Cole's Data Driven Strength

[cole]

Parenting is fun. Lol. Sorry but this anecdote made me laugh. Freaking kids. Raising two boys and one step daughter is by far the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Youngest son is 17 and is back with his mom in San Diego. I am almost “done”, lol. Every time my wife and I hear a crying child I’ll ask her if she wants another and she will respond hell no!

It is hard. And I doubt we are truly ever "done" since they will continue to screw up after they leave, although at least they will be 18 and legally I wont be repsonsible when they screw up. 100mph is scary. I told him he doesnt have the right to put others in danger like that. I have two more boys in the pipleline waiting to be teenagers. @JohnHelton story of smashing his sons xbox on the driveway cracked me up bc ive been sooo close to doing that myself so many times. I had my nuts cut off a few years ago so at least i know we arent having any more (that would be mine anyway). You are a few years ahead of me, so congrats and enjoy your empty nest! Do you miss them being young?

[JohnHelton]

Parenting is fun. Lol. Sorry but this anecdote made me laugh. Freaking kids. Raising two boys and one step daughter is by far the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Youngest son is 17 and is back with his mom in San Diego. I am almost “done”, lol. Every time my wife and I hear a crying child I’ll ask her if she wants another and she will respond hell no!

It is hard. And I doubt we are truly ever "done" since they will continue to screw up after they leave, although at least they will be 18 and legally I wont be repsonsible when they screw up. 100mph is scary. I told him he doesnt have the right to put others in danger like that. I have two more boys in the pipleline waiting to be teenagers. @JohnHelton story of smashing his sons xbox on the driveway cracked me up bc ive been sooo close to doing that myself so many times. I had my nuts cut off a few years ago so at least i know we arent having any more (that would be mine anyway). You are a few years ahead of me, so congrats and enjoy your empty nest! Do you miss them being young?

The joys of parenting.



When I smashed the XBox, my son was still in middle school. I won that battle, but lost the war, so to speak. He still plays a lot of video games, but we made a deal with him regarding rules and grades. If he got bad grades, then he lost the privilege. He ended up graduating in the top 10 of his class and is now at the University of Texas studying physics and math. We can't really complain about the gaming any more.

I miss my kids, but I wouldn't go backwards. The empty nest is great

[cole]

@JohnHelton thats funny man haha...luckily my house is not near that dramatic.

[cole]

2/6/24
DDS 1, Intro week

2ct Pause squat
265x1@4
250x6

High Bar Squat
205x6x2

1ct Bench
225x1@4
215x6

Feet up Bench
165x6x2

DB Press
30'sx12x2


notes: dumbells pretty light..might have to go bb. another easy day but working on the movement pattern and bracing. enjoying the low fatigue

[cole]

2/7/24
DDS 1, Intro Week

2ct Pause DL
295x3@4, 280x5

RDL
185x8

TnG Bench
215x2@4, 205x6

Chins
5, 5

DB side raise
15's x12x2

BB Curls
65x10x2


notes: Not the type of training i am used to and my muscles get pumped. lats were cramping bad today, made chins tough. curls were too heavy, i super set the chins/side raises/curls to save on time. good first week of DDS training. next couple weeks are climb weeks so the rpe and volume will go up a little.

[DCR]

my muscles get pumped. lats were cramping bad today, and it all was awesome

How I read this.

[cole]

my muscles get pumped. lats were cramping bad today, and it all was awesome

How I read this.

haha yea i guess i do have a tendency to be negative. muscle pumps are a good thing!!!! i just am so used to powerlifting that any high rep shit where i dont have to valsalva to do it feels weird

[cole]

Saturday, Feb 10th, 2024
DDS 1 - Build Block, Climb Week

Squat with Belt

315lbs x 1 @ 5
300lbs x 6 @ 6
300lbs x 6 @ 6
Total x Stress: @ 1.62,

Notes: *i had my 17 year old check my depth and speed on the squat primer rep, he said it was fast. duh, its light. back off sets felt good though and these isolation slots are making me feel the burn. kind of a nice change from TM.

Split Squat

45lbs x 8 @ 8
45lbs x 8 @ 8
Total x Stress: @ 1.52,

Notes: these are tough - lots of balance and tons of DOMS

Tempo Bench Press

215lbs x 1 @ 5
204lbs x 5 @ 6
Total x Stress: @ 0.8,

Incline Push Up

x 12 @ 6
x 12 @ 6

Notes: just playing around

[cole]

Sunday, Feb 11th, 2024
DDS 1 - Build Block, Climb Week

Deadlift (conv)

345lbs x 1 @ 5
325lbs x 5 @ 6
Total x Stress: @ 0.77,

Notes: woke up super early, was a little tired for this. overall it was easy though and im just building some work capacity right now Top

Stiff Leg Deadlift

245lbs x 6 @ 6
245lbs x 6 @ 7
Total x Stress: @ 1.03,

3ct Pause Bench Press

205lbs x 3 @ 5
195lbs x 4 @ 6
Total x Stress: @ 0.71,

Pendlay Row

95lbs x 10 @ 6
95lbs x 10 @ 6
95lbs x 10 @ 6

Notes: pump!

[cole]

Some Notes to jot down:

Primary variables for strength approach
High load
High velocity
low volume
farther from failure

Primary variables for hypertrophy
high volume
low load
closer to failure

Progression
-load progression is best for strength
-begin w/lower volumes and titrate up as tolerated
-ensure set quality, correct proximity to failure (rpe), exercise selection, and intent are optimized before making changes.

velocity
-early reps in the set are more favorable for strength
-high velocity is favorable strength.
-fast eccentric while maintaining control assists concentric

[cole]

Tuesday, Feb 13th, 2024
DDS 1 - Build Block, Climb Week

2ct Pause Squat

275lbs x 3 @ 5
260lbs x 4 @ 6
260lbs x 4 @ 6
Total x Stress: @ 1.07,

Notes: Easy and crisp, focusing on velocity

High Bar Squat

225lbs x 6 @ 6
225lbs x 6 @ 6
Total x Stress: @ 0.95,

Notes: skill/hypertrophy slot

1ct Pause Bench Press

245lbs x 1 @ 5
235lbs x 4 @ 5
235lbs x 4 @ 6
Total x Stress: @ 1.23,

Notes: grip index finger on ring

Bench Press with Feet Up

175lbs x 6 @ 5
175lbs x 6 @ 6
175lbs x 6 @ 7
Total x Stress: @ 1.33,

Notes: not much rest between sets



Session notes: Didnt feel hard at all, but i dont under estimate the work done. I have really changed mind sets starting with this revamping of my programming and reintergration to Data Driven Strength (I wish I never stopped in the first place). Focusing more on velocity, technique, and intent for the comp movements, and focusing more on mind-muscle connection for the skill and hypertrophy slots.

[cole]

Wednesday, Feb 14th, 2024
DDS 1 - Build Block, Climb Week

2ct Pause Deadlift (conv)

305lbs x 3 @ 5
290lbs x 4 @ 6
Total x Stress: @ 0.71,

Notes: focus on flat back

Romanian Deadlift

205lbs x 8 @ 7
205lbs x 8 @ 7
Total x Stress: @ 1.21,

Notes: light hypertrophy

Touch & Go Bench Press

225lbs x 2 @ 5
215lbs x 6 @ 6
215lbs x 6 @ 6
Total x Stress: @ 1.49,

Notes: focus on arch and quick controlled eccentric

Chins

0lbs x 5 @ 8
0lbs x 5 @ 8
0lbs x 5 @ 8

Notes: bodyweight


***End of week 2. Next week is another climb week, should be about the same volume maybe slightly higher rpe although i havent looked ahead really. Logging on the DDS spreadsheet and RTS app. I like the visuals of the DDS spreadsheet but I like the stress index on the RTS.

[KarlM]

Excited to see how your second round with DDS goes! Are they programming in conditioning stuff too?

[cole]

Excited to see how your second round with DDS goes! Are they programming in conditioning stuff too?

Hey Karl, Im excited too - very motivated. First go around was 43 weeks 1:1 with Zac in 2020. 2nd go around was DDSIP in late 2022 for 12 week cycle. This is actually my 3rd go around. I am one of those fools that jumps from SS to BBM to DDS......you would think I would know better by now. In all honesty, SS needs to be in the rear view mirror. Its good for beginners and for a quick LP after a layoff or rehab. BBM just has too much volume for me to thrive, although they are starting to implement more low fatigue style like DDS. I really think the DDS method is the most comprehensive out there and I will hopefully just stick with it now for a few years to actually make some gains.

As far as cardio goes, these are their exact words:

"We encourage an active lifestyle, and if you choose to accomplish that via structured cardio, go for it. However, for strength/muscle growth goals, cardio is not required.

If you have serious cardio goals (e.g., 10K race training), that is okay as well. Over time, our individualization process will take care of how to best program your lifting while also pursuing your cardio goals. If you are regularly performing cardio, we encourage you to not make large short-term (i.e., week-to-week) spikes in cardio workload. Doing so will add noise to your training data (making the individualization process less accurate) and may increase injury risk.

If you are simply doing cardio for health reasons, the below are general protocols you may find to be useful:

Low to Moderate Intensity Steady State
This can be performed on your modality of choice (e.g., cycling, elliptical, jogging). Go at a pace in which you can speak but you could not hold a proper conversation (~RPE 6). We typically prescribe this for 20-40 minutes.
Interval Training
This can be performed on your modality of choice (cycling, elliptical, jogging). Perform 90-100% effort “sprints” followed by very slow recovery. A work:rest ratio of 1:5 is often a good starting point (e.g., 15 seconds cycle sprint followed by 75 seconds slow cycling). We typically prescribe this for 6-12 rounds.

To minimize the interference cardio has with your strength/muscle growth gains, follow the below:
1) Cycling/elliptical may be preferable over running as they causes less muscle damage.
2) If possible, separate lifting and cardio by 24+ hours.
3) If #2 is not possible, avoid performing cardio within the 12hours before lower body lifting.
4) If lifting and cardio are completed in the same session, perform lifting first."

[cole]

2/15
Conditioning

Treadmill / airdyne intervals - 30 minutes @ rpe 6

[cole]

Saturday, Feb 17th, 2024
DDS 1 - Build Block, Climb Week

Squat with Belt

340lbs x 1 @ 7
305lbs x 4 @ 6
305lbs x 4 @ 6
Total x Stress: @ 1.45,
Central x Stress: @ 1.55

Notes: felt crisp and explosive, reminded me i used to be an athlete!

High Bar Squat

225lbs x 6 @ 6
225lbs x 6 @ 6
Total x Stress: @ 0.95,
Central x Stress: @ 0.64

Notes: easy, fast

Tempo Bench Press

225lbs x 1 @ 6
215lbs x 4 @ 7
Total x Stress: @ 0.99,
Central x Stress: @ 1.08

Notes: rpe is tough with long pauses

Press

95lbs x 10 @ 7
95lbs x 10 @ 8
95lbs x 10 @ 9
Total x Stress: @ 2.08,
Central x Stress: @ 0.79

Notes: burn! pump!

***Got interrupted a million times today, had to split squat and bench sessions so I could drive to the store for donuts bc the wife wanted me to get stuff for the kids play date. Turns out Sat and Sun may not be good days after all to try to get my main comp movements done. May go back to M/T/TH/F.

[cole]

Sunday, Feb 18th, 2024
DDS 1 - Build Block, Climb Week

Deadlift (conv)

365lbs x 1 @ 7
325lbs x 4 @ 6
Total x Stress: @ 0.89,

Notes: did these pretty early and felt a little under warmed up

Stiff Leg Deadlift

245lbs x 6 @ 6
245lbs x 6 @ 6
Total x Stress: @ 0.95,

3ct Pause Bench Press

215lbs x 3 @ 6
205lbs x 4 @ 7
Total x Stress: @ 0.96,

Notes: fine

Pendlay Row

115lbs x 10 @ 7
115lbs x 10 @ 7.5
115lbs x 10 @ 8
Total x Stress: @ 1.89,

[cole]

Tuesday, Feb 20th, 2024
DDS 1 - Build Block, Climb Week

2ct Pause Squat

285lbs x 3 @ 6
265lbs x 4 @ 5
265lbs x 4 @ 6
Total x Stress: @ 1.19,

Split Squat

45lbs x 8 @ 7
45lbs x 8 @ 7

Notes: glutes cramping!

1ct Pause Bench Press

255lbs x 1 @ 6
235lbs x 5 @ 6
235lbs x 5 @ 7
Total x Stress: @ 1.56,

Notes: top single flew

Bench Press with Feet Up

185lbs x 6 @ 7
185lbs x 6 @ 7
185lbs x 6 @ 7

Notes: no belt


***Felt a little groggy today and havent been sleeping too well but the strength was there and im glad i got it done early.

[cole]

Wednesday, Feb 21st, 2024
DDS 1 - Build Block, Climb Week

2ct Pause Deadlift (conv)

315lbs x 3 @ 6
295lbs x 3 @ 6
Total x Stress: @ 0.78,

Notes: really working on pulling all slack out of the bar before i initiate the pull. helps to keep hips pretty high and extend arms all the way.

Dumbbell Single Leg Romanian Deadlift

30lbs x 8
30lbs x 8

Notes: the program reads for db RDL so i have been doing BB but i was thinking between conv DL, pause DL, and SLDL, adding bbRDL may be too much hip hinging. therefore i switched back to the recommended dumbell single leg version, much like the single leg split squat i am doing for my squat hypertrophy. i like it but i need heavier dumbells as 30s are too light.

Touch & Go Bench Press

235lbs x 2 @ 5
225lbs x 4 @ 5
225lbs x 4 @ 6
Total x Stress: @ 1.13,

Notes: pretty easy

Chins

x 5
x 5
x 5


***Week 3 over. Now on to the attack week of the Build Block. RPE goes up a bit on top singles but not much else changes. Next block is the Perform block and may have more volume, I have not peeked at it yet.

[cole]

2/22
Conditioning

Treadmill / airdyne intervals - 30 minutes @ rpe 6

bodyweight: 223
waist: 40"