Red Deck - Lifting for Destruction

Rehashing an old favorite from earlier this year. 

WEEK 1-3

1. Dips and rows

AM - Strength

• R Dip 6x3, rest pause last set (ex: 5,3,2)
• R row 6x3, rest pause last set (ex: 5,3,2)

 PM - Hypertrophy

• BW Dip, BW Row (ladders or downs)
• Tri ext, curls, delts

2. Condition 

3. OFF

4. Pushups and pullups 

AM - Strength

• R pushup 6x3, rest pause last set (ex: 5,3,2)
• R chinup 6x3, rest pause last set (ex: 5,3,2)

 PM - Hypertrophy

• BW pushup, BW chinup (ladders or downs)
• Tri ext, curls, delts

5. Condition

6. OFF

WEEK 4 - Deload

Straight sets 6x3 50% week 3 weight

DAILY

BSS - add 1-5 reps/leg per day

Ab wheel, as needed

Injury, Attitude, and Repeating Mistakes

I want to reflect for a bit. I had an article queued up about differences in training between my 20s and my 30s, but then I got hurt. I got hurt doing something I would have specifically called out as fucking stupid in the article I didn't finish writing. I'm really trying to figure out what I'm frustrated about with this entire debacle, because getting hurt is unfortunately part of the game. It doesn't matter if you exert yourself physically or otherwise. Injury can find you.

For a quick preamble before the bulleted list, I fucked up my neck and my right knee. My left arm has been completely numb for days (although that is almost completely turned around) and I feel a sharp pull in my right knee when it bends under weight. 

My thoughts from this last shitty week:

• My immediate thought was I'm fucked and it's not going to get better. This is a loser mentality. A 'war story bro' mentality. So what if my most of my body is out of commission, my left leg is fine. What's to stop me from racking up obscene amounts of volume with my left leg while the rest of me heals? Absolutely nothing. I'm not an invalid. I'm just acting like one.
• I've been seeing a neck injury coming for weeks. Instead of, I don't know, actively working on making it stronger for once, I kept hammering in on compound moves that I know are tough on my neck and traps.
• Once the initial neck injury happened, I doubled down and did farmers walks to stretch out the area. This no doubt both made the initial problem worse as well as incited the knee fun I'm experiencing.
• For the longest time, I have no programming. I'm lost at sea.

So where do we go from here? I'm in a weird spot where it's not a great age to take large risks or to ignore nagging pains. I had the right idea with one of my workout ideas (which I promptly abandoned after a week) where I could alternate heavy and light blocks of movements. 

Light (4 week blocks)

• Calisthenics.
• High volume.
• High frequency (2x / day). 

Heavy (4 week blocks)

• Weighted calisthenics, barbell squats, and barbell deads.
• Medium volume.
• Medium frequency.

The keys I'm missing are consistency and training for longevity. If I want a chance in hell in being in good shape when I'm a father, I need to abandon my chaotic approach to programming. There's a time and a place for chaos, and that's for conditioning. I can engage with the plan above and not exclude sandbags, farmers, kegs, whatever. I just need to be smarter with them. When I'm introducing chaos to my routine every week, I'm not correspondingly listening to what my body is saying. And bubbee, it was screaming before I got hurt. 

bodyweight leg curl (rings): underratted assistance movement

Digging up a gem from Ben Bruno to splurge a little bit. Back when i was on a steady diet of calisthenics + carries something weird happened. My legs and rear got bigger. Way bigger. All the while without me putting on fat.

The problem with having a routine with a ton of variety is you have no idea what was poison versus what worked. I didnt use weights. So what the fuck was it? Was it bulgarian split squat jumps? Was it farmers walks? Was it nordic hamstring curls?

Ive had a few months to try these things out in isolation. The verdict is bss jumps dont make my legs bigger, farmers walks are good for everything but tend to be a multipler stimulus for other movements (i.e. an rpg support class), and nordics dont do shit.

The other party member i had was an old friend - bodyweight leg curls suspended from rings (holding rings with my hands). They are supremely underrated and here is why:

- lower back friendly. Unlike RDL's (great movement, but erectors tend to be the weak link) your hamstrings and ass are the limiting factors.

- loadable: add a weighted vest. use one leg. Elevate your legs higher. Hold the top contraction longer.

- great 'feeler' movement. I get immediate feedback that this is making my backside bigger and stronger.

- mother fuckin hyyyypertrophy. There were many variables tied to my size increases, but they were most pronounced with high volume leg curls.

work capacity maximum

Edit: The day after

Everything is sore. I'm full on tired. I did not eat enough to support this level of volume.

I still love this concept.

Edit: a week after. Everything is stronger because of this session. I think the right way to play this is to come back to bw only 10 to 20yrs down the line if my joints require the break. 

This idea: I guess i want my heart to explode. Seriously, my blood is pumping and i didnt even do the entire thing in a single bound.

The course correct back to pure calisthenics for upper body is:

- it's enjoyable af. 

- it's easy on the joints.

- everything else is not agreeing with my body right now no matter how light. For real, a 35lb dumbbell press damn near injured my neck.

- this fits in nice and easy with a fasting schedule.

Lower body? You keep doin what you were doing baby. With the exception of nordic curls, all of the bodyweight leg stuff was doing fuckall for me except making my hips angry.

Tu/Th/Sat

(Opt) Breathing squat 1x20

Circuit 3-8x

Lower - kb swing or nordic 

Upper - switch push and pull in a giant mechanical dropset

Mon/wed/fri: fast, sled work

Example circuit:

Nordic x amap or kb swing x10

Ring dips, rest 20s

Ring pullups, rest 20s

Ring pike pu, rest 20s

Ring pullups band assist, rest 20s

Ring pu, rest 20s

Close ring pullups band assist, rest 20s

Bar dips, rest 20s

Bar parallel pullups, rest 20s

Close bar dips, rest 20s

Bar parallel pullups band assist, rest 20s

Pushups, rest 20s

Ring rows, rest 20s

Tri ext, rest 20s

Bicep focus partial pullups

Rest 3-4min

So ya, lots of work and long fucking sets. I didn't plan this out, and no two circuits were exactly alike. In general, i moved from harder moves to easier moves. That's it.

kratos dominoose: high frequency, alpha destiny inspired

Schedule

Sunday: Calisthenics, conditioning, quick and the dead

Monday: Rest

Tuesday: Heavy

Wednesday: Calisthenics, conditioning, quick and the dead

Thursday: Rest

Friday: Light

Saturday: Calisthenics, conditioning, quick and the dead

Heavy/Light Days

- 3 movements, 15min block per exercise

- Movement 1 is dynamic: power clean, snatch HP, DB snatch, push press, BTNPP

- Movement 2 is a squat: BSS jump, FS, ZS

- Movement 3 is a pull: RDL, seated row

- Heavy days: Sets of 1-3

- Light days: Sets of 6-12

Calisthenics, conditioning, quick and the dead

- If doing quick and the dead swings, do them first for power.

- Calisthenics can be ladders or countdowns. Get in a fuckton of volume on basic movements. 

- Randomize calisthenics movements and conditioning. Figuring it out on the actual lift day is great.

Example calisthenics

Ladder ring pullups 1,2,...,10 super set bar dips 2,4,...,20. Try to eliminate all rest.

Countdown bar dips 20,19,...,1. 60s rest between sets.

Example conditioning

Sled drag, run back to start, keg carry. Rest 30-60 seconds.

Sandbag highpull x4, sandbag zercher carry. Rest 30-60 seconds.

Any of Chandler Marchman's kettlebell conditioning. Post with growing list.

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.