60 Seconds rest, 4-5 sets, 8-10 reps
Friday Night
Deadlift
405x8
365x8
315x8
Bench
225x8
185x8
135x8
Notes
Best I could do given my time/life constraints. I'm typing this post from a hotel in Cleveland. Week 3 sucked. I couldn't really follow the program at all. It is what it is. Not a lot of volume on Friday night, but with 60 seconds rest, the deadlifts were very challenging. It felt like I was sprinting for 5 minutes straight.
I'll have to check the BIG BEYOND BELIEF (haha) ebook, but next week I go into lower reps. 8-10 reps the first half of the week, and 5-8 the second half of the week. The biggest change, however, is that the rest periods move to 3 minutes for all 3 weeks. I'm honestly looking forward to actually lifting. I do see value in the low rest periods for a lot of people, but I came into this program fresh off a conditioning phase. I didn't really need super low rest periods to get into lifting shape. Also, I can officially say now, high rep deadlifts with low rest periods is fucking awful and stupid. Again, I'm looking forward to actually lifting next week. Hopefully "life" won't get in the way too much, but I have a move, etc that might impact my routine.
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Hypertophy Phase - Week 3, Day 13
60 seconds rest, 5 sets, 13-15 reps
Bench
235x14
225x8
185x10
135x15
135x13
Curl
65x20
65x15
65x14
65x13
65x21
Band Pull-Aparts
40
20
20
21
Notes
Skipped the gym last night because I had to go look at new apartments. I have a wedding this week so everything is going to be compressed into the next 3 days. As such I'm dropping a lot of accessory work and I'm not going to worry about the weights I use for anything. Just use the big lifts to get a decent workout in.
As I was walking home tonight, I reflected on the fact that I have literally come full circle and now believe that the bench/curl workout is fucking awesome. But it is only awesome if you actually work hard and blast everything. Jim Wendler has often talked about how you should only really expect to do 1-2 lifts really well every workout. I think it drops down to one when you've been working out 6 days a week. Either way, bench/curl is fucking awesome for the following reasons.
First, your upper body gets pumped to shit and you look and feel fucking awesome. High rep bench + high rep curls = teh pump is teh cumming. Second, it makes sense from a strength perspective. We all know the antagonist, push/pull type approach is great for strength workouts. In this case, you get to really hit your big lift hard for the day, but you still have enough juice left to hit the curls as hard as you can. Curls aren't like rows or chins or other heavy compounds that are easily impacted from shit like heavy bench. Though bench is an antagonist to the row, we are still talking about fucking strength training. If you are doing it right, you are using your whole body. Benching heavy effects my row. Not so with the curl. Which brings me to my third and final point. Heavy barbell curls are probably most "legit" isolation exercise I can think of. They really aren't akin to shit like triceps pushdowns. You can go fucking heavy in curls and use body momentum to heave that shit up. That is how brutally strong guys power curl with barbells. They don't sit there and squeeze their biceps constantly while getting buttfucked by their partner. Brutally strong guys go hard and heavy in the barbell curl and treat it like a fucking lift.
When I think of heavy barbell curls, I think of my old training partner, Chris Moore. Chris could bang out 135x10 on the curl at will. Was he strick? Not even fucking close. Are his arms huge? I'd liken them to that of a silver back gorilla. I would never, ever consider arm wrestling him because I have no doubt he would tear my shoulder out of its socket with little effort. Point is, I'm really going to go hard and heavy in the barbell curl. I think thats the way its supposed to be done.
Edit: One final comment. I think super high rep pull-aparts or facepulls make this workout perfectly balanced. One heavy compound. One heavy isolation. One super high rep blood pumping/shoulder balancing isolation.
Bench
235x14
225x8
185x10
135x15
135x13
Curl
65x20
65x15
65x14
65x13
65x21
Band Pull-Aparts
40
20
20
21
Notes
Skipped the gym last night because I had to go look at new apartments. I have a wedding this week so everything is going to be compressed into the next 3 days. As such I'm dropping a lot of accessory work and I'm not going to worry about the weights I use for anything. Just use the big lifts to get a decent workout in.
As I was walking home tonight, I reflected on the fact that I have literally come full circle and now believe that the bench/curl workout is fucking awesome. But it is only awesome if you actually work hard and blast everything. Jim Wendler has often talked about how you should only really expect to do 1-2 lifts really well every workout. I think it drops down to one when you've been working out 6 days a week. Either way, bench/curl is fucking awesome for the following reasons.
First, your upper body gets pumped to shit and you look and feel fucking awesome. High rep bench + high rep curls = teh pump is teh cumming. Second, it makes sense from a strength perspective. We all know the antagonist, push/pull type approach is great for strength workouts. In this case, you get to really hit your big lift hard for the day, but you still have enough juice left to hit the curls as hard as you can. Curls aren't like rows or chins or other heavy compounds that are easily impacted from shit like heavy bench. Though bench is an antagonist to the row, we are still talking about fucking strength training. If you are doing it right, you are using your whole body. Benching heavy effects my row. Not so with the curl. Which brings me to my third and final point. Heavy barbell curls are probably most "legit" isolation exercise I can think of. They really aren't akin to shit like triceps pushdowns. You can go fucking heavy in curls and use body momentum to heave that shit up. That is how brutally strong guys power curl with barbells. They don't sit there and squeeze their biceps constantly while getting buttfucked by their partner. Brutally strong guys go hard and heavy in the barbell curl and treat it like a fucking lift.
When I think of heavy barbell curls, I think of my old training partner, Chris Moore. Chris could bang out 135x10 on the curl at will. Was he strick? Not even fucking close. Are his arms huge? I'd liken them to that of a silver back gorilla. I would never, ever consider arm wrestling him because I have no doubt he would tear my shoulder out of its socket with little effort. Point is, I'm really going to go hard and heavy in the barbell curl. I think thats the way its supposed to be done.
Edit: One final comment. I think super high rep pull-aparts or facepulls make this workout perfectly balanced. One heavy compound. One heavy isolation. One super high rep blood pumping/shoulder balancing isolation.
Monday, August 27, 2012
Hypertrophy Phase - Week 3, Day 12
60 seconds rest, 5 sets, 13-15 reps
Deadlifts
335x12
225x12
225x10
225x10
225x10
Notes
I was unable to perform the workout as prescribed tonight. Just didn't have it in me. The next 10 days includes: finishing my current job, starting a new job, moving across town, driving to wedding 8 hours away. I'm trying to balance a ton of shit right now. Deadlifts at 9pm tonight, running on a 500 calorie noon lunch kinda sucked.
Anyways, over the next 5 days I'm going to try to get as much volume in as possible. I'll probably drop most of the assistance work, and use the main lifts to keep the fatigue piled on going into next week. That is all I'm doing right now - purposefully overreaching. With pussy ass weights haha.
I need to remember what I'm doing here. Hypertophy.
Deadlifts
335x12
225x12
225x10
225x10
225x10
Notes
I was unable to perform the workout as prescribed tonight. Just didn't have it in me. The next 10 days includes: finishing my current job, starting a new job, moving across town, driving to wedding 8 hours away. I'm trying to balance a ton of shit right now. Deadlifts at 9pm tonight, running on a 500 calorie noon lunch kinda sucked.
Anyways, over the next 5 days I'm going to try to get as much volume in as possible. I'll probably drop most of the assistance work, and use the main lifts to keep the fatigue piled on going into next week. That is all I'm doing right now - purposefully overreaching. With pussy ass weights haha.
I need to remember what I'm doing here. Hypertophy.
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Hypertrophy Phase - Week 2, Day 11
90 seconds rest, 4 sets, 8-10 reps
Bench
245x10
225x8
225x8
185x8
Cable Row
150x8
150x8
150x8
150x8
Seated DB Press
70x8
65x8
55x8
BB Curl
95x15 (pr)
Notes
Day 6 of week 2. Felt a little beat-up and non-motivated this afternoon. The fatigue I'm feeling right now is mostly muscular. Just a dull feeling. Its harder to get tight and to feel "poppy" on the bench.
Today the objective was to get a solid bench session in. I subb'd cable rows for bent rows because I had no desire to pound my entire back yet again today.
BB curl was a mini highlight. To put things in perspective, I would have been very hard pressed to get more than 7-8 reps with 95 pounds before starting this program (yes pathetic). I've always wanted to work up to the point where I'm curling 135 on the straight bar for reps. That just looks fucking awesome. I never put the time/effort into curling, but I'm going to do it now.
Bench
245x10
225x8
225x8
185x8
Cable Row
150x8
150x8
150x8
150x8
Seated DB Press
70x8
65x8
55x8
BB Curl
95x15 (pr)
Notes
Day 6 of week 2. Felt a little beat-up and non-motivated this afternoon. The fatigue I'm feeling right now is mostly muscular. Just a dull feeling. Its harder to get tight and to feel "poppy" on the bench.
Today the objective was to get a solid bench session in. I subb'd cable rows for bent rows because I had no desire to pound my entire back yet again today.
BB curl was a mini highlight. To put things in perspective, I would have been very hard pressed to get more than 7-8 reps with 95 pounds before starting this program (yes pathetic). I've always wanted to work up to the point where I'm curling 135 on the straight bar for reps. That just looks fucking awesome. I never put the time/effort into curling, but I'm going to do it now.
Friday, August 24, 2012
Hypertrophy Phase - Week 2, Day 10
90 seconds rest, 4 sets, 8-10 reps
Deadlift
365x8
315x8
315x8
315x8
Leg Press
360x8
360x8
360x8
360x8
Split Squat
BWx8/8
BWx8/8
BWx8/8
Calves
5-6 sets of very high reps
Steep decline Abs
35x8
35x8
Band Pull Aparts
30
30
30
Notes
I was very close to calling it after deadlifts. The short rest periods are really killing me with deads right now. My upper back is constantly sore. A lot of my body is constantly sore. The key to this program is not giving a fuck if you are sore. High volume with increasingly heavy weights and shortened rest periods is going to leave you sore. You can't worry about the bar weight, or if this or that isn't fully recovered. You are never fully recovered on a routine anyways. If you are, it is doubtful you are consistently getting stronger.
It is worth mentioning, as this is a muscle building routine, that I am visibly building muscle already. I'm definitely getting bigger. Diet is decently clean. I'm getting plenty of protein. The only thing I need to improve on is wine. I'm in a wine drinking phase... about a bottle a night haha. I'll cut it out this weekend, but I just like wine. I like to drink 4 glasses over a 3-4 hour period. Its so fucking enjoyable as I read strength blogs, books, etc. Anyways, I believe this 6 day a week routine is winning the war against the wine, because I'm definitely leaning out.
Tonight, pasty as hell, after legs.
Deadlift
365x8
315x8
315x8
315x8
Leg Press
360x8
360x8
360x8
360x8
Split Squat
BWx8/8
BWx8/8
BWx8/8
Calves
5-6 sets of very high reps
Steep decline Abs
35x8
35x8
Band Pull Aparts
30
30
30
Notes
I was very close to calling it after deadlifts. The short rest periods are really killing me with deads right now. My upper back is constantly sore. A lot of my body is constantly sore. The key to this program is not giving a fuck if you are sore. High volume with increasingly heavy weights and shortened rest periods is going to leave you sore. You can't worry about the bar weight, or if this or that isn't fully recovered. You are never fully recovered on a routine anyways. If you are, it is doubtful you are consistently getting stronger.
It is worth mentioning, as this is a muscle building routine, that I am visibly building muscle already. I'm definitely getting bigger. Diet is decently clean. I'm getting plenty of protein. The only thing I need to improve on is wine. I'm in a wine drinking phase... about a bottle a night haha. I'll cut it out this weekend, but I just like wine. I like to drink 4 glasses over a 3-4 hour period. Its so fucking enjoyable as I read strength blogs, books, etc. Anyways, I believe this 6 day a week routine is winning the war against the wine, because I'm definitely leaning out.
Tonight, pasty as hell, after legs.
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Hypertrophy Phase - Week 2, Day 9
Chins
5; 5; 5; 5
Supersetted w/
Pushups
22; 22; 22; 22
Suspended Row
6; 6; 6; 6
Supersetted w/
Dips
9; 9; 9; 9
Band Pull Aparts
25; 25; 25
Poundstone Curls
Bar x 70 (PR)
Notes
Really flat tonight. My whole body feels fatigued. I'm not really sore anymore, I just don't have tons of pop since everything is getting hit every 48 hours.
No idea where the poundstone curls PR came from. This is my 4th session with barbell curls in about 10 days. Its too early to tell, but I have a feeling all of the barbell movements are going to improve very rapidly.
Also felt good to get 88 total pushups. Next week I'll hit 100, which is decent for a workout. On another note, I don't know why my body hates doing more than 5 reps of chins. I can add lots of weight and do 5 reps. Or just do bodyweight and anything over 5 reps feels hard. I do them super explosively from a deadhang and basically slam my chest into the bar. I dunno maybe I need to tone it down a little.
5; 5; 5; 5
Supersetted w/
Pushups
22; 22; 22; 22
Suspended Row
6; 6; 6; 6
Supersetted w/
Dips
9; 9; 9; 9
Band Pull Aparts
25; 25; 25
Poundstone Curls
Bar x 70 (PR)
Notes
Really flat tonight. My whole body feels fatigued. I'm not really sore anymore, I just don't have tons of pop since everything is getting hit every 48 hours.
No idea where the poundstone curls PR came from. This is my 4th session with barbell curls in about 10 days. Its too early to tell, but I have a feeling all of the barbell movements are going to improve very rapidly.
Also felt good to get 88 total pushups. Next week I'll hit 100, which is decent for a workout. On another note, I don't know why my body hates doing more than 5 reps of chins. I can add lots of weight and do 5 reps. Or just do bodyweight and anything over 5 reps feels hard. I do them super explosively from a deadhang and basically slam my chest into the bar. I dunno maybe I need to tone it down a little.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Hypertrophy Phase - Week 2, Day 8
Double KB Clean
60/60 x 10
60/60 x 10
60/60 x 10
60/60 x 10
Waiter Walk
70 x 60 yds
70 x 60 yds
70 x 30 yds
70 x 30 yds
70 x 30 yds
70 x 30 yds
Band Pull-Aparts
70 rep series
Calves
90x10
90x10
70x10
70x10
Supersetted w/
Tibialis Anterior raises
4 sets
Notes
Mid-week light day.
I really really like the band pull apart series. It feels great. The behind the neck movement is particularly awesome.
60/60 x 10
60/60 x 10
60/60 x 10
60/60 x 10
Waiter Walk
70 x 60 yds
70 x 60 yds
70 x 30 yds
70 x 30 yds
70 x 30 yds
70 x 30 yds
Band Pull-Aparts
70 rep series
Calves
90x10
90x10
70x10
70x10
Supersetted w/
Tibialis Anterior raises
4 sets
Notes
Mid-week light day.
I really really like the band pull apart series. It feels great. The behind the neck movement is particularly awesome.
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