bigger stronger faster with the help of 5/3/1

[capo180]

cycle 2 week 2 day D

first week of the new job is over! woohoo haha. did this workout yesterday. im feeling it in my upper back and lats today.

warm-up
stretching (lats, chest)
laterals with 5 lb plates
cleans and snatches (45 lb bar)

OH press
warm-up - barx8 95x5
work sets - 120x3 130x3 135x8
boring but big - 85x5x10

chins
5x10

band pull-a-parts probably 100 total reps
face-pulls 50 total reps

notes
good quick workout. only took about 50 mins or so. rear delts and lats were on fire after, and feel a bit tight today. going on a little trip for the day and be back tomorrow hopefully get in a squat workout tomorrow afternoon/night.

 

[longhornsp]

Solid numbers on the OHP.

How do you like the new job?

 

[capo180]

So far so good with work. I'm just doing a lot of training and watching videos.. haven't been doing much else. haha.

drank a bit yesterday, maybe a bit too much. I'm not hungover or anything today, just didn't have my usual push in the gym i guess. still a good workout today.

cycle 2 week 3 5/3/1 day A

warm-up
stretching
foam rolling

squats
warm ups- barx8 135x5 185x3
work sets - 200x5 225x3 250x5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dKpA8wLufY
boring but big - 145x5x10

good mornings
135x4x10, 115x10

notes
Good workout, hit pretty much what i wanted to on squats.. would of went for 6 reps, but i just didn't have my drive today, everything felt a bit heavy. I'll bench tomorrow, and i think i have to deadlift weds and OH press thursday, because I'm going to on a trip friday right after work. i think I will be able to hit a 300 lb squat soon.

 

[longhornsp]

Squats look solid, you made the reps look easy.

Nothing wrong with just going in and hitting your reps and calling it a day sometimes.

 

[capo180]

Thanks man. Not my best day but still got some quality work in!

 

[capo180]

Finally figured out how I want to do assistance work for the 3rd-4th cycles of 5/3/1.

right now I miss doing some movements that I think help me build mass and power, for the big 3. all the supplemental work will be done for 5 sets anywhere from 5-20 reps.

Squat day I'm going to supplement with front squat, and straight leg deads.
Bench day with DB bench press, and DB rows.
Deadlift day with good mornings, and ab work.
OH press day with close grip bench, and chins.

I plan to also continue with everything else I have been doing for rear delts and upper back (pull-a-parts and face pulls) at least 2 times a week.

 

[Sean1332]

Good plan. Don't forget unilateral leg work though

 

[capo180]

unilateral leg work? like lunges, split squats? I'll end up tossing in some lunges down the road, I've done em in the past but felt that they never helped me very much.. ill end up tossing em in the rotation in a cycle or two though.

cycle 2 week 3 day B

bench pressed today. felt pretty good, had to use the power rack to bench though, which sucked. it has J hooks that are pretty damn deep, its impossible to pull the bar out with lat action. couldn't really keep tight out of the rack, tried my best with what I had though. still a solid workout with solid numbers.

bench press
warm-up - barx8, 95x5, 135x3
work sets - 155x5, 175x3, 195x8
boring but big - 135x3x10, 115x2x10 (CG)

db rows
65x12, 75x10, 85x8, 95x6
kroc rows
95x20

face pulls
100x3x15

band pull-a-parts
60-70 total reps

notes
Good lift after a not so good one yesterday. those J hooks in the rack killed me though, the set up was pretty rough. solid numbers, happy with 8 reps on 195 after 8 reps on 185 last week. that was kinda an off week though. best bench day so far numbers wise. really excited for what the next couple of cycles have in store. next week I'm gonna do the scheduled deload, which kinda sucks, but I'll come back stronger after. kroc rows are fun, gonna continue to add weight to those weekly. the biggest DBs I got are 120s though.

 

[Sean1332]

Lunges will be beneficial for hip/knee health, stability, core, and conditioning. I don't use it as a muscle/strength builder per say, but I throw them in the mix at the end of a session.

 

[capo180]

thats pretty much what I've done with them in the past either used em either A for a warm up or B for pretty much last workout of the day. I'll toss em in when ever I have time I'm sure.. I deff need to pay attention to hip and knee health, I used to have knee problems in high school steming from football and weight lifting without good form, nothing severe i guess. but they still get cranky from time to time.

 

[rob112]

Traveling lunges, reverse box, and BSS are all pretty boss man. I hate them all but dat stretch

 

[bolt10]

There are so many unilateral leg exercises you can do that are great....but they all suck. I hate them all.

 

[rob112]

There are so many unilateral leg exercises you can do that are great....but they all suck. I hate them all.

So much truth

 

[capo180]

Yeah Im gonna start implementing some single leg work slowly after squat and deadlift days. key word slowly. lol

cycle 2 week 3 day C

good workout today, finally got over 3 plates on the bar!

warm-up
foam roll (hams and back)
lax ball (glutes)
stretching (hips, hams, back)

deadlift
warm-ups - 135x5, 185x5, 225x3
work sets - 255x5 285x3 320x7
boring but big - 185x3x10, 205x2x10

decline sit ups
6x15

notes
good work out today. took a vid of 320 set but the carmera wasnt set up right, and only got my lower half. hit what i wanted to today. starting to feel pretty damn strong in the gym! weighed my self yesterday morning i was 192. which is a decent weight for right now. body fat wise im around 14-15%. the set was a lot better than my 310 last cycle, did double overhand the whole time. hands didnt leave the bar. doing OHP tomorrow and going out of town for the weekend. hopefully i can squat sunday to start week 4 (deload).

 

[capo180]

cycle 2 week 3 day D

warm-up
cleans and snatches with bar
broomsticks
band pull-a-parts

OH press
warm-ups - barx8 95x5
work sets - 115x5 130x3 145x6
boring but big - 95x3x10 85x2x10

chins
5x10

face pulls
100x3x15

band pull-a-parts
50 reps

notes
good work out today. best OH press day so far. I never did much standing press before starting 5/3/1, but I am starting to like it. My goal is a body weight standing press. as of now I'm probably about 20 lbs off that according to 1rm calculations.

 

[rob112]

Solid pressing man. Never thought about a goal on press as I am in the same boat as you on neglecting it. BW seems like a solid goal.

 

[capo180]

cycle 2 week 4 day A

deload week is here. didnt really feel like working out today at all. kinda felt like i had to though. the weekend kinda took it out of me. I just did my squat work sets and left. didnt have time to do much else anyways.

warm up
stretching (hips, hams)

squats
warm-ups - barx8, 135x5
work sets - 160x5, 170x5, 185x5

 

[Duramaxhd]

Nothing wrong with that man when my deload comes up I dont think im even going to go to the gym that week if I do I mite just do cardio

 

[capo180]

Cycle 2 week 4 day B

warm-up
stretching (lats, chest)
band pull-a-parts
broomsticks

bench
warm-ups - barx8 95x5
work sets - 125x5 135x5 145x5

db bench
50x8, 60x8, 70x8

db row
60x8, 70x8, 80x8

face pulls
3x15

band pull-a-parts

notes
good deload workout today. didnt want to do a lot of volume but felt like doing more then just the 3 work sets. figured i do some db bench since im starting that up next week. some people waste too much damn time in the gym.. i used to do some volume work but id never be in the gym for over an hour fifteen mins or so.. its impossible to keep the intensity up. any more after doing this stuff for a while id choose intensity over volume anyday. some feel the need to have 2 hour workouts, never seen that be productive for anyone. unless your a pro bodybuilder and got the juice on your side lol.

 

[capo180]

Cycle 2 week 4 day C

Warm-up
Stretching
Broomsticks
Band pull-a-parts

Deads
Warm ups - 135x5 185x3
Work sets - 205x5 225x5 235x5

Hang cleans
135x2x3

Db shrugs
15x 75,90,110

Leg curl
80x3x15

Notes
Good workout today, did things I don't normally do, or haven't done for a couple months.. Think that keeps the deloads a bit more interesting, and keeps me motivated. Cleans were a bit rough on the wrist haven't done em in forever with any weight.

 

[capo180]

Cycle 2 week 4 day D

Warm-up
Stretch
Broomsticks

OH press
Warm up - barx8
Work sets- 90x5 100x5 110x5

Pull ups
4x8

Face pull
100x3x15

Db curls
25x15

Rope push downs
100x15

Band pull a parts
50 reps

Notes
Good quick workout today. In and out in 40 mins. Starting cycle 3 with squats tomorrow I also go on turn at work tomorrow working 5 pm to 5 am for the next 4 days.. Blah. 4 on 4 off. So it's cool. It's gonna be tough to get workouts in. But I think I'll be okay.

 

[capo180]

Cycle 3 week 1 day C

Started on Deadlifts for this cycle because this guy was taking forever in the squat rack. so ill be doing day C first and day A third lol..

warm-up
foam roll
stretch
band pull-a-parts (70 rep)

deads
warm-up - 135x5 225x5
work sets - 260x5 275x5 295x10 (rep PR)

good mornings
barx15 95x5x15

random ab workouts

done

good workout today even though i planned to squat. hit 10 reps on 295 prev rep record was 8 reps. felt very aggressive in the gym today, probably due to impatiently waiting to lift.. really starting to find a nice grove on good mornings. going to work 5 pm to 5 am starting tonight for the next 4 nights... couldnt sleep today at all even though i wanted to.

 

[Duramaxhd]

Nice job seems like your moving up quick
dont think switching days is going to make any difference may be nice to have more time between deads and OHP thou

I cant what to get back at it next week

 

[atanocc]

Congrats on the PR! But yo aggressiveness in the gym is when the magic happens! Lol

 

[capo180]

Thanks guys! Yeah it was good letting loose in the gym haha. finally got back in today to get in some bench work. got a vid of my last work set too!

warm-up
stretching (hips, shoulders, chest, lats)
band pull-a-parts

bench press
warm-ups - barx8, 95x5, 135x5
work sets - 160x5, 170x5, 180x11
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rj4k0C53RYM

db bench
50x15,15,12,12,12

db row
60x15,15,12,12,12

face pulls
90x3x15

band pull-a-parts
40 reps total

notes
good lift today. db bench was great, deff a lot different feel then what i had on flat barbell. got a lot of good rep/pump work in today on rows and bench. upper back was pretty burnt out after rows and face pulls so i didnt hit very many pull-a-parts today. didnt really have the bar speed i wanted on bench though. i felt like i died out a little bit after 6 reps. my reduced sleeping time may have something to do with that though.. welp last night at work, then pretty much 5 days off!

squating tomorrow then finishing up on friday with OHP.

 

[atanocc]

Nice session bro. Benching looking strong too! Keep it up!

 

[capo180]

Cycle 3 week 1 day A

Warm-up
Stretching

Squats
Warm-up - barx8 135x5 185x3
Work sets - 205x5 220x5 235x7

Front squats
135x2x8, 115x2x10, 95x12

SLDL
95x2x15 115x10 135x2x10

Band pull-a-parts

80+reps a couple different ways..

Notes
Decent workout today, I hit a little too deep on my 220 set of squats.. Which ended up hurting me for my 235 set. Still a decent day. Fronts were more difficult than anticipated. Just gotta get used to the movement again.

 

[capo180]

Cycle 3 week 1 Day D

warm ups
band pull-a-parts
broomsticks
stretching

OH press
warm ups - barx8 95x3
work sets - 115x5 125x5 135x8

chins
5x10

CGBP
95x2x15 115x2x12 135x10

EZ bar curls
50x20,15,15

band pull-a-parts
100 reps

notes
good workout today. felt like doing some curls, plus my biceps give me fits sometimes when doing goodmornings and squats. so i might toss em in here and there. everything was pretty smooth today, i only tied my old rep record on 135 though which kinda sucks. the pull-a-parts hit my upper back good, gives me a real nice pump! stay strong guys!

 

[capo180]

Cycle 3 week 2 day C

warm up
stretching
band pull-a-parts

deads
warm-up - barx8 135x3 185x3 225x1
work sets - 275x3 295x3 310x9 (PR)

good mornings
115x5x12

decline sit ups SS w/ band pull-a-parts
4x12 1x20 / 5x12 each way (120 total reps)

notes
good workout today. big PR on deads, first time having 1rm calc above 400. prev rep max on 310 was 6 hit it for 9 today. right hip wasnt very friendly today. tried different stretches. the rocking frog stretch from the limber 11 really hurt.. pretty bad pain really. but i still went ahead and worked out. its the inner part of my hip.. dont know what happened, started hurting this morning. i could still get in a deep squat position, just really painful. any ideas?

 

[Duramaxhd]

All I got to say is great work moving right along in your lifts keep it up

 

[capo180]

Thanks bud!

Cycle 3 week 2 day B

Warm up
Stretching
Arm circles
Lateral raises

Bench
Warm ups - barx8 95x5 135x5
Work sets - 170x3 180x3 190x9 (PR)

Db bench
50x2x12 60x3x10

Db row
60x2x12 70x3x10

Face pull
100x3x15

Notes
Good lift today. Another good PR both for reps and 1rm calc! Seen a guy in there bigger than me who couldn't deadlift worth a sh!t thought about helping.. But didn't. Whenever people ask me for help or advice I give it.

 

[rob112]

You've been killing the AMRAPs. Your gonna have awhile before possibly topping out. Good work man.

 

[CountryLiftin]

You're making good progress man.

 

[capo180]

Thanks guys! My bench and deadlift are my strong suits, they always have been. This should be a full week of PRs though, hitting all my cycle 1 week 3 weights again. and today hit a rep/weight PR on squats! got a vid too.

warm-up
glute rolling
foam rolling
stretching

squats
warm-up - barx8 135x5 185x3
work sets - 220x3 235x3 245x7
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5k5ZxIZVn0

front squats
135x3x8 115x2x10

Straight leg deads
115x2x12 135x2x10 155x8

notes
good lift today, another PR for the week. Prev rep max was 5, calc 1rm is now at 301. got some more tonnage in today on front squats and SLDL. overall good lift to end the work week. first time i got the puking sensation going in a while lol. I'm thinking OHP tomorrow then starting week 3 on monday with deads. i gotta start pulling my elbows under the bar more, i'm relaxing a bit in the upper back.. something to work on next week.

 

[atanocc]

Congrats on the pr dude. Good Shyt!

 

[capo180]

Thanks man! 5/3/1 is really working well for me. Good OHP day today!

Warm-up
Stretching
Cleans and snatches with the bar
Broomsticks
Lateral raises 5lb

OHP

Warm-ups - barx8 95x5
Work sets - 125x3 135x3 140x7

CG bench press
115x2x12 125x12 135x10 145x8

Chins
4x10, 6

Face pulls
100x3x15

Band pull-a-parts
70 total reps various ways.

Notes
Good work out today. Rep PR on OHP hit 7 last PR was 5. Lats cramped up during my last set of chins so I stopped at 6. Week 3 will start Monday!

 

[capo180]

Cycle 3 week 3 day C

warm up
stretching
broomsticks

deads
warm-ups - barx8, 135x5 185x5 225x3
work sets - 260x5 295x3 330x7

goodmornings
135x2x8 115x3x12

decline sit ups SS db hammer curls
4x15 1x25 / 20x4x15 none after last set of sit ups

done

notes
Good lift today, another strong day on deads. calc 1rm up to 406 from 402 lol. if i could pull 2.5xbw at some point that would be cool, so around 470 or so. 5 plates is probably my ultimate goal. if i can do the meet this spring i would hope for maybe a 430-440 pull. most Ive ever pulled has been 415, think i might be able to gut that out now. looking at the average calc 1rm from each cycle i have put 25 lbs on my pull so far! gotta keep this momentum going!!

 

[capo180]

Cycle 3 week 3 day B

warm-ups
assortment of band pull-a-parts
stretching
rotator cuff warm up

bench press
warm-ups - barx10 95x5 135x5
work sets - 160x5 180x3 200x8

db bench
70x2x8 60x3x12

db row
80x2x8 70x3x12

face pulls
110x3x15

band pull-a-parts
50 total reps

notes
Good work out today. Calc 1rm up to 252 from 246. the most Ive ever benched has been 245, benching for me is more mental than actual strength.. I would be happy to put some poundage on my bench, I havent in years tbh. hitting 255-265 would be a pretty big accomplishment for me. Im looking a bit bigger up top. especially the upper back, those face pulls are starting to show.

 

[atanocc]

Cycle 3 week 3 day B

warm-ups
assortment of band pull-a-parts
stretching
rotator cuff warm up

bench press
warm-ups - barx10 95x5 135x5
work sets - 160x5 180x3 200x8

db bench
70x2x8 60x3x12

db row
80x2x8 70x3x12

face pulls
110x3x15

band pull-a-parts
50 total reps

notes
Good work out today. Calc 1rm up to 252 from 246. the most Ive ever benched has been 245, benching for me is more mental than actual strength.. I would be happy to put some poundage on my bench, I havent in years tbh. hitting 255-265 would be a pretty big accomplishment for me. Im looking a bit bigger up top. especially the upper back, those face pulls are starting to show.

Very good pressin man. Progressing nicely

 

[capo180]

thanks man! yeah Ive been having pretty good lifts. Ive been on a 10 scoop trial of BSN cell mass post workout. today was my last day of that, might have helped me a little bit.. my strength is slowly but surely increasing each week, which is nice.

Cycle 3 week 3 day A

warm-ups
glute activation with ball
foam rolling
stretching
v-sit roll outs

squats
warm-ups - barx5 135x5 185x3
work sets - 205x5 235x3 260x5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLKrm5Kpclk

front squats
145x2x8 115x3x12

SLDL
115x10 135x2x10 155x2x8

notes
Good lift today.. not to sure about the depth on those squats. i got my 235 and 205 sets on video as well, probably gonna post those up here shortly. shot those 2 from a different angle. Im gonna do the scheduled deload week, then start running x-gels week 1 of cycle 4. thinking about using those for 2-3 cycles, dosing 1-1.5 grams on workout days only, with GMS (3g) and ALCAR (1-2g). todays weight was 189.6, ive dropped a little bit, no biggie though because strength is going up.

 

[capo180]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AAZa5dZye4 (235x3)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jUWmhHE4W8 (205x5)

 

[Sean1332]

Pretty narrow stance. Your knees may benefit from a wedged heel if they bug you. You do this bounce thing right before you squat it seems. I would stop that haha Should unrack, step back with each foot, glutes and core engaged, then squat

 

[capo180]

Thanks for the tip Sean. Yeah I gotta tighten up my walk out a bit. Ill probably get some Olympic shoes at some point.

 

[rob112]

I agree on bringing the stance out more. You don't have to be super wide, but maybe try messing around with a few inches past shoulder width range. Depth looked low(couldn't see the max set from phone though) so I wouldn't worry about that. I would also at least get checks if you don't have money for the fancy stuff. Your gonna want to have a grip on the floor when you spread it.

Solid progress, and keep at it man. Let us know how you like the arachadonic acid supplement.

 

[capo180]

Yeah I'm gonna mess around with stance during deload week. Probably run a couple different widths with 185 lbs or so on the bar. Ill post up the vids.

Ill get some oly shoes hopefully within the next month. I don't think chucks would help me too much. I always assumed they were for a wider stance squater.

 

[capo180]

Cycle 3 week 3 day D

warm-ups
cleans/snatches with bar
broomsticks
rotator warm-up

OH Press
warm-ups - barx5 95x5
work sets - 115x5, 135x3, 150x5

close grip bench press
145x2x8 125x3x12

chins
5x10

band pull-a-parts
72 total reps

notes
Good workout today. I was a little slower in the gym then usual though. starting deload week sunday.. doing a little less volume for deload week, my lats could use some rest, probably hit some single leg work and some iso work all around.

 

[capo180]

Cycle 3 Week 4 squat deload

power cleans
135x5x3

hang snatch
95x5

squats
barx5 135x5 185x2x3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RN0L0hWvI8E (1st triple)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcdzDQseAeg (2nd triple)

lunges
barx8 65x2x8

notes
good deload lift today. I like doing my deload days a bit differently then normal work days. I tried over head squats after my lunges, and laughed at the fact that I've pretty much lost the abililty to do them with more then just the bar. I widened my stance on squats, felt and looked a lot better than before. let me know what you guys think.

 

[capo180]

Cycle 3 week 4 Bench press deload

warm-up
5 lb laterals 20 rps
band pull-a-parts - 50 rps
stretching

bench press
barx8, 95x8, 135x5x3

v-bar tri pushdowns
130x2x25

bent over barbell rows
barx15 95x15 115x2x15

EZ bar curls
40x2x25

band pull-a-parts - 50 rps

notes
good workout today, kinda a recovery, blood flow type day. did some triples on 135, speed work really. did a couple different grips tried to find where i was fastest. probably do a little deadlift work tomorrow, Ill be out of town sunday thru weds, so week 1 will be pushed back a few days.

 

[capo180]

Cycle 3 week 4 deadlift deload

warm-up
stretching
broomsticks
cleans & snatches

speed deads
warm-up 135x2x5 (sumo and conv.)
sumo - 185x3x3
conv. - 225x3x3

DB shrugs
75x15, 85x15, 95x15

leg curls
60x2x25

decline sit ups
5x15

notes
quick workout today. a little speed work, did sumos for the first time in a while.. they weren't great, torso wasn't as upright as it should be. probably due to either not having adequate hip mobility or to simply not performing the movement since I've began 5/3/1. Conventional speeds felt good, got really tight at the bottom with the slack pulled to the point where the bar was almost moving, then just popped the weight up. a little shrugging, and recovery work for the hams.

 

[JD261985]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AAZa5dZye4 (235x3)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jUWmhHE4W8 (205x5)

Yea I don't know if you catch it but your squat stance is only at hip width. You should have at least a shoulder width stance. Good depth though just tighten up. It should be a smooth motion with no knee lockup up top. Keep that tension throughout. Not sure what your breathing technique is but some people breathe in on the way down and then hold their breath on the way up and then let out at the top of the motion. I've read that a more natural breathing response is fine although it may make the load feel heavier.