Week 49
5/3/1 Wave 9 Week 1
Wow, somehow a couple days behind updating, but work has been busy and late night workouts are not my favorite. This is for Thursday.
Deadlift
245 x 5
280 x 5
315 x 8
Hook grip again, not too bad on the first two sets using conventional grip though.
GMs
110 x 5 x 10
And skipped abs b/c it was late and I was super hungry.
Week 49
5/3/1 Wave 9 Week 1
SOHP
105 x 5
120 x 5
135 x 5
Chin-ups
5 x 5
CG bench
135 x 4 x 10
Just quit early b/c once again I got off work late and was super hungry.
Week 50
5/3/1 Wave 9 Week 2
Squat
220 x 3
250 x 3
280 x 7
Last rep was kinda sketch, had some forward lean and called the set. This was a 6:30am workout which changed the feel up a bit. In order to make it to work on time I supersetted the supplemental lifts. Dropped weight accordingly.
Leg press
360 x 5 x 10
Leg curl
80 x 5 x 10
Didn’t get much food pre-workout, probably affected energy levels, but the reps on the last squat set were what I was targeting.
Weight, 192.2.
Week 50
5/3/1 Wave 9 Week 2
Deadlift
260 x 3
300 x 3
335 x 6
I actually don’t remember if it was 6 or 7 but it doesn’t really matter. Early morning workout wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Will somehow try to get my bench and SOHP days in, but it might crossover to next week.
GMs
111 x 5 x 10
Had to use 15kg plates just b/c of the squat rack I was in. Glad to know it’s where I wanted to do the lift at anyway.
Week 51
5/3/1 Wave 9 Week 3
Wow, last week was kinda fucked due to work schedules. Skipped bench and SOHP day, gonna try to do the week 3 workouts and see how it goes. Got to the gym 30 minutes before close so I only did squats and some front squats just for shits.
Squats
235 x 5
265 x 3
295 x 3
Thought I could have gotten 4 or more, but a lot of things were against my favor, time of day, no food/dinner, fast(er) warm-up. Oh well, not bad.
Front squats
135 x 3 x 8
Just did these b/c they’re fun to do and they were shutting the lights down at the gym.
Weight: 190.2
Week 51
5/3/1 Wave 9 Week 3
Bench
205 x 5
230 x 3
260 x 3
Ya so, kinda expected more, then realized I had no idea what to expect since I skipped the week 2 workout. Not bad, was a decent struggle on the last two but it’s good enough to increase for the next wave.
DB rows
75 x 10
75 x 10
75 x 10
80 x 10
80 x 10
DB press
60 x 4 x 10
60 x 8
Last set got to me. Was in a rush to get home and eat dinner so a longer break probably would have let me finish 10 reps.
Week 51
5/3/1 Wave 9 Week 3
Deadlift
280 x 5
315 x 3
355 x 4
Not bad, definitely called it at four instead of going for broke just to play it safe. I now know that 315 with no hook grip for 3 reps is no problem. I probably should have done the first couple reps with regular grip and then switched to hook if I needed it.
Unfortunately will be moving to a new unknown gym next week b/c of moving apartments. Pretty sad day b/c Quads Gym was probably the best gym I’ve ever been to.
GMs
121 x 5 x 10
Weird weight b/c of the 15kg plates plus fives.
Foam rolled, felt great.
Week 52
5/3/1 Wave 9 Deload
So, due to working 9-9 and being lazy, my deload turned into a do nothing except move into a new apartment and work a lot week. One night (Thursday) I tried to do an apartment workout which consisted of some push-ups and trying out overhead squats with no weight. It was actually pretty fun, definitely need more flexibility to do real overhead squats. Did some thorough foam rolling and picked up a rolling pin as well.
Week 53
5/3/1 Wave 10 Week 1
Doing a one-week free trial at XSport gym in Chicago. It’s a giant commercial gym, but is pretty nice and even their month to month rate is about as cheap as my full year rate at Quads. Quads will probably be my all time favorite gym, but XSport is pretty nice. They have a ton of shit I’ll never use, but what’s key is the free 2 hour parking and it’s big enough that crowding shouldn’t be a big deal.
Squat day was 9/6/10 just logging it now.
Squat
210 x 5
240 x 5
275 x 6
Kinda shittier than I was planning for, but I was pretty tired from drinking all weekend, rode my bike a couple miles there, general bullshit excuses, etc… I hope to do at least 5-6 with 290 next week.
Front squats
135 x 5 x 8
Just decided to do front squats just for shits. Was fairly difficult with the 1:30 to 1:45 break between sets. The real reason I did front squats was because I didn’t want to wait for the leg press to free up.
Leg curls
90 x 10
75 x 10
75 x 10
75 x 10
75 x 10
Still a struggle. But as long as I keep squatting and pulling more I don’t really give a shit.
Week 53
5/3/1 Wave 10 Week 1
Bench
180 x 5
210 x 5
235 x 6
Did 7 reps, but had a spotter to an unknown degree on the last one. Was definitely a grinding rep. A little disappointed with this set, but I think I should get 4-5 with 250 next week.
DB row
75 x 5 x 10
For some reason the benches don’t have enough clearance to roll the db’s under. All of the benches. Fuckin weak. Or maybe I’m fuckin weak for complaining about having to carry the db over the bench. Or too short term lazy to just get both dumbbells and have one on each side.
DB press
60 x 5 x 10
Nothing special here, though I had 4 minutes rest between a couple sets b/c of seeing an old IU friend and catching up on random shit.
Week 53
5/3/1 Wave 10 Week 1
This workout was done on 9/9/10
Deadlift
250 x 5
285 x 5
325 x 8
First deadlift workout at new gym, was a bit odd b/c all they have are hexagonal plates which can lead to some awkwardness when I try to pause between reps. Also, didn’t have chalk to bring so I went with straps, which is a little against my principles but shit happens. Bar diameter was also a little bit thicker than normal b/c I tried to hook grip and it felt physically impossible. Decent workout though, excited for 345 and 365 coming up.
GMs
115 x 10
115 x 10
115 x 10
125 x 10
135 x 10
Probably going to just start using 135 next week.
Week 53
5/3/1 Wave 10 Week 2
As a recap, skipped SOHP day due to driving immediately after work to visit family. Clearly this is not a priority as I’ve skipped SOHP day a lot this year. Results show for it as well, b/c I suck at lot at SOHP. Next cycle might switch my week up to start with SOHP and get it more focus.
Squats
225 x 3
260 x 3
290 x 3
Pretty unhappy with this outcome tonight, but it wasn’t unexpected given how my lead up sets felt. Pretty confident about 305 next week and being able to get at least 2, but this might be the sign that I can increase for one more cycle before taking a break and maybe two steps back.
Front squat
135 x 10
135 x 8
135 x 10
135 x 10
135 x 10
This is a little deceptive b/c after the first set of 10, I thought I was going to die, so only did 8 reps on the second set. Then saw a college friend who was chatty as shit, so I had a 4 minute break between the second and third sets instead of 90 seconds. Same thing happened with the fourth set. No way in hell I would have made it with regular rest periods.
Leg curl
70 x 5 x 10
Took about 60-80 seconds between sets. Pretty easy sets, but I’m not trying to push myself to the limit so it doesn’t matter.
Week 54
5/3/1 Wave 10 Week 2
Bench
195 x 3
220 x 3
250 x 3
Actually I grinded out a fourth rep, but a spotter touched the bar for an extra push at a mid-way sticking point. Kinda disappointed in this performance until I realized that I skipped this workout on the last cycle, so I didn’t really have a benchmark. Hoping to get 2-3 at 265 next week. I think I might be good for at least 3 reps at 265 if I have better speed by getting into a better groove starting. Maybe not working from 9-8pm before a difficult workout would also be helpful.
DB rows
75 x 5 x 10
DB press
60 x 5 x 10
Last set was a tough one with 90 second breaks between the rest.
Did some home foam rolling and planks.
Week 54
5/3/1 Wave 10 Week 2
I’m getting really inconsistent about updating this, gotta fix that. Below workout was done on 9/16/10. I skipped my SOHP day again, which is not good. Realized that starting to study for the level I CFA exam in December is probably going to be a terrible idea when combined with trying to work out and having a 60 hour workweek. Some compromises are going to be made, not sure where yet, clearly SOHP has been a casualty.
Deadlift
270 x 3
305 x 3
245 x 5
This was awkward, I actually used straps on 345. Took a couple pause reps, but had to get totally reset b/c I only have access to hex plates which are not ideal for deadlifting. I tried to use chalk and a hook grip, but the barbell was thicker than my “old” gym barbell and that wasn’t working out. I didn’t think of using alternating grip at all until after I left the gym. Might start to try that grip out since I’ve never done it before.
GMs
135 x 5 x 10
Week 55
5/3/1 Wave 10 Week 3
Squat
240 x 5
275 x 3
305 x 1
So, decided to play it safe and do just one rep. Wasn’t feeling 100% on knocking out the second one and I wasn’t able to visualize it beforehand so I guess I knew what was coming. I think I’m going to go for one more increase cycle in 5/3/1 and then maybe take a month off and do something else. I don’t think I can make the minimum reps if I go past another cycle (well maybe in DLs, but not everything else).
Front squats
135 x 8
135 x 8
155 x 8
155 x 8
155 x 8
Not bad, I probably will push myself more on these in the future. I think the reason that I was doing lighter weight with these was being burnt out on squatting from the work sets.
Leg curl
70 x 10
80 x 10
80 x 10
90 x 10
90 x 10
Again, think this is a product of not doing as many work sets today in squats as I had been in the past couple weeks.
Week 55
5/3/1 Wave 10 Week 3
Hmm, somehow double posted and don’t know how to delete it. Oh well, this edit will stick around I guess.
Week 55
5/3/1 Wave 10 Week 3
Bench
210 x 5
235 x 3
265 x 2
Not as bad as I thought it would be. Clean first rep, bit of a grind/struggle on the second but I was happy to get it. Not sure what I’m going to do after deload week, either stop lifting for a month to study for the CFA exam or try to do some vertical jump / GPP work. Basically I think I’m at my limit for 5/3/1 and will need to reset at some lower maxes. Also the 60 hour work weeks have been pretty rough after being unemployed for a year. I’m considering doing some higher rep work, but I don’t think I’ll really feel motivated to lift like that. I’ll probably end up doing some GPP/mobility work and throw in exercises I like to do but don’t like bent over rows.
DB rows
75 x 5 x 10
DB press
60 x 4 x 10
I think I did five sets, but not sure so I’ll mark it as four.
Week 55
5/3/1 Wave 10 Week 3
This workout was done on 9/25/10. Just been busy/lazy with updating.
Deadlift
285 x 5
325 x 3
365 x 5
Was pretty happy with this outcome. I was really unsure of how it would go because 325 felt really heavy. It was actually pretty easy once I got psyched for it and had some low key grunting during reps. Nothing louder than what someone working hard would sound like, but louder than my traditional no noise during reps.
Gonna take this deload week and then maybe take 4-6 weeks off from 5/3/1 to study for a CFA level I exam in early December. Basically I’m pretty sure my body is burnt out from trying to work a lot and work out at a decently intense level. Not sure if I’m really going to take time off or just do some random work that I wanted to do but didn’t fit in with 5/3/1.
As a home workout for deload week, today I just did some practice OH squats holding a foam roller and just trying to get keep it in a good position. Also worked on stretching at the bottom of the squat position. Gotta figure out a “plan” but I think it’ll involve doing work I don’t normally do i.e. heavy front squats, more SOHP, heavy GMs, overhead squats, in addition to trying to increase hip and ankle flexibility. Possibly actually doing some jumping work for my goal to touch the rim by the end of this year (not a high goal I know, but whatever).
As for the end of the Saturday workout:
GMs
145 x 5 x 10
Week 56
Workout was done on 10/2/10
Front Squats
185 x 5 x 5
Practiced OH squats with the bar. Not sure how many sets of 6 I did, probably like 4-5. Then I went home. Need to get a better plan in place, wasn’t really feeling like doing other exercises so I just left.
OH squatting was pretty interesting though, definitely need to improve the shoulder flexibility/stability. I think the game plan is going to be just do random stuff for 3 weeks and then see about starting 5/3/1 again with lower bench, squat, and SOHP numbers and increase on deadlifts. Random stuff will include some cardio, but I definitely need a planned break to get some CFA studying done.
Week 57
Yeah definitely getting behind on the updates.
Workout 10/9/10
Front squats
185 x 3
205 x 3
205 x 3
205 x 3
215 x 3
215 x 3
Did some OH squats, probably 5 sets of 4-6 reps with the bar. Getting better shoulder flexibility and better at staying upright.
Leg curls
90 x 10
100 x 10
110 x 10
120 x 10
Weird leg curl day, I guess just b/c I had done front squats instead of full and the sets were so short.
Did some foam rolling and planks.