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

Training Training Logs
1022

AM WORKOUT

SSB Squat
5xBar+chains
5x115+chains
5x155+chains
3x205+chains
1x245+chains
1x295+chains
1x335+chains
1x385+chains
1x460+chains (+10lb lifetime PR)
1x335+chains

Notes: Hamstrings were still killing me from Saturday’s workout and getting to depth was painful. Had 475 on my mind, but played it safe with 460. It was a brutal squat and I got stuck midway, but pulled it through. I had nothing left after that, and the backoff set shows.

Reverse hyper 360
4x10

Standing ab wheel
4x8

Notes: Performed between warm-ups on squats.

Viking squats 135
2x10

Notes: Despite the light weight, these take a lot out of me. I’m gonna keep trying to build up my tolerance as I go and figure out technique.

Neck harness 45
3x20

General notes: Woke up at 195.0. Left knee has been in pain, but not during training. It’s more lateral movements, like sliding my chair at work. Think I might just be putting odd stress on it while trying to sit down while sore from squats.

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1023

Hey man, glad to hear your recovery is coming along.

I honestly think everything I did worked. The single leg work for the uninjured leg, the flexing and visualizing for the healing leg, the upper body focus, the prowler pushes, everything. About the only thing I’d do different is start the seated good mornings earlier in the recovery than I did. It took me a while to figure those out as an alternative, but once I did, I had a lower body movement I could really hammer hard.

I wasn’t doing a whole lot of isolated knee extension work during rehab, which may have lessened patellar pain. I would use squats, but never just simply extending the knee. You might want to try out some high box squats to start with a superlight weight and then gradually increase the ROM while keeping the weight light. And, of course, the prowler is awesome.

I’m not sure if I totally hit your question, so let me know if I can clarify anything.

1024

AM WORKOUT

Axle bench press
5xAxle
5x66
5x136
5x186
5x226
5x251
3x281
6x316 (some sort of PR I’m sure)
12x251

Notes: Goal was 5 for 316, so that 6th was a pleasant surprise. I may have had a 7th if I really wanted to grind, but with my left knee feeling achy, I didn’t want to push the leg drive issue too hard. Things are coming along on the bench. I’ll be lowering my training max per the 5 forward, 3 back, but I think I’m going to start breaking new ground for the first time in a LOOOONG time. After benching, my right shoulder felt like it was done, so I ended up cutting out the rest of my pressing for the workout.

Chins (various grips)
1x25
1x21
2x20
1x25

DB lateral/rear laterals 20
5x12

Notes: For chins, it went first set overhand, second set underhand, third and fourth various NG widths, and 5th set was all of the above. I’m really feeling the difference bringing back the over and underhand stuff.

Kroc rows 105
1x21

DB hammer curl dropset
8x45
8x35
8x25
10x15

Notes: Was running short on time, so just bring the intensity. Tried to really focus on the stretch on the kroc rows.

General notes: 195.8 this morning. Knee is getting better. Still swollen and achy, but sitting and standing is not painful. Wondering if I just tweaked it pushing the car out of the snow, or from running.

1025

Hey man, just wanted to say congrats on your show and doing all you do here on the site. You’ve helped a lot of people and it definitely shows by the love and support you get on here. I had a question about thick bar training and was hoping you could help. It may sound idiotic, but my wife is getting me fat gripz for christmas and I plan on using them on everything once my wrist is 100 (I used to have an axle at my old house, but my apartment has zero room so no axle). My question is do you think it would be beneficial to use straps with them as you do with your axle deads or should I just use them with a mixed grip, strap up for my top set of deads on a straight bar, and then use the fat gripz again for grip work? Again man, really loving the log and congrats again.

1026

Thanks for stopping by dude. I appreciate the kind words.

Straps with the fat gripz wouldn’t do a whole lot honestly. I use straps on the axle for deadlifts because I’m trying to benefit from the stiffness/lack of flex in the axle long with how it throws the weight further out in front of me, not the grip diameter. I think your latter plan will pan out much better.

Let me know if I can share anything else. Happy training, and enjoy the fat gripz!

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1027

Prowler (high handles) w/200lbs loaded
10x50’

Notes: 30 seconds of rest between the first 8. 60 seconds on the last 2. Lungs were broken by the end. I know I need to spend more time with the yoke, but with my left knee still a little pissed (definitely on the way up, but not 100%) I figured the prowler was a safer bet. Zero pain for the training.

Didn’t weight myself this morning, Schedule was a little frantic.

NIN released a new album yesterday, and this has become my new anthem.

Pretty much sums up the log.

1028

AM WORKOUT

(5) Mat Pulls
5x136
5x226
1x276
1x366 (mixed grip)
1x456 (mixed grip)
10x561 (straps, touch and go, rest pause)
10x471 (straps, deadstop)
25 second DOH hold 276

Notes: This went much better than expected. Grip held up better, and I found reserves I didn’t know I had. Also ended up blowing out a ton of blood vessels in my both shoulders. Good to be able to bring that kind of intensity to an AM workout.

GHR sit-up w/25lb plate behind head
3x8
1x6

Buffalo Bar Squats
5xBar
5x100
5x140
3x190
1x230
1x280
1x320

RESTPAUSE (15 deep breaths between sets)
10x370
5x370
2x370
1x370
10x280
5x280
2x280
1x280

Notes: Felt good to nail those 10 reps of 370, but it took just about everything out of me. I seriously contemplated hanging up the rest of the workout for a hot second there, but pushed through. Once I did it again at 280, I had to take longer than 15 breaths between sets, because I was trying my hardest not to vomit. I might move up to 410 next workout and try to get the reps back up from there.

Left knee still didn’t want to play this morning, but after enough warm-ups it didn’t bother me. I’m wondering of my new ACL just got too stiff in the cold weather, and I needed to just warm it up and stretch it out. The knee is still a little tight, but manageable. The pain is migrating from the surgical site to the top of the knee cap, which I think is a good sign. This might be that arthritis they told me I would get, or something completely unrelated, but right now, I’m just dealing with pain, not dysfunction. If that changes, I might get it looked it.

General notes: Woke up at 196.6 this morning. That said, I had to stop midway through warm-ups to attend to some colon issues, so I imagine I was carrying some deadweight there. I might be tabling the run this week for some other conditioning, because that might be good for the knee.

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1029

My injury history is a little different, but I have experienced one major and one minor injury that have lingering effects: a broken femur/torn MCL combo platter as a sophomore in high school, then a nasty high-ankle sprain as a junior in college. Anecdotally, I do “feel” their residual effect more when it’s cold (and, oddly enough, when it’s humid) and it does take a little more warming up. I know you pop into my log from time to time, but there’s an unlisted “warmup” (two things, actually) that I do before most of my workouts - first, I walk about half a mile to the gym, which isn’t far but it’s enough to serve as a general-purpose warmup vs. just rolling out of bed; second, once I arrive at the gym, I usually spend a couple minutes satisfying some OCD tendencies by rearranging the plates into matching pairs (my gym has about four different styles of 45-pound plate, and people always just leave them all over). It’s a lot of taking plates off the racks, moving them around, and then re-loading them with matched pairs living together. Once I’ve done that for awhile, enough juice seems to be flowing that I don’t notice my ankle or knee feeling sore or clicky any more.

1030

Appreciate the post dude. I’ve noticed the same thing with humidity too. I’m definitely warming up more than I used to, and it seems to go a long way. It’s why I started documenting it more completely. Used to just be plate jumps for singles, but getting in just a few more reps along the way really seems to loosen things up.

1031

Treadmill Run

Incline: 1
Speed: 7.7
Distance: 1.5miles
Time: 11:42

Notes: Knee was still massively swollen, but there is no pain. I’m just stiff as hell. Figured this might actually help. This sucked, but was manageable. Also got some extra conditioning shoveling the driveyway too.

Woke up at 196.0. Yesterday, had an amazing cheatmeal of a 1/3lb cheeseburger with a fried egg, 3 pieces of bacon with grilled cheese for buns and onion rings. Today, I indulged with a cinnamon bun and 2 crescent rolls. Merry Christmas to me.

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1032

PM WORKOUT

Axle Strict Press
5xAxle
5x66
5x136
5x171
3x196
4x216
5x216 (push press)
8x171

Notes: Had the day off work, so slept in and grabbed an afternoon workout. Soon as I went to press on the top set of 216, my left hamstring and glute cramped up pretty good. Was still able to get in a solid press, but made me feel unstable. Those push presses were smooth today; think I’m getting the hang of it. It’s time for me to roll 3 back on the training max again. It’s been working great, and I’m in uncharted waters.

Grenade ball pulldowns 90
1x20
1x18
1x16
1x14
1x14

Band pull aparts
5x20

Notes: Lats are on fire with the pulldowns. Did all of these between sets of presses.

Axle rows 186
50 reps

Notes: Upped the weight. Gonna start the process over on these. Seem to be effective.

Dips
120 reps

Notes: 2 big rest pause sets. Got 50 on the first go.

Axle curls
1x110

General notes: Woke up at 195.0. Knee swelling is better.

1033

AM WORKOUT

Axle Front Squat
5xAxle
5x66
5x136
3x186
1x226
1x276
1x316
2x316

Axle Viking Front Squat
5x226

Notes: Legs and knee were feeling good today, but I could feel some strain on the ACL proper during some of these squats. Think I need to focus on keeping my torso more upright, as it might mean less strain on the knee trying to compensate. The front squat harness works with the axle, but it’s amazing how much this movement kills my soul. The harness makes it so that the weight it actually a little lower/more forward than a traditional front squat, so it’s kinda like a cambered front squat. Hard to breathe with it.

Reverse hypers 360
4x11

Standing ab wheel
4x8

Neck harness 45 (various angles)
3x20

Notes: All performed between sets of front squats

SSB Squats 245+chains
1x15

Notes: Felt like I was gonna puke towards the end. Next time, no belt.

General notes: Woke up at 196.6. After the workout, the outside of my left knee as a little achy, but it’s opposite the surgical site, so I’m not too worried.

1034

Hey brother, I was just wondering if I could pick your brain about getting an axle? I know you’re obviously a big fan but I just have a few questions:

  1. when you initially switched to the axle how much lighter did you have to go for deadlifts? I’m guessing it varies with straps vs mixed vs double overhand.

  2. anything particular to look out for when buying one? I see them come in different widths

  3. would you recommend only get an axle alone, with no regular barbell? If goals are just general strength/badassery and nothing specific

It’s clear from your log that it’s a great tool with a lot of carryover. Other advantages from my point of view are cost and being a bit shorter.

Thanks man!

1035

Not pwn, but when I used to train with one I had to drop down initially, but I built back up fairly quick. It I still had access to one, I probably would never use a barbell again. I like the hand strength and size that comes from the thick bar implement. And I would rather make one than buy one imo. I just used a 2 inch thick pipe and used duct tape to make “collars” about a foot in on each side. You can buy one, (and if you have the extra cash, it makes sense to) but if you could get one for cheap and have the satisfaction of training on something you made and saved money on, why not? Hope that long ass input helps!

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1036

Thanks for the contribution @oldbeancam

Per the quesitons

1: Honestly couldn’t tell you what the dropoff was. I started deadlifting with an axle after my ACL rupture, and I did it so that I wouldn’t be able to compare old numbers with new ones. It will DEFINITELY vary with straps vs mixed vs double overhand for sure.

2: If you’re going to buy one, 2" diameter would be pretty ideal. Standard is really 1.9", which makes it a little tougher for locking collars, but some companies make them. I prefer bare steel over powder coating, but it’s rare to find.

3: If I could do it all over again, I would’ve bought the Ironmind Apollon’s axle first and never got a Texas Power Bar. The TPB is legit, but pretty much anything it can do, the axle can do better. Squats with an axle suck, but otherwise it’s a great tool. I’m all for only using it.

As oldbeancan wrote, you can DIY an axle if you don’t want to buy one. Some schedule 80 pipe cut to 7.5’ length with some gorilla tape for collars will go a LONG way. You just want to make sure it’s thick pipe. Solid rolled steel would be even better. You just don’t want it to bend.

Hope that helps!

2 Likes
1037

@oldbeancam @T3hPwnisher Thank you both very much.

1038

No problem dude!

PM WORKOUT

Axle Bench
5xAxle
5x66
5x136
5x186
5x206
5x241
14x271
15x226

Notes: Misload on the FSL, but worked out for the best. 14 was the goal for 205, so to hit 15 of 226 is fantastic. Didn’t quite have the pop I wanted for the topset, but a good showing still. This was the first day of the 3 back phase.

T-bar rows 200lbs
5x11

DB lateral/side laterals 25
5x8/8

Notes: Performed in between sets of benching. T-bar rows are really coming along.

GIANT SETS

Log clean and push press (clean once) 140
5x8

Weighted NG chins 55
1x6
1x7
1x8
1x7
1x6

DB hammer curls 35
5x10

Notes: Log is feeling a little stronger. Not experiencing elbow pain with the chins. Think alternating each week is the way to go.

General notes: Woke up at 195.0. Schedule got messed up this morning, so trained in the evening. Pulled my left oblique putting some weights away at the end of the workout, but nothing serious.

1039

Prowler
200lbs on prowler
60’ sprints
10 rounds
30 seconds between rounds

Notes: What an ass kicker. Major case of prowler flu when it was done. I know I should probably train some real events, but I’m loving how much this is killing me, and with the streets all slushy, it seems like the safest move.

General notes: Woke up at 194.0. Cheat meal today was pizzahut lunch buffet, but it was actually kinda light. I might just have a few dirtier meals in general.

1040

AM WORKOUT

(4) Mat Pulls 560
5x136
5x226
1x276
1x336 (mixed grip)
1x426 (mixed grip)
9x561 (straps, rest pause, touch and go)
10x471 (straps, deadstop)
27 second DOH hold 276

Notes: This went better than expected. I seem to be really finding the groove in these morning workouts. I feel awful each time, but my body shows up ready. This is usually my rough spot in the cycle, so it bodes well.

GHR sit ups w/25lb plate behind head
3x8
1x6

Buffalo Bar Squats
5xBar
5x100
5x140
3x190
1x230
1x280
1x330

RESTPAUSE (15 deep breaths between sets)
12x370
3x3x370
1x370
12x280

Notes: 12 was the goal for the topset. I’m really hitting my stride on these, and I think I’m back to my old strength levels for PM workouts. Had to count sets of 3 to make it all the way through, and after that I had to keep the reps low on follow-up sets. Part of the way you play with this as things get more complicated. Think I’ve earned the right to use 410 for the next workout.

General notes: Woke up at 196.2 this morning. Right shoulder has been bothering. Nothing awful, just a dull ache.

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1041

Treadmill Run
Incline: 1
Speed: 7.8
Distance: 1 mile
Time; 7:42

Notes: Shoveled snow in the driveway for about 30 minutes before this, and it just took the wind out of my sails. -2 outside, snow blowing back into my face. Still a sign I probably need to throttle the speed back next week to get in quality distance.

Woke up at 196.0. Got the day off tomorrow, so I’ll be getting in another PR workout.