I’m not sure of the exact thread, but I have weighed in on this. I took this from Dan John somewhere along the line, but have found it works great:
I also do Crossfit regularly, so have naturally gravitated toward front squats so this works well for me.
Just to add to this in regards to 531:
Do the 531 sets as front squats, and do the supplemental work (1x20; 5x10, etc…) as back squats.
Thanks, that’s how I understood it. I think I’ll be taking that approach going forward as I like front squats, but always struggled with where to put them as an accessory.
C2 W1 D3 (last night)
Press 47.5x3, 55x5, 60x6, 67.5x1,1,1, 47.5x12+5
Deadlift 105x3 120x3 135x9, 150x1,1,1
Dumbbell rows 27.5x 3x15
Then did 6 driveway sprints. I was not feeling fast.
I had a harebrained idea…
What if you did 531% for the 40day workout ala Easy Strength?
Cap the sets so the reps are in check, but you could theoretically do 3 on, 1 off, and hit 2 “cycles” per week. If you inched TM’s up one at a time, you’re still getting an awful lot of practice at a movement.
I’ll save that one for a future period with less work travel…
C2 W1 D4 pump day
Chins and dips, 50 each, including 15 weighted
1 arm KB snatch, 16x5, 24x 5x5
Poundstone curls 20x40,35
Straight bar pushdown 24x 40,35
Pumped.
Recovery key, or just burn out quicker!
Quick update.
Saturday was “Strongman Saturday”.
Made an axle out of some pipe and tape, then did Axle clean and press. The cleans were a bit iffy haha.
Then i did a couple of medleys with the yoke bar, trap bar and sled. These majorly gassed me.
Later that day I went to Bunnings and got the gear to make a sandbag. I started with a single 80kg Sandbag. The idea is close to my bodyweight.
In the PM did a big bike ride with the kid on the back.
Sunday was rest.
Yesterday ended up being uplanned rest.
This morning:
C2 W2 D2
C+J: hit top set of 67.5 x 3x3, moved quite well for the morning (i lack explosiveness in morning training).
Incline press, didn’t push the 5’s. WM set was 50kgx18 in 45 seconds.
Did some dumbbell rows 35x 4x10.
Sandbag pick up and carry, driveway returns x3. 80kg might have been too heavy a starting point haha.
It always surprises me how heavy a sandbag is the first time I use it for a while. Can you remove a little sand and get in a few more reps ? Your strength on the bag will go up quite quickly once you get some reps in.
It was just gassing!
Yeah, I planned to make 3 weighs, one about 60kg, one 80kg, one 100kg - I guess the plan to make the 60 will be brought forward!
when you say ‘make’ are you bush mechanic these things or have you bought sandbags you can fill.
Always worth looking on Marketplace for large slam balls or bags, can usually find them for an OK price.
Sorry, Fill! I just bought bags.
I had images of you with an old bed sheet, some grain sacks and gaffer tape. LOL
C2 W2 D2 rushed morning workout
Slept in a bit. Really want to get it done in the AM as it eats into family time after work otherwise, and the missus needs help with #2 imminent.
Front squat 67.5x5 77.5x5 87.5x5
Back squat 87.5x20
Did some leg raises and GHRs and called it done. All done in 25 min inc. Warmup. I needed more warmup TBH, squats felt far from smooth but they’re done.
Might go for a walk with the kid after work.
A little conditioning session
Using 2x 16kg bells
5 min ABCs
Round 1:16
Rest 5 min
Round 2: 18
I need to do a little confession (not necessarily flame-free - I’m flaming myself here).
I have been second guessing everything. As I have done multiple times during my training journey.
I was thinking about strongman and then running and touch footy and family time and all this stuff. I reread my physical standards and realised I have lost sight of my WHY.
Hence I have jumped ship from a proven 531 program to a homebrewed mess. No major harm done, but I just need to do the basics and trust the process.
What this means is don’t get crazy and sell all my gear and just do kettlebells (for one brief moment it literally was an idea, thanks Pavel!), or doing Crossfit again (when will I learn?) or something else entirely.
It’s picking a proven 531 program, doing the main lifts hard and fast, pump up with assistance, DO THE CONDITIONING, and eat like an adult. Repeat. Don’t self sabotage and switch plans.
This isn’t for anyone else, just a reminder to myself.[
Ensure adequate recovery, lighten up conditioning on weeks when there’s touch footy etc too.
Weekend Sitrep
Friday I did C2 W2 D3 and D4 in one, i.e. Press, deadlifts, chins and dips. Did pullaparts and L sits for assistance.
Saturday I did oa lot of yard work, and didn’t have it in me to face the sandbag in the evening so did:
2x 16kg ABCs - 22 in 5 min (have improved hugely hear, mostly learning better pacing).
rest 5 min
2x 16kg kbell snatch - 50 reps in 5min.
I have a long way to go on the double snatch as i have done over 100 single arm reps in 5 min before, but the double does require a little more finesse. will keep that in the back pocket.
Sunday I didn’t train, but I did do a lot of shoveling and barrowing of gravel - that was a workout!
Final week of C2 now.
Goals are:
Squeezed in a bit of activity last night.
My walk was covered by mowing a patch of the lawn right after work.
Then once the kid was down for the night I did:
C2 W3 D1
C+J: 60x3, 67.5x3, 75x 3x3.
This was difficult as I couldn’t drop the bar, had to catch each rep. Oh well, free gains.
Incline bench 57.5x5, 65x3, 72.5x7, 57.5x16 reps in 60s.
hit some Dbell rows, 35x 3x15, then called it a night.
The clean and jerks are moving well.
C2 W3 D2
Front squat 77.5x5 87.5x3 97.5x5
Back squat 97.5x20 (this was hard)
GHR 3x10
Barbell curl 20x30,30
Pushdown 24x24,20
Evneing workout, low on energy.
I wonder if i am undereating protein, last few days i havent had usual breakfast and i reckon thats contributing to the sluggish mood.
