Got to get them in. You not going to get this day back!
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4-9-18. Pillar squats + push pull
I felt like total garbage and almost skipped this one. Thought about ditching squats I ended up finding a groove. Not the best workout I ve ever had but I got it done.
Pillar squats:
45x10 (these felt awful. I wanted to stop)
95x5 (loosened up felt ok)
165x25 (please mommy make the bad man quit hurting me…done)
Hypertrophy push pull
DB flat bench:
20x20 these felt good
60x12
60x12
60x10 (pushing these better with 45 sec rest between sets)
DB incline:
55x10
55x10
55x8 ( better reps and more per set)
OHP:
45x10 (this was heavy af)
85x12
85x12
85x12…(I hate myself)
Land mine rows 1 arm:
Plate. 45x15
55x15
65x15. Left arm grip is limiting factor on these
Lat pulls:
Close grip:
100x12 (slow and focused felt the back working from upper outside down and in to bottom.)
100x12
Rev close grip
100x12
100x12. (Can we please just skip the rest I’m sick and I’m tired)
Opted for tri pushdowns I felt so bad
SS tris with side raises
Tri pushdowns with bar
80x30 (pump!) / 25x12
With rope
100x15/ 25x12
100x15 (pump!)/ 25x9
70x15
Total time 54 minutes…
Finished with zero energy…sat around for 20-30 minutes just to feel like moving. I am very glad I got this done. I proved to myself I can get it done when I really don’t want to…mental win today! Taking Claritin for alerigies in finishing this post. I just had a shower, ate, and the bed is calling…
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Hey man, any work is better than no work. Staying on schedule is important, and what’s more important is that you trained when most people wouldn’t. Most people don’t go to the gym at all, let alone to have a hard workout, and especially not when they’re feeling like shit.
Also, “beast” is a totally subjective term. I know what you mean when you say “they called me a beast, but I don’t feel like one.” You know yourself better than anyone else knows you, therefore you know your true potential better than anyone else does. It’s easy to be too hard on yourself, especially when you’ve accomplished a lot in the past. BUT, you are legitimately probably in the top 20% of the strongest guys in their 40s, easily top 20% strongest for high school teachers and coaches around the country. I understand not feeling like a beast, but sometimes you gotta compare yourself to the majority (weaker or less disciplined people) rather than the minority (people like Stan Efferding who are 50 years old still moving ungodly amounts of weight…also juiced to the gills). You are a beast in the opinions of the kids you train with, as well as everyone who checks in on your log, myself included. Every day is a long day for a teacher + coach, but you keep grinding. There’s something to be said for people like that… anyways, I’m glad you got in the gym today and I hope you recover quickly!
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Awesome to get the workout in.
Be careful though if you’re sick Hog.
But that’s what beasts does, train no matter what.
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Good work on getting the session in mate, but be careful, I’ve had it bite me in the ass more than once and had to take more time away from the iron had I just skipped just the 1 or 2 sessions due to feeling shit.
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4-11-18 pillar squats + Hypertrophy.
Pillar squats
45x10
95x5
135x5
185x5
225x5
245x5
245x5
Hypertrophy.
DL
135x10
225x10
275x10
275x10. Took a long talk break and cooled off…
225x10
Wasn’t feeling it at all today. Very worn out from being sick, last nights track meet, no sleep, so I cut this one off with main lifts only.
Sorry to let you all down I need the rest.
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Stop being so stubborn and relax and get better!
Men! Sheesh!
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I agree with @littlelee! I learned a long time ago that I was better off taking a couple days off when I get sick. I used to push through and I’d end up having bad workouts and it prolonged my recovery. I’d feel like crap for a week.
If I take two days off and rest then I only lose half a week. I just rearrange my training days and rest days to accommodate.
Smart work beats hard work.
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Thx @littlelee I’ll keep that in mind 
@Frank_C it’s just allergies. Not really sick but on top of this Hypertrophy and squat fatigue it is a bear.
I also unracked 315 in the squat rack just to feel it on my back…I’ll crush that weight when I get my legs back from this program. I started to do it tonight just to try, but I decided it was better off left for another day…
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I was just thinking about my squat progression. I’ll be doing 245 this week, 255 next, and 265 after that. At week 7 I’ll switch to 3 rep sets and I’ll probably use 285, 295, 305 for weeks 7, 8, & 9. Weeks 10-12 is a 5/4/3/2/1 rep scheme. I’ll finish with 325, 335, & 345 on those weeks.
That sounds lofty right now considering I failed with 315 right before my surgery. Hope this program works!
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Really looking forward to your review of that program
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So after reading @ActivitiesGuy log and seeing the @Frank_C discussion about %s of max and lifts, I was thinking back to my hammy injury and building big lifts.
The thought came to me to progress a big/ new weight it makes sense to lift a new weight for a single, then multiple singles, then doubles, triples, etc…
So I’ve got some questions…
@MarkKO @IronOne @lava2007
@I_Luc feel free to add others that can help…
What weights levels do I need to move ahead in singles?
How fast should singles, to doubles, etc progress?
Is it dependent on the lift? The feel of the weight?
How often should I try and push weight levels up safely?
Mostly this is a safety issue. My take currently is to push the envelope but I’m too old to ride the razors edge of a younger man…so I need to calculate the progression forward. Im asking for input from experience…
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You can hear it again and again, and you can know that it’s true, but nothing makes it easier to grasp the fact that our gains are due to recovery days, not training days. Rest, foam roll, eat, and recover. You’re extraordinarily strong for a beginner in his 40s. The advantage of having more testosterone and a far better mindset than a young teenager will always be offset by your decreased ability to recover from the same injury as that teenager. Take care of yourself, and give yourself time to grow.
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To increase your strength you need to do various things. Very few of them involve lifting heavy loads for singles, doubles and triples.
Very basically (because I can only really understand the basics): generate fatigue, recover a bit, generate more fatigue, recover a bit and keep doing this until you need to display your maximal strength - which is when you peak, then recover properly, and display your increased strength.
Technique practice also is essential. You want to get very good at the lifts. You also want to make sure you have no weaknesses, so a large portion of the work you use to generate fatigue will involve assistance work aimed at building specfic muscles.
Heavy loads are not very helpful in any of these contexts compared to lighter loads. The demand on recovery is too high with heavy loads, so either they will force volume to be low (so little technique practice and less accumulation of recoverable fatigue) or will result in injury because volume was pushed too high.
You can get a much better effect by manipulating things like volume and rest periods as well as using specific variations of the lifts that you want to improve. Want to learn how to strain? Use 60 per cent for eight doubles and follow that with a set of 10, with 10 second rests between sets. Want to learn how to move through sticking points? Pause the lift at one or two points each rep. Want to get stronger at a specific point Inna lift? Use a limited ROM varaiton. Want to eliminate weak points? Attack assistance like a bodybuilder.
Honestly, unless you’re a powerlifter you have no need to ever lift in singles. You’re probably a lot better off building your top end set of five.
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I’ll chime in a bit Hog.
If you want to do singles, try the approach by CT I mentioned a few days ago, TN thinks it’s stupid of me to post it twice.
Russian Strength Skill.
Basic setup
5 days of lifting M, T, T, F, S
Monday and thursday Squat - DL
Tuesday and Friday Bench OHP
Saturday is a manual labor day it’s called.
Start by 5 singles at 85% then a triple at 75 %
next 6 singles + a triple all the way to 10 singles and a triple.
The labour day is a circuit of 3 of the exercises using singles.
I tried it, it’s boring as H’‘’.
@lava2007 is having a little gem I think so he could explain it a bit better.
Then there’s the double progression like 5 sets of 6 - 8 reps meaning doing the workout to get to 5x8 with the same weight
example 8, 8, 8, 7, 6 keep the weight next time. When you get to 5x8 you’ve gotten stronger and have earned the right to increase the weight. If strength is the goal then reps 4 - 6. Or 3 - 5 but that could be very taxing.
But for the singles I might agree with others, you have to be a powerlifter or very experienced lifter who lifts way more than the two of us does 
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Strength is built in the 80-87% RM range. Accumulate volume there. Similar to what @MarkKO has been doing, EMOM’s and E2MOM type of stuff can help you accumulate volume in the range without risking injury under a 90+% load.
Another way to realize your strength is to do partials. For squats, set the pins/safety bars a couple holes below the rack position and squat with weights greater than your 1RM. Increase the depth slowly over time. The idea behind this is to train your body to handle the new loads. The Golgi tendon organs will desensitize and allow you to lift heavier weights without actually having to get stronger. It’s simply convincing your body that you can handle the stress and use more of your strength potential.
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4/13/18-- Lucky Friday 13th return to 531
We decided to dump the Hypertrophy and pillar squats to move back to 531. And it felt good to be doing barbell work again!
OHP-
45x10
5x 65,75,95,105,115,
+130x11 rep pr
?135x5
115x5
P at eyes 5x5x105 (maybe wasted volume)
CGB:
40x20
95x10
120x10
145x10
Band+95x10
Lats:
Straight arm: 70x15,13
Wide grip: 100x20
Rev wide grip: 110x20
Landmine VRow: (plates)
1x12, 2x10, 3x10, 4x10, 4x8
Tri:
Rope push down: 80x30
Overhead extensions rope: 80x30, 90x20
Bi:
Ez bar preacher curls: 45x30,30,16
Pump in arms was real! OHP moved very nicely. I like the smaller rep ranges for the big lifts. OHP should shoot up this cycle it feels good…
So my cold/ allergy is better some residual sinus crud, but feeling better. I’ve been taking Claritin for 3-4 days. Weird that I’ve dropped 4-5 lbs in that time. I’m not sure if it is weight loss or dehydration from the meds. But I’m down to 244 interesting because I’ve been eating 3800-4000 calories and should not be in a deficit at all. I have been walking close to 4 miles a day with track so I’m not sure if it is related to the increase in walking or the meds…
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4 miles a day is a good effort, I have found it does wonders
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Man, I really gotta start walking… Congrats on the 130x11 PR!
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way to go Hog, congrats
the 5x5 paused at eyes is not wasted. It’s volume work. If you want to do something else, try only 1 set FSL but do it as a PR set.
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