Front Squat Day (Spinal Tap)
Front Squat
185x3
215x3
235x3
195x3
225x3
250x3
175x3
195x3
225x3
Supposed to deload this week but figured I could sneak in some Front Squats using the 2nd version of Spinal Tap from Beyond. All sets and reps felt very smooth and clean. I went with the 2nd version just because things can get a bit ugly for me when I’m fatigued and going for 5 reps on the final set. I’m thinking of alternating weeks of Box Squats and Front Squats with this Template and seeing how things progress. Will hit maybe 1 or 2 more gym days this week to do my normal deload.
Nothing special about today. Just hit some heavier weights for a deload workout. Not planning on hitting the gym anymore this week. Will either do some bodyweight or kettlebell stuff at home and possibly hit the track at some point.
Right now I’m thinking of trying the Advanced 5/3/1 Template from Beyond 5/3/1 next week and see how things progress from there. Spinal Tap has been my favorite template so far and I have made great progress in the 6 weeks I’ve used it. Probably going back to using Front Squats since I can do those without feeling a lot of discomfort in my hips. May play around with low bar again next week to see how my hips feel but the plan is to use F.S. as my main squatting movement for a while.
5x50 yard Sprints
5x100 meter Sprints
60 Tire Flips (Broken into 6 sets of 10 flips rest a minute and repeat)
Good day at the track. My sprints felt very good on all distances. Felt like I was moving pretty fast even though I’m sure other people were thinking why is he jogging only 100 meters!! Happy to see the tires still out at the track. I wish I could go with heavier flips but I make due with what I have and make this as fast and explosive as possible. Looking forward to getting in the gym today and moving some weight!!
Felt like I flew through Bench Presses today. Kept my rest pretty minimal. This wasn’t on purpose but felt ready to go after ~1 minute rest each time. Did not get into a decent groove with overhead presses until the 2nd set. On a side note, I did not realize my legs were sore from sprints and tire flips until I laid down on the bench for my warm up sets. Took a few minutes for them to get loose. Good day overall!!
Front Squat Day (Advanced 5/3/1 Template)
Front Squat: 205 - 5x5
Box Squat: 250 - 3x5
Ab Wheel: 3x10
Back Extensions: 3x10
Glad to make it through this workout since I was running on very little sleep and have felt sluggish all day. Nothing too special about this workout but still a decent day!!
Overhead Press Day (Advanced 5/3/1 Template)
OH Press: 150 - 5x5
Close Grip Bench Press: 225 - 3x5
H.S. Lat Pulldown Machine: 90(each side)x10, 100x10, 110x10, 100x10, 90x10, 45x20
Shoulder Circuit: Plate Front Raise/DB Laterals/Bent Over Laterals/ - 45/25/15 - 3x10
Wasn’t planning on workout today but some things got moved around so I couldn’t workout tomorrow. OH Presses felt really crisp and clean. Was able to move through those fairly quick. Went with Close Grip Bench just for a little extra variety. Somewhat surprised how good all 3 sets felt with 225. Shoulder circuit was brutally fun considering I haven’t done it in a while. Pleased with how everything felt today!!
Box Squat Day (Advanced 5/3/1 Template)
Box Squat: 250 - 5x5
Front Squat: 205 - 3x5
Leg Curls: 3x10
Leg Extensions: 3x10
Cable Crunches: 5x10
8/15/15
Track Day
5x50 yard sprints
5x100 meter sprints
70 Tire Flips (Sets of 10)
Solid workouts on both days. Going to stick with doing box squats first and then hitting front squats since this seem to really loosen my hips and whole body. The last 2 100 meter sprints were pretty rough. I felt myself starting to fatigue about 75 meters into the sprint. Still loving tire flips. Slowly going to add 10 flips each week until I can hit 100 total flips. As long as the tires hang around the track I will use the box squat as a deadlift substitute for a while since my squat is pretty terrible right now!
Bench Press Day (Advanced 5/3/1 Template)
Bench Press: 255 - 5x3
OH Press: 150 - 3x5
T-Bar Row: 135x10, 160x10, 185x10, 205x5 — Drop set down to 90
DB Curls: 30x10, 35x10, 40x10
Bench Presses felt very crisp today. After each set it felt like I was getting in a better groove. Wasn’t planning on doing drop sets with T-Bar Rows but the handle kept sliding on the barbell with 205. Kept sliding plates off until I was down to a single 45. Overall it was a good day!
Front Squat Day (Advanced 5/3/1 Template)
Front Squat: 230 - 5x3
Box Squat: 250 - 3x5
KB Swings: 80# KB - 4x10 1x25
Planks: 5x30 secs (Super-set with KB Swings)
Front Squats felt a lot better today than they have in a while. Did not have any discomfort in my hip or groin area at all. I sped up my descent and narrowed my stance just a little bit which helped a lot. Sometimes I find myself slowly widening my stance but made sure to stay consistent with each work set. Felt good to get back some kettlebell swings. May get back to timed sets in the near future. Good day overall!!
I was using a different bar for presses at the gym today that felt like the knurling and rings were spaced different than all of the other bars. Took me 2 sets with 170 to find a decent hand spacing but did not affect my performance too much. Went with my normal grip for bench press today just to move things along a little quicker. Got a good pump with the Pulldowns and Shoulder Circuit to finish. Productive day overall!!
Box Squat Day (Advanced 5/3/1 Template)
Box Squat: 285 - 5x3
High Bar Pause Squat: 205 - 3x5
Leg Curls: 3x15
Leg Extensions: 3x15
Cable Crunches: 3x10
8/22/15
Track Day
5x50 yard sprints
5x100 meter sprints
80 Tire Flips (Sets of 10)
Good workouts on Friday and Saturday. High Bar Paused Squats felt very comfortable after doing Low Bar Box Squats. Legs had a great pump after the higher reps of leg curls and leg extensions. Everything felt really good at the track minus the extreme humidity. After my 3rd 100 meter sprint I debated on not doing the tires because it was so humid it was making me feel pretty crappy. Once I got my panties out of my crack I finally just went for it and got all of my flips done. Was really tired after that workout but was glad I hung in there and got the work done.
Finally got a 3 plate per side bench press!! I hit 315 on my second set after a paused rep with 285. Pretty smooth ride without any sticking points. Decided on cable rows for 3 sets since I was pretty worn out mentally after the pressing sets. Great day overall!!!
High Bar Squat Day (Spinal Tap)
High Bar Squat
195x3
225x3
255x3
275x3 (Joker)
215x5
235x3
265x1 - Paused
285x1 (Joker) - Paused
315x1 (Joker)
185x5
215x5
235x5
Ab Wheel: 3x10
Decided to go High Bar Olympic style squats today instead of Front Squats. I wanted some extra work/practice so I just used my current Front Squat Training Max with Spinal Tap and several Jokers in various spots. The movement felt very good on my hips which I am happy with. The 315 squat is technically a High Bar PR but nothing to brag about even though the rep felt pretty easy. May keep High Bar Squats with Spinal Tap and continue using Advanced 5/3/1 for the other movements. Good day overall!!!
[quote]dagill2 wrote:
Very impressed with the combination of kB and barbells man, I’ll be following.[/quote]
My kettlebell work has been reduced to Swings for now but eventually will get back to Snatches, Long Cycle etc. at some point in the future. Lately I’ve been trying different templates in Beyond 5/3/1 and see what kind of gains happen in terms of barbell movements. Thanks for stopping in and checking out my log!! Keep killing it on your end!
OH Presses felt pretty crisp today. Did not feel like going for a PR so just stuck with the 5 singles. Got a good pump from the pulldowns and shoulder circuit. Did a set of hammer curls but wasn’t really feeling anything happening as far as the muscle working and was sort of checked out mentally!! Nothing too special about today but pleased with the workout as a whole!
High Bar Squats: Worked up to 315x3
Paused H.B. Squats: 225 - 5x3
Leg Curls: 3x15
Standing Cable Crunches: 5x10
Back Extensions: 3x10
8/29/15
Early A.M. walk with wife and son ~30 minutes
Track Day
50 yard Sprints x 5
100 meter Sprints x 2 (Ended workout)
Wanted some more High Bar Squat work on Friday and got some decent work in. Felt happy to do these and have zero pain anywhere on my body. Encouraging sign moving forward in regards to squats. I had to cut my track time short due to my left ankle feeling kind of odd after the 1st 100 meter sprint. I tried to run a second to see if it would work itself out but still felt funny so I just cut it short. Did not seem worth it to try anything stupid and make things worse. Felt fine the on Sunday while I was doing some stretching and mobility work. Probably a random occurrence.
All sets of bench felt smooth. I paused the last rep of each set just to say I got some paused work for the day. First two sets of OH Press felt kind of rough but on the last set each rep was smooth without losing any bar speed. Nothing too over the top adventurous today which is one thing I kind of like about the Advanced 5/3/1 Template. It’s pretty much, go in get some decent work done and leave! Still riding the fence on if I want to run Spinal Tap for my Squat for the next 3 weeks or use the current template I’m using. Will probably be a game time decision tomorrow!
High Bar Squat a.k.a. Squat Day (Spinal Tap)
Squat
225x3
255x3
285x3
240x5
270x3
300x1
205x5
240x5
270x5
Ab Wheel: 3x10
Leg Extensions: 3x10
High Bar Squats will be my main Squat pattern from here on out since it feels stupid to type in High Bar Squat for everything. Today went about as I expected. I ended up playing several pick-up games of basketball from 8:30 to 11:00 last night with the youth pastor at the church my we recently started attending. I tried to go to bed as soon as I got home but ended up just rolling around the bed in my own sweat (pretty nasty!!) still hyped up from playing basketball and never felt like I fell into a deep sleep. The squats did not feel heavy but I felt pretty slow and lethargic. Pretty good day overall!! Still happy to know I can still somewhat play a decent game of basketball even though I haven’t played any type of pick-up game in at least 5 years!!!
OH Presses felt pretty decent today. All sets felt pretty smooth. Bench Press always feels off after doing OH Press. Takes me a few sets to get into a decent groove. Debated on skipping the shoulder work after pulldowns but gave it a go and felt decent through all exercises. Even added a random set of barbell curls!!
On a side note… I’m going to abandon the Spinal Tap ship for squats this cycle. After thinking about the advanced template and seeing how it works I would actually get just as many sets and reps but spread out over two days instead of one crazy day.