5/3/1 Full Body
Bench Press Day (75%, 85%, 95%)
Paused Front Squat: 195x3, 215x3, 240x3 (Beltless)
Bench Press: 210x5, 235x3, 265-2x3
T-Bar Row: 225 - 3x10
DB Farmers Walks: 110 (each hand) 2x50yds
Decided to use my 3’s week percentages on this day again for Paused Front Squats. First 2 sets felt rough since I was feeling pretty tight. Luckily those sets got me loose and the 240 set moved very well. I hate admitting this but I feel like my Bench Press sets were doomed from the get-go. I just wasn’t in the mood to bench today and just couldn’t get myself in a good frame of mind for it. For some reason on the 265 set I paused the first rep, so I figured I would just go with it. Got 2 more, racked it for a moment, reset myself, and did another 3 paused reps. 3 rep of the 2nd set was pretty tough but got it okay. No spotter again today. I only had time for 2 sets of Farmers Walks but happy I didn’t have to drop the 110’s at any point. Good session today but need to get in a better frame of mind for Bench Press!
5/3/1 Full Body
OH Press / Deadlift Day (75%,85%,95%)
Paused Front Squat: 215x3, 230x3, 255x1
Oh Press: 140x5, 160x3, 180x5
Deadlift: 365x5, 405x3, 455x6 (ties PR)
KB Waiters Walk: 50 - 4x50yds (each arm)
Didn’t set a PR on Press but still happy with 5 reps with 180 and maybe a rep or two left in the tank. Debated on a Joker with 200 but moved on. Previous PR was/is 6 reps with 455 and really wanted 7. I was bracing so hard into my belt the whole time, on rep 5 I got that borderline I’m going to throw up a little in my mouth feeling. Got the 6th rep and the feeling got worse so I stopped there. The weight moved well though. No PRs set today but was a pretty good day overall!
Throws (20# Med Ball)
10 x Slams
10 x Backward Throw
5 Rounds of the following:
55# Kettlebell Snatch x 10 (each arm)
100 meter hard run
10 decline push ups
100 meter hard run
I can honestly say that the first few rounds the 100 meter runs were probably at about 85% of a sprint. The last 2 rounds the running turned into more of a hard jog and on the final 100m I just gave it everything I had left which wasn’t much. Totaling 100 Snatches, 10-100 meter runs and 50 push ups in one workout had me gasping for air at the end. The 95 degree weather didn’t things either. I would classify this day as a good, hard conditioning day!
5/3/1 Full Body
Front Squat Day (65%, 75%, 85%)
Front Squat: 185x5, 210x5, 235x8 (Capped)
Overhead Press: 145 - 5x5
Band Pull Aparts: 8x15 (superset with Press)
Sort of had it in my head I was going to just hit required reps on Front Squats today. Felt a little better about myself capping at 8 instead of 5. Felt the need to get some extra overhead press work instead of incline dumbbell pressing and for simplicity just superset some band pull aparts. Had to scratch Farmers Walks today due to time crunch and crowded gym. I may have to combine Bench Press and Deads together since I doubt I will make the gym Friday. Of course if I don’t do any deadlifts this week, that will be fine. I’d rather skip deads on a 5’s week than any other week. Decent day overall!
5/3/1 Full Body
Bench Press Day (65%, 75%, 85%)
Paused Front Squat: 195x3, 225x3, 250x3 (Beltless Paused PR)
1A) Bench Press: 185x5, 210x5, 240 - 3x5
1B) Band Pull Aparts: 3x15 - between warm up sets of Bench Press
1C) DB Row: 95 - 5x10 - between work sets of Bench Press
DB Farmers Walks: 110 (each hand) - 2x50yds
Used my 3’s week %'s for Paused Front Squats and 250x3 moved very well. This wasn’t anything too special but I just felt the need to put PR beside that since it is technically a little PR in terms of Beltless Paused F.S. I liked the work I put in on Bench Press today. Doing Pull Aparts during warm-ups and Rows during work sets worked pretty well. As far as the 3x5 with 240, I was going to go with a Rule of 10 thought but the weight was moving well enough that I did a 3rd set and my form got better with each set. Sort of similar to the Advanced Template. I may use the Rule of 10 on the top sets and then if things are going well I can add a set or two. That way I can get a little more Bench Press practice. May be a dumb move but we’ll see how it goes. Had a little time left to hit a couple of Farmers Walks. No drops once again with this weight. Very pleased about today and felt like I was pretty productive with this session!
5/3/1 Full Body
Oh Press / Deadlift Day (65%,75%,85%)
Paused Front Squats: 210x3, 235x3, 265x1
Oh Press: 125x5, 145x5, 165x8
Deadlift: 320x5, 365x5, 415x10 (rep PR)
Set a beltless PR with a 265 Paused Front Squat. I like having my 95% weight for a single with a pause. It gives me more confidence when the PR set rolls around in a couple of weeks. Feeling better about my Oh Press and think I’m slowly coming out of a plateau. Switched back to a false grip and feels so much better. Not sure why I went away from that grip in the first place. Happy with a new 10 rep PR at 415 on deadlifts. Originally I was going to cap the set in the 5-8 range but once I got to 8 I figured I might as well get 10. Skipped on carries since I was pretty tired and also thought I had a very good day.
I feel a little guilty - had not looked in on your log for a little while, usual hit-or-miss stuff (I always just quick look at the “latest” posts when I do check the forums)…but it looks like solid work has rolled on here. I really dig the approach you’ve been taking - some of those “track” days are really great conditioning work!
7/16/16
Track Day
Throws (20# Med Ball)
10 x Slams
10 x Backward Throw
5 Rounds of the following:
55# Kettlebell Snatch x 10 (each arm)
50 meter 70# DB (each arm) Farmers Walk
10 push ups
50 meter 70# DB Farmers Walk back to KB
Did the first 3 rounds with light rain and pretty cool conditions. By the end of the 3rd round the sun came out and it became very hot and humid. The challenge towards the end was keeping a decent grip on the kettlebell during snatches. Farmers Walks were easy enough but it’s the heaviest Dumbbells I own. I own a pair of Poweblock Dumbbells and the heaviest I can go is 70#. Sort of a weak man’s, strongman workout!!
My “track” days have sort of taken these weird turns lately. I should be using that time to do some sort of sprinting or running but it’s hard for me to get the motivation to do so. Since I Front Squat 3 times a week, Deadlifts fall on Friday and go to the track on Saturday my brain is not in the running mode. Carrying dumbbells, med ball and a kettlebell or two to the track each Saturday isn’t fun as far as putting them in the car but there is a lot of room for creativity. I’m sure I will sprinkle in some sprinting/running here and there but mostly I will use that time to get creative. Luckily it is a really good conditioning workout that doesn’t have me too beat down the rest of the weekend. Thanks for checking in!
5/3/1 Full Body
Front Squat Day (70%, 80%, 90%)
Front Squat: 195x3, 225x3, 250x8 (PR)
1A) Overhead Press: 145 - 5x5
1B) Pull Ups: 5,5,5,5,10
What felt like I was going to have a rough day turned out to be a really good day. The first two sets of Front Squats felt heavy. On the 1st rep of 225 I actually came up on my toes a bit. Sort of lost concentration for a minute but got it back together for the other two reps. 250 actually felt really light which made me feel pretty confident. My upper back was starting to tire out a bit so the 8th rep wasn’t as pretty but still stood up no problems. I really think I could hit 10 reps with that weight if I could hold the rack position for just a little longer! During warm ups of Presses I did Band Pulls and then switched to Pull Ups. Decided to hit an AMRAP on the last set of Pull Ups and got 10 which for me was a little surprising. Presses were light and easy. Good day today!
5/3/1 Full Body
Bench Press Day (70%, 80%, 90%)
Paused Front Squat: 195x3, 225x3, 250x3
1A) Bench Press: 205x3, 225x3, 255 - 3x5
1B) Band Pull Aparts: 3x15 - between warm up sets of Bench Press
1C) DB Row: 95 - 5x10 - between work sets of Bench Press
DB Farmers Walks: 110 (each hand) - 4x50yds
Paused Front Squats felt pretty rough. Lower back was a little achey before I went to the gym but figured once I got going it would stretch itself out. Got through the Front Squats okay but still feeling a little tender. Probably should’ve thrown the belt on those for the day but I walked away not feeling any worse. Luckily during my warm up sets of bench the pain went away and I was good to go. Took my same approach as last week for Bench Press. 255 for 3x5 felt pretty good and even did some paused reps on the last two reps of each set. Had some time to get my Farmers Walks done and pleased to get the 110’s without any drops. Another solid session today!
5/3/1 Full Body
Oh Press / Deadlift Day (70%, 80%, 90%)
Paused Front Squat: 210x3, 235x3, 265x1
Oh Press: 135x3, 155x3, 175x7
Deadlift: 345x3, 395x3, 445x6 (capped)
Pretty good day yesterday. Front Squats felt a lot better than they did Wednesday. Granted my back wasn’t achey at all. Still went beltless on these. Oh Press felt very good. Not sure if 175x7 is a PR. I haven’t looked back at my spreadsheet to check. Deadlifts felt good as well but I capped my set at 6 reps for a few reasons. I wasn’t sure how many reps I would need for a PR and also wanted to keep a few reps in the tank so I wouldn’t feel too crappy. Feel like I have had 3 solid lifting sessions this week!!
7/23/16
Track Day
Throws (20# Med Ball)
10 x Slams
10 x Backward Throw
5 Rounds of the following:
10 x 80# Kettlebell Swings
50 meter walk (Left Hand: 80# KB in rack position Right Hand: 55# KB suitcase carry)
5 x 55# KB 1 Arm Jerk
50 meter walk (Left Hand: 55# KB suitcase carry Right Hand: 80# KB in rack position)
Tried some uneven carries along with swings and jerks for today’s conditioning session. Typing out this conditioning workout is a little harder than the workout itself. I could tell my core muscles were working pretty hard on the carries but as far as conditioning it was a pretty easy day. The swings and jerks made this easier than doing snatches. Still “enjoying” getting out and trying to get creative. I think I’m starting to figure out what easy, medium and hard conditioning days are going to be. I would file today as an easyish/medium day!
5/3/1 Full Body
Front Squat Day (75%, 85%, 95%)
Front Squat: 210x5, 235x3, 265x6 (PR)
1A) Overhead Press: 145 - 5x5
1A.1) Band Pull Aparts - 3x15 (during warm up sets)
1B) Pull Ups: 5,5,5,5,5 (during work sets)
1C) Ab Wheel: 8x10 (3 sets during warm ups, 5 sets during work sets)
Very happy to hit 6 reps with 265 on Front Squats today! Had to fight really hard to keep my elbows up on the 6th rep. Realistically I probably should’ve racked it after 5 reps but my goal for the day was 6! Sort of stole the giant set idea from @Alpha for the Overhead Press portion of the workout. I’ve been neglecting ab work lately and figured this would be a good place to insert these. The weight was light enough on Presses that I didn’t feel a drop off in bar speed. Very happy with this workout today!!
5/3/1 Full Body
Bench Press Day (75%, 85%, 95%)
Paused Front Squat: 195x3, 225x3, 255x3
1A) Bench Press: 210x5, 240x3, 270 - 3x3, 1x1 (Paused Single) (Rule of 10)
1B) DB Row: 100 - 5x10
Technically speaking I set a 5 pound PR on Beltless Paused Front Squats with 225 for 3 reps but that’s sort of irrelevant! The reps felt very good today even though driving to the gym I was feeling like a wimp and didn’t want to do paused reps today. The first set of 3 with 270 felt like CRAP!! In my head I was going to apply the Rule of 10 from Beyond but I was hoping 2 sets of 5 reps would put me there. The second and third sets of three felt much better and the paused single at the end was a pretty big confidence booster but still feel my bench technique isn’t where it needs to be. As a side note that didn’t affect my workout at all, my Abs are still really sore from the Ab Wheel sets from Monday. Hardest part about today, SITTING UP ON THE BENCH AFTER MY SETS! Pretty good day overall!
5/3/1 Full Body
OH Press / Deadlift Day (75%, 85%, 95%)
1A) OH Press: 145x5, 165x3, 185x5
1B) Band Pull Aparts: 5x15
Deadlift: 365x5, 415x3, 465x6 (PR)
Bodyweight Lunges: 1x50 (each leg)
Squat racks were taken pretty much the whole time I was at the gym so never had a chance to get some Front Squat work in. Presses felt good today. I hit my goal of 5 with 185. Debated on going for a 6th rep but wanted some gas left in the tank since I wanted to hit a new rep PR for deadlifts. 465x6 felt really good on Deadlifts. With those 6 reps, that puts my calculated max at 558. I don’t put a ton of faith in that but it’s still encouraging to think that a 550 deadlift isn’t too far off. Finished up with Lunges since I did t do Feont Squats. Good session today!
I ordered an 80# Cap Barbell Adjustable Weight Vest earlier in the week from Amazon. Arrived on Thursday so I was looking forward to seeing how it would feel. Loaded the full 80 and walked a 2 mile route that had plenty of big hills to go up. Probably the hardest “walk” around the neighborhood I’ve been on. I think running would’ve been easier which is what makes me happy about the vest!! Lots of potential with the vest
5/3/1 Full Body
Deload
Front Squat: 195x3, 210x3, 235x3
1A) Oh Press: 145 - 3x5
1B) Pull Ups: 5x5
1C) Ab Wheel: 5x10
Pretty happy to have a deload week this week. More so mental than physical. Haven’t decided if I will go to the gym 1 or 2 more times this week but will probably do some kettlebell work and weighted vest walks this week.
Office Mobility Work
(May do some swings later if not too busy)
Thoughts on upcoming cycles of 5/3/1…
Starting next week I will be able to lift 4 days a week and get back to lifting on Mon-Tues-Thurs-Friday. Over the past year or so if I was to workout 4 days a week, there would be a point where I’d have to lift 3 days in a row and it pretty much sucked doing that. Doing Full Body for the good portion of this year has been awesome and is still my favorite template but going to play around with doing the 5x5(80%) Boring But Big Variation in the Beyond 531 book. I will do the opposite lift on each day. That way I can do the lifts twice a week. Doing 5x5 Front Squats after Deadlifts may be a pain in the butt to hold the rack position but I have toyed with the idea of doing 8x3 or doing some High Bar Back Squats or Paused Back Squats. Debated on going 5’s Pro for the main work but I will kind of play that by ear. Saturday will be the usual conditioning day at the track or cruising around the neighborhood with my weight vest. Hopefully I can keep the 4 day workout week going until February or March of next year.
The reason I want to hopefully run this until February or March is that my wife and I are expecting our second child!! Very excited about this and know training will take a backseat for a little while. Not too worried about it because the weight vest will be good for taking the new little one for a walk in the stroller and plenty of kettlebells to keep active during some naps and down time. Of course that’s only if I’m not passed out on the couch catching a nap myself!