God. You’re so strong.
when you say you hate repping squats do you mean the last set where you are supposed to try and get as many as you can?
(i’m only just learning about 5/3/1 so sorry i’m a bit dumb when it comes to the program).
i hate repping squats, too… hmm…
if you wanna do 5x5 then do 5x5. it is only wussing out if you stick with a program that isn’t resulting in progress, i reckon. even if you are progressing with 5/3/1 on squats there might be other ways of progressing on them that you find more enjoyable.
um… when you reset your maxes on squats do you reset by 10 pounds like he says?
damn about the race. setting the length wrong sounds awful. like having a weightlifting or powerlifting competition and saying ‘oh by the way our plates are all a bit heavier than what is written on them’.
How did the not-10K go? I understand your frustration - the 15K I ran last November came up short according to everyone who was grumbling afterwards. It was more like 14K and a little bit. I know my time was suspiciously fast. I enjoyed the race and raised a good amount of money for the Stroke Association, which is the main thing, but I can’t use that time for future reference.
squats are just hard.
but your still getting PRs, which is good, no??
2 workout days described as “jack-shitted” were you had PR’s. what the hell are your standards superwoman??!!
Kimba: You are reading me right. I am feeling aggressive, motivated, determined, confident–something. I don’t know where it is coming from, but it feels pretty good.
Nikki: Okay Nikki, you caught me. I am stalking you like a predator. Seriously, your log (along with others here) inspires me to get out of my head and rethink my expectations of what is possible for me to achieve.
Snap: Thanks. And I’m not done. I want to be stronger!
Alexus: yes–that last set where you go for rep prs–that’s what I don’t like. I read 5-3-1 for powerlifting yesterday, and decided that I’m sticking with the program. Not a page or two ago in my log I said I was all about doing what I’m not good at, brining up my weak spots, and here I am trying to rationalize my way out of repping squats–what I’m not good at and what I don’t like. I agree there are lots of different and good programs out there. But I believe in 5-3-1. I know it’s helping to make me physically and mentally stronger.
Cal: I actually ran pretty well and felt surprisingly good considering I squatted to failure yesterday and ran hard on Friday. I won’t do that race again though.
Mim: Yes, I’ve made progress on my squats, which is good. And squats are just hard. That’s the thing. I just have to accept that. Squats don’t get easier.
Frenchie: My standards are ridiculous! Jack-shitted my accessories–as in I did none! Not like me, but I wasn’t feeling it.
++++++++++++++++
My “10k” 6.4 mile run went well. Unofficial Time= 55:45=a little better than 8:45 pace.
I ran a little bit harder than I was planning because there was this man who vexed me. I have no idea why, but I took an instant dislike to him. he was in front of me for the first 2 miles. Lumbering gate. Short shorts. Hairy legs. Slopping shoulders. Did I mention the short shorts? I couldn’t look away. At mile 2, I said fuck it, and passed him. At mile 3, he passed me. The course grew narrow and winding. I couldn’t see him for awhile. And I was happy. At mile 4, I saw him again. He was about 100 meters and 4 people ahead of me. I decided I was going to beat him. I was a lioness. And he was a water buffalo. I pursued him. I overtook him at mile 5 and passed him quickly. I thought the game was over. The kill clean. I never looked back. At mile 6, seemingly all of the sudden, he was fucking right on top of me. I was jolted out of my comfortable pace and I started to sprint. There was no fucking way in hell he was going to beat me. And he didn’t. Again I didn’t look back. I have no idea how close behind me he was. I only knew that I was in front of him at the end. That’s right I WIN!
Ha ha! That’s hilarious. I often pick a runner and go after them - rarely a man, though, but when I did my 15K I got into a sprint with a young(er) black guy. There was no animosity - he just went past and I decided that shit would not fly with me. We finished together, which was nice.
You’re a fair bit faster than I am. My best ever 10K was around 57 minutes last year (for 6.2 miles) but all my subsequent runs were slower, even on the same course. I think my run in March was 1.02, which sucks.
Anyway, I’ve entered the next race in the series, two weekends away. I’ll be interested to see if I do better, given most of my runs have been longer and slower.
I wonder if he knew you were trying to race him…
Is your hubby a runner at all?
haha that really is very funny. maybe he didn’t like you from behind, either :-p
intellectually i got what the + meant… but it didn’t properly sink in that as many as you can would translate into what i consider to be crazy reps (ie anything over 5). hmm… i don’t like squat reps either. but given that the program legitimates my liking of sub-maximally loaded reps i’ll give it a go. next month. need to test my back squat PR this month so i can figure out 90% of it. or 85%… i’ll have a think about that.
looks like i should fork out for Wendler’s books… thanks for your help on that.
[quote]nlmain wrote:
2 workout days described as “jack-shitted” were you had PR’s. what the hell are your standards superwoman??!![/quote]
This is EXACTLY why I am not allowed to do 5/3/1 again. At least not without strict supervision. My workouts were “shit” if I didn’t get a rep PR on every single lift. Every single week. There was no “off”. No “only do the prescribed reps”. And then my body began to self destruct. I’ve learned something from that: If I don’t have a specific, well written program, I will push for more until I get hurt.
5/3/1 is a great program. (I made great gains until I got stupid) If its working for you, I see no reason to change. Like you even said about the reps. Doing the stuff that you suck at is going to make you stronger. Keep up the good work, girl.
Alexus–you don’t HAVE to buy the book to do the program. I’m not telling you not to, (its worth the money) but you can definitely get all the info you need and then some on the good ol’ interwebs.
Nice running! And a prime example of us competitive folks who compete with unaware opponents lol
Cal: I expect you’ll run your 10k well. You absolutely will get faster over shorter distances by running longer.
Mim: I have no idea what that man was thinking. I mean you should have seen the short shorts! The horror. My husband doesn’t run. He does prowler, sled, tire flipping type stuff. If he did run, I would totally race him. No mercy. For instance, I often like to remind him that I can do more pullups than he can. He likes to fuck with me too. I’ll say excitedly, “I got 265 today.” He’ll respond, “what, on bench?”
Alexus: I hope he didn’t like me from behind and was racing me too. Then my victory over him is all the sweeter because then I didn’t just win; HE lost. Re 5-3-1 reps: I’ve learned a lot about myself and what I am capable of by pulling for reps. Of course, you do have to be careful not to allow your form to suffer too much, but here again, training with submaximal weights will protect you a fair amount from the stupid and inevitable compulsion of rep prs.
BG: Thanks for the support. I agree 5-3-1 can lead you down a path of self-destruction. I can’t tell you the number of times I have ground out rep prs–going for that one last rep because I needed it like a heroin addict needs a fix . I also routinely beat myself to near exhaustion with BBB–cursing the program designer–“you will not break me you sick fuck–if you can dream it and do it, I can do it.” Most recently, I have mellowed, and found a nice balance by only pulling for reps on my 1st and 3rd week. My second week has become more of a deload 5x5 kind of week.
Nikki: It’s true. I like to compete. Keeps my mind focused!
no wonder your husband doesn’t run! ha. oh yes, i think you well and truly beat him and he well and truly lost. he was probably pissy that a girl passed him.
hmm… will see if i get into the spirit of caring about my own rep pr’s or not… anything over 5… meh… but then since i don’t get to test my max i guess that is what is left to care about with the program. hmm… i will be my own form nazi! no point my struggling it up when the effort of that means i’d never be able to jerk it…
thanks buckeye girl. i will buy it when i have the cash but think i have managed to pick up enough to start things up next month. i would be interested to read what he has to say about it all, though. i’m weird like that 
Very funny about the guy that you chased and beat! I know exactly what you mean. I always did that when I was doing the 5K thing. You go lioness!
Glad you are ‘mellowing’ and finding some balance with the 5-3-1. Honestly, I don’t have a set program and I still catch myself pushing too hard sometimes. I’ve learned to reel myself in SOMETIMES, other times I just cannot stop. I do not wave load my squats anymore for this reason…
Not a page or two ago in my log I said I was all about doing what I’m not good at, brining up my weak spots, and here I am trying to rationalize my way out of repping squats–what I’m not good at and what I don’t like.
thanks for that. for the same reason (doing what i know in my heart i need to do even though i don’t much like it) i decided to go with RSR for a new 1RM. hope people don’t feel that they wasted their time telling me about 5/3/1 because i’m glad i got to learn about it more and it will make it much easier for me to follow what so many others are up to.
Alexus: Hubby has a metabolism a diet drug manufacturer would pay gazillions of dollars to clone. He’d be a good runner–as tall and lean as he is–but it’s not for him. He likes the tire,the prowler and the sled.
Veggie: I admire the ability to train intuitively. 5-3-1 was really good for me because it taught me how to push myself and reawakened my competitive spirit. I’m still negotiating a balance btw too much intensity and too little. And still trying to learn how to listen to my body and find that just rightness spot. Call me goldilocks.
Alexus: I’m just glad you found a program. I love 5-3-1, but I realize it’s not for everyone. Still I’m happy to talk about. All that matters is that you are doing the program that you believe in and that you think is going to work best for you. Seriously, I think that’s key. Believe in your training. And the results will follow.
aww your house is full of athletes-- way cool:)
Very cool picture!
I loved your description of the race - sounds like it was a good little competition!