Dave G's Metcon For Muscle Log

Training Logs T Nation Plan Logs
21

Is it reasonable then to add weight to the ‘lift’ movements when the top end of the prescribed rep range is achieved on both rounds? For example, on leg day, if I get 5 reps on both sets of squats and 15 reps on both sets of extensions without taking much rest between rounds, should I add weight to the squat and leg extension for the next session while keeping the sled drag the same weight unless it becomes too easy?

When I said ‘beat the clock’ I meant that in the context of keeping perfect technique and sticking to the prescribed lifting tempos but just seeking to do it all with less rest periods between exercises. I would never sacrifice form and tempo in the interest of decreasing the workout time. I apologize if that was unclear.

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22

Then the best approach is to keep eating exactly the same way for a week BUT record and calculate everything (do NOT make an effort to eat better, more or less than usual). Since this is the food intake that keeps you stable it is easy from there to calculate a slight, moderate deficit or a slight, moderate surplus

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23

August 31st, 2022 - Metcon For Muscle - Phase One - Week Two - Day Three

A. Farmer’s Walk: 100 lbs (trap bar) x 120 seconds

B1. SGHP from Hang: 175 x 5, 5
B2. DB Shrug: (1212 tempo) 50’s x 15, 15
B3. Farmer’s Walk: 100 lbs (trap bar) x 60 seconds, 60 seconds

  • decreased the load from 55lb DB’s to 50’s on B2 in order to get to the top end of the rep range, did that successfully on both sets so back to 55’s next week

C1. Pendlay Row: (3010 tempo) 205 x 5; 205 x 5
C2. Chest Supported DB Rear Delt Raise: 10’s x 12; 10’s x 12
C3. Barbell Zercher Carry: 95 lbs x 60 seconds, 60 seconds
*lightened the load on Pendlay Row for the second set to ensure that I got a 3 second eccentric on each rep; will add 5 lbs next week

D. Chin Up Iso-Hold: BW x 35 seconds, 20 seconds, 20 seconds, 15 seconds, 15 seconds, 15 seconds
*barely a difference from last week; this is the hardest of the holds done on this program by far; I terminate the hold as soon as I start to sink at all from the top position and my biceps seem almost cramp in that position

E. Pull Up Hang Stretch: BW x 75 seconds, 45
*significant improvement here over last week

Total workout time: 26:40 (about 7:20 faster than last week but I attribute most of that to having the exercises fully set up in advance and better organized in the gym space than last week)

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24

September 1st, 2022 - Metcon For Muscle - Phase One, Week Two, Day Four

Physical Labour Day - AMRAP in 30 minutes

A1. Deadlft: 3 reps @ 315 (60% 1 RM)
A2. KB Biceps Walk: 20 steps @ 40lbs (a bit over 20% of BW)
A3. DB Clean and Press: 5 reps @ 45 lb DB’s
A4. KB Suitcase Carry: 10 steps/arm @ 40 lbs (a bit over 20% BW)

Completed 16 rounds plus the Deadlift and KB Biceps Walk of the next round in 30:00. That is four and a half more rounds than last week BUT last week I mistakenly did 5 reps of Deadlift in each round instead of the prescribed 3 reps so I actually did more reps of Deadlift last week.

My pacing was better this week. Last week I came out guns blazing, blasted through some rounds very quickly and then was proper screwed for the rest of the 30 minutes. Towards the end last week I was taking rests between rounds. This week my pacing was more even and I didn’t slow down nearly as much later in the session.

There wasn’t much down time in getting 16 1/2 rounds done in 30 minutes today so I’m going to be hard pressed to beat this next week I think.

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25

Wow, 16 rounds must be the record so far!

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26

@Christian_Thibaudeau
Thanks CT!

From a progression standpoint and based upon the performance thus far, would you recommend keeping the loads the same next week and aiming for more rounds or would you prefer to see the loads increased?

Thanks again. Much appreciated.

27

September 2nd, 2022 - ‘off’ day, bit of calf, ab, and forearm work only

A1. Standing Calf Raise: 3212 tempo, max reps, 185 lbs
A2. Bodyweight Calf Raise: BW x max reps 3212 tempo

B1. Standing Cable Crunch: 3112 tempo, 70 lbs, max reps
B2. Swiss Ball Crunch: constant tension, ‘fast’ contraction, BW, max reps

C1. Wrist Roller: 3 long sets of multiple rolls/unrolls
C2. Plate pinches: two 10lb plates/hand, max time, 3 sets
C3. Cable Wrist Extensions: 10lbs x max reps, 3 sets

Finished work today at 3pm, went to the beach for two hours of reading, napping, and swimming. Came home and did this short session. Nothing strenuous.

Looking forward to Week 3 Push Day tomorrow.

28

September 3rd, 2022 - Phase One, Week Three, Day One

A. Above Shoulder Two DB Carry: 30’s x 120 seconds
(increased the weight from 25’s to 30’s this week, still able to do two minutes unbroken with arms at lockout throughout, started Week One at 20’s on this exercise)

B1. Standing Barbell Press: 150 x 5, 5
B2. DB Lateral Raise: 15’s x 15, 14
B3. Overhead DB Carry: 30’s x 60 seconds, 60 seconds
(B1: same weight as last week but slightly better lifts)
(B2: same total reps as last week)
(B3: increased from 25’s to 30’s here and still able to get 60 seconds unbroken on both sets)

C1. Bench Press: 280 x 5, 3
C2, Dip: BW x 20, 13
C3. Bear Crawl: BW x 60 seconds, 60 seconds
(C1: only got 3 on second round again despite taking longer rests between circuits, will drop the weight a bit here next time in order to hit target reps)
(C2: got three more total reps than last week)

D. Dip Top Position Hold: BW x 45 seconds, 30 seconds, 25 seconds, 20 seconds (basically the same performance here as last week with the exception of getting 5 seconds less on the third hold and 5 seconds more on the fourth; always 15 second timed breaks between holds)

E. DB Bench Press Loaded Stretch: 25’s x 60 seconds, 60 seconds with 15 second rests between bouts of work
(significantly better performance here than last week)

My total workout time was 25:22. This is just short of 3 minutes slower than last week but that was intentional as I took more rest before and between the bench press rounds to try to get to the target reps which I had missed last week. I also increased the load on the Overhead Carries this week which accumulated more fatigue. Overall, quite pleased with the session and the progress so far on the program.

Very noticeable ‘pump’ throughout these sessions. No doubt a combination of the training style plus the double dose of Surge Workout Fuel. I seem to look about 10 lbs bigger during the upper body sessions as a result. Scale weight is up about 1.5 lbs since starting the program but my mid section is tighter and vascularity is increasing overall.

29

September 4th, 2022 - ‘off’ day, bit of calf, ab, and forearm work only

A. Standing Calf Raise: 3212 tempo, drop set 225/185/135 x 15/12/9 followed by one Max Growth Set using 135 (6 reps with 4 second eccentrics, 5 regular reps, one 8 second eccentric, 60 second loaded stretch hold)

B1. Hollow Body Hold: 50 seconds, 30 seconds
B1. Standing Cable Crunch: 3112 tempo, 70 lbs x 12, 11
B2. Swiss Ball Crunch: constant tension, ‘fast’ contraction, BW x 12, 10

C1. Cable Wrist Extensions: 5 lbs x 25, 15
C2. Double Pronated Grip Barbell Hold for max time: 45 seconds, 30 seconds

30

September 5th, 2022 - Metcon For Muscle - Phase One, Week Three, Day Two

A. Prowler Push: Two minutes continuous with 50 lbs added on the Prowler (the Prowler does not push well on grass at all, no matter what I’ve tried, so I once again, just did a backward drag instead because at least that slides reasonably well. Really need to come up with a better plan for this. There are a few gyms in town with sleds and turf but none of them are set up well for the circuit style of these workouts)

B1. Back Squat: 325 x 5, 5
B2. Leg Extension: 100 x 15, 15
B3. Sled Drag: Prowler + 50lbs x 60 seconds, 60 seconds
(B1. increased the load by 5lbs from last week)
(B2. increased the load by 10 lbs from last week)

C1. RDL: 325 x 5, 5
C2. Leg Curl: 100 x 14, 12
C3. KB Swing: 70 lbs x 60 seconds, 60 seconds
(C1. increased the load by 10 lbs from last week)
(C2. increased the load by 10 lbs from last week and got three less total reps)
(C3. the prescribed BW % for the swings would have been about 55 lbs but my KB’s jump from 44 lbs to 70 lbs so I went with the 70 lbs)

D. Goblet Squat Hold: 60 lbs x 60 seconds, 30 seconds, 15 seconds, 15 seconds with 15 seconds rest between the holds
(same weight as last week but got a longer first hold, the third hold was a bit shorter than last week)

E. Bulgarian Split Squat Iso-Hold: Left leg forward: 90 seconds, 30 seconds; Right leg forward: 90 seconds / 15 seconds rest / 30 seconds
(last week I did the hold for 120 seconds unbroken on the left leg but did not match that this week; right leg hold was the same performance as last week)

Total workout time was 28:05 vs 30:05 last week. I’m not sure where the time was saved this time through. In fact, I was sure that I was going a bit slower than last week so I was surprised to see that it was a bit quicker.

31

September 6th, 2022 - Metcon For Muscle - Phase One - Week Three - Day Three

A. Farmer’s Walk: 120 lbs (trap bar) x 120 seconds unbroken
(A. increase of 20 lbs from last week)

B1. SGHP from Hang: 180 x 5, 5
B2. DB Shrug: (1212 tempo) 55’s x 15, 15
B3. Farmer’s Walk: 120 lbs (trap bar) x 60 seconds, 60 seconds unbroken
(B1. increased by 5 lbs from last week)
(B2. increased by 5 lbs / hand from last week)
(B3. increased by 20 lbs from last week)

C1. Pendlay Row: (3010 tempo) 210 x 5, 5
C2. Chest Supported DB Rear Delt Raise: 10’s x 15, 15
C3. Barbell Zercher Carry: 105 lbs x 60 seconds, 60 seconds unbroken
(C1. increased by 5 lbs from last week)
(C2. 6 more total reps than last week at same weight)
(C3. increased by 10 lbs from last week)

D. Chin Up Iso-Hold: BW x 40 seconds, 20 seconds, 15 seconds, 15 seconds, 15 seconds, 15 seconds
*again, barely a difference from last week; added 5 seconds to the first hold but then it was more of the same short holds after that

E. Pull Up Hang Stretch: BW x 90 seconds, 30 seconds
*significant improvement here over last week

Total workout time: 26:01 (about 39 seconds faster than last week but with heavier loads on several exercises and more reps on others; still being slowed down significantly by those #%!* chin up holds)

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32

@Christian_Thibaudeau - Good morning Coach. What progression model would you prefer to see used on the Physical Labour day? Is there a threshold number of rounds completed in 30 minutes that would dictate an increase in loads for the next session or would you prefer to keep the loads the same and just try to get more rounds regardless of how many were achieved in the previous session? For example, I completed 12 rounds in Week 1 and 16 1/2 rounds in Week 2 and I’m wondering if keeping the loads the same and trying to get more rounds is the way to go this week or if increasing the loads is preferred.
Thank you.

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33

September 9th, 2022 - Metcon For Muscle - Phase One, Week Three, Day Four

I missed doing any training on September 7th and 8th as I was out of town for some emergent work. This provided a bit of extra rest (although the work was stressful and not exactly restful) going into this workout.

I was unsure if I should keep the weights the same as last week and try to bang out another round or two ( I got 16 1/2 rounds last week at the prescribed loads) or put the weights up this week. I decided to put the weights up a bit on each exercise and then I ended up getting more rounds than last week anyway. It was tough but I got 18 full rounds plus the three reps of deadlifts of the next round.

Physical Labour Day - AMRAP in 30 minutes

A1. Deadlift: 3 reps @ 325
A2. KB Biceps Walk: 20 steps @ 44lbs
A3. DB Clean and Press: 5 reps @ 50 lb DB’s
A4. KB Suitcase Carry: 10 steps/arm @ 44 lbs

Completed 18 rounds plus the Deadlift of the next round in 29:52.

I added 10 lbs to the deadlift, used a 44 lb KB for the Biceps Walk and Suitcase carry instead of the 40 lbs KB that I used last week, and went up to 50’s from 45’s on the DB Clean and Press.

During Week 1 I had done 12 rounds so 18 complete rounds plus starting the next round represents 50% more work (not even factoring in the load increases). I’m pretty happy with that.

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34

Obviously not CT but just in case he doesn’t respond… 16 rounds seems bonkers to me, I have to imagine you are cleared to increase the loads a bit at that pace. You are probably running through everything with no need to rest at all I imagine.

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35

Hi Lonnie - thank you for checking in. Yes, I decided to increase the loads for each of the exercises in the circuit while aiming to keep a good pace with as little rest as possible. I ended up getting even more rounds than the previous week. There is no question that this style of training rapidly increases ones work capacity in short order.

Having now completed the first three week phase of the plan and heading into the new phase this week I will start the new circuit at the prescribed loads but will have it in mind that increasing the loads is advisable if I can get through the 30 minutes without needing much rest.

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36

September 10th, 2022 - ‘off’ day, bit of calf, ab, and forearm work only

A1. Standing Calf Raise: 3212 tempo, 185 x max reps
A2. Bodyweight Calf Raise: 3212 tempo, BW x max reps
A3. Jump Rope: 120 seconds
A4. Standing Cable Crunch: 3112 tempo, 70 lbs x max reps
A5. Ab Strap Knee Raise: 3112 tempo, BW x max reps
A6. Swiss Ball Crunch: constant tension, ‘fast’ contraction, BW x max reps
A7. Suitcase Carry: 70 lbs x 30 seconds/arm

  • no rest between exercises, 60 seconds rest between rounds, did two rounds

B1. Cable Wrist Extensions: 5 lbs x max reps
B2. Wrist Roller: 44 lbs by max time
*no rest between exercises, 60 seconds rest between rounds, did two rounds

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37

September 11th, 2022 - Metcon For Muscle - Phase Two, Week One, Day Two*

I have done the leg workout first in this training week because I have to travel on short notice for work this week and I will likely have no choice but to train in a crowded commercial gym of some sort. I figured that the push and pull days will be the easier ones to try to pull off in a commercial gym - even at that it is going to be hard to do these workouts at full pace in such a gym. I’ll do my best to stick to the plan and keep the pace up but I anticipate a lot of frustration trying to do that in a regular gym.

A. Prowler Push: 2 minutes unbroken with 50 lbs loaded on the Prowler. Again I had to substitute Prowler pulling for pushing as I had to do this in my yard again and the damn thing just will not push decently on grass.

B1. Barbell Lunge: 155 x 5/leg, 5/leg
B2. Goblet Squat multi ROM: 100 x 5/5/5; 5/5/5
B3. Sled Drag: Prowler + 50lbs x 60 seconds, 60 seconds

C1. RDL: 335 x 5, 5
C2. Leg Curl multi ROM: 100 x 5/5/7; 5/5/5
C3. KB Swing: 70 lbs x 60 seconds, 60 seconds

D. Zercher Squat Hold: 95 lbs x 45 seconds, 30 seconds, 25 seconds, 20 seconds with 15 seconds rest between the holds

E. Bulgarian Split Squat Iso-Hold: Left leg forward: 75 seconds / 15 seconds rest / 45 seconds; Right leg forward: 60 seconds / 15 seconds rest / 30 seconds / 15 seconds rest / 30 seconds
(did a little bit better here last week, felt harder this week)

Total workout time was 30:10 vs 28:05 last week. Obviously, since this was week one of the new phase, this was a different workout than last week so it is hard to make a direct comparison. I felt like I did not push the pace as much today and that I took a bit more rest than usual between rounds than usual. Of course it was some new exercises which changes things plus I increased the load on the RDL.

I got more and better sleep last night than usual but still felt a bit out of sorts today. Several factors are contributing to that though. First, since I had to change the order of the workouts due to work travel, I did the leg session only 48 hours after the Physical Labour session from last week and those are the two more stressful workouts for me. Second, I just found out about the work travel thing and I’ll be gone for 5 nights on very short notice so I’m scrambling today to get food prepped and get all of my gear packed with a departure time looming in a couple of hours. Trying to figure out how to stay on track and get the Metcon workouts done in less than optimal gyms is distracting me as well. No big problems here, just a bunch of little ones all at once.

All told though, it was a good and satisfying workout. I think I could push the pace just a little bit more but for a first run through I feel pretty good about it.

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38

Since this is kinda uncharted territory as a style of training, it’s hard to recommend a specific progression model. Certainly the number of rounds is the first thing you should try to increase. But once you reach a round every 2 minutes (15 rounds), I would increase the loads enough to drop back down to around 10 rounds then work your way back up

39

@Christian_Thibaudeau

Thank you very much for the response CT. I did the next Physical Labour workout, which was week three, on the same day that I posed the question - I had meant to ask the question a few days prior to give you time to answer but I forgot to post it. I ended up increasing the loads on each exercise a bit and still managed to get over 15 rounds (in fact, I got 18 and did the DL reps of the next round within the 30 minutes).

Having now started the second phase of the Metcon plan I will do the first Physical Labour session at the prescribed loads or perhaps a bit higher. If I am able to get over 15 rounds I will be more aggressive in increasing the loads from here on out.

Thank you very much for the reply. Much appreciated.

40

Having now completed three weeks of the Metcon plan my body weight has increased a bit however I am looking leaner. I also feel that my shoulders and arms in particular have seen a bit of growth. Work capacity continues to improve as well.

Here is a photo taken yesterday weighing in at 183 (top photo) and a photo taken three weeks ago, weighing 180 (bottom photo).

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