arm day!!!
Pinwheel curls: 50 x 10
CGBP: 245x6
spider curls: 50,60,70x 10
lying tricep extensions: 60, 70, 80 x10
Dumbbell curls 25 30 35 x10
dumbbell overhead extensions same weights
Chest day yesterday
incline DB’s up to 90x9, 95x6
Flat BB up to 225x6 (last one assisted)
decline DB’s up to 90x9
Standing calves: stack
Seated calves: 2 plates, 2 25’s
leg press calves: 11 plates
So I finished my Reactive Pump training a few weeks ago, although I didn’t log my last month of training in that style. Overall I thought it was great, and really learned a lot. I had to make several concessions (I didn’t use chains at any point) but overall I tried to follow the program to the letter. So here are my thoughts on how well the program worked for me.
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This style of leg training is awesome. Absolutely unbelievable. I put more size on my legs in a short period of time than ever before. AND I got significantly stronger than I’ve ever been. Win win. Beyond that, it was great for conditioning. I intend to incorporate much of what I learned here into future training.
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The chest training is not for me. I had to skip a lot of sessions due to pain. It might be related to the bands, or potentially the twice-per-week template. But it just didn’t work for me.
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This was the first time in quite awhile I’ve had a dedicated arms day. I liked it, and intend to incorporate it more into my training. The bicep-tricep superset model is ideal, along with chasing a great pump, and this is how I will train arms from here on out.
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The exercise selections for back training were awesome. Whether or not I have a dedicated back day in future programs, the exercises I got out of this were fantastic. Specifically, the explosive smith bb row, meadows rows, and stretchers. All of these have a place in my future programs.
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I like to overhead press. A lot. And standing overhead pressing has produced fantastic growth in my delts over the last few years, as well as helping my shoulder health. It also carries over to bench well. So not having this outside of the scrape-the-rack pressing was disappointing. What I got most out of the shoulder training was the use of heavy partials, and high reps. For me, future programs will have to include a significant amount of overhead pressing to go along with lateral raises.
Overall, this was a great experience, and I’m extremely appreciative to John Meadows for putting so much into this. And for free to us, no less! Awesome. And now I’m back to strength training. Wendler, you’re up!
So I’m 3 1/2 weeks into 5/3/1 again. It’s going very, very well. Here’s a summary of what I’ve done so far:
On Monday, I hit a (relatively easy) 485 Deadlift. I expect to lift 505 next week. As a side note, I should mention that I don’t train the deadlift exactly according to the 5/3/1 guidelines. I go heavier for fewer reps in general. And I don’t do the 5 sets of 10 for assistance work. On Monday, I worked up to the 485 single, then hit 315 for 15, then 225 for 15, then did banded reverse hypers. I’ve fallen in love with this exercise recently.
I hit a 365 squat for a double. That’s easily a PR. I squat low bar now. I don’t go ATG, but I definitely break parallel on my heavy reps. I don’t focus so much on going crazy deep on my sets of 10, especially as I lighten the load. For the purposes of assistance work, I don’t think it’s necessary. It’s also pretty hard for me to hit depth with lighter weights.
I hit a 275 bp for a double. Not a PR, but I’m happy with this.
I hit a 175 OHP for 4. I don’t know if this is a PR, but it might be.
I’m deloading this week. My first deload day was BP, and I hit 245 for 5.
Still deloading. Just squatted last night. worked up to 275 for 5, and 315 for 3. Left plenty in the tank. Feeling great about my progress here. I found a video I took at the end of April of me hitting a 315 squat for 1, which was essentially my max at the time. To be at the point where I feel like a set of 3 at the same weight is taking it easy, just a few months later, is rather surreal.
Squats last night
warmups X a bunch
135 x 8
185 x 5
225 x 5
275 x 14 (definitely a rep PR, probably doubled previous best)
225 x 10
4 sets 185 x 10
back extensions with a band, 1 set with red band, 2 with black
My back was on fire after the extensions. Squats felt great. My form had broken down slightly by the 14th rep, and I decided to end the set there. All reps were past parallel. I probably could’ve gotten a couple more ugly reps.
Bench press last night
warmups X whatever
135 x some
185 x 5
225 x 5
235 x 10 - potentially a rep PR. Kept my ass down too, not much arch.
185 x 10
155 x 10
155 x 10
135 x 10
135 x 10
Pullups
black band tricep/bicep supersets
Deadlift last night
Ugh.
Warmups, hit a few in the 300’s, then 2 415’s
455x1 - this felt really easy, just flew up.
Decided to try 505. It’s unusual for me to miss a rep if I can break it off the ground past a couple inches, but I ended up missing this one at the lockout. So fucking close, very disappointed. I feel like either of 2 factors could have gotten the job done: 1) better positioning/technique from the start. I got myself rounding my upper back too early in the lift, couldn’t make up for it. 2) stronger lats/upper back. This was the first time where I felt like my lats really didn’t do their job on the deadlift. I couldn’t pull back at the top like I’ve usually been able to.
Ended up doing some 1-leg jumps and some ring pull ups to finish the workout. I actually tried the 505 twice, and lifted it about a foot the second try before I let it go. So I didn’t want to fry my nervous system further. Hence the jumps and limited lat work.
Awesome Progress on you Deadlift Flip. What are you weighing in at right now?
fasted morning weight is probably low 180’s. I never weigh myself in the morning though. After my gym session (6pm), with clothes, I’m around 187.
Bench press
I strayed quite a bit from my normal assistance work here…
BP warmups, 195x3, 235x3, 255x4
DB BP low incline 4x8-10 with 80’s.
Decided to do some power cleans, haven’t done one in foreverz. worked up to some singles at 185, then a few high pulls at 205.
Then I did a few back squats, up to 315. Partly because my legs were sore and I wanted to do a bit of active recovery. But more importantly, there was a group of 3 douches power-curtsying 95, 315, and 500ish, respectively, and I felt like showing them what a squat was supposed to look like. The 315 guy was fucking screaming ‘light weight’ on half his reps. 500 guy maybe got a quarter of the way down. 95 guy had the worst form, and I felt bad for him. I’ve seen the other 2 guys before, it looked like they brought in guy number 3 on a day pass or something. The kid was coming up on his toes, doing quarter squats, set after set, and getting zero advice from his friends. It was disheartening.
Squats
So I decided to hit a 40 lb PR today. You know, the usual, no big deal.
Worked up to a triple at 315, single at 365, which went up easily enough for me to believe 405 was do-able. Since that’s a plate-milestone, I obvi had to try it. Even got it on video 
I’ve watched the video a few times, and it’s hard for me to be certain I hit depth based on the camera angle, but I’m comfortable with it.
Followed that up with a set of 10 at 225, a couple sets at 135, and then moved on to power cleans, push presses and jerks, all at 135. Workin’ on dat form.
Oh man, do I suck at logging or what!
I guess I can at least post some highlights from the last 10 days…
Bench press: hit a loooong pause 285. this was also my first pain-free bench session that I can remember in awhile. I brought the bar down lower than usual, I think this is relevant. Did my assistance work higher on my chest, close grip, not all the way down, and still felt fine.
OHP: decided to do some push pressing, and got 185 for a double.
Deadlift: Hit 405 for 5. I’ve been dealing with lower back pain for the last couple weeks (a result of my missed 505), but the deadlift session didn’t seem to irritate anything. also did a few sumo pulls for funsies.
Been out of town for a couple weeks, and in the process of installing flooring in my house. I think it’s been a full 3 weeks since my last gym session. I did a lot of hiking over the last couple weeks though. Unfortunately, my weight-room conditioning is dog shit now, as I learned tonight.
That being said, I think I hit a rep PR.
Squats
225x5
275x5
315x7 - I think this is a rep PR, although I’m not completely positive. Regardless, it was very satisfying, since I’ve been out of the gym for 3 weeks. Seems like I probably haven’t lost much, if any, strength. I had at least 1 additional rep in the tank, but I didn’t want to push technical failure on my first day back in the gym.
185x10
185x10
185x10
135x10
death
My legs feel like they’re going to explode, and I took forever between sets. Strength may not go away quickly, but conditioning sure does.
Weighed in at 190 this evening. Very surprised by this, my diet has sucked, and I didn’t take any creatine over the last 3 weeks, so I expected to be a full 10 lbs lighter, or at the very least have lost a few lbs of water.
Bench press:
I worked up to either 8 or 9, I think it was 9, at 225. Then 4 sets of 8-10, at 155 for 2 and 135 for 2.
Lateral raises with 20’s
pull ups on rings
bicep/tricep supersets with skinny orange band.
Everything is sore today. Fortunately I have to take this evening off from training, as I’m committed to attending a gallery opening. Deadlifts are up on Friday.
I went to the gym and everything yesterday!!!
So I’m installing new floors in my house, as well as refinishing a dining set. That’s mostly keeping me out of the gym right now. I’m still able to get in a couple sessions a week though.
Squats
worked up to several singles at 365, with a belt.
did my assistance work with 225 or less, working mostly on partial squats from the bottom, with long pauses in the hole. Also did some front squats. I still hate these.
That’s it.
I haven’t logged a workout in 4 months, but I felt like this one needed to be documented.
Squats
225x5
275x5
315x5
315x4
315x6
315x5
225x10
185x10
185x10
135x10
I feel like this workout can be compared to the ones on 8/14, when I hit 405, and 9/18, when I did considerably less volume and described the feeling afterwards as death-like. I think this squat workout ranks as my most successful, especially since I completed each of the sets at 315 with at least 1 rep left in the tank.
I’m also 10 lbs lighter than I was last August, and currently dieting down more.
I believe I owe my better conditioning at least in part to the once a week crossfit met-con style workouts I’ve been doing recently. I don’t get this work done every week, because it’s on Saturday mornings and I often have other obligations, but I think that even though it’s a minimal amount of conditioning work, it’s helped quite a bit.
Squats
Worked up to 365x1, failed at 385x1.
Also did a front squat/snatch grip deadlift complex. 2 reps @225 on the squat, 1 rep 315 on the deadlift, for 5 rounds.
Update:
Leaning out seems to be going well. I haven’t lost any strength recently, and I’m down to 175. Starting to tighten up in the ab area quite a bit, and my veins are ‘connecting’ all the way from biceps through shoulders/upper chest. Overall I’m happy with the cut so far.
Some recent thoughts/stats/whatever:
Still capable of deadlifting in the 460 range.
Still can squat 365
Bench is getting stronger recently, probably a 290ish max.
I’ve been working on some oly-style lifting. Up to a 195 split jerk, 205 power clean.
Doing most of my pullups on rings: I find these are easier on the joints. I’m also not dropping into a completely full extension.
My wrists hurt, particularly up into my hand around my thumb. I just bought wrist wraps, they should be here next week, so hopefully that will help. I believe the significant pain is due to either burpees, which are a big part of the crossfit workouts I do on Saturdays, or Oly lifting and front squats (also a recent focus).
I’ve brought my hands in very close on back squats. It seems much more stable. It’s uncomfortable, but I feel like I have much better control of the bar. Wrist wraps should help this as well.
I had elbow tendinitis for the past month or so, but it seems to finally be going away.
I’m going to start doing lunges. Probably in the smith machine.
Losing weight changes pull up strength. A lot. It changes everything, really.
I need a haircut.
And I’m having a baby boy in August
another update:
Squat and deadlift are better than what I last posted. I did doubles at 465 the other day on deadlift, so the 460 number I threw out was low. I also did a 385 squat.
Speaking of squats, I just did my first squat session with no mirror. It’s very, very different from squatting while looking at the mirror. Need to get used to this, particularly for hitting depth.
Bench is probably more like 280 than 290. Hopefully I can actually get up to the 290-300 range before my meet in a month.
I’m doing my first PL meet in a month. At Europa Dallas.
Successfully completed some full, atg cleans with 135 yesterday. Hopefully this will eventually translate to better clean numbers overall, as my power clean is still a better movement for me. It’s going to take a lot more practice to be comfortable with the full clean.
The wrist wraps work exactly as I hoped they would. Completely eliminated the pain in my hands on all lifts.
Morning weight is around 172 right now.
Doing more conditioning work than I ever have.