Cycle 8: Boring But Big: Tuesday 6 of 12
BW: 150-155
TMs: 115/175/255/275
5/3/1
SQUAT (ss w/DB hammer curls 25 x 10 x 5 & Hanging Leg Raises BW x 5 x 10)
bar x 10
95 x 5
105 x 5
125 x 5
145 x 3
165 x 3
190 x 3
210 x 3
235 x 6
SQUAT Jokers
255 x 3
265 x 3 (rep PR)
Secondary/Volume
DEADLIFT
bar x 10
95 x 10
115 x 10
135 x 10 x 5
Cycle 8: Boring But Big: Thursday 7 of 12
BW: 150-155
TMs: 115/175/255/275
Warm Up
Low2High Cable Flyes 20 x 10 x 5
5/3/1 Work
BENCH (ss w/DB rows 35 x 10 x 5)
bar x 10
65 x 5
80 x 5
95 x 3
120 x 3
140 x 3
155 x 8
BENCH Joker Sets
175 x 3
185 x 3
Next three done as a tri-set. Ah, the joys of a family gym on a mid-October weekday afternoon!
Horizontal Pull
60 x 10
80 x 10
100 x 10 x 5
Secondary/Volume
PRESS
bar x 10
50 x 10
55 x 10 x 5
Face Pulls
30 x 10 x 5
I didn’t know you had a log here.
Awesome stuff.
Are you on any sort of HRT?
Thanks! No, nothing special on that front. I did just start taking creatine this month …
Well my friend.
You should seriously consider it. But hey creatine is a start. People are way more afraid of HRT than they should be.
Cycle 8: Boring But Big: Friday 8 of 12
BW: 150.6
TMs: 115/175/255/275
5/3/1
DEADLIFT (ss w/long jump BW x 5 x 5 & DB hammer curls 25 x 10 x 5)
bar x 10
95 x 5
110 x 5
130 x 5
150 x 3
195 x 3
220 x 3
245 x 6
DEADLIFT Jokers
275 x 3
285 x 2 (grip still the primary challenge)
Secondary/Volume
SQUAT (ss w/ ab rollouts BW x 10 x 5)
bar x 10
95 x 10
115 x 10
125 x 10 x 5
Never really considered it. I haven’t seen a doctor in years.
Coming up on the end of my first mesocycle for hypertrophy (Oct/Nov/Dec), and looking to make a few adjustments before my second cycle begins in November.
Currently doing 28 sets of work per week for back and only 13 for chest and 8 for shoulders. Need to balance this out for Cycles 9 and 10 in November and December since improving both chest and shoulders is a priority for this hypertrophy round.
So, I’ll swap out the DB rows 2x/week for upright DB rows and DB laterals. I’ll also add a second set of low2high cable flyes for chest. That will leave me with 18 sets for back, 18 sets for chest, 18 sets for shoulders.
I’m also going to use incline benching for my volume bench work in 5/3/1. I’m already using a wide-grip, Guillotine press, Gironda style. I’ll add a little incline to focus on clavicular hypertrophy all the more.
Hopefully this will also set me up nicely for the transition to power-based training in January with the 5/3/1 Beach Body Challenge.
Cycle 8: Boring But Big: Monday 9 of 12
BW: 155.6
TMs: 115/175/255/275
Warmup
Dips: BW x 5 x 5
5/3/1
PRESS (ss w/DB rows 35 x 10 x 5)
bar x 10
65 x 5
85 x 5
85 x 3
(Incorrect ramp up due to misprint on my workout sheet. Should have been 50 x 5; 60 x 5; 70 x 3)
90 x 5
100 x 3
110 x 5
PRESS Jokers
120 x 1
130 x 1
135 x 1 (PR)
Very happy with the one-plate press. This was one of my initial goals when I started and I’m thrilled to have gotten it before the end of the year. I also think it’s a nice omen for my shoulder focus over the next two months.
Next up: two-plate bench and three-plate squat by June 1.
VERTICAL PULL
60 x 10
80 x 10
100 x 10 x 5
Secondary/Volume
BENCH
bar x 10
65 x 10
85 x 10 x 5
YEAH man well done 1 plate OHP congrats.
I’ll race you for that squat, I hope to nail the bench as a christmas present
Cycle 8: Boring But Big: Tuesday 10 of 12
BW: 150-155
TMs: 115/175/255/275
Hanging Leg Raises
BW x 10 x 5
5/3/1
SQUAT (ss w/DB hammer curls 25 x 10 x 5)
bar x 10
85 x 5
105 x 5
125 x 5
145 x 3
175 x 3
200 x 5
220 x 3
245 x 6
SQUAT Jokers
265 x 1
290 x 1
305 x 1 (PR)
Another great day at the gym. Wasn’t feeling it 100%, but kept plowing through today’s session to quite the happy ending. 290 x 1 was enough of a PR (+15-20 lbs) to please me. But to get over 300 pounds … priceless!
That puts me only ten pounds away from my initial three plate squat goal. I’d given myself until June 1st to hit that. Now I’m thinking it could happen by the end of the year …
Secondary/Volume
DEADLIFT
bar x 10
95 x 10
115 x 10
135 x 10 x 5
Will be in Hong Kong for a couple of days for business. Back the first of November to see what PRs might be lurking behind the final two sessions of this Boring But Big cycle (I’m lookin’ at you bench and deadlift!)
You’re on! But I’ve gotta warn you that I had a pretty good hour in the squat rack today! 
DAMN man 305 … Well done congrats.
I did 265 after my last program.
And my 3 plates are 20 kg (44 lb) so you’re 3 pounds short on my 3 plates LOL. I would say you’ve won by now, the shortest contest ever.
I’m still trailing you on bench, I think. Very inspired by your videos of those efforts!
I don’t always enjoy the PR sets and Jokers (esp the first week of BBB when my PR rep benchmark is 9). But I really credit them for helping me make some nice strikes with 5/3/1.
Really strong for 155 lbs.
Do you ever feel like the weight training diminishes your grappling.
I found it made me way to stiff. But then again I transitioned back into grappling after years of trying to get as strong as possible so too often I was over taxing my body with true 1 rep maxes.
My goal was to be like this guy. A Georgian Greco wrestler. Haha not in a thousand years will I be like him.
Edit: He is good but he is more jacked then good.
Truth told, it’s hard to imagine being any more stiff than I am now!
I have a pretty grinding jiu-jitsu game for a smaller guy. Very little that is fast or acrobatic. My guard is basically Eddie Bravo half-guard + Otavio Sousa sitting guard with a dash of Kron Gracie/Leandro Lo collar guard to open things up. From the top, very Murilo Santana + Demian Maia tripod smash passing.
Nice clip of Nadareishvili. I’m a big (though pretty noob/ignorant) wrestling fan - Greco and freestyle. Along with sprinters, I think they have the body type I envy the most.
Its funny. I started rolling at 212 lbs and 5’ 9 stiff as a board. Repping 500 on squat 600 lb deadlift. Initially I let my ego dominate so every time I rolled it was a smash fest. Which was the norm in the wrestling room. They don’t like that on BJJ mat but as I 've said before there was no bjj bitchassness where I was training so no one complained and I got it back.
But what I am getting at is I went from 212 to like 170 in he span of 3ish months. So I had to constantly adapt. It was so interesting. I was losing strength so I couldn’t bully people the way I would before but my skill got better and I got more agile and flexible.
What was really interesting was my game and success with the lighter more skilled guys made leaps and bounds but the bigger newish guys who I used to bully into submission started having more success against me. I was like this doesn’t make any sense.
I have a 10 week opening in my schedule in three and half weeks and after not really training for the last 8 months I want to go balls to the wall and see if I can get three hours of rolling in 4-5 days a week.
That’s some pretty good training volume, especially coming off a layoff.
My training volume took a step back a few years ago with a new job that has me traveling quite a bit. I was averaging about 162 sessions a year for the first 6-7 years. Since then, for the last 6-7, it’s been closer to 104. The only upside has been fewer injuries.
Saturday Hotel gym training
DB Arnold press circuit (3x)
5 x 10
10 x 5
20 x 3
25 x 1
DB laterals
5 x 20 x 3
DB upright rows
10 x 20 x 3
DB front raises
5 x 20 x 3
DB concentration curls
25 x 10 x 5
Cable low2high flyes
20 x 10 x 5
Cable face pulls
30 x 10 x 5
Leg extensions
54 x 10 x 5
45 minute treadmill walk - moderate pace btw 3.3 - 3.7 mph.
Cycle 8: Boring But Big: Thursday 11 of 12
BW: 150-155
TMs: 115/175/255/275
Back from a week in Hong Kong and picking up where I left off.
BENCH (ss w/Face Pulls 30 x 10 x 5; Low2High Cable Flyes 20 x 10 x 5; DB rows 35 x 10 x 5)
bar x 10
65 x 5
80 x 5
95 x 3
130 x 5
145 x 3
165 x 6
BENCH Jokers
185 x 1
200 x 1
210 x 1 (New PR)*
*Making some great strides in this cycle (we’ll see about deadlifts tomorrow). First time benching 200 pounds or more. Topped June PR by 15 pounds. This puts me on track to hit my two-plate 1RM goal for the bench by the end of the year if all goes as planned.
PRESS Volume (ss w/H pull 60 x 10; 80 x 10; 100 x 10 x 5)
bar x 10
50 x 10
55 x 10 x 5
