Maple Syrup Strength (littlesleeper)

I see the difference. Kroc uses leg drive.

@BOTSLAYER - Ya, that is probably a good call to take my jumps a little slower approaching the top set. I still have it in my head that too many singles are going to hurt my daily max more than help it, but that likely isnā€™t going to be the case.

@MarkKO - I think you are right, just felt like I couldnā€™t maintain the upper back rigidity for one reason or another.

@Frank_C @oldbeancam - I honestly use the names ā€œKroc Rowā€ and ā€œDB Rowā€ pretty interchangeably when logging my workouts. I grab a heavy DB and I row it. :wink:

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Lol I do them a little slower and strict usually. Hell, I even feel a bit guilty when I start to have a little torso rotation.

I used to be a huge form nazi. I didnā€™t bug other people but I was hard on myself. Now I realize that some body English can be a good thing. It can help get some extra reps similar to assisted reps. I always train alone so I need a little of that.

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06/11/2017

Just finishing up Fridayā€™s workout that I cut short.

#Back, Shoulders

  1. Meadows Rows
    125 x 12 x 4

  1. Seated DB Press
    70 x 12, 12, 12, 11

  2. DB Lat Raises
    35 x 12 x 3

  3. DB Front Raises
    30 x 12 x 3

  4. Band Pullaparts/Band Facepulls
    100+


Iā€™m going to take another look through 5/3/1 Forever and go to a 3-day/week program. I still canā€™t squat, but Iā€™m going to go 90% on the deadlifts and focus on increasing my pressing strength for a couple cycles. The 5+day split is starting to wear on me a bit and summer brings more physical labour outdoors as well.

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06/14/2017

Ok. Iā€™m craving some barbell strength work. Went back through some of my 5/3/1 books and decided to give Simplest Strength Template a run (Iā€™ve actually never done this variation beforeā€¦that I can remember).

With my cut, knee injury, and recent training with the bodybuilding split Iā€™m going to run the 7th week protocol to determine a very conservative training max for each lift. I ALWAYS push my TM a little further than I should and seem to redline. This has worked OK for me in the past, but Iā€™m going to actually, finally follow the doctorā€™s orders and use an 85% TM for my lifts.

Summer has me very busy, so this will be a nice little break from pushing hard in the gym and give me plenty of time to recover.

Today I decided to find my 85% TM by hitting a top set of 5 reps where I either had some form breaking down or knew adding weight would result in grinding 5 reps.

OHP
45 x 5
95 x 5
115 x 5
135 x 5
185 x 5
205 x 5 ā† 205 will be used as my TM for this lift, ugh this is going to be lightā€¦

Close Grip Bench
135 x 10
185 x 5
205 x 5
245 x 5
275 x 5 ā† This lift felt stronger than I expected, but I think if I jumped up to 285lbs I would have been a little less controlled. Called this my 85% set.

Then I went on and did some back/bi/tri work to finish it off.

Looking forward to getting all my TMā€™s figured out and then giving this program a couple cycles. I havenā€™t worked the compound variations in awhile so this will be a welcome change. Iā€™m going to have to go REALLY light on squats still as my knee doesnā€™t have full ROM yet.

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Man, so far the best results ive had were from starting at 85%

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I appreciate the reassurance!

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Especially overhead since the weight is already a lot lower than the other lifts. Iā€™ve even started with 75 and seen great physique changes.

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Overhead pressing is probably the lift I am best at grinding out reps. This means that I constantly use a high TM, and end up consistently leaning back more than I should and grinding.

I hope dropping the weight significantly and focusing on the proper bar path will improve my overhead strength. Self-experimentation time!

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Itā€™s overhead press. Not incline press. :thumbsup:

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06/15/2017

Worked up to a deadlift top set of 5 tonight. All I had time for, now to go grout my kitchen tiles. Yay, house renos.

Deadlift
135 x 5
225 x 5
315 x 5
365 x 5
405 x 5
455 x 5
495 x 3 ā† I could have got 5 here, but a big air bubble decided to squeeze out with my hard bracing, and almost pukedā€¦decided against trying another and tempting it.
Taking the 455 for my TM, my TM for deadlift at the start of 2017 was 520lbs!!! Letā€™s hope there is some magic with this low TM stuff!

Current 85% TMā€™s for my next 5/3/1 Cycle: (still need to test the rest later this week)
Deadlift = 455lbs
Close Grip Bench = 275lbs
OHP = 205lbs
Bench =
Squat =
Front Squat =
Incline Press =
RDL =

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06/19/2017

Well managed to get my Front Squat and Bench TMā€™s done this weekend.

Front Squat = 275lbs (This wasnā€™t terribly difficult, but I didnā€™t want to push my knee too hard)
Bench Press = 305lbs (The 5th rep was a little grindy)

Boy did I feel the front squats in my quads the next dayā€¦itā€™s been awhile since Iā€™ve squatted at all!


So, Iā€™m losing the motivation to workout in my basement when it is so damn nice outside. Iā€™m currently contemplating doing a 5/3/1, 2 day/week template then mixing in some sprints/cardio, strongman, and other random fun outdoor exercise. Iā€™m currently looking at the ā€œLimited Timeā€ template from 5/3/1 Forever.

This might be a better long term approach for me as well. Use the winter to really pound the iron, and then use the summer to do more bodyweight focused work with some attention to improved cardio.

Or maybe I need to get my estrogen levels checkedā€¦


Today I did a little circuit:

5 Rounds of:

10 x 185lb Tire Flips
Sprint Back that distance (~20m)
3 x 145lb Stone to shoulder

  • I completed the 5 rounds in ~16mins. Sweating profusely.

Then popped down to the weight room for some bench:

Bench:
135 x 5
185 x 5
225 x 5
245 x 5
275 x 3
305 x 1
245 x 5
245 x 5
245 x 5

That is all.

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As usual Iā€™ve been contemplating my next training program. I look back at all the volume Iā€™ve done on back day and wonder if I have changed at all in the past five to eight years. If all Iā€™m doing is maintaining what I have than surely it doesnā€™t take so much effort and volume. This has me thinking that a simple 5/3/1 approach with a low amount of assistance or supplemental work could be a good program for me at this stage in my life.

Iā€™m considering the usual 5/3/1 split with training maximally as the template. My extra volume will come from the down sets and thatā€™s about it. Iā€™m thinking that if I am getting stronger or maintaining strength then surely my muscles canā€™t shrink, right? Hopefully this leaves more time for sprint work and other conditioning.

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I think you should go for this dude. Staying leaner and more conditioned will make your squats and deads feel much better and explosive, and all he added implements will make your whole posterior chain blow up. Plus, no one ever complained about being too good at bodyweight training. Or a tan for that matter.

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Thanks man. I think Iā€™ve pretty much convinced myself to go this route at this point.

I picked up a 15ā€™ trampoline (for $40) yesterday and spent half an hour jumping on that. Holy crap, speaking of cardio. But FUN, I felt like a kid again! :allthethings:

Iā€™m also thinking of building something in my backyard for some bodyweight training. Right now the plans might look something like this:

If I start liking this blend of training I feel like Iā€™m going to be seeing some massive physique changes over the next 6 monthsā€¦

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Why the shit am I so behind on this log? I got some catching up to do.

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Haha, gotta catch up on me changing my mind on training 10x :wink:

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I got halfway caught up. So much suffering. I guess I canā€™t bitch about my off season training now.

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I really like the looks of this. All the different areas and such. When I was younger and still living at home, my grandfather and me welded together a dip tower with different pull up settings and such. I loved it and it helped me out a ton since itā€™s hard to find dip bars that feel good often. 2 inch pipe if not 3 inch was a way better idea than that thin shit they have on Mose of them. Now at the commercial I go to, I put my fat grips on the handles for more surface area and it works like a dream. Excited to see what you come up with man!

Yea, this knee injury hasnā€™t been fun. It has been a long time since Iā€™ve consistently squatted. Just squatting for the first time last week (front squat) and felt OK. So squatting is just around the corner. I think Iā€™m going to stick with front squat with awhile to keep the weight moderate. I think itā€™ll be awhile before I put 500lbs+ on my backā€¦I say that nowā€¦

Good tip! Iā€™ll keep that in mind for sure when figuring out the exact configuration/design I want to go with.

Basically going to be 4x4-6x6 wooden posts with some steel fence posts inserted through. Chins, dips, swings, muscle-ups and a higher bar to hang rings from to play on. Iā€™m going to be putting up a clothesline in the back yard within the next couple weeks so Iā€™ll likely tackle this project along side that, as it will be a similar installation procedure.

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