Limie Messes with Texas

[LimieJosh]

Ok, the post server crash restoration of this log

For the beginning of 2012 I transitioned into a 4 day/week variant of the Texas Method using a modified of the Woojus Geeshman model from Practical Programming.

http://startingstrength.com/resources/forum/showthread.php?t=28434

Monday
Bench 5X5 (alternate with Press)
DE press3X8 (1 min rest) (alternate with bench)
Pull ups for volume (10-12 X 3)

Tue
Sqt 5X5
Clean 15 singles performed on the minute
Abs

Thurs
Press 5 X 1
Bench 5 X 1
Triceps 10X3

Fri
Sqt 5X1
Dead 5 X 1
Weighted Chins 5 X 3
Abs

I maxed out prior to Christmas, but then had about 2 weeks away, so in transitioning I took an extra week of reacclimation to gradually build up volume and ramp up to the my previous 5X3 work weights, but the program in its full glory starts from this first post.

[LimieJosh]

Mon, Jan 9th
Bench 225 X 5 X 5
Good sets with all reps performed with the same sort of velocity. Only required 3-4 mins between sets

DE Press 110 X 3 X 8
This seemed like a good weight so don’t go up yet until I get a sense of how stressful this program is in terms of recovery.

Body weight Pull Ups X 10 X 3
These were easy until the 25th rep when all of a sudden my bis completely died. The last 5 reps were a real grind.

Overall, a good start

Tue, Jan 10th
Sqt 275 X 5 X 4* and finally 5 X 1
Easy weight, but suffered some serious dizziness on the 5th rep of the 3rd set and again on the 4th.

Clean175 X 1 X 12, 185X1 and 190 X 1 X2 (15 total reps)
I went and bought a granola bar and ate it while waiting ten mins or so to do cleans. My head cleared and so I completed the 5th set of squats without incident after my last clean

Thurs, Jan 12th
OHP162.5X 5

Bench 250 X 5 (surprisingly difficult)

Trcipes – lying EZ bar 75X10, 80X10, 85 X 4 (sore elbow)

Fri, Jan 13th
Sqt 320 X5

Dead 325 X 5
I have decided to do these firday sessions at a different gym. It’s a bit more of a drive, but they still have the round plates, and my god does that make the dead easier, both in terms of maintaining good form and effort

Chin 50X5 (surprisingly difficult as recently did pull ups for 5X3 at 65lbs)
Pull up 50X 5 (even more difficult)
Chin 50X 5
This represents a decent drop off in performance compared to before Christmas. It is unlikely to be simply be the effect of being out fo the gym as none of the other lifts tanked. It could be that a straight bar is harder for me compared to the angled bar I usually use, but it could simply be the effect of deadlifting prior. Regardless, this gives me a base to build from.

[LimieJosh]

Mon, Jan 16th
My Do Wins arrived on Friday so today was my first session in them.

Press 150 X 5X5 easy, unbelted
Starting all reps from the bottom now as I think I fail in heavy attempts by not getting under the bar quickly enough and I think this approach will help.

DE Bench 180 X 3 X 4 and 185 X 3X 4 (8 sets total)
Good weight

Pull ups X 12, 12, 10 (last one with straps)
Approach- go up in weight if last set is at least ten reps

Initial thought opn the shoes = awesome. WTF didn’t I break down and trade in my chucks sooner. Very much looking forward to squatting in them tomorrow.

Tue, Jan 17th
Sqt 285 X 5 X 5
Shoes were great. They helped me a lot keeping my knees from shooting forward and coming out of the hole properly. Easy weight.

Clean 180 X 1 X 12, 185 X 1, 190X1, 195X1
The heel made the initial pull feel strange. I’m not sure I like it, but if I’m honest other than feeling strange the only problem was dealing with a high being pulled higher than I’m used to. That’s not a bad problem. I think I just have to recalibrate what feels normal

Thurs, Jan 19th
Surprisingly sore in the pecs from Monday’s session. There are a couple of possible explanations, but the most likely is too aggressive loading of the DE bench. I worked up to sets at 185 previously and they seemed fine, but the cumulative volume was probably a bit too much. I will back off to sets across at 180 next time

Press 165 X 5 easy

Bench 252.5 X 4 See above

Tricpes cable press downs on last but one weight (87.5) X 10, 10, 15 @ 2mins

Fri, Jan 20th
Sqt 330 X 5

Dead 350X 3
Shoes felt fine.

Chins 52.5 X 5 X 3
Used a slightly narrower grip (arms perpendicular to bar in full hang) and it was easier.

[LimieJosh]

Evidence of how the bar was crashing down onto my delts with the cleans
http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/9610/imag0149ac.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/696/imag0149ac.jpg/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)

[LimieJosh]

Mon, Jan 23rd
Bench 235 X 5 X5
Aggressive jump, but it was justified.

DE Press 110 X 8 X 3
Good weight but go up to 115 next time

Pull ups +5lbs X 10, 10, 10 (last one with straps)
Go for 12s next week


Tue, Jan 24th
Sqt 290 X 5 X 5
First set sometimes feels surprisingly difficult, but the middle 3 sets was cake. I think I need to psychologically prepare for the first work set better

DE Deads 275 X 1 X 12 @ 30 seconds
I had wanted to alternate these with cleans, but this was not good. The more I concentrated on pulling as quickly as possible the more ugly the pull became, often getting away in front of me. I then tried to do a couple of cleans, but struggled with easy weight so these obviously took a lot out of me. With practice I might get better at the speed pull, but I’m not sure the time in between when I’m passing up increasing my clean is is worth it, especially if it taxes my recovery more and fucks with my dead in the mean time. This is on the chopping block.

Abs
hanging leg raises 15X4 @ 30 secs
Plank +25lbs @ 30 secs X 2


Thurs, Jan 26th
OHP 167.5 X5
Bench 252.5 X 5 Probably a 6th in the tank
Tris cable press downs last block in stack X 10, 10, 12 @ 2mins

Fri, Jan 27th
Bad day. I never felt recovered from Tuesday session, not crippling soreness, just still felt on Thursday like I did on wed, and still felt this morning like I did yesterday. It showed in the sqt as even the warm up felt heavy

Sqt 335 X 3 Quit

Dead 360X 5

Chins +55X 5, 5, 4

Abs
Hanging leg raise 15 X 3
WT crunch +25lbs X 13, 11, 14

[LimieJosh]

And now back to real time...

Mon, Jan 30th
OHP 155 X 5 X 5 unbelted

DE Bench 180 X3 X 8
Got so tight on these I started to feel a pump in my low back

Pull ups +5lbs X 12, 11, 8
(31 total reps).

[LimieJosh]

Tue, Jan 31st

After last week's failed experiment with the DE Deads I decided to repeat last weeks squats

Sqts 290 X 5X5

Clean
182.5 X 1X12 on the minute
185 X 1
190 X 1
195 X 1 (15 total reps)

Abs
Hanging leg raise X 15 X 4 @ 30 secs)
Plank +25lbs @ 30 secs X 2

[LimieJosh]

Thurs, Feb 2nd

OHP 170 X 5
I dont have great comparisons, but I'm getting into PR territory for 5s. Looking back through my logs from last year it seems in the spring I failed at 170X5 twice before switching intensity day to 3X3. Also back when I was trying GSLP later in the summer, while at a slightly too fluffy for my liking 209lbs I got my work sets up to 167.5, but never completed more than 1 set of 5 at 170. Now, at a far more solid 204 this didnt feel like a limit set. Long haul progress, but progress none the less.

10 mins of rolling

Bench 255 X 5
225 warm up single felt worryingly heavy, but the work set was cake.

Triceps 10 X 3 @ mins rest.

[LimieJosh]

Fri, Feb 3rd

Sqt 330 X 5
Incorrectly loaded it as it should have been 335. Oh well, but at least it was a successful week and gets me moving forward again after last week's failure.

Dead 370 X 5
I have a lot more strength in my hips than in my lower back. These are easy to complete, but are getting difficult to complete with the back in proper extension

Chins +55lbs X 5 X 3

Abs

[LimieJosh]

Mon, Feb 6th

Bench 240 X 5 X 5
The work itself was not that difficult, and not even the 5th set was close to a limit, but I've now only got a 17.5lb difference between today and intensity day on bench. I must be cautious not to increase too quickly. I think I'll half the jump in two weeks and just try 242.5 and focus on quick rest intervals.

DE Press 115 X 3 X 8

Pull ups +5lbs X 12, 10, 6 (+3, 3)
Normally when I do these high rep sets my first set has a lot left in the tank, the second is a struggle and the I get whatever I can squeeze out of the 3rd, regardless of rest intervals. Today, I could feel my lats pumped even after doing a quick unweighted warm up set of 6, and subsequently struggled with the first set. I knew I wouldnt match, let alone beat, last weeks 31 reps so decided to cut the last set short at 6, and then throw in some triples on 1min rest to finish off and accumulate reps. I am assuming this is just a reflection of volume bench getting into difficult territory.

[Tad_T]

It looks as of you are really getting into it now, Josh.

[LimieJosh]

Yeah, I'm creeping up to PR territory on some the lifts so the next month might be quite exciting. Its certainly the most regimented and organized my training has been for a long time and it's paying off.

Tue, Jan 7th
Sqt 290 X 5 X 5
Still keeping this constant until I can increase the I day a bit more. Got through most of these in relatively quick order - starting to prepare for the next set after 3 mins

Cleans 185 X 1 X 12 on the minute
plus 195 X 1 X 3 on 2 min intervals
These were the best yet. I'm finding the groove a lot better and more consistently making the final pull form the same place/position.

Abs
Hanging leg raises X 15 X 4
Plank +30lbs @ 30 secs X 2

[LimieJosh]

Well today was the day that the concern that had been in the back of my head became a reality. There is one fewer day in between the volume and intensity day on this programme than on the traditional 3 day programme, and I really needed that extra day today.

Thur, Feb 9th

OHP 172.5 X 3
Bombed. It wasnt just that I was unable to complete this set, but that I felt shakey and unstable overhead even on the 3 I completed.

Bench 257.5 X 5
This went fine. I suppose the incomplete recovery was cancelled out by the having done less work on the press before this attempt.

Given the lack of recovery I decided to give triceps a skip and just an extra 15 minutes of mobility work.


It seems I've increased my volume day too quickly, at least on the bench. Completing that previous workout was not particularly difficult, and without today's failure, I would think nothing of increasing weight again next time. I guess I just have to start rethinking the purpose of that volume day. Next monday I will microload from my previous weight on the press, maybe as little as 1lb and then retry 172.5 next thursday. The following week, when back to bench for volume day I'm thinking of dropping back to 237.5lbs, but maybe should reduce by 1 set as well.

[Briks42]

I agree that your volume days are too high on the bench. You are at 93% of ID. I have no reason to believe you wouldnt want the % to be in the same range as it is in the squat, which is discussed in that thread in the programming section. 85% seems to be a good number.

Also, as has been discussed a lot lately, 3x5 on volume day could be a consideration too. Then you could keep your % a little higher. I switched to 3x5 for my volume days for press and chins this week (I use these 2 movements each week and just do a couple sets of bench every Wednesday). I will let you know how it goes. To be fair though, I also do more than 1 set on intensity days, so the reduced monday volume was more necessary for me I think.

[LimieJosh]

It's certainly a consideration, but I think it's important to remember that on intensity day I bench after having already pressed. If I was to do it the other way around I think it's safe to say the number would be at least 5lbs heavier and so that warps the % calculation a bit. It's possible that even after taking that into account it's still too heavy to do for volume though.

[Briks42]

Good point, i hadn't taken the fact that you press first into consideration.

[LimieJosh]

Fri, Feb 10th

Sqt 335 X 5
The set finished strong, but the first felt so heavy I wasnt sure I was going to get it. This seems to be a common pattern on friday's squats. My warm up was
45 X some, 95X5, 135X5, 185X5, 225X5, 275X3, 315X1
I wonder if it wouldnt be worth doing that last single at the weight for the work set.

Deadlift 380 X 5
I might have lost extension on the last one. I'm going to go up to 285 next week and film it to see

Chins 57.5 X 5 X 3

Good mornings 45x10, 65X10, 85X10

[Tad_T]

Everyone seems to have a little different idea on what works best for warmups.

If it were me I would do it like:

45x10, 95x5, 135x5, 185x3, 225x2, 275x1, 315x1, 335x5.

For me, that is how I warm up to a heavy set and I feel that it is enough warm up while still saving energy for the all out set.

Getting the all out set is the purpose of Intensity Day, right?

Everyone has to find what they feel works best for them.

[LimieJosh]

Getting the all out set is the purpose of Intensity Day, right?

Yes. In retrospect I've always a bit of a volume warrior than wasnt great in translating that into maximal lifts. I think I just need to get used to heavier weight on my back.

Monday, Feb 13th
After the discussion on pushing the volume day too far I kept this session essentially constant from the one two weeks ago, only increasing the press weight by a total of 1lb, to see if a workout from which I fully recovered last time would enable me to make a 172.5lbs X 5 press this friday.

OHP 156 X 5 X 5
Rest limited to 3-4 mins, all without belt. Felt good, but the final rep was a grind.

DE Bench 180 X 3 X 8

Pull ups +5 X 12, 11, 8 (31 total reps= no improvement on this workout two weeks ago).

[LimieJosh]

Tue, Feb 14th

Sqts 285 X 5 X 5
Dropped back 5 lbs due to the discussion of Volume-Intensity differences, but will go back up to 290 if I make 340 on friday.

Cleans 187 X 1 X 12 on the minute
3 min rest then 195 X 1, 197 X 1 and 200 X 1

Abs

[LimieJosh]

Thurs, Feb 16th

Press 172.5 X 5
Made it this week so it was definitely a recovery issue from too much bench volume. I'm going to drop back down 5lbs to 235 for next monday, which is 90% of intensity day bench

Bench 260 X 4
I tried benching in the rack for the first time today because I find the hooks on the regular benches too low (they are nonadjustable). The set up was good in terms of setting the safety pins, but the J hooks were massive so for me to be far enough away from them that I could do finish the rep unobstructed I was too far away to unrack it properly int he first place so it defeated the purpose of even going in the rack. I thought I had the balance right by the final work set, but I cracked the hell out of the hook on the 4th rep and lost my position so gave up. I'm pretty sure I've got it next week.

Triceps 10 X 3 on last weight stack of the cable press downs (2 mins)

[LimieJosh]

Two additional points:

The last rep on the press was quite a struggle, but then I realised I hadnt fully got under the bar. This seems to be what happens when I fail a press so I must concentrate on doing that quicker.

This was the the first day I used my inzer belt. It didnt feel as tight as my cheapo Sports authority one, but I felt much more stable. It was difficult to find a spot for it though in between my hips and ribs so squatting tomorrow with it is going to be interesting.

[LimieJosh]

Fri, Feb 17th

Good day

Sqt 340 X 5
Felt great.
http://youtu.be/MznGKvLTaYs

Dead 385 X 5
After last weeks questions about back extension I recorded them this week
Warm up - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiolIHsqgdc
Work set - http://youtu.be/Dbvx7D31hyw

The lumbar region actually looks fine, and a hell of a lot better than it felt, but I'm unsure about whether the give in the thoracic is acceptable.

Good Mornings
65 X 10, 85 X 10, 10

Chins +60 X 5, 4 (and a half), 4

Abs
Hanging leg raises 15 X 4
Weighted crunch +25 X 15, 15, 12
Plank +25 @35 seconds.

[LimieJosh]

Fri, Feb 17th

Sqt 340 X 5
Felt great.
http://youtu.be/MznGKvLTaYs

This came on the back of a slightly reduced load for volume day this week - 285 down from 290 for the past couple of weeks. I'm going to go back up 290 next week (84% of next weeks intensity) and creep it up 1lb per week.

[strong_over_matter]

Nice work to get it!

I'm having the same issues now. My squat is stuck at 330lbs for 5 reps. I keep missing last rep (2 weeks in a row). I've been doing my volume day on Sunday when I have plenty of time and no stress and doing intensity on Thursday night after work. This past week I got 305x5x5 and felt like I recovered from it well for Thursday. I realize I don't have a big spread. Maybe I'll drop volume day back some and see if it helps. I have a hard time getting my head into lifting on Thursday night after a long day, so I think that is part of it.

When you were missing and decided to cut volume did you feel recovered or were you still sore etc.?

[LimieJosh]

I've only failed on the squat once and that was a result of subbing in DE style deads for cleans on volume day. I gave up that experiment after one try and have been progressing nicely every time since. Despite not finding the volume workout particularly challenging at 290 I dailed back the weight in response to the general conversation about the appropriate Volume-Intensity ratio. I am starting to realise I am far better at completing a volume session than I am recovering from it so I was just being extra careful to reign in myself. With that said, as well as I had been doing on intensity day up until now I definitely felt more recovered this morning. Whether that's the result of better acclimation to the volume workout or the result of the 5lb drop I dont know, but it's another reminder to balance carefully the need to drive adaptation with the need to be recovered enough to go heavy later in the week.

If I were you, even it it's only for a week for the sake of experimentation I would drop back on volume by 20-30lbs just to see if you can feel the difference in whether you are more recovered in time to go for 330.

[LimieJosh]

Mon, Deb 20th

Bench 237 X 5 X 5
My last volume bench session on Feb 2 wasnt difficult to complete, but I simply didnt recover from it. I scaled back 3lbs and concentrated on working through the sets quickly (around 3 mins a time)

DE Press 115 X 3 X 8

Pull ups - accumulated 40 in 4 sets (12, 10, 7, 6, the rest)
I havent been making progress on my high volume pull ups so decided to change it up a bit. My goal was simply to accumulate 40 reps in however many sets it took, without doing any more than 12/set and not pushing any set to failure. For progression I'm going to try and hit them all in 4 sets and then ramp up to 45 then 50, then add 5lbs and start again.

[LimieJosh]

Tue, Feb 21st

I have meetings all day so was forced back to my old morning routine and a 6am workout.

Sqt 290 X 5 X 5
These were great and got through them on a fairly strict 3min rest interval with relative ease.

Clean 189 X 12 on the minute
3 mins rest
195 X 1, 202 X 1, 203 X 1

Good session

[LimieJosh]

Thurs, Feb 24th

Press 175 X 4
Bench 260 X 5
Push Press 185 X 1 and 197 X 1
Triceps - Cable push downs 92.5 (second last weight on stack) X 10 X 4

It seems I do less well on this session the week I do volume bench.

[LimieJosh]

Fri Feb 25th

Sqt 345 X 5

Dead 390 X 4
Rip commented that in my set last week I was too far in front of the bar at set up with too horizontal a back angle, which produced a forward drift of the bar off the floor and contributed to the thoracic rounding. I think they were better this time, but bailed on the last rep
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rayR7PCOXe4

Singles
390 X 1
395 X 1
405 X 1

No additional back work because of the extra deads.

[LimieJosh]

Mon, Feb 27th

Hell week coming up so the first of many early morning starts

Press 157 X 5 X5
No belt, quick rest, no fuss. I recorded a couple of sets and it;s very clear that the only reps that were slightly difficult were the ones I wasnt getting under quickly enough. This is something that continues to be something to work on
Set 5 - http://youtu.be/KZOIEzwngXk

DE Bench 180 X 3 X 8
Slightly wider grip than normal and everything felt ok. Depending on how thursday goes I may bump this up in weight next week

Pull ups - goal to accumulate 40 reps in as few sets as possible without ever going to full fatigue
12, 10, 7, 7, 6 = 42 reps in 5 sets.

Long, full day of work to come followed by 5am volume squats tomorrow.

[LimieJosh]

Tue, Feb 28th

A difficult night and faulty alarm meant I wasnt out of bed early enough to train this morning, nor to get breakfast before heading into work for an important early meeting. I stuck it out at the office until noon before heading out to the gym to do my first lunch time fasted session in a while.

Sqt 292.5 X 5 X 5
Loosely belted (one hole looser than fridays) and short rest, this felt surprisingly easy

Clean 191 X 1 X 12 on the minute
197 X 1 @15 mins
202 X 1 @17 mins
205 X 1 @ 20 mins (PR I think)

Home by 2pm for a long awaited and much needed breakfast.

[LimieJosh]

Thurs, Mar 1st - Dydd Gwyl Dewi Sant

I made a thread in the training forum about season allergies. Long story short, they have been kicking my arse since tuesday I'm all hopped up on claritin and musinex,took too much of the former and am very foggy as a result. I contemplated putting off today's session, but I have enough problems to deal with next week than accommodating an altered schedule this week. I knew during warm ups I didnt have it today so maintained the planned weight but backed off on the effort a bit and changed it up a bit

Press - 175 X 3
Bench 262.5 X 4
OHP singles 175 X 1 X 5 on the minute

I think I'm going to repeat this week next week (volume presses instead of bench) and attack 175 X 5 again. If I dont get it next week I may think about changing up the programming...maybe 3s or 5 singles.

[Tad_T]

Looks as if you have had a rough week, Josh.

You appear to be making the best of a difficult situation. Rest up and take care of yourself and then come back and get it.

[LimieJosh]

Thanks for the encouragement, Tad

Fri, Feb 2nd
Sqt - 350 X 5
This was the first time since I've been squatting in an Inzer belt that the Intensity day felt really difficult, as in questioning whether I should even attempt the 5th rep. Hopefully this was as much a case of a difficult week as it was the weight per se.

Dead 390 X 3
I left everything in the squat rack and so I knew I didnt have a 5 in me so backed off to just a 3 rep set, all of which were good. It seems I've developed the habit of starting with my hips too high, which seems to happen as a result of addressing the bar to closely. I got a little further distance today, which allowed me to drop my hips a bit more, and more importantly to keep the bar on my legs all the way up.

I then did singles at 410 and 420

Chins - Switched from 5X3 to one set of 5 at +65lbs.
+one burn out set at BW of 11.

[LimieJosh]

I've had a good run on this template since the turn of the year, and it probably represents the most consistent I've been in years, possibly ever. However, I'm now contemplating two changes.

1) Press and Dead are providing more trouble that the other lifts. I might change these up to 3s and see how far I can take that.

2) Flip flopping my week so Intensity comes at the beginning of the week on Mon and Tue. With the present structure I have one fewer day between Volume and Intensity (mon to thur for presses and tue to fri for sqt) than on the traditional 3 day/week tenmplate. I think I've always been better at compelting a work out than I am at recovering from it, although historically that has possibly been a diet issue - not enough calories, too many carbs and not enough fat and protein. Doing Volume on Thursday/Friday and Intensity and Mon/Tue will provide that 3 day recovery window. At 33 years, recovery is even more challenging and so finding a way to provide that extra day recovery is appealing.

[LimieJosh]

Mon, Mar 5th

I've had a good run on this template since the turn of the year, and it probably represents the most consistent I've been in years, possibly ever. However, I'm now contemplating two changes.

1) Press and Dead are providing more trouble that the other lifts. I might change these up to 3s and see how far I can take that.

2) Flip flopping my week so Intensity comes at the beginning of the week on Mon and Tue.

I decided option number 2 was my immediate way forward. So today was supposed to represent another intensity day. I didnt think I would be fully recovered enough to go another 5rm PR so went in with the thought to just play today and tomorrow by ear until I get back to volume on thursday and friday.

Press - 175 X 3
Bench - 245 X 2 with a dead stop, 265 X 2 with a dead stop, 275 X 2 with a dead stop

I will probably do something similar with squats tomorrow. Maybe work up to a single at 375, my previous 1RM, and then some cleans before getting back on track on thursday.

[LimieJosh]

Tue, Mar 7

Sqt 335 X 2, 355 X 2, 375 X 1

Clean -
135, 155, 175 X 1 from the floor and a second from the hang
185, 195, 205, 210 X 1
The 210 was muscled up a bit so I did another with 185 to repeat the feel of a good pull and then tried 210 again - it was a lot better.


Back to normal schedule from Thursday

[LimieJosh]

Thur, Mar 8th

Press 157 X 5, 5, 4, 5, 4 (last two belted)

DE Bench 185 X 3 X 8

Pull ups - 12, 10, 9, 6, 6

Difficult day. I spent about 4 hours last night fucking around with my pool pump and that was draining work. That could have been why I struggled on today's presses, but it could simply be that I wasnt fully recovered from the two back to back intensity days. If i have sacrifice some quality on volume days in favour of extra recovery for intensity then that's a fair trade off, especially as on my previous schedule I was having to consciously reign myself in on volume days to prevent being fried come intensity.

[Tad_T]

Give yourself a week or two to adjust to switching around. You may have to tweak it a little more to get it right for you.

[LimieJosh]

Give yourself a week or two to adjust to switching around. You may have to tweak it a little more to get it right for you.
That's possible. My presses dont seem to be responding as well the the rest of the program so am contemplating doing something a bit different on intensity day for them, but I'm going to give this restructing of the week a few cycles first before I do anything.

Fri, Mar 9th
Sqt 290 X 5 X 5
Repeated last volume session's weight due to length of time since I last hit volume. Interestingly these were relatively easy, every rep flew up

Clean 193 X1 X 12 on the minute
Rest a few minutes
200 X1
204 X 1 (not a great rep)
205 X 1 - better

Cue for the day - knees out at the beginning of the first pull. My best reps were the ones where I concentrated on doing this before pulling.

[LimieJosh]

Mon, March 12th

First proper Monday intensity day
Press 175 X 4
Bench 262.5 X 4
Triceps Cable extensions 10 X 4 (2 mins)

Third miss at 175 press and 2nd on 262.5 for bench. The presses arent responding as well as the other half of this program (I'm dubious as to whether my 1RMs have even moved at all since Jan) and so thinking of making some bigger changes. My thoughts include:
- Stop prioritizing OHP over bench i.e. do bench before press every other week.
- Alternate OHP between a 3RM and 5 singles.

[LimieJosh]

Tue, Mar 13th

Sqt 355X 5
The first one was a real struggle through the middle portion of the ROM. It worried me, but the rest were no harder. I'm startingto understand how to grind out those tough reps.

Dead 395 X 3 and 430 X 1
I had a few troubles completing 390X5 so decided to switch up 3s. Today was the first day, and all reps felt good, although I'm still having a tendency to let the bar get away from me off the floor. I finally figured out a comfortable belt position for the dead and so used it for the first time today as well. That, and focusing on pushing my knees out seemed to help quite a lot given the ease the bar came up. From 385 X 5 and 390 X 4 (attempted 5), 395X 3 is quite easy so I did an extra heavier single. I think I'll do this for 2-3 more weeks until the 3s get heavy and challenging and then I'll drop the single and put all the energy into the main set.

Chins - BW +70 X 4.99.
I was left hanging for felt like 15 seconds trying to get the last fraction of the ROM, but it didnt quite happen.


All in all a good day as I also got a 1 time 4 figure bonus at work.

[ColoWayno]

Party at Limie's place.

[LimieJosh]

Absolutely. Show your Democratic National Party membership card for priority entry

[Tad_T]

Nice work! And congratulations on the bonus!

[LimieJosh]

Thur, Mar 16th

This was the first time I had done a bench volume session since Feb 20th, and it showed. I had a little return of the right pec/shoulder/biceps tendon issue, which I assume is from gradually widening my bench grip over the last few weeks. I really need to be careful with that and narrowed it back up today after the second set.

Bench 237 X 5 X 5

DE OHP 115 X 3X 8

Pull Ups 10, 10, 10, 7, 7 - total of 43 reps

[LimieJosh]

Fri, Mar 16th

Sqt 295 X 5 X 5
Very happy with these. 300 next week

Cleans 195 X 1 X 12 on the minute
3 mins rest
200 X 1
205 X 1
210 X 1

Some of these werent great. A couple during the first half I didnt feel like I was pulling with the ooomph I normally do, and so some had a low catch. It got better as the set went on though. Still, this is evidence that progress is slowing down so I'm going to slow down to 1lb a week progression.

[Tad_T]

How do you think your adjustments are working now that you have given it another week?

[LimieJosh]

I can certainly feel the difference the extra day of recovery makes between Volume and Intensity, although I'm not sure it's had any more than a psychological difference so far - my sqt wasnt slowing down anyway before the move, and the extra day didnt kick start my press. I've made some other changes*, and I think they will ultimately be just as important.

*Intensity Day Changes
1) No longer prioritizing the press and will now be alternating week to week between the bench and press
2) I am switching to 5 singles on the press. I will stay with 5s on the bench and see how far I can take those now they are being prioritized every other week

So, instead of every week doing:
Press 5RM
Bench 5RM

I will now be alternating between
Bench - 5RM
Press - 3s (starting with the weight with which I ended my run of 5s = 175)

and
Press - 5 singles (not sure the starting weight next week, maybe 177.5)
Bench - Pyramid up to a heavyish single, trying to keep volume approx similar to what I would have done with a 5RM (next week maybe, 240X2, 260X2, 280X1)

[LimieJosh]

Mon, Mar 19th

Bench 262.5 X 5
I wouldnt call them easy, but I think the relative ease compared to how they felt previously (after having already pressed), would suggest I;ve got a good few weeks of progress with 5s before I have to worry about it stopping.

Press 175 X 3
plus a Push press single of 200

Triceps extensions 10 X 4

[LimieJosh]

Tue, Mar 20th

Sqt 360 X 4
These were hard. I worked so hard to finish the 3rd and 4th reps I genuinely thought I'd shit myself in finishing them. I didnt, but the time it took me hanging about trying to figure it out, and the change in my focus, meant the 5th was a no go. It is possible they were also a but high. I am going to upload a video in a bit and would be interested in feedback.

Dead 405 X 3
440 X FAIL
435 X 1

The fail felt so much heavier than just 5lbs more than the 435. I got it on video and the little fall forward of the bar was there again. It seems I'm at my weakest off the floor, and allowing the bar to fall out in front of me even the tiniest bit seems to call a halt to any lift no mare than inches off the ground. The 435 was a lot tighter in that regard and it went up pretty easily in comparison.

Chins BW+70 X 4.

BW is up to 209 so the chinning stall makes a bit of sense.

[Tad_T]

Are you on your toes on your deads when the bar gets out in front of you?

[LimieJosh]

I dont think so. This is the failed 440, although I doubt it has enough to see anything.

http://youtu.be/7JwgRloNOdM


I think it's more an issue with being lazy with my lats. Rip had commented that he thought I was too far out in front of the bar and therefore had too horizontal a back. I thought I'd corrected that, but if not then that's obviously going to lead to that sort of forward movement off the bar that no amount of lat activation will address.

Sqts

http://youtu.be/gYp3Y5XGeDU

[LimieJosh]

Monday, March 26th

I had a flight to catch at 10am on thursday and was out of town all weekend. My plan was to get in early on thursday and combine my two volume workouts, but shit happened and it I couldnt get around to it. Intensity day today as scheduled.

Bench 265 X 4
I pussied out. The benches are unadjustable at my usual gym and so the bar is too low to unrack and stay as tight as needed when it gets heavy. My other gym, where I go to deadlift, has adjustable benches so I'm going to go down there next time I;m due to bench heavy in two weeks.

Press 177 X 3
Push press 202 X 1

Trcipes 10X4

[LimieJosh]

Tue, March 27th
Sqt 360 X 4
Second failure on this weight. It actually felt heavier this week.

Dead 410 X2
These were just dreadful. The same old problem of the bar falling forward from the floor was as pronounced as I've ever produced on the first rep and took everything I had to rectify it and finish the rep.

Chins +70 X 5
Achieved, finally, after 2 fails

Experiment with haltings @ 275
2 sets of 5 with 275. Focused on strong set up and maintaining contact all the way up my lower leg.


All in all a crappy day. I feel like I'm not really much further along (if at all with some lifts) with my intensity day than I should have been able to achieve based on my previous best weight for 3 sets across. Dead, bench and press have increased only a fraction and far less than you;d imagine than after 3 months of consistent work. The squat has gone up, but even that seems like it;s too early for a stall if the program was working. I'm going to do my volume sessions this week and try this workout again next week. I dont want to get thoughts of failing to much in my head, but maybe this thing needs to be reevaluated.

[Tom Narvaez]

In my experience, if things aren't flowing smoothly, and basic recovery isn't to blame, programming is to be adjusted. I haven't had a lot of success with just grinding and "trying harder".

[LimieJosh]

I dont think it;s a recovery thing. I havent gained very much weight, but 5lbs in 2 and half months, up to 210, is reasonable at this stage of my progression and it really hasnt felt like a recovery issue as I can only think of two times when I've felt off in warm ups, and I can pinpoint the reason why (too aggressive an increase in bench volume weight and an experiment with speed deads). The times I've failed I simply didnt feel strong enough, like I hadnt produced the necessary adaptation to keep getting better. I've never been great at translating a decent performance at submax weights into a good max i.e. most people increase the weight from their sets across to a top set of 5 more than I do, and the same with translating that 5RM into a 1RM. From that perspective I think there is something to be said to just nutting up, but in general I agree with you. The more difficult issue then becomes looking at what I've been doing at figuring out what to drop/change.

Sqt - I have dallied around a bit on volume day and now my attempt at 300lbs on thursday will be just 83% of today's intensity day. I hope that just getting volume day moving a little bit, which so far have all felt relatively easy, might help kick start some adaptation. I think if I drop Intensity day back to 355 next week, just to gain a bit of momentum, and see what happens.

Dead - It started well, but has turned into a mess. I'm at my worst off the floor so maybe giving haltings a run for a month or in lieu of deads would be good.

Bench - I was prioritizing press, so benching second on every intensity day, and I didnt really worry about how it was going. Under those circumstances I acheived an increase in weight around every 2 weeks and that seemed reasonable, especially at weights close to my previous 5RM. After the press stalled I thought simply switching their order and putting bench first would give me several weeks of improvements, but I only got one week out of it (5lbs heavier than my previous 5RM set in Sept). The bench I have available at my main gym is racked too low and so without a lift off i dont have the most stable of positions to start off with. I hope moving gyms for heavy bench, to one that has adjustable pins that I can set higher, will help, but the fact my press stalled at virtually no improvement beyond what I was previously capable indicates this entire portion of the program has produced little positive adaptation.

[Briks42]

Limie,
You may be one of the few intermediates here who can do a pretty true bulk and get away with it. I know you are up 5 pounds but your bodyfat is still probably quite low and you are pretty strong for your bodyweight already. At some point it becomes really hard to make progress without gaining weight if you are low bodyfat and a solid intermediate. I'd imagine if you gain another 15 pounds in the next 3-4 months you'd see some good gains without getting "fat" because of where you are starting from. I'm talking a cleanish bulk, not super clean but not donuts and soda. You are a very smart diet guy though so I'm sure you'd do it right.

What do you think?

[Tom Narvaez]

I don't have enough (any) practical experience with the Texas Method to give you advice that I trust to be the best. Maybe KSC can help?

[LimieJosh]

Thanks for chiming in, Bobby.

The long and short of it is that I’m not really willing to get any fatter to keep getting stronger. I set myself a goal of 1200, and I’m damn close to it now, probably within about 25lbs, and so in someways it’s a bit galling to get so close and not make it. I’ve had to get a little fluffier to creep up from 200 to 210, and if I could improve those final 25lbs at this level of fat I would keep going. However, I’m already the wrong side of ultimately where I am comfortable regarding my body comp, and so continuing to go the other direction to chase down a total that is arbitrary and ultimately not that important in the grand scheme isn’t a good fit for me. I know you mentioned a small, clean bulk, but what I have experienced is that eating to get over a stall does not give me the body comp changes I want. It tends to be a lot more in line with my goals to have the weight gain be the result of improvements in the weight room, rather than the other way around. I’m 33 now, damn near 34, and the weight goes on in increasingly ugly ways, and is a damn sight harder to get rid of as well. Last summer I saw a photo my friend posted on facebook and I just didn’t like what I saw. From the mid torso up I still looked ripped, but from the belly button down I looked like a pregnant girl who had just come back from the Chinese buffet. I was ok with that as a short term thing, as I accepted it was needed for to gain me the initial 20lbs needed to bring me from a constantly injured, weak 180 to a relatively healthy 200, but I’m far happier after the 6 months I took leaning out and creeping up my lifts more slowly (back when you were giving me support on my grayskull like press programming).

I think that moving forward from here the cost/benfit ratio of extra weight for weight’s sake isn’t worth it for me. That vanity thing is not very commonly admitted on here, but as a guy who lives shirtless and in board shorts 9 months of the year I have to be honest with myself. I decided to try and nail my next two volume sessions and see how next week's intensity sessions go. If it doesnt go well I'm thinking of changing gears to 5-3-1 for a few cycles as I get back a bit of conditioning and body comp ready for the summer (which has already arrived with us - pool party at my place on Sat).

p.s. you too, Tom.

[LimieJosh]

Thur, March 29th

Press 158 X 5 X 5
In reality, I only got 4 on the 4th set. I took a little longer and put on the belt for the 5th and it went up just fine.

I think the additional haltings I tried on tuesday fried me so called it a day without doing DE bench or pull ups.

[Briks42]

Yeah, I hear what you are saying. I train for the same reasons as you. I understand not wanting to put on the fat. Its just that at some point, you are pretty much going to stall out completely unless you gain NEW muscle. Once you have exhausted your muscular efficiency and your bodyfat is low enough that re-comp isn't an option, you aren't gonna get stronger unless you gain weight. Sounds like youre pretty much fine with that though, which is awesome. And I don't blame you. Like you said, you are already on the doorstep of a 1200 total at a very good bodyweight for that and have pretty low bodyfat. At this point, you can just keep training hard and be happy with small gains as they come. Thats definitely a great thing.

[Carlos Daniel]

Limie, you're 34 yet you seem to thing you graduated in high-school with Hurling. 34 isn't that old, c'mon. Give yourself some credit.

[LimieJosh]

Ha. Thanks, buddy.

[LimieJosh]

Friday, Mar 29th

Intended to do this first thing, but some work emergencies came up. I ended up not gettingto it until1pm, still "fasted" (30g of whey during warm up).

Sqt 300 X 5 x 5
First time volume session has felt difficult to complete. Normally I get better with each set, go through them at about 3 mins rest a set and feel really energized after my 5th set. These were hard. I noticed on videos of my recent sets of 355 and 360 that by the time I hit the hole the bar is 6" or so forward of where it starts off. Maybe it was psychological, but I felt that during these sets

Clean - 196 X 1 - reps done on the minute
Goal was 12, but only got through 6 before I had to take a little break. I restarted after 3 mins and did another 3 and called it quits.

I was exhausted and went home and ate about 200Kcal.

[LimieJosh]

Mon, Apr 2nd

Press - switched to 5 singles
185 X 1 X 5

Bench
245 X 2
265 X 2
280 X 1 (quite easy - maybe an 8/10 on an effort scale)

[LimieJosh]

Well, made the decision to switch to 5-3-1 for a few months, and started yesterday with sqt. I havent really given the sequencing of the days much thought, but given I did a press based workout on monday thought I'd go
Mon - Press
Tue - Sqt
Thur - bench
Fri - Dead

Tue, Apr 3rd
Sqt - based of an estimated 415 1RM and so workloads calculated from 90%=373.5

345 X 5
380 X 5
315 X 7

Assistance
Sqt 210 X 10 X 3

To be conservative I rounded down my loads where appropriate for this first cycle. I also decided to start with only 3 sets of assitance and will build up to the full BBB template over a couple of weeks. What I did was not hard, but I was panting by the time it was over.

[LimieJosh]

Thur, April 5th
Bench - based off 315 1RM and workloads calculated from 90%=283.5

185X5
215X5
240X8

BBB Assistance (exercises done in supersets, around 2-3 mins between sets of bench)
Bench 160 X 10 X 3
DB rows 75 X 10 X 3

I started slowly again for my first push day on 531, but these supersets absolutely exploded my triceps.

[LimieJosh]

Having given this some thought, I think I'm going to reorder the days.

Mon - Sqt and conditioning
Tue - Press and abs
Wed - light recovery walk
Thur - Dead and conditioning
Fri - Bench and abs

If I wanted to do conditioning only on lower body days, and also not do any additional ab work the day before a lower body day, the work would have been very inequitably split up throughout the week with the schedule suggested in post 67 and been heavily reliant on Tue and Thur. I think this way splits the work up in a more reasonable way and makes it easier to fit in some effective conditioning.

[LimieJosh]

Fri, Apr 6th

Today is deads, and I've decided not to go full 5-3-1 for these as the problems I have dont become apparent until the weight gets heavier than it would have for the entire first cycle. Instead I decided to deload and do 5 singles building up each week, with BBB accessory work

Deads 395 X 5 singles

Haltings
135 X 10
185 X 10
225 X 10, 10

35lbs DB swings tabata style (only for 5 cycles)
7 min walk to catch breath
C2 rower tabata (for 4 cycles)
7 min walk
Abs

[LimieJosh]

Mon, Apr 9th
Sqt
260 X 3
300 X 3
330 X 4

Assistance
Cleans 195 X 1 X 8 on the minute
Work up to 12 singles

Sqt 210 X 10 X 4
Add 5th set next week.

Slowish 10 min walk up incline.

Belt - I'm trying to limit my use of it. Currently I'm only using for the last set on 5-3-1 and didnt use it all on the BBB assistance sets.

[LimieJosh]

Tue, April 10th

Press 186.5 X 5 singles
These were difficult given the state of my lower back after yesterday's squats. It would probably go better if I did press on monday and squats on tuesday, but I'm willing to make this trade off in the short term to aid in conditioning.

BBB Assistance -supersets with 3 mins between set of presses
Press 95lbs X 10 X 4
Pull ups X 10, 10, 7, 6

The presses were stupidly easily, until the final set where by the biceps pump was so big that my biceps were on fire in the bottom position.

[LimieJosh]

Thur, Apr 12th

Dead 400 X 5 singles

Haltings 225 X 10 X 3
I dont think I'll ever need to get up to 5 sets for these. This programme feels a lot harder on my low back than others and so, at least for a couple of cycle, I need to be judicious with the volume of assistance.

Only did light conditioning as I was feeling a bit tired.

[LimieJosh]

Fri, Apr 13th

Bench
200X3, 225X3, 255X5

BBB Supersets 2-3 mins between sets of bench
Bench 160 X 10 X 4
DB row 80 X 10 X 4
As silly as it sounds, the hardest bit about these is the work my supporting arm does on the sets of rows. My triceps of the "non-working" arm are more sore than anything on the working side afterwards, and that pump carries over onto the bench sets.

[LimieJosh]

Mon, Apr 16th

Sqt 280 X 5, 315 X 3, 355 X 1

Cleans 195 X 10 singles, each on the minute
I felt I had been too horizontal and with shoulders too far forward so concentrated on getting back a bit more on my heels. It produced some inconsistent pulling mechanics and caused me to hit my knee a few times, but the ones that went up properly felt good

Sqt 210 X 10 X 5


This is the end of the first cycle, and either I'm desperately underrecovered or I started too heavy. I used this site to develop the template
http://www.strstd.com/

5 reps at 360 was my last successful Intensity day which translated to a 415-420 max. I used 415 and took 90% of that to calculate my training loads, and it seems I am doing far worse on my AMRAP final sets than is typical on the first cycle. On the squat I got 7 the first week, 4 last week and just the one this week. I've had similar sort of results with the bench (the only other lift I'm running 5-3-1 style). Food for thought.

[LimieJosh]

Tue, Apr 17th

Press 188 X 5 singles

BBB Assistance
Press 100 X 10 X 5
Pull Ups X 10, 10, 7, 7, 6
First 3 sets of pull ups I did as part of a superset with the presses. I didn't do thm after the 4th set of presses, instead I rested 2 mins, did my last set of presses then finished with the last two sets of pull ups.

Abs

[LimieJosh]

Thur.Apr 17th

Dead 405 X 5 singles.
All shoeless and with belt. I think the belt makes a difference. These were a lot better than last week, despite still feelin quite sore from monday's workout. There still might be some bar path issues int he first couple of inches off the floor, but they are not as obvious to see as they have been. I have been trying to sit back on my heels a bit more as I realised I realised my position was putting me with my shoulders too far in front of the bar.

Haltings 225 X 10 X 3 (1.5-2 mins rest)

[LimieJosh]

Fri.Apr 19th

Last day of the first cycle,ignoring the deload week.

Bench
215 X 5
240 X 3
270 X 3

BBB Assistance
Bench 160 X 10 X 5 (only eight on last set)
DB row 85 X 10 X 5
First 3 sets done as superset (2-3 mins between sets of bench), but last two sets of rows done after bench finished.

Abs

[LimieJosh]

As mentioned above, I suspect I might have started too heavy. My understanding is that on the first cycle you should be able to get about 10 reps on the AMRAP set the first week and about 5 reps the third week. For squat I managed 7 and 1 reps respectively and for bench I got 8 and 3.

I used the strength standards site (http://www.strstd.com/) to calculate my 1RMs, training maxes and subsequent training loads. For 5RMs for the squat and bench of 360 and 265 it calculated
1RM - 419 and 315
Top set week 1 320 and 240
Top set week 3 360 and 270

Maybe I should have just tried harder, maybe I was just unaccustomed to pushing for rep maxes, but I saw the spread sheet Trei posted in the 5-3-1: still use 90% of my one rep max or use my "actual" max? (http://www.mediafire.com/531spreadsheet) thread and based off those calculations I'm leaning to having started too heavy. That sheet predicted 1RMs at 405 and 298, resulting in a drop of 10lbs on the top set the first week and 15lbs the third week - loads that I know without questions I would be able to hit for 10 and 5 reps respectively.

I have two weeks of interrupted training ahead of me. I have a wedding back int he UK next saturday, but leave on tuesday and return the following wednesday, with no opportunity to train in between. The question toying around with is what to do when I get back. With that time off I know I shouldn't increase in weight onto cycle two, but I'm wondering if I should just start cycle 1 all over again at those lower weights or repeat the cycle I just completed and push on from there.

[DV]

FWIW my max sets for the 5 week has been:

Press: 9
Deads: 7
Bench: 9
Squat: To be seen

This is with 1-2 reps in the tank, as recommended by Wendler. If you are only hitting your supposed reps (5/3/1) on your first week, I'd drop the training max a bit and work up. If you are getting a few reps over, then I might just re-do the week. If in doubt, start lighter. At least that's what it says in the book.

I find that some spreadsheets give different results as well, so I actually ended up calculating it myself from the percentages in the book. That way there is no mistakes. I used the same calc as you linked, and it seems to be accurate, though. (the strstd one).

EDIT: I also considered easing into the assistance work, as you seem to be doing, but decided against it. I think quite a bit of the adaptive stress comes from those assistance sets. So it might be worth considering doing it to the letter.

[LimieJosh]

Thanks for the perspective. 7 reps on squat and 8 on bench on the first week isn't that bad then, especially as I really didnt want to push the sets too much. I think I might repeat the cycle, with 5lbs dropped off the squat and juts push those AMRAP sets a bit more.

As for the assistance, the fifth set I added to squats this week kicked my arsed in terms of the residual soreness. When I get back I might jump into the volume a bit quicker but drop the weight by 10lbs or so for the first cycle.

[DV]

I have had DOMS in a whole new way from the assistance stuff. But then I haven't really done a true split for about 10 years. That might apply to you, too, and be why you are taking a bit in adjusting.

In any case low-balling isn't too much of a problem because you can - as you mentioned yourself - make up for it with more reps. And if you are thinking long-term (Wendler mentions that you should expect a minimum of 5-7 consecutive cycles), then taking 10 or even 20 lbs off really isn't that much, if it will allow you to sustain the long-term progress.

[LimieJosh]

My low back has certainly been lagging behind since I got back into squatting and pulling. If had any doubt about that before hand, where the doms has hit me with this extra squatting volume has certainly done away with it. I felt surprisingly sprightly today though after deadlifts and haltings yesterday...just in time for a two week break.

[LimieJosh]

Heading back to Europe today so two weeks of interrupted training to come. The plan was to have two place holder sessions this week and then once "getting back into the swing of things" session when I get back a week on friday. I will then redo cycle 1 starting the following monday. Anyway, damn I'm poor at higher rep stuff.

Mon, Apr 23rd - repeat 5-3-1 weghts from first week fo first cycle[/]

Squat 245 X 5, 280 X 5, 320 X 6 (same as last time)

Clean - 195 X 1 X 3, 200 X 1 X 3, 205 X 1 X 3

Squat - 200 X 10 X 4


[u]Tue, Apr 24
Press 189.5 X 5 singles 2-3 mins
Some were hard, but I'm definitely getting under the bar quicker and making reps I probably would have failed in the past as a result

BBB assistance
Bench 155 X 10 X 5 (1-2 mins rest)
DB 80 X 10 X 4 (1 min rest)

[LimieJosh]

Thur, May 3rd.

Got back from Europe last night and just did a getting back into the swing of things session today.

Sqt: 245 X 5, 280 X 5, 315 X 5
Press: 135 X 5, 145 X 5, 160 X 5
Dead: 225 X 1, 315 X 1, 365 X 3 quick singles
Bench: 185 X 5, 225 X 5, 245 X 3 (hit the hook on the 3rd and lost balance so ended it there)
DB row: 125 X 12 each arm (strapped).

Back to the regular on monday.

[DV]

That's some decent lifts for "getting back into the swing of things". I predict considerable DOMS :)

[LimieJosh]

Ha it wasnt that bad. I actually felt a lot better afterwards than I did before. At my size I find travelling to be physically difficult. Maybe surprisingly it gets me a lot across my shoulders and upper back, I think the consequence of being stuffed into a chair and having my shoulders hunched forwards for the best part of the day. My missus hates flying and hangs on like a Koala at the best of times and so her invasion of my space makes it a bit worse as well.


Mon, May 7th
I am going to repeat my previous cycle with a few tweaks. I'm going to drop a tad on the top sets for the squat and bench (only ones I'm doing on 5-3-1), and add in some heavy singles. I am also going to adjust my assistance so that I'm doing pressing assistance on bench day etc.

Sqt 245 X 5, 280 X 5, 315 X 8 and for a bonus 355 X 1
These felt good. I have been doing high bar since last summer, but I think I've found a groove doing some sort of inbetween high/low. Today I defintely had a more acute back angle, which helped me focus on looking down and it felt a lot stronger.

Cleans
195 X 1 X 5 on the min (3 min break)
196 X 1 X 5 on the min (3 min break)
200 X 1 and 205 X 1

Squats 200 X 10 X 3 (5 sets next week)

[DV]

My missus hates flying and hangs on like a Koala at the best of times and so her invasion of my space makes it a bit worse as well.

I have a bit of the same, also the quoted part. I find it worse for my lower body, though. That's some decent squatting there, 8 is decent for the first week back on 5+ week too.

[LimieJosh]

8 feels a whole lot better than only managing 7

Tue, May 8th
Press 189 X 1 X 4
This actually went rep, fail, rep, rep, rep, fail. I dropped 1/2lb from two weeks ago, and so a little disappointed but I was a bit sore from yesterday's squat session so maybe not all that unexpected. It actually validated my point to Andy on his programming board that I failed my second rep because of a form issue and still managed to get in a worthwhile session.

Bench 155 X 10 X 5 (1-2 mins rest)
only actually 8 on last set

DB Row 80 X 10 X 4 (1 min rest between left arm sets)

Abs

[LimieJosh]

Thur, May 10th

Dead 405 X 5 singles
Due to the time off I repeated last dead lift session's weight. It went well, although grip was surprisingly challenged. It should have been easy enough on my grip so I didnt bother chalking up, so maybe that's it, or maybe residual fatigue from tuesday's assistance. I'll just add chalk next time and if it's still on the edge I'll go to using straps for the DB rows

Haltings 225X 10 X 3

Played around a bit with low bar squat. It still makes my shoulders and elbow scream, but when matched for weight it felt a lot lighter/easy than high bar.

[LimieJosh]

Fri, May 12th

Bench 185 X 5, 215 X 5, 235 X 8, plus 275 X1*
As with squats, that's a 5lb decrease on the top set, but still only 8 reps. Oh well, I'm not that fussed as I think 8 for the top set is a decent start, and I think it's on week 2 and 3 where the 5lb reduction will show decent benefit.

Assistance
Press X 10 X 10, 10*, 10, 8, 10*
Tried to limit myself to 1.5 mins rest and only got 8 on the 4th set. I rested a full 3 mins before the final set and only got the ten reps due to a DC style pause and repeat after 8 reps.

Pull ups X 10, 10, 10, 7, 6
I spread the first 3 sets of these throughout the assistance work as indicated by the * I then did the last 2 sets on 3 mins rest.

DB lateral raise 20lbs X 10 X 3 on 30 seconds rest

Abs

[LimieJosh]

Mon, May 14th

Sqt 260 X 3, 300 X 3, 330 X 5
I was at the beach all weekend and my shoulders were a bit sore from the sun so this was hard work. No heavy single attempted this week.

Clean
197 X 1 X 5 on the min (3 mins break)
200 X 1 X 5 on the min (3 mins break)
205 X 1 X 3 on the min (3 mins break)
212 X 1

Sqt 200 X 10 X 5

[DV]

5 reps in "3" week is plenty good. You do the BBB squat AFTER the cleans? Sounds rather unpleasant.

[LimieJosh]

The BB squats are unpleasant regardless, but they are a lot less affected by the cleans than the cleans would be from doing them first.

Tue, May 15th

Press 189 X 1 X 5
I failed the second rep. I gotthe hip kcik all wrong and the bar ended up out in front of me and so I didnt even really get it past my chin. I just dusted myself down and went again; the subsequent reps all went well. So that is 5 successful lifts from 6 attempts and good enough to move to 190 next week. This is why I do singles instead of a single heavy set.

Bench 155 X 10 X 5 (1-2 mins)
First time I got all reps

DB Row 80 X 10 X 5 (1 min rest)
Last two sets were done with straps because my grip was still a bit sore for deads last week
Last done completed with a rest/pause approach.

Abs

[DV]

The BB squats are unpleasant regardless, but they are a lot less affected by the cleans than the cleans would be from doing them first.

Ah, of course. That's a decent press, too. Almost BW?

[LimieJosh]

I wish. BW has crept up around 206-210. I switched to 5-3-1 in part to facilitate dropping a bit of the fluff I put on during TM and so hopefully the two values will come together in the low 200s in a month or two.

Thur, May 18th
Dead 410 X 5 singles
My low back really fatigued through the warm ups and the first rep was really hard and slow off the floor. Subsequent reps were easier.

Haltings - 225 X 10 X 3

[LimieJosh]

Fri, May 18th

Bench 200 X 3, 225 X 3, 250X 5, plus a bonus single at 275*
Again, a 5lb decrease on the top set. I expected more. I ended my last run on LP at christmas with sets across at 260 so I think I may have actually gone backwards over the past 4 months on TM

Press assistance 95 X 10, 10*, 10, 9, 10* (1.5 mins up to a full 3 mins before the final set)

Pull ups 10, 10, 10, 8, 8 (spread throughout the session indicated by *)

DB incline press 50 X 10, 10, 12 (1 min rest)

Abs

Biceps (BB) 95 X 15
The goal was to do one all out high rep set using rest/pause to get up to 12-15 reps, but I got all these in one go.

[LimieJosh]

Mon,May 21st

Sqt 280 X 5, 315 X 5, 350 X 2
Not good enough. Somewhere around the middle of march I hit 355 or 360 for 5. I did my intensity days on a different gym (where I deadlift) and I suppose it is possible the bar there is not as heavy as at this gym, but the more likely thing is that my squat has gone down. I havent lost weight yet, my conditioning hasnt been excessive, but these 2 cycles of 5-3-1 have left me not squatting somehting that felt heavy for near months, which I think is the bigger problem. I guess I just have to accept where it is now and build up on 5-3-1

Clean 200 X 1 X 5, 205 X 1 X 5, 207 X 1, 209 X 1 X 2
All clusters were done on the minute with 3 min rest between clusters

Sqt - singles 225, 315, 355, 365
Accessory 200 X 10 X 3

[LimieJosh]

Tue, May 22nd

Tough day

Press 190 X 1, 1, F, 1, F, F
The plan was for 5 singles, but that didnt happen. There were no obvious flaws in the final 2 fails; i just simply couldnt get them to the point where I could lock them out. I was frustrated so immediately after the final fail I dropped 5lbs and did a beltless push press. I waited a couple of minutes more and then did a belted double

Bench 155X 10 X 5
DB row - cancelled due to left biceps soreness. In the past when this has flared up I have found BB rows to be less problematic so tried those out
BB Row 135 X 10 X 4 (on the minute)

Lateral raise 20 X 10 X 2

Push press 185 X 1, and 185 X 2

[LimieJosh]

Thur, May 24th

Dead 415 X 1 X 5

Haltings 225 X 10, 6, 1
In the second set a i felt a slight pinch in my right hammy during the last few inches of the eccentric. I stopped after 2-3 reps of this and rolled it out prior to the third set. The feeling was still there with the first rep so I just stopped them before anything happened. To make up for that I did some RDLs

RDL 135 X 10, 185 X 10, 205 X 10

Sqt technique work - 135 X 5, 185 x 5, 235 X 5, 275 X 3
Now I'm only squatting once a week it feels less natural and I have to really work to find the groove when I do it. I thought working up to a moderate weight might help ingrain the movement a bit, and they felt good.

[LimieJosh]

Fri, May 25th

Bench 215 X 5, 240 X 3, 260 X 5 and a bonus 280 X 1* (not difficult)
I screwed up, it should have been 265 for the top set. Still, not a bad place to be

Pull ups X 10, 10, 10, 6, 7 (location indicated by *)
I ran through these a bit quicker than last week, and my god did I hit a wall on the 4th set

Press 95 X 10, 10*, 10, 10*, 10 (1.5 mins rest, but a full 3 before the last set)

Incline DB press 55 X 10 X 3 (1.5 mins rest)
Abs
BB biceps 100lbs X 15
didnt require rest/pause

I saw my buddy, Big Paul, warming up as I was getting ready to leave. He recently got his IFPA pro card (natural body building). Last time I saw him he was up around 240 and today he was around 215, and his deadlift is still going up weekly. That's inspirational.

[LimieJosh]

Tue, May 29th

Off schedule due to Memorial Day. I contemplated trying to do a mixture Mon/Tue session, but that didnt go very well so will just go T, W, Fr, Sat this week.

Sqt 245 X 5, 285 X 5, 320 X 8
Happy

Press - aborted effort at 190 X 1 X 5. I warmed up during the sqt sets and got the first rep out prior to the 320 set, but it was very hard. The second rep didnt even come close so I gave up and just decided to do a regular first day of the week session.

Clean 205 X 1 X 9
5 singles clustered together on the minute, followed by a 3 min break and a second cluster. They felt really heavy throughout, sometimes through the upper body and grip and ended up failing on the 10th rep.

Sqt 205 X 10 X 4
5lb increase in the BBB accessory and started off with 4 sets.

[LimieJosh]

The press failure has me questioning the success of the singles in this program. It feels like I'm just pushing closer to my max week by week without actually getting stronger. I have mapped out what i would need to do for OHP on 5-3-1 and might revert to that tomorrow, maybe with a heavyish single thrown in. Possible game time decision.

[LimieJosh]

Wed, May 30th

I made the decision to switch to 5-3-1. The heavy singles was a fund experiment and I do think that I am technically better with heavy reps, but I was moving towards burn out. I'm going to throw in some heavyish singles after the 5-3-1 work sets to keep myself honest on the form.

Press - 115 X 5, 135 X5, 150 X 9
Some perspective that doesnt make great reading. Almost exactly a year to the day I was at 150 when trying the GSLP and got 8 reps. The following week I got 9 on 152.5.

BBB assistance
Incline DB 60 X 10 X 4
BB row 135 X 10 X 4

I changed up the assistance a bit. It's been a long time since I did any incline pressing so switched out flat bench. The left biceps is still aggravated by the DB row so switched to the BB, but will play this one by ear and go back to DBs once they are pain free.

Abs

[LimieJosh]

Fri, Jun 1st

Dead 420 X 5 singles
After my form problems of a few months ago I'm feeling better and better with these each week. I think it's in large part doing the singles, but I also think ditching the do wins and going shoeless has helped a lot*.

Haltings - for this cycle I decided to switch to ramped sets of 8
185 X 8, 205 X 8, 225 X 8, 245 X 8, 265 X 8.
I rushed through the first 4 sets with just a minute's rest and then rested a bit more for the final effort. That last set was the first time i've ever felt it "work". The 3 sets across with short rest was very tiring and fried my low back, but this was the first time I really had to fight to keep form and understood Rip calling it a lat exercise in the platform video.

Sqt technique work - 135 X 5, 225 X5,275 X 2, 315 X 2


*That comment about my form being thrown off by my heeled shoes was reinforced today when I was forced to do the last rep with my shoes on after a run in with the gym people. I deadlift in a back corner of the gym away from everyone and was sitting on the floor just killing time when I was approached by two guys, who combined probably didnt total my body weight, and asked to put on my shoes. I explained that I only take them off to perform the lift and put them back on if I'm going to walk around the gym floor (get more weights, drinking fountain etc), but they said that wasnt the point. If the weight fell on my feet while I was working I need to be wearing my shoes. I tried to argue that 1) it's nigh on impossible to drop the weight on my foot when performing a BB deadlift, and 2) a pair of canvas running shoes would do absolutely fuck all to protect me from 420lbs landing on my shoe covered foot in that concentrated surface area. They neither listened nor cared and so the last rep had to be performed in the do wins; it was that or my squishy running shoes. The rep sucked and all my problems with too horizontal a back angle, shoulders too far forward and the bar shooting forward half way up my shins came back a vengeance. I've never seen either of these guys before so I might just try and get away with it again next week and hope no one sees me, but I will bring a pair of chucks just in case.

[Briks42]

Good work on the singles. 5 with 420 is impressive. Sucks about those dudes at the gym though. How do dopes like that get put in charge of running gyms?

[LimieJosh]

I know there are rules and these guys dont necessarily write them, and I hate being that guy who complains, but it was the way he addressed me that angered me. Had he have acknowledged that in this instance the shoes would do nothing to protect me, that it was an issue above his pay grade etc then it wouldnt have been as bad, but he acted like I was the retard doing something stupid and he was doing me a favour by saving me from myself. Every time I find a way to work around the ridiculousness of the globogym and become comfortable with my approach they get in my way again by doing something stupid.

[LimieJosh]

Sat, Jun 2nd

Bench 180 X 5*, 210 X 5, 240 X 8* (last one was a struggle)
Heavy single @ 285. This was probably 9 on a 10 scale. I also got a wicked cramp in my left hip flexor right as it took the bar.

Pull Ups (location of sets indicated by *) X 10, 10, 10, 9, 9

Press - 100 X 10*, 10, 10*, 9, 10*
Rest started at a flat 2 mins, and went up to 3 mins for last set.

DB bench - aborted effort. I just couldnt find a comfortable path for my problematic right shoulder.
DB incline - 55 X 10 X 2
Lighter than on press day, but a lot lot harder because of press accessory.

Abs

BB biceps curl - 105 X 15. Had to rest a big inbetween some of the later reps, but still as extensive as would be required for me to call it a rest/pause protocol. I should be able to go up another 5-10lbs before having to using R/P to complete the set.

All in all, a good training week.

[LimieJosh]

Mon, June 4th

Tough day. I started tired, warm ups felt heavy.

Sqt 265 X 3, 305 X 3, 340 X 5
Single at 375
I rested a good 5 minutes before the AMRAP set and really gave it my all. The way I was feeling I was not sure I;d even get the prescribed 3 reps so was happy to have got 5 although I'm sure I had 6 or 7 in me

Clean
195 X 2 X 2
195 X 6 singles
Even these felt really heavy with warm up weights. The bar felt so heavy I felt I didnt have the grip strength to hold on to it as I accelerated through the second pull. I decided to go with a lower weight and try doubles, but the second of the set was crappy so went back to singles and even struggled with those. Gave up after ten reps

Squat 205 X 10 X 5 (12 in last set)
This was more a mental thing of proving to myself I could get through all the sets given how crappy I felt.


I'm not sure why today was so crappy. I felt dizzy upon getting out of bed and couldnt really shake it all morning. My grip felt so destroyed that I struggled to hold on to warm up weights with the clean. This specific issue might be an affect of doing deads on friday and grip having one day less to recover, but that wouldnt explain the general malaise. I'm actually up a lbs or two from last week in BW so no issue of weight loss. Oh well, time to go home and gorge and just try and do my best tomorrow.

[LimieJosh]

Tue, June 5th

Press 125 X 3, 145 X 3, 160 X 7
Extra single at 187
The 160 felt good. I have a tendency to allow my grip to get too narrow, and only tend to notice it after going a bit wider and finding the sweet spot. The 7 on the top set were relatively easy, but an 8th would have been a real fight so I stopped short of trying it. I'm feeling a little banged up from whatever was bugging me yesterday and so played it safe.

BBB accessory
DB incline 60 X 10 X 5
Superset with DB rows @ 85 X 10 X 4 (2 sets strapped) w/2mins rest total.

Left biceps finally felt good enough to handle the DB row.

I've had a wicked tight left calf almost immediately since getting home from the gym yesterday and felt it a couple of times on the DB rows. My hips are a bit tender as well so I gave direct work a pass today.

[LimieJosh]

Thur, June 7th

Well, I;ve felt like I was hit by a truck since Tuesday. My hips have been sore to even stand for a long period of time. This morning I had to drop the lady off at work and so went to my usual gym on the way back for some dedicated mobility drills. After a ten minute walk I spent an hour in total with special emphasis on my glutes (very sore), low and mid back and hip flexors. I managed to find a particularly bad spot in my right illiopsoas (basically from where all my issues stem) with a softball. I felt like a million bucks by the time I was done and got in my car and headed to the deadlift gym

Deads 425 X 5 singles
Given the way I felt all week I'm very very happy to have got through these. There is noticeable decrease in the speed of the lift as I accumulate the reps and so took a decent break before the last one. All in all, good work though

Haltings 185 X 8, 225 X 8, 245 X 8 and 265 X 8
Same as last week, but left out the second set at 205 as it felt like a waste doing so much work that light.

Sqt technique work
135 X 5, 225 X 5, 275 X 3, 325 X 2
With my low back being fried from the previous pulls these are hard, but that localized fatigue also helps focus on what I need to keep tight when doing some moderately heavy work. I like this and my form has felt better and more natural on squat day since adding these to this day.

[LimieJosh]

Fri, June 8th

Bench 195 X 3*,225X 3, 250 X 7*
Plus a single at 290

Pull ups X 10, 10, 10, 10, 8
I'm pretty sure that this is the first time I've managed to 4 full sets of ten reps in a row since I;ve been >200lbs. Maybe i've found optimal spacing of them throughout the workout, but I think it's the additional arm work I've been doing. Previously I would be reppping out fine and then just hit a wall when it feels like someone exploded a stick of TNT in my biceps. The last two weeks that hasnt happened.

Press 100 X 10*, 10, 10*, 10, 9*

DB incline press 55 X 10, 10, 9 (60-90 secs rest)

Ten minute walk for some recovery (by christ my chest and shoulders were screaming)

Abs

BB biceps curls 110 X 15

[LimieJosh]

Well, today marks the start of the Euros. With games on at noon and 14:45 virtually every day for the next month i'm going to have to get creative to fit in work around my training and tv watching schedule.

[DV]

Well, today marks the start of the Euros. With games on at noon and 14:45 virtually every day for the next month i'm going to have to get creative to fit in work around my training and tv watching schedule.

I have the exact same problem. Any team you are following in particular?

You are looking strong by the way. I think the new approach to pressing will help. You might consider it for deads as well, once they start stalling out.

[LimieJosh]

I have the exact same problem. Any team you are following in particular?

Being part Welsh and part English, England are the obvious choice, but I have really come dislike this group of players over the last 6 years or so and really struggle to care about them winning so I think I'm just more interested in seeing some good games, mostly seeing what happens in Group B. I've got the boys coming over tomorrow to watch the Holland-Denmark game (repeat of 92?) and Germany Portugal games at my pool.



You are looking strong by the way. I think the new approach to pressing will help. You might consider it for deads as well, once they start stalling out.

Thanks. That's the plan, or at least something like it. I think I've got several weeks worth of progress left with this approach before I slow down, but when I do I'd be interested to see where my 5RM is. Without checking I think I stopped with that approach on TM at around 400lbs. And so I might go back to that and try weekly linear progression on 5s with some BBB assistance work. Or something like that. One thing in my favour is I'm getting used to using my belt to pull. I was never comfortable with it before, but have been forced to get used to it by doing these singles.

[DV]

I follow English football a lot (Spurs fan), but I'd agree that the team this year is unappealing. There's the whole Terry deal and then Roy Hodgson doesn't exactly play exciting football. That said I could actually see England get pretty far, compared to the last couple of tournaments. It would be hard to repeat '92 (penalty shoot-out), but a point against Holland might be possible. I'm not too optimistic about our chances, though. We don't have goalscorers. But a lucky point against Holland, a(nother) win over Portugal, and we might just squeeze through. But it's not too likely.

Regarding deads I find the belt to be a nuisance as well, especially the more reps you do. Makes it even more impossible to breathe than it already is. So just be warned that it won't be too fun.

[LimieJosh]

Part of being English is to wildly overrate your team, watch them fail to meet your ridiculous expectations in the summer tournament (if we've even qualified) and then castigate the players as being shit and unworthy of the shirt before seeing 3-4 new faces come to reinvigorate the hope and the cycle repeating. The Sven era ruined it for me though. We had a couple of decent performances in 02 and 04, but it was clear certain combinations did not work yet he simply kept going with them. Then the lack of English players in the premier league meant there weren't really many players we could convince ourselves were better and whose selection would see us as tournament favourites. All the managers who have come since Sven left have continued in that vein and it's just to go into another tournament with a group of players who you know full well will do well to make it out of their mediocre group.

[DV]

it was clear certain combinations did not work

Well at least Lampard is out now, which rules out yet another try at the Lampard-Gerrard axis they have been trying to get to work for literally a decade. I'm not sure I agree about the foreign talent being a problem. It's an old debate, but I'm on the side of it actually improving the standard of the league, thus being an advantage for the English elite players playing in it. Even with all the oil millions and huge stars at City, Hart still developed there and is probably the best keeper since Seaman (and will surpass him, I think). Welbeck at United is also going to be a gem, and there are a few more like them (Cleverly but for his injury, same with Wilshere etc.).

The overrating thing is true, though. I still remember 1996, with the "Three Lions on the shirt"-song and all. I think that this year, if anything people are underrating them. I see them going to the quarters, maybe further this year. It probably wont be too pretty, though.

[LimieJosh]

Mon, June, 11th

Sqt 285 X 5, 320 X 3, 360 X 3+1
I reracked the bar after the 3rd rep, adjusted my belt and then did another rep.

Cleans
200 X 4 singles on the minute
205 X 4 single on the minute
210fail

Sqt 205 X 10 X 5 (90-120 secs rest)
Last two sets were hard as balls. It was more than I felt drained in between and didnt think I;d be able to complete the sets,but once I got going they were doable.

My cleans have gone to shit. I was having some good success in improving slowly week by week, but I've hit a wall...hard. Maybe I have to treat them more like a true assistance exercise rather than trying to improve them every session along side squats.

[LimieJosh]

Well at least Lampard is out now, which rules out yet another try at the Lampard-Gerrard axis they have been trying to get to work for literally a decade. I'm not sure I agree about the foreign talent being a problem. It's an old debate, but I'm on the side of it actually improving the standard of the league, thus being an advantage for the English elite players playing in it.

I agree with that, but my argument was slightly different. What the wealth of the premier league has meant is that there is little depth of English players playing. Part of the reason the Gerrard-Lampard thing persisted for so long was because when you looked around the league for alternatives they were few and far between. When you view it purely from the PoV of a fan wanting to feel excited about our prospects, the idea of dropping lampard and replacing with him someone who plays for Norwich doesnt really cut it. There are some very good players, but there isnt much competition for places and that limits the number of ways we can try and play.

[LimieJosh]

No strength in depth or competition for places except for in defense, obviously.

Good one Jolean.

[DV]

I don't know, really. Barry, Milner, Carrick and our own Scott Parker all come to mind as pretty decent central midfielders from top clubs, who could dovetail with Gerrard. I think Carrick is vastly underrated, but that's another discussion.

And yeah, great strength in depth as the call-up of Kelly and omission of Ferdinand shows...

[LimieJosh]

Tue, June 12th

Press 135 X5, 150X 3, 170 X 5 (plus 4 more singles,rest/pause), and a single at 187.
I reracked it after the 5 reps at 170, and as I was disappointed at only getting 5 I did for more singles, one every 20 or 30 seconds, just enough time to rack it, take a step back, unrack it again and press. The ease of doing 4 more single with so little rest suggests that maybe I need to work on resting in the bottom position and just grind out the AMRAP set.
My all time PR for 5RM is 172.5, which I did back at the end of may, so I'm in that terrotory and without having made much progress since then maybe 5 is reasonable. Lets see in 3 weeks time when I'm scheduled to hit 175 if I can get the full 5 reps that I never managed to get before moving away from weekly 5RMs.

Assistance
DB incline 60 X 10 X 5 Superset with
DB row 85 X 10 X 4 (strapped)
2 mins rest between sets of inclines

DB lateral raises 20lbs X 10 X 3
Alternate arm, no rest

Recovery walk 10-15 mins
Abs

[LimieJosh]

Thur, June 14th

Dead 430 X 1 X 5
This was the first time this felt hard. Up until now I have felt the difference from the 1st to 5th rep, and the reduction in speed, but today even the first one had to be fought through. I think I lost the thoracic in getting the bar off the ground a couple of times, but still got it all done. I'd like to see if I can get this up past 450 before I go back to trying 5s

Haltings 185 X 8, 225 x 8, 255 X 8, 275 X 8
Short rest 1-2 mins, up until the last rep

Sqt technique work 135 X 5, 225 X5, 285 X 3, 335 X 2

[LimieJosh]

Fri, June 15th

Bench 210 X 5*, 240 X 3, 265 X 4* (immediately unracked and hit a 5th)
Not happy with that at all. My goal was 5 or 6.
Another single at 290 (hardness = 8 out of 10)

Pull Ups X 10, 10, 10, 10, 9

Press 100 X 10*, 10, 10*, 10, 10* (2 mins rest)

DB incline 60 X 10, 10, 9 (1.5-2 mins rest)

Recovery walk

Abs

BB Bicep curls 15 total reps accumulated rest pause style (12 + 2 + 1)

Entire posterior chain was absolutely on fire today. I went to the grocery store on my way home and got wicked cramp in my right hammy.

England-Sweden today. I think we will need to win this to go through.

[LimieJosh]

Mon, June 18th

Sqt 255 X 5, 290 X 5, 330 X 9
Increase in 10lbs and 1 rep from the 5 week of the last cycle. My goal was 8 so I'm very happy with this. I think I've got 350 scheduled for next week and if I can get 6 on that I'll be back on course, keeping in mind my 5RM PR was only 355 before I quit TM.
Additional single at 380

Cleans 200 X 11 singles
After recent struggles I did a small deload and just wanted to have a successful session, but still has some problems. My sequence went
IIIFF, (rest 3 mins), IIII, (rest 3 mins), IIII with each rep within each cluster done on the minute.
The reps in the second cluster were all a lot better than those in the first, but I'm struggling to identify the reasons for the technique problems in my shitty attempts.

Squats 210 X 10 X 4
Last one lightly belted. Worked on about 90 seconds rest.

[LimieJosh]

Tue, June 19th

OHP 120 X 5, 135 X 5, 155 X 9
Technically a PR for 155 although the margin by which the old PR was broken is a bit depressing considering the time span in between. Still, onwards and upwards.

Db incline 65 X 10, 10, 10, 9, 8
Superset with DB rows 90 X 10 X 4 (strapped)
rest 2 mins between sets of inclines and 3 mins prior to last set. I was wrecked after this was done.


I am still amazed how quickly I can get through these workouts when I'm super setting the assistance work.

[LimieJosh]

Thur, June 21st

Tough day

Dead - goal = 435 X 5 singles
The first two were hard, the third was failed. I shook that off, made another attempt and got it, but it burned me out. Rather than run myself into the ground I just deloaded to 375 and did a set of 3.

Haltings 185 X 8, 225 X 8, 265 X 8, 285 X 8

Sqt 135 X 5, 225 X 5, 285 X 3, 315 X 2

I'm going to cut back on the squat assistance work next week and have another bash at this. I was hoping to get up towards 450 before switching back to 5s, or 5-3-1, but we'll see how next week goes.

[LimieJosh]

Fri, June 22nd

Bench 185 X 5*, 215 X 5, 240 X 8 (+2)* and 290 X 1
A quirk of the way my spread sheet rounds off meant that I was prescribed the same weight as the 5week of the last cycle. I got 8 reps then and while I think I might have been able to increase the weight I can do for 8 reps I didnt think adding a 9th rep was likely. Turns out it I was right. I rested a couple of seconds and did another 2 reps and then a 290 single.

Pull ups 10 X 5

Press 105 X 10*, 10, 10*, 9, 10* (2 mins rest, but a full 4 prior to last set as I was fried)

DB incline press 60 X 10, 65 X 10, 60 X 6 (90 secs rest)

This was another tough day. I felt really tender from the deadlift troubles of yesterday. I would normally do some abs, stretching and direct arm work at the end of this session, but just couldnt face it so went home to get some food in me.

Another tough day

[Tall Texan]

Nice benching. Have you ever hit a 300 single before?

[LimieJosh]

Mon, Jun 25th

Travelled to Texas on Sunday and so was training out of town this day. I dont know whether it's the sitting on a plane, a possible lack of calories/protein or just being thrown by a different environment, but working out on the road rarely gives me a good session. This was no different. Everything felt heavy from the off and the bar never felt balanced.

270 X 3, 310 X 3, 350 X 5

Played around with cleans. The bar was thick and so it felt off. Did a combination of singles, doubles, singles and a second from the hang. Maybe 15-20 total reps between 185 and 195

Sqt accessory - 210 X 10 X 3


Tue, June 26th
Back at home

Press 130 X 3, 145 X 3, 165 X 6
Disappointed. I was going for 7, but it just wasnt there.
Extra work - single at 188. 5 singles at 165 rest pause style (abut 20 seconds rest)

DB incline 65 X 10, 10, 10, 10, 8 (1.5-2 mins rest)
DB row 90 X 10 X 3 (1 minute total rest)

I reduced volume for the rows to give me fewer excuses for Thursday's deads.


Nice benching. Have you ever hit a 300 single before?

No. I hit 295 at christmas at the end of a testing out day. I imagine 300 would have been possible had I not already pushed so hard at the 200lb press. It cant be too far away now though.

[DV]

Training out of town is always weird. But your lifts are coming along very nicely anyway, as far as I can see.

Thoughts on England-Italy? I didn't see it, but England were rather tame from what I've heard and read.

I have Germany as favourites for the championship, unless Spain bore them to death - again.

[LimieJosh]

Thur, June 29th

Dead 435 X 5 singles
Much better this time. Last week's failure had begun to psyche me out a little to the point I was contemplating different approaches to deads. Instead I sucked it up repated the weight and got them all done. Some were difficult to finish, and that makes it the first time I;ve ever struggled with a rep that I got to my mid shin. Normally, if it comes off the floor it goes up. I guess that mean the Haltings have been working.

Haltings 225 X 8 X 2, 265 X 8, 285 X 8
Short rest for the first 2 periods and then got fully recovered for the last heavy set.

Sqt 135 X 5, 225 X 5, 275 X 3, 315 X 2, 355 X1

[LimieJosh]

Thoughts on England-Italy? I didn't see it, but England were rather tame from what I've heard and read.

I have Germany as favourites for the championship, unless Spain bore them to death - again.

England's entire campaign has been embarrassing. I can accept not being among the very best teams. I refuse to accept such negative" take what you can get" sort of approach. If a team with England's resources feels it cannot win with its "best" players then it should simply look to the next generation now rather than have gone out there with this attitude. The reaction to it has been odd. For years the hype of the premier league has made people's ratings of the players and expectation of the team far too high, and that has resulted in some pretty vitriolic responses to our previous exits. We've now lurched way too far in the other direction with the press acting like we have a comparable player pool to somkeone like San Marino and so talking about how well they did "under the circumstances", as if the best we should expect from our shitty players is for them to put their boots on the right feet. It's odd.
Yes it was a QF, but had we been in your group we would have finished rock bottom.

[LimieJosh]

Well, an interesting couple of days. There was no session for me yesterday due to some pretty violent GI issues. My stomach started feeling a bit dodgy in the evening after dinner on thursday, but I didnt think too much of it. However I was in the bathroom all night violently expelling water out of both ends. By the morning my muscles ached like Id been hit by a truck. Most of that has dissipated by today, although the abs are still really sore (I was vomiting so hard it actually hurt my balls). I'm still not having much luck with food. Yesterday I couldnt even keep in/down water or gatorade (G2), but managed some soup at dinner. My stomach feels like it's on fire and needs something in it, but all I;ve managed today is a couple of pieces of buttered bread and half a liter of Werner's ginger ale, but that's still an uncomfortable process

I have no idea what brought this on. Food is the obvious candidate, but I didnt eat anything different from normal or anything the missus didnt also eat. I dont think it was flu as all the other symptoms seem to be direct result of the nausea/diarrhea and acute lack of calories. The misses actually suggested Rhabdo, which I initially dismissed, but am now thinking that isnt as ridiculous a call.

[DV]

It sounds a lot like food poisoning of some kind. Depending on what sort of bugs they have where you live, it might be worth it to do some tests, in order to get rid of it. We get a lot here (Bolivia) and you'd be surprised how long it can stay with you even after the acute incident.

Aout football I agree with very single word you wrote. I have no idea how the usual over-hype went to no expectations at all. But the FA got what they asked for by appointing Woy. He did wonderful things for Copenhagen, when he managed there, and also good for lower-echelon clubs in the EPL. But playing exciting, ambitious football is not what he is about.

Get better soon. Hopefully you'll be ok to catch the final tomorrow. I think Spain is going to make history, no matter how boring I might think the Barcelona-inspired tiki-taka is.

[unclean]

Food is the obvious candidate, but I didnt eat anything different from normal or anything the missus didnt also eat.

It could've been just different utensils, plates or not washing your hands. I'm having a bit less severe issue since Friday.

[LimieJosh]

Ha, given your user name this is a great part of the discussion for you to join in. Hope you start feeling better soon.

I was 212lbs last time I weighed myself before this and was down as low as 201 on friday afternoon. I'm now back up to 209, which is back within the limits of my normal daily variation, albeit on the low end. I'm feeling close to 100% this morning, but I realise I still may not actually be there, as even 75% is going to feel like a million bucks in comparison to how dreadful l I felt throughout the weekend. I'm not going to go in today and instead focus on getting in some protein and calories. I'm then going to do a modified deload week for the rest of the time.

Mon - off
Tue - sqt and press at 3 X 3 @ last cycle's 5s week (65, 75, and 85%) aka the deload without deloading
Wed off
Thurs- I will get in the 3+ bench session I missed from friday, probably with a reduced volume assistance work
Fri - repeat tuesday

Then next week I'll go into the 1s week I should have been doing this week.

[DV]

Sounds like a good plan to get back into it. Life sometimes makes you deload.

[LimieJosh]

I've been trying to edit my previous post for about 3 hours.

[DV]

I've been trying to edit my previous post for about 3 hours.

This has been happening to me as well lately.

[Tom Narvaez]

If you click "go advanced" and THEN try to save the edit it almost always works even when the normal save edit is on the fritz.

[LimieJosh]

Yep, that worked. Thanks, Tom. I only wanted to change the wording in one sentence to make it read a bit more clearly, but the more I couldnt do it the more important it felt like it was.

[unclean]

Ha, given your user name this is a great part of the discussion for you to join in. Hope you start feeling better soon.

Thanks

Saturday afternoon I was feeling like I was on for a full recovery, but the stomach still seems to rumble at meat. I think I learned my lesson about not getting food poisoning.

[LimieJosh]

Tue, July 3rd

This was a lot harder than I thought it would be. Weight is pretty back to normal, but strength clearly isnt.

Sqt 255 X 3, 290 X 3, 330 X3
Last set was lightly belted, and it was hard. This is a weight I got 9 on at the beginning of this cycle and I would have had to put everything in to get a 4th today.

Press 120 X 3,135 X 3, 155 X 3
Relatively speaking this was easier than sqt

Accessory work
Sqt 205 X 10 X 3 (1 min rest)
Pres 95X 10 X 3 (1-2 mins)
Pull ups X 10.

Rather than benching as usual on thursday and repeating this session on friday I think I'm going to repeat the sqt part of this on thursday and then bench on friday. I think I'm also going to repeat the 3s week rather than jumping forward to the 1s week.

[DV]

Coming back from being sick always sucks. I probably would've dropped the accessory stuff, or done even less, but I'm sure you'll be fine. I think it's a good idea to repeat 3-week. You might even consider restarting the entire cycle. As this is a slow grind programme, you don't want to get ahead of yourself, but rather get a good run-in after your illness.

Spurs just bought Gylfi and signed AVB. I'm OK with Gylfi, but not convinced by AVB yet. Do you follow anyone in the EPL?

[LimieJosh]

That's not a bad idea as well.

As for my team, I'm a liverpool fan so that Gylfi news is really disappointing, but it had been increasingly obvious it wasnt going to happen for us.

[LimieJosh]

Thur, July 5th

Recovery week continued
Sqt 255 X 3, 290 X 3, 330 X 3
This was still no easier than Tuesday.

Bench 185 X 3, 215 X 3, 240 X 3

Press 120 X 3, 135 X 3, 155 X 3

Sqt 205 X 10 X 2
DB incline 65 X 10 X 2
Pull up X 10
RDL 135 X 10, 185 X 5, 235 X 5

[DV]

Another argument for rebooting the cycle.

About Gylfi he looked dangerous when we played the Swans, but he wouldn't be at the top of my list, to be honest. Getting Vertonghen in must be a priority, and more importantly A DECENT STRIKER. Seriously, we're fucked unless we bring in someone who can get past 20 for the season.

[LimieJosh]

Mon, July 9th

Another tough day - still not yet fully recovered it seems

Press 120 X 5*, 135 X 5, 155 X 7*, 185 X FAIL
I got 9 last time I went through this cycle. The fail at 185 was also very telling as that should have been a relatively easy single

Assistance
Pull ups 10, 10, 10, 6, 7
DB incline 60 X 10*, 10, 10*, 8, 8*

So, I lost reps on the Press and also the pull ups. Although it is possible the combination of pull ups with DB inclines is simply more difficult than when done with the press, as I had previously been doing.

Doing press today represented a change in the order in which I do the exercises (previously - mon, press - tue etc). The simple explanation is that I still didnt feel up to squatting today so wanted to give it another day. Additionally I had on occasion felt limited on my presses from the toll that the previous day's session had imparted. Rip has the Woojus Geeshman 4 day/wk Texas Method template set up this way for exactly that reason. I went against that for reasons that seemed sound, but in retrospect it probably wasnt worth it so going to try it like again moving forward.

The biggest challenge this throws up is how to best position my upper back work without interfering with deadlifts. I had just been doing it as assistance on press and bench day. Now, with bench falling the day before deads I will have to come up with a different plan. The plan is to do pull ups monday and DB rows friday, after deads and haltings, but I dont know how well that work as I may not have much left in the tank at the end of that session. May have to play it by ear moving forward.

[LimieJosh]

About Gylfi he looked dangerous when we played the Swans, but he wouldn't be at the top of my list, to be honest. Getting Vertonghen in must be a priority, and more importantly A DECENT STRIKER. Seriously, we're fucked unless we bring in someone who can get past 20 for the season.

There are stories of AVB going in for Sturridge from Chelsea. He's not the finished article, but I think he could fit well.

[DV]

I wouldn't be too disappointed with losing a few reps off your amraps, as long as you make them and progress. You'll catch up soon enough.

We finally signed Vertonghen, which is great. About Sturridge I can't help but see him as a slightly more gifted, less clinical Defoe. He's certainly selfish enough of a player. We really, really need a great forward. That's the only signing we really NEED, and have needed for several seasons. Hopefully it isn't Ade.

Haven't seen much from Pool yet? Some weird rumours about a striker from Roma that I don't know, but not much more.

[LimieJosh]

Tue, July 10th

Sqt 255 X 5, 290 X 5, 330 X 7 plus a single at 360
Still a drop of a couple of reps, but by god this was better than last week. I got through 4 without any pause, caught my breath a bit before the 5th and then had to work hard to get the 6th and 7th. The 360 was pretty easy as well.

Clean 185 X 1 X 3, 195 X 1 X 5, 200 X 1 X 2
ten total reps and they felt ok. Will build back up slowly from 200

BBB Sqt 195 X 10 X 5 (90 secs rest)
I dropped a bit of weight compared to the last cycle, but it still got me was panting like a mad man. I contemplated stopping after 4 sets, but am a bit tired of treating this recovery thing with kid gloves so forced myself to do the 5th. I feel generally quite good, just still lacking a little bit of strength and so I figure hard work is the way to get that back.

Recovery walk approx ten mins

Abs

BB Biceps curls 95 X 15

I'm going to see how bench goes on thursday. If I do as well as this I will probably just proceed on wards as normal, but I'm still contemplating repeating this 5s week for one more week to allow my performances to catch back up.

[LimieJosh]

We finally signed Vertonghen, which is great. About Sturridge I can't help but see him as a slightly more gifted, less clinical Defoe. He's certainly selfish enough of a player. We really, really need a great forward. That's the only signing we really NEED, and have needed for several seasons. Hopefully it isn't Ade.

Aye, striker is what has let you down over these recent seasons in which you've been challenging. Every time you bring one in (or back in Dafoe and Keane's cases) it seems they are good players who add depth, but just not quite at the quality to kick on another level. Ade is the exception in terms of talent, but he just doesnt have the application to perform over an entire season. In that regard Sturridge is maybe more of the same, but he's young and he fits the high tempo game AVB will want to play. Additionally, if you finally sell Modric I could see big money being spent on someone like Hulk from Porto.

As for Liverpool they are keeping things characteristically close to their chest. It can be frustrating as a fan, but it's a great way to do business. The rumours of both Borini and Dempsey do seem to be gathering steam though, and I like both of those. Borini was a Chelsea apprentice and so worked with Rogers there and again when he went on loan to Swansea. He's young and so doesn't have a long track record, but he;s scored at a good goals/game rate everywhere he's played. Style wise he's a bit like Kuyt with better finishing. I'm quietly confident about the upcoming season.

[DV]

Kuyt was a great finisher, who suffered under Benitez' insistence on playing him on the wing due to his great workrate (and the insistence on playing one striker, Torres). If Borini is an even better finisher I can see why you are sniffing around him. I read that you might loan out Mr. 35M?! Sounds weird to me, but then he might not work with the style Rodgers want's to use.

About Spurs you are exactly right. We've had good, but never great strikers. I guess Klinsmann might be the last great striker we had. Our problem is wages. Since we don't have rich owners, our financial setup is a lot more meagre than at other clubs. I'd say that Pools top earner makes at least double our wage ceiling. So that means no Hulk, I think, just like no Rossi etc. in previous windows. I'm quietly hoping for Damaio. We got Sandro from Internacional and he's been great, so maybe another Brazilian import could do the trick. I'd really like Huntelaar or another proven goalscorer, but I don't think it's realistic.

With training it sounds like you are getting back on track. Just make sure to eat and rest as much as you can, and you should be fine. I'd carry on into 3 week if I were you. You are "easily" getting a few reps over the programmed ones, so it ought to be fine. I'm sure the next deload will be a godsend once you get there, though.

[LimieJosh]

Thurs, July 12th

Bench 185 X 5, 215 X 5, 240 X 6 and 275 X 1
So, still 2 reps down from previous attempt at this cycle. I'm feeling a lot better, but the strength isnt there yet.

Press 95 X 10 X 5 (strict 90 secs)

Triceps stuff.
For the desire of just wanting to fill out this day with stuff that isnt going to affect deads I decided to finish with some triceps stuff. I thought about CGBP, but then decided that something non-barbell might just help keep me mentally fresher than another BB exercise. I thought about dips, which I havent done in a long time because every time I try they re-aggravate my shoulder injury, without fail. I am a lot stronger now than the last time I tried them and have far fewer flare ups so thought repping out at just body weight and challenging myself with volume and short recovery might be ok - it wasnt. I then found the Hammer Strength dip machine and played around on that. I think as long as I'm careful and dont get carried away with the weight that might be ok.

Quick 10 mins conditioning

[LimieJosh]

Friday, July 13th

I've really tried to work hard through this recovery, hitting all my assistance and conditioning, and so that coupled with still trying to regain my energy has left me feeling a little but battered. I didnt feel up to resuming my usual approach of heavy singles for deadlifts today so decided I'd simply everything and get that lift on 5-3-1 as well for a couple of cycles.

Dead 275 X 5, 315 X 5, 365 X 9 (with straps and belt) and 415 X 1
This is the first time in years, I think ever since I've been doing them properly, that I have done more than 5 in a set. Those final few reps are a real mental challenge. If it was a competition I would have probably had a couple more but I felt my form getting increasingly sloppy so stopped. The 415 was a beeze, which is encouraging after that much work before.

Haltings 225 X 8 X2, 265 X 8 and 285 X 7 (short rest on all but last set)

Sqt 135 X 5, 225 X 5, 275 X 2, 315 X 1, 260 X 1

DB Row 80 X 10 X 3 (1 min rest)

Good day.

[LimieJosh]

Mon, July 16th
Press 130X 3*, 145 X 3, 165 X 6* and a single at 185 followed by 4 reps at 165 rest/pause (about 20 seconds)

Pull ups 10, 10, 10, 10*, 11(strapped)
Incline DB press 65 X 10*, 10, 10, 8, 7*

Recovery walk

I'm a little disappointed in 6 on the press, but that is actually the same as I got last time through on this cycle before it got interrupted, although I was disappointed with that then as well.

[LimieJosh]

Tue, July 17th

Sqt 270 X 3, 310 X 3, 350 X 5
First 3 were done quickly, but had to catch my breath and compose myself before the 4th and 5th. This was the same as I did on this week of the cycle last time, but that was when I was in Houston and was disappointed with the performance. In truth though, on TM 355 was the top weight with which I managed to completed to the 5 reps, so it's still pretty close to that. Next week is 370. If I can get 3 that week, that gives me a decent rep range to try and maintain as I add weight over the cycles (7, 5, 3).

Cleans 195 X 1 X 5 and 200 X 1 X 5
Reps done on the minute

Sqt single at 365
205 X 10 X 5 (strict 90 seconds rest)
Hard as balls. See below.

Recovery walk
BB curls 100 X 15
Abs

This was a difficult day that had me dragging and completely dripping in sweat. I could have easily quit after the 3rd set of BBB squats; even standing up off my box to walk towards the bar was difficult. My head was tossing around the thought of not doing the remaining two sets, or taking a bit longer to rest, and then that annoying as shit "Call Me Maybe" song came on. I realised that somewhere in Pennsylvania there was a guy jamming out to that song, blasphemously comparing it to Clarkson's classic "Since You've Been Gone" and it annoyed me. That guy currently lifts more than me on bench and press, so I got up and did the last two sets.

[DV]

That guy currently lifts more than me on bench and press, so I got up and did the last two sets.

Yeah I hate that guy and his benchpress, too. Looks like you're making a decent comeback, though - good work.

[LimieJosh]

Thur, July 19th

Bench 200 X 3, 230 X 3,255 X 4
Disappointed with this. I got my bench up to this weight for 3 sets of 5 around this time last year. I dont like the benches in my gym as they have unadjustable hooks that are too low to unrack the bar properly. I end up having to press it out slightly and lose back tightness. I experimented in the rack, but couldnt really find the happy medium in that either. The hooks stick out a long way so I have to position myself a long way from them so they dont get int he way of the bar path. The problem is at that far away, with the bar so much towards the top of my head I find it very difficult to unrack it straight arms using my lats. I experimented a lot trying to find the right spot and that might have impacted my AMRAP set. A training partner would really help for the bench.

Additional work - single at 280 and 2 singles R/P at 255

Assistance
Press 100 X 10, 10, 10, 9, 10 (strict 90 secs rest, but 2 mins for last set)
These were difficult to lock out. Triceps weakness (relative) I guess.

CGBP - experimented with these. I gripped it with my index finger on the smooth of the bar, so stilla bit more narrow than my usual narrow bench grip.
135 X 10 X 4 (90 secs rest)
I then finished with one burn out set of standing EZ extensions with 60lbs bar=14 reps

Conditioning 15 mins

[LimieJosh]

Fri, July 20th

Dead 300 X 3, 340 X 3, 385 X 5 (with straps) and 425 X1
Based on the 365 X 9 last week I was hoping for/expecting 7, so this was disappointing. Technically this was equal with my 5RM (failed at 390 and moved onto 3s in Feb), but then that means I havent really made any progress since then. I dont think that's an accurate assessment so I think that just marks today as a piss poor effort.

Haltings 225 X 8, 265 X8 and 285X 8

Sqt 135 X 5, 225X5, 275 X 3, 315 X 1, 355 X 1, 375 X 1

DB Row 80 X 10 X 5 (rest=60, 60, 90, 120)

Abs

[LimieJosh]

Mon, July 23rd

OHP 135 X 5, 155 X 3, 175 X 4 plus 3 more singles R/P
Equal rep PR with 175 (the weight at which I quit 5s when on TM). Only being able to match my performance from Feb/March looks to be a recurring theme.

Pull ups 10, 10, 10, 10, 10
DB incline press 70s X 8, 8, 8,8, 7
Strict 90 seconds rest. Only tried 8s as I knew I wouldnt get the reps on 10s.

Conditioning - Intervals for 15 mins
BB curls 100 X 15 - these were easier doing them the same session as the pull ups rather than the day after.

[LimieJosh]

Mon, July 23rd

OHP 135 X 5, 155 X 3, 175 X 4 plus 3 more singles R/P
Equal rep PR with 175 (the weight at which I quit 5s when on TM). Only being able to match my performance from Feb/March looks to be a recurring theme.

Pull ups 10, 10, 10, 10, 10
DB incline press 70s X 8, 8, 8,8, 7
Strict 90 seconds rest. Only tried 8s as I knew I wouldnt get the reps on 10s.

Conditioning - Intervals for 15 mins
BB curls 100 X 15 - these were easier doing them the same session as the pull ups rather than the day after.

[Briks42]

Limie, I think I mentioned this before. At your level of experience and with your pretty low bodyfat levels, I think its gonna be a little tough for you to make gains on your lifts without actually building new muscle, aka gaining weight.

[LimieJosh]

Limie, I think I mentioned this before. At your level of experience and with your pretty low bodyfat levels, I think its gonna be a little tough for you to make gains on your lifts without actually building new muscle, aka gaining weight.

I hear you, but oddly, despite me noticeably leaning out since the last time you told me to gain weight, I am actually a consistent 5lbs heavier than I was back then (210 vs 205). I have struggled to find my feet on 5-3-1, but I have leaned out a bit more since I started it and improved conditioning, so the period has not been a complete wash. I dont really know where that 5lbs has come from as it doesnt look like any of my lifts have really improved since March, but it's real. I'm clearly the worst dieter ever.


Tue, July 25th
Sqt 295 X 5, 330 X 4, 370 X 1
The goal was 3. I knew it wasnt going to happen though during the warm up and I was sweating bullets after only doing the first set. My back didnt feel fully recovered and I've had a bit of a twinge in my right thoracic extensors after fucking around with my dog - he's not big, but when he sees a squirrel he generates a lot of momentum. I tried for the second rep, but couldnt get past that point about 2/3 of the way up and so set it back down. It;s the first time in a long time I've actually failed a rep on squats (as opposed to just quitting when I think I'm done). It's humbling, but also liberating to know it can be done without devastating consequences.

Clean 200 X 1 X 10
I did these in 2 clusters of 5 with a couple of minutes break in between

Assistance squats - aborted. My back spasms were more pronounced with these so I erred on the side of caution. I'm going in for some ART tomorrow morning to work out those thoracic kinks.

[Briks42]

Well that's definitely a good thing. Sounds like you had a little more recomp potential than I gave you credit for.

[LimieJosh]

Assistance squats - aborted. My back spasms were more pronounced with these so I erred on the side of caution. I'm going in for some ART tomorrow morning to work out those thoracic kinks.

My therapist concluded this was actually an issue with the lats at the spinal origin rather than an erector. Once he figured that out he was able to make some significant progress. It was sore as hell by last night and I thought it might affect benching today. Warm up was difficult, but now I realise it is actually the lats I can get at it a bit better with the soft ball than when I thought it was an erector. By the time I got to the top set I felt I had worked out most of the stickiness and, with the benefit of a good lift off and spot, put in a good effort.

Bench 215 X 5, 240 X 3, 270 X 3 and a back off set of 225 X 8
Considering I've hit 260 for 5, this isn't great, but it's a hell of a lot better than 255 for 3 from last week. I think a good lift off and the confidence of a good spotter are key for me. I must ensure I find that moving forward, especially for the 3s and 1s week.

OHP 105 X 10, 10, 10, 9, 10 (2 mins rest, 3 before the final set).

Lying EZ triceps extns - bar plus 40lbs X 10, bar + 50lbs X 10, 8, 8 (90 seconds)

[LimieJosh]

Tomorrow I turn 34. I have $400 of landscaping being delivered by 8am that I will plant before the end of the day. I am also supposed to deadlift tomorrow. Something will have to give. I think I might just nip down the gym work up to a heavy single, maybe go for a birthday PR, and then come home and treat the gardening as my assistance.

[LimieJosh]

Fri, July 27th

I didnt make it to the gym. Thursday night I took about 4 hours to dig out about 15 cubic feet from my planter bed to take it from this
http://i45.tinypic.com/105npd2.jpg
to this
http://i47.tinypic.com/ftmzxj.jpg

The plants arrived at 8.30 on Friday morning
http://i45.tinypic.com/5prmm9.jpg

and even though I thought I had already done most of the work I didnt actually get them all in until about 3pm.
http://i47.tinypic.com/143g6k7.jpg

There simply wasn't enough time or energy left in the day to do anything at the gym, especially as the front lawn still needed to be mowed and pool cleaned in time for people to come over on Saturday.

[LimieJosh]

Monday, July 30th

OHP 120 X 5*, 140 X 5, 160 X 7*
Additional pressing work 185 X 1* immediately followed by 160 X 1 X 5 R/P every 15-20 seconds. Interestingly, those went up quicker with each additional rep.

Pull ups X BW X 10 and BW +5lbs X 10, 10, 10*, 10 (last 2 sets with straps)
Incline BB 135 X 10, 10, 10, 8, 9* (goal = short rest, around 90 seconds, but had to extend for 2 and 3 minutes for the last 2 sets)
This was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I wanted to switch from DBs and thought 135 was a good approximation for 60lbs, but it felt quite a bit heavier.

Conditioning 15 mins total including ten 30 second work intervals

BB curls 105 X 15.

[LimieJosh]

Tue, July 31st - Early morning squat session

Sqt 260 X 5, 295 X 5, 335 X 7 and 375 X 1

Clean 203 X 1 X 10 (on the minute, all in one cluster), 205 X 1, 210 X 1

RDLs 135 X 10, 155 X 10, 165 X 10 X 3
Switched to RDLs and will replace haltings on friday with squat for 10 X 5

Abs

It's the last day of July, so lets sing it out with Ludwig Van Goldberg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01NZAGCdPhc

[LimieJosh]

Thur, Aug 2nd

Bench 190 X 5, 215X 5, 245 X 7 and 285 X 1
Looking back through my performances on 5-3-1 I have a lot of variability in bench. Last week went well, largely because of a lift off and having the confidence of a good spot. This week I felt a lot more stable and secure through all the sets and it showed - last cycle I only did 240 X 6, and 255X 4 on the previous cycle's 3 week. Today I chalked the bench to stop me sliding about and it seemed to help with stability. If I can maintain 7 reps for 250 next week it will be an equal PR

OHP 100 X 10 X 5 (1.5-2 mins rest)
Dropped 5 lbs from last week. Plan to increase by keeping to same weight with a strict 90 second rest interval next week and then add 5lbs back to 105 the week after.

Triceps lying EZ bar - bar + 45 + clips X 10, 10, 10, 9 (strict 90 seconds)

Conditioning - 15 mins with 10 30 second work intervals.

[LimieJosh]

Friday, Aug 3rd

Warm up dead 135 X 5, 225 X 5
Clean build up to a heavyish single - 135 X 2, 155 X 2, 175 X2, 195 X 1, 205 X 1, 210 X 1, 215 X 1 - so much easier than when done after squats

Deads 285 X 5, 330 X 5 (chalk and D.O. grip) , 370 X 9 (straps) and a single at 430

Squats 195 X 10 X 5
As mentioned on Tuesday, I have dropped haltings for now and moved these to deadlift day.

DB rows 80 X 10 X 5 (strict 90 seconds)

recovery walk

Abs

[LimieJosh]

Mon, Aug 6th

Press 130 X 3*, 150 X 3, 170 X 5*
5th was easy, but there wasnt a 6th in the tank
Additional pressing 188X 1 and 150 X 2 X 4 R/P*

Pull ups BW X 10, and +5lbs X 10, 10, 10*, 9

Incline Bench 135 X 10, 10, 10, 9, 8* (rest 90, 90, 120, 150)

Conditioning 15 mins including 10 X 30 sec intervals

BB curls 110 X 15

[LimieJosh]

Tue, Aug 7th

Sqt 280 X 3, 320 X 3, 355 X 3
Very unhappy with that. I lost the second rep forward and had to fight like hell to get it back and I think that took it all out of me. This is my 5RM, achieved int he spring, and I should have matched that based on the 350 X 5 last cycle. I rested up a bit and did another double.

Clean 205 X 1 X 10

RDLs 135 X 10 and 165 X 10 X 4

Abs

[LimieJosh]

Thur, Aug 9th

Bench 205 X 3, 230X3, 260 X 5
Second set was accidentally loaded as 240

OHP 105 X 105 X 5
strict 2 mins rest, last 2 reps done as a clean and press

Quick session and last of the week as I'm heading up to Detroit this evening and spending the weekend with the girlfriend's family on lake Michigan. So, no deadlift this week I will just treat the drop of assistance and no deadlifting as a mini deload and try and get my best performances nest week.

[LimieJosh]

Mon, Aug 13th

Press 140 X 5, 160 X 3, 180X 3
extra work 145 X 8

Pull ups BW X 10, +10lbs X 10, 10, 10, 10 (mostly with wrist straps)

BB Incline 140 X 10, 10, 10, 9, 10
I took much longer on these than in recent weeks as I just wanted to make the reps and decided to wait as long as I needed to make that happen for the last couple of sets.

A tough workout that felt heavy as early as the second set of presses (3s with 160), so some quite good work done considering. I was at Lake Michigan up in Saugatuck all weekend with the girlfriend's family and although I didnt eat quite as I normally would I think I got my calories in. We did manage to miss dinner on friday night and instead get by on a variety of cheeses and dips, but I made up for it the rest of the weekend. I know the plane is bad on my hips and maybe it's similar on my shoulders from being slumped forward to squeeze myself into a chair for several hours.

[LimieJosh]

Tue, Aug 14th

Sqt 300 X 5, 335 X 3, 375 X 1

Clean 207 X 1 X 10

Sqt singles at 275, 315 and 375

RDLs 135 X 10 and 170 X 10 X 4 (quick rest, wrist straps as needed)

Abs

[LimieJosh]

Thur, Aug 16th
Bench 215 X 5, 245 X3, 275 X 3
Rest 3 mins and 225 X 9

I have felt a bit weak this week, but this was back in line with what I wanted. I've had a much better cycle with bench (rep=7, 5, 3) than with everything else and I think that is due to tightening up some form things that come from getting a good lift off and having the confidence of a good spotter. I'm pretty confident that I should be able to maintain those reps through this cycle.

OHP 110 X 10, 10, 9, 10, 9 (and 7/8 of a rep).
Rest was 2 mins until I failed and then 3 mins for the last two intervals.

Triceps lying EZ bar extensions - bar +45lbs total + clips X 10, 10, 10, 8
Strict 90 secs rest.

[LimieJosh]

Fri, Aug 17th

Clean - worked up to a single at 215 and missed one at 225.
Dead 330X 5 (doh - hard), 370 X 3 (mixed), 415 X 4 with straps
This was good. I felt a bit tired and weak going in and so was pleasantly surprised with 4 reps. The heaviest I ever got to for multiple reps was 410 and did a double back in March.

Sqt 195 X 10 X 4
I dropped a set to aid full recovery.

DB rows 80 X 10 X 5
Short rest (90 secs between left arm sets) and used straps as needed. It was hard as hell by the 4th set.

Abs

[LimieJosh]

Mon, Aug 20th
Press 125 X 5*, 145 X5, 165 X 6* and 190 X 1*
I have a tendency it seems to narrow my grip a bit too much, which I only notice when I feel how natural it feels to widen it up. I'm only talking about CMs, but it's enough to change the feel of the movement. I thought I had 7 in me based on the first half the set, but the 6th turned into a real grind.

Pull ups BW X 10 and +10 X 10, 10, 10, 9

BB incline 140 X 10, 10*, 10, 10, 10*
2-3 mins rest. Go up to 145 next week.

[LimieJosh]

Tue, Aug 21st

I didnt feel ready to squat today. Everywhere that needed to be strong felt underrecovered.

Sqt 265 X 5, 305 X 5, 345 X 5

Clean - goal was 209 for ten singles, but I actually managed to miss my first couple of warm up pulls. My wrist started hurting so I just didnt bother

Sqt 5 more singles at 345.
All good tempo and solid reps

RDLs 170 X 10 X 4

Went home to eat

[LimieJosh]

A couple of my thoughts about my crappy performance today

I am starting to contemplate whether deadlifting every week is a good idea. I had a good session on friday, but I was clearly not recovered enough today to go for a rep max on squats. I didnt do anything over the weekend that would have impacted that recovery and while I didnt eat great overall I definitely got enough calories.

I had been doing a simple BB assistance plan, but a couple of weeks ago I made a change to that assistance - assistance pull after squats and BBB squats after deads. After doing that a couple of times I was concerned about being recovery from 10X 5 squats on friday in time for heavy squats on tuesday and so dropped a set this past week, yet still wasnt recovered.

I'm not really sure what has happened or what to do.

[DV]

Did you skip your deload week, or have you switched the weeks around? Seemed you had a heavier week last week, and are doing "5" week now?

If not, then there are a number of things to look at, assistance being one of them. When I skim back over your log, it seems squats have been somewhat iffy the last few weeks, so I think it's warranted to analyze it a bit.

That said I think they've been toughish since that bout of illness you had a while back, so perhaps is as simple as you being on the limit of your capacity, and it might make sense to back a bit off the poundages and work back up?

[LimieJosh]

You make a good point; I havent had a deload week since coming back from my food poisoning, so this is the start of the third cycle. I hear you on the importance of it, but it was likely I will have one forced on me next week and I was hoping to just push through until then. However, I feel my inconsistency has been more a case of specific under recovery than generalized. For example, my bench in more on track than it was 2 cycles ago - since then I've added 10lbs while adding 1 rep to the total, yet some days I go to squat and my back just isnt up to it. I think this points to issues with assistance. Or, as Briks might point out, the exercises with which I'm struggling are probably more susceptible to issues of calories and body weight than are the bench and press and so it might just be an issue of making a conscious effort to put on a slow 10lbs over the next 3-4 cycles.

[LimieJosh]

Thur, Aug 23rd

Bench 190 X 5, 220 X 5, 250 X 7 and a single at 290
This was a good day. The 290 was easy and went up with great speed without there being any sticking point throughout. As mentioned in the post above I finally seemed to have got my bench back on track after a couple of disappointing weeks. Certainly issues with form have played a part and I have found a lift off on the 3s and 1s weeks to be of great importance for the ability for the bar to unracked while I stay appropriately tight with fully retracted scapula. I have also started putting a dusting of chalk on the bench before the AMRAP set which has also seemingly helped a lot.

Press 110 X 10 X 5
Encouraging. This is the first time I have finished out all the reps with this weight, even if I did have to give myself a little bit extra time before the last set (rest was 2 mins, 3 mins before the last)

Tris - cable extensions with 3rd to last weight 10 X 4

[DV]

I sometimes wondered about deloads on 5/3/1 and found this from Wendler: "When in doubt, do the deload. Don’t be in such a rush to stall out.". And somewhere else he writes something like: I put the deloads every four weeks for a reason, if I didn't mean it, I wouldn't have put them in there.

Taking this into account, and given that you came off food poisoning and have just powered through since, I'd definitely do a deload. It's just a week, which is nothing in the big picture.

That said, that's a decent bench.

[LimieJosh]

I definitely appreciate the importance of deload weeks, but I try and take them when life dictates rather than on a routine schedule. The way things are looking I'm going to have to take one at the end of next week and so didnt want to have to do two in a single cycle. Also, I suspect my issues habe been at least partly due to the assistance, either having to acclimate to athe change in structure and light, volume squatting on friday or cutting overall volume. If that is the case and I just take a deload I wont have actually addressed the issue.

Fri, Aug 24th

Dead - messed up the weight. I dont know why, but I accidentally wrote down the weights I was supposed to do for last cycle's 3s week. I thought the progressions didnt make sense and had a light bulb moment prior to the final set. I didnt know what the top set shuld have been and so decided to go with 385 (a ten lbs increase from last cycle).

What I should have done was 290 X5, 335X5, 380 X 5+
The weights I wrote down from the 3s week was 305, 350 and 395. I did 5s for the first two, realised it cant have been correct and tried to correct. With everything written in the few posts above this I didnt want to push this set, especially given the fuck up in weights, and so stopped after a not too difficult 6. A positive to take out of this is that 385 is technically my 5RM, having failed at 390 in the spring before moving onto 3s and then singles, so very happy with the performance.

Cleans - just messed around with a few up to a max of 210

Squat - 195 X 10 X 4 (strict 90 seconds)

DB row 85lbs X 10 X 5 (90 seconds, and 2 mins before last set).

Abs

[DV]

Squat - 195 X 10 X 4 (strict 90 seconds)


Ugh.

[LimieJosh]

Ha, yeah it kind of sucks, but it prevents me going too heavy.

Mon, Aug 27th
Looking at my schedule it seems next week I will have to alter my training, which lends itself naturally to a reduced frequency light week. So, the goal is to power through one more week and then recover a bit. Incidentally, I feel pretty good today after friday's session. It is possible dropping 1 set from the assistance squats has helped, but its also possible my great recovery was facilitated by the 3lbs of home cooked pulled pork I worked my way through on saturday.

Press - 135 X 3*, 155 X 3, 175 X 4*
Damn it. This is a line I have never been able to cross. The 4th went up fairly quickly, but the 5th never got past my nose. I disappointingly reracked it and then did 3 more single reps with about 15 seconds rest in between all of which went up without much of a fight. It makes me wonder whether I could improve my bottom position to one where I can rest abit more effectively between reps.

Pull ups BW X 10, +10lbs X 10, 10, 10, 8

BB Incline 145 X 10 X 5 (9 on last set)
I did a set of pull ups after the second set and last set and rested 2, 2, 3 and 3 mins between sets.

Recovery walk 10 mins

BB curls 115 X 15
Had to take a decent break to get the last 3 out so definitely getting to the point where I'm going to have to break the reps up into clusters if I;m to keep adding weight.

[LimieJosh]

Tue, Aug 28th

Sqt 285 X 3, 325 X 3, 365 X 4
Back on track a little bit after the disaster of last week. A fifth rep would have actually been a 5rep PR by 10lbs, and while I think I might have gone for it and made it on another day, I was just happy to get back into the extra rep territory for this week.

Cleans 208 X 1 X 7
The gym's AC unit was down and I was a mess. I was having to chalk up every rep, but I still had sweat dripping off my hair onto my hands during the set up. I got through 5 ok and took a water break and then did two more before I dropped one and hurt my wrist a little bit. I just decided to call it a day from there.

RDLs 175 X 10 X 4
This is still a light weight compared to what I've done in the recent past, but these can produce some terrible soreness when i'm not used to them. Thankfully I think I've past that point now and after a couple of weeks acclimation these have now become quite easy.

Abs

[LimieJosh]

Thur, Aug 30th

Bench 205 X 3,235X3, 265 X 5
Good, strong top set. I didnt attempt a 6th as I didnt think it was there, but the 5th was easy enough that I would expect I could still get 5s for another couple of increases yet. I think this matches my all time 5RM, which I think I set last summer.

Press 120 X 10, 10, 8, 9, 10 (rest 2, 2, 3, 4 mins)
I messed up on this. I thought I had done 115 last week, but apparently it was actually 110. I think I'll stick with this for a couple of weeks and see how it goes.

Triceps cable extensions - 3rd last weight on the stack
overhead X 10, 10, 8
regular X 8

[Briks42]

Tue, July 17th

Sqt 270 X 3, 310 X 3, 350 X 5
First 3 were done quickly, but had to catch my breath and compose myself before the 4th and 5th. This was the same as I did on this week of the cycle last time, but that was when I was in Houston and was disappointed with the performance. In truth though, on TM 355 was the top weight with which I managed to completed to the 5 reps, so it's still pretty close to that. Next week is 370. If I can get 3 that week, that gives me a decent rep range to try and maintain as I add weight over the cycles (7, 5, 3).

Cleans 195 X 1 X 5 and 200 X 1 X 5
Reps done on the minute

Sqt single at 365
205 X 10 X 5 (strict 90 seconds rest)
Hard as balls. See below.

Recovery walk
BB curls 100 X 15
Abs

This was a difficult day that had me dragging and completely dripping in sweat. I could have easily quit after the 3rd set of BBB squats; even standing up off my box to walk towards the bar was difficult. My head was tossing around the thought of not doing the remaining two sets, or taking a bit longer to rest, and then that annoying as shit "Call Me Maybe" song came on. I realised that somewhere in Pennsylvania there was a guy jamming out to that song, blasphemously comparing it to Clarkson's classic "Since You've Been Gone" and it annoyed me. That guy currently lifts more than me on bench and press, so I got up and did the last two sets.

Hahahahahaha, this is awesome. I missed this when you wrote it originally because it was during the week I took off from working out completely. I'm pretty sure you can out-press me anyway.

[Briks42]

Also, just so you know, when I saw you doing 385x6 on the deadlifts, I started counting down the weeks until I will be at 385 on my LP and thinking about how I definitely need to get 7.

[Mr_Rogers]

Who in their right mind would dare to compare "Call Me Maybe" to "Since You've Been Gone"? I'm getting angry just thinking about it.

Great lifting btw Limie.

[LimieJosh]

The good about today: I hit a 20lb PR for my 5RM and followed it up with a relatively easy 455. I havent maxed for a long time, but the heaviest I have ever lifted was the multiple singles I pulled at 435 a few months ago. So overall, very positive.

The bad about today: This is what I was greeted with yesterday afternoon
http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/3328/9196d4484edd3464723b134.th.jpg

That was the result of only 2 hours of rain. This is the third storm season I have lived in this house and I have never seen the water gather in that area high enough to even go over the top of your shoes before. Luckily me and the missus is fine and the house doesnt look to have sustained any damage, but the car has to be a total write off. As amazing as the accumulation of water was it was even more amazing to see it completely disperse within about 20 minutes of the rain stopping. I've never seen anything like it before. So, short session today as my mind wasnt really there and I had to get back to getting the run around from my car insurance company

Fri, Aug 31st
Dead 315 X 3 (DOH), 360 X 3 (mixed), 405 X 5 (straps) and 455 (straps). Ordinarily I would have attempted the single mixed grip, but my gym back was in the car and so my chalk bag was ruined and my straps got wet. They were still a little damp this morning and so the bar was wet after my AMRAP set so I figured I didnt really have the option but to use the straps.

Sqt 200 X 10 X 3

[Briks42]

Holy shit, that is nuts. Hope the insurance company doesnt give you an issues. I would think that would just count as your car being totaled, but what do I know. Great work on the deadlifts though. I'm sure you would've gotten 455 mixed grip anyway and can probably do even more than that if you didn't do the 405x5 first. Great work. Im further behind you than I thought.

[Mr_Rogers]

That's from a 2-hour storm? Reminds me of the flood down in Duluth when seals were swimming in the streets. When I got back to Duluth the Jetta did not want to run, I thought I was going to be stranded.

Glad you and the Mrs. are safe and great work on the lifts.

[LimieJosh]

Thanks, guys. The short version of the story with my insurance company is that despite them acknowledging the bank is the lien holder on my brand new car they claim I do not have comp coverage. This is clearly bollocks. I'm trying to get to the bottom of the legal ramifications of them issuing a policy on a car owned by the bank without comp, but where it gets really shady is they have given me two different explanations for why I dont have it. Neither rep I spoke to had to interpret anything to provide me the answer they gave, they read it straight out of my file. One said it was purchased without the coverage and was looking at the original documents to prove it. The other claimed she was looking at the series of communications and notifications stating that my initially included comp coverage would be removed if I didnt present evidence of a vehicle inspection (it is a brand new car). It just seems shady as F.

[Mr_Rogers]

That is pretty damn shady to say the least. When the east side of Thunder Bay flooded earlier in the spring and just about everyone's sewage backed up insurance wasn't going to do anything. I still don't know how the city fucked up and didn't ensure the pumps at one of the sewage plants can work submerged...it was a literal shit storm.

I hope they do the right thing. Good luck with everything.

[LimieJosh]

So, I know I said I was going to do a deload week this week, but with the stress I have dealing with my flood and various insurance issues I felt I needed the emotional outlet. This is my 5-3-1 week and so it makes a little more sense to complete that then do the deload, so that is what the plan has shifted to. This is what I participated in on Labor Day Sunday
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwsy1G8o-2o
I somehow ninjaed myself out of every scene of the video and every photo so far yet scene, but it I was definitely there and it took some recovering from. So, I skipped monday and got to this week's training starting Tuesday.

Tue, Sept 4th
Press 145 X 5, 165X 3, 185X2
Additional work - waited 1 minute did one more single 3 times

Pull ups BW X 10 and +10lbs X 10 X 4

Incline BB press 145 X 10 X 5

Wed, Sept 5th
Squat 305 X5, 345 X 3 and 385 X 1

Clean 185 X3 X 5
I was at my girlfriend's gym this morning and it has round plates. I figured I would use that to my advantage and do triples rather than the cluster of singles I normally do.

RDLs 175 X 10 X4

Fri, Sept 7th

Bench 220 X 5,250 X 3 and 280 X 3*
This was a shitty spot. The guy was the typical over involved spotter and so participated in the lift from the first rep. Difficult to know how much I did so I will take the 3 reps with a pinch of salt.
Additional work - wait 3 mins then 225 X 8

Press 120 X 10, 9, 8, 9, 8
This was hard. I think I pooped myself out with the drop set on the bench

Triceps cable extensions with 3rd last weight on stack
overhead X 10, 10 and regular X 9

[LimieJosh]

Sat, Sept 8th

Early morning session so I can get back home in time to still have the full day to do something

Dead 335 X 5, 380 X 3, 425 X 3 and single at 470
I have been changing my grip every set, starting with DOH, then mixed and then using straps for the top set. In chalk was destroyed in the flood and I havent got around to getting any more and so chalkless this was about the limit of my strength with those grips. Importantly this represented 3 PRs - 3RM, most reps with 425 and a max single. That last one still went up pretty well without any grinding. 500lbs in very much on the horizon.

Squat - 195 X 10 X 5 (strict 90 seconds)

DB row- 85 X 10 X 5 (strict 90 seconds, but 2 mins for last set)

Abs
Hanging leg raises 15 X 3
plank +45lbs for 30 seconds X 2

I got home and my lazy arsed girlfriend was still in bed, and is still in bed as I type this. I guess we wont have the whole day to do stuff after all...

[Briks42]

Great work on the deads. 470 is pretty big at your size.

[DV]

Sat, Sept 8th

Early morning session so I can get back home in time to still have the full day to do something

I got home and my lazy arsed girlfriend was still in bed, and is still in bed as I type this. I guess we wont have the whole day to do stuff after all...

Hah! Been there! What are ya gonna do. That assistance work with short breaks is nasty. And that's a very, very impressive deadlift, too. Get some chalk, though, I can't imagine going more than 1 workout without chalk. I actually used normal chalkboard chalk for a while, and it works fairly ok in a pinch.

[LimieJosh]

Recovery week: I'm doing Wendler's deload without a deload - you use the weights for the last week of 5s and do 3s with no AMRAP. I have also dropped assistance down to 3 sets. Today was a mixture of press and squat day.

Squat 265 X 3, 305X 3, 345 X 3

Press 125 X 3, 145 X 3, 165 X 3

RDLs 175 X 10 X 3

Incline BB 145 X 10 X 3

Pull ups +10lbs X 11

Yesterday I just went for a long walk with the dog. I'm going do a light conditioning session tomorrow, and another long walk on thursday before another session like this on friday. I dont think I'll deadlift so will probably squat again combining that with bench.

[Mr_Rogers]

I have to ask, what type of dog? I've three (two bulldogs and a rottie) and cat (some ghetto homeless thing that moved in six years ago).

When you do a deload week, do you adjust diet at all or just keep on eating as per usual?

[LimieJosh]

He's a Wheaten terrier. A lot of them have the very stylized, angular looking coat, with the skirt and pointy beard, but ours has more the round shaggy look like an Old English Sheepdog. That far more suits my personality than the over manicured cut. I'm biased, but he's awesome - just an amazingly relaxed temperament.
http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/c0.0.403.403/p403x403/538971_10102515014043514_383422235_n.jpg


As for diet, I havent really thought about it much. I dont want to undercut myself, but I presume I will be opn slightly fewer calories than on a hard training day. Today my post workout meal was lower in Kcal, primarily from carbs, than it is typically (I typically do IF, so that is also my first meal of the day).

[Mr_Rogers]

He looks stylin'.

Silly follow up question, wth is Kcal?

[LimieJosh]

Energy intake (KJ for you SI unit using types).

[Briks42]

The confusion might be that what most people refer to as calories are actually kilocalories.

[Mr_Rogers]

This is definitely a "The More You Know" moment haha

[LimieJosh]

Fri, Sept 14th - second and final session of the recovery week

Sqt 265 X 3, 305 X 3, 345 X5
This, again, was surprisingly hard.

Bench 195 X3, 220 X 3, 250 X 3

Sqt 195X 10 X 3

Press 120 X 10, 10, 8
I was toast after the squats.

Pull ups BW X 10, +10lbs X 10 and +25lbs X an easy 6.

[LimieJosh]

Mon, Sept 17th

Press - 130 X 5, 150 X 5, 170 X 6
Additional reps - 2, 1, 1 with 20 second rest.

Pull Ups BW X 10, +10lbs X 10, 10, 10, 8

Incline BB - 145 X 10, 10, 10, 8, 8

Recovery walk 10mins

BB curls 115lbs X 15

Small victories. I found last week's recovery week to be more challenging than I thought it would be and even had some post workout soreness to deal with. I didnt feel really any more ready or refreshed going into this session than I am normally, and yet I hit pretty significant PR of sorts on the press. 175 is the weight that has been my hoodoo over the past 12 months or so. I've tried various approaches and yet never manage progress past this on 5s. I've done pressing 3 times a week on TM, I've reintroduced benching and gone back to LP with weight gain, I;ve done GSLP style approach with an AMRAP last set, I;ve done TM with 5s on intensity day. I;ve even switched to singles across and yet after a few months of advances on my training weights I still couldnt get that damn 175 for 5. Since I;ve adopted 531 and reset a few months ago after my food poisoning I've been prescribed 175 twice (for the 1+ and 3+ week) and only got 4 reps both times. Now I'm quickly approaching the point where it's going to be prescribed for my 5s week and I either make it or reevaluate things again. So I felt today at 170 was a huge measuring stick as to my ability to get 175 X 5 next cycle - I needed to get that 6th rep today to be on target for staying on course next cycle. It went up, and it went up well. I didnt attempt a 7th rep, but I was closer to being able to get 7 than I was to crapping out at 5.

Why did this happen? I dont see much evidence of progress through my last few cycles, but maybe it's too small to be revealed in whole numbers. I have a tendency to let my grip creep too narrow (as it's in my head that my grip needs to be narrower than I intuitively think) and that makes my performance suffer. I countered that instinct today and found a nice groove. It also cannot be ignored that I'm coming off a recovery week. It didnt feel like I thought a recovery week would be, but the fact is I hit a rep PR on a weight that has been very stubborn for me despite improving in other areas. I tend not to react all that graciously when I grudgingly take advice that ultimately turns out to be in my best interest. I have been reluctant to take a recovery week since my last reset (3 full cycles). I should probably offer thanks to DV who pushed quite hard for me to take a step back. Instead, I'll just post this video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NY3LU8HCWA&feature=related

[DV]

I remember that game. Even Heskey scored. And we weren't even that bad, just not sharp enough in key situations. Fuck.

That's a decent press, too. 170x6 is no joke.

[LimieJosh]

Tue, Sept 18th

Not quite as good a day today

Sqt 270 X 5, 315 X 5, 355 X 5

Cleans 190 X 3 X 5
2 - 3 mins rest

RDLs 175X 10 X 5
Strict 90 seconds rest

Abs

355 is an equal 5 rep PR. I first hit it on March 13th and actually went kind of deaf for an hour or so afterwards. I didnt try a 6th rep today, but it was at least it was hard enough to get the 5th that I lost my hearing. Looking ahead I;ve got some pretty difficult weeks to come with squat, with PRs being required to make the reps in pretty much every session. With that in mind I would have liked to have got 6 today, but I'm going to put more focus on getting the required reps on the 3s and 1s weeks coming up.

[LimieJosh]

I had to spend a few days in San Antonio last week and had to be at the airport by 9.30 on Thursday so didnt have time to log any of my sessions since...

Thurs, Sept 20th
Bench 195 X 5, 225 X 5, 255 X 6
Additional work after 2 mins - 255 X 2, 1, 1 (20-30 seconds rest)

OHP 115 X 10, 10, 9, 9, 10
(rest 1.5, 2, 3, 4 mins)

Triceps cable extensions standing - 3rd last weight for 10 X 3

Not a great performance, but it was early and I was in a rush to get to the airport. I didnt have a spotter and so left one in the tank on the AMRAP set.

Friday, Sept 21st
In San Antonio at Body Armor Crossfit (see this for a description of my experience - http://startingstrength.com/resources/forum/showthread.php?t=34135&p=529568#post529568)

Dead 295 X 5, 345 X 5, 390 X 5
Additional - 4more singles on a 30 second clock

Sqt - 200 X 10 X 5
90 seconds - 2 min rest

DB row 85 X 10, 10, 10, 10, 7
Strict 90 seconds, 2 mins for last set

Plank with 45lbs for 30 seconds X 3 (rest 45 seconds)

I managed to fit my belt, my shoes, my PVC pipe and my log book into my carry on along with my actual work stuff, but forgot my wrist straps. I have been using them for the top set recently and found them to be very beneficial. It's not a matter of increased grip strength compared to the mixed I had been using, but that my mechanics are far better when I dont have to rotate one of my hands. Having to used mixed for this top set due to the absence of the wrist straps was a real humbling experience.


Mon, Sept 24th
Press 140 X 3*, 160 X 3, 180 X 3*
Additional work after 3 mins including a set of pull ups - 180 X 1 X 4 on a 30 second clock*.

Pull ups - BW X 10, +10lbs X 10, 10, 10, 9

Incline BB 145 X 10, 10, 10, 8*, 8
2 mins, but more as needed, up to 4 mins, in later sets

This was good. The three reps were very solid without much grinding. However, I think I got too worked up in going for the 4th, went too aggressively and lost all coordination of the movement and so lost the bar forward and so quit the rep early. Lesson - dont get so worked up over the final reps and just do the same thing for them as is done for the ones that have already been.

[DV]

However, I think I got too worked up in going for the 4th, went too aggressively and lost all coordination of the movement and so lost the bar forward and so quit the rep early. Lesson - dont get so worked up over the final reps and just do the same thing for them as is done for the ones that have already been.

Man I've been there so many times. Especially on the press for some reason. Strong sessions lately.

[LimieJosh]

Tue, Sept 25th

Sqt 290 X 3,235 X 3, 275 X 2 = FAIL
Reracked the bar, rested 1 min and did 3 more singles with 1 min rest in between

Clean 191 + clips X 3, 3, 2, 2
2 mins rest, increased to 3 on failure. Didnt attempt 5th set

RDLs 175 X 10 X 5
(strict 90 seconds rest)
Move up next time, but be careful to keep movement on hamstrings.

I wasn't feeling 100% for this session. I didnt feel 100% recovered from last week, which is typicaly of weeks after I've travelled/flown. I think I;ve also come down with the beginnings of a cold with a big of nasal congestion and a sore throat. I still felt like 375X3 was doable, would hope to be able to nail it if I tried it again next time, but this is my first failure on 531. I'm reaching that delicate point with the prescriptions where a crappy session is going to result in minimum expectations not being met so I'm starting to think about how to deal with that...

[Mr_Rogers]

I noticed your post on the gym in San Antonio, you don't happen to know of any good gyms in the Corpus Christi area do you? I found out a USA Weightlifting (http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Weightlifting/Clubs-LWC/Find-a-club/Texas.aspx) club trains at Physical Performance, but I'm not familiar with the area or the gym. I has hoping on the off chance you'd be able to give some insight.


Are you purposefully limiting rest time or am I not that observant?

[LimieJosh]

So, I've reached a critical point having failed to achieve the minimum reps for the first time. I'm not sure how long to go before opting for a deload. If I was to look at the next few prescriptions I would say I still expect to meet minimum expectations on 3 of the next 4 squat sessions (395 X 1, 365 X 5+, and 405 X 1, missing 385 X 3). How many failures do people typically experience before deloading?

Bench I still have a full two cycles after this before hitting the wall becomes possible, and even still I would hope to push through two more cycles after. I expect to still have 2, hopefully 3 good cycles on the press as well.

[LimieJosh]

I noticed your post on the gym in San Antonio, you don't happen to know of any good gyms in the Corpus Christi area do you? I found out a USA Weightlifting (http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Weightlifting/Clubs-LWC/Find-a-club/Texas.aspx) club trains at Physical Performance, but I'm not familiar with the area or the gym.


Are you purposefully limiting rest time or am I not that observant?

San Antonio was just a work trip so I can't offer much advice about training in Texas. I have been by Corpus Christi before, but only on my way to Southern Mexico. I ended up staying in a motel in Refugio and experienced worse facilities than anywhere I stayed in Mexico (after driving for 19 hours and crashing into bed immediately I woke up in the middle of the night having my privates bitten by ants) - and the roads I was driving on down there were only barely roads.

As for accessory, I like to try and keep the rest short. I take as long as needed for the main lift, but try and rush through the assistance. 1) It gets me out the gym quickly, 2) it forces the weight to stay lighter and so helps my recovery.

[DV]

Travelling throws me way off my game too. So I would probably see what happened next week, and if at all possible hit a double. If you do, then you should be set to add weight next cycle. An intermediate version of this would be to repeat the same cycle, IF you hit your max single next week. I wouldn't deload until I felt I was really stalled/burnt out. You know how this feels, and it doesn't sound like that kind of stall, from the last sessions.

[LimieJosh]

Thurs, Sept 27th

Bench 210 X 3, 240 X 3, 270 X 4
Additional reps - 1 min and then 4 more singles at 270 on the minutes

Press 115 X 10, 10, 10, 9, 9
2 mins until reps not made then add 1 mins to rest

Triceps standing cable extensions 2nd heaviest X 10, 10, 7 and drop one weight X 8


Odd day. After one of my warm up sets I experienced some really intense sharp pain in my right ankle as I started standing up off the bench. At first it felt like the very bottom of my Achilles, but as I started to play around with it and figure out what was going on I pinpointed the most acute pain to within the joint on the front side. It was most pronounced during plantar flexion, especially with a really forcefull contraction, which is why i initially thought it was Achilles, but by christ at one point it really hurt just trying to get my foot back into my shoe. For a couple of minutes the pain was really intense, as it in too painful to even quit and walk to my car, but then it just started going away. It didnt go away entirely until after I;d finished benching and so it so 4 reps for 270 is satisfactory. I gingerly tested it when doing starting my press assistance, but it didnt bother me at all.

I went into my chiro this afternoon for ART and he didnt see anything wrong, but by that time there was no pain so whatever was causing it had already resolved itself. My Achilles and soleus was a little tight and more painful to roll down the bottom right hand side and so he worked on that but neither of us can understand how that would bring about such a rapid and unprovoked pain like that. I'm supposed to deadlift tomorrow, but I'll have to see how this feels when I get out of bed in the morning.

[LimieJosh]

My ankle was still sore and not feeling right on friday so I skipped the session.

Mon, Oct 1
Press 150 X 5, 170 X 3, 190 X 1 and 195 X 1
The first two sets felt surprisingly difficult. With that in mind the 190 was quite easy. It was easy enough to make me want to go for 195, which also went up well. I would have to double check, but 195 that is either a PR or an equal PR. Pretty confident on 200lbs now.

Pull ups BW X 10, +10lbs X 10, 10, 10, 9

Incline BB 150 X 8 X 5
(strict 2 mins)
Went up in weight so dropped to sets of 8. Easy until the last set, which I think is as much an issue of quick rest intervals.

Recovery walk

BB curls 120 X 11

[DV]

That's a really good press!

[LimieJosh]

Well, I cam crashing back down today.

Tue, Oct 2nd

Sqt planned - 315 X 5, 355 X 3, 395 X 1
Sqt actual - 315 X 5, 355 X 2, 395 X 0, 385 X 0

Clean 191 + clips X 3, 3, 3, 2
Got a bit of a pinch in the hamstring in attempt the 12th rep, got a shitty pull and decided to quit there

Didnt do RDLs in favour of doing additional squats - 315 X 5, 275 X 8, 225 X 10

I've mentioned before that on 5-3-1 there is a real inconsistency to my performance on squats and as much as I try I really cannot identify the pattern. I know I am reaching the stage where PRs are needed, but that shouldn't make the work in the first two sets feel as hard as it did today. In line with this is that I failed 385 today a month after having hit it relatively easily on my last cycle. There are days when I struggle to find my rhythm and groove on the squat where I feel I am still fighting to find good form by the time the top set comes around. I'm starting to wonder if I'm simply not squatting with enough volume or frequency on this program, which I know is something others have complained about. Since my last reset I have been doing 10X5 squats on my Friday deadlift day instead of on squat day to give myself another day of ingraining the pattern, but that while this is metabolically challenging I wonder if it is too light for me to have to use great form to get it done and so not really proving the technique practice I'm after. This is 2 squat sessions in a row now I've failed and so in addition to likely resetting for the next cycle I wonder if a change of approach for this lift might be the best way forward.

[LimieJosh]

Thur, Oct 4th

Bench 225 X 5, 255 X 5, 285 X 2

Press 120 X 8 X 5
2 mins rest. Had to work the finish all the reps, even in the first set. Last set I had to completely reset (bar to ground, recoup, clean and press) to finish the last rep.

Triceps - seated overhead EZ bar (assume bar weighs 15lbs) = 55 X 10, 65 X 10, 75 X 10,10
Concentrate on keeping humerous as fully extended as possible and elbow in.

This has been a tough week. I've felt sore and incompletely recovered pretty much the entire week. My lats have even been sore to the touch. I got through this session with an easy enough 2 reps, but the third barely came off my chest before I had the (good) spotter grab it.

[LimieJosh]

Fri, Oct 5th

Dead 345 X 5, 390 X 3, 435 X 2

Sqt 315 X 3 X 3 and 225 X 10
2 min rest

DB Row 90 X 8 X 5

+1 for the incomplete recovery and sore lats mentioned yesterday. Since my flood at the end of Aug I havent mowed my lawn as my mower got wrecked and I'm still waiting for insurance payout. I have people coming over tomorrow for the girlfriend's birthday so I had no option but to get to it yesterday. I was forced to use a strimmer on the whole thing, and then rake up the cuttings, after having trained yesterday. My arms were fried. I had to use straps for all 3 sets of deads today, but struggled keeping the bar in tight even on the second set (tired lats I assume). This rounds off a pretty disappointing cycle on lower body. Dead wasn't as bad as squats, but I had to skip one session and got disappointing numbers compared to what I expected on the other two sessions. I think rather than deloading I will just repeat this cycle for squat and deads and see how that goes.

I changed up my assistance a bit today. I had been doing 10 X 5 squats, and rushing through them with short rest. It feels hard, but I'm not sure it's helped. Some people, especially those who have squatted 3 times a week in the past, comment on having to modify 5-3-1 as only squatting once a week doesnt cut it for them. It's for that reason that I have been squatting for assistance on dead day, but I think the load is just too light for it to help really reinforce the right movement pattern. I figured I would chose a weight that is not too difficult, but heavy enough that I cant get sloppy with form. 315 is a round enough number and fits the bill and 3s are easy enough with that, even after deads, and I can build up some volume with multiple sets and then a drop set of ten or so. It adds up to about half the volume so there might be room to add a couple of sets. I'll run this for a cycle and see how it goes and if I feel any more comfortable under the bar on my squat day as a result.

[LimieJosh]

Mon, Oct 8th

Press 130 X 5, 150 X 5, 170 X 6
Shortish rest, about 2 mins followed by 5 more singles on 20-30 second rest

Pull ups BW X 10, +15lbs X 8, 8, 4

BB Incline 150 X 8 X 5

A peculiarity of the the way my spread sheet rounds my training loads is that this cycle is the same as the last cycle for the press, other than a 5lbs increase for just the top set on the 1+ week. Ifelt good again getting the 6th rep today, and felt it went up a little better than last time. I hope to get the 4th rep on 180 next week.

I decided to try and add weight on pull ups and so dropped, initially, to 8s. However, my left biceps was giving me a bit of grief and so called it quits half way through the 4th set.

The incline felt strange, and then I noticed I had failed to add the final 2.5 lbs plate to the right side of the bar. I added it in time for the 3rd set.

[LimieJosh]

Tue, Oct 9th

Sqt 270 X 5, 315 X 5, 355 X 5
Hard as balls

Clean 190 X 2 and fail. Quit
the squat killed me and I just didn't have it to do any explosive work

RDLs 185 X 8 X 4

Experimented with some machines to try them out for use as additional accessory. I think I might drop cleans for a while and do some RDLs followed by 3 X 10 hack squat machine.

Abs

This pretty much confirms I;m going to have to reset on the squat.

[LimieJosh]

Thur, Oct 11th

Bench 200 X 5, 230 X 5, 260 X 5
Hit 6 on this a few weeks ago, thought I;d have 6 or 7, but just didnt have it today. I didnt have my chalk and the bar felt like it was slipping in my hands so I did the 5 and called it a day. Probably not a bad idea in the big picture to ease off a bit.

Assitance

Press R/P style (15-20 seconds rest) - 135 X 10, 2, 2 for 14 total reps

Seated BB press 95 X 10 X 4
Did them seated today as my back was a big sore. They were surprisingly hard even despite the drop in weight compared to when I do them standing. I think I may give this a run for a couple of cycles.

Triceps - Seated overhead EZ bar extensions pyramid up 10 X 3
This sometimes makes my right elbow sore, and it did today so I stopped and called it a day.

[LimieJosh]

Fri, Oct 12th

Dead 295 X 5, 345 X 5, 390 X 6
Back was fried going in. Wanted 7 or 8, but this is still technically a rep max for 390, which is satisfying enough for feeling like crap.

Heavy Assistance
Sqt 315 X 3 X 4 and 225 X 12
By christ weight feels light when doing a drop set.

DB rows - aborted because pain in left biceps again.

I didnt feel good going into today's session, which has been a recurring theme for the last few weeks. I really need to figure out what's going on with my recovery. I've reread some of Wendler's writing this week and am contemplating switching to a 3 day a week schedule. I "enjoy" being at the gym that extra day, but I'm starting to wonder if I just need that extra day or two of recovery between upper and lower body session.

[Briks42]

Hey Limie,

I find the lying tricep extensions the way Rip shows them in the SS video here on the site to be much easier on the elbows than the overhead version. Might want to try subbing them out and see if they are better.

[LimieJosh]

Well, I made the decision to give 3 days/week a go for while. I like the stress relief of going to the gym, it helps me clear my mind and focus through the rest of my day. However, my recovery has not been as consistently complete as I need it to be to feel confident of hitting my targets session after session. Something Wendler wrote about picking training frequency to promote gains rather than personal enjoyment struck home when I read it last week and I thought dropping a day to see if it helped with recovery was worth a try.

I had previously decided that the squat needed to be reset, so I decided to start this new 3 day/wk scheduled from today, repeating the 5+ cycle (again) with a reset come squat day. My press and bench are both in the range of just +1 or +2 reps above the minimum so I know a reset wont be too far down the road on these as well. With a view to extending this run before a reset is necessary I decided to round to the nearest 2.5lbs on these upper body core lifts for the top set to make the jumps smaller, which when coupled with the extra day or two between sessions and being a little less battered from squats now the weights have been reset, will hopefully help me eek out another couple of extra cycles on the press and bench before they have to be reset.

Mon, Oct 15th
Press 130 X5, 150 X 5, 172.5 X 5
Rest a minute or two and then did 4 more singles on about 30 seconds rest
135 X 10

Goal - BB incline 150 X 8 X 5
They were both occupied for an extended period and so I decided to give DBs a try
DB incline - 75s X 8, 8, 8, 6, 8
(rest 2 mins, 3 mins for last)

Pull ups were also scheduled as typical, but the biceps pain (primarily brachialradialis) from last week was still there. I played around trying to figure where it hurt and with what movements and found that wide, neutral grip pull ups didn't aggravate as long as I was fresh so I decided to try and accumulate some volume by doing multiple sets stopping a couple of reps before I started to have to struggle to complete them. I set myself a max limit on each set of 8
BW X 8, 8, 8, 6, 5
rest 2 mins

KStarr has an interesting video using the barbell to roll out tissue in the shoulder. I thought that might work for my biceps the forearms. It worked very very well. There were a ton of gnarly spots on the external side of the upper arm that I could get to by pronating the hand. I will definitely try and do this everyday and see how it feels come friday.


Hey Limie,

I find the lying tricep extensions the way Rip shows them in the SS video here on the site to be much easier on the elbows than the overhead version. Might want to try subbing them out and see if they are better.

I like them, but oddly I find they give my elbow more grief.

[DV]

KStarr has an interesting video using the barbell to roll out tissue in the shoulder.

Linky? I'm liking the rolling the tough spots, so maybe this could help my shoulder.

[LimieJosh]

http://www.mobilitywod.com/2012/02/daily-prog-shoulder-internal-rotation-13.html

I actually found the second drill to be a bit more successful for my shoulder/pec in returning to bench, but the first one with the barbell I've found pretty easy to modify to be usefull for some other things.

[LimieJosh]

Wed, Oct 17th

I liked the extra day recovery between press and squats. Sometimes, especially when going heavy, I am a little bit sore in the glutes and back after the press which can affect the squat performance, even if only psychologically, but I felt nice and frersh going in for this session.

Sqt 240 X 5, 275 X 5, 315 X 1, 365 X 1, 315 X 10

RDLs 185 X 8 X 5 @90 seconds rest
Easy. Possibly because I didnt go hard at the pull ups the previous session, possibly the extra day recovery, but possibly I'm not just getting accustomed to them again.

Hack sqt 90lbs per side X 10 X 3 @ 90 seconds
Still getting used to these, but this was reasonable.

Abs - swiss ball +25lbs X 15 X 4

Got the performance I wanted with this first session after the reset. I reset the training max to a weight that I felt should get me ten reps on the first session, so goal accomplished. I have found recently with the squat that the perception of how heavy it feels on my shoulders can make a big difference so I'm also trying a trick of going a little bit heavier before going back to the prescribed top set.

[LimieJosh]

Fri, Oct 19th
Bench 200 X 5, 230 X 5, 262.5 X 5

Assitance
Press 15 total reps at 135 (11, 3, 1)

Seated BB press 100 X 10, 9, 8, 10

Attempted some DB rows, but the left biceps was still feeling a bit aggrivated so I spent some time working it out with the BB massage. The painful area is through he lateral portion and feels like the insertion of the bracialradialis.

Triceps seated and lying EX bar extensions
Some soreness in the right elbow again so I did a good 10-15 mins working out the triceps with the PVC as well

Abs



I'd already started the 5+ week over on the press and squat so did the same for bench today. Just as with press I have decided to round the top set to the nearest 2.5lbs, hence being 2.5lbs heavier than lat week's effort. This was the most fresh I've felt for bench day in a long while. I sometimes have to really work at getting into position and staying tight because of soreness through my back from the erectors through the rhomboids and traps. Today it was smooth from the first warm up set though. I think this 3 day/wk schedule may work for me. The set of 5 was solid without much of a grind so I hope there are still a few cycles left before I start falling under the required reps.

[LimieJosh]

Mon, Oct 22nd

Dead - With the change in programming last week, starting everything over at the 5+ week, this was prescribed to be a repeat of last week's session, which itself was a repeat of the 5+ session from the previous cycle 9/21). Instead of just repeating that and pushing for an increase in reps from last week I decided to do my first two sets as prescribed, then instead of going onto the AMRAP set working up to a heavy single before going back down to do just the minimum reps (5) at the prescribed 3rd set weight.

295 X 5, 345 X 5, 390 X 1, 425 X 1, 475 X 1, and 390 X 5
I did 470 at the beginning of Sept, which while an easyish pull was a PR. Today's, while still not a full max effort, felt a a lot heavier than just 5lbs more.

Sqt 320 X 3 X 4 on a loose 2 min clock, and 230 X 12
Keep the weight the same for the rest of this cycle and concentrate on working though on a strict clock

Abs

[LimieJosh]

Wed, Oct 24th

I am generally feeling much better recovered and ready to train since switching to non-consecutive training days, but I was a little banged up this morning. Deadlifting on wednesday really did something to my pecs and they still sore today, but not in a "I just benched sort of way."

Press 140 X 3, 160 X 3, 182.5 X 2
Additional reps 4 more singles on the minute and 135 X 10

DB incline 75 X 8, 8, 8, 8, 7

Superset with neutral grip pull ups X 5, 4, 4, 4, 4
My biceps was still feeling aggrivated and so my goal was just to accumulate some volume while staying far away from fatigue.

I finished off with some machine rows, hammer strnegth high row for 10 X 2. These felt pretty good on the biceps.

[LimieJosh]

Fri, Oct 26th
Sqt 260 X 3, 295 X 3, 330 X 1, 370 X 1, 330 X 8
Same trick as before, with the two singles prior to the main AMRAP set.

RDLs 190 X 8 X 5 (strict 90 seconds)

Hack sqt 105lbs/side X 10, 10, 8
I'm still not entirely sure about where the best foot placement is for this, but this increase of 30lbs was pretty significant.

Abs

[LimieJosh]

Mon, Oct 29th

Bench 215 X 3, 240 X 3, 277.5 X 3
Drop set of 225 X 8
Good solid top set without any real grinding. On another day might have a 4th rep, but I didnt have a spotter which made it a no go, and I'm never quite as solid and tight when it's heavy and I dont have a lift off.

Press (seated) 100 X 10 X 5
2 mins rest, but waited a little longer for the last 2 sets to ensure I got all the reps.

DB row - 70 X 10, 80 X 10, 85 X 10
Biceps was feeling better so I just wanted to do something for the back, but staying way under the pain threshold, not push myself close to failure on any set and, given I havent done hard back work for a couple of weeks and I deadlift on wednesday, wanted to keep volume reasonable.

Triceps - seated plate loaded dip machine
90/side X 10, 100 X 10, 110 X 10, 120 X 10
I love these, but like real dips they can aggrivate my shoulder. I started light and built up, concentrating on keeping my torso upright and forcing my humerouses (humeri?) into good extension with minimial internal rotation and retracted shoulder blades. These felt good

On my press workout on friday I am prescribed a single at 195, which will be an equal PR. If I feel good I might go that last 5lbs and try for 200lbs so I kept that in mind today and so had the goal of just getting in some good work without killing myself.

On another note, the missues was maid of honour at a wedding over the weekend. The other bridesmaids were out of towners and so I had at least one of them in my house every night since last friday. I spent all last week entertaining and cooking like it was my job all the while still trying to do my actual job and get good lifts in. I like them, but ti was exhausting. Last night was my first commitment free night since a week last friday and it was glorious.

[LimieJosh]

Wed, Oct 31st

Dead 320 X 3, 365 X 3, 415 X 4
I left a little in the tank here. I'm going for a 200lbs press in my next session and took Wendler's advice of picking and choosing your battles. It would have taken a near limit effort to get the 5th rep, which although it would have been a 5 rep PR (currently 405lbs) I decided that wasnt important enough to achieve today to possibly reduce my chances of hitting my press goals in my next session. I hit my minimum target, and even stayed in extra rep territory. That's good enough work and I'll save the battle with this lift for another day. Chalk that up to emotional growth.

Sqt 320 X 3 X 4 and 230 X 14
Lungs were burning after the set of 14.

Pull ups - just experiemented a bit to see how my biceps felt. Did an easy set of ten followed by a set of chins, but stopped after about 5 when I could feel it in my left biceps.

I go to LA on Sunday. I will be busy all day Monday and come back Wednesday morning. With that schedule I think a Tue, Thur, Sat training schedule next week will make most sense. With that in mind I am likely going to do my next session on saturday morning rather than friday to normalize the gap between that session and the one that follows it.

Expect a 200lb pres video to be posted on Saturday.

[LimieJosh]

So, had a few things going on and so havnt logged the last couple of sessions

Sat Nov 3rd

Press 150 X 5, 170 X 3, 195 X 1 and 135 X 11

DB incline 75 X 8, 8, 7, 7, 8

Neutral grip pull ups to accumulate volume 6, 6, 5, 5, 5, 5 for a total of 32

Hammer high row 115/side X 10, 10 and 90 a side X 10

Didnt try the 200 lbs press. The 195 went up ok, but not good enough to want to throw a 200 on top of that. The assistance felt hard though so I assume that a single high rep drop set is more immediately taxing than multiple repeated eforts with a heavy weight

Tue, Nov 6 - Location: Gold's Gym Venice

Sqt 295 X 5, 330 X 3, 350 X 1, 370 X 1, 350 X 5
Rest 2 mins and 3 more doubles @ 350

RDLs 190 X 10 X 5

Leg sled - 5 sets ramped in weight. None too challenging.

I was in LA for work and on my day off rented a car and went out to the coast. I started with coffee on the beach and then walked up to the gym around 10am. It was buzing, but I have to say I was a little disappointed. There was all the equipment you could ask for, but even there, at the home of body building there were tons of stupid people doing stupid stuff. There was even a trainer who weighed about 100lbs having his clients do all sorts of pilates related stuff in one of their squat racks. It was cool to go to see the memorabilia and imagine what it was like back int he day, but as it stands now, I've trained in gyms with a more conducive atmosphere.

[LimieJosh]

Thur, Oct 8th

Bench 230 X 5, 260 X 3, 290 X 1 and 225 X 8

Seated press 105 X 10, 10, 8, 10, 9
2 mins rest, increase by 1 min when failed to make reps

DB rows 70 X 10, 80 X 10, 10

Recovery squats

Seated dips 110/side X 10 X 3

The early sets of the bench felt heavy. Sometimes you feel in a groove, but today I felt like it was difficult to even hold onto the bar. I had been hoping for 2 reps, but based on the difficulty of the earlier sets I decided to just take the minimum. That rep went up well and didn’t stick anywhere. I had a good spotter who really encouraged me to try a second, but it didn’t go anywhere.

[LimieJosh]

Was supposed to train deadlifts on Saturday, but had some life shit come up that prevented me doing it. I got a flat tire at night and by the time that was fixed in the morning (4 new tires as the existing ones were showing signs of rot) it was already 7pm. I decided to just skip that session and jump ahead to the new cycle starting with press on monday. I then got to the gym and realised my belt wasn't in the boot and so just had to to do the best I could on the top set beltless

Mon, Nov 12th
Press 135 X 5, 155 X 5, 175 X 3, 2, 1, 1 for 6 total reps.

BB Incline press 155 X 8, 8, 8, 6, 7
Short rest, +1 min when reps missed

Neutral grip pull ups to accumulate volume - 8 total sets of 8-5 reps for 51 total reps

BB Biceps curl - 65 X 20

Biceps still giving me a bit of grief, but it's better than it was.

[LimieJosh]

Wed, Nov 14th

Sqt 245 X 5, 285 X 5, 325 X 1, 370 X 1, 325 X 7
Drop set 225 X 15

RDLs 195 X 8 X 5

Leg press 90 side X 10, 135/side X 10 X 3


Holy shit did that drop set kick my arse. It didnt feel difficult muscularly, but by the time I was done I felt like a horse had kicked me in the chest and someone had poured molten lave down my throat. The feeling wouldnt go away and so I just had to get the rest of the work done with it still kicking. It's been a long time I felt like that.

I was a little disappinted with just 7 reps on the main set seeing as I got 8 on 330 a couple of weeks ago. Looking back I havent had the best couple of weeks in terms of training and recovery so maybe I was due. I've got 2 more sessions before I go to Detroit for thankgiving, which will enforce a mini break for me. I need to nail those 2 sessions and then bring the year home well.

[LimieJosh]

Fri, Niv 16th
Bench 205 X 5, 235 X 5, 265 X 4 and 225 X 8
Assistance
Seated press 105 X 8 X 5 and X 10 standing (this set very difficult to finish the reps overhead.)
Seated dip machine pyramid up for 4 sets of ten – careful with shoulder
BB curls 65 X 20 X 2
Urgh. I felt good going into the session, but I just didn’t have it on bench. This was a big disappointment seeing as I hit a solid 5 with this on my 3+ week several cycles ago back at the end of Aug.


Mon, Nov 19th
Dead 295 X 5, 350 X 5, 400 X 4
Sqt 325 X 3 X 4 and 235 X 14
Abs