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Barbell Need advice on my workout inspired by beyond brawn

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Warzone2022

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I've read the beyond brawn and love the concept of abbreviated training, however due to a injury to my lower back I'm currently unable to perform squats and deadlifts as it causes a considerable amount of discomfort and alot of pain, so I'm currently on the waiting list for physio in the UK.

So my question is, is this ok for two days a week and I'll add plenty of volume? Only thing missing is the lower body portion Squat and deads

This will be temporary until I get the green light from physio. My dr said absolutely no lower body work.

Sets & Reps - 3x5-8 followed by 3x15 with 50% 1rm

Day 1-
Bench Press
Rows

Day 2-
OHP
Pullups

Thankyou again
Michael
 
Personally, with my L4/L5 and SI joint issues, I've found that when the injuries were acute or I did something to inflame them, all of the exercises you listed can exacerbate problems when things aren't in good shape to begin with.

Bench - getting a good arch
Rows - the isometric strain on the lower back

OHP - the core stability and slight pressure on the lower back in the slight lean back
Pullups - something about stabilizing the core when things were out of alignment

Again, this was just me, and YMMV, but I'd take it super light and easy as to not further worsen any issues.
 
Thankyou for reply and I'll check out the book, but is the workout ok

I'm not qualified to answer.

If it was for myself, and I felt no pain or discomfort doing thise movements, then I would do them. However, I agree with @freeflowme . When I had my back troubles I could not Row or bench press pain free. But maybe you are not as bad as I was. When my back was hurt I would do McGill Big 3, kbell sumo deadlifts with a very upright torso (very light, like 8 or 12 kg), kbell wide stance goblet squats (very light, like 8 or 12 kg) to a very tall box, floor presses (ensuring my back was neutral), bar hangs (felt good on my back and I would do reps retracting my shoulders like an anti shrug), grip work with Captns of Crush grippers, and lots and lots and lots of walking with a good gait. I avoided sitting, sleeping too much (laying down too much), and bending over in general, until I healed. If I had to get to the ground, for whatever reason, I would lunge and not bend over.

Regards,

Eric
 
I've got great results over the years from ultra abbreviated training and your basic program looks fine. Consider swapping floor press for bench press as it is kinder on the back and shoulders. And if it were me I would drop the volume and just do 3 to 5 hard sets (i.e. close to failure) varying the weight either after every set or between workouts so you're doing anything from 8 to 20 or so reps per set.

Good luck with your lower back! I confess to being surprised that if lower back is the issue you're doing OHP, pull ups and rows but if they're not aggravating the condition then fair enough. If they do aggravate then consider seated overhead dumbbell press, lat pull-down and cable seated row with lighter weight/higher reps. Those with floor press worked for me when I had lower back issues.
 
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I've got great results over the years from ultra abbreviated training and your basic program looks fine. Consider swapping floor press for bench press as it is kinder on the back and shoulders. And if it were me I would drop the volume and just do 3 to 5 hard sets (i.e. close to failure) varying the weight either after every set or between workouts so you're doing anything from 8 to 20 or so reps per set.

Good luck with your lower back! I confess to being surprised that if lower back is the issue you're doing OHP, pull ups and rows but if they're not aggravating the condition then fair enough. If they do aggravate then consider seated overhead dumbbell press, lat pull-down and cable seated row with lighter weight/higher reps. Those with floor press worked for me when I had lower back issues.

Thankyou for the reply, unfortunately I work out from home so I'm limited to what I can do but these exercises are the meat and potatoes for me, but the Floor Press is a great call and I will definatly look into it.

And I was surprised about the exercises not hurting also :)
 
I've read the beyond brawn and love the concept of abbreviated training,...

Beyond Brawn

I have Brawn but not Beyond Brawn. I am curious as to what it goes into. If you have any Cliff Notes on Beyond Brawn you could provide would be appreciated.

High Intensity Training

Brawn, as you mentioned about Beyond Brawn, employs Low Volume, High Intensity Training.

As Vince Gironda (a great Bodybuilder and even greater Bodybuilding Coach) said in regard to High Intensity Training...

"You can train hard or long but not both".

In other words, there is an inverse relationship between Intensity and Time.

When Intensity goes up Time (Volume) goes down.

When Time (Volume) goes up, Intensity goes down.

Arther Jones, Mike Mentzer and Dorian Yates

These individual where advocates of High Intensity Training, working up quickly to one brutal heavy all out set.

What they demonstrated was that Intensity is one of the primary keys to increasing Limit Strength and Muscle Mass.

With that said, there is a place for High Intensity Training. However, Volume is also key.

Some individual respond more to Volume while other find that Higher Intensity with a bit Lower Volume work better. I am in the latter group.

So, find what works for you.

...due to a injury to my lower back I'm currently unable to perform squats and deadlifts

"If it hurts don't do it."

...as William and Steve stated.

Some Leg Exercise That Might Work For You

These are two leg exercise that might work. However, if they hurt don't do 'em.

1) Step Ups: Stepping up on a solid bench. This amounts to performing a One Legged Squat.

Start out by only performing them with your body weight.

Think of it this way. If you weight 150 lbs, your are performing a 150 lb One Legged Squat.

If you want to increase the resistance. Hold a Dumbbell in you hand. Start off with something really light.

Step Ups primarily place the work load on the legs, minimizing the lower back involvement.

Step Ups are one of my favorite Auxiliary Exercises.

2) Belt Squats: Video Demos Below



Belt Squat place the work load on the legs, minimizing the lower back involvement, as well.

This is my prime Auxiliary Leg Exercise.

I also Squat. However, the limiting factor in a Squat is the lower back. The lower back give out long before the legs are completely overloaded/worked.

That is why I use them.

Holding On To Something

I prefer to hold on to the Power Rack when performing them. Doing so, allows you to use more weight by eliminating the Stabilizer Muscles, overloading the prime muscle in the legs.

Holding on also take more of the back out of the movement.

I use other leg exercise to engage/work the Stabilizer Muscles.

Kenny Croxdale
 
Beyond Brawn

I have Brawn but not Beyond Brawn. I am curious as to what it goes into. If you have any Cliff Notes on Beyond Brawn you could provide would be appreciated.

Kenny Croxdale

Beyond Brawn is essentially Brawn in depth, continuing the challenge to the high volume Schwarzenegger-esque spend_hours_in_the_gym type programs.

In a nutshell McRobert recommends focusing on up to five basic compound exercises covering the whole body, doing them every workout, and sticking with them for years. Assistance work is limited. Low volume (1 to 3 work sets), long rest periods (4 minutes), working out twice per week.

It's not a HIT methodology (eg he recommends multiple work sets including programming occasional periods at 6x6) but it shares the same desire for efficiency and emphasis on rest.

On a personal level I made the best gains of my life (4cms on arms in one year) shifting from doing up to 12 exercises per workout on a Bro Split to a Brawn workout with as little as three compound exercises. But it's a highly individualistic thing.
 
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