5/3/1 Full Body
Bench Press Day (75%, 85%, 95%)
Paused Squats: 235x3, 275x3, 305x3
Bench Press: 225x5, 255x3, 285x2
T-Bar Row: 135x10, 160x10, 180x10, 225x10 -superset-
Ab Wheel: 4x10
Today’s Paused Squats were probably the best today than they have been the entire cycle. Felt very good and was able to maintain tightness on every rep. Bench Press on the other hand, didn’t go so well!! 255 for 3 reps felt very heavy. 285 for 2 felt okay and probably had a rep or two left but no spotter and didn’t feel overly confident pushing it too hard. Thought 4 reps would be doable even without a spotter but wasn’t to be today. T-Bar Rows were fun. Been a long time since I’ve hopped on those. Pretty good day today!
5/3/1
Deadlift Day (75%, 85%, 95%)
Deadlift: 395x5, 445x5, 495x3 (PR!!)
Leg Raise: 3x15
Very happy to hit what was my old max not too long ago for 3 reps and actually felt pretty good! 1st rep flew up very fast and kind of took me by surprise. Lost some tightness on the 3rd rep so instead of resetting I just put it down and settled for a very solid 3 rep PR. Wanted to hit Deadlift today as opposed to tomorrow since I didn’t have any errands to run at lunch today and was kind of antsy about trying to rep 495. Hit a few quick sets of Abs afterwards. Great day!!
5/3/1 Full Body
Overhead Press Day (75%, 85%, 95%)
Paused Squats: 235x3, 275x3, 305x3
Oh Press: 150x5, 170x3, 190x2
Not a great day on Friday. Paused Squats felt good but Overhead Presses felt pretty terrible. Pretty sure it has to do with form being all over the place and even though I feel great after Paused Squats, I’m sure that’s not helping my pressing either. Will keep moving forward from here!
3/12/16
Home Kettlebell Workout
1 Arm KB Clean & Jerk: 80 - 5x5 (each arm)
KB Snatch: 55 - 2x15, 1x20 (each arm) -superset-
Ab Wheel: 3x10
20 minute walk afterwards
Good kettlebell workout at home on Saturday. Spent most of the morning doing yard work but had plenty of energy left to get through a good kettlebell session. My form with the 80# for C&J’s feels so much better than with the 55. Probably due to the 80 being bigger and heavier it feels easier to control on the clean. Going to work to get 5x10 with each arm with the 80 over the the next few weeks. Snatches afterwards felt great. Since hitting the 80 for 5x10 on Snatches, the 55 feels like a feather. Pretty happy with this session.
A kettlebell club just opened here in town and isn’t too far from my house. Debating on joining that club but I want to check it out first and see what sort of equipment they have in their gym. Would be great if they had racks and barbells that way I could still do my 5/3/1 work and not have 2 gym memberships. We’ll see.
5/3/1 Full Body
Squat Day (65%, 75%, 85%)
Squats: 245x5, 275x5, 315x7 (PR)
Paused Bench Press: 205 - 3x5 -superset-
Pull Ups: 8,5,5,5,5
Happy to set another PR on Squats today. Previous PR with 315 was either 5 or 6 so happy to beat that by a rep. Felt pretty tired after Squats so I only did 3 sets of Bench Press. Trying to work on form and not press myself out of tightness with each rep. Pull Ups felt decent. Hands were feeling a little goofy during Pull Ups but pretty sure that was from the kettlebell work over the weekend. Good day overall!!
KB Swings: 80 - 4x25
Planks: 4x30 secs (active rest between Swings)
Mobility Work
Went home during lunch today so just swung the 80 around and did planks between sets. Didn’t really feel good enough to go for a 50+ swing set so just stuck with sets of 25. Nothing special but quick and easy.
5/3/1 Full Body
Bench Press Day (65%, 75%, 85%)
Paused Squats: 245x3, 275x3, 315x3 (PR)
Bench Press: 205x5, 230x5, 260x5
T-Bar Row: 170 - 2x15
Happy to set a little PR with Paused Squats with 315x3. First 2 reps felt really good but on the 3rd I was really having to fight pitching forward. Got a little forward but wasn’t too ugly. Bench Press felt pretty decent. 260x5 is definitely not a PR but I was happy I never pressed myself out of position. Couple of quick sets of T-Bar Rows and I had to scoot. Good workout today!
KB Snatch (each arm): 55# Bell - 2x20, 2x10
Mobility
Quick session this morning at home. Would have probably done this same workout at some point in my office but figured I would knock this out before work this morning. Nothing too special here
Pretty good day on Friday. Set a new PR with 455 on Deadlifts. Overhead Press felt pretty decent. Had to do Pause Squats last in the workout since both racks were taken again when I got to the gym.
3/19/16
Home Kettlebell Workout
1 Arm Clean & Jerk: 80# - 5x6 (each arm)
Ab Wheel: 3x15
Band Pulls: 3x15
Quick workout on Saturday. Another morning of yard work and other stuff I had to get done. Only took about 25 minutes to get this one done since my wife and I were heading to get a new car and drop our son off at a family member’s house.
5/3/1 Full Body
Squat Day (70%, 80%, 90%)
Squats: 260x3, 295x3, 330x5
Paused Bench Press: 215 - 3x5
Pull Ups: 10,8,7,7,7,5,5,5 = 54 total
330x5 ties my PR with that weight even though I was wanting 6. Got a little out of whack on the 5th rep and wasn’t feeling too confident about a 6th. I did not rack the weight right away and contemplated the 6th rep but I decided to live to play another day. I did supersets with my Bench Press and Pull Ups. Hands were starting to slip off of the bar on the 9th rep of the 1st set of pull ups which made the 10th pretty much a finger tips Pull Up. Good workout today!
5/3/1 Full Body
Bench Press Day (70%, 80%, 90%)
Paused Squats: 245x3, 275x3, 315x3
Bench Press: 215x3, 245x3, 275x4
T-Bar Row: 135x10, 180x10, 225x10, 225x10 -Dropset- 180x5, 135x10, 90x10
Ab Wheel: 1x20
I did not set any PR’s but this was actually a VERY good workout for me today. Paused Squats with 315 felt great!! No drifting forward on any of the 3 reps which is what I’ve been after. Been working on my Bench Press setup lately by slightly widening my grip, making sure my back stays tight and not press myself out of tightness. The 4 reps with 275 felt really good and stayed tight through each rep. I had a spotter today and he said I had a 5th rep easy but I racked it at 4 and didn’t want to chance a missed rep. T-Bar Rows were fun. The drop set at the end had my back pretty pumped. Quick set of Ab Wheel to finish up.
531 Full Body
Overhead Press & Deadlift Day (70%,80%,90%)
Front Squat: 225x2, 250x2, 275x2
OH Press: 145x3, 165x3, 185x5
Deadlift: 375x3, 425x3, 475x5 (PR)
Leg Raise: 3x15
Back Extension: 3x15
Decided to work up to a stress free double with Front Squats and 275 fit the bill. Probably could’ve worked up to 300 but was happy to stop there. Oh Press felt good. 185x5 isn’t a PR but form felt better than it has in a while. Switching from a thumbless grip back to a full grip seemed to help a little. Very happy with deadlifts. 475x5 was my goal for the day and beat my previous PR with that weight by 2 reps. Had some extra time left so hit some Ab and Lower Back work. Good session yesterday!
Kettlebell Ladder Workout
80# Kettlebell
1 Arm Clean & Jerk / Pull Ups
(1,2,3) x 6 Ladders
KB Swing: 55# - 125 in 4:30 minutes
Fun session and a pretty quick one at home. The timed kettlebell swings at the end were pretty killer after the Clean & Jerk Ladders and Pull Ups. Will shot for 10 Ladders of 1,2,3 when I have some extra time.
5/3/1 Full Body
Squat Day (75%, 85%, 95%)
Squats: 275x5, 315x3, 350x2 (PR)
Paused Bench Press: 230 - 3x5
Pull Ups: 10,7,7,7,5,5 = 41 total
Set a new Squat PR with 350 for a double but didn’t hit my goal of 3 or more today. Felt surprisingly stiff and just sort of felt all over the place in regards to technique. 315x3 felt better than any other set all day including warm ups. Not too worried about it. Paused Bench Press and Pull Ups felt decent. Was going to hit 5 sets on Bench but time sort of got a way from me a bit. Good day overall!!
5/3/1 Full Body
Bench Press Day (75%, 85%, 95%)
Squats: 225x3, 275x3, 315x3
Bench Press: 230x5, 260x3, 290x2
T-Bar Row: 135x10, 180x10, 205x10, 225x10
Ab Wheel: 4x10
My left groin has been bothering me for awhile and today it was pretty annoying during squats. I paused the 1st rep of 315 and didn’t pause the next 2. I think my body needs a bit of a deload which luckily happens next week. Bench Press felt pretty decent. I think 2 reps at 290 is a rep PR but not really sure. I went for a 3rd and couldn’t lock it out. T-Bar Row and Ab Wheel supersets were pretty straightforward.
Moving forward I will probably hop off of Full Body and get back to a 4 Day a Week Template. Not really sure what Template I will use after my deload. Can’t go wrong with doing First Set Last or may use Spinal Tap for either Bench Press or OH Press to get those movements moving upward again. We’ll see…
5/3/1
Deadlift Day (75%, 85%, 95%)
Deadlift: 395x5, 455x3, 500x1 (PR) 555xmiss (terrible set up, not even close), 555xmiss (better set up, got to knees)
Walking Lunges: 1x50 (each leg) - bodyweight
Leg Raise: 5x10
Back Ext. 5x10
Interesting workout for the day! Since I PR’ed with 495x3 last cycle I figured I might as well try for something pretty major since the single at 500 felt really good. Technically 500x1 is a PR since my deadlifts haven’t gone past 495 yet. Sort of botched my setup on the first attempt and got it to around mid-shin and didn’t have the energy to lock it out. I didn’t get close enough to the bar which made it drift on in front of me too much. I fixed my setup and got closer to the bar and really thought once I got to my knees I could lock it out but wasn’t happening today. If I wouldn’t have screwed up the first attempt I believe I could have grinded it out and made the lift. OH WELL… maybe in a few months I will give it another go! Lunges felt pretty good and didn’t bother my groin too bad. Ab and Back work to finish up a pretty “insightful” day!
Slow day at work so I’ve been giving some thought on my next few training cycles after the deload next week.
I’m looking at giving Beyond 5/3/1 - Training Maximally from the Beyond book. I don’t think I have ever tried that template before and after reading it through I think it’s what I’m looking for right now. I will reset all of my Training Maxes so that way I can have several options depending on how I am feeling that day. If feeling good I can go for a rep PR with my training max and still have some room to play with Jokers. The down sets I will use 5x5 70%-75% of my TM to get some volume work. Probably use sets of 3 on deadlifts. I like the option of if I feel like crap I can hit the TM for a single and move on to down sets, other assistance or just leave. This way I’m not tied to a rep minimum every week. I almost hate getting a new template ready since I get all excited and am ready to jump in and get some work done but I will be smart and deload next week so that way I can hopefully let my groin get better and let my body recover.
Kettlebell work will consist of the usual Clean & Jerks and Snatching. I think hitting Ladders with C&J’s and Pull Ups makes for a good KB strength workout and will throw some Snatches for either time or reps depending on what I’m in the mood to accomplish for that day. Pretty happy with my how KB Clean has come along the past few weeks.
Today’s work will be Overhead Press. Feel a little crappy today so hopefully things will go pretty decent. May try some Front Squats but that will depend on how my groin feels. I liked how those felt last week before pressing.
Just some random, rambling thoughts about training!
Beyond 5/3/1 - Training Maximally has been my favorite template so far. Tons of options based on how you’re feeling that day. I can see where some people might not like it because there’s nothing written in stone, but you definitely have the training knowledge to make it successful.
The only drawback I had with it is that the PR sets got a little stale because they were always at my TM. Basically, it was the TM set, followed by joker singles, followed by 70-75% work, rinse, repeat. But, if you’re working with a lower TM you could hit the TMx1 and use a joker for the PR set on some weeks, etc.
I plan on using the Beyond template as a stop-gap between 5 cycle runs because it allows me to work up to a 1rm, deload, and make sure my TM is correct (by making sure I’m getting at least 5-6 reps with it) before going into another 5 cycles, all without much thought on my end.
Wendler’s forum is also awesome. A lot of cool templates/challenges, and a good bunch of guys. You’d fit right in.
Thanks for the awesome write up with your experiences with the Beyond template. Scrolling through your log gave me the idea for it and made me read up on it again this morning. Jokers will be used sparingly and saved for a day where I feel something BIG can happen. I got a pretty good idea to what my TMs will be for Squats, Bench and Deadlift but Presses have been pretty inconsistent lately so will have to figure that out. Wendlers forum has always intrigued me but I just haven’t pulled the trigger on it yet. Keep killing it on your end!!
531
Overhead Press Day (75%, 85%, 95%)
Front Squat: Worked up to 300x1
OH Press: 155x5, 175x3, 195x2
Front Squat at 300 pounds felt very smooth and stress free. It’s a PR in terms of Front Squat. Was happy it didn’t bother my groin at all. Press felt better today but still not where it should be. Left after this since I couldn’t think of any other assistance work I wanted to hit. Decent day!!
Kettlebell Ladder Workout
80# Kettlebell
1 Arm Clean & Jerk / Pull Ups
(1,2,3) x 8 Ladders
KB Swing: 55# - 1x50
Didn’t get to hit up a kettlebell workout on Saturday so I felt a little out of my element doing this on a Sunday. Good session overall. Clean & Jerks felt pretty good as did the Pull Ups. Used a different grips each ladder just to keep things a little more interesting. My son woke up from his nap when I was about to start the 8th Ladder so I had a great cheerleader on the last round. The KB Swings were a little tough mainly because trying to talk to a 3 year old while swinging a kettlebell doesn’t exactly lend itself to breathing properly. Will try to hit a Snatch workout at some point this week.
