It’s too simple to work 
.
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Those are the sorts of things a Kool-aid drinker would say. I did Crossfit, so I know what I’m talking about. 
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Look around a cross fit gym. Sleds, glute/ham benches, gymnastic rings and barbells. All the things Louie said we needed 20 years ago.
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Thanks for all the feedback!
@Frank_C SGSS looks like a great progression model. Thank you for the detailed breakdown and programming! I think I’m going to do my current plan for a couple weeks, perhaps through March, to ease back into 4x/week lifting, then I plan to incorporate SGSS as my progression model for main lifts (DB bench, rows, front squats, RDLs, and deficit deadlifts.) I’ll likely run it through the 8 and 5 periods then assess what to do for 3. I love triples for lower body and barbell work but wonder if it’s smart to go heavy with dumbbells. I’ll keep the calisthenics light to reduce knee and SI joint strain. I’ve thought of trying incline bench but starting ridiculously light to see to my shoulder adapts. I’ll revisit the idea once I start the adapted SGSS.
@OTHSteve I love full-body workouts, so no doubt I’ll resume them at some point. Right now though, I think my body’s wanting to not have to repair all of itself every time I lift.
@mortdk thank you for your feedback and encouragement, I appreciate it. Like you said and as I mentioned to J, I’m going to run this for a bit, probably through March and maybe April then I’ll add in SGSS for the day’s main lift. I’m goin to start doing short core sets between the main lift sets, like you advised. I’m thinking side planks on lower body days and v-ups, crunches, or ab wheels on upper body days. Which exercises do you like for abs?
@littlesleeper each time I read @losthog’s log, I get excited about conjugate, despite having zero knowledge about it 
How long have you been running a conjugate system? How did you get started on it?
@simo74 Right now, I work out at home, so I don’t have any drive time to or from a gym. My ideal time spent exercising would be 20-45 minutes, five days a week, keeps ng volume and intensity manageable so I can recover. That’s interesting the calisthenics are draining for you when you push their volume. I wonder if I’ve been thinking about them backwards? I’ve approached training as barbell work having high recovery cost and bodyweight movements having little. Maybe the key factor for me is volume, namely number of reps, and less about the weight used for the movements.
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I do oblique work supersetted with upperbody lift. Side plank, bicycle crunch, a banded standing thing, for lower body I do plank, ab wheel and hanging leg raise. probably dragon flags if I could
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I’m actually just on week 3 right now, so I’m still very much in the learning phase myself.
I went in and worked out at a small gym owned by my old highschool football coach, and he asked me if he could train me for the next few months using The Conjugate Method. He really thinks he can add some lbs to my lifts, and I have nothing to lose!
I’m enjoying it right now, but I typically enjoy every new program for around 4 weeks until I get tired of it! I will be sure to report back with results after giving it a proper go.
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This 100%. it all comes from the same bucket
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2/24/19, Sunday
UB 1
Warm-up - pushups, light db lifts
Low incline DB press
53 x 8
58 x 8
63 x 8
68 x 8
73 x 8
73 x 8
I had more in me, but I’ve not pressed for several months, so I kept it comfortable.
Wide neutral grip rows
100 x 10
110 x 10
120 x 10
130 x 8
130 x 8
The grip on these is wide - around 36" / one meter. They’re the rowing equivalent of a Reeves deadlift. I have to use 40-50 pounds less in this variation, but it laser-targets my lower traps, leaving my shoulders feeling SUPERB the next day. My hope is a couple months of these, along with BPAs, will realign my shoulders and enable me to healthily OHP again.
EZ curls / lateral raises
60 x 6 / 18 x 14
70 x 6 / 18 x 13
80 x 5 / 18 x 12
90 x 5 / 18 x 12
Today was my first day of the 4-day split I’m trying for a month or two. It was cold, the ground was frozen from a weekend snow, and I didn’t feel like lifting. But I did, and it left me energized and excited for Monday’s leg day.
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Once I get into the full swing of this program, I’m going to add side planks for obliques and progress them to side planks bends - I have to work back up to those!
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Haha, right?! I kind of envy the people who can do the same five lifts for several months at a time without getting bored. To me though, part of the fun of lifting is the sheer variety of exercises, sets/rep methods, and combinations possible.
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Very, very good point. Since lower reps don’t smoke me, they’re the rep range to focus the bulk of my lifting on. Good insight, Simo.
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2/27/19, Wednesday
LB 1
Warm-up
Good morning
3 x 8 @ 65, 85, 105
Box squats / Bulgarian split squats
3 x 15 @ bw / 3 x 5 @ bw
Back squats
65 x 5
115 x 5
135 x 5
155 x 5
170 x 5
185 x 5
200 x 5
155 x 5 (front squats)
I wanted to see how back squats feel, and I wasn’t disappointed. For the next month, I may keep them as the main squat and front squats as the burnout. I need the extra posterior chain engagent at the moment.
RDL / walking lunges
135 x 8 / bw x 12
155 x 8 / bw x 12
175 x 8 / bw x 12
I kept the RDLs light and snappy, which I’m feeling. The bodyweight walking lunges feel great after squats, and I plan to work into high rep ranges with them.
Standing single leg calf raise / v-ups
16 x 12 / bw x 15
16 x 12 / bw x 15
16 x 12 / bw x 15
This was a solid, basic lower body workout. Now (the day after) my hams are ready sore, which is good! This was a day of focusing on quality reps, form, and weak areas.
I took a page from @Frank_C’s book and finally started doing the split squats I’ve been needing. I also borrowed an idea from @OTHSteve and did light good mornings as a warm up (at some point, he was doing light cleans as a warm up, which I plan to do before deadlifts.) I’m digging this upper/lower split.
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RDLs always destroy my hamstrings. It takes a few weeks of doing the movement regularly before I can push the weight without being crippled for days.
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Same here. I’m already so sore, sitting down is difficult
I thought your weights were heavy. That should tell you how often I’ve been doing them and the amount of soreness that comes with them.
I actually did the same weights last week.
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The 48-hour DOMS is real
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3/1/19, Friday
UB 2, Efficiency Edition
BPA / push-ups on handles / towel pull-ups
- 2x red x 20 / bw x 15 / bw x 6
- 2x red x 20 / 12.5 x 12 / bw x 6
- 2x red x 20 / 30 x 11 / bw x 6
- 2x red x 20 / 30 x 12 / bw x 6
- 2x red x 20 / 30 x 12 / bw x 6
- ------------ / bw x 23 / 55 x 17 (db rows)
Lateral raises
- 13 x 20
- 13 x 20
I was pressed for time so did the essential exercises. Not gonna lie, doing these triple sets smoked me in short order, and I had a nice arm and delt pump by the end.
For future reference, doing 5-6 rounds of BPAs, weighted pushups, towel or weighted pull-ups, and an ab exercise would be a satisfying upper body workout when needing a change of pace or between training blocks.
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Still alive. Will post again soon. Or send out a message in a bottle, depending on data limits.
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3/16/19, Saturday evening
Road ruck
1:06:17, approx. 20lb pack, 4 miles
I’ve been doing lots of landscaping and other manual labor and simply haven’t had the energy to train. Gotta find a better way…
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Manual labour and moving around could make it out for training.
If you stumble over a rock or a log lift it up, real life training.
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