This thread is a community thing where each month it’ll be possible for people to post a WOM (workout of the month). It can be something from their log that they’ve done, or something they’ve dreamed up and are about to do, and for others to join in and do themselves in place of one of their ordinary workouts.
I’m just going to hope people will post something that’s a challenge, something that might test your grit, be a bit dumb, or whatever. It’d be helpful if it’s expressed in a way that can help people select an appropriate load in relation to themselves but I respect not everyone has the energy to do that.
The original idea was first-come/first-served so that the first person to post a WOM for October claims it but I’ve since resigned to letting it be a free-for-all as different strokes are for different folks.
Personally really hoping to do something from @T3hPwnisher.
Here’s my own offering that I did over a year ago, The Vigneault Challenge which is 500 reps of benchs where you only rest at lockout.
In an effort to contribute something meaningful:
I used to do this twice a year:
Marathon Squats:
Squat with bodyweight on bar 10 sets of 2:00 minutes with 2 minutes rest in between.
Cannot rerack during working 2 minutes but may rest at top.
I was very glad my gym at the time had an elevator (weights were on third floor).
Been doing 10x10 lately for OHP, Deadlift, Bench, and Squat. Each lift gets a separate day and all 4 are done every week. Been doing this for about 2 months now, and it is becoming a mental challenge.
Additionally, I have been supersetting the main lift with chin ups. I have been doing 10x6-8 depending on how hard the main lift is. I do rest between lifts.
Then I have the assistance lifts, which is usually 3-5 different accessories for 3-5 sets of 8-12 reps (except BB rows which I do 5x5).
I would say the challenge is 10X10 on the main lift and super set with 10x6-8 on chins or pullups.
Your challenge is similar to mine. I am doing about this on several lifts though.
Last time I went on holiday, the last session I did before leaving was:
A1: 10 x 10 Back Squats
A2: 10 x 10 Pulldowns
B1: 10 x 10 Bench
B2: 10 x 10 Cable Row
I set a timer so I started a set at the start of every minute. So the first pair had squats on odd minutes and pulldowns on even minutes. The second pair had bench on odd minutes and rows on even minutes
If I did it again I would do pulldowns with a reverse grip and swap back squats for front squats
A conditioning sesh I did yonks ago was EMOM 100m rower sprints for 30 minutes. That was soul-crushing
I came across a 500 rep leg press challenge a couple years ago. I cant remember what weight i used or what the paramaters for the weight is but i do remember that the goal was around a half hour and you could not get off the machine till you were done.
I havent done this one but i thought of doing 100 reps of tire flips
So here I am at work, post leg day workout, and every single time I stand up my hamstrings cramp. This hasn’t happened in YEARS, so I think it means I struck some gold with this workout. Feel free to follow along.
Take a weight you can squat for 7 reps. The 7th rep should be hard, but not an absolute grinder. That’s our starting weight. In between each set listed, you will take 12 deep breaths (rack the bar, 12 breaths, get under the bar and squat again).
1x7
1x3
2x2
1x1
Strip weight off bar (I was using 390 and stripped bar to 340)
4x5
Strip weight off bar (I went to 300)
1x7
Strip weight off bar (down to 230)
1x20
90 second rest
SUPERSET of belt squats and reverse hypers. Use a weight you can get for 20 reps on the first set. Do NOT lockout on any of the reps if you can avoid it. Lockout only if required to rest to get in more reps.
Belt squat
1x20
1x18
1x16
Stripset (no rest between sets)
4x15 (I went 160-125-90-45 using a landmine loading set-up)
Reverse hyper
4x13
If the absence of a belt squat, leg press should be more than fine, as I’m basically using my belt squat as a leg press replacement. In absence of a reverse hyper, I’d go with KB swings, done HEAVY.
Love it, definitely down next squat workout. Will scout for a heavy KB at the gym. Never done belt squats, I think there’s a dip belt so I could create one with a landmine.
Do I want to elevate my feet when using a landmine/dip belt to get deeper into the squat before the weight touches the ground?
Any useful heuristic for guesstimating a starting weight for the 20 reps as its a new exercise? Maybe I’ll just have to prod at it this week to gauge.
I lean forward in it to really hammer to quads, at which point I don’t find the depth to be terribly important. I stand on 5 patio pavers, which puts me higher up. You may wanna use bumper plates or something similar.
I went with 2 plates per side for my 20 repper. You’re going about it a bit backwards though: don’t pick a weight that is something you can hit for 20 reps. Pick a weight and hit THAT weight for 20 reps. That’s the challenge, haha. I did NOT want to do that final set.
Yeah, precisely. The belt squat. The widowmaker I have an existing frame of reference for already.
I’ll fit in a feeler set or two (belt squat) sometime this week to gauge what might be a solid weight selection that honors the spirit of the challenge and has me at ~20 reps.
Here is a heavy pull workout that was my Saturday workout for quite a while. I still love this workout. I added my weights to give an example, but many of you would lift much more.
3x3 Wide grip muscle snatch (Example for my weak self: 115 lbs)
3x5 Snatch grip High pulls (Ex: 135 lbs)
3x5 Shoulder width high pulls (155 lbs)
2x5 Clean pulls (maybe 205 lbs)
2x10 Clean shrugs (maybe 235). Basically an explosive RDL with a shrug at the end.
Work up in twos for Dead lifts: 2x235, 2x275, 2x315, 2x365
Then, 3 rounds of farmer’s walks super-setted with weighted pull ups. You will feel like your traps were hit by a baseball bat.
