Hey FezzMeister,
I see you were doing 531 in-season. What template were/are youdoing??
Im asking this as I am about to go around for another season, but would like to continue with 531, but just need to find a suitable template for in-season. Im thinking about getting into the gym 4-5 times a fortnight?
Any suggestions on templates?
Thanks buddy.
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Hey Bird,
I’ve gone off 5/3/1, not for me. In-season for sprinting we used to do 3 x 3 as maintenance with no aim to get stronger until the off-season. Obviously boring but big assistance works for me as I want to bulk for rugby, and i’m in-season now I just do a Sun/Mon and Wed/Thurs Lower/Upper and keep fresh for the important games.
Best of luck in training.
17 Jan
Rugby Match - 4th XV (Won 26-22)
Again i’m not selected for the 3rds. I do see flaws in my game, like always trying to offload in the tackle and sometimes getting isolated when I run, but I bust a gut making support runs and i’d get several tries a game if people would be less greedy when it comes to passing. Today was ok, we were 26-3 up at half time and our intensity dropped and we had to hang on at the end. I was annoyed that I didn’t return their kick and instead tried to take on a few people and lost the ball, but I think it was an ok performance. I was dump tackled in the first half (lifted and returned to the floor with my shoulders lower than my hips) and the guy got 10 minute sin bin, think it was marginal but my shoulder was sore for a bit. The back line called for so many switches which took the ball back into the middle of the pitch, so I rarely saw the ball on the wing.
No rugby next week so some hard work in the gym to come. Mid-back and chest are killing me today.
[quote]Fezz wrote:
Hey Bird,
I’ve gone off 5/3/1, not for me. In-season for sprinting we used to do 3 x 3 as maintenance with no aim to get stronger until the off-season. Obviously boring but big assistance works for me as I want to bulk for rugby, and i’m in-season now I just do a Sun/Mon and Wed/Thurs Lower/Upper and keep fresh for the important games.
Best of luck in training.
[/quote]
Thanks buddy.
531 is not for everyone. I know how hard it can be to maintain lifting while in season, contending with injuries, soreness and still trying to be fresh for the week game.
Good to see your still enjoying your rugby.
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3rd XV won 69-7 which gives us three consecutive wins by ~50 point margin. Huge game 31st jan vs the league leaders.
19 Jan
KB swings, Abductor/Adductor & Glute work to warm up
Power Clean 2 x 75kg, 2 x 80kg, 2 x 85kg, 2 x 90kg - 5kg heavier than normal sequence
Deadlift 3 x 100kg, 3 x 110kg, 3 x 120kg, 2 x 3 x 130kg, 3 x 135kg - wrote 130 but felt good so upped the last one
Plyo Jumps 2 x 25 x 2.5kg - rather than 4 sets and 0 sets i’m going to do two each leg day
Bent Over Rows 5 x 5 x 70kg
Back Squat 5 x 8 x 100kg (2 mins) - want to go heavier so cut a few reps and increased rest, could do heavier with this.
V-Situps 4 x 15
Good session, deadlift felt better and power clean was strong. Back squat was comfortable at 100kg, happy to add 5-10kg to that. When I got home I realised my left bicep was a little tender, possibly pulled it from cleans, DL or rows. Will see how it feels tomorrow but it feels like I could bench with it.
20 Jan
Bench Press 3 x 90kg (2), 95kg (2), 90kg (2) - as in 6 sets in a pyramid.
Machine Rows 5 x 10 x 20kg
DB Bench 3 x 10 x 27.5kg
Incline DB Bench 3 x 8 x 22.5kg
Chin Ups 10, 9, 7, 7, 5
Tricep Pushdown 10 x 25kg, 4 x 10 x 30kg, 10 x 35kg
More Machine Rows 10 x 20kg, 2 x 10 x 22.5kg
Amazing session. I felt like I was doing a deload week, the weights felt like nothing. Rather than use up all my freshness then end up having to come back down in weight in a few weeks I just put a little extra on a few exercises. Bench at 95kg was smooth, rows were too easy it was like a warm up so I added more at the end. Pushdown was the biggest change, last time I tried it I had a pump at 25kg and today I was feeling nothing at 30kg so looking back I could’ve handled 35kg for 6 sets.
22 Jan
KB swings, Abductor/Adductor & Glute work to warm up
Power Clean & Front Squat 2 x 70kg, 2 x 75kg, 2 x 80kg, 2 x 85kg
Back Squat 4 x 100kg, 4 x 110kg, 3 x 4 x 120kg - tough, experienced tightness in IT band, calf and upper groin
RDL 5 x 8 x 75kg (90 secs)
Definitely need a sports massage, i’m falling apart. All sorts of pains while squatting, glad to get through it. Took out plyo jumps as calves felt too tight, RDL was good and I think the limiting factor I noticed at 75kg was in holding my upper back tight so I won’t go heavier.
23 Jan
Lat Pulldown 4 x 10 x 90lb?, 2 x 10 x 105lb?
OHP 2 x 3 x 60kg, 3 x 65kg, 3 x 3 x 60kg
T-Bar Row 4 x 10 x 40kg, 2 x 10 x 30kg - pulldowns were first as only free machine, think it affected my ability to do these
Bench Press 4 x 8 x 70kg, 6 x 70kg (90 secs) - been cutting the exercises I have a solid background in to 8 reps for higher weight
Kneeling Cable Crunches 10 x 70kg, 10 x 65kg, 2 x 10 x 60kg - holy shit I love these, hope they’re as effective as they feel
Cable Curl 10 x 35kg, 4 x 10 x 40kg - bumped up again as 35kg is too easy, nice pump from 40 reps of 40kg
Good session, bit disappointed with t-bar as it didn’t feel effective and I was too easy on pulldown knowing I had pressing next. Highlight was the cable crunches, seen a few guys do them (wrongly, as it turns out) and thought i’d try them. Nice and slow with a squeeze in the curl position. Need to get back to 3 meals a day as i’ve been having protein only breakfasts at 6.30am then not eating til midday.
28 Jan
Bench Press 3 x 90kg, 90kg, 95kg, 95kg, 90kg, 90kg - all easy, might start on 92.5/97.5 soon
Machine Rows 6 x 10 x 21.25kg - petty increase but %-wise it’s about 6% heavier and I struggled to finish
Incline DB Bench 3 x 10 x 22.5kg (90 secs) 10, 8, 8 x 22.5kg - had a 3 min break at halfway
Weighted Pull Ups - 6,6,5,5,4 x BW +5kg
Kneeling Cable Crunch 4 x 15 x 65kg short rest
Tricep Pushdown 6 x 10 x 35kg - changed from the rope to a solid bar and back, rope is definitely harder and I got a huge pump
Hit with a few solid days of work and I squeezed this in before an afternoon in the office. Begrudgingly accepted that i’ll manage 2 or 3 sessions this week, depending on how rugby is.
31 Jan
KB swings, Abductor/Adductor & Glute work to warm up
Power Clean 2 x 75kg, 2 x 80kg, 2 x 85kg, 2 x 90kg
Deadlift 3 x 110kg, 3 x 120kg, 2 x 3 x 130kg, 3 x 135kg, 2 x 135kg - not great, should stick with 130kg and accept that my back can’t handle more even if my legs can
Plyo Jumps 2 x 25 x 2.5kg
Bent Over Rows 5 x 5 x 70kg
Back Squat 5 x 8 x 105kg (2 mins)
Didn’t feel too fired up and my power clean wasn’t held at 90kg, then deadlift was a bit poor with rounded back for a few reps. It was better from there and I was really pleased with back squat, not only completing it but how easy the first few sets were to get through.
1 Feb
Bench Press 5 x 3 x 92.5kg, 3 x 97.5kg
Pullups 5 x 6
Incline DB Bench 2 sets of 3 x 10 x 22.5kg
Machine Row 6 x 10 x 21.25kg
Kneeling Cable Crunch 4 x 12 x 70kg
Tricep Pushdown 6 x 10 x 35kg
Loved that workout. Love the gym. Feel so strong. Bench was easy, everything was easy really apart from pushdown which I used the rope for all sets. I got snubbed from the 3rd XV again so fuck them, I have work commitments most Saturdays now so i’m just going to smash weights and maybe throw in a cardio workout one morning but I just want to hit my targets and get stronger.
Nice benching Fezz.
So does this mean you are not going to play rugby anymore?
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It turns out their game was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch, I was kind of caught up in the whole League battle so not being part of their wins has left me feeling detached from the team. I guess they see I never attend training and with my work commitments i’m not always able to play having said yes in midweek, but from my side I fit my whole week of lifting around being fresh for game day and being on the wing means training is a waste of time and Wednesdays are better spent lifting. I’ll continue playing but i’m not going to rush my morning work to get to games or take it easy with weights to avoid playing at 80% strength.
Ahh, that was therapeutic.
3 Feb
KB swings, Abductor/Adductor & Glute work to warm up
Power Clean 2 x 75kg, 2 x 80kg, 2 x 85kg, 2 x 90kg - ditched the front squat, felt too fancy
Back Squat 4 x 100kg, 4 x 110kg, 4 x 120kg, 2 x 4 x 125kg - much better than last week
Plyo Jumps 2 x 25 x 2.5kg
Smith Machine RDL 5 x 8 x 75kg (90 secs) - first one was 10 reps as I wasn’t paying attention, liked this more than regular RDL
Pretty simple workout but it took forever on a crowded Tuesday evening. I left the squat racks to everyone else and used the smith machine in the corner for some RDL, figured if the bar travels on a vertical plane it’s do-able and it actually hit my hams & glutes more than free weights do. Also much stronger back position.
Solid day in the office tomorrow then OHP etc. on Thursday. One more training week then a deload.
Also the “simple diet” article pic of the guy with the chains on his shoulders is Simeon Panda who goes to my gym, nearly everyone there can lift about 50% more than me so it’s super-motivational to see how hard they work.
[quote]Fezz wrote:
It turns out their game was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch, I was kind of caught up in the whole League battle so not being part of their wins has left me feeling detached from the team. I guess they see I never attend training and with my work commitments i’m not always able to play having said yes in midweek, but from my side I fit my whole week of lifting around being fresh for game day and being on the wing means training is a waste of time and Wednesdays are better spent lifting. I’ll continue playing but i’m not going to rush my morning work to get to games or take it easy with weights to avoid playing at 80% strength.
Ahh, that was therapeutic.
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I can relate to this.
Im going to take the same approach this season. I will prioritise getting stronger and treat football more like bonus conditioning, although once the competitive juices get flowing I might make small adjustments to allow me to play better on the field.
It sounds like your gym is pretty hard core. Must be motivational to lift with such strong people.
In my gym there are probably only 2-3 individuals who actually train with purpose.
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5 Feb
OHP 2 x 3 x 60kg, 3 x 3 x 62.5kg, 3 x 60kg
T-Bar Row 6 x 10 x 40kg - starts off so easy and endurance gets me
Bench Press 5 x 8 x 75kg (2 mins) - extra 30 secs rest made 5kg more seem fine, could try 80kg
Lat Pulldown 10 x 40kg, 3 x 10 x 50kg, 2 x 10 x 40kg
Kneeling Cable Crunches 4 x 12 x 70kg
Cable Curl 6 x 10 x 40kg - no real pump
Had a very emotional entrance to the gym as I thought they had replaced all three squat racks with two smith machines and some mats. After recreating Russell Crowe’s emotional moment on Gladiator by kneeling, snotty faced, under the smith machine someone directed me to the downstairs boxing gym where I was re-united with my cage. My lunch wasn’t settling so I left six hours before hitting the gym and felt a bit light headed. OHP was mediocre, rows good, bench good, pulldown good. Don’t feel cable crunches doing much so might have to re-think those.
7 Feb
Rugby Match - 4th XV (Lost ~70-12)
Was writing up my workout for the gym when I got a text to see if I could join the 4th’s as a few pulled out last minute. Accepted and should’ve guessed they were a weakened side. The opposition were better but to be fair neither of us could tackle properly, and people were making 30 yard runs straight through the forwards. They led 33-5 at half time but beyond that we lost count. Captain had a huge rant at half time that got everyone fired up and in the first 20 minutes we were all over them, putting them under pressure and forcing mistakes. After that we collapsed a bit and they scored every 2 minutes up to the final whistle.
Personally I played poorly, touched the ball once in attack and immediately passed it, so my whole game was defending. The full back wasn’t helping me at all so I always had an overlap and even then I missed a few tackles. I was off the pace a bit (have put on 4kg since I last tried to run) and felt sluggish at top speed. Was winded with about 15 to go and spent a few minutes restoring breathing, physio said it’ll be harder to breathe fully and she wasn’t wrong, I was wheezing for the final 10 only managing shallow breaths.
Think i’ll gym normally from tomorrow as i’m feeling quite beat up right now.
10 Feb
KB swings, Abductor/Adductor & Glute work to warm up
Power Clean 2 x 2 x 80kg, 2 x 2 x 85kg - limited plates available
Deadlift 4 x 4 x 120kg, 4 x 130kg - chest up cue helped me a lot
Plyo Jumps 2 x 25 x 2.5kg
Bent Over Rows 5 x 5 x 75kg - had to use straps and they felt a bit laboured
BBB Deadlift 5 x 10 x 80kg - not done this before but I thought i’d put it in place of squats at least once, 80kg too easy though
I feel like i’ve trained back rather than back & legs, but I guess I favoured exercises where my back is the limiting factor. Normal DL was good, rather than pile on the weights I wanted to work on my form and thought bringing it to 5 x 4 from 6 x 3 would make me feel better about 120kg. Rows were medicore at best, i feel them though so will stick at it. BBB was way too easy, not sure if it was the rubber plates bouncing but I just smashed out the reps each time, need to jump at least 10kg in my next session.
12 Feb
Bench Press 6 x 3 x 95kg
Weighted Pullups 2 x 6 x 5kg, 3 x 5 x 5kg
Incline DB Press 2 x 3 x 10 x 22.5kg
Machine Row 6 x 10 x 21.25kg
Kneeling Cable Crunch 4 x 15 x 70kg
Tricep Pushdown 5 x 8 x 40kg (90 secs)
Good session, pleased with my benching as those reps were all comfortable. Machine row was tougher than usual as I can still feel my back from the other day. Changed pushdown to 5 x 8 as my arms are feeling tender from the bi/tri work.
14 Feb
KB swings, Abductor/Adductor & Glute work to warm up
Power Clean 2 x 75kg, 2 x 80kg, 2 x 85kg, 2 x 90kg
OHP 6 x 3 x 62.5kg - had a bit of a headache from holding breath and straining, tried to breathe every rep after that
Back Squat 5 x 4 x 120kg - probably too heavy for me today but I stuck with it
Plyo Jumps 2 x 25 x 2.5kg
T Bar Rows 3 x 10 x 40kg, 3 x 10 x 45kg, 4 x 55kg - put an extra minute rest in the middle and upped the weight
Smith Machine RDL 5 x 8 x 75kg (90 secs) - can go heavier
I have a week looking after my parents house so added in tomorrow’s upper body work that I can’t do at home, then will do bench/pulldowns etc. as normal in my dad’s home gym. Pleased to complete 6 & 5 sets of press and squat at the same weight, though both were a real struggle. Overall I feel like my strength is still waking up and still have a note of my 1RM targets for the end of March which I intend to attempt. Deload next week and some conditioning too.
15 Feb
Bench Press 3 x 8 x 80kg, 7 x 80kg, 5 x 80kg
Lat Pulldown 6 x 10 x 40kg
BB Bicep Curl 3 x 10 x 30kg
Wasn’t fired up for this session, tbh just wanted it done so I can get on with my deload week. My arms were dead by the time I got to curls so did a token few sets.
17 Feb
Deadlift (deload) 3 x 5 x 70kg
Bench Press (deload) 3 x 5 x 60kg
Exercise Bike 12 mins
Treadmill 12 mins
Idea was 50% of 1RM, did leisurely exercise bike between sets and then treadmill walk/jog with stretching. Legs still feel ‘hungover’ from last week, nowhere near fresh yet.
18 Feb
Exercise Bike - 50 mins
Just plodded along on it, was only there to keep my girlfriend company in the gym.
19 Feb
OHP (deload) 3 x 5 x 30kg
Back Squat (deload) 3 x 5 x 60kg
Abs 3.5 mins
Legs still feel heavy, better than Tuesday though.