11/27/15
5/3/1 cycle 9 day 8
Warmup.
Squat -
3x245#
3x280#
3x315#
Joker + sets -
3x345#
3x365#
Accessory -
FSL+ squats 3x5x275#
Good mornings 3x10x135# superset with
Toes to bar 10/10/10
Conditioning -
Barbell waiter carries 95#, 4x50 feet
Note on conditioning: I normally walk 1-1.5 miles with the dogs every day, twice on days that I don’t have to work. I don’t log it as conditioning unless I run or do sprint intervals during a walk. I always forget until it comes back around, but winter is another story entirely. Walking 1.5 miles in shorts and tennis shoes on stable ground is a lot different from trudging in boots and a coat through snow or (like the last two days) over frozen gravel and through ice-crusted grass. I’m still not going to log it since I do it every day, I just wanted to remind myself of this for when I look back through my logs.
Just stopped by to check how things are going…well done on all your PR’s looks like things are working well for you keep up the good work 
11/30/15
5/3/1 cycle 9 day 9
Warmup.
Press - power cleaned first rep of each set, power rack wasn’t available this morning.
5x135#
3x155#
6x170#
Accessory work -
FSL+ press 3x5x145#
Pullups 50 reps total (forgot first set, but hit 15 reps on last set to make up for it)
DB press per arm 3x10x60# superset with
DB row per arm 3x10x85#
Press felt a bit weak today, I think cleaning the weight up, I didn’t have my body set quite right… I might have gotten one more rep, but didn’t push it.
Also, got ahold of Ted, my old Crossfit coach in Big Bear, today. He still has his gym up there, so I don’t have to go totally cold turkey on lifting while I’m on vacation. I’m still going to take a break from the 5/3/1 cycling though, since I won’t be able to be consistent, but at least I can still put some work in. I can also get some form checking, since it’s been so long since I worked with a coach, and I never know how my lifts look from the outside.
[quote]tredaway wrote:
Just stopped by to check how things are going…well done on all your PR’s looks like things are working well for you keep up the good work :-)[/quote]
Thanks, man! I’m really happy with my little 5/3/1 variant, but I think I’m almost to the point where I’m approaching my true maxxes, so I’ll have to drop the 3’s joker sets soon, and start doing 5 forward/3 back progression… It was inevitable, but constantly putting more weight on the bar gets addicting, and having to actually drop back is going to be a tough pill to swallow, LOL.
[quote]OTHSteve wrote:
[quote]tredaway wrote:
Just stopped by to check how things are going…well done on all your PR’s looks like things are working well for you keep up the good work :-)[/quote]
Thanks, man! I’m really happy with my little 5/3/1 variant, but I think I’m almost to the point where I’m approaching my true maxxes, so I’ll have to drop the 3’s joker sets soon, and start doing 5 forward/3 back progression… It was inevitable, but constantly putting more weight on the bar gets addicting, and having to actually drop back is going to be a tough pill to swallow, LOL.[/quote]
In the meantime, keeping making progress. Great work here, keep it up!
[quote]JMac31 wrote:
In the meantime, keeping making progress. Great work here, keep it up!
[/quote]
Thanks, man, I plan on it! I may regress a bit while on vacation, but a month off won’t kill me, especially since I’ll be able to get at least a little work in, along with a bunch of snowboarding!
On to today:
12/1/15
5/3/1 cycle 9 day 10
Warmup.
Power cleans -
3x95#
3x135#
Deadlift -
5x290#
3x325#
7x365#
Accessory: front squats -
5x45#
5x95#
3x10x145#
Conditioning: Trap bar farmer’s walks -
1x100ft with 135#
2x50ft with 225#
2x50ft with 315#
12/3/15
5/3/1 cycle 9 day 11
Warmup.
Bench -
5x175#
5x200#
8x225#
Accessory =
FSL+ bench 3x5x185#
Pullups 75 total
Dips 25/25/25 superset with
Horizontal bodyweight rows 15/15/15
Very happy to get 8 reps at 225# on bench press, since my reps went down this week on press and deadlift. I’m definitely getting to the point where strength isn’t going up as fast as the weights on the bar, but I still have a few more cycles before I have to switch to the 5/3 protocol. I’m still going to shoot for 10 reps of squat tomorrow, but we’ll see how that goes.
Skipped Friday because I had to go to Lawrence and Topeka to take care of some things, made up for it today since I had to go to work anyway.
12/5/2015
5/3/1 cycle 9 day 12
Warmup.
Squats -
5x265#
3x300#
10x335#
Accessory -
FSL+ squats 3x5x275#
Good mornings 3x10x155# superset with
toes to bar 10/10/5/5
Conditioning -
Barbell waiter carries 115#, 4x50ft
Again, pleased to get 10 reps at 335# on the squat. I was totally gassed for the rest of the workout, though. Pushed through, but totally ran out of juice on the last set of toes to bar, died at 5 reps, so went back and got the other 5 after I caught my breath. Conditioning was also a struggle, but pushed through that as well.
I’ll do some work next week, but not going to start another cycle of 5/3/1 until after vacation. Not really going to deload per se, but my workouts for the next month will be a lot less structured. I’ll hit the gym when I can, make sure I cycle through all the big lifts periodically, and do a lot of snowboarding and other conditioning. I’m looking forward to the break in routine, to be honest. My progress has been everything I wanted it to be, but it’ll be fun to just goof around in the gym, some.
So, supposed to be deloading anyway, but decided to come down with some sort of sinus/respiratory/fever crud that’s kicking my ass, so this deload will be total, it looks like… I hoped to get a couple of light days in the gym before starting to drive this weekend, but oh well.
12/11/2015
Deload week
Press -
5x45#
5x65#
5x85#
5x95#
5x115#
5x135#
Deadlift -
5x45#
5x95#
5x135#
5x185#
5x225#
Squat -
5x45#
5x95#
5x135#
5x185#
5x225#
Accessory -
Pullups - 1-2-3-4-5-5-5-5-5-5, between sets of press and deadlift
Pushups - 3x20 superset with
Bodyweight rows - 3x10
I’m finally over my crud, but still not feeling full strength. Took it easy and just reminded my body what work felt like. Leaving for California tonight, 24 hr straight through drive with me, wife, son and 3 dogs…
12/15/15
Warmup.
Press -
5x45#
5x65#
5x85#
3X105#
3X135#
1X155#
1X175#
Failx200#
1x195#
Deadlift -
5x45#
5x95#
5x135#
3x185#
3x225#
3x275#
1x325#
1x375#
1x405#
Accessory work -
Lots of pullups, lost count but around 75 or so
Front squats - 5x45#, 5x95#, 5x135#, 5x155# superset with
handstand pushups - 5, 5, 5, 5
First workout since I got to Big Bear, at Ted’s Crossfit gym. Decided to do heavy singles, which presented a problem with deadlifts. All the plates are bumper plates, and he only has 4x45’s, so 405# was all I could squeeze on the bar. Plenty of weight for reps, but not for maxxing out.
Disappointed that I fell short of bodyweight on press again, but given that I’m still recovering from the flu, I can’t beat myself up too much.
Also, Ted has farmer’s handles in his gym, so I’m looking forward to taking those out for a drive one day soon!
12/16/15
Warmup.
Bench -
5x45#
5x65#
5x95#
5x115#
5x135#
5x155#
5x185#
5x205#
Accessory -
Kettlebell rows 3x10x70#
Dips 20/20/30 superset with
Bodyweight rows 15/15/15
Conditioning -
Farmer’s Carries
2x40ftx75# per arm
2x40ftx105#
2x40ftx135#
Went in at 5 AM so as not to conflict with a crossfit class. Gym was cold because it was single digits outside and they left the heat off last night, and the bathroom pipes froze up. The bathroom is against an outside wall with the door closed to the rest of the gym. I was dressed for it, so it wasn’t too bad.
I was conservative with the bench since I had no spotter and no safety pins, so did all my sets with a slow negative, and paused, to get the most work out of it. The 32 kg kettlebell has a nice thick handle, so it made for a good contrast to normal DB rows. The farrmer’s carries were intentionally light to get the feel of them, since this is the first time I’ve used the actual implement. The weight is a guess assuming the handles weighed 25#, which I think is pretty close. I could have kept adding weight, but ran out of time because a class was starting at 6. Next time I do farmer’s carries I’ll see if I can handle bodyweight in each hand… might be pushing it, but I won’t know until I try.
12/16/15
Conditioning - Snowboarding, 2 hours in the AM, 3 more hours in the PM.
12/18/15
Conditioning - Snowboarding, 3 hours in the PM.
12/19/15
Warmup.
Squats -
2x5x45#
5x95#
5x135#
5x185#
5x225#
5x275#
5x315#
5x275#
5x275#
5x275#
Core/conditioning -
70# Kettlebell swings 10/10/10/10/10 superset with
Abmat pullups 10/10/10/10/10
I was worried about going too heavy with the squats since my legs are pretty shot from snowboarding, but aside from some tightness in my quads it wasn’t too bad. Still, stopped at 315#. Decent workout, just keeping my body reminded what weight feels like.
12/21/15
Warmup.
Power clean + push jerk -
3x65#
2x95#
1x115#
1x135#
1x155#
1x185#
Press -
5x45#
5x65#
5x95#
5x115#
5x145#
5x165#
5x145#
5x145#
5x145#
Accessory -
Pullups - 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-15 even numbers were pronated grip which was hurting my left bicep, so did a bunch of reps on the last supinated grip pullup set and then quit and did some light curls.
DB concentration curls 3x10 @20#, just getting a good weighted stretch on my biceps with a slow negative all the way down.
Conditioning -
Farmer’s carries
2x40ftx75#
2x40ftx115#
2x40ftx165#
It’s been a long time since I’ve done power cleans or jerks with any weight, so I figured since I have bumper plates to play with I would take advantage of it. My power clean form is shabby, and the push jerks were easier than the cleans. I’ll practice it some more while I’m here.
Presses felt okay, pullups were hurting my left bicep so I stopped and did light curls instead. Farmer’s carries with 165# in each hand felt really heavy, not sure if bodyweight in each hand is in the cards right now… Still felt good to do.
12/22/15
Warmup.
Deadlift -
5x45#
5x95#
5x135#
5x185#
5x225#
5x275#
5x325#
switched from double overhand to mixed grip
5x375#
Front squat -
5x45#
5x95#
10x145#
10x145#
10x145#
No conditioning.
12/24/15
Warmup.
Bench -
10x45#
5x65#
3x95#
3x115#
3x135#
3x155#
3x185#
3x205#
3x225#
3x250# *ish
3x5x205#
Bench superset with:
1 arm KB rows, per arm -
5x35#
5x35#
5x53#
5x53#
5x70#
5x70#
5x70#
5x70#
5x70#
3x10x70#
Pushups with red band across shoulders 3x20 superset with
Bodyweight rows 3x15
The top set of bench, my spotter helped on the last rep. Also, I was amazed at how much harder the red band made the pushups. The last set I had to rest after 15 reps, before I could finish. Good workout.
12/26/15
Warmup.
Squat -
5x45#
5x95#
3x135#
3x185#
3x225#
3x275#
3x325#
3x375#!
5x275#
5x275#
5x275#
Conditioning/core work -
10x70# KB swings/10x 15# slam ball
9/9
8/8
7/7
.
.
.
1/1
Doing a crossfit-style conditioning workout after all those squats sucked! I’ll blame the altitude… Also, new 3RM record on squats!
12/28/15
Warmup.
Press -
5x45#
5x65#
3x95#
3x115#
3x135#
3x155#
3x165#
3x175#
5x155#
5x155#
5x155#
superset with
Pullups - 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-15
Okay, I’m back in Kansas after slacking off on lifting for the past 3 weeks… Lots of running and snowboarding, but no heavy weights. I also managed to lose about 10 pounds over the holiday period, which flips the paradigm for the majority of the western world, and I’m as unhappy with losing 10 pounds as most of the population would be gaining it, but I’m sure I can gain it back quickly when I start eating heavy and lifting heavy again. I did lose most of the excess midsection fat I was sporting, but my muscles also look flatter, probably just from not being taxed and not having a ‘pump’ at all, I guess.
Anyway, back to work. I went in today and did a full-body workout with deload weights, and starting Monday I will jump back into 5/3/1 with a ‘3 back’ jump on the 5 forward/3 back rotation, to give my body a chance to remember what heavy weight feels like. Anyway, on to the workout:
5/3/1 deload full-body workout
Warmup.
Press -
5x45#
5x65#
5x95#
5x115#
superset with face pulls 60#x 5/5/5/5
Squat -
5x45#
5x95#
5x135#
5x185#
5x225#
Bench -
5x45#
5x65#
5x95#
5x115#
5x135#
5x155#
superset with pullups 5/5/5/5/5
Deadlift -
5x45#
5x95#
5x135#
5x185#
5x225#
superset with DB overhead press 50#x 5/5/5/5
Nothing felt heavy, but my right knee was pulling a little oddly when I squatted. I don’t think I’ve lost much if any strength during my layoff, but I’m sure I’ll still feel it tomorrow.