Lava2007 Training Log

More and more I’m starting to understand why some people train like that. You burn calories, have fun in the gym, take on a challenge, etc, but the focus isn’t on the numbers. That’s cool.

I’m more concerned with rep PRs right now. Last time I concerned myself with one rep maxes I ended up driving myself into the ground. Last time I focused on rep PRs, I got much stronger. So that’s what I’m on now!

21 July 2018 - Mantathalon Bodyweight: 216lbs
Bench: 215lbs x14
Chin Ups: Bodyweight x16
OHP: 110lbs x22
Barbell Curls: 110lbs x7
Weighted Dips: BW + 55lbs x10

@Frank_C I think this is 69 total reps (lol). I thought curls would be one of my best movements, but no. I was counting on ~15 reps from curls and ~30 reps of OHP and I failed both of those! The dips, chin ups, and bench were just as I expected. Not great, not awful. Right on track with the rest of my training with those exercises.

@losthog let’s create one of these for lower body/full body. I like doing these challenges before work because it was fun, quick, and didn’t tire me out for the rest of the day. We could do 2 leg movements, two back movements, and two pressing movements. Or we could do all lower body, it’s up to you

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I’m working on designing a 3 week full body unilateral plan. I’m working off a Jim Staponni plan and incorporating more core and some stuff from t-nation.

I’m thinking 4-5 days training

4 days ( focus split 2/2 upper/lower)

Or

5 days (3lower/ 2 upper). Or some sort of bodybuilding type split.

Post what you got…I’ll post mine up soon

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23 July 2018 - Skwaaaats Bodyweight: 214lbs
Back Squat 255x3, 290x3, 330x10 (tied PR)
Good Mornings 2x8 185lbs, 1x8 195lbs
Hammer Curls 1x8 50lbs, 2x8 45lbs
DB Rows 1x15 65lbs

Conditioning
2 mile walk

Notes
Solid day today. Didn’t start lifting until 8:45pm, didn’t finish until 9:55. Kind of a shit schedule today, but we got it done. I used to be a late night lifter, but working all day makes that late night shit kinda hard.

330x10 ties a PR from last fall so I’m in a decent spot. Maybe I should’ve started my maxes a little lower, but my training max is 365 which is already very conservative. I’m taking all AMRAPs to mechanical failure, not muscular failure. I’m not trying to collapse with 300+ pounds on my back.

I’ve been thinking about combining my bench and OHP days and doing a 4 day split. One day will be a bench emphasis and one day will be an OHP emphasis. Squats 2x/week for the win.

Right now, I’m thinking:
Sunday: OHP emphasis + bench 3x8 75%
Monday: 5/3/1 squats
Wednesday: Bench emphasis + OHP 3x8 75%
Friday: 5/3/1 Squats
Saturday (optional): Challenge/sprints/cardio

I also FW what you’re doing with the unilateral work @losthog. I think single leg squats especially are a great way to improve mobility. It forces your legs into angles that bilateral movements don’t. (Mini rant: I think most people use “mobility” and “flexibility” interchangeably which is wrong. Mobility is having a healthy ROM in which you can produce force. Flexibility is just being stretchy. Being too stretchy and loading weight onto your body can force you into bad positions that you aren’t capable of stabilizing and producing force from. End rant)

Long story short, I’m going to do a 4 day split with 2 upper 2 lower. Combining bench & OHP, and throwing in some unilateral work on leg days. I’m interested to see how giving this much attention to hamstrings and (now) unilateral work will help me over the course of the next few months. I’m also doing side planks and bird dogs at the beginning of every workout, which of course is more than I did for the last year. I’m probably going to test my back squat and possibly my bench and OHP in about a month just to see where I’m at. I haven’t tested since March, so I’m curious now… I hope you guys are doing well. I still feel bad about being MIA for what felt likes a year last week. Sorry!

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I’ve been very fond of the emom on DH
You could try that working on technique 10 min emom about 55% x 3 reps increasing a bit every week until the speed and power breaks then reset and work back up.
OHP emphasis followed by emom bench.
That is IF doing 3x8 75% is to demanding and you are thinking of doing something different.
EDIT: OH nice tied squat PR. Well done Mate.

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I decided to look up the results of the Mantathlon this morning. You had to beat me my 1. I added your score for history’s sake.

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Hahaha. Sorry bro. I have the advantage of being a little lighter so the chins and dips were easier on me than they were on you. I’m definitely going to try it again at some point, maybe even this Saturday. That was a lot of fun.

Not a bad idea. I’ll give 3x8 75% a try for a week or two first. I gotta admit though, those are just arbitrary numbers. It might be a tad heavy but I’ll give it a shot. And thanks… I wish I was stronger now than I was 6 months ago, but I’m not, yet. Between focusing on front squats and dealing with my stupid SI joint, I should just be happy I didn’t regress

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25 July 2018 - Bench Bodyweight: 216lbs
Bench 170x5, 195x5, 220x13 (5+), 205x5
OHP 3x6 135lbs
Chin Ups +25lbs 3x6
Tricep Extensions 42.5x25, 50x15, 57.5x15, 10
DB Rows 75lbs 3x15
Concentration Curls 2x10 30lbs

Notes
Aside from the actual + set, today was good. I’m tempted to go back to 6x2 for bench because that worked pretty well, but I know better than to do that. It’s smarter to stick to a program for months at a time than bounce around. I still feel guilty for dropping dark horse as quickly as I did, even though I believe I had a good reason to do so.

@mortdk 3x8 75% turned out to be a little too much. 3x6 was solid though. I wonder if I should drop the intensity and increase the volume for those sets, or if 75% is a good number. I suppose it depends on how well I recover.

Yeah. Overall not a horrible day, but I’m ready to squat again. Squats are easily my favorite lift right now with my bench being on a months-long plateau and deadlifting being nonexistent in my training

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CT has said everyone is different when it comes to rep maxes and percentages. Some people can bust out 10 reps at 75% and others hit 4 reps.

The percentages are a guide but not an end all be all when it comes to strength. Pick the volume you want and then pick the weight that coincides with that.

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Really much depends on the goal, if it’s about building muscles then lower the weight and do sets of 8-10 focus on time under tension.
If it’s strength then you have to pay attention to the recovery issue, more than anything.
You could keep the weight at slowly build it to 3x8-10.
Or go a bit on the DH way and do emom sets.

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27 July 2018 - Squats

Was sprinting and jumping for about 3 hours before my squat workout today so it was rough.

Back Squats 275x5, 315x5, 355x5 (1+)
Good Mornings 185x12, 205x10, 225 3x8
Front Squats 2x10 135 (no SI joint issue here)
High Bar Squats 3x5 275lbs

Notes
The running and jumping was really fun. The wall I posted two videos of is the same size that they have on the TV shows. The squats were eh. I started my cycle on the 1+ for fun, but I think I’m going to restart it. 315x5+, 335x3+, and 355x1+. I think I could have gotten 355x7-9 if I was fresh, so I’m going to redo this cycle and aim to have my 1+ on a Saturday morning or Sunday afternoon.

Lots of volume today, no training tomorrow. I might go walk/jog/sprint depending on how I feel. Maybe a bike ride. Either way my legs will be sore tomorrow and I’ll need a little cardio. I have OHP 140x5+. I’d love to get 15+ on that.

When I first started 5/3/1 for bench, I was getting 12-15 reps on each 5+ after the first cycle, and my bench went up fairly significantly (275 to 315 in about 7 months). I would absolutely love to have those results for OHP too. I think That’d put me close to a 2 plate OHP!!

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That looked fun! You definitely made that wall look anticlimactic for the TV show. And from what I’ve seen fatigue shouldn’t be a factor because 90% of their course is grip and pull up strength.

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It was a ton of fun :slight_smile: I spent probably 80% of my time doing the walls. I went up the salmon ladder a few times, which was surprisingly easy. I went up once doing strict pullups and several times doing kipping (kip? idk) pullups which was infinitely easier. I would imagine that the hardest part of being on the TV show is controlling your nerves and trying to stop your hands from getting sweaty. If given chalk, I’m pretty sure any of our gang here on TN could dust the people on TV.

Since I did the warped walls so many times and then squatted afterwards, my legs are fucking TRASHED. Two days later and they still hurt. I probably won’t squat until Wednesday or Thursday which will be a 315x5+… goal for that is probably going to be 13-15. I got 310x12 I think last 5+, but I think something was off. Hydration has been lacking lately so I need to fix that this week. Tomorrow is OHP day, 140x5+ which I’d like 15-20 on. Building this strict press has been a lot more enjoyable than I thought it would be. I’m glad I get to re-experience the newbie gains using a simple approach like I did with squats and bench last fall. This is nice. I hope you all had a good weekend, mine was pretty alright.

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30 July 2018 - OHP, Bench, and… deadlifts??? Bodyweight: 215lbs
OHP 95x5, 115x5, 140x14 (PR because everything is a PR when you haven’t done it before)
Paused Bench 3x6 225lbs
Bicep Curls 1x10 40lbs (idk)
Sumo Deadlift 225x5, 275x5, 315x5, 365x3, 415x1, 435x1, 465x1 (PR), 475x1 (PR)
1 min side plank, bird dog holds

Notes
Yup. Not the OHP day I wanted, but a 20lb deadlift phantom PR? I can work with that. I felt stronger than I’ve ever felt, so evidently the McGill big 3 has worked pretty well for me! This PR gives me confidence that I haven’t felt in months, since March when I squatted a 10lb PR and benched a 15lb PR in the same night after spending the day watching Hafthor Bjornsson and Brian Shaw compete in Columbus, Ohio. Man, that was a good day.

I’m rejuvenated. It’s fucking on. I’m hitting my goals for this year, fuck it.

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Hey Lava
That was awesome man congrats

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1 August 2018 - Squats Bodyweight: 216lbs
Back Squat 265x5, 290x5, 315x11 (5+), 335x5, 355x3
Good Mornings 195x10, 215x10, 235x5 (ouch)
Side Planks and bird-dogs to feel the burn, several rounds

Not exactly the squat day I was looking for but I’m done making excuses. I need to be better.

4 August 2018 - Bench Bodyweight: 213lbs
Felt great, so I decided to do an impromptu max. Turned out about how the pessimist in me expected it to.

Bench 45x10, 135x5, 185x5, 225x3, 245x2, 265x1, 285x1, 295x1, 305x1, 315x0
OHP 3x6 140lbs
supersetted with
DB Floor Press 80x10, 80x10, 85x8, 85x5

DB Bicep Curls 3x20 30lbs
supersetted with
Cable Tricep Extensions 1x30 42.5lbs, 1x25 50lbs, 1x20 50lbs

Notes
Both those sessions were the opposite of what I hoped for. 315x15 squats did not happen and neither did 315x1-2 for bench.

This summer has grinded me down, I can’t seem to do anything right anymore. I benched 315 in March and haven’t been able to get back there since. Working more than one job fucking sucks. I’m way too much into my own head with so many things going on in my life right now, and I’m spread so thin that I’m not able to put enough effort into things that matter the most to me anymore, like family and the gym, mainly. Being with the boys is always refreshing, but that’s rare since we all work 40+ hours a week. I feel like I’m stuck on a fucking hamster wheel right now. Just doing the same shit all day every day. The monotony is slowly killing me. I’m having a quarter-life crisis right now. My whole life is more dynamic and stressful than it’s ever been, and I’m forced to adapt to everything that’s going on whether I want to or not (I don’t).

Training has always been something I’ve loved and enjoyed and taken immense pride in. It’s time to get that back.

Now that the bitching is over, here’s the plan of action. I feel like I’m backed into a corner in most aspects of my life, but there are people who are doing better than me who have to thrive in tougher circumstances, so it’s time to nut up. I’m tired of having a little belly, but I also want to get stronger. I’ve been on a mini-cut for about 5 days now and so far it’s going fine and I plan to continue it until school starts. I’m cutting carbs big time, which works for me pretty well. It’s a mix of IMF and low carb, not because I believe either of those strategies have magical effects, but because they’re easy for me personally to incorporate into my life. I’m still getting about 200g of protein every day and training 4x/week with carbs mainly just before my workout. Seems to be working just fine.

I will be starting to deadlift after my squats and vice-versa. The plan is to continue my 4 day split, 2 upper 2 lower. I need to find my squat and OHP maxes still, because this is the new plan since I think I’ve outgrown 5/3/1 (sadly… I’ll try it again at some point, but for whatever reason it doesn’t feel the way it used to at this point in time):

RUSSIAN CYCLES!!

Yeah, we’re back to that. It did some good things for my bench until I got too aggressive with increasing the percentages, same with my front squats and deadlifts. So far, I’ve got a 475lb deadlift and 305lb bench under my belt. I expect my squat to top out anywhere from 395lbs to 425lbs, and my OHP should be 175lbs to 195lbs (it really just depends on whether or not I harvested any newbie gains from finally OHPing consistently).

So a normal week would look like this:
Sunday: Squat (315lbs to 335lbs) 6x3,4,5,6 + Deadlift (380lbs) 6x2
Monday: Active Rest (walking/core/stretching)
Tuesday: Bench (245lbs) 6x3,4,5,6 + OHP (~160lbs) 6x2
Wednesday: Active Rest (walking/core/stretching)
Thursday: Deadlift (380lbs) 6x3,4,5,6 + Squat (315lbs to 335lbs) 6x2
*Friday: OHP (~160lbs) 6x3,4,5,6 + Bench (245lbs) 6x2
*Saturday: Rest/Work

*Interchangeable days. I’ll be working one of these days anywhere from 7 to 11 hours, so no lift unless it’s the only way to get a 4th session in.

5x5: 83.5% instead of 85%
4x4: 87% 90%
3x3: 91% 95%
2x2: 94% 100%
1x1: 100%+

I’ve typed way too much and I doubt anyone is reading this, but I love to plan these things out. I’d like to have some reps in reserve after working up in intensity which is why I’m cutting it a good amount lower than last time/the prescribed reps. I don’t want to go through another SI joint injury-type fiasco, OR run myself into the ground in the weeks leading up to a new max.

Deadlift: 6x6 380lbs, 5x5 395lbs, 4x4 415lbs, 3x3 430lbs, 2x2 445lbs
Bench: 6x6 245lbs, 5x5 255lbs, 4x4 265lbs, 3x3 275-280lbs, 2x2 285-290lbs
OHP: 6x6 155lbs, 5x5 165lbs, 4x4 170lbs, 3x3 175-180lbs, 2x2 185lbs
Squat 6x6 ~325lbs, 5x5 340lbs, 4x4 350-355lbs, 3x3 370lbs, 2x2 380lbs

In total, this whole cycle should take me through a good amount of first semester.
Week 1: 6x2 (80%) + 6x3
Week 2: 6x2 + 6x4
Week 3: 6x2 + 6x5
Week 4: 6x2 + 6x6
Week 5: 5x2 + 5x5 (83.5%)
Week 6: 4x2 + 4x4 (87%)
Week 7: 3x2 + 3x3 (91%)
Week 8: 2x2 + 2x2 (94%)
Week 9: 2x2 + New Max (Sometime in the first half of October)

Looks like I might be able to fit in 2 cycles of this before 2019 if I start later this week. I might not max out after this cycle and just end it after Week 8, then start the next cycle after a week off with 10-15lbs more on upper body lifts and 20-30lbs more on lower body lifts. We’ll see. This is literally the simplest program ever, and you can design it however you want. I’m making tweaks that I think will help me.

Sorry again for the insanely long post. It’s been a frustrating week and summer in general so far and I’ve always got a lot to say about it. Keep grinding boys

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You thought wrong

No assistance work?

You can do this man

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If I give you my numbers can you set me up to do this too?

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@losthog Absolutely bro. Just let me know. I think it’ll be a nice change of pace for you after Dark Horse with all that conditioning and stuff. Having pre-determined sets and reps at x amount of weight makes me feel a lot better about going into the gym. I think the pressure of trying to set a PR every single workout drained me a little bit these last few weeks.

@duketheslaya thanks duke. Even just 6 hours later I’m realizing that I was being a little dramatic… yeah, 2 jobs sucks, I do the same thing every day, but that’s where I need to be at this point in my life. I need to be doing the things that I’m doing to make my future as enjoyable as possible.

And as for the assistance work, that’s a good catch. I didn’t really think about it since I usually just wing it. I’ll probably just do some easy stuff to get the blood moving. Maybe leg press & good mornings on S/D days and floor press & tricep work on B/OHP days. Arms when I feel like it. Something like that. I might throw some bodyweight circuits in too to spice things up, idk yet. I think the important thing is that I focus on the main lifts and make sure I have quality sessions every time. I haven’t been lifting long enough yet to be able to discern how much assistance & which assistance exercises work best for me.

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Yeah man. you’re doing the right thing for your future

Assistance work is important!

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