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

Training Training Logs
5895

AM WORKOUT (0400 wakeup)

Buffalo Bar Squats
5xBar
5x140
3x230
1x320

REST PAUSE (12 deep breaths between sets)
5x390
3x390
4x2x390
1x390
5x320
4x320
3x320
2x320
1x320
8x300
16x220

SUPERSETS (squat-hyper)

Belt squat 150
3x20
DROPSET
20x150
12x125
20x90
20x45 (no lockout)

Reverse hyper 360
4x13

CONDITIONING

Tabata KB swings 45lbs

LONG REST (breakfast/walk kid to school)

Load 250+lb sandbag 1 rep

NG chins rest pause
30+10+7+3

Band pull aparts
1x30

Notes: Buffalo bar squats were a bit rough hitting it that ealry in the morning, so I took what I could get. Had my first Finibar ever about 20 minutes before training. They donā€™t trigger an allergic reaction in me, which is a HUGE plus as far as bars go, as itā€™s rare that I get that. Taste was adequate, texture was good. Price was right for sure. Iā€™m gonna be using them more for the next few days to get a real ruling on them, but it answered the mail if nothing else. Training session went well enough, minus the topset of course, but thatā€™s to be expected. Still gave it my all, and I made up reps on all those doubles. Iā€™m liking that approach Iā€™ve come up with in my training: if topset is a bust, instead of just giving up, find a way to hit the rep total and still make progress.

Tweaked something in my neck on one of the sets of doubles on the top. Just annoying.

Iā€™d forgotten what it was like having all my weights again, and ended up having the plate tree tip over and knock my sandbag off the moving dolly, which is why I had to load it for a rep. Considering Iā€™m 30lbs lighter than I was the last time I loaded it, I was very pleased to be able to do it again. Iā€™ve missed doing that: itā€™s going to come back into my training. With winter right around the corner, itā€™s a good time to get back into picking up heavy stuff in the garage.

ā€œNo lockoutā€ is money on belt squats. Need to make that a regular thing. Keep tension on the quads.

Originally wanted to do a Fran with KB swings instead of thrusters, but time was running short. Was happy to get something in.

2 Likes
5896

Seeing that squat workout, then realizing it was done around 0400, makes me want to puke. No bueno.

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5897

It was definitely the opposite of a good time, haha. Always nice to get that out of the way early.

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5898

Just had the idea of using a band on the belt squats. I think that will be amazing.

Also contemplating adding an extra day of squatting into the program for SSB/SSB front. Higher volume stuff. More chances to up carbs.

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5899

Iā€™m finding temperature is a big deal for my sleeping, if that helps you at all. Iā€™m the same as you: I fall asleep, then I wake up after a couple hours and Iā€™m just up.

I think Iā€™ve been doing far too much assistance and using myself up on that and Iā€™m not getting any stronger (my arms are huge, though, brosefenheimer). I want to go back to a simpler day when I just do something hard and stupid (barbell and conditioning). I think Iā€™ve got my short-term plan set for that, but literally what cam to my mind is to put a little more @T3hPwnisher in my day.
To that end: what are you doing these days? It looks like youā€™re working up to something hard, and then a couple rounds of whatever misery strikes your fancy. Is that relatively accurate?

2 Likes
5900

Temp has been pretty good: we keep the house cool enough. I genuinely think the dogs are the big x-factor: Iā€™m sleeping lightly and theyā€™re constantly waking me up. Iā€™m away for a few days now, so that will help determine.

I appreciate the sentiment of employing my approach. If you want a detailed version of what exactly Iā€™m doing on my press day, my latest blog entry has it all laid out. Itā€™s 5/3/1 main with a FSL PR set and then my own supplemental work. Iā€™m rest pausing the topset now, per my goal of gaining weight.

Bench day is something that evolved from Deep Water. Now using 3 week waves on incline DB benching due to fixed weight DBs, and itā€™s got rest pausing in the supplemental work and the dips.

Squat day is Xeno squats and then some. Really liking the belt squats.

Deadlift day is alternating between ROM progression one week and max effort trap bar pulls the next. As ROM increases on the barbell, itā€™ll decrease on the trap bar, as Iā€™ll pull from elevated heights. After that, full on back day.

I try to include conditioning on everyday, and have it match up to what is being worked. So Iā€™ll work the BAS on my upper body days, jumps/cleans/snatches on squat days and carries on back days. But sometimes schedule/convenience overrides it. Iā€™m also doing a lot of walking/weighted vest walking where I can, and a weekly run of some variety.

2 Likes
5901

Does that riced cauliflower require refrigeration? Iā€™ve only seen the Green Giant brand at my grocery store, but itā€™s a frozen option.

Iā€™ve noticed you lay out your self-designed training approaches a handful of times between here and your blog, have you ever thought of cataloging them?

5902

No refridgeration necessary. Got it at Costco: awesome ā€œgrab and goā€ product. Just made some meals in my hotel room: canned chicken, riced cauliflower and mixed nuts (pistachios, hazelnuts and walnuts). Protein, veggies and fats: what more could you need? Haha. Got my Finibar set out as breakfast. Local GNC was selling a case of 12 Bang energy drinks for $12, so I got that too. I honestly like living like this: limitations create flexibility.

Iā€™ve nugged out some of the workouts on the blog whenever I felt like I had something solid I could put into words, and I started an e-book, but never really codified anything. So much is just evolutions over time that itā€™s hard to say exactly when a program becomes a program.

Also wanted to log that I lucked out: Iā€™ve got a crossfit style gym within walking distance of where I am staying. No issues staying on program. Can even get in my daily GHRs, which I skipped today unfortunately.

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5903

Real solid travel food. Is this a work trip? Your employers must love you if so haha.

I hadnā€™t thought to check out BJs or Samā€™s Club. The closest Costco is 130 miles from me and I canā€™t say easier-to-use riced cauliflower is worth that kind of time.

5904

Yeah, work trip. Iā€™ve gotten good at them, haha.

Samā€™s doesnā€™t carry it unfortunately. Just a Costco product. Samā€™s has lots of good stuff too, just not this one particular product. But they DO have jars of jalapenos while Costco doesnā€™t, and Iā€™ve been eating those things like theyā€™re going out of style.

5905

Good to know, wonā€™t kill myself walking around that giant store looking haha.

Is there something magical about jalapenos aside from them being delicious? Iā€™ve seen Rogan post photos of them as the only side accompanying his elk a bunch of times but never looked into if there was any attached bro science.

Also just realized Iā€™ve flooded you with questions the last couple posts haha, thanks for the time dude.

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5906

Thank you for that rundown - very much appreciated. In the short-term, Iā€™m just getting smarter at making a handful of lifts my focus. Very helpful to see how you approach each lift a bit differently, though; I think thatā€™s somewhat rare.

5907

@Mr.v3lv3t There may be something magical about them, but as a San Diego boy, theyā€™re just something I love, and I can put them on EVERYTHING at a whopping total of 0 calories. They compliment just about every dish, and I count them as a veggie. I go through a jar a week these days. And always happy to discuss training/nutrition dude.

@TrainForPain Glad I could help. The way I see it in my head is that the press and the deadlift are my priority movements while the bench and the squat supplement them, so if you look at my training, the press and the deadlift have more of a ā€œstrength bentā€ to them in their training (1 topset and then backoff work) while the bench and the squat are more bodybuildery in their approach (straight sets or no heavy topset). If I try to make all 4 lifts a priority, none of them go up, so it means some lifts get trained differently than other. Jim Wendler does the same thing in a lot of his 5/3/1 programs, and I most likely stole that from him, haha.

AM WORKOUT (0330 wakeup)

GHR
1x32

NG chins (rest pause)
25+7+7+6+5

Band pull aparts
1x30

High incline DB bench
4x115
6x105
DROPSET
8x95
4x80
8x60

Close grip incline barbell bench
12x155
9x175
8x175

Barbell flat bench 225
2x10
1x7+3+3 (rest pause)

NG chins Between sets of benching
15x9

Dips (rest pause)
42+17+14+13+11+3

Cable curls dropset
A jillion reps

CONDITIONING

Tabata battle ropes

Notes: 2:00 between sets. Made the most of having some new toys to play with and changed things up since this is already just my bench day anyway. Got in the daily stuff as a warm-up, then went to town. Been a long time since I used a barbell for any sort of pressing: it feels like a toy after all the time with the axle. Being able to hit sets of 225 on the bench at the end of a workout is reassuring. Always wanted to try some close grip incline benching after reading about it with Westside back in 08: I think itā€™s viable with my junky shoulder. Might bring that into the rotation sometime.

First exposure with battleropes was pretty neat. They actually had a climbing rope I wanted to try, but after all the chins my grip was fried.

Ran the whole workout off the Peanut Butter Finibar. Once again: no allergic reaction, so itā€™s a win. Itā€™s a higher carb breakfast than I normally would have before a bench day, but I packed 10 of them for the trip so they may as well be my breakfast. Iā€™m lazy and theyā€™re easy, haha. I always liked bars for breakfast for that reason.

Also, itā€™s not a real commercial gym workout if you donā€™t take a locker room selfie, so hereā€™ mine

985Ɨ2898 632 KB

8 Likes
5908

Those are some serious guns, my man.

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5909

Thanks dude! Means a lot from our resident cannon owner.

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5910

Think you are giving @BOTSLAYER some inspiration for his stint of focusing on his gunz++ with that picture. Damn!

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5911

That makes a ton of sense.

Also - your shoulders look insane. Good stuff

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5912

Nice.

5913

@T3hPwnisher since youā€™re the king of deadlifts here. Do you know what kind of flooring that would work if I wanted to deadlift in my driveway. I was thinking of those eva foam tiles or 3/8 inch rubber tiles. Kinda have a budget of $50.

My deadlifts have pretty much been deficit deadlifts from doing it in the backyard.

5914

@Voxel Thanks dude!

@TrainForPain Much appreciated man. All the pressing really seems to shine through.

@kdjohn So much easier than counting, haha.

@tlgains Iā€™d use rubber patio pavers (youā€™d need 4: 1 for each side of the bar and 2 to stand on) or a horse stall mat. Both should fit the budget.

3 Likes