Civilian training log [BJJ & SE]

[Northerner]

I'm reading the new green protocol book and loving it. I will definitely try the new protocols in the future.

But for now it's time to head into some autumn hypertrophy blocks! I'm really looking forward to going on a caloric surplus. I've been, without paying too much attention, switching between caloric maintenance and deficit since I finished basebuilding in January, with a total loss of 5kg/11 lbs.

My preliminary plan for the upcoming months is to do repeated 3 week blocks of Mass. Every X weeks I'll go on a 3-6 week operator/black block and maybe try a block of specificity.

I was originally planning on running grey man, but the Zulu HT really caught my eye. So I will start there for now.

Starting weight is 89kg and I will aim for 1-2kg weight gain every 3 weeks.

Weekly plan, of 4 gym sessions and 2-3 E sessions. In reality there will always be at least 1 day of full rest and instead some days with both LSS and gym. But I plan it like this to make it easier to cross off.

Mon: Zulu HT
Tue: Zulu HT
Wed: LSS 30min
Thu: Zulu HT
Fri: Zulu HT
Sat: LSS 30min
Sun: LSS 30min / Rest / Yoga


Cluster, to be reviewed every three weeks. I will use the peaking to guide progression. TM of 90% when applicable.

A:
Main Exercises

• OHP: TM 57.5kg, tested
• TPDL: TM 133.5kg, keeping the previous TM

Accessory exercises

• BW Rack Chin: TM 15 reps, tested
• Dumbbell Shrug: TM not tested
• AB wheel: TM not tested

B:
Main Exercises

• Bulgarian Split Squat: TM not tested, I will start unweighted and gradually add dumbbells
• Bench Press: TM 105kg, forced progression with 5kg

Accessory exercises

• Barbell Row: TM not tested
• Face pull: TM not tested
• Dumbbell curl: TM not tested

[Northerner]

Week one of block one of mass is done, and on time. Only the rest day remains which is tomorrow.
I'm liking the programming so far. It's gonna take a while to get used to BSS and find a good weight for them, but at this point even bodyweight feels worthwhile.

W1D1: OHP 42.5kg 4 x 5. TPDL 90kg 4 x 10. 3 supersets of pullups, db shrugs, ab wheel
W1D2: BSS 8kg 4 x 5. BP 67.5kg 4 x 10. 3 supersets of bb row, face pulls, db curls
W1D3: LSS, 15min jog, 2min swim, 15min jog
W1D4: TPDL 100kg 4 x 5. OHP 37.5kg 4 x 10. 3 supersets of pullups, db shrugs, ab wheel
W1D5: BP 77.5kg 4 x 5. BSS 0kg 4 x 10. 3 supersets of bb row, face pulls, db curls
W1D6: LSS, 6.8km ruck with ~10kg load in 1h 10mins
W1D7: Tomorrow. Active recovery or rest.

[Northerner]

Ive been out sick for over two weeks, in the middle of W2 of training. W2 done now

W2D1: OHP 45kg 4 x 4. TPDL 92kg 4 x 8. 3 supersets of pullups, db shrugs, ab wheel
W2D2: BSS 12kg 4 x 4. BP 72.5kg 4 x 8. 3 supersets of bb row, face pulls, db curls
W2D3: LSS, 15min jog, 1min swim, 15min jog
W2D4: TPDL 107.5kg 4 x 4. OHP 40kg 4 x 8. 3 supersets of pullups, db shrugs, ab wheel
W2D5: BP 85kg 4 x 4. BSS 4kg 4 x 8. 3 supersets of bb row, face pulls, db curls
W2D6: LSS run 25mins unknown distance and pace
W2D7: Rest

[Northerner]

Finished W3 yesterday.

W2D1: OHP 47.5kg 4 x 3. TPDL 100kg 4 x 6. 3 supersets of pullups, db shrugs, ab wheel
W2D2: BSS 16kg 4 x 3. BP 77.5kg 4 x 6. 3 supersets of bb row, face pulls, db curls
W2D3: LSS run, 3.2km in 24:19
W2D4: TPDL (peaking) 112.5kg x 3, 140kg x 1, 150kg x 1. OHP 42kg 4 x 6. 3 supersets of pullups, db shrugs, ab wheel
W2D5: BP (peaking) 90kg x 3, 100kg x 1, 105kg x 1, 110kg x 1. BSS 8kg 4 x 6. 3 supersets of bb row, face pulls, db curls
W2D6: LSS run, 3.14km in 17:42
W2D7: Yoga and walking

[Northerner]

Block 1 of Zulu HT evaluation:
All workouts finished with no missed reps. I skipped a few sets just to exercise caution about injuries.
Gained 2kg so current weight is 91kg. Nutrition wasn't great unfortunately, especially during the two weeks I was sick.

I like the programming here and I will repeat the block with some adjusted TMs. I'm hoping to add a short morning yoga 5 days a week to see if it'll help with some stiffness and pain in my upper back and neck. I will also take a couple of days off to focus in yoga before I start the next block.


Upcoming block 2 of Zulu HT 3 weeks

Goals: add 1-2kg weight, add mass, improve flexbility, maintain endurance.
Week 1-3:
Mon: Zulu HT, Yoga
Tue: Zulu HT, Yoga
Wed: LSS 30min, Yoga
Thu: Zulu HT, Yoga
Fri: Zulu HT, Yoga
Sat: LSS 30min
Sun: LSS 30min / Rest / Yoga

Cluster:
OHP: TM 60kg [+2.5kg]
TPDL: TM 138.4 [+5kg]
Bulgarian Split Squat: No TM. I'll slowly keep adding weight with dumbbells
Bench Press: TM 107.5kg [+2.5kg]

[Northerner]

Block 2, week 1 finished yesterday. Starting week 2 today.

W1D1: OHP 45kg 4 x 5. TPDL 90kg 4 x 10. 3 supersets of pullups, curls. Yoga 25-35m
W1D2: BSS 12kg 4 x 5. BP 70kg 4 x 10. 3 supersets of bb row, face pulls, ab wheel. Yoga 25-35m
W1D3: Run, 3.1km in 16:12. Yoga 25-35m
W1D4: TPDL 102.5kg 4 x 5. OHP 40kg 4 x 1. 3 supersets of pullups, curls. Yoga 25-35m
W1D5: BP 80kg 4 x 5. BSS 4kg 4 x 10. 3 supersets of bb row, face pulls, ab wheel. Yoga 25-35m
W1D6: Run, 3.8km in 23:03. Yoga 25-35m
W1D7: Rest

[Northerner]

Block 2, week 2 finished today.

W2D1: OHP 47.5kg 4 x 4. TPDL 97.5kg 4 x 8. 3 supersets of pullups, curls. Yoga 25-35m
W2D2: BSS 16kg 4 x 4. BP 75kg 4 x 8. 3 supersets of bb row, face pulls, ab wheel. Yoga 25-35m
W2D3: Run mid tempo, 3.1km in 17min. Yoga 25-35m
W2D4: TPDL 110kg 4 x 4. OHP 42.5kg 4 x 8. 3 supersets of pullups, curls. Yoga 25-35m
W2D5: BP 85kg 4 x 4. BSS 8kg 4 x 4. No time for assistance work this day. Yoga 25-35m
W2D6: Run low tempo, 3.1km in 19mins.
W2D7: Rest

[Northerner]

Block 2 of Zulu HT finished today. I've been feeling a bit under the weather and both my kids have been sick so I took it slow and did a minimalistic version where i walked instead of ran and skipped most assistance exercises.

W3D1: OHP 50kg 1x3, 1x8 (AMRAP). TPDL 102.5kg 4 x 6. 3 supersets of pullups, curls. Yoga 25-35m
W3D2: BSS 20kg 4 x 3. BP 80kg 4 x 6. Yoga 25-35m
W3D3: Walk, 6.7km in 1h 4mins
W3D4: TPDL 117.5kg 3 x 3. OHP 45kg 3 x 6. Yoga 25-35m
W3D5: BP 92.5kkg 1 x 3, 1x8 (AMRAP). BSS 12kg 4 x 6. Yoga 25-35m
W3D6: Walk, unknown distance or 1 hour
W3D7: Rest

Block 2 of Zulu HT evaluation:
Didn't miss any reps which is nice. The block took 4 weeks instead of 3.
Getting used to BSS and I think I've found my weights good enough to use percentages from now on.
Yoga has been really helpful and I'll keep doing it 3-5 times a week.
All in all i did gain some strenght and possibly some hypertrophy in my legs and chest. But my diet has been crap. Uneven, low protein and just plain unhealthy. Weight today was 91.5kg so I failed on my goals to gain 1-2kg.

Moving forward
I'm reconsidering my goals right now. My original plan was to gain mass for the next upcoming months. But after 2 blocks it has me feeling worse from a pure fitness standpoint. I really need to prioritize a healthy, regular, high protein diet and make it my number one goal right now. I don't think I'll manage to do it if I have to eat 3500kcal every day.
I realized I/CAT starts with a block of Zulu. So my plan is to follow I/CAT and consider the block I just finished to be part of that I/CAT schedule.

[Northerner]

Upcoming block, 3 weeks of Operator/DUP 3, as block two of I/CAT.

Goals

• Healthy diet and tracking calories daily. I will start at 2500 (189P/252C/84F) and adjust per block as necessary.
• Drop 1.5kg bodyweight down to 90kg for the block.
• Gain conditioning.
• Maintain or gain strength.

Cluster and TM:

• Bench press - 112.5kg
• Bulgarian split squat - I can't really follow a strict percentage here since my dumbbells go up by 4kg each step but I'll go as close as I can
• Trap bar deadlift - 145kg
• WPU - 112.5kg, following the max strength percentages

Conditioning
Will be exactly as mapped out in the I/CAT chapter.

No extra additions except Yoga and maybe neck training to deal with some pain. I will start tomorrow or the day after as I don't feel like I need a deload since I took many extra days to finish my last block. I also won't log here every week but instead per block.

[Northerner]

Block two of I/CAT finished.

Goal 1 - Healthy diet and tracking calories daily. I will start at 2500 (189P/252C/84F) and adjust per block as necessary.:
Did pretty okay! Obviously 2500 kcal was way too little, but it was mostly to get a baseline and reintroduce calorie and macro counting. I did 2500 for the first week, 2800 for the second week and after that I stopped counting and just focused on high protein intake.

Goal 2 - Drop 1.5kg bodyweight down to 90kg for the block.
I weighed in at 90.3 this morning so pretty close. Seeing some trends towards better body composition also.

Goal 3 - Gain conditioning.
The conditioning went well for this block. In the end I did start to feel the effects of the calorie deficit I think. I finished with a long run as prescribed, 10k in 1h 9minutes on a pretty messy trail. Not great but it's back at the level I was after basebuilding. I changed one speed workout to meat eater 2 because there was so much snow out and the sun is setting at 3pm now so not a lot of room to get the running in during the day unless I want to stick to specific shorter lit trails. Other than that every workout got done as written.

Maintain or gain strength.
Every strength workout went well, no missed reps and some room for increasing my TMs for the next block.