Not Bad for an Old Man

I think you deserve the rest! I can’t even imagine how busy you have been the last month. And welcome to the over 40! You still got ten more years to catch me.

[quote]kpsnap wrote:
I think you deserve the rest! I can’t even imagine how busy you have been the last month. And welcome to the over 40! You still got ten more years to catch me.[/quote]

Thank you! I’m not 40 just yet (May 9), so at my first meet as an M1 (April), I’ll be “cheating” a bit. But it’s in the rules!! :slight_smile: But yes, it has been busy. And the packages haven’t entirely gone away. I had 104 of them on my route yesterday, and keep in mind, this is along with walking the 10.21 miles I had to do door-to-door. Last week, I even worked on a Sunday for the first time in 8 years. If you notice, you probably haven’t heard a story about the postal service on the verge of bankruptcy in a while either. Thank goodness for Amazon.

Switched my scale to kilos. Weighed 94.2 kg this morning. 207.6 lbs.

A few weeks ago, Mike T. of Reactive Training Systems made an offer on his Facebook page for an 8-week training project in exchange for data on the training, results, etc on an exit interview. I’m one of the people who signed up. I’ll be running it through February 26. It’s the 1st time since 2009 when I ran 5/3/1 that my training has been written 100% by someone else.

It’s supposed to be 4 days per week, Mon/Tue/Thu/Fri. I decided to start today, because looking at week 1 on paper, it looked like a lot of volume, and I wanted to get an idea on how long a session might take. I’m glad I did.

SUN 1/3/16 - RTS: Project Momentum, Week 1, Day 1

  1. Squat - Oly shoes, SBD knee sleeves
    135/5. 185/5. 235/3. 285/3/ 335/2.
    375/1. Added wrist wraps on this set.
    410/1 @7. Added belt on this set.
    435/1 @8.
    355/5, 5.

  2. 2-count Pause Squat, beltless
    225/1. 275/1.
    315/1. Added wrist wraps on this set.
    335/1 @7.
    355/1 @8.
    315/4 @9.
    300/4 @9.
    285/4 @8.5.

  3. Bench Press
    95/5. 145/5. 185/5.
    205/5 x 4 sets.

  4. Pin Press - pins set around the mid-point of the ROM
    205/1 + 1. Experimented with the pin height.
    235/1.
    255/1 @7. Added wrist wraps on this set.
    275/1 @8.5.
    250/4 @8.5/9.
    240/4 @8.
    240/4 @8.5.

  5. Sumo DL - in skate shoes
    225/5. 295/3. 345/2.
    385/5, 5, 5.
    All reps done from a dead stop. Probably 1-3 seconds between reps to reset. I haven’t done working sets of DL for reps in a long time. The weight was easy, but man! I was out of breath after the first two sets. Not as bad on the third set. Also used Versa Gripps on that last set.

From the start of my general warm-up (5 minutes on the bike), the entire session took just over 2 1/2 hours. That’s longer than I normally spend in the gym, and I don’t think I was wasting any time. But I was doing a lot of calculating, double checking, etc. I hope to be able to knock these down to 2 hours by the end of the week.

MON. 1/4/16 - RTS: Project Momentum, Week 1, Day 2

  1. Squat - wearing Oly shoes and Rehband knee sleeves
    135/6. 225/4. 275/3. 315/2.
    added belt and wrist wraps
    341/5 x 3 sets. 68% of my most recent 1RM. RPE was between 5-6 on all 3 sets.

  2. Bench Press
    95/5. 145/5. 185/5.
    206/5 x 4 sets. 68% of my most recent 1RM. RPE was between 5-6 on all 4 sets.

  3. Close Grip BP
    205/6 @6.
    215/6 @7.5.
    225/6 @8.
    225/6 @9.
    210/6 @7.5.
    210/6 @8.5.

  4. Sumo Deadlift - wearing skate shoes
    135/3. 225/3. 275/2. 325/1. 375/1. 415/1 @6.
    455/1 @7. Started using belt here.
    495/1. I rated this @8 when I did it. Watching it later, it may have been @7.
    405/5 @8.
    405/5 @9.

I still don’t like doing DL for reps.

  1. Rack Pulls - my normal sumo stance, bar at mid-shin
    225/4. 225/2. 315/2. 365/2. 405/1 @6.
    445/1 @8.
    415/4 @8. Should have gone heavier - this set was supposed to be @9.
    395/4 @7.
    395/4 @8.

Took another 2 1/2 hours. I think I could have finished in 2 if
1)the gym wasn’t so crowded and I got to squat without sharing the rack, and
2)I didn’t have to experiment so much with the positioning for the rack pulls.

TUE. 1/5/16 - GPP Session

The way RTS programs GPP is basically pick an ab move and a row (vertical or horizontal), and do as much volume as possible on each in 10 minutes. There is mobility stuff, etc, but this was all I did today.

  1. Ab Wheel
    10, 10, 10 - realized I wouldn’t be able to keep this up
    5, 5, 5 - hit the 5 minute mark here
    5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 7 - last rep done as clock hit 10:00. Total reps: 82.

  2. Seated Cable Row - used Versa Gripps for these
    105/10. 165/6. - warm ups
    On the clock
    205/6, 6, 6 - realized I wouldn’t be able to keep this up
    150/6, 6, 6 - hit the 5 minute mark here
    150/6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6

Total reps: 84 (18 w/210, 66 w/150) Rotated between overhand, neutral, and v-grip handles on each set.

Ok, my log-in is finally working again. What happened to the layout on the forum? And why do all the previous posts on here have all the coding for underlining, etc. in them?

Well, while I’m playing around with this format, here’s a short recap video of Week 1, Day 1 on Project Momentum.

PROJECT MOMENTUM: WEEK 2 RECAP, START OF WEEK 3

I’ve concluded that Project Momentum is either going to make me the strongest that I’ve ever been in my life, or cause me to collapse into pieces like The Bluesmobile at the end of The Blues Brothers. I’m 1/4 of the way through, and I’m a bit disappointed by how I did in the start of Week 3. Before logging today’s session, a few notes on the program since I’ve missed several days of posting:

  • Training is 4 days per week, plus 1-2 “GPP sessions” if you can/want to (GPP meaning abs, lats, and pretty much any other active recovery stuff you want).
  • We’re doing all 3 of the competition lifts on all 4 of the main training days.
  • Auto-regulation is a huge part of this program. Part of being successful at it is learning how to gauge RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion).

Here’s a short video recap of Week 2’s “highlights”.

Sunday, 1/17/16 - Week 3, Day 1

  1. Squat - work up to heavy single, then back off
    135/6. 185/4. 235/3. 285/2. 325/2.
    355/1. Noticed pain in left wrist. This hand had gone numb for a few minutes last night for some reason. Wish I’d worn wraps for this set.
    385/1. Started wearing wrist wraps here.
    415/1 @ 6. Started wearing belt here.
    435/1 @ 8. I was supposed to stop singles when I hit @8, but I was sure this felt so hard due to a technical issue. Decided to try and fix it.
    445/1 @ 8. Proved myself right. This felt like a much faster, stronger squat than the 435.
    360/5, 5 - both sets @ 8.5. Felt gassed. This was 81% of 445 (program’s call)

  2. 2-count Pause Squat (all beltless) - work up to heavy single, then back off.
    225/1.
    275/1. Unracked it, and realized my left wrist wouldn’t hold up. Put it back, wrapped my wrists, and was ok.
    325/1 @ 6.5.
    365/1` @ 8.5.
    315/4 @ 9.
    300/4 @ 9. I was supposed to do 2 more back-off sets, but due to time concerns (mostly) and fatigue (mental and physical), I stopped here.

  3. Bench Press
    135/5. 185/5.
    215/5 x 5 sets. RPE’s were 6, 6.5, 5.5, 5.5, 7. Must have rushed that last one. This is 68% 1RM, based on last week’s heaviest single (seen in above video).

  4. Pin Press - Unracked like normal, brought bar to pins at mid-height, then back up. Heavy single, then back offs.
    215/1. 245/1.
    265/1.@ 6.
    285/1 @ 8.
    270/4 @ 9.5.
    255/4 @ 8.
    255/4 @ 9.5. I was supposed to do one more set, but as with the pause squats, I tapped out for the same reasons.

  5. Sumo Deadlift
    135/5. 225/3. 315/2.
    375/5 x 4 sets. Wore Versa Gripps and belt for these. Didn’t write RPE’s down, but I think they’re all around a 6.

Total time: Almost 2 hours on the nose. Back at it tomorrow.

Tons of great lifting in here. I do a bit of urban hiking myself on a daily basis because I have a lawn business. I can relate to how you feel going in to the gym and not being fresh. I think it makes for good GPP as you have mentioned.