Old Age and Treachery Will Always Beat Youth and Exuberance

[DCR]

Programming to try

Thanks for putting this up. Timely, because I was very close to asking if you had ideas regarding peaking out of the prior version of the base waves. I was going to ask you last week, under the assumption that I would finally bomb out of the base, but to my very pleasant surprise I smashed the first session of my latest wave. That effectively means that I should complete it, because the double and single aren’t the problem. If/when I bomb out, it’s much more likely to be the 6 or 4 set.

[Zak]

Programming to try

Thanks for putting this up. Timely, because I was very close to asking if you had ideas regarding peaking out of the prior version of the base waves. I was going to ask you last week, under the assumption that I would finally bomb out of the base, but to my very pleasant surprise I smashed the first session of my latest wave. That effectively means that I should complete it, because the double and single aren’t the problem. If/when I bomb out, it’s much more likely to be the 6 or 4 set.

Yeah these waves have treated you well. I'd "peak" by just moving the 10/8/6/4/2/1 to 5/4/3/2/1/1 for 1 or 2 waves, hitting the rep max for whatever the market will bear, and either working up to a true max single the final week of the final wave, or calculating a new max from your last rep max set, taking a deload week or two, and rolling into a new base wave.

As for how to handle the base waves if you stick with this approach, I like the heavier/truncated format for myself I think, but the original has worked well enough for you that I'm not sure I'd mess with it much.

[DCR]

As for how to handle the base waves if you stick with this approach, I like the heavier/truncated format for myself I think, but the original has worked well enough for you that I'm not sure I'd mess with it much.

Yes, zero plans to play with it. I have an unscientific, entirely unsupported idea that even in moving heavy shit around, you tend to remain good at - or maybe just mostly comfortable with - the stuff with which you began. I spent my teens and early twenties doing routines out of bodybuilding magazines. Twenty years later I’m still “good at” reps. I’m not so good at - I don’t get much from - lots of (or a little of) lower rep work.

If anything, I want to expand my use of the original base, chiefly by getting squats back on it now that I’ve cleaned up my form and have grown a brain about not doing the pyramid more than once a week.

[Zak]

12/13

Bench
175/8
220/6
245/4
220/10

Closegrip
205/8
205/7

Press
135/8
135/6

Lateral (full range)
20/10


This came in well under an hour.

[Zak]

12/15

Squat
260/8
325/6
365/4
325/8

H/B Pause Squat
285/6

GHR
B/8


Remembered Steve Goggins's advice about tucking the hips under and not being afraid to use your back a little bit. It makes it a lot easier to bury them. Going to keep that cue the focus for a few weeks and see what turns up.

[Zak]

12/18

BW: 181.5

Snatch High Pull
135/5
145/5

Strict Barbell Row
145/10
155/10

Deadlift
295/8
370/6
415/4
440/2
390/10

Ring Pullup
20/9


Doing the tugs after the rows and high pulls was a winner. Think I'll stick with that.

[Zak]

12/20

Bench Press
175/8
220/6
245/4
260/2
230/8

Closegrip
205/8
205/8

Press
135/8
135/7

Lateral (full range)
20/11

[Zak]

12/22

Squat
260/8
325/6
365/4
385/2
345/7

HB Pause Squat
275/9
275/6

GHR
B/11


Taking the “training hard” concept for a spin.

[DCR]

Taking the “training hard” concept for a spin.

I always assume that a lower frequency approach necessitates crushing one’s self, but you’ve accomplished big things with lower frequency and more reasonable effort. I’m very interested to see how pushing shit works out for you / what you may unlock.

[DCR]

Taking the “training hard” concept for a spin.

How did it work out?

[Zak]

Taking the “training hard” concept for a spin.

How did it work out?

Really well. Since January I'm up about 8 pretty solid pounds, everything feels strong.

I've settled on 3-4 week "blocks" with deloads, and for the main/supplemental I've moved to kind of a mini-ramp to a top set, so, although I don't use RPEs, for illustrative purposes, set 1: 6@6-7, set 2: 6@7-8, set 3: 6@8-8.5, set 4: 6@9-9.5. And I'll just nudge things up over the course of the block.

Block-to-block alternating between accumulation (lighter) and intensification (heavier/less fluff). Across the board these are "harder" sets on the main work than I've usually done in the past, and unsurprisingly it looks like it works real well for slapping on some tissue.

Follow the main work with rows/chins, isolation work (sparse), or sandbag work depending on the day.

Meet in a couple months will be the real test of this approach for me. So far so good.