Growth Stimulus Training (GST)

[Reid456]

Took a week off to go the beach this week and it was weird because I didn't think about lifting at all when I was there. I guess I really needed that week off. For one, I had no internet, so that was probably the main reason. Anyway, I'm really looking forward to starting out on my second macro with the plan Ryan laid out for me.

[chunkyfatboy]

Thanks, are you starting up the program?


Well said, listen to this reply!


You should simply avoid anything that causes you pain at this time. You'll be feeling better very quickly, and your injury will be a thing of the past.

I'm guessing you feel the pain if you squat to a certain depth. In the recovery period, you can squat, but only in a manner that doesn't cause pain. Stay light until you can squat properly without pain.

As far as the other exercises go, like lunges, leave them out and sub in isolation movements like the leg extension for squat day and leg curl for lift day.

Yes the deeper I go the more I feel it but it after a warm up set or two I don't feel anything during squats. So with this said should I still wait a macro or two and eliminate squats also??? Really don't want too but...

Will definitely sub out the lunges. I can live with curls and extensions in the meantime. What's your take on the leg press? I did it yesterday and no pain in the groin and can move a lot of weight. Thanks for the help.

[GSZ1]

That book by Rippetoe is incredibly informative about squats and deads. I love stuff like this. Broken down to basic mechanics of how the body works as a whole unit. Makes me want to hit the garage and squat again tonight. Did squat day this morning though. Have to wait and do some complexes tomorrow morning to incorporate the new info.

Totally agree Kilgore... Anybody that hasn't read it, should. Too much good information to pass up as I see it. I'm a total information junky though. Especially when it comes to things that really interest me.

[FastCatChamp]

Im sure many of you will laugh but..........I have DOMS after my 1st Microcycle workouts as bad as any Ive had in my life. For the lift day that I had yesterday, the DOMS are worse today than anything Ive experienced.

On a side note, I did my deads and romanians yesterday and my lower back/sacrum area total locked up upon completion of the last romanian. I mean I couldnt bend over to pick up my towel. It ended my workout early and gave me trouble the rest of the day. Not sure if the DOMS in my extreme lower back today are legitimate DOMS or pain from an injury sustained.

[braden101]

Im sure many of you will laugh but..........I have DOMS after my 1st Microcycle workouts as bad as any Ive had in my life. For the lift day that I had yesterday, the DOMS are worse today than anything Ive experienced.

On a side note, I did my deads and romanians yesterday and my lower back/sacrum area total locked up upon completion of the last romanian. I mean I couldnt bend over to pick up my towel. It ended my workout early and gave me trouble the rest of the day. Not sure if the DOMS in my extreme lower back today are legitimate DOMS or pain from an injury sustained.

Romanians really shoudnt be putting that much stress on your back. Are you bending your knees and keeping your back straight?

[FastCatChamp]

Romanians really shoudnt be putting that much stress on your back. Are you bending your knees and keeping your back straight?

I was standing on a three inch step. I had to have allowed my back to round at the bottom. Either that or just the cumulative fatigue from the deads + rdls. Closing in on 24 hours since it happened. Good example of the pain would be I am extremely slow in being able to get a drink from an H2O fountain.

Also, Im not so sure it wasnt the motion of completing the rdls with a hard glute contraction and thrusting hips forward that caused the jolt. Guesss I am saying it wasnt the stretch portion of the lift, but rather how I finished.

[kilgoreklink]

I am using 65, 75, 85, 95...and i just used the one rep max from the formula that ryan had given...and i did 195 for 6.

You did 195 for your 3rd Micro and you said you are going to do 225 for your 4th Micro.
Thats a 30lb increase. That is 10% of 300lbs. Do you have your 1RM figured at 300lbs? I guess you could have rounded your 3rd Micro lower and your 4th Micro higher but that is a big rounding.
I have 85% of 230lbs being 195lbs for your 3rd Micro, 95% of 230lbs is 218lbs. By my math you should be doing 220lbs rounded up or 215lbs rounded down for your 4th Micro, not the 225 you were worried about.
If you pumped out 195x6 you shouldnt be worried about getting under 220 for one or two.
You talked about the 195x6 as being shakey, you have to ask yourself if you really got them and go from there.
Dont be afraid about dropping your percentage scheme on your cores. I did after the first Macro. Dont be afraid about dropping your One Rep Max either. I had to drop my max on my rows after two Macros when I realized I was doin them wrong.
Dont forget that this is not a sprint. Its a Marathon, a long, long Marathon. You let GST adapt to your true numbers, make those reps and you will advance, as long as you Eat like your lifting. Try setting 250lbs as your goal for Christmas, just get your reps, eat right and get your rest. You will surely get there.

[braden101]

Tried out bulgarian split squats for the first time today.

Dont know if im doing them wrong or what, but the leg resting on the bench is burning like crazy, more then the front leg doing all the work.

Am i doing something wrong? maybe going to deep and my front foot is not forward enough?

Or is it just a flexibility thing. Maybe i should just squat a little shallower til i loosen up a bit?

[kilgoreklink]

Tried out bulgarian split squats for the first time today.

Dont know if im doing them wrong or what, but the leg resting on the bench is burning like crazy, more then the front leg doing all the work.

Am i doing something wrong? maybe going to deep and my front foot is not forward enough?

Or is it just a flexibility thing. Maybe i should just squat a little shallower til i loosen up a bit?

The leg on the floor should be doing the work. The one on the bench is still going to work on stabilizing. You are a lot like me, I had to work harder not falling over than I did pushing out of the squat. It has gotten better now that I am almost 2 macros using them. I can feel the work in the proper leg.
Those are some damn hard things to do at first. I think I am about 25% in to doing them correctly.

[braden101]

The leg on the floor should be doing the work. The one on the bench is still going to work on stabilizing. You are a lot like me, I had to work harder not falling over than I did pushing out of the squat. It has gotten better now that I am almost 2 macros using them. I can feel the work in the proper leg.
Those are some damn hard things to do at first. I think I am about 25% in to doing them correctly.

What about with reverse lunges?

Is it the leg going back that should be doing the work right?

They are deffinently some tricky lifts, almost made an idiot out of my self trying to balance a barbell on my back haha.

Deffinently felt the burn though, the 20 rep schemes are gunna be painful, lift and squat days especially.

[2020Wellness]

Hey everyone, I'm pretty busy today but am hoping to get to everyone's posts this afternoon before I start round two of my work day. Right now I'm off to the gym for some heavy fun!

[kilgoreklink]

What about with reverse lunges?

Is it the leg going back that should be doing the work right?

They are deffinently some tricky lifts, almost made an idiot out of my self trying to balance a barbell on my back haha.

Deffinently felt the burn though, the 20 rep schemes are gunna be painful, lift and squat days especially.

The stationary leg is doing the work not the leg you put behind you.
These are hard to learn with good form. For me at least they are. Practice makes perfect.

[cwaranch]

You did 195 for your 3rd Micro and you said you are going to do 225 for your 4th Micro.
Thats a 30lb increase. That is 10% of 300lbs. Do you have your 1RM figured at 300lbs? I guess you could have rounded your 3rd Micro lower and your 4th Micro higher but that is a big rounding.
I have 85% of 230lbs being 195lbs for your 3rd Micro, 95% of 230lbs is 218lbs. By my math you should be doing 220lbs rounded up or 215lbs rounded down for your 4th Micro, not the 225 you were worried about.
If you pumped out 195x6 you shouldnt be worried about getting under 220 for one or two.
You talked about the 195x6 as being shakey, you have to ask yourself if you really got them and go from there.
Dont be afraid about dropping your percentage scheme on your cores. I did after the first Macro. Dont be afraid about dropping your One Rep Max either. I had to drop my max on my rows after two Macros when I realized I was doin them wrong.
Dont forget that this is not a sprint. Its a Marathon, a long, long Marathon. You let GST adapt to your true numbers, make those reps and you will advance, as long as you Eat like your lifting. Try setting 250lbs as your goal for Christmas, just get your reps, eat right and get your rest. You will surely get there.

Thanks for all the detail in your reply and your completely right i had rounded up to do 220 as my 95% but i wanted to do 225 just because its the big 2 plates and it sounds so good to finally have it lol. I dont normally change the numbers at all but this is a big milestone and im gonna get myself pumped up for it. I think im gonna do the 225 but if it fails and dont get one i will bump down to 220 and see what happens there. I know im supposed to check my ego at the door and after this one i wont change it up again until i get to the big 3 plates

[2020Wellness]

Took a week off to go the beach this week and it was weird because I didn't think about lifting at all when I was there. I guess I really needed that week off. For one, I had no internet, so that was probably the main reason. Anyway, I'm really looking forward to starting out on my second macro with the plan Ryan laid out for me.

That is a sign that you needed that deload period and your body used the time for something positive. Consider yourself one step ahead of the many people out there who don't take the time to deload every once in awhile. When you don't miss the gym, you know it was a wise choice.

Yes the deeper I go the more I feel it but it after a warm up set or two I don't feel anything during squats. So with this said should I still wait a macro or two and eliminate squats also??? Really don't want too but...

Will definitely sub out the lunges. I can live with curls and extensions in the meantime. What's your take on the leg press? I did it yesterday and no pain in the groin and can move a lot of weight. Thanks for the help.

The leg press, when done properly with plenty of ROM should stretch you just as much as a squat. If your depth isn't causing you pain, you can use it, but you should still keep it light and proceed with caution. Just keep in mind that a couple weeks off of the squat or leg press isn't going to kill you, especially since you'll be doing isolations on the muscle groups. Play it smart. My recommendation is to delete any heavy, stressful, and stretching movements from your workouts until you can perform the lunges again without pain.

I was standing on a three inch step. I had to have allowed my back to round at the bottom. Either that or just the cumulative fatigue from the deads + rdls. Closing in on 24 hours since it happened. Good example of the pain would be I am extremely slow in being able to get a drink from an H2O fountain.

Also, Im not so sure it wasnt the motion of completing the rdls with a hard glute contraction and thrusting hips forward that caused the jolt. Guesss I am saying it wasnt the stretch portion of the lift, but rather how I finished.

First things first, get off that step! Trust me, if you are keeping a tightly arched back from top to bottom, you will be stretching and pulling your hamstrings and glutes without the platform. I'm guessing you're doing the movement incorrectly. Do you look like this (except not as hot of course )?



You were putting an extreme amount of unwanted stress on your lower back by rounding over and extending past the normal floor point. You should never do that again. Remember to keep your knees lose, your back arched, and once your back starts to come out of the arched position on the way down, thats it, time to lift back up. Your hips should definitely be moving back and forth as well. Just watch the video and take notes. Then go back to the gym and practice with an empty barbell until you feel you have it right.

[2020Wellness]

Thanks for all the detail in your reply and your completely right i had rounded up to do 220 as my 95% but i wanted to do 225 just because its the big 2 plates and it sounds so good to finally have it lol. I dont normally change the numbers at all but this is a big milestone and im gonna get myself pumped up for it. I think im gonna do the 225 but if it fails and dont get one i will bump down to 220 and see what happens there. I know im supposed to check my ego at the door and after this one i wont change it up again until i get to the big 3 plates

You don't want to hear this, but I would advise against this type of thinking. I have talked before about getting greedy with the weights and how it can set you back. I know you aren't prepping for a meet, and 225 is a nice milestone, but why can't it happen one macrocycle later?

You can see that you're already worrying about it, which is going to put a mental road block up when you attempt the set. Lets say you miss it.......you're bummed out, pre-fatigued, and doubting the next set. Then you drop back to 220 like you said......and miss it. Normally you woudln't miss it, but because you were hit by the 225, you did. This will set off a negative spiral effect for the next macrocycle, which you don't want.

Do the positives of hitting 225 a little early outweight the possible negatives of missing it? I personally say no, they don't. In my eyes, if the negatives outweigh the positives, its not a smart decision.

Take it from myself and others, stick to the numbers, round down more than up, and make steady and long term progression. Don't get greedy and check that ego at the door.

[FastCatChamp]

Thanks for the reply Ryan. Funny thing is, I used the step just because it was laying there. Stupid! Also ironic, that I felt the jolt of pain on the very last rep of the last set.

I know you are not a Dr., but I assume that what I am describing is a common weightroom problem/injury that you know a little about? What is it that happened so abrubtly that I was almost unable to get out of the room and back to my car???????

[2020Wellness]

Thanks for the reply Ryan. Funny thing is, I used the step just because it was laying there. Stupid! Also ironic, that I felt the jolt of pain on the very last rep of the last set.

I know you are not a Dr., but I assume that what I am describing is a common weightroom problem/injury that you know a little about? What is it that happened so abrubtly that I was almost unable to get out of the room and back to my car???????

Yes, I do know about it. Sounds like you pulled/strained one of your erector spinae muscles. What you're describing is a classic deadlifting/shrugging injury. My advice to you is keep the area loose with some toe touch stretching and some sitting in bottom of the squat position for 30-60 seconds at a time.

You'll need to follow the rule of 'if it hurts, don't do it' in terms of lifts. Expect 1-2 weeks of recovery time. The more you try to push it, the longer you'll take to heal. Take some anti-inflammatory over the counter medicine like tylenol while you're recovering.

[2020Wellness]

There isn't really much to elaborate on, so this will be very simple

Use straps when you feel that your grip is going to hinder your lifting performance. Begin with the double overhand hook grip and go until you lose confidence in that style of gripping.

Then move to an over/under grip, which will give you more holding power yet. Once that fails, move onto straps.

Chalk is also EXCELLENT if you can use it. It will improve the grip strength of any type of grip you are using. It doesn't hurt to chalk on on pulling movements either, FYI.

So, to summarize, use the straps only when you feel they are necessary.

[FastCatChamp]

Yes, I do know about it. Sounds like you pulled/strained one of your erector spinae muscles. What you're describing is a classic deadlifting/shrugging injury. My advice to you is keep the area loose with some toe touch stretching and some sitting in bottom of the squat position for 30-60 seconds at a time.

You'll need to follow the rule of 'if it hurts, don't do it' in terms of lifts. Expect 1-2 weeks of recovery time. The more you try to push it, the longer you'll take to heal. Take some anti-inflammatory over the counter medicine like tylenol while you're recovering.

I hope to God that is what it was. Terms like "herniated disc" and "bulging disc" have went thru my mind all day.

I mean when it happened, I racked the weight, and immediately felt like I couldn't bend. It took alot of will to pick up my gym bag and leave.

[ranthal]

There isn't really much to elaborate on, so this will be very simple

Use straps when you feel that your grip is going to hinder your lifting performance. Begin with the double overhand hook grip and go until you lose confidence in that style of gripping.

Then move to an over/under grip, which will give you more holding power yet. Once that fails, move onto straps.

Chalk is also EXCELLENT if you can use it. It will improve the grip strength of any type of grip you are using. It doesn't hurt to chalk on on pulling movements either, FYI.

So, to summarize, use the straps only when you feel they are necessary.

Thanks Ryan.

I know you promote straps when the grip starts to fail and I've gone back and forth about it. I've basically followed that progression and I keep my straps in the workout bag I walk around with and have busted them out on a couple supplement lift sets so maybe I'll have to take them out earlier.

My fingers are crossed that the gym is ok with me chalking up, really want to see what it can do for my grip. Definitely would help for some of those 1-arm DB rows too! Had my 4-6 rep range day on monday and some of the interns from work were watching me amazed as I did the 100 and 110 lbers haha. Might be why my grip felt so weak on wednesday for the deads.

On a entirely different subject I remember somebody comparing this program to Wendler's 5/3/1 a while back and I was reading up on it recently and I gotta say, for my goals and I think a lot of other people's GST seemed like an improved version. I have a huge amount of respect for Wendler but he and the other Westside Barbell guys are powerlifters and their programs reflect it. GST is much more versatile and can be used for all levels of lifters.

[kilgoreklink]

Thanks Ryan.

I know you promote straps when the grip starts to fail and I've gone back and forth about it. I've basically followed that progression and I keep my straps in the workout bag I walk around with and have busted them out on a couple supplement lift sets so maybe I'll have to take them out earlier.

My fingers are crossed that the gym is ok with me chalking up, really want to see what it can do for my grip. Definitely would help for some of those 1-arm DB rows too! Had my 4-6 rep range day on monday and some of the interns from work were watching me amazed as I did the 100 and 110 lbers haha. Might be why my grip felt so weak on wednesday for the deads.

On a entirely different subject I remember somebody comparing this program to Wendler's 5/3/1 a while back and I was reading up on it recently and I gotta say, for my goals and I think a lot of other people's GST seemed like an improved version. I have a huge amount of respect for Wendler but he and the other Westside Barbell guys are powerlifters and their programs reflect it. GST is much more versatile and can be used for all levels of lifters.

Is lifters chalk the same as a baseball pitchers resin bag? Is it called "Lifters Chalk"
I need to get some, my 90% deads are forcing me to strap up.
I got to check with my Dog but I am pretty sure I can use it in my garage/gym.

[Reid456]

Is lifters chalk the same as a baseball pitchers resin bag? Is it called "Lifters Chalk"
I need to get some, my 90% deads are forcing me to strap up.
I got to check with my Dog but I am pretty sure I can use it in my garage/gym.

I LOL'd.

My gym does not allow chalk but I am happy with using my double overhand until it gives out and then going to straps. 90% deads really should be forcing you to strap up, at least for the AMRAP set.

[ranthal]

Is lifters chalk the same as a baseball pitchers resin bag? Is it called "Lifters Chalk"
I need to get some, my 90% deads are forcing me to strap up.
I got to check with my Dog but I am pretty sure I can use it in my garage/gym.

I think they are all pretty much the same. I just bought some at the local sports authority (sports store chain) and it says something like Lifters/Gymnast chalk. Probably similar to pithcers, rock climbing, etc

The dog always makes me laugh. We've seen Ryan's kid doing DLs, when do we get pics of your dog spotting?

[dabul2003]

ey ryan have you put up any stretching vids? If not i think it would be good because i wanna know how to target certain areas for stretching.

[Reid456]

What do you guys mix with your cottage cheese? I just had it for the first time in my life a few minutes ago and I mixed it with vanilla greek yogurt. It tasted.... not good, but not terrible. Got a solid 30g of protein in though!

[pezking7p]

Im sure many of you will laugh but..........I have DOMS after my 1st Microcycle workouts as bad as any Ive had in my life. For the lift day that I had yesterday, the DOMS are worse today than anything Ive experienced.

On a side note, I did my deads and romanians yesterday and my lower back/sacrum area total locked up upon completion of the last romanian. I mean I couldnt bend over to pick up my towel. It ended my workout early and gave me trouble the rest of the day. Not sure if the DOMS in my extreme lower back today are legitimate DOMS or pain from an injury sustained.

Wait until you do your 20-rep supp week.

[pezking7p]

What do you guys mix with your cottage cheese? I just had it for the first time in my life a few minutes ago and I mixed it with vanilla greek yogurt. It tasted.... not good, but not terrible. Got a solid 30g of protein in though!

I mixed mine with chobani greek vanilla. it was awful. I will never buy that yogurt again. I did it before that with stony field vanilla cream top, very good. Also, frozen blueberries. They are wicked cheap here. I tried fresh raspberries, that was not good at all, I'll stick to the blueberries.

[JayMauythai]

Should I take this as a video request??

YES, Glad you took the time to write this all and make vids man.

[damirk]

3rd pull, 5th macro

BB explosives threaded into warmups

BB Bent row (85%-150lb)

95-6x w/u
110-4x w/u
125-3x w/u
140-2x w/u
145-1x w/u
150-6x AMRAP
150-2x3

Rack P/U

B/W+20lb

5x6

1 Arm DB Row

75-5x6

Reverse Grip BB row

110-5x6

Standing BB curl

75-5x6

Incline DB row

30-5x6

Very productive workout this evening. Lots of energy on all the working sets. I decided to change up the structure a bit for the program. Before I did the 1 day on 1 day off scheme, now Im going to give 2on, cardio, 1on, cardio, 1on, rest a shot for a few cycles and see how it works. Any thoughts?

[sl73]

What do you guys mix with your cottage cheese? I just had it for the first time in my life a few minutes ago and I mixed it with vanilla greek yogurt. It tasted.... not good, but not terrible. Got a solid 30g of protein in though!

I add 1/4 scoop of chocolate protein powder per 8 oz of cottage cheese. You need to find a cottage cheese what you like though. I tried several different brands and found that Knudsen low-fat cottage cheese Costco sells in big containers is the best for my taste.