The Giant 2.0

 Yesterday in my journey of doing Geoff Neupert's The Giant, kettlebell program,  I finished the 2.0 workout.  What makes this different than the other 4 workouts is that it uses ladders vs. straight sets.  I believe this is the best next progression after 1.0.  Why?  In 1.0, the heavy day is the 6 rep day.  For 20-30 minutes, you're performing continuous reps of 6.  If you do the 1.1 workout, 6 is the light day and 8 is the heavy day!  That might be too much progression.  Kind of like a $3.5 trillion spending bill. No, that would be the 1.2 program.

The 2.0 program uses ladders ranging from 3-8.  Meaning, first set, do a set of 4. Rest, next set of 6, rest set of 8. Start ladder over.  What I like about ladders is instead of balling out and starting with a set of 8, which might feel awful, you kind of ease into it. Set of 4, loosen up a little, set of 6, warmed up, set of 8.  It's kind of like pitching.  You don't go into a game without warming up.  The first couple of rungs help you get the movement pattern down for the money set.

I ran this program with double 55 lb./25kg kettlebells.  4 weeks, 1st 3 were for 30 minutes, last week was 20.  My best was 75 reps on a medium day, which was a personal record.  The magic in this program is in the high rep sets, 7's and 8's.  They also take a LOT out of you.  I never went to failure, but hit a wall on heavy day in week 3.  Now if I did the program as written and rested, maybe the results might have been even better.  

I am still running a couple of days a week on treadmill or outdoors.  3-5 miles, just for meditative purposes.  Also gone to the gym to do some pullups and rows.  Last Sunday, after an easy day deload week 20 minute session, I decided to do a snatch test for 5 minutes.  Being over 50, as a "master" (insert joke), I can use the 45 lb. bell.  

Chalked up, set the clock and started.  There are many different ways to get to 100.  20 reps sets descending to 15, 10 and 5.  I'm not a fan of long sets.  I find them to be grip fryers and cause shoulder fatigue.  When the grip starts going, you're more apt to have a bad rep, a pinch and a blood blister.  Sets of 10 are okay.  Just boring.  A few years ago, I did this with a 35 and did 200 in 9 minutes.  It was still pretty miserable.  

Personally I like, 8, 8 and then 6 sets of 7,7.  The grip stays fresher. The sets don't seem that long.  If you can do 5 reps, everyone can do an extra 2. And my shoulders feel better.  There are some drawbacks to this.  First, you have to keep a decent pace.  Hand switches waste time. Second, the counting aspect.  This isn't a problem for me.  My brother teases me, that I know my exact golf score in my head or how many points I scored when I played basketball.  But it works for me.  

The key is NOT PUTTING  THE BELL DOWN.  If you put the bell down, fatigue takes over, it's hard to get going again, and you'll put it down again.  Ever notice when running how hard it is to start running again when you stop? Or doing a task you dread at work, get going on it and stop?  Same thing.  Anyway, I did the 100 at a nice easy pace in 4:50 and did 4 more for 104 total.  I might train with a 55 again.  I haven't done 100 with a 55 in about 5 years.  

What's next? I'm kind of in a no-man's land. Going on vacation in 20 days.  I can squeeze 3 weeks of The Giant 1.1 in.  Then take a week off as a de-load. And finish week 4 by doing a full 30 minutes.  Or I could finish Ballistic Beatdown.  I have 3 weeks left. I'm not a fan of it.  I HATE high pulls.  Especially before snatches. Finishing it would be more of a matter of pride than enjoyment  I'm leaning toward the former.

The Giant 1.0 = Results

I decided after finishing Lucky 13 to start The Giant 1.0 program by Geoff Neupert. When I purchased The Giant, for a whole $19, I would test my clean and press and work with my 10 repetition max as recommended in the book.  Started with 55's and only did 6.  I decided to begin with 45's.  After a week or 2 of pressing into triple digits on 1.0, I quit the program and went to Giant 3.0, which is a lower rep program using 5 RM max.  I used 55's and that helped me raise my rep max to a whopping 7. I ran 1.2 which is all reps with 45's.  I sincerely believe doing all those reps with 45's really helped me, because my press became a lot more efficient. The more vertical the path, the shorter the length to locking out. 

While doing Lucky 13, I did some intermittent lifting with 55's.  5 sets of 2-4 reps for a couple of weeks. I decided at this point to just run 1.0 with the 55's and see what happens.  No rep max test.  Suck it up candy ass.  Well the results are in.  First week, 167 total reps in 90 minutes to 185 total reps in the 3rd week.  My only setback was in week 2, I wasn't able to add a set on the heavy day.  I did more reps as I did a quick 2 at the end to finish. 10 x 6 + 1 x 2 for 62.  Completely my fault. I was running Ballistic Beatdown from More Kettlebell Muscle, on 3 of the off days for fat loss/cardio purposes. Heavy day was the day before and the workout was 180 reps of Double Swings, High Pulls, Double Snatches, Squats and Jerks.  Shoulders were tired.  Learned my lesson and shelved it.  Instead went to Planet Fitness and did some light pulldowns, rows and a run on off days. 

I have finished week 4 by deloading down to 20 minutes from 30, and doing an easy 6-8 sets.  

What I've noticed:

• My conditioning is off the charts.  Between running 1.2, then the complexes tuned my engine up.  I'm running 5 miles no sweat once a week and did a 3 mile treadmill run in under 25 minutes. I haven't done that since my 30's.
• The light days were harder sometimes than the heavy days.  At first, I thought it was mental or anti-climatic, but then, duh, more sets = lower rest periods.  11 sets in 30 minutes is a lot less than 15 total sets.
• I'm hungry, all the time.  Weight went to 190. I'm going on a golf vacation Thursday to my buddy's house in Asheville, NC. The plan is to clean up the diet after.
• The Giant 1.0 did not help my golf game.  I've become a complete mental basketcase.  Need to find my relaxed Zen.  Bad swing thoughts = bad results.  Is it really too much to just be a 13-15 handicap?  My irons and putting are good enough.  Erratic off the tee and inconsistent with the fairway woods.  I shot 41 this summer with a triple on a par 3 because I hit a 9 iron into the shit and lost a ball.  Didn't hit anything other than 6 iron off the tee that 9 in Naples. Go figure.

Saturday I decided to test my rep max with the double 55's/25kg bells.  I'm not a fan of tests anymore, or road races.  But I decided to just do it.  I banged out 10 and absolutely had 1 in the tank.  Here's the proof.  

.

•  Two weeks ago I tried to clean and press double 32 kg/70 lb. bells and failed.  Not even close.   This past Saturday, 30 minutes after the test above, I tried twice, got a LOT closer but failed. I had not done cleans in a long time with the 70's.  They weren't crisp and I needed to zip up and get tighter.  Sunday comes, I'm vacuuming in the basement, I walked over, did a set of 4 double cleans just to get warmed up and used to the movement, focusing on getting tight. 10 minutes later:                   

      

             

    It was a GRIND, by no means a thing of beauty but it went up.  First time in at least 4, probably            closer to 5 years, since I did it.

What's next on tap?  Well I have 3 choices.  

• Finish Ballistic Beatdown, (3 1/2 more weeks of workouts, and get the eating under control) 
• Run Giant 1.1.  Probably the 3rd choice.  6 rep days are the light days instead of the heavy days
• Run Giant 2.0. Reps are ladder style.  There are some hairy rep counts, but not 30 minutes of doing straight 8 rep sets. 

I'm going to have to run 1.1 and take ALL rest days, so I'd like the diet to be under control.  Also, the weather is gorgeous here, and I still want to get some runs in.  Ballistic Beatdown is a bitch, I should probably finish it and wave the load of pressing.  

Lucky 13, More Kettlebells Muscle

So the plan of doing bodyweight exercises for 30 days lasted a whole 4 days.  My left shoulder could not take it.   Pushups, pullups, dips were irritating my clavicle.  Pressing overhead doesn't cause issues but anything lateral makes it squawk.  I wasn't ready to go back to The Giant yet, so I decided to go to my old standby: More Kettlebell Muscle by Geoff Neupert. Purchase here.

When I finish a program in the book, I write down whether I did it as a complex or chain, and the date I finished.  I've finished 15 of them.  There is one I can't complete because my grip can't handle it,  I need another 35 lb. bell.  I selected Lucky 13 and decided to do it as a chain.  All these programs last 6-9 weeks, 3 workouts per week. For some of these programs, the workouts are under 10 minutes for the first 3-4 weeks.  48 hours rest between workouts.  I decided to combine 2 weeks into one and complete it in 3 weeks.

What makes Lucky 13 different from other programs is the inclusion of the reverse lunge.  Although you do a lunge in the getup, it's not programmed in most kettlebell workouts.  Why? It is a balance issue, can cause knee issues and one needs practice to perfect them.  Too bad, because they are a PHENOMENAL exercise with good form while holding 2 bells in the rack.  And they are great for conditioning.  I remember including them in an Escalated Density program I was doing with the double snatch.  15 minutes of work never took so long.  I prefer them over the goblet squat, which in my opinion is a nice beginner movement to pry the hips open but that's where it belongs, or as a warmup.

I haven't done complexes or chains in awhile, so the first 5 or 6 workouts were getting my locomotive engine back into metabolic conditioning.  Although I've been doing a lot of running and hiking, there is HUGE difference than doing 90 second kettlebells sets.  The medium day and the easy day were both, nice easy workouts.  The reverse lunge in medium day helped me get used to doing the movement again.  Had a couple of bad reps, but was able to find the groove.  No lunges on easy day.  Then we get to day 3, heavy day.  I was using two 45 lb. kettlebells. 

Heavy day includes lunges and squats.  30 reps of total exercise per round. 3 rounds in week 1, 5 rounds, weeks, 3 and 5, 6 rounds week 6.  The work : rest ratio shrinks from 1:2 weeks 1-3 to 1:1.5 weeks 4-6.  When I was done the 1st week of heavy day, I was so happy there were only 3 rounds.  I was a puddle of sweat huffing and puffing.  As my conditioning for chains came back I handled the 4 and 5 rounds weeks 1-3.  Uncomfortably with legs starting to shake.  

Week 5 heavy day was particularly brutal.  I was trash for 30 minutes.  First, the breath starts to increase, then the shoulders start to tire from pressing and holding the bells in the rack for so long, finally the panic sets in as the foundation, AKA legs start to shake.  I didn't have a 6th round in me and was questioning, how I would conclude this.  

Welp, I kind of cheated.  The good news was I got all the reps in, and the time it took to do the workout was less than I had estimated. Here's what I did: 

Number of seconds per round + rest period.  So 84 seconds to complete the chain of one of the 6 rounds.  Rest 126 seconds which is 1.5 x 84.  Add 84 + 126 gives you the time between starting a new round which is 210 seconds.  Multiply that for 5 complete rounds and you get 1,050 seconds.  Add 84 more seconds for the 6th round gets you to 1134 seconds or 17:54 for total time.

Each round contains 5 sequences.  So 6 rounds x 5 sequences is 30 total sequences.  Now take 1134 seconds and divide by 30.  Equals 37.8 seconds.  So instead of doing 5 sequences at once and resting for 2 minutes and 6 seconds, I did a sequence, rested until 37 seconds passed and did the sequence again.  30 times.  So it was, Sequence, rest to 37 seconds, sequence, rest to 1:14 seconds, sequence rest to 1:51 until I  finished the 30 sequences.  

Think of it as rest:pause/interval training vs. doing 5 at once and resting.  Heartrate stays up, form doesn't breakdown because fatigue isn't setting in, finished  all the reps done in less time, didn't stiffen up from resting 2 minutes.  The only thing that didn't happen was lactic acid setting in from the fatigue.  I finished in 17:32. I did need to pay attention not to lose count.

Results were positive, while doing this program, I hiked in Acadia National Park up in Bar Harbor, ME with my wife for our 25th anniversary and rucked up three 1200 foot summits which according to AllTrails were deemed "DIFFICULT" with no problem.  I also did a mountain goat run at home which has eluded me for couple of years due to the steepness of one of the hills about 2 miles out and was able to complete the run.  Heartrate has been around 52.  Weight around 186, blood pressure in check. 

In order to keep up with strength goals for starting The Giant again, I've been following this "grease the groove" pressing program using double 55's.  I like calling it "intermittent workouts."  Every 30 minutes to an hour do a set until you do 5 sets.  My only issues is sitting down, I have to get up and walk around to loosen up before doing the set.  I was feeling cocky on Saturday and tried a clean and press with double 70's.  Not even close, those days might be done. 

On tap is one more program of complexes. It's probably going to be "Ballistic Beatdown."  With reps of 10, it looks like it might be a grip killer.  I'll run it as a complex. 

The Giant 1.2

 Just finished running the Giant 1.2 program by Geoff Neupert.  I had tested my rep max on the clean and press with 55's and did 6.  Grabbed the 45's and did 12 or 13 leaving a couple in the tank.  I was not motivated to run 3.0 again with the 55's, so I decided to go for the reps and opted for 1.2

Program consists of 3 workouts per week.  On easy day perform 7 reps, medium day 8 reps, and heavy day 9.  Set timer for 20-30 minutes.  The rest periods are auto regulated.  This means when you're ready to do the next set, do it.  Try and add a one more set each week. Off days, do nothing, walk or a 3 sets of 3 reps session.  That's it.  Can't get any simpler.  One bell, or two.  Clean the kettlebell before each press.

Before I get to the results, everyone needs to TRUST THE PROCESS.  Meaning, do the program as written.  It's not about the program, it's about the recovery and diet.  You get stronger on your days off.  I'm just as guilty as anyone.  I took 2-3 days off a week.  One week took the full 4.  I'm of the belief, you need to do as many pulls as presses.  So I'd go to Planet Fitness and do 15-20 pullups, 100 band pull-aparts and a 30 minute run.  Went to New York for the 4th of July and used the hotel gym and walked 25,000 steps one day.  The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a GREAT take.  Though I find Van Gogh and Monet completely overrated.  

I opted for 30 minutes to do this.  There is a huge disparity for me in regard to reps between 45's and 55's.  The 45's felt like toys.  First week, I did 91 reps with the 7's.  In the third week, I did 112 on 8's day and 117 on 9's day.  Finally, in the 4th week, deloaded and dropped the time down to 20 minutes and averaged between 70-72 reps.

If I ran this program again, I would leave the timer at 20 minutes.  Anything over 100 reps is complete overkill.  I'm 52 years old and knew it was not a great idea, yet I did it.  I'm completely lucky to come out of it uninjured.  Shoulders muscles were sore the next day.  

Now onto the good news. I really worked on my form and the bells were flying.  The sets got my heart pumping but in a nice refreshed way.  I didn't feel trashed at the end of any workout.  I was able to add a set each week no problem and did the work faster than the week before.  For example, 13 sets in 29 minutes became 13 in 27:30.  My density improved.  Some people measure success by their rep max, I do it by sets.  

As I said, I did run a couple of times a week.  On Monday, after doing the 7's in 20 minutes, I went did to PF, and did a 5 mile treadmill run in 42:17.  Easily the fasted run I've had in over a decade.  Set the incline to 1.0.  Some magic occurred there.  Taking on Manhattan, I just was not tired at all in the heat.  Last weekend, I played golf with my fellow Kettlebell Comrade Tommy Rambo at his course in Northeast CT, he told me my shoulders looked like an aircraft carrier and he had just started running 3.0.  He loved how refreshed he felt, and was restraining himself from doing more.  

The diet has been a little lax, but hanging in the 185-186 range.  The porterhouse for 2 at Keen's Steakhouse was dynamite.  

I've decided for the next 31 days to focus on bodyweight.  Pullups, Dips, Pushups, Hindu Squats, Running, Hill Sprints and Band Pull-Aparts.  My left shoulder muscle, has been a little balky. Golfing hasn't helped.  Not caused by the Giant and wasn't a restriction, just want to ease off it a touch.  Plus, it's nice out and have been enjoying running.  

Program will look something like this: 3 x a week for each session. Stretching and easy yoga as well for flexibility

Day 1

Pullups 5 sets try and add a rep of total volume each day.

Dips 5 x 12

Band Pull Aparts 4 x 25

Hindu Squats 4 x 25.

30-45 minute run

Day 2

Pullups/See above

Band Pull-Aparts 4 x 25

Pushups 100,  Ladders 5,10, 15, 20 work up to 200

Ab roller/Vacuum/Plank

Hindu Squats adding 3-4 a day

Hill Sprints 10 x 80 yards

I have less than zero interest in pistol squats and one arm pushups or pullups.  Just the basics.  

The Giant 3.0 Results

 Ran the Giant 3.0 with 55's for 4 weeks. Sets of 1, 2 or 3.  Three times a week.  I dutifully followed the program as written and didn't do anything but walk on off-days.  In the 4th week, I was able to do 47 sets of 1, 30 sets of 2 and 23 sets of 3.  Improvement every week and did not feel gassed.  My diet was ok, not a lot of junk, but I was hungry and eating a lot more.  

So, yes it works.  My shoulders did put on some size.  But, there were some drawbacks.  I realized, I couldn't do band pull-aparts anymore with the band I own (20-70 lb.) tension.  My shoulder muscles were sore and not in the good way.  As in muscles were burning.  Running it 20 minutes is probably a better idea vs. 30.  

Went on vacation.  Did nothing but run.  Good news is in the Florida heat, I was able to run 5 + miles three times. The last mile and a half was a grind, but I improved my time with every outing.  I really enjoyed it to tell you the truth.  I had to run with all the food I ate.  My buddy and I went to Andre's in Naples with his boy and got the Porterhouse Steak for 3.  Life altering.  My wife doesn't like the ambience, but it was one of the 3 best steaks I've ever eaten.  Took my mother out for her birthday and had a seafood palella with the a lobster at Mediterrano.  Hot fudge sundaes every night.  Only gained 2 lb. Hanging around 185 right now.

Back at home, I decided to test my max with 55's and 45's.  After a few warmup sets, 55 max was 6, 45's I quit at 10 and probably had 5 left in the tank.  The difference in the 20 lb. is amazing.  It HAS to be mental because the 45's were flying.  

Anyway, what to do?  Run 3.0 again?  I really wasn't feeling it. Run 1.0 with one kettlebell?  Meh, seems too much like the Rite Of Passage from Enter the Kettlebell.  Been there, done that enough for a lifetime.  

There is no order to how to run the 5 programs.  So I made the decision to run the Giant 1.2 program. Three days a week.  Rep days are 7, 8 and 9.  Using the 45's.  I'm curious to see if the muscle endurance will help with strength. Or if you don't use it, you lose it.  First week did 13 sets of 7, 10 sets of 9 and 12 sets of 8 in 30 minutes. The 9's catch up to you around the 7th set.  Feels like a glorified German Volume Training which is 10 sets of 10, except there is autoregulation vs 60 seconds rest between sets.

I'm not resting the other 4 days.  I've gone to the gym to do pullups, rows, light band pull-aparts, dips and run.  The dips and pullups have felt really strong.  My running has come back.  Did 3.34 miles in 30 minutes day before yesterday, and did 3 miles in 25:04 today with a 1.0 incline for both.  Maybe it's the cleans and presses, who knows.  I'm liking the side effect.

I do need to clean up the diet a little.  Not gaining weight but not practicing good habits.  Eating too much. 

The Giant 3.0

StrongFirst's kettlebell forum has a 50 + page dedicated to Geoff Neupert's GIANT clean and press program.  After reading about it, figured, I'd plunk down the $19 to download it.  What's a little frivolous spending?  Basically, it's a 10 page E-Book describing the program.  Worth the money?  Well, if you like the clean and press, either single or double, this is the program for you.  It's five, 4-week programs based on your 10 rep max (4 programs) or 5 rep max (1 program).  You can use a single kettlebell or doubles. 

You can run each program for 20 or 30 minutes. 3 x a week.  That's 60 or 90 minutes of exercise a week.  Off days.  Ab work, mobility, foam roll or walk.  If you must do a 3 x 3 program.   

Here is the link: The Giant

Coming off losing about 20 lb. since the fall and finishing Kettlebell Burn Extreme, I knew I had lost a little strength. The first Giant is with your 10 rep max.  I HATE testing rep max, (does anyone like it)? So I decided not to do it.  Last time I tested it was in the fall and I did 55's for 8.  So calculating my loss of strength due to weight loss, opted for the 45's. It was too easy.  90 reps first day, 102 on second day.  Third day which was the lower rep day, I used the 55's, and had a great workout.  Took 2 days off and on medium day, I took the 55's and did 5 sets.  Unfortunately, 6th set was failure.  Not what we're looking for.  Completely stuck in between bells.  45's too easy, 55's too light.  It was suggested to try uneven bells.  A 45 in one hand and a 55 in the other.  Did one clean and press and it was too awkward and weird.  It was a chiropractic appointment awaiting to happen. What to do?

Decided to start with the 5 RM Giant. Which is 3.0.  It's described as "how to make a pair of heavy kettlebells feel light using your 5 RM." I decided to really test my RM's again.  For 55's did 6 and the last rep was not optically pleasing.  For 45's, I did 13 and quit with 2 in the tank.  Talk about a disparity.  Nothing like starting a program over a 1/3 of the way into it.  

Used the 55's.  First day, medium day got 25 sets.  Second workout of the week was supposed to be heavy day, but I felt so terrible, that I did easy day and did 33 sets.  Did heavy day and got 18 sets.  Week 2, you're supposed to do one more set than last week for each workout.  Set clock for 30 minutes, felt really good and then, my wife's friend came by to drop something off. (I was lifting in my driveway) Gabbed with her for 5 minutes and made the last 15 minutes, full-on MetCon, trying to beat the clock.  Did 26 sets!  

I don't know what it is but I'm much better and more explosive with lower reps and quick twitch.  I used to do a lot of military pressing with double 70's.  I could do sets of 2-3 all day long.  But only managed over 5 a couple of times.  Did 7 on my best day with a video to prove it.  7+ years ago, cue up Glory Days. 

A couple of things to be aware of.  This is as MINIMIALIST as it gets.  Even more so than the most overrated program in history Simple and Sinister. I couldn't imagine doing one hand swings and getups 6 days a week for months on end.  One of the things that drew me to kettlebells were ALL of the different exercises you can do and never get bored.  This is 180 degrees from that. The temptation is to have variety days like in the Rite of Passage, but I've decided to DO THE PROGRAM AS WRITTEN and see what happens.  Ab wheel, and Band Pull-Aparts are my only extra exercises.  And believe me it's tempting.

Beautiful weather calls for jogging or hill sprints.  Nope, just walking and yard work.  I actually like the 3-4 days off.  It takes a week to get over the need to stimulate with exercise. As stated in the previous 2 blog posts, IT IS 85% DIET!!!  You get strong on your days off.  Can I add this exercise or that?  Sure, you can, but then it's not the program.  For 99% of us, trying something for 4 weeks and eliminating something else is not going to kill your gainz....It might help heal soreness and nagging injuries you might have.  The goal of the 3.0 is to increase your rep max in the clean and press from 5 to hopefully 8-10.  And then do 1.0.  Or maybe I have to spend another session of 3.0 to get it to 10.  The 55's used to feel so light. They don't anymore.  

$19 for possibly 6 months of kettlebell programming is worth it.  So far so good. My goal is to finish 3.0, take 1 week off for vacation to Florida and then decide on 3.0 again or 1.0  There are 56 pages of support on the thread of the forum.

Kettlebell Burn Extreme Reloaded Final Results

 UPDATE:*****************5/3/21*************************

Don't you hate when someone blogs about a program and doesn't finish it?  I have been guilty of it as well.  Raise my hand. Not this time however.  Let's go to the video tape, or I mean measuring tape.

Weight: 181.4 Down a little over 10. The other times I weighed myself it was after a fast to keep the momentum going.  After a fast last week it said 180.6, which is kind of a false, but nice reading to keep motivation going. 

Navel: 35.5  Down around 2 inches from 37.5.

Diet: Fasted 4 x, no problem. Was 90% compliant. Again, adding almonds and walnuts as well as had 2 apples.  If you're worried about apples, you have food issues.  I understand the theory to avoid them about raising blood sugar, but threw them in a salad. Let's face fact: Oatmeal and broccoli is not an appetizing combination.  I didn't eat egg whites.  Whole eggs, thank you. 3-4 five times a week.

Recovery:  See above, I foam rolled and did deep breathing.  Ditched the cold therapy.  Walked 5-6 days a week with the puppy.

Workouts: I followed the principles, but not to a T.  For example, for the last week, instead of 35 one hand swings each side with a 55.  I grabbed a 70 and did 2 hand swings for 20 minutes.  Why? Better hip snap = better swing, not worried about losing my grip, high rep 1 hand swings bother my lower back. 350 total.

Snatches, instead of 20-25 reps with a 35, did 200 with a 45.  Why?  Less strain on elbows and shoulders, no hot spots on hands from too many reps, heavier weight.  200 is my snatch limit.

Press and squats: I ditched the 25 minute sets of 3 and 4.  Took 45's, did 10 sets of press/squat/row complex 5 reps of each.  Rested 60-90 seconds.  Done in under 20 minutes with more reps.

Extra stuff: Ab roller, stomach vacuums and planks 3 x / week. Band Pull Aparts 100/day for shoulders.  Ran once on treadmill at gym 30 minutes 3.37 miles with a 1.0 degree incline.  My pullups were much easier with the loss of weight.

What's next?:  Ah the dreaded, I'm finished, where do I go from here?  Help?  No one wants to be Oprah physically and gain it back.  Her bank account is another story.  

Workouts: Do random stuff 6 days a week.  3 at the gym, (pullups, dips, chest press, 3 mile run). 3 doing kettlebells.  Geoff Neupert has a 102 kettlebell workout E-book.   Here is the link, it's free and will keep you amused.  https://chasingstrength.com/get/102-kettlebell-workouts/

Recovery:  Same. 11 month golden retriever puppy has a LOT of energy, needs to be walked at least 3 miles daily.

Diet:  The most important question as it's 85-90% of success.  Going to follow a Slow Carb diet a la Tim Ferriss but my own spin on it, which is similar to Geoff's diet above on days, 1,3,5 and 6

Days 1-5, Eat 2-3 meals of Protein, Green Vegetables and Complex Carbs (No bread, pasts, dairy, fruit)

Day 6 Cheat MEAL, not day, meal.  Including dessert.  

Day 7 Fast from cheat meal to next day's dinner 22-23 hours. Eat the dinner same as days 1-5.

If I lose 4-5 lb. in the next month, great.  If not, I know eating healthy is great for my heart and organs.  And at 52, heart health starts to get EXTEMELY important.  Especially with the genetic cesspool I was dealt. 

I'm still taking my blood pressure medication.  Usually I have to cut it in half at this point from headrushes, but those haven't been as extreme as in the past.  Normal around 120/80.

28 days is all it takes, and in reality 4 cheat days and 12 eat normal with carb days.  So only 12 days are tough.  That's less than 50% of the program.