Bringing 5/3/1 to Powerful Women

Training
101

[quote]Oleena wrote:

Okay, I have to confess that I’m not really doing crossfit this month . The truth is that I got bored, was running into problems with soreness interfering with lifting, and wanted to try doing the first assistance exercise workout Wendler has listed German Volume Training style (ten total sets, 1 minute inbetween each). I will try using the metcons once I get bored of this assistance work. Right now I’m just happy that I’m going into my second month of a program without feeling to urge to drop it.[/quote]

Oh! You have training ADHD too. I completely understand that. I fight that constantly. I have his training manual but I don’t remember his GVT set up. I need to go reread and find that one.

102

[quote]celibrate2047 wrote:

[quote]Oleena wrote:

Okay, I have to confess that I’m not really doing crossfit this month . The truth is that I got bored, was running into problems with soreness interfering with lifting, and wanted to try doing the first assistance exercise workout Wendler has listed German Volume Training style (ten total sets, 1 minute inbetween each). I will try using the metcons once I get bored of this assistance work. Right now I’m just happy that I’m going into my second month of a program without feeling to urge to drop it.[/quote]

Oh! You have training ADHD too. I completely understand that. I fight that constantly. I have his training manual but I don’t remember his GVT set up. I need to go reread and find that one.[/quote]

Yes training ADHD… and probably ADHD in general. It’s the first assistance exercise plan he has lifted, and I just added the minute inbetween, and then realized that it was 10 sets of 10 with a minute inbetween=german volume training.

Today I did:
Squat:
120x5
140x5
160x7 <<<Now this wasn’t as high as I was hoping for, but according to the rep calculator, it comes out to a 197lb max, whereas what I did two weeks ago came out to a 192 max, so apparently this is an improvement. I then completed

115x10 reps x5 sets with a minute inbetween, up until the 5th set where I took a longer break because I was pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to do all ten if I didn’t. I then did glute-ham raises 5sets of 5 reps each because these are hard!

I’m planning on doing 20 minutes of HITT later tonight, and then spending a good portion of time foam rolling and stretching (esp the hip flexors, which get really tight every time I do high reps of ass-to-grass squats)

BTW, I’ve also been doing a lot of recipe experimentation, and sweet potato fries are my new favorite carb source. According to some information I was reading online, sweet potatos have anti-inflammatory properties, are a great source of complex carbs, and have a decent amount of fiber.

Here’s what I’ve been doing with them:

Ingredients:
2 sweet potatos raw
1 tablespoon olive oil
a dash of salt or salt substitute
pepper (generous amount)
cayenne pepper powder (light dash)
garlic powder (generous amount)

peel and cut sweet potatos into french-fry-like pieces and toss in large bowl with other ingrediants until evenly coated. Dump onto baking try (I ran a paper towel with a little olive oil over the surface first to prevent things from sticking), and spread out. Bake at 400 degrees F. until potatos are golden with crispy edges. I’m still experimenting with how to get the potatoes crunchy without carmelizing the sugar. However, let me say that they still taste amazing even without the crunch.

103

Is this out of his new manual? I have the original one and flipped through it and couldn’t find it. I know he had one that was titled ‘Big but Boring’ in which you did a 5x10 with 50-55%. But you supersetted two movements like bench and row, etc

So is the same type of set up but if you’re benching, you pick bench and hit it at 50% for a 10x10 with a minute rest between sets?

104

[quote]celibrate2047 wrote:
Is this out of his new manual? I have the original one and flipped through it and couldn’t find it. I know he had one that was titled ‘Big but Boring’ in which you did a 5x10 with 50-55%. But you supersetted two movements like bench and row, etc

So is the same type of set up but if you’re benching, you pick bench and hit it at 50% for a 10x10 with a minute rest between sets?[/quote]

I wasn’t supersetting; I completed 5 sets of 10 reps of bench at 50% with a minute inbetween and then 5 sets of 10 pushups with a minute inbetween. So it came out to be ten total sets of 10 reps (although two different exercises). I’m still not sure how well this is going to work. You should let me test it out for a month before you try it :wink:

So far I can only say that it makes you sweat like a bitch and extremely sore.

105

Okay. Seriously, I’m so sore today that I have to put my hands down first on the toilet seat and lower myself down slowly to take a shit. Just thought you’d all like to know.

106

OHP:
60x3
65x3
75x5

Well, that’s one more rep at 75 than I did last month. I have to say that I’m still learning how to do this lift.

then: 50lb OHPx10 reps w/1 min inbetween- 10,10,10,6,6

Pullups w/1min inbetween:

10,6,3,4,4

107

Wow, I’m so jealous of your pullups! I can’t imagine getting up to ten, no less following them four more sets.

Good stuff!

108

[quote]Mascherano wrote:
Wow, I’m so jealous of your pullups! I can’t imagine getting up to ten, no less following them four more sets.

Good stuff![/quote]

Thanks! Pullups are something that I’ve found come pretty fast if you practice them on a regular basis. I started with about 90lbs of assistance and worked up to a full pullup over the course of a couple months. From then on they were a “breeze”. I’d like to get up to twenty in a row. That’s probably a few more months away, though.

Today I made the mistake of experimenting with a beer bread recipe and eatting half the resulting product about an hour before hitting the gym. It wasn’t all the way cooked through, and made me feel nasty for about two hours (almost drunk, but mostly nauseous. Lovely stuff!)

I still managed to set another PR, but decided to cut out the assistance work for today.

Deadlift:
140x3
160x3
180x13 << Didn’t think I was going to make it but had just recieved a disappointment a little earlier and decided that I couldn’t bare it if I also disappointed myself. I feel a little better now.

109

Curious, why 140 and 160…just love chips?

110

[quote]rcfromdb wrote:
Curious, why 140 and 160…just love chips?[/quote]

Okay I have to admit I’m not sure what you mean by “chips”. Are you making a jab at how low the weight is, or why I picked those numbers, or my need to use the two point five baby plates to hit them…?

This is the second week of the second month of the 5-3-1 program. The 140 is .7 of the max I’m using (203, which is 10lbs more than the max I used last month, which was 90% of my actual max via the rep calculator Wendler has). 160 is .8 and the 180 is .9 . I am of course rounding. I hope that answers your question, since I’m not exactly sure what it was.

111

I see what you’re doing and that’s perfect execution of 5/3/1 - a stellar program. “Chips” is, at least in the gyms I’ve worked in, a nickname of sorts for 2.5lb plates - it was by no means a jab at your weights, 203 is a very respectable max! I suppose I meant that you were precise in adding chips to hit exactly the numbers as opposed to simply doing 135 and 155 and I was curious as to your thinking in that regard. Thanks!

112

[quote]rcfromdb wrote:
I see what you’re doing and that’s perfect execution of 5/3/1 - a stellar program. “Chips” is, at least in the gyms I’ve worked in, a nickname of sorts for 2.5lb plates - it was by no means a jab at your weights, 203 is a very respectable max! I suppose I meant that you were precise in adding chips to hit exactly the numbers as opposed to simply doing 135 and 155 and I was curious as to your thinking in that regard. Thanks! [/quote]

Ha. I call them the “baby plates” and joke that they have the same effect as a kitten standing next to a tiger- no matter how badass the first looks, the second brings it down a knotch. But they allow me to make smaller jumps which will hopefully equate with making progress for a longer period of time.

Today was my second week of bench, and I think I’m starting to experience the benefits of the 5 sets of ten make-you-sore-for-a-week program that Wendler recommends. I put over 5lbs on my bench in a week!

85lbsx3
100lbsx3
110x10!!! <<< Last week I did 9 reps at 105!!! New max via rep calculator=146

I then complete all of my 5 sets of 10 with a minute inbetween at 75lbs. Last week I didn’t make it past the second set. Also, I completed 4 sets of 10 pushups with a minute inbetween and then failed at 8 on the last set.

113

Today:

120x3
150x3
170x2<<<< Yeah. Last month I did 4 at 170. I was feeling pretty weak today, especially during the following five sets of 10 squats each at 115. I ended up putting more rest time between them than the week before.

I have two guesses as to what’s going on: 1. I didn’t recover enough in the last week. Last night I didn’t get enough sleep, plus I’ve been eatting a little less. So my plan for the following 5 days is to eat 2500+ calories per day and work on the sleep thing. or 2. The 5 sets of 10 squats plus HITT cardio later on in the week is too much.

Any other ideas would be welcomed.

114

Could there be anything else limiting you?

warming up, stretching, already sore, recovery…that kinda thing…

The extra exercises you are doing, is the before, during or after your working sets?

115

[quote]mom-in-MD wrote:
Could there be anything else limiting you?

warming up, stretching, already sore, recovery…that kinda thing…

The extra exercises you are doing, is the before, during or after your working sets?[/quote]

There were two other things. I didn’t do my normal general warm up because it was crowded at the time and there are only two squat racks at my gym so I had to claim it or possibly wait another half an hour (which would have put me back in the same place in terms of being warmed up). I wasn’t sore, although as I said I probably wasn’t in optimal condition in terms of sleep and food (regarding the food, I had eatten enough that day, but probably not enough over the course of the week to make the gain).

It was also the first day of my time of the month. I’m not sure how much difference that makes for other people. I don’t think I’ve ever lifted specifically on that day (although I have lifted on the days that follow and it doesn’t seem to effect me much).

I do the other exercises about 5-10 minutes after the 531 working sets.

116

Today:

OHP:
60x5
70x3
80x2

55lb overhead press

10,10,10,8,6

Pullups:

10,7,2,3,3

117

PS. Why are people so impressed with women who can do pullups? I had a guy follow me down the street after I left the gym inquiring about whether I was a gymnast and going on about them. I told him they were easy if you have a decent body fat %.

The best thing about coming on here is seeing all of the women kicking my ass at all of the lifts because if I listened to the weaklings at the gym, I’d start thinking I was doing good. However, reading your logs always reminds me of how far I have to go before the word “good” can even come into play. Thank you.

118

haha yeah! If I listened to my friends and coworkers bragging I’d think I was the hulk. We come here to stay honest and motivated and strive. Keep striving!

119

actually those pullups have seriously surpassed “good”. killer!

we need an oleena pullup vid.

120

is the 55 ohp dbs or a bb?