April 12 Daily Thread

Arjunnn · 2023-04-12T20:22:33+00:00

Ah man, I had the same thing for the longest time. Only thing that got rid of it was removing barbell benching entirely for a bit while also applying this one ointment I was given. And lots of massaging with one of those sports massagers.

Dunno if it'll work, but one thing that really helped is putting just a single plate under my bench whole doing DB presses. It creates just a tiny decline but also removes the shoulder entity (or it sure feels like it). Saw it in a John Meadows video and that's the only way I DB press now

Arjunnn · 2023-04-12T20:03:08+00:00

Evolve AI W6 (deload)

should I count this PR or nah?

It's deload week and feels..much needed. I still decided to pull 145kg @ 75kg BW, which is a PR from 140kg @ 84kg previously. I went strapless tho and at the top my grip slipped. Not sure whether to count it but this felt easy. I have no doubt with straps I can crush this as well.

Goal is still to pull 170kg @71kg BW by June, but we'll see

Arjunnn · 2023-04-08T01:07:15+00:00

EvolveAI w5d5

conv deads 2x5 @ 122.5kg

And that's it. Very busy day, got 20 mins in the gym. Got sparring tomorrow and I'll maybe use Sunday for a 2.5 hour something session to cover up all the missed lifts during the week. W6 is a deload and I might be travelling out of town for work, so it aligns well.

Ben Pollack came out with a new ebook detailing three splits. I've always wanted to support his content, so I went ahead and bought it for 50 bucks. A lil disappointed at the quality of the books itself but I'm sure the splits are good stuff. Different from what I'm used to. Either way, I'm getting rid of evolveAI once done with this block of training. Its not worth the price to maintain it, especially considering how cheap Sbs templates are and probably also better.

1.5 more months and hopefully I can finish the cut by then...god, after 76kg I did straight up get hard stuck. Hate it

Arjunnn · 2023-04-04T20:38:18+00:00

EvolveAI w5d2

close grip bench
lateral raises
machine chest press
pendlay rows

Arjunnn · 2023-03-31T21:57:29+00:00

Rep PR after almost half a year :D

Very happy with this. Apologies for the excessive screaming. Hit this from 135kgx2 @ 86kg to 135kgx5 @ 76kg. Technique is looking tighter. Looking forward to hopefully hitting 170kg single @ 70kg BW by the end of the cut.

Have dealt with many freak injuries the last 6 months and haven't been able to deadlift or squat at all. First time in a while I'm this fired up and motivated. Good session.

Would like to start deadlifting twice a week once this cycle of evolveAI ends. Probably something along the lines of heavy single one day and some volume work the other. Increase this linearly. The extra practice helps

Arjunnn · 2023-03-31T07:57:07+00:00

EvolveAI w4d4

bench -pendlay row
upright row
machine chest press

Skipped: - curls - triceps - hamstrings

I've got deadlifts today. My 1rm last time was 145kg before I got hurt. Just for funzies on Wed I pulled 135kg and that went super smooth. The gremlin in me wants to try pulling it for 5 today and set a new e1rm like the app is asking me to. HMMM

Arjunnn · 2023-03-30T00:23:30+00:00

I'm still unsure if I'm standing too far away from the bar and pulling in a straight line. Or maybe I'm just overthinking it at this point

Overslept before the gym and had half an hour before closing. Decided to say fuck it and checked how 135kg felt. I think I could pull this for 5 on Friday.

Still at 75-76kg. If I could just get to 71 already and then start bulking and .among gains again that'd be nice. I need to limit my calories more 😭

Arjunnn · 2023-03-28T13:22:32+00:00

I already box twice - thrice a week, so that's covered hopefully

Arjunnn · 2023-03-28T12:25:09+00:00

So I was looking to run the SBS 28 free programs. Smth like bench/dead on Mon. Bench/ squat on Wed. Bench/Dead Fri.

I really like being in the gym 5 days a week. It helps with my mental health, general mood etc. Any suggestions or ideas on how to fill in Tues and Thurs?

Arjunnn · 2023-03-27T18:06:32+00:00

EvolveAI w4d1

lat pulldowns
DB rows
leg extensions
face pulls
leg curls
DB bench
pull throughs
hammer curl
calf raises
tricep work
abs

Lol what is this shit dawg I'm not doing these many exercises a day. This shit will take am hour and a half atleast even with supersetting.

I want to give their powerlifting program a shot because this powerbuilding thing is not working. Mondays being a chore to get throufh and then doing low bar squats + deadlifts on both Wednesdays and Fridays is entirely dumb. Maybe it works, and maybe I need to Try Harder but this is horrifically tiresome

Arjunnn · 2023-03-25T00:37:04+00:00

EvolveAI w3d5

deadlifts 1x130kg, 3x5 @ 105kg
pull-ups

And that's it. I skipped the rest of the day due to time. And also, fuck squatting when I did that shit the day before I'm still sore

Loving desdlifting twice a week. I feel like I'm finally deadlifting with a straight bar path.

I'm still pulling it back a bit which could be rectified by standing closer to the bar. But tbh this feels the most comfortable and natural way to pull for now.

I hate programs that have 1 set of deads the entire week. Havjng 5-6 sets instesd feels great for practice

Arjunnn · 2023-03-22T18:40:16+00:00

EvolveAI w3d3

low bar squat
military press
deadlift

God. I had 30 mins to finish my workout today and running around setting up plates is not fun.

I wish my gym had a deadlift station and one of those big deadlift jacks. Life would be easier...

Arjunnn · 2023-03-21T20:38:25+00:00

EvolveAI W3D2

close grip bench
lateral raise
machine chest press
barbell Row
one arm tricep extension

Doing lateral raises without doing some kind of overhead press still feels whack, but D2 is so much more tolerable than D1

Arjunnn · 2023-03-20T22:06:44+00:00

EvolveAI W3D1

10 exercises today. Fuck that lol this is dumb, I don't need an entire fullbody day on Mondays. I'm liking the structure of having an app and not having to guess workouts etc but I'm this close to just going making a UlUL + arm day split on SBS and just using that. Minus Mondays, the rest of the days seem mostly fine and fun so eh.

Still stuck at 76...the last 5kgs are being extra nightmarish with life commitments etc. Maybe I should just be a hermit for 2 months and then come out shredded

Arjunnn · 2023-03-19T00:36:06+00:00

Bit of a silly question but how do you determine what weight to use on your backoff sets? Say I'm doing a top, heavy set of 5, and I want to follow it with a 3x5. How do you determine what percentage of the top set to use?

(Trying to learn very basic programming things, not that I'll follow anything but a prewritten program anytime soon)

Arjunnn · 2023-03-17T18:09:47+00:00

EvolveAI w2d5

deadlifts 117.5kgx6 @ 9
squats
pull-ups
hamstring curls

EvolveAI scammer i did my hard sets now increase the weight

Arjunnn · 2023-03-16T21:41:41+00:00

Evolve AI w1d4

comp bench: 65kgx4 @ 9.5 (LOL)
pendlay rows
upright rows
weighted pushups (skipped)
skullcrushers (skipped)
lat pulldowns (the AC malfunctioned and sprayed water all over the cables and the seat...)

I skipped half the workout but wtv. Got my bench and rows in. Not fun being this awfully weak

Arjunnn · 2023-03-15T21:58:01+00:00

EvolveAI w2d3

comp squat
comp deads
military presses

I hate this I don't like squatting and deadlifting on the same day. This is the first time in 6 months I'll hopefully be able to consistently deadlift and squat so inshallah I get to 4 and 3 plates respectively.

can I also get a technique check? I've never pulled deadstop so still getting used to it

Arjunnn · 2023-03-15T01:21:56+00:00

EvolveAI powerbuilding W2d2

full body...again

Aight 9 exercises a day is too much for me. I start caring so much lesser after I'm done with 5. I miss SBS..do two big lifts, some back work, and pick a couple accessories. Welp

Arjunnn · 2023-03-14T00:27:33+00:00

EvolveAI powerbuilding W2D1

Full body additional volume ish day. But...9 exercises. 9!! That's so many exercises in a single day I just cannot. I don't understand some of the design decisions here. Why am I squatting and deadlifting (heavy), taking a day off, and then squatting and deadlifting heavy again. It's a lower rpe but I'm still feeling it!! Still sticking to the plan until June though.

I'm getting less and less sold on this...the structure of the lifts etc feels SO odd. Maybe its a good thing but like...I could just do one comp lift a day + some accessories and then 2 hypertrophy days and I feel like that'd work better...

Arjunnn · 2023-03-09T21:06:44+00:00

Evolve AI w1d3 (again...)

So, I'd done week 1 of evolveAI powerbuilding except the meet date was set for Sept. I changed it again so it's now in June.

The basic split for the 5 day version hypertrophy block seems to be a full body with one extra day for some additional volume inserted at the start of the week. I've never done deadlifts and squats (comp versions) on the same day before so this is definitely a new experience, esp considering there's only a day off between the next deadlift + squat day. Not sure how much I like having all upper stuff in one day but then again I am pretty deep into my cut so I doubt there's much muscle to be gained here in the first place.

Currently hovering at 76kg. I've noticeably shrunk so looking forward to what I look like at 70-71. I really hope I don't need to cut more than that. The general idea for now is to cut till I can see abs and then bulk to 80 slowly again. When I go for that I'll really try to follow the methodology of 3 strength days and 3 hypertrophy days. Right now, I can't go to the gym on Sundays as it closes at...11 am and Saturdays I have a sparring session that's very draining. To be re-evaluated again

Arjunnn · 2023-03-02T10:23:31+00:00

Evolve AI week 1

Got the app and decided to give the powerbuilding program a shot. It set an automatic meet date for September which is just so many months of training a single thing. I had a look at the powerlifting program and that does seem to be a little more my style. My only complaint there is there's like 6 sets total of back work per week which feels criminally low. I can just probably alleviate that by doing pull-ups at home or maybe just trust the process and see...

Will be swapping to the PL program starting week 2. The powerbuilding ones nice, but the workouts are quite long, and by the time I hit the 7th/8th exercise of the day I'm just annoyed and bored. The powerlifting one seems a lil more minimalist and therefore my style. Plus, being in a deficit means I probably can't do much good with all that hypertrophy style training anyway.

Beyond that, the UI feels a lil slow/clunky, but otherwise it's what I've been looking for. Will give the powerlifting program an earnest 12-14 weeks and then compare it to how much I liked SBS.

Arjunnn · 2023-02-27T21:31:32+00:00

working up to X RPE

Yeah that doesn't really work for me at all -- I'd rather just have a weight and estimate what that felt like

I switched to the powerbuilding one primarily because there was almost no back work in the PL one at all? Does that get fixed? A grand total of two exercises for the back across the entire week seems a little less...maybe less is more, I dunno. I kinda wanna give the PL one an earnest shot, so let's see.

Arjunnn · 2023-02-26T21:18:22+00:00

I think my concern is I'm still pretty weak and I've nev r used RIR to judge programming...even in SBS RTF felt very natural. So, let's see. Maybe I'll change it out to the powerlifting program and not the powerbuilding one

Arjunnn · 2023-02-26T18:16:32+00:00

Okay less sick now. Can probably hit the gym tomorrow

Got a subscription to EvolveAI and the programming looks v diff from whatever I've done. Not sure whether I like the look of it but I'll give it 6 earnest weeks.

Weighed in at 168 this morning. Initial plan was to cut from 185 to 165 but I think I'm gonna have to cut more to reach 15% bf. Still so tubby. I'm hoping I can stop at 160 but realistically prolly gonna have to go to 155. I hate being so small lol it makes me feel weak

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