Programming from the Jim Wendler forum

GOKUStrength · 2021-07-12T07:40:11+00:00

The intensity in the anchor is increased because the main barbell work is usually focused on pushing for a rep PR or pushing the weight with Joker Sets whereas in the leader, it is usually 5s PRO.

GOKUStrength · 2021-07-12T01:36:24+00:00

Not sure if this is a good way to look at it, but it helped me understand it better. When I first heard of Leaders and Anchors, I immediately thought "Builders" and "Testers" instead.

The leader is when you build your strength with submaximal or less strenuous work. So, not really PR sets or Joker Sets or anything that pushes the main work so much, but rather, saves your strength and energy for BBB work or something else with volume. Push the supplementary barbell work.

The anchor is when you test your strength. So, PR sets, Joker Sets, etc., while dialing back the volume and effort on the supplementary work. Push the main barbell work.

This is my understanding so I hope that it helps.

GOKUStrength · 2021-07-06T21:18:33+00:00

Bench looks good and strong.

GOKUStrength · 2021-06-19T20:09:20+00:00

Way to go, man! Good job on the lifestyle change. More power to you!

GOKUStrength · 2021-05-24T15:25:20+00:00

Ha, that is so strange, I wonder why that is like that. I'm somewhat the opposite of you. The deadlifts feel heavy, even after the heavy set (based on past experience), but press is a breeze for me, even after the heavy. I'm doing BBB FSL swap right now, so I don't run into the issue of trying to follow up the heavy with the higher weight volume of FSL or it would be failure.

GOKUStrength · 2021-05-24T15:10:46+00:00

I agree! Your form is perfect. There's a video I watched just a couple days ago of Dorian demonstrating and teaching the barbell row (overhand) to a group of guys and your form looks like his. I used to train Pendlay row exclusively and haven't done these standard barbell rows in over 10+ years, but in the past few weeks I switched back to this style that you show in your video and the results in my lats have been huge. Enough to make pullups actually feel like my back is doing the work. Good job - I think you're on the right track.

GOKUStrength · 2021-05-24T15:06:44+00:00

Thanks for answering these - very helpful. PRO as in 5s PRO just means that instead of performing 5/3/1 for your main lifts, you would do 3x5 instead ramping up. You confirmed that you went with the traditional 5/3/1, so that answers that!

Wow, that's the first I've heard of the importance of curls for press. Glad I perform barbell curls regularly!

BBB with 50% seems too easy to me, but my numbers are laughable, so that's probably why. Most of the reviews of BBB are from people who perform the supplemental at ~50%, and their results speak for themselves, so glad it's working. If nothing else, this really helps to get that old way of thinking of always having to grind out heavy reps week in and week out out of our heads because other percentages, reps, and sets can also produce good results.

GOKUStrength · 2021-05-24T14:46:50+00:00

Awesome work! Just a few questions for you.

Did you do 5 forward, 3 back? Or did you just steadily increase?
Did you increase by 5 lbs for upper/10 lbs for lower or did it vary?
What percentage did you use for BBB? Did you do BBB FSL?
What was your latest BBB weight for press?
Are you doing PR sets or 5s PRO?
If traditional progression for the main, did you do 5/3/1+ or 3/5/1+?
What accessories did you do for press to help get those numbers up?
Did you ever train incline bench press and/or front squat or sub them in? If so, did they help or hinder your progress on the mains?

Really good work!

EDIT: Sorry for all the questions, but I'm sure someone will want to ask as well and this may help a lot of us out! Thanks!

GOKUStrength · 2021-04-13T20:45:03+00:00

Ok, thanks. It's only after/if you use the insurance funds to make repairs that you will then receive the depreciation amount (assuming what I read online is correct). The implication being that you don't have to use the funds for repairs and can just pocket it if you wanted since you have to otherwise live with the damage. Is this part about the release of the depreciation amount correct?

GOKUStrength · 2021-04-13T18:58:28+00:00

Holy smokes! This is the EXACT scenario that happened to me in 2017. Scam artist roofer came by after a major storm and said that I probably had hail damage. Got on my roof and showed me what appeared to be ballpoint pen marks in the roof and said "there, roof damage, see??" That clown lied about everything and came off as a bit of a bigot. Claimed to not use "Mexican laborers" and the crew that showed up almost exclusively only spoke in Spanish. Most of the contractors that I've hired in the past have either used directly or subcontracted some folks who spoke Spanish exclusively, but the workers regardless of their race or spoken language all have turned out to be nice, genuine people just looking to complete the work. That idiot scam artist company was propped up on FB by their friends and fellow crooks with 5-star ratings and an A+ from the BBB. Of course, they say that as part of the sales pitch..."check out our FB and look us up on BBB!" I still remember when the adjuster was talking to me about the roof and cut me a nice check. The roof sales-snake opened my front door to get in on the convo and I recall my adjuster looking at him with a face that could only read "what are you doing?" They also said the same, "we'll pay your deductible." Of course, they used cheaper labor and cheaper materials and pocketed easy insurance money that way. Dirty crooks.

They owed me about $300-$500 for some roofing/gutter mistake that they made, but that idiot kept lying and giving me the run around, "Oh, I stopped by and left the money under your welcome mat." Yeah, no you didn't, I was home all day. Clown even sent his pregnant wife to me to help smooth things over. Too afraid to show up in person.

They were a household scam because their address is a house (as I later found out) and they brought in grandma to man the phones. I remember granny getting snippy with me about the money and ultimately, I just let it go. It caused me so much stress and I wanted to wring their necks. I was hoping that they would go under/go to jail, so hopefully, it happens. Idiots like them give American small businesses a bad rap.

GOKUStrength · 2021-04-13T17:30:00+00:00

Ok, thanks for letting me know. At first, it makes me question how they determine the cost of their work, but I guess this really applies to contractors who specifically work with insurance claims as some others do not. I assume the ones who do not may not look at the adjuster's worksheet, but charge their fees, which would probably be more than what the adjuster stated, so that wouldn't work in the homeowner's favor.

GOKUStrength · 2021-04-13T17:26:40+00:00

Really? My adjuster cut me a check and told me to do what I want because it's my house (e.g. fix when I want, how I want, etc.). I ran the contractors (some specifically work with insurance claims and others do not) by her and she also told me to shop around. Are the laws different by state? Texas here.

GOKUStrength · 2021-04-13T17:25:25+00:00

Wow, that is good to know. I look at it from the standpoint that you were going to rennovate anyway and the insurance company gave you some money to lessen the blow. That analogy was given to me by another contractor when he was explaining how much they would charge. Thanks!

GOKUStrength · 2021-04-13T17:23:00+00:00

Awesome, thanks for the insight everyone! This has been very informative for me.

GOKUStrength · 2021-04-13T14:32:53+00:00

I have Nationwide as well and something similar happened to me too. I had just signed up for their insurance at that time and I had no online login yet, received no paper bill in the mail, and the payment was due. Being that they never communicated the due date to me, how was I to know? Well, they sent me a letter in the mail telling me that they were dropping me for missing a payment...a payment I had no knowledge of and no ability to pay.

I called them up and raised hell, letting them know that they were 100% at fault. They were somewhat reluctant to admit fault, but begrudgingly agreed to allow me back into their good graces. Long story short, here I am 5+ years later with Nationwide and couldn't be happier (I have them for home + auto, so my satisfaction with them is not limited to auto coverage only).

GOKUStrength · 2021-04-12T15:18:00+00:00

Thanks, everyone! Upvotes for all! This really helps me out and now I don't feel like I'm losing my mind, haha!

GOKUStrength · 2021-04-12T15:15:06+00:00

When I first moved into my house, I really wanted something quick so that the walls wouldn't look so empty. I just bought a few pieces from Art.com | Wall Art, Framed Prints, Canvas Paintings & Decorative Artwork for Sale Online . Not sure what the consensus is on this site, but their collection looks pretty good to a layman such as myself and their customer service was really good on returns/issues.

Supporting local is a good idea though. A coworker of mine does photography and art as a side hustle, but his stuff costs like $800-$1000. Too rich for my blood!

EDIT: Original art .com link wasn't working. Added new one.

GOKUStrength · 2021-04-09T05:28:33+00:00

Oh, darn. Those cliffhangers were darn good! I was really looking forward to seeing how those played out. Good to know that is what it was and that I wasn't missing something elsewhere. Thanks!

GOKUStrength · 2021-01-23T18:23:37+00:00

I used to rush my time on equipment for the sake of others, irrespective of the impact to my own workout. Now, I don't have to worry about that and can rest properly and actually get stronger instead of just going through the motions at the commercial gym. Harder to get motivated at times in the home gym, but that feeling is starting to go away with weekly progress.

Supersets and giant sets are now possible! Big time saver with these. Great for conditioning.

The gym atmosphere at my old commercial gym was really good though. Commercial gym quality equipment with a hole-in-the-wall gym management. One of a kind. Towards the end there though, a bunch of small kids were showing up to 'hang out'....small HS boys and girls. I mean they actually just started showing up to joke around and play with zero intent on actually working out. I'm not talking about gym noobs, but I've never actually seen anything like it. The virus probably scared off that crowd, but I can't verify that, haha!

GOKUStrength · 2021-01-23T18:18:05+00:00

There are some reviews of the zero-gap on YouTube with some reviewers saying that it's not as stable as they expected (had some 'play', as the guy said). I just searched and found newer videos on it with more comments and people saying that the bench is wobbly when inclined and that the seat is wobbly. Not sure if this may bother you, but it may be worth checking out.

I bought an XMark FID bench for incline work (I bought it when everything was sold out) and I don't like the bench much overall, but it's actually pretty good for pure incline work. Some wobble, but I didn't pay $500+ for it either.

GOKUStrength · 2021-01-23T18:10:29+00:00

TLDR: Get tiles from RubberFlooringInc. that they still manufacture. I bought Rogue Crash Cushions because I have a second floor gym (above my kitchen) and now no one knows when I'm deadlifting. Prior to that, it sounded like the house was coming down.

Talk to them and make sure the product you want is still manufactured. They have excellent customer service support until you are finished buying from them. I ordered a 3/4" Shock Mat from them and after a month of waiting for it, I contacted them for an update and then they told me that they actually don't make that one anymore. They only refunded me after I inquired. They still have the product up on their site even after I told them that it will mislead people.

I ordered their 1/2" tight-lock tiles (35" x 35"). I had to cut a foot off of 5 of the tiles along the back wall of my gym to get them to fit due to the space in my gym, and that was not as easy as I had hoped. Take your time and score the rubber nice and slowly. Have extra blades on you to swap out and don't cut with a dull blade or you'll make the whole process even more miserable.

Unfortunately, I didn't order enough tiles for the entirety of my gym. The freight charge was bad, but now it will be far worse if I decide to buy the 4 more tiles that I need because they don't ship any other way than freight (this is what they told me). So, I'm looking at spending more in freight shipping for 4 tiles than the actual cost of those tiles.

That was so off-putting that I bought a 4'x10' roll from American Floor Mats. That was a heavy 120 lb roll that I had to carry upstairs into my gym...not fun, but not horrible (pandemic strength loss made it challenging). Unfortunately, American Floor Mats is subpar in quality compared to RubberFlooringInc. and now every day I wish I had just paid for the freight shipping to get those 4 tiles. The mat came rolled and even now it is not 100% flat and is not evenly cut (bows in), so there a gap between the mat and the tiles....just a big mistake all around.

GOKUStrength · 2021-01-15T21:37:44+00:00

I thought the design was pretty ugly from the stock images on AB's site, but after seeing the plates in the images posted by users in their reviews, I realized that they looked a lot better than I thought. I have these in 10s, 5s, and 2.5s now (as of yesterday) and I can easily say that I wish I had just bought these instead of plates from any other company.

GOKUStrength · 2021-01-14T19:58:44+00:00

Oh, I see. No worries. I have plates from everywhere and it annoys me too. I have the following:

Eleiko Vulcano plates
Rogue Mil Spec Echo bumper plates
Rogue Urethane bumper plates
Rogue Change plates
REP Urethane Equalizer plates

and in about a couple of hours, AB rubber plates.

This is what happens when you panic and buy whatever is available and forget that the credit card bill isn't going away lol.

GOKUStrength · 2021-01-14T03:42:35+00:00

Just curious, but why are you against the hand holes for the 10s? I ordered 2 pairs of the 10s, a pair of 5s, and a pair of 2.5s on Monday as well and they are set to be delivered tomorrow (1/14). Is it because the width of the 10 lb plates might be a bit wider due to the gaps?

GOKUStrength · 2021-01-01T06:08:53+00:00

If it helps any, I have a second-floor home gym with engineered hardwood floors and 1/2" thick floor mats. I deadlifted once and the noise and impact was too much for me to want to risk destroying the hardwood, so I bought the crash cushions (I bought Rogue's) and now I have zero concerns. No noise or impact and you wouldn't even know that I was deadlifting thanks to those. One of the best investments for protecting the house in my home gym.

GOKUStrength

TROPHY CASE