BBB 3 Month Challenge Log

1/29

Just had the idea to start a log for this new program… Only thing is I’m already 1 week into the challenge… Welp better a bit late than never. I’m going to put physique photos at the end of every week because I’m curious to see a before and after of the 3 month challenge for myself, hopefully any results I get will inspire anyone else to try this out as well.

FYI: for the conditioning options Wendler gives I chose the one where I walk 2 miles for 4 days a week.
Here’s a summary of the week -

Monday:
Overhead press
5 repsx55LB
5 repsx65LB
5 repsx70LB

Bench press:

5 sets of 10 at 70 LB

Assistance:

5 sets of 10 on rows machine with 75 LB
3 sets of the with 15 LB on bicep curls
3 sets of 10 of tricep pushdown with 30 lb
3 sets of 10 with face pulls 5 lb

Tuesday:

Deadlift:

reps 5x155:B
reps 5x180LB
reps 5x200LB

Squat:

5 sets of 10 reps at 90 pounds

Assistance ab wheel 5 sets of 10 reps
MAN this exercise killed my abs even though I could Barely do any reps and BTW I did this kneeling too, I could barely do a set and a half. So I think I’m just gonna try to do a set next time and when my core is too tired to do them well I will do some decline situps for the rest of the 4 sets. Overtime Ill work my way to doing more and more ab wheel reps

Thursday:

Bench Press:
5 repsx90 LB
5 repsx105 LB
5 repsx120 LB

Overhead press: 5 sets of 10 at 45 LB

Assistance:
Chin ups 5 sets of 10 reps
Man these were though, I could only probably do like 5-6 chin ups in a row max, I think I did around 20 and did the rest of the reps as lat pulldows with 52.5 pounds on it (this is what wendler says to do if you can’t do all the chin ups.) I also plan to increase the number of chins I do over time

3 sets of the with 15 LB on bicep curls
3 sets of 10 of tricep pushdown with 30 lb
3 sets of 10 with face pulls 5 lb

Friday:

Squats:

5Repsx115LB
5Repsx135LB
5Repsx150LB
For some reason I was super afraid that I wouldn’t be able to hit the 5 reps on the 135 and the 150 so I think I used crappy form when I didn’t use my quads as much to MAKE SURE I did. Maybe this explains why I felt like my quads weren’t activated at all after these reps, but anyway I have to make sure this doesn’t happen again.

Deadlift

5 sets of 10 reps at 120 pounds This felt like nothing to be completely honest, it was more cardio than strength training.

Assistance work:

Leg raises 5 sets of 10 reps My core must be very week because I struggled to do more than 7 in a row of these. I did maybe 15-20 total and did the rest of the reps as decline situps (again I plan to work up to doing more and more leg raises but when my core becomes too tired to do them I will fill in the reps with decline sit ups.

Summary of the week + Photos:

I’m honestly not sure how much to eat at this point, I’ve been eating between 3200 and 3500 (usually towards the higher end) for about a month now and although I haven’t been weighing myself too often (that’s my own fault) I am staying at around 170 LB. I feel like I should eat closer to 3700 but am a bit cautious to do so. So I’m gonna eat at 3600 every day for a week and write down my weight every day to see how it responds. Anyway about the program, I’m liking it although I feel like it is a bit light on bench and deadlift, but I’m gonna be patient and wait for when the program increases the weight. Anyway here are the photos:

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Good to have you on the logs.

What are you doing outside the gym? Seems like a lot to eat for a guy at 170lb and not put weight on. When you’re stating you’re eating that much, are you tracking calorie intake?

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I don’t track calories so feel free to disregard this …however, I would imagine even the most precise trackers would struggle to monitor a 100 calorie increase, there are too many variables at play. If weight gain is the goal and you have stalled, don’t be afraid to bump it up a few hundred calories, you can always dial it back.

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I really don’t do much to be honest, the gym and 2 miles walking 4x a week (as per the program) is all I really do for physical activity. and Yes, I track my calories very precisely.

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I would encourage you to post all your workouts in your log. Makes it easy to review your progression, and for others to help.
You don’t need to worry about squat form or quad activation right now. Just keep doing the program.
The ab wheel takes some getting used to; 5x10 kneeling is a lot for most people, id do 5x2 or 5x3 until it gets easier.
Its the kind of exercise you can do, and then regret the next day.

With pullups if at all possible to do them randomly during the day, do them. Like 1 or 2 every time you walk thru a certain door, for example. A cheap doorframe bar is like $20 and a great investment.
A couple months of daily random single pullups will make a difference.

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2/5

2nd week down baby!-

Monday:
Overhead press
3 repsx60LB
3 repsx65LB
3 repsx75LB

Bench press:

5 sets of 10 at 70 LB

Assistance:

5 sets of 10 on rows machine with 75 LB
3 sets of 10 on bicep curls with 15 LB
3 sets of 10 on tricep pushdown with 25/30 lb
3 sets of 10 on face pulls 5 lb

Tuesday:

Deadlift:

3 repsx165B
3 repsx190LB
3 repsx215LB

Squat:

5 sets of 10 reps at 90 pounds

Assistance ab wheel 5 sets of 10 reps:
I did WAAAAY better this week with the ab wheel, felt like I had better control of it and was able to do I believe around 20 reps total with it, I rested for a bit every 3-5 reps. Filled in the rest of the 50 reps with decline bench which feels like it is hitting my lower back more than abs for some reason

Thursday:

Bench Press:
3 repsx100 LB
3 repsx115 LB
3 repsx125 LB

Overhead press: 5 sets of 10 at 45 LB
I am TERRIBLE at counting my reps so I’m pretty sure I did 1-2 extra reps on around 3 of the sets

Assistance:
Chin ups 5 sets of 10 reps
Pull ups felt a bit easier than before although still a decent challenge, I did around 29 total by doing sets of 3-5 reps then resting, then going at it again, rest of the 50 reps were filled in with lat pull downs which I believe were set at 65 pounds. These reps were kind of hard so Ill probably bump the weight down a little next time because I remember Jim saying somewhere not to go apeshit on the supplemental exercises.

3 sets of 10 on bicep curls with 15 LB
3 sets of 10 on tricep pushdown with 25/30 lb for some reason I felt like the muscle wasn’t being worked on the first 2 sets
3 sets of 10 on face pulls 5 lb

Friday:

Squats:

3 Repsx125LB
3 Repsx145LB
3 Repsx160LB
After I did these 3 sets I went off and finished my deadlift BBB work, but the entire time I was super bothered by the fact that my quads didn’t feel activated by the squats, I feel like I’m somehow using my lower back and/or glutes to lift the weight rather than primarily quads. I’ve read that is likely because I am squatting very wide (a bit outside shoulder width) This bothered me so much that I removed the plates I was squatting on previously and did all 3 sets of 3 reps again but this time trying to keep my torso less folded over and a little bit closer on the stance. I felt like my quads were used a bit more in these reps and also somehow despite not being on plates my ankle dorsiflexion felt pretty good, so I may not be using plates anymore. Also I will try to get my squat closer to/at shoulder distance the next time I’m squatting so that I will activate quads more… Fingers crossed I will be able to handle the weight when using more of my quds

Deadlift:

5 sets of 10 reps at 120 pounds

Assistance work:

Leg raises 5 sets of 10 reps I struggled on these again today and went a little bit crazy on them (I shouldn’t have). In sets of 5-7 I ended up doing around 50-60 reps total, although many of these reps were probably a bit crappy despite my genuine effort because I’m still new to doing them

Summary of the week + Photos:
I have tracked my weight for a week and have gained 0 pounds eating at 3500 cals a day, I have started eating 3700 since the fourth and will track my weight for a week to see if I respond.

Anyway here’s the photos:


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Week 3 down! Not looking forward to the deload week!

Anyway here’s the rundown:

Monday:
Overhead press
5 repsx65LB
3 repsx70LB
1 repsx80LB

Bench press:

5 sets of 10 at 70 LB

Assistance:

5 sets of 10 on rows machine with 75/80 LB 75 seemed a bit TOO easy so I bumped the weight
3 sets of 10 on bicep curls with 15/17.5 some sets I bumped the weight up to 17.5 LB
3 sets of 10 on tricep pushdown with 25/30 lb
3 sets of 10 on face pulls 5 lb

Tuesday:

Deadlift:

5 repsx180LB
3 repsx200LB
1 repsx225LB

Squat:

5 sets of 10 reps at 90 pounds

Assistance ab wheel 5 sets of 10 reps:
IDK why but this day I struggled suuuuper hard with the ab wheel, just couldnt do nearly as may as last time, I believe I did about 8-10 and then I just couldn’t do more than 1 in a row, so I did the rest of the reps as decline situps

Thursday:

Bench Press:
5 repsx105 LB
3 repsx120 LB
1 repsx135 LB

Overhead press: 5 sets of 10 at 45 LB

Assistance:
Chin ups 5 sets of 10 reps
Did around 30 of these in sets of 3-5 and the rest of the reps as lat pulldowns at 52.5/60LB

3 sets of 10 on bicep curls with 15/17.5 some sets I bumped the weight up to 17.5 LB
3 sets of 10 on tricep pushdown with 25/30 lb
3 sets of 10 on face pulls 5/10 lb 5 LB felt a bit too easy for these so I bumped it on the last set

Saturday:

Squats:

5 Repsx135LB
3 Repsx150LB
1 Repsx170LB
Tried really hard to eliminate the lower back arch that I’ve been getting and I think I was decently succesful by brazing my abs and just trying to have my chest up but not too much which is what I was doing in the past.

Deadlift:

5 sets of 10 reps at 120 pounds my hamstrings are dead the day after I did these

Assistance work:

Leg raises 5 sets of 10 reps These felt significantly easier than they have before, I guess my core is getting stronger, I did like 40 reps in sets of 5-8 and filled in the rest of the reps with decline situps holding an 8 pound medicine ball

Summary of the week + extra notes + Photos:
Been eating 3800 cals for about a week now, weight seems to be very slowly creeping up,also had some crazy weird insomnia episode starting Wednesday or tuesday that seems to have lasted up until about saturday, don’t know what was up with that or what caused it but I got 3 super shitty nights of sleep in a row which is why I took friday as an off day and worked out saturday instead. Also I need to work on my overhead press form.
Anyway here are the photos:


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Deload week over!

here’s the rundown:

Monday:
Overhead press
5 repsx45LB
5 repsx45LB
5 repsx50LB

Bench press:

3 sets of 10 at 70 LB

Assistance:

5 sets of 10 on rows machine with 75/80 LB
3 sets of 10 on bicep curls with 15/17.5 Honestly I should probably stick with just 15 pound dumbbells because Wendler says “it should be effort free” when he descibes the extra optional assistance work
3 sets of 10 on tricep pushdown with 25/30 lb
3 sets of 10 on face pulls 5/10 lb Probably gonna stick with 5 pounds on these for a while

Tuesday:

Deadlift:

5 repsx95LB
5 repsx120LB
5 repsx145LB

Squat:

3 sets of 10 reps at 90 pounds

Assistance ab wheel 5 sets of 10 reps:
struggled again with the ab wheel, I was only able to do about ten reps in sets of 1-3 reps until I just couldn’t do anymore good reps. I think I finished off the rest of the 50 reps with either leg raises or decline situps

Thursday:

Bench Press:
5 repsx60 LB
5 repsx70 LB
5 repsx85 LB

Overhead press: 3 sets of 10 at 45 LB

Assistance:
Chin ups 5 sets of 10 reps
Did around 20 chin ups in sets of 2-6 and filled in the rest of the reps with lat pulldowns at 52.5/60/67.5 LB… I honestly can’t do 10 chin ups in a row so idk if I should just do lat pulldowns for all 50 reps in the future or if I should continue doing 20-30 reps of chinups in sets of 2-5 like I have been doing, and filling in the rest with lat pulldowns. Wendler says “if you can’t do 10 reps of chin ups do lat pulldowns instead” but if I do that then how will I know when to switch back to chin ups?

3 sets of 10 on bicep curls with 15/17.5 LB Paired with the chin ups this was probably me going harder than I should have on the assistance work, this is something I should probably try to avoid in the future
3 sets of 10 on tricep pushdown with 25/30 lb
3 sets of 10 on face pulls 5/10 lb

Friday:

Squats:

5 Repsx75LB
5 Repsx90LB
5 Repsx110LB

Deadlift:

3 sets of 10 reps at 120 pounds

Assistance work:

Leg raises 5 sets of 10 reps
did around 40 reps and filled in the rest with decline situps holding a 6 pound ball

Summary of the week + extra notes + Photos:
Overall its been a pretty boring week because of the deload but I’m pumped to jump in tomorrow for another cycle with more weight!
Anyway here are the photos:

Cycle 2-week one over

here’s the rundown:

Monday:
Overhead press
5 repsx55LB
5 repsx65LB
5 repsx75LB

Bench press:

5 sets of 10 at 85 LB

Assistance:

5 sets of 10 on rows machine with 75/80 LB
3 sets of 10 on bicep curls with 15/17.5pound dumbbells
3 sets of 10 on tricep pushdown with 25 lb
3 sets of 10 on face pulls 5 lb

Tuesday:

Deadlift:

5 repsx160LB
5 repsx185LB
5 repsx205LB

Squat:

5 sets of 10 reps at 110 pounds

Assistance ab wheel 5 sets of 10 reps:
ab wheel felt a bit easier this week and I did around 15 reps of it and filled in the rest with leg raises (12 reps) and decline sit ups (23 reps)

Thursday:

Bench Press:
5 repsx95 LB
5 repsx105 LB
5 repsx120 LB

Overhead press: 5 sets of 10 at 50 LB
I think on the last 2 sets I couldn’t do more than like 8-9 reps in a row and rested 30 secs before doing 1/2 reps to finish each individual set

Assistance:
Chin ups 5 sets of 10 reps
did around 17 or so chin ups which for some reason felt super hard today and filled in the rest of the reps with lat pulldowns at I believe 52.5/60 lbs

3 sets of 10 on bicep curls with 15
3 sets of 10 on tricep pushdown with 25 lb
3 sets of 10 on face pulls 5 lb

Friday:

Squats:

5 Repsx120LB
5 Repsx140LB
5 Repsx160LB

Deadlift:

5 sets of 10 reps at 145 pounds

Assistance work:

Leg raises 5 sets of 10 reps
only did around 25/26 reps, I really wanted to do more but I didn’t because I feared making a slight lower back injury worse, I explained this below

Summary of the week + extra notes + Photos:
Honestly as I have progressed through this program my form on all my exercises has improved, but my squat was something that was a bit lacking. I think from the squatting on Tuesday I got some lower back pain and it was almost certainly because I wasn’t bracing myself, so on my Wednesday rest day I practiced bracing for 10 or so reps with squats. I think I really nailed down how to brace well on that day, so despite having a bit of lingering lower back pain I decided to go and do the heavy squatting and lighter dead-lifting on Friday. During this workout I felt a bit of lower back pain (not because my form was bad but because my low back was already a bit hurt) but because of my bracing I don’t think I did a TON of extra damage to my low back. I honestly should have taken Friday to rest and done my lifting on Saturday instead because now that lower back pain is a bit worse. Hopefully it heals by next Monday and if not I might push my training back a day.

Anyway here are the photos:


Cycle 2-week 2 over… kind of

here’s the rundown:

Monday:
Overhead press
3 repsx60LB
3 repsx70LB
3 repsx80LB

Bench press:

5 sets of 10 at 85 LB

Assistance:

5 sets of 10 on rows machine with 80/85 LB
3 sets of 10 on bicep curls with 15/17.5pound dumbbells
3 sets of 10 on tricep pushdown with 27.5 lb
3 sets of 10 on face pulls 5/7.5 lb

Tuesday:

Bunch of leg extension machine sets+leg curl machine sets

Thursday:

Bench Press:
3 repsx100 LB
3 repsx115 LB
3 repsx130 LB

Overhead press: 5 sets of 10 at 50 LB Starting from the 3rd set I would usually get between 7-9 reps in a set before I couldn’t do any more, so I just put the bar down, rested for 5 secs or so and proceeded to finish the 2-3 reps I had left in those sets

Assistance:
Chin ups 5 sets of 10 reps
did around 20 or so chin ups before doing the rest of the 30 reps with lat pulldowns at 60lb

3 sets of 10 on bicep curls with 15/17.5
3 sets of 10 on tricep pushdown with 27.5 lb
3 sets of 10 on face pulls 7.5 lb

Friday:

Bunch of leg extension machine sets+leg curl machine sets+2 sets of 12 reps Bulgarian split squats holding 25lb dumbbells

Summary of the week + extra notes + Photos:
The reason I did not do the lower body days as specified by the program is because my lower back pain did not go away. I am afraid of ingraining an injury so I have tried to do ZERO lower back work. I do not plan to skip the lower body days days that I did not do this week, or “throw them away”, but instead, whenever my back is healed (maybe by next week, or the week after that) I will do start these lower body days. So I might be on week 6 of the program and end up doing week 5’s lower body days, so basically I’m just shifting them forward. This really sucks and makes me feel like shit, but it is what it is. What can I do but suck it up and deal with it?

Anyway here are the photos:

:grinning:

I think your approach to this is somewhat flawed. Quite often lower back pain is actually a symptom of another issue. There are a number of mobility moves that you can do on a daily basis which will probably tell you if it is genuinely a back problem. Things like Pelvic Tilt, Pelvic Tilt going into glute bridge, Knee to Chest, Knee rolls etc. Implementing these movements into a daily routine will help no end.

Once you’ve recovered from the initial injury you may need to isolate your lower back and strengthen it up. Good Mornings/Back Extensions will help, a tip I was given was to include the Hip Thrust into your regular routine as it’s not uncommon that tight/weak glutes can contribute to back pain.

Cycle 2-week 3 over

here’s the rundown:

Monday:
Overhead press
5 repsx65LB
3 repsx75LB
1 repx80LB

Bench press:

5 sets of 10 at 85 LB

Assistance:

5 sets of 10 on rows machine with 80/85 LB
3 sets of 10 on bicep curls with 15/17.5pound dumbbells
3 sets of 10 on tricep pushdown with 27.5/30 lb
3 sets of 10 on face pulls 5/7.5 lb

Tuesday:

around 7 leg extension machine sets+ 7 leg curl machine sets
and around 4 sets of Bulgarian split squats holding 25’s

Thursday:

Bench Press:
5 repsx105 LB
3 repsx120 LB
1 repx135 LB

Overhead press: 5 sets of 10 at 50 LB On some of the last sets I couldn’t get all 10 reps in a row so I took maybe 10 second breaks and then finished the reps up.

Assistance:
Chin ups 5 sets of 10 reps
did around 18 or so chin ups before doing the rest of the reps with lat pulldowns at 55lb

3 sets of 10 on bicep curls with 15
3 sets of 10 on tricep pushdown with 30 lb Probably a bit too heavy, which the program warns against, so I’ll probably go down to 27.5LB
3 sets of 10 on face pulls 5/10LB I think one or 2 of the sets were at 10 LB which was too much

Friday:

Around 7 extension machine sets+ Around 7 leg curl machine sets+2 sets (1 set per leg) of 12 reps Bulgarian split squats holding 25lb dumbbells

Summary of the week + extra notes + Photos:
Lower back pain still isn’t totally gone but by next Tuesday I’m hitting a proper leg day (as per the program) no matter what. AHolding88 kindly recommended I do some mobility to help with the back pain but it unfortunately did not help me. I want to thank him for taking time to try to help out.

Anyway here are the photos:


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