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You know that by default, Wendler recommends the 90 percent estimation, right?
What I suggested, and was suggested to myself is to lower it with an additional 10 percent, for the squat. So that would mean 80 percent of your 1RM squat as your max 1RM (instead of 90 percent). That way you'll be able to progress for more cycles. I haven't tried it though, I went with the usual 90 percent for the squat, thus my first week became 315x7, and so on.
Good luck with the program, and keep us updated how it goes!
Also, be liberal in cutting back accessory exercises if you have hard time recovering, the main lifts are what count.
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Third Week
May 18 2011
Press
3 x 120
3 x 135
3 x 150
Dips 5 sets of 20
Chinups 4 sets of 10, 1 set of 9- just couldn't squeeze out last one
May 20
Deadlift
5 x 280
3 x 315
3 x 350
Goodmornings 5 sets of 12 x 65
Hanging Leg Raises 10, 6, 6, 6, 5 Getting easier
May 23
Bench
5 x 205
3 x 235
4 x 260
Dumbbell Bench
4 sets of 15 x 55, 1 set of 13 x 55
Dumbbell Row
5 sets of 10 x 50
May 25
Squat
5 x 285
3 x 325
3 x 360
Leg Press 5 sets of 15 x 205
Leg Curl 5 sets of 10 x 70
Although this week was still less than my linear strength maxes, it was still much better than last week. Next up- deload week. I haven't had a true deload week since December 2010.
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DELOAD WEEK
May 27, 2011
Press Day
5 x 65
5 x 80
5 x 95
5 sets 15 dips
4 sets 10 chinups, 1 set of 8 chins
May 30 2011
Deadlifts
5 x 150
5 x 185
5 x 225
Squats (These are done at Seti's suggestion to make sure enough squat volume occurs)
5 sets of 10 @ 135
Goodmornings
5 sets of 12 @ 45
Hanging Leg Raises
8,7,5,5,5 (very tired by end of these)
June 1 2011
Bench Press
5 x 110
5 x 140
5 x 165
Dumbbell Bench
5 sets of 15 @ 50
Dumbbell Row
5 sets of 10 @ 40
June 3 2011
Squats
5 x 155
5 x 190
5 x 230
Leg Press
5 sets of 15 @ 135
Leg Curl
5 sets of 10 @ 50
This completes my first full cycle of 5/3/1. So far, the only change I'm making (at Seti's suggestion) is to add squats on deadlift day to ensure I'm getting enough squat volume. I do think this is necessary since my "weeks" are more like 8-9 days since I'm working out 3 times a week. Obviously, I won't be able to see if I'm making progress until I've run 3-4 more cycles.
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How do you feel about the program so far? You're doing quite a lot of assistance work. Be sure to monitor your recovery once the weights start to go up, but keep on going!
One more thing, I've also done dumbbell rows, and I really liked Kroc rows, where you take the largest dumbbell you can handle and do one all out set with each arm using "cheat form", usually between 20-40 reps. My gym's largest dumbbell is around 70 pounds, so I used that, to get around 35 reps. Maybe you could try it once instead of the 5x10, it's a very different feeling indeed! It's supposed to strengthen the grip and the upper back for deadlift lockouts. I would definitely recommend it for you to give it a shot.
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Thanks Seti- I am hoping to keep increasing weights on regular dumbbell rows on 5 x 10 and see how it works. As of right now I feel like I am making some progress, but as you previously noted it's impossible to track weekly progress on 5/3/1- iy will likely take 3-4 months before I can really evaluate how it's going.
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Cycle 2
"Week" 1
June 6 2011
Press
5 x 110
5 x 125
6 x 140
5 sets of 20 dips
5 sets of 10 chinups
June 8
Deadlift
5 x 245
5 x 285
6 x 320 This was easy but had to stop because I had eaten huge plate of Mexican food an hour earlier. Every time I bent over, before I even tried to lift it felt like I was going to puke.
Squats
5 sets of 10 x 205 (very hard)
Goodmornings 3 sets of 12 x 65
Hanging Leg Raise 8, 6, 5
Too tired after squats to complete 5 sets of goodmornings and leg raises. All the Mexican food probably didn't help either.
June 10 2011
Bench Press
5 x 185
5 x 210
8 x 240 Felt good- maybe had a couple left but had a spotter that kept wanting to grab it.
Dumbbell Bench
5 sets of 15 x 55
Dumbbell Row
5 sets of 10 x 50
June 13
Squats
5 x 255
5 x 295
7 x 330 Reasonably hard but not terrible.
Leg Press
5 sets of 15 x 205- tough to grind out last two sets.
Leg Curl
5 sets of 10 x 70
Last edited by bustermonkey2; 06-15-2011 at 05:18 PM.
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"Week 2"
June 15 2011
Press
5 x 115
5 x 130
5 x 150 Not too bad- I'm now at where I started before 5/3/1. Couldn't squeeze out any more though.
Dips
4 sets x 20, 1 set x 25
Chinups
5 sets x 10 I really wanted to add a few more but couldn't do it.
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June 15 Bodyweight 203-207 depending on time of day.
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June 17
Deadlifts
3 x 265, 3 x 305, 6 x 340 (felt pretty easy- probably had another 1-2 left in tank)
Squats
5 sets x 10 x 210
Good Mornings 3 x 12 x 65
Hanging Leg Raise 11, 7, 4 Exhausted by this point
June 20
Bench Press
3 x 195
3 x 225
7 x 250
Dumbbell Bench
2 x 15 x 60, 10 x 60, 2 x 7 x 60
Dumbbell Row
5 x 10 x 55
June 22
Squat
3 x 275, 3 x 310, 3 x 350 (very disappointing)
Leg Press
5 x 15 x 210 (very hard)
Leg Curl
5 x 10 x 70
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Going into last "week" of cycle 2 of 5/3/1 I have noticed squat and press regression. I feel like deadlift and bench have made progress- these are the same things Seti noticed. Because I'm only doing 5/3/1 three times /week, I don't think I'm getting enough volume on squats in particular. After this cycle, I'm going to increase workouts to 4 days/week and do squats after deadlifts at 5 x 5 for volume.
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