Awesome, look forward to seeing how you go
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04/03/26 - 206.5
Mobility - check
Walk - check
I’m feeling pretty physically exhausted, looking back through 531 forever I saw the 7th week protocol and noticed that it should be used prior to starting a new program, it was good timing, I would have ground on, knowing that I had a full week off very recently, but I need to be mindful of listening to my body, I’m tired (babies waking, call outs, late nights etc), feeling slightly under the weather and looking at a long weekend of physical work (shifting the entire of the downstairs, ripping up the floor and laying new laminate, then putting everything back) - pushing hard in the weight room isn’t a good idea.
Deloading today and then won’t lift again until I start 1000% awesome (Monday all being well).
Will be 2x leader 1x anchor, I’ll take Jim’s option of switching bench and OHP, so OHP Monday and Friday, bench Wednesday.
LWIWWIW - the final session.
TBDL:
68kg x 5
108, 148kg x 3
168kg x 1
Bench:
60kg x 5
80kg x 3
100kg x 1
Had a bunch of accessories written out and just sacked them off, I’m just feeling absolutely wasted at the moment, I’d be frustrated, if I wasn’t so tired.
Looking to be as faithful as I can to 531 and the whole system, I don’t have anything to throw, what does everyone else use? I can pick up a medicine ball, I’m assuming that’s about it? What weight is everyone using? Jim mentioned 10lbs/5kg from memory, sounds light, but if that’s the right call then happy to go with it, just don’t want to buy twice.
8 Likes
10lb is fine and all I’ve ever used. You’re just trying to generate power, not train for the shot put. Just make sure to actually throw it like you mean it. Way too many people just toss it against a wall or the floor all limp and flaccid like and accomplish nothing. Your feet should be leaving the floor because you are producing so much force.
Here are my 2 favorite variations - I usually just alternate each throw.
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Mine is 20 lbs, but this:
is all that really matters.
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Ok this isnt faithful to the “throw”… but i just do explosive pushups as part of my warmup.
Not like my hands just come off the floor, but my hands and feet come off. Make it a whole body heave.
I only do them in sets of 3 to keep them snappy
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It’s worth appreciating that it’s jumps OR throws. If throws are a no go; just do jumps
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I do overhead throws with an 8 lb ball (cause I’m a girl). I throw them as hard as I can at wall and my feet leave the ground. I don’t do jumps because they hurt my knees and I lack a certain level of coordination. I’m pretty sure he says that 10-12 pounds is all a male needs. Just be explosive with the movement.
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The others have covered it, but 10 lbs would be fine. The point is to activate the nervous system. You can even throw on squat days if you want. It’s activation, not plyometric training.
And take another look at Jim’s list of assistance work. Pushing and pulling doesn’t always have to be pressing and rowing. It could be curls and skull crushers. That comes in handy on days you feel run down. You can opt for some of the easier stuff and still stick to the plan.
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Will reply to all the really helpful posts above, but been a crazy weekend (Friday, Saturday and Sunday I clocked around 12 hours of manual labour each day) and need to get this down before I forget.
09/03/26 - 205.75
Mobility - check
Walk - Check.
1000% awesome - cycle 1, week 1, day 1 - so it begins!
Warm up - straight out of the prep school program
Jumps - box (stacked sandbags) x 10 (2 sets of 5)
Main:
Front squat 5s pro:
60kg x 1 (feeling the bar)
67.5…or 75kg (misloaded), 77.5, 87.5 x 5
OHP 5 x 5: 50kg
Assistance:
DB seated OHP: 20kg x 10 x 5 sets
S/s
Cable row: 80kg x 10 x 5 sets
DB RDL/SLDL: 20kg x 10 x 5
Dip bar Leg Raises: 10 x 5 sets
Main work was good, starting light, long runway etc. Assistance done “light” with a focus on feeling the muscles, which in turn made it feel less light - particularly the seated OHP.
The RDLs started off as that then I pushed further into SLDL towards the last 3 sets, as I was warmer and stretched out more by then, always touch my toes with top of my knuckles so the ROM on this is legit, good for my generally stiff hammies and lower back I’d guess.
10 Likes
Still mad time wise, will give a fuller reply soon.
11/03/26 - forgot my weight
1000% awesome - C1 W1 D2
Warm up & jumps
LH TBDL: 68, 108 128, 148kg x 5
S/s
Bench: 60, 70, 80kg x 5, 90kg x 5 x 5 sets
Inc DB bench: 25kg x 10 x 5 sets
S/s
Chest supported DB row: 25kg x 10 x 5 sets
Rev lunges: BW x 25 e/s x 2 sets
S/s
Ab rollout: 15 x 2 sets
Done in about 50 mins. Weights all feeling like a good choice.
9 Likes
12/03/26 wrote the date then had a random thought that shows I’m starting to age - how was the millennium 26 years ago?! Also saw a paramedic on a documentary yesterday and was like, nope that guy’s not a paramedic, he’s only 12.
I’ll be shouting at kids to get off my lawn and reminiscing about the war soon… “Back in my day when we wanted to depose a Middle Eastern leader, we had to pretend there was a legitimate reason for the war!”.
Anyway enough of that I’m planning to be aging in reverse and get stronger, fitters and leaner as I age, give the middle finger to time…until it has the last laugh and kills me.
This morning:
1 mile jog - prayer meeting - 1 mile walk.
So far this week I’ve missed mobility and walking twice. Spent from Thursday night to Sunday evening ripping out all of the flooring in the downstairs of my house, which meant moving all furniture, including washing machine and tumble drier, taking out the toilet and removing doors and smashing out an inbuilt cupboard. Then relaying the floor, putting all of the aforementioned back and had a friend rebuild a new, much improved cupboard (that now needs dry lining, and painting Inc doors).
Monday I worked from home managed to get training in on my lunch break. After work had a leadership meeting at church, got home at 2245, a baby woke up and stayed awake until 0100 then got a call out at 0330 which saw me out till pretty much the start of the work day at which point all day long meetings ensued and again yesterday, but managed to squeeze the training in, to keep the schedule.
Anyway - should hit all 3 sessions, on the intended days, have got an easy conditioning in this morning, planning for a hard conditioning tonight.
Now my overdue replies.
I’ll start with this:
I need to work on reading comprehension because I completely missed that and was going to be doing 10 throws and 10 jumps. I’ve currently settled on jumps, I’ll eventually stump up for a medicine ball and mix it up but for the simplicity of just getting on and doing the program, jumps are my mainstay right now.
When I get a ball I think I’ll go for the 10lbs, thanks @BrandonCrawford and @BethB for the info and variations, they look good.
Do you find that you can still be explosive with this? Assuming so it’s not a huge weight, but I’ve never done any throws before.
That sounds like it’s in the spirit of things, explosive movements to prime the CNS. Might also try this on occasion.
I noticed this and it’s funny, I automatically want to go for the bigger/heavier stuff, like I agree with Jim in reading the book about not making the assistance work the main thing and ensuring it doesn’t heavily eat into recovery and yet I find myself leaning towards the harder stuff when given my current lifestyle, I should probably be looking at the easier options.
Just drilled into me that I’ve constantly got to be pushing everything all the time, which isn’t smart. I need to keep an eye on that, but I’m terrible at self awareness.
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How was it that long ago and I was legally at a bar on New Year’s? Dang I’m old.
This is my plan as well. It’s semi working. My body works way better than it used to, but my face is starting to betray my age. Lol.
1 Like
You’re in good company. How can I get bigger lats and traps if I don’t just kill myself with something like Kroc rows? It seems silly that band pullaparts or face pulls still count. But the body also likes balance. Heck, if you only train one arm for a bit, the other arm still gets some of the benefit. With that in mind, it makes sense that if you kill a couple lifts then the rest of the body won’t wither and die if it doesn’t get the same attention. I did banded face pulls for sets of 20 during class the other day and got a pump in my upper back. And it felt great! But it’s like it feels too easy. It didn’t take a massive toll on my nervous system like rowing the 140 lb dumbbell I found.
Yesterday I read in @T3hPwnisher’s log where he said he does his daily walking to be active rather than for a training effect like cardio. That stood out to me. If I can be active, then I’ll probably stay pretty healthy and look decent. The funny thing is that being active is more of a constant state of being or lifestyle. I think it’s actually easier to hit a tough training session for 60-75 minutes and then sit the rest of the day. Being active is going to take some work, but it’s worth pursuing.
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The funny thing is that being active is more of a constant state of being or lifestyle. I think it’s actually easier to hit a tough training session for 60-75 minutes and then sit the rest of the day. Being active is going to take some work, but it’s worth pursuing.
This is 100% it. We’re dealing with yet another new crisis we’ve never seen before: something known as “Sedentary Athlete Syndrome”. Despite people meeting recommended exercise guidelines, they’re STILL suffering the same metabolic maladies as their non-athlete counterparts, and it’s because 1-2 hours of intense training can’t undo 22 hours of sitting. And, conversely, in blue zones and other healthy areas of the world, we don’t see a bunch of people with gym memberships, but simply people that are out and about and doing stuff all the time. It’s why I dig Stan Efferding’s 3 10 minute walks per day concept, especially when paired with after meals. Instead of trying to get all the activity in one shot, it’s spread throughout the day.
Activity also tends to correlate with leanness, whereas focused cardio can actually correlate with skinny-fatness.
This is one of those reasons a lot of us tend to just naturally lean out as the weather gets better. We’re out and about more. And it’s why winter is a pretty good bulking season.
4 Likes
13/03/26 - 205
Mobility & walk - check
1000% awesome C1 W1 D3
Front squat
60, 75kg x 3
87.5kg x 5 x 5 sets
OHP
40, 45, 52.5kg x 5
Trap bar row
68kg x 5
88kg x 5 x 4 sets
Superset with:
Seated OHP
60kg x 5 x 5 sets
GS:
Fat man. Pull-ups: 10 x 3 sets
Press ups: 10 x 3 sets
Decline sit ups: 10 x 3 sets
Had zero desire to do this, but wanting to keep schedule, I pushed on after procrastinating most of the day. I think fatigue from life in general is dragging on my desire and probably the reason I haven’t enjoyed training over the past few years.
We’ve currently got a toddler and a baby that we’re looking after and have been for over a year now (well the toddler, the baby is still under 1, but came as a newborn), on top of our own two teenagers, working two jobs and having a plethora of other responsibilities and activities. Going to take a break from fostering after these two leave.
This is true, and I know it, but I still want to ride all of the horses and still only have 1 (slightly atrophied) pair of glutes. I think that’s at the root of it, wanting to try and achieve everything with only 3 sessions per week, when even getting those 3 sessions done is challenging enough.
I think the takeaway here for me is to take better notice of my fatigue levels, ensure that I always get the main work done, but like you said, if I get to the assistance work and am time limited and fatigued, hitting 25 curls and tri extensions and calling it a day is actually still fine in the program. Be smarter.
Yea I’ve been building that in and trying to emulate, taking walks as a leisure activity, so not worrying about pace or distance, just being a normal human being and going for walk.
100% - the training, despite my loathing is the easiest part of all of this, keeping good habits with food, getting adequate sleep, being active and mobile, getting in some conditioning on a regular basis, all of these things are harder to do because they’re daily.
New term on me but makes perfect sense.
We’re just not designed to be sedentary. I suspect in the next 20-40 years the data will become increasingly shocking in regards to the impact on health and life expectancy.
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I think they already know, but we’re customers for the pharmaceutical companies (at least here in the US). They can keep us alive despite being unhealthy every day. I get tired of hearing about curing cancer when a lot of it can be prevented. But curing a disease is profitable. That leaves it up to us, and most people are still taking the lazy path.
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Had a patient that was a gestational diabetic. She was on over 1,000 units of insulin a day to control her sugar. That is a shit ton of insulin. She ended up being an in patient for a few weeks and was on the hospital diabetic diet. She required zero insulin the entire time she was inpatient. That’s how bad her diet was. She was furious when they told her that she didn’t need insulin because she could be 100% controlled with diet. That blows my mind.
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16/03/26 - 204 (going in the wrong direction!)
Mobility - check
Walk - nope
Yesterday went off the rails (I’d started typing out my training session but didn’t get to that or even my walk!).
17/03/26 - 203.5 (knew I should have gone for 3 double cheeseburgers from maccies, 2 was never going to be enough! Ai estimates I had over 4k calories yesterday, I wasn’t even physically active! More cream & PB needed).
Mobility - check
Walk - check
Not sure I’ll get the training done today either, schedule is mad.
8 Likes