Hey so I joined the forums today and I saw lots of people posted their workout logs here. I decided to jump on the bandwagon in the hopes it’ll make me more accountable. I started working out seriously about a year ago, although that was interrupted when I had my an AC shoulder separation in a bike accident. Before and after my layoff I had been doing a starting strength type workout, but I wasn’t making much progress anymore.
I have seen that many people have had good success with 5/3/1, so I decided to give that a try.
My stats
Weight:190lbs
Height:5’10"
Squat: 275
Bench: 225
Press: 150
Deadlift: 325
Chin: +90lbs
My basic template will be
Bench 5/3/1 & Incline Bench SST
Squat 5/3/1 & Sumo dead SST
Press 5/3/1 & CG Bench SST
Dead 5/3/1 & Front squat SST
and try to throw chins in between each 5/3/1 set, and a few extra assistance exercises each day.
7-26-2012
Bench
5x130
5x150
10x170
Press
2x10x70
1x8x70
Other Assistance: Curls, Face pull, dips
My pecs are really weak since I have primarily done CG bench in the past, so I really felt them during my bench. I’m starting out with 3 sets of main assistance work since I’m not used to higher reps and need to build work capacity. I like this 5/3/1 since it has lower volume for the main lifts than I had been doing, so I feel like I can better focus on that last set rather than spreading out my focus over several sets.
Squat
5x160
5x185
10x210
Sumo Dead
3x10x145
Assistance: calves, G/H negatives
Back of my legs are sore since previously I have only done high bar olympic squats. This has made my hams and hips weaker than my quads. That’s also the reason I chose sumo dead as my main assistance exercise, to get used to spreading the floor with a wider stance. Hopefully soon I’ll be able to do a G/H raise. However, I’m just doing those on a lat station pulldown machine, and I think that is harder than an actual G/H raise equipment since your pivot point is at the knees.
7-30-2012
Press
5x90
5x105
9x120
CG bench
3x10x100lbs
Accessory: Curls, face pull, triceps extension, reverse fly
videotaped this workout: 5/3/1 M1W1: Press 9x120lbs - YouTube
7-31-2012
Deadlift
5x190
5x220
12x250lbs
Front Squat
11x100
10x120
10x140
Felt a lot better on deadlifts than I have in a while. I guess getting 12 reps on the first 5 deadlift day is a good sign!
Assistance: back extension, leg curls, calf raises
video: 5/3/1 M1W1: Deadlift 12x250lbs - YouTube
Bench 8-2-2012
Bench
3x140lbs
3x160
10x180
Incline Bench
8x120
8x140
6x160
Assistance: Chins, shrug/row, triceps extension, external rotation
Happy I got the same reps as last week with 10 more pounds. Also need to work on not flaring elbows towards end of set.
video: 5/3/1 M1W2: Bench 10x180lbs - YouTube
Squat 8-3-2012
Squat
3x175
3x200
10x225lbs
Sumo Deadlift
8x175
8x205
6x235lbs
Assistance: Calves, 95lbs Good Morning
Definitely am beginning to feel stronger in the low bar position vs the high bar that I was doing. Need to keep weight on heels coming out of the hole. Pleased the the speed of the sumo deadlifts. Got the same reps on the squat as last week except 15lbs heavier!
video: 5/3/1 M1W2: Squat 10x225lbs - YouTube
Press 8-5-2012
Press
3x100
3x110
8x125
CG Bench
8x120
8x140
6x160
Assistance: curls, DB bench, face pull, reverse flys
Think I might have been cheating on my presses by not coming all the way down.
video: 5/3/1 M1W2: Press 8x125lbs - YouTube
M1W2: Deadlift 8-6-2012
Deadlift
3x205
3x235
11x265
Front Squat
8x120
8x140
6x160
Assistance: calve raises, leg curl, back extensions
Need to work on more leg drive since I was stiff legging the last few reps. Still, this is way better than I have done on deadlifting than in the past.
video: 5/3/1 M1W2: Deadlift 11x265lbs - YouTube
M1W2: Bench 8-8-2012
Bench
5x150
3x170
7x190
Incline Bench
5x130
5x150
5x170
Assistance: Dips, Curls, Reverse Flys
Feel like I’m getting a better arch on these. Still need to work on not flaring out the elbows on last reps.
video: 5/3/1 M1W3: Bench 7x190lbs - YouTube
M1W2: Squat 8-9-2012
Squat
5x185
3x210
9x235lbs
Sumo Dead
5x190
5x220
5x250lbs
Regular Dead
6x250lbs
Assistance: Leg curl, Good Morning, Calve raises
Feel like each rep was parallel so I am definietly satisfied. I have really been working on flexibility and was able to bend parallel with straight legs without rounding back on good mornings. I am trying to not rest much between reps as doing so kinda throws off one rep max calculators.
Video: 5/3/1 M1W3: Squat 9x235lbs - YouTube
M1W3: Press 8-11-2012
Press
5x105
3x120
2x135
0x135
CG Bench
5x130
5x150
5x170
For some reason I felt really weak today and only got 2 reps on the last set. I tried it again and couldn't even get the bar up. At least I got more than 1 rep though, which I guess is all that is required.
video: youtube.com/watch?v=ifZYZiFKMfA
M1W3: Deadlift
Deadlift
5x220
3x250
8x280lbs
Front Squat
5x130
5x150
5x170
Assistance: leg curl, back extension, calves
video: 5/3/1 M1W3: Deadlift 8x280lbs - YouTube
M2W1: Bench
OK, I skipped the deload week for month 1 since next week I’m going to have about 5 days where I won’t have access to a gym, so that will function as my rest. I’ll probably try to do bodyweight exercises during that time, although I’m never that motivated to work out unless I’m at the gym.
Bench
5x135
5x155
10x175lbs
Incline Bench
10x105
10x125
1x145
Assistance: Curls, Dips, BTN press, external rotations
video: 5/3/1 M2W1: Bench 10x175lbs - YouTube
M2W1: Squat 8-15-2012
Squat
5x165
5x195
16x220lbs (11 reps continuous)
Decided to go for it today, using pauses between reps to see how many I could do. I might do this rest-pause set regularly on the first week of each cycle for squats and deadlifts if I am feeling motivated. Should work on mental fortitude and pacing myself and maybe on one cycle I’ll get to twenty reps.
Sumo deadlift
10x150
10x180
10x210lbs
Sumo deadlifts seem to be the easiest major assistance exercise that I’m doing. I really like them and might switch to them if my conventional deadlift stalls. I think I actually migth be stronger sumo than conventional, although I have never gone heavy with sumo deadlifts so I don’t know for sure. I was able to do the first two sets and 4x210 with Grip4orce grips, which is better than I have done previously. My goal is to be able to do all the reps with the Grip4orce eventually. I have found them very good for improving my crush grip since they really work the thumb.
Assistance: Calves, leg curls, Good morning up to 110lbs
video: 5/3/1 M2W1: Squat 16x220lbs - YouTube
M2W1: Press 8-17-2012
Press
5x90
5x105
5x120
CG Bench
10x105
10x125
10x145
Was feeling pretty down with a cold so I just did the main lift and main assistance today.
M2W1: Deadlift 8-18-2012
Deadlift
5x195
5x225
12x260lbs
I think I did a better job today of keeping my hips down even on the last few reps
Front Squat
10x105
10x125
10x145lbs
Still need to stop left foot from shifting inwards. For some reason it only appears to be my left foot that has this problem.
video: 5/3/1 M2W1: Deadlift 12x260lbs - YouTube
So, first time lifting after about 10 day break. First three days were crap, could barely get three reps on bench. Deadlift was the first day I started to feel good again.
Bench 8-27
3x145
3x165
3x185
Squat 8-28
3x180
3x205
6x230
Press 8-31
3x100
3x110
6x125
Deadlift 9-1
3x215
3x245
9x275
video:youtube.com/watch?v=B2_-6Hi1Uv0