My 5/3/1 Log

Training Logs
1

I started powerlifting towards the end of my undergrad at that college, but now I’m getting my grad degree at a different school where there aren’t any true powerlifting gyms around. I think it would be a good idea to post something here to keep me accountable and maybe get some input about my programming. I’m in the middle of a 5/3/1 cycle at the moment so I’m going to post everything I’ve done in 5/3/1 since December and the upcoming program I’ve made so far.

bench 235
150 175 200 5x5 9
165 190 210 3x3 4.5
175 200 225 3.5
95 120 140
incline 4x8
unilat. Db press 3x10
bb bentover row 4x8

front squat 210
140 160 180
150 170 190 9
160 180 200 6
84 105 125
oly back squat 205lb 20 rep
walking lunge (ss) 3x10/leg
hanging leg raise 3xbw max

military press 150
100 110 130
105 120 135 5
110 135 145 3.5
60 75 90
cgbp 4x8 4x8
chin up 7->4
bent laterals 4x12

pl back squat 300
195 225 255
210 240 270
225 255 285 6
120 150 180
rdl 4x8
bb lunge (long stride) 3x5/side
bb bent over row 3x10
bb ab rollouts 3xmax

			240	
155	180	205		5
170	190	215		6
180	205	230		3
95	120	145

incline bb press 4x8
bb row 4x8
curls 4x10
lying extension 4x10

			245	
160	185	210		7
170	195	220		6
185	210	230		5
100	120	150

smith machine split squat 3x8
leg press 4x10
hanging leg raise

			155	
100	115	130		5
110	125	140		5
115	130	150		5
65	80	90

dips 4x8
chins 7->4/60sec
face pull 4x15

			310	
200	230	265		10
215	250	280		10
230	260	295		7
125	155	185

c.dl. To s.dl. 2,2
db walking lunge 5/side
roll outs
uni. Db bp 3x15

This is the one I’ve most recently designed and have yet to begin.

160	185	210
170	195	220
185	210	230
100	125	150

cable flat press 3x6
pronating bent fly 3x8
inverted skull crusher 3x6
press down 3x8

165	190	215
180	205	230
190	215	240
100	130	150

sumo deadlift (singles) 405 (3-6)
smith machine split squat 3x8
abs (mod. Swiss ball, roll outs)

104	120	135
110	125	145
120	135	150
65	80	95

standing triceps extensions 3x8
delt flies 4x8-10
standing pulley uni extensions 3x10
face pull 5x10

box squat 3x5
gm 3x8
bb rows 3x8

2

Goals: Squat 4 wheels per side and deadlift 5 wheels per side by mid summer, than compete in a competition in the 181s. I would prefer to find raw comp because I’m poor but I’d do whatever I can find within a couple hours drive.

Notes:
-Deadlifts after back squats is not a good idea. My deadlift poundages after back squatting was well over 50 pounds lower than if I’d done the deadlift day alone. This is why I have decided to do heavyish (80-90% real max, maybe 3-6 of them depending on the day) singles after front squats since front squats really just hit my lower glutes, quads and abs. This shouldn’t interfere with deadlift strength nearly as much as back squats which hit my entire posterior chain hard.
-There was also a lot of quad dominant leg exercises in it. This has helped me recruit my quads more on back squats and I now feel like I have more strength on the mid portion of the squat. However, I feel like I’m having a little more trouble sitting back (slow in the hole too). I think another reason for this is that I don’t have any good spotters coaching me on the movement. This is why I’ve incorporated pl box squats. I think I could teach myself this exercise fairly easily and than use it to help coach myself on the free squat once I’m proficient at it(I figure if i can teach myself a power snatch i can teach myself a box squat).
-I know cable pressing isn’t considered all that powerlifterish, but I want more strength in the mid portion of the bench press and other options (db pressing, board pressing) irritate my right elbow and shoulder which I’ve rehabbed recently from a powerlifting cycle in my undergrad. If someone knows more exercises that help the mid section that are easy on joints clue me in please.

Other notes:
-Mountain biking is a passion of mine. So is climbing. This means that I’ll be trying to balance 5/3/1 with these. To balance things, what I’ve been doing is lowering the volume of upper body workouts close to climb sessions and the same with lower body workouts with mountain biking. I still aim for 3 5/3/1 workouts per week even if some of the volume of the accessories is taken out.
-For accountability and logging purposes, I will post after every exercise session.

3

Monday (2/16/10)

de-load bench (from second cycle posted)
95,120,145

2x6 cable flat bench
2x7 feet elevated onto bench inverted skull crusher
2x8 pressdown
1x14 pronating bent elbow fly

On de-load days I usually lift explosively. I also cut out a few of the sets for the assessory and reduce the intensity just a little bit too. Mostly, I was introducing my body to the new exercises so I can go hard on them when I start my next cycle.

I liked the feel of the cable presses. I really felt those mid-range bench muscles working (mid triceps and chest). It seemed to enforce good set up too ( the cable would pull to the right or left a lot if I didn’t set up well). It was also easy on my shoulders and elbows. There was a strong stabilizing component as well. Hopefully, my pressing joints will be completely healthy soon so maybe on the cycle after the upcoming one, I’ll be able to incorporate some band bench pressing.

The inverted skull crushers feel like they’ll be able to fry my triceps pretty good. Hopefully, they’ll carry over to bench pressing. I’m not doing reverse grip bp because those are killer on my elbow and I’m not doing cgbp because those can be hard on my shoulders (narrower I go, the harder it is on my shoulder). As I’ve gotten stronger on dips, they’ve also been harder on my shoulders so I’m thinking I might have to throw those out for good.

4

Tuesday (2/16/10)

Did some climbing today. As usual, my grip was my main weak point. I knew which rocks to use. I knew how to reach the next one, but I couldn’t do it because my grip wore out. My grip feels pretty wore out, but I didn’t do any grip/wrist weight training so my grip will probably be alright by tomorrow.

5

Wednesday (2/17/10)

I did the 5/3/1 back off for back squats today. I introduced the assessory work for the next cycle here. I decided to change the way the schedule for the next 5/3/1 cycle a bit. I will have a separate workout for deadlifts, but it won’t be 5/3/1 because of the hex plates. I’ll just cycle intensity with singles instead.

Box squats
-I’ve never done these before and it’s a back-off day so I just put a wheel on each side, did lowish reps (no more than 5) and a bunch of sets focusing on speed and form with a 3 second pause on the box. The pause is going to take some getting use to, but from feel that really seems to be where the biggest benefits of box-squatting come from. I felt it mostly in my hips and the inside portion of my quad near the knee (might be because of the speed component I added to them). I’ll add bands when I actually start the next cycle and do real working sets.

Clean Grip Lunges
-Lately, I’ve been having problems with my upper back falling forward on high intensity back squats so I thought these might train those muscles involved in that and be great for the front of my thighs. They’re incredibly easy on my hips and lower back while working the legs pretty good. Intensity was a little high for a back-off workout, but I only did 2 sets.

6

Saturday (2/20/10)

Did 10 miles of mountain biking today. I didn’t have my bike with me so I ended up using one of my brother’s. It was way too small so my back and knees ended up taking a beating. Dead-lift back-off tomorrow.

7

Today is monday (2/22/10)

Thursday (2/18/10)

I forgot to post this wo. Just a back-off shoulder wo. I tried cable pressing and my right shoulder did not like it at all. I think I’ll just do javelin presses instead.

Sunday (2/21/10)

Deadlift back-off. I think I did between 10-15 speed pull with 225 (last max was 405x4, probably had a rep or two left but I rarely push deads for back preservation). I then did low volume accessory work. I’m not doing any more sldl’s. There too hard on my back. I’ll stick with gm’s. Today is monday, and for the day after a backoff day my lower back sure feels funny. I think I might of slightly hyper-extended my back on one of the speed deads.

8

Monday (2/22/10)

I did the 5/3/1 bench with 210. I barely got 5. I was just feeling really weak today. I think it was because of some stomach issues earlier from a bad banana. I was having a little trouble getting tight too. I also wasn’t pushing straight up. Yeah… pretty bad since my last raw tested max was 255. Hopefully, next week will go better. At least the accessory work went okay. Did 95, 115, then 125+bands each for 7 reps. Really was helping me keep my form tight all the way through lock out.

9

2/23/10 Tuesday

5/3/1 squats
-Worked up to 270 for 6. I just wasn’t feeling strong at all. I need to work on pulling the bar down and getting that posterior chain working. I didn’t feel very aggressive either. I was pussy footing in the hole.

I changed up the accessory work to help do this.

band box squats
-worked up to 200 for 7. I’m going the yolk the bands more next time to get more resistance from the bands. I really felt my posterior chain working hard on these.

gm’s sitting on a bench
-I did these so I wouldn’t hog the one and only squat rack. I actually liked them. I felt through my entire back. I didn’t get as much hamstring involvement as compared to standing gm’s.

sitting on a bench band leg curls
-It felt more like the kind of hamstring recruitment on a squat than traditional leg curls. I really like these. I did them for high reps.

did some ab work

10

Friday

Did some climbing. My technique is getting way better. Now it’s mostly a matter of being able to map out my routes better and bringing my grip strength/endurance up to par with my back and legs.

Saturday

5/3/1 military press 105x5, 120x5, 135x6.5
-form was pretty good except for my breathing on the last set. I just need to focus on belly breathing and pushing my stomach against my belt (i save the belt for the ME sets for MP, squat, and DL).

Javelin Presses
-Did 3x12,11,10. These seem to help with shoulder health and stabilization on presses.

Band Face Pulls
-3x12 So good for external rotation.

Band overhead unilateral extensions
-3x12 Along with working my triceps, I think they also help with shoulder traction. They’re very easy on my elbows as well.

11

Sunday

Deadlifts
-I’m not too happy… I pulled 365 for 2 singles. I couldn’t lift it again. I wonder if it has something to do with the hex plates or if it’s just because I’ve become weak in the movement. I mean… this is a weight I’ve pr’d at 6 reps. It’s also been a while since I’ve focused on deadlifts.

Goodmornings
-didn’t feel great or terrible.

Lunges
-same as gms

BB rows
-felt alright

Ab work

12

Tuesday

mini-cycle 2 5/3/1 bp
-170,195x3 220x6 (I barely got it off my chest on rep 7) All of the completed reps were very clean and explosive. Best bp session in a long time.

Red mini-band pressing+135lbs
-2x5, 1x6 Lock out on that last rep for the exercise was a bitch.

Did some Band face pulls
-3x10 I’m hoping if i do these for lower reps then I usually do, I can get tighter in the bench without shoulder pain.

Inverted skull crusher
-3x10,9,8 last rep was intense

Band press downs
-3x10 last set was hard

13

Friday

mini-cycle 2 5/3/1 squat
-225, 255 290 4 reps 5th rep I might have moved the weight 4 inches before it came plunging back down. Again, I’m having trouble being aggressive and exploding out of the hole. Next cycle, I’m going to do some walk outs with a supramaximal load because I feel like getting intimidated by the weight.

Red mini-bands triple yoked on the DB and yoked once on the BB w 185 3 second pause on the box
-2x5 1x6 keeping my back rigid and upright was hard, especially on that last set

Seated Good mornings
-155 3x8 hard to sit upright for a few minutes after the last set

BB step ups (with heel on ground and heel on box, upper thigh was parallel to ground)
-95 3x6/side I really felt the upper portion of the thighs working hard on these. Maybe because of the gm’s prior, It was hard to keep my back rigid. (usually what will fail in a squat)

abs

14

Sunday

minicycle 2 5/3/1 shoulder press
-110,125x3 145x5.5 when my upper arms got parallel to the floor, I just couldn’t move it up further. I had a tiny bit of trouble with balance all throughout the last set

javelin press
-40lbs 10,9,10

french press
-40lb 12, 45lb 11, 50lb 8

band face pulls 12, 12, 12

standing uni. band presses 15, 12, 12

15

deadlift (tuesday)

tried 2.5’s under the weight, felt a little better.
pulled 385 for a single, couldn’t even do 405.

Thursday

5/3/1 bench 3rd minicycle
-barely got 230 1 time, I could get good leg drive, My chest, shoulders, tris were fresh, I just lost all my transfer of power through my back cause it was tired from dl day.

16

Monday

5/3/1 minicycle 3
got 305 once, it went down and up real smooth, maybe a slight lean about 4in up. Tried to get a second and I got a major lean out forward at about that same spot.

box squats (no bands)
I think I’ll stick with these w/o bands

seated gms
erectors hit hard here ramp 3x8 135,145,155

bb step ups
3x7,8,10 glutes and erectors working hard

ab work

17

Tuesday

5/3/1 minicycle 3 Mil. press
-got 150 twice, not much sleep and drastic diet change from being home for spring break

javelin press w/full size barbell
-no added weight 3x8

cable face pulls
-4x10

rotator work before and after

Wednesday

10 miles mountain biking.
-there was bad peanut butter in my sandwich in the morning so I spent about the first 15 minutes of the ride puking my guts up multiple times. So aside from feeling a little energy drained from the lack of food in my system and convulsing, it went pretty good. I was only about 5 minutes behind my brother who regularly does the mountain biking. Also, I still had some serious doms from squatting.

18

Tuesday

Did some hill sprinting for about 15 minutes. Never did it before. It was kind of cool and dry outside so my throat started closing up and hurting so I had to call it quits sooner than I would’ve liked. My running form was starting to get a little sloppy anyway so it was probably for the best. I totally sucked at this lol. I imagine I’ll get better at this fast however.