Progress on the Patio

Decided to start a log since I’m working out at home now by myself. Thankfully I’m equipped with enough gear to still get some decent workouts in. I have a bench, barbell, 315lbs of plates, a 50lb kettlebell, 12lb med ball, and dumbbells up to 55lbs.

I started training seriously around 18-24 months ago at the age of 29. Wish I would’ve started when I was younger but better late than never. For the first 6 months I just did whatever exercises until I found t-nation and then started following a lot of Thibs workouts. Most recently I was in the middle of Brian Alsruhes Mass Builder but will have to put that in hold as I don’t have the ability to DL or squat heavy at the moment.

Wednesday:
8 sets of 3 hang cleans @185lb

4 sets of 6(ea. leg) Bulgarian split squats @135lb

3 sets of 5 BB curls @115lb supersetted w/
3 sets of 10 (ea. arm) dB hammer curls @30lb

4 sets of :25 sec sledgehammer swings supersetted w/ 4x 120lb sandbag carries

Today:
worked up to 2 sets of 3 bench press @275lb
then 4 sets of 3 @245lb supersetted w/ 5 med ball chest passes

4 sets of 8 bent over rows @225lb

2 sets max reps of 25lb plate lateral raises

1:00 crucifix hold w/ 10lb plates

50 overhead 25lb plate raises non-stop

3 sets of :30 sec lateral jumps over 2ft box

was going to take off today but didn’t want to waste a rain-less 55 degree day so I’ll take off tomorrow.

Giant set:
12 50lb KB swings
10 245lb RDLs
12 Dragon flags
:120 sec rest
12 50lb KB swings
8 275lb RDLs
12 Dragon flags
:120 sec rest
12 50lb KB swings
6 295lb RDLs
12 Dragon flags

4 sets of 10 Zercher squats @135lb supersetted w/ 8 squat jumps w/ 30lb DB

4 sets of max reps wide-neutral grip pull-ups (11,10,9,8)

Got away from Alsruhes mentality on this workout and decided to hammer shoulders . . shoulders make the physique, right?

Set 1: 3 Muscle snatches @115lb, overhead walk x75 feet, 3 muscle snatches
Set 2: 3 Muscle snatches @135lb, overhead walk x75 feet, 3 muscle snatches
Set 3: 3 Muscle snatches @135lb
Set 4: 3 Muscle snatches @135lb
Set 5: 3 Muscle snatches @115lb, overhead walk x75 feet, 3 muscle snatches

Standing DB press 21s w/55lb DB; 3 total sets

3 sets of 12 lateral raises w/30lb DB

1:00 crucifix hold w/10lb plates

Another beautiful day, 60 degrees and sunny.

Giant set:
8 Banded good mornings (explosive)
8 Paused front squats @165lb
:30 sec one-arm plank (ea. side)
120 sec rest
8 Banded good mornings (explosive)
6 Paused front squats @185lb
:30 sec one-arm plank (ea. side)
120 sec rest
8 Banded good mornings (explosive)
4 Paused front squats @205lb
:30 sec one-arm planks (ea. side)

10 sets of 5 BB rows @205lb (60 sec rest between sets)

4 sets of 10 paused BB curls @65lb (pause @ 90 degrees) supersetted w/
4 sets of 15 banded face pulls

205 is about as heavy as I’ll be able to go with squats as I don’t have a rack and have to clean the weight to get it into position

moved my bench into my basement today as it was rainy and windy out

worked up to 275 for 5 on bench press then did an AMRAP with 80% (which ended up being 225) and got 15 reps!

3 sets of Growth Factor shoulders w/ 95lb, 85lb, and 75lb:
5 reps seated muscle snatch
5 reps BTN press (snatch grip)
5 reps BTN press (clean grip)
5 reps Z press
5 reps Bradford press
:90 sec rest between sets

4x25 feet-elevated push-ups

3x5 (ea. side) rotational med ball throws

a quart of chocolate milk post-workout went down real easy

I usually try not to eat within 2 hours of working out but needed some energy today so I had a couple handfuls of sunflower seeds and walnuts prior to.

Giant set x3:
10 KB swings w/50lb kb
5 double-banded DLs @315lb before bands
30 bicycle crunches

4 sets of 12 (ea. side) single-arm BB rows w/3 25lb plates

120lb sandbag carry supersetted w/
8 (ea. side) hammer curls w/35lb DB;
4 total sets

4x25 banded face pulls

This one felt good. Been playing Greta Van Fleet during workouts; they may be my new favorite band

Easter afternoon workout out back.

Muscle snatch: 8x2 @135 focusing solely on speed and explosion. These got faster set after set.

Close grip bench press: 2x8 @225 & 2x8 @205

DB lateral raises: 4x8 w/20lb: super slow eccentric on these

100ft Waiters walk w/50lb DB (right side)
15 feet-elevated push-ups
100ft Waiters walk (left side)
15 feet-elevated push-ups 4 total sets

had to workout in the basement today as it’s been storming here on and off all day

Zercher squats: worked up to a single at 285 then 5 sets of 3 @225 supersetted w/12 dragon flags

4x12 BB rows @185 supersetted w/band pull-aparts

4x8 BB curls @75lb w/ a pause @90 degrees on each rep

tomorrow I’m gonna attempt to make a ‘rack’ out of 5 gallon buckets and 4x4s

feeling pretty beat up after about 5 weeks of 2 days on 1 day off lifting . . bench felt heavier than it should’ve . . may take a couple (2 or 3) days off after today

Bench press: worked up to 295x3 then
3 sets of 8 @235

Growth factor shoulder complex:
5x seated snatch
5x BTN press wide grip
5x BTN press close grip
5x Z press
5x Bradford press
3 total sets, 1st @95lb and 2&3 @85lb

:20 sec sledgehammer swings (left side)
1:00 crucifix walk w/10lb plates
:20 sec sledgehammer swings (rt side)
2 total sets

3 day’s of no lifting wasn’t fun, did some work around the barn helping the wife with the horses but very little physical activity . . started to get pretty stiff yesterday so I did a solid 1/2 hour of stretching mainly focused on hips and hamstrings

Today’s workout:
warmed up with tire flips & broad jumps

Giant set:
12 KB swings @50lb
8 Deadlift rows @225lb
:30 sec one-arm planks (ea. side)
:120 sec rest
12 KB swings
6 Deadlift rows @245lb
:30 sec one-arm planks
:120 sec rest
12 KB swings
4 Deadlift rows @275lb
:30 sec one-arm planks

4 sets of 8 neutral grip pull-ups w/slow eccentric

100 ft Zercher sandbag carry @120lb
supersetted with
8 BB curls @75lb
3 total sets

I feel like I’m conditioned a lot better than most 31 y/o but today showed me I have a long way to go . . I was gassed after this one. A couple scoops of protein powder, chicken, jasmine rice, and pineapple went down real easy.

Another good workout today with some solid conditioning.

Push press: 6 sets of 3 @185

Strict press: 4 sets of max reps @135 (10,9,8,7)

1.5 rep lateral raises x8 @25lb DB
supersetted w/
Chest flyes x12 @50lb DB
3 total sets

:20 sec sledgehammer swings
5 OH push press med ball throws
:20 sec sledgehammer swings
3 total sets

put my homemade squat rack to use today

Hang cleans: 5x2 @205

worked up to 315x5 (my cheap bars only rated for 315) box squats then
185x15 pump style reps w/ no lockout

3x20 barbell rows @135 supersetted w/
30lb DB hammer curls (12,10,8 reps)

3x25 banded face pulls

I guess I should give my stats too: 5’9” about 208 at the moment. Since September I’ve been ‘bulking’ and got up to about 222. I ate clean the entire time, just a lot. About 4 weeks ago I decided to go under 100 carbs a day to cut a little extra fat for summer. I eat some oats and blueberries in a smoothie in the morning and then about 15g HBCD intra-workout and that’s all for carbs. About 225g protein per day.

tried split jerks today for the first time - worked up to 185lb and did 3x3 . . really liked them but not totally sure about my form, I think I could be ‘ducking’ under the bar more

Bench press: 3 sets of 5 @255 supersetted w/ 30 bicycle crunches then one constant tension set @145 for :45 sec

3 Thibaudeau Growth Factor shoulder complexes @95lb:
5x Seated snatch
5x BTN press wide grip
5x BTN press close grip
5x Z press
5x Bradford press

still kinda making it up as I go here . . I really need to find a program that combines Olympic lifts with some hyper trophy training . .

4 sets of 15 KB swings w/ my 50lb KB

Giant set:
Snatch-grip RDL x8 @225
10 dragon flags
100ft 160lb sandbag Zercher carry
3 total sets @same weight

4 sets of 8 (ea. side) one-arm BB rows @80lb

3 sets of 8 (ea. side) front foot elevated Zercher split squats @95lb

first time ever attempting those particular split squats . . I haven’t had a quad pump like that in quite awhile

basement workout today, 40s and raining outside

10x3 EMOM bench press @185 + double purple bands

Thibaudeau Growth Factor shoulder complex @95lb
5x Seated snatch
5x BTN press wide grip
5x BTN press close grip
5x Z press
5x Bradford press
3 total sets

Thibaudeau Growth Factor lateral shoulder complex @20lb DB
5x top-half front raise
5x lateral raise
5x ‘Y’ lateral raise
5x outside-in raise
3 total sets

4x25 feet-elevated push-ups

Great shoulder pump after this one

made a homemade sled yesterday so I put that to use today

Hang cleans: 6 sets of 3 @185

Front squats: slow eccentric focusing on keeping an upright torso; 6 sets of 3 @205

Barbell rows: 10 sets of 5 @210

Barbell step-ups (20inch box): 3 sets of 8 (ea. side) @115

One-arm plank sled pull-through w/120lbs: 4 sets of 30ft (ea. side)

plugging right along; sounds like I’ll be working from home through May now too so another month of flexible training time before it’s back to reality and squeezing in workouts late in the evening

Push press: 5 sets of 3 @205

Close grip floor press: 4x8 @225 supersetted w/ 5 (ea. side) bandy twisty things

50 rep set of BTN press @85lb; made it to 41 reps before I had to rest pause to reach 50

100ft Waiters walk w/45lb DB (left side)
15 feet-elevated push-ups
100ft Waiters walk w/45lb DB (rt side)
15 feet-elevated push-ups
4 total sets

I normally don’t do commercial pre-workout but I got a can of C4 today for a little extra motivation. Intra-workout routinely consists of 25g whey isolate, 20g HBCD, 3g creatine, and 1-2 scoops of electrolytes. Then 30-50g whey isolate and 1-2 more scoops of electrolytes post-workout.

12 KB swings w/50lb KB
3 double-banded DLs @325lb before bands
5 total sets

4x8 neutral grip pull-ups

8 Front foot elevated Zercher split squats (ea. side) @105lb supersetted w/
12 DB drag curls @25lb
3 total sets

80ft Suitcase farmers carry w/135lb
5 sets each side

keeping with the shoulder-focused workouts today

Giant set x3
5 med ball chest passes
5 Bench press @250
30 bicycle crunches

Thibaudeau Growth Factor shoulder complex
5x Seated snatch
5x BTN press wide-grip
5x BTN press close-grip
5x Z press
5x Bradford press
5x Push press
3 total complexes @95lb

Thibaudeau Growth Factor lateral complex
5x Top-half front raise
5x Lateral raise
5x Y raise
5x Outside to in raise
3 total complexes w/20lb DB

100ft Overhead BB walk w/35lb plates attached w/ bands . . 3 total sets . . these were a unique experience, totally different feel than standard overhead walks

:20 sec sledgehammer swings (rt side)
:20 sec sledgehammer swings (left side)
:60 sec rest
4 total sets

no lifting today but while the wife was riding and the kids were scrubbing out water buckets I decided to stack two tractor tires up and do box jumps; did 4 EMOM for 10 minutes