Nice benching man. Also congrats on the weight PR. I need to get back to growing my own belly to catch up with you
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Thatās good news! I felt very similar except on deadlift. I didnāt feel like the set of two was easy when I hit 415 x 3 and then had to do 445 x 2. That sucked. I think that was week 11 of my second round of SGSS.
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Yeah I remember built for bad that was the same experience reps 2 and 1 was kind of easy.
Lower body tomorrow, I think that is going to be tough.
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So for the 54321 week, no assistance at all?
Also, I was thinking about making the first week a little easier:
5 - 73%
4 - 78%
3 - 83%
2 - 88%
1 - 93%
Just to ease into it. I donāt know if 3 weeks in a row of hitting 95-100% of my old max will help me or hurt me
Mort has been doing extra work at the end of his workouts.
I think I dropped the assistance work for the final phase. I dropped the loaded carries long before that.
Youāll know pretty quickly in that first week of 5/4/3/2/1 if youāre being conservative or if youāve bitten of more than you can chew.
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@Frank_C answered the assistance stuff, according to the program I could do curls or some other small thing. But my body needs all the rest it can get.
Again according to the program use the same weight as you did in the last week of the 3ās phase.
On bench and pull ups Iāve eased the first to sets up just a bit and but still hitting the same weight for 3 reps, I think the program calls for 10% increase.
For bench that would have been 90x3 okay 100x2 NO 110x1 NO
So I did 90x3, 92x2, 95x1 that way I should do 100x1 the last day of the program, hitting my 2 plate goal.
I think Iāve said it before but Iāve done it before. Spring 2016 I hit several doubles and one day I did 3 double with 100 kg, the best I did was a triple at 100 and a single at 105.
However my DL was a double at 110 kg at that time and my squat was weaker than my bench.
But Iām still a bit pissed Iām not getting stronger I am more about 12 kg 25 lbs heavier and everybody says put on weight and your bench will go upā¦
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Woke at 88,6 kg - 195,3 lbs
weight is settling back nicely.
Todays training
The Danish Viking: SGSS by coach Thib
W12D2 5-4-3-2-1 reps lower body realization phase
Warmup: ropeskipping 1 minute, jumps, KB swings, BPA, BW squats, stretches, lazy lifter
.
Squat
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5 @ 95 kg
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4 @ 100 kg
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3 @ 105 kg
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2 @ 107,5 kg
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1 @ 112,5 kg belt
Deadlift
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5 @ 130 kg 4,5 doh, 1 hook
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4 @ 137,5 kg straps
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3 @ 145 kg straps
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2 @ 150 kg belt + mix grip
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1 @ 155 kg belt + mix grip
front squat
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5 @ 60 kg
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4 @ 65 kg
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3 @ 70 kg
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2 @ 75 kg
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1 @ 80 kg
RDL
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5 @ 90 kg
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4 @ 95 kg
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3 @ 100 kg
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2 @ 105 kg
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1 @ 110 kg
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Done in 55 minutes about 10 minutes warmup + ramp to working weight of squats
This is like build for bad 5-4-3 reps are heavy 2 and 1 almost easy.
And I am not wasted like I used to with the sets across, another win.
Squats were yet again a good experience.
DL wtf they are feeling heavy, up until a few weeks ago DL were a breeze.
Front squats, havenāt really done them in the past so 2 PRās here.
RDL same as front squats havenāt done them so here 2 PRās as well.
Taking about 90 ā 100 seconds pause, next time pauses is down to 1 minute.
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Looking good, Mort! Have you always done squats before deads when theyāre programmed on the same day?
I know youāve run the program in the same order each day but now that the weights are approaching PRs squats might be making the deads feel worse than you expect.
If squats felt OK then you could do deadlifts, squats, RDLs, front squats on the next workout to see if you like it better.
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For the bench dilemma, Iām just going to state a few things that Iāve come to believe through no scientific discourse or research. Itās mainly anecdotal.
- Higher bodyweight = more force being transferred into the bar during leg drive. This one will take a significant amount of extra bodyweight to be noticeable IMO.
- Higher bodyweight = bigger back and chest (and sometimes more/tighter muscles) which slightly reduces the distance the bar has to travel. Again, youād have to add a lot of bodyweight (fat or muscle) for this to have any major impact.
Beyond that, thereās not much to it that I can think of. I think a lot of it has to do with your assistance exercises, honestly. Some things that can help are stretching and working your back even more than you already are. For me, close grip bench has been my bench press savior. I went from a shaky 295 TnG single after a 6x2 cycle to a relatively speedy 320 pause in the middle of SGSS. The only thing that I had changed was adding close grip bench for about 1.5 months prior. I think it works so well for me because I have a tendency to allow my grip to regress inward; Iāve never felt comfortable/strong/safe with one of the ultra-wide bodybuilder bench grips.
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@Frank_C I think doing DL first would tax my lower back so much that I would put it at risc doing squats after.
I donāt know if that is right, but I read it somewhere a while ago and it made sense.
I tried it with OHP and BP in the start, and found it very odd, I couldnāt use the same weight when doing it as second exercise on the second day. If that makes sense.
@lava2007 Iāll be adding in CGBP when Iām starting my powerlifting routine in the new year.
If youāre right about what you just wrote Iāve misunderstood or Iāve been told something wrong. Well that wouldnāt be the first time. It makes sense what you wrote.
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Whatās the dilemma?
It is the improve your bench by gaining weight. Iāve gained about 10 kg bw and about zero kg on my bench 
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I thinks itās gotta be muscle making up as much of that weight as possible mort unless you are already 300 lbs or bulk up 50lbs. Couple of kilos of fat wonāt help much I think
So like volume work and eating to bulk pretty much. Exercises that have bigger range of motion and stretch like close grip bench and DBs are good I heard. You can just do the main lift though if itās not gotten too stale.
And since I gotta make everything about Iām looking forward to my home volume phase after maxing our first week next year for lost hogs thing
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Also you need to wait until you prepare yourself properly and then max out. If youāre all fatigued from a lot of volume training in variations that are different to the comp lift or something of course your not gonna be prepared and perform to your true potential
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@mortdk have you tried tempo or paused benching. I found slowing the descent down, pausing whilst bracing hard and driving the bar up had helped me. Bench has a surprising amount of technique to it. Maybe try doing lots if paused doubles with a lighter weight then progress the weight weekly.
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woke at 88,3 kg - 194,7 lbs
Hope it settles around here.
@guineapig I think some of my stalling is due to age, and that it takes a lot of effort for a hardgainer like me to grow muscles and getting stronger. CT had an article today that kind of makes sense to me. Growing muscles for me is about TUT building up lactic acid, and I hate that kind of training. So I guess I have to stay the way I am.
I do however believe that youāre absolutely right about preparing for the max attempt, and I will do that.
The Hogs virtual meet I hope to put up some new PRās.
@simo74 Iāll try the paused thing with my new template.
Iāll reveal it during christmas or before for all you guys reading along to comment on it.
Itās going to be so good and free for all my subscribers.
The Viking Powerbuilding Protocol.
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Have you looked into Ctās Neurotyping stuff? It could help.
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Yes CT wrote about something called ACTN3 RR and XX.
Itās about having a lot of fast twitch or not fast twitch.
I have slowmotion twitch fibers 
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Well, at least the name is awesome!
Yes, you do. All those years of cycling didnāt help. Muscle fibers actually shrink when you do that type of stuff. When theyāre smaller they can work more efficiently for aerobic tasks. I donāt remember the specifics but it has to do with the exchange of stuff (like oxygen). Iād have to get out my text book to tell you the exact reason. Either way, itās the exact opposite of what you currently want. Youāre trying to retrain your body and itās a slow process.
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CT has an article here on TN about 3 bad ideas or lies, among them are the one that you should train like sprinters not marathon runners. But it is not true, itās about genetics and as i stated to Duke there are the guys with fast twitch fibers, those fibers has a lot of growth potential.
Whereas runners and other endurance athletes donāt have them. We have the slow ones which is very good at using oxygen and do not grow very well.
He states en another article we have to work with low weights and long TUT about 1 minuteā¦ And I donāt like that, but at least, now I know why.
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