Codger's Quest

[codgerus maximus]

Yeah, the RPE measurement is interesting. We use it a bit, but not to the extent that the BBM crew do.

I'll be watching closely...

I was impressed by the presentation in the Bridge pdf. Austin and Jordan make a strong case for their ideas. I was debating whether to try the Bridge or to have another whack at Andy Baker's Strength and Mass After 40 program, which I really liked. So I'll see where things stand 8 weeks from now.

[codgerus maximus]

Second day on The Bridge:

Two-count paused squat: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; four to five minutes rest. I realized after my workout that these were supposed to be done without a belt. When I do them next week without a belt I might drop the weight slightly.

Press with belt: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; four minutes rest. These felt about right, with accurate RPEs.

BB rows: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; three minutes rest. Probably underestimated the weights a bit. Might add five pounds next time and see how that feels.

[gymdad150]

So some of the work is beltless, and some is belted?

[codgerus maximus]

So some of the work is beltless, and some is belted?

Yes, the first squat workout of the week is belted. The second squat of the week calls for a two-count pause, like the squats I did today. On the third squat day you do a 3-count descent, no pause at the bottom, and then a 3-count up out of the hole. The second and third squat days are beltless so you work with somewhat lighter weights.

[codgerus maximus]

My first GPP day today:

24 chins with 10 pounds in 7 minutes.

42 ab-wheel roll-outs (kneeling) in 7 minutes.

25 minutes @rpe6 on airdyne.

This was an interesting experience. Typically I would rest five to seven minutes between sets of 8 weighted chins. Today I rested two minutes and made 24 reps in 7 minutes (3 sets of 7 reps and 1 set of 3). Guess I've been babying myself.

[codgerus maximus]

Last workout of week 1 of The Bridge:

Deads with belt: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; five to six minutes rest. I usually don't use a belt when deadlifting but I thought I'd follow the program's instructions. I think the RPEs for these sets were reasonably accurate, maybe a tad light.

One-count paused bench: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected] Last set might have been 8.5RPE--maybe two more reps instead of definitely two more reps.

3-0-3 tempo squat (three-count down, no pause, three-count up) [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; no belt, five minutes rest. I had no idea what to expect with these so I started with what I thought would be a light weight. I was pretty pooped after I finished all the sets. Not sure about the RPEs--I'll need more practice with these before I can accurately judge my effort.

[codgerus maximus]

Week 2 of The Bridge, a "moderate stress" week:

Squats: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; five minutes rest. I think the RPEs are accurate. I wore a belt for all the sets.

Close-grip bench: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; four minutes rest. The last two sets were supposed to be at RPE 9 but at 205 I probably had 2 more reps in the tank so I micro-loaded to 207.5 for the last set of 4 reps.

Rack pulls: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; five minutes rest; no belt--hook grip and chalk. Jumped up 75 pounds from last week. I think this is about the right weight for me for this rep range.

[codgerus maximus]

Today would be an off-day but chances are I won't have time to work out tomorrow, so:

2-count paused squat, no belt: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; 260[email protected] I'm still feeling my way into this lift so my RPEs aren't very accurate yet. The last two sets were supposed to be at RPE 9 but 250 felt more like an RPE 8, maybe even a 7, so I did 260 for the last set. Might bump it up to 270 next week.

Press with belt: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected] The last four sets were all supposed to be at 8 but 132.5 and 130 both felt a bit heavy so I did 125 for the last set and that felt like a true RPE8--two more reps in the tank, done with good form.

BB rows: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected] 7.5; [email protected] The last three sets were all supposed to be at RPE8 but I think I set the weight a bit too light for the first of those three sets.

[codgerus maximus]

GPP day:
25 minutes on airdyne at light pace.
25 chins with 10 pounds in 7 minutes--one more rep than last week.
45 ab-wheel roll-outs in seven minutes, kneeling--three more reps than last week.

[codgerus maximus]

End of week 2 of The Bridge;

Deads with belt: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected] Four to five minutes rest. For the last three sets at 375 I switched to a mixed grip. Usually I use a hook grip for my heavy deadlifts but the high volume was starting to kill my thumbs! The RPEs seemed about right.

One-count paused bench: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected] or 9; [email protected] Four to five minutes rest. The last four sets were all supposed to be at RPE 8 but the first three at 205 actually felt more like 8.5 or 9--maybe two reps left, more likely one. So I dropped five pounds for the last set and that felt about right.

3-0-3 tempo squat: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected] Four to five minutes rest. Still having a hard time judging the RPEs on these. It's fast becoming my least-favorite lift. Grueling, but I guess that's good.

[codgerus maximus]

Starting week 3 of The Bridge:

Squat with belt: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected] Four to five minutes rest.

Close-grip bench: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected] Four to five minutes rest. The last two sets were somewhere between 9 and 9.5, I think.

Rack pull: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected] Five minutes rest. I think the RPEs are accurate, though I might be able to go a bit heavier with these. With RPE 8 or RPE 9, I'm supposing that the 2 or 1 reps left in the tank are reps that can be done with good from and with decent bar speed, not grinding, all-out reps.

[codgerus maximus]

Today's Bridge workout:

Two-count paused squat, no belt: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected] Four to five minutes rest. 5 pounds more than last week. I'm still feeling my way into these. The last two sets might have been an 8 or 8.5. I might try 270 or 275 next week.

Press with belt: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected] Four minutes rest. I think these felt about right in terms of RPE.

BB rows: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected] Four to five minutes rest. RPE estimates might have been a tad low. I think I'll try 185 next time.

[gymdad150]

Seems like "paused work" is the order of the day every where.

[codgerus maximus]

My third GPP day:

25 minutes easy pace on airdyne
25 chins with 10 pounds in seven minutes
48 ab-wheel roll-outs, kneeling, in seven minutes

[codgerus maximus]

End of week 3 of the Bridge:

Deadlift with belt: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; four to five minutes rest, mixed grip. RPEs felt about right, I think.

One-count bench: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; four to five minutes rest. These felt a bit stronger than last week. I'm pretty sure the last 4 sets were at RPE8.

3-0-3 squat: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; four to five minutes rest. I realized my weight increments on these were off for the first two weeks. A five percent jump in weight is supposed to correspond to an RPE increase of one. For some reason I was making 10 percent jumps on these. So I adjusted the weight a bit to make 5 percent increases from set to set.

Now, two days of rest!