Jared's 5/3/1 and Kettlbell Log

Training Training Logs
221

6/4/15

5/3/1
Overhead Press Day (65%, 75%, 85%)
Overhead Press: 125x5, 135x5, 155x8
Close Grip Bench Press (5’s Pro): 155x5, 175x5, 205x5 (All Reps Paused)
Pull-Ups (various grips): 45 Total (Did sets of 5 between all of my pressing including warm-ups)
BB Row: 135x10, 155x10, 175x10
Shoulder Circuit: (3 rounds / 10 reps each movement) 45# Plate Front Raise / 20# DB Lateral Raise / 15# DB Rear Delt Raise
DB Hammer Curl: 30 - 2x10

Used a false grip on overhead presses and decided to push the reps a little more today. The bar seemed to stay in a straight up and down path better than the thumbs around grip I had been using. Felt a lot stronger on pull-ups today, especially when I would use a wide grip. Threw some barbell rows in for the heck of it since I haven’t done them in a while. The hammer curls after the shoulder circuit were half assed and decided to end it after 2 sets since I was pretty worn out. Overall a good day!

222

6/5/15

5/3/1
Deadlift Day (65%,75%,85%)
Deadlift: 350x5, 385x5, 405x5
Squat: 245 - 5x5
KB Swing -superset- Ab Wheel: 80# KB / BW - 2x15/10

Got my percentages screwed up again this week. Knew my top set was 405 but couldn’t remember the weights leading up to that number. Technique has felt spot on over the past several deadlift sessions. Decided to do more back squats since I can never have too much practice with those. I had to meet my brother for lunch so had to cut my swing and ab wheel superset short. Nothing too special about this workout!!

223

6/8/15

5/3/1
Bench Press Day (75%,85%,95%)
Bench Press: 215x5, 245x3, 275x1
Incline Bench Press (5’s Pro): 150x5, 170x5, 190x5
Lat Pulldown: 120x10, 125x10, 130x10
Cable Row (Wide): 150 - 3x10
DB Curls: 35 - 3x10
Triceps Pushdowns: 75 - 3x10

National Bench Press Day was in FULL affect at the gym and every single bench was taken today. I contemplated overhead presses today instead of bench but after about 10-15 minutes trying to figure out what I was going to do, a friend of mine let me work in with him. First rep of 275 felt great but could not quite lockout a 2nd rep that I was planning on hitting. Going to reset my training max on bench after deload week next which will be spent at the beach with my family! Decent day overall but probably would’ve been better off doing oh presses as opposed to twiddling my thumbs and wasting my pre-workout buzz!!!

224

6/10/15

5/3/1
Squat Day (75%, 85%, 95%)
Squat: 225x5, 255x3, 285x6, 315x1, 315x1, 315x1, 225-3x5
Leg Raises: 1x15 - Bodyweight, 2x10 - 20# DB Between feet

Squats were feeling good today. The 285 set for 6 felt good but I started losing tightness after the 4th rep and capped at 6 six I’m trying to really nail down proper form with back squatting again. The singles with 315 felt very strong since I could keep braced throughout the entire rep. Will need to work on staying tight for multiple reps from here on out. The leg raises with the dumbbell felt awesome and could really feel my abs working hard. Not a lot going on with this workout but feeling good about squatting moving forward. Just got to get stronger!!!

225

6/11/15

5/3/1
Overhead Press Day (75%, 85%, 95%)
Overhead Press: 135x5, 155x3, 175x6 (PR), 205x1 (PR)
Close Grip Bench Press (5’s Pro): 175x5, 205x5, 225x8 (PR)
Lat Pulldowns: 130x10, 150x10, 165x10
Shoulder Circuit: (3 rounds / 10 reps each movement) 45# Plate Front Raise / 25# DB Lateral Raise / Band Pull Apart

I was very excited to double PR on oh presses today. The 6th rep of 175 was a real grinder and had my doubts trying 205 because that rep was so tough. My partner for today (a.k.a my boss) convinced me to go for it. I thought that 6th rep was a grinder, the single with 205 felt like it took days to go over my head! The Close Grip PR was exciting just because I started wondering if I could even Bench Press 225 for 8 reps. Overall this was a great day and met one of my short term goals with oh pressing. Onward to 225!!

226

6/22/15

5/3/1
Bench Press Day (Spinal Tap)
Bench Press: 190x3, 215x3, 240x3, 200x5, 230x3, 255x1 (Paused), 175x5, 200x5, 230x5
Cable Row: 145 - 5x10
DB Curls: 30x10, 35x10, 35x10

Giving the Spinal Tap Template from Beyond 5/3/1 a shot for a while. I lowered my training max 3 steps back to see how I could handle the extra volume. Overall it felt great. My wife joined me for the workout and it was great having her there. She worked up to 95 for 2x5 on bench and did sets of 10 with 75-85 pounds after that. We went on vacation to the beach last week and did not do any lifting. I ran 2 miles last Thursday and Saturday which felt good other than the fact I decided to run during a time when the heat index was well over a hundred in our area.

227

6/23/15

Squat Day (Spinal Tap)
Squats: 225x3, 250x3, 280x3, 235x5, 265x3, 295x1, 205x5, 235x5, 265x5
KB Swing: 80# KB - 4x20
Leg Raise: 20# DB Between Feet - 4x10

My wife and I were very happy to get to the last set on squats. My hips were feeling pretty tight throughout every set. Can tell I did not do a lot of stretching while on vacation (OH WELL!!). She did sets of 5’s mostly with 135 and 145. Definitely not bad for her since she hasn’t done squats in several months. I did super-sets with the KB Swings and Leg Raises. Was going for 5 sets of each but had to cut it short since I had to get back to work. Good day overall!!

228

6/24/15

5/3/1
Overhead Press Day (Spinal Tap)
OH Press: 3x135, 3x150, 3x170, 5x140, 3x160, 1x180, 5x125, 5x140, 5x160
Lat Pulldowns: 150 - 5x10

All sets felt very good today on presses. Since switching to the false grip the bar path is a lot better than before. My wife hit 75 pounds for 3 reps today. Not too shabby for her first time with barbell oh pressing. Ran out of time so didn’t do the normal shoulder circuit. Did not mind skipping that one since after the 5th set of pulldowns we were pretty much toast!

229

6/26/15

Front Squat Day (Spinal Tap)
Front Squat: 175x3, 200x3, 225x3, 190x5, 215x3, 240x1, 265x1 (Joker), 165x5, 190x5, 215x5
KB Swing: 80 - 3x10
Ab Wheel: 3x10

Did not feel like deadlifting on Friday so I opted for front squats. Everything felt really good especially the 265 for a second single. The hardest set in the whole workout was the final set of 5 with 215. Got through the first 3 reps okay but had to really fight for the last 2. My upper back was starting to give out more than anything. Only hit 3 sets of swings and ab wheel since energy was getting pretty low. May keep front squats for a while and put deadlift on the shelf for a few weeks. This was a great workout on Friday but also pretty tiring!

230

6/29/15

Bench Press Day (Spinal Tap)
Bench Press: 190x3, 225x3, 245x3, 205x5, 230x3, 260x1, 285x1 (Joker PR), 185x5, 205x5, 230x5
DB Row: 80x10, 90x10, 100x10, 110x10, 125x6

Felt really good today. The 260 flew up and felt really confident about going for 285. The 285 rep felt pretty smooth but had a slight sticking point at the spot where my triceps start to takeover. Was able to push through and nail it!! My wife was able to hit 105 for an easy single but couldn’t quite lockout 115. She is doing really well considering she is following the same rep/set scheme. Form was getting sloppy on the final set of DB Rows so I capped the set at 6. Great day overall!!!

231

6/30/15

Squat Day (Spinal Tap)
Squat: 225x3, 260x3, 290x3, 240x5, 275x3, 305x1, 210x5, 240x5, 275x5
Leg Raises: 20# DB between feet - 5x10

Hips have been feeling pretty rough lately. Been doing lots of stretching and mobility work but still having a little bit of discomfort. Pretty sure it has more to do with my form than anything. The best feeling sets were from 305x1 to the 275x5. Was debating on going for a Joker with 335 but wasn’t really feeling it. Good day overall once I got into the groove.

232

7/1/15

5/3/1
Overhead Press Day (Spinal Tap)
OH Press: 135x3, 155x3, 175x3, 145x5, 165x3, 185x1, 125x5, 145x5, 165x5
Lat Pulldowns: 120x10, 120x10, 140x10, 160x10, 160x10

All sets on presses felt crisp except for the last rep on the last set of 165. Had to really grind out that last rep. Wife did not lift with me today so I was moving along pretty quick. It was lift, add weight, lift again, rinse and repeat which meant rest periods were kept pretty short. Was going to add the shoulder circuit at the end but started talking to a buddy of mine that lasted longer than expected. Overall it was a pretty good day!

233

7/2/15

5/3/1
Deadlift Day (Spinal Tap)
Deadlift
3-315
3-365
3-405
5-335
3-385
1-425
1-475 (Joker PR)
5-295
5-335
5-385

Great day overall for deadlifts. Was very happy with 475 which is getting me ever closer to the big 500 mark. My wife hit an easy 235 deadlift and barely missed locking out 250. That’s great for her since she hasn’t done a single deadlift since last summer when she and I worked out together. We didn’t do any assistance work since we were toast after all the deadlifts. Overall a great day for both of us!

234

7/6/15

Bench Press Day (Spinal Tap)
Bench Press
195x3
225x3
250x3
210x5
235x3
265x1(Paused)
290x1 (Joker PR)
300x Miss
185x5
210x5
235x5

DB Row: 85 - 5x10

Was having a pretty good day with bench press. I paused 265 and it flew up really fast. Threw on 290 and it went up pretty smooth. In the back of my mind I was feeling good about trying 300. Couldn’t lock it out. Not too beat up about it since I had just gotten 290 and set a new PR. Knocking on the door of a 300 pound bench press slowly but surely!! Just stuck with 85 pounds on DB Rows since energy was slowly fading. Overall it was a good day!

235

7/7/15

5/3/1
Squat Day (Spinal Tap)
Squat
235x3
265x3
300x3
250x5
285x3
315x1
330x1
215x5
250x5
285x5

Squats felt good today. I made sure to stretch my hips out a lot and had zero discomfort. Felt good to hit 330 for a single since I haven’t squatted anything over 315 since last year. The last set of 285 was not as brutal as I thought it was going to be. Also I squatted in my Chucks today as opposed to my Adidas Powerlifts and also no knee sleeves. The gym has been so warm lately that the sleeves were making me sweat even more than I already do. Not wear I wish I am with squats but slowly making improvements again!

236

Howdy man.

I was perusing through logs and I noticed that you ran the 531 2 day template using SVR. I was thinking of running the same template, albeit with a focus on Thib’s olympic complexes and some strongman-inspired conditioning, and yoga 2x weekly. I’d likely run it alternating between a hypertrophy cycle and a strength cycle, instead of SVR.

If you don’t mind, how did this template work out for you?

237

[quote]TX iron wrote:
Howdy man.

I was perusing through logs and I noticed that you ran the 531 2 day template using SVR. I was thinking of running the same template, albeit with a focus on Thib’s olympic complexes and some strongman-inspired conditioning, and yoga 2x weekly. I’d likely run it alternating between a hypertrophy cycle and a strength cycle, instead of SVR.

If you don’t mind, how did this template work out for you? [/quote]

I ran the 2 Day Template with SVR last Summer and had some really good results with it. For me I loved 3’s week to push as hard as possible for my rep PR and hitting required reps on 5’s week felt like a breath of fresh air especially when I would pyramid back down. Once I got to the 5/3/1 week I felt ready to hit heavy singles with Jokers and possibly set a new max which for me was giving me a big confidence boost. The idea of running it with the 2 day Template was to allow for decent recovery time and also I had just gotten into kettlebell lifting for conditioning and wanted to perfect my technique on off days. I also wasn’t afraid go hard and heavy on assistance work since I knew I would have plenty of recovery time between lifting sessions.

As far as actual lifts I think my Bench Press and Squat made better gains with that template than OH Press and Deadlifts. At that time though I felt like my Deadlift and OH Press technique was all over the place. It was the first time I ever Bench Pressed 265 for a single and Squatted 355 for a single. Not impressive numbers but those were huge gains for me at that time last year since I was doing a slight cut. Of course right now I would be happy with a 355 squat but I messed up my hip late last year and didn’t low bar back squat again until a few weeks ago.

I sort of bastardized the hypertrophy phase of the 2 Day Template and did 10 sets of 5 (Rule of 50 from Beyond) so I could still move heavier weights with my assistance. In a way it was sort of a happy medium between the strength phase and hypertrophy phase. Hope this helps you out some. Let me know if you have anymore questions and thanks for checking out my log!!

238

[quote]jblues85 wrote:

[quote]TX iron wrote:
Howdy man.

I was perusing through logs and I noticed that you ran the 531 2 day template using SVR. I was thinking of running the same template, albeit with a focus on Thib’s olympic complexes and some strongman-inspired conditioning, and yoga 2x weekly. I’d likely run it alternating between a hypertrophy cycle and a strength cycle, instead of SVR.

If you don’t mind, how did this template work out for you? [/quote]

I ran the 2 Day Template with SVR last Summer and had some really good results with it. For me I loved 3’s week to push as hard as possible for my rep PR and hitting required reps on 5’s week felt like a breath of fresh air especially when I would pyramid back down. Once I got to the 5/3/1 week I felt ready to hit heavy singles with Jokers and possibly set a new max which for me was giving me a big confidence boost. The idea of running it with the 2 day Template was to allow for decent recovery time and also I had just gotten into kettlebell lifting for conditioning and wanted to perfect my technique on off days. I also wasn’t afraid go hard and heavy on assistance work since I knew I would have plenty of recovery time between lifting sessions.

As far as actual lifts I think my Bench Press and Squat made better gains with that template than OH Press and Deadlifts. At that time though I felt like my Deadlift and OH Press technique was all over the place. It was the first time I ever Bench Pressed 265 for a single and Squatted 355 for a single. Not impressive numbers but those were huge gains for me at that time last year since I was doing a slight cut. Of course right now I would be happy with a 355 squat but I messed up my hip late last year and didn’t low bar back squat again until a few weeks ago.

I sort of bastardized the hypertrophy phase of the 2 Day Template and did 10 sets of 5 (Rule of 50 from Beyond) so I could still move heavier weights with my assistance. In a way it was sort of a happy medium between the strength phase and hypertrophy phase. Hope this helps you out some. Let me know if you have anymore questions and thanks for checking out my log!!

[/quote]
Thanks for the great write up! The way you describe it, SVR does seem like a great way to keep it interesting. I could just run that and just alternate assistance between light & high volume, then heavy and low volume.

I can see how the practice issue would affect the lifts too. As you mentioned /w OHP and deadlift, my squat technique has always been sort of iffy so I might expect some trouble with it.

That rule of 50 looks like a great way to counter that by getting some supplemental work in, and I may have to incorporate that strategy if I want to focus on the power lifts one day. Right now though I’d like to start preparing for crossfit (near) & strongman (not as near), so the power lifts are essentially assistance lifts themselves, haha.

Hope the hip feels better and thanks again!

239

7/9/15

5/3/1
Overhead Press Day (Spinal Tap)
OH Press:
140x3
160x3
180x3
150x5
170x3
190x1
135x5
150x5
170x5

All sets of presses felt crisp today. Did not have any reps where I felt like I was really grinding to complete a rep. The last set of 170 was surprisingly easier than I was expecting. Last week I had to really grind through the 5th rep of 165. Unfortunately no time for assistance since I had to get back to work. I may do some kettlebell rows in my office if it’s all quiet. Good day overall!!

240

Got a random infection from a bite on my left ankle that has caused some pretty good swelling. Will be skipping deadlifts and keep it medicated all weekend. Of course as beat up as I felt from deadlifts last week, I don’t mind skipping them this week. Always something!!!