North Mississippi Rat Eaters

[Eric K]

Welcome back to your log. Good luck with 5/3/1.

[snyderman3000]

Welcome back to your log. Good luck with 5/3/1.

What's up, sir! I'm looking forward to giving 5/3/1 another run. I only went 3 or 4 cycles last time, before I got impatient. I'm really going to focus more on shedding some fat rather than chasing that 1200 total for awhile. I'd like to stay below 210 lbs, which would be my max FFMI at 15% BF, if you buy into that sorta thing. I wanna start doing more running too, once the ridiculous Memphis heat eases up a bit.

[Eric K]

What's up, sir! I'm looking forward to giving 5/3/1 another run. I only went 3 or 4 cycles last time, before I got impatient. I'm really going to focus more on shedding some fat rather than chasing that 1200 total for awhile. I'd like to stay below 210 lbs, which would be my max FFMI at 15% BF, if you buy into that sorta thing. I wanna start doing more running too, once the ridiculous Memphis heat eases up a bit.

Sounds like a plan. I think that patience is a much tougher part of 5/3/1 than the novice LP (although I've been stuck in a novice loop for way too long right now which is really trying my patience) but I really like 5/3/1's flexibility for adding other stuff. I still want that 405x5, and I have a PL meet at the end of October. Hopefully I'll get 405x5 by then. But I do need to move on eventually. I'd like to learn as much as I can from your run as well, so I look forward to that. Good luck, man.

[snyderman3000]

Cycle 1 Week 2

8/15/12

Run: 3 mile jog with stroller- 29:00

Bench: 185x3, 210x3, 235x7
Incline DB Bench: 40x15x3 (need some heavier DB's!)
Dips: BWx10x4
Ring Rows: BWx10x4

8/16/12

Squat: 230x3, 265x3, 295x8
BB Lunge: 95x10x3
BB Curls: 95x6x3
Ab-Wheel: 3x15
Reverse Hyper: 3x15

8/20/12


Run: 3 mile jog with stroller- 27:15

Press: 105x3, 120x3, 140x6 (I should have gotten more, think I was gassed from the run)
CG Bench: 185x10,10,8
Pull-Ups: BWx10x3
Dips: BWx10x3

BW: 217


8/21/12

Hanging Power Cleans: 140x5x3
Deadlift: 285x3, 325x3, 365x8
Ab-Wheel: 3x15
Reverse Hypers: 3x15
DeFranco Unilateral DB Complex*: 40x7,8,9

*Front squat, swings, clean and press (each arm), jump squat

BW: 216

A couple of notes about my current training... Because my work schedule allows me to work out 4 days one week, then 2 days the following week, it takes me 4 weeks to complete the 3 week cycle of 5/3/1 if I do one lift a day. Because of this, I'm just going to omit the deload week. Also, the diet I'm currently using consists of 2 scoops of whey for breakfast, 2 cans of tuna for lunch, 2 scoops of whey for afternoon snack, then whatever the fuck I want for dinner (usually protein heavy). This approach has helped me lose about 12-14 lbs in the past month. I like it for several reasons. First, and most importantly, it's hardly noticeable to the wife. She has very little tolerance for discussions of anything diet or exercise related as she doesn't have the nuanced perspective to differentiate what I do from what the guys on Jersey Shore do. Therefore, saying anything to the effect of, "Hey babe, do you know how many grams of pasta you put in this spaghetti? I need to make sure I don't exceed my macros" is a surefire way to ensure that I don't enjoy any testosterone-boosting activities in the bedroom that night. Also, I get to enjoy a delicious dinner every night. My pre-dinner "meals" consist of about 150g protein, 900 calories, and negligible carbs or fats, so even if I stuff the shit out of myself, I probably won't go over 2500 calories for the day. Finally, it's just easy. I'm not really hungry in the morning anyway, so I don't feel bad just eating protein all day. I'm hoping to continue this until I get down to 205, then maintain around 210. I have 10g of BCAA's when I workout (always fasted) and I don't have any trouble making it through them.

[snyderman3000]

Cycle 1 Week 3

8/24/12

Run: 3 miles w/ stroller- 26:48

Bench: 195x5, 225x3, 250x4
Incline Bench: 155x10x3
Dips: BWx12,12,11
BB Rows: 135x12x3

BW: 216

8/26/12

Squats: 245x5, 280x3, 310x6
SLDL: 135x10x3 (haven't done these in awhile, went light)
BB Shrugs: 185x10x3
DB Curls: 40x10x3
(back felt fried from squats and SLDL, so I left out abs and hypers)

BW: 220

[snyderman3000]

8/29/12

Run: 3 miles with stroller- 26:56 (Now that the weather is easing up a bit, I'm really enjoying these morning jogs with my little girl, she seems to love them too)

Press: 115x5, 130x3, 145x6
CG Bench: 195x10x3 (pretty happy with that!)
Pull-Ups: BWx10x3
Dips: BWx10x3

BW: 216

[snyderman3000]

8/30/12

Hanging Power Cleans: 145x5x3
Deadlifts: 305x5, 345x3, 385x7 (video below)
Front Squats: 155x10, 135x10x2 (shit! 155 felt fucking heavy)
Seated DB Hammer Curls: 40x10x3
Ab-Wheel: BWx20
Reverse Hypers: 1x20

BW: 216

Felt so gassed by the time I got to abs and hypers that I only did one set. Oh well. I took some measurements post workout for the hell of it. Here they are:

Waist: 37" (around belly button, not flexed)
Chest: 47" (also not flexed, I'm a barrel-chested motherfucker, too bad it doesn't translate to a decent bench)
Biceps: 16" (flexed like a mother)
Legs: 27" (also flexed)

Here's the video of my last deadlift set. I don't know if that's excessive back rounding or not, but they felt fine. Good set.

[Eric K]

The video was kind of jumpy (bad connection on my end, not from the filming), so I don't know for sure about the back. But, I would say that you start to move the bar around the knees on the return to the floor which makes your back angle change at the beginning of the next rep. I think it would help to make sure you set your back and focus on squeezing your chest up.

And 7 reps of 385 > 5 reps of 375, BTW, so I don't think you get to say I'm "way stronger."

Plus I'm glad you're enjoying the stroller jog with your little lady. That's awesome, and I'm jealous. Life is not conducive to family for me right now...

[Oldster]

Biceps: 16" (flexed like a mother)

Ha! Don't we all, my man! Don't we all!

Good looking work.

[snyderman3000]

I think it would help to make sure you set your back and focus on squeezing your chest up.

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. I've been getting lazy with setting my back after each rep since my training partner and I are very close on deadlifts and I'm always trying to beat him. He had just gotten 6 reps, so picking the bar up 7 times was the only thing on my mind. Also, he left his belt (the one you said is the same as yours) in Florida, so I have to use my EliteFTS economy belt on deadlifts now. I like it for squats, but it's so stiff it makes it difficult to get into a good starting position for deadlifts. I'll try to address the setting of my back next week and post another video.