Hyde
Legend
Thank you sir; I am feeling better & think I’m finally through the woods.
Hyde’s Strength Odyssey
- Thread starter Hyde
- Start date
SkRaw85
Legend
Cool to see you progressing the self-unrack method. I swear it is superior to having someone dump the bar cold on to you. CNS primed and everything is already stacked and tight!
Hyde
Legend
I don’t think it will be superior for competition; I save too much energy getting a liftoff and it guarantees I can get a perfect setup without worrying about relation to the bar. But 9/10 sets of my training days generally need to be done solo, so I need to make all that work safe & correct. Nobody wants to ask for a liftoff for sets you don’t already need a spot for anyway.
Hyde
Legend
1/7/26
Reverse Hypers
90,180x20
270 2x15
Lat Pulldown
90x12
160,190x3
210 2x10
HS CSR
180,270x3
360 2x10
Popped into the barbell club after work to get a few back accessories in before heading to my son’s gymnastics. Lats are getting stronger. Haven’t really done reverse hypers in ages but they felt easy enough; kept them light and got a huge pump.
Squats tomorrow!
Reverse Hypers
90,180x20
270 2x15
Lat Pulldown
90x12
160,190x3
210 2x10
HS CSR
180,270x3
360 2x10
Popped into the barbell club after work to get a few back accessories in before heading to my son’s gymnastics. Lats are getting stronger. Haven’t really done reverse hypers in ages but they felt easy enough; kept them light and got a huge pump.
Squats tomorrow!
gphagan1
Legend
Our gym just got a belt squat when I was out last week. Gonna have to give that bad boy a go when I get this albatross off my foot.
Hyde
Legend
1/9/26
BW 247.6 yesterday
2 min Assault Bike
Mace Swings
Scap Pushups
Cat Camel
Bird Dogs
Plank
Side-plank Activations
Hip Thrusters
RFE SS
Squat, Duffalobar
55x6
165,275x3
+Ergopro sleeves
385x3
+belt
452,474,501x3
474x9 PR
Paused SSB
+lifters
285,395x3
415x5
DB Walking Lunges
BWx8
50 2x8
Plate-loaded Leg Extensions
90 3x20
Best rep set of squats in my entire life today. Everything just felt recovered & ready, no aches or tightness, no more COVID drag, and I put the Inzer Ergopro sleeves on for the first time since last comp almost 20 weeks ago. The triple at 500 felt like a warmup, so I knew it was time to cook.
Planning on adding just a pinch of Trest Ace next week, so I trialed 5mg preWO today. Didn’t even notice it, which is perfect - just felt great. Also pinned 400mg L-Carn & 80mg Choline.
BW 247.6 yesterday
2 min Assault Bike
Mace Swings
Scap Pushups
Cat Camel
Bird Dogs
Plank
Side-plank Activations
Hip Thrusters
RFE SS
Squat, Duffalobar
55x6
165,275x3
+Ergopro sleeves
385x3
+belt
452,474,501x3
474x9 PR
Paused SSB
+lifters
285,395x3
415x5
DB Walking Lunges
BWx8
50 2x8
Plate-loaded Leg Extensions
90 3x20
Best rep set of squats in my entire life today. Everything just felt recovered & ready, no aches or tightness, no more COVID drag, and I put the Inzer Ergopro sleeves on for the first time since last comp almost 20 weeks ago. The triple at 500 felt like a warmup, so I knew it was time to cook.
Planning on adding just a pinch of Trest Ace next week, so I trialed 5mg preWO today. Didn’t even notice it, which is perfect - just felt great. Also pinned 400mg L-Carn & 80mg Choline.
GreenMachineX
Well-known member
Nice work. Did you take any time off for the illness?
SkRaw85
Legend
holy fuggin squat PR!!!!! Big meal tonight lol. Impressive brother
sammpedd88
Well-known member
Nice work bro! Do you feel the injectable l-carnitine and choline complement each other well? I’ve never taken choline. Was it injectable also or oral?
Hyde
Legend
When I woke up achey with a sore throat on a morning I was supposed to squat, I knew something was up - and sore throats only ever get worse. So I went to the gym to do what I could; everything felt crazy hard and I was dragging hard. Loaded 70% of 1RM squat goal for training cycle for 5x3, gutted that out, and then went home. This was 35lbs under what I planned to use. Skipped the next 2 training sessions (1 serious, 1 easy day) and got back to it on Friday once I’d been without fever for a couple days. I was sick for probably 15 days overall, so you really need to get back to it once the worst is over. If you wait until coughs and snot are gone, you could be out forever.
holy fuggin squat PR!!!!! Big meal tonight lol. Impressive brother
Thanks man; honestly I don’t even feel blasted, not nearly as much as usual after squats.
Yes definitely, and you want to get them as a blend. The carnitine improves bloodflow, fueling/ substrate utilization, and endurance, while the choline supports neurology (strength/force output, motor learning, focus). Both compounds will acutely help performance as well as improve recovery from that work. I haven’t used it in quite a while, but it does help.
MA Research is what I am using, and it’s very smooth & quality. Code SMONT is 15% off.
sammpedd88
Well-known member
I’ll have to give it a try. I like pinning l-carnitine and can tell the difference on days that I didn’t take that I should have.
GreenMachineX
Well-known member
Gotcha. I forget what it’s like every time I get sick, which is usually every 6 months, and if I recall directly, I’m out for a week. No fever though.
Hyde
Legend
L-Carnitine is great for off-days or recovery, but the carn/choline combo is ideal specifically preWO before strength training.
If I don’t have a fever or vomiting, I’ll train as long as I can get hydrated. I will scale back efforts based on ability and my expectations for recovery, and/or take an extra day off between sessions, but generally speaking if you want to get stronger don’t just do nothing for a week. Just going in to do a few sets with 50-60% on a few choice lifts makes a huge difference vs abandoning training entirely.
“Modify, don’t miss.” as Matt Wenning would say.
akboom87
Well-known member
Segansational
Well-known member
Killer squats and congrats on the rep PR!
Man, this makes me think maybe I should get on the injectable l-carnitine train. My provider is recommending it for me, but honestly if I'm going to pin you know it's going to have to be worth it!!
Hyde
Legend
Thanks! You can use a smaller gauge insulin syringe for carnitine than you would need for AAS in oil. It is water-based and pushes easier. I use EZ Touch 28g 1/2” for my carnitine, and you can even use a 29g 5/16 if you don’t need over 50 units in your dose.Killer squats and congrats on the rep PR!
Man, this makes me think maybe I should get on the injectable l-carnitine train. My provider is recommending it for me, but honestly if I'm going to pin you know it's going to have to be worth it!!
gphagan1
Legend
Man that is a great squat session. The sets of 3 were impressive on their own , especially the 501 that felt like a warm up, but that 474 x 9 is on a different level, awesome.
Congrats on the PR…..Oh and excellent choice in music.
Hyde
Legend
1/11/26
7 min Incline Walk
DB Incline
Widegrip Bench, powerbar
135x10
165,205x6
255 6x6
EZBar JM Press
60,80,100,125x20
Vbar Cable Tri Pressdown
44,77,115x3
130 2x11
Reverse Pecdeck
80x35,30,25
My son turns 5 tomorrow so we hosted a kids party yesterday then a party for family today, so it’s been fun but draining overall - pretty dead going into this session this evening after family left, but objectively if this is a bad session then things are going alright anyway.
Decided to move from 2x25 to 6x6 on Widegrip now that things are getting closer. I think 25s work fine, but it’s a bit more specific & still decent volume with a good pec stimulus.
7 min Incline Walk
DB Incline
Widegrip Bench, powerbar
135x10
165,205x6
255 6x6
EZBar JM Press
60,80,100,125x20
Vbar Cable Tri Pressdown
44,77,115x3
130 2x11
Reverse Pecdeck
80x35,30,25
My son turns 5 tomorrow so we hosted a kids party yesterday then a party for family today, so it’s been fun but draining overall - pretty dead going into this session this evening after family left, but objectively if this is a bad session then things are going alright anyway.
Decided to move from 2x25 to 6x6 on Widegrip now that things are getting closer. I think 25s work fine, but it’s a bit more specific & still decent volume with a good pec stimulus.
sammpedd88
Well-known member
Just curious of how you came up with the weight you used for the 6x6? Did you use a percentage of your max or add to it from the weight you used for 2x25?
Segansational
Well-known member
Happy birthday to the little man! 5 is a great age, as personality really starts to shine!
Shadowblaze
Active member
Happy birthday to your boy!
Dustin07
Legend
Hyde
Legend
Thanks everyone; he’s wearing his birthday shirt again today to school & we brought donuts for the school snack so he’s definitely hyped! First thing he did was put his little birthday crown on when he went into pre-K this morning.
I figured I can probably bench 350 any good day currently, and 70-75% being a zone I’d probably like to work in, I should use around 245-265. Seeing as I went to the commercial gym & had pairs of 45/35/25 on the bench, 255 happened pretty organically
The point of the secondary pressing day is always to support the base of hypertrophy and potentiate (or at least not hurt) heavy bench day. So it’s not about how hard you can go, but rather just getting useful work in.
Me & the wife were talking about how fast it seems, like he was only born a year or two ago, but it’s been half a decade!
You know the guy who got me into powerlifting, convinced us to compete the first time - I remember him squatting 445-465 for a set of 8 raw at one point in the gym. He had squat 650 in wraps at the first meet I did. I remember thinking how incredible & far off that goal seemed, a bunch of reps at mid 400s.
Now, it finally feels like I’ve come full circle.
I figured I can probably bench 350 any good day currently, and 70-75% being a zone I’d probably like to work in, I should use around 245-265. Seeing as I went to the commercial gym & had pairs of 45/35/25 on the bench, 255 happened pretty organically
The point of the secondary pressing day is always to support the base of hypertrophy and potentiate (or at least not hurt) heavy bench day. So it’s not about how hard you can go, but rather just getting useful work in.
Happy Birthday to your little man….wow they grow up so fast.
Me & the wife were talking about how fast it seems, like he was only born a year or two ago, but it’s been half a decade!
almost comical dude, that's straight fire
You know the guy who got me into powerlifting, convinced us to compete the first time - I remember him squatting 445-465 for a set of 8 raw at one point in the gym. He had squat 650 in wraps at the first meet I did. I remember thinking how incredible & far off that goal seemed, a bunch of reps at mid 400s.
Now, it finally feels like I’ve come full circle.
sammpedd88
Well-known member
Most definitely. Yeah I totally understand the second bench day and knew that weight was some percentage of your max, but I was just curious if what the specifics were. I tend to overthink things sometimes lol!
Hyde
Legend
1/13/26
2 min Assault Bike
Mace Swings
Scap Pushups
Cat Camel
Bird Dogs
BB RDLs
KB Suitcase Carries
KB One-leg DL
Deadlift, Texas Deadlift bar
155x5 RDL
265,375x3
+powerbelt
464,508,552x1
508x8 PR
RDL
+belt & straps
402 2x9
Dimmel Deads
221,226x20
GHD Sit-ups
2x15
10 min Walk
Back on the deadlift bar for the first time in 5 months. Pulled an easy 552 single before a new lifetime best rep PR with 508x8. The numbers are telling me I’m finally ready for a true deadlift PR. Also happy to see sit-ups were much easier this week, so I’ll add load next time.
2 min Assault Bike
Mace Swings
Scap Pushups
Cat Camel
Bird Dogs
BB RDLs
KB Suitcase Carries
KB One-leg DL
Deadlift, Texas Deadlift bar
155x5 RDL
265,375x3
+powerbelt
464,508,552x1
508x8 PR
RDL
+belt & straps
402 2x9
Dimmel Deads
221,226x20
GHD Sit-ups
2x15
10 min Walk
Back on the deadlift bar for the first time in 5 months. Pulled an easy 552 single before a new lifetime best rep PR with 508x8. The numbers are telling me I’m finally ready for a true deadlift PR. Also happy to see sit-ups were much easier this week, so I’ll add load next time.
gphagan1
Legend
Man that is impressive….congrats on another PR. I put the 508 x 8 in this 1RM calculator I like, that has been pretty accurate on bench, and it shot out 645 as your max. Now I know that’s approximate, but I bet you’re at least 620 to 625. Looks like this is gonna be your PR year.
sammpedd88
Well-known member
Great to see you reaping the rewards from all the hard work! Always trust the program! Great work!
Hyde
Legend
Yeah my calculations suggest 630lbs, and I felt like there may have been one more possible. Certainly clean enough to believe that 633 is on the table right now.Man that is impressive….congrats on another PR. I put the 508 x 8 in this 1RM calculator I like, that has been pretty accurate on bench, and it shot out 645 as your max. Now I know that’s approximate, but I bet you’re at least 620 to 625. Looks like this is gonna be your PR year.
I am hoping so. There are a lot of contingencies, but there is real potential for something special to happen.
Shadowblaze
Active member
Dustin07
Legend
it certainly seems like your recovery is above average and doing really really well considering how dynamite your sessions continue to be, looking good in here!
Hyde
Legend
Well there’s a few things on that front: I am eating at least 4x a day religiously, with a slight excess of calories probably. Going to bed earlier any time I can (with my CPAP), and of course 900mg of gear/wk. I am living it.
But even more important - the MOST important - is that I seem to have found the workload and frequency that is enough to drive progress without overshooting recovery. And this has been something I figured out back in the offseason; I stopped training with as much superfluous volume. I do not need a bunch of sets or bullshit exercises to raise my squat when 2 hard sets of 2 exercises of squatting pattern will do it better than anything else. The key is patience, progressive overload, and listening to my body. If you are going to train very hard, you can’t do it too often or too many sets. Deadlifts have basically been 1 brutal set, then RDLs to backfill hinge volume (it was GMs further out).
Dustin07
Legend
That makes sense. My buddy jokes that his squat routine is to go in and attempt a PR once a month then not touch a barbell for a month. He's actually only half joking though. He eats a lot, squats occasionally, and then randomly puts up 450-500lbs like he planned it that way. of course the truth lies somewhere in the middle and he should probably be squatting 600lbs by now but I think a 500lb squat already makes it hard to carry his giant balls round in his slacks.
GreenMachineX
Well-known member
2 hard sets of 2 exercises…is that twice per week though?
Hyde
Legend
You do have to do enough. Maxing out sporadically is not enough work, hence why your buddy continues to not exceed 500lbs for the years I’ve heard you talk about him. Consistent progressive training stimuli is required to raise strength, with recovery to meet those needs.
Once every 7-10 days, typically 9, before I repeat that session. But there will be 2 unique lower & upper days each in that 9-day microcycle.
This approach works well longterm if you know what true failure is and can work around RPE8-9. But many people can’t work that hard. I promise you there is no scrolling before a set like that - more like working up courage!
Shadowblaze
Active member
2 hard sets 2x per week worked amazingly well for me. I went from 225->315 on bench in 4 months doing that.
GreenMachineX
Well-known member
I need to know your exact plan lol
GreenMachineX
Well-known member
So 2 squat patterns, and 2 “other” quad exercises in about 7 days?You do have to do enough. Maxing out sporadically is not enough work, hence why your buddy continues to not exceed 500lbs for the years I’ve heard you talk about him. Consistent progressive training stimuli is required to raise strength, with recovery to meet those needs.
Once every 7-10 days, typically 9, before I repeat that session. But there will be 2 unique lower & upper days each in that 9-day microcycle.
This approach works well longterm if you know what true failure is and can work around RPE8-9. But many people can’t work that hard. I promise you there is no scrolling before a set like that - more like working up courage!
Shadowblaze
Active member
If you go to my log in the Maximus pact, you can see my all my workouts laid out. I hit 315 on August 30th so anything prior to August 15th is when I made the most progress.
Dustin07
Legend
start by going back in time 16 years, double your metablism and recovery rate.
GreenMachineX
Well-known member
lol I think he’s 20? So more like…22 years backstart by going back in time 16 years, double your metablism and recovery rate.
Dustin07
Legend
I just came across an old video of me doing weighted pull-ups from when I was a skinny boi with a damn near 8 pack and I was like, yup, thats where I should be for BF%. then I looked at the date of the video. 2014. lollol I think he’s 20? So more like…22 years back
Shadowblaze
Active member
lol that definitely can help. I don’t believe age is a big factor though, at least not as big as people claim it is. But ask me again in 20 years and my mind may change. I just don’t see myself being able to stuff I wouldn’t be able to do when I’m 40. My grandpa was athletic at 77, obviously not a beast but he was muscular, strong and athletic at an old age.start by going back in time 16 years, double your metablism and recovery rate.
I saw this one study that proved from the ages of 13-60 your metabolism doesn’t actually change. Meaning that everyone who’s older and claims to have a harder time losing weight than when you were younger is actually simply having a harder time not because their metabolism slowed down but because their lifestyle did.
lol yeah I’m pretty young, I’ve been lifting since I was 14 in grade 9. But some health problems made me unable to train properly for a few years.lol I think he’s 20? So more like…22 years back
GreenMachineX
Well-known member
You’re right about the metabolism. Mine is just about as high as it’s ever been, but my recovery is a little impaired mostly due to being unable to sleep more than 6 hours.
Shadowblaze
Active member
lol I feel you, I’ve been working construction the past 2 months so I’m waking up at 4:30 and doing an 8 hour labor shift then lifting after. I need to go to bed at 9:15 to get my 7 hours of sleep.
Last edited:
Hyde
Legend
Right, but again for me I found 7 days wasn’t always cutting it and I get as strong or stronger going every 9 days.
My leg day was Squats, Hacksquats, Lunges and Leg Extensions, plus standing calves on the Hacksquat before I unload it usually.
But when I am squatting, it was often a very heavy single followed by AMRAP around 75-80% of last peaking max. So that’s ballbuster work, and then the hacks were whatever juice I had left - which were often 10-12 reps that left me absolutely gasping afterwards.