Cole's Data Driven Strength

[cole]

@KarlM that sounds about right for the DL dose. I think you have a pretty balanced approach and dont seem to get the frequents aches and pains i get.

I talked to a coach at DDS bc after my last session I have had 2 days now of stiff/achy/tight/weak low back. He advised that I reduce my DL frequency to 1x/wk and combine the primary and skill slot in that same day. He also advised taking a day rest between each session to do conditioning, so effectively a 3 day a week program instead of 4. AND the fact that I need more bench volume than the current cycle recommends means that im ending Cycle 1 on week 6 of 8. No big deal, I will do every set/rep/movement as written on this C2 as it looks much more aligned with my current capabilities. I will build from here on with the individualization process.

[cole]

Monday, Mar 18th, 2024
DDS C2, Build Block, Intro Week

Squat with Belt

315lbs x 1 @ 6
285lbs x 6 @ 6
Total x Stress: @ 0.89,

Notes: primary slot. mid foot balance. constant back angle out of the hole. use your quads! this weight was easy but my back has been a little achy/weak/stiff so the @6 was more of an RPT than RPE

1ct Pause Hip Belt Squat

90lbs x 6 @ 5
90lbs x 6 @ 5

Notes: growth slot. each foot on a plyo box to create a hole for the plates and a deep below parallel squat, torso upright go light at first. be safe. these were weird, not sure if i can add much more weight just limited by logistics like the quality of the belt itself, the chains grinding against my hip flexors, and the awkwardness of having to climb up on two 18in plyo boxes. might just have to be a high rep movement from now on.

Tempo Bench Press

215lbs x 2 @ 5
205lbs x 5 @ 6
Total x Stress: @ 0.81,

Notes: skill slot. 3:1:0 stay tight and arch/leg drive the whole time. push bb back into cups immediately off chest. light weight

Inverted Rows

x 10
x 10

Notes: upper back growth. elevate legs on plyo box. wide grip. touch chest every rep.



**** Intro week 1. Light on the volume. Letting my low back feel better. Good session, some new movements which is fun.

[JohnHelton]

I’m scared thinking about your homemade belt squat. Those are a little awkward anyway.

[cole]

I’m scared thinking about your homemade belt squat. Those are a little awkward anyway.

yea, i am pretty safe about it, like i dont think i will fall off the plyo boxes but i could see the belt or chain snapping suddenly which could cause a rapid shift in movement. i think i will change it to high bar and use the belt squatting for the higher rep iso slot, alternating with split squats.

[cole]

3/19/24
Conditioning

Treadmill / airdyne intervals - 30 minutes @ rpe 6

bodyweight: 224
waist: 39.5"

[cole]

Wednesday, Mar 20th, 2024
DDS C2, Build Block, Intro Week

Deadlift (conv)

345lbs x 1 @ 6
315lbs x 5 @ 6
Total x Stress: @ 0.84,

Notes: primary slot. neutral spine and leg drive. very patient off the floor, kept tight on the way back down. trying to make sure i dont re aggrevate my arthritic low back joints. felt good actually. i just really want to be doing this top single with about 100 more pounds than what i pulled today.

Romanian Deadlift

185lbs x 6 @ 5
185lbs x 6 @ 5

Notes: growth slot. RDL to floor, with controlled eccentric hamstring stretch. can jump 20lbs next time. felt great on the hams and low back.

1ct Pause Bench Press

235lbs x 1 @ 6
215lbs x 6 @ 6
Total x Stress: @ 0.94,

Notes: primary slot. arch more than you think you can. squeeze the bar with your grip. wrists straight in line with forearm bone. i moved my fingers to max grip, and im, really working on an exaggerated arch, which for me looks like someones normal arch haha.setting shoulder blades hard into bench while maintaining leg drive. my bench is gonna blow up this cycle i can tell.

2" Deficit Push Up

12
12

Notes: growth iso slot. use pushup handles elevate on back of plates if needed, feet up on plyo box if it needs to be harder. make sure to take advantage of the deficit and feel the pec stretch. i actually used the handles on the plyo boxes set about 18in apart, then used the bench to elevate my feet. this created an amazing defecit, full pec stretch, ridiculous pump i ever had.


*** Does anyone know why you still have to hold an almost 18 year old's hand through life? Like why cant they throw trash into a trash can, or bring dishes back to the kitchen, or put their clothes in the closet instead of the floor???

[JohnHelton]

*** Does anyone know why you still have to hold an almost 18 year old's hand through life? Like why cant they throw trash into a trash can, or bring dishes back to the kitchen, or put their clothes in the closet instead of the floor???

I think it is hard for boys to grow into men when they are under your roof. Moving out is a big wakeup call...or at least it should be. All my kids are out of the house now, but they are still figuring out how to be adults. We have to provide some guidance, but it isn't a daily thing.

[EricK]

*** Does anyone know why you still have to hold an almost 18 year old's hand through life? Like why cant they throw trash into a trash can, or bring dishes back to the kitchen, or put their clothes in the closet instead of the floor???

Oh come on. Are you telling me I gotta deal with that shit for at least 10 (15 for the younger one) more years? I love them, but man, how hard is it to hang up the damn towel so it doesn't stink when I go to take a shower in the morning?!

[I can feel our wives raising their eyebrows at us in a condescending way...]

[DCR]

1ct Pause Bench Press

235lbs x 1 @ 6
215lbs x 6 @ 6
Total x Stress: @ 0.94,

Notes: primary slot. arch more than you think you can. squeeze the bar with your grip. wrists straight in line with forearm bone. i moved my fingers to max grip, and im, really working on an exaggerated arch, which for me looks like someones normal arch haha.setting shoulder blades hard into bench while maintaining leg drive. my bench is gonna blow up this cycle i can tell.

Working on the same things right now. Somehow I managed to get a halfwsy decent bench despite a near total lack of an arch or leg drive. I’m hoping that insisting on them going forward will lead to miraculous results.

[cole]

3/21/24
Conditioning

Treadmill / airdyne intervals - 30 minutes @ rpe 6

bodyweight: 221
waist: 39"

[cole]

Friday, Mar 22nd, 2024
DDS C2, Build Block, Intro Week

Tempo Squat

275lbs x 3 @ 5
255lbs x 5 @ 6
Total x Stress: @ 0.73,

Notes: skill slot. tempo acceleration squat. 3ct tempo on descent, accelerate into the hole to practice stretch reflex. The challenge was to stay tight while accelerating into the whole, not just get loose which is easy but defeats the purpose

Bulgarian Split Squat

65lbs x 8 @ 7
65lbs x 8 @ 7

Notes: growth iso. rear foot elevated on 18in box, front leg forward knee travel body upright for quad emphasis, start light. These are hard in a different way. not heavy, just weird and clumsy. i am getting the hang of them a little and i do think they can provide a benefit once i get up a bit in weight.

Middle Pin Bench Press

225lbs x 3 @ 5
215lbs x 5 @ 6
Total x Stress: @ 0.79,

Notes: skill slot. keep arch and leg drive while BB on pins. i had to do middle pin, which makes it more of a board press. low pin doesnt work bc then i have to bring the bar path up closer to my neck in order to hit the pins and that changes the lift. so i settled with middle pin, and really focused on keeping an arch and a leg drive and exploding off the dead stop. its easier than regular bench which makes it an overload, so i need to watch the load on these when i get later on in the cycle.

Bench Press with Feet Up

205lbs x 6 @ 7
205lbs x 6 @ 7

Notes: growth main. flat back and 2 fingers in grip. these were harder than i anticipated. just having DOMs still from wed and the pin bench beforehand was a little more fatigued than i thought i would be.



*** Really good week of training. I always feel so good after intro weeks. Makes me realize that I enjoy lower stress weeks more, but I dont think that will get me the most progress over time. I need those weeks where I push it. I just need to make sure my low back joints dont get overdosed or then I dont make any progress and actually sometimes end up taking a step back.

[JohnHelton]

You might also think about switching to sumo to reduce the stress on your lower back. That is why I switched initially. I found I could more aggressively attack the weight without worrying about my back. Of course there are high bar squats as well. I never made that switch though.

[MattimusMaximus]

You might also think about switching to sumo to reduce the stress on your lower back. That is why I switched initially. I found I could more aggressively attack the weight without worrying about my back. Of course there are high bar squats as well. I never made that switch though.

I’m using High bar squats on 2nd squat days (for hypertrophy). Not really a fan. Low-bar feels so much better, even for my back.

[cole]

@MattimusMaximus @JohnHelton I have thought of that John, and I have tried both. I actually like high bar, it feels good on my adductors and quads and is much less stress on the SI and low back. Some of that is probably bc im using much lighter loads than I do with low bar. As far as sumo, I have tried a few times, there seems to be less of a strength gap between conv and sumo as compared to low bar and high bar. I may try a cycle with sumo as my comp and see how it goes.

[JohnHelton]

@MattimusMaximus @JohnHelton I have thought of that John, and I have tried both. I actually like high bar, it feels good on my adductors and quads and is much less stress on the SI and low back. Some of that is probably bc im using much lighter loads than I do with low bar. As far as sumo, I have tried a few times, there seems to be less of a strength gap between conv and sumo as compared to low bar and high bar. I may try a cycle with sumo as my comp and see how it goes.

If you give sumo a shot, then check this guy out. He is the master. I try to follow his form tips when I pull sumo.

[slowmotion]

Deadlift Panda have some good stuff on the conventional deadlift too. A lot of good info there.

[cole]

thank you @JohnHelton
ill check it out

[cole]

Monday, Mar 25th, 2024
DDS C2, Build Block, Climb Week

Squat with Belt

345lbs x 1 @ 7
315lbs x 5 @ 7
315lbs x 5 @ 7
Total x Stress: @ 1.97,

Notes: primary slot. mid foot balance. accelerate in hole to take advantage of stretch reflex. Max concentric volition. pretty explosive. the descent was harder than going back up.

Hip Belt Squat

135lbs x 8 @ 7
135lbs x 8 @ 7

Notes: growth slot. pause in hole. go below parallel. this is the max amount of weight i can do with the current setup. 8 reps seemed pretty decent actually and the pump was good. however, i am not sure the juice is worth the squeeze on this movement, given my akward setup.

Tempo Bench Press

235lbs x 2 @ 6
225lbs x 6 @ 7
225lbs x 6 @ 8
Total x Stress: @ 2.14,

Notes: skill slot. 3:1:0. stay tight, big arch big leg drive. felt more like conditioning than strength

Inverted Rows

x 10
x 10
x 10

Notes: upper back growth



*** Good session today. low back is fine. needed that intro week.
*** I bought a bunch of dumbells, new j-cups, and a new PL bench from Rep Fitness here in Denver. I love my home gym

[cole]

3/26/24
Conditioning

Treadmill / airdyne intervals - 30 minutes @ rpe 6

bodyweight: 224
waist: 39.5"

[cole]

Wednesday, Mar 27th, 2024
DDS C2, Build Block, Climb Week

Deadlift (conv)

370lbs x 1 @ 7
335lbs x 5 @ 7
335lbs x 5 @ 7
Total x Stress: @ 1.89,

Notes: primary slot. push through the floor but be patient. everything is tight. i need a little work on getting a tighter setup and pulling out the slack

Romanian Deadlift

205lbs x 6 @ 6
205lbs x 6 @ 7

Notes: growth slot. to floor. big stretch. low back and hams. can go up next time

1ct Pause Bench Press

260lbs x 1 @ 7
235lbs x 5 @ 6
235lbs x 5 @ 7
Total x Stress: @ 1.79,

Notes: primary slot. squeeze bar and stay tight, big arch big legs. went better than expected, i exceeded the top range for my single @7

2" Deficit Push Up

x 10
x 10
x 10

Notes: growth slot iso. deep stretch, pause at bottom. i like these



*** session went really well. i sat on my ass a lot today, but at least i did this (and a dog walk)