Crash's Training Log

Training Training Logs
1

Name: Rob
Height: 5’ 11"
Weight: 70KG - 155 Lbs
BMR: 1795
Daily calories to maintain weight: 2783
Body fat %: Probably about 10% give or take 2% (probably give). I will find out properly ASAP.

So to give a bit of a back story, my mate Dave (username: Oregand) slowly converted me to the ways of Weightlifting. I am one of those High-Metabolism/finds it hard to gain weight type of people.

I read Jim Wendlers 5/3/1 and really enjoyed that book. I have just started my second cycle of the program, however, I have decided to stop and concentrate on more volume based lifting so I can develop a good -base strength- as I know as a beginner I have a big potential and opportunity to make some decent gains in the first while. Basically, High weight for high reps.

So what I am doing instead is actually closely following the 5/3/1 program but with a few adjustments and when I get a big of base strength up I will switch back to 5/3/1.

At the moment the only differences I have made are:

  • All reps for main lifts for every week will be 3 set of 5 but still doing as many as I can for the last set.
  • I plan to try adding weight every week as opposed to every month.
  • I have taken out the percentages.

I will post the 1st cycle I did on the program and then post the new version which I have only started this week.

Warm up consists of:
Roll-over to Vs
Climbers
Groiners
Dislocates
Leg Stretching

I also do warm up sets for the main lifts:
1 set 8 with just barbell
1 set 5 with half of what I am going to lift
1 set 5 at 3 quarters of what I�¢??m going to lift.

I will add what assistance work I did on the -new program- post as they are the exact same as what I did for 5/3/1.

Edit: 6/25/2011 - I am now including Bar weight for every post after this date.

2

1st cycle.

Monday
Bench Press - Actual 1RM = 20kg ------ 5/3/1 1RM = 18KG
Warm up

I am missing my record for week one.

Week 2
12.6 KG 70%
14.4KG 80%
16.2KG 90%

Week3
75% - 13.5KG
85% - 15.3KG
95% - 17.1KG

Week 4 De-load.

Wednesday
Deadlift
Warm up
Actual Max 40KG = 5/3/1 max = 36KG

Week 1
65% = 23.4KG
75% = 27 KG
85% = 30.6KG

Week 2
70% = 25.2KG
80% = 28.8KG
90% = 32.4KG

Week 3
75%= 27KG
85%= 30.6KG
95%= 34.2KG
Week 4 De-load.

Friday
Overhead Press (DB)
Actual Max â?? 20kg = New Max = 18KG

Week 1
65% =11.7KG
75% = 13.5G
85% =15.3 KG

Week 2
70%=12.6KG
80%=14.4KG
90%=16.2KG

Week 3
75% = 13.5KG
85% = 15.3KG
95% = 17.1KG

Week 4 Deload.

3

New Training Method.
Monday

Bench Press -
Warm up.

Working sets
1x5 20KG
1x5 20KG
1x10 20KG

Assistance work:
Chin-ups: 5x5 ? That is the goal at the moment I am falling a bit short.
Goblet Squats - 3x10 my gym has no squat rack so cannot do it as main lift yet.
Dips 6x5
Notes:

Very happy with the first day of this new temporary routine. Manage to crack out 10 reps on the last -do as many as you can- set and my form did not break so I was quite happy with that, especially since I started this cycle with my 1RM from last cycle.
Also very happy with the assistance, completed everything except for the chins. The small area between the forearm and upper arm (elbow bending area) started to hurt after the first 3 chins so I switched grip to both palms facing each other kind of half chin-up half pull-up style and was able to do the sets like that but I think that area of my arm is still weak and that is why it hurt.

4

Also, can anyone tell me why apostrophies do not work? They come out like - á??

5

Ah yeah,

Now it’s on man.

The great thing about keeping logs is that your now accountable for your numbers.

And that’s what it is, high reps for high weight.

6

Wednesday

Deadlift.

Warm up sets

Working sets (excluding bar weight).

1x5 40KG
1x5 40KG
1x6 40KG

Assistance work.
5x10 Hanging leg raises
5x10 Leg press with 80KG resistance

Comments:
As expected the big jump from last cycles deadlift to this cycles was not easy. It was a grind but I got there. Managed to get 6 reps on the last set although reps 5 and 6 may have been a little dodgey form-wise. I do not think I will be adding weight next week as I know I will fall short if I do. I’m going to do 40KG on the deadlift next week and see how it goes. Completed assistance work fully with no problems other than it was very hard haha. Expecting some serious DOMS tomorrow. Overall good intensive lifiting session, looking forward to Friday.

7

Alright dude,

You need to read these threads for tha lulz

And

8

Friday

Warm up

Overhead Press (Dumbbells)

1x5 20KG
1x5 18KG
1x6 18KG

Assistance work.

5x5 Pull-ups
5x10 Tricep Pull-downs (The weights are only numbered 1-15, I put mine on 6 resistance but there is no indication of exactly how much the weight is on the cable machine).
Planks
Dying Bugs 2x20

Comments:

The 20KG for the overhead press was a little too heavy still and I knew that I would not finish the other two sets so I dropped backed to 18KG and managed to get an extra rep on the last set for each arm.
I’ll probably stick to 18KG again next week and see how it goes from there. Assistance work went fine I switch up the grip for the pull-ups for 2 of the sets to teh grip where both palms are facing towards each other and did the other 3 with the regular pronated grip. Overall good work out, had a bit of problem getting to sleep last night and thought I would under perform sa a result but I didn’t. First week of the new method done!

9

I honestly do not think you should be doing 5/3/1 with your strength stats. You can and SHOULD be making gains ALOT faster than that. I would stick to a basic linear progression program for 6-12 months first. 5/3/1 is a great program to take up when you are hitting in the ballpark of 225 for bench, 315 for squat, and 405 for deads. You are selling your gains short IMHO. Those are numbers I hit in my first 8 months of training. With 5/3/1 they would take you 3 years where you are at now! More over you do not sound experienced enough to master a “max rep set.” It takes some level of technical skill before that will be an effective training tool.

10

[quote]jskrabac wrote:
I honestly do not think you should be doing 5/3/1 with your strength stats. You can and SHOULD be making gains ALOT faster than that. I would stick to a basic linear progression program for 6-12 months first. 5/3/1 is a great program to take up when you are hitting in the ballpark of 225 for bench, 315 for squat, and 405 for deads. You are selling your gains short IMHO. Those are numbers I hit in my first 8 months of training. With 5/3/1 they would take you 3 years where you are at now! More over you do not sound experienced enough to master a “max rep set.” It takes some level of technical skill before that will be an effective training tool. [/quote]

I would just like to say first of all, thanks for taking the time to have a look at my log I know you give my good friend Oregand lots of help with his.

As for the program, is there any you recommend I have a look into? I did feel intially that I could do more than I was doing which is why I made the initial changes to the program this week, but if you feel that something else could work alot better then I’m all ears for any suggestions you may have.

11

Wouldn’t it be easier just to include the weight of the bar?

12

[quote]Stronghold wrote:
Wouldn’t it be easier just to include the weight of the bar?[/quote]

Yeah I might add the bar weight in the logs to make things easier. The bar I use for deadlifts is 20KG I think and the bar on the bench feels lighter so it might only 10KG.

13

Between the not counting the bar and the KGs I’m having a little trouble following your numbers/percentages, so forgive me if I’m misinterpreting what you’ve done, but…

Another reason to include bar weight on all of your numbers is because 5/3/1 is a percentage based program and not including the 20kg that youre lifting will throw off your numbers.

For example on your first post about bench, I’m assuming your actual max is 40kg and 20kg is what you’ve put on the bar.

If you do the math based on a 40kg max…
Training max= 36kg
70% of TM= 25.5
80& of TM= 28.8
90% of TM= 32.4

What you’ve got is (I’m assuming these numbers are not including the bar and have added the 20kg bar weight in the parenthesis)…
Training max = 18kg (38)
12.6 KG 70% (32.6)
14.4KG 80% (34.4)
16.2KG 90% (36.2)

As you can see, when you factor in the bar weight, (which you are lifting and therefore needs to be factored in) those percentages are way off. I would highly recommend taking that bar weight into account.

14

[quote]buckeye girl wrote:
Between the not counting the bar and the KGs I’m having a little trouble following your numbers/percentages, so forgive me if I’m misinterpreting what you’ve done, but…

Another reason to include bar weight on all of your numbers is because 5/3/1 is a percentage based program and not including the 20kg that youre lifting will throw off your numbers.

For example on your first post about bench, I’m assuming your actual max is 40kg and 20kg is what you’ve put on the bar.

If you do the math based on a 40kg max…
Training max= 36kg
70% of TM= 25.5
80& of TM= 28.8
90% of TM= 32.4

What you’ve got is (I’m assuming these numbers are not including the bar and have added the 20kg bar weight in the parenthesis)…
Training max = 18kg (38)
12.6 KG 70% (32.6)
14.4KG 80% (34.4)
16.2KG 90% (36.2)

As you can see, when you factor in the bar weight, (which you are lifting and therefore needs to be factored in) those percentages are way off. I would highly recommend taking that bar weight into account.[/quote]

Yeah I didn’t really think of it that way I see what you mean with the percentages. Thing is I only did the percentages for 1 cycle he second cycle I tool them out and changed a few things, I actually wasn’t technically doing 5/3/1 this wee, and now it seems I can make better gains doing a different program as 5/3/1 is for incrementing slowly up though higher weights.

So yes, to make things easier I will now include the bar weight. Even thought I won’t be using percentages again for a while since I won’t going back to that program for a while. Again I think the bench bar is only 10KG, do you notice the bench bar at your gym being lighter than say a free one that weights 20KG?

Also I assume it would make it easier to post my weight in pounds but I’m used to the KG system and it would be a pain converting my weights every time I post, so unless it’s really prefered, I’ll continue posting in KG’s.

15

[quote]CrashOverride wrote:

[quote]buckeye girl wrote:
Between the not counting the bar and the KGs I’m having a little trouble following your numbers/percentages, so forgive me if I’m misinterpreting what you’ve done, but…

Another reason to include bar weight on all of your numbers is because 5/3/1 is a percentage based program and not including the 20kg that youre lifting will throw off your numbers.

For example on your first post about bench, I’m assuming your actual max is 40kg and 20kg is what you’ve put on the bar.

If you do the math based on a 40kg max…
Training max= 36kg
70% of TM= 25.5
80& of TM= 28.8
90% of TM= 32.4

What you’ve got is (I’m assuming these numbers are not including the bar and have added the 20kg bar weight in the parenthesis)…
Training max = 18kg (38)
12.6 KG 70% (32.6)
14.4KG 80% (34.4)
16.2KG 90% (36.2)

As you can see, when you factor in the bar weight, (which you are lifting and therefore needs to be factored in) those percentages are way off. I would highly recommend taking that bar weight into account.[/quote]

Yeah I didn’t really think of it that way I see what you mean with the percentages. Thing is I only did the percentages for 1 cycle he second cycle I tool them out and changed a few things, I actually wasn’t technically doing 5/3/1 this wee, and now it seems I can make better gains doing a different program as 5/3/1 is for incrementing slowly up though higher weights.

So yes, to make things easier I will now include the bar weight. Even thought I won’t be using percentages again for a while since I won’t going back to that program for a while. Again I think the bench bar is only 10KG, do you notice the bench bar at your gym being lighter than say a free one that weights 20KG?

Also I assume it would make it easier to post my weight in pounds but I’m used to the KG system and it would be a pain converting my weights every time I post, so unless it’s really prefered, I’ll continue posting in KG’s.[/quote]

Bench bar as opposed to a free bar? Are you benching in the smith machine?

16

Lol at all the attention, your log is gonna be fun to follow. I know the bench bar probably feels litghter too you but it was the same type of power bar as the one your using for DL’s so it should weight the same 20KG

Here’s a few good options for you Rob,

StrongLifts

Startingstrenght

Simple strength MR style: Simple Strength - Phase 1

And the Waterbury method: The Waterbury Method

Oh and the whole not counting the bar is ambad habit he got from me :stuck_out_tongue:

17

[quote]Stronghold wrote:

[quote]CrashOverride wrote:

[quote]buckeye girl wrote:
Between the not counting the bar and the KGs I’m having a little trouble following your numbers/percentages, so forgive me if I’m misinterpreting what you’ve done, but…

Another reason to include bar weight on all of your numbers is because 5/3/1 is a percentage based program and not including the 20kg that youre lifting will throw off your numbers.

For example on your first post about bench, I’m assuming your actual max is 40kg and 20kg is what you’ve put on the bar.

If you do the math based on a 40kg max…
Training max= 36kg
70% of TM= 25.5
80& of TM= 28.8
90% of TM= 32.4

What you’ve got is (I’m assuming these numbers are not including the bar and have added the 20kg bar weight in the parenthesis)…
Training max = 18kg (38)
12.6 KG 70% (32.6)
14.4KG 80% (34.4)
16.2KG 90% (36.2)

As you can see, when you factor in the bar weight, (which you are lifting and therefore needs to be factored in) those percentages are way off. I would highly recommend taking that bar weight into account.[/quote]

Yeah I didn’t really think of it that way I see what you mean with the percentages. Thing is I only did the percentages for 1 cycle he second cycle I tool them out and changed a few things, I actually wasn’t technically doing 5/3/1 this wee, and now it seems I can make better gains doing a different program as 5/3/1 is for incrementing slowly up though higher weights.

So yes, to make things easier I will now include the bar weight. Even thought I won’t be using percentages again for a while since I won’t going back to that program for a while. Again I think the bench bar is only 10KG, do you notice the bench bar at your gym being lighter than say a free one that weights 20KG?

Also I assume it would make it easier to post my weight in pounds but I’m used to the KG system and it would be a pain converting my weights every time I post, so unless it’s really prefered, I’ll continue posting in KG’s.[/quote]

Bench bar as opposed to a free bar? Are you benching in the smith machine?[/quote]

Oh god no, I’m benching at a proper bench with a free bar but I think the free bar is a little shorter in lenght than the free bar I use for the deadlifts so maybe it seems a bit lighter.

18

[quote]Oregand wrote:
Lol at all the attention, your log is gonna be fun to follow. I know the bench bar probably feels litghter too you but it was the same type of power bar as the one your using for DL’s so it should weight the same 20KG

Here’s a few good options for you Rob,

StrongLifts: StrongLifts 5×5 workout: Get Stronger by Lifting 3x/Week

Startingstrenght: http://startingstrength.com/

Simple strength MR style: Simple Strength - Phase 1

And the Waterbury method: The Waterbury Method

Oh and the whole not counting the bar is ambad habit he got from me :p[/quote]

Thanks bro I’ll chek out those articles.

Yeah maybe you’re right. As I said I think it’s shorter in lenght which is shy it seems lighter. I’ll compare them both on Monday if I can.

19

[quote]CrashOverride wrote:

Oh god no, I’m benching at a proper bench with a free bar but I think the free bar is a little shorter in lenght than the free bar I use for the deadlifts so maybe it seems a bit lighter.[/quote]

Around here, most gyms just have standard barbells that weigh 45lbs.

Deadlift bars do exist and they will be a little longer and the bar will be a smaller diameter, but they still weigh 45 pounds. There are also squat bars that are thicker and weigh 55-65. The only place I’ve ever seen these bars were in powerlifting gyms or powerlifter’s garage gym setups. Maybe your gym has an actual deadlift bar and the different appearance is throwing you off?

And regarding the kg thing, I was just pointing out that I think in lbs not kgs, so I’m usually a little off when I start talking kgs. Certainly not your problem, just felt like I should warn you.

20

[quote]Oregand wrote:

Oh and the whole not counting the bar is ambad habit he got from me :p[/quote]

Dude, I thought you were joking about that! Quit that shit!