caveman goes for 5/3/1 for 300/400/500

[caveman]

Monday 9/16/19
Bodyweight was 197.3 (with the caveat that I weighed 198.1 during my normal weigh-in time, but postponed breakfast for 2 hours, pooped again, and then weighed myself). sort of counts. Goal weight was 197.4, now it is 195.8!

Squats - 325 for 5. Dang these were hard. I tracked speed and last rep was 0.3m/s. Kind of my threshold number for grind/no grind. Bar keeps moving down my back though. Very annoying. Must be weight loss related.

Front squats - 225 for 5. Beltless. Last rep was down to 0.4m/s. My made up number for accessory work speed.

Sumo deadlifts - 355 for 5. These were harder than squats. Decided to use straps because my thumbs were still sore from Saturday's pulling. I pulled 315 with hook grip and decided that it was probably going to do more harm than good, and I knew that the set was going to be hard enough strengthwise.

Pullups - 5.

Was going to do some lunges are something inside, but quickly lost the motivation to do anything other than watch the TV with the kiddos.

[caveman]

Tuesday 9/17/19
Bodyweight 198.1 (whatever)

Bench - 245 for 5. Paused first rep. This was a good set, possibly could have done 1 more rep.
Backoff bench - 185 for 15. My buddy did a burnout set and thought that sounded like fun and I wanted to get some more bench volume in so, win-win.

OHP - 135 for 6. Pretty surprised that I got as many as last week with my arms being jelly after the AMRAP bench set.

hammer curls - 20 for 25. Improvement.
Tricep rope - 90 for 30. Improvement.
lat pull downs - 120 for 15. Improvement.
Farmers walk - 85 down and back plus a little extra.
feet elevated pushups - 25.

That's the best session I've had since my vacation. Weights did not feel bone crushingly heavy, and I was able to do a little more than what was on my sheet. And was able to keep up that effort from exercise to exercise. And, that was after 4 consecutive days of lifting because I had to make up some days over the weekend. Progress...

[caveman]

Thursday 9/19/19
Bodyweight 199.1. That's fawking bullsh!t! I've been super careful this week because I knew I was a little behind schedule last week... Demoralizing!

Deads - 375 for 6. These felt pretty good once I put on the belt. Before that I didn't feel that solid to start the pull. Probably had 2 more in the tank, but not wanting to get to close failure on these just yet. Especially since my back is still bothering me a little. Time to schedule a chiro visit methinks.

Squats - 315 for 5, 5, and 5. Was only supposed to do 295 for sets, but deads felt good, and I was already irritated because of the body weigh thing. Looks like at least some of that bodyweight increase is from muscle because I destroyed todays workout. Squats were pretty easy even on the last set though it felt like my form was breaking down a little, but I could feel that the barspeed was still good.

Fronts squats - 225 for 5 and 5. Beltless. Trying to get some extra squat volume while also working on my core, upper back, and quads which all seems like they could use the help.

Pullups - 6. Just trying to show small improvements while not causing my elbows to complain. So far so good, as these were also easy and felt like I could have got at least 8.

Another decent day in the gym. Just need to see the scale start cooperating so that I can feel good about my approach. It is very tough to be hungry most of the day and then gain weight even though you did not give in to the urges to stuff your face with food.

[caveman]

Missed Friday due to family commitments. Made it up on Saturday at home.

Bench - 225 for 5, 5, and 5. All reps paused.
OHP - 115 for 6, then 120 for 6 and 6

Hammer curls - 19 for 25
Tricep rope - 80 for 30
Pull ups - Not many arms were dead
Pushups - 30

[caveman]

Missed Monday because I went to the chiro. Felt great for the rest of the day but today my back feels fragile. Meh.
Even though I was strict last week with the diet I ended up gaining weight, which based on how much better my lifts felt the last few days is in part due the return of some lost muscle mass. Fortunately, I resisted the urge to quit and stuck with it.
Bodyweight today was 197.something, so that is a lot more encouraging. Also I've noticed my daily belt and PL belt are loose at the setting I've been at a for a while. So I think that little plateau/recomp is over and now I can get back to dropping wait, which needs to happen a little more rapidly than the original 1.6lb/week because of that correction. I am hoping that a little water manipulation for weigh in will get me the last few pounds that I will probably miss by, but I'm going to try and get their without playing any water games.

Squats - 365 for 2. Not too bad. Definitely felt heavy and I feel like I could have definitely got 1 more and probably 2 more. But my back wasn't feeling super awesome today and the bar was sliding down my back a bit again and so I decided to just call it good enough.

Sumo deads - 385 for 2. Did both of these with a hook grip. Wasn't horribly painful, but still doesn't feel great. 2nd rep was starting to slip, but I wasn't using any chalk or tape and was also on the smooth part of the bar so I'm still counting this as a success. I think I had the strength to pull another rep or two, which was a big improvement on how 365 felt at home the other day.

Pull ups -7. These felt pretty dang good
Chins - 6, back off set, without too much rest, was shooting for 7 but would have had to grind that last rep and I am trying to avoid that for elbow happiness.

Was supposed to double up today, but got to the gym late and didn't have a spotter so i wouldn't have benched heavy anyways. I'm hoping to knock that out tonight at home.

[caveman]

I did make it into the garage this evening.

Bench - 265 for 2. Paused first rep. 2nd rep was touch and go and was borderline grindy. Bah.
Burnout bench - 225 for 7. Trying to get some extra volume. Also planning a deload for the 2nd half of this week so a little extra volume should be OK.

OHP - 147.5 for 2.
Burnout OHP - 135 for 3. Not much of a burnout set, I suppose...

Then I decided to try out the loading pin I made over the weekend with the Ironmind rolling thunder I bought a while ago. Haven't got around to weighing the pin yet. Left hand was able to do 105 pounds of added weight for a double. Right hand did 120 for a double. It's sad how much weaker my left hand is for grip stuff.

Did a static hang from the fat gripz until I started slipping (at least 20 seconds I think).

Came inside and did 40 pushups and then fooled a little bit with the CoC grippers before finally admitting that my grip was done and that was that.

Bodyweight was looking pretty good after getting home from work, hoping that I didn't overdo dinner with the kids because I was hungry and the food was tasty. It did seem a little salty and that's almost always a guaranteed weight gain in the morning...

[caveman]

Thursday 9/26/19
Bodyweight 197.3 Finally some progress in the right direction. I have definitely noticed my work pants and belt feeling even looser, so I think things are definitely moving in the right direction. Unfortunately, I am already 1-2 weeks behind schedule so I really need to lose another pound or two by Monday. Seems like a lot to ask in one week...

Deads - 410 for 5. Nice! Even though my back still isn't feeling super awesome good, I was willing to push this a bit today. I did hook with 315 and 365. Didn't feel that great honestly. Will try to remember to put my tape in the bag and see if that helps, maybe some chalk too. I will definitely start making some pulls with mixed grip as I think that might be the way for comp day, or at least as a backup.

Squats - 275 for 10 beltless and then 225 for 10 beltless. Technically deload starts now, but besides my back feeling a little wonky I feel fine and will try to combine the deload with the some high rep light stuff to keep things moving towards getting stronger.

Lunges - bodyweight to the red pole and back from the deadlift platform

then did 15 second static hangs with mixed grip (each way) then pull and chin up grips.

finished off with inverted rows - got 14. I think that might be a PR.

[caveman]

Friday 9/27/19
Bodyweight 197.something low. I don't remember now.

Spoto bench press - 225 for 5, 5, and 5. Technically a deload day. I watched a Youtuber do these and thought today would be a good day to give them a try. Meh, not sure these are more effective than just a paused bench.
Backoff paused bench - 185 for 10. All reps paused.

skipped OHP

Incline dumbbell press - 50 for 10 and 10.

Hammer curls - 20 for 20
Tricep rope - 90 for 30
Lat pull down - 135 for 10 (or was it 12?).

then a 5second one arm hang each arm. then 60 second normal hang. Feel the burn!

[caveman]

Monday 9/30/19
Bodyweight 196.5 (that's 2 pound loss in 7 days. If I keep doing that, things will work out just fine. Too bad weight loss isn't usually linear.)

Squats - 305 for 10. Was only supposed to do 8, but these were moving well.
Front squats - 245 for 5 and 5. These really aren't much fun. Hope that means they are helping a bunch!

Sumo deads - 335 for 8. was only supposed to be 330, but plate math. Did the first 7 DOH grip and finished with a mixed grip pull because I wanted to save the thumb smashing for some conventional deads on Thursday. I had a few more in the tank as these were moving pretty well.

Pull ups - 7.

Decent day, pleasantly surprised with extra reps for the big stuff. Elbows feel tight and my low back is better than it was but not quite normal yet. Just gotta keep grinding...

[caveman]

Tuesday 10/1/19
Bodyweight 196.0 Felt bloated this morning though, so I was surprised that the number was good.

Bench - 230 for 10. yeah buddy! All touch and go but this a serious improvement over last months effort.
Paused bench - 230 for 5. Every rep paused. Because I should practice for the meet and not just what I like doing...
Spoto bench - 230 for 5. Not sure if these contributed to my gains, but other people like them, and so far it isn't hurting anything.

OHP - 125 for 8 and then 5.

Then did a rest/pause set or whatever it's called inclined dumbbell - 50's for 15, 10, and then 5. About 45 seconds rest per set. Dayum that got hard!

Ring pull ups - 7
Hammer curls - 20 for 25
Tricep rope - 90 for 30

Static hold wall handstand

Pretty significant pump after all that accessory work.