Helton Intermediate Log

[John Helton]

Just starting intermediate training this week. Running 5/3/1. I like the organization of one big lift per day.

Stats:
45 years old.
Male
BW: 205
Height: 5'9"
Bodyfat: 14-15%

SS PRs:
BP: 225x5x3
SQ: 290x5x3
OHP: 140x5x3
DL: 350x5

I never really failed at SS, but it just got too time consuming and taxing for my mind/body. Looking forward to hopefully steady progress with 5/3/1.

7/17/17
BP: 150x5, 175x5, 195x11 (New calculated 1RM of 260). No joker sets. Boring But Big (BBB): 115x10x5 with 1 minute rest between sets.
Chins: 7,7,8

Felt good. Big pump from BBB.

7/18/17
SQ: 190x5, 220x5, 250x11 (new 1RM of 335). No joker sets. Plan to start those next week. First Set Last (FSL): 190x5x5 with 2 minutes rest between sets.
Hanging Knee Raises: 5 sets of 12.

Wow. That was a lot of volume for me. Made me super sleepy afterwards. Might be sore tomorrow.

[John Helton]

Yep. Legs are very sore today. Being on vacation and not squatting for 1.5 weeks doesn't help either. Hopefully, this won't be a regular occurrence.

[John Helton]

7/20/17

BW: 206
OHP: 95x5, 110x5, 125x10. BBB: 70x10,10,10,10,9 on the 1:30.
Barbell Rows: 95x10x5 on the 1:30.

Tough. Couldn't lock out the last of the boring but big reps. Legs are still sore from Tuesday.

[John Helton]

7/22/17

BW: 205
DL: 230x5, 265x5, 300x10. FSL: 230x5x5 on the 2:30
SQ (light): 190x5x5 on the 2:30

Felt good. DOMS finally went away enough to deadlift and squat.

[John Helton]

7/25/17

BW: 206
BP: 160x3, 185x3, 205x10 (new calc. 1RM = 265). BBB: 115x10x5 on the 1:30.
Chins: 8,8,8 on the 3:30.

Was planning on starting the Joker Sets this week, but I didn't have a spotter and am not comfortable pushing the weight without one on bench.

[John Helton]

7/26/17

BW: 204
SQ: 265x5x5
Hanging Knee Raises: 5 set of 12

So Jordan doesn't like 5/3/1. The Texas Method and 5/3/1 | Jordan Feigenbaum Plenty of people do, but in the first week the volume just seemed a bit light without the assistance work. I felt like I was going easy on myself. So I'm pivoting to a 4-Day TM Split. Doing 5 across feels right for volume and I'm looking forward to the intensity where I can push the PRs. I will still be doing some assistance work as the 4 day split allows. I'm doing Version #1 found on page 148 of PPST3.

[John Helton]

7/28/17

BW: 207
BP (Intensity): 230x5 New 5RM. Really felt easy for a new PR.
OHP (Light): 110x5x3
BP (BBB): 115x10x5 Felt easier than in the past. Need to push this up.
BB Rows: 115x5x5 Felt easy as well. Still trying to find my weights for rows.

[John Helton]

7/29/17

SQ (Intensity): 295x5 New 5RM. These didn't feel easy. The bar speed was good but I didn't feel very balanced. It seems like squats are just always hard.
DL (Intensity): 355x5 New 5RM. The deadlifts felt great. I'm not sure why, but they didn't feel like a new PR.

[John Helton]

7/31/17

BW: 208
OHP (Volume): 130x5x5. Estimating RPE @ 8.5 for last set.
OHP (BBB): 70x10x5 - Was able to lock out all reps this time. 1 minute rest between sets.
Chins: 8,8,9

[John Helton]

8/31/17

BW: 208
SQ (Volume): 270x5x5. Wasn't easy. Tweaked back on the first set by standing up too straight with the weights, hyperextending my lower back. Fought through it, but I feel like my form varies too much rep to rep. Last one was the best, which made me think, "Where has that been?"
DL (Volume): 305x5x3. I know this isn't orthodox. However, I don't do power cleans and feel that I could use more DLs for stimulation. We'll see how I feel come Friday when I'm planning to do DLs for intensity.

Now I just need to go find a muscle relaxer for my lower back. I'm sure it will be fine. It isn't a herniated disc.