Thanks, @anna_5588!
FIFY.
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I’m late to the party as usual, but you are a BEAST! Thank you for this log — it’s so inspiring!
1 Like
5s PRO, 5x5 FSL - c5w2d5
Thursday - 04 November 2021
Workout: Deadlift, 0750-0905 (75 minutes)
Warm-up
Throws + jumps
Begin: 0810; End: 0853; Duration: 43 minutes
Deadlift - 125x5, 155x5, 185x5 | 215x5, 245x5, 275x5 | (215x5)x5
Dip - 60 - 12, 12, 12, 4
Pull-up - BW - 10, 10, 10, 10
Ab wheel - ramp (11) - 25, 25, 10
Push-up - 25
Incline scap/trap - 2x40 lbs - 25
Good morning - 95 - 15
Deadlift - 190x20
Assistance totals:
Push - 65 reps
Pull - 65 reps
Single-leg/core - 75 reps
Another good day. I’m noticing that heavier deadlifts (and the high-rep one later) stress my left-to-right strength imbalance—I could really feel it in last 6 or so reps of that Widowmaker, in particular. Although I become conscious of it, I honestly can’t tell if it’s left-weaker/right-stronger or vice versa. Either way, it’s something I’m going to have to watch, and maybe address (somehow, at some point).
Beyond that, it was all good. Weird thing: I’ve started doing pull-ups with my eyes closed; that’s a dangerous game, but I’m finding that not only do I clear the bar, I have no external cues for when I’m up except for when my chest reaches the bar—no cheating. Not sure what made me start that, nor how long I’ll continue it, but I figured I’d jot it down here, because that’s what logs are for. Oh, and 95 lbs on those good mornings is just about right, particularly on deadlift day.
Two press WMs and conditioning work later today.
Once again, many thanks to everyone cheering me on yesterday. It’s nice to share the win with folks who can really appreciate that kind of stuff. (God bless 'em, but my wife and kids just don’t quite get it!)
12 Likes
I feel you there…
1 Like
5s PRO, 5x5 FSL - c5w2d5
Thursday - 04 November 2021
Workout: Press WM + conditioning, 1605-1635 (30 minutes)
Press - 85x20, 85x20
4 rounds of:
a) 19 1-pump burpees
b) 19 KB swings - 24 kg
c) 25 BFPs - red
25-second rest between rounds
Those press sets were more difficult than I’d like to admit, but I got them up pretty smoothly overall. Took a 3-minute rest between them. And today’s conditioning circuit, particularly the swings, helped keep me loose.
Looking forward to dinner again. No, not breakfast, but a boatload of chicken, some veggies, and some sort of potato—should be restorative.
5 Likes
I’m stealing this! 
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Upon reflection, it actually started with closing my eyes to visualize what the reps should look like. (I stole the pre-visualization thing from @kdjohn.) Then I started doing the first rep that way, and the next thing I know, I’m doing entire sets with my eyes closed.
Like I said, weird. But if it works…
2 Likes
Yep it’s funny how some stranger from the other side of the world understands you better than most people on your life.
3 Likes
5s PRO, 5x5 FSL - c5w2d6
Friday - 05 November 2021
Workout: Bench, 0750-0850 (60 minutes)
Warm-up
Throws + jumps
Begin: 0809; End: 0842; Duration: 33 minutes
Bench - 100x5, 125x5, 150x5 | 175x5, 200x5, 225x5 | (175x5)x5
Chin-up - BW - 10, 10, 10, 10
Standing DB press - 2x35 lbs - 16, 16, 8
Deficit reverse lunge - L/R - 2x20 lbs - 20, 20, 10
OA row - L/R - 45 - 18, 7
Band pushdown - red - 25
Cable crunch - 50 - 15
Bench - 155x20
Assistance totals:
Push - 65 reps
Pull - 65 reps
Single-leg/core - 65 reps
A few things from yesterday: started feeling a little (but just a little) run down about an hour or so after the morning workout—body was hot, face was flushed. Lunch didn’t help too much, and I was a little cranky with the kids after school. Realized it as it was happening, tried to ease up on them, and ate big at dinner. I also forced down 4-5 handfuls of hazelnuts and cashews and two protein bars between dinner and bed for some extra calories. Felt good throughout the remainder of the evening and this morning upon waking, but I almost skipped breakfast. Ended up having two eggs, two slices of turkey bacon, and some Greek yogurt (which is typical fare, but just less than usual). I wasn’t hungry, and my breakfast doesn’t power the workout that follows, but it does power my recovery, so I’m glad I ate.
Workout was solid. Bench topset felt heavier than it should have, but the fatigue I’m accumulating this week is absolutely systemic, so I’m cutting myself some slack on that. It moved well, regardless, as did all of the FSL sets and the Widowmaker at the end. Not much else to say, really—just a solid day.
Usual Friday afternoon work to follow later. Looks like a beautiful day (even if chilly), so I’m planning to do the sled variation of Pwn’s The Last Castle to knock out the sled push, burpees, and swings in one fell swoop. Oh, and I’ll knock out the BFPs and BB curls later as well, of course.
9 Likes
I’ve absolutely done this on really tough sets. Not sure why, to be honest.
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5s PRO, 5x5 FSL - c5w2d6
Friday - 05 November 2021
Workout: Conditioning, 1510-1605 (55 minutes)
BFP - red - 4x25
BB curls - 62, 15 + 13
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: 29:55
So it happened again: my body got hot and my face felt flushed. Later in the day (after lunch), and not for as long (maybe an hour?), but I’m no idiot and I’m not going to ignore it. Instead, I’m going to back slowly away from whatever line it is I’m getting close to with a fork and some sleep. Luckily the plan is to take the Widowmakers back down to two sets for each lift next week anyway, so I just have to get through tomorrow’s 20-rep deadlift sets and some conditioning.
On the positive side, I cranked out 62 reps in the first set of those BB curls. I wanted 55, but something in my mind shut off around rep 50, and although I was aware of the pain, it just didn’t matter. I wanted to get 28 in the second set without any rest-pause, but I guess I didn’t want it quite badly enough: only got 15 before a 15-second pause, after which I finished out the reps to hit 90 total. Again, this week’s fatigue is systemic, so I’m not gonna sweat it: That first set was awesome and I did 5 more total reps than last week.
It’s a good thing, too, because the rest of it was miserable: it was absolutely about just putting one foot in front of the other—literally and figuratively—to get through Pwn’s The Last Castle today. But I did, and so now it’s just a matter of continuing the recovery that started with this morning’s breakfast…
5 Likes
5s PRO, 5x5 FSL - c5w2d7
Saturday - 06 November 2021
Workout: Conditioning + calves + deadlift WM, 0430-0615 (105 minutes)
Weighted vest walk - 24 kg - 35 minutes
Jump rope tabata - 16x20/10 - 1 round
SL CR - L/R - 30x12, 35x10 | 40x8 + isohold: 14s
Bike@120 bpm - 15 minutes
Deadlift - 190x20, 190x20
Fasted. Out the door early for kids’ swim meet, so an even earlier start for me. Nuts and some dark chocolate before dinner yesterday, then close to a pound of ground turkey meatloaf at dinner proper. Felt pretty good through the evening, just tired. Went to bed about a half-hour early, natural wakeup about 0350, some black coffee, and then time for work.
Deadlift WMs were both surprisingly smooth, surprisingly balanced sets. No dawdling, no hard resets, but not too fast and definitely not sloppy. Took a 3-minute rest between sets. Lower back and joints felt fine, despite feeling a bit tight yesterday afternoon during KB swings. Nothing else noteworthy, except the exercise order was a bit weird this morning, but that’s likely to continue based on the cold(er) weather.
Typical Saturday afternoon workout is (Modified) Evil EMOM and BFPs, and that’s what I’m currently planning to do once we’re back home and settled. Today I reserve the right to change things up, though—we’ll just have to see how I’m feeling at game time.
8 Likes
5s PRO, 5x5 FSL - c5w2d7
Saturday - 06 November 2021
Workout: Extra conditioning, 1410-1445 (35 minutes)
(Modified) Evil EMOM WOD - EMOM, 21 minutes
a) 10 thrusters - 65 lbs
b) 20 KB swings - 24 kg
c) 8 1-pump burpees
19 1-pump burpees
BFP - red - 4x25
Honestly, it’s been a really long time since I wanted to do a workout less than I wanted to do that one. The 19 burpees followed the last round of 8 in Evil EMOM immediately—I just kept going, so really that was like a round of 27.
We’ve got another early morning tomorrow for swimming, but at least we fall back at 0200, so maybe it won’t feel as badly as it did today. And I should sleep like a baby tonight, so that’ll help too.
I may summarize this week yet tonight, because time will be short in the morning.
5 Likes
5s PRO, 5x5 FSL - c5w2 - summary
Funny thing: I just finished up a kick-ass 3s week. That almost got lost amidst my focus on these 20-rep sets. Weights went up and everything moved well, to the point that the main/supplemental work was almost an extended warm-up for those Widowmakers or something. I’m really happy about that, and it once again underscores the confidence that comes with correct TMs. I also ate well and slept well this week, which is awesome.
If last week’s Widowmakers didn’t impact my recovery as much as I anticipated, then this week’s had a bigger impact than I expected. I think all of the additional sets almost buried me (never mind the higher weights!), but extra food and rest held off any major ill effects. Yes, I was totally wiped out by the end of today’s second workout, but not beyond repair: lots of good food this afternoon, and aside from being a little tired because of the early start, I’m feeling pretty good right now. I’ll be ready to begin smashing Week 3 tomorrow morning.
Speaking of which, my goals for Week 3 are:
- Complete all 4 lifting workouts
- Complete two Widowmaker sets for each lift
- Complete 2 days of hard conditioning
- Complete 3 days of easy conditioning + direct calf work
- Do (at least) 75 burpees + swings and 100 band face pulls every day
- Eat well
I’m keeping the assistance reps at 65 total for each category this week, as it worked well last week and didn’t leave me totally exhausted for the follow-up Widowmaker sets.
My plan for those sets this week is to once again do one set after each lifting workout (at 70% of the projected anchor TM for the same main/supplemental lift of that day), and then one set after a rest day in between (at 75% of that same TM). So, that’ll be one 20-rep set of squats on Monday at 70%, one set on Wednesday at 75%, and so forth. This week’s weights for those sets are:
Press - 95 lbs, 105 lbs
Squat - 195 lbs, 210 lbs
Bench - 180 lbs, 195 lbs
Dead - 225 lbs, 240 lbs
If I’m successful with these weights during this prep phase, I should be able to set some PRs and still demolish the 20-rep FSL sets in the 5/3/1 & Widowmakers anchor!
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Dang dude, I miss a few days of reading your log and I’ve somehow got like 15 workouts to catch up on 
you doing 3-a-days!?!!
Solid work on the 20 rep sets. That stuff is ridiculously hard!
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Thanks for popping in, man!
It’s been a crazy week, but pretty successful too: feel like I learned a thing or two about grit. Guess we’ll find out for sure over the next several weeks!
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I always knew you were a sick man.
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5s PRO, 5x5 FSL - c5w3d1
Sunday - 07 November 2021
Workout: Conditioning + calves + bench WM, 0450-0605 (75 minutes)
Weighted vest walk - 24 kg - 35 minutes
Jump rope tabata - 16x20/10 - 1 round
SL CR - L/R - 30x12, 35x10 | 40x8 + isohold: 15s
Bench - 195x19
Fasted.
Biff! Only got 19 on that bench WM at 195 lbs (75% of projected anchor TM). I did some push-ups and 135x5 after the easy conditioning work for a quick warm-up, and then into the actual set. The first 10 went up alright, the next 5 were slow, and the last 4 were grinders. Rep 19 might have even registered a little on the Simo scale. Certainly it was tough enough that I knew better than to attempt rep 20.
I want to be frustrated—my head keeps kicking around the word “grit” right now—but someone wise once said:
Failure is anabolic.
(That was Pwn, of course. He actually wrote a whole blog post about it.)
Fact is, these are practice sets, and I have the rest of this week and then two more weeks of 65% and 70% Widowmakers in the anchor before I have to hit the 75% numbers for real. So I’m just going to shake it off for now and come back stronger—because failure is anabolic.
8 Likes
Damn that’s a lot of weight for a lot of reps!!
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Thanks, dude. It sure felt like a lot of weight today. 