Here goes nothin'

[Brackish]

Random Things

Updated 10/11/22 - Realized I never put any of the "nice to have information" in here. So, here's my A/S/L (for you old school internet ppl).

Age: 38
Sex: M
Weight (current): 158lbs weekly avg.
Height: 5' 9"

Training history - Ummm, 5/3/1 followed by my trip down the rabbit hole on the other site, and then onto Bigger, Leaner, Stronger. Then I hopped on the BBM bandwagon for a bit, but I didn't feel like I was making the progress I wanted to. Asked you guys a bunch of stuff, watched a bunch of stuff, and read a bunch of stuff, and now I just make up my own programming.

Start of the Log

Decided to give logging here a shot. I already keep everything in a notebook, but this will force me to go over my training week by week to make sure I'm not just dicking around in the gym.

I'm super limited on time since my boys started school. I've pretty much got to be in and out in an hour with zero exceptions. I wrote something up that would fit in that time slot without making me feel like I was completely wasting my time. First lift is the "main" lift for the day, and I have to superset the others in order to get everything done in time. Timed rests of 2:30 for the main lift and 2:00 between the supersets. Fridays are a grab bag since there are weeks where I may not be able to get all 5 days in. Trying to focus on upper body stuff those days, specifically trying to get my chest to do something with its life.

Long term plan would be to add either weight OR reps each week while keeping RPE similar. If not, then I'll try and match what I did the week prior. Trying really hard to stay away from the form creep I allowed to happen last year. Going to try running this for 8 weeks, and I'll reevaluate then.

Any and all input greatly appreciated!

Monday (9/27)

Bench 145x6x1, 150x5x2, 150x4x1
Bicep Curls 30x9x4
Tricep PD (Rope) 100x10x4
DB Row 45x10x4

Tuesday (9/28)

Squat 165x6x1, 170x6x1, 180x5x2
RDLs 105x10x4
SL Calf Raises BWx25x4

Wednesday (9/29)

Press 105x6x1, 110x5x4 (@9)
Easy Bar Bicep Curls 40x11x1, 40x10x3
OA Tricep Extension 40x12x4

Thursday (9/30)

Deadlift 235x3x5
Leg Curls 10x10x4
Leg Press Calf Raises 320x18x3, 320x20x1

Friday (10/1)

Inc DB Bench 30x12x1, 35x12x1, 40x10x2
Side Delt Raises 10x12x1, 15x10x1, 15x8x2
Cross Body Hammer Curls 25x10x4
Cable Tricep Kickbacks 30x10x4

[Renascent]

Decided to give logging here a shot.

Fuck yeah!

[MarkKO]

Nothing like a good log. I do the same, pen and paper and then a log here. It helps.

Running my eye over your setup, I like the time limit and supersets (I do a similar thing but more informally and for slightly different reasons).

Two suggestions would be to reduce the rest breaks to 1.5 minutes for the main lift and at most 1 minute for the assistance. That would get you through each session in well under an hour. That is most likely plenty and within a couple of weeks you'll start getting used to it. I know there is a lot of debate over what rests between sets are 'optimal' but my experience and what I've observed in others is that outside of a peak, you can get plenty good results with much shorter rest breaks than you think you need.

Second, more middle and upper back work. Unless I'm missing something you've got four sets of dumbbell rows and 12 sets of curls. Outside of what physique goals you may have, your shoulder health and pressing strength will benefit significantly from swapping out some of those curl sets for more middle and upper back work. You can pick back exercises that bias your biceps some if you like, something like reverse grip inverted rows which I've found reasonably effective or chinups. Facepulls are a very good too, either with cable or band. Or, you can incorporate upper back/rear deltoid work into every warmup which will cost you maybe two or three minutes and cover that base very effectively while leaving plenty of time for upper body pulling variations.

[Brackish]

Nothing like a good log. I do the same, pen and paper and then a log here. It helps.

Running my eye over your setup, I like the time limit and supersets (I do a similar thing but more informally and for slightly different reasons).

Two suggestions would be to reduce the rest breaks to 1.5 minutes for the main lift and at most 1 minute for the assistance. That would get you through each session in well under an hour. That is most likely plenty and within a couple of weeks you'll start getting used to it. I know there is a lot of debate over what rests between sets are 'optimal' but my experience and what I've observed in others is that outside of a peak, you can get plenty good results with much shorter rest breaks than you think you need.

Second, more middle and upper back work. Unless I'm missing something you've got four sets of dumbbell rows and 12 sets of curls. Outside of what physique goals you may have, your shoulder health and pressing strength will benefit significantly from swapping out some of those curl sets for more middle and upper back work. You can pick back exercises that bias your biceps some if you like, something like reverse grip inverted rows which I've found reasonably effective or chinups. Facepulls are a very good too, either with cable or band. Or, you can incorporate upper back/rear deltoid work into every warmup which will cost you maybe two or three minutes and cover that base very effectively while leaving plenty of time for upper body pulling variations.

Thanks for the input! I guess I could try swapping out one of the curl days for chin ups, but then I'm concerned I would have weeks (like this one) with only one day of direct bicep work (a total of 4 sets instead of the 8 I'm shooting for).

[mbasic]

IDK, I like having a duplicate log on the boards.

I keep all of my raw numbers/log on phone's calendar app ... I type in sets/rep/pounds/ "@rpe's" on my phone as I'm doing them, between exercises.

Its nice (and I think useful) to sit in front of a keyboard, and type out a 'stream of consciousness' thing later (say at least once a week) on how you felt and/or how things are going and what might need to change.

[MarkKO]

Nothing like a good log. I do the same, pen and paper and then a log here. It helps.

Running my eye over your setup, I like the time limit and supersets (I do a similar thing but more informally and for slightly different reasons).

Two suggestions would be to reduce the rest breaks to 1.5 minutes for the main lift and at most 1 minute for the assistance. That would get you through each session in well under an hour. That is most likely plenty and within a couple of weeks you'll start getting used to it. I know there is a lot of debate over what rests between sets are 'optimal' but my experience and what I've observed in others is that outside of a peak, you can get plenty good results with much shorter rest breaks than you think you need.

Second, more middle and upper back work. Unless I'm missing something you've got four sets of dumbbell rows and 12 sets of curls. Outside of what physique goals you may have, your shoulder health and pressing strength will benefit significantly from swapping out some of those curl sets for more middle and upper back work. You can pick back exercises that bias your biceps some if you like, something like reverse grip inverted rows which I've found reasonably effective or chinups. Facepulls are a very good too, either with cable or band. Or, you can incorporate upper back/rear deltoid work into every warmup which will cost you maybe two or three minutes and cover that base very effectively while leaving plenty of time for upper body pulling variations.

Thanks for the input! I guess I could try swapping out one of the curl days for chin ups, but then I'm concerned I would have weeks (like this one) with only one day of direct bicep work (a total of 4 sets instead of the 8 I'm shooting for).

That's entirely your choice. Chinups are a great choice though because you will get a reasonable amount of bicep work with them compared to something like barbell rows.

[Brackish]

Site was down for a while, and I'm too lazy to type out all the weeks in between. Getting back into it though and may go back and add in the "lost weeks" if I can find some time.

Kept on keepin' on with what I was doing prior to the blackout. Only thing of note that happened was some weird ass semi-heart attack (?) type thing that happened on 10/12/21 during a set of RDLs. Weird heart rhythm, cold sweat, almost blacked out. Made it to a bench and sat there for a bit. Started to sort itself out, so I finished the session. I knew if I didn't, I wouldn't be able to get myself to go back into the weight room again for a while. I need to go get my heart checked out, again, I guess. But every damn time they tell me I'm fine. They'll probably keep on telling me I'm fine until I finally drop dead from whatever weird ass thing I have going on.

Just going to post the most recent week and go from there. Been making some good progress with this set up though, so I've decided to extend it past the original 8 weeks. Especially with Thanksgiving/Christmas coming up since I will be "losing" access to my gym for almost 3 weeks between those two. No sense in starting something new.

Tuesday (11/2)

Bench 155x6x1, 160x4x4
Bicep Curls 30x12x3, 10x11x1
Tricep PD (Rope) 110x10x4
DB Row 45x12x4

Wednesday (11/3)

Squat 190x6x1, 1950x6x1, 200x5x2
RDLs 115x12x4
SL Calf Raises 25x20x4

Thursday (11/4)

Press 115x6x1, 120x5x1, 120x4x3 (@9.5)
Easy Bar Bicep Curls 40x12x1, 40x11x3
OA Tricep Extension 55x8x4
Barbell Row 95x12x4 (Added these in based on @MarkKO's suggestion I get more back work in. Going well.)

Friday (11/5)

Deadlift 205x4x5 (I fucking hate my deadlift now. Dropped weight way down to deal with my back rounding and still managed to pull my fucking hamstring pulling this little ass amount. I really, really don't get it. I can pull this, stand holding it for 30 secs, and then lower it at a 5 count without any issue. But pulling it for set of 4 fucked my hamstring up?! I'm about to try sumo...or quit deadlifting all together. I'm beyond frustrated with this lift.)
Leg Curls - None due to hamstring.
Leg Press Calf Raises 320x21x3, 320x20x1

See you folks next week for another installment in "How Low Can His Deadlift Go". Thanks for tuning in!

[MarkKO]

Happy to hear the back work is paying off.

With the deadlift, if you don't compete in strength sports there's no need to train it unless you really want to.

[Brackish]

Monday (11/8)

Bench 160x4x1 (@9.5), 155x5x2, 155x4x2
Bicep Curls 30x12x4
Tricep PD (Rope) 110x11x2, 110x10x2
DB Row 50x8x4

Tuesday (11/9)

Squat 200x5x5
RDLs 120x10x4
SL Calf Raises 25x22x4

Wednesday (11/10)

Press 120x5x5 (@9.5)
Easy Bar Bicep Curls 40x12x3, 40x11x1
OA Tricep Extension 55x10x4
Barbell Row 95x12x4 (Couldn't seem to add any reps without cheating.)

Friday (11/11)

Deadlift 205x5x5 (Still sucks. Still working on it. Reps felt like shit.)
Leg Curls - 30x11x3, 301x10x1
Leg Press Calf Raises 320x20x2, 320x22x2
Leg Press - 270x12x1, 290x10x3

Monday (11/15)

Bench 160x4x5 (This was stupid. But I'm annoyed with my bench, so I forced these reps.)
Bicep Curls 30x12x4
Tricep PD (Rope) 110x10x1, 110x11x3
DB Row 50x9x2, 50x8x2

Tuesday (11/16)

Squat 200x6x1, 205x5x4
RDLs 112x11x4
SL Calf Raises 25x23x2, 25x22x2

Wednesday (11/17)

Press 120x6x1, 125x4x4 (This was definitely an overreach, but see bench from this week. I'm seeing a pattern...)
Easy Bar Bicep Curls 40x12x4
OA Tricep Extension 55x11x1, 55x10x3
Barbell Row 95x12x4 (Still don't feel right.)

Thursday (11/18)

Deadlift 205x6x1, 215x5x4 (Still unhappy with the weight I'm moving but some of these reps felt "magical". Just seemed to move really easily without me thinking about each and every one like I have been.)
Leg Curls - 30x11x4
Leg Press Calf Raises - 320x22x4
Leg Press - 290x10x4

Friday (11/19)

Not sure what I'm going to do today yet. I know it's going to be chest focused because "chesticles". Also, I may have to take a deload soon and/or take a second look at my programming. My sleep has been weird lately (not great), in a pissy mood more often than not, and I'm constantly achy/tight. Part of it may be the result of me doing dumb shit in the gym (see bench and press recently) that stems from my inability to fully let go of the whole SS "add weight to the bar" mentality. Or I could just be trying to stuff too much volume, for me, in a 5 day week. I noticed that I haven't had these same issues/feelings on the weeks when I'm only able to lift 3/4 times in a 5 day period. Those weeks I have a day somewhere in there that's a non-lifting day, and I seem to do alright.

I have to say that I'm pretty happy with the progress I've seen so far running this "program" I made up once my lifting schedule changed (super limited time). My weights aren't blowing up, but I swear my legs/arms/etc. are visibly bigger than they were 10 weeks ago. However, I'm not sure if it's the programming itself or the fact that I quit drinking. I decided to do the sober October thing (I was drinking too much.) and just kind of kept it going once November came around. I'm not totally sober now, but we're halfway through November, and I can count the drinks I've had on one hand. So, is it the programming or was I drinking my gains away? Who knows. Either way, it's probably better to be drinking less.

*Just realized I fucked up the previous log post, but I'm unable to edit it at this point. For the record - I did NOT squat 1,950 for reps. Just in case someone thought I was casually setting WRs in the middle school weight room...

[MarkKO]

Could be a combination of factors

Try a deload, which is always a good idea every five or so weeks anyway. If a week or two after you still feel shitty, cut back to four days a week and see what happens.

[Brackish]

Could be a combination of factors

Try a deload, which is always a good idea every five or so weeks anyway. If a week or two after you still feel shitty, cut back to four days a week and see what happens.

Good timing. With the Thanksgiving break coming up and meetings this week, I'll only be able to get in the actual weight room 1 day. Might do a 1RM test just for fun. Got pretty close to pressing my body weight last time, and if I could pull that off, I would be pretty happy. Just need to make sure I don't fuck my back up for the 59th time trying to jerk my deadlift or die under the bar since I'll benching without a spotter. Rest of the week will probably just be bodyweight/band stuff at home. I don't want to take a whole week off completely, so I'll tell myself it's just a "pivot" week...

[MarkKO]

Could work, could mess you up.

Maybe a five or three rep max would be a better idea.

[Brackish]

RE: One rep max testing. Seemed like a bad idea, so I didn't do it.

Kept it "easier" this week since I basically did nothing for the week prior due to Thanksgiving.

Monday (11/29)

Paused Bench 135x6x3, 135x5x2
Bicep Curls 25x10x4
Tricep PD (Rope) 90x10x4
DB Row 50x8x4

Tuesday (11/30)

Squat 205x5x5
RDLs 112x12x4
SL Calf Raises 25x20x4
Leg Ext. 65x11x4

Thursday (12/2)

Press 115x5x4
Easy Bar Bicep Curls 30x10x4
OA Tricep Extension 45x10x4
Barbell Row 95x10x4

Friday (12/3)

Deadlift - Couldn't do it. I'm doing something wrong with RDLs or I've too much lower body volume programmed. Keep getting intense pain in inner thigh/hamstring 2 days after the day that includes RDLs.
Chin Ups BWx8x4
OL Leg Ext. 30x8x3, 30x10x1
Inc. Bench 95x8x4
OL Calf Raises 25x20x4

Going to adjust something with RDLs next week to see if I can alleviate the pain/inability to deadlift. Reduce weight? Reduce volume? Something.

[Brackish]

I suck at logging. I keep everything in my notebook, which is good, but I'm going to give this a shot...again. Might have more time to get it done now that I've got a new job that only involves doing 1 job as opposed to the 2 jobs I was doing prior to this year.

Still trying to figure out what I want to change/do...or even if I want to change/do something different. I'm tired of chasing numbers on the bar. Feel weak as shit when I hear the numbers some of you guys are putting up, but I am making progress as far as physical appearance. So, maybe I'll just chase that instead? I don't know. When I started lifting, I had dreams of a 1 plate press (Actually got that one.), 2 plate bench, 3 plate squat, and 4 plate deadlift. I'd love to get there, but I just don't know how to do it. Seems like I've figured out how to get bigger, just not "strong".

Monday (9/19/22)

Bench - 170x5x1 (@10) big overreach here, 135x9x4
Ezbar Curls - 35x12x3, 35x10x1 (Not sure what the actual weight is for this. Don't know what the bar weighs. Should probably figure that out at some point.)
Tricep PD (Rope) - 90x12x4
Cable Row (Single Arm) - 80x10x4
DB Fly - 20x12x4 (This just seems to piss off my shoulder. Need to figure out how to make it work though.)

Tuesday

Squat - 195x5x1, 200x5x3 (This is one of the lifts that really, really pisses me off. I looked back through my log and saw 220x5, 260 for a single, etc. And that's all gone. No matter what I've tried, I can't seem to claw my way back up the where I was.)
Leg Ext. - 65x11x3, 65x10x1
Leg Curls - 30x10x3 (I had to cut the volume back on these. I was sore for 3-4 days every time I did them. Not having the same issue with 3 sets, so I'm going to stick there for the time being.)
Leg Press Calf Raises - 230x16x4

Wednesday

Everything went super smoothly today. No issues with any of the lifts.

Press - 125x4x1, 90x7x4
DB Curls - 25x12x4
OA Tricep PD - 35x13x4
Lat PD - 100x12x1, 100x8x3
Inc. DB Bench - 40x15x1, 40x10x3

Thursday

Deads - 215x5x1, 225x5x3 (Slowly...slowly working my way back up with these. Don't know if it's a form issue, or I just suck at them. But they've been the cause of two recent back tweaks that screwed up all the rest of my lifting for basically the entire month of August. Pisses me off because it used to be one of my favorite lifts.)\
One Leg Extensions - 40x7x4
One Leg Calf Raise - 40x12x3, 40x10,1
One Leg Curls - 10x8x4

Friday

Bench - 120x12x5
Hammer Curls - 20x12x4
Tricep Push Downs (Angled Bar) - 110x12x4
Close Grip Seated Row - 110x12x1, 130x12x3
Cable Pec Fly - 20x14x2, 20x12x2

[MarkKO]

Try looking at what you did to get your press goal. Apply that to the other three lifts.

IME press is usually around 60-70% of bench, and a set of five at 170 lbs being very hard somewhat fits in that range. That would out your top end bench somewhere around 185-200 probably which isn't super far off two plates.

For squat and dead you can't go wrong by training your back more from top to bottom.

What I've found being somewhat limited in time too is that it can help to pick a really small group of assistance exercises and just do them whenever you train, but push them really hard in terms of effort per set. A vertical pull, a horizontal pull, a single leg movement, an upper pushing movement, a tricep exercise, a pec exercise, an upper back/rear delt exercise and a hamstring/lower back exercise. Thats what I've been doing and it hasn't been working badly. I do abs during my warmup.

[Brackish]

Try looking at what you did to get your press goal. Apply that to the other three lifts.

IME press is usually around 60-70% of bench, and a set of five at 170 lbs being very hard somewhat fits in that range. That would out your top end bench somewhere around 185-200 probably which isn't super far off two plates.

For squat and dead you can't go wrong by training your back more from top to bottom.

What I've found being somewhat limited in time too is that it can help to pick a really small group of assistance exercises and just do them whenever you train, but push them really hard in terms of effort per set. A vertical pull, a horizontal pull, a single leg movement, an upper pushing movement, a tricep exercise, a pec exercise, an upper back/rear delt exercise and a hamstring/lower back exercise. Thats what I've been doing and it hasn't been working badly. I do abs during my warmup.

That's what I've been doing, but the other lifts don't seem to be responding as well as my press did to anything I've tried (e.g. sets across, heavy sets w/ drop down sets afterwards, higher volume, etc.).

[MarkKO]

Try looking at what you did to get your press goal. Apply that to the other three lifts.

IME press is usually around 60-70% of bench, and a set of five at 170 lbs being very hard somewhat fits in that range. That would out your top end bench somewhere around 185-200 probably which isn't super far off two plates.

For squat and dead you can't go wrong by training your back more from top to bottom.

What I've found being somewhat limited in time too is that it can help to pick a really small group of assistance exercises and just do them whenever you train, but push them really hard in terms of effort per set. A vertical pull, a horizontal pull, a single leg movement, an upper pushing movement, a tricep exercise, a pec exercise, an upper back/rear delt exercise and a hamstring/lower back exercise. Thats what I've been doing and it hasn't been working badly. I do abs during my warmup.

That's what I've been doing, but the other lifts don't seem to be responding as well as my press did to anything I've tried (e.g. sets across, heavy sets w/ drop down sets afterwards, higher volume, etc.).

You'll need to do something different in that case. Look at technique as well.

Typically squat and deadlift can go up simply from training your back more, and bench will benefit from that as well.

[Brackish]

Plans moving forward - try out Gillingham's 12 Week bench program for the two bench slots on Monday/Friday. Move the other main lifts back to a double progression system (4-6 reps for 3 sets, add weight when I am able to hit 6 reps) to see if I can make some progress there. Move some accessories around, drop rep ranges down to 7-10 range, and add in more direct back and ab work.

I can already tell I'm going to have trouble sticking to the bench programming. Did the first session this morning, and it felt like I did absolutely nothing. We'll see how long I can keep it up.

Also - quit drinking during the week and cut back on the weekends. The shit is expensive, and I feel like it's negatively impacting gains because I sleep like crap when I drink.

[Brackish]

Monday (9/26/22)

Bench (Gillingham, H) - 170x1x1, 150x5x3
Ezbar Curls - 30x10x1, 35x8x1
Tricep PD (Rope) - 110x10x1, 115x8x2
Lat PD - 110x10x3
Cable Fly - 20x12x3

Had to force myself to walk out of the gym. Felt like I didn't do anything at all. Slept like a baby though, so that was nice. Maybe I was pushing too hard and didn't know it? I've been struggling with sleep.

Tuesday

Squat - 205x6x1, 210x6x1, 215x6x1
Leg Ext. - 90x10x1, 90x8x2
Leg Curls - 35x8x3
Press Calf Raises - 250x15x3 (Need to keep pushing these up. The rep range is too high.)
Cable Crunch - 90x15x1, 110x12x2

Still struggling with the "didn't do anything" feelings. I don't know why I feel like I "need" a 4th set, but I do...

Wednesday

Press - 120x4x2, 120x5x1
Hammer Curls - 25x10x2, 25x8x1
Cable Tricep Ext. - 80x10x2, 80x8x1 (I don't know why, but these really piss off my neck/tops of my shoulders for some reason. May need to sub them out for something else.)
Barbell Rows - 95x8x3 (I'm having a hard time with these too. I need heavier weights to feel it in my upper back, but my lower back can't handle being bent over with the higher weights. Maybe moving to lever rows?)
Inc. DB Bench - 45x10x3 (Probably going to have to swap this to regular inclined bench at some point. I've only got dumbbells that go up to 50lbs.)

Thursday

Deads - 225x6x1, 235x5x2
Single Leg Ext. - 40x8x3
RDLs - 135x8x3 (Didn't feel right, but it has been a long time since I've done them.)
Single Leg Calf Raises - 40x13x2, 40x12x1
Captain's Chair Leg Raises - BWx10x3

Friday

Bench (Gillingham, L) - 125x8x2 (What in the waste of time is this? I'm trying to just "trust it", but seriously? Last week I did 120x12x5 on Friday...)
Dips - BWx10x4 (Because I was mad about the bench stuff.)
DB Curls - 30x7x3
OA Tricep PD - 40x1x3
Seated Row - 150x15x3 (Need to find a replacement for this because that's the highest weight on that particular machine. And there's no chance it's accurate...)

[Brackish]

Monday (10/3/22)

This had to be a super short session because I had to get it all in before work. Building opens at 6:05, and I have to be ready to get kids off of the bus at 7:00am. Pissed I wasn't able to get it all in, but some is better than none, right?

Bench (Gillingham, H) - 177x1x1, 158x3x5 (Alright, this one was a little more difficult. I'm feeling a little more confident about running out the full 12 weeks to see if it works for me.)
EZ Curls - 30x10x4
Tricep PD - 115x8x4

Tuesday

Squat - 225x4x3 (This sucked. I can already tell my back is going to be re-pissed off with me...again. Sick of it. For real.)
Leg Ext. - 90x7x1, 90x8x3
Leg Curls - 35x8x3
Leg Press Calf Raise - 340x15x4 (I added wrong. Math is hard. These sets were brutal.)
Cable Crunch - 110x12x4

Wednesday

Press - 120x5x3
Hammer Curls - 25x10x4
Cable Tricep Ext. - 80x10x4 (I can't seem to get these to work. Seems to work my shoulders/back and not my triceps. May try going single arm next time.)
Barbell Rows - 95x10x4
Inc. Bench - 115x10x4

Thursday

Deads - 235x6x1, 245x4x2