Grunt11's Training Log

Thursday PM Workout:

Sumo Deadlift 315 lbs. x 7 M-Time
Dips BW (163 lbs.) +5 x 10 +3 +3
Chin Ups BW (163 lbs.) x 9 +3 +3
Seated Incline Shoulder Press 135 lbs. x 3 x 2 x 3
Leaning Lateral Raises 25 lbs. x 13 +5
BB Calf Raises (Walkouts) 315 lbs. x 20 x 20

Metabolic Sets

Push Ups BW x 20
Lat Pulls 80 lbs. x 15
Leg Curls 25 lbs. x 25
Leg Extensions 35 lbs. x 25


The Shoulder Presses felt really hard but then I realized I usually do them before Dips in my normal 6 day split so I’m not going to read anything into this as far as strength loss unless I lose ground next week doing them in this order.

Chin Ups are starting to feel better on my Tendons. No pain at all now in my left arm and much less discomfort in my right arm. I’m not going to add any weight though until all the pain is gone.

I did this workout Thursday PM rather than when I originally planned on Friday AM since I left work very early and wanted to start eating normally again. I must say I prefer AM workout even though this was in the afternoon I think I generally feel stronger around 9 AM.

My body weight somewhat glycogen and water depleted at the beginning of the workout was 163.5 lbs down from a fully loaded 172 lbs. when I started cutting. The Monday morning weigh-in coming off the weekend of carbing up is going to be my baseline however.

I unfortunately ate sort of crappy Thursday evening and part of Friday.

Today’s Workout:

Power Squat
Low Box Squats 270 lbs. x 4 M- Time
ATG Pause Squats 270 lbs. x 3 M-Time
Incline Bench Press 150 lbs. x 8 +3 +3 +3
Good Mornings 135 lbs. x 5 x 5 x 5
Supported DB Row 80 lbs. x 13 +4 +4
BB Shrugs (rack pulls) 325 lbs. x 10 x 10
Superset with
BB Calf Raises (rack pulls) 325 lbs. x 20 x 20

Metabolic work:

Push Ups BW x 34
Lat Pulls 80 lbs. x 25
Leg Curls 30 lbs. x 25
Leg Extensions 40 lbs. x 25
BB Curls 50 lbs. x 25
I promised myself I would use this dieting time to practice the form on my Power lifts. So today I started my set with Box squats to make sure I was Squatting back and not just going up and down. I then did my normal ATG Squats to gauge my form. I’m glad I did since I discovered that the work I had done to get over my sticking point just above parallel seems to have worked and now my weakest area is ironically what I’ve always thought my strongest, my upper back which was rounding as I started pushing back up. So I’m forcing myself to get over my fear of hurting my ruptured lumbar disk and finial adding in Good Mornings to the mix, probably something I should have been doing from the start. I’m starting out light since I’m new to them.

I also added in some high rep BB Curls to see if that also helps rehab my forearm tendons the way doing lighter Lat Pulls seems to have helped.

This morning’s weigh in was 165.5 after carbing back up for a day and a half.
 
Monday PM Workout:

Dynamic Bench Press 115 lbs. + 2 doubled up 7 lb. tension bands x 3 x 3 x 3 x 3 x 3 x 3 x 3 x 3 (24 reps)
Triceps Dips BW (168 lbs.) x 12 + 4 + 4 + 4 (24 reps)
Close Grip Chin Ups BW (168 lbs.) x 8 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 (20 reps)
Seated Incline Shoulder Press 100 lbs. x 12 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 (36 reps)
Supported DB Row 70 lbs. x 12 + 5 + 5 + 4 + 4 (30 reps)
Leaning Lateral Raises 20 lbs. x 12 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 (32 reps)
Incline DB Curls 20 lbs. x 12 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 (32 reps)

I got off work really early today so I decided to workout. In my never ending experimentation I’m toying around with using the Westside Barbell system to see how I respond to it. The vanilla template certainly doesn’t follow HST principles but I want to see how I like it and if it helps my powerlifts since I’m trying to take the time right now to better dial in my form. My workout schedule got out of sync so I thought I was going to have to skip the Squat/Deadlift dynamic workout this week but by getting the Bench one in tonight I can do the other tomorrow morning.

The way I look at it I can still do an SD every so many weeks. Plus the Supplemental and Accessory exercises do increase as a % of your 1RM over a several week cycle so I’ll see if that still helps me grow or if doing the max effort exercises kills the hypertrophy from the submax work.

I used the tension band for the dynamic bench so I wouldn’t dislocate my shoulders trying to decelerate the bar at the top. I also did the dynamic sets bottom up to get the maximum work from them.

My right forearm tendons felt good during the workout but they are a little too sore now an hour later. I may have to go back to doing lighter Lat Pulls for longer. Also I switched to doing DB curls since I could tell I was favouring my right arm using the BB so my left arm was doing more work. This Should even things out.

Not realizing I was getting off work early I did 10 hill sprints on a hill near work. It’s part of a park along the Salt River bank and is paved. It’s about 70-80 meters long at about a 8-10% grade. I don’t usually like to do speed work since it’s a great way to get injured but sprinting uphill is much easier on my knees and less chance of turning an ankle than on flat ground. I hope to make this a staple of my cardio training and will likely add a moderate pace run right after doing these assuming I get in better cardio shape.
 
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Dynamic Lower Body Workout:

Dynamic:
Box Squats (parallel) 150 lbs. + 2 doubled up 7 lb. tension bands x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2

Supplemental:
Romanian Deadlifts 215 lbs. x 12 + 4 + 4 + 4

Accessory:
Hanging Leg Raises (straight leg) BW x 15 x 15
Side Bends 28 lbs. x 10, 38 lbs. x 10, 48 lbs. x 10
Hyperextensions BW x 15 x 15



Prehabilation:
Straight Leg Raises (front) BW x 20 sec x 5

Additional exercises:
Seated Hip Abduction 20 lbs. tension bands x 15, 28 lbs. tension band x 15
 
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Maximum Effort Upper Body Workout:

Max Effort:
Close Grip Bench Press 100 lbs. x 3, 125 lbs. x 3, 145 lbs. x 3, 165 lbs. x 3, 185 lbs. x 1, 195 lbs. x 1, 200 lbs. x 0, 195 lbs. x 1

Supplemental:
Dips BW (165 lbs.) x 14 +4 +4 +3 +3

Accessory:
Close Grip Chin Ups BW (165 lbs.) x 14 +3 +3 +3 +3
Leaning Lateral Raises 20 lbs. x 17 +5 +5

GPP: (yesterday)
Hill Sprints 70 meters x 5

One thing I’ve learned already is that I was never really doing dynamic lifting correctly before. The other days when I did the dynamic workouts I felt hammered 2 days later.
 
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Maximum Effort Lower Body:

Max Effort:
Low Box Squat 135 lbs. x 3, 155 lbs. x 3, 175 lbs. x 3, 195 lbs. 3, 215 lbs. x 3, 235 lbs. x 1, 240 lbs. x 1, 245 lbs. x 1, 250 lbs. x 1

Supplemental:
Sumo Stance SLDL 205 lbs. x 8 x 8

Accessory:
BB Calf Raises 315 lbs. x 20 x 20 x 20
BB Shrugs 315 lbs. x 10 x 10 x 10

I’ve been slowly increasing the flexibility of my shoulders and been able to move my hands in closer when I do squats. I can feel it is helping tighten my upper back when I squat.

I was surprised to find out today that my Hamstrings are weaker than I expected. On the last Box Squat rep I shifted forward to bring my Quads into it more. So I’m going to focus more on strengthening my Hamstrings. I didn’t realize how useful doing box squats was to identify weaknesses until I watch the “So you think you can squat” videos on Youtube.
 
Max Effort Lower Body:

Max Effort:
Low Box Squat Bar x 10, 95 lbs. x 3, 145 lbs. x 3, 195 lbs. x 2, 250 lbs. x 1, 260 lbs. x 1, 270 lbs. x 1 280 lbs. x 1, 290 lbs. x 1, 300 lbs. x Fail

Supplemental:
Sumo Stance SLDL 225 lbs. x 8 x 8

Accessory:
BB Calf Raises 315 lbs. x 200, 325 lbs. x 20, 335 lbs. x 20
Hanging Leg Raises BW x 15 x 15
Side Bends 40 lbs. x 10, 50 lbs. x 10, 60 lbs. x 10

Holy (expletive deleted) Batman! Last week when I did 250 lbs. x 1 on the Low Box Squat that was it, had I taken a big drink of water before the lift I wouldn’t have stood up because of the extra weight it was that close. However, one week later I just kept adding 10 lbs. until I failed at 300 which is my PB regulation Power Squat at a body weight of 168 lbs. and I weighed in at 165 lbs. today. Adding 50 lbs. (20%) in one week is cool. It was so hard to resist the temptation to try at least one Power Squat for 315 lbs. On top of this I’ve been running almost every non-leg day for the last week. They say to stick with each Max Effort lift for 1-3 weeks so with this sort of progress in the second week I will definitely go for one more.

The workout started stretching past 45 minutes so I stopped and will finish some additional exercises later today or tomorrow.

I missed logging my Dynamic workout this week so if I stop being lazy I’ll get that done.
 
Well one of the mentioned advantages to the Westside BB template is that you get to try for 2 new maxes every week which I can see really helping to keep the motivation up.

I’m sure the big jump is a combination of things. I’ve really been practicing my form which is probably most of the increase. The Dynamic exercises I’m sure are helping me push off the bottom. I’m focusing on strengthening my posterior chain more now especially bumping up the weight on the lower back stuff like SLDLs. And I’m sure from a strength perspective, not sure about hypertrophy, cutting my workouts down to 3 times a week must be helping my recovery.
After my fitness test I was planning to move back up to 4 times a week 2 max effort and 2 dynamic days, right now I’m combining the dynamic days, to give me an extra day for cutting calories, but if I can still keep making gains on my lifts I may stick with 3 days a week Friday, Saturday or Sunday, and Tuesday. that way the only day I feel really hammered at work is Tuesday since I get every other Friday off and even the one I work I get off no later than 8:30PM which is about when I really start crashing from the morning workout.

I’ll have to see. I really liked the 6 day 3 way split I was just doing and feel it’s better for hypertrophy though I’m not sure yet. I’m just getting tired of feeling beat up at work 12 hours later when the weights get heavy. I may go back to the 6 day when the weights are light and drop/combing workouts as they get heavy. I felt early on that sort of scheme gave me the most muscle gains.
 
Max Effort Upper Body: Sunday 9 Oct

Max Effort:
Close Grip Bench Press 45 lbs. x 10, 95 lbs x 5, 145 lbs x 3, 180 lbs x 1, 190 lbs x 1, 200 lbs. x Fail, 185 lbs. x 1

Supplemental:
Dips 180 x 10 +4 +3

Accessory:
Chin Ups 170 x 8 +3 +3
Lateral Raise 20 x 15 +5 +5
DB Row 80 lbs. x 12 +4 +4
Shrugs 325 lbs. x 10 x 10

Well for as good as my last lower body workout went this upper body workout felt bad. My arms were sore as hell before I even started the workout. I partly attribute it to progressively trying to pull my arms in tighter on the bar when squatting. Hopefully I stretch and don’t keep having this issue. Also I think I made a big mistake by doing pushups a few time during the week to practice for the fitness test. Even though it was very high rep low intensity I think it hampered my recovery more than I realized.

Unfortunately I felt so crappy I didn’t even do all the exercises I planned. I need to get my butt back on track since I’ve been slacking off my workouts too much lately.

On the plus side I’ve been doing more reading about West Side BB and have come to realize I need to switch out the supplemental Triceps work for more Pec and Delt work. The West Side system assumes you’re benching with a shirt which apparently makes the Triceps the weakest link. That’s not to say that my Triceps aren’t my weakest link but too much emphasis is probably hurting them more than helping.

I had actually wanted to workout today but I had jury duty so by the time I got done I felt it was better to wait until tomorrow morning when I should have more energy.
 
Just to keep a record I wanted post my measurements to see if I am loosing fat, and loosing, maintaining or gaining muscle since I started trying to lose some fat again one month ago on 10 Sept.

Weight 166 lbs. -2 lbs.
BF% 13 -2%
Chest 41” no change
Upper Arm relaxed, flexed 12 4/16”, 14 5/16” no change
Forearm relaxed, flexed 11”, 11 5/16” no change
Neck 15 ½” no change
Thigh 22” + ½”
Calf 14 3/16” +1/4”
Hip 37 4/16” + ¼”
Shoulder 47 3/16” +1/4”
Waist 31” no change

Mirror assessment:

So far in the one month I’ve gone from not really being able to see my abs and only blurry definition between major muscle groups and little to no definition within muscle groups to the following.

A blurry 4 pack with just a hint of a blurry 6 pack.
Clear definition between major muscle groups.
Medium definition between deltoids.
Medium definition between back muscles.
Clear definition in quads.

So in the places I seem to carry most of my subcutaneous fat (shoulders, upper back, upper legs and hips) I’ve gained noticeable definition. Surprisingly these areas also show a 1/4” to ½” size increase. Though such a small increase as 1/4” may not be significant (within measurement and other errors) it seems to at least show I haven’t lost any size. Also as far as I can tell I haven’t lost any strength.

I plan to continue this for 2 more weeks and then SD after the fitness test and start bulking again.
 
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Dynamic Workout:

Dynamic:
Bench Press 125 lbs. x 3 x 3 x 3 x 3 x 3 x 3 x 3 x 3
Box Squat 210 lbs. x 2, 190 lbs. x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2

Supplemental:
Dips 180 x 11 +4 +4 +3 +3 +3
Wide Stance SLDL skipped

Accessory:
Chin Ups 170 lbs. x 11 +3 +3 +3 +3 +3 +3
Glute Ham Raises BW (- 60 lbs. resistance band) x 10 x 10
Wide Grip Incline Bench Press 135 lbs. x 10 +4 +4 +4 +4

Done later at work:
DB Row 85 lbs. x 12 +4 +4 +4
Seated Calf Raises 90 lbs. x 10 x 10
BB Shrugs 225 lbs. x 15 x 15
Leg Presses 315 lbs. x 10 x 10

This was another combined Dynamic Bench and Squat workout. Westside actually divides this in two but because I am trying to cut right now I want to keep my workouts to 3 x week necessitating the combination.

Overall this workout felt really good however, I did get one hell of a shock when I did the Glute Ham Raises (GHR). I thought my Hamstrings and Glutes were not too bad but this proved me wrong. I had to use 60 lbs. of tension to reduce my weight to where I could actually do reps. Well I’m glad I tried them because now I know one area I really need to improve.

On the Dynamic Squat I dropped the weight down since on the first set the bar speed was say to slow.

I skipped the SLDL because after doing the Dynamic Squats my lower back really felt hammered.

To get more emphasis on my Pecs and Delts I tried a wider grip on the Incline Bench and could really feel the difference.

On a good note I felt absolutely no pain in my right forearm tendons doing Chin Ups today, the first time in months.

Since I’m doing part of this workout at work (takes too long in one shot at home) I added in Leg Presses which is another suggestion I read about Westside Barbell since so many of the exercises emphasize the Hamstrings.
 
Max Effort Upper Body

Max Effort:
Flat Bench Press 195 lbs. x 1, 210 lbs. x 1, 220 lbs. x 1, 230 lbs. x 1 (PB)

Supplemental:
Dips 185 lbs. x 10 +3 +3 +3 +2

Accessory:
Chin Ups 170 lbs. x 12 +3 +3 +3 +3 +3 +3
Wide Grip Incline Bench Press 140 lbs. x 10 +4 +4 +3
Supported DB Rows 90 lbs. x 10 +4 +4 +4 +4
Leaning Lateral Raises 27.5 x 8 +4 +3 +3 +3

I spent two weeks on the previous Max Effort lifts so I changed up and will do two weeks of Bench Press and one week each of Squat and Deadlift to test my maxes before de-loading for a week before my fitness test and then doing an SD.

On the Bright side I added 5 lbs. to my 1RM Bench Press while dropping 5 lbs. in body weight. I tried for 235 lbs. but as soon as I un-racked the bar I could tell it just wasn’t going to happen so I just re-racked it. Even though lifted 5 lbs. more than my last max the bar just felt so heavy. From what I’ve been reading I’m guessing at least part of that has to do with dropping body fat which the last time around must have been helping support and cushion my shoulders and upper arms. I when ahead and pushed it pretty hard for the rest of the workout but will de-load some on the next Dynamic workout to see if that helps me get another max.
 
Max Effort Lower Body:

Max Effort:
Power Squat Bar x 10, 95 lbs. x 5, 135 lbs. x 3, 185 lbs. x 3, 225 lbs. x 1, 275 lbs. x 1, 305 lbs. x 1, 325 lbs. x 1, 350 lbs. x 1 (PRs)

Supplemental:
Wide Stance Deficit SLDL 250 lbs. x 8

Accessory:
Glute Ham Raise (BW – 60 lbs. resistance bands) x 10

From 300 lbs. to 350 lbs. or 50 lbs. at the same body weight in 5 weeks! Gotta say that practicing my Squat form has really paid off. There’s no doubt in my mind that makes up the largest proportion of the increase but I also hope that I gained some strength.

Another factor may be that I finally got a real powerlifting belt (FedEx delivered it yesterday) instead of the thin little bodybuilding one I’ve had and this was the first time I’ve used it. I think it also helped some since my core never felt so rock solid before. Hell doing walkouts with 325 felt unstable with the other belt but actually Squating 25 lbs. more felt great with this one.

Only issue I have is that my Triceps hurt like hell right now. I’ve never even done walkouts with 350 lbs. and trying to keep my arms tucked in while stabilizing that weight put a lot of strain on my arms. I have no problem keeping the bar in the low position since my Delts actually form a nice shelf to rest the bar on but it’s just pulling my arms in to maintain a tight back that seems to be the issue. I’ll have to find some way get more flexible.

I purposely went easy on the Supplemental and Accessory Exercises today, and also plan to on this week’s Dynamic workout, as a sort of de-load for a Max Effort Deadlift next weekend.

I also finally got my total over 900 lbs. I’m hoping 1000 lbs. is doable by the end of the year.
 
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Dynamic Workout:

Dynamic Exercise:

Flat Bench Press 135 lbs. + resistance bands x 3 x 3 x 3 x 3 x 3 x 3
Low Box Squat 200 lbs. + resistance bands x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2

Supplemental Exercises:

Dips 190 lbs. x 8 +3 +3 +3
Bottom up Goodmornings worked up to 185 lbs. x 3

Accessory Exercises:
Chin Ups 175 lbs. x 8 +3 +3 +3
Wide Grip Incline Bench Press 145 lbs. x 9 +3 +3
Supported DB Rows 90 lbs. x 10 +4 +4
Leaning Lateral Raises 27.5 lbs. x 10 +4 +4
BB Shrugs 345 lbs. x 10 x 10

This was actually a pretty easy day since I cut back on the volume in order to try and ensure full recovery by Friday and Saturday for max Bench and Deadlift attempts.
 
General Physical Preparedness:

I finally chopped down and chopped up 2 dead palm trees in my front yard with an axe this morning. For some reason I got a massively painful pump in my arms. It also kicked my butt.
 
Max Effort Lower Body:

Max Effort:

Sumo Deadlift Bar x 10, 95 lbs. x 5, 135 lbs. x 3, 185 lbs. x 3, 225 lbs. x 1, 275 lbs. x 1, 315 lbs. x 1, 365 lbs. x Fail, 355 lbs. x Fail, 315 lbs. x 6 (singles), 295 lbs. x 1

Supplemental:

Good Mornings 135 lbs. x 8 x 8

Assistance:

None

Well no repeat of last week’s great Squat Day. I felt it coming since I was still feeling pretty sore and burned out even today from the last two workouts. At least it felt good to actually Deadlift rather than just work around it. Only half an hour out from the workout and I can already tell I Deadlifted since I’m sore (tight) from my ankles to the base of my skull and all I want to do right now is crawl in bed and take a nap.

Besides feeling sore and burned out my form sucked on my two max attempts. I clearly need to incorporate more actual Deadlifting into my program which is actually something suggested for non-veteran lifters who haven’t really done enough Deadlifting to get in the groove easily. My form on the lower weight sets was much better though.

Another thing I realized is that I’m not trying to explode off the floor, but rather I’m just trying to “muscle” the bar up. I know this is from a lingering fear of hurting my ruptured lumbar disk.

So to address both of the above issues while keeping the intensity manageable I’m going to start including Dynamic Deadlift work on my Lower Body Dynamic days. Probably also pulling from a deficit.

I also think I need to focus more on Good Mornings to strengthen my lower back.

Another thing I need to do is make sure to de-load every 4 weeks so what I will try next cycle is to de-load at week 4 and then SD at week 8.

I also realized I’m not in as good shape as I thought I was so I will try starting off my next cycle “slower.” By that I mean lightening up most of the assistance exercises and easing into heavier versions over a couple of cycles. I’ll do this by switching to dumbbells and some other less intense versions of many of the exercises and easy into the more intense versions. The overall intensity of the last 5 weeks was just more than my body was prepared for, especially that I am now doing Dynamic work correctly which just hammers my muscles even more than I feel the max work doing.

Depending on how I feel tomorrow I may make one more attempt at a new max Bench. If not I will at least try to get in one more upper body repetition workout before de-loading for my fitness test and then doing an SD.

One thing I can say for sure is that in the last 5 weeks I sure have learned a lot that I think is going to really help my Powerlifts.
 
Repetition Squat:

Dead Good Mornings Bar x 10, 95 lbs. x 5, 115 lbs. x 5, 135 lbs. x 5

Sumo Deadlift 135 lbs. x 4, 185 lbs. x 4, 225 lbs. x 4, 245 lbs. x 4 x 4 x 4

BB Shrugs 135 lbs. x 15, 225 lbs. x 15, 275 lbs. x 15 x 15
Leg Extensions 25 lbs. x 12, 50 lbs. x 12, 60 lbs. x 12, 70 lbs. x 12
Glute Ham Raise BW (168 lbs.) – 60 lbs. resistance bands x 12 x 12

Hanging Leg Raises BW x 12
Side Bends 40 lbs. x 12
Decline Sit-ups BW x 12

Because of an upcoming trip I had the choice of either SDing for 7 days or 14 and since I know there’s no way I would have made 14 I decided to do a lower body workout today, and will do an upper body workout tomorrow though I won’t be able to workout again until next weekend.

I decided to just do repetition work both today and tomorrow to hold me over for another week.
 
Repetition Upper Body

Dead Flat Bench Press Bar x 15, 95 lbs. x 10, 135 lbs. x 4, 165 lbs. x 5 x 5 x 5

Wide Grip Lat Pulls 120 x 12 +4 +4
Dips BW (170 lbs.) x 12 +4 +4
Parallel Grip Lat Pulls 120 lbs. x 12 +4 +4
Seated Incline Shoulder Press 105 lbs. x 12 +4 +4
Close Supinated Grip Lat Pulls 120 lbs. x 12 +4 +4
Leaning Lateral Raises 20 lbs. x 12 +4 +4
DB Rows 70 lbs. x 12 +4 +4

No max effort until next week. For the next cycle I’m going to focus on my form and what I believe are my weak points on the power lifts.

For the Bench it’s starting the bar moving off my chest. To help this I’m going to prioritize Dead Flat Bench (both form and starting power). Chest and shoulders (staring power), and lats (again starting power).

For both my Squat and Deadlift it’s my hamstrings. Also for my Deadlift it’s the initial pull from the floor. I’m just not getting any real power but rather muscling the bar up. To help these I’m going to actually be Deadlifting something more experienced lifters tend to avoid but I need to practice form, and also pulling from a deficit and Speed pulls to build explosive strength off the floor. For Squats I’ll just focus on strengthening my hamstrings and to a lesser extent my quads since I don’t lift with a suit.

My repetition work will focus on my back to build more mass since the bar is getting to the point where it feels like it’s going to crush me doing a 350 lbs. squat.

I plan to do an 8 week cycle with two 4 week micro cycles. Each micro cycle will consist of 2 weeks of working up my maxes on the Bench, Squat and Deadlift with a Max attempt on week 3 and then de-load on week 4 (repetition work only, no max or dynamic). Then weeks 5-6 working up to another max attempt on week 7 with week 8 being SD or repetition work only followed by an SD. I’m basing this on the first 4 week cycle I tried were I seemed to peak in week 3 followed by a loss of strength in week 4. I may also experiment by trying one micro-cycle where I only work up to a 3RM during the first 2 weeks rather than a 1RM and then the second micro-cycle try 1RMs all the way through depending on how the first cycle goes.
After not working out for a week and then doing Deadlifts I sure could feel them in my lats today. Anyone who doesn’t think Deadlifts are a lat exercises is nuts.
 
Repetition Workout:
Slight Incline Guillotine Bench Press 115 lbs. x 15 +5 +5
Wide Grip Lat Pulls 70 lbs. x 15 +5
Dips BW (169) x 12 +4 +4
Close Parallel Grip Lat Pulls 70 lbs. x 15 +5
Seated Incline Shoulder Press 95 lbs. x 14 +3 +3
Close Grip Lat Pulls 70 lbs. x 15 +5
Forward Leaning Lateral Raises 8.5 lbs. x 15 +5
Supported DB Row 70 lbs. x 15 +5
DB Overhead Triceps Extensions 15 lbs. x 15 +5
DB Seated Incline Curls 15 lbs. x 20 +5

Well the stupid fitness test is done and I can get back to really working out. Since I hadn’t really worked out much for the last two weeks I decided to start out slow and do upper body repletion work today and lower body repetition work tomorrow before getting back into the Westside routine starting Thursday or Friday.

Next time I’m due a fitness test I’m not going to sweat it so much. I thought because I wasn’t really doing high rep work or much abdominal work the pushups and crunches would be hard boy was I wrong. I got what I need to max my score in half the time allowed. Usually I’m struggling in the end to get the last couple reps before time runs out. It was actually funning that when I got into the 40s on the pushups the guy counting out loud for me couldn't say the numbers fast enough to keep up. I was really afraid my run would suck but I only lost 1 minute of my time from last year despite almost no running until starting hill sprints about a month ago. Next time around I’m not going to let this affect my workout schedule.

I plan to stick with a variation of the Westside template for this 8 week cycle. I learned a lot from the last one which I hope to put to good use. The biggest variation I’m doing from “vanilla” Westside (if there is such a thing) is to the workout schedule. Since I want to be able to eat for bulking on weekends and also don’t want to feel like crap by the end of my shift from a heavy AM workout I plan to put the Max Effort Upper and Lower workouts on Friday and Saturday. That way I only have to eat for bulking (maintenance +10-20%) on Friday Saturday and Sunday. Monday I will do Hill Sprints and eat (maintenance -50%). Tuesday I will combine the Dynamic Upper and Lower Body workouts and do an AM/PM split. This will let me do some exercises at work like Leg Presses and Hyperextensions that I can’t do at home. Plus it means I only have to eat to bulk on Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday is just like Monday and then it starts all over again.

One thing I realized on the first cycle was that I seemed to peak in my Max Effort lifts in the third week. So week 4 will be a de-load from Max Effort and possibly also Dynamic Effort with only Repetition Work. Week 8 will either be a de-load or SD depending on how I feel.

I also learned that I need to directly practice may power lifts Bench Press, Squat and Deadlift more to improve my technique. So I will make them my ME lifts switching between Squat and Deadlift as Max Effort lifts for each 3 week micro-cycle.

I also may try to cycle between a 5/3/1 or 3/2/1 ME lift maxes to help give me more reps to practice technique and also limit CNS fatigue and generally beating the crap out of myself until I get more accustomed to doing ME work often.

My Repetition work will cycle from about 70% of my 1RM to about 85-90% over the course of the 8 weeks for a normal HST style progressive loading.

On Sundays and Wednesdays I will also do some assistance work like Abs, Band exercises, Farmers Walks.
 
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I love the idea of cycling between 5/3/1 and your 3/2/1 progression. There will be enough overlap between the two that loads shouldn't be a mystery, and gains should continue nicely. As the heavies become more predominant, you're going to have to really watch your CNS. When you start to feel sloppy (don't know another way to describe it), it's time to either deload or stop completely for a week (regardless of the place in either progression), sleep like it's your job, and probably get a massage. Outstanding work, G11! Keep the train rollin'!
 
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