DB curls (no rest between sets)
10x35lbs
10x25
10x15
10xChains
Notes: 3:45 between heavy presses, 2:00 between giant sets. Right glute is healed, left groin/hip flexor is on the mend, lat is still pretty pissed but healing. Wore the soft belt during the warm-ups and felt ok, but didnāt want to push too stupidly hard on the topset. The set of 186 was solid though, and the supplemental work was strong. The curls were a nice change of pace.
Woke up at 195.4. Guts have been twitchy for a while, but I think theyāre getting back to stable.
(5) Texas deadlift bar touch and go mat pulls
5x135+chains
5x225+chains
3x315+chains
1x405+chains
13+3+3x535+chains
Buffalo Bar Squat (12 deep breaths between sets)
12x370
6x370
3x370
1x370
3x230
Notes: Definitely getting healed up, but in turn decided not to go too stupidly hard. Was watching technique on the mat pulls and sticking with my limits. Topset of squats went much smoother than I expected, because the weight felt super heavy on the unrack. Was waiting on a delivery dude to drop off a standup freezer, so got this workout knocked out a little earlier than usual off of less food, so this was a great showing.
Woke up at 196.4. Going to cram in a bunch of workouts over the next few days to stay on pace during my break.
@mortdk Definitely wasnāt easy, just not stupid. I know right where that razorās edge is for me, and this time I stayed away from it, whereas usually Iām right on it. Just meant less prodigious use of the f-word, haha.
PM WORKOUT
Axle bench press 301lbs
2x10
1x8
Close grip axle bench 261
2x10
1x7
Swiss bar incline bench 210
2x10
1x9
Dips
1x30
1x25
1x23
Standing ab wheel between sets (5 reps first set, 4 reps all remaining sets)
Notes: 3:05 between sets. Improving my set up has really gone a long way on the flat bench. Seeing some awesome progress. Going to move up the weight on the incline bench. My elbows were PISSED today, and Iām wondering if the curls are to blame. Before, I was starting with low weight and working up, and now Iām jumping to the heavy set and backing down. Need to go back to what works.
Going to try a 2 a day tomorrow to get in all the training I need for my travel.
@kleinhound Thanks man! That one was fun to write. Always love dipping into nerddom
@mattjp Itās not totally off the table, but my work has dropped the ball on hosting one this quarter, and Iāll be moving in Jul. Where Iām moving to is hosting one RIGHT before I get there, so maybe something will be available after that. Iām pretty much not going to go out of my way for it, but if itās convenient, Iāll give it a go.
2 A DAY
AM WORKOUT
GIANT SETS (squat-jump-reverse hyper)
SSB front squat
10xBar
10x115
10x155
10x205
10x265 (20lb PR for training cycle)
10x205
Box jump
6x5
Reverse hyper 360
6x8
PM WORKOUT
Axle strict press
5xAxle
5x66
5x176
3x196
4x221
4x196
20 band pull aparts between sets
50 full ROM plate raises w/7.5kg plate
Notes: Going on vacation, coming home on Saturday, so crammed in a full weekās worth of training in the span of 3 days, resulting in 4 days of training back to back and a 2 a day today. I had that 5th in me on the set of 221, but lost the groove and bar went everywhere. Wasted energy getting it back. Still a good performance, given the circumstances.
Do you feel like the plate raises do anything for strengthening your shoulders? That is one exercise Iāve never done.
Wanted to pick your brain about something because Iām wanting my brother in law to use 5/3/1 to reach his goals but because of the way he thinks I think heās overcomplicating it.
If you had a use 5/3/1 to take a beginner (5ā9, 124lbs) to get to a point where they were strong (lets say 405 deadlift, 405 squat, 315 bench, 185-205 strict press) what templates would you use over the course of the years (lets say 2-3 years) to help get them to that goal?
Heās already lean and plays a ton of basketball so he has his conditioning figured out basically.
Raises make shoulders bigger, and a bigger muscle is a stronger one, so it should pay off. For todayās work, I was just too fried to do anything else.
For a rank beginner, 5/3/1 for beginners is set up well. Lots of 5s to groove technique, assistance work to build some muscle, and still a chance to push reps on max sets.
Once the trainee can do sets of 10 without form breakdown, they can do BBB. And that is basically a leader program, with beginners being an anchor.
I really donāt have much experience with 5/3/1 programs in total to say much to training beginners. I rely more on the principles.
@The_Myth Man, hard to say. Iāve read authors that work in that framework, but not much that specifically look to address the subject matter. Nietzsche speaks quite a bit about nihilism in the Walter Kaufman translation of āWill to Powerā, but itās less a book and more a collection of Nietzscheās unpublished notes. Camus āThe Myth of Sisyphusā is technically on absurdism rather than existentialism, but I feel like the former is simple an answer to the latter. Itās a powerful read.
I really enjoy Schopenhauer these days. Heās a Nietzsche you donāt have to ādecodeā. He might actually be a good starting point as a result.
Meant to give a little mid-vacation update with that post, whoops. Body is feeling MUCH better. Lots of nagging pains have gone away. Groin still achy, but itās definitely trending in the right direction. Elbows are good, lat is stable.
Went to the fair yesterday. Got some cat calls by vendors. Did that pull up bar challenge again and had a worse outcome than last year, only managing 78 seconds. I was 2 seconds shy of winning a stuffed animals, so of course, that crushed me. Lesson learned in that, if you try to adjust your grip, the bar will rotate on you, and then youāre screwed. Second time that has happened to me. I think Iām going to start training my grip hard in the early spring so that, the next time I encounter one of these things, I stand a chance of winning.
That said, a bit of comedy here. The rules of the game were: hold on for 2 minutes and win a $100 gift card. The carnie running it said he had seen 5 guys win so far. I went up, held onto the bar, and I imagine the carnie got a little nervous because I heard him chatting on his walkie talkie with his boss saying āUhā¦what do I do if someone actually WINS? Where are the giftcards?ā And I may have been defeated, but at least I wrecked his game, because a crowd had gathered to watch, and with my near defeat some dude shook my hand and said āThat was awesome, and you just saved me $10, because thereās no way I can do thatā
@mattjp It wasnāt helpful for my concentration, haha. I did end up employing the same strategy that I used during timed hold events though, so that helped.
PM WORKOUT
(4) Texas Deadlift Bar tough and go mat pulls
5x135+chains
5x225+chains
3x315+chains
1x405+chains
10+3+3x535+chains
SSB Front Squats (no rest between sets)
4x295
5x245
6x205
7x155
8x115
9xBar
Notes: Definitely feeling the effects of traveling. Belt was loose and warm-ups felt heavy. Happy with that final rest pause set, as it was tough, I ground it out, and I had no pain or injury from it. Hip flexor is still a mess, but lat and glute are good. Had nothing in me on those front squats, so called an audible. Going to have a big meal now and get back on track.
Woke up at 193.6. this morning after a large meal last night, which confirms my weightloss suspicions. However, set a PR for broken blood vessels yesterday, so thatās somethingā¦
