Hey all,
Reporting back in with my results following 1.1. This seems to really be ticking all the boxes for me (other than my desire to go lift barbells sometimes). Really happy with the results so far with an increase in strength and improved body composition at a fairly low recovery cost. The weights are going up easier and easier. I really didn't think I could do the straight sets of the higher reps for 1.1 when I started. However, when it came time, I knocked them out. My weight has stayed relatively the same, varying within a 5 lb. range over the past few months and I've noticed an increase in size in my shoulders, arms, thighs, and even my calves. Based on this I'm fairly certain my body fat percentage has gone down as muscle mass has increased. No official data on that however. Also I have noticed a sharp increase in my endurance as well when I am doing my aerobic workouts on the off days. This I have attributed to the Giant sessions because I have actually cut back on the volume of cardio training I was doing the past few months.
To follow this, I have actually decided to run Giant 2.0 instead of 1.2. I was curious to see how my body would handle the ladders instead of straight sets and thought a slightly different stimulus might be good. I have been trying this for a week now and it's interesting to see how much more volume I am able to squeeze into a session this way. Once I wrap up 2.0 I plan to switch things up for a bit and do an 8 week run-through of Built Strong Minimalist. However, I know I will be keeping some form of the Giant in rotation. It's been too successful for me to not come back to it.
Also for reference here is a chart of the total work performed per session measured in total kg's moved. This timeframe covers Giant 1.0 -> 1.1 and the first week of 2.0. As you can see I doubled the amount of work being done per session.
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