15 Nov Tucker Loken – Off season Week 1

The main goals of this program for me aren’t strength related, they are health and form related. I’ve developed some bad motor patterns over the years and my core doesn’t engage like it should, and it’s left me with pain during the deadlift and squat. While talking to team mate Paul Oneid, he said he had the same problems in the past, and the same pain in a similar place, so I decided to team up with him and get my issues ironed out over the next couple months.

At the same time, my diet is being handled by Joel Thomas, an IFBB pro bodybuilder. He’s got some good input on how he likes to handle diets which is different from what I’ve worked with in the past, so this is all a learning and experimentation period for me to learn my body better through a different take on nutrition and training than what I’m used to.

This was the first real week of working out with a goal in mind in months… And it feels great! Finally feeling healthy enough to back to things and start making some progress, and finally feeling focused.

My diet is a semi carb back loading style, with the emphasis on being a switch up for my body and improving my insulin sensitivity since I was on such high carbs for such a long time. This past year I started at about 500 carbs and worked up to 800-900 daily, going as low as 550 while dieting before I got sick with mono. Macros currently are protein around 300, fats around 100 and carbs around 250. Everything feels fine so far, which I expected. My calories aren’t very high since my exercise level isn’t very intense right now. I’ve heard a lot of people say negative things about carb back loading after trying it, so I was hesitant at first, but I’ve never been very sensitive to whether my nutrition comes from carbs or fats, as long as I just enough in. I’m not complaining about lots of beef, whole eggs and coconut oil either. Overall the diet is going very well right now and it’s fun to get a different perspective.

I was able to send Paul vids on FB messenger while I was lifting, and it was good timing for him to get back to me so he could coach me during the dead lifts which were really helpful. He pretty quickly identified some issues, and even though I thought my squat was already pretty decent, he found some rough spots there too, so I’ve got lots to think about going forward. All in all a great week and I felt like I made a ton of progress with my form.

Keep in mind these RPE’s are super low, and the weight used isn’t much either. I’m not aiming to set any PR’s right now, and just by focusing on form and feeling each rep it makes the weight feel much heavier than it is. I could go back to my old form and plow through, but I would end up injured, so all my reps are being taken slow and I’m trying to identify what I feel engaging and when, and then looking back over the videos to give myself mental ques for what to work on.

I’m still warming up the way Paul wants me to, and throwing some extra stuff in as well – the McGill 3, extra glute bridges and hip circles and goblet squats, and I’m throwing in 5 mins on the stair stepper each time too because that really helps warm me up and keep my hips moving healthy.

Wk 1 Deadlift focus, squat accessory and back work

Paused DL – 4×6 (2 sets at RPE 5) – worked up to 315

Front Squat – 4×6 (2sets at RPE 5) – worked up to 225

Barbell Row – 5×5

DB Row – 4×10

Bird Dog – 8x10s hold/ side

** This was what Paul had programmed for me, and since the RPE’s were light I got the thumbs up from him to throw in some extra hypertrophy work. Everything was done pretty light and the rest was only about 30 seconds between sets.

Pull ups 12,10,8

Cable lat pullover SS w/DB lat pullover 15,12,10

Face pulls SS w/ reverse pec deck 15,12,10

Wk 1 Squat focus, light dead lifts and leg work

Squat – 5x5sets (3 sets at RPE 5) – worked up to 315

Piston Squat – 4×6 (2sets at RPE 5) – worked up to 225

Form Pulls – 50% 4×2 – worked with 225

Single Leg RDL – 4x8ea

Planks – accumulate 5 minutes

** Same idea as above. I threw in these tri sets to really pump my legs full of blood afterwards. Needless to say I was hurting for a few days later.

Leg ext/Leg curl/Leg press tri set for lots of blood flow 15,12,10

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Tucker Loken

Tucker Loken is a Bodybuilder turned Powerlifter turned Powerbuilder from Eugene, Oregon. He did his first bodybuilding show when he was still in high school, and has been training male and female competitors for shows since 2011. Several years ago he decided to take a step away from his normal routine and learn how to get strong. He worked with Brian for 9 months, added 200 pounds to his raw total and qualified as an Elite lifter in the 220 pound weight class. He returned back to bodybuilding much stronger and now incorporates the 10/20/Life philosophy into his training to keep himself healthy and making continual progress in the Big 3 as well as adding size and shaping his physique. Now part of Team PRS, he brings his unique expertise of nutritional knowledge and how to balance Bodybuilding with Powerlifting to help athletes achieve their best potential.

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