Workout 16 – 03/28/2017

After 5 weeks of very high frequency and very high volume (relative to my pre-training program variables), I’ve finally hit a wall.  I had intended to continue to progress in this program for 8 weeks, for a total of 24 workouts, but after this 16th workout I was toast.  Here’s what I accomplished:

  • SSB Squats – 275x11reps
    • Warm-ups: 65×10, 65×5, 115×5, 155×3, 205×1, 245×1
  • CGBP – 180x9reps
    • Warm-ups: 45×15, 45×10, 65×10, 85×10, 95×5, 115×5, 135×3, 155×1
  • HB Squats – 235×16/4reps
    • Warm-ups: 45×10, 95×5, 135×3, 185×1, 205×1
  • DLs – 245x11reps
    • Warm-ups: 45×15, 135×5, 185×3

All-in-all, this was a fantastic workout, but I’m definitely feeling the effects of the accumulated fatigue.  This is partially due to the fact that I’m operating on a caloric deficit with the ultimate goal of hitting 180lbs.  Due to this, my recovery is sub-par because I can’t eat nearly enough calories to really make up for the expenditure – on top of this, I’m getting very little sleep due to the fact that I have to be up at 4:30 every morning to get to work…plus commuting for 4 hours every day isn’t helping the situation.  All these things considered, I can’t really complain about my progress.

With that in mind, I’ve decided to cut this accumulation phase of the program short at 5 weeks, and look at this last workout as my rep max testing workout.  Normally, I wouldn’t use any weight for a rep max that I can hit for more than 10 reps, but given the circumstances I’ll use these for the time being.

With all that being said, my estimated 1RM for the lifts are as follows:

  • SSB Squats – 375lbs
  • CGBP – 235lbs
  • HB Squats – 360lbs
  • DLs – 335lbs

Next stage of training will be what I’m referring to as “Reloading.”  The goal is to use the next 4 weeks to perform primarily unilateral movements and rehab style moves with light weights that get progressively higher.  I’ll explain more of my approach to this in the next post.

Note: The reason that I don’t normally use rep maxes greater than 10 reps is that the higher rep sets can be misleading when calculating an estimated 1RM.  The rep maxes greater than 10 will display an athlete’s level of endurance better than reflecting maximal strength through submaximal weights.

Leave a comment