Turns out the infection on my ankle was cellulitis that originated from a bug bite. From Thursday evening to yesterday evening it was take medicine, ice foot, elevate and repeat.
ANYHOO… back in the gym today.
Had a good day overall. Wanted to try a Joker at 295 since 270 flew off of my chest even with a pause. My wife is not comfortable spotting me for attempts like that and there wasn’t really anyone else in the free weight area so I just moved on to my 5’s. In hindsight I should’ve gone for it and it would’ve been extra motivation since there would be a chance I would miss it and she wouldn’t grab the bar in time! Ended the curls after 2 sets since form was getting a sloppy. If feeling good next week I will give 300 a try!
Technique on squats felt very solid today. I was pleased with how easy the 3 reps with 315 felt just because I felt like I was able to stay tight throughout the entire set. 325 felt pretty good as well and the final set I started losing some of the tightness due to fatigue but was able to get through it alright. Skipped on assistance due to time constraints. I definitely have to take longer rest periods with squats than bench press or oh press. May do some various planks this evening watching tv just to get some form of ab work. Good day overall!!
Exact same weights from last week. I guess when working with percentages and a Training Max there isn’t too much of a difference between 195 and 200. Got through this workout in about 25 minutes which made that last set of 5 reps at 170 a lot harder than last week. Had to rush since I had another place I had to go on my lunch break.
Decline Sit Ups: 5x10 - BW
Back Extension: 3x10 - BW
Got through deadlifts without too many issues on Friday. Did not feel like going for a Joker. The final set of 5 was a little more difficult but that’s always to be expected. Had some extra time for some ab and low back work as well. Good day overall and nothing too exciting happening in this workout.
Finally hit one of my long term goals of a 300 pound Bench Press!!! Felt pretty good going up and didn’t feel as if I had a major sticking point. I had a feeling I was going to be able to get it today just because 275 flew off my chest even with a pause. Hopefully before the end of the year I will be able to hit 3 Plates on each side which is my next goal. Very pleased with setting this PR!!
5/3/1
Squat Day (Spinal Tap)
Squat
245x3
280x3
315x2
END OF WORKOUT - LEFT GYM - WENT TO CHIPOTLE WITH WIFE!!
Everything felt like crap today from hips, knees and even my brain!! My mind wasn’t in it and even my wife wasn’t feeling it today. We just decided to call it a day and spend the rest of my lunch break at Chipotle. May try to hit this squat workout again tomorrow or Friday and see what happens.
[quote]BCFlynn wrote:
Congrats on the 300! Don’t worry about today’s squat workout. Just get the reps and move on![/quote]
Thanks BC!! It was sort of tough to hit the gym today with the same energy and enthusiasm I had yesterday. Because of that and a full load at work, I debated on not going to the gym at all today to mainly give my mind a break and also it didn’t help my wife wasn’t in the mood to workout either. Depending on how I feel tomorrow I may go back in and give it a whirl. Thanks for the kind words!! Keep killing it on your end!!
5/3/1
Squat Day (Spinal Tap) ---- DO OVER DAY!!
Squat
245x3
280x3
315x3
265x5
300x3
335x1
230x5
265x5
300x2
Not sure if this was the smartest thing in the world to do today but I wanted revenge on yesterday’s workout. The set of 315 felt pretty good, 335 was a grinder and on the last set with 300 I did not have anymore energy to go for 3 more reps. I’ve gone about 6 cycles of low bar squats and think it’s time to go 3 back. Debating on switching to front squats again for a while or box squats just to keep some wear and tear off of my hips. I’m sure it’s probably a form issue with my low bar squat but front squats seem to keep me less achey. Not planning on entering a meet anytime soon so I guess I have the freedom to do whatever at this point. We’ll see… pretty decent day considering how bad everything felt yesterday!
H.S. Iso Lateral Lat Pulldown: 90 (each side) - 5x10
Needed a good day like today to get my head back on straight after the squat debacles the past couple of workouts. Pressing felt very strong today. 185 for 3 reps is a PR just because I’ve never done more than 1 rep with that weight. 195 flew up pretty fast and debated on trying 215 for a single but knew I would need the energy for the final set of 5. 175 felt pretty good even though the 5th rep didn’t exactly feel easy. Great day overall and feeling really good about my upper body strength right now. Wish I could say the same for lower body strength!!!
Hit another goal last week of a 5 plate deadlift. Decided to give 495 a go since a friend of mine (competitive powerlifter) was also deadlifting. I wish I could say it was an absolute smoke show but in reality it was the longest grind of my short lifting life. The bar got to my knees pretty smooth but locking out felt like it took forever. In other words I felt like I started the lift on Friday, bar to my knees on Saturday and it took until about Wednesday to lockout. A part of me wishes I would have put the 2.5 plates on there and get an even 500 but I think that extra 5 pounds would have kept me from locking out. Great day overall and a great week last week minus my squats being all over the place in regards to technique.
[quote]furo wrote:
Congratulations on the deadlift PR, 5 plates is fantastic! :)[/quote]
Thanks furo!! Next goal is to officially get that number above 500 then I guess from there move on to 6 plates which sounds daunting at the moment!! Got to eventually get back to my kettlebells! They have looked so lonely sitting in the corner of my house!
[quote]furo wrote:
Congratulations on the deadlift PR, 5 plates is fantastic! :)[/quote]
Thanks furo!! Next goal is to officially get that number above 500 then I guess from there move on to 6 plates which sounds daunting at the moment!! Got to eventually get back to my kettlebells! They have looked so lonely sitting in the corner of my house![/quote]
I suppose one thing you could try is a focussed deadlift training block, with heavy swings as a main accessory lift? It would be interesting to see how much they helped out. Either way I’m sure 500 will fall any day now and then you’ll be reeling in the 600!
[quote]furo wrote:
Congratulations on the deadlift PR, 5 plates is fantastic! :)[/quote]
Thanks furo!! Next goal is to officially get that number above 500 then I guess from there move on to 6 plates which sounds daunting at the moment!! Got to eventually get back to my kettlebells! They have looked so lonely sitting in the corner of my house![/quote]
I suppose one thing you could try is a focussed deadlift training block, with heavy swings as a main accessory lift? It would be interesting to see how much they helped out. Either way I’m sure 500 will fall any day now and then you’ll be reeling in the 600![/quote]
I can definitely agree that kettlebell swings is what got my deadlift going in the right direction last year especially when locking out. There was a stretch after 5/3/1 Deads when I was doing Box Squats for sets of 5 and then doing 2 hand swings with my 80# KB that got me to the 2x bodyweight deadlift. Going to invest in a heavier bell (something around 100 pounds) at some point in the future when I start getting back into serious kettlebell lifting. Just kind of riding this wave of progress that the 531 Spinal Tap Template has given me. Of course I could quit being a lazy bum on Saturdays when my son is napping and actually do a quick kettlebell workout!!!
Set another PR this week with a 305 Bench Press. The bar came off my chest pretty smooth but started to get a cramp in my hamstring about halfway up that slowed me down a good bit. Was able to power through it and luckily it didn’t turn into a full on cramp or I would have been in big trouble. I keep wondering if I can ride this sort of linear progression of Jokers all the way to 315. Good day overall!!!
Box Squats may have to be my new jam for a while. These felt so much better on my body and wasn’t near as achey doing them. With that said it was still pretty tough coming up from a complete pause off of the box. Decided to go with a 3’s Joker since I would probably get more out of the triple than I would the single. Nothing too special about today.
5/3/1
Overhead Press Day (Spinal Tap)
OH Press:
150x3
170x3
190x3 (Rep PR by default)
160x5
180x3
200x1
140x5
160x5
180x5 (Rep PR by default)
H.S. Iso Lateral Lat Pulldown: 90 (each side) - 5x10
Had a good day with overhead presses. The 190x3 and 200x1 felt really good and crisp but the last set of 180x5 was going well until the 5th rep. That was a real grind to lockout which I knew it would be but very happy to set a 5 rep PR with that weight. Probably going to reset my Training Max with presses after my deload next week. This is mainly due to that last set being so tough. So far Spinal Tap has definitely been my favorite template from Beyond 5/3/1. Will continue to run this template for a while.
Sorry it took so long to get back to you. I was away coaching my son’s baseball team and didn’t workout.
Thanks for the kind words, the biggest carryover I saw was with double kettlbell front squats helping the back squat. The military press didn’t do much. Different using a bar vs. kettlebells.
The deadlift definitely went up from the kettlebells due to the hip snap.
An 88 getup is not fun. It is completely mentally fatiguing, especially on the way back down. I lost one going from the elbow to the knee the other day. Putting the 88 aside for awhile. Doing cluster training instead. Press, Rows, Front Squat, Double Snatch
5/3/1
Deadlift Day (Spinal Tap)
Mobility Work
Deadlift
3-335
3-380
3-430
5-360
3-405
1-455
5-315
5-360
5-405
Leg Raise: 3x10 - 20# DB Between Feet
Back Extension: 3x10 - 25# Plate on Chest
Felt really tired on Friday and every lift felt 15-20 pounds heavier than normal. Got through the lifts okay but was glad when it was over with. I was moving through this workout pretty quick which is why I had time to hit some assistance afterwards. May explain the fatigue during deadlifts. Nothing special about this workout.
8/1/15 Track Day
Mobility Work
1 Mile Run
55 Tire Flips
Decided to run a steady mile and as I came around the track I noticed some decent sized tractor tires on a hill above the asphalt track. After my mile run I couldn’t help but run over and play around with these for a while. I LOVED flipping these tires. I kept flipped the tire 25 times one way and 25 back but had to do 5 more flips to get it back to it’s original spot which is how I came up with 55 flips. As much as I loved doing this my back and hamstrings were reminded that I did a ton of deadlifts on Friday. I wish I could make this a staple for a track day but I highly doubt those tires will be a permanent fixture at the track!
8/2/15
Mobility work
1 Arm KB Swings - 5x10 (each side) 55# KB
Trying to improve my mobility and figured since I already had a decent sweat going I might as well do a few kettlebell swings!
