Originally Posted by
Robert Santana
Go ahead run it out and see what happens. My opinion remains and I'd extend it by saying that your intermittent workout schedule is probably the bigger culprit than advancement on the adaptation curve. I'd try to plan a HEAVY squat and deadlift on the weeks before you travel since, chances are, it will take you a couple of weeks to recover from that anyways.
I want to be clear in saying that I don't think being natural makes me anything more than just that. If you or anyone wants to go that route I DO NOT JUDGE in any way. My issue is with the programming advice given by uneducated, inexperienced (because they have taken drugs their entire training careers), and/or dishonest drug users. I'm not a terribly strong lifter but I believe that my progress closely resembles that of most men on the middle of the bell curve sitting on this board trying to sort this thing out. To give you specifics, my current lifts @ 5'9" ~185-190 lb:
Squat: 405 x 5, last max was 440 probably PRing soon
Deadlift: 465 x 5 off of a 1.5" deficit, haven't recently maxed but I'd peg it somewhere around 530 based on my 5RM rack pull
Bench Press: 315 x 1
Press: 225 x 1
Chins - 15 in a row +100 x 3-5 reps
My novice progression and some of my intermediate progress is posted in the training logs somewhere on this board. I wasn't a rank novice but I wasn't insanely strong either. I put 7 years in since then and counting.
My issue is that the over-promotion of excess volume and training complexity is founded upon the experience of enhanced trainees. Those of us with normal recovery capabilities have a very different experience that is closer to that which Rip describes in the Grey Book and on countless podcasts. I accidentally figured this out when I was opening my gym and skipping workouts. This was 15 months ago and i'm continuing to add weight to the bar on a fraction of what I had been doing for 4 years up to that point. Why? Because It's Heavy. The fact that this eludes people still shocks me. Squatting 405 x 5 when you aren't very dense and over 35 kicks the shit out of you.