The Barbedwired Method

Ran 10x3 for 5 months starting December 2013, june 2014 started a modified Bill Starr intermediate thru august. September onto Cube Method.ran cube method thru April 2015. Now 2nd week of June doing a bastardized Lilliebridge method…

1st log… here we go.

Background- 33 years old 5’10 225 ish. Been lifting 3 years ish. Intermittently. More serious the last 8 months. Played 4 years of highschool football guard/linebacker lifted a bit my varsity years and 1st cpl years of college. Mostly bench. Curls. Situps ect. Just started lifting again 8 years later at age 30. 2011 started off benching situps n curls. 2012 added in some deadlifting. Sept. 2012 suffered a suprasantis (sp)? In my shoulder and took a hiatus from benching heavy or any overhead work. Still deadlifted n what not. Feb 2013 resumed benching and started squatting as well.

Two things 1. I am the oppitimy of good bencher/ bad deadlifter. Long torso/shorter arms. 2. Only starting deadliftig and squats after 30 years of age makes you realize the base strength that can be built and retained by doing them at a young age is priceless…as I had none. I dont train for.powerlifting or any sports in life.

I do this because i enjoy it and want to get stronger and healthier as I age. Work 50 plus hrs a week at a physical job, manage a wife, three kids2 dogs house cars ect… took 5/3/1 and just stalled on 5 th cycle. Gonna try somethin new . 10x3 based training.

No matter what program I try I stick to this template: Monday- deadlift. Wednesday- Bench. Friday-squat/Incline bench.

Monday 12-2-13

Deadlift 10x3 @ 255 .strict 60 second rests.

Stifflegged deads @205 4x6 . Strict 60 second rests

Shrugs - amrap working my way down from top set of deads.

Strict curls- against wall. Pausing at bottom. Sets of 8 working my way up to 85 pounds for last set.

Done. 1st three sets felt heaviest. Felt good until last two sets felt heavy again. Stifflegged- gettn a feel for these again formwise. Weight should come quicker once I’m conditioned- hams sore as hell next day. Traps a bit sore.not too bad. Ill pry post my training the day after so I can comment on how I feel too.

Wednesday 12-4-13

Flatbench 10x3 @ 275

CloseGrip bench 4x6 @ 245

Chinups b.w 10x3
-supersetted w. Planks. Done.

All strict timed 60 second rests.

Benching felt great. Felt super fast at top of each rep all 10 sets.

Was never sure how to program the closegrip for this- cameup with 2 options. 1. Heavy 2. Light. I chose heavy and it was the wrong one. Alone it’d be fine…but after the benching… no. Got 1st 3 sets of 245 then dropped to 225 for the.4th.
Ill pickup where the lighter option would have me next week.

1st time planking. Started off w. 10 seconds and added 10 seconds each set w. Chins. So at set 7 … 70 seconds ended that. Sithin a few weeks I should finish all 10 sets.

Weighed in monday w. Belt n shoes at 221.5. Wednesday just shoes 219.5. This is the lightest I been in 3 plus years.

Some nutritional Info-

-taking men’s mutllti vitamin and fishoil.

  • whey isolate post workout.
  • don’t count cals or carbs. Just try to eat clean a nd high protien
  • these steps w. Lifting have taken me from. 249.5 down to 219.5 today. While benching squatting n deadlifting.

I work 4 pm till about 2 a.m so no normal schedule here.

Non training day:
-wake 10 a.m . 16 oz glass of milk and agreek yogurt. Sipp coffee or s.f energy drinkin in afternoon
-3 p.m biggest meal before work. W.e we had for dinner. Lasagna hamburgers tacos chicken …ect.
-3 a.m apple banana 6 plain scrambled eggs.
Hotshower/bed

Training day:
-wake 11 a.m . Banana n s.f energy drink while stretching.
-train 12 -1 pm.

  • 1 p.m - whey isolate 30 grams protien. Greek yogurt and table spoon of honey.
  • 3pm. Biggest meal.of day before work. W.e had for dinner
    -3 a.m 4 scrambled eggs and tablespoon peanut butter.
    Hotshower/bed.

Friday 12-6-13

10x3 squats @ 205 pounds

5x3 incline bench @ 225 pounds

4x6 Barbell rows @185

On this day I have chosen a paused rep scheme for both the squat and incline and I plan to stick w. It.

  1. As a new squatter this year I took a lowbar medium stance from never squatting to 250x5 275x3 and 300 x1. This setup never really felt right. My lowbar setup was never consistent and when shit got tough the goodmorning effect happened more than than preferable. So I switched to high bar and messed around with foot position for a few weeks. I prefer highbar and chose a medium stance toes slightlty out. Basically an olympic squat. … and it feels quite natural. So hitting the reset button here if you will. Pausing each rep should build a very solid base for squatting and solid core overall… holding tension for the pause and coming outta the hole w. No stretch reflex will build me slowly but solidly. Just doing these has my upper abs entirely sore within 12 hrs along w. My quads.

  2. Since I train at home I have limited ceiling height. So no overhead pressing. Bummer. I chose incline to support my bench as the other pressingday and get some shoulder work in to. I’ve found that pausing each rep on incline progresses better than not. Also… my work is a high volume on my shoulders so… minimizing my volume here is crucial as in the past I’ve had overuse issues on my shoulders from thousands of reps at work everyday plus training. Right now that’s all in the past im all healthy and I plan to keep it that way. So lower volume w. Strength focus here is perfect.

Didn’t see it coming but i was extremely sore from wednesday bench session. All of my chest into my arms. And all of my abs including side oblique s sore too from the planking

Sore as usual from pause squats today… mostly quads …but upper abs too.

This completes my 1st week- weighed in @ 217 in just shorts today. Another 3 plus year low…

Monday 12-9-13

Deadlift 10x3 @ 265

Stifflegged deads 4x6 @210

Barbell shrugs @working my may down from top deadlift weight A M R A P. pausing last rep5 secs

Strict curls - sets of 5 against the wall working up to 95 x6 . P.r

  • strict timed 60 sec rests

  • everything felt great.

  • hoping my hams aren’t near as sore as last week. Felt like they were removed and sowed back in. 1st time doin stiff legged in a while hit me hard I guess.

  • still thinking on how to progress this. 10 pounds a week for 3 weeks. Then a deload at 5x5 of the 1st weeks weight on week 4. Is what I’m doing this run. Try n see is what I’m doing. Then I assume start again but at Weeks 2s weights… so each run my 3rd week is a 10 pound improvement after 1st cycle…

Wednesday 12-11-13

Bench 10x3 @ 285

Closegrip bench 4x6 @235

Chinups @10x3 @ b.w +5
-supersetted w. Planks starting@10 secs and adding 10.secs a set.

Bench felt good quite fast reps only a cpl here or there that slowed a bit.

Closegrip felt better but still a bit heavy after the benching…dropped to 225 for 4th set.

Chins felt good… awkward hanging 5 pounds off me tho. Got if figured out

Planks failed on set 7 again. I finished…but was spent

Monday weighed 221. W.shoes. hams were bout 60 percent as sore as previous week

Today weighed 219 w. Shoes.

Friday 12-13-13

10x3 pause squats @215

5x3 incline bench @235

6x4 barbell rows @190

I felt wooped after the squats could already feel my quads, particularly at the bottom complaining. Which is unusual. Soreness coming…

Incline felt good- really focusmon exploding up after the pause.

Rows- hands felt a bit beatup from all the bar squeezin. But.once.I got goin no probs.

Was a bit sore from benching…nothing like last week! A bit more typical.

60 second strict rests on everything still.

Should mention I train at home. Marcy Monster bench-adjustable w. Squat lift off. I have no rack or safeties for squatting so this limits me as well. Got two barbells and over 500 pounds in weights. E z bar.

Monday 12-16-13

Deadlift 10x3@ 275

Stiff legged dead 4x6 @ 225

Shrugs- 275x8 245x10 225 x12 135x16 90x16

Strict curls -sets of 3 up to 105 pounds

Deads- used mix grip. Last 3 sets felt strongest n fastest

Stiff- last two reps on last two sets were difficult.

Hold last rep on shrugs at peak. Curls are strict against wal w.pause at bottom.l…very last rep wouldnt have counted but i got it.

Quite sore from squats after friday. Id say the bottom of my right quad was slighly strained and thats what I felt immediately after the workout. That quad was more sore sat. Too. Might be slight indifference in foot position…pay more attention this friday.

Weighed in 219 w. Belt n shoes today.

My heaviest week of my 1st run… next week being xmas is my planned deload then ill run another cycle using same method but up the weight

Wednesday 12-18-13

Bench 10x3 @295

Closegrip 4x6 @225

Chins 10x3 @b.w +10

Planks

Bench- wondered about this weight. Got every set .1st 2 reps felt fast n explosive and 3rd felt slower on most sets . Last 3 setsfelt the best overall.

Closegrip- just went w. 225. No idea on percentage here after all the benching. Last two reps on each set felt tough. 24 reps on top of 30 is new to me!

Chins felt good. Been doing them explosively as possible. Today even w. Plus 10 I felt good and paused top n bottom of last two sets.

Still resting 60 seconds. On bench the last 5 sets I went to 120 secs as it felt necessary.

Weighed 216 w. Shoes.

My right trap is sore /slighlty strained after mondays deadlift session. 1st for me.

Friday 12-20-13

Pause squat 10x3 @225

Paused inclind bench 5x3 @245

Barbell rows off the floor - 4x6 @195

Squats went mostly well. Def. Toughest of this. Cycle. Last rep on last 3 sets were rough.

Inclines felt good. Last rep slower than first two.

Next week. A deload of 5x5 and combining things down to two sessions. Timeoff for xmas.

Feeling leaner. More muscular.

Rows- felt heavy for 6 reps. Form went downhill.

Monday 12-23-13

Bench- 3 paused singles 275/295/315
- followedby 5x5 @275 explosive as possible

Deadlift- 3 singles from 3 inch deficit 275/295/315
- followed by 5x5 @265 strict form,full stop on floor. Explosive as possible

Easy bar curls- worked up to 125x3 just standing .strict as possible. No wall.

Thursday 12-26-13

Deload

5x5 incline bench @225

5x5 pause squat @205

Incline was fast n explosive as possible. Easy

Pause squats not to bad. Paused last set 5 seconds each which was quite tough. Really felt it in glutes.

Sunday 12-29-13

End of week vacation from work. End of christmas. End of deload week.

Just sat down and programmed all my planned lifts for next cycle. Very last minute as im headed to bed and wake and train tomm.

Sticking w. My initial layout. Bit of a wrinkle left as it was taylor made for this past week in mind.

Basically will run very similiar numbers as the trial run.

  1. The 4x6 after 10x3 skewes what I once used as percentages for assistsnce due to the fatigue of 30 reps. So im starting lighter .
  2. Also planning for the heavy week each cycle in a cple ways. The heaviest week assistancewise will be the weekbefore the heaviest week of 10x3. Also going to a 2 min rest that week w. No assistance.
  3. Adding squats in so ill be squatting twice a week. I chose after deadlifts on monday and I also chose what wendler recommended schemewise for a 2nd day. 3x5 @ 55/65/75. Try n see here.
  4. Running percentages off a training max. 4 week cycle @80/82.5/85/87.5 percent. No true deload planned yet. But will break it up by going 5x5 on 80 week only and zero assistance on 87.5 week. After 4 weeks. Add 5pounds . Repeat.

Weighed in 224.5 before bed. Not too bad for a week off an d eating so much. Fridays weight Intrigues me more than anything. Been in the 215-221 range.

Monday 12-30-13

Deadlift10x3 @ 265

Stiff leg 4x6 @ 215

Squats 3x5 145/175/195

Weighed 222.5

Deads felt good. Shrugs at top of each set

Stiff legs- from a deficit each rep pause on the floor.

Squats- felt very light. Each rep fast as possible. Focused on screwing feet to floorbefore decent. Felt locked in. This is a high bar olympic squat. Medium stance toes slighlty out. Basically step back and w.e feels natural.Same form as fridays pause squat @10x3. Hoping this duo starts to build my squat up.

1-1-14

Happy new year. No hangover here, worked last night. Woke n trained today.

Bench 10x3 @275

Closegrip paused bench 4x6@215

Pullups b.w 10x3 w. Planks

Bench felt good. Fast. Back a bit stiff today. Stretched between all sets.

Closegrip paused. Love these. Focus on full pause. Explode to full lock out. Easy today.

Chins- decent. Not as fast as somedays. Planks 6 sets.

Weighed in 221 w. Shoes.

Hi Barbedwired, I enjoyed reading your training blog as it has a few elements I have toyed with using myself ie one day devoted to each of the big lifts, the 10x3 and the fact you do your training at home.

A quick question for you, when starting out with the 10x3 how did you work out what weight to start with ?

Ps good luck with the rest of your program :slight_smile:

Thanks. 1st commenter!

Well. Google is my friend. I read as much about 10x3 training as I could find. Im following the idea of it vs. One persons exact routine. Waterbury has the most info n ideas about it.

  1. Id say my starting weights were closest to 75 percent of my 1 rm. I chose this to be safe and glad I did. The other recomendation I seen was 80 percent of your 3rm. Both are similar. Test n see on acessory numbers…the fatigue here is more thsn other programs

  2. Progressing this can be done many ways. You could up your max and use same percentages. Merely add 5 pounds to each cycle from yournoriginal numbers. Or just use the same weight and add a rep to each set. 10x4 then 10x5… or. Keep adding weight and when you fail a set… minus that set next week and keep doing so until a 1x3 is reached. Covers most of what I seen.

  3. Main idea overal is 10x3 on main movement. 4x6 on accessory. So that 30 working reps at 80 percent or so once u get going. Then 24 more reps of direct accessory work. 54 working reps. Its allot.

  4. I been using strict timed 60 second rest for a while. The conditioning is better. I used the same on 10x3 and combined w. The reps i was quite sore. Even my 1st bench session where it felt light n fast. I had deep soreness the next day. Ill say this…using 1 minute rests builds up good conditioning…but is also a nice tool in the box to jump to 2 min rests on your heaviest week of a cycle.

30 plus 24 wont last forever. Once i stall ill adjust my accessory reps a bit and re look at my 10x3 progress method.

A bit more than the question u asked but hope it was helpfull.

Friday 1-3-14

Incline bench 5x3 @225

Highbar Olympic style paused squat 10x3 @ 215

Barbell rows to the floor 4x6 @160

Weighed 216 no shoes no belt. Fasted thursday 12 hours. Looks like it worked out.

Inclines felt good. Full pause each rep. 3 sec pause on last set. All easy.

Squats felt tough as always for me. Full atg. W pause. Always doable…but always a bear. Finding toes less out…but focus on screwing feet outward for each rep feels better.

Rows. Added a deficit here. 3 inches. Each rep dead off the floor. Felt easy. Feltgood.

Thought I’d drop by and return the favour, good stuff. Ive never done a true 10x3 program before, done a few workouts this way, but not a program, strange really, since Waterbury is one of my mentor’s. I’m going to keep an eye on your log, and see how it works out, other wise we train pretty similar. Alpha, a great poster here, swore by 10x3 training, and he was a beast, trying to become a monster. Anyway I’ll be back, keep up the good work. Latter