Feb. 26
mobility/warmup
squat
bar x 5
45kg x 5
60kg x 3
81kg x 5
94kg x 5 (add belt)
106kg x 10
A1 zercher squat
53kg x 10 x 5 sets (+4kg)
A2 decline sit-up
3.5kg (on head) x 10 x 5 sets (+.5kg)
A3 jump rope
bw x 65 x 5 sets
(15+60 mins)
Great. That’s a PR for sure. Setup felt good. I had the belt at 3rd hole and over my shirt. This is pretty good for now.
I was pretty queasy during the assistance after the top set. Also, my lower back is a bit fried. I think sit-ups may not be best on this day. Either I’ll swap abs to a different day or do a different movement. I’m planning to mix up the assistance next cycle anyway.
My warmup is a bit lengthy right now, but I’m back to lifting 3 days a week, so I don’t mind a bit of extra time per session.
Feb. 28
mobility/warmup
bench
bar x 5
32kg x 5
45kg x 3
58kg x 3
66kg x 3
74kg x 8
A1 db press
24kg x 10, 10, 10, 10, 7
A2 bb row (pendlay)
53kg x 10 x 5 sets
jump rope
bw x 30 secs on/30 secs off x 10 sets
(55 mins)
Another good one. I feel like I’m getting close to a bw bench finally.
I altered the assistance a bit. Took the jump rope out of the superset and did separate. I tried to keep rest between rounds down to 90 seconds, but this caught up with me on the last set. I’m not sure if I’ll increase the rest time a bit or drop the weight down a bit. Depends on how the other days go.
Splitting the superset up like this allowed me to get through everything somewhat faster than normal. I’ll probably keep this format and build up to more jump rope rounds. Eventually I’ll increase the actual time skipping so that I’ve got something like 1 min on/30 secs off.
Mar. 3
mobility/warmup
deadlift
45kg x 5
65kg x 5
90kg x 3
109kg x 3
125kg x 3
140kg x 7
A1 straight-leg deadlift (2 mins rest)
70kg x 10 x 5 sets
A2 bb curl
26kg x 10, 10, 10, 10, 7
jump rope
bw x 30sec on/30sec off x 10 sets
(60 mins)
Solid. That’s a deadlift PR. I probably could have squeezed out another rep too. I widened my stance just a bit and dug in my grip deeper than I normally do. The grip change especially really seemed to help.
The assistance was still pretty difficult with fixed rest time, but the jump rope rounds were much easier than last time.
Mar. 6
mobility/warmup
military press
bar x 5
32kg x 5
44kg x 3
50kg x 3
56kg x 6
A1 chin-up (2, 3, 3, 3, 4 mins rest)
bw x 6, 6, 6, 5, 5 (+1 rep)
A2 db press
17kg x 10 x 5 sets
jump rope
bw x 30 secs on/30 secs off x 10 sets
(55 mins)
Good. Plus 1 rep and kg over the last “3” day. Last rep was a fight though.
I initially planned for 2 min breaks after the superset, but I’ve always needed lots of rest to recover between chin-up sets. Since rep progression on this movement is important to me I’m going to stick with 3 mins rests for now.
Mar. 7
mobility/warmup
squat
bar x 5
45kg x 5
65kg x 3
89kg x 3
100kg x 3
113kg x 8
A1 zercher squat (2 mins rest)
53kg x 10 x 5 sets
A2 ab wheel
bw (from knees) x 10 x 5 sets
jump rope
bw x 30 secs on/30 secs off x 10 sets
(70 mins)
Another PR. I don’t put a lot of stock in the 1RM calculators, but according to the one in Jim’s book I’ve been setting PRs practically every time I train. Feeling good.
Gonna change up a bunch of the assistance for next cycle and keep with that for a couple months. The plan is to run 531 all year as long as I keep up these gains.
Mar. 10
mobility/warmup
bench
bar x 7
32kg x 5
45kg x 3
62kg x 5
70kg x 3
78kg x 6
A1 db bench
24kg x 10, 10, 10, 10, 9
A2 bb row (pendlay)
53kg x 10 x 5 sets
jump rope
30 secs on/30 secs off x 10 sets
(65 mins)
Solid. I set my mind on 6 reps and just managed it. The last was a fight. That is +1 rep and +2kg over last 531 day.
Next cycle the assistance changes. I’m thinking of doing a dip or push-up variation instead of db bench. I’ll probably swap the Pendlay row with a 45-degree row. I want to get a better stretch during my rows because my right lat/scap area is so much tighter than my left side. This is something I really wanna work on.
Mar. 12
mobility/warmup
deadlift
45kg x 5
65kg x 5
90kg x 3
117kg x 5
132kg x 3
149kg (329 lbs) x 4
A1 straight-leg deadlift (2 mins rest between rounds)
70kg x 10 x 5 sets
A2 seated bb concentration curl
25kg x 10 x 5 sets
jump rope
30secs on/30secs off x 10 sets
(70 mins)
Pretty good. I matched the reps of the last 531 day.
A quick glance at my log suggests I’ve increased my DL by around 40kg/88lbs since this time last year.
The seated curls gave a much bigger pump than the standing curls. That is what we are after, right?
Mar. 14
mobility/warmup
military press
bar x 5
32kg x 5
46kg x 5
53kg x 3
59kg x 4
A1 chin-up (3 mins rest per round)
bw x 6, 6, 6, 5, 5
A2 incline db bench
20kg x 10 x 5 sets
jump rope
30 secs on/30 secs off x 10 sets
(60 mins)
Could match last time with 1 more kg.
I went for the same number of reps as last time on chins, but these were a lot smoother. Lot less body English on the later reps.
I swapped in incline db bench. Feels like a good movement.
You should be proud. Imagine how strong you will be in another two years.
Congrats and good luck for the future.
Mar. 24
mobility/warmup
power clean
45kg x 5
55kg x 3
65kg x 5
69kg x 3
73kg x 3
squat
bar x 3
45kg x 3
60kg x 3
94kg x 5
105kg x 3
118kg x 2
ab wheel (1 min rest)
bw x 10, 10, 10, 8, 5
jump rope
30 secs on/30 secs off x 10 sets
(80 mins)
I’ve been totally sick for the past 10 days or so. It’s been lousy. It’s been impossible to eat enough.
I was only one day short of the deload week before I got sick, so the timing was okay, but I still lost some strength. Today’s session completes the last cycle although I used the setup for the coming cycle. Hence the power cleans.
Hopefully in a week or two I’ll be back up to my previous strength levels.
[quote]ginger_spartan wrote:
You should be proud. Imagine how strong you will be in another two years.
Congrats and good luck for the future.[/quote]
Thanks for the support ginger_spartan. This is exactly the attitude I need to keep. I still don’t feel strong, but a couple more years at this and things should be looking better.
Mar. 26
mobility/warmup
bench
bar x 7
32kg x 5
45kg x 3
55kg x 5
63kg x 5
72kg x 9
A1 dips (2 mins rest between rounds)
bw x 5, 4, 4, 3, 2
A2 chest-supported db row
20kg (per db) x 10 x 5 sets
jump rope
30 secs on/30 secs off x 10 sets
(70 mins)
Great. Despite the long break, I’m on form. That’s one more rep at that weight.
New assistance for this cycle. The dips were good. This is the first time I’ve really been able to get below parallel on these. No shoulder pain this time. I expect to be able to get a few more next week as I get used to this movement again.
Chest-supported rows feel like a good movement. Can’t really use any leg drive. Basically no impact on my lower back either. I could probably use heavier dbs.
Mar. 29
mobility/warmup
deadlift
45kg x 5
65kg x 5
90kg x 3
105kg x 5
121kg x 5
137kg (302 lbs) x 8
A1 squat
60kg x 5 x 5 sets
A2 db hammer curl
17.5kg x 5 x 5 sets
jump rope
30 secs on/30 secs off x 10 sets
(70 mins)
Pretty good. That should be a DL PR. Reps didn’t feel super heavy. However, my form needs some work. I need to keep my arch a bit better. It could be time to go back to pulling sumo.
I decided to keep the assistance volume lower than normal as I was pretty burnt out from the DLs. I’ll just build this volume up slowly over time. I could probably manage 10x5, but this ultimately leaves me thrashed after a couple weeks.
The last four squat sets were with a stretch band doubled around my knees. Going to stick with this for awhile as knees caving in is a problem when I squat heavy.
Apr. 1
mobility/warmup
military press
bar x 5
32kg x 5
42kg x 5
49kg x 5
55kg (121 lbs) x 7
A1 chin-up (3 mins rest between rounds)
bw x 6, 6, 6, 6, 5 (+1 rep)
A2 incline db bench
20kg x 10 x 5 sets
jump rope
30 secs on/30 secs off x 10 sets
(65 mins)
Great. Two more reps than last time at 55.
The assistance was pretty difficult. More so than last time for some reason. It is going well though. I’m getting pretty happy with my chinning numbers. I’d like to hit 5 sets of 10 this year.
Apr. 3
mobility/warmup
power clean
45kg x 5
53kg x 5
61kg x 5
69kg x 5
squat
bar x 3
45kg x 3
60kg x 3
85kg x 5
97kg x 5
110kg (243 lbs) x 8
ab wheel
bw x 10, 10, 10 4, 4
jump rope
30 secs on/30 secs off x 10 sets
(80 mins)
Decent. I’ve hit 113 for 8, so this is a bit worse. My form felt pretty good today though. Knees caving less and I feel like I kept my arch better too. That is significant if I can continue to improve those things.
The power cleans are good, but I don’t really know how to fit them into my programming. I’m not in love with the idea of going for rep PRs on cleans. That’s going to ruin my squatting.
Few less reps on the ab wheel, but I made them more difficult than last time by raising my feet off the ground and putting my bw a bit farther forward.
Apr. 5
mobility/warmup
bench
bar x 10
32kg x 5
45kg x 3
59kg x 3
68kg x 3
76kg x 5
A1 dip
bw x 3, 4, 4, 4, 4 (+1 rep)
A2 chest-supported db row
20kg x 10 x 5 sets
jump rope
30 secs on/30 secs off x 11 sets
(55 mins)
Decent. I made some adjustments to the mobility and cut rest time down between warmup sets. I’m taking too much time to get through all the work. Didn’t manage a PR though.
Apr. 8
mobility/warmup
sumo deadlift
45kg x 5
65kg x 5
90kg x 3
113kg x 3
129kg x 3
145kg (320 lbs) x 5
db lunge (90 secs rest)
17.5kg (per db) x 6 x 5 sets
db hammer curl (60 secs rest)
17.5kg (per db) x 5 x 5 sets
jump rope
30 secs on/ 30 secs off x 11 sets
(65 mins)
Pretty good. My sumo pulling is about the same as my conventional which is good. However, I felt a LOT less stress on lower back this way. Gonna pull this way for a few cycles. Although I need to fix my conventional form regardless.
I’m going with some single-leg work. My quads don’t get a lot of direct work and I know I have some flexibility and strength imbalances in my lower body. Hopefully some lunges will help improve these problems.
I didn’t superset the assistance today. This was not bad.
Apr. 10
mobility/warmup
military press
bar x some (also BTN)
32kg x 5
45kg x 3
53kg x 3
58kg x 4
A1 chin-up (3 mins between rounds)
bw x 6, 6, 6, 6, 5 (+0 reps)
A2 incline db bench
20kg x 10 x 5 sets
jump rope
30 secs on/30 secs off x 3 sets
(50 mins)
Okay. It wont be too long before I have to reset my maxes. At least on a few lifts.
For some reason I was totally wasted after the assistance superset. I called it quits after a few rounds of rope. No big deal really. I think I wasn’t totally recovered from the previous DL workout. Although I feel like I’ve been taking too many rest days recently. Trying to get back to averaging every other day.
Apr. 14
mobility/warmup
power clean
bar x 10 (from hang)
45kg x 5 (cluster reps)
65kg x 7 (cluster reps)
squat
bar x 5
45kg x 3
60kg x 2
76kg x 1
90kg x 3
103kg x 3
116kg x 4, 1
ab wheel
bw x 10, 10, 10, 7, 5
squat
60kg x 20
(65 mins)
Meh. I expected more like 6 reps on the squat today. I’m feeling in a bit of a rut. I keep missing workouts and feeling like I’m going backwards a bit. Hopefully the solution is just to stop skipping days. I’m not feeling overworked or anything like that.
I’m gonna try and have a good final week of this cycle and then decide what to do from there. Might be time to reset some maxes or do a different program for a bit.
Power clean was good. I didn’t worry about weight and just focused on proper form. These were certainly my best reps ever.
I went for a set of 20 on squats as a finisher instead of the normal jump rope. It wasn’t easy, but it was not as hard as I expected. Normally my conditioning does not allow me that many reps.
Apr. 16
mobility/warmup
bench
bar x 7
36kg x 5
50kg x 3
64kg x 5
72kg x 3
80kg (176 lbs) x 5
A1 dip
bw x 4 x 5 sets
A2 chest-supported db row
20kg (per db) x 10 x 5 sets
push-up
bw x 50 reps (7+7+7+5+5+5+4+3+4+3)
face-pull
doubled brown band x 10 x 5 sets
(60 mins)
Good. That was my old 1RM a few months ago. And that was without any prior work sets (although it’s not clear if that really hurts).
My setup on the bench felt really good. I gotta remember to set my upper back and arch, then get my feet set. This is much better than feet first for me.
I did have some right-side shoulder/trap pain/tightness again today. Mostly on the dips and a few of the early bench sets. Oddly enough, not much on the heavy sets. On the other hand, the push-ups and face-pulls really seemed to work relieve this problem. Going to keep these.