I’m excited for you! It’d be wasteful not to eat it so that’s basically guilt free binge eating, right?
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@duketheslaya - Yeah, they are growing on me. I guess they aren’t the first colour scheme that I would generally gravitate towards, but I like them.
@Frank_C - EXACTLY!
2017 Summary
| 01/02/17 | Cycle 1 – 5/3/1 Week 3 (Tested New 1RM) |
|---|---|
| 01/09/17 | Cycle 1 – 5/3/1 Week 4 |
| 01/16/17 | Cycle 2 – 5/3/1 Strongman Week 1 |
| 01/23/17 | Cycle 2 – 5/3/1 Strongman Week 2 |
| 01/30/17 | Cycle 2 – 5/3/1 Strongman Week 3 |
| 02/06/17 | Cycle 2 – 5/3/1 Strongman Week 4 |
| 02/13/17 | Cycle 3 – 5/3/1 Bodyweight Week 1 |
| 02/20/17 | Cycle 3 – 5/3/1 Bodyweight Week 2 |
| 02/27/17 | Jim Stoppani’s Shortcut to Size (Phase 1: W1) |
| 03/06/17 | Shortcut to Size P1:W2 |
| 03/13/17 | Shortcut to Size P1:W3 |
| 03/20/17 | Shortcut to Size P1:W4 |
| 03/27/17 | Brian’s Daily Workouts from NEVERsate |
| 04/03/17 | Brian’s Daily Workouts from NEVERsate |
| 04/10/17 | Brian’s Daily Workouts from NEVERsate |
| 04/17/17 | Brian’s Daily Workouts from NEVERsate |
| 04/24/17 | 5/3/1 – 5’s PRO, BBB |
| 05/01/17 | 5/3/1 – 5’s PRO, BBB |
| 05/08/17 | 5/3/1 – 5’s PRO, BBB |
| 05/15/17 | 5 Day BB Split (Working around knee injury – no squat) |
| 05/22/17 | 5 Day BB Split (Working around knee injury – no squat) |
| 05/29/17 | 5 Day BB Split (Working around knee injury – no squat) |
| 06/05/17 | 5 Day BB Split (Working around knee injury – no squat) |
| 06/12/17 | 5/3/1 7th Week Protocol – TM Test |
| 06/19/17 | 5/3/1 SST – Week 1 |
| 06/26/17 | 5/3/1 SST – Week 2 |
| 07/03/17 | Brady’s Custom Program |
| 07/10/17 | Brady’s Custom Program |
| 07/17/17 | Brady’s Custom Program |
| 07/24/17 | Brady’s Custom Program |
| 07/31/17 | Brady’s Custom Program |
| 08/07/17 | Brady’s Custom Program |
| 08/14/17 | Brady’s Custom Program |
| 08/21/17 | Misc workouts, playing with new Dbs and work travel |
| 08/28/17 | Misc workouts, playing with new Dbs and work travel |
| 09/04/17 | 5/3/1 Basic Program with +sets |
| 09/11/17 | 5/3/1 Basic Program with +sets |
| 09/18/17 | 5/3/1 Basic Program with +sets |
| 09/25/17 | Shredded in Six (tweaked back, switched programs) |
| 10/02/17 | CT’s Complete Power Look Week 1 |
| 10/09/17 | CT’s Complete Power Look Week 2 |
| 10/16/17 | CT’s Complete Power Look Week 3 |
| 10/23/17 | CT’s Complete Power Look Week 4 |
| 10/30/17 | CT’s Complete Power Look Week 5 |
| 11/06/17 | Hunting Camp – No Workouts |
| 11/13/17 | Conjugate Method: Brian Alsruhe Variation (Youtube) |
| 11/20/17 | Conjugate Method: 16wk for Novices (EliteFTS) |
| 11/27/17 | Conjugate Method: 16wk for Novices (EliteFTS) |
| 12/04/17 | Conjugate Method: 16wk for Novices (EliteFTS) |
| 12/11/17 | Conjugate Method: 16wk for Novices (EliteFTS) |
| 12/18/17 | Conjugate Method: 16wk for Novices (EliteFTS) |
| 12/25/17 | No workouts |
PRs
Bench 375 (Jan 2017) (No movement)
Squat 520 (Jan 2017) (No movement)
Deadlift 600 (Jan 2017) → 655 (Dec 2017)(+55lbs)
OHP 255 (Jan 2017) (No movement)
So, this is depressing. I would say my body comp improved slightly throughout 2017, but only seeing strength improvement in the deadlift is pretty frustrating. As you can see, I hopped around programs quite a bit in 2017.
I’m going to make 2018 the year of 5/3/1 and actually progressing through the templates appropriately. Following Jim’s recipe for TMs, deload weeks, etc. I have 5/3/1 Forever, so I’ll have a look through that over the next couple of days and pick a template to start with.
I have challenged a good friend of mine to do a 4 day/week template with me for 4 weeks. (He is currently doing a 3 day/week 5/3/1 program…and he rarely gets all 3 in). This should also provide an extra push for me to not dog it.
2018 Goals
Bench 405lbs
Squat 565lbs
Deadlift 685lbs
OHP 275lbs
Compete in at least 1 powerlifting meet.
Stick to 5/3/1 programming for at least 28 weeks straight.
Stay under 210lbs (currently 214.6lbs)
I don’t think any of these goals are out of reach, but I don’t expect them to come easy either.
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Great idea doing a whole year summary like that! I understand that it’s frustrating not getting stronger on bench/squat/overhead but honestly 55lbs on the deadlift is huge, especially at your strength level, and I imagine you’re poised to make great progress in 2018.
Don’t forget you also did extremely well in the 2017 T-transformation!
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Laying it out like that really shows you any flaws you might’ve had. I don’t need to lay it out to know that my ever changing priorities are what’s led to my failures.
In regards to your PR’s, you’re moving a lot of weight. Don’t expect big jumps. You also work full time and you’re not getting any younger. There are phases of training where it’s a win if you just manage to keep from going backwards.
I, too, have somewhat committed myself to 5/3/1 for the year of 2018. And yet here I am running CT’s Best Damn Program while I’m on the DL and considering running it for the duration of the T-ransformation challenge. More muscle would help me towards my goals of getting stronger. I’m still undecided but it will be a while before I’m back to 100% and pushing the big three.
On a side note, my lower back feels fantastic! No squatting or deads and everything seems to be staying in place for a change. I’m happy it feels good but a bit depressed that things I enjoy have a negative impact on me.
I’m looking forward to following you through the year. I’ll be the guy grasping at your coat tails hoping to catch some scraps of gains!
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Competition insole is only insole. May as well bin the comfort insole
Where the heck is this video?!?!?!?!?!
And I wouldnt beat your self up over the PRs, you made physique progress and
I dont thnk you ever peaked for a PR attempt? You are at that level that peaking will play a large role in PRs.
As far as PLing goes trying to stay under a certain weight might be one of my bigger mistakes. It was kind of impossible for me so it just became a headache and it definitely affected progress. Stay lean but let yourself grow. Plus you can eat more!!!
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@furo - ya, it was really nice to look back on and I’ll definitely be doing it again for this year. Hoping to keep a few extra details with it as well (weight, maxes, TMs, etc).
@Frank_C - Ya thanks man. I know the weight jumps are fewer and further between but it felt like I worked pretty damn hard for it not to be better reflected in the numbers. Glad to hear that you’re feeling good, that’s a large part of the battle!
@guineapig - yep, comfort will be second to squat carryover!
@BOTSLAYER - Yeah, physique was a priority for half the year, then battled a knee injury. I’ve never properly peaked for a max, so that’s a good point. I might have to give that a whirl sometime before my first comp so that I can dial that in.
Good point about the bodyweight, I guess I’ll just attempt to remain at a certain level of leanness (which right now, is under 210lbs), but definitely not opposed to adding some mass! Plus, eating = good.
EDIT:
@BOTSLAYER:
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SICK PULL!!!
That video doesnt show up in your Youtube channel!!!
And in a bit your hook grip will be rock solid and feel just like straps 
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Thanks man!
Really? That’s odd…
Ya, it’s definitely feeling better and better in a short period of time after it just clicked.
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Here is a little random group of info/thoughts I want to log:
-
Morning weight was 214.6lbs again this morning (same as yesterday). Brought my scale upstairs, so I’m going to try and weigh myself daily. One of my first goals of this challenge will be to get under 210lbs. I feel good at that weight. Strong, sustainable, and lean enough that abs are making an appearance.
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March/April we are about 90% sure going to be moving into a new (smaller) house. This house is right next door to my Dad’s 70 acres (28 hectares) of property and we have made a handshake deal with the current owners to do this sale privately. So this would basically take me back to the property (with lakefront) that I grew up on. This would be downsizing into a very nice little (fully renovated) house. Unfortunately, the basement ceiling is a foot lower than mine, so standing OHP will not be possible and I may have to downsize a few items from my current gym setup. We will make some decent money on our current house, so we will be in a decent financial position with this move and have some funds to put up a nice sized garage on this new place. This brings me to my point 3 (the most painful).
-
With the above in mind, I’m considering signing up for a Planet Fitness Membership.gasp $1 down and $22/month (for my wife and I both to go). This would give me access to a ton of machines (pullover, back extension, several row variants, leg press, etc) as well as cardio equipment all things that would save a ton of space in my home gym. I could also do OHP (Dbs up to 75lbs and a Smith machine) here. I would obviously do some OHP with the Log and Barbell outdoors weather dependent and could still do seated variants. I could do 3x/week of 5/3/1 from home and then go in and hit up a more BB style workout/cardio once a week. After working out in the commercial gym while on vacation, I really enjoyed using all of these different machines, and it has been a LONG time since I’ve felt that level of DOMS. I’ve been considering it the last few days as the $1 sign up fee is only good until Jan 10, and then I saw this article which made me actually start considering it…
My wife is sold because there is free unlimited use of their massage chairs and hydromassage. I’ll go for an hour workout, and she will go for an hour massage 
She has actually started enjoying working out more and more (all on her own, I swear) which is pretty cool to be able to share this passion with her. She hates the thought of working out, but actually enjoys it while she is doing it, and then is addicted to her gains. She has more than once asked me to “feel the bump” on the back of her arm (triceps).
I’ve decided to start the SVR II template from 5/3/1 Forever. The plan is to run 2 leaders and an anchor with this template. Since I intend to run 5/3/1 for the better part of the year, I’m going to attempt to start with a relatively conservative TM (not nearly as conservative as @cdmac24 though!) and then slowly progress throughout the year and, fingers crossed, I hope to see some better progress in my lifts in 2018 than in 2017.
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Hi fellow canadian;) it’s been a while since I read your log, you are fucking strong:P You have big goal for 2018!
I have also a problem with the height of my celling in my house one of my coach was making me do Z-press, have you ever try it?
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There’s no shame in joining Planet Stupid for the right reasons----and machines and cables are the right reasons. I have my own setup in the basement and still prefer going to our YMCA (the KidZone is a huge factor too). My back workouts are garbage with only free weights but give me those cables and I’m in heaven. I’m also a big fan of chest supported back work.
In regards to your potential new home gym—seated OHP will be fine. Heck, you’ll have to use strict form so maybe your standing OHP will improve! My ceilings are 8 ft in the basement and there’s no chance of standing overhead movements for me. I had to position my rack so that my head fits between the floor joists when I do pull-ups.
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Little house by the lake, with a Strength Barn in the back? Sounds like the good life!
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@Patlafauche - Hey man, thanks for popping in. I appreciate the kind words. I have done Z-presses before actually and that would be another solid option for putting things overhead.
@Frank_C - Yes, I did enjoy hitting muscles a lot differently than I can replicate with barbell work. I ruined my quads on a leg press (been YEARS since touching one), so I was starting to consider used leg presses for the home gym (hence the consideration of just joining and gym and having access to one).
Yeah…8ft ceilings would be PLENTY high for me, but a buddy came over and ohp’d into my floor joists. Has yet to happen to me!
@FlatsFarmer - That may very well be the plan! The garage we will be putting on, might be pretty big…
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SVR II Workout 1
SQUAT
45 x 5
135 x 5
185 x 5
225 x 5
305 x 5
345 x 5
395 x 5 ← I think I had a couple more reps in the tank, but the thought of my following Widowmaker set had me scared.
305 x 20 < -WHY??? This was not fun. Died. Well fairly light headed for the following 15mins (this made my assistance fun…)
DIPS
+25lbs x 12
+25lbs x 12
+25lbs x 8
BW x 8
CHINS
BW x 10
BW x 10
BW x 10
AB WHEEL ROLLOUT
12, 12, 12
I haven’t been doing my bodyweight movements recently, and I noticed. Dips and chins felt HEAVY.
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Love high rep squats … glutton for punishment
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You strong as hell man! I was running out of breath just watching that lol.
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Just don’t set off the lunk alarm at planet fitness lol.
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