Bolder's Training Log

[Bolder]

I wanted to go into full minimalist mode, but accessories have their place, especially for rehab work.

Every fiber of my being wants to do this at all times. It just doesn’t work, mostly. @Fossil is a notable exception.

In my experience, it only works if you're okay with insanely slow progress, you can microload or are comfortable with loading the smallest increments possible, don't think about lifting all the time but more as a task to be done** [see below] and probably - and maybe most importantly - not miss any sessions.
Recently, one or two rescheduled / missed front squat sessions sent me backwards so instead of just a screwed up few weeks, it comes out to 4 to 6 weeks of getting back to where I was, then pushing past that to add those measly five pounds.

**if you're someone who gets antsy when they don't lift frequently or needs a lot of lift variation, it'll affect motivation and probably affect adherence to whatever minimalist program you choose.

Just my two cents.

EDIT:
To add to that:
You have to mentally "budget" weight x reps, so for me, it comes out to +5lbs x 3-5 reps on a big barbell lift a month. Ideally, you'll add 60lbs a year to your lift(s) ...but life is rarely ideal.

Interesting method.

[Bolder]

29/1/24

All the lifts felt speedy. Elbows feeling better (only slight pain) and knees felt better across the session (knees are achey when not warm-up, but when warmed-up, not so much)

Squats, high-bar and beltess:

105kg/231lb x 5 x 3

Bench Press, touch and go:

97.5kg/215lb x 5 x 3


Deadlift, conventional and beltess w/ straps:

132.5kg/292lb x 5 x 3

Then some elbow rehab stuff and curls.

[Bolder]

Then some elbow rehab stuff and curls.

This was helpful:

[Bolder]

30/1/24

I felt good; there was not much pain in the elbow. Easy session, and the weights were moved fast except for the deadlifts. A bit of elbow pain flared up after benching and when I got home, but not too much of a big deal.

Squats, high-bar and beltess:

112.5kg/248lb x 4 x 2

Bench Press, touch and go:

105kg/231lb x 4 x 2

Deadlift, conventional and beltess w/ straps:

140kg/308lb x 4 x 2

Then some shoulder raises (couldn't do much; the gym was packed).

[Bolder]

31/1/24

Easy session, but the elbow pain started flaring up on the second set of squats and flared up more when benching. I think I should do the elbow rehab work more frequently.

Squats, high-bar and beltess:

97.5kg/215lb x 5 x 4

Bench Press, touch and go:

90kg/198lb x 5 x 4

Deadlift, conventional and beltess w/ straps:

122.5kg/270lb x 5 x 4

Then some elbow rehab work.

[Bolder]

1/2/24

Hardly any elbow pain (which is good, although I was doing fewer reps overall today, lol). I tried mid-bar squats, but they didn't feel as explosive as high-bar squats. However, bench press and deadlifts today felt pretty grindy and heavy (as it was meant to be 85% of my 1RM), especially the deadlifts.

Squats, high-bar and beltess:

120kg/264lb x 4 x 1

Bench Press, touch and go:

110kg/242lb x 4 x 1

Deadlift, conventional and beltess w/ straps:

150kg/330lb x 4 x 1

Then some elbow rehab work. I couldn't do much because the gym was crowded.

I may switch to a mixed grip (usually trying to set up with straps just seems inconsistent), but I'm always concerned about tearing a bicep with my underhand grip (and I probably wouldn't be able to afford to repair a bicep tear; the hospital bill would be ridiculously expensive)... Well, with mixed grip, you can be more consistent and also develop a stronger grip (which seems quite tempting to me). I'll see it, perhaps over the next cycle. There is hook grip, but I see it as futile because I may as well use straps and I have small hands anyway, or at least develop grip strength with the mixed grip (apparently I've been told you can't develop much grip strength out of hook grip?).

In the next cycle, I was also thinking of switching from five days of weekly training to four days of weekly training (training every other day). It would also help mentally (or give a mental break days in between) without having to do it consecutively. It would also reduce any possible pain and injuries to my elbows and knees, (which would be beneficial, advantageous, or a plus, but currently I am not facing any severe elbow and knee injuries, fortunately. Just some niggles and pain will appear here and there).

Tomorrow and one more week of this training (to end this first training cycle). Well, next Thursday I will be doing an AMRAP with those weights I have performed with today, and I am hoping to eek out an all-time bench press rep PR (but it would be hard to believe seeing how difficult bench press seemed today).

[DCR]

I may switch to a mixed grip (usually trying to set up with straps just seems inconsistent), but I'm always concerned about tearing a bicep with my underhand grip (and I probably wouldn't be able to afford to repair a bicep tear; the hospital bill would be ridiculously expensive)... Well, with mixed grip, you can be more consistent and also develop a stronger grip (which seems quite tempting to me).

I sucked at deadlifting but I do know how to not tear a bicep: at all times, you wanting to be flexing the tricep on the supinated arm, forcing it to remain dead straight and not permitting any “curl.”

I am hoping to eek out an all-time bench press rep PR (but it would be hard to believe seeing how difficult bench press seemed today).

Good luck, dude. Maybe try a day or two of rest beforehand, so that you can express the strength that you’ve been building with all of these sessions.

[Bolder]

2/2/24

Not much elbow pain, but knees felt a little achey, and accompanied with a little adductor pain? Well, nothing too severe. Lots of volume work today, but was running out of breath during deadlifts lol (I used mixed-grip and my grip strength is okay'ish, relatively, I guess).

Squats, high-bar and beltess:

90kg/198lb x 6 x 5

Bench Press, touch and go:

85kg/187lb x 6 x 5

Deadlift, conventional and beltess w/ straps:

115kg/253lb x 6 x 5

Then some elbow rehab work. I didn't do much. I am thinking of adding more accessories for other body parts.

Now, I can rest over the weekends and have one more week left of this program. I am thinking of doing a peaking/strength program with all of the volume/tonnage work I have been accumulating (unless if I beat certain e1RMs). Then, doing this program again, so far I like this program, training far away from failure with not much niggles/pains/injuries and also maintaining high-force production (which is important for making strength gains).

[Bolder]

I may switch to a mixed grip (usually trying to set up with straps just seems inconsistent), but I'm always concerned about tearing a bicep with my underhand grip (and I probably wouldn't be able to afford to repair a bicep tear; the hospital bill would be ridiculously expensive)... Well, with mixed grip, you can be more consistent and also develop a stronger grip (which seems quite tempting to me).

I sucked at deadlifting but I do know how to not tear a bicep: at all times, you wanting to be flexing the tricep on the supinated arm, forcing it to remain dead straight and not permitting any “curl.”

I am hoping to eek out an all-time bench press rep PR (but it would be hard to believe seeing how difficult bench press seemed today).

Good luck, dude. Maybe try a day or two of rest beforehand, so that you can express the strength that you’ve been building with all of these sessions.

Thanks for the heads-up. I will keep it in mind to flex the triceps with the supinated arm. My deadlift numbers aren't that great at the moment, but what I realized with deadlifts for some time is that sometimes you want to treat each rep like a cluster set and always restart because deadlifts out of the big three because you always start from the top anyway. Generally, when you lift with the first rep, it's always hard to get it off the ground, but then the other consecutive reps right after become easier because the first rep is like stretching a rubber band, storing some of the energy and elasticity in the muscles.

The program doesn't have a rest day in-between the sessions; it's the fourth day of the third week, but perhaps I will take one day of rest before the big AMRAP session on Thursday (well, if I were to rest for a day, then it'd be on a Friday). Anyway, thanks again for the advice.

[Bolder]

5/2/24

Hardly any elbow pain, but a little bit occurs when I'm benching. Also, my knees hurt during squat warm-ups but then disappeared when I got into my main working sets? Lol. It was a tiring session, but all of the reps were speedy, except for bench press.

Squats, high-bar and beltess:

105kg/231lb x 5 x 4

Bench Press, touch and go:

97.5kg/215lb x 5 x 4

Deadlift, conventional and beltess w/ straps:

132.5kg/292lb x 5 x 4

Did some bicep curls (only 1 set, couldn't be bothered), then some elbow rehab work.

Two more sessions to go until I can do that AMRAP session >.>

[DCR]

Also, my knees hurt during squat warm-ups but then disappeared when I got into my main working sets? Lol.

This is most of my squat sessions, unless I remember to do some leg curls first.

[Bolder]

Also, my knees hurt during squat warm-ups but then disappeared when I got into my main working sets? Lol.

This is most of my squat sessions, unless I remember to do some leg curls first.

Interesting. I think lighter weights tend to make us lean over, whereas heavier weights force us to have better "mobility."

I may try to do leg curls before squats tomorrow (a little worried if it may interfere with deadlifts). I remember I did the hip adduction/abduction machine before squats, and they felt great as well.

[DCR]

Also, my knees hurt during squat warm-ups but then disappeared when I got into my main working sets? Lol.

This is most of my squat sessions, unless I remember to do some leg curls first.

Interesting. I think lighter weights tend to make us lean over, whereas heavier weights force us to have better "mobility."

I may try to do leg curls before squats tomorrow (a little worried if it may interfere with deadlifts). I remember I did the hip adduction/abduction machine before squats, and they felt great as well.

Yes - I should have mentioned those too. The adductor machine specifically; I’ve found little use for the other.

[Bolder]

Also, my knees hurt during squat warm-ups but then disappeared when I got into my main working sets? Lol.

This is most of my squat sessions, unless I remember to do some leg curls first.

Interesting. I think lighter weights tend to make us lean over, whereas heavier weights force us to have better "mobility."

I may try to do leg curls before squats tomorrow (a little worried if it may interfere with deadlifts). I remember I did the hip adduction/abduction machine before squats, and they felt great as well.

Yes - I should have mentioned those too. The adductor machine specifically; I’ve found little use for the other.

Now I'm thinking about doing a mini-machine workout for legs (except for targeting the quads while hitting hamstrings, hips, and calves) before squats as a warm-up.

Anyway, as for today's session (or AMRAP sesison)

8/2/2024

No elbow, but a bit of knee pain, but that went away. Squats and deadlifts went great, but not bench press (my e1RM actually decreased for bench press lol). It seems that my bench press thrives on intensity (near-maximal heavy sets of 3 to 5 reps) and bodybuilding work... I'm going to run a strength/peaking bloc next week, but I'm going to have to change my bench routine (high volume + high frequency), which isn't really the best for me. For bench press, I am thinking of running Nuckol's Bench 3x IntMed (and then IntHigh) after strength/peaking work.

However, my squats seem to respond well to high-volume + high-frequency and my deadlifts to some degree. Usually, you would think those lifts would respond well to more high-intensity and low-volume (but that's more or so with my bench press lol).

Squats, high-bar and beltess:

120kg/264lb x 1 set x 8 reps (Should've breathed more properly, I would probably gotten a rep or two more)

Bench Press, touch and go:

110kg/242lb x 1 set x 5 reps (I thought I was going to get 7 to 9 reps)

Deadlift, conventional and beltess w/ straps:

150kg/292lb x 1 x 8 reps (quite exhausting...)

Anyway, my e1RMs are sitting at the moment...:

Squats e1RM: 151kg/334lb x 1 (my best 1RM for squats was 185kg/407lb but was done with a belt + cutting depth, and the belt gives 25kg/55lb, so I would need 165kg/363lb to get an all-time PR which would be equivalent to 190kg/418lb with a belt. I have also gotten 170kg/374lb for 5 reps and 175kg/385lb for 3 reps with a belt)
Bench e1RM: 128kg/282lb x 1 (all-time best, I think was 132.5kg/292lb for two reps; I need to beat this eventually)
Deads e1RM: 190kg/418lb x 1 (I actually matched this long ago, but yeah, to eventually beat this as well)

May just switch to a 3-day higher-intensity routine (Damien Pezzuti's 3-day modified Bulgarian lite routine) with some bodybuilding accessories for the time being.

So it may look like this:

Mondays:
- Squats: 1x1, 2x2
- Bench: 1x1, 2x2
- Chin-ups: (3 hard sets and 3 drop sets I guess, and likewise for all the other accessory lifts, e.g. curls, OHP, tricep work, ..., etc, but just 3 hard sets for the lower body lifts)
- Bicep/forearm curls (elbow health and balance).

Wednesday:
- Deads 1x1, 4x1
- Bench 1x1, 3x3
- Leg Press or Belt Squat + calve raises (hopefully the gym has that. I will introduce the leg work later on, when I need it. Mostly to build the muscles for the squats)
-GHR (to build the muscles for the deadlifts).

Friday:
-Squats 1x1, 3x3
-Bench 1x1, 3x2
- OHP
- Tricep Extensions (trying to build up the shoulders and triceps for the bench).

The bench press will peak off quite soon, until it runs its course, and I will replace it with the Bench 3x IntMed/IntHigh from one of Nuckol's 28 programs (more intensity from the weekly AMRAPs and some volume for bench). Hopefully, the leg presses and GHRs will hold on for quite a while and hold off the need to change programming for squats and deads.

[Bolder]

So it may look like this:

Mondays:
- Squats: 1x1, 2x2
- Bench: 1x1, 2x2
- Chin-ups: (3 hard sets and 3 drop sets I guess, and likewise for all the other accessory lifts, e.g. curls, OHP, tricep work, ..., etc, but just 3 hard sets for the lower body lifts)
- Bicep/forearm curls (elbow health and balance).

Wednesday:
- Deads 1x1, 4x1
- Bench 1x1, 3x3
- Leg Press or Belt Squat + calve raises (hopefully the gym has that. I will introduce the leg work later on, when I need it. Mostly to build the muscles for the squats)
-GHR (to build the muscles for the deadlifts).

Friday:
-Squats 1x1, 3x3
-Bench 1x1, 3x2
- OHP
- Tricep Extensions (trying to build up the shoulders and triceps for the bench).

For the main work (squats, bench, and deads) it is from this one:



Written up by Damien Pezzuti, not me.

[Bolder]

12/2/24

No elbow pain and no knee pain. The weights felt light; I could've pushed more, but decided to take my time more (since I may run this for a couple of weeks or hopefully indefinitely. Intensity work is important for powerlifting/strength). I can feel the strength coming back on squats and the bench press felt really well (I wanted to rep out the top single, but decided to be conservative). Gonna increase the weights slowly.

Squats, high-bar and beltess:

142.5kg/314lb x 1 x 1
127.5kg/281lb x 2 x 2

Bench Press, touch and go:

120kg/264lb x 1 x 1
107.5kg/237lb x 2 x 2

Was supposed to do some chins and curls, but then decided to do overhead press and tricep work (didn't want to fatigue my biceps since I'm planning to pull mixed grip with no straps on Wednesday). Finished the whole session under an hour and felt good.

[Bolder]

14/2/24

Deadlifts, conventional and beltess w/ mixed-grip:

170kg/374lb x 1 x 1 (Was losing my grip, but made it)
150kg/331lb x 4 x 1 (tried to hold it on the last set for longer than 10 seconds, but couldn't, grip gave out. Still completed the sets/reps).

Bench Press, touch and go:

122.5kg/270lb x 1 x 1 (felt smooth, but was wearing a slippery shirt)
98.5kg/217lb x 3 x 3 (felt pretty easy)

Tried to do leg press (but the gym was packed and everyone was using it, then founded the GHR, but it felt awkward because the the rolling things or knee pad things were too big...). I also ended up finding the belt-squat, but it seems to be broken or rather out of order (hopefully, they can fix it, so in the meantime, I guess I'll either do goblet squats, bulgarian squats, step ups, or leg extensions next week...).

I need to get chalk badly...

[Bolder]

17/2/2024

The top singles for squats and bench felt grindy, but the whole session felt good. I had a bit of a headache at the start of the session, but it went away. Then I felt good for the whole session. Doing singles just makes me feel alive, lol. Gonna start using micro-plates for bench.

Squats, high-bar and beltess:

145kg/319lb x 1 x 1
116kg/255lb x 3 x 3

Bench Press, touch and go:

125kg/275lb x 1 x 1
107.5kg/237lb x 3 x 2

Then some chin-ups, one set of curls (couldn't go heavier, biceps were already toasted from chin-ups), and a bit of forearm work. Both felt great. The gym was packed; I have to bring a towel to do some hammer curls with the plates next week.

[Bolder]

19/2/24

Squats, high-bar and beltess:

147.5kg/325lb x 1 x 1 (Felt smooth. Weights are climbing up)
133.5kg/294lb x 2 x 2 (Grindy. An annoying girl was in-front of me when I was squatting)

Bench Press, touch and go:

??? (weight unknown) x 1 x 0 (failed but I misloaded it)
100kg/220lb x 2 x 6 (just rep it out more to get extra work)

Then I did some OHP and Lying DB tricep extensions.

If the other bench session goes bad again, then perhaps I may switch to Nukcols 3x Bench HighMed/HighInt (one of his 28 programs) or do a top single and 3 sets of 5 heavy reps (and force linear progression). I always tend to make better strength gains on bench press when I train closer to failure, push the intensity, and do heavy sets of 3 to 5 reps. My bench press responds better that way than the squats and deadlifts (where I make better gains training further away from failure but also doing heavy singles).

[Bolder]

21/2/24

Grindy, long, exhaustive session.

Deadlifts, conventional and beltess w/ straps:

175kg/385lb x 1 x 1
157.5kg/347lb x 4 x 1

Bench Press, touch and go:

126kg/277lb x 1 x 1
101kg/223lb x 3 x 3

Belt Squat:
30kg/66lb x 4 x 5

GHR:
BW x 4 sets to failure.