10/8/15
5/3/1 cycle 7 day 7
Warmup.
Bench - 3x170.5, 3x190.5, 3x205#, J+ 3x225#, 3x240.5#
Accessory - FSL+ bench 3x5x185#, Pullups 70 total, Dips 20/20/20 superset with bodyweight horizontal rows 15/15/15.
10/9/15
5/3/1 cycle 7 day 8
Warmup.
Squat - 3x243, 3x273, 3x303#, J+ 3x333#, 3x360.5#
Accessory - FSL+ squats 3x5x273#, good mornings 3x10x130.5# superset with toes to bar 10/8/8.
Another week of joker 3RM records on all 4 lifts. The program continues to work awesomely!
edited for typo - I only wish I could squat 3x5x373#!
10/10/15
Conditioning - run 9x200m, 1x400m.
The lengths went as follows: 1-warmup pace; 2,4,6,8 - moderate run; 3,5,7,9 - sprint; 400m - cooldown. Legs felt a little tight from yesterday’s squats to start, but loosened up nicely after warming up.
10/12/15
5/3/1 cycle 7 day 9
Warmup.
Press - 5x130.5, 5x145 (was supposed to be 3x, just did 5 without thinking about it), 8x160.5#
Accessory work - FSL+ press 3x5x135#, pullups 55 total, DB press 45# fat gripz 15/15/15 per side superset with BB rows 135# 10/10/10
Conditioning - waiter carry 1 arm 45# fat gripz, 2x150 ft, swapped arms at halfway mark.
Was supposed to do 3 rounds of waiter carries, but obliques were starting to cramp up… good core work!
10/13/15
5/3/1 cycle 7 day 10
Warmup.
Deadlift - 5x273#, 3x311#, 10x346.5#
Attempted accessory - Front squat - 5x20Kg, 5x40Kg, 3x62.5Kg
Deadlift went awesome, but front squats were a total failure - for some reason I was back to it sliding out of my sweaty rack position today. It was dark by then, so I called it a night. Not pleased with tonight, but at least I got some good deadlifts in.
10/14/15
Conditioning - 200m warmup run, 6x100m sprint, 200m cooldown run.
The sprints were all-out. 6x100m doesn’t sound like much, but my legs were running out of juice by the last one.
10/16/15
5/3/1 cycle 7 day 11
Warmup.
Bench - 5x170.5, 3x190.5, 9x215#
Accessory - FSL+ bench 3x5x185#, pullups 65 total, pushups 3x25 superset with bodyweight rows 3x15.
Missed yesterday because I had to work late in order to ensure I didn’t have to work today (my normal work week is technically 4x10, but since I’m in management I get to work as much as it takes to get the job done, which sometimes is 4x11-12, plus sometimes a fifth day of however long it takes to get the job done). Anyway, it was dark by the time I got home, and I don’t have my garage lighted yet. I really need to do something about that, since it’s going to be more of a problem as days get shorter.
10/17/2015
5/3/1 cycle 7 day 12
Warmup.
Squat - 5x250.5, 3x278, 10x316.5#!
Accessory - FSL squats 3x5x273#, good mornings 2x10x125# superset with toes to bar 10/10/8
Conditioning - Farmer’s carry 3x150 ft, 2x45# db with fat gripz.
I took a moment to reflect on how far I’ve come in the last few years, after I finished my squats. It wasn’t too terribly long ago, 5 years I guess, that squatting 315# was a goal that it didn’t feel like I would ever hit. I was 42 and doing crossfit the first time I got under 225# and felt like it was going to staple me to the ground, and I remember how psyched I was when I stood back up under it, even though I don’t think I even made it down to parallel. I guess it’s never to late to decide to get strong…
10/19/2015
5/3/1 cycle 8 day 1
Warmup.
Press - 5x115, 5x130.5, 5x150.5#
Accessory - pullups 55 total, FSL+ press 3x5x135#, DB press 45# fat gripz 15/15/15 per hand superset with BB row 3x10x135#
I got a flu shot this morning, so my right delt is killing me. I thought about doing the minimum reps on the main lift and calling it a day, but decided to tough it out.
10/20/15
5/3/1 cycle 8 day 2
Deadlift - 5x245, 5x283, 5x321#
…and done. My whole body is aching today, with the semi-flu feeling you get from flu shots sometimes, and it was dark, so I decided to just do the minimum reps and call it a night. I think this week may turn into another pseudo-deload week again. Also, I think the weights I’m using are wearing me out enough that I should start taking a real deload week every cycle instead of every other cycle. I knew that was eventually going to happen when the weights went from ‘heavy for me’ to actually heavy…
10/22/15
5/3/1 cycle 8 day 3
Warmup.
Bench - 5x150.5, 5x175, 5x195#
Accessory - pullups 36 total
Another day of just the minimum work. I’m also planning on getting up early to do minimum work squats, then going to watch the Royals hopefully lock up the ALCS in game 6! I won tickets at work for this game, so I was having mixed feelings about them losing last night in Toronto… A win would have wrapped it, but it would have meant no game for me to go to… If they don’t win tomorrow I’m going to totally feel guilty for not being totally committed last night.
10/23/15
5/3/1 cycle 8 day 4
Warmup.
Squats - 5x223, 5x255, 5x290.5#
Nothing else.
10/26/15
5/3/1 cycle 8 day 5
Warmup.
Press - 3x125, 3x140.5, 3x160.5#, J+ 3x170.5#, 3x180.5#
Accessory - FSL+ press 3x5x140.5#, pullups 66 total, DB fat gripz press 15/15/15 per arm superset with BB row 3x10x135#
10/27/15
5/3/1 cycle 8 day 6
Warmup.
Deadlift - 3x265, 3x305#, 3x340#, J+ 3x370#, 3x405.5#
Accessory - front squat 5x20kg, 5x40kg, 5x60kg, 5x65kg, 5x70kg
First time back over 400# on deadlift in a while, and last time I was here it was 405# as a max single, so I’m pretty happy to get a triple. Also forgot to mention that yesterday is the first time I’ve ever pressed 180#, and to hit a triple there has me pretty stoked as well. Front squat felt better that it has in weeks, form-wise, but my lower back was quivering from the fatigue of the deadlifts after a few reps, so I kept the reps low and went up in weight a little. No pain, just no juice left.
10/29/15
5/3/1 cycle 8 day 7
Warmup.
Bench - 3x165, 3x185, 3x205#, J+ 3x225#, 3x245#
Accessory - fsl+ bench 3x5x185#, pullups 74 total, pushups 25/25/30 superset with bodyweight rows 15/15/20.
Conditioning - farmer’s walks 2x45# DB with fat gripz, 3x150 feet.
10/30/15
5/3/1 cycle 8 day 8
Warmup.
Squat - 3x239.5, 3x273, 3x309#, J+ 3x341#, 3x366.5#
Accessory - FSL+ squats - 3x5x273#, good mornings 3x10x135# superset with toes to bar 10/10/9
Another joker set week wrapped with new 3RM PR’s on all 4 lifts. 5/3/1 next week, then a deload, and another full cycle, then I go on vacation for 5 weeks. I need to call my former crossfit trainer up in Big Bear, CA and see if he’s still running his gym, so I don’t spend the time becoming completely detrained. Well, I plan on spending at least 3-4 days a week snowboarding if El Nino delivers like it’s supposed to, but I still need to get my fix of lifting heavy stuff. I’m also going to have to ramp up the conditioning over the next month and a half so that my body doesn’t give out too quickly on the slopes, but I think I’m already in a pretty decent place to start from.
Edited because I just did 1x3 joker set at 366.5#, not 3x3.
10/31/15
Conditioning - Warmup - 200m run. Workout - 4x400m run at a fairly fast pace, fast enough that the dogs had to actually run instead of trot to stay with me, with about 2:00 rest between intervals. Legs were sore from heavy squats yesterday, of course, but this really loosened them up.
11/2/15
5/3/1 cycle 8 day 9
Warmup.
Main lift - Press:
5x135#
3x150.5#
8x165#
Accessory work:
FSL press - 3x5x135#
pullups - 66 total
DB press 45# fat gripz 3x15
superset with 135# BB rows 3x10
I stretched out my log format just a little, I think it’ll make it easier to read when I go back and review past logs.
11/3/15
5/3/1 cycle 8 day 10
Warmup.
Main lift - Deadlift:
5x283#
3x321#
8x356.5#
Accessory work:
Front squat:
5x20kg
5x40kg
3x10x60kg
I think I finally figured out what was making my front squats so inconsistent. I think it was just a matter of letting my elbows drop when I was a little bit fatigued. I was pretty beat after the deadlifts, but just focusing on keeping my elbows up as high as I could made all the difference. of course, since this is the first time in quite a few weeks that I was able to hit a 3x10 front squat, so my quads are still shot, 30 minutes later.
I really need to get some more weight plates, one of these days. Having a mix of English and metric makes for some really odd weights. I could just round to the nearest English multiple of 5#, I suppose, but the OCD in me wants me to be exact. I realize it’s probably pointless, and with these lower-tier weight sets i doubt the weights are even accurate enough to be worth bothering with that much precision, but as long as I’m using the same weights, at least the progress will be accurate even if the exact weight isn’t.
11/6/15
5/3/1 cycle 8 day 11
Warmup.
Main lift - Bench:
5x175#
5x195#
9x220.5#
Accessory work:
FSL+ bench: 3x5x185#
Pullups - 72 total
Pushups 25/25/30
Superset with
Bodyweight rows 15/15/20
Conditioning:
Farmer’s carries, 3x150 feet, 2x45# BB with fat gripz
I need to come up with something heavier for farmer’s carries. going fast with little rest between sets helps with conditioning, and the fat gripz definitely challenge my grip, but I don’t think I’m getting the strength benefits really heavy weights would give me. I either need to come up with/fabricate some sort of farmer’s carry handles, or get a trap bar. Maybe a more practical short-term solution would be to make a sandbag. I know I have an old seabag somewhere in storage…
Edited because I don’t actually do FSL squat on bench day, and I left off the pullups.