Seconded!
2 Likes
@tlgains, @hustlinghat93 - Thanks, guys! It was a good set and I almost had all 20 reps. But I’ll get it next time!
re: Basketball—that’s little SvenG; I haven’t played ball in probably 25 years, haha!
1 Like
5s PRO, 5x5 FSL - c9w3d7
Saturday - 26 February 2022
Workout: Extra conditioning, 1515-1545 (30 minutes)
Jump rope tabata - 4x40/10 - 1 round
In as few rounds as possible, EMOM:
a) Front squats - 135 lbs - minimum 40 total
b) KB swings - 24 kg - minimum 60 total
c) Chin-ups/pull-ups (strict, various grips) - minimum 52 total
Rounds: 12
Jump rope tabata - 4x40/10 - 1 round
Change of plans: my daughter qualified for the finals in her 100-yard breaststroke (6th place out of 24 11-12 y/o girls in prelims), so we have to be back at the pool in an hour. Managed to get this in, which is great, but I hit just the bare minimums for each move. (I determine those goals in advance, when I write out each workout.) Rounds went:
Squats - 11, 11, 10, 8
Swings - 20, 20, 15, 5
Chins - 13, 11+2, 10+3, 10+3
There was some strategy at play there in the last 3 rounds: I could’ve had a few more squats and lots more swings, but I wanted to leave enough steam in the engine to make sure I finished out the chins in 4 rounds. Mission accomplished.
Awesome—that’s it for today!
Edit: My daughter finished her race: 6th in the finals, and once again, the fastest 11 y/o in the field!
9 Likes
5s PRO, 5x5 FSL - c9w3 summary
Not sure this week was actually as hard as it felt, but that’s easier to say now that it’s over. In general things went well—except maybe that top set of squats last Monday—but there’s no doubt I’m tired. The upcoming 7WP is just what I need. Anyway, I hit all of my goals for the week, and my stomach seems to be coming back into line. I mentioned elsewhere (@anna_5588’s thread) that I’ve dropped the head of Romaine lettuce from lunch, which, together with the addition of some fiber capsules, seems to have made things better. I’ll take a break from the lettuce for a bit, but I hope to put it back in: I actually kind of enjoy the salad at lunch.
Looking back at Cycle 9, I see that I didn’t reduce the volume all that much: the extra Widowmakers left me just 5 reps short of the weekly volume I was doing with BBB. On top of that, I was also doing 4 days of hard conditioning, so I may have been working more, not less. But in the end I wasn’t really eating significantly less over that time, so I wasn’t shortchanging myself on recovery. Nevertheless, I’m still going to say it’s okay that I’m tired…
I’m not so tired now that making a decision about the week ahead is emotionally driven, however, so now I’m moving into another 7th Week Protocol, TM Test to prep for BBB Beefcake. I realized yesterday I’d be stupid not to try cycling up the weights. Worst case is, I don’t make 5 reps on the top set and I set my TMs for Beefcake according to what I do hit. Not sure why there was ever a question in my mind about how to proceed—JW’s protocols just work.
Given that, then, my goals for this week are:
- Complete all 4 lifting workouts to establish correct TMs
- Complete 3 days of easy conditioning
- Do 50 burpees + swings every day
- Continue to eat right
Octonauts, let’s do this!
8 Likes
7WP, TM Test - d1
Sunday - 27 February 2022
Workout: Easy conditioning, 0530-0630 (60 minutes)
25 1-pump burpees + 24-kg KB swings
Weighted vest walk - 30 kg - 35 minutes
25 1-pump burpees + 24-kg KB swings
Fasted. Did the work, so that’s that.
Hoping for another long day at the pool today: my daughter swims three events, and though yesterday’s qualifying time was a bit of a surprise, we think she’s got a good chance of qualifying for both the 50-yard and the 200-yard breaststroke finals today.
Either way, I’m done for now, so I can just chill and get set to crush the 305x5 set of squats tomorrow.
Edit: It was a long day at the pool! She qualified in both breaststroke events; finished 11th out of 16 in the 50-yard final, up from 13th in the qualifier and dropping a full tenth off her previous best, and she finished 4th out of 8 in the 200-yard final. Oh, and she dropped a full 7 seconds from her 50-yard backstroke in the prelims—the previous time was a bit stale (she doesn’t compete in backstroke often), but it was a big day for her!
11 Likes
Just inspiring work from you as always. And a hearty congratulations to your daughter — it looks like the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree: 5/3/1 methods applied to swimming. 
1 Like
@oldnattychris - Thanks! She was super excited and her coach was as well—said all of her hard work is paying off. It’s so fun and rewarding as a parent to see your kids come into their own. (Though it’s really hard, too; means she’s growing up…)
1 Like
7WP, TM Test - d2
Monday - 28 February 2022
Workout: Squat + extra conditioning, 1125-1225 (60 minutes)
Warm-up
Throws + jumps
Begin: 1141; End: 1215; Duration: 34 minutes
Squat - 125x5, 155x5, 185x5 | 215x5, 245x5, 275x5, 305x5 (rep PR)
HLR - 20, 20
Pull-up - BW - 14, 11
Dip - 75 - 15, 10
Push-up - 25
BPA - red - 10 high + 10 mid + 10 low
50 1-pump burpees + 24-kg KB swings - 2x25, 25-second rest between
Assistance totals:
Push - 50 reps
Pull - 55 reps
Single-leg/core - 40 reps
I owned it. I absolutely OWNED it. It wasn’t easy, but I owned it.
I knew I had it when I unracked 245 and wondered where the weight was. Squats haven’t felt that strong in a long, long time. I know I’m not a fast or explosive squatter—particularly when it’s heavy—and I found some new veins in my eyes and neck on the last rep or two, but they were all as clean and crisp as my heavy squat reps ever are.
And for the record, I tried something new today: I did one set of core/pull/push assistance between the 3 squat warm-up sets, then focused on the main work while actually resting between those sets—no assistance work. (I finished that up after the last set of squats.) It took about 12 minutes for the main work, with not more than about 3 minutes rest between them, except for maybe 4 minutes or so between 275 and 305. Think I’ll do all the main work that way this week.
It’s closer than it’s ever been, and now it’s even closer, and now it’s even closer.
14 Likes
HOLY SHIT!!! Squat’s getting big!
2 Likes
@anna_5588 - Thanks for that! I was super pumped the squats moved as well as they did.
1 Like
7WP, TM Test - d3
Tuesday - 01 March 2022
Workout: Press + extra conditioning, 1150-1250 (60 minutes)
Warm-up
Throws + jumps
Begin: 1204; End: 1238; Duration: 34 minutes
Press - 60x5, 75x5, 90x5 | 105x5, 120x5, 135x5, 150x5 (rep PR)
Ab wheel - ramp (16) - 30
Decline DB press - 2x55 lbs - 15, 10
Chin-up - BW - 15, 10
Bulgarian split squat - L/R - 2x20 lbs - 20
Band pushdown - red - 30
BFP - red - 30
50 1-pump burpees + 24-kg KB swings - 2x25, 25-second rest between
Assistance totals:
Push - 55 reps
Pull - 55 reps
Single-leg/core - 50 reps
First three reps were super solid and the last two were grinders, but I got 'em all!
Made the mistake of trying to breathe after that 3rd rep—think I lost my brace or something, because, oh man could I feel the last two in my mid- to lower back. Rep 4 got stuck for an instant, but rep 5 got stuck and took a second or so to get it moving and lock it out—so what’s that? RPS 1 or so?
Assistance moves between press warm-up sets, but not during main work. Those sets took about 13 minutes, with 2-3 minutes between the first three and a good 4-5 minutes between the last two. I then finished up the assistance work and cranked out the daily burpees + swings.
Dropped the ramp a notch on the ab wheel and I could feel it. Bumped up the DBs to 55-lbs on the decline press and didn’t even notice. Rest was of it was fine, nothing to add.
That’s it for today! Back at it tomorrow with some easy conditioning, hopefully in the early AM.
12 Likes
Nice PRs in here.
1 Like
Thanks, @Bagsy. It always feels good to hit PRs!
1 Like
7WP, TM Test - d4
Wednesday - 02 March 2022
Workout: Easy conditioning, 0830-0930 (60 minutes)
25 1-pump burpees + 24-kg KB swings
Weighted vest walk - 30 kg - 35 minutes
25 1-pump burpees + 24-kg KB swings
Fasted. Hardly early morning, but I got it done.
9 Likes
Very solid PR’s in here. 5 x 305 is some strong squatting.
1 Like
@shaneinga - Thanks, man. The squats felt so good this week—it was a pleasant surprise, and a PR to boot!
1 Like
7WP, TM Test - d5
Thursday - 03 March 2022
Workout: Deadlift + extra conditioning, 0735-0850 (75 minutes)
Warm-up
Throws + jumps
Begin: 0757; End: 0839; Duration: 42 minutes
Deadlift - 140x5, 175x5, 210x5 | 245x5, 280x5, 315x5, 345x5 (rep PR)
HLR - 20, 20
Dip - 75 - 14, 11
Pull-up - BW - 14, 11
Push-up - 25
BPA - red - 10 high + 10 mid + 10 low
50 1-pump burpees + 24-kg KB swings - 2x25, 25-second rest between
Assistance totals:
Push - 50 reps
Pull - 55 reps
Single-leg/core - 40 reps
Deadlifts felt pretty solid today. Still fighting machismo about straps on these 5-rep sets, and today I paid the price: had to reset my grip on both reps 4 and 5 of the top set, and was fighting that rather than the actual weight throughout both of those reps. It’s too bad, too, because the actual pulling felt strong: I had more to give. I’d like to say I’ve learned my lesson for the next TM test week, but I’m dumb and my memory is short, so I’m not making any promises.
Beyond that, everything moved well with the deadlifts. Took about 14 minutes for the work sets, with about 3 minutes rest between the first three and 5-6 between the last two. (I wanted to give my hands a rest because—go figure—I could tell my grip strength might start to falter on the last set.) Dips were atrocious today, struggled to get 14 reps on the first set. Rest of the assistance went well enough, but I was definitely fatigued by the end of the burpees + swings.
I’ve been eating like an idiot the past few days, feeling bloated. Need to right that ship, finish out the week strong, and pick up as much momentum as possible heading into BBB Beefcake next week.
13 Likes
Heh Sven congrats on the rep Pr!!
What u been eating bro?
1 Like
Thanks, my man! TM test weeks are fun for this very reason.
Question is, “What haven’t I been eating?” Haha.
Too much junk, mostly. Lots of carbs and fats—and not even reasonable ones at that—without enough protein. Won’t bother with excuses, I’ve been eating exactly what I want to be eating. I used to get derailed for weeks at a time, but not any more: enough’s enough. It’s time to get back on track, or my performance (and my physique, such as it is!) will begin to suffer.
4 Likes
7WP, TM Test - d6
Friday - 04 March 2022
Workout: Bench + extra conditioning, 1000-1100 (60 minutes)
Warm-up
Throws + jumps
Begin: 1017; End: 1048; Duration: 31 minutes
Bench - 110x5, 135x5, 165x5 | 190x5, 220x5, 245x5, 270x5 (rep PR)
Ab wheel - ramp (16) - 30
Seated DB press - 2x35 lbs - 16, 9
Chin-up - BW - 15, 10
Deficit reverse lunge - L/R - 2x20 lbs - 20
Band pushdown - red - 30
BFP - red - 30
50 1-pump burpees + 24-kg KB swings - 2x25, 25-second rest between
Assistance totals:
Push - 55 reps
Pull - 55 reps
Single-leg/core - 50 reps
Poor dog had some kind of a night terror at 0200, took about an hour to get her settled down, didn’t fall back asleep until after 0400, slept until 0640, then had to rush around to get the kiddos out the door. Crazy morning.
So, between that and the poor nutrition catching up to me, I am feeling lethargic and bloated. But I managed a good workout nonetheless: like the squats, my heavy bench isn’t particularly fast or explosive, but they were all strong reps. Might have even had another one or two in me.
I’ll finish out the week with some easy conditioning tomorrow, and then start into BBB Beefcake!
9 Likes