Oof.

Today was telling, but not for the obvious reasons.

Squats went well. I felt good with the 265. Still hate that I’m in the 200’s, but here I am. I felt like I could have gotten at least 3 reps with it, maybe a 4th grinder. The AMRAP is also something I need to push a little more. I’m not allowing myself to go to true failure (no spotter, and I hate dumping because it hurts my neck/back/shoulders), but trying to get to a point where I can tell I couldn’t do 1 more. I think I may be stopping just shy of that point, but it’s tough to gauge without actually hitting it, y’know? Still, as long as I make progress (and I am), that’s really what matters.

What was more telling was I continue to examine 5/3/1. I plugged in some numbers from today’s squatting and it was telling. I’m generally where I should be, and frankly I figure if I did 5/3/1 that before the end of the calendar year I’d set a new PR on squat. Plus I keep gravitating to 5/3/1 SST and damn if that doesn’t seem to hit everything I’m after. So I have to be honest with myself: as much as I enjoy and appreciate Paul’s work, I think there’s a strong part of me that wants to go back to 5/3/1 because it’s dead simple and ought to give me what I need.

Plus, I think pushing those PR sets will actually be very good for me. I think I need that sort of constant thing to push me further, push me harder. And no question, that sort of “daily feedback” would be useful.

So yeah, I think it’s going to happen. If I’m smart, I’ll finish out this GMM cycle (at least 4 weeks of it). If I’m really smart I’ll do at least 8 weeks, then something like a Strong-15 short cycle. But I also know that sometimes prolonging the inevitable isn’t a wise expenditure of time, energy, and limited resources — so I may just dive in (sooner rather than later, in fact).

Oh… and split squats continue to be…. uh…. looking for a positive word here. Intense. 🙂

Today’s music: Hatebreed. Their new one, “The Concrete Confessional”, plus some other songs of theirs (because their albums are short).

Based on Paul Carter’s “Guaranteed Muscle Mass” article.

• Squat
  • BW x 10
  • bar x 5
  • 135 x 5
  • 175 x 4
  • 215 x 3
  • 245 x 2
  • 265 x 1
  • 215 x 13 (AMRAP)
  • 215 x 7 (50%)
• Stiff-Legged Deadlift
  • 135 x 5
  • 185 x 4
  • 225 x 3
  • 275 x 2
  • 325 x 1
  • 245 x 12 (AMRAP)
• Split Squats
  • BW x 12
  • BW x 12
  • BW x 12
  • BW x 12
  • BW x 12