Juggernaut Has Entered The Chat

Garage Gym Competition

We are starting with the GGC this week because our best friends Juggernaut are back for another year. This excites me for a few reasons. First, I’ve been running JuggernautAI for a little over a year (more on that in a bit) and enjoying it. Second, because they might have the most helpful free content for lifters on the planet (and we get to borrow it). And third, because Juggernaut is a BIG sponsor.

This is a small peak behind the curtain, but running a virtual powerlifting meet of this size costs money. Website hosting fees, promotions, this very newsletter… Juggernaut as the Presenting Sponsor picks up a heavy portion of the bill. Which means I can focus a lot of the other sponsors on giving away bigger and badder prizes.

So they make an awesome product, help us be better lifters (even if we don’t run their program), and sponsor the crap out of the GGC. Wins all around!

JuggernautAI

JuggernautAI is the brain child of Chad Wesley Smith, world record powerlifter and renowned strength coach. His background is crazy, he was highly successful in basically every sport he touched including track and field, strongman, powerlifting, and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

He has taken that depth of knowledge, experience, and success, and tossed it into a program that customizes itself TO YOU. So if you hop on JuggernautAI today, your program will look different than mine, and Chad’s, and everyone elses. It takes into consideration a lot of factors, and even lets you make modifications based on your equipment selection, to create a program built for YOU.

Prize Announcement

JuggernautAI has kept things rolling with a pretty stellar prize pack including a full year of JuggernautAI access, their entire line of apparel and eBooks, as well as a 1 on 1 chat with Chad himself to come up with a game plan around your training.

Athlete Spotlight

I love being able to share the story of some of our awesome athletes. And today we get to know a little more about Gabriel. From Diabetic to Powerlifter, he has a wild ride of a life, and he certainly isn’t done yet.

Training Tip

This week I asked our GGC Coaches about Calf Training for Powerlifters. Should powerlifters be spending any of their valuable time training calves directly? Outside of potential aesthetic purposes, could we gain anything from it?

Kyle Alexander - aka Mr Squat A Pony

I think calf training should be at the bottom of the bucket. But foot, Ankle, and knee exercises are all very important and the Calves will get stimulus from them. If you are lucky your genetics will be all you need to gain size, but regardless it wouldn't be worth it to make it a priority for strength development.

Kyle has been a Top Athlete in the GGC for multiple years and hosts a Local GGC Meet at his place in central California. Check out his IG.

Mike Hernandez

Absolutely powerlifters should be training their calves. 

Reason #1: the bigger your calves are in combo with the rest of your leg the more you can excuse yourself from a deeper squat because you literally can’t go any lower.

Reason #2: calves can be a limiting factor as you try to push the floor away on a heavy deadlift. That’s why I prefer to train calves standing.

The only reason NOT to train calves is that you’ll have a harder time with knee sleeves.

But ultimately, I’d have to agree with Dr. Mike Israetel that maybe calves aren’t the biggest contributor to a decent powerlifting total.

Mike is a multiple time GGC athlete, competitive powerlifter, and coach… all from his garage. Check out his IG.

Side note - I actually include calf work and tibia work in my routine. I like the aesthetic improvement as well as the fact it helps my knees and ankles stay happy. So the end result is, experiment and you do you.

Gray Matter Lifting

How I’m Preparing For The Next GGC

I mentioned above that I have been running JuggernautAI for a little over a year. I got a chance to sit down with Chad while setting up my app. This was a very insightful chat for me as I got to learn WHY the app makes some of the decisions it does. As someone who has spent a lot of time writing their own programs, I wanted to understand what was going on.

The Bridge Block

This is an optional 4 week block of training in JuggernautAI that is meant to help you transition from some time off, into an actual workout program. I did NOT like The Bridge Block. At all. I found the workouts to be exhausting in a very un-fun way that left me beat up and feeling legit discouraged. I’ve never been a fan of barbell work as cardio, similar to some Crossfit style workouts, and this is what we had here.

Some people enjoy it, Chad said he loves it, I did not. The good news is, you can skip it entirely.

Bridge Block Rating: D

Hypertrophy Blocks

Since I skip the Bridge Block, I get a little more time to spend in the hypertrophy phase. I REALLY enjoy this section. Heavy weights and high reps is my jam. This was the right kind of tough workout for me. It has helped build my cardio alongside riding my bike and other endeavors, and it has added some size throughout.

I just finished a Hypertrophy Block and I’m currently deloading this week, hitting a handful of new PRs for reps and specialty bars.

My only complaints are that it skips on direct calf and forearm work, which I personally find helpful for a number of reasons.

Hypertrophy Block Rating: A-

Strength Blocks

As a powerlifter looking to hit some all time PRs on the platform, this is where the magic happens. We move from higher reps on the big stuff, to triples, doubles, and singles. Don’t worry, we keep the accessory work still. This is VERY close to how I programmed for myself, but has a much better ebb and flow to the intensity laid out for the big lifts.

I will be starting a Strength Block this coming Monday, and will have two full blocks before heading into the Peaking Phase.

The only negative I have for the Strength Block, is the same for the Hypertrophy. I like to keep forearm and calf work in, as it keeps my joints happy.

Hypertrophy Block Rating: A-

Peaking Phase

Juggernaut handles a Peaking Phase pretty similar to what we normally see. You start to peel back on the volume, to increase the intensity, test the waters with some heavy singles, so you can get ready to handle the MAXIMUM load you can on the day of competition. One thing that was weird here, is the final week before your meet. JuggernautAI moves you to a 6 or 7 day cycle, with a handful of movements you’ve never done before.

After chatting with Chad and a few JuggernautAI athletes, I get the concept. But I can’t do it. I ran the entire program telling JuggernautAI that I wanted to lift Monday - Friday, and then it adds multiple days to my schedule. I have family conflicts and other items that don’t jive there. It also doesn’t let me pick a WEEK of testing, which is common for GGC Athletes. You have to perform your 1RMs like a traditional meet.

That said, my first run with JuggernautAI gave me my biggest total ever.

Peaking Phase Rating: B-

Overall Thoughts

The above is where my thoughts were at the end of last year. As I’m working through another round, I understand the app better. I now know that I can add exercises, or completely replace them as I see fit. I like to keep weighted carries in my routine, so now I do. I added calf and tibia work to my Deadlift day, and added forearm work to one of my arm accessory rounds. There is legit a button at the end of each workout that just says “Add Exercise”. I can also individually add any exercise to the database that I find missing.

JuggernautAI gives me a lot of freedom while still programming as if Chad himself was my personal coach.

Every block has gotten better. I’ve been better at nailing my RPE targets, and I’ve better understood how to adjust, edit, and manipulate the program while still accomplishing the task at hand. I went into this thinking I would give it a year and move on, but now I’m thinking this might be my program for the foreseeable future.

Should You Hop On JuggernautAI?

If you are lifting and happy with your progress, then no. Keep doing whatever you are doing. The beauty with JuggernautAI is that I get to do the part I enjoyed with programming, which is pick my exercises. And JuggernautAI takes care of the rest so I head down the path towards my goals.

If you aren’t where you want to be, and that sounds like your jam, I highly recommend it.

I’ll be doing a FULL review on JuggernautAI later this year, so keep an eye out.

If you want to join me, you can hop on JuggernautAI and use code GGC to save yourself some cash and help the GGC do its thing.

What To Do With What I Can’t Use?

As a “content creator” I get a lot of offerings to send me things I just simply have no use for. Not necessarily bad products or even items that are way off in no mans land (I’ve been offered Boob Tape before… hmmm). But simply items that wouldn’t jive inside MY GYM.

Historically I have politely replied, thanked them, but said no thanks. Recently my Brother-In-Law wanted to set up a garage gym, and needed help. He is a regular lifter, but new to gym equipment ownership. I got an idea that I could help him out, while reviewing some pieces for his gym, and try something new.

He has a REALLY small space available for a gym, and it is a VERY multi-use space. So we had to get creative. EVOLPOW reached out and offered to send over their P3A Power Rack, BEA Bench, and grip plate set. PERFECT!

The plan for this, is that he is going to use this set-up for the next several months. Take notes on what works, what doesn’t, and anything he wishes he still had or could use in his space. I’ll show up, we’ll do a walk through of the rack, do an interview with Justin about his experiences, then I’ll kick him out of his garage and do my thing. We’ll be able to see what an untrained eye has to say about this set-up, and compare it to my expert opinion.

My hypothesis is that Justin is going to find some small things as we go, but mostly find he gets in a great workout and is very happy. And I’ll tear the poor rack to pieces. Highlighting the fact that we sometimes get too lost in the details as home gym enthusiasts, and create barriers to entry for others that don’t HAVE to be there.

This video will likely have a similar feel as my most recent barbell video.

Whats New In The Community?

This week we have a video from my dude Coach Carp, partnered with NoFate247, talking about the EVOLPOW M2A Brute. We opted to not go with this one because it was going to have a few too many gadgets and likely eat up space Justin didn’t have. But a good idea to check out if you are looking that way.

New Product Releases

PRIME Fitness… FINALLY has released their SMART Arm attachment. I’m waiting to track down my new rack before poking Prime for one of these, but I am very excited to test it out and see what we got going.

Bells of Steel launched a new one that has me excited that they call the Shoulder Bolder. Shoulders is a muscle group that doesn’t have a lot a variability to the training. You hit some laterals and rear delt work, but you basically have dumbbells and cables and game over. This gives you, in theory, another couple options which is pretty exciting. And of course I want to pair it with the VOLTRA Is.

Oak Club dropped The Don, which is a new take on Dumbbell Spotters. These are pretty fancy as they kick back into place. As with all things Oak Club, these are relatively expensive. But their premium craftsmanship and unique products typically cater to a specific audience.

r/HomeGym

So this one isn’t directly from Reddit, but it does come from my dude Dr Tatty Waffles, one of the Reddit Mods. He made a custom Beyond Power VOLTRA I mount and shared it with their Reddit sub.

One Last Thing…

I shared last time that I got the mini-split and insulation done. This past weekend I was able to get a handyman over to tackle the electrical work I wanted done and clean up some stuff in the garage, which let me get the majority of my gym put back.

Right now I’m waiting on ONE project to finalize, which is around cleaning up my barbell storage. I’ve been using a pseudo DIY solution for awhile and finally worked on making a custom solution that fits my need. I’m working with my dude Greg at Aperture Engineering. I’ll share details as we finalize this, but this should be a product I’ve wanted for my gym for a few years now.

See ya in a couple weeks… Joe