Unruhschuh's log [8/5/2] [twice per week]

[unruhschuh]

Hi everyone,

I've been training on and off for several years but life got in the way in nice (newborn) and bad (illnesses) ways.

Anyway, after my last major set back due to illness, I ran a quick linear progression to the following top sets (not necessarliy 5RMs):

SQ 315x5
DL 405x5
P 153x5

I'm male, 33, 176cm / 5'9", 93kg / 205lbs.

No bench press, because fuck it.

On 2017-06-15 I started a new program I cobbled together inspired by Andy Baker's article on rotating rep ranges which looks as follows:

Monday
Squat 3x8/5/2
Press 3x8/5x5/3x2
Paused Deadlift 3x8/5/2

Thursday
Deadlift 3x8/5/2
Press 3x8/5x5/3x2
Paused Squats 3x8/5/2

Here is a little picture:



On both days I do Dumbbell Bench Presses and Barbell Curls as assistance exercises.

Obviously, one cycle takes three weeks, but the Press progresses at twice the rate and goes through two cycles during that time frame. My reasoning behind this is: The press loves volume and frequency. So both shall be given. Let's see how it goes.

I'm in my fifth cycle and it is going great so far.

My last cycle was (8 / 5 / 2)

Squat 260 / 295 / 330 lbs
Press 130 / 144 / 166 lbs
Deadlift 330 / 375 / 420 lbs

So here comes my log.
weight x reps x sets
Rest time between sets in [] brackets.

[unruhschuh]

2017-09-12
SQ 265x8x3 [7,11]
P 144x5x5 [6,6,6,8]
PDL 255x8x3 [5,7]
DBBP 70x9, 60x9+8+8+7=32 [2,2,2,2]
BB Curls 57x15+9+8+7=39 [2,2,2]

Last Squat set:


Last Press set:

[unruhschuh]

2017-09-16
DL 335x8x3 [8,8]
P 166x2x3 [8,8]
PSQ 215x8x3 [5,5]
DBBP 75x8, 60x11+9+8+7=35 [2,2,2,2]
BB Curls 60x15+9+7+7=38 [2,2,2]

Last Press set

[unruhschuh]

2017-09-18
SQ 300x5x3 [5,5]
P 132x8x3 [5,7]
PDL 300x5x3 [5,5]
DBBP 75x9, 60x12+10+8+8=38
BB Curls 62x14+9+8+8=39

Squat (last set)


Press (last set)


Paused Deadlift (last set):

[unruhschuh]

Incorporating chin ups / pull ups
Andy baker wrote in a recent article on chin ups / pull ups: “One of the most frustrating exercises to make improvements on for many trainees is the Pull-Up and the Chin-Up.”

That’s exactly how I feel. I have never done them consistently for a long time, because progress always stopped at some point. So here is my plan:

I do have a chin up bar at home, so I will do two days a week additionally to my training days, where I only do chin ups and pull ups. I usually train Monday and Thursday, so I will use the days in between.

I can do 12-14 strict chin ups, so I will start by doing a total number of 20 chin ups on Tuesday or Wednesday and a total number of 20 pull ups on Friday, Saturday or Sunday with 2 Minutes of rest between sets. This worked well on Curls and DBBPs partly because it keeps the total time under control which helps me with compliance. It is similar to Jordan Feigenbaums advice to do as many reps in a 7-8 minute time frame, but I like constant rest times better. Of course, I will adjust the rest time if that doesn’t seem to work.

Every week I will add 5 reps to the total number until I reach approximately 50 reps, so that’ll be in 6 weeks. At that point 50 reps should take no more than 5-6 sets. If it does, I will do less otherwise I predict compliance issues (know thyself!). Ramping up the number of reps this way also worked well on Curls and DBBP and avoids burning out quickly.

At some point I will add 1-3 sets of weighted chins/pull ups in front of the body weight ones while keeping the total number at approx. 50 reps.

I might use straps on the weighted chins/pull ups and maybe even the last sets of the body weight ones, because I don't want grip strength to be a limiting factor. My grip already gets a lot of work through deadlifts.

Now that I said it in front of the entire Internet I have to comply ;-) Kind of the point of this log anyway.

[unruhschuh]

2017-09-20
CU 12+8=20 [2]

After this herculean effort I cracked a cold one to celebrate my compliance. Cheers!

[Michael Tiemeyer]

2017-09-20
CU 12+8=20 [2]

After this herculean effort I cracked a cold one to celebrate my compliance. Cheers!

Awesome! And that's a sweet looking gym.

[unruhschuh]

Yes it is. It is a bit on the expensive side at 50 Euros / month, but it was the only one with proper power racks when I joined, and close to my home, it still is.

[unruhschuh]

2017-09-21
As I was ripping through my deadlift sets, letting the weight fly towards the ceiling, I thought to myself: “This program you invented is working like a charm! How smart you are! Even Rippetoe called you a sharp guy, so it must be true. I Andy Bakered the shit out of this program.”. After the third set I realized that I misloaded by 10lbs. In shame I did a fourth set with the correct weight and came back to baseline self esteem of "I don't suck too badly", which in my book is a good thing.

Also, I learned from the weird "fist pumpin"-Thread in Andy Baker's forum how to do tables. So here we go:

DL	370x5x3
	380x5	[5,5,5]
P	145x5x5	[6,6,6,6]
PSQ	240x5x3	[5,5]
DBBP	75x6+7=13
	60x12+9+9=30	[2,2,2,2]
BB curls	64x13+10+7+7=37

Last Deadlift set (the correct weight)

[CeeKa]

I'm jealous of your gym!

How's the deadlift weight only 280x5? Bar looks to be loaded with three 20kg plates per side.