I had originally planned on doing floor pressing today for my ME upper work, but I decided last second to switch that to close-grip bench press instead. No real reason aside from being lazy and not wanting to have to remove the spotter pins from the squat rack this morning.

I didn’t go to BJJ last night, although, I’m actually glad about that rather than regretting it. My son decided he was going to not sleep well around 2:30am this morning, and was just tossing and turning after we brought him into bed. The end result was me not sleeping from 2:30 to 4am, and just getting out of bed at 4 in frustration because there was no other choice. I was just wide awake at that point.

Anyway, I’ll keep this straight forward, and get into my workout:

Heavy 5 Close-Grip Bench Press – 175×5 (RPE8)

Paused Close-Grip Bench Press – 140x5x3

• Stuck to a solid 30 second rest interval between sets and that definitely caused a bunch of trouble with regards to fatigue. By the last set, the last rep felt like it was a 9-9.5 and my triceps were really pumped up at this point.

1-Arm Dumbbell Row – 65x15x3

• Much harder than I had expected these to be. The 65s used to be really easy, but considering it’s been a few months since I’ve done dumbbell rows, these were very challenging. Just have to keep at it, and wave the intensity up and wave the volume as I get stronger on it.

Overhead Triceps Extensions – 35×20/35x15x2 SS w/ Face Pulls – 35×20/35x15x2

• Simple super-set that completely fried my triceps, biceps and upper back. I had planned for 5 sets of 20, not remembering that the last time I used that kind of volume, I’d been using only 25lbs, so I’m going to have to work to build up to that. First work to hit 3×20 and then start adding sets.

Chin-Ups – 5×3

• I ended up skipping these. My arms were just completely fried and I couldn’t even stomach the idea of trying the first rep when I tried. I’m sure, if I had really pushed it, I could have gotten these done, but just didn’t care enough. I think next time, I’ll push the chin-ups to right after the primary movement so as to avoid this issue.

OK! What a weekend, and what a fun weekend, but fun has its costs. My body weight is up, and waking up this morning was a challenge. Just need to remember to keep these fun weekends in control and keep things moving in the right direction. Using today to keep a very moderate diet, focusing almost entirely on protein with some carbs, and going to BJJ tonight to get my get rid of the excess water weight that I’m definitely storing up at this point.

Woke up at 4:30am without any real issue this morning, it really helped that my kids slept well last night and didn’t really fuss at all. I rolled into my first conjugate workout this morning and it felt really good.

To be fair, I’m not using a real ME/DE program, but I’m using the basic structure to program my workouts. For example, today was my ME lower workout – in a traditional ME workout, I would work up to a true max single in the designated exercise (looking at RPE10, true maximal effort) before moving into my supplemental work and accessory work. For my purposes, specially longevity and general strength and not a true maximal effort, I’m working up to a top set of 5, where I feel like it was a RPE8. This is definitively lower than even a RPE10 set of 5, but ideally I’m hoping to get to a weight somewhere above 80% of my true 1RM, and get some volume there.

After the top set, instead of moving to a mechanically similar movement for supplemental work, I’m using the same movement and load accommodation (where applicable) and dropping to 80% of the top set and doing 3 sets of 5 with 2-count paused reps. As a raw lifter, my biggest area of challenge is always going to be at the bottom of the movement, so I think this is a good supplemental movement for me.

As I progress, and potentially find a meet to compete in, I’ll start pushing the reps lower and intensity higher as I start working into meet prep and peaking.

Here’s today’s workout:

5RM Front Squat vs 1 Chain per Side – 205×5

2-Count Paused Front Squat vs 1 Chain per Side – 165x5x3

Split Squats w/ Weight Vest – 26x15x3

Ab Wheel – 10×2/5×1

Used chains for the first time ever and it was an interesting challenge. Since I’m lifting at 4:45/5am, I’m always paranoid that I’m making too much noise and going to wake people up in the house, so the added noise from the clanging chains made me very worried. Luckily, as I worked up in weight, my mind was taken off of the noise and focused more on the weight and dealing with the way the chains throw you around. I’m going to have to play around with chain set ups as I get more savvy with them, and throw them in from time to time.

Pause squats were done with only 30 seconds of rest between sets, so there was a nice conditioning aspect to the workout. I think I got through the max work and the supplemental work within 30 minutes, which was the goal.

Split squats were great to get a solid quad pump going, I’m going to add some weight to the vest next workout and see how heavy I can get these.

I’m really hoping it isn’t going to be absurdly cold tomorrow morning, because I really want to actually get out there to run again. Regardless, I’ll just have to bundle up and make the best of it.

So I totally missed a day of writing yesterday! But that’s ok, I’m not going to beat myself up over it, it’s just writing and frankly, I didn’t exactly miss much to write about yesterday.

Anyway, I woke up today feeling quite refreshed (finally) after the 2 back-to-back BJJ workouts plus weight sessions earlier in the week. I hit squats, seated press and chin-ups today and everything was moving pretty well. My neck is still tender, so I decided to completely deload the seated press and use just the bar for 3 sets of 10, but added in a super set of behind-the-neck press of 3 set of 5, just to get blood flowing in the effected region. I did a ton of face pull aparts super set with the squats which also really helped, and I’m thinking that I should be good to go by next week.

Frankly, my neck is already feeling better from this morning, so I’m going to attribute it to the targeted blood flow in the injured area.

Anyway, here’s the workout:

• SSB Squats – 45x5x2, 115x5x2, 155×5, 205×5, 245x5x2, 245×7 (RPE8)
  • I was really hoping to get 10 reps on the top set, but I also had a feeling that it wouldn’t happen. I was able to get 10 reps on Monday, but that was the first working set where I got that. If I had done the AMRAP first today, then I would have easily had 10 reps, but by doing it this way, my total work volume was higher than Monday’s even though my AMRAP set was lower. Plus, I don’t like pushing past RPE8 when I don’t have to, so this was a good place to call it a day.
  • To compare to Mondays, where I got a total of 15 reps with 245lbs (1 set of 10 and 1 set of 5, and the set of 5 basically put me at a RPE10), today I got 17 reps, and I was feeling much better after the last rep than on Monday. So that’s definitely an improvement.
• Seated OHP – 45x10x3
  • Super set this with 45x5x3 of behind-the-neck press
• Chin-ups – 5×3
  • Nothing really to write up here, the first 2 sets I did with the pauses at top and bottom, but the 3rd set I just kind of repped out for the sake of getting it done.

Anyway, I think I’m done with the linear progression, I’m just getting bored with it, and frankly that doesn’t help me progress. I’m going to start new programming next week.

I’ve been debating between going back to 5/3/1 style programming, or a conjugate-style (Max Effort/Dynamic Effort) program, and I was originally going to go with 5/3/1. However, I’ve been reading the book The Hybrid Athlete by Alex Viada (https://completehumanperformance.com/meet-the-coaches/) who is just a complete animal and has deadlifted 700lbs while simultaneously keeping a sub-5 minute mile. He’s also competed in several Ironman triathlons as well as marathons and other endurance events. To sum up, he’s pretty much the kind of athlete that I would like to develop into.

With all that said, his general suggestion is a conjugate-style program because this style of programming is easier to fit into a endurance program due to the ability to consolidate stressors in a much more cohesive fashion.

I’ll be training 3 days a week; in effect, I’ll be utilizing 9-day micro-cycles (M/W/F/M, W/F/M/W, F/M/W/F, M/W/F/M, etc.). With that in mind, I’m going try my hand at it, and use the following program:

Day 1 (ME Lower):

• Movement 1: ME SQ/DL (alternate squat focus and deadlift focus every micro cycle)
  • Work up to top sets of 5 on squat variations and sets of 3 on deadlift variations, RPE cap of 8 on all top sets. In an ideal world, it should take no more than 15-20 minutes to get to this top set.
  • Depending on feeling, drop down to 80% of this weight, and do 3 sets of 5 with paused reps. For squats, the pause will typically be in the hole, and for deadlifts, the pause will typically be just below the knees.
• Movement 2: Single-Leg Variation
  • This will utilize some form of lunge or split squat movement, loaded with weight vest and/or chains.
  • I’ll also super set this with some kind of core movement.
• Movement 3: Core movement
  • On squat days, I’ll focus on a posterior core movement (ie. back raises)
  • On deadlift days, I’ll focus on a anterior core movement (ie. ab wheel)

Day 2 (ME Upper):

• Movement 1: ME Press (rotate in a seated press movement every 3 weeks for good measure)
  • Work up to a top set of 5 on bench variations and top set of 6-8 on seated press movements.
  • Depending on feeling, drop down to 80% of this weight, and do 3 sets of 8 with paused reps. Pause will alternate between on chest and 1″ off chest each micro-cycle. No pauses for seated press variation.
• Movement 2: Row variation
  • Typically, these will be dumbbell or barbell row variations, but given sufficient time available I’ll try and set up a landmine row or T-bar row as well.
  • Super set with triceps movement
• Movement 3: Triceps extension
  • High-volume with bands are good for this, or some kind of seated/prone extension with dumbbells or EZ curl bar.
• Movement 4: Upper back/traps/rear delts
  • High volume band pull aparts and face pulls
  • Super set with chin-ups
• Movement 5: Chin-ups

Day 3 (DE Lower):

• Movement 1: Speed Squats
  • 12x2x60% of variation used on ME day – this variation will stay consistent for the remainder of the macro cycle, add volume or intensity each micro cycle (ie. 12/15/18 sets, or 60/65/70% intensity)
  • Super set with some kind of anterior core movement
• Movement 2: Good morning
  • 3×20 with SSB bar, try to add weight in small increments each set, but the goal is the volume and not the intensity.
• Movement 3: posterior core movement
  • Back raises again

Day 4 (DE Upper)

• Movement 1: Speed Bench
  • 12x3x50% competitive bench max – macrocycles will alternate between straight weight and accommodating resistance (bands or chains).
  • When using accommodating resistance, bar weight will be reduced to account for added external resistance.
  • Add volume or intensity each micro cycle (ie. 12/15/18 sets, or 50/55/60% intensity)
• Movement 2: DB Press variation
  • Either seated, incline, flat or decline dumbbells for 3×20, press variation will be used for 3 microcycles before being changed.
  • Ideally add weight in small increments where possible.
  • Super set with DB row or one-arm barbell row
• Movement 3: DB or one-arm barbell row
  • Nothing really crazy here, just get the volume in, try to match volumes between pressing and rowing movements
• Movement 4: Chin-ups
  • Simple volume, super set with upper back movement
• Movement 5:
  • Band pull aparts or face pulls

So there you have it, this is the basic overall structure that I’m looking to follow. It looks like a lot of work each day, but my goal will be to build into this level of volume gradually. In an ideal situation, I should be able to get through the first 2 movements at least within 25-30 minutes. The ME and DE movements should really be done and packed up within 15 minutes.

At the end of the day, I’m shooting for efficiency and short gym times with moderate progress over time. It’s far from ideal to not be able to take sufficient rest breaks between sets, but that’s fine. My primary focus is on overall conditioning. Being able to recover quickly between work up sets for ME movements as well as between DE movements will only help me in the long run.

Ok! So my son was a pain in the butt again last night, but again, I really can’t complain. It’s painfully cute and it makes me happy to snuggle with him at night. That said, it does make actually sleeping a little challenging as I end up halfway off the bed somehow. At just barely 19lbs, he’s already pushing me around – this does not bode well for the future!

Anyway, I woke up at 4:30am as per usual, and got myself ready. I was feeling particularly ill-used as I got in my second BJJ class of the year last night, but that also means I’m going to be getting a significant fatiguing effect on my morning workouts the next day, which is what happened. I went down to the garage to do deadlifts and seated overhead pressing as planned. Deadlifts weren’t terrible, honestly, they felt pretty good. I did every working rep from a deadstop for the most part and that adds a certain challenge to the movement. Another huge challenge is that everything in my garage is coated in a thick coat of saw dust. My garage is also my workshop, and since it’s been so cold we’ve been doing more work indoors than I would like. I haven’t had a chance to install any kind of dust collection system or exhaust into the space, so when we need to cut anything, we just blow saw dust all over the place.

It isn’t usually so bad, but we did a lot of work the past few days and it accumulated very quickly since Monday’s workout. So I ended up probably inhaling my fair share of sawdust while training and that wasn’t helping.

In addition to all of this, I managed to tweak my neck (again!) last night, but this time it was while trying to shower. Please don’t laugh at me, but this definitely happens far more frequently than I care to admit to right now.

Anyway, like I said, deadlifts went ok, grip was really the only issue that I was having aside from the saw dust. I ended up getting 7 easy reps with 295. I definitely had more in the tank from a total body perspective, but my hands were just hurting, so I called it there. I’m thinking about whether or not I want to start incorporating straps into my deadlifting training. My grip is taxed plenty from BJJ, and that’s probably part of the reason that it was so weak today, but at the same time, getting my grip stronger will always be a good thing. Anyway, I’ll have to think about it.

My neck was causing severe issues with my overhead pressing and it was just pure agony while trying to get through the warm-ups. Did a set of 5 at 85 and just called it there, I couldn’t do anything comfortably and it just felt like I was going to tweak it worse if I kept on trying to go up in weight. It’ll probably be back to normal in a couple of days, these things tend to resolve themselves pretty quickly, so I’ll just re-do this workout on Friday.

This weekend is going to be all about cleaning up the garage. There’s an absolute metric shit ton of saw dust all over the place, plus with the winter cooling everything down outside, we’ve seen an influx of spiders and a massive increase in spider webs everywhere in the basement. So we’re definitely going to want to do something about that as well.

Anyway, thanks for reading! Hopefully, I’ll be able to put out some real content rather than just these rambling journal entries in the next few days.

I’m starting to get very frustrated, and I’m not entirely sure with what exactly, but there it is. I woke up at 4:30am as usual without too much trouble and got down to the garage to lift without any issues.

My knees felt very good warming up and only gave me any issues when I did the first work set at 245. I was very happy to hit the set of 10 with this weight, as it’s something that I don’t think I’ve ever really done, and had hoped to hit more sets. That said, I only got 5 reps on the second set and opted to not do a 3rd set as I didn’t want to increase the risk of injury. I’m not currently in prep for any competitions, so there’s no need to really push aggressively at this stage.

I opted to start alternating squats and deadlifts as I stated in my last post and that, I think, was for the best. I didn’t feel like death after all was said and done, and was able to include some good work on chin-ups instead of the deadlifts.

Here’s the workout in full:

SSB Squats – 65x5x2, 115x5x2, 155×3, 205×1, 225×1, 245×10, 245×5

Seated OHP – 45×10, 65×5, 85×5, 105×1, 115x5x2, 115×6

Chin-ups – BWx5x3

I’m really happy with how the seated pressing felt, and I think I probably had a few more reps in me on the AMRAP set, but like I said, I’m feeling frustrated and didn’t have the motivation to push harder.

Part of my struggle is the desire to start back up with my 5/3/1 programming. I’ve always enjoyed the program for its simplicity and straightforward design, and I think it’ll be really nice to get back to something that’s delivered great results for me in the past. I’m also a notorious program hopper, and I want to try every type of training program under the sun, but I think if I look at 5/3/1 through the lens of endless potential, then I can make this work for me long run.

I already have my first 5-6 cycles planned out and just want to get to it at this point.

Anyway, going to keep trucking along with the linear progression for now!

That was an interesting workout today, and I’ll be honest, part of the problem that I had with it is that I’m starting to get really bored and I’m also beginning to get worried about some overuse injuries from squatting 3x per week. Then again, squatting 3x per week with submaximal weights really shouldn’t be an issue barring piss poor form…guess what my form is probably looking like.

I’m a real stickler for form and technique, and I’m all about using super light weights or just body weight to train the body to move properly before adding external load. I insist upon it for everybody I create programs for, and anybody that asks me for form techniques gets the same advice almost 90% of the time – go back and relearn your technique.

Anyway, my right knee has been starting to act up – this isn’t new, and is frankly pretty common for me to be having cranky knees. Add on top of that my attempts at running, and you have a potential for disaster simply because I’ve never been properly coached on running form, so I could be all over the place putting my knees at enhanced risks. That’s neither here nor there at the moment, but main thing is that I got through squats and seated presses and only had the motivation to do one set of deadlifts. This is, obviously, very much in line with the set recommendations put forward by Mark Rippetoe in Starting Strength, which is a fantastic training book, but one that I generally disagree with when discussing submaximal weights.

Coach Rip prescribes one set of 5 for deadlifts, every other workout. I agree with the frequency, however, the volume is simply insufficient. I realize that the deadlift is a taxing lift, and can be very challenging to recover form, but you have to realize that the entire point of his program is to perform reps with submaximal weights. So, in theory, you should be lifting weights that are approximately 75% of your 1RM every single workout. If this is the case, and one’s progression has been consistent without significant drop offs in performance, then why shouldn’t the volume be increased?

Regardless, I only did the one set of 5 and I was spent. I’m getting very bored with the programming at this point, my knee is aching something fierce and I was just spent after the sets of 10 on squats. I’m sure I could have completed all of the necessary volume after the first set, but the lack of motivation was concerning. I’ve never in my life not wanted to deadlift, so that should tell you something about how I was feeling.

Here’s the workout:

SSB Squat – 65x5x2, 115x5x2, 155×3, 205×1, 225×1, 235x10x3

• My right knee was really angry with me during all of the warm-ups, and felt moderately better by the working sets. That said, these sets are seriously gassing me out, but I’m not feeling weak just out of shape. Last set was around a RPE 8.5-9.

Seated OHP – 45×10, 65×5, 85×5, 105×1, 110x5x2, 110×8

• Took a 10% deload from last workout (with 120) and figured I’d start up with the progression again. This was 3 steps/workouts backwards, but felt stronger overall. It was definitely a relief to have the intensity dropped a little bit, and while my AMRAP set matched the AMRAP from 3 workouts ago, the RPE was significantly reduced. This one felt like an easy and solid 7-8, while last time I rated it a 8, but also gave myself a stiff-neck on that workout. So I came through this workout unscathed and with a much more confident RPE approximation.

1″ Deficit Deadlift – 135×5, 185×3, 225×1, 275×1, 295×5

• Just the one top set, I’m going to repeat this weight next workout and shoot to get all 3 sets instead of just one next time.

At this point, I’m seriously contemplating calling it quits on the linear progression and moving onto my 5/3/1-based programming. I’m also pretty darn stubborn and want to stick with it at least until I can get the 245x10x3. Then again, I also intended to drop down to sets of 5 on squats at some point too. I think I should just stick with it and ride this out, I’m definitely getting stronger and that’s the entire point.

One change that I might make to avoid the knee issues will be to drop down to just 2 movements per workout and alternate between squats and deadlifts. So next workout would just be squats and seated press and then the following workout would be deficit deadlifts and seated press.

This way I’m still keeping a relatively high frequency of lifts, without overtaxing my ability to recover, plus my knee gets a bit of a break from squatting for 4-5 days at a shot.

Anyway, I’ll figure it out over the weekend.

So this day’s workout was pretty solid, I felt strong in the lower body movements for the most part and pressing wasn’t terrible. This will mark my 3rd workout for the week (I’m well behind where I thought I would be, but that’s ok! Just have to make it up as I move forward).

I’ll keep this straight forward:

SSB Squats – 65x5x2, 115x5x2, 155×3, 205×1, 215x10x3

• Squats were tough, but not impossible. I think I’ll be dropping down to 5s at some point in the next week or so, but I’m going to go for the 225x10x3 next workout because that’s the kind of volume that I don’t think I’ve ever done at that weight.

Seated OHP – 45×10, 65×5, 85x5x 105×1, 115x5x2, 115×6

• 5+ AMRAP wasn’t great, the weight is definitely starting to get really challenging. This was a huge volume and intensity PR for me, I don’t think I’ve ever put 115 over my head (standing or seated) for more than 2 or 3 reps in a go. Even though the AMRAP dropped to only 6 reps from the last workout, I’m still very happy with this. I’m going to keep increasing the weight so long as I can get at least 5 reps on the last set. Once I drop below 5 reps for the last set (or any prior set), then I’ll take a 10% load drop and continue the progression.

1″ Deficit Deadlift – 135×5, 185×3, 225×1, 275x5x2, 275×10

• I was being very sloppy with the work sets, and that’s something I need to fix up. I wasn’t controlling the eccentrics and letting the bar just drop, normally this would be ok, but I maintained a solid grip on the bar so that the impact with the floor reverberated into my body. I was feeling the impact down in my lower back which I need to be very careful about. So next workout, I need to be sure to either control the eccentric (ideal scenario) or at least let the bar go an inch above the ground so I don’t absorb any reaction forces.

Overall the workout was pretty good, I’m definitely getting stronger which is a nice change considering where I’ve been the past few months, and the higher volume is definitely paying off. The progression is mindlessly straight forward and is starting to get a little dull, plus I want to start playing with some of the new programming ideas and new toys that I’ve purchased (ie. chains).

Anyway, I’m going to keep this going as long as I can stomach it, up to the 12 weeks that I planned for (I think it’s 12 weeks at least). Regardless, onwards and upwards!

So yesterday, I managed to get out for a good 30 minute walk, which was a good thing since I wasn’t getting to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and my morning run was curtailed because of the snow/rain that was falling. I don’t really count walking as a “workout” for the purposes of my tally for the year, but I’m glad I did so regardless.

This morning’s lifting session went very well, with one minor exception.

I opted to reintroduce using a belt for my work sets with the squats and deficit deadlifts. I was starting to feel like I wasn’t getting a sufficient brace without the external feedback of the belt to push against. So I felt comfortable adding it back into my training now that I’m 6 weeks into this training block and the weights have gotten appreciably heavier.

I will continue to only use the belt for working sets, and keep going beltless with the warm-ups for the time being.

Here’s today’s workout:

SSB Squats – 65x5x2, 115x5x2, 155×3, 185×1, 205x10x3 (RPE 9 on the last set)

• I was feeling very gassed from these sets today, and I’m not entirely sure why. I’m guessing it’s just a conditioning issue, and nothing more than that. Just have to keep slogging away and see if my running starts to pay dividends on my recovery-ability.

Seated OHP – 45×10, 65×5, 85×3, 95×1, 110x5x2, 110×8 (RPE 8 on last set)

• On the AMRAP set I managed to tweak my trap/neck area, I know how it happened as I tried to use more moving parts than necessary to get the weight moving on the first rep. It didn’t bother me too much through the set and only started to really tighten up as the day went on. It’s going to be bothering me for a few days for sure.

1.5″ Deficit Deadlifts – 135×5, 185×3, 225×1, 265x5x2, 265×10 (RPE 8 on last set)

• The only real issue that I’m having here is that my grip was starting to go out by rep 5. This isn’t a huge concern as the volume overall will continue to strengthen my grip, but it is a little annoying given it’s still relatively light. Part of the problem is the bar, it’s slightly thicker than a normal power bar, plus the knurl is very smooth. I’m thinking that starting to use chalk next workout should fix this up for the time being. I need to decide moving forward if I’m going to start implementing a mixed grip or use straps as the weights get much heavier when I transition out of the current linear block.

Anyway, that’s it for now, that’s 2 good workouts this week, I’m planning on going for a run tomorrow. We’ll see how that works out.

Working on my Linear Progression training block which I started middle of December 2018. Today was day 13, so I’ll just start from here and keep on going forward.

In this training block, I’m using only 3 movements (Safety Squat Bar Squats, Seated Overhead Press and 1.5″ Deficit Deadlifts) and working those as hard as I can adding weight each workout assuming the appropriate level of volume was met. I started off performing 3 sets of 10 for all 3 movements, with the goal of maintaining that volume for as long as possible. As the volume began to become too strenuous, the plan was to drop down to 3 sets of 5 (similar to Starting Strength type work load), and continue building from there.

As of today, the SSB squats are still at the 3×10 level of volume, however, seated press and deficit pulls had to be dropped down to 3×5. However, to continue including slightly higher volume, I’m pushing the 3rd set on each of these movements to a 5+ set with a 10 rep cap. I’m trying to record RPEs for the last sets of each exercise every day to ensure that I’m not killing myself, and I’m maintaining appropriate recovery and nutrition. At this stage, I’ve only really hit a RPE10 on one movement and that was for seated pressing, and was the catalyst for reducing volume.

Onto today’s workout:

SSB Squats – 65x5x2, 115x5x2, 155x3x2, 195x10x3 (RPE8 for last set)

Seated OHP – 45×10, 65×5, 85×3, 95×1, 105x5x2, 105×10 (RPE9 for last set)

1.5″ Deficit Deadlifts – 135×5, 185×3, 225×1, 255x5x0, 255×10 (RPE8 for last set)

Tonight, I’ll have a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu class which will be workout 2 for this year. I’m really hoping I’ll be able to improve my BJJ attendance record this year, it was pretty abysmal during the last year primarily due to have 2 newborns in the house.

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.