olad: linear progression (all muscle groups)

Writing this shit down as it comes. Too often I find myself grasping for a concept i fleshed out and poo poo'd. Ive been grateful for the few times ive actually catalogued my training because it's been great to look back on and analyze.

AM: Conditioning

- not optional.

- Chandler Marchmans kettlebell routines work great here, but anything made up on the spot works period. The more alien the better.

- do not repeat workouts close to each other.

- avoid excessive lower back strain (heavy farmers carries are a no go).

PM: OLAD

- optional. Skip days when absolutely wrecked or feeling low/depressed from overreaching.

- stop sets before you hit grinders.

- (until top set = 5 reps) top setxamap,  volume sets, 1xpump set.

- (when top set <= 5 reps) 10x3 or 12x2 straight weight.

- (when 10x3 or 12x2 fails) switch movements

Example week

Mon: ring chinup

Tues: rdl

Wed: ring dip

Thurs: jump squat

Fri: rope climb

Sat: db clean and press 

Note: weekend dates are great for farmers because of added recovery. Likewise, hybrid explosive speed strength moves (snatches, clean and presses, high pulls) go well here.

kettlebell conditioning : chandler marchman collection

Creating a data dump for all kettlebell conditioning ideas I've liked and used from Chandler Marchmans YouTube channel. These fit in great as post workout finishers, or a post power workout finisher.

Unless otherwise stated, every exercise is completed in a series with 5 reps. Each series is completed 2-5 times with 2-3 min rest.

Shoulders builder, 6/18/21

Link

Offset z press, each arm

Clean and press, each arm

Lateral pushups

Pushups on kettlebell

Goblet walk (50ft)

Two handed swing

Deadlift

Legs 11/20/20

Pause goblet squat ss reverse lunge x10

Two handed swing x10

Dead x10

Link

Note: do not underestimate this one. A 45lb kettlebell whipped my ass. I took at least one break per set. The last set felt like a max effort every rep. This works great right now in lieu of a quad focused day 

Legs 7/4/21

Goblet squat, deadlift
3x5 goblet
3x5 dead
3x3 goblet
3x3 dead
3x1 goblet
3x1 dead
Rest and repeat 2 more times
Each intra set uses a different weight
Ex: 3x5 goblet means
1x5 weight 1, 1x5 weight 2, 1x5 weight 3

Link

morning conditioning 6/28/21

10min

3 box jumps

10 step ups (per side)

10 pushups

This was great. Woke me up without grinding me down into paste.

olad : pulls and squats only

I've never liked pressing. For me, it's the last kid picked for a frisbee game. Fuck, ive got to place Carl on a team. He's gonna slow down whatever team he's on but i cant just leave him on the sidelines playing Pokemon. 

It's not even the movements that irk me necessarily. Explosive presses in particular are fun af and i see a direct transfer to my shoulders when i put in the effort. The nagging feeling is i feel like they are taking away from the things i really want to do. If i could run cleans and snatches until the end of time i totally would (disclaimer: and still have nasty shoulders and triceps). 

Here's the test. Im not saying Carl can't play, but he's not exactly on the team. Ive toyed around with one lift a day (olad) in the past and absolutely adored it. The limiting factor always becomes my ability to recover. A lot of this stems from heavy pressing and utilizing rest pause a little too much to drive volume.

New test: 

- olad with upper body pulls and squats 

- alternate lower upper

- avoid failure most of the time

- swap movements when one stalls

Carl still gets hit daily after olad: 

- different press variation and ab wheel.

- Grease the groove method in play. Stop well before failure every set.

Sample week

Mon: 

- glute ham raises

- hspu

Tues:

- ring chinups

- pushups

Wed: 

- bss (left leg)

- rear delt raise (left)

Thurs:

- ring rows

- db press (left)

Fri:

- bss (right leg)

- rear delt raise (right)

Sat:

- rope climbs

- db press (right)

Sun: rest

Sets and rep schems will not be found here. Generally, start with a higher weight set, get in some medium weight volume, and end with lower weight higher volume. If you want to add 1 set of extremely light minor accessory (see: curls) this wont break the bank.

10min conditioning can and should be added daily where possible.

In terms of progression, it doesn't matter too much. Add weight every few weeks or strive for more reps. Swap a move when it gets boring or stuck. Ez.

pezutti wisconsin

Lean into it

Morning

Ring dip 100x1, 55x2x2

Kb swing 3 rounds 40s on / 20s off, 20kg

Afternoon

Upper body pull medley

condition | sandbag hp and bw squat | very minute on the minute

I greatly regret basing my reps off of the first set. 

1st set

3 sandbag high pulls

6 bw squats

Internal monologue: well i barely felt that. Am i coddling myself? Has the bitch not left mah soul? 

Sstan: double it

Internal monologue: yeshhhhh mah mashterrrr

Min 1 - 10

5 sandbag high pulls 

10 bw squats

By minute 5 i yearned for death. This was a great end to an upper body workout. Doing high pulls with the sandbag is money because there doesnt have to be a concentric. I just drop the fucker on my feet.

How to:

Every minute on the minute do

5 sandbag high pulls

10 bodyweight squats

The faster you finish your sets, the more rest you have before the next set. This was surprisingly brutal.

calisthenics: push legs pull legs (repeat)

It's not like it sounds. 

I want to work out every day. If im going balls to the walls with the same muscle groups daily, that can't happen. If i do ring work too often, my hands get ripped up. Theres got to be a medium.

Enter the bro split version of calisthenics. Typically PPL (push pull legs), I'm interspacing legs in the mix much more often to give my hands a break. 

Break each phase into 2 month long cycles: hypertrophy and strength

Hypertrophy phase: bw only on push and pull 

Pull 

Legs

Push

Legs

Repeat

Push and pull hypertrophy 

4-5 movements, 5x10 per movement, avoid failure

Start with difficult movements, move towards easier

10s-60s rest between sets

2min rest between exercises

End with isolation (shoulders, bi or tri)

Legs hypertrophy 

1-2x lift per day

Quick and the dead (kb swings and pushups)

Conditioning 

Strength phase: weighted calisthenics 

Stick with ring dips and ring chinups

1st Push/pull

Legs

Off

2nd push/pull

Legs

Off

Repeat

Push and pull strength 

1st push/pull 1x3, 3x8 (autoregulate weight)

2nd push/pull 5x5

Legs strength

Same as hypertrophy 

Add in glute ham raises and trap high pulls

power calisthenics 2 x electric boogaloo

Found a full body split works great with this template, but as an added bonus splitting movements into planes per day.

Who does this workout work for?

• Goal is to train for general strength and hypertrophy (not maximal in either respect).
• Mobility and joint health.
• Enjoy working the same muscle groups with a high frequency.

What equipment is needed?

• Any type of suspension trainer would be great (rings, trx knockoffs, homemade trainers).
• Pullup bar. This can be nixed if you have a suspension trainer that hangs high enough.
• Dip bar.
• Cinder blocks and a chair. Use cement to anchor the chair when doing jump bulgarian split squats.

What happens when I can do too many reps on the hardest variation? I don't want to train for endurance!

Hey! This is a great problem to have! If you get to the point where you are knocking out 15-20 rep sets on the hardest bodyweight variation of an exercise, then you have a few options:

• Add weight to the current exercise (conversely, add a 5lb vest and do the same workout).
• Decrease the stability of the current exercise.
• Add a new (harder) variation before the one you have mastered.

2 week mesocycle

Week1

Monday

Morning - Dip variations | Row variations | Bulgarian split squat variations

Afternoon (optional) - Conditioning

Diet: High protein and high calorie. Get in as much quality food as possible.

Tuesday: OFF

Diet: Fast until 5-8p. 

Wednesday:  

Morning - Pullup variations | Pushup variations | Bulgarian split squat variations

Afternoon (optional) - Conditioning

Diet: High protein and high calorie. Get in as much quality food as possible.

Thursday: OFF

Diet: Fast until 5-8p. 

Friday: Same as Monday

Saturday: OFF

Don't worry about diet, just don't be a weekend asshole.

Sunday:

Morning or afternoon - fuckin whatever man. Play. Do whatever feels right.

• Landmine push presses
• Sandbag pendlay rows
• Landmine lateral raises
• Tris and bi's
• Yoke walk
• Farmers walk  

Don't worry about diet, just don't be a weekend asshole.

Week2

Monday: OFF

Diet: Fast until 5-8p. 

Tuesday: 

Morning - Pullup variations | Pushup variations | Bulgarian split squat variations

Afternoon (optional) - Conditioning

Diet: High protein and high calorie. Get in as much quality food as possible.

Wednesday:  OFF

Diet: Fast until 5-8p. 

Thursday: 

Morning - Dip variations | Row variations | Bulgarian split squat variations

Afternoon (optional) - Conditioning

Diet: High protein and high calorie. Get in as much quality food as possible.

Friday: OFF

Diet: Fast until 5-8p. 

Saturday: Morning or afternoon - fuckin whatever man. Play. Do whatever feels right.

• Landmine push presses
• Sandbag pendlay rows
• Landmine lateral raises
• Tris and bi's
• Yoke walk
• Farmers walk  

Don't worry about diet, just don't be a weekend asshole.

Sunday:OFF

Don't worry about diet, just don't be a weekend asshole.

power x calisthenics

Thought process was driven in part by what i wanted to buy next in the gym - a kensui weight vest or farmers handles. Ive been feeling lost with weighted calisthenics and found with weighted carries, so handles it is.

The idea is this:

- carry heavy stuff

- calisthenics workouts are bw only

No set and rep schemes on the calisthenics work. Start with a hard version of a kinetic chain, and move to easier exercises as the workout progresses.

Split is still

1. Push/squat

2. Pull/hinge

3. Carry

4. Rest or repeat

Workout push example: 35min

Note: all push and legs sets are super setted with 1min rest 

Ring archer pushups: 3,3,2,2,1

Ring dips: 9,8,7,7,3

Pseudo planche pushup: 1

Ring pushups: 10,6,4

Dips: 10,7,5

Close tri ext: 12,8

Rrg grip tri ext: 10,8

Knee squinx pu: 10,8

Bss jump; 12,8,8,8,7,5

Bss: 21,15,13,12,10,8

Reverse nordic curl: 10,10,8,3

Garage Gym Update x Next Equipment

 Picked up a barbell, 195lbs of weights, and swing straps. Noticed a couple of things right away.

• I still should NOT do cleans/snatches. This is annoying. My lower back is SORE after 5 easy sets of RDL's alone.
• Weighted carries with the swing straps kicks copious amounts of ass. I likely.
• Farmers walks with bands are surprisingly hard due to the bounce factor. The only thing i don't like it they are difficult to load and to grip. 70lbs per hand is about as much as I can do right now.

I did want to get a kensui vest queued up next, but I'm not so sure it's next in the lineup. Possible:

• More weights.
• Mini farmers handles.

timed x rest pause

 Really enjoying this variation of rest pause. Instead of taking a clean number of sets, reps, rest periods, or rest pause periods, just set a timer and get to work.

All sets can approach failure without going to failure. Set a rep goal for the time period you use and increase the weight if you hit your goal. I also found a conjugate/concurrent method of lifting (see: heavy day | lighter/volume day) works really well with this type of rest pause. Going heavy all the time is great, but I need to back off way sooner than if I relegate 1 heavy day a week.

Example:

Ring dips | Heavy | 5min | Rep goal 20

9 , 5 , 4 , 3 , 2 , 2 , 1  = 26 reps, increase weight next time 

dont miss days

Ive got that voice in the back of my head that wants me to not do anything. We all do. This voice has speech level 70. It threatens, it bargains, and it complains. I hear it the loudest on my off days.

"

Hey man, youre fasting today. Dont do anything. 

Arent you afraid of impacting your lifting tomorrow?

"

Cool story bro.

Something is always better than nothing. And that something is activity, not necessarily lifting. I get wrapped up in 'everything is training' when its more accurate to say training is training. Everything else is staying healthy and mobile. 

Off day activity can be easy and it can be short. Personally it hypes me up for the day. And i really. Really. Really dont think 10 to 15min of conditioning is bad for anyone regardless of fasted status.

Examples

60min brisk walk

10min light farmers walk

15min heavy farmers walk

15min medley of 3 bodyweight exersies (3,6,9 rep cadence)

Strongman medley: keg carry, farmers carry, sandbag carry

push pull splits : the best

Ive been on and off push pull splits for near a decade. I consistently make my best gains with them until i decide to sabotage and derail a good thing. It's real simple.

Day1: presses, squats

Day2: pulls, hamstrings or deadlifts

Day3: off

Day4: off or repeat

Add a brief conditioning session after each workout. Baby, youve got a stew. Conditioning as a separate day feels kind of wasted. Not because theyre not useful, but because im warmed and ready to go by the time theyre over. Id rather start in a hole and go from there.

Post workout, accessories can be linked in during the day. For press this is triceps, shoulders, and quads. For pull, this is biceps, shoulders, lats, and hams. Isometrics and abs can be any day. Ez.

Example

Push1

Ring dips rest pause x 3

Step ups x 9 (one set per rest pause)

Condition

...After, sets of

Bw tri extensions, different grips

Ring extensions

Band shoulders

Abs

Reverse lunge

Iso

Pull1

Ring rows rest pause x3

Hamstrings x 9 (one set per rest pause)

Condition 

...after, sets of

One leg rdl

Bw pullups, different grips

Ring curls

Abs

Iso

Push2

Ring pushups rest pause x3

(Same as push1)

Pull2

Ring pullups rest pause x3

(Same as pull1)

Other variables:

Switch push or pull movements if bored

Switch progression schemes periodically (ex: clusters, top sets and backoff)

Conditioning changes every session

Off means off

Recovery, fasting, walks, and god damn suction cups.

single max(ish) | single clusters | volume | accessory

 Dips. 

A metric fuckton of dips is what I did. Using cluster training as a base with some volume to back it up.

Dips yo

Max(ish) BW+105x1, 10-20lbs left in the tank. Slow but not a ginder.

Singles BW+75x1x15. Controlled negative. Explosive concentric. Done in about 12min rest as needed.

BW+30 x4x8. This is how many sets it took before I couldn't get 8 reps. ~20-30s rest.

BWx12,11,10,9,8,7. ~20s rest.

Total volume: 105 reps. Couple more counting warmups.

Accessory:

Lateral band raise 1xamap multiple lengths

BW tricep extensions x20,10, had to stop right tri is not ok with this.

poliquin clusters

It's been a long fucking time since i just used singles. Boy oh boy did i miss them. I dont know if it's just working with a heavier weight or feeling shaky while still energized post workout, but singles rock.

I used poliquin singles, a type of rest pause, so i could still get in some inverted rowing volume. Accessory post main lift was normal.

Workout

Fat grip Dips 65lbs

4 clusters of 5 singles

20s rest between singles

3min rest between clusters 

Every cluster ends with a single set of inverted rows 1xamap 50lbs

Accessory

Rear delt, bands 

Close tri bw extension

Front delt, bands

Tri bw extension

isometrics only workout

Ive never done this period. 

Isometrics are a little bit of a leap of faith due to the information on them. They work. They dont. Use short holds. Use holds of 30 to 60 seconds. Yielding isometrics! No....overcoming isometrics....

Cool guys. Cool.

Why am i even entertaining this as an idea? Couple reasons:

- i love when my goals line up with someone else's philosophy and results. Said person has a single $1 pdf he released with a 50 day program (he doesnt make his living off youtube or writing)

- i want to work out more often. This isnt possible with classic weighted calisthenics without comprimising strength and my sanity. I tend to get depressed when i train too much. Isometrics are short training sessions needing little recovery.

- this doesnt change my current 2 hard workouts per week.

- ive got little to lose. If this works for strength and size, i get a low cost accessory to training. If it doesnt, i lose 30min a week on something that is still great for prehab.

The schedule is said pdf is

Day1: isometrics, condition

Day2: strength (heavy), core

Day3: isometrics, condition

Day4: strength (explosive or volume), core

Day5: off

This plays rather well into my long term goals.

- strong goal: hit sub 12% bodyfat

- strong goal: 1 standing ab wheel rollout

- weak goal: forget what being tired is like

 

calisthenics only workout

My usual insomnia hit at 330a and it had only been 1 rest day since my last weighted dip session. How tired could i be?

Turns out pretty fucking wrecked. I worked up to a single shaky rep with 75lbs before calling it quits. What resulted after was a breath of fresh air and may become my new rotation if i can use it to lift more frequently.

Enter calisthenics only. Mentally way easier than adding weight. The goal was to find ways to still make this tough.

Ring dips 16,12,9,10

Ring Archer pushups 3,2,1

Ring pushups 18,12,6

Accessory with shoulders and triceps

1min rest between all sets

Notes

Archer pushups are way harder than ring dips. They go first next time.

Rest longer (2 to 3min) between exercises. The goal on this day should be massive volume.

Add more exercises: incline ring pu, bar dips, pushups, pseudo planche pushups.

today was a solid fuckin win

Maybe I didn't highlight my last post enough. Or concentrated too much on the conditioning aspect of that conditioning workout. I want to emphasize what a big deal today was for me. For the last 2 years I've been freaked out to dance, sprint, or otherwise frolic for fear of messing up my back and knees. 

Today I ran. I RAN. And I'm pain free. Both during and after. I'm so happy right now. Basic shit is now back on the menu.

conditioning | sprints sleds and kettlmobiles

It's been a long ass time since ive run full speed. I truly dont even remember when. And this sucks. Because my speed was always something i was proud of and cultivated. Even without sprints, i felt a direct correlation to oly lifts and my ability to dance like a fiend.

Remove cleans and who the fuck am i? As ive gotten older, ive started to covet things i didnt have ti fight for a few years ago. Mainly speed and power. On the flipside, my conditioning has always kind of sucked. Ive had rare moments where i didnt gas out first, but those moments were rare and subsidised with substances. Enter more conditioning.

Im pressing for conditioning on my non upper body days. This means ive got to choose movements that do not interfere with my ability to press and pull weight the next day. Today this meants a lot of movement training.

5 rounds as fast as possible

Sled push driveway x 2

Sprint lawn x 2

Kb suitcase carry lawn x 2

conditioning | bw + sandbags

Been getting a little complacent with my conditioning over the past few weeks. The cards method is awesome and im not ditching it, but ive gotten way too good at running through the deck. It aint hard right now unless i go through the deck twice.

Todays conditioning:

Rounds of 60s, 45s, 30s, 15s

Each round

1. Reverse lunge left

2. Reverse lunge right

3. Bw squat

4. Sandbag dead

Reset timer to next round and immediately start.

Ex

60s lunge, 10s rest

60s lunge, 10s rest

60s squat, 10s rest

60s dead, 10s rest

Reset timer to 45s rounds

45s lunge, 10s rest

...

And so on