I did, but I’m not going to stop bboying, so that will be my only form of conditioning.
I’m drenched in sweat after my sessions (both lifting and bboying). But for me personally it’s really good for recovery and conditioning. It’s like yoga, only with spinning on my head/hands sometimes haha.
Plus this way, it keeps it simple for me.
Right, that’s what I’m saying though. There are your 3 other sessions in training.
I think you’ll get a lot more out of Building the Monolith by trying to get it all done in 3 sessions rather than 6. I know it was a real challenge for me, especially when I put a time cap of an hour on it.
See I would love to get through the sessions like you did in your videos. But with only being able to use 1 barbell at a time it makes it tougher for me. Like your deadlift-curl-bench-curl-deadlift, etc. No way I could do that at my gym haha.
But let me ask you this, even though I am spreading it out to 6 days, in one cycle the same amount of work is being done in total, would it really make a difference at the end of the program?
I do want to make sure I am getting the most out of it, but I do have a 1 hour cutoff point like do as well.
The total volume is the same, but I envision a different training effect. Getting through more work in equal time is going to improve your conditioning, but even just plain doing more work in more time is going to require you to perform under fatigue vs while fresh, which I find is a beneficial quality. There is something to be said about how much more you can give on your conditioning days because you won’t be lifting and vise versa as well.
It’s a personal thing for me. If I was going to “run Building the Monolith”, I’d want to give it a good honest run before changing it that much, and really go through the suffering it creates. As much as the program has a physical benefit, it has a strong psychological one as well.
Shit man, well you convinced me. You are right though, I should give it one honest run as is before changing it. I’ve never run a “program” to the tee, so this will be something new. I’ve never only lifted 3x a week, so this will be new territory for me as well. I think I will have to lower my TMs a lil bit to account for the fatigue. But that’s not a big deal at all.
So I guess now it’s going to look like:
TUESDAY
Squat - 5x5
Military Press - 5/3/1, 1xAMRAP
Chin Ups - 100 reps
Dips - 100-200 reps
Band Pull Aparts - 100 reps
THURSDAY
Deadlift - 3x5
Bench Press - 5x5
DB Rows - 5x10-20
Curls - 100 reps
SATURDAY
Squat - 5/3/1, 1x20
Military Press - 10x5
Chin Ups - 5x5 (Weighted)
Shrugs - 100 reps
Band Pull Aparts - 100 reps
MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, FRIDAY
1 hour bboy session (conditioning)
I’ll have to figure out a way to keep my sessions to an hour as well. I’ll get a bit creative and see what I can do. I’m thinking of doing a mix of supersetting and the timer method.
For example Monday:
I have 20 minutes to do:
100 band pull aparts
5x5 squats
50 chin ups
Then I have another 20 minutes to do
531, 1xARMAP military press
50 chin ups
Then I have 15 minutes to do
100-200 dips
I think this is only way I can keep my sessions to under an hour. Superset, and keep my rest intervals short!
10/24/17 - Part 2
Building The Monolith - Week 1 - Day 1 - Cycle 1
Since I"m doing the 3 days a week. Decided to make sure to get my squatting part of the workout in!
Strength:
Back Squat - 135x5, 225x5, 275x5, 315x5, 335x5, 335x5, 335x5, 335x5, 335x5
Band Pull Aparts - 100 reps (4x25)
Earlier today I did:
Military Press - 135x5, 150x5, 165x9, 135x12
Chin Ups - 100 reps (13 sets)
Dips - 150 (10 sets)
@T3hPwnisher - Man you are so right. If I had to do these squats, and then go into my military press, chin ups, and dips after, the ending feeling of the workout session would be muchhhhh different than splitting it up. These sessions are going to suck for the next 12 weeks haha, but I’m hoping I’ll be a new human after that! I’m definitely going to have to add an extra meal (maybe even 2) to recover from the intensity.
10/25/17
Building The Monolith - Week 1 - Day 2 - Cycle 1
Conditioning:
30 Min - Swim Sprints
1 Hour - Bboy Session
Swimming felt good because I knew today was going to be a rough bboy session. It stretches out my body and makes my joints feel really good. Also gets my lungs pumping full of oxygen. My squad has a big battle in a few weeks, so we are ramping up a bit going much harder on crew practice sessions.
Will definitely have to eat a lot more going forward to recover. My lats, traps, and chest are sore as shit from yesterday’s work
Good luck man, looking forward to seeing the progress made on this program!
10/26/17
Building The Monolith - Week 1 - Day 3 - Cycle 1
After midnight workout session because I work a 12 hour day tomorrow and no way I’m going to have energy to workout after that. With the way my job is, I workout whenever I can. I don’t have set times.
Strength:
Deadlift - 135x5, 185x5, 225x5, 275x5, 315x5, 335x5, 355x5, 355x5, 355x5
Bench Press - 135x5, 185x5, 205x5, 215x5, 215x5, 215x5, 215x5, 215x5
DB Row - 100x10, 100x10, 100x10, 100x10, 100x10, 100x10, 100x10
Curls - 100 reps
This could be the least brutal day of the 3 BTM days. Probably because it’s the easiest to breakdown. I was able to get through the lifting portion in 50 minutes. I did the following:
Superset- Deadlift & Curls (25 minute timer set)
Superset- Bench Press & DB Rows (25 minute timer set)
I would deadlift, then right away do 10-15 curls and then rest 1 min or less, and then back at it again.
I would bench press, then right way do rows on both side and then take a legit 1 min break.
I think forcing myself to be done with the sets within the time period is making me really move at a good pace.
10/28/17
Building The Monolith - Week 1 - Day 5 - Cycle 1
*I went for 4 mile run yesterday, so that was conditioning day 2 of 3.
Strength:
Back Squat - 135x5, 225x5, 275x5, 315x5, 335x5, 185x20
Weighted Chin Up - 45x5, 45x5, 45x5, 45x5, 45x5
Overhead Press - 135x5, 135x5, 135x5, 135x5, 135x5, 135x5, 135x5, 135x5, 135x5, 135x5
Pull Aparts - 100 reps
Shrugs - 225x40, 225x40, 225x20
Got my workout done in 52 minutes! First time ever doing weighted chin ups. It was different. Could have added more weight, but as Jim says start light and build up. I’ve done 20 rep squats before so this wasn’t as crazy. My conditioning is pretty decent and my legs are generally strong so the 185 flew up and down. I haven’t done shrugs since HS, but decided I didn’t like doing them so I was going to try to get it done in as little sets as possible. My traps and hands were on fire! Good first week to building the monolith. Will be going hiking tomorrow, so that will be my conditioning.
I’ve been feeling a bit more full this week. That’s due to having 1 more meal a day. My body will adjust, I’ve been feeling stronger at the gym, so I think I’m eating the right amount!
10/29/17
Building The Monolith - Week 1 - Day 6 - Cycle 1
Conditioning:
Hike - 5 miles round trip
Went on a quick local hike with some friends. Last night I had a horrible meal. I spent $15 at Jack in the Box. This morning, my stomach did not feel good at alllll. I rarely eat fast food, but last night I just went all out.
After the hike I had a 2lb t-bone steak with a whole avocado and a whole bunch of asparagus. My piss is going to smell horrible.
10/30/17
Building The Monolith - Week 2 - Day 1 - Cycle 1
Strength:
Back Squat - 135x5, 225x5, 275x5, 315x5, 315x5, 315x5, 315x5, 315x5
Band Pull Aparts - 100 reps (4x25)
Military Press - 135x5, 155x5, 165x5, 135x13
Chin Ups - 100 reps (14 sets)
Dips - 150 (12 sets)
Got this workout done in 53 minutes. I don’t understand why the numbers this week are lower, but it’s what the program is telling me to do, so I’m going to stick to the process!
11/1/17
Building The Monolith - Week 2 - Day 3 - Cycle 1
Had another bboy practice yesterday. 2 hours of straight conditioning. I ate what felt like 4000 cals yesterday.
Strength:
Deadlift - 135x5, 185x5, 225x5, 275x5, 315x5, 335x5, 335x5, 335x5
BB Curls - 100 reps @ 45lbs
Bench Press - 135x5, 185x5, 205x5, 205x5, 205x5, 205x5, 205x5
DB Row - 100x10, 100x10, 100x10, 100x10, 100x10, 100x10, 100x10
Session took 45 minutes. Sometimes I only rested 30 seconds before the next set. These weights felt light especially the bench. I think I understand what this week is for. It’s to set me up for a big heavy week next week. I like that!
This is a 3/5/1 program rather than 5/3/1. The middle week is a lighter week to prep you for the final week, which will SUCK. It’s not quite a deload, but good enough.
On this week, I’d make things more challenging while keeping the weight light. I always pull touch and go, but this week I’d pull deadstop. I used a log instead of an axle for pressing. If you’ve been taking the presses out of the rack, take it off the floor. You can pause benches if you’ve been touch and go, etc. Also a good time to ratched up the conditioning a little.
Good to see you pushing yourself to get the program done quickly. It’s a beast that way.
That’s what I did today. All my bench press was paused because I felt like the weight was so light. Definitely made it harder. Shorter rest intervals help as well.
Thanks man! I figure if I only budget an hour to weight training I have to make it work somehow someway.
11/3/17
Building The Monolith - Week 2 - Day 5 - Cycle 1
Strength:
Back Squat - 135x5, 185x5, 225x5, 275x5, 315x5, 185x20
Weighted Chin Up - 55x5, 55x5, 55x5, 55x5, 55x5
Overhead Press - 135x5, 135x5, 135x5, 135x5, 135x5, 135x5, 135x5, 135x5, 135x5, 135x5
Pull Aparts - 100 reps
Shrugs - 225x40, 225x40, 225x20
11/5/17
Building The Monolith - Week 3 - Day 1 - Cycle 1
Back Squat - 135x5, 225x5, 275x5, 315x5, 345x5, 345x5, 345x5, 345x5, 345x5
Band Pull Aparts - 100 reps (4x25)
Military Press - 135x5, 155x5, 175x6, 135x14
Chin Ups - 100 reps (12 sets)
Dips - 150 (10 sets)
11/7/17
Building The Monolith - Week 3 - Day 2 - Cycle 1
Deadlift - 135x5, 185x5, 225x5, 275x5, 315x5, 335x5, 385x5, 385x5, 385x5
Curls - 100 reps
Bench Press - 135x5, 185x5, 205x5, 225x5, 225x5, 225x5, 225x5, 225x5
DB Row - 110x10, 110x10, 110x10, 110x10, 100x12, 100x12, 100x12
11/9/17
Building The Monolith - Week 3 - Day 3 - Cycle 1
Back Squat - 135x5, 225x5, 275x5, 315x5, 355x5, 205x20
Weighted Chin Up - 65x5, 65x5, 65x5, 65x5, 65x5
Overhead Press - 140x5, 140x5, 140x5, 140x5, 140x5, 140x5, 140x5, 140x5, 140x5, 140x5,
Pull Aparts - 100 reps
Shrugs - 225x50, 225x50
Whatsup man