mastering the force

[skipbeat]

I mostly fixed the shin issue by cutting off the top of a pair of long socks and just sliding it on over the scabs. Good enough. My presses.. I honestly think that my spaghetti arms are actually affecting my ability to progress. I'm going to try a little more assistance for them, since I've been doing jack shit in that department, and the only other variable at this point is weight gain. 2-3lbs of weight gain shouldn't = 2.5lbs to the press between sessions! Although if it does, fuck it, I'm going to get this shit over with and move on.

^ I can't edit my post for some reason.

[skipbeat]

Thursday BW 199.4

Litesquat - I really need a belt, I tried this guy's shitty velcro belt on and squats felt SO much better, wow

Bench
205 x 5,5,3 - technique flaw, I would have gotten this NP. One more time..
140 x 10 - did this right after my last set, burned
140 x 10, 10 - did these after deadlift, <1 min rest

Deadlift
330 x 5 - ridiculously easy, felt like a warmup. No loitering between reps. Wish I put 10-20 more lbs on the bar tbh


most likely just going to start my week again on monday for convenience

[skipbeat]

Monday BW 196 - I was over 200 yesterday morning, not sure what happened..

Squat - fuck. I did 280 again. My internet was down so I just guessed what weight I was at. Stupidly easy and pointless.

OlyPress
132.5 x 5,5,4
I'm moving up, fuck this. The second set was easier than the first, I've been actually using my hips now. I didn't rest long enough for the last set.

Deadlift
340 x 5 - ugly. Forgot my ghetto shinguards so form was lacking too.


I think I'm going to dump powercleans for shrugs and rows or more deadlifts or something. For now. When I'm actually strong I'll come back to it, with bumper plates, hopefully my own gym again, and probably a coach.

I think I'm going to stop updating my log and keep a paper one guys. I'm currently going through a big transitional period in my life and it's going to make or break me. I'm just unmotivated to post really, I'm pretty much in a rut with both training and life. I'll probably still come back and post milestones or something, but i'm more likely to post them to facebook. Feel free to add me on there: Dylan Carvalho. If I make a comeback, it'll probably be way later and under a different username (I don't know how high I was to come up with something gay like skipbeat - it didn't occur to me people would just call me skip.. which is a fucking dogs name lol). Cheers guys, set some PRs!

[Tom Narvaez]

Get your shit together and come back stronger, bro.


brb cleaning 200x3

[skipbeat]

Hey guys, I'm really thinking about giving 5-3-1 a swirl, establishing my rep maxes tomorrow and starting my first cycle tuesday. The 1 year progress thread was also encouraging. I dunno, the program looks basically unfailable and ridiculously flexible and it's calling my name lol.

So I'm just gonna write up the program and wanted some programming opinions!

4 day/week
Monday: Press 5/3/1, Bench 5x10 @ 50%, pullups/curls
I want to drive up my bench is the reasoning for this..

Tuesday: Squat 5/3/1, ?
Not sure what else to add as assistance here, should I just do more squats? I will also be doing 5x10 on DL day..

Thursday: Bench 5/3/1, Dips 5x10, pullups/curls?
It really is hard to choose from an endless amount of assistance lifts, lol

Friday: Deadlift 5/3/1, Squat 5x10 @50%, shrugs
Squat is important, and I'll need to do it at least twice a week. Callador mentioned he'd do this too.

I might skip the first deload week depending on how I feel.. I'll use the 90% max and the more conservative wave loading (65-75-85, 70-80-90, 75-85-95) scheme. Will change to a 3-day a week cycle if BW starts dropping and lifts start being affected.

I'm mostly concerned about the placement of assistance. I'd like to throw a 5x10 press somewhere in there without going overboard on the pressing and still focusing on the bench. I'm thinking of just throwing a 5x10 @50% on tuesday or Friday. Bad idea?

[nkelman]

5/3/1 is the shit and makes a great change from SS. I was feeling the same way as you after SS, and also in some sort of rut in life. If you do the program have fun with choosing assistance,

Some things:

Wouldnt do shrugs on deadlift day, fuck that.

Press 5x10 after press 5/3/1, with a slightly wider grip, done wonders for my press, and my bench steady going up as well. 5x10 will smash your tris.

Try good mournings, or hip thrusts if youre struggling with assistance on squat or deadlift days, or just more squats. Believe me, doing sets of ten in the squats will be an eye opener if you have only been doing 5s.

I wouldnt put the press assistance on a lower body day like you want to.

[skipbeat]

hey nkelman,

yeah fuck the shrugs on deadlift day, my traps are probably going to be fried already. I'll see if I can fit them in somewhere .. I'm dropping the power cleans so gotta make up for it

any particular reason for the wider grip on the assistance? does it recruit more shoulder or something? my sticking point is about level with the top of my head

I'm going to try out 5x10 squat assistance on deadlift day, and the speed deads callador suggested on squat day. I don't really want to get totally wrecked from a "leg day" .. I'll reevaluate if progress is shit.

thanks for the tips mate, I'll follow your log if you have one

[skipbeat]

Anyways, I tested my 1RM today for starting the program. I got:

Press: 150 .. failed 155 twice

Squat: 350 .. had maybe 5-10 more lbs in me, but wanted to save some gas for DLs and this was perfect form, slow controlled descent and no bar path problems

Bench: 245 .. probably had more in me, but I got a terrible lift off (he put it all the way over my stomach, almost had a wreck) and it gassed me

Deadlift: 390 .. fuck yeah. This was a nice challenge, bar speed wasn't too slow and no hitching but it was draining.


PL Total: 985

So my 531 training maxes are (I'm going to be using this calculator to write up all my shit for me):

Press: 135
Squat: 315
Bench: 220.5
Dead: 351

my first wave's top sets (5 reps +) are: Press 115, Squat 270, Bench 190, Deadlift 300. I'm going to shoot for 10 reps on all of them. Let the fun begin!

[nkelman]

I feel like it recruits more shoulder in the movement yes. My sticking point was always off the shoulders, and press starts done nothing for me.

My logs in the intermedite section, its in the kilo grams though.

[skipbeat]

Just want to share my first day experience with 5-3-1:

Press
90 x 5
105 x 5
115 x 10 .. probably should've stopped at 9, but I had another rep in me

Dips 12, 12, 10, 7, 7
supersetted w/
Chins 6, 4, 4, 4

why were chins so fucking hard today?! I'm really far from wendler's recommended 5x15 dips and 5x10 chins. I skipped the last set of chins and went home because I was feeling really sick at this point - I'm clearly not used to the lactic acid buildup that accompanies higher reps. I'll adapt quickly.

So for those of you that thought 5-3-1 was an easy way out of hard work... fuck, I stand corrected lol. MASSIVE pump in my arms, and I didn't even get to curls, and my chins/dips weren't even close to par (especially chins).