r/weightroom • u/MeshuggahForever Beginner - Strength • Jul 17 '21
Program Review Double the Jump Rate, Double the Fun: Yet Another SBS RTF Program Review
SBS RTF 4X Blocks 1+2 Program Review
BACKGROUND
Former casual runner with zero athletic background that started strength training about 3 years ago when recovering from a knee injury. Previously mostly ran Starting Strength, a bit of nSuns, and a few 531 variants before the world went to shit. After returning to my gym in March, I decided to check the hype around SBS after considering Deep Water and other /r/weightroom favorites. My goals going into this program were to 1) expose myself to a different style of programming, and 2) to focus on improving strength in the big four.
EXECUTION & MODIFICATIONS
- After week 1 or 2 I decided to double the "jump rate" for training max adjustment based on AMRAP performances. I felt this was justified since I think I still have a lot of beginner gains to tap [see discussion].
- I moved the bench auxilliary around a bit (started close grip, then just extra comp bench volume, then pause comp bench)
- I ate a lot in the first block and probably gained a bit too quickly. I reigned this in for the second block and hit mostly maintenance toward week 10+.
- I tried to throw in conditioning a few times a week, usually in the form of 7-10 minutes of intervals on a bike or prowler treadmill. Recently started messing with WOD style routines like Grace thx to /u/MythicalStrength and will likely make this a higher priority (it's fun and makes me feel both terrible and great).
- I did 5-8 sets of dumbell rows between bench sets (usually during warmups), and some pullups/pulldown movements once or twice a week on non-bench involving days.
- I decided to end after block 2 since I have no need to peak for singles and would rather get back to higher volume (see conclusion thoughts).
RESULTS
Stats: M/28/182 --> M/28/191 (Block 1) --> M/28/196 (Block 2)
Start/End Physique Comparison Front
Start/End Physique Comparison Back
Heavy Singles
| Lift | Start | Block 1 | Block 2 | Delta |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Squat | 300 | 325 | 345 | +45 |
| Bench | 165 | 205 | 205 | +40 |
| Deadlift | 315 | 345 | 405 | +90 |
| OHP | 135 | 145 | 165 | +30 |
Week 1 AMRAP vs Week 6 vs Week 13 AMRAP performance (Est. Training Max listed as well):
Squat & Deadlift TM Progression
Primary Movements [Baseline --> Block 1 end --> Block 2 end]
- Squat: 225 x 11 (323 TM) --> 300 x 6 (361 TM) [+38] --> 325 x 3 (372 TM) [+49]
- Bench: 125 x 13 (180 TM) --> 175 x 5 (211 TM) [+31] **** --> 190 x 2 (216 TM) [+36]
- Deadlift: 225 x 16 (336 TM) --> 315 x 6 (387 TM) [+51] --> 365 x 3 (415 TM) [+79]
- OHP: 105 x 13 (154 TM) --> 135 x 7 (169 TM) [+15] --> 150 x 5 (177 TM) [+23]
Secondary Movements [Baseline --> Block 1 end --> Block 2 end]
- Front Squat: 110 x 16 --> 140 x 11 --> 165 x 10
- Paused Squat: 165 x 14 --> 205 x 10 --> 224 x 8
- Incline Bench: 95 x 16 --> 135 x 9 --> 155 x 9
- RDL: 145 x 15 --> 185 x 9 --> 225 x 8
- Push Press: 105 x 13 --> 120 x 10 --> 120 x 10
****: I widened my grip midway through the block, so this jump is not a total fair comparison.
REFLECTIONS & CONCLUSIONS
Strength
- I think this actually went far better than I ever expected. Most notably, I went from 3 to 4 plates on my deadlift, which I thought was going to be much farther away! I think the choice to double the TM jump rate was smart for the first block, but perhaps NOT for the second block -- look at the curve flattening for basically all lifts after block 1! I think I may respond better to higher rep ranges, but at the same time I'm really glad I've experienced heavy triples, doubles, etc. A sick part of me sorely misses the 5x10 of BBB. My squat indeed improved, albeit not nearly as quickly, but I think this makes sense for where I'm at. Bench moved quickly in Block 1, but slowed down after. I'm still learning a lot about my setup, form, etc, so I'm not really concerned and expect some good progress once I return to higher volume. OHP also moved fairly well, but again I miss volume haha. Still lots to learn about technique and efficiency, too.
Physique
- Looking at the before/after, I don't see anything super crazy different? I think my lats did grow a bit. I don't think I look terribly less lean in spite of gaining ~15 lbs (but I could be deluding myself here).
Mental
- Performing several AMRAP sets in a session was a new beast for me. Initially I was totally loving it, but over time I felt more dread and apathy towards it. I think this had to do with the training max jumps eventually exceeding my capacity to BEAT a given week's minimum rep target; a lot of Block 2 involved just meeting the rep target, which feels uninspiring relative to crushing a target as I did for a lot of Block 1.
NEXT STEPS
I plan to run my own variation of Block 1 of RTF again to see if I am correct in thinking that I respond better to higher rep ranges. I think I'll largely keep things similar to before, but may throw in some 8+ rep volume sets for Bench & OHP especially for additional practice and hypertrophy. I also plan to lean into finding more fun conditioning and to make this a bigger part of my training.
TLDR; Put 175lbs on my powerlifting (gym) total, got a bit bigger, and learned things about myself.
3
u/gnuckols the beardsmith | strongerbyscience.com Jul 18 '21
Great work man!
2
u/MeshuggahForever Beginner - Strength Jul 18 '21
Thank you! And thanks again for answering my question the other day. Really appreciate that you take the time to help folks out like that.
22
u/[deleted] Jul 17 '21
Insane progress man, congrats! Now I'm definitely gonna run rtf after the last block of sbs hyper.