Created another strength block for the next 4 weeks… alternate Workout A and Workout B on MWF. Hip Assistance movements included to deal with snapping hips (starting to clear up). All movements are performed cluster style (work up to a heavy non grinding single then do as many singles until the weight slows). For hip thrusts I’ll perform them at an intensity of 6-8 reps double rest pause. Deload week 4.
Workout A
Lowbar Wide Squat
Hip Thrust
Weighted Dips
Pendlay Rows (pronated)
Hip Assistance
Workout B
Deadlift
Hip Thrust
Shoulder Press
Weighted Chins
Hip Assistance
Ok… first real day back since tweaking my back. Slept like crap last night.
Hip Thrust: 315 for 4-6 then rest pause to failure
Lowbar Squat: 275 then singles
Weighted Dips: BW + 45 then singles
Pendlay Rows: 155 then singles
Hip Assistance/Rehab exercises
Workout went pretty well today
Hip Thrust: 315 for 4-6 then rest pause until failure
Calves: Stack until failure then 4 “redline” sets (rest 15 seconds then do as many reps as you can leaving 1 rep in the tank)
Deadlifts: 315 for singles (noticed that doing Hip Thrusts first made them really really easy)
Press: 115 singles until failure
Chins: BW + 25 singles until failure
Hip Assistance:
Hip Abduction: 4-6 then singles until failure
Hip Adduction: 4-6 then singles until failure
Hip Flexion: 4-6 then 4 redline sets
Was tired… but went to the gym anyway. Its funny the days I don’t want to be there are usually some of my best workouts because the faster I do them the faster I can leave.
all items are really 1 extended working set
Hip Thrust: 315 (4-6 reps) then rest pause until failure
Calves: machine stack (for an activation set) then rest pause until failure
Squats: 275 then singles until failure
Dips: BW + 45 then singles until failure (then negatives until failure)
Pendlay Rows: 155 then singles until I got bored (need to increase weight)
Hip Abduction: 130 (4-6) then singles until failure
Hip Adduction: 160 (4-6) then singles until failure
There we have it. Lets talk observations
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Noticed from Wednesday and today’s workouts that if I perform hip thrusts before squats and deadlifts it makes the weight go up really easy. I’m thinking that I might keep them in any block that I’m doing squats or deads kinda like a pre-activation movement. I’ve topped out 495 for hip thrusts but i get much better mind muscle connection at a lower weight. I’m thinking that I’ll settle around 365 once I get used to doing them again (its been months)
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As weird as it sounds I kinda like the “lift and gtfo” mentality, it keeps me focused and it makes my workouts just fly by
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I’ve also incorporated deep breathing after my workouts and it really helps with relaxation. Something like this… take a deep breath and hold it for about 7 seconds… then release it for another 7 count. Just keep doing that until you feel yourself chill.
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Lifting heavy early in the morning sucks but I have a wife, kids and a cat that need me more than lifting. I do this for them. But mainly for the cat.
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Great workout today I feel great. Autoregulation for the win.
1 extended set for everything
Core
Hip Thrusts: 315 then rest/pause to failure
Deadlifts: 325 then cluster singles till fatigue
Shoulder Press: 125 then cluster singles till failure
Pull Ups: BW + 35 then cluster singles till failure
Assistance
Calves: Stack then rest/pause to failure
Hip Adduction: 160 then cluster singles till failure
Hip Abduction: 120 then cluster singles till failure
Special Movements
Ear Lobe Raises: just chase the pump
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Good workout today. I increased the weight in a few lifts. Once I feel comfortable with this new weight I’ll add more.
Single extended set on each movement
Hip Thrusts: 335 (+20) 4-6 reps then rest pause till failure
Donkey Calf Raises: 8-10 reps of stack then rest pause until failure
Squats: 295 (+20) then cluster singles until fatigue
Dips: BW + 45 then cluster singles until failure followed by 5 negatives
Pendlay Rows: 185 (+30) then cluster singles until failure (a little heavy but i’ll live)
Hip Abduction: 130 then cluster singles until failure
Hip Adduction: 160 then cluster singles until failure
Hip Flexion: 110 triple rest pause
Special Exercise:
Pelvic Gyrations (with intense facial expression): until failure or kicked out of the gym
For me it seems my body is really enjoying the low volume high frequency thing and prefers higher intensity. Also the 3 weeks on 1 week off is just about perfect.
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Its Friday… do I really want to be at the gym? Hell no I rather be getting fat on eggnog. Went anyway… what a sucker.
Hip Thrusts: 345 then singles until failure
Calf Raises: Stack then as many sets of rest/pause I could stomach
Deadlifts: 335 then singles until fatigue*
Shoulder Press: 135 then singles until fatigue*
Pull Ups: BW + 25 then singles until fatigue
Hip Assistance
So I noticed something today when using clusters and rest/pause. You have to strike a balance between something that is reasonably heavy but not so much that it takes it all out of you. It makes it really difficult to get any decent amount of volume in when you are training in too close to your max. So instead of just seeing how heavy you can go just find a weight that is heavy but smooth. Then after a while if it starts to feel easy then just add a plate or so. This is a marathon and not a sprint. The fact that you are there lifting when most others are still sleeping is good enough.
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Brutal… had a cold… then the flu… awesome… first day back into the gym in weeks. Last time I had completed a series of 3 concentrated strength blocks. Each block consisted of 3 weeks on and 1 week off. When I was sick I noticed well into my second week from the gym that I was still recovering. In the book SuperTraining by Verkhoshansky and Siff they mention that after a few concentrated loading blocks the fatigue really starts to add up and the body needs a longer period of rest. I believe this to be true now that I’ve seen it with my own eyes. I’ll now be moving into 3 blocks of hypertrophy work. In reality strength blocks are very similar to hypertrophy blocks the key difference is that in a strength block we focus on a movement where as in a hypertrophy block we focus on the muscles involved in that movement. I could use similar movements from my strength block but I’ve already been using them for a while so its probably to better to switch to a secondary movement. Also secondary movements aren’t the types of movements you max out on so we can add some more reps. So in my strength blocks i was heavily using rest pause clusters for my hypertrophy work I’ll switch to using Myo reps. Very similar but now we will use Myo reps to redline our system (basically each set is probably 1 rep shy of failure). I’m doing this because I honestly don’t like being in the gym at all. Get our stupid workout in and leave. Finally I’ll be using a full body routine that I’ll be hitting a muscle group 3x a week alternating two different workouts. Here they are:
Workout A (Vertical Focus)
Hip Thrusts
Bulgarian Split Squats
DB Shoulder Press
Chin Ups
Calves
Hip Assistance
Workout B (Horizontal Focus)
Hip Thrusts
SLDL
DB Bench Press
Barbell Rows
Calves
Hip Assistance
We’ll shoot for 8-10 reps then auto regulate Myo rep redline sets. If we ever get higher than 10 reps on our first set we’ll increase weight next time. Redline sets are to taste (typically 3-4 sets). I included a fair amount of glute work because it keeps back pain down and really helps with squats and deads in my strength blocks. That’s all for now.
Cool I think I’m over my cold. As always I didn’t want to be in the gym today so I sought to get my workout done as fast as possible. Here is what I did:
Hip Thrusts
SLDL from a deficit
Calves
DB Press
BB Row
Hip Abduction
Hip Flexion (on a multi-hip machine)
All work was done Myo rep style. What ever weight I could hit in the 8-10 range was my activation set then I just did as many redline sets until I hit failure.
Better get used to these kinda workouts I got 3 blocks of hypertrophy work to go.
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Operation “get the hell out of the gym as fast as possible” commence! All movements were performed using a Myo rep scheme. Took just under an hour.
Hip Thrusts
Bulgarian Split Squats
Donkey Calf Raises
Hip Abduction
Hip Flexion
DB Press
Pull Ups
Hammer Curls
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So I stopped counting calories and it was a mistake. I’ve been eating too little and feel like crap. So back to counting again. Today’s workout was pretty rough I’m tired and need to recover
Hip Thrusts
SLDL
Donkey Calf Raises
Hip Abduction
DB Bench Press
BB Rows
Hammer Curls
So I saw this video where this guy put a bench behind his calves while performing the SLDL to keep his shins vertical. I tried it today just for grins and I think its a great idea. It certainly feels weird at first though.
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In my case it is the opposite.
My great dificulty in these days is to prepare the meal when I am hangry. I need to prepare it beforehand. I usually eat more than necessary.
So, I need to maintain focus allways on calories count (and macros too).
Hmm… if you are doing the one meal a day thing what helps is to just eat the same thing for a week then change it up the following week that way you don’t have to think about it at all.
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Went to the gym this morning didn’t want to be there. Fatigue is really setting in. Two more workouts this week to go then its deload time.
Hip Thrusts
SLDL
Hip Abduction
Seated Calves
DB Shoulder Press
Pull Ups
Concentrated loading blocks is great and all but I’m getting older. I’m wondering if i should hang them up.
Really starting to overreach and performance is suffering. Just one more workout to go then its deload time.
Hip Thrusts
SLDL
Hip Abduction
Donkey calves
DB Bench Press
DB Chest Supported Rows
If i’m going to keep doing these concentrated loading blocks I need to get into my head that building up fatigue over the loading period WILL result in loss of performance and that is exactly the point. I guess what I’m saying is that I’ve done plenty of these types of blocks and feeling like poop right before the deload kinda gets old. However, I admit growing stronger everyday during the deload while just focusing on sleep and recovery is really hard to beat. Meh… I guess you can’t have it all.
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Concentrated Loading Block 1 Done! Deload time. Myo reped the following at a weight I could hit for around 8-10 reps then did sets until I couldn’t complete one.
Hip Thrusts
SLDL
Hip Abduction
Seated Calves
DB Press
Pull Ups
Hammer Curls
Been dealing with stupid elbow pain for a while and I found the solution. Hammer curls! I think I read it somewhere that they really help and yes they certainly do.
I knew from the start that this block would not allow me to fully recover between sessions. I kept at it until my performance started to suffer. Right now I’m probably at at 15% to 20% decrease in performance and feeling really fatigued. This upcoming week (Friday to Friday) will just focus on eating and sleeping. When its over I’ll do 2 more hypertrophy blocks then switch back to strength blocks. Rinse and repeat.
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Deload today… I didn’t go to the gym and will likely just foam roll and possibly go for a walk later. Just going to focus on relaxing and recovery. That’s all.
Still deloading. Last time I did this I didn’t eat enough during my deload and didn’t really recover before starting my next block. Lesson learned… during a deload eat just as if you were training or maybe even a tad bit more. I’ll probably hit the gym this Friday. I still need to create my next block. All I know is that it will be a hypertrophy based block and I’m thinking full body. I’ll probably had some glute/lower back emphasis to keep my back pain at bay. During my last block I did quite a few SLDLs with the back of my calves touching an immovable object. As crazy as it sounds having to really tighten my lower back, glutes and hams and pull really strictly actually didn’t piss my back off more but actually made it feel really good. The only change I’ve made is my calves touching an immovable object. It seems to force you to pull evenly. One thing I want to try is doing the same thing but with RDLs and see if it makes a difference there as well. Anyway healing is well on its way and I can’t wait to tackle my next training block.
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