Jonathan's Trying to Keep It Simple

[jwagner]

Trying to simplify things in 2015. Going to try out Andy Baker's K.I.S.S. programming for 1-4 cycles. My first child is due in late February so I know recovery will be an issue at some point. Also time available for training, hence trying a 1-lift program. HLM heavy days were starting to take a couple hours and this should cut down on that. Plus, hopefully it gives me time to add some conditioning in.

Starting maxes (in lbs) are:
Squat - 385
Bench - 235 (estimated)
Deadlift - 415

[jwagner]

W1D1 - 5 Jan 15

BW @ gym: 253

Squat: 5x5x290
BW Chins: 2,2,1,2,1,1,1,1

Conditioning: Airdyne 7 rounds of 20s on, 100s off.

Notes: This was a nice break until the Airdyne sprints. Last “Heavy“ day on HLM was 345x5x5 (missed last rep of last set).

[jwagner]

W1D2 - 7 Jan 15

BW at gym: 253

K.I.S.S.
Bench: 5x5x180

GPP
7 Minute AMRAP Rows: 132*x15,10,10,10,10,11 for 66 total reps
7 Minute AMRAP Curls**: 75x8,7,4,3,4,3,3 for 32 total reps

Notes
Part of my reason running K.I.S.S. for a while is to cut down on the time spent in the gym at least until after the baby's born next month and (if???) things settle down a little. I thought borrowing the 7 minute AMRAP stuff from the RPE/RTS guys might be a decent way of adding assistance without adding too much time to the gym sessions. My goal is to get 25 total reps on each exercise before increasing weight the next time it's performed. Obviously, I grossly undershot the weight for rows, but this is my first time doing them by the book (SS:BBT3).

For now my goal is to build up my chins, hence the rowing and curls today. My current plan is to do Rows and Curls on Wednesdays and Chins on Mondays and Fridays at least until I get to 25 reps performed in 7 minutes. Currently I can do about 3 chins in the first set with diminishing reps in following sets. My goal is to get to sets of 10 and then start adding weight. At that point I'll probably re-evaluate assistance while leaving chins on at least one day a week.

* My gym's bumpers are in kilos, while the change plates are in lbs, so I'm just converting to lbs here.
** Curls were by the book (SS:BBT3); it felt really weird curling in the squat rack...

[jwagner]

Also, I'm still trying to decide on a format for the logs. I know some people are just copying/exporting logs from mobile apps. Does anyone have any recommendations for Android? Right now, I'm just copying from my paper log.

[jwagner]

W1D3 - 10 Jan 15

K.I.S.S.
Deadlift: 5x5x315

Notes:
I had to work late plus my wife had made dinner plans, so this got bumped from Friday evening to Saturday morning. The lifts were fast, but overall the session sucked. I'm not used to training fasted, in the mornings or 5x5 deadlifts. Started out double overhand, but had to switch to hook grip on the 4th rep of the first set. Also, I had to hold the fourth rep of the last set at lockout for a few seconds while I tried to compose myself and not puke on the platform.

[jwagner]

W2D1 - 13 Jan 15

K.I.S.S.
Squat: 5x5x300

Notes:
I had to work late again yesterday (and today too for that matter) and we had plans to watch the Bucks beat the Ducks, so I moved squats to today. Squatting 5x5 after a 12 hour day on 5 hours of sleep is pretty tough even with relatively light weights. Completely mental. Bar speed was good with the plates rattling at the top of most reps.

Also, I may have dozed off sitting upright on a bench between sets 4 and 5. I thought I was completely exhausted when I got to the gym. I wasn't. I am now, though.

[jwagner]

W2D2 - 14 Jan 15

K.I.S.S.
Bench: 5x5x185

Notes:
Keeping it real simple this week. Work is really crazy this week. No time or energy for accessories or conditioning. Just getting in, doing the work, and leaving.

These were a lot easier than I was expecting given my energy levels. I also find myself getting better at benching lately. It takes less thought and effort to get tight with proper arch and foot positioning. Leg drive finally clicked a couple weeks ago as well. So I may not be any stronger but I think I'm getting more “skilled“at benching if that makes sense.

That said, I still have a ways to go. I lost tightness in the fourth set and really had to grind out the last couple reps. It's amazing how much heavier the bar feels when form is off. This applies to all of the lifts. Looking up in the squats will instantly kill my hip drive, not maintaining back angle in the deadlift turns it into a SLDL preventing the quads from helping the lift.

[jwagner]

W2D3 - 17 Jan 15

K.I.S.S.
Deadlift: 5x5x320

Notes:
After fruitlessly driving around all evening looking for a T/P relief valve for my hot water heater I missed going to the gym and had to push it off until late morning Saturday after going to a plumbing supply house first of course. It was one of those evenings and mornings where few things were going right and I was pretty pissed off by the time I got the gym. For me at least, the deadlift does really well with some aggression applied and these went up really easily.

It was kind of funny, because it was only 320, but there was a married couple who are personal trainers and really into the functional training bullshit that had an almost disgusted and appalled look on their faces. It's weird because most of the people at our gym are powerlifters or strongman competitors with a couple Olympic weightlifters thrown in. But lately we've had a rash of these functional fitness, bro-builder, and push-me, pull-you bencher types. I rarely see them twice, but I keep seeing the type. Guess it helps pay for new bars and shit.

[jwagner]

W2D1 - 19 Jan 15

K.I.S.S.
Squat: 5x5x305

Notes:
Looks like I'll be keeping it super simple again again this week. Get in, do the work, and leave. Pregnant wife decided we needed to “refresh“ the sole full bathroom in the house five weeks before her due date. So, that sounds like fun.

I did get to try out my new Rehband knee sleeves. That was nice once I got used to them. No knee pain right now. I've typically been taking a single 800mg dose of vitamin I the day after squats, so I'll see how tomorrow goes.

[jwagner]

W3D2 - 21 Jan 15

K.I.S.S.
Bench: 5x5x190

Accessories
Chins: 9 singles plus a nose-up (not quote complete)

Notes:
Tough, but not horrible. First couple sets were intimidating because halfway through my warmup, i had to pull 275 off someone. Chins were really tough. Recovery is low and unlikely to improve for a while. Just doing the thing.