12 May Morgan Colling | Offseason | Week 1 Squat, Bench & Deadlift

I recently competed in the XPC Finals at the Arnold on March 4th in Columbus, OH where I totaled 745 @ 123. I don’t currently have my next meet selected, although I plan on competing at some point this fall. I recently began a long offseason under Brian Carroll’s tutelage.

Thursday: Squat

• Warm-up
  • McGill big 3
  • Goblet squats 2×10
  • Hip & shoulder mobility
• Set work
  • Squat – top set of 8 (RPE 6)
    • 45x2x10
    • 75×8
    • 105×8
    • 135×8
      https://www.instagram.com/p/BFFMFzJubaN/?taken-by=morgan56kg
    • 155×8
  • Front squat 3×6
  • Goblet piston squat 3×15
    https://www.instagram.com/p/BFFOl9tObfg/?taken-by=morgan56kg
  • Bulgarian split squat 3×20
  • Band ham curl 3×20
  • Stir the pot x100

So Brian doesn’t know this (now he does — hi Broan), but I HATE HATE HATE single-leg exercises. For multiple reasons, including I am NOT good at balancing on one leg and sets of 20 times 2 legs equals sets of 40 times 3 sets equals 120 fucking reps. So there’s that. I literally had the most intense DOMs ALL week from this session. Naproxen and I were BFFs.

Saturday: Bench

• Warm-up
  • McGill big 3
  • Band flyes 2×10
  • Hip & shoulder mobility
• Set work
  • Bench – top set of 8 (RPE 6)
    • 45x2x10
    • 75×8
    • 85×8
    • 95×8
      https://www.instagram.com/p/BFH4ZklubWC/?taken-by=morgan56kg
  • Close-grip 3bd press 3×6
  • DB incline bench 3×15
  • Band fly 3×20
  • Band skull 3×20
  • Stir the pot x100

Sunday: Deadlift

• Warm-up
  • McGill big 3
  • Glute bridge 2×10
  • Hip & shoulder mobility
• Set work
  •  Opposite-stance (sumo) deadlift – top set of 8 (RPE 6)
    • 45x2x10
    • 135×8
    • 155×8
    • 175×8
      https://www.instagram.com/p/BFNWvXJubV2/?taken-by=morgan56kg
    • 200×8
      https://www.instagram.com/p/BFNYtgJubZo/?taken-by=morgan56kg
  • Sumo form pull 50%x5x1
  • McGill chins 10 singles
    https://www.instagram.com/p/BFNZ1cXubcH/?taken-by=morgan56kg
  • Barbell row 3×10
  • DOH shrug 3×10
  • SL good morning 3×20
  • Stir the pot x100

After deloading last week, I started a new five-week cycle. I really like that Brian programs that way; it seems that five weeks is just enough time to hammer out a weak point…then develop a new one! You’ll notice that my training didn’t even start until the end of the week — I was slammed with finals and this was the best setup for me. I do my best to have 48 hours between sessions, but sometimes other things need to come first.

Can we just talk about these sets of 8??!! You would never be able to tell how heavy of a single I could take based off of my higher-volume sets…I’m not the best at them. However, I was pretty impressed with my 200×8 sumo deadlift, mainly because I’m a conventional puller and have no clue where my sumo is at. This was probably the best week of training I’ve had in a long time. I think it’s because I was finally able to truly focus on what I was doing since all my exams were out of the way.

I graduate with my Master’s in Exercise Science this weekend. Go Shockers!

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Brian Carroll

Owner and Founder at PowerRackStrength.com

Brian Carroll is committed to helping people overcome back pain and optimizing lifts and movement. After years of suffering, he met back specialist Prof. McGill in 2013, which led to a life-changing transformation. In 2017, they co-authored the best-selling book "Gift of Injury." On October 3, 2020, Carroll made history in powerlifting by squatting 1306 lbs, becoming the first person to break this record. He retired with a secure legacy and a life free from back pain.

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