Full-Body. Week 1. Low Bar Squats

BW - 228

Squats -
BarX5
135X5
185X4
225X3
275X2
315X1
285X12, 3

Incline - up to 155X3, 3, 3

BB Rows - up to 155X3, 5, 5

Done with the 100 reps accessory work I used to help my body recover from meet training.  Moving back into a full-body type program.

285X12 is a Rep PR.  Since I added a rep, I only hit the minimum volume goal with the 2nd set.

Haven't done Inclines in quite some time so it took a while to get back into the swing.  I'm starting by moving my grip in just a thumb's-width from my flat bench grip.  By the end I realized I was pressing a bit out of control and things felt better if I used a more deliberate eccentric and concentric with a pause at the top and bottom.

Also haven't done rows in a while.  I'm not sure if these will need higher reps or not, but my initial aim in this program is to limit worksets on compound accessories to 3-5 reps.

Reps and Volume. Week 4. Press

BW - 228

Press -
BarX5
65X5
85X4
105X3
125X2
135X1
115X12, 7

Face-Pulls - 5 sets of 20

Hammer Curls - 35sX10, 8, 6, 6

I wasn't in a good place to work out on this day.  I'd spent an hour and a half at the bank and then eaten a huge breakfast right before hand.  The breakfast in particular was dumb.  All I wanted to do was take a nap afterwards.

Couldn't get a PR on the first set of Presses, so I went for max reps on the 2nd.

The idea of doing 100 rep sets was loathsome to me on this day, so I upped the weight and did several sets.  This was going to be the last day of the 100 rep phase anyhow.

Reps and Volume. Week 4. Deadlift

BW - 227

Squat -
BarX5
135X5
185X5
225X5, 5

Deadlift -
135X5
185X4
225X3
275X2
315X1
305X4, 4, 3

Pull-downs - X40, 21 (same weight as last time)

Knees felt great on squats.

Deadlift felt stronger than the last few weeks.

Pull-downs felt like crap, and I just didn't want to do them anymore.  May have pushed the weight up faster than I needed to.

Reps and Volume. Week 4. Bench

BW - 230

Bench -
BarX5
95X5
115X4
135X3
155X2
185X1
155X17, 7

Cable Rows - X75, 25 (same weight as last time)

Straight-Bar Push-Downs - X65, 35 (same weight as last time)

Ran out of strength again after Rep 17.  This week I decided to push the reps on the 2nd set closer to failure instead of getting the prescribed amount for the volume goals.  This makes sense to me.  Stick with the volume goal as long as progress is being made, but push the volume sets past the goal to try and break a plateau.  We'll see if that works.

Kept the weight the same on accessories, but managed to get them both done in 2 sets where it took 3 sets last week.

I believe the 100 rep accessories may be coming to an end after this week.  It should be enough to have moved a lot of blood through  my joints to help recover from the meet, and also to have bumped up my overall work capacity a bit.

I'm a bit torn on what the next phase is going to be.  My original plans had revolved around some specific diet goals, but I have failed to consistently meet those.  If I'm going to abandon those goals, then I feel like the options are:  1) Continue with my main lift programming, but push the accessories into bigger movements with higher intensities; i.e. strength work; or 2) I've been looking at Alex Viada's manual for awhile and I've laid out his P.L.+5K program.

If I do the latter, I believe I will need to pick a 5K to run in order to stick to that 7-day-a-week program.  Because I enjoyed the P.L. meet so much, I'm leaning towards this even though it looks much more difficult than the other option.

Reps and Volume. Week 4. Squat

BW - 229

Squat -
BarX5
135X5
185X4
225X3
275X2
315X1
285X11, 3

Pull-downs - X60, 40 (upped weight from last time)

Lunges - BWX15, 15, 15, 15

285X11 is a Rep PR.  It's possible I could have gotten to my target of 14 here, but I got over my toes on rep #10 and felt shaky as hell on #11.  No reason to push for it on my first try, so I'll hit it again next week.

Upped weight on pull-downs and added a rep-per-set to lunges.  Right shoulder still feels an uncomfortable pinch on pull-downs even at these low weights.  Just gonna keep monitoring it.

Reps and Volume. Week 3. Press

BW - 227

Press -
BarX5
65X5
85X4
105X3
125X2
135X1
115X12, 5

Face-Pulls - 50, 35, 30 (increase weight from last week)

Cross-Body Hammer Curls - 12sX50 each arm

115X12 is a Rep PR for the Press.  Still 5 fucking reps away from my goal.  Seems like a million miles for as hard as the last couple of reps are.  Just gonna bust ass and try to get at least 13 next week.

Reps and Volume. Week 3. Deadlift

BW - 228

Squats -
BarX5
135X5
185X5
225X5, 5

Deadlift -
135X5
185X4
225X3
275X2
315X1
295X4, 4, 4

Pull-downs - X100

Deadlifts moved fairly well.  I felt like my hips might be a bit low, but we'll see.

Reps and Volume. Week 3. Bench

BW - 227

Bench -
BarX5
95X5
115X4
135X3
155X2
185X1
155X17, 3

Cable Rows - X60, 25, 15 (upped weight)

Straight-Bar Pushdowns - X50, 30, 20 (same weight as last week)

155X17 ties a Rep PR.  18th rep failed off the chest.

Was able to get total reps on Pushdowns in fewer sets with same weight as last week.

Reps and Volume. Week 3. Squat

BW - 227

Squat -
BarX5
135X5
185X4
225X3
275X2
315X1
275X16

Pull-downs - X60, 40 (upped weight)

Lunges - 4X14 (56 total)

275X16 is an all-around PR and my goal for this weight.  Start going for 285X14 next week.  The last 2 reps were awful, but there was no way I could see myself pulling up short this week.

I upped the weight on pulldowns from my last time.  Was feeling a hangover from the squats pretty hard, but I managed to get this in two sets.

After all the squatting and the ultra-high-rep lat work, I was gassed and a had to sit down for a long time until my head cleared a bit.  I seriously considered just going home, but I didn't do the lunges last week and didn't want to skip them again.  I made myself a deal that I would just go for around 50 reps and keep the reps-per-set low.  This was the right move, and gives me a better mark to build out from.  Or not.  As long as I'm getting in some single leg work, I'm fine with it.

Reps and Volume. Week 1. Squat

BW - 227 (lowest since 12/8/15)

Squat -
BarX5
135X5
185X4
225X3
275X2
315X1
275X12, 4

Pull-downs - X82, 17

Lunges - BWX30, 24, 20, 26

275X12 is a Rep PR.  I thought it tied a PR and that's why I stopped there.  I didn't want to push too hard my first week back.  My goal is 16.

Using the Phase-II protocol from LRB 365 for a little meet recovery.  Basically just means single sets of 100 reps on one or two movements following the main lift.  Didn't quite get there on pull-downs, and knew I wouldn't get there on lunges.  100 reps of lunges have always been a some'bitch.

BW down to a 3 month low after one week.  Shooting for a very slow, but steady decrease to try and shed fat while maintaining as much muscle as possible.  I've always done high-fat/low-carb in the past.  Reversing that this time to see if it's more manageable (meaning I can still drink beer).

Good start to the post-meet work.

LRB Back & DL. Pressing

BW - 209

Inclines -
BarX30
95X5
115X4
135X3
155X2
185X1
165X10, 5

Press - 65X20, 12, 6

Pushdowns - X100

For the first time in a long time, I had an unplanned week off of training that didn't involve injury.  My schedule just unexpectedly started to collapse under it's own weight, and I couldn't justify cutting anything but training.

Picked up where I left off, and hit pressing on this day.  165X10 is 1 rep more than last time, but the last rep was 100% effort and is still 2 reps off my best with this weight.

On OHP, I did push the reps way up on the 1st and 2nd set before the bottom fell out on the last set.  I think 65X20 is acutally a Rep PR.

Needed to get home, so just did a 100 rep set for triceps.

LRB Back & DL. Week 3. Pressing

DB Inclines -
35sX8
45sX8
55sX8
65sX8
55sX8
45sX8
35sX12

Cable overhead raise - X15, 15, 15 (straight-weight)

Cable Face-Pulls - X20, 20, 20 (straight-weight)

Rope Pushdowns - X100 (R/P 50, 25, 25)

Another session at the hotel gym.

Pyramiding up and down on the DB Inclines worked really well.

The combo of overhead raises and face-pulls worked the hell out of my rear delts.

My triceps are still tender from the 100 rep set 2 days ago.

All in all, this was a really great session despite using a hotel gym.

LRB 365: LRB Split. Week 6. Squat - Light

BW - 198

Fronts -
BarX10 (paused)
95X5
115X5
125X4
135X3
145X3
155X9

Leg Extensions - X20, 20, 18, 18 (straight-weight)

Standing Machine Abduction - 100X20, 10, 10, 10

Lunges - BWX46, 30, 28, 22

Nice one.  155X9 is an all-around PR on Front Squats.  Why didn't I get 10?  Can't remember.

This was the first time doing leg extensions at my regular gym.  I've only been going there for almost 3 years.  Just been that long since I was doing leg extensions.

The adduction/abduction machine at my regular gym is unfortunately placed so that it faces out onto the Squat/Deadlift/Olympic-Lift area.  The effect is that you are fanning those people with your groin.  That was just too much for me today.  I decided to go take a shot at this arcane, plate-loaded machine in the back that's been hand-labeled "Hip Ext."  I can't find a picture of this thing anywhere on the webs.  I'll try to remember to take a picture myself in the future.  I couldn't figure out a way to do standing abduction on this thing that didn't involve me standing half off of it, so I did adduction instead.  Kind of brutal actually, and I really feel it today.

Lunges were feeling strong as they have since the 100 rep cycle.  I think 46 after all the fronts squats and extensions definitely looks a lot stronger than the 50-60 I was getting on that cycle following easy back-squats.

LRB 365: 100 Reps and Conditioning. In Review

The 2nd and 3rd phases of the LRB 365 program are complete.  The High-Rep Lifting/Conditioning Acclimation and Conditioning Peaking phases respectively.

The high-rep/acclimation phase was 6 weeks, and the peaking phase was intended to be 6 weeks.  However, due to a long vacation and some other scheduling considerations, the peaking phase went for 8 weeks as I chose to repeat weeks 3 and 4 after my vacation.  So 15 weeks total (including vacation) comprising all of March, April and May, and a chunk of February and June as well.  That's important to keep in mind.

This whole section of the program is a little bit more difficult for me to wrap my mind around, because I've never done any serious dieting, and I didn't do any for this until the final 4 weeks.  As a result, this felt more like "working-out," rather than training towards any kind of specific goals. 

So for the High-Rep/Acclimation phase there's not a lot to say.  I got a lot of snappy reps in on the big lifts, and a ton of high-reps in on support work.  I learned that I hate walking in the weighted-vest.  Not because it was particularly hard, but because it was boring as hell.  I actually like going for walks, but because I live in a major urban center, and have occasional gang-violence in my neighborhood, neither my wife nor I were particularly comfortable with my walking willy-nilly through our part of town in what looks like a bullet-proof vest.  Also there were some school shootings this year, and the Boston bombings.  What I ended up doing was picking a straight section of sidewalk right by our building that avoided major roads, schools, and public buildings.  It was about a 7.5 minute walk one-way, and I would walk back and forth on it until I made time.  Like I said, boring as hell.  For the HIIT, I started off just doing interval sprints on the treadmill, but for the last two weeks the weather started to improve, and I decided to take it out to my hill.  I decided to do the %'s for the first week of the peaking phase here so that I could easily slide into that phase.  My hill is something like 65-70 yards, and I took an initial max time of 13.5 seconds.  Week 1 of the peaking phase calls for 10 sprints at 75% of that, or 18 seconds.  Hardest part of this was going that slow.

For the Peaking Acclimation phase, the program doesn't prescribe specific percentages on the lifts, but just leaves it up to you as long as you stick to the over-warmup technique.  I've been enamoured for a long time with the idea of 45/25 training to I stuck close to that.  45/25 meaning that as much as possible you try to only use 45 and 25 lb. plates.  The idea being that these big jumps will force you to really dominate a given weight before you jump to the next higher weight.  This worked fine and kept everything nice and snappy throughout the program.  It also gave me the freedom to back-off a little on some days, or push a little on days I felt strong.  I liked it a lot.

The evil bastard parts of this phase are the body-weight ladder/circuits.  Four bodyweight movements done in circuit laddering up to a top set and back down again.  The upper body day was particularly brutal because you do "heavy" bench or incline and then follow that with a ton of dips and push-ups which strain the hell out of your already fatigued triceps, plus chins and full hanging leg-raises which just take a lot of energy to do.  I was so pathetic at all of this the first week that I slashed all the prescribed rep intervals back to intervals of 2 (some of intervals are as high as 5), and slowly worked my way up throughout the phase.  I managed to work everything back up to the prescribed intervals except for push-ups.  I got these up to intervals of 4 on lower body day (when my pressing muscles weren't fatigued from pressing and dips), and intervals of 3 on upper body day.  I feel positive about this.

As my schedule crunched down on me in May, something had to give and that something was the walking.  I hated the weighted-vest walking, and was having trouble even justifying separate walking sessions within my schedule.  I ended up just using the 20 minute walks to and from the gym, and to and from the hill to stand in.  Did what I had to do.

The hill-sprints went great.  By the final week I was hitting the challenging but doable 15 sprints @ 90% with confidence.  My left knee was a little aggro at the end, but it was the end, and now it has some time to recover.

Once I decided to do some real dieting, I had a solid little drop in weight as well.  When I started 365 in mid-December I was fluctuating between 199-205.  At the end of Phase 1 (Strong-15), I was staying in the 198-201 range.  At the end of Phase 2 (High-Rep/Acclimation), I was 196-199.  When I got back from vacation, I had done 4 weeks of Phase 3 (Conditioning Peaking) and had decided to repeat weeks 3 and 4 before continuing with weeks 5 and 6.  At this point I was holding steady in the 195-198 range.  I decided to cut out all carb-dominant foods except for one cheat night a week to allow for socializing and/or nights out with the wife.  Within 5 days, I shed about 4-5 lbs. that have stayed off, and I've been bouncing between 190-191 at every weigh-in.  The only exception to the diet was alcohol.  I try to make less-bad choices, but the way we live, I just ended up having a drink or two a couple nights a week outside of my cheat meal.  This upcoming week is a 50%, or light week in the gym, and then we're going camping with a bunch of friends for the weekend.  The camping trip will mark the end of low-carbing for awhile, as I look to add some quality mass in the upcoming phase.

Overall these two phases were a gigantic mind-fuck for me, but a learning experience as a result.  I got very much to the point where I was fantasizing about other programs that would give me the feedback I wasn't getting here, i.e. weight on the bar.  I'm very glad I stuck with it.  I had a real wake-up moment when I realized that this had been 15 weeks.  So what kind of seemed like an eternity really was a good chunck of a lifting year.  I don't know if I can explain it now, but this made me feel a lot better about everything.  Looking back on the program, I see that I set aside 15 weeks to recover a little bit from the Strong-15, get my conditioning up, and even start to explore how my body reacts to some classic low-carb dieting.  I pushed through all those brutal body-weight circuits and was feeling strong(er) on them by the end.  I'm eager to start doing the body-building type stuff on the next phase, and see if I can build some mass and additional confidence/perspective to take me into the strength phase that will follow that.  If I were to run this program again next year, I think I might dread these 12 or so weeks, but I may also look back and find they were invaluable.

LRB 365: 100 Reps. Week 6. Deadlift

BW - 197

Weighted Vest - 40 minutes; walking

Pause Squats -
BarX10
95X5
135X5
185X3
195X3

Deadlift -
135X5
185X5
205X4
225X3
265X2
295X1
305X1
315X1 (20 sec. hold at top)

Shrugs -
135X76, 24 (no straps)

Nice little session.  Pause Squats felt strong, and so did Deads.  As always, my forearms got nicely fried by the strap-less shrugs.

LRB 365: 100 Reps. Week 6. Accessory

DB Press -
15sX15
20sX15
25sX15
30sX15, 10

Face Pull - X75, 30

Rope Extensions - X75, 25

Rope Curls - X75, 40

Treadmill - 20 minutes walking; high-incline

Good little body-buildery session.  I did some rest-pause on the 100 rep movements, and my triceps and rear-delts are really feeling it today.

The treadmill was just some extra conditioning that I threw in because I'm in the middle of a 3-day crunch when I can't get outside for my scheduled conditioning.  I'll still get the rest of the regular programmed stuff in this weekend as I switch to the next phase.

LRB 365: 100 Reps. Week 6. Squat

BW - 200 (wow)

Squat -
BarX10 (paused)
95X5 (paused)
135X5
155X4
175X3
195X2
235X1, 1
245X1

Cable Rows - X80, 25

Lunges - BWX40, 40, 20

Ab Wheel - 5 sets of 10

Brutally tired.  I needed to walk to keep on schedule, but I was done.  Fell asleep on the couch at 7:45, and went to bed at 8:30.  I have a feeling the lack of sleep is somehow related to the weight gain as well.

Nevertheless, Squats all felt strong.

Rows felt strong as well, getting 10 more reps than last time.

Lunges were crap, though, I'm sure due in part to hill-sprints the day before.

Feel so much better today after getting over 8 hours of sleep.

LRB 365: 100 Reps. Week 6. Conditioning

Hill Sprints - 10 sprints @ 75%

Tired.  Not getting enough sleep.

LRB 365: 100 Reps. Week 6. Bench

BW - 198 (Ah, the weekend finally caught up with me here)

Bench -
BarX16
95X5
105X4
135X3
145X2
155X1
165X1
175X1

Pulldowns - X55, 25, 20

EZ Bar Extensions - 30X60, 40
super-set with
EZ Bar Curls - 30X45, 35, 25

A little bit tired and bloated feeling for this session.  Bench still moved fine, but I definitely didn't feel any stronger than my EDM of 185.

Completely out of gas on pulldowns.

Arms were fine.

Tired.

LRB 365: 100 Reps. Week 5. Deadlift

BW - 196

Pause Squats -
BarX10
95X5
135X5
185X3, 3

Deadlift -
135X5
185X5
205X4
235X3
265X2
285X1
295X1
305X1 (held for 10 seconds)

BB Shrugs - 135X80, 25 (no straps)

Weighted Vest - 40 minutes; walking

Awesome session.  I don't really know how it happened.  I indulged in a bunch of eating and drinking and assorted debauchery the day before and closed down a bar and everything.  Woke up hung-over, ate some eggs, had some coffee and OJ and ibuprofen.  I got down to the gym and warmed-up, and went through the Pause Squats, and they felt pretty good.  Smooth, and the 2nd set with 185 felt better than the first.

Then the bar hit the floor, and for some reason my pulse started racing and I felt aggressive as hell.  I had to calm myself down a little on my work sets because I was worried I was going to spaz out and lose my form.  I just can't describe how awesome these pulls felt.

I took that same aggression to the shrugs and got the PR at 80 reps.  It was my grip that gave out.

Went home and had some more food, and then the wife came along for my walk. And the weather was even pretty nice.  Just an awesome, awesome training day.