Spider Monkey Lifts Weights

Training Training Logs
41

After many weeks studiously counting calories and trying to gain weight, I hit 179, up from my low of 171 a couple months ago, and promptly fell back to a 174 today. The 179 was not on a work day so I was probably more hydrated and also I had a bit more food in my system than when I usually weigh myself. Furthermore, the last 4 weeks have been mixed up between trying a new program then going to my adaptation of 531, so I don’t know if I have made strength progress. I gotta keep at the 531 for the main lifts. I like it so far, after 2 weeks, but thats not much time.

I am so typical of Thibs 1b description when it comes to being impatient, experiencing time as being slow, and wanting results fast. Too bad I’m 40 years old and have lost some of the good qualities of the 1b, lol. I think I lost some definition even though I haven’t gained enough weight to have done so. I want to hit my strength goal so I can cut and get more ripped. I mean no oblique or back fat thin skin ripped. But thats a long way off for a 1b. I want to add 50 lbs to both deadlift and squat, and like 40 to my bench, 30 to overhead press, so thats 6 months or so of 531 with no resets if I do everything perfect, don’t get hurt, and my recovery and nutrition is spot on before I can move to the next phase of my plan… why does time move so damn slow! It could be a year as I am typically a hard gainer.

My greatest enemy is my own impatients, so it is that which I must concur as much as the weights, and the weather, and my work schedule, and aging body… I wish training harder would actually be a benifit. I can do that easier than training smart and being patient. If I didn’t value my bodies ability to make it’s own hormones and stuff so much, gear would sound good, but not for me.

42

Saturday 07/18/2020
W3c1… squat day

Back squat: tm 285 5,3,1+
From pins; 135x5, 185x5.
Normal reps; 215x5, 245x3, 270x5
Front squat:
135x5, 155x5, 175x7
Hip thrust:
135x8, 185x8, 235x8
Pullups (body weight): 5x5
Toes to bar/hanging knee raise drop set:
Amrap x3
Db side bend on hyper bench:
55lbs 6x2
Could have gotten more reps on back squat, but I hit the safeties on rep 5 which threw me off a bit, and the blood pressure in my face was getting very high, so I called it.

Sunday 07/19/2020
W3c1… bench/pendlay day

Bench: tm 200, 5/3/1+
Bar x10, 135x5, 150x5, 170x3, 190x7
Pendley: same as bench
Db fly: mtor
30lbs 10x2 both sets mtor
Cable hammer curl: mtor
25x10, 35x10 both sets mtor
Cable lat raise:
10x10, 10x18
Cable bent over lat raise:
10x14, 15x12
Cable diagonal front raise
15x12, 15x16

Pendley getting a little loose on the last couple reps.

43

Tuesday 07/21/2020
W3c1

Deadlift: tm350 5,3,1+
135x5, 235x5, 265x5, 300x3, 335x10

1 arm db shrug: slow reps
55x10, 105x10, 105x10

1 leg hip hinge hyper extension: mtor
10, 12

Pullup: body weight to chest
2x5, 1x8

I really didn’t think I would hit 10 reps of deadlift at 335. This is a pr and a big leap from where I was about 3 months ago when I tested my 1rm and only hit a disapointing 355. I have never purposely done deadlift for more than 5 reps, so I wonder how this sort of program will affect my 1rm or 3rm. I am coming up on deload week then resetting my tm. 531 calls for a 10lb increase but I am tempted to increase by more. A 10lb increase will not put me near 90% of my 1rm judging by this round. Or I could use this as an opportunity to work on perfect form at sub-optimal weight and build supporting muscles such as my inner thigh which feels a little over stressed after high effort squats and deads.

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44

Great work!

I’d definitely keep with the recommended program weight increases, you’ll keep making gains for longer - you’ll stall out eventually, don’t be in a rush to get to that point!

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45

Thursday 7/23/2020
W3c1
Overhead press day

Ohp:
Bar x 10, 85x5, 100x5, 115x3, 130x5

Push press:
145x3, 165x3, 175x2

Cable lat raise:
10x10, 12.5x10, 15.5x8

Pullups (body weight):
5x5

Toes to bar/knee raise:
9/5, 8/6, 8/6

It was raining this morning, so I went to the gym rather than my backyard. Haven’t been to the gym since covid started. I was limited on time since this was a morning workout and I have to go to work, but all my weekday morning workouts are like that. I skipped my “extras” day due to general fatigue and sore knees. Now I am in deload week. I have never done a structured deload before. If I feel beatup, I take 1 or 2 days off, then get back on max effort. This feels like a good idea, but I am already itching for heavy lifting and it hasn’t even started yet.
Tomorrow I am taking a class on oly lifting at a local crossfit gym. Lets see how they think I can use my orangutan arms. Hands full spread on the bar and it still hits me square in the pelvic bone if I try to get hip bounce on the snatch.

46

Well, it’s deload week. Booo. But, I could probably use it.
Oly class today, lots of light snatch and clean from the hang working on form. My long arms make proper form challenging. But, I got some good tips and I have stuff to work on. Tomorrow I will have to hit squat and bench to stay on schedule, but with the deload loading, should be easy.

47

Sunday 07/26/2020
W4c1
Deload 3x5 @ 40/50/60%

Squat: tm 285
135x5, 145x5, 170x5

Bench/pendley: tm 200
80x5, 100x5, 120x5

Pullups bw: 4x6

1 leg hypers, bw: 3x10

Hyper bench side bends, 40lbs: 3x10

Cable adductor, 3 sets, top set 30lbs x 15

Cable abductor, 10lbs, 12x3

After heavy max effort squats and deadlifts, I sometimes get a strained sort of feeling in my adductors, and my abductors are just weak. So I added some work in for them. I don’t get too excited for isolation work, I can barely make myself do curls once a week, but I know these are weak points and I am going to try to keep at them.

48

And also, in my quest to get better at pullups, I have decided to do them at least 3 times a week. Last week I went for 5x5, this week I will go for 5x6, next week 5x7, ect, and see how long I can keep adding 1 rep per set per week with the goal of always chest to bar. At some point, I might add weight.

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49

Alright, so the rest of deload week was mostly normal and to me, not worth logging. The one note worthy point is that I decided to work on bar speed since weight would be low and I didn’t brace good enough on a “speed” deadlift resulting in a slight tweek in my lower back. Also, my knees have felt like shit for the last couple weeks and I started some exercises to strengthen my quad tendons. It seems to be helping, but too early to tell for sure.
On to cycle 2, week1.
New tm’s
Squat 295
Bench 205
Deadlift 370
Overhead press 140

I increased all lifts by the prescribed amount except deadlift which I increased by 20lbs instead of 10 to avoid having to do sets with over 10 reps on a strength plan.

50

Saturday 8/1/2020 w1c2

Squat 3x5 last cycle top set 245x7
Barx10, 135x5, 65% 190x5, 75%225x5, 85% 250x7

Pullup/scap pull, 6/12x4

Clean/front squat/push press,
135x5, 185x fuck it! I’m sweaty and the bar just sliped off my shoulder as I began the concentric of my squat, I feel like shit today, I’m done before things get worse.
My goal is to hit the same reps(or better) on top sets as last cycle. For squats today, I did that. Beltless too.

51

Sunday 8/2/2020 w1c2

Bench 3x5 lc 170x8,
Barx10, 65% 135x5, 75% 155x5, 85% 175x10

Db row ramp to 5rm,
50x10, 70x5, 85x5, 95x5, 100x5, 105x5

Leg press (sled weight unknown, plates only for weight recorded) feet low and close, knees to chest.
90x10, 180x10, 270x10, 360x8

Cable rope curls, slow ecc
37.5x10, 42.5x10, 47.5x10

Adductors/abductors, standing cable,
12.5x 12/10, 17.5x 12/8, 22.5x12(add) 17.5x9(ab)

This workout was done at the gym because my backyard was wet and it was threatening to rain more, plus I just wanted to get out. There are aspects of home that I like much bettet, and the gym has some equipment I don’t have, but I am now pretty sure with few exceptions, I can get just as good of a workout at home.
I did db rows instead of pendley because my back is still a little sore, and threw in leg press because my front squats got dropped yesterday, and because I don’t have a leg press at home, so why not use it while I can.
My accessory work is a hot mess, but as long as the main lifts are in order, I will have the spirit of 531 I believe. However, I’m going to get that shit in order anyway.

52

That was always my thought too, I pretty much always did 531 with AMRAP for top set, then accessories whatever I wanted bit of focus on bodybuilding stuff or something to strengthen main movement weakness, I ran it 2 days a week (deads/ohp, bench/squat) for about a year so accessories were almost nothing.

It’s a great system and as long as you nail the 531 stuff the accessories aren’t super important (but obviously it won’t suit a goals!).

53

Well, my main goal is strength and for that, it will suit. I should really need very little accessory work to fill out, but I get a little carried away thinking about how this or that particular muscle didn’t get worked much and will be out of balance.

54

What’s up now?

55

Geez it’s been 25 days since I posted? I’ve been kinda busy and didn’t make time to post, but I’ve been keeping up on my workouts. This is deload week of cycle 2 of 531. Here are the top numbers from last week, and the top numbers from the previous cycle. (All weights in pounds)

Squat, last cycle 260x5, this cycle 280x6
Bench, last cycle 190x7, this cycle 195x7
Deadlift, last cycle 335x10, this cycle 350x6 (bad day, should have had more reps)
Overhead press, last cycle 130x5, this cycle 135x4

So, overhead press is a no gain? Maybe just a bad day. Maybe occasional olympic lifts are reducing my recovery/growth? Looking back at data,
7/9, 115x7
7/17, 120x6
7/23, 130x5
7/30, deload
8/6, 120x7
8/13, 125x7
8/20, 135x4

I’ll give it another cycle and see what happens.

On squat, I am giving low bar a try for a while. I have always been high bar, I want to see what I can do low bar.
On deadlift, form is breaking down a little at top end weights. I deadlift “semi sumo”. Feet a wider than shoulders, but not all the way out. My hips are rising before my chest. I am going to cut back a little on weight and fix that before I work up to near max again.

56

Oh, and another thing that could effect my ohp, my job. There are days where I have to pickup a lot of heavy logs, carry them to a truck, and throw them in. The throwing them in part could certainly fatigue my ohp muscles, and I don’t keep track of when that happens. Maybe I should track heavy lifting work days and consider the effect on ohp.

57

Great to see you getting the work in even if the logging is sporadic. Nice progress on the lifts as well!

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58

Big win on squats today. 2nd time ever at low bar and a all time squat of any kind pr at 315x3. I give it a 8.5 rpe. I had previously never completed a rep at over 295.

Squat:
bar x10, 135x5, 185x5, 235x5, 275x3, 295x3, 315x3

Also did some landmine squats, single leg hip thrusts, cable add and abductor work, and ham raises.

Low bar is definitely better on my knees and I can clearly go heavier. Today’s goal was ramp to 3rm for the sake of programing the next cycle. My plan right now is to run 1, 4 week cycle at the end of which I will test max on the 3 main lifts. I should be able to put up a 1000lb + total at that point. I have to tweek my deadlift form slightly to stop my hips rising too soon and making it into almost a semi sumo rdl at heavier weights. As long as I get that dialed in, I’ll be good for that 1000 lbs.

59

Epic work Brandon, great pr!

1 Like
60

Thanks Alex!