Link to program? I'm curious

https://www.barbellmedicine.com/prod...e-version-2-0/

It's quite similar to the bridge which is free on their website. 3 days + 1-2 gpp days, every day is a squat, a press, and a pull. Pretty low volume, very simple. Monday is "heavy", with a comp squat, comp bench, and deadlift variant for low reps. Wednesday is "light" with a comp press, higher rep leg press or tempo squat, and higher rep rows. Friday is "medium" with comp deadlift, and low reps squat and bench variants. The volume ramps up over the course of 8 weeks and the reps get a bit lower from weeks 5-8. Week 1 was an optional "low-stress" week, which is their version of a deload but it's really just low volume and still high intensity. I decided to take said optional low stress week because I've been feeling pretty run down lately.

Minor improvement over last week. Weight is slowly going down. I probably need to eat closer to 1900 to lose weight at the rate I want.

Tuesday, 4 December 2018 Training
BBM Heavy Light Medium W2D1

Squat w/belt: 102.5x5, 110x5, 115x5 x4 sets @ 7.5, 8.5, 8, 9

Pause Bench: 50x5, 55x5, 57.5x5, 60x5 x4 sets @7.5, 8, 8, 8.5

Block Pull: 120x4 @7 mixed, 127.5x4 @8 mixed, 132.5x3 @8.5 straps, 127.5x4 @9 straps

***

Pretty tough day. I think I probably would have been better off taking slightly smaller numbers than last week to accommodate the increase in volume called for by the program (4 repeat sets @8 for squat/bench, 2 repeat sets @9 for pulls).

Squats were a mixed bag. 110 and first couple of 115 sets were quite clean except that I went out of groove on one of the reps of set #2 (hence @8.5). It's neat that 110x5 is now a ramping set for me when it used to be something I did for very hard triples. The last two 115 sets had sketchy depth on a few reps. Also, I had a chest fall / good morning thing going on today which hasn't been happening to me for a while.

Bench continues to be assey. I'm getting closer to figuring out a set-up method that allows a smooth self-unrack with reasonably heavy weights but I'm not there yet. The linked set was the best and even in that one I hit a j-hook locking out rep 5.

Pulls were okay, except I bitched out on 132.5. It really felt like @9 in the moment (HLM called for 4 reps @9 and one repeat). Also I probably should have just continued straight into that set with mixed grip instead of bringing in straps. Grip wasn't failing on 127.5, and again it was jarring going from mixed to straps for the heaviest set only. I included side view of the last set to show that my back remains pretty flat even on high RPE sets. As a side note, I think these are harder than deadlifts in many ways. It feels like it takes so long for the weight to leave the mats that you think you were grinding a rep that hadn't even started. I wouldn't be surprised if I'm underestimating RPE by a lot, and could just pull grinder reps over and over.

What’s hanging at the end of the barbell? It looks like a lock.

j2d,

Sperg micro-weights.

A turnover chain for the barbell aka Barbell Bling

Those microplates are awesome.

That video should be stickied somewhere, lightweight but the microplates define the forum.

You learned to hip hinge bro, teach EV before he busts his shiet up.

jd2b,

It's a 1.25kg plate from a cheap adjustable dumbbell set attached with plastic twine.


m'core / m'king,

Is it non-sperg to use 11 pound increments on the deadlift as a tinybro with a max of 308?


loco,

I don't think I learned to hip hinge so much as got a little stronger and now I can just do it all of a sudden.

I'll google, but figure I'll ask here:

Is there any data that says microloading does anything for the non-extremely strong who barely budge over the course of years?

I say do what you gotta do. Cant believe they dont have smaller
increments available in Asia.
But somehow YOU doing it just makes it funny as hell.

I just watched your video again and looked at
nothing but that dangling weight going up and down.
Still cracking up!!!

Studies are lacking in anything related to the actual execution of strength training programs.

My opinion is that if they enable you to follow a program, then they're beneficial. Because people placebo themselves into gains when they follow programs that they're into. Simple as that.

If you subscribe to the commonly held belief that working in certain rep ranges and RPEs will lead to faster progress, then you need to be able to microload an increment that allows those ranges. I think the SS cult gets a little out of hand with 0.25 lb plates or whatever, but I think 1.25 kg plates for sq/dl and 0.5kg plates for presses are useful.

To your last bit, I have an extremely weak overhead press that I may not be able to add 11lb to in the next year.

Thursday 6 December 2018 Training
BBM Heavy Light Medium W2D2

Press: 35x5, 38.5x5 @7, 41x5 x3 sets @ 8.5, 8.5, 9.5, 38.5x5 @8

Leg Press: 80x8, 105x8, 115x8 @7.5, 120x8 x2 sets @ 8, 9, 100x8

Pendlay Row: 40x8, 50x8, 55x8 x3 sets

***

Maybe there are minor press gains. I got some videos but they corrupted. I narrowed grip slightly and tried to keep my elbows tucked at the bottom, flaring on the way up. This seems to give me a bit more leverage starting the bar up. RPE was getting a bit high so I couldn't do a 4th repeat set.

Leg press smoked me. I think I was going too deep because I lost a bunch of strength going into the second set and my lower back felt kinda tight. Rows were boring. I took a little weight off and did them totally strictly, from a SLDL position with a horizontal torso.

Friday 7 December 2018 Training
BBM Heavy Light Medium W2 GPP

Airdyne Bike: 30 minutes RPE 7

Chin-up: AMRAP 7 minutes - 32 reps (+2)

Plank: AMRAP 7 minutes - 24 x 10 sec reps (+3)

***

Pretty k. I brought my headphones so the bike was a bit more tolerable this time.

Saturday 8 December 2018 Training
BBM Heavy Light Medium W2D3

Deadlift: 105x5, 120x5 @7 mixed, 125x5 @7.5 mixed, 125x4 @8.5 mixed, 125x5 @8 straps, 125x4 @8 straps

CG Bench Press: 55x4, 60x4, 65x4 @8.5, 67.5x4 @9.5, 65x3 @9

Beltless Squat: 100x4, 105x4 @7, 110x4 @8, 110x4 @8.5

***

Deadlift was a *****-out festival. I stopped at 4 reps on the second set because of my grip slipping. I stopped at 4 reps on the last set because I was out of WIM. None of my deadlift reps today were slow enough that they could be honestly called >8 RPE. To be fair, I'm not accustomed to doing deadlift sets across. Most of the deadlifting I've done recently has been ramping up to a single hard set and the backoffs and ramping sets are @7 or whatever.

Bench was not the worst, but I continue to have a hard time because of the unrack. I hit the 67.5 because I had a pretty decent self-unrack, but even in that set I wasted a lot of effort unracking the bar and waiting for it to settle. The last set had a terrible unrack and I hit a j-hook on the third rep so I called it there.

Squats were solid. Depth was maybe slightly better than average for me. I'm pretty happy to be handling weights this heavy with no belt, and after deadlifting.

I'm great at this.

Tuesday, 11 December 2018 Training
BBM Heavy Light Medium W3D1

Squat w/belt: 105x5 @6, 112.5x5 @7.5, 117.5x5 [PR] x2 sets @ 8.5, 9, 110x5 x2 sets @ 7.5, 8

Pause Bench: 57.5x5 x2 sets @ 7, 7, 60x5 x3 sets @ 8, 8.5, 8.5

Block Pull: 120x4 @7, 125x4 @8, 130x2f (lol), 120x4 @8

***

This workout had the structure of a Lonely Island song. It started out somewhat serious, then went off the rails around the 1-hour mark. Squat was a rep PR I was "100%" sure I would hit, just a matter of how high the RPE, and I was pretty thrilled to find out it was @8ish. Nothing much else to report here. Depth was decent. One thing I'm doing as a policy is to get deeper with the last rep of a heavy set. With this program I'm never handling a weight where failing a rep is likely, it's just a matter of how slow the grind is.

I knew it wasn't going to be a banner bench day when the 57.5x5 was @7 instead of @6. I repeated it just to make sure it wasn't a fluke, then chose 60 for working weight, same as last week. I was pretty frustrated with the first 60 set and spent a lot of time fiddling with j-hooks height and ultimately switching to the standard bench press bench. I mentioned in an earlier post that these are troll benches that make a self-unrack impossible with even remotely heavy weight. I circumvented that by putting a flat bench up against the back of the bench, effectively extending the length of it. The unrack is still bad, but better than with the power rack.

I think by the time I got to block pulls I was just mentally exhausted. I've had a pretty rough week professionally and stresses related to that came to a head yesterday. Probably should just be thankful I walked away from this one with a PR.


*** PROGRAMMING SPERG TIME***

I really wanted to just follow a program to a tee for once but I'm going to go forward with one minor change. On the light day instead of doing USELESS pendlay rows, I'm going to do TNG bench for sets of 8. This week is the highest the volume gets in the program and I'm demonstrably losing strength on bench press. I paused with 70kgx3 at my old gym, and even considering the possibility that the bar is a bit heavier, it's still a big drop in performance to be troubled with 60x5.

HLM seems to be working great for my squat and deadlift, except that the pulling volume is a little to get used to. Probably wouldn't hurt to intentionally underestimate RPEs on pulls but my consistent lack of WIM seems to be autoregulating just fine regardless.

What does your weekly bench volume look like?

This week is the highest volume:

D1 - 1ct Pause Bench 5s @6,7,8,8,8,8 (I forgot to do the 4th set)

D2 - Press 5s @6,7,8,8,8,8

D3 - CGBP 4s @7,8,9,9,9

I have a question for you RPE fellas. Do you go to failure or past failure ever? The reason I ask is I often do because I am a 90s style meathead and it is pretty ****ing hard for me to gauge with consistency until I get to 9 and even then it is not 100% accurate.

I used to do so for bench and ohp all the time. I haven't failed a squat rep in years though. Usually deadlift fails are due to a lack of wim or the bar getting away from me enough that I know it's gonna be a 12 second grind to lockout and deciding to take the L right there.

Re: the accuracy of RPE, I know I'm **** at it for sq/dl, but I also know that really (perceived) hard sq/dl sets are very fatiguing to me, to the point that I consistently have had trouble having strong squat and deadlift days in the same 1-2 week span of time. Which makes me think that at least attempting to track this stuff and modulate it appropriately is a good idea.

Bench and press I have a very easy time rating RPE on, as I'm generally @7 with any change in bar speed and @9 when the bar speed is substantially slower. An @7 rep of bench is just so much easier than an @7 squat rep.

Time will tell as to whether my current program will produce actual strength gains, but I've been doing some sort of benching, and often multiple different exercises per session, five days per week on this Sheiko template, and it feels great. Only one day per week actually benching isn't/hasn't really been enough for me to make significant progress over the past few years, so maybe this will do the trick. YMMV.

Once you get to a certain point, you have to push yourself to max effort at least some of the time to make any progress. I dont really keep track of RPE, but on the bench, I am doing what would be considered 9+ RPE reps pretty frequently when I am training for a meet.

After this block of training I am considering just repeating it for another 8 weeks for squat and deadlift and combining it with a higher frequency/volume lower intensity bench program. Seems like I need a modicum of intensity to make my bench go up but past a point (which seems to be easily exceeded) it's just counter productive.

Thursday 13 December 2018 Training
BBM Heavy Light Medium W3D2

Press w/belt: 35x5, 37.5x5 @7, 40x5 x4 sets @ 8.5, 8, 7.5, 8, 42.5x4f

Leg Press: 105x8 @6, 115x8 @7, 125x8 x3 sets @ 8, 8, 8.5

Pendlay Row (useless): 50x8, 55x8, 60x8 x3 sets

TNG Bench Press: 50x8, 55x8 @7, 57.5x8 x2 sets @ 8, 8.5

***

I threw on the belt for press again in hopes that I'd at least get a placebo boost from it, but no such luck was had. It seems like I am about 2% less weak on the press when I tuck my elbows hard at the bottom, and natural for me is to flare them more and more as a set goes on, so that's the primary cue I worked with today. The linked set is the best looking, and I found a groove by the 4th set that made me decide to increase the weight. The bar ran into a brick wall on the 5th rep at like 2" above my forehead. Oh well.

I cut depth slightly on the leg press. The rows were very strict except a tiny bit of English on the last rep of the last two sets. Bench was standard garbage. Even with my new and improved setup, I had quite a bit of trouble self-unracking a 10RM weight. With my setup at my old gym I could probably unrack 110% 1RM with relative ease.


I'm probably going to go back to my old gym when this month's sub runs out. It's more affordable and the seeming impossibility of making a bench gain here gives me an easy excuse. Yeah it would be nice to keep using real powerlifting bars and to be able to drop deadlifts and to use rare goodies like SSB, GHR, sled, etc, but maybe not worth the money.