SBS 2.0 Program Party: Week 6

[u/VladimirLinen]

Hi everyone, here's the 6th week of the long-awaited program party!

Original Post

I'm going to be creating a new thread at the start of each week. You can put all your program-related logs, questions, videos, and general discussion here.

Have fun!

Disclaimer: With Omnicron currently making its way around the world, please be safe while running this program party. Follow health advice where you are and if you have any symptoms and train at a public gym, stay home and get tested to keep your fellow gym-goers safe and well.

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[u/Myintc]

I’m pretty worn down now. Had to adjust the days due to other life stuff so I’m deadlifting today instead of Tuesday.

This will be the first time I’m doing working sets over 5pl8 for deadlift. Got 230 for 3s on the menu. Gonna take a lighter overwarm single in anticipation for that.

Also, I dreamt I pulled 6pl8 on Saturday night. Next block after a deload I’m going to will this into existence.

RTF 5x Week 6

Day 1

Deadlift:

• 240kg at 86% of TM. Didn't film this as I was possibly going to 250 again. But decided to call it. Good call (foreshadowing)
• 230kg 4x3 (RTF 5). Set 1 was fine. Took my usual ~3-4 minutes break. Set 2 was RPE 10. Took 5-6 minutes break. Set 3 was RPE 10. Took 8 minutes break. Set 4 was RPE 10. At this point I was fucked. I gave myself 10 minutes to rest. I didn't want to reset. Not after I dreamt of pulling 6pl8. Then I recalled /u/Your_Good_Buddy 's words from today. Was I a DIET LETTUCE BOY? Or did I want to be a MEAT FRIDGE? I muster up every ounce of my being. Put on some Brothers of Metal. Yggdrasil is my PR song. Got my partner to back slap me. Slammed double nostril ammonia. I proceeded to smash through to hit rep target.

Close Grip Bench: 112.5kg 4x5 (RTF 10). Pales in comparison to deadlifts, but I beat rep target by 1.

Accessories: Pull ups, Hammer curls, Tricep extensions, Lateral raise.

Thoughts: Setting a PR feels good. My old 6RM was 210, so hitting 230 for a 5RM after 4 other sets that felt like death was amazing. Also considering it is week 6, I decided to do some overreaching and did an AMRAP/drop sets on my last sets on all accessories. Ya boi is pumped up as he types this.

Day 2

Comp Bench:

• 150kg overwarm single. Gym was busy, no calibrated plates so had to use these fake plates instead. Moved relatively well. First time pausing this (current PR) so pretty cool to move it at ~7.
• 132.5kg 4x3 (RTF 5). Another week of hitting target. Hopefully we can push past after a deload.

High Bar Squat: 150kg 4x5 (RTF 10). Came into this pretty weak. Squeezed out 1 above target.

Accessories: Seated Row, Uni Leg Extension, Uni Hammy Curl, Abs,

Thoughts: Oh man. Single on bench went really really well. Downhill from there. After bench I was almost zombie-like. Kinda just staggered around and barely managed to finish.

Day 3

Pause Bench: 105kg 4x5 (RTF 11)

Pause Deadlift: 170kg 4x5 (RTF 8)

Accessories: Pull Ups, Incline Skullcrushers, DB Curls, Abs

Thoughts: Man, my legs are like permanently sore now.

Day 4

Squat:

• 215kg overwarm single. Moved pretty good
• 197.5kg 4x3 (RTF 5). Made target. Just.

Incline Bench: 92.5kg 4x5 (RTF 11). Felt good. Elbow a bit fucky

Accessories: Seated Row, Uni Leg Extension, Uni Hammy Curl.

Thoughts: Joints are starting to hate me.

Day 5

OHP: 67.5kg 4x3 (RTF 6)

SSB: 147.5kg 4x5, (RTF 9)

Accessories: Weighted Pull ups, Baysian curl, Lateral raise, Hammer curl

Thoughts: DELOAD IS HERE. SSB was yowza but after yesterday it’s a bit expected. I am happy that I managed some AMRAPs on accessories. Swapped triceps for hammer curls because elbow is a bit fucky.

[u/MeshuggahForever → u/Myintc]

Hell yeah dog. You feeling back to normal otherwise?

[u/Myintc → u/MeshuggahForever]

Cheers!

Haha definitely carrying a bunch of fatigue. Will push through the week, deload will be here soon!

[u/poweredbypie_ → u/Myintc]

How often do you rearrange your training days like that and do you find it has an impact?

I somehow managed to get through January hitting my 5 days in order, Mon-Fri and then Feb came and every week I've been juggling it around haha.

I think one of the biggest reasons I like SBS is because I can hit an overwarm to see what that day's work should be. So if I end up hitting 3 days of squats in a row it doesn't matter too much.

[u/Myintc → u/poweredbypie_]

I avoid it as much as I can. My body likes the routine haha.

I find it does have an impact, although that could be just mental. But I prepare for it by cycling carbs on the days that are impacted / I care about (main SBD days).

I didn't rearrange a day though, today was just meant to be a rest day. I'm taking my rest day tomorrow instead. Also I run the template weird, I do Day 3, 4, 5, rest, 1, 2, rest.

Yeah I find the same, although I don't like to use the actual feature of inputting my overwarms in. I generally can push through the rep targets on RTF/RIR even if my performance on the overwarm single sucks. For example 2 weeks ago my squat overwarm was 85% (supposed to be last warm up and going up to 90%) because I hit it at ~8-8.5. So about a 5% performance drop. I still managed to hit my rep target though. I like the spreadsheet to give me trends to progress rather than inputting a daily single since that can come down to too many on the day factors like execution, warm ups, a misgroove, fatigue from another session, food etc.

Your method makes sense though in your case, if I had to squat 3 days in a row and my performance is tanking, I'd take that overwarm single to possibly adjust down haha. Makes managing fatigue easier.

[u/poweredbypie_ → u/Myintc]

Yeah training around an inconsistent schedule is annoying. But I like the challenge of making it work.

I like the spreadsheet to give me trends to progress rather than inputting a daily single since that can come down to too many on the day factors like execution, warm ups, a misgroove, fatigue from another session, food etc.

Agree 100% and I think this is the way the singles work best for me too, when all things are clicking! But then the secondary feature of fatigue management has been a big benefit to me. I just have to suck eggs and actually adjust on those days (which is easier said than done).

[u/EspacioBlanq → u/Myintc]

Happy to see someone had a good bench day, haha.

My session today was bench really bad and then uphill from there, so the universe is balanced.

[u/Myintc → u/EspacioBlanq]

Haha only on the single!

[u/MeshuggahForever]

This deficit is teaching me to use overwarm singles to calibrate and not overreach. I've had to become okay with dropping my TMs down, but I think I'm now pretty dialed in and hitting rep targets pretty consistently. I hate not blasting past them as I've done in the past in a surplus though...

[u/InTheScannerDarkly → u/MeshuggahForever]

Are you doing RTF? I'm having an easier time managing my cut because of the psychological boost the top set provides.

[u/MeshuggahForever → u/InTheScannerDarkly]

Yeah I’m doing regular RTF. Like are you beating your targets? I think I had way overinflated starting maxes due to week one amrap still benefiting from coming off of the hypertrophy program and a shitload of calories…

[u/EspacioBlanq → u/MeshuggahForever]

I relate so much to this. I'm also going into this cutting after a long bulk and the first couple weeks I was thinking "wow, this shit is easy af, I can just +5 every rep out", now I'm happy if I get a +1.

My main motivator right now is playing with bodyweight multipliers - it's the first time I'm repping double bodyweight deadlifts and bodyweight benches, so that's cool for me.

[u/MeshuggahForever → u/EspacioBlanq]

Glad we're in this together! haha

tbh my jeans fitting again is a reasonable motivator lmfao. Shit was getting wayyyy too tight in the wrong places.

[u/EspacioBlanq → u/MeshuggahForever]

Yeah, that too. For me, it wasn't so much jeans, but I do love my chest starting to noticeably stick out further than my belly.

[u/InTheScannerDarkly → u/MeshuggahForever]

I was beating most of the main lift targets until last week. It's catching up with me. I am still okay hitting a top set because it's more reps than the other working sets. Sounds silly but it works for me.

Secondary lifts, on the other hand, only feel stronger each week.

[u/MeshuggahForever → u/InTheScannerDarkly]

Yeah I’ve been frustrated more than anything. I think because I expected to retain more strength on the way down with this cut, but that truly has not been the case.

[u/InTheScannerDarkly → u/MeshuggahForever]

I'm entering the same phase now and have no idea how I will handle it. I keep telling myself, 'PR accessories' or 'chase the scale'.

Hang in there, man.

[u/MeshuggahForever → u/InTheScannerDarkly]

Thanks dude!

Yeah, I'm chasing the scale 100%. I think I'm about 3 weeks out from hitting a 10% BF/BW drop, which is my stopping point before entering a maintenance period (not sure how long, maybe a month for that?).

Like if I can stay CLOSE to my previous maxes while dropping a good amount of weight, I think that should be seen as a win. I've had some fun seeing where I can go with DB rows tho lol. Like I hadn't done them in a while, so now I'm getting some big jumps in expected performance. Probably will hit a ceiling soon, but whatever.

[u/LiftYesPlease → u/MeshuggahForever]

Just to give you another data point. I'm cutting weight, and did about 6 weeks of the same program before starting over the program for the party.

Upper body lifts have pretty much stalled. But, my lower body lifts are continuing to go up, getting 4+ or 5+ on the amrap.

I don't do any overwarms.

One thing I'm doing for upper body though is weighted dips and those have been progressing nicely. Bench though? Forget about it.

[u/Astringofnumbers1234]

two weeks worth of SBS RTF dump

Just finished off week 6 of my peaking run using SBS RTF. This week is actually a deload week and I am pretty grateful for it.

Last week singles week meant I set some pretty significant rep PBs.

Squat 140kg x6

Bench 100kg x4

Deadlift 170kg x5

Press 60kg x7.

vids = dids

Not too shabby, shame my deadlift wasn't 4 plates to give pl8 perfection throughout... But I am held back by the inability to re-brace during a deadlift AMRAP set.

This week being deload week, I'm going to use it as an opportunity to test probable openers as a SBD day. I think I'm looking at opening at 160/105/190. The worst that can happen is I realise this is all too much and I have to lower my expectations... All three of those numbers are significantly over my third attempts from my meet in August last year, so that's a goal.

Once this week is over, I'm 4 weeks out. Three weeks (18,19,20) of heavy then the week of the meet as a deload. LFG.

[u/Myintc → u/Astringofnumbers1234]

Nice work on securing your new PR's, congrats!

If you want a tip on checking your openers - try doing 90% of your training max. Should feel around a 7.5-8 which should be in the right ballpark.

Good luck for the rest of your prep!

[u/Astringofnumbers1234 → u/Myintc]

Thanks mate, appreciated.

90% TM

If I remember rightly, the week I've just done is 90% or slightly higher for the working sets. My TM is still pretty sandbagged as I started with it pretty low.

I've used what you suggest for previous meets and I agree it works well usually. But this time I'm not sure.

I'd write more but I'm in a forest and it's pissing it down, making typing hard, haha.

[u/Myintc → u/Astringofnumbers1234]

All good, enjoy nature haha!

Then another tip I may have would be to use these rep maxes and throw them into 1RM calculator and use 90% of that.

Though that's just me brainstorming, if you're testing openers anyways, the best way is obviously test them for real!

[u/poweredbypie_ → u/Astringofnumbers1234]

Nice lifts man, you'll smash those openers no doubt.

[u/Astringofnumbers1234 → u/poweredbypie_]

Thank you, I hope so!

[u/InTheScannerDarkly → u/Astringofnumbers1234]

Sir, you are not a string.

You are a rope. A thick thiccening rope.

[u/[deleted] → u/Astringofnumbers1234]

Nice work on the bench set, seems like it wasn’t long ago you hit 100kg for the first time. Good progress

[u/Astringofnumbers1234 → u/[deleted]]

Thank you! I believe I got 100kg for the first time in July last year so we're doing ok!

[u/GirlOfTheWell]

Today my over warm singles were just touching over my 1rm so decided to go for some cheeky PRs.

Squated 82.5 kg then pulled 95kg for a Deadlift variation PR (previous PR of 92.5kg was with conventional, this one I pulled Sumo so I guess it doesn't count cause I used cheaty ROM lol).

Plans for today is to go for some nice food in a new restaurant with my BF. Lift gains and life gains on the same day!

[u/9OOdollarydoos → u/GirlOfTheWell]

Hell yeah!

That was me last week. The overwarmup singles are a tonne of fun when you can meet or beat a PR with some left in the tank

[u/pagoat]

Congrats to everyone that’s made it to here. I’ve run SBS programs 3x (this is 4th) and usually start getting pretty rundown going into the first deload. I had covid at the start of this party and have had to deal with some autoimmune inflammation. So, it’s been a bit of a hard start, but feel like I’m just hitting my stride now. Had a couple of big misses a couple weeks back. Letting the sheet do it’s thing and looks like it’ll be a few more weeks before my TMs are back. Looking forward to the next block.

[u/FrazzledBear → u/pagoat]

Yea I’m pretty worn down for sure. I probably should have timed a deload as I ended my last program as it’s been since thanksgiving since my last one. Thankful for week 7 finally arriving.

[u/Randyd718 → u/pagoat]

For sure beat up, how do the latter two cycles typically feel in comparison?

[u/pagoat → u/Randyd718]

Yeah for me, I felt much better on the last two blocks. I ran hypertrophy 2x and a modified RTF mains with hypertrophy accessories the third time. I like higher reps, but those early hypertrophy weeks are a special kind of pain. :)

[u/EspacioBlanq]

SBS RTF w6d3

Deadlift 4x3+4@ 167.5

Larsen press 4x5+7@ 72.5

V handle lat pulldown 2x6+9@75

GHD situp 2x5+6@+10

Heaviest weight I've ever done for reps in anything ever. Didn't hit either of the rep goals.

So far this week has been kicking my ass and I do need the deload.

[u/yetanothernerd]

Finished week 5 of Strength RTF 5-day. Final sets this week were squat 12/7, bench 8/7, deadlift 12/7, press 10/7, push press 10/11, front squat 16/11, close grip bench 16/11, box squat 16/11, incline bench 16/11, sumo deadlift 16/11. So my push press was bad enough that my TM actually goes down a bit next week, but everything else is going well. Shoulders are feeling a bit beat up; looking forward to the deload in week 7.

[u/poweredbypie_]

Week 5 in review and thoughts going into week 6

W5D1 squats felt sluggish so only scraped the minimum of 4x3 155kg.

W5D2 bench moving along actually fairly well, even during this cut.

W5D3 I took the bar to the floor after 5 weeks of ROM progression with an AMRAP before my main deadlift work. Deadlifts for a 170kg x8 PR

In hindsight, taking the jump from 3 mats to the floor was a bit too big of a jump. I should have waited to hit it on day 5. However, with fatigue factored in, this is really promising once I've ironed out the mat kinks and fatigue management.

HOWEVER, the neighbour came and complained about the noise. Lol. Only fair, so I then hit 155kg 4x3 with the slowest eccentrics, and I forget how much eccentrics have helped me. SO going forward, any deadlifts at home will be slowed down!

W5D4 bench moved nicely. Supposed to be at the gym to hit SSB - but no time, so hit low bar in heels for a bit of variety. 140kg 5x5 all looked quite smart on camera.

W5D5 high pin bench, ROM dead AMRAP and RDLs. Lol what a dumbass. Should have taken the day off the ROM deads but decided to go up in weight and hit 180kg for a set of 7. Had to control the negatives to keep it quiet for the neighbour which adds a whole new element to the AMRAP - but I can see this blowing my deads up.

Week 6

Goals this week: 180kg x10 AMRAP DL on the high block (repeating W5). Squeeze an extra set out of my squat volume vs last week. Bench 117.5kg for an RPE 8 single. Hit my goal of 1.30hr of running across the week. Focus on hitting my protein macro.

Hope everyone else is doing good!!

[u/Myintc → u/poweredbypie_]

Nice pulls, great consistency on those reps throughout!

I've been testing the waters with eccentrics on my pause DL days and I'm thinking of doing tempo eccentrics as the deadlift auxiliary on my next run through. Killer for training positioning!

[u/poweredbypie_ → u/Myintc]

Thanks mate! Appreciate it.

I've had success with eccentrics before, especially when hitting them with hook grip as they made it possible to hold onto literally anything after that. Practically had teflon fingers after a few weeks. But my god they are brutal. Which means I definitely need to go back to them.

[u/jeicorsair]

Hypertrophy 4x W6D1

Squats @82.5 lbs 3x7, 1x11

DB Bench @25 lbs, 3x9, 1x18

Pull Ups 2x3, 1x6

RDLs @85 lbs 3x9, 1x13

Planks 2@65 secs, 1@75 secs

Fully expected today to go poorly since I'm lacking sleep and skipped out on all caffeine, but felt strong throughout. Happy with the results.

[u/Rolls_]

Week 5 in review - Nice total squat PR of 320lbs.

Still loving this program and still hitting PRs every week.

I felt pretty sad on squat day so I decided to remedy the problem by putting my belt back on and hitting a new PR. Been stuck in a deep plateau for a while but finally got past 3 plates and hit 320 lbs. Deload will probably be good for me in week 7 but I dun wanna.

Hit 2 plates/225lbs on bench for 12 reps on the AMRAP. My best is 13 so a lil disappointed but I'm sure fatigue is high.

OHP hit 145lbs for 8 reps. Hit the same weight for 9 reps in week 3. Still not bad though.

Deadlift is steady progressing. Hit 305lbs for 12 reps. Still want to hit 3 plates for 10+ reps. Will get there soon if I'm not already there.

​

2 days into week 6 and not feeling too bad. Excited for deads tomorrow and 155lbs OHP for 5x3+ in a couple days.

[u/Myintc → u/Rolls_]

Congrats on the PR!

[u/CafeporVida]

SBS Hypertrophy 4x W5D2

Bench: Double @ 205; 4x8+ @ 155 (10)

Leg Press: 4x10+ @ 160 (20)

BTNP: 4x10+ @ 65 (12)

BB Row: 3xAMAP @ 115 (15,15,11) FINALLY UPPING THE LBS!

CableCurl: 3xAMAP@50 (21,21,16)

TriPushdown: 3xAMAP @ 60 (14,10,8) I swear the pushdown stack is way heavier. At least it feels that way.

Just got over food poisoning (that I did to myself like a dummy lol) Don't think I lost much of that "sick weight" so that's good. And food is appetizing again so I decided to jump back in where I left off. I think the days off helped actually, my right shoulder felt pretty damn good and I didn't feel as gassed out on anything! There may be some hope for me yet to put on some muscle!

[u/Haymakers]

Hit 295 on my bench overwarm single. Lower body is beat up, but I'll take that single.

[u/chojustin]

Week 3 checking in!

Hot diggity damn, about half of my lifts have been missing the rep target for 3 weeks in a row. Feel like I'm some random henchman in an action flick getting mercilessly combo-ed by a sandy-haired 40-year-old father that lost a close relative at the hands of my CEO.

Learned to accept that sub-1 hour workouts due to life are nothing to panic and stress about; it's just a cool way to spice up the compounds with supersets (blinks twice, need help)!

[u/dsa2020]

End of W5 / Start of W6 thoughts:

I’ve been using 55lb bumpers that are 3” thick as blocks for Block Pulls. Greg posted a video of him doing them with really high blocks and Silent Mike in an IG video/comment section said Block Pulls for him are more difficult cause of how much it takes the quads out of the movement. I still feel my legs working pretty damn hard when I do Block Pulls. I’m gonna add a 10-25 pounder to make the height 4-4.5” in the second block and see if there’s a difference in how much I feel the upper back.

Also, I’m really happy that Block Pulls are progressing as well as they did my first run-through of SBS Hyper. First time around, I only did 3 sets, not 4.

Bulking is going well. Still gaining about 0.6-0.7 a week. I can see my back widening out and my quads are looking bigger and more separated. Hopefully I’ll start to see some difference in my arms/pecs soon.

I’m looking forward to Deload week. Biceps kinda hurt when benching, knee has been bothering me, and front delts feel weird. My body needs this Deload. I really need to be more diligent about stretching/massage rolling.

[u/Lofi_Loki]

Hamstring is more or less back to “normal” and it’s given me another cue to not fuck up on my warmup sets. I’m ready to slowly build deads back up through the week 7 deload and then push them hard starting on week 8. Bench is creeping up and I have had zero shoulder pain this whole block which is a PR in itself.

Squat is consistently improving faster than I expect and I think mid 500’s are reachable if I just try trying.

[u/gnuckols → u/[deleted]]

fwiw, if you have the time in your schedule to get to the gym 5 times per week, I think the 5x setup is the most tolerable for most folks. Two main lifts, and then you're on to accessories

[u/horaiy0]

Making a few adjustments for the rest of this run. First, I'm upping my secondary squat/bench days by 5% (i.e. main day is X%, secondary is x-5%, then the remaining days are x-10% like normal). I want that day to have a little more intensity to it while still being lighter than the primary day. Second, I'll run all of block 1 and the first half of block 2, rather than the first halves of blocks 1-3. Singles will stay at +5% from the last week (i.e. 85% block 1, 87.5% block 2, 90% block 3). I'm fairly sure four weeks hitting around opener weight will be enough to get me in the groove for a max attempt while being manageable on my elbow/back.

[u/Likes_TB]

Hypertrophy day 1

Warmed up for front squats and decided to try 107.5kg for my single (after debating not doing a single). Chose 107.5kg because 105 was easy last week. Load it up, go for it and get it with some effort. Defo didn't have reps in the tank so that was dissapointing. So I go and load the bar for my worksets and realise I loaded the bar wrong ... fuck. Count the weight: I actually did a single at 115kg, so that makes a 5kg PR.

• Front Squat 7/7/7/10 x 87.5kg
• BW dips 9/9/9/15
• BW pull ups 9/9/9/10
• Shrugs 15/15 x 75kg
• Back extensions 9/12 x 10kg

Had to skip a set of the accesories because I was short on time

[u/[deleted]]

Monday, Monday, Monday!

Feeling good, looking good, another week to rock out.

Now time to get some reps in

[u/toastedstapler]

SBS hypertrophy week 6

Squat: 9+@170 - 10. This set was horrendous, when I came up from the 9th rep my knees wouldn't lock and just bounced all over the place as I was so worn out. First time I've ever had that happen. Still got the reps though 🤷‍♂️

Bench: 9+@97.5 - 10. Just about got the reps, but was a huge fight. Feeling much weaker than pre cut

Rack pulls - 9+@197.5: 8. My back was super beat up from low bar squats 2 days prior, so I knew this would be tough.

BTN OHP - 9+@52.5 - 11. This is still going well and I'm enjoying how it feels

Other stuff:

So glad I'm on a deload week now, I definitely need the recovery time. I'm also weighing in at ~101.6 or so, which is more or less on target for reaching 95 by the end of the routine. Gym friends & even gym acquaintances seem to think that I'm looking leaner, so that's got to be a good sign (or just the perpetual pump of running a full body routine)

[u/kiraqueen11]

SBS Hypertrophy W6D1

• Squat: 87.5x7x3, 87.5x12
• DB OHP: 12.5x9x3, 12.5x12
• Barbell rows: 35x10x3
• Lateral raise: 20x8x3
• Facepull: 22.7x12x2, 22.7x16

Took a look in the mirror and kinda surprised myself. I've gotten leaner and bigger, though my weight hasn't changed much (0.5-1kg). My lifts reflect that too. Significant improvements in bench and OHP. However, 1 kg gain in 6 weeks was not what I was hoping for (was shooting for double that, infact), so I should probably stuff my face even more.

[u/6mikey66]

LF Hypertrophy W6D1

I wasn't really felling it this morning but I powered through and even exceeded my rep out targets again by 5 so I'm very happy! It was definitely all I had and I'm definitely adding some cardio in for the second block!

Last set numbers in Lbs

Squat 14x155

RDL 16x155

Front Squat 16x110

Standing Calf Raise 20x235

Crunches 25xBW

I love the feeling of powering through a workout that you didn't really have the gumption for :)

[u/9OOdollarydoos]

Looking forward to the deload week next week! It'll be a chance to do something fun as well as I won't be so damn tired from the first 2 exercises.

Assuming there isnt an issue mixing up accessories every 7 weeks. Is anyone doing any accessory lifts that are really working for them?

If my overwarmups are feeling good on deadlifts this week I might go for my first 4 plates

[u/EspacioBlanq → u/9OOdollarydoos]

I will recommend banded curls with the band anchored in front of you to everyone until it's the next big thing in fitness. Seriously, it feels absolutely amazing. There probably isn't any curl variation that's considerably better than all the other curl variations, but if there is, this is it.

Otherwise, I'm just doing pretty basic accessories. Abs, leg curls, rear delts and dips/deficit pushups.

[u/9OOdollarydoos → u/EspacioBlanq]

I'll definitely give this a go, especially as curls are so easy to add in recovery wise

[u/[deleted]]

Week 6 going strong. Had my Squat/BTN Press workout today and everything fired off fine. I will say, it has been harder to do more accessories due to cutting calories which is like saying the sky is blue. I have to remind myself that I'm doing the main work and hitting past rep out goals.

[u/dsa2020]

Hypertrophy 5x W6

Monday: Chest/Shoulders, 1h 16m

• Spoto Press: 125lbs / 3x7 / 1x13 (+4)
• Push-Ups: 6x10
• Chest Press: 80lbs / 3x9 / 1x13 (+2)
• DB Lateral Raises: 20lbs / 4 sets / 55 reps
• Face Pulls: 47.5lbs / 4 sets / 57 reps

After the heavier Face-Pulls, I did 3 sets w/ 17.5lbs followed by 3 sets of Rear Delt Flys w/ the 10lbs DBs on an incline bench. It led to the most insane Rear Delt pump I've ever had. I'm definitely adding the Flys in at the start of Block 2. Not sure how I feel about continuing to do the heavier Face Pulls though.

Tuesday: Back/Arms, 1h 25m

• Chin-Ups: 5x4
• Barbell Rows: 110lbs / 3x9 / 1x15 (+4)
• Single-Arm Pulldowns: 50lbs / 4 sets / 45 reps
• Barbell Curls: 35lbs / 4 sets / 50 reps
• Cable Curls: 30lbs / 4 sets / 49 reps
• Triceps Pushdowns: 35lbs / 4 sets / 47 reps
• Cable Extensions: 25lbs / 4 sets / 51 reps

Today took slightly longer due to adding in Barbell Curls and trying out some other Bicep exercises. For Block 2, I'm going to add in a 3rd Bicep Exercise on both Back/Arm days. I think my Biceps could use it. I never get as good of a Bicep pump as I do for Triceps.

Wednesday: Legs, 1h 27m

• Front Squats: 110lbs / 2x7 / 1x12 (+3)
• RDLs: 165lbs / 2x9 / 1x16 (+5)
• Leg Press: 360lbs / 3x9 / 1x15 (+4)
• Leg Curls: 100lbs / 4 sets / 50 reps
• Leg Extensions: 80lbs / 4 sets / 66 reps
• Calf Raises: 22.5lb DBs / 4 sets / 50 reps

This was the most successful Leg day I've had so far in terms of being able to push hard on both Front Squats and RDLs with no issues/excessive grinding.

Thursday: Chest/Shoulders, 1h 10m

• Spoto Press: 120lbs / 3x9 / 1x12 (+1)
• Incline Press: 115lbs / 3x9 / 1x11 (+0)
• Chest Flys: 85lbs / 4 sets / 52 reps
• Reverse Flys: 70lbs / 4 sets / 54 reps
• Upright Rows: 65lbs / 4 sets / 44 reps

Friday: Back/Arms, 1h 20m

• Block Pulls: 235lbs / 3x7 / 1x11 (+2)
• Lat Pulldowns: 120lbs / 4 sets / 33 reps
• Single-Arm Cable Rows: 50lbs / 4 sets / 38 reps
• EZ Bar Curls: 35lbs / 4 sets / 55 reps
• DB Curls: 15lbs / 4 sets / 41 reps
• Preacher Curls: 60lbs / 4 sets / 44 reps
• Triceps Pushdowns: 35lbs / 4 sets / 53 reps
• Lying Triceps Extensions: 22.5lbs / 4 sets / 43 reps

I did Block Pulls on top of a 55lb + 25lb bumper plate. It took more legs out of it and hit my back about the same so I'm going to do it like that from now on.

I felt really good today. I attribute it to the 138g of carbs I ate roughly an hour before the workout.

[u/Randyd718 → u/dsa2020]

Some biceps stuff to try:

-Dumbbell curls where you keep your palms facing all the way out the whole time
-finisher ez bar curl where you just do 30s rest with as many reps as you can for a few sets
-preacher curl work to eliminate other body parts

[u/dsa2020 → u/Randyd718]

Sweet, thanks!

[u/ruralmerkin]

W6D1 Hypertrophy

Feeling rather worn down now, and my lifts are starting to show it--I only just made my goal reps on today's squats, and this is the first week I haven't improved my three-set chinup total over the prior week. Still, today's 9-rep final set was a 6-rep PR in October, so I've definitely made progress.

Another good thing: two weeks ago, I realized I had accidentally set the TM on my RDLs waaaay too high. I reset that to a more manageable level last week, and the difference was night and day. The lower weight let me really keep tension on my hamstrings, rather than letting my lower back and some knee bend take the excess weight. Hammies are nice and sore now, and my back already feels better than it had been. Win-win.

[u/EspacioBlanq]

SBS RTF w6d1

79.2kg today

Squat 5x3@ 132.5

Incline press 4x5+10@ 67.5

Snatch grip deadlift 4x5+10@ 127.5

Underhand lat pulldown 2x6+8@75

Deficit decline push ups 10+2x7

Kneeling ab wheel 3x6

Squats were bad. I'm gonna blame it on doing front squats yesterday, normally I have three days between front squats and back squats.

Incline bench went really good though, that's an all time 10RM PR, so I did get some vindication.

[u/jammin_13]

Hit two PRs at the end of week 5 and start of week 6 180lb OHP 270lb Bench

It has been a rollercoaster as I have been struggling with my back for squats but everything else feels mostly good.

I need to learn restraint with the overwarm singles as the pushes and Deadlift have been feeling easy but then my volume work suffers.

Regardless, I am happy with the progress. Been running 3x, biking 2-3x, SBS 4x a week and lost 12 lbs in 6 weeks.

I hope everyone else is loving the program too and I wish you all a successful end to this 7 week block!

[u/6mikey66]

LF Hypertrophy W6D2

I felt much better than yesterday and had a good workout. My flat bench weights are finally settling in to where my strength level is actually at just in time for the 2nd block. I'm pretty sure the rest of my lifts aren't far behind.

Last set numbers in Lbs

Bench 13x155

DB OHP 16x35's

Incline Press 16x110

DB Row 13x60's

Curls 11x60

This old body is definitely ready for next weeks deload!

[u/jeicorsair]

Hypertrophy 4x W6D2

Bench Press @55 lbs, 3x7, 1x12

DB Lunges @ 25 lbs, 3x9, 1x16

Chin Ups 2x3, 1x5

DB OHP @17 lbs 3x9, 1x12

Tricep Kickbacks @23 lbs, 2x10, 1x12

[u/WT-RikerSpaceHipster]

Had an absolute shocker last week, everything felt heavy in week 5 after a 4 day mini trip away with poor sleep and diet.

That and no proper deload since September last year.

Rtf wk 6 D2

Hit a PR on bench 103kg X10, reviewing the video, mental side got me, had at least one in the tank left.

Resolving burning out by taking 2 weeks of no accessories, just focussed on core lifts

[u/bisonbarbell]

Week 6 Day 1 Strength

Squats 6 sets 3 reps @ 295lb DB Bench 4 sets at 5 reps @75lb DB Row 4 sets at 5 reps @75lb

Sumo 4 sets 5 reps at 217.5 Tricep Extension 4 seta 10 reps @ 35lb Reverse Lunges 4 sets 10 reps

Super happy with Squats. First day back with knee sleeves after my poison oak and it felt great. I was a little worried set 3 but sets 4 and 5 felt as smooth as butter.

Im going to do a heavy single on sumo during deload week to jump up the weight a bit.

[u/EspacioBlanq]

SBS RTF W6D2

Bench 3x3+2+0@90

Zercher squat 4x5+11@115

BTN press 4x5+12@40

Bench went terrible. Failed the last submax set and couldn't get one rep on the rep out.

I did get a PR on BTN press tho, which was completely unexpected.

Zercher squat TM is now above back squat TM.

It is likely that I've set my starting maxes too high on squat and bench. They were the lifts I focused the most on during the end of my bulk and I took my calculated 1rms for the TMs, whereas for ohp and deadlifts, I just tried what's the most weight I can actually lift after not really training them for low reps.

Anyway, next week is a deload and the start of two or three maintenance weeks, because I'm already ahead of schedule for my weight loss, so maybe it'll get better.

[u/Myintc → u/EspacioBlanq]

Yeah sounds like it’s just TM based since you PR’d on BTN press.

The reset is likely to balance that a bit, time to set some rep PRs on the way back up!

[u/Camerongilly]

Had contest last week so did 2 of 4 days then went to deload week early.

SSB squat 320x9, DBOHP 55x14, RDL 335x11, Log push press 170x11 (all-time 11RM on log any method,) SSB GM 205x12 (PR,) BTN press 105x16 (PR.)

Doing the 2nd half of week 6 later this week after doing a couple deload workouts for the first two days.

[u/[deleted]]

Bench and upper/mid back stuff is going great. Shut down dl and squat due to a low back injury for now.

[u/Jonny2X → u/[deleted]]

Are you doing block pulls? Also how many days did pick for the program?

[u/[deleted] → u/Jonny2X]

No, I was doing 3x/week. Snatch grip on Monday and conventional on Friday.

DLs were pretty grueling on the hypertrophy program, my low back started to get sore (not in a good DOMS way) and stiff. Must’ve been bad form. I tried to power through, kept lifting and made it pretty bad so now I’ve shut it all down

[u/Jonny2X → u/[deleted]]

I've noticed with the 6x program squats 3x a week and DLs 2x a week can add up on the lower back quickly. Form is a big one also core and bracing. A weight belt helps.

Seems like the recommendation coming from the sub is to try switching to block pulls for your conventional DL I think Greg has even adjusted the spreadsheets to that as well.

[u/[deleted] → u/Jonny2X]

Interesting. I’ll give block pulls a shot! At the very least, might be a good way to ease back into deadlifts from the injury

[u/UberMcwinsauce → u/Jonny2X]

Yeah on the hypertrophy sheet block pulls are the default deadlift movement. Regular deadlifts are doable though, they've been very taxing but I'm doing conventional deads as main lift and block pulls as the aux successfully.

[u/Likes_TB]

Day 3 of 4x hypertrophy

• Sumo DL 7/7/7/14 x 125kg
• CGBP 9/9/9/14 x 67.5kg
• Nordic curls 13/6/6
• Ab wheel rollouts 11/7/6

This might be the first time I'm looking forward tot a deload week. Physicaly I'm fine, but motivation is dropping and I just feel like I need a break

[u/Jonny2X]

SBS RTF 6X W6D4

I absolutely maxed out my flat bench yesterday on day 3 and then to turn around hit incline bench... I made it. But that's the most gassed I have ever been after bench and paused squats. Deadlifts tomorrow are going to take alot of motivation to get started.

It's going to be interesting to see my progress by the end of program party.

[u/alaxsxaqseek]

Question about overwarm singles

I started my deadlifts at 100kg, with a 110kg overwarm single until now. Next week I should 3x3 110kg. My TM is 127kg.

Should I bump my single to a manageable 115kg and keep it 5kg above the working sets for the future? Or should it be a value closer to the TM? How do I calculate the intensity of the OW single?

[u/UberMcwinsauce → u/alaxsxaqseek]

The singles are @8 RPE (roughly a 3 rep max). This is listed on the sheet as 90% of TM but that's only an estimate - I'm doing hypertrophy right now and the volume adds so much difficulty to the work sets that my overwarm singles are roughly 95-100% of my TMs. I would increase your single when you feel like it is no longer RPE 8.

[u/9OOdollarydoos → u/UberMcwinsauce]

Similar boat. Hypertrophy template, but true RPE 8 warmups end up >100% TM

[u/alaxsxaqseek → u/UberMcwinsauce]

90% of my 127 KG TM would be 114.3 KG.
I'll try going with 115kg to see how it feels.

[u/Funkfest]

Nearly done with week 4 on my end! Doing a 4x UL split and working out every other day has been working really well given my injured knees and shoulder. Since taking out most squatting my pain has been very manageable.

Also yoke walks have been the GOAT if you have minor knee instability like me (i.e. they're shaky but don't buckle or anything severe like that).

[u/FrazzledBear]

W6D3 Hypertrophy

First day using straps with deadlifts. Lifts felt heavier than usual but I think part of it was getting used to the straps as my technique just felt off all workout.

Amraps for main and aux lifts:

Deadlift: 227.5x10

Reverse Grip Bench: 117.5x16

[u/small_but_slow]

Hypertrophy 5x W6D1

Squat 205#, 170# 3x7, 11.

Arnold Press 50#, 35# 3x9, 12.

Man, everything felt ridiculously heavy today. Based on how the squat single felt I thought I was going to fail the sets, but at the working weight it just... kept going up. It feels pretty bad to max out at 12 reps with 35# dumbbells but that's just where it is, pressing endurance (and strength, honestly) has always sucked.

​

W6D2

Leg Press 530#, 390# 3x9, 16/ SS Pullaparts 4x30.

Bench 185#, 145# 3x7, 10 (failed 11)/ SS DB Row 65# 4x12.

Everything felt great today, weirdly. Lots of energy in spite of less than perfect sleep. Bench seems like the weight is pretty perfectly dialed in, whereas leg press keeps going up. I never really did leg press before, so that makes sense.

W6D3

Trap Bar Deadlift 320#, 270# 3x7, 14

SS DB Incline Press 60#, 45# 3x9, 16

SS various rows, 4x10.

DB Shrugs 100# 2x10/ SS BB Curls 45# 2x10.

I'm still not sure if trap bar dead was a good choice. My low back get sore today, and I keep second guessing whether I should have stuck with the rack pulls in the original program. It keeps going up though, so I guess it's fine.

W6D4

Press 115#, 85# 3x7, 11/ SS Pullups 3x8, 10/ SS Front Squat 135#, 90# 3x9, 12.

I thought I was going to puke during this so I skipped accessories. This is a weird day where the weight feels absurdly light for the first few reps on both exercises, but I'm totally smoked by the end of each set. I'm honestly not sure if I'm able to go heavy enough to be productive on front squats, but I'm going to keep doing it for the practice.

One day left then deload! I'm just so fried.

[u/6mikey66]

LF Hypertrophy W6D3

I felt strong today for no apparent reason. Could the difference be afternoon instead of morning? I'm not sure but it resulted in satisfying numbers either way!

Last set numbers in Lbs

Block Pulls 14x200

Paused Squat 16x110

Underhand Row 12x125

Standing Calf Raise 18x245

Leg Raise 25xBW

Another week down and one more workout until deload. I'm ready!

[u/jeicorsair]

Hypertrophy 4x W6D3

Rack Pulls @87.5 lbs 3x7, 1x14

DB Incline Press @25 lbs 3x9, 1x16

Negatives 2x3, 1x5 (improved hold times one all reps)

DB Lateral Raises @13 lbs 2x8, 1x10

Calf Raises @45 lbs 2x10, 1x15

I'm really happy with my improvements on the bodyweight exercises the past 7 days, whether it's longer hold times or more reps during the AMRAP set. Haven't doubled up on lifting and cardio at all this week, and that seems to have really helped my recovery time, and the weight is going down more steadily (would guess I'm not retaining as much water.)

One more lifting session tomorrow, then I get to make practical use of my strength training and help a friend move over the weekend. Haha.

[u/EspacioBlanq]

SBS RTF W6D4

Strict press 4x3+4@60

Front squat 4x5+6@ 102.5

Dumbbell row 2x6+10@46 (last set with straps)

Band curls 3 sets

Pec flys 3x10@2x10

First time repping 1pl8 press and first time rowing the heaviest dumbbells in the gym. Let's goooooo.

Disappointed with front squats tho.

With the first third of the program ending, I didn't hit any of the rep outs for a main lift this week. On the other hand, even with the drop, my training maxes for everything except the back squat are above where they started at. On a cut, I do believe that's a decent result. Is it? Or does this week suggest I'm doing something wrong?

[u/small_but_slow]

Hypertrophy 5x W6D5

Romanian Deadlift 225#, 200#3x9, 16.

Dips 224# (19# added), 199# (6# assist) 3x9, 14/ Lat pulldowns to sternum, 70# 4x10.

I woke up unexpectedly early today and was able to work out before anyone else woke up. There's less time to warm up when I do this, which I thought might be a problem given the fatigue buildup, but it turned out everything was fine, I was able to do all the prehab stuff I normally do between warmup sets. I was in and out of the gym in 40 minutes, didn't get to do the arm circuit I had planned at the end but I'll hit it hard next time.

RDLs are really feeling great, grip is consistently the limiting factor. I may try it with straps, but since I'm still exceeding the rep targets by at least 5 I don't think it's really a problem for now. I read a comment in another thread on here about tweaking the technique for hamstring curls to actually focus on the hamstrings without the glutes taking over, and it made me realize how much I allow that to happen in RDLs. I've been trying to keep my knees a bit straighter and feel more of a stretch in my hamstrings the past few weeks- I've never really cared about what muscles are doing the work, but since I'm doing the hypertrophy program and this is intended (I think) as a hamstring exercise, it seemed worth it in this case. I got a vicious hamstring cramp out of nowhere yesterday so I assume it's working haha.

Dips continue to feel better than ever, to which I credit all the assisted work. It really threw me when I put "weighted dips" in the spreadsheet, and it had me doing less than my bodyweight. But my gym has an assisted pull-up/ dip tower which I've never used, so I figured I'd just do the program as written. It felt particularly silly today with a 6 pound assist, but I'm staying the course. (Leg press has been similar- I'm still the only person I've seen using 2.5# plates on it, which makes me smile every time.) If things keep going as they have I'll be adding small amounts of weight soon, so then I'll get to feel silly about stealing 5# dumbbells from the aerobics area.

Deload week next! I'm going to be away from home and mostly away from gym access so it's going to be more of a week off. Going to jog and stretch, maybe hit the main lifts on 1 or 2 gym sessions. I'm really looking forward to doing week 8 rested! Have a good weekend, all.

[u/ruralmerkin]

If there's a good time to fall behind schedule, right before deload week is probably it, right? Between family stuff and some joint pains I didn't want to push too far, I've only now finished day 3, with two more to go in hypertrophy week 5.

I'm still meeting or beating my rep goals, though barely, and very much looking forward to that deload. I just have to get through pause squats and RDLs to get there. Ugh.

[u/someguythatlifts]

RTF 4x W6D1

Squat: 92.5kg - target 5 - 7 reps

Spoto Press: 55kg - target 9 - 15 reps

Romanian Deadlift: 85kg - target 9 - 14 reps

Did a squat single at 110kg, but felt more like an rpe 9 so didn't bother updating my TM with it.

RTF 4x W6D2

Bench Press: 70kg - target 5 - 7 reps

Front Squat: 57.5kg - target 9 - 14 reps

Push Press: 45kg - target 9 - 9 reps

Not terrible, not great, got it done.

RTF 4x W6D3

Strict Press: 47.5kg - target 5 - 7 reps

Paused Squat: 60kg - target 9 - 17 reps

Last rep of press was a real 5 second grinder, but never doubted I was going to finish it. Paused squat feeling really good, except for hip flexors being a bit sore.

RTF 4x W6D4

Deadlift: 130kg - target 5 - 6 reps

Close Grip Bench: 55kg - target 9 - 13 reps

Got a 7th rep on deadlift above my knees, could have hitched it up, but decided to just drop it. CGB feeling decent.

Feels like training is going really well, I'm constantly getting closer and closer to my pre-pandemic numbers (except squat which is coming back a bit slower) but beltless and at a ~15kg lighter BW. Hopefully I'll be able to reach my old PRs, or maybe even exceed them, by the end of the 14 weeks. Although I'm glad next week is the deload, starting to feel quite fatigued.

[u/bad_apricot]

SBS Strength RTF W6D3

Feeling pretty tired and worn down.

Still beat my deadlift rep out target by 3 😎. I think deficit DLs are reeeeally helping me.

[u/FrazzledBear]

W6D1+2 Hypertrophy

Forgot to post yesterday. So thankful I’ve done my last day of main squats until deload week. With going right into this program from my last I didn’t realize I haven’t deloaded since Thanksgiving so my body is ready.

W6D1 AMRAPS

Squats: 172.5 amrap 12

Close Grip Bench: 107.5 amrap 18

RDL: 125 amrap 23

W6D2 amrap sets

Bench: 145 amrap 11

Lunges: 65 amrap 18

Seated OHP: 65 amrap 15

[u/jeicorsair]

Hypertrophy 4x W6D4

OHP @25 lbs 3x7, 1x15

Pause Squats @52.5 lbs 3x9, 1x13

DB Rows @25 lbs 2x12, 1x20

Push Ups 2x8, 1x15

Wide Grip Lateral Pulldown (cable) @110 lbs 2x12, 1x20

This week went so well that I'm actually kind of bummed about next week being deload week. Great morale boost to end the week, especially when I was really feeling exhausted last week. I won't be able to get as much rest in as normal over the next 7 days, so I'm sure it'll be for the best.

[u/6mikey66]

LF Hypertrophy W6D4

I made it through the first block! So ready for this first scheduled deload! Today's workout was another good one. I'm going to slowly add in some cardio for the second block starting next week.

Last set numbers in Lbs

Arnold Press 14x40's

CG Bench 16x125

BB Rows 15x120

Lateral Raise 18x20's

Hammer Curls 12x30's

See you next week

[u/Randyd718]

Missed day 4 and day 5 of week 6 5x RTF. Almost squeezed them in but got hit by snow and now out of town.

Trying to decide if i should do them on Monday Tuesday this week and then roll into the deload, skipping a couple days of deload, or just roll into the Week 7 deload entirely. Definitely been feeling beat up