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

Pretty sore today in the upper back, chest, and triceps areas. Need to find some way to stretch tonight.. I don't workout for soreness but I sure like that my chest is sore. Usually doesn't happen. But yesterday was pretty intense.

Deads tomorrow.
 
capo180 said:
Pretty sore today in the upper back, chest, and triceps areas. Need to find some way to stretch tonight.. I don't workout for soreness but I sure like that my chest is sore. Usually doesn't happen. But yesterday was pretty intense.

Deads tomorrow.
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I'm right there with you, I love when I get that soreness in my chest.

Kill it tomorrow!
 
cycle 1 week 3 day C

sleep wasnt as good last night.. blah. was up and down. im kinda anxious to start this new job in a week and a half. lifts weren't bad. bar speed was down today though. couldn't get speed on my warm ups really. last set was a grinder, lacked grip strength.

warm-up
stretching (lats, hips, hams)
v-sit to back roll (kinda dynamic warm up)
hang cleans with barx10

deads
warm-up - barx10 135x5 185x4 225x3
work sets - 245x5 280x3 310x6
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boring but big - 175x5x10

ab work
tried to do hanging leg raises but my grip was dead
hit 5 sets of decline sit ups 15-20 reps each

cool-down
stretching (hips, hams)
v-sit to roll out

notes
I hit the number i wanted to on deads. wasn't pretty though. i forgot to chalk up and had to regrip the bar multiple times. i also ripped some skin off my hand while doing rows on bench day. that was kind of hurting. you can see my shaking my hand in the vid lol. reps were slow from the get go. grinding type of day. but i got thru it. happy with my performance.

OH press on friday.
cycle 3 i will be changing assistance work. so far i know i need upper back and grip work. ill learn more on cycle 2.
 
Nice work
Ive been taking zma for sleep made a big difference for me don't wake up groggy and if I do wake up in the middle of the night I fall right back asleep

Been keeping an eye on you log so I can compare it to mine for ideas

Keep up the good work
 
did OH press day yesterday i was just real busy. bought a new car yesterday. 2014 ford fusion!

cycle 1 week 3 day D

warm-up
stretch (lats, chest, shoulders)
band pull-a-parts (15 over hand, 15 under hand)
raises with 5 lb plates (lateral, rear, front 10-15 each way)

OH press
warm-up - barx10 95x5
work sets - 5x110, 3x125, 5x140
boring but big - 85x5x10

chins
5x10

cool down
face pulls- 100x2x15
band pull-a-parts - 30 underhand 30 overhand
stretching (lats, chest)

notes - overall a good workout. increased weight on boring but big sets a little bit. im looking forward to skipping this first deload week. i see a lot of people doing that, as the first cycle of 5/3/1 isnt very heavy. there was no shoulder clicking during this workout at all. i am going to continue to add rear delt and upper back work slowly into at least 2 workouts each week.

today is a rest day. tomorrow i will start week 1 of cycle 2 day A. squats. with weights increased 10 lbs for dead and squat, 5 lbs for bench and OH press.
 
cycle 2 week 1 day A

cycle 1 went by fast.. decided not to deload till after cycle 2. well onto today. slept well last night. the gym was pretty packed today so i couldn't get any video of squats.

warm-ups

foamroll (IT band, hams, back)
stretch (hips, hams, quads, more hips, more hips) haha
v-sit to roll out

squats
warm-ups - barx5 135x5 185x3
work sets - 200x5 215x5 225x8
boring but big - 135x5x10

Good mornings
115x10, 125x4x10

cool down
stretching (hips, hams, quads)
foamrolling

notes
good workout. 225 felt good for the first 5-6 reps, kinda had to push out those last two. came a bit forward on rep 8. just probably fatigue. pushing on 225 made the rest of the workout really difficult. my quads were super pumped, almost painful. gonna foam roll a lot while watching the Browns beat down on Miami this after noon!! uber excited for football season. really focused on keeping a strong arch on the good mornings this time. reset after each rep. overall i feel great.

benching tomorrow, deadlift weds, OH press friday. im gonna weigh my self in the morning as well. see where im at.
 
yeah im going to deload after this cycle.. looking to add in a bit more accessory work for cycle 3 as well. i want to add front squats, face pulls, maybe sumo deads.. and probably some bench variation.. floor press/close grip maybe. im going to decide for sure in the next few weeks.
 
capo180 said:
yeah im going to deload after this cycle.. looking to add in a bit more accessory work for cycle 3 as well. i want to add front squats, face pulls, maybe sumo deads.. and probably some bench variation.. floor press/close grip maybe. im going to decide for sure in the next few weeks.
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Sounds like a solid plan. I'm already looking forward to going back to 5/3/1 soon, probably won't be for at least another 8 weeks though.
 
yeah thanks man. 5/3/1 is great. nice simple layout. i wrote up a quick excel sheet and got pretty much the next 6 months or so all planned out for my main lifts.

gonna go bench in little bit.

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watched this Brandon Lilly video this morning after stretching and foamrolling. its the truth right there. NOTHING beats hard work.
 
Cycle 2 Week 1 Day B

today was a great day in the gym for me. felt good going in. bar speed was great. focus was great.

warm-up
stretching (quads, hams, chest, lats)
foam rolling (IT band, inner thigh, hams, lower back)

bench press
warm up - barx5 95x5 135x3
work sets - 155x5 165x5 175x12
boring but big - 125x5x10

db rows
50,55,60,65,70 x 12

overhand and underhand band pull-a-parts SS
2x12 each way

notes
felt strong again today on bench. honestly i think my bench is set a bit light... we will see after this cycle. i might go up by 10 lbs instead of 5 for the next cycle. its hard to keep solid technique on long sets. i am kinda loose on the first 6-7 reps. then i start pulling the bar apart hard and using leg drive.. i increased my boring but big sets by 10 lbs for today. it was a little more challenging.
 
Be careful of that though. I know guys that bumped up too soon and it wrecked them the following cycles. IMO, give it another cycle
or two, or don't touch a thing. The latter being the best option
 
Add 10 instead of 5 this cycle only and always round up. It will catch up fast.
 
Yeah I wanna be able to stay with this program and not mess things up..

Today is a rest day. I'm gonna do some foam rolling and stretching. Hams are quite angry this morning.
 
Cycle 2 week 1 day C

Felt good waking up today. hams and hips were still a bit sore. not to bad though. foam rolled and stretched for about half an hour before hitting the gym. loosened up nicely. got some deadlift footage today. experimented with sumo in warm ups. I'll get a sumo vid next week hopefully.

warm-up
foamroll (inner thigh, hams, back)
stretch (hips, hams, quads)

deadlift
warm-ups - 135x5, 135x5 (sumo), 225x3
work sets - 250x5 270x5 285x10
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boring but big - 185x5x10

decline sit-ups
6x15

band pull-a-parts SS
3x15 over 3x15 under

cool down
foam roll (hams, back)
stretch (hams, hips)

notes
this was another good day in the gym. bumped up BBB sets to 185. i try to focus on speed off the ground on deads. I've been bringing my feet closer together and i think that has been helping me a lot. also pointing the toes a bit outward. trying to stay behind the bar. i wish i had someone to scream at me sometimes though, because i like to pop my head up... but im getting better with that though.
 
Work on keeping that back tighter. Looks like it may have potential to round with heavier weights.

Also work on your lockout. You bring your back way far backwards and watch what happens to your knees. They unlock and hinge forwards. Focus on squeezing your glutes as hard as humanly possible and lock your lats down when you lockout. That will prevent you from becoming loose up top.

I like my feet closer as well for conventional. Toes outward a bit will help off the floor, toes forwards will help your lockout via greater hip drive.

Good work man
 
my lockout isnt really a lock out at this point. i keep on doing a back extension after i get to the top of my lift.. i gotta stop doing that.

ill work on the upper back tightness as well. its easier to stay tighter as the weight gets heavier, just becomes more necessary then.

thanks for the pointers man.
 
capo180 said:
my lockout isnt really a lock out at this point. i keep on doing a back extension after i get to the top of my lift.. i gotta stop doing that.

ill work on the upper back tightness as well. its easier to stay tighter as the weight gets heavier, just becomes more necessary then.

thanks for the pointers man.
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Nice work dude. Definitely overextending a bit. But Sean made all the right pointers.wished I could help out on form but I'm still figuring out things as well. But Keep it up tho. U made that weight look super light.
 
yeah thanks man. i compared that lift and my week 1 cycle 1 lift and it looked much better, even though i stopped a rep short of what i did that week. the bar speed was faster, my form was better, endurance/work capacity wise I'm much better compared to just 4 weeks ago.
 
Cycle 2 Week 1 day D

nice workout today. shoulder didnt feel the greatest. still a productive workout, OH press day goes really fast so I added a few sets of face pulls at the end.

warm-ups
broomsticks
hang cleans/snatches with bar (trying to loosen up shoulder)
stretching (lats,chest)

OH press
warm-ups - barx8 95x2x3
work sets - 115x5 120x5 130x9
boring but big - 85x5x10

Chin-ups
5x10

face pulls
100x3x20

cool down
stretching (lats,chest)
shoulder rotations and lateral raises (5 lb plate)

notes
good work out today, happy with 9 reps on 130. probably my best OHP day so far. shoulder was a little cranky today. face pulls were great, got a nice burn/pump in my upper back and rear delts. probably going to continue doing face pulls at the end of OHP and possibly bench day if time permits. or maybe i will continue hitting band pull-a-parts on bench day and leave face pulls to OHP day. Opinions?
 
Good to have you sir!

today is a rest day.

starting 3s week with squat tomorrow.

first day on my new job monday.. Ill try to get in bench after work. then deads weds and OHP friday.
 
capo180 said:
Good to have you sir!

today is a rest day.

starting 3s week with squat tomorrow.

first day on my new job monday.. Ill try to get in bench after work. then deads weds and OHP friday.
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Good luck on the new job Bro .. Hope it was better then the last one lol
 
As far as the pull aparts, I've been doing the eliteFTS series at least every workout day. Hit the rear delts with weight once or twice a week as well. I usually do it as part of warmup as far as bands go for pull aparts.
 
Hah thanks man. The new job should be great, it's my first "real job" haha.. I graduated engineering school in may. Took sometime to find something but I'm happy I did. Got me out of working in retail.

I really need to get my own band to do the pull-a-parts with. And do them when I'm not in the gym because I usually don't have time.. Probably bands along with some chucks and a lifting belt in the next month.
 
Cycle 2 Week 2 day A

nice solid work out today. got a squat vid.

warm-ups
stretching (hams, and hips)
practicing walk-outs
v-sit to roll out

squats
warm-ups - barx8 135x5 185x3
work sets - 210x3 225x3 240x7
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boring but big - 135x10 145x5x10

Good Mornings
125x5x10

cool down
stretching (hips, hams)
v-sits to roll out
i cut the grass too. push mower. about 30 min. lol. (what i call cardio)

notes
good work day today. wanted 6 reps on 240 pushed out a 7th. my knees are bouncing at the top of my squat.. i have no idea why. i really can't even feel it.. weird. depth felt good, back felt good. feel really stable without the nikes on. the GMs killed the hams today. my form on those is getting better, really trying to keep a tight arch in the back and focus on moving the weight with my hams and glutes. really starting to feel those. i do those barefoot as well.
 
Lookin good man. Work on pushing your knees outwards a bit more to reduce the forward lean. Looking great though. Nice tight back the entire time
 
Thanks guys. Yeah I gotta try to force the knees out a bit more. I'm improving weekly on squats though, I like what I'm seeing so far.
 
Cycle 2 Week 2 Day B

Good first day at the office, only worked 6 hours today.. bad thing is that most of that time was spent sitting watching videos and filling out papers.. which led to stiff legs and back, it doesnt help that i squated yesterday either. i was out of position on bench pretty bad, my lower back wasnt having it.. couldnt really get the weight on my traps.. got some vid of todays bench effort.

but whatever.

warm-ups
stretching (shoulders, lats, chest)
5 lb plate lateral raises

bench press
warm-ups - barx8, 95x3, 135x3
work sets - 165x3 175x3 185x8
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boring but big - 125x5x10 (did some closer grips, some wider grips)

db rows
8x55,65,75,80
20x80 (kroc style)

face pulls
100x3x15

band pull-a-parts
about 40 reps each way (over/under hand)

notes
Was pretty out of position today on bench. everything felt pretty bad. my previous rep record on 185 was 8 last cycle, i got 8 today. but i was pretty happy to just get those reps. real grinder today. chalked up and did some kroc style rows, that was a blast haha. felt that all throughout the upper back. going to foam roll a lot tonight and stretch the hips and hams. tomorrow is an off day. deads on weds.
 
Nice work
I know what your saying about paper work im a steamfitter and every time we move jobs its more paper work
I worked up at Fermi nuclear power house had paper work for a week

Anyway gl with the job hope u enjoy it and keep up the good work
 
Sitting around all day and tight lower back = sit your ass on a lacrosse/softball (literally :lol: ). I find rolling on one of those (targeting my Piriformis) does wonders. ;)

Nice session though. While it isn't a huge issue, watch the head with the bench (I see it popping up when the weight comes down).
 
Thanks guys. Yeah I need to invest in that lacrosse ball.. Think after work tomorrow ill make a run to the store.
 
Cycle 2 Week 2 day C

work has been going good, everyone has been great.. the whole sitting thing is still tightening me up in the glutes and low back. i did the Limber 11 before my workout today and that seemed to help a little bit. the ball to glute does some damage lol. still felt a bit tight during warm-ups but i worked through it. got a video of my last set today, a bit higher hip position then i usual, but besides that i see no glaring mixtakes. i think i fixed my over extending issue as well. that kinda makes the reps a bit easier.

warm-up

limber 11 (youtube it if you dont know it, really helps loosen you up for lower body workouts)

deadlift
warm-ups - 135x5 185x3 225x3
work sets - 270x3 285x3 305x8
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boring but big - 185x5x10

decline sit ups
did 6-7 sets of 15

cool down
stretching
foamrolling

notes
good lift today. would like my hips a bit lower on deads. but i felt pretty solid with this weight.. lockouts are better this week. squeezed the glutes to lock the weight out. im keeping track of my estimated 1rm from each workout, and i am attempting to increase that number each week. so far for squat and deadlift this has been my best week. for bench press last week was better.. but the trend so far is going up for all 4 lifts, im happy.
 
Could tighten up the upper back a bit (couldn't we all on deadlifts :D ), but the lockout looks much improved. Solid work man. :cool:
 
Thanks everyone! i gotta keep working on form as i go. the upper back will be tighter next week.

as far as the weight goes. i try to break a pr everytime that i can.. even if its by a pound or two. or if its taking a weight that i hit 7 times a few weeks ago and hit it 8 times this week. i look at the calculated 1rm that i get each week, and try to at least match or beat it the next week. still a 4 week cycle in terms of 5/3/1.. but it gives me a goal for each workout instead of saying okay i need to hit X number of reps but a few more would be cool.
 
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