[quote]Free2Be wrote:
Hell yeah dude! Time to change that title to the thread I think! :)[/quote]
Whoa there, Nellie! Using the calculated 1RM, I’m 60-65# short of my goals on squats and DLs, and about 50# on bench. When I hit those, expect a change in the thread title, in addition to my instantly becoming a ripped hyooge dude.
5/3/1 Bench:
WU stuff, and then:
Barx10, 135x3 (wu), 170x5, 195x3, 215x4, 165x13
I wanted to get at least one more on the 215 set, and probably should have. First two felt great, and speed was good. On the third one my form fell apart, and fourth wasn’t great either. Glad I had a spotter on the attempted fifth. As I was doing the last set I realized I wasn’t paying attention to my elbows on the prior set, and that probably made a difference, along with my form in the upper body falling apart. Ah well. Lower 1RM than last week, but an overall improvement. Good with the bad and all that.
Finished up with:
DB Incline press: 45x13, x11, x10 supersetted with
DB hammer curls with towels: 40x8x3
Chins: BWx8, 7, 6 (strict form per the T-Nation article last week)
BB curls with Tyler grips: 80x8, 90x7, 90x4
Squats on Friday, then I’m into deload.
[quote]sfp wrote:
DB hammer curls with towels: 40x8x3
[/quote]
Please forgive my ignorance…what do you mean “with towels?”
Really nice pulling on the DLs.
Wrap a medium-size towel around the db, hold the towel, and curl away! The difference is in how much it hits the forearms. Same thing with using the fat bar for curls, pull-ups, deads, etc.
[quote]sfp wrote:
Wrap a medium-size towel around the db, hold the towel, and curl away! The difference is in how much it hits the forearms. Same thing with using the fat bar for curls, pull-ups, deads, etc.[/quote]
Ah, I see. That makes sense. Thanks!
5/3/1 Squats:
Warmups with bodyweight, bar, and 135x3, 185x3, then
225x5, 255x3, 285x4, 205x12
I wanted a couple, or at least one, more rep on the big set, but it wasn’t happening. On the plus side, I felt good about my form (good depth, no leaning forward, kept the knees out, etc.), and my calculated 1RM isn’t down from last week, and an improvement since I began. Baby steps, I suppose.
Followed up with supersets:
Leg press: 6 plates x15, 6.5 x14, 6.5x14
Calf raises: above weights x15x3
Ab roller: BWx15x3
Next week is a deload. Tallies (1st wave calculated 1RMs to 3rd wave 1RMs) for this cycle are:
Military: stayed even at just under 150
DL: biggest gain of 379 to 437
Bench: 240 to 245
Squat: 305 to 322
Looking at that, I’m unhappy about military (and keeping the weight the same for the next cycle), delirious about the DL, and moderately pleased with bench and squat. If I can get these kinds of gains with every cycle (riiiggghhhtt), I’ll be feeling pretty good in another year. We’ll see.
Nice workout dude!
Let me say my forearms are really feeling the ‘fat grip’ work. Towels, tubes, grip wraps, whatever, it’s all good stuff!
Thanks, Man ‘o’ Steel.
I’m really liking the fat grips as well, and will try to throw in something of that sort every upper body day next cycle. On DLs, I thought that the grip was becoming my weak link, but reconsidered when I began using chalk. Now I’m mainly worried about the wimpy size.
I’ve decided to ignore the 1RM calculators since they vary in their answers so much through the waves.
I figure I’m doing good if I meet or exceed the rep targets for the given percentage of working max.
4 reps when you only needed to do one = great job.
I was just going back over the last couple of pages in your log and it hit me. You titled your log “Embarrassed Guy Log”, yet you squat and deadlift more than I do. Does that mean that I should go into hiding? 
[quote]sfp wrote:
5/3/1 Squats:
Warmups with bodyweight, bar, and 135x3, 185x3, then
225x5, 255x3, 285x4, 205x12
I wanted a couple, or at least one, more rep on the big set, but it wasn’t happening. On the plus side, I felt good about my form (good depth, no leaning forward, kept the knees out, etc.), and my calculated 1RM isn’t down from last week, and an improvement since I began. Baby steps, I suppose.
Followed up with supersets:
Leg press: 6 plates x15, 6.5 x14, 6.5x14
Calf raises: above weights x15x3
Ab roller: BWx15x3
Next week is a deload. Tallies (1st wave calculated 1RMs to 3rd wave 1RMs) for this cycle are:
Military: stayed even at just under 150
DL: biggest gain of 379 to 437
Bench: 240 to 245
Squat: 305 to 322
Looking at that, I’m unhappy about military (and keeping the weight the same for the next cycle), delirious about the DL, and moderately pleased with bench and squat. If I can get these kinds of gains with every cycle (riiiggghhhtt), I’ll be feeling pretty good in another year. We’ll see.[/quote]
Nice way to end up the cycle sfp!
Thanks, Sol, et al.
Actually, Strick, if you look at the delta between our totals, I’ll bet you cream me. Military and bench are still weak.
Still, I’m happy to be progressing, and I feel better, too. I’m telling you, 5/3/1 is da bomb.
Wait, did I say that right?
Good stuff sfp.
[quote]sfp wrote:
Actually, Strick, if you look at the delta between our totals, I’ll bet you cream me. Military and bench are still weak.
Still, I’m happy to be progressing, and I feel better, too. I’m telling you, 5/3/1 is da bomb.
[/quote]
Maybe…I don’t think I press that much more,though. Not that it matters. I was just pointing out, like so many others, that the log title might not be spot on.
I agree wholeheartedly. I am thrilled to see progression. The old ball coach used to say, “There ain’t no staying where you are. You’re either going forward or going backward.”
I got tired of going backward.
All this talk about 5/3/1 has got me really wanting to try it. Just anting to ride out the 5x5, first. But 5/3/1 is definitely next on the agenda.
Skid, I don’t exactly trust the 1RM calcs either, but I’m using them as a baseline for the next wave since they’re accurate enough. Using MJ’s spreadsheet, I’m taking the final 1RM, chopping 10% off and using that for each lift. It’s just about spot on, I think.
Strick, you may feel your bench isn’t that much higher, but what you don’t understand is that the bench has a multiplier associated with it. That swings it all in your favor! Seriously, the only reason your squat and DL may not be as strong is because of injury. Definitely give 5/3/1 a go.
Yes, but if I pause at the bottom, those numbers might go away…see, that extra 50# I carry yields push and momentum. When the weight hits my chest, the fat “waves” away from it. When it rebounds, and slams back into the bar, I get a natural lift/push (think Homer Simpson)…lol Not that I am complaining.
And the injury would explain why I haven’t deadlifted or squatted, not why my legs are as weak as well water (never understood that saying. All the well water I have ingested was rather strong tasting.) I used to (recently) weigh 80# more than I do now. You would think that would mean I should have added 80# (once it was off my body) to my max on leg exercises…not lost it.
Do you folks use a specific 1RM calculator or just use whatever pops up on google? I have observed a significant variance in the results, from calculator to calculator.
Also, do you re-evaluate your working weight after every wave? Do you base it on the # of reps you get on your last set of 1s?
As for 1RM calculators, I like to use the one that produces the highest numbers. For obvious reasons.
Actually, mjnewland has a great spreadsheet for 5/3/1, and I just use the formula that he put in. Again, may not be super accurate, but it’s close enough, and I’m really only using it to calculate the working weight.
And as far as that goes, I didn’t adjust at all throughout this last cycle, as my initial estimates were just about right (except for maybe military). For my next wave, I’m using the number of reps on the last set of 1s to calculate the working weight. I modified mj’s spreadsheet to take that number and subtract 10%. Pretty simple, but the numbers came out great, adding 5-10 pounds to the lifts (well, 15 to DL, where I had the biggest jump, and -5 on military) just like you’d expect.
I don’t know how scientific my modification really is, but I like the rational approach of 5/3/1 in general.
Deload week:
Just did some light military presses, pushups, band pull-aparts, and chins.
Felt good to at least get back in the gym. I’d like to stay here longer, but I’ve got to go eat now.
[quote]sfp wrote:
As for 1RM calculators, I like to use the one that produces the highest numbers. For obvious reasons.
Actually, mjnewland has a great spreadsheet for 5/3/1, and I just use the formula that he put in. Again, may not be super accurate, but it’s close enough, and I’m really only using it to calculate the working weight.
And as far as that goes, I didn’t adjust at all throughout this last cycle, as my initial estimates were just about right (except for maybe military). For my next wave, I’m using the number of reps on the last set of 1s to calculate the working weight. I modified mj’s spreadsheet to take that number and subtract 10%. Pretty simple, but the numbers came out great, adding 5-10 pounds to the lifts (well, 15 to DL, where I had the biggest jump, and -5 on military) just like you’d expect.
I don’t know how scientific my modification really is, but I like the rational approach of 5/3/1 in general.[/quote]
I’m using Jim Wendlers recommendation from his #day a week book of raising upper body lift maxes by 5 lbs and lower body lifts 10 lbs and calculating working weights from that. So 5-3-1 inital max is 90% of actual max and work weights are 75-95% of that inital 5-3-1 max. It’s pretty much part of the program that it’ll take you 3-5 moths to get back to working with your former real maxes again. But by the time you get there, you’ll be much stronger than when you originally hit those maxes.
[quote]skidmark wrote:
I’m using Jim Wendlers recommendation from his #day a week book of raising upper body lift maxes by 5 lbs and lower body lifts 10 lbs and calculating working weights from that. So 5-3-1 inital max is 90% of actual max and work weights are 75-95% of that inital 5-3-1 max. It’s pretty much part of the program that it’ll take you 3-5 moths to get back to working with your former real maxes again. But by the time you get there, you’ll be much stronger than when you originally hit those maxes.[/quote]
What I’m doing is easier. Which means it’s better. For me, at least. When you get into the complex differential calculus stuff that you’re talking about, I get all confused.