Thanks guys!
Is there a prowler in your gym? Iv only just started using the prowler and boi i hate running but this was a whole new kind of hate ! The prowler is an awesome conditioning tool
There is at the one at home (where I’ve done my last two workouts) but for some reason they’ve separated the turfed area I normally use it on so it’s only like 5m long and not really long enough to use.
Running is just something I want to get better at in general so I think I’ll do this each week and push a prowler or do hill sprints on another day.
1 Like
You could load it up real heavy and go as fast as you can although thered be a lot of turning around.[quote=“caesium32, post:525, topic:221425”]
Running is just something I want to get better at in general so I think I’ll do this each week and push a prowler or do hill sprints on another day.
[/quote]
Fair enough, have you ever tried uphill bike sprints? Thats killer as well.
My gym doesn’t have too long a stretch for my prowler so it just sits there gathering dust. Poor thing.
2 Likes
Yeah I’ll just wait and see what they do with it, I can find a way to improvise if I need to.
Biking uphill always kills my quads.
1 Like
Well at least its a virgin then i guess
I was bored last night so I made an excel spreadsheet to plan my training for the next four cycles. It is much easier to be able to quickly read off my numbers for the day rounded to the nearest 2.5kg than work them out on my phone before the workout or mid set.
Looking at the numbers, particularly for the third BBB cycle, I’m not sure whether to keep my TMs the same at the end of this cycle instead of increasing them or even consider lowering them. Part of me is saying be smart and keep them as they are and part wants to go for the heavier weight. Increasing them will see me hitting PRs in everything but the squat on my last 5s Pro set whereas leaving them will see me match them.
Thinking about it as I write this I think leaving them as they are is the best option of the three. I’ll match three of my current 5RMs which will hopefully be fairly easy by then but still be handling weight which should be manageable. The other thing is I’ll be going for 5RMs in the weeks after as part of WS4SB so there’s no rush. I’ve also been looking at it all in terms of what I could do now so providing I get stronger by then things should go smoothly. Only other change is I’ve moved the 50 reps of rows to day four instead of three just because I get through overhead presses quicker than deadlifts and it’ll be slightly easier.
BW: 86.7kg
Not too bad, about where I left off before things went a bit off the rails. Should hopefully come down a little more over the next couple of weeks.
3 Likes
08/07/17
Squat (TM-90):
3x5x20, 5x40, 5x60, 5x70, 5x75
Felt quite slow and heavy again, which I’m hoping is just a bad day, but the best they have technically in a while.
Overhead press (TM-40):
2x5x20, 5x25, 5x30, 8x35, 8x25
Again felt quite heavy confirming I am having a bit of a bad day lifting wise, maybe because it was early. Right trap started cramping on the last two sets too which really didn’t help.
Deadlift (TM-105):
2x5x60, 5x70, 5x80, 5x90, 3x3x70 (snatch grip)
Not the worst and not the best but again felt good technically which is more important. Snatch grip deadlifts were easier and less awkward than I expected.
5 Likes
Been thinking some more about future training and looking at the big picture. I’ve plotted out a few training cycles in excel which I think could work well for a while and I might try for several months next year. They are the following:
Cycle 1: 5s PRO main work then 5X5 FSL deadlifts and 50% BBB for other lifts with minimal other assistance- probably rows on upper body and core work on lower. Twenty minutes easier conditioning at the end of upper workouts and an extra day of harder conditioning. Focus of this cycle is conditioning. Deload at end of cycle.
Cycle 2: 5s PRO main then 5x5 FSL deadlifts and FSL BBB for other lifts, again with minimal assistance. Conditioning cut back to ten minutes of easier stuff at the end of upper days. More of a strength building cycle. Deload at end of this cycle too.
Cycle 3: PR sets with 3x5 FSL all lifts with slightly increased assistance, probably ~50 reps from each category each workout. Conditioning same as cycle two. This is more testing focused using what I built in the previous cycles. Not sure about whether to deload here, I’d probably just see how I felt as I got on.
Would then start back at cycle 1 and repeat. TM would start low (80-85%) and reset it using something like five forward, three backward or maybe just two runs through of this then go back a run through like TMs for cycle 7 are the same as for cycle 4.
This is inspired a lot by what I’ve heard about 5/3/1 recently. It’s not perfect and buying the book will probably help more but it’s what I’ve been thinking about with training in the future. May do some cycles back to back instead and change a few things slightly but I think it covers most aspects of training well. I wouldn’t attempt it unless in a calorie surplus and managing my recovery well.
Also after reading the four seasons of lifting articles by CT I’m considering an annual ‘cut’ sort of thing from around April/May to July and then to try and slowly gain weight the rest of the year. My thinking is this should keep me in check and hopefully looking reasonable. It’d be in my last term of university where I make all my own meals so it’d be my best time to lose a bit of weight and I’ll have exams so it’s also a good time to back off training a little. Again it could all change but it’s good to have my thoughts written down.
5 Likes
10/07/17
Squat (TM-90):
2x5x20, 5x40, 5x60, 5x70, 5x80, 3x5x60 (3 ct pause)
These felt the best they have in a while both in terms of speed and technique so I’m happy about that. A guy squatting next to me started talking to me about pause squats and asking me how I found them. He also said he was into powerlifting and that my squat looked good which was nice. Hopefully we get talking again because I could probably learn something from him.
Dumbell bench press superset with dumbell rows:
Both 5x10x17.5
Did a set of ten hanging leg raises in the leg raise apparatus thing and then finished. My friend came with me for the first time since last September and he was taking his time between sets and then I was talking to that guy too so this took about 45 minutes and I’d already spent 15 minutes waiting for him to sign up so we didn’t have time to do anymore. I would have like to do some sort of assistance giant set just to finish off but it’s not a big deal. I’m looking forward to each training session at the minute which is really good.
2 Likes
12/07/17
Bench press (TM-72.5):
2x10x20, 5x40, 5x50, 5x57.5, 10x65, 10x45
Superset with: 4x10 band pull aparts and 2 chins
Ten reps with 65kg ties a PR but I think I slept funny and my chest felt really tight so things were a bit off. To match my PR anyway is definitely a good sign though, I’m confident at least 12 reps would be there usually.
Squat (TM-90):
2x5x20, 5x40, 5x60, 5x70, 5x75
Superset with: 6x10 band pull aparts and 12 chins
Squats felt strong today but slightly uncomfortable in my hip so I think I need to stretch out a little bit. Chins felt easier this week and I was able to do sets of two.
Lat pull-down: 50 reps
Sled push: 5x20mx20
I felt tired after benching for some reason so I really didn’t want to run on the treadmill because it’s one of the most boring things I can think of. Instead I pushed the sled. All of it was done with no rest other than to move the handles to the other side when I changed direction. They’ve put a new turf down in the gym to push it on which is really thick and it makes it really hard to push which is why I went so light. Heart was going pretty fast by the end and I was even more tired so it did its job.
BW: 87.0kg
Losing weight doesn’t seem to be going very well but I do feel like I’m slightly leaner so maybe I’ve done more of a recomp. At the beginning of this I wanted to try cutting down without tracking macros but I don’t think I’m able to- at least I know for next time.
2 Likes
Amy time I’ve used to sled instead of something else because it seems quicker or less boring I always end up thinking I’m an idiot. Usually, around the time I nearly puke and start tasting metal.
2 Likes
Are you doing the 5/3/1 original full body program?
Maybe I’ve mentioned this to you before, but this guy ran it for a full year. Great results!
2 Likes
I don’t think I’ve pushed it that hard yet, it’s difficult to over such a short distance and the surface it’s on. There’s two little bumps along it where it gets stuck so the whole run is limited a lot by getting over those unfortunately.
Running I find difficult mentally, I think because it’s so boring, it just becomes a mental battle with myself and there’s nothing to distract me.
2 Likes
I don’t know if it was you but someone definitely suggested it to me and I’ve read about half, it’s very interesting. Thank you anyway!
1 Like
So after a bit more thinking and fiddling around I’ve settled on exactly what I’m going to do for the three upcoming BBB cycles. I feel better having everything well planned out and I’m very excited to start them. I’ll write it out below both for myself and anyone that cares.
Day 1
Squat 5s PRO superset with chins
Squat BBB superset with chins and ab wheel rollouts
Dumbell incline press (25 reps)
Day 2
Bench 5s PRO superset with pull aparts
Bench BBB superset with pull aparts
Barbell rows (5x5) superset with kettlebell swings (25 reps)
Sled (10 minutes)
Day 3
Deadlift 5s PRO superset with chins
Deadlift 5x5 FSL superset with chins
Press ups (25 reps) superset with lying leg raises (25 reps)
Day 4
Overhead press 5s PRO superset with pull aparts
Overhead press BBB superset with pull aparts
Dumbell rows (5x10 ramping) superset with split squats (25 reps)
Sled (10 minutes)
The only thing that’s changed since I last mentioned it is the assistance. I’ve brought a lot of it down from 50 reps to 25 and increased the frequency slightly in line with Jim’s more recent recommendations. I’ll be hitting abs, push assistance, lower assistance and using the sled twice weekly and do some sort of pulling every day which will work nicely. Chins will start at one or two reps each set and hopefully work up to sets of three across for 24 total reps- pull aparts I’ll just do sets of ten because you can’t really overdo those. Kettlebell swings I will do in sets of five and focus on them being as explosive as possible. I’ll probably do split squats and the roll outs as five sets of five too just to match up with the other stuff.
The main thing I’ve learnt with assistance, especially with an already challenging program, is not to push it. When I did hardgainers if I had 50 reps to do I’d start with 5x10 and push to near failure trying to get it done in three sets each week and as soon as I could I’d up the weight. In comparison, now I like to using something light and easy, take my time with the reps and try to feel the muscles working and I think as a result I’ll recover much better.
5 Likes
15/07/17
The quickest workout of my life
Entered gym at 15:36
Deadlift (TM-105):
5x20, 5x60, 5x75, 5x85, 5x95
Superset with
Overhead press:
5x20, 5x30, 5x35, 2x5x30
Left gym at 15:49
To explain; I didn’t realise the time and only set off for the gym, which is a 15 minute walk away, at 15:20 and had to be back for work at 16:30 which only gave me 40 minutes at the gym. Then as I got there at I realised it closed at 16:00 so I had even less time. I did everything as a circuit, basically change weights-deadlift-overhead press-repeat. I didn’t go for a PR set or even follow 5/3/1 for overhead press just because I didn’t want to mess around figuring out the weights but I still did a decent amount of work.
Ended up being a productive workout and shows what you can get done if you push the tempo.
4 Likes
A similar thing happened to me! That’s the advantage of 531, you can nail the main work pretty fast. I can’t imagine doing that on 5x5 aha
2 Likes
Yeah I agree. I think the TM helps a lot too in being able to rush through it.
1 Like