With your level of conditioning, I seriously doubt you’ll become a fat ass 
2 Likes
woke at 82,3 kg - 181,4 lbs
Todays training
The Danish Vikings Darkhorse
W5D2 Squat variation 5 RM
Warmup: Jump rope, yoga stuff, stretches.
Dynamic warmup:
- rope skipping 5 x 30 seconds
- ring dip 5 x BW
- BPA 5 x 10
- KB swing 5 x 8
Complex: 2 rounds
- 7 – 6 x bar: DL, row, Hang clean, fr Squat, press, squat, GM, push press
Main giant set:
- jump 8 x 3
Front squat 5 x 30, 40, 50, 60, 65 kg (rep PR)
Volume - 50 kg x 11, 8+2, 7+2+1 10 sec rest on the rest pause set
- hanging leg raise 3 x 8 + 5 x 7
- Plate floor to overhead press 8 x 5 @ 25 kg
Speed DL EMOM
- 10 x 3 @ 95 kg
Assistance
- laying down for 5 minutes trying not to die.
Done in 45 minutes.
We’re in a heat wave with over 31 degree Celsius here in old DK, It’s pretty hard working out in that heat.
I think Brian talks about the 5RM day being the easiest day… If any of you thinks about doing the DH the 5RM is the hardest by miles. Maybe I’m not efficient enough with the 1 rep work.
11 Likes
I’d rather do a heavy set of 1 or 3 than a heavy set of 5 any day of the week.
3 Likes
I’m with Lava. Darkhorse looks crazy and fun, but 5/3/1 keeps giving me results so I’m going to ride that train as long as it lasts. Or until my wife decides she wants to see my abs again, then maybe I’ll do a 12-week cycle of it along with some cleaner eating to get rid of a couple % bodyfat while hitting my body in a way it’s not used to. Awesome work, man.
3 Likes
Nice work mort! Keep going man. And yes the 5s are terrible
1 Like
Woke at 82,2 kg - 181,2 lbs
Todays training
The Danish Vikings Darkhorse
W6D3: Bench variation 3RM
Warmup: Jump rope, stretches, BPA.
Dynamic warmup: 5 rounds starting every second minute
- SGHP 5 x 40, 50, 60, 3 x 70 1 x 75 kg
- kneeling buttom up KB press each arm x 6
- BPA x 10
- dynamic push up x 3
Complex:
- BB x 9+6: DL, row, hang clean, front squat, strict press, back squat, GM, push press
Main Giant set:
- BB row: 10 x 40, 8 x 50 5 x 60 3 x 65, 70, 75 10 x 45, 45 kg
-
floor press 5 x 55, 60, 3 x 67.5, 75, 82.5 kg
Volume - 65 kg x 12, 8, 8
- bicycle crunch 8 x 20
- EZ bar curl 8 x 8 @ 27,5 kg
OHP emom
- 10 x 3 @ 37,5 kg
Done in a 45 minutes.
No assistance today, was in a bit of a rush.
Tried working up to a heavy triple on BB row and back off with 10 reppers, will keep that format I think.
Floor press have been a pleasant exercise to try so has the Z press.
4 Likes
Woke at 82,1 kg - 181 lbs
Vacation is over, it’s back to the grind of things.
Goals:
Short term: end the DH without quitting 
or dying:-)
Long term: still that illusive 1-2-3-4 plate thing.
Rest of the year: gain some pounds BW aiming at 91 kg that is a very round 200 pounds.
How to do it: Still 4-5 weeks to decide how to do it.
- CT’s SGSS
- 531 BBB
- built for bad/battle
- simple double progression 5x8 upper/lower
Any thoughts? Remember I’m an old’ish dude.
3 Likes
What do you think of were you’re at? I reckon you have to be close with deadlifts and ohp?
Something I like to do/ have done:
Week 1: 5 x 8 (straight weight through sets)
W2: 5 x 6 (“)
W3: 5 x 4 (”)
W4: 5 x 2 (")
W5: Deload for example 5 x 5 @ 70% 1RM
W6: top set of 8; 3-5 x 8 as back off (- 10-25% from top set)
W7: top set of 6; 3-5 x 6 as back off (- 10-25%)
W8: top set of 4; 3-5 x 4 as back off (- 10-25%)
W9: top set of 2; 3-5 x 2 as back off (- 10-25%)
W10: Deload (for example 5x5 @ 70% 1RM)
W11: start over from either week 1 or week 6; test max; so something else
Just in case you ever run out of programming ideas
You would have to add in assistance work of course.
3 Likes
Thanks @Koestrizer for the 12 week program looks cool, another one to consider Would you do squat DL one day and Press and Bench the other? Or one lift each day?
OHP and bench I think is there or very close.
DL maybe about 160 kg.
Squat is the worst I think haven’t really testet that for a long time was 110 but that was very high.
You’re welcome. I’d usually do one lift for each day and follow it up with assistance work tailored towards individual weaknesses.
1 Like
I’m still chasing this too. I have Oh and bench, deadlift is around 165 so close but squat is going to be hard, currently maybe 125-130 but can’t see myself getting more any time soon. Maybe if I eat enough it might happen !!!
3 Likes
You know my answer!
It will definitely help–especially with the pressing movements.
SGSS is definitely on one of the top spots.
And I’ll be eating too.
As much as I hate the sets of 8, I think they would be a good change of pace for you coming off of Dark Horse. It’s like 5/3/1, start too light and progress slowly.
I kind of did a test day when I first ran the program to see what I could comfortably do for sets of 8. This time I estimated what I thought I should/could do and then tested it out this week on Monday and Wednesday and it turned out that I overestimated myself on a couple of things.
If you decide to go this route, remember that 3 sets of 8 might not feel like it’s hard enough at the start, but you have to do 5 sets of that same weight a few days later. By week three you’re doing 5 x 8 with 10-20 lbs more than your starting weights.
For the most part I didn’t have any grinding reps during the program and I had great results. It’s nice to know that I don’t have to kill myself to see progress. It was kind of like @MarkKO’s programming in that I never really got to my 1RM numbers during the workouts but my 1RM strength still improved. I think it keeps the CNS fatigue at bay and it’s definitely better for me mentally when I’m not pushed to failure.
The program is a very simple progression and you could even extend it to 15 or 18 weeks by doing higher reps. You could do 12-15 reps for three weeks, then 10 reps for three weeks, and then go into “Week 1” of the program with sets of 8. I also wouldn’t blame you if you shortened those added phases to two weeks each.
1 Like
I have thought about this myself
I think doing 2 week phases of the higher reps is a good addition.
I will try and work the weights back, and see where I end.
1 Like
I hadn’t read about SGSS until I saw it in JMaier’s log, and it looks interesting. I’d be more inclined to go for 5/3/1 at my age, though, just because I’d be worried about recovering from doing the big lifts 2x/week. I can do whole body training 3x/week when I’m starting back after a layoff and the weights are relatively light, but once I get into heavier weights it becomes harder to sustain. You might be able to, and you never know until you try, that’s just my take on it. If I was 33 instead of 53, I would definitely give it a try.
2 Likes
According to Jim, you can run it indefinitely. I’m sure the law of diminishing returns will become an absolute bitch after a while, but I’m with you on that. 5/3/1 is my weapon of choice for the foreseeable future
First, I’ll write another set-rep scheme to consider: 3x12, 3x8, 3x10, 3x6.
Next, some more details: four days of lifting, upper/lower split. The first upper and lower body days are 3 (work sets) x 12 for all exercises. The second UB and LB days are 3x8, which completes the first week. The next week is 3x10 then 3x6, using the same exercises as week 1. The weights are moved up as all reps per set are completed.
More details: this can be configured as UB 1, LB 1, UB 2, LB 2, pretty similar to 5/3/1, but with different rep schemes. UB 1 can be bench day, with shoulder presses, rows, curls, pull-ups etc. LB 2 would do well as squats, with RDLs, calf raises, lunges, etc. UB 2 would make a good shoulder press day, with a few sets of benches, rows, curls, etc., and LB 2 would make a great deadlift day, followed by front squats and other accessories. That’d leave a couple days for conditioning and one day completely off.
More details: I haven’t ran this set-rep scheme, even though it really appeals to me. I read about it on a US Navy physical training site. Evidently, this program came from a study of two groups of men, one who trained with that program, while the others did straight reps. The group who did the alternating reps gained significantly more strength at every exercise, as far as I can remember.
The study had the groups doing around 8 exercises for about 30 sets a day (factoring in 2 to 3 sets of warm-ups on the main lift or two), and they grouped exercises a bit differently than traditional UB/LB. If memory serves, everyone did rows on UB days and pull-ups on leg days, so they worked their backs 4 times each week, albeit with 3-5 sets each day.
Something else to consider; this workout setup seems quite recoverable, especially when accessories are only 3 sets of whatever the day’s reps calls for. If you’re interested, I can try to find the website and study.
1 Like
Woke at 82,1 kg - 181 lbs
Will begin to track calories in a couple of days.
Todays training
The Danish Vikings Darkhorse
W6D4: DL variation 1RM
Warmup: jump rope, yoga stuff, stretches
Complex:
- BB x 7+7, DL, row, hang clean, front squat, strict press, back squat, GM, push press
Dynamic warmup: 5 rounds
- Bearcrawl 20 seconds
- DB curl to OHP
- Facepull band x 10
- jump rope 20 seconds
Lats activation drill
- Sweeping Deadlift with band 2 x 10 @ 60 kg
Main Giant set
- KB sving 9 x 5 @ 24 kg
-
Snatch grip DL 5 x 90 (D), 3 x 105(D), 1 x 120(D), 130(H), 140 (B+S), 150 kg/330 lbs(B+S) Huge PR
Volume - 120kg x 5 (B+H), 5(S), 5(S)
- Plank Bracing hard 9 x 10 – 15 seconds
- Burpees 9 x 5
DE Squat emom
*10 x 3 67,5 kg
Assistance giant set
- Bulgarian split squat 3 x 12 @ BW
- Glute bridge 10 kg plate on hips 3 x 12
- AB wheel kneeling 3 x 10
Done in 45 minutes timed from the start of the main giant set. (+ 30 minutes warmup)
Wasn’t expecting this, thought that 140 kg was about limit, but it went up pretty quick, so loaded the bar with 150 kg and it went up, pretty easy, might even have had at least 5 kg more there.
Did I mention I hate burpees.
13 Likes