5 x 1 Arm Swings
5 x Snatch
5 x Press
5 x Lunge (rack position)
10 x Ab Wheel Rollouts
Slowly making my way towards Snatching 5 sets of 10 reps with the 80# KB. I was surprised how good the snatches felt since I haven’t done them in a couple of weeks. Probably also helped I had a day rest between my Deadliift session and this kettlebell workout. I did not feel like completely burying myself so I just went with 3 rounds of the circuit. On the presses I would clean the first rep and rep out the presses from there. Really need to work on my clean but as usual not too worried about it right now. Good workout on Saturday!
5/3/1 Full Body
Squat Day (Deload)
Squats: Worked up to a single at 350
Incline Bench Press: 135 - 3x10 -superset with Band Pulls-
Ab Wheel: 1x25
Decided to work up to my Training Max for a single as my deload work for Squats. Was supposed to be 345 but 350 sounded cooler. The rep felt very good and wasn’t a grind. Definitely have gotten stronger on High Bar Squats than I did on Low Bar. The last time I remember hitting 350 (low bar) a while back it was a pretty rough grind but this felt pretty smooth. Happy I’m heading in the right direction with Squats. Nothing eventful after that
Not 5/3/1 Full Body…
Paused Front Squats: 225 - 3x3
Paused Bench Press: 135x5, 185x5, 225x5 -superset with pull-ups-
Pull Ups: 3x8
Toes to Bar: 1x7
Won’t make it to the gym tomorrow so I decided to go mess around today. Front Squats felt really good and can tell doing High Bar Squats has made my Front Squat stronger. Wanted to go heavier but had to remind myself it’s a deload week. Was going to do multiple sets of Toes to Bar but I can tell someone was wanting to use the rack that has the pull up bar I was using so I just ended things there. Fun workout today!!
Full Body (Deload)
Paused Squats: 135x3, 185x3, 225x3
Oh Press: Worked up to 205 for a single
DB Oh Press: 40x8, 45x8, 50x8
Band Pull Aparts: 100 total reps
BB Curls: Bar - 5x20
Nothing too special about this workout. 205 for a single felt a lot better today than it did last week. Need to squeeze my glutes harder when performing these and not be lazy. The 5 sets of 20 reps with just the empty bar for curls was burning my biceps up pretty good.
5/3/1 Full Body
Squat Day (65%, 75%, 85%)
Squats: 235x5, 270x5, 305x5
Done…
Call me not hardcore but weather here in the south has gotten pretty warm and humid the past few days and of course it was hotter in the gym than it was outside. I got through my squats and just decided to pack it up and head out the door. Last time I pushed through a workout when the gym was that hot I felt like absolute crap the rest of the day. Squats felt pretty good though!
Definitely fair enough, I struggle to move in humid heat let alone squat. Luckily I never have to deal with it over here! Whereabouts in the states are you? Your log is great, you’re looking unstoppable
I live in South Carolina where the weather overall here really doesn’t get too crazy. We have cold winters and hot summers as well as mild autumns and springs. We still have to deal with a good bit of humidity. Normally I would have just sucked it up and kept training but I had to play guitar for a church revival that night and didn’t want to feel like crap just for the sake of a workout.
Thanks for the compliment!! Deadlifts, Squats and KB Snatches are starting to trend in the right direction even though my pressing hasn’t really moved much. Can’t have everything at once!! I’ve still been keeping up with your log and seems like you are getting some good work in despite your injury. Don’t let the injury get you down, it will heal and you will be back to business as usual before too long!
5/3/1 Full Body
Bench Press Day (65%, 75%, 85%)
Paused Squats: 235x3, 270x3, 305x3 (Technically a PR)
Bench Press: 195x5, 225x5, 255x5
DB Row: 110 - 4x10 -superset-
Ab Wheel: 4x10
Air condition was on at the gym today which was already making today a good day! 305 for 3 reps is a PR as far as Paused Squats are concerned. I know I have paused 300 low bar for 1 rep before so it’s nice to beat that by 5 pounds, 2 reps and high bar! Bench Press felt pretty good. I reset my Training Max so I’m not constantly having to grind out reps every session. Stuck with the required reps but all 5 were pretty smooth. I liked the DB Row and Ab Wheel superset as opposed to Toes to Bar. A little easier on my hands, I know… WUSS!!! Good workout today!
You definitely did the right thing - got the hardest part done without destroying yourself. I find humidity so hard to cope with lol. Your press will come, they always say that the press takes so much longer than everything else. Thanks man, I appreciate the kind words.
5/3/1
Deadlift Day (65%, 75%, 85%)
Deadlift: 345x5, 395x5, 445x5
Walking Bodyweight Lunges: 1x75 (each leg) ---- hating life at this point
Hanging Leg Raises: 2x10
Back Extensions: 2x10
Was planning on a little kettlebell work at home during lunch break today but felt like hitting deadlifts today as opposed to tomorrow. 445 for 5 reps felt really smooth but I didn’t really feel like pushing past 5 reps today. Would rather save it for upcoming weeks. Haven’t done lunges in a while so I figured I would five these a go. At first I was thinking I will do a couple of sets of 25 with each leg and move on but for some reason my brain told me to get 50 straight with each leg. Once I hit 50 my brain said lets go for 75 unbroken with each leg. Pretty happy hitting 75 with each leg unbroken other than to turn around when I got to a wall. Pretty insane leg pump!! A couple sets each of Hanging Leg Raises and Back Extensions to top the workout off. Figure tomorrow it will be Squats, OH Press and some Pull Ups since I didn’t do these on Monday. Good day overall!
5/3/1 Full Body
Overhead Press Day (65%, 75%, 85%)
Squats: 275x3, 305x3 340x1
Oh Press: 135x5, 150x5, 170x7, 135x10
Pull Ups: 8,5,5,5,5
2/27/16
Sprints:
5 x 100 meter
5 x 50 meter
Decent workouts on Friday and Saturday. Went a little heavier on Squats like what is written in the 2nd Edition of 531 (3x75%, 3x85%, 1x95%). May do this from now on Friday. Have Monday be Squats 5/3/1, Wednesday Paused Squats (3x65%, 3x75%, 3x85%) and Friday do 3x75%, 3x85%, 1x95% for a little variety and handle some heavier weights. Overhead Presses felt pretty decent. 170x6 felt alright but was happier with 135x10 as a quick FSL AMRAP. Did some pull ups afterwards. I superset Pull Ups with some Power Jerks at 135 for 3 reps just to get some practice in with that movement.
Sprints felt pretty good on Saturday but could tell it had been a while. It didn’t help that my legs were pretty sore from previous workouts but got through them okay. Lungs handled the sprints fine and could have handled more but my legs were pretty much done.
5/3/1 Full Body
Squat Day (70%, 80%, 90%)
Squats: 250x3, 285x3, 320x5
Bench Press: 225 - 5x5
H.S. Lat Pull Down: 90 each side - 5x10 (superset with Ab Wheel)
Ab Wheel: 5x10
Squats were feeling pretty decent today. 320 for 5 reps isn’t a PR but pretty happy with this considering my legs were still pretty sore from previous workouts. My breathing and bracing got slightly worse after each rep. 1st rep the weight flew up and was thinking I could get 8 reps as opposed to my goal of getting 6. Each rep after that just seemed like I couldn’t brace properly. Decided to Bench Press as opposed to DB Incline since a friend of mine was benching as well and we joined in together. Pulldowns were fun and getting a little rough since I haven’t done a vertical pull movement anything over 8 reps in a long time. Pretty good workout today!
Home Workout
KB Swings: 55 - 1x100 unbroken
20# Med Ball Slam x10
20# Med Ball Backward Throw x 10
Mobility Work
Quick workout waiting on more repairmen to get to the house. The 100 swings felt pretty good. I was wanting to push for more and set a PR but my glutes felt like they were on fire which got my breathing out of rhythm. Mobility work was various stretches, goblet squats and sumo deadlifts with the 55# kettlebell.
5/3/1 Full Body
Bench Press Day (70%, 80%, 90%)
Bench Press: 210x3, 240x3, 270x5
Paused Squats: 235x3, 270x3, 305x3
Band Pull Aparts: 50 total reps
Gym was pretty crowded and both racks were taken so I ended up benching first. 270 for 5 reps felt pretty good. No spotter so didn’t feel comfortable shooting past 5. Rack finally opened up after I finished benching and got my paused squats done. I brought my grip in and seem to really help keep my upper back tight and bracing was better today. Personally, I like doing paused squats first to get those out of the way. Having to do them after bench press, I wasn’t really in the mood to do much else. Dumbbell area was really crowded so I skipped rows and found a band and hit some quick band pulls. Pretty decent day today.
Home Workout
KB Swings: 80 - 1x50, 2x25
Mobility Work
Happy to hit 50 straight swings with the 80 pound kettlebell. Last set of 25 got rough at about 20 and had to trudge through the final 5. Nothing special.
5/3/1 Full Body
Overhead Press & Deadlift Day (70%, 80%, 90%)
Oh Press: 140x3, 160x3, 180x5, 140x10
Deadlift: 365x3, 415x3, 465x4 (PR)
Paused Squats: 250 - 3x3
Pretty good day on Friday. Had goals of hitting 6 on Press and 5 on Deadlift. Fell 1 rep short of my goals but happy with the Deadlift PR. Another crowded day at the gym so had to hit Squats last.
3/5/16
Home Workout
KB Snatch: 80 - 5x10 (goal achieved)
20 minute walk around the neighborhood afterwards
Very happy to achieve my goal of snatching my 80 pound kettlebell for 5 sets of 10 reps with each arm for a total of 100. I was supposed to hit 5x8 but figured if I can get 8 reps I should be able to get 10. First 4 sets things were going very well with each arm. On the 5th set with my left hand I was really having to focus on the last 3 reps. Fatigue was setting in and also the bell and my hands were getting very slippery from sweat but was able to push through and get those last few reps with my left. I was so pumped after that, when I switched to my right I was flying through those 10 reps and had zero issues. Went for a walk around the neighborhood afterwards because I had ZERO desire to do my normal KB Circuit afterwards. Glad to have this goal achieved but not sure what my next mission will be in terms of kettlebells!
5/3/1 Full Body
Squat Day (75%, 85%, 95%)
Squats: 275x5, 305x3, 340x4 (PR) (Finally a new Squat PR)
Oh Press: 150 - 5x5 -superset-
Pull Ups: 8x5
So happy to finally set a PR on Squats. It has been forever since I got to say that! Squats felt really good today. The goal today was to get more than 3 and 5 would’ve been really awesome so I hit right in the middle at 4 which still makes me happy. Decided on some Overhead Press instead of Incline DB’s just to get some extra overhead work. Pull Ups felt pretty decent as well. Great day overall!
Yes I did this at work with work clothes on. Had a window of opportunity when the office was empty and quickly knocked out a set of KB Swings and a quick set of lunges. Finished this up just in time before my bosses came back to the office. I’m not sure if 112 straight swings is a PR but pretty happy with this!
Thanks NCFox!! It’s one of the advantages for working for a small company and when everyone is gone to lunch or meetings. The only time things got weird was when I was doing Goblet Squat Stretches and a client of ours walked in asking if I was pooping! Luckily I’ve known the guy for years so it wasn’t as awkward as opposed to a brand new client first time in our office.
