Jon, Destroyer of Mice

Dude, you've hit the nail on the head. It was rough. The backlash has been minor, petty things though, so that's easy to deal with. New lab is way better, and its frankly a more interesting topic. I'm pretty pumped about getting to start over, and I've enjoyed learning as much as I have in the past three months here. Oh hey! Thanks! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Goal 1: Contribute So this counts right? Rough weekend for reliable internet access: I was staying with my folks because my brakes went out, but they had an open house so internet access was kinda a myth. Hoping to try harder this week. Goal 2: Read Read Read So far I'm averaging 2.5 papers a day while on this challenge, which is neat. For instance, read one Friday musing about glycolysis and whether it's actually meant primarily as a bioenergetic pathway or as a survival pathway with bioenergetic consequences, or one today about how brain ketone utilization is much higher in the developing brain than the adult brain, and that ketogenic diets/supplementation tend to help healing in brain injury. Neat stuffs. Goal 3: Have Goals So I've thought about this some for the next challenge. Again, I don't want to have a fitness goal of "Workout 4 times a week" or "Do your assistance" because I already do that. I think "Stretch for 10 minutes after every lifting session" or "5-15 minutes of cardio/conditioning 2-3 times a week" might be good ones. They're definitely things I need to do but am bad about, I just don't know which one is more important for right now. I also want one of the goals to be "make a plan for the 9 weeks leading up to the contest in November". This kinda has to come in parts, starting with "identify weak points in your strongman game", moving to "identify ways to train those weakpoints", and culminating in "organize these to ensure continued progress with strengths and peak for November". First part is easy: my grip sucks, my deadlift needs improving, and I need to be smoother at picking an object. That last one is easy: practice, but those first two? Oof. I've seen minimal deadlift progress in the past year, and I've never really focused on grip. Insight on those would definitely be welcome as I start pulling things together. Also, non-challenge goal reflection: This weekend was hard. In addition to losing my brakes, I've not really been able to talk to my girlfriend and my family is moving an additional 8 hours away. I went into the gym distracted yesterday and hit a new 3RM on squat for a 3/3, but couldn't find myself excited for it, only disappointed in how one rep felt, or how the walking lunges after felt. I got really down on myself about lifting and whether there was really any purpose in pushing as hard as I do, because I'll never by at the same level as my idols. My girlfriend was able to put a lot of this is perspective for me: the communities I'm a part of at my gym, or in local strongman, or here, or on reddit? They aren't the rest of the world. A deadlift in the mid 5s might not be huge to people my size that compete or that have been lifting for years, but very few people outside of those circles can seriously imagine the weights we handle on a daily basis. It's pretty cool being healthy enough to move the way I do, and then have the desire to move that way with extraneous weight. And I'm still happy I picked this up.

Hey guys, I'm hopping back in halfway through a challenge. Don't hate me for it. Or do. Your choice. Brief life update: I know I've done this a few times now, where I "come back because life is more reasonable and I have the time to do so". Those were typically lies. I had gotten into a bad situation with my degree, and I was under constant pressure and attack from my advisor, to the point where everything else was getting swallowed up: time with family, time with my relationship, even time to physically take care of myself. I am thankfully out of that situation now. I left with my master, and I've started the pursuit of my PhDizzle anew, in a better lab, with better colleagues and a much better, more reasonable mentor. The point here is, life is still busy, it always will be, but I do have the time and resources to check in more frequently now, and I have the system of people around me who support me and aren't trying to leech everything they can out of me. So I'm back. Given that I'm only here for half of this challenge, I'm going to try and keep it pretty simple. Too simple hopefully. We have TWO GOALS here: 1) Contribute Damn It, not only to this thread but also others. Check in, join discussions, and not be the lurky asshole I usually am. 2) Read Read Read. Again, I started in a new life lab and need to catch up on them readings. Three papers a day during the work week, minimum. I might record small facts/topics I've consumed to this thread, just to keep myself honest. 3) I lied. I have Three, THREE GOALS here: Come up with a set of goals for next challenge. I am going to try not to focus any on lifting, even if I do focus one of them on physical health. Lifting isn't a goal anymore. I do it. It's just there. Thanks for understanding guys, and I really am looking forward to being around on this thread more. I've missed the community aspect here.

Fair enough. Still got them goals and naivity, but I can guarantee you I am neither fresh nor energized. Youth depends on who you ask. Thanks! I was super happy with it, especially with what I had in the tank! If you'd seen the sweat angels, the fatigue at the beginning, and the amount of spite and hate I've developed for AMRAP sets, you'd realize I have not made this look easy. lol ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Wave 2, Week 1, Day 1 -- Squat "Light", Assistance "Heavy", Conditioning "Medium" The astute observer would note all that crap is in quotes. Squats did not feel light, I didn't go super heavy on assistance, and I made up the difference in conditioning. Main Giant Set KB Swing x 8, 32 kg SKWAT - 285 x 10, 335 x 8, 385 x 6+ (I got 5, felt funny coming up on the 5th, so I quickly reracked and knocked out a perfect rep after the fact. Not a rep PR, definitely a form/safety PR) Ab wheel roll outs x 8 KB Swing x 8, 32 kg Upset I had to rerack, but my conditioning under load is definitely improving. It was not strength that screwed the squat, but losing my brace. So maybe strength. Probably strength. Need more core strength. More ab wheels and planks I suppose. Assistance was... disappointing. Something was super off on Bulgarian Split Squats. I could not find the right distance with the box to be safe and stable. I got a couple of sets of three at 135, which was a tad disappointing. I had these super set with good mornings, but after the main set, these did not feel great, and I cut the first assistance super set pretty short. The second bit went well though! I have started implementing a 5/3/1 for assistance variant. Front squats went 5 x 205, 3 x 235, and a smooooooth single at 265. That single probably could have been at least a double. All of this was superset with GHRs. I've been slowly moving the rung on the GHR machine closer and closer to my feet, which makes them a hell of a lot more difficult and helpful. So that's nice. Conditioning made up the difference. I did 90' Prowler Pushes with ramping weights. I got up to 435, which actually moved pretty well. Not fast by any stretch, but still pretty smooth. All in all, it was a good day of training. I'm sure everything outside of the gym affected today and fed into not hitting my squat rep PR, but I'm still pretty alright with today. I'm excited for heavy pressing tomorrow. I might try to add some weight to the pullups and chins tomorrow, but that fully depends on how beat up I feel tomorrow. I also might up my assistance work just a little. Maybe instead of a single, 4 move giant set, I'm considering two 3 move giant sets. This should let me work the top and bottom of the lift a little more and maybe get a good bit of back work in. But again, we'll see tomorrow

So it looks like I'm slipping back to posting less frequently and I'm doing a poor job of making it back to the Warriors community... Crap. Good news, everything else this challenge is going really well. Rather than go through the specifics of both deadlift and and bench days from last week (I gotta get to work), I'll post a quick recap of each day: Deadlift - Hit my PR of 4 x 465, at least two reps in the tank, but I saved those for this week. Paused deadlifts are the devil, and they are so good for you. Front squats are getting better, as are turns with the farmer's carries. Good day that day. Bench - Hit both PRs of BB Row and Bench (255 x 4). The third rep on bench was a bit of a fight, and my spotter helped me find my groove again, but other than that, no assist. Did a ton of back work during accessories, and dips and pullups are getting tons better too. Conditioning is starting to get easier/less of a mindf*** Other good news, the weight has started falling off. In the first week of the program, I had gained back up to 250, but I weighed in at 242.4# today after what amounted to a "Cheat Weekend". My energy levels are getting better too, and I no longer feel like I'm dying between workouts, so that's good. All in all, the program is working successfully. I just need to get in gear about the other parts of my weekly challenges.

You know, I think that's close enough. Let's call it that.

The four letter ones were definitely closest

Holy smokes, I'm got a lot to catch you all up on. Between visiting my girlfriend and the DnD game starting back up, this is really the first chance I've had to check in. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Wave 1 Week 2 Day 4 - Bench Volume, Heavy Assistance, Moderate Conditioning First Giant Set Row - 12 x 165, 10 x 195, 8+ x 225 (got all 8) Bench - Same reps (got 7) Russian Twists x 10 a side Run a lap Assistance Sets DB incline bench (6 reps) DB 1A Rows (10 reps an arm) Max Dips (not many) Max Pullups (even fewer) Bonus Close Grip Bench Press for giggles Conditioning - EMOM Sled Push + Arm over Arm (30', 155#) I'm a bit upset about missing the last bench rep, but such is life. I'm learning, I hate sets over 6 reps. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Wave 1 Week 3 Day 1 - Squat Moderate, Light Assistance, Heavy Conditioning I ended up running this Saturday, trying to beat the ice storm in my area. Turns out, no ice storm until driving home the next day. Oops. Main Giant Set KB Swings x 8 32kg Squat - 10 x 285, 8 x 335, 6+ x 385 (Got all 6) Ab Wheel Rollouts x5 Swing x 8 32kg My form was maybe a bit iffy on the second to last rep, fixed it for the last. The conditioning before squats make life real damn difficult, but still a PR Assistance Sets Bulgarian Split Squats 5x each leg Front Squats x 5 GHR 3 x 10 Walking Lunges 3 x 130' Have some choice words for the walking lunges. Most of them rhyme with "Buck", or "Puck", or "Chuck"... Conditioning - Sled Push, 30' down and 30' back. Went 235, 280, 325, 370, 415 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Wave 1 Week 3 Day 2 - Press Volume, Assistance Heavy, Conditioning Moderate First Giant Set Pullup - 12, 10, 8 (went 10, 8, 8) Clean and Press Away - 12 x 115, 10 x 135, 8+ x 155 (Got all 8, second PR this week) Pallof Press - 5 reps each side Row 100m Assistance Sets Pin Press at eye level (175 x 3, 180 x 3, 185 x 2) Chin Ups 4, 5, 6 3D Raises 3 x 10 each way, 20# each set Dips (10, 7, 10 reps) Conditioning - This stupid kettlebell complex - pyramid up from 1 to 5 and back to 1. 1 Double KB Clean, X Double KB Press, 1 KB Front Squat, where X equals the step on the pyramid. This was supposed to include renegade rows with the KBs, but they were unstable, and given the soreness of my shoulders, I was not going to risk it. Week 2 Recap incoming. Proud of going 2 for 2 so far this week on rep PRs. Hopefully I keep this up Thursday and Saturday (heavy-ish deadlifts and bench, woot).

Honestly, even with a rep PR, I have to agree. A close second is press PR, but those are so damn rare

Dude, solid plan! Yeah, honestly it takes a while to get there with Front squats. If wrist mobility is a huge issue, but you want much if the same effect, look into Zercher squats. Word of caution though: wear a hoodie. That's true. Just keep an eye on them then until your form is there. Once you're dialed in, they spur a lot of growth

Dude! Awesome sauce on the PR! I was/am in the same boat with the concerns about frequency, but keep in mind that you will keep the volume about the same. All other things being equal, volume is what ultimately drives growth (note, I mean volume as a corollary to total tonnage). I just recently switched from a Sheiko program (squat and dead 2 x weekly, bench/variation 4x weekly) to something that is more akin to 5/3/1, and I guarantee you will not get weaker at the lifts. If the issue is about form, a little known secret is that bench variations can be assistance for overhead pressing (close grip and incline for sure), overhead pressing can be assistance for bench (push press following bench can help simply engrain the idea of leg drive), Front squats and zerchers are amazing for deadlifts, and good mornings and other hinge patterns (like a deadlift) help your squat. Now, programs I love that haven't seen posted: Strong First Programming Daily Dose Deadlift - you cannot have a higher frequency. It will suck for about a week, and then it become a lot of fun. This is legitimately my favourite deadlift cycle 1TRM EV PS StrongFirst Cycles - I've run this for squat twice, and it added close to 30 # to my PR in about 8 weeks. Every result I've seen for it tends to be close to 10%. I also tried to run a heavily bastardized version for bench and OHP at the same time. Added 5 pounds to overhead, and about 10 to bench. Don't bastardize it, just run it. Quality a Mile Deep - There's not a ton here in set progression, so it's really self regulated and helps you build killer form. It also helps you get used to many, many sets, and can be a bit of a mind challenge. That said, you will feel stronger coming out of this, and you will be ready for a block designed to test a 1RM Sheiko (if you have a few hours to spend and really love the big 3): again, massive focus on form and volume. Few days really go above 80%, and only like 3 go above 90%. These workouts are long and wear heavy on your soul, but you know you got solid work in after the fact.

Let's burn that bridge in a few months. My work capacity is garbage right now, and I will actually die. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Wave 1, Week 2, Day 3 - Deadlift Volume, Assistance Heavy, Conditioning Moderate I very much want to say volume deadlifts are worse than volume squats, but then, I actually finished today's workout. My main giant set went banded good mornings (way too simple), deadlift (12 x 295, 10 x 355, and 8 x 405; I hit my goal today! I may have been able to pull a few more reps, but I was getting gassed conditioning wise), ab wheel rollouts, and KB swings. Assistance went pulls from boxes (3 x 455, 3 x 495, 1 x 525, weird cramp on that last one) superset with single leg deadlifts. I then ended up helping a gym buddy retool him form on deadlifts, which kinda drove my workout long. I then superset Front Squat triples (185, 205, 225; slowly building up) with weighted Glute Ham Raises. I really loved the box pulls, and I intended to triple the 525 as well, but I braced hard enough to cramp my neck and I was not comfortable trying to finish my set with my neck crooked to one side. Conditioning was (mostly) a blast. I worked farmers carries at 165# a hand for 60' with a turn at 30'. My main goal was to get better at turning with the weight. That was interrupted pretty frequently by the soccer players on the nearby court deciding they needed to set their shit in my path, warming up in my path, or otherwise standing in my path. I get that it's everyone's gym, and everyone expresses their fitness and fun in different ways, but please wake the F up and respect each other. I suppressed the rage until leaving, which I am counting as a win. All in all, didn't flip my shit, got to hold 500+, which is always a blast, and I got my rep PR on deadlift. Good training day.

I couldn't agree more That was a big burger night, and walking/standing felt funny for a while after. One of the squat conditioning workouts I've seen and want to try eventually is the Mike Jenkins Memorial Squat Challenge. 1 minute amrap, 1 minute rest, 2 minute amrap, 2 minute rest, 3 minute amrap, 3 minute cry. I think the loading I saw was around 70% 1RM(?). Regardless of the load, I hate amrap squats.

Never in my life will I do 300 squats, unless they're unloaded. I've done that, and it was awful. I feel like you do get better at it, but only if you want to get better at it. There are definitely times when starting a set will be the biggest uphill battle you face that day, and if you want to get better at pushing past things sucking, you absolutely can. For instance, I used to hate diving under the squat bar near the middle or end of my workouts. It just drained me doing another set with the same weight, but I forced myself through it, and now I don't really have that problem (with squats) anymore (I still hate benching). The other thing is that some exercises go from being your absolute least favorite, most hated movements to your favorite. 2 months ago, I hated ab wheel rollouts, and they hurt so bad for days after. Now I look forward to these things because they're awesome and they feel awesome (and if I'm being honest, my brain still thinks "train your belly to lose the belly", which is false, but eh).

Wave 1, Week 2, Day 2 - Strict Press Moderate, Assistance Light, Conditioning Hell Heavy First giant set was a little disappointing, but I'm finding the silver linings. I missed my last rep on overhead press, just shy of the rep goal. I could have recovered that missed rep, rebraced, and shot for it again, but my mind just wasn't in it. This program is a mind challenge, I'm learning more and more. Silver linings though, I did not end up missing my pullup goals. I didn't add weight, but it's been several months since going above 5's on pullups. Pullups (10, 8, 6+) Clean and Strict Press (10 x 125, 8 x 145, 6+ x 165) Pallof Press (40-ish pounds x 8 each side) KB waiter's walk 32 kg, 30' each side Assistance, actually, went very well. I ended up hitting weights and reps I was not expecting to. Alternating Arnold Press x 8 each (30#, 35#, 30#) Pullups (1, 2, 3) 3D lat raises 10 reps each direction @20# Conditioning was another mental struggle, but I'm getting sharper at these. My first 5 minutes were 20 seconds of work followed by 20 seconds of rest doing Z presses with just the 45# bar. I took about 2 minutes of rest, then I ended up doing more waiters walks: 60' with a turn at 30', 24 kg, 5 laps each arm. Really, with the exception of missing that rep of strict press, I was pretty happy with this. I ended up really enjoying the assistance and the conditioning, and I feel like the next wave is going to be much more enjoyable from the standpoint of being used to the work load. My wrist is bothering me a little this morning, but I hope a day of rest helps it recover enough to crush deadlift on Wednesday.

Thanks! It was a lot of weight, and honestly, I think I did too much with it. My triceps have recovered, but I don't think my anterior delts have yet and it's press day. So I kind of expect all of that to come back and bite me in the ass. Everyone has a different heavy, and that heavy, and there's nothing wrong with asking for help. The bigger thing that's been bothering me with getting pinned by that weight was that I let my pride get in the way of my safety. I knew I was tired, and I knew my arms didn't have a ton left in them, and I should have asked for a spot instead of doing that sit up. If they're lifting it with one finger, they're being assholes and not really offering a helpful spot. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Wave 1/Week 2/Day 1 - Heavy Squats, Medium Assistance, Light Conditioning (oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy....) First Giant Set: Kettlebell Swing x 5 (antagonist) Squat (8 x 305, 6 x 355, 4+ x 405) Hit all rep goals Ab Wheel Roll Out x 5 Kettlebell Swings x 5 (conditioning-ish) OMG I've missed squatting heavy like this. I did not get enough reps at or over 400 running Sheiko, in my opinion. I know a bit of that is my ego running wild, but I also had been squatting triples at 405 before, so it was a massive reduction in intensity. That said, a couple weeks ago, I did hit a rep PR of 5 on squat. I could have done that again today, but I didn't. I'm not really sure why, but I didn't. I still hit my rep goals though, so I'm not terribly upset with this. Assistance Superset #1: Bulgarian Split Squats 3 x 5 reps each leg - (95, 125, 125) Goodmorning 6x (95, 125, 125) Assistance Superset #2: Paused Front Squat x 5 (155, 185, 205) GHRs x 10 (BW, +10#, +10#) I think I'm going to have to keep breaking up my leg days' assistance like this just due to gym organization. Bulgarian Split Squats are feeling a little better stability wise. It also helps that I found a better height for the box. Did almost fall once, got a comment from one of the trainers at the gym about it, and dialed it in. Again, this is an exercise in humility as I learn these movements. Front squat was not so fun, but I think that was the bar I was using. It kept sliding off my chest and into my hands, despite pushing my elbows as high as I could. Maybe this comes with mobility improvement, but also, just maybe, that bar was terrible. The knurling was nearly nonexistance, and having used it before, it feels smaller than a standard bar (despite weighing as much). Conditioning I kept real simple here and just banged out 60 1 Arm Swings with a 32 kg kettlbell. It took about 10 minutes, using sets of 10, but it's been a minute since doing these with one arm, and I felt better easing into it. Between these and the split squats, I'm noticing a bit of an imbalance in my legs, particularly in my right glute not wanting to fire (probably also explains all the balance issues on that side with the unilateral work). I'm going to keep addressing this on squat day, but also on deadlift days too now. I'm going to try and remember to include single leg deadlifts and single leg bridges for my assistance then, and we'll see how quickly we can fix this problem. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ All in all, yesterday was a good training day, and I'm excited to press again today. My wrist is still bothering me, but I had stopped spending so much time trying to fix it, so that is going to appear in my cool down sessions from here on out.