I feel so much joy reading this post!! I am so glad I am not the only girl at the gym who “gets creative” when you want to do an excercise but the equipment is not availible!!! Ghetto ghr’s!!!
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Bench Day-Week 3- 5/3/1
Bench
1x10-45 lb warm up
1x5- 55 lbs
1x3-65 lbs
1x8-75 lbs
1x15-45 lbs
The 75 lbs were pretty good, given I struggled week one with reps at 80 lbs I feel pretty good about these
Got pulled into a powerlifting session run by a powerlifter at the gym for about an hour, will describe later in post
Flat DB Fly’s
3x10- 20 lbs
Wide Grip Lat Pulldowns
3x10- 75 lbs
Ok, so they were trying to sell a 12 week powerlifting program, but I thought I would check it out and maybe get some form tips.
My deadlift is solid, I need a bit more hip thrust at the top, but all else is good! Was showed the proper way to do bb hip thrusts so might incorprate them in somewhere.
Overhead press is ok, evidently I have powerlifting shoulders (ie: tight shoulders) and could work on mobility at the top.
Was shown some excellent band neck/trap streches to help with my constant neck and trap tension.
Would love to participate in a 12 week program run by a powerlifter but my schedule and finances are not really compatible right now. I could learn a lot.
Oh, IS IT TRUE??? With the 5/3/1 program IT IS RECOMMENDED TO TAKE NAPS??? Really??? OMG!!! I am totally gonna go for napping pr’s. I LOVE NAPPING!! Now I can say, “No, I am not napping cause I am tired, I am napping to train!!!” Love it!!!
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Deadlift Day-Week Three-5/3/1
Deadlifts
1x10-135 lbs warm up
1x5-165 lbs
1x3-175 lbs
1x8-185 lbs
1x10-135 lbs
Good Mornings
3x10- 100 lbs
Planks-3 x 1 min
Sumo Deadlifts
3x10-145 lbs
Laying leg raises w/weight
3x10- 12.5 lbs
In and out. Shit to do today.
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Might be quick, but it’s a good workout
i wish i could take naps, when i nap i just can’t sleep later regardless of how tired i am. Exception being really bad hangovers. i do like to nap sometimes though.
@mortdk Thank you
@duketheslaya- thats too bad you can’t nap…I am 100% certain that my love for napping has helped me look several years younger then I am. Plus night shifts-you become an excellent napper. When you get old like me you might start appreciating the nap more. Oh + kids!
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Press Day-Week Three-5/3/1
Overhead Press
1x10- 30 lb warm up
1x5- 45 lbs
1x3-50 lbs
1x8- 55 lbs
** really happy with these**
BB Rows
1x10- 75 lbs
Chin-ups-Unassisted
3x5
** continued to use hop up to get these, slow on descent-quite hard today**
Dips-Unassisted
3x5
Face Pulls
3x8-70 lbs
So happy to be done week three!!! I know it was suggested to do skip deload week, but I am looking forward to it, and hence forth renaming deload week “praying for less doms” week.
Had a bit of champagne and way to much cheesecake this weekend, but I enjoyed the hell out of it, so I dont feel bad!
Looking for another part time job, hope it does not intefere with my lifting too much!!!
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Haha, I’m in for the napping PRs!
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Challenge accepted! I expect to see some big numbers!
Maybe I will change my logs name to “ Littlelees lifting and napping log”
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Help with motivation!!! This morning I completely lack any motivation to get to the gym!! Do you ever feel this way, and if so what do you do?
I also will be dropping off my resume at my old job today. I used to work at a hospice, and had to leave to take a temporary full time position at my current job (forensic psychiatry). I loved working at the hospice and hope they take me back. This is causing a bit of nerves.
I do have a massage at the end of the day, I hope she can help with continued left sciatic pain, which has plagued me since I did sldl’s last week 
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I’ll just leave this here.
Dont even stress about it! Im sure you’ll get it.
Hope it feels better soon.
If i feel like I don’t really want to lift I tell myself I’ll go but I’ll cut back on volume . After I warm up i feel happy and glad to be there and I forget I was even going to cut back haha
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As Jenn @Spock81 says covers it pretty much.
Tell yourself to go in get your 5/3/1 lift and walk away, if you still don’t feel like doing more, you’ve earned the right to quit.
You could make a deal with yourself go to the gym, you know what weight to work.
EG last OHP you did 8 reps of 55 lbs, say you go to the gym and OHP +sets for 55 again, your deal is: if I set a PR of 9 reps, I’m good to go home.
But as Jenn says you might even think hey I did it, I’m doing more.
@duketheslaya- great vid-I think I went into flight/fight mode watching it lol
@Spock81- I wish that was the case…at least I did go
@mortdk- well I went but its deload week so not much to hit lol
Squat Day- Deload (or praying for less doms) Week- 5/3/1
Squats
1x5- 55 lbs
1x5- 65 lbs
1x5- 75 lbs
Front Squats
3x8-65 lbs
One Legged Leg Press
3x8- 70 lbs
One Legged Hammie Machine
3x10- 20 lbs
By the end the tightness in my sciatic/lower back area was awful-really hope the massage will loosen it cause it’s PISSING ME OFF!!
GOOD NEWS: My old hospice manager says “ we are very interested in having you back” and it sounds promising, just have to do an interview and I should get the job.
BAD NEWS: I was catching up with my manager, and told her about an incident last summer which made me emotional. My daughter drowned in our pool last year, and was on life support for 8 days. SHE IS OK. It was the worst period of my life, and I still get upset thinking about it. Needless to say it upset me and I went into my workout emotional.
GOOD NEWS: I got my workout in despite not wanting to go and feeling emotional.
BAD NEWS: Workout sucked, and my back hurts.
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Holy crap! Now that you’re past it I hope you can turn those into some positive emotions. What a miracle!
So way up in your log I saw you mention a certain squat stance hurts your hips…and you’re battling sciatica…and you squat ATG. Knock that $#!+ off!
Know your body and train smart. If something hurts your hip–especially in a deep squat–then you could have impingement. Keep doing that and you’ll cause further damage and eventually need surgery. Unless you’re competing there’s no reason to force anything or do a specific lift.
Train for longevity!
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Deloads have this effect on me, so motivation might return once you get back on the next cycle and have those rep PRs to chase again.
That is extremely scary, but I’m happy for you and your family that it turned out the way it did!
Lots of stretching for the sciatic pain. I’ve found my sciatic pain flares up when my hipflexors are tight. So try some full body light stretching, when I start finding myself getting achy I’ll do a few short (10min) at home yoga sessions per week. A great free app is “Down Dog” and they walk you through some beginner to advanced sessions for however long you want!
Ohh man, that must have been so scary, about the worst thing ever, is when children are hurt. Happy to hear she’s okay.
Really do understand that flares up from time to time. Hope you can turn it into positive thinking too.
@Frank_C- thank you for stopping by my log, I lurk in yours! My daughters health is a constant source of gratitude and thankfulness for me. Everyday when she hugs me, kicks butt at her karate lessons, and even when shes a crazy teenager, I am grateful, thankful and feel blessed for her full recovery. It has changed the way I view life, stress, stupid problems…none of these things bother me anymore because my family is healthy and safe.
As for squatting. I was finding my “normal” squat stance (legs wide/ toes out) was causing a lot of hip pain. I recently changed it to a narrow stance/toes forward and have not experienced any hip pain. I did straight legged dead lifts last week which initiated the sciatic/lower back pain…massage helped…so I am not sure if this is/will be a chronic problem or if I just did an excercise that aggrevated it. I will definitely keep an eye on it though, and take it easy! Thank you for the advice!
@littlesleeper - yes, it was a traumatic experience…but it could have turned out worse so I am thankful it didnt.
I was actually thinking lack of motivation might be related to the deload and feeling like “ I am going into the gym to lift what? Why bother” guess I have to get over that!!!
Thanks for the advice on streching, my massag therapist told me to do that as well. My gym
offers hot yoga, I LOVE HOT YOGA! So I thinkj I might start back into it as I find it amazing for both my tight muscles and mental health. I will check out that app though for days I cannot make it, or post workouts!
@mortdk - everyday I am blessed, and I definitely know it has had a positive influence on my way of looking at the world, just sometimes being back in that hospital room and remembering that time is hard. But shes
is ok, and so that overides any sadness I feel.
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It’s not 5/3/1 but some people deload by doing other things in the gym. Hot yoga, spin class, hiking outdoors, crossfit WOD’s (with lighter weights), etc. It’s active rest. You still use your body so it doesn’t start to fall asleep but you give yourself a break from the toll of lifting heavy all the time.