Oh Look, Another 5/3/1 Log

Training Logs
1

I was doing a push/pull split last semester and made some decent progress with some of my lifts (managed to hit a deadlift PR of 315). Over the break I used a 75 pound sandbag, always mixing it up and never doing the same thing twice. When I got back to school, I decided that I wanted something a little different. I had read about 5/3/1 in the article featured on here a while ago and saw a huge number of 5/3/1 logs in this section of the forums, so I decided to check it out. After picking up the eBook and giving it a read, it seemed like something that might be beneficial for me. So, I started my first cycle last week. My time in the gym has felt fairly productive, maybe moreso than my previous routine. Anyway, that’s enough of that. Now to get down to business.

Maxes:
Bench press - 140
Squat - 180
Military press - 110
Deadlift - 315

As you can probably tell, my bench and my squat are probably my two weakest lifts and I’m going to focus more on bringing them up to something approaching a respectable level.

As far as assistance work goes, I’m doing the triumvirate, with a few small tweaks. My lifting schedule, for now, is as follows:

Sunday
Bench press (5/3/1)
Dumbbell row (4x8)
Dumbbell bench press (4x6)

Monday
Squat (5/3/1)
Leg curl (4x6)
Lunge (4x8 per leg)

Wednesday
Military press (5/3/1)
Inverted row (3xf)
Dips (3xf)

Friday
Deadlift (5/3/1)
Leg raise (3xf)
Goodmorning (4x8)

The only real changes I’ve made to it are swapping the leg press for lunges and chin-ups for inverted rows. I opted for lunges instead of leg press to stabilize my legs more (because there’s really no feeling like intense DOMS in the deep hip muscles) and iron out any strength imbalances. I chose inverted rows because I’m not yet strong enough to perform chins and I still want to do some form of body-weight pulling. I’m not strong enough to do inverted rows laying on the floor with my legs straight, so I’m working on getting there first. After I’m proficient with inverted rows, I’ll work my way up to unassisted chins.

2

1/17
Bench press
90x5
105x5
120x7

Dumbbell row
45x8
45x8
45x8
45x8

Dumbbell bench press
35x6
35x6
35x6
35x4

Even though I was able to get all the reps for the DB row, I think the weight may have been a bit too heavy since I wasn’t able to hold the weight at the top with my scapulae retracted after each rep, so I’ll lower the weight a bit and focus on that some more.

3

1/19
Squat
110x5
130x5
145x10

Leg curl
35x6
35x6
35x6
35x5

Lunge
70x8
70x7
70x8
70x8

I think all the squatting I did with the sandbag helped me, because I don’t remember 145 being that easy to squat, let alone for that many reps. I think I may have still had something left in the tank, but just ended the set there. Leg curls were…interesting. That was the first time I’d seriously done any knee flexion exercise. The funny thing is I felt it more in the top of my calves than in my hamstrings, so I guess my gastrocs might be the weak link in the chain there. As for lunges… ugh. They’re almost as bad, as far as DOMS goes, as Bulgarian split squats. I was having some trouble staying upright and keeping good form for all of my reps, so I’m going to deload them a bit, too, so I can get the most benefit out of the lift.

4

1/21
Press
70x5
85x5
95x6

Inverted row
BWx7
BWx8
BWx7

Dips
7
6
4

Pressing wasn’t bad (though I was a little disappointed I didn’t get more reps on my last set). With the inverted rows, I had to start at the 6th notch from the bottom for the bar in the smith machine (finally, a use for it other than mobility drills!), but I feel like if I keep at it I’ll bring up my strength there and I’ll be able to get to harder variations on it. Oh, and of course get stronger and add some mass to my back. As for the dips, I had to do assisted ones with an average Jump-Stretch band (the purple one). I’ve done them this way in the past, but I don’t feel like I’ve really made any progress doing them like that. I’ll finish this cycle and see if I’ve made any gains there, but if not I may end up switching it out for another triceps exercise until I can do unassisted dips.

5

1/22
Deadlift
205x5
235x5
270x3

Leg raise
11
12
10

Goodmorning
135x8
135x8
135x8
135x7

Needless to say I was disappointed with my deadlift performance. I’ll work off of 315 for my max for this cycle and see how I do this week and the next, but I’m getting the sneaking suspicion I may have to work off of a lower weight for my max. I was able to get my legs up in the leg raise, but couldn’t bring them past parallel to the ground. I’m going to switch to doing them on a decline bench until I’m confident that I can bring my hips up while hanging. Now for the goodmornings… let’s just say my back is still a little sore. I’m pretty sure I was using proper form, but I didn’t have anyone watching and I don’t have any way to film myself doing them to check my form myself. I’m thinking I should lower the weight a little bit and put as much focus on keeping my lower back arched as I can.

6

Meh, might as well start keeping my log up again and be accountable. Aside from my squat still being pretty low (probably due in part to subbing back squat for front squat for a while and not hitting the gym at all for several months earlier this year, but my estimated max has gone up!) all of my other lifts have gone up. I would like to mention that the maxes I listed earlier were true maxes and not training maxes, so I can at least save some face.

Cycle something or another, week 1

Current training maxes
Bench - 160
Squat - 185
Press - 130
Deadlift - 315

6’
220 lb.

Been spending a lot of the summer in the gym (but not doing much cardio…) so my lifts have gone up, but I’ve got a bit of fat on me. I don’t think it’s really a whole lot more than I had before, if I did indeed put on fat. I can still use the same notch in my belt as I was able to before, so that’s worth something. Right?

Cereally though, I’m going to drop some of these extra pounds once school starts up again, due to having increased motivation to do so (getting a girlfriend, if not just getting laid a few more times, would be nice).

7

8/2

Bench
105x5
120x5
135x8

Would have probably gone for more one or two more, but I was literally the only one in the gym at the time, so I didn’t have a spotter and going for broke probably wouldn’t have been a good idea. Of course by the time I’m halfway done with my workout, 4 or 5 people came in the gym.

Pendlay row
125x8
125x8
125x8
125x8

Just bumped the weight on my rows 10 pounds from last cycle and I felt like I probably could have handled more. I’m going to take another week or two at this weight, though, before I add more to the bar just to be safe.

Close-grip bench press (with Fat Gripz goodness!)
100x8
100x8
100x8
100x8

I was originally doing my close-grips with my index finger just inside of knurling on the bar, but two weeks ago I decided to move it in a bit further. I’m just working on getting to the point that I feel confident that I can handle this weight without a spotter before moving it up. Or I may just scrap it and start doing some DB benching.

Prone shrugs
135x12
135x12
135x12
135x12

I’ve been feeling that my upper back is kinda weak, so I threw these in to help it out. I’ve done them for 2 weeks so far, and I feel like it’s helping a bit. I’ll probably finish this cycle out and replace them with DB flies to help bring up my chest, which isn’t as strong as my shoulders or triceps (see: press).

Oh, and I did a set of 10 inverted rows before each work set of mah bench, so I feel like my back has been getting enough work on my bench days.

8

8/4

Squat
120x5
140x5
155x11

Yeah, I think my actual squat max might be a bit higher than my training max. I think I still had a few more reps left in the tank, but I didn’t want to go all out.

Back raises (DB held at throat)
40x10
40x10
40x10

Started doing these after my gym owner informed me that my goodmorning form, well, sucked. I’m going to keep at these until I hit a wall and then start doing goodmornings again, albeit starting off light and paying stricter attention to form. In other news, the back pump you get off these sucks, in a good way.

Lunge
60x6
60x6
60x6
60x6

Ugh, if there’s a lift I dislike more than squats, it has to be lunges. It has, however, informed me that my left leg isn’t as strong as my right leg, so that’s something.

Leg curl
70x8
70x8
70x8
70x8

Supersetted these with lunges. I hurt my left hamstrings (hamstring?) a few weeks back while doing these so I lowered the weight and the reps a little bit and stopped when it started hurting. I’ve noticed that it doesn’t really hurt if I keep my feet plantarflexed while lowering the weight, so I’ll make sure to do that whenever doing leg curls.

9

8/7

Couldn’t manage to get to the gym yesterday, so I combined my press workout with my deadlift workout.

Deadlift
205x5
235x5
270x7

Would have liked to get another rep or two, but oh well. I’m the only person who deadlifts at my gym, so there isn’t anyone deadlifting more to hurt my feewings.

Press
85x5
100x5
110x5

I think I’m starting to hit a wall in my press. Whereas before I was having trouble in the middle portion, now I’m having trouble getting it off my sternum. I’ve been doing BBB on it, but I’m going to switch to DB pressing to see if that helps at all. Failing that, I may give Bradford presses a try. So it goes.

Shrug
145x10
145x10
145x16

I started doing these to help bring up my grip strength, which I think has been holding me back in my deadlift. I’m also doing them to help strength my upper back (and make my upper traps bigger and stuff). I’m doing two feeler sets of 10 and then going until my grip fails. I think I may keep at it until I can do two sets of 15 and then one set of at least 20 reps before upping the weight again.

Skull crusher
45x8
45x8
45x8
45x8

I’m not strong enough to do dips yet and the gym doesn’t have an assisted dip machine, so until I get back to my school’s gym in two weeks (which has an assisted dip/chin machine) I’m doing skull crushers. I think they’ve probably helped my pressing strength and have also made my triceps a bit bigger, so that’s always good.

Inverted rows
15
28
39
50

I can’t quite yet do inverted rows from the floor, so I’m doing them with the bar raised a bit (two… notches in the smith machine). Robertson says he likes to have his clients who want to do unassisted chins start with inverted rows, in part, to get used to pulling their bodyweight, so I figured I might as well give it a try. Plus it’ll help strength my back some more, which is always a good thing.

10

8/9

Bench
110x3
130x3
145x6

Banged out two more reps at 145 then I did last time I benched that weight, so that’s nice.

Row
125x8
125x8
125x8
125x8

Time to bump up the weight.

Close-grip bench
105x8
105x6
105x6
105x4

I was probably a bit too greedy with the weight, so I’ll just try to do 4x6. I’ll be sticking with this until next cycle, where I’ll change over to dumbbell benching.

11

8/11

Squat
130x3
150x3
165x9

Had 3 or 4 reps left in the tank, but I didn’t really feel like pushing it too much more. Didn’t meet my PR at this weight, but considering how far over the minimum number of reps I’m getting, I don’t really think it’s too big of an issue.

Back raise (DB at neck)
40x10
40x10
40x10

Leg press
315x10
315x10
315x10
315x10

I don’t feel like I’m benefiting from lunges as much as I would from other exercises, so I’m switching it up. I’m not sure how much the sled weighs, but I’m just going to assume it’s 45 lb so three plates on either side makes it 315. It’s been some time since I’ve done any leg presses and it felt like it was both challenging and potentially helpful. I’ll stick with the leg press for a while and see how it affects my squat. If I’m not satisfied with it after 2 cycles, I’ll go to BBB.

Leg curl

80x8
80x8
80x8

Meant to do a fourth set, but I kinda forgot. I was supersetting it with the leg press, and after I was done I stripped the plates and pretty much left the weight room. Oh well. Knee feels just fine now so I think whatever I did is no longer an issue. I’ll just be sure to keep my feet plantarflexed while lowering the weight, though, to try and prevent any further incident.

12

8/12

I decided to change my assistance work to a WS4SB template, substituting elbow extension work for elbow flexion. I’ll stay on this template until next cycle, when I change it up to make use of the assisted dip/chin machine I’ll have at my disposal starting next week.

Military press
90x3
105x3
115x6

Hit a new PR on my military press, so I’m pretty happy with that. My form broke down a bit on the final rep, but I was able to get it.

DB press
30x8
30x8
30x8
30x7

Well, I’m happy I decided to be conservative when choosing a weight to use for my first time doing DB presses. It would have been nice to get 8 reps on all 4 sets, but oh well. I just know to get more rest between sets now. I figure I’ll probably stay at the same weight until I can 12 reps on all four sets.

Lat pull-down
140x6
140x6
140x6
140x6

Face pull
60x12
60x12
60x12

It’s nice supersetting lat pull-downs with something else to break up the monotony of just sitting there and waiting until I feel ready for another set. Well, it’s nice doing that with pretty much any exercise where you’ll be waiting a minute and a half to two minutes between sets. Anyway, since adding shrugs to my program my grip has definitely improved. I wasn’t really having trouble holding onto the bar while doing lat pull-downs, but I can tell that I have a firmer grip on it.

Skull crusher
45x8
45x8
45x8
45x7

It’s really just attack of the short rest times today. I doubt that my strength has gone down in this, so I’m just not waiting long enough. So it goes.

13

8/13

Deadlift
220x3
250x3
285x4

Trapbar deadlift
185x10
185x10
185x10
185x10
185x10

Shrug
145x10
145x10
145x17

Not much to say. I forgot that I bumped up my trapbar DL by ten pounds last time, but hey, what’s 500 lb. when you’ve got over 9000 lb. of volume on an exercise? I’m a little disappointed by my max set of shrugs only going up by on rep, but I’ll just have to keep at it.

14

Wow, I really need to get on top of the dates in my logbook

8/16

Bench
120x5
135x3
150x4

I’m fairly satisfied with my performance on the bench today. 4 reps for my first time benching 150 isn’t too bad. Did sets of 12 inverted rows before each work set.

Pendlay row
135x8
135x8
135x8
135x8

Face pull
60x12
60x12
60x12

Face pulls between sets of rows. I was originally going to up the weight on my rows by only 5, but I decided to bring it up to 135 instead, part on whim part out of not wanting to taking the 45s off the bar. I’m making some nice progress with the rows and I’ll probably end up increasing the weight again after next week. My torso may have rose a bit on the last few reps of sets three and four, but not by a whole lot. One more week at 135 should take care of that.

Close-grip bench
100x8
100x8
100x8
100x8

I know I said I was going to do 4x6 for 105, but oh well. I’ve been making some nice progress on my bench this summer and I’ve been doing close grip benching for almost the entire summer, so there just may be a correlation there.

Curls
55x6
65x6
65x6
65x6
65x8

I’ve never done any curls (gasp!), so my first set was a feeler set at a conservative weight. After finding 55 too light, I bumped up the weight to 65 (as you can probably tell). The last set I just decided to go for broke and do as many as I could. I guess 65 is a good weight for me. For now. Anyway, the curls aren’t in my program just for vanity. I figure since I’ve been doing more back work I should stop treating my arms as meat hooks and as muscles that will help my other lifts go up. Hey, doing direct triceps work has helped my bench and military press, so direct biceps work should help my rows and vertical pulls.

15

8/17

Did I really forget to write this down? I guess in the chaos of packing up and getting ready to move into my dorm this fell by the wayside.

Squat
140x5
155x3
175x6

Had a few left in the tank for the squat. Feel like my form is getting better. Not a whole lot more to say.

Back raise
40x10
40x10
40x10

Bumping up the weight next week

Leg press
270x10
270x10
270x10
270x10

I really don’t know how much the sled weighs and it probably varies from leg press to leg press, so I’m going to just put down the weight I add to it. Nothing big here.

Leg curl
80x8
80x8
80x8
80x8

If I was staying on that leg curl machine I would have bumped up the weight, but since I’m back at my school gym again and I’ve got the iso-lateral lying leg curl, I’ll see how 40 lb on each leg feels before upping the weight.

16

8/19

Alright, I’m just going to assume that there’s some problems with the posts not being immediately added to threads and add today’s log.

Press
100x5
110x3
125x1

1 was, unfortunately, all I could get. Hopefully I’ll still be able to increase the weights next cycle again, but I get the feeling that after that I may have to reset two cycles. Oh well, the press is supposed to be one of the slowest progressing big lifts.

DB press
30x8
30x8
30x8
30x8

It’s feeling a lot easier than last time, so I think I’m making progress here. One more week with 30s and then I’ll go to 35s.

Assisted chins
80x7
80x6
80x5
80x5
80x5

Assisted dips
80x5
80x6
80x6
80x6
80x5

Wow, I’m glad I didn’t have anything to eat before coming to the gym because I just got fed a big slice of humble pie. I’m going to have to work hard at these two to get to the point where I can do them unassisted for reps. Losing weight will probably help, of course, and that’s one of my goals too. That’s probably going to end up happening anyway because I’m going to be a lot more active than I was over the summer and doing more cardio at the gym.

17

The chins and dips will come along in time. All the bench and MP press work you are doing will help with the dips. Just keep at it. 531 is a great program.

18

8/22

Damn, I need to keep up with my log

Deadlift
235x5
270x3
300x1

It was surprisingly difficult to get even one rep of 300, let alone the 3 reps for the 270. I can’t fall into the habit of only eating twice a day and not getting enough sleep. I did that last semester and ended up a little depressed, gaining some weight, not hitting the gym regularly, and getting bad grades in my classes.

Trapbar deadlift
195x10
195x10
195x10
195x10

Jesus, those four sets felt like they nearly killed me. I had nothing left in the tank after the last set so I skipped my fifth and final one. The increased ROM on this trapbar due to not having raised handles is a real bitch.

Shrugs
145x10
145x12
145x20

I managed to get 20 reps on my third set, so that’s cool. Unfortunately, there weren’t any racks open so I was doing shrugs in the smith and I had to set the bar down for a second to get a firm grip on the bar again.

After this session my back was hurting for a while. I don’t know whether it was the last set of deadlifts or the trapbar deadlifting, but it was bothering me until two or so days ago. I’m going to lower the weight to 185 on my tbar deadlifting and pay MUCH closer attention to form whilst doing deads.

19

8/24

Bench
65x5
80x5
95x5

Pendlay row
135x8
135x8
135x8
135x8

Face pulls
60x12
60x12
60x12
60x12

Close grip bench
100x8
100x8
100x8
100x8

Curls
60x6
60x6
60x6
60x6

Wow, doing curls with a straight bar is a little different from doing them with an ez curl bar.

20

8/31

Squat
125x5
145x5
165x9

I’m not exactly a stranger to 165, so I’m just trying to meet the number of reps I did before while leaving some in the tank.

Squat
100x5
100x5
100x5
100x5
100x5

I forgot how much fun BBB is for squats. And how drenched my shirt gets

Leg curl
40x8
40x8
35x8
35x8

I switched over from a selectorized leg curl to a plate loaded isolateral Hammer Strength leg curl and I can tell the difference between them. I was used to doing sets of 8 at 80 lb. with relative ease, but this one is just a little different. I was really pushing hard to get the 8th rep on my 2nd set, so I’m lowering the weight to 35 per leg for now.

In other news, my back continues to feel better each time I do the mobility drills for my warm up. Thanks Cressey and Robertson.