Boatguy's DH/BFB/Juggernaut/Smolov Jr-Road back to 405FS

15 August 2018
Juggernaut
10’s Intensification
Conditioning/Cardio

Treadmill Incline Intervals - 2:00 work/3:00 rest - 7 mph/7inc work interval, 3 mph/0 incline rest interval
6 rounds (30:00)

Like I said last week, I cut a minute off the rest interval. Ratio now is 1:1.5. This made these a little more taxing (not too bad), so I will stick at this work:rest for a week or two before moving up again. I’ll also try and get in a sesh this Saturday before going to open mat (if I am able to go this weekend)…

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16 August 2018
Juggernaut
10’s Intensification
Day 3

Hang SGHP - 155 x 3, 175 x 3, 195;
Deadlift - 245 x 5, 280 x 5, 305 x 10, 10, 10;
BBB Front Squat - 135 x 10 / 185 x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10;
Terminal Knee Extension - big blue band x 15, 15, 15;
Lying Leg Curl - 90 x 12, 12, 12;

Felt ‘normal’ again today - not dragging ass, but not super aggro. Took a power nap between work and the gym, so that probably helped at least a little. I think part of my ‘blah’ feeling lately has been that mid-afternoon dip, which coincides with leaving work and getting home. But anyway, enough excuses.

Flew through the high pulls, like always. Started deadlifts, and again, felt normal. Weight felt a little light at first, but considering I usually start my deadlift warm up sets at 275 and today’s first was at 245, well there you go. Moved to 280, still felt light. Started the first work set at 305, still on the fence as to whether I would do 10 x 3 or 3 x 10. Got set, got tight, pulled and the bar flew off the floor. I actually paused at the top of the first rep to make sure I had added weight, and then cranked out a set of 10 with no issues. So, 3 x 10 it was. 305 is well below my 1RM (which I am still assuming to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 500), but still - that shit felt light as hell. Which was odd, because I didn’t feel jacked up or wired or anything.

Finished those and moved to BBB front squats. No issue there again, just focusing on technique while trying to find a groove during each 10-rep set.

Wanted to do some more assistance work, but my lower back has been feeling pretty decent so I didn’t want that to change by doing heavy RDL’s or something (those will come back into the rotation in the near future, just not yet). Back of right knee had been feeling a bit wonky, so I did a few sets of terminal knee extensions (yes, I know TKE’s don’t really do much for the posterior chain, aside from helping to balance out strength) and then lying leg curls for the hammies. After that, called it a day.

Wanting to get back into training calves, but the ball area of my right foot is still giving me some irritation (tendonitis/fascitis type feeling, that comes and goes - mostly going now, when I do feel it, it is less than what it was). Waiting till that is gone before doing calf raises.

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17 August 2018
Juggernaut
10’s Intensification
Day 4

A. Pullup - BW x 10 / 50 x 5, 55 x 5, 60 x 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3;
B. OHP - 65 x 10 / 85 x 5, 95 x 5, 105 x 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3;
BBB Underhand Incline Flye - 50 x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10;
A. Neutral Grip Pullup - 10, 10, 10;
B. Lateral Raise - 30 x 10, 10, 10;

Pretty solid day today, as well. Once I got a few work sets down, I got into a ‘groove’ of sorts where I wasn’t wired or jacked up, but I just felt good and kept pounding through. OHP weight is pretty light, but then my OHP max isn’t very high. Pullups are a little heavier relatively speaking, my weight used to sit so that pullup weight was roughly half of OHP weight. I’ve considered dropping it back down to that level, but I’m still moving along with no issues so, why fix somethin ain’t broke?

There’s a group of high school boys who lift in the afternoons that I keep running into. Only one of them has made any appreciable progress - but he’s looked the same for a while now, I’m thinking either he hasn’t adjusted his calories to keep gaining (if that is his goal) or the beginner gainz have worn off. Anyway, think I may have inspired a couple of them. I almost never see anyone else (aside from me) doing pullups with any additional weight - hell, most of the guys I see don’t even do full ROM pullups. Well, a couple of these guys have started using the dip belt and doing ‘pullups’ with between 10-25 lbs. We all have to start somewhere and I won’t bag on someone who is trying to progress, but I said ‘pullups’ because they aren’t doing full ROM. Both guys I have seen are only doing about the middle half of a pullup, never going to full extension or getting their chin over the bar. Again, not talking shit and respect for trying to progress, but you should probably work on those full ROM pullup numbers before you start adding weight.

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You did Darkhorse so just keep on supersetting one main exercise with an ab exercise and you’re good like the SGHP with the AB wheel.

Yeah, that’s what I normally do, when I remember.

20 August 2018
Juggernaut
10’s Realization
Day 1

Front Squat - 135 x 10 / 185 x 5, 225 x 3, 255 x 1, 275 x 10, FSL - 185 x 15;
A. Rack SGHP - 160 x 3, 180 x 3, 200 x 3, 3, 3;
B. Ab Wheel - 10, 10, 10, 10, XX;
BBB Deadlift - 225 x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10;
A. Single Leg Extension - 50 x 15, 15, 15;
B. Standing Calf Raise - 100 x 15, 15, 15;

Solid day in the gym. Front squats felt good and smooth. 275 for 10 wasn’t too bad, I could have gotten at least a couple more reps but I stopped there because I am going to test my 3RM next week for the upcoming Smolov Jr. onslaught. 3RM, because it is very close to 90% of 1RM, which is Training Max. I know Smolov is supposed to be done from 1RM, but I am going with this in order to manage fatigue a bit. Plan (right now) is to run Smolov Jr., take a rest/deload week (from front squat at least) and then run it again - assuming I was still progressing during the first one and don’t feel crushed. (this will coincide with a gear cycle I will be doing for the next few months - I will do a full write up on my plan, goals, starting stats, etc. in the next few days)

Rest of workout was pretty normal fare for me, so not really much to write about. I did add back in standing calf raises, something I dropped a while back and was holding off on waiting for this fascitis in my right foot to go away. Thought it basically had, but could feel it burning during the calf raises…then no pain the rest of the day, so maybe I finally worked it out.

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21 August 2018
Juggernaut
10’s Realization
Day 2

A. Weighted Pullup - BW x 10 / 45 x 5, 50 x 3, 55 x 1, 60 x 10, FSL RP 45 x 8-3-1;
B. OHP - 65 x 10 / 75 x 5, 95 x 3, 105 x 1, 115 x 10, FSL RP 75 x 12-6-4;
BBB Underhand Incline Cable Flye - 50 x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10;
A. Neutral Grip Pullup - BW x 10, 10, 10;
B. Lateral Raise - 25 x 10, 10, 10;

Good training day. Everything felt pretty good, aside from the underhand flyes. I strained my sterno-clavicular joint a few weeks ago at open mat BJJ. It came and went over the next week or two, then seemed to be getting better two weekends ago when there was no open mat due to a local tournament. Then, back on the mat this past Saturday, and now it’s worse than before. Lifting doesn’t seem to exacerbate it, aside from any initial movements that stretch or move it a bit. Pullups and OHP didn’t bother it, but underhand flyes did for the first couple sets. I pushed through, and by the end of the third set the movement wasn’t bothering me anymore. BJJ seems to bother it the worst, so I’ll stay off the mat for a couple weeks.

Everything else went pretty good. Hit the target reps for pullups and OHP right on the nose, but just barely (this is normal for 10’s on these moves). For those unfamiliar with Juggernaut, you want to at least reach the target reps at the end of each 3 week block. If you can go beyond the target reps, then you raise your training max on that move by a pre-determined amount (mine is 2.5 pounds for upper body and 5 pounds for lower body per rep above the target - this obviously makes your TM into a hypothetical rather than tested one).

FSL RP - First Set Last Rest Pause. FSL is borrowed from 531, after the top working set each day, you would do a back off set with the first of your working weights, AMRAP style. Forget where I got the rest-pause variant, but rather than one max rep set, you go just shy of failure, rest 15-20 seconds and repeat two more times. After that, I was a little surprised I still got my 3 x 10 neutral grip pullups at the end. Lowered my lateral raise weight a little, to focus on cleaner reps (1 second pause at the top of each rep).

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22 August 2018
Juggernaut
Conditioning/Cardio Day

Treadmill Intervals
2:00 @ 7 mph/7 inc
3:00 @ 3 mph/0 inc
6 rounds (30:00)

23 August 2018
Juggernaut
10’s Realization
Day 3

Hang SGHP - 155 x 3, 175 x 3, 195 x 3;
Deadlift - 225 x 5, 275 x 3, 315 x 1, 340 x 10, FSL 225 x 10;
Lying Leg Curl - 90 x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10;

Had to do my annual physical for work this morning, which put me to work quite a bit later than I expected. So I stayed later to make up some hours, which put me in the gym later, and by then I was time-restricted, since we had fire training tonight (volunteer) and I still wanted to eat something (obviously) before going.

Cranked through the whole workout, moving the whole time and keeping the rest periods shorter than normal. 340 still feels pretty light, so 10 reps came quick and fairly easy. I stopped at 10 because: I didn’t want to fry my back by really repping out, I intended to do one FSL set (did this drop-set style, basically just enough time between to get the extra plates off), and I plan on testing front squat next week so I didn’t want to fry my CNS (skipped the BBB front squat sets for the same reason). Finished all of this in under 40 minutes.

Wanted to do something other than just the working sets, so I did a 5 x 10 of lying leg curls to finish up. I know, not the most hardcore of movements, but it served a purpose. At some point during the upcoming cycle I intend to add back in the RDL’s and other heavier accessory work I used to do on deadlift day. Still not sure how (if) I’m going to work posterior chain during Smolov Jr, since they say not to deadlift or do any other lower body work. I’d like to do some just to maintain strength - I like my deadlift where it is, and I don’t want to lose that progress.

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How long do the juggernaut workouts take?

24 August 2018
Juggernaut
10’s Realization
Day 4

Band Pull Apart (multi-plane) - 40 reps (one set)
A. Cable Row - 62.5 x 8, 8, 8, 8;
B. Bench - 135 x 10 / 155 x 5, 185 x 3, 215 x 1, 230 x 11, FSL RP 155 x 13-7-6;
BBB BTN Press - 75 x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10;
A. Reverse Pec Deck - 70 x 10, 10, 10;
B; Underhand Incline Cable Flye - 60 x 10, 10, 10;

Felt pretty good again today. Bench felt good, stopped at 11 reps on AMRAP set but might have been able to squeeze out one more. FSL RP sets went good as well, though I may have stopped the first one a little early. Rep 13 was starting to get wobbly on the way up, so I called it there. Seven reps felt about right for the second set, but when I got 6 on the final I kind of questioned that. Typically, my rest-pause sets end up right around half the reps of the previous set, so my results today definitely made me think I had quit short.

Behind the neck presses were a bit of an issue today. Normally I have no issues with those, which is one of the reasons I like them. Not sure if I mentioned before (think so), but my left sternoclavicular juncture has been giving me some grief. Today was the first time it was actually causing pain in the gym, due to some of the movements I was doing - and then oddly enough, felt fine the rest of the day/night (not much pain Saturday morning either). Between that, and just tightness due to the high-rep sets of bench, my BTN groove was just off today. Have considered taking them out of rotation until this sternal thing is resolved. Similar issue with reverse pec deck - this has never bothered me, even while this sternal thing has been bothering me. Today, the first rep of each set was a little painful, but then basically went away within a couple reps. Flyes weren’t painful, just felt like I had used up most of my strength during bench (probably should have lowered the weight a little but I’m dumb like that).

Usually right around an hour depending on which week and day it is. The first week of the 10 block has you doing 10 x 5 of the main lift, so it usually runs a little over (1:15 - 1:30). I try and keep my rest periods at 1:00 during the main lift, and then add a little time during the BBB and accessory sets as needed. Also (obviously) depends on what/how much you add to it and how quickly you move between sets/movements.

Keep forgetting to have my kid message you. And then I think about it when she’s not available. Like now. I’ll get it to you though.

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Thx. I ended up finding a copy very reasonably priced of the juggernaut 2.0. I’ve skim read it and think it may be a good change of pace. Is it like 16 weeks long?

Depends on how often you deload. IIRC, originally there was a deload at the end of each block, which would be 16 weeks. With no deloads, it’s 12. I should probably deload more often than I do, but I’ve only recently noticed an issue with it (probably more due to DH into BFB etc than anything - I’ve had no issues running Juggernaut continuously with no deload). It’s percentage based off of your training max (90% of 1RM), so it’s not as daunting (in my opinion at least). Fair warning, first time I attempted it, it crushed me due to change in volume (jumped from 531 to Jugg, so massive change in volume). Now I can manage it with no issues (didn’t take too long to adapt). Biggest hurdle is the 10 block, due to the huge amount of volume (10 x 5 on all main lifts, plus whatever you add). Those are the days that take the longest.

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27 August 2018
No Training
(day before front squat test)
(pushed all training days one day right this week)

Cycle Begins
Details:

I am starting a test enanthate and primobolan cycle (first injection was yesterday, the 26th). I weighed 216 yesterday morning, and took measurements last night (aside from waist, did that one first thing in the morning before eating anything).

Cycle Plan:
Week 1 - 14 primo 700mg/week (200mg injected EOD - averages to 700/week)
Week 3 - 12 test enanth 400mg/week (200 mg injected 2x week, M & Th)
No PCT, simply return to current TRT dose (150mg/week) after end of cycle.

Stats:
42y/o male
6’ 216 @ beginning of cycle
been lifting approx. 25 years
have done a few cycles in the past, including a similar version of this one beginning of 2015

Goals:
Already fairly lean (about as lean as I care to diet down to, anyway). Abs somewhat visible (not a cut and ripped six pack, but visible), would like to gain some good muscle while staying current BF or lower. I liked how I looked and felt at 225, goal is to get back around there after cycle. I should easily be able to get into the 230s, but I will adjust calories and macros as necessary to stay below 240 (with my frame I think I would be ‘too big’ at that weight - first time I went past 230 I felt too big, like I couldn’t move without one part of my body bumping into another). So looking at no more than 20ish pounds gain, staying as lean as possible and gaining some strength at the same time.

Training Plan while On:
Currently following Juggernaut, I will continue that program for upper body. I am testing my front squat tomorrow, in order to set weights for a front squat Smolov Jr starting next week. After Smolov Jr, I will switch back to Juggernaut for everything. Still torn between a 1RM (as dictated) or a 3RM (which would make the weights a little more ‘reasonable’ while still allowing for progress). Definitely doing one run of Smolov Jr, if things go well and it doesn’t crush me I may take a rest/deload week and then run it again (apparently this has been done - using a 3RM may be more conducive to this back-to-back approach). Also deciding on deadlift/posterior chain work. Smolov Jr says not to, but (especially if I do it twice) I don’t want to take a long break from deadlifting.

I will also add direct arm work on multiple days per week, and I am considering doing some calf work at the end of each Smolov session. Started classes today, leaning heavily toward doing the Smolov sessions first thing in the morning (before class) and then doing other training (on the appropriate days) after class in the afternoon. I know that sounds like a lot, but I figure I’ll hit it hard while on to really reap the benefits.

So, tentative schedule during Smolov weeks looks like this:
SUN - OFF
MON - AM Smolov, Calf / PM - cardio
TUE - PM Jugg Pullup/OHP
WED - AM Smolov, Calves / PM - cardio, arms
THU - PM - cardio
FRI - AM Smolov, calves / PM - Row/bench
SAT - Smolov, calves, arms

Cardio days will most likely be low intensity so as not to sabotage the Smolov. After Smolov then I will raise the intensity somewhat, but again, not so much as to sabotage my lifting.

28 August 2018
Juggernaut
5’s Accumulation
Day 1/2

Front Squat - 135 x 10, 185 x 5, 225 x 3, 275 x 3, 315 x 3, 335 x 3, 355 x 1X, 1X;
A. Weighted Pullup - BW x 10, 40 x 5 / 50 x 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5;
B. OHP - 65 x 10, 85 x 5 / 105 x 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5;

So, today was supposed to be a 3RM test for front squat. Everything was going pretty smooth as I ramped up in weight, until I got to 355. First rep wasn’t bad, barely a grinder. Second rep - hit bottom depth, start to come out of the hole, and just kind of lost it and set the bar on the safety pins. Like my legs just said ‘fuck you, not today’. Got kind of pissed, especially considering my recent history with this lift. So I stripped it down to 135 so I could clean it and reset on the hooks, then loaded back up to 355. Took a longer rest again, tried to get out of my head, stepped under the bar and…same thing. Got a little higher this time, but it just wasn’t there. Kind of irked about it, but at the same time, I haven’t had any real weight on my shoulders since I stopped BFB about a month ago - Juggernaut 10 block is built around higher rep counts, so the weights (percentage of TM) is lower. I had intended to start Smolov Jr using a 3RM, instead I’ll do it with 355 as my 1RM. Not real happy with that, but such is life.

Hadn’t intended on doing anymore work after front squats, but I found out (should have known already, just didn’t dawn on me) the gym will be closed Monday SEP 3 for Labor Day. So, between that knowledge and being a little pissed at my big fail, I went ahead and did the pullup/OHP workout that I had intended on doing tomorrow. No BBB, no assistance/accessory work, just the working sets. These went nice and smooth, no issues to speak of. Having done two training days in one, this puts this week on track (so to speak), so tomorrow (WED) I will do cardio and continue the week as normal. Since the gym is closed Monday and that is the day I intended to start Smolov Jr, I will do the first Smolov session on Sunday and probably do the first week on an EOD plan rather than the normal one (SUN-TUE-THU-SAT instead of M-W-F-Sat) and then shift to the normal layout the following week.

On a side note, I started classes this week - BIO I, CHEM I, and A&P I. First week, so we’ve barely gotten into lectures yet. We did take a pre-test/assessment in CHEM lab today…holy shit I forgot a lot of stuff. Granted it’s been over 20 years since I took high school chemistry, but damn. I should have gone through Khan Academy or something for a chemistry review - funny, for some reason (probably because I’m dumb like that) it didn’t occur to me to do that until I was taking the test today. Fuck it, we’ll do it live.

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29 August 2018
Cardio
Treadmill Intervals

work interval - 2:00 @ 7mph/7inc
rest interval - 3:00 @ 3mph/no incline
6 rounds (30:00)

Somewhere in the middle of the intervals, I was reading the closed captioning on one of the gym TVs and got a little too interested in the conversation the talking heads were having on whatever CNN show was on. Instead of a 2:00 work interval, I did almost 3:00. So that time, to keep my timeline consistent I did a shorter rest and started back up on time at the next 5 minute mark.

That was my only ‘excitement’ today, never much to say on these.

30 August 2018
Juggernaut
5’s Accumulation

Hang SGHP - 155 x 3, 175 x 3, 195 x 3;
Deadlift - 275 x 5 / 335 x 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5;
BBB Front Squat - 135 x 10 / 175 x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10;

Kept today at kind of a low volume - no assistance posterior work. After sitting in classes all morning and into the afternoon, I was dragging a little by the time I got home. Took a short nap, got up feeling better and then felt tired as soon as I got in the gym. Went at it with the weights, and got rid of that feeling pretty quick. I was chatting off and on with one of the few other ‘big lifters’ at our gym so even with the reduced volume it still took right at an hour.

Deadlifts felt good, but then it’s only 335 - considerably below my PR 1RM of 500 (buffs nails on shirt nonchalantly - I kid). Like I said, workout could have been a bit shorter if I hadn’t been chatting.

Right now I’m thinking I’ll try keeping the deadlifts in the mix when I start Smolov Jr next week. I may regret that decision, but we’ll see.

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It’s nice to think about something other than the awful feeling of running. I wish I could watch TV while running on a treadmill. I can’t do anything other than focus my eyes straight ahead. It takes everything I have to stay in the right spot on the dreadmill.

A Freudian slip?

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