Brads 2021 & 2022 program

As many of our frequent followers at team3dmj are aware, I have been tossing around the idea of doing a bodybuilding contest prep this year. I have not committed to stepping on stage quite yet, but the prepping process is the part I am longing for rather than the end point, so if I end up getting on stage at some point, great! However, it’s the prep itself that I am truly after right now. So, what does my program look like right now? Read on.

Training

As many of you know, I am always training. Weight training is the aspect of bodybuilding that I truly love. So whether I am following a program or not, I am always in my weight room doing something. As you can imagine, sometimes floundering leads to an organized process that we get a lot of enjoyment from. This is not something that I created on paper, but instead something that became my program as I was floundering.

At its core, I simply start a block with 1 or 2 working sets, and add sets each week. I do this for three weeks and then I start over again. The weeks where I have only one or two working sets serve as both an introduction and a deload. However, the approach for compounds vs bodybuilding is slightly different so that I can serve the strength junkie in me.

Compounds lifts for Strength

My main compound movements are the high bar squat, low bar squat, paused bench press, Sumo deadlift, trap bar deadlift, and barbell overhead press. I start with two of these movements, one upper and one lower body, every day. I work up to a heavy single that is submaximal, followed by back off sets that are anywhere between 25-35% lighter. I add a set of back offs while simultaneously making them lighter each week such that I do one back off set that is 25% lighter than my single in week 1, two back off sets that are 30% lighter in week 2, and finally, three back off sets that are 35% lighter than the single in week 3. Then I start the whole process over again.

To maintain frequency, add variety, and because it’s fun to incorporate it, I do what feels like an “easier” day in the middle of the microcycle. I feel like it’s also one of the things that keeps me healthy. You can also see that on Day 4, I don’t do any back off sets on flat barbell bench press.

Bodybuilding

When it comes to my bodybuilding work I follow roughly the same process minus the heavy single. So for DB OHP, pulldowns, Rows, curls, tricep extensions, leg extensions and leg curls, I start the block with two bodybuilding sets in the 6 to 12 rep range. Then each week I add a set such that I end the block with four sets. 

Bodybuilding / Myo Rep Sets

Finally, each session ends with a finisher of Myo Rep sets. These are programmed for lateral raises, rear delt raises, Y raises, biceps and triceps. I’m a little less aggressive with adding sets here, as most of the time I keep to the same number of sets for the whole block. Here is a look at the entire program.

One thing I noticed with this program is that it keeps me healthy and the deload is built into the program. So, I just continually run the program over and over again and my mindset is that I’m never deloading. Even though on paper I am. This seems to keep me very healthy and serves the strength junkie in me while keeping the volume high enough for bodybuilding purposes. Most importantly though, it’s a lot of fun. Including the floundering I mentioned at the beginning of the blog, I have stuck to something resembling this program for 25 weeks now.

Nutrition

Over the last four or five months I have lost approximately 7 to 8lbs. While it is obvious that I am in a deficit, it is not a programmed deficit. I am simply tracking the macros of the food I eat in FitGenie and logging it each day while comparing it to what my body weight is doing. We have said many times here at Team 3DMJ that tracking alone creates awareness and weight loss often happens as a result. This is what I’m currently experiencing, and because I’ve been tracking I can also analyze the data and calculate my maintenance calories for when we start doing a programmed deficit.

As many of you know, I am a numbers geek. That said, with all of the data I have gathered over the last four or five months, I have calculated with a fair amount of certainty that my maintenance calories are approximately 12 calories per pound of body weight. The recent analysis I did was for a period of three weeks when my body weight stayed constant at 197lbs. During this periodI was consistently taking in 16,343 calories per week, on average. This is 2335 calories per day on average, which at my body weight of 197lbs is 11.85 calories per pound. This tracks quite well with two other times I analyzed in a similar fashion when I calculated my maintenance at 12.1, and 12.2 calories per pound, respectively.

Cardio

Just like my nutrition, I am not programming any cardio currently. However, I am tracking my steps and will log any cardio I eventually do alongside my macros and body weight. That way we can compare how changes in expenditure or activity affect my body weight. To do this, I have been tracking my steps and activity with a Fitbit that I got for Christmas. This is a tool I have never used before and the newness of using it has added a little momentum to the process as well as valuable data points. I’m not a very active person and as of now, I’m averaging a mere 6000 steps per day with higher outliers when I need to clear snow or work the occasional shift at the hospital. The outliers average 16000 steps and are not reliable, but could be made consistent if needed to prompt weight loss. So while it is not a part of my program right now, like my nutrition, tracking it is.

Summary

That is my program as of now and the goal is losing weight and maintaining most of my strength, while getting the bodybuilding volume I need. I’m not going to lie, my absolute strength has gone down a tiny bit, but not too much (my 1RMs are maybe down 5%). Most importantly, the entirety of what I am doing is building momentum for when I transition to a stricter approach of hitting specific macros, more bodybuilding oriented training, and daily step counts or a quota for cardio. All the habits will be there, which more than anything, is what will set me up for success.

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