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

Training Training Logs
1283

PM WORKOUT

Buffalo bar squat
5xBar
5x100
5x140
3x190
1x230
1x280
3x10x320

Notes: Goal was 5x10, but felt my right glute start going the way of my left so played it smart and called it. Slept 2.5 hours at work last night, so this was still a good effort. At least I actually got some sub-max work in.

GHR
4x10

Standing ab wheel
4x8

Neck harness 45
3x25

Notes: All performed between squats.

General notes: No weigh in this morning since I woke up on the job site. Schedule is jacked up, but Iā€™ll manage.

1284

brohim I dunno if you listen to much in the way of training podcasts; I donā€™t really like them but I love Ken Skip Hill and heā€™s got a new one Iā€™ve started listening to. Reason I mention it is thereā€™s an episode where they have Brian Shawā€™s nutritionist (who knew?) on talking about strongman stuff. A lot of nutrition stuff but also a lot of cool stuff about training for strongman and the psychology of the competitors.

Probably canā€™t post a link but the radio showā€™s called Advices Radio and itā€™s the Blood Sweat & Gear series (fairly sure itā€™s ok for me to talk about it on here - they donā€™t sell supps). The episode Iā€™m referring to is episode 3. I think the podcast in general is probably a bit steroid heavy for you, but the strongman shit was cool. I only really listen because Skip is so fucking funny.

1285

You are a god damn animal!
Thanks for always providing a reality check. You are inspiring. Not because of your hard workouts.
I think about myself as not having the worst work ethic and will power but seeing what you do over and over again makes me question that, haha.

2 Likes
1286

@Yogi1 I am a big fan of Skip! I havenā€™t listened to his podcasts, but I love what he puts out on elitefts. Really has a great perspective. Iā€™ll make sure to give that a listen; thanks for the info.

@Koestrizer That really made my day dude; thanks for writing it. Donā€™t sell yourself short though; you have been through some serious crap too dude. Youā€™ve definitely pushed yourself harder than most, keep it up.

1.5 Mile track run
11:27

Notes: A 31 second drop off from last time, and like a minute 20 from when I started. Lungs are still feeling fine, and Iā€™m not sprinting the end. Just rediscovering that foot speed.

Woke up at 193.4. Had the day off work to work on an academic paper, so it was pretty relaxed.

1 Like
1287

mate check out his podcasts! Heā€™s 1000x funnier on those than he is in articles

1288

Workout after 2.5 hrs sleep overnight at the jobsite. Jeez.

1289

@yogi I can only imagine. Hopefully he gets just as many angry and stupid comments on his channel, as thatā€™s most of the fun with his written work.

@biker I seem to have a talent with performing while sleep deprived. I guess there are worse super powers, haha.

AM WORKOUT

Axle bench press
5xAxle
5x66
5x136
5x186
5x226
5x256
3x291
6x326
16x256

Notes: Hit 2 big goals today. That 326 is absolutely a lifetime PR, and I honestly think I had a 7th in me with a better set-up. For 16x256, that is exactly twice as many reps on 256 as when I started 5/3/1 back in Nov of 2015, and thatā€™s as a back off set rather than a topset. If I ever needed clear evidence of the effectiveness of this program, there it is.

DB hammer curls 40
5x10

DB lateral/rear lateral 20
5x11/11

Notes: Performed between sets of bench. With this being the 1s week, I used lighter assistance between benching.

SUPERSET

Log clean once and press away 125
4x10

Pull up w/30
5x10

Notes: Solid performance. However, right shoulder got tweaked halfway through the last set of the log, and left elbow was getting a little mad on the pull-ups. Not doing enough rowing for my liking, but this is a temporary diversion for Murph with an emphasis on pull ups.

General notes: Woke up at 195.4. Higher sodium day yesterday; thinking Iā€™m primarily holding water.

3 Likes
1290

Have you ever tried front squatting with your SSB bar? I saw a YouTube video of Kevin Oak using it that way. Was curious if you had any input.

1291

I think the camber in mine is at such an angle that itā€™s not really viable. The NYBB SSB is designed differently compared to most on the market. Iā€™ve tried it before, but didnā€™t pan out well.

1292

Hey man, been following your log. Good stuff, always like reading your thoughts as well as seeing your progress. I had a question for you id like your input on, even though I donā€™t think you have had direct experience with it I believe your ideas would be helpful to me.

So anyway, the question. I canā€™t use a barbell since a wrist surgery despite attempting to modify my form numerous times. Would you be willing to offer any insight to how you would set up progression using something like dumbbell bench or press as a main lift? I originally wanted to do a method like 5/3/1, but Jim is not a fan of using db for 5/3/1. Right now my idea is to basically grab a set of dumbbells and work up to a max rep set, the following week grab a heavier db and work up to a max rep set, following week another heavier db and keep doing that until the weight gets too heavy to get 4-5 reps and then reset back down to one of the dumbbells from the early weeks and repeat the process trying to break rep PRā€™s. Assistance work similar to what Jim talks about in his books. In a couple years I hope to get a home gym set up with a football bar and hope that will solve my issue but in the meantime this is something Iā€™m trying to figure out.

I realize this isnā€™t something you have direct experience in, but from what Iā€™ve seen youā€™ve shown some good ability for figuring things out, fighting through things and taking a different approach when need be and I would appreciate any thoughts you have if youā€™re willing. Right now, thereā€™s very little I can find online about anyone whoā€™s gotten strong without being able to use a barbell (or similar) for pressing.

1293

I wasnā€™t quite certain if you were sleep deprived or bragging about killing 2.5 hours of your shift by sleeping!

1294

I think the reason you donā€™t find evidence is because pressing 150ā€™s for reps isnā€™t considered strong by people like Jim. After all, itā€™s only 300 total pounds. I donā€™t follow that logic. Iā€™m also not quite sure why using dumbbells with a planned progression like 5/3/1 is so frowned upon. For the sake of muscular development and shoulder joints dumbbells would actually be better than a barbell.

I think the biggest reason you donā€™t see this done much is that most gyms donā€™t have dumbbells over 100. Itā€™s easier and more common to load up a bar with 300 or more pounds than it is to max out the dumbbell rack. Itā€™s also easier to start the movement with a rack and barbell and easier to spot. And lastly, moving 300 on barbell bench is easier than moving 150s. I donā€™t think arching and leg drive have the same effect with DBs.

I donā€™t see anything wrong with using dumbbells and would actually like to see how it works out for you. I might even consider running 5/3/1 with dumbbells myself.

1 Like
1295

I agree with those thoughts, especially in terms of thinking using the 150ā€™s and whether itā€™s strong or not. My gym has db up to 120, and if I saw someone repping those I would say thatā€™s fairly strong.

I always figured the issue with dumbbells and 5/3/1 would be the pain in the butt getting into position with dumbbells is when the weight gets heavier, and the difficulty in doing a low rep set with them. Which is what I would try to avoid by resetting the weight if I couldnā€™t get 5 reps. That would mean the earlier weeks might be pretty high rep though, upper teens or even low 20ā€™s maybe.

1296

Nothing wrong with that. Itā€™s part of the fun! Iā€™d shoot for rep records instead of working to a 2 or 3 rep max. I think youā€™re dead on with staying above 5 reps.

1 Like
1297

@Frank_C Iā€™m sallary, so no matter what Iā€™m getting paid, for better or for worse, haha. But no, 2 or 3 days a month I work a 24 hour on call shift with a partner with some authorized rest periods, but occasionally that gets interrupted. I can usually manage 3-4 hours, but this last go around was pretty bad. Just kinda used it to it now.

@staystrong Regarding why no dumbbells for 5/3/1, I think youā€™re correct about the difficulty with set-up. There is also the fact that dumbbells tend to require more skill to manipulate compared to a barbell, and that, unless you have very specific dumbbells, you simply canā€™t progress your dumbbell lifts at the rate presecribed by 5/3/1. Going from 50s to 55s is technically a 10lb increase; not a 5.

All that being said, I think dumbbells are incredibly viable for building upper body size and strength. A couple of ideas Iā€™d implement.

1: Get a slingshot or some sort of similar product. This will open up a LOT of training possibilities for you. I find slingshots work very well with dumbbells.

2: Acquire an adjustable incline bench. Ideally, your gym will have one.

With that, something Iā€™ve done before for dummbbell progression is to hit a topset on a flat bench 1 week, then the next week move the incline up 1 notch while keeping the weight the same and going for max reps, and then just continuing this trend with the goal of going from flat to incline while keeping the weight the same. If you run into a sticking point, you could break out the slingshot to overcome stalls.

You could also run a program where you start out with a weight with the slingshot, advance it as far as possible each week, and then restart without the slingshot.

You can always still steal from 5/3/1 in terms of programming structure (5s, 3s, and 1s week), even if itā€™s not 5/3/1 proper. Really, as long as you are pushing yourself hard, you should make some great progress.

Hope that helps! Also, if dips work out for you, Iā€™d give them a try as well.

2 Likes
1298

Appreciate the responses @Frank_C and @T3hPwnisher! Iā€™ll admit itā€™s a little reassuring having you guys talk about this type of training as useful and not throw in a ā€œwell, you really canā€™t make a ton of progress without a barbellā€ that I see online when Iā€™ve been researching it.

I debated getting two 2 lb wrist weights and using those to progress at the rate 5/3/1 says. Might still do that, but I donā€™t believe thatā€™s necessary at this time. I do like the incline progression idea, didnā€™t really think of using it as a every week thing but I donā€™t know why cause it makes sense. One of my first thoughts was to do a 5ā€™s, 3ā€™s, and 1ā€™s week but one issue I see is quicker stalls when compared to a barbell due to lack of small progression. May just have to do more of a 3 steps forward 2 back approach and really work on those rep PRā€™s.

The slingshot is interesting. Iā€™ve read about you and others using it here, but have never bothered to look it up until now. Looks interesting. When you used it for dumbbells, did it make the weight seem more stable? Watching some videos online my first thought would be it would help with heavier weights by providing a tension to the arms to help stabilize them. Would be useful in that regard, and by giving me another ā€œliftā€ to set rep PRā€™s on.

Dips are a great idea. Tried reintroducing them, loved how they felt for my body. Unfortunately both V dips and parallel dips quickly bothered my wrist. I think Iā€™ve found the reasoning why they do, but there doesnā€™t appear to be a way to alleviate it so they are out. It is what it is.

1299

I wanted to chime in here as I am trying to press the 120s for 20 unbroken reps on the low incline (currently at 100 for 15 and 13 on two sets) with minimal bench effort once a week.
I overhead press most the time and only really use bench as an overload and to help fight tricep fatigue with high reps.
I started out doing the 350 method by Paul carter with 60 and just increased from there then I started doing almost exactly what pwn said with increasing the height. It takes time, but it does work.
I do not believe that pressing the dumbbells is the same though. I can press heavier dumbbells a hell of a lot easier than a barbell, and just like with most things, it varies person to person.

1 Like
1300

One more question. For things like pull ups, curls, rows, lateral raises, are you ever concerned with increasing weight or reps on them? Looking through your log it seems that you fairly consistently are doing about the same sets and reps with them with some occasional changes. It looks to me that if you wanted to you could do some more reps or sets with the same weight, so how do you decide to stay at lateral raises for 5x10 with 20 or curls at 4x10 with 40? Just curious how you approach the lifts after your main lift for the day to make sure theyā€™re adding to your progress.

1301

Again, not pwn, but the stronger you get, the less you begin to worry about smaller things like raises and curls. Most of it turns into prehab, rehab, pump or just to add size and keep the tempo moving. I like doing curls and extensions for my elbows personally and because having big arms is cool. If I feel strong one day, I do more weight. If I donā€™t, I do less. Once you get your main work in, the rest becomes more about building the main movements up and less about being movements themselves.

1 Like
1302

@staystrong I find myself feeling a little more stable on the slingshot with dumbbells. Nothing significant.

Regarding assistance work; itā€™s not apparent from direct observation, but there is actually a method to my madness. First, I consider maintaining status quo on assistance work while improving on mainwork as a form of progress on the assistance work. Itā€™s about fatigue management. If I can do 150 bodyweight dips after benching 315 for 10 reps, and the next week I bench 315 for 14 reps and can STILL do 150 dips after that, thatā€™s being able to perform that amount under GREATER fatigue than the previous week.

On top of that though, during the off season, Iā€™ll make an effort to push the assistance work hard on top of the main work. Iā€™ll add reps or weight each workout. However, once I start prepping for a contest, the assistance work gets put on the back burner and then eventually eliminated, which means, when I come back to it, I tend to be detrained and hit previously established numbers. A bit of wheel spinning, but the effect is that the main work still gets better.

1 Like