Wohoo, the 100th post of this log! Next stop, quadruple digits!
6/16/15
5/3/1 cycle 2 day 10
Warmup.
Deadlift - 5x240, 3x270, 6x305#
Accessory - front squats up to 5x205#
No core work or conditioning.
So 6x305# wasn’t bad, and I could have done another, but I felt like my form was starting to go so I played it safe. As far as front squats go, I think I’ve reached my current strength limit with 5x205#. That 5th rep was the hardest rep of anything that I’ve done since I started back from my furlough, wasn’t sure I was going to come up out of the hole…
6/18/15
5/3/1 cycle 2 day 11
Warmup.
Bench - 5x150, 3x170, 8x190#
Accessory - FSL bench 3x5x150#, dips 3x15
There was someone with me in the gym today so I went for 8 on the bench. One more in the tank, maybe 2, but I’m happy with that, think it’s a rep record actually… edit: Nope, not a rep record, I got 8x195# before my layoff. Still, I’m happy for this being the end of my second cycle back.
6/19/15
5/3/1 cycle 2 day 12
Warmup.
Squat - 5x215, 3x245, 8x275#
Accessory - FSL+ - 3x5x225#
No conditioning or core work.
I cut today’s workout a little short, since I spent the rest of the day moving furniture and steam cleaning carpets. Also, I got some extra work last night in the form of over an hour spent trying to get 2 trucks out of the mud, which consisted of lots of squatting, deadlifting and pushing in heavy mud, before we went and got a neighbor with a large tractor to end the fun. Next week, deload week, and I think I need it right now…
Deload week this week, so only worked out 2 days, combined press/deadlift and bench/squat days. I hate deload weeks… I know they’re necessary, especially at my age, but I can’t drive the feeling out that I should be doing more.
Anyway -
6/23/15 Tuesday
5/3/1 cycle 2 deload week
Press - worked up to 5x95#
Deadlift - worked up to 5x185#
Accessory - DB press 3x5x55#, front squat worked up to 5x95#
6/26/15 Friday
5/3/1 cycle 2 deload week
Bench - worked up to 5x135#, supersetted with BB rows at same weight
Squat - worked up to 5x185#
No accessory work
Back to work next week.
Hi Steve, thought I would stop by and check out your training log…its good to see your using the 5/3/1 format which I believe is pretty close to the old dinosaur training methods ie focus on the big basic exercises, start light, 2 steps forward 1 step backwards etc so I look forward to following your progress.
[quote]tredaway wrote:
Hi Steve, thought I would stop by and check out your training log…its good to see your using the 5/3/1 format which I believe is pretty close to the old dinosaur training methods ie focus on the big basic exercises, start light, 2 steps forward 1 step backwards etc so I look forward to following your progress.[/quote]
Thanks for stopping by, t-way! Yeah, 5/3/1 gives me challenges while helping me to not overdo things and hurt myself, which I find I need at my age. I do Joker sets periodically on 3’s or 1’s week to get my heavy weight fix, and most of my free time is spent doing house remodeling and stuff like digging post holes and other landscape-related work, so I get plenty of heavy/awkward lifting to keep even more in the dinosaur spirit!
Anyway, 6/29/15
5/3/1 cycle 3 day 1
Warmup.
Press - 5x100, 5x115, 10x130#
Accessory - FSL press 3x5x100#, single arm DB press 3x10x55#, shrugs.
No conditioning.
6/30/15
5/3/1 cycle 3 day 2
Warmup.
Deadlift - 5x215, 5x250, 10x280#
Accessory - Front squats, worked up to 5x175#
I could have done another step up on front squats, but got to the gym a little late this morning and it was stop or be late for work. Still, happy I got a little accessory work in, deadlift day seems to be the day I miss it.
7/2/15
5/3/1 cycle 3 day 3
Warmup.
Bench - 5x140, 5x160, 10x180#
Accessory - FSL bench 3x5x140#, 6x5 pullups, 3x15 dips.
Went to the doctor today and had him check my elbow, he said it’s just overuse tendonitis, and to rest it. Luckily nothing I’m doing in the gym is taxing it right now, and it’s actually improving already. Also, I’m down under 200# for the first time this year, even while my strength continues to improve!
7/3/15
5/3/1 cycle 3 day 4
Warmup.
Squats - 5x195, 5x225, 10x255#
Accessory - FSL squats 3x5x195 (paused), 3x10 good mornings @95#, Kroc rows 1x15, 1x20@60#
Core work.
Conditioning will be tonight when I walk the dogs.
Conditioning tonight - run 4x300m, walk 100m in between, while walking the dogs. It was actually a little more than that since we went a bit over a mile, but I’m rounding.
7/6/15
5/3/1 cycle 3 day 5
Warmup.
Press - 3x105, 3x120, 3x135#, J+ 3x145#, 3x155#
Accessory - FSL press 3x5x105#, 3x10 per side 1 armed DB press @55#.
Another joker week this week if I feel good throughout the week. 3X155# wasn’t exactly easy, but there was no doubt it was going up. Still happy with my progress on press.
7/7/15
5/3/1 Cycle 3 day 6
Warmup.
Deadlift - 3x235, 3x265, 3x300#, J+ 3x335#, 3x365#
Accessory - Front squats up to 5x185#
Deadlift felt strong… it’s nice to do 3x on what used to be a 1RM. Kept double overhand grip all the way to the 3x300#, the most I’ve done that way, so grip is coming along nicely, as well. Front squat actually felt better this week, I’ll just keep working up gradually.
7/9/15
5/3/1 cycle 3 day 8
Warmup.
Bench - 3x145, 3x165, 3x185#, J+ 3x205#, 3x225#
Accessory work - FSL bench 3x5x145#, Dips 15, 15, 25 with farmers walk with 2x80# DB’s for 50m between sets of dips.
Had company in the gym at work today, so took advantage of having a spotter available and pushed the joker sets on my bench. 225# went up slow on the 3rd rep, but there was never any doubt it was going up. I’ve been feeling strong all week, so will probably go for a 3 rep PR on joker squats tomorrow!
7/10/15
5/3/1 cycle 3 day 8
Warmup.
Squat - 3x205, 3x235, 3x265#, J+ 3x300#, 3x335#
Accessory FSL+ squats - 3x5x225#, Good mornings 3x10x95#, Kroc rows@65#x10/10/15
Core work.
Conditioning later today with the dogs.
So, a great week for joker sets, new 3RM in bench, squat and deadlift, and press is still coming up nicely… maybe I could have gone a little higher on the press joker sets, but setting three 3RM records in one week is not something I’ll be disappointed with! So overall, even with a 4+ month layoff, I’m stronger right now in the beginning of July than I was last December when I let myself go off-track. Of course, I wouldn’t be here without the base I built by being consistent all of last year, so I need to keep it in perspective. It’s not like I’m doing something different or better than I was before, it just shows that what I’m doing continues to work.
7/11/15
Conditioning - 2x800m run.
Untimed. First 800m I took my time, so more of a warm-up, finding a pace I can sustain fairly easily. Second 800m I pushed a bit, and did a 100m sprint in the middle, then slowed back down and forced myself not to stop and gasp for air, kept my previous pace and recovered my breath gradually. Long distance running isn’t really a goal per se, but I think a person who can’t step up and run a 5K at the drop of a hat, however slowly, has no business calling themselves fit, and I want to stay fit into my old age even as I push my strength goals :P"
7/13/15
5/3/1 cycle 3 day 9
Warmup.
Press - 5x115, 3x130, 8x145#
Accessory - FSL press 3x5x115#, 1 arm DB press 3x10x55#, shrugs 3x10x225#
Edit: Didn’t realize, but I went back in my logs and checked, and last 5/3/1 week I did 7x140# in the press, which tied my rep record from before my layoff, so 8x145# is a solid rep record!
7/14/15
5/3/1 cycle 3 day 10
Warmup.
Deadlift - 5x250, 3x280, 10x315#
Accessory - front squat 3x5x185#
So, got a chalk bag finally, and it made a major difference on my grip for deadlift. Last 5/3/1 week deadlift was 6x305#, so huge improvement there. Also getting into the grove with front squats a bit more… the hardest thing about them is catching my breath, I can’t take a full breath with the bar on front rack position.
7/16/15
5/3/1 cycle 3 day 11
Warmup.
Bench - 5x155, 3x175, 11x195#
Accessory - FSL bench 3x5x155#, Dips x15/15/30, farmer’s walk after each set of dips 50m with 2x80# DBs.
Had a training partner today, one of my instructors has been talking about going to the gym with me for a few weeks, and I finally got him in there. He’s not a gym novice, but he’s an organized program novice, so after a few weeks of him coming in with me and doing the work (assuming he sticks with it) we’ll calculate 1RM’s for him and get him on the program.
7/17/15
5/3/1 Cycle 3 day 12
Warmup.
Squat - 5x225, 3x250, 10x280#
Accessory - FSL squat - 3x5x225#, good mornings 3x10x115#
No core work or conditioning.
7/18/15
Conditioning - 8x150m run, ~1 minute rest in between.
This was done while out walking with the dogs. I meant to be doing 200m runs, but it was early and my brain refused to math correctly, and once I got to the half-mile mark I realized I was counting my strides wrong. Rather than shift halfway, i just stuck with the same run lengths. Distances are approximate, and I didn’t time anything.