A New Animal: JDM135 for 1-2-3-4 plates

Note to self: very intrigued by Dan John’s Big 21 program. No benching or back squats for 3 weeks… but its solid, hard work.
I think ill keep sneaking in snatch practice a little longer then give it a go once im happy with technique.

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Saturday 2/25
At home. Deadlifted up to 1x370. Definitely time to buy more plates; thats over double BW already though.
Then practiced the split jerk.

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Monday 2/27
Bench press: Worked up to 3x215, then backoff 12x155. 6 sets total.
Superset with chest-supported rows, 6x12 at different weights.

Dips: 20, 15, 12, 10.
Superset with ab rollouts from toes, with knee drop at the ends, 3x4.

Snatch grip high pulls. Sets of 3. Up to 135lbs. Didn’t count sets. Much better focus than last week on controlling the movement.

Out of time, that was it, but a pretty solid session.

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2/28
Stopped at gym on the way to work. I can blame it on traffic lol.
Just a quick 15 min to knock out the pump work id have wanted to do yesterday.
Pec flyes rear delt flues; cable bis and tris.

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3/1/2023
Squats today. Decided on the drive in I’d work up in doubles and singles and try to hit 315 again, which at this bodyweight would be a pretty serious PR.
Worked up, 285 was fine, went down with 305 and instead of standing up with it, dumped forward onto the safeties. No harm done. But disappointing. And of course no surprise - I’m 15-20lbs lighter than I was when i got 315 before, and at the time was eating like it was my job.

Front squatted: 3x135, 3x185.
Then, snatches into overhead squats. Got one at 125, but stability in the catch position is always a problem there. I need to be able to catch and go DOWN deeper, which will set me up to snatch heavier weights; as it is, the heavier I go, I try to catch higher up because I’m more stable upright.
Did several reps at 105, good practice.

My belt kept popping apart during snatches. I guess with the weight loss, it’s too loose; and the way the belt is designed if it loses tension it can unbuckle on its own; and during a snatch I don’t know how to brace, so I’m not pressing out into it to keep it tight either.

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3/3/2023 Friday
Warmup: Overhead plate carry. 45lb, then 90lb.
Warmup: Dan John barbell complex: 8 reps of each, 85lb, one giant set: snatch, OH squat, squat, row, deadlift. Winded!

Pullups: (These were worked in between the press work:)
Worked up to 1x+90lb. Chin touched the bar on this, didn’t exactly go over it, haha still counting it.
Then several doubles with +45lb.

BTN press: 8x85, 8x95.
Strict press: 3x8x95lb.
Push press: 3x115, 3x135. 1x155? Can’t remember.
Split jerk: Tried to go straight into 155 and didn’t have the setup right. Dropped to 135 and got it, then 145, then 155.

My body just isn’t grooved for the split jerk yet. I should probably get some lighter volume in to drill it, because I’m not dropping far at all on the split, so my triceps are having to press hard to lockout. The way it is now I could do a push jerk with no split and be more stable. But still, holding 155 overhead feels good. And I know I’m capable of 175 with a little technique work, and I’ll finally have bodyweight overhead before too long.

Finished off with 2x12 of each: delt raises, triceps, biceps.

Shoulders feel like they’ve been beaten with a bat.

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A couple updates on goals:

a) BW was down to 180, making my interim March target of 178 easily achievable; when I broke ketosis by eating straight beans for multiple meals (very inexpensive). Nobody ever got fat from living on beans, but it added a couple pounds in a day or two LOL! While that isn’t important, it just reminds me that more work will be needed to reach 178 as a stable, not-just-because-I-just-pooped weight.
But what’s up with 178? I mentioned to a wise gym buddy that it was an interim target “just because it’s the lightest I’ve been in years” (was during prep for a beach vacation, when I was MUCH weaker and less muscular). His suggestion - which I love - is that I continue losing until I set a NEW low, which will be my new anchor for leanness anytime in the future that I diet down again. I love the idea. Because it’s about PROGRESS rather than just matching what I did 3 years ago.
So, TLDR of point (a) is that I’m going to shoot for 175. If that isn’t chiseled abs, not going to kill myself over it; it’s progress over many years, with a stronger, more muscular, and therefore by definition LEANER body.

b) I’ve been having fun playing with the olympic lifts, or my bad versions of them. Have mentioned this before - it distracts from the obvious strength loss on the powerlifts during this fat loss phase. So while the MAIN GOAL must remain fat loss for now, the NEXT GOAL is going to be around the olympic lifts. I should be snatching 135 and C&J 185 before too long.
There are so may things to learn! Here are some of the things I’ve identified:
Catch a snatch lower, rather than in the power (upright) position
Develop strength and stability in the overhead squat
Catch a clean lower, rather than in the power position
Learn how to jerk (split or not - better yet both!)
Be stronger locking out overhead
Get a better front rack position
Be stronger in the front squat so that standing up from a squat clean isn’t an effort
There’s more! Primarily it’s technique though, not strength, so what a cool thing to have at my disposal while dieting.

Which brings me to c): Should I continue sneaking in the olympic work while centering my training days around the “big 4” non-olympic lifts? Or should I revise my whole approach around olympic lifting for a few weeks?
Decisions, decisions.

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Of note: i found Dan John’s easy strength for fat loss with Olympic lifting program. May give it a run. Was looking forward to benching 225 on Monday so maybe after that?

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3/4/23 Saturday
Rather than sandbags or deadlifts, i test drove Dan John’s program Easy Strength for Fat Loss with Olympic Lifting.
Warmup is a hang and a goblet sit, followed by 3 rounds of a complex with a broomstick.
The complex is more work than it sounds, with a total of 72 squats of various forms during the three rounds.

Then: snatch, 5x5x95;
C&J, 5x1x115.

Tried jerking with right leg forward and it seems much better than left leg.

Then, a long suitcase carry w/ 50lb kb. Turned out to be 3:24 going to the nearest stop sign and back.

Then, 1.1 mile family walk pushing stroller.

In summary: i like it. Want to work technique a bit more before i launch.

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just catching up but had to quote this, damn mate, I really need to lift my sand bag game. Great work,

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Oh man thanks!

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3/6/2023
Monday, Bench day.
Weighed in at 180 this morning.
Bench:
Worked up to 225x2. Had a spotter of course and attempted a 3rd rep, didn’t get it.
But I’m SUPER happy with that. And I’m going to go ahead and be PROUD of myself too.

Full (squat) Cleans:
Worked up, focusing on technique. I can power clean 185 nbd but catching it lower is the route to even heavier lifts; unfortunately my body doesn’t like to do it!
I was catching them pretty deep at 135. At 145 I started catching them in the power position and squatting down after, trying to break that, dropped back to 135 and did more for practice.

Also finished with a split jerk for a few of those.
Edit to add: 4x3 rollouts from standing with knee touch at the end.
Loaded Carry: Pair of 90lb DBs. No straps. 3 down-and-back carries, felt like a boss. Practically running with them.

That’s a big fat checked box for bench press. I plan to not do it for a while now. It’ll still be there whenever I come back to it. Going to finish out the week including plenty of technique practice for the O-lifts, with a plan to start a Dan John program next Monday (if I’m not travelling for work).

Edit to add: 8 minutes living room calisthenics. 5 burpees emom with broomstick snatches in between.
Mile walk carrying baby 30lbs.

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3/8/2023:
This would be “squat day”, so in keeping with the flavor of the week (O-lifting) I did front squats. Lots and lots of front squats.
Didn’t track sets, reps, or weight.
Did attempt 215lb and dumped it at the bottom. There was a lower back stability factor there.
Focused a lot on the grip and rack position, really stretched my wrists and elbows getting the bar waay back into my neck, imagining the elbows being pulled forward.

Then after a bit I lowered the weight and started with squat cleans, which quickly became full clean-and-jerks. Did a lot of reps around 115, 135, got up to 145 today.

As I’ve said there’s a LOT of technique (and mobility) to this, so it’s not really about strength, it’s about practice, at this point.

When I get my squat-clean higher than my powerclean, I’ll have arrived!

Yesterday I discovered a gym equipment wholesaler, not near me but near a work site I was visiting. Bought some crumb rubber plates (Going cheap, even though @T3hPwnisher says they are cheap and won’t last): pair of 10s and of 15s; and a horse stall mat.
Intend to start lifting from home for the next few sessions and starting Monday (if not traveling for work) get on an actual program.

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Dude: that’s a feature vs a bug. They’re my “beater plates”. When I want to do some aggressive and stupid lifting, I put them on, haha.

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Dang, I think you are a couple pounds lighter than me now.

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Likely so! And at 6’0, I’m just not a big guy AT ALL at this weight.
But I’ll put more than my BW overhead before long, so there’s that…

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Yeah, those milestones are always fun to hit.

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3/10/2023 Friday
Test driving my new garage setup (having added a few rubber plates and a stall mat); test driving ESOLFL (Easy Strength with Olympic Lifting for Fat Loss). And, while on my previous routine Friday is the day for pullups and all manner of pressing, my elbows are sensitive at the moment and my shoulders have been/will continue to get decent stimulus from training the olympic lifts; and, most importantly, right now fat loss is the goal so I’m happy with how this went:

Warm up for the warmups with a short walk (1/4 mile or less) due to it being incredibly early in the day.
1-minute mobility: 30 second hang, 30 second sit at the bottom of a 50lb goblet squat.
Actual warmup: 3 rounds with a dowel rod: 8 RDL, 8 snatch, 8 OHS, 8 BS. That’s effectively 72 bodyweight squats BTW. Feels good.
Snatch: 3x3, adding weight each time, top set 95lb.
Clean and Jerk: 3x1, adding weight each time. Top set 135lb.
(And yeah, that was barely any work at all!)
Long bear-hug carry with the 100lb bag (to the nearest stop sign and back).
1 mile weighted vest walk at a brisk pace (16-17 minutes). Vest about 28LB and will load it back up to 40 over the next few walks.

All in, including the walks, this took about 47 minutes. Not bad!

If I didn’t have to start right after waking up I could eliminate the first walk and shave off a couple more minutes.

I’m committing to running the actual program (ESOLFL) for 3 “weeks”, but since it’s a 5 day per week program it may take up to 5 weeks to run - or longer, if work travel materializes.
After that I intend to run “The Big 21” which is another Dan John 3-week olympic program. By that point I should have made sufficient progress in the O-lifts and had a sufficient break from my usual training that I can do another 180 if needed. Should probably change up the log title to reflect this.

Fat loss is the goal.
The man who chases 2 rabbits goes hungry.

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Neat to see you trying out Dan John’s programs!

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405lb deadlift. Lifetime PR tie, but this is MUCH better than the previous time.

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