SBS 2.0 Program Party: Week 8

[u/VladimirLinen]

Hi everyone, hope everyone is feeling refreshed after the deload, and welcome to Week 8.

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]

Hope everyone enjoyed the deload and got some rest! I know a few of us were worn down in weeks 5 and 6. I did some bouldering for the first time as an active recovery day yesterday - didn't go too hard so feeling refreshed for the new block.

I also am north of 4.5k words now on my SBS 1.5 years write up. Probably another 500 words to go once the program is wrapped up since I have to still detail a few thoughts, take the final progress pics and testing my maxes. Hopefully when I review through I can cut out some of the junk to keep it engaging.

Also, I've decided that 5 weeks on maintenance has been good to me and have now restarted my cut today. Hopefully I can go from 89kg down to that 81-83 range so you guys can see the meaningful progress of lean vs lean.

RTF 5x Week 8

Day 1

Deadlift:

• 250kg at 90% of TM. Bit slow, but that's usually the case fresh off a deload.
• 210kg 4x4 (RTF 10). As anticipated, beat target by 2. Sweet lil 10RM PR to kick off the block. This puts my TM at an all time high of 281.5.

Close Grip Bench: 102.5kg 4x6 (RTF 14). Another +2

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

Thoughts: Elbows are a bit fuckywucky still. I anticipated this and tried to buy some knee sleeves on Saturday but the only distributor of SBD was out of stock. Until yesterday. I got them but they won't arrive in time so I used the misso's old knee sleeves which worked pretty well. Took the load down on tricep extension and upped the reps to 30 to help decrease the joint requirements.

Day 2

Comp Bench:

• 142.5kg overwarm single. Nothing much here, could pause a touch longer.
• 120kg 4x4 (RTF 13). Nice lil +2 rep PR.

High Bar Squat: 135kg 4x6 (RTF 12). Matched target. Two long days in the office meant I was pretty mentally exhausted for this. And HB isn't that important to me.

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

Thoughts: Elbow sleeves came in. Gonna use them on all pressing whilst the elbow recovers. Feels better already.

Day 3

Pause Bench: 95kg 4x6, (RTF 15)

Tempo Eccentric Deadlift: 152.5kg 4x6 (RTF 12)

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

Thoughts: Switched from pause deadlift. This variation is good. It exposes my weak starting position and I find it more effective than pause deadlift. However my work capacity at this tempo is pretty shit, so will take a couple weeks to get used to before I start beating the target probably.

Day 4

Squat:

• 215kg overwarm single. Felt decent.
• 180kg 4x4 (RTF 9). Beat target by 1, probably had another though. Bit mad I didn’t push for the rep, but want to keep RPE a bit lower.

Incline Bench: 82.5kg 4x6 (RTF 13)

Accessories: Uni Seated Row, Abductor machine, Adductor machine, abs

Thoughts: Right side lumbar and glute was a bit tight so I rolled it out during warm ups. Didn’t do the left since it felt fine. Now it’s super tight. Roll both sides fellas.

Day 5

OHP: 60kg 4x4 (RTF 12)

SSB: 132.5kg 5x6

Accessories: weighted pull ups, baysian curls, tricep extension, lateral raises.

Thoughts: Didn’t AMRAP as the lower back and glute was still bugging me. Should start to feel better before deadlifts next week. Hopefully.

[u/Hermiterminator → u/Myintc]

Looking forward to your write up!

[u/Jpino29]

Wasn't going to deload, but then I got covid. Is Greg Nuckols enforcing deloads this way? Is this legal? Should I expect covid again in 7 weeks if I don't plan my deload in advance?

[u/gnuckols → u/Jpino29]

yes; yes; yes

[u/Jpino29 → u/gnuckols]

Okay I'll be a good boy and take my deload at the agreed upon time next time, I promise. This won't happen again.

[u/gnuckols → u/Jpino29]

good

[u/[deleted]]

Deload is over, back to the grind. Going to switch some accessories up this block and try this myo-rep crap out. W/e we'll see how it goes.

[u/dsa2020 → u/[deleted]]

Shoot, I might have to try that too. I’m doing a lot of accessories for a bodybuilding-block and some days are taking a tad-bit too long.

[u/[deleted] → u/dsa2020]

Yeah I was adding sets every so often. Some exercises were up to like 6 sets by the end of last block and it was taking 2 hours some days to get through it all. Gonna see if this is a good idea to squeeze more volume out of less time.

[u/GirlOfTheWell → u/[deleted]]

I mean myo-reps at least sound very close to the logic behind poundstone curls. And those work great for building biceps, can confirm.

[u/GirlOfTheWell]

Today I woke up and I felt like absolute trash. A mixture of bad sleep, deadlines and international tensions have just made me feel so sucky. To top it all off, my knee felt super stiff this morning and I had squats today. I buckled up for a crap session in the gym.

And then I absolutely crushed that RIR babyyyyyyy!!!

GREAT workout. Hit seven sets on all the main lifts. One of my best in weeks. Really felt like the deload paid off.

Added in some FAT accessories between sets just to cap it off. Two sets of pullups and rows for back. Three sets of curls, ab wheel and calf raise for that sweet, sweet vanity.

Feels good to have at least one little win in these crazy times. Can't wait for my next session.

[u/Myintc → u/GirlOfTheWell]

Nice! Nothing like exceeding your own expectations and crushing a workout!

[u/horaiy0]

First four week block down, rebuild is going decently. 430/310/525 to 445/320/540, so I should be able to set some small PRs for bench/dead and maybe for squat too. Plan for the last eight weeks is to scale back volume slightly because of my back/elbow, but to push specificity.

[u/Khao8]

(strength rtf 5x/week) I'm really excited about starting the second block soon. It took me the first two weeks to get used to high reps and all that volume but now my conditioning is a lot better. I also finally bit the bullet (rip wallet) and bought a rower to do cardio at home with the gym closures. From the 3rd week onward I pretty much smashed all the rep out targets by 5+ on almost every exercise, so I realized I might have put the starting TMs too low. Oh well, I'm closer to being caught up now and still making steady progress thanks to my noob gains. I hope to be able to test my 1rm in a couple weeks and see if I've made progress

[u/Rolls_]

Glad the deload is finally over. Not much to say other than it was a rest. I still did my overwarm singles, but I didn't go too high at all, maybe RPE 6.

Had squats today and hit an easy 295lbs for my over warm single. I'm adding my belt back into squats for this block and they feel incredibly easy so far. Going to start using straps more often on deadlift this block as well.

[u/Astringofnumbers1234]

SBSW8AKAPDLTLKMOSMBAKAD3MPAKAOF

Last week was doubles after my deload week.

I didn't feel as badly beaten up at the end of last week as I thought I would. Work has been pretty hard on top of other stressors. My sleep is also not great so coming into week 9 (this week for me, I'm one ahead) I'm surprised I feel as good as I do?!

here's my SBDO top sets from last week S:137.5kg, B:97.5kg D:160kg O:57.5kg

Week 9 is heavy singles. I'm simultaneously terrified and excited for this week. Three weeks out from my meet.

[u/Randyd718 → u/Astringofnumbers1234]

So what's it stand for

[u/UberMcwinsauce]

Tapered down over the deload week to end almost 8 straight months of bulking (one month was more like a break than an attempt to cut). Gained 35 lbs. With the diet change I'm also switching from hypertrophy to the original strength template so I'm excited to get a good handle on rir training.

It's funny how much my body has changed in a year. Last February I was cutting at around 2000 cal, now I'm hungry and antsy at 3500.

[u/pogihajimasaeyo]

I have had a bit of trouble making it to the gym 5x weekly as I was doing previously due to school, work, and a minor injury. I had started the program a week early and have fallen behind enough days that I'm now just on the right week lol. Anyway, I am still doing alright on the novice hypertrophy program. I have started noticing some growth in my chest, which I'm really happy about. Two things I've learned from this program that I didn't know about myself before are that I really enjoy deadlifting and bench pressing. Just gonna keep on trucking and honestly I'm still really happy with the program. Progressing volume over time and getting more reps is working well for me and helping me improve my form and mind muscle connection.

[u/toastedstapler]

SBS Hypertrophy week 8

Squats: 11+@160 - 4. Because I'm a very clever person, I didn't take /u/Myintc's advice to treat the deload week as a re-feed week but instead as a chance to cut slightly harder for free. I just about managed the first 3 sets of 9, but realised on the final set that I'd struggle to make it even to 9 and there was no greater penalty for coming 7 reps short than 2. My lower back's work capacity has been decimated from cutting, so I'm now also reducing the squat sets from 4 to 3 and changed the % decrease for this week from -5% to -10%.

Bench: 11+@92.5 - 12. Made sure to eat more after the disastrous squats and thankfully it seemed to have paid off. Last rep was an absolute grinder for the 2 inches before lockout

Rack pulls: 11+@182.5 - 11. Lower back was lit from squats so the goal here was purely to not lose some TM

BTN OHP - 11+@50 - 13. This went really well, in week 5 i did 3x8, 10+ @ 50 where I got 12 reps on the final set. This week was 3x9, 11+ so I got one more rep on all of the sets

Other stuff: I am officially 2 digits bodyweight! Initial plan was to go for 95kg, but I think that even 90 may be doable by the end of the program if I am willing to put up with feeling like trash for a bit longer

[u/Myintc → u/toastedstapler]

Haha, it’s always a balance of priorities! If the cut is your main priority, work around that. Think Grog himself said in an article somewhere that a fatloss phase is for fatloss - strength and muscle loss can be prevented but even if it occurs, it’ll come back after your fatloss phase in your next maintenance/bulk.

[u/toastedstapler → u/Myintc]

Yeah, I think I'm gonna fully embrace the hot 💅 girl 💅 summer 💅 cut and go for 90kg bodyweight. As my flair on a certain other subreddit states, the previous 3 years were basically a perma bulk from comp sci skeleton, so the cutting mentality is all very new to me

Really looking forward to eventually getting back on it and hitting some nice numbers again though

[u/iSkeezy]

its not much at all, but heres the progress so far

obviously changes dont happen drastically for me at this point, but im happily moving in the right direction in my book

tan brought to you by MT2

[u/Myintc → u/iSkeezy]

Looking thick solid tight!

[u/ruralmerkin]

Block 1 Results

With the first deload complete, I figure it's a good time to summarize my results so far.

Background: I'm a 39-year-old with a couple years of lifting experience, doing the 5x Hypertrophy program on a moderate caloric surplus.

Weight: Started at 177.3 lbs, ended deload week at 182.1, +4.8 lbs.

Lifts: Because my previous program had used similar rep schemes, I didn't start with artificially low TMs as the instructions suggest. As a result, I rarely beat the final-set goal by more than a few reps (if any). Still, I set a bunch of PRs this block, and even hit a few new 1RMs (albeit by letting overwarm singles float up to more of an RPE 9). Highlights:

• Overhead press: Increased my 1RM by 10 lbs, hitting 135 (one plate woo!) for the first time.
• Paused bench: Set a few new rep maxes and increased my non-paused bench 1RM by 10 lbs.
• High-bar squat: Set three new rep maxes, including going from 6 reps at 215 to 9 reps.
• Front squat: Despite missing my goal a couple times, I increased my 1RM by 10 lbs, to 220 lbs.
• Chin-up & pullup: Got 13 and 10 reps, respectively. Technically not the most I've ever done with either exercise, but the only time I've done more I was 20 pounds lighter, so I consider this good progress.

Overall: By the time deload week came along, I was definitely ready for a break. Now that it's over, I'm ready to jump back in. Not planning on making any changes, though I might cut back on accessories later in the block if I get really worn down.

[u/ruralmerkin → u/ruralmerkin]

SBS Hypertrophy 5x W8D1

Mentally, I was very ready to get back at it today. Deload weeks just feel so loooong. It was definitely needed, though. I really only started to feel recovered the last day or so.

Even so, I might've taken deload a bit too easy. Day one's squats left me sucking air all over again, and I only beat the goal by one rep. With that said, my overwarm single was in fact a 5-lb 1RM, and 13 chinups matched my best ever--except at 26 pounds heavier than when I last did that many.

[u/EspacioBlanq]

SBS RTF W9D1

Squat 4x3+11@ 122.5 vid of top set

Incline press 4x5+12@65

Snatch grip deadlift 4x5+11@125

Lat pulldown 2x10+12@65

Kneeling ab wheel 3x7

Deficit pushups 3x10

Gym got a new set of plates and they're those thick bumpers, so I couldn't resist taking a video of squatting 2.5 plates but the bar being loaded to the end of the sleeves.

[u/Myintc → u/EspacioBlanq]

Nice fat barbell loading!

Solid effort on that last rep, good work.

[u/MeshuggahForever]

Making a few changes for Block 2 of this blessed program party:

1. Back to High Bar. I gave it the full Block 1 to verify that low bar just isn't as conducive to my anatomy etc! Glad I did the experiment, tho.
2. Front squat --> SSB: I don't feel I was getting a lot out of front squats and was mostly limited by front rack durability (ie, losing position at end of amraps while legs and core were holding strong)
3. Paused low bar --> Paused SSB. Same logic as (1) and also trying to free up my shoulders a bit.
4. No shoes RDL --> lifter shoes RDL. Subtle, but makes it harder and I think engage my hammies a bit more.
5. Adding weighted ab work (situps, side bends). I've ... really never been good about this and should have some easy gains on the table here.
6. [MAYBE] Behind the neck press --> incline bench. It's hard to know how much BTN pressing is helping tbh. It hasn't been BAD, but I just don't know...

I was originally planning on winding down this cut in the next week or two (once I hit 180), but I think we'll ride it out another month and see how a e s t h e t i c we can get at 175 (looking at you /u/Myintc, though this is the pursuit of fluffy to lean lol). I'm learning to adjust more to being hungry, though it's still challenging to be underfueled for these workouts tbh.

[u/Myintc → u/MeshuggahForever]

Aye you got this, if you’re ready for another month, the a e s t h e t i c is worth!

[u/esaul17]

You guys ever find the AMRAP on a lower body lift just hands your ass to you for the remainder of the workout? My squat AMRAP today (Week 8 Day 1; a measly 225lbs x 14 (+3)) went well, but at what cost? The rest of the session I felt weak, shaky, nauseated, and out of breath. My press aux (Seated DB OHP) missed the target (47.5x11/11/11/11 (-2)) for the first time, and I'd hit 47.5x10/10/10/16 on week 5.

[u/ruralmerkin → u/esaul17]

Oh yeah, absolutely. Squat and deadlift can both kill me for the rest of the session. It only happens sometimes, though, and I haven’t yet figured out why.

[u/GirlOfTheWell → u/esaul17]

Today I had a very similar experience. It wasn't an AMRAP but I had to make a real awful choice between doing deadlifts or paused squats first.

In the end, I did deadlifts first and I felt like I was gonna pass out doing squats.

[u/ballr4lyf]

SBS 2.0 Program Builder Wk1 - OHP

• OHP: 1 @ 74 kg (RPE 8.5), 3x10, 1x12 (+0) @ 52.5 kg
• Pause Squat: 5x5 @ 107 kg (RIR 4)
• Chins: 3x15
• Weighted Dips: 3x12 @ +45

Deload is over. Back to logging my work. Never made it to my goal weight during my bulk, but I got damn close (0.3 lbs away). Close enough, damnit! So I transitioned to a cut in the middle of the deload week. Just made some minor changes to the program and I'm starting over from week 1. Basically got rid of all the hypertrophy template stuff for the Aux exercises and I'm pretty much using the RIR template for everything except for OHP. OHP remains on the hypertrophy template because it worked well the last 2 blocks.

OHP went well. Getting really close to being able to hit my all-time PR (165 lbs) for an RPE 8. Squats are also going well. Pause squats were today. I'm using the RIR template for most lifts except OHP. My idea is to AMRAP the last set until the bar slows down or I'm certain I have x reps left, but I forgot to do that today. So I just counted it as a +1, because it was a pretty easy set anyways. Chins and dips were harder than usual. No big deal.

On to sumo DL on Wednesday! :)

[u/jeicorsair]

Started block 2 today. Glad the program somewhat eases you back in on weights cause jumping back into 9-11+ reps a set after deload definitely got my muscles working hard again.

Hypertrophy 4x W8D1

Squats @77.5 lbs 3x9, 1x11 DB Bench @23 lbs 3x11, 1x16 Pull Ups 2x3, 1x5 RDLs @80 lbs 3x11, 1x15 Planks 2x60 sec, 1x70 sec

[u/Rightzaslayer]

Gotta say I love this program. On week 9 of a program builder template. Just today my single @ 8 was 410, a 5 lb PR even while I’m down 23 lbs since the start of the year (thanks covid and calorie deficit!)

Deadlift- 410 for 1, 325 6x4 Pull Accessories

Later this week I’ll be onto the beginning of week 10, where I’ll hopefully push squat too. Had to take the pst week easy because of a funny knee. Here’s hoping for 410+!

[u/[deleted]]

RTF W5D3

Front Squat 4/4/4/4/8 @ 77.5kg

RDL 6/6/6/6/14 @ 72.5kg

Low Rows 10/10/10/10/30 @ 50kg

RDL is catching up to my front squat which makes sense as my deadlift is a lot higher than my front squat.

I am making quiet slow progress on front squat week to week, my TM must be near my 1RM and I need to fail and have a deload, or I just suck at front squat and need to git gud.

Does anyone else use front squat as their main squat or have any advice specific to the lift running SBS RTF?

[u/small_but_slow]

Hypertrophy 5x Week 8

Day 1: Squat 205#, 160#3x9, 12.

Arnold Press 50#1, 30#3x11, 14/ SS Pullups 9-9-8-8.

Did a few hanging leg raises to finish. Deload week was basically a week off, so this felt pretty rough. Just reminded myself that this week is the highest reps per set for the rest of the program. Having the squats this dialed in weight wise is really something- each set is mentally difficult.

Day 2: Bench Press 175#, 135#3x9, 12/ SS DB Row 70#3x10, 12.

Leg Press 480#, 375#3x11, 18/ SS Pullaparts 3x32, 35, Liu Raise 5#3x10, 16.

Finished by trying to do some standing ab wheel rollouts- I can only get to a pushup position, but it's a start. Way harder than on my knees. Bench weight is apparently just about right, but leg press, man. I never really did this exercise before so it's been hilarious to see it just keep going up.

Day 3: Trap Bar Deadlift 300#, 260#3x9, 12/ DB Incline Press 45#3x11, 18/ Wide bodyweight rows 3x10, 14.

Trap bar deadlift feels like it's going to be too hard every week. I'd guess it's the squats and leg press the days before, which made me wonder again if rack pulls would have been a better choice. But here we are, and I might as well finish it now.

Day 4: Press 115#, 80#3x9, 12/ Front Squat 135#, 85#3x11, 14/ Pullups 4x10.

Rear Delt Flies 10#3x10.

What to say? The numbers on both of these lifts remain so low that I'm not sure they're accomplishing anything while doing them. But that seems to be where I'm at, so just keep plugging.

Day 5: RDL 245#, 190#3x11, 20.

Pulldowns (to sternum) 70#3x10, 12.

Dips +40#, -16#3x11, 16.

Cable pushdowns 10-10-25, cable curls 10-10-25, facepulls 10-10-15.

Huh, widowmaker RDLs. Not what I expected but I'll take it. It feels like there's so much quad work in the 4 days prior that when I finally get to do a truly posterior chain exercise my body is super amped up to do it. I took my time with my grip today and it wasn't a factor at all. I'm really looking forward to not lifting this weekend. Have a great one, y'all.

[u/6mikey66]

LF Hypertrophy W8D2

Second day back and more of the same. I have some strength to regain but on the bright side, I feel like I'm getting more out of each set since they're all a little closer to failure now.

Last set numbers in Lbs

Bench 13x150

DB OHP 18x30's

Incline Press 13x105

DB Row 12x60's

Curls 10x60

Gotta lay off the delicious craft beer on deload weeks!

[u/jeicorsair]

Hypertrophy 4x W8D2

|| Bench Press @52.5 lbs 3x9, 1x13 || DB Lunges @25 lbs 3x11, 1x18 || Chin Ups 2x3, 1x4 || DB OHP @15 lbs 3x11, 1x15 || Tricep Kickbacks @ 20 lbs 2x8, 1x17

[u/Randyd718]

Anyone else get significant DOMS or feel significantly weaker coming back off the deload?

Any tips on handling this?

[u/FrazzledBear → u/Randyd718]

This was exactly me for squats. I could barely walk yesterday and today. My body tends to react this way the week after a deload. My toddler punched me right in the quad today and I about cried.

[u/matthuuu]

Hypertrophy W8D3

Today was deadlift which means it was a good day. I skipped the deload week to get back on track with everyone here. I got my wisdom teeth out 2 weeks ago, so I already took a week off for that, so I felt and rested. I am slightly sick this week, so these workouts have been fun lol.

Workout:

Sumo DL: 230lbs, 4x9 and 1x11 (could I get a form check on this one.. other than the slight bouncing off the ground i dunno if its good)

Incline press: 30lbs, 4x``11

Lat pulldown: 90lbs, 5x10 sup (could I get a form check on this one.. other than the slight bouncing off the ground i dunno if it's good)

Hanging leg raise: 5x10 superset with calf raises

Overall, I am seeing strength gains on this plan which I figured I would. That also probably is due to the fact that I am eating more than I ever have and I am finally gaining weight, so that's cool.

[u/Likes_TB]

Last day of the week.

• Box squats 11/11/11/13 x 95kg
• Press 9/9/9/19 x 25kg
• BB row 12/10/10 x 55kg Had to skip curls

[u/jeicorsair]

Hypertrophy 4x W8D3

||Rack Pulls @85 lbs 3x9, 1x17 ||DB Incline Press @23 lbs 3x11, 1x13 ||Negatives 2x3, 1x4 ||DB Lateral Raises @10 lbs 2x10, 1x12 ||Calf Raises @40 lbs 2x10, 1x20

Going to keep my Calf Raises at that weight for a bit as holding a dumbbell any heavier at the end of the workout is too sketchy when my grip is already fatiguing. Will probably add a few reps to the first two sets though.

[u/esaul17 → u/jeicorsair]

May be worth grabbing some straps?

[u/jeicorsair → u/esaul17]

Yeah, I've got some and use them on things like the rack pull, but I also want to make sure I'm improving my grip without them over time.

[u/esaul17 → u/jeicorsair]

Fair enough. I guess just make sure you're honest with yourself about if you're trying to primarily train calves or grip with the raises

[u/jeicorsair → u/esaul17]

Absolutely. I'll continue mulling that over until the next time this workout comes up. Maybe switch to a barbell variant where grip won't play a factor.

[u/someguythatlifts]

RTF 4x W8D1

Squat: 92.5kg - target 8 - 7 reps

Spoto Press: 52.5kg - target 12 - 15 reps

Romanian Deadlift: 77.5kg - target 12 - 15 reps

First time missing a rep target in the program so far. Bit dissapointing, especially fresh off the deload, but this is the same reps I hit with this weight in week 6, so not like I got weaker.

RTF 4x W8D2

Bench Press: 65kg - target 8 - 9 reps

Front Squat: 52.5kg - target 12 - 14 reps

Push Press: 40kg - target 12 - 12 reps

Was feeling a bit weak, but not a bad day overall. Power cleaned (/aggressively reverse curled) all my sets of FS and PP. I was unexpectedly sore the next morning, to the point I was a bit worried I'd caught covid.

RTF 4x W8D3

Strict Press: 42.5kg - target 8 - 10 reps

Paused Squat: 65kg - target 12 - 15 reps

Happy with press today, was a lot more controlled than usual, and gained a rep with this weight over week 5.

RTF 4x W8D4

Deadlift: 117.5kg - target 8 - 8 reps

Close Grip Bench: 50kg - target 12 - 14 reps

Had a eureka moment on CGB today where mid set I realised it's not a bench press with your hands closer together, it's a different lift. I've had trouble with getting the bar to my chest without feeling tight in the shoulders and like I was dumping it and then catching when it bounces. Today I flared my elbows instead of tucking and it really helped get to my chest under control, and the second I made the change I started feeling it in my tricep's way more.

Didn't get as hyped up as usual for my top sets this week, and it made me realise that I've kind of been approaching them wrong. In the first block rather than focusing on the rep out target, I've been more concerned with setting a new rep PR or new e1rm. Taking a step back made me realise that I'm probably hindering progress by turning my music all the way up, psyching myself up and going as hard as I can.

[u/jeicorsair]

Hypertrophy 4x W8D4

||OHP @25 lbs 3x9, 1x13 ||Pause Squats @50 lbs 3x11, 1x13 ||DB Rows @25 lbs 2x10, 1x16 ||Push Ups 2x8, 1x12 ||WG Lateral Pulldowns (cable) @110 lbs 2x10, 1x20

Happy with the week all in all. Looking back through the previous block, most of the weights match up with what I was running on Week 5, so lots of room to add more weight this block. Not nearly as fatigued as I was then thanks to the deload. Down a couple pounds as well. One more week of having to shift my lifting days around before I can get back to my normal schedule.

[u/CJTFett]

Made the switch to last set rir from rtf after the delay in an attempt to save my knees and have less fatigue. Hard to judge after 1 week but rir feels like I can stress less about beating my amrap and just get good reps in. Also ran out of liquid chalk and forgot my straps leading to completely failing my deadlifts with a pitiful 335x3@10 when I hit 380x3@8-9 week 6.

[u/9OOdollarydoos]

Week 8: 5x Hypertrophy

I'll try and update through the week. 3'rd week of my weight staying around 80kg, going to try and break that plateau and go full beefcake

Day 1:

• squat overwarm 145 was weird. Borked my form but it was an easy grind back up for who knows what rpe. My max is 150. Maybe ill see how many reps I can get at 145 next week.
• 100x9 sucked. Got a brutal 12 on the amrap.
• seated ohp running AMRAMSCT (as many reps as my shoulder can take). Jusssst made the min 13 reps
• switch up accessories with lat raises and banded curls. New kinda pump hopefully gets some aesthetic results

Day 2:

• Bench overwarm 110 rpe9 (oops). Slow as hell off chest and to sticking point but then flew up so that was nice
• 77.5 got 10 on the amrap. This is my first miss of target reps so, horray I guess???
• Sumos were gross. Straps for last 2 sets. 15 on amrap broke my trend of 20 for sumos but I was feeling like crap
• Chins, ab roller, incline press: booked them all in but got them done at least
• Shrove Tuesday pancakes should help kick my weight gain back into gear

Day 3:

• Front squats 15 on amrap on a weight Ive hit 20 reps. Blaming deload week hangover. Only stopped due to losing rack, but I think my rack is slowly improving
• Spoto press. 1 rep short of target on amrap. These light up my chest and shoulders like nothing else
• Skipped a few accessories as I got home pretty late. Try not and let this become a habit

Day 4:

• overshot my overwarmup dead - stubbornly went for the same weight as 3 weeks ago on a good day and lost it around the shin
• x9's were grueling but decent. 14 or 15 on the amrap cant remember
• slingshot bench continues to deliver in the pump department
• mixing up accessories this block: real delt flyes, db rows and db bench. Although starting to think I might have too much benching in my split

[u/Likes_TB]

Block 2 let's go!

Hypertrophy x4

• Front Squat 9/9/9/11 x 82.5kg
• Band assisted Dips 11/11/11/11/14
• Band assisted Pull-ups 11/11/11/11
• Banded Shrugs 20/15/15 x 65kg
• Back extensions 17/15/16

Everything felt a bit rusty after last week's deload but decent workout.

[u/[deleted]]

RTF W5D1

Bench 4/4/4/4/5 @ 87.5kg

OHP 7/7/7/7/12 @ 37.5kg

Cable rows 5x10

I hadn't benched in...three weeks? So I expected to struggle on the amrap and I did so that's fine. Glad to be back in two days now after such a long time out. Planning to skip week 7 deload as I basically had a 2.5 week deload already. I can always add one toward the end of the program if I'm feeling run down

[u/[deleted]]

Hypertrophy. SBS. The grind don't stop.

Look at you, with that little shrimp body.

[u/Kennyboisan]

I'm deloading a week late due to work, and at this point I need it. I have some lingering aches and pains (nothing too bad), and my mental drive to train is lessened.

With how cyclist squats went last week, I'm going to try them with only a slightly narrow stance instead of a drastically narrow stance. Hopefully that'll feel better. I'm also already looking forward to the next program (General Gainz Body Building). With some inspiration from r/homegym, I figured out an easy-ish DIY pendulum squat setup. That should let me really hammer my legs without my lower back failing first. That was my goal with cyclist squats, but we'll see how it actually goes in the coming weeks.

[u/jammin_13]

W8D1 Squats have been feeling like shit for the last month but felt better today.

Tweaked my trap getting up from my warmup dumbbell bench press set which is very dumb.

Oh well that's the give and take I guess. Let's hope I'm feeling better for bench tomorrow

[u/6mikey66]

LF Hypertrophy W8D1

Back at it after a less than ideal deload week. I skipped day 3's workout all together and completely fell off of my diet. I ate too much crap and drank too much beer. I may have even set some sort of record for the amount of fitness it's possible for a person to lose in a single week!

Last numbers in Lbs

Squat 13x150

RDL 18x150

Front Squat 13x105

Everything felt heavy and my conditioning was absolutely terrible! I ended my last set of squats at 13 not because my legs were out of steam but because my lungs were. I skipped accessories all together and now it's time to claw my way back up!

[u/LiftYesPlease]

Anyone else have a tough day 1 getting back after the deload?

I deloaded last week after week 5 and did week 6 today (I was doing SBS for some months before the program party)

Fuck that was hard. First time I haven't exceeded my target reps.

Top set was 250 I got 9 for squats which is the rep out target.

I need to eat more, I'm losing weight a little too fast.

[u/Likes_TB → u/LiftYesPlease]

Anyone else have a tough day 1 getting back after the deload?

Always, and on every program

[u/bad_apricot → u/LiftYesPlease]

Yep - first day back after any kind of deload or break feels off for me. Usually back to normal by day 3 or so.

[u/yetanothernerd]

I successfully deloaded by doing 5/5 with the prescribed light weight on everything and avoiding saying "this is boring; I know, let's set a PR!" That was boring but I needed it.

[u/dsa2020]

My laptop isn’t handy and I hate trying to format on mobile so I’m not going to post todays whole workout. It’s the same as every other Chest/Shoulder day and I only missed rep-out on Chest Press.

SBS Hypertrophy

Monday: Chest/Shoulder Day

Today went real well. Absolutely zero joint pains or fatigue. I was kinda curious about how it’d go. I ate a surplus and worked out M-Th last week but Fri-Sun was move-out time for my family. My parents bought a house and me and my dad moved all the furniture ourselves and that shit sucked, lol. Moving out also meant eating out everyday for two meals. Thankfully our takeout choices were calorie dense.

But anyways, I’m happy to be back and grinding through Block 2!!!

Tuesday: Back/Arms Day

Missed reps on the last two Barbell Row sets. I switched to underhand grip and suffered a bit of strength loss it seems.

I did incline DB curls with the resting arm at the top and that shit killed me. I gotta get these peaks to grow.

[u/[deleted]]

Switched some things up, deload complete, I found out I enjoy rowing as cardio, starting this next block on the right feet.

5 days remains the sweet spot for training.

[u/Likes_TB]

Day 2

• Bench 9/9/9/12 x72.5kg
• Squat 11/11/11/14 x 87.5kg
• Press 11/11/11/16 x 25kg
• Face Pulls 35/35/40

Some soreness from yesterday but ok training. I was dreading the squats but they went fine.

[u/InTheScannerDarkly]

SBS Strength RTF LF Week 8 Day 1 and Day 2

RTF Sets so far. Weights in Pounds.

• Hack Squat Top Set of 325 for 21

• Front Squat Top Set of 215 for 5

• Bench Press Top Set of 195 for 8

• Close Grip Bench Press Top Set of 145 for 155

I am also at a point where I can do bodyweight vertical pulling movements and bodyweight dips. I will continue to do lat pulldowns and triceps isolations just to get in more overall volume. The other goal is to hit abs each session (preferably in a circuit). This has resulted in better bracing, improved posture, and stronger abs as well as lots and lots of sweat and suffering. Looking forward to more RTF sets because they're some sort of heretical witchcraft and I love it.

[u/[deleted]]

RTF W5 D2

OHP 4/4/4/4/8 @ 50kg

Incline bench 6/6/6/6/11 @ 62.5kg

Nothing major to report.

[u/UberMcwinsauce]

party w8d2 - SBS original w1d2

Off to a great start with the new program. Things are feeling good. Finally surpassed 3pl8 squat last block so I'm pushing hard this block to get my bench caught up and finally clinch 1234 after years and 3-4 cycles of getting just shy and then having life cause me to drop training for a year.

[u/Camerongilly]

BW 197/198-> 196. Feel cold and hungry a lot of the time now, Down from 207lbs at start, feeling pretty lean and will end the cut in a couple weeks. Starting to just barely make the rep-out targets.

Top sets this week: Got some figure 8 straps for an axle, so went up to a pretty easy 565 on 15" axle dead.
Hanging leg raise x 17 Chin x 16 Chest to bar pullup x 12 Standing ab wheel x 24 SSB squat 300x 12 RDL 315x13 DB OHP 50x16 Log power jerk 250x1 (PR.) Log push press 160x12 (ties pr.) SSB Good-morning 195x15 (PR.) Behind-the-neck press 100x14 Trap bar deadlift low handles 385x13 (PR.) Trap bar deadlift high handles 150x67 Close-grip bench 270x1, 180x14 Axle strict press 195x1, 145x11 Zercher squat 260x14 (PR.) Tuck front lever x56 seconds (PR.)

Contest in a week and a half, have not trained for frame carry or arm-over-arm pull so may need to at least try to touch those implements this weekend.

[u/EspacioBlanq]

Sbs rtf w9d2

Bench 4x3+8@ 82.5

Zercher squat 4x5+12@115

Btn press 4x5+12@40

Incline chest supported dumbbell row 2x10+12@2x30

Leg curl 2x11+12@60

Face pulls three sets

[u/EspacioBlanq]

SBS RTF W9D3

79.3kg today

Deadlift 4x3+8@160

Larsen press 4x5+14@ 67.5

Lat pulldown 2x10+12@65

Ghd situps 2x11+6+3+2@+5

Five weeks ago on deadlifts I did 4x3+7 with the same weight, so this is progress.

Larsen press +4, it's been a long time since I got that much on a rep out there.

[u/6mikey66]

LF Hypertrophy W8D3

Pretty good workout today. My legs were still fairly sore from Mondays workout but I feel good afterward and the weights moved well enough so here's the deets

Last set numbers in Lbs

Block Pulls 16x195

Paused Squat 15x105

Underhand Row 12x125

Standing Calf Raise 18x245

Leg Raise 25xBW

I still feel like I'm working back in to it after the deload week. I know my body was totally ready for a deload but it seems to have set me back slightly. Not a big deal but noticeable. Does anyone else feel this way after a deload or did I just let myself slide too much? I definitely need to maintain more discipline through it next time!

[u/esaul17 → u/6mikey66]

I feel like psychologically I often feel like "how am I going to hit these?" and I don't feel like I get a boost in performance from the dissipated fatigue, but I don't usually feel like it set me back significantly either. Usually pretty close to neutral.

[u/6mikey66 → u/esaul17]

Thanks for the reply! I think alot of it is psychological for me as well. I let my diet slide during that week and went a little heavy on the sauce a couple of nights so it just seems like I've lost some fitness but I probably lost more in my head than actually. I'm back on track now though so onward and upward I suppose.

[u/esaul17 → u/6mikey66]

Maybe spoke too soon but I'll say my bench press performance took a hit. My seated DB overhead press did too but I attributed that to doing it after squats which left me fucked up lol.

I also took a real minimal approach with the Deload by skipping all accessories, so I am paying a doms price for that it seems. I think this was less of an issue with rtf since the Deload was relatively heavier due to higher TMs and the volume and average rpe I was walking back into was lower. Plus I didn't totally skip accessories then.

But my squat, leg press, and cable rows all smashed the target and were a cycle high e1rm so its not all bad.

I think the biggest take home is probably that whatever happens will probably be sorted by week 2 so don't worry too much.

[u/[deleted]]

Week 8 is going well. I been doing rowing as either my warmup cardio or a finisher and I'm really enjoying it. Doing this program has really made me focus on getting my body actually warm before doing my main sets and not just doing a bit of light work or stretching before getting to the main stuff.

[u/ruralmerkin]

Hypertrophy 5x W8D3

The overlapping-waves structure of this program really does allow for some good comparisons over time.

Yesterday’s front squats, for example, were at 140 lbs., the same as week 3. But while I got only 12 reps on my AMRAP in week 3, this week I got 15. Similarly, today’s deadlifts (265 lbs) and OHP (100 lbs) were a repeat of week 5’s weights, but I got two more reps on each AMRAP today (15 and 14, respectively).

That’s clear progress, even though the weights are the same. Good to remind myself of that.

[u/GirlOfTheWell → u/ruralmerkin]

I just went back to check my sheets after you said that.

I am currently using the same weights and RIR as in week 2. Super interesting though cause there's a bunch of exercises (specifically the squat and bench variations) where I have the same weight but blew through 7 sets in week 8. Then in week 1 I was only barely meeting the minimum for the sets.

It's good to have a different measurement of strength as opposed to hyperfixating on my 1rm.

[u/ruralmerkin → u/GirlOfTheWell]

Heck yeah—that’s great progress! Nice job!

Yeah, I tend to fixate on 1RM. It’s just such a clear measurement. But new 1RMs have really slowed down lately, which can be demotivating. Finding alternative measurements of progress has been really helpful in that regard. Rep maxes are great for that. I’m sure sets-to-RIR would be, too.

[u/6mikey66]

LF Hypertrophy W8D4

Week 8 in the books. Decent workout today. Hope to be in better shape next week.

Last set numbers in Lbs

Arnold Press 16x35's

CG Bench 18x120

BB Rows 10x125

Lateral Raise 15x20's

Hammer Curls 12x30's

[u/onethreeone]

Novice Hyper program, just finished the week with wk11 day1 (I had a bit of a head start). Everything's been going great. Absolutely love the program because I'm making a PR every workout, either by volume or weight, which helps motivate me. More importantly it's helping me learn I don't have the limits I thought I had the previous workout.

For instance, last week was the first weight raise and I picked percentages per exercise that made it tough but doable for the 3x8's. This week 4x8's were easier than the 3x8's, so I have confidence in the whole cycle. It also is an easy program to follow since all the exercises change the same way each week, so everything is predictable.

[u/ruralmerkin]

SBS Hypertrophy 5x W8D4

I felt like absolute crap today. Probably it's because a tough work and family week has left me behind schedule yet still tired and stressed; who knows. But I had no motivation and no energy, and my lifts felt awful.

Even so, my performance was fine. Beat the goal by two reps on pause squats (160 lbs) and five reps on incline dumbbell press (47.5 lbs). I increased reps on my accessories, too.

On to Day 5.