Yessss yesssss
Thatās just my way of saying I will do the usual 5 cardio sets on opposite day. Possibly with a bit more weight, but we will see.
Copy catā¦except for doing 5 sets of squat on a second day.
C2W1D1 - Squats, Training Maximally style
As stated before, switching squats over to TM. Starting with a 1RM of 140 (could be a bit higher, but I am basing it on the shit day I had the other day), so that puts the TM target at about 125 for the topset.
-
Barbell Squat
- 50 kg x 5 reps
- 65 kg x 5 reps
- 75 kg x 5 reps
- 90 kg x 3 reps
- 100 kg x 3 reps
- 115 kg x 1 reps
- 125 kg x 1 reps
- 135 kg x 3 reps (Joker)
- 90 kg x 8 reps
- 90 kg x 8 reps
- 90 kg x 8 reps
-
Decline Barbell Bench Press
- 55 kg x 6 reps
- 80 kg x 10 reps
- 80 kg x 10 reps
- 80 kg x 10 reps
- 80 kg x 10 reps
- 80 kg x 10 reps
-
Muscle-Up
- 1 reps
- 3 reps
Good session. Felt good enough to do a triple at 135 for a joker set. I think switching over to this scheme is the right move. It is a good combination of going a bit heavy, getting some volume, and letting me auto-regulate a bit. Props again to @Frank_C for bringing this version to my attention, seems really good for lower body. The trick now will be to figure out what to do with cardio sets in my off dayā¦may need to make them heavier than usual, will see.
Speaking of cardio reps, I got those declines up above 70% of TM, which is officially the Money Zone. Not sure yet if that was a good idea, the rest of the week will probably tell the story.
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I actually wasnāt aware that was your exact split. But as you can see above, I am giving you credit!
I still have a different approach for deads. There are lots of options for your volume sets. BBB if you want to suffer. 3-5 x 5-8 with 70ish% is what follows the top sets of Training Maximally. FSL or SSL. If you want heavier weights then 5x5 with 75-85% (75 week 1, 80 week 2, 85 week 3) would fit the bill.
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I am totally onboard with this part for the extra sets. The ones I do on the same day. The ones I do later in the week I will probably just play around with, maybe BBB style, maybe not. I primarily think of those sets as pure bonus, and helping to keep all lifts in the proverbial grove.
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I run through the TM main work before deadlifts. I usually rush it, though. Instead of 135/165/195 x 5 followed by 225 x 3 and 255 x 1, I do 135/185/225 x 5, 275x1 and call it good.
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@Cyrrex remember to be careful with adding the jokers and not doing it all the time. If you want to go harder you are better off picking something with an Amrap set. Jim has pretty much said he wished he never wrote about jokers.
I disagree. Jokers arenāt much different than your approach right now. You hit a heavy-ish single and then hit your volume. I never liked the ARMRAPS with the goal of beating the last e1RM. Too much potential for burnout.
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My internal reasoning is that for the squats and deads, I am mostly okay with slow progress or just maintaining. The AMRAP I normally do ends up getting really hard, leading to a bit too much fatigue when I am doing it for all lifts. This seems like a nice compromise that actually lets me lift a bit heavier, still get a good bit of volume, but hopefully without the issues that tend to come with the AMRAP.
In the real world, the difference is that what I would have done in the old scheme yesterday would have been something like:
Topset of 105kg for 15 to 20 reps (ARMAP)
5 Cardio sets of maybe 75 kilo for 10 reps
What I did instead was:
1 rep at 125kg
3 reps at 135kg
3 sets of 8 reps at 90kg (I coulda stopped at 5 reps)
This was easier. But I think there is some truth to what Simo says, because I have to be careful with the jokers. Not to avoid them as such, but to make sure I donāt get stupid with them and end up with the same issues as before. The weights are low enough here that I donāt think it will be a problem yet.
In summary, I think this lets me do good lower body work without burning myself out and taking away from what I really care aboutā¦the upper body work.
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Yes but my single is programmed at a specific % as are the volume sets, so that I can recover. I donāt hit my top single and then say ooh it felt good so I will do another with 10kg more. I think the training maximally program is great just not with jokers. Just stick with and increase your TM each cycle, no need to do unplanned additional sets.
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Then really no need for the jokers. Add weight each cycle, recover easily for your next session and keep getting stronger without burning out.
Over the long term, you could well be right about that. For the short termā¦I donāt think I am using my real TM, because my body needs to get re-geared for heavier lifts. Put another way, I am using 140 as a 1RM, but I know that is on the low side.
After a few weeks of doing it this way, I will probably be able to figure out what my real 1RM is, and then re-evaluate.
But this is exactly what I am saying. Keep it low, just add 5kg per cycle and run it forever. If you reset it higher you will just stall out quicker.
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I am not really disagreeing with you. 531 is my go-to program, so I am onboard with the idea of starting low. I accepted that concept years ago. But that said, I already know that 90% of a 140 1RM is TOO LOW. I need to get my CNS re-adapted to heavy stuff, because Covid has meant I have been away from it for 6 months. The joker option lets me do that right now. It may only take me a few weeks to find get back into shape, and then perhaps I will do exactly as you suggest.
I will admit, however that the whole idea of Jokers is very appealing to me. Because that is kinda how I train the rest of the year when I am not on a program. I expect I will do this with Deadlifts no matter what, because I actually donāt really care about progressing those at all.
Too low for what ? Too low to progress ? Too low to be effective ? Too low to meet a specific strength standard goal in the timeline?
I am agreeing with you, and you are experienced enough to know your own body with regards to the use of jokers or what ever program you chose to use. Maybe I miss read or miss understood the intent of your earlier posts but it seemed to me like you were rushing to get back to somewhere. I was just throwing it out there that maybe not rushing would be beneficial in the long run.
If any of those posts came across grumpy or bitchy that was not my intention.
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Lol, not at all mate. You are a smart dude, especially when it comes to this sort of programming.
What I mean by TOO LOW is that I set the 1RM at 140 already knowing that my muscles were ready for more, but my CNS wasnāt. I simply put it at 140 because I did a shit rep at 140 last week, so it gave me a starting point to sort of measure against, having not lifted heavy in so long. In my head I was already thinking āit probably really should be at 150, but letās seeā.
The joker set of 135 for 3 sorta proved it a little, but not conclusively. I figure I can do this for a few more weeks, push at the edges a bit, and then re-evaluate where I should really put the 1RM. Start slow? Yes. Start way too slow? No.
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I am going to keep picking at the scab here so to speak. Too slow for what ??