Conjugate C2W3 Max Upper - Tuesday PM
Main
Chinups: +45x2x5
Push press (Fat Gripz): 45x5, 95x3, 135x3, 155x3, 185x3, 205x2, 225x0, 1, 205x3, 185x5, 4, 4
Assistance
Wide-grip lat pulldown: 140x13, 11, 9, 120x13
Seated DB shrug: 85x17, 16, 14, 11
DB rolling triceps extension: 20x18, 15, 13, 15x18
Hammer curl: 40x11, 11, 35x14
- 1:00 rest on assistance
- Matched my push press 1RM from November, but got more heavy volume in the backoffs + working up so I’ll consider it an improvement. 225 was a solid rep, just got a bit too amped-up and misgrooved my first attempt
- Think I may actually be overtraining this time, probably going to drop either load or volume on squats tomorrow so I can hit that 365x10 pull
- RT extensions felt very locked-in and seemed to have a restorative effect on my elbows after pressing
3 Likes
Sounds like a lesson was learnt a hard way
1 Like
Yeah I called it at the right time, could’ve gone a lot worse. Still miffed, I had that 10 !!
1 Like
Conjugate C2W3 Max Lower - Wednesday PM
Squat: 245x8, 275x6, 5
Chinups: +45x2x5
Deadlift: 365x10
Double overhand hold: 315x32s
- Shout-out to @T3hPwnisher for his outstanding contribution to bro science known as the ‘ROM progression deadlift,’ this is a pretty serious PR for me and I will definitely use this protocol again in the future / For the sake of honesty, I did very slightly cheat this by forgetting to bring my Vans and just pulling in socks; I’m sure that <1cm reduced ‘deficit’ gave me the lift, haha.
- Thus endeth a pretty fruitful program, going to write up future plans when I’m home. No planned lifts until after the 4th, travelling yet again
3 Likes
Hell yeah brother! That’s so exciting to hear. I’m so happy for you that it worked out.
1 Like
The Road Ahead
This run of Conjugate has been successful in many ways, but I’ve been training this way for long enough that I’ll probably benefit physically and mentally from something diametrically opposed to Conjugate: I plan to run 5/3/1 for the next 15 weeks at a much more relaxed pace than I’ve been training, specializing in the ‘no-no-no’-style breathing squats that I’ve been training, the strict press (with push press Jokers), the close-grip bench press, and touch-and-go strapped deadlifts. ‘Back to basics’ is the idea, I’ll be launching right into this after my trip since I have some pretty reliable TMs (289/230/438/185 SBDP @90% 1RM, may reduce deadlift max as needed after first 3 weeks) to work off of based on my recent performances.
Importantly, I plan to emphasize the deadlift by running the Mag/Ort routine following a 3-week introductory cycle of conservative 5/3/1 programming (where I’ll just solidify my ROM progression gains). Because of the structure of the former, I’m modeling my particular implementation of 5/3/1 more on Beyond than Forever, with a deload week every 4 weeks. I ran the routine some 3 years ago, where it took me to a 375 double and a failed attempt at 385; I’m excited to see what I can get out of it as a more experienced/technically proficient lifter.
Because I won’t be lifting near-daily anymore, I also plan to dedicate at least 1 day a week to some hard conditioning along the lines of Viking Day. Per 5/3/1 Forever, I dedicate my college-town lifestyle (lots of walking and busing) to easy conditioning.
I haven’t pulled the trigger on entry yet, but I’m starting to get the powerlifting bug again and think I may be able to pull 500 at a meet in my state in December and break into the global top 10k in my division on OpenPowerlifting; Calgary Barbell’s 8-week prep program worked quite well for the meet that started this log, so I’ll finish Mag/Ort/5/3/1 late in October then jump into that if I stick to the plan.
3 Likes
5/3/1 C1W1 Press - Saturday PM
Main
Chinups: +45x2x5
Power clean and strict press away: 120x5, 140x5, 155x8, 165x4, 175x1
Power clean and push press: 185x1, 195x1, 205x1
Supplemental
Close-grip floor press (Fat Gripz): 185x10, 175x10, 165x9
Assistance
Close-grip cable row: 140x2x10, 18
Face pull: 115x2x10, 16
DB rolling triceps extension: 25x2x10, 15
Hammer curl: 30x2x10, 20
- 2:00 rest for supplemental, 1:00 for assistance
- Good to be back
- 205 went overhead smoothly, but I think confidence on the clean is holding me back a bit from heavier weights
3 Likes
5/3/1 C1W1 Deadlift - Monday Late AM
Main
Chinups: +45x2x5
Deadlift: 285x5, 330x5, 370x5, 395x1
Supplemental
Paused leg press: 278x10, 328x10, 388x10
Assistance
Kneeling single-leg curl: 70x10, 10, 13
45deg back extension: BWx10, 10, 20
Standing cable crunch: 130x10, 10, 20
- 2:00 rest for supplemental, 1:00 for assistance
- Pulls felt far heavier than they should have (370 is my 5+), I’ll chalk it up to a combination of slight detraining following my trip and sleep irregularities / will lower my TM if this wasn’t just a bad day
- On the other hand, paused leg presses felt just fantastic; probably would’ve been better off squatting today
3 Likes
5/3/1 C1W1 Bench - Tuesday AM
Main
Chinups: +45x5, 70x3, 80x2
Close-grip bench (Fat Gripz+minibands): 155x5, 175x5, 200x2
Close-grip bench (Fat Gripz): 210, 225, 235, 245x1
Supplemental
Seated DB press: 37.5x10, 45x10, 52.5x10
Assistance
Close-grip cable row: 140x2x10, 19
Face pull: 115x2x10, 17
DB rolling triceps extension: 25x2x10, 16
Hammer curl: 35x2x10, 15
- 2:00 rest for supplemental, 1:00 for assistance
- Obviously need to lower my bench TM, putting the bands on was kind of a ‘what-the-hell-why-not’ idea I had last night and maybe did some math wrong for.
2 Likes
5/3/1 C1W1 Squat - Thursday Late AM
Main
Chinups: +45x2x5
Squat: 190, 215x5, 245x8, 260x3, 275, 290x1
Squat (+belt): 305, 320x1
Supplemental
Stiff-legged deadlift (beltless): 160, 195, 225x10
Assistance
Kneeling single-leg curl: 70x10, 10, 14
45deg back extension: +10x10, 10, 20
Standing cable crunch: 145x10, 10, 14
- Usual rest periods for supp/assistance
- Good workout today, performance seems to indicate that my squat TM is spot-on. Really liking what I’ve figured out here with the different mechanical advantages I’m using for Jokers on S/B/P (+belt, -bands, +leg drive respectively)
- Post-workout/clothed weigh-in at 190.4
2 Likes
Viking Day (Hard Conditioning) - Friday PM
Chinups: +45x2x5
Sled arm-over-arm pull: 128x15-ish yd x2, 218x15-ish yd x2
Sled belt drag: 193x50yd forward, 173x50yd reverse
Sled push: 138x50yd, 103x50yd
- Sled work done in 17:06, planning to progress this workout by total time and weight used
- Quads feel about ready to explode right after this
4 Likes
5/3/1 C1W2 Press - Saturday Evening
Main
Chinups: +45x2x5
Power clean + strict press away: 130, 150x3, 165x6, 175x2, 185x1
Power clean + push press: 195, 205, 215x1 (PR)
Supplemental
Paused close-grip floor press (Fat Gripz): 140x10, 160x8, 185x6
Assistance
Close-grip cable row: 160x2x10, 15
Face pull: 115x2x10, 18
DB rolling triceps extension: 25x2x10, 18
Hammer curl: 35x2x10, 16
2 Likes
5/3/1 C1W2 Deadlift - Monday Morning
Main
Chinups: +45, 55, 70, 80, 90, 100x1
Deadlift: 300, 345x3, 390x4, 410x1
Supplemental
Paused leg press: 328x10, 388x8, 438x6
Assistance
Kneeling single-leg curl: 70x2x10, 15
45deg back extension: +20x2x10, 20
Standing cable crunch: 145x2x10, 16
2 Likes
5/3/1 C1W2 Bench - Tuesday Midday
Main
Chinups: BWx10
Close-grip bench (Fat Gripz, minibands): 150, 170x3, 190x5, 200x2, 215x1
Close-grip bench (Fat Gripz): 225, 235, 245, 255, 265x1
Supplemental
Seated DB press: 45x10, 52.5x8, 60x6
Assistance
Close-grip cable row: 140x2x12, 16
Face pull: 130x2x10, 14
DB rolling triceps extension: 30x2x10, 12
Hammer curl: 37.5x2x10, 14
- Usual rest times
- Solid benching today, all singles done paused
3 Likes
5/3/1 C1W2 Squat - Wednesday Midday
Main
Chinups: +45x2x5
Front squat: 170, 195x3, 220x5, 235x2, 245x1
Front squat (+belt): 260, 270x1
Supplemental
Stiff-legged deadlift (beltless): 195x10, 225x8, 260x6
Assistance
Kneeling single-leg curl: 60x2x12, 17
45deg back extension: +25x2x10, 20
Standing cable crunch: 130x2x12, 17
- Usual rest times
- Slept horribly last night, didn’t seem to affect performance too much
2 Likes
5/3/1 C1W3 Press - Friday Midday
Main
Pullups: +35x2x5
Power clean and strict press: 140x5, 155x3, 175x3, 185x1, 195x0
Power clean and push press: 195, 205, 215, 220x1 (PR)
Supplemental
Paused close-grip floor press (Fat Gripz): 150, 175, 195x5
Assistance
Close-grip cable row: 160x2x10, 16
Face pull: 115x2x12, 15
DB rolling triceps extension: 25x2x12, 16
Hammer curl: 30x2x12, 19
- Usual rest times
- Misgrooved rep 3 + whiffed the top set of strict press, but I’m still leaving the gym happy since taking my first 100kg from floor to overhead is a very solid benchmark (this is also the heaviest weight I’ve power cleaned period)
- Shaved my head (from shoulder-length hair) yesterday, so technically I got double PRs by matching last week’s 215 at a lighter bodyweight
- Given how good push/floor presses felt once I got moving, I probably should have taken more time warming up for strict press
3 Likes
5/3/1 C1W3 Deadlift - Monday Midday
Main
Pullups: +35x2x5
Deadlift: 330x5, 370x3, 410x3, 430x0
Supplemental
Paused leg press: 358, 408, 468x5
Assistance
Kneeling single-leg curl: 65x2x12, 15
45deg back extension: +30x2x10, 17
Standing cable crunch: 145x2x10, 17
- Usual rest times
- 430 was glued to the floor, will use a pretty conservative max for Mag/Ort in light of my deadlift performance this cycle
1 Like
Viking Day (Hard Conditioning) - Tuesday Midday
Chinups: +55x5, +70x3, +80x2
Sled arm-over-arm pull: 138x15ish yd x2, 218x15ish yd x2
Sled belt drag: 193x50yd forward, 173x50yd backward
Sled push: 103x50yd
- Sled work done in some time less than 15:40
- This is technically last week’s conditioning workout that I ended up skipping, planning on hitting this workout again after I squat this week
- This made me puke even with just one sled push, didn’t have any preworkout before this; I think I just moved way faster between runs that I did last time
- Still got in a pretty good walk home
1 Like
5/3/1 C1W3 Bench - Wednesday Morning
Main
Pullups: +35x5, +45x3, +70x2
Close-grip bench (Fat Gripz, minibands): 160x5, 180, 200x3, 215x1
Close-grip bench (Fat Gripz): 225, 235, 245, 255x1
Supplemental
Seated DB press: 50, 60, 65x5
Assistance
Close-grip cable row: 140x14, 14, 12+2
Face pull: 100x15, 12+3, 11+4
DB rolling triceps extension: 22.5x15, 15, 10+5
Hammer curl: 35x13, 13, 12+1
1 Like
5/3/1 C1W3 Squat - Friday Morning
Main
NG chins: +45x2x5
Squat: 215x5, 245x3, 275x5, 290, 305x1
Squat (+belt): 320x1
Supplemental
Stiff-legged deadlift (beltless): 210, 240, 275x5
Assistance
Kneeling single-leg curl: 50x2x17, 12+5
45deg back extension: +25x3x15
Standing cable crunch: 130x3x14
- Switched to just 1 breath rather than 3 between reps on squats, will be doing the breathing squats as a Widowmaker set for supplemental work moving forward
2 Likes