Dan's Log - I used to lift. I still do, but I used to, too. (Gary Knuckles Style currently)

[Dan]

Week 5 - adding singles on H days

Monday 4/2/18

Estimated 1rms for the week: Squat 233 / Bench 227 215 / Dead 330

Squat - 205 @7, then 70% 165 3x5, 3x4

Bench - 195 @7.5, then 70% 150 3x5, 3x4

SGRDL - 170 3x3, 4x2

DB hammer curls 25 lbs myoreps 9+18x3+2 = 65 total reps - up from 37 reps last week by a huge margin. Is this because I moved curls to H day? Because I went from 10 and sets of 4, to 9 and sets of 3? Raise the weight next week.

Squats are doing just what they are supposed to. I seem to have overshot my bench in the past couple weeks. I think I underestimated my RPEs and it has come back to bite me. I was originally aiming higher for my single, but warmups felt pretty bad. I recalculated my 70% weight from the @7.5 single and even those sets felt harder than last week's. I also dropped one set to match the volume of the squat. The good news is my left shoulder doesn't burn for the first time in a couple weeks. Still learning not to be greedy with this autoregulation. SGRDLs felt brisk, but heavy enough to challenge my speed. Probably didn't need the last double - 15 fast reps should be enough.

[Dan]

Wednesday 4/4/18

Squat 220 @8, 85% 200 3x1 [e1rm 238]

Bench 200 @8, 85% 185 3x1 [e1rm 217]

Dead 310 @8, 85% 285 3x1 [e1rm 336]

I've really been screwing up my RPEs until now, but I'm new at this, so... I had been using my @8 on P Wednesdays to calculate the entire next week's work sets, which is exactly what RPE is not about. So now the @7 on H day will be used to calculate the volume sets that day. The @8 on P day will provide the weights for P day and S day, which is 48 hours later. To track progress, I will include the calculated e1rm [in brackets] on days with RPE singles.I feel this has been a much more accurate week, RPE-wise.

My squats are moving the fastest at this point, which I attribute to a few things:

• Switching to high bar
• Retreading old ground in a variation that doesn't cause pain
• Figuring out my leg length discrepancy and shimming the shoe appropriately (which has also helped eliminate pain)

I'm finding my groove on bench, slowly but surely. This tends to mess with my RPE, because a properly grooved bench feels faster and lighter. Sometimes a warmup will feel heavier than a single because I let an elbow get away from me. For example, the second single at 185 was the hardest rep I did today. The third was very crisp.

Deads went well. I could have pushed the @8 up another 5lbs, but I don't want to mess with a good thing. All reps are clean with good back extension and definitely faster than I'm used to pulling.

[Dan]

Thursday 4/5/18

DB rows 25 lbs in 10 min density block - 44 total reps each arm

I was bored. Also trying to find something useful for lats. DBs made concentrating on the lat and holding at the top more manageable than BB rows.


Friday 4/6/18

All weights 80% of Wednesday's e1rms.

Squat 190 4x3

Bench 175 5x3, sets 2 and 4 paused

Dead 270 3x2, 4x1

Squatting with my shoe shimmed feels like cheating now - no pain. I expect steady gains for a while. Bench felt great and didn't bother shoulder. 10 reps feels about right for deads.

[Dan]

Week 6

Monday 4/9/18

Lifted at a Snap Fitness in Horseheads, NY. Not my first choice, but I went along with it because two of my coworkers picked it out. Only one power rack and no bench press(!) I had to drag a flat bench into the power rack and play with the safeties for a few minutes. The bench was oddly very low, like 12 inches off the ground. Clean gym though, with a friendly staff.

Squat 210 @7 - 70% 165 3x5, 3x4 [e1rm 235]

Bench 195 @7 - 70% 155 3x5, 3x4 [e1rm 219]

SGRDL 175 3x3, 3x2

DB hammer curls 25 lbs in 8 min density block - 41 total reps

Squat is moving fine. Benched 195 last week for an @7.5, but this week was @7, so there's a couple lbs on the e1rm. The math still gave me 155 for 70%, which I suppose is another downside of having weak lifts. In order to have some "progress" anyway, I kept bar speed up and rests very short. Curl reps were down at the same weight, but I was in more of a hurry to get out and get to work on time.

[Dan]

Wednesday 4/11/18

Squat 225 @8.5 - 85% 205 3x1 [e1rm 240]

Bench 205 @8.5 - 85% 185 3x1 [e1rm 218]

Dead 315 @8 - 85% 290 3x1 [e1rm 342]

Surprisingly rough for a P day. I suspect missing some sleep over the past 4 or 5 days might have caught up with me. Added 5 lbs each to bench and squat singles, but they felt a bit heavy. Couldn't call them @8 with a clear conscience, so calculated the e1rms with @8.5. This is another situation where a very small increase in e1rms does not constitute a raise in working weight for S day, at least for squat and bench. Looks like I'll be going for cleaner reps with shorter rests, but that's OK. I really need to get out of the grind mindset anyway. Deads were great, however. Back extension looks great on film. No accessories today.

[Dan]

Friday 4/13/18

All reps at 80%, calculated from P day e1rms.

Squat 190 4x3

Bench 175 5x3, sets 2 and 4 paused

Dead 275 3x2, 4x1

Went much better than Wednesday's Power day. No time for accessories, had to head to airport early.

[Dan]

Week 7

Monday 4/16/18

At a Gold's Gym in San Antonio

Squat 215 @7, 70% 170 3x5, 3x4 [e1rm 241]

Bench 200 @8, 70% 150 3x5, 3x4 [e1rm 216]

SGRDL 180 4x4

Lat pull with chin-up grip 66lbs 3x8

Squat is trending up consistently. Bench was surprisingly hard today. E1rm took a slight decline, so the volume work did as well. Not sure if this is because my bench is more "advanced" than my squat or if I'm misjudging RPE, but I can't react to every minor fluctuation, so let's see what happens later this week. SGRDLs feel better as 4x4 than 3x3, 3x2. 4 sets yielding 16 reps makes more sense than 6 yielding 15. Decided since I was in an actual gym I'd use the lat pull. The reps were super strict and paused, with bar to chest and elbows behind torso. I have some exquisite DOMS today in the upper back, glad I stopped at 3 sets. I see the lat pull could be useful. I bet the cable row is as well.

[Dan]

Wednesday 4/18/18

Squat 225 @8 [e1rm 244] 85% 205 3x1

Bench 205 @9 [e1rm 215] 85% 180 3x1

Dead 320 @8 [e1rm 347] 85% 295 3x1

DB hammer curls 8 min density block 25lbs 45 total reps (last week was 41, target is 50 before increasing weight)

Bench e1rms are trending down slowly. I was not fully recovered from Monday's H day, and I think this is messing with that lift in particular. I was tired all day Monday and pretty sore on Tuesday into today. Come to think of it, last week was much the same. Squat and dead are fine though. I may need to spread around the H, P and S work over the week like a staggered HLM. Or, maybe my bench needs to go on a 4 week cycle while the other lifts stay weekly for now. I'll try the first option to start with. Have to play with some layouts...

[Dan]

Friday 4/20/18

All weights are 80% of e1rms from P day.

Squat 195 3 reps/1 2ct paused rep x2 rounds

Bench 170 3 reps/1 2ct paused rep x4 rounds

Dead 280 3x2, 2x1

Today's workout was a bit off-script for a few reasons:

• Realized I needed to quit alternating TnG and paused triples on bench - paused reps need to be fewer if doing them at the same weight
• Realized my squat bar path could use some work as I sometimes get spongy at the bottom - why not include some paused reps like bench?
• Need to start next week's workouts a day earlier (Sun/Tue/Thu) because I need to leave the house very early on Friday. For Puerto Rico. Hoping the power grid holds up
• Need to reorder the weekly schedule to break up H days. The H workouts are the most fatiguing for me, and starting the week with all of them on one day is kicking my ass

So, I cut sets from each lift. The paused squats were hard, but probably necessary. Bench worksets were lower than last week because of the downtrend in my e1rm. The deads felt slow after the doubles. I'm surprised at the level of fatigue I'm experiencing with HPS, but it could also be that I am running a variant which (should) progress from week to week. I may need to go to a 3 or 4 week cycle, but I'm trying to hold out until Hanley throws together some templates.

Next order of business is to stagger my HPS days in a way that makes sense.

[Dan]

Here's the new schedule:

Day 1
P bench
S squat
H dead

Day 2
P dead
S bench
H squat

Day 3
P squat
S dead
H bench


I decided to reorder the lift to P>S>H daily, while maintaining H>P>S across weeks for each individual lift. cgeorg, Hanley and TimK discussed this recently and it seems to make sense: Do the heaviest, speed dependent lifts first, strength second and hypertrophy third. I think doing H last will artificially lower the relative intensity due to fatigue, since I calculate the 70% from a heavy single @7. My H sets might end up around 65%, being they are last on any given day. Maybe this is how it should be anyway. No sense in getting married to theories before I put the time in, so...we'll see.

[Root]

Just want to express my deep and sincere appreciation for the title of your log.

[Dan]

Just want to express my deep and sincere appreciation for the title of your log.

Thank you, I try to quote Mitch where I can, to keep him going. He'll always be one of my favorites.

[Dan]

Week 8 - Reorganizing the Stress

Sunday 4/22/18

As mentioned in the previous post, H, P and S workouts will be spread across days in the week. Each workout will be ordered P, S then H. Each individual lift will follow the H>P>S order. A single @7 will be used to determine the weight used for H day, while a single @8 will be used to calculate the weight for P day and the following S day.

P Bench 205 @8 [e1rm 218] 85% 185 3x1 (all reps paused)

S Squat 195 3 reps, then 1 paused rep for 3 rounds

H SGRDL 180 4x4

DB hammer curls 25lbs for 6, then 42 additional reps in 8 minute block = 48 total reps (goal of 50)

I am using a document originally shared by an Exodus member to calculate RPE. I forget who provided it or in which thread, but there is the traditional chart plus a custom RPE chart for each lift. Not sure how those were calculated, but there are significant differences. I noticed the bench chart yields a more conservative e1rm. A single @8 is considered 94% instead of the more common 92%. This comports with my experience in trying to nail down RPE for bench, so I will use the custom chart for a while and see what happens. The traditional chart seems pretty accurate for bench and dead, however.

Bench felt faster than usual and the pauses were clean. I went one round less than I would like on squats, because I just did an S day for squats 48 hours ago. I very much liked the paused singles. The first one was not great, but the next two as well as the triples benefited noticeably. I really thought I could hit my 50 reps+ today on curls, but fell a couple short. Oh well, next week for sure.

[Dan]

Tuesday 4/24/18

P Dead 325 @8 [e1rm 352] 85% 300 3x1

S Bench [e1rm 218] 80% 175 for 3 reps, then 1 paused rep - 4 rounds

H Squat 205 @7 [e1rm 230] 70% 160 4x5, 2x4

Dead was good. Bench...a lot tougher than it should have been. I may have fucked myself pausing all the reps from P day 48 hours ago. I used the e1rm from that workout. Squats turned out to be affected by fatigue considerably. Last H squat day was 170lbs, today it calculated to 160. Since it was a lower weight, I added another rep to set 4. I see in the BBM discussions here that the weight is not as important as the subjective stress, and I hope that I can walk that line accurately.

[Dan]

Thursday 4/26/18

P Squat 230 @8 [e1rm 250] 80% 200x1, 82% 205x1, 85% 210x1

S Dead [e1rm 352] 80% 280 2x3, 2x2

H Bench 200 @7.5 [e1rm 217] 70% 150 6x5

DB rows 25lbs 6 + 54 in 8 minute block = 60 total [goal of 72]

Now that Hanley's 2 week MM template is out, I'm very tempted to just jump over to that. Here's why I don't:

• There is no RPE and I'm not sure the best way to integrate it into the template. Further, I think it will be best for me over the long term if I can polish my RPE skills. With my erratic work and sleep schedule, RPE can prevent drifting into poor recovery.
• I'm not exactly how to progress from cycle to cycle. I've seen a little discussion about it, but I'd rather let smarter folks than me blaze that trail. If there turns out to be an intelligent way to use RPE, AND progress from cycle to cycle, I'm on board.

But looking at the template has given me some ideas:

• Using a wider range of percentages on P days instead of 1 @8 and 3x1 at 85%
• Not breaking the deadlift work down into doubles and singles, which saves time. I can do 10 reps in 4 sets as opposed to 6
• Keeping my work at 70% in sets of 5 is more time efficient and allows for more work

Squat and dead doing fine. Still trying to find my footing with bench. Added a density block of DB rows and was surprised how many reps I could get on my first try. Either I went too light with the rows, or too heavy with the curls. Anyway, once I get 20% more reps, I'll up the weight. Will also see about adding a density block of presses on Wednesday. I really miss presses. So Monday - curls, Wednesday - press, Friday - rows.

[Dan]

Week 9 - a mixed bag

Monday 4/30/18

Lifted at LIV fitness in San Juan, PR (that's Puerto Rico and definitely not Personal Record). Very trendy gym, kinda high end. One platform with a power rack, one squat rack, one flat bench. $30 day passes $10 if you stay at the hotel next door . I can't tell you the name of the hotel, but there are 2 trees involved.

P Bench [e1rm 218] 70% 155 1x2, 77% 170 2x1, 85% 185x1, 92% 205

S Squat [e1rm 250] 80% 200 4x(3 reps + 1 rep paused)

H SGRDL 185 4x4

DB hammer curl 25lbs 6, then 40 reps in 8 minute block = 46 total (goal of 50)

Rough trip for work, power and water at the worksite were spotty at best, didn't have time to sleep like I would normally. Bench has been pretty stagnant. Switched from 92% x1 and 85% 3x1 to the ascending percentages Hanley suggests. Felt exactly as hard as last week. Squats were OK, but my left hip popped out after a couple sets. It has been very well behaved for a few months, but there is a fair amount of pain now. Ugh. Lost two reps on curls which is understandable.

[Dan]

Tuesday 5/1/18

Press 145 @9 + 7 minute density block at 80% - 115 for 15 reps

I have missed the press so much. Saw how Hanley fit it into the 2 week template and had to get some. Maybe it will help my bench. Lost some ground on my max, was hoping for 155 @9, but still felt great.

[Dan]

Wednesday 5/2/18

P dead 245/275/300 x1 each, 330 @8 [e1rm 358]

S bench [e1rm 218] 80% 175 4x(3 reps + 1 paused rep)

H squat [e1rm 250] 70% 175 4x5

Wow, a real stinker today. Well, deadlifts were fine, but it was very hard to find the groove on bench. This might be because of adding presses yesterday. Squats were killing my hip even at this light weight, and my form looked like garbage. Too much lumbar flexion at the bottom, probably because I had to narrow my stance to minimize the pain. The squats themselves felt as light as they should on an H day, however.

I think I got lost in the weeds with my self-programming here. Smarter people than me design programs and I should know not to mess with them. My bench has been fully stagnant for the last few weeks, but squats and deads have made weekly progress. Maybe my hip acting up means I should move away from weekly increases to 2 or even 4 week cycles. I should probably just do the Montana Method 2 week template as close to as written as possible so I don't outsmart myself. Staggering the H, P and S days across the week has not helped at all, and possibly even hurt me, because when I was squatting first every workout, my form was better.

I'll finish out the week and try to come up with some reasonably accurate 1rms.

[Dan]

Friday 5/4/18

P Squat 150x3, 175x2, 195 2x1, 205x1, 225x1

S Dead 285 2x3, 2x2

H Bench 155 3x5

Rough one today. Never got warmed up. Hip still hurts while squatting, but not as much. Deads were OK. Had no energy for bench, all reps were heavy and shaky. Quit them early because I doubt there was much training effect there. Hopefully starting the 2 week cycle next week will alleviate some of the trouble I've been having. Stress from work has been kicking my ass as well.

[Dan]

Week 10 - leave the programming to the programmers and DTFP

Week 1 of MM 2 week template

Monday 5/7/18

Lifted at Genesis Fitness in Overland Park, KS. Looks like the building used to be a church. High ceilings with lots of windows and wooden beam construction (or at least facades). Friendly people.

Squat [e1rm 225] 70% 160 6x5
Bench [e1rm 220] 70% 155 7x5
Close grip cable rows 50lbs 48 reps in 10 minute block

Kept my e1rms a bit conservative in preparation for all the volume. Holy shit, was I tired for the rest of the day. Sleep was coma-level. I liked those rows a whole lot. Was able to really feel it in the lats and shoulders. Wish I had a cable row at home.

Tuesday 5/8/18

Press 145 @9, then 115 for 15 reps in 7 minute block
DB hammer curls 25 lbs 8 + 42 reps in 8 minute block = 50 Got my target, time to up the weight

Pressing for time in a density block is not my favorite thing, but I see how it could work long term. It's way better than not pressing at all.

Wednesday 5/9/18

Squat 135x3, 160x2, 175 2x1, 185x1, 205x1
Bench 130x3, 155x2, 170 2x1, 185x1, 200x1
CGBP 115 2x8
Dead [e1rm 360] 90% 320x1, 75% 270 5x4

Squats were slow to warm up today. Left hip was hanging up pretty good. On a whim, I stretched my left calf, which is definitely less mobile than the right. This actually helped with the hip. Perhaps I lose ankle mobility in the hole, which is when the hip hurts the worst. Just an idea, need more experience. Bench felt good. Never close gripped before, ever. I went lighter than programmed to get the movement and my grip correct. It feels odd, but there was major upper arm pump, which is probably the idea. I was pretty intimidated by the deads at first, but after the heavy single, the sets of 4 flew off the ground. Possibly my fastest deads ever. It felt great. Now, can I do the same thing with 80% next week? We shall see.