5s PRO, 5x5 FSL - c4w3d5
Thursday - 21 October 2021
Workout: Hard + extra conditioning, 1330-1305 (35 minutes)
Sled push - 10x50 yds, 135 + sled = 222 lbs
Time: 9:10
4 rounds of:
a) 25 1-pump burpees
b) 25 KB swings - 24 kg
c) 30 BPAs - red - 10 high + 10 mid + 10 low
25-second rest between rounds
Managed to squeeze this in between meetings and whatnot. Staying mentally prepared for late second workouts, but happy when it doesn’t have to be that way. Today was a grind, though.
Every time I come back here you have worked out like 10 times, great job man!
Guess you just need to drop in more frequently, huh? 
I drop by daily. haha
You are a beast.
so… much…work…
I agree. I don’t know how you fit it all in with a family. Jeez.
@shaneinga - Thanks, man. I’ll admit: I’ve been feeling pretty beastly lately.
@anna_5588 - And then: so… much… food… The work doesn’t happen on its own!
Edit: Congrats on that 2-plate squat and the 65-kg bench! That’s truly awesome.
@cstan097 - Keep in mind my kids are older, and they spend 1-2 hours a day at swim practice. Between being more self-sufficient with things like schoolwork, etc. and both being appropriately dedicated to their sport, things are much, much easier than they were even just a few years ago.
I also have tremendous autonomy (and flexibility of schedule) at work, but that hasn’t always been the case—I had to earn that, too, which took many long, long days (and nights!) over a period of years where health and fitness weren’t even on my radar. That’s not a balanced approach, and certainly not one I recommend, BTW.
You’ll get there, man. Just stay the course—do what you can, when you can, and you’ll be further ahead when you finally arrive.
5s PRO, 5x5 FSL - c4w3d6
Friday - 22 October 2021
Workout: Bench, 0755-0900 (65 minutes)
Warm-up
Throws + jumps
Begin: 0818; End: 0858; Duration: 40 minutes
Bench - 115x5, 135x5, 160x5 | 185x5, 210x5, 235x5 | (185x5)x5
Standing DB press - 2x35 lbs - 10, 10, 10, 10
Deficit reverse lunge - L/R - 2x20 lbs - 20, 20, 10
Pull-up - BW - 10, 10, 10, 10
Band pushdown - red - 40
Cable crunch - 50 - 30
OA row - L/R - 45 - 25, 15
Assistance totals:
Push - 80 reps
Pull - 80 reps
Single-leg/core - 80 reps
Fasted again. Kids are off school today, so I had a lazy morning just enjoying not having to pack lunches, make breakfast, and get them out the door. Didn’t intend to not eat, just the way it happened today. I will be eating soon, however.
Everything went well this morning. Pull-ups were a little harder than I would’ve liked, particularly how well they’ve been going lately. Did well enough with 35 lbs DBs for those standing DB presses, will stick with that for now. Got lightheaded during those rows again—pushed first set up to 25 reps this week, so that’s some kind of progress.
As usual, conditioning and curls to come later today.
Speaking of… How is the nutrition looking?
Great question, thanks for asking. That’s been on my mind a fair bit lately, because we’re fast approaching 6 months since I decided to abandon all of the tracking, measuring, and obsessing over food that was causing me so much trouble.
I want to compose a meaningful, worthwhile answer, because the topic deserves such, so I will try to respond more completely soon.
For now, however, I think the short answer is: very well overall!
5s PRO, 5x5 FSL - c4w3d6
Friday - 22 October 2021
Workout: Hard + extra conditioning, 1515-1605 (50 minutes)
10 rounds of:
a) Sled push - 25 yds, 135 + sled = 222 lbs
b) 10 1-pump burpees
c) Sled push - 25 yds, 135 + sled = 222 lbs
d) 10 KB swings - 24 kg
No rest between rounds
Time: 25:34
BPA - red - 4x(10 high + 10 mid + 10 low)
BB curls - 46, 21 + 10 + 3
Called an audible today: tried a variation of Pwn’s The Last Castle with sled push and daily burpees + swings. It was… interesting. Definitely its own kind of suck, and it had the effect I was after: HR was up, got the distance in, and both the burpees and the swings felt trivial. (It’s interesting how each move provides a genuine rest from the others, yet I was constantly moving for 25 minutes.)
I could definitely speed that up, but it rained this morning, driveway was slick, and I didn’t want time to be a factor at all. I was slipping around a bit as it was—really need to get some new shoes. Anyway, if I repeat this one, I should increase the number of rounds, the number of burpees and swings, or maybe even the weight on the sled. (I could even do all three, I suppose.)
BPAs were good, and I nailed those curls—felt like an animal with those today. Slow and steady, with 2 more reps on the first set, and 3 more on the first mini-set. Really, really wanted to get all 80 reps with only two mini-sets, but I just couldn’t do it, not with decent form anyway. (The last few reps of the middle mini-set probably had some body english behind them as it was.)
I’ll get 'em next week…
You just answered my question 
You just listen to your body. … And by your output I think you understand what it asks for
I guess it’s this part I figured deserved some thought. I’d say I’m beginning to understand what my body asks for. That, and the tightly coupled nature of input and output, which I probably understood intellectually but never actually experienced until these past several months.
I will say I learned a great deal about nutrition by tracking, measuring, and being very careful. But, given my nature, it’s a fine line between good and right and bad and wrong. I was getting too close to that line, and may have even crossed it. The change was necessary.
My mind still asks for things it wants at times, but it’s much easier to ignore because when my body asks for what it needs, I respond appropriately. I don’t ignore 100% of the time, nor do I respond appropriately 100% of the time, but… I am no longer subject to either uncontrollable desires or unrealistic regimen. Nor do I exhibit the unbearable demeanor that these extremes created and that negatively impacted both me and my family.
So, yeah… pretty decent progress!
5s PRO, 5x5 FSL - c4w3d7
Saturday - 23 October 2021
Workout: Easy conditioning + calves, 0720-0850 (90 minutes)
Weighted vest walk - 24 kg - 35 minutes
Bike@120 bpm - 15 minutes
SL CR - L/R - 30x10, 35x8 | 40x6 + isohold: 25s
Jump rope tabata - 16x20/10 - 1 round
Fasted. Late start, slept until 0600, woke up to rain. Decided to let the heavy bit pass, too cold to get soaked again. Everything felt really good this morning—nice and restorative, as it should be.
(Modified) Evil EMOM WOD, remaining burpees, and BPAs to follow later today.
5s PRO, 5x5 FSL - c4w3d7
Saturday - 23 October 2021
Workout: Extra conditioning, 1140-1220 (40 minutes)
(Modified) Evil EMOM WOD - EMOM, 21 minutes
a) 10 thrusters - 65 lbs
b) 20 KB swings - 24 kg
c) 7 1-pump burpees
51 1-pump burpees - 26, 25 - 25-second rest between
BPA - red - 4x(10 high + 10 mid + 10 low)
Did the (Modified) Evil EMOM today: added 7 rounds of 7 burpees to incorporate some of my daily work. Not a bad circuit, but could probably squeeze in more burpees without sacrificing form or getting too exhausted. Maybe 8 or 9 reps per round? Anyway, finished up with remaining daily burpees (for 100 total) and BPAs.
That wraps up the first of two 5s PRO, 5x5 FSL leader cycles, and I’m really looking forward to the next one!
5s PRO, 5x5 FSL - c4w3 - summary
Traveling tomorrow, morning will be tight (and late workout may end up being really late), so I’m going to summarize this week a bit early.
Another great week in the books. In fact, it was an “easy” 1s week. Having confidence in your TMs really makes all the difference. My mind tried to play tricks on me here and there, but I was able to fall back on the fact that I had already done heavier weights during that TM testing week awhile back.
Food went well, too. Last night brought some pieces of chocolate chip cookie cake my daughter baked on her day off from school, but beyond that eating was clean and well-balanced.
I’ve decided to do some Widowmaker practice throughout the upcoming leader cycle to be ready for the anchor. Concern over squats got me thinking along these lines initially, but I realized I should probably give the other lifts some respect as well.
I’ve got a plan that involves a Widowmaker set after the main/supplemental work for each day, and then another one for each lift throughout the week—so two practice 20-rep sets per lift per week, with a weight progression throughout the cycle. I have no idea what these will do to my recovery, so for this first week I’m going to scale back on assistance, conditioning, and daily work to see how things go. I will adjust accordingly as I move into Weeks 2 and 3.
Given that, then, my goals for this week are:
I’m hoping to build some confidence in these Widowmakers. My plan might suck, it might not work, it might just be a really bad idea, but… I won’t know if I don’t try, so I’m going to give it a shot—and I am excited to see how it goes!
Edit: New TMs for this next leader:
Press - 130 lbs
Squat - 265 lbs
Bench - 250 lbs
Dead - 305 lbs
Right, that’s it. Time to crank.
I need to try this
5s PRO, 5x5 FSL - c5w1d1
Sunday - 24 October 2021
Workout: Easy conditioning + calves, 0550-0705 (75 minutes)
Weighted vest walk - 24 kg - 35 minutes
SL CR - L/R - 30x10, 35x8 | 40x6 + isohold: 26s
Jump rope tabata - 16x20/10 - 1 round
Bench - 130x20
Fasted. Raining again, but not too heavily, and I really couldn’t have waited it out much longer than I did. Was feeling pretty good this morning, so I knocked out the walk, calf work, and the bench press Widowmaker set.
I’m doing better with time than I would’ve have guessed, so just a word about that bench set: my plan is to hit 20 reps with 50%, 60%, and 70% of my projected anchor TM for each lift twice a week across Weeks 1, 2, and 3, respectively, of this leader. I figure if I can hit 70% for 20 by the end of the leader, I should be able to hit 75% for 20 by the end of the actual 5/3/1 & Widowmakers anchor.
So today was 130 lbs for bench. That was ridiculously easy, so I’m going to take that one up to 60% for the next 20-repper, which will follow the actual bench press workout on Friday. (The timing there will make it more interesting, too.) I’d love it if 50% of the projected anchor TM ended up being too light for the other lifts as well, but we’ll just have to see how things go this week.
If all goes well, Pwn’s The Last Castle, burpees, and BPAs will follow later today.
5s PRO, 5x5 FSL - c5w1d1
Sunday - 24 October 2021
Workout: Extra conditioning, 1540-1620 (40 minutes)
Pwn’s The Last Castle - 10 rounds
a) Farmer’s walk - 25 yards - 2x77 lbs
b) 6 alternating DB snatches - 35 lbs
c) Farmer’s walk - 25 yards - 2x77 lbs
d) 10 KB swings - 24 kg
4 rounds of:
a) 13 1-pump burpees
b) 30 BPAs - red - 10 high + 10 mid + 10 low
25-second rest between rounds
It was raining again, but I had a chance to knock this out, so I did. 10 rounds of The Last Castle in 21:42. Grip was tricky because all of the implements were slick with rain. Felt really good today. Hard, but good. Then daily burpees (52 total) and BPAs in a circuit.
Had a Five Guys bacon cheeseburger and fries while on the road this afternoon, just about 3 hours before this workout. Not sure if it’s my imagination or not, but I’m looking huge. Like really, really huge… Five Guys for the win!
Edit: So, not my imagination—@T3hPwnisher provides the answer over here: The salt is the key. (That’s also why I was still hungry after all that food. And why fast food is a very, very rare “treat”!)
Congratulations! This is how you know it’s all working.
I love that feeling when you suddenly don’t recognise your own body (in a good way): when you see yourself and for a moment you think, “Who is that?” Or when you touch some part of your body and briefly don’t recognise it as part of yourself.
You have put in such amazing work here. It’s wonderful to see it pay off for you!