Becoming Canis dirus - SvenG's Training Log

that’s an amazing transformation!!!

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outstanding

:wink:

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I know I’m behind in your log, but I have some thoughts on this. Everything we do in the gym has a risk:reward ratio. If you’ve been injured, then you have experience to use with autoregulation. If you’ve trained for any amount of time, then you should also have some experience with how a workout can affect your body in the following days.

If you miss a set or drop the weight like you did after multiple off squat sessions, then you’re paying attention to your body. How much did that derail your overall progress? How much CNS fatigue would you have experienced if you managed to force the planned reps? How would that have impacted the week? We’ll never know, but these are things to consider when your body is rebelling.

You could have managed the reps and then came down with a cold later in the week because your body was too drained to fight off the cold.

Do you follow the five steps forward, three steps back for your TMs?

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Thanks for all that, @Frank_C—so much good food for thought there. I made the right call that day, even if I was annoyed at myself.

In general, I’ve been following the “2 Leaders/7WP - Deload/1 Anchor/7WP - TM Testing” setup that JW outlines in Forever, though I’ve stalled the TMs without testing here and there. I can also be pedantic, so sometimes I’ve even used 7WP Deload weeks to test my TMs, just to be sure they’re right.

I’ve made great progress overall using this approach, adding 90 lbs to my squat TM, 40 to press, 120 to deadlift, and 35 to bench over the 13 months (15 cycles) I’ve been running 5/3/1.

But sometimes I still lose the forest for the trees…

Much like the progress photos I posted earlier today, seeing the TM progress here serves as a good reminder: JW knows what he’s talking about, so trust the system!

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Lookin’ jacked bro! (That’s a soft “j”. Yacked, if you will. That’s extra jacked.). Traps looking killer!

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Very inspiring progress! Congratulations!

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That’s an impressive physique in any context. Being able to have that in order to be a fantastic physical role model for your kids is even more awesome. You are crushing it in all capacities.

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Great work! Those numbers also show how stubborn the darn pressing movements are. Hard work and consistency are the only things that matter.

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@anna_5588, @throwawayfitness, @hillbillyk, @oldnattychris, @T3hPwnisher, @Frank_C - Thank you, one and all, for the compliments and comments!

It’s good to look back every once in a while, but now it’s time to focus on the road ahead: 5/3/1 for Hardgainers starts today.

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7WP, TM Test - summary

Again, not much more to say about last week—these summaries seem to be more about next week’s plans than thoughts about the previous week!

That said, I am super-happy with the deadlift PR, even if everything else was, “Meh.” Did well with food and sleep until the past few days—that’s an improvement over the past several 7WP weeks, but still not great. I purposefully let off the gas a little on lifting and conditioning, and that seems to trickle into other aspects of life, too. That totally reflects my all-or-nothing personality, though, which itself is both a blessing and a curse.

Starting 5/3/1 for Hardgainers this week. Current plan is to run two cycles of that, deload, run an anchor of some sort, and then follow that up with some other gaining template—is BtM finally on my radar?

Goals for this week include:

  • Complete all 4 lifting workouts
  • Hit (at least) 50 reps for each assistance category
  • Complete 3 days of easy conditioning & direct calf work
  • Row something heavy every day
  • Get something heavy from floor-to-overhead every day
  • Eat well and eat to recover

Starting on the low end of recommended reps for assistance, with a goal to add 10 reps in each category every week—if I can handle it. That should get me near the high end after 6 weeks, but we’re going to play that by ear, too.

I’m also planning to run @Bronwen_Blunt’s Indigo-3G + Surge protocol on lifting days: so that’s Indigo-3G about a half-hour before the workout and a serving of Surge during the work. Then I’ll follow that up with breakfast.

Scheduling there may end up being weird, and breakfast may turn into a kind of brunch—but I’ve been using Indigo-3G consistently before dinner for quite awhile now, and I’m not sure I see a huge difference: I tend to eat very few direct carb sources, so maybe that’s impacting its effectiveness. In contrast, I’ve not been using Surge consistently, and I’d like to change that—in this context, Bronwen’s protocol just makes a whole lot of sense to me, so I’m going to give it a shot and see how it goes!

Finally, then—new cycle, new TMs:

Press - 150 lbs
Squat - 315 lbs
Dead - 385 lbs
Bench - 265 lbs

Deadlift is up 10 lbs from Cycle 15, squat is down 20, and press and bench are both down 5. Backing those up reflects where I am right now, which is fine and dandy—and, I think, the right thing to do. These TMs should also let me hit clean reps every set, every week, to lay down some new muscle AND pick up steam over the next few cycles to bump up when required.

But right now, I’m most excited about the “lay down some new muscle” part of all that, so let’s get after it!

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5/3/1 for Hardgainers - c16w1d1

Sunday - 07 August 2022
Workout: Easy conditioning, 0820-0910 (50 minutes)

1-pump burpees + 28-kg KB swings - 2x(25 + 25), 25-second rest between
Bike@120-140 bpm - 10 minutes
Weighted vest walk - 30 kg - 15 minutes

Fasted. If all goes according to plan, it’s going to be a busy day. Calves, daily work, and The Last Castle to follow at some point.

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5/3/1 for Hardgainers - c16w1d1

Sunday - 07 August 2022
Workout: Calves & daily work + extra conditioning, 1320-1415 + 1720-1755 (55 + 35 minutes)

Towel hop tabata - 4x40/10

3 rounds of:
a) Clean & press - 125 lbs - 10, 10, 10
b) Wendler rows - 90 lbs - 10 + 10, 20, 15 + 15 + 15
c) Seated CR - 210 lbs - 30, 25, 20

Towel hop tabata - 4x40/10

Pwn’s The Last Castle - AMRAP, 20 minutes
a) Farmer’s walk - 25 yards - 2x87 lbs
b) 6 alternating DB snatches - L/R - 45 lbs
c) Farmer’s walk - 25 yards - 2x87 lbs
d) 10 KB swings - 28 kg
Rounds: 8; Time: 22:02

Calves and daily work done. Took awhile to setup today, and what I ended up with worked, but wasn’t great—figured out what is likely to be a better configuration midway through, so if I repeat this circuit, I’ll try that layout to see how it goes.

Anyway, I bumped up the C&P by 5 lbs today, that went well. It’s going to take me a few runs to figure out the loading and rep scheme for which those Wendler rows will bring the hurt—think I need to really focus on form and mind-muscle connection with these, and shoot for high rep counts—but the last rest-pause set of 45 reps worked well enough. Also switched back to seated calf raises for a change of pace, will run with those for the foreseeable future.

That leaves The Last Castle. Radar suggests it may be SvenG’s Rainy Day variation, but we’ll just play that by ear…

Edit: Not raining, but it might as well be: that humidity is sick! Grip was challenged from the start because all of the implement handles were wet—nice way to increase the misery for free. Bumped up to a 45-lbs DB for those snatches today, and they went alright. With that out of the way, I’m done for the day.

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Adding a loaded stretch to the Wendler Rows helps blow up the traps. Don’t be afraid to load those up. I used to do them on a t bar row machine with 135 lbs. I think I did sets of 20 with the stretch at the end.

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Awesome progress, especially in the legs and back which is really only where it counts in my books. Nice job mate.

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Thanks for that, @simo74. My back, in particular, is small and weak, so I’ve been working on that for quite awhile now. Long way to go yet, but I feel like I see some progress, so it’s nice to hear that you do too!

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Just got back from playing tennis with my family. Yes, tennis!

The kids have been taking lessons this summer, and they talked us into getting some rackets and trying them out. First time I’ve played my wife since the summer before she got pregnant with our daughter (who turns 12 later this week).

Anyway, if you’re old and looking to feel older, I highly recommend trying to chase a tiny yellow ball around a court for awhile…

Makes me realize I should maybe, perhaps, probably sorta, consider some agility work. Funny, though, I didn’t feel that way playing basketball with my son this winter. That said, some agility work wouldn’t hurt my abilities on that court either.

(Good gosh! What are these words spewing from my mouth right now!?!)

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funny you posted this. My daughter had her first tennis lesson last week and wanted to practice with my this weekend. Spent and hour Sat and Sun playing tennis also.

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Hah! The things parents will do for their children.

:rofl:

I can confirm that heavy lifting and strongman work do not make you very agile or quick around the court. I think @Koestrizer plays a little too. That must make us the strongest three tennis players around. LOL

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That’s awesome!

I used to play tennis with my dad.
Tennis was really fun. I took lessons up until moving to China. I wasn’t good though and ending up liking running punishment laps more than actually playing :sweat_smile:

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