@shaneinga, @antiquity - Thanks, guys! It was a good chest & tris day, that’s for sure.
5/3/1 & Bodybuilding - c19w1d5
Thursday - 08 December 2022
Workout: Easy conditioning, 1715-1805 (50 minutes)
1-pump burpees + 28-kg KB swings - 2x(25 + 25), 25-second rest between
Weighted vest walk - 30 kg - 30 minutes
Done. Let’s… Go get the kids. (And then we’ll eat!)
7 Likes
Thats a huge bench!
(Referencing some Rom Schneider movies. You may not get it. Which is fine.)
1 Like
Interesting change to the original quote, now I have a cross between bench warmers and deuce bigalow stuck in my head. LOL
2 Likes
5/3/1 & Bodybuilding - c19w1d6
Friday - 09 December 2022
Workout: Legs & abs, 0520-0635 (75 minutes)
Indigo-3G - 0500
Surge - 0530-0616
Warm-up
Throws + jumps
Begin: 0538; End: 0631; Duration: 53 minutes
Squat - 135x5, 165x5, 195x5 | 225x3, 255x3, 285x6
BB hack squat - 145 lbs - 15, 15, 15, 15, 15
Leg curl - 80 lbs - 15, 15, 15, 15, 15
Leg extension - 105 lbs - 12, 12, 12, 12
Ab wheel - ramp (19) - 12, 12, 12, 12
Upright row - 60 lbs - 15, 15, 15, 15, 15
Semi-fasted: black coffee upon waking, then Indigo-3G and Surge as above.
Still have NO idea how I got 285x13 during Hardgainers, but considering where I am these days, I’m at peace with today’s effort. The fatigue was in my legs, which is different that it had been in the first half of this template, where it felt like the weight on the bar was just crushing my whole body and I couldn’t wait to get out from under it. My legs gave out today before the rest of me.
Oh, and I lost count again, so that top set might’ve actually been 7 reps.
Warm-up sets in 4 minutes, main work in 7 minutes, and supplemental in 13 minutes. I took those BB hack squats up by 10 lbs—that was absolutely killer by the end, particularly with relatively short (60-75 seconds) rest periods—and I increased leg curls, leg extensions, and upright rows by 5 lbs each, too. All of that went well this morning, and I managed 4x12 without any rest-pause sets on the ab wheel.
Easy conditioning to follow later today.
18 Likes
Are these the behind the back deadlifts?
1 Like
I wouldn’t necessarily call them that, but there’s a deadlift element to them, I guess. Here’s basically how I do them:
Edit: Now that I think about it, I suppose that’s exactly what they are—though I feel them in my quads way more than a regular deadlift. I guess I just never really connected the dots… In any case, it’s the best I can do as a replacement for leg press, which is what the template actually calls for, based on the equipment at hand. They’re quad-burners for sure!
7 Likes
5/3/1 & Bodybuilding - c19w1d6
Friday - 09 December 2022
Workout: Easy conditioning, 1710-1805 (55 minutes)
1-pump burpees + 28-kg KB swings - 2x(25 + 25), 25-second rest between
Weighted vest walk - 30 kg - 30 minutes
Done. Let’s… Relax now that Mrs. SvenG is home. (But, yeah, we’ll eat dinner, too.)
12 Likes
5/3/1 & Bodybuilding - c19w1d7
Saturday - 10 December 2022
Workout: Easy conditioning, 0525-0620 (55 minutes)
1-pump burpees + 28-kg KB swings - 2x(25 + 25), 25-second rest between
Weighted vest walk - 30 kg - 30 minutes
Fasted. Done.
12 Likes
5/3/1 & Bodybuilding - c19w1d7
Saturday - 10 December 2022
Workout: Calves, daily work, & extra conditioning, 1445-1530 (45 minutes)
Towel hop tabata - 4x40/10
3 rounds of:
a) KB swings - 28 kg - 50, 50, 50
b) Single-leg calf raises - L/R - 35 lbs - 10, 8, 8
c) DB gorilla rows - 2x30 lbs - L/R - 15, 15, 15
Towel hop tabata - 4x40/10
(Half) Cindy WOD - AMRAP, 10 minutes
a) 5 pull-ups
b) 10 push-ups
c) 15 air squats
Rounds: 8 + 15 reps (finished 9 full rounds in an additional 0:25)
These (Half) Cindy WODs feel kinda like my “6K(-ish) turned 14K” Swing Challenge: I’m finding ways to get it done!
Got the full 8 in 9:09, which is a full 42 seconds faster than last week, got the +15 in 10:00, and then finished the 9th full round out by 10:25. The air squats were the slow link today—I was feeling yesterday’s BB hack squats for sure—though EVERYTHING was feeling slow by about Round 7.
Still planning on 149 unbroken BB curls yet today, but Saturdays have become kinda crazy. The only “real” constraint on the curls is to get through 149, 150, 151, and 152 by Saturday, 31 December, but I’d like to get back on the once-a-week-on-Saturdays rhythm if I can… Guess we’ll see what happens!
16 Likes
5/3/1 & Bodybuilding - c19w1 - summary
Good week overall: Hit all my goals, and the house was still standing when Mrs. SvenG returned from her work trip. The kids were exceptionally helpful, which is awesome: none of us like it when the family’s not together, but we all pull our weight to get it done. It was pretty much non-stop from the time I got up until the time my head hit the pillow, so I was thankful for the help and cooperation!
Pretty happy with the lifts this week, especially considering I messed up and used 1s week weights—in retrospect that’s kinda funny, because even with 3 cycles back on squats and deadlifts, things were still feeling heavy. I’ve already double-checked this week’s weights to make sure I have them right, so it’ll look like a pretty big step back. Good news is, as long as I eat big and recover well, I now know I’ll be in a good position to crush the actual 1s week work when I get there.
I managed lunch EVERY DAY this week, which is actually an accomplishment. I’d like to think it’s because I made it an actual goal—and that did help: I was very conscious about making it happen every day, even if the food came a bit earlier or later than “lunch time”—but several of my meetings shifted day/time slots as well, and that helped, too. Funny, though, because it was an odd week with Mrs. SvenG being gone… Sometimes the stars just align, I guess.
That said, I’m keeping the “eat lunch” goal this week, because it definitely didn’t hurt. I also smashed the “eat well” goal this week, which for a gaining template like this one means: “Eat LOTS and LOTS of whole foods.” I finally did that this week, and I think it made a difference. An extra egg-cheese-and-bacon muffin at breakfast here and there and smashing handfuls of nuts to polish off lunch were great ways to get extra calories without getting super-stuffed and sleepy, and I consciously ate past feeling satiated at dinner every night. Yeah, that’s a slippery slope for me, but there are two key differences between eating-to-gain and being a slob: (1) It’s CONSCIOUS and TEMPORARY, and (2) it’s WHOLE, NUTRITIOUS foods and not mindlessly consuming donuts or treats or whatever just because they sound good. And I still woke up feeling lean most days—or at least not too fat and bloated—but I’m glad it’s temporary: My guts can’t handle this much food for too long without a break.
Week 2 starts today. My goals are:
- Complete all 4 lifting workouts
- Do a 30-minute weighted vest walk every day
- Hit my upper back with a high-rep movement every day
- Complete 3 days of hard conditioning & direct calf work
- Continue to eat lunch every day
- Eat well
Despite the slow start to eating enough for this template in Cycle 18, I do feel like it’s working: I think I’m looking bigger even when I’m not pumped, and I’m definitely looking huge when I am—which is basically every workout: I know I mention the pump a lot on chest & triceps day, but really, all the workouts in this template give a good pump. Not sure if it’s the assistance moves or the split or what, but I think my body’s responding, so…
Full-steam ahead into Week 2. Let’s get huge!
16 Likes
5/3/1 & Bodybuilding - c19w2d1
Sunday - 11 December 2022
Workout: Easy conditioning, 0610-0710 (60 minutes)
1-pump burpees + 28-kg KB swings - 2x(25 + 25), 25-second rest between
Weighted vest walk - 30 kg - 30 minutes
Fasted. Took a little longer because I’m all setup for this afternoon’s work. And because I was moving slowly…
Oh, and I still owe yesterday’s BB curls. We all sacked out on the couch last night and got caught up on Lego Masters, so I opted not to do the curls—it was absolutely worth it, too!
9 Likes
5/3/1 & Bodybuilding - c19w2d1
Sunday - 11 December 2022
Workout: Daily work, calves, & extra conditioning + BB curls, 1405-1450 + 1905-1920 (45 + 15 minutes)
Towel hop tabata - 4x40/10
3 rounds of:
a) Wendler rows - 90 lbs - 20, 20, 35
b) 1-pump burpees + 30-inch box jumps - 10 + 10, 10 + 10, 10 + 10
c) Single-leg calf raises - L/R - 35 lbs - 10, 8, 8
Towel hop tabata - 4x40/10
Pwn’s Tabearta - 8x20/10 - 65 lbs - 7x3, 1x2
BB curl - 149 (rep PR)
So that’s 7x3!
Conditioning wasn’t the weak link today, but my legs—the squat parts were slow and very, very hard! Don’t get me wrong, I was sucking wind by the end, but I felt like the Tin Man today. Guess all of Friday’s squats did their job!
I was definitely starting before the whistle—maybe a half-second or so early—and I came down to the wire with less than a second to spare on one or two rounds, but they were all decent reps. Gotta get 8x3 next week, and then I’ll try increasing the weight. (What kind of crappy reward is that!?!)
Rest of it was good, too. Got a real nice burn on that last set of Wendler rows. Letting the stretch settle in at the bottom of each rep before starting the next one is key.
That just leaves BB curls. I’ll edit them in once they’re done.
Edit: Holy F! I hate BB curls. Like F-ing hate them. 149 unbroken in 8:38, I’m a red sweaty mess, amazing forearm and biceps pump, some pausing at the top to relax my grip. (That didn’t really work, BTW.)
17 Likes
5/3/1 & Bodybuilding - c19w2d2
Monday - 12 December 2022
Workout: Shoulders & biceps, 0520-0630 (70 minutes)
Indigo-3G - 0500
Surge - 0530-0619
Warm-up
Throws + jumps
Begin: 0541; End: 0625; Duration: 44 minutes
Press - 55x5, 70x5, 90x5 | 105x5, 120x5, 135x9 (rep PR)
DB press - 2x45 lbs - 12, 10 + 2, 8 + 4, 8 + 4
Lateral raise - 2x15 lbs - 12, 12, 12, 12
BB curl - 65 lbs - 12, 12, 12, 12
Preacher curl - 45 lbs - 10, 10, 10, 10
Shrug - 2x65 lbs - 20, 20, 20, 20
Semi-fasted: black coffee upon waking, then Indigo-3G and Surge as above.
Small rep PR on the top set today: Previous was 135x8 in the last 5s week of this template (c18w2d2). Felt pretty strong and fast, was leaning a bit (but not excessively, I think), and I’m 99% sure I wasn’t bouncing. Wish I would’ve had a video to be sure, but I’m definitely happy with the effort because after 120x5 I didn’t think I had it in me today.
Slept super hard, woke up very slowly and was feeling groggy until about 10 minutes before the workout. Guts were talking back again this morning, so I guess I did alright with food yesterday. Got going on this and found some energy, so I’m happy about that.
Warm-up sets in 4 minutes, main work in 7 minutes, and supplemental in 8 minutes. The DB press sets were super-hard today and I had to rest-pause quite a bit—I was definitely feeling that top set right away. Curls were miserable and painful and all the bad things, but I got through them. (That’s another reason to get back on the Saturday rhythm—an extra day of recovery for my biceps and forearms!)
Not a bad morning, particularly given how I felt after I rolled out of bed…
Easy conditioning to follow this evening.
20 Likes
Nice work
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Beautiful way to start the day!
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Nice!
You “taco-bout” meat often here. And the egg muffins @atlas13 shared. Thought you might appreciate this recipe I found. They are super tasty. I left the oats out, to keep them lower carb.
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@throwawayfitness, @heretolog - Thanks, guys! It really was a beautiful way to start the day.
@unicornsandrainbows - That’s an awesome recipe, thank you for sharing it. Funny, I’m having a ground turkey and salsa-based meatloaf tonight, but I never thought about making it in muffin form—so much easier to just pop 'em in and swallow whole, just like the eggs muffins (haha!).
3 Likes
5/3/1 & Bodybuilding - c19w2d2
Monday - 12 December 2022
Workout: Easy conditioning, 1750-1840 (50 minutes)
1-pump burpees + 28-kg KB swings - 2x(25 + 25), 25-second rest between
Weighted vest walk - 30 kg - 30 minutes
Done. Let’s… Yeah, not even gonna bother.
11 Likes
Dude it’s amazing how your log is always popping off so much!! Seriously, you’re consistently logging 20 likes on every entry! Your dedication and detail is very inspiring. There’s a reason you have one of the most popular logs here!
It looks like you’re making amazing progress and I definitely want to run 5/3/1 Bodybuilding very soon! But right now I’m breaking my brother into 5/3/1 and I figured the best way to do that was with the quintessential 5/3/1 Template, The legendary Boring But Big!
3 Likes