Going to do a little recap and forward looking on top of my normal log for this entry.
Just walked today, got 11k steps and they hurt. Amount of pain my legs feel today is exceptional, I knew it was coming but being in pain walking on flat ground is never fun. Funny thing is my legs weren’t struggling that hard during the set, my breathing, my brace, and my low back were all dying but my legs felt strong. Not today.
Anyway, that set and the nominal accessory work finished out my fake 5/3/1 block. I did 5s pro at 85% of my maxes with optional jokers (I think I did 15 or 16 joker sets out of 24 max), and widowmakers. I also did a larger than regular amount of conditioning, I don’t care enough to go back and see what I did but I used some complexes, some EMOM, some burpees and even a bit of jogging into the mix. Added in push presses instead of strict presses for the first time.
I picked these parts out of Forever because they are generally things I enjoy, so I’m not surprised I really liked this setup.
Lowering the percentage (90->85) for the main work was the right call and made this block more enjoyable, my last leader squat set before Covid/10k challenge had me hitting 390 x 5, it was a grind, it hurt, I didn’t want to jump back into that after 6 weeks of no barbell, it was the correct call. Upping my DL to a more realistic max (525) also worked nicely, this lift is finally coming a long and pushing the weight harder here helped. Not much else interesting for the main work, the 1s week top sets required focus and weren’t easy by any means but they all have room to grow.
Kind of a tangent but the clean and push press is awesome, going to keep this for a while, really surprised by my ability to incorporate these as well as I did, pushing really is where I shine.
The only sticky point for this run was mental for me, it led to me stressing about sets and running fewer jokers than maybe would’ve been ideal. Having the widowmakers floating behind the jokers was menacing, I think I played it just about right (too conservative, I’d anything) but if i do this again I’ll try to hit a few more. Bench wasn’t close to maxes but 345 for a triple still feels strong, 235 for a double on press does too. I let squat dogs lie for the most part except for a few singles which felt nice enough. Deadlifts got the most benefit here though, I think this is the second time in 2 years I’ve pulled over 455, hitting 465 for a pretty easy triple is super encouraging.
The last little bit is the widowmakers. I shit you not everyone of these had me worried, I don’t do 20 rep sets often because 20 rep sets are terrible, so I felt pretty unprepared. I wasn’t, I went 10/12 for 20 and 12/12 for 15+. I failed Push Press twice but seeing as it’s my first time programming those I’m not at all worried. Hit rep PRs of 245 (20)/ 280 (34)/335 (20)/175(15). Pretty happy across the board there, bench was a surprise, squat was the result of insanity, and deadlift felt like a culmination of some hard work.
Not planning on running this immediately but it is a fantastic blend of hard-ass sets, high intensity work, and manageable main work.
Still not sure where to go from here. I have 1 week to screw around with. I’ll probably do a grace test, a deadlift test, a bunch of conditioning and maybe one or two other hard efforts. When I get back from Seattle I’ll probably run another 5/3/1 block or two. My summer is going to suck for lifting. My partners insane load will leak into my life, I have a few small trips planned, and we’re moving. I’m also starting to jump through some promotion hoops which will require more work but hopefully will add a nice monetary benefit.
The extra stress/load makes me want to do something that I know or something that requires less time, we’ll see. After the summer ends I’m currently debating between juggernautAI for a few months, Bullmastiff, or a meadows program (Reactive Pump). Couple different directions there that I’m excited to pursue.
TL;DR legs hurt
