I’m just not that strong (yet)!

[slimsaw00]

So I’ve been a reader and sometimes commenter here on AM for quite a while.

A little background. I’m 41, a husband and dad to three kids. I’m the master of not being consistent. I’m currently running a version of 5/3/1 and my goal is to crack the 1000lb club, and compete in my 2nd powerlifting meet this year. I’m about to complete the 2nd week of the current template I’m on and plan to log workouts moving forward.

Goals for the log are to have some form of accountability…. Even if it’s in online form. Get feedback from strong people! So thank you in advance if you comment! Have a great weekend!

 

[SweetLou321]

So I’ve been a reader and sometimes commenter here on AM for quite a while.

A little background. I’m 41, a husband and dad to three kids. I’m the master of not being consistent. I’m currently running a version of 5/3/1 and my goal is to crack the 1000lb club, and compete in my 2nd powerlifting meet this year. I’m about to complete the 2nd week of the current template I’m on and plan to log workouts moving forward.

Goals for the log are to have some form of accountability…. Even if it’s in online form. Get feedback from strong people! So thank you in advance if you comment! Have a great weekend!

Good luck. The best advice I can give is make your weekly plan something you can stick to on the busiest of weeks, not what you hope to accomplish on a week where everything goes your way. 5/3/1 can be run on a 2/3/4 or more week per day split. So pick the split that matches your needs and go for it.

 

[GreenMachineX]

So I’ve been a reader and sometimes commenter here on AM for quite a while.

A little background. I’m 41, a husband and dad to three kids. I’m the master of not being consistent. I’m currently running a version of 5/3/1 and my goal is to crack the 1000lb club, and compete in my 2nd powerlifting meet this year. I’m about to complete the 2nd week of the current template I’m on and plan to log workouts moving forward.

Goals for the log are to have some form of accountability…. Even if it’s in online form. Get feedback from strong people! So thank you in advance if you comment! Have a great weekend!

Where are your lifts now?

 

[Hyde]

So I’ve been a reader and sometimes commenter here on AM for quite a while.

A little background. I’m 41, a husband and dad to three kids. I’m the master of not being consistent. I’m currently running a version of 5/3/1 and my goal is to crack the 1000lb club, and compete in my 2nd powerlifting meet this year. I’m about to complete the 2nd week of the current template I’m on and plan to log workouts moving forward.

Goals for the log are to have some form of accountability…. Even if it’s in online form. Get feedback from strong people! So thank you in advance if you comment! Have a great weekend!

Do it! If you can carve out ~3 windows per week you can routinely go in & get under the bar, you can make it happen. You will never feel strong enough when strength training, but you will always feel stronger for it!

 

[slimsaw00]

Good luck. The best advice I can give is make your weekly plan something you can stick to on the busiest of weeks, not what you hope to accomplish on a week where everything goes your way. 5/3/1 can be run on a 2/3/4 or more week per day split. So pick the split that matches your needs and go for it.

Thanks! I’m doing a 3 day template right now. The summer and early fall were good to me. Then late fall and holidays led to the wheels falling off a bit. Me getting sick (I’m a teacher), kids getting sick (4,2 and 9 months) and crappy sleep. Things are on the up and up right now!

 

[slimsaw00]

Where are your lifts now?

I’ll post my current training maxes which are pretty conservative after what I mentioned above to SweetLou….

Bench 190
Squat 240
Deadlift 260
Press 115

 

[slimsaw00]

Do it! If you can carve out ~3 windows per week you can routinely go in & get under the bar, you can make it happen. You will never feel strong enough when strength training, but you will always feel stronger for it!

Your log is an inspiration man for real! I’ve been getting in 4 days of work. Three strength and one extra conditioning day!

 

[Hyde]

Your log is an inspiration man for real! I’ve been getting in 4 days of work. Three strength and one extra conditioning day!

Thanks man. You will have to do the work even when you don’t want to some times, but overall, try to really enjoy the process!

 

[slimsaw00]

1/13/24

Cycle 1, Week 2, Workout 3

Main Lift
Bench
95x5, 135x5, 150x5, 170x5

Supplemental
Squat
190x5x5

Assistance
Push-up 50 reps
DB Row 3x11
Planks 3 sets

Bike Sprints 4 rounds

 

[Electrake]

Following! Also running a variation of 531, started a log as well this week

 

[slimsaw00]

Following! Also running a variation of 531, started a log as well this week

Awesome! I’ll have to check it out!

 

[slimsaw00]

Today is a rest/off day which is good cause our 9 month old slept awful. Today will be church online, lots of coffee and some family time. No school tomorrow so I’ll be able to start my training week on Monday.

 

[slimsaw00]

1/15/24

Cycle 1, Week 3, Workout 1

Main Lift
Squat

Work Sets
180x5
205x5
230x5

Suoplemental
Bench
160x5x5

Assistance
1-Leg RDL 3x8
DB Row 3x11
Ab Wheel 3x6

 

[Electrake]

What template are you running?

 

[slimsaw00]

What template are you running?

Im running 1000% Awesome. I like the layout of it, and am possibly thinking about “Full Body, Four Days” in the future.

My plan is to add assistance work and lower the conditioning to two days each.

 

[Dustin07]

what are your personal stats (height/weight)?

I’m the master of not being consistent.

Goals for the log are to have some form of accountability

my dad says goals should be "attainable" and "measurable". Seems to me like you have two potential 2024 goals then, the 1k club which is great, as well as figuring out a consistency that is achievable with your schedule/lifestyle. Looking forward to seeing your success!

 

[Electrake]

Im running 1000% Awesome

Sweet, what's your cycle like? As in I'm running leader-leader-deload-anchor-test

 

[slimsaw00]

what are your personal stats (height/weight)?





my dad says goals should be "attainable" and "measurable". Seems to me like you have two potential 2024 goals then, the 1k club which is great, as well as figuring out a consistency that is achievable with your schedule/lifestyle. Looking forward to seeing your success!

Yeah I get that…. I’m a special Ed teacher so I’m down with the SMART goals. To answer your question(s) I’m about 6 feet tall and range between 185-190. It’s the weight I feel fairly good at, and I know that limiting weight will lead to slower strength gains. After I went back to school I had training ADD. I used 100% Awesome as my base template and felt strong, and moved good! Then I wanted to try this for a week, a different system altogether and I was like WTF?!? Why did you get away from what was working incredibly well? So I plan on running this template for a while!

 

[slimsaw00]

Sweet, what's your cycle like? As in I'm running leader-leader-deload-anchor-test

I’ll probably do the same.. leader, leader, deload, anchor, TM test/deload. If I get five reps on my 1+ week I’ve called that good in the past.

 

[Electrake]

I’ll probably do the same.. leader, leader, deload, anchor, TM test/deload. If I get five reps on my 1+ week I’ve called that good in the past.

Sweet! Are you using any apps or spreadsheets? I'm a huge fan of Keylifts. As far as consistency, hopefully that 3 day split will give you the wiggle room you may need to still get in the work while maintaining your personal life. I'm running Negative Birth, BBS, a 4 day split, but I like to work in a 5th day doing hard conditioning (tire flips/sledges) or strongman event work.

 

[slimsaw00]

Okay strong peeps… I know that nutrition, sleep and consistency trump supplements but what is really worth a darn for strength. I’m really trying to minimize to near minimalist levels. Any critique on what I’m taking welcome.

1) PreKaged Elite, I get 20% off being a teacher.
2) Protein
3) Creatine
4) Carb Powder

Other things I take are fish oil, magnesium at night sometimes melatonin. Although I don’t know really if those do anything worthwhile.

 

[slimsaw00]

Sweet! Are you using any apps or spreadsheets? I'm a huge fan of Keylifts. As far as consistency, hopefully that 3 day split will give you the wiggle room you may need to still get in the work while maintaining your personal life. I'm running Negative Birth, BBS, a 4 day split, but I like to work in a 5th day doing hard conditioning (tire flips/sledges) or strongman event work.

Yeah I like the three day split for that reason! Also I just like its layout. I’ll admit that part of me and due to some other reading felt that 5/3/1 wasn’t “optimal” whatever that means. Your first week looks pretty full-body to me man! I may try a 4 day split when our 9 month old starts sleeping consistently through the night.

 

[Dustin07]

To answer your question(s) I’m about 6 feet tall and range between 185-190. It’s the weight I feel fairly good at,

that's usually where I feel the best as well, I'm 5'9" though so we probably carry it a bit differently.

and I know that limiting weight will lead to slower strength gains.

if you are able to develop good consistency in your nutrition, I had a lot of luck in the second half of 2022 adding 100 calories a day to my diet (every week I upped it 100 calories) and didn't really gain any weight for the first 4 months. I think I ended up 4lbs total after 4.5-5months but my strength grew pretty consistently for the next 18 months. I increased my daily caloric intake from like 1500 to 2700.

1) PreKaged Elite, I get 20% off being a teacher.
2) Protein
3) Creatine
4) Carb Powder

the protein and carb powder are going to fall into your nutritional plan regardless. although personally I do very much like to carb up preWO, and pound protein about half way through my workout.

I'm probably the only person here that would say this, but i'm starting to think creatine is nearly pointless. I was on it religiously for more than a decade, all my greatest PRs came in the last year being off of it (just cause I didn't restock). I'm 41 and 195lbs btw.

preWO IMO is a personal preference. if you like the prekaged, then awesome. I have grown to really like pumpaddict by SNS. they are a board sponsor here too. in a pinch, I have picked up Ghost locally and liked it as well.

Other things I take are fish oil, magnesium at night sometimes melatonin. Although I don’t know really if those do anything worthwhile.

all good things. I think fish oil is important as is magnesium, personally. I also pop melatonin but try to only do it on nights that i don't think i'll easily fall asleep on my own.

 

[Electrake]

i'm starting to think creatine is nearly pointless

Shun the non-believer!

Honestly dude, I take it more for neuro function than anything else.

 

[slimsaw00]

preWO IMO is a personal preference. if you like the prekaged, then awesome. I have grown to really like pumpaddict by SNS. they are a board sponsor here too. in a pinch, I have picked up Ghost locally and liked it as

I tried Pump Addict and the Rauwolscine (sp?) didn’t sit right. I have tried another product with it and I was fine. Maybe I’ll try it again.

 

[Dustin07]

Shun the non-believer!

Honestly dude, I take it more for neuro function than anything else.

studies indicate there are a ton of benefits, I just haven't ever noticed much of a difference on vs off. When I did feel like i was seeing some benefit, I always had to run a megadose 10g+

 

[Hyde]

Shun the non-believer!

Honestly dude, I take it more for neuro function than anything else.

^This is a big point to me. Better learning/training effect and positive for brain health. The mind leads the body.

So creatine should be weighed against the cost of it & whether it bothers the gut. If it digests fine, is easy to remember & drink most days and you get it in bulk for a price you agree with, it’s a good supplement. Plenty of people don’t use it, and I have gotten stronger without it as well as when re-introducing it.

Nothing natural is going to really move the performance dial heavily on its own, but combining some things and certainly the right tool at the right time in the right environment can be clutch.

Ex)
Some caffeine taken day in and out for your training may not be changing much over baseline…but if you complete a session with all the work that would otherwise be skipped periodically, caffeine use might net you 10-15 extra completed training sessions a year! Or drive you to a PR at the right time, when your training led you to be strong enough for it, but maybe that extra half scoop gave you the confidence to believe in yourself and actually execute. Conversely, lots of caffeine through the day will drive a more sympathetic state and slower recovery, so be targeted with it.

Most male lifters should look into taking extra 15-30g Zinc nightly along with their 3-800mg supplemented Magnesium. Many men would also do well to take some Vitamin D3 to stay in range (consume with fats, like your fish oil). Low D3 levels can cause lots of issues with hormones and metabolic health. I test this once a year on my bloodwork to see if I need to adjust my daily dose. I do not absorb it well and need 10,000iu to stay in a healthy range. 22,000iu actually still just has me better, not high. Most people will be great supplementing 5,000iu, and some don’t need any if they live in sunny places year round. Some genetic backgrounds like African descent need higher doses because sun doesn’t absorb as well through their skin.

 

[Resolve10]

In for the log. Good luck!

Yeah I get that…. I’m a special Ed teacher so I’m down with the SMART goals.

SMART goals are good in certain senses, but choosing something that leads to more process oriented goals can be a bit more beneficial in terms of typical gym/health/performance goals.

How Focusing on Superordinate Goals Motivates Broad, Long-Term Goal Pursuit: A Theoretical Perspective

Interesting study if interested in more in-depth, but basically setting a goal hierarchy and process oriented goals will help you stick to and reach a plan better (they use a three level model in the study above).

Okay strong peeps… I know that nutrition, sleep and consistency trump supplements but what is really worth a darn for strength. I’m really trying to minimize to near minimalist levels. Any critique on what I’m taking welcome.

1) PreKaged Elite, I get 20% off being a teacher.
2) Protein
3) Creatine
4) Carb Powder

Other things I take are fish oil, magnesium at night sometimes melatonin. Although I don’t know really if those do anything worthwhile.

Those are all perfectly fine. Creatine has so many studies and benefits it is pretty much a no brainer. I think where people misunderstand with it is just not understanding the differences between magnitudes of effect versus how well studied or certainty of benefit. There are definitely some non-responders out there (plenty of studies show this as well). There was a bit of some downer perspectives recently on the effect size in studies, but in general even if it is an improvement by a third like one of the recent meta analysis showed it would mean that instead of 3lbs gained of muscle in a year it would be 4. That might be very hard to "notice" and might sound like nothing, but when you've been training for a long time those little things add up and can be hard to come by (and would be bigger if your rate of gain was bigger as well).

 

[SkRaw85]

Subbed! We have similar age/life/training frequency. In to see you smash some PR’s!

 

[slimsaw00]

1/17/24

Cycle 1, Week 3, Day 2

Main - Deadlift

135x5
195x5
225x5
245x5

Supplemental - Press
95x5x5

Assistance
Chins 32 reps
Reverse Lunge 3x8
Pallof Press 3x15

Bike Sprints
5 rounds

 

[slimsaw00]

Subbed! We have similar age/life/training frequency. In to see you smash some PR’s!

Thanks for following along!

 

[slimsaw00]

^This is a big point to me. Better learning/training effect and positive for brain health. The mind leads the body.

So creatine should be weighed against the cost of it & whether it bothers the gut. If it digests fine, is easy to remember & drink most days and you get it in bulk for a price you agree with, it’s a good supplement. Plenty of people don’t use it, and I have gotten stronger without it as well as when re-introducing it.

Nothing natural is going to really move the performance dial heavily on its own, but combining some things and certainly the right tool at the right time in the right environment can be clutch.

Ex)
Some caffeine taken day in and out for your training may not be changing much over baseline…but if you complete a session with all the work that would otherwise be skipped periodically, caffeine use might net you 10-15 extra completed training sessions a year! Or drive you to a PR at the right time, when your training led you to be strong enough for it, but maybe that extra half scoop gave you the confidence to believe in yourself and actually execute. Conversely, lots of caffeine through the day will drive a more sympathetic state and slower recovery, so be targeted with it.

Most male lifters should look into taking extra 15-30g Zinc nightly along with their 3-800mg supplemented Magnesium. Many men would also do well to take some Vitamin D3 to stay in range (consume with fats, like your fish oil). Low D3 levels can cause lots of issues with hormones and metabolic health. I test this once a year on my bloodwork to see if I need to adjust my daily dose. I do not absorb it well and need 10,000iu to stay in a healthy range. 22,000iu actually still just has me better, not high. Most people will be great supplementing 5,000iu, and some don’t need any if they live in sunny places year round. Some genetic backgrounds like African descent need higher doses because sun doesn’t absorb as well through their skin.

Good stuff especially about the caffeine! I need to reduce my intake.

 

[SkRaw85]

Im not sure i would do bike sprints post-deadlifts. Unless this is sport specific?

 

[slimsaw00]

Im not sure i would do bike sprints post-deadlifts. Unless this is sport specific?

Nope just getting my conditioning in. I guess according to Forever, it didn’t really matter. I have better compliance if I do it after I lift.

 

[Dustin07]

Im not sure i would do bike sprints post-deadlifts. Unless this is sport specific?

only time I ever ate it on a box jump during my xfit career was a wod of

400m sprint
21 x 225lb deads
x number of box jumps




I recall Layne talking about incorporating HIIT style training, although semi sparingly to help avoid injury.

 

[slimsaw00]

1/20/24

1.3.3

Main- Bench
95x5
115x5
140x5
160x5
180x5

Supplemental-Squat
205x5x5

Assistance
Pushups 3 sets
DB Row 3x10
Ab Wheel 25 reps

Conditioning
Bike Sprints x6

Finished up my first leader, and am feeling good. 1000% Awesome is my base template, and I have reduced the conditioning a bit and upped the assistance a tad. When I ran this before with more consistency I pretty much did body weight assistance which I find to work well. Lots of pushups, DB Rows, Chins, and ab work will make the majority of assistance work. Going to add to each training max and start cycle two Monday.

 

[slimsaw00]

1/23/24

Cycle 2, Week 1, Day 1

Main Squat 5s Pro
100x5, 135x5, 160x5, 185x5, 210x5

Supplemental Bench SSL
145x5x5

Assistance
Pushups 3x16
Core 3 sets
Inverted BW Row 3x8

Bike 10 minutes moderate pace

 

[Electrake]

1/23/24

Cycle 2, Week 1, Day 1

Main Squat 5s Pro
100x5, 135x5, 160x5, 185x5, 210x5

Supplemental Bench SSL
145x5x5

Assistance
Pushups 3x16
Core 3 sets
Inverted BW Row 3x8

Bike 10 minutes moderate pace

Good stuff dude

 

[slimsaw00]

Good stuff dude

Appreciate it! Everything felt very smooth this morning. I had a snow day today which allowed me to move a little slower.

 

[Electrake]

Appreciate it! Everything felt very smooth this morning. I had a snow day today which allowed me to move a little slower.

My wife's whole family is up in Lansing and Charlotte, it's been a messy winter up there already.

 

[slimsaw00]

My wife's whole family is up in Lansing and Charlotte, it's been a messy winter up there already.

I’m like 30 minutes east of Lansing .. (Flushing). I’ve not had a five day week of school since coming back from break.

 

[slimsaw00]

1/25/24

Cycle 2, Week 1, Day 2

Main- Deadlift 5’s Pro
135x5, 175x5, 200x5, 225x5

Supplemental - Press SSL
90x5x5

Assistance
More pushups, chins and core/abs

 

[slimsaw00]

Quick update….. last week my FIL was taken to the ER, and later put into ICU for what was thought to be pneumonia. My wife has been up at the hospital a lot and I’ve been watching over our three kiddos. Training has shifted for a moment. Basically doing a main lift 5s pro and a pull or core movement, along with some bike conditioning. Back posting regularly soon! Take care peeps!

 

[Electrake]

Life happens and family comes first, hope you and yours are well.

 

[slimsaw00]

Life happens and family comes first, hope you and yours are well.

Thanks man! We’re good. I took the day off from school to watch the kids so my wife could help her Mom and Dad.

 

[akboom87]

Hope all goes well man! Family first.

 

[Uncle_E]

Subbed! We have similar age/life/training frequency. In to see you smash some PR’s!

Same here, I’m another early 40’s family man that’s running 5/3/1 and also doesn’t ‘feel’ strong enough, LOL.

I think I first ran 5/3/1 around 2017 and my 1RM numbers were similar. I’ve mixed in other programs and had brief periods off since then. I just checked my app and I’ve run 32 cycles of 5/3/1 since then, actually quite proud of that consistent time under the bar. I’m on TRT and I’ve run anabolics, and I’m at 975/1000 right now. I’m 5’9”, 145-155 before gear, now maintaining 170’s on a cruise and hitting 185+ on a blast. Given all that, it’s improving my technique that’s going to get me into that 1,000 lb club, not more gear.

 

[Hyde]

Same here, I’m another early 40’s family man that’s running 5/3/1 and also doesn’t ‘feel’ strong enough, LOL.

I think I first ran 5/3/1 around 2017 and my 1RM numbers were similar. I’ve mixed in other programs and had brief periods off since then. I just checked my app and I’ve run 32 cycles of 5/3/1 since then, actually quite proud of that consistent time under the bar. I’m on TRT and I’ve run anabolics, and I’m at 975/1000 right now. I’m 5’9”, 145-155 before gear, now maintaining 170’s on a cruise and hitting 185+ on a blast. Given all that, it’s improving my technique that’s going to get me into that 1,000 lb club, not more gear.

Respectfully, it’s probably going to be more food. I am not saying you need to get as fat as me, but I am 1” taller than you and outweigh you by 80lbs. People really underestimate the anabolic action of continually eating a bit over maintenance. Technique is very important to optimize leverages & help prevent unnecessary injury, but eating more food with the same gear use is how you actually improve that leverage.

Deadlift isn’t really helped by gaining weight, but it is if you add muscle. And pressing and squatting definitely improve with bodyweight. You would probably benefit a lot from just slowly gaining 10 more lbs. If you won’t gain weight, then yeah you are stuck with increasing frequency and improving technique.

 

[Electrake]

If you won’t gain weight, then yeah you are stuck with increasing frequency and improving technique.

Relatable

 

[Hyde]

Relatable

Well in your case you have about 40lbs on him. Gaining weight like all things has diminishing returns weighed against things like sleep/life quality, effort to eat enough, etc.

I just want to point out that he probably has room to grow a bit more and probably get a lot of bang for that buck. Smaller you are, bigger percentage of weight adding 10lbs is.