8/4/2025
BW 187. Not bad living on protein bars and restaurant food while traveling.
TB Operator / Black - Cycle 1, Week 5, Workout 1 LSS
3.5mi walk w/ weighted vest
+some other walking and pushups
Was supposed to lift today but got to the gym and they were re-paving the parking lot and closed. Opted for light conditioning to stay easy on the hamstring. Feels OK but definitely pulled/strained. I think next week will be fine to get back to it. Going to ice / heating pad any chance I get.
This is a short workout week. Heading to DC on Thursday for a trip with my wife so will be 2 lifts / 2 conditioning sessions for the week.
TB Operator / Black - Cycle 1, Week 5, Workout 2
Agile 8
Bench 195x3 195x3 195x3 195x3 195x3
WPU +45x3 +45x3 +45x3
Wt. Dips BWx10 +25x12 +45x9 BWx10
Ab Wheel / Leg Lifts x 3 rounds
Will get some walking in at lunch and after dinner. Did a little extra bench volume and replaced squats with weighted dips for today. Otherwise uneventful workout and uneventful day incoming. Not a bad thing!
TB Operator / Black - Cycle 1, Week 5, Workout 3
3.5mi walk w/ weighted vest
+Some other walking and pushups
These longer vest walks feel really good. I always feel better afterwards. Nothing else today. Hamstring is still a bit tight but I’ve been off it and doing what I can here. Going to squat tomorrow, even if it ends up being 3x5 at 135 with some leg curls. Get some blood flowing to the legs will be helpful.
Otherwise…nothing much to report. Getting to the end of Operator here. Week 7 will be testing week. I think the goals are going to be: 255+ bench, 385+ squat, and really no prediction on the DL. I will be keeping the weighted pull-ups the same max for next phase, the percentages aren’t translating as well to these as traditional barbell lifts.
If possible, I’d consider a box squat if dealing with the hamstring issue. Breaking up the eccentric and concentric chain can be helpful in those situations. Crazy how fast a cycle of Operator can go!
Also concur on the weighted vest walks: a very tonic workout.
weights felt heavy after a 5 hour train ride but had to get this in today to fit my schedule this week. Doing singles is fun, can dial in form well on that 1 rep.
TB Operator / Black - Cycle 1, Week 6, Workout 4
Agile 8
Bench 225x2 225x2 225x2
Squat 315x2 315x2 315x2
WPU +70x1 +70x1 +70x1. Did a bunch of BW chins throughout too, didn’t count.
KB Swings 5x20 @ 70lb
Bench and squat final sets below. I think instead of maxing out next week for test week, I will just use these weights and go AMRAP. Then plug into a max calculator. Any form advice is appreciate if anyone notices issues.
8/13/2025
BW 189.0. Still heavy after 2 trips in 2 weeks. Should come down a few residual pounds before starting up mass protocol
TB Operator / Black - Cycle 1, Week 6, Workout 4
Hill sprints x10
again at about 80% effort today. Did a longer hill.
WFH today so will be able to walk at lunch and after work.
I think I’ll start tracking my meals on here once it’s time to gain weight. I found losing weight easier this time around because I just had to not eat. But for me I will find not overeating challenging so need to keep a more diligent log. Still won’t be tracking calories as that has worked very well for me in 2025.
TB Operator / Black - Cycle 1, Week 6, Workout 5
Agile 8
Bench 225x2 225x2 225x2
Squat 315x2 315x2 315x2
Deadlift 385x1 385x1 385x1. No belt and these moved real fast. Excited to test.
Chin-ups x50 throughout the workout
Planks / Back Extension x4 rounds
Final lift before test week. A few days off from lifting with just LSS then will test lifts and some runs on separate days. Using those maxes to set up for mass protocol, will probably use a training max.
TB Operator / Black - Cycle 1, Week 6, Rest Day
No workout today but have already hit 10k steps and plan to walk more later. My boss and most of my team are out today so I am mailing it in on this Friday, getting some sun and steps in.
Tomorrow will most likely be a hike in the morning as LSS and maybe even the same Sunday. Want to go into lift testing very fresh on Wednesday.
Have been thinking through my main goals and focuses for this bulking season:
Increase bench press and grow chest. Should go hand in hand. Going to be benching 3x per week. I’m not even close but I want to bench 315. Always told myself I wasn’t a bencher. Well that turned me into not being a good bencher, haha. Other people can do it, no reason I can’t work towards it and do it.
Grow my abs. I got to be the leanest I’ve ever been this summer and still didn’t have abs. I definitely still had fat to lose but I think part of this is that I just have never focused on my abs and they’re simply not that big. Weighted sit-ups, cable curls, can’t just do my leg lifts on the chair.
Biceps lag behind triceps for me. My weighted pull-up for this 9-week block is going to be a weighted chin-up and I will include curls on the deadlift day every week. I’m improvising on the deadlift day, as I’m not going to drive to the gym for 4 sets of deadlifts. So Deadlifts + Cleans, etc. + Curls are going to be the 4th day of the week.
So to summarize, get strong and grow the beach muscles.
TB Operator / Black - Cycle 1, Week 6, Workout 6
Band pulls parts 4x10
PVC dislocates 4x10
6 rounds: pull-ups + push-ups. Didn’t really count
3.5mi walk (total) to and from the barbershop
Not really a workout but pretty active morning. Heading up to the in laws for a BBQ. At these things basically avoid most of the snacking food and gorge myself on cocktail shrimp and steak.
I don’t usually do these and one of these made my lats right around my ribs painfully sore. Maybe something I’ve been neglecting but I can’t believe this, haha.
TB Operator / Black - Cycle 1, Test Week, Test Day 1
Agile 8
Bench 225x1 245x1 265x1 275xF
Squat 315x1 335x1 365x1
Pull-ups 5x8
Dips 5x8
Super happy with these numbers. Big bench for me and all it took was committing to a 6-week program. I’ve spent too much floundering around trying to do my own thing at the gym. I’m not experienced enough to be making programs, haha. I’m excited to see what months of programming yields me coming up, while gaining some weight. Wild seeing that my heaviest set through the program was 225x2 and 265 went up!
Bench: Got 275 3/4 of the way up. 265 is still probably a lifetime PR and I’m the lightest I’ve ever been.
Squat: I had much more in the tank as you can see in the video. I’m having some trouble bracing with my belt on lately, I need to dial my form in. In the video 365 moved relatively fast but I didn’t feel stable so I called it there. 365 will work as a training max.
The difficult thing is that you don’t realize this UNTIL you’ve done a program and seen the difference. I floundered for decades! I just really thought I knew, because I read so much. (HERE! I read here!)
@ajb5478 thanks man. Felt slower than it was in reality seeing the video. Get my bracing down over the next few weeks and I don’t think 405 is out of the question.
@EmilyQ totally agreed. I feel like I have a ton of general knowledge about lifting and read so many logs here, but that doesn’t make me capable of programming for progress. I’ve made progress in terms of bodyweight, etc. but strength turns out to be something I can’t just white knuckle. Definitely glad I’m realizing this more at my age though, haha.
Finished up today with some all you can eat Sushi. Feels like the right start to a weight gain phase. Ate probably 5 rolls + appetizers. Going to put these calories to use tomorrow and testing deadlifts.
@aholding88 thanks man we will see what goes up in 9 weeks!
8/21/2025
TB Operator / Black - Cycle 1, Test Week, Test 2
Agile 8 + Swings
Sumo Deadlift 465x1. More in the tank but good as a training max. Have literally never done sumo before.
Power Clean + Front Squat 3+3 x 3 sets @ 135
Reverse Hypers x5 sets
Went sumo to test as my back was acting up last week after deadlifts. Going to keep up on my mobility work and am going to commit to reverse hypers every week. But for now will do some sumo next cycle
Mass protocol will start up Sunday with maxes set:
Bench 265
Squat 365
Deadlift 465
Weighted Chin 275 (inc BW)