Ivan
Black Belt
Hi. It's good to be on here again. Since I don't really shadowbox anymore after my transition to grappling, I haven't been as active on this forum as I used to be, but I miss you all a lot so I wanted to try and post and partake here more often. I have changed my training methods significantly since I last posted. Last time I posted I was doing Hindu squats and pushups, aiming specifically for 500 pushups daily and around 100 Hindu squats daily. After a month of this, I achieved my main goal, which was 500 pushups in 25 minutes. I was relatively inconsistent with my squats from what I can remember, but aside from some days here and there, I stuck to the pushups religiously. Eventually, I managed 500 pushups in 19 minutes and 57 seconds, after which I got bored and resumed weight training.
I tried some Mike Mentzer style workouts. I would load up my 1RM, hit it once or twice, then lower the weight by 5kg and do as many reps as possible to failure. Each time I failed, I would lower the weight by another 5kg (or even 10 in some cases) and repeat the process until I was only able to use the bar for exercise. I do not recall gaining much strength after over 3-4 months of this type of training, but I also did not really attempt any 1RM after due to some issues. I suffered many injuries; an inured ligament in my ankle, a partially dislocated shoulder, and currently I am recovering from an injured LCL in my right knee. Between these injuries and my summer job giving me 3 times the hours I expected per week, it became increasingly difficult to maintain my BJJ training, and it also stopped me from going to the gym as often. However, since the beginning of 2024, I have made some immense progress using a different type of workout.
I started off 2024 well, partaking in a total of 5 competitions, with 4 of them in the first 3 months, so I was quite proud of that. Within the gym, I began training a Push/Pull/Legs split with a rest day after these 3 days, and I would exclusive train 6 sets of 10 of 1 exercise per muscle group. Using this training method, my bodyweight has gone up from around 80kg to 103kg, and my bench press has increased from 90kg 1RM to 120kg 1RM. I did do this training for my legs using squats, but I only recently injured my knee so I could not gauge any progress in my squat 1RM. I did not do deadlifts for my back, but rather lat pulldowns and rows.
My usual training split looks like this:
Day 1
Benchpress - 6 sets of 10
DB Shoulder Press - 6 sets of 10
Tricep Push downs - 6 sets of 10
Day 2
Lat pulldowns - 6 sets of 10
DB Bicep curls - 6 sets of 10
DB Lat raises - 6 sets of 10
Day 3
Ankle and hip mobility warmup/stretches
Barbell squats - 6 sets of 10
DB Calf raises - 6 sets of 10
Day 4
Rest day
I will alternate the exercises for each muscle group every split or so. Such as doing Skullcrushers for triceps etc. This 6x10 workout style also makes it really easy to track progress and attempt progressive overload. For example, after I can hit 75kg for 6 sets of 10 on the benchpress, I will move on to 80kg the next time. I may only hit 2 sets of this weight, and then I will drop it down to 75 or 70 and finish off. Then every day I do bench press after that, I try to hit another set of 10 before lowering the weight, until eventually I can comfortably do 6 sets of 10. I would highly recommend this training as I have found some extreme success with it. However, I have gained a lot of weight, and although a lot of it is muscle, there is also a lot of fat I need to lose too, which will be my goal henceforth.
I was never really a proponent of progressive overload, as a lot of the literature I read and wrote about here suggested that instead of attempting to increase weights little by little, it is more beneficial to stick to one weight for a long time, and then make a big jump after. E.g. stick to 80kg of 6 x 10 until it is almost as easy as a warmup, then continue on to 90 or 95 or even 100kg of 6 x 10. However, I cannot deny the progress it has yielded.
The images below show the difference in physique. The topless picture was taken just a week or before the end of October in 2023, and the picture of me flexing in a rash guard was taken just 2 weeks or so ago on a Sunday morning BJJ session. I hope this has been insightful to anyone curious about weight training. I am willing to answer any questions below. Thank you all!
I tried some Mike Mentzer style workouts. I would load up my 1RM, hit it once or twice, then lower the weight by 5kg and do as many reps as possible to failure. Each time I failed, I would lower the weight by another 5kg (or even 10 in some cases) and repeat the process until I was only able to use the bar for exercise. I do not recall gaining much strength after over 3-4 months of this type of training, but I also did not really attempt any 1RM after due to some issues. I suffered many injuries; an inured ligament in my ankle, a partially dislocated shoulder, and currently I am recovering from an injured LCL in my right knee. Between these injuries and my summer job giving me 3 times the hours I expected per week, it became increasingly difficult to maintain my BJJ training, and it also stopped me from going to the gym as often. However, since the beginning of 2024, I have made some immense progress using a different type of workout.
I started off 2024 well, partaking in a total of 5 competitions, with 4 of them in the first 3 months, so I was quite proud of that. Within the gym, I began training a Push/Pull/Legs split with a rest day after these 3 days, and I would exclusive train 6 sets of 10 of 1 exercise per muscle group. Using this training method, my bodyweight has gone up from around 80kg to 103kg, and my bench press has increased from 90kg 1RM to 120kg 1RM. I did do this training for my legs using squats, but I only recently injured my knee so I could not gauge any progress in my squat 1RM. I did not do deadlifts for my back, but rather lat pulldowns and rows.
My usual training split looks like this:
Day 1
Benchpress - 6 sets of 10
DB Shoulder Press - 6 sets of 10
Tricep Push downs - 6 sets of 10
Day 2
Lat pulldowns - 6 sets of 10
DB Bicep curls - 6 sets of 10
DB Lat raises - 6 sets of 10
Day 3
Ankle and hip mobility warmup/stretches
Barbell squats - 6 sets of 10
DB Calf raises - 6 sets of 10
Day 4
Rest day
I will alternate the exercises for each muscle group every split or so. Such as doing Skullcrushers for triceps etc. This 6x10 workout style also makes it really easy to track progress and attempt progressive overload. For example, after I can hit 75kg for 6 sets of 10 on the benchpress, I will move on to 80kg the next time. I may only hit 2 sets of this weight, and then I will drop it down to 75 or 70 and finish off. Then every day I do bench press after that, I try to hit another set of 10 before lowering the weight, until eventually I can comfortably do 6 sets of 10. I would highly recommend this training as I have found some extreme success with it. However, I have gained a lot of weight, and although a lot of it is muscle, there is also a lot of fat I need to lose too, which will be my goal henceforth.
I was never really a proponent of progressive overload, as a lot of the literature I read and wrote about here suggested that instead of attempting to increase weights little by little, it is more beneficial to stick to one weight for a long time, and then make a big jump after. E.g. stick to 80kg of 6 x 10 until it is almost as easy as a warmup, then continue on to 90 or 95 or even 100kg of 6 x 10. However, I cannot deny the progress it has yielded.
The images below show the difference in physique. The topless picture was taken just a week or before the end of October in 2023, and the picture of me flexing in a rash guard was taken just 2 weeks or so ago on a Sunday morning BJJ session. I hope this has been insightful to anyone curious about weight training. I am willing to answer any questions below. Thank you all!
