My Journey to Getting STRONG

Decided to put up a log just to get some feedback from people and be able to post my training journey. Heres a little info on me:

Age: 18
Height: 5’9
Weight: 174 lbs

Starting Lifts:
Bench 2x3 135 5/17/10
Squat 2x3 195 5/20/10

Current Lifts:
Bench: 2x3 160 7/5/10
Squat: 2x3 235 7/1/10

WS4SB III LOG

Week 1:
Monday - 5/17/10 - 176 lbs - ME upper
BB Bench: 2x3 135 lbs

DB Bench: 1x16 35 lbs 1x15 35 lbs

Seated Cable row w/ rear delt fly superset:
Row: 1x8, 1x9, 1x12 90 lbs
Delt: 1x10, 1x8, 1x12 75 lbs

DB Shrugs: 4x15 50 lbs

BB curls: 1x10, 1x8, 1x9 40 lbs

Tuesday - 5/18/10 - DE lower
10yd sprint x 10
20yd sprint x 6
40yd sprint x 4
Also played indoor lacrosse (alot of running up and down)

Wednesday - 5/19/10
OFF

Thursday - 5/20/10 - 178 lbs
Free Squat: 2x3 155 (getting back in the groove, didnt start light enough, terrible squat day)

Pullthroughs: 3x10 100

Sprinter Situps: 3x20

Farmer Walks : 4x48yds 52.5 lb DB’s

Friday - 5/21/10 - 178 lbs - DE upper
BB Bench: 1x12, 1x11, 1x8 105 lbs

Lat Pdown w/ rear delt fly superset:
Lat: 3x12 90 lbs
Delt: 1x8, 1x8, 1x10 90 lbs

DB Lat raises: 4x12 15 lbs

DB shrug w/ tricep pushdown superset:
Shrug: 3x10 65
Tricep: 1x20, 1x24, 1x20 105

Weighted Abs: 1x15, 1x10, 1x10, 1x10 30 lbs

Saturday - 5/22/10
Lacrosse scrimmage

Sunday -5/23/10
OFF

Week 2:
Monday - 5/24/10 - 181lbs - ME upper
BB Bench: 2x3 140

DB Bench: 1x17 40 1x9 40

Seated Cable row w/ facepull super set
Row: 1x9, 1x9 1x11 105 lbs
Facepull: 1x10, 1x11, 1x12 60 lbs

DB Shrug: 4x15 60 lbs

BB Curls: 1x12, 1x10, 1x8, 1x8 45 lbs

Tuesday - 5/25/10 - DE lower
Hill sprints
5x 40 yards
5x 60 yards
5x 40 yards backpedal

Wednesday - 5/26/10
OFF

Thursday - 5/27/10 - 179lbs - ME lower
Free squat: 2x3 205

Pullthroughs: 3x10 110

Sprinter situps: 3x20

Farmers Walk: 5x48yds 52.5 lb DB’s

Friday - 5/28/10 - 180 lbs - DE upper
BB Bench: 1x14, 1x9, 1x8, 115

Lat pdown w/ facepull superset:
Lat: 1x12, 1x9, 1x11 105
Facepull: 3x12 80

DB lat raises: 1x12, 1x9, 1x10 20

BB Shrug with Tricep pushdown superset:
Shrug: 3x10 100
Tricep: 1x20, 1x20, 1x15 120

Weighted abs:
4x15 100lbs on ab machine

Saturday - 5/29/10
OFF

Sunday - 5/30/10
OFF

Week 3:
Monday - 5/31/10 - 181.5 lbs - ME upper
BB Bench: 1x3 150, 1x2 150 (failed last rep)

DB Bench: 1x15, 1x10 42.5

Seated cable row w/ facepull superset
Row: 1x10, 1x8, 1x10 120
Facepull: 1x12, 1x10, 1x12 90

BB shrugs: 1x15, 1x15, 1x15, 1x12 125

BB curls: 1x10, 1x8, 1x8 1x11 55

Tuesday - 6/1/10 - DE lower
Hill Sprints
10x50yds
5x60yds
Indoor lacrosse

Wednesday - 6/2/10
OFF

Thursday - 6/3/10 - 178lbs - ME lower
Free squat: 2x3 215

45 deg back raises: 3x10 25

Sprinter situps: 3x20

Farmers Walk: 4x48yds 55 lb DB’s

Friday - 6/4/10 - 175lbs - DE upper
BB Bench: 1x12, 1x11, 1x6 120

Lat pdown with facepull superset
Lat: 1x9, 1x10, 1x8 120
Facepull: 3x12 100

DB lat raises: 1x11, 1x10, 1x9, 1x8 20

DB shrug with tricep pdown superset:
Shrug: 3x10 70
Tricep: 1x20, 1x16, 1x15 135

Weighted abs:
Weighted decline sit ups : 4x15 35

Saturday:
OFF

Sunday:
OFF

Week 4:
Monday - 6/7/10 - ME upper
BB Bench: 2x3 150

DB Bench: 1x15, 1x6, 45

Seated Cable row with facepull superset:
Row: 1x12, 1x10, 1x12 120
Facepull: 1x9, 1x10, 1x12 100

BB Shrug: 4x15 135

BB curl: 1x10, 1x8, 1x8, 1x11 60

Tuesday - 6/8/10 - DE lower
Timed Mile Run: 6:59
Indoor lacrosse

Wednesday - 6/9/10
OFF
Began mixing 5g Biotest german monohydrate creatine into my PWO shake. Going to do 4-6 weeks on, 2 weeks off.

Thursday - 6/10/10 - ME lower
Free Squat: 2x3 195

45 deg back raises: 3x10 35

Sprinter situps: 3x20

Farmers walk: 5x48yds 55 lb DB’s

NOTE: It definitely crossed my mind monday after the weights felt like a ton that next week (week 5) might be a deload week. After today that is confirmed. Next week will be my deload week.

Friday - 6/11/10 - 176 lbs - DE upper (rep day)
BB Bench - 1x11, 1x10, 1x5 125

Lat pdown with facepull superset
Lat: 1x9, 1x9, 1x8 120
FP: 1x12, 1x12, 1x10 100

DB lat raises
1x12, 1x10, 1x8, 1x8 20

DB Shrug with tricep pdown superset
Shrug: 3x10 70
Tricep: 1x17, 1x15, 1x16 135

Abs: Didnt do weighted abs because of pulling in lower ab section which was painful and didnt want to push it to possibly tear or injure something. any ideas as to what this is?
100 crunches
15 leg raises
100 crunches
The pain is definitely in the lower abs as leg raises caused some pretty good pain, feels like something is super tight and going to pop.

Week 5:
THIS WEEK IS DELOAD WEEK. Same sets/reps, 50% weight, reps do not exceed 10.

Monday 6/14/10 - ME Upper
BB Bench
2x3 75

DB Bench
2x10 27.5

Seated cable row with facepull superset
Row: 3x10 60
FP: 3x10 50

BB shrug:
4x10 70

BB curl:
4x10 30

I can already say that deloading is boring as hell. Haha

Tuesday 6/15
2 mile powerwalk
Indoor lacrosse

Wednesday 6/16
OFF

Thursday 6/17
Box squat
Did box squats instead of free squats to feel out the form because that is what Im going to be using after deload week as my 2x3 exercise.
2x3 105

45 deg back raises
3x10 15

Sprinter situps
3x10

Farmers walk
4x48 yards 27.5

Friday 6/18
Bench
4x10 65 (really focused on bar speed)

Lat pulldown with facepull superset
Lat: 3x10 60
FP: 3x10 50

DB Lat raises
4x10 10

DB Shrug with tricep pushdown superset
Shrug: 3x10 35
Tricep: 3x10 75

Weighted abs
4x10 15

DELOAD WEEK IS OVER!!!

First day back after deloading and I hit some PR’s!!

Bench
2x3 155 PR

Incline DB Bench
Decided to throw these into the mix, feeling them out, can definitely up weight next workout.
1x17 1x15 35

Seated cable row with facepull superset
Row: 1x10, 1x9, 1x9 135 PR
FP: 1x10, 1x10, 1x8 110 PR

BB Shrug
3x15 145 PR

BB Curl
1x11, 1x9, 1x6, 1x6 65 PR

Tuesday - 6/22
HIIT Sled Dragging
1 min drag “sprint” forward
1 min brisk walk
1 min drag “sprint” backwards
1 min brisk walk
1 min drag “sprint” forward

90 lbs

Wednesday 6/23
OFF

Thursday 6/24
Box squat
2x3 225 PR!!

45 deg back raises
3x10 45 lbs

Sprinter situp
3x20

Farmer walk
3x48 yds 60lb DB
1x60 yd 60 lb DB

Friday 6/25
Bench
1x10, 1x7, 1x5 135

Lat pdown with FP superset
Lat: 1x10, 1x9, 1x10 120
FP: 1x10, 1x11, 1x12 110

DB Mil Press
1x9, 1x10, 1x10, 1x9 30 lb DB’s

DB shrug with tricep pushdown superset
Shrug: 3x10 75
Tricep: 1x15, 1x15, 1x15 120

Weighted Abs
4x10 35lb decline situps
4x10 per side 35lb side raises

Saturday 6/26
HIIT Sled
1 minute backward drag, 1 minute rest, 1 minute forward drag, 1 minute rest, 1 minute backward drag, 1 minute rest, 1 minute forward drag
90lbs

Sunday 6/27
OFF

Monday 6/28
Incline Bench
2x3 135

DB Bench
1x14, 1x8 50

Tbar row with FP superset
T: 1x11, 1x10, 1x12 135
FP: 1x10, 1x12, 1x12 110

BB Shrug
3x15 150

BB Curl
1x10, 1x10, 1x8 1x8 70

Tuesday 6/29/10
No Sled
Indoor Lacrosse

Wednesday 6/30/10
OFF

Thursday 7/1/10
Box Squat
2x3 235 Another 10 lb PR!!

Pullthroughs
3x10 130

Sprinter Situps
3x25
Lying resisted leg raises
4x10

Farmer Walk
3x48yd 60 lb DB’s (all in under 30 sec)
1x60yd 60 lb DB’s (34 sec)

Friday 7/2/10
Bench
1x8, 1x8, 1x7 135

Lat Pdown with RDF Superset
Lat: 3x10 120
RDF: 3x10 90

DB Mil Press
3x10, 1x8 32.5

DB Shrug with Tricep pdown superset
Shrug: 3x10 75
Tricep: 1x20, 1x16, 1x15 120

Weighted Abs
Decline situp with standing russian twist superset
Situp: 4x15 25 lb
RT: 4x15 45 lb

Saturday 7/3/10
No sled due to pouring rain

Monday 7/5/10
So I was feeling good today warming up on the bench and wednesday im getting my wisdom teeth pulled so I attempted a 10 lb PR. Needless to say, I was inches away from it! Since I alternate BB benching each week between incline and flat, I definitely think 2 weeks from now ill be able to hit 2x3 170!

Bench
2x3 165 Light help on last rep of both sets

Inc DB Bench
1x17, 1x13 40

Seated CR with RDF Superset
CR: 1x15, 1x12, 1x15 135
RDF: 1x10, 1x6, 1x8 105
Question on the RDF, I feel like I have ok back strength with the cable rows but with the rear delt flys, they are very difficult for me. Could it just be the exercise?

BB Shrug
3x15 155 Good Working Weight, probably will stay here for a few weeks

BB Curl
1x14, 1x10, 1x11 70

Tuesday 7/6/10
HIIT Sled Dragging
5 intervals
1 min fwd, 1 min rest, 1 min bkwd, 1 min rest,1 min fwd, 1 min rest,1 min bkwd, 1 min rest,1 min fwd, 1 min rest,

Rest of the week I probably wont be in the gym because of wisdom teeth surgery tomorrow morning and being on pain meds. Wednesday is typically an off day. Thursday is ME lower (squat day) and Friday is repetition upper body.

Wednesday 6/7/10 thru Sunday 6/11/10 - OFF (wisdom teeth surgery and recovery)

Apologies for the huge first post, had to transfer everything from the last 8 weeks or so.

A few notes on my training:
-My plans are to finish out WS4SB maybe through the end of july or end of summer (mid august) then test my 1RM in bench, squat, dead and sohp so I have my numbers to begin 5/3/1.
-I have never done deads, sohp or dips in my training before. Going to incorporate dips into my WS4SB workout for a few weeks.

Back in the gym tomorrow! Cant wait!

I will also make my entries more clear. Hopefully it isnt too much trouble to read the first post.

LONG first post! lol Looks like you’ve already made some decent gains, and you’re young. Keep at it man, you will be a beast if you stay consistent

Definitely start doing deads man. I never got strong in my other lifts until I really focused on getting my deadlift up. It kind of just thought me to be aggressive and explosive with all of my other lifts

[quote]ashylarryku wrote:
LONG first post! lol Looks like you’ve already made some decent gains, and you’re young. Keep at it man, you will be a beast if you stay consistent

Definitely start doing deads man. I never got strong in my other lifts until I really focused on getting my deadlift up. It kind of just thought me to be aggressive and explosive with all of my other lifts[/quote]
For sure man, deads will be started soon with 5/3/1. I will deadlift before obviously to attempt to get my max for 5/3/1. Im pretty happy with the gains I have made and I feel stronger. Thanks for reading

Monday 7/12/10
Bench
45x2x10
95x1x5
115x1x5
135x1x3
155x1x3 (Should have just used this as my weight today, ego got in the way :/)
165x1x2
160x1x1
135x1x5
45x1x10
Decided to do a couple drop sets because I failed my last rep of 165 and could barely put 160 up for 1. Just was frustrating for me, felt weak and exhausted.

Incline Bench
45x1x10
95x1x5
115x2x3
After a shitty flat bench I realized I needed to do some lighter weight coming back in so I just did 115.

DB Row w/ DB Lat Raise Superset
Row: 50x3x10
Lat: 15x3x10
These weren’t exhausting but made me work.

BB Shrug
135x3x15
Again did a lighter weight just to get a feel.

On a side note, deadlifted for the first time, just figured why the hell not cause I needed to get a number for a 1rm for 5/3/1 anyways:
135x3x3
185x1x3
225x1x1
Definitely feel I can 1RM more than that with some experience in deadlifting. But that is a good number to use when I begin 5/3/1 because like Wendler said its better to start too light.

Overall today I just felt weak and exhausted. Was glad to get back in the gym but after just sitting around for a few days after the surgery my body felt weak. Things will get better.

Thanks for reading, keep lifting!

Tuesday 7/13/10
Decided to run a mile today since its been about a month since I last tested my mile. The last time I tested it I was at 6:59. Today I ran it in 6:50. Pretty happy with that.

On a slightly different note, id value opinions on my 5/3/1 routine that I’ll be starting soon:

Revamped my 5/3/1 program ill be running. Check 8 posts down.

Thanks for reading, keep lifting!

Your 5/3/1 setup looks pretty solid to me man. Assistance exercises look pretty good. Good luck, train hard!

Wednesday 7/14/10
OFF

Thanks ashylarryku. Any other comments/suggestions on the 5/3/1 layout?

Thursday 7/15/10

Box Squat
45x1x8
95x1x5
135x1x5
165x1x3
195x1x3
225x1x1
245x1x1
260x1x0
255x1x1 - 1RM box squat to use to calculate numbers for 5/3/1

Back Raises
BWx1x10
35x3x10

Ab Complex
Medicine ball situp 1x20, Sprinter Situp 1x20, Resisted Leg Raises 1x10
Medicine ball situp 1x20, Sprinter Situp 1x15, Resisted Leg Raises 1x10

Farmer Walks
48ydx65lbs 29 sec
48ydx65lbs 29 sec
48ydx65lbs 27 sec
60ydx65lbs 34 sec

Great day in the gym. Felt great and feel back to normal. Happy with the 255 1rm squat to use for 5/3/1.

Another day in the gym, another post. Was looking forward to today because I was doing two exercises I had never done before (dips and mp). Was pissed when I got to the gym to find the dip belt they had was gone so I was forced to do BW dips which probably weren’t a bad thing for me to do my first time doing dips.

Friday 7/16/10
Dips
BWx20
BWx15
BWx12

Lat Pulldown with Facepull Superset
Lat: 120x3x12
FP: 100x3x12

Military Press
45x1x10
65x1x6
95x1x3
115x1x1 Will be my 1RM for 5/3/1
85x1x5
65x1x8
45x1x10
Decided to do drop sets just to work on form and get some more reps in. Felt pretty good, 115 was a difficult weight to put up for me but I got it up there.

DB Shrug w/ BB Curl Superset
Shrug: 75x3x10
Curl: 70x1x10
70x1x9
70x1x8

Weighted Decline crunch with Russian side twist superset
Crunch: 25x3x15
RST: 45x3x15

Leg Raises
BWx1x35

Felt good today and was an exhausting workout.

Thanks for reading, keep lifting!

Solid box squat and military press man. Are you maxing deadlift and bench too?

[quote]ashylarryku wrote:
Solid box squat and military press man. Are you maxing deadlift and bench too?[/quote]
Thanks man!
Yeah I maxed deadlift on monday. Hit 225 for a 1rm with that. Bench I will max this coming monday and then Ill have all the numbers I need.

Tested 1 Rep Maxes:
Bench: TBD
Deadlift: 225 - Tested 7/12/10
Box Squat: 255 - Tested 7/15/10
Military Press: 115 - Tested 7/16/10

Numbers will be used to begin my journey on 5/3/1. Can’t wait to get it started!

My 5/3/1 routine will be posted before i start in a couple weeks. Stay on the lookout

Monday 7/19/10
Today is the day I was going to test my 1rm for bench. Usually I bench first, but my buddy who goes with me couldnt make it to the gym til 8 am so I did 3 of my 4 other exercises before I benched.

Incline DB Bench
42.5x1x18
42.5x1x12

DB Row - SS - Facepull
Rows: 60x3x12
Facepull: 100x3x12

BB Shrug
165x1x10
165x1x8
165x1x8

Bench
45x1x10
75x1x8
105x1x6
135x1x3
155x1x1
165x1x1
170x1x1
175x1x1 HELL YEAH PR!!!

Hammer Curls
30x1x9
25x1x8
25x1x10

Thanks for reading, keep lifting!

Tested 1 Rep Maxes:
Bench: 175 - Tested 7/19/10
Deadlift: 225 - Tested 7/12/10
Box Squat: 255 - Tested 7/15/10
Military Press: 115 - Tested 7/16/10

Achieved my goals I set for the summer as well. To bench my BW and squat 1.5x my BW! Pretty excited about that!

Numbers above will be used for 5/3/1. Cant wait to start lifting hard on that!

Tuesday 7/20/10

HIIT Sled Dragging
6 intervals
1 min bkwd/1min rest/1min fwd/1min rest/1min bkwd/1min rest/1min fwd/1min rest/1min bkwd/1min rest/1min fwd

Nice job on reaching your goals! I’m ready to see you make some solid gains on 5/3/1 man

Thanks man! To boot, I actually 1 RMed 5 lbs more than my BW on bench. Weighed this morning and I’m sitting at ~169.5! I cant wait to start 5/3/1!

Thursday 7/22/10

Warmup Before: Foam Roll and 5 min bike

Box Squat
45x1x6
95x1x6
135x1x3
165x1x3
195x1x1
225x1x1
240x2x3 PR

Back Raise
35x3x10

Seated Calf Raise
90x2x10
100x1x10

Chins
5xBW
5xBW
5xBW
5xBW
8xBW

After: Foam Roll

Today I changed up a couple things. Added calf raises and chins and took out sprinter situps and moved farmers walks to tomorrow. Trying to do some exercises Ill be doing for 5/3/1.

Would appreciate some comments on my warmup sets for bench/squat/deadlift/military press.

Pretty pumped for tomorrow. Picked up a dip belt today, so I’ll get to do weighted dips tomorrow!
Thanks for reading, keep lifting!