Hey man congrats on the PR’s.
They looked awesome, easy and in the groove.
Are you doing a 3 day a week with no OHP ?
Looks like a good program here.
I’m planning on doing your russian cycle after summer and your BBB approach looks kind of cool. Especially that Assistance after assistance stuff.
Thanks man!! And if your boy keeps training with you he’ll be able to lift weights heavier than I am when he’s 20. How old is he right now?
Thanks mort 
They felt a lot easier than I had anticipated. Probably the adrenaline, it’s been years since I’ve felt that kind of rush from an athletic event because I haven’t competed in anything since the end of my senior year. The OHP is something I hadn’t thought of, so thank you!! I’ll edit my original post and include a DB OHP 1xAMRAP in my “assistance to the assistance.” Good catch!!!
I plan on doing 3-5 days/week depending on my work schedule and how well I’m recovering. I plan on making diet a priority this summer as well; with no homework, I’m going to need something to do at night. Might as well cook and eat! We might end up doing the Russian cycle at the same time too lol. I haven’t decided if I’m going to go from hypertrophy to OG 5/3/1 or hypertrophy to a Russian cycle. I have plenty of time to figure it out, but I think either choice is a good one.
The assistance to the assistance is an idea I stole from JW’s original BBB article on tnation. He says that it should be very easy and minimally taxing, which is where I’m kinda making this program my own. I’m borrowing some of the principles (starting light with the assistance and working up over several cycles for example) but my goal is to address my own weaknesses, not necessarily follow the original program. He suggests doing 5/3/1 bench + 5x10 at 50%, then doing some really light, easy arm and ab work. It’s not a bad plan, but everyone is different. I have different weaknesses than you do, and you have different weaknesses than losthog does. So if we all had to pick a few assistance exercises, we’d probably choose a variety of them. But like I said, if what I have written doesn’t work out, I’ll revert back to basic BBB and run it for a few cycles. No pressure on me with this program, it’s just an experiment
Glad I could help… To be honest I meant that OG 5/3/1 had you doing 4 days a week with the BB OHP as one of the main lifts
I like your plan man. And them russian cycles are very intriguing, I want to do them NOW.
OHP for shoulder health
exactly. I don’t enjoy them, but they’re healthy so I gotta keep them in
23 April 2018 - Deadlifts Bodyweight 217.8lbs
Barbell Bench 295x1
Deadlift 4x4 415lbs
Band Walk + Hip Thrust superset: BW: 3x 25 yards + 3x10 135lbs
Overhead Pause Squat 60kg x 5, 70kg x 5
BTN Snatch Press 80kg x 5, 60kg x 10, 100kg x 1
Back Squat 315x4, 315x1
Front Squat 2x5 225
Notes
Today was supposed to be a bench day. I was supposed to have 3x3 at 295. I got one rep on my first set and said fuck that. I got way too greedy with the progression of my bench and now I’m paying the price. I didn’t feel like I could’ve done 5x5 at 255 today so I’m pretty sure my bench is just fucked now. I don’t know if I want to start over at my 5x5 with 265, then go 4x4 275, 3x3 285, 2x2 295, and then work up to a new max, or if I should just scrap everything and start my hypertrophy block tomorrow. Fuck.
My saving grace today was my deadlifts. I killed 4x4 at 415 (5lbs higher than I had originally planned… hehe) and I’m thrilled. Things are looking really good now, and I’m allowed to say that, because if the 4x4 is easy, everything is downhill from here. In a good way, lol.
I worked on some snatch mobility and overhead strength today. My goal is to snatch 100kg sometime within the next month or so, since I smacked 92kg with no issues. It was essentially a power snatch, so if I can gain a little more mobility and overhead snatch grip strength, I’ll have no issue pulling 100kg high enough to drop under and and stand up with it.
I’m debating whether or not I need to do any deadlift hypertrophy. I suppose it wouldn’t hurt, but how much do I REALLY need it??? I guess it wouldn’t be a bad idea to do hypertrophy stuff for the big muscles that are involved with deadlifting, but come on… not going above 405 for a few months would be very hard on my ego (jokes). I’ll stick to the plan, but I’m definitely going to have to throw in a few joker sets every week or two for deads.
Let me know what you guys think I should do about my bench. I’m freaking out right now because I thought 6x6 255lbs was a great workout, but I haven’t gotten my prescribed sets and reps since my 5x5 like 2-3 weeks ago.
Tomorrow is a rest day, and Wednesday will be whatever you guys think I should do for bench. Thursday may just be snatch work, and then Friday will be my 3x3 deadlifts at 435. Maybe 440 or 445. I’ll do my first set with 435 and then see how it feels… I don’t want to get too greedy, because I’ve learned my lesson from benching, but still! Deadlifts are going so well, it’d be a shame to not max out my potential this cycle. I can’t imagine myself not being able to pull 445 for a triple, but ya never know. I might fuck up. Better play it safe 
Dial bench back so you hit 2x2 295 next bench 4x2 80% keep the program for DL Don’t get greedy.
Hypertrophy for involved muscles every other week alternete with a heavy dl session
You think I should reset to 4x2 at 80%, then go 5x5 at 80% + 10lbs? Then 4x4 80% + 20lbs, 3x3 80% + 30lbs, etc? the way I did it before was going up by 15lbs each time which is why I missed more reps every time I think. A 2x2 at 295 would still be an improvement from where I was at before this program.
Definitely on board with this. It’s working great for deadlifts and I’ll just do the weight that I decided on at the beginning of the program based on percentages.
Every other week I should probably do 5x3 at 87-88% just to stay sharp. I believe that’d be around 420-425lbs which is very doable. Thanks a lot mort
I am on the phone these days. And I hate writing on that.
But session 1 80% 2 reps x 4 sets
Session 2 4x4 275
Session 3 80% 2x4
Session 4 3x3 285
Session 5 80 % 2x3
Session 6 2x2 295
Session 7 80 % 2x2
Session 8 1x 305 + 1x315 if you can. New pr day
So every week one light and one heavy day
25 April 2018 - Bench
Pause Bench 3x2 255lbs
DB Bench 3x10 90lbs
Straight Arm Snatch Pulls 80kg x 5, 85kg x 5, 90kg x 5
DB Floor Press 1x15 65lbs, 1x10 80lbs, 1x5 90lbs
Conditioning (Yeah… I need to start doing this now)
~25 shot put throws, mostly gliding. Only 5 were rotational (I don’t really know how to spin for shot). Took about 35 minutes between doing imitations, another warm up, and retrieving my own shots.
Notes
In and out type of workout today. I miss these workouts. Everything felt pretty good except the barbell bench, not sure why. I just need to reset and get out of my own head. My theory is that I stopped going hard on the DB bench and after a week or two, my barbell bench started to slip a little bit. That’s why I did a lil 3x10 today. Next bench day will either be Friday or Monday, depending on my recovery.
Since I’m trying to snatch 100kg within the next month, I’m going to be doing some sort of snatch work 4-5 days each week. Today’s focus was coming off the floor with power which isn’t really a problem when I’m working with 180-200lbs like I did today, even though it’s tougher with a snatch grip.
If my barbell bench is getting weaker, my DB bench is getting stronger. I have no idea how or why, but I’ll take it. 90lbs for 3x10 was kind of a breeze today, so… that’ll be a staple now.
The DB floor press was just something I did because I felt like leaving the gym after snatch work on a BENCH day would be sacrilege. Smacked a pyramid for that and called it a day. No triceps today, I’ll do those tomorrow. I wanted to make sure I had some energy for throwing. My form was about what I expected; not bad, but nowhere even close to how good I was at the end of my senior year. The only difference is that now I can muscle a 16lb shot farther than I could put it with good form 2 years ago. I plan on continuing to throw throughout the summer as well as do olympic lifting on my active rest days; I would like to compete in some open meets this summer and next summer for shot, and possibly an olympic weightlifting meet sometime in the fall or winter. Hopefully by then I’ll be able to clean and jerk around 150kg and snatch 110-120kg and stand a chance at getting a medal. We’ll see. Gonna have to keep front squats in the rotation for that to happen…
I’ve gone for a 2 mile bike ride twice this week. Sunday and Tuesday. I don’t think it’s helped or hurt my recovery, but both times I’ve gotten a solid quad pump and been out of breath (I ride as fast as possible… like a young Ricky Bobby). I’ll probably try to either walk or bike a few miles each week and get in 2-3 throwing sessions each week. Maybe both on a day off from lifting. I’m trying to fully embrace the powerlifter conditioning mindset. Quick, powerful movements and some steady state cardio. I also cooked up about 5lbs of chicken last night, so my recovery will be better than normal for the next 5-7 days. All that brotein.
Tomorrow is probably going to be a deadlift day. I’ll see how I feel physically, but mentally I am fully prepared and very excited. Deads have been going great lately, and I realized today that 435 is 2x my bodyweight on an average day. Which means I could be deadlift 2x bodyweight for 3x3… I never thought I’d be able to deadlift 2x bodyweight at all, let alone for a few reps. Wow. THIS IS WHY I LOVE THE SPORT!!
Hang in there man. Emotional stress (finals, transition from school) takes a toll on lifting. Lately you have been busy and that here and there going going going may be catching up to training.
Keep grinding man…
Thanks boss. I’m looking forward to the summer. No girls to worry about, no homework to do… just work at 2 jobs that I don’t mind too much and lift weights. Not a bad set up. Couldn’t come any quicker though let me tell ya hahaha
26 April 2018 - Clean & Squat
Hang Clean & Jerk 80kg x 1, 90kg x 2, 100kg x 1, 105kg x 1, 110kg x 3 (PR!)
Paused Front Squats 135x5, 185x5, 225x3, 245x3, 2x1 265
Seated DB Shoulder Press 3x8 65lbs
Conditioning
None
Notes
Kind of an off day today. I did what I could but I wasn’t able to do anything too extraordinary; I did set a 10kg/22lb PR for hang cleans, but I think I had that much in the tank last time I did hang cleans. I just didn’t chase a PR last time. I tried power jerking instead of split jerking, and it worked up to about 90kg. My split jerk has gotten infinitely better over the last 2 months, so I’ll stick with that. I was pleasantly surprised with how well 125kg (the last video I posted) went up with my split jerk. Power Jerks are basically a push press combined with an overhead squat and it takes a very strong, quick person to master it.
The paused front squats were toughhhhh. 245 felt a lot easier than I expected it to which led me to believe that 265 would feel easier than I expected it to, but it didn’t. It was heavy as hell. I did some DB OHP to gauge where I should be aiming for when I start my hypertrophy stuff. I’m thinking 50-55lb DBs to begin with, and as I get used to it I might increase 5lbs every cycle. Maybe every other cycle. So by the end I’ll be around 65-70lb DBs for 1xAMRAP at the end of most workouts.
Overall, rough day today in the gym. Low energy because my diet was spotty today as was my hydration. I was going to do a 3x2 deadlift session but my back wasn’t up for me picking things up off the floor today. Tomorrow will probably be a bench + deadlift day with some snatch work. 5x5 bench, 3x2 deads, and some hang snatch. I’m looking forward to it and I’m glad this week is almost over. God bless y’all, let’s get it this weekend
27 April 2018 - Deadlift & Bench - Bodyweight: 214lbs
Deadlift 3x3 435lbs
Barbell Bench 185x5, 215x5, 235x5, 5x10 165lbs
DB Incline Bench 3x15 40lbs (lol)
Standing One Arm Machine Rows 2x10 2 plates, 2x10 2 plates + 25lb plates, 2x10 3 plates
Tricep Extensions 3x10 42.5lbs
Notes
Started my BBB for bench today. I can’t handle trying to bench heavy anymore. The 5x10 was appropriately tough because I’m not used to that kind of volume. The DB incline bench was the perfect weight for today. I’ll probably go up to 45s or 50s soon. My triceps got enough work from the hundred or so bench reps that I did so I didn’t have much energy left after that. I finally got the back work done that I’ve been meaning to do…now I just need to make it consistent.
Deadlifts felt pretty tough today. I was considering doing 3x2 at 365, but 365 felt super light… 435 did not. I’ll do a 3x2 365 on Monday and then go for my 2x2 on Wednesday or Thursday next week. I’m going to start my leg hypertrophy on Monday: 5/3/1 set plus 5x10 at 62.5% of my TM. Not a horrible workout, but also not the best. Hope you all have a great weekend!
Looks like a muscle builder and great strength builder man…well done!
Great workout mate. Lots of pressing and a great dl session too,
Might be a good decision not to dial back and restart the bench strength program.
But ride the DL out, it’s going great.
Maybe de a bit careful about leg hypertrophy when you’re on the final stages of the DL program. You might end suffering in the 1RM attempt on the DL
@losthog @mortdk thanks boys. I did realize today that increasing my squat volume right now may not be the best decision for my deadlifts, so that’s tough… I’ll need to really pay attention to how well I recover this week. I’m thinking 3x2 365 deadlifts tomorrow with some moderately high squat volume. I’ll see how it impacts my 2x2 deadlifts on Thursday and then plan my next week accordingly. I definitely won’t do any direct leg work in the 2-3 days leading up to my deadlift max. Probably some olympic stuff + 3x2 front squats 3 days out, some olympic stuff two days out, and take a rest day with some mobility and stretching the day before I max. I think I could’ve done 435x5 if it was an amrap set which puts me around 500… I’m cautiously optimistic for it. Would love to reach the 5 plate club in early May, especially since that was my goal for 2018… everything over 500 in the months afterwards would just be icing on the cake.
It’s two weeks mate, go maintenance mode on squat and bench just do a non taxing 5 repper followed by 2-3 backoff sets no crazy stuff. Don’t chase two birds.
Recover for the deadlift, I know it’s easy to put in writing. I’m a jerk myself to focus on one lift, but at the end of my Kroc dl program I shall try to do the same, dial squat back for two weeks. I’m a Wendler fanboy which means I can just do the prescribed reps on squat and still be doing the program.
In the end you’ll reach your goal this year.
You will still be short of 500 lbs by 5lbs with 5 plates 
Keep grinding man…almost there.
I’ve noticed since I hit 4 plates that the progress is slowing down of being able to add weight to the bar. I’m hoping it is just an adjustment period of the body catching up and settling into this being its new normal.
Thanks for stopping by my log. I always enjoy your input and perspective. For me I want to see a 3 plate squat before I get too concerned with anything else. I’ll keep pushing the 531 for now. Thinking about sheiko or canto this summer though as I’ll have more time and can get some quality volume work to really push those numbers. I’ve almost met my first goals for the year also…let’s go!
I didn’t check TN since you posted this and I ended up doing a leg hypertrophy day… session 1 of 18 lol. I’m going to deadlift my 2x2 on Thursday and see how it feels given that I did a lot of legs today. If I feel bad, I’ll dial back my squats to some maintenance stuff. Maybe 3x5 of 275 or 315. Something that isn’t easy, but that I can recover from.
I believe this with my entire being. I’m not too sure about bench, or squat at this point, but deadlift for sure. I believe that doing Olympic lifts for 4 years has made me fairly proficient at lifting things up off the floor, and now that I have a belt and straps, that makes two weak links into two strong points. Now the emphasis is on my legs and my back which (obviously) are capable of moving a lot of weight if they’re unhindered by any weak links.
This is true, but I’m skipping 5 plates and going to 500. I have no problem making a 25lb jump instead of a 20lb jump for the sake of hitting the nice round number of 500 haha!
This is where I’m at for bench. I smoked 315 back in March, and I don’t think I’ve made any real strength gains for bench since then. It’s a shame but that’s how it is. I need to get smarter with my programming and/or diet.
Of course man!! I love what you’re doing right now in the gym. You’re making an incredibly wise decision for your well-being by doing what you’re doing and I’m really glad I get to be a part of it! You’ll crush 3 plates in no time. At the rate you’re going, I’d say you could probably get in the 365lb neighborhood this year. I’ve also heard good things about Sheiko and Canto so you’ll be making a good choice regardless of which one you choose as far as I know.
All 3 of us are killing it!! I’m glad you guys are in on my log and I’m glad you have logs of your own so I can keep up. I’m happy I started a log… it’s a good way to stay on track and keep moving in the right direction