What Are You Doing Now?

Training
61

I’m doing Crossfit, but at this point it’s more out of necessity than anything else. I’m having fun doing it though, it’s definitely hard as shit. I make sure to include a strength lift before the conditioning stuff, so this week it’s looking like…

DAY 1
Strength: Back squat - 10 sets x 5 reps @ 68% 1 RM
WC (Work Capacity): Complete as many rounds as possible in 7 minutes of the following…
3x muscle ups
5x stone to shoulder (110#)
7x Wall ball (30#)
Core: 100x ab work

DAY 2
Strength: Press - 10 sets x 5 reps @ 68% 1 RM.
WC: Complete as many rounds as possible in 15 minutes of…
8x ring dips
10x box jumps (24in)
12x barbell overhead walking lunge (95#)
Core: 3 rounds - 15x strict toes 2 bar, 10x WTD back extensions (25#)

DAY 3
Strength: Deadlift - 10 sets x 5 reps @ 68% 1 RM
WC: Complete 5 rounds for time of the following…
2x rope climb (I have a rope, one can substitute pull-ups here)
20x KB swing (32kg)
200m sprint
Core: 3 rounds - 20x ab work, 10x Good mornings (45#)

DAY 4
Strength: Bench press - 10 sets x 5 reps @ 68% 1 RM.
WC: Complete 10 rounds for time of…
150m row
2x Manmakers (40#)
*Manmaker= With dumbbells…Push up + left arm DB row + right arm DB row + DB clean + thruster + OH right leg lunge + OH left leg lunge.
Core: Tabata plank hold

edit: if I’m feeling up to it, a fifth day I will do 30 minutes of swim, jog, or bike

62

I’m a 34 year old “beginner” trying a 4-day split from the “Tried and True Bodybuilding Template” by Dr. Clay. I only workout at home as my wife and I have a 3 year old and a 5 week old.

I also work 4 x 10 hour days (M-Th) at an office job, so waking up early in the morning or doing cardio at lunch to break up the day is the optimal training time for me. So far I like the program, but it’s only been 10 weeks. I’ve gone from 188 to 184 at 5’7" while my maximums for work sets has gone up, though I’m far from strong.

My goal is to get to 175 and improve my bench, deadlift and sqaut at that weight as well as hopefully improve aesthetically. I was previously focused on triathlon for the last 5 years. I went from a racing weight of 145 in 2011 to 190 in 2012 by a combination of (mostly) poor eating habits and some strength training.

Here is my week after some experimenting between a 5-day split and less or more cardio:

Mon - AM 15 min sprint intervals

Tues - AM Chest and Biceps
PM 25-30 Min steady state cardio

Weds - Off

Thur - AM Back and abs
PM 25-30 min steady state cardio

Fri - AM 15 min hill intervals

Sat - Shoulders, triceps and abs
Sun - Quads, hams and calves

63

[quote]Believe in the S wrote:
I’m a 34 year old “beginner” trying a 4-day split from the “Tried and True Bodybuilding Template” by Dr. Clay. I only workout at home as my wife and I have a 3 year old and a 5 week old.

I also work 4 x 10 hour days (M-Th) at an office job, so waking up early in the morning or doing cardio at lunch to break up the day is the optimal training time for me. So far I like the program, but it’s only been 10 weeks. I’ve gone from 188 to 184 at 5’7" while my maximums for work sets has gone up, though I’m far from strong.

My goal is to get to 175 and improve my bench, deadlift and sqaut at that weight as well as hopefully improve aesthetically. I was previously focused on triathlon for the last 5 years. I went from a racing weight of 145 in 2011 to 190 in 2012 by a combination of (mostly) poor eating habits and some strength training.

Here is my week after some experimenting between a 5-day split and less or more cardio:

Mon - AM 15 min sprint intervals

Tues - AM Chest and Biceps
PM 25-30 Min steady state cardio

Weds - Off

Thur - AM Back and abs
PM 25-30 min steady state cardio

Fri - AM 15 min hill intervals

Sat - Shoulders, triceps and abs
Sun - Quads, hams and calves[/quote]

You can do much worse than follow Clay’s bodybuilding methods. Many here find him somewhat vanilla (I guess his philosophy is just not extreme enough for them). I actually agree with a good ninety percent of his stuff.

You stated that you’re a beginner so here is one bit of advice you may find interesting. The early AM back and abs sessions need to be approached with a good deal of caution and warm up. In case you didn’t know, the discs in our spines are hydrophilic (they love water). When you are sleeping, there is very little pressure on the spine. This, in turn, allows the discs to fill with fluid. This explains why we are at our tallest when first getting out of bed.

What this also means is that you have a very high risk of disc injury when first getting out of bed. Personally, I never do nor do I recommend any movements that places the spine (especially the lumbar spine) at risk so early in the day.

Until you gain experience and come to terms with what your body is capable of and responds best to, be careful with early AM workouts that place any significant load on the spine - especially the lumbar spine.

64

I am doing 5/3/1 and just started using the boring but big template found in the “3 month challenge” article.
I am not doing the challenge and are going for rep maxes on the last set and are keeping the BBB sets
at 50% of tm.

It looks like this for those of you who arent familiar with it.

Day1:
OHP: 531.
Bench: 5x10.
Lats, Upperback, arms.

Day2:
Squat( to bench ): 531.
DL: 5x10.
Abs/Core.

Day3:
Bench: 531.
OHP: 5x10.
Lats,Upperback, arms.

Day4:
DL: 531.
Squat( to bench ): 5x10.
Abs/Core.

I am doing squats to bench since my form in squats are HORRIBLE, it keeps me from rounding my back at the bottom of the movement and I hope it will teach me to sit back correctly.

Diet wise I am eating 4 meals a day and I take 2-3 protein shakes on top of that. It seems to be working so far, I have lots of energy and I have gained 2 kg since I added the shakes( roughly a month ago ). My goal this year is to gain 10kg.

65

Day 1: DE bench
supplemental press for volume or max reps
rowing variation
chin up variations for volume
shrug
accessory arm work might skip it

Day 2: ME squat/deadlift alternating between sumo/pause squat/bent leg bent over good mornings/main stance squat
secondary exercise either snatch grip deadlift/front squat variations
romanian deadlift/goodmorning/SLDL variation for volume
some accessory work
abs

day 3: ME bench lots of lockout/mid range work
Jm presses
rows
weighted pull ups variations going for more total reps
rear delt work normally
optional curl/extension work

day 4: DE squat
DE deadlift
pause squat/ultra wide sumo/1- 1/4 squat for reps
romanian deadlift/good morning variation
abs

Dense repetition effort work to add some mass where it is needed (everywhere especially back/triceps/hamstrings/quads), max triples/fives right now for ME work, and working on some mid range/lockout work for bench, keeping a better starting position for deadlift and stronger lockout, and some bottom/mid range work for squat. That pretty much sums it up, and try to gain eight pounds of mostly quality mass by the end of the training cycle and set some decent training PR’s for the squat/bench/deadlift.

66

[quote]56x11 wrote:

[quote]Believe in the S wrote:
I’m a 34 year old “beginner” trying a 4-day split from the “Tried and True Bodybuilding Template” by Dr. Clay. I only workout at home as my wife and I have a 3 year old and a 5 week old.

I also work 4 x 10 hour days (M-Th) at an office job, so waking up early in the morning or doing cardio at lunch to break up the day is the optimal training time for me. So far I like the program, but it’s only been 10 weeks. I’ve gone from 188 to 184 at 5’7" while my maximums for work sets has gone up, though I’m far from strong.

My goal is to get to 175 and improve my bench, deadlift and sqaut at that weight as well as hopefully improve aesthetically. I was previously focused on triathlon for the last 5 years. I went from a racing weight of 145 in 2011 to 190 in 2012 by a combination of (mostly) poor eating habits and some strength training.

Here is my week after some experimenting between a 5-day split and less or more cardio:

Mon - AM 15 min sprint intervals

Tues - AM Chest and Biceps
PM 25-30 Min steady state cardio

Weds - Off

Thur - AM Back and abs
PM 25-30 min steady state cardio

Fri - AM 15 min hill intervals

Sat - Shoulders, triceps and abs
Sun - Quads, hams and calves[/quote]

You can do much worse than follow Clay’s bodybuilding methods. Many here find him somewhat vanilla (I guess his philosophy is just not extreme enough for them). I actually agree with a good ninety percent of his stuff.

You stated that you’re a beginner so here is one bit of advice you may find interesting. The early AM back and abs sessions need to be approached with a good deal of caution and warm up. In case you didn’t know, the discs in our spines are hydrophilic (they love water). When you are sleeping, there is very little pressure on the spine. This, in turn, allows the discs to fill with fluid. This explains why we are at our tallest when first getting out of bed.

What this also means is that you have a very high risk of disc injury when first getting out of bed. Personally, I never do nor do I recommend any movements that places the spine (especially the lumbar spine) at risk so early in the day.

Until you gain experience and come to terms with what your body is capable of and responds best to, be careful with early AM workouts that place any significant load on the spine - especially the lumbar spine. [/quote]

Hey, thanks for taking the time to reply. I was generally aware that the body was less limber in the am, but not to the extent you described.

I try to be pretty thorough in warming up for the back and legs as I do deadlift and squat in the AM. Abs come at the end and are (for me) hanging leg raises or an unweighted crunch variant.

My warm ups consist of foam rolling, some dynamic stretches and then weight warm up - typically a set of no bar (squat) or bar plus 20-50 lbs (deadlifit) and then 2-3 more warm up sets.

Under the Template, work sets are 5-6 reps for 4-5 sets, so the weight is not near a 1RM. Hopefully those factors combined will keep me out of trouble.

Based on your advice, I’ll definitely steer clear of any routine that involves maximal or near maximal efforts in the AM and will err on the side of adding less weight to the bar.

Thanks again!

67

[quote]florelius wrote:
I am doing 5/3/1 and just started using the boring but big template found in the “3 month challenge” article.
I am not doing the challenge and are going for rep maxes on the last set and are keeping the BBB sets
at 50% of tm.

It looks like this for those of you who arent familiar with it.

Day1:
OHP: 531.
Bench: 5x10.
Lats, Upperback, arms.

Day2:
Squat( to bench ): 531.
DL: 5x10.
Abs/Core.

Day3:
Bench: 531.
OHP: 5x10.
Lats,Upperback, arms.

Day4:
DL: 531.
Squat( to bench ): 5x10.
Abs/Core.

I am doing squats to bench since my form in squats are HORRIBLE, it keeps me from rounding my back at the bottom of the movement and I hope it will teach me to sit back correctly.

Diet wise I am eating 4 meals a day and I take 2-3 protein shakes on top of that. It seems to be working so far, I have lots of energy and I have gained 2 kg since I added the shakes( roughly a month ago ). My goal this year is to gain 10kg.

[/quote]

That version of 5/3/1 works great Flor, I made some solid gians on it…I did cave and add a 5th day for arms.

/could not give it up…haha

68

[quote]Believe in the S wrote:

[quote]56x11 wrote:

[quote]Believe in the S wrote:
I’m a 34 year old “beginner” trying a 4-day split from the “Tried and True Bodybuilding Template” by Dr. Clay. I only workout at home as my wife and I have a 3 year old and a 5 week old.

I also work 4 x 10 hour days (M-Th) at an office job, so waking up early in the morning or doing cardio at lunch to break up the day is the optimal training time for me. So far I like the program, but it’s only been 10 weeks. I’ve gone from 188 to 184 at 5’7" while my maximums for work sets has gone up, though I’m far from strong.

My goal is to get to 175 and improve my bench, deadlift and sqaut at that weight as well as hopefully improve aesthetically. I was previously focused on triathlon for the last 5 years. I went from a racing weight of 145 in 2011 to 190 in 2012 by a combination of (mostly) poor eating habits and some strength training.

Here is my week after some experimenting between a 5-day split and less or more cardio:

Mon - AM 15 min sprint intervals

Tues - AM Chest and Biceps
PM 25-30 Min steady state cardio

Weds - Off

Thur - AM Back and abs
PM 25-30 min steady state cardio

Fri - AM 15 min hill intervals

Sat - Shoulders, triceps and abs
Sun - Quads, hams and calves[/quote]

You can do much worse than follow Clay’s bodybuilding methods. Many here find him somewhat vanilla (I guess his philosophy is just not extreme enough for them). I actually agree with a good ninety percent of his stuff.

You stated that you’re a beginner so here is one bit of advice you may find interesting. The early AM back and abs sessions need to be approached with a good deal of caution and warm up. In case you didn’t know, the discs in our spines are hydrophilic (they love water). When you are sleeping, there is very little pressure on the spine. This, in turn, allows the discs to fill with fluid. This explains why we are at our tallest when first getting out of bed.

What this also means is that you have a very high risk of disc injury when first getting out of bed. Personally, I never do nor do I recommend any movements that places the spine (especially the lumbar spine) at risk so early in the day.

Until you gain experience and come to terms with what your body is capable of and responds best to, be careful with early AM workouts that place any significant load on the spine - especially the lumbar spine. [/quote]

Hey, thanks for taking the time to reply. I was generally aware that the body was less limber in the am, but not to the extent you described.

I try to be pretty thorough in warming up for the back and legs as I do deadlift and squat in the AM. Abs come at the end and are (for me) hanging leg raises or an unweighted crunch variant.

My warm ups consist of foam rolling, some dynamic stretches and then weight warm up - typically a set of no bar (squat) or bar plus 20-50 lbs (deadlifit) and then 2-3 more warm up sets.

Under the Template, work sets are 5-6 reps for 4-5 sets, so the weight is not near a 1RM. Hopefully those factors combined will keep me out of trouble.

Based on your advice, I’ll definitely steer clear of any routine that involves maximal or near maximal efforts in the AM and will err on the side of adding less weight to the bar.

Thanks again![/quote]

You’re very welcome. I’ll be posting less and less on this site. It is nice to know I’ve been helpful.

69

[quote]56x11 wrote:

[quote]Believe in the S wrote:

[quote]56x11 wrote:

[quote]Believe in the S wrote:
I’m a 34 year old “beginner” trying a 4-day split from the “Tried and True Bodybuilding Template” by Dr. Clay. I only workout at home as my wife and I have a 3 year old and a 5 week old.

I also work 4 x 10 hour days (M-Th) at an office job, so waking up early in the morning or doing cardio at lunch to break up the day is the optimal training time for me. So far I like the program, but it’s only been 10 weeks. I’ve gone from 188 to 184 at 5’7" while my maximums for work sets has gone up, though I’m far from strong.

My goal is to get to 175 and improve my bench, deadlift and sqaut at that weight as well as hopefully improve aesthetically. I was previously focused on triathlon for the last 5 years. I went from a racing weight of 145 in 2011 to 190 in 2012 by a combination of (mostly) poor eating habits and some strength training.

Here is my week after some experimenting between a 5-day split and less or more cardio:

Mon - AM 15 min sprint intervals

Tues - AM Chest and Biceps
PM 25-30 Min steady state cardio

Weds - Off

Thur - AM Back and abs
PM 25-30 min steady state cardio

Fri - AM 15 min hill intervals

Sat - Shoulders, triceps and abs
Sun - Quads, hams and calves[/quote]

You can do much worse than follow Clay’s bodybuilding methods. Many here find him somewhat vanilla (I guess his philosophy is just not extreme enough for them). I actually agree with a good ninety percent of his stuff.

You stated that you’re a beginner so here is one bit of advice you may find interesting. The early AM back and abs sessions need to be approached with a good deal of caution and warm up. In case you didn’t know, the discs in our spines are hydrophilic (they love water). When you are sleeping, there is very little pressure on the spine. This, in turn, allows the discs to fill with fluid. This explains why we are at our tallest when first getting out of bed.

What this also means is that you have a very high risk of disc injury when first getting out of bed. Personally, I never do nor do I recommend any movements that places the spine (especially the lumbar spine) at risk so early in the day.

Until you gain experience and come to terms with what your body is capable of and responds best to, be careful with early AM workouts that place any significant load on the spine - especially the lumbar spine. [/quote]

Hey, thanks for taking the time to reply. I was generally aware that the body was less limber in the am, but not to the extent you described.

I try to be pretty thorough in warming up for the back and legs as I do deadlift and squat in the AM. Abs come at the end and are (for me) hanging leg raises or an unweighted crunch variant.

My warm ups consist of foam rolling, some dynamic stretches and then weight warm up - typically a set of no bar (squat) or bar plus 20-50 lbs (deadlifit) and then 2-3 more warm up sets.

Under the Template, work sets are 5-6 reps for 4-5 sets, so the weight is not near a 1RM. Hopefully those factors combined will keep me out of trouble.

Based on your advice, I’ll definitely steer clear of any routine that involves maximal or near maximal efforts in the AM and will err on the side of adding less weight to the bar.

Thanks again![/quote]

You’re very welcome. I’ll be posting less and less on this site. It is nice to know I’ve been helpful.
[/quote]

The points you raised regarding the disc fluid were very eye opening!

70

I do 45-60 minutes of cardio in the mornings and weights in the afternoon.

Monday
Press 5/3/1
Benchpress/Chins 5x10
Curls/Triceps Pushdown/Face Pull 3x10

Tuesday
Deadlift 5/3/1
Squat/Abs 5x10

Thursday
Benchpress 5/3/1
Press/DB Row 5x10
Curls/Triceps Pushdown/Face Pull 3x10

Friday
Power Cleans 5x3
Squat 5/3/1
Deadlift/Abs 5x10

Conditioning (general outline, subject to change)
Monday - Light cardio w/ body weight circuit training
Tuesday - Interval sprints and/or agility circuit
Wednesday - Weight load march
Thursday - Strongman style GPP
Friday - Pick up game of random sports with friends in afternoon.

I eat in moderation whenever I’m hungry.

71

[quote]UtahLama wrote:

[quote]florelius wrote:
I am doing 5/3/1 and just started using the boring but big template found in the “3 month challenge” article.
I am not doing the challenge and are going for rep maxes on the last set and are keeping the BBB sets
at 50% of tm.

It looks like this for those of you who arent familiar with it.

Day1:
OHP: 531.
Bench: 5x10.
Lats, Upperback, arms.

Day2:
Squat( to bench ): 531.
DL: 5x10.
Abs/Core.

Day3:
Bench: 531.
OHP: 5x10.
Lats,Upperback, arms.

Day4:
DL: 531.
Squat( to bench ): 5x10.
Abs/Core.

I am doing squats to bench since my form in squats are HORRIBLE, it keeps me from rounding my back at the bottom of the movement and I hope it will teach me to sit back correctly.

Diet wise I am eating 4 meals a day and I take 2-3 protein shakes on top of that. It seems to be working so far, I have lots of energy and I have gained 2 kg since I added the shakes( roughly a month ago ). My goal this year is to gain 10kg.

[/quote]

That version of 5/3/1 works great Flor, I made some solid gians on it…I did cave and add a 5th day for arms.

/could not give it up…haha
[/quote]

I believe that, I did bench today and got a all time PR and a sick upperbody pump. I cant complain about that :slight_smile:

If you like to crush your arms on a additional day then go for it, I dont think Wendler are going to track you down and beat the living shit out of you for it LOL.