That looked easy as hell for you! Good stuff man! 2nd one might even be faster lol
No worries man. I was gonna say I’m not advanced enough to give you advice, but looks good lol
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Second felt heavy and slow. That’s the only reason I was comparing really. I’ve started looking at bar speed a lot, along with how a lift feels because I suspect bar speed is a better diagnostic. How a weight feels is entirely subjective, and is influenced by so many other factors compared to bar speed, which is either fast or slow.
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BTW, knee sleeves may help the knee ache. A less stiff and looser pair won’t change the groove of anything but may well reduce or even eliminate the ache.
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@MarkKO - I saw a reply you gave a user on another thread and I think I’m going to try something a bit crazy. I want to hit the gym 5 days a week (I’m doing my cardio in the AM’s now) and wanted your input on this template:
MONDAY
-Snatch (Light)
-Back Squat 5x5
-Bench Press 5x10-12 (SS: Chin Ups 50 total reps)
-Dips (SS: Hanging Leg Raises) 50 reps each
TUESDAY
-Clean & Jerk (Heavy)
-Front Squat 5x10
-Overhead Press 5x5 (SS: BB Row 5x12)
-Curls (SS: Ab Wheel) 50 reps each
THURSDAY
-Snatch (Heavy)
-Back Squat 5x10
-Bench Press 5x5 (SS: Chin Ups 50 total reps)
-Dips (SS: Hanging Leg Raises) 50 reps each
FRIDAY
-Clean & Jerk (Light)
-Front Squat 5x5
-Overhead Press 5x10-12 (SS: BB Row 5x10)
-Curls (SS: Ab Wheel) 50 reps each
SATURDAY
-Deadlift 3x5+ (Last set AMRAP)
*Or strongman events if I can use the equipment at the gym
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That’s a LOT of volume, especially on the pressing variations. I’d be concerned how your shoulders would hold up to that. How are thinking of progressing the weight?
Honestly, I think the best way to assess this is to determine what you want to achieve and then ask yourself if that setup is optimal to do that. If you simply want to train five days a week, why not have three ‘main’ days, where you do your heavy work (maybe even full body, start with an o-lift then squat/press/pull) and two BB days where you do high rep assistance.
Example:
Monday
Snatch
Front squat
Press
Snatch grip DL
Tuesday
BB rows
Dips s/s chins
Curls s/s abs
Wednesday
Clean and jerk
Squat
Bench
DL
Thursday
DB rows
Dips s/s chins
Curls s/s abs
Friday
Snatch or c&j
Front squat or squat
Press or bench
Snatch grip DL
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Thanks for the input man. I was thinking too it looked like a ridiculous amount of volume to just jump into lol.
So these are my goals:
None of these are 1RMs, but what I could do on any day no matter how I felt.
185 Snatch
225 C&J
315 Back Squat
275 Front Squat
405 Deadlift
BW Overhead Press
225 Bench Press
15+ Chin Ups
Those are my lifetime goals. I know nothing crazy, but if I stayed around 170lbs and was able to do all of that I think I would be pretty satisfied with my body. I know I can’t hit ALL of those goals at once, but I feel like a lot of them feed off each other. My primary focus are the big lifts and just getting better at the o-lifts.
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They all look achievable, although I suspect that being determined to stay at 170 lbs will make it harder to get there. Instead of scale weight, why not give yourself minimum physique markers like visible abs at all times? That gives you plenty of leeway to add muscle, which will help all of your goals.
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Shit that sounds good to me man lol. Visible abs at all time sounds like a good marker. I’m eating really clean and eating between 2500-2700 cals right now and I’ve been starting to “thicken” while shedding fat.
Good. You’ll probably be closer to 180 by the time you hit those numbers, and you’ll look GOOD. Then you’ll need new lifetime goals 
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Haha hell yeah man. Got to hit all these goals first!
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OK, so time to get really specific and finally get after it.
I’ve built the habit of going and eating and now it’s time to go for broke. These are my lifetime goals. I know nothing crazy, but I feel like this would be great balance for me. Once I hit ALL of these, then I can think of other goals lol. But until then these are the numbers I am after.
I know I can’t get to all of them at once, but I feel like a lot of these feed off each other. These are not for 1RMs, but if I’m able to do hit these weights no matter how I feel on any day, I’d feel satisfied. I’m not looking to be the strongest man on earth, just looking to be really well balanced all over.
I will focus on a few lifts at a time until I get to those goals and then once the phase goals are complete then I will move onto the next phase while maintaining the other goals.
I truly feel like in ONE calendar year I can hit 5 out of 9 of these lifts. Maybe more.
PHASE 1 GOALS
315 Back Squat
155 OHP
20 Chin Ups
PHASE 2-4 GOALS
275 Front Squat
405 Deadlift
185 Snatch
225 C&J
225 Bench Press
225 BB Row
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I disagree. I think those are all very achievable at 170lb, though you’d probably need a coach and/or bumper plates to hit those Oly lifts. From what I’ve read from isdatnutty’s posts, I think he has access to both(?), so probably achievable.
I think the BW OHP is the one thing that looks plain impossible to achieve … But, then again, my OHP sucks balls and I’m probably projecting.
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Going light this week to ramp up for next week. I’ve been sick and my body feels really off.
WEEK 1 - DAY 1 - TUESDAY
POWER SNATCH
115x3
115x3
115x3
115x3
115x3
BACK SQUAT / CHIN UPS
185x5 / 5
185x5 / 5
185x5 / 5
185x5 / 5
185x5 / 5
OVERHEAD PRESS / CHIN UPS
95x5 / 5
95x5 / 5
95x5 / 5
95x5 / 5
95x5 / 5
DIPS / AB WHEEL
10 / 10
10 / 10
10 / 10
10 / 10
10 / 10
NOTES: Starting light for this first workout to get use to this program. This is what I’ll be running for a quite a bit of time so gonna make sure I do it right from the start.
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My “program” for the next 12 weeks. Going back to 5x5 style of training and will add in back off sets or try to go AMRAP on the last set. Going to up the calories and make sure I get 8hrs of sleep at night.
Dropping Snatches for now to work on technique and really get it honed in. My C&J is just fine though (always can get better). Going to try to add 5lbs a session until I stall, then I will tweak the progression from there. I think I haven’t given LP a true run for it’s money. I think I can get far with just that especially since now I have the intensity and consistency to make it work.
Since I will be sprinting 6 days for only the next 6 weeks I will be removing all lower body assistance. After the 6 weeks of sprinting, I will be going to 2x a week sprinting and will add in things such as RDLs, GHRs, Lunges, etc.
TUESDAY
Clean 5x3
Back Squat 5x5
Overhead Press 5x5
Chins, Dips, Core Work
THURSDAY
Jerk from Rack 6x3
Front Squat 5x5
Push Press 5x5
Rows, Curls, Core Work
SATURDAY
Clean & Jerk 8x2
Back Squat 5x5
Overhead Press 5x5
Chins, Dips, Curls
SUNDAY
Power Clean 5x3
Deadlift 3x5+
Rows, DB Incline, Core Work
I dunno man. Have you done something like this before? Can you recover from it? If I do something like this for more than 3 weeks my lower back won’t be able to take it. Why not do the same thing that has been giving you “more results in 4 months than in 4 years”? Is there a reason to change it?
I wrote that quote to tell you to let your results dictate your actions. In this case, getting gradually stronger gave you gains in size. You don’t necessarily have to stick to the 5x5 rep scheme.
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You are probably right man. I think maybe I’m getting too excited with the results lol.
I have still been doing 5x5 as a foundation, but some days I’ll ramp up to a heavy single and then do some back off sets. So it has been based on 5x5, but not always doing 5 straight sets of 5. I think I just try to get in 5-8 working sets on the main lifts for the day.
I think my results so far have honestly just been from me being consistent with lifting and food. I haven’t missed a day in a 3 months. If I know a week will be slammed, I’ll make sure to get at least 2 quality sessions in. I have been lifting like 5-6 days so I think my body can handle the volume, but won’t know until I try it I guess lol.
The really big change is my adding in the sprinting more than so the lifting portion. I was thinking to dropping the 4th day and go back to lifting 3x a week with longer sessions instead if anything.
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I’m starting to THINK TOO MUCH again.
I just got to keep doing what I’m doing. It’s been working. If I want to change ANYTHING it can be only 1 thing at a time to see how the change affects me.
Got to remember my initial goal is to:
Squat 315lbs
OHP BW (or as high as I can get it)
Chin Ups 15+
Everything is based on that.
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Yes!
You gotta look at all this from top down after evaluating results. If you look from bottom up, you start micro-managing, and all the overthinking and the urge to change everything comes with it.
Principles/Core Values → Goals → Strategic Planning ->Execution → Evaluation of Results
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Very good. You’re starting so self-correct when you go off on tangents. Nice.
I have my own lifetime goals which are very similar to yours (scaled up slightly, since I’m a few inches taller and have a larger frame than you). I’ve got my Phase 1 goals of a 405 back squat, 315 front squat, and 585 deadlift at my current BW of 220ish. Once I achieve those I can start working on the next steps. But I am keeping the focus there.
Keep your focus on the main goals. The other stuff will be there. Remember that building a big back squat whilst doing pull-ups is basically going to build towards ALL of the other listed goals.
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