Becoming Canis dirus - SvenG's Training Log

[SvenG]

5x5/3/1 Anchor - 2025.c3w3d4

Wednesday - 24 September 2025
Workout: Bench + squat, 0900-1005 (65 minutes)

Jumps/throws

Begin: 0911; End: 0955; Duration: 44 minutes
Bench - 185x5, 210x5, 235x2, 235x2, 235x2, 235x2, 235x2
Squat - 225x5, 225x5, 225x5, 225x5, 225x5
Back extension - 25 lbs - 10, 10, 10
DB press - 2x45 lbs - 10, 10, 10, 10
Wendler row - 135 lbs - 10, 10, 10, 10
KB swing - 32 kg - 10, 10, 10
(Short) BB front raise - 50 lbs - 10, 10
Chin-up - BW - 10, 10

AMRAP - 5 minutes
Shuttle run - 25 yards
Rounds: 22+

Assistance totals:
Push - 60 reps
Pull - 60 reps
Single-leg/core - 60 reps

Main work in 16 minutes, supplemental in 17 minutes, assistance superset throughout.

Easy doubles today. Even did them paused, just because I could.

Happy.

[BethB]

@SvenG

Happy.

Wonderful!

[SvenG]

5x5/3/1 Anchor - 2025.c3w3d5

Thursday - 25 September 2025
Workout: Deadlift + press, 0915-1030 (75 minutes)

Jumps/throws

Begin: 0929; End: 1017; Duration: 48 minutes
Deadlift - 255x5, 285x5, 320x2, 320x2, 320x2, 320x2, 320x2
Press - 105x5, 105x5, 105x5, 105x5, 105x5
HLR - 10, 10, 10
Decline DB press - 2x72.5 - 10, 10, 10, 10
V-grip cable row - 120 lbs - 10, 10, 10, 10
Deficit reverse lunge - L/R - 2x35 lbs - 10, 10, 10
Lateral raise - 2x25 lbs - 10, 10
Alternating DB curl - L/R - 25 lbs - 10, 10

AMRAP - 5 minutes
Shuttle run - 25 yards
Rounds: 23+

Assistance totals:
Push - 60 reps
Pull - 60 reps
Single-leg/core - 60 reps

Main work in 20 minutes, supplemental in 16 minutes, assistance superset throughout.

They weren’t “easy doubles” today, but they were super-solid—particularly given how heavy 285 felt. Good stuff!

[SvenG]

5x5/3/1 Anchor - 2025.c3w3d6

Friday - 26 September 2025
Workout: Conditioning + calves, 1610-1705 (55 minutes)

Seated calf raise - 120 lbs - 3 minutes

EMOM, 10 minutes:
odd) Push-up - 14; towel hop - time remaining
even) DB shrug - 2x72.5 lbs - 10; towel hop - time remaining

3 rounds of:
a) Farmer’s walk - 2x77 lbs - 50 yards
b) Pull-up - BW - 6
c) Push press - 135 lbs - 3

2 rounds of:
a) Run - 600 meters
b) Die-a-not-so-slow death - AMRAP
Time: 11:46

Long week at work, and it’s not quite over yet. But I got this knocked out, even if it came several hours later than I would’ve liked.

[SvenG]

5x5/3/1 Anchor - 2025.c3w3d7

Saturday - 27 September 2025
Workout: Conditioning, 1100-1150 (50 minutes)

2 rounds of:
a) Devil’s press - 2x35 lbs - 8
b) Pull-up - 6
c) Box jump - 24-inch - 6

Why Not Both? - AMRAP, 20 minutes
odd) Sled push - 90 lbs - 50 yards
even) Farmer’s walk - 2x77 lbs - 50 yards
Rounds: 15+

This week’s deal with the devil: 15 rounds in 20 minutes → didn’t have to do more, but less than 15 rounds in 20 minutes → had to do 16 no matter what the timer said.

Got my 15 with 38 seconds to spare, then talked myself into starting the 16th anyway—got about 1/4 of the way through it when time expired.

Happy with the effort, happy with not letting myself off the hook.

So ends 5x5/3/1. Took longer on the calendar than I intended, but that’s my first 2L+1A 5/3/1 run in a long time—I was distracted by shiny things for awhile, but eventually I remembered: When something works, it works.

[BethB]

@SvenG

I was distracted by shiny things for awhile

Aren’t we all sometimes?

[SvenG]

7WP, TM Test - 2025.d1d1

Sunday - 28 September 2025
Workout: Squat, 1125-1205 (40 minutes)

No jumps/throws

Begin: 1133; End: 1201; Duration: 28 minutes
Squat - 220x5, 250x5, 280x5, 310x5
Incline DB press - 2x72.5 lbs - 10, 10
BB row - 165 lbs - 10, 10
HLR - 10, 10
Rope pushdown - 25 lbs - 15
BB curl - 65 lbs - 15
Ab mat crunch - 10 lbs - 10+5

Assistance totals:
Push - 35 reps
Pull - 35 reps
Single-leg/core - 35 reps

Main work in 16 minutes, assistance superset throughout.

I’m eyeing up a 19-week run of God is a Beast, so I’ve decided to use this deload to dial in my TMs before jumping in.

310 is up 10 lbs over the last cycle, and while the 5 reps weren’t a problem, they weren’t exactly fast, either.

I know I can hit the percentage work based on 310, but there’s a lot of runway to cycle up over 19 weeks—maybe I’ll push that back down to 300 for the first 6 weeks… “Quality always trumps quantity,” after all.

Guess we’ll see how I’m feeling next week!

Edit: Also, I skipped the jumps/throws and shuttle runs today because we literally just had the driveway sealed: The dude was there working just as I was getting started. Anyway, we can’t be on it for the next 48 hours, so I’ll probably skip that work altogether this week.

[SvenG]

7WP, TM Test - 2025.d1d2

Monday - 29 September 2025
Workout: Press, 1530-1615 (45 minutes)

No jumps/throws

Begin: 1540; End: 1609; Duration: 29 minutes
Press - 105x5, 120x5, 135x5, 145x5
Lateral raise - 2x25 lbs - 10, 10
CS DB row - 2x55 lbs - 10, 10
BSS - L/R - 2x35 lbs - 10, 10
Rear delt flye - 2x20 lbs - 15
Upright row - 70 lbs - 15
Cable crunch - 70 lbs - 15

Assistance totals:
Push - 35 reps
Pull - 35 reps
Single-leg/core - 35 reps

Main work in 15 minutes, assistance superset throughout.

145 is up 5 lbs over the last cycle, and like yesterday’s squats, the 5 reps were neither a problem nor particularly fast…

[SvenG]

7WP, TM Test - 2025.d1d3

Tuesday - 30 September 2025
Workout: Conditioning, 1445-1515 (30 minutes)

Walk - 30 minutes

Not weighted, but not leisurely, either.

That’ll be it for today, regardless.

[SvenG]

7WP, TM Test - 2025.d1d4

Wednesday - 01 October 2025
Workout: Bench, 1135-1210 (35 minutes)

No jumps/throws

Begin: 1145; End: 1205; Duration: 20 minutes
Bench - 175x5, 200x5, 225x5, 250x5
DB shoulder press - 2x45 lbs - 10, 10
V-grip cable row - 120 lbs - 10, 10
Deficit reverse lunge - L/R - 2x35 lbs - 10, 10
OH triceps extension - 2x30 lbs - 15
Alternating DB curl - L/R - 2x30 lbs - 15
Bicycle crunch - 15

Assistance totals:
Push - 35 reps
Pull - 35 reps
Single-leg/core - 35 reps

Main work in 12 minutes, assistance superset throughout.

Moving fast today, everything felt strong.

Oh, and: How is it October already!?!

[antiquity]

Strong numbers on the OHP and bench! Nice work.

[simo74]

@SvenG

250x5

Bench going well mate, soon you will be pressing like @Cyrrex

[SvenG]

@antiquity, @simo74 - Thanks, guys! I’m pretty happy with both my bench and overhead these days, especially with how inconsistent I’ve been over the past few years.

I’m hopeful that the upcoming run of God is a Beast will have me progressing across all the lifts, though.

[SvenG]

7WP, TM Test - 2025.d1d5

Thursday - 02 October 2025
Workout: Deadlift, 0820-0910 (50 minutes)

No jumps/throws

Begin: 0831; End: 0907; Duration: 36 minutes
Deadlift - 245x5, 280x5, 315x5, 345x5
Decline DB press - 2x72.5 lbs - 10, 10
One-arm DB row - L/R - 60 lbs - 10, 10
Ab wheel - ramp (14) - 10, 10
Dip - 45 lbs - 15
Pull-up - BW - 5+5+3+2
Back extension - 25 lbs - 15

Assistance totals:
Push - 35 reps
Pull - 35 reps
Single-leg/core - 35 reps

Main work in 20 minutes, assistance superset throughout.

Those deadlifts went well: Straps on for 315+. The first two sets were easy, 315 was “fine,” and the top set wasn’t as hard as I anticipated. Rep 4 was kinda lopsided—not sure if I wasn’t focused or if there’s a left-to-right strength imbalance… I also noticed that my hips were shooting up too fast in the early reps, but I was able to control that once I became aware.

Not a bad way to end the lifting workouts of this deload!

[Cyrrex]

I think is already is.

[SvenG]

7WP, TM Test - 2025.d1d6

Friday - 03 October 2025
Workout: Conditioning, 1720-1750 (30 minutes)

Walk - 30 minutes

Had to put out a fire at work today, so I started this later than I intended.

Same route as Tuesday, and same approach: Not weighted, but not leisurely, either.

I’ll do some kind of deliberate-and-not-just-life-activities movement tomorrow, and then it’s on to God Sven is a Beast.

[SvenG]

7WP, TM Test - 2025.d1d7

Saturday - 04 October 2025
Workout: Conditioning, 1450-1530 (40 minutes)

Walk - 30 minutes

That’s today’s deliberate-and-not-just-life-activities movement—though there’s already been plenty of life activities, too.

Once again, same route as earlier in the week. Not weighted, not leisurely. I did have the dog with me, so that slowed things down just a little.

Tomorrow starts a 2L+2A run of God Sven is a Beast. Including the programmed 7WP Deload between the second leader and first anchor, that’s 19 weeks on the calendar. I’ve got at least one trip in there already, a second one is 50/50 at this point, and I may end up needing another deload (or two?) to make sure I don’t burn out, so it’s definitely going to take longer than 19 weeks…

Honestly, though, I’m kinda pumped about that: I can just turn off my brain, turn on Beast Mode, and watch the gainz roll in.

Buckle up, folks—it’s on!

[SvenG]

God Sven is a Beast - 2025.c4w1d1

Sunday - 05 October 2025
Workout: Squat, 1145-1250 (65 minutes)

Jumps/throws

Begin: 1157; End: 1233; Duration: 36 minutes
Squat - 210x5, 240x5, 270x5, 225x5, 255x5, 285x5
V-grip cable row - 130 lbs - 10, 10, 10
HLR - 10, 10, 10
DB shoulder press - 2x45 - 10, 10, 10
Wide supinated pulldown - 100 lbs - 15
Cable crunch - 70 lbs - 15
Dip - 45 lbs - 15

AMRAP - 5 minutes
Shuttle run - 25 yards
Rounds: 24

Assistance totals:
Push - 45 reps
Pull - 45 reps
Single-leg/core - 45 reps

Main work in 22 minutes, assistance superset throughout.

I decided to go with my TMs from Cycle 3, which are scaled back 5 or 10 lbs from last week’s TM testing:

Squat - 300 lbs
Press - 140 lbs
Dead - 335 lbs
Bench - 245 lbs

I also weighed myself today for the first time since Super Squats (maybe?), and I came in at 219.6 lbs.

The mirror’s been telling me for quite awhile that it would be bad, but when we combine that with what the scale actually says, we move from “bad” into the realm of “totally unacceptable.”

What does a 220-lbs SvenG look like? Well, it ain’t pretty, I can tell you that:

There’s so much more I could say, but words are just words—only actions matter.

[simo74]

Still looking strong mate and in a great position to sharpen up. Know you will smash it.

[SvenG]

@simo74 - Thanks, mi amigo—the good news is I can still bench press myself for reps! (Haha.)

It’d be one thing if I was sitting at 220 and still looked like I did three years ago, but the fact is, that’s just an unhealthy weight given my lack of muscle mass right now.

I’ll admit I’m still driven by the possibility of looking like that again, but I’m three years older now and—while vanity’s definitely still a thing—healthfulness is becoming increasingly important to me.

Come what may, I sincerely appreciate the support you (and so many others here) provide!