Back to School Log

Going back to school fairly soon after a solid 3 months of good lifting over the Summer.

Currently I’m working on 5/3/1 entering my 3rd wave this past week.

My Current stats:

Height: 6’0’’
Weight: 185 (in the morning)

Bench: 225x1, 195x8, 215x3
Oly Squat (ATG): 285x1, 275x2, 225x11
Deadlift: 415x1, 315x6, 225x21

I’m looking to try to hit 200 by winter break (3+ months)and will do so by following the “1 pound a week” concept. Not looking to eat like shit and gain 5 lbs of muscle and ten of fat but I do realize that some fat gain comes with the rapid weight gain.

I’ll be posting both my diet and workouts on here. Please don’t hesitate to criticize either part, especially my diet as I think that needs some serious work.


So far this week my workouts were as follows:

Monday 8/9:
BB Bench Press: Warm-up, 150x5, 170x5, 195x8
Decline DB Press: 65x8, 65x6, 65x5
Incline BB Press: 135x8, 135x8, 135x8

V-Bar Push-downs: 3 sets of 6-8 reps
Lying EZ Bar Skull Crushers: 3 sets of 10-12 reps
Decline DB Extensions: 2 sets of 10 reps
Standing EZ Bar Skull Crushers: 2 sets of 6-8 reps
1-Arm Supinated Grip Pulldowns: 3 sets of 10-12 reps

[AB WORK]

Tuesday 8/10:
Oly Back Squat (ATG): Warm-up, 170x5, 195x5, 225x11 (shaking legs afterwards)
Squat clean + jerk: 135x1x3, 155x1x2, 185x1x2 (did these in the YMCA which isnt very conducive to oly lifting so I kept them lighter)
BB Shrugs: 135x10, 155x10, 185x10x2

Seated Smith Military Press: Using Rest Pause Method - 135x7, 135x3, 135x2
1 Arm Standing Arnold Presses: 3 sets of 35 lbs x 10-12 reps
Cable Front Raises: 3 sets of 10-12 reps with the 3rd being a drop set
Machine Lateral Raises: 3 sets of 6-10 reps

Wednesday 8/11:
Weighted Pullups (palms out): BWx10, BW+25x6x3, BW+45x2, BW+55x1
Med Grip Seated Cable Rows: 3 sets of 10-12 reps w/ paused contraction
Pull Downs (wide grip): 3 sets of 10-12 reps
1 Arm Seated Cable Rows: 3 sets of 8-10 reps

Chinups (palms in): Rest Pause Method - BWx7, BWx2, BWx2
Preacher Curls (assuming 15 lb bar weight): 55x12, 60x6, 55x10
Seated Hammer Curls (first set @90 degrees, with each next set decreased one bench click): 3 sets of 10-12 reps
1 Arm Cable Curls: 3 sets of 10-12 with paused contraction
1 Arm Pinwheel Cable Curls: 3 sets of 10-12


I will start posting my diet as of tomorrow, along with macro percentages etc.

Have at it … I can handle, and can appreciate criticism

For the big lifts I tend to give myself as much time as I need between sets (between 2-5 minutes) but for the assistance work (more geared to hypertrophy) I take between 60-90 seconds between sets.

8/12 - Rest Day

8/13 - 5/3/1 Week 1

Deadlift: Warm-up, 245x5, 280x5, 320x12 (Rep PR by 6 from 315x6)

Rack Pulls from above knee w/ Shrug: 225x5, 315x5, 365x5, 405x3, 455x5, 500x3, 520x3, 585x1 (PR)

Lying Ham Curls: 110x10x3

Weighted Ab Work (hanging knee raises, cable crunches etc.)


I could’ve repped out more on the 320 but I didn’t want to risk messing up my back this early on. Usually on my deadlifts I have to pause at the bottom of each rep to reset my start position because of a lack of flexibility in my hamstrings but I have been working on that and today they felt great - my reps were touch and go and were incredibly smooth for the 320 x 12

I lost the shrug in the set with 455 for the rack pulls so they just became heavy rack pulls. I had never done 6 plates before so I went for it and it felt great despite getting a little dizzy afterward.

Will post back tonight with diet info for today.

8/14 - 5/3/1 Week 2

Bench Press: Warm-up, 155x3, 180x3, 205x5 (I think this matches my rep PR, didn’t feel too strong)
Bench Press Wide Grip: Rest Pause set - 155x8,3,2 and 135x8,3,2
Decline DB Press: 65x10, 65x6, 65x5 (60 second rest between sets)
Incline BB Press: 135x8, 135x7, 135x6, RP @ 125x8,3,2
Pec Deck Flies: RP @ 130x10,5,4

V-Bar Push Downs: 3 sets of 8-12 (in log book)
Decline EX Bar Ext: 3 sets of 8-12 (in log book)
Rope Pushdowns: 3 sets of 8-12 (in log book)
1 Arm Underhand Grip Pushdowns: 3 sets of 8-12 (in log book)


Weights used for triceps stuff is in my manual log book which I left in the car.

Didn’t feel too great on bench but 205x5 is pretty decent for me - Ill look to hit 215 for 4 next week if I’m feeling good

I like the RP technique and think I’ll keep using it for some of the assistance work as I go along

My diet has been fairly consistent over the Summer, but will change a bit as I head back to school so once I get back I will post a typical day’s intake.

My supplementation is made up of a pre-workout Spike type supp, a BCAA during workout drink, and a PWO shake (similar to Surge) w/ creatine.

In addition to this I have a casein shake prior to going to bed and take fish oil throughout the day.

8/15 - Rest

I think I am going to try carb cycling from now on during my training. I wont be counting specific values in terms of grams etc, but rather will be aiming from high carb intake for my leg days, medium for upper body days, and low on my rest days.

For example, today I did a very light fasting walk before breakfast and then limited my carb intake on the day to fruits in the morning and the milk in my caesin shake after my walking.

For both high and medium days the carbs will be consumed in the morning pre workout and one hour after my workout and will be cut off around 6 pm with the exception of veggies, or if I train later in the day.

8/16 - 5/3/1 Week 2 Squat

Back Squat ATG - Warm-up, 180x3, 205x3, 235x9 (Rep PR)

Hang Squat Cleans - 135x5, 185x3, 205x1, 225x1 (felt easy, but didn’t want to push it with no bumper plates in the YMCA)

1-Leg Press - 2 plates on each side x 3 sets x 10 reps

BB Shrugs - 225x 3 sets x 10-12 reps

Split Jerks from the Back - 135x3, 185x2, 205x1, 225x1 (again, could’ve done more, but no bumper plates)

Military Press - RP @ 145 x 6, 3, 2, hold for 20 seconds

1-Arm Standing DB Arnold Press - 40x10, 45x8, 45x8

Machine Lateral Raises - 3 sets of 10 reps


Squats felt good today, 9 reps at 235 is solid for me.

Hang cleans felt great - my PR is 235 lbs and 225 felt light for me. Same goes for the jerk, my PR from the back is 110 kilos (242 lbs) and 225 felt nice and fast today.

8/17 - Back / Biceps

Weighted Pullups - BWx10, BW+27.5x5x2, BW+50x3 (PR)

Seated Cable Rows - 3 sets of 8-10 reps with paused contraction (focused on tempo on these)

Wide Grip Pulldowns - 4 sets of 8-10 reps

1 Arm Cable Seated Rows - 3 sets of 8 - 10 reps

Preacher Curls - RP w/ 65 x 6, 3, 2

Seated Strict DB Hammer Curls (forceful contraction, slow controlled tempo) - 22.5 x 8 x 2, 20 x 8, 15 x 8

Cable Straight Bar 21’s (controlled tempo / forceful squeeze at top) - 4 sets of 21 reps

Pinwheel Cable Curls (hard squeeze at top) - 3 sets of 8 reps


I threw in weighted cable crunches throughout the workout between sets to hit my abs.

Weight seems to be going up, albeit slowly.

8/17 - Back / Biceps

Weighted Pullups - BWx10, BW+27.5x5x2, BW+50x3 (PR)

Seated Cable Rows - 3 sets of 8-10 reps with paused contraction (focused on tempo on these)

Wide Grip Pulldowns - 4 sets of 8-10 reps

1 Arm Cable Seated Rows - 3 sets of 8 - 10 reps

Preacher Curls - RP w/ 65 x 6, 3, 2

Seated Strict DB Hammer Curls (forceful contraction, slow controlled tempo) - 22.5 x 8 x 2, 20 x 8, 15 x 8

Cable Straight Bar 21’s (controlled tempo / forceful squeeze at top) - 4 sets of 21 reps

Pinwheel Cable Curls (hard squeeze at top) - 3 sets of 8 reps


I threw in weighted cable crunches throughout the workout between sets to hit my abs.

Weight seems to be going up, albeit slowly.