What template do you plan on doing next? Are you planning on sticking with a full body setup for a while?
@Despade I think Jimās name for the program works better, haha. Glad you enjoyed watching the process unfold. Itās a great program, and sure to challenge you.
@brady888 In a light show, assume everyone is as strong, if not STRONGER, than you. Getting a lot stronger isnāt going to pay off at getting a lot better. At this point, itās all the little things that are going to add up. Who has the better transition times on the medley, who is faster at picking up the implement, who has the quickest continental/viper press, who requires the least rest between sets, etc. Now is a time to get good and fast.
@isdatnutty Current plan is to run āGod is a Beastā next. No plans to stick with full body; my concern will always be what gets results rather than HOW it gets results. If full body does it, Iāll do that. If upper/lower does it, Iāll do that. Iām thinking God is a Beast will give me a little more flexbility to work on some things I had to put on the backburner during Building the Monolith.
AM WORKOUT
JM Walks, chains only
50 minutes
Notes: Bringing in the lighter conditioning during this deload week. Just going to keep things easy and get some much needed rest.
Makes a ton of sense.
Events and weights are:
Log clean and press away, 60 seconds, 192 lbs
Last man standing deadlift, have to take am attempt at each weight, starts at 315
Yoke 50ā (530 lbs) tire flip 50ā (340 lbs), 120 second cap
Stone over bar for 60 seconds, 50", 150 lbs
Keg and other load medley 30ā distance, no listed weights
Should i do trial runs of the events? Like with contest weights and time? The stone is the only one I think simulating will be difficult, as I canāt pass the stone to myself after getting it over the bar.
Iām guessing the yoke pick will be something to practice. Anything others in particular to focus on?
For the log clean, work on your viper press to start the event and then your conditioning to carry you through. The less time you spend with the log on your chest, the better.
For the last man standing deadlift, remain as unpsyched as possible for as long as you can. It really taxing to get amped up and back down, and last man standing takes FOREVER. I actually make it a goal to look/act as bored as possible, to demoralize the competition.
Biggest amount of time lost on the tire is if it lands funky and you have to wait for it to settle. If you can get it celan, youāll move quick.
For the stone, drill your 1 motion.
For the load medley, EVERYONE loses time picking upt he implements and running between them. You want to drill picking up the implement AND runnign with it at the same time. Donāt pick, settle and run, but instead focus on throwing it forward at the start. Drill your suicide sprints too so that youāre good at sprinting between implements and coming to a quick stop to do the whole thign over again. The person with the best conditioning wins on this one.
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GOD IS A BEAST WORKOUT 1
AM WORKOUT
Log viper and press away
5xLog
10x5x140
NG chins (various grips)
4x15
Band pull aparts
5x20
Reverse hyper 270
4x15
DB rows 105
2x5
(1) DB incline press
50 reps
Notes: Still figuring this out as I go. Iām exceeding the pull assistance work recommendation substantially by trying to keep other stuff in line. This was challenging but in a different way than BTM.
For the incline press, I went up 1 notch on the incline and got 50 reps done. Ended up being 30, 10 and 10 with rest pausing. Kept the weights controlled, rather than just rapidly pumped out.
General notes: Woke up at 195.6. Just letting the weight free fall for now. Iāve been enjoying not having to eat like itās a job.
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This is the one thing I hear quite often that I canāt wrap my head around.
Eating is one of my favourite things in life; gluttony is my most committed sin.
If I had a private kitchen staff and everything I ate was delicious, Iād be all for it, but I was basically living my life around cooking and eating while forcefeeding myself hardboiled eggs and cheap cuts of meat for 6 weeks.
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As with everything training-related, hunger is seemingly very individual. I have very little issue when trying to eat for mass or ensure Iām getting adequate calories. When trying to trim fat or even maintain my weight Iām in a constant state of hunger. I do agree the amount of meal prep can become exhausting, but never have I had to eat when full to reach a caloric goal.
Also, I think I could eat hardboiled eggs and cheap cuts of meat every meal of the day and be happy. Iām not sure if thatās a good thing or notā¦
I know you creeped up into the 200lb territory for a bit, but do you feel you were able to put on some quality mass and/or strength during the 6 weeks of BTM?
Believe me; I have a voracious appetite. I was still hungry through the time that I was eating with Building the Monolith.
Iāve been full 3 times in my life. 2 of them were regaining weight after a weight cut, and one was just a great night in high school. Otherwise, Iām always in some form of hunger. However, it became cumbersome to continue to eat the amount I had to eat through this process. You gotta keep in mind; Iām walking around at 195lbs at 5ā9. How much I have to eat everyday is already a great amount, especially with how few carbs I eat. I ended up adding 1lb of meat and 8-12 eggs a day on top of that, and it just became a total time suck. Right now, Iām enjoying the luxury of only having to eat 4-5 meals a day.
Regarding gains from Building the Monolith; I absolutely got some growth out of it. About 4.5lbs of clean weight and solid growth on my press. I did a write-up of the whole thing on my blog, if youāre interested in it.
Ah yes, I misinterpreted what you meant by enjoying not eating like itās your job. The eating part you can handle, itās the time spent cooking, prepping and eating that is tiring. I can get on board with that thought process!
Wow, that is great. I ran it awhile back even before I started a log on here so Iād have to dig back through binders to see what kind of progress I made on it, but this definitely has me contemplating running it again. I know I had a wonderful love/hate relationship with the program, specifically with the widowmakers.
Heading over to Mythical Strength now, thanks for the heads up!
EDIT:
Holy shit. AMAZING write up!
Thanks for taking the time, you covered just about every aspect of the program. Great work.
Damn how much calories do you guys need? I actually find when I eat below 3000 I feel like I am going to starve. Between 3300 and 4000 is what is ānormalā to me and where I feel good and powerful. Also I figured out around 3500 to 4000 kcal is what I need to maintain weight.
Enjoyed the write up, especially the, āWhat I learned.ā Good stuff. Also read the hedonism blog, as a psych guy I found it pretty dang interesting, and pretty much on point with peopleās perception, ha, definitely entertaining.
@littlesleeper Yeah, my life revolved around eating for those 6 weeks. If I was single, it woulda been more tolerable, but as a family man I felt pretty selfish. It also let me know that Iām not cut out for bodybuilding, haha.
Amazingly the widowmakers werenāt too bad for me. Iām used to doing 1 big set and giving it all I got. For me, it was all the sets across that got to me. Definitely outside my comfort zone. Glad you enjoyed the write-up. There really wasnāt enough out there regarding how to run the program as is, and though I had one significant deviation, I tried to stay as true to it as possible. Itās definitely in my back pocket now as a program to use if I need to fill out a weight class.
@Koestrizer Iāve honestly never counted a calorie or macro in my life to be able to say how much I eat. LIke Alpha, my concern is that, once I start counting, Iāll start obsessing. While running Monolith, I was eating 2-2.5lbs of meat a day along with 8-12 eggs, along with a protein bar, protein shake, a cup of cereal, a cup of greek yogurt mixed with protein powder, 2 cups of wild blueberries with 3 tablespoons of raw honey and whatever veggies I could fit in.
@Despade Glad you enjoyed it dude. That subject is one that frustates me in training. People are always so quick to classify and canāt fathom the notion of doing something you donāt enjoy that I am constantly cast as a masochist, which can get frustrating due to the implications of that, haha.
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I have always been this way as well. I really donāt enjoy training at all, but love the results. Your write up on BoM was fucking great man. When I was contemplating running it awhile back, I couldnāt find ANYTHING on it. It was like no one had done it. Really glad you wrote up something so good for it as I felt like it was one of wendlerās best.
Thanks dude! It was fun to be able to fully commit myself to the process and document everything. Also glad to be in the company of someone else who doesnāt enjoy training, haha. We seem to be the odd ones.
EMOM SOS Triples (22)
10 minutes
Notes: Still just upping the height as I go. Technique seems to be improving.
Woke up at 193.8 this morning. I mightāve stumbled on the ultimate weight loss secret; eat a ton of food for 6 weeks and then stop.
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GOD IS A BEAST WORKOUT 2
AM WORKOUT
Buffalo Bar Squats
5xBar
5x100
5x140
3x190
1x230
1x280
5x295
5x335
5x380
5x320
5x355
5x400
Viking squats 135
1x6
Band pull aparts
5x20
Dips
5x20
GHR sit ups
4x8
Notes: IT band was a little pissed off from the stone work, so once I tried to do those viking squats it was game over. Right forearm cramped up real bad too. The buffalo bar squats went well. Challenging but not murderous. Still figuring out assistance work. Be a good day to throw in some neck harness.
Woke up at 195.0. Weight is going all over the place, trying to settle in.
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GOD IS A BEAST WORKOUT 3
AM WORKOUT
Axle bench press
5xAxle
5x66
5x136
5x186
10x5x226
GHRs
4x8
T-bar rows 4 plates
10x5
Circus Dumbbell 85lbs
2x5
Axle curls
1x100
Notes: For the 10x5 bench and rows, I did an unbroken circuit, going straight from one to the other and back. Semi-challenging, but nothing earth shattering. Iām finding with this program that the rep days arenāt too terrible but the strength days are dialed in just about right. Still figuring out assistance work as I go.
Woke up at 194.8. Feeling lean and strong.
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I do this with overhead presses, rows or pull ups/downs, and face pulls/pull aparts. Really gets the heart rate up and forces you to get in better condition and stronger. Glad to see someone else does shit like that too
This was pretty much my entire run with Building the Monolith. The shorter the rest, the better. Awesome that you enjoy it too.
GOD IS A BEAST
AM WORKOUT
Texas Deadlift Bar Deadlift (Touch and Go)
5x135
5x225
1x315
5x390
5x450
5x505
5x420
5x475
5x530
Standing ab wheel
4x8
Dips
3x20
Notes: The lever on my belt broke on the set of 505, so I finished the workout with my Elitefts Re-loaded base belt, which basically feels like no belt at all. The rivet on it broke too. Bad day for belts, and Iām done with Elitefts gear, but the workout was solid. Time got away from me; next time, I plan to throw in a crazy squat workout.
Woke up at 197.0 after yesterdayās cheat meal. Work stress has been high, but after next week I can throttle back.
1.5 mile run (track)
11:20
Notes: Flew through this run compared to last time. 7:20 mile. Think the slight drop in weight helped. On that note, no weigh in, since I was at work this morning.
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