Staving off the decline, part deux

[JimRiley]

So I've been doing BBM's Hypertrophy I template since June, in hopes of building a bigger buffer against sarcopenia while I still can. It hasn't been going very well, though; I've gotten sick several times, and it's also become apparent since the fall semester started that I just don't have enough time to do everything the program calls for (three barbell workouts, two GPP sessions, and two cardio sessions every week) while keeping up with my school work. So my new aim is to work out consistently but briefly (like 30-45 minutes) on weekdays, and then put in more time on weekends, unless I have an exam to grade or something like that. Whatever gets done will have to do, and the rest will wait until the next week, so there.

Tue., September 10:
Quad extensions, 95 pounds, 3 sets of 15 with 2-minute rests
Ab machine: 8 minute AMRAP. Did 64 reps total (65x8,8,8,3,4...ugh, 55x8,8,17)
Indoor cycling: 30 minutes; eight 20-second intervals with 100-second rests. Gearing and approximate cadence: 50x17 at 120 rpm for first 7, 50x16 at 116 rpm for last one.
Total time: 50 minutes

Wed., September 11:
Deadlift: 135x5, 165x5, 195x5, 215x3, 235x3, 255x3, 195x5x5, 195x10. Did the last 7 sets E2MOM. Repeats of 195x5 were quite a bit easier than I expected (hence the 10-rep finish); would have done more but the weight room was closing. The program calls for a harder deadlift workout, but I wouldn't have finished it in the available time.
Total time: 32 minutes

[mgil]

Do you think there is a way to reorganize the program so that you’re doing weights 2x a week, GPP 1x, and cardio 1x? That seems more feasible for people with jobs and things.

[JimRiley]

Thanks for the suggestion, @mgil. I think that's roughly what I'll be able to do, except I'll probably be spreading at least one of the two weight sessions over two or three days. (Probably suboptimal, but that's life.) I have a free block at school from 2:15 to 3:00 almost every weekday, and I've decided to dedicate that time to training regularly instead of pretty much wasting it like I have been. Those 45 minutes should be enough for either a bout on the treadmill or one major lift plus some GPP.

This afternoon:
Leg press (substituting for squats): 90 pounds x10, 135x10, 180x6, 225x6, 270x8@6, 315x8@7, 360x8@9, 330x8@8, 330x8@7. Took 2-minute rests on last 5 sets. Machine settings: back pad 3, start position 2, except I switched the latter to 3 for the final set because my knees were complaining a little.
Hamstring curls: 30x8, 50x8, 70x12x2@7. Machine settings: back pad 3, start angle 1. Hadn't done those in a few years, and they felt kinda weird, so I didn't push at all.
OHP, because I had 5 minutes to spare and there was an open rack: 45x8, 55x8, 65x5, 75x3

In the cool of the evening:
Paused bench: 45x8x2, 65x8, 85x5, 100x8@6, 105x8@6.5, 110x8@7.5, 115x8@8, 120x8@9, 114x8@8, 114x8@10. Rests were 3 to 5 minutes. I'm pretty sure that was the most benching I ever did at once, though in part just because I started too light. Next week, 11 work sets!

Total time: 80 minutes

[JimRiley]

40 minutes on the bike. It was hot and windy, i.e. just right. Now to start adding 5 mph each time.

[JimRiley]

Leg press: 270x10@7, 315x10@8, 345x8@9, 315x12@7, 315x10@7. Back angle 3, extension 2 (3 on last 2 sets to appease left knee). 3-4 minute rests.

Hamstring curls: 70x15x3@8. They didn't feel all that heavy but burned like mad after about 10 reps. 2-minute rests.

Quad extensions: 95x15x3@7. Easiest ever, despite (or because of?) doing leg press first. 2-minute rests.

OHP: 63x12@9, 55x12@9, 55x9@9, 45x12@7. 2-3 minute rests. Last three sets were supposed to all be 12s; this was the closest I've come to actually doing that, albeit by going ultralight.

Total time: 65 minutes

[JimRiley]

Eine kleine GPP:
Ab machine: 9-minute AMRAP, 62x90
Lat pulldowns: 95x14@8, 95x12@9, 95x10@9
Barbell shrugs: 140x20x2@8
Calf raises: 120x20x2@7
DB curls (15 lbs. each) supersetted with triceps pushdowns (yellow band + pink band), 15 reps each for 3 sets
Total time: About an hour

[JimRiley]

GPP and cardio:
Chinups, 1 EMOM: 13.9 (14th one was just short)
DB lateral raises: 12#x20r@8, 12#x18r@9
DB flies (flys? flyes?): 17#x20rx2@8
35 minutes on the bike, indoors. Warmed up for 10 minutes, then shifted up a gear every 2 minutes until it got pretty hard (50x15 at that point). Had Free Solo on the tube, which helped.
Total time: 70 minutes or so

Chinups were harder than usual, possibly because of having done lat pulldowns yesterday. The most I've done in this one-every-minute format is 20. I did manage to do a set of 4 in a row once, so I may try doing sets of 2 and work up from there.

[JimRiley]

Deadlift: 135x5, 135x6, 165x6, 195x6, 220x8@7, 230x8@8, 240x8@8, 220x8@7, 220x6@8

Had just about 30 minutes, so these were a bit rushed. The third set was supposed to be @9; oh well.

[JimRiley]

Close-grip bench: 100x10@6, 105x10@7, 110x10@8, 115x10@9, 110x10@8, 110x7@10
Really hit the wall on the last set.

OHP: 63x11 AMRAP, 55x8@10, 50x10@10, 50x8@10
The last three sets were supposed to be 12's with 90% of the AMRAP weight, but that was nowhere near doable. Triceps were toast by the end.

Seven hours later:
Cardio: Ran to the gate (vague, sorry) in 27:40, back in 20:40, total 48:20. It's downhill most of the way back, of course.

[JimRiley]

GPP:
Chins, 8 sets of 2 E2MOM. Failed on second rep of 9th set; attempted one more single a minute after that and failed that one too. So 17 chinups altogether.
Underhand barbell bodybuilding ([math]B^4[/math]?) rows: 80x15, 80x12@blah
Barbell shrugs: 145x15x2@7
Calf raises: 125x15x2@7

Didn't work out much, but we had a big party on Saturday, so at least I got in some functional work over the weekend from moving chairs and tables and ice chests and stuff. It's a little disappointing that none of that seems much easier than it did before four years of barbell training (specificity of adaptation or something?), but at least it hasn't gotten harder.

[JimRiley]

More GPP, mixed with the start of another week's Hyper Trophy programming:
Leg press: 275x10@7, 305x10@8, 335x10@9, 315x10@9, 315x9@10. Stayed with the same start position all the way this time. I'm doing these for a break from squats since the program does allow that substitution.
Hamstring curls: 75x12x3@8. Had a little knee pain so I did sets of 12 instead of 15.
Quad extensions: 100x15x3@7
Hold-on-and-bend-over ab machine: 9 minute AMRAP, 82 reps (10, 8, 8, 6 at 65 pounds, then 8, 8, 8, 8, 18 at 55 pounds)
Total time: 60 minutes

I usually don't get that much time in the weight room before it closes, but today the president of the college was in there and said he'd keep it open a while longer for the two of us since he has a key. He's one week away from retiring, so it was a nice opportunity to chat with him a bit before he goes. Of the three presidents we've had in my 15 years at this college, he's easily the best.

[JimRiley]

Triceps pushdowns: 90x15@9, 90x11@10, 85x10@10
Treadmill: 20 minutes
Stationary bike: 5 minutes

Felt like a total slug... but tomorrow is another day.

[JimRiley]

I've been working really hard at getting stronger for over four years. I've gained about 20 pounds, most of which is muscle, I no longer have osteopenia or chronic knee pain, and I'm stronger than I've ever been at any age. On the other hand, even with the muscle mass I've added I'm just barely out of the sarcopenia range, and at the same time I'm within a couple inches of the dreaded 40" waist... so there's still work to do.

Lately I've been doing the BBM Hypertrophy I template, but it hasn't gone well. Part of the problem is that I've gotten sick several times since I started it, but the real sticking point is that I just don't have the mental application for it. At the age of 20, and maybe even at 50, I would have eaten that stuff up, but today when I look at all the 8s, 10s, and 12s at RPE 8 and 9, I have just one impulse: avoid, avoid, avoid. Sure, I should HTFU, and for short intervals I can, but before long my motivation ends up back in the dumpster. It'd be great to be one of those old guys you read about who are tough as nails, never miss a workout, and work circles around all the youngsters, but I betcha most of those stories are apocryphal.

So I'm not sure exactly how I'm going to move forward. I usually do best at following through with something if it was my own idea, but the fact that I know FA about programming seems like a bit of a liability, so what I've settled on for the moment is to borrow the 11 sets of 7 idea and put my own obsessive stamp on it by doing everything that way for a while. To wit:

Thursday, 9/26
Bench, standard grip, touch-n-go: 105x7x11, 2-minute rests
Probably about 70% of my current 1RM. RPE was 6 to 9, but it was mostly pretty easy except the last rep was grindy on the last two sets.

Two hours later:
OHP: 55x7x9@6-8, 55x6@10, 2-minute rests
About 60% of 1RM; went with a lower percentage since I'd already benched. Mostly easy, then suddenly impossible, so I only did 10 sets. Tris got really pumped, so for a few precious minutes I resembled an adult male.

Friday, 9/27
Cycled for 49 minutes, LISS/MISS pace. Considered doing 11 sets of 7 200m sprints, but didn't quite feel up to it.

Saturday, 9/28
Leg press (Cybex "Eagle" machine, extension 2, back angle 3): 235x7x11@6-7, 315x3@8, 335x1@8.5, 355x1@9
Did the first 7 sets E2MOM, which was way too easy. Did the remaining sets of 7 EMOM, which at least held my attention. Did a few heavier reps afterwards just to see how they'd feel. (Surprising answer: heavy.)

Lat pulldown, pullup grip: 85x7x7@6, 90x7x4@6-7
Started out doing them E2MOM, but as with the leg press they were too easy. Slapped on a 5-pound "change plate" and switched to EMOM for the last sets, which finally got sort of challenging near the end.

[JimRiley]

Deadlift, standard: 195x7x7@7, E3MOM. Would have done more but for a little back tweak, which made 7 sets feel like plenty.

Ab crunch machine thingy: 12x8, EMOM

Post-crunches I had what felt like a side stitch, for the first time in years, but it went away in a few minutes. The back tweak seems to be gone too, at least for the moment.

[JimRiley]

Bench, standard grip, touch-n-go, 2-minute rests:
105x7x11@6-7
115x3@7
125x3@8
135x1@9
140x0

Curls:
14-pound dumbbells, EMOM: 11 sets of 7@6
35-pound bar, EMOM: 7x7@6-8
Could have kept going, but I figured 126 reps was deep enough into unexplored territory. (I may have done 60 once before.)

Pretty much all clear on the back tweak from yesterday. It hurt a little when I started benching but stopped after a few sets and hasn't returned.

[mgil]

It’s probably okay to ride out a longer term hypertrophy block where you stay around 60% and just get in lots of good reps with short sets. I’ve never cared much for sets across of higher reps because it always seems to invite form issues. I’ll just do LISS or whatever instead for conditioning.

Here’s another point to consider: when you are in a session, try wrapping up right after things feel great. For example, warm-up and hit your block and then when a set feels easy (this seems to be set 3 or 4 at lighter intensities), do one more set and wrap it up. This is all broscience, but I think at that point your body is telling you that you’ve hit peak for the session and everything is downhill from there. Instead of fighting the struggle on the backside of that curve, acknowledge the solid work you got in and pack it up. This should help further manage fatigue, especially at lower intensity levels, where RPE and similar are hard to gauge.

[JimRiley]

Now that's interesting, @mgil! Intuitively it seems almost too good to be true, or rather too easy to drive hypertrophy, but then I know just about nothing about this stuff. So, thanks, I'll try it!

BB shrugs: 145x15x2
Cable tri pushdowns: 75x15x2
Treadmill: 24 minutes. Alternated walking for a minute with jogging for a minute at increasing speeds, topping out at something like 5.6 mph. That would have been an absurdly easy outing in real life, but for some reason everything feels onerous to me on a treadmill. Next time I'm taking a real run.

[JimRiley]

Hamstring curls: 80x15x2
Leg press E2MOM: 235x7, 255x7x5@easy
Leg press EMOM: 315x1, 335x1, 355x1, 375x1@9, maybe
Quad extensions: 105x15x2

So I guess that was Leg Day.

[JimRiley]

Yielded to an irrational impulse to volunteer for an emergency project, so I didn't work out at all for a couple days. I finished the project at about 2 p.m. today, slept most of the rest of the afternoon, and took about a 45-minute run just before sunset.

[JimRiley]

Deadlift:
135x5x2, 165x5, 185x5, 205x5, 225x3, 245x3, 265x1@9
185x5x7@6
Felt like doing more, but my back said that was enough.