John Phung

I hung up a 100lbs heavy bag on the rafters in my basement this week, and after a couple of workouts kicking the bag, my shins are quite tender.

It's probably going to take a while to get accustomed to heavy bag work again, especially at my current body weight of 200+lbs. I think the last time I hit a heavy bag was when I was 10lbs lighter, and even then I felt sluggish.

Also, I'm going to have to make some adjustments to my current training. Lately I've been missing a lot of 1RM attempts, so I'm going to dial down and work on 5RM, 3RM and 2RM. I'm also going to start alternating high bar and low bar squat every other workout (the main days are Monday, Wednesday and Friday). This way, I'll finally get some volume work (on Mondays) on low bar squats after months of primarily high bar squatting.

Recovery days I'm planning on doing paused squats, either high bar or low bar depending on the week. And aim for 5RM, 3RM or 2RM on Fridays.

It should look like this:

Week A

• Monday (Volume): high bar squat 10x3 (10 sets, 3 reps)
  • Maybe switch to 5x5 once I start missing the prescribed sets and reps. Load for Monday is 410lbs.
• Wednesday (Recovery): paused low bar squat
• Friday (Intensity): high bar squat 5RM, 3RM or 2RM

Week B

• Monday (Volume): low bar squat 10x3 (10 sets, 3 reps)
  • I think I'll start off with a lower weight (~370lbs), simply because I haven't done a lot of volume for low bar squats for a long time.
• Wednesday (Recovery): paused high bar squat
• Friday (Intensity): low bar squat 5RM, 3RM or 2RM

Reverse grip bench presses will be done twice a week (Mondays and Fridays) and work on OHP Wednesdays.

That's the game plan, so let's see how it works out!

Anyways, here's a few articles you should check out:

1. The Dependance on Science by Kirksman
2. All Deadlifts Should Be Touch & Go by Emevas
3. Round Back Deadlifts by Mike Robertson