Results and Reflections on 12-Week Program
This week, I wrapped up the Barbell Medicine 12-week strength training program. I didn’t miss a session, lifting 4 days a week and doing GPP on two other days. The results were fulfilling throughout and the final testing week produced some new personal records for me, even if the numbers come at a higher body weight after the bulk I underwent this winter.
Video Recap
I made a video recap video on the final day of the program, which includes a fun intro based on a scene from “Old School”. You can click through and watch or you can just read the summary below, or you can do both!
“Meet” Results
I totalled 1050 pounds in the three lifts that you do in a powerlifting meet: squat (350lbs), bench press (275lbs) and deadlift (425lbs). I did miss some attempts along the way and probably was a bit aggressive in the chosen weights, but it wasn’t a real meet, so why not be aggressive?
I did all three lifts in a single day, trying to mimic what it would be like to participate in a real meet. That might have dulled the potential of the weight I lifted in each individual lift, especially the deadlifts that I did last.
First was squats, and I was most excited about this one, because I had made some big progress even though at times during the 12 week program I was really questioning my form. I started with 335lbs, which went really well. Then I loaded 350lbs, and couldn’t quite get out of the hole and had to bail, but my son was there to encourage me.
After that, I unloaded and reloaded the bar back up to 350lbs, tried one more time and got it. I need to work on staying more upright and getting my whole body to come out of the hole, not just my butt. Can’t complain too much about form on a max lift, though.
Bench went really well, I hit my goal of 275lbs on second attempt, a 10 pound PR. With a pretty solid number in the bag, I got a little greedy and tried a 10 pound jump from there. So, my third attempt was 285lbs, which I was able to get back up, but my butt came off the pad in the process, so it doesn’t count.
Deadlift I wasn’t expecting much. 425 lbs is the number I hit around week 8 of training and that matched my PR from last year. But I had a back tweak that derailed things for a few weeks, so I was just looking to match 425lbs again. I hit 415lbs as an opener, then 425lbs went up too and I held it just long enough before my grip slipped.
Then I tried 435 and couldn’t get it all the way up, but it was great that it broke the floor. After that, just for fun, I tried 435 again, but with hooks so my grip wouldn’t limit me. So a new PR for deadlift with grip assistance at 435lbs!
Reflections on the Program
Training went well this time around. This is my third time running through the 12-week strength program from Barbell Medicine. The last two times I ran through it, my deadlift didn’t make much progress. This time I think I added 30 pounds to my squat overall and 10-15 pounds to my bench press, so I am very satisfied with the results this time. But my deadlift made no progress at all. There might be a few different reasons why the deadlift hasn’t gone up in much in the last year:
- my deadlift was just really far ahead of my other lifts
- my upper back and core is weak and need to improve before I progress
- I haven’t deadlifted enough
The plan from here is to deadlift more, to build my back with heavy rows and build my core with front squats and SSB squats. Those will be my focus in the next few blocks of training. It will probably be some form of the Westside Barbell method.
Nutrition Plan
Finally, a quick nutrition update. I am sitting around 186-188lbs, carrying a little extra fluff. For the next 3 months I plan to not prioritize strength as much and drop 10 pounds and see if I can hold onto these strength gains in the process. So that’s it, hope you enjoyed the update, I’ll be back soon with more.
