3/16/15
5/3/1
Bench Press Day (70%, 80%, 90%)
Bench Press: 195x5, 225x3, 250x4
Double KB Jerks: 7:00 55#KB’s - 47 reps
DB Row: 80x10, 85x10, 90x10, 95x10, 100x10
Bench Press felt a little all over the place with technique. My first rep on 250 felt really fast but the next rep the bar started drifting back towards me a little more and couldn’t quite get everything back in order after that. Wanted 5 reps for the day but will not cry over 4. Kettlebell Jerks are getting better each week. I still need work on my 2nd dip with jerks. It’s getting better but still needs work. Haven’t done dumbbell rows in a while and it was nice to get back to them. I’m also contemplating once I finish this cycle and de-load switching back to the old fashioned 3 week cycles instead of 6 weeks to allow for better recovery. Waiting to see how this cycle plays out before making that move.
Having to take a forced de-load this week. I have been sick since Monday night and won’t be doing anything at all the rest of the week. Hopefully I will be well enough to get back to it on Monday. I will probably just pretend like the workout from Monday didn’t happen and restart from there.
3/23/15
5/3/1
Front Squat Day (70%, 80%, 90%)
Front Squat: 185x3, 215x3, 240x5
Front Squat: 185 - 3x5
Double KB Swing: 2-55#KB - 5x10
Leg Raise: 3x10 - BW
Decided to do front squats today since my brother couldn’t come with me to bench press and have a reliable spotter. Front Squats felt pretty good but I could tell I haven’t done any moving around the past week. I was sweating bullets and breathing pretty hard. Double kettlebell swings were a nice change of pace. Probably just stick to 5 sets of 10 for my kettlebell work this week and resume timed work next week. Happy to be back in the gym today and feeling good. For me it’s one thing to take a week off just to recover from hard workouts but to take a week from being sick drove me nuts!!
3/25/15
5/3/1
Bench Press Day (70%, 80%, 90%)
Bench Press: 195x3, 225x3, 250x3
Double KB Jerks: 2-55#KB’s - 5x10
DB Row: 80x10, 85x10, 90x10, 85x10, 80x10
BB Curls super-set Rope Pushdowns - 65 / 45 - 3x10
Just required reps today on bench press. Kettlebell Jerks felt good but could tell since being sick all last week my cardio capacity has taken a bit of a dive. Arms and back were feeling really pumped when I left the gym. Felt like Arnold looked like Pee-Wee!!
3/26/15
5/3/1
Trap Bar Deadlift Day (70%, 80%, 90%)
Trap Bar Deadlift (5’s Pro): 315x5, 365x5, 410x5
Trap Bar Stiff Leg Deadlift (5’s Pro): 225x5, 255x5, 275x5
1 Arm KB Sntach -superset- Plank - 55#KB / BW - 5x10 / 30 secs
First time trying anything with a Trap Bar today and have been giving the bar the stalker eye since the gym got one several weeks ago. I used my old Training Max for deadlifts and was going to do them as a normal 3’s week but felt really strong today and went with a 5’s Pro. The deadlifts felt pretty good and a little bit different than normal barbell convetional deadlifts but I really liked doing stiff leg deads with the trap bar more than anything. Definitely easier on the lower back than a barbell when it came to the SDL. Snatches went pretty well with the planks. I will run this Trap Bar Day for a while and see how things go from here.
3/27/15
5/3/1
Overhead Press Day (70%,80%,90%)
Overhead Press: 135x3, 150x3, 170x4
KB Long Cycle -superset- Pull-Ups: 5x10/5: 2-55# KB / BW
DB Lateral Raise -superset- Band Pulls: 3x10 - 20/Orange Band
3/28/15
Track Day
5 x 50 yard sprints
5 x Single Stair Sprints
5 x Hill Sprints
1 x 400 meter
Pretty good workouts on Friday and Saturday. The Long Cycle and Pull Up superset was getting pretty tough towards the end especially the pull ups. On Saturday it was pretty cold and a little bit of wind which made sprints suck a little more than normal.
3/30/15
5/3/1
Bench Press Day (65%,75%, 85%)
Bench Press: 180x5, 205x5, 230x4
Double KB Jerks: 12:00 40#KB’s - 80 reps
DB Row: 75x10, 80x10, 85x10, 90x10, 100x10
Did not get the required reps on bench today. Just going to chalk it up to burning my eggs this morning at breakfast and staying up to watch a couple of episodes of Mad Men on Netflix. Lucky me rolled a 12 for kettlebell work. Decided to use the gym’s pair of 40’s they had even though I brought my 55’s but did not have the energy to put those things overhead for 12 minutes.
3/31/15
5/3/1
Front Squat Day (65%,75%,85%)
Front Squat: 175x5, 205x5, 225x5
Front Squat: 175 - 3x5
2 Hand KB Swing: 12:00 55#KB - 215 reps
Front Squats felt good today. Did not have the energy after KB Swings to put forth a good effort with ab work. Pretty uneventful day today!
4/2/15
5/3/1
Overhead Press Day (65%,75%,85%)
Overhead Press: 125x5, 145x5, 160x5
KB Long Cycle: 12:00 2-55#: 56
Lat Pulldowns: 5x10 - 180
DB Lateral Raise -superset- Band Pulls: 3x10 - 20/Blue Band
4/3/15
5/3/1
Trap Bar Deadlift Day (65%,75%,85%)
Trap Bar Deadlift: 315x5, 345x5, 385x5
Trap Bar Stiff Leg Deadlift: 225x5, 235x5, 275x5
1 Arm KB Sntach 12:00 55#KB: 124
Decline Sit Ups: 2x15 - BW 1x10 10# behind head
Not much to report on these days of workouts other than they never turned the air conditioning on at the gym until right when I was getting ready to leave. That made Snatches even more miserable than they already are! Could not make it to the track this weekend. Ended doing lots of yard work and several Easter functions to attend.
4/6/15
5/3/1
Bench Press Day (75%,85%,95%)
Bench Press: 205x5, 235x3, 260x2 (PR)
Double KB Jerks: 6:00 55#KB’s - 44 reps
DB Row: 80x10, 85x10, 90x10, 100x10, 125x8
Set a little rep PR on bench press. A few weeks ago I would’ve wanted 3-5 reps but was pretty happy with 2 considering how my bench has been trending lately. Technique on jerks today felt better than they did last week. Overall pretty happy with today!
Caught a terrible stomach bug that started last Monday afternoon and did not ease up until Saturday afternoon and obviously did not get any workouts at all last week. Ended up passing out early Tuesday morning due to dehydration and a few other issues which was pretty scary. Feel pretty decent now so trying to finish out this 531 cycle as best as I can. Lost about 11 pounds during the virus. Wasn’t quite ready to weigh under 220lbs yet!!!
4/13/15
5/3/1
Bench Press Day (75%,85%,95%)
Bench Press: 205x5, 235x3, 260x1
Bench Press: 205 - 3x5
DB Row: 85x10, 125x10
Just went with required reps today and will probably do so the rest of the week. The 260 rep on bench felt really good and was debating trying to push for 1-2 more but trying to be smart and not overdo it this week. Instead of kettlebell work I will do a few FSL sets to get a little extra work in. Did a quick 10 rep warm-up with the 85 on DB Rows and decided to try to go all out with the 125 (biggest DB the gym has) and was pretty happy with 10 reps.
4/14/15
5/3/1
Front Squat Day (75%, 85%, 95%)
Front Squat: 205x5, 225x3, 250x1
Leg Press: 5x10
Back Extensions -superset- Planks: 5x10 / 30 secs
Stuck with the plan of required reps today. Tried leg presses for the first time in probably a year and a half. Felt my quads working pretty hard but I felt like I spent more time trying to get comfortable in the seat more than anything. Uneventful day overall which is what I’m going for as I’m trying to get my sea legs back from that stupid stomach virus!
4/15/15
5/3/1
Overhead Press Day (75%, 85%, 95%)
Overhead Press: 145x5, 160x3, 180x1
Close Grip Bench Press: Worked up to 225x3, 235x2
Wide Grip Lat Pulldowns (Plate Loaded): 180x10, 200x10, 270x6
Required reps again today. Wanted to find a very easy 3 rep max for close grip presses since after my deload week next week I will start the Simplest Strength Template (SST) from 5/3/1 2nd Edition and needed to establish a Training Max. 225 for 3 reps felt really good. The 2nd rep of 235 was starting to feel a little tough so I racked it. Probably could have grinded a 3rd rep out but the focus was to find an easy rep max even in the condition I’m still in. Getting better but not all the way there yet. Hopefully after next week being a deload I will be fully recovered and ready to hit it hard. Kettlebell work will be put on the shelf for a while.
4/17/15
5/3/1
Deadlift Day (75%,85%,95%)
Deadlift: 345x5, 385x3, 430x5 (PR)
Stiff Leg Deadlift: 235x5, 275x5, 300x5
Decline Sit Ups: 3x10 - 10# behind head
Back Extensions: 3x10 - BW
Felt completely recovered on Friday so I felt like I could get in the gym and hit it pretty hard. I couldn’t find the Trap Bar so I just went with old fashioned barbell. The 5th rep of 430 was a real grinder but I was really happy to lock it out and set a big PR for the day. I woke up Saturday morning extremely sore from my traps all the way down to my hamstrings. Also abs were pretty sore from the sit ups. Did not mind pushing it Friday since I was feeling great but also had the weekend coming up and my deload week starts today. Was very happy with this workout.
4/20/15
5/3/1
Bench Press Day (Deload)
Bench Press: 135x5, 165x5, 185x5
Incline Bench Press: 95x5, 115x5, 145x5
Cable Row: 105 - 3x10
Lat Pulldown: 110 - 3x10
DB Curl: 30 - 3x10
Tricep Pushdown: 55 - 3x10
Nice easy deload day. Messed around with a few different machines at the gym. Rode the bike for 10 minutes afterwards. Not a big fan of walking on a treadmill or riding a stationary bike because I find myself staring at the timer on the bike the entire time. Ten minutes felt like an hour!
4/22/15
5/3/1
Front Squat Day (Deload)
Front Squat: 135x5, 155x5, 175x5 (All Reps Paused)
High Bar Squat: 135x5, 155x5, 175x5 (All Reps Paused)
Lying Hamsting Curls: 85 - 3x10
Ab Wheel - 3x10
Back Extensions - 3x10
Another easy deload day. Decided to pause all of my squats reps today since the weights were light. Uneventful day as usual when it comes to deload weeks in 5/3/1.
4/23/15
5/3/1
Overhead Press Day (Deload)
High Bar Squats: 235x3, 255x3, 275x3
Overhead Press: 95x5, 115x5, 135x5
Lat Pulldowns: 100 - 3x10 (various grips)
Close Grip Bench Press: 135x5, 155x5, 165x5
DB Hammer Curls: 30x10, 35x10, 40x10
DB Lateral Raises: 15 - 2x15
Wanted to work on high bar squatting today which made the workout seem all over the place. 275 for 3 reps felt pretty easy and stress free. Took a lot of the cues from the article posted today and seemed to help a lot with my high bar squats. Trying to figure out exactly how I want to set up my next few cycles of 5/3/1. Looking at possibly doing high bar squats for my main movement and putting front squats as assistance like it’s meant to be. Take my kettlebells away for a while and I get lost!!!
Been kind of kicking around ideas for my next 2 cycles of 5/3/1 and figured I would go with this set up. I was debating on going with the SST setup from 2nd Edition but I like moving heavier weight around for fewer reps and my body seems to respond better as far as aches and pains. Lucky for me my deload on the 2nd cycle falls on my vacation to the beach. Here’s how it’s looking right now…
Bench Press - 5/3/1
Incline Bench Press - 5’ Pro
Assistance - 3x10
High Bar Squat - 5/3/1
Romanian Deadlift - 5’s Pro
Assistance - 3x10
Overhead Press - 5/3/1
Close Grip Bench Press - 5’s Pro
Assistance - 3x10
Deadlift - 5/3/1
Front Squat - 5’s Pro
Assistance - 3x10
Figured this would be a decent setup for the next couple of months. Been wanting to switch to high bar squats for a while but wanted to get a good foundation with front squats set before I made the switch. Seems like I don’t have as many issues with form and forward lean with high bar as much as I did with low bar squats. Looking to build my high bar past my low bar numbers from a while back. I went 3 back on my Overhead Press and Bench Press since it has been 5 cycles forward and also was starting to hit a wall with those lifts. The Trap Bar at the gym has been M.I.A. the past few weeks. I will either do deadlifts from the floor or possibly rack pulls set at mid shin. Right now I am looking at bringing kettlebell work back into the routine once I get back from the beach. Then I may switch to a 2 Day Template or a 3 Day Full Body and have kettlebell lifting days separate from 5/3/1 days.
4/24/15
5/3/1
Deadlift Day (Deload)
Deadlift: 185x5, 225x5, 275x5
Stiff Leg Deadlift: 135x5, 185x5, 225x5
Hamstring Curls: 3x10
Decline Sit Ups: 3x10
Friday was yet another easy deload day. Got in the gym and was done in about 25 minutes. I was pretty tight from sitting at work all day and this got me stretched out and feeling pretty decent.
4/27/15
5/3/1
Bench Press Day (70%, 80%, 90%)
Bench Press: 200x3, 225x3, 255x3
Incline Bench Press (5’s Pro): 135x5, 155x5, 175x5
Cable Row: 115x10, 120x10, 125x10
Neutral Grip Wide Pulldown: 105x10, 110x10, 115x10
DB Curls: 30x10, 35x10, 40x10
Tricep Pushdown: 55x10, 60x10, 65x10
Decided to try and squeeze one more cycle on bench press before having to reset. Bar flew off of my chest on the 3rd rep of 255 but slowed down considerably at lockout but managed to get it. Incline felt pretty good today as well. 175 felt easy enough for 5 reps. Assistance felt good as well. Trying to hit a few more exercises for 3 sets instead of 1 or 2 moves for 5 sets. Pretty pleased with this workout today!