Becoming big and beautiful

[FaIIen]

I decided to to ditch the original progression method that's described in GG for T1's, which is Rep Max + Equal number of singles [1xA + Ax1].

Instead, I'll be doing a rep max + back offs [1xA + 3x(A-2)] with 2 minute rest periods between back offs. Similar to what Nuckols recommended in one of his sample routines, but instead of increasing intensity and decreasing reps over a 4 week cycle, I'll be adopting the continuous GG style progression with static intensity and load, but increasing weekly volume until a rep max threshold is reached. This translates into a little bit more volume and keeps the average intensity higher. I.e, more emphasis on T1's.

T2's wil primarily be Rep Maxes + Half sets with 1 minute rest periods as suggested in GG. I've enjoyed these.

For T3's, I've pretty much taken the 3/50 method by Paul Carter, but decreased the rep goal to 40. It translates to something very similar that is generally prescribed for T3's, but is easier to digest IMO. Might cap max reps per set to 15, not sure yet. Rest will probably be about 1 min, unless I'm super setting as I probably will be for the most part.

5.11.19 | GG | W6D2

I expected to perform worse, considering I skipped last week.

Paused Bench
1 x 100/110
4 x 110
3x2 x 110

Pendlay Row
6 x 80
4x3 x 80
^ Swapped the single hand hammer rows for Pendlays. I feel these are better for going heavy (EVENTUALLY). I'll do seated cable rows on the second upper day as a T3.

Seated DB Press
10 x 24's
4x5 x 24's

Lat Pulldown
15/14/14 x 70

CGDB Incline Bench
12/10/8 x 18's

DB Hammer Curl
16/15/13 x 10's

Lying DB Extension
15/13/12 x 9's

[FaIIen]

7.11.19 | GG | W6D3

Semi-Sumo DL
1 x 160/170
5 x 180
3x3 x 180
^ The best sumo has felt thus far. Definitely had a few to go in the tank, but leaving the grindy reps for later and taking my time to nail the form in.



Wider Tempo Squat (5-2-0)
5 x 100
5x2 x 100
^ Doing these as T2, but cycling from 4 to 8 reps.

Box RDL
15/15/15 x 40
^ Still did KB's today, swapping to a barbell next week.

24" Step Up
15/15/14 x BW
^ Control is getting good. Might go weighted next week.

Hip Thrusts
15/15/15 x 40
^ Made the switch to thrusts. Gotta start low and build up.

Dead Bug
18/14/12 x BW

[FaIIen]

9.11.19 | GG | W6D4

Overhead Press
2x 50/55
1 x 60
2 x 60 <- Not sure what happened, just poor execution I think.
3x5 x 50
^ After performing so bad, I decided to play with some different grips and stuff. I think I got the hang of it again in the end. Not sure how I should approach OHP. Maybe I'll just continue at 60 again next week.

Chin Up
5 x BW
5x2 x BW

Spoto Larsen
10 x 80
4x5 x 80
^ These were like RPE 10 lol, both RM and half sets. Had to extend the last periods from 1 min to 2, I think I'll hold the same scheme next week.

Seated Cable Row
16/15/15 x 40

Pec Deck
15/15/14 x 25

Lateral DB Raise
15/12/10 x 9's

V-Bar Pushdown
14/12/11 x 32.5

EZ-Bar Curl
15/10/8 x 27.5

[FaIIen]

11.11.19 | GG | W7D1

Low Bar Squat
1 x 140/150/160
5 x 150
3x3 x 150
^ Could've definitely hit 6 x 150, but I'm glad I didn't. The back offs were moderately difficult with 2 min rest periods.

Paused Beltless DL
10 x 110
4x5 x 110
^ Decided to pummel through this to get weight up. Back was pretty pumped, probably braced poorly in the first set. Gotta start taking my time between the reps to make sure I brace and pull perfectly.

Split Squat
15/14/12 x BW + 8

Standing Single Leg Curl
15/14/12 x 10

Glute Hyper
15/14/14 x BW

Seated Calf Raise Machine
15/15/14 x Sled + 50

[FaIIen]

12.11.19 | GG | W7D2

Paused Bench
1 x 110/117.5
5 x 110
3x3 x 110
^ Bench moved well today. Should get 6 x 110 next week.

Pendlay Row
7 x 80
5x3 x 80

Seated DB Press
6 x 26's
4x3 x 26's

Lat Pulldown
15/12/10 x 75

CGDB Incline Bench
15/10/10 x 18's

DB Hammer Curl
15/13/10 x 12's

Lying DB Extension
15/12/9 x 9's

[FaIIen]

Last two weeks were a bit messy, but I did manage to get 3 sessions in each week. Not quite according to plan, but better than nothing. BW is sitting at around 107 kg.

Pulled some heavier sumo-singles with pretty much max width stance last week. It didn't feel awful, I actually got into a decent position when I was patient off the floor. But dauym I'm slow off the ground this way... Anything > 180 takes ages. And I'm absolutely awful at reps.





25.11.19 | GG | W9D1

Low Bar Squat
1 x 150/160/170
6 x 150
3x4 x 150
^ Extended the rest periods a little bit towards the end here, moving up to 160 next week anyway.

Paused Beltless DL
1 x 140/150
6 x 120
4x3 x 120
^ Pulled some yolo-singles for fun, felt decent.

Split Squat
3-42 x BW+8

Standing Single Leg Curl
3-42 x 10

Glute Hyper
3-40 x BW

Seated Calf Raise Machine
3-41 x 60

[FaIIen]

26.11.19 | GG | W9D2

Paused Bench
1 x 110/120
6 x 110
3x4 x 110
Pretty hard, but got it.

Pendlay Row
10 x 80
4x5 x 80

Seated DB Press
8 x 26's
4x4 x 26's

Lat Pulldown
3-40 x 75

CGDB Incline Bench
3-40 x 18's

DB Hammer Curl
3-41 x 12's

Lying DB Extension
3-42 x 10's

[FaIIen]

1.12.19 | GG | W9D4

Overhead Press
1 x 50/55/65
5 x 60
3x3 x 60
^ 5RM was pretty rough.

Chin Up
6 x BW
5x3 x BW

Spoto Larsen
6 x 85
4x3 x 85

Seated Cable Row
3-38 x 50

Pec Deck
3-41 x 50

Lateral DB Raise
3-39 x 10's

V-Bar Pushdown
3-36 x 35

EZ-Bar Curl
11 x 37.5
13 x 27.5
^ Wanted to try shorter and heavier.

[FaIIen]

After some self-reflection, I've decided that I need to work on my bracing, pelvic tilt and form in general on both Low Bar Squats & Sumo Deadlift. The Rep Maxes for T1's in GG don't quite cut it IMO, I need submaximal work.

I've decided to embrace the (inverted, at least for lower body lifts) JUGGERNAUT METHOD for my T1's. I will do light overwarm singles as warm up on every single day.
T2's will still be Rep Maxes + Half Sets (because I like them). Might just do the half sets on realization weeks.
T3's got a little boring with the 10-15 rep range, so I'm opening them up for 2-3 hard sets of 6-14 reps.

2.12.19 | JUGGERNAUT | W1D1

Low Bar Squat
2 x 130, 1 x 145
9x5 x 100
1x6 x 100
^ Disgusting. The last AMRAP was assigned as RPE 7-8. It's really exhausting to try to focus on bracing and developing better movement patterns, but I think I did a pretty good job. Couldn't quite stick to 1 min breaks, they were 2 mins towards the end.

RDL
7 x 100
5x3 x 100

24" Step Up
9 x BW+12
12 x BW+6

Hip Thrust
10 x 60
14 x 40

Leg Extension
10 x 50
18 x 35

Dead Bug
14 x BW
10 x BW
^ Abs were really toast after all the bracing practice.


I'm going to be sore tomorrow.

[FaIIen]

The number of exercises probably looks like a lot, but the 5 last exercises are one super set and one giant set. Although admittably, I am considering consolidating some of the exercises on upper days. We'll see.

4.12.19 | JUGGERNAUT | W1D2

Paused Bench
1 x 100/110
9x5 x 72.5
1x7 x 72.5
^ Managed to stick to about 1 min rests, decent. Surprising how such a baby weight can tire you out lol. Just setting up tight takes a lot of effort, but at least I get more practice.

Pendlay Row
6 x 85
4x3 x 85

Rack OHP
8 x 50
4x4 x 50
^ First time ever doing these, wanted to try overhead pressing twice a week and see if that would boost it the fk up.

Super-set
Lat Pulldown
9 x 110
12 x 90
DB Bench
10 x 32's
14 x 24's

Giant-set
Rear Delt Raise
10 x 8's
14 x 6's
EZ-bar Curl
8 x 40
14 x 27.5
Lying DB Extension
10 x 12's
14 x 9's

[FaIIen]

On Tuesday, I realized I strained something in my right knee. Decided to do some air squats and what not at home -> learned how to use my glutes to initiate the movement from the bottom of the squat and it completely eliminated the knee pain. I just flex the sht out of my glutes and my quads kinda turn on automatically.

Knee is still a bit damaged, but I managed todays tempo squats extremely well with the newly found glute activation/initiation. We might be on to something here!

5.12.19 | JUGGERNAUT | W1D3

Sumo DL
1 x 160/175
9x5 x 115
1x6 x 115
^ The weight was ridiculously light, but all that setting up really fatigued me again. Managed to keep quite close to 1 min rests, but slipped a little towards the end.
I mean these are basically pause pulls, because the weight comes off the floor when I set up and pull slack >_>

Tempo Squat (5-3-0)
4 x 100
4x2 x 100
^ Went preatty easy to make sure I don't damage my knee any more. Reps were super explosive tho.

Single Leg RDL
8 x 14
10 x 12
^ Challenging, glutes were on fire.

Hack Squat
2x8 x 50
^ Had a hard time finding a position that didn't hurt my knee at first. Managed ok in the end. Went light anyway.

Standing Single Leg Curl
12 x 15
16 x 10

Calf Raise Machine
10 x 80
14 x 60

[FaIIen]

Had an unfortunate off week so starting again, decided to restructure the week to resemble BBM-templates. Limited the exercise count to 6 per day as well. Starting all T3's with 2 hard sets per exercise, moving to 3 if this feels insufficient (doubt it, because T1/Jugger volume is quite high).

16.12.19 | JUGGERNAUT | W1D1

Low Bar Squat
2 x 130, 1 x 145
10x5 x 100
Did my best to drive with glutes from the bottom, felt great. Inner thighs felt really fatigued/strained towards the end here. No knee pain. Took 80 second rests from the get go because I knew I wouldn't have made it with 60 secs, worked out quite alright.

Feet Up Spoto Press
6 x 80
4x3 x 80
^ Tried Larsen instead of feet up because I usually like it more, but my legs were shaking like I was exorcised, so decided to just keep them up. Pretty light, should progress fast.

Standing Single Leg Curl
8 x 20
13 x 12.5

Face Pull
10 x 27.5
14 x 20

Pec Deck
10 x 40
11 x 30

Seated Cable Row
10 x 60
14 x 45

[FaIIen]

17.12.19 | JUGGERNAUT | W1D2

Overhead Press
2 x 50, 1 x 57.5
10x5 x 37.5
^ Really light, but I figured that's the right move, I think I got my technique down quite well with these now. Managed the 60 second rests well.

Chin Up
5 x BW
5x2 x BW
^ Regressed a bit on these. Probably fatigued from yesterday.

RDL
8 x 110
4x4 x 110
^ Not having squats before these allows me to focus on them much better.

Dips
6 x BW
4x3 x BW
^ Haven't done dips in over a year, pretty shaky. Didn't feel bad tho, pushing to 10 and then starting to add weight.

DB Preacher Curl
9 x 12's
14 x 8's

Single Leg Press
10 x 50
14 x 40
^ Legs were a little sore, so I went light. Should improve recovery.

[FaIIen]

19.12.19 | JUGGERNAUT | W1D3

Paused Bench
2 x 100, 1 x 110
9x5 x 72.5
1x10 x 72.5
^ Felt easy with ~1 min breaks, decided to push a little on the AMRAP.

Pendlay Row
5 x 90
5x2 x 90

Tempo Squat (5-3-0)
4 x 120
4x2 x 120

Lying DB Extension
10 x 14's
14 x 10's

Rear Delt DB Raise
9 x 9's
13 x 7's

Hip Thrust
8 x 80
14 x 60
^ The 80 was maybe a tad much, my hamstrings tried to take over all the time. Probably need to stretch my hips for this too.

[FaIIen]

21.12.19 | JUGGERNAUT | W1D4

Sumo Deadlift
1 x 160/175
9x5 x 115
1x10 x 115
^ Felt easy with ~1 min breaks, decided to push a little on the AMRAP.

Rack OHP
7 x 50
4x3 x 50
^ Had trouble keeping elbows under the bar, need to work on that.

Pulldown
10 x 110
12 x 90

DB Bench
10 x 34's
14 x 26's

Paused Leg Press
10 x 200
14 x 150

EZ-Bar Curl
6 x 42.5
10 x 32.5

[FaIIen]

24.12.19 | Christmas Sessions

Pause Squat
4x3 x 140

CG Incline DB Press
8 x 31's
10/8 x 23.5's

Seated Cable Row
11 x 90
14 x 70

Rear delts + Abs

[FaIIen]

27.12.19 | Christmas Sessions

Went light, focused on good pauses and control on everything.

Paused Bench
5x3 x 100

Sumo Deadlift
2 x 180
1 x 200
^ Felt light AF
Paused Sumo Deadlift
3x3 x 160



Paused OHP
5x4 x 50

Chin Up
5 x BW
4x3 x BW

[FaIIen]

30.12.19 | JUGGERNAUT | W2D1

Low Bar Squat
2 x 130, 1 x 145
9x3 x 110
1x7 x 110
^ Did 90 second rests, as prescribed in the program.

Larsen Spoto Press
8 x 85
4x4 x 85
^ No shaky legs, back to Larsen.

Leg Curl
10 x 55
14 x 40

Face Pull
10 x 30
13 x 22.5

Pec Deck
7 x 45
12 x 30

Seated Cable Row
12 x 82.5
14 x 60

[FaIIen]

31.12.19 | JUGGERNAUT | W2D2

Paused OHP
2 x 50, 1 x 57.5
9x3 x 42.5
1x7 x 42.5
^ 90 sec rest periods, decent.

Chin Up
7 x BW
5x3 x BW

RDL
9 x 110
5x4 x 110

Dip
8 x BW
4x4 x BW

DB Preacher Curl
10 x 12's
14 x 9's

Single Leg Press
10 x 70
14 x 50

[FaIIen]

3.1.2020 | JUGGERNAUT | W2D3

Paused Bench
2 x 100, 1 x 110
9x3 x 80
1x8 x 80
^ 60-90 sec breaks.

Rear Delt DB Raise
10 x 9's
14 x 7's


Pendlay Row
6 x 90
4x3 x 90
^ Quite heavy, probably holding next week.

Tempo Squat (5-3-0)
4 x 120
4x2 x 120
^ Felt weird at first, the last set was the best.

Lying DB Extension
-

Hip Thrust
-

I usually have one off day between days 3 & 4, but new year came in the way. Skipped the last accessories to be fresher tomorrow.

Already kinda excited for the realization week that starts on Monday, no idea what to expect performance-wise.

[FaIIen]

I'm really hoping to get a good year of training in.

I want to finally get closer to that 700 kg total, didn't make much if any progress in 2019 - was one hell of a year.

[FaIIen]

4.1.2020 | JUGGERNAUT | W2D4

Sumo Deadlift
2 x 160, 1 x 180
9x3 x 130
1x10 x 130
^ About 90 second breaks.

Rack OHP
7 x 50
4x3 x 50
^ Had my elbows in a better position, couldn't push for 8 tho.

Pulldown
10 x 117
12 x 100

DB Bench
8 x 36's
12 x 28's

Paused Leg Press
6 x 220
10 x 170

EZ-Bar Curl
8 x 42.5
12 x 32.5

[FaIIen]

6.1.2020 | JUGGERNAUT | W3D1

Low Bar Squat
2 x 130, 1 x 140, 1 x 150
14 x 120
^ Not awful. Basically an all time PR because I've never bothered with this many reps on squats. I assume the lest reps were not pretty, which is the obvious downside to pumping this many reps.

Larsen Spoto Press
9 x 85
5x4 x 85

Leg Curl
2x6 x 20
14 x 12.5

Face Pull
8 x 32.5
14 x 22.5

Pec Deck
10 x 45
14 x 30

Seated Cable Row
5 x 85
13 x 60
^ This cable row is a lot heavier than the one I used last week, for some reason.


Having completed the first cycle for squats - I must say there are things I dislike about the inverted Juggernaut method. I'll have to re-evaluate whether I should make some changes or not. I don't think it's suitable for my current needs. More frequent exposure with slightly higher intensity and lower volume per session would be far more beneficial for my technique development - which is the current goal.

[FaIIen]

7.1.2020 | JUGGERNAUT | W3D2

Paused OHP
1 x 50/55/60
12 x 45
^ Wanted 14 but it wasn't there. On a positive note, the set was very clean - probably the cleanest it's ever been. Good control and pauses, felt solid.

Chin Up
7 x BW
5x3 x BW

RDL
10 x 110
4x5 x 110

Dip
9 x BW
5x4 x BW
^ The half sets were really light. I'll try to warm up better for next week. Thinking I'll push these to ~14 before I add weight.

DB Preacher Curl
7 x 14's
14/10 x 10's

Single Leg Press
8 x 80
14 x 60

[FaIIen]

10.1.2020 | JUGGERNAUT | W3D3

Paused Bench
2 x 100, 1 x 110
14 x 87.5
^ Not bad, form stayed solid.

Pendlay Row
7 x 90
5x3 x 90
^ Didn't hold, was ok. Squeezing the bar made a difference.

Tempo Squat (5-3-0)
4x2 x 120
^ No more max reps, keeping this lower effort.

Rear Delt DB Raise
8 x 10's
14 x 7's

Lying DB Extension
7 x 16's
12 x 12's

Glute Hyperextension
10 x 5
12 x BW

[FaIIen]

11.1.2020 | JUGGERNAUT | W3D4

Out of town again. This gym had no place to DL, so I ended up RDLing a bit harder inside a "squat station". Swapping Leg Press for Front Squats next week, so lead with those.

Front Squat
5 x 100
5x2 x 100

RDL
6 x 140
4x3 x 140

Pulldown
8 x 115
13 x 100

Paused Dip
8x4 x BW

Seated DB OHP
6 x 20
8 x 24
12 x 20

Hammer Curl
12 x 12's
8 x 14's
14 x 10's

[FaIIen]

Kept some of the principals behind Inverted Juggernaut Method and tuned it slightly. Don't personally see a point with high reps for the main movements, so cut down the program to three waves with lower rep ranges: 7, 5 and 3 - each 4 weeks long.

Cut down on some of the fluff accessories too. Less emphasis on trying to hit a perfect combination of everything within each block, more liberty to focus on specific things in each block. Chins & Dips will be done 2x/week in this block, for instance.

Starting with the 3's Wave to get a slightly more accurate perception of my current TM's. This waves main movement periodization happens to coincide exactly with Greg Nuckols' 2x Int DL percentages, sets & reps.

13.1.20 | 3's Wave | W1D1

Paused OHP
2 x 50, 1 x 57.5
7x3 x 50
1x4 x 50
^ 75 sec rest periods.

Tempo Squat (5-3-0)
5x3 x 110

DB Row
8 x 28's
5 x 34's
8 x 34's
14 x 26's

Dip
9 x BW
5x4 x BW

Face Pull
10 x 20
8 x 32.5
12 x 25

[FaIIen]

15.1.20 | 3's Wave | W1D2

Sumo DL
2 x 160, 1 x 180
7x3 x 150
1x6 x 150
^ Felt really easy, even with 75 sec rests.

Spoto Larsen
9 x 85
5x4 x 85
^ Heavy.

Single Leg Curl
9 x 20
12 x 15
11 x 15

Dead Bug
16/10/8 x BW

Chin Up
2x2 x BW
4 x BW <- Felt awkward so stopped and tried again.
6 x BW <- Not awful.
3x3 x BW
^ Took a slightly wider grip on the last set, it felt a lot sturdier. Will try that again on Saturday when I'm doing half sets.

[FaIIen]

Bodyweight was the lowest it's been for a while: 105.6 kg. Delt veins and abs are getting more defined, cool stuff.

15.1.20 | 3's Wave | W1D3

Low Bar Squat
1 x 140/150/160
7x3 x 130
1x5 x 130
^ Squats felt great today, form is starting to click

Incline Bench
6/5/6/5/7 x 50
^ Just did a whole bunch of light sets with 45-90 sec rests lol. The exercise itself felt awkward after the hiatus so didn't feel like pushing it. Next week I'll do a RM + half sets.

Glute Hypers
10 x BW
5 x 6
10 x 8
14 x BW
10 x BW

Pendlay Row
9 x 90
5x3 x 90

Dip
6x4 x BW
^ Just an extended amount of half sets based on Mondays RM. Greasing the groove.

[FaIIen]

18.1.20 | 3's Wave | W1D4

Paused Bench
1 x 110/120
7x3 x 92.5
1x6 x 92.5

Tietz RDL
7 x 100
5x3 x 100
^ A slightly different way of doing RDL's. Moving to a deficit once mobility allows.

Front Squat
3 x 120
5/4/4 x 100

Chin Up
6x3 x BW

Rear DB Raise
10/9/9 x 9's