Thanks. I may try.





Eat poorly and stop losing weight, quite shocking. Hopefully I'll get some movement this week as I've officially reduced my daily breakfast to a 200 cal protein shake. Should result in a solid 1500-2000 calories shaved off the weekly number.

Thursday 7 March 2018 Training
Sheilfko C2W2D3

Deadlift (180"): 65x3, 95x3 x2 sets, 110x2 x2 sets, 122.5x1 x3 sets @ 7, 7.5, 7.5

Comp. Bench (120"): 40x5, 50x4, 60x3 x2 sets, 67.5x3 x5 sets, LS @8.5
DB Hammer Curl: 20lb x11 x7 sets

Rack Pull (180"): 90x4, 105x4 x2 sets, 120x4 x4 sets

DB Fly: 25lb x10 x5 sets
DB Left Leg Step Downs (90"): 25s x12 x5 sets

T=107m @7

***

Meh day. Deadlifts were harder than I hoped. Bench was weak too, but probably it is to be expected given where I am in the training week/cycle.

Saturday 9 March 2018 Training
Sheilfko C2W2D4

Pause Front Squat (180"): 40x5, 50x4, 60x3 x2 sets, 67.5x2 x2 sets, 75, 82.5, 82.5, 70x2 x2 sets

Comp. Bench (120"): 40x5, 50x4, 60x3 x2 sets, 67.5x2 x6 sets
Chin-up: x5 x8 sets

Floor Press (90"): 65x2, 70x2 x2 sets, 67.5x2 x3 sets

DB Fly (90"): 25lb x10, 20lb x10 x4 sets

T=95m @7

***

The state of my knee is uncertain. It has been feeling kinda ****ty the last two days, and I considered taking another week off from squatting. Then it felt fine this morning, so much so that I got frustrated with how easy my scheduled "90%" singles at 75kg were and decided to bump up the weight. One interesting thing visible in the video is that my left knee shoots back slightly once a certain level of depth is reached, presumably where the limit of my knee or ankle flexibility occurs. I should probably consciously cut depth to this point for a while.

I'd planned to do weighted chinups but I got a nasty cut on my finger last night right on the spot most important to gripping, so I went with bodyweight and skipped the curls I planned to do. Hopefully it heals up for deadlifts tomorrow.

Sunday 10 March 2018 Training
Sheilfko C2W2D5

Deadlift (180"): 65x3, 80x3, 95x3, 105x3 x2 sets, 115x2 x5 sets

Comp. Bench (120"): 45x4, 55x4, 62.5x4 x5 sets
DB Concentration Curl: 15lb x12 x5 sets

T=55m @5

***

I'm coming down with a throat thing. I was feeling pretty rundown today and spitting out fragments of my throat between deadlift sets so I decided to skip out on the RDLs and close grip bench. It really seems like I've steadily lost squatting and pulling strength since like week 5 of HLM. I definitely will change the way I program those lifts after this cycle. 115 deadlift was pretty damn hard and if I'm not mistaken I paused 122.5x3 at a couple months ago.

Wednesday 13 March 2018 Training
Sheilfko C2W3D2

Comp. Bench: 40x5, 50x4, 60x2, 70, 75, 80 [PR+5], 82.5f, 62.5x3 x4 sets
Band Facepull: x12 x4 sets

Incline Bench (120"): 40x4, 50x4, 55x4 x4 sets
DB Incline Curl: 15lb x12 x5 sets

T=55m @6

***

Something came up at the last second causing me to miss yesterday's workout. That would have been a pretty heavy bolus of benching so I took the opportunity to set a casual PR, assuming that I'm about as peaked as ever in the training cycle. It even beats my best TNG bench single. I'm not sure if a double was there but it wasn't that hard. I couldn't resist trying 82.5 but I kind of flubbed the setup and had to commit to the single half-heartedly. I think 82.5 is a safe bet for me on a good day without having pressed 80 beforehand. The goal for 2019 is 90kg, so I'm on track.

In my continuing struggle to fix my knee, ive decided to take a full week off from any squat or deadlift training. It seems like pure rest is improving symptoms. After this week I'll bring back deadlifts and see where things go from there. EVgoodlife here I come baby!

Friday 15 March 2018 Training
Sheilfko C2W3D3/4

Comp. Bench (120"): 40x5, 50x4, 60x3 x2 sets, 67.5x3 x2 sets, 70x2 x4 sets

Chin-up (120"): 0x5, 4x5, 9x4 x4 sets

Single Leg Press: bunch of sets of 10 with light weight on my left leg

T=50m @5

***

Huge sudden wave of noncompliance was brought on by live poker going until 5am a few nights in a row and my inability to squat or deadlift heavy weights. Gonna need to make some changes to head this off. Also probably need to decide if I want to see an orthopedist for my knee or follow a strict rehab protocol. I'm considering getting the BBM knee rehab template.

Sounds like the cure for you is the TCprotocol. 68 sets of upperbody and only 12 sets of lowerbody. That's the goodlife.

Yeah. Workin on it.





TLDR UPDATE POST:

So anyway, I've missed a workout or two. The last one was intentional as I transition to a 4-day program beginning tomorrow. I made excellent bench gains (while losing 2.5kg no less) on the Sheiko template, but that's all I made. It's hard to blame it for my lack of squat gains considering my ongoing knee issue. However, there's no excuse for the fact that my deadlift didn't go up at all, in fact it went down substantially over the course of the program. I couldn't even get my sumo up to what I was doing over 18 months ago at 61kg bodyweight.

So basically the Sheiko template taught me that I need to do way more pressing and way less deadlifting. My results of the bbm template corroborate somewhat, as my bench went up hardly at all (went down in fact). I made some deadlift gains on that program, but had very inconsistent sessions which even makes me think that two heavy pulling sessions per week was too much. I think i'm better off with 1x or 1x heavy / 1x light. I made stupendous squat gains on that program though which featured 2 heavy squat days and one light squat day.

TLDR - sheiko says to bench a zillion times a week, bbm says to squat 2.5 and pull 1.5 times a week

So I'm gonna run a 4-day program of my own design that attempts to address what I learned from both of my previous programs. Four days because life stuff has ramped up and I just don't have time to make it there 5 days per week anymore. Here's week 1:



Will be an 8-week meso with some movement changes after week 4. Volume will undulate week to week with low stress in weeks 1 and 5. Instead of separate GPP I'm just gonna continue the trend of doing GPP sets between pressing sets. The fourth day has some GPP tacked on the end since it's the easiest day otherwise. Squat RPEs will be taken with a truckload of salt in the first few weeks as I see what my knee can recover from (top sets will be 80kg tomorrow, lol). Deadlift I'll push hard from the start.


Speaking of my knee. Symptoms slowly improve, at least those related to standing for extended periods. The general pain around my patella is constant when my knee is fully flexed and has been there for years at this point. It's never going away. I did some reading on orthopedics and the more I read the more I think it's pointless to see one. They basically perform surgery or inject joints with corticosteroids or lubricants. None of which I am interested in given the lack of severity of my symptoms. If I see a physiotherapist, it is likely that I'll get prescribed total bunk treatment, and if I'm lucky I'll get some good ideas for stretches or rehab exercises. Again, a poor outlook for something I can't afford anyway. So I've decided to not see a professional at this time.

What I will do is manage load the best that I can and do some GPP to stretch and strengthen the muscles around my knee, including some *gasp* calf training and unilateral work. I'm also going to experiment with squatting with a band around my knees to see if that cues a more knee-stable bottom position in the squat. In the meantime I need to get excited about training again or it's gonna be harder and harder to get out of bed and go.

Friday 19 March 2018 Training
New Thing W1D1

Comp. Bench (3"): 60x4, 65x4 @7, 67.5x4 @9 , 65x4 x2 sets @8, 8

Squat w/belt (2"): 60x4, 70x4, 80x4 x3 sets @<6

CG 1ct Pause Bench (2"): 50x5, 55x5, 57.5x5 x3 sets @7, 7, 7
Chin-up: x5 x5 sets

T=62m @6

***

Pretty unceremonious start with bench being very weak. I was hoping for 70x4 @8, which would technically have been a PR. Instead I had to stop at 67.5 and couldn't even do repeats. Oh well.

Squat was fine. But my knee feels wonky hours later when I lock it out. Good news is that the workout was fast so there's plenty of room to add volume and keep it under 90 minutes.

Friday 19 March 2018 Training
New Thing W1D2

Military Press (3"): 30x6, 35x6, 37.5x6 x2 sets @8, 8.5

Deadlift (4"): 85x4, 100x4, 107.5x4, 115x4 @7?

TNG Bench (2"): 50x6, 57.5x6, 60x6 x3 sets, LS @7.5

EZ Bar Curl: 18x10 x4 sets
Seated Calf Raise: 40x12, 30x12 x3 sets

T=80m @6

***

Not too bad. I deadlifted second because the good bar was being used. I was aiming at 37.5x6 @8 for press which turned out to be dead on. Deadlift is something I haven't pushed hard in a long time so I went conservative with weights there. 120x4 @8 was probably there. Bench felt good and again I was conservative. All in all not the worst day.

Friday 21 March 2018 Training
New Thing W1D3

Tempo Squat (3'): 60x6, 70x6 x3 sets, LS @7.5

Comp. Bench (3'): 60x5, 62.5x5 x3 sets, LS @7.5
Weighted Chin-up: 0x3 x2 sets, 6.5x3, 9x3 x2 sets

Single Leg Press (2'): 70lb x10, 85lb x10 x3 sets
DB Hammer Curl: 20lb x12 x4 sets

T=64m @5
RPKnee @4

***

Nice and short. Bench was weak again. I was shooting for 65x5 @7. Squats took a surprising amount of effort; RPE listed is accounting for breaking tempo. I could have done more than 2 more reps with a fast concentric.

Knee felt better than average but it is remarkable how much weaker my bum leg is. Probably there was a 3 or 4 point RPE difference between left and right. The leg press is not a conventional 45 degree one, but uses a pulley and a weight stack like a lat pull down. Useless for bilateral leg press but quite convenient for my purposes.

Saturday 23 March 2018 Training
New Thing W1D4

Romanian Deadlift* (3'): 65x6, 80x6, 90x6, 95x6 x3 sets, LS @<7

Incline Bench (3'): 50x5, 52.5x5 x3 sets, LS @8
Pendlay Row: 57.5x7 x4 sets

Weighted Dip (2'): 0x5, 6.5x5 x3 sets, LS @8
DB Incline Curl: 15lb x12 x4 sets

DB Fly: 20lb x10 x3 sets
DB Concentration Curl: 15lb x10 x3 sets

T=87m @7
RPKnee @3

* kg not pounds.

***

Tuesday 26 March 2018 Training
New Thing W2D1

Comp. Bench (3'): 60x4, 65x4 @7, 67.5x4 x2 sets @8, 8.5, 65x4 x2 sets @8, 8

Squat w/belt (3'): 60x4, 75x4, 80x4, 85x4 x3 sets

CG 1ct Pause Bench (2'): 52.5x5, 57.5x5, 60x5 x3 sets, LS @8
NG Chin-up: x7 x5 sets

T=78m @7
RPKnee @3

***

Decent day given how trash my nutrition has been lately. I'm under a lot of stress and some days I only get two decent meals and come in under 75g protein. I haven't been tracking calories but I am still slowly losing weight. I had a sub 65 weigh-in last week for the first time in like 7 months.

Knee is doing really well. I rarely if ever have the calf pain anymore and the foot going to sleep is happening less and less also. My knee's range of motion was top 10 percent for a squat day, so it was tempting to go heavier on squats. Gonna take it slow though, only adding 5kg per week.

Wednesday 27 March 2018 Training
New Thing W2D2

Deadlift (4"): 100x4, 110x4, 115x4, 120x4 @8ish, 120x3

Military Press (3"): 32.5x6, 35x6, 37.5x6 x3 sets @7.5, 8, 8.5
Seated Calf Raise: 30x12 x4 sets

TNG Bench (2"): 50x6, 57.5x6, 60x6 x4 sets, LS @8
EZ Bar Curl: 18x9 x5 sets

T=82m @8
RPKnee @4

***

Power outage woke me up 4 hours early. I loaded up on caffeine but still felt pretty awful. Deadlifts went surprisingly well until they didn't. The first set was hard bc my grip wasn't holding up very well. I strapped the second set and tweaked a lat or something on the third rep. Whatever it was, it was minor enough that pressing was unaffected. Form was passable but my lockouts were off for some reason.

I added a point to RPKnee because while I encountered no pain, I did notice a bit reduced ROM on that knee during warming up.

Saturday 30 March 2018 Training
New Thing W2D3

Tempo Squat (3'): 60x6, 70x6, 75x6 x3 sets

Comp. Bench (3'): 55x5, 60x5 x3 sets, 62.5x5 x2 sets, LS @7.5
Weighted Chin-up: 0x3 x2 sets, 6.5x3, 9x3 x4 sets

Single Leg Press (2'): 85lb x10 x5 sets
DB Hammer Curl: 20lb x12 x5 sets

T=95m @6
RPKnee @4

***

Life has been kind of unravelling. The power outages are now a daily thing that ****s up my sleep. Today I woke up in a pool of sweat and then had to go fix a flat on my motorbike, which required more sweat. It's over 100F every day here now. By the time I got to the gym the conditions were less than ideal.

Squats were fine. Gonna go with @4 for the knee because while there was no pain during or after the squat and leg press work, my knee was tighter than normal and I couldn't get to depth until I'd warmed it up a good bit.

Bench was weak to start. Plan was 5x5 with an @7 weight, and it seemed like I'd have to do 60 but it became clear that was too light after a few sets made me remember how to bench again.

Sunday 31 March 2018 Training
New Thing W2D4

Romanian Deadlift (4'): 65x6, 85x6, 95x6, 100x6 x3 sets

Incline Bench (3'): 50x5, 55x5 x4 sets @ 7.5, 8, 8.5, 9
Pendlay Row: 57.5x7 x5 sets

Weighted Dip (2'): 0x6, 6.5x6 x3 sets, 0x6
DB Incline Curl: 20lb x8 x5 sets

T=79m @7
RPKnee @4

***

Pretty good. Calf started hurting because I stood still between RDL sets. I taped the first set, not sure about the form. I just try to resist knee bend and as soon as they start to bend I call that the bottom. Also these are basically sets of 7 as I start with a SLDL from the floor before doing the proper set.

Incline bench is technically a PR. Liking this lift more and more. The groove seems far more forgiving than an OHP or flat bench, feeling more like a pure test of upper body strength. It also seems to have a well balanced force curve for my leverages, with no clear sticking point.

I spaced on the bodybuilding accessories at the end, forgetting to write them down on my note.

Tuesday 2 April 2018 Training
New Thing W3D1

Comp. Bench (3'): 60x4, 65x4 @7, 67.5x4 @8, 70x4 [rep PR] @9.5, 65x4 x2 sets

Squat w/belt (3'): 80x4, 90x4, 95x4, 100x4, 90x4

CG 1ct Pause Bench (2'): 55x5, 60x5 x5 sets @ 7-8.5
Chin-up: x7 x6 sets

T=88m @7
RPKnee @4

***

My life is a wall to wall **** show but at least I have decent gym days. I benched 70x3 at an absolute ten with cheat pauses maybe 3 months ago, so this is one of the smallest gains ever recorded. Still glad to achieve it though. I'm also walking around 4 kg lighter than then, so not too bad in perspective.

I remember saying something about how I'd only increase squat working weight 5kg a week. This week called for a top set "@9" so I bumped 15kg for that set, which was @7 at the absolute most. Knee felt fine but a bit tight warming up.

Gonna try to pull a reasonably heavy weight for 4 tomorrow.

Wednesday 3 April 2018 Training
New Thing W3D2

Deadlift (4"): 105x4, 115x4, 125x4 @8?, 117.5x4

Military Press (3"): 32.5x6, 35x6, 37.5x6 x2 sets, 35x6 x2 sets
Seated Calf Raise: 35x12 x3 sets

TNG Bench (2"): 50x6, 55x6, 60x6 x4 sets
Straight Bar Curl: 11x10, 16x10 x5 sets

T=82m @8
RPKnee @2

***

Deadlifts were stronger and cleaner than last weeks. This week called for a top set @9 but given my tendency to hemorrhage pulling strength with each set I decided to hold at 125, a 5kg increase from last week. 117.5 was appropriately difficult so I think it was a good call. In before monte says that 125 set is @6.

Pressing was weak, but it probably should be after yesterday's volume. After the third set of Calves I had a terrible charleyhorse that made me cut those short.

That's definitely not RPE 8, I would agree with hypothetical monte at RPE 6

Also, looking slim! The weight loss looks like it is going well

Real Monte agrees with hypothetical Monte

I agree with both montes and Arjun on both points. You look great!

Thanks, guys. Weight loss is extremely slow and not steady but I appreciate the comments. I'll push for 130x4 on deadlift next week just for hypothetical Monte.


Friday 5 April 2018 Training
New Thing W3D3

Tempo Squat (4'): 60x6, 75x6, 80x6, 85x6 @9, 75x6

Comp. Bench (3'): 50x5, 57.5x5, 62.5x5 x5 sets @ 7-8
Weighted NG Chin-up: 0x5, 0x3, 6.5x3, 11.5x3 x3 sets, 6.5x3 x2 sets

Single Leg Press (2'): 85lb x10, 100lb x10 x3 sets, 85lb x10 x2 sets
DB Hammer Curl: 25lb x8 x5 sets

T=88m @7
Knee @3

***

I played live until 6:30 this morning so I wasn't able to get to the gym until 4:30 PM. This was a tiring session given the difficulty of the work, probably because of the weird schedule. Knee had constant mild discomfort but extremely good range of motion for the day. 85x6 no belt tempo was pretty tough, listed RPE means I couldn't maintain that tempo for more reps. I should probably limit squat RPE because of the strength discrepancy between each leg.

Bench was very snappy. I'm quite pleased with how my bench is going on this program.

Saturday 6 April 2018 Training
New Thing W3D4

Romanian Deadlift (4'): 65x6, 85x6, 95x6, 100x6, 105x6 x2 sets @ pretty easy

Incline Bench (3'): 40x5, 52.5x5 @7, 55x5 x2 sets @8, 9, 52.5x5 x3 sets
Pendlay Row: 57.5x6 x6 sets

Dip (2'): x6 x6 sets
DB Incline Curl: 20lb x8 x6 sets

T=73m @7
Knee @2

***

RDLs felt good. Pressing felt weak. This time I didn't space on the extra accessory work, I just decided to no longer include it in the program. Having one day of the week be a bit shorter isn't the worst thing in the world.

Tuesday 9 April 2019 Training
New Thing W4D1

Comp. Bench (3'): 60x4, 65x4 @7, 67.5x4 @8, 70x4 @10, 65x4 x4 sets, LS @8.5

Squat w/belt (4'): 80x4, 95x4, 102.5x4, 110x4 @7.5, 100x4 x3 sets

CG 1ct Pause Bench (2'): 55x5, 60x5 x4 sets, LS @8
NG Chin-up: x6 x6 sets

T=100m @8
RPKnee @2

***

Tough day. Bench was weak and today called for a lot of sets. Next week is low stress.

Squats went relatively well. The top set was the first truly hard squat set that I've done in a long time. Depth is thrifty but I think it's really close to what my previous standard was. Knee is doing great. Today only had very minor pain when stretching the knee before squats. Good ROM. Leg symptoms have been more sporadic then constant, and are worst first thing in the morning when I get up to pee.

Squats are looking good sir.