On Gillingham, did you try to max out on week 12 or the following week?

Yeah I did. I attempted 345 and missed. I was grinding pretty hard halfway up and just couldn't get it to turn. Felt really close though. I would say my max right now is likely at 340.

I got a program from James Strickland. It's 6 months long. I think I'll give that a go. Seems pretty heavy though I'm curious if I'll be able to make it. According to the template I'll be benching 370 at month 4. I guess it'd be awesome if it happened, but I'm pretty skeptical. Almost sure that can't happen.

See what happens though. If I don't like it I think I'll try out a Sheiko template.

12.10.18

Wow first day trying out this new template and it was a **** show. Definitely have to dial back the intensity. The good thing I discovered though is that my 10 rep ability is crap. So I'm going to stick with this as I think a 3 month hypertrophy block is likely needed for me. I've been in the 3 rep range for quite some time now and it's evident I can use some work at higher rep ranges.

Bench 1 sec pause
1x10 95
1x10 135
1x5 185
2x10 240
1x9 240
At this point my triceps were fried and I was pretty sure I would fail the 10th rep. The pause made the back end of the sets really difficult. I should've done 230.

Incline Bench
3x7 205
This should've been 3x10 for 190.

T Bar Row
3x8

DB flys 5 sec negative
3x10

Tricep Pulldown
3x10

My tris are smoked. Was definitely good for me though. My muscles are thoroughly confused. Ready for some growth.

Will dial back the weight about 10lbs from the recommended weights for each exercise going forward.

12.12.18

Deadlift
1x10 135
1x5 225
3x3 315
2x3 345

BB Row
5x5 245

RDL
3x6 245

Lat Pulldown
4x10

Face Pulls
3x12

My right pec starts to cramp up when I deadlift. I wonder why.

12.13.18

Speed Bench
1x10 95
1x7 135
1x3 185
1x2 225
3x3 255

Cable Flys
3x10

Dips
3x10

DB Curls
3x10

Re: pec cramping during DL,

Do you use mixed grip?

No, always double overhand. Mixed grip feels awkward to me.

I have had my pec cramp on DLs before occasionally. Normally when I'm running an RPE program where I am benching frequently so my pecs are often tight or sore. I think when I DL I try to brace mainly my core and lats but really my entire torso, so the pecs may contract too and when they are tight, you can get that cramping feeling. With as much bench volume as you put in, I would be stretching a lot and prob adding in some facepulls/rows for balance.

I know exactly what your talking about regarding the high rep work. If you work mostly in the 1-5 rep range, when you go back to 10's your muscular endurance will be terrible at first, even if you set PRs in the low rep range and got stronger. You have to spend a few weeks building it back up, especially on bench. I feel like the weight won't feel heavy at all on the first set but then by the third set your triceps just hit a wall and give out.

Does the cramp happen all the time? When the pec cramp happens, do you often get other cramps that day? Mine tend to come in bunches and probably means I'm low in salt. I'll get hammy cramps while benching, glute cramps while pressing, lat cramps in the shower, and yesterday my first ab cramp in yoga just doing crow pose. These generally shake out pretty quickly.

Naturally you finish the set, right?

Yeah that makes sense. I'll stretch more often.

I don't get the cramp all the time. But when it happens it's usually towards my last sets/reps and also if I ever go heavier.

I haven't noticed that it comes with other cramping. Though I do get cramping in my right quad as well if I go heavy without a belt.

12.15.18

Press
1x10 95
1x8 135
2x8 155
1x6 155

It was supposed to be 3x8, but I hit a wall.

Front and lateral db raises
3x10

Seal Rows
4x8

DB Tricep Extensions
3x10

Face Pulls
3x12

First time in a very long time I had that burning sensation in my muscles. All in the shoulders. Weird that certain muscles get that and others don't. For me it's shoulders, biceps and abs that burn if I do high rep stuff. But like my chest and tris never feel that way.

12.17.18

Pause Bench
1x10 95
1x10 135
1x3 185
2x10 235
1x9 235

Incline Bench
1x10 135
1x8 205
2x7 205

DB Flys
3x12

T Bar row
1x8
3x5
1x8

Tricep Pulldown
3x10

Face Pulls
2x15

Lowered the weight a little and still couldn't get that last rep.
Just going to take some time for me to adjust.

Curiosity got the best of me and I bought the JTS AI program.

Interested to see what it spits out.

12.19.18

Squat
1x10 95
1x5 135
1x5 185
3x5 225

Deadlift
1x10 135
4x5 225

Cable rows
3x12

Was thinking to take a rest day, but just went in and got some blood flowing.

Got back my first 4 wk block of the JTS AI.

Pretty interesting. They certainly put a lot of work into it.
Though I'm not really that interested in the squat and deadlift aspects of it I'd like to give it a try and see what pans out.

It is an excel spreadsheet where you put your inputs in for each workout day. Then email it back to them at the end of 4 wks and they send you another 4wk block.

The inputs other than weight intensity are your state of fatigue for each day and also RPE for most of the sets. This will be new for me. I was aware of what it is, but generally stayed away from programs that used it.

My gym membership at 24hr expires at the end of this month. Oh what to do. Considering going to this warehouse powerlifting gym. But the thing that deters me is that they close early(9pm) and there is no temperature control. It's a sauna in the summer and pretty cold this time of year.
Plus it's double the price. But the upside is that it's much less crowded and more conducive to the type of training I want to do.

Interested to hear about Juggernaut

With respect to lifting location, obviously do what's important to you; convenience/access is most important to me, hence why I'm sticking with my current gym that's a block and a half away as opposed to the new powerlifting gym that's 5 blocks away and will mean I'll have to pay for another gym when I'm on the road. Will the PL gym give you a free trial week or something? No real harm in trying it out if so.

I can't speak to the winters where you are, but I'm in a similar gym and it's great for the lifting experience and community feel. It's like suddenly everyone in the gym is nice and collegial and trying to be considerate. Not letting someone work in when asked is one of the only things that'll get you 86'd. Huge life upgrade.

Yeah I will probably give it a shot for a few months to see how it goes. The gym is month to month so not bad. Though they don't have a free trial I did drop in for a day and it was nice albeit pretty cold in there.

12.20.18

Bench speed
2x10 95
1x10 135
1x3 185
1x2 225
3x3 255

Flys
2x12

12.24.18

Squat
1x10 95
1x6 135
1x6 185
4x6 175

Incline Bench
1x10 95
1x6 135
2x6 185

Block Pulls
2x6 225

Curls
3x12

Lat Pulldown
3x12

Snatch Grip Deadlift
3x12 135

1st day of the JTS template. Though yoday was easy I can tell these are going to get difficult.

12.26.18

Easy light day today.

Spoto Press
1x10 95
1x6 135
1x3 185
4x6 225 RPE 6

Really not sure what RPE 6 is supposed to feel like. But I just
estimated what I might do for 3 sets of 10. So I assume fairly easy. First time ever doing Spoto press. I like it.
I focused on having a fast lowering and an abrupt stop, pause then a fast acceleration up. I feel like this will stengthen my midrange which is where I'm weakest currently.

Tricep pulldowns
3x15 RPE 7

Tomorrow will be a longer day of deadlift, squat and press.

12.27.18

My left hip flexor started cramping on squats. Had to stop after the first set and stretch out for awhile.

This is the most squatting and deadlifting I've done in years.

12.29.18

End of week 1. Pretty easy, but it was expected as the first 2 weeks are transition and you don't really get into working weights until week 5 where I'll be doing sets of 10 again. Not really looking forward to that.

I'm interested to see the effect though, as I've never ran a program that does a dedicated hypertrophy strength and peaking block in succession.

I have to say I'm not really a fan of RPE. I would much prefer a % range and I can modulate if it's too heavy. But I will stick this out for 6 months and see where I'm at before I make a definitive judgement on it.

12.31.18

Dumb lower back acting up again. I don't know what it is, but like once every year to 18 months something will feel like it slips in my lower back(always lower right). And it's always when I'm doing nothing. Like sitting in a chair or just standing. Happens out of nowhere. I'll feel a slight twinge and then it will gradually worsen over the course of a day. I'll be walking crooked for a day or 2 and then it goes away.

For some reason some muscles get super tight and lock up on my right side. I can see it in the mirror where the right side of my pelvis is tilted up much higher than my left side.

Not really sure of the cause or how to prevent it.

Whenever it happens I spend the day just stretching and massage as much as I can.

Was able to still do the squats with a belt, but I wasn't going to attempt any deadlift movement.

Should be fine by Wed.

I hope you feel better, man; I've tweaked my SI more than once, and it's no fun. I thought these videos had some good tips/tricks: