Lessons in Manliness from the Legend of Hacksaw: 1

“Get as strong as possible. If you can’t get strong, at least get really, really big so that when you lay that weak ass punch on your next assaulter’s eye socket, there is some weight behind it.” – Elder Hacksaw

When Tommy Hackenbruck was a boy, he got in a lot of fights. A lot. Between the pencil-thin calves and his intensely prominent jawline, he probably got into a fight every other day. That’s when his father brought him a gift. A gift so sought after by men that they will risk and willingly sacrifice the size of their testicles and depth of their voice to obtain. A gift so special that numerous sports have been entirely dedicated to it. His father gave him the gift of strength. He specifically gave him this 5-week squat cycle with these parting words: “Son I promise you, you will PR your squat if you complete this 5-week cycle. I mean, assuming you don’t totally crack out on ‘WODs’ and jogging.”

Click each day for a link to the corresponding brUTE video. And don’t forget to tag @brute.strength on Facebook or Instagram!

*Supersets are denoted as such: 2a, 2b. Trisets are denoted as such: 2a, 2b, 2c. You do one set of a, then a set of b, then a set of c. Rest. Then repeat for the rest of the sets.

WEEK 1

MONDAY

1. 5x4 Clean Shrug Pull @ 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 95% of clean 1RM
2. 4x6 Front Squat – 1 ¼ @ 60%, 65%, 70%, 70% (4 count lower ¼ up / all the way up)
3. a. 3x6 Reverse Lunge @ 40% Back Squat 1RM * (Each leg)
   b. 3x6 Romanian Deadlift @ 55% of regular DL
   c. 3x6 – GHR AHAP

THURSDAY

1. 5x3 Hang Snatch @ 70% (use straps)
2. a. 5x3 Speed Squat (Pause @ bottom and explode up)
   b. 5x4 Snatch Grip Vertical Jump
3. a. 5x3 Speed Reverse Lunge (Each leg)
   b. 5x4 Cycle Jumps

WEEK 2

MONDAY

1. 5x3 Clean Pull @ 85%, 90%, 95%, 100%, 100% of clean 1RM
2. 4x6 Front Squat @ 65%, 70%, 75%, 75% (4 count lower)
3. a. 3x6 Reverse Lunge @ 45% Back Squat 1RM (Each leg)
   b. 3x6 Romanian Deadlift @ 60% of regular DL
   c. 3x6 – GHR AHAP

THURSDAY

1. 5x3 Hang Snatch @ 72.5% (use straps)
2. a. 5x3 Speed Squat (Pause @ bottom and explode up)
   b. 5x4 Snatch Grip Vertical Jump
3. a. 4x3 Speed Reverse Lunge (Each leg)
   b. 4x4 Cycle Jumps
   c. 4x5 Sliding Hamstring Curls – Speed

WEEK 3

MONDAY

1. 5x2 Clean Pull @ 90%, 95%, 100%, 105%, 110% of clean 1RM
2. Front Squat: 6-4-3-3-4-6 @ 72.5%, 77.5%, 82.5%, 87.5%, 82.5%, 75%
3. a. 3x6 Reverse Lunge @ 47.5% Back Squat 1RM (Each leg)
   b. 3x4 Romanian Deadlift @ 70% of regular DL
   c. 3x6 – GHR AHAP

THURSDAY

1. 5x3 Hang Snatch @ 75% (use straps)
2. a. 5x3 Speed Squat (Pause @ bottom and explode up)b. 5x4 Depth Jump
3. a. 4x3 Speed Reverse Lunge (Each leg)b. 4x4 Single Leg Box Jumpc. 4x5 Sliding Hamstring Curls – Speed

WEEK 4

MONDAY

1. 5x2 Clean Pull @ 95%, 100%, 110%, 110%, 110% of clean 1RM
2. Front Squat: 4-3-2-2-1 @ 80%, 85%, 87.5%, 92.5%, 97.5%
3. a. 3x4 Reverse Lunge @ 50% Back Squat 1RM (Each leg)
   b. 3x4 Romanian Deadlift @ 75% of regular DL
   c. 3x5 – GHR AHAP

THURSDAY

1. 5x3 Hang Snatch @ 75% (use straps)
2. a. 5x3 Speed Squat (Pause @ bottom and explode up)
   b. 5x4 Depth Jump
3. a. 4x3 Speed Reverse Lunge (Each leg)
   b. 4x4 Single Leg Box Jump
   c. 4x5 Sliding Hamstring Curls – Speed

WEEK 5

MONDAY

1. 5x2 Power Clean @ 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 90%
2. 2. Front Squat: MAX (3 min rest after sets above 75%) 8, 5, 3, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1 @ 45%, 55%, 65%, 75%, 85%, 90%, 95%, Max
   Then 5x2 @ 85%
3. a. 4x2 Deadlift @ 90%
   b. 4x3 Reverse Lunge @ 52.5% Back Squat 1RM (Each leg)
   c. 4x3 – GHR AHAP