with throwing in a rest pause on the final set of the day on this day.

Cut the poundstone curls at 100 just for the sake of time, and focused on getting in as many as I could without stopping. Got to 90. I know I only spent 2 workouts doing the chain curls, but I’m going to safely state that the Poundstone curls are just the superior approach for me. I imagine if I wanted something more bicep specific it’d be better to do something more focused, but this is honestly just a whole body bicep workout.

Traps are sore from shrugs on Saturday. That probably means something.

Pre-training meal was an almond butter sandwich on keto bread with a small handful of hazelnuts and 2 small bits of sugar free/0 carb beef jerky. It was originally going to be a snack for work, but I’m all about that pre-training window now.

Post training was an egg white shake with greens plus and protein powder, and then 20 minutes later I had my greek yogurt with PBfit. I apparently really love that latter meal, because I was figuring out anyway I could to get it in, and that’s what I settled on. I have to fast starting at 1900 tonight to get my labs in tomorrow.

EDIT: Something I was thinking about coming to work today: I used to use rest pause to get a lot of dips in in a short time. I might start doing that again. This bench workout has been evolving from the original Deep Water, but I kinda like that as a result. It’s been a solid period of changing things slightly as nutrition changes.

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Well now labs got pushed to 8th at the earliest. Medical community pissing me off.

Got to weigh in on an empty stomach again at 177.2. Down half a pound. Just crazy. Will be shooting for a crazy squat workout later.

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When’s the big dirty bulk starting?

Dirty bulks are most likely done for now, but weight gain will start upon lab results. I have some solid plans in place: just need a green light.

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Brought back the 2 a day today because my schedule is going to be screwed up for a bit.


PRELUNCH WORKOUT

Buffalo Bar Squats
5xBar
5x140
3x230
1x320

RESTPAUSE (12 deep breaths between sets)
10x370
4x370
3x370
2x2x370
1x370
8x320
4x320
2x320
1x320
10x280
13x220

SUPERSET (belt squat/reverse hyper)

Belt squat standing on 4 mats
10x160
3x20x141

Reverse hyper 360
2x13
2x12

POST LUNCH WORKOUT

GIANT SET (chin-press-abs)

Close grip NG chin
3x50
3x95
3x120
3x130
3x140
2x150

Axle strict press
5xAxle
5x66
3x146
3x166
7x186

Trap bar strict press
14x145

Standing ab wheel
6x10

Notes: 2 minute rests between supersets on the squat day. 90 second rests between the final two sets of the pressing.

For the belt squats, the first set I had the loop too far along the axle and leverage was screwy. Dropped weight and got in a better position. I wanna keep reps high on these and really blow out the quads. I REALLY like these. Same way I liked the car deadlift simulator: lower body work on a lever is awesome. Set-up is a little tedious, but not awful. Once I turn on the weight gain, this will include a dropset. And it pairs very well with reverse hypers for a superset.

The buffalo bar squats were good enough. I wanted 10 and I got it. After that, it was just holding on.

Broke for lunch in the middle, got some Panda Express at WAY too long of a wait (today, between medical, fast food and other nonsense, I’ve no joke spent 3 hours just WAITING for stuff: it’s been exhausting), then came back and did half of my press workout. Will do the other half early tomorrow morning. I wanted 8 on the topset of presses. My TM is most likely too high. I may walk it back next cycle.

Since I keep losing weight, I threw in some extra carbs by way of fruit and honey into my pre-workout meal, and upped the cereal content by 1/4 of a cup. Just going to keep making small adjustments. If I can keep slowly sneaking in calories while losing weight, I’ll be really primed to grow when the time comes.

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I was really impressed with these too, although the set up was a bit of a faff. The backward lean and constant tension seemed to really fry my quads.

How did you set up the belt? I tried a few different ways and found it got really uncomfortable really quick on all of them.

I used a soft belt under the dip belt on the second set, and that went a long way. Otherwise, I have a carabiner on the dip belt and it hooks onto a clip that belongs to my set of blast straps, similar to a TRX handle.

When these get heavy, I am thinking of parking my yoke in front of me to have to crossbar to hold onto, but that is just more set up than I want at the moment.

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Would that not encourage you to lean forward? I found a massive difference in effect just by forcing myself to lean back slightly more than I was comfortable with.

It might, but it would be set up more like a traditional belt squat that way. Also similar to a Hatfield, which I am thinking of using sometime too.

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Finished day with 2 mile walk. Glad I could get that in, since I skipped conditioning. Will see what I can manage tomorrow.

Belt squat set up looked like a great idea - might pinch that in the future.

@alex_uk Excellent dude. I’m a big fan of lever loaded lower body work. It’s awesome to be able to let technique slide a bit and just focus on output. The car deadlift simulator is great for this too.

Set-up is about the only thing. It takes up space in my small gym and requires me to get it set up before the workout to save time, but pay off seems worth it.


EARLY AM WORKOUT (0330)

GIANT SETS (weighted dips/DB press odd sets//BtN press/dips even sets-DB lateral raise-band pull apart)

Weighted dips 95/DB press 50s
3x10/failure

BtN Barbell press 115/dips
2x10/failure
1x8/failure

DB lateral raise 15s
1x13
5x12

Band pull aparts
1x13
5x12

Kroc rows 105 w/rest pause
1x22+4

Miniband pressdowns
1x40

CONDITIONING

Tabata boxing rounds on the BAS w/16oz gloves

GHRs
1x14

Notes: 90 seconds rest between giant sets. Second half of yesterday’s workout. I had a lot of success breaking the press into 2 workouts when I was gaining weight, and I’m remembering why. It’s nice to be able to really hammer the supplemental work like it’s own workout. Once again, dips and BtN pressing give me a crazy full upper body pump. Getting more out of the Kroc rows focusing on getting that stretch out of the bottom. I’m excited for my new DB handle to come in soon.

Had enough time left over for the pushdowns, and I think I’m going to work to include them regularly. After the rows, I don’t have much left for bicep work, but triceps can still take a pounding.

If the Mrs can support, I may continue training my upper body in the early AM. It’s been nice to get back into. I’m eating my high fat meal beforehand and tend to stay satiated for longer in the morning as a result.

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What do you think about SSB for this? I read from folks that are smart, like Wendler, that it’s a lift he doesn’t have to think about technique; he just goes. It doesn’t seem to be that foolproof for me, but that may be because I’m not lifting barbell squat weights that are so heavy that where I line up my pinky toe matters.

That’s probably the most obscene thing I’ve seen in this log.

Having got my hands on my first SSB today, I’m curious about the benefits of squatting with it too. Any thoughts on the benefits for a neuro type 3F?

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When I SSB squat, it’s horrific looking, haha

So I definitely concur with that. In turn though, using that approach tends to mean not as much carryover between the SSB squat and the barbell squat. BUT, I DO find that squatting in this style carries over better to the deadlift and strongman implements.

So mixed. If you want to, you can really focus on the SSB and milk it for barbell squat gains. OR, you can let technique slide, focus on output, and get strong all over.

@dagill2 Behold the power of insomnia, haha. I don’t even need the alarm these days.

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I think this is where I land… probably on all squat variations! I don’t know that two squat days have ever looked the same for me in terms of set-up/ technique.

Definitely some benefits.

Ha! It’s crazy easy on my shoulders, number one. I also think it is a little softer on my lower back, probably due to the camber. If I start trying to be a douche and round my upper body to cover up I’m not getting deep enough, it punishes me more than a barbell. It seems like I get more out of breath on it with similar effort than the barbell squat, so maybe it impedes breathing differently? Plus, it looks cool; you can’t put a price on that.

I’ve only used it for Good Mornings so far and found that getting that deep breathe was the only issue. Having said that, i wasn’t going heavy in any way, so I’m sure it feels different with real weight on it.

Use the SSB for Hatfield squats and really take the brain out of it. Only thing you need to think is not using your arms to pull yourself out of the hole. Otherwise its pretty brainless but can hammer the legs.

Regular SSB work just reminds me how weak my core really is which is annoying. I guess if thats what it takes to toughen that area up and remind me to hammer it, so be it.

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