KarlM: It's all about the log.

[Les]

The squats looked real good again. I think you had 5 reps for sure. Nice job getting the workout in around all the Halloween stuff.

[KarlM]

The squats looked real good again. I think you had 5 reps for sure. Nice job getting the workout in around all the Halloween stuff.

Thanks Les!

[KarlM]

Yesterday's workout: 11/4/17, Week 11, WO 3
This was the final workout of the GGW cycle. Now I deload for week and then test the following week. This week went well. My squat and deadlift are definitely much stronger. OHP and bench both feel stronger too, but not as obvious as squat and deads. When I test, all my first attempts will be 1.05X my current PR's. Second attempts will be based on first attempts. If second attempt isn't a grinder, I'll try a third. Otherwise I'll call it and use that number for the next cycle.

Squat (M, 90%)
315 X 2 X 3, all @7ish. I'm used to putting three plates on my back now.

OHP (H, 95%)
165 X 2 @8.5?
165 X 2 @ 9
165 X 2 @ 9.5
165 X 2 @ 9.5

I'm really not sure about those RPEs. It's hard to rate OHP because if technique is off just a little, my sticking point is accentuated a lot (just above my forehead). If I maintain balance and get under the bar quickly, the next rep can go smooth and fast. So I'm just not sure the RPEs mean much for this lift at this point. Also, I seem to struggle with balance when lifting in my heeled shoes.

Deadlift (H, 95%)
405 X 2 @7

I probably should have pulled some more reps since I'm deloading next week anyway. 405 went up much easier than I thought! Excited to see where this lift is. Below is the video. I'm aware I need to push my hips through at the top (my first rep). I've tweaked my back doing exactly that in the past and that still messes with my confidence. I've tweaked my back on deadlift due to 1) windmilling, 2) at the bottom as I was lowering the bar after a rep and 3) at the top as I pushed my hips through. So basically I'm a psychological mess when I deadlift.

[Les]

I thought the deads looked fast and easy. You also had some camera shake from the weight, which is always cool.

[unruhschuh]

We have very similar 1RMs so I'm excited to see how good GGW worked for you. I discovered it after I started my current program, and I didn't want to program hop, so I'll do what I do until it doesn't work anymore. I'd have chosen GGW otherwise.

[cole]

deads look good, smooth. good thing you are hook gripping, that eliminates windmilling and reduced imbalances that lead to injuries IMO. gave me more confidence when i started hook grip bc i also had some back tweaks. doesnt feel great on your thumbs but its worth it.

[GlasgowJock]

Good stuff mate, nice videos, looking forward to reading your new PRs in a couple of weeks' time

Feel my pressing lags a bit behind the other two as well on GGW though still follow Andy's forum back in "Egypt" for ideas to stop it from stagnating.

[KarlM]

I thought the deads looked fast and easy. You also had some camera shake from the weight, which is always cool.

Thanks Les! The camera shake was more from me dropping the weight I believe

We have very similar 1RMs so I'm excited to see how good GGW worked for you. I discovered it after I started my current program, and I didn't want to program hop, so I'll do what I do until it doesn't work anymore. I'd have chosen GGW otherwise.

Good stuff mate, nice videos, looking forward to reading your new PRs in a couple of weeks' time

Feel my pressing lags a bit behind the other two as well on GGW though still follow Andy's forum back in "Egypt" for ideas to stop it from stagnating.

It's definitely worked very well for squat and deadlift. We will see for the presses. I've emphasized OHP this cycle so I'll take any PR for my bench as a win, but it does seem from Andy's forum at Egypt that some people don't progress their presses much on GGW. Next cycle I'll certainly add a medium bench day and I'll probably add 2.5% increased intensity across the board for all pressing movements and see how that works. I'll keep squats and deads exactly the same, because changing something that works is dumb.

[KarlM]

deads look good, smooth. good thing you are hook gripping, that eliminates windmilling and reduced imbalances that lead to injuries IMO. gave me more confidence when i started hook grip bc i also had some back tweaks. doesnt feel great on your thumbs but its worth it.

I agree 100%. It's why I hookgrip.

[Wilhelm]

Last DL session i seemed to have crossed some barrier w/ hook.
Probably because my singles program has me setting up each time, and i started doing warmups up to 225 hook without tape.
Gonna keep extending that range on my warmup singles up to top weight. I just have to do that gradually so i don't tear them up and set myself back that way.
Top singles (taped at base) felt awesome. Really no pain whatsoever.

It definitely hurts more when you haven't got your positioning right.

Great work Karl.
Weights are moving up nicely.

[KarlM]

Haven't posted in a while because my wife and I spent the Veteran's day weekend in Vegas, and netted $119 in black jack winnings

Results after completing GGW program. Good news first:

11/8/17
Squat:
1X335 @7
1X365 @9-9.5, PR! (Video below)


1X375 @10, 25 lb PR! (Video below)


11/12/17
Deadlift:
1X405
1X445 @9? 20 lb PR! (Video below)


0X455, didn't break it off the ground.

So to sumamrize, I put 25 lbs on my squat and 20 lbs on my deadlift in 13 weeks. I didn't miss any reps and much of the cycle felt pretty easy. I'm very happy with that. The grunts you hear prior to unracking the squats help me not get dizzy. Psycological stuff. Same with all the weird stuff prior to the deadlift. I'm a mess when I deadlift, due to my back tweaking history.

Bad news:
11/8/17
OHP:
0X180, so I failed to add even 5 lbs to my OHP max. Failed a couple of inches above my forehead. Also means the e1RM from my attempts to log RPE were not predictive of my actual max. I was overestimating my true 1RM from those RPEs.

11/9/17
Bench:
0X260, failed to add even 5 lbs to my Bench max, and failed about 6 inches off my chest. Same conclusion regarding RPEs.

I suppose I shouldn't be surprised by these results. Others have reported that GGW seems to work well for squats and deads but isn't as good for pressing. The program uses the same scheme for sets, reps and intensities for all the lifts. In retrospect, this probably isn't ideal for pressing, which likely requires more average intensity and volume to drive progress than squats and deads. I'll post a follow up with my plans going forward.

[unruhschuh]

Congrats on the PRs!

[cole]

excellent work karl, 445 DL flew up.

[KarlM]

Congrats on the PRs!

excellent work karl, 445 DL flew up.

Thanks! A little disappointed I didn't increase either of my presses, but I'll definitely take the squat and deadlift increases. Cole, after I broke 445 off the floor it went up fine, but it took a little bit to get it going. Looks like that's my weak point.

Place holding workouts while I plan my next 9 weeks:
11/13/17, BW_AM (morning body weight) = 200.4 lbs, 26.7% BF via bioimpedance.
Bench (80%)
6 X 205 @7
6 X 205 @7
6 X 205 @7.5
6 X 205 @8
4 to 5 min rest per set

OHP (77%)
6 X 135 @<7
6 X 135 @<7
6 X 135 @9
5 X 135 @9
5 to 6 min rest. How I went from <@7 to @9 is a little confusing. I'm chalking it up to needing to improve my endurance to do bench and OHP in the same workout.

BW Chinups, 9, 9, 8. Getting a little fat here. Affecting my chinning numbers. Three sets of 10-14 used to be pretty easy.

Hammer Curls, 30 lbs DB X 15, 10, 9. Curls were fatigued from the higher volume chins.
***
11/14/17, BW_AM = 199.6 lbs, 26.5% BF
Squat (75%)
6 X 280, @7.5
6 X 280 @8
6 X 280 @9
5-8 min rest. Didn't do the last set. Felt unusually tired. I think I still had some fatigue from my deadlift PR. That's interesting, since the volume was so low. My last warm up was 405, then I pulled 445 then failed (I believe it was mostly psychological) 455. It appears that was enough to affect my squats this workout which was two days later. I thought those things mattered more when you were actually legitimately strong.

Deadlift (71%)
315 X 6 X 2, @<7

[Wilhelm]

I thought those things mattered more when you were actually legitimately strong.

Eh, 445 is still 445.

It's definitely not a trifle. +++
Nice work, Karl.

[KarlM]

I thought those things mattered more when you were actually legitimately strong.

Eh, 445 is still 445.

It's definitely not a trifle. +++
Nice work, Karl.

Thanks Yeah, I can answer everyone's favorite rhetorical question, "Bro, do you even lift?" with an affirmative "yes!" I'll increase my swagger when I get a 5 plate deadlift, 4 plate squat, 3 plate bench and a 2 plate overhead press.

[KarlM]

11/16/16, BW_AM = 198.8 lbs, BF = 26.3%
Paused Squat (light, 60%)
225 X 6 X 2, @6

Paused Bench (75% of TnG Bench 1RM)
190 X 6 @7
190 X 6 @7
190 X 6 @7
190 X 6 @8

I'm going to introduce paused benching next cycle as my medium day bench. I paused these for a 1-count. Seemed to go ok.
***
11/17/17, BW_AM = 198.4 lbs, BF = 26.2%
Test 1RM for weighted chin-ups
EW = 204.0 lbs
279 X 1, 5 lbs PR! Chin barely above the bar but I'm counting it.

Finished up with BW X 10, 8

I'm starting my new cycle next Monday.

[GlasgowJock]

Congrats on the PRs mate!

Found myself needing to add more volume to my pressing as well on GGW but like you say "life" happens and it's a struggle to keep up pressing volume consistently over the 3 months.

[KarlM]

Congrats on the PRs mate!

Found myself needing to add more volume to my pressing as well on GGW but like you say "life" happens and it's a struggle to keep up pressing volume consistently over the 3 months.

Thanks! Did you just increase volume or did you also increase intensity? My plan is to bump up both for my next cycle.

[KarlM]

11/18/17, BW_AM = 197.6 lbs, BF = 26.1%
Squat (65%)
245 X 6 @6
245 X 6 @6.5
245 X 6 @7
5-6 min rests

OHP (80%)
140 X 6 @7.5
140 X 6 @8
140 X 6 @8 (technique felt good this set, got under bar well)
140 X 6 @ 8.5
6-8 min rests

I kind of like this two-lifts-per-workout thing. I'm watching what I eat. Bodyweight is dropping maybe too fast. I'll know after the first 1-2 weeks, after the first easy 5-6 lbs come off.