Jarric

Nice goals man, I'm already plotting to steal at least one for my next challenge. Also, those kittens you rescued are freaking adorable. That was a really good thing to do.

Hey, I like the idea of running ultra marathons! Just not as much as I hate the idea of training for ultra marathons :p

Produce ethereal soul music which charms anyone who hears it.

Started my second week of this programme yesterday, and it felt a lot more solid. Hit the required reps on the main lifts (although no bonus reps) and just barely had time for all the assistance work, which gave the following: Bench: 20kg x 2 x 5, 30kg x 5, 42.5kg x 5, 50kg x 5, 55kg (~121#) x 5 Squat: 20kg x 2 x 5, 40kg x 5, 60kg x 5, 70kg x 5, 80kg (~176#) x 5 TRX row: Hip height x 5, waist height x 2 x 8 - I need to double check my technique on this I think Reverse lunge: 14kg (~31#)/hand x 3 x 12 - Should have been 16kg/hand, but those dumbells were available at the time So just about everything hit, and all in all it felt like a good workout. I have DOMS in my feet today from the lunges, which shows how rarely I do lunges, and my glutes were slightly tight on my run this morning, but otherwise I feel pretty good.

Cool, well I'll follow your progress with interest then. My running volume is nowhere near yours though to be fair.

Thanks! I've not done one this round as I had a holiday in the middle of it, but I'll be back for one when the boards go up next week. You look amazing in your pirate costume by the way.

I love your Inktober sketches! And your green dragon looks wicked and mega scary. It might be me, but seeing those two sentences together I can't help but wonder if these things are related? Either, you're feeling fatigued also makes you feel less hungry or that because you've eaten less you have less energy to exercise?

Had day 2 of my draft plan today; OHP and deadlifts. for both I only got 3 reps in the final set instead of the 8+ I should be aiming for. I think it's still too early to tell whether that's down to me being rusty or the percentages being too high, but as I drop down to sets of 5 next week I'm hoping to actually hit the target reps! Assistance wise I got in two sets of SLDLs and a set of lat pulldowns, and then I ran out of time. I did cut out some of the warm-up sets on the main lifts which helped with time, but I'm still going to struggle to fit this in. I did only get in there for 50 minutes rather than a full hour, but really I'd like to be able to get my workout in in that time.

Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. I'll see how I go for this cycle at least, but maybe I'd be better off going 531 instead of 853...

Forgot to add when I typed this earlier - great idea. I'll sub in TRX rows instead of DB rows. Good idea on the grip strength too; can never have too much of that.

That's a good point about the running volume - if you do go with 531 I'd be interested to know what gains you get and how that sits with your running. In my mind I was worried about going to such high percentages of 1RM with running fatigue, but reading some of the links in @Defining's post maybe I should be more concerned about volume than load. Understood on the unilateral work, I'm hoping for similar effects with the lunges and SLDLs. Wow, some really interesting information in there, thanks for that. Overall it makes me think that I should be training upper body more frequently at least, and I'm wondering if I can manage that with shorter pull-up bar workouts rather than more gym sessions. In terms of what I want however strength is the main focus. Whilst it's good to look good, packing on more muscle is actually likely going to be less efficient for climbing and distance running. With running I do take your point, and I certainly would get stronger quicker with less running. I find I feel best though when I train every day, and with most of what I'm lacking to compete in OCRs being running speed and endurance I feel I have to prioritise that training time into running. I do also feel that an office job in itself qualifies as (physical) recovery time!

I had my first run-through of my draft plan this morning. My top set on bench I stopped at 5 reps instead of the full 8 as I could feel myself getting near failure (I really need to get used to trusting the safety bars for bench so I can go to failure). My top set on squats I stopped at 6 reps as my form was breaking down. So it might be that these percentages are too heavy for sets of 8. Or it might be that I was just having a bad day and a bit rusty after a week on holiday. More experimentation needed. After the above I was also shattered and very short on time, so I got in a single set of dumbell rows and called that it. To keep things sensible time wise I might need to cut down on my warm-up sets on the main lifts. Full set breakdowns (in kg) were: Joint mobility warm-up Bench: 20 x 2 x 5, 30 x 5, 35 x 5, 40 x 8, 47.5 x 8, 52.5 x 5 Squat: 20 x 2 x 5, 40 x 5, 50 x 5, 60 x 8, 65 x 8, 75 x 6 DB Row: 22/hand x 12 Stretched Total time: 54 minutes.

That's a good point, I hadn't looked at it that way. It would mean never getting a deload week, but it's something to mull over. Funnily enough I was doing the JTS programme with 531 assistance, except I was doing a variation for the 531 element (so the 531 exercises were floor press, front squat, OHP and defecit deadlift).As you say though it still keeps the cycle pretty long. I know what you mean about the volume on 531, it feels like too much weight and too little work for me somehow. For assistance what do you mean by unilateral work? As in single leg/single arm exercises? Core wise I'm a bit torn because I hate core exercises, and I'm somewhat convinced I can get away with pull-ups, deadlifts and climbing to build core strength.

Hi all, I'm not running a challenge this cycle as I've just got back from a week's holiday in Ireland (which was incredible!). I am however trying to put together a new lifting plan for myself and would really appreciate any advice anyone would like to offer. Details are here: I'll be running with that as a kind of battle-log as well for the next two weeks, until the next challenge cycle starts.

Hi all, I'm not running a challenge this cycle as I've just got back from a week's holiday in Ireland (which was incredible!). I am however trying to put together a new lifting plan for myself and would really appreciate any advice anyone would like to offer. Details are here: I'll be running with that as a kind of battle-log as well for the next two weeks, until the next challenge cycle starts.

Hi all, I'm putting together a new lifting programme for myself and was hoping to tap into the collective wisdom of the NF nerds to help put it together. Before I get fully into it, the tl;dr version is that I've been doing Juggernaut, I'm looking for something with a bit of a quicker turnaround, and I've hashed together something based on the principles of Juggernaut and 5-3-1 which I would love your help in refining. Background Currently most of my training focus is on running Obstacle Course Races (OCRs) and on bouldering (rock climbing). Because of this I run four times per week and climb as often as possible (which will only be once per week for the next couple of months). My remaining training is two lifting days and a swimming day, and it's the two lifting days I want help with programming. I have been working using the Juggernaut programme, but only doing one major lift each day I'm taking two weeks to do what would be one week of the programme. For Juggernaut that means one training cycle takes 8 weeks and the full programme takes 32 weeks to run (plus if I miss a session for any reason it extends that time). It seems to me that spreading out my lifting so much is a bit problematic as it means I'm only doing each big lift once every two weeks, and overall I'm finding it hard to see progress and keep motivation when it takes 32 weeks for me to be in a comparative training block. Ideally I'll have an hour in the morning for each gym session, including 5 minutes to do a basic mobility warm-up and at least 5 minutes at the end to stretch, but some days I may only manage 45 minutes. I'll be continuing to go to my local leisure centre gym which is generally fairly well kitted out with power racks, a deadlift platform and a few machines. I work out first thing in the morning, before breakfast and before work. Stats I am 29 years old, 5'10" (~175cm), and about 11 stone 10 (=164#, ~75kg). My current working maxes (not tested 1RMs) are: Bench: 62kg (~136#) Squat: 85kg (~187#) Overhead Press: 46kg (~101#) Deadlift: 127kg (~279#) The Plan So Far I wanted to combine two big lifts into each day, and move to something where I can hopefully see incremental progress month-on-month. I like the idea of Jim Wendler's 5-3-1 programme for that basis, but I don't like the idea of pushing to failure every workout or continually testing my 1RM as I don't think that will sit well with my running training or with various races that I take part in. To start with I'm going to try out a similar system but with the rep scheme as 8-5-3 rather than 5-3-1. The last set of each workout I will push over the prescribed reps, but stealing an idea from Juggernaut I'll be leaving 2-3 reps in the tank on week one and 1-2 reps in the tank in week two, only actually going to failure on week three. Percentages for the four week cycle will be as follows: 8's Week: 60% x 8, 70% x 8, 80% x 8+ 5's Week: 65% x 5, 75% x 5, 85% x 5+ 8-5-3 Week: 70% x 8, 80% x 5, 90% x 3+ Deload Week: 40% x 5, 50% x 5, 60% x 5 Percentages will be of my "working max", which is 90% of my estimated 1RM. Estimated 1RM will be calculated at the end of week 3 in each cycle based on the following formula: weight + (weight*reps*0.033). (For example if I lift 80kg for 8 reps that gives me an estimated max of 80 + (80*8*0.033) = 80+21.12 = 101.12kg. Working max will be 90% of that, so 91kg.) Assistance Assistance is something I've really not quite got figured out yet, and any advice would be hugely helpful. To start with I'm going to add two assistance exercises to each day for 3 sets of 12, and see how it going from there and how that fits in time-wise. To start with I'm thinking: Day 1 - Bench and Squat: Dumbell Row (20kg per hand, 3x12) - Because I feel like there should be some upper body pulling work here? Reverse Lunge (16kg per hand, 3x12) - Because I've found that regular squats and lunges combined are pretty much essential to keep me from getting hip problems when i run. Day 2 - OHP and Deadlift: Lat Pulldowns (85#, 3x12) - Because this kind of pulling strength is massively important for climbing, and I'm not strong enough to do pullups for sets of 12 yet (or even sets of 8). Single leg straight leg deadlift (6kg per hand, 3x12) - I recently added this in as a hamstring exercise, but also to improve my balance and hopefully build some stabilising strength to help protect my ankles which can be slightly dodgy. So that'as it! I'll be having my first go at this tomorrow and will tweak it with any advice I receive and information I gain from experimenting as I go. I'm not running a challenge this cycle, so for the next two weeks I'll also be using this as a place to update generally regarding this plan and how it's affecting my other training.

That makes sense. I've been trying to get my running and swimming plans to fit around the challenge cycle here, so 5 weeks. But my lifting schedule is currently an 8 week cycle (for each stage of Juggernaut, so a 32 week cycle for the whole thing) and because I don't skip workouts but instead move them on I add a week to that every other time I fail to get up in the morning. One of the main reasons I want to change my lifting plan now is to make that cycle a bit shorter - I find it hard to stay engaged when it takes so long to have an idea if you're getting progress.

D'aaaaaaaaawwwwww

I don't see the problem here I'm thinking of re-working my lifting completely too. Not 100% sure what it's going to look like yet but I'm getting some ideas.

Hey, glad to see you back battle logging! I look forward to plenty of random babbling

Sounds like a crazy day, but at least a happy one for the cat

I may be off base here, but I think in this case you need to give yourself permission to be a bit more relaxed about your goals on weekends. You're better off having an 80% successful weekend than striving for perfection, hitting one misstep and giving up for the rest of the weekend as a result. I know it not the logical choice I'm making out to be, but maybe plan for a bit of failure?

I was summoned? Oo, looks good, don't mind if I do mate.

Yeah, that was pretty cool.

Last night I was so drained from work I went home and went straight to bed for a nap. After that I did feel a lot better though, so I cooked burgers with sweet potato fries and baked beans and chilled out in front of Critical Role. I may have also signed up to Nuclear Blast on Saturday, so more racing for me . This morning I swan. Well, I spent my first 5-10 minutes in the pool trying to fix my goggles because I clearly wasn't awake enough to perform such a complex task, but then I swam. Only a short session in the end, and I was amazed at how beat up my shoulders were from climbing over things at Nuts last weekend, but it was good to get out there anyway. Tonight WW's cooking my favourite - Swedish meatballs - and we're going to watch Bake-Off before I go out for snooker practice.