This…(did I make the 10 character minimum?)
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Definitely seeing that now. Thank you for popping in to reaffirm. It only helps me more. 
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We can all be very product-centered. I think it’s important to remember the need for heart in this game.
Last year I pulled 600 for the first time in competition, completely unplanned. I took 2 scoops of a pre-workout you SHOULDN’T double scoop. But in all reality, that wasn’t what made me pull that much. My mental commitment to finishing the pull or passing out before I let go was the real reason.
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Preach! Seriously - great thoughts. I always imagined that if I ever got into competing that I’d also double dose a pre that would put me near death lol.
Again though, the mental aspect still has to be there as you’re saying. Definitely not taking any of these thoughts for granted, so I really appreciate the comments. I think I have to pass my new found mental game to my fiance next. Poor girl is afraid of deadlifts!
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While I’m here - rest day thoughts…
I am beat. Yesterday really put a beating on me after OHP/DL’s. The DL’s were easily the heaviest volume ever for me, and combined with the heavy OHP’s, my entire upper body is fried. Traps, lats, delts… Broken. Definitely the most DOMS I’ve felt this entire program. Rest day is greatly needed today.
With that said though, the muscle fullness I’ve felt all day is nice. 
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You can’t leave us hanging, what was 2 scooped?!?
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Vector is intriguing to me. I’m coming to the end of a 12 week OL Ep1logue run, trying to decide whether or not to go for Vector or OL’s new competitor to this, Kings Slayer. The detailed review throughout is appreciated.
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I picked up some Kingsslayer to try but I am not expecting anything much. We will see
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Cool, let us know how it goes…
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Ha! It was irresponsible enough that I’m not sure I’d even want to name it on my account affiliated with NutraBio. I do believe if you watch the Priceplow Podcast episode that I’m on, I talk about it!
The dose of DMAA alone was unsafe
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Heart is everything. Sometimes we get so excited about trying new products, that it gives us the drive to elevate our performance or change to a more disciplined/focused training plan.
Definitely something to be said for heart.
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I’m certainly interested in Kings Slayer as well. The extra 1g of KME is intriguing. Glad to have you following along!
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Might as well mention while I’m here again…
Today I woke up feeling in much better condition than yesterday. Not perfect, but was able to train just fine today.
With that said, one thing I wanted to note - my close grip bench I’m noticing is almost caught up with my regular bench at this point lol. Today I did 3x2x160 close grip, where I just did 3x3x180 regular grip on Monday. I’m starting to wonder how much carryover close grip bench training is having on my regular bench because my regular bench hasn’t ever moved like it does now. I’m starting to wish I had done more close grip benching in the past!
Also will be getting some pictures this weekend of my current body progress. I believe I have pictures from the end of the first bottle of Vector too.
So from your experience is Vector something you would recommend to others? It has great reviews elsewhere online.
It’s tough to say with 100% certainty, but I can make a few cliff notes. I swear by the fact I felt a strength bump on week 5. I also swear by the fact that my lifts feel better than they ever have. I’ve broken my bench plateau. My squat feels better than it did about 2-3 months ago. I can deadlift multiple sets of weight I could only do one small set of in the past (1x5x315 mixed grip vs 3x5x315 double overhand). I haven’t put on weight, unless I up my calories, but that’s exactly how weight rises. I feel muscle fullness daily and sometimes don’t recognize myself in the mirror because I look wider and fuller (besides my noodle arms).
Obviously take this for what it’s worth. Maybe my training is better than it ever has. My diet really isn’t much different than what I’ve eaten in the past. The only factor right now is Vector. I dumped a bunch of calories at the beginning of the 2nd bottle and haven’t lost a bit of noticeable strength or size (beside 5lbs of water in 5 days lol).
We’ll see how this 3rd/final bottle treats me. 
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Popping in with my weekly update.
Getting closer to 1RM testing week (next week!). Ben’s program this week is telling me only to do two days worth of training and simply stick with a 2x2 bench/squat day and 2x2 OHP/deadlift day. No way I can follow this (sorry, Ben!) because training is just too fun to have boring days like that lol. I trust my recovery and know my body enough to know that I can do these days, but I can also throw in light isolated assistance work and still be fine for next week.
Anyway, today was 2 heavy sets x 2 rep scheme. I used today to feel out how I will attempt 1RM’s next week in a way, and performed super slow/controlled reps during the warm up sets to also test my current strength. Squat ended up being 1x2x240 and a set of 3x240 which felt great. If I remember correctly, the 3rd rep of the second set was about a 5 second pause as well - I just don’t have my notebook in front of me. All squats were deep and VERY controlled. Can’t wait to see what I can pull off. For the program, I put that my 1RM is 245 because it technically was at the time. Back in August 2017 I did hit two singles @ 295, but never got that high again. I’m tempted to work up to that on squat 1RM day and try to surpass it. We’ll see. Squats are feeling really good though. Equipment wise, I do use sleeves for top sets and Adidas Powerlift 3 shoes for all sets. After this training cycle, I do plan on working on better ankle mobility for squats. Admittedly, I actually have a really hard time squatting without the Adidas shoes which I don’t like.
As for bench, I planned for 2x3x180. After warm ups felt amazing, I hit my first single set of 3 @ 180. I was feeling so good that I wanted to go for 185 for testing purposes. My last PR for bench was 1x1.5x185 - couldn’t quite get the 2nd rep up. Today I did a set of 4 @ 185!! I might’ve even had another rep in the tank. I couldn’t believe it, but, again, I made sure to talk myself into it before the set and stayed calm/confident. Also important to note, my 1x1.5x185 was WITH wrist wraps. All this training cycle I haven’t even used wraps yet… so I’m wondering if I should use them when attempting a 1RM (same goes for should I use a belt for squat/deadlift 1RM? - advice appreciated here).
I really can’t believe this strength I’m gaining/maintaining. In the past I’ve had “spurts” of good days, but no real consistent feeling in the big 3 lifts. This training cycle I’ve remained consistent and haven’t even needed belt/wraps/straps yet. My caloric intake has remained the same at 2800 cals. I weighed in last Friday at 198lbs (-1lb from previous week), same waist size of a little over 34.5" around the belly button. I was 206lbs at my heaviest during this training cycle, and at 8lbs lighter, I am even stronger *pats self on back. 
I know this BLR Vector log talks majority about training, but what I’m getting at is Vector is my only variable here. Yes the whole first bottle I was in a decent surplus (3700 cals), but the whole 2nd bottle + a week into the 3rd bottle has been at 2800 calories and I’m gaining strength still. Looks wise - I still need to get pics to really see, but I feel more muscle fullness and see myself shaping up a little better (more visible lats from the front, better chest separation). I’ll be sure to write up a full review in this log at the end of the bottle. Tagging @BRUNDEL for awareness.
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What program are you following?
It’s called “Un*uck Your Program” from Ben Pollack, found here. In summary, it’s a 10-week periodization type of program with high volume/lighter weight up front, with lower volume/higher weight as the program goes on, with all weights based off the squat, bench, deadlift, overhead press 1RM you enter into the Excel spreadsheet. It’s totally free and so far I’ve made my best progression ever while using it, as may be clear by my posts. In the past I’ve done 5x5 style programs and have stalled hard on them, where I have yet to stall on this being at the end of it this week.
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Felt the need for a little update today.
Today called for some OHP and deadlifts. Similar to Monday, I mostly used today to test how I’m going to attempt 1RM’s next week. After warm up work, I started with OHP. I ended up working up to 2x3x130. These were tough, but being that my previous 1RM is 135, I was pretty happy with how they moved. I think I have a good idea of how I’ll tackle OHP come 1RM day.
Next up was deadlifts and man these have been feeling great lately - especially today after not doing them for about 8 days prior. I was mostly doing singles, doubles, triples. I like to start at 135 just to get my body in DL mode. I typically then switch right to 225 for a few reps. I then did 295 for a triple, and went right to 345 for a single.
After 345, I knew I wanted to push myself today in particular because I’m dying to break my 405 belted/straps PR next week. I went for 395 - this is my highest attempt this training cycle. I pulled out the straps as well because I wanted to get a feel for what it’s like to pull in them again since I’m planning to use them for the 1RM attempt. The attempt went well, but took me two “tugs” to get it off the ground. Once it was off the ground it was pretty smooth, but now I had to make a decision… Be happy with 395 or throw on little 5lbers (that’s all I needed by how I setup the plates in my prior attempts) to attempt 405 for the first time in a few months… I didn’t have my belt, only straps, but I gave it a go. I took about a 4-5 minute rest between 395 and 405, walked up to the bar, tightened up, strapped up quick to keep as tight as possible, and literally ripped it off the ground. 405 went up faster and easier than 395 - beltless!! I’m counting this as a PR, but now I’m torn on what to attempt for 1RM day and if I should use my belt.
Decisions, decisions…
I also weighed myself post-gym shower and was spot on at 200lbs. This was after a 3 serving bowl of cereal and almost 32oz of water, so I’m assuming around 198lbs BW, give or take - we’ll see for sure tomorrow. Either way, I’m very happy and comfortable at this weight and macros. I feel much better than the bloated 206lbs I was. Crazy what just a few pounds will do…
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Any logs where the user didn’t have a strict diet or training regiment. Just wondering if there are any where the user was on a caloric deficit or not on a strict diet and wasn’t working out at least 5 days a week and were using it to maintain their gains.
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