Shit…I’m repeating everything the same each week. So I only ever do deadlift/press once a week and to bench/squat twice a week. So, I should be doing A/B/A/B/A/B…correct?
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That’s my understanding, it would probably make a huge difference in your recovery and results by going ABA BAB and so-on. You’ve still gotten results the way you’re running it, so you haven’t wasted any time, but you should go to the correct ABA BAB pattern to get the most benefit outta the program. Chalk it up to experience 
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I do cardio on my off days. I’m not really logging those here. I do about ~75 min on an exercise bike at a very moderate pace. I don’t push myself much. I just watch YouTube and cycle. I just go until the bike says I burned 400 calories. I feel it helps with my sleep though. I feel more tired, so I don’t want to stop. Plus I’m very sedentary with this quarantine crap.
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Same here. You’re probably good then. I just know for me, some quick indicators when my cardio is lacking is some of the things you mentioned. You’re also doing twice as much as I ever do, though, so your cardio probably isn’t lacking.
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Actually, I did it based on this spreadsheet: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B47K6cmzK2u6R1hDbHhNWUZsZWM/view
It seems to suggest deadlift/press once a week.
Here too on Jim Wendler’s page it implies the same:
It seems a bit ambigious so I asked in the 5/3/1 forum.
Oh yeah, also I train at lunch or after work. From past experience I tend to have poor workouts first in the morning. When I wake up early I tend to still lay in bed. I still feel like it’s a form of rest/recovery just laying there. Today I had an Americano pre-workout, which I felt offset sleepiness. Although, I wasn’t sleepy today anyway. Ate some figs between deadlifts and bench for carb energy.
Based on this response it’s not ABA BAB…so I am suppose to just do deadlift/press once a week.
But maybe I should experiment with ABA BAB…
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You withdrew the question but the answer is no: stopping to catch your breath after 20 reps of squats does not mean your set is over. Later on, if the weight is heavy enough you will probably stop for breaths on sets of…say, 8.
Okay, thanks. Thought it might be a dumb question after the fact but thanks for clarifying.
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I plan to start doing hill sprints next week though. I have a hill close by. I figure that’ll be more intense than my usual cardio but since the book recommends it should be fine.
What do you recommend in terms of rows? I added the dumbbell rows. More reps? Different type of rows? Or rows on more days?
OK, this is my form on dips. I think I’m leaning too forward in the first video though.
I had one other question…should I bother with creatine at this point? I was going to consider using it once I start to really plateau. I figure save it for then so I have a “trick up my sleeve” to help get through the plateau. Maybe dumb logic, but that’s my rational.
Are you in a place where it’s easily affordable? (Not that it’s thousands per container or anything.)
Never used it myself, and I’m still not even sure what it’s for, but unless you have money to blow, I’d say just keep training hard and eating right. You’re already making progress - just keep it up.
If it ain’t broke!
I can afford it and I think the stuff is pretty cheap. I actually want to test it’s efficacy by seeing if once I plateau hard will it make a difference introducing it. I’ve heard some people don’t respond to it but not I sure how accurate that is. I tried it once before a long time ago but I think my diet and workout plan was non-sensical back then…so hard to judge it.
Creatine is one of the most studied supplement out there. It’s not anything like steroids, but it will most likely help you get a couple extra reps in which can add up to more gains over time. 5mg/ day is all you need. You can load it, but I’ve had major hydration issues doing that.
DB rows are great, BB row too. One day chins/pull ups one day DB one day BB.
If you want to keep the curls do it as a superset with the rows.
I would just do a lot of back work. Those are not muscles you can see in the mirror and many people forget them. Your back should be strong as shit to bench a lot,
You should row as many reps as you press (bench, OHP dip, pushup)
Do the program as Jim wrote it. He knows his shit.
DL once a week is mighty fine. Squat and bench twice is good as well.
By now you’ve got a lot of advise, basically everybody says: “calm down, you’re on the right path”
You’ve found out you’re not as strong Friday as you are Monday, embrace it, work WITH it not against it.
I said it before make Friday Bench a day where ALL the reps are done with a 2 count pause at the chest, that way you don’t have to beat or compare Friday to Monday.
You’re doing good, you just need to settle down and stop worrying. Get under the bar, feel how the bar moves some days it moves like shit, those days happen, some days it just feels like there’s no weight on the bar. Don’t compare the two days. Be happy when that stellar day comes around, and forget the bad days. Most days are in between.
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I’m biased because I respond pretty well to creatine, but I think it’s a good idea if it’s cheap enough where you live. Super safe, just make sure you get enough water.
These have good ROM. Keep it up. If it gets too easy slow down the negative.
Deadlifts
70% 155 1 3
80% 175 1 3
90% 197.5 1 3+ (20 reps)
70% 155 5 5
Press
70% 75 1 3
80% 85 1 3
90% 97.5 1 3+ (9 reps)
70% 75 5 5
Assistance
Incline DB bench: 35 lbs - 5x10 (1 min rest)
Chin-ups: 5x10 (working on better ROM)
Ab roller: 4x20 (doing at night)
Notes:
- Experimented with energy drink preworkout. I think it helped with deadlift.
- Will perform ab workout during night time stretching. Trying to cut down on time of workout.