Bench week 2
45.65.85.105X5
135X5
155X5
175X5
Everything felt fine, but didn’t feel any need to push the last set.
Tried to JM press, absolutely not.
Tricep Cable Pushdowns
50 reps at 50# all in 1 set
Cable Curls
50 reps at 50# 35-15-5
Seated Rows
50 reps at 70# 25-15-10
Good arm pump, minimal shoulder discomfort. That’s a win 4 days post accident. Will try to DL tomorrow, if it’s a no go, then a rep style squat session. Press is definitely out, shoulder going overhead feels horrible
Deadlift week 2
45.135.185X5
225X5
245X5
275X5
225X5 3 sets
Decide to use the SSB for 25-50 reps of supplemental work to save the shoulder.
155X8 2 sets
135X8 2 sets
Superset with 4 neutral grip pull-ups between sets. 16 total reps.
I don’t love the SSB, probably only because it’s a new hard movement for me, lol. Got everything done in 40 minutes. Big low back pump, but no pain so another successful day.
I’ve been so pleased that I’ve been able to keep hitting my work set numbers. Even if I can’t put in the accessory volume I like, I’m still progressing. This is probably my favorite part of 5/3/1, been able to scale the workouts to whatever life throws at me.
Just looked up the Rogue SSB, turns out it weighs 70#. That explains the difficulty of today’s session. That means I was closer to 70% then the 50% I intended.
How do you do this? I don’t even start with 135 anymore (I have a pair of 45 and 25 lb bumpers so my bar always has 185 on it).
Something I was taught a long time ago that stuck. Empty bar to start every session. Let’s me know if anything is out of whack. As I get older, I find it more important. If the bar doesn’t feel right, more mobility/stretching/warmup.
Bench week 3
45.85.105.135X5
All of this felt horrible decided to press on anyway
155X5 better but still shaky
175X3 strong but felt pretty heavy
195XAMRAP
Decided I wanted 5 so took a couple minutes then tried to mentally attack this set and ended up setting a rep PR at 8
Tricep push downs
50 reps at 55# all in one set
Bicep cable curls
50 reps at 55# 25-15-10
Seated wide grip rows
50 reps at 70# 20-17-15
Cardio
12 minutes on the treadmill, some jogging, some walking, some sprinting. Did at one minute walk, one minute running. Ended up at .8 miles, not too good. Heart rate up to 155 but back to below 130 in 2 minutes. I don’t know if that’s good or not, but I’m going to try and use it as a metric for how hard the run was.
Squat week 3
45.135.155.185X5
225X5
255X3
285XAMRAP
10 reps
I went into the gym wanting 10 on that last set. Never felt real good all the way up to it, but would not mentally let the goal go. Probably should have hit 8 and stopped, but I felt I needed that extra push today. Still can’t grip the bar more than a couple inches inside the collars which is causing the bar to be less stable than I prefer. I just can’t seem to engage my lats that wide.
FSL
225X8X3
All done in 38 minutes and out of the gym. Tomorrow should be press day, but that’s a no go. So an upper body accessory day with longer cardio will be the plan
Quality mate. Nice job
Week 4 Bench
Supposed to be accessories and cardio, but work threw a curveball and I only had 30 minutes to lift. Since it was an upper body day, I just did bench with week 4 numbers and will probably just repeat it next week.
45.85.105.135X5
145X3
165X3
185XAMRAP
8 reps
Phone rang the entire session with work related stuff plus my wife letting me know my youngest daughter was being tested for Covid-19. Good solid methodical work. Reps were crisp no issues, just good mentally to get something done and not waste the day.
I don’t know if it’s just me, but I continually evaluate my training max based off AMRAP sets. I feel I should get 10 on 5’s week, 8 on 3’s, and 5 on the week I do singles. I really like keeping my TM down in the 85% range because even on an average day I can hit my numbers and still progress the program.
My whole family got the test today - except me. My kids went back to daycare last week and both had rough weekends. It’s just the common cold! The stupid guidelines for Covid have every symptom of every possible illness so we’re all forced to quarantine and get tested. My wife has to stay home until the results come back.
Deadlift week 3
46.135.185.225X5
245X5
275X3
315XAMRAP
10 reps
Don’t have any idea why I did 10, but no pain, so there’s that.
SSB Squats to parallel box
120X8
140X8
150X8
Conditioning
Ran 1.1 miles in 11:40 going 1:30 hard/1:00 walk. Walked another 2 minutes after that, heart rate got up to 170 down to 130 in 2 minutes. The worst part of this is my calves and shins. Everything else feels good, breathing only becomes difficult after 1:00 or so of running hard, then back to normal after 1:00 walk.
We all accept that lifting progress is slow, but cardio gains seem to be much worse. It’s like, “I ran twice this week. Why am I not in great shape?”
Nice work on the horrible running (horrible experience, not performance).
Press rehab
BarX10X2
Good stretch feel, no pain.
BBB Bench
115# 5X10
superset with 3 pull-ups between sets
Press
45# 5X10
superset with 3 pull-ups
Wide grip rows
50 reps 35-15 70#
Cardio
10 minutes some jogging mostly incline walking low impact. .6 miles.
Finished in 45 minutes. Good arm/back pump. Press never hurt, but ROM seemed to be a stretch at the bottom. Lots of trap pump today, something I’m not used to. Possibly compensating for the shoulder. All in all low stress good solid session.
Squat week 4
45.135.155.185X5
225X3
250X3
280X3
All heavy because I cannot get my hands inside to engage my upper back or lats. Speed was actually fine, just strange because of the grip.
Good Mornings
3X8 135#
tried something like SSL for heavy good mornings, not a big fan. Think I’ll leave this as lower weight higher rep exercise.
Leg press
3X15 180#
Reverse Hypers
3X10 100#
Just destroyed my legs in general. Lots of recovery, food and water needed. No cardio today as i ran out of time. Also think I’ll leave running to upper body day. Might work as active revovery for the lower half of my body.
Bench week 5
45.85.105X5
135X5
155X5
175X5
205X3
225X3
FSL BBB
135X10 5 sets
Minimal time today wanted something heavy if I couldn’t put in my normal accessory work. 225 moved way easier than I expected. Stick with the program because I am definitely getting stronger. Probably take a day off tomorrow, feels like work is catching up with me a little bit. Can’t seem to stay out of the gym when I’m on the road, so if I do go, really need to just do cardio/core work.
Looks like your shoulder is doing good.
Shoulder is ok, still have plenty of rehab to do in order to do dedicated shoulder work. OHP is basically going to take a backseat, which is fine since I’m prepping for a powerlifting meet in December.
Took 3 days off, slept, ate, and played golf. Nice to take a little break, but ready to get back at it later today. Also bought a new puppy which my wife should pick up today and I will bring back up here to work with me next time home. Should be good for some active recovery walks, lol.
We’ve been kicking around the idea of getting a Boxer pup. We have an almost 12 year Pug-Beagle mix and I’m not sure if she’ll like a puppy or hate it. She’s a great dog and I feel like she deserves to continue to have the place to herself. On the other hand, she loses her mind every time another dog walks by so maybe she wants a friend.
I definitely don’t want a pup now because everyone is out of the house for school and work again. If they cancel traditional school then it might be a possibility since everyone will be home.
This is my wife’s favourite Breed. She says go for it.