151.4 lbs
Squat: 135 x 3
205 x 3
225 x 5 x 5
MP: 95 x 5, 5, 4, 3, 3
DL: 240 x 1 x 5
44 min 13 sec
Wow. Didn’t expect to pass 225 on the first try! Didn’t try my best on last two set of MP, but I’m absolutely satisfied with today’s workout. Thinking of testing my 1RM for BP soon. Chest still slightly sore. Tried to rest more between MP, didn’t really work. Will have to up the volume on MP. Only gained 10 pounds on it in 41 days.
152.2 lbs
Decided to test 1RM for BP today, as I seem to be progressing nicely
BP: Bar x 3
135 x 3
155 x 2
165 x 1
175 x 1
185 x 1 (TIED LIFETIME MAX)
190 X 1 (NEW LIFETIME MAX!!!)
SWEET. Very cool. I will still work out 5 x 5 tomorrow, but I won’t be too pissed no matter what happens. As it is probably obvious by now my upper body lags alot behind my lower body. I took a few “before pics” a few days ago when I was at around 150. Once I hit 175 and have a six pack showing, I’ll go ahead and post the before and after pics up here in the Rate My Physique section.
So today was a bit different. I tested my 1RM for squat again because there’s no way I can do 225 for 25 reps in under 20 min and have my 1RM at only 245.
154 lbs
Squat: 135 x 3
205 x 3
230 x 1
245 x 1 (Easy)
255 x 1 (10 LBS IMPROVEMENT)
265 X 1 (20 LBS IMPROVEMENT)
275 x 0 (Failed)
BP: 135 x 3
150 x 5, 5, 5, 3, 3
Pendaly Rows: 130 x 5 x 5 (Sweet. Will add 5, so I can finally use the 45s)
WOW. Cannot believe I shattered my previous 1RM by a whopping 20 LBS!!! I think 5 x 5 is literally the best workout program for me. It is extremely challenging, and yet only demands 3 hours a week from me. I am able to rest adequately with proper recovery. My appetite is going through the roof. I am actually not using any of my supplements. Just chugging straight up water. Consume at least a liter per workout.
153 lbs
Squat: 135 x 3
205 x 3
230 x 5 x 5 (Boom, will add 5)
MP: 95 x 5 x 5 (Boom, will add 5)
DL: 245 x 1 x 5
41 min 20 sec
Man, I am making awesome progress. Blew past 230 like it was nothing and MP went up as well! I think my bodyweight is now stabilizing around 153 and not 150, so that’s good. Even my work capacity has grown and my time went down by almost 3 min.
153 lbs
Squat: 135 x 3
205 x 3
235 x 5 x 5 (Boom, will add 5)
BP: 150 x 5 x 5 (Boom, will add 5)
Pendaly Rows: 135 x 5, 4, 4, 3, 4
52 min 27 sec
Woot. Although my weight didn’t budge, my other poundages certainly did! Not too pissed at the 135 since I beasted the other two lifts so decisively. I attribute my lower time to the incomplete sets of Pendaly Rows. Perhaps I went up too early, because when I did the 130 x 5 x 5, I had only done 4 work reps and 10 total reps of squats, while today, I did 25 work reps and 31 total reps of squats. Legs play no small role in Pendaly Rows as stabilizers. Hmm, I want to keep the 135 as is though, because I don’t want to strip the 45s to just go down a measly 5 lbs. Anyways, extremely happy with today’s workout.
Fun fact: My calves and arms are supposed to have the same circumference. My calves are 14.1 inches, and my arms are 12.7 inches. Guess I know what to work on once I hit 175. Ha ha.
153.4 lbs
Squat: 135 x 3
205 x 3
240 x 5, 5, 5, 3, 3
MP: 100 x 5, 5, 3, 3, 3
DL: 250 x 1 x 5
42 min 52 sec
Not my best workout, but I’ll take it. I think that the rest in between is really crucial. I find my Friday workouts the best, my Sunday workouts around average, and my Tuesday workouts the worst. I think this is because there is only one rest day between Friday and Sunday and Sunday and Tuesday, but there are two rest days between Tuesday and Friday. I am hoping for progression on Friday, but I won’t be devastated if there isn’t.
154 lbs
Squat: 135 x 3
205 x 3
240 x 5 x 5 (Boom. Will add 5)
BP: 155 x 5, 5, 5, 3, 3
Pendaly Rows: 135 x 4, 0 (Something was wrong)
46 min 46 sec (This time means nothing)
Although I’m glad my squat is improving so rapidly, I wish my upper body would make similar progress. I think because I squat every workout. I should increase the frequency of upper body training and perhaps incorporate some arm work as well. Bar movement speed for my BP is unbelievably slow.
153.4 lbs
Squat: 135 x 3
205 x 3
245 x 5, 5, 5, 3, 3
MP: 100 x 5, 5, 5, 5, 4 (D’OH!)
DL: 255 x 1 x 5 (Grip was slipping on the last one, but I hung on. (Will need to get some paper towels to reinforce the grip)
Not a bad workout. Didn’t really want to do it, but I realized that in the long run, today’s workout just mattered whether I did it or not, not on my actual performance today. Wish I got that last rep on the MP, but I knew after I grinded out the last rep for MP that there just wasn’t going to be another one. Oh well.
155.6 lbs
Squat: 135 x 3
205 x 3
245 x 5, 5, 5, 5, 3 (Improvement. I’ll take it)
BP: 155 x 5 x 5 (Boom. Will add 5)
Pendaly Rows: 135 x 3 (WTF)
125 x 5, 4, 4, 4 (I don’t know what’s going on)
59 min 15 sec
I don’t understand what’s up with my rows. I guess I will have to work out my back directly more. Will incorporate pull ups into my push up and arm workouts I do on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday. I will also drop down to 115 for Pendaly Rows. The increased poundages for the Squat and BP must be affecting my performance more than I thought. The last thing I want is an overpowered BP compared to my pulling exercises, due to the likelihood of injuries and incorrect posture, etc. Hmm… my triceps were noticeably sore today from the pushup and arm workout I did yesterday. I won’t post the push-up and arm workouts, because it is minor and assistance compared to 5 x 5. Basically I follow the 100 push up workout you can find online plus 5 x 5 with BB Curls and Skullcrushers. On alternating sets I reverse my grip, so 3 sets are regular and 2 are reversed. I found that the skullcrushers help me deal with elbow joint strain progressively. My elbows were much more comfortable on today’s bench press. Can’t believe skullcrushers are helping my bench, but they are. Thought I wouldn’t do too well on BP because of the sore triceps, but I suppose I don’t know my body perfectly yet.
Getting back in the game again. I think I started out too intense, especially when I wasn’t mentally strong enough for it. So I decided to stick first with 5-3-1. Perhaps the “I’m not doing jack shit” version. I’ll even incorporate the rest week. So today I decided to test my 3 RM for squat. I got up to 200lbs. Much better than expected. I also benched 135 for 3. Not bad. I’ll roll with it.
Squat: 95 x 3, 135 x 3, 155 x 3, 185 x 3, 200 x 3
BP: 135 x 3
I’ll test DL and MP tomorrow.
Sun:
MP: 60 x 5, 70 x 5, 80 x 7
Today (Wednesday):
Squat: 130 x 5, 150 x 5, 170 x 10
BP: 95 x 5, 110 x 5, 125 x 9
BB Row: 70 x 5, 80 x 5, 90 x 10
Squat: 140 x 5, 160 x 5, 180 x 10
MP: 65 x 3, 75 x 3, 85 x 8
BB Row: 75 x 3, 85 x 3, 95 x 8
Hi, I just stumbled on your log. Good luck on your journey to get big. 
I was thinking that maybe more volume would help you. In my experience, volume leads to size gains. Everyone I know who is especially muscular trains with a fairly high volume routine.
Hey thanks for your reply. I totally agree with you. When I was doing 5 x 5, I was making crazy gains. One problem I had was that if I went with 5 x 5 (relatively high volume) after not training for a while, after about two days my motivation to train would go down the toilet. I’m having better luck with (I"m not doing jack shit version) 5/3/1. Crazily enough. I’m so stressed and busy with school work that sometimes I neglect to even do the 5/3/1 20 min workout! Ridiculous. I plan on upping volume once I get back in to the groove again. Hopefully it won’t take too long.
Couple days ago (Forgot exact date): BP: 100 x 3, 115 x 3, 130 x 8
Today: MP: 70 x 5, 80 x 3, 90 x 6
BB Row: 80 x 5, 90 x 3, 100 x 8
Squat: 145 x 3, 170 x 3, 190 x 8
Weight 148 lbs.
Good to see you back into it after a long layoff, I know how hard that is… BPL has a good point about the volume, but with more volume comes more need for recovery, and if life is eating into your ability to recover it’s easy to let yourself get off-track. In my opinion, consistency trumps everything over the long haul, and if all you can do is the 5/3/1 ‘Jack’ template right now, get after it, and when you get into a place where you can ramp it up, all the time you put in on the Jack, and the base it let you build, will pay big dividends!
BP: 110 x 5, 125 x 3, 140 x 6
Thanks for your input OTHSteve, I think I remember you as well. Ha ha. I always lose interest in training because its so hard for me to gain muscle and I have a tub full of excuses for why I can’t train. I think something is better than nothing though, and for me even this program is slightly challenging.
I strive for 10 reps for the last set on 5-5-5 days, 8 reps on 3-3-3 days, and 6 reps on the 5-3-1 days. I’m excited to see how much I can progress if I actually stick with it for an entire year! I’ve always sabotaged myself a couple months in. I’m actually doing this in conjunction with nofap. For me personally if I PMO (porn-masturbation-orgasm) too much I find myself NOT working out. Ha ha. I know plenty people who are just find with it though, but I gain significant strength when I pass a week of nofap.
I got a month of school left before break, which is also a month long. When break comes around, I can probably switch to 5 x 5, but I heard you should always stick with a program as long as it works. I don’t wanna switch and end up quitting again due to ego, greed, and burnout.
I recommend not switching to a different program for a month, program hopping is almost always a bad idea. That said, there’s so much flexibility in the options for 5/3/1 that you can stick with it while still getting a bunch more volume in. You have a month, so do a cycle of Boring But Big, or do like I do with first set last + (basically, after my last (the +) work set, I do 3 sets of 5 with whatever I can conveniently strip the bar down to, but always more than what my first work set was. This gets me some volume at a substantial % of my training max, and it’s also a mental thing… I know that if I just did a set of 8-10 reps at 95% of my training max, 3 sets of 5 at 80% is totally doable even if I did wreck myself with the + set.
Also, I gotta say, I don’t like the sound of that nofap protocol. Unless you’re really going overboard that shouldn’t be an issue. Of course, you are in your 20’s, so I suppose it’s possible to go that far overboard… Maybe save it for after your workout, as a reward? My wife would probably kill me if she heard me giving that advice, but then she was also in denial about our sons, so there you go.