If there’s a time i’m not analyzing way more than I should, it’s probably during a time where the gym has taken a back seat in my life. If it’s low on my priority list then my fallback would probably just be short workouts, working up to a top set of 5 on the main movements and getting out of there.
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This is fair, as it’s your situation. Based on your own history, do you consider yourself in the middle of the curve or perhaps a couple deviations away?
I suppose I don’t know what curve you are referring. As to the curve of having a plan on how to train. It seems a level playing ground. I have always had a plan, sometimes weeks in advance.
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What did you do when situations would present that would disrupt that plan?
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The curve for how big a part of your life this is, which I think is responsible for how prepared you are?
What I’m saying is: I think bodybuilding was a high priority for you (obviously, as a competitor) AND I think you, personally, are a planner (if I remember right, you’re an engineer). These are obviously critical factors for your competitive success, so I’m not downplaying the importance. They’re also, however, not the norm for everyone (or, at least, not all the time for everyone).
Even in your case, again going off memory and paraphrasing, you certainly had “norms”. I think your tendency was to pick a couple indicator exercises and work up to progressively heavier sets of 10. I think that could loosely fit the “default” concept, which is, itself, a loose term.
If you are talking about injuries, and I had plenty of them. The plan changes to work around the injury.
What else could be a disruption that I would have a default plan?
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Often, my work will send me on trips that I was unaware of weeks beforehand. Sometimes, my kid or spouse will have an event I was unaware of, or they will become ill, or a family member will, unfortunately, become deceased outside of my anticipated training window and I will attend a mourning ritual.
I have a mantra of “chaos is the plan”, because I find having a rigid plan frequently fails when it meets life.
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Anyone else’s “default” end up being a shifting goalpost that changes based on what you want to do and what’s available? AKA ‘not having a set default’
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I look at bodybuilding as I would Six Sigma continuous process improvement. Every training plan was a Process Improvement Project. With every Six Sigma project it is critical to have a measurable metric. Likewise every training plan needs measureable metrics. This is not a default plan. It is the essence of every plan.
Okay
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Generally I default to the “big 4” split, ala 5/3/1, and include back work each day.
Lately, it’s been all about working around random boo-boos and ouchies.
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Either clean & jerks and standing shoulder press or deadlifts and barbell rows.
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I do what most people do, just hit some curls for that beach ready pump.
As someone who has had a plan for the last 6 years it was hard for me to remember what I did when I went “off plan”. Thinking back it was always either a bro split (chest and biceps, back and triceps, shoulders, abs and calves, and good old leg day).
or my other go to was a simple 1 hour of squats. Just sets of 10, repeated for 1 hour.
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A main strength move of one of the big barbell lifts, using 531 or similar progression.
Followed by a weight vest circuit of push ups, pull ups, and squats.
Followed by a few Airdyne sprints.
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First, this is hilarious because you were the first new post in exactly one month.
Those are really far ends of the spectrum!
Your baseline is a pretty solid template that covers your bases any time, anywhere!
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I am sure that says something about my personality but I have no idea what.
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It means you’re EXTREME
LOL yer Extreme to the MAX
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