Having a great week - been going above and beyond on my main lifts, though my lowback had been sore/achy and it's been affecting my deadlift.

I didn't stick to my strict rep scheme this week because I was feeling really hungry. I'm happy I stepped it up.

On my bench day:
1 x 8 x 135
3 x 4 x 185
4 x 3 x 195
6 x 2 x 205 (I actually lost count and may have done 7 sets instead of 6)

Squat day (yesterday):
1 x 10 x 145
1 x 4 x 195
1 x 3 x 235
3 x 4 x 235
4 x 3 x 255
1 x 2 x 285

Working on my intake during the day before working out has had a great impact on my workouts. Eating a big bowl of oatmeal daily has been making a big difference. Also been sleeping better as well.

Current weight: 206 lbs.

Had a GREAT ohp workout last night. Continuing with this 12-rep workup scheme I've been on, did 3 x 4 x 115 then 4 x 3 x 125 and finished off with a heavy double of 1 x 2 x 135 (PR)

My previous 1RM overhead was 135 so to hit it for a double after being gassed from 24 reps of heavy weight was really gratifying. After that I did 5 x 8 x 155 pause bench press. My programming only calls for 24 reps but the weight felt light and I was full of energy so I kept going.

After that I did a sweet upper body circuit - upright plate rows, face pulls, and dips. I got the biggest chest pump I've ever felt after doing all those. Weight: 205.4 lbs.

Feeling great. Feeling stronger.

Another great week this week. My upper body lifts seem to be going really well. My lower body movements are also making progress, just not as fast. My low back has been a little achy the past couple weeks and that has been affecting my DL but I've been pushing through it.

Making insane progress on my OHP. So as I said in the above post my previous OHP workout I did 1 x 2 x 135 which was actually a PR as prior to that 135 was my 1RM. I attempted a second set of 2 but failed on the second rep so called it quits there. Well last night I did the exact same workout but hit 7 x 2 x 135. Still sitting right around 205 for weight.

My bench day this past weekend I did 3 x 4 x 185, 4 x 3 x 195, 5 x 2 x 205 and last set did 3 x 205. Really happy with my progress on those lifts. My squat is feeling good too though I still fatigue easily when hitting volume.

Next training week I will up all my training weights 5-10 lbs, do that for another 4 weeks, then retest 1RM's.

Yesterday's work out marked the start of week 5 of re-starting my GZCL program. I upped the weight/reps of my bench press workout and I can tell my lifts are going up it has me excited.

Bench press - 2 x 10 x 135
3 x 5 x 185
4 x 3 x 205

Those sets of 185 felt great, which is exactly what this method is supposed to achieve. I took a weight that I could do but was challenging at about 3 reps, and now I can blast out sets of 5 with good technique. The rest of my work out was:

Incline bench press (45 degree) - 3 x 10 x 115

Pull over complex 21's - 3 x 7 x 50 >superset> facepulls - 3 x 10 x 80 >superset> dips 3 x 10 (last set failed at 8)

I also did 5 x 5 pull ups through out workout. Mostly supersetted between my bench press sets. This program has been making a huge difference in my upper body movements, but I am seeing slow progress in lower body, especially dead lift. I think it is partially my own fault as I may have picked too high of a weight to train with, and the fact that I have had low-back soreness for over a week now has not been helping either.

Have not done a lot to my diet but I am still gaining weight. Last night weight was 207 lbs.

Good squat workout last night. Upped my weight/rep scheme as per my programming.

Squat - 2 x 8 x 145
1 x 4 x 235
3 x 4 x 255

I still have some lingering tension in my left groin from when I sprained it months ago. I can tell most when I warm up and rotate my hips around. Not a show stopper but it's still there. After squats I did some walking lunges with a 55 lbs. bar held overhead (brutal) then a circuit of leg press, calf raises, and hamstring raises. I also did sets of 5 pulls ups inbetween each set of lunges. Weight = 204.6 lbs. Interesting how I fluctuated 2 and a half pounds since the night before. I certainly ate less yesterday before my workout, and must have had a hardy shit or two.

OHP later today.

The weight fluctuations can be something as simple as water weight. Always used to take advantage of that when I wrestled because water weight can fluctuate a few lbs up or down day.

You're probably right. Weight myself yesterday after OHP and was 205.6 lbs.

Showing gains in my OHP still. As per cycle #2 of GZCL, I upped my weight for OHP and did:

1 x 8 x 95
1 x 4 x 115
3 x 4 x 125
4 x 3 x 130
6 x 2 x 135

I'm thinking 150lbs OHP is in my grasp, maybe even more if I keep showing steady progress like I have been.

I took today off to let my back rest. Next workout is supposed to be deadlift but I think I might take it east as I'm still feeling a fair amount of lower back tightness. Have a plate coming over in just a bit to give me a massage in fact so hopefully that helps. I should ice/heat it to try and relax the muscle.

Took it easy on DL day.
1 x 8 x 135
2 x 4 x 225
3 x 4 x 275
2 x 3 x 295 (back started bothering me so I stopped there)

Need to do something about this lower back pain/rightness. I've been told rolling out glutes with a lacrosse ball does magic so I suppose I'll try that. This is going on a couple weeks now this is ridiculous.

Been having a lackluster past couple of workouts, but still managed a rep PR of 3 x 135 OHP a couple night ago. 150 OHP seems in my grasp. Also bought a pack of lacrosse balls a couple days ago to start rolling out my glutes and maybe relieve this low back pain/tightness I've been experiencing. Today is DL day again and I see myself taking it easy yet again. Sucks because this has been fucking up my gains for deadlift.

Hey man, keep up the good work !

About your lower back rightness(tightness ?)/pain, I've injured my back doing DL last year, and it took me almost 7 months to get back to where i was before, if you're feeling pain, keep it light resist the urge to go heavy, it's best for you in the long run..

Have you seen this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6c1l7de0oBE ? Mobility is very important for your health, especially when you start to go heavy, this video helped me a lot and I didn't have any problem with pain since my last injury.

Also, try to do some lower back extensions with high reps 20-30, and posterior chain leg work, they will help you not lose your strenght even with you not going as heavy on the DL's..

Good luck with that, back pain sucks

^ Thanks man I'm watching it now. Also watched a couple videos from Elliot Hulse and Alan thrall talking about fixing anterior pelvic tilt (I have a little bit of it) and working on corrective DL form. I guess I shouldn't feel bad about letting my DL stagnate in light of possibly fucking my back up more.

On my DL days I'm focusing more on accessory/isolation movements to strengthen my upper back, glutes, and hamstrings.

Had a killer bench day last night, and hit a PR. Loving this progress.

Bench Press - 1 x 8 x 95
1 x 8 x 135
1 x 5 x 185
1 x 3 x 205
1 x 2 x 225
3 x 4 x 195
4 x 3 x 205

Seated DB Press - 1 x 8 x 45
2 x 8 x 50

The rest of my work out was a crazy upper body circuit:
Tricep Cable Pull Down w/ Rope - 3 x 12 x 90 >SS> Face pulls 3 x 12 x 90 >SS> Shrugs 3 x 15 x 180 >SS> Dip 3 x 12 >SS> Dumbell Curl 2 x 15 x 25/concentration curl 1 x 12 x 25

Finished the night with weight decline crunches 3 x 12 x 30

Weight: 205 lbs.

Last night I was reminded of something H1N1 said before about my current "bad days" being better than my past "good days" - last night was one of those nights.

My lowback soreness has been nagging me and I was especially tired last night for some reason when getting to the gym, which spells for a shitty squat day. Still managed to have a great workout:

Squat - 2 x 8 x 145
4 x 4 x 235
4 x 3 x 255
1 x 2 x 275 (didn't really hit depth on these reps)

Leg press 21's - 3 x 7 x 290 >SS> Calf Raise > 3 x 12 x 290 >SS> Shrugs - 3 x 15 x 180

Leg Curl - 3 x 12 x 40 >SS> Pull ups - 3 x 6

Then did a great bicep/tricep gauntlet with a gym bro of mine for a most extreme pump. Cable curls and pull downs with the rope: 10 reps starting at 50, then move down a plate every 10 reps. Once you hit the top (10 or 20 whatever it is) you move back up a plate every 10 reps until you can't complete another rep.

Weight last night: 204.2 lbs.

Glad I am still gaining strength while my weight is staying the same.

Another PR day last night doing OHP. Keep 'em coming. I wrapped my elbows in my wrist wraps so I suppose it was somewhat assisted, but still awesome progress:

Overhead Press - 1 x 8 x 95
1 x 4 x 115
3 x 4 x 125
4 x 3 x 130
4 x 3 x 135

Did a bunch of shoulder work, srhugs, and Romanian deadlifts as well as some supersets with face pulls and tricep extensions. With my lower back not really getting any better I think I'm going to skip DL all together for the next couple weeks and just focus on doing some corrective movements to fix my lumbar area.

Or you could stop doing so much fucking volume???

I'm no programming guru but damn my back hurts just reading this thread.

(08-20-2016 04:22 PM)redbeard Wrote:  Or you could stop doing so much fucking volume???

I'm no programming guru but damn my back hurts just reading this thread.

I'm with Redbeard, Stalin. That is a ton of deadlift. Then with your back hurting you still did some Romanians. Let that thing recover and heal. Once it does that adjust the deadlift portion of your program to more weight , less volume and see if that changes anything.

Thanks guys. The method I based my program on calls for 10-15 reps of training weight whatever rep scheme which is why originally I was doing 6 x 2 x 315 for a total of 12 reps. Once I hurt my back I backed off the weight but upped the reps per set which you're right - was probably a bad idea.

As for the Romanian Deadlifts, I'm keeping the weight light and I've been doing them based on this advice:





I definitely use my lowerback too much when deadlifting and don't feel my glutes and hamstrings when performing the lift. I've also been doing leg curls in the 10-12 rep range to try and get my hamstrings stronger.

If you guys have any suggestions on movements to help my lower back recover and build up the rest of my posterior chain I'd be very grateful.

Dude nothing about this program now is gzcl. If what you're doing is working for you, then that's great, but your programming has nothing in common with gzcl.

^ Yeah I'm definitely not following it strict, but I'm still using the basic structure. I've modified the volume/"warmup" of my main lift every training day. I did this because I felt I was not making enough progress just doing 10-15 reps of a lift. I still have been keeping my heavy main lift sets between 10-15 reps. I still do a complimentary compound movement after my main lift which is 24-30 reps, and I do isolation movements supersetted with antagonistic muscle movements for 30+ reps.

How old are you? Testosterone? Caffeine usage?

I have a feeling this thread will turn into a "deadlift is useless" thread. As long as we stay on topic and keep Neil out of here I think we'll be fine though.

You can 100% make progress doing 10-15 reps of a lift IF you plan well and are working in the 2-3 rep range. Let's decipher what's going on, here's your last OHP session:

Quote:1 x 4 x 115
3 x 4 x 125
4 x 3 x 130
4 x 3 x 135

Mentally where were you at? 135 was a "PR," but look, you did FOUR SETS of 130 before moving up to 135. What were you trying to do? Warm up? Is that part of the program? I know it's OHP and 5 lbs can make a difference but my point stands, you did 12 reps at 125, added 5 lbs (total, not on each side), did 12 more reps, then repeated. After that first set of 130 you should be able to tell how 135 is going to feel.

I'm no expert but our lifts are in the same range and I would shoot myself if I did the OHP session you did above. You clearly made 135! It's not like you did one rep at 135 and then your shoulders were so fatigued you had to stop. You did 12 reps right below it, then 12 reps at your "personal best." If I was you it would've gone like this. I would've walked into the gym and said okay today is OHP day and I'm going to work with 135. I'd do some warmup, and the entire time I would visualize myself lifting 1 pl8 overhead. Then I'd head to the rack and do one set at each of the weights you have above until I got to 135, and then rep it out until I can't.

I'm 29, no clue what my T levels are as I haven't gotten them checked, and I consume little-to-no caffeine.

The past few weeks of training my thought process going into my main lifts has been trying to do better than my previous workout (more weight/reps or at the very least more technically sound). Also, like I said, when I first started the program I felt like the lack of volume at the higher RPE was not making enough of a difference from day-to-day/week-to-week. Like you said, this could be because of poor planning. This could also be because I'm still a beginner lifter and can still make a lot of gains from a lot of mechanical repetition of weight.

My OHP workout above, the 1 set of 95 followed by the set of 115 were sort of my general OHP warmup to get my shoulders and triceps ready. The 12 reps of 125 was sort of a warmup to do my sets of 130. The sets of 135 were butter. My previous OHP workout I was trying to get 135 for 3 which was a personal best (took me 3 attempts). This workout 135 for 3 felt fine so I wanted to see if I could get multiple sets. Next weeks I may skip 125 all together and do 130 - 135.

It's very possible that I should doing more weight than I am for my "working" sets but because I'm doing all that volume I'm sort of fatiguing myself beforehand.

I benched last night and backed off my volume a bit.

Bench press - 1 x 8 x 95
1 x 8 x 135
1 x 4 x 184
4 x 3 x 205

Pause OHP - 3 x 8 x 95

Seated row - 3 x 15 x 80 >SS> Shrugs - 3 x 15 x 200 >SS> Dips - 3 x 10

Weight: 206.8 lbs.

Rest day today and squats tomorrow. Will continue with lowering volume.

Any noticeable difference with the less volume and more weight?

Slightly less fatigue when repping heavier weight without doing multiple sets of heavy weight before it. Not super noticeable though

Think I might want to think about seeing a massage therapist and getting a deep tissue massage or something to start getting this lower back issue taken care of. Today I could't even do backsquats because my lower back was too uncomfortable. I did front squats instead because my lower back didn't seem to be affected by them.

Front Squats - 1 x 6 x 125
1 x 4 x 145
5 x 3 x 165

Leg raise - 3 x 10 x 100 >SS> Leg curl 3 x 10 x 50 >SS> Pull ups 3 x 6

Facepulls - 3 x 12 x 90 >SS> Shrugs 3 x 15 x 200

Weight :204.4 lbs.

I didn't eat hardly anything yesterday as I was mostly just bumming around my house. Ate a good size breakfast of eggs, toast, and a protein smoothie, and steak and broccoli for dinner.