Maybe you should write me a program…I’m listening.
Nothing has to be run forever. Haven’t you heard of “Seasons of Training”? You can periodize/plan your year for different stuff to mix it up and address different goals. You focus on the priority while maintaining the other stuff.
You’re doing just fine! And like I said, I pretty much just butcher other people’s stuff. I’ve done several double progression programs, 5/3/1, Best Damn, and the stuff I learned when I first started lifting which was the simple pyramid scheme. 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 reps and try to add weight every time you train.
These days I just modify what the “coaches” write to fit my needs. For the most part I just change out exercises and add stuff where I think they’re lacking.
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Ahh it was that Hepburn routine, were you increase with one rep every week, it takes 6 weeks to get to increase the weight, and if you’ve made a conservative weight it’ll take some cycles to get challenging.
That’s a serious drop overnight!
My body is weird. Unfortunately, I’ve been getting up to piss nearly every night…at least once. That helps with weight loss LOL!
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4.12.18
Woke at 234.6 lbs this morning…
Today is a rest day and my first day back to work. My legs are still quite sore. I’m not a fan. I’m not sure if it was the few extra laps of running on Tuesday or if this week’s 5 x 8 just really got to me. Either way, tomorrow is day one of week four so my body better do its thing and get my legs ready to go. This is the first week that I’ve had DOMS this far into the week after the Monday workout. It’s doing a good job of making me tired today.
I was busy the first half of today and time flew, but there was a lull about the midpoint of the day and I’m struggling to stay alert. I’ve also eaten all of my food plus some junk I picked up from security at the hospital. I don’t feel bad about it either. 240 here I come!
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4.13.18
Woke at 234.4 lbs.
Today’s weather… highs near 80. It was 70 when I woke up at 0400. The wind is blowing just under 20mph with constant gusts reaching upper 20’s and into the 30’s later. Around 6pm the temperature will start to drop steadily until it bottoms out at 33 degrees tomorrow at sunrise. The wind chill will be 20 degrees because the wind will continue to blow at the rate of F U.
In conclusion. Today: 80+. Tomorrow 41 but feeling like 29 deg F.
And now for some lifting related stuff…
The other day I was talking about cortisol levels and when they’re naturally high and how that relates to when you should work out. We finally found a couple of articles (one here by Lee Boyce and one on ThibArmy) that addressed “When is the Best Time to Train?”. The conclusion was 3 and 11 hours after waking (naturally). Lee’s article talked about fluid in the discs of your spine and some other cool stuff. Basically he said if you train super early right after waking then maybe you’re not getting everything you could out of your training.
Well, this morning it occurred to me that maybe he’s right. I made it to the Y at 0430 hours (opening time). My low back/SI joint was achy. I did my usual good warm up and then started on squats. The bar hurt, 135 hurt, everything hurt. I used my belt for all three sets at my working weight today. I did not have any pain or issues on Monday when I did my big workout late in the morning (about 3-4 hours after waking up). I think my body agrees with Lee Boyce’s advice. Unfortunately, I’m not allowed to enjoy a 90 minute gym sessions at 1100 while I’m at work. I might have to save my training for evenings. But that will suck because the gym is a mad house and it will be a huge pain in the arse to do farmers walks. There were only a handful of people there this morning and I still had to do a side step and slight lift on my walks because a guy preparing to play racquetball hit the deck to stretch right in front of me. He never looked my direction. I’m sure he wondered why this weird dude was carrying 275 lbs over his outstretched body but I didn’t want to stop short.
Guaranteed Simple Strength & Size W4 D1
WARM UP
Jog 1 lap, 1/2 lap dynamic movements, 3 build up runs (remaining 1.5 laps)
Pogo jumps x 20
High pogo jumps x 20
Jump Squats BW x 5 x 2 sets
SQUAT
135 x 5
185 x 5
225 x 3
245 x 5 x 3 sets (with belt)
POWER CLEAN
135 x 3
185 x 3
205 x 3 (hook grip)
225 x 3 (straps)
DEADLIFT
315 x 5 x 3 sets
WALKING DB LUNGE
40s x 5 ea x 3 sets
RDLs
205 x 5 x 3 sets
FARMERS WALK (trap bar)
275 x 40-50 m x 3 sets
CONDITIONING
Run 1 lap, rest 90 sec, repeat for three total (68, 63, 63 seconds)
NO PUKES!!!
Pre-workout is now Powerade. No food, but BCAA’s during the workout. And I ate Starbursts because my energy was waning after squats, cleans, and deadlifts.
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Yeah for no pukes!
Nice workout!
Did you really do the farmers walk OVER
the raquetball guy???
And enjoy the weather 
I side stepped him but the end of the bar was over his air space. He was doing a hip/low back stretch with one leg across his body. There wasn’t much room to maneuver because of a bench for racquetball spectators.
Squat is good brother! We have very similar numbers. That 245x5 x3 is a 315 in the wings!
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4.14.18
Woke at 234.6 lbs. It seems as though I’ve settled in to this weight.
Training @ 0520 GSS&S W4 D2
NEUTRAL PULL UPS
BW x 8 x 3 sets
I’m supposed to add weight and do sets of 5 but it was too early to figure out how to do that. I really don’t like squeezing a DB between my legs.
BENCH
135 x 10
185 x 5 x 2
205 x 3
225 x 5 x 3 sets
PENDLAY ROW
135 x 5
175 x 5 x 3 sets
SEATED OHP (no back support)
115 x 5 x 3
Smooth as butter…almost easy.
REV DB FLY
25s x 10 x 3 sets
35 minutes
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There are other places you could hold that 5lb DB…
Dude your bench is stronger than mine…Ive got some work to do.
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It’s supposed to be 300 lbs! Buuuut it’s probably more like 275. At least I hope I can still move 275.
I think you’ve got me on squats. My squat workouts all feel heavy. I don’t know how I can keep adding weight to the bar (or why body weight feels like it’s going to crush me) but I’ll keep grinding away and trust that it’ll move.
4.16.18
Woke at 232.2 lbs.
GSS&S W4 D3
Today was a big day.
WARM UP
3 lap dynamic was up reaching close to top speed on my third build up run
Pogo hops x 20
High pogos x 20
Jump squat 2 x 5
SQUAT
135 x 5
185 x 5
225 x 3
245 x 5 x 5 sets
Edit to add this: loaded 345 for a walk out and did a couple 1/4 squats. My body felt good and told me I could probably squat that weight. My brain knew better so I didn’t risk it.
All beltless and felt great. I was using a lot of quads today - - - I felt it.
HANG POWER CLEAN
135 x 3
185 x 5
205 x 3 hook grip
225 x 3 hook grip
DEADLIFT
315 x 5 x 5
All beltless and hook grip.
Final set. First time recording a lift since surgery and I strain something in the middle of my back. Not sure if it’s lat, trap, or erector. It’s not too bad but I’m a bit irritated about it.
WALKING DB LUNGE
40s x 5 ea x 5
RDLs
205 x 5 x 5 various stances
FARMERS WALK (trap bar)
275 x 35m
275 x 25m x 4
275 x 35m
It turns out that I haven’t been going as far as I thought. I’ve been walking along the racquetball courts and it dawned on me that I could estimate distance by looking up their dimensions. They’re only 20’ wide and there’s four. It’s about 25m. I’m just going to go with it because turning or starting and stopping really sucks on these.
75 minutes of lifting with minimal rest. 60-90 seconds rest between sets and 2-3 minutes between exercises. This is just a beast of a session…which is why I wear a shirt with The Punisher skull. It’s appropriate.
CONDITIONING
Run 1 lap, rest 90 sec x 3 (62, 58, 58)
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Looks like a punishing work out! Bet it felt great!
Didn’t realize you were so tall!!!
Hope the doms are ok tomorrow😝
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Monster workout Big J
Nice and fast DL’ing
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I’m glad this only happens once a week. It doesn’t feel too bad but it definitely takes a while to get it all done. After deadlifts I feel like I’m about done and then I realize I have 15 sets left…
DOMs should be good. I’ll be tender but I don’t anticipate being crippled.
I’m 6’5" and mostly legs!
Thanks, Mort! It feels good. I could definitely do more weight but I’ll get there soon enough. If I stick to the plan then I’ll still be pulling 400-450 lbs during my last few weeks. The reps will be 5/4/3/2/1. I haven’t decided if I’m going to do 10 or 20 pound jumps between sets though. I think I’ll be doing 375 for 3 x 3 in five weeks. When I start the final phase I’m supposed to use that weight for my set of three.
I could be doing 355x5, 365x4, 375x3, 385x2, 395x1 or 335x5, 355x4, 375x3, 395x2, 415 x 1. If I do 10 lb jumps then I’ll finish the final week pulling 415 for 1 but if I do 20 lb jumps then I’ll be pulling 435. I kind of like the idea of 20 lb jumps.
I could make a bigger jump somewhere along the way too. I’d like to be pulling at least 450 when this program finishes.
EDIT: As I read what I wrote I realize that I’d love to pull 405 for triples. I might make 20 lbs jumps during this phase to get me closer to that.
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I’ve been looking at the program and thinking about doing it at some point.
But if I should do the 3x3 as the third set I think I would struggle at the 1 repper. So I would dial it back a bit.
Looking forward to your review of the program
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Unreal how fast you are coming back!
Glad to know you are tall. I’m 6’4" leverages are not our friend…
Can’t wait to see where this ends up man
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4.17.18
Woke at 233.6 lbs.
@littlelee, you were correct about the DOMs but it’s all in my back! I don’t even want to move. I think it’s from the farmers walk with the trap bar. I went from carrying 160 lbs in DBs to 275 lbs real quick. The middle third of my back is brutal (also where I strained it during deads). My traps are very tender too.
I won’t be making it to the foam rolling class today. Hopefully I’ll force myself to flop around on the floor with my roller at some point today. My son seems to be sick. He’s very congested so I’m keeping him away from the germ filled Kid Zone at the Y and taking him to the doctor.
It doesn’t seem like it’s fast. I guess I’m in week 5 of regular lifting and 4 months post-op. It’s not my first rodeo with an injury, surgery, and comeback so this all seems pretty normal. I started this program to help me stay safe. I’m itching to pull 4 plates. I thought about it during my workout yesterday. This program has a smart progression and I’m get to my desired numbers by the end. In the meantime I’m forced to lift conservatively.which will hopefully allow me to stay healthy.
Thanks for the constant support and encouragement!
I’m really enjoying the “adult” group of people we have in here. Don’t get me wrong, I love being an example for younger people and interacting with them, but I definitely relate more to people with full-time jobs, a wife, and kids.
I know I’m the baby of that sub-group (33 now), so I intend to beat all of your numbers!
My goals for this program are…
Squat - 335 is programmed but 350 would be nice
Deadlift - back to 450
Power Clean - 285-300
Bench - 275 is programmed but I’d like 290
OHP - 165 is programmed but I’d like to be closer to 185
Hopefully I’m close on these because once I finish this up I’m planning to run “The CrossFit Experiment” for the remainder of the summer break.
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