GLADIATOR swole with TACTICAL BARBELL!!

[Nexus66]

I have one goal, and that's to put on slabs of solid muscle. I'm going for a Brad Pitt in Troy meets the Rock look

I'm coming off a minor injury, but ready to go again. Logging helped me big time last time, helped me stay accountable, and your input and comments kept me motivated.

My last proper/complete run of a program was Smolov, loved it - had awesome results, but didn't like neglecting other lifts.

This time around I'll be using Tactical Barbell's Gladiator template (2nd Edition). It's like a mini smolov but you're supposed to use two exercises instead of just sqwats. What got me interested in Gladiator was this guys results on a different forum:

http://forums.sherdog.com/forums/f49...-mode-2952861/

Dude put on 15lbs of muscle in around 10 weeks!! Not only that but he added 50lbs to both of his presses.

So Gladiator is essentially a high volume/high intensity/heavy lifting approach. Two exercises, 3 times a week. I've decided to keep it simple and go with bench and squat.
I'll be limiting my cardio to 20 minutes or less 2 times a week. I'll be running this for ten weeks.

Supplements:
MusclePharm Combat protein
Creatine Monohydrate + carb powder
Caffeine tabs pwo
TMG (joints, endurance, mood)
Thorne Multi

Food - aiming at 6 meals a day, lots of egg white omelettes, chicken breast, brown rice and the occasional steak. One all-out cheat day per week.

Heading to the gym now to test one rep maximums. Really excited about this program, I like the simplicity and structure. Just hammering the **** out of two major lifts and eating like a beast!

[Nexus66]

Finished up testing in the gym. These will be my starting numbers:

Squat 300
Bench 240

More about me:
5ft11
205lbs (up from around 190 last year)

I have prior experience with Tactical Barbell (Mass template) and Smolov. The last time I had a proper routine was around a month ago when I finished up Smolov madness. My squats have dropped since I finished up, but thankfully not as much as I expected.

So that's it, that'll be my start point. Day 1 starts tomorrow!

[Fighter93]

Good luck!I'll be following.Just curious how much strength you gained with mass template,and what cluster were you doing?That guy from sherdog had amazing results with gladiator,but we should consider he was in essence doing 10sets every workout of two pretty similar exercises in terms of muscle activation(double the volume).

[mikhou]

In. I'll be anxious to see how your Gladiator progress compares to your Mass progress. Keep the posts coming.

[Nexus66]

Started day 1 of Gladiator this morning:

10 mins light treadmill jog/warm-up

Squat 210 5 x 5
Bench 165 5 x 5



There's just something about low rep high volume training that I love!
This is easy week (70%) and everything felt well under control.

[Nexus66]

Good luck!I'll be following.Just curious how much strength you gained with mass template,and what cluster were you doing?That guy from sherdog had amazing results with gladiator,but we should consider he was in essence doing 10sets every workout of two pretty similar exercises in terms of muscle activation(double the volume).

Thanks for checking in!!
I've run Mass twice, first time was a bench, squat, deadlift, OHP cluster, 2nd time was same except I did weighted pullups instead of OHP. Preferred the 2nd cluster btw, weighted chins gave me huge arm/lat progress.

I put on 10lbs my first cycle, and 8lbs the 2nd time (muscle - little more total weight but a bit of that was fat).

Good point about that poster btw.

[Nexus66]

In. I'll be anxious to see how your Gladiator progress compares to your Mass progress. Keep the posts coming.

Thanks for dropping in!! Please continue to do so. Yours is one of the logs I read regularly as well.

[Nexus66]

Good luck!I'll be following.Just curious how much strength you gained with mass template,and what cluster were you doing?That guy from sherdog had amazing results with gladiator,but we should consider he was in essence doing 10sets every workout of two pretty similar exercises in terms of muscle activation(double the volume).

Whoops, I see you were asking about strength gains, not muscle mass. I'd have to check my journals for the exact numbers, but both TB runs combined took my bench from around 195 to 260-270 and my squat from 215 to around 300. I neglected bench during my smolov, that combined with not being able to work out for the past month has brought my lift #s back down.
Honestly, I'm more interested in muscle gain than I am in strength gains at this point, so the actual strength numbers don't worry me too much.

Edit: I did not run my TB cycles back to back

[Nexus66]

Went for a very easy 20 minute run. My last 3 programs I averaged around 3 days of light cardio a week. This time I'm going to cut it down to just 2 /week.

Did close to 2 miles, relaxed pace.

[tangozero]

Almost missed this. What happened to Zulu??

[Nexus66]

Almost missed this. What happened to Zulu??

Hey Tango, decided to go with Gladiator instead, mainly looking to get big and beastly so i couldn't resist I'll probably try Zulu or 531 BBB after this Gladiator phase tho

[Nexus66]

Squats 210 x 5 x 5
Bench 165 x 5 x 5

Still on easy (70%) week. The squats feel like nothing after smolov lol. I imagine they won't feel so easy in a couple weeks.

[tangozero]

Hey Tango, decided to go with Gladiator instead, mainly looking to get big and beastly so i couldn't resist I'll probably try Zulu or 531 BBB after this Gladiator phase tho

Ahhh copy that. Once in a while I envy you guys that can go all out like that and just hammer the s*&t out of your lifts. Good luck, I'm in to see how it goes for ya.

[Nexus66]

Very low intensity 15 minute run today.

[Nexus66]

Yesterday:

Squats 210 x 5 x 5
Bench 165 x 5 x 5

[Nexus66]

Day 6/Cardio:

Very low intensity treadmill jog. 20 mins

[Nexus66]

Rest day. Going to try something different today and prepare as many meals as I can for the coming week. Should save me a lot of time if it works out

[Nexus66]

Day 1:

Squat 240lbs 5 x 5
Bench 195 5 x 5
80%

Did a little extra after:

BW pull-ups 3 x 10
Back extensions 3 x 15

So squats are still feeling 'manageable', I don't want to say 'easy' lol, but manageable compared to my smolov cycle.
Bench on the other hand I'm feeling. Last 2 sets were hard, and could only complete 3 of 5 reps on the last set. Rested a couple minutes, and completed the final 2 reps.

[Nexus66]

Day 2:

20 minute low intensity jog - treadmill

[Nexus66]

Week 2 (medium/80%):

Squats 240
Bench 195
5 x 5

So bench felt much easier today. Completed all reps with no issues.

I have to say, pre-packaged meals are making my life a lot easier. This is definitely a habit I'll have to stick too.

[Nexus66]

Cardio today:

20 minute jog, easy pace

[Nexus66]

19th:

Squats 240
Bench 195

Extra: pull-ups 3 x 10 bodyweight

[Nexus66]

20th: rest

Today: rest

So far everything's feeling good I'm doing less cardio this time around and I am noticing a little more spring when doing squats this cycle.

[Nexus66]

Heavy week !

Bench 215
Squat 270
(90% RM)

Felt surprisingly good. The two days of rest was a good decision.

[Nexus66]

Day 2 Cardio:

20 minute easy jog outside
Legs felt a little heavy, but finished with no real issues.

[Nexus66]

Day 3

Bench 215
Squat 270

Accessory work:
10 x 10 pull-ups
10 x 10 back extensions

[Nexus66]

Cardio

20 minutes -treadmill:
2 mins slow pace (lvl 5)
1 min fast (lvl 9)

[Nexus66]

Day 5

Bench 215
Squat 270

Last strength workout of the week. All reps and sets completed with no issues.

Accessory work:
Deadlifts 2 x 5 200lbs
Hanging ab raises 3 x 10
(Knee raises/leg raises/toes to bar)

Just a couple relatively easy sets of deads.
Great workout, left the gym feeling energized instead of beat up

[Nexus66]

Day 6

Cardio today;
15 minutes skipping
10 minutes burpees

Rested as needed for the burpees which ended up being roughly every 10 for one to two minutes.

[mikhou]

Day 6

Cardio today;
15 minutes skipping
10 minutes burpees

Rested as needed for the burpees which ended up being roughly every 10 for one to two minutes.

10 minutes of burpees sounds brutal!