Going to attempt keeping a log on here this year, mainly for accountability reasons and to keep me on track…hopefully be able to keep this going w/ a busy schedule. 32 years old, wife, 2 year old daughter (and another on the way), with a crazy, busy and stressful job.
Currently sitting at 192 lbs at 6’1 ft., goals are to slowly gain weight w a clean bulk (.5 lb/wk) and improve strength and aesthetics. Going to run a split of 6 days a week and see how my body responds to this kind of volume. Going to run Wendler’s 5/3/1 on squats, incline bench and deadlifts w/ more bodybuilding techniques for accessory work. My strength is weak for how long I’ve been training and hopefully the 5/3/1 will help with that.
Monday - heavy chest / delt pump
Tuesday - heavy back / leg pump
Wednesday - heavy arms
Thursday - heavy delts / chest pump
Friday - back pump / arm pump
Saturday - heavy legs
Sunday - off
So let’s see how this goes…
Leg Day ( today ) :
5/3/1 Squats :
65% - 185 x 5
75% - 205 x 5
85% - 230 x 5
Squats :
185 x 10 PR
185 x 10 PR
185 x 10 PR
185 x 10 PR
SLDL :
135 x 8 PR
155 x 8 PR
155 x 8 PR
155 x 8 PR
Leg Press :
5.25 pps x 12 PR
5.25 pps x 12 PR
5.25 pps x 12 PR
I normally don’t train on Sundays, but we’ve been on holiday break for 2.5 weeks so I’ve had some extra time lately. I’ll take a day off some time this week to make up for the ‘off day’ .
Heavy chest / delt pump :
5/3/1 Incline Bench (based off 240 1RM)
65% - 145 x 5
75% - 165 x 5
85% - 185 x 5
DB Incline Bench
75 x 8
75 x 8
75 x 8
Hammer Strength Incline
2 PPS x 8
2 PPS x 8
2 PPS x 8
DB Incline Fly
35 x 8
35 x 8
35 x 8
Seated Lateral Raises
Superset w/ Lateral Raise Partials (Meadows Style)
10 x 15…SS…20 x 20
10 x 15…SS…20 x 20
10 x 15…SS…20 x 20
DB Rear Lat Raises
5 x 20
5 x 20
5 x 20
Notes : felt like shit today. The past couple years I’ve had trouble sleeping due to my job and last night I took a Tylenol PM and woke up with a sleep hangover. I train early mornings so even with a pre workout I just couldn’t get going this morning.
The 240 1 RM is an estimate. A year ago I was inclining 235 for multiple sets of 8-10 but I lost a lot of strength during dieting and took some time off due to work getting crazy and some family issues where I was eating like shit and having a few beers every night…I’m hoping to get back to that strength level at a lower BF ; excited for 5/3/1 to see what I can do over time.
Lower back is mad at me today,…going to foam roll and see if I can loosen my hips as this helps tremendously. Along w/ rolling my ass on a baseball hitting all the sore spots. This year I’m trying to focus a lot more on my mobility, stretching, etc. to help with my low back issues. Planning on deadlifting tomorrow so we’ll see how it goes.
Sidenote : back to work tomorrow after 2.5 week shutdown for the holiday and training at 5am. Also, my Detroit Lions play the Cowboys tonight in the first round of the playoffs, should be a good one! Lions haven’t won a playoff game since '91…I was 9 years old, ha! Time to cook all my meals for the week! And RIP Stuart Scott…the sports world lost a legend today to cancer, only 49 years old…very sad…and scary.
V Pull (Lateral) :
140 x 10
150 x 7
170 x 3
150 x 7
Wide Grip Lat Pull Down :
110 x 10
110 x 8
130 x 7
140 x 4
Meadows Rows (barbell)
70 x 5
70 x 5
Leg Extensions superset w/ BW Lunges :
40 x 25 / 10 Lunges
40 x 25 / 10 Lunges
40 x 25 / 10 Lunges
Lying Leg Curl :
40 x 20
40 x 20
Notes : Didn’t deadlift today die to my low back still hurting pretty bad. I will make up for this on Saturday possibly after squatting. My weighted chins are pathetic but have never really worked on these so I’m excited what I can do after incorporating these for a couple of months. Need to train calves more and forearms more…
Been some time since I’ve updated…almost two weeks behind. I keep a training journal, just need to update this log which was one of my goals this year; time to catch up.
HS Low Lat Pull :
60 x 17 ( + 2 reps from last week )
60 x 17 ( + 2 reps from last week )
60 x 17 ( + 2 reps from last week )
Reverse Pull Down superset w/ Wide Grip Pull Downs :
90 x 15…90 x 8
90 x 15…90 x 8
90 x 15…90 x 6
Drop Set WG Pull downs :
90 x 20
70 x 15
50 x 12
Rope Pull ( lateral ) w/ 1 Pull Up ( 10 sec rests )
50 x 15…1 Pull Up
50 x 15…1 Pull Up
50 x 15…1 Pull Up
Bis and Tris :
Light pump work, didn’t record anything…
Notes :
Lots of volume. Pull ups (and other lifts in this log) are by no means life time PRs, only this training wave and at my current weight. A year ago this time I was about 210 lbs and down 15 lbs from a sloppy but strong 225. I will say that I did neglect pull ups for years so I suck at them. Definitely want to improve on these so I’m taking Alphas advice ( my favorite TNation member ) and incorporating weighted pull ups. So what I’m doing now is weighted pull ups on my heavy back day and BW pull ups on my back pump day…we shall see how this works. Everything else on this day is just concentrating on the pump, concentrating on the MMC and squeezing.
Supposed to be my squat day but drank too much wine last night. Also ate pizza w/ the fam and some friends…1st cheat meal of the week. Bad day overall…2 flat tires on my way in to work and - 10 degree michigan weather. Getting 2 flats in a Mercedes ( company car ) in the middle of the ghetto in Detroit is not a good look. Pizza and alcohol sounded like a good idea to wrap the day up but really are just excuses to jump off my lean bulk diet plan…but missing leg day due to a hangover is unacceptable…need to be better here.
Work for Today :
30 minute brisk incline walk then 5 rounds ( as fast as possible ) of :
2 Pull Ups
7 Burpees
Notes :
I suck at burpees and these kick my ass. Just started doing these (2nd time today)…but these seem to be what everyone is doing for conditioning so I’ll try them out. Make up day for squat day tomorrow.
Squats (week 2 of 5/3/1) :
70% - 185 x 3
80% - 215 x 3
90% - 245 x 3
More Squats :
185 x 11 ( +1 rep PR from last week )
185 x 11 ( +1 rep PR from last week )
185 x 11 ( +1 rep PR from last week )
185 x 11 ( +1 rep PR from last week )
Notes :
The wife had something to do this morning and was complaining about me training this morning as I usually take Sundays off. So I only had 45 minutes so I just got my squat work done…had to be home to watch my daughter. The 245 felt heavy as hell this morning (6am). Not sure if it’s still after affects of being hungover yesterday. My squat strength is horrible. Been training for some time now but I was the guy who neglected legs for years. I’ve been squatting for a few years now but never tracked anything so never knew true progression. This is my first time ever keeping a journal and log. When I weighed 225 my squat was ok but I was always too much of a pussy to ever put 315 on the bar. That will change this year. My first goal over any lifting goal is squat 3 plates per side. I’m liking 5/3/1 so far.
As far as diet, the fam and I went to outback for dinner last night. Cheat meal #2 this week, shit!! 11 oz sirloin, fries, fried mushrooms, bread, butter etc. I try to only do 1 cheat meal a week during his lean bulk phase…
Incline BB Press (week 2 of 5/3/1) :
70% - 155 x 3
80% - 175 x 3
90% - 195 x 3
HS Incline Press :
90 x 8
180 x 10 (+ 2 rep from last week )
180 x 9 (+1 rep from last week)
180 x 10 (+2 rep from last week)
Drop Set : 90 x 6
HS Decline Press superset w/ Cable Flys from Bottom :
90 x 12…1 x 12
90 x 12…1 x 12
90 x 12…1 x 12
90 x 12…1 x 12
90 x 12…1 x 12
DB Lateral Raise :
10 x 17 (+2 rep from last week)
10 x 17 (+2 rep from last week)
10 x 17 (+2 rep from last week)
10 x 17 (+2 rep from last week)
Notes :
First time ever doing decline presses. Need to build up lower chest so just trying these. Went light to try and feel things out for now…will begin to go heavier next week.
Also, as a result from cheating Friday and Saturday, figured what the hell while watching playoff football, another pizza couldn’t hurt. Totally fell off this weekend, back on track today with my diet plan.
Weighted Pull-ups :
15 lbs x 4 (+ 1 rep PR from last week)
15 lbs x 3 – (-- = same as last week)
15 lbs x 4 (+ 1 rep PR from last week)
15 lbs x 3 (+ 1 rep PR on set #4 from last week)
15 lbs x 3 (+ 1 rep PR on set #3 from last week)
15 lbs x 2 –
Triangle Pull (lateral)
140 x 10 –
150 x 8 (+ 1 rep PR from last week)
170 x 4 (+ 1 rep PR from last week)
170 x 3 (weight / rep PR from last week)
Drop Set 80 x 10 ( 2 sec hold/squeeze per rep)
Wide Grip Pull Down :
120 x 10 (+ 10 lb PR from last week)
130 x 8 (+ 1 rep PR from last week)
140 x 5 (+ 1 rep PR from last week)
140 x 5 (set #4 PR from last week)
Drop Set 80 x 12 (2sex hold/squeeze per rep)
Meadows Rows :
70 x 6 (+1 rep PR from last week)
70 x 6 (+1 rep PR from last week)
70 x 6 (+ set/reps from last week, only did 2 sets last week)
Notes :
I said I was going to deadlift this year. Two weeks in a row I’ve made excuses. No more excuses. Dead lifts will be incorporated on my heavy back training beginning next week. My body is not where I want it to be because of my excuses such as this as well as with my diet. I need to stick to my training and diet goals (1 cheat per week and no more!!)
As for my lean bulk macros, below are the numbers :
Training days : 248p, 346c, 86f - 3150 calories
Non-Training days : 248p, 208c, 86f - 2600 calories
Supplementation : protein powder, creatine, BCAAs and carb powder source for intra-training sipping.
I’m allowing 1 cheat meal per week where I eat whatever I want with the family and or friends. I’m also big into craft beers and this is where I’ll have a few (1-3). Last weeks debacle of wine smashing and 3 cheats is unacceptable for my goals.
Supposed to train Heavy Arms today but didn’t wake up. Daughter is sick, wifey is now getting it. Hoping I can keep this bug away. Pissed I couldn’t wake up.
Due to family life and crazy career I now train in the mornings. I usually wake up at 4am, eat my egg whites and oatmeal, pack/weigh all my meals for the day and I’m out the door. Get to the gym between 515-530. It’s brutal waking up early but what’s gotta be done, must be done.
Today was my weigh in day : 194.6, so same as last week. Going to keep macros the same this week due to the 3 cheats last week.
HS Military Press :
180 x 8 (+1 rep PR from last week)
200 x 5 (+20 lb/reps from last week)
200 x 5 (+20 lb/reps from last week)
200 x 5 (+20 lb/reps from last week)
Shrugs :
80 x 8
80 x 6
DB Meadows Swings/Partials :
45 x 12 ( + 5 lb/reps PR from last week)
45 x 12 ( + 5 lb/reps PR from last week)
45 x 12 ( + 5 lb/reps PR from last week)
45 x 12 ( + 5 lb/reps PR from last week)
DB Lateral Raises (full ROM)
15 x 10 (+2 reps PR from last week)
20 x 7 (+1 rep PR from last week)
20 x 7 (+1 rep PR from last week)
20 x 7 (+1 rep PR from last week)
Lateral Raise Machine (30 sec rests)
70 x 12
70 x 12
70 x 6
70 x 8
HS Incline (2 sec squeeze/contraction)
90 x 12
90 x 12
90 x 12
Machine Press (2 sec squeeze/contraction)
50 x 12
50 x 12
50 x 12
BW Pull-ups :
7 (+1 rep PR from last week)
7 (+1 rep PR from last week)
6 (+1 rep PR on set #3 from last week)
4 (-1 rep from set #4 from last week)
Triangle Pull Down superset w/ Straight Arm Pull Downs :
90 x 12 (2 sec hold at top/bottom)…20 x 15
90 x 10 (2 sec hold at top/bottom)…20 x 15
80 x 12 (2 sec hold at top/bottom)…20 x 15
Straight Arm Row Machine (lateral) w/ 1 Pull-up :
50 x 12…1 Pull-up
50 x 12…1 Pull-up
50 x 12…1 Pull-up
(Short Rests)
Diagonal Reverse Rope Pull Machine :
25 x 20
25 x 15
25 x 15
(10 sec rests)
Bis/Tris Pump - didn’t record, just banged some shit out for pump…
Only recorded CGBP :
135 x 5
185 x 3
195 x 3
205 x 3 (+1 rep PR but sloppy form, but came up a little)
Incline BB Press (week 3 of 5/3/1) :
75% - 165 x 5
85% - 185 x 3
95% - 205 x 2
HS Incline :
180 x 8
230 x 7 ( + weight/reps from last week )
230 x 6 ( + weight/reps from last week )
HS Decline superset w Cables Fly (from bottom position) :
90 x 10…5 x 12
140 x 10…5 x 12
140 x 10…5 x 10
140 x 10…5 x 10
Machine Chest superset Push-ups Between DBs :
50 x 12…5 ( 2 sec holds at top/bottom of chest press )
50 x 12…5 ( 2 sec holds at top/bottom of chest press )
( chest was smoked during push-ups, deep stretch on these )
DB Lateral Raise ( turning pinkies upside down at top position )
10 x 12
10 x 12
10 x 12
10 x 12
Weighted Pull-ups :
20 x 3 ( PR increase in weight/reps from last week)
20 x 3 ( PR )
20 x 3 ( PR )
20 x 2 ( PR )
20 x 2 ( PR )
20x 2 ( PR )
Triangle Lateral Pull :
140 x 10 ( - )
170 x 4 ( - )
150 x 8 ( + 1 rep from last week )
80 x 12 ( 2 sec hold )
WG Pulldown :
130 x 9 ( + 1 rep from last week )
130 x 9 ( + 1 rep from last week )
140 x 6 ( + 1 rep from last week )
140 x 6 ( + 1 rep from last week )
Meadows Rows :
70 x 7 ( + 1 rep from last week )
70 x 7 ( + 1 rep from last week )
80 x 4 ( + in weight )