At least I don’t log in UNIX time.
With my warmup it’s mostly leg swings forward/back and side-to-side. I tried some donkey kicks which I like for ham/glute. I retain decent flexibility (thanks, dad) so I don’t need to do much beyond that preworkouts, and I don’t necessarily want to be too loose for things like squatting.
As I get further in to the program I’ll have to do a bit more like some of the deep stretching from Vinyasa and Hatha yoga. I like the pigeon posture which can be killer. On a prior cycle I was doing 4 day per week 5/3/1 with one day of 60-90 min of Vinyasa (moving system like Tai Chi) which was really hard to recover from. I should have dropped to 3 days 5/3/1 and one day yoga. Oh well. My instructor is on maternity leave so I’ll wing the yoga part.
20130820 Week 2 Day 2 - Deadlifts
Warm-up - Leg swings, donkey kicks, static squat, overhead squat, no bar just body weight
Deads
100x5, 120x5,140x3
170x3,195x3,220x10
GMs
Barx10, 65x10, 85x10
Pulldowns
50x10, 75x10, 95x10, 57.5x10
Okay, so I built a contraption with pulleys to do pulldowns from the garage trusses. I bought a proper pull down bar because, frankly, the 1.25" dowel I was using was going to snap in a few weeks time. Now, the “loading pin” I cobbled was PVC pipe that slides through an Olympic plate just so. I ran my rope through the PVC with a carabiner at the end. I would load the plates on the PVC (which goes off balance as soon as you have different diameter plates) and fight with the whole thing. Not pretty.
Between sets one and two I left the lat bar attached (only 12.5lbs) but I had to wrestle with it to load the “pin”. Suffice to say I let too much slack out and got beamed in the back of the head. Grrr. Grumpy bear.
Finished up the last set, unloaded everything and immediately created a proper loading pin. Drill a hole near one end, run a bolt through with nuts on either side of the PVC to center it. Drill another hole near the top, tie a bit of rope through so there’s something for the carabiner to lock on to. Did that last set of ten to test. I’m happy for now. I knew it was going to be kludgey so I ordered a proper loading pin from Rogue earlier in the day.
[quote]Crushed_Idiot wrote:
20130820 Week 2 Day 2 - Deadlifts
Warm-up - Leg swings, donkey kicks, static squat, overhead squat, no bar just body weight
Deads
100x5, 120x5,140x3
170x3,195x3,220x10
GMs
Barx10, 65x10, 85x10
Pulldowns
50x10, 75x10, 95x10, 57.5x10
Okay, so I built a contraption with pulleys to do pulldowns from the garage trusses. I bought a proper pull down bar because, frankly, the 1.25" dowel I was using was going to snap in a few weeks time. Now, the “loading pin” I cobbled was PVC pipe that slides through an Olympic plate just so. I ran my rope through the PVC with a carabiner at the end. I would load the plates on the PVC (which goes off balance as soon as you have different diameter plates) and fight with the whole thing. Not pretty.
Between sets one and two I left the lat bar attached (only 12.5lbs) but I had to wrestle with it to load the “pin”. Suffice to say I let too much slack out and got beamed in the back of the head. Grrr. Grumpy bear.
Finished up the last set, unloaded everything and immediately created a proper loading pin. Drill a hole near one end, run a bolt through with nuts on either side of the PVC to center it. Drill another hole near the top, tie a bit of rope through so there’s something for the carabiner to lock on to. Did that last set of ten to test. I’m happy for now. I knew it was going to be kludgey so I ordered a proper loading pin from Rogue earlier in the day.
[/quote]
It sounds like all of my highland game equipment! Tinkering is part of the fun. Good job.
20130822 - Week 2 Day 3 - Bench
Warmed up with some dislocates with a 3ft. dowel. Meant to do some YWTLs but forgot. Need to write down the warmup plan before going out to the garage. Oh well.
BP
50x5, 65x5, 75x3
90x3, 100x3, 115x11
- Went slightly wider with my grip (pinky touching ring) as I’m usually about shoulder width. Unsure if I like it or not.
DB Rows (Kroc stance, not volume)
50x10, 70x10, 80x5,5 (right arm, left arm no rest. on the 80s could not complete all ten on one arm so swapped arms after each 5)
Low dips - 2 (oh well)
Legs still a bit fatigued from deads so:
Leg extension
25x10, 50x10
Leg curl
25x10, 50x10
First set felt like a warm up and the second a working set. Feels nice and loose so I’ll be good for squats tomorrow.
Got some cheap speakers with sub-woofer for the garage. I have an old Sony amplifier/tuner that I can put to good use. Plug in my phone/tablet/MP3 player into the DTS port and crank it. Now I need to install a few shelves for everything. Today’s tunes brought to us by the new Aristocrats disc: Culture Clash. If you like instrumental hard rock/fusion these guys will tickle your ears. I’m not a huge fan of the metal that I see on the playlists of a lot of power lifters. I’ll go for the prog rock but not the prog metal. (I’ll don some flame protective clothing for the flame war)
Related but unrelated:
I get to go to Montreal to attend a training conference for work in September for three days. I’ll be taking the love of my life and extend it to a full week and get a mini vacation out of it. The dilemma: continuing as I am on 5/3/1 I’ll get a deload week, get weeks one and two of the second cycle and deload again for vacation and continue on to the last two weeks and a deload.
I have no intention of finding a gym while in Montreal (too much to see in the time I have with my wife) so it will be completely off. The alternative is to finish week three and go right into the second cycle so a regular deload week would fall on the week I’m away.
Decisions decisions.
Your gym sounds great, wish I was more DIY and had the space. Big fan of rock fusion (more emphasis on the jazz side), keep us posted on your gym tracklisting 
20130823 - Week 2 Day 4 - Squats
Warmed up with a bunch of items I saw on the mobility sticky - fire hydrants and rotational squats plus my usual leg swings and donkey kicks. I need to dedicate a day or two to static stretching as I’m still a bit sore from deadlifting.
Squats
80x5, 100x5, 120x3
140x3, 160x3, 180x7 (was hoping for 10)
90x8, 105x8, 120x6
Yes, an all squat workout. I just wanted to get in and out. I was starting to scoop the bum on the last set as my low back wanted to give up. Love that low back pump - not. I agree with a lot of people out there that the 3 week is the most taxing in 5/3/1 and there’s merit in swapping the second and third week so it’s somewhat more linear in effort and intensity. Maybe I overdid deadlift day. Whatever. As long as I get good recovery in tomorrow I should be fine with week 3. How to recuperate the torso. I can say I’ve never had DOMS with bench and back at the same time. My ribs are angry and it feels like I have indigestion. Think I’ll try the magnesium chloride tonight. I don’t think my wife will appreciate coming to bed smelling of Icy Hot.
Music selection: I rode the way-back machine with Mahavishnu Orchestra’s Birds of Fire album. The groove can get hypnotic which is great for focus, and the dynamics and tempo complement the intensity of the workout. Plus it’s great to crank up. I bet the neighbours are wondering “what the hell?!”
@minimaltechno: is that more of the fusion you’re into? I must know as I love to hear new-to-my-ears music. A lot of the stuff I go for is guitar-centric with Mahavishnu, Aristocrats, and Jeff Beck but I don’t limit myself to guitar-only. Weather Report and Jaco Pastorius is on the list, but I don’t see Jaco’s solo stuff jiving with the iron game all that well.
Mahavishnu Orchestra’s Birds of Fire. That certainly is the way-back machine, what ever happened to Mr. Hammer anyway? Have not kept up, not much of keyboardist follower. Oh man Jeff Beck’s Blow by Blow and Wired are what got me hooked! Turn on the dime playing as they say. And Weather Report “schooled” me on improvisation, although by the time I heard of them they were dismantled. Jeez you’re select is bringing up lots of memories for me.
Hmmm new stuff…
Well I’m not sure about new, as the latest new stuff I have explored is more electronic dance music (hence the name). Clive Deamer’s newish band Get the Blessing is worth listening too, more jazz fusion.
I’ve come to appreciate the bass a bit more myself these last 10 years, but I’ve always been a sucker for the drums. I usually keep a nosey around what Tony Levin, Tal Wilkenfeld, Terry Bozzio are doing. Guy Pratt had some nice stuff with The Orb, again definitely not new, although to my memory it still feels like new, but I digress as its not Prog Rock And lots more, I’ll leave you with this nice little duo though…
I like the Freeway Jam bit at the end. Wilkenfield is sick on bass, but alas, her solo album came out more easy listening than I hoped. I played a bit of bass in high school but my main thing is guitar (though they all sit on the wall pleading to be played). Victor Wooten is worth checking out, especially Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. They’re always generating new stuff all the time.
Will check out Pratt and Deamer as I’m not familiar with his work. It doesn’t have to be prog or fusion, just good. My definition of good starts with a hook, the harmony and melody have to exchange some complexity but maintain a peaked-interested ear, and definitely some good improv to finish it off.
When I said new, I meant new to myself… OH, I’m YouTubing “Einstein Action Figure” by Get the Blessing. Gotta love the orange bags over their head.
Something I know will be new to you - Oz Noy. Yes, this is someone’s name. He’s a guitarist out of Israel, I believe, and living and working out of New York. Lots of improv, and a bit on the outside, but awesome.
EDIT: They’re not plastic bags - it’s that coloured plastic foil stuff for wrapping flowers or making a gift basket.
Recovery: Had a monster donair last night. Too large so I finished it for breakfast. Doused myself with magnesium chloride last night and rubbed it in where I could reach (also called magnesium oil to some). Whatever you do, at any concentration, do not get it on your nipples or other sensitive parts! Made that mistake once long ago.
So far pretty good. My ribs/torso/chest/back have slight aches where I want them to be and aren’t affecting my diaphragm or breathing, so I don’t feel like I have indigestion. Hip flexors are unhappy but I can live with it. I’ll tell them who’s boss when I mow the lawn. Then biceps are a bit sore but the elbows are not debilitating.
20130825 - Week 3 Day 1 - Military Press
Warmed up with YWTLs on the shoulder and good mornings - 45,55,65x10
MP
45x5, 55x5, 65x5
85x5, 95x3, 105x8
Squat
45x10, 60x5, 75x5, 90x5 - Playing a bit with my form a bit. Grip and stance width, then sitting back a bit more
Lateral raises
10x10, 15x10 (at this point my shoulders said no more)
Lat pull-down
60x10, 80x10, 95x7 (shoulders definitely spent. I removed the pull down bar between sets to add more weight and avoid another lump on the head - which has finally healed up. Putting it back on was a trial)
Farmer’s walk
Grabbed my powerblocks @ 50lbs ea. and walked around the perimeter of the front yard. I did a measuring walk at 110 paces which came out to about 110 yards. Really felt a stretch in my biceps, or I was trying to control the bounces with them.
Whole thing took 45min give or take with warm-up.
Chest measurements are down .5" and belly down 1". I’ve actually put on about 9lbs since I started three weeks ago (my starting weight was actually 295 as my old scale was heavy by 2lbs. Came in at 304 after having had some water. Not my usual weigh-in routine but it is what it is.
Music selection was Oz Noy - Twisted Blues.
Goddamn lat pull downs. Since I’ve never ever done vertical rowing movements in the past this kills my torso. I don’t know what’s the synergist - pec/pec-minor, intracostals, diaphragm, or rectus abdominus, but my sternum and some of the surrounding ribs ache like a sumnabitch.
I’m done bitching.
If your measurements are down but weight is up, you could be shedding fat for denser muscle.
That would be ideal. Although I have a feeling that it’s because I’m actually exercising regularly and my postural muscles are actually maintaining tonus (yes, muscle tone, but this is the proper usage of the bloody term).
Came in a lighter on the scale this morning (because I obsess) but it said my BF% is down a smidge from yesterday - for what a digital scale’s readings are worth. I will get a DEXA scan when my belly is not party balloon sized.
Solid stuff. Glad I called dibs on you working out for me while I’m down. 
Enjoy Montreal and don’t obsess too much if you can.
[quote]corrmhona wrote:
Solid stuff. Glad I called dibs on you working out for me while I’m down.
Enjoy Montreal and don’t obsess too much if you can. [/quote]
Dibs on a substitution? I don’t recall that, but I’m feeling a bit sleep deprived (I see an 8pm bed time tonight preceded by a hot bath and some 5HTP/Melatonin) - After deadlifts.
I’ll have to break away from the prog/jazz/fusion today and go with some System of a Down. Tools of the trade.
20130827 - Week 3 Day 2 - Deadlift
Warmed up with fire hydrants, leg swings, donkey kicks, and 10 bodyweight squats. I should probably do more but I’m already working on an empty tank today.
Deadlift
100x5, 120x5, 145x3
180x5, 205x3, 230x7
Good mornings
55x10, 75x7, 95x10
Was about to start some DB rows but my lower back said no. I probably made the mistake of not enough warm up and not enough rest between sets. I usually add/swap out plates quickly after a set and usually 30-60 seconds rest. Gets the heart going for sure. Aimed for 10 reps on the second set of GMs but I was gassed. Rested for a decent 2 minutes and the 95x10 came through easily. Half an hour later after the session I feel like I should do some more work. Best to rest and attack days 3 and 4 extra hard as they do not have a rest day between them.
Also should set something up to raise the sub-135lb deads so I’m not doing a deficit DL to warm up with. I’m sure I’m capable of keeping a straight back from that height, but I was not paying attention to form as much as getting the session done.
I did buy supplies for a T-handle so I can do some of those swings that I keep reading about in O35 land.
Music selection: System of a Down: Toxicity.
Been reading through your log you’re making good progress. Keep up the good work.
Ok I know memes are annoying but couldn’t resist.
Thanks Urbanman. We’re all doing what I can with what we’ve got. The trick will be to a) not overdo it, and b) not break ourselves in the process.
LOL Minimal. It’s a meme I’ve not seen yet so it’s all good!
I totally called dibs. You may not have heard me all the way across town, but I’m still taking full exercise credit. That’s why your tired, you are really doing it twice, once for me, once for you.
