So I elegantly forgot to mention my other training during the week, alongside the rippler. Guess I'll try doing that and mentioning the whole training regime.
The usual note: keeping bar weight at 45lbs/20kg for simplity of counting, although I know the bar is 20kg which in actuality is around 44Lbs.
Monday
Morning - Rippler Bench (1hr 20mins)
T1 - Flat Bench: 140Lbs 3x3 6x1
T2 - Dumbbell Incline: 45Lbs 5x5
T3a - Behind the Neck Press: 45Lbs (60 reps total)
T3b - Lat Flyes: 20Lbs (31 reps total)
This was ineresting because it was the first time I was bench 140lbs. Felt it would be difficult but grinded out all 4 sets, including the AMRAP, with rest time around 2.5mins.
The inclines though, a different story. The sets were okay until the fifth set where I really struggled to make 5 good reps.
The BTNP has a very high rep count it appears. I've never done it so I decided to stick with the default bar weight. I guess this will shoot up after the 3 week period.
Lastly, the lat flyes were also done on last energy. My energy levels today were really not up to scratch, and fell rapidly in the duration of the workout.
Midday - Varsity Gym
I don't like talking about this because I'm very critical of how it's done. I don't really think it has the right setup for my sport, and overall has a few faults in how we are trained. For all of the other workout mentions I will be just saying I did this, without mentioning what and how long.
The only part I do enjoy it's the explosive nature of some of the exercises, but overall I use this time more to taper down after the morning session.
Tuesday
Morning - Rippler Squat (1hr 30mins)
T1 - Back Squat (high bar): 280Lbs 3x3 5x1
T2 - Stiff-Leg Deadlift: 135Lbs 5x5
T3a - Pullups (bodyweight): (37 total reps)
T3b - Barbell Curl: 55Lbs (35 total reps)
The back squat is getting difficult but I realised the belt (and knee wraps) help so much. The AMRAP was finished at 5 reps, and overall I am happy with the progression of my lift.
The stiff leg deadlift was interesting primarily due to the fact that I actually did it right for the first time, which also meant I had to play with the weights. Naturally, I have short hamstrings, if that's a thing, but either way they don't stretch very well. The pretense I was under was that I HAD to keep my legs straight for the whole motion and only use the posterior chain and hamstrings. Only after watching the Alan Thrall YT video, did I get the explanation that the exercise is actually the Stiffer-Leg Deadlift, meaning I had to reach the floor, but allowed a small bend at the end. This ended up giving me a much bigger fulfilment afterwards and I think there is still some timing issues on my part but overall will have a good impact on my hamstrings and deadlift.
I honestly can say that I could do more pullups, BUT if I can bullshit down an excuse, it's that I had to do weighted chinups for varsity gym the day before so I was still kinda fatigued.
The curls... The usual sin of doing it in the squat rack, but this time felt much harder than last week - again possibly due to the varsity gym.
Evening - light varsity training session
Last day before our new coach was arriving, enjoyed it by giving as little shit as I could.
Wednesday
Technically, today is my day off from the gym albeit me having varsity lift at 15:30. Also got around 3hrs sleep during the night so I was a walking zombie for most of the day anyway, and me lifting would have caused a huge injury.
Midday - Varsity Gym
How I didn't injure myself - I do not know. I was barely conscious the whole day, and having a class from 19:30 - 22:30 meant I would have to function on caffeine from the word go. It sucked, I half-assed the weights and went through the motions but overall I was left pissed off and mentally fatigued.
Evening - 1st proper training
It sucked $%^&. The caffeine rush died, and I was barely moving, nevermind thinking in the drills. Ran into a wall head first, but I've already learned to live with ~10 brain cells, so I probably did more damage to the wall than to myself. But in actuality I did get dizzy and pulled out after 1 hour for the rest of the day.
If there is anything to get from this other than a laugh at my expense it's: GET YOUR NEEDED HOURS OF REST!
Thursday
Morning - Rippler Overhead Press (OHP) (1hr 15mins)
T1 - OHP: 90Lbs 3x3 4x1
T2 - Close-Grip Bench Press: 100Lbs 5x5
T3a - Incline Dumbbell Press: 42.5Lbs (38 total reps)
T3b - Dumbbell Pullover: 47.5Lbs (42 total reps)
This will be more succinct than the rest because the only lift I want to discuss today was the OHP. It's my least favourite (and coincidentally my worst). I scraped by the 90Lbs and not sure how well my back remained without caving forward. Got it done though, so looking forward to tomorrow morning's deadlift session!
Evening - Varsity Training
It's kinda nice when less than half of the team shows up, get almost nothing done but play games. Just great.
Friday
Morning - Rippler Deadlift (1hr 25mins)
T1 - Deadlift: 275Lbs 3x3, 5x1
T2 - Front Squat: 125Lbs 5x5
T3a - Bent Row: 155Lbs (35 total reps)
T3b - Rear Delt Flyes: 27.5Lbs (46 total reps)
Deadlift is my favourite exercise purely because of how I am still progressing in it pretty quick. Today was intensive though, felt a lot pressure all over. Took some pre-workout (Mr Hyde) to try supplement my tiredness from Thursday but it only really kicked in around the Front Squat, and brought me to a place I really never thought I'd need to go (more than once): the toilet. Those shits were really not warranted and the caffeine sped up the process too much. Outside of that the T2 felt a little too easy, guess I'll be bumping that up a lot next cycle. The T3 movements were pretty uneventful so not much to say.
Now some people may be wondering - why does it take me minimum 1.25hrs to do all the workouts when most people are around 50mins? If you look at my excel doc, you will notice that I have quite substantial core workouts, almost overkill. They take about 30mins to do because I am slow as fuck.
Saturday, November 5, 2016
Saturday, October 29, 2016
Rippler Review (GZCL). Week 1
So this is my weekly write-up of my current workout. The titles will change, to fit the name of the workout (or I'll try to make it sound less boring for my own sake). It's also a way I can keep an informal record of what I do. If I know that I have to write it out, I try to focus more on all of my workout components.
So the first major difference between my old workout and the current one is that there is 4 days instead of 3. I really prefer the new split, enjoy that extra day of lifting. With the end of the first week I might as well also say why I chose this program.
Basically, while doing the gladiator routine I developed a strong liking to the core lifts (squat, bench, and row. Yes - row, deadlift was an accessory in that routine) so was looking at different routines that worked around them. It really came down to a choice between Greyskull's Linear Progression, Jim Wendler's 5/3/1, and some of the GZCL routines. What made me side with the Rippler (and GZCL in general) were a number of small reasons.
Firstly, it's completely free. The first two have a $20 book which is a very integral to the program, while GZCL was all on the website linked above (granted you can buy the book for a whopping $1). So it was really nice that I didn't need to spend money, or time trying to get it in my library. Secondly, the community is awesome! Greyskull didn't really have a backing behind it as such (except for his forum which I didn't find that useful) and Wendler's routine is part of a few on T-Nation, which had nice content and very good support from the member. But what drew me into it was the subreddit. The people we very focused on using the method to best fit their potential, help others in a very courteous manner and generally a very lively bunch. Granted I do have some bias against the bb.com community, but nonetheless all programs I found on it, were either too high a volume, or just not really what I wanted.
With regards to why I picked the Rippler in general - it had the lowest volume. 5 days I have realized (as you'll see below) so both UHF variations were out and the all notorious Jacked & Tanned 2.0 just had me in the gym for too long. As a student I know that gym comes first and study is second, but attending classes is still a thing I technically have to do.
Now without further adieu, my first week of the Rippler.
So overall this week felt a bit like a deload set because of how I finished my full body routine. All of the lifts were around 5-10lbs less than what I finished. I think it's a nice start, and looking forward, it's only going to get more gruesome with all of the AMRAP sets so this is a nice break.
Monday
So the bench was much easier for two reasons: I was doing 5x3 not 6-8x3 and it was 5lbs lighter than before.
The incline and side laterals were both pretty uneventful, and the only interesting exercise was the taboo behind the neck press. Before doing this one I had to do a shit load of research (or looking up YouTube vids while drunk) to decide on how to approach this or if I should scrap it altogether. The consensus I got was that it should NOT be done as a T1/T2 exercise (where you can go for a PR) but can be done as an accessory with little weight and high reps.
Tuesday
Squats are always an interesting even for me because I genuinely suck at them. Even with only 1 set of 45s my ROM is around parallel instead of ass-to-grass. Well doing my half-reps I got the sets done at 265lbs and that was that.
With the T2 stiff-leg deadlift, I have the small issue of having short hamstrings so it's tough getting to the floor even with the barbell. Even though I did it, I still feel I'm not doing it quite right. I'll try get a video going if I can, but need to figure out how with no clamps or training partner to act as a camera-boy.
Pullups, I can't say much about. Only thing I have to mention about the spreadsheet is that I had to manually change the weights, as whatever I would put on, it would keep at BW.
Finally the EZ bar curls. Fun fact, my uni gym doesn't have any EZ bars, but plenty of squat racks. So as one can safely assume, I committed the cardinal sin: I did curls in a squat rack. Did them well, mind you. So I'm happy, and only one person saw me do it.
Thursday
The overhead press has never been a good exercise for me. Probably going to focus more on my shoulders after I finish the first cycle. Got the 85 out of the way, but sadly that's the easiest stepping stone.
The close-grip bench is something I have never done, and underestimated my results quite a bit when doing out the spreadsheet. I initially had myself doing about 70lbs today, but after some quick juggling moved to 95lbs. Still think I could do more but I guess I willhave to wait and see for next week.
The inclines as accessory were interesting for a number of reasons. It was a change of pace from having it as a T2 movement on Monday, and also my preworkout kicked in a little too well. By that I mean after set 1 I almost shit myself, needing a toilet break and having to use the first as a "warmup" set. With regards to preworkouts - I'll do a more detailed post later on, but all I can say right now is, Mr Hyde does something horrible to my intestines that I shit fire and fart mustard gas.
The pullovers I also feel I underestimated a bit with the 45lbs. The other difference is I'm using a dumbbell rather than an EZ bar because of the same reason as Tuesday. Guess that will hop a fair bit forward when I make there-evaluations after the 3 week period.
Friday
Here is where shit hit the fan a bit in terms of the T1 lifting, and because of this I had to make it a 5 day week instead of 4. The compendium has a small error, which is small but messes the deadlift progression quite a bit. I only noticed it after doing it that the deadlift was set at 175, and 275 for week 2. The relevant fix can be found here. So I can't say much about the T1 lift because I had to redo it the next day.
I'm quite happy front squat depth, get a much deeper position. Not too heavy but I like the progression of this lift.
The row was a funny exercise, primarily because in my full body routine it was seen as a core lift, while here it is the direct opposite, a T3 accessory. Honestly, looking back at it now, I like this system better, I feel this exercise is giving me more as an accessory and feel much better after doing it now.
For rear-delt flyes, I can't say much. Got it out of the way and now have to wait for next week.
Saturday
I had to really improvise today's session. Didn't want to go down to just do deadlifts that I had to make up for yesterday. So my plan was the following:
T1: Deadlifts
T2: Seated shoulder press
T3a: Tricep Pulldown
T3b: Standing Calf Raise
Won't say much, except that deadlifts at 260 are harder than 175 (no shit, Sherlock).
The shoulder press was done to hopefully do at least something to help my OHP, and the tricep PD was something I just enjoy (and needed a 3rd exercise).
The standing calf raise is one exercise I really want to sneak into the regular workout as a T3 but no idea where, without making me stay past the 1.5hrs. From today's workout I also realized 5 days is too mentally fatiguing for me, so 4 is my upper limit for now. Well all that's left to do is wait for next week.
So the first major difference between my old workout and the current one is that there is 4 days instead of 3. I really prefer the new split, enjoy that extra day of lifting. With the end of the first week I might as well also say why I chose this program.
Basically, while doing the gladiator routine I developed a strong liking to the core lifts (squat, bench, and row. Yes - row, deadlift was an accessory in that routine) so was looking at different routines that worked around them. It really came down to a choice between Greyskull's Linear Progression, Jim Wendler's 5/3/1, and some of the GZCL routines. What made me side with the Rippler (and GZCL in general) were a number of small reasons.
Firstly, it's completely free. The first two have a $20 book which is a very integral to the program, while GZCL was all on the website linked above (granted you can buy the book for a whopping $1). So it was really nice that I didn't need to spend money, or time trying to get it in my library. Secondly, the community is awesome! Greyskull didn't really have a backing behind it as such (except for his forum which I didn't find that useful) and Wendler's routine is part of a few on T-Nation, which had nice content and very good support from the member. But what drew me into it was the subreddit. The people we very focused on using the method to best fit their potential, help others in a very courteous manner and generally a very lively bunch. Granted I do have some bias against the bb.com community, but nonetheless all programs I found on it, were either too high a volume, or just not really what I wanted.
With regards to why I picked the Rippler in general - it had the lowest volume. 5 days I have realized (as you'll see below) so both UHF variations were out and the all notorious Jacked & Tanned 2.0 just had me in the gym for too long. As a student I know that gym comes first and study is second, but attending classes is still a thing I technically have to do.
Now without further adieu, my first week of the Rippler.
So overall this week felt a bit like a deload set because of how I finished my full body routine. All of the lifts were around 5-10lbs less than what I finished. I think it's a nice start, and looking forward, it's only going to get more gruesome with all of the AMRAP sets so this is a nice break.
Monday
So the bench was much easier for two reasons: I was doing 5x3 not 6-8x3 and it was 5lbs lighter than before.
The incline and side laterals were both pretty uneventful, and the only interesting exercise was the taboo behind the neck press. Before doing this one I had to do a shit load of research (or looking up YouTube vids while drunk) to decide on how to approach this or if I should scrap it altogether. The consensus I got was that it should NOT be done as a T1/T2 exercise (where you can go for a PR) but can be done as an accessory with little weight and high reps.
Tuesday
Squats are always an interesting even for me because I genuinely suck at them. Even with only 1 set of 45s my ROM is around parallel instead of ass-to-grass. Well doing my half-reps I got the sets done at 265lbs and that was that.
With the T2 stiff-leg deadlift, I have the small issue of having short hamstrings so it's tough getting to the floor even with the barbell. Even though I did it, I still feel I'm not doing it quite right. I'll try get a video going if I can, but need to figure out how with no clamps or training partner to act as a camera-boy.
Pullups, I can't say much about. Only thing I have to mention about the spreadsheet is that I had to manually change the weights, as whatever I would put on, it would keep at BW.
Finally the EZ bar curls. Fun fact, my uni gym doesn't have any EZ bars, but plenty of squat racks. So as one can safely assume, I committed the cardinal sin: I did curls in a squat rack. Did them well, mind you. So I'm happy, and only one person saw me do it.
Thursday
The overhead press has never been a good exercise for me. Probably going to focus more on my shoulders after I finish the first cycle. Got the 85 out of the way, but sadly that's the easiest stepping stone.
The close-grip bench is something I have never done, and underestimated my results quite a bit when doing out the spreadsheet. I initially had myself doing about 70lbs today, but after some quick juggling moved to 95lbs. Still think I could do more but I guess I willhave to wait and see for next week.
The inclines as accessory were interesting for a number of reasons. It was a change of pace from having it as a T2 movement on Monday, and also my preworkout kicked in a little too well. By that I mean after set 1 I almost shit myself, needing a toilet break and having to use the first as a "warmup" set. With regards to preworkouts - I'll do a more detailed post later on, but all I can say right now is, Mr Hyde does something horrible to my intestines that I shit fire and fart mustard gas.
The pullovers I also feel I underestimated a bit with the 45lbs. The other difference is I'm using a dumbbell rather than an EZ bar because of the same reason as Tuesday. Guess that will hop a fair bit forward when I make there-evaluations after the 3 week period.
Friday
Here is where shit hit the fan a bit in terms of the T1 lifting, and because of this I had to make it a 5 day week instead of 4. The compendium has a small error, which is small but messes the deadlift progression quite a bit. I only noticed it after doing it that the deadlift was set at 175, and 275 for week 2. The relevant fix can be found here. So I can't say much about the T1 lift because I had to redo it the next day.
I'm quite happy front squat depth, get a much deeper position. Not too heavy but I like the progression of this lift.
The row was a funny exercise, primarily because in my full body routine it was seen as a core lift, while here it is the direct opposite, a T3 accessory. Honestly, looking back at it now, I like this system better, I feel this exercise is giving me more as an accessory and feel much better after doing it now.
For rear-delt flyes, I can't say much. Got it out of the way and now have to wait for next week.
Saturday
I had to really improvise today's session. Didn't want to go down to just do deadlifts that I had to make up for yesterday. So my plan was the following:
T1: Deadlifts
T2: Seated shoulder press
T3a: Tricep Pulldown
T3b: Standing Calf Raise
Won't say much, except that deadlifts at 260 are harder than 175 (no shit, Sherlock).
The shoulder press was done to hopefully do at least something to help my OHP, and the tricep PD was something I just enjoy (and needed a 3rd exercise).
The standing calf raise is one exercise I really want to sneak into the regular workout as a T3 but no idea where, without making me stay past the 1.5hrs. From today's workout I also realized 5 days is too mentally fatiguing for me, so 4 is my upper limit for now. Well all that's left to do is wait for next week.
Wednesday, October 26, 2016
What I am and Why am I Blogging
So I might as well start by introducing myself. Am I some high profile athlete or bodybuilder writing about my experiences and advice for future lifters? No. I'm just a dude living his college years in the capital of nowhere - Ithaca, NY.
I'm a current student athlete on the squash team with my best years behind me, that being 14 and being in the top 10 in the European under 15 rankings. I slept, breathed, and ate squash. But recently I have developed a new love for the gym and powerlifting. I can proudly say that I could bench the bar last September and squat 45 plates by January - and all thanks to not having any program. It's only around August that I did a reality check and noticed that I was a whopping 140lbs and 5'9", which simply put means I was scrawny as ****. Don't get me wrong, I am still as narcissistic as before, but at least now I pretend to know what I'm doing with greater confidence.
I started with the Gladiator routine and my lifts increased significantly. Around 200lbs added to squats, 100 to bench, and I actually did deadlifts. I started a new program recently, the rippler, that's part of the gzcl compendium (Relevant blog which I strongly recommend reading). Now this isn't a program per se, or even a sketch for your own workout. It's a way of life. But all jokes aside, I really felt that this program is more intuitive and enjoyable for me as a whole. That's about it for who I am, guess from writing more of these posts I may share some more details that I never really considered that important at the time of writing.
So you can probably guess by now that I am going to do this blog about fitness and lifting. While I'm not a professional so can't give any revolutionary posts about secret stuff I have done to get me from zero to jacked and tanned in a year, I do want to share whatever I know and my ideas about being an athlete, a student, and an avid gym-goer. With regards to the reasoning, I just want to see what I know and what others think of my ideas. Also my blog-writing skills suck, so I am practicing by doing this and hopefully will learn some writing skills in the process.
I'm a current student athlete on the squash team with my best years behind me, that being 14 and being in the top 10 in the European under 15 rankings. I slept, breathed, and ate squash. But recently I have developed a new love for the gym and powerlifting. I can proudly say that I could bench the bar last September and squat 45 plates by January - and all thanks to not having any program. It's only around August that I did a reality check and noticed that I was a whopping 140lbs and 5'9", which simply put means I was scrawny as ****. Don't get me wrong, I am still as narcissistic as before, but at least now I pretend to know what I'm doing with greater confidence.
I started with the Gladiator routine and my lifts increased significantly. Around 200lbs added to squats, 100 to bench, and I actually did deadlifts. I started a new program recently, the rippler, that's part of the gzcl compendium (Relevant blog which I strongly recommend reading). Now this isn't a program per se, or even a sketch for your own workout. It's a way of life. But all jokes aside, I really felt that this program is more intuitive and enjoyable for me as a whole. That's about it for who I am, guess from writing more of these posts I may share some more details that I never really considered that important at the time of writing.
So you can probably guess by now that I am going to do this blog about fitness and lifting. While I'm not a professional so can't give any revolutionary posts about secret stuff I have done to get me from zero to jacked and tanned in a year, I do want to share whatever I know and my ideas about being an athlete, a student, and an avid gym-goer. With regards to the reasoning, I just want to see what I know and what others think of my ideas. Also my blog-writing skills suck, so I am practicing by doing this and hopefully will learn some writing skills in the process.
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