Hybrid Conjugate – Cycle 1

Let me start off this post with an exercise breakdown for each training day, and then I can go into more specifics:

Day 1 – Strength
- Bench Press (Heavy) – 2+ set
- Bench Press (Volume) – 2 sets of 6 reps
- Speed Bench – 8 sets of 3
- Pull-ups – 3 sets of 5-10
- Barbell Rows – 2 sets of 4
Day 2 – Strength
- Low Bar Squat (Heavy) – 2+ set
- Low Bar Squat (Paused) – 2 sets of 6
- Snatch-Grip Deadlift – 2 sets of 8
- Speed Deadlifts – 8 sets of 2
- Front Squat – 3 sets of 15
Day 2 – Running
- Tempo run (30-90 minutes)
Day 3 – Running
- Recovery run (30-60 minutes)
Day 4 – Strength
- Deficit Bench Press – 4 sets of 5
- Close-Grip Bench Press – 3 sets of 6
- Lateral Raise – 3 sets of 8
- Barbell Curl – 2 sets of 8
Day 5 – Strength
- Low Bar Squat (Tempo) – 3 sets of 8
- Split Squat – 3 sets of 8
- Romanian Deadlift – 2 sets of 8
- Walking Lunge – 4 sets of 15
- Ab Wheel Rollout – 3 sets of 8
Day 5 – Running
- Tempo Run (30-90 minutes)
Day 6 – Running
- Long Run (2-6 hours)
Day 7 – Running
- Recovery Run (20-40 minutes) or Rest

My plan during the first cycle was to wave the intensity percentage for the heavy work, so that I went from 82% to 92% for a 2+ set from week 1 to week 3, and then wave back down to 85% to 95% from week 4 to week 6. For supplemental work, I worked with a volumizing approach, by keeping weights static each week, but increasing the number of sets. Speed work was waved similarly to the heavy work. And the hypertrophy work maintained volume week to week, but I increased intensity each week.

I’ll talk about some highlights in a minute, but let’s go over the mistakes:

Pushing volume through more sets was the wrong approach. I forgot one of the basic tenets of this style of programming is to the bare minimum necessary to make progress. I’m better served by pushing the intensity for fewer sets rather than forcing additional volume each week. For example, I went from 2 sets of 8 on snatch-grip deadlifts, and instead of getting stronger on the movement, I was pushing the number of volumes with a static weight. so I worked up to 6 sets of 8 with the same static weight. This probably did help get me stronger, but I also dramatically increased the wear and tear through sheer volumization.
- As a subpoint to this one, I was following a volumizing approach with more than one exercise per workout, and taking the volumizing too far. Each cycle is 6 weeks long and I was adding another set each week, that’s just too long without any progression to the load, and deload of the volume.
Not setting hard RPE caps on work sets to auto-regulate intensity and effort. I was pushing pedal to the metal too often, rather then at pre-determined times. This left me very exhausted and while beneficial in the short-term, it would have been a recipe for disaster in the long-run.
Pushing too much intensity on the tempo work. I was attempting to hit tempo ranges for 30-60 minutes straight, and this type of work is just too stressful to maintain week-on-week.
Last mistake, not keeping long run intensity low enough to have a solid aerobic benefit. I was pushing too far into the moderate intensity range for my long runs, and this can have an net negative impact.

All that said, there were some highlights to this first cycle of the program:

Bench Press – 205×7 @ 9
Squat – 270×10 @ 8
Snatch-grip Deadlift – 275×8 for 3 sets

All that said, I’ve rectified the mistakes from the last block with my lifting, and I’m still working on cleaning up the running aspect, but just laying bricks right now. Seeing some serious progress with the lifting so far.

I’ll start providing weekly updates on training after this.

Here we go again!

Oh! Well, would you look at that! It’s a new training program…again! And guess what, I have a completely different training focus this time around. Isn’t change wonderful?

Anyway, the point of the matter is that I’m a little sick of training ‘for powerlifting.’ Mainly because, I’m never really training for powerlifting. I’m using the big 3 lifts (squat, bench press and deadlift) and just force feeding these competition-style movements on my body without really ever thinking about the purpose, and function.

The fact of the matter is that I’m horribly de-trained, and de-conditioned to these movements. I’m doing myself no favors by guesstimating my maxes, to estimate training maxes, and then I’m force feeding relatively high intensity (as percentage of training max) into these lifts every week. My body just doesn’t care for it. The smarter, and more effective, approach would be to take very low percentages, and high volume and gradually work my way up into moderate intensities, and then start working into the heavier intensities over time.

The long and the short of it is that I’m disenchanted with the competitive powerlifts. They’re fine movements and can be great for developing general strength, but using the straight bar can be taxing if you don’t put in the appropriate effort to achieve the necessary mobility to get into the right positions. And so, my priorities have shifted quite a bit. I’m focusing more on endurance training, and getting faster on my feet for longer distances. I have on my bucket list a desire to eventually run a 100 mile ultramarathon, but I’m not jumping straight into that head first. I’m going to start with a half-marathon at the end of this year (not an official race, but I’m going to train and taper as if it is an official race), and then an official marathon in April 2021. Ideally, I’d like to shoot for a 50 or 100 mile race at the end of 2021, or even 2022.

My plan is to take the long view and avoid injuries and backtracking.

To that end, I’m still lifting, but with a much more generalized focus with an emphasis on developing upperbody muscle, and building on lower body strength with some hypertrophy. I’m lifting 2 days per week, in 2 week blocks, so that’s 4 sessions per block.

Each workout utilizes 4 movements, repeated progressively over the 4 workouts. First block was the SSB squat vs. 80 pounds of chain working up to a 6RM, followed by staggered stance trap bar RDLs for 3 sets of 10, then flat dumbbell bench press for 3 sets of 20, and then pull-ups with 1 set of max reps, and then myo-reps with 25% of the top set.

This worked pretty well, I got to a fairly decent point on the squats, hitting 255 for a set of 6 with 80lbs of chain. This second block is a little different, I’m using the front-foot elevated zercher split squat for 3 sets of 6, then sumo block pulls for 4 sets of 6, keeping dumbbell bench press and continuing to progress the weight and then finishing with more pull-ups but using a more strength-volume approach with 5 sets of 6 to start and adding reps each workout.

Next block will be a little different again, with some changes to the lower body movements, and haven’t really decided if I’m going to change the upperbody stuff yet, but I guess I’ll figure that out as I go.

Starting Strength – Week 4/Day 1

Well this workout turned out to be a real doozy that just put me in a bad head space.

I figured that given I had skipped my Friday workout from the week prior that I would either be super low energy, or very high energy and I would go by feel on the work sets depending on how the warm-ups all felt. Squat warm-ups were ‘meh’ at best, but by the time I got to my top set with 285, I was feeling ok, so I figured I’d get a few extra reps for a low volume AMRAP. This went fine enough, but I was feeling some low back fatigue, which tells me that my warm-up protocol isn’t doing enough to fully open up my hamstrings and hips.

Bench press was fine, no real issue here, actually did pretty well on the top set and I’m happy about that.

Deadlifts were a complete crap shoot. Warm ups were feeling fine until I was setting up the warm-up set with 185lbs and felt a spasm in my lower back. I figured it was something that would pass and paid extra attention to my set up for the next few warm-up sets. But getting to 275, and I realized that just nothing was feeling right. My back was getting progressively worse and feeling beat up. I stopped it there.

After, I started to think of my track record with injury, and I came to a bit of a realization. The times I experience the most injuries is when I’m trying to force-feed the competitive lifts and not focusing more on tissue load tolerance and overall mobility and stability.

To that end, I’m once again making a shift in my training. I’m going to go to a 2 days per week training program: 1 lower and 1 upper. No competitive lifts, just variations, and focusing more on a bodybuilding style of lifting.

For my lower day, I’m going to do front squats and SSB squats, with an emphasis on feeling my quads and glutes working, while working to minimize my lower back movement. Aside from that, I’m definitely feeling the need to start getting more cardiovascular training in. To that end, with the weather warming up, I’ll be hitting the roads again, trying to increase my mileage gradually each week. The plan is to run 4 days per week, but as long as I get 3 days, I’m happy.

Here’s the lift from this day:

A1. Low Bar Squat – 3×5/5/5+ @ 285lbs

45x10x2
95x5x2
135×5
185×3
225×1
275×1
285x5x2
285×5+ (7 @ RPE 8)

B1. Bench Press – 3×5/5/5+ @ 170lbs

45x20x2
95×10
135×5
170x5x2
170×5+ (11 @ RPE 8)

C1. Conventional Deadlift – 3×3/3/3+ @ 295lbs

45×10
135x5x2
185×3
225×1
275×1

Starting Strength – Week 3/Day 3 (5/15/2020)

So this workout didn’t end up happening, and while at first I found it frustrating on 5/15, and thought about pushing the workout to the weekend, I got more comfortable with the idea of just skipping it entirely. This is one workout, and it won’t set me back by skipping just one. I can’t make it a habit or an issue that effects consecutive training sessions, but it’s acceptable. Besides, after 3 weeks of pushing fairly hard, I could do with a little de-load and rest, and that’s just what I did…well sort of.

The twins’ birthday was on Sunday, so we spent all the free time we had on Friday (during and after the workday), and then all day Saturday getting a bunch of things set up for the kiddos to have fun. So, in my opinion, totally worth it!

Here’s what was planned, and what I will be doing on 5/18 instead.

A1. Low Bar Squat – 3×5/5/5+ @ 285lbs

B1. Bench Press – 3×5/5/5+ @ 170lbs

C1. Conventional Deadlift – 3×3/3/3+ @ 295lbs

Starting Strength – Week 3/Day 2 (5/13/2020)

Well now, this was another surprising workout. I walked in expecting to hit some plus reps, but nothing significant, and squats completely threw me for a loop. The first work sets just didn’t feel amazing, but as I got into the top set, everything seemed to click and I was able to really push a great top set for 12 reps. Seated press was mediocre, but I think I can attribute that more to fatigue from the squats, so I’m not unhappy about how it went. That said, I did see a fairly significant drop off in reps today compared to last pressing session, so just something to keep an eye on as I progress.

Deadlifts were fine, nothing crazy, but definitely still feeling some of the squatting fatigue so deadlifts were not amazing. That said, again, I’m not unhappy with how the set went. I’m definitely starting to feel the effect of the weight on my grip as I keep going up in weight, so that I’m feeling the need to adjust my grip much earlier in the set and I’m basically just holding the weight in the hooks of my fingers. I’m going to try and have a deeper grip from the get go, and see how that works farther along in the set.

A1. Low Bar Squat – 3×5/5/5+ @ 275lbs

45x10x2
95x5x2
135×5
185×3
225×1
275x5x2
275×5+ (12 @ RPE 8)
- Cardio was more of a limiting factor than my actual leg strength, but that’s ok. I’m gradually getting better and that’s all that matters to me right now.

B1. Seated OHP – 3×5/5/5+ @ 105lbs

45x10x2
65×5
85×3
105x5x2
105×5+ (7 @ RPE 9)

C1. Conventional Deadlift – 3×3/3/3+ @ 285lbs

45×10
135x5x2
185×3
225×1
275×1
285x3x2
285×3+ (10 @ 8 RPE)
- If I had taken a full grip reset, I definitely had another 2 reps, if not more than that in the tank, just trying to remain conservative in estimating my RPEs.

Starting Strength – Week 3/Day 1 (5/11/2020)

I knew this was going to be a challenging workout, and lo and behold, the workout delivered. It was challenging, but damn did it feel good at the end. I was able to hit just about all of the numbers that I’d wanted to hit and more importantly at the RPEs that I’d wanted (approximately speaking).

It’s interesting to see how the workouts get more and more challenging each day. Which is to be expected given weights are just going up linearly, but it’s nice to see that I’m still able to hit relatively high volume on the AMRAP top sets (+10 on every top set, thus far). I’m hoping I’ll be able to keep this up for some time to come. That said, I’m definitely dealing with some serious knee pain in my left knee after this workout. Going to have to do a serious amount of rehab/PT work to see if I can bring the inflammation down and make the knee feel good for the next workout.

Here’s the breakdown:

A1. Low Bar Squat – 3×5/5/5+ @ 265lbs

45x10x2
95x5x2
135×5
185×3
205×1
225×1
245×1
265x5x2
265×5+ (10 @ 8 RPE)

B1. Bench Press – 3×5/5/5+ @ 165lbs

45x20x2
95×10
135×5
165x5x2
165×5+ (11 @ 9 RPE)

C1. Conventional Deadlift – 3×3/3/3+ @ 275lbs

45×10
135x5x2
185×3
225×1
275x3x2
275×3+ (12 @ 8 RPE)

I’m considering how to move forward once things really start to get challenging (near the 315lbs range on squats). I started to consider alternating Squats and Deadlifts, rather than squatting 3 days per week. Given the condition of my knee, this might be the perfect kind of respite between squat sessions, but not sure if I want to do that yet.

The other consideration is the simple fact that squatting and deadlifting in the same session is a significant challenge, which I probably won’t be able to keep up for very long. Specifically with the higher volume approach I’ve been using. Granted after 6 weeks, I’ll start alternating deadlifts and hang cleans, which will provide this break, but I’m beginning to think I’ll need to start alternating the 2 a little sooner than expected. Just have to see how the next couple of weeks end up going. As long as I can hit the requisite repetitions each workout, there’s no reason to make any drastic changes to the programming.

Starting Strength – Week 2/Day 3 (5/8/2020)

Another great workout! I wanted to get in and just hit some moderately intense top sets on squats and deadlifts (around a 7 RPE), and really push the seated OHP. I stuck to the plan and it all worked out pretty well, I think! Squatting was a little wonky, I was just pumping through the reps so my form was a little off, but not to a dangerous level, I’m happy to say, next week, I’m going to work on getting a little more dialed in on my set up and reps, and minimize pumping out reps. I still want to get a set of 10+ for the AMRAPs when possible, but I need to be able to do this while maintaining somewhat consistently solid form.

Seated press went much better this workout than it did on Monday when I tweaked my trap. Luckily, the pain from that strain diminished fairly quickly, and didn’t have a significant impact on my neck mobility the day after, as is often the case when I do this. I was happy to hit the 10 reps, and I think if I’d been more judicious in how I was performing the reps, I could have potentially gotten 11 or 12, but for today, 10 reps was a max effort set by the last rep.

A1. Low Bar Squat – 3×5/5/5+ @ 255lbs

45x10x2
95x5x2
135×5
185×3
225×1
255x5x2
255×5+ (10 @ 7 RPE)

B1. Seated OHP – 3×5/5/5+ @ 100lbs

45x10x2
65×5
85×3
95×1
100x5x2
100×5+ (10 @ 10 RPE)
- This was a fun set to do! Honestly, the 2 sets of 5 preceding the top set were challenging. I was having a hard time with my breathing and was getting light headed occasionally, so I wasn’t sure how the top set was going to go, but I figured I’d just go for broke and hope for the best. What was nice was that I had no issues with my breathing when performing the AMRAP, the reps were fairly smooth, and was able to get through the first 6 without having to re-breathe, and then basically did 4 singles to finish off the set of 10.

C1. Conventional Deadlift – 3×3/3/3+ @ 265lbs

45×10
135x5x2
185×3
225×1
265x3x2
265×3+ (13 @ 7 RPE)
- I definitely had more in the tank, and I’m being very conservative when I say a 7 RPE on this set. I barely had a grip on the bar, and it was simply hanging from my fingers rather than actually crushing the bar in my hands. Just something to consider, but again, I have to maintain the grip rule to stop the set, and I’m happy with this top set.

Starting Strength – Week 2/Day 2 (5/6/2020)

Wow, that’s all I have to say today…wow! This workout surprised the hell out of me. I didn’t expect it to go nearly as well as it did, especially considering how the last training session went. I went in expecting to just hit the prescribed/minimum reps for each lift and heading out, but as I got warmed up and hit the first couple of working sets on squats, I realized that I had much more gas in the tank that I realized.

Last training session, I did the squats with a full reset on each rep, but that was because I didn’t have the energy to maintain a brace for multiple reps back to back. Today, I was on the other side of whatever was afflicting me last time. Squats felt locked in and tight, although I did experience a weird twinge in my lumbar region, but nothing came from it so I’m happy to say the least.

A1. Low Bar Squat – 3×5/5/5+ @ 245lbs

45x10x2
95x5x2
135×5
185×3
205×1
225×1
245x5x2
245×5+ (12 @ 8 RPE)

B1. Bench Press – 3×5/5/5+ @ 160lbs

45x20x2
95×10
135×5
160x5x2
160×5+ (13 @ 9.5 RPE)
- I think I might have 1 more rep in me on the top set, but frankly, I just didn’t trust my triceps to get me through it.

C1. Conventional Deadlift – 3×3/3/3+ @ 255lbs

45×10
135x5x2
185×3
225×1
255x3x2
255×3+ (12 @ 8 RPE)
- Given the weird twinge I mentioned feeling during squats, I was expecting this to be a super sub-par showing, with some kind of issues in my back…and yet, somehow, nothing went wrong. I honestly called it at 12 reps simply because I got bored with doing more. RPE was relatively challenging, but I think I’m overestimating the effort. I probably could have gotten another 5 or more reps if I had reset my grip, but given my grip-release rule, I didn’t bother pushing it.

Starting Strength – Week 2/Day 1 (5/4/2020)

So this day was a somewhat sub-par workout for a couple reasons. I was definitely very mentally fatigued going into the workout, simply due to the stress of the day, but I needed to get it done. I considered just getting the minimum reps and calling it a day, but as I started working up in the squats things were moving pretty well and figured I was better of putting in the work but without pushing too hard.

A1. Low Bar Squat – 3×5/5/5+ @ 235lbs

45x10x2
95x5x2
135×5
185×3
205×1
225×1
235x5x2
235×5+ (10 @ 9 RPE)
- As I was working up, I could feel that I was very fatigued, so I started doing full reset reps, with a complete elimination of pump reps. This style of lifting, combined with my belt being a bit tighter than was comfortable, I was fatigued very quickly. I think if I had just pumped out reps as usual, I probably would have gotten 12 or 13 reps, but by the time I got to 10, I was just gassed out. My legs were fine, but I couldn’t get a deep enough breath to brace fully to keep going.

B1. Seated OHP – 3×5/5/5+ @ 95lbs

45x10x2
65×5
85×1
95x5x2
95×5+ (10 @ RPE 10)
- I’m a little annoyed with the top set. I’m happy with the number of reps that I got, but I’m frustrated because I managed to tweak my left trap during the set. I’ve done this before and I know what the culprit is, and it’s basically my technique when I start to rush the reps. Basically, I get my traps into an elevated position and heave the bar up, which results in a weird muscle spasm. I really need to work on this moving forward to avoid it in the future. Aside from that, I matched my reps with heavier weight from my last OHP session, so that’s good at least.

C1. Conventional Deadlift – 3×3/3/3+ @ 245lbs

45×10
135x5x2
185×3
225×1
245x3x2
245×3+ (12 @ 7 RPE)
- I think overall fatigue just finally caught up with me here. At 10 reps, I felt like I could go on forever, and considered just going for broke and seeing if I could hit 20 reps, but after finishing the 12th rep, I just let go of the bar. My body still felt pretty good and my grip wasn’t shot, but I just let go. I left it alone there, instead of pushing, simply because my rule is that the set is done once I’ve let go of the bar. I used to be much more lax in the past, but given my history of back issues, I’d rather assume that I’m too fatigued after letting go, instead of risking re-injuring my back.

Generally, just kind of confused by this workout, as it was a mixture of good and bad, but at the end of the day, it’s all good. I pushed the intensity on all 3 lifts in very different ways and was able to hit extra reps on each one without too much challenge. I think I’ll keep everything at a RPE of 6 during the next workout, and come in strong on Day 3 of this week and really push for serious PR volume.

Starting Strength – Week 1/Day 3 (5/1/2020)

This was just an awesome workout! I really pushed the pressure on all 3 lifts, and was happy to hit some high reps for each one.

A1. Low Bar Squat – 3×5/5/5+ @ 225lbs

45x10x2
95x5x2
135×5
185×3
205×1
225x5x2
225×5+ (13 @ 8.5 RPE)

B1. Bench Press – 3×5/5/5+ @ 155lbs

45x20x2
95×10
135×5
155x5x2
155×5+ (13 @ 9 RPE)

C1. Conventional Deadlift – 3×3/3/3+ @ 235lbs

45×10+135×5
185×3
205×1
225×1
235x3x2
235×3+ (16 @ RPE 8.5)

Knees were feeling surprisingly good during this workout, from what I remember, and I was able to get set into my hips for each rep on the squats. Deadlifts were also very locked in, I was able to maintain a much more neutral position on the pulls without overextending my lumbar spine as I have a habit of doing when setting up on deadlifts. Let’s see how this progresses with the weight increasing.