Love the Pain -- Make the Barbell Cry!

[NomadicApe]

Good work mate, how are you enjoying Kizen vs Canditos?. As for the Low Bar vs High Bar, I spent 2+ years just doing high bar, and made slow but decent progress. I often stalled out, and my 1RM was around 170kg and stayed there for 2years. I decided to give Low Bar a go, and within 2 months of changing hit a comfortable 180kg. 3 months after that hit 190kg. Ive recently re-introduced High Bar as a secondary movement/variation and my low bar has certainly helped my high bar improve. Once you get the set up and form down, youll be amazed how natural it feels.

[ECGordyn]

Good work mate, how are you enjoying Kizen vs Canditos?. As for the Low Bar vs High Bar, I spent 2+ years just doing high bar, and made slow but decent progress. I often stalled out, and my 1RM was around 170kg and stayed there for 2years. I decided to give Low Bar a go, and within 2 months of changing hit a comfortable 180kg. 3 months after that hit 190kg. Ive recently re-introduced High Bar as a secondary movement/variation and my low bar has certainly helped my high bar improve. Once you get the set up and form down, youll be amazed how natural it feels.

Sure I'll give LB a go one of these days. I don't plan on competing, so for now I'm good hitting quads a bit more with HB.

The one thing I'd b*tch about Kizen is the amrap sets. It leaves a bit too much freedom for being a p*ss and giving up on a bad day. With Candito's, I knew the exact targets I had to hit each day, and having that specific goal was motivating.

After one or two more cycles of Kizen I'll post a review about it.

[ECGordyn]

Facepulls
20 x 30, 30, 30

OHP
150 x 5, 5, 5
150 x 10 = amrap

Bench
170 x 10, 10, 10

Pendlay
225 x 10
230 x 10
235 x 10

Pulldown HS machine
220 x 10, 10, 10

Skullcrushers
90 x 10, 10, 9

BB curl
65 x 12, 10, 10

F*ckin happy about OHP. The 3x5 sets felt heavy so I expected only 7 or 8 for the amrap. Almost did just 215 for Pendlay but each set felt good so I kept adding weight, 235x10 might be a rep pr, I forget.




Edit: It's not a pr but form looks a lot better now, 10 months apart.

[sooby]

Sure I'll give LB a go one of these days. I don't plan on competing, so for now I'm good hitting quads a bit more with HB.

The one thing I'd b*tch about Kizen is the amrap sets. It leaves a bit too much freedom for being a p*ss and giving up on a bad day.

It does a little bit but I don't think I recall for the time being on it that I did any less than 8 reps on the AMRAP, I try to keep it minimum RPE 7 which is fairly strenuous given that you can probably do anywhere from 8-15 reps on average. If I was feeling lazy I would just choose another exercise to go harder on, whether it was Pendlays, or accessories to failure lol. The leeway it gives you can also be a strength if you aren't feeling a certain lift on a certain day.

Glad to see you are making gains though, 150 x 10 OHP is really fking impressive. This is your second run through correct?

[tommy4life]

Pendlay
225 x 10
230 x 10
235 x 10

Jebus! That's impressive

[Millz12323]

Jebus! That's impressive

Agreed... Hella strong. Mirin those OHP and pendlay rows man. Those are movement where every 5 pounds I add to it, feels 20 pounds heavier.

I remember doing 225 for triples and thinking I was strong

[ECGordyn]

sooby, Yeah I just finished second cycle today. I'll run a couple more.

Tommy, Thanks, your lifts are pretty d*mn good too.

Millz, Bench and DL feel that way to me.

[ECGordyn]

Squat
315 x 5, 5, 5
315 x 10 = amrap

DL
315 x 5, 3
365 x 1
395 x fail
365 x 3

Good squats. Rep max was 320 x 10 a few months ago, so good to see I haven't lost much in the legs. DLs sucked.
Trained at a powerlifting/strongman gym with a really good vibe. Wish I'd gone to check it out a lot sooner. No music, no fans, no lights, just heavy f*cking equipment and cool people. First time to try a log press there.

[sooby]

strong squatting, but yeah man, I think that squatting probably affected your DLs that day, you're definitely capable of a lot more

[ECGordyn]

strong squatting, but yeah man, I think that squatting probably affected your DLs that day, you're definitely capable of a lot more

Probably true. I think my problem at high intensity DL is bad form. Hips might be too high.

[ECGordyn]

Bench
188 x 5, 5, 5
188 x 15 = amrap

Pendlay
225 x 10, 10

Bicep curl competition
42.5 kg x 1
45 kg x 1
50 kg x fail

OHP
165 x 2
145 x 5
135 x 7

Pulldown
115 x 12

Pullups
bw x 5, 8, 5

This session was all over the place. Only lift I took seriously today was bench, the rest was just having a bit of fun with the crew. OHP felt the hardest. Core felt weak from squats yesterday afternoon, not enough recovery between sessions.

Mehdi from Stronglifts lifts at this gym. Just realized who he was today. He won the curl competition with a 50kg curl.

[ECGordyn]

Facepulls
20 x 30, 30, 20

Bench
195 x 5, 5, 5
195 x 14 = amrap

Incline bench machine
150 x 10, 10, 10

Row machine wide grip
180 x 10, 10, 10, 10

Pulldown machine
180 x 10, 10, 10, 10

Skullcrushers
85 x 10, 10

BB curl
65 x 10, 10

Bench same as week 1 last cycle, wtf? Besides bench, nothing serious. Traveling now for some business so not going for any prs.



Found this funky gym in Vientiane, Laos. It's basically just loads of equipment in this guy's house. Squat rack is almost right on the street, and you bench with cars and motorbikes driving just about a meter away. No fans, almost 40 C today.

[ECGordyn]

Squat
315 x 5, 5, 5, 5

RDL
275 x 8, 8, 8

DB calf raises
100 x 15, 12, 15

Satisfied just to get some lifting in during this busy time. Unofficially starting an unofficial cut.

[Millz12323]

You at Tars gym still or back home? Looks like a cool place to train. Some strong stuff in here.

What's your current height/weight?

[ECGordyn]

You at Tars gym still or back home? Looks like a cool place to train. Some strong stuff in here.

What's your current height/weight?

Back home in Thailand. Yeah that gym was cool, but no fans and no crosswind there so it was way too d*mn hot.

5' 7", 205 pounds

[ECGordyn]

Facepulls
20 x 30, 20, 15

Bench
195 x 5, 5, 5
195 x 12 = amrap

DB incline bench
80s x 8, 8, 8

Pendlay
225 x 10, 10, 6

Pulldown machine
180 x 10, 10, 10

OK session, better than nothing but numbers are dropping as I cut calories.
I might use Kizen for upper body and Candito 6 week for lower body. C6W will be hard on a cut, but maybe I'll give it a go. Decision another day.

[sooby]

still holding strong brother, keep up the good work

[Millz12323]

5' 7", 205 pounds

Damn dude you're huuge. I just look fat as hell at 205. Like I don't even lift and I'm just fat. You on the other hand look great @205 and are 2 inches shorter. Good stuff man.

[ECGordyn]

Damn dude you're huuge. I just look fat as hell at 205. Like I don't even lift and I'm just fat. You on the other hand look great @205 and are 2 inches shorter. Good stuff man.

Maybe but your lifts are better than mine regarding bodyweight. I think your shoulders and chest look better because your waist is smaller.

[ECGordyn]

Candito-Kizen hybrid

I'll combine those two programs hoping for the best of both worlds: hypertrophy and volume with Kizen, strength training with Candy. Kizen is for upper body, 4 weeks a cycle; Candy is for lower, 5 weeks a cycle. I'm cutting so this will affect progress, but it'll be interesting to see the results.

I don't really see much benefit for me to do amrap squats and deads, as Kizen has on lower days. Conditioning gives out before the muscles do, which means conditioning holds me back. Sure, I could improve conditioning, but I f*kn love squatting heavy, as Candito has. Plus there might be form breakdown at high reps which could cause injury. I feel like squatting and DLing at high intensity is a better measure of strength than amrap sets. Day 1 today.

[ECGordyn]

Squat
310 x 6, 6, 6, 6

DL
345 x 5
335 x 5

Squat went pretty well, DL didn't. I'm not used to lowering the weight carefully to the floor so maybe that stole a rep from each set. Ceramic tiles on the floor of a gym, wtf? Lower back also felt a bit tight.

In a new gym in a new city, it's the best one I know so far. I'll have to work with it for now.

[ECGordyn]

OHP
140 x 5, 5, 5
140 x 9 = amrap

Bench
170 x 10, 10, 10

Pendlay
225 x 9, 8, 8

Pulldown machine
180 x 10, 10
200 x 9

RIP presses. Cutting.

[Millz12323]

Maybe but your lifts are better than mine regarding bodyweight. I think your shoulders and chest look better because your waist is smaller.

Appreciate the kind words.

Any idea how far you're going to take this cut?

and lol @ deadlifting on the ceramic tiles.. wtf?? You easily lost a few reps there m8, trying to set it down so carefully.

[ECGordyn]

Appreciate the kind words.

Any idea how far you're going to take this cut?

and lol @ deadlifting on the ceramic tiles.. wtf?? You easily lost a few reps there m8, trying to set it down so carefully.

I'll probably cut just about 5-10 kgs depending on how my lifts do. If I had to make a life or death choice, it would be for strength over aesthetics, so I'm not cutting too far

[ECGordyn]

Haven't logged in a week due to busy life and mediocre training sessions. Here are the last 2 workouts:

Wed. 26 June
Squat
150 x 5
185 x 5
225 x 5
265 x 5
295 x 5

Bench
135 x 5
145 x 5
175 x 5
195 x 5
225 x 5

Pendlay
135 x 5
145 x 5
175 x 5
195 x 5
225 x 5

RDL
275 x 8, 8, 8

Fri. 28 June
Squat
155 x 5
185 x 5
225 x 5, 5

OHP
95 x 5
115 x 5
135 x 5
155 x 5

Bench
135 x 5
145 x 5
175 x 5
195 x 5
225 x 6

DL
195 x 5
235 x 5
275 x 5
315 x 5

Skullcrushers
85 x 10, 10, 10

BB curl
65 x 10, 10, 10

Daily bodyweight
88.4 kg Sun. 23 June
88.9
89.1
89.0
88.6
88.4
88.1 kg Sun. 30 June

Obviously I went ADD and did some test runs of Madcow. If I stay with it long-term, then I'll see how the lifts progress. If not, then at least the cut is going in the right direction.

[ECGordyn]

Monday 1 July
Squat
150 x 5
190 x 5
225 x 5
265 x 5
300 x 5

Bench
115 x 5
145 x 5
175 x 5
200 x 5
230 x 5

Row
115 x 5
145 x 5
175 x 5
200 x 5
230 x 5

RDL
280 x 8, 8, 8

[ECGordyn]

Wednesday 3 July
Squat
150 x 5
190 x 5
225 x 5
225 x 5

OHP
95 x 5
115 x 5
135 x 5
155 x 5

DL
205 x 5
245 x 5
285 x 5
325 x 5

Skullcrushers
85 x 11, 11

BB curl
65 x 11, 11

[ECGordyn]

Friday 5 July
Squat
150 x 5
190 x 5
225 x 5
265 x 5
315 x 3
225 x 8

Bench
115 x 5
145 x 5
175 x 5
195 x 5
235 x 5
185 x 8

Row
115 x 5
145 x 5
175 x 5
195 x 5
235 x 5
185 x 5

RDL
280 x 10, 10, 10

[ECGordyn]

Squat
160 x 5
200 x 5
240 x 5
280 x 5
320 x 5

Bench
120 x 5
150 x 5
180 x 5
210 x 5
240 x 5

Row
120 x 5
150 x 5
180 x 5
210 x 5
240 x 5

RDL
290 x 8, 8, 8

[Millz12323]

Solid training m8. How's the fat loss phase going?