You should look into getting a dip/pull up belt. I bet you could do it right now if you had one probably more than that. Not having to hold the weight with your knees allows you to redirect that saved energy and concentration to your pull. They are also great for strapping to a chain on a sled or something for pulling. I used mine to drag around my tire sled all the time. It's a cheap but awesome addition to a home gym.
Oh that is sexy! Mine is not that sexy or heavy duty, it is the softer woven fabric like a spudz dead lift belt material. I think I got it for like 24.99 at academy about 5-10 years ago, and that bad boy has gone all the way up to 4 plates for 3 reps on Dips!!!Fine. You talked me into it. Nice sale! Lol.
Went with titan cuz they have my loyalty.
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still sorta blows my mind how much less carnitine you have to take than me when you pin it.
Honestly 4x a week is sufficient even, according to the ebook.If that is saddening, also consider that mine works better and only needs once a day administration tooHonestly 4x a week is sufficient even, according to the ebook.
honestly it probably costs less in those dose sizes too, long term. I think mine is at around $25/month but if I take the amounts I should take orally it would be probably $50-75.
Score! You won’t need over 200 lbs….. yet….
Clen was bumped to 50mcg a few days ago and we added SNS Lean Edge a few days just before that, which has gotten the scale moving some. Cardio also increased 1.5 weeks ago, but with my wife’s work schedule there isn’t much time to add any more and calories can’t really drop much lower for performance considerations (~1,400). Plan is to start 50mcg T3 tomorrow morning and probably bump to 75mcg quickly, depending on what the scale does this week. She’s been recomping very well, but at this point we just need to shred about 10lbs of scale weight off of her, fat or muscle.9/20/21
BW 226.0
10 min walk
Bird Dogs
Side Planks
Sandbag Load to 52”
137x1
175x1
SSB Boxsquat
60x8
vs Average bands
60,150x5
200 2x3
250 3x3
270 2x3
Shut it down. I’m just sick and I can’t fucking hang & I’m pissed about it. I tried to warm up for this last night when my wife was finally done training her events at 7:15 after having to work because we were gone for the show Saturday, but everything hurt & felt like ****. This morning I tried to push through but I just feel like there’s nothing in the tank. Going to take it easier this week.
I appreciate all of the support! Just work and rest today, and I will either rest tomorrow or do a deload type session in the evening if I feel very good after work.
I need to remember to take my time just for my back health alone, so pacing things for the long game is imperative anyway.
Might be moving my training into a 10/20/Life Off-Season phase for a bit. It’s RPE-based so I can adjust the weights as I feel comfortable coming back to squats/pulls. I am toying with the idea of doing John Meadows/Dave Tate’s Unity powerbuilding program in a few weeks after vacation, but I am not sure I can commit to that kind of gym time and soreness right now. We’ll see!
Googles 10/20/life off season - AH, this would be perfect for training while injured. Although I don't know that I have ever done an RPE6 that wasn't considered a warm up set. Curious as well how it will treat you. Seems pretty low in both volume and intensity which is great for recovery, just wonder what kind of progress will be made with such low volume, frequency and intensity. I guess the regular deloads are probably a big portion of the progress since you get to decondition a bit every couple weeks. Similar to HST type of plan.
damn-some deep stuff right here!!!Brian addresses this in the book - this is just for the competitive lifts. And RPE will go up to 8.
You have to remember this isn’t a bodybuilding program. If you are doing a set of sissy squats, multiple sets of RPE 9 can be done weekly without much consequence besides some soreness. And certainly isolation movements can be handled this way. But going to even a single set of RPE9 on a competitive squat or deadlift can be so draining and damaging that it can not only be more than enough stimulus for progress, it can actually set your coming training back or even risk injury. So if you want to do multiple work sets in a session, it’s especially imperative you leave potential in the tank. I think that for something I can actually squat for 10 reps maximum, RPE10, I need to actually shut it down around 5-6 reps to get a solid training effect and still allow the ability to do all of the necessary accessory movements that build and address my foundation.
I was consistently finding when doing 5/3/1 again within the last year that I would have 2 good weeks of training and be feeling smashed up by the time I was entering week 3 - I was already ready for a deload. I think that it’s different when a lifter is either less experienced or weaker, but I have an entire decade of powerlifting under my belt at this point: the neurological recruitment and trauma I am able to potentially inflict on myself with the big lifts is so much greater than someone less qualified.
Even if you had a 20-year-old kid wayyyy stronger than me, he could push it to the limit all the time and probably get away with it fine. I remember lifting like that when I was that age, killing myself on 5x5 and the like. Because your wear and tear & neurological recruitment is so low. Even someone primarily bodybuilding won’t have the top end potential so they can handle heavier RPE if they occasionally do 5x5 or the like. Now, if I psyche up and bring myself to my maximum potential on a set of 10 reps in the squat, I will be on the floor afterwards and my heart rate will be elevated for over 20 minutes. Literally nothing else of consequence can be done in that session (or probably needs to, for that matter).
People always want to see more. They think they need to do X amount for optimal progress. Then what happens is they get on a program, do that for a while, then stop the program or get hurt, and total work comes down a lot anyway. It creates this illusion of doing so much for maximum ROI, but the net never ends up being better than just exactly what they can tolerate overall over the longterm.
Brian addresses this in the book - this is just for the competitive lifts. And RPE will go up to 8.
You have to remember this isn’t a bodybuilding program. If you are doing a set of sissy squats, multiple sets of RPE 9 can be done weekly without much consequence besides some soreness. And certainly isolation movements can be handled this way. But going to even a single set of RPE9 on a competitive squat or deadlift can be so draining and damaging that it can not only be more than enough stimulus for progress, it can actually set your coming training back or even risk injury. So if you want to do multiple work sets in a session, it’s especially imperative you leave potential in the tank. I think that for something I can actually squat for 10 reps maximum, RPE10, I need to actually shut it down around 5-6 reps to get a solid training effect and still allow the ability to do all of the necessary accessory movements that build and address my foundation.
I was consistently finding when doing 5/3/1 again within the last year that I would have 2 good weeks of training and be feeling smashed up by the time I was entering week 3 - I was already ready for a deload. I think that it’s different when a lifter is either less experienced or weaker, but I have an entire decade of powerlifting under my belt at this point: the neurological recruitment and trauma I am able to potentially inflict on myself with the big lifts is so much greater than someone less qualified.
Even if you had a 20-year-old kid wayyyy stronger than me, he could push it to the limit all the time and probably get away with it fine. I remember lifting like that when I was that age, killing myself on 5x5 and the like. Because your wear and tear & neurological recruitment is so low. Even someone primarily bodybuilding won’t have the top end potential so they can handle heavier RPE if they occasionally do 5x5 or the like. Now, if I psyche up and bring myself to my maximum potential on a set of 10 reps in the squat, I will be on the floor afterwards and my heart rate will be elevated for over 20 minutes. Literally nothing else of consequence can be done in that session (or probably needs to, for that matter).
People always want to see more. They think they need to do X amount for optimal progress. Then what happens is they get on a program, do that for a while, then stop the program or get hurt, and total work comes down a lot anyway. It creates this illusion of doing so much for maximum ROI, but the net never ends up being better than just exactly what they can tolerate overall over the longterm.
Now, if I psyche up and bring myself to my maximum potential on a set of 10 reps in the squat, I will be on the floor afterwards and my heart rate will be elevated for over 20 minutes. Literally nothing else of consequence can be done in that session (or probably needs to, for that matter).
People always want to see more. They think they need to do X amount for optimal progress. Then what happens is they get on a program, do that for a while, then stop the program or get hurt, and total work comes down a lot anyway. It creates this illusion of doing so much for maximum ROI, but the net never ends up being better than just exactly what they can tolerate overall over the longterm.
Yeah that makes total sense. I realize I have a big tendency to push myself over the top, on things so something like this might be ideal. At least ideal for now. Plus I just looked at a quick review with a very basic sample layout so don't have access to all of the details. I may have to look into this as an option, and more to the point as a safety buffer for my love of intensity.
Imagine if I actually trained injury free for a year again. Yeah so much more progress and work could get done.
I think I may need to buy this book…this whole breakdown really resonates
In the copies of the book/pdf I have, Wendler does sorta say this same thing. Even though he has lots of accessory options out there, he does more or less say walk in, kill yourself for 20 minutes, leave. I'm with you. If I'm truly training 5/3/1 at full capacity I'm smashed by week 3, and I haven't been able to carry more than 2 full cycles consistently without a reset.
Personally, I've grown to listen to my bodies natural pump. Glycogen stores resulting in a muscle pump in the gym for a mostly natty guy are gonna last what, 30-45 minutes? maybe 60 tops?
I knock out my 531, lately I have cut the big but boring 5x10 down to 3x10 but use that extra energy to super set it with something else or another accessory. But once I feel the pump fading, muscles getting flatter, glycogen depleting... I call it a day. move to LISS Or something.
I'm so used to absolutely trashing my body after 10 years of competing in xfit events that training for strength or BB feels honestly lazier, it's nice. its easier to make progress and less taxing.
oh absolutely, I used to call it CrossFit-Induced-A.D.D. lolThat’s CrossFit’s big draw though, isn’t it? Do stuff! Leave it all on the floor every time! You’ll never get better at anything beyond initial gains, but you won’t notice that because we scratch your training ADD itch! Shiny! Same as kids at the gym just maxing out on benchpress every day.
oh absolutely, I used to call it CrossFit-Induced-A.D.D. lol

AMEN!!!9/24/21
10 min walk
Bird Dogs
Side Planks
Dynamic Squat
45,95x5
145,195x3
245 5x1
Dynamic Sumo Deadlift, stiffbar
hookgrip
135,225x3
315 5x1 10 sec rests
Trapbar
315 2x15
Planned a few smaller accessories but the clock before work was getting tight and honestly the 15-rep sets on trapbar just wiped me out! Now 2 days of rest before bloodwork Monday morning, and hoping to resume semi-normal training next week, God willing!
the big four!!!When I got into lifting, Ronnie Coleman quickly became my idol. I remember seeing him in the magazines, and then on YouTube lifting these insane weights like a wild man.
Folks love to criticize him because he is so busted up now, and had many botched surgeries, but you can see here in this video how happy, humble & grateful he remains about his entire life:
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This was a tear-jerker, and why he remains a true hero. Faith, family, humility, & love of the game.
A couple guys here expressed interest in 10/20/Life when I mentioned it. Here’s a video of Brian discussing some of the principles, and he also is having a sale on the book for 25% off (normally $30 for paperback) as well:
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The code on his website for 25% off the 2nd edition book right now is PRSfriends
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Like I said, it was definitely worth the cost for the read to me as someone who has had back issues and limited recovery in general, especially now with a baby.
9/29/21
10 min walk
Bird Dogs
Side Planks
Pullaparts
Bench
45x10
95,135,185,235,255,275x5
2-Boardpress
255,275x6
SSB JM Press
60,110x12
150 2x12
Weighted Dips
+17 chain 3x12
Push-ups
2x20
Tricep Pressdown
Monster Miniband x100
This morning’s session was great. Low 60s in the garage, the tunes were on point, and my triceps & pecs got barbecued. No idea what my bodyweight is. Squat is Friday!
Also, clearing EQ should be down to under 20mg/wk. Test has been at 120mg/wk. After bloods Monday, pinned 60mg test e (skipped my Sunday shot to show trough on bloods), then again today. Will pin 60mg again Friday & Sunday, then 120mg before leaving for a week on vacation. This will raise my 2 week average over these weeks to 180mg. When I return the plan will be to go to 240mg/wk.